Prophylaxis

Strategy idea, advanced

Also called Not so fast, Prevention.

Stop the other side's best plan before it starts, often with a quiet move.

The method: ask what the other side would do if it were their move now. If that is dangerous, spend a move preventing it.

Why it matters

Preventing a plan is usually cheaper than defending against it once it is running.

Fix the weak point a rival would attack before they attack it: the missing contract clause, the single supplier.

New to chess? The examples here use it. Play your first moves (five minutes), then learn chess from the beginning, one short lesson at a time.

Black's bishop on c8 wants to come to g4 and pin the knight to the queen. Which quiet move stops it before it starts?

One question, a minute or two. Nothing to finish first.