Book of Chess Strategy

FIRST BOOK OF CHESS STRATEGY G. M. LISITSYN B.CAFFERTY

The Chess

Player Nottingham

First Published 1976

Copyright The Chess Player

1976

Printed in Eqland by The Chess Player Ltd., 12 Burton Avenue, Carlton, Nottingham NG4 lPI', England

CONTENTS

Introduction

5

The Ele!'lents of Chess Strategy

8

The Placing of the King

9

The Placing of the Queen

24

The Placing o f the Rook

31

The Placing of the Bishop

36

The Placing of the Knight

43

The Placing of the Pawns

49

The Overall Placing of Pieces and Pawns The Absolute and Relative Strength of the Pieces

58

The Mobilisation of the Pieces and Centre Pawns

65

bnproving the Position of the Pieces Driving Back the Enemy Pieces

70

Exchanges

76

Strengthening the Position Weakening the Opponent's Position

80

Limiting the Opponent's Counterplay

84

Assessing the Position

88

Chess Theory is not Dogma

92

INTRODUCTION

Chess is a game which takes the form of a contest or struggle in which each side uses material (the sixteen men) to move about in space (the 64 squares) creating different positirns. However the contest is rather unusual or contradictory since material advantage or positional advantage does not always decide . Sometimes a win is achieved with a smalle r amount of material than the opponent enj oys, or with an inferior (or apparently inferior) position for the pieces and pawns. How can this be explained? The special nature of chess lies prin­ cipally in the role played by the king. If check is given it has to be met, disregarding all other considerations. If the king cannot be saved then the contest is over irrespective of the current state of material or position. This special role of the king is also seen in stalemate and perpetual check. Consider some examples .

1

:

Black has great material advantage , but White

the very bad position of the enemy king

B4 N-B3 3

B-Q2 and 4 B-B3 mate .

-

1

wins in view of

B-N5 R-KB2 2 B­

6

2 2: Black seems to have the better of it in view of his unblocked passed pawns, but White gets in first by 1 QxP+ K-N 1 (l.. .KxQ 2 R-KR3 mate) 2 P-B7 mate . A sacrifice of material!

3 3: Black is three pawns up, but he cannot force a win e.g. l .. .R-N7 2 R-R1 + R-R7 3 R-R1 repetition, or 1 . . .P-N7 2 KxP K-NS 3 R-R4+ K-N4 4 K N1 or 1 . P-B8=Q+ 2 Rx.Q P-N7 3 R-KN 1 R-R8 4 K-B2. Black's rook is too badly placed. -

,

.

.

A second complicating factor is the role of a pawn when it reaches the far end of the board , and is then promote d to any piece other than the king. If, as is normal, it is queene d then a unit conventionally considered as worth one becomes ten times as valuable! See diagram

ni!Xt page

4: 1 Q-N7 RxQ 2 Px.Rand queens, or 1 .R-B1 2 N-B6+. 5: A sacrificial breakthrough 1 P-N6 PxP 2P-R6! B N 1 3 P-R7. ..

-

7

6: White's last move was 1 R{Q3)-Q7? {1 R-Q8! was correct) and now Black instead of l ... R-R l as played could save the game by l...R-R2! diverting the rook and promoting to a queen. This book is concerned with the elements of chess strategy, that i s the organisation of one's forces. The main ideas considered come under these headings:1 Mobilisation of the pieces and central pawns (this refers particularly to the opening); 2 Imp roving the placing of one's pieces, driving back the opponent's pieces; 3 Exchanges; 4 Strengthening one's own position, weakening the opponent's. 5 Restricting the opp one nt 's counterplay .

THE ELEMENTS OF CHESS STRATEGY

In the course of play the pieces and pawns take up various positions. Depending upon their placing the men can be described as good or bad . A good placement for one's men is very significant, and is generally a guarantee that one can successfully carry out various plans or tactical operations while hindering the action of the opponent. The correct organisation of one's forces is intimately linked with the theory about the 'relative stre ngth of pieces and pawns. We all know that counting the pawn as one unit, a minor piece is worth about three, a rook five , a queen ten. This is the 'absolute' strength of the various men, but in the eyes of strategy the relative str en gth at any given time is even more important. The factors which affect the relative st rength of the pieces are : 1 Their scope, the num b er of squares which they control. 2 Their mobility, which depends on the extent to which squares are blocked. Mobility is less than scope . Only in exceptional cases are they equal. 3 Their invulnerability, th e extent to which they are liable to attack if they are not actually en prise. 4 The extent to which they are in c ontact with the rest of their forces. 5 Their proximity to the enemy camp, since it is this that creates pressure on the posi ti on of the other side. We shall now consider each piece in turn from this point of view. '

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THE PLACING OF THE KING

On e o f our tasks in the opemng ts to castle at the right time, so that the king is moved away to the flank where it is under the protection of a pawn wall, while at the same time a rook is mobilised by being brought closer to the centre. For the king to remain on a centre f1le is dangerous, especially if lines are being opened at that part of the board. However in some opening systems, normally of a closed nature, castling is deferred in order to leave options open. If one side has a marked initiative, sees no danger to the king, and cannot afford to lose any time then castling may be deferred. Finally castling may not be necessary if widespread exchanges have led to an early ending in which neither side has enough material left to threaten the king.

