THE M IDDLE GAM E

IN C HESS

E UGE NE Z NOSK O B OROV SK Y

-

LON DON
G. B ELL AND S ONS ,
LTD
.
 F R T P U LI H ED
I S B S J U LY , 1 922
R E P R I NI E D
‘
M AY , 1 923
J ULY , 1 9 30

TAI N BY
P RI NTE D I N GR E AT B R Y Pv n s z u .

P AULTO N ( 50 11 3 11 52 1 ) AN D LO NDO N
 C ON TENTS
P RE A E F C

PART I

G ENE R AL OBSE R V ATI ONS ON TH E G AME OF C H ESS

C HA P .

I T H E E L EME NT
. S OF CH E SS

Spa c e
Ti m e
Fo c e r

TH E P E E T H E R CONT R O L
'

I C S AN D I

P awn s
Th e Ki gn

Quee n n ht ,
Roo k , and Bishop
T H E E E NT A L O T H E G AMESS I S F :

Gai i Fo c e Spa c e d Ti m e n n r , an

Th eats r

I V G E N ERA L R EMAR A OUT T H E O E N N G

. KS B P I

PART I I
M IDD L E GAM E TH E

1 G E N ERA L R EMAR A OUT T H E M DDL E G AME

. KS B I

V aluatio f P ositio n o n

C o st u c tio d E e c utio
n o f the Pla
r n an x n n

I I S U ER O R PO T ON
. P I SI I S

I t odu c to y n r r

Ad a tage i Fo c e v n n r

Ad a tage v n in Ti me
Ad a tage v n in Spa c e
III I N ER O R PO T ON S
. F I SI I

I t odu c to y n r r

I n fe io ity i n Fo c e r r r

I fe io i ty i n Ti me n r r

I n fe io i t y i Spa c e r r n

I V E Q U A L P O T ON S
. SI I
vi CONTENTS

PART I I I

E X A M PL ES
C H AP .

I I NT R O DU TO RY R EMAR
. C KS

II . MANCEU V R E S
I M an ce u vr es on the
. VVh Ol e B oar d
2 Man w u v r es i n th e
. e Ce n tr

3 . M a eu es n the Wi n gs
no vr o

4 . Ma eu es with P awn s
no vr

III A TT A C
. K

Th e Atta ck the C e nt e
In r

C e n t e Atta ck c o mb i ed with Wi n g Att c k

r n a

Th Atta c k n K i g stan di g i n the C e n t e

e o n n r

Th Atta c k n b oth Wi g s
e o n

Th Atta c k n the Ki g s Side C astli g

’
e o n n

P awn Sa c i fic e f th Ope ni n g Of the Files

r or e

B ea ki n g up b y P a wn s o f the Hos ti l e P aw P ositi on

r n-

Th Sto m b the P awns

e r y

Th Atta c k wi th the Bishops

e

Th Atta ck with the K nights

e

Th Att a c k n the Quee n s Side C ast li n g

’
e o

I V D E E NCE
. F

I . P assi v e Defe nce

2 . P assi v e Defe n c e c ha n g i ng to C ou n ter Atta c k
3 . C ou n ter Atta c k
-

4 Defe n c e b y means o f C ou nter C o mb i n atio n -

V . T H E COUNT ER BA TT L E -

Th C ou n te
I . e r- B attl e i n the Ce n tr e
Th C ou n te
2 e r- B attle i n the Ce n tr e an d on the Wi ng
3 Th C ou te
. e n r- Battle n di fi nt Wi ng s
o er e

4 Th C ou n te
. e r- B attle n the same Wi n g
o

5 Th C ou te e n r- Battle o e the Who l e Boa d

v r r

CON L U ON C SI

L T
IS OF I LL U T RA T IV E P O T ION
S SI S F R O M A C TU A L PLA Y
 PR EFAC E

IT is impossi b le t o refrai n from wo n der that the middle game

in chess the most i rnp ort ant and decisive part of the game
, ,

its very esse n ce has up to now been scarcely stu di ed at all

, ,

and that there is practicall y n o book speciall y devoted t o it .

At a time whe n the ope n ing and the e n d game have been
worked out i n detail the middl e game is n ot an obj e ct of
,

theoretical studies a n d there are o n ly the practical games a n d

,

the i r analysis to guide the player C onseque n tly the stude n t .

Of the text b ooks who lear n s scores of variatio n s by

-
,

heart remains qui te at a loss duri n g the middl e game The

, .

books fur n ish him w ith no weapo n s to gi ve him co n fidence

i n the actual battle ; a n d har dl y has he left the Opening when
he fi n ds himself e n tir ely o n his own .

Such an ab n ormal state of affairs has i n duced me to occupy

myself for a lo n g time with the theoretical study Of the mid dl e
game There was n o questio n for me IS such astudy possible ?
.
,

Wh y I sho u ld lik e to k n ow Should that question arise ? TO

, ,

me the study seemed not o n ly very desirable but also quite ,

necessary My o n ly doubt was how to begin it and how be st

.

to carr y it out Everything had t o be created There was

. .

not even a classifi cation which is the basis of all scie n ce ;

and the mass Of raw material—the e n dless number of a n notated
,

games—al ar med me by its imme n sity .

AS I pursued my study I saw very clearly that the middl e ,

game in chess is chess itself Chess is neither the ending .

,

which may Often be reduced to a mere ari thmetical calcula

tio n nor the ope n i n g which starti n g from a co n sta n t set
, , ,

positio n develops the forces by an involuntary followi n g of

,

beaten paths The middl e game I repeat is chess itself ;

.
, ,

ch ess with all its possibil ities its attacks defences sacrifi ces
, , , , ,

etc If therefore there is a theory of the game n ot as a

.
, , ,

conglomeratio n Of di fferent variatio n s but as a system of ,

gener al c on c rete realities based on obj ective facts the n the ,

theory of the mid dl e game will prese n t no special diffi culties .

vi i i PRE FACE
Up to now no such theory h as existed The discussions with .

regard to the mi ddle game were still i n the air The theory .

which was right for o n e position might be quite wrong for

another Whe r e could be found the basis of agreement to
.
,

compel assent ? Thus I came to the conclusio n that it was

first of all n ecessary to study the game of chess in general ,

the game fou n ded on obj ective facts .

From my poi n t of V iew such a study Of chess in general

,

has been scan ty There are ma n y excell ent works givi n g so

.
,

detailed a n an al ysis of games that they might almost be con

s i de r e d text books for the middle game
-
But all their observa .

tions are un systematic and the main interest is centred in

,

the ope n i n gs The fact of the arrangement Of the games

.

under the openings is a proof of this There is a vast n u mber .

of variations of Ope n i n gs and end games but no dealing in ,

detail w ith the chief elements of chess their qualities etc , , .

It is su fficient to po i nt to the fantastic ideas prevaili n g about

the K n ight s move
’
.

The task which I have undertaken is one of great dime n sions .

More than ten years ago I was e n abled to publish several of

my studies in various Russian a n d foreign magazi n es a n d
chess colu mns but that was all Other duties prevented me .

from carrying out my idea and only now have I been able
to return to the work .

A stroke of good luck helped me I read in The B ri ti sh .

Chess M a ga zi n e a report Of a lecture by J R C apablanca . .

,

in which he spoke of the possibility and the need of theoretical

study of the mid dle game This led me to correspond o n th e
.

subj ect with my friend Philip W Sergeant a talented player

,
.
,

well known to British chess lovers who showed a lively -

,

i n terest in my proposal and after receiving a detailed pla n

, ,

of my work undertook to deal on my behalf with the pub lish

,

i n g firm of G Bell . Sons who took a ki n d interest in the

,

scheme which I as a foreign chess player livi n g in exile very

, ,
-
,

greatly appreciate .

So my book came i n to being The reader wi ll not think .

it is pe rfect I know its fa ul ts better than anyo n e but may

.
,

apologise for them as fo llows A great n umber of b ooks .

,
 PREFACE ix

compri sing thousands of pages are devoted to the ope nin g ,

and the end game How then could a small work of 2 2 6 pages
.

deal fully wi th so big a subj ect as the middl e game Con se

quently I had to li mit myself and leave unde alt with many ,

important questions I am indicatin g only the m ain li nes ;

.

but a det ailed study is needed of my facts Whereas I when .

,

dis c ussing Superior Positions have given 6 games I sho ul d , ,

have gi ven 60 by grouping which I could have thoroughly

,

e xhausted the subject of superiority in position in all its

varieties Similarly I am compelled to deal very briefly with
.

such matters as how to han dl e ce rtain positions how to mak e ,

use of one s advantages and overcome one s weaknesses and

’ ’

so on .

Th e gr eat mass of b ooks on the openi ng an d the end game

may be divi ded accordi ng to their readers Some are addr ess ed .

to beginners some to inexperienced and the rest to ski lled

, ,

players I could not m ak e a di st i nction of this kind and my

.
,

book cont ai ns therefore facts both known to everyone and

, ,

such as wi ll not I hope be superfluous to point out even to

, ,

the strong player I do not co n fin e myself merely to prac

.

tical rul es which wi ll make the g am e e asier for the begi nner .

I treat chess as a mathematical problem and as an artistic ,

subj ect My study leads to a better understandin g of chess

.

which I believe wi ll do no h arm to the player when he m akes

a person al study of the game .

Finally havi ng had no forerunn eIS in the systematic study

,

of the middle g ame I have consequently had to create every

,

thi ng for myself I k n ow the shortcomings of t his first

.

attempt an d my o n ly wish is that my book may encourage

,

others to devote attention to th e mid dl e game instead of

te dious openi n g variations and meaningless end games I loo k .

forward in the fu t u re i n the place of separate treatises on the

,

Ruy L opez or the Queen s Gambit Declined to studies of the ’

attack against a King castled on the Queen s side the defen c e ’

against a passed Pawn the m an oeuvres of the pieces in th e ,

centre etc
,
.

Some defects in my boo k are due to my having bee n de

p ri v e d of my library Not having the necessary works
. I was ,
x P RE F ACE
unab le always to select the best examples ; I know that in
many cases I might have chosen better .
!

AS regards the plan of the work it is quite logical and will , ,

c ause no surprise to the reader of the preceding lines In .

Part I I speak of the game in general of i ts elements and

, , ,

of the chessmen .

Part I I is devoted to the Mid dl e Game including the q ues ,

tions of the valuation of positions the construction and ,

execution of plans and the analysis of the three groups of

—
positions superior inferior and equal
,

, ,
.

In Part I I I are given many examp les illustrating the general

truths mentioned in the preceding parts .

I venture to give my intendi n g readers a piece of advi c e

not to look on the book as one to be read in the train but as ,

one to be studied seriously and attentively or not to be read

at all The analysis of certain positions takes 1 7 pages
. .

Many pages are gi ven to the empty chessboard since I wished ,

to make everything perfectly clear so that the reader might ,

comprehend the basis of the game and grasp the real and
uncontrovertible fa c ts of play The book is the logical out.

come of unified thought and he who skips one or two p ages

,

will miss the necessary links The reader must therefore . , ,

devote his utmost patience and attention to the beginnin g of .

this work .

While writing my book I c ommunicated the various parts

of it to that fin e Russian c hess master Dr 0 S Bernstein -
, . . .
,

who was very much interested in it and urged me to c ontinue

it The translation has been revised by Mr P W Sergeant
. . . . .

To them I o ffer my hearty thanks A n d if I b itterly regret the .

unfortu n ate circumstances which prevent me from seeing my

work pri n ted i n my own language I think with gratitude of ,

the count ry which gives it its first welcome If it proves of .

service and bri n gs some pleasure to the chess players of Old -

Engla n d that will be my best token Of tha n ks for her friendly

,

hospitality l
EUGENE Z NOSK O B OROVSK Y -

‘I a m g eatl y i de b ted to t h w iti ngs

r n e r o f C a p a b l a n c a a nd to D r . Ta rr as c h
’
s

Di e M ode r n e Scha chpa rti e .

 THE M IDDLE G AM E
IN C H ESS

P A RT ONE
GENERAL OBSER V ATIONS ON THE GAME OF CHESS

C H A P TE R I
T HE E LEMENTS OF C HESS
CHESS the most pro fou n d
,
Of all existi n g games develops in ,

accordance with r igid laws admitti n g of n o exceptio n like

, ,

those of mathematics or mechan ics If we do n ot perceive

.

the operatio n Of these laws i n every game it is because chess

,

is played by people who introduce i n to it their own c r eative

ideas as well as their weakn esses an d mistakes But the very .

mistakes are the occasio n for the greater triumph of the laws ,

si n ce their actio n is n ever s o clear as when they are broken

or forgotten by o n e of the players Then they stern ly avenge
.

themselves for a mome n tary forgetful n ess and pu n ish the

player with i n evitable loss Where o n the co n tr ary the laws
.
, ,

of the game ar e followed logically an d unerri n gly we have ,

before us the fi n est examples of the a rt of chess .

C hess derives its laws a n d its qualities from its own component
parts which man ifest its character a n d dictate its laws The
, .

eleme n ts of chess are

( )
I F O R C E
,
which is displayed in the chessmen or pieces , ,

an d acts in
( )
2 S P A C E
,
represe n ted by the chessboard and ,

(3) T IME developi n g with the moves

,
.

B
2 THE ELEMENTS OF C HESS
The whole game is a combin ation of these three eleme n ts ,

an d wi thout a previous study of them it is impossible to k n ow

the game (2 ) and (3) may be co n sidered first
.
.

S PA C E
Dia g am 1
r .
The space in whi ch a game
of chess takes place is bounded

by the board an equilateral,

rectan gle di vi ded into 64 equal

small squares (See Diagram
Thi s ide al geometrical figu re
makes possible the operatio n
of laws n ot merely logical but
mechan ic al . All the squares
are a like ; there is n o spec i al
property in one or another of
them The v ariation of colour
.

is wi thout sign ific an ce and

do es not i n flue n ce the g ame .

C olour is o nl y a matter of convenie n ce for the eye i n the

practic al co n duct of the game . There is however a , ,

Diag am 1 1
r .
cert ain difference betwee n
the squ ar es arising out
of their position on the
board J ust as i n a circle
.

we recog n ise a di fference

between the centre and
any poi n t on the cir
c u mfere n c e so too we find
,

a di ffere n ce between the

various s quares on the
Chessbo ar d .

