To find tactics you need to have 3 of the 4 following advantages:
1. Material advantage.
2. Space advantage.
3. Piece activity.
4. Weakness in the opponents position.
1400 puzzle but 800 5/5??
Sort:
JonnyLinny wrote:
Only he who never plays, never loses
And never wins.
scouterr wrote:
So I am able to see the answers to puzzles but I can never translate that into wins during games. I am sure this has been asked and answered a billion times but it is frustrating for sure.
I think my problem is I don’t see how to setup an attack and I still need to learn the underlying fundamentals of chess play to arrive at playable situations.
I think my problem is I don’t see how to setup an attack and I still need to learn the underlying fundamentals of chess play to arrive at playable situations.
This is because in tactics puzzles, you know for sure that there will be a winning pathway for the position. This is not so obvious in your games where no one tells you that you have a potential tactic right in front of you.
So a good idea for you is to...
1. Keep your king well-defended.
2. Develop your pieces well, but do not overdo it.
3. Familiarise yourself with pathways, including diagonals.
4. Stop for a moment to see if there are any potential tactics.
5. Familiarise yourself with endgame techniques.
6. Wins or losses, or even draws, you have gained some experience.
I have lost many games throwing random tactics which fail when I was very inexperienced, but my first success at one such tactic in my game made me feel very happy. Even in the position SoupTime4 has given, it is not so obvious for the inexperienced players unless they have prior experience in their games.
Let me bring you to one such game of mine.
(A forum topic on this is available at https://www.chess.com/forum/view/more-puzzles/quest-for-survival-in-a-winning-game)
Though I know that the game is an entire blunderfest of weaknesses and errors, I attempted to launch tactics from my experience with throwing random tactics. Both I and my opponent threw tactics at each other and we had to defend them well.
Sometimes, you have to try them too. Know your positions well, and focus on the entire board rather than just the kingside or the queenside alone.
I think my problem is I don’t see how to setup an attack and I still need to learn the underlying fundamentals of chess play to arrive at playable situations.