Questions tagged [tactics]
Questions relating to maneuvers that take advantage of short-term opportunities, such as forks, discovered attacks, skewers, etc.
312
questions
4
votes
3
answers
428
views
Is there any program which I can use to train custom tactics puzzles?
Essentially, I would like to have the following features/workflow:
I obtain a .pgn file with (puzzle) positions and moves (the solutions)
I load that .pgn into the program and then solve (...
- 4,187
53
votes
10
answers
18k
views
How do I learn to understand the middlegame?
I am trying to train tactics as well as my general understanding of the beginning/middlegame. I spent a good bit of time understanding endgames, per chessmaster recommendations and those I can ...
- 3,695
10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How do I trap the queen once it pins my rook?
I am playing as Black in this game, and after 10. Qg4, I realize that White wanted my rook. I knew I could trap the queen once it went for the rook (11. Qxg7), but I forgot how. I went on to win the ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
48
views
Creating Tactics to practice in Arena chess
This is a two part question.
I have over 2000 tactics from books I would like to create in Arena chess (using Stock Fish), to practice.
How do I load and save these tactics in the Arena Chess GUI/...
- 3,695
1
vote
2
answers
126
views
Trying to improve
I have a question hopefully someone can help me out.
3 days ago I won a tournament (25+5) semi-rapid section under 1450 OTB. I scored 5/5 beating some high rated players.
My rating OTB semi-rapid ...
- 507
0
votes
1
answer
208
views
What's wrong with the way white is playing?
I have played an opening I can't find anywhere online. So I'm guessing it's wrong. Can someone tell me what are the weaknesses in white's strategy? Or is it simply a matter of black not being able to ...
- 15.8k
4
votes
6
answers
3k
views
What are some good podcasts to listen to?
I'm an intermediate player, and I practice chess tactics and play regularly. I'm looking for a good podcast or two to listen to during my day. I don't care if it's a podcast that discusses chess news, ...
- 2,741
5
votes
2
answers
395
views
How to train tactics methodically
In sports, there are often times methodical ways to practice. In tennis, for example, you don't just play matches or just practice forehands, you practice hitting forehands cross-court deep into the ...
- 1,331
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What is the terminology for a move which allows the opponent to attack two pieces without making another move?
In the position below (Short vs Ponomariov 2003), White has just played Re4-f4, which is allowing the g5 pawn to attack both the rook and the bishop.
In general, what do we call a move that allows the ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
5
answers
2k
views
What should a beginner focus on to improve his level?
I learned chess only about 1 month ago. Of course, my first game was terrible. After reading some tips I improved a little. Learning basics of few openings (like Spanish, Vienna and Urusov) increased ...
- 3,695
-2
votes
1
answer
168
views
What does FIDE rating 1800 entail?
I have a classical rating of around 2000 on Lichess. I’m aware that FIDE Classical time control is much longer than Lichess classical, so I just made it as some kind of reference point.
I’m mainly ...
2
votes
2
answers
124
views
Material that doesn't actually hang (Training)
(One of) My chess kiddie (U8!) is an aspiring grandmaster (I would lean that much out of the window), but we are just a small club. Still, I'm a life long chess kiddie trainer and want to give him the ...
- 121
3
votes
1
answer
177
views
Anti-Tactics Chess Puzzles?
Many websites (such as chess.com) provide chess tactic puzzles and I am wondering about the value of "anti-tactic" puzzles. By anti-tactic, I mean a position where if I make a careless move, ...
- 791
15
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Is there a way to use Stockfish to see tactics that aren't necessarily great?
Basically - I want to utilize an engine to see tactics through the whole game, regardless of whether they're a good move or not. Sometimes, Stockfish may say a position is absolutely winning, but the ...
- 3,885
1
vote
2
answers
121
views
What is the reasoning behind the suggested move?
In this game, my actual move was Qg6, leaving the knight on f3.
Why does chess.com suggest Ne1+ ?
I figure it would just be taken by the rook, but the engine suggested white would have played Kf1.
The ...
- 16.3k
12
votes
3
answers
939
views
Are knights more powerful in Duck Chess?
In the chess variant Duck Chess (full rules), each player moves the shared blocking "duck" piece to any free square on their turn, taking away one or more moves for the opponent.
One ...
- 61
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Tools specifically for training at finding loose pieces?
