PowerChessforKids

CharlesHertan

PowerChessforKids

LearnHowtoThinkAheadandBecomeOneoftheBestPlayersinYourSchool

NewInChess2011

©2011NewInChessPublishedbyNewInChess,Alkmaar,TheNetherlandswww.newinchess.com

ThiseBookeditionwaspublishedin2013

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystemortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher.Photos:NewInChessArchives,Photooftheauthor(page155):JerryRubin

Coverdesign:VolkenBeckArtwork:ZanderDekkerSupervisor:PeterBoelProofreading:RenéOlthofProduction:AntonSchermer

ISBN:978-90-5691-444-8

Contents

MeettheMainCharacters

IntroductionThreeSkillsYouNeedtoBeOneoftheBestPlayersinYourSchool

Chapter1FourTrickstoHelpYouThink1.5PowerMovesAhead

Chapter2Forks

Chapter3Pins

Chapter4Skewers

Chapter5InterferenceMoves

ChessTerms

AbouttheAuthor

IndexofPlayers

MeettheMainCharactersFourfuncharactersinthisbookwillhelpyoulearnpowermovesandthinkaheadlikeapro:

ZortfromZugzwang

ZortisateenagedcomputerfromtheplanetZugzwang.Hisfavoritehobbiesarechess,facebookandgoogling.Zortthinkshisplanetisboring,becauseonlycomputerslivethere,theyalllookkindofalike,andtheyaren’tmuchfun.ZortwasgooglingimagesofkidsplayingonplanetEarth,andfellinlovewiththeseexoticcreatures.WhenhefoundoutIwaswritingakids’book,hewantedtohelp.Asluckwouldhaveit,therewasonewayhecouldhelpalot.Thinkingtwomovesaheadishardforushumans,soIthoughtitwasunfairthatmanykids’booksexpectyoutoplaythrough5-movelongvariations!Hardforus,buteasyforcomputers,whohaveabigadvantage:aperfectpictureoftheboardintheir‘minds’,aftereverymove!Zorthadagreatidea:whenavariationinthebookislongerthantwoorthreemoves,hewillusehiscomputerboardsighttoshowyouthekeypositions.

TheDinosaurs

‘TheDinosaurs’isanicknameforplayersinthefirstgreatchesstournaments,

fromthe1850’stothe1890’s.WhydoIcallthemthat?Well,besidesbeingold,theyplayedlikedinosaurs:awkwardandcrude,butalsodeadly!Theydidn’tlikedraws,sotheywentforthekilleverygame,eveninbadpositions.Thismadeforexcitingchess,fulloftacticsandgreatpowermoves.AtfirstIworriedsomekidsmightfindtheseoldgamesboring,butZortremindedmethatmostkidslovedinosaurs.Plus,thinkhowcoolitisthatyoucanlookinabookordatabaseandfindgamesthatwereplayed150yearsago!Wouldn’titbeawesomeifoneofyourgameswasinabookintheyear2159?Ifyoustudyandpracticehardenough,itreallymightbe!

PowerChessKids

Lotsofkids’chessbooksdon’tanswerthequestionskidsreallywanttoknow!Soyou,thechesskidsoftheworld,haveavoiceinthisbooktomakecommentsandasktypicalquestionsthatkidsofdifferentagesaskwhenIteachthesepowermoves.

TheChessProfessor

Thechessprofessorwillhelpanswerkids’questionsandgiveyouimportantwinningtips.

AlgebraicNotation

Thefilesarelabeleda-h,andtheranksarelabeled1-8.Soeachsquarehasitsownname.Thepiecesaredescribedasfollows(pawnsdonotgetasymbol,soifyousee‘1.e4’thatmeansWhite’sfirstmovewaspawne2toe4):Knight = (N)Bishop = (B)Rook = (R)Queen = (Q)King = (K)Wealsousethefollowingsymbols:Check =+Checkmate =#Capture =xCastleskingside =0-0queenside=0-0-0Goodmove =!Badmove =?

Whilemanykids’booksusesimplifieddiagrams,thisbookhasthesamediagramsusedinadultchessbooks,whichshowssomeadditionalinformationwhichisfuntoknow!Thesquarenexttoeachdiagramindicateswhichcolouristomove.Aboveeachdiagramyou’llseealabellikethis:

DelPozo-Jauregui,Lima1959

Thefirstword(DelPozo)isthelastnameoftheplayerofthewhitepieces.Jaureguiplayedblack.Thiswayyougettoknowthenamesofmanyfamousplayers.Theyarefollowedbythecityorcountry,andtheyear,inwhichthegamewasplayed.Attheendofthegame,thesymbol0-1meansBlackwonthegame(orhadawinningadvantage),1-0meansWhitewon,and½-½meansadraw.

Introduction

ThreeSkillsYouNeedtoBeOneoftheBestPlayersinYourSchool

Whatarethefirstthreethingsyoushouldstudytobecomeatigeratchess?Thelistmightsurpriseyou:1.Knowthebasiccheckmates.2.Learnthekeymastertacticsforcheckmateandwinningmaterial.3.Workonthinkingoneandahalfmovesahead.

Inthisbookwewillworkmostlyonnumberstwoandthree,butyouwillimproveyourskillson#1too.Whydoesn’tthisbookfocusmoreonbasiccheckmates?Well,therearelotsofgoodkids’booksoncheckmate,butnotmanythatteachallthepowermovetacticsthathelpyouthinkaheadandwingames.

Here’sanothersecret:Learningmastertacticsisthebestwaytosharpenallthreebasicskills.

Howcanlearningtacticshelpmethinkahead?

Goodquestion!Mastertacticshelpyouthinkaheadintwoways.Youlearntorecognizepatternsthathelpyoufindwinningmovesquickly.Thenyoustartcalculatingtoseehowyoucanmakethesepatternsworkinyourgames.

Whitecanwinthisposition,butonlyifheknowsmastertacticsandsees1.5powermovesahead!(‘onemove’inchessmeansyourmove,plusyouropponent’sreply.Yourmoveonlyiscalleda‘halfmove’).Mostkidsinyourschoolwouldn’tknowwhattodointhediagram.Ifthey’vestudiedpins,theymightlookat1.Ne7+or1.Nb4,toattackthepinnedblackknight.But1.Ne7+??losesto1…Nxe7protectingthequeen,andif2.Qxe7Qc1+matesonthebackrank.1.Nb4isalittlebetter,butBlackcanescapethepinwith,forexample,1…Qe8!,threateningthesamemate.

Afterreadingthisbook,youwillbeabletofindthewinningmoveinaboutfiveseconds:1.Qxc6!Qxc62.Ne7+regainsthequeenandkeepsanextraknight.

Tofindthis,youonlyneedtosee1.5powermovesahead–yourmove,youropponent’sbestanswer,andyourwinningsecondplay.Butmostkidswouldn’tevenconsider1.Qxc6!becauseitgivesthequeen.Knowledgeofmastertacticshelpsyoufindthiswinningpatterneasily,bythinking–‘IfonlyIcouldgetridofhisknight,myknightcouldforkhiskingandqueen.Hey,whatifIjusttakeit!Thenifhetakesback,Istillhavethewin!’

Theabilitytorecognizetheforktrickbycalculatingaheadistheonlypossiblewaytowinthisevenposition,unlessyouropponentmakesaterriblemistake!

That’sprettycool,butwhat’sapowermove?

Apowermoveisawinningmastertacticthatrequiresthinkingahead–oneandahalfmovesorevenabitmore.Whenyoustartfindingthesestrongmovesinyourgames,youwillbeaverydangerousplayer.

What’ssogreataboutthinking1.5movesahead?Myfriendsayshecanseetenmovesahead!

Well,kidssaylotsofthingswhenthey’retryingtoimpresstheirfriends,youknow,like‘mydadonceswallowedawholealligator!’But…that’sjustsilly.ThegreatHungariangrandmasterRichardRétionceadmittedthatheusuallylookedonlytwomovesahead!Whenkidssaytheyseefivemovesahead,whatthey’rereallysayingis‘IseethenextfivemovesI’dliketoplayinmydreams,iftheotherguyrollsoverandplaysdead!’Butwhenagrandmastersaysheseestwomovesahead,hemeansheseesthebestmovesforbothsides.That’smuchharderthanitsounds!Considerthis:inthefirstoneandahalfmovesofagame,therearecloseto10,000differentpossibilities!!

OMG!Thenhowcananyonefindthebest1.5moves?

Whenyougetbetter,youwilllearntoweedout‘silly’movesandjustconsiderafewimportantones.Studyingmastertacticshelpsalot,teachingyouwhichpowermovestolookoutfor.Amasteralwayschecksforthesewinningtacticsfirst.Ifhecan’tfindone,helooksforagoodpositionalmovetoimprovehispiecesalittlebit.

Sohowfaraheaddomostkidsreallyanalyze?

AchessteacherfromEnglandnamedRichardJamestestedawholebunchofkidsfromdifferentschoolchessclubs,fromyoungkidstoolderteenagers.Hegavethemmanytacticalpositionstosolve,andthisiswhathefound:Mostkidsthinkjustonehalfofamoveahead.Theyonlyseewhattheywanttodo!Mr.Jamescallsthiskindofthinking,‘Igothere,thenIgothere…’becauseitleavesoutsomethingveryimportant:theopponent’sbestanswer!

MichalScheichenost-DanielObdrzalek,MoravaU-12,2008

Thispositionisfromakids’tournament.Whiteachievedatotallywonposition,butunderstandably,hegotmixedup.Hewantedtohangontohisknightwithoutleavinghisbishopunprotected,sohethoughthehadtheperfectsolution:1.Nxc4??.ButpoorMichalwasusingMr.James’‘Igothere,thenIgothere’thinking,andforgottocalculateBlack’smostforcingreply,1…Qd1#!(Ibetyousawthatonecoming!).

Howwouldamasterhaveplayedit?Well,tryingtohangontoeverythingwith1.Qe3or1.Qa5isOK,butafter1…c3!hewillstillhavetogiveuponeofhispiecestoavoidbackrankmate.Afterconsideringafewpurposefuloptions,amasterwouldfind1.0-0!Qxd22.Qxc4,returningoneofthepiecestoremovealldangerandreachaneasilywonendgamewiththeextrabishopandpasseda-pawn.

I’mstillnotsureaboutyourlistofthethreethingsIneedtobecomeapowerfulchessplayer.Whataboutstudyingopeningsandendgames?

Well,thoseareimportanttoo,butyouneedtolearnmastertacticsfirst.Powermoveswillhelpyouwininallstagesofthegame!Manykidsplacemuchtoomuchimportanceonopenings.InthegreatSovietSchoolofchess,studentsstudiedonlymastertacticsandendgamesforthefirstyear!Ifyoulearnafewbasicopeningprincipleslikedevelopingquicklyandcontrollingthecenter,andlearnthefewmostimportantbasicendgamecheckmates,youwillstillbeoneofthebestplayersinyourschoolifyoupracticethinking1.5powermovesahead.Ipromise!

AdventureandSportsmanship

Chessisthegreatestgameonearth!Itchallengesyourmindandisplayedbykidsandgrown-upsallovertheworld.Winningisawesome,butit’salsoveryimportanttoworkonhavingagreatattitudeasachessplayer!Remembertoenjoyplaying,practicegoodsportsmanship,andbewillingtoexperimentandplayfearlessly!

Thefunnythingis,workingonthesequalitieswillactuallymakeyouabetterplayer.Whenyouenjoythebeautyandcomplexityofthegame,youthinkmoreclearly!Practicinggoodsportsmanshipistherightthingtodo,butitalsoletsyoulearnfromyouropponentbyaskingwhathewasthinkingafterthegame.Propersportsmanshipmeansalwaysbeingcourteoustoyouropponent.Whenyoulose,youshouldshakehandsandsay‘goodgame’,evenifyou’refeelingveryfrustrated.Nobodylikeslosing,butit’simportanttolearntogetoveryourlossesquickly,andnotworryaboutthem.Sometimestheotherguyjustplaysbetterthanus,orwedon’tplayourbest,butifyoukeeppracticingandtryingnewskills,youwillbecomeabetterplayer!Thereisnochessplayeronearthwhodidn’thavetolosealotofgames,inordertolearnimportantlessonsandkeepimproving.

Playingadventurouschesswillteachyouhowtoattack,andmakeyouimprovefaster.Manykidsaretooafraidtolose,sotheydon’tdeveloptheirtacticalskills!Ifyouseeagoodattackingmove,butaren’tsureifitworks,tryit!Remember,thegoalofachessgameischeckmate,notjustprotectingallyourpieces!Braveplayisoftenbest,anditpressuresyouropponentintomakingmistakes.Evenifitdoesn’tworkout,you’llbelearningmoreaboutwhatkindofattackssucceed

indifferentpositions.

Whateverhappens,keepplayingandhavingfun!Beforeyouknowit,you’llstartseeinggreatmovesyouneverthoughtofbefore!Ifyourmainopponentistoohardortooeasy,tryfindingapracticefriendclosertoyourownstrength.Winningeverygameagainstsomeoneiskindofboringanddoesn’tteachyoumuch;butlosingeverygameisalsoboringanddiscouraging.Computersaregoodtrainingpartners,buthumancompetitionisthebest!Ifyoudon’thavefriendswhogiveyouagoodmatch,tryjoiningalocalchesscluborplayingonline.Chessteachesussomethingthat’sverytrueabouteverythinginlife:youcan’tgetgoodatanythingbygivingup,butifyoulikeplayingandkeepstickingwithit,youwillgetgood!

Chapter1

FourTrickstoHelpYouThink1.5PowerMovesAhead

SowhatelsedoIneedtoknowtostartlearningpowermoves?

Ready?HerearetheFourCrucialTrickswhichwillhelpyoufindallthewinningmastertacticsintherestofthebook:1.YoumustknowtheValuesofthePieces,andalwaysusetheminyourgamestofigureoutwhentacticswork!2.LearntheQuickCountmethodtofigureoutifacomplicatedtradeisagooddeal.3.&4.Learnthetwoeasiestwaystothink1.5powermovesahead:TakesTakesBang!andCheckMovesBang!

PowerTrick#1:

KnowandUseTheValuesofthePieces

Here’swhatthepiecesareworth:Queen=9PointsRook=5BishoporKnight=3Pawn=1

TheKingispriceless;ifyoulosehimyoulosethegame.Buttoshowwhatagoodattackerhecanbewhentherearefewpiecesleft,andit’ssafeenoughforhimtocomeout,theKisgivenanattackingvalueofabout3.5points.

Manyofyouprobablylearnedthesepiecevaluesinalessonorataclub;butevenkidswhoknowthevaluesoftenforgethowimportantitistousethem!Whatgoodishavingagreattool,ifyoujustletitsitinyourtoolbox?

Thefirstthingamasterdoeswhenhelooksatapositionistocountthematerialontheboardusingthesesimplevalues.Youmustalsodothistobecomeastrongplayer!Ifyoudon’tknowwhosepiecesareworthmore,youprobablycan’ttellwhohastheadvantage.Ifyoudon’tknowwhohastheadvantage,it’shardtofindthebestmoves!Akeytofindingpowermovesistousethevaluesduringyourcalculations,tofigureoutwhocomesoutahead.

Arethesepiecevaluesreallyaccurate?Theanswerisyes.Todecideifanunusualtradeisagooddeal,youcanprettymuchrelyonthepiececount.So,forinstance,aknightorbishopreallyisworthabout3pawns;arook,bishopandpawn(5+3+1)areaboutequaltoaqueen;andaknightand2pawnsbalancearook.Asyougetreallygood,youwilllearnsomefinepointsaboutthesevalues;forinstance,intheendgamearookandpawnoftenbalanceorsometimesbeatabishopandknight,butearlierinthegamethebishopandknightusuallyhavemoreattackingpower.That’swhykidsshouldavoidthiscommonmistake:

Bothsideshaveplayedverygoodmovessofar,developingtheirpiecestowardthecenterwithnowasted(‘silly’)moves.Butwhenkidsstartthinkingaboutattacking,theyoftengoalittlecrazyherewith1.Ng5?0-0!2.Nxf7Rxf73.Bxf7+Kxf7.

Positionafter3…Kxf7

ThanksZort!Whitethinkshegotagooddealbecausehetookastrongrook.Butfirst,count!Whitegaveupaknightandbishopforrookandpawn,sixpointseach.Butlookwhathedidtohispoorposition,tradinghistwomostactivepiecesforBlack’sjust-developedrook.Beforethetrade,Whitehadanequalnumberofpiecesdevelopedanditwashismove.NowBlackhastwomorepiecesout.(White’scastlingcountsasadevelopingmove.)Black’sgreatknightandbishophavemoreattackingpoweratthisstagethanthewhiterook,soBlackhasabigadvantage.

Sotheruleis:alwayscountthevalues,andnevergiveupmaterialwithoutagoodreason!You’veprobablynoticedthatcomputerslovetogobbleupmaterial,rightZort?

Oh,yes!Ifyougivemeyourpawns,I’lleatthemalldaylong!Wecomputersonlygiveupmaterialforsomethingevenbetter,likecheckmate.Listentotheprofessorandcountthevaluesofthepiecesineveryposition.

