Chess

Detective Press

Illustrations by Kevin Hempstead
Chess Strategy Workbook
A Blueprint for Developing the Best Plan

Copyright © 2010 by Todd Bardwick. Printed and bound in the
United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this
book shall be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means including information storage and retrieval
systems without permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Included in these reserved rights are publishing on the Internet
or in annotated databases. Published by Chess Detective Press,
1 Red Fox Lane, Englewood, Colorado 80111. 303-770-6696.
First Edition.

Second printing: 2016

www.ColoradoMasterChess.com


ISBN-13: 978-0-9761962-2-8


Library of Congress Control Number: 2010911027

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
upon request
 DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to chess students everywhere who
will use these strategies to improve their chess skills and
enjoyment of the game as well as apply the lessons learned
through chess to help them succeed and make logical decisions
in everyday life.

May your pieces find the right squares and your king always
be safe!





 Contents

INTRODUCTION


GENERAL CONCEPTS

LESSON 1: PIECE PLACEMENT
Problems

LESSON 2: BEING OBSERVANT
Problems

LESSON 3: EXCHANGING AND COUNTING
Problems


TYPES OF ADVANTAGES

LESSON 4: KING SAFETY
Problems

LESSON 5: MATERIAL
Problems

LESSON 6: PIECE ACTIVITY
Problems

 LESSON 7: PAWN STRUCTURE
Problems


BASIC STRATEGIES

LESSON 8: OPENING STRATEGIES
Problems

LESSON 9: MIDDLEGAME STRATEGIES
Problems

LESSON 10: ENDGAME STRATEGIES
Problems


APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

APPENDIX C

GLOSSARY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

























 INTRODUCTION

The great chess master, writer, and teacher, Eugene Znosko-
Borovsky, once said, “It is not a move, even the best move, that
you must seek, but a realizable plan.”
Most chess players focus all their attention on finding the
best move. You cannot correctly determine the best move
without first understanding the position. Being observant and
picking up clues in a position is the key to developing the best
strategy.
Chess can be broken down into the concepts of strategy and
tactics. Tactics are the battles between pieces. Strategy is
developing the best plan to achieve your goals. I hope to help
you learn how to come up with the correct plan in order to
develop a solid strategy and gain a positional sense for the
game.
You will be introduced to practical strategic advice and a
variety of common strategic principles, as well as examples of
exceptions to the rules, where the basic principles become
nullified.
Do you know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Approach picking up clues and figuring out a chess position the
same way - you need to be a good detective and look for
strengths and weaknesses in the position, which may be in the
form of an exposed king, a potential pin or fork, a back rank
mate, a weak pawn, or maybe an opportunity to grab some
space on part of the board.
You are like a coach in a professional sporting event, where
you must be alert to different match ups and opportunities. Your
opponent will try to take opportunities away from you, but may,
in the process, create others - take what he gives you. When
masters play chess, these subtle points are the foundation for
determining the best strategy.
Before reading this book, you should have a working
knowledge of chess basics, which you can gain, by reading
Chess Workbook for Children (which is also for adults).
 Intermediate level tournament chess players who have a
basic knowledge of how the game works often ask, “What am I
supposed to be thinking about?” and “How do I figure out a
good game plan?”
Chess Strategy Workbook will answer these questions by
showing you how to break chess positions down into their basic
elements.
My advice to the student is work through these lessons in
the order presented, since each lesson sets the stage and builds a
foundation for the next.
If you are a chess teacher, you can easily turn one of these
strategic concepts, with the example position and problem set,
into a short thirty minute lesson for your class or individual
student.
The book is organized into three sections: General
Concepts, Types of Advantages, and Basic Strategies.
In the General Concepts section, you will first be
introduced to what each piece likes and what it dislikes. In order
to develop a good plan, it is important to understand the best
way to effectively organize your pieces as a group. Secondly,
you will learn the importance of being observant and seeing the
big picture as well as how to figure out what your opponent is
doing. Finally, you will learn why counting is important and
when you should exchange pieces.
In the Types of Advantages section, I will break down the
types of advantages that exist in all chess positions and are the
building blocks for developing the proper strategy. The chess
master must evaluate each type of advantage for many possible
futuristic outcomes and then combine them together to
determine which position is best for him. The types of
advantages in chess are king safety, material, piece activity, and
pawn structure. Because of the natural overlap, the concepts of
time and space will be discussed in the piece activity lesson.
The Chess Detective problems at the end of Lesson 7, Pawn
Structure, will combine all the types of advantages.
Finally, in the Basic Strategies section, you will learn
more basic concepts and strategies and how they fit into the
three phases of the game: Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame.
The goal of the appendices is to give you some solid,
practical advice that will boost your game to the next level.
Appendix A is a supplement that explains the common
chess mistakes made by the novice/intermediate chess player.
As you go through the list, think of it as a checklist to see what
you are doing correctly and what items you need to work on.
Appendix B addresses what a chess player should be
thinking about during the game when it is his move and when it
is his opponent’s move. These steps will structure your thoughts
and keep your mind thinking in an efficient, organized way.
The solutions to the problems at the end of each lesson are
explained in detail in Appendix C. Each lesson contains ten
Basset Hound and ten Chess Detective problems. Reading
through the detailed solutions carefully is a great learning
opportunity. For most of the problems, the complete answer is
much longer than the answer space provided. When this is the
case, use a separate piece of paper to write your answer on. My
goal is to present lots of problems and examples, not fill the
pages with blank lines for the answers!

If you are a novice player up to an intermediate level
tournament player, start with the easier Basset Hound problems,
designated with following symbol:

Intermediate to advanced level tournament players can
move on and solve the harder Chess Detective problems,
designated with this symbol:

 Most of the problems and examples in the book are from, or
are based on, master and grandmaster games. An experienced
player may recognize some of the more famous positions. My
goal is to present realistic positions throughout the book.

The glossary in the back of the book gives a quick reference
for chess terms and words that you may not know.
You will probably want to have a chess set nearby to play
out some of the moves and variations in the book.
Finally, I would like to thank the people who helped make
Chess Strategy Workbook a success.
For proofreading and making suggestions on how to
improve the book, I would like to thank Robert Andrew, Alan
Bardwick, Carl Berg, Richard Cordovano, Craig Murphy,
Randy Reynolds, and Paul Szeligowski.
I would also like to thank the artist, Kevin Hempstead, for
the clever and entertaining illustrations that he created for the
book.

Best wishes in your chess endeavors,

Todd Bardwick
National Chess Master
 GENERAL CONCEPTS

“Every Chess master was once a beginner.”

Irving Chernev
 LESSON 1

PIECE PLACEMENT

“If one piece is badly posted, the whole game is bad.”

Siegbert Tarrasch


The first step in developing the proper chess strategy is to
understand how to position your pieces. Each piece has
different things that it likes and dislikes. Piece placement
preferences may change for each piece as the game progresses
through its different phases: opening, middlegame, and
endgame.
A basic strategy for any position is to improve a piece’s
placement to a better square. For each piece you should always
be thinking about where the best square is, how long it takes to
get there, and can your opponent stop you. Pretend that you are
asking each piece what it would like to do.
Before we move on to more advanced strategies, let’s take a
look at each of the six chess pieces and see what they would
like (and not like) to do.

King

Since he is the most valuable piece on the board, the
positioning of the king is of great importance.
The king needs to be protected in the opening and
middlegame, but he can be an offensive or defensive piece in
the endgame.
The main battle usually takes place in the middle of the
board as both players fight for the center.
Because the king is valuable and slow-moving, he wants to
be tucked away from the action. In the opening and
middlegame, the king wants to be as far away from the main
battle as possible. Castling early in the game is the best way to
move the king out of the center to safety.
Also, it is a good idea not to move too many pawns in front
of a castled king, since this can leave him exposed to attack.

Position after 11...Qg7

In this position, White’s king is safe because he castled early.
Black, on the other hand, has his king stuck in the center, where
he is exposed to attack.
White wins by sacrificing his bishop to draw the Black king
further into the center to checkmate him by playing 12.Be6+!
Kxe6 13.Qe8+ Nge7 (or 13…Nce7 or 13…Qe7) 14.d5 mate.


In the endgame, once the risk of getting checkmated in the
middle of the board has passed, the king wants to move toward
the center.
This is called centralizing your king. Normally it is safe to
centralize the king once the enemy queen and about half of the
opponent’s rooks, knights, and bishops are captured.
The transition point between the middlegame and endgame,
when it is safe to centralize the king, should be carefully
considered.

Here is an endgame position where neither player has to
worry about getting mated in the center of the board. Both kings
want to centralize to attack. Unfortunately for White, his king is
much further from the center.

Black to move

Black will win because his king is closer to the center where he
can easily capture the enemy pawn on b4.
He marches toward the queenside with 46...Kd5 47.Kg1 Kc4
48.Kf2 Kxb4.
Black’s plan to win the game is to advance his b5 pawn to the
promotion square on b1.




Pawn


Pawns make up the backbone of your position.
Create a good pawn structure for yourself so you can
provide a solid framework for your pieces to operate in. You
also want to wreck your opponent’s pawn structure. Pawn
structure is covered in detail in Lesson 7.
The goal and dream of every pawn is to promote, which
usually occurs in the endgame. When a pawn promotes, ninety-
nine percent of the time you want to promote to a queen, since
she is the most powerful piece.
Strong pawns are passed pawns and protected passed
pawns.
Backward pawns are base pawns on half-open files. As with
isolated pawns, backward pawns are typically weak pawns,
especially if they can be attacked on the file by a rook or queen.
In the opening, the pawns want to control the center of the
board.
Pawns in front of a castled king generally don’t want to
move forward, as this would expose the king.
A pawn storm is a tactic in which several pawns on adjacent
files are moved in rapid succession toward the opponent’s
defenses.
Keep in mind that moving pawns forward can create holes,
which are weak squares that cannot be attacked by a pawn and
are ideal for the opponent to occupy with a piece. Since pawns
cannot move backwards, you can’t undo a bad pawn move later
on in the game.

White to move

One of the general rules for pawns is to capture toward the
center, which helps control the center of the board.

In this position from the Sicilian Defense, White shouldn’t
capture Black’s knight on c6 with 8.Nxc6 because Black can
capture toward the center with his pawn by playing 8…bxc6.
This helps Black support the pawn push …d5 to gain control of
the center with his pawns.


Here is an example of the exception to this rule of pawns
capturing toward the center.


Black to move

In this position from the Ruy Lopez, White just took Black’s
knight on c6 by playing 4.Bxc6. White can recapture with 4…
bxc6 or 4…dxc6.
Capturing toward the center with 4…bxc6 is incorrect, as then
White can play 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 and White is in control of the
center.
By playing 4...dxc6 Black helps his light-squared bishop
develop quickly.
If White then tries to win the e5 pawn with 5.Nxe5, Black can
play 5…Qd4, winning the pawn back by forking it and the
knight.


It is important to not automatically follow general chess
principles blindly.
You always have to evaluate each position carefully and
determine if the general principle holds or if an exception to the
rule exists.



Knight

Knights are slow-moving pieces and the only piece on the
board that can jump over other pieces.
Because they are relatively slow, knights like to be in the
center because from here they can get to any place on the board
fairly quickly.
Knights are poorly placed on the edge or corner of the board
as their movement is limited to a maximum of four squares.

Black to move

In this position, Black moved his knight to the edge of the board
by playing 51…Na5?
White responded 52.Bd5! and trapped the knight on the rim of
the board.
Also note that because this is an endgame position, White has a
much better king position, since his king is located closer to the
 center.


To compensate for their short reach, knights can attack both
light and dark squares (unlike bishops), jump over other pieces,
and because of their unique L-shaped movement, they can
attack other pieces without the enemy piece attacking them
back.
Knights are highly tactical pieces and can be activated
quickly in the opening.
Knights are especially effective attacking pieces when they
are close to the action, particularly when they are near the
opponent’s king.
Because of their jumping abilities, knights tend to like
positions with more pawns. With more pawns on the board, the
long range bishops, rooks, and queens are more restricted.
A knight outpost is a strong knight that is anchored by a
pawn and can’t be attacked or chased away by an enemy pawn.
Knight outposts are most effective when they are in enemy
territory on the fifth or sixth rank.

Black to move

There is a knight outpost on d5 in this position. Note that
White’s knight cannot be chased away by any Black pawn or
 minor piece. To eliminate the powerful knight, Black would
have to part with a rook or his queen.
The knight attacks the important e7, f6, f4, and e3 squares on
the side of the board near the Black king.
Also notice how Black’s bishop on f8 is restricted by his own
pawns, which are on the same color. This is called a bad bishop,
which will be discussed next in the Bishop section.

Bishop


Bishops love open diagonals and do not like being blocked
in by their own pawns.
A bishop blocked in by its pawns is called a bad bishop,
which was shown in the previous diagram at the bottom of page
8.
At the start of the game, both players get a light-squared
bishop and a dark-squared bishop.
Of all the pieces on the chessboard, the bishops are the only
pieces that don’t interfere with each other. With both bishops
remaining on the board, a player has what is called the bishop
pair. The bishop pair can be a big advantage and is worth about
half a pawn in material.
The Italian word “fianchetto” describes a bishop developed
to the square in front of the knight’s home square. A bishop can
be fianchettoed on either side of the board. A fianchettoed
bishop can be powerful because it is located on the longest
diagonal of the board, aimed at both center squares of its color.
If the long diagonal is open, the fianchettoed bishop is
strong, and if the diagonal is blocked by the pawns, the bishop
is weak.
A move in chess is called a tempo.
Keep in mind that it takes an extra move to fianchetto a
bishop because moving a knight pawn is required before the
bishop can be developed.
When you develop a bishop through the center, a pawn must
also move. Moving a center pawn is useful by itself because it
helps you gain control of the center. Therefore, developing a
bishop through the center saves a tempo compared to
fianchettoing it.
If you fianchetto a bishop in front of your king, it is usually
a good idea to avoid trading it because there will be holes in
front of your king on the squares of the color of your bishop due
to the knight pawn moving forward.
The weaknesses on these squares will increase if you trade
your fianchettoed bishop for a knight in a position where your
opponent still has that colored bishop because the opponent’s
bishop can often easily invade these important squares.

White to move

In this position, the Black bishop on g7 is fianchettoed.
It is a powerful piece despite being blocked by the knight.
Black has the freedom to move the knight, opening up the
 diagonal for the bishop.
Look back at the diagram on the bottom of page 8. The
bishop on f8 is a bad bishop and would be no better off
fianchettoed on g7 since the diagonal is blocked by the pawn on
e5.


As pieces trade where one player has a dark-squared bishop
and the other has a light-squared bishop, a situation arises
where opposite-colored bishops remain in the game.
This is a unique situation and the strategy will change,
depending on whether you are in the middlegame or the
endgame.
In the middlegame, opposite-colored bishops will favor the
player with the more aggressively placed bishop, usually as it
relates to attacking chances against the opposing king. The
attacker essentially has an extra attacking piece because, by
definition, his opponent’s bishop cannot defend the squares on
that color.

White to move

Here is a middlegame position where White has the
initiative and the better placed bishop as it is aimed at the Black
king.
 Note that Black’s bishop is of no use defending the weak
dark squares.
White plays 33.Ne7+ Kh7 34.Nxc8 Bxc8 35.Ra8 and the
bishop is pinned due to a mate threat, with the rook wanting to
move to h8.
Notice that White’s attack is fatal on the dark-squares, even
without his queen!


Opposite-colored bishop endgames tend to result in draws
because the defending player owns one of the colored squares.
For the player with the advantage to win, he usually has to
promote a pawn to a queen. The defender can often set up a
roadblock on the color of his bishop and prevent the pawn from
promoting.

Black to move

In this position, Black is ahead by two pawns, which usually
is more than enough to win the game.
White can keep his king on g3 and move his bishop to
squares that stay in contact with f4.
Black will never be able to advance his pawns safely as
White can hold them up on the dark squares – the color of his
bishop.
 The game is drawn.

Rook

Rooks are usually the last pieces to enter the game because
they are far away from the center and they want to avoid the
bishops and knights (minor pieces), who would like to trade for
them.
Rooks become more powerful and can attack more squares
as the game progresses and pawns are traded.
Trading a minor piece for a rook is called winning the
exchange.
Rooks are strongest when they are connected, either on the
same rank or doubled on a file. Since rooks move horizontally
and vertically, they like open files where they can invade their
opponent’s position.
If an open or half-open file in front of opponent’s king
doesn’t exist, a rook can move forwards two or more ranks on
an open file and then move horizontally in front of his own
pawns to aim at the opposing king or another target. This is
called a rook lift.
Because rooks enter the game later than the other pieces, the
odds are higher that they will still be around in the endgame.
Rooks like to be behind their own passed pawns in the
endgame, where they provide protection as the pawn marches
up the board.


Position after 13.a3

In this position, Black decides he is going to play one of his
rooks to d8 to defend the d6 pawn.
Which one should he choose?
A good way to make this type of decision is to ask, “What
file would be my first choice for the other rook?” In this case,
the choices would be the a-, b-, c-, e-, or f- file?
Since the c-file is half-open with the best attacking
prospects, Black plays 13…Rfd8. This way the a8 rook can
easily move to c8 later on.


Rooks use open files to invade their opponent’s position.
Although it is usually protected, rooks like going to the 8th
rank because of the back rank checkmate possibilities.
The other main choice is the 7th rank, where rooks can often
attack pawns that have yet to move. The rook normally gets to
the 7th rank in the endgame when enough pieces are traded off
and the 7th rank squares cannot be protected. An extra bonus
when a rook gets to the seventh is that this is the phase of the
game when the opponent’s king wants to centralize – but it
cannot because the rook cuts him off.
For these reasons, a rook on the 7th rank is generally
considered to be worth a pawn.
If one rook on the 7th rank is good, two is even better. Two
rooks not only have an easier time capturing pawns, but also
create rook-rook roller and other mating possibilities.

White to move

Here is an example where White has an advantage because
of his active rooks on the 7th rank, despite being behind by two
pawns.
White plays 26.Nd4. Black cannot play 26…Bxd4 because
of the rook roller mate after 27.Rfe7+ Kd8 (or 27…Kf8) 28.Rb8
mate. 26…Re3+ 27.Kf1 Re4 28.Rfe7+ Resigns
Black is mated after 28…Kf8 29.Nxe6+ Kg8 30.Re8 mate
or 28…Kd8 29.Nc6+ Kc8 30.Na7+ Kd8 31.Rbd7 mate.
Two rooks on the 7th rank normally have awesome powers!



 Queen

The queen is the most powerful piece on the board.
Because queens combine the powers of a bishop and rook,
queens like open diagonals and open files.
Because of these awesome powers, the queen is usually the
best checkmating piece. If a king is exposed, the enemy queen
becomes amazingly powerful, and with the help of only one
piece to protect her, she can move right next to the king and
checkmate him.
When she can’t checkmate the exposed king, a queen can
usually check from many squares and often win material by
forking it with the king. She can also sometimes force a
threefold repetition draw, in this case called perpetual check, if
necessary.
In the opening, the queen should stay back, because she is a
target for enemy bishops and knights, who can gain time
chasing her around.
Like the rook, the queen’s powers increase as the game
progresses because she can attack multiple targets easier as
more pawns, which may block her path, are traded.


White to move

This position shows the power of a queen and rook when
attacking the enemy king on an open file.
White’s queen and rook are lined up on the h-file hoping to
checkmate Black on h7 or h8. Black must keep these squares
protected.
White plays 25.Rd6! Note that Black can’t play 25…Qxd6
because of 26.Qh8 mate.
White would win after 25…Qg7 Rg6! and the Black queen is
lost.
White’s rooks and queen show off their powerful attacking
potential here against a king without pawn protection.


When the queen enters the game early, there is a chance that
she will get trapped.
She can be chased around by the opponent’s pawns, knights,
and bishops, who would love to trade for her.


White to move

In this position, Black’s queen is out early. Notice that she can’t
retreat because of White’s bishops.
White plays 11.h3! and after either 11…Qh5 12.g4 or 11…
Qxg2 12.Rh2, the queen is lost.

 Basset Hound Problems

1-1

Which White pieces can take advantage of the holes in Black’s kingside?

________________________

1-2

Which Black pieces are terribly placed?

________________________

1-3

Which piece is the best placed?

________________________

1-4

Which is the worst placed piece on the board?

________________________

1-5

How should Black develop his light-squared bishop?

________________________

1-6

What is White’s biggest problem?

________________________

 1-7

White plays 6.Nxc6. Which pawn should Black recapture with?

________________________

1-8

Position after 21.axb4. Who should Black recapture with?

________________________

1-9

Is breaking the pin with 9…g5 a good move?

________________________

1-10

Is White’s knight or Black’s bishop a better piece?

________________________


 Chess Detective Problems

1-11

What is Black’s winning move?

________________________

1-12

Position after 37…Kf6. What is White’s best move?

________________________

 1-13

Why is 39…Rc3+ and then capturing the a3 pawn a bad idea for Black?

________________________

1-14

Which minor piece is better placed?

________________________

1-15

Position after 39.Rd7. Who has the better placed rook?

________________________

1-16

What should Black play after 37.Bxd7?

________________________

1-17

Who has an advantage in this position?

________________________

1-18

Black just played 11…e5. Why is this a bad move?

________________________

1-19

How can White take advantage of Black’s weak dark squares around his king?

________________________

1-20

What is Black’s best move?

________________________


 LESSON 2

BEING OBSERVANT

“The lower rated player tends to think only of his own

plans and so he misses what the opponent has in
store.”

Bent Larsen


Throughout the chess game, a chess master must be
observant at all times. He is meticulous in his search; probing
for strengths and weaknesses in both players’ positions.
Whereas games between amateurs are often decided by
gross blunders, master games tend to be decided by small
mistakes that are skillfully capitalized upon.
Look carefully at both players’ strengths and weaknesses, as
this will be the foundation for developing the correct strategy
and finding the important tactical themes.
The main time to pick up clues is when it is your opponent’s
move. This is discussed further in Appendix B, entitled “How to
Think.” Of course, you also have to be constantly observant
during your time too, as you will make important discoveries at
this time as well.
A profound thought is that every move attacks new squares
and abandons other squares - there is always a pro and a con to
each move.
If you don’t take the time to observe what is going on and
fully understand the position, how will you ever pick the best
move? In other words, look for ideas first, then the specific
details.
You should also assume that your opponent will make the
best move. You can hope for a blunder, but don’t play as if your
opponent will make one. A plan (or move) that counts on your
opponent making a mistake is destined for failure.
After your opponent moves, you should always ask yourself
the question, “What is he threatening?” You should spend equal
time figuring out the threats for both you and your opponent.
Most tournament players spend more time looking at their own
threats and ideas. A master cannot afford to do this.
Also be observant of tactical threats. Train your mind to
observe how each player’s pieces are lined up, relative to each
other. For example, if a king and queen are on the same
diagonal, look for the bishop that can pin or skewer them. Are a
couple of pieces a knight fork apart? How about a pawn fork? Is
there a back rank mate possible?
If the king is well protected, you don’t have to spend much
time looking for ways to attack him. But when you observe that
he is exposed, this is a clue to start searching for attacking and
mating ideas.
In chess, as in life, you need to find a dream, and then look
for ways to make your dream come true. A master is constantly
probing the position to see if his dreams are possible.
This should all sound fairly obvious and simple, but it can
be a bit more complicated in practice. Here are some example
positions.

Position after 7...Nf5?

Black is threatening 8…Nxh4.
 At first glance, a possible dream for White is Nc7+ forking
the king and rook.
This is a fairly common tactical pattern that you should
commit to memory.
Taking a closer look at Nc7+, you will notice this would be
mate, if not for Black’s queen protecting c7.
How can White make this mating dream come true? Is it
possible to drive away Black’s lady?
8.b4 doesn’t quite work because of 8…cxb4 9.cxb4 Bxb4+.
Are there any other ways to chase away the Black queen?
Yes! White can play 8.Qa4! 8…Qxa4 (8…Nc6 loses to
9.Qxa5 winning the queen because the 10.Nc7 mate threat is
renewed) 9.Nc7 mate! Normally, you would never consider
8.Qa4 as a candidate move, but after making the observation
that Nc7 is mate, 8.Qa4 becomes a real possibility.

Position after 16...Nd7?

Do you observe anything unusual in this position?
Here is a clue: look at Black’s queen.
She is in the center on White’s side of the board and her
only escape square is f5.
Can White trap her?
Yes! White played 17.Ng3!
 The amazing thing that should give you hope is that the
player who got his queen trapped is a grandmaster, and three-
time U.S. Champion!

Position after 29.h4

Here is a position with an interesting imbalance on the
queenside where there are two minor pieces against five passed
pawns.
Note that Black has a pawn majority on the kingside.
The White king is trapped. The rook on a1 prevents the mate
threat of …Rg1 and the rook on b2 stops …Nf2 mate.
Can Black chase away one of the rooks? Notice that the rook on
a1 also protects the pawn on a4.
Black took advantage of the over-worked rook by playing 29…
Rxa4!
The game then continued 30.hxg5 Rxa1+ 31.Kg2 Rg1+ 32.Kf3
Nxg5+ 33.Kf4 Ne6+. This is a useful square for Black’s knight,
since it overprotects the c5, c7, and d8 squares, helping to
prevent White’s pawns from advancing. Black went on to
victory.


 Here is an endgame position where Black just moved his
king from f4 to g3.

Position after 48...Kg3?

Picking up clues, there are opposite- colored bishops in this
endgame position, which could help make the game end in a
draw. The weak side can try to blockade the opposing pawns on
his bishop’s color to prevent them from promoting.
Material is even.
White has an outside passed pawn on a6 that is blockaded by
the dark-squared bishop.
Black’s mobile passed pawns in the center are ready to advance.
White’s king is trapped and he has to be aware of possible back
rank mates.
Black’s king is better centralized and on the attack, but notice
that he has no legal moves.
The observation that Black’s king can’t move is the key to this
position.
If the pawn on e4 didn’t attack f3, 49.Rf3 would be mate.
White played 49.Bd3!, attacking the e-pawn in a position where
it cannot be captured.
If Black defends the pawn with 49…Re7, White simply plays
50.Bxe4, renewing the Rf3 mate threat.
The game continued 49…Rc3 50.Bxe4 Re3 51.Rf3+, draw
 agreed.
Black would have had the advantage back on the move before
the diagrammed position if he had played 48…Ke5, with the
idea of advancing his center pawns.


Here are a few examples of making tactical observations
when you notice that pieces are positioned in a straight line.

White to move

Things look bad for White because he is behind by three
pawns.
If White plays 93.Qxg4, Black can respond 93…Qe1+
94.Kg2 Qg3+ 95.Qxg3 hxg3 96.Kxg3 Kb8 and the Black king
has time to run around his b-pawn and capture the pawn on a5.
Black would also win after 94…Qxa5 by advancing his
queenside pawns.
The first choice with the queens off the board would be
better since when you are ahead in material you want to trade
down to a simpler position that is easier to win.
One of the patterns you want to train your mind to see is that
the Black king and queen are lined up on the same diagonal.
Unfortunately, White has no dark-squared bishop to take
 advantage of this.
But queens also move along diagonals.
White played 93.Qf2!, pinning the queen to the king and
forcing 93…Qxf2 stalemate.