The chief di ffere n ce which ,

can eas ily be appreciated is ,

betwee n the ce n tre squares

Th C e t e of t h C hess b oa d
e n r e r .

and those at the edges of the

board This spri n gs firstly from the fact that the ce n tre
.

squares are in close p roximity to all the others while those ,

 SPACE 3

o n o n e edge of the board are distan t from those On the Opposite ‘

edge Therefore to hold the ce n tral positio n is practically

.

to have co n t rol of the whole board Si n ce from the ce n tre help ,

can be exte n ded to an y poi n t i n the eve n t of attack From .

the centre also an attack can be begun agai n st an y point

, ,

in the e n emy s positio n ’

.

Seco n dly the ce n tr al squares are surrou n ded by others

,
,

whereas on the edges the squares have no n eighbour at all

on one side A n y piece i n the ce n tre of the board therefore
. , ,

can exert its i n flue n ce al l rou n d whereas a piece at the edge ,

has limi t s to its actio n As we shall see later o n each piece

. ,

Diag am II I r h as a special force

.
but this
force alte rs i n accordan ce
with varyi n g co n ditio n s and ,

above all the square on

which the piece is placed i s of
importan ce It is obvious .

that the mo r e limited the

Space the sm al ler is the
power of the piece That .

is to say the nearer the ,

piece is to the centre the ,

more power it has ; an d ,

the further it is from the

C ompa ati e S t e gth of d i fl t
r v r n
ce n tre the weaker it i
eren
s , °

s q ua es It is OI great advantage
r .
,

therefore to hold the centr al squares with o n e s pieces

,
’
.

If we take the fou r middle squares as the ce n tre of the board

(See Diagram these will be the most v al uable squares .

As we gradually go towards the edge of the board the weaker ,

the squar es become an d their strength dimi n ishes proportion

,

ately the outside squar es bei n g the weakest It is quite

, .

possible to make a fairly close comparative estimate of the

v al ue Of the squares fou n ded merely o n the number of squares
,

which ar e in the same li n e with them Looki n g at their .

position o n the vertical horizo n tal an d di ago n al lines we get

, , ,

certain belts of squares the values of which are shown ,

by the n umbers 2 7 2 5 2 3 2 1 ( See Diagram, ,If we also

,
4 THE ELEMENTS OF C HESS
take into consideratio n the possibility Of the K n ight s moves ’

then we get a n even more detailed classification of the squares ,

u n der the val ues 35 33 2 9 2 7 2 5 2 4 2 3 (Diagram

, , , , , ,

Di ag a m IV
r There is another di fference
.

between the squares which

may be mentio n ed here The .

variety in colour of the

squares is useful i n illustra
tio n of this point Apart .

from the positio n of a square

in relation to the cent r e of
the board each square is ,

part of various systems of

squares and these systems ,

of squares make up differe n t

li n es o n the board vertical , ,

C o mpa at e St e gth of di ffe e t

r iv r n
h on z on t a l
"
a n d
r
d l agon al
n
'

s q ua es r . They fall In to two groups :

( I ) v e rtical a n d horizo n tal which are i n reality the same
, ,

looked at from di ffere n t positio n s a n d (2 ) diago n al The , .

D iag a m V r vertical li n es a re k n own as

.

the files the horizo n t al as ,

the r an ks .

The distin ction is funda

mental between the two
groups of li n es The first .

pays no heed to the colour

of a square in cludi n g both ,

black and white ; an d con

sequently whoever holds the
horizo n tal a n d vertical li n es
has an influe n ce over the
whole of the board a n d
St e gth f H i tal Ve ti c al d ca n build up impregnable
r n O or zo n ,
r an
D ago al L es
i n in
p ositio n s Whoever o n the
.
.
,

other han d holds o n ly a d i agor a l co n trols o n ly squ ar es of

,

o n e colour i n fluen ces o n ly hal f the boa rd and cann ot buil d

,
,
 SPACE 5

up an impreg n able positio n Diago n als are thus always

.

weaker than horizo n tal or ve rtic al li n es .

This may also be explai n ed as fo llows O n whatever hori .

z on t al or vertical li n e we take a square the number of squ ar es,

in a li n e with it is always 1 4 ; so that we mi ght put the value

of an y horizo n t al or vertical at I 4 The highest number of
.

squares on the diago n al s begi n nin g from an y one square is

,
,

o n ly 1 3 an d that number dimi n ishes progr essively to I I

,
,

9 7
, ,
as show n i n Diagram V From t hi s it follows that j ust
. ,

as pieces in the ce n tre are stro n ger than pieces at the edge
of the board so too pieces co n trolli ng o n ly diago n als are
, , ,

Diag a m V I
r
we ak er than those that con

trol ran ks or fil es as we
.

shall call them ge n erall y i n

futur e .

The li n es of the board

may be grouped i n another
w ay in accorda n ce with
,

thei r dir ectio n As we have .

see n that there is a di fference

in the stre n gth of the squares ,

it is of gr eat impo rtan ce in

the game whether one holds
a lin e with a number Of
stro n g or weak squar es in it .

Th st o gest li es
e r n n
Diagr am I V clearly shows
.

t hat the weakest li n es are those which have the weakest

corn er squares It is very important to co n trol the most
.

powe r ful squares i e the cen tral o n es Therefore the two

,
. .
, .

lo n g diago n als are stro n ger than the other diago n als But .

we know that the diago n als ar e weaker than the r anks or ’

files and so the most powerful lin es of all are the ran ks a n d
files which pass through the ce n tre squar es (Diagram
Each of these lines may be rep r ese n ted by the number 2 44 .

The most power ful diago n al ru nn in g from corner to corn er

, ,

may be represe n ted by 2 36 I n the pai rs of diago n als w hich

.

meet in a square o n the edge of the board there are o n ly 8

squares j ust as in a si n gle ce n tral diago n al
, .
6 THE ELEMENTS OF C HESS
The lines ru nn i n g from a square on the edge Of the board ,

whether hori zontal or ve rtic al might be thought to be the

,

weakest ; but that is not quite the case From the v ery .

fact that they are o n the edge it follows that they are mo r e
powerful for defen ce They cann ot be passed through for
.

purposes of attack an d are only assailable on o n e side The .

real ly weakest lines are those n ext b ut o n e to the edge

( Diagram V I I )
.

Havi n g see n this we might i n crease the n um b er of powerful

,

squares The four ce n tral ones a re indisputably the stro n gest

.

of all ; but if we add to them the stro n gest li n es passing ,

through the centre and elim

,
Dia g a m V II r
i n a t e the weakest squares
.

shown i n Diagram V I I dis .

,

regarding also the compara

t i v ely weak diagonals the n ,

we get as the 1 2 stro n gest

S quares on the board those
shown in Diagram V II I .

Does this mean that it

is best to place the pieces so
as to occupy the 1 2 strongest
squares ? Of course not .

Such a placi n g of the

pieces would mean four
Th wea k est lm e e s’
fro n ts i n stead of one The.

policy of the game is not only to take up strong positio n s

but also to protect weak o n es All the same these 1 2 squares
.
,

have their special sig n ificance which is n ot dimi n ished by

,

the fact me n tioned in the last se n te n ce It ca n easily be .

seen how importan t they are whe n o n e of them is occupied

by the e n emy Without goi n g so far as to regard the positio n
.

”
as a besieged fortress or a military square we can se e ,

that it is n ecessary to use the strongest squares as the ground

for the most frequent type of battle on the chessboard —the
break through the ce n t r e But i n additio n we k n ow that
.
, ,

the weaker party tries to mai n tai n h imself i n th e ce n tre and

 SPA C E 7

n ot let himself be d rive n to the Side Of the board An d .

what can be stro n ger than a ce n tral Paw n ?

Ge n er al ly Speaki n g to hold a squar e does n ot necessarily
,

mea n that o n e must put a piece upon it Sometimes it is .

en ough to have the square within a move s reach Here again ’

.

there is a di fferen ce betwee n the diago n als an d the files an d

r anks A piece on a diago n al i n the ce n tre strikes i n two
.

di rectio n s at each of the four sides of the board while a piece

,
,

o n a file or ran k strikes o n ly i n o n e directio n It is couse .

quently better to place the pieces which act diago n ally o n

the ce n tral squares ; an d o n the other ha n d i n order to
,
,

Diag am V III r
exe r cise pressu r e o n the ce n

t r al squares it is n ecessary
.

to use the pieces which act

alo n g ho rizo n t al or vertic al
li n es This results from the
.

position of the chessboard ,

which is placed with the

sides n ot the corn ers to
, ,

the players If it were .

o therwise then it would be ,

the diago n ally acti n g pieces

that would strike from
the middle Of o n e cam p
towards the middle of the
Th st o g est s q ua es
n
e r
other
r .

Up to n ow we have looked at the board without thi n ki n g

of the e n emy s positio n but whe n we take that i n to co n sidera
’

tio n we see at o n ce a new chan ge i n the character of the

squares We must add somethi n g to what we have said
.

before We have already n oticed a gradual chan ge i n the

.

squares proceedi n g from the ce n tre in all directio n s If the r e

,
.

were four Oppo n e n ts o n the four sides of the board then we

, ,

could add n othi n g to what previously has been said But .

there are o n ly two Oppone n ts opposite each other a n d there

, ,

fore moveme n ts al o n g the li n es may be characterised either

as approachi n g or retrea ting from the e n emy or as movi n g
al o n g a front .
8 T H E E L EMENTS OF CHESS
For conve n ie n ce of a n al ysis of the chan ges we shall leave ,

the centre a n d go i n to the position of o n e of the two oppo n e n ts .

Since their positio n s are alike what is true of one is true of

,

the other but in a n Opposite se n se The easiest way is to

, .

look at the chan ges of the squares alo n g the ra n ks from the ,

ce n tre of the board to the sides Here there is n o case of .

approach to or retreat from o n e s own or the e n emy s chessme n

’ ’
.

Thus what has bee n said already as regards the character

of the squares holds good Such chan ges as there may be
.

are due o n ly to th e i n dividual qualities of the positio n Now .

we e n ter i n to the regio n of the actio n of the di ffere n t pieces

on the board I n order to u n derstan d th is it is n ecessary
.
,

to be acquai n ted with the pieces themselves and their char

a ct e ri st i cs We shall therefore proceed to a consideration
.

of this question later In order to remove all doubts however

.
, ,

as to how pieces ca n act upo n the various squares occupied

by them it is su fficie n t to n ote how the role of the s q uares
,

is altered whe n a Ki n g is placed upo n them .

The question is much more complicated when we consider

the chan ges i n value of the squares alo n g the files that is ,

as they approach o n e Oppo ne n t a n d go away from the other .

Here we fi n d that the central squares are n ot quite the same

as before Si n ce the chessboard is not a circle with a central
.

poi n t but o n the co n trary has four Sides each with an equal
, ,

n umbe r of squares therefore it possesses not one ce n tre

,

but four ce n tral squares with certai n di ffere n ces If we look

,
.

at the squares horizo n tally we see that the di ffere n ces depe n d
on the positio n relative to di ffere n t pieces ; but if we look
at them vertically we s ee that o n e of each couple of squares
is n earer to o n e camp the other to the Opposi n g camp As
,
.

the middle li n e which divides the board i n to two parts passes

betwee n the fourth an d fifth rows of squares the c rossin g of ,

this li n e in itself leads to an i n crease of activity While the .

pieces remai n o n their origi n a l r ows we cann ot speak of either

the active or the passive cha racter of the game But the .

adva n ce to the fifth ran k leads at o n ce to i n c rease of activity

an d i n itiative with all the advan t ages an d the dangers of
,

this ki n d of play .
IO THE ELEMENTS OF CHESS
That the squares make up li n es amo n g which the ,

diago n al s are weaker than the ra n ks a n d files a n d that as ,

regards activity a n d passivity the ra n ks are n eutr al while ,

the files are active ;

That the li n es which pass through the ce n tre a re
stro n ger tha n the others and that the weakest li n es excludi n g
, ,

the diagonals are the second from each Side ;

,

That as the diago n als from the ce n tre go to all sides

,

of the bo ard in two directio n s it is profitable to place in the

,

ce n tre pieces controlling the diago n als while if the attack ,

is to b e made on the ce n tral position of the enemy it is bett er

to use pieces placed at a distance on the vertical lines
Fi n ally that the squares i n fluence the force of the
,

pieces ; and therefore in order that the pieces may exercise

,

their full force they must be placed on the stro n gest lines
,

and squares .

With regard to the co nn ectio n between Space and Time ,

this becomes apparent n ot by itself but through the actio n

,

of the pieces .

T IME

If it was di fficult to analyse Space it is still more so to

,

a n alyse Time First Of all because we can n ot visualise time

.
,

an d must therefore e xplai n it in a n abstract way Seco n dly .

,

Time in the game of chess is u n limited (The limitation of .

time by clocks i n tour n ame n t an d match play does n ot con

cern us Perhaps in the future whe n all the moves
,

are kno wn an d fixed time will be made exact in chess Then

,
.
,

however the real game of chess will be annihilated And

,
.

eve n then time could not be a fixed thi n g for every game ,

i n the sense that there are a fixed space a n d a fixed fo rce .

C o n seque n tly the exami n atio n of the eleme n t of time cannot

be carried out so clearly as was possible with regard to the
eleme n t of space ; a n d thus there is less to be said on the
subj ect of time .

AS in space we had the ce n tre and the squares which dimi

n i sh e d i n value as they we r e mo re dista n t from the ce n tre ,
 TIME II

so al so i n time we fi n d a similar divisio n I n the matter o f .

t ime each game has a begi nn i n g a middle a n d a n e n d Their , ,

.

import is quite disti n ct .

The begi nn i n g of the game implies first of all the mobilisa , ,

tio n of the forces the preparatio n for the game proper (which
is the middle part ) a n d the will to be master of the play
Both the squares of the boar d an d time have a si milar i n fluence
over the chessmen The player who does n ot complete his
.

mob i lisatio n towards the middle game weake n s all his pieces
o n the co n trary the player who has mobilised for the middle
,

game gives his pieces a greater force The e n d game on the .