Youlikeeatingpawns?Eww!I’lltakepizzaanyday.

UsetheValues:Exercise

Who’saheadinmaterial?WhatshouldWhitedo?

UsetheValues:Solution

DelPozo-Jauregui,Lima1959

Inthisreallyweirdposition,Whitehas4minorpiecesforaqueen,a12to9advantage!Evenbetter,hehasagreatattack:1.Bd8+!Kh52.Qh8+andBlackresignedbecause2…Qh63.Bf7+winsaqueenandevenmatesaftertheforced3…Qgg64.Qxe5+Qhg55.Qxg5#.

PowerTrick#2:The‘QuickCount’

HowtoSeeFarAheadandFigureOutIfYou(orYourOpponent)CanWinAPiece

Here’sanotherkeytoolprosuseallthetimetofigureoutcombinations.Therearemanysituationsinchesswhereyouattackapieceawholebunchoftimes,andhedefendsitabunch.Howcanyoufigureoutwho’swinning,withouthavingtocalculateinyourhead,‘Itakehim,hetakesme,thenItakehim,hetakesme,takes,takes,takes…’Itcangetconfusingprettyfast!

Apsenieks-Raud,BuenosAires1939

DoesWhitethreaten1.Nxg7?

Whitehasjustplayedhisknightfromg3toh5.Here’sthequestion:canWhitetaketheg7knightnextmove(ifBlackdoesn’tstophim),ordoesBlackhaveenoughdefenders?Whileastrongplayercouldseeallthecapturesinhishead,itwouldbeeasyforhimtogetmixedupandmakeamistake.

OMG!Allthosecaptureslooksoconfusing!

Don’tworry!Iusedtofeelthesameway,untilIlearnedthisimportanttrick.Luckilyforallofushumans,there’samucheasierwaytocalculatecaptures:TheQuickCount!Here’showitworks:First:CounthowmanywhitepiecesattacktheNg7:2rooks,knightandqueenmake4attackers.Second:Counthowmanyblackpiecesdefendtheknight:2rooks+1knight=3defenders.

Okay,nowhere’sthequickcountrule:Inordertowinhispiece,youmusthaveatleastonemoreattackerthanhehasdefenders.Soifitwereyourmovehere,youwouldwintheNg7becauseyouhaveonemoreattacker–fouragainstthree.

Thisisagreatrulethatwillsaveyoutonsoftimeandhelpyoufigureouttrickypositions.It’slikeyoujustsaw3.5movesaheadinafewseconds!

Unfortunately,likemostrules,there’soneimportantexceptionyoumustunderstand,oritcouldcostyouyourqueen!

TheKeyExceptiontotheQuickCountRuleisthis:Yourmostvaluablepiecemustbeabletowaituntilthelastcapture.

Forinstance,inthelastdiagram,ifitwasyourmoveandyouplayed1.Qxg7+??thatwouldberidiculous,right?Insteadofwinningtheknight,youwouldloseyourqueenforaknightafter1…Nxg7!

Bystartinginsteadwith1.Nxg7andsavingthequeenrecaptureforlast,youwintheNg7forfree.Theproblemisthatinsomepositions,youcan’tsaveyourbestpieceforthelastrecapture,becauseit’sinthewayofoneofyourotherpieces.

Aagaard-McNab,Oakham2000

LookatthispositionwonbymyfriendGMAagaardofDenmark.Blackis

relyingonWhite’spinnedknighttosavehimafter1.Rxg7+?Qxg72.Nxg7Rxe3(althoughWhiteprobablystillwinsafter3.Bh7+),butafter1.Qg3!Blackresignedimmediately.Hisbishopsarebothattacked,butwhatifhemovedtheoneong2,say1…Bb7?Nowifyouonlyusethequickcount,itseemstheBg7isprotected:youhave3attackers,hehas3defenders(includingtheK).Butthisistheexception!Theblackqueenisinthewayofhisrook,andmust‘gofirst’after2.Rxg7+Qxg73.Nxg7.

Insteadofbeingequal,Blackhaslostthequeenforjustarook,andiscompletelylostafter3…Rxg74.Qh4.

Here’sthegoodnews:thisistheonlytypeofexceptiontotheQuickCountRule.Aslongasyoudon’thavetostartwithyourstrongerpieces,youcanalwaysusethisruletofigureoutifyoucantakeapiece,orifyourpieceneedsmoreprotection.

TheQuickCountRuleworksjustaswellforthedefender.Howcanyoutellifyourpiecehasenoughprotection?

Youalreadyknowthatamongpiecesofequalvalue,thetakerneedsonemoreattackerthanthedefendertowinapiece.Theothersideoftheequationisthis:

Toprotectapiece,youmusthaveanequalnumberofdefendersashehasattackers(andnothavetouseyourstrongestpiecetooearly,likeBlackdidinthelastposition).

Supposeyou’reWhitehere,andneedtofigureoutifyourd5pawnisprotected.Justdoaquickcount–youhavefourdefenders(Qb3,Nc3,Nf4,Bf3)andhehasfourattackers(Nf6,Nb6,Rd7,andQd8backinguptherook).Yourdefendersequalhisattackers,andyourqueendoesn’thavetogofirst,sothepawnisprotected!

Don’tbelieveme?Let’scalculateitout:Blackplays1…Nfxd5?2.Nfxd5Nxd53.Nxd5Rxd54.Bxd5(or4.Qxd5).

Blackisverysorryhedidn’tusetheQuickCount!Blackhasdroppedarook,andif4…Qxd5??5.Qxd5getsthequeen!Asthisexampleshows,thedefenderonlyneedsanequalnumberofpiecestoholdhismaterial,becausehegoessecondandgetsthelastlaugh.

SothequickcounttellsyouthatWhite’sd5pawnisprotected,andBlackneedstoconsiderforcingmoveslike1…g5or1…Bh6inthefirstdiagram,inordertochaseawayoneofWhite’sdefendersandtrytoregainWhite’sextrapawn.

Wow,Igetit!Fourattackersversusthreedefenders:Iwin!Twoattackersagainsttwodefenders:mypieceisprotected!That’seasierthanIthought.

Right,itreallyis!Theonlyhardpartishavinggoodboardsight(likeZort)andmakingsureyounoticeallthechessmenattackinganddefendingthepiece.Anddon’tforgetthekeyexception!Makesureyoucansaveyourbestpieceforthelastcapture.

Youkeeptalkingabout‘boardsight’!Whatdoyoumean,exactly?

I’mgladyouasked!Goodboardsightmeanskeepingtrackinyourheadofwhereallthepiecesare,andwhattheycando,evenwhenyou’rethinkingahead1.5powermovesormore.

Developinggoodboardsightislikelearningtorideabicycle.Whenyoufirststart,youtryhardbutstillstumbleandfalllikecrazy.Butwithlotsofpracticeyougetthehangofit,anditbecomesautomatic.Goodboardsightmostlycomesfromplayingasmanygamesasyoucanandstudyingpowermoves,butitcertainlyhelpstotryhard,andbealert!Onceyoudecideonagoodmove,don’tmakeitrightaway:takeonemorelookaroundtoseeifyou’remissingakeymovethatoneofyourpieces,ortheopponent’s,canmake.

TheQuickCount:Exercises

IsWhitethreateningtoregainhispawnonf7?HowshouldBlackdefend?

ShouldWhitecapturethepawnond5?Ifnot,what’shisbestplan?

TheQuickCount:Solutions

Whitehas3attackersoff7(N,Q+B)vs.2defenders(K+Q)soifitwerehismove,hecouldplay1.Bxf7+withadvantage.Black’sbestdefenseis1…0-0!addingathirddefender(therook)totheNf7,whilealsoimprovinghisposition.

A.Grigoryan-Bocharev,Moscow2009

No,Whitecan’ttake:thisistheexception!Whitehasthreeattackersofd5versusjusttwodefenders,butunfortunatelyhisqueenwouldhaveto‘gofirst’after1.Nxd5??Rxd52.Qxd5Nxd53.Rxd5,soinsteadofwinningapawn,he

dropshisqueenforonlyarookandpawn.

Whitehadamuchbetteridea;hepiledmorepressureontheweakd5pawnwith1.Rad1!.SoonallBlack’spieceswerestuckdefendingd5andWhiteconvertedhisadvantage.

PowerTrick#3:

TakesTakesBang!

Here’sthebestwaytostartthinkingoneandahalfpowermovesahead.Let’ssayyouhaveachancetotakeaprotectedpieceormakeatrade.Insomegames,youmayhavechanceslikethatalmosteveryturn!

Here’swhatIwantyoutodo:trylooking1.5powermovesahead,bysaying:‘IfItake,hetakesback,andthenwhatcanIdo?’Answeringthissimplequestionisgoingtowinyoulotsofchessgames.

Really?

Sure!Itworksforthemasters,anditwillworkforyoutoo.Thetrickistoworkonyourboardsightsoyoucanvisualizeanywinningsecondmovesafterthetwocapturesonmoveone.

Stefansson-Kasparov,Reykjavik1995

Didyouusethevalues?Ex-WorldChampionGarryKasparovisdownarookforbishopandpawn(onepoint).Howdoeshethinkaboutthisposition?

Atradeispossible,sohemuststartbycalculating:1…Rxf1+(Takes)2.Rxf1(Takes)…

2…f2+(Bang!!)Thistremendouspowermoveuncoversacheckbythebishop,whilealsodefendingthewhiteK’sescapesquareg1.Matenext!Byfindingawinningtacticafterthetrade,Garryknockedoffastronggrandmaster.

RodriguezLopez-VassalloBarroche,CorradoVillalba,2008

Thisonelookstricky,butBlackusesgreatboardsighttodiscoverthatmakingatradeopensawinninglineforhisqueen:

1…Bxf2!(Takes)2.Rxf2(Takes)

2…Qh1#!(Bang!).

WanttoknowwhyTakesTakesBang!issuchastrongtrick?Becausetakingapieceisveryforcing.Aforcingmovegivestheopponentveryfewgoodoptions.White’srecapture2.Rxf2aboveallowedcheckmate,butevenifWhitedidn’ttakeback,he’dbedownaknightfornothing.Infact,inthegameWhitetriedthedesperate2.e6,butafter2…Qa6+heresignedanyway.Also2.Qg5+Kf8

wouldn’tchangetheoutcome.Byusingpowertricks#3and#4,you’renotjusthopingthatyouropponentfallsintoatrap:you’reforcinghimintoitwith1.5powermovecalculation.YoureplaceMr.James’‘Igohere,thenIgohere’,withthinkingaheadlikethepros.

Evenifatradedoesn’tleadtocheckmate,itmaywinmaterialifyoucansee1.5powermovesahead:

I.Sokolov-McShane,London2009

Whitehasachoiceofforcingtradesinthiscomplicatedmiddlegame,butlookforthebesttowinthegameatonce!1.Nxd7+?Nxd7!isokayforBlack,sonexthecalculates1.Bxc5(Takes–andalsoprotectshisrookandknight)1…Qxc5(Takes)2.Nxd7+(Bang!!).Whatacrusher!Whitetakesafreebishop,whiledoubleattackingtheK+Q!Black’squeenfallsnext.

Neumann-Mayet,Berlin1865

ThedangerousdinosaurNeumannprobablylookedat1.Qd5toattackBlack’sRa8,butsawthat1…Rb8setsuptheexceptiontotheQuickCount:Whitehastwoattackersofg8againstonedefender,buthecan’ttakebecausehisstrongestpiece(thequeen)hastogofirst:2.Qxg8?Rxg8.

Buthesolvedthatproblemquicklywithamoreforcingfirstmove:1.Bxg8(Takes)1…Rxg8(Takes)2.Qd5(Bang!!)

Nowthewhitequeenisattackingbothrooksandonemustfall,soBlackresigned.

Readyforanothergreatmastersecret?It’stimetogoonestepfurtherwithTakes

TakesBang!Togetthemostoutofit,usethistricktoanalyzeallcaptures–notjusteventrades,butalsopositionswhereyousacrificebigmaterial,includingyourqueen.

PerezdeAranda-PonceLopez,CorradoVillalba2008

Blackhasjustblunderedabishop,butwouldyourboardsightbeabletospotitquickly?ItwillifyoupracticeTakesTakesBang!evenwhenitmeansgivingthequeen!1.Qxd4!(Takes)1…exd4(Takes)2.Bxc7(Bang!!).

Oops!!Itturnsoutthattheblackbishopwasn’treallyprotected,buttoseeityouhadtocalculate1.5powermovesahead,aneasytaskhereonceyou’reinthehabitofusingTakesTakesBang!

Thebackrankcheckmateisthefirstmatethatmostpeoplelearn,somostofyouhaveseenit.

Whetheryoualreadyknowthisbasicideaorarejustlearningitnow,youcanlearnanimportantlessonfromthegreatAmericanformerWorldChampBobbyFischer,whousedaTakesTakesBang!queensacrificetocheckmatetheenemykingonthebackrow:

Bredoff-Fischer,SanFrancisco1957

IstheRe5actuallyprotected?Fischerused1.5powermovecalculationtofindtheanswer:notreally!

1…Qxe5!(Takes)2.Rxe5(Takes)2…Rd1+!(Bang!!)

Herewehaveaclassicbackrankcheckmate–thewhiteK’sescapeisblockedbyhisownpawns.Whiteismatedaftertheuselessinterpolation3.Re1Rxe1#.

ThefirstofficialWorldChessChampionwasthegreatdinosaurplayerWilhelmSteinitz,oftencalled‘thefatherofpositionalplay’.Hewasoneofthefirstmasterstounderstandtheimportanceofbuildingupsmalladvantagesanddefendingwell,insteadofjustgoingforthekill.Buthewasstilldeadlywhenhe

hadthechancetoattack.

Herehesuddenlysacrificeshisqueenforjustaknight.Washecrazy?

No,hejustrememberedtolookoutforTakesTakesBang!

Steinitz-Gelbfuhs,Vienna1873

1.Qxf6+!(Takes)1…gxf6(Takes)2.Bf8#(Bang!!)

Findingthisbeautifulcheckmatetakesgoodboardsight!Youhavetonoticethatthequeensacclearsthef8-squareforthebishop,andthatBlack’spawncaptureexposesthekingtoacheck.Finally,youhavetoseehowallBlack’sescapesarecovered!Still…youcanfindthisgreat1.5movecombinationifyoupracticeTakesTakesBang!andworkhardtoseewhat’sreallyhappeningontheboard.

Bytheway,1…Qg6wasabettertryforBlack,butthenhe’slostaknightfornothingandwouldhavenohopeagainstthechamp.

Here’sonemoreTakesTakesBang!sacrificefromarapidplaygamebetweentwooftheworld’sbestplayers!ThistimeBlackdoesn’tsacrificethequeen–

justarookforabishop.Buttheresultisjustasspectacular:

Topalov-Kasparov,Sofiarapidmatch,1998

NowIknowwhichmovetolookatfirst–1…Rxf1+!.

Excellent,you’regettingthehangofit!WhenyouhavethepossibilityofaTakesTakesBang!exchangeorsacrifice,that’sthefirstthingyoushouldlookat.Oftenitwinsthegame,andit’seasytocalculatebecauseit’ssoforcing–theopponentusuallyhasnogoodalternativestoconfuseyouwith.Soherewego:

1…Rxf1+(Takes)2.Kxf1(Takes)2…Qh1#(Bang!!)

ThanksZort–that’sanicematetolookat!It’sakindofmodifiedback-rankmate,withthe(pinned!)Nd4andthequeenpreventingthewhiteKfromescapingforward.

Yeah,thanksalotZort–not!!Isawthatonewithmyownboardsight!

Allrightthen,goodjob–let’sseeifyoucansolvethefollowingproblems.

TakesTakesBang!Exercises

Calculate1.5powermovesaheadtowinabishop.

CanyoufindGrandmasterNimzowitsch’sfantasticTakesTakesBang!mate?

TakesTakesBang!Solutions

Addison-Fischer,NewYork1969

1…Rxa5!(Takes)2.Rxa5(Takes)2…Qe1+(Bang!!)regainstherookwith3…Qxa5andwinsabishop.

Johner-Nimzowitsch(variation),Dresden1926

RemembertoconsiderallTakesTakesBang!powermovepossibilities,evenif

theylooksillyatfirst!Especiallywhenattackingtheking!Nimzowitschplannedanamazing1.5powermovecombotobreakWhite’sdefenses

1…Qxh3+!!2.Nxh3Ng4#!

Thisonetakesfantasticboardsighttoseehowbothwhitedefendersoftheg4-squareareremoved.Tobecomearealtiger,youhavetolearntovisualizethepositionaccuratelyafter1.5powermoves–butyouwillifyoukeeppracticing!Likelearningtoplayamusicalinstrument,ittakestimeandconcentrationtodoitwell.TrytovisualizeNimzowitsch’smateinyourhead,untilyoucanseewhyWhite’skingishistory.Thisvisualizinghelpsyoudeveloppowerfulboardsight.

PowerTrick#4:

CheckMovesBang!

Here’sthelastpowertricktohelpyoucalculate1.5powermovesahead.Onceyouunderstandthisone,you’llbereadytolearnallthebestmastertactics!

RememberwhyTakesTakesBang!wassuchagreatwaytofindwinningmoves?

