17 Ways to Win at OTB Chess

Hello everyone!

I have a different post this time! In this post, I outline 17 different ways to win an OTB chess game! To do this, I will be taking you through my OTB chess journey that I have been on in the past few years and highlighting each different type of win with a an OTB game that I won in that style.

Enjoy!

1. Win in a long endgame

In one of my first ever OTB tournaments, I had a long battle of a final game of the tournament. I had to win to secure second place and my opponent put up a strong fight in a very long endgame. Our game was the last one to finish and lasted 4.5 hours!

2. Win by an opponent blunder

This game was the final game of a 6 round 90+30 tournament which was played over 2 days and 1 evening! Everyone in the tournament was tired and so this game had some unexpected errors, but the crushing blow came when my opponent blundered with the move 28. Rf2, allowing me to seize my opportunity and pull off the win!

• 24. Kh8 I play this move at a time when I am being pressured to avoid future checks such as Qxe6+ in some lines. I recognize that playing Bxd5 will allow white's knight to get an outpost and I will have no play, so I am willing to sacrifice a pawn to trade pieces so I can get my queen in for an attack and have an open f-file (which is a factor in my opponent's blunder a few moves later)
• 28. Rf2 My opponent blunders and I jump at the chance to make use of the newly opened f-file with Rf8, winning the game

3. Win with an endgame masterclass

I had my chances in this game, but I ended up going into the endgame looking for a draw. However, once we reached that stage of the game, I was able to hunt my opponent's loose pawns, play for activity, and eventually I was playing for the win! My opponent then misjudged the endgame, thinking they could sacrifice their bishop for my b-pawn and draw the resulting endgame, and I was able to show how the endgame was not actually a draw!

• 34. Re8! I bring my rook into the game and have a favourable rook exchange where my b2 pawn is no longer threatened and black moves the knight backwards to recapture my rook, allowing me to gain control of the center
• 40. Nd6 not trading the e5 knight and allowing my opponents king into the center while also gaining a tempo on the bishop and getting a knight on e4
• 56. Kh8 my opponent thinks this is a draw as I have a light squared bishop but h8 is a dark square, however I am able to use my king and bishop to promote the b-pawn without allowing my opponent to trade the bishop for it

4. Win by exchange sacrifice

Out of the opening, I played for a central pawn break but didn't come up with much. However, my opponent was a little too ambitious with their restriction of my pieces and I seized the opportunity to sacrifice the exchange and take the battle to my opponent, challenging them at every opportunity and eventually pulling off the win!

• 16. Rxe3! I sacrifice the exchange for activity and ensure that I can get my pieces active going forward
• 39. Rxc6 My opponent miscalculates the endgame and it is at this point that I am now winning

5. Win in a strategic battle

In this game, my opponent did not expect my opening, and I was able to take them into a strategic battle throughout the opening, middlegame and endgame and slowly pull ahead by the end of it.

• 10. dxc6 My opponent makes a strategical mistake in these f3 KID structures as their pieces will not be as easily developed as mine and they should keep their space advantage. Also, I have threats to break with d5 in the near future
• 16. Qxd1+ I trade off queens to get my knight to d5, but also because white's queen could get to b7 or target c6, etc. taking advantages of my weak squares or could move to a4 and then Rd1 would hit my queen
• 36. Bb8 Sensing the pressure, my opponent tries one final attempt to create counterplay via a passed pawn, but the position I have built up is too strong and there isn't enough time for my opponent to make use of the passed a-pawn

6. Win via a correct exchange into the endgame

In this game, I got into trouble in the opening after not knowing how to deal with my opponent's move 12. b4 and the following attack on my e4 pawn and center. I had to fight from behind and outplay my opponent in the middlegame to even out the game. I eventually found myself in the driver's seat after my opponent brought their king into the battle a little too early and I found the right opportunity to exchange into a favourable endgame and pull off the win.

• 12. b4 My opponent starts the battle against my e4 pawn with b4 and I soon find myself under a lot of pressure
• 31. Rcd1 I notice that black's king is more of a liability than an asset and I decline a trade of rooks while setting my eyes on the king and bishop trapped on the d-file.
• 41. Rxd5 I calculate the endgame correctly here and know that I can sacrifice the exchange and trade off all of the pieces to get a winning endgame as my king will get to c5 and be much more active than black's king in the resulting pawn endgame

7. Win by opening preparation

The last game, #6 on this list left me with some work to do in the opening, and as a result, I prepared a nasty sacrifice in the semi-slav, only for it to come in handy just a few months later at a big tournament. The tournament didn't go the way I had hoped, but I at least came away with this win where I used my new preparation to shock my opponent!

• 14. Nf5! I use my preparation of a nice temporary knight sacrifice where I sacrifice my knight for activity and eventually win back the piece with a better position
• 19. Qb4 I play this move and play out a sequence of moves to simplify into a favourable middlegame position

8. Win through machine-like precision

In what was probably the most accurate over the board game I had played to date, I was able to pull off a commanding victory against a stronger player. Like the above game, this game I got into a similar Closed Catalan position in a previous game and didn't know what white's plans were. I ended up losing and then I learned the opening and its ideas, then I played out the correct plans and played a very accurate game here!

• 19. h4 I show my cards and the themes of this Catalan setup by beginning to take some space on the kingside in preparation for a future kingside attack
• 30. Qh4 I play this move preparing Be7 and Ng4. My positional advantage is significant, but I have not broken through yet
• 36. f5 This is the breakthrough I make in which now my opponent is clearly lost

9. Win through good defense

This game was an interesting one. I had played this opponent before and knew that they were an extremely aggressive player, so I was trying to play to avoid that but ended up being too passive and soon, I was under immense pressure. I was able to defend the whole game and only allowed one winning opportunity to my opponent early on, but other than that my defenses were solid and left my opponent with nothing by the end of the game!

