Hello, I've recently noticed my rating has been going downhill. After lots of past game analysis, I realized I am having trouble due to my position and set up from the beginning. How can I practice having stronger defenses and aggressive openings? If anyone also knows any good openings too that would be helpful. Thanks!
The basic opening fundamentals are the same regardless of what you're playing. Develop your pieces before you start trying to find tactics. Knights before bishops. Make sure you're defending your pawns (and pieces). All your pieces should be out and your King should be castled by move 10, unless you're playing very tactical variations, which you oughtn't to do as a beginner.
Take a look at this game. lichess.org/LylAwUZq#39 Move 20 and your dark bishop still hasn't been touched. At that point you may as well have taken him off the board and played a bishop down with no change to your game whatsoever. Or perhaps you ought to have moved him on move 10, before Nd2, and then you'd have an army up a Bishop rather than down, you know?
Does that make sense?
Take a look at this game. lichess.org/LylAwUZq#39 Move 20 and your dark bishop still hasn't been touched. At that point you may as well have taken him off the board and played a bishop down with no change to your game whatsoever. Or perhaps you ought to have moved him on move 10, before Nd2, and then you'd have an army up a Bishop rather than down, you know?
Does that make sense?
It‘s called playing strength or experience. There‘s no switch to „attack and defend better“. We all have (tens of) thousands of hours worked hard.
"How can I practice having stronger defenses and aggressive openings?"
Take more time: play the opening slower. In the above 10+0 game you have 3 unused thus useless minutes left at the end.
In the above game 3 Nc3 is not good: better Nf3, e3 to prepare O-O.
4 e4? just loses a pawn. Your opponent does not take it.
7 Bxd7+? gives up the bishop's pair without need.
10 Nd2 plays a developed piece for a second time instead of developing 10 O-O. The knight is worse at d2 than f3: it no longer protects pawn d4 and it blocks the develoment of Bc1.
12 Qg4? brings your queen into play too soon and loses a pawn to 12...Nxd4.
13 Qf3? forces your opponent to play the good move 13...Nxd4.
Here you have only used 1 of your 10 minutes and you are halfway the game.
Take time to think.
Take more time: play the opening slower. In the above 10+0 game you have 3 unused thus useless minutes left at the end.
In the above game 3 Nc3 is not good: better Nf3, e3 to prepare O-O.
4 e4? just loses a pawn. Your opponent does not take it.
7 Bxd7+? gives up the bishop's pair without need.
10 Nd2 plays a developed piece for a second time instead of developing 10 O-O. The knight is worse at d2 than f3: it no longer protects pawn d4 and it blocks the develoment of Bc1.
12 Qg4? brings your queen into play too soon and loses a pawn to 12...Nxd4.
13 Qf3? forces your opponent to play the good move 13...Nxd4.
Here you have only used 1 of your 10 minutes and you are halfway the game.
Take time to think.
simple: play easy openings, the ones you feel are the most natural to you. Also, that concern only 1e4 and 1d4 openings, don't even play other openings moves as white before you can steadily beat 1200 rated players AT THE VERY LEAST (because the 1c4,the bird, the knight ones etc... are tricky to use and you need to know what you are doing and be steady.)
as black, choose between the french defense and the classic 1e5 against 1e4 and similarly well known defenses against 1d4.
i advise you to play correspondance games and to heavily use the analyse board during your game (that's autorised for correspondace games i think, you must click on the little microscope on the right side of your screen when in game,just under your opponent name. you get to see what the openings looks like when did right and to try ones you don't dare test against other people.)
as black, choose between the french defense and the classic 1e5 against 1e4 and similarly well known defenses against 1d4.
i advise you to play correspondance games and to heavily use the analyse board during your game (that's autorised for correspondace games i think, you must click on the little microscope on the right side of your screen when in game,just under your opponent name. you get to see what the openings looks like when did right and to try ones you don't dare test against other people.)
Not sure about recommending the French, but otherwise great advice
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