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5 Ways to Improve Your Positional Play

Written by WGM Raluca Sgrcea, IM Renier Castellanos
Monday, 13 February 2017 01:10

Chess players are constantly on the look for new recipes in their quest of getting better at chess.
Some players think that they should give a lot of importance to the opening, others to tactics and so
on. Truth is, working on only one aspect of the game wont help you get better overall; you have to
study all of them equally. Suppose you only solve tactics; it will be very difficult to find a correct plan
in a static position.

If you invest most of your time in openings, then middlegame and endgame will represent a real challenge. One very important
aspect of the game and one that we think makes the difference between an amateur and an experienced player is strategy. The
study of positional play gives a better overall understanding of the position and will help you select the moves that are in the spirit
of the position over the ones that you would like to make. Here are some tips you can follow in order to improve your positional
play:
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1. Prophylactic thinking
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During the game it is very important that you dont only think about your own plans, but try to spot your opponents as well. The
moves you select should not only be in accordance with the ideas you have in order to improve your position, but they should also
be aimed at countering your rivals own ones. There are many cases when the key to finding the best move lies in your ability to
find your opponents threat. Lets take, for example, the diagram below:

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Skripchenko, A Benmesbah,N, Pau 2008

2 friends like this
White has a clear advantage in development and her pieces are well coordinated. However, she needs to play careful in order not to
allow her opponent to get back in the game. Can you find the move white played here?

Skripchenko, Almira vs Benmesbah, Natacha

FRA-ch (Women) 83rd Pau 21 Jun 2008 1-0

13. a7 ! If given the chance, black would have

tried to continue the development by playing ...b6, so
white makes sure that this won't happen. O-O
14.a5 Fixing black's structure on the queenside
d8 15. b6 c6 Chess Talk
15... xb6 ? 16.axb6 and the rook is lost
At What Age is It Better to Le...
16. xd8 xd8 17. d4 c4 18. a4 f7 I'm of 14 years and I'm a rated
19.b3 c7 20. b6 c5 21.f3 d5 22. c6 player rating not ...
xc6 23. xb8 e8 24.exd5 exd5 25. xd5 The Sicilian Dragon - Kamsky's...
Both game 2 and 3 had problems
xh3 26. c7+ d7 27. xc6 xc6
with showing the la...
28. f2 e5 29. b4 b5 30. e1 g5 How I became an International ...
31. e3 e6 32.g3 d4 33. e4 f5 Thanks.
34.g4 e7 35. ae1 g6 36. d1 f5 Starting an Attack: 5 Things t...
37. d5 fxe4 38. xg5 exf3 39. xf3 h6 As a Chess Tutor, I enjoy these tips
to help me te...
40. c5 f6 41. c7 e5+ 42. g3 c6
5 Ways to Improve Your Positio...
43.c4 "When you have [...] your opponent
tied up it is u...

Popular Words
2. Pay attention to the pawn structure
sicilian learn match position botvinniks
Most of the times the right path to follow in a position is given by the pawn structure. Learn to read it and you wont have to waste
 a lot of time anymore in order to find the correct plan. Studying the most important types of pawn structures and seeing games magnus study improvement guide theory
where the standard plans are employed makes it easier to play it yourself next time you are given a similar situation. Start taking quotes anand playing review knights
into account the side where you have the pawn majority, the type of center you have and the pawn chains in the position and youll
find that your play will improve significantly! rossolimo squares games tactics total

opening problems vishy openings rating

3. Positional advantage over material advantage
endgames studies yearbook rules problem
It may sound weird, but sometimes it is better to ignore the temptation of going after a pawn or an exchange. When you have a
online carlsen habits solve defense great
positional advantage that keeps your opponent tied up it is usually better not to let go of the grip and accept changing it into a
small material advantage. Most of the times it will give your opponent a chance to breathe and organize a counter-attack that,
although harmless with correct play, may turn out dangerous over the board. Suddenly, from being completely in control of the
chess endgame finding
position, you will have to find some accurate moves in order to get a full point. thechessworld player thinking world people

mistakes players checkmate reasons facts

4. Be on the look for weaknesses
strategy
Train yourself to always take in account the weaknesses in the pawn structure, both yours and your opponents. Start paying more
attention to the pawn moves you make, since every pawn advance could result in potential weaknesses in your structure. This
element is particularly important when building up a plan. You should try to take advantage and attack the weaknesses that exist in
your rivals position and get rid of the ones you have identified in your own position. Chess Players Online:

5. Be technical when it comes to materializing the advantage We have182 guestsonline

Dont give your opponent any chance to become active and get counter-play! Its very important to remember that the best route to
a win is not necessarily the shortest one, but the safest. Practice shows that its better to enter a position with less material
advantage, but where the win is clear (for example an endgame) than win more material, but play a double-edged game.

We hope that you have found the tips above useful and they will help you select further material in order to train your positional
understanding. Thank you for reading!

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Last Updated on Monday, 13 February 2017 13:58

Comments

#1 01101001b 2017-02-18 23:43 0
"When you have [...] your opponent tied up it is usually better not to let go of the grip and accept changing it into a
small material advantage". So true!
An outstanding article, indeed! Thx so much!
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