There are a lot of rules in chess designed to aid us in mastering the game. Positional play in chess has rules you must first learn before breaking them.
If you do not learn the rules of positional play in chess, you will break them without knowing why you are not finding the best moves.
When you find yourself wondering why you keep losing games, evaluate your understanding of positional play in chess.
The good news is that when you improve your positional play, you will find your pieces can launch attacks or defend against them with greater ease.
Angelo Kesaris, IM Valeri Lilov, and IM Mat Kolosowski have teamed up to help you master positional chess. In this video, Angelo Kesaris shows you how to apply the rules of positional play in chess games.
What Is Positional Play and Why Learn It?
There are times in every chess game when there is no direct contact between the pieces. During the times in your games without tactical opportunities, you get to show your mastery of positional play in chess.
The benefit of improving your positional play is knowing which threats to defend against and the ghosts you can ignore.
When your opponent is following a bad plan, you want him to continue, and mastering positional play in chess allows you to recognize bad plans.
Thanks to the video you just watched, you have learned some of the reasons why an attack will fail. There is much more to learn from Angelo and his team in the 11 Chapters To Master Positional Chess.
Positional Play in Chess and Pawn Structures
GM Simon Williams advises us to see the pawn structure as the skeleton of the position. The pawns determine the ideal squares for your pieces to a large extent.
Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of different pawn structures is vital to mastering positional play in chess. Your deeper understanding of doubled pawns, hanging pawns, and isolated pawns will give you the edge in theoretically equal positions.
Rooks need open files and ranks to be at their very best. When you have grasped this positional rule, you will no longer be afraid to play an exchange sacrifice in a closed or semi-closed position.
Damaging the pawn structure with an exchange sacrifice can often create an outpost for a knight.
Another crucial benefit from an exchange sacrifice is opening lines against the castled king. This sacrifice is often played in the Sicilian Dragon variation.
Even with queens off the board, Sergey Karjakin could not counter the positional advantages Teimour Radjabov attained from the exchange sacrifice.
If the exchange sacrifice can prove decisive against a player rated 2727, think how potent it can be against your opponents.
Karjakin, Sergey (2727) – Radjabov, Teimour (2744), 2008.08.14, Sochi FIDE GP Round 13, Sochi RUS
In Conclusion
As much as we would like only to play attacking chess, becoming a well-rounded chess player requires a mastery of positional play in chess.
Learning how to master positional play in chess will help you get the most from all of your pieces and pawns. Getting more from your pieces will make your attacks deadlier and your defense stronger.
Instead of relying only on tactics, you can use a combination of positional and attacking concepts to win chess games.
Angelo Kesaris, IM Valeri Lilov, and IM Mat Kolosowski have put together 11 Chapters To Master Positional Chess, covering pawn structures, developing a thinking system, and much more.
Become a stronger player and take your positional understanding to a new level.
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