6 Elements of Good Moves in Chess – CHESSFOX

As a chess payer, you should always try to find the best moves. But how can you differentiate between good actions and mediocre ones?

To answer this question, here is a list of 6 things that characterize good movement.

1. The move was not a mistake

OK, this sounds obvious, but let’s think about it for a moment. When you make an unmistakable move, your opponent is under pressure to find a useful move because they can’t immediately take advantage of your position.

It’s natural to want to make extraordinarily good moves. But let’s be honest – how important do you consider the fact that you should, first of all, make sure that your move is not a mistake? Avoiding mistakes should be your priority because one bad action can instantly destroy the value of many good actions.

2. The move limits the opponent’s options

A move that forces the opponent to retreat or passively defend his position is almost always the hallmark of a good move.

Forcing your opponent to defend means you make little progress while at the same time they cannot use their movement to improve their position. In chess, this is often referred to as taking the initiative – constantly putting pressure on your opponent and forcing them to make defensive moves.

3. The step achieves a clear goal

Amateur players often move simply because they can’t think of anything else to do.

When you perform a movement – can you know exactly what you are achieving with that movement? If yes, great. If not, you really need to try harder to find a move that has a clear goal.

4. The movement does not weaken your structure

When your movement creates a weakness, sooner or later it can become a target for your opponent’s attack.

Having weaknesses in your position is a responsibility. On the other hand, having no weaknesses in your position makes it very difficult for your opponent to find a plan. Avoiding weakness is a strategy in itself and because your opponents may be desperate to create weakness in your position, they may make mistakes that you can exploit.

Note that I said “attackable weakness”. If a weakness cannot be attacked effectively, then it is not a serious weakness.

5. This move increases the overall activity of your pieces

Activity is an important word in chess. The goal of many famous chess strategies can be summed up in a few words – increase the overall activity of your pieces.

Moves that increase the mobility of your pieces are generally good moves. Likewise, moves that limit the mobility of your own pieces are usually not ideal. Of course, all movements need to be checked and supported by calculations.

OK, so all of these things make a move a good move. But what makes a move a great move?

6. A great step towards achieving many goals!

This is the masters’ greatest skill – their ability to find moves that achieve multiple goals. These moves improve their position, force the opponent to defend, help them gain the initiative and of course they are almost never a mistake.

Your ability to find a good move in a reasonable amount of time depends on your experience, knowledge and skills. If you work on these three areas then you will be able to find good moves that suit the needs of the position. You can explore this entire website to further develop your knowledge and skills.

What matters on the chessboard are good moves.” – Bobby Fischer