Recommend a Book on Making a Plan - Chess Forums

monk64

Jan 2, 2018

0

#1

I'm a 1200ish player and this is a position from one of my recent games. I'm white at move 13, and we've just exchanged Queens.

The game itself isn't that interesting and I'm not looking for advice on this position per se. My question is rather more about this game phase in general. I remember thinking for a long time here because...

...I had really no idea what to do. Still don't.

I do understand some features of the position. For example:

White has better development
White has castled, Black hasn't and can't at the moment (though soon will)
The d1 rook is well-placed on an open file
Black's only bishop is tied down defending a pawn
White's possible Nd5 threatens a fork but black can remedy with Rc8 and the NxB exchange only helps his castling, and then we're in a pretty even endgame.
Etc. But how to put that together into a plan towards mate or deciding on a move here

None of that really helps me formulate a plan of what to do next.

I find this happens somewhat frequently. At my level, I try to concentrate on learning tactics and basic endgames. My gameplan is something like "develop, get castled, look for tactics" which works to a point but in many games I seem to get into a position where it's not clear what to do next.

Is there a good book on how to formulate plans in positions where obvious tactics don't jump out?

Atom680

Jan 2, 2018

0

#2

Hmmm don’t know what to do in that position

Atom680

Jan 2, 2018

0

#3

Try downloading stockfish on the App Store and figure it out from there

jambyvedar

Jan 2, 2018

0

#4

You need to increase your chess understanding/pattern recognition. Try Chess Strategy Work Book by Bard Wick

https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Strategy-Workbook-Blueprint-Developing/dp/0976196220

Chess Strategy Workbook teaches you to be observant and take your time to discover the clues in chess positions, introducing many of the strategies used by chess masters in a way that is fun and easy to understand. Learn how to use the different types of chess advantages (king safety, material, piece activity, and pawn structure) to correctly evaluate the position in order to select the best move. Basic strategies for the opening, middlegame, and endgame are covered in detail as well as pitfalls to avoid and how to think during the game. Two hundred problems with a comprehensive answer key are given at two skill levels:

cellomaster8

Jan 2, 2018

0

#5

How about Rd5?

kindaspongey

Jan 2, 2018

0

#6

Chess Training for Post-beginners by Yaroslav Srokovski
https://web.archive.org/web/20140712013538/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review945.pdf
Chess Strategy: Move by Move by Adam Hunt
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093249/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review890.pdf
How to Reassess Your Chess (4th ed.) by Jeremy Silman
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095832/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review769.pdf
The Art of the Middlegame
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Art-of-the-Middlegame-The-77p3554.htm
Winning Pawn Structures by GM Alexander Baburin (1998)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140718055446/http://chesscafe.com/text/wps.txt
Understanding Pawn Play in Chess by GM Drazen Marovic (2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708110136/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review249.pdf
Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess by GM Drazen Marovic (2001)
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/books-of-many-flavours
Winning Chess Middlegames, An Essential Guide to Pawn Structures by GM Ivan Sokolov (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708091955/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review676.pdf
Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andrew Soltis (2013)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101523/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review908.pdf
Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide by GM Mauricio Flores Rios (2015)
"There is also masses of stuff in the book that made me go 'Oooh!' and 'Aaah!' so I think it will have the same effect on you! In particular, I loved Rios' exposition of White's plan of exerting queenside pressure against Hedgehog systems. I'd seen one of the games he quotes in his chapter but I'd never remotely made any link to a structured way of fighting the Hedgehog structure, so this chapter was a real eye-opener for me ...
In conclusion, warmly recommended. Lots to learn!" - GM Matthew Sadler
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7495.pdf
The Power of Pawns by GM Jörg Hickl (2016)
"The didactic concept of the book is admirable. Each chapter defines the structures, explains the typical characteristics and shows the plans for both White and Black. The reader participates by assessing positions and invariably receives useful tips for practical play." - FM Harry Schaack
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/the-power-of-pawns/
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9034.pdf
Zurich 1953 by Bronstein
http://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/review-zurich-1953-bronstein
Python Strategy by Tigran Petrosian
http://sagarteacheschess.blogspot.com/2015/09/python-strategy-book-review.html
Petrosian’s Legacy by Tigran Petrosian (1990)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103409/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review309.pdf
Petrosian: Move by Move by Thomas Engqvist
"Engqvist gives us a rare treat and a genuine, sympathetic understanding of one of chess' greats who nowadays tends to gets lost in the shuffle!" - Michael Ciamarra (2014)
Grandmaster Chess Strategy by Jürgen Kaufeld & Guido Kern
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093410/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review812.pdf

