Improving the position of a badly placed piece. Improving own position

    Strategy - the magical side of chess

Improving the position of a badly placed piece

Finding the best move is not always easy, especially if we don’t have a well-defined plan. In such situations, it is often recommended to try to improvethe position of a badly placed piece. As a rule, we should try to improve theposition of the worst placed piece. Sometimes, it is easier to say than to do. Firstly, it may be difficult to establish which piece is the worst placed one. Secondly, not always we can find a better position for the worst placed piece.

Goldberg Alexander - Sapis Witalis
Berlin (Germany) 1987

Black to move

Black experiences problems with the development of the kingside. Due to the lack of space, it is difficult to find good squares for both: the knight and the darksquare bishop. The e7 can be occupied by only one piece. That’s why Black decided to lose four tempos to activate the knight:
1...Ne7 2.0-0-0 Nc8 3.f4 Nb6 4.f5 0-0-0 5.Qc2 Nc4.

Getz Alec -  Macieja Bartlomiej
Dallas (USA) 2014

Black to move

With 1...Nb8, Black intends to transfer the knight to d7. The pros are:
– the knight doesn’t block the light-square bishop anymore,
– the knight protects the b6 pawn, that can be attacked by Be3-Qb3,
– the maneuver prevents White from regrouping with f4-Bf3.
Additionally, the black queen will be soon developed to c7. Keeping the knight on c6 could likely lead to tactical problems with the Rc1-Nd5 sacrifice.

("Chess Strategy Explained"-Bartłomiej Macieja Witalis Sapis- Sawit 2021)

"These strategic manuals by two experienced trainers are a must for any instructor! 
I recommend using them for students with USCF ratings ranging from 1300 to 2500. 
I have read many instructional books since my junior years but never have I come 
across such an easy-to-digest way of presenting examples—only a few moves with 
simple, clear verbal explanations of the ideas from the players themselves! The 
examples used vary in level of difficulty and going through all of them will only 
solidify one’s strategic understanding. The exercise chapters (Chapter 3 for Vol 1 
and Chapter 7 for Vol 2) add more instructive value as it can be used either as in-class 
group exercises or individual homework. Any club leader, camp instructor or chess 
coach will be able to find the topical chapters useful when preparing for their regular 
lessons. And I won’t be surprised if they improve their strategic intuition as well in 
the process!”

GM Julio Sadorra

Coach of University of Texas Dallas Chess Team