Yes!Becausecapturesareveryforcing,theydon’tgivetheopponentmanygoodoptions.

Greatmemory!Well,checkingtheenemykingisanothergoodwaytolimithisoptions.Soeverytimeyouhaveachancetoplayacheck,youshoulddothesamethingyoudidwithTakesTakesBang!-trytosee1.5powermovesahead.

How?

Easy:calculateyourcheck,hisoptionstoescape,andyourstrongestpowermoveonmovetwo.Here’sacommonexample:

Gossip-Schiffers,Breslau1887

ThevaluessayWhiteistwopawnsahead,butheresignedafter1…Qe1+

(Check)2.Kb2(Moves)2…Qxd2(Bang!!),winningtheknightandsoonmore.

Thisonewasfairlyeasytofind:Blackhadjustonegoodcheck,andWhiteonlyonelegalanswer!ThekillerqueencheckpriedthewhiteKfromthedefenseofhisknight.

Motoc-Mijovic,LitohoroU-14Girls,1999

YoungAlinaMotocdidn’tworrytoomuchabouttheattackonherbishop.SherememberedtolookoutforpowertricksanddestroyedBlack’sdefenseswithasimplequeenchecklikelastexample:

1.Qh8+!(Check)1…Ke7(Moves)2.Qxg7+(Bang!!).Blackresignedduetocheckmateinthree:2…Kd83.Rh8+Re84.Rxe8+Qe85.Qc7#.(Sorry,Zortisinsleepmode!Youmightwanttoplayouttheprettycheckmateyourself.)

Taimanov-Fischer,Vancouver1971

Whiteisapawnahead,buthemissesasimpleCheckMovesBang!combinationthatwinsthegame:

1…Qd4+!(Check)attacksthekingandrook,soWhitemusttry2.Rf2(Moves),butnowcomesthestinger2…Ra1+!(Bang!!),forcingthewhiteKtoabandonhisrook(theRf2can’tblockthecheckbecauseheispinnedbytheblackQ).

IsthequeentheonlypiecethatstartsCheckMovesBang?

No!She’sthebestatitbecauseofhermobility,butofcourseanypiececanstartaCheckMovesBang!powertrick:

TorresSamper-ElissaltCardenas,ColladoVillalba2008

BlackseesadoubleattackonWhite’skingandqueen.Thekeysquarelooksprotected,butitisn’treally,ifyoucansee1.5powermovesahead:1…Neg4+!(Check)2.fxg4(Moves)2…Nxg4+(Bang!)

Positionafter2…Nxg4+

It’sacrushingknightforkwhichwe’llstudynextchapter.Blacktakesthequeennextmoveandwinseasily.

CheckMovesBang!isalsoagreatwaytocheckmatetheenemyking.

Kasparov-Rachels,NewYorksimul,1988

Blackhasplayedthetrickydefensivemove…Qc1?.Itlooksgreat,becausehe’sabishopandpawnaheadandwantstotradequeens.If1.Qxc1??Nxc1the‘hook-up’trickhassavedBlack’sknightfrombeingtakenbytheRg3.

Butthegreatchampwasreadywith1.Nf7+!(Check)1…Rxf7(Moves)2.Qb8+(Bang!!).WiththeRg3blockingtheblackK’sescape,checkmateonthebackrowsoonfollows!

Mahescandra-Cochrane,Calcutta1854

RememberthiskeyCheckMovesBang!trickthatwasalreadywellknownbytheearlydinosaurs.Blackthreatenscheckmateong2,butWhitecomesfirst.

1.Qf5+!(Check)1…g6(Moves)(or1…Kg82.Rd8#)2.Qxf7+(Bang!!)WhitehasstrippedtheblackK’scoverwithcheck,andit’sallovernow:2…Kh83.Rd8#.

DidyourboardsighthelpyounoticethatWhite’spawng2ispinnedbytheblackrookandcan’ttakethequeen?

Yeah,Isawit!Thatfinishwasexciting!Ikindoflikethoseolddinosaurgames.

OftenthekeytoawinningCheckMovesBang!sequenceistofindtherightcheckamongseveralgoodoptions.Thereareonlytwowaystodoit!

1.Hopeyougetlucky,or2.Think1.5powermovesaheadbycalculatingyouropponent’sresponse,and

yourbestsecondmove,againsteachdifferentcheckingpossibility.

T.Hansen-Carlsen,Oslo2006

UsingthevaluesshowsWhiteistwopointsup,buthiskingisexposed.Blackhastwocheckingoptionsonh1ore1.Buton1…Qh1+2.Kg3,there’snogood‘Bang’onmovetwoforBlack(if2…Qh3+?3.Kf2thekingslipsaway,andWhitewins!).Sohecalculatestheothertry:

1…Qe1+!(Check)2.Qg3(Moves)2…Qh1+(Bang!!)andmatenext!TherightcheckforcedWhite’squeenontotheg3-square,takingawaytheking’sonlyescapehatch.

Here’sonemorebeautifulCheckMovesBang!matebythegreatKasparov:

Knezevic-Kasparov,BanjaLuka1979

YoucanuseaquickcounttoseethatWhitehasdefendedagainst1…e1Q+??.Hehastwoattackersthereagainstonlyoneblackdefender,so2.Qxe1winsthenewqueen.ButKasparovfoundanotherfantasticCheckMovesBang!option:1…Qf1+!!(Check)2.Bxf1(Takes)2…exf1Q#(Bang!!)

Terrificboardsight!Garryrememberedtocalculateallthequeenchecks,evenonethatgavethequeen.Stayalertforgreatsurpriseforcingmoveswhenyourpawnissoclosetoqueening.

CheckMovesBang!Exercises

WinaPiecein1.5PowerMoves.

CalculatetheprettyCheckMovesBang!checkmate!

CheckMovesBang!Solutions

Simons-Loewe,London1849

1…Qa5+!(Check)2.Bd2(Moves)2…Qxb5(Bang!)isanimportantelementaryqueenforkwhichwe’llstudyalotinthenextchapter.

Mason-Mackenzie,Paris1878

Blackfoundtherightcheckbylooking1.5powermovesahead:1…Qh2+!(Check)2.Kf3(Moves)2…Ne5#(Bang!!)

Cool!Ican’twaittotryoutthesepowertricksonmyfriends!

Congratulations!Nowthatyou’velearnedthefourkeypowertricksforthinkingahead,you’rereadytobeginlearningallthegreatmastertacticsthatwingames.

Chapter2

Forks‘Mypieceattackstwoofyours–whichonedoyouwanttolose?’

Aforkisamovewhichattackstwoormoreenemypiecesatthesametime.Sincebothenemypiecescan’tescapeatonce,theforkingpieceusuallywinsoneoftheforkedpiecesnextmove.Forksarethemostdemocraticpowermovetactic.Anypiececandoit,eventhepawnorking!Forthisreason,forksareaverycommonmastertactic.Butjustbecausewecallsomething‘common’or‘basic’inchess,thatdoesn’tmeanit’seasytosee!Evengrandmastersplay,andfallintoforksallthetime!

That’strue,kids.Ialwayslookforforksinmycalculations,andoftenfindthem!Trytounderstandtheforkingpowerofeverypiece.You’llwinmanygamesthisway.

PawnForks

Anderssen-Szen(variation),London1851

Inthisvariationfromashowdownbetweentwofamousdinosaurs,Whiteisabletolandtheultimatepawnfork1.g4+!,forkingkingandqueen!Noticethekeyroleofthesupportingpawnonh3:withoutit,Blackwouldjustsnapofftheg-pawnandwin,butnowBlacklosestheladyforjusttwopawnsafter1…Qxg42.hxg4+Kxg4.

Whilelotsofkidsinyourschoolcouldfallrightintosuchakillerfork,youhavetotrickastrongerplayerintoitbyseeingaheadwithpowermovecalculation:

Anderssen-Kieseritzky,London1851

Blackhastwobeautifulpassedpawns,butWhite’swell-calculated1.5powermovesshowthattheblackKistooexposed:

1.Rg7+Kh5Nowyouknowwhattodo.Buttobecomeatacticaltiger,youhavetobereadywithastronganswerevenifhedoesn’tfallforthefork!On1…Kf6Whitehadanevenstrongermove:2.Qe7#!

2.g4+1-0

Hey,that’sthesamepawnforkasinthefirstexample!

Right!Recognizingthepatternmakespowermovecalculationmucheasier.

Yoffie-Diatsintos,Haifa1970

Whenapawnforksrooksorknights,itdoesn’tevenneedsupport,sincethosetwopiecescan’tmovediagonallytotakeit.1.b3!Rxa3Butwhenyouplayapowertactic,youropponentisgoingtotrytoslipoutofit!Whitesawthecounterattack2…Nd62.Rb8+!whenthecheckletshisrookslipaway,andhecapturesBlack’srooknextmove.2.bxc4getsafreeknight,awinningedgeforamaster.

ManyforksandothertacticsusetheTakesTakesBang!powertrickwelearnedinChapterOne.Tofindthemyoujusthavetosee1.5powermovesahead,startingwithacapture:

Bird-Medley,London1849

TheblackBcantaketwodifferentpieces:1…Bxe3+!(Takes)2.Qxe3(Takes)2…d4!(Bang!!–awinningpawnfork!)Whitehasnotricksthistime,soheresigns.

Bytheway,theotherpiececapturealsowon:1…Bxc32.bxc3d4withadiscoveredattack,whichwewillseemoreofinPowerChess:Book2.

Zaichik-Sikharulidze,USSR1976

Inthiscoolexample,apawnforkforcesBlack’sbishopintoaqueenfork.1.e4!Agreatexampleofamasterpowermove!ItlookslosingbecauseBlackcantake

theunsupportedpawn,butWhitehascalculatedawinningtacticalresponse:1…Bxe42.Qa4+!Thepoint–thepawnforksetupawinningCheckMovesBang!queenfork.3.Qxe4nextgrabsabishop.

Whenyourpawnmovestothe7thrankandforkstwoenemypieces,it’sreadytobecomeanewqueen.Thisgivesrisetosometremendouspowermoves.

Sznapik-Bernard,Poznan1971

ThevaluesshowWhiteisapiecedownintheending,buthe’scalculatedabeautifulwinningmovethatsetsupapowerpawnfork:1.Rd8!!Thisispowerchess!Mostplayerswouldnevereventhinkofamovethatseemstolosearookfornothing.Buttofigureoutthatitwins,youonlyhavetousegreatboardsightandthink1.5powermovesahead.1…Rxd8Hemusttakebecauseoftheneathiddenmatethreat1…Bg72.Rb7#!:thepinnedc8bishopcan’ttaketherook.2.c7+Killerfork!!2…Kb73.cxd8Q+

Whitenotonlymakesaqueen,butdiscoverscheckwiththerook.Blackisdead.

Seekids,Mr.Hertanisright!Ifyoucanseeamazingpowermoveslikethat,oneandahalfmovesahead,you’llbethestrongestkidaround!

Duh!Nokidding,professor!Thatonewasreallyawesome.

Here’sonemorepositionwhereBlackusedapowerpawnforktomakeanewqueen.ThistimeBobbyFischerlosttoanotherformerWorldChamp,theelegantpositionalmaestroVassilySmyslov.

Fischer-Smyslov,Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade1959

Theforcingmove1…f5!wononthespot.2.Rxe3f4+isadeadlypawnfork,whileonotherrookmoves2…e2makesanewqueen.

KnightForks

Thetrickyknightisoneofthemostfamousandeffectiveforkers.Hisweird‘L-shaped’move,anduniquepowerofjumpingoverotherpieces,maketheNverygoodatsurpriseattacks.Recognizingknightforkswillhelpyouwinmanygames,andavoidasmanytraps.

Schrems-Korsus,BadWiessee2008

Didyouremembertocountthevaluesfirst?Whiteisalreadyevenwitharookandtwoknightsagainstqueenandtwopawns,soBlackcanforgetaboutitafter1.Ne8+!,aso-calledroyalfork.RoyalforksattackKandQ,winningtheladyforfree!

Theknightcastsakindofspider’swebaroundtheboard,whenhe’sinthemiddleandcontrols8differentsquares!Inthispositiontwopiecesonoppositesidesoftheboardgotcaughtinthespider’strap:

Morawietz-J.Grant,BadWiessee2008

1.Nc5!1-0

Thenaughtyknightevenstops1…Qb7soBlackmustloseawholerook.

Threegreatknightforkingsquares:c7,e7,andf7

Fromthestartingpositionyourknightscanhoptothesethreesquaresin3moves!Oftenyouropponent’spawnscanchasetheknightbeforehedoesanydamage,butifnot,youmightgettoplayakillerknightfork!

PowerKnightFork#1:

Nc7(orc2forBlack)Canal-Colle,Karlsbad1929

BlackforksWhite’srooksin1.5powermovestowinrookforknightafter1…Nb4!2.Qf3Nc2.

S.Short-Ahern,Cork2005

IftheNcouldgettoc2hecouldlandaroyalfork,so:1…Qxd1+!(Takes)2.Rxd1(Takes)2…Nc2+(Bang!)Blackwinsawholerookafter3.Kb1Nxe34.Re1Nxg25.Rg1Rfe8.Herememberedtocalculateallcaptures1.5powermovesahead,evenonethatgavethequeen.

PowerKnightFork#2:

Nf7(f2forBlack)Marshall-Capablanca(modified),NewYork1927

Here’saprettyf2forktrickwiththeknightwhichhaswoncountlessgames:1…Rd1!ThewhiteQisenticedontoaforkingsquare.InPowerChess:BookTwowe’lllookatmanymore‘enticementcombinations’.2.Qxd1Nf2+winningtheQandthegame.

Here’sanothertypicalf2forkIdreamedup:

Zort(Zugzwang,2011)

ACheckMovesBang!combinationwinsthequeenormatesin1.5powermoves:1….Bd4+!(Check)2.Kh1(Moves)2.Kf1allowstheroyalfork2…Ne3+;butevenstrongeris2…Nxh2mate!2…Nf2+(Bang!!)spearsthequeen.

PowerKnight#3:

Ne7Firman-Areschenko,GermanyBundesliga2008

AstronggrandmasterattackedWhite’squeenwith…Nc5??butforgottocheckthe1.5powermoveidea1.Qxc8!(Takes)1…Qxc8(Takes)2.Nxe7+(Bang!!).Theforktrickrecoversthequeenandwinsawholerook.

Hradsky-Frisk,Olomouc2008

Blackhasastrongtradewith1…Nxe2+,buthefindsamuchbetterforcingmove:1…Qxd4!WhiteloseshisNorBafterthissurprisepowermove.2.Qxd4TheNandQwereattacked,andif2.Nf3Qxd23.Nxd2Nxe2+.

2…Nxe2+Thee2powerforkrecoverstheQwithinterest.3.Kh1Nxd4andwins.AfineTakesTakesBang!combination,eh?

FamilyForks

Thisisafuntermforaknightforkthatattackspracticallyeverythinginsight:

Mareck-Gheng,Deizisau2008

Winningarookforaknightorbishopiscalled‘winningtheexchange’.Betweenstrongplayersthistwo-pointadvantageisusuallyenoughtowinthegame,unlesstheopponentgetsastrongattackorsomeotherbigadvantageinreturn(called‘compensation’).

After1…Nh5!Blackpreparedthefamilyfork2…Nf4!attackingthequeenandbothrooks!Onlyonewhitepiececouldgetoutoftheway,sohehadtolosetheexchangefornothing.If2.g3Nxg3+isanotherwinningfork.

Schallop-W.Paulsen,Leipzig1877

Sometimes‘backward’movesmakewinningattacks!After1.Ne3!thefamilyforkthreatonf5winsatleastabishop:1…Kg62.Nf5.

Goodboardsightmeanslookingatretreats,too.

Awesome!Youneverknowwhichmovecouldturnouttobeapowermove,doyou?

Right!Youdon’tknowuntilyoucalculateahead.

Let’sroundoutourstudyofknightforksbylookingatafewmorecommonforktricks.TheseareTakesTakesBang!positionswhereyousacrificematerial,but

look1.5powermovesaheadtolandawinningfork.

RuyLopez-Leonardo,Madrid1575

Here’saverycommonopeningforktrickyoumustknow:1.Bxf7+!(Takes)1…Kxf7(Takes)2.Nxe5+(Bang!!),recoveringthebishopwithatwo-pawnedge.

BecerraRivero-Robson,St.Louis2009

Theforktrick1.Qxc7+!Kxc72.Nd5+recoversthequeenandwinsaknight.

BishopForks

Hertneck-Kasparov,Munichblitz1994

Theanglingbishopisagoodforkertoo!Theex-worldchampcaughtagrandmasterinanobviouslywinningbishopforkinthisblitzgame,withthehelpofhisrook’sprotection:1…Bc2+0-1

Thebishopisa‘long-range’piece,meaningitcantravelfromonecornertotheotherinjustamove.Hereitforkstwopiecesonoppositeendsoftheboard.

Lengyel-Konnyu,Budapest2008

1…Nxg4(Takes)2.fxg4(Takes)2…Bd4+(Bang!),baggingthestrayNa7.Haveyounoticedthatthe‘Bang’inaTakesTakesBang!comboisoftenastrongcheckonmovetwo?Remember,they’reveryforcing,soanalyzechecksandcapturesfirst.

