Can you find good candidate moves without a plan? Supposedly you can, as evaluating a position should simply lead you to looking at whatever candidate moves are available. But – there are moves and then there are MOVES!
The same candidate moves are available to our eyeballs as to any GM, so perhaps a big part of the difference in strength is how we *choose* moves, yes?
We’ve done this exercise before: list out your candidates!
And once again:
In this last position, it should be clear that black has no good plan. Getting his knight to b4 is simply going to be worthless. Black’s only chance is to keep the kingside totally blocked – but can black accomplish this? If black moves first, then yes, … g6 will let black push a pawn to block up any white pawn advance.
Black is really looking sunk here – his position is cramped around the king, white moves and stops this plan, then white will break through with the rook file.
This position is from a chess.com member posting his ‘brilliant’ plan to win as white. He played the ‘brilliant’ method and black crumbled because it was ‘unstoppable’.
But maybe this is not true??? What can black do to stop getting wiped off the board?
And here is a very dull looking position, but a good exercise for picking moves and finding a plan:
Perhaps our list of candidate moves looks like this:
a) 1. Rac1
b) 1. Bd4
c) 1. f2-f3
d) 1. Nc5
e) 1. Bc5
1. Pieces:
Can we improve the position of our pieces?
1. Rac1
1. Bd4
Can we make some black pieces passive?
1. f3
2. Pawns:
Not much to say. d5 might get weak, but it will be strong while pieces are on the board.
3. Exchanges:
Two possibilities –
1. Be3-c5 exchanging good bishop of the opponent and
1. Na4-c5 trying to get the pair of Bishops.
4. Prophylaxis:
Does Black threaten anything?
Look at progress:
What next?
One more:
What should white do about the bishop on b3?