text
stringlengths
13
991
Openings: Primary: Dutch Defense. Other: Colle System, Bird's Opening (with colors reversed).
Themes: Exchanging the bad bishop, e4/e5 outposts, breaks on the c and g files.
Players must carefully consider how to recapture on the e4/e5-square, since it alters the symmetric pawn formation and creates strategic subtleties.
Openings: Primary: English, Dutch, King's Indian Attack. Other: Sicilian (Closed, Moscow), Vienna Game, Bishop's Opening.
Themes: Exchanging the bad bishop, d4/d5 outposts, breaks on the b- and f-files.
This structure appears in one of Botvinnik's treatments of the English. Players must carefully consider how to recapture on the d4/d5-square, since it alters the symmetric pawn formation and creates strategic subtleties. Adding the typical White fianchetto of the king's bishop to this structure provides significant pressure along the long diagonal, and usually prepares the f2–f4–f5 break.
Openings: Primary: Closed Sicilian, Closed English (colors reversed).
Themes for White: kingside pawn storm, c2–c3 and d3–d4 break.
Themes for Black: queenside pawn storm, a1–h8 diagonal.
In chess, doubled pawns are two pawns of the same color residing on the same file. Pawns can become doubled only when one pawn captures onto a file on which another friendly pawn resides. In the diagram, the white pawns on the b-file and e-file are doubled. The pawns on the are doubled and isolated.
In most cases, doubled pawns are considered a weakness due to their inability to defend each other. This inability, in turn, makes it more difficult to achieve a breakthrough which could create a passed pawn (often a deciding factor in endgames). In the case of isolated doubled pawns, these problems are only further aggravated. Several chess strategies and openings are based on burdening the opponent with doubled pawns, a strategic weakness.
There are, however, cases where accepting doubled pawns can be advantageous because doing so may open up a file for a rook, or because the doubled pawns perform a useful function, such as defending important squares. Also, if the opponent is unable to effectively attack the pawns, their inherent weakness may be of little or no consequence. There are also a number of openings that accept doubled pawns in exchange for some prevailing advantage, such as the Two Knights Variation of Alekhine's Defence.
It is possible to have tripled pawns (or more). The diagram shows a position from Lubomir Kavalek–Bobby Fischer, Sousse Interzonal 1967. The pawns remained tripled at the end of the game on move 28 (a draw).
Quadrupled pawns occurred in the game Alexander Alekhine–Vladimir Nenarokov, 1907, in John van der Wiel–Vlastimil Hort, 1981, and in other games. The longest lasting case of quadrupled pawns was in the game Kovacs–Barth, Balatonbereny 1994, lasting 23 moves. The final position was drawn, demonstrating the weakness of the extra pawns (see diagram).
There are different types of doubled pawns (see diagram). A doubled pawn is weak because of four considerations:
The doubled pawns on the b-file are in the best situation, the f-file pawns are next. The h-file pawns are in the worst situation because two pawns are held back by one opposing pawn, so the second pawn has little value . See Chess piece relative value for more discussion.
In chess, a half-open file (or semi-open file) is a with pawns of only one color. The half-open file can provide a line of attack for a player's rook or queen. A half-open file is generally exploited by the player with no pawns on it.
Many openings, such as the Sicilian Defense, aim to complicate the position. In the main line Sicilian, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 (or 2...e6, or 2...Nc6) 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4, White obtains a half-open d-file, but Black can pressure White along the half-open c-file.
In positions where White has no pawns on a file but Black has one pawn or more on that file, the position is considered to be half-opened for white. During instances where Black has zero pawns on a file but White has one or more pawns on that file, the position is considered to be half-opened for black.
In such instances where pawns capture or advance, in a way that it opens or half-opens a file or files, this instance is called a pawn break.
The demolition of the pawn structure is a common theme in positions with half-open files, since doubled pawns or isolated pawns may create half-open files.
The game Loek van Wely–Judit Polgár, Hoogeveen, 1997 demonstrates the power of half-open files in attacks. Despite having one fewer pawn than White, Black's possession of two powerful half-open files (her rook on the f-file and queen on the g-file) gives her a winning advantage (see diagram).
and White resigned, anticipating 31.Rxf2 Qxg3+ 32.Kf1 Qxf2.
