Fog of War Chess - Tips

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(beginners)

When Losing, Take More Risks

This is one of my favorite pieces of advice, because it’s what makes Fog of War fun. By now, you know that Fog of War allows gambling and risk-taking, which is why intermediate players sometimes beat stronger ones. In regular chess, a 1500-rated player will almost never beat someone rated 1900—unless fatigue or other factors are involved. In Fog of War, it can happen because players can take chances.

For example, a lower-rated player might quietly line up a queen and bishop and gamble on a checkmate at h7. If the king is castled on the kingside and poorly protected, the attack works and the game ends immediately. That kind of surprise simply doesn’t exist in regular chess.

Strong players usually avoid risks. They maintain a mental model of the most likely board position and play cautiously around it. Beginners and intermediate players can’t do this as well yet, so they take more risks and usually lose. That’s the background, now for the tip!

My actual tip is this: take more risks when you are losing. If the game is balanced, I won’t send a knight on a kamikaze mission deep into enemy territory just to be taken by a pawn. But if I’m already behind, I will. And if I’m losing badly, I will definitely take my chances. At that point, I have nothing left to lose.

Here’s the same idea shown in a graph.

Here are the last two tips shown graphically, a 3D graph that shows the effect of skill gap AND game state on risk taking.

The dark violet near the base of the risk curve (where the game is balanced and both players are of equal strength) resembles classical chess, with low risk and careful play. The yellow at the upper plateau (where a weaker player is clearly losing but takes high risks) is what makes Fog of War so interesting. In that zone, beginners can sometimes beat advanced players through bold ruses, surprise attacks, and a bit of luck. And let’s be honest, the yellow zone probably releases a lot more dopamine than the violet one.

Enjoy!

Yours Truly,

The Nerd

The following is a post by rakso98, giving tips for Fog of War. I share it here. I disagree about the need to control the center in Fog of War. I will include my tip about it in the next post.

(intermediate)

Controlling the center is not essential in Fog of War

In regular chess, controlling the center is a core principle because it improves mobility and converts reliably into advantage. In Fog of War, incomplete information changes that logic.

Central squares can be powerful, but they also expose pieces and reveal intentions. A strong central setup in classical chess can become a liability in Fog of War if hidden pieces are waiting or if information leaks too early.

What matters more in Fog of War is controlling information, protecting the king, and timing your entry into open areas. The center is most useful when it opens lines of sight, helps probe the opponent, or becomes relevant later in the game after pieces are exchanged.

In short, the center is a tool in Fog of War, not a rule. Survival, observation, and deception often matter more than early central dominance.

I found this set of tips for playing FOW by CRuleSportsGuy. I don't agree that piece protection is always paramount. There are exceptions. I will address them in the next post.

(intermediate)

You don’t need to protect your pieces all the time

In Fog of War, piece protection is important, but it is not paramount in the way it is in classical chess.

In classical chess, leaving a piece unprotected is usually a mistake because everything is visible. If a piece is hanging, it will almost certainly be taken. Protection is a basic safety rule.

Fog of War changes that logic. Because the opponent cannot see everything, an unprotected piece is not always captured. This is especially true in the opening and early middlegame, when many pieces are still on the board and can potentially defend each other. A strong opponent knows this and is often reluctant to capture a piece that might be protected by something they cannot see.

As the game progresses and pieces are exchanged, information becomes clearer. With fewer pieces on the board, there are fewer hidden defenders, and capturing an apparently unprotected piece becomes much safer. In the endgame, hanging pieces are far more likely to be taken.

What replaces the rule “always protect your pieces” in Fog of War is judgment. Protect what is likely to be attacked, and accept risk when uncertainty works in your favor.

(intermediate)

Notice your clock

Fog of War is 3+2 by default, and it’s easy to lose on time if you’re not used to blitz chess. Even experienced blitz players can run out of time, especially if they replay the game too often during play.

When you review the game, do it quickly. Replaying the entire game more than once can cost you the game on the clock. Often, it’s faster to roll back the last few moves and replay them than to start from the beginning. Learn to choose the quickest method.

For example, if I forget the color of a captured bishop, I may replay from the first move if the game is still under 20 moves. If the game is longer, I usually step backward from the most recent move instead. Managing review time is part of managing your clock.

(Intermediate)

Corollary to "being patient"

Concentrate your forces on one critical point. Break through with pawns when you control the key square with enough pieces (at least 1 knight, 1 bishop, and 1-2 major pieces)

(Begginers)

Play "anti-everything" opening schemes. You'll be able to save time (or gain time if it's with an increment!) without worrying too much about what your opponent does. Time gained = time you can spend reviewing your previous moves.