7 : In answer to l ...N(N6)-K5+ White has gone wrong by 2 K-K3? (2 K­ Bl !) and Black announced mate in five by 2 P-B5+ 3 NxP Q-B7+ 4 K-Q3 QxB+! 5 Kx.Q B-B4+ 6 K-Q3 NxN mate. Very pretty! 8: With the king uncastled the rooks are normally out of play. 1 RxP! Q-Q4 {l...Kx.R 2 Qx.P+ K-Bl 3 R-KBI + K-Kl 4 N-Q6+) 2 RxB+ Kx.R 3 ...

10

Q-R4+ K-B2. Now there are several ways to win. The simplest is 4 R-KB I + K-Nl 5 Q-K 7 R-KBl 6 RxR+ NxR 7 N-86 mate.

8

9: A famous loss by Capablanca. The K-nle is opened at great cost. 1 PxN! QxQ 2 PxP R-KNl 3 N-Q4 . Now Black has to give back the queen since if 3 ... QxBP 4 QR-Kl+ N-K4 5 RxN+ K-Q 2 6 R-Q5+ K-Kl 7 R-Kl +. Black chose 3 . . .Q-K5 4 QR-Kl N-84 5 RxQ+ NxR 6 R-Kl RxP 7 RxN+ Resigns.

10: B lack has just played P-83 to drive the knight away, but White does not retreat since he has a plan based on the uncastled king and the inactive rook. I Q-KN3 PxN 2 Q-N7 R-Bl 3 R-B 7 QxR 4 QxQ B-Q4 5 QxP P-Q6 6 Q-K3 B-B5 7 P-QN3! R-B2 8 P-83! and White won since Black does not have enough compensation for his deficit in material.

See diagram next page

11 : Sometimes the right plan is to exchange pawns to bare the enemy

king position. 1 P-Q5 BPxQP 2 BPxP B-84 3 PxP+ KxP 4 Q-Q5+ K-84 5 B-K4+ K-NS 6 Q-K6 + Resigns (6 .. . K-R4 7 Q-R3+).

11

JI

The best de fence for a king on the flank consists of pawns and minor pieces. In di agram 12 White's king is well placed, safely guarded by three unmoved pawns and a knight. For the time being only the knight at K5 exerts any pressure on the K-side. Compare with diagram 1 3 where the king position is just slightly worse due to t h e move P-KR3, since the square KN3 has one defender instead of two, and in time KR3 may become an object of attack, perhaps by the pawn breakthrough P-KN4-N5 by Black. 14: Another sound defensive formation is a triangle of pawns ac­ companied by a fianchettoed bishop, as in diagram 1 4. Here Black also has a good king position. 1 5 : Castling on the Q-side is seen less often, and is generally not so safe. In diagram 15 there is an exception since few o f Black's forces are active or look towards the king (from a Steinitz Defence to the Ruy Lopez).

12

...... .• •• • •t � - -t •*•*• • • •*•*• .ft. • • . 14

" })t.J

-��"t.JU

.ftBAB -,R� N�� UtY � � �

IS =:....__===----=:."""---' 16: If the pawn cover is weakened or st rippe d away it is a different story.

Here in diagram 16 there are just two isolated pawns trying to shelter the king. I RxN (White has to get in P-KS to divert the defending queen.) l ... PxR 2 P-KS QxN 3 Qx.RP KR-Kl 4 B-R7+ K-Rl 5 8:xP+! K-Nl· 6 8-R7+ K-Rl 7 8-K4+ K-N 1 8 Q-R7+ K-81 9 Q -R8 + K·K2 10 Q-86+ K-81 11 8xQ Rx8 1 2 P-84 B·N2 13 R-Kl Resigns.

13

17: Black has pennitted BxKN breaking up his K-side. White exploits energetically the fact that since he has not castled he can use the KN-flle for his rook. 1 P-KN4! PxN 2 BPxP B-K2 3 0-0-0! B-N4 (3 .. BxP 4 QR-Nl, or 3 .. B-N3 4 BxB PxB S QxP+ K-Rl 6 QxP+ K-Nl 7 KR-Bl N-R3 8 R-BS! RxR 9 PxR are no better) 4 PxB K-Rl S Q-82 P-KB4 6 P-KR4 B-K2 7 Q-84 Resigns. .

.

1 8: If the fianchettoed bishop has been exchanged then the triangle of pawns that is left is a weak structure . The enemy pieces can easily occupy the resulting weak spots. Thus in 18 Black could even afford to give up a rook to exploit this. l . RxP 2 PxR NxP 3 Q-Bl (3 Q-R4 is better, but even then Black stands better after 3 . N-B6+ 4 K-R l P-K4 S B-K3 P-QR3 followed by ·P-KR4-RS with excellent attacking prospects.) 3 ... N-86+ 4 K-Rl P-K4 S B-K3. Now according to Botvinnik the strongest moves are S...P-KR4 or S...R-Ql with a general strengthening of Black's position, since White has no counterplay. Unfortunately mack hurried to win the knight by S ...N-Q7+ 6 P-B3 NxN and t he game ended in a draw. ..