RoobieRoo

Jan 2, 2018

0

#7

Black King still in the centre? lead in development? Open it up! Usually favours the side with a lead in development. Outpost on d5, occupy it. Control of an open file, double rooks, occupy and penetrate. Any pawn breaks? evaluate them. Bad bishop bad? keep it bad. Tactical threats? Evaluate their potency. So many things you can do to improve your position.

sammy_boi

Jan 2, 2018

0

#8

3 part answer.
1) Why planning may not be the right thing to focus on right now
2) What book I recommend for planning
3) What I think about the position

1)
At 1200 you may be able to come up with a great plan, but then you might lose due to bad calculation habits (i.e. tactics).

Also some plans wont make sense until you take certain tactics for granted.

For example the fork on c7 is not a good reason to like Nd5... why? Because it blocks your rook. The Nc7 fork is meaningless because black will 100% see it... but at 1200 you might win 10, 20, or 30% of the time by making a 1 move threat like that, so your experience is yelling at you to try Nd5.

A higher rated player doesn't have that little voice yelling at them, because they win so few games with a move like Nd5.

So first of all I recommend to study tactics.

---

2)
I like the Soltis book Pawn Structure Chess for planning. That's what really helped me. It's all about interpreting the pawn structure to find the general plans and where the pieces may want to go.

https://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Structure-Chess-Andrew-Soltis/dp/1849940703

Also (and I'll explain this at the end of part 3) I recommend studying endgames

For example a book like this

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Endings-Everyman/dp/1857443489

---

3)
In the position you posted white can immediately win material with Nb5, so lets change it a little.

Since it has a symmetrical structure, and no pawns cross the mid line, and no real pawn breaks to go for, positions like these typically don't have long range plans, they have short term piece improvements... then with more active pieces you can create weaknesses... then based on the defects in the opponent's position, you can make plans.

So this position is more about short sequences that improve your pieces.

A common way to improve a rook that is usually overlooked by less experienced players is giving it an open rank. For example one of the first things I'd be thinking is could a rook on a3, b3, or c3 force some of black's pawns to move in a way that creates a target I could play against.

Another thing I notice is black is anemic on the light squares, so I'd consider a short sequence involving Bg5 with BxN to see if I can infiltrate effectively on d5 or d7.

Typically the knights are pretty good at harassing pawns too, so I'd look at moves like Nb5 to see whether I can get some black pawns to move. You can also consider moves like a4-a5-a6 and similar with the g and h pawns to see if you can make some targets.

If some or all of these are successful, then what will really help you is endgame knowledge and technique, not really planning.

Which is why planning and endgame knowledge really complement each other (how can you know which weaknesses are useful to induce, or minor pieces are useful to trade, if you don't know how to win the resulting endgames?)

So my other recommendation is to study endgames.

kevinthedavis

Jan 2, 2018

0

#9

I have also been asking this question lately and will probably check out the books that are recommended. I also recommend the chess.com "lessons" tab, particularly the strategy section. It's not easy and at times it can be frustrating (I'd rather just play!), but it's a good tool for this very thing: to start training you to think strategically in a broad sense as opposed to single moves, or even single principals. However, I think all of the things you noted about the above position is a good start. I personally would make note of the things you mentioned and then think, "well even if I'm not threatening a win right away, isn't my Knight awesome on d5?" As you correctly stated, white wouldn't be jumping to d5 simply capture the bishop (the inferior piece); he's going because a Knight on d5 is an great piece. I did noticed he could play Nf6 to challenge my Knight on d5, but then I play c4 and if he takes I get a connected passed pawn which should be advantageous for white. (In hindsight, I see Nb5! is best as then Rc8 would drop the a7 pawn. Anyway, all that to say, your Nd5 can't be a bad plan!)

