Military Strategy vs. Chess Strategy

Sun Tzu lived in the fourth century BC, and was a respected General in China that NEVER lost a battle.
The memory of this great military strategist is still alive to this day due to his work: "The art of war". This book is the most popular strategy work of the current days, being studied around the world for entrepreneurs, in order to prepare for the business world.
His teachings are also useful for Chess due to the depth and breadth of his ideas.


Here are some Sun Tzu's ideas (commented) that everyone should know:

"a military commander must attack where the enemy is unprepared and must use paths that, for the enemy, are unexpected ..." - Principle of Surprise;

"If you discover the weakness of the opponent, you must affect it quickly. Capture, initially, what is very valuable to the enemy. Do not reveal the time of the attack." - Principle of vulnerabilities;

"Invincibility is in defense, the possibility of victory in the attack. Who defends shows that his strength is inadequate; who attacks, shows that it is abundant." (In Chess is important to defend when we are in the lower position and attack when we are in advantage, attack in lower position is suicide);

"If it isn't advantageous, never send troops; if it yields no profit, never use your men; if it isn't a dangerous situation, never fight a battle hasty ..." (Attacks must be planned, there should be harmony between the parts, attack without activate all the parts is precipitated);

"If you know the enemy and yourself, you needn't fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you don't know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will lose all the battles. " (Knowing our strengths and weaknesses is extremely important in chess, in order to choose the best ways to trick our opponent);

"Keep them under stress and tire them." (All moves should improve our position, the pressure must be constant);

"He who is prudent and wait for a reckless enemy will be victorious."