..

19

14

19: The open diagonafQN3/KN8 produced by the w ea ken ing P-KB3 is exploited by 1 QxP+ ( I R-R3 N- B l 2 Q-B7 KN-K3 lets Black fight on.) l . KxQ 2 R-R3+ N-R5 3 RxN+ K-N3 4 N-K7+ K-N4 5 P-84+ KxR 6 B­ QJ! Cuts off the king. 6. P-84 7 N-N6 m at e If a king has lost the right to castle in the opening it can be put into comparative safety by so called artificial castling. In the Old Indian Defence after 1 P-Q4 N-KB3 2 P-QB4 P-Q3 3 N-QB3 P-K4 4 PxP PxP 5 QxQ+ KxQ 6 B-N5 Bl ac k should play P-83 7 0-0-0+ K·B2 when the king is qui te safe e.g. 8 N-83 QN-Q2 9 P-K4 8-84 1 0 B-R4 N-N5 1 1 R-Q2 P-B3. If White goes 6 N-B3 instead of 6 B-N5 then 6 KN-Q2 7 N-KNS K-Kl 8 N-N5 N-R3 and then the white knights can be driven back. If the position has been simplified by a number o f e xchan ges then the king may be left in the cen tre in view of the forthcoming ending. Thus, a fte r l P-Q4 P-Q4 2 P-Q84 P-K3 3 N-QB3 N-KB3 4 N-83 P-84 5 BPxP NxP 6 P-K4 NxN 7 PxN PxP 8 PxP B-N5+ 9 B-Q2 Q-R4 1 0 R-QNI BxB+ 11 QxB QxQ+ 12 KxQ N-B3 13 8-QJ White has no re aso n to move his king away to KNI in an ar tificial castling operation. He can put it on K2, or even better on K3 guarding his QP. For the same reasons Black has no need to ca stl e K2 is a perfectly safe square in this case. .

.

..

.

...

.

20: Both kings are badly defended, Black's l a c king pawn cover, White's susceptible to a back row mat e In such cases who is to move is iniportant. White played 1 R-N7+ and duly won in time, but there was a quicker win by 1 B-R5+ K-B3 2 Q·Q6+ R-K3 3 Q-B8+ N-82 4 QxN mate, or l, . N-N3 2 BxN+ PxB 3 Q· N7+ K-K3 4 RxKNP+ K-Q4 5 Q-Q4 mate. .

.

IS

21 21: Black's king is wide open, a factor outweighing his passed pawns. 1 R-KN4+ R�N3 (l...K-R3 2 Q-B4+ KxP 3 R- B S +.) 2 P-R6+! (to free KRS) KxP 3 RxR+ Px.R 4 Q-R3+ mates.

22 ��.:=:!!!�=:...,_=�

22:

Black's king is wide open. Capablanca played 1 K-B2 Q-N2 2 QxQ+ 3 P-K7 R-K1 4 Px.N=Q+ and won in the ending, but he could deeide matters at once by 1 R-KS N-B3 (l Q-N2 2 R-RS+ K-Nl 3 R-NS, or 1 ...N-N3 2 R-R S + K-N2 3 N-BS+.) 2 Q-R4 + K-Nl 3 R-NS+.

Kx.Q

•.•

23

16

23: An exceptionally interesting attac k. 1 NxNP! NxN (White had to foresee l ... N-N4 2 N-84, or the even sharper 2 NxN QxP+ 3 K-Nl PxN 4 RxP and if 4 ... R-R8 then 5 R-K6+! QxR 6 Q-R8+ N-R2 7 QxN+ K-N4 8 Q-N7+ Q-N3 9 QxQ mate.) 2 Q-B6 N-Rl (Black could prolong resist ance by 2 ...R-KN1 3 R-K6 N-K4 4 P-84 Q-KB2 5 PxN QxQ 6 RxQ PxP White then wins by 7 P-R4 followed by B-B5 and playing his king to K4.) 3 R-K6 R-KNI (Or 3 ...Q-N2 4 Q-84+ K-R2 5 Q-N5 e . g . S .R-KBl 6 QxP+ Q-R3 7 R-K7+.) Now it looks as if Black has defended everything, but 4 QxN/8+! RxQ 5 RxN+ K-R2 6 RxP+ winning the queen. ..

24

24: The king is cut off at the edge of the board. l ... R-N7 2 Q-K4 (Best; 2 QxR? Q·R4 mate, or 2 Q-N4? P-R4, or 2 Q-Kl R-N7 3 R-Q2 Q;R4+ 4 K-N2 Q-R4! winning material;) 2.. RxP+ 3 KxR Q-R4+ 4 K-N2 QxR 5 B-B4 P-R4 and Black wins on material. ·

25

.

