Help Improving?

Hi, I could use some help with learning chess theory and developing a plan after playing a book opening. If I play white, I start with king's pawn and attempt a fried liver attack (which only occasionally works). As black I play the Sicilian against 1. e4 and the Horowitz defense against 1. d4. My main problem usually arises when both my opponent and I are developed, but I can't find any attacking opportunities. I do strategy practice, but that doesn't always help.

Can anyone recommend some practice exercises or tutorial videos that actually improved your chess?

Much thanks.

I am the last one anyone ought to seek chess advice from, but... do I spy a Fibonacci sequence?

Yes, and you're the first to notice

Honaloochi Boogie? Had to look that one up and I don't like the song... And sorry I meant Horwitz defense (https://www.chess.com/openings/A40_Horwitz_Defense)

How to transition from opening to middlegame is a common question. One thing you can do is to post a specific game of yours in the Openings or Analysis forum, since each opening has its own standard plans. "The Amateur's Mind" is a decent book about that transition--the idea is to find imbalances in the position--though that book is slow reading. There also exist some general tips on attacking, though they aren't tailored to specific openings or specific positions.

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(p. 1)
      IMBALANCES

   The heart of my system of training is based on an understanding of
the dynamic and static differences (known as imbalances) that exist
in every position. By recognizing the different imbalances in a given
situation, a player of virtually any strength can understand what his
responsibilities are towards that position with relative ease.
   Note that I used the word "responsibilities." A player can't do
anything he wishes to do. For example, if you love to attack, you
can't go after the enemy King in any and all situations. Instead,
you have to learn to read the board and obey its dictates. If the
board wants you to attack the King, then attack it. If the board
wants you to play in a quiet positional vein, then you must follow
that advice to the letter.

Silman, Jeremy. 1999. The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery, 2nd Edition/Expanded. Los Angeles, CA: Siles Press.

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(p. 86)
      GENERAL ADVICE ON THE MIDDLE GAME

The queen's function in the middle game is that of a general ;
she should be kept as mobile as possible, ready to go to any
part of the board where an attack develops. Isolated raids
by the queen are usually as bad in the middle game as they
are in the opening. Use her in combination with the rooks
to support an attack on enemy backward pawns or in
controlling an open file ; in combination with the bishops in
long-range attacks on the enemy king (see Figures 49 and 50) ;
in similar combination with the knights ; and in supporting
a general advance of pawns on either flank.
   The rooks should be able to find open files as the middle
game proceeds, and from there they can aim at entry to the
enemy position (e.g. Figure 52). If there are no open files,
you can usually create them by advancing pawns with the
rooks behind them.
   The bishops are very strong on adjacent diagonals directed
against the opposing king. As pieces are exchanged and he
endgame approaches, it very often pays to switch the direction
of attack of your bishops to the queen's side, to support an
attack against the enemy pawns there. The bishops can also
often occupy weak squares in the centre and join from there
in supporting a king's side attack.
   The knights should look for secure squares in the centre
(see Figure 53) from which they cannot be driven away by
enemy pawns. If your opponent has an isolated pawn (one
which cannot be supported by its own pawns) the square in
front of it usually makes an ideal knight outpost for you. If
(p. 87)
you yourself have an isolated pawn, try and use the squares
which the pawn guards as knight outposts.
   The pawns must be handled with great care, for a bad pawn
formation is a great handicap (see Figures 53 and 54). In
particular, avoid the common mistake of leaving a lot of
pawns on the same coloured squares as your bishop (when
the other bishop has been exchanged). If you have both
bishops left, aim to exchange off the one most handicapped
by pawns and try to leave your opponent with such a bishop.
   Positively, you can use a mobile mass of pawns in a storming
advance on the enemy king (although make sure, if you have
castled on the same side as your opponent, that your own king
does not become too exposed as a result). If you have a
QRP and QKtP on the queen's side against your opponent's
QRP, QKtP, and QBP (a very common happening in
queen's side openings such as the Queen's Gambit), you can
advance your two pawns with a rook behind them ; when
pawn exchanges eventually take place as a result, you can
often arrange it that you have an open file for your rook and
your opponent has a backward pawn.
   Another quite common situation is a complete chain of
pawns across the board ; say White pawns at QR2, QKt2,
QB3, Q4, K5, KB4, KKt2, KR2 ; Black pawns at QR2,
QKt4, QB5, Q4, K3, KB2, KKt3, KR2. Here you should
aim to open files for your rooks by breaking through the base
of your opponent's chain ; this means that White aims at
P-KB5 and Black at P-QKt5.

Barden, Leonard. 1959. An Introduction to Chess Moves and Tactics Simply Explained. New York, N.Y.: Dover Publications, Inc.

Wow, thank you for that comment Sqod! That was just what I was looking for. I appreciate it!

You're welcome, though my own real interest is in how specific openings transition to the middlegame, and their associated plans. That's something I'm studying myself.

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(p. 2)

List of Imbalances

o Minor Pieces--the interplay between Bishops and Knights (trying to make one superior to the other).

o Pawn Structure--a broad subject that encompasses doubled pawns, isolated pawns, backward pawns, passed pawns, etc.

o Space--the annexation of territory on a chess board.

o Material--owning pieces of greater value than the opponent's.

o Files and squares--files, ranks, and diagonals act as pathways for your pieces, while squares act as homes. Whole plans can center around the domination of a file, or the creation of a weak square in the enemy camp.

o Development--a lead in development gives you more force in a specific area of the board. This is a temporary imbalance because the opponent will even-

tually catch up.

