Chess styles: Why the computers and best players all have a dynamic style.

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Chess styles: What separates the best chess players?

Romantic. Attacking. Positional. Quiet. Aggressive. Ever since Chess styles have evolved together in harmony. Then everything changed when technology hit the world. Only the computers have gained mastery of the game, unlocking new depths of ideas that often look strange and crazy to the human mind. Several great humans have explored and are embracing this shift, but we have a lot to learn before we can fully adopt them.

I believe we can fully adopt them.

Chess has 3 core elements; Visualization, Calculation, and Evaluation. The birth of playing styles arose from Calculation, the engine of our thought processes and selection of moves. Out of calculation, the two main playing styles are born:

Tactical style: Players with an affinity for the tactical style have a sharp eye for exploiting or inducing weaknesses instantly.
Simply put, they act very well when there is something to do.
Players here are usually aggressive, attack-oriented, etc.

Strategical style: Players here tend to have a sharp eye for gradually exploiting or inducing weaknesses.
Simply put, they act very well when there is nothing to do.
Players here are usually positional, reserved, squeeze-oriented, etc.

In Chess, your personality and training system decide your playing style.
Alright, I’m probably sure you’ve done a bit of reflection by now and a couple of questions bug your mind.
The main one being; “Isn’t it possible to have both styles? ”

It is. As a matter of fact, the Dynamic style emerges when a player has significantly honed and integrated the tactical & strategical styles with the added flair of creativity. This unique blend is inherent in computers & the best human players.
Players such as; Paul Morphy, Alexander Alekhine, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, Gukesh D, Abdusattorov Nordibek, Wei Yi, etc are all dynamic players.

Note: Several names were not mentioned.

What sets the best players with dynamic styles apart?
There are several factors to this, resources, drive, memory, etc. From my studies, the secret ingredient is the flair of Creativity/Ingenuity. The dynamic player who has a superior creative ability often leads the pack.

How can you tell if a dynamic player is very creative?
One of the best ways to do this is to; Observe the lengths they stretch in their attempt to win seemingly drawn games.
E.g. Magnus Carlsen’s successful attempt in game 6 of the 2021 World Championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi for over 7 hours.
They often stretch their minds to the extreme to achieve such feats. It's no coincidence the engines frequently have games exceeding 100 moves.
The beauty of this is that creativity and willpower are closely connected.

Closing Remarks
Overall, a dynamic style is crucial to reaching the upper echelons of chess. Personally i think that players who start out with a tactical style can unlock the dynamic style seamlessly than strategical players.

Having a team of dedicated individuals to hone your skills & resources is also necessary. The best of the best have always had this.

There are several players who achieved the dynamic style that were not mentioned. Hikaru, Kramnik, Aronian, Wesley So, Rapport, Ding, etc.

We have lessons coming soon on LaddrChess on Dynamic play, one example is that of Dynamic strategy. Its a key one.

I believe Gukesh would become victorious at the 2024 World chess championship. He seems to have the secret ingredient.

Chess is a bicycle of the mind, realizing ways to intersect it with several fields and life is important.

LaddrChess is the Duolingo for chess, our vision is to expand the growth of chess. We’re starting out to make quality chess education free and affordable.

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