Chess Strategy Infographic

Chess Strategy Infographic

Patience At The Chess Board

Winning and losing in chess is many times a result not of what you do not know, but of your behavior over the board. Impatience is a behaviour that leads to not fulfilling your full potential in chess. Review the games of masters and a common denominator is how they wield powerful yet patient moves whenever the opportunity arises. The virtue of patience must be acquired if you wish to cross the elusive 2000 elo threshold.

Study and practice increases your internal pattern recognition database, improves your calculation and evaluation skills and increases your knowledge of typical positions. This all adds up to making you a stronger more skilled player, but many times you continue to lose games and improvement seems slow and arduous. Your improvement does does not keep up with your investment in studying and practicing chess because of errors of chess psychology.

Chess improvement is composed of skill, knowledge and psychology. While skill and knowledge can be trained through books and coaching the psychological component is dependent on finding the weaknesses in your thought process and decision making and addressing them.

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Purdy's Endgame Rules: Rule #1

Rook and Pawn vs. King Endgame Rule #1

The defense draws against any pawn that is not more than one rank beyond the middle of the board (a white pawn on the 5th rank) when the defender's King stands on the queening square and the defender's rook is on the rank next-but one to the queening rank (a defending black rook on the 6th rank - Cheron). IF the pawn is on the rank next-but-one to the queening rank, the defender draws, provided he can safely give check - to do so, the defender should try to get his rook behind the pawn.

Either side to move draws
Philidor 1977

Following the rule above we have:

1...Ra6! 2.e5  Rb6 3.Ra7  Rc6 4.e6  Rc1! (now that the pawn has moved, move your rook to the opponent's back rank to begin the checking procedure.) 5.Kf6  Rf1+ (and Black draws. If the Black rook did not have a check now, then White would win)

Again, the simplest rule is to keep your rook on the rank next-but one to the queening rank, preventing the advance of the enemy King, until the pawn moves onto that rank. After the attacking King has moved then and only then, place your rook on the attacker's back rank and check forever (Cheron).

The Best Practice

For Purdy the best type of practice was playing over master games and below is his method:


1. Play one side only - usually the winner's side if the game is not a draw.

2. Cover the moves with a card in which a niche is cut out of one corner.

3. Think out each of your side's moves before you look at the game move, taking as long as you would in a match game. Use a chess clock if you have one.

4. Having thought of your move, actually make it on the board.

5. Then slide the card over until you see the move. If you guessed differently, find out why your move was bad.

6. Look at the opponent's move immediately. For one thing it may assist you in discovering some fault in the move you chose.

According to Purdy, it is absolutely necessary to play over games if you want to become a strong player, and this is Purdy's way to get the most benefit from this exercise.

Purdy Hints: Don't Gamble

Below are some great tips by Purdy on how to approach a chess game based on whether your are even, winning or losing:

Unless your game is a dead loss, don't gamble. With an inferior position, play for balance, not a win.

With a level game, set your opponent puzzles while keeping the balance. With a winning game, avoid lines needing much calculation.

Fundamental Principles : The Double Threat

You should at all times be on the alert for a chance to put the enemy under the necessity of doing two things at once - and you should try to avoid putting yourself into such a difficult situation. This means that the key to success in chess is A DOUBLE THREAT. A threat to one enemy piece alone is normally parried with ease and is worthless except for some reason ulterior motive. But a double threat is terrific.

How to Practice

You can play chess with the wizards of the chess world, living or dead, anytime and anywhere you like. The wizards' games are printed and you just play the games over, understanding a little at first but gradually more and more. You can imagine how a player would improve if he had a champion always at his shoulder to show him what that champion would play instead of the move the player himself had thought out.

At each move you should spend a little time thinking out a move yourself, then uncover the text move and compare it to yours. Looking first is useless.

From Guide to Good Chess pg. 10