Today I’d like to share with you an important positional chess concept that will help you improve your chess skills and to win more games.

Are you tired of constantly feeling lost and confused when your opponent starts a relentless attack on your position?

Do you struggle to find the right moves to defend your pieces and maintain control on the board?

Fear not, because I have a game-changing concept that will revolutionize the way you approach aggressive play.

In this article, we’ll explore how to turn your opponent’s attack against them and use it to your advantage, resulting in stronger positions and even game-winning opportunities.

Get ready to take your chess game to the next level with this powerful strategy.

Example 1

Let’s look at a position where White tries to attack you. How would you respond in the below position. Take a few minutes to see how you will respond.

Picture yourself: How would you play here if this is your move? Which moves would you consider for Black? There are plenty of options. Actually, the most played move is Nxd4. Why does Black get worried about this attack? Perhaps he’s trying to trade pieces and secure his position. This is the wrong approach.

But there is another idea that I’d love to suggest to you.

That you may think about for a little while, because I think it’s a great mindset shift that allows you to become a much stronger player in no time.

So, here’s the idea:

Whenever your opponent goes forward, that leaves something behind undefended.

Whenever your opponent stretches out too much, that makes their territory weaker, more vulnerable, and you can take advantage of that.

Here’s another thing to think about: since White brought this dark square bishop out and traded it off, White doesn’t have the dark square bishop anymore, and therefore, some of the dark squares may be more vulnerable.

Let’s see how to approach this position.

As we can see, this completely turns the situation upside down.

When your opponent starts playing aggressively, going after your king; instead of thinking, “How do I defend?”, you start noticing that that actually weakens their position, and you can take advantage of that. 

Example 2

Let me illustrate this with one more example, perhaps the most common example. A lot of students have asked me questions about this position in the Colle system. Let’s take a look.

We saw one possible option for White. Let’s see an even better way to punish Black for over-extending with their bishop.

PUZZLE OF THE DAY

Conclusion

By adopting the strategy of using your opponent’s aggressive play to your advantage, you can significantly improve your positional chess skills and increase your chances of winning games.

Instead of focusing solely on defending, you can turn the tables and exploit the weaknesses created by your opponent’s attacks.

By analyzing examples such as the ones presented in this article, you can start to develop a more strategic and proactive approach to your chess game.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this article and want to see the concepts discussed in action, we have created a video lesson that covers the same material in a more visual and interactive way.

You can find the PGN of these games below: