Is it harder to find a brilliant tactical move or a positional one? Why?

😃 thanks!

Its really depends, most of the time, if you are a lower rated player (under 2000 or smn), its most likely going to be much easier to spot positional moves, because tactics aren't really something you'd be thinking about at that level. Its just a question of how easily you spot tactical moves (then you will find them easier than others)

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Thank you, although my feeling is that lower ranked players think more tactically, but since they tend to be careless, maybe you are right.

Finding a positional sacrifice is defintely harder.

You don't gain a material advantage or checkmate, you need to understand bad-good pieces, trapped pieces, open-close games, development, active pieces, aggressive-defensive positions, aggressive-defensive pieces, King safety, Pawn structures...

And the list goes on.

And even after a positional sacrifice, you need to calculate deeply to win.

Positional sacrifices are really hard to spot, not like a tactical sacrifices where there are less lines to calculate.

I'm not saying tactical sacrifices are bad or so easy to spot, they both require deep calculations and lead to an advantage to the person played the move.

But if chess was an iceberg, positional sacrifices would be at the deepest part of chess.

Yeah thats true but it kinda just depends on the person at the end of it, because everyone is different

Yeah, I forgot to add that. Thanks.

This is correct for almost everything though, not only chess.

Thank you, I completely agree with you..maybe at the level of first-class masters it depends a bit on the players' style, but definitely understanding a positional sacrifice requires a higher level of chess, an average player has games even with a queen sacrifice and checkmate in 3 or 4 moves,
but only a strong player can have a fruitful positional sacrifice.

I would agree that a positional brilliancy is more difficult to find. The best brilliancies involved sacrifice of material for a persistent positional advantage that has a "high rate of return", either of material or checkmate. So you have to know what the positional advantage is truly worth. e.g. is the knight of the sixth rank worth an exchange in a closed position or not? Is domination of the open file worth a pawn? I distinctly remember blundering into a positional sac during a game. I let a rook get trapped in a closed position and it was taken by a bishop. The bishop, however, was my opponents most active piece and he now had weak dark squares all over the place and no open files. Three moves later had the exchange back with two pawns "interest". T

continued

The computer and my opponent were impressed. I would have never have seen that as a candidate move and it was by accident....lol.

Thank you..yes you are right..positional understanding is something that is generally gained with experience..the greatest masters with positional style started with a purely tactical approach like the young Karpov
The only exception I know of is Garry Kasparov. He seems to have played The Caro-Kann at first and has become more dynamic over time and has picked up some sharp Sicilian branches!

Personally, I find tactics harder to play because there’s so many variables to consider: piece movement, king safety, activity, material, advantage, etc. So in my experience, brilliant tactics are more difficult to find — but also very satisfying! :]

Considering all the GMs say they get the tactics down early and then it takes a lifetime to master positional play, there's the legit answer.

i think it depends on how positional or tactical the game is at that move.

as an example i think 1e4 is excellent positionally with no tactics to be found.

Thank you, of course consider that. Early chess engines thought purely tactically. Gradually, positional understanding was added to them and now they have a kind of dependence on human game information.

Thank you..yes it is convincing.

Thank you.. I think in every opening you can find positional and tactical branches.🙂

It matters what opening

Thanks..I agree with you.