Statistically, White has a bit of an edge. It is always up to black to equalise, since white has a built-in advantage of the first move. It is significant to note, however, that many Grandmasters think that black has dynamic counterchances based on the fact that because white moves first, he also must commit himself first. Check out Adorjan's excellent book "Black Is OK" by A. Adorjan. It is also interesting to be aware that GMs that score well with black (Korchnoi, Dzindzi, Kasparov, Fischer, Shabalov) are excellent counterpunchers and consider chess to be a fight!

The main goals of the opening are to pose problems for your opponent while reaching a playable middlegame for yourself. Unfortunately, the Colle is a bit too passive to play on the highest level, as it gives Black too free a game. The main problem is based around the loss of tempo centering around white's plan e3-e4. A good line for black is the following: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Bd3 d5 5.c3 Nbd7 6. Nbd2 c5 7. 0-0 0-0 8. e4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Nf6 12. Bf3 e5 (see diagram at right) Black is better here, he has a central pawn, and while white continues to retreat, black gains space and his pieces leap onto active squares......hardly what the player of the White pieces wants to see 15 moves into the game. From the diagram, one game went: 13. Nb5 Qb6 14. a4 Rd8 15. Qe1 e4! 16. Be2 a6 17. Be3 Qc6 18. Nd4 Qc7 19. Bg5 Re8 20. Qd2 and here 20...b6 and 21...Bb7 gives Black a great game.

Good question. The evaluation of positions and the choosing of a plan is really what separates the "classes" in chess. Larry Evans gave us some excellent ideas for evaluating middle game positions in his book "New Ideas In Chess". He would create an evaluation based on how the four main elements of chess strategy were distributed between the players. The 4 elements are: Force (or material), Space ( he defined this as how many squares past the "horizon line", or middle of the board, one controls), Pawn Structure, and Time (or tempo). These elements are hardly ever favorable to just one side.....if they are, then you may consider your position winning. More likely, the position will be a dynamic distribution of these elements. For example you may have an advantage in space, but you have doubled pawns that could be a long-term weakness for you. Or you may have sacrificed some material (say, a pawn) for an advantage in development (Time) and space (control more area in your opponents camp). Keep in mind that Pawn Structure and Force are more long-term elements....they are less likely to change in the next 10 moves. Space and Time are more ephemeral, and if you have an advantage in either of these areas, you must act fast to turn these elements into an advantage. For example, your opponent could "catch up" in his development and thus even things out again. Study the games of Grandmasters and take special notice of how they handle the elements and how they "trade" an advantage in one area for another.

In general, offensive play must be given the nod. I would not choose a defensive plan unless i had to. Be careful though, as playing for an attack without having an advantage in two or more of the above elements will almost every time be met with failure. If your opponent has an advantage, then this is the time for defensive action, and looking for a plan that will even out the elements. Keep in mind that "defensive" doesnt mean "passive". A good counterattack is the best form of defense (and more fun!) Books that may help you further on this subject are "Think like a Grandmaster" by Kotov and "Three Steps to Chess Mastery" by Suetin.