Position after 65.Ra8

Here is an interesting position that shows how to take advantage
of pieces when they are lined up.
Black’s queen cannot capture the rook on a8 with 65…Qxa8
because of 66.Bf3+, skewering the king and queen.
If 65…Qe6, then 66.Ra6+ wins the queen for the rook.
65…Qd5 lines up the queen and king on the same diagonal
where White can play 66.Bf3, and pin them.
65…Qc4 lines them up on the c-file for 66.Rc8+.
The only remaining choice is 65…Qh7. Do you see how to line
them up now?
White sacrifices the bishop with 66.Bg6! Qxg6 67.Ra6+,
winning the queen.

Train your mind to notice these patterns not only for the
position in front of you, but observe how the pieces are lined up
after you calculate through a long variation to make sure there
aren’t any tactical surprises out there in the future.

Black to move

In this position, Black is way ahead in material and it looks
like he can easily trade off to a winning endgame by playing
38…Rxf7 39.Nxf7 Kxf7.
It is easy to get overconfident and stop picking up clues
when you are way ahead materially - but there are always
potential hazards hiding in the position.
Observe that Black’s queen and king are lined up on the
same diagonal AND White has a dark-squared bishop.
The natural, 38…Rxf7?, actually loses to 39.Bd8+! Kxd8
40.Nxf7+, forking the king and queen!
If Black avoids the knight fork with 39…Ke6, 40.Bxg5
wins the queen and leaves White ahead in material.
Never stop observing how the pieces line up in relation to
each other.



Position after 16...Kh8

Do you observe anything unusual in this position?
White’s bishop on h7 is in Black’s territory. Whenever you
notice that a piece is all alone, surrounded by the enemy, you
should look to see if the piece can be trapped.
Black threatens 17…g6!, trapping the fast-moving bishop.
White wasted his time by playing 16.Bh7+ since now he has
to retreat the bishop to safety.
Bishops can often get trapped this way when they capture a
rook pawn that hasn’t moved.
 Basset Hound Problems

2-1

Position after 18…Qxa2. What is White’s best move?

________________________

2-2

Position after 8…Re8. What is White’s best move?

________________________

2-3

How can Black win a pawn?

________________________

2-4

How can White make the dream of Nxc6 mate come true?

________________________

 2-5

How can White take advantage of the pieces lined up on the a2-g8 diagonal?

________________________

2-6

White played 4.Be2 offering a pawn. Should Black take it?

________________________

2-7

What is White’s best move?

________________________

2-8

How can Black win material?

________________________

2-9

Position after 58.c8=Q. What is Black’s best move?

________________________

2-10

What is the key observation to make in this position?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

2-11

Is it safe for Black to capture the White pawn on e5 with 11…Nxe5?

________________________

2-12

What is White’s best move?

________________________


2-13

Position after 13…Kh8. What is Black threatening?

________________________

2-14

Position after 16…e5 (from e7). What opportunity does this give White?

________________________

2-15

If White plays 31.b5, what is he threatening?

________________________

2-16

Position after 39…Ke7. What move should White play?

________________________

2-17

Position after 28.Qf1. What is White threatening?

________________________

2-18

What is Black’s best move?

________________________

2-19

Position after 39…Qc8. What is White’s best move?

________________________

2-20

How does White win material?

________________________

 LESSON 3

EXCHANGING AND COUNTING

“In my opinion, the process of chess is based
essentially on interlinking exchanges. The objective of
these interlinking exchanges is a relative gain of
material or of positional value.”

Mikhail Botvinnik


Exchanging

Knowing when to exchange pieces is one of the most
important strategic decisions you will make during the game.
There are general rules regarding when to trade and when
not to trade.
Before going into these, keep in mind the piece placement
ideas from Lesson 1. Remember that trading your strong piece
for your opponent’s weak piece is usually a bad idea, even if
both pieces are technically worth the same. Of course, you
generally want to trade your weaker pieces for your opponent’s
stronger ones. Thinking in terms of pawns, try to win your
opponent’s weak pawns, not trade your pawns for them.
Another tip you can use to help determine if you want to
trade pieces in general, is ask yourself who would win the king
and pawn ending if all the pieces taller than a pawn traded for
their counterpart. If you think you would win the king and pawn
ending, trading a pair of equally valued pieces is likely a
positive step toward that end.

Besides the more common reasons to trade which we will
discuss below, other reasons you may trade pieces would be:
to gain or avoid losing time
to open or close lines of attack
to eliminate an opponent’s defender
to gain any other kind of advantage

Material

The most important and common rule about exchanging is
that when you are ahead in material, you want to trade pieces,
not pawns. You want to make the position simpler when you are
ahead and methodically trade off to a position that is easier to
win.
The opposite is also true.
When you are behind in material, you generally want to
trade pawns, not pieces, with the goal to eliminate all of your
opponent’s pawns, which are potential queens. Hopefully, then,
you can get a draw by insufficient mating material. If you are
behind in material, you want to keep as many pieces on the
board as possible to create complications for your opponent.
Make it as difficult as you can for your opponent to simplify his
life.

Position after 33…Re5

In this position, Black offers White the opportunity to trade
rooks.
Note that Black is ahead by a pawn and also has a more
centralized king.
If White trades the rooks, Black can easily win the
endgame.
White plays 34.Rc2, keeping the rooks on the board and the
 position as complicated as possible in the hopes of eventually
obtaining a draw.


Space

When you control more of the board and have more space,
you generally want to keep pieces on the board because you
have more freedom and room for your pieces to get to important
squares.
The opposite is true. When you have less space, you
generally want to trade off equal valued pieces as they restrict
each other as they compete for a limited number of squares.

Position after 9.Bg2

In this position, White has more space on the kingside.
Because he is cramped, Black has few development choices for
his kingside bishop and knight. The bishop can only develop
safely to e7 or b4 and the knight can only safely move to e7.
The game continued 9…Nge7 10.0-0 Ng6, offering to trade
the knights.
White could play 11.Nxg6 Bxg6 12.f4 and 13.f5 with a clear
space advantage on the kingside, but even better would be
11.Nh5!, keeping the knights on the board and Black’s bishop
 stuck on f8 to defend the g7 pawn. White could still play 12.f4
and 13.f5 to increase his space advantage.
Look again at the freedom that White’s pieces have and how
restricted Black’s pieces are.
If Black could somehow magically trade his knight on g6
for the one on h5 and the dark-squared bishops, he could
maneuver a bit more easily.


Attacker or Defender

The player who has the initiative and is on the attack
generally doesn’t want to trade pieces as this will reduce his
attacking potential.
The defending player wants to trade because it is easier to
survive an attack that isn’t coming at you with maximum force.

Position after 15.Qd4

White just offered a queen trade in this position.
Should Black accept the offer?
First, look at material. White ends up a knight ahead if
Black plays 15…Qxd4+ 16.Kxd4 Bxf1 17.Rxf1 cxd6. From a
material point of view, Black definitely doesn’t want to trade
 down pieces, since White would easily win the endgame.
The White king is dangerously placed in the middle of the
board and he is under attack. If Black trades the queens, his
attack on the White king will greatly diminish.
Therefore, from both a material and an attacking point of
view, Black does not want to trade queens.

To keep the attack going, Black plays 15…cxd6+ 16.Kd5
(only square to protect the queen) 16…Bb7+ 17.Kc4 Rc8+ and
Black wins the queen.

A simpler winning position

The player with the better position should always be looking
to make his life easier by trading down into a simpler position
that is easier to win.
The player who is losing should try to keep pieces on the
board and create confusion.


Black to move

In this position, Black has a material advantage of a queen
and pawn against a rook and a bishop.
The queen is quite powerful since there are only a few
pieces left on the board and the White king is exposed.
White’s king is in no position to help stop either of the
Black pawns.
Black still must be careful as White has a dangerous passed
pawn on e6.
Black’s best move is not just to trade, but to sacrifice his
queen for a rook and pawn to simplify into an easily winning
ending by playing 73…Qxa6+! 74.Kxa6 Kxe6.
White cannot stop both pawns.
If he tries 75.Kb5, then Black can play 75…h4 76.Bc1 h3
77.Bf4 c2 and one of the pawns will promote, since the bishop
cannot stop them both.


Capturing order

In chess positions where a series of captures may occur, a
general rule is to capture with the least valuable piece first,
since this usually maximizes your material gains.
But like any other rule, there are exceptions.

Position after 22...f3

In this position, Black’s f3 pawn is attacked twice, defended
twice.
Notice, though, that after 23.Bxf3 Nxf3+ (capturing with the
less valuable knight before the rook) 24.Rxf3 Rxf3, White can
play 25.Qg4+, forking the Black king and both rooks.
Does this mean that 22…f3 was a mistake?
No. If Black reverses the capture order after 23.Bxf3, and
plays 23…Rxf3!, he forks the White king and queen after
24.Rxf3 Nxf3+.
In this case, the exception to the rule, capturing with the
more valuable piece first, is the correct move. Therefore, in the
diagrammed position, White shouldn’t capture the pawn, but
should play either 23.Bh3 or 23.Bf1. Black would have an
advantage with the well-placed knight outpost on e5 that
supports the advanced f3 pawn.


A successful combination that wins material is a series of
captures that must occur in an exact order.


Black to move

Black begins the capturing sequence in this position by
playing 22...Rxc2!
This forces White to recapture the rook by also playing
23.Rxc2.
Now Black plays 23…Nxd2.
White must recapture the knight. 24.Qxd2 allows Black’s
queen to take the knight on b5. So White must play 24.Rxd2.
Black now chases the knight back to its only possible retreat
square (where it is not protected) by playing 24…a6 25.Nc3.
Finally, Black has set himself up to fork the knight and
pawn on h2 and plays 25…Qc7!




Counting

A chess master is constantly counting throughout the entire
game. One of the things he counts is how many times a piece is
attacked and how many times it is defended.
If there are more attackers than defenders, the piece can
usually be captured safely.
Taking this one step further, also ask yourself how many
potential attackers there are and how many potential defenders.

 Position after 16.Nf3

Black has a nice attack against the White king and wants to
break in.
One possible place is the f2 square. Counting attackers and
defenders, it is attacked twice by the queen and bishop and
defended twice by the king and rook.
Although the Black queen appears to be attacked once by
the pawn on f2, she is safe because the pawn is pinned to the
king by the bishop on b6.
How about the White knight on f3?
It appears to be attacked three times, by the queen and both
rooks, and only defended once, by the g2 pawn.

Looking a little closer, as long as the queen is pinning the
pawn on g2 to the king, the pawn doesn’t count as a defender.
Of course, the queen won’t be the first to capture the knight
since this would break the pin of the g2 pawn and lose the
queen.
Black can safely play 16…Rxf3, winning the knight.

Another thing you need to count is how many pieces attack

a key square and how many pieces defend it. There is an old
chess saying, “Amateurs play for pieces, masters play for
squares.”

White to move

The battle in this position is over the e5 square.
Black would like to play 17…e5 to gain control of the
center. Does he have enough defenders to play this move now?
Yes, Black would have enough defenders: his queen, the
rook on e8, the bishop on f6, and the knight on d7. White also
has four attackers on e5: the knight on f3, pawn on d4, bishop
on c3, and queen on b2.
Note that White’s bishop controls the e5 square through d4
and the queen also controls e5 on the long diagonal through
both the pawn and the bishop.
This works out well for White because the more valuable
pieces are tucked in behind the weaker ones on the diagonal, so
material won’t be lost during the capture sequence.
Can White stop the threat of 17…e5?

Yes, he has a potential attacker in the knight on c1.
White should play 17.Nd3 to bring in the fifth attacker.
Notice that Black has a potential fifth defender in the f7
pawn, but it takes time to play …g6, …Bg7, and …f6, to make
this possible dream come true.
 Basset Hound Problems

3-1

What is Black threatening?

________________________

3-2

What is the best way for Black to prevent White from playing 8.d4?

________________________

 3-3

Is 23…Qg6 a good move for Black?

________________________

3-4

Position after 21…Bxe4. Which player wants to trade pieces?

________________________

3-5

Position after 29…Nb4. Should White exchange queens?

________________________

3-6

Why does 17…Nxf4 lose material?

________________________



 3-7

How many times is Black’s d7 knight attacked and defended? Is this a problem
for him?

________________________

3-8

Position after 33…Kg7. What is White’s best move?

________________________

3-9

Black’s knight is pinned to his king. How can White win it?

________________________

3-10

How many times is the knight on c6 attacked and defended?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

3-11

Can Black safely win material after 6…cxd4?

________________________

3-12

How does Black win material?

________________________


3-13

How does White win material?

________________________

3-14

Does 29.Rxc5 win the pawn?

________________________

3-15

Is 15.Nd6 a good move for White?

________________________

3-16

Position after 23…Qc3. How can White win material?

________________________

3-17

Position after 36…Rd6. Can White save his pinned knight?

________________________

3-18

Position after 32…Qb6. Should White trade queens?

________________________

3-19

Position after 14…f4. Should White play 15.g4 or 15.gxf4?

________________________

3-20

Position after 44…h6. Should White play 45.h4 or 45.gxh6?

________________________

 TYPES OF ADVANTAGES

“An advantage could consist not only in a single
important advantage but also in a multitude of
insignificant advantages.”

Emanuel Lasker
 LESSON 4

KING SAFETY

“Direct and violent attacks against the King must be

carried out en masse, with full force, to ensure their
success.”

Jose Raul Capablanca



When analyzing a chess position, a master looks at many
possible future positions, evaluates each, and from there decides
which is the best move.
Every move creates strengths and weaknesses in the
position.
In chess, as in any other sport, the player who gains an
advantage has more options, while the player who falls behind
has fewer choices and, as the pressure mounts, increased odds
of making a mistake.
The next four lessons will break down the types of
advantages which must be carefully combined to assess a chess
position correctly from a positional point of view.
A chess master methodically collects these advantages –
looking for opportunities he can exploit.

The types of advantages are:
king safety
material
piece activity
pawn structure

Your goal is to determine the interrelationship between these
advantages. You will need to evaluate the pros and cons of each
as you do your calculations to find the best move.
For example, you may sacrifice a pawn to open up an attack
on your opponent’s king. Or you may allow your opponent to
wreck your pawn structure if you can gain time and piece
activity in return.
Of the different types of advantages, king safety is
ultimately the most important because checkmate is the object
of the game.
Because king safety is so vital, don’t make weak moves that
create opportunities for your opponent to attack your king. Your
opponent will be looking for ways to break in without you
helping him!

Attacking an uncastled king

When a player hasn’t castled in the opening and some of the
center pawns have been exchanged, his king can be a huge
target for his opponent’s pieces to attack.

Position after 16…exf4

In this position, Black is temporarily ahead by a pawn, but
he hasn’t castled and is way behind in development.
 White wins by playing 17.Bxb7!, threatening both the rook
and 18.Rfe1 (or 18.Rde1), pinning the queen to the king. If
Black replies 17…Qxb7, White plays 18.Qd8 mate.


Clearing a path to the king

Clearing a path to a king by destroying the pawns that
protect him is a common attacking idea.

Position after 14...Nxh5

In this position, Black has just captured a White knight on
h5.
Instead of the usual idea of recapturing the knight with his
queen, White sacrifices his bishop by playing 15.Bxh7+! Kxh7
16.Qxh5+ Kg8 17.Bxg7! (a second bishop sacrifice!) 17…
Kxg7 18.Qg4+ Kh7.


Position after 18...Kh7

White continues by playing 19.Rf3!, bringing the rook into
the game with a rook lift.
To avoid getting checkmated, Black must give up his queen
by playing 19…e5 20.Rh3+ Qh6 21.Rxh6+ Kxh6 22.Qd7
(forking the bishops) 22…Bf6 23.Qxb7 Kg7 24.Rf1 Rab8.
By playing 25.Qd7, White’s queen heads back to the
kingside to recreate the queen-rook roller mate threat.
Black gives his king an escape route by playing 25…Rfd8
26.Qg4+ Kf8.
White plays 27.fxe5 to open up Black’s king position and
destroy his protection a second time after 27…Bg7 28.e6 Rb7
29.Qg6 (piling up on the pinned pawn) 29…f6 30.Rxf6+ Bxf6
31.Qxf6+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.Qg7+, skewering the king and
rook.


Sacrificing to break in

A sacrifice is when you give up material for some other type
of advantage, like an attack on your opponent’s king.
Make sure that you checkmate the king, get your material
back, or get some other type of advantage that justifies your
sacrifice.
One thing to keep in mind is that most sacrifices don’t work.
You will get the impression that most sacrifices do work by
reading chess books because these are usually the only ones
they show.

Position after 13…Be6

In this position, Black’s pawn on h6 is a target for White’s
bishop.
White sacrifices his bishop by playing 14.Bxh6! gxh6
15.Qxh6 f6 (16.Nf6+ and 16.Ng5 are threatened) 16.Nxf6+!
Kf7.
Two other failing attempts by Black are 16…Qxf6
17.Bxe6+ Rf7 18.Qxf6, winning the queen and 16…Rxf6
17.Bxe6+ Rxe6 18.Qxe6+, leaving White up two pawns with an
attack.
White wins after 17.Ng5+ Ke7 18.Qg7+ Bf7 19.Nxf7
Resigns




Position after 18...Re8

Here is a position where Black castled and White’s king is
living in the center.
Whose king is safer?
Despite being in the center and lined up on the e-file with
the Black queen and rook, White’s king looks to be safe for now
on e2.
Black’s king, although castled, is in danger because the g-
file is half-open and most of White’s pieces are aimed at him.
White breaks in by sacrificing his rook with 19.Rxg7+! Kf8
(19…Kh8 20.Qxh7 mate or 19…Kxg7 20.exd6+, winning the
queen) 20.Qxh7, with several mate threats.


White to move

The prettiest way to win is to make the ultimate sacrifice,
with the queen.
In this position, both kings are exposed and Black is
threatening mate on g2. Unfortunately for him, it is White’s
move.
A forcing move is a move that forces your opponent to
respond to it immediately, not giving him time to carry out his
own plan. A series of checks is a common way to use forcing
moves.
White’s only check is with the queen.
The queen sacrifice works in this case and White wins by
playing 21.Qxd7+! Kxd7 (21…Kf8 22.Qxe7 mate) 22.Bf5+ (a
powerful double check that forces a king move) 22…Ke8 (22…
Kc6 23.Bd7 mate) 23.Bd7+ Kf8 24.Bxe7 mate.


Locking up pawns to protect king


Position after 15…h4

In this position, Black hasn’t castled yet, but his king is safe
in the center because White’s pieces aren’t in a position to
attack him.
Black has mating threats on the h-file if he can open it up
with …hxg3.
White must close the file quickly. He would like to play
16.g4, but the pawn is pinned to f3 by the queen and Black
would respond 16…Nxf3+, winning a pawn and further
exposing White’s king.
Correct for White would be first chasing away the queen
with 16.Nf4 Qf5 17.g4, and White has successfully locked up
the kingside pawns.


Cutting off the escaping king

When a king is being hunted and is on the run, he wants to
head for the safety of his friends.
In this position, Black’s king wants to escape to e7 and run
to the queenside.
White is behind by a rook and bishop, which he sacrificed
for this attack. When you sacrifice material, remember you need
to be able to see a forced checkmate, a way to get your material
back, or gain some other kind of advantage to justify the
sacrifice.

White to move

Cutting off the king is a technique you can use to keep the
king contained so he can’t run away from your attack.
White played 34.Re1! to cut off Black’s king on the e-file.
Black has to start giving back material in order to live and
plays 34…Be5.
White then chases his enemy’s king into his territory with a
series of forcing checks, where he will eventually checkmate
him after playing 35.Qh8+ Ke7 36.Qxg7+ Kd6 37.Qxe5+ Kd7
38.Qf5+ Kc6 39.d5+ Kc5 40.Ba3+ Kxc4 41.Qe4+ Kc3.


Position after 41…Kc3

Notice White’s queen cuts off the Black king from retreating to
his fifth rank and back into his territory.
The game ended with 42.Bb4+ Kb2 43.Qb1 mate.


Drawing out the king

When a king becomes exposed and you can’t checkmate
him where he is, a strategy is to draw him into your territory
with a series of forcing checks.
The previous example shows how to do this. Here is another
example.


White to move

In this position, White draws out Black’s king and
eventually mates him with 7.Bf7+ Ke7 8.Nd5+ Kd6 9.Nc4+
Kc6 10.Nb4+ Kb5 11.a4+ Kxb4 12.c3+ Kb3 13.Qd1 mate.


 Basset Hound Problems

4-1

Was 13…g5 (from g7) a good move? Why?

________________________

4-2

Which move is better, 39.Rxe6 or 39.c8=Q?

________________________

 4-3

Position after 22.Bc4. What is Black’s best move?

________________________

4-4

How can White take advantage of a weak square near Black’s king?

________________________

 4-5

Position after 33…Bc8. Whose king is safer?

________________________

4-6

Black’s king was forced into White’s territory. How does White finish him off?

________________________

4-7

How does White take advantage of Black’s weak e6 pawn?

________________________

4-8

White’s king is under attack. How does Black break in?

________________________

4-9

What move for Black forms the mating net?

________________________

4-10

Position after 17…Qxh1. Who has the safer king?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

4-11

What is Black’s best move?

________________________

4-12

What is White’s best move?

________________________


4-13

Position after 21.h3. How does Black win quickly?

________________________

4-14

Position after 29.Nd2. What is Black’s best move?

________________________

4-15

White’s king is out in the open. What should Black play?

________________________

4-16

How does Black draw out and checkmate White’s king?

________________________

4-17

How does Black checkmate White’s unprotected king?

________________________

4-18

Position after 21…e6. What is White’s best move?

________________________

4-19

How does White draw out Black’s king?

________________________

4-20

How does Black take advantage of White’s exposed king?

________________________

 LESSON 5

MATERIAL

“Concentrate on material gains. Whatever your

opponent gives you take, unless you see a good reason
not to.”

Bobby Fischer




To the novice chess player, material is the most important
type of advantage. It is the easiest to evaluate and only requires
simple math without any judgment calls.
Material is a semi-permanent advantage and it doesn’t
normally change hands from move-to-move.
Chess masters also place a high value on material. When
evaluating a new position, a chess master starts with material to
get a sense of who is willing to trade and who isn’t (see Lesson
3).
Material advantages are often gained through tactical
combinations.
Remember that saving your own material is just as
important as winning your opponent’s material.
Also, be suspicious when your opponent offers you
material; it is often a trap!


Winning material through combinations

When you take the time to observe how the pieces are lined
up, opportunities to win material through combinations appear.


White to move

From a tactical point of view, notice that to regain his pawn,
White is attacking the b5 pawn twice, which is not defended.
You will also observe that White has a knight between the
two dark-squared bishops and Black’s bishop on c5 is not
defended.
Whenever you notice that pieces are lined up, pay extra
attention, as tactical opportunities will likely appear.
Because Black’s bishop is not defended, White is looking
for a “free” knight move that can attack something of value.
First he looks at 13.Ndxb5, attacking the rook and bishop
simultaneously. But after 13…Bxe3 14.Nxa7, Black can save
his bishop and capture White’s knight at the same time with
14…Bxa7, gaining two minor pieces for the rook.
Notice that White can also move his knight to attack Black’s
queen. White can play 13.Nc6 (or 13.Ne6) 13…Nxc6 14.Bxc5,
forking the two rooks and winning the exchange.


Preserving your material

Trying to win material is half the battle.
The other half is keeping it!
 Preserving your material is like playing good defense. When
your position is bad, try to cut your material losses or avoid
having material losses altogether.

Black to move

In this position, Black is in danger of losing pieces on
several fronts.
First, his knight is almost trapped by White’s king and
bishop.
White also threatens to win the bishop on e8, along with a
possible mate, with the idea of Nd4-b5-c7 and Rxe8.
Black needs to take extra time to think through the
alternatives, as losing a piece will likely cost him the game.
38…Nh4+ would be followed by 39.Ke2 Rh1 (to protect the
knight) 40.Nb5 Bxg5 (40…Nxf5 41.Nc7 Nd6 42.Bg3 would
win for White) 41.Nc7 Ke7 42.Nxe8 and White is up a piece to
two pawns.
A clever way to save the knight is 38…Nf4! since 39.Kxf4
leaves the bishop un-protected and Black can play 39…Rxf2+.
Black is also okay after 39.Nd2 Rd1 40.Nc4 Nd5, holding on to
his material.


 Material to piece activity advantage

When a player gains a material advantage, several strategies
change.
The most important of these is the player who is now ahead
in material has the option to exchange pieces and head for a
winning endgame. Of course, his opponent usually doesn’t want
to trade pieces in this situation.
Being ahead in material can, therefore, lead to a piece
activity advantage.
The player who is ahead can attack his opponent’s pieces,
offering a trade, and his opponent must either trade or run away
– leaving the player who is ahead in material his choice of
squares for his pieces.
Here is an example of how this can happen.

Black to move

Black takes control of the open file with his rook by playing
43…Rd8.
White protects his second rank with 44.Ke2.
Black works toward centralizing his king with 44…Kg6 and
White plays 45.Rd1, challenging for the open file.
Black cannot afford to trade rooks because he is behind in
 material and White will have an easily won king and pawn
endgame if the rooks come off.
But after 45…Rc8, yielding the file, White’s rook becomes
the more active piece and can invade by playing 46.Rd7 or
46.Rd6.


Attacking when behind

King safety also becomes more important when a player
obtains a lead in material.
The player who is behind doesn't want to trade down to a
losing endgame. He is now in a urgent situation where he is
becoming desperate and should seriously consider throwing
everything at his opponent’s king – even if the attack seems
speculative, in hopes of turning the game around.
Once you gain a winning material advantage, one of your
top priorities is to make sure your king is properly protected
from an all-out attack.

Position after 22.h5

Black is ahead a pawn in material and his passed pawn on
a7 is likely to be a winning pawn in the endgame.
 White is desperate to create problems for the Black king.
His best chances are in the middlegame as he hopes to attack
Black’s king on the light squares with his d3 bishop, queen, and
h5 pawn.
To help protect his king and reach a winning endgame up a
pawn, Black wants to trade pieces, especially the ones that can
easily attack his king.
He plays 22…Bc4! pinning the bishop to the queen to force
it off the board.
The game continued 23.hxg6 hxg6 24.Bxc4 Nxc4 25.Qg4
Qf7 26.Rf3 Qf5 27.Qh4 Kf7.
Black’s advantage is now obvious: he has safeguarded his
king by trading the light-squared bishops, has a good knight
versus White’s bad bishop, still has his extra outside passed
pawn on a7, and is threatening 28…Rh8 to attack on the
kingside.
White did his best to try to break in on Black’s king, but in
this case came up short.


Sacrificing material

Sacrificing, or giving up material voluntarily, was
introduced in Lesson 4, so we won’t spend much time on
sacrifices here.


White to move

Now let's look at the most famous queen sacrifice of all
time, by Paul Morphy in 1858.
White played 16.Qb8+!, forcing the knight to take the
queen by playing 16…Nxb8. White then played 17.Rd8 mate.


Point values

When learning to play chess, we are taught that a pawn is
worth 1, a knight and a bishop are each worth 3, a rook is worth
5, and a queen is worth 9. This is easy for the beginner to learn
and is a rough ballpark for what actual piece values are worth.
Material is the only type of advantage with numerical
values. Of course, if we are to evaluate material correctly, we
must have accurate point values for each piece. This is a subject
matter that can fill a whole book and has been greatly
influenced in the last couple decades with the popularity of
chess computers, whose engines express advantages
numerically in terms of material.
For the sake of this book, we will go along with the
beginner piece values, with one major exception – we will
account for the added value of the bishop pair. The two bishops
complement each other since, if you have both of them, they
can attack every square on the board and are powerful as a
team, especially in open positions. It is accurate to add about
half a point (pawn) to the value of your bishops if you have
them both and the board is not completely locked up by pawns,
which would limit their effectiveness.
With the progress made in the area of computers and chess,
most masters use a more accurate system. Although there are
differing opinions among grandmasters about what the most
accurate point count scale should be, for the more advanced
level student reading this book, a fairly accurate scale that you
can adopt is: pawn=1, knight=bishop=3.25 (adding .50 for the
bishop pair), rook=5, queen=9.75.