MostexpertsthinkGarryKasparovisthestrongestchessplayerthateverlived.

Iagree!KasparovwasRad!

Youmeanthestrongesthumanplayer!

OKZort,you’reright.Kasparov’stacticalvisionwassostrong,eventhebestgrandmasterscouldn’tforeseehisamazingpowermovesintime!

Roar!!!

Sorry,lizard-face.SomepeoplethinkthatthegreatdinosaurchampPaulMorphycouldhavebeenthebestever,butheonlycompetedforafewyears!Kasparovruledthechessworldfornearly25years!

HereGarrysetsuparoyalbishopfork,andwithpowermovecalculationavoidsadevilishtrapatthesametime!

Fedoruk-Kasparov,Daugavpils1978

OnceyounoticethatWhite’sbishopispinnedtothequeen,itbecomesverytemptingtoplay1…Bxd4+??2.Bxd4Rxd2,winningthequeenbutlosingthegame!!Zort?

Here’sariddle,earthchildren,beforeIshowthetrap:what’smoreimportantthanwinningthequeen??

Analysispositionafter2…Rxd23.Ra8+Kh74.Rh8#!

Finalanalysispositionafter4.Rh8#!

Thisismastercalculation!Garrydidn’tjustthink‘Iwinthequeen’andfallforthetrap–helookedfurthertoseeifWhitehadanygoodforcingmoves–andWhite’sonlychecksledtomate!Nowlet’sseehowBlacklandedawinningblowinstead:

1…Rxb2!Garryfindsasafewaytogoafterthequeen.Whiteresignedbecausehisrookchecknowleadsnowhere,andon2.Qxb2Bxd4+theroyalbishopfork

spearstheQ.

ItoldyouKasparovwastotallyawesome!

Lushenkov-Olenin,Sochi2009

Mostkidsfallrightintoforks,butevenstrongadultscanbetrickedintothemwith1.5powermovecalculation.WhitefinishedwithaforcingmoveandaBfork:1.f4!Nf7DidyouuseyourboardsighttoseethattheNhasnoothersafesquares?2.Bc4!Thebishopforkwinsatleasttheexchange,soBlackgaveup.

Bishopscanalsoplaytheforktrick,givingupmaterialtogetbackmorewithapowerfork.Herearesometypicalexamplesfromthedinosaurs:

Rosenthal-Chigorin,London1883

Thisoneistricky!Thefork1.Bd6looksgood,sinceafter1…Rc2+and2…Nh7WhitecanpinBlackdownwith3.Rd7+en4.Be5.However,WhitefindsamoreforcingpowermovewhichachievestheforktrickbygivingBlack’srooknotimetogetaway:1.Rxf8!+Kxf82.Bd6+1-0

Thatwasn’tsotricky–justaTakesTakesBang!combination!

Greatpoint!1.Rxf8+wasthefirstforcingmoveyoushouldanalyze.

Here’sarealmasterforktrick!ThegreatRussianattackerAlexeiShirovsawtwoandahalfmovesaheadtoscorethewinningtactic.Zort,comebackonlineplease!

OKMr.Hertan,IlikethegamesofGMShirov!

Shirov-Vorobiov,Sochi2009

1.Be6!Awinningpowermove.TherookmustdefendtheBc2.1…Rc7

2.Rxc2!Thepoint.Whitewinsapiecewithaforktrick.2…Rxc23.Bf5+1-0

Superradical!IbetIcouldfindthatoneifIpracticealot.

RookForks

E.Cardenas-BlancoSanchez,CorradoVillalba2008

Naturally,thepowerfulrookisagreatforker.Rookforksonthe7throwareespeciallycommon,sincethereareoftenmanyenemypawnsandpiecestogobbleupthere.HereWhite’sstrongdoubledrooksontheopene-fileallowed1.Re7+!,winningthebishop.

Mackenzie-Rosenthal,London1883

ThestrongScottishdinosaurMackenzieusedasimpleforktrickonthe7throwtowinadecisivesecondpawn:1.Bxg7!(Takes)AndifBlackhadplayed1…Kxg7(Takes)therewouldhavefollowed2.Re7+(Bang!)and3.Rxd7.

Cochrane-Staunton,London1842

Therook’sgreatmobilitymakesitthesecondstrongestpiece.Hereheshowsoffhisabilitytoattackhorizontally(onthe‘rank’)andvertically(onthe‘file’)atthesametime!ItstartswithanotherTakesTakesBang!combination:1.Qxb5!cxb52.Rxc7+,seizingthebishopwithapowerfork.

Theeighthrowistheotherrankwherelotsofenemypiecesareforkedbyapenetratingrook.

We’veseenhowpowermovetrickscanleadtobackrankmate,butdon’tforgettolookoutforbackrankforkstoo.

Gunina-Severiukhina,Serpukhov2008

1.Rd7!wonthebishop,becauseretreatsallowthebackrankfork2.Rd8+.

HereBlackwinsapiecewithaTakesTakesBang!comboforcingarookfork:

Vaisser-Nielsen,InternetACPBlitz,2004

1…Nxc3!(Takes)2.Nxc3(Takes)If3.Qxc3Qxe2.2…Rd3!(Bang!)0-1

Nimzowitsch-Menchik,Karlsbad1929

Bymaterialcount(thevalues),youmaythinkBlackiswinninghere!She’saheadbythreewholepoints,anexchangeandapawn.Butmaterialisn’t

everythinginchess,andthispositionisaperfectexample!

Blackcan’tcastle,soherkingisexposedtoattackinthemiddle,andherrooksaredisconnectedandweak.Moreimportantly,lookatWhite’sbeautifulpieces,allpoisedforattack!TheBf6isjusttremendous,anchorednearBlack’skingbythepawne5.Inthisspecialposition,heismuchstrongerthaneitherblackrook!!

WouldyoubelievethatBlackresignedafterjustonemoremove?1.Rc7!threatensthetremendousrookfork2.Re7+,whenBlackcan’tevencapturedueto3.Qxe7#.Blackishelpless.

QueenForks

Everykidknowsthatthequeenisthemostpowerfulattackerbyfar!She’salsothestrongestforker.Likeaneaglepouncingonitsprey,theladyswoopsdowntoattackseveralpiecesonfarendsoftheboard!

Herearesometypicalqueenforkstospringonunwaryopponents!

DeVere-Rousseau,Paris1867

Anytimeyouhaveapossiblequeencheck,lookoutforaforklikethis:1.Qd5+(Check)2…Be6(Moves)2.Qxa8(Bang!)

Oneoftheshortestmastergameseverinvolvesasimilarcentralqueencheck,forkingkingandrookonmovefive!Amazingly,itwasrepeatedagainin2008:

I.Mayer-Heyl,Budapest20081.e4c52.b4cxb43.a3d54.exd5Qxd55.axb4??

5…Qe5+!0-1

VonHeydebrandundderLasa-VonBilguer,Berlin1837

Anothercentralqueencheckpicksoffalooseknightfaracrosstheboard:1.Qd3+!1-0

Stanley-Rousseau,NewOrleans1845

Thekingcanalsobecaughtinaqueenforkbeforecastling.Blackwasrelyingonthepinnedd-pawntosavehisbishop(1.dxc5??Rxd1),butheforgot

somethingimportant:thequeencheck1.Qh5+(Check)1…g6(Moves)2.Qxc5(Bang!).

Don’tforgettoanalyzetheforcingcheckfirst!!

Thenimblequeenhasplentyofmobilityevenfromherstartingsquared1(ord8forBlack)!Winningqueenchecksintheearlyopeningarenotunusual.

Here’sanothertrapwheremanyplayershavelostaknightonmovefour!1.e4c52.d4cxd43.Nf3e5

NowWhiteshouldplaythepawnsacrifice4.c3!withagoodgame.Butifhetakesthebaitwith4.Nxe5??heisalreadylostaftertheforkingcheck4….Qa5+!

Herearetwocommonqueenforksontheimportanta7-g1diagonal(a2-g8forWhite),alongwhichthecastledkingisfrequentlyattacked:

Jaenig-LlanezaVega,BadWiessee2008

1…Qb6+!snaringthewhitebishop.

Iusedaforktrickonthiskeydiagonaltowinakeypawnagainstastrongmaster:

Dehmelt-Hertan,NewYorkOpen1984

The1.5movecombination1…Bxg5!tookthewindoutofWhite’sattackandwonprettyeasily,becauseon2.Bxg5theforktrick2…Qc5+!and3…Qxg5regainsthebishopwithahealthyextrapawn,andnoworries.

Thewinningideawaseasytomiss,becauseinthediagramWhite’sBe3guards

thea7-g1diagonal,butmydecoypowermovepulledhimaway.

Therookisn’ttheonlypiecethatlikestodeliverbackrankforks.Thequeencandoitevenbetterwithheraddeddiagonalpowers.

JiDan-ZhouWeiqi,XinghuaJiangsu2010

Ifyouhadwhite,couldyoufindtheCheckMovesBang!sequencethatwinsarook?Ibetyoucould,withabitofworkandboardsight:1.Qe4+!Kh81…Kg8turnsoutthesame,while1…g62.Qxg6+ismatenext.2.Qe8+!isabackrankforkofK+R.

Pleasenotice–1.Qxa4wastempting,butWhiterememberedCheckMoveBang!andfoundamuch,muchbettermove.

Stabolewski-I.Farago,Budapest2008

Evenifnobackrankforksarepossible,abackrankqueencheckoftenleadstoaforksomewhereelse!Blackhastwosafequeencheckshere,butmustcalculate1.5powermovesaheadtofindtherightone:1…Qb1+!(Bestcheck!)2.Kg2(Moves)2…Qe4+!(Bang!)ForkingK+R.

Positionafter2…Qe4+!

Therearealmostasmanyqueenforksastherearestarsinthesky,sowewilllookatjustonemorefornow.

Yudasin-Kasparov,Frunze1981

Here’saveryimportanttypeofforkwehaven’tdiscussedyet.Black’s1…Qa5!notonlythreatensthepawnona2andthebishopwayoveronh5;italsothreatenscheckmatein1.5powermoves!If2.Qh4todefendthebishop,2…Qxa2+3.Kc1Qa1mates,soWhiteresigned.

KingForks

RememberIsaidthatforksarethemostdemocraticpowertactic?BecausetheKplodsaroundonesquareatatime,andhastoalwaysmindhisroyalsafety,it’sprettyunusualforhimtogetinvolvedinpowermoves.Whenhedoes,it’susuallyakingforklaterinthegame,whenhe’snolongerafraidofgettingmatedandfeelsreadytoattack!

WhenIgoogledkingforks,Ireadtheywereveryrare!

Googlingismyfavoritehobby,butdon’tbelieveeverythingyoureadontheWeb.

Fischer-Kramer,NewYorkblitz,1971

Akingintheendgameislikeanoctopusinhiscave.Ifyoukeepyourdistancehewon’thurtyou,butifyougettooclosehemightjumpoutandbite!

1.Kg2!Theoctopusstrikes.ThebestBlackcandoislosetheexchangewith1…Bf42.Kxh3Bxe3,buttheendingislostsohethrewinthetowel.

Whatmeansthis‘threwinthetowel’?Isn’tthatobjectusedforbathing?

No,silly!Itmeanshegaveup,resigned.

Short-Kasparov,Londonrapidmatch,1987

Garrywantstofightonwith1.axb3a2!makingaqueen,butthestrongEnglishmanNigelShortinducedresignationinsteadwiththekingfork1.Kc2!.(Bytheway,alsocrushingwas1.Ref8!threatening2.R1f7#)

Kasparovthrewinthetowel?

Yes,yousillysiliconsimpleton!

What’sasimpleton?

Adummy,anidiot!

Hey,Iresemblethatremark!Imeanresent!Computermalfunction.Unknownerror.Pleaserestart.

Wallenrath-VonJaenisch,St.Petersburg1850

1.Kf3!wasthestrongestpossibleKfork(kingscan’tattackqueens,onlycapturethemiftheycometooclose!).Whiteovercameafewmoretrickstowin.

Wehaven’ttalkedaboutthisyet,butwhensomeonespringsatacticonyou,you

cantryusingpowermovestogetoutofit,bycalculatingalittlefurtherahead!Theex-champallowedastrong-lookingkingforkhere,findingastronger1.5powermoveanswer.

P.Nikolic-Kasparov,WijkaanZee2000

Thekingfork1.Kd4wasmetby1…Bb3!.

Positionafter1…Bb3!

Icallthisa‘hook-up’combinationbecausetheconnectionofBlack’spiecesallowsbothtoescapeon2.Bxb3Nxb3+,whileon2.Kxc5thecounterthreat2…

Bxd1savestheday.Nevergiveupwhenyoufallforatactic–lookforawayoutlikeGarry’s1…Bb3!.

Andwhenyou’reabouttoplayatactic,takeonemorelookaroundtomakesureitdoesn’thaveanyobviousloopholes–likemateorlossofyourqueen!

Forks:Exercises

FindaTakesTakesBang!sacrificetolandacrushingBfork.

SacrificebigforawinningNforktrick.

Forks:Solutions

Eastwood-Baumber,Sunderland1966

Themostforcingmove,1.Rxe7+!Kxe72.Bxd6+,isdevastation.Butnotthelazy1.Bxd6exd62.Qxd6??Bxe4+4.fxe4Qc2+,matingforBlack!

Pert-Ward,Douglas2005

Whitehasoverlookeda1.5powermoveshotonthekeye2forkingsquare:1…Qxc3!(Takes)2.Qxc3(Takes)2…Ne2+(Bang!)regainingtheQtocomeoutaknightahead.

Forks:Exercises

ScoopuptheNwithalongQfork.

Findthestrongestfork.

Forks:Solutions

Fichtinger-Scharler,Vienna2008

Oops!Withadistantforkingcheckonthekeya7-g1diagonal,1…Qa7+!,theNe7isagoner.ACheckMovesBang!combousinggoodlong-rangeboardsight.

Menchik-Becker,Karlsbad1929

Evenbetterthantheknightfork1.Nd6+wasthekillerpawnfork1.e6+1-0!

Forks:Exercises

Setupawinning‘familyfork’.

Usefantasticpowermovecalculationtoforceapawnfork.

Forks:Solutions

Capablanca-Treybal,Karlsbad1929

JoséRaoulCapablanca,thegreatCubanWorldChampionofthe1920’s,brokeBlack’sdefenseswith1.Rxd8+!Rxd82.Nxc6.Whiteregainstheexchangeandscoopsthea6pawntoo,withaneasywin.

Sämisch-Grünfeld,Karlsbad1929

We’regivingZortanend-of-chapterrest,sopleaseplayoutthisprettyoneyourself:

1.Re7!!wasaverybeautifulwin,buttakefullcreditforthesimpler1.Ne7++winningaNsince1…Nxe72.fxe7isacrushingpawnfork.1…Rf7TakingtheQallows1…Nxh42.Rg7#!while1…Nxe72.fxe7isthesamekillerpawnfork.2.Rxf7!Kxf7Hestillcan’ttakethequeenduetomateong7.3.Ne5+Kf84.Qxh7.Blackfinallygivesupbecause5.Qh8#or5.Qxf5arethreatened,andon4…Qxf6comesthe‘royalNfork’5.Nd7+!

Chapter3

Pins

‘Youbetterstaywhereyouare,enemypiece,orI’lltakeyourstrongerfriend!’

Thesecondgreatmastertacticisthepin.Pinsareoneofthemostimportantideasinchess!Theywingamesallthetime,inlotsofdifferentways!Onlythreedifferentpiecescanmakepins:thebishop,rook,andqueen.

Why?That’snotfair!

Becausepinsusethepowerofpiecesalongalineofsquares,andonlythosethreecanmoveonaline.Thebasicideaofapinisthis:

Youattackapiecewithyourbishop,rook,orqueen,andthatpieceisunabletomoveawaywithoutmaterialloss,becauseifitdoesmove,anotherpiecebehinditwillbetaken.

Absolutepins

WhenapieceispinnedtoyourK,itcan’tmoveofftheking’sline,because

exposingyourKtodirectcaptureisanillegalmove.There’saspecialnameforthesepinstargetingtheking:absolutepins.Absolutepinsaresuperdangerous:piecespinnedtothekingareoftenlost–andthenthekingmayalsobeendangered!

Danielian-Miroshnichenko,CappellelaGrande2009

Here’sthestrongestbishoppin:anabsolutepinofthequeen!

1…Bd4!Likebeingcaughtbyzombiesinahorrormovie,thewhiteQisgluedtotheK’sdefenseandparalyzed!2.Qxd4+BforQisallWhitecanget;alousybargain!2…cxd43.c7Ne7!BlackstopsthequeeningthreatandWhitecansafelyresign.

SemprunMartinez-PozoVera,ColladoVillalba2008

Lookcloselyatthisposition.White’sK+Qareonthesamediagonal.IfonlyBlack’sBcouldreachc6,hecouldmakearoyalpin.Butwinningdependsonpowermovecalculation!1…Nxe5+??doesn’tworkdueto2.fxe5Bc63.Qxc6!andWhitewinsbecauseoftheabsolutepinontheb7pawnbytheRb1!So,doesBlackforgetthepinningidea?No,hefindstherightwaytothreaten2…Bc6:

1…Na5!(1…Nd8!alsoworks)Whatamove!Itstops2.Qxb7#,threatens2…Bc63.Qxc6Nxc6,andmatesifWhitetriestoavoidthepin:2.Qg6Bc6+3.Ke2Qe1#.White‘threwinthetowel’!

