Is it better to be a solid positional player or an aggressive positional player?

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Cubronzo_old
What do you think?
urk
It's better to be a solidly aggressive positional attacking player who uses prophylaxis.
GodsPawn2016

Play the board...

Cubronzo_old

urk wrote:

It's better to be a solidly aggressive positional attacking player who uses prophylaxis.

If you could merge Tal and Nimzowich that might be possible

MickinMD

Toujours l'attaque! - Napoleon Bonaparte

Quotes me whose current 3-day game's first 20 moves saw only two Knights and three Pawns leave the board (I'm a pawn up).

It all depends on the situation in the game:

 

On a warm summer's evening, in a train bound for nowhere,

I met a chess master, we were both too tired to sleep.

So we took turns a-staring out the window at the darkness,

'Til boredom overtook us and he began to speak:

He said, "Son, I've made a life out of reading chess positions,

And knowing what their plans were by the way they placed their knights,

So if you don't mind my saying, I can see your lost in the middlegame,

For a taste of your whisky, I'll give you some advice."

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow,

Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.

Then the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.

Said, "If you're gonna play the game boy, you better learn to play it right,

 

Cause you got to know when to attack them, know when to stack them,

Know when to fork away and when a pin is fun.

You never count your captured pieces while your sitting at the table,

There'll be time enough for counting when the game is done."

 

"Every player knows that the secret to survival,

Is knowing what to trade away and knowing what to keep.

Cause every side's a winner, and every side's a loser,

And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

And when he'd finished speaking he turned back toward the window,

Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.

And somewhere in the darkness, the master he broke even,

But in his final words I found a checkmate I could keep:

 

Cause you got to know when to attack them, know when to stack them,

Know when to fork away and when a pin is fun.

You never count your captured pieces while your sitting at the table,

There'll be time enough for counting when the game is done.

MechHand

Attacking players probably have more fans I would definitely say attacking, but if you had two programed computers of each style the positional chess computer would probably win in a perfect game

Cali_boy613
urk wrote:
It's better to be a solidly aggressive positional attacking player who uses prophylaxis.

😂, that would be the most entertaining player ever. He'd start with the Berlin defense, then sacrifice his queen on move 8, exchange and try to open up the game, followed immediately by h6 and a6,  then try to close the pawn structure, sacrifice both rooks, and transpose into a variation of the pirc.

shcherbak
MechHand wrote:

Attacking players probably have more fans I would definitely say attacking, but if you had two programed computers of each style the positional chess computer would probably win in a perfect game

Tbh, when I see game of two Super GMs I hardly can say who is attacking.

jonesmikechess

Positional players are weak.  When you mate the King, it doesn't matter if you have a bad pawn structure.

fieldsofforce

Cubronzo wrote:

Is it better to be a solid positional player or an aggressive positional player?

What do you think?

                                                    ____________________________________

 

Is it better to be a solid positional player or an aggressive positional player?

solid positional player  -  is the same as being a conservative positional player

It all has to do with how you KILL COUNTERPLAY

It all has to do with how you deal  with counterplay.   No matter what the perspective you have to KILL COUNTERPLAY.  There is no way to calculate exactly.  So you have to choose what counterpaly to kill.  It is usually not  possible to kill all counterplay.  An example is a pawn break that the defending  side  needs to equalize the  position.  The conservative positional player would lean to preventing the pawn break.  The aggressive positional player would seek to find a way to kill counterplay in  the  position  that  results after the  pawn break move is made  The conservative positional player's view is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  The aggressive positional player's perspective is Kill Counterplay  wherever possible  and whenever not possible keep in mind that every  move is a doubledged sword.  Find what about the enemy's move that could not be prevented is the cutting edge against the enemy.  Use that edge to maximum effect.

There are other examples. 

Cherub_Enjel

An aggressive player only chooses aggressive options when there's an equal choice, while a positional player chooses the quieter, subtle option when there's an equal choice.

Both of the players will play the other "style" if it's just a better move.

The weak player who claims to have a style will play in that "style", even if it's a bad move.

Caulin_26546

If you have more pieces than them you should be aggressive and trade/sacrifice pieces a lot because when it comes down to the last couple pieces the one that they are missing will really count. tongue.png

fieldsofforce
urk wrote:
It's better to be a solidly aggressive positional attacking player who uses prophylaxis.

 

No fair using techniques from My system.  Besides doesn't  prophylaxis have to do with brith control or is it deus ex machina.

ArgoNavis

You can find a deep insight into those players here:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/positionally-aggressive-players

Cherub_Enjel

Anatoly Karpov himself said in an interview: "If I see an aggressive option that's the best, I will go for it", and that "if there are several approximately equal opportunities, I will go for the simplification". 

This is what "style" is in chess. 

urk
Good comments by Cherub as usual!
Karpov thought he had no particular style but it sure seems to me he did.
fieldsofforce

 

Mr. Mojork wrote in his topic:  Is this truly a draw?

This is from a tournament game I played a few weeks back. I could not see a way to a win as black, with that knight hopping around out there, and offered a draw.

I've been told since, "Man, you've got to play that one out. It's easier for you to not lose it than it is for him to win it."

 

Point taken, but can anyone find a win for black here?

 

 

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¥
 

 

This is the perfect example of the assessment your typical aggressive positional player.             

 

There may not have been a clear win, but I think Black would be able to get some chances by bringing his King to g3 and pushing the Kingside pawns. Even if you can't force a win, you have some serious practical chances (after all, your opponent isn't a computer!) Seeing as you won't lose (in absence of a big mistake) you probably should've played on here, at least for a while.

fieldsofforce

I tried copying  and pasting the position.  Chess.com software did this.  Well I tried.  If anyone knows how to get the diagrammed position to display please help.

jeromemolina

Is it better to be a solid positional player or an aggressive positional player?

It is better to be yourself.

fieldsofforce
urk wrote:
It's better to be a solidly aggressive positional attacking player who uses prophylaxis.

 

The  clickable video is a perfect example of prophylaxis.  It is the  final 1985 World Championship game between Anatoly Karpov (White) vs,  Garry Kasparov (Black).  At 12:40 of the video the narrator begins to talk about the prophylaxis move ...R(c8)-e8! by Black against White's move f5:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sicilian+moscow+videos&&view=detail&mid=0FD9385313A78C3702FD0FD9385313A78C3702FD&FORM=VRDGAR