Tips on counting

Before moving on, here is a tip for counting material:
Always count material that is on the board, not off the board.
Many amateurs count the material off the board in the
opening – because it is easier, and count the material on the
board in the endgame – again, because it is easier.
Counting material off the board can lead to an error in a
number of situations: a piece fell off the table, a piece is out of
view behind the clock or a soda, your opponent is holding a
captured piece in his hand, players on the board next to you
have the same type of chess set and you are counting a captured
piece from their game, or there is a promoted pawn.
An easy way to count the material on the board is to cancel
out like pieces (instead of adding them for one player and
subtracting them for the other player) to determine the
difference. You are only interested in who is ahead and by how
much, not how many total points you have.
 Basset Hound Problems

5-1

Position after 17.Qf2. Does Black want to trade queens?

________________________

5-2

Position after 36.Rd7. How can Black save his d5 pawn?

________________________

5-3

Position after 5…Nf6. How can White win material?

________________________

5-4

Can Black safely win the a4 pawn after 34…Bb3?

________________________

5-5

Why was 9…Nbd7 a bad move?

________________________

5-6

White to move. How can he win material?

________________________

5-7

How can White win the exchange?

________________________

5-8

How can White win material?

________________________

5-9

Does 15.Rxa7 safely win material?

________________________

5-10

How can Black win material?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

5-11

How can Black win material?

________________________

5-12

Position after 16…Nh5. How can White win material?

________________________


5-13

Black is behind a piece in material. What should his strategy be?

________________________

5-14

How does White win the greatest amount of material?

________________________

 5-15

Position after 14…Qh4. What response does not lose material?

________________________

5-16

Position after 9…b6. How does Black threaten to win material?

________________________

5-17

Position after 15.Bb2. How can Black win material?

________________________

5-18

Is White better off winning the exchange or saving his c4 pawn?

________________________

5-19

Position after 38.f4. How can Black win material?

________________________

5-20

Position after 25.Bd2. How can Black win material?

________________________

 LESSON 6

PIECE ACTIVITY

“Proper development does not concern itself merely

with placing the pieces where they are effective for
attack. It is equally important to interfere with the
range of influence of the opponent's pieces.”

Irving Chernev

Putting your pieces on good squares is one of the major
keys to winning in all three phases of the game. Good piece
placement leads to successful attacks on the king and sets up
tactical opportunities to win material.
Piece activity is also defined as mobility. Greater mobility
leads to more choices. This is why Lesson 1, Piece Placement,
is so important.
Time is a concept that goes hand in hand with piece activity.
You want to get your pieces to the best squares as quickly as
possible. Wasting time, or tempi, can cost you the game. You
always want to have a plan that is efficient and doesn’t waste
time.
Grabbing pawns to gain material is a common way that a
player can waste time. You have to decide if spending the time
to win a pawn is worth possibly playing a defensive position for
the rest of the game. In this case, your opponent’s piece activity
could tie you down, resulting in you having to return the pawn
later, while he keeps his active pieces along with the pressure.
Bringing your queen out early in the opening where she can
be attacked by bishops and knights and chased around is
another way to lose time.
Another less common way to lose time is to trade one of
your developed pieces for an opponent’s piece that isn’t
developed.
A way to gain time is to develop your pieces to squares that
attack something that your opponent must defend. This is called
gaining a tempo.
Let’s say you develop your pieces faster than your
 opponent. There may only be a small window available to
capitalize on this as your opponent may be able to catch up
quickly. Sometimes you will be able take advantage of a lead in
development and turn it into another type of advantage and
sometimes you can’t.
Therefore, gaining time is usually more of a temporary
advantage.
Space is another concept that relates closely with piece
activity.
The player who controls more of the board has more space,
giving his pieces more choices of squares to move to.
At the start of the game, each player has his own half of the
board – four ranks, with the 50 yard line, in football terms,
between the 4th and 5th rank.
Usually, advancing your pawns into your opponent’s
territory is the best way to gain space. Your pieces should
quickly fall in line behind them to help support the invasion.
It is also important to get at least one pawn into the center so
your opponent can not advance his center pawns into your
territory and cramp your position.
Piece activity is more critical in open positions than closed
ones because with fewer pawns on the board the pieces can
quickly invade enemy territory.
Closed positions have more pawns that lock up the position
and make it more difficult for the pieces to invade.
You want your pieces to “flow” quickly into the position.
When selecting your candidate moves (see Appendix B),
moving a piece to a better square, where it is more active, is
always a consideration.
Here are a few general rules that you should know that
relate piece activity to material.
In the opening, two to three moves in development is
considered to be worth a pawn.
In the endgame, a rook on the seventh rank (active rook) is
worth about a pawn.


Losing time pawn grabbing

When a player has the opportunity to capture a pawn that is
away from the main battle, he has to decide whether the pawn is
worth the loss in tempi, which his opponent can use to increase
the mobility of his pieces.
Capturing a pawn in this manner, when it appears to be a
risky endeavor, is called pawn grabbing.

Black to move

White has a huge lead in development in this position.
His rook is on the open c-file and he has a potential bishop
sacrifice on g6 that would expose Black’s king.
The only thing giving Black any hope is that the center is
locked up, providing some protection from White’s attack.
Black needs to play 16…Ne7 to develop the knight, protect
g6, and then try to castle. If White plays 17.Bb5+, Black can
play 17…Kf8 and …Kg7.
Instead, Black decides to go pawn grabbing with 16…Qa5+
17.Rc3 Qxa2 18.0-0 Qa5 (18…Qxb2 19.Rb1 Qxc3 20.Bb5+
Qc6 21.Bxc6+ bxc6 and White should win easily. If Black
doesn’t capture the rook, White will invade on the 7th rank with
his rooks.) 19.Rfc1 Qd8.


Position after 19…Qd8

Black spent four moves to win the a2 pawn.
Look at what White’s gained during this time: a castled king,
rooks doubled on the c-file (with the threat of 20.Rc7), and the
threats of Bb5+ and Bxg6 are now more serious.

 Wasting time with pawn moves

Position after 7.Bf4

Since White has the advantage of the first move in the
opening, it is critical that Black not waste time.
In this position, Black wasted only one move by playing …
b6, which will cost him the game.
Black plays 7…e5 (7…d5 8.Nc7+), since other moves lose
the d-pawn and likely leave the king stuck in the center.
White responds, 8.Nd5 with several tactical threats.

All of these defensive ideas for Black fall short due to White’s
active piece play:

8…exf4 9.Nbc7+ Kd7 10.Nxa8 Nxd5 11.cxd5 with threats of
Qa4+, e3, and Rc1

8…Na6 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Nxe7 Kxe7 (or 10…Qxe7 11.Nxd6+
Kf8) 11.Qd5 Rb8 12.Nxa7

8…Nxd5 9.Qxd5 exf4 10.Qxa8

8…Be7 9.Nxf6+ Bxf6 10.Qd5 exf4 11.Nd6+ Ke7 12.0-0-0 Be6
13.Qxa8


Space

Here is a position where both players have space; White on
the kingside and Black on the queenside.

Black to move

The strategy for each player is to expand and attack on the
side of the board where he has more space and piece activity.
If White succeeds on the kingside, he hopes to checkmate
the Black king.
Black should try to seize the initiative and break in on the
queenside to draw White’s attack away from his king.

 Series of forcing checks

Making observations about the position below, White has
two rooks against a knight, bishop, and pawn - a three pawn
advantage in material. Therefore, Black cannot afford to let
White trade off pieces, the queens in particular.

 Black to move

White also has two attackers on the knight on e5, which is
defended once.
Also notice that, if not for the Black queen protecting e8,
Qe8 would be mate.
The Black knight on e5 is pinned to his queen, by White’s
queen, and to the checkmate square on e8, by White’s rook.
White is attacking the b7 pawn twice and it is defended
twice.
Fortunately for Black, he has all four active pieces near
White’s king.
In situations where a king is exposed, all possible checks
and sacrifices must be examined.
Black quickly unleashes his attack on the White king by
playing 26…Qxh2+! 27.Kxh2 Ng4+ 28.Kg1 Nh3+ 29.Kf1
Nh2 mate.

This sequence of the forcing checks by Black’s pieces is
called a mating combination.


Limit opponent’s piece activity

Besides striving to get your pieces to active squares, you
also want to prevent your opponent from activating his pieces.


Black to move

Picking up the clues in this position, starting with material,
White is ahead by a pawn and the exchange.
Black has the more mobile pieces, especially his centralized
knights. White’s queen is out of play after taking Black’s rook.
Note that White has neglected his development of his
queenside.
White would love to play d4, striking at Black’s knights and
freeing his bishop on c1.
Black increases his piece play, while restricting White’s, by
playing 12…Qd3!
Now White’s queenside pieces are trapped and Black’s
queen eyes White’s king. White plays 13.Bd1, desperately
trying to get a piece to help defend his king on the kingside.
Black brings in another piece to attack the White king by
playing 13…Bh3 while creating a discovered attack on White’s
queen, who takes a pawn with 14.Qxa6.
The game finishes quickly after 14…Bxg2 15.Re1 Qf3!,
offering the queen while threatening 16…Nh3 mate. If White
plays 16.Bxf3, then 16…Nxf3 mate. White cannot escape
Black’s swarming pieces after 16.h4 Nh3+ 17.Kh2 Ng4 mate.

This final move sequence was played out in the classic
movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).


Trading pieces to slow down opponent’s attack

Position after 13...Bh4

In this position, Black has a lead in development, greater
piece mobility, and a safer king.
White is ahead a pawn in material and has a better pawn
structure.
Besides the queen, Black threatens 14…Nb4 with a forking
threat on c2 and sacrifice threats with 14...Nxd3+.
Trading pieces is a good strategy for White to slow down
Black’s attack.
White can force a trade of queens by playing 14.Qxh4!
Qxh4 15.Bg5 Qxg5 16.Nxg5 and breathe a bit easier.



 Basset Hound Problems

6-1

How does Black eliminate White’s active rook on e7?

________________________

6-2

From a piece activity point of view, what move should White make?

________________________

 6-3

Is 9.a3 or 9.a4 a better way for White to gain space on the queenside?

________________________

6-4

Which rook capture is better for White, 23.Rxd8 or 23.Rxh8?

________________________

 6-5

Black must recapture on d5 and avoid 25.Rh7. How can he gain time to do both?

________________________

6-6

Position after 29.c4. What does this move do for White?

________________________

 6-7

What is the best way for White to increase his piece activity advantage?

________________________

6-8

What is Black’s best move?

________________________

 6-9

Position after 22.Kg2. How can Black restrict White’s pieces?

________________________

6-10

How does Black improve the mobility of his minor pieces?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

6-11

Should Black capture the pawn with 8…cxd6 or 8…Qxd6?

________________________

6-12

White to move. How can he limit Black’s piece mobility?

________________________


6-13

Is Black better off winning the pawn by playing 43…Nxg2 or 43…Rxg2?

________________________

6-14

Position after 22.Bxh8. How does Black win?

________________________

 6-15

How does White win the game due to his greater piece mobility?

________________________

6-16

How can White use his space and piece activity advantages to win material?

________________________

6-17

Position after 15.Bd6. How can Black solve his development problems?

________________________

6-18

How does 33.Bc3 (from b2) help White in a piece activity sense?

________________________

6-19

How does Black use his active pieces to win material?

________________________

6-20

How does White quickly activate his pieces against the Black king?

________________________

 LESSON 7

PAWN STRUCTURE

"And his six pawns were scattered like the ships of the
Armada that should have conquered England;
the Lord blew, and they were all isolated."

Hans Kmoch






Pawn structure is the backbone of the chess position and
plays a big part in determining the strategies used in the game.
Positions are normally categorized as open, semi-open,
semi-closed, or closed.
Open positions, where the center pawns have been captured,
result in battles that involve the direct combat of the pieces.
Piece activity, time, and tactics are most critical in open
positions.
Closed positions lend themselves to more strategic battles
where the pawns act as barriers and the pieces look for ways to
move around the pawn blockades.
Semi-open and semi-closed positions fall in the middle
range with more of a balance of strategic and tactical
possibilities.
Pawn structure advantages tend to be more permanent, long-
lasting advantages in nature since, like material, they usually
don’t change on a move-by-move basis.
Always be on the lookout for ways to wreck your
opponent’s pawn structure to create weak pawns, which are
targets where you can later focus your attacking efforts.
Keep in mind that the weakening of an opponent’s pawn
structure, by doubling his pawns, can have a negative effect on
piece activity as now his rooks have the opportunity to invade
on the newly open file.
Of course, you want to create strong pawns (typically
passed and protected passed pawns) for yourself, since they
have the potential to promote in the endgame.
A minority attack is an attack by fewer pawns against a
larger group of pawns with the idea of weakening the larger
 group and opening up lines of attack for the pieces.
Pawn structure can be critical to an attack as one player tries
to open a file for his rooks to attack the enemy king. In this
case, his opponent tries to keep the pawn structure locked up to
keep his king safe.


Strong Pawn Chain

Here is an example of how a strong pawn structure creates
more space, which, in turn, can increase piece activity.

White to move

White has an awesome pawn chain that cuts through the
center of the board with a strong pawn on f6 that attacks the
heart of Black’s king position, giving White an advantage in
king safety as well.
One way Black could hope to eliminate these advantages
would be to sacrifice material, like his knight for a couple
pawns, but that would likely leave him with a signif-icant
disadvantage in material.
Another idea for Black would be to try to prepare for an
eventual …c5 to attack the pawn chain at its base. Black has a
 difficult position to play.


Creating a pawn weakness

Here is an example of being able to weaken the opponent’s
pawn structure because a player has a piece activity advantage
and a safer king. Notice how one type of advantage can
translate to another.

White to move

White can force Black to weaken his pawn structure by
playing 10.Nxd6+.
Black is forced to triple and isolate his pawns by responding
10…cxd6.
His other choice, 10…Qxd6, loses material due to the
forcing sequence 11.e5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.Bf3, attacking
the rook on a8 and threatening 14.Re1, pinning the queen to her
uncastled king.


Position after 13...Qe5

In this position which occurred later in the same game,
Black just played 13…Qe5, offering a trade of queens.
Looking at the types of advantages, both kings are
protected, so king safety is even.
Piece activity is also even since both players have an equal
number of active pieces in the game.
Material slightly favors White by roughly half a pawn since
he still has his bishop pair. Note that he can’t do much with the
bishop pair right now since his light-squared bishop is blocked
in by his pawns.
White does have a significant advantage in pawn structure
because of Black’s doubled, isolated d-pawns. This can lead to a
piece activity and material advantage later, as one of White’s
main goals is to double his rooks on the d-file to attack and win
the isolated pawns.
Let’s turn our attention to whether or not White wants to
trade queens.
He isn’t opposed to the concept based on king safety,
material, or piece activity.
If White plays 14.Qxe5 dxe5, however, he does strengthen
Black’s d6 pawn, which is no longer an isolated pawn. Black’s
d7 pawn is still weak and is now a backward pawn, so White
would still have an advantage in pawn structure, but he would
rather leave Black with two weak pawns instead of one. Don’t
voluntarily help out your opponent’s pawn structure.
Instead of retreating his queen, White should protect her
queen by either developing his bishop with 14.Be3 or bringing
his rook to the d-file with 14.Rd1.

Pawn Arrows

Black to move

In this position from the Advance Variation of the French
Defense, notice that the pawns on d4 and d5, as well as the
pawns on e5 and e6, are blocking each other. Both players will
have to position their pieces to move around this center
blockade.
When pawns are blocking each other on adjacent files like
this, a concept called pawn arrows comes into play.
Since neither player can expand in the center, they each
have to decide whether to expand on the kingside or queenside.
Each player would like to play where he has more space.
Drawing a line between the d-pawns and moving toward the
queenside, both players have four ranks on this side of the
board.
Drawing a line between the e-pawns and moving toward the
kingside, White has five ranks and Black has only three ranks to
work with.
Therefore, White would rather play on the kingside because
he has more space on that side of the board and Black would
rather play on the queenside, where he has more space.
To determine White’s pawn arrow, locate his pawns that are
locked up, the d4 and e5 pawns, and draw an imaginary arrow
toward Black through them from the pawn closest to White’s
side of the board - in this case, the d-pawn. This arrow points
toward the kingside.
To determine Black’s pawn arrow, find his pawns that are
locked up, the d5 and e6 pawns, and draw the arrow toward
White through them, starting with the pawn closest to Black, the
e6 pawn. Black’s arrow points toward the queenside.
Each player wants to play on the side of the board in the
direction of his pawn arrow.
A lever is a square where a pawn can exchange for a pawn
that is at the base of the opponent's arrow and can open up a
file.
In this case, Black’s lever is on c5 and White’s lever is on
f5.
Black usually trades …cxd4 to open the c-file for a pathway
to White’s position.
Typically, Black playing …c4 is a mistake. That would
move the lever to b4, the next pawn breakthrough point. In this
case, to open up the position, Black would play …bxc3 to open
up the b-file. Black’s army can only invade White’s position on
the a- and b- files.
Compare this to the previous position where the c-file was
opened. Black would prefer this position with the open the c-file
where he has more room and can invade on the a-, b-, and c-
files.

Black to move

Here is a position from the Classical Variation of an opening
called the King’s Indian Defense.
Notice that White’s pawn arrow, f3-e4-d5, points in the
direction of the queenside, where he wants to expand.
White’s lever is on c5.
Black’s pawn arrow, d6-e5-f4, points toward the kingside,
with the lever on g4.
White’s plan is to move his c-pawn to c5 and then trade it
for the pawn on d6, opening the c-file for his rooks.
The rest of White’s pieces will then attempt to invade on the
queenside with the goal of breaking in and forcing Black to
defend, where he has less space.
White wouldn’t want to move his c-pawn to c6 as Black
would play …b6 and lock up much of the queenside. Although
White could try to open up the a-file by pushing his a-pawn, it
would be difficult to squeeze his attacking forces through this
narrow gap.
Black’s plan is to advance his kingside pawns and then
make a pawn trade that opens the g-file in front of the White
king.
Note that normally Black wouldn’t advance the pawns in
front of his king because White would play in the center and
attack the newly exposed king. In this position because the
center is locked up, Black can safely play this pawn advance.
White would either have to sacrifice a piece to break open
the center, which usually wouldn’t work because it gives up too
much material, or work his way through the c-file and attack on
the queenside to go around the pawn mass in the center to get to
the Black king.
Of course, if Black succeeds with his kingside attack, he
may checkmate the White king.
In this position the game is a race…with both players trying
to break through as quickly as possible.

Backward Pawns

A backward pawn is a pawn at the base of a pawn chain that
is on a half-open file where the enemy’s rooks can attack it.
Backward pawns, like isolated pawns, are weak pawns.

Position after 20...b4

In this position, Black’s d6 pawn is a backward pawn.

The first thing to consider when playing against a backward
pawn is to see if you can get more attackers on it before your
opponent can bring defenders.
If this doesn’t work and you can’t win the pawn, you want
to control the square in front of the backward pawn, fixing the
pawn in place, so it can’t move forward and be exchanged for
one of your stronger pawns. The square in front of a backward
pawn is also a weakness.
In this position, d5 is the square in front of the backward
pawn and White has three attackers, whereas Black has one
defender. If the pawn could move forward, it could trade for the
c4 pawn. Notice that the backward d6 pawn acts like an isolated
pawn, since his c5 pawn provides no help in protecting him.
By playing 20…b4, Black forks the bishop and a3 pawn,
threatening to create a backward pawn for White on b3. If
 White plays 21.Bb2, Black will play 21…bxa3. If White plays
21.axb4, Black will recapture with the knight by playing 21…
Nxb4, since capturing 21…cxb4 closes the b-file and turns the
b3 pawn into a base pawn that the rooks cannot easily attack.
22.Bxb4 Rxb4 also leaves White with a backward b3 pawn.
White’s dream to close the b-file could come true with Bb2 and
a4, but he doesn’t get two moves.
The best move for White is 21.Bxf6!
This gains time to get out of the fork, because Black must
recapture the bishop with 21…Bxf6. White then has time to
play 22.a4, eliminating Black’s dream of creating a backward
pawn on b3. 22.Nd5 attacking Black’s queen and then playing
23.a4 is also good for White.
Notice that 21.Bxf6 also has the bonus of eliminating a
knight that can attack d5 for a bishop that can’t. This increases
White’s control over the weak d5 square.

Mobile, passed pawn

Connected passed pawns marching up the board together are
a powerful force since they can protect each other each step
along the way.


Position after 44...Rd1

Here is an example where White has two mobile passed
pawns on f6 and g6 that are connected and marching.
White sacrificed the exchange earlier in the game to obtain
this advantage.
Both players have three pawns on the queenside while Black
has an isolated passed pawn on e4 that has the potential to
promote with the help of his rooks.
Notice that Black is ahead in material the exchange to a
pawn.
White’s passed pawns threaten to promote after 45.g7
followed by g8 or f7.
In this case, White has a pawn structure advantage which
will win him the game.



Limiting your opponent’s space

Not only can you use your pawns to gain space; you can
also use them to limit the space your opponent’s is trying to
obtain.

Position after 15.Ne1 (from f3)

White has a couple of strategic ideas in this position: move
his knight from e1 to d3 to f4 or advance his pawns to gain
space on the kingside with f4, g4, and f5.
Exposing his king by moving up these pawns shouldn’t be a
problem since the queens have been traded.
Normally, to gain space, you push your pawns forward.
Limiting your opponent’s attempt to gain space with your
pawns is an equally important concept to learn.
Black plays 15…h5!, which not only prevents g4, but also
allows him to develop his rook on the h-file without moving his
f8 bishop. He can then move the pawn forward to h4, where it is
well-protected and can capture en passant should White try to
move his g2 pawn past it.
 If White cannot play g4, Black will own the f5 square,
preventing White from advancing his pawn to f5 and gaining
space on the kingside and center.
It is important to always be looking for ways to control key
squares.

Since we have discussed all four types of advantages, the
Chess Detective problems at the end of this chapter will ask you
to put all of them together to determine who has the better
position.
 Basset Hound Problems

7-1

Is 23…Qxa2 a good move for Black?

________________________

7-2

Which two pawns are weak?

________________________

7-3

Which player has better pawns?

________________________

7-4

How can White (to move) improve his pawn structure?

________________________

 7-5

White to move. Is White’s isolated d-pawn weak?

________________________

7-6

Position after 10…dxc4. Who has the better pawn structure?

________________________

 7-7

What is Black’s best move?

________________________

7-8

White (to move) has three isolated pawns. Who has the better position?

________________________

 7-9

What is the weakest square in Black’s camp where White should focus his
attack?

________________________

7-10

What is Black’s best move?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

7-11

Which of the advantages does each player have?

________________________

7-12

Position after 22.Qd3. Which of the advantages does each player have?

________________________

7-13

Which of the advantages does each player have?

________________________

7-14

Which of the advantages does each player have?

________________________

7-15

Which of the advantages does each player have?

________________________

7-16

Which of the advantages does each player have?

________________________

7-17

What is White’s biggest advantage? What is his strategy?

________________________

7-18

Of the types of advantages, which ones are a problem for Black?

________________________

7-19

Position after 27.Kf1. Which advantages does Black have and what is his
strategy?

________________________

7-20

Position after 32…Rc8. What is White’s strategy and best move?

________________________

 BASIC STRATEGIES

“Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a
magician, and the endgame like a machine.”


Rudolf Spielmann
 LESSON 8

OPENING STRATEGIES

“Your only task in the opening
is to reach a playable middlegame.”

Lajos Portisch


In the opening, there are three basic goals: control the
center, develop your pieces, and castle early.
Comparing these to the types of advantages, controlling the
center gives you space, which enhances piece activity.
Developing your pieces is piece activity. Castling relates to king
safety and piece activity (rook). You always want to try to win
material and maintain a good pawn structure in all phases of the
game.
Keep all of these goals in balance with one another. For
example, if you spend too much time trying to control the center
and developing, but neglect to castle, you could end up with
your king dangerously placed in the center.
Splitting the board in half, both players have four ranks on
their side of the board at the start of the game.
The two most popular moves made by chess masters when
playing White are 1.e4 and 1.d4. Both of these moves not only
open a diagonal for a bishop but also stake a claim to the center.
If your opponent responds with a move that allows the other
center pawn to advance two squares, it is usually a good idea to
move it forward and control the center with both pawns. If your
opponent doesn’t fight for the center, then take it. After taking
the center, you should then quickly develop your minor pieces
to support your center pawns and castle to safeguard your king.
Develop your pieces quickly and efficiently; you want to
coordinate your pieces so that they don’t block each other on
the way out and can flow easily into the game.
Start with your bishops and knights. The minor pieces are
the main fighters in the opening. Knights tend to be a little more
valuable than bishops in the opening because they can develop
without moving a pawn. When developing your bishops, try to
develop them outside your pawn chains so they are not blocked
in by your pawns.
A general rule is you don’t want to develop your queen early
in the opening. The danger in her coming out early is she can
either get trapped if you aren’t paying attention or chased
around by your opponent’s bishops and knights, losing tempi.
The main exception to this rule is when your opponent hasn’t
developed properly and gives you attacking chances against his
king. If you have the initiative and are attacking, your opponent
will have to defend his king and not have time to chase your
queen around.
If your opponent’s queen comes out early, know that it is
generally a bad move, but be extra careful - she is your
opponent’s most powerful piece. Make sure the squares near
your king are well-protected.
Castling is the only time where you can move two pieces in
one turn. The main purpose behind castling is to get the king out
of the center. Here are a couple of situations where you may
choose not to castle: if the queens are traded quickly and your
king can live safely in the center or if the center is blocked by
pawns and it is safer for your king to hide behind them.
It is easy to forget that castling also develops the rook.
Rooks usually enter the battle last because the other pieces need
to clear out before they can move toward the center. If they
come out early, like the queen, they can be chased around by
your opponent’s knights and bishops. Rooks like to be on open
files or files with the potential to open up later.
There are many books written on the various openings
showing how masters have used these basic principles to begin
the game. Chess opening theory constantly changes as
grandmasters develop new ideas.
Until you reach the higher rating levels, keep your opening
study to a minimum. It is more important that you become
proficient at picking up clues and learn to develop a solid plan.
Opening study can easily become memorization and lower
 rated players usually don’t play the same lines as grandmasters
– the examples given in books – so you won’t see these lines
often and will probably forget them quickly. I would much
rather my students learn how to think on their feet than get a
move or two deeper into an opening line.
You can learn a little bit about the openings and the
common traps in them, but don’t get lost in opening study and
neglect more important topics.
The Internet is a great tool for experimentation to see what
types of opening positions you like. You can play many blitz
games in a short period of time against a lot of different
opponents throughout the world to gain valuable experience
with your new opening system.
After you finish this lesson, take a look at Appendix A for a
summary of common mistakes to avoid in the opening.

Trading a bishop and knight for a rook and a
pawn

This type of position often comes up in amateur play but
isn’t found in opening books.


