Strategy

The overall direction of the fight, the plan as a whole, while tactics, as a subordinate part of strategy, carries out the individual tasks of the strategic plan. Sound strategy rests on a concrete and thorough evaluation of the position, based on the so-called general considerations (the center, open and half-open files, weak pawns and squares, piece coordination, space, time, development).

Choosing a strategic plan requires weighing material factors, positional factors, the basic strategic principles and tactical resources at work in the given position, and combinational motifs. Strategy must be flexible, taking into account not only one's own possibilities but also the opponent's counterchances. Carrying out a tactical operation requires an accurate and thorough evaluation of the position that will arise once the operation is complete.