• 13. Ngf3 After this move my opponent has a win with hxg3 fxg3 Bh6! but they missed it. From here on out, I stopped every chance my opponent had
• 17. Rfe1 This move is a nice move preparing Nf1 which will massively help me in my defensive efforts

10. Win by positionally outplaying your opponent

This game was a classic example of the power of the Catalan. I was having a good tournament and was against an opponent who was very underrated, so I knew I would need to bring my best game to the table. I used the Catalan bishop, c-file and center to pressure my opponent all game until he finally cracked in the endgame.

• 13. Ne1! Prepares Nd3 eyeing c5 and e5 and also opens up the light squared bishop
• 20. Qc3! It is tough to make a move here but Qc3 strengthens the queenside as well as indirectly eyes g7 for a checkmate!
• 38. Qe1 I neutralize my opponent's best piece forcing a queen trade into a favourable endgame for me

11. Win in a tactical battle

This game was a tough game against a National Master which quickly turned into a tactical free-for-all with my opponent first getting the advantage, but I fought back against my opponent's attack with tactics of my own and eventually pulled ahead in the endgame with one final blunder ending it all.

• 14. Nd4 is a mistake by me, not realizing the full extent of my opponent's kingside threats, and they are able to immediately take advantage of my mistake
• 25. Bf4! Is a great tactical move by me which allows me to get back into the game as I divert black's queen from the attack
• 58. Ne7 threatens checkmate but also allows me to reroute the knight to d5 which is a killer square for the horse and allows me to win shortly after that

12. Win by outcalculating your opponent

In this game, I was able to pressure my opponent and after an exciting middlegame, we both made a key calculation, only my assessment of the situation was the correct one and I was able to tactically achieve a winning endgame!

• 33. Bxb2 this is the moment where I outcalculate my opponent as I see the pin on the rook in the resulting position after the exchanges which my opponent did not see

13. Win by opening gone right

This opening was a Catalan where my opponent quickly got into trouble when they were unprepared to meet the e4 pawn break and in the resulting position, I was able to carry my opening advantage to victory!

• 11. e4 and my opponent is unprepared to meet this move as the resulting positions threaten both c6 and h7 and the only way to not lose material is 12. Nb8 which is a strategical victory for me

14. Win by better understanding of the position

In this game, I played a system that I have had a lot of fun playing, and it can be difficult to face for white if you do not understand the ideas of the opening and the middlegame that follows it. In this game, I showcased the ideas of this creative opening and was able to carry those ideas to a very nice victory!

• 12. c5 I chip away at the center with this temporary sacrifice, fighting back against white's space advantage which I allowed through the opening
• 26. Rc4 in a position which I have the advantage but it is difficult to make clear progress, I know not to force things and instead I make a very minor improvement to my position and pass the ball back into my opponent's court, which under pressure their next move is a mistake

15. Win by tactical sacrifice

In another showcase of the modern defense, I positionally outplayed my opponent throughout the game, using piece activity and development. I improved my pieces and in fact didn't make a single retreating move all game. My good positional play led me to a position where I was able to find an amazing winning move ___ Nc2, a sacrifice seemingly out of nowhere that led to an almost immediate win.

• 11. fxe4 I make this move and release the tension right away because I have a clear plan to better my pieces and gain tempi on my opponent's pieces at the same time, handing the advantage in the game to me
• 21. Bxd3 I make this move seeing the next move, the winning sacrifice Nc2, which is able to be played because my pieces are more active and my opponent's king is under attack

16. Swindle your opponent!

In this game, my opponent knew my openings and prepared a very interesting line against my modern defense which I had not faced before. I had to adapt to the situation, and unfortunately, I did so very poorly, allowing my opponent to dominate the game. However, on move ___, my opponent failed to see my one opportunity in the game and recaptured with the wrong pawn, allowing me to blow the game open with ___ and take a game that my opponent had in the bag to a fighting battle where I emerged on top.

• 12. Nc4 A key mistake for me as now my knight and d-pawn are essentially frozen, and so I cannot meet e4 with dxe4 and after this, my position goes downhill further
• 20. dxe5 is my opponent's mistake which allows me to strike against the c5 pawn and queenside with a5! This is why my bishop is on f8 because it helps facilitate my only plan in the position
• 43. Ne4 My last couple of moves have actually been more focused on attack rather than defense against my opponent's passed pawns. This move cements that my attack will be quicker than my opponent's pawn promotion

17. Win in a positional battle

In this final game of the blog, my opponent and I had a very positional battle in a closed position that arose out of a stonewall setup. We maneuvered pieces trying to get them into a good attacking or defending setup in a real battle of ideas. Once my opponent tried to get through on the queenside, I was able to turn the game around with a timely g4 and although I didn't play the resulting position perfectly, the positional merits of my position were enough to pull off the win!

• 23. Nb4 I correctly decide that my former plans of putting a knight on e5 are less important than preventing my opponent from getting to c2, and this move stops that plan from my opponent
• 34. g4! My opponent is starting to make some progress on the queenside and to do this, they have moved their knight and queen from the kingside, so now is the chance to counterattack!
• 39. Nd3 is a missed opportunity to play Rg1 and then sacrifice the rook on g7! I have extensively analyzed this sacrifice in the game notes
• 48. h4 wins the game as I win my opponent's knight

Hope you enjoyed the games!