simple strategies i've used - Chess Forums

983hf98he4

Jul 22, 2023

0

#1

here are some basic strategies that have helped me climb my way out of beginner terrority. most of these things take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to learn - in a lot of cases new players just don't know what the names are for these things so they can't search them. if anyone wants to add to the list or keep the strategies going in the 1400+ range, please do!

<500 rating: learn how the pieces move, learn how to castle, learn the value of the pieces, don't make bad trades;

<800 rating: learn how to defend scholar's mate, start counting attackers/defenders; develop major pieces and castle in the first 10 moves or so; learn how to do ladder mate, learn how to mate with king+queen, learn about forks and pins

<1000 rating: learn how to defend wayward queen attack, try to control the center, keep knights off the side of the board, connect the rooks, get your king out in the end game, avoid doubling your pawns and make equal trades that result in your opponent doubling pawns, learn about the bishop pair advantage; learn how to mate with king+rook; in the opening when your knights are out and your opponent clears the way for one of their bishops, do a3 or h3 with the pawn to stop an early pin.

<1200 rating: learn how to defend fried liver attack, count to 10 before making each move, try not to panic in games where the opponent starts pushing all their pawns aggressively; avoid that thing where the queen is lined up with your castled king and the bishop swoops in for mate and you have to block with a pawn and lose your rook; stop leaving pawns unprotected; pay attention to situations where you counter an attack with separate attack somewhere else on the board, not realizing that when the opponent takes your piece another more important piece is now being attacked; watch out for discovered attacks; try to keep your pawns connected; stop resigning even though losing sucks.

<1300 rating: learn about knight outposts, in end games get your king out in front of the pawn, start understanding how valuable a passed pawn is, start lining your bishops/rooks up with your opponent's queen even if it's currently protected with something else, start visualizing what the board looks like after you've made your move;

<1400 rating: start double checking everything before moving, start asking yourself 'what is my opponent trying to do', start finding that balance between being active and reactive, start to understand the value of controlling the game, start assessing the positional value of your pieces and your opponent's pieces, try to have each of your moves accomplish more than one good thing if possible, try extra hard not to blunder pieces, start getting a general feel for whether your position is 'good' or 'bad

qjzx