,

other han d is the liquidatio n an d re al isatio n of what has been

,

obtai n ed in the middle game ; but it is just here that time

is of vast import ance Speed plays a great part si nce i t may
.
,

tu rn a P a wn i nto a Q u een .

In S pace we had the squares which we may call the units ,

of space I n time the u n its are the moves J ust as all the
. .

squares are of the same Size i n Space so al so all the moves ,

are of the same len gth i n time With absolute regularity they
.

al ter n ate between the two oppo n e n ts But just as the .

,

squar es differ in their positio n so also the moves di ffer ,

.

The move is an unit of time If a player i n a n y man oeuvre

.
, ,

moves twice whe n it w as possible to move o n ce o n ly it is ,

clear that each Of his two moves has lost half its value This .

is clearer still whe n we take the case where the seco n d move
un does the first that is to say return s the action to the poi n t
, ,

of departure so that it is as if n o move had bee n made at all

,
.

The n ext di ffere n ce to be see n in the moves arises from

whether they have bee n forced by o n e s Oppo n e n t or n ot ’
.

The freer the moves an d the mo r e choice of moves the pieces

have the stronger they are Forced moves on the co n trary
, .
, ,

weaken both the pieces and the player s game The obj ect ’
.

of mobilisation is to co n vert the game from the initial positio n ,

where the n umber of possible moves is limited i n to a n other ,

position wi th a n inc reasi n g n umber of moves If the n umber .

b egi n s to decrease this means that the pieces and the player s
,
’

game are begi nn i n g to weaken .

1 2 THE ELEMENTS OF CHESS
The third characteristic of the moves is the importance of
their bei n g made at the right ti m e O n e an d the same move
.
,

played at di ffe re n t times has quite a di ffere n t value A study

,
.

Of the board showed us besides squares also li n es which are

, , ,

systems Of squares A system of moves exists i n time

. .

NO player ca n play simply from move to move The plan .

of the game lies in a cycle of moves which must be equal to ,

a ll dema n ds full freedom for o n eself and compulsio n

for o n e s oppo n ent ; a regular order Of individual moves ;
’

a n d fi n ally the employment of the full force of each piece

, ,

in each move But they must all te n d to one common end

.
,

in order to build up a series of moves .

In the moves we fi n d also activity a n d passivity In space .

the fo rmer man ifested itself i n the crossi n g of the middle li n e ,

i n to the e n e m y s camp I n time activity is ma n ifested in

’
.

the beati n g back of the e n emy s defe n ce ’

.

With this we may c onclude our discussion on Time .

FOR C E

Time an d Space are the conditions of the game of chess .

The active eleme n t is the fo r ces which combi n e time and ,

S pace which act o n each other through them a n d Show them

,

selves at their clearest i n them What are these forces ?.

We know that the moves i n time like the squares in space , ,

are the same Are the forces the same or not ? Does the
.

same pri n ciple apply to all the pieces ? O n ly an affirmative

a n swer to this latter question will permit us t o speak of the
logic al fou n dation of the game of chess ( We are not fo rget .

tin g that chess is n ot geometry an d that therefo re if the , ,

a n swer is app roximate r ather tha n exact that is u n im

, ,

port ant ) .

Now if we analyse the pieces which represen t the forces in

chess ,

SE
E ME EE AA . 2 0 Al
Q uee n Ro ok Bis h op K i ght
n Pa w n
 FORCE I 3

we shall fi n d that such an u n ity does exist The pieces differ .

only i n their moves which have go n e through a lo n g his

,

t ori cal evolutio n before becomi n g such as they are to day -

.

r f —
The e are n o other di feren ces i n them as we shall see later ,

the Pawn a n d the Ki n g presen t certai n exceptio n s—a n d their

force lies o n ly in their moveme n ts which follow the same ,

plan .

The stren gth of the pieces is shown i n their rapidity i e ,

. .

their capacity to cover the maximum of space i n the mi n imum

of time (or to thr eaten to do so ) It is i n this way that the .

strength of each piece is expressed by time a n d space Thi s .

Diag am 1 x r demo n st r ates the co mpact

,

n ess of the game of chess

a n d the n ecessity of m aki n g
the most mi n ute study of
time an d space .

All the co n ditions must

be k n own must be clearly ,

u n derstood i n order to have ,

a correct co n ceptio n of the

pieces without e xaggerating ,

or belittli n g the part born e

by each of them We may .

note the di fference which

exists with regard to forces ,

Th U i t of Fo c e i C hess
e n r
outside chess whi ch are not
n .

depen dent on time or space I n man y games (e g cards

bill iard —
. . .
,

table games) some u n its cou n t more others less So , .

,

too in military matters it ofte n happe n s that two machi n es

,

may cover the same Space i n the same time but di ffer o n
accou n t of their armamen t There is nothi n g Similar to this
.

i n chess The Quee n is di ffere n t from the Pawn s only in

.

that sh e co n t rols so ma n y more fields of actio n at the same

time .

So to k n ow the pieces we must know their moveme n ts

, , .

The u n it of time we have seen is a move the u n it of space

, , ,

a square The u n it of the forces acti n g in Chess is o n e move

.

to the square (See Diagram I X ) Such i n pri n ciple is the

.
, ,
I4 THE ELEMENTS OF C HESS
move of the Paw n which can be recko n ed as the unit of forc e
,

of the pieces But the Paw n does n ot represe n t exactly t h e

.

u n it of force in chess because its move is not limited o n ly

,

to o n e square O n ce i n the game whe n it first moves eac h ,

—
. ,

Pawn may make two moves together a provision made with

the idea of speedi n g up mobilisatio n Again on arrivi n g at .
,

the eighth rank a Pawn may be exchan ged for any piece of
its own colour (This was probably designed to reward the
.

player with an advan tage i n Pawns an d to allow him to wi n ,

through such an advantage) What is most important a . ,

Pawn captures not as it moves but diago n al ly to the r i ght

, ,

and left .

If i n movi n g two squares

D ia g a m Xr
a Pawn traverses a square
.

on which it could have bee n

captured by a hostile Pawn ,

that Pawn has the right to

capture it as though it had
moved o n e square o n ly This .

i s called capturi n g en p a ss
”
a nt or in passi n g ,
.

The Pawn di ffers from all

the other chessmen in that it
does not capture in the way
that it moves as the other ,

pieces do The obj ect of this

Mo es of the P aw
.

n
v
rule is probably that the
.

Pawn may be able to cha n ge its file Otherwise purely .

vertical moves would limit it to one file which would make ,

the game very monoto n ous But this peculiarity of the Pawn
.

enables us to u n derstan d that the pieces in chess move not

o n ly vertically but diago n ally and so we shall not b e ,

surprised to notice similar movemen ts in the other pieces .

There is an other di ffere n ce between the Pawn and the other

— ”
chessme n the pieces as they are commo n ly called i n
“
,

co n tradistinctio n to the Pawn The Paw n ca n neither go .

backwards nor move horizo n tally Therefore the pieces are .

 FOR C E I5

more active than the Pawn s ; the latter are more solid and
impart stren gth to the game .

When a Paw n has advan ced it can not retreat which shows
, ,

how carefully it must be han dled Withal that they are .

the weakest men o n the board the Pawn s serve as a splendid

,

means of defence They do n ot al low an y piece to approach

.

except at the risk of bei n g taken If they are able to adva n ce

.

they are powerful i n the assault as they ca n o n ly be cou n ter

,

acted by the oppo n ent s Pawn s It may be added that as

’
.
,

they can be exchan ged for an y piece except a Ki n g as soo n

as they reach the eighth rank the n earer they are to that
,

rank the stro n ger they become I n co n sequen ce one extra

.
,

Pawn may win the game when a piece cannot do so O n ce .

Diag a m X I
r .
more the n eed of caution,

with the Pawns is obvious ,

and the necessity of preser

vi n g them to the last .

Cert ai n ly it is n ecessary to
play out all o n e s pieces ’

an d the weaker must be sub

ordinated to the stro n ger .

Never theless the player who

keeps his Pawn s in thei r
places till the e n d game
has the better chance of
win n i n g .

Summi n g up all the move

M o es of the K i g
v n .

me n ts of the Pawn s we get ,

the figure shown i n Diagram X We n ote that the Pawn is

equ al to nearly 3% u n its of chess—
.

force the double move bei n g,

allowed o n ly o n ce in the game The poss ibility of the Pawn

.

bei n g exchan ged for a man of higher value is n ot so importan t

in compariso n with its in ability to move backwards or side
ways and therefore we cann ot assign to it a higher n umber
of u n its of force .

The piece most like the Pawn is the Ki n g which also moves ,

one square only at a time but in all directio n s (Diagram X I )

, .

If the Pawn be taken as the u n it of force for the chessmen ,

1 6 THE ELEMENTS OF CHESS
the Ki n g serves as the u n it of force for the pieces (as distinct
from the Pawn s) an d is a type of the pieces especially of
,
,

the Quee n which also moves in all eight directio n s The

,
.

King resembles all the other pieces in capturi n g as he moves .

His force is 8 u n its an d compared with the Pawn he is 8 3 %

.
,

—2 Paw n s
% .

The Ki n g however has one peculiarity which makes him

, ,

Of differe n t v a l ue from the rest of the ch essme n and re n ders

the calculation of his force useless While all the others
.
may be
captured with the loss of the Ki n g the game is lost too Thus
,
.

the weakest piece next to the Pawn has the highest sig n ifican ce
of all the pieces .

Diag a m X II r
This peculiarity puts the
Ki n g outside the game It is
.

impossible to risk the loss of

the game i n order to let the
Ki n g move especi al ly as he , ,

n ot bei n g a ve r y stro n g piece ,

ca nn ot play an impo rta n t

part in it O n ly at the e n d . ,

when the dan ger of mate is

much less an d when there ,

are but few pieces so that ,

even a Pawn may become a

Queen does the Ki n g become
,

an active force and take

M f the Q
o v es O
a promi n ent part in the
u ee n “

game Till the n h i s chief rOle is to occupy a safe place

.

a n d n ot to i n terfere with the other pieces .

On this is based what is termed castli n g a strange and ,

complex manoeuvre by which the Ki n g is moved away from

,

the game and the Rook is brought in To u n derstand this .

move we must s ee what complicated movements would other

wise be necessary to bri n g in the Rook One would have .

either to advan ce the outside Pawn two squares m ove the ,

Rook up behind It and move the latter in front of all the

other Pawn s or to move the Ki n g forward and the Rook
,

behi n d hi m a n d then move the King to the side Castling .

,
 1 8 THE ELEMENTS OF CHESS
X I V) .
The force of the Rook equals 1 4 ( I 4 Pawns) .

The force of the Bishop is 1 3 (n early 4 Pawn s) That .

is to say they are nearly equal ; an d it would be so

,

if we did n ot know the di ffere n ce b etween di fferent lines ,

that the diago n als are weaker than the ranks and files .

The first difference is that the diago n al is a line Of one

colour an d therefore a piece on it lacks power of move
me n t over half the board Secondly if we take any
. ,

square on an y rank or fil e the number of the squares

,

o n those li n es will always equ al I 4 Thus the force .

of the Rook is always the same dimi n ishing or increasi n g with

,

the importance of the lines the position of the other pieces

, ,

Dia g am X I V r .
et c On the other hand
. o n ly ,

the four lo n g diago n als which

pas s through the c entre
squares give u s the number
1 3 ; the others as we have ,

already see n diminish gr ad ,

ually to 7 This shows that .

th e Bishops are much weaker

than the Rooks ; an d their
force is not reall y 1 3 but I O
(the mean between 1 3 and
which divi ded by 332 does, ,

not give quite 3 Pawns .

Thus we see that the Queen

M o es f the B i sh op
v o
while combi n ing the moves
.
,

of the Rook and the B i shop is stro n ger than those two pieces
,

togethe r For her all the diago n al s are open and she h as
.

a n adva n tage over the Rook i n commandi n g the diago n als .

So we can say that the Quee n equals or nearly equals two

Rooks .

F rom the di fference between the diagonals and other lines

we see that the position o f the Rook is unimportant as it ,

keeps its full force everywhere Of course it must be placed

.
,

SO that the line o n which it sta n ds is ope n a n d seco n dly it ,

must co n trol the most import a n t li n es the ce n tre o n es .

There is no necessity to bri n g it forward because its attac k

,
 FO RCE 1 9

is equ ally strong n ear or at a distance With regard to its .

—
position looked at ho r izo n tal ly the Rook since the central
ranks have but rarely an importance—should either be very
, ,

close to the enemy for attack or else i n its own camp for
, , ,

defen c e On the co n trary the Bishop in the centre attacks

.
,

the enemy in two diagonal directio n s but on reachi n g the , ,

edges of the b oard attacks in one diagonal direction o nl y

,
.

Standi n g in the ce n tre it does not threaten the ce n tre but

,

only the sides in order to threaten the centre it must stand ,

on the side of the board All this shows the desirable position
.

for the Bishop To attack the central positions of the enemy

“

it must stand on the edge of the board and for the attac k on
the sides it must be in the centre If the occupation of the .

centre be necessary the Bishop i s quite effective as it i s a ,

c omp ar atively weak piece If however it is necess ary to .

, ,

o cc upy o n ly the lo n g diagon al or to threaten one of the S ides ,

the Bishop may be right at the end of the b oard on the same
di ag on al .

Thus the Rook an d the Bishop contr ol the li nes ; the

Queen c omman ding the li n es but threateni ng in eight di rec
,

tions has li k e the King a hold over the circle of squares

, , ,

immediately adj acent The Pawns control only separate .

sq uares .

It remains to consider the Knight the quai ntes t piec e on ,

the chessboard whi ch frightens many people and mak es the

,

game to them a matter of uncert ainty The K n ight as they .

,

see it skips over pieces makes strange moves o n the bo ard

, , ,

and violates the mathematical order of the game It seems .

to ki ll the logic which co n trols the moves of the pieces an d

t o bring into the game the fantastic and the element of chance .

In reality the moves of the Knight are neither fantasti c nor

,

mysterious It n either skips n or j umps over the pieces Its

. .

moves are made on the s am e p rinciple as the moves of all

the other pieces .

