ProphylaxisPreventing the opponent's plan before pursuing your own.ChessThe habit that most distinguishes strong players from club players.1Ask what they threatenImmediately, next move.2Ask what they wantTheir plan over the next five moves, not just the next check.3Ask what they would play if it were their turnThis is the key question.4Consider preventing itCompare stopping their plan against advancing your own.5Then decideSometimes your plan is faster. Sometimes prevention wins thegame.COMMON PROPHYLACTIC MOVESh3 or a3, stopping a pinKh1, stepping off a diagonal in advanceRb1, anticipating pressure on the fileNamed by Nimzowitsch. It is what separates a plan from a fantasy —the opponent also gets to move.Prophylaxislearnposters.com
Prophylaxis — printable games wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Prophylaxis, step by step

The habit that most distinguishes strong players from club players.

  1. Ask what they threatenImmediately, next move.
  2. Ask what they wantTheir plan over the next five moves, not just the next check.
  3. Ask what they would play if it were their turnThis is the key question.
  4. Consider preventing itCompare stopping their plan against advancing your own.
  5. Then decideSometimes your plan is faster. Sometimes prevention wins the game.

Common prophylactic moves

  • h3 or a3, stopping a pin
  • Kh1, stepping off a diagonal in advance
  • Rb1, anticipating pressure on the file

Named by Nimzowitsch. It is what separates a plan from a fantasy — the opponent also gets to move.

Questions about the Prophylaxis poster

What’s on the Prophylaxis poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The habit that most distinguishes strong players from club players. Ask what they threaten — Immediately, next move.; Ask what they want — Their plan over the next five moves, not just the next check.; Ask what they would play if it were their turn — This is the key question.; Consider preventing it — Compare stopping their plan against advancing your own.; Then decide — Sometimes your plan is faster. Sometimes prevention wins the game.. Named by Nimzowitsch. It is what separates a plan from a fantasy — the opponent also gets to move.
Who is the Prophylaxis poster for?
Prophylaxis belongs to the Chess section rather than to a school year, because games is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning middlegame can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Prophylaxis poster?
Ask what they want to do. Then consider stopping it. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Prophylaxis belongs on the wall where that games work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Prophylaxis?
Attacking the King, Bishop or Knight and Defending sit alongside Prophylaxis in the Chess section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Attacking the KingBishop or KnightDefending
Is the Prophylaxis poster free to download and print?
Yes. Prophylaxis downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Chess section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Prophylaxis poster print at?
Prophylaxis is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Prophylaxis loses nothing.Printing guide

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