17

25: KB3 and KR3 are the weak spots. 1 N-R5+ PxN (1 . . .K-R1 2 Q-R6 R-KN1 3 RxP.) 2 Q-N5+ K-R1 3 Q-B6+ K-N1 4 BxP +! KxB 5 R-KR3.

26: A harder example. l . ..R-R5 2 PxR Q-N5+ 3 K-Rl Q-B6+ 4 K -N 1 N-N3 ! 5 KR-K1 NxP 6 K-B1 R-K5! 7 P-KR3 (not noticing the opponen t 's intentions otherwise he would have gone 7 Q xR. ) . 7 ...Qx RP+ 8 K-K2 Q-B6+ 9 K-Q3 (9 K-Bl R-KNS and mates) 9 . . .R-Q5+! White resigned in view of 10 K-B3 RxN+ 11 K-Q3 R-Q5+ 12 K-B3 R­ QB5+ 1 3 K-Q3 Q-K5+ 14 K-K2 RxQ.

27: 1 NxP BxR 2 R-R8+ KxR 3 QxB+ R-R2 (3 ... K-Nl 4 R-N8+ K-B2 5 Q-R7+) 4 QxBP+ R-N2 5 R-N7 wins.

18

28

28: Weak squares combined with a self-block. 1 NxP BxN 2 QxRP+ KxQ 3 R-RS mate.

29

29: A win by Morphy based on a bad king defended by just one pawn. l RxP+ 2 KxR Q-R6+ (2 R-KN1 + is also good.) 3 K-B2 Q-R7+ 4 K-B3 R-KBl+ 5 Q KB7 RxQ mate. ...

...

-

30

19

3 0: Badly placed kings are sometimes due to an enemy pawn wedge. 1 Q-R6 is met by 1 R-KN1 so White must bring up more pieces. 1 R-B4 PxP 2 Q-R6 ! PxR=Q+ 3 K-R2 R-KN1 4 QxRP+ KxQ 5 R-R4 mate ...

.

31

3 1 : 1 BxP RPxB 2 Q-K1 B-R3 3 Q-R4 BxN 4 BxB QxP 5 QR-Q1 Q-N5 6 B-R6 Q R6 7 B-N7 Q-K6+ 8 R-B2 Resigns. -

32

32: 1 P-K6 N-Q3 2 Q R6 R-KN1 3 RxN! QxR 4 Q-N7+! RxQ 5 PxR+ K-N1 6 PxP+ RxP 7 BxR mate. -

33

20

33 : In blocked positions a king seemingly safely placed can be smoked

out by line - opening sacrifices. 1 RxP PxR 2 R-Q3 B-Q2 3 RxP! (3 K-B3 4 P-BS! QxBP 5 R-B4) 4 R-Q3+ K-NS 5 RxQ+ KxR 6 Q-Q4 K-R7 7 P-BS and White soon won. QxNP

...

Summing up we may say that the signs of a badly placed king are: the absence of pawn cover or adequate piece protection, weakened pawn cover, superior enemy forces in his vicinity, lack of mobility due to self-blocking pieces. In the endgame the king should normally be played towards the centre. However tactical factors and king safety should always be borne in mind.

34

34: 1 R-Q4+ K-B4?? 2 P-QR4! and the king is in a mating net.

35

35: King superiority comes into its own. Black resigned here in view of l K-Q2 2 P-N4 K-B2 (2 ...K-K2 3 P-B6 penetrating on the Q side.) 3 ...

21

K-K.6 K-83 4 K-87 KxP 5 KxP P-N4 6 PxP e.g. KxP 7 P-N5 ! queening long before the QRP.

36 36: The king at Q4 is almost an extra piece, but the win is not so simple. I P-N6 N-N5 2 P-N7 8xP+ 3 K-85 BxP. The opponent's counterplay must be cut down. 1 P-KR3! P-83 (l ...NxP 2 P-N6.) 2 BxP+ K-N2 3 PxP+ KxP 4 N-85 K-K2 5 K-QS! P-N4 6 P-R4 N-Q8 7 P·RS N-B6+ 8 K-86 NxP 9 KxN wins.

Decentralised kings in the endgame are not well placed, especially in the corner or at the edge of the board.

37: J...P-NS 2 Q-K7+ Q-N4 3 P-N3 mate, or l. . .Q-85+ 2 P-N3+!

22

38

=:...,__

38: 1 P-N4 + K-R5 2 B-R6 ! QxB 3 Q-R2+ K-N4 4 Q-Q2+ N-B5 5 Q-Q8 mate.

39: 1 B-R6+ K-Nl 2 P-N7 K-B2 (2 ...P-K4 3 K-K6 P-K5 4 K-B6 P-K6 5 BxP, or 2 . P-K3+ 3 K-Q6 K-B2 4 K-K5 K-Nl 5 K-B6 P-K5 6 K-K6 P-K5 7 K-B6 P-K6 8 BxP) 3 P-N8=Q+! To divert the king to the corner. 3 . KxQ 4 K-K6 K-Rl 5 K-B7 P-K4 6 B-N7 mate. ..

..

