Meh
Can someone explain to me positional play, weaknesses, and potential targest?
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if u reach end games w/ a piece up your quite the chess player!How do u do it ?
Well I mean, most people at my rating don't notice tactics... or they just flat out drop one.
You have to look to create and then exploit positional advantages like weak squares or weak square complexes and/or pawns, your space versus your opponents (especially in the center), mobility (which is closely related to space), your king safety vs. your opponents, and the pawn structure. Tactics are important but as you continue to progress, you'll notice that fewer and fewer tactical mistakes are made. You will then realize that you have to exploit relatively subtle features of the position which is the purpose of the opening.
*which are created (for the most part) in the opening.
@ ibastrikov
There may be fewer elementary tactics or I guess I mean fewer elementary tactical blunders, but there are still tons of tactics... I'd say more tactics are involved in professional play, even if just in the variations.
dinkir9 wrote:
I've been really lacking lately on identifying potential targets. I have an understanding of weaknesses and positional play... But could someone also describe to me how to maintain an advantage throughout the game? I mean im very strong at opening and middle game (usually up a piece by the endgame) but i always end up falling apart from a serious attack my opponent generates.
This seems a little contradictory :p You understand positional play and weaknesses but can't identify targets? Then the advice is very simple, target the weaknesses. (Or be a little more clear with your question?)
Ignoring that the answer is necessarily ludicrously complex. The idea is you convert one advantage into another at the right time. So you give up your space advantage to win a pawn, then you give back the pawn for better minor piece, then you trade off your good minor piece for his bad one but you get a favorable endgame because of a passed pawn. Then you give up your passed pawn to get a very active king and rook, and then he's faced with mate or losing lots of pawns.
The list is really endless, and so is the technique required to pull it off in every game.
But maybe you mean a winning advantage. In this case it's about eliminating your opponent's counterplay. So if you can't continue attacking / forcing play, it's time to shore up weaknesses. Maybe their idea is a pawn break or activating a piece or attacking a side of the board. You have to find the right idea to counter it... can be directly (physically stop a pawn break) or indirectly (countering with a different plan). This is still very difficult to do correctly all the time (which is what makes chess so fun).
Chess starts out in a balanced position. So being up a piece by the endgame isn't a function of your strength, but your opponent's weakness. Clearly. Otherwise you'd be the best player in the world right? :p
Which goes back to the art of winning a won game. A chess position has 64 squares, not 32. You have to take into account your opponent's pieces and plans. If you're up a piece but he has a crushing attack, then you're losing and "winning" the piece was a blunder. So when deciding what to do, test your move by first finding your opponent's most annoying move or idea. If he has 4 attackers on your kingside to your 1 defender, you can't afford to win any material on the queenside... he will definitely attack, so you have to defend.
Again this list goes on and on, and the technique required to do it correctly can't be contained in a single post. Giving us one of your games or a position you found difficult would help people give you more specific advice.
I have the same problem. My rating is seemingly underinflated, because of 2 things: I usually make a serious blunder, and I can't play positionally. In a sharp game, I can easily hold my own against 1500s, and I've been winning for most of my games against 1750s (until I blunder).
So when I play against 1200s and 1300s in a sharp game, I am clearly the "better" player. (in OTB, don't look at my online games, because I just blitz) I am usually up at least a few pawns, quite often I'm up a piece, an exchange, and a couple pawns. Yet somehow, I just manuever myself into a junk position, and I lose the endgame (often accompanied by a blunder of a piece, after which I STILL have more material, yet still lose).
No way Becky, didn't you read his post? He understand positional play, and is very strong at openings and middlegames. There's no way he needs advice as basic as "remember to castle"
/sarcasm 
Obviously looking for help is pointless... So I didn't say everything perfectly... so what? I just need to know how to improve further and avoid making serious blunders. Becky definitely said the right thing, I'm pushing my pawns too much. I necessarily try to avoid moving my kingside pawns but my queenside pawns I move freely.
I definitely do need to work on my defense yes. It's all about identifying "the weak link" for me, or in other words, finding a target to constrain my opponent. Heres one position I had a little trouble in:
all good advice cheers
Well there's a big difference between saying it perfectly and saying it poorly :p But yeah I knew what you meant and chose to mess with word play instead of looking at your games. Lots of people ask for help, sometimes I don't want to put forth the effort and dig up their games and find their "real" questions for them. It's much handier for me if they post a game (like you did! yay!)
The King's Indian Defense is though to give general advice on, because as black you usually have to back up your play with calculated tactics (sacrificial kingside attacks).
But you played the c5-e6 thing which is fine, but hard in its own way... now instead of clear attacking ideas, the pawns are symmetrical, and there's only 1 open file to work with, so it's difficult for either side to generate any sizeable chances.
First a few ways I look at chess positions... In general I break moves into two types. Preparation and action. After action starts, it's too late to prepare, you're stuck with what you got. Also I think of things in terms of air or water pressure so to speak. Open files are where pressure can be released (and damage your opponent). A small opening (1 file) may not be big enough to pose problems... but you definitely need at least 1, or you'll just be stuck defending your opponent's file.
