All right, this is from my deleted blog, and I 100% wrote the entire thing, no AI generation. Because I copied it from a document, some stuff looks kinda weird
Aggressive vs Positional Chess
Chess has styles. And today, we will be looking at possibly the most important ones, Positional Chess, and Aggressive Chess. We will take a deep dive into the topic, with different topics surrounding these two styles. We will be looking at how to play these styles, the history of it, the greats who played these styles, and so much more! Enjoy! Table Of Contents What Are The Styles? Part One: The Greats and History Behind the Style The Changes In The Style The Greats Behind The Styles Part Two: Which One is Better For Chess, and How To Play It? Which One Is Better In Chess? How To Play Positionally How To Play Tactically Conclusion What are the Styles We will start of this blog with this section, an introduction to the styles. f you don’t know what “Positional” style is, or what “Tactical” or “Aggressive” style, or even what is a style, then you come to the right place. First off, what is a chess style? Well, it’s a way of playing that reflects a player’s personality. Styles may depend on personal preference, or you may find it as the best way to play the game. Still confused on what it is? Well, lets see what are the styles we will be looking at. Positional chess is a style of chess that involves analyzing a position and planning a strategy to achieve a goal. It’s about control, space planning and pressure. Positional games are typically slow games, where players defend their king, then they carefully use their pieces to get closer to the opponent’s territory. If you wish a further explanation, then check here. See this position above. This is the London opening, one of the underrated openings, because of the boring propaganda again it. (Don’t make me get into that.) As we see here, White has a pawn triangle, with a few pieces out. Black, also has both his knights out. They are looking to control the center. As for aggressive chess, let’s check this other position. White lost a few pawns, and both sides are attacking each other. This is the overrated Danish gambit, an aggressive opening. Typically, in Aggressive openings, you will see pieces pointing at the king. Some openings may even ignore the king, and just go straight for the attack! You probably know now about these styles. But what is your chess personality? Well, you can find out at the Chess Personality Website! Part One: The Greats and History Behind These Styles This is the first part we will look at, which is the Greats and History behind these styles. We will see the history behind it, and the changes of style through the years, and then we will look at the greats, who had a incredible way to play chess. I hope you enjoy! The Changes In The Styles Throughout the years, there were many changes in chess. And one of them was style! There was a time where people would recklessly attack each other’s king. Then it stopped, and the Ink War erupt! And now, we are in a state where we play both styles. I hope you like it! Romantic Style Classical Chess Modern Day Style Tables of Content Romantic Style The first style of chess we will look at is the “romantic” style, played around the 1800s. This is a style where chess players checkmate their opponent as fast as possible, creating exciting games. Top players would play this “flashy” style with one goal in mind: to swiftly attack the king and checkmate. A usual romantic game, will start off with a gambit, and then the middle game plan is to bring out pieces to point at the king, sacrifice, and bring a fancy checkmate combination. What makes these games exciting, is both players can attack at once. This is an era where “bland” chess is not accepted. Positional chess was played, but it was often criticized as dull or boring. Players will try to win their games with style, instead of winning with logical moves. And this era is filled with exciting games like these. This puzzle you just solved was the finish of the Evergreen Game, an amazing game with a spectacular checkmate. However, people will start realizing that Positional, could be superior. Classical Chess Romantic chess was challenged around the 1860s, when a major flaw was discovered. Louis Paulsen found that the Romantic style was focused on attacking, rather than protecting their king. This was no secret, because Romantic players would rather win games with style, then at all. This aggressive era ended at the 1873 Vienna Tournament, where the first world champion, Wilhelm Steinitz won the tournament by playing positionally, not aggressively. And thus, a new era of style has started, the Classical style. People now, started to realize that objectively, positionally could be superior. I would consider this style a lot more boring. And I think you can see