Control the Game: Play Forcing Moves
Once you have passed the beginner level as a chess player, and mostly stopped blundering pieces, you start to understand the value of controlling a chess game. You want it to be played on your terms, in ways favourable to you.
One way to begin doing that is to play forcing moves. A forcing move is one that limits the ways in which your opponent can respond, beginning with captures and checks. If you give a check, then by the rules of chess, your opponent must respond. Similarly with captures, if you take a piece, it sounds like it would be a problem if your opponent is not ready to capture back. In both cases, they do not have time to do what they might like to do; it has been insisted that they answer your move instead.
If you search for the captures and checks first, you will go through Rh8+, Bxg6+, … and Qh5+! What looks like a protected square is indeed safe for the queen because the bishop pins the g6-pawn, and Qh5+ Kg7 Qh8# is mate.
Black has played …Nd5, which looks like a safe square, protected by the rook on d8. White starts with the checks and captures: all of Bxa7, Nd6+, Ne7+, and Nxg7 can be ruled out fairly quickly. Perhaps you have spotted a classic pattern: Rxd5!. Black obviously expected …Rxd5 to be just fine, but White can look for captures and checks on the second move, and will find Ne7+ followed by Nxd5 after Black moves the king. (Black would love to move the rook, but is forced to move the king!)
To conclude, you will of course need to watch for your opponent’s forcing moves too. Black has attacked the c4 pawn with …Rc7. What if White protects it with Rc1? They would be met with …Rxb5! having walked into a pin on the c-file. If you consider Black’s potential capture before playing Rc1, you will have the chance to stop yourself and play another move – maybe Bxa4 and trading the c-pawn for the a-pawn.
Forcing moves are most useful when there is a clear resolution, which is to say, tactics. Look for forcing moves first, and see where they lead you.
