Think Like a Strong Player!

I'd like to spend a little time going over how our kids should THINK about chess.  We see a lot of players looking at the board and not knowing 1) how to evaluate the position and 2) how to make the best move to improve their position.

The most important thing is to start by thinking "Why did they move there, and what can they do to me?"  We've been asking this question for years in Muskego chess.  The kids that DONT ask themselves this question have paid the price!  KNOW WHAT THE OTHER PLAYER IS DOING (and how the game has changed with their move) before you decide what you want to do.

Immediately after every move by your opponent, you should answer the following two
questions:

1) What are your opponent’s THREATS?
A threat can be:

• a mate attack or other threats against the king,
• a gain in material,
• gaining a very good position for a piece,
• getting control of an important square, line, or diagonal, or
• any other tactical or strategic advantage that the opponent can gain on the next move.

Then, you should evaluate which of the threats are real. Not all threats are REAL and
in this regard many chess players often make mistakes. For example, if your opponent is
threatening to gain the bishop-pair, you should evaluate whether this is really negative for
you in the concrete, exact position that you have on the board.  Only real threats should be taken into consideration. 

2) What are the CONSEQUENCES of your opponent’s last move?
Almost every move has a good effect and a secondary effect which may be negative.  Most chess moves have pluses and minuses. For example, by moving the bishop from c8 to
f5, Black gains control over the the b1-h7 diagonal, BUT at the same time, he looses the
protection of the b7-pawn.
Also, you should always evaluate the consequences of your own moves before playing
them.

The consequences of moves can be things like:

• opening a file or a diagonal,
• blocking one piece with another,
• weakening a square or a pawn structure,
• leaving a piece undefended, and
• many others that you will soon learn to notice very clearly.