“For him, exchanges are often not the prelude to a quick draw but the signal that it is time for his opponent to start suffering.” – Dennis Monokroussos, chess author and Fide Master
Wondering who they are talking about?
A feat equaled historically only by Emanuel Lasker and Wilhelm Steinitz—and that made him one of the GREATEST players of all time.
Mikhail Botvinnik’s playing style was strategically forceful. He did not engage in a berserk piece sacrifice or any unsound tactical combination only to put pressure on his opponent. What he did instead was slowly outplayed him with a superior strategy until he cracked like an egg.
When someone asks something like, “Hey, I just want to have some fun—and still win games. Which opening should I learn?”…
The answer is usually to AVOID the great, old Sicilian or the totally unoriginal King’s Pawn, or any of the popular openings that you constantly hear about for that matter.
Yes, choosing the right candidate move can make or break your position… true that.
But what’s even more important?
What’s the FIRST step that comes even before looking for candidate moves?
That’s right—evaluation of the current position.
Ask any chess beginner rated around 1400-1600… and they will tell you what’s on top of their mind.
It’s almost always along these lines:
“How to find the best moves in a position?”
“How to visualize the chess board better?”
And more often than not…
In Tata Steel Masters 2020, Jordan Van Forest was the lowest-rated chess player in a pool of 2700+ Elo “sharks”.
He knew that they would be out for his blood. To hold his own against these apex predators over the chessboard, he needed a weapon, sharp and powerful enough to put a dent on the play of even a Super-GM…
“Castling is safe. Castle early while you still can.”
Isn’t that what everyone says? Guess what – they are WRONG!
Take a look at how Kasparov destroys Mephisto (the computer engine) and his castled king in this game in 1985…
One of the most difficult challenges for those who play 1.e4 is what to do after 1…e5. White’s mainstream options require deep understanding and good memory, nevertheless, Black gets solid positions in all of them. Learning tons of modern theory becomes not only difficult but also not very effective. Then why should we go for that at all?
The Art of Exchanges is one of those under-the-radar ‘super skills’ that all the strong players possess, and the rest doesn’t quite get.
It is perhaps the most important, very underestimated SKILL in chess.
Few players, other than IMs and GMs realize how powerful that skill really is.
Needless to say, over 95% of club players do not put much thought when it comes to exchanging their pieces or pawns. If the exchange looks “fair” or “equal” why not swap a pair of bishops, trade the knight, or few pawns?
If you are looking to take your positional understanding to the next level, the TCW Academy course on the Outposts is a definite must-take! IM Milovan Ratkovic starts out with the basics and quickly deep dives into the mechanics of the outpost play.
