Strategy

What is a Initiative in chess?

  • Tempo
  • Attack
  • Pressure

The ability to make threats and force the opponent to react.

Initiative FAQ

What is a initiative in chess?

The ability to make threats and force the opponent to react.

Train this pattern on your own games

Reading a definition is not the same as spotting the pattern with a clock running. Chessiro's free game review runs Stockfish 18 over every move you play, names the concept behind each mistake, and turns the positions where it cost you into training puzzles. You can also see the idea in action in the classic games collection, where the greatest players in history demonstrate it.

Related terms

Free game review

See where initiative decides your games

Chessiro reviews your games with an AI coach that names the concept behind every mistake, then drills you on the exact positions where it happened until you stop repeating them.