The Positional school
Take away their moves.
The Positional school wins slowly. It stops the opponent's plans before they start, improves one piece at a time, and gives up material only for a lasting grip on the board.
Tigran Petrosian of Armenia showed the idea most clearly at Zurich in 1953, giving up a rook for a bishop to shut down White's attack. He became world champion ten years later.
Maia Chiburdanidze of Georgia, women's world champion at 17, and Magnus Carlsen, who grinds wins from positions others call equal, play in the same patient way.
Openings that suit it
- Caro-Kann Defence: Black builds a solid pawn chain and waits for White to overreach. Petrosian and Karpov both trusted it.
- English Opening: White starts on the side of the board and fights for the center slowly.
- Queen's Gambit Declined: A sound structure first, and the long game after.