Prophylaxis (chess)
Encyclopedia
In the game of chess
, prophylaxis (Greek
προφυλαξις, "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 rook pawn to avert the possibility of back rank mate
.
In a more strategic sense, prophylaxis leads to a very positional game, 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
.
It should be understood, however, that any move which 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 grandmaster
s make use of prophylaxis in one way or another.
Famous practitioners include:
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, prophylaxis (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
προφυλαξις, "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 rook pawn to avert the possibility of back rank mate
Back rank checkmate
In chess, a back-rank checkmate is a checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along a back rank in which the mated king is unable to move up the board because the king is blocked by friendly pieces on the second rank . A typical position is shown to the right...
.
In a more strategic sense, prophylaxis leads to a very positional game, 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
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
.
It should be understood, however, that any move which 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
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
and Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
frequently played the move h3 in the Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
—a prophylactic move intended to prevent Black from playing ...Bg4 and creating an irritating pin
Pin (chess)
In chess, a pin is a situation brought on by an attacking piece in which a defending piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable defending piece on its other side to capture by the attacking piece...
on the knight
Knight (chess)
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
at f3—yet neither player would ever be described as playing in the prophylactic style. All grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
s make use of prophylaxis in one way or another.
Famous practitioners include:
- Aron NimzowitschAron NimzowitschAron Nimzowitsch was a Russian-born Danish unofficial chess grandmaster and a very influential chess writer...
- Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
- Anatoly KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...