The initiative is the ability to make threats that your opponent has to answer, so they cannot carry out plans of their own.
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A player who keeps answering threats has no time for their own plans, and sooner or later makes a mistake. The initiative does not last, so it should be turned into something that does, such as material or a better structure.
How to do it
- 1Look for moves that make a threat and improve a piece at the same time.
- 2Ask what your opponent must reply. If they get a free move, the initiative has gone.
- 3Cash it in before it fades: a pawn or a weakness lasts.
For your level
The initiative fades. If you cannot see what it wins within a few moves, take the concrete gain now.
Check you have it
Pitch it for:
Question 1 of 2
Play the moves through and count. How much material has the attacker won?
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Question 2 of 2
Which file has no pawns of either colour standing on it?
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Common mistakes
- Giving checks that only drive the enemy king to a better square.
- Keeping up the pressure too long instead of turning it into a pawn or a better structure.
Questions
- Is the initiative worth a pawn?
- Often, in an open position where the opponent's king is not yet safe. In a closed position with nothing to attack it usually is not, because the pawn stays and the initiative fades.