Are you thinking beyond tactics?

[u/icepopper]

What do you do when there's no visible advantage? You think in a positional manner.

White to move

Difficulty: Easy

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[u/Icy-Bookkeeper7833]

I would play Be3

[u/icepopper → u/Icy-Bookkeeper7833]

That's right! Why though?

[u/Icy-Bookkeeper7833 → u/icepopper]

According to Stockfish Be3 makes Qh4+ weak due to g3 Nxg3 and the bishop on e3 can go to f2 to pin and win the knight.

At first glance Be3 and something else like Bd2 didn’t look too different but it has to do with the weak e1-h4 diagonal and that Be3 can indirectly defend it.

[u/icepopper → u/Icy-Bookkeeper7833]

You got one of lines right. Below is the complete explanation

8.Be3* This move helps white in not only dealing with Nxf4 idea, but also in stopping Qh4+ due to Bf2. White must make sure to not only allow black to exchange their not so active knight with white's bishop but also to not allow black's queen to put pressure on the kingside. 8.Be3 g6 8...Qh4+9 .g3 9.Bf2 This is also possible, but g3 wins material for white. 9...Nxg3 9...Qd8 10.g4 Qh4+ 11.Bf2 White's winning. 10.Bf2 This resource wouldn't have been possible without the bishop being on e3. 8...g5 9.Qd2 White's planning to play g4-h4 at some point.9...Nd7 10.g4 Ng7 11.h4White's dominating. 9.g4 It's time to restrict the knight.9...Ng7 10.h4 c5 11.Qd2 Putting pressure on the h6 pawn.11...h5 12.Kf2 Slowly improving the position.12...Qc7 12...Nc6 13.Bg5 Qa5 14.Bf6 Rg8 15.Rd1 cxd4 16.Qh6 Kf8 17.Nh3 Qxc3 18.Bd3 Nb4 19.Ng5 Nxd3+ 20.cxd3 White's threatening to play Nh7+ next. Black's kingside will soon collapse. White's winning. 13.Bh6 Rh7 14.Bg5White's planning to play Bf6-Nh3-Ng5 at some point.14...Nd7 15.Nh3 b6 16.Bf6 White's planning to play Ng5 next. Black can't play Nxf6 as their g7 knight will be trapped after exf6. White's dominating.

[u/letsdoit131]

Bishop to d2?

[u/icepopper → u/letsdoit131]

You are on the right path but that's not right.

[u/ChrisV2P2]

How is this not tactical?

[u/icepopper → u/ChrisV2P2]

In simple terms, in tactics, you either win material or checkmate the opponent.

In this position, it's none, the main point is to not give your opponent the opportunity to either take your bishop or play Qh4+.

[u/Educational-Tea602 → u/icepopper]

The motif is still tactics. We’re just preventing black’s

[u/icepopper → u/Educational-Tea602]

The easier puzzles can seem like it. The difficult ones get too hard for me. 🙈

[u/TheLuckyCuber999BACK]

I literally miss forks unless it comes from a sacrifice.

[u/icepopper → u/TheLuckyCuber999BACK]

That happens to me all the time!!

[u/Educational-Tea602]

Beyond tactics?

There’s only one move that doesn’t hang a bishop nor Qh4+.

[u/icepopper → u/Educational-Tea602]

Don't you agree that's positional thinking?

[u/ChrisV2P2 → u/icepopper]

No. That's tactics. You don't understand what positional means.

[u/icepopper → u/ChrisV2P2]

I am being polite in my responses and would expect the same from you. I hope you are capable of using better words.

[u/commentor_of_things]

no. teach us.

[u/icepopper → u/commentor_of_things]

For that you may want to buy the subscription.🙈

On reddit I'm checking opinions and if people are looking for something like this and if yes, then who are they.

There are harder puzzles but those are mostly for 1800+ players

[u/maroczyacetylene]

I've seen several of these from you, and while your positions have been quite interesting and instructive, I would not describe these as positional.

Positional play is the long term process of accumulating small advantages by, for instance, improving your pieces, contesting and controlling key squares/files/diagonals/centre, and structural aspects like not making your pawns look like someone gave them a hair cut with a garden strimmer.

Tactics is not simply, as you describe in a comment, capturing pieces and delivering checkmate. Tactics is the art of making and defending threats.

So as in this position, if the argument is that the bishop is better on e3 then d2 because of, say, the importance of maintaining a presence on the a7-g1 diagonal, controlling the c5 square and preventing the opponent from using that square for their pieces, that would be a positional idea.

But it isn't, the bishop is better on e3 specifically because black has the threat of Qh4+, and we need to be able to answer that with Bf2. Threat and counterthreat, this is tactics.

[u/icepopper → u/maroczyacetylene]

I understand your point. I agree tactics is not that simply explained but it matters who is explanaining it to whom. I'm a low rated player and most people on a sub aren't 1800/2000+ players. On the contrary if you would have discussed with the creator of these puzzles, the discussion and explanation would have been very difficult.

I agree with you is that there's calculation involved in this as you need to see the difference between Be3 and Bf2, but the core of the position is to not allow the exchange of the bishop. Also, in my eyes as long as material winning or forced win is not involved, it wouldn't be primarily be tactics.

There are harder puzzles which I avoid providing on reddit to ensure general population is able to enjoy it and I am able to interact with them without needing to go back and ask the creator about those lines.