Strategy: Developing Knight to a Key Square

In this game we see Grandmaster John Emms make a clever strategical development. It looks like the Knight on d2 might be destined for b3 but look at the hole on d5! His way forward is clear ... Nd2-f1-e3-d5. This shows strong insight from the grandmaster who went on to comfortably convert this game in a recent Simul.

Personally I have found the following instruction book to be very useful in providing a guide as to as to how to improve the thought process.

Mastering Chess Strategy

The discipline encouraged is to ask yourself "which piece can I improve and how?"

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Bc4 Be7 5. d3 Nf6 6. Nd2 d6 7. Nf1 Bg4 8. f3 Be6 9. Ne3 a6 10. a3 b5 11. Ba2 Rb8 12. O-O O-O 13. Ncd5 b4 14. Kh1 Nd7 15. axb4 Bxd5 16. Nxd5 Nxb4 17. f4 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 exf4 19. Rxa6 Nb6 20. Bb3 Bf6 21. Bxf4 Be5 22. Bxe5 dxe5 23. Ra7 c4 24. dxc4 Qxd1 25. Rxd1 Rfd8 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. h3 Nd7 28. c5 Nxc5 29. Bxf7 Kf8 30. Bd5 Nd7 1-0

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