It doesn't all it does is if your a grandmaster and your going to play in a tournament other grandmasters look at your old games they will know how you play, and figure out how to beat you!
why does style mattter ?
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In short, style does not matter.
But chess becomes boring without a style. I have a particular opening which I love. That is my style. I also like, when closing in on a checkmate, to move my pieces VERY close to the king as opposed on the opposite side of the board.
If you know somebodies style you can get an edge on him by changing your game to suit. For example, if one's style is to trade off knights or queens, you could wait untill mid-late game to bring those particular pieces out. It all depends on the player.
It's not style that will help you so much as knowing where they're weak / uncomfortable. They may prefer open attacking middle games, but that doesn't mean they're bad or afraid of closed positions.
What's more useful is if you've seen some of their games, and get to know an opening or position they like to get. Not one they've specialized in necessarily, but something they usually do. Then you can try to out prepare them in that line e.g. plan a surprise variation.
if yoou play well, any style is good :))
streetfighter wrote:
chessmaster102 wrote:
ok say I know someone's exact style of play why is this info important and how can I benefit from it does it matter if there my stregth lower rated or higher rated or anything like that ?
Knowing someone's preferred style of play can be very important, at levels well below GM strength.
If you know your opponent loves to attack/play aggressively early on then you can try to enter an opening which doesn't allow that, or which might allow YOU to attack. So, for example, an early pawn gambit to seize the initiative would likely make your aggressive opponent less comfortable. Or entering as quiet a position as possible where his aggression (and perhaps tactical prowess?) can't play such a big part.
The greater the difference in rating, the less likely this will prove to work I guess, simply because a much stronger or weaker opponent will see much more (or less) than you anyway!
Practical considerations like this are much more important than the majority of players realise - I could write a whole book about this...oh, wait...
thanks is the book your referring to fighting chess I like that book
Style does tot count- I there is any =every player has a diffeerent style-The only thing that i important is your own skill-This can always be improved
style is very important i always look my best wen playing 
To me saying that I have a style is another way of saying I have a weakness. I used to think I am a tactician but it was just because I was lost in positional struggles against opponents in my rating and usually came on top in open games. But it was just because I liked studying tactics more than other parts of my game. In that situation one shouldn't say I am a tactician and work on openings/tactics. He should work on strategy/endgames and have balance.
I did that and my rating really went up in the last 3-4 months. So yeah, I don't believe in having a style under 2200 rating because at that level it means you have proved yourself in every aspect of the game to at least an expert level. For example you might be a tactician, you may have filled your capacity in some parts of your game, but you're able to find tactics masters can't find!
I wouldn't answer this question like this at all 3 months ago and I probably won't answer this the same way 3 months later but this is just my opinion for the moment :)
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ok say I know someone's exact style of play why is this info important and how can I benefit from it does it matter if there my stregth lower rated or higher rated or anything like that ?