@xiaoban said in #1:
> I'm struggling on Roy Lopez. Especially at steinitz, Berlin, and Morphy.
> I often find it difficult to come up with a plan although the stockfish keep saying it's +1
> The only thing I know is to occupy the center and punish black for not playing e6 in time
> Ah, headache
Learn the Schliemann, berlin and SPECIFICALLY the open Spanish. This is because they are the most common variants where you can’t apply the plans in the closed spanish on them. If you don’t know, here are the plans.
-> After castling, play Re1 to fortify the e4 pawn, then play c3 FIRST, giving an escape square for the bishop in case of Na5 and building up for d4. Try to keep your Light Square bishop and retreat when black tries to exchange it. Then, you have to play h3 and then finally play d4. h3 is played to prevent Bg4, and if black tries Bg4 before you play h3, play h3 to kick it out.
-> After playing d4, move your b1 knight to d2 then to f1 and finally, to e3 or g3 to pressure the kingside. If black has moved their bishop to g4 and you have kicked it out, you can forcibly exchange the bishop for the knight. The knight should try to be placed on f5, pressuring black's position.
After completing this 2-step plan, here are some ideas.
-> Play a4 to pressure the queenside.
-> Play f4 to serve multiple purposes.
-> If black has played h7-h6 and has castled, play the Bxh6 sacrifice and begin your attack. Don’t think that it always works!
-> You can also play on the Center.
