On Football and Chess

 

In his book Football & Chess: Tactics, Strategy, Beauty, Adam Wells identifies at least 15 ways the strategies and tactics in soccer and chess overlap:

• Control the center of the field and the center of the board
• Ensure connectivity among players and pieces
• Maximize mobility of players and pieces by providing multiple options for movement
• Position players and pieces based on their strengths, their weaknesses, and the state of the game
• Maintain connectivity and balance when defending the whole field and the whole board
• Expand by using the width when attacking, compress by focusing on the center when defending
• Use all players and pieces as attackers and defenders
• Identify and exploit the opponent's defensive weaknesses
• Use patience and tempo to create and exploit a vulnerable player or position
• Position players and pieces in a connected structure before executing an attack
• Create and use space on the field and the board
• Overload an opposing player or piece with too many defensive responsibilities
• Exploit the "hole" between the opponent's lines of defenders
• Utilize multiplayer and multi-piece combinations and movements
• Apply pressure to opponent by pressing and attacking