A few ideas you can roll with depending on which you like best:
Don't navigate them. Take your fist and knock them all of the table, or throw them at your opponent.
Resign immediately every time there's a closed position.
Use a compass, sextant, or GPS.
Wear a captain's hat and say "ahoy!" to get yourself in the mood for navigating.
Don't ever let a closed position come up on the board ever again in your entire life.
Look for pawn breaks
Superior development is increasingly important the more OPEN the position is.
This means that in closed positions, piece development is a minor concern. Piece POSITIONING with respect to Pawn levers is the most critical factor. Planning and maneuvering are more relevant (in closed positions) than rapid development.
Here's a game I played against an FM. It went into a closed position that looked rather bad for me. See if you can figure out what I should do...
your rated higher then me.....but trade off the bishops an use your knights or a pawn break
your rated higher then me.....but trade off the bishops an use your knights or a pawn break
*how do you trade bishop in a closed position*
If you give away all your bishops for knights and your opponent opens the position then you're in trouble.
"nubbycheeseking" had the right idea; when the center is somewhat locked, you have to look for pawn breaks--attacking the center with a flank pawn--to get play. Obviously you have to pick the right flank pawn, and prepare your break, but without a pawn break, it's almost impossible to activate your pieces.
I find it hard to navigate closed positions. Any tips?
Well this is why I play them! If you learn closed positions you can gain rating quickly especially online.
because tactics aren’t supreme in closed positions, you’ll need to know optimal piece placement, key pawn breaks, plans, strategies, and nuances of about 20+ pawn structures.
personally I learned all my strategy from opening books, where they have complete games.
I find it hard to navigate closed positions. Any tips?