ZhaoXue-ZhangXiaowen,XinghuaJiangsu2009

1.Rg3!pinsqueentoking,winningherforarook.If1…Rxe72.Rxg6+hxg6,simplestis3.Qb5,corrallingthepassedb-pawn,withaneasywin.

Themostcommonabsoluterookpinsareonthe8thand7thrank,wheretheenemykingusuallyhides:

McShane-Shengelia,NoviSad2009

1.Rh8!isacrushingabsolutepin.Blackcanthreatenmatewiththepin1…Bd5,but2.Rxf8#comesfirst.

Chapman-Kortchnoi,London2009

2.5powermovecalculationforcedanabsolutepinonthebackrank:1…Rad6!2.Qc1setsupaTakesTakesBang!shot:2…Rxe1+3.Qxe1Rd1winningtheQ.

Onceyou’rereallygoodatseeing1.5powermovecombos,seeinganextramoveaheadlikethisisthenextstep!

Bjerring-Hvenekilde,Copenhagen1987

ACheckMovesBang!combinationforcesthekingintopositionforaback-rankpin:1.Rh7+!Ke82.Rh8pinsandwinsthequeen.

Nakamura-Shulman(variation),St.Louis2010

Here’sanextremelyimportantbackrankrookpintoremember.AmaterialcountshowsthatWhiteisuptheexchange,ortwopoints.Ifitwerehismove,Whitewouldwinwith1.Rh3.

ButBlackhadthewholepositionplannedoutwiththewinningpin1…Rc1!.Insteadofmovingthequeen,Blackpinsandwinsthewhiterook,sinceon2.Rxc1Qxc1+endsinbackrankmate!Whitesawitcomingandresignedamoveearlier.

Whoa!NexttimeI’llthinktwicebeforedefendingmyqueensofast!

AbsolutePins:Exercises

UseaQuickCounttopintheblackQ.

Winanotherqueenwitha1.5powermoveabsolutepin.

AbsolutePins:Solutions

Tkachiev-Svidler,AlmatyWchBlitz,2008

Aquickcountshowsthreevs.twoattackersone6,andthesecondwhitecapturemakesaroyalpin:1.Rxe6Rxe62.Rxe6bagsthelady.

Bogoljubow-Menchik,Karlsbad1929

Youknowthatcapturesandchecksareveryforcing.Well,attackingtheenemyqueenalsolimitstheopponent’soptions,andifyoucansee1.5powermovesahead,itmaywin!1.Bg4!lefttheblackQhighanddry,because1…Qg62.Bh5!pinsandwinsher.

Cool!I’llcallita‘QueenAttackMovesBang!’combination!

RelativePins

Withrelativepins,apieceispinnedtoanother,strongerpiece,butnottheking.Thisgivestheopponentmorechancetoslipoutofthepin,butifhecan’t,arelativepinmaybejustaswinningasanabsoluteone:

Carlsen-Yakovich,Moscow2004

MagnusCarlsenmaybethestrongestteenagechessplayerever!!Earlyin2010hebecamethetop-ratedplayerintheworld,atage19!MostchessexpertsbelievethathewillsoonbecomeWorldChampion.Herehefoundawinningrelativepin:

1.Qd7!pinsknighttothequeen.BlackresignedsincetheNislost.

Ruck-Neubauer,Austria2008/09

1.Re4!frozeandwonBlack’sbishopbypinningittotherook:1…Rb42.Nxd41-0

Volokitin-Vorobiov,Sochi2009

Whitequitecorrectlypinstheblackbishopwith1.Qb2!,exploitingBlack’suncoordinatedarmy.Surprisingly,thereisnogooddefenseto2.Rxb5.If1…exd4,simplestis2.Nxd4addingathirdattackeragainstb5.Blackislost.

Butmyteachersaidneverputyourqueenonthesamefileastheenemyrook!

Thatiswiseadvice,butheforgottoteachyouanevenmoreimportantrule:neversayneverinchessorlife!Here’ssomethingreallycoolaboutchess:anideamaybewrongalmostalways,andstillbetheonlygoodmoveinaparticularsituation.Generalrulesaregreat,butpowermovecalculationtellsyouwhentogoagainstthem.1.Qb2!wasclearlythebestmoveontheboardhere,because1.5powermovecalculationshoweditwontheBusingtheb-filepin.

RelativePins:Exercises

Pinandwinapiece.

ShowhowasimplerelativepinmadeWhiteresign.

RelativePins:Solutions

LaRota-Stripunsky,BocaRaton2008

1…Rb3!pinnedandwonWhite’sknightontheb-file.

Matisons-Canal,Karlsbad1929

Theobviousshot1…Qxd5!pinsthewhiteBtothequeenandkillsitnextmove.

PowerMovestoExploitPins

Wanttoknowasecretaboutwhypinsarethemostdangerouspowermovetactic?

Youbettertellmerightnow!Ihatesecrets.

OKthen.Mostmastertacticsonlyworkforonemove.Ifyoumissyourchanceforawinningfork,hecanprobablypreventitnextturn.Butpinsoftenlastalongtime,andcanbeverydifficultforhimto‘break’!Inthesecases,wesaythatthepinputspressureontheenemyposition.

Evenwhenapindoesn’tseemtowinimmediately,twotypesofpowermovescanoftenbeusedtoconvertpinsintomaterialgainormate.Thefirstisthepile-up,andthesecondisthesneakypin.Eitherofthesewinningideascanbeusedwithbothrelativeandabsolutepins,butthesneakypinisextragoodatcatchingtheenemykingoffguard!

Pin-ExploitingMoves#1:

ThePile-upPinFischer-Gheorghiu,BuenosAires1970

Whenapincan’tbesafelybroken,thewinningstrategyisoftentopileuponthepinnedpiece,preferablywiththecheapestunitpossible.Inthiscasethatmeant1.f3!.Becausetheknightisabsolutelypinned,thelowlypawnwilltakeitnextmove,soBlackresigned.

Barnes-Mongredien,London1862

Hereisaverycommondiagonalpile-uppinintheopening.TheBb5createsanabsolutepinagainsttheNc6,soofcourseWhitelookstopileuponitwithhischeapestman:1.d5!OthermovesmissWhite’schance;8.Nc3?0-0,escapingthepinwithnodamage.Powermovesrequirealertness!1…a6Hopingforthetrade9.dxc6?axb5.2.Ba4!Maintainingthepin:3.dxc6nextmovewinstheknightforapawn.

Matlakov-Ulko,Sochi2009

HereWhitepilesupwithtwoextraattackersatonce!1.Rd4!attackstheparalyzedblackNwiththeR,andalsouncoversanextraattackbytheQ!AQuickCountshows3whiteattackersagainst2defenders,andBlackcan’treinforceit,sothepinnedknightfalls.

TheQfork1.Qg4!wasalsowinning;if1…f5?2.Qxg6+.

Wyvill-Anderssen,London1851

ThevaluestellyouBlackisapointahead,butthepinnedRg6meansWhitecanregaintheexchange.But1.Bxg6+?cashesinonthepintoosoon.Insteadofgivingabishoptogettherook,WhitecanuseaTakesTakesBang!combinationtopileupwithacheaperunit,andwintherookforonlyapawn.1.Rxb5!Black’sknightisoverworked,apowertacticwewillstudymoreinBook2.1…Nxb52.f5!1-0

Mitzka-Reder,Vienna2008

TakesTakesBang!createsawinningdiagonalpile-up.1.Nxb7!Qxb7First,theblackqueenisforcedontotheBg2’sline,sonowthe

Nc6ispinned,and…2.b5!(Bang!).Second,Whitepilesupwithhischeapestpieceandwinsthepinnedknightafter2…axb53.cxb5.Agreat1-2punch!

CharlesHertan,onmyplanetit’sagainsttournamentrulestopunchtheopponent.

YoubetterrestyourmemorybeforeIpunchyou!

Popert-Staunton,London1841

Whitefindsasneakywaytoreinforcetheabsolutepinonthediagonal.1.Bb3!DidyouusethevaluestocountthatWhiteisupanexchangeinthediagram?Usingpowermovecalculation,evenafterthedangerouscheck1…Nf2+!2.Rxf2!Bxf2Whiteincreaseshisadvantagetoawholeknightplusattackafter3.Nd6!,whichisevenstrongerthantheimmediate3.Qxe6+.

‘Vertical’pile-ups

Rooksloveopenfiles,wheretheyhavemoreroomtooperateandcanofteninvadetheenemycamp.Probablythemostcommonpile-uppinsoccurwhenyouractiverookpinsanenemypieceonthefile.Sometimesjustputtingyourrookwherehebelongssetsupawinningpin:

Thomsen-Kasparov,Torshavnsimul,2001

Black’srooksarepositionedperfectlyonthetwoopenfiles.Puttingyourpiecesongoodsquaresoftensetsuppowermoves!TheQuickCountshowsWhite’sknightiscurrentlydefended,butthepile-up1…e5!winsitforapawn,sincetheretreatsthatcoulddefendhisrook,f3andb3,areblockedbyWhite’sownpawns.

Wespokeearlieraboutthedangersofleavingyourqueenonthesameopenfileasanenemyrook.Ifyougetyouropponentinthissituation,trytoexploititwith

apile-uppin:

Parnell-Barry,Dublin1865

1…c6!isasimplewinningpile-upbecauseWhite’squeenisinharm’sway.Counterattackingwith2.f5Rxf53.Nf4onlymakesmattersworse:3…Rxd34.Nxe6Rxd1+.

Theotherpile-up1…Rfd8!alsowins,onceyoucorrectlycalculatethepowermoves.

Here’satypicalverticalpile-uppinbythequeen:

M.Szabo-O.Dobos,Budapest2008

1…c5!paralyzedandwonthepinnedknight.

Ifyoucan’tpileuponthepinnedpiecewithapawn,yourotherpiecesmaystilldothejob:(seenextpage)

Blackburne-Puller,London1862

1.Rde2!wontheknight.Doublingrooksonafilelikethisisagreatwaytopileupandincreasepressure.ButifBlack’sRe4wereone5instead,hecouldslipoutwith1…Nxf5!.

Greatteamwork!Everywhitepiecegangeduponthepoorpinnedknight.

Pawnbreaksandpile-ups

Pawnbreaksareanimportantpowermovestrategyinanyposition,buttheycanbecomeawinningtacticwhentheyopenafiletoletarookorqueenpileuponapinnedpiece.Apawnbreakisaspecialkindofpawnmovethatforcesapawntrade,leadingtoanopenfile.Here’sacommonpawnbreakonmovetwo!1.e4e52.f4

King’sGambit

Asuccessfulpawnbreakusuallyrequirestwopawnsthat‘buttheadstogether’,likethewhitepawnone4andtheblackoneone5.Whitecanthenplaythe‘levers’2.f4or2.d4,forcingBlacktoeithercapture,orletWhitetakehimnextmove,becausethe‘headbutter’pawnone4preventsBlackfromadvancinghise-pawntostopthetrade.

Theword‘lever’wasusedbytheAustrianmasterHansKmochinhisfamous

book,PawnPowerinChess–agreatbookaboutpawnplayforadvancedplayers.Ifyoupullaleveronamachineitmakessomethinghappen–andit’sthesamewithapawnlever!Thisactionmovecreatesexcitementandtensionontheboard.

If2…exf4Whiteusuallyplays3.Nf3(stoppingthedangerous3…Qh4+)andcontinueswithBc4,0-0,andd4.IfWhitecanregainthepawnonf4,hecreatesastrongopenfileforhiscastledrookonf1.Ifnot,hemaysacrificeapiecetoopenthefile,orplaythefurtherpawnbreakg3.

Leverscananswerakeyquestionaskedbykidseverywhere:howcanIactivatemyrooks?We’veseenhowrooksloveopenfiles,andagoodpawnbreakforcesopenafile.Rememberthispowermoveidea!

Inthefollowingdinosaurgamethe‘King’sGambit’f4leverwasuseddecisivelyalittlebitlater:

Daniels-Walker(variation),London1841

WhitehasplayedacommonknightsacrificefortwopawnsandaviciouspinoftheNf6.On1.Qf3Blackcandefendforthemomentwith1…Kg7,butthepawn

break1.f4!winsquickly.Thef-fileispriedopenandWhiteregainstheknightwithapile-up.

Asamplelineis1…Kg72.fxe5Nxe53.Bxf6+,winningthequeenforrookandknight,plusretainingtwoextrapawnsandanattackonBlack’sking.Akillerpawnbreak!

Inthenextexample,Whitemissedadeadlypawnbreakallowingapile-uponanabsolutediagonalpin.

Gulko-Karpov,DosHermanas1994

GMBorisGulko,theonlyplayerevertowinboththeUSandRussianChampionships,missedthewinninglever1.g4!.Whitethreatens2.gxh5withapile-uponthepinnedRg6,andafter1…Nxg4(or1…hxg42.h5)2.Nxg4hxg43.h5!thebreakhasfreedtheh-pawnforthewinningpile-up.

Blackmusttry1…f5tobreakthepin,whenthestrongestresponseis2.g5!.

positionafter2.g5

Here’saveryunusualsituationthatteachesanewconcept:apositionalwin!Theblackg6rookisimprisonedbyhisownpawnsandWhite’s,andcanneverescape.

Ineffect,Whiteisarookahead,andhecanwineasilywithmoveslikeQc3andRc7,tradingoffallblackdefendersandinvadingonthequeenside,whiletheRg6looksonhelplessly.

Here’sarecentexampleofapowermovepawnbreakcreatingawinningpile-uppin:

V.Karnic-Dean(variation),Plainville2009

BlackhasanabsolutepinontheNh3,buthowcanheexploitit?Theonlywayisthetremendouspowermove1…h5!.

Thisfantasticleverthreatensthepile-up2…hxg4;forinstance2.Rc7hxg43.Rxg4(3.Rxe7Qxh3#)3…Qxg4

analysisafter3…Qxg4

4.Rxe7Qg2#!

So2.gxh5isforcedinthefirstdiagram,butthen2…g4pilesupandwinstheknightwithaquickwinforBlack.

Thispositionshowstheimportanceofpawnbreaks.IfBlackdidn’thavethebreak…h5,hewouldsoonlose,becausehisattackwouldstall,whileWhitehasanextrapawnonthequeensideandabigattackcomingwithRc7andQb7.

Awesome!Ialwayswonderedhowtofreemyrooks.

‘Horizontal’Pile-Ups

Pile-uppinssometimeshappenonthe‘rank’,orhorizontalrow.HereWhite’squeenispinningBlack’sknightalongthe4thrank,soofcoursehelooksforthepile-up.

Kasparov-Gicin,Riga1977

1.a3!winsaNbecauseeitherofBlack’shook-upunpinningtries1…Nc6or1…Nc2letsWhite’squeentaketheknightforfree.

Rookchecksontheeighthrowoftenleadtopile-upsiftheenemyblocksthecheckwithapiece:

Vetoshko-Kozel,Chervonograd2008

Whitehasagoodmove(1.Rxf7)butfindsamuchbetteronethatleadstoresignation,thanksto1.5powermovecalculation:1.Re8+!WithhisboardsightWhitealertlynoticesthaton1…Kg72.Rxe6!winstheknightduetothepinnedf-pawn,while1…Nf8allowsthedoublerookpile-up2.Rdd8vacuuminguptheN.

Pile-UpPins:Exercises

Snagapiecewithaperfectpile-uppin.

Forceawinwithahorizontalpile-up.

Pile-UpPins:Solutions

Kozul-Kasparov,Belgrade1989

SeeingtheNc4ispinnedtotheRc1,Garrypouncesbypilingupwiththecheapestunit:1…b5!getsafreeN.

Tiviakov-Elianov,Montreal2007

White’sQislinedupwiththeRe8,butitalsopinsBlack’sB.Thepile-up1.Raa5!overwhelmsthepinnedbishop(useyourquickcount!).

Abitmorecomplicatedwas1.Ne7+(interferingwiththeRe8’sdefenseofthebishop–westudymoreinterferencemovesinChapter5)1…R7xe7andnow2.Qxc4+!R/Qe63.d7!alsowins.

Pin-ExploitingMoves#2:

TheSneakyPin

Learningthistrickwillmakeyouatacticaltiger!Asneakypinisasituationwhereapieceorkeysquarelooksprotected,butreallyisn’tbecauseofapin!Yourpieceisabletooccupythe‘impossible’squareforaquickwin!Ialsocallthispowermovetactican‘opticalillusion’pin,meaningitfoolsyoureyes.Findingsneakypinsrequiresextragoodboardsight,soyouropponentwilloftenmissthem.

SneakyPins1:Captures

Intheseexamples,apiecelooksprotectedbutreallyisn’t,duetoasneakypin.

G.Kron-NgoTan,Budapest2008

Blackistryingtokickoutthewhitequeenwithhisrook,butthere’sonelittleproblem:1.Qxh5!winstherook!Heforgotthattheg-pawnisabsolutelypinnedbytheRg2.

