It’s been a few days that I didn’t post on the blog. I’ve been collecting my ideas and wondering if I really want to continue. I guess I do, but it will be somewhat less regular. I will post when I feel like it, probably two or three times per week. Also, I’ve have a shift of interest. I won’t talk as much about Magic, but more about chess. Or maybe I’ll try doing a column on chess and another on MTG? I don’t know for now. Anyway, let’s start.
Chess is a board game for two players where there is absolutely no luck, just skills. Every game is unique, which is a great part of what makes this game interesting. You can find rules and tactics on the web easily, but there are some things that I noticed while playing that I couldn’t find anywhere. Just so you remember, those are my guesses because I did not find anything on the subject:
Where to attack?
Depending on your opponent’s development, you may want to attack his developed side or the underdeveloped side for different reasons.
By attacking the developed wing you want to take advantage of his one or two undeveloped pieces to have more material on the attack than he has defences. Usually, the undeveloped piece is a bishop or a knight that blocks the tower in the corner. Until they are moved and his two towers connect themselves, he will play with a disadvantage. Your aim is to attack in such a way that he can’t defend by developing those pieces. If he could, it would stop you in your track because he would have gained many tempo and way more options. For example, in the French defence the black player castle when his c8 bishop is still paralysed behind his own pawns. At this moment, you can try to start an attack on the king (developed side) with both bishops and your knights to have a temporary gain of material.
If instead you plan on attacking the undeveloped side, your goal is to force your opponent’s pieces into bad positions so that later you can pick them up one by one. It is harder than the other way around, but it is feasible. Usually, it will be something like threatening the f7 pawn or trying to control the squares around the king side pawns. The defence will usually try to fight back with pawns, and that’s exactly what you want. A usual mistake you want to provoke is f6 or c6 when it doesn’t serve any real purpose. Those pawns block the best diagonals for their respective bishops and occupy the best square for the knights to develop. After having messed up this side, you can start bigger operations on the developed side since the bishop and/or the knight you left in the king’s corner won’t be able to come as backup.
On the creative side of things 