(p. 3)

o Initiative--dictating the tempo of a game. This is also a temporary imbalance. A complete explanation of these factors (and a detailed system of planning) can be found in my book, How to Reassess Your Chess--Third Edition. However, a "planning shortcut" can be created for learning to recognize the imbalances you're hoping to utilize and strive to make them better than the imbalances your opponent will be using. This brings us back to the earlier discussion of "reading the board." Can you "read" the position in diagram 1? Before you get carried away, let me remind you: DON'T look at individual moves! In fact, never calculate until you understand the basic components (imbalances) of the position. With this in mind, it's time for you to list all the imbalances you can find. Write this information down and then compare your work with the positional explanation that follows.

Silman, Jeremy. 1999. The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery, 2nd Edition/Expanded. Los Angeles, CA: Siles Press.

One suggestion, give up on trying to play the fried liver attack.

For black to allow the fried liver is a well known error.  You will only get the fried liver against weak players, sometimes.

I suggest studying grand master games in the openings you play.  That is the way to develop understanding of the positions that arise.

Thanks for that suggestion. What are your favorites for white? I've tried Queens gambit but I'm not good at it yet and I've lost a few times playing it. 

Ditto to forgetting about trying to get Black to play the Fried Liver Attack. Below are the main favored alternatives and outcome percentages. Note that to get to the Fried Liver both sides have to play less favored moves. For the best alternatives, just look at an opening database and select the moves with #1 (not #2) popularity: Ruy Lopez, etc.

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 {Ruy Lopez. #1 pop. w 39%.}
3. Bc4 {#2 pop. w 43%.}
   3...Bc5 {#1 pop. w 42%.}
   3...Nf6 {Two Knights Defense. #2 pop. w 42%.}
      4. d3 {#1 pop. w 40%.}
      4. Ng5 {#2 pop. w 48%.}
         4...d5 {#1 pop. w 46%.}
            5. exd5 {#1 pop. w 67%.}
               5...Na5 {#1 pop. w 43%.}
               5...Nxd5?! {#2 pop. w 63%.}
                  6. Nxf7 {Fried Liver Attack. #1 pop. w 74%.}
                     6...Kxf7 {w 73%.}

For someone seeking help with choosing openings, I usually bring up Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).

http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html

I believe that it is possible to see a fair portion of the beginning of Tamburro's book by going to the Mongoose Press site. Perhaps rachel011235 would also want to look at Discovering Chess Openings by GM Johm Emms (2006).

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

Well, I myself used to play 1d4 as white when I was playing in competition.

I played the delayed Saemisch Variation against the Nimzo Indian, the Saemisch [again] against the King's Indian, the flicknife attack [B-b5+ and f4]against the modern Benoni and lots of Qs Gambits.

This is not a path for those adverse to learning opening theory.

I don't want to recomend specific openings.  More important is studying model games, knowing what you are doing and being happy with the positions you get.  But be realistic, there is no formulae for beating better players.

At the risk of appearing inconsistant, I have heard of coaches saying no sicilians until your rating is over 2,200 [or higher].  Don't get me wrong, I played the sicilian too, copying my heroes.

But the positions are so complex they are beyond most club players [and better] and there is a ludicrous amount of theory.  And club players often avoid main lines.

Finally, is that picture you and your dog?

Why are you playing such openings if you are clueless as to what to do when you exit the opening phase?

Are you pulling openings out of a hat, or just saying to yourself "hmmmm....I want to play....uh......The NIMZO-INDIAN!" having absolutely not clue why you chose that except that it might be the first opening name that hit your head?

If you have zero clue what you are doing in the middlegame, it sounds like it's too early to be learning openings anyway, or even basing your initial moves on some "book line".  You should be studying Strategy, Tactics, and Endgames.  Going through the games of GMs from Pre-1950.

You need to get a general feel on what types of positions you actually understand, and which ones you are clueless on.  Some are better at what are called "static" positions.  Some are better with wild tactics and a mobile pawn center.  You need to actually study all of the middlegame ideas, and understand which aspects you are best at, and then base your choice of opening on that.

For example, let's say you do really well with highly blocked positions, particularly the center.  You understand the "Pawn-Pointing Theory" (If you don't know this, you aren't ready for openings), which states that in closed and blocked positions, the direction your pawns point dictates which side you should be attacking, even if his King is on the other side.  Being a master at blocked positions and understanding what to do with them suggests that the French and King's Indian are best for you as both involve blocked centers with play on the wings.

Using tactic puzzle positions to practice analysis was useful for me.

Without moving the pieces try to solve it to the end. Write down your solution (again without moving the pieces). Also write down any key variations. Try to visualize the last position in your calculation clearly.

If it's too hard to find a solution, don't guess. Now you can move the pieces (on an analysis board). Don't just check the moves you've been looking at, also look for new ideas, new move orders, etc. You can also check if you had visualized the end of a line correctly.

After this you can check the solution.

Any puzzle where you don't get the full solution (you need to find the best defensive moves too) save. I did mine from a book so I would make a mark by the puzzle that meant I failed to solve it. Wait at least a few days then try to solve a batch of these puzzles. Wait a few weeks and try again.

Try to take a short break every 50 minutes, and I don't recommend doing this type of exercise for more than 2 hours otherwise you wont be able to give much effort / concentration. The point is to strengthen your analysis and visualization so tired practice doesn't help as much. The puzzles should be difficult enough that they take you at least a few minutes to solve.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone. I will keep the words of wisdom in mind as I continue my chess journey. 

Yes it is.

Finally, are you a replicant? 

A what? lol

Sorry, bad joke. Forget it. 

BLADE RUNNER :D

Actually, they are quite helpful.  Likely more so if your picture is of an attractive woman.