Position after 5…0-0

White is incorrectly planning 6.Nxf7 Rxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7,
thinking that he is trading 6 points for 6 points (of course, each
point really equals a pawn).
Looking at the other types of advantages: Black’s king is
drawn out one square into the open (he can safely retreat to g8
the next move), but Black also has a big lead in development.
Assuming these cancel out (although Black would have a
small advantage, taking into account king safety and piece
activity here), the reality is that Black is ahead about the
equivalence of a pawn – note that White traded off his bishop
pair.
Therefore, it is usually not a good idea to trade a bishop and
knight for a rook and a pawn unless you can get something
significant for it.
A revised and more accurate point count is a complicated
subject that is well beyond the scope of this book (a suggested
revision to the beginner point count system is at the end of
Lesson 5).
Remember that I’m only identifying the biggest flaws in the
beginner point count here for you to consider.




Taking control of the center

Here is a commonly known position from Alekhine’s
Defense after 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4.

Position after 4.d4

Black has given White the center and moved his knight
three times. He usually plays 4…d6 in this position in order to
challenge White’s space advantage in the center. After playing
4...d6 he is okay.
 Let’s say that instead he develops his other knight with 4…
Nc6? Looking at the goals for the opening, Black has two
pieces developed to White’s none, but White totally controls the
center with his pawns.
Because Black has not even pushed one center pawn to keep
from being overrun here, White can keep marching forward and
win material by playing 5.d5 Nxe5 6.c5 Nbc4 7.f4 and one of
the knights will be captured. 5…Nb4 also loses a knight to 6.c5
N6xd5 7.a3.


Building a Wall

This is a different type of position, from the Stonewall
Dutch Defense, where the center is somewhat locked up.

Black to move

Material is even and king safety is roughly equal. Black’s
king is a slightly exposed since he moved his pawn to f5, but
this can also help him gain space for a kingside attack later on.
Piece activity slightly favors White, because Black’s bishop
on c8 is blocked in by his pawns.
Pawn structure would slightly favor White because of the
 hole Black created on e5.
So why would Black choose this opening?
In master games, White normally gets an advantage out of
the opening because he has the first move.
Black’s strategy here is to quickly build a “stonewall”
(pawns on c6, d5, e6, and f5) to keep White from gaining a
space advantage with the help of his first move. In order to do
this, Black has to give up something – the hole on e5 and the
bad bishop on c8.
Chess moves are always a tradeoff - you have to give up
something to gain something else. Black can develop his bishop
by moving it to d7-e8-h5, which will cost him some time, or
play …b6, …Bb7, and an eventual …c5, once his pieces are
developed behind the wall.


Moving an f-pawn one square forward

Here is what can happen if a player moves the wrong pawn
too quickly after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6?

Position after 2...f6?

Not only does this move a pawn instead of developing a
 piece and take a natural developing square away from the g8
knight, but it weakens the light squares around the Black king.
White can immediately take advantage of this by playing
3.Nxe5! fxe5 4.Qh5+ Ke7 (4…g6 5.Qxe5+ forks the king and
rook) 5.Qxe5+ Kf7 6.Bc4+ (developing a piece with a tempo)
6…Kg6 7.Qf5+ Kh6 8.d4+ (gaining a tempo while freeing the
bishop) 8…g5.
Notice how every move White plays forces Black to
respond, preventing him from developing any of his pieces.
White is okay bringing his queen out early since he is the
attacker and Black won't have time to chase her around.

Position after 8...g5

9.h4 Continuing to create threats like 10.Bxg5+ or
10.hxg5+. 9…Kg7 10.Qf7+ Kh6 11.hxg5 mate.


Copying moves

One other common mistake to address is when Black
decides to copy his opponent’s moves. This occurs most
commonly with younger players, who enjoy copying their
opponent’s moves because it annoys them.
 The problem for Black, if he copies White’s moves, is that
the position is symmetrical and the threats are the same for both
players - but White gets to be the first to break the symmetry.
One of the few main line openings where Black can get
away with copying White for any length of time is the Four
Knight’s Game where the moves would go something like 1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.0-0 0-0.

The main trap in Petroff’s Defense is the best opening
example to show how Black gets into big trouble copying
White’s moves.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4?

Position after 3...Nxe4?

The main variation in this opening is 3…d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4
5.d4 d5.
White now plays 4.Qe2 and if Black copies by playing 4…
Qe7, White plays 5.Qxe4 d6 (not 5…Qxe5? losing the queen!)
6.d4 and White will remain a pawn ahead with good control of
the center after Black recaptures his knight.
Losing quickly for Black is 4…Nf6? 5.Nc6+!, winning the
Black queen.


Trading queens on the d-file

Trading queens on the d-file is a good idea about 90% of the
time because the opponent’s king is stuck in the center of the
board and he has given up the right to castle.
The uncastled king can be attacked by rooks on the d-file
and the opponent’s knights can be deadly attackers as they take
aim on the seventh rank on the c- and f-files.

Here is an example where it is good to trade queens on the
d-file.


Position after 4.dxe5

This position occurs after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4
4.dxe5.
If Black plays 4…dxe5?, White can play 5.Qxd8+,
breaking the pin and forcing Black to recapture with his king by
5…Kxd8 6.Nxe5, winning a pawn and threatening Nxg4 and
Nxf7+.
Black can defend with either 6…Be6 or 6…Bh5, but he is
down a pawn and his king in the center will be a target. White
will likely gain a tempo in a few moves by bringing a rook to d1
to attack Black’s king.



White to move

In this position, White can trade the queens on the d-file by
playing 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8.
In this case, it is a bad strategy for White because his pieces
don’t flow into the game like Black’s pieces do.
White does not have a knight on f3 to head to f7 for a
possible fork and his knight on c3 won’t be able to invade on b5
or d5 once Black plays …c6.
White’s bishops also take extra time to develop to good
squares as they are partially blocked in by his pawns.
Black’s king will be long gone from the d-file before
White’s rooks arrive to drum up any threats against him.
This is also an example of how Black’s pieces can flow
quickly into the game.
After …c6, Black’s king can live safely on c7 while waiting
for a few more piece exchanges before moving confidently
toward the center. Black’s bishops develop quickly to good
squares on e6 and c5 and his rooks can head to the d-file.
Also, because White exchanged knights on e5, the
recapturing d-pawn is now on e5, where it helps Black to
control the center.






 Basset Hound Problems

8-1

Why is 7.Nf3 a bad move for White?

________________________

8-2

Is 3.c5 a good move for White?

________________________


8-3

What is White’s best move?

________________________

8-4

Would you rather be White or Black in this position? Why?

________________________

8-5

What is Black’s best move?

________________________

8-6

What is White’s biggest problem?

________________________

 8-7

Position after 11…h5. What is the strategy behind this move?

________________________

8-8

Taking into account the types of advantages, who has a better position?

________________________

8-9

Position after 6.Bxb4 (from d2). Should Black trade queens?

________________________

8-10

Is 5.Qe2+ a good move?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

8-11

Position after 8…Kd8. What advantage does each player have?

________________________

8-12

Position after 11.Nf3. What is the best strategy for Black?

________________________

 8-13

Position after 10…0-0. Which advantages do each player have?

________________________

8-14

Position after 5…Ne8. Which advantages do each player have?

________________________

8-15

Position after 4.b4. Why would White offer a free pawn?

________________________

8-16

Position after 6…c5. Which advantages do each player have?

________________________

8-17

Position after 7…Ke6. What is the best strategy for each player?

________________________

8-18

Position after 9.0-0. What is the best strategy for each player?

________________________

8-19

Position after 5…b5. Which advantages do each player have?

________________________

8-20

Position after 6.Bxb2. What is the best strategy for each player?

________________________

 LESSON 9

MIDDLEGAME STRATEGIES

“Before the endgame, the gods have placed the
middlegame.”

Siegbert Tarrasch


The middlegame is the most complicated part of the chess

game with a variety of possible strategic themes, depending on
the opening system played.
Before considering strategies for the middlegame, make
sure you have completed your goals from the opening.
If you haven’t developed all of your pieces yet, you should
do so soon.
Of course, castling should also be of highest priority if you
haven’t completed it yet since by now your opponent’s pieces
should be deployed, eyeing your monarch for cracks in his
armor.
Fighting for the center is as critical in the middlegame as it
was in the opening.
Middlegame plans will be determined by your observations.
Identifying your opponent’s weaknesses (as well as yours so
you know what you need to protect) and looking for ways to
attack them will lead you toward the right strategy.
Take what your opponent gives you. Remember that as you
gain one type of advantage and apply pressure to weak points,
you opponent’s choices become more limited and new
weaknesses and pressure points usually appear.
In the middlegame (or opening or endgame), don’t create
weaknesses in your position. A strong opponent will surely
attack them. Keep your king safe, get your pieces to good
squares, don’t create holes and pawn structure weaknesses, and
protect your material.
Deciding on a good strategy for attack and defense is also
useful.
 Some of the important middlegame strategies have already
been introduced: opposite-colored bishops were covered in
Lesson 1 (Piece Placement); how to attack the king in Lesson 4
(King Safety); sacrifices were introduced in Lesson 4 (King
Safety) and Lesson 5 (Material); space, pawn grabbing, and loss
of time were covered in Lesson 6 (Piece Activity); and pawn
arrows were introduced in Lesson 7 (Pawn Structure).
There are many more middlegame strategies in chess that
can fill an entire book; this lesson will introduce some of the
more common ones that we have not yet covered.
After you finish this lesson, take a look at Appendix A for a
summary of common mistakes to avoid in the middlegame.


Castling on opposite sides

When players castle on opposite sides, the dominant
strategy is to quickly attack your opponent’s king, typically by
moving your pawns up on the side of the board where his king
is located.
Of course, your opponent should be using the same strategy
against you.
The player who succeeds at getting his attack to arrive at the
king first, gains what is called the initiative and usually wins the
game.
When kings are castled on the same side of the board, the
players usually don’t push the pawns in front of their king
toward their opponent’s king because they expose their king in
the process. If this happens, the opponent should counterattack
in the center.
When castling on opposite sides of the board occurs, the
second player to castle is thinking his attack will get there first.
Castling on opposite sides would be a crazy thing for him to do
if he thought his opponent’s attack would arrive quicker.
Because it is a race to attack the king, you generally don’t
want to move pawns in front of your king unless it is absolutely
necessary. In a sense, moving a pawn in front of your king loses
two tempi: the first because you could have been attacking your
opponent’s king with your move, and the second because your
pawn is now closer to your opponent’s side of the board, where
it may take him one less move to attack it and threaten to break
in.

Black to move

In this position, both players have pawns advancing on their
opponent’s king.
Since it is his move, Black breaks in first by playing 17…
b3! 18.Qc4 (18.axb3 Nxb3 mate, 18.a3 bxc2, with the threat of
19…Nb3 mate, or 18.h6 e5 19.Qc4 bxa2 20.Qxa2 Nb3+,
winning the queen) 18…bxa2 19.Qxa2 Nb3+, winning the
queen.
Note that White doesn’t have the time to complete his attack
on the kingside because Black seized the initiative first on the
queenside.



Position after 27.Qa5

With Black to move in this position, he wins by playing
27…Rxh2+ 28.Rxh2 Qe4+ 29.Kg1 Qxe3+, winning the bishop
and re-covering the sacrificed rook with check on the next
move.
To show how close the race to the kings can be, if instead it
were White to move, he could gain a perpetual check after
28.Nc6+ bxc6 (28…Kc8 29.Qa8+ Kc7 30.Qa5+ Kc8 31.Qa8+
repeating or 30…b6 31.Qa7+ Kc8 32.Qa8+ Kc7 33.Qa7+
repeating) 29.Qa7+ Kc8 30.Qa6+ Kd8 31.Qa8+ Kc7 32.Qa7+
again repeating the position.


Since castling on opposite sides is such an important
middlegame theme, here is one more example of how to play
this type of position.


White to move

White wins by playing 25.Rxc4!, eliminating Black’s
dangerous knight and closing off the c-file, 25…bxc4 26.Qf4
Rf8 (26…e6 or 26…e5 is met by 27.Qf6 threatening mate on
g7) 27.Bf6!, threatening mate by clearing g5 for his queen.
Black throws everything he has at the White king in
desperation, only to come up short: 27…Rb1+ 28.Kxb1 Qb6+
29.Bb2 Qg1+ 30.Ka2 Bb3+ 31.cxb3 cxb3+ 32.Bxb3 Resigns


Preventing expansion

In the middlegame, one of your main goals is to expand and
gain as much space on the board as you can.
This is usually done by advancing your pawns.
Of course, you also want to prevent your opponent from
expanding into your territory.


Position after 11.Nc3

In this position, White has an isolated d-pawn, a target for
Black to aim at.
If White can advance the pawn to d5, he can trade it for
Black’s pawn, while opening up space in the center to invade
Black’s position.
Black should stop this advance with 11…Nd5, blocking the
isolated pawn so White can’t trade it off for a better pawn.
Black would also like to expand on the queenside. The other
Black knight would like to move to b4, filling the hole and
protecting the d5 knight.
Note that White could capture the d5 knight with his knight
or bishop, forcing Black to recapture with his e6 pawn, leaving
it isolated with a symmetrical pawn structure. This would help
free Black’s light-squared bishop.
This position would be roughly equal.





When to open or close the position

Deciding whether to open up the position or keep it closed is
one of the most important strategic decisions you will make in
the middlegame. How you deploy your pawns is critical to
which strategy you pursue.
On the part of the board where you want to attack, you will
want to exchange pawns and open up the position for your
pieces. On the part of the board where you will be playing
defensively, you will generally want to lock up the pawn
structure so your opponent can’t break in and invade your
territory.
A couple themes we have already discussed are also present
in this position.


Black to move


First, you will notice that the players have castled on
opposite sides. Based on this, White would like to attack on the
kingside, while Black would like to do the same on the
queenside.
Also, the pawn arrow concept is present.
White’s arrow, formed by pawns on f3, e4, and d5, points to
the queenside, with the lever on c5. White also has a potential
pawn arrow on the kingside, based on his f3 and g4 pawns.
White would love to expand and break in on the kingside, since
this is where the Black king is located.
Black does not want the kingside open.
Both players should consider the various possible pawn
structure formations.
It would be a mistake for Black to play …g5 as this would
give White a lever by playing h4, threatening to open the h-file
with hxg5. If Black captures …gxh4, White would recapture
and still have a half-open h-file for his attack.
Back to the diagrammed position, White is threatening to
play g5, followed by h4 and an eventual h5 and hxg6 to once
again open up the h-file, giving him a path to the Black king.
Black’s best move would be …h6. This does not prevent
White from playing h4, but after that, White cannot force either
 file to open up. If he were to play h5, Black could lock up the
position with …g5. If White were to try g5, Black could lock up
the kingside with …h5. Blockading your opponent’s attack with
pawns is an important defensive theme.
With the position locked up, White’s only direct way into
the kingside would be some sort of speculative piece sacrifice to
break up Black’s pawns in the hope to attack his king.
With the kingside and center blockaded, the battle would
move to the queenside. In this case, White would have the space
advantage, but Black would have a slightly safer king.


Minor piece trading

One of the biggest strategic mistakes among tournament
chess players is trading for the wrong combination of minor
pieces.
Since the bishops complement each other so well, having
the bishop pair is worth about half a pawn more than a bishop
and knight or two knights. The bishop pair becomes more
powerful as pawns are traded and the center opens up.
Remember from Lesson 1 that bishops like open positions
with open diagonals, and knights work better in more closed
positions, since they can jump.
A general rule is that with six or more pawns each on the
board, the knight is favored, and four or less pawns each tends
to favor the bishop. Five pawns each is the theoretical break-
even point.


Position after 26…g6

White has the initiative on the kingside in this position, but
Black looks like he may be able to hold on and defend.
Both of White’s minor pieces are well-placed.
Black’s knight is active, but he has a bad bishop on d7.
White should play for a good knight versus bad bishop
position by trading his bishop for Black’s knight.

A mistake would be the natural 27.Rf1, when Black could
play 27…Bb5 and force a trade of his bad bishop for White’s
bishop. 28.Bxb5 axb5 would double and isolate Black’s pawns,
but it would be worth it to exchange off his bad bishop.
The correct move for White is 27.Bxf5.
Black can recapture three different ways.
If 27…exf5 or 27…gxf5, White could play 28.Nd3 and
29.Ne5 with a nice knight outpost on e5. Black’s bishop is still a
terrible piece, since it is stuck behind its pawns that are fixed on
light squares.
If Black plays 27…Rxf5, attacking the queen with the idea
of 28…e5 to help free his bishop, White can play 28.Nxg6+!
Kg8 (28…Kg7 29.Qh6+) 29.Qh6 with the knight once again
heading for e5 (29…hxg6 30.Qh8 mate or 29…Qxg6 30.Rg3).


Rook Lift

Of all the chess pieces, the rooks are usually the last ones to
enter the middlegame.
A rook lift is when a rook moves forward, usually to the
third rank, and then in front of pawns on the second rank, where
it can attack on a file into the opponent’s territory.

Black to move

Along with the rook lift theme, this position also has the
opposite color bishop middlegame theme.
Remember that in the middlegame, opposite-colored
bishops favor the player with the attack and better placed bishop
because the defender’s bishop cannot defend that colored
square.
Black plays 25…Rxh2+!, sacrificing the rook and opening
up White’s king position.
Notice how Black dominates the dark squares on the
kingside.
26.Kxh2 Bg3+, which prevents 27.g3 to open up the g2
square, where the White king would hope to live. 27.Kh1 g5,
fixing White’s g-pawn so it can’t move to g5 to stop the rook
lift. 28.Be4 Rf6 and White cannot prevent …Rh6 mate.
 Basset Hound Problems

9-1

What is Black’s biggest problem?

________________________

9-2

What is White’s best pawn move?

________________________


9-3

What square on Black’s kingside will White focus his attack on?

________________________

9-4

Should Black recapture the knight with 12…Qxb5 or 12…cxb5?

________________________

9-5

White to move. What is White’s strategy and his best move?

________________________

9-6

Can you find two reasonable strategies for White?

________________________

9-7

Black to move. What is Black’s strategy and his best move?

________________________

9-8

Black to move. What is Black’s strategy and his best move?

________________________

9-9

White to move. What is the strategy for each player?

________________________

9-10

White moved his knight from c3 to b5. What is his strategy?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

9-11

Position after 13…Nbd7. What move should White play?

________________________

9-12

Position after 14…b5. What move should White play?

________________________


9-13

Why is 13.h3 a bad move?

________________________

9-14

What is White’s strategy? What is his best move?

________________________

 9-15

Black is blockading the f7 pawn. Can you find two winning ideas for White?

________________________

9-16

White to move. What is his strategy and best move?

________________________

9-17

White to move and win. What is his strategy?

________________________

9-18

What is Black’s best strategy?

________________________

9-19

Position after 20.Qd4. Can you find a good strategy for Black?

________________________

9-20

Position after 25…a6. Should White trade for Black’s a-pawn?

________________________

 LESSON 10

ENDGAME STRATEGIES

“After a bad opening, there is hope for the
middlegame.
After a bad middlegame, there is hope for the
endgame.
But once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth
has arrived.”

Edmar Mednis


 The endgame is the final phase of the game. If you make a
mistake here, you may not have enough time to recover from it.
My dad taught me when I was young that it wasn’t the player
who makes the first mistake who loses the game, but the player
who makes the last!
Because most of pieces have been captured and there are
fewer legal moves in the endgame, sometimes you can use the
process of elimination to determine the best move.
An important decision that influences your endgame
strategy is whether you are trying to win or draw. You would
like to win, of course, but if your position is worse, drawing is
much better than losing! Other cases where draws may be
acceptable are if your opponent is a much stronger player than
you or if all you need is a draw to win a tournament.
Remember, when you are ahead in the endgame, you
generally want to trade pieces, not pawns, to make your life
easier.
If you are behind, you generally want to trade pawns, not
pieces, with the goal of eliminating all of your opponent’s
pawns (future queens) and leaving him with only a minor piece,
which is insufficient mating material.
A question you should be constantly asking yourself in this
phase of the game is, “If all of the pieces are traded off, who
wins the king and pawn endgame?” You should always be
looking to simplify the position, if you can win it. If you are
losing, you want to create chaos, so that your opponent can not
beat you easily – don’t trade down into a losing king and pawn
endgame.
Also remember from Lesson 1 (Piece Placement) that rooks
generally belong behind passed pawns, whether the pawns
 belong to you or your opponent.
Like the opening and middlegame, thousands of chess
books have been written on every aspect of the endgame.
Therefore, this chapter is only intended to include a few of the
more basic and frequently occurring themes.
After you finish this lesson, take a look at Appendix A for a
summary of common mistakes to avoid in the endgame.


Promoting a pawn

In the endgame, one of the most common themes is the
pawn promotion. The players have few pieces left to stop the
pawns from getting to the 8th rank.
Promoting a pawn is a big deal; a queen coming back onto
the board usually ends the game quickly because of the huge
material imbalance that suddenly exists.
If the defender can’t stop the pawn from promoting, he will
usually have to sacrifice a piece for it. This usually gives the
player trying to promote the pawn a lead in material, but not as
big of one as he would have had if the new queen had survived.
Passed pawns are the most dangerous pawns because a
pawn has to be passed before it can promote.
An important concept to keep in mind in the middlegame
and in the endgame is that positions with symmetrical pawn
structures, where pawns on each file have a counterpart
standing in their path, tend to be more drawish than those with
asymmetrical structures.
Asymmetrical pawn structures give both players greater
winning and losing chances because both players will likely
create a passed pawn.
Far advanced passed pawns equate to an advantage in piece
activity in the endgame. Often, it is better to have a far
advanced pawn than extra pawns.


Promoting a pawn with a sacrifice

Not only are sacrifices a common theme when attacking the
king, but they also work well to help clear the path for a pawn
to promote.

White to move and win

The most important feature of this position is White’s
advanced c6 pawn.
Note that Black’s king is in the square of the pawn.
White sacrifices the exchange to force the pawn in by
playing 30.Rxd5! Rxd5 31.c7 and the pawn will promote since
the king is blocked out by the pawn and bishop.
White’s b4 pawn prevents the rook from defending from c5.



Outside passed pawn

One of the most critical endgame concepts to learn is the
importance of the outside passed pawn, the passed pawn that is
furthest away from the other pawns where the main battle will
take place.
Outside passed pawns are often decoys and are important in
the endgame as they relate to the positioning of the kings.
The enemy king has to travel far away from the other pawns
to capture it, which costs time (and usually the game) because
his remaining pawns will likely be captured before he can
return.

White to move

With Black to move in this position, he wins because of his
outside passed b-pawn.
He could play 50…Kc5 51.e4 Kd6, blocking White’s
kingside majority.
White’s king would have to run to the queenside and capture
the b-pawn, while Black’s king would gobble up White’s
kingside pawns.
Black actually loses if it is White to move because White
can use his pawn majority on the kingside to create a passed
pawn.

50.e4! Kc6 51.e5 fxe5 (or else White can play e6, creating a
protected passed pawn, giving him time to win the outside
passed b-pawn with his king and then return to help his kingside
pawn majority) 52.g5 hxg5 (52…Kd7 53.f6! Ke6 54.fxg7 Kf7
55.gxh6 b5 56.Ke4! b4 57.Kd3! and White can win Black’s
 pawns) 53.f6! gxf6 54.h5 and White wins because the Black
king is outside of the square of his h-pawn.

Centralizing the king

The king takes center stage in the endgame, as most of his
enemies are no longer on the board.
Because the king is a slow-moving piece, he generally
wants to be closer to the center, where he can move relatively
quickly to any part of the board.
As a defensive piece, it is important that the king stay in the
square of enemy pawns.
As an offensive piece, the king is good at capturing pawns
and escorting his own pawns to their promotion squares.
Creating a path for the king to invade is an important concept.


White to move and win

Here is an example where White has a good knight versus
bad bishop endgame.
With White’s knight sitting on the c5 outpost square,
Black’s bishop must be positioned on c8 to defend the a6 pawn.
White is temporarily ahead by an outside passed pawn.
Notice that White’s king cannot invade the queenside
because it is locked up and Black’s king boxes him out of the
kingside because he controls the f4 square.

White creates a path for his king by playing 89.h5! and after
89…Kxh5 90.Kf4 Kg6 91.Ke5, White can capture all of
Black’s pawns since Black’s king is too far away to defend
them.



Cutting off the king in the endgame

The opposite of creating a path for your king is cutting off
your opponent’s king.

White to move

Black wants to move his king to e5 and e4 and escort his
pawn toward f1.
With White’s king too far away to block the pawn, White
may eventually have to sacrifice his rook for the new queen.
However, White can play, 53.Rh5!, cutting off the Black
king.
 If Black plays 53..f3, White would then play 54.Rh3 f2
55.Rf3 and win the pawn because Black’s king is too far away.
If Black’s king moves over to g6, the rook could slide along
the 5th rank to the safety of the queenside and attack the pawn
from that side of the board with the same strategy should Black
then try …f3.
Meanwhile, White has the time to retreat his king on the
queenside and then move it to the kingside to eventually capture
the pawn.
White has to be careful during this retreat to move his king
around his rook, not in front of it, so he doesn’t shield his rook’s
powers that are cutting off Black’s king from moving toward
the promotion square.

Blockading pawn masses

Sometimes a player obtains a mass of pawns that threaten to
march up the board, destroying everything in their path.
When you find yourself playing against a mass of mobile
pawns, your first strategy is to blockade them. If successful, you
can then try to start picking them off.


Black to move

Here is a wild middlegame position that is transitioning to
the endgame where White has five passed pawns on the
queenside.
Black has two minor pieces, which may need to sacrifice
themselves for the pawns at some point.
Black’s strategy is to first blockade White’s pawns and then
win them with his extra pieces.
Since his king is not in danger from White’s rooks, Black’s
king can safely move toward the queenside to assist in blocking
the pawns.

Black played 25…Kf8. He wants to block the furthest
advanced pawns with his king, freeing up his other pieces to
start picking at White’s other queenside pawns.
A possible continuation is 26.c7 (if White plays 26.d7,
Black can play 26…Ke7 and …Kd8 blockading the pawns on
the dark squares) 26…Rc5 attacking the c4 pawn and protecting
the c8 promotion square. 27.Rf4 Ke8 28.Re1+ Kd7 29.Re7+
Kxd6 30.Rxf7 Rcxc7 and Black’s kingside pawns are safe
while White’s queenside pawns will fall.



Counting races

Counting out king and pawn races is critical in the endgame.
You can see more moves ahead here than in the middlegame
because there are fewer choices and the races often require
forced responses.
You should always be on the lookout for ways to gain a
tempo at the end of the race when a pawn promotes with check
and look to see if the pieces are positioned for tactical
operations such as pins, forks, or skewers.

Black to move and win

White has the outside passed b-pawn.
 It looks like his king will march over to the kingside and
capture Black’s pawns.
But Black plays 49...f3!, fixing White’s pawns on the
kingside and moving the f-pawn closer to the promotion square.
The race will be won by the king who is quickest to get to
the key squares on the kingside.
White’s king must head toward the kingside now because
50.Kb4 loses to 50…e4 and 51...e3. White plays 50.Kd5 Kxb5
51.Kxe5.
Black’s king heads toward f2 with 51…Kc4.
White has two races to count out: 52.Kf4 Kd3 53.Kxg4 Ke2
with Black capturing on f2 on the next move and then
promoting his f-pawn and 52.Ke4 Kc3 53.Ke3 Kc2 where
White’s attempt to keep the Black king out fails because the f3
pawn prevents White’s king from moving to e2. Black’s king
has a path to the f2 pawn via d1 and e1. Unfortunately for
White, he loses both races.
A master must count out king races long before they occur
so that he knows for sure whether or not he will win them. You
cannot afford to leave the outcome of these races to chance!


