The Power of Exchange

The correct technique of exchanging pieces is the most important ability of Grandmasters! Which pieces to swap and which pieces to keep, whether to recapture with a piece or with a pawn - these are questions which every player of every level has to answer many times during a single game. And the greatest difference between GMs and amateurs is not in opening knowledge or in calculation power, but in this simple technique. The great Botvinnik even said that chess is just multiple exchanges. He explained Fischer’s technique of play: Fischer never had bad pieces - he always exchanged them for his opponent’s strong pieces.

Video running time: 3 hrs.