Luke McShane

Best-laid plans

Diagram 1 (left), diagram 2 (right) 
issue 04 September 2021

A popular conceit among chess authors, particularly dead ones, is to describe a fine game as the execution of a multi-stage plan. In fact, a close inspection often reveals that the plan could only have been mapped out in hindsight, and the loser’s fate was entirely avoidable.

Grand plans are overrated, but modest plans are indispensable. I like to wonder, what would I do with two or three moves? If I could place this piece anywhere on the board, where would it go? What would a prettier version of my position look like? Most of these ideas should be pruned ruthlessly, as they won’t survive contact with the enemy. But when you hit upon something the opponent can’t comfortably prevent, that’s a plan!

The position shown in the first diagram is calm and quite amenable to planning, so I suspect that Caruana’s ideas might have stretched five or six moves ahead.

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