If we look at Diagram X I which S hows the move of the ,

Ki n g we see that the whole board for o n e square all rou n d

him is under hi s direct influen ce At the same time wi thout .
,
20 T H E ELEMENTS OF CHESS
an y diffi culty we perceive that the Ki n g unites in his own
m oves the moves of the other pieces Queen Rook B i shop
, , , ,

an d Pawn only limiting them to o n e square But the moves

,
.

D iag am XV
of the K n ight are n ot i n
r
cluded in the Ki n g s moves
.
’
.

If we co n sider the moves

of the Queen (Diagram X I I )
we s ee that she like the ,

Ki n g combi n es i n her moves

,

those of all the other pieces

except the K n ight extend ,

i n g them to the edge of the

board ; but i n the second
row of squares there are
some squares not threatened
by the Queen If sh e stands .

on a black square as in ,

M o es Of the Q n
v u ee
Diagram X I I all those ,

squares are white ; if she stan ds on a white square the n all

those squares will be black (See Diag ram X V) That is .

Diag am XV I
r .
easily comprehe n sible Si n ce ,

the Quee n has the move of

the Bishop an d threatens on
the diago n al of the same
colour .

All those squares in the

seco n d row from her which
cann ot be threatened by the
Queen are the squa res o n
which the K n ight moves .

If he is placed on the same

square where the Queen
stan ds (Diagrams X V I and
X V II ) the n the K n ight com
M
o ve s of t h K g h t
e ni
pletes the m oves of the
.

Queen with his own He threate n s the squares i n the seco n d

.

r a n k which could n ot be attacked b her Besides the Knight

y .
,

completes the moves of th e seco n d Bishop which are ,

 FORCE 21

potenti al ly included i n the Quee n though absent in each case ,

because the Queen o n o n e separat e move can o n ly control

diago n als of o n e colour But as the K n ight moves o n eight
.

squares and the Bishop only i n four directio n s so the action ,

of the K n ight on those squares is equal to the action of two

Bishops of the same colour O n the other han d while the . ,

Bishop can move al o n g the whole diago n al the K n ight only ,

thr eate n s certai n squares and does n ot co n trol li n es .

This resu lt is very valuable The K n ight does n ot co n trol .

a li n e but a Circle In this respect he resembles the Ki n g

.

an d Queen If the King completely co n trols the Circle rou n d

.

him formed b y adj acent squares a n d the Quee n Circles without

Diag am XV II r
limit the K n ight controls ,

the circle of squares on the

.

seco n d row The Knight .

acts like a small Queen .

Sometimes he can be en
t i re ly compared wi th the
Quee n For example in .
,

S pite Of the fact that both

pieces move i n eight di rec
tio n s they cann ot attack
each other at the same
time Whe n the Queen .

attacks the Knight at the ,

same mome n t the Knight

Mo es of t h Knight
v e
cann ot attack the Queen an d
.

vi ce vers a
-
They are like two Bishops of Opposite colours This
. .

is extremely important The K n ight bei n g the weaker piece

.
, ,

is stren gthe n ed by the fact that the Queen cann ot at the

same ti m e threate n him The sam e applies to the Rook .

an d the Bishop who cann ot attack each other at the same

,

time What is not so importan t as regards the pieces which

.

move in four directions is much more importan t as regards

"

the pieces which move i n eight directio n s This already .

gives us sixtee n i n depende n t directions on the chess board -

.

(Really there are still more b ut there are no pieces for the
others) .
22 THE ELE MENTS O F C H ESS
This property of the Kn ight makes him part icularly danger ~

ous especially when we n otice that it Characterises him not

,
,

only as against the Queen b ut also as against all the oth er

,

pieces No single piece can threaten him while he attac k s

.

it The Rook can atta c k the King and the Queen an d at the
.

same time be attacked b y them the Bishop c an attac k the

Kin g Queen and Pawn and at the same time be attack ed
,

by them The King and Queen can attack an d be attacke d

.

at the same time by all pieces except the K night an d no ,

single piece can attack the K night when t hreatened b y him .

This makes him quite uni que and explains the fear which
many players have of him H e seems t o move in a different
.

D a g am XV II I
i r
dimension
.
from all the other

pieces and therefore never

t o meet them .

Some try to explain this

peculiarity b y the i rregu
”
l ari ty of hi s moves b ut ,

that is not c orre c t Ther e i s .

a regularity as might hav e ,

b een guessed b y comparing

his moves with th os e of the
Queen We must note a .

few details which will lead

us to a pre per under
standing oi the K night s ’

M o es f Queen nd K ni g ht
v o a
moves .

Of all the pie c es b esides the K n ight the Rook an d the ,

Bishop c an never simultaneously attac k one another because

they c ommand di fferent lines one hori zontal an d vertical , ,

and the other diagonal But is it not wonderful that th e

.

Queen commanding all three li n es and meeting all the oth er

,

pieces still cannot meet the Knight Are there then pe rhaps
, , ,

other lines on the board besides the ran k s files and diagonals ? , ,

We saw that the Knight attacks on s q uares of a diff erent

c olour from those on whi c h the Queen stand s Thu s a .

q uestion arises If we place the Queen on a di ffer ent

.

c ol our she might perhaps threaten all the s qu ar es which

 F ORCE 23

are attac k ed b y the K night ? ( Diagram XV I II ) For S ix .

directions this appears to be the case Alo n g diago n als . ,

Dia g am X I X r horizontals or verticals the

. ,

Queen can attack the same

squares as the K n ight But .

for two directio n s of each

piece that is altogether for ,

four directions that is n ot ,

the case The two pieces do .

not meet here From this .

it follows that the Knight s ’

move does not coincide with

the move of the Queen !
.

Is this a law or an accident

I n order to answer this
Ra k d Files ( Ho i o tal d
n s an r z q u e st
n
l on we
an
must S tudy t h e

P e pe di c ula Li es
r n r lmes o n the chessboard
n . .

What are the ran ks and files ? (See Diagram

They are perpendiculars to one another They are dia .

Dia g a m X X r
meters dividing the surface
i n to equal parts an d making
four right an gles (360 4 = °

in the ce n tre The dia .

g on a l s are the same hori z on

t al s and vertical s only ,

slan ting to right or to left ,

and are also diameters mak

i n g four right angles in the
ce n tre (Diagram It
is not n ecessary to explain
that all those li n es meeti n g in
the centre divide the an gles
into two halves and form
Dia g o al “ e n n s new angles (90
t
°

I f w e pay atte n ti on to det i l s we

1“
see that b y p l a ci g tw o Quee s
a c an n n
i
n the c e t e diff e e t s q ua es f o m the K i g ht they
n r on r n r r epulse his n c an r
atta ck n d that the o c c upatio n of the fou c e t e s q ua b y fo Quee s
a r n r r es ur n
epulse the atta ck o f two K ights nd ma kes the o cc upation o f the
,

can r n a
adj a c e t s q ua es c o mp l ete up to the se c o d li e f o m the ed g e
,

n r n n r .
24 THE ELEMENTS OF CHES S
That i s the relatio n betwee n the moves of the Rook and the
Bishop a n d comp rises the moves of the Quee n (Diagram
Havi n g two Bishops of op posite colours we seem to have
, ,

Dia g am XX I
r .
two centres to the b oard .

That however does not , ,

C ha n ge the relatio n ship of

the lines but o n ly ShowS
the multitude of the di re c
tions ( Diagram XX L ) It is
. .

very curious that by bring

i n g in a second Bishop and
second E ROOk mov i ng the ,

centre on to an adj ace n t

square of another colour ,

we do not exhaust al l the

directions Some of the .

s q uares remain free from

Mo es of B ishop d Roo k
v an
the threat of those pieces
.

but can still be threatened b y the K n ight .

In any case the moves of the Rook a n d Bishop divide the

Diag am XX I I
r angles by half
. Has the .

move of the Knight any

thi n g to do with that a n d ,

if so is it regular and per

,

ma n e n t or not ? For con

v e n i en ce we shall b ring the

moves of the Rook a n d

Bishop into a co rner .

( Diagram The line

of the Bishop bisects the
angle made by the moves
of the Rook By looki n g at .

the diagram it is easy to see

Th Bishop s Mo e b ise c ts the A g le
e
'
v
that the K night s move
n
’

fo med b y the Roo k s Mo es

r
'

b isects the angle made by

v .

the moves of the Ro c k and Bishop The poi n ts on the .

di agram which ma rk the moves of the K n ight bisect the

an gle m ade by the Bishop a n d Rook ( Diagram XX II I ). .
26 T H E E L EMENTS OF CH ES S

same s quare (See Diagram XX I V ) There can be no dou b t

. .

that the Rook s move from the Same square bisects the angle
’

made by the two K n ight s moves This ca n be demo n stra ted ’

.

Dia g am x x 1 v r geometrically ,
Ag ai n the .

angle made b y two oth er

moves of the Knight i s
shown in Diagram XX V ; .

and this angle is b isected by

the Bishop s move as also ’

can be demo n strated geo

metric al ly With the moves .

of the Knight we can con

struct an eight pointed star -

( Diagram X X V I ) similar ,

to the star of the Queen

( Diagram X II ) It is c lear .

Th Roo k s Mo e b ise c ts the A gle th at in this S tar there are

e
’
v n
fo med b y the K ight s M o es
r two pairs of lines p erpen
n
’
v .

d i cu lar to one another and so naturally forming right angles .

Finally take the formati on in Diagram X X V I I the star .

,

Diag a m X X V r made by the moves of Queen

.

(or Roo k and Bishop ) and

K night L et the math ema .

t i ci an s measure the size of the

angles formed by each pair of
K night s moves in this star ’
.

There can b e no doubt

that the Kn ight s move re ’

sem b les al l the other pie c es ’

moves and is based on the

‘
same principles .

We have discussed the

K night s move at some ’

Th B ishop s M o e b ise ts the A gl e

e
’
v le n gth b ecause we W i Sh ed to
c n !

fo med b y the K i g ht s Mo es
r
dissipate the false opinions
n
’
v .

Mathe mati cia ns ha e i n the past paid atte n tio n to the K ni ght s mo e
‘
v
'
v
and ha e n oted with asto nish me t t h at i n the o i g i n a l Roo k K ni g ht
v n nd r a
Bishop a ll c o mma nd R 3
, , ,

.
 F ORCE 27

preval ent about it The l egend of the Knight s leap and

.
’

hi s crooked course must be aban don ed o n ce an d for

ever . If we have su cc eeded as we hope ( and the u ncon
,

Diag am XXV I
r vi n c ed
.
reader can verify
mathematically all that we
have said) then we may ,

value the Kn ight s move as ’

we have v al ued all the other

moves .

At the best the K n ight

= 8 1 3g= ab ou t 2 35; Pawn s .

That is equal to the Ki n g ,

eve n whe n we take i n to con

sideration that the K n ight
has not always eight moves ,

sometimes o n ly two It is .

unnecessary to explain that

8 K i ght s Mo es f o m 8 R i g ht A g les
'
n
n v r
the K n ight is weaker than
.

the Bish op . In spit e of comman di n g both colours and

adj ac ent s q uare s he is n ot stro n g
, owin g to his not com
,

Dia g am XXV II
r
ma .
n di n g a n y line on the
chessboard Next to the .

Pawn the K night is the

weakest piece in chess and
the refore attacking only two ,

squares in a forward di rec

tio n he can be adv an c ed
,

without dan ger .

Mo v es o f Quee n ( Roo k an d Bishop)

and K i ght
n .
 CH A P TER II
THE PIECES AN D THEI R CONTRO L
THE co n ditions of the game of chess are space a n d time As .
,

however the active forces are the chessme n we must con

, ,

sider these in detail Later on we shall look i n to the obj ects

.

of the game and exami n e the rOles of the pieces i n relatio n

to the achievement of the ends in V iew At this poi n t we
.

have to s ee how to handle the various pieces beari n g i n mind

,

their di fferent properties with some of which we are already

,

f amiliar We can o n ly attain our end with certai n ty when

.

we know the character of each piece and its function in the

game Meanwhile we must fix the relatio n ship of each piece
.

to space an d time Excluding the Ki n g (because he plays

.

a small part in the middle game though the most important

,

part in the ending) we may divide the chessmen as follows

,

Those which are a dynamic active element —the

,

pie c es proper ; and

Those which are static immobile—the Pawns
,
.

Again we may divide the pieces proper in the following

way :
I.
—
( ) Those which command lines Rooks a n d Bishops .

Those which command circles of adj acent squares

K n ights ( and K ings) and
Those which command lines and cir c les—Queens .

We turn our attention first t o the Pawns .

P AWN S
We know some of the properties of the Pawn s among which ,

the most importan t is that they cannot move backwards s o ,

that they must be adva n ced with care This shows their
.

chief r ole They are the static part of the position The
. .

28
 PAWNS 29

pieces conti n ually change their positio n s rolli n g like waves ,

i n di ffere n t directio n s while the Paw n s at each move chan ge

,

their position irretrievably As the Pawn s are the most .

statio n ary eleme n t in the game therefore they are the best ,

for protectio n against attack If the Pawn s cease to protect .

,

the pieces must take up the work of defe n ce i n stead of a t

tacki n g the en emy s camp This is very di fficult for them
’
.
,

as eight Pawn s fo rm a barrier most hard to pass but if there ,

are no Pawn s or if they are brought too far forward so that

,

the e n emy can advan ce th rough them then it is di fficult to ,

construct another artificial barrier of pieces Besides a .

,

player s pieces whe n e n deavour ’

Dia g am XX VIII
r i n g to b r eak through the
.

barrier of Paw n s act i n o n e

direction—from their own posi
,

tio n towards that of t h e e n emy .

After passi n g the line of Paw n s

they ca n at o n ce move side
ways over the e n emy s whole ’

positio n This Shows that .

Paw n s are the best p rotectio n .

Bei n g placed i n front al o n g ,

the seco n d ran k they threaten ,

all the third ran k so that the ,

li n e which has to be broken

B “
15
to pe et r ate i n to the e n emy s
35 n
e
{2 32
’
5 1 1
( 1
camp IS not hl S seco n d ran k ,

where the Pawns are b u t the third ra n k which they threate n

,
'

,
.

Not a si n gle piece is so well adapted for protective pu rposes

as the Paw n for the very reaso n that it is the weakest of
,

a ll and o n ly a n enemy s Pawn ca n Oppose it on level terms

’
.

