Due to moving first,
White starts the game with the initiative, but it can be lost in the
opening by accepting a
gambit. Players can also lose initiative by making unnecessary moves that allow the opponent to gain
tempo, such as superfluous "preventive" (
prophylactic) moves intended to guard against certain actions by the opponent, that nonetheless require no specific response by them. The concept of tempo is closely tied to initiative, as players can acquire the initiative or buttress it by gaining a tempo. The initiative is important in all phases of the game, but more important in the
endgame than in the
middlegame and more important in the middlegame than in the
opening. Having the initiative puts the opponent on the defensive.
Grandmaster Larry Evans considers four elements of chess:
pawn structure,
force (), ''
(controlling the and piece ), and time''. Time is measured in
tempi. Having a time advantage is having the initiative. The initiative should be kept as long as possible and only given up for another advantage. ==See also==