Strategy

All

I am a decent chess player but I am not good at manipulating a player into making the moves I want them to make.  I am more of a defensive player, once my opponent makes a move, I work from there.

Any help on how I can get better at creating strategy and taking the offensive would be appreciated

Curt

You know, I learned a lot from watching the commentary from the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Tournament 2012. I recommend watching the replay of the first seven rounds w/ commentary by GM Simon Williams. It is very instructive! Below is the link, so just scroll down in the black box to round one and start watching. It's really neat!

http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/videos.htm

Skewers, forks, pins, back row threats, removing the guard, discovered attacks, uncanny sacfrices... those all can make a player do what you want.  You don't even need to think more than four [half] moves ahead to use them too.  I finally learned those concepts and it's really improving my game.  I'm well on my way to breaking "even" and getting back to the 1200 mark (for me at least that's impressive considering how low my rating got).  You should look up those concepts and put them into practice.  They are really simple but that's where games are won!  Below is the link to a kindle (if you have one) book of chess puzzles that is really helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/100-Chess-Problems-Rest-ebook/dp/B004CRSSDI

And also, don't forget to pay attention to NOT making mistakes... I still make plenty even though I can do better haha!

Don't focus on manipulating your opponent, but instead focus on increasing your ability to develop you own position.  A well developed position will naturally limit your opponent's options and increase yours.  

Strategy is different for different stages of the game, and your goals should match the appropriate stage.  For example, don't try to commit pieces for an uncertain kill until you have coordinated your pieces in the opening.  The point of the opening, i.e. first 10-15 moves or so, is to get all of your pieces "out" (and coordinated), your king castled, and your rooks in communication on the back row.  Middle game strategy is a bit trickier, but as I rule of thumb, given the uncertainty of your opponent's moves, identify two or three potential moves and select the one that best develops your position (i.e. give you space, time or material gain) but does not commit you to an attack or a direction until you are confident enough to begin an attack or thrust in a specific direction.  By restricting your opponent's position through steady development of your own position, he/she will be on the defensive and their limited moves easier to read.

I have Chessmaster. It has a Bruce Pandolfini chess school on it. IM Josh Waitkin teaches a section there. He mentions this on there. He looks at it this way. You have to see your opponents threat. You have to not only be able to defend against his threat, but use the potential of his threat to anticpate his move choice and thus be able to take them all away. When you do this, you will not only be further able to defend yourself, but you will see your opponents options he has left, after you ruined his plans. In turn, you can continue this and it has a snowball effect.

Thank you all.  I appreciate it and will have a look. 

If any of you are up for a challenge, I am open

curt

Hey Curt.. I have chessmaster as well.  The Josh lessons really helped me in that I don't feel like I am a "natural" player.  I just love the game.  

Thankz for thiz

My pleasure! I wish they had this set-up with Simon Williams, in every major tournament(even though he is a little too English-centric at times)!

Activity.

For the longest time I was stuck at the same rating, and playing chess the same way, I'd try play as sensible as possible and wait for a blunder. I'd put in the hours tactics training, so usually spotted them 9/10 and would win the game from that point.

Then I changed and started looking for activity for my pieces.

Honestly, it was like lighting a rocket under my rating.

And not only has it been a gain, but the games are far more interesting and exciting again as they hadn't been, playing the same stale material-blunder games I'd been playing before.

An example -

I'd gotten 2 pawns up, but my queen was stuck on the queenside, and had run out of threats there, while my opp had moved his queen to the kingside and was threatening pawns over there.

I knew I was 2 pawns up, and if I could get my queen to the kingside to defend my pawns it would be a straight technical win. But my own pawn was in the way. She needed activity far more than I needed that extra pawn, so I threw it at his King with check, sacrificing the poor fella, forced to capture he then allowed my queen to swing over to the kingside, secure everything there and ensure the win.

I got a !! from Fritz for that move, never been prouder of a !!, it was a move the material-obsessed me would never have made before.