Prophylaxis - Principles of Chess Middle Games

“Critical thinking is the most important factor with chess. As it is in life, you need to think before you make decisions.”

- Hikaru Nakamura

Hello Chessbros. Welcome to the series, Where we discuss middle-game concepts. We have already completed the following topics,

Blockade & Restriction ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/blockade-restriction-principles-of-chess-middle-games )

Greek Gift sacrifice ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/greek-gift-sacrifice-principles-of-chess-middle-games )

Opposite Side Castling ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/opposite-side-castling-principles-of-chess-middle-games )

Weak Square & Outpost ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/weak-square-outpost-principles-of-chess-middle-games  )

The Bishop Pair ( https://www.chess.com/blog/siddharth026/the-bishop-pair-principles-of-chess-middle-games )

Today we will be discussing the advance yet short content that goes by the name ' Prophylaxis'. We all have heard this word in many recaps on youtube videos. Many of us had lied to ourselves by saying, "Yes, I understand what Hikaru said by prophylaxis move", Or why Gotham used this word. So keeping the intro short, let's go straight into the content of blogs.

Prophylaxis -

In chess, Prophylaxis consists of a move or series of moves done by a player to prevent their opponent from taking some action. Such preventative moves, or prophylactic moves, aim not only to improve one's position but also to restrict the opponent from improving their own.

Prophylaxis is a distinctive feature of positional play, often preventing opponents from entering risky, double-edged lines, As well as punishing opponents who play too aggressively. Using 'Prophylaxis' is an essential skill at advanced levels of play. Famous practitioners of prophylactic players include Aron Nimzowitsch, Tigran Petrosian, and Anatoly Karpov; even tactical players, such as Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov, make use of prophylactic moves.

Now Prophylaxis is easy to understand in examples than in theory. So let's start our journey of visual representation,

We can see several openings where prophylactic moves are made. Here is the list of them.

1 - Ruy López 

Here black is trying to get our bishop pair. We know the importance of our bishop pair from recent blogs. So what will be our prophylactic move here?

Here the answer is c3. This move helps d4 push and also makes space for the bishop to retreat.

2 - Najdorf Sicilian -

In this position, you can see our b5 square is weak and attacked thrice. The opponent's plan is very clear here. Find the prophylactic move here. 

Here the answer is simple, a6. It blocks pieces from accessing the square.

3 Vienna -

The threat is Qh4. How do we stop it?

The answer is Nf3. This is very common in vienna gambits and vienna game to develope Knight to f3 first to restrict Qh4.

Position 1-

Position 2 -

Here the plan for white is simple to push for e5. But he cannot do it directly. So his next move is obvious f4. We avoid f4 by playing prophylactic move g5. White still tries for the same plan by moving g3. Now we play the final prophylactic move Rg8.

Luft is one of the most important prophylactic concepts in chess. Luft is a German word meaning air, but in chess, it means creating space around your king, usually by advancing a pawn to h3 or g3 (h6 or g6 for Black).

Luft can be made at any stage of the game, and like other prophylactic moves, its purpose can be multifold. For example, in the following position from the Ruy Lopez, White played 9.h3, which stops Black’s light-squared bishop from pinning the knight with Bg4. White will usually play d4, and without the pin, White is controlling the d4 square with the knight.

In addition to these prophylactic moves, White has created luft around their king. This gives the king an escape square and prevents a back-rank checkmate.

To conclude this blog, I would like to explain to you, Thinking Prophylactic means to start questioning your opponent's plan. This is just like having a GM by your side. But instead of giving you moves, he is telling you the ideas. Once you have the idea clear, The game becomes fairly easy.
I hope you will love this concept. For now, I will take a leave and will come tomorrow with a new blog.
Till then,
Let us all grow at chess together. 

...The End...