For those who have played in a few tournaments, I am sure that when you have gone to see the top board after your game is over that the position looks quite messy (and by the point you have arrived here, they are probably playing an endgame!). The reason for this mess, while it is partially to do with a side trying to win by creating 2 weaknesses, is because the defending side will also try to provoke problems for the offensive side.
While this is an easy thing to tell someone to do, it is certainly not at all an easy thing to carry out! If you were to not fight back at all, then the Cat and Mouse technique, as mentioned before, would work during every single attack!
Brief Overview
Counterplay is simply any method of creating your own winning chances in a position where you are slightly worse. It is a very dangerous weapon which positional players avoid giving to their opponent. In fact, Karpov's entire play was often based around removing all counterplay from the person sitting opposite to him.
Game fragment:
The game below (as of every single game in that match) was a crucial one. If the player lost or even drew, we would not have stayed in first place during the tournament. I remember checking on how our FM was doing, and it was not looking good (he was playing as black). His attack was falling apart, and both players were in a time scramble:
Of course, many decisions that were taken in the game were made because black had to win the game (which was sort of our fault [although I did win my game]). But while the engine does hate the game, notice how frustrating his counterplay was for his opp to deal with! After all, it left him with seconds left.
The key things to observe from this game are:
To try and create your own winning chances while your opp is playing for a win
Be flexible with your plans, often having multiple plans at once
As usual, punish your opponent if they trip up when stopping your plans
In most cases, counterplay is not about playing the 100% most accurate move (because otherwise they are much easier to predict in an endgame). It is all about creating your own winning chances strong enough to combat their winning chances.
Personal Game Fragments
(Unfortunately, being a rapid game during a tournament, I was unable to recall most of the game as it was so sharp, but did recall this position)
In the game below, I had unfortunately allowed my opponent's attack to become very strong. However, I had also got my Knight to control his kingside squares, and obtained a passed pawn on the 6th rank. If not for any of the counterplay I had preserved, I would lose the game on the spot. Can you find the counterplay which saves the game?
Before I get to the solution, I must admit that this is very much related to tactics, but I put this game fragment in because of the slight chances created for black, and the imbalances make it a good example for counterplay. Anyways, even if you got the first few moves, then you have succeeded!
Fortunately for me, my opp took back with the rook and missed the following combination!
Of course, the first example was a much cleaner example of counterplay, but it just shows how powerful it can get if you do not bother doing something about it. If my opponent had attended to stopping this, then they would have an easy time breaking through my very weak kingside.
So if you are defending a position, always keep looking for ways to combat your opponent's chances by making your own! If you can, try to be flexible with a few possible plans. That being said, you should also try to limit your opponent's plans when you are the one pushing for the win!
Introduction
For those who have played in a few tournaments, I am sure that when you have gone to see the top board after your game is over that the position looks quite messy (and by the point you have arrived here, they are probably playing an endgame!). The reason for this mess, while it is partially to do with a side trying to win by creating 2 weaknesses, is because the defending side will also try to provoke problems for the offensive side.
While this is an easy thing to tell someone to do, it is certainly not at all an easy thing to carry out! If you were to not fight back at all, then the Cat and Mouse technique, as mentioned before, would work during every single attack!
Brief Overview
Counterplay is simply any method of creating your own winning chances in a position where you are slightly worse. It is a very dangerous weapon which positional players avoid giving to their opponent. In fact, Karpov's entire play was often based around removing all counterplay from the person sitting opposite to him.
Game fragment:
The game below (as of every single game in that match) was a crucial one. If the player lost or even drew, we would not have stayed in first place during the tournament. I remember checking on how our FM was doing, and it was not looking good (he was playing as black). His attack was falling apart, and both players were in a time scramble:
Of course, many decisions that were taken in the game were made because black had to win the game (which was sort of our fault [although I did win my game]). But while the engine does hate the game, notice how frustrating his counterplay was for his opp to deal with! After all, it left him with seconds left.
The key things to observe from this game are:
In most cases, counterplay is not about playing the 100% most accurate move (because otherwise they are much easier to predict in an endgame). It is all about creating your own winning chances strong enough to combat their winning chances.
Personal Game Fragments
(Unfortunately, being a rapid game during a tournament, I was unable to recall most of the game as it was so sharp, but did recall this position)
In the game below, I had unfortunately allowed my opponent's attack to become very strong. However, I had also got my Knight to control his kingside squares, and obtained a passed pawn on the 6th rank. If not for any of the counterplay I had preserved, I would lose the game on the spot. Can you find the counterplay which saves the game?
Before I get to the solution, I must admit that this is very much related to tactics, but I put this game fragment in because of the slight chances created for black, and the imbalances make it a good example for counterplay. Anyways, even if you got the first few moves, then you have succeeded!
Fortunately for me, my opp took back with the rook and missed the following combination!
Of course, the first example was a much cleaner example of counterplay, but it just shows how powerful it can get if you do not bother doing something about it. If my opponent had attended to stopping this, then they would have an easy time breaking through my very weak kingside.
So if you are defending a position, always keep looking for ways to combat your opponent's chances by making your own! If you can, try to be flexible with a few possible plans. That being said, you should also try to limit your opponent's plans when you are the one pushing for the win!