The Brazilian Defense, also known as Camara Defense or Gunderam Defense, is a chess defense that starts with the moves:
Followed by moves ...g6, ...Bg7 and ...Nf6, creating the typical King's Indian formation.
It was created by International Master Hélder Câmara, who played it for the first time in 1954, in the IV Centennial of the City of São Paulo Tournament and the XXII Brazilian Chess Championship. It became popular among Brazilian players, being employed in the top national competition every year, so much so that they begun calling it "Brazilian Defense". Hélder Câmara also used it in other important chess events, such as the South American Zonal in 1972 (where he attained his International Master title), the Netanya-A International Chess Tournament (Israel) in 1973, and the XLII e XLIII Brazilian Chess Championships, in 1975 and 1976, respectively.
In 1969, a work dedicated to its analysis called "Notas Sobre a Defesa Brasileira" ("Annotations on the Brazilian Defense") was published.
According to its creator, this defense was envisioned as an attempt to use the King's Indian Defense against the King's Pawn opening.
The first official use of the Brazilian Defense was in a game between Manoel Madeira de Ley (white) and Hélder Câmara (black) during the fourth round of the IV Centennial of the City of São Paulo Tournament, on October 19, 1954.
In the game of chess, prophylaxis (Greek προφύλαξις, "prophylaxis," "guarding or preventing beforehand") or a "prophylactic move" is a move that stops the opponent from taking action in a certain area for fear of some type of reprisal. Prophylactic moves are aimed at not just improving one's position, but preventing the opponent from improving their own. Perhaps the most common prophylactic idea is the advance of the near a castled king to make luft averting the possibility of a back rank checkmate, or to prevent pins.
In a more strategic sense, prophylaxis leads to a very , often frustrating for players with a strong tactical orientation. Players who play in the prophylactic style prevent the initiation of tactical play by threatening unpleasant consequences. One of the largest advantages of this approach is that it keeps risk to a minimum while causing an overaggressive opponent to lose patience and make a mistake. The disadvantage is that it frequently fails against an opponent who is content with a draw.
Any move that prevents an opponent from threatening something can be called prophylactic, even if this word would not be used to describe the player's style. For example, Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov frequently played the move h3 in the Ruy Lopez—a prophylactic move intended to prevent Black from playing ...Bg4 and creating an irritating pin on the knight at f3—yet neither player would ever be described as playing in the prophylactic style. All grandmasters make use of prophylaxis in one way or another.
Advanced prophylactic play cannot usually be employed by novice players. However, many standard and widespread opening moves can be considered prophylactic.
The board above shows a common tactical position. White is looking for Nf7, resulting in a fork on the queen and rook, guaranteeing a material advantage - as the king cannot take the knight as it is defended by the bishop. In response, black plays h6, denying the knight of the g5 square, thus anticipating the attack.
Pawn moves such as h6 or a6 don't require such an immediate threat in order to be played. They can often be played as recreational moves to stop tactics of bishops or knights occupying the g5/b5 squares entirely. Bishops have incentive to be played on these squares as it results in pins on the queen and king respectively - forcing the knight to stay stationary.
The aim of this strategy is to put immediate pressure on the opponent with the intent of ending points quickly. Good returns must be made, or else the server can gain the advantage. This tactic is especially useful on fast courts (e.g. grass courts) and less so on slow courts (e.g. clay courts). For it to be successful, the player must either have a good serve to expose an opponent's poor return or be exceptionally quick and confident in movement around the net to produce an effective returning volley. Ken Rosewall, for instance, had a feeble serve but was a very successful serve-and-volley player for two decades. Goran Ivanišević, on the other hand, had success employing the serve-and-volley strategy with great serves and average volleys.
In the mid-1950s, when Pancho Gonzales was dominating professional tennis with his serve-and-volley game, occasional brief attempts were made to partially negate the power of his serve. This, it was felt, would lead to longer rallies and more spectator interest. At least three times the rules were modified:
Other male tennis players known for their serve-and-volley technique include Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash, Boris Becker, Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras and Tim Henman. Sampras, despite being known for his great serve and volley game, did not always come to the net behind the serve on slower courts, particularly on the second serve. This was especially the case when he was younger.