White to move and win

Picking up clues in this position, notice that Black’s pawn
on a7 is an outside passed pawn.
White’s king position is superior since Black’s king is
trapped in the corner.
White has a pawn advantage on the kingside.
Before analyzing specific moves, look at the big picture and
determine the main variations in the position.
White’s choices are either to chase down Black’s passed a-
pawn, since his king is in the square of the pawn; pick off the g-
pawn with his king and try to promote his pawns; or move his
pawns forward to create a passed pawn on the kingside.
If he runs to catch the a-pawn with 56.Ke6, Black would
play 56…g4!, locking up both of White’s kingside pawns. This
is another common idea you want to learn - one pawn locking
up two. White could not play h4 because black could take the
pawn en passant and promote his h-pawn quickly. If White then
continued toward the queenside with 57.Kd5, he could win the
a-pawn, but his king would be too far away from the kingside as
Black’s king would have the time to capture White’s kingside
pawns and promote his g-pawn. If, instead, White changes
direction and plays 57.Kf5, Black would play 57…a5 58.Kxg4
a4 and Black’s a-pawn will promote.
 Using his king to chase the g-pawn with 56.Kg6 would also
lose to 56…g4, as above.
Creating a passed pawn with 56.h4 would win for White
after 56…gxh4 (56…g4 57.Ke6 and White’s king is in the
square of Black’s a-pawn and he will win because of his
protected passed pawn on h4) 57.g4! (not 57.gxh4? a5, where
Black wins) 57…h3 58.g5 h2 59.g6 h1=Q, promoting first, but
White makes up time promoting with checks after 60.g7+ Kh7
61.g8=Q+ Kh6 62.Qg6 mate.

To play the endgame properly, you have to take your time
and count out all the possible races. Before you do this,
remember to first figure out what the main variations are, before
you look at the details, so you don’t miss any possible ideas.


Zugzwang

Normally in chess, you want it to be your move.
But there are situations in the endgame, when there are few
pieces left on the board and few choices, where you don’t want
it to be your move because of an undesirable result.
The German word zugzwang means “compelled to move.”
When you are in zugzwang, you are in a situation where you
would prefer to pass your move to your opponent, if you could.


Here is a basic zugzwang position.
White is playing for a win and is trying to promote the pawn
to a queen, where he could then checkmate Black.
Black, of course, does not want this to happen.
If it were Black to move, he would have to play 60…Kg7,
allowing White to play 61.Ke7, where he can escort the pawn to
f8 and promote it. Black would be in zugzwang and will lose the
game in a position he is hoping to draw.

Now let’s say it is White to move. To save the pawn, he
would be forced to play 60.Kf6 stalemate. Any other king move
would result in Black winning the pawn and drawing by
insufficient mating material. Therefore, with White to move, he
would be in zugzwang.



Normally, zugzwang occurs in king and pawn endgames
because this is when there are the fewest possible number of
legal moves.
Sometimes, though, zugzwang occurs in positions with a
few other pieces on the board.

Position after 37.hxg4

In this position, White is trying to promote his c7 pawn.
If Black’s knight moves anywhere, White can play 38.Be6,
chase the rook off the promotion square and promote the pawn.
If Black’s rook moves by playing either 37…Ra8 or 37…
Re8, White can play 38.c8=Q+ and win easily.
If Black plays either 37…h5 or 37…e4, White can capture
the pawn and it would be Black’s move again – so this doesn’t
gain anything for Black.
Using the process of elimination, only king moves remain.
After any Black king move, he will lose his knight after 38.Rb8
Rxc7 39.Rxf8. Black is in zugzwang!

I hope you enjoyed Chess Strategy Workbook. On each
move, always remember to:

Be observant and pick up the clues
Assess threats and consider the types of advantages
Develop a plan and form a winning strategy

Best of luck with the Royal Game!

(You aren’t finished yet - you still have to work the Lesson
10 problem set and study the Appendices!)


 Basset Hound Problems

10-1

Black to move. Who has the advantage?

________________________

10-2

How does White win the game?

________________________

10-3

Black to move. How can he promote his pawn?

________________________

10-4

White to move. How can he win the game?

________________________

10-5

Position after 44…Kb4. What is White’s winning move?

________________________

10-6

What is White’s best move?

________________________

10-7

Position after 40…g5. How can White save himself?

________________________

10-8

Which type of advantage does each player have?

________________________

10-9

White to move. Who should win the game?

________________________

10-10

What idea wins for White?

________________________

 Chess Detective Problems

10-11

Black to move. How does he win the game?

________________________

10-12

Black to move. How does he win the game?

________________________


10-13

Can Black (to move) win this position?

________________________

10-14

White to move. How does he win the game?

________________________

10-15

How can Black promote his pawn?

________________________

10-16

Black to move. Can he win the game?

________________________

10-17

How can Black put White in zugzwang to win the game?

________________________

10-18

What is White’s best move?

________________________

10-19

Position after 33…Kf6. What is White’s winning strategy?

________________________

10-20

How can Black win big material or force checkmate?

________________________

 APPENDIX A

COMMON CHESS MISTAKES

“The winner of a game is the one who has made the

next to last blunder.”

Savielly Tartakower




Most of the time, mistakes are made by not following
general chess principles. Below is a list of mistakes that can be
made at any time during the game and, then, more specific
mistakes that occur in each phase of the game: opening,
middlegame, and endgame. Some of these are simple
mistakes…some are more complex. You will see items that you
need to work on and other things that you are doing well.
It is always a good idea to record and study your games to
see what mistakes you are making that need to be corrected.

General Mistakes

Here are some common mistakes that overlap all three phases of
the game:

Moving too quickly - Take your time, it’s not a race.
Take your time, pick up clues, and be observant.
“Touchy-feely fingers”– Don’t reach out your hand
until you are sure of your move.
Overlooking free stuff – Leaving pieces unguarded or
moving them to a square where they can be
immediately captured. This is usually caused by
moving too fast.
Not asking, “What is he threatening?” – Or not
paying attention to what your opponent is up to.
Pretend you are him…what threats does he have?
Focusing on only one part of the board – Take time
to look at the big picture.
Checking the king for no reason – Checks are forcing
moves and can be useful, but the object of the game is
checkmate, not check. Always have a reason for each
move.
Trading pieces without considering other moves –
There are times to trade like when you are ahead in
material, being attacked, or have less space. Trading
pieces for the wrong reason can help your opponent.
You should always have a reason for exchanging
pieces.
Grabbing pawns – When you are winning material by
grabbing a pawn, make sure you don’t lose too much
time (giving your opponent a piece activity advantage)
or get your capturing piece trapped.
Playing for “cheapos” – Always assume your
opponent will make the best move.
Playing passively – Don’t wait for your opponent to
gain the initiative; take it for yourself.
Letting your guard down (and overconfidence) –
The player who makes the last mistake loses the game.
Remember, in the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare,”
the hare was overconfident, took a nap, and lost.
Recapturing automatically with pawns – When
recapturing, pawns change files which can double or
isolate your pawns and hurt your pawn structure.
Always have a reason for deciding what piece to
recapture with.
Not recapturing pieces at all – Pay attention to what
your opponent is doing.
Not caring about losing pawns – Usually it is better to
lose a pawn than a piece, but pawns are future queens
in the endgame and are very important.
Making weak pawn moves – You can’t move your
pawns backwards and may have to live for the rest of
the game with the weaknesses you create by moving
them prematurely.
Not having a plan – Don’t make your move until you
pick up all the clues in the position, identify your
strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what your
overall strategy is.
Not dreaming – Dream, then make your dream come
true – if your dream doesn’t work, don’t try to force it.
Not having a good reason for breaking a general
chess principle – Principles are general guidelines;
 look for the “truth in the position” to determine if there
is a valid reason to disregard a chess principle.
Creating targets for your opponent to attack – Don’t
create weaknesses in your position that your opponent
can take advantage of.
Chasing your opponent’s pieces to better squares –
Take time to figure out where you would put your
opponent’s pieces if you were him, and don’t help him
get them there easily.

For intermediate and advanced level tournament players, here
are the two most common mistakes (not including obvious
blunders):

Getting the wrong combination of bishops and
knights – Neglecting the power of the bishop pair falls
into this category. Minor piece imbalances (bishop vs.
knight) are common. Bishops like open positions;
knights prefer closed positions. Make sure you end up
with the best minor pieces.
Pushing pawns for no apparent reason – Remember
that once you move a pawn, you commit that pawn. He
can’t move backwards later on. If you put a knight on
the rim, you can move it back toward the center later.
A pawn doesn’t have this type of flexibility.

Opening Mistakes

Opening on the edge of the board – Control the
center of the board; don’t allow your opponent to claim
the center. Controlling the center means controlling
more space which can translate to better piece activity.
Placing knights on the rim – Knights are slow-
moving pieces and cannot attack the center or the other
side of the board when they are on the rim.
Pushing too many pawns – Only the center pawns
need to be moved to control the center. Get your pieces
out quickly and efficiently into the game.
Not castling – Castle early. This gets your king out of
the center and develops a rook and is the only time you
can move two pieces in one turn.
Moving pawns in front of a castled king – Don’t
expose your king and give your opponent targets to aim
for. You can’t move pawns backward to cover up later
on.
Not developing pieces – Your bishops and knights are
your main fighters at the start of the game; get them
developed quickly and efficiently. Piece activity is
extremely important in the opening.
Bringing out the queen too early – She is worth nine
pawns and opposing knights, bishops, and pawns would
love to trade for her. If she comes out early, you may
lose her if you are not careful or will lose time as your
opponent chases her around.
Retreating the queen to her original square – For
beginners and younger players, I don’t object to the
queen retreating to her home square, as they are paying
attention and keeping her out of danger. Usually the
queen is a target in the center. If you can, move her to a
square where she is developed, but not where your
opponent can easily attack her.
Moving the king when in check, not interposing –
You can escape check by capturing the checking piece,
interposing a piece, or moving the king. Usually, you
cannot capture the checking piece in the opening, but
you can interpose. Once you move the king, you give
up the right to castle.
Copying your opponent’s moves when playing Black
– This may be fun and annoys your opponent, but the
position will be symmetrical, which means that your
opponent gets the first opportunity to attack you from
an identical position.
Moving a bishop to a3, a6, h3, or h6 – Finachettoed
 bishops should generally be placed on the longest
diagonal possible: b2, b7, g2, or g7. If developed to a3,
a6, h3, or h6, the bishop is in line with the opponent’s
undeveloped bishop and could be exposed to attack.

Middlegame Mistakes

Gobbling up material instead of checkmating –
When you have the chance to attack an unprotected
king, look for checkmates. Checkmate is the object of
the game, not taking all of your opponent’s pieces. By
going for checkmate, you can end the game quicker,
reducing the chances of making a mistake or later
stalemating your opponent’s king (if you take all his
material before trying to checkmate him).
Trying to promote pawns too soon – Usually you
should wait until the endgame to try to promote your
pawns. In the middlegame, your opponent usually has
too many pieces left on the board that will be able to
stop passed pawns.
Creating weak squares around your king (pushing
pawns in front of your king) Just like in the opening,
don’t expose your king and give your opponent targets
to aim for. You can’t move pawns backward to undo
bad pawn moves.
Trading pieces at the wrong time – Generally you
should trade pieces when you are ahead in material,
being attacked, or have less space.
Trading pieces and heading to an endgame when
you have an advantage in the middlegame – Have a
reason for trading pieces. If you have an advantage in
the middlegame, don’t trade and play the endgame. For
example, if you have more pawns in the center, and
your opponent has more on the edge of the board, don’t
go into the endgame, where your opponent can win
with an outside passed pawn.
 Opening the position (or closing it) at the wrong
time – Open the position if you have the better placed
pieces for an attack. Close it if your opponent’s pieces
are poised to invade. Open lines of attack on your
opponent’s king; close the position in front of your king
so he is safe from your opponent’s attack.
Attacking with only a few pieces – Attack with all of
your pieces if you can, not just the ones that are
developed.


Endgame Mistakes

Failing to centralize your king – The king is a
powerful piece in the endgame. He is a slow-moving
piece that is best placed in the center of the board in the
endgame, where he can quickly move to any part of the
board.
Getting too many queens – You rarely need more than
two queens; the object of the game is checkmate, not to
get as many queens as you can.
Stalemating your opponent – If your opponent has
only a king left on the board, stalemate and checkmate
are similar. The difference is whether or not the king is
in check. Look more than half a move ahead and you
won’t stalemate your opponent’s king. While
considering your move, ask yourself how your
opponent will respond. If the answer is, he has no legal
moves (and he is not in checkmate), look for a different
move.
Not pushing passed pawns – There is an old saying,
“Passed pawns must be pushed.” In the endgame, this is
usually true, since this is the phase of the game when
pawns typically promote. Keep in mind, though, that
the further a pawn moves into the opponent’s territory,
the more danger there is for the pawn. Don’t push your
 passed pawns to their death.
Not stopping your opponent’s passed pawns – Of
course, stop your opponent’s passed pawns, if possible.
Passed pawns turning into queens is a huge event in the
game. Promoting pawns is one of the main goals in the
endgame.
Trading your pawns for your opponent’s weak
pawns – Win your opponent’s weak pawns. Like any
other possible trade, make sure you are getting the
relatively stronger piece in the exchange.
Trading pawns where your last pawn is a rook pawn
– It is usually easier to draw against a rook pawn
because of stalemate possibilities that can occur in the
corner of the board.
Resigning – When you resign, the game is over and
you lose. Playing on still gives you a small chance that
your opponent will blunder or stalemate you. If you are
hopelessly lost, just play quickly. Your opponent has no
reasonable basis for being upset with you, and speeding
up the pace of the game gives you a greater chance that
your opponent will also move faster and blunder. Of
course, you shouldn’t resign in the opening or
middlegame either.
Not paying attention to who is happy with a draw –
Know who is trying to win and who is behind, hoping
for a draw. Play accordingly.
Repeating a position three times when ahead –Don’t
repeat the position three times when you are trying to
win.
Agreeing to checkmate too early – This is more for
young tournament players where the tournament
director asks you if you agree that the position is
checkmate. The tournament director should give you
time to analyze the position and shouldn’t rush you. If
you agree it is checkmate too quickly, it is checkmate.

 APPENDIX B

HOW TO THINK

“Chess is a matter of delicate judgment,

knowing when to punch and how to duck.”


Bobby Fischer

 Thinking during the game

There are two separate times where you need to have an
ordered thinking plan – when it is your move and when it is
your opponent’s move. Below is a recipe based on Kotov’s
classic chess book, “Think Like a Grandmaster.”
On your move, Part A, your opponent just made his move
and started your clock. Your thoughts should turn more to
tactics at this time. This is when you are required to do brute
force analysis and calculate different variations.
On your opponent’s move, Part B, your thoughts should be
more about picking up clues in the position and working on a
strategy based on your observations.
Of course, this process goes back and forth with each move.
By following this simple recipe, your thoughts will be logical
and well-organized. You will realize that this thought process
overlaps thought processes that you use in other areas of your
life to make decisions and will serve you well in your chess
career.

Part A: Your Move

Here are the steps you should follow when it is your move:

1. Write down opponent’s move

This is a quick, easy step. Although there is a tendency to
look at what your opponent’s move does first, always write it
down immediately, so you don’t forget, skip a move, and mess
up your score sheet.

2. Ask, “What is he threatening?”

Pretend that you are your opponent and figure out what he is
trying to do to you. When a master plays chess, he is actually
playing against himself, looking for the best move for each
player, analyzing as deeply as he can. Of course, your opponent
can threaten more than one thing with his move. So after you
have answered this question, ask, “What else is he
threatening?” Answer this question, and repeat the process
until you have all his threats.
This is a time consuming step.

3. Determine your “Candidate Moves”

Candidate moves are moves that make sense before you
analyze them. Think of candidate moves as moves that are on
your “wish list” to make.
In a normal middlegame position, there are around thirty to
forty legal moves. Of those, maybe five or six are candidate
moves. A master cannot calculate fast enough to look at every
single move like a computer can, so he focuses only on the
candidate moves. You will have feelings toward your candidate
moves – some will seem reasonable and some may seem a little
crazy (but these moves might work and also need to be
examined). Your goal is to identify the candidate moves in this
step – you will analyze them later. Most chess players see a
move they like and then try to prove to themselves that it is the
correct move to make. The move is only a candidate move at
this point.

Here are some examples of types of candidate moves:

capture and recapture moves - it doesn’t matter if you
are trading a piece or a pawn
all sacrifices and checks, if one of the kings is exposed
advancing a passed pawn
improving a piece’s position to a better square
ideas based on your observations from Part B: Your
Opponent’s Move

Determining your candidate moves is a quick step.

4. Thoroughly analyze all candidate moves

This is the step that will use most of your brain power and
will take the longest amount of time.
You must now systematically analyze each of your
candidate moves, with the goal of finding the best move. This is
a time management problem.
Remember that you will have feelings toward each of your
candidate moves. In this step, you must look at them logically,
without regard to your feelings.
It is okay to take a quick look at each candidate before you
decide which order to analyze them in. This gives you the big
picture of what you are looking at. If one of the moves is
complicated, you may want to save it for last. If you start with
the most complex candidate move first, you may end up wasting
your time, especially if one of the simpler ones leads to an
obvious advantage.
Usually, you should start with the candidate move you feel
is best. As your chess skills and judgment improve, the odds are
greater that this will end up being your best move. The idea here
is that it gives you a standard to raise the other candidate moves
to and may save you some time.
Go through each candidate move carefully, looking at all the
branches of the analysis tree that your abilities will allow. The
trunk of the tree is the main line you are considering. A long
series of captures can form the main trunk of the tree. Your
opponent’s reasonable replies form the main branches of the
analysis tree. Your possible responses to each of these form the
next branches, and so on. After you finish one of the candidate
moves, move on to the next one. Don’t re-analyze it again –
unless you either have lots of time remaining on your clock or
discover a tactic that you didn’t notice in a variation you have
already completed.
As you analyze each branch of the tree, you will have to
continually go back to the first move and re-trace your steps
through the main branches. Each time you move along the main
 branches to check out the smaller branches of the tree, the
resulting positions should become clearer in your mind.
If you are short of time or playing a game with a fast time
control, you will need to scale back on your analysis and go
through this process more quickly, which, of course, increases
the chances of making a mistake.


5. Apply Blumenfeld’s Rule

Think of all the chess games that you have ever lost. I’ll bet
that well over half of them were because you made a really bad
move that, in hindsight, was an obvious blunder.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could eliminate serious blunders
from your game for the rest of your life?! Here is how you can
do this:
After you have determined your best move from Step 4, do
not make it. Write it very carefully and clearly down on your
score sheet, hiding it from your opponent’s eyes with your hand.
Then cover the move with your pen. With fresh eyes, double
check the move, looking for obvious blunders.
Kotov calls this step Blumenfeld’s Rule. Blumenfeld was a
Russian master who was frustrated that he sometimes made
obvious blunders and claimed that the same thing happened to
the world’s best players. Blumenfeld wrote a postgraduate thesis
on the psychological aspects of chess. Most grandmasters
follow Blumenfeld’s Rule. If they think it is useful for them, it
sure is necessary for the rest of us!
If your move is okay after you double check it, make it. If
not, go back to step 4.

Part B: Your Opponent’s Move

This is the time you can relax, take a step back, and look at
the big picture. If you need to, this is the time to go to the
bathroom. You now have time to get up and walk around to
 clear your head.
Now is the time to look at the entire board and figure out
what each player should be trying to do. Be observant and pick
up clues in the position. Look at the forest, not the trees. This is
the time to work out your strategy and figure out what your
opponent’s strategy is.
To get a fresh perspective on the game, some players
actually stand behind their opponent and look at the board from
his perspective. Give it a try and see if it works for you.
Personally, I get dizzy doing this, but it may work for you. The
goal is to observe the position from all angles. Remember you
should always be on the lookout for new clues.

Here is a list of questions to ask in order to get a clear
picture of the overall position. I will ask them from your
perspective. You also want to ask them from your opponent’s
perspective, pretending you are him. You will learn a lot about
the position from a strategic point of view, see the big picture
for both players, and then be able to focus your thinking
accurately when it is your move again.

Where does my king want to live? Kingside,
queenside, or center? In the opening and middlegame
you are looking for a safe place. As you transition into
the endgame you are deciding when it is safe to
centralize your king. (king safety)

Where do I want to expand? Kingside, queenside, or
center? (space)

What is the best square for each of my pieces?
Answer this question for each piece. How long does it
take the piece to get there and can my opponent stop
me? (piece placement, piece activity, and time)
Are the pieces lined up for a tactical pattern? For
example, if a king and queen are lined up on the same
diagonal, does the opponent have a bishop to pin or
 skewer them? If they are on the same file, is there a
rook close by? Is there a back rank mate possible?
(tactics)

Consider the pawn tactics. What are the possibilities
for each of the pawns? First look at the pawn battles
with only the pawn involvement and then add in how
the other pieces influence the pawn battles. Pawns can
push, sit, or take. (pawn structure and tactics)

Who wants to trade? The player who wants to trade is
usually either ahead in material, defending the position,
or controls less space on the board. (trading)

Is my piece better than his piece? Compare each
piece with its counterpart. If you have an isolated pawn,
you may want to trade it for a regular pawn. If you have
a good knight, you probably don’t want to trade it for a
bad bishop. Do this for each piece. (trading)

Pretend everyone taller than a pawn trades for its
counterpart. Who wins the king and pawn
endgame? Don’t worry about how the queens, bishops,
etc., can exchange for each other, just assume they do.
Look at the board with only the kings and pawns. This
gives a more global idea of which side wants to trade. It
generally holds that each trade along the way would
help the player who would win the king and pawn
endgame. (trading)

What are my possible dreams and can I make them
come true? This is where you can let your imagination
run wild and test out ideas in your mind without
touching the piece and being forced to move it.
(imagination)

Who has the better position and is playing for a
 win? Always be objective in determining what you are
playing for. (sorting possible outcomes)

Look at the position statically, then dynamically.
Let’s say you are attacking the king. See how long it
takes to break in without your opponent trying to stop
you. If you can’t break in, this probably isn’t a good
plan. If you can, now look for ways for your opponent
to stop you. Are they practical? (imagination and
calculation)

Are my candidate moves from my previous move
still possible? Some may not be, based on your last
move. What new candidate moves may be possible for
your next move? (imagination)

Remember to look at this list from your opponent’s
point of view too.
 APPENDIX C

SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

“I see only one move ahead, but it is always the
correct move.”

Jose Raul Capablanca

 Lesson 1

Basset Hound Solutions

1-1 Because Black has traded his dark-squared
bishop for a knight, White’s queen and dark-squared
bishop can best take advantage of and invade the holes
on f6, g7, and h6.

1-2 Black’s king and knight are terribly placed.
His king is out in the open on g6 in the middlegame and
the knight is in the corner (two rims!). Black’s rooks are
also not well-placed as the rook on a8 is out of the
game and rook on g5 is pinned to mate on h6.
Although White’s king is in the open a little bit too,
none of Black’s pieces are close to threatening him.

1-3 White’s knight on e6 is the best placed piece.
This is a strong knight outpost. White’s rooks are also
well-placed on the open h-file.

1-4 White’s king is clearly the worst placed piece.
Even though most of Black’s pieces are captured and we
are approaching an endgame, the White king is in
danger of a rook roller mate after …Rg7+ and …Rf6
mate. The other White pieces have the freedom to move,
but they are not well placed either because they are
separated from their exposed king by the wall of pawns.
The Black knight is on the rim, but he is not poorly
placed, as he supports the checkmate threats of the
Black rooks.

1-5 The best place for Black to develop his light-
squared bishop is the h1-a8 diagonal. He can fianchetto
 it after playing …b6 and …Bb7. Developing it on the
h3-c8 diagonal doesn’t work well, since it is blocked by
three pawns.

1-6 White’s biggest problem is his exposed king.
Note the power of Black’s bishop pair as they rake
through the center of the board. Black threatens …Qh3+
bringing the queen into the attack. The active e8 rook
and bishop pair will also join in the attack.

1-7 Black should recapture toward the center with
6…bxc6 because this move supports a d5 push later to
control the center with pawns. If he plays 6…dxc6,
White can trade queens with 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 and Black
cannot castle. A better move for White was 6.Ndb5.

1-8 Black should recapture with his knight and play
21…Nxb4. This makes the b3 pawn a weak, backward
pawn. If 22.Bxb4, then 22..Rxb4, keeping the b3 pawn
backwards. Create weak pawns for your opponent, when
possible. Of course, 21…Rxb4 22.Bxb4 wins White the
exchange and 21…cxb4 blocks the rook from attacking
b3, making the b3 pawn a happier base pawn.

1-9 No. 9…g5 does break the pin, but it exposes the
Black king. The pawn cannot move backwards to protect
the king later, should he come under attack. Try to avoid
moving pawns two squares forward in front of a castled
king.

1-10 White’s knight is better because of the potential
outpost on d5 or f5. Black’s bishop is suffering because
his pawns on c5 and e5 are blocking it in.

Chess Detective Solutions


1-11 Black’s winning move is 32…Kf4! He will then
play 33…e3+ and advance his passed pawns, whose
dreams are to promote. Note that if it were White’s
move, he would play Ke3, where he would blockade the
advancing pawns and then play Rxf2 to start gobbling
them up. Since this is an endgame position, a key factor
is the centralization of the kings as they race to the
important squares.

1-12 White’s best move is 38.Raa7 because it forces
Black’s rook to remain on f8 to protect the f7 pawn. Any
move by the rook on e7 to save itself allows 38…Rg8
with the overpowering threat of 39…Rg4 mate. An
important part of piece placement is keeping your
opponent’s pieces from moving to where they want to
go.

1-13 After 39…Rc3+ 40.Ke4 Rxa3, White can play
41.Kd5! improving his king position and helping the
weak d4 pawn become a strong passed pawn. After the
correct 39…Ke6, Black improves his king position and
keeps the isolated d4 pawn weak.

1-14 The bishop has lots of freedom and open
diagonals, but the knight is better here. With all of the
Black pawns on light squares, White’s dark-squared
bishop is no threat to them. Black will also gain a better
king position because he doesn’t have to defend these
pawns. Black’s knight has a nice outpost square on e4,
forcing White’s king to defend the g3 pawn. Then
Black’s king will march through the center toward the
g3 pawn.

1-15 Normally, White’s rook on the 7th rank would be
much better placed because he forces Black’s rook into a
passive position, protecting the queenside pawns. In this
case, however, Black can play 39…Kf8 and 40…Ke8
and chase him away before he can do any damage. After
he retreats, Black can play 41…Rd8 and challenge for
the open file. Therefore, neither rook is better placed.

1-16 The natural response is recapturing the bishop
with 37…Qxd7. But Black’s queen and rook are well-
placed for an attack on White’s king. There is potential
for a back rank mate. Black’s best move is 37…Qf2!,
offering the queen and threatening 38…Qxg2 mate.
White is lost after 38.Rxf2 Re1+ 39.Rf1 Rxf1 mate or
38.Rg1 Re1 39.Qf8+ Kc7 40.Qc8+ Kb6 41.Qd8+ Ka6
and White runs out of checks.

1-17 White has an advantage because of Black’s
isolated d-pawns. These pawns are targets because they
are on a half-open file where White can attack with
rooks and his queen. White also has the bishop pair.
With seven pawns each on the board, however, it may
take a while to realize this advantage. Black’s rook on e6
is a little awkwardly placed as well, but this is minor
compared to the pawn structure and bishop pair
advantage for White.