On the other han d every square which is n ot protected a n d

, ,

cann ot be protected by the Pawn s becomes owi n g to that

, , ,

very weak because it ca n be occupied by the e n emy s pieces

,
’

If we take for i n stan ce the n o rmal position of the Pawns

, ,

at the time of castli n g (Diag ram XX V III ) we see that all ,

three squares o n the third rank in fro n t of them are protected ,

an d i n order to attack those Paw n s it is necessary to place

30 T H E PIECES AND T H EI R CONTRO L
the pieces not nearer than the fourth rank It is al so necessary .

to threaten each Pawn with n ot less than two pieces i n order

to make the threat a real danger as they are protected by the ,

King whom they in their turn protect But as soon as one

,
.
,

Pawn advances the position at o n ce changes and the enemy s

,
’

pieces are given s quares which cannot be attacked by the

Pawns For instance when the K t P is advanced ( Dia
.
,

gram X X I X ) the two squares B 3 and R 3 can at once be

.

occupied b y enemy pieces Such a square n ot protected .

”
by Pawn s is called a hole To get this on Kt 3 two Pawn s
.
,

must have been adv anced those on B 2 and R 2 for if only ,

Dia g a m XX I X
r . D ia g ra m XXX .

Bad P awn P ositio n fo mi g two r n Rel ti ely good P ositio n :

a v h ole no
w ea k e n d P wn
, ,

holes . o nly on e e a .

one of them is advanced then there is no hole the s quare ,

being protected by an other Pawn (Diagrams XXX XXX I .

, .

an d
Compari n g all these positions we may state as follows ,

The worst positio n s are u n doubtedly those i n Diagrams XX I X .

and XXX I I where there is a hole Diagram XXX I ex

, . .

hib i ts a position which is n ot devoid of da n ger if the e n emy

has a Bishop o n the black diagonal Whe n we advan ce the .

Pa wn this Bishop ca n rake the castli n g positio n a n d rob it

of its security C omparatively good is the position in Dia
.

gram XXX where the re is no hole ; but here the advan c ed

 PAWNS 31

Pawn b ecomes the ob j ect of attack as it i s protected o n ly ,

o n ce and may be assailed in two moves by an enemy Pawn .

F rom this it follows that the attacki n g party may wish

his opponent to advance certain of his Pawn s for very differe n t
reaso n s Whe n he wa n ts the Kt P to be advan ced he is trying
.

to create two weak squares The advan ced Pawn is n ot in .

itself weak since it is doubly protected by the other two

,

Pawns and it can only be take n adva n tage of with a view ,

to openi n g up a file by the advan ce of the B P or R P opposite

,

it and the exchan ge of o n e of them for it When o n the .

,

other han d the attacki n g party wants to compel his opponent

,

D iag am XXX I
r . D iag am XXX II
r .

Ade q uate Position : no hol e . B ad P si tio

o n : hole at K t 3 .

to advan ce the R P it is because he weakens this same Pawn

,

and attacks it Of course this man oeuvre may at times be

.

much more complicated Sometimes it is n ecessary to attac k

.

the Kt P befo r ehan d in order to dep rive the adv an ced R P

of all support but the pri n ciple is the same—the Pawn itself
becomes the obj ect of attack It must be u n ders toood that .

it like the advanced Kt P gives an easy opportunity of

, ,

ope n i n g the K n ight s or Rook s file

’ ’
.

Fi n ally ther e is a S pecial si gn ifica n ce when we try to m ak e

,

the e n emy advance his B P if there is a black Bishop which

,

c omman ds the diago n al on which the Pawn stood We have .

32 THE PIECES AN D THEI R CONTROL
then such an openi n g of the diagonal as we have spoken of
before which has such great importan ce in the attack To
, .

open the K n ight s file through the advance of the B P is not

’

always importa n t because by s o doi n g a very importan t

li n e—the Bishop s file—is ope n ed for the Rook If on the
, , ,

’
.
,

co n trary this li n e is closed (by the Pawn on B

,
then we
are threatened with the ope n i n g of the K n ight s file ’
.

Another weake n i n g of the Pawn position is achieved by

doubli n g Pawn s So far we have regarded the advance of
.

the Paw n s from the poi n t of V iew of their simple moves ;

but we may also compel their adva n ce by forcing them to
take a Pawn or a n y other
Diag am X X X H L
r
piece This has a triple
. result
The Paw n leaves the
second ra n k and so weake n s the
b arrier formed by the Pawn s
on the third rank ; The
Pawn opens a file which if the ,

attacker can seize it becomes ,

very useful to him There

is a very great weakeni n g of
the Pawn s because there is ,

n othi n g more unnatural than

doubled Pawns .

When several Pawns are put

Dou b led d Is lated P aw s
an o n
on o n e file it means that they
.

do not protect one another .

This produces a weakeni n g of their position and very often

may be considered equivalent to the loss of a Pawn It is .

true that a further move of the Pawn freque n tly cou n teracts
this doubli n g but that does n ot do away with the weak n ess
of the doubli n g of the Paw n in itself .

But sometimes by doubli n g we obtain a n other result

the isolatio n of a Pawn Let us suppose that the Kt P cap
.

tures o n B 3 ( Diag ram XXX I I I ) By this n ot o n ly do the ,

Paw n s o n the Bishop s file become weaker but i n co n sequen ce

’

, ,

the Paw n on the Rook s file can never be supported by any

’
34 THE PIECES AND THEI R C ONTROL
What we have said here about the defensive power of the
Pawn s holds good to a great exte n t in the case where there
, ,

is n o Ki n g behi n d them If on the one han d he weake n s .

, ,

the positio n of the Pawn s by providi n g the attack with a

special force and danger on the other hand he protects all , ,

three All observations about doubled and isolated Pawns

.
,

about holes about the disadva n tage of adva n ci n g the

,

Pawns remain true, .

In spite of bei n g the most passive and defensive of th e

pieces the Pawn s i n certai n cases acquire very great force
, , ,

during attack They are the storm troops Let us look

.
-
.

at the co n ditio n s the n .

The value of the Pawn s lies in their weak n ess and this ,

quality must be made use of They are the weakest C hess .

me n but also the most threate n i n g because all the pieces

, , ,

more powerful than they are obliged to fall back before their ,

threat This S hows very clearly that the di ffere n ce betwee n

.

the values of the chessme n does n ot depe n d on their qual ity

but on the rapidi ty of their moveme n ts Queen a n d Pawn .

attack each other It would seem that the attack of the

.

Queen should be stro n ger than the attack of the Pawn and
that in a collision the latter should give ground as a light
ball is driven away by a heavy one In reality the opposite .
,

takes place The Quee n is obliged to retreat before the Pawn

. .

Their attack is of the same intensity the o n ly di ffere n ce bei n g ,

that the Queen can attack the Pawn from different points
of the board and from different distan c es while the Pawn ,

can attack only at the distan ce of o n e square or two diagonals , ,

i n front of it .

But as the Pawns have only a small field of action a n d can

,

threaten o n ly for a short distance it would be against their ,

nature to use them to weake n the enemy s camp That ’

.

must be left to the more mobile pieces In order to weaken .

the e n emy the Pawn is obliged to cross the board and to

,

stan d next the enemy s Pawns First of all that takes too ’
.
,

much time which the e n emy will use to protect himself

,
.

Further by this advan ce the Pawn s weake n their own position

,

a n d the whole of their player s game The Pawn s must move ’

.
 PAWNS 35

only when the e n emy s camp is already weakened or whe n

’

the weake n i n g of the e n emy s camp an d the b reakdow n of ’

his whole game take place at the same time It mean s i n .

,

both cases that the attack of the Pawn s i n volves the stormi n g
,

of the enemy s position ’

.

But even duri n g such an assault the Pawns very often have
a passive obj ect to Open a line for their own pieces or to ope n
,

the e n emy s li n es in order to pe n et r ate i n to his camp I n

’
.

either case they must very often be sacrificed for that e n d .

No less importan t is their active rele which is expressed ,

first of all by their attacki n g all the e n emy s pieces in fro n t ’

of the positio n which is bei n g stormed The pieces must .

ret reat an d the positio n becomes de n uded agai n st the attack

,
.

Than ks to these threats the Pawns ca n move forward wi thout

,

loss of time From this we may co n clude that o n e must not

.

place many pieces i n f r o n t of the attacked Pawn s .

When all the pieces have bee n driven away the Pawn fi n ds ,

itself faci n g the hostile Pawn positio n Here it has two .

obj ects : either to occupy a weake n ed point (a hole) or to

attack a weake n ed Pawn It is however possible to attack
.
, ,

a Pawn which has not been weaken ed because in the event ,

of exchan ge a file i s ope n ed ; in the event of advance the

, ,

Pawn itself is weak .

We must look more carefully at the question of the occupa

tion of weak poi n ts by the Pawn As Paw n s do n ot have .

i n flue n ce over a big space the occupatio n of a weak point

,

means o n ly that such an occupatio n is advantageous A .

Pawn can maintain its positio n well if supported by another

Pawn if n ot then it is n ecessary to co n sider whether there
,

are e n ough pieces for its protectio n or whether the oppo n e n t ,

can spare more pieces for the attack .

If the advan ced Pawn has an e n emy Pawn directly in front

”
of it the latter can not advan ce an d becomes backward
, ,

deprived of the support of other Pawn s an d therefore weak ,

e n ed But adva n tage can not be taken of it u n less this Pawn

.

can be attacked by pieces If n ot the weak n ess of such .

,

a Pawn is of n o advantage to the oppo n ent For example .

,
36 THE PIECES AN D THEI R C ONTROL
Diagram XXX I V gives two positions of Pawns which have
.

become backward on R 2 and Kt 2 Compari n g them we

,
.
,

s e e a treme n dous di fference The Pawn o n Kt 2 can be

.

surrou n ded ; attacked on the fla n k for i n stance by a Black

, ,

Rook standin g on White s R 2 The Pawn on R 2 mean

’
.
,

while can o n ly be molested b y a K n ight from Kt 5 ( We

, .

are not here speaki n g about attacks which can be directed

ag ai n st an y of the Pawns from the ce n tre ; supposi n g that
i n the ce n tre the game is level and the e n emy will not be
allowed to break i n here) So i n the first case the Pawn can
.

be attacked twice in the second case o n ly o n ce The di ffer

,
.

ence is that i n the first case

Dia g am X X X IV
r .
there is an open fil e If there .

were n o Wh ite Pawn on Q K t 3 ,

the Pawn o n Q R 2 could be

attacked from the S ide If a .

Wh ite Pawn were o n K R 3

the Pawn on K Kt 2 would
be protected from S ide attack .

( It must be remembere d also

how weak is the second row
of the board i n comparison
with the first ) From this we .

s e e once agai n how important

it is to maintain the compact

Di fl nt P awn P ositio ns
er e position of the Pawns ; a n d
.

also how importa n t it is to con

duct the atta ck in such a manner that not o n ly is a profitable
point occupied a n d the position of the enemy Pawns weake n ed ,

but also the possibility is opened up of future attacks by

other pieces .

Sometimes it is m ost important to pin down the positional

weakness or the weak Pawn sin c e when that is achieved a
,

flaw is developed in the e n emy s ranks That being adv an

’
.

t ageo u s to a player he must do all he can to keep it there

,
.

We have already said that doubled Pawns are worth little

more than o n e Pawn The corollary of this is that a player
.

must do all in his powe to keep his opponent s Pawn s doubled

r
'
 PAWNS 37

and not allow them to be straighte n ed I n Diagram XXX I V . .

the positio n of the Pawns is shown o n K B 3 4 an d 5 where , , ,

White s doubled Pawn s are pi nn ed down by o n e e n emy Pawn

’

so that the latter is playi n g as if he had one Pawn to the good .

Thi s in dicates that the game must be fought out i n another

part of the board while at this poi n t the fatal weakness of
,

White must be mai n tai n ed With this example we now .

come to the ordi n ary Pawn game apart from the question ,

of attack and defen ce .

On this subj ect we ca n add but little to what has been said
before as the role of the Pawns in such positions is not a large
,

o n e When they are not sent forward to attack or kept

.

back for defence they are hardly in the battle an d o n ly few ,

of them occupy stro n g squares or comman d weak points in

the e n emy s camp We must draw atten tio n however to
’
.
, ,

o n e type : the Pawn on the ope n file that Pawn which b e ,

comes so stro n g towards the end oi the game and which is

called the passed Pawn Although of course it i s very
.
, ,

important to have the ope n files for the pieces the passed ,

Pawn while blocki n g the file has in itself great stre n gth
, ,
.

In advancin g the Pawn n ot only threatens differe n t import

,

a n t squares i n the e n emy s camp but with each move in creases

’

the force of the Rook which is behi n d it The Rook as a .

,

rule should be placed o n an ope n file but it is good for it to

, ,

be placed behi n d a passed Pawn where the latter acts as ,

a ram an d they thus stren gthen each other If the Pawn

,
.

is in the ce n tre the n of course the Rook which stands behi n d

, ,

it is very stro n g It can a lso be see n that by its advan ce

.
,

threate n i n g to become a Quee n this Pawn cuts the e n emy s ,

’

deploymen t i n half a n d divides his pieces When the position .

is such the advantages of a passed centr al Pawn are greater

,

than its weakness as an isolated o n e .

The enemy has to keep in reserve some pieces to check

the advance In fro n t of such a Pawn a Rook is ge n erally
.

placed which at the s ame time attacks it ; or a Bishop or

,

a K n ight which while holdi n g it at the same take their part

, ,

in the game because they strike sideways from it The choice .

of the piece with which to hold the Pawn depe n ds e n tirely

38 THE PIECES AN D T H EI R CONTRO L
o n the positio n Thus if the Pawn is too well protected it
.
, ,

is n ot n ecessary to attack it o n the co n trary it is ver y i m

po r tan t to pi n it down an d combi n e the attack o n it because ,

i n t hi s way the fo r ces of the e n emy are draw n to its protectio n .

Thus while the player of the passed Pawn must see clearly
,

how far he can advance it without da n ger of losi n g it the ,

e n emy must try to pi n it to the square where it will be easiest

for him to attack it and most hard for the other side to defe n d
it Rou n d such a Pawn a struggle takes place on which the
.
,

result of the game very ofte n depe n ds .

