Strategy - Where to start?

"Leadership is intangible, and therefore no weapon ever designed can replace it." GENERAL OMAR BRADLEY

As you study the battlefield laid out in front of you, you soon realise that unless things change, and change quickly, then you will be in a dire situation.

You examine the disposition of your forces, seeking ways to strengthen your defence but still retaining enough flexibility to launch an offensive, if you can just find an opening.

As you study the opposing forces, you examine several different avenues of attack, each time only to be stopped by the realisation that the other side has already seen that particular weakness, and already has a defence against it. As things get more desperate, you begin to lose heart, and wonder if there is any way to salvage any sort of victory without a cost to yourself that could easily be crippling.

Suddenly, you realise that you've been staring an opening right in the face, but it was just too obvious to contemplate. A case of being unable to see the wood for the trees. You immediately check for any avenues of possible retaliation, to see if you really do have a golden opportunity, or if you're being led into an elaborate trap. Of course, it's just possible that the other side can also suffer from that all-too-human problem, an oversight. Or possibly even over-confidence on the part of your opposite number.

You quickly realise that whatever the reason, you must strike now, or you might lose the opportunity forever. He could close the gap so easily, without leaving a gap anywhere that you might take advantage of. If you move fast, you'll be able to drive a wedge into the defences that can only have one outcome.

With a new-found confidence, you lean towards the board, lift a small wooden piece, and say with a small smile on your face "Queen to King 4. Check."

It has been said that chess is the ultimate game of strategy and planning. Well, I don't know if that's true or not, but if it isn't, it's still a very good game to teach you how to master the use of resources at your disposal, advance planning, attack and defence, flexibility, deception, and how to learn from your mistakes without it costing you anything.

Of course, no-one enjoys either winning or losing all the time, so it's important to find someone who matches your skill level as closely as possible. When you do have a suitable opponent, you'll find you learn much more from a closely fought battle than a walkover or wipeout.

Use any web search engine (you'll find six of the best at http://www.msn.com/access/allinone.asp) and just search for the word chess. You`ll find hundreds of sites that have chess programs to download, Internet Chess Servers that allow you to play chess live over the net, and other chess-related links.

You could do a lot worse than play a few games of chess to teach you a little strategy...

Tim Still (tcs@cix.compulink.co.uk)