why. But it could be the better option. This positional style is about defending your king, and also slowly using your pieces to get closer to the enemy. Positional chess is about space. The more space you control, the more cramped the opponent’s position is. Emanuel Lasker vs. Wilhelm Steinitz At the top, we are looking at a game Wilhelm Steinitz played in 1895. As we can see, Steinitz did not aggressively try to attack Black’s king, but instead simplified in 14 moves. He then took advantage of the pinned knight on e7, and he worked his way up Black’s territory, until he sacrificed THE ROOOOOOOOK, and made an amazing checkmate combination. In this game, Wilhelm Steinitz was both positional, and tactical. And now, we can study this incredible game, and example. There are other ways to play classical chess, but it follows the basic idea. But what about today? Do we follow a style, positional or aggressive? Note: After the Classical Era is the Hypermodern Era, which revolutionized chess openings. To see an amazing blog on Hypermodernism, made by a top blogger, see here. Modern Day Style So, today, do we play a style? The truth is, not really. After the Hypermodern era, we had greats who influenced chess, such as Anatoly Karpov, or Garry Kasparov. There were also a few schools, the most notably, the Soviet Chess School, who were strict on positional principles. Did I mention that the Soviet Union absolutely dominated chess? Many of our world champions were from the Soviet Union, or their leftover countries. Then, in the 1990s, computers became popular, and with it, computer chess. After Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov, the world realized that computers, are better than humans. Computers play a more positional style, which shows that probably the best style, according to computers, is playing positionally. But we have a mix now. People don’t just play Positional Chess, or just Aggressive Chess. They play a mix now. But will there be another era in chess styles? Only time will tell. You read about the changed in style. But what about the greats behind it? Which side is better? How do you play that style? Well, keep on reading! If you want to read more on the history of the styles, read this blog. That blog is one of the best blogs I ever read, so I recommend you read it! The Greats Behind the Styles Throughout the game of chess, we had greats. We had the GOATs, like Magnus Carlson, or Bobby Fisher. I will be showing you some famous players that were known for their styles. We will look at their amazing games, and how they play chess. I hope you enjoy! Paul Morphy Wilhelm Stienitz Mikhail Tal Anatoly Karpov Garry Kasparov Table Of Contents Paul Morphy Chess is eminently and emphatically the philosopher's game. Help your pieces so they can help you. — Paul Morphy Morphy is probably the best example of a romantic player, playing gambits, attacking quickly, and of course, playing some incredible games. He had that quality that many players in his era had, which was to play with swift attacks which in turn came to swift checkmates. Paul Morphy vs. Duke Karl / Count Isouard / Random Crushed Noob 1-0 Interlude in Night at the Opera 87654321abcdefgh 1. e4 e5 E4, worst by chess - Fishing Bob 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 ... The Philidor Defense, White is looking to open the position very quickly. 3.... Bg4 4. dxe5 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 dxe5 6. Bc4 ... Both pieces are looking toward the weak square, f7. This will be very good, to exploit the weakness. 6.... Nf6 7. Qb3 ... How is this a great move, I don't know, but now the battery on a a2 to g8 diagonal is very powerful, and would be a key element to the great checkmate at the last move. 7.... Qe7 Probably the only move to defend the pawn. 8. Nc3 ... Developing the Knight is obviously a good idea, but its not the best option.. 8. Qxb7 Free pawn. Qb4+ This is the only move that saves the rook. 8.... c6 9. Bg5 b5 10. Nxb5 ... BRILLIANT MOVE. Morphy understands the importance of the diagonal to the King, so he sacrifices and go full force to checkmate the king. 10.... cxb5 10... Qb4+ Again, Black should've traded queens. 11. Bxb5+ Nbd7 12. O-O-O ... Great move !! Getting the rook into action. 12.... Rd8 13. Rxd7 ... Now, Morphy needs to clear the pieces around the King. 13.... Rxd7 14. Rd1 ... Brining another rook into the game. Another thing is that both bishops are in play, with the light bishop pinning the rook to the king, and the dark bishop pinning the knight to the queen. 14.... Qe6 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 And Black's fate is sealed. Checkmate is near. 16. Qb8+ ... A nice queen sacrifice to top it off. 16.... Nxb8 17. Rd8# And the rook and bishop finally checkmating the king. This is just another example of how brilliant Morphy is to romantic chess. 