An Intermediate Guide To Chess Strategy
On chess strategy, Garry Kasparov once said: “Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do." In other words, chess strategy is the subtle yet critical art of improving your position.
While often neglected at the beginner level, chess strategy becomes ever more important as you climb the rungs of the chess ladder. At the intermediate level, you can no longer rely on easy opportunities! You also need to learn the art of long-term planning, where slow but steady wins the race.
If you're an intermediate player, you've come to the right place to find out how.
The Difference Between Chess Tactics and Chess Strategy
In his seminal book ‘How Life Imitates Chess,’ Garry Kasparov writes, “Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.” By this, he meant: chess tactics are the maneuvers that can gain you an immediate advantage. Chess strategy involves taking small steps and planning for the long term to improve your position.
This distinction between strategy and tactics is invaluable when deciding upon your next move on the chessboard! First, you want to scan for tactics or forcing moves that deliver a check, capture, or threat. If you can’t find a forcing move, then you need to draw from your strategic repertoire to improve your position.
In the following guide, we’ll take a closer look at the decision-making process you can make on each move to utilize positional play when there are no forcing moves on the table.
Six Key Chess Strategy Principles for Intermediate Players
1. Look for Checks, Captures, and Threats on Every Move (CCT)
You probably know how important it is to look for forcing moves. You’ve likely also heard of the simple yet brilliant CCT method for scanning them: checks, captures, and threats. But are you applying it on every move?
One of the qualities you’ve likely noticed in advanced chess players is that they’ll make tactical breaks right out of the blue. You imagined the game was going one way, then you’re suddenly hit by a check that turns the whole game around. This is because strong players are always looking for checks, captures, and threats—even when they're on the back foot!
In chess, it’s extremely easy to get tunnel vision. When you’re up against a galloping attack, doing your CCT checks might be the last thing on your mind! Yet, remember, the best way to defend is to attack! Turning on a counterattack is what puts initiative control back in your hands.
In this example from the Englund Gambit, White may be feeling the pressure from Black’s attack. Instead of looking for defensive moves, however, White can scan for checks, captures, and threats. What’s on offer here?
1. d4 e5 2. dxe5 Nc6 3. Nf3 Qe7 4. Bf4 Qb4+ 5. Bd2 Qxb2 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Rb1 Qa3
Did you find it? By playing 8. Nd5, White forks Black’s bishop and a further fork with Nxc7+. By wielding its rook, light-squared bishop, and queen in the following moves, White can go on to launch its own menacing attack. It all started with one simple CCT scan!
If you can’t find any forcing moves, however, you’ll need to employ some skillful positional play.
2. Enter Your Opponent’s Half of the Board (Create Outposts)
If you can’t find a check, capture, or threat, scan to see if you can land a piece in your opponent’s half of the board. While this may not necessarily present an immediate threat, a persistent piece in your opponent’s territory is a constant danger, standing ever-ready to pounce on a mistake or combine with other pieces in an attack.
A piece planted on a square that can’t be attacked by an opponent’s pawn is known as an ‘outpost.’ As short-range pieces, knights are especially effective for outposts. From the 5th, 6th, or 7th rank, they can control many key squares.
In this example, White has no immediate forcing move, but it can plant either of its knights in the opponent’s half of the board on e5. Defended by a second knight and unreachable to enemy pawns, this is a classic knight outpost. If captured, it will simply be replaced; therefore, it is virtually impossible to remove.
Even though the knight presents no immediate threat on e5, its imposing position makes it extremely dangerous as the game progresses. Outposts near the king are especially valuable. Notice how from the outpost, the knight can reach many key squares, including g6 and f7. It could easily support a mating attack further down the line!
3. Play for a Space Advantage
If you can’t find a forcing move or create an outpost, consider creating a space advantage. Most intermediate chess players are familiar with the concept of space. But did you know that space is not the same thing as a space advantage?
In chess, space is often considered to be simply how advanced your pawns are and the number of squares your pieces can move to. To create a space advantage, however, you also need to restrict the number of squares your opponent's pieces can move to. Namely, minor pieces.
In the position below, White’s pawns are more advanced; therefore, White appears to have more space. Yet, because White has failed to restrict any of Black’s minor pieces, there is no space advantage. In fact, by controlling the long diagonal, Black may be slightly better!
One of the reasons that White fails to gain a space advantage is because there are fewer minor pieces on the board. This reminds us of an important principle: If you have more space, avoid trading minor pieces. If you have limited space, consider trading pieces. Having more pieces on the board accentuates the space advantage, making things more claustrophobic for your opponent.
4. Improve Your Least Active Piece (LAP)
In addition to seeking a space advantage, consider identifying your least active piece and improving its position on the board. Even if this doesn't appear to present an immediate advantage, simply giving your piece access to more squares tends to pay off down the line.
In the example below, Black has no legitimate checks, captures, or threats on the cards. Instead, how about improving the least active piece? Can you spot it?
Yes! Black’s least active piece here is the rook on c8. Which square would be a better one? Remember that rooks love open files, no matter where they are on the board. Therefore, Black’s best move here is ...Rb8, posting its redundant rook where it could become very useful further down the line!
Finding the right square to improve your least active piece can sometimes involve calculating the most likely follow-up moves. In this example, Black always has the option of trading its dark-squared bishop for White’s strong knight on d4. This will give the rook full access to the b-file (and even a discovered attack if White leaves a piece undefended)!
5. Knowing When to Trade
Intermediate chess players will know that when you’re up on material, it’s better to trade pieces. But what about when the game is even, or when there’s a space advantage? It’s important to grasp when to initiate, ignore, or avoid a trade.
As we discussed earlier, if you have a space advantage, you want to leave pieces on the board to make the space tighter for your opponent. Similarly, if you’re attacking, you usually want to keep all of your attacking pieces on the board. Of course, removing defenders and weakening pawn structure through trades can be exceptions to the rule.
If your opponent offers you a trade, consider why they’re doing so very carefully before accepting it. If they didn’t think the trade would be advantageous or at least neutral for them, they wouldn’t have offered. Never rush into a trade simply for not knowing what other move to make!
In this blitz game, White has just moved its queen to e3, offering a trade of queens. What's your best response here?
Did you notice how dangerously underdeveloped White is here? Black must seize this chance to mount a swift attack! Swapping queens would simply throw away the golden opportunity. Instead, ...Ne5 avoids the trade and supports ...Nfg4, a potentially powerful outpost for White in the following moves.
When playing against superior opponents, some players can be tempted to swap pieces off to simplify the game. However, rushing toward the endgame against a stronger player is not a wise idea; this is where advanced players truly excel. Instead, try to prolong the middlegame, where you have more opportunities for the tactical motifs that put you ahead.
6. Use Pawn Breaks to Open Up the Game
Pawn breaks are pawn moves that can force an exchange to open up the game. Knowing when and how to use pawn breaks is a critical part of intermediate and advanced chess strategy.
In this example from the English Opening, all of the pawns are still on the board, and the position is quite closed. Can you see White’s pawn break that would open up the board?
1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O e5 7. a3 Bg4
Yes! 8. b4 is White’s best move. This pawn break offers Black a free pawn in exchange to open up the queenside. If Black accepts, White can begin a vicious attack on the queenside unimpeded. Ba3, Nb5, and Rb1 are coming to attack Black’s vulnerable d6 and b7 pawns. White suddenly has a winning advantage!
Pawn structure in chess has been likened to the human skeleton at times. If you can break the integrity of your opponent’s skeleton with a pawn break, you can mortally wound the entire body of their position. A pawn minority attack is a classic example of this, and a key middlegame plan that every intermediate chess player should know.