Expert: Len Molden - 2/18/2011

Question
basically i am a passive player.i love and feel comfortable with endgames and early queen sacrifice.But in the presence of opponent's queen i usually get nervous and do lot of tactical mistake. how can i improve this? I also want to ask expert whether there is a need to change my tpe of play from passive to aggressive? thanks

Answer
Hi Dinesh,

If you find yourself uncomfortable with complex, tactical attacking games, then you should broaden your opening repertoire to get into these types of games.

You don't need to make a switch from being a passive to aggressive player, but instead, develop a balanced style where you can play either way.

I don't know what openings you currently play, but you should try an opening repertoire based on 1 e4 as White, and the Sicilian Dragon and Leningrad Dutch as Black.  This will more often than not, lead to the type of positions where you need more practice in and it will expand your style.

Here's two books I recommend as they focus on the main ideas and themes behind the openings:

http://www.chessmastery.com/chess-opening-ideas.html

Regards,

Len Molden