Although the strategy has become less common in both the men's and women's game, a few players still prefer to approach the net on their serves in the twenty-first century. Examples of players who employ serve-and-volley as the chief style of play include: Feliciano López, Nicolas Mahut, Rajeev Ram, Ivo Karlović, Dustin Brown, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Łukasz Kubot, Leander Paes, and Mischa Zverev.
Other players, despite not being pure serve-and-volleyers, do employ serve-and-volley as a surprise tactic. Examples include Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Daniil Medvedev.
On the women's side, serve-and-volley has become almost extinct at the very top level. Hsieh Su-wei is the only active notable (WTA elite) player that prefers to play with this style.
Some of the most interesting matches of all time according to Pat Cash have pitted great baseliners such as Björn Borg, Mats Wilander or Andre Agassi against great serve-and-volleyers such as John McEnroe, Pat Rafter or Pete Sampras. Since Tilden's time, head-to-head results on various surfaces, such as those played out in the famous rivalry between Borg and McEnroe, contradict his theory that great baseline players will tend to defeat great serve-and-volley ones.
Despite the improvements in racquet technology made towards the end of the twentieth century which made serve-and-volley a rarer tool in a tennis player's skill set, players familiar with the strategy still advocate it. Roger Federer advocated up-and-coming players not to ignore the tactic's strategy of coming to the net, especially on faster surfaces and as a surprise tactic. Yet other players, such as Mischa Zverev, acknowledged the difficulty of mastering serve-and-volley, recalling his 36-month effort to adopt the style. He said: "Every point, you have to be ready. You're either going to get passed, you're going to miss an easy volley or you're going to win the point," and likened it to the stochastic nature of flipping a coin.
Players use different tennis strategies to enhance their own strengths and exploit their opponent's weaknesses in order to gain the advantage and win more points.
Players typically specialize or naturally play in a certain way, based on what they can do best. Based on their style, players generally fit into one of three types, "baseliners", "volleyers", "all-court players". Many players have attributes of all three categories but, at times, may also focus on just one style based on the surface, or on the condition, or on the opponent.
A "baseliner" plays from the back of the tennis court, around/behind/within the baseline, preferring to hit groundstrokes, allowing themselves more time to react to their opponent's shots, rather than to come up to the net (except in certain situations).
A "volleyer" plays nearer towards the net, preferring to hit volleys, allowing less time for their opponent to react to their shots, rather than to stay/play from further back on the tennis court (except in certain situations).
"All-court players" fall somewhere in between, employing both "baseliner" strategies and "volleyer" strategies depending on the situations.
A player's weaknesses may also determine strategy. For example, most players have a stronger forehand, therefore they will favor the forehand even to the point of "running around" a backhand to hit a forehand.
While they tend to make relatively few errors because they do not attempt the complicated and ambitious shots of the aggressive baseliner, the effective counterpuncher must be able to periodically execute an aggressive shot, either using the pace given by their opponent or using precision and angle. Speed and agility are key for the counterpuncher, as well as a willingness to patiently chase down every ball to frustrate opponents. Returning every aggressive shot that the opponent provides is often the cause of further errors due to the effort required in trying increasingly harder and better shots. However, it is noted that for some faster players, including Gaël Monfils, Gilles Simon, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray, standing too deep behind the court can hinder their attacking abilities.
At lower levels, the defensive counter-puncher often frustrates their opponent so much that they may try to change their style of play due to ineffective baseline results. At higher levels, the all-court player or aggressive baseliner is usually able to execute winners with higher velocity and better placement, taking the counterpuncher out of the point as early as possible.
Most counter-punchers often excel on slow courts, such as clay. The court gives them extra time to chase down shots and it is harder for opponents to create winners. However, some counter-punchers who have the ability to mix up their game and turn defense into offense, like Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Murray and Agnieszka Radwanska have excelled on faster courts like hard and grass as well as slower courts. Counter-punchers are often particularly strong players at low-level play, where opponents cannot make winners with regularity.
