What is the Prophylaxis chess tactic?
Prophylaxis is a chess tactic that involves anticipating and preventing your opponent’s plans and threats before they can be executed. The main goal of prophylaxis is to create a stable position and limit the opponent’s options by neutralizing their potential threats.
Introduced by Aron Nimzowitsch in “My System”
The concept of prophylaxis can be traced back to the games of the great chess player and chess theorist, Aron Nimzowitsch. He was one of the first to popularize the concept of prophylaxis in his book “My System” published in 1925. He believed that the key to success in chess was to anticipate the opponent’s plans, and to play moves that neutralized those plans before they could be executed.
Effective in the middlegame
Prophylaxis is particularly effective in the middlegame, when the opponent’s pieces are not yet developed and their king is not yet castled. The main goal is to limit the opponent’s options, and to create a stable position. For example, by preventing the opponent from developing their pieces, or by attacking their pawn structure, it can make it difficult for the opponent to create threats.
Prophylaxis can also be used in combination with other tactics, such as double attack and discovered attack. For example, if a player anticipates that the opponent is going to play a certain move, they can use prophylaxis to prevent the opponent from playing that move and then use a double attack or discovered attack to gain an advantage.