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A Collection of Chess Wisdom
The Practical Player
“You aren’t playing in a tournament to paint pictures, but to win
points.”
C. J. S. Purdy
Cecil J. Purdy was one of the best chess writers and
teachers of all time. The first Correspondence Chess World Champion, he was
a practical player and had a true gift for explaining the concepts of the
game to the improving player so that he could apply those ideas to his own
play and improve.
The Purdy Player A dyed-in-the-wool Purdy Player…
Always unpins.
Always makes a blunder-check.
Checks each possible move of the opponent’s pieces and pawns while it is the
opponent’s turn to move.
Tries to find ways to ignore the opponent’s threats, i.e., looks for
stronger counter-threats of his own.
Prefers to move an attacked piece rather than defend it.
As Black, loves to play …f5 when the opponent has a pawn on e5.
Never plays the queen to the b-file early in the opening unless it goes
there with a threat.
Makes no unnecessary concession in the opening.
Handles rooks very aggressively; Take! Take! Take!
Never vacates an open file to avoid exchanges.
When he can’t think of anything better to do, looks for a plan to activate
his own worst-placed piece (the plan may simply be to put the piece on a
better square).
Looks for ways of using the king as an active piece as early in the game as
possible.
Gives up material rather than submitting to marked positional disadvantages.
When in possession of a winning game, acts to destroy counter-chances.
Does not postpone a must-move that can safely be played at once.
Acts on the wing where he has the initiative.
Never takes a risk for additional material when already in possession of a
win.
Makes plans a few moves at a time and frequently revises those plans. Bad Chess Habits Bad chess habits cause many discouraging losses. Search the following list
with an open mind and a lot of honesty, and dedicate yourself to remedying
the ones that apply to you. Following is a list of some common bad chess
habits:
Playing too fast and being impatient (sound chess requires time).
Neglecting to castle.
Failing to develop all pieces early.
Moving the same pieces multiple times in the opening.
Underestimating the importance of controlling the center.
Expecting to win in the opening, and playing premature attacks.
Unwise pawn grabbing at the expense of development and position.
Giving useless checks and making idle threats.
Relying on opponent's errors or inferior moves.
Making hasty or careless moves (I'll just see what happens").
Making unsound trappy moves ("Hope he doesn't see it").
Attacking with only one or two pieces.
Exchanging pieces or pawns without a specific, sound purpose.
Creating weaknesses in your position (exposed king, unguarded, pinned,
forkable pieces and pawns, weak pawns, and holes in your pawn structure).
Overlooking opponent's threats by not asking after each of your opponent's
moves, "What is the threat?"
Missing tactical opportunities by not asking after each of your opponent's
moves, "What has changed in the position?"
Losing material carelessly by not asking before each of your own moves, "Is
this move safe?"
Believing a significant early material deficit can always be overcome.
Not keeping accurate account of material at all times.
Being mentally lazy by not looking far enough ahead and not anticipating
opponents' best defenses to your threats.
Having no systematic method of searching for a move.
Failing to analyze each position accurately and completely.
Not analyzing the consequences of all possible checks and captures – for
both sides – on each move.
Not planning (playing only move-to-move).
Inflexibly persisting with inappropriate or faulty plans.
Becoming so involved in your own plans and threats that you ignore or
underestimate your opponents' plans and threats.
Not playing adequate defense by not breaking pins early, not keeping all
pieces and pawns defended, walking into knight forks, aligning your king or
queen with enemy pieces, and not considering all possible defenses to
threats.
Ignoring or discounting positional possibilities such as open files and
diagonals, outposts, rooks on the 7th rank, and strong or weak pawns for
both sides.
Ignoring or underestimating the value of pawns and the importance of pawn
play (passed pawns, pawn majorities, pawn exchanges and sacrifices, weak
pawns, and holes in the pawn structure).
Being too passive, such as blocking pieces with pawns, or always retreating
rather than advancing or counterattacking when threatened.
Being too willing to trade queens.
Always accepting sacrifices without analyzing the consequences.
Never playing sacrifices.
Not creating, protecting, and advancing passed pawns quickly in the endgame.
Not activating your king early and using your king aggressively in the
endgame.
Playing the opponent, rather than the position on the board.
Becoming intimidated and playing too cautiously or passively against
stronger opponents, or becoming too overconfident and playing carelessly
against weaker opponents.
Concentrating on staying ahead of your opponent on the clock more than on
the board.
Not relaxing by taking frequent mental breaks during a game.
Always playing to win, even when only a draw is realistic.
Resigning prematurely.
Agreeing prematurely to draws.
Becoming overconfident and careless in winning positions.
Carelessly allowing losing opponents to achieve stalemate.
Not recording and reviewing your own games.
Not studying chess regularly.
Not trying new ideas, even in casual games.
Listening to too many chess advice-givers.
Playing only weaker opponents.
Becoming emotionally upset after losses instead of learning a pertinent
lesson to improve your future play. The Seeds of Tactical Destruction Chess games are lost, not won, and most are lost due to tactical mistakes
that allow the victor to win material or force positional concessions that
can be exploited. National Master and chess writer Dan Heisman has listed a
number of things that lead to these tactical mistakes. These seeds of
tactical destruction should be learned so that we can eliminate them from
our own play and exploit them when we see them in the play of our opponents.
Among the more common Seeds of Tactical Destruction are:
Loose (unguarded) pieces - "Loose Pieces Drop Off" = LPDO.
Pieces that can easily be attacked by enemy pieces of less value.
One or more pieces than can be attacked via a "discovered attack."
Weak back rank.
Pinned or "skewerable" pieces along the same rank, file, or diagonal.
Pieces (or squares) vulnerable to Knight forks.
Overworked pieces (pieces guarding more than one piece or square).
Inadequately guarded pieces.
Falling way behind in development (overwhelming opponent forces).
Pawns nearing promotion.
King uncastled or lost pawn protection with Queens on the board.
Open enemy lines for Rooks, Queens, and Bishops to your King.
Pieces that have little mobility and might easily be trapped if attacked.
A large domination of one side's forces in one area of the board.
Three or more pieces near an enemy King.
A "desperado" piece that is lost anyway and can give itself up for maximum
destruction.
Weak squares or pawn structures that cannot be defended.
Threats that can be met in only one, or very few, ways. |
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