English Chess Forum

Before a move is made, when I am playing a roughly equal opponent (say a rating difference of plus or minus 10 ECF grading points) or when playing someone who quotes an appropriate limerick, I tend to aim for a draw. However I wonder if, in the interests of team victory, I should aim not to lose if my team is stronger (say team average 15 points higher ) but go for a win if my team is weaker.

What do others think about the playing safe strategy or the going for a win strategy ,in a team context? I guess for some colour may be relevant but I play 1b3!

IanCalvert wrote:What do others think about the playing safe strategy or the going for a win strategy ,in a team context? I guess for some colour may be relevant but I play 1b3!

The first rule for team play is not to broadcast your opening repertoire so I deduce you don't open with b3. Let's face it. If you really do open with b3 as white then you are playing for a draw at best from move 1.

Seriously, all you can do is play the position in front of you. Play the board and not the man and all that. Actually offering and accepting or declining draws is another matter. If in doubt ask your captain.

Larsen won lots of games with 1b3, I vaguely recall (everybody only remembers *that* loss to Spassky, though)

In the Andorra open this week, going into the last round half a point ahead, GM Granda Zuniga opened 1 b3. After ten moves he had a passive-looking position. His opponent, Demuth, started to play for a win but soon made a hash of it and Granda won quickly.

For me, playing for a draw is like going for 25 at darts. The only approach is to aim at the bull and hope for a near miss.

Before a move is made I always go for a win. Why play otherwise? Depending on how the game goes I may change that to aim to a draw. However, as a captain there are times when a draw is sufficient for the team. I will somehow communicate that to my player (without breaking the rules!) usually by showing them the match score and hoping they can deduce what I want.