how to read the board
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how do you learn how to read the board and come up with a plan when you have a complex position to play?
I've tried reading about how to play positionally based off material imbalances from silman's theories but i still have a hard time to come up with plans on the middle game to make a winning position.
training to plan is much harder imo due to the lack of puzzles or the abstract nature thereof compared to the straightforward tactics puzzles that exists here for you to grind.
an example is the match i have here which i manage to gain a better position than my opponent until after move 14 where the board is too complex for me to calculate and i ended up messing up the position. (i'm still winning at the end but lost on time).
any tips that you can help for learning how to create these middle game plans?
Check out this #chess game: jugular8 vs BenAmSchwitzen - https://www.chess.com/live/game/103654317475
Mar 8, 2024
0
#2
Just making a pgn diagram with computer analysis to make it easier for others to answer 
Mar 11, 2024
0
#4
Here are some notes on that part of the game from me:
When making plans in a game it goes beyond just recognizing you have an advantage you have to know how to exploit that advantage or imbalance. Some examples in that game are making tempo moves when trying to attack, don't trade off pieces when attacking (unless you are gaining another advantage from that attack) The idea behind that is the less pieces you have to attack with the less you can do with the attack (your opponent in this situation wants to trade off pieces). You also need to also need to think how can I get my pieces into their position convert on my advantage.
Every imbalance has their own principles to follow to max out that advantage (or how to neutralize that advantage if your opponent has it). Learning what these are will help guide you in making plans. These often don't require a lot of calculation to execute, and sometimes when you know how to maximize an imbalance (or neutralize) it helps in which lines you should or should not calculate.
Hope this helps.
wow it's really good question...
In my case, I try to find what kind of weaknesses my opponent has created. When opening is done and middlegame starts, white and black both made specific structures, and each of them has its own strengths and weaknesses. I approach middle games in a way to attack these weaknesses. For example, when my opponent's weakness is development, I try to make a pressure so my opponent cannot develop freely. When my opponent's pawn chain is not solid, I try to attack weak pawns or place my knight to weak squares. Of course my opponent also tries to attack my weakness at the same time, I secure my safety first and attack.
This method can help you : find a weakness first and make several plans - and find a best plan. Making more than one plan will help you raise your accuracy. When you calculate your move, always think your opponent plays the best move.
Playing chess is like solving puzzles, because every move has a meaning and what players have to do is to find a best move every time.
Good luck!
AlphaTeam wrote:
Here are some notes on that part of the game from me:
When making plans in a game it goes beyond just recognizing you have an advantage you have to know how to exploit that advantage or imbalance. Some examples in that game are making tempo moves when trying to attack, don't trade off pieces when attacking (unless you are gaining another advantage from that attack) The idea behind that is the less pieces you have to attack with the less you can do with the attack (your opponent in this situation wants to trade off pieces). You also need to also need to think how can I get my pieces into their position convert on my advantage.
Every imbalance has their own principles to follow to max out that advantage (or how to neutralize that advantage if your opponent has it). Learning what these are will help guide you in making plans. These often don't require a lot of calculation to execute, and sometimes when you know how to maximize an imbalance (or neutralize) it helps in which lines you should or should not calculate.
Hope this helps.
thx for the instructive analysis alphateam , this truly opens up my perspective in understanding the context behind the board. i never even saw 14. Qb3+ as an option and it completely slipped my mind as i'm too focused on taking that g5 pawn without considering the opponent could've simply move f4 to block it. and the pawn capture on 16. dxe5 is simply the nail in the coffin. analysis says that its bad but computers simply just can't give any context behind the ideas of moves. perhaps i should take my time more on deep self analysis rather than simply turning on the engine for good moves
Apr 12, 2024
0
#8
It took you two minutes to make the next move in the following position yet you failed to see the correct move. In my opinion, it makes no sense to study Silman when you are missing tactics like this. First get better at tactics. You should have considered this queen check because of the signal, the enemy king is unsafe, how can I disrupt the enemy king? Also when you push the pawn it's protected by the queen and the knight is forced to move to a passive square, no other place to move. then, you give a check with the knight, and this sets up the fork, which wins a whole rook, because, there is no way for your opponent to keep the knight, so with this tactic you win a whole rook. When you are ahead in material it makes the position a lot easier to play, and thus, you make faster moves, so it's highly unlikely you would have flagged if you gave this check and saw the correct sequence.
I noticed after I posted this that there is a square for the knight to go to force you into complications. I anlayzed this with and without the computer and found that even when you lose the pawn you are still winning so long as you play against his loose pieces, bishop at the long diagonal, and poor king placement. So scratch this idea, though as an alternative I would play a4 instead of Qb3+.
Now imagine being over the board seeing all this in your head. If you'd like to be a Silman thinker then before making a move you should stop and think and come up with this:
But still what if:
Still, what if...
One last what if that you would have to calculate. This position needs time to calculate!
Believe it or not I saw this move in my head while thinking about the position. I thought, what if... This was a very complex position that required concrete calculation. I know you where probably thinking about it due to the amount of time you spent on the move, though, you didn't have enough time to see far enough, you stopped short of seeing the tactics maybe...
