#9: The 10 Things You Should Know About Defending Against An Attack In Chess
To prepare you for the parallel world where defending is just as cool as attacking
1. Why is defending against an attack so hard?
When we are attacking we are looking for one good option that will give us good chances of success. But when defending we have to find all the opponent’s ideas and adequate defence to each of them. It is for this reason defending is thought of as the most difficult chess skill to acquire.
—GM Jacob Aagaard, Practical Chess Defence
2. What should you know to become a good defender?
In this post, you’ll be learning about
what tools are at your disposal
how to work on your defensive skills
what mindset you should have to defend.
3. What are your tools for defending against an attack?
Aagaard, in Attack & Defence, proposes the 4 pillars of defending against an attack:
Only Moves. When defending against an attack, it’s crucial to be able to find the viable □. Using the process of elimination and your imagination are essential here.
Comparison. Comparing different moves and variations with your calculation, visualisation and evaluation skills can help you find a path of survival.
Prophylaxis. You should ask yourself often, “what does my opponent want to do?” Aagaard believes “no one can come anywhere near their full potential without developing their prophylactic thinking.”
Active defence. In practice, your best course of action in most positions is playing actively, setting practical problems for your opponent. “There are times when a dubious-looking position can be saved with a perpetual check, forcing a drawable endgame or just by reacting actively to seemingly devastating threats.“
4. Prophylaxis
Last year, I was struck by a comment of Kramnik’s in his Thinking in Chess course:
‘What is my opponent going to do next?' Even if there is no direct threat, it is important to check his plans – whether they want to open a file, transfer the pieces, etc. It is already more difficult, but I insist you should consider this question BEFORE you consider what YOU want to do. Even though implementing your plans and preventing your opponent's plans sometimes come hand in hand, more often than not it is more important to pay attention to your opponent's plans BEFORE focusing solely on your own plans.
5. How can you train to become a better defender?
You can work on these 3 core skills:
Prophylaxis—making it difficult for the opponent to attack in the first place. Look over your own games (with a coach or training partner can be useful), being mindful of whether you missed your opponent’s ideas or resources during play
Calculation—in the end, it’s all going to come down to how well you can calculate. There are useful books and resources for all levels these days.
Active defence—even while defending, set your opponent practical problems. Pick a player you like, and play through their games from positions where they were on the defensive; another method is, since there are so many games and exercises that focus on attacking, take the defender’s side and think instead.
For exercises on prophylaxis, Aagaard’s books are good for advanced/expert players: there are chapters on prophylaxis in each of Attack & Defence, Calculation, Positional Play and Strategic Play!
6. Who is the role model for defence?
The 9th World Champion, Tigran Petrosian.
7. What was so special about his play?
Petrosian was a cautious person who avoided risk if it was not necessary. The hallmark of his play was deep prophylaxis—restricting the opponent, preventing them from action.
Here are other words Kasparov used to describe Petrosian in My Great Predecessors, Part III:
Who has not heard of Petrosian’s virtuoso skill in defence, his ability to avert danger, exploiting imperceptible nuances in the position, and of his favourite dish – the exchange sacrifice! It is the harmonious combination of such seemingly incompatible elements of strategy, as the exchange sacrifice and unhurried manoeuvring, that evidently conceals one of the secrets of his enormous practical strength and deep penetration into the secrets of chess.
He always aimed to place his pieces ideally, do everything to restrict his opponent’s possibilities, and at the appropriate moment exploit the superior placing of his army. And he succeeded in this, even in battles with the most outstanding players of his time!
Petrosian was perhaps one of the first who learned not simply to exploit long-term factors, but also to subtly correlate them with the dynamic features of the position. He as though sensed where and when the opponent’s initiative would in the end evaporate, whereas the flaws of his adversary’s position would remain.
8. A little secret about attackers
Are you playing someone who loves playing dynamically, putting the initiative above all else, going for an attack the first chance they get?
Chances are, they hate it when their opponent has the initiative. They’d rather give up a pawn themselves than accept a pawn sacrifice and have to go on the defensive.
Flip over someone’s strength, or style, and you often find their weakness.
9. Do you need anything other than skills to defend?
To become a truly proficient defender you need something more: a change of perception regarding this generally unpopular part of the game. Don’t treat defence as a necessary evil. It’s probably the most difficult part of a chess game that only seasoned professionals truly master. If you want to become a chess professional in the future, or just want to play better, the best thing you can do is to learn to appreciate the time when you’re defending just as much as you enjoy a promising attack on a king or a winning endgame.
—GM Jan Markos, The Secret Ingredient
10. Def.end.
Do you enjoy defending against an attack in chess?
Probably not.
Attacking is fun. Defending isn’t.
But like endgames and quiet positions, working on unpopular areas can give you a practical advantage over others.
Taking a risk to win from an equal position, and surviving against a seemingly deadly assault—they’re both half points gained on the scoreboard.