There are of course lots of tactical trainers out there, but I'm wonder if there are any that focus solely on the basic skill of spotting loose or hanging pieces. It is of course a trivial exercise ...
- 103
1
vote
3
answers
140
views
Does having played the actual game make it easier to spot a tactic?
So, I looked at a tactic quiz for my kiddies. I needed whopping five seconds to see that a fork (yes, that was given too!) could be applied on a square that wasn't really protected due to a pin. (I'm ...
- 94.5k
6
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Shocking queen sacrifices?
I am a chess beginner and I find queen sacrifices are the most shocking moves I have ever seen.
Please, can you provide me with some shocking examples of queen sacrifices. It need not be a big list, ...
- 6,265
-1
votes
2
answers
198
views
Can you make a lucky brilliant move?
Is it possible to make a brilliancy (a brilliant move) with luck? Or is it so rare that it can only be spotted by the best chess players?
- 94.5k
5
votes
3
answers
127
views
Opening specific tactic material source
My chess course kiddies requested KID specific tactics material. Now I never play KID. For Sicilian, I would say "specific" means, for example, Nxb5,Nxe6,Nd5,Nf5...had my fair share of these ...
- 3,695
23
votes
7
answers
4k
views
Why do chess puzzles need a unique solution?
Why do chess puzzles need a unique solution?
This is different from real games, where such situations do occur, but more frequently, there are multiple avenues to success. Contrary to what one might ...
- 11k
11
votes
3
answers
965
views
Chess problem - don't understand the solution
Black to move:
[fen "4rbk1/pp3pp1/1nq4p/8/1PP5/P3N1P1/Q2BrP1P/3R1RK1 b - - 0 1"]
I've tried to solve this chess problem - black to move, find the best move. I couldn't work it out so I checked the ...
- 1
6
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Solvable studies that computers fail to crack
Are there chess studies that require an outside of the box thinking that goes beyond the concrete calculation capabilities of today's engines (e.g. Stockfish)?
I have sometimes seen certain endgames ...
- 17.1k
7
votes
4
answers
357
views
How to convert better positions and not to get swindled OTB?
For context I am new to OTB chess with 30 games under my belt and a rating of around 1930 fide. I have a very definite problem. Last tournament I dropped 3 pieces in 3 consecutive games in either ...
- 1,242
4
votes
1
answer
165
views
Mental block on a tactics challenge
We do a lot of tactics training with our kiddies in the chess club. This one was a real migraine maker for them, none found the solution. (I'm not 100% sure if I remember each piece correctly, but it ...
- 420
1
vote
1
answer
167
views
What goes through the mind of a chess player in the middlegame?
What goes through the mind of a chess player in the middlegame?
After learning how to move the pieces, after understanding how the game is divided into stages, and after finding that openings can ...
- 94.5k
0
votes
2
answers
132
views
As regards the opponent's moves, what things do you usually pay more attention to in the openings?
As regards the opponent's moves, what things do you usually pay more attention to in the openings?
After learning how to move the pieces, after understanding how the game is divided into stages, and ...
- 94.5k
0
votes
2
answers
170
views
What goes through the mind of a chess player in the endgame?
What goes through the mind of a chess player in the endgame?
After learning how to move the pieces, after understanding how the game is divided into stages, and after finding that openings can provide ...
- 94.5k
2
votes
1
answer
252
views
What practices do you recommend for handling openings and variations?
What practices do you recommend for handling openings and variations?
After learning how to move the pieces, after understanding how the game is divided into stages, and after finding that openings ...
- 6,265
1
vote
1
answer
150
views
What helps you choose the right opening?
What goes through the mind of a chess player in the opening? In particular, what helps you choose the right opening?
After learning how to move the pieces, after understanding how the game is divided ...
- 6,265
4
votes
1
answer
136
views
Non-Tactical Puzzles
Its surprisingly hard to find chess puzzles where the solution is not necessarily tactic resulting in checkmate or a heavy win of material. The problem with these tactical puzzles is that they do not ...
- 17.1k
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Online defensive tactics training problems?
I've been doing the tactics problems at jrobichess.com and shredderchess.com pretty regularly, and recently added chesstempo.com. I find I'm much better at attacking tactics than defensive tactics: ...
- 69
4
votes
2
answers
264
views
Advice for "wild" positions
Played by me (White) lately. Rev up engine of choice and weep.
