How you Handle the situation?

A lot has been written on magazines and chess book about how to control position when you are a piece up or how to convert the material advantage to a beautiful win.

Well since i am a very very very weak player i dont need to know about it for now

BUT i want to know how to handle situation when i am a piece down or positionally worse. Well i don't know honestly positional play, i am a player who always end up blundering. So pliz pliz pliz i need your valuable suggestions as how to control my game when i am in a worse position.

Hi Tin_Basu,

I can provide some advice, but there is probably other useful information that more experienced players than myself can offer.

1. Do not let your emotions (fear, etc.) get the best of you. If you allow yourself to be carried away with emotion, then you might miss a move or idea that improves your position.

2. Look for the weakest points in your position, and keep the pieces that protect these weaknesses. If you allow more weaknesses to appear, your opponent might catch onto this. It is even harder to defend a difficult position when you have several weaknesses that are being targeted.

3. If your opponent begins an attack, don't blindly trade your pieces. The reason for this is that at some point you might have an opening in the position which will allow you to gain counterplay. Counterplay, I believe, is the ability to essentially turn things around, so that you can start taking control.

4. Try not to let your opponent's inactive pieces become active. If your opponent has a piece or two that aren't doing very much, don't play in such a way that allows these pieces to become active.

5. If you can't find any ways of changing the game around in your favour, try to eliminate the weaknesses in your position, and wait for your opponent to slip. But always be on the lookout for ways of taking control of the game.

I'm sure others can add more, but I hope this helps in some way.

There are a few other things to keep in mind:

1) Those down material should try to trade pawns.  Those up material should be trying to trade pieces.  Yeah, everyone likes the flashy mates, but they aren't necessary.  Which is easier to win?  You have a Queen, 2 Rooks, Both Bishops, 1 Knight, and 7 pawns while your opponent has a Queen, 2 Rooks, Both Bishops, 1 Knight, and 4 pawns?  Or You have a Rook and 4 pawns, your opponent has a Rook and 1 pawn?  Clearly the latter!  The trading of the pawns, for him or her down material, is to open up lines for the pieces and to at least try to be active.

2) Unless it's forced because you'll lose material otherwise, or doing so will allow you to win material, DO NOT INITIATE TRADES!  This is VERY Important.  Think of it this way.  Let's say the only open file in your position is the d-file.  White has a Rook on d1, and another on a1, where the a1 rook is basically doing nothing.  Black has a Rook on d8 and a Rook on f8, the one on f8 basically doing nothing.  If White plays Rxd8, Black can recapture with Rxd8, and now Black has a Rook on the open file, and White doesn't.  White has to waste another move to play his other Rook to d1.  If White moves another piece.  Let's say a Knight.  Then Black plays Rxd1, then White can play Rxd1, and after Black plays Rd8, it is now White's move instead of Black's, and also got the extra Knight move in.  This leads to the old adage:  "THE INTITATOR OF ANY TRADE ALWAYS LOSES A TEMPO!".  This leads to one form of the simple concept called Tension.  Both players want the other side to initiate the trade.  Both sides are going to try to force it, UNLESS one can win material when they initiate.  For example, let's say the Rook on f8 is the only thing covering f7 (The Black King went to h8).  NOW 1.Rxd8 wins a pawn IF first off, Black can only recapture on d8 with his f8 Rook and secondly, the Bishop doesn't get trapped afterwards.

3) Capture towards the center in a middlegame.  Capture towards the outside in an endgame.  In the middlegame, pawns in the center control key squares.  Pawns on d4 and e4 are more useful than pawns on h6 and g5.  So if you have a trade early on, let's say White plays hxg6.  Black will usually, if he is able to, want to take back with the h-pawn, not the f-pawn.  HOWEVER, in an endgame, Black might very well prefer to play fxg6 because the pawns are further away from the center.  Let's say you are in a Rook ending.  Both sides have pawns on the a and b files.  Black has d and e pawns, White has g and h pawns.  If the kings were to eat up the pawns, White's king would be near the queenside, Black's would be out in la la land.  White will likely win.  Center pawns can be reached in a few moves from any location, but if you have to capture pawns on the g- and h- files, it will take your king for ever to get back to the queenside.

Really it was very helpful.. All the three comments i have read words by words ,again and again.. Thank you guys for this superb useful comments!!.

I would just recommend studying tactics getting past 1100 blitz is easy.. U just don't blunder and u should win

Okay

Tin_Basu, to survive a position where you find yourself worse, you must stay in the game mentally with no thought of giving in.  Hang tough and pick apart every slip by your opponent.  Make your opponent show the ideas to convert the win; chances are they won't have all the ideas necessary.  I have saved many games through grim determination.  Also, endgame skill is important.  If your opponent is trying to convert a superior position they will want to reduce material to an ending.  If you know endings well you can see everything they do wrong.  Endings offer opportunities such as to steer the game towards something like opposite bishops or useless rook's pawn.  Your mentality has to be so tough, you might imagine putting excrement in their champagne.

Thats an important point. Thanks!