Strategy vs Tactics in Chess

First we must ask ourselves if strategy can be separated from tactics. It is often said that chess is 99% tactics. My question is, what is the other 1%? Poker? No, chess is 100% tactics! What heresy, you say. What of strategy? Yes, strategy is just another word for "coordinated" tactics. In other words, what exists on the board is all tactics. What exists in your mind are thoughts of where you want the game to go, i.e. how to coordinate the tactics to lead to a desired outcome. In other words, strategy is what guides your tactical choices on the board. I say all this from my own personal experience. When I first learned to play chess, I came accross the famous text by Nimzovich - "My System". After reading that book, I felt that I knew what I needed to do on the chess board. I started out thinking that chess was all about strategy. The fundamental understanding of tactics still awaited me several years down the line. How many times have I had a good strategical idea in mind, only to hang my queen or some other valuable piece in the process? I cannot count. It still happens till today, although most often only in blitz games.

The point that I am making is that every event on the chess board is a tactical event. Even when you have made a waiting move with a pawn, you have nevertheless executed a tactical operation. That innocuous pawn move has done one of many things, including 1. Vacating a square; 2. Occupying a square; 3. Attacking new squares; 4. Defending new squares etc. That harmless looking move you just made with a piece, is also a confluence of several tactical operations. The rules of chess does not permit you to cede your turn without making a move. So like it or not, you have to cede a temporal advantage at each move.

What does this all mean? You ask. This means that a fundamental approach to playing better chess is first to learn to pay full attention to what is on the board at any given moment. Itemize all the tactical possibilities for each side, and only then consider how to select a move that fits into a coordinated tactical operation that leads to an advantage for you. Why is this important? Many times I have found myself so preoccupied with what I am trying to do down the stretch, that I lose sight of what is on the board at the given moment. Especially during blitz games, due to the pressure of the clock, I would like to go directly to the execution of what is in my mind (strategy). Unfortunately my opponent is reacting to what is currently on the board. So if I leave my queen hanging, why not take it?

Here is my tip to anyone who understands what I am saying: On every move, pay initial attention to what is on the board. If possible try to attach a feeling to each contact between the pieces, friendly or hostile. Itemize possible tactical actions and weigh each of them against a plan that you have for moving the game into favorable directions. Only then consider which of the tactical choices are properly coordinated with your intended plan. Don't despair if you miss a detail here or there from time to time. Practice makes perfect. Keep at it. Don't give up.