[FEN ""]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Qd2 d6 7. a3 Bxc3 8.Qxc3 Qe7 9. e5 O-O 10. Nf3 b6 11. Rd1 Bb7 ...
- 4,249
5
votes
5
answers
955
views
Do sacrifices work mostly for masters?
Many beautiful and celebrated master games feature heavy sacrifices of material that result in checkmate, or at least the regaining of more material than was sacrificed. In most cases, the original ...
- 94.5k
2
votes
1
answer
300
views
How to find 'Thermopylaes' with engines?
Motivation
“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one." – Michail Tal
I am looking for ways to systematically find ...
- 16.3k
5
votes
4
answers
304
views
Explanation of Hard Puzzle #34
Wikipedia defines a chess tactic as:
In chess, a tactic refers to a sequence of moves that limits the opponent's options and may result in tangible gain.
I'm having a hard time understanding a ...
- 26.1k
0
votes
1
answer
118
views
Unique tactic motif? Surely not
Played by me yesterday in the Hamburg team championship.
[FEN ""]
1. d4 f5 2. h3 Nf6 3. g4 fxg4 4. hxg4 Nxg4 5. Qd3 g6 6. Nf3 d6 7. Bh3 Nc6 8. Bxg4 Bxg4 9. Rxh7 Bf5 10. Rxh8 Bxd3 11. Bh6 ...
- 15.5k
4
votes
1
answer
219
views
Does this tactic (Bxf7+ KxB, Ng5+...QxB) have a name? [duplicate]
I'm not sure whether this qualifies as a trap, but I sometimes do this tactic. My opponent pins my knight on f3 against my queen, but by sacrificing my bishop to f7, I can move the knight with check ...
- 5,713
2
votes
2
answers
121
views
Cocking the gun tactical motif (preparing a discovered attack)
There is a tactical motif I call "cocking the gun" which I have never seen explicitly mentioned. It happens when you prepare a discovered attack. See the following board. Is there an ...
- 6,265
35
votes
13
answers
80k
views
Most effective way to achieve a 2000+ rating in one year, starting as a 1600?
I currently play at around a 1600 level, and have stagnated in terms of rating improvements for quite some time.
I have always played chess recreationally, occasionally doing tactics puzzles here ...
- 1,123
2
votes
3
answers
276
views
Does chess intuition take over when you can't see all of the moves ahead? What does chess intuition look like?
This is a broad question about intuition and chess.
I imagine that there is a limit to how far ahead even the best chess masters can see into the future, and how far they can stretch their memory. ...
- 557
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How come it's actually Black with the advantage here?
I was analyzing a recent game of mine, and I noticed something interesting. After I blundered back a bishop on move 16, the evaluation was -3.4, which is still strongly winning for Black.
[White "...
- 4,357
-1
votes
1
answer
62
views
How will the queen be lost just the same in 206 of Winning Chess by Chernev?
How will the queen be lost anyway here?
[
[
- 7,988
14
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Are resignations by expert players naive?
During recent online chat with gamers, I asserted that 'go' (and possibly othello) had a larger decision space than chess.
After reading Wikipedia, I realized I failed to account for othello and go '...
4
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Anki deck for tactics training
Does anybody have Anki decks for tactics training? If anyone has such decks, could you share them with me?
I am trying to improve my tactics and I have heard that space repetition is one way to do ...
6
votes
5
answers
649
views
Reviewing Chess Tactics Puzzles
Is there somewhere online I can play chess tactic puzzles and redo them whenever I want? I do tactics on lichess but it doesn't store my puzzles. Is there somewhere that stores all my tactic problems ...
- 1
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Elo disadvantage due to one pawn move in Indian Chess
In Indian chess, the pawn doesn't move two squares, however in the western chess, pawn can move two squares. Now, since the pawn can't move 2 in the Indian style, the fianchetto is a natural square to ...
- 17.1k
15
votes
6
answers
5k
views
What to do when your opponent doesn't play along in the opening?
I looked around and could not find an answer for this.
I've studied a pretty good amount of opening theory and so I know the "correct" moves for some basic lines. Most e4 openings and a fair amount ...
- 3,695
7
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How many windmills types exist in chess?
I'm interested in chess patterns similar to the windmill. If you think there are none more than the ones that I'm listing I'm interested in a proof that satisfies me to stop looking for more of them. ...
- 17.1k