From what has go n e before we see that there are weak

poi n ts i n a positio n Is it n ecessary to state that they are
.

n ot ide n tical with the weak squares on the board P The truth
is that besides the strong a n d weak squares on the board
,

wi thout the pieces we also get stro n g a n d weak points which

,

depend on the positio n of the pieces Whil e the strong and .

weak squares are the same for both sides exactly the Opposite ,

is the case with regard to stro n g a n d weak positio n al points ,

the weak square for o n e side bei n g a source of advantage to

the other We k n ow also that there are stro n g and weak
.
-

pieces a matter which does not depe n d o n their statio n o n

,

st ro n g or weak squares We k n ow that a piece becomes

.

weaker if placed on a weak square but sometimes although ,

on a stro n g square a piece may become weak owi n g to di ffe re n t

,

co n ditio n s of the mome n t It must always be clearly dis

.

t i n gu i sh e d on what depe n ds the weak n ess of the piece ; on

the weak n ess of the squar e on which it stands or on the par
ticul ar position of the pieces .

We must now say a few words about the K i n g a n other ,

as set in the defence .

THE KI NG
We have a l ready spoke n of the Ki n g a n d we k n ow that he ,

ca nn ot actively participate i n the middle game When he .

is in dan ger the whole ga me is in dan ger therefore he does

more harm than good whe n he takes part in the struggle .

The best that he ca n do is n ot to trouble the other pieces

 THE KING 39

too much with his defe n ce What does this mea n ? Above
.

all n ot to occupy the stro n g squar es which i n crease their

, ,

stre n gth an d further n ot to stan d betwee n them a n d separate

, ,

them from o n e an other Both obj ects can be attai n ed by

.

the Ki n g goi n g away from the ce n tre to o n e of the flan ks .

By that he is brought out of the battle as the normal game ,

at the begi nn i n g develops i n the ce n tre Whe n the Ki n g .

is thus brought to the weaker squar es on the flan ks he is ,

of course still further weake n ed But he takes the sti n g out .

of the attack as the e n emy has no wish to attack the weak

,

squar es on the board He attacks either the stro n g squares

.

or the weak poi n ts in the positio n while his o n ly obj ect i n

attacki n g the flan k is the prese n ce of the Ki n g there .

Does the Ki n g weake n the positio n o n the flan k by his

prese n ce ? In certai n cases o n the co n trary he eve n makes
, ,

it stro n ger and gives the Pawn s a protectio n which they had
not before He thus ful fil s his seco n d active r ole : to pro
.
,

te c t the pieces which cover him He sometimes does this n ot .

o nl y f or self defe n ce but also i n order to start the attack

-
, .

It is very ofte n n ec e ssary to advan ce the side Pawn s a little

in order to begi n the attack o n this flan k so that the others ,

may proceed with their task of stormi n g The Ki n g follows .

,

stren gthen s an d suppo rts them .

Of course the chief obj ect is to protect him as is shown ,

in cases where the position is weake n ed owi n g to the (per

haps compulsory) move of a Paw n Sometimes a piece covers .

up the holes but that is mostly do n e by the Kin g

, .

Let us imagi n e the Kt P advan ced to the square Kt 3 .

In order to cover the holes at B 3 an d R 3 the Bishop is placed ,

o n Kt 2 but the Ki n g ca n also be placed there If the R P .

is adva n ced to the third a n d is attacked it ca n be protected ,

by B at B I , Kt at I or K at R 2 .

Now the Ki n g weake n s the position where he is as he makes ,

the attack o n this poi n t fatal Therefore the attack o n this.

point may be co n ducted with great en ergy If the Ki n g is .

n ot here the oppo n e n t may wi n a Paw n or break up the

,

Pawn positio n but he ca nn ot sac rifice a piece for such an

-
,

attack If the Ki n g is here however the n the enemy may

.
, ,
40 T H E PIECES AN D THEI R CONTRO L
sacrifice all his pieces to force a mate Wh erever the Ki n g .

may be his positio n will always be dan gerous and wi ll always

,

draw the e n emy s attack It is therefore necessary to

’
.
, ,

reserve several pieces for the K ing s protection but we must ’

remember the King s duty—not to require pieces for his

’

protection If when the Ki n g goes out of the battle he takes

.

some of the pieces with him he very greatly weakens his ,

own side and deprives it of mu n itio n s All the pieces must .

participate in the fray si n ce the obj ect of the game is an

,

active struggle into which all the forces must be thrown

, .

By their retreat we dimi n ish our chan ces We must then .

first of all remember n ot to keep any pieces for the protection

of the King unless he is in dan ger ; but for his safety he , ,

must be put in a safe place Secondly the piece w hich pro .

,

t ec t s the Ki n g must also participate i n the active gam e The .

position of the K n ight on B 3 i s stro n g because being the ,

best piece for the defence of the castled position the Knight
is at the same time a good piece for the central attack In .

like man n er the position of the Bishop o n Kt 2 is good because

,

he covers the Ki n g well and at the same time strongly attacks

, ,

the ce n tre Fi n ally it is necessary to choose the most suit

.
,

able pieces to act for the protection of the Ki n g But the .

position of di fferent pieces already depends on the diff erent

qualities of the positions as we shall see later on ,
.

H ere it is necessary to say a few words on the di fference

b etween the t w o castlings Su perfici ally this is explained as
.

follows In the case of short castli n g (C astles K R) the Ki n g

.
,

at o n ce has a hold upon the files of the K n ight and Rook while , ,

on the other hand he is not immediately in touch with the

,

ce n tre In the case of long castling (Castles Q R ) the Rook

.
,

is already in the centre but the King sta n ds on the Bishop s ’

file In a n other move the cases may be e qual ised After

. .

C astles K R the Rook can move to the ce n tre after Castles

Q R the Ki n g can go to the Knight s file All the same there
’
.
,

is a great difference between the two man oeuvres Castles .

Q R is much more active ; but in order to bri n g the Ki n g

i n to a safe place it is not o n ly necessary to lose one move .

A still further move is needed than in the case of Castles K R .

42 THE PIECES AN D THEI R CONTROL
but also like the K n ight comman ds a circle of adj ace n t squares
,
.

Though the Quee n is typical of the middle game we sh al l ,

speak about her later an d shall not yet pay much atte n tio n
to her because sh e combi n es the qualities of other pieces
, ,

an d through them we may understand her also

, .

First we shall take the Roo k and the Bishop .

We know their S peci al qualities They comman d the li n es .

the Rook the vertic al s a n d horizontals the Bishop the diag ,

on als
. This at once reveals their peculiarities Each Bishop .

commands o n ly half the board a n d the Bishops cann ot help

,

each other duri n g a n attack while the Rooks are able to

,

help each other This shows that the Rooks are the stronger
. .

Naturally the force of each piece depe n ds on the freedom of

its moves a n d o n the n umber of squar es u n der its co n trol .

As the Rooks and the Bishops work o n li n es so the first con ,

dition of their power is that they should comma n d such li n es .

If they have co n trol of n o lines their force dimi n ishes a n d ,

ca n sometimes be reduced to that of the Pawn V ery often .

the enemy tries to paralyse t h e opposi n g pieces He closes .

the lines by placi n g o n them pieces which are of course weaker , , ,

tha n those whose li n es he closes On the co n trary the player.

,

who possesses Rook or Bishop must try to open the li n es .

If the li n e is closed by a n enemy piece the latter can be ,

chased away by a weaker piece or it can be cha n ged off ,

.

I n the latter case it is n ecessary to make a sacrifice givin g ,

up a stro n ger piece for a weaker one because an opened li n e ,

compensates for the loss by stre n gtheni n g the piece which

gets control of it .

There may however be other result when the line is

, ,

closed by one s ow n man e g by a Paw n —because if an y

’

,
. .
,

other piece closes the li n e it ca n open it agai n o n its n ext

move .

How can o n e ope n a li n e blocked by o n e s own Pawn ? ’

By advanci n g the Pawn o n e may open a rank or a diago n al ,

but n ot a file which is the chief line for the Rook This
,
.

shows how much more di fficult it is to ope n a li n e for a Rook

than for a Bishop I n orde r to ope n up a file a n e n e my piece
.
,

must b e take n by the Pawn o n it The ability to do so .

 QUEEN ,
K N IGHT ROO K AND BISHOP , 43

depen ds very much o n the will of the e n emy because he might ,

n ot put o n e of his pieces u n de r the th r eat of capture by this

Pawn But o n e may compel h i m to do so by sac rifici n g a
.

piece If he accepts it he gives the Paw n the opportu n ity

.

to leave the file which it blocked A n oth er way is to sacrifice .

,

the Pawn ; but the e n em y can choose whichever course is

better for him—to accept the sacrifice and Ope n the line or ,

to refuse it a n d leave the li n e closed .

There is however ano ther good way of i n creasi n g the

, ,

Rook s power If the Pawn which blocks the file has n o

’
.

e n emy Pawn in front of it it becomes very stro n g bei n g , ,

r ei n forced f r om the back by the Rook a n d worki n g like a ram ,

batte ri n g the e n emy s positio n an d compelli n g him to employ

’

pieces to hold it back Each move of the Paw n strengthe n s .

the Rook b ec au se i ts line lengthe n s

’

.
,

But if in front of the Pawn there sta n ds an enemy Paw n ,

there is a choice of two ways either to r emove o n e s own ,

’

Pawn from this file an d to direct the attack of Rook o n it

( a n enemy Paw n i n the li n e of the Rook — on the open file

is al ways the obj ect of attack although it can become a great

'

force as has already bee n shown ) or o n the co n trary to

, , ,

r emove the enemy Paw n from the file by maki n g it take a n y

piece an d to move one s own Pawn forward The n ature

,
’
.

of the position must decide which of the two ways should

be adopted .

If it is di fficult to open the line still the effect is very great ,

whe n it is ope n ed and the piece which was covered till n ow

receives its freedom O n e s whole game becomes stro n ger
.
’

j ust as if a piece had bee n gain ed .

But if the e n emy tries to surrou n d the opposi n g piece he ,

perhaps loses by closi n g the li n e And it may be that li n es .

are closed for him as well as for his oppo n e n t The closi n g .

of a li n e is useful whe n the en emy is the stro n ger or when

the line leads towards weak poi n ts i n one s own camp ; or ’

fin ally when the e n emy has some pieces left which comma n d
,

the li n es as agai n st o n e s own pieces which do n ot comm and

,
’

them .
44 THE PIECES AND THEI R C ONTROL
It ofte n happe n s that o n e of the player s strives hard to
ope n a li n e but in the e n d its ope n i n g harms him ; o n e side
,

open s the li n e a n d the other profits by seizi n g possession of

it Therefore i n order to j udge the positio n correctly we
.
, ,

must not only weigh up the pieces in the field of actio n which
co n trol lines n ow but also consider the possibility of their
,

c ontrolling them No less exactly i s it necessary to cal culate

.

whether lines should be Opened or not As a rule their Open .

,

i n g up i s more profitable to the stro n ger player or in the

stro n ger part of the position .

What we have said exhibits the great di fference which exists ,

for the Rook and the Bishop i n the co n trol of li n es and in

,

the possibility of Ope n i n g them Ge n erally sp e aki ng the

.

I
,

lines are closed for the Rook and it is necessary to force them
ope n duri n g the game ; but for the Bishop on the other ,

hand the lines are closed o n ly on rare occasio n s This main

, .

di fference arises from the position of the board an d the pres

e n ce of the Pawns As the board is placed with the sides
.

to the players and the Pawns occupy all the files along which ,

they advance towards the e n emy those files from the very ,

begi n ning are completely occupied by the Pawn s and can

be freed from them o n ly through exchan ge of Pawn s their ,

c apture or the capture of any of the enemy s pieces with them ’

in general o n ly by serious chan ges in their position There .

fore the files the most important lines for the Rooks are
, , ,

closed and eve n the ran ks are not easily ope n ed because
, ,

every move of a Pawn closes one The diago n als on the .

,

contrary remai n n early all open an d in a n y case there is

, ,

always an easy possibility of the Bishop changi n g his diago n al .

O n ly the centre diago nals are most often blocked by the

ce n tre Pawns .

If on the contrary the b oard were placed with the cor n ers
, ,

towards the players the Pawns would move o n diago n als

,

an d it would be very di ffi cult to open up li n es for the Bishops .

Thus a questio n arises : Would it not be better to place

,

the Rooks in front of Pawns a n d by that mean s avoid the

closi n g of the files by the Paw n s ? But if the Rooks were i n
front of the Pawns man y serious inconveniences would arise .
 QUEEN KN IGHT ROOK AND BISHOP
, , 45

First of all the Rook could be threate n ed by all the e n emy s

,
’

pieces an d Pawn s Further the Rook would preve n t the

.
,

Pawns from movi n g forward an d s o would weake n the attack .

Fi n ally it would be very difficult for the Rooks to retreat

,

behi n d the Pawns when once they were i n front of them .

Suppose that a Rook stan ds o n Kt 3 wh i le the Pawn is still ,

on Kt 2 In order to bri n g the Rook to the seco n d or first

.

rank we must move it alo n g the thi rd ran k up to a fil e which

is free from Pawn s o n the seco n d ran k an d then alo n g this
fil e retire it back i n to camp But should a n y o n e of the Pawns .
,

be adv an ced to the third ran k this return of the Rook would ,

be n early impossible Thus we see how the Rook i n c on .

v eni en ces its own Pawn s and how da n gerous is its positio n in

fro n t of them Of course it can o n ly be so placed in certain

.

c ases
.

The Bishop on the co n trary has no diffi culty in retiring

, ,

to its own camp if it is placed i n front of the Pawn s It is .

enough that the adj ace n t Pawn should adva n ce o n e square .

By so doing it opens a diago n al for the Bishop to utilise .

Besides the Bishop when in fro n t of the Pawns threate n s

, , ,

the other parts of the board a n d therefore does n ot n eed the

moves of the Pawns which it covers Fi n ally bei n g a weaker .
,

piece the Bishop does not fear the attacks of the e n emy s
,
’

pieces as the Rook does This shows that the position of .

the Bishop in fro n t of the Pawn s is quite norm al while such ,

a position for the Rook is possible only as an exception in ,

speci al cases .