A serve and volleyer has a great net game, is quick around the net, and has fine touch for volleys. "Serve and volleyers" come up to the net at every opportunity when serving. They are almost always attackers and can hit many "winners" with varieties of volleys and drop volleys. When not serving, they often employ the "chip-and-charge", chipping back the serve without attempting to hit a winner and rushing the net. The serve-and-volleyers' strategy is to put pressure on the opponent to try to hit difficult passing shots. This strategy is extremely effective against pushers.
Bill Tilden, the dominant player of the 1920s, preferred to play from the back of the court, and liked nothing better than to face an opponent who rushed the net – one way or another Tilden would find a way to hit the ball past him. In his book Match Play and the Spin of the Ball, Tilden propounds the theory that "by definition" a great baseline player will always beat a great serve-and-volleyer. Some of the best matches of all time have pitted great baseliners such as Björn Borg, Mats Wilander or Andre Agassi against great serve-and-volleyers such as John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, or Pete Sampras.
Some players, such as Tommy Haas, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick will only employ this strategy on grass courts or as a surprise tactic on any surface. Roger Federer uses this commonly against Rafael Nadal, to break up long rallies and physically taxing games.
All-court players, or all-rounders, have aspects of every tennis style, whether that be offensive baseliner, defensive counter-puncher or serve-and-volleyer. All-court players use the best bits from each style and mix it together to create a truly formidable tennis style to play against. In game situations they are very versatile; when an all-court player's baseline game is not working, he/she may switch to a net game, and vice versa. All-court players have the ability to adjust to different opponents that play different styles more easily than pure baseliners or serve and volleyers. All-court players typically have the speed, determination and fitness of a defensive counter-puncher, the confidence, skill and flair of offensive baseliners and have the touch, the agility around the net and tactical thinking of the serve-and-volleyer.
However, just because the all-court player has a combination of skills used by all tennis styles does not necessarily mean that they can beat an offensive baseliner or a defensive counter-puncher or even a serve-and-volleyer. It just means it would be more difficult to read the game of an all-court player.
Perfect examples for all-rounders are Boris Becker or Pete Sampras in men's singles and Daniela Hantuchova or Martina Hingis in women's singles.
Holding serve is crucial in tennis. To hold serve, serves must be accurately placed, and a high priority should be placed on first serve percentage. In addition, the velocity of serve is important. A weak serve can be easily attacked by an aggressive returner. The first ball after the serve is also key. Players should serve in order to get a weak return and keep the opponent on the defense with that first shot. For example, following a wide serve, it is ideal to hit the opponent's return to the open court.
There are three different types of serves and each one of them can be used in different situations. One type of serve is the serve with slice. The slice serve works better when the player tosses the ball to the right and immediately hits the outer-right part of the ball. This serve is best used when you hit it wide so you get your opponent off the court.
Another type is the kick serve. To achieve a good execution, the player must toss the ball above the head and immediately spin the bottom-left part of the ball. Since the ball is tossed above the head, it is necessary for the player to arch correctly under the ball. This serve is best used as second serve because the amount of spin that is added to the ball makes it very safe. The kick serve is also effective when a change of rhythm is needed or when the opponent struggles with the high bounce that results from the effect.
A third type of serve is the flat one. To execute this serve, the player must toss the ball right in front and immediately hit the middle-top part of the ball. This is usually a very hard serve and therefore risky. However, if the flat serve is executed with enough power and precision, it can turn into a great weapon to win points faster.
Though strategy is important in singles, it is even more important in doubles. The additional width of the alleys on the doubles court has a great effect on the angles possible in doubles play. Consequently, doubles is known as a game of angles.
The ideal is both-up strategy, often called "Attacking Doubles" because the net is the "high ground", and the both-up strategy puts both players close to it, in a position to score because of their excellent vantage points and angles. A team in the both-up formation, however, is vulnerable to a good lob from either opponent at any time. To be successful with Attacking Doubles, teams must have effective serves and penetrating volleys to prevent good lobs and good overhead shots to put away poor returns.
Teams that play attacking doubles try to get into the both-up formation on every point. When serving, their server follows most first serves to the net and some second serves. As a result, attacking doubles is also called "serve-and-volley doubles". When receiving, their receiver follows most second-service returns to the net.
At the professional level, attacking doubles is the standard, though slowly degrading, strategy of choice.
At lower levels of the game, not all players have penetrating volleys and strong overhead shots. So, many use up-and-back strategy. The weakness in this formation is the large angular gap it creates between partners, a gap that an opposing net player can easily hit a clean winner through if they successfully poach a passing shot.
Nonetheless, up-and-back strategy is versatile, with elements of both offense and defense. In fact, since the server must begin each point at the baseline and the receiver must be far enough back to return the serve, virtually every point in doubles begins with both teams in this formation.
Teams without net games strong enough to play Attacking Doubles can still play both-up when they have their opponents on the defensive. To achieve this, a team would patiently play up-and-back for a chance to hit a forcing shot and bring their baseliner to the net.
Australian Doubles and the I-Formation are variations of up-and-back strategy. In Australian doubles, the server's partner at net lines up on the same side of the court, fronting the opposing net player, who serves as a poaching block and blind. The receiver then must return serve down the line and is liable to have that return poached. In the I-Formation, the server's net partner lines up in the center, between the server and receiver so he or she can poach in either direction. Both Australian Doubles and the I-Formation are poaching formations that can also be used to start the point for serve-and-volley doubles.
Both-back strategy is strictly defensive. It is normally seen only when the opposing team is both-up or when the returner is passing the net player on the return. This might be a good tactic when the opponent has a serve with a lot of pressure and an aggressive player at the net. From here the defenders can return the most forcing shots till they get a chance to hit a good lob or an offensive shot. If their opponents at net become impatient and try to angle the ball away when a baseliner can reach it, the defender can turn the tables and score outright. However this strategy leaves the volley court open to drop shots from the opposition.
In baseball, a first-pitch strike is when the pitcher throws a strike to the batter during the first pitch of the at bat. Statistics indicate that throwing a strike on the first pitch allows the pitcher to gain an advantage in the at bat, limiting the hitter's chance of getting on base.
With the continued interest and development of statistics in the game of baseball, first-pitch strikes have been under the microscope of many fans and sabermetricians (those who study the game based on evidence, mainly stats that measure game activity). Many studies have proven that the first pitch in the at bat is the most important one. And according to Craig Burley's 2004 study in The Hardball Times, throwing a strike on a 0-0 count could potentially save over 12,000 runs scored in a single Major League Baseball season.
In Burley's study, he used stats from the 2003 MLB season. He found that when a pitcher throws a strike on the first pitch of the at bat, hitters collected a .261 batting average. But if the first pitch was a ball, their batting average jumped to .280, a substantial difference.
From Burley, "Let's imagine that we have two pitchers, both of whom are otherwise perfectly average but one of whom always throws a strike on the first pitch, while the other always throws a ball. The first pitcher, the "strike one" pitcher, has an expected ERA (earned run average) of about 3.60. The second one, the otherwise perfectly average one who always throws a ball on pitch one, has an expected ERA of about 5.50. He'll also pitch about 12% fewer innings (without taking into account the higher pitch counts that would result from starting 1-0)."
While there are some players in the game who are notorious for swinging at the first pitch, Burley's study proved that there is little risk in jumping ahead early in the count. Less than 8 percent of first-pitch strikes turn into base hits.
After that it becomes even more difficult for the hitter. Once a pitcher gets to a 0-1 count, hitters hit just .239 against him from there on out.
The Minnesota Twins franchise has taken the idea of command and first-pitch strikes to a new level. Considered a small-market team, the Twins needed to find any advantage they could to keep pace with the larger franchises.
Twins pitchers are taught from the very beginning to get ahead in the count, throwing first-pitch strikes as often as possible. In training camp, pitchers who collect the most first-pitch strikes are given free dinner or other rewards.
The scouts and coaches throughout the organization are trained to look for pitchers with consistent arm slots and deliveries, allowing them to spot young players who will harness the command that the franchise looks for.
As a team, the Twins haven’t ranked outside the top five in fewest walks allowed since 1996, and they’ve been first or second in that category in nine of the past 13 seasons.
Former Minnesota pitcher Brad Radke became the poster boy for first-pitch strikes, and his rate of 1.63 walks per nine innings ranks 32nd in baseball history.
