Positional Chess

Guide
CM Loris Tavernier
 Why Chess Players Blunder: Lessons from My Oberhausbergen
Tournament
After participating in my first tournament since earning my CM title, held in
Oberhausbergen, I experienced firsthand what happens when you fail to
prepare properly for a chess event. One of the key issues I faced—and the one
that likely haunts most players—is the lack of calculation during the game. It’s
not just about calculating badly; it’s about not calculating at all, which is a
deadly mistake.
Blunders are often a result of this failure to engage in proper calculation.
When you play on intuition alone or rely too heavily on positional
understanding without checking tactics, you leave yourself vulnerable. In a
tournament setting, this is especially dangerous as the pressure mounts, and
your ability to calculate under stress becomes crucial. Skipping this step
entirely leads to positions where critical threats are missed or you fall into
avoidable traps.
I found that even solid openings and good middlegame plans fell apart due to
my lack of focus on calculation. It wasn’t that I couldn’t calculate well, but I
simply wasn’t calculating at all in key moments. Instead, I made assumptions
about the position, thinking I could "feel" my way through it, which led to
unnecessary blunders.
The lesson here is simple :
no matter how confident you feel in your chess ability or intuition, never skip
the calculation process. Preparing mentally for this is just as important as
studying opening theory or endgames. Without it, even the best-laid plans can
crumble. In chess, as in life, preparation is key—and calculation is the
sharpest tool in your arsenal.
 Introduction to the Case by Case System
The Case by Case System is a practical method to learn chess openings. The
goal is not to memorize hundreds of lines, but to build knowledge through real
practice and constant correction. By using this approach, players create strong
emotional connections to the moves, improve their ability to make decisions
under pressure, and keep a flexible mind in critical moments.
The system is divided into three main steps:

Focus on 3–4 moves only: At the start, only the first moves of an opening are
learned. Games are played in blitz or rapid, and after each game the first move
outside theory is checked with an engine, a coach, or master games. Small
mistakes are accepted, but big inaccuracies must be corrected.
Build long-term memory with spaced repetition: After many games, the
opening repertoire grows naturally. At this point, the lines are reviewed with
tools like Chessable using spaced repetition, a system that shows moves again
after longer and longer intervals. This guarantees permanent memory.
Professional application and modern practice: Once the base is ready,
professional games are studied. Only games inside the chosen repertoire are
followed. Players learn how masters place their pieces, what pawn structures
they prefer, and which plans they use in the middlegame.
With this method, openings are learned step by step, with practice, memory,
and professional inspiration. The result is a personal repertoire built on real
experience, not only on theory.
 Building General Chess Knowledge
To make sound decisions consistently, players must expand their general chess
knowledge by studying games and learning from stronger players. This can be
achieved through:
Watching high-quality analyses: Observing annotated games deepens
understanding of strategic themes and tactical patterns.
Having your games analyzed: Working with a stronger player or coach to
review your games offers valuable insights into your thinking process and
highlights areas for improvement.
Learning from others' errors: Reviewing the mistakes made by more
experienced players, including coaches, provides a window into advanced
problem-solving and decision-making techniques.

Attack vs Defense

Moves that define the Attack

Focusing pressure on one target (creating tensions)
Breaking the position (trading or sacrificing pawns/pieces in order to get open
lines and diagonals).
Creating weaknesses (that’s a symptom of an attack, rarely a goal)
Managing risk and time (human time ticking on the clock, the initiative and
material)

Moves that define the Defense

Consolidate the position (releasing tensions)
Exchanging pieces when necessary.
 The Middlegame — Building Strength Through a Disciplined Routine
Mastering the middlegame is where a chess player truly sharpens their
competitive edge. For me, the key to unlocking the intricacies of this complex
phase has been a rigorous and disciplined training routine that I have followed
every day since 2020.
Each day, I begin my mornings by waking up early and devoting the first hour
to physical exercise. Staying fit and maintaining a strong body is not only
beneficial for overall health but also vital for maintaining peak concentration
during long tournament games. After almost an hour of sports, and before
having breakfast, I shift my focus entirely to chess and engage in tactical
pattern recognition exercises for about an hour.
This daily morning session is dedicated exclusively to honing my tactical
vision. By repeatedly solving tactical puzzles, I have trained my brain to
identify common tactical motifs—pins, forks, skewers, and other
combinational ideas—almost automatically.
Over the years, this routine has become the cornerstone of my ability to spot
winning combinations quickly over the board. It’s not just about *finding* the
tactics; it’s about *internalizing* the patterns so deeply that they become a
reflex.

Mastery Through Repetition: The Bruce Lee Approach

As martial arts legend Bruce Lee once said:
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man
who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
This principle holds perfectly in chess as well. Rather than being a “jack of all
trades” who knows a little about every opening, aim to become a true expert in
your chosen repertoire. Choose your main lines carefully and invest time in
perfecting them through repetitive practice and constant refinement.
 Principle of Chess Strategy and Practical Thinking

Searching for “the good move” in a position does not really exist. What must
be done instead is to observe the existing tensions in the position. This
means looking at pieces or pawns that can capture each other, squares that are
contested, or lines where exchanges are possible. From these tensions,
calculation is started. Variations are calculated, and forcing moves are
explored first, especially checks, captures, and threats.
During this process, a variation must not be rejected too early. A line can
only be rejected after the calculation has shown that the variation is not
playable. Only after the sequence has been calculated must the resulting
position be evaluated. If the evaluation shows that the position is worse or
clearly unfavorable, the variation is rejected and another forcing line is
explored.

The same level of calculation must be applied in both directions. Calculation

is required not only to prove that a line does not work, but also to prove that a
line does work. A move must therefore be justified by concrete calculation
before it is accepted.
The search continues through checks, captures, threats, and other forcing ideas
until a satisfactory response is found.
Progress in chess comes from learning, through experience,
to evaluate positions correctly.
 How to Learn Chess Strategy
Chess strategy is learned mainly by watching how strong players handle the
same openings that are played in personal games.
Always check how far each piece can move. This builds better vision and
helps you see tactics earlier.
Attack Battery = Constant Pressure
An attacking battery (for example queen + bishop or queen + rook) creates
continuous pressure. It helps you force weaknesses, win material, or push the
opponent into mistakes.

Their moves are observed carefully: how they place their pieces, how they
choose their exchanges, and how they improve their position step by step. By
looking at many examples inside the same structures, the important strategic
patterns are slowly absorbed.
Do not be afraid to use free/paid/premium strategic content online or to work
with a chess coach to save time and improve faster. However, always
remember that forcing moves come first.
The best strategic idea in the world will always fail against a simple tactical
move.

Strategy: Understanding Through Experience

The key to mastering strategy lies in practice and self-analysis.
During my training, I would meticulously analyze my own games, especially
those where I struggled in my opening repertoire.
Each mistake became a learning opportunity.
By repeatedly playing and reviewing the same structures, I gradually
understood the strategic patterns I needed to recognize to gain an advantage.
Over time, this helped me not only navigate typical middlegame positions in
my preferred openings but also grasp how to transition them effectively from
the opening phase.