23 40:

Level material, but the contrast between the kings is dedlive. 1 K·B6 R·N3+ (Trying for perpetual check. l .K•R2 2 R-IO and R-K8 or l .P-N6 2 RxP ) 2 K-BS R-N4+ (2 R-Nl 3 K·N6 u in the pme.) 3 K-N6 R-N3+ 4 K-RS R-Nl (4-.R-N4+ S K·R6 R-N3+ 6 R-N6.) S K-R6 P-RS (5 ; . .P-N6 6 RxP ) 6 R-N61 P-N6 7 R·K6 R-KBl 8 R·KB. •.

••

.

•..

.

THE PLACING OF THE QUEEN

It is not so easy to indicate the best place to put the queen. The reason is that this major piece often becomes an object of attack by lesser men. In the opening the best squares for her are normally QB2, Q2, K2 and sometimes KB2.

41: This is a position from the Queen's Indian Defence in which both queens are well placed from the point of view of safety since neither pawns nor minor pieces can trouble either queen at the moment. Generally speaking the best place depends very much on the given circumstances. In some openings such as the Dutch Defence, the Sicilian, the Queen's Gambit and the Nimzoindian Defence the queen may well be mobilised further forward on the third or fourth rank, even though this may mean greater vulnerability to sudden threats. In the Reti Opening QRl is often a good square, as seen in diagram 42. The queen presses on the long black diagonal backing up the bishop, and may later penetrate along the QR-ftle.

25

A centralised queen is normally appropriate in simplified positions that lack harassing minor pieces, as well as in endgames. From the point of view of strategy the main task of the queen is to back up the combined operations of the other forces. Her powers of double attack are useful in tactical situations. So the question of where to put the queen must be answered creatively by reference to how this fits in with your strategic plan, or the tactical operation of the moment. Now for some examples where a badly placed queen was the cause of defeat.

43: White wins the exchange 1 N-R4 Q-Ql 2 N-N6 PxN (2 QxN 3 8-RS.) 3 QxR. Almost the same picture occurs in ...

26

44: 1 R-81 and there is no answer to 2 8-QI. 45: I...N-82.

46: The way

to embarrass the queen is 1 Q-81 guarding the KRP and threatening 2 P-N3 Q-R4 3 P-N4 Q-RS 4 N-83.

27

Steinitz made the gross blunder 1 P-KN5?? N-K2. 1 with level chances.

47:

Q-BS was right,

48

48: Looks similar.

l . ..P-K4 {l...Q-B2

is better, e.g.

2 KR-B l N-NS 3

BxN B-K l .) 2 BPxP {He should keep the KBP by 2 QPxP.) 2 ... NxQP

B-N4 Q-Ql 4 QxR PxQ 5 Black soon won.

PxN R-N2! 6 RxB

3 Q-N4+ 7 K-Ql P-QR4 and

49 49: 1 P-K4! To free QB4 for his knight. 1 .. .PxP 2 B-QN5 B-Q2 3 N-Q2

5 N-B4 Q-KB4 6 B-Q6 P-K6 {To get rook and bishop the queen; if 6 ...B-Q4 7 BxB P-QN4 8 N-Q6+.) 7 NxKP QxR+ 8 QxQ BxB 9 QxNP and White won. P-QR3 4 BxN BxB

for

See diagram

next page

28

50: The minor pieces hold the queen in a vice. 1 K - R2 and the threat 2 P-N4, or even BxP, threatening the queen and RxR+, forces Black to give up the exchange by l .. . RxB.

51

51: The sacrifice of a pawn to lure the queen into a bad p os ition is very c omm on. Black played l ... QxP? and after 2 KN-N5 White either traps the queen or wins time to force 3 N-B7+. It is very often the QNP which is the bait.

52: I R-QN1 NxP the move Inack had relied on, but ...2 NxN! QxR+ 3 K-B2 QxR 4 BxKP (Threat 5 Q-K2.) 4 ...P�Q3 5 BxQP N-83 6 B-N5! (The struggle revolves around the fight for K7.) 6 . ..B-Q2 7 BxN PxB 8 Q-K2+ and mates e.g. 8. ..K-B2 9 N-N5+ K-Nl 1 0 N-K7+ K-Bl 1 1 N-B5+ K-Nl 12 Q-B4+.

29

5 3: Black sacrifices a pawn to d raw the queen into a bad position. 1 ... B-Q2 2 QxNP (2 Q-K2 is be tter . ) 2 ... B-B3 3 Q-R6 P-Q6! 4 R-B5 (The threat was 4 ...R-Rl .) 4 ... Q-Q2 ! 5 RxN Q-QS+ 6 K-B1 (Or 6 K-R 1 QxR 7 QxB Q-N4 8 Q-K6+ K-R 1 9 Q-R2 R-KB 1 10 B-B3 Q-K6 1 1 K-N2 P-N4 12 P-R3 P-R4 13 P-N4 P-R5 followed by Q-K8-N6+.) 6 .. . QxR 7 QxB Q-R8+ 8 K-B2 Q-Q5+ 9 K-B 1 R-KB l + 10 B-B3 Q-K6 11 Q-QS+ K-R1 1 2 P-K5 QxN 13 P-K6 Q-K7+ Resigns.

