Defending While Attacking

I find that when I see an opening, I get excited and make an aggressive move that many times seems to backfire on me. I seem to fail at properly defending myself before I become offensive, which many times makes me hesitant. Does anybody else run into this dilemna?

I'd love some feedback.

You might try:

Immediately after each of your opponent's moves, ask yourself: "What's the threat?" Then look for everything that he might be trying to do.

Immediately before each of your own moves, ask yourself the Marathon Man question: "Is it safe?" Then look for every opportunity that your proposed move might give him.

Its always good to look for "safe" checks (forces opponent to move), and when you see a check possibility, look for forced checkmates.

Always remember that if a move of an opponent might seen stupid to you, its probably good for them.  

Look at the opportunity that the move might give him. Right. I find myself making a move and not seeing the consequences until after. I need to envision what could happen before I move.

Thanks!

Ya know it's funny. That happened to me a couple of days ago. Somebody I was playing made a move that made me scratch my head. I didn't think it was a good move, but then I saw the value of it a couple of minutes later. I guess it makes sense not to assume somebody's move is a bad one.

The safe check is a good point too. I've found myself putting a king in check but it doesn't create anything positive for me. I need to avoid the wasted move.

Thanks!

When you see a pointless check opportunity, keep it in mind. A position may soon develop where a good, tempo-gaining check is just what you need, e.g., when it discovers an attack on another piece at the same time. (But there are other instances.)

I see. So sometimes you can use it as the beginning of a possible new attack strategy. That's a new way for me to look at it.

Thanks!

Instead of just making aggressive moves, only make a move if it helps you positionally or is a forced win tactically. Dont make a pointless threat that is easily countered that leaves you in a bad position. Develop your pieces all towards a specific goal. The goal could be to control and place a piece on a certain square, it could be to Make a pawn break somewhere, or it could even be to control a diagonal or a file. Otherwise you are left making haphazord threats that leave you in worse off positions.

Also, if you see an aggressive move, consider if it wouldn't be even better if you developed another piece first while still threatening to play that move.

I started playing when I was 15 or so, and in some tournament I sacrificed a piece near my opponent's long-castled king, it looked dangerous. Then I start bringing in extra pieces and _just_ failed to mate him.

An older player who had been watching told me afterwards: "bring the pieces first, _then_ sacrifice." I'm not forgetting that :-)

I've made that mistake many times. I've played a lot of computer chess for the last couple of years before I joined this site. No one makes a bigger fool out of you than a computer opponent when you make a mistake. I got so tired of sitting back and getting picked apart, so I learned how important it is to becoming aggressive. But I learned that you have to be careful when you attack, because a good opponent will mess up your game with one wrong move. But it's good to be reminded of those points.

Thanks!

 I definitely need to work on my attacking skills. I find that to be the toughest part of the game for me. Like I said to the other player who gave me some good advice, I've been playing a lot of computer chess for the last couple of years. And what you talked about - failing to mate - is something I've done many times. The computer opponent many times will do something I'm not expecting and develop an area on me and put me in an even worse situation than I already thought I was in. I have to learn how to do that myself.

Thanks!