1-0 Possibly Morphy’s most famous game was the Opera game. Only 17 moves, Morphy quickly took advantage of the weak diagonal near his king. He then blundered sacrificed his bishop, knight, rook, and his queen, and finally checkmated da Duke, using only his Rook and Bishop. You read about Morphy, the mascot of romantic play, but now, we will see a player that changed how everyone played chess, Wilhelm Steinitz. Wilhelm Steinitz When you have an advantage, you are obliged to attack; otherwise you are endangered to lose the advantage. Only the player with the initiative has the right to attack. — Wilhelm Steinitz Wilhelm Steinitz was the first world chess champion in 1886, and was like Morphy, playing aggressively, like the top players. However, in 1873, he won the tournament, by playing positionally, marking the end of the Romantic Era, and now into the Classical Era. His demonstration of how this new style is better was marked with controversy, with some players making the switch, and others calling him “cowardly”. He got into rivalries with some players, in writing, (Notably the “Ink War”) but eventually, these ideas were accepted, and new players were positional. Wilhelm Steinitz vs. Curt von Bardeleben 1-0 Hastings Hastings, England 17 Aug 1895 Round: 10 ECO: C54 87654321abcdefgh 1. e4 e5 The only good two first moves of the game. 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 ... And we get right into the Giuoco Piano Game, White is looking for a strong center, but Black has his options too. 6.... Bb4+ 7. Nc3 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 Now both sides are about equal. We get to a popular position, where the Knight on c3 is trapped. However, its not a huge deal, and White can continue developing. 9. O-O Be6 10. Bg5 Be7 Now that all of the pieces are developed, it is time for a huge trade. The cluttered up board won't last long. 11. Bxd5 Bxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Re1 ... The pinned Knight is key. Black is going to hold on to the Horsey for dear life. 14.... f6 15. Qe2 Qd7 16. Rac1 ... As pressure starts to pile on the Knight, Steinitz to looking to control more areas. 16.... c6 A mistake, lets see what Steinitz can do now... 17. d5 ... A little pawn move, how is that significant ? Well, the Knight can't take that, and if the queen takes it, then its game over ! So leave it alone ? 17.... cxd5 17... Kf7 This is the best move, getting the Knight out of the pin. 18. Nd4 ... Now, the Knight can maneuver to the e6 square, making it dangerous for Black. 18.... Kf7 19. Ne6 Rhc8 Bad move. Now Steinitz can show his briiliant moves. 20. Qg4 ... First the queen, looking to attack on g7. 20.... g6 Black defends. 21. Ng5+ ... White makes a discovered check, with the queens looking at each other now. 21.... Ke8 Black can't lose his queen. 22. Rxe7+ ... The rook is sacrificed ! 22.... Kf8 22... Qxe7 23. Rxc8+ Rxc8 24. Qxc8+ Qd8 25. Qxd8+ Kxd8 26. Nxh7 And White is now in a winning Endgame. Black can't allow that. 23. Rf7+ ... Continuing to sac the rook. Black won't take for the same reason. 23.... Kg8 24. Rg7+ ... Again, another rook sacrifice !! 24.... Kh8 25. Rxh7+ And Bardelenen resigns ! 25. Rxh7+ Kg8 26. Rg7+ Qxg7 27. Rxc8+ Rxc8 28. Qe6+ Kh8 29. Qxc8+ +5.56 1-0 At the top, we are looking at a game Wilhelm Steinitz played in 1895. As we can see, Steinitz did not aggressively try to attack Black’s king, but instead simplified in 14 moves. He then took advantage of the pinned knight on e7, and he worked his way up Black’s territory, until he sacrificed THE ROOOOOOOOK, and made an amazing checkmate combination. Wilhelm Steinitz made positional chess popular. He crushed everyone with his positional ideas. And he changed chess for the better. Mikhail Tal In my games I have sometimes found a combination intuitively simply feeling that it must be there. Yet I was not able to translate my thought processes into normal human language. Quite moves often make a stronger impression than a wild combination with heavy sacrifices. — Mikhail Tal “Magician from Riga”, “The Great Tactical Champion”, guy who recks everyone, Mikhail Tal was the eighth champion, who had an impressive aggressive style. A magician is an accurate description, as Tal was known to create powerful or subtle threats that would be extremely difficult to diffuse. He also sacrificed material for long term advantages and would win through complex positions. James Eade even listed Tal as third in a list of the most feared opponents. Tal vs. Koblensc 1-0 Latvia 1976 87654321abcdefgh White to Move Here is an amazing endgame puzzle. Tal is in a losing endgame. However, with just one pawn move, Black now has a choice, to take the pawn and risk the queen getting close to the Kingside, or to take the Knight, and have the pawn promote to a queen. Just like this puzzle, there are many other games Tal