HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS
JEREMY SILMAN
Three Keys to Chess Success:
1. Learn to recognize the different imbalances and acquire a sense of which
imbalance will dominate another in any given situation.
2. Always strive to prevent the opponent's counterplay.
3. Never give up. Defend as if your life were hanging in the balance!
List of Positional Imbalances
1. Superior Minor Piece
2. Pawn structure
3. Space
4. Material
5. Control of a key file or square
6. Lead in development
7. Initiative
Silman's Thinking Technique
1. Figure out the positive and negative imbalances for both sides.
2. Figure out which side of the board you wish to play on.
3. Find fantasy positions that you want to achieve.
4. Figure out how to reach said fantasy position, if impossible find another
one.
5. Find moves you might want to make to lead to this position. Calculate which
one to do.
Factors to make a combination
1. Open or weakened king.
2. Undefended pieces (not pawns)
3. Inadequately defended pieces.
If you see these items in a given position, then look for a possible
combination.
A bishop is good when its central pawns are not on its color and thus are not
obstructing it's activity.
A bishop is bad when its central pawns are on its color and thus block it.
A bishop is active because it serves an active function.
First rule concerning bishops:
If you have a bad bishop, you must correct it in one of the following ways:
1. Trade it for an enemy piece of equal or greater value.
2. Make it good by getting your central pawns off its color.
3. Make it active by getting it outside the pawn chain.
Second Rule concerning bishops:
Bishops are usually strongest in open positions.
Third rule concerning bishops:
In an endgame, with passed pawns on both sides of the board, bishops tend to
beat out knights.
Rules on positional planning:
1. In an open position one must react quickly - time is of great importance.
Attacks are usually conducted by pieces due to the abundance of open lines.
2. In closed situations, attacks are initiated by pawn breaks. Slow maneuvering
is quite all right.
Knight Classifications
1. Knights on the first and second ranks are purely defensive and are usually on
their way to greener pastures.
2. A knight on the third rank is useful for defense and is ready to take a more
aggressive stance by jumping to the fifth.
3. A knight on the fourth rank is as good as a bishop and is well poised for
both attack and defense.
4. A knight on the fifth rank is often superior to a bishop and constitutes a
powerful attacking unit.
5. A knight on the sixth rank is often a winning advantage. It spreads
disharmony in the enemy camp.
First Rule of Knights
Knights need advanced support points to be effective!
Second Rule of Knights:
Knights are very useful pieces in closed positions.
Third Rule of Knights:
Knights are the best blockaders of passed pawns.
Fourth Rule of Knights:
Knights are usually superior to bishops in endings with pawns on only one side
of the board.
Wilhelm Steinitz's Anti-Knight Technique:
If you take away all their advanced support points the knights will be
ineffective and the Bishops will have an excellent chance of winning out.
Questions to ask yourself before trading off into a Bishop v. Knight imbalance:
1. Is the position open or closed? If it's closed I may prefer to own the
Knights. If it's open the Bishops may be a good bet.
2. Will there be support points available for his knights? If there are,
a) Can they get to them?
b) If they do does, it matter?
c) Can the bishops reach similar or superior squares?
The best way to combat a Bishop pair
1. Create a blocked position.
2. Create advanced support points for your knights.
3. Trade off one of your opponent's bishops and obtain a more manageable bishop
v. knight situation.
Two Helpful Defensive Themes:
1. The best reaction to an attack on the wing is a counterattack in the center.
2. If you have less space or you are under attack, trade pieces.
Answer the following questions before making a decision to fight for an open
file:
1. Is a penetration along this file possible?
2. Can I afford to take the time to place my rooks on this file?
3. If I place my rooks on this file will they work with the rest of my pieces?
4. Do certain factors in the position call for me to retain at least one rook?
Open files often lead to rook exchanges.
Four Rules of Material Gain:
Rule 1: If you have a material advantage, find a plan that lets you use the
material to overpower your opponent or reach a winning endgame.
Rule 2: When you make a successful strike into the opponent's camp and win
material, you must often pull your army back towards the center and reorganize
your forces.
Rule 3: When you take material, you put psychological pressure on your opponent
to justify the sacrifice.
Rule 4: When up material you have the added defensive resource of giving back
material to stop an attack.
Rules that change between the middlegame and the endgame:
1. In the middlegame you should keep your king safe behind his pawns, in the
endgame you have to bring it to the center and fight with it.
2. In the middlegame you want your pawns on the same color of the enemy bishop.
In the endgame you want them on the opposite color.
SILMAN'S SAYINGS
These are wise sayings from the chess sage that should be learned.
"FIRST find a plan and then develop your forces around it! NEVER mindlessly
develop and expect a plan to come later."
"You should only play where a favorable imbalance/the possibility of creating
one exists. "
"A vast majority of combinations are based on the idea of double attack."
"When behind in development, don't open up the position. "
"Never play a move with the hope that the opponent won't see your threat!
Only play moves that help your position even if your opponent finds the best
reply. "
"Don't play for traps! Always ask the question, "what wonderful thing does this
move do for my position?".
If you can't answer this important question then don't play the move"
"Every move you make should strengthen your position in some way."
"Figure out what your problems are before analyzing a solution."
"In closed positions, pawn breaks on the wings take on great importance."
"Play the moves that you would hate to see if you were in your opponent's
shoes."
"When attacking the king, don't rush into battle like a spartan, pick a point
and apply pressure to weaken it. "
"Never leave yourself with no favorable imbalances or no chances to create them.
"
"If center files are open it is rarely a good idea to decentralize one's forces.
"
"When you reach an endgame, bring your king towards the center! "
"In general, a queen and a knight is a better combination of pieces than a queen
and a bishop"
"The side with less space should initiate exchanges so that he has more room to
move about in. The side with more space should avoid exchanges. "
"When you grab a lot of space, you win by either finding a target to attack or
penetrating your opponent's position."
"The further a pawn advances, the less squares it can potentially control. "
"In closed positions with locked centers you must attempt to get open lines on
the wings by breaking with pawns."
"A center is only good because it restricts the enemy's pieces. If it has to
advance then it only gives the enemy squares to use."
"Never attack an enemy piece just because you think your opponent will leave it
hanging. Only attack it if you are chasing it to an inferior square. "
"All your pieces must work together towards a common goal."
"Create holes for your pieces so you can control more of the board."
"Material inequality is an imbalance and not a mindless goal."
"Whenever you plan to win material, ask "are you paying a price to win this
material and is that price too high?""
"When in doubt, play in the center. "
"If you can't open up the position, a lead in development will not prove
effective"
"When many players sacrifice a pawn, they lose because they play as if they had
lost it instead of deliberately parting with it."
"When you win material, stop rushing forward. Instead you must tighten
everything up, defend your weak points, and get your army together again. "