1-18 11…e5 is a bad move because it not only turns
the d6 pawn into a weak, backward pawn, but it also
permanently blocks in the long diagonal for the bishop
on g7, turning him into a bad bishop.

1-19 White wins on the dark squares by playing 25.f6
Ne8 26.Rxe8! Rxe8 27.Qh6 threatening 28.Qg7 mate.
By trading off his fianchettoed bishop on g7, Black
weakened the dark squares in front of his king. Note that
this was especially risky because White still has his
dark-squared bishop.

1-20 Black’s queen is under attack. If he plays 31…
Qb6!, the knight is trapped. White would play 32.Nxb4
and at least pick up a pawn for the knight. Knights
 dislike the edge of the board because they are slow-
moving pieces. 31…Qb7 allows the knight to escape
with 32.Nc5 because the queen is no longer protecting
the rook on d8 after he captures the knight with the
pinned d-pawn.


Lesson 2

Basset Hound Solutions

2-1 Notice that Black’s queen is now deep in
White’s territory. She is lined up with the a6 bishop.
White should play 19.Ra1!, skewering them. Black’s
queen has only one safe square, so he plays 19…Qb3.
White wins with 20.Rxa6, but even better is 20.Ra3,
trapping the queen!

2-2 The key observation is that Black’s rook no
longer defends f7, a normal target for White. The pawn
is only defended by the king. If White tries to attack it
again with 9.Ng5, Black can play 9…Rf8 and be all
right. Also observe that Black’s queen is hemmed in.
White should play 9.Bxf7+! Kxf7 10.Ng5+ and after the
king moves 11.Ne6 traps the Black queen. If Black
doesn’t capture the bishop, White can win the exchange
with 10.Bxe8.

2-3 Notice that if she were protected there, Black
could play 26…Qf2 mate. White’s b2 pawn is pinned to
f2. Black wins a pawn by playing 26…Rxc3! because
White cannot recapture 27.bxc3 Qf2 mate.

2-4 Notice that Black’s king is trapped on the a-file
by the rook. Black’s queen defends against 23.Nxc6
mate. The question you should ask is, “Can I chase her
 away?” White can play 23.Qd4+! Qxd4 24.Nxc6 mate.
If 23…c5, White has a better move than capturing the
queen, he can play 24.Nc6 mate.

2-5 If White’s pawn could move to e7, it would
threaten to promote by taking the rook as well as put
Black’s king in check. White can play 36.Qg7+! Qxg7
37.e7+ and if 37…Qf7 38.exd8=Q mate or 37…Kh8
38.exd8=Q+ Qg8 39.Qxg8 mate.

2-6 When your opponent offers you something for
free, your first natural emotion is excitement. But
always follow that up with suspicion…ask, “Why is he
offering me this?” Spend extra time in these situations if
you don’t see a trap right away. If Black takes the pawn
with 4…Nxe4?, White can fork his king and knight by
playing 5.Qa4+.

2-7 Observe that the Black queen is deep in White’s
territory. White traps her with 13.Bd2!

2-8 Notice that White’s rook on f4 has no safe
squares to move to. Black can trap him as well as
threaten a discovered attack on h3 by playing 30…Bg3.
A possible continuation is 31.Rxe4 Nxe4 32.Nxe4
Rxh3+ 33.Kg1 Be5 or 33.Kg2 Rh2+ 34.Kxg3 Rxb2.

2-9 Black’s king is in the corner with only one legal
move. Notice that White’s king and queen are lined up
on the c-file. Black can play 58…Rc4+! White must
play 59.Qxc4 Stalemate.

2-10 The key observation is that White’s knight on b7
is a long way from home and has no escape squares.
Black threatens to win him by moving his knight and
then a rook to b8.


 Chess Detective Solutions

2-11 At first glance 11…Nxe5 seems to be safe. But
if Black plays this, White has a surprise in store with
12.f4!, attacking the knight and gaining a tempo when
the knight moves so he can play 13.f5, trapping the
bishop!

2-12 The key observation is that Black has traded off
his fianchettoed bishop and has weak dark squares
around his king. To take advantage of this, White plays
17.Qxf8+! Kxf8 18.Bh6+ Kg8 19.Re8 mate.

2-13 White’s isolated pawn on d4 is a weakness, but
Black cannot capture it by playing 13…Nxd4? 14.Nxd4
Qxd4? 15.Bxh7+ because of 16.Qxd4. 13…Kh8
eliminates the check on h7 and threatens to win the d4
pawn.

2-14 16…e5 gives White the opportunity to block in
Black’s dark-squared bishop by playing 17.f6. After
17…Bh8, White can play 18.g4 with the idea of g5 and
a possible h4, should Black try to uproot the g5 pawn
later by playing h6. White’s plan would then be to play
on the queenside and center (should he be able to open it
up) where he is essentially ahead a piece because
Black’s bishop is trapped in jail on the kingside.

2-15 31.b5 threatens checkmate because it clears the
a3-f8 diagonal for the bishop to attack f8. White can
then play 32.f7+ Kf8 33.Ba3+ Kg7 34.f8=Q mate!

2-16 The key observation is that Black’s king and
bishop are both on the e-file. White would love to fork
them with Re6, but the rook wouldn’t be protected.
White can attack the rook and the e6 square by playing
 40.Bd5! If 40…Re2 protecting the bishop, White can
play 41.Re6+ Kd7 42.a6 and Black’s rook can’t protect
the bishop and prevent a7 followed by a8=Q.

2-17 White is threatening checkmate with 29.Rxg7+
Kxg7 30.Qf7+ Kh8 31.Qh7 mate or 29…Kh8 30.Rh7+
Kg8 31.Qf7 mate.

2-18 Black’s winning plan emerges if you pick up the
right tactical clues. Notice that …Ne3+ forks White’s
king and queen. The rook defends e3. So to make the
dream of …Ne3+ come true, look for a way to remove
the rook. Black plays 46…Qxe4! 47.Qxe4 c2 and if
White captures the pawn with the queen with 48.Qxc2
Ne3+ wins the queen. White can try to stop the passed
pawn by playing either 48.Qe1 or 48.Qc4. In either case,
Black can protect the promotion square by playing 48…
Bb2 and the pawn will promote.

2-19 39…Qc8 pins White’s rook to his queen. She is
protected by her own rook. 40.Rxg6+ hxg6 41.Qxc8+
Rxc8 leaves Black up the exchange. Moving White’s
queen to break the pin loses the rook. White can break
the pin by playing 40.Bd7! If Black plays 40…Qxd7
41.Rxg6+ wins Black’s queen. If 40…Qd8, then White
can move his rook to safety, leaving his queen to protect
his bishop.

2-20 Observe that a White pawn on e5 could fork
Black’s knight and bishop and Black’s bishop on e6 has
no retreat squares. 16.f4!, a natural move to gain space,
threatens the fork with 17.e5 and to trap Black’s light-
squared bishop with 17.f5.


Lesson 3

 Basset Hound Solutions

3-1 Black is threatening the h3 pawn. It is attacked
two times by the bishop and queen and defended once
by White’s bishop.

3-2 White threatens to play 8.d4 to control the center
because it is protected three times: by the pawn on e3,
the knight on f3, and the queen. Black attacks d4 three
times with the pawn on c5, the knight on c6, and the
bishop on g7. Black plays 7…Nf5 to bring a fourth
attacker to d4. White can chase the knight with 8.g4, but
this weakens White’s king position. If White tries 8.e4,
Black can play 8…Nfd4 with total control of the d4
square. 7…e5 also prevents 8.d4, but the pawn blocks
the diagonal of the g7 bishop and creates a hole on d5.

3-3 Yes, 23…Qg6 is a good move because White
has an attack against the Black king. The queen is a
good defender. Black is willing to trade queens because
he is ahead a piece to two pawns and he is defending.

3-4 White wants to trade pieces because Black has
more active pieces and the initiative. White also has the
potential for an outside passed pawn on the queenside
because he has two pawns against one, a reason why he
would like to play the endgame, where he would have an
advantage.

3-5 No, White does not want to exchange queens
because his king is better protected and, if the queens
come off the board, Black can safely play …g5 and
capture White’s pawn on h6 with his king. 30.Qe2 is
White’s best move as it avoids the trade and guards
against the knight fork on d3.

3-6 17…Nxf4 18.Nxf4 looks like an even trade. But
after 18.Nxf4, White is attacking the e6 pawn once and
it is not defended. Black has only two ways to defend
the pawn. 18…Ke7 loses the exchange to 19.Ng6+ and
18…Kf7 allows the 19.Rd7+ invasion. If Black plays
18…0-0, White could continue 19.Nxe6 Bxf2+ 20.Kg2
Rf7 21.Rd8+ Rxd8 22.Nxd8, forking the rook and b7
pawn.

3-7 The knight on d7 is attacked twice and defended
three times. Normally this isn’t a problem. But it is a
problem in this case because if White captures the
knight with either piece, Black can’t take back with his
king because it is illegal, with his queen because White
will then capture her and win material, or with the
knight on f6 because the bishop on g5 pins it to the
queen. To defend it again, Black would have to play
12…Rd8. White could then play 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1
to keep up the pressure and renew his threat.

3-8 White is ahead by three pawns and wants to
trade down into a winning endgame. The passed a7
pawn forces the knight to hold the promotion square.
His king is under attack. White can force the queens off
the board by forking Black’s queen and rook by playing
either 34.Qf2 or 34.Qg3. 34.Qf2 is a little stronger since
after 34…Qxf2+ 35.Kxf2, White has started to
centralize his king for the endgame.

3-9 Black’s pinned knight is attacked twice and
defended twice. 24.Rxd7+ Qxd7 25.Qxd7 Kxd7 loses
the exchange. You want to look at piling up on pinned
pieces by bringing more attackers. Black should play
24.Be6 to add another attacker. Black could then play
24…Ra7 to bring another defender, but since Black’s
queen is between the rook and the knight, she would
have to capture second in the capturing sequence and
 Black would lose material after 25.Rxd7+ Qxd7
26.Bxd7 Rxd7 and White won’t capture the rook with
his queen.

3-10 The knight on c6 is attacked four times by the
bishop on b5, rook on c3, rook on c2, and queen on c1.
It is defended four times by the knight on e7, rook on
c7, rook on c8, and queen on d7.

Chess Detective Solutions

3-11 No, he can’t, even though the pawn is attacked
three times and defended twice. Notice that it is
indirectly defended by the queen. After a series of
captures, you have to be observant as to how the pieces
are lined up. If Black plays 6…cxd4 7.cxd4 Nxd4?
8.Nxd4 Qxd4??, White has 9.Bb5+ and he wins the
queen the next move because she isn’t defended.

3-12 White’s bishop appears to be safe, since his
bishop is attacked three times and defended three times.
By starting the trading sequence, Black can take the
bishop with 47…Rxg2 and after 48.Rxg2 he can play
48…Qh1+!, and after 49.Ke2 (or 49.Kf2), 49…Rxg2 is
mate.

3-13 Notice that Black’s rook is pinned to the king
and attacked twice, defended twice. If White trades off
all of the major pieces on d7, it leaves him with an extra
knight, but Black has three pawns for it. 32.Nc5 doesn’t
safely bring a third attacker because of the pawn on b6.
But White wins material by playing 32.Nb8!, attacking
the rook a third time. If Black captures the knight with
32…Kxb8, the king leaves the rook defended only once,
and White can win it.

3-14 The c5 pawn is attacked three times and
protected twice, so at first glance it looks like White can
safely capture the pawn. This is a complex open position
with lots of possible tactics. The rook that takes the
pawn would now be pinned to the queen and the rook on
c1 is guarding against a possible back rank mate. Black
could play 29…Bc6!, attacking the bishop and opening
up the d-file. Amazingly, White will lose material
because he cannot guard the bishop and the threat of
30…Rxc5 31.Qxc5 Qxc5 32.Rxc5 Rd1 mate. Therefore,
White cannot safely play 29.Rxc5.

3-15 No, because it loses a pawn. Black can play
15…Bxd6 16.exd6 and the pawn is attacked once by the
queen and defended once by the bishop. Black has a
potential attacker, the knight on b6. He can play 16…
Nc8, bringing a second attacker and since White can’t
defend it again, Black will win the pawn.

3-16 You should always start out counting how many
times each piece is attacked and how many times it is
defended. Black’s queen is attacked once, defended
once. The pawn on g6 is attacked twice (the pawn and
the bishop behind it) and defended twice. The pawn on
h6 is attacked twice and defended twice. It seems Black
has everything bolted down. But notice that the bishop
on g7 is defending both the queen and the pawn. The
bishop is overworked. White can win a pawn by playing
24.Bxh6! and Black cannot recapture because his bishop
is also defending the queen. If 24…Qxd2, White can
recapture the queen and save his bishop by responding
25.Bxd2.

3-17 The knight on e6 is in trouble, as he is pinned to
the queen and is attacked three times (and potentially
four times when you add in the bishop). He is only
 defended twice. The solution is to move the queen to
gain time by breaking the pin and putting the king in
check with 37.Qg5+. After 37…Qxg5 38.Nxg5 Rxe1
39.Rxe1, White has successfully saved his knight. He
would still be in trouble though because he is behind by
two pawns.

3-18 Yes, White should trade queens because Black is
further along on his attack against White’s king than
White is against the Black king. As a general rule, you
should trade pieces when you are being attacked. To
help determine if you want to trade pieces in general,
ask yourself who wins the king and pawn ending, if all
the pieces taller than a pawn trade for each other. In this
position, White would win the king and pawn endgame
because his king is close to Black’s queenside pawns.
Black’s king isn’t close to winning any of White’s
pawns, should all the pieces trade. Therefore, each piece
trade helps White get closer to his desired endgame.
Note that if the opportunity arose later on, White may
not even want to trade one of his good knights for
Black’s bad, dark-squared bishop.

3-19 15.gxf4 does not win the pawn on f4 even
though it is attacked three times and defended twice.
The problem with 15.gxf4 is that after 15…exf4, the
diagonal opens up for Black’s bishop on g7, which
immediately threatens to capture the knight on c3.
16.Ne2 could be met by 16…g5. By playing 15.g4, the
a1-h8 diagonal remains closed and g7-bishop blocked
in, where it can’t harm White. You never want to
activate your opponent’s pieces without having a good
reason.

3-20 Starting with White’s plan, he wants to walk his
king over to the queenside and win Black’s pawns.
Black must create counter play on the kingside to give
himself any chance at all. With either 45.h4 or 45.gxh6,
 a set of pawns will be traded on the kingside. White’s
goal is to make it as difficult as possible for Black to
create a passed pawn on the kingside and the threats
associated with it. If White plays 45.h4, Black can play
45…hxg5 46.hxg5 Bf8 and 47…Be7, winning the White
pawn. The correct move is 45.gxh6! because the h3
pawn can stay on a light-colored square, safe from the
bishop. Be careful not to create targets for your
opponent to attack.

Lesson 4

Basset Hound Solutions

4-1 No, 13…g5 was a terrible move because it
exposes Black’s castled king. It does chase the bishop
back and free up the knight on d7 so that White doesn’t
play Bxf6 - isolating the pawns in front of and opening
up the Black king.

4-2 Both moves are winning for White. 39.Rxe6
gives up the exchange to clear the path for the pawn to
promote safely. 39.c8=Q is even better because if 39…
Bxc8 40.Rf6 mate! Whenever a king is out in the open,
take the time to look for possible checkmates.

4-3 When a king is being attacked, all checks and
sacrifices are candidate moves. Drawing the king toward
your side of board makes him more vulnerable. Black
should play 22…Qxc4+! 23.Kxc4 Ne5 mate.

4-4 The safety of a king is in question when a square
near the king is weak. Before a king castles, the f2 and
f7 are normally the weakest squares. White takes
advantage of the weak f7 square by playing 9.Bxf7+!
Kxf7 10.Ne5+ followed by 11.Nxg4, winning a pawn
and exposing the Black king.

4-5 Even though he is in the center of the board,
White’s king is safer because Black’s pieces can’t get to
him! White plays 34.Kg5!, where he is heading to h6 to
help his queen checkmate Black’s king on g7! If 34…
Kh7 to prevent 35.Kh6, White plays 35.Rxf7+ Rxf7
36.Qxf7+ Kh8 37.Kh6 and Black can’t stop checkmate
on g7 or h7.

4-6 White plays 17.Rh2+ Kg1 18.0-0-0 mate or
18.Kd2 mate.

4-7 Black’s king is in the open, but appears to be
somewhat protected, at least for now. By eliminating the
weak e6 pawn, White clears a path to the king by
playing 31.Rf6! Bxf6 32.Qxe6+ Kf8 (32…Kd8
33.Bxf6+ Kc7 34.Be5+, winning the queen) 33.Qxc8+
Kf7 34.Qxc6, followed by trading down to a winning
endgame.

4-8 Black breaks in to take advantage of White’s
weak king position by opening the h-file with 40…hxg3
41.hxg3 (41.Qxg3 Rf1 mate or 41…Qf1 mate) 41…Rf5
to be followed by 42…Rh5 and mating on the h-file.

4-9 One of the keys to taking advantage of an
exposed king is to keep him contained so he can’t run
away to safety. Black plays 28…Bc8!, attacking g4 and
h3 to form a mating net around the White king. Black
threatens 29…Rh6+ 30.Qh5 g5 mate. 29.Bf3 loses to the
same idea. 29.g4 loses to 29…Bf2+ 30.Kh3 Rh6 mate.

4-10 When both kings are exposed, often the player
who has the move has the advantage. For a queen to
checkmate a king, she needs a friend nearby to protect
her so she can get right up next to the king. Besides the
queen, Black has no other pieces near White’s king. The
 White pawn on e6 attacks f7, where he can be a friend
for the White queen. White can play 18.Qh5!
threatening mate on f7 and defending the h2 pawn. He
also threatens 19.Bg2, trapping Black’s queen!

Chess Detective Solutions

4-11 Black’s best move is 9…Bxh3!, opening up the
White king. 10.gxh3 Qg3+ 11.Kh1 Qxh3+ 12.Kg1 Ng4,
threatening mate on h2.

4-12 Despite being way behind in material, White has
all his pieces aimed at Black’s king. He should be
looking for possible checkmates. White should play
19.Qh7+! (Deflecting the knight away from protecting
e6, where it guards against the Bb3+ threat.) 19…Nxh7
20.Bb3+ Kh8 21.Ng6 mate. Giving up Black’s queen
on d5 and bishop on e6 only stalls the inevitable mate.

4-13 The dream for Black is …Qh2 mate. Of course,
White’s f3 knight prevents this. A logical try is the
exchange sacrifice, 21…Rxf3, but White can play
22.hxg4 Nxd4 23.Qd1, threatening the knight and rook.
The other way to eliminate the f3 knight is 21…Nxd4!,
forking the knight and queen. 22.Nxd4 loses to 22…Qh2
mate and saving the queen by moving her anywhere else
loses to 22…Nxf3+ and 23…Qh2 mate.

4-14 The key clue is that White’s king is restricted to
the h-file. Black’s best move is eliminating the White
king’s protection by sacrificing the queen with 29…
Qxh2+! Black must play 30.Kxh2 Rh8+ 31.Qh4
Rxh4+ 32.Bh3 Rxh3 mate.

4-15 Black needs to strike quickly, before White
tucks his king away. Notice the White king has no safe
squares to move to. Neglecting his own long-term king
safety and undeveloped queenside, Black should play
17…g5! (threatening 18…gxf4 mate and 18…gxh4+)
18.fxg5 f5! (threatening 19…f4 mate) 19.h3 Be6 (If the
White queen is chased away from defending e5, …Be5
is mate.) 20.Qb5 c6 21.Qa5 b6.

4-16 Black draws out the king by playing 14…fxg2+
15.Kxg2 Qxh3+!, sacrificing the queen. 16.Kxh3 Ne3+
Sealing off the g2 retreat square. 17.Kh4 Nf3+ 18.Kh5
Bg4 mate.

4-17 The key to Black’s attack is his strong pawn on
f3 that critically weakens White’s king position. Black
plays 28…Re1+ 29.Kh2 Rh1+! 30.Kxh1 Qe1+ 31.Kh2
Qf1 threatening mate on g2 with the pawn’s help. If
White captures the pawn with his queen, Black’s bishop
recaptures and takes the pawn’s place.

4-18 White crashes into Black’s king position by
playing 22.Bxe6! (If 22.Qh7, then 22…Ke7 and Black’s
king appears to be safe. Black would only be down a
pawn, which is doubled, and would try to reach an
endgame hoping to draw with the opposite-colored
bishops.) 22…Nxc3 (22…fxe6 23.Qh7) 23.Qh7!
threatening mate on f7 and if 23…fxe6 24.Rg8 mate.

4-19 White can draw out the Black king by playing
19.f5! Because the knight is pinned to the king and
under attack, Black must play 19…exf5. White can then
play 20.Qxd5+ Kf6 (20…Be6 21.Rxe6 Rxe6 22.Qxf5+
Rf6 23.Qd5+ Re6 24.Rf1+ wins the rook).

4-20 Black has sacrificed a rook for this attack. He
has to make it count quickly. If White has time to play
fxe4, eliminating the knight that keeps his king from
running away to c3 or d2, he will survive and win with
his extra material. When attacking the king, all checks
 and sacrifices are candidate moves. Black sacrifices the
queen and forces mate with 25…Qxd4+! 26.Kxd4 Bc5+
27.Kd3 Nxe5 mate. King safety is the most important
type of advantage since checkmate is the object of the
game!

Lesson 5

Basset Hound Solutions

5-1 No, Black does not want to trade queens because
he is behind a knight to a pawn in material.

5-2 Black’s d5 pawn is attacked twice, defended
once. To defend it a second time, Black plays 36…
Rxd4. White cannot play 37.cxd4 because of 37…Qb4
mate.

5-3 Notice that the dark-squared bishops are on the
same diagonal with a knight in between them. White can
play 6.Nxc6 with a double attack on the queen and
bishop. Black must recapture the knight with one of the
pawns and White will win the bishop with 7.Bxc5.

5-4 No. Notice that Black’s queen and king are on
the same diagonal. Trying to win the a4 pawn with 34…
Bb3 doesn’t work after 35.Qc3 Bxa4? because of
36.Bc4, winning Black’s queen.

5-5 9…Nbd7 is a bad move because after 10.Ng5,
White can win the e6 pawn by threatening to fork the
queen and rook, and have a wonderfully placed knight
deep in Black’s territory.

5-6 White wins material by trapping the bishop with
 7.b4 Bb6 8.c5.

5-7 White wins the exchange by playing 15.Qe8+
Rf8 16.Bh7+ Kxh7 17.Qxf8.

5-8 White would like to play 14.dxc6 to win a
knight, but the pawn is pinned to his queen. To break the
pin and gain a tempo at the same time, White can play
14.Qf5+ and then win the knight.

5-9 No. On the surface, 15.Rxa7 looks like it wins a
pawn, puts a rook on the 7th rank, and threatens to win a
second pawn. But the rook is deep in Black’s territory
and can be boxed in after 15…Ba6 and attacked the next
move by 16…Nc6. Therefore, 15.Rxa7 loses material as
Black will lose a rook for a pawn and a bishop as White
will play Rxa6 once the rook is threatened, to get as
much material as he can for it.

5-10 Notice that Black’s king attacks the White rook
who is defended by White’s bishop. Black can break the
chain of protection and win a bishop by playing 43…
Rd4+ 44.Ke3 Rxc4 45.bxc4 Kxf7.

Chess Detective Solutions

5-11 Notice that White’s rook on d2 is attacked three
times and defended three times. Also, White’s queen and
rook are on the same diagonal. Black can play 30…Bb3!
31.Qxb3 Rxd2 32.Rxd2 Qxd2+ winning the exchange
and after 33.Kf3 Qd1+, Black can exchange queens and
go into a winning endgame.

5-12 White can win material by playing 17.g4! If
Black retreats his knight with 17…Nf6, White can play
18.Qf4 Qd8 19.Ne4 Ned7 20.Nxd6, winning a pawn,
continuing his attack, and turning the d5 pawn into a
protected passed pawn. Black is better off giving up his
h-pawn instead by playing 17…h6 18.Bxh6 Nf6.

5-13 Since Black is behind a piece in material, with
little chance of winning, he should be happy with a
draw. When you have a queen chasing a king that isn’t
totally protected, your strategy should be to draw by
perpetual check or threefold repetition. Black can play
48…Qc1+ 49.Kf2 (49.Ke2 Qc2+) 49…Qd2+ 50.Kg3
(50.Kg1 Qe1+ 51.Kh2 Qxh4+ 52.Kg1 Qe1+, etc.) 50…
Qf4+ 51.Kh3 Qxf5+ 52.Kh2 Qf4+ and White’s king
has nowhere to hide from the checks.

5-14 White wins the most material (queen and a pawn
for a knight) by playing 25.Qb7+ Kd8 and then either
26.Nxf7+ Qxf7 27.Qxf7 or 26.Rxe8+ Kxe8 (26…Rxe8
27.Nf7 mate) 27.Qxf7+ Kd8 28.Ne6+ Rxe6 29.Qxe6.

5-15 Black threatens 15…Qf2 mate, which must be
stopped. The only way to defend against it without
losing material is 16.Qe1. Other moves that lose
material are 16.g3 Nxg3+ because the h-pawn is pinned
to the rook, 16.Be1 Qxf4+, and 16.Nh3 Bxh3 which
wins the knight because of the renewed mate threat on
f2.

5-16 Notice that White’s king and queen are lined up
on the same diagonal. The logical question to ask is:
“Where is the bishop that can pin them?” The threat to
win material is 10…Nb3, forking the queen and rook
and threatening 11…Bc5, pinning the queen to the king.
9…b6 protects the c5 square for the bishop to make this
work.

5-17 Black wins the bishop pair by playing 15…Nc3
forking the queen and bishop. 16.Qc2 attacks the pinned
knight twice, but Black can save the knight by playing
16…Nxe2+. The check gives him the time he needs to
then save the queen. Eliminating the White’s bishop pair
nets Black half a pawn in material. Note that since Black
was already a pawn ahead, exchanges are good for him.

5-18 White can save his c4 pawn by playing 14.Bb4
Re8 15.c5 Rb8 16.Bg2 Nc4 17.c6. He can win the
exchange by playing 14.Bxa8 Qxa8 15.f3 (15.0-0 Bh3
16.f3 Bxf1 17.Kxf1 Nxc4 loses the pawn and the
exchange) 15…Nxc4. In the first variation, saving the
pawn, White has a one pawn advantage and it is a strong
passed pawn on c6. In the second variation White is
ahead the exchange, but has a weakened king position
and Black has the initiative and well-placed pieces.
Taking all the types of advantages into consideration, the
first variation, saving the c4 pawn with 14.Bb4, looks to
be the safer and better choice.

5-19 Black can win material by directly attacking the
king with a rook sacrifice and mate threats. He plays
38…gxf4 39.Rxf4 Qh3! 40.Qd2 Rdg8 41.Bc5 Rxg3+
42.hxg3 Rxg3+ 43.Kf2 Rg2+ 44.Ke1 Rxd2.

5-20 Black has more active pieces and the open e-file
for his rooks. White’s king is more exposed, although
after, say Bxf5, Black’s king can come under attack. In
material, Black has an extra pawn and a rook against
White’s bishop pair. Notice that White’s dark-squared
bishop doesn’t have much freedom. Since you should
always look at the forced capture sequence first, imagine
the position after 25…Rxb1 26.Qxb1 Qxb1 27.Bxb1.
Now if Black logically invades to the seventh rank with
27…Re2, White only has one move to save his bishop,
28.Bc1. Notice the bishops are lined up on White’s first
rank. Black can play 28…Re1, winning the bishop of
White’s choice.