One of those special cases apart from the question of attac k ,

al o n g the file is whe n the Rook placed in front of the Pawns

, , ,

h as the possibility of movin g horizo n tall y .

We kn ow that the Rook attacks alo n g the fil e in the di rec

tio n of the enemy But besides that it also attacks alo n g
.
, ,

the n eutr al r ank a move which scarcely comes into e ffect

,

in the middle game as the Rook remains i n camp surrou n ded

, ,

by other pieces or if n ot all the same it rarely has an obj ect

, ,

for ho rizo n tal attacks .

If its strengt h could be in creased along the horizo n t al

ranks that wo ul d at o n ce enlarge its powers very much
, .
46 THE PIE C ES AND THEI R CONTRO L
That however is very ra rely p ossible because the mid dl e
, , ,

ra n ks are occupied by Pawns a n d the thi rd ra n k by its own

pieces thus n ot requiri n g the actio n of the Rook There
,
.

r emai n o n ly the last ra n ks which are i n the e n emy s camp ’

.
,

So the horizo n tal move of the Rook except for the protectio n ,

of its own camp takes place most often during an attack

,

o n the e n emy s positio n ’

.

These observatio n s show that the Rook cannot always make

use of all its moves in the game But this is the case with .

regard to all the other pieces Each piece when advan ci n g .

, ,

shorte n s the field of i ts action because it diminishes the ,

n umber of the squares i n fro n t of it a n d i n creases the n um b er

behi n d it All the li n es behi n d a piece leadi n g towards its
.
,

own positio n are only good as Offeri n g a possibility for retreat

, ,

and that does not i n crease the stre n gth of a piece When .
,

o n the contrary a piece is i n its own camp the n it attacks

,

any poi n t i n the enemy s positio n a n d co n trols all the squares

’

betwee n itself a n d the hostile camp As we have already .

said the Rook o n all the squares of the board has th e same
, , ,

fi eld for its threats a n d it might thus seem that it does not
matter where it stands In reality this is not s o for we
.
, ,

kn ow the di fferen ce between various lines and have now

learn ed the meaning of open lines F inally we see .

that the directio n of the attack is so important that the whole

li n e o n which the Rook is moving threatening its own camp , ,

counts less than one square i n the enemy s camp which is ’

u n der its threat So it is better for the Rook n ot to occupy

.

stro n g squares i n the foregrou n d of the board but to be posted

in the ce n tre of its ow n camp .

Now however we notice a distinction of mea n i n g in the

, ,

word possession of the squares Any piece may be placed .

o n a square a n d that will be possession ; but it is possible

to keep a square u n der the threat of a n y piece which wil l ,

also be a possession of the square We know that while it .

,

is importa n t to occupy stro n g squares there are not enough ,

pieces to occupy them all But that is n ot n ecessary It . .

is importan t not to let the enemy occupy strong squares

an d equally importan t to place o n them such of our own
 QUEEN KNIGHT ROOK , ,
AND BISHOP 47

men as would gai n from it i a Bishop K n ight and Pawn

,
. .
, , .

The latter two pieces especially become stro n ger because ,

havi n g very short moves they must be n earer in order to

,

threaten But besides this there is an other reason showi n g

.

that just those pieces must occupy stro n g squares Bei n g .

the weakest it is therefore very di fficult to drive them away

,

an d they remain a lo n g time o n the occupied squares .

From this poi n t of view it i s best to put the Pawn s there

,

b u t they do n ot hamper the e n emy very much a n d in case ,

of a n attack they cann ot escape a n d s o perish It is there , .

,

fore better to use the K n ight He is the weakest of the

,
.

pieces proper a n d at the sam e time attacks the e n emy i n

four directio n s whereas the Bishop moves o n ly in two
, .

I n each separate case it is n ecessary to decide which piece

to place o n the stro n g square which has to be occupied but
the above me n tio n ed ge n eral r emar ks are quite e n ough to
-

en able a player to m ake a choice u n der n o rmal co n ditio n s .

At an y rate it is possible to say that the best piece for the

,

occupation of the squares i n questio n is the K n ight .

We may n ow deal with this piece We know the chief .

differe n ce of the K n ight from the Rook an d Bishop he does

n ot comman d a complete li n e C o n tro lli n g as he does .
, ,

adj ace n t squares he weake n s co n siderably as he approaches

,

the S ide of the board first of all because in this case he co n

, , ,

trols a smaller number of squares an d seco n dly because those ,

squares are much less important We can say that the .

best positio n s of the K n ight are bou n ded by the third li n es

fro m all sides in other words lie i n the big ce n tre
, ,
His .

adva n ce does n ot weake n him at all because the number of

squares which he co n trols towards his own camp remai n s the
same an d o n the other han d he becomes stro n ger as he
, , ,

begi n s to thr eate n the enemy seriously Not comm an di n g .

li n es but co n trolli n g adj ace n t squares i n terruptedl y the ,

Knight moves in four directio n s from an y poi n t towards the

e n emy an d therefore cann ot be SO st r ictly limited as the
Bishop which moves from the flan ks i n to the ce n tre an d
,

vi ce versa
-
The K n ight st rikes from ce n tre to ce n tre an d
.

flan ks an d from flan ks to cen tre an d flan ks .

48 THE PIECES AND THEI R C ONTROL
The interruptio n of hi s mov es makes the Knight quite
independe n t of the Pawn s because he pas ses between them , .

Therefore though the Bishop is stro n ger than the K n ight

, ,

the latter becomes stro n ger in positions where there are man y
Pawns where they are packed close an d where the whole
, ,

game is very co n gested because he passes betwee n al l the

,

pieces while the Bishop c an n ot get control of a lin e

, .

Let us now s ay a few words about the Queen .

It is n ot necessary to say much about her because her ,

move combin es those of Rook an d Bishop by knowi n g which ,

we can u n derstan d hers It is n ot di fficult to appreciate the

.

di ffere n ces which arise from the combin atio n of the moves
of these two pieces in those of the Queen All those d an gers
, .

of which we spoke as regards the Rook are abse n t for the

Quee n because she ca n al ways save herself on the di agonal
,
.

Thus it follows that there is no n ecessity to hold her behind ‘

the Pawn s as in the case of the Rooks More than that

,
.
,

Sh e must be advan ced because if Sh e stands somewhere on ,

the Side of the b oard Sh e can exert only the force of either
,

Roo k or Bishop At such a lo n g distance the diago n al s pas s

.
,

too far from the verticals a n d horizontals for her to combine

all her threats on all those lines agai n st the enemy If on .
,

the co n trary the Quee n stands i n the front sh e Strongly

,

threate n s all positio n s of the e n emy if not in four dire c tio n s ,

like the Knight still in three But she has adva n tages over
,
.

the K n ight because her lines are complete an d She can threaten
from a distance Whereas therefore the K n ight on a n open
.
, ,

board for all his actio n in eight directions may t hreaten

, ,

nothi n g at all (his force in fact being increased in proportio n

, ,

with the number of pieces on the board ) the Queen s power ,

’

comes i n to Operation when the opportu n ity arises in lo n g

, ,

distance threats Wh e n the board is too crowded the Queen

.

often has to look o n without participating in the battle ;

,

and in such cases she stands far aside reserving her potential
, ,

force Whe n o n the contrary the board is empty the Queen

.
, ,

requires an enormous active power .

From all that h as bee n said a n d also taking i n to considera

,

tion that she is the strongest piece o n the board it i s obvious ,

 C H A P TE R III
THE ESSENTIALS OF THE GAME
G AIN IN F OR C E S PA C E AND T IME
,

H AVING now made acquaintan ce with the pri n cipal eleme n ts

of chess we may ask ourselves what is its scope an d what
must gu i de us i n deali n g with its elements .

The obj ect of every game we k n ow is mate ; that marks

, ,

the victory which crown s the game Wh en play begi n s .

,

both sides are equ al i n stre n gth a n d thus it is n ecessary to

,

reduce the game from absolute equality to absolute i n equality

before victory i n clines to one Side O n the way to wards .

mate there are S pecial obj ectives the attainment of which ,

lessens the equality betwee n the players This disappears .

,

and the player who k n ows how to gai n advantages and pile
them up will wi n the game .

AS chess is composed of three elements so adva n tages ,

are expressed i n those eleme n ts To wi n a game implies to

.

achieve a gai n i n the ele m e n ts from w hich it is composed .

Wh at is the mean i n g of gain i n force S pace an d time ? ,

The first is easy to determi n e The player who has the more
.

pieces or whose pieces are stronger has the advantage in force

, ,
.

The seco n d the gain in space is also easy to explain The

, ,
.

player who co n trols the greater part of the board or its ,

stro n gest squares has the adva n tage in space It is more diffi
, .

cult to describe the gain in time as it is not readily perceived

,
.

Naturally the player who develops the greater number of

pieces or the more importan t of them for a given positio n
has made a gain in time But from this point of view we
.

can o n ly state such a n advan tage when the inequality of

positio n s is marked or in the openi n g of the game I n .

positions which are nearly level it is n ecessa ry to i n vestigate

more mi n utely who has the adva n tage i n time With this .

obj ect we must recko n up the moves which must be played

by either side to attai n a give n positio n .
 GAIN IN FOR C E SPA C E AN D TIME , 51

Let us take for example the position in Diagram XXX V

White has made with his Pawn s 3 moves with his K n ights ,

2 moves with his Bishops 3 moves with his Ki n g o n e

, ,

( castli n g —
) altogether 9 moves Black has made with his .

Pawn s 4 moves with his K n ights 3 moves with his Bishops

, ,

2 moves with his Ki n g o n e (castli n g )

,
wi th his Rook o n e ,

altogether I I moves This mean s that Black has gained .

2 moves .

It i s best of course to have the advantage i n all three

, ,

eleme n ts e g to have an extra piece comman d the greater

,
. .
,

par t of the board an d develop all the pieces while the e n emy
,

has developed o n ly a few That however is but seldom .

, ,

possible an d is see n o n ly whe n the victo ry of o n e Side is near

at han d It mo r e ofte n happe n s that an advan tage in on e
.

element is co mbi n ed with i n feriority i n the others V ery .

freque n tly this combi n atio n of the eleme n ts chan ges duri n g
Diag a m XXX V
r . Dia g am XXXV I
r .

Bla ck : 0 Ch aj e s Bla ck : 0 Ch a j e s
C apabla c a
. .

W hite J Capabla c a
.

W hite
.

J : . R . n . : . R . n .

a game an d the player who at a certai n mome n t had a gai n

,

in time later gai n s in Space a n d loses i n time chan ges ,

o n e eleme n t for the other A n example may be take n from .

the same game C apablan ca v Ch aj e s I O moves later than

, .
,

the positio n i n Diag ram XXX V (See Diagram XXX V I ) . .

Let us reckon the moves which they have made .

52 THE ESSENTIALS OF THE GAME
White has made with his Pawns 5 moves with his Knight ,

2 with his Bishops 3 with his Rook on e with his Ki n g o n e

with his Quee n 2 —al tog ether I 4 moves Black has made
, , ,
,

with his Pawns 3 moves with his Bishop 2 (the return move
,

of the Bishop to his origi n al square must be counted as it ,

would have bee n impossible otherwise to castle) with his

—
,

Knights 5 ,
with his Ki n g one with his Rook one
, altogether
1 2 moves .
Now therefore White is 2 moves to the good
, , ,

which mean s that duri n g the last 1 0 moves he has gained 4 i

,

Black havin g bee n previously 2 mov es t o the good .

We thus see that it is not so di fficult to determi n e the ad

va n tage i n any of the ele
Dia g am XXXV II
r
ments .
; but it is much more
di ffi cult to consider the com
p arat i v e v al ue of the whole
situatio n (loss i n one element
an d gai n i n the other) It is .

easier to u n derstand the posi

tio n as regards the forces
because their stre n gth is easily
calculated The so called .
-

sacrifice is nothing but the

giving away of a piece i n order
to gain an advan tage in
another element in time or in ,

G i n i n Spa c e G ai n i n Ti me Sp ace The gambit i nv olv es

a 0 . .
.

sacrifices i n the openi n g

Pawns or pieces—for the sak e of quick development A cor .

r ect sacrifice bri n gs a su fficient advantage in time or i n

space for the lost piece a faulty one bri n gs too little
, .

But such a relation exists betwee n time and space that it

is possible to surrender Space for time and vi ce versa AS -
.

the game is played with the pieces this relation between time
and space ofte n escapes the attentio n of the player and the ,

sacrifices which he makes in o n e of the elements are often

made u n co n sciously They are however very real ones
.
, ,
.

Owi n g to that the position is often wro n gly valued Let

,
.

u S take for example one of the Opening positions in the French

 GAIN IN FO R C E SPA C E AN D TIME , 53

Defence which ofte n comes about in practical play (Dia

,

gram The followi n g are the ope n i n g moves

r P— — —
K 4 P K 3; 2 P Q 4 P Q 4; 3 — K t —Q B 3
— — — —
.
,

—
,

K t K B 3 ; 4 B K Kt 5 B K 2 ; 5 P K 5 K K t Q , ,

2 ; 6 EXE , Q XB .

It is at once noticeable that White has gai n ed in space ,

than ks to his advanced central Pawn s an d it would appear ,

that the advantage through them is Obvious We know .

,

however that the wi nn ing of the game is not quite secure

,

for White .

What is the reaso n for this ? It is time ( If I am not .

mistaken it was M Alapi n who first pointed out the com

,
.

binatio n of time and space in this variation ) .

Let us cou n t the moves made by both Sides and we see ,

tha t Wh ite has made 4 moves while Black has made 5 zl e , .

Black has gai n ed one move Both players moved correctly .

,

but o n e of them gai n ed the advan tage i n Space and the other
in time We may say that White sacrificed ti me to Space
.
,

or on the contrary Black sacrificed space for time I n order

, ,
.

to u n derstand which has the advan tage we must estimate ,

the value of the position an d whether the gain i n one of the

eleme n ts compe n sates for the loss i n the other We cannot .

at t hi s poi n t en ter into these details which wi ll be the obj ect ,

of attentive observatio n i n Part I I We n ow merely note .

that from all these examples and from what we have said
,

about sacrifices it follows that beside real adv an tages and

,

gains there are fictitious ones .