Serefidou-Styazhkina,VungTauU-12Girls,2008

Inthisgamefromakids’tournament,Whitethoughtherextrakingsidepawnscouldsheltertheking,butshemissedthepowerofthebishop’ssneakypinonthea7-g1diagonal!1…Qxg3+!Thepawn’sprotectionwasonlyanopticalillusion.Theabsolutepinonthef-pawnspellsmate!2.Kh1Qxh3#(or2…Qg2#)AlertattackingplaybyAnnaStyazhkina!

Mnatsakanian-A.Zaitsev,Yerevan1962

Blackthinkshisknightsprotecteachother,buthiseyesaredeceivinghim!After1.Qxe4!Nxe42.Bxa5Whitehaswonaknight,thankstothesneakypin.

Kolisch-Gastein,Vienna1859

ItlookslikeBlack’sknightisprotected,butuseyourboardsight:1.Qxe6+andBlackisdone:1…Qe7(forcedbecauseofthesneaky-pinnedBd7)

2.Qxe7checkmate!

‘SneakyPin’PieceCaptures:Exercises

Istheknightreallyprotected?

Useasneakypinand1.5+powermovecalculation!

‘SneakyPin’PieceCaptures:Solutions

Forintos-Hansson,Esbjerg1983

1.Bxg7!andtheeighth-ranksneakypinpreventsrecapturing(1…Bxg72.Rxc8).

L.Paulsen-Fritz,Breslau1889

1.Rxe4!stoletheNbecausethef-pawnispinned:1…Qxe42.Qxe4fxe43.Rxf8+

SneakyPins2:

SquareInvasions

Mastersdon’toverlooksneaky-pinnedpiececapturestoooften,buteventheymissenemypiecesenteringkeyattackingsquaresthatlookguarded,butaren’tthankstoasneakypin.It’seasiertonoticethatyourpieceisattacked,thantoseethatakeysquareisleftopen.Butthesesneakysquareinvasionscanbejustaspowerfulastakingapiece,oftenleadingtobigmaterialgainormate!

Naiditsch-Carlsen,WijkaanZee2006

Magnusisdownanexchangeandapawn,butheseesthathisqueencanenteracrushingsquarethatlooksoff-limits.Thesneakyinvasion1…Qg4!exploitstheBb7’sabsolutepinonthef-pawntothreatenthekillercheck2…Bxf3+.If2.h3Qg3!closesthewhiteK’sairholeonh2;3.Bxf4Bxf3+4.Qxf3Qxf3+and5…Qxf4winsthequeenforjustarook,soWhiteresigned.

F.Bruno-VandenBersselaar,Gibraltar2009

Insteadofjusttakingtheh-pawn,WhiteusestheparalysisofthepinnedBf6toenteran‘impossible’squareandprytheblackkingfromthedefenseofhisbishop:1.Qg7+!winsinstantly.

Morphy-NN,NewOrleans1850

PaulMorphy,‘thekingofthedinosaurs’,wasfamedasadeadlyattacker,buthewasalsowayaheadofhispeersinunderstandingpositions,andwasgreatatendgames.Here,accesstoasneakykeysquareledtoaprettymatein3:1.Qc5+!Kb81…Kd72.Qxd6#.2.Qxd6+Qxd63.Bxd6#

CheckMovesTakesTakesBang!

Right-o!Ifyoucanseethatfarahead,youropponentsaretoast.

Isn’tthisearth-objectacookedpieceofbread?

Yeahright,Zort,justpopyouropponentinthetoaster!LOL!

Ehlvest-Kasparov,Moscow1977

ThispositionshowsKasparov’sincredibleboardsight.SupergrandmasterJaanEhlvestprobablythoughthewouldwinhere.True,hisqueenispinnedtotheKbytheRg7,butstrangely,thepinningrookisalsocaughtinanabsolutepinbytheBf6!

If1…Qf72.Qxg7+tradesoffallthepieces,andWhitewinswithhisextrapawn.ButGarrysawfarinadvancethatWhite’sattackisanopticalillusion:themonstersneakypin1…Qd1+!!winstheparalyzedqueenandmatesintwomoremoves!

Here’saverycommonandimportantpowermovebasedonasneakypin:

Strunsky-Michna,Deizisau2008

Blackhasenoughdefendersofhiscrucialf6pawn,butnotforlong:1.Qg5+!TheKmustretreatduetothesneaky-pinnedpawnf6:1…Kf82.Bxf6andBlackmustgivethequeentostop3.Qg7#.

Let’snotforgetoneofthemostimportantsneaky-pinmates.

R.Bauer-Bryan,NewEnglandOpen1997

Ifyoushowedthisproblemtotenkidsinyourschool,Ibetonlyoneortwoatmostwouldfindthesolution!It’sreallyjustaTakesTakesBang!idea,butyouneedgreatboardsighttoconsidertheforcingqueensacrifice,andthennoticethewinningsneakypin.BobbyFischerincludedthisideainhisneatlittlebook,BobbyFischerTeachesChess.

Blackwasn’tworriedsomuchabout1.Bxf7+?Kh8!(butnot1…Rxf72.Rd8+andmate)whenBlackthreatensbackrankmate,therookandthec5pawn.After2.Re4!WhiteisstillbetterbutBlackmayhold.Buthemissedamuchmoreforcingmoveandlearnedanewmasterstockcheckmateusingasneakypin:

1.Qxf7+!Rxf72.Rd8#!Thesneaky-pinnedRf7can’tinterpolate.Rememberthisbeautifulmatethatseemstoexplodeontotheboardoutofnowhere!Itshowshowstrongasneakypincanbe.

Bytheway,a‘stockcheckmate’isonethatoccursoverandoverinmasterplay,thoughitmaybeverybeautifulandsurprisingwhenyoufirstseeit!MyadultchessbookForcingChessMoveshastwochaptersonstockmastermates,andmanyotherfinebookshavebeenwrittenjustaboutthem.Afteryou’velearnedallthemastertacticsinPowerChessBookOneandBookTwo,studyingmoreofthesemateswouldbeagreatnextstep!

Sneaky-PinSquareInvasions:Exercises

Averysneakysquareattack–lookclosely!

Useasneakypintoinvadean‘impossible’squareforquickcheckmate.

Sneaky-PinSquareInvasions:Solutions

Mahescandra-Cochrane,Calcutta1851

AdoublepinletsBlackenteranoff-limitssquare–andattackeverythinginsight!Thesetwodinosaursplayedhundredsofgamesagainsteachotherinthe1850’s.ThemorefamousCochranewonmostofthegames,buthisdangerousIndianopponentalsoscoredsomebeautifulwins.

Blackfound1…Ne3!forkingtheQ&Randthreateningmateong2!Whiteresignedbecausethetworelativepinswillcosthimhisqueen:2.Bxe3(2.fxe3Qg2#)2…Rxc2.

Bareev-Kasparov,Parisrapid1991

Inthisrapid-playgame,apowerfulsuper-grandmasteroverlookedBlack’s‘sneaky-pinaccess’toakeymatingsquare:

1…Rg3!threatens2…Qxg2#.Thepinnedf-pawn’sdefenseofg3isanopticalillusion,andif2.Bf3Qxf3!thewhiteg2pawnisnowpinnedandparalyzedaswell!Mateiscoming,soWhitegaveup.

ParalyzingPins

Somepinsaresostrongandunbreakable,theydominatethewholeposition.Hereareafewexamplesofthesesuperpins,includingthefamous‘eternalpin’:

Horwitz-Harrwitz,London1846

Black’stwopowerfulbishopsrakeWhite’skingsideandpintheN,whilethesorryBh2isalsopinned.Blackpilesupwith1…Rh6andWhiteresigns,pinnedtodeath!

Nijboer-Solodovnichenko,Utrecht2009

Thisoneissopretty,let’swakeZortupandseethecomputer-eyeview:

YesmasterHertan,I’msurethatearthkidswilllovethisbeautifulparalyzingpinmate.1.Rxh3!,takingthebishop,wasagreatpowermove,becauseBlack’sanswerappearstowinWhite’squeen,butWhitehadlookeddeeper.

1…dxc5!ThisdiscoversanattackonWhite’squeen,whichcan’tmoveawaywithoutlosingtherookond1.On2.Qxd8+Bd83.Rxd8+Rf8,accuratetwomovecalculationshowsthatWhitegetsjustrookandbishopfortheQ,notenough!So,hasWhitemadeabigmistake?

Positionafter1…dxc5:isthequeenlost?2.Rdh1!!

Afour-starpowermove!Whitehasforeseenthatthelossofhisqueendoesn’tmatter–shepinstheRf7justlongenoughtopreventBlack’skingfromescapingmateonh8.Blackresigneddueto2…Rxd53.Rh8#.

‘EternalPins’

Eternalmeansforever.Someabsolutepinsaresostrong,theycanneverbebrokenwithoutlossofmaterialormate.Suchamonsterpinalmostalwayswins.

Sarkar-BarrosLizcano,BocaRaton2008

Whitehasamuchstrongerideathanrecapturingthepawn:1.Bg4!Kd8Forced,toprotectthebishop.2.Be6Thismovewasn’tstrictlynecessary,butitillustratesBlack’shelplessness.Thereisnowayforhimtoescapethepinwithoutlosinghisbishop!2…Kc7allows3.Rxc8+,winningthebishopaswellasskeweringandwinningtherook!SoBlack’skingisgluedtod8,whilehisrookisgluedtothec-file.Thewhitekingcanstopthee-pawn,andthenWhitepusheshisa-pawnallthewayuptomakeaqueen,sinceallthreeblackpiecesarestuck!Ican’tblameBlackforcommittingharakiriwith2…Rf33.Rxc8#.

Henrichs-OpdenKelder,Maastricht2009

White’sextraknightdoesn’tmeanathinghere,becausetheabsolutepinsonthebackrankandthea7-g1diagonaltieWhiteinknots!Whiteout-ratedhisopponentby235points,butresignedbecause…d2iscoming,e.g.1.Qf3(Blackwasalsothreateningthepowermovecombo1…Rxf1+!2.Kxf1Qc1+andmate)1…d2!2.Qxe3Bxe3andneitherpinnedwhitepiececantakethepawn;or1.Qxe6+Qxe62.Bxe6Rc2,adecisivepile-uppin.

Here’sthebestexampleeverofaneternalpin.

J.Kaplan-Bronstein,Hastings1975/76

Youandmecanunderstandthispositionbetterthananycomputer!

Ohyeah??

SorryZort,butit’strue!Yousee,computersarethebestatcalculatingvariations,butthere’sonethingwe’regreatatthattheycan’tdo:comingupwithgreatideasthatsometimesletusunderstandthewholepositionwithoutcalculatingvariations.

Duh,greatideas:that’showweinventedcomputers,right?

Youinventedus?ButIwastoldmyfather’sharddriveinterfacedwithmymother’ssoftware,andthat’showIwasborn.Excuseme,Ihavesomeresearchtodo.

Anyway…wecanuseourgreathumanideastosolvethisposition.Therookond2ispinnedbythebishop,andneitherthewhitekingnorRd1canmakeanymovesthatdon’tlosetherookfornothing.Ifwecankeephimboxeduplikethat,hewillonlyhavepawnmovesleft,andwhenherunsoutofthose,byebyerook!

Here’sthehardpart–canyouseehowWhitemighttrytoescapethepin?Ifitwerehismoveheplays1.c4!,then2.c3and3.Kc2.SoBlackjustpreventsthiswith1…c4!

Astronghumanknowsthiswins,butacomputerdoesn’tyet!Hecanonly

evaluatethepositionbycomputingvariations,sohehastolookat1.a3,1.a4,1.h3,1.h4,etc.,andallBlack’sreplies,andeventuallyhefiguresitoutthehardway!ButKaplanresigned,becauseaftersay1.a4a52.g4Be33.h4h6therookfallsinafewmoremoves.

Pin-Busters

We’veexploredalldifferentkindsofpins,sonowyouknowwhypinsarethemostdangerousmastertactic.Butincaseyoustartthinkingthatpinsmakewinningeasy,wemustmentionthatnotallpinsaredecisive,orevenstrong!Oftenpinscanbebrokenbycapturingthepinningpiece,interposingapiecebetweenthepinnerandthepinned,orinthecaseofrelativepins,bymovingthepinnedpieceanywaytocreateacounter-threat.

Forinstance,intheFrenchDefense1.e4e62.d4d5,after3.Nc3thesharpestlineforBlackistheWinawerVariation3…Bb4,pinningtheknightwhichdefendsWhite’se-pawn.

WinawerFrench:3…Bb4

ButifWhiteinsteadplaysthestrongTarraschVariation1.e4e62.d4d53.Nd2,nowthepin3…Bb4?wouldbeaveryweakmove:

TarraschFrench:3…Bb4?

Thepinisbadhere,becauseWhiteeasilybreaksitwiththeinterpolation4.c3!.NotonlyistheblackBattackedandforcedtomoveagain,butWhitegetsintheveryusefulmovec3‘forfree’,supportinghiscenterandopeningadiagonalforthequeen.Infact,thisstrongpin-busteristhewholepointofTarrasch’svariation3.Nd2,supportingthecenterpawnwhileavoidingWinawer’spin.

AgoodexampleofescapingarelativepinbymovingthepinnedpieceanywaytomakeastrongerthreatisthefamousLegal’sMate:

1.e4e52.Nf3d63.Bc4Bg4?!It’sdangeroustoplaythispinningmoveherebecauseitdelayscastlinganddevelopingtheknightslongerthanusual.4.Nc3h6??Butthismoveleadstodisaster.Intheopening,everymoveshouldhelpyoudevelopyourbishopsandknightsandcastle!ThismovedoesnothingtohelpBlackmobilize.Whiteisalreadyabletopunishthemistakewithpowerfulpin-bustertactics,sacrificinghisqueen!

5.Nxe5!Bxd1?Betteris5…dxe56.Qxg4,butthenWhitehaswonapawnwithagreatposition.6.Bxf7+Ke77.Nd5#

Legal’sMate

Problemcomposerscallthisan‘idealmate’,becauseeachoftheking’s5escapesquaresisguardedbyonlyonepiece.

Foryou,it’sagoodreminderthatrelativepinscansometimesbeignored,tomakeastrongerthreatlikemate.

Hereareafewmoreneatexampleswhereplayersescapedpinsandturnedthetables.Ifsomeonecatchesyouinadangerouspin,don’tgiveup–lookforpowermoves!

Meitner-Blackburne,Vienna1873

TheBe6ispinned,butBlackescapeswith1.5powermovecalculation:1…Qf6!Threatens2…Qxb2#andunpinstheBe6,soBlackkepthisextrapiece.

L.Paulsen-Steinitz,Vienna1873

1…h5!forcedthewhiteQtogiveuptheabsolutepinontheknight,andtheextrablackNgotaway.

Coolpowermove!ButI’mstillgoingtouselotsofpinsinmygamesfromnowon!

Greatidea!That’sthebestwaytolearnpowermoves,andwinmoregameswhileyou’reatit.

Pin-Busters:Exercises

WhydidthesixthWorldChampionBotvinnik,playingwithblack,allowapile-uppinofhisNe2?

Atoughone!WintheQ,orcheckmateinfourwiththetworooks.

Pin-Busters:Solutions

Lilienthal-Botvinnik,Moscow1945

ThegreatchampionMikhailBotvinnikused1.5powermovecalculationtofindawinningpin-buster.1…Nc3!escapesthepindueto2.Rxe3Rb1#!Whiteresignedsinceheisdowntwopawnswithnogoodmoves.

DingLiren-LiShilong,XinghuaJiangsu2010

ThevaluesshowWhitehasawinningedge,butbeinguptheexchangecanbetoughtocashin.Whitefoundabrilliantpin-busterthatmadeBlackresign.1.Rg3!Qxe2Blackmightaswelltakethequeen;if1…Qe82.R3xg7+thewhiteR’saretoostrong.2.Rcxg7+!Kh83.Rg8+Kh74.R3g7#!

Thisstockmaster‘doublerookmate’isagreatonetoremember!Playitoverafewtimessoyou’llrememberitforfutureuse.

Chapter4

Skewers

‘Moveoutofmyway,enemypiece,soIcantakeyourfriend!’

Askewerislikeapinturnedinsideout.

PinInthispositiontherookispinnedtotheking.Whitewinstheexchangeafter1…Kf7.

Skewer

Herewesaythekingandrookareskeweredonthediagonal.Thekingmustmove,andthenthebishopwilltaketherook,whichbecomesexposedonthesameline.Noticethatinthiscase,theskewerisevenstrongerthanthepin–Whitewinsawholerook.

So,ifweputthesediagramsintowords–inthecaseofthepin,therookcan’tmovebecauseit’spinnedtotheking,soWhitewinsrookforbishop.Inthecaseoftheskewer,thekinghastomove(becauseit’sincheck),whichthenexposesthepiecebehindittocapture.

