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Chess encyclopedia
Prophylaxis in Chess

Prophylaxis in Chess

What Is Prophylaxis in Chess? Have you ever looked at a position and thought, “If I give my opponent one more move, they’re going to do something annoying”? Simply put, that's where prophylaxis begins. Prophylaxis when in relation to chess refers to a move that is made to stop your opponent’s idea before they have the opportunity to play it. You are not necessarily attacking anything yourself. Rather, you are preventing the plans of your opponent. It can be as simple as preventing a king from being checked, protecting a piece that is going to be attacked or controlling a square. The concept is tied to Aron Nimzowitsch, he wrote about the concept in his famous book My System. In his approach he writes about how players should be encouraged to think about their opponent’s plans instead of just focusing on their own. It can be simple to write but difficult in practice. When an attractive attacking move presents itself, it can be hard to not play it straight away. But sometimes the stronger move can be the quieter one that stops your opponent’s aims.

How Prophylactic Moves Work

Usually a prophylactic starts with a simple question. “What would be my opponent’s move, if it was their turn?”

You should check:

  • Is one of my pieces about to be attacked?
  • Does my opponent have a useful pawn break?
  • Are they trying to get a knight or bishop onto a particular square?
  • Could they open a file toward my king?
  • Is there a move that would make their plan much less effective?

As an example, your opponent is preparing their knight to be moved to a strong central square. Your options are to wait for the knight to take the square and then you react, or.. You could try to control that square before they are able to. And rather than you only being able to react, you are now able to prevent their plan and their aims become much harder to execute.

The move might not win anything immediately. That is part of what makes chess prophylaxis interesting. Usually you are able to improve your position by removing possibilities, instead of just focusing on the obvious move.

Examples of Prophylactic Thinking

A common example of this is a pawn break. Just say your opponent has two connected pawns that are close to advancing and opening up lines towards your king. You can identify this idea before it comes to fruition and make moves to defend. These moves could be giving your king some extra room or controlling the square where the pawn wants to advance.

Nothing dramatic happens. There is no check and no capture. But a few moves down the line your opposition realised they have lost their counter play. This is the practical part of prophylaxis, the aim is not to predict every move your opponent may make. But rather when one of their moves may prove a problem, you prevent that from happening before it becomes your problem.

It is also important not to overdo it. If you spend every move stopping imaginary threats, you can end up playing passively. Good prophylaxis is based on something concrete in the position, not simply on being cautious.

Conclusion

The aim of Prophylaxis is to put yourself in your opponent’s shoes. Before taking your move, take a step back to analyze the board and ask what they would like to do next. If you are able to find a simple way to prevent it then you have found a stronger move than simply attacking.

With practice, this way of approaching chess can be natural. You are able to see and deal with threats faster and easier, gaining a greater knowledge of chess.