attack · recognise → explain → apply

Restrain counterplay before increasing the attack

The opponent has one freeing pawn break that could interrupt your plan.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

Loading progress…

Notes and replay positions are saved. Practice games are temporary; export their PGN to keep them.

Choose an example

Anatoly Karpov – Anthony Miles

Event not established · ????.??.?? · 1-0

22... Nc7 · White to move

Jump to move

What to notice at 22... Nc7

Karpov’s 23.a4 consolidated queenside space before his central pawn expansion. Compare the restricted queenside with the later e5 and d6 operations.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. The opponent has one freeing pawn break that could interrupt your plan. How would you apply “restrain counterplay before increasing the attack”, and which defensive reply must you check?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Close their counterplay door before opening yours.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Sources and further reading

Original LumaChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Game-score provenance and further study ↗