54: As the board becomes more open with the disappearenc e of material through exchanges, the queens should strive for a c entralise d position. White wins this ending with level material thanks to his better place d queen. 1 : ..Q�N7+ (Passive play is no better e.g. l . . . Q-B2 2 K-K3

30

K-K2 3 K-K4 K-B3 4 P-RS placing Black in Zugzwang.) 2 K-K3 Q-B8+ 3 K K4 Q-K8+ 4 K-BS QxP 5 QxP+ K-Nl 6 Q-B4+ K-Rl (6 ... K-R2 is rather better, but after 7 Q-K4! Black cannot save the game because of the inevitable loss of the KP.) 7 Q-KN4 Q-K8 8 K-N6! (This shows up the badly placed black pieces.) 8 ... Q-QB8 9 Q-Q7! Q-KN8+ 10 K-B7 K-R2 11 Q-BS+ P-N3 12 Q-Q7 Resigns A queen at the edge of the board is normally badly placed in an -

.

ending.

ss

SS: White wins by 1 K-R4 (or 1 K-N4.) l...P-RS=Q+ 2 K-N3.

THE PLACING OF THE ROOK

The rook is an ungainly piece at the start of the game, esp ecially before pawn exchanges have created open or half-open fl.les.

56: White has an open QR-fl.le and a half -op en Q-fl.le blocked by the QP. Since Black has not castled he is in mortal dan ger . 1 N-B5! PxN 2 B·B4 B-Q3 (2 ...QxB 3 Q -BS + K-K2 4 QxR .) 3 BxB R-N3 4 QxN+!

Resigns. The rooks always strive to occupy open flles with the ultimate Clbjective of taking the enemy from t he side via the seventh and eighth ranks. Thus in the note in the last example White will play 5 RxN and then back up this pressure bv a subsequent R-QR7). 57: Both white rooks are superbly placed, whereas this can be said of only one black rook. Once again a king in the centre is subjected to bombardment. 1 RxQP N-B6 2 Q-Q3 NxR? (2 ... NxB 3 QxN K-82 is comparatively best wh en White continues 4 Q.Q1.) 3 QxP+! PxQ 4 BxP+ K-K2 5 N-85 mate - because of the effect of t he rook on the K-fl.le.

32

58: Pressure is often strengthened by doubleing or trebling major pieces on a flle. 1 NxNP! RxN 2 BxP Rl-Nl 3 BxR RxB 4 P-R6 R-N4 (Or 4 ... R-R2 5 RxP followed by P-NS.) 5 RxP B-KBl 6 P-R7 (Th rea t 7 R-B8 BxR 8 P-R8=Q.) 6 ... Q�Rl 7 Q-R4 RxP 8 Q-R6 B-Q2 9 R-B8 and wins. So a rook is well placed on an open me, and if it has penetrated the enemy camp via the seventh and eighth ranks, but there are other good positions as well. If it stands behind a passed pawn it supports its advance. To support queening a pawn it stands well on the immediately adjace nt me (e.g. P on QB7 R on the Q or QN files aiming for R-Q8 or R..QN8).

59: 1 Q-B7 QxQ 2 PxQ . B -Bl 3 R-N8 Resigns. It also is well place d if it supports a general pawn storm of the enemy king position, or supports a breakthrough.

33

60: The rook is well pl ac e d at KB1 defending the wedge pawn against 1 ... Q-N3+. White won by 1 Q-R6 Q-B4+ 2 R-Q4 ! Q-Bl3 QxQ+ and 4 RxN.

Other positions for the rook are ge nerally b ad or unsatisfactory. A rook placed in front of its own pawns with minor pieces on the board is hardly ever a good piece.

61: The rook at KN3 is misplaced. 1 P-KN3 (To win the exchange,by 2 K-Rl and 3 N-R4) l...P-K4 (Rather better i.'. l ...Q-K2 preparing P­ K4, but then 2 B-B4 BxB 3 NxB R-B3 4 QR-K! maintaining positio nal advantage With pressure against the backward KP.) 2 PxP ! (In the game White played the weaker 2 NxKP.) 2 ...R-K3 (Or 2 ...Q-K2 3 N-B4.) 2 N-B4 R-K1 4 NxP ! NxN 5 Q-B4 and White should win. A rook immediately behind its own pawn may not be well placed since its forward mobility is limite d. The p osition can be improved by advancing the pawn. Ano the r bad rook position occurs when the piece is fixed in the middle of pawn masses.

34

62

62: If knights were off the board Black would have some play by P-KS or P-KR4, and hls rook would have retreat squares at KB3, KB2 or KBl. As it is White wins material by 1 N-K4 Q-N4 (The threat was 2 P-N3, while if l...N-Q3 2 N-N3 N-B2 - guarding the KP 3 N-RS.) 2 P-N3 RxN 3 PxR Q-Q2 4 Q-KBI QxNP 5 Q-B6 K-Bl 6 R-KB2 and Black can resign. -

63: White has a bad rook, blocked by its own pawns from taking part in the fight. l... K�N2 (To prevent 2 PxP+, while if 2 KxR P-R6 queening.) 2 P-RS P-R6 (As Flohr pointed out 2 R�N5 is even stronger.) 3 KxR P-R7 4 RPxP RPxP 5 R-NS P-RS=Q 6 RxKP Q-B6! apd Bl,ack wins the en di ng after a long !ight. ...