Lesson 6

Basset Hound Solutions

6-1 White’s rook on e7 is a well placed piece, along
with the bishop on d5, as they both aim at f7. Black can
play 19…Ra7! to trade off White’s active rook. Black is
down a pawn and generally doesn’t want to trade pieces,
but White’s rook is too strong.

6-2 White should play 35.Kg2! to get his king into
the game before Black plays …Rd2 and pins him against
the wall. Black’s rook then wants to go to a2 behind the
a-pawn. White’s king wants to go to h3 and invade on
the kingside. 35.Rb7 trading rooks since he is ahead in
material doesn’t work for White because Black would
have good drawing chances in the opposite color bishop
ending.

6-3 9.a3 with the idea of later playing b4 is the best
way to gain space. It also keeps Black’s knights out of
b4. 9.a4 moves the pawn up one more square but leaves
a big hole in b4. Either of Black’s knights would love to
live on the b4 outpost, which Black would own forever!
In either case, Black could play 9…a5 to try to hold up
White’s attempt to grab space on the queenside.

6-4 Whichever rook White decides to capture,
Black’s other rook will recapture. 23.Rxh8 is the better
move because after 23…Rxh8, Black’s remaining rook
is now undeveloped on h8 and may get trapped in the
corner if the king retreats in an attempt to escape danger.

6-5 Checking the king is a good way to gain time
because your opponent must take time to escape the
 check. Black can play 24…Qa3+ 25.Kb1 exd5 to
achieve both goals. 24...exd5 loses to 25.Rh7.

6-6 29.c4 limits the piece activity of Black’s knight
on b6, taking away both the c4 and d5 squares.

6-7 The best way for White to increase his piece
activity is to play 17.Re1. 17.Qf3 Nf6 (17…f6 or 17…f5
leaves a hole on e6 for White’s knight) 18.Qc6+ Nd7
will repeat the position. Since White is attacking with
only two pieces, bringing more pieces into the attack is a
good idea. 17.Bf4 also develops a piece, but this gives
Black time to play 17…Bg7 and 18…0-0. After 17.Re1
Bg7, Black can win a pawn with 18.Qxd6 or look into
the complicated rook sacrifice by playing 18.Rxe7+.

6-8 Black’s best move is 58…Nf7!, activating the
knight who wants to move toward the White king. A
queen and knight are an effective checkmate
combination because the knight can attack both colored
squares along with the queen. Perpetual check is also
acceptable for Black in this position since White is
ahead one pawn and will be up by two passed pawns if
the a6 pawn falls.

6-9 Black improves his piece activity and limits
White’s by playing 22…Rd3. This move not only
invades White’s territory but also prevents White’s king
from centralizing. By attacking the bishop, it prevents
White’s knight from moving. Note that White’s king
must also protect the pawn on h3. White’s pieces are tied
up.

6-10 Black plays 13…d5! to open up the diagonal for
his light-squared bishop. He wants to open up the center
to increase the power of his bishop pair.

 Chess Detective Solutions

6-11 In either case, White will have sacrificed a pawn
to create a backward pawn on d6 (and d7) because of
8…Qxd6 9.Qxd6 cxd6. The difference between the two
is whether or not the queens stay on the board. White
will have a space advantage in the center and on the
queenside, as well as better development prospects for
his pieces. Black will likely have difficulty developing
his light-squared bishop (and also the rook on a8). These
are good reasons for Black to trade the queens and play
8…Qxd6. Another reason to trade queens is that Black
will be ahead a pawn in material.

6-12 White can limit Black’s piece activity by
moving up his pawns on the kingside to gain space there
by playing 20.g4 (20.f4 invites 20…Neg4) 20…h6
21.h4. White is now threatening to push back Black’s
knights with 22.g5 and, soon after that, f4. White’s king
will still be safe with this pawn advance since the
queens are off the board and Black’s pieces aren’t in a
threatening position.

6-13 Although Black loves his active rooks on the 7th
rank, he should win the pawn with 43…Nxg2. If he
keeps his active rooks by playing 43…Rxg2?, White’s
pieces come to life after 44.Re8+ Kg7 45.Bf8+ Kf6
(45…Kg8 or 45…Kh8, 46.Bh6 mate) 46.Be7+,
skewering the king and knight.

6-14 Black has an advantage in piece activity and
king safety. White has a material advantage. Black clears
the path for his knight to get into the attack by
sacrificing his pawn by playing 22…f3! 23.gxf3 Nf4
24.Be5 Rg2+ 25.Kf1 Rf2+ 26.Ke1 Nd3+, forking the
king and bishop and now the path is cleared for the g-
pawn.


6-15 Black’s pieces are on the wrong side of the
board, away from the kings. White’s pieces are well
placed for an attack on the Black king. White wins by
playing 31.Nxh6+ gxh6 32.Rxf7 Kxf7 33.Qxh6 Kg8
34.Qg6+ Kh8 35.Qxf6+ Kg8 36.Qg6+ Kh8 37.Re5
with the rook heading for h5.

6-16 White can play 15.Bxe6! fxe6 16.Qxe6+ Kh8
(16…Rf7 17.Ng5 Qf8 18.Nxf7 Qxf7 19.Qxe7) 17.Qxe7
Bxf3 18.gxf3 Qxd4 and White has won a pawn. Note
that he does end up with three isolated pawns.

6-17 Black has a terrible position. His light-squared
bishop looks like it may never get out, his pieces are
poorly placed, and because of the pawn moving to g5,
his king position is weakened. White has well-placed
pieces. If he can open up the center, he should run over
Black’s poorly placed pieces there and Black’s king will
be an easy target. Black needs to find a way to get his
pieces out quickly, and he does this with 15…dxc4!
16.Qxc4 e5! 17.Rae1 Nb6 18.Qc5 exd4 19.exd4 Be6
20.Bh3 Qd7 breaking the pin. Black has managed to get
his light-squared bishop developed and he owns the d5
square. He still has problems because White does have a
space advantage and better placed pieces, but at least
Black has a position he can fight from. If not for this
break in the center, White would have likely opened it
up via a timely e4 pawn push and Black’s pieces are so
uncoordinated that it would be difficult to fight back.

6-18 The bishop move restricts Black’s piece activity
since it helps prevent a rook from invading on Black’s
7th rank on d2. At the moment, the White queen also
protects d2 from invasion, but the bishop move frees up
 the queen to do more important things. By freeing up the
queen, the more valuable piece, the bishop move also
helps White’s piece activity.

6-19 Black opens up the position by playing 29…f3!
White cannot capture it with the bishop because it is
pinned to the queen or with the pawn because of 30…
Qg2 mate. To save the knight and block the mate on g2,
White must play 30.Ng3. Black wins material after 30…
fxg2+ 31.Kg1 Bxe4 32.Qxe4 Nf3+ 33.Kxg2 Nd2,
forking the queen and rook.

6-20 White’s pieces activate quickly against the
Black king with a common attacking theme by playing
22.Bxh7+ Kxh7 23.Ng5+ Kg8 24.Qh5 Rfe8 25.e6!,
threatening the queen and the f7 square with mate
threats. If Black refuses the bishop sacrifice and plays
22…Kh8, White can either play 23.Ng5 or retreat the
bishop on h7 to a safe square and be ahead a pawn and
maintain his attacking chances against Black’s king.


Lesson 7

Basset Hound Solutions

7-1 No, 23…Qxa2 is not a good move for Black
because White can play 24.Nxc3, regaining the pawn
and attacking the queen twice, while also protecting the
rook. Black has traded a strong protected passed pawn
on c3 for an average pawn on a2.

7-2 The weak pawns are White’s isolated pawn on
d4 and Black’s backward pawn on e6. Both players will
try to put pressure on their opponent’s weak pawn. If
Black were able to push his backward pawn to e5, White
could exchange his weak pawn for it. That would leave
Black with an isolated passed pawn on d5. Usually an
isolated passed pawn in the center is weak because it is
unlikely that the pawn would be a serious threat to
promote since most of the opponent’s pieces will be
positioned in its path.

7-3 White has an extra pawn, and both of Black’s
pawns are isolated. Black’s c4 pawn, however, is also
passed and not far from promoting. Because of this,
Black has the advantage. Far advanced passed pawns are
usually better than having extra pawns because of the
threat to promote first. With so few pawns remaining,
Black will have to avoid perpetual check threats from
the White queen but should eventually be able to
promote the pawn. White will not have the time to
advance his kingside pawns; he will have to focus on
stopping Black’s c-pawn from promoting.

7-4 White can improve his pawn structure by
threatening to create a protected passed pawn by playing
34.e4! Black cannot capture with his d-pawn because it
is pinned to his rook that is protected by the overworked
knight on b5 (34…dxe4? 35.Rxd6 Nxd6 36.Bxc7).
White wants to play 35.e5 on his next move. If Black
plays 34…fxe4, White can undouble his pawns with
35.fxe4, again threatening 36.e5.

7-5 No. White’s isolated d-pawn is not a weakness
because Black does not have the time to win it. Black is
more concerned with castling and developing his pieces
to better squares. White can play 14.d5 to further open
the center and lines of attack for his pieces. Sacrificing a
pawn to open up the game when you have the attack is
often a good strategy.

7-6 Both players have a good pawn structure on the
kingside and isolated a-pawns. Black has doubled
isolated pawns on the c-file. White has a backward pawn
on d2. Black’s c4 pawn is attacked once, defended once,
and White doesn’t have enough possible attackers to
overpower it. White’s d2 pawn would love to move
safely to d4 but can’t because of the en passant capture,
…cxd3. Black’s rook can head for d8 to put pressure on
it and possibly move into the hole on d3. His knight on
h6 may also head for the weak d3 square via g4, f2, and
d3. Therefore, Black has the better pawn structure.

7-7 Black’s best move is 46…Nd4!, forking the
knight and the pawn. If White exchanges knights with
47.Nxd4, Black creates a passed pawn after 47…exd4,
with White’s king outside of its square. If White’s king
protects his f3 pawn with 47.Kg4, Black wins the d5
pawn after 47…Nxc6 48.dxc6+ Kxc6.

7-8 Normally, the three isolated pawns on the
queenside would be awful for White, but it is difficult to
see how Black can put pressure on them. Black would
like to get his rooks to the c-file, but it doesn’t look like
he will get there anytime soon. White has more space,
active pieces, and a small material advantage with his
bishop pair. As a way to gain more space and help his
pawn structure, White can play 11.c5. This will allow
him to exchange one of his doubled isolated pawns
because Black will have to allow it to exchange when he
moves up a pawn to develop his light-squared bishop.
As pawns trade, White’s bishop pair will increase in
power. Notice how White’s pieces can flow in the
position to good squares. White has the advantage.

7-9 The weakest square in Black’s camp is the
backward pawn on d6. Right now, it is attacked once and
defended once. White can bring two more attackers by
moving his rook back to h3 and over to d3 and then
moving the bishop back to c4. The only Black piece that
 can help out is the king from c7. White can overpower
the pawn and crash through.

7-10 From a pawn structure perspective, White would
like to play f4 to create a protected passed pawn on e5.
Black’s best move is 22…f4, preventing White from
doing this. After 23.Bg2 Nd5 you can see that the Black
pawn on f4 also supports a knight outpost on e3.

Chess Detective Solutions

7-11 Even though Black’s king is still in the center,
king safety is about the same since White’s pieces are
not near him and he can castle the next move. Material
favors White since he is ahead a pawn on the queenside.
Piece activity favors Black since White is yet to develop
his queenside pieces. Pawn structure favors White since
Black has two isolated pawns and a set of doubled
pawns. Putting it all together, it looks like White should
be able to get his other pieces developed and have an
advantage with his extra pawn and superior pawn
structure.

7-12 Material is even. Black’s king safety is better
because White has moved his f-pawn up in front of his
king. Pawn structure is even in the sense that there are
no weak or strong pawns for either side, but Black’s
advanced pawns on the queenside give him a space
advantage there. Piece activity favors Black because of
the bishops. Black’s fianchettoed bishop has an open
diagonal while White’s fianchettoed bishop has no
future on the h1-a8 diagonal and would be better off on
the f1-a6 diagonal. With these advantages, Black can
win a pawn by playing 22…Bxb2 23.Rxb2 Rc1+ 24.Be1
(24.Bf1 Bh3) 24…Rxe1+ 25.Kf2 Rc1.

7-13 Material is even. King safety is even at the
moment, but there is some open space around Black’s
king and the White pawn on h6 attacks g7 and is looking
for some help from White’s other pieces. So king safety
could favor White down the road and he wants to keep
the pieces on the board and extend the middlegame.
Black has a better pawn structure because of the isolated
pawn on d4. Black would like to trade pieces as the
endgame would favor him if he could play …g5 and
safely move his king up to capture the h6 pawn. Piece
activity is fairly even. White will likely have the better
rooks as he plans to double them on the c-file. Black’s
knight is better than White’s bishop because he has a
nice outpost square available on d5 and White’s bishop
is restricted because most of his pawns are on dark
squares.

7-14 Black is ahead a rook in material. It would take
time for White to win the knight on a1 and if he
succeeds, he would still be down the exchange. Pawn
structure is even. White has a lot more space because of
his advanced pawns and better piece activity since all his
developed pieces are poised for attack from good
squares. White is way ahead in king safety since his king
is safe and Black’s king is vulnerable to attack if he
stays in the center or castles kingside.

7-15 White is ahead a pawn in material - a strong
protected passed pawn on d5. This strong pawn also
gives White a stronger pawn structure, despite his
doubled c-pawns. Piece activity favors Black since he
has four pieces developed to White’s one, the pinned
bishop on e2. Black could have some problems
developing his queenside pieces to good squares,
though. King safety also favors Black as White’s king is
stuck in the center. It may be difficult for White to get
his king out of the center because of the pinned bishop.
The bishop is attacked twice and defended three times.
In order to castle, though, White would have to develop
his knight, taking away one defender, and then castling
would eliminate another - the king - from defending the
bishop.

7-16 Black has a bishop pair, so he is ahead about
half a pawn in material. King safety is even. Pawn
structure favors Black, since White has doubled isolated
b-pawns. Piece activity favors White since he is better
developed, his rooks have invasion opportunities on the
a- and c-files, and Black’s rook on a8 is stuck guarding
his a7 pawn. If this pawn moves up, White can trade it
off and pawn structure would be even again. Black’s
fianchettoed bishop’s diagonal is blocked by his d-pawn.
Even though both knights block White’s fianchettoed
bishop, they can move to better squares, opening the
long diagonal for the bishop when White is ready.

7-17 King safety and piece activity are fairly equal.
White has the light-squared bishop’s diagonal blocked,
but the dark-squared bishop has freedom. Materially,
White has a rook and two pawns against Black’s bishop
pair, which is roughly equal. White’s biggest advantage
is in pawn structure, since all of Black’s pawns are
isolated. One of White’s strategies is to create a passed
pawn on both sides of the board where he has pawn
majorities. Another strategy is to find a way to pick off
one of Black’s pawns. The h-pawn is the best bet, since
it will likely be the weakest because Black’s king should
stay in the center where he is best placed and can protect
the maximum number of pawns. White’s king has a little
more freedom.

7-18 Material and pawn structure are even, so no
problems there for Black. Black is in big trouble in piece
activity: the knight on f6 is the only well-placed piece
and he is pinned to the queen, his queen blocks the
 bishop from developing, and the knight on b8 has
trouble developing because going to d7 blocks the
queen’s defense of b7 and he can be captured on a6 by
the bishop, crippling Black’s queenside pawn structure.
Black also has a big problem with his king safety
because he is still in the center and it takes at least three
moves to castle kingside.

7-19 Material is even and Black has a slightly worse
pawn structure because of his doubled f-pawns. But
because of the pin, Black has an advantage in piece
activity. Black should play 27…Bf8 28.Ke1 Bb4
29.Kd2, protecting the knight a third time. Because
White is pinned two different ways, he cannot break
either pin and his king is stuck protecting the knight.
Black’s strategy is then to activate his king, trade all the
pieces on c3 at the right moment, and win the king and
pawn endgame.

7-20 Black is ahead in material with his extra passed
c-pawn ready to move forward with rook power behind
it. White has an advantage in piece activity with his
more aggressively placed queen and open b-file for his
rook. White would be happy with a draw and his best
strategy is to find a way to achieve this. White can force
a perpetual check by playing 33.Rb6! Kg8 (33…Re8
34.Rxe6! Rxe6 35.Qh8+ Ke7 36.Qxa8) 34.Rxe6 fxe6
35.Qxg6+. Black can get himself checkmated by
advancing his pawn after 33.Rb6! c4 34.Rxe6 c3??
35.Qh8 mate.


Lesson 8

Basset Hound Solutions


8-1 7.Nf3 is a bad move because Black can play 7…
Ba6, preventing White from castling. It would cost
White a lot of time to move his knight back to g1 and
then to e2 to shield the bishop’s power that stops him
from castling through check.

8-2 3.c5 creates pawn arrows, with White’s pointing
to the queenside and Black’s pointing toward the
kingside. This is a bad strategy for White because he has
only two files to work with on the queenside, where he
wants to expand, and Black has four files on the
kingside and center. There are no good targets on the
queenside for White to go after. 3.c5 is also weak
because it moves a pawn twice that isn’t in the center. In
fact, Black can now gain control of the center after 3…
b6 4.cxb6 axb6 followed by 5…c5. If White doesn’t
play 4.cxb6, Black could play 4…bxc5 5.dxc5, allowing
5…e5 and Black again controls the center. A common
tactical motif in queen pawn openings can occur after
3…b6 4.b4, where White plans to recapture on c5 with
his b-pawn. Black can play 4…a5 5.a3? axb4 and the a3
pawn cannot recapture because it is pinned to the rook!
If instead 5.bxa5, then 5…bxc5 gains the center for
Black.

8-3 White should take further control of the center
and force Black’s knight back home to g8 by playing
4.e5.

8-4 White has a slight advantage for several reasons.
First of all, he has the better placed bishop, as Black’s
bishop is stuck behind his pawns that are fixed on the
light-colored squares. Secondly, White has locked down
e5. After Nf3 and 0-0, he may consider a kingside attack
with support from his pawn on f4.

8-5 The clue to pick up here is that White’s king is
exposed along the e1-h4 diagonal. Black can play 4…
Qh4+ 5.g3 Bxg3+ 6.hxg3 Qxg3 mate (or 5…Qxg3+
6.hxg3 Bxg3 mate).

8-6 One of White’s immediate problems is Black
moving his knight on d5 with a discovery on his queen.
(For example, …Ndb4 threatens the queen and attacks
the a2 pawn a second time.) His biggest problem,
however, is that he hasn’t castled yet. In fact, he is still
two moves away from castling because he must first
move his bishop. Black’s active pieces will try to keep
him occupied so he cannot achieve this goal that he
should have accomplished back in the opening.


8-7 The strategy behind 11…h5 is that Black is
daring White to castle on the kingside, as he would be
castling into an attack. Of course, this move also
weakens Black’s kingside, should he decide to castle
there now. Black could have chosen a more quiet game
by playing 11...0-0. Both kings may now be safest on the
queenside.

8-8 Black has a slightly better position because of a
small space advantage. Notice that not one of White’s
pieces has moved to the fourth rank. Even though White
has less space to work with, he doesn’t have any real
piece activity disadvantage at this point, as none of his
minor pieces are misplaced or limited. Material and king
safety are equal.

8-9 No. Normally, you want to trade queens if the d-
file opens up early so that your opponent can’t castle
after he recaptures. Black is behind in material because
of the bishop he sacrificed, so he doesn’t want to trade
the queens. Black can prevent White from castling and
gain back his piece with a big attack by playing 6…
exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1=N+! 8.Ke1 (8.Rxg1 Bg4+ wins the
 queen) 8…Qh4+.

8-10 No. 5.Qe2+ doesn’t accomplish anything useful
for the queen to justify moving her early. She blocks the
bishop on f1 from developing and will be a target for
Black’s rook soon when it moves to e8 after castling,
forcing the queen to move again. Black should respond
to 5.Qe2+ by playing 5…Ne7.

Chess Detective Solutions

8-11 King safety is in White’s favor. Black will
decide whether to hide his king on the e-file in the center
or on the queenside with …Bd7, …h6 (to prevent Ng5),
…Kc8, …b6, and …Kb7. White also has a small
advantage in space and piece activity. Pawn structure
also favors White because of Black’s doubled c-pawns.
Black has about a half pawn advantage in material
because of the bishop pair.

8-12 The correct strategy for Black is to expand and
attack on the kingside, since that is the direction his
pieces are flowing. Playing in the center with 11…e5 is
a mistake, as White can open the center and win material
after 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Ndxe5 Bxe5 14.Nxe5 Qxe5
15.Bf4 and 16.cxd5, leaving Black with an isolated d-
pawn and lagging behind in development after his queen
moves. White would also have the bishop pair. Black
should play 11…Qh5, with a possible continuation
being 12.Nf4 Qf7 13.Qc2 g5.

8-13 Black is behind in material as he has sacrificed a
pawn on the queenside. King safety is equal as both
kings are safely tucked away on the kingside. Black will
have some piece activity advantage after he plays …Qb6
and one of the rooks to b8. His fianchettoed bishop has a
nice diagonal to assist his pressure on White’s
queenside. The reason why Black sacrificed the pawn
was to open lines of attack on the queenside. White has
a space advantage in the center and would like to
eventually play e5. Pawn structure is even, as neither
player has any really strong or weak pawns. If Black can
win White’s queenside pawns, his c5 pawn will be
strong. On the other hand, if White can trade off pieces
and safely reach the endgame, he will be a pawn ahead
with an outside passed a-pawn that could advance.

8-14 White has a space advantage in the center. Black
has better king safety and a lead in development. Pawn
structure is even. White needs to develop quickly, while
Black will play …d6 and try to undermine White’s pawn
center. Remember your goal in the opening should be a
balance between controlling the center, developing your
pieces and castling early. In this position, both players
are a bit out of the balance they are searching for.

8-15 White is offering a pawn to gain control of the
center. 4…Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 is a possible
continuation. White also will have a slight lead in
development and has already castled. White’s isolated a-
pawn isn’t weak, since Black’s pieces are in no position
to attack it.

8-16 Starting with material, White is ahead about half
a pawn because he has the bishop pair. White would like
to open up the position so the bishops’ powers can come
to life. Black would like to keep the position closed
because he has the knights. Piece activity is about even.
White hasn’t castled yet, but Black isn’t likely to prevent
him from castling in the next several moves, so king
safety is even. Space is fairly equal at the moment.
Black has a small advantage in pawn structure as White
has doubled c-pawns and an isolated a-pawn. White
could win a pawn with 7.dxc5, but that would leave him
with weak tripled isolated pawns!

8-17 White has sacrificed a knight to draw Black’s
king into the center to defend his knight on d5. A
strategy for White is to open up the center and attack
Black’s king with something like 0-0, Re1, and then
trying to push his pawn to d4. Black’s strategy is to
survive: either retreat his king to safety or trade pieces,
especially the queens, if he can. Black may try …Ncb4
or …Nce7 and then …c6 to secure the knight on d5 so
his king doesn’t have to stay on e6 to protect it. A piece
is a lot of material to sacrifice, so White had better make
his attack count!

8-18 Notice the pawns are asymmetrical. Black has a
half-open e-file and White has a half-open c-file. Since
the other files are closed, the rooks may be heading for
these files. Black’s light-squared bishop aims toward the
kingside and his knight will likely head for e4 and will
want to attack on the kingside as well. White typically
plays a3 and b4 and maybe a later b5. This is called a
minority attack, since White has fewer pawns than Black
on the queenside. White’s plan is to open up some files
on the queenside and try to win Black’s pawns there.

8-19 Black is ahead a pawn in material and will try to
hold onto his extra pawn on c4. White sacrificed the
pawn to gain control of the center. White has a small
advantage in piece activity. After …e6, Black’s light
squared bishop may be blocked in. Both kings are safe
for now. Pawn structure slightly favors White, as Black’s
extra pawn is a doubled pawn. King safety is even.

8-20 White has sacrificed two pawns for a big lead in
development and extra space in the center. He will castle
soon and attack, as all his pieces will quickly flow into
 the game, giving him a big lead in piece activity. Black,
on the other hand, needs to develop quickly and
safeguard his king. Black is looking to survive. He can
even afford to give one pawn back in order to live and
still have a material advantage.

Lesson 9

Basset Hound Solutions

9-1 Black’s biggest problem is his backward pawn
on c7. Not only is the pawn weak itself, but the squares
in front of it on c6 and c5 are weak too. These are holes
in Black’s position that White should try to take
advantage of. White’s knight on e5 can jump to c6 right
away.

9-2 White’s best pawn move is 9.d4 because it helps
to open the center, where Black’s king lives since he
hasn’t castled yet. It also frees White’s dark-squared
bishop and will help his queenside development.
Opening the center will also make Black’s queen more
of a target.

9-3 Although it looks strong at the moment and is
protected by two pawns, White will focus his attack on
g6. White can attack it quickly with 14.h5 and 15.Bd3
and bring his rooks to the half-open g-file. White will
have possible sacrifices coming soon to g6, which would
expose Black’s king. Remember you always want to
count how many potential attackers and how many
potential defenders a square has.

9-4 Black’s pawn structure gets fixed after either
12…cxb5 or 12…Qxb5 13.Qxb5 cxb5. The main
question Black needs to ask himself is whether or not he
has a better position with the queens on or off the board.
As long as he can prevent White from castling, Black is
better off with the queens on the board because White’s
king will be a target in the center. White’s queen won’t
be much of a threat to Black’s king after he safely
castles. Therefore, 12…cxb5 is the better move.


9-5 White’s strategy is to use his advantages in piece
activity and king safety to attack the Black king and
checkmate him or force material concessions. To
accomplish this, he should play 23.Qf4 to threaten mate
on c7. This forces Black to move one of his knights to
e5, where White can play 24.dxe5 resulting in a material
advantage, more active pieces, a dangerous passed pawn
on e5, and the threat of Qxc4 further exposing Black’s
king. Gaining all of the four types of advantages is
almost a certain recipe for winning the game.

9-6 The center is locked up, so neither player can
make any progress there. You should always be thinking
about what part of the board you want to expand on to
gain space and piece activity advantages before your
opponent does. Two reasonable expansionist strategies
for White are to expand on the queenside with 15.b4, or
make preparations to expand on the kingside with an
eventual f4 when it is safe to do so (at the moment the f-
pawn is pinned to the queen).

9-7 Black has sacrificed his queen for this attack on
the White king. Because he is way behind in material,
his strategy is to either checkmate White’s king or gain
back enough material or some other advantage to justify
the sacrifice. Notice that Black’s rook shields White’s
king from check, lending the position to discoveries.
37…Rf4+, winning White’s queen for the rook, does not
win back enough material, as Black will be down a piece
 in the end. Black’s best choice of strategies is to go for
mate, which he achieves through a series of double
checks: 37…Rg3+! 38.Kh2 Rg2+ 39.Kh1 Rh2+
40.Kg1 Rh1 mate.

9-8 Black’s strategy is to promote his far advanced
c-pawn. He can promote by playing 31…c2 32.Rxf8+
Kh7 33.Nf2 c1=Q+ 34.Nf1 and have superior piece
activity since White’s pieces are tied up.