played, with complex positions. Milko Bobotsov vs. Mikhail Tal Another incredible example, is a game Mikhail Tal played against Milko Bobotsov. Tal brilliantly sacrificed his queen for a long-term plan to attack the King. After using both rooks and bishops, Tal finally won again Bobotsov in 30 moves. Tal is probably the best attacker in chess. He didn’t stick to just one style, but instead, used a combination of positional chess, and aggressive plans to crush his opponents. And now, we will look at two rivals in chess, that play their own style… Anatoly Karpov As a personality, I'm a fighter, you know. And I don't give up, and if I believe I'm correct, I'm right, then I work, then I fight. Okay, this could be over a chess board, this could be in life, and so I defend my principles. Style? I have no style. — Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Karpov’s style, can be described as a snake. The “Boa Constrictor” style. Karpov was world champion for 16 years, and in that time, he defeated many players, slowly, positionally. Karpov also was a great in endgames. Take a look in this game, and see how Karpov saw a incredible mate in 12. Anatoly Karpov vs. Gata Kamsky 1-0 Alekhine Memorial Moscow RUS Nov 1992 Round: 6 ECO: E60 1-0 His style may not look so exciting like the last three players, but that does not make him easy to defeat. He would concentrate on how his opponents will play, and he will try to stop it. He would defend his positions, and then step by step, piece by piece, he will make his way to the enemy’s side. Anatoly Karpov vs. Veselin Topalov Take a look at this cool game played by Karpov. He plays a solid opening, and then he sacrificed the rook, TWO TIMES!!! He then will use his pieces to slowly inch his way to the king, and after winning in the endgame, Black resigns. I attached another game as well, as another example on how Karpov will slowly take over the board. This short summary can’t do any justice for showing you how remarkable Karpov is at positional chess. However, there is a rival, that is considered one of the greatest chess players of all time… Garry Kasparov I started playing chess when I was five years old. I learned the moves from the mother, then worked with my father - and later trainers. My style became very technical. I sacrificed a lot of things. I was always hunting for the king, for the mate. I'd forgot about my other pieces. — Garry Kasporov There is a debate on who is the best chess player of all time, Bobby Fisher, Magnus Carlson, and of course, Garry Kasparov. Our last player we will study is Kasparov, a player with no weakness, but a lot of energy to attack. This player’s style is inspired by Fisher, Tal, and Alekhine. He memorized many, many lines of openings, excelled in tactics, and has a deep understanding in strategy. With all of those skills combined, he was considered the greatest attacker in chess, aside from Tal. (Tal vs Kasparov is a debate I do not want to get into.) The last example we will be looking at, is Kasparov playing against Veselin. After playing a few moves in opening theory, he defends his King, and makes a plan. Kasparov defends himself against a queenside pawn storm, and then, he sacrifices THE ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!! Well, two rooks. (Should I stop being like Levy) Garry Kasparov (2812) vs. Veselin Topalov (2700) 1-0 Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee NED 20 Jan 1999 Round: 4 ECO: B07 87654321abcdefgh He continues a king hunt, through a series of brilliant and great moves. He chases the king down the board, near his king. He loses the possibility of a checkmate, but after Kasparov winning in the endgame, despite a pawn being very near to promotion, Topalov resigns, with both kings looking at each other. Whether Kasparov is the GOAT or not, there is no debate that he is one of the greatest chess players to ever live. Did you enjoy reading that section? If you want to read about people who influenced chess, be sure to read this incredible blog here ! You seen all of the greats, their incredible games, and their amazing way of playing the game. Now, we will be looking at Part Two, where we can look on how to improve our chess! Part Two: Which One Is Better For Chess and How To Play It? This part two. We will be looking at ways to improve our chess using both styles! Because noobs to experts read my blog, I have split this part into two sections. The first one is a interview from @Kowarenai, a top blogger, and the second one is about the principles of each style for beginners! I hope you learn something. Enjoy! Question One Question Two Question Three Table Of Content Which One Is Better For Chess This is a short section but an important one! We will be discussing three questions, with @Kowarenai, a Top Blogger, and Twitch Streamer! How much of each style should one have? Q = How much of a mix of the two styles should a person have? @Kowernai = "I think it's quite important for a player to have a universal style in the game of chess as you have to be versatile and open-minded in the position you are given, not just be brutally aggressive or play too passively. A strong player with a sense of good tactical and positional understanding will know how to find resources and have good intuition, especially in endgames which are my favorite type of game. @Lightning = "I think it is best to have the ability to play both ways depending on what the position demands. If I know an opponent is a positional player, I'm going to do my best to make a mess on the board. If I know they play tactically, I'm not afraid to it positional to inconvenience them. So I suppose my answer to your question is yes." So, study tactics, study strategy, and other material to be “fluent” in these styles, and to the whole game. Moving on. How to improve at both styles? Q = What are things that a player can do to improve their positional and tactical chess? @Kowernai = "As for how to improve your tactical vision I would say it's just a matter of experience playing against other tactical players and learning off their thought process during the games. You remember the ideas they approach and how they always try to incorporate some of double-edged moves. at the same time, it's important to do this if you want to learn how to play more positionally but are only good at tactical positions which is why I would recommend playing people who do positional games." @Lightning = "Well, for me, I improve my tactical chess by doing a cr*p ton of tactics training. As for positional chess, it has taken me tons and tons of analyzing my own games, masters games, and playing against the computer in custom positions meant for practicing positional playstyle, to learn how to play positional chess better. At the end of the day thought, if you're just playing chess and making good solid moves every move, that'll get the job done. For a while, that worked for me. Against masters... not so much." So I caught a few things in these helpful answers which is – “Remember the ideas they approach”, “Incorporate some of the double-edged moves.”, and most importantly “Its just a matter of experience playing against players and learning their thought process” Play against players that know their style well, and see what ideas you pick up. If you know much about Aggressive openings, then you should play against people who play Aggressive openings, and vise versa. Let’s see his answer for the last question. How much of a style would you recommend? How much of both styles would you recommend to lower rated players? ( - 1800) @Kowernai = "In whichever way you go about it you improve either your tactical vision or positional awareness. if you end up having a good mix of both it will be extremely beneficial for your chess as your intuition and pattern recognition will improve greatly which is why I find it great. I would however only recommend these types of ideas if you are trying to aim for something serious in chess. online is not good for improvement as it's like a limited achievement but not a Commendable one like OTB. For 1800 I strongly recommend them to play solid but tactically so again just a mix of both cause many people at that level will either hang pieces or have too many positional liabilities which you can take advantage of in the endgames." "You want to be the guy who keeps the game easy and in a way has more cards that can be dealt. even if your moves aren't great you still have moves that in a way can be used as bluffs that might even help you win the game. As the quote usually states "it's better to have some plan than no plan" or something like that and while its very cheesy it still makes a lot of sense though I find that hilarious haha. overall just play solid and wait for your opponents to simply be pressured and crumble that's it." @Lightning = I'd say just play whichever style appeals to you more and create an opening repertoire based on that style. Play to your style as much as you can, but be aware of how to play the other style. Personally, I like to make a mess on the board, I'll be aggressive, but I've learned how to play positional if I need to. I just usually try to make it tactical if I can cause that's my preferred style. So... yeah, play your preferred style, and be aware of the other style and how to handle it to some extent." Ok, that was a long answers! I suggest you read their answers, but here is my short summary of it. Have a good mix of both. You want to know what to do in any case. So, learn both. I again suggest you read all of their answers, and be sure to check their blogs out! How to play Positionally In this section, I will tell you the Positional Principles. You will be shown example positions, tips, and other things that will help you on your chess journey. Enjoy! Placing Pieces Controlling the Battlefield Slowey Invading Tables Of Content Placing Pieces The key to playing positional chess is to control space. And of course, to get space, you have to place your pieces carefully. Let’s take a look at this position. 