Brass Tacks
When choosing or even developing your own strategy, you must first define what the purpose of the strategy is. Identify the broad goals that will advance your board-state toward victory, as well as what resources you will need to get there; some pieces are more important in certain strategies than others, for example, while it is sometimes more important to eliminate certain pieces belonging to your opponent depending on the strategy you are executing.
Tactics then help you accomplish those goals from move to move. Deciding which resources to use to move from point A to point B, from B to C, from C to D, and so on, is an important part of advancing your strategy. While a strategy can offer a way to win, tactics are ultimately the way your strategy adapts to your opponent’s own attempts to win. Seeing the combination of moves you need to make to obtain an advantage on the board is an essential part of any strategy, and can’t be specifically made part of the strategy (for the most part) because you can’t always foresee what your opponent will do. (Although you can make a very educated guess, of course)
The Beginnings of a Chess Strategy
Every chess strategy begins with its opening. The opening consists of the initial moves of the game using sequences of moves that are collectively referred to as “openings”. They are typically given names like “the Sicilian Defense,” and you can read all about them in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings. Generally speaking, your openings will be, in part, reactions to what your opponent is doing; it is best to fall open standard openings, rather than try to invent a new variation, as these openings provide consistent defenses against your opponent’s strategy.
There are four different elements of opening moves to consider. First, there is the development of the overall game; by placing your pieces on useful squares, they can impact the game for some time to come. Then, there is the goal of controlling the center: control of the center of the board allows you to easily move pieces across the board, while also making it difficult for your opponent to move their pieces. Then there is the goal of ensuring your king’s safety (timely castling can help), and finally, structuring your pawns correctly to avoid weaknesses.
The Middlegame of a Chess
Strategy The middlegame of chess strategy comes when most of the game pieces have been developed – as in, they are in useful places and tactics can begin to come into play. At this point, you will assess the board and the pieces on it, and form plans based on those positions. At this point, you need to begin to anticipate what your opponent is going to do.
The ultimate goal of the middlegame is to simplify the board to the point that you can enter the endgame. This typically happens when the board is so wrecked that many pieces will have a hard time interacting with each other, allowing some pieces to pass across the board and toward the king.
The Endgame of a Chess Strategy
A chess strategy’s endgame comes when there are few pieces remaining on the board. Generally speaking, there are three differences between the rest of the game and this final stage: pawns are more important, the king becomes a stronger piece, and the disadvantage of being forced to make a move – as a rule of the game – all comes into play at this point.
Many different endgame board-states exist, and at this point, a new strategy must be formulated: are you going for basic checkmate? What pieces do you have to work with, and what pieces do they have to work with? If your strategies have been successful up to this point, you will be in an advantageous position here. That is why strategy is so important – because without it, you aren’t looking ahead far enough to have any real control over what the endgame looks like. Then it’s just all move and countermove, and if your opponent is deftly executing their own strategy, you won’t like what the endgame looks like!
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