See diagraf_!l next page 64: The black rook is stranded amongst the pawns. The threat is K-Q3, then N-R6 forcing R-BS, then P-QN3. Black gets the rook out only at

3S

the price of a lost ending l R-BS 2 K-Q3 B·K2 3 N�R6! R-RS 4 RxR PxR 5 N-N8 P-R6 6 PxP BxP 7 NxP B-B4 8 K-B4 B-N8 9 K-NS K-B2 10 ...

K-R6 etc.

THE PLACING OF THE BISHOP

The real danger to a bishop normally comes from pawns. Thus according to circumstances the bishop takes up a position on the flank or in the centre. hi principle the latter is preferable since there the bishop s scope and mobility is greater. However if the centre is occupied by pawns a flank position is preferable until exchanges have cleared the centre. Just like the rook the bishop is at its best when occupying open lines, in this case diagonals, which are free of its own pawns, or even better, unobstructed by enemy pawns as well. ,

'

65: White is two pawns down, but all his pieces are well placed. Both bishops have open diagonals. The black position suffers from an uncastled king and a poorly placed KR. White makes use of his advantage by I B-NS ! P-R3 (missing the threat. I...B-N2 would let Black escape after 2 N-B6+ or 2 Q-Q6.) 2 QxN!! BxQ (2 ... PxB 3 N-B6+ K-K2 4 NxR+, or 2 ...PxQ 3 N-B6+ mating .) 3 N-B6+ K-Ql 4 NxB+ p,c,B 5 NxQ R-NI 6 R-B6 B-NS 7 R-K4 B-R4 8 RxQP+ K-K2 9 N-Q7 Resigns.

37

66: White s bishop is very well placed occupying two open diagonals. '

The same cannot be said of his opposite number, since its second

diagonal is closed by its own

KP. Black would stand much better if he

bishops. As it is he loses in a few moves due placing of his KN. 1 B-R7+ K-Rl 2 B-N6! N-83 3 BxP! Q-Q3 K-�2 5 Nx R+ K-RI 6 Q-R7+! NxQ 7 N-N6 mate.

could exchange

to poor

4

N-N6+

67: A modem tendency is to develop the bishop on the longest

KB dominates alon g the line KR1/QR8. his other bishop on just as promising a diagonal by 1

diagonals. Thus in 67 White's White can put

B-N 2 but by concrete analysis found a stronge r line. 1 N-Q5! (Not 1 NxN BxN 2 �xP? N-N5 3 P-KR4 BxP!) l ...N/K3xN (Black loses a

pawn after 1...8-QI 2 N4xN BxN 3 N-84 Q-B2 4 NxB QxN 5 BxP.) 2 N xB+ K-82 3 QxN KXN. Black has maintained material equality but

his king is exposed to a withering attack. 4 P-B5 QxKP (speeding up the inevitable.)

5 PxP+ PxP 6 B-N5 K-B2 7 BxN PxB 8 KR-K1 Q-N5 9 R-K7+ K-N3 13 R-B5

QxQP R-Rl 10 QR-81 P-B5 11 P-KR3 Q-N4 12

8-84 14 RxB Resigns. The bishop has the last word. After 14...KxR or 14... QxR comes 15 B-K4 mating or winning the queen.

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68: The ce ntral isat i o n of a bishop often give s e,..cellent results . Here the pressure on KB7 is d e cisive . A subsidiary factor is that t he bishop prevents th e advance of the passed QBP whil e supporting t h e advance of its own pawn majority . Black starts by trying to free h is rook. 1 ... N-QS 2 K-B2 P-N4 3 P-N3 PxP 4 PxP N-K3 5 K-K3 P - BS (5 . . .R-B1 6 P-B5 N-Q1 7 P-K6 PxP 8 PxP winning.) 6 P-B5! N-B4 7 R-B7 N-Q6 8 P-K6 ! PxP PxP Resigns (9 . . . R-K1 1 0 P-K7+ K-N2 1 1 B-B6 .

69: Well placed pieces help in playing tactical operations. Black loses to a blow from the bishop due to the weakness at critical poi nt s at QR3, KBJ, and KN3. I B-B7! KxB (l ...QxB 2 RxR or l . . .RxR 2 QxP+ K-Bl 3 Q-NS+ K-K2 4 Q-KS+ K-Q3 5 Q-K6 mate.) 2 RxR QxR 3 Q-N7+ K-Nl 4 QxR P-K5 5 R-K3 B-Q5 6 RxP Resigns.

