Lately, I’ve been trying to be more aggressive over the board and I’ve been studying how to attack for the last few months and these are the main takeaways so far.
When to attack?
when your opponent is behind in development
when you have finished your development and your opponent is still behind in his development it’s time to take the initiative and start looking for ways to attack. That being said, don’t get creative in the opening if your king is not safe.
when the opponent’s king is stuck in the center
If your opponent’s king is stuck in the center and can’t castle, it is time to start looking for ways to open lines, specifically in the center
If you have more space
a space advantage gives your pieces more maneuverability so you can start an attack.
if you spot a tactical motif
certain positions allow tactics that you can use to start an attack, and for that, you have to be sharp in your tactical skill
How to attack?
Bring your pieces
you can start an attack normally by advancing first your pawns then your pieces, or just attack with your pieces, for that you must have well-developed pieces, and then start relocating them to the side of the board you wish to start attacking.
A very important piece to bring to the attack is the queen, I think there is no need to explain why.
Create open lines (ranks, files, diagonals)
creating lines is a great way to get your pieces in the attack, this is usually achieved by way of pawn breaks even if the pawn is being sacrificed. You can also open lines by sacrificing pieces, just make sure the attack is concrete. if your attack fails, playing down a pawn is manageable but playing down a piece, not so much.
Attacker’s vs Defender’s
a good rule of thumb to see if you have a successful attack is to check the number of pieces you have on the attack is superior to the number of pieces your opponent has defending, and you should count the king as a defending piece
Look for tactics
When attacking try to calculate as accurately as possible and always look for tactics because more often than not tactics appear when attacking
Be looking for the opponent’s mistakes
When under pressure is usually when we make the most mistakes, so be aware of when your opponent makes a mistake so you can take advantage of it.