The PAO of Tactics
Preliminaries
The Process
PAO
Examples
Finding a tactic in a problem is easy because you know there's a tactical shot. But when you're in the middle of a game, there's no sign flashing in the air that says "Tactic Here!" How many times have you reached a position in one of your games that resembles one of the tactical problems you've practiced with, and made the committal move to begin a combination, only to face an unexpected move a few moves later that refutes your entire idea? And how many times has Fritz shown you that you missed a tactic altogether? The PAO of Tactics is a process I came up with to improve my own tactical awareness. PAO stands for Protection, Alignment, and Opportunity. It's a way of thinking during a game to increase my recognition of tactical elements in any position. Before getting into the details, there are some preliminaries to cover first.
You should already have a basic foundation of tactical themes, such as forks, skewers, deflection, x-ray attacks, double attacks, and so on. If this is new to you, you should first study a good book on basic tactics, such as Winning Chess Tactics, by Yasser Seirawan. Next you should practice a large number of tactics problems. There are many books out there for this, but I recommend a CD called CT-ART. It contains over 1200 problems, and the software assists you with gradual hints and the ability to turn on a chess engine (it comes with Crafty) and explore ideas not anticipated by the software. (Note that CT-ART is very good, but does contain a few errors, as does any tactics book or CD. Don't be afraid to prove it wrong with Fritz.) Daily practice is highly beneficial, as it develops pattern-recognition and builds what I call a tactical chess muscle that will aid you in the last round of a grueling Swiss weekend tournament. If you are really ambitious, a high-powered tactical study program is 400 Points in 400 Days (Part One and Two), by Michael de la Maza. This is also available in his book, Rapid Chess Improvement. While his "tactics is everything" approach is not something I agree with, his study program will benefit you. I gained 150 USCF rating points in six months from following the program.
An important part of solving tactics problems is that you should see all relevant lines before committing to a combination. It's far too easy when you know there is a strong tactic to figure out the initial move and then find your way to the solution as you progress forward. This approach will end in disaster in a real game. When I solve tactics problems, I don't consider that I've solved it correctly if I've missed anything important. The PAO of Tactics evolved as I would miss elements within tactics problems, and then later, after seeing the solution, I would try to figure out how I should have seen those missed elements from the beginning. The PAO of tactics is the system I came up with for myself. You can come up with whatever system you want, for it's the process of revamping your thinking to better perceive all the tactical elements of a position that's important.
This tactical thinking process applies when you are looking at a position. In a real game, this is after your opponent has moved. With a tactics problem, it's when you first look at the position. Note that when you look at a tactics problem, you are taking in a new position all at once. When you are playing a game, you only have to deal with what's changed since you last made a tactical assessment. The thinking process is simple, and involves making a full survey of the board. Take your time and look at all the pieces, applying PAO to each piece. At first this might seem laborious, but eventually it should become more intuitive, and require less verbal thinking. There are times in tournaments when I am exhausted, and my "chess sense" seems to elude me. Having a thought process is highly beneficial at those times. Be sure to apply PAO to both your opponent's pieces and your own. As you become aware of tactical elements in the position, follow through in trying to solve the tactical questions that arise. Always be asking "what if?" What if that rook wasn't pinned -- I could then win material! So now you look for ways to force the unpinning of the rook. Just be sure that unless you find an absolutely forcing line, complete your survey of the entire board before beginning your calculations. Otherwise important ideas (especially counterplay) can be missed.
The tactical thinking process takes place within a larger thinking process. Here's the thinking process I apply after my opponent has moved:
1) Understand the Move. What has changed, both tactically and strategically by the move? What is my opponent's idea(s) behind the move?
2) Examine forcing lines. Sometimes there's an absolutely forcing line that's fairly easy to investigate. This saves time on the clock.
3) Tactical Assessment. Time to apply the PAO of Tactics!
4) Strategic Assessment. Come up with a plan. One of my favorite books on how to do this is Jeremy Silman's How to Reassess Your Chess. Some have suggested spending most of your energy in strategic assessment during your opponent's time.
5) Calculate. Whether examining a forcing line, or investigating your tactical or strategic assessment, you'll nearly always be picking candidate moves and calculating variations. Eventually you'll decide on a move.
6) Quick Blunder-Check. This has saved me many times. After deciding on a move, look at it with a fresh eye towards finding anything wrong with it. If everything looks okay, make the move. (And don't forget to write the move down and press your clock!) |
As you survey the entire board, for each piece notice:
Is the piece unprotected or under-protected? Can another attacker be added? Can a defender be deflected away from its defensive duties? You should see attacks even if other pieces are in the way, and ask if those pieces can be moved.
Look for alignment on diagonals, files, ranks, and knight forks. If two rooks are aligned on the same diagonal, can a bishop exploit this? If a knight and bishop are on the same file, can a rook attack them both? Can pieces be forced into a bad alignment? Can pieces in the way be moved? Also notice what I call "intersection squares", that is, squares that if a queen could move to would be attacking two or more vulnerable pieces. Notice how interrelated protection and alignment are. Seeing an alignment can directly lead to protection questions. Let your mind naturally move from from one aspect of PAO to another. Just be sure to cover all the elements.
This covers where pieces can move, and if such moves seem interesting or threatening. It also covers the mobility of the pieces, particularly if a piece can be trapped or excluded from play.
All this may be nice in theory, but let's see how it's applied when confronted with a variety of positions. Here are some examples. |