87654321abcdefgh In this position, it appears that Black has a small advantage. Black’s bishop has far more range than White’s, but that’s about it. If you were White, what would you do? A beginner may not see this but an average player would bring the rooks to an open file, open up the bishop, and maybe move the knight to the center. That’s playing positionally to control more space. You would want to control the center right at the start, and get pieces out on the open board. Also, pawns are important. They are sort of the “backbone” of the game. They control squares, and eventually in the endgame you get to push them to promotion. So, the pawn structure is important. 87654321abcdefgh 1. c5 Positional chess in the opening is a struggle for space, mainly the center. Because if you control the center, then you can use your pieces to control many squares. Let’s see the benefits of this much space. Control the center right at the start, and get pieces out on the open board. Care about your pawn structure, as they can control important squares. Place your rooks on open files, and your bishops on open diagonals. Controlling the Battlefield You seen how to take space, but how does that benefit you? There is also the question on how to sabotage your opponent. (In the game, not in real life 🔥) Have you ever played a game, but you can’t move your pieces around without it being captured? Many of us had these frustrating games. Fortunately, you can also make your opponent feel this way, 87654321abcdefgh We are in a bit of an endgame right now, but this simple position perfectly demonstrates how to annoy your opponent. Black can’t move any of their pieces without capture, and White has a passed pawn to promote. You may not get into simple positions like this, but this shows that the more space you have, the less your opponent has. I feel like people sometimes only care about their plans. They must remember, that their opponent has plans too, and they can be dangerous! This is a reminder, that you should look at how to stop your opponent’s plans, as much as focusing on your own plans. 87654321abcdefgh 1. Nd3 Nd7 2. Nf2 Nf6 I feel like people sometimes only care about their plans. They must remember, that their opponent has plans too, and they can be dangerous! This is a reminder, that you should look at how to stop your opponent’s plans, as much as focusing on your own plans. Take space at your opponent’s territory to make their life a lot harder! Also look into how to stop your opponents plans. Knight outposts, Pawns cramping your position, and your opponent controlling the center are all very dangerous to you. Try to stop that! Slowey Invading This is the last thing I will talk about. Invading, positionally… Typically, in a positional game, you cramp down on the opponent’s position. It can turn into an endgame, or you can find a nice checkmate, or, you start playing tactically and mount an attack. More on that later. A lot on how to invade is on the last section, Controlling the Battlefield. But there are other ways to win against an opponent, which is to try to get some advantages. It can be a small advantage or a big one. At the position below, we have two advantages, doubled rooks, and a Knight outpost on d5. This position can be converted into a winning position after moving Re7, which means we control the 7th rank. Little things like these can be converted into large advantages. Or you can try converting a temporary advantage into a permanent one. 87654321abcdefgh You reached the end on how to play positionally. However, there is one final piece of advice I will give you noobs out there. Don’t Rush. Being ambitious is good, however, many beginners will try to sacrifice unnecessarily and think they are Magnus Carlson. Don’t fall for that. We will now study Tactical, or Aggressive chess. Try to convert small advantages into large ones. Use advantages wisely, and try not to lose it. Don’t let your opponent try to countermeasure. Try to find hidden advantages and exploit them. Don’t sacrifice for a better position if you don’t know what you’re doing. Don’t rush. It takes time to win a game of chess. How to Play Tactically If playing positionally is not your thing, then I will show you how to be aggressive. Or, if you are playing positionally, but it is a good time to start an attack, where do you start? Well, in this section, I will show you some key tips to show you how to play. How To Attack When To Attack Tables Of Content How To Attack Let’s get to the fun part, how to attack. Almost every player would love to give a quick attack which leads to a quick mate, but how do you do it? This position is in the middle of the Opera Game, which was seen in this section. Morphy is going to deliver checkmate in a few moves, but let’s take a look at this position. As we can see here, Morphy has three pieces pointing at the king. But how about the defenders? There are four pieces, so it may look like its not the time to attack. However, this is not the case. You will also have to learn when to attack. I’ll explain later. 