Haveyouevereatenthefamousmiddleeasternfood,shishkebab?It’sadeliciousdishwithcubesofmeatandvegetablesgrilledonastraightstick.Thestickthatrunsthroughthejuicymorselsiscalledaskewer.Sowhenyouskewertwoormoreenemypiecesonthesameline,it’slikemakingshishkebabonthechessboard!Aswithpins,thethreepiecesthatmoveasfarastheywantonastraightlinearetheonlychessmenthatcanmakeaskewer:bishop,rook,andqueen.

BishopSkewers

Kasparov-Beliavsky,ReggioEmilia1991/92

Theskewer1.Bf4!winstheexchangeafter1…Qb52.Bxb8,soBlackgaveup.

Purnama-ZhangZhong,Tarakan2008

Whitehasjusttakenarookonf8,butBlacknoticedsomethingveryimportant.Insteadofrecapturingtheknight,hehasabettermove.InmybookForcingChessMovesIcallthisanequalorstrongerthreat(‘EST’forshort).Theskewer1…Bc6!2.Ne6+Kg8!winsthequeen,becauseif3.Qd4Qxg2ismate.Good1.5powermovecalculation,eh?

Goodboardsight,too!

Stanley-Rousseau,NewOrleans1845

Blackregainedtheexchangewith1…Bf5!2.Qb3Bxb13.Qxb1b6andwassoonuptwopawnsfornothing.

Cochrane-Mahescandra,Calcutta1854

AgoodmomentfortheIndiandinosaur;hefoundaCheckMovesBang!combinationendinginabishopskewer:1…Re4+2.Kg3Bh4+winningarook.

Petrov-VonJaenisch,St.Petersburg1844

AnotherCheckMovesBang!skewerwinsthequeenbysackingaknight:

1.Qh5+!Kxe7If1…Kf62.Bg5+Kg73.Nxf5+,thequeenfallsanyway.2.Bg5+,a‘royalskewer’ofK+Q.

RookSkewers

Sincerookchecksonthebackrankaresocommon,skewersoftenhappenthere.

Blass-Friedmann,Lodz1927

Whiteconvertedacrushingattackontheh-filewithaR‘skew’:1.Rh8+Kf72.Rxe8.

PrietoAzuar-FalconLugo,SanJuan1971

Blackisuptheexchange,but1.Qh4!threatenstoskewerthequeenorgivemate.Black’sgooseiscooked,soheresigned.

Whatif1…g5?Oops,Iseeit:2.Rh8+Kf73.Qh7#.Nevermind!

Nicejob!CheckMovesBang!

WhyisBlackcookingagoose?Ishemakingshishkebab?

Oh,shushZort,I’lltellyoulater.

Schmidt-Barle,Pula1975

SeeingthatBlack’squeenattackstheRc3,manykidswouldmovetherookfirstandaskquestionslater!Icallthis‘knee-jerkdefense’:defendingwithoutcheckingforbettermoves.Instead,analyzetheforcingcheck1.Qh8+!:Whitetradesqueens,thenskewersawholerookin1.5powermoves!

Dobrov-I.Almasi,Oberwart2000

Here’sanotherimportantidea;Whiteusesamatethreattocatchthelooseblackrookinaskewer:1.Rd2!Whiteisalreadyuptheexchange,butnowhewinsalotmorewiththisforcingmoveattackingtheB.1…Be62.R2h2!Threateningthestockdouble-rookmate3.Rh8+and4.R2h7#.Blackcanescapewith2…Kf8,but3.Rh8+skewersawholerook.

Whitehadotherwinningpossibilitieswiththesametheme:1.Rh3,or1.Kb2and2.Rg1–butnot1.Rg1??rightawaybecauseoftheknightfork1…Ne2+.

Theseventhrowistheotherbestplaceforarookskewer:

Metger-Tarrasch,Frankfurt1887

Blackfindsabettermovethanrecapturingtheknight:1…Rb1+!Thepassedpawnonthe7throwlimitsWhite’soptions–hemusttakeoritqueens.2.Kxd2Rb2+!0-1

Carlsen-Ivanchuk,Nice2010

InthisinstructiveexampleacheckonthebackrowforcesWhiteintoaskeweronBlack’sseventhrow.ThewinneristhegreatUkrainianGMVassilyIvanchuk.

1…Qxb5!!2.axb5Rxa1+3.Kf2Ra2+Whiteregainsthequeenwithanextra

piece.

Youknowbynowthatrooksdon’tonlygobblethingsonthebackrows–theyalsolovetoinvadeonopenfiles!Herearesometypicalverticalskewers:

T.Reiter-Radfar,Vienna2008

Averticalskewerpilesuponthee2knightandwins:1…Re8+!0-1

Lupor-Naumann,BadWiessee2008

Anotherverticalskewerbytherook;thistimewithoutacheck:1…Rf8!

Welling-Bronstein,Bussum1991

Here’satrickyone.Rememberwesaidthatmovingbackwardsissometimesthestrongestpowermove?GrandmasterBronsteinprovedithere:1…Be8!2.Qh6Thequeenhastogoontheh-filebecause2.c3Bxg63.cxd4Bxd3+wins.2…Rh8!Awinningskewer!Aquickcountshowstherookisdouble-protectedbytheBandQ,and3.Bh7?allows3…Rxh7!4.Qxh7?Qxd1#.

QueenSkewers

Yes,themightyqueenisgreatatskewerstoo!Shecanskewerpiecesonthefile,rank,ordiagonal,givinghertwicethechancesofarookorbishop!

Thequeenlovesback-rankskewersjustliketherook,becausetheenemykingisoftenfoundthere.Inthenextexamples,thegrandmasterlurestheopposingqueenintopositionforacrushingskewerontheeighthrow:

Bareev-Morozevich(variation),Moscow2005

1.Rxb8!White’sQisprotectedbythesneakypin.1…Qxb82.Qg8+.AniceTakesTakesBang!idea.Interestingly,reversingthemoveorderdoesn’twork:1.Qg8+?Kd72.Rxb8(2.Qxd8+Rxd8)2…Qxg83.Rxg8Bxc4withawinforBlack!

Here’sasimplebutbeautiful1.5powermovecombinationthatiseasytomissbecauseitisverycreative–youmustuseyourimaginationtoevenconsiderthewinningfirstmove,whichseemstojustlosearook.

LiChao-XuJun,Beijing2009

1…Rf1+!!2.Qxf1Qa1+bagsthequeen!Becauseofdangerouscheckslikethis,kingsafetyisabigadvantageinqueenandrookendgames.

ThisistheclearestandmostforcingwinforBlack.Thisiswhatwemeanbygoodboardsight:seeingwhatallthepiecescando,andnotforgettingapowermovelike1…Rf1+!!justbecauseitlooksimpossible!Useyourimaginationtocomeupwithneatpossibilitieslikethis.

Kasparov-Hübner,Hamburg1985

Itstartswithasimplebackrankskewer:1.Qh8+Kf72.Qxd8

ButwhydidtheGermansuper-GMHübnerresignnow,whenhecantakebackapiecethreeways?Answer:winningpowermovesineveryline!

Kasparov-Hübnerafter2.Qxd8

A. 2…Kxg63.Bh5+Kh63.Bf7#;B. 2…Rxg63.Rh7+Ke6(or3…Rg74.Bh5+andmate)4.Qe8+skewerstheQ;

butevenstrongeris4.Qd7+or4.Qc8+withmatein4;C. 2…Qxd13.Ne5+(also3.Nh8+)3…Ke64.Rh6+mates.

WishIcouldcalculatelikeGarry!

Ican.

Ohyeah?Well,Icaneatyourmicroprocessorsforlunch.

OK,settledownguys!Don’tforget:itallstartswithseeing1.5powermovesahead.

Queenskewersonthe7throwarealsoverycommon.

Levin-Dvoretsky,Kharkov1967

Abeautiful2.5powermovecombinationsetsupawinningskewer:1.Nd7!!Agoodtry,butnotgoodenough,is1.Rh7+Nxh72.Qxh7+Kf6!3.Nd7+Kg5.ButnowBlackresigns!Thethreatis2.Rh7+Nxh73.Qxh7#.If1…Nxd72.Rh7#,buton1…Qxd72.Rh7+Nxh73.Qxh7+isaqueen-wins-queenskewer.

Chigorin-Zukertort,London1883

White’skinghastakenabadwalkintono-man’sland.Onewaytowinwouldbethepile-uppin1…c5,butBlackchoosesacrispskewertrickwinningthequeen:1…Rxd4+2.Kxd4Qg4+

DidyounoticethattheBb7prevents3.Re4?

Inoticed.MyplanetZugzwangisalsono-man’sland:onlycomputerslivethere.

Well,duh!Hewasn’ttalkingtoyou,silly!Everyoneknowsyouhaveperfectcomputerboardsight.ButIcankickyourbuttinfootball!Hah!

DiagonalQueenSkewers

Here’sanotherqueenskeweronthebackrank–butthistimeadiagonalone.

Rousseau-Kolisch,Paris1867

1…Qb1+Noticehowtheadvancede-pawnhelpsBlack’sattack!Forcedis2.Ke2Qd1+!spearingthequeenonthediagonal.

ZhouWeiqi-YuYangyi,Beijing2009

WhitefindsaCheckMovesBang!combinationtoforceBlackintoawinningdiagonalskewer:1.Qf8+Ke62.Qc8+!1-0

WinningtheQwasgreat,butWhitemissedcheckmate:1.Qe7+!Kg82.Qf8+Kh73.Qf7+Kh6(3…Kh84.Bb2#)4.Bf8+Kh55.Qh8#.

Skewersarealsocalledx-rayattacksbecausetheyseemtoattackonepiecerightthroughanother!Mostbooksdon’tmentionthis,butthere’salsosuchathingasan‘x-raydefense’:

Stefanova-Peptan,Moscow1995

DidyouspotWhite’sdeadlythreat1.Qh7#?Blackfoundafantasticmovethatdefendsh7right‘through’White’squeen,andmakeswinningcounterthreats!1…Qb1!!2.Qe2

Theblackqueencaptureson2.Qg6+or2.Qh7+,andtheback-rankdeflection2.Qxb1Rf1ismate.2…Qd1!

AnotherdeflectionmoveforcesWhitetoresign,becauseshecan’tdefendboththef1matesquareandthebishop.MoredeflectionsarecominginBook2.

Bashilin-Podzielny(variation),Essen2000

X-raydefensesaren’tonlygoodforstoppingtheopponent’sthreat–they’realsoagoodwaytoprotectyourownattackers.Blackcan’tavoidcheckmatehereduetotheBf6’sx-raydefenseofthekeyh8-square.Thebiggestthreatis1.Qh8+!!Bxh82.Rxh8#,andon1…Bxf62.exf6,mateonh8iscominganyway.

Here’saverycoolqueensacversionofthesamecommonmastertactic:

Nilsson-Henriksen,Copenhagen1996

Thestellarpowermove1.Qf6!!forcesmate,thankstotheQ’sx-raypressureonh8.Noticethat2.Rh8+isthreatened,andthekingcan’twalkaway:1…Bxf62.gxf6Kf83.Rh8#.

Skewers:Exercises

Twoskewersleadtomate.

Findawinningverticalskewer.

Skewers:Solutions

Weissgerber-Schmitt,Aachen1934

BlackresignedbeforeWhitecouldplayhiscrushing‘one-twopunch’:arookskewer,aqueenskewer,andmate!1.Rh8+Ke72.Qg5+Kd73.Qxd8#

Uusi-Kalashian,Moscow1959

1.Rd2!wasatypicalskewertrapbytherookonanopenfile.ThekeyNe4protectstheRandpreventsthedefense1…Qf6,soBlacklosesthequeenortherook.

Skewers:Exercises

A‘skewertrick’-sacrificetowin.

TakesTakesBang!

Skewers:Solutions

Parr-Broadbent,Nottingham1946

Blackisupalotofmaterial:3minorpiecesforarook.Whitebetterhavesomethinggooduphissleeve,andhedoes,awinningskewertrick:1.Rxf7+!Kxf7On1…Kd8thequeenfallswithcheck.2.Qh7+1-0

Nakamura-S.Muhammad,SanDiego2004

Thegamelookseven,buttheyoungAmericansuperGMhasforeseenawinningskewertrick:1.Rxd6!(Takes)1…Kxd6(Takes)2.Bf4+(Bang!)emergingwithanextrabishop!

Nothingischangedby1…Rb42.Bf4!Rxc43.Rd4+!–awinningdiscoveredcheckwhichwewillcoverinBook2.

Chapter5

InterferenceMoves

‘Sorrybuddy,youcan’tstopmythreat:I’llstepinyourway!’

You’vemasteredthefirstthreemastertactics,andarereadytotrythemoutinyourgames!Thepin,forkandskeweraresometimescalledthe‘geometrictactics’.Themovesofthechessmenallmakedifferentshapesorpatterns(likestraightlines,diagonals,orL-shapes),andthefirstthreetacticsarebasedonthewayeachpiecemoves.(Wecallthem‘geometric’becausegeometryisthebranchofmaththatdealswithshapes.)

Lotsofkids’booksonlycoverthegeometrictactics,butwewillgomuchfurtherandcoverallthetacticaltricksthatwingames.Theseadvancedmastertacticsaren’treallybasedonthegeometryofthepieces;theyaremoreaboutspecialideasthatcanbeusedbyanypiece(excepttheking!)tosacrificeitselfformateormaterialgain.

Thefirstadvancedmastertacticwewillstudyistheinterferencemove.Thesemovesputoneofyourpiecesinthewayofanenemypiece,soitcan’tstopyoufromcheckmatingorwinningmaterial.Usuallythisinvolvesasurprisingsacrifice.Ifyounoticethatonlyoneenemypiecepreventsyoufromdoingsomethinggreat,thereareseveralthingsyoucantrytogetpastit.Thesimplestwaysarechasingitawayortradingitoff,andifyoucandothat,great.Butoftenthere’snoeasywaytogetridofakeydefender,soyouwillhavetoconsidertwotactics–theinterferencemove,orthedeflectionsacrifice,whichweconsiderinBook2.

Peptan-Genzling,Kallithea2008

Whentheothergirlhasaweakbackrank,almostanypowermovetacticmaybetherightonetobreakthrough.White’sstrongdoubledrookscan’tdothejobthemselves,becausee8isprotectedtwice.ButWhiteseestheflawinBlack’sdefenses;thebishoptakingone8willinterferewiththeblackR’sprotectionoff8,lettingthewhiteQflyin:1.Re8+!Bxe82.Qf8#!(or1…Rxe82.Rxe8+Bxe83.Qf8#)

Alwayslookoutforsuchshockingpowermoveswhenonlyoneenemypiecestopsback-rankmate!

Lushovsky-Griedner,USSR1976

BlackhopedtowinWhite’squeenhere.Shecan’tmovedueto1…Qg2#.ButWhitesawthatonlytheblackQdefendsagainst1.Rc8#,andhefoundaninterferencemovesostunningthatBlackneversawitcoming:1.g4!!andBlackmustlosehisqueentostopbackrowmate(e.g.,1…h62.Qxh3).

OMG!That’sthecraziestpowermoveever!!

Zukertort-Steinitz,London1883

Thesetwoheavy-hittingdinosaurssluggeditoutinalongmatchfortheworldchampionship.HereBlacksawthaton1…Qe1+,Whitemustinterposewith2.Qg1.SoBlackputshispawninthewayofthewhiteQ:1…b6!renewsthematethreat,whilestoppingthedefense2.Qa5.2.Kg1Qe1#isstillbackrankmate,soWhiteresigned.

G.Szabo-Anderssen,London1851

Onemoreexamplewhereasimplepawnpushinterferedwiththequeen’sdefense:1…d5!2.g4(elsemateong2)2…Qf4matingonh2next!

Simagin-Novotelnov,Moscow1951

HereWhite’smatingchancesareagainsttheg7pawninsteadofthebackrank.Whiteseesthatbymovinghisbishophethreatens2.Qxg7#byuncoveringanattackbytheRg2,butwheretogo?If1.Bh7+,1…Qxh7!protectsagainstthemate,and1.Be8allows1…Qh6!.

Buttheinterferencesac1.Bh5!getsinthewayofthequeen’sdefenses!Blackresignsbecause1…Qxg2+,losingthequeen,istheonlyreasonablewaytostop2.Qg7#.

DeLaBourdonnais-McDonnell,London1834

HowdidpoorWhiteendupfourpawnsdownandunderamatingattack?Well,thedinosaursdidn’tliketoresign,andWhiteistryingtowinbacktheexchangewiththeskewerBc1.

Butthecrushingbomb1…Re3!(or1…Be3!)interfereswiththewhiteQ’sprotectionoftheBh3andmatesfast:2.fxe3Rxh3+3.Kg2Qh2#

Takethat,queen!

Asyoucansee,interferencemovesusuallyworkbestwhenonlyoneenemypieceisstoppingyourverybigthreat.

SaintAmant-Morphy,Paris1858

MorphyseesthatonlyWhite’sQc3prevents1…Qxh3+and2…Qg2#.Hecan’tbudgethewhiteQ,butfindshecanputsomethinginherway:1…Rd3!

‘ThinkyourQstopsmymatethreat?Notanymore!’2.Qxd3Sadlyforcedtostopthemate.2…Nxd33.Bxd3Qd6+forkingK+Bwithaneasywin.