(beginners)

Look at the full board

When I first played Fog of War, I spent most of my time staring at my own pieces and planning my next move. I often forgot to watch the entire board as my opponent moved, missing newly revealed enemy pieces and squares that changed from clear to foggy or vice versa.

A simple habit helps: always look at the full board, including your opponent’s side, not just your own pieces. Keep the sound on, notice the move sound, and quickly scan the board for changes as soon as the opponent plays. It’s simple, but it’s central to how Fog of War works.

If you catch yourself planning and miss the opponent’s move, replay the last move immediately when you hear the sound. This lets you spot what changed before you make your next decision.

(intermediate)

Don’t focus only on pushing a pawn

Sometimes players become so focused on pushing a pawn toward promotion that they stop paying attention to what the opponent is doing. I’ve lost queens and rooks this way more than once: an opponent advances a pawn to threaten my piece, and I keep pushing my pawn instead of noticing the threat and moving in time.

(beginners)

Treat time as visibility decay

In Fog of War, the longer it has been since you last saw an enemy piece, the less likely it is still in the same place. Update your assumptions every few moves as the game evolves.

This idea does not apply to blocked pawns. An enemy pawn that is directly blocking your pawn will remain there unless you capture it or it captures one of your pieces. Other enemy pawns, however, may advance quietly and become some of the most dangerous threats in the game.

These pawns are “hidden assassins.” If a pawn advances undetected deep into enemy territory, it can threaten major pieces—even against advanced players. Strong players probe by moving pieces back and forth to gather information, but during this process, they can still accidentally place a major piece in front of a hidden advanced pawn.

(intermediate)

Haunt knights with bishops in the middlegame

I like bishops early in the game because they are excellent scouts. However, knights become especially dangerous in the endgame in Fog of War. For that reason, I try to use my bishops in the middlegame to exchange with enemy knights whenever possible.

In classical chess, I often do the opposite, since bishops tend to be stronger than knights in the endgame. Fog of War changes that balance.

(beginners)

Watch for early checkmates

When playing with beginners, players often try to deliver early checkmates at b2 or g2, usually with a queen protected by a bishop on b7 or g7. Similar checkmates at a2 or h2 are also very common and deadly.

Although Fog of War removes the concepts of check and checkmate in the classical sense, the idea still applies: when a king has no way to escape and will be captured on the next move, the game is effectively over. Always keep these weak squares in mind and take steps to protect them (b2, g2, a2, h2).

The f7 square can also be weak early in the game. A common beginner tactic is to place the queen on f6 and a knight on g4 to threaten a quick capture at f7. If you notice the knight on g4—and your queen can see it, for example when your king pawn is on e3—moving your queen to e2 often allows you to win that knight.

You will likely fall for these tricks in your first several games. Learn them and plan simple defenses. In the end, you cannot protect every weak square at once. One of the best defenses is to keep your opponent unsure of where your king actually is.

(intermediate)

If you don’t have to, don’t move your king in the endgame

In the endgame, when you have a clear advantage—such as a major piece and a few pawns against an opponent who has only a king and blocked pawns—avoid moving your king unless it is absolutely necessary.

A strong opponent will quietly advance their king and position it near yours. One careless king move allows the opposing king to take yours, ending the game immediately. I’ve lost games this way when playing against strong players: with a winning position where all I had to do was maneuver my major piece carefully, I moved my king one square, and the enemy king was already waiting nearby.

When you are winning, let your pieces do the work. Keep your king still and hidden unless moving it clearly improves your safety or is required to finish the game.

(beginners)

Don’t use a chessboard to remember pawn locations

I tried using a separate chessboard to track the locations of advanced pawns so I wouldn’t have to replay the game. It didn’t work. I ended up losing more time and eventually the game itself.

Instead, learn how to review the game quickly and efficiently to recall pawn locations. Fast, focused replays are far more effective than trying to track positions externally.

(beginners)

Review the last move after a capture

When you capture an enemy piece, you often see other pieces around before the opponent captures your piece. Good players play fast so you won’t get a second to reveal their position. However, you can role the game back to review the revealed enemy pieces! Always do it, pause, and take note of what got revealed.

(beginners)

Keep a mental model of what the opponent knows about you

Beginners tend to focus mainly on what they know about the opponent and try to remember it. Stronger players go further: they think equally about what the opponent knows about their own pieces, and what the opponent is likely to remember or forget. Keeping this second mental model helps you judge when a surprise is possible and when a position is no longer secret.

(beginners)

Take note of the color of a captured bishop

Unlike knights, bishops are tied to a specific square color. The captured-pieces area does not tell you whether the light- or dark-square bishop was taken, so make a note of it. For example, you can write “BB” to remember that the dark-square bishop was captured.

This is not cheating. You are allowed to make notes while you play, and remembering bishop color matter a lot in the most games.