A more concrete positional lesson is the side of the board where you have more space is the side where you have more mobility, and is usually also the side you seek an advantage. Notice even the relative values of the pieces are determined by mobility. So certainly both players can use the same file, but it will be more difficult for the side with less space to make use of it. This is because the side with more space can always shift pressure to another area, and the side with less space can't react (no room to maneuver).
So in this game the e-file is more white's than black's. The pawns indicate black wants to break on the queenside. This also supports Black's pieces (the fianchettoed bishop for example). Otherwise black will have to resign himself to more or less passive defense... which is important. If you decide you can't open the queenside, then it's much better to recognize the need to defend. If as black you go nuts and break open the kingside, you'll probably just be helping your opponent.
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So those are some of the ideas that govern what I'm about to tell you. Pawns dictate what side of the board you have mobility (space), and lack of pawns (open files) are where you can apply pressure.
In the game structure (structure = pawns formation, which as we saw tell us tons about positional features) Black often tries for his b5 break starting with Na6 (intending moves like Nc7 and if necessary can follow up with a6 Rb8, Qd7). Why? Because the quenside is where he has space.
If white locks down b5 by playing a4, then he gives you a great outpost on b4. Such a move is counter-intuitive for white anyway. White will try to use the center (maybe pressure d6?) and/or the kingside.
So your play looked completely normal until maybe move 12...Nbd7. Objectively is this a bad move? No! But I think it will give you practical problems because play will be very difficult (impossible?) to generate. e.g. black really can't eye the b5 break anymore... so what's he doing? I guess Ng4-e5 (another common type of maneuver) But after h3 I don't know. White seems to have clear ideas (kingside and d6 pawn) while black is solid but not active. If this suits you, and you're willing to wait and pick your moment, then great. But know that if you get impatient you'll likely end up hurting your position.
The other move I want to mention is 16...h5 which is entirely the wrong idea. Any pawn move in front of your king weakens it's position. You just played h6 to take away g5... and now you give g5 to white more or less permanently. And now white can try to attack... in the game he missed 20.f5 which is logical and strong.
Instead he played 20.b4. This is a move black would normally have to pay his opponent to make! Wow, after giving up all hope on the queenside you mean white is going to open lines for me?! What a nice guy :) I'm not trying to disrespect you or your opponent, I'm saying this is how you should recognize this kind of move. Can you play cxb5? No, it's pinned... but so what, no matter what there will be a pawn capture on the queenside. Regardless of who makes it lines will open, and boom -- instant play for black.
Lets say white goes f5 after b5. Yeah there's a lot going on, all over the board, but again, just in simple terms, this is how you should regard that kind of move.
I think I get it now, I play solid but not... active enough? Is that correct? Also instead of 12. nbd7 would na6 be better? Looking for nb4?
I have no idea what your style is :) If you purposely discarded the b5 idea during the game, then yes, you play solid. If you played Nbd7 because it's a logical (and good) developing move, then you accidentally played not active :p
A knight on b4 would be very nice for black. Unfortunately white can always kick it away with a3. Na6 is a normal move in that position, but the real idea behind it is to put it on c7 where it support b5. Sometimes you can even play b5 as a temporary sacrifice to undermine white's d5 pawn.
Infact there's an entire opening that revolves around the idea of b5 generating queenside play for black... and it's even a pawn sac! It's called the Benko gambit:
BTW we all accidentally do things in our games. Not too long ago I was playing at my club and I kept going into a certain position. After 3 games my opponent told me that maybe the position was equal, but it was unnecessary to give him ____ idea on the kingside... it just made my life harder. I hadn't considered it before he mentioned it, and was thankful he did, so now I can look at that (and similar) positions differently.
Thanks for the advice!
Taorankings.com
dinkir9 wrote:
Obviously looking for help is pointless... So I didn't say everything perfectly... so what? I just need to know how to improve further and avoid making serious blunders. Becky definitely said the right thing, I'm pushing my pawns too much. I necessarily try to avoid moving my kingside pawns but my queenside pawns I move freely.I definitely do need to work on my defense yes. It's all about identifying "the weak link" for me, or in other words, finding a target to constrain my opponent. Heres one position I had a little trouble in:
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After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 you have entered the Classical Variation of the King's Indian Defense. I am reasonably sure you know this. However, after 6...c5 (which is a playable alternative strike in the center) Black will have to be willing to play a Benoni if White chooses to transpose with 7.d5, or a transposition to the Sicilian after 7.0-0 cxd4 8.Nxd4. Very few players play the King's Indian in order to play 6...c5.
Are you one of those few players? Or did your "natural assessment" (no actual working knowledge of the openings or opening repertoire) of the position lead you to select 6...c5 as the most positionaly advantageous for Black?
I've been really lacking lately on identifying potential targets. I have an understanding of weaknesses and positional play... But could someone also describe to me how to maintain an advantage throughout the game? I mean im very strong at opening and middle game (usually up a piece by the endgame) but i always end up falling apart from a serious attack my opponent generates.