HerethewhiteKisstrippedbare,andonlythefarawaywhiteQstops…Qh2#.BlackputsamonkeywrenchinWhite’sdefense:

Kashlinskaya-Nagibin,Sochi2009

1…Rf4!(or1…Rxe5)andevengivingthequeenwith2.Qxf4onlydelays…Qh2#.

Shamkovich-VisierSegovia,PalmadeMallorca1967

Whiteisawholerookup,sowhydoesn’tBlackresign?Well,lookcloser:Blackthreatens1…Rh2#.

After1.g5+Kh5!renewsthethreatbypreventingthewhiteKfromescapingtog4.IsWhitetrapped?No,hespringsabigsurprise:theinterferencemove2.Rg3!stopsthemateforonemove,timeenoughforWhitetostrikefirst:2…Bxg33.Bf3#!

finalposition

Larsen-Tal,Leningrad1973

Usuallyit’senoughtointerferewithakeydefender,butheretheinterferingpiecemadeanewthreattoo!1…Rfe5!BlackcutsthewhiteQ’sdefenseoftheg3pawn,andalsoattackse2

2.Kf22.e4isnobetter;Blackcantakeenpassant,orcapturetwowhitepawnswithcheck.2…Rxe2+!ATakesTakesBang!sacleadstoacrushingskewer:3.Rxe2Qh2+4.Kf1Rxe2Andmatewiththequeenong2orf2.(Sorry,Zortisgettingscheduledmaintenance.Pleaseplaythisoneout,it’sreallygood.)

Sofarwe’veseenhowtocreateamatingattackbyputtingyourpieceinthewayofanenemydefender.Interferenceisalsousedtowindecisivematerial:

Short-Harikrishna,Montreal2007

White’sNg6hasfallenintoadeadlypinbythebishop.Blackcouldsimplypileupwithathirdattackerandwinitwith1…Qe8!,buthepickedafancierway:1…Ne4!InterferingwiththeBd3’sprotectionoftheN.Whiteresignedbecauseon2.Nxe4Bxg6!winsapiece;if3.Nxf6+Qxf6protectstheBandkeepsthematerial.

Buckle-Williams,London1849

Theinterferencemove1.Nd7!shatteredBlack’sdefensebycuttingofftheB’sprotection.If1…Ba62.Nxf6+,soBlackhadtotake:1…Nxd72.Rxb7ButnowtheNispinnedtotherookandlostontheseventhrank.

L.Paulsen-Bird,Vienna1873

WhitehasmanywaystobreakBlack’sdefenses,butcanyoufindthestrongest1.5powermoveinterferenceshot?1.Rf6!gxf62.Qxe6+ForksK+R,leavingWhiteapieceahead.

Bird-Rosenthal,Paris1878

Here’sastrangeone:aninterferencemoveforthedefense!White’spawnsarepoisedtoqueen,buthemuststop1…Rxg2+mating.Theinterferencemove1.Rg4!unpinsthewhiteg-pawnsohecantakethequeenon1…fxg42.gxf3gxf3+3.Ng4.Blackresignedbecause1…Rxg42.hxg4or1…Qe22.Rxg7leadtoanewQforWhite.

Kasparov-Georgiev,Munichblitz,1994

Thispowermoveusestwomastertacticsinone:1.d6!wonapiecebyinterferingwiththequeen’sprotection.If1…Qmoves,2.Bxc5.Orif1…Bxd62.Bxb6,theblackBhasbeendeflectedfromdefendingtheknight(seeBook2!).

Interferencemoveshaveaveryimportantroleintheendgame:theyareoftenusedtogetinthewayofakeydefenderandforcethepromotionofapawnintoaqueen.

Bodnaruk-Sharevich,Sochi2009

Whitecandoevenbetterthanwinningarookwith1.a8=Q.Sheplaystheinterferenceidea1.Nd7+Kd62.Nb8!andgetstokeephernewqueen.

Cool,Ilikekeepingthequeen!

NguyenHuynhMinh-RecueroGuerra,Budapest2008

Here’sareallyimportantendgamesituation.IfBlackcouldjustgiveuphis

bishopforthepawnhewoulddraw,sincealoneknightcan’tdelivermate.Thesolutionistointerferewiththebishop’sprotectionofa7:1.Kb7Bd4If1…Ke6,quickestis2.Kxa7Kxd73.Kb7!andqueens.2.Nb6!andthepawnishomefree.

InterferenceMoves:Exercises

Winthequeenormatewithacrispinterferencesac.

Useinterferencetoqueenapawn.

InterferenceMoves:Solutions

Blackburne-Pitschel,Vienna1873

Blackiswinningwith4wholepawnsfortheexchange,buthedoesn’tletWhitehangaround,finishinghimoffwithaninterferencesacrificeandanunusualbackrankmate:1…Nc3+!On1…Qb1+thewhiteQcaninterposewith2.Qc1,sotheNinterferes.2.bxc32.Kc1Qb1#;only2.Qxc3avoidsinstantmate.2…Qb1#

WangJue-ZhangXiaowen,XinghuaJiangsu2009

Blackfinishesupwiththeinterferencemove1…Bh6!andthepawnqueens.If2.Rg8+Bg7+oranykingmoveworks;therookcan’tgetback.

InterferenceMoves:Exercises

Wintwopiecesforarookwithaneatinterference,plusapin.

Interferewithakeydefenderandplayformate.

InterferenceMoves:Solutions

Anand-Shirov,WijkaanZee2010

Theinterferenceshot1.Rd5!Bxd52.Qxe5!forcedBlack’sBintoadeadlypin.Blackresignedbecauseheendsupafullpiecebehind.

Gilg-Nimzowitsch,Karlsbad1929

Blackcrashesthroughwith1…Nfe3+!2.fxe3Qxf3+3.Kh2Nxe3threatening4…Qg2#,andon4.Rg1thediscoveredattack(withcheck!)4…Ng4+or4…Nf1+bagsthequeen.StaytunedforawholeboatloadofdiscoveredchecksinBook2.

Iwill–butrightnowI’vegottogobashsomeopponentswithallthepowermovesIalreadylearned!

ChessTermsAttackWhenapieceisthreatenedbycaptureorakingisthreatenedbycheckmate.

BackrankThefirstrank(forWhite)ortheeighthrank(forBlack)ontheboard.

BlitzgameQuickgameinwhicheachplayergetsfiveminutes(orless)forallhismoves.

BoardsightTheabilitytomentallyenvisionwherethepiecesare,andwhattheycando,ateachstepofacalculation.

CaptureWhenapieceisremovedbyanenemypiece,whichtakestheplaceofthecapturedpiece.

CastlingAmovebykingandrookthatservestobringthekingintosafetyandtoactivatetherook.Thekingismovedsidewaystwosquaresfromitsoriginalsquare.Atthesametime,arookmovesfromitsoriginalsquaretothefirstsquareontheothersideoftheking.Castlingcantakeplaceeithertothequeensideortothekingside.Itistheonlywayofmovingtwopiecesinoneturn.Aplayermayonlycastleifboththekingandrookhavenotmovedbefore,hiskingisnotincheck,andhiskingdoesnotpassasquareonwhichitwillbeincheck.

Whitecastleskingside

Whitecastlesqueenside

CheckWhenakingisunderdirectattackbyanopposingpiece.Acheckcanbecounteredeitherbymovingtheking,orbycapturingthepiecethatgivesthecheck,orbyplacingapiecebetweenthekingandthepiecethatgivescheck.

CheckmateWhenakingisunderdirectattackbyanopposingpieceandthereisnowaytodealwiththethreat.

CombinationAcleverandmoreorlessforcedsequenceofmoveswhichusuallyresultsinanadvantagefortheplayerwhostartsthesequence.

CoverWhenapieceorasquareisprotectedfromattacks;assoonasanenemypiececapturesthecoveredpieceoroccupiesthecoveredsquare,itis(re)capturedbythecoveringpiece.Also:Protect.

DeflectionWhenapieceisluredawayfromanimportantsquare,file,rankordiagonal.

DiagonalAlineofsquaresrunningfromtoplefttobottomrightortheotherwayround(e.g.‘thea1-h8diagonal’,‘thelight-squareddiagonal’).

Directattack(orDirectthreat)Athreattocaptureanenemypieceorgivecheckmatenextmove,iftheopponentdoesnotstopit.Thefirstmoveofa‘TakesTakesBang!’or‘CheckMovesBang!’combinationalwaysmakesatleastonedirectattack,andoftentwo!

DoubleattackWhenonepieceisattackedbytwoenemypiecesatthesametime,orwhenonepieceattackstwoenemypiecesatthesametime(forthelatter,seealsoFork).

Doubled/tripledpawnsTwo/threepawnsofonecolouronthesamefile.

Endgame/EndingThefinalphaseofthegamewhenfewpiecesareleftontheboard.

EnpassantWhenapawnwhichhasjustmovedforwardtwosquaresfromitsoriginalsquare,iscapturedbyanenemypawnstandingimmediatelybesideit.Thiscapturingpawnthenoccupiesthesquarebehindthecapturedpawn.

Whitecapturesthed5pawnenpassant

Exchange

1.Whenbothsidescapturepiecesthatareofequalvalue.Synonymsare‘trading’or‘swapping’pieces.2.‘Winningtheexchange’meanswinningarookforabishoporknight,atwo-pointadvantage.

ExposedkingAkingunprotectedbyitsownpiecesand,especially,itsownpawns.

FileAlineofsquaresfromthetoptothebottomoftheboard(e.g.‘thee-file’).

ForcingmoveAmovethatlimitstheopponent’soptionsbymakingaconcretethreat,suchasmateorgainofmaterial.

ForkAttackingtwoormoreenemypiecessimultaneouslywiththesamepiece.

KingsideTheboardhalfonthewhiteplayer’sright(i.e.thee-,f-,g-andh-files).

MajorpieceAqueenorarook.

MateSeeCheckmate.

MatingnetAsituationwhereakingisattackedbyenemypiecesandintheendcannotescapethematethreat.

MiddlegameThephaseofthegamethatfollowsaftertheopeningandcomesbeforetheendgame.

MinorpieceAbishoporaknight.

OpenfileAverticalfilethatisn’tblockedbyone’sownpawns,usuallyagreatplacetoposttherooks.

OpeningThestartingphaseofthegame.

Perpetual(check)Anunstoppableseriesofchecksthatneitherplayercanavoidwithoutriskingaloss.Thismeansthatthegameendsinadraw.

PieceAllchessmenapartfromthepawns.Inthisbook,mostlyqueen,rook,bishopandknightaremeant,sincemanytacticalmotifs(sacrifices,forinstance)cannotbecarriedoutbyaking.

PinAttackonapiecethatcannotmoveawaywithoutexposingamorevaluablepiecebehindit.Pinstakeplaceonarank,fileordiagonal.

Queenside

Theboardhalfonthewhiteplayer’sleft(i.e.thea-,b-,c-andd-files).

RankAlineofsquaresrunningfromsidetoside(e.g.‘thethirdrank’).

SacrificeWhenmaterialisdeliberatelygivenupforothergains.

SkewerWhenapieceattackstwoenemypiecesthatstandonthesamerank,fileordiagonal,andthepieceinfrontisforcedtomove,exposingtheonebehindittocapture.

SquareOneofthe64sectionsonthechessboardthatcanbeoccupiedbyapawn,pieceorking.

StalemateWhenaplayerwhoisnotincheckhasnolegalmoveanditishisturn.Thismeansthatthegameendsinadraw.

Blackisstalemated

AbouttheAuthor

AmericanFIDEChessMasterCharlesHertanhasbeenteachingchesstokidsofallagesformorethanthreedecades.Hebelievesthatkids’greatenthusiasmandcapacityforlearningshouldbeencouragedineverywaypossible,usinghumor,apersonablestyle,andtop-notchinstructionthatrespectschildrens’innateabilitytoappreciatetheartisticbeautyofchess.

Mr.HertanauthoredtheadultchesstacticsbookForcingChessMoves(NewInChess2008),winneroftheprestigiousChessCaféBookoftheYearAwardfor2008,andcontributedachaptertoTheChessInstructor2009(NewInChess2008),acompendiumforchessteachers,coachesandparents.Healsoproducedandeditedapoetrybook,DreamCatcher:SelectedPoemsbyLynnKernan(Bunny&CrocodilePress,2006),andalsowritesaregulartacticscolumnforNewInChessMagazine.

HelivesinNorthampton,Massachusetts,andcanbecontactedatcehertan@rcn.com.

IndexofPlayersThenumbersrefertopages.

AAagaard20Addison34Ahern49Almasi,I.124Anand150Anderssen43-44,89,139Apsenieks18Areshchenko51

BBareev108,127Barle123Barnes88BarrosLizcano111Barry91Bashilin132Bauer,R.106Baumber72BecerraRivero53Becker74Beliavsky120Bernard46Bird45,144Bjerring80Blackburne92,115,148BlancoSanchez59Blass122Bocharev24Bodnaruk145Bogoljubow82Botvinnik118

Bredoff29Broadbent136Bronstein112,126Bruno,F.103Bryan106Buckle143

CCanal49,86Capablanca50,76Cardenas,E.59Carlsen39,83,103,125Chapman79Chigorin57,129Cochrane38,60,108,121Colle49

DDanielian77Daniels93DeLaBourdonnais140DeVere62Dean95Dehmelt65DelPozo8,18Diatsintos44DingLiren118Dobos,O.91Dobrov124Dvoretsky129

EEastwood72Ehlvest105Elianov98ElissaltCardenas37

FFalconLugo123

Farago,I.66Fedoruk55Fichtinger74Firman51Fischer29,34,36,47,67,87Forintos102Friedmann122Frisk51Fritz102

GGastein100Gelbfuhs30Genzling137Georgiev145Gheng52Gheorghiu87Gicin96Gilg150Gossip35Grant,J.48Griedner138Grigoryan,A.24Grünfeld76Gulko94Gunina61

HHansen,T.39Hansson102Harikrishna143Harrwitz109Henrichs111Henriksen132Hertan65Hertneck54Heyl62Horwitz109Hradsky51

Hübner128Hvenekilde80

IIvanchuk125

JJaenig64Jauregui8,18JiDan65Johner34

KKalashian134Kaplan,J.112Karnic,V.95Karpov94Kashlinskaya141Kasparov25,31,38,40,54-55,66,68-69,90,96,98,105,108,120,128,145Kieseritzky44Knezevic40Kolisch100,130Konnyu54Korsus48Kortchnoi79Kozel96Kozul98Kramer67Kron,G.99

LLaRota86Larsen142Lengyel54Leonardo53Levin129LiChao127LiShilong118Lilienthal118

LlanezaVega64Loewe42Lupor126Lushenkov57Lushovsky138

MMackenzie42,60Mahescandra38,108,121Mareck52Marshall50Mason42Matisons86Matlakov88Mayer,I.62McDonnell140McNab20McShane27,79Medley45Meitner115Menchik61,74,82Metger124Michna105Miroshnichenko77Mitzka89Mnatsakanian100Mongredien88Morawietz48Morozevich127Morphy104,140Motoc36Motoc-Mijovic36Muhammad,S.136

NNagibin141Naiditsch103Nakamura80,136Naumann126

Neubauer83Neumann27Neumann-Mayet27NgoTan99NguyenHuynhMinh146Nielsen61Nijboer109Nikolic,P.69Nilsson132Nimzovich61,150Nimzowitsch34NN104Novotelnov139

OObdrzalek12Olenin57OpdenKelder111

PParnell91Parr136Paulsen,L.102,116,144Paulsen,W.52Peptan131,137PerezdeAranda28Pert72Petrov122Pitschel148Podzielny132PonceLopez28Popert90PozoVera78PrietoAzuar123Puller92Purnama120

RRachels38

Radfar125Raud18RecueroGuerra146Reder89Reiter,T.125Robson53RodriguezLopez26Rosenthal57,60,144Rousseau62-63,121,130Ruck83RuyLopez53

SSaintAmant140Sämisch76Sarkar111Schallop52Scharler74Scheichenost12Schiffers35Schmidt123Schmitt134Schrems48SemprunMartinez78Serefidou99Severiukhina61Shamkovich141Sharevich145Shengelia79Shirov58,150Short68,143Short,S.49Shulman80Sikharulidze45Simagin139Simons42Smyslov47Sokolov,I.27Solodovnichenko109

Stabolewski66Stanley63,121Staunton60,90Stefanova131Stefansson25Steinitz30,116,138Stripunsky86Strunsky105Styazhkina99Svidler82Szabo,G.139Szabo,M.91Szen43Sznapik46

TTaimanov36Tal142Tarrasch124Thomsen90Tiviakov98Tkachiev82Topalov31TorresSamper37Treybal76

UUlko88Uusi134

VVaisser61VandenBersselaar103VassalloBarroche26Vetoshko96VisierSegovia141Volokitin84VonHeydebrandundderLasa63VonJaenisch69,122

Vorobiov58,84

WWalker93Wallenrath69WangJue148Ward72Weissgerber134Welling126Williams143Wyvill89

XXuJun127

YYakovich83Yoffie44YuYangyi131Yudasin66

ZZaichik45Zaitsev,A.100ZhangXiaowen78,148ZhangZhong120ZhaoXue78ZhouWeiqi65,131Zukertort129,138