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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Rest is matter of Technique - Part 2

Dear Chess folks, I hope you gained a little through the last article. You probably know where the shoe pinches and have gained a little experience by studying the positions. Let us move further and paint some concepts and themes in our minds, connecting to improving our technique. "To define, is to limit" - Oscar Wilde. But I will still show some courage to define it in simple terms. Prophylactic in its ordinary meaning means preventative. To elaborate further : Prophylaxis or a prophylactic move is a move that stops the opponent's idea or counterplay. It sometimes also means to prevent the opponent from improving his own position. Then there are divisions further : Aggressive Prophylaxis, Anti-Prophylaxis, Defensive Prophylaxis and so on.. For now, let us study the positions in general.

I'll give you the diagrams, so that you can spend some time on the positions before going through my notes and analysis. Use the next two games for training purposes or try the 'Guess a move' technique.


White to play in all the three positions

Conclusions :
 1) Prophylaxis is an useful tool while converting an advantage into a win. Studying examples of prophylaxis will help a lot. Nimzowitch, Petrosian, Kramnik and Karpov are considered to be some of the greatest practioners of this theme

 2)Keep an eye for tactics. Never relax after reaching a plus/won position. Most of the examples covered in this article have tactics in common. Watchout for tactical possibilities and ways to finish of the game by tactical means.

 3)Ask yourself 'What would my opponent like to do if it were his move?' This can serve as a trigger to find prophylactic moves and can get you a lot of points :)

Wishing you many technical wins ahead :)
 - Niranjan

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