[Event "The Blueprint 1400s to 1700s: A Reddit Chess Project.: When should we throw an attack?"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/li3bsg62/1uY72DPS"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Paulcarrero"]
[ECO "?"]
[Opening "?"]
[UTCDate "2021.05.03"]
[UTCTime "03:57:28"]
[Variant "Standard"]

{ Attacking is one of the most important aspects of the game.

Whenever we solve tactical puzzles we hope to improve the quality of our violent operations. However, it is common knowledge that there is a big gap between solving puzzles and playing games.

When we solve a puzzle, we've got a clear indication. There is a path that we must decipher to crush our opponent.

When we play a game, things are simply not that clear. Nobody comes to our table and whispers in our ears "Hey pal, mate in 5". We are on our own.

How do we know when an attack is necessary in the position we face?

How do we know our attack is going to be repelled?

Should we, instead of attacking play strategically?

I've got a shortcut that might save you some time and energy. I call it the green lights rule of thumb.

It consists of a few questions, if the answer to your question favors an attack, that's a green light. If the answer to the question tells you that your attack is doomed to fail, that's a red light. If the answer doesn't favor you or your opponent, that's a yellow light.

If you see a lot of green lights, the position is telling you that you should attack.

If you see a lot of yellow and red lights, your attack is, is probably going to be repelled.

The questions are:

1) Do I have better king safety than my opponent?

Initiating attacks when our own king is in bad shape, might lead us to trouble. Attacking when his king isn't too safe, is a pretty good sign.

2) Do I have more pieces attacking than my opponent has defenders on the area of the board where I'd like to attack?

If you walk down the street by yourself and get into a fight against 6 guys, probably the odds are against you. Same thing applies to chess. Your lonely rook won't be able to crush the 6 pieces defending his king in most cases.

3) Do I have more control of the center than my opponent?

The more central control you've got, the better mobility you gain for your pieces. It is hard to attack when your pieces can't move effectively, which is often the case when you lack control of the center.

3) Do I have a better pawn structure than my opponent?

A bad pawn structure won't only lead you to problems stopping your opponent from devouring each one of your pawns. It will also create weak squares in your position that could serve your opponent as strong outposts for his pieces.

Don't forget that weak squares are simply put those squares that can't be protected by pawns.

4) Does he have weaknesses that could be taken advantage of?

It isn't uncommon to see people launching attacks at places which aren't weak, nor could be weakend, this is often a premonition that your attack is going to fail.
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If you ask these questions and they favor your attack, you'll see a lot of shiny green lights, which is the equivalent of the position whispering that your attack is probably going to work.

If your answers are a bunch of red lights, throwing an attack is probably going to be suicidal, you'll be refuted with correct game by your opponent.

A bunch of yellow lights, usually don't favor your attack either.

This rule of thumb isn't a substitute for calculation, you still have to calculate, but now, you've got a better sense of what's going on. } *