sammy_boi

Jan 2, 2018

0

#10

kevinthedavis wrote:

I have also been asking this question lately and will probably check out the books that are recommended. I also recommend the chess.com "lessons" tab, particularly the strategy section. It's not easy and at times it can be frustrating (I'd rather just play!), but it's a good tool for this very thing: to start training you to think strategically in a broad sense as opposed to single moves, or even single principals. However, I think all of the things you noted about the above position is a good start. I personally would make note of the things you mentioned and then think, "well even if I'm not threatening a win right away, isn't my Knight awesome on d5?" As you correctly stated, white wouldn't be jumping to d5 simply capture the bishop (the inferior piece); he's going because a Knight on d5 is an great piece. I did noticed he could play Nf6 to challenge my Knight on d5, but then I play c4 and if he takes I get a connected passed pawn which should be advantageous for white. (In hindsight, I see Nb5! is best as then Rc8 would drop the a7 pawn. Anyway, all that to say, your Nd5 can't be a bad plan!)

Nd5 Nxd5 pawn takes d5 would give black great drawing chances.

True you have a protected passer and a good vs bad bishop, but you'll need a 2nd defect in black's position to work on to break down the fortress. Rushing to trade knights is a minor mistake IMO, as is blocking the d file with the knight. White has the potential to draw more out of this phase before moving on to the next (you can think of each trade as a minor transition). First have black make some concessions, after that you can trade knights

NM DoctorMove

Jan 4, 2018

0

#11

Very thoughtful post by monk64, and it was a pleasure to read it as it was to read the replies to it, a few of them so comprehensive (e.g. sammi_boi and kindaspongey!).

I have nothing to add about planning except to say that I learned and was inspired a lot by studying the game collections of the great players with their annotations: Botvinnik, Capablanca, Karpov, Alekhine, Kasparov, Fischer, etc.

Aside from the planning considerations, I note, monk64, that in the position that you posted with White, to move, already is two tempos (moves) ahead in development. I'd be curious to see the opening of the game that led to this position, so we can all figure out how Black lost those moves.

In any case, IMHO, this thread is a model. Thanks to all!

yureesystem

Jan 4, 2018

0

#12

Tactics and tactics and tactics is the key to winning games. You are so ahead in development and there has to be something tactical; 1.Rd5! win a pawn by force. 1. Rd5 (a) f6 { 1....b6 2.Rxe5 wins a pawn} 2.Bxc5 Bxc5 3.Rxc5 (a) 1...Nf6 2.Rxe5 wins a pawn. 1.Rd5! was the winning move. You are not looking at enough candidate moves (a) 1.Nd5 is easily defended by 1...Rc8 but white can get an advantage 2.f3 and 3.c4 and white has central and queenside pressure.

Logical Chess Move by Move by Chernev really help me to develop as a chess player, excellent book for planning and strategy and general chess principles.

SeniorPatzer

Jan 4, 2018

0

#13

Planning? I think Neil McDonald wrote a book on the Art of Planning.

I like what Sammy Boi wrote: Short sequences. Actually, I like to call them mini plans. Or short term goals.

I am also learning the concept of prophylaxis. It's kinda fun to take away squares from my opponent.

kindaspongey

Jan 5, 2018

0

#14

https://www.chess.com/blog/kurtgodden/review-the-art-of-planning

cfour_explosive

Jan 5, 2018

0

#15

the first thing you should notice in this position is the d5 outpost for you knight - get your knight there asap. doubling rooks on the open file might also be a good idea. there is also the opportunity to win material through tactics, as others have pointed out

if you struggle to come up with good plans in these boring positions, it might also be a decent idea to avoid these kind of structures, i.e. keep the queens on the board