9-9 This position is in the transition phase between
the middlegame and the endgame. As the endgame
approaches, the strategy of promoting pawns starts to
become important. White should play 35.Rh7 as his
strategy is to win the Black pawn on f7 and promote his
far-advanced f6 pawn. Black’s strategy is to win White’s
a2 pawn and start advancing his queenside pawn group.
The game becomes a race to promote.

9-10 White’s best strategy is to move his knight to d6
and f7 to launch an attack on Black’s king. Knights and
queens are excellent attackers of the king because they
can each attack both the light and dark squares around
him. If White decides to capture the a7 pawn, the
capturing piece would be out of play and Black may
seize the initiative and attack White’s king.

Chess Detective Solutions

9-11 Observe that Black’s weakness is the backward
pawn on c7. White should play 14.Nb3, adding a third
attacker to c5 to help prevent Black from ever moving
his pawn there. Remember that playing for squares is
important. Note that White’s knight may also invade
other holes on a5 or c6.

9-12 White does not want to open up files in front of

his king for Black to attack through. He should play
15.c5 to keep the b-file closed. If he plays 15.cxb5 axb5,
the a-file is open for Black to use. If White does not
move the pawn, Black can play 15…bxc4, opening the
b-file.

9-13 The kings are castled on opposite sides. White
should focus his attention on his queenside attack, while
Black wants the action to take place on the kingside. Not
only does 13.h3 waste a move on the wrong side of the
board, but it creates targets in front of his king for Black
to aim at. Black can consider sacrifices on h3 as well as
the idea of …Bh5, …g5, and …g4, opening up the g-file
for his rooks.

9-14 White is behind a rook and a pawn in material
and, therefore, must throw everything he can at Black’s
king. White cannot afford to let Black trade off material
and go into a winning endgame. Therefore, his best
move is 18.g4, which gives him the best attacking
chances.

9-15 Notice that Black owns the key dark square on
f8 because he has the dark-squared bishop in this
opposite-colored bishop middlegame. White has two
strategies that work. First, he can play 33.Qe5, pinning
Black’s queen to his king. 33…Kg7 loses to 34.Rxf8
Qxe5 35.Rg8+ and 33…Bg7 loses to 34.Rxf8+ Bxf8
35.Qxf6+. 33…Qxe5 loses to 34.dxe5 followed by the e-
pawn advancing. White’s other winning strategy is to
overload f8 by tying all of Black’s pieces to that square
and then put him in zugzwang, where he will be forced
to make a move where all moves will lose. White can
also play 33.Qb8, forcing 33…Qg7 to defend the rook a
second time. White can then play 34.h4. This prevents
Black from playing …g5 because after hxg5, Black
cannot recapture with the bishop or queen because they
are defending the rook on f8. Observe that none of
Black’s pieces can move without losing the f8 rook.
Black runs out of pawn moves after 34…a5 35.Be6 a4
36.Ka2 b4 37.Qxb4.

9-16 The player’s kings are positioned on opposite

sides of the board and Black’s king is not well protected.
Black does have a better pawn structure and the bishop
pair. White wants to attack on the kingside and with
Black’s king exposed, he needs to examine all checks
and sacrifices. White’s winning strategy is to attack the
king by sacrificing his rook with 20.Rxh6+! Kxh6
21.Rh1+ Kg6 22.Bh5+ Kh7 23.Bf7 mate. Sacrificing
one rook to open the file for the other rook is a common
theme you will want to commit to memory.

9-17 This is one of those crazy positions where both
kings are exposed and both players have lots of pieces to
attack them with. In these types of positions, the best
strategy is to keep the initiative, or attack, with a series
of checks. If you run out of checks, then it is your
opponent’s turn. If it is Black’s move, he would play
32…Qb1+ 33.Qd1 Qxd1 mate. White has a powerful
pawn on c7 that is about to promote and aid in his
attack. White wins by playing 32.Qe6+! Kf8 (32…Rxe6
33.c8=Q+ Re8 34.Qxe8 mate or 33…Kf7 34.Qxe6+ Kf8
35.Qc8+ Ke7 36.Qc7+ Kf8 37.Ne6+ Ke8 38.Nd6 mate)
33.Qxe8+ Kxe8 34.c8=Q+ Ke7 35.Qc7+ like above or
another possibility is 35.Nd5+ Kf7 36.Nd6+ Kg6
37.Qf5+ Kh6 38.Nf7 mate.

9-18 Because White’s king is exposed in the middle
of the board, attacking it is an obvious strategy. Black
needs more pieces to make this work than just his queen.
Black’s king is in danger and, since he is behind in
material, he cannot afford to trade down to the endgame.
The correct strategy is to first safeguard his king and
then to attack. So he plays 13…0-0! A possible
continuation is 14.Rb1 Qc4+ 15.Ke1 Nc6 16.Qb7 Nd4,
followed by 17…Qe2 mate.

9-19 First notice that material is even. White would
like to advance his pawn majority on the queenside.
White’s king, however, is partially exposed because of
the pawn capture on f3. A good strategy for Black would
be to try to attack the White king. To get his pieces
closer to the White king, Black sacrifices a pawn to clear
a path for a rook lift by playing 20…e5! 21.Qxe5 Rc6!
22.e4 d4 23.Rd3 Qh3 24.Rxd4 Rg6+ 25.Qg3 and Black
can win the White queen.

9-20 Yes. White should eliminate Black’s final pawn
on the queenside. Looking at the imbalance in the types
of advantages, White is ahead a pawn, but Black leads in
piece activity, mainly because it will take White a couple
of moves to develop his h1 rook. King safety favors
Black. Since the game is in the transition stage from the
middlegame to the endgame, White’s king is not in as
great of danger as he could be if more pieces were on
the board. With his advantage in piece activity, Black is
likely going to win a pawn on the queenside in most
variations. If White moves his pawn to b6, Black will
capture it with a knight by retreating temporarily. Black
will then move the knight forward again. The a-pawns
will live. As you look into the future, you should
observe that because of his more active pieces, Black
will then have greater odds of winning White’s a-pawn
than White does of winning Black’s a-pawn. If this
happens, Black will win with his extra outside passed
pawn. By capturing Black’s a-pawn, Black will be out of
pawns on the queenside. Black will likely win White’s
remaining queenside pawn, leaving the players with
three pawns each on the kingside, but Black with better
piece activity. White will have some chances to draw.
 You can increase your drawing chances in an inferior
endgame if you can eliminate all your opponent’s pawns
on one side of the board. When playing the middlegame,
look at different endgame scenarios and consider
possible futuristic ideas.

Lesson 10

Basset Hound Solutions

10-1 Black has the advantage because he has the
more centralized king and the potential for the outside
passed pawn. He can play 38…a5 39.bxa5 bxa5 40.Kb2
a4 41.Ka3 Kxc3 42.Kxa4 Kd4 43.Kb4 Ke3 and win
White’s pawns.

10-2 White clears a path for the pawn to promote by
playing 35.Rxe8 Bxe8 36.b7.

10-3 If Black plays 38…h2, White can catch the
pawn by playing 39.Kg2. If it were White’s move, he
could play g4 and Kg3 to win the pawn. Black should
play 38…Ne3!, guarding the g2 square. Black cannot
take the knight because he leaves the square of the
pawn. Black threatens to advance the pawn, as the king
now cannot move to g2.

10-4 White needs to get Black to move his queen in
order to advance his pawn. He can play 32.Qe5+ f6
33.Qxd6! Qxd6 34.c7 and White will soon be ahead by
a rook.

10-5 White wins by playing 45.Ke6. Black must
protect his pawn with 45…Kc4, after which White plays
46.Ke5, putting Black in zugzwang. Black must move
away from his pawn. White will then capture it, promote
his pawn, and then checkmate Black. Note that 45.Ke5?
loses to 45…Kc4, and it is White who is in zugzwang
and loses.

10-6 White wins quickly, creating a passed pawn,
with 50.Bh5!, threatening 51.fxg6. If Black captures the
bishop with 50…gxh5, White plays 51.g6 and will
promote a pawn on g8 in a few moves.

10-7 Since he is far behind in material, White is
desperate to find any trick he can to win or draw. He
plays the surprising 41.Rb2! and Black must play 41…
Rxb2 stalemate or lose his rook and the game.

10-8 White has a material advantage since he is ahead
a pawn. Because we are in the endgame, Black has a
piece activity advantage because his king is centralized
and White’s king is cut off on his back rank. Even
though White’s king is restricted, Black doesn’t have
any real king safety advantage because White’s rook
will not allow the Black king to get into position to
checkmate him. Pawn structure is also difficult to put in
either player’s column: White has outside isolated
passed pawns on both wings and in the center, whereas
Black has two connected passed pawns, which are
stronger than isolated pawns because they can safely
march up the board together. The position is roughly
equal with both players having to play the game out
carefully.

10-9 Black will win. Notice that there is no way for
White’s king to get at Black’s pawns unless they move.
If White’s king moves anywhere, he leaves the square of
Black’s a3 pawn. So he must play 51.d4 Kxg4 52.d5
Kf5 and Black’s king is in the square of the pawn. Once
he captures it, White will be in zugzwang and have to
move his king, allowing the a3 pawn to promote.

 10-10 White wins by trading off to a winning endgame
with 47.Rxf7+ Kxf7 48.a5, and the Black king is
outside the square of the pawn. Note that White’s king is
in the square of Black’s passed c-pawn.

Chess Detective Solutions

10-11 Black has a potential threat of …Qg2 mate.
White has a dangerous c-pawn which is part of a trio of
connected passed pawns. Because White’s queen must
defend the mate threat, Black should advance his passed
pawn and play 37…b3! 38.Qb2 Qg2+! 39.Qxg2 Bxg2
40.Kxg2 b2 and Black wins the pawn race. Note that the
immediate 37…Qg2+ doesn’t work since after 38.Qxg2
Bxg2 39.Kxg2 and White will promote the move after
Black does. Count out pawn races carefully!

10-12 White is ahead in material and he would like to
advance his kingside pawn majority and overrun Black’s
g7 pawn in the process. Black has a dangerous pawn on
b2 that White’s rook is preventing from promoting.
Black can move his king down to c2 to escort the pawn
in, forcing White to give up his rook for it. The problem
for Black will be that his king is too far away from
defending on the kingside and his rook won’t be able to
stop the White pawns by itself. To solve this problem,
Black must promote his pawn and prevent White from
sacrificing his rook for it. So he plays 43…Ra5+
44.Kg6 Rb5 to cut off Black’s rook and after 45.Rxb5
Kxb5 46.Kxg7 b1=Q 47.g6 Qf5 Black can eventually
win all of White’s pawns after a series of checks.

10-13 Yes, he can, but he must count out the pawn
race carefully. Black plays 51…Kb6! 51…Kxb5 allows
a check after Black plays …a4 and White responds with
bxa4+, winning a critical tempo. 52.Ke7 a4 53.bxa4 c4
54.f4 d3 and Black will promote first. Races can be very
close and need to be counted out carefully.

10-14 White wins quickly by sacrificing both pieces:
42.Rxd5! exd5 43.Nxa7! Rxa7 and Black’s rook can’t
stop pawn storm after 44.b6 Rb7 45.b5 and 46.a6.

10-15 If Black tries to promote the pawn with 39…h2,
White can defend the promotion square with 40.Rb1. To
promote the pawn, Black needs to block out the rook
from the first rank by sacrificing his own rook with 39…
Rc1! If Black plays 40.Nxc1 or 40.Kxc1, White plays
40…h2 and White’s rook is cut off from defending the
h1 square.

10-16 Yes, he can, but by only one move. You have to
count out races and observe how pieces can be forced
onto the same line for a possible tactic after a promotion
takes place. 48…Kf4 49.Kh2 Ke4 50.Kh3 Kxd4
51.Kxh4 Ke3 52.g4 d4 53.g5 d3 54.g6 d2 55.g7 d1=Q
56.g8=Q Qh1+ 57.Kg4 Qg1+, winning the queen.

10-17 The winning move is 43…Qe5! Notice that
White’s pawns cannot move. The knight is pinned to the
king. Note that White has no useful checks. If White
moves his king to either g1 or f1, he will not have
enough protectors for the knight. That leaves White with
only queen moves. She cannot move away from
protecting the knight, as she is the second defender. The
only possible move where the queen defends the knight
is 44.Qe3. Black then wins after 44…Qxe3 45.Kxe3
Bxg3, winning the knight and the game: White’s king
can win Black’s c4 pawn, while Black’s king will move
toward and win the g2 and h3 pawns. Black can sacrifice
his bishop for White’s c4 pawn when it is close to
promoting. Meanwhile, Black will advance and promote
a kingside pawn.

10-18 Capturing the knight with 47.Kxe5 and counting
out the pawn race is the first line to analyze: 47…a5
48.h5 a4 49.h6 a3 50.h7 a2 51.h8=Q a1=Q+ and 52…
Qxh8, winning the queen and the game for Black!
Gaining a tempo by promoting with check is often a way
to win pawn races. White should play 47.h5! Nf7
48.Kg6 Ne5+ 49.Kf5 to obtain a draw by threefold
repetition. Note that White doesn’t threaten to advance
the pawn after 49.Kg5 a5 50.h6 Nf7+. This position is
part of the final move sequence in the championship
game in the movie, Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993).
In the movie, 47.Kxe5? was played and Black went on
to win the game.

10-19 White’s wining strategy is to capture the a7
pawn and escort his a-pawn to a8 with the help of his
other pieces. The game continued 34.Bxa7 g5 35.Bb6
Qxc2 36.a5 Qb2 37.Bd8+ Ke6 38.a6 Qa3 39.Bb7 Qc5
40.Rb1 c3 41.Bb6 and the pawn will promote in a
couple of moves.

10-20 Black is behind in material by a piece and a
pawn and looks like he is in trouble. Usually, it is
opposite-colored bishops in the middlegame where the
attacking player has a big advantage. Here, with only a
few pieces left, the opposite-colored bishops help the
attacker in the endgame! Black plays 43…Re3+ 44.Kg4
(44.Kf2 loses to the discovered check, 44…Rxc3+) 44…
f5+ 45.Kg5 (45.Kh4 Be7 mate) 45…Kg7 (threatening
46…Be7 mate) 46.Nd5 Rh3! (A brilliant rook sacrifice
that threatens 47…h6 mate) 47.gxh3 h6+ 48.Kh4 Bf2
mate! This position and move sequence was brilliantly
filmed in the final chess game in the movie, The Luzhin
Defence (2000).
 GLOSSARY

absolute pin when a piece is pinned to the king and cannot
move because the king would be placed in check
Alekhine’s Defense A chess opening with a position typically
occurring after 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6
asymmetrical pawn structure a pawn structure where, the
pawns are not symmetrical where one player has a pawn on a
file where the opponent does not
attacker a piece that attacks an opposing piece
back rank another name for the first rank, the rank closest to
the player behind the pawns in the game’s starting position
back rank mate a checkmate that occurs when the king is
attacked on the back rank by a queen or rook and his escape is
blocked by his own pawns
backward pawn a typically weak base pawn on a half-open
file that may be easily attacked by the opponent’s pieces,
especially the rooks
bad bishop a weak bishop usually blocked by his own pawns
that is a permanent disadvantage
base pawn the pawn in a pawn chain that is closest to the
player and has no pawn to protect it
bishop pair the advantage of having both bishops typically
against a bishop and knight or two knights; worth about half a
pawn
blitz a rapidly played game where each player typically gets
five minutes to complete all his moves or lose on time
Blumenfeld’s Rule writing the move down on a score sheet
before playing it so that you can double check the move first, in
an attempt to avoid making an obvious blunder
candidate moves reasonable moves that make sense without
calculation; a player’s main choices for his move
capture when a piece moves to a square where an opposing
piece is resting and removes the opposing piece from the board
castling a special move that usually occurs in the opening,
getting the king out of the center and developing the rook, and
the only time a player can move two pieces in one turn
center the middle of the board that includes the squares e4, e5,
d4, and d5
centralizing the king strategically moving the king toward the
center of the board where he can join the battle, typically
occurring in the endgame
closed pawn structures a position with pawns blocking the
movement of the pieces
combination a series of moves that are played in an exact
sequence to gain an advantage
counterattack an attack mounted by the player who is
defending
cutting off the king a barrier created by a rook or queen up a
file or across a rank where the opponent’s king cannot move
across because he would be moving into check
dark-squared bishop a bishop that moves on the dark colored
squares
defender a piece that defends one of its own pieces
deflection a tactic where the defender is chased away from
protecting a critical square
developing a piece (also called development) when a piece
(knight, bishop, rook, or queen) moves off its starting square to
a better square, increasing its power
discovered attack moving a piece and attacking an opponent’s
piece with a bishop, rook, or queen hiding behind the piece that
moved
discovered check moving a piece and checking the opponent’s
king with a bishop, rook, or queen hiding behind the piece that
moved
double attack a discovered attack where the moving piece also
attacks an opponent’s piece
double check a discovered check where the moving piece also
checks the king
doubled isolated pawns two pawns lined up vertically on the
same file with no pawn on a file next to them that can protect
them
doubled pawns two pawns lined up vertically on the same file
that have a pawn on a file next to them that can provide
protection
draw a chess game ending in a tie
endgame the part of the game when only a few pieces are still
on the board
en passant (“in passing” in French) a special pawn capture that
exists for only one move and occurs when a pawn on the fifth
rank captures an opposing pawn on an adjacent file that
advanced two squares forward as if it only moved one square
forward
en prise (“in take” in French) refers to piece that can be
captured
exchange an equal trade of pieces in terms of material
exchange sacrifice to voluntarily trade a rook for a bishop or a
knight, also known as giving up the exchange
gaining a tempo gaining a move
grabbing pawns a risky way to win pawns, since the opponent
may gain piece activity
fianchetto developing a bishop to the square directly in front of
where a knight starts the game where the bishop is on the
longest possible diagonal on the board and can attack two of the
center squares of its color
files columns on the chessboard identified by a letter from a to
h
forcing moves a series of moves (usually checks) that force a
response from the opponent, keeping him from carrying out his
plan
fork a common tactic that occurs when a piece attacks two or
more pieces at once
half-open file a file where one player has a pawn and the other
player doesn’t have a pawn
hole a weak square that cannot be attacked by a pawn, ideal for
an opponent to occupy with a piece
initiative having the attack and being able to dictate the
direction of the game
insufficient mating material when a player does not have
enough material left on the board to force checkmate
isolated passed pawn a pawn that has the weakness of being
isolated but the strength of being passed
isolated pawn a weak pawn that has no pawn on a file next to it
interpose to block or put in between
kingside the half of the board where the kings begin the game
(the e-, f-, g-, and h-files)
kingside majority having more pawns on the kingside than the
opponent
King’s Indian Defense A chess opening with the position
typically occurring after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6
lever the square where a pawn can capture the opponent’s
pawn to open up the position
light-squared bishop a bishop that moves on the light colored
squares
losing a tempo losing a move
main line a common sequence of opening moves where both
players are playing correctly and the position is fairly even
major pieces rooks and queens
material the sum of the values of the pieces
mating material having enough material to force checkmate
mating net when the king’s flight squares are eliminated,
making checkmate possible
middlegame the middle part of the game after the pieces have
been developed, usually beginning around move ten and lasting
until only a few pieces remain on the board
minor pieces knights and bishops
minority attack an attack by several pawns against a larger
group of pawns with the idea of weakening the larger group of
pawns and opening up lines of attack
mobile pawns pawns that are not blocked and can move up the
board quickly and easily
mobility see piece activity
open file a file not blocked by any pawns
open pawn structures a position with no pawns blocking the
free movement of the pieces
opening the first ten or so moves of the game when most of the
pieces are developed and the kings castle
opposite-colored bishops situation when each player has one
bishop remaining on the board, with each bishop traveling on
different colored squares where they cannot attack each other
opposite side castling when one player castles on the kingside
and the other player castles on the queenside
outpost a strong square, usually in the opponent’s territory,
where a piece (usually a knight) can be safe, protected by a
pawn, and cannot be attacked by an enemy pawn
outside passed pawn the passed pawn furthest away from the
other pawns where the main battle will take place
overworked piece a piece that has to protect two pieces (or
squares) at the same time that often can be taken advantage of
tactically
passed pawn a pawn that can move all the way up the board to
its promotion square without being blocked or captured by an
enemy pawn
passive holding back
pawn arrow A line from the player’s side of the board toward
his opponent’s side of the board of a pawn chain that is locked
up on two or more files. Pawn arrows point in the direction
where the player has more space and generally wants to attack.
pawn chain pawns on files next to each other that are
connected in a diagonal line, so they protect each other
pawn storm a tactic in which several pawns on adjacent files
are moved in rapid succession toward the opponent’s defenses
perpetual check the most common type of threefold repetition,
when the player who is usually losing the game forces a
position where he can check the other king back and forth
forever
Petroff’s Defense A chess opening with a position arising after
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6
piece activity having pieces on good squares where they can
move freely
pin when a long-range piece (queen, rook, or bishop) attacks an
opponent’s piece that is shielding another piece of greater value
process of elimination a decision making process where, to
find the best move, you eliminate legal moves that you
determine are clearly not the best move
promotion or promoting a pawn when a pawn gets across the
board to the eighth rank and turns into another piece, usually a
queen
protected when a piece is defended by another piece, usually
making it a bad idea for the opponent to capture it
protected passed pawn a passed pawn that is protected by a
friendly pawn
queenside the half of the board where the queens begin the
game (the a-, b-, c-, and d-files)
queenside majority having more pawns on the queenside than
the opponent
ranks the chess name for rows that run horizontally across a
chess board
resign a way to lose a chess game, typically signified by
tipping over one’s king, in a hopeless position
rook lift moving a rook forward, usually to the third rank, and
then in front of pawns on the second rank, where it can attack
on a file into the opponent’s territory
Ruy Lopez A chess opening with a position arising after 1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
sacrifice giving up material in order to gain some other type of
advantage or checkmate
Sicilian Defense A chess opening with a position arising after
1.e4 c5
skewer a type of tactic like a pin, but where the more valuable
piece is in front of the less valuable piece
space an element of chess, related to piece activity, referring to
the number of squares controlled by each of the players
square of the pawn an imaginary square the defending king
must get into in order to win the race to the promotion square
against an enemy pawn
stalemate a type of draw where the player to move has no legal
moves
Stonewall Dutch Defense A chess opening with a position
typically occurring after 1.d4 f5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 c6
symmetrical pawn structure a pawn structure where on each
 file that White has a pawn, Black has a pawn opposite him
tactics immediate threats and attacks that make up the battles
between pieces
threefold repetition a type of draw that occurs when the same
identical position repeats three different times
tempo a single move, relating to time
threat an aggressive move that attacks an opposing piece
tripled isolated pawns three pawns lined up vertically on the
same file with no pawn on a file next to them to provide
protection
tripled pawns three pawns lined up vertically on the same file
with a pawn on a file next to them that can provide protection
uncastled king a king that has not castled and is usually in the
middle of the board
variation a logical sequence of moves different from the main
line
zugzwang A German word meaning “compulsion to move.”
Usually occurring in the endgame when there are fewer
available moves, a player is “in zugzwang” when it is his move
and every possible move makes his position worse. It is when a
player would prefer to pass his move to his opponent, if he
could.
7th rank the rank on the opponent’s side of the board where his
pawns begin the game
8th rank the rank furthest away from the player, where his
pawns promote


Great players quoted in the book

Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995) World Champion (USSR) –
1948-1957, 1958-1960, 1961-1963
Jose Raul Capablanca (1888-1942) World Champion (Cuba)
– 1921-1927
Irving Chernev (1900-1981) Noted chess author and master
Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) World Champion (USA) – 1972-
1975
Hans Kmoch (1894-1973) Austrian chess International Master,
author, and journalist
Alexander Kotov (1913-1981) Russian grandmaster and author
Bent Larsen (1935-2010) 6-time Danish champion and world
champion contender
Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941) World Champion (Germany) –
1894-1921
Edmar Mednis (1937-2002) U.S. Chess Grandmaster and
author from Latvia
Paul Morphy (1837-1884) Unofficially the first World
Champion from New Orleans
Lajos Portisch (born in 1937) 8-time Hungarian champion and
world champion contender
Rudolf Spielmann (1883-1942) Austrian world champion
contender and author
Siegbert Tarrasch (1862-1934) German world champion
contender and chess writer
Savielly Tartakower (1887-1956) 2-time Polish champion and
chess journalist
Eugene Znosko-Borovsky (1884-1954) Russian chess master,
teacher, and writer

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

At age six, Todd learned how to play chess from his father,
Alan Bardwick, an expert strength tournament player. Alan
utilized many of the chess teaching ideas presented in this book.
Back in the early 1970’s when few children played in rated
tournaments, Todd consistently improved his game and was
nationally ranked most of his youth for his age group.
After leading his high school chess team to several state
titles, Todd went to college and graduated first in his class from
the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1985 with a B.S. in
Civil Engineering. After college, he moved to San Diego for
five years where he worked as a rocket scientist (structural
analyst).
Moving back to Denver in late 1989, Todd worked as an
entrepreneur and continued his chess-playing career. In 1993,
Todd achieved the National Master title awarded by the United
States Chess Federation (USCF).
Of Todd’s numerous tournament achievements, most
notable is winning the Denver Open Championship five
consecutive years (1992-1996) against strong competition,
where his performance rating was over 2400.
In the early 1990’s, Todd discovered his passion for
teaching chess to adults and children.
Beginning in 1993 until the newspaper’s closing in 2009, he
wrote a popular monthly chess column in the Rocky Mountain
News, one of the nation’s largest newspapers.
In 1995, Todd founded the annual Rocky Mountain Chess
Camp, one of the oldest and most popular children's chess
camps in the United States. Students come from across the
nation to participate in the camp.
In 2002, The Chess Detective ® column was born in School
Mates, the national children’s chess magazine published by the
United States Chess Federation. School Mates later became
Chess Life for Kids magazine. Visit
www.ColoradoMasterChess.com to see additional columns that
Todd has written for the Colorado Chess Informant.
Having taught over 10,000 chess classes, Todd has been
one of the country’s leading full-time chess-teaching masters for
many years. His logical and fun approach to the game and
reputation as an excellent teacher has inspired Todd to form the
Chess Academy of Denver where he teaches well over 750
students per year through private lessons, school classes, chess
camps, and year-round camp workshops for adults and children.
Todd also regularly trains elementary school teachers who want
to learn how to incorporate chess and its educational benefits
into their classrooms.
Educationally, Todd runs school district chess programs,
teaches in Gifted and Talented programs, and trains parents and
teachers how to effectively teach chess to children in their
school enrichment programs. Todd accepted an invitation to
speak at the 2002 National Gifted and Talented conference for
teachers and parents about the benefits of chess and how to
improve a child’s math skills using chess as a vehicle.
In 2004, Todd completed his first book, Teaching Chess in
the 21st Century – Strategies and Connections to a Standards-
Based World, a comprehensive guide to teaching chess as part
of the elementary school math curriculum. The success of
Teaching Chess in the 21st Century prompted Todd to write
Chess Workbook for Children – The Chess Detective’s
Introduction to the Royal Game in 2006.
Todd’s students have achieved accolades in life and chess.
Successes include gaining early admission to top universities,
like Stanford and Yale, becoming Presidential Scholars, being
ranked number one in chess in the United States for their age
group and winning state and national chess titles.
Todd is available for speaking engagements, chess teacher
training, chess lessons, chess classes, and simultaneous chess
exhibitions. Todd can be reached through his website at
www.ColoradoMasterChess.com.