39

70: Other positions for the- bishop are less desireable, and if the piece is at the edge of the bqard there are risks. Black has just played P-N3 to d riv e away the knight, but thereby left his bishop without a li ne of retreat. I N-R6! Q-N4 (I ...Q-N6 2 R-R3 and P-QN4 .) 2 QxQ PxQ 3 P-QN4 winning.

71

71: A curious fm i sh in which the transp osition to an ending makes the bi shop s impotence particularly no ticeable . l . R-NS (exchanging queens makes no difference.) 2 P-N3 K-Nl 3 R-RS P-QR3 4 P-KR3 QxQ+ 5 KxQ R-N4 6 P-KN4 ! an d Whit e wins since Black has no defence to a raid on his pawns on the Q-side by the king. '

..

See diagram next page

72: An instructive ending in which White gets into Zugzwang due to his bad bishop. Note that after a while Black makes further progress by the exch ang e of this bishop - a bad piece may no t be entirely useless, so th at the superior side must al ways bear in mind the so called 'trans­ formation of advantages'. 1 P-B6 (1 K-N3 R-KNl + 2 K-R3 RxR+ 3 -

40

RxR R-N8 leads to the same thing.) 1...K-R3 2 K-N4 R-KN1 + 3 K-R3 (3 K-B5 R-N6 !) 3 .. . RxR+ 4 RxR R-N8 5 B-Q3 R-K8 (Threatening to win the bishop.) 6 B-N1 J(-R4 7 K-N3 R-KB8! 8 B-Q3 NxB! 9 RxN R-B5 1 0 R-R3 (10 R-K3 loses the KRP and KBP.) 1 0 ... Rx.KP 11 R-R6 R-N5+ 1 2 K-R3 (12 K-B3 R-B5+ and Rx.KBP.) 1 2... Rx.P+ 1 3 K-N3 R-N5+ 1 4 K-R3 RxP 1 5 RxP R-Q5 16 K-N3 K-N4 1 7 K-B3 K-B4 1 8 K-K3 P-B5 Resigns. One must bear in mind that a bishop can often change quickly from an attacking piece into an object of attack. This is often the case when it is played to N5 and is then advantageously driven away for example in the Ruy Lopez, Black may gain a number of tempi for advancing his Q-side pawns by P-QR3, P-QN4 and after B-QN3 then N-QR4.

•• ••• • ..... �·�· . . ·�· . • • • • a.e. • •.au

• •

�. a

&/!"\. •• U U U"Z..l � ill •*•

73

n �

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73: Black takes the initiative on the K-side using the position of the bishop at KR4 . l ...P-KN4 1 B-N3 P-KR4 3 P-R3 (3 NxP? P-R5 4 B-B4 P - K4 trapping the bishop.) 3 ...N-K5 4 B-Q3 P-KB4 5 B-R2 0-0-0 6 R­ KN1 (KN2 needs guarding.) 6... QR-Nl 7 N-Q2 (Necessary to avoid P-N5 followed by P -R5.) 7 ...NxN 8 QxN P-N5 9 0-0-0 P-R5 1 0 B-B4 R-N2! (Not 1 0 . ..P-K4 1 1 PxP PxP 12 BxBP attacking the knight three

41 times with an excellent game.) 11 QR-K1 { White is prepared to give up the bishop for three pawns rather than see it immured by B-R2 P-N6.) 1 1 ...P-K4 12 BxBP PxB 13 K.PxP Q-B1 1 4 PxP P-Q4 1 5 K-N2 K-N 1 and B1ackgradually forced the win by the manoeuvre N-B3 -K1-Q3 .

74

74: Finally , proof that a bishop can be bad even when much material has been removed. As long as a pawn or two are on the colour of the bishop there are difficulties to be encountered. 1 K-R6 K-R1 2 N-R4 (Preventing B-N1 with some freedom.) 2 ... K-N1 3 N-B3 K-R1 4 N-KS K-N1 5 N-B6 K-Rl 6 N-K7 Zugzwang, 6 ...B-N1 7 N-N6 mate. Without the pawn at KB4 Black would have drawn by giving his bishop up for the enemy pawn at the right stage.

75: White wins th e enemy QNP after 1 K-B3 B-Q2 2 B-B1 K-K2 {2 ... B-B3 3 NxP.) 3 NxB and 4 BxP+. If this pawn win were not on (say with Black's bishop at QB3 and king at K2) the win would not be clear, but White still has much the better of it. He can try for the king entry K-K2-B3-B4-NS etc., or tie B lack to the defence of the QNP by

42

N-N3-Q2-Nl-B3 and B·Bl . The factor of co-operation is normally very marked w ith two bishops as opposed to one.· As we have already seen a biShop may be bad �ause all the action is on sq�es of the opposite colour. Two bishops in an open position are therefore more than twice as strong as one I

THE PLACING OF THE KNIGHT

The best posts for knigh ts in the opening and middle game are the central squares QBS, QS, KS and KBS. The knights hope to get there after the mobilisation of the pieces and central pawns, or along with this p·rocess, which is why many chess teachers advocate N-KB3 and N­ QB3 rather than any other initial knight move. Once well established there, backed up perhap s by a pawn guard, creating the so-