Doing Nothing

Chess is a very complicated game, as we all know. One of the reasons that it is very complicated is that you must move a piece every move. This makes it nearly impossible to hold the wonderful defense that you have created without giving your opponent an opportunity to penetrate your defensive scheme. This defensive structure that you have carefully crafted grows to be even more important in the end game.

Understanding that it is sometimes better to shuffle a piece back and forth from square to square, than to weaken your defense, is very important. Doing this may seem... boring... but it is better to be boring than to throw away a win or a chance at a draw. If your opponent allows you to do this enough, the game will end in a draw due to the 50-move rule. More often though, your opponent will grow impatient and make an error. This is assuming that you are in a weaker position and that your opponent is looking for a way to place you into a checkmate instead of letting you get the draw.

This frantic moving and searching by your opponent will frequently result in them making a mistake and giving you the victory. Another consideration is whether or not you are playing a timed game. If so, you can run your opponent out of time with this shuffling of your piece because your opponent will spend time looking for a mate while you are in a perfectly defended position that requires no thought. Look at your end game for opportunities to utilize this do nothing strategy. This strategy will come in handy at times and can help you secure a draw, or even better a win.



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1. Offense or Defense
2. God Save The Queen
3. Bluffing
4. Keep from Blocking Yourself
5. Middle or sides
6. Skewering and Pinning
7. Castling
8. Put your Pieces to Work
9. The Power of the Pawn
10. The Double Threat

21. End Game Ideas
22. Doubled Pawns
23. End Game Goals
24. Middle Game Tactics
25. Chart Your Progress
26. Deflection
27. Master An Opening
28. Chess Notation Part 1
29. Chess Notation Part 2
30. Chess Notation Part 3

41. The Classic Kings Pawn Opening
42. Chess Variants
43. Checkmate
44. Defend Yourself
45. Simplicity
46. Attack on the Kings Side
47. Play Against a Computer
48. Zwischenzug
49. Do Not Fret
50. Take Advantage of Your Opponents Doubled Pawns

61. Memorizing Openings
62. Winning a Won Game
63. You Are Going to Lose
64. Castling Ideas
65. A Winning Attitude
66. Develop Your Pieces
67. The Best Move
68. Ways to Protect an Attacked Piece
69. What is Your Opponent Trying to do?
70. When to Capture a Promoting Piece

81. Pinning
82. Plan Ahead
83. Retreat
84. Take a Risk
85. The Best Move 2
86. The Center of the Game
87. The Problem With Pawns
88. The Skewer
89. The Unopposed Bishop
90. Two Weaknesses

(more coming)

Other Chess Resources
11. The Trade Off
12. Three Types of Draws
13. The Strategic Sacrifice
14. Hidden Attacks
15. Understanding The Three Stages of a Chess Game
16. Four Move Checkmate
17. Use Your Moves Wisely
18. Utilizing Your Bishops
19. King Of The World
20. Pony Up


31. Join a Chess Club
32. Chess Etiquette
33. Pay Attention
34. Gambits
35. Have Your Game Analyzed
36. Long Term Thinking
37. Think Ahead
38. Watch Others
39. Learn from Grandmasters
40. The Spike or Grob Opening

51. The King as an Offensive Piece
52. Blockades
53. Chasing
54. Study Chess Problem Diagrams
55. Exchanging Pieces
56. Exploit Weaknesses
57. Learning About Bishops
58. Play the Board
59. The Lone Pawn
60. Why Play Speed Chess

71. When to Capture the Pinned Piece
72. Doing Nothing
73. Which Forked Piece to Capture
74. Explore Variety
75. Studying is Hard Work
76. Activity
77. Center Domination
78. Development
79. Pawns on the Third Rank
80. Piece Values

91. What is your opponent doing?
92. Chess History
93. Lack of Tempo

Books:
Chess History And Reminiscences
Chess Strategy