Develop A Solid Positional Chess Strategy
Note: This post was written by Nathan Rose
All players have a preferred style at the chess board. Some thrive in sharp, tactical situations. Others do better in slower, quieter games. However, every serious chess player - whatever their style - needs to understand positional chess strategy.
As Bobby Fischer once pointed out: “tactics flow from a superior position.” What this means is: even if you prefer a tactical dogfight, you will only get consistent opportunities to win games in this manner if you also have strong positional chess skills. Especially at the intermediate and advanced levels (where unforced blunders are less common), you usually need to outplay your opponents strategically, move by move, in order to earn the chance to finish them off tactically.
In this article, you will learn:
● The difference between positional chess and tactical chess.
● Some of the most important elements of chess strategy.
● How to further improve your understanding of positional chess.
Images from chess.com.
What Is Positional Chess Strategy?
Positional chess is to do with making moves based on long term planning. For example: taking space, improving your pieces, and creating weaknesses in the enemy camp. We will expand upon these elements in the next section. It is often not possible to foresee exactly how positionally motivated moves will lead to victory. Instead, positional chess moves are more about making your own play easier and your opponent’s play more difficult.
This stands in contrast to tactical chess, which concerns short term forcing sequences which lead directly to concrete advantages. This is the skill you practice when solving chess puzzles. Certain situations present the opportunity to checkmate the opponent or achieve a decisive gain of material if you seize the moment and calculate accurately.
Related: How To Be An Effective Chess Calculator.
The complete chess player needs to be adept at both positional chess and tactical chess.
- When a tactic exists, you must be able to take advantage of it.
- When no tactics exist, you must play in a way that improves your position.
Strategies and tactics are inextricably linked in playing winning chess.
Key Elements Of Positional Chess
Here are some of the most important aspects of positional chess strategy that all strong players ought to know.
Control Of The Center
The two most popular first moves for White are 1. e4 and 1. d4. There is a sound reason behind this. Both of these central pawn advances stake a claim in the all-important center of the board.
The opening moves 1. e4 and 1. d4 both help White fight for the center.
It is accepted wisdom that control of the center is vital in chess. This is why moves such as 1. a4 and 1. h4 - which do not do anything to influence the center - are not taken seriously among chess champions.
The importance of the center applies to piece play as well. You may be familiar with the dictum: “a knight on the rim is dim”. This is because a knight on the edge of the board controls fewer squares than a knight in the center.
There are always exceptions - the ideal placement of any piece depends on the exact position at hand. But this rule of thumb is helpful to bear in mind, particularly for those who are new to chess. It explains why, after 1. e4 e5, the move 2. Nf3 (developing the knight towards the center) is far more common than 2. Nh3 (developing the knight towards the edge).
2. Nf3 develops a knight towards the center. This is why it is more common than 2. Nh3.
The advice to “activate your king in the endgame” is based on similar logic. Once most of the pieces have been traded off the board and king safety becomes less of a concern, the king becomes an important fighting unit in the endgame. The king will tend to be more influential if it is centralized - from where it has more options to influence the play.
Related: How To Play In Unbalanced Chess Endgames.
Piece Development
Here is another adage you may have heard before: “do not move the same piece twice in the opening”. It is important to play with all your pieces. Get your forces off their starting squares and into the game!
The Italian Game is a popular opening for White which features rapid piece development. White develops their kingside knight and light-squared bishop to good squares and prepares to quickly castle their king to safety. This makes it a great chess opening for beginners and masters alike.
In the Italian Game, White plays 2. Nf3 and 3. Bc4, developing their pieces quickly.
Superior development can provide compensation for a material deficit. Take the below position where Black has just captured a White pawn on b2 with their queen.
This is a common beginner mistake. Beginners tend to see the game purely in terms of material, and they will grab pawns without properly considering other important positional factors. Part of becoming stronger is realizing the inherent danger of such an approach.
Black may have gained an extra pawn, but is critically behind in development. None of Black’s kingside pieces have left their starting squares. This means that it will take Black at least three moves to get castled. Meanwhile, White is fully developed and has excellent piece coordination. With energetic play, White should be able to make life very uncomfortable for their opponent.
Making sound judgements about when it is OK to grab material and when to instead concentrate on development is a hallmark of strong positional play.
Pawn Structure
Knowledge of different chess pawn structures is an entire subject in itself. It is an important field of study for intermediate and advanced chess players. Here is a brief summary of the main types of pawn weaknesses to think about:
Doubled pawns (two pawns on the same file) are generally a weakness. They get in each other’s way and can be difficult to defend, particularly in an endgame.
Black has doubled pawns on the e-file.
Isolated pawns can also be weak. Since there are no neighboring pawns on adjacent files, they cannot be defended by a fellow pawn of the same color. Therefore, if they are threatened (as in the below position), they need to be defended by a piece.
Black’s rook is forced to passively defend the isolated pawn on d5.
Backward pawns are another type of pawn weakness. Even if a backward pawn is not “isolated”, it still cannot be defended by a friendly pawn of the same color which has advanced beyond it. Pawns cannot move backwards.
Black’s backward d-pawn is a target for White.
Positional chess strategy can involve trying to create such pawn weaknesses for your opponent. Through captures, pawn breaks, and clever middlegame planning, pawn weaknesses can make your opponent’s position more tricky to defend.
How To Improve At Positional Chess Strategy
Now that we have covered some of the main elements of positional chess strategy, let us take a look at how you can improve this aspect of your game.
Tip #1: Choose Positional Chess Openings
One of the best ways to improve at positional chess is to play more positional games!
Your choice of opening repertoire determines the sorts of games you will get more often. Certain openings are known to be more positional than others.
Some openings which tend to lead to positional chess include:
Avoid gambits and stick to solid openings where you attempt to outplay your opponent slowly.
Tip #2: Study Chess Strategy Books
There are many excellent books that delve into greater detail about chess strategy.
Here are a few of our top picks, depending on your level:
● Beginner / Intermediate (under 1500 elo rating): Logical Chess: Move By Move. Chernev takes the reader through 33 of the most instructive games of chess ever played, with annotations explaining the thought process behind every single move.
● Advanced (1500 - 2000 elo rating): How To Reassess Your Chess. Silman’s book uses the concept of “imbalances” to help readers evaluate and come up with the right plans.
● Expert (2000+ elo rating): My System. Nimzowitsch’s classic text helped revolutionize our understanding of chess strategy. To this day, it is still required reading for those wanting to master positional chess.
As you read, take care to note the points that stand out to you. Highlight certain positions so that you can easily go back to review them later. If you see a position which you do not understand, try using computer analysis to help get to the bottom of it. This sort of work will do wonders for your knowledge of positional chess strategy!
Related: How To Effectively Use Chess Books To Improve.
Tip #3: Play Through The Games Of Master Positional Chess Players
Certain chess world champions are more associated with certain styles of play.
● Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov were both aggressive, attacking chess players.
● Tigran Petrosian and Anatoly Karpov had the opposite reputation - as masters of positional chess.
You should prioritize studying the games of positional chess masters. By playing through their games (and their annotations), you can gain a window into how they could add pressure, neutralize counterplay, and slowly squeeze their opponents into submission.
Among contemporary players, Magnus Carlsen is one of the finest positional masters. Playing through Carlsen’s masterpieces will help build his way of thinking into your own game. Check out the game collection Magnus Carlsen - 60 Memorable Games where Andrew Soltis breaks down some of Carlsen’s finest performances in an easily digestible manner.
