How do you defend?

@loo7841 said in #18:

1.e4 e5 2.Ke2
Is this the Forrest Gump opening; run Forrest, run!?

The best defense is to attack.

You should always be aware of what your opponent is doing, which pawn breaks would benefit your opponent, and where your opponent’s pieces would like to be. For example, how active are your minor pieces compared to your opponents? Did that rook move your opponent made just introduce new tactical motifs into the position? It doesn’t need to be an immediate tactical threat, but perhaps that seemingly quiet Ra8-c8 move is has now introduced ideas into the position because of your c2 Queen. Is his b5 pawn break now possible because cxb5 would open up tactics on the c2 Queen? This is all stuff that should be automatically noticed by an experienced player and factored into the player’s decision making. Perhaps Qc2 was a mistake and the Queen was better suited on b3 or d2 to avoid the nonsense that occurs after Ra8-c8? But which square works best with your own attacking ideas? Constantly balancing your positional ambitions with those of your opponent is something that stronger players do well. They often don’t give you much of anything. No easy outposts, etc. You have to work for it. So yes, you must always be thinking about attack and Defense in order to understand the position as a whole. You do have an opponent after all, and your opponent is probably not just sitting idly waiting for your great plan to happen. He or she will have ideas of their own.

Why just believe in your opponent's attack?

Is this not the loser's attitude ?

Just sayin ...

@gilligan841 said in #1:

Do you use your own technique and apply it in the seat of your opponent or what?

My technique is very sharp, so I apply a pin to the seat of my opponent.

@boilingFrog said in #24:

Why just believe in your opponent's attack?

Is this not the loser's attitude ?

Just sayin ...

Sometimes, yes. Often the best defense to an attack is a counterattack, but in some cases, all you can do is defend. And this could even end up with you winning the game if, for example, they sac a piece for an attack, and you defend correctly and end up up a piece.

But it is good advice. You should calculate to see if your opponent's attack actually works or if their threats are real. Responding to empty threats will often justify them, as is seen in many lower level games.

With my pet fire-ant
(I mean if my opponent is in hospital, its a win for me right?