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Questions tagged [closed-position]

A closed position is one in which the pawn structure on the board is such that there are few open lines for the maneuvering of pieces.

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The London System: Can it be broken?

I've faced the London System several times so far, and just don't know what strategy to adapt against it (I exclusively play Nf6 in response to 1.d4). I'm a highly tactical player, so I try following up with d5, c5, Qa5, Nc6, Rc8 etc. in order to…
chubbycantorset
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What is a pawn break?

I did some research (Google), but it still unclear to me on exactly what a pawn break is. I was reading this question: The theory of pawn breaks It is about the theory of pawn breaks, but before I could understand this, it would be helpful if I…
xaisoft
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Assessing an early c4 against white's Stonewall structure

I made a horrible decision as black in a game, and I do not understand why it's incorrect. [fen "rn2kb1r/pp2pppp/1q3n2/2pp4/3P1P2/2PQPN2/PP4PP/RNB1K2R b - - 0 1"] I played c4, Stockfish considers the position to be + 0.4 after the move. My…
Alex Lulu
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Bad Stockfish evaluation

This is the study [fen "3B4/1r2p3/r2p1p2/bkp1P1p1/1p1P1PPp/p1P4P/PPBK4/8 w - - 0 1 "] As you can see, Stockfish gives an absolute decisive win for black, though it is clearly a draw!! Check it out yourself c4+ is a losing move, while Ba4+ is the…
William Kinaan
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The theory of pawn breaks

Does there exist a theory of pawn breaks? Of course, there exists a theory of static pawn structure and good bishops; but I was thinking of rooks rather than bishops, and of aggressive pawns that open files rather than positional pawns that control…
thb
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Why is the f6 pawn break in Advanced French so important for black?

I am new to the French (so forgive me if the question seems elementary). I've just come across the pawn break ...f6 for black in the French advance variation, and I find the pawn break quite dubious for me for several reasons: When we are attacking…
Brass2010
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Exact definition of a blocked pawn

What exactly is a blocked pawn? Is it a pawn with any of the opponent pieces in front or does it have to be an opponent pawn? Will the pawn be considered blocked if it can capture? Add any other criteria that defines a blocked pawn.
bytefire
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Can White win this middle game?

I played a game that ended with a draw and this is the end position: [FEN ""] [startply "119"] 1. e4 f6 2. d4 d6 3. c4 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. f4 Nd7 6. Nf3 c5 7. d5 Qc7 8. Bd3 a6 9. a3 O-O-O 10. Be3 Re8 11. Qa4 e5 12. f5 Kd8 13. O-O-O Ke7 14. g4 a5 15.…
Zuriel
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How to play around outposts?

[Title "The knight on f5"] [FEN "1r1qr1k1/2pb1pp1/2np1n1p/ppb1p3/4P2N/2PP2NP/PPB1QPP1/R1B1K2R b KQ - 5 13"] I recently played a Blitz game that perfectly underlines my biggest weakness: I don't know how to handle outposts I cannot get rid of. In…
postnubilaphoebus
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How to determine if a position is open or closed in a "rigorous" fashion?

I am creating a set of chess positions to be used [as a data set] for a project. It's based on supervised machine learning, but I need to have labeled data (see more italicized text below) before any machine learning can be done. I wish to label…
PartyLovingHermit
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To what extent is the openness/closedness of positions determined by white? By black?

Say I am playing as white and I strongly prefer closed positions while my opponent strongly prefers open positions. To what extent do I have control over this? Will the game more likely end with a closed position or an open position? What are my…
Zuriel
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Pros and Cons for black in Queen's Gambit Accepted

I'm a beginning chess player and still learning the opening. If white's first move is 1.d4 and black counters with d5 (closed or semi-closed games), and white's second move is c4 bringing the Queen's Gambit, black counters with dxc4. What are the…
Kiel
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Reversed Sicilian - What's wrong with my plan?

I played this game in a tournament and lost. [fen ""] [StartFlipped "1"] 1.c4 e5 {Starting the reversed sicilian} 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6. Nf3 Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. Rb1 h6 {Finished the Closed Sicilian setup that I want: h6, Nc6, Ne7,…
user1764381
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What openings are closed and defensive?

Which openings would be regarded as leading to a closed position and being defensive? Specifically, openings that would be drawish, even against stronger players, but there is still always a possibility of squeezing out a win if played carefully…
xaisoft
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Does White have any feasible way to break through this position?

I recently played as Black in a 1+0 blitz game on Lichess in which the below position was reached. [FEN ""] 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5g Nfd7 5. f4 Nb6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Bd7 8. O-O g6 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Ne2 Bg7 11. g4 Qe7 12. g5 a6 13. b3 Nd7…
Rewan Demontay
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