Minnesota has become of the most successful small-market teams in the game, and as the Twins opened their new stadium, Target Field, for the 2010 season, their payroll ($97.5 million) ranked 11th among 30 big league clubs, a sign of how far the franchise has come and a testament to the importance of throwing first-pitch strikes.
"It stems from a manifesto we put together way back in the day: As a small-market club, how are you going to get an edge? We believe that command and control and makeup are true separators in the pitching category."—Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick in May, 2010.
Despite this lip service, however, the Twins have been below-average in the frequency with which they throw first-pitch strikes over the last three seasons.
Following the 2009 season, a contributor to FederalBaseball.com (an unofficial Washington Nationals blog) collected data to compare first-pitch strike percentages to earned run averages. The results indicated that there was a correlation between the two statistics, and pitchers who harnessed a higher first-pitch strike percentage often carried a lower ERA.
Of the starting pitchers with the 20 lowest ERAs in 2009, 16 of them had above-average first-pitch strike percentages. The contributor created a graph to plot the results. To view the graph, click here.
When viewing the graph, keep in mind:
The chart includes two dashed orange lines. The ERA line is at 4.20, which was the 2009 National League average. The first-pitch strike line is at the MLB average 58.13 percent.
In the upper-left corner are pitchers with higher than average first-pitch strike percentages and lower than average ERAs. In the bottom-left corner are pitchers with lower than average first-pitch strike percentages and lower than average ERAs.
According to FanGraphs.com, as of Aug. 11, 2010, the three starting pitchers with the highest first-pitch strike percentages were Cliff Lee (70.8 percent), Carl Pavano (68 percent), and Roy Halladay (67.6 percent). Pavano (3.28) had the highest ERA of the three, with Halladay and Lee both carrying ERAs below 2.50.
Starting pitchers throughout the league have acknowledged that throwing first-pitch strikes gives them a better chance for success.
Daniel Hudson, a 23-year-old starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks told FoxSports.com on Aug. 6, 2010 that throwing first-pitch strikes has aided in his increased performance.
After a winning start in which he threw first-pitch strikes to 20 of the 29 hitters he faced, he told FoxSports.com, "When you get that first-pitch strike, it automatically puts [the hitters] in a hole and gives me an advantage. It's very important to get that first pitch over in every at-bat."
Seattle Mariners’ pitcher Jason Vargas was enjoying the best season of his career through Aug. 11, 2010, with an ERA close to 3.00. Following a 2009 season in which he won just three games in 14 starts and had an ERA of 4.91, Vargas took a new approach. After throwing just 51 percent strikes on the first pitch in 2009, that number jumped to 63 percent in 2010, above the MLB average. From SeattlePI.com, "It puts him in the drivers' seat to execute pitch sequences to hitters on his own accord, rather than having to give in and offer hitters fastballs in fastball-counts."
Phil Hughes of the New York Yankees has excelled in his first full season as a starting pitcher and was named to the American League All-Star team. Hughes has developed a knack for getting one over on the first pitch, increasing his first-pitch strike percentage in each of his four seasons in the majors. His percentage of 64.3 through Aug. 11, 2010 is the highest of his career, and the eighth best in the American League.
On June 19, 2010, Hughes told NJ.com, "There's a lot of good strike-throwers out there, but that's been my main goal, just get strike one and take it one pitch at a time. Get ahead, and go from there … When you’re falling behind 1-0 as opposed to 0-1, it's a huge difference … That's all I try to do is just throw strikes and be aggressive. And know that if I put myself in those good situations, good counts, more or less good things are going to happen."
Hughes backed up his comments with statistics. Through Aug. 11, 2010, Hughes allowed just a .221 batting average against after throwing a first-pitch strike, as opposed to a .273 batting average against after throwing a ball on the first pitch. His win total on the season is the highest of his career.
In baseball, an ace is the best starting pitcher on a team and nearly always the first pitcher in the team's starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace typically starts on Opening Day. In addition, aces are usually preferred to start crucial playoff games, sometimes on three days' rest.
The term may be a derivation of the nickname of Asa Brainard (real first name: "Asahel"), a 19th-century star pitcher, who was sometimes referred to as "Ace".