Chess Strategy And Tactics

Strategy could be described as the overall plan, the 'grand' design. In fact, this is a good way to differentiate between chess strategy and tactics - strategy is the general way in which we intend to win. For example, we decide to guard the King and Queen solidly, and move minor pieces forward in an impenetrable wall. Another strategy might be to control the middle space of the board, breaking out with powerful pieces in a spearhead approach. We could have two major attacks, or a false attack intended to hide the real danger.

It's seems fairly obvious that the game in it's present form was derived from actual battles scenarios in the distant past, when the ebb and flow of armed conflict was slow and strategy was very important. Of course, superior numbers and overwhelming force can be (and usually are) deciding factors, but a good overall strategy can be the deciding factor in any conflict. In real life, and on the chess board, an opponent can be tricked into making decisions that cost dearly, simply because he is not aware of the real strategy whilst concentrating too much on movements that are irrelevant to the real attack.

Chess Tactics

Tactics represents the way in which we use our individual pieces to achieve the idea contained in our chess strategy. If we want to control the valuable middle board, which pieces should we move and where to? We need to decide how to protect the forward positions and maintain a defense against attacking moves. A subtle calculation is needed to assess which players we are willing to lose during any false attack designed to put the enemy on the wrong foot.

If our strategy is to maintain a defensive wall around the king, for example, which individual chess pieces are we willing to sacrfice, and how can we launch one or more offensives with the remaining resources. The art of tactics in chess is how to most efficiently use our 'team' in order to get the results defined in our overall strategy - chess strategy are defined together.

This then is the difference between chess strategy and tactics - the overall concept or idea for beating the opponent against the detailed moves we need to make to make sure we get the result. A great way to learn chess is to find a free chess on line service, or paying a small subscription to a chess school.

Of course, there is absolutely no substitute for playing the game and anayzing them afterwards - beginner's chess is challenging, but rewarding. If you have access to a friendly chess master, you're in luck!