87654321abcdefgh An important key idea in aggressive chess, is to exploit weaknesses. Let’s restudy the position. I said there were around four pieces that is defending the king, but take a look at the Knights. The two knights are pinned to either the King or the queen. Knowing that at least one piece is immobilized is useful, so now the ratio is around four attacking pieces to three defending pieces. But maybe there can be more attacking pieces. And also, how do you bring in the attack? 87654321abcdefgh 13. Rxd7 Rxd7 14. Rd1 To attack, you must remove key defenders, then invade. Morphy starts attacking at move 13, and sacrifices DA ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!!!!!!!!!! It may seem like a bad trade off, because a rook is worth more then a knight, but the knight is very important, as he is a defender. (Or she, I don’t know piece pronouns. 🤷♂️) You should also try to bring more pieces to the attack. Morphy sacrificed an attacker, to remove a defender, but now, he brings in a reinforcement, another rook. What’s essential for an attack, is coordinating your pieces. 1-0 87654321abcdefgh 16. Qb8+ Nxb8 17. Rd8# 1-0 Paul Morphy removed more defenders, and then finally checkmated in 17 moves, using the bishop and rook. If you learn the art of attacking, then you can have exciting games, like these. Make sure you have at least two more attackers then defenders. Trade off key defenders. Try to bring more pieces to the attack. Remember, piece coordination is important! Sacrifice, Trade, and Checkmate, that is the final moves of an attack. When to Attack This section will be a short, but important one, possibly the most important in attacking. When to attack. When looking where to attack, you must look for favorable imbalances. Take a look at this position. Should you attack? Look at the imbalances, like how many pieces are pointing at the kingside, or how many pieces are defending the kingside. 87654321abcdefgh There is no real reason to plant in an attack, as the best option is to play positionally. You should look on how to take more space, and maybe try to stop your opponent’s plan as well. If you do try to attack the king on every game, then chances are, you might lose. Jeremy Silmon calls this the “Curse of the Mindless King Hunter”. 87654321abcdefgh Another thing is, that you don’t have to attack just the king. Sure, checkmate is the goal, but you must try to attack at all sides of the board. Take a look at this famous game. We see this game again in this blog, but look how he is invading the queenside. Now, Gata Kamsky, the one controlling the Black pieces didn’t win, but look how dangerous it was for Karpov! And you reached the end of how to attack. There are so much more to learn, but I can only teach you the basics, so you must study on your own, to move on, to become a great attacker. Attack if the imbalances at the enemy kingside works in your favor. Don’t attack if there is no need to; don’t attack at every chance you get. Don’t attack if your opponent can defend, or counterplay. If you do attack, make sure your opponents can’t stop it! Don’t rush, coordinate your pieces. It is better to wait to bring out a successful attack, then to attack now, and lose right at the spot! Looks like you made it. Thanks for reading! I’m guessing you notice how long this blog is. But the truth is, this is the result after hours of grinding. I was so busy, and the free time I had, was used for procrastinating! But I had to finish this blog somehow. Good writing, annotating, image editing, and all of the other skills needed for a blog takes a lot of work! And I want to have a special thanks for @AstroTheoretical_Physics, my opponent in BlogChamps, for helping me on some topics, @Kowernai, and @Lightning to provide helpful answers to my interviews, @The_turtlepro for helping me on specific blog skills, @Admiral_ChessBeard, who draw these really cool knights in my thumbnail, and @Mugiwara, for inspiring me to do this topic. This was a huge project, and I’m glad to nearly finish it. There will be a second part later on. More blogs like this to come, as I want to continue to improve, and get the top blogger position. Comment your thoughts on this blog, and I will see you soon. I hope you enjoyed this blog. : D
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