Let us suppose that o n e player moved at the very beginning

R P up to the fifth rank He did not lose a Si n gle move by
.

that and if his oppo n ent did nothing duri n g that time he
,

perhaps gained two moves But we kn ow that the develop.

ment of this P awn has no value and the gain i n time turns ,

into the loss Of the game We find the same also with regard
.

to space as whe n one player gai n s space on one flank at a

,

time when the game is decided o n the other The same .

applies to the forces too when the player who gai n s a piece
,

or a Pawn is afterwards forced to lose the game This shows .

that i n a valuatio n o f gai n s an d losses in the elements one

54 THE ESSENTIA L S OF THE GAME
can n ot limit o n eself to a formal summary of pieces squares , ,

an d moves Such a summary te n ds o n ly to a Slight kn ow

.

ledge of the positio n a n d cann ot possibly carry o n e far The .

seco n d stage i n an alysis is the qualitative valuatio n .

It is n ot e n ough mer ely to see how man y pieces each player

h as a n d who has the stro n ger pieces we must also consider
their positio n We must appreciate who occupies the
.

st ro n gest squares whether the pieces are placed advantage

,

ou sly for the exercise of their fu n ctio n s whether they are ,

co nn ected with o n e a n other and whether they have e n ough

,

freedom without leavi n g weak points This is already familiar .

to us from what has bee n said

Dia g a m XXXV III
r about the properties of the
.

ele m en ts of chess so that such ,

an an alysis should n ot be
di fficult for us (Some explan a .

tory examples however will , ,

be give n i n Part But the

an alysis is still n ot fi n ished .

There may be cases whe n o n e

player has all the advan tages
a n d still loses ! That depends
o n some Special exceptio n al
quality in a given positio n ;
o n i tS Ch ara ct er which gives
Bla c k P M ph y
: or
,

a S pec i al Si g n i ficance to some

G

White L p aulsen
. .

: . .

pieces to the disadvantage of

others This character determi n es the obj ect of the par
.

t i c u lar game a n d it is necessary to understa n d it

,
We must .

also clearly u n derstan d the charact er of the positio n because ,

without understandi n g it we can n ot really j udge the game .

Let us take for example the position i n Diagram XX XV I I I

, ,
.

Here White has gained i n force space an d time but loses , , ,

at once after Black s sacrifice of the Rook o n Kt 7 But let

’
.

us suppose that in this positio n the Ki n g stands n ot on K Kt I , ,

but o n Q Kt I That chan ges n othi n g either i n force space

. ,

or time But it radically cha n ges the whole character of

.

the position because now all Black s attacks will be i n vai n

,
’
,
 THREATS 55

hitti n g at n othi n g ; an d it is n ot White s Ki n g who will be ’

un protected but Black s ! White will n ot o n ly be able to

’

r ealise his extreme adva n tage but also to develop the attack
o n the e n emy This judgme n t of the positio n is generally
.

decisive an d the stro n g player usually makes it o n ly because

he made the two former almost u n co n sciously and rapidly ,
.

But this circumstan ce ofte n leads to i n correct positio n

judgmen t concludi n g too much i n o n e s own favour The
,
’
.

player is accustomed to pay little atte n tio n to the general

positio n but to j udge from his own poi n t of view Whe n
,
.

hopes are disappoi n ted the n the obj ective iron logic of things
,

comes into play an d punishes blindness .

Therefore it cann ot be too much insisted upon that i n

experienced players especially beginners should make their
, ,

analysis and judgment of the position very mi n utely begi n

ni n g with quan titative an alysis a n d comin g to qualitative ,

an d fi n ally fin ishing with an internal valuatio n of the char

a ct e r i s t i c features of the given positi o n (See details in .

Part

T HREATS
If we wish to get the advan tage in force space and time , ,

i a the adva n tage i n positio n we must n aturally try not o n ly

. .
, ,

to obtai n it for ou rselves but also to p r eve n t the enemy from

obtai n i n g it .

That is the mean i n g of the struggle which begins from the

first move on the board an d co n ti n ues duri n g the whole game ,

till o n e of the players gai n s the advantage a n d overcomes

the other .

To Obtain the initiative mean s first of all a hardly perceived

advan tage i n time or i n space which allows one player to ,

threaten his oppone n t who must protect himself Therefore

, .
,

in a n ormal game White has al ways the i n itiative because

, ,

havi n g the first move he can threaten fi rst At the begi nn i n g

, .
,

although the p ositio n s are exactly Similar there is a Slight

advantage i n time Not a move not a u n it of time but
.
, ,

a very sm all part of it the right to begi n gives the i n itiative

, ,
56 THE ESSENTIALS OF THE GAME
to Wh ite Thus threats are means to hinder the enemy to
.
,

o b tain the advantage and also to equalise the game If w e .

do not threate n we give full freedom to the e n emy to develo p

,

his game as he wants to and to employ all hi s pieces at their

full force.

Threats are divided into : ( I ) Dire c t which threaten .

,

at once ; e g a Pawn attacks a pie c e and threatens to take

. .
,

it a Bishop checks the Ki n g ; and

,
More dist an t Il a , ,

threats which are manifested o n ly in a whole series of moves .

It is unnecessary to point out that the latter are more

dangerous ; firstly b ecause they are hidden and secondly , , ,

because they are compli c ated .

Dia g am XXX I X
r
From the former it is not
difficult to protect oneself while ,

from the latter it is some

times nearly impossible to do
so And protection from the .

hidden threat is as complicated

as the threat itself if the ,

latter is really serious .

Here for example is a posi , ,

t i o n (D i ag r a m
White plays P—K t 5 with a ,

direct threat to take the Pawn

B 6 and W ith a more
Bla c k D J a ows ki
:
o ’
f . n ’

d i stan t one to wi n the Quee n

.

White D S T
: r h . . ar ras c .
,

and if Sh e escapes then one

of the Rooks b y the moves P >< P ch and P—K t 7
, ,
.

Black can protect himself easily from the direct threat

with the reply P >< P ; but the n White plays 2 Q >< R ch ,

R >< Q 3 R X R Le changes Queen for two Rooks , . This .

exchange however hides a threat to win the Queen by the

move R—B 7 ch ; and if Queen or K ing move away the n
, ,

White plays R—B 7 (ch ) followed by R—R 8 mate This ,

.

threat compels Black in his turn to sacrifice the Queen for , ,

two Rooks ti e to play Q X R If White answers 4 R x Q

, . .
,

the n K >< R an d P K 5 Black havi n g two passed Pawn s -

, ,

( K P a n d K Kt P ) agai n st White s two passed Paw n s ( K R P

’
58 THE ESSENTIALS OF THE GAME
Such are nearly the threats in the ope n i n g I n fact after
al l

I P— K 4 P—K 4 Whi te with the m ove 2 K t — K B 3 though

.
,

, ,

attacki n g the Pawn o n hi s K 5 does n ot th reate n to take

,

it because we kn ow that Black ca n wi n back White s K P ’

—
.

After Q B 3 ; 3 B — K t 5 aga i n White does

, n ot ,

threate n to wi n the Pawn But let us imagi n e that Black

.

fo rgot this threat an d bega n quietly to develop : K t—B 3

4 C astles B
,
— K 2 5 K t — B 3 C astles
,
White can sudde n ly .

accomplish the fictitious threat and play 6 B t Q P >< B ; ,

7 K t X P ,
wi nn i n g a Pawn .

Let u S take another more complicated example (Diagram

XL) I n this positio n as
.
,

Diag a m X L r everybody k n ows the n orm al ,

developme n t of Black is P—B

4 which is very me n aci n g i n
,

view of White havi n g castled

o n the Queen s Side If Whi te ’
.

i n a n swer to this move plays

P >< P it is then possible for
,

Black to a n swer Q K t X P ,

threate n ing to take K B with a

check thus repulsi n g all White s
,
’

threats i n the centre an d

rui n i n g his hopes of an attack
on the Ki n ? S wi n If on ’

ai t;
B
the co n trary Blackg after I ,
.

P—B 4 2 P >< P were to con ,

t i n u e P X P Wh ite w ould threaten 3 K t X K t

, B Pt ; ,

4 B >< P a n d after ,
P X B 5 Q
—
,
K t 3 ch a n d Q X B wi nn ing ,

a piece I n order that this threat of White s may remai n

.
’

fictitious Black must move the Kin g so that the enemy s

,
’

Quee n Shall be u n able to give hi m check and attack the ,

Bishop at the same time Further this threat remai n s

—B 4 ; 2 P X P
.
,

fictitious so lo n g as Black can after , ,

take the Pawn wi th the K n ight which is possible as we , ,

have seen only so long as it threate n s to take K B with a

,

check .

I n view of what we have said White first of a ll moves away

,
 THREAT S 59

th e Ki n g K —K t I avoidi n g the threat P—B 4 Now i f

, ,
.

Black m akes the move he would be u n able to take the Paw n ,

with a Knight This mea n s that Black first of all must

.
, , ,

like Wh ite move the Ki n g away i n order n ot to be threatened

, ,

by the check of the Quee n on Kt 3 wi nn ing the Bishop ,

.

Through n ot payi n g atte n tio n to the move made by White

a n d the hidde n threat Black j ust the same played P—B 4 ,

a n d lost a piece : 2 P X P P X P ; (i f O Kt x P the n 3 Kt , ,

P) ; 3 K t Kt B P Kt ; 4 B P P B ; 5 Q — Kt 3 e h
, , ,

K —R I ; 6 Q B ,
P Kt ; 7 R Kt , etc .

Therefore White by his preparatory move avoided the

e n emy s re al thr eat a n d made it fictitious Black not maki n g
’
.
,

a preparatory move tur n ed the fictitious threat i n to a real

,

o n e an d weake n ed his own real threat .

This example shows us a battle of opposing threats .

We see n ow that it is impossible to ig n ore fictitious threats .

But though we must be very atte n tive to such threats o n

,

our opponent s part still we must n ot exaggerate the value

’

of our own fictitious threats Games with such fictitious .

threats ofte n exhibit the false type of trappy play which ,

is u n pleasant as not correspond n with the logic of the gam e .

In the same category we must co n sider the game where

one of the players leaves his piece en { Wi se and it is impossible
to take it For example i n positio n s like the o n e we have
j ust seen (Diagram X L ) if Black plays P—K R 3 Whi te
.
,

can quietly leave his Bishop en p ri se to a Pawn because the

open Rook s fil e recompenses him a hundred fold for the
’
-

sacrificed piece But it ofte n happe n s after bei n g for several

.
,

moves en { wi se to the Pawn in full safety this piece can after

, ,

all be taken a n d the player whose sacrifice was right thr ee

moves before n ow as the position has chan ged Simply loses
, , ,

his piece It is necessary to be especially careful in such

.

positio n s .

The obj ect of threats is to hi n der the enemy s development ’

and make it Slower Omittin g simple attacks o n the pieces

.

and checks let u s s ee what is their nature

, .

First of all there is the chasing of hostile pieces which

, ,

have come too close to our camp a n d occupy importa n t squares

60 THE ESSENTIALS OF THE GAME
or otherwi se are menacingly posted There are certain com
.

plicated distant threats to win such pieces separated as they ,

are from their own forces Then there is the prevention of

.

the occupation by the enemy of important squares either ,

by occupying them with one s own pieces or by keeping them

’

u n der the threat of occupation The n the re n deri n g the

.

e n emy s moves more diffi cult by pinni n g a piece Le

’

,
.

attacki ng a piece which is u n able to move away as by so

, ,

doi n g it would expose another and a stro n ger piece to attack .

The same Obj ect is aimed at by threats against the lines on

which the enemy s pieces ar e movi n g a n d especially through
’

their closure by a Pawn or one of the weaker pieces .

A different type of threat is the attempt to compel the

enemy to post pieces on u n profitable squares where they can ,

develop only a small portion of their powers and still more ,

important to compel him to protect his weaker pieces with

,

his stro n ger by which a Rook for i n sta n ce may be reduced

, , ,

to the value of a mere Pawn Fi n ally there is the formation

.
,

Of weak points in the opponent s game which wi ll always

’

call for defence by various pi eces .

For one s own part it is co n stantly necessary to try t o

’

occupy the strongest squares to post the pieces where they

c an exercise their full force a n d have freedom of movement
to open up lines when this brings adva n tage ; and finally , ,

not to allow one s pieces to be pinned unless the threat in

’

the pin is only a fictitious one .

 CH A P TE R IV

GENE RA L REMARKS ABOUT THE OPENING

WE kn ow that every game is divided i n to three parts b egi n

n ing or ope n i n g middl e an d end
,
.

The end game is the re al isation of what was Obtai n ed in

-
-

the middle game and we shall not trouble about it now

, .

The mid dl e game is the re al game as here the fate of the,

co n test is decided a n d the rou n d of ideas i n cluded in the game

,

of chess begi ns develops and fin i sh es here

,
-
.

The open ing on the co n trary is the preparation mobili sa

, , ,

tion an d developmen t of the forces for battle It is true .

that thi s mob i li satio n is of a special kind as all the forces ,

ar e fixed b eforeh an d and can neither dimi nish nor i n creas e ;

and the mobilisation is often contemporaneous with the battle .

So the Openin g may be described as a deployme n t of the

forces for battle in sight of the e n emy .

In order to kn ow how best to Ope n we must appreciate

thoroughly all the quali ties an d characteristics of the middle
game The ope n ing is the preparatio n for this an d we can
.
,

not possibly make a good preparation if we do n ot kn ow for

what to prepare It is very strange that hitherto the middle
.

game has remai n ed unstudied The begi nn i n g a n d e n d

.

games have received thorough atte n tio n but the middle game , ,

which is the most i n teresti n g and the most difficult has not , .

Students of chess have lear n t by heart diff ere n t variatio n s

of the ope n i n g an d e n d game but have bee n left helpless i n
-
,

the mid dle game .

Thi s is explicable by the exception al diffi culty of the an al ysis

of the middle game First of all there is n o point from which
.
,

we can begi n to analyse .

62 THE OPEN IN G
The Ope n i n g has a given initi al position and the e n d ,

game bri n gs u s to Simple positio n s where a mate can take

place But how are we to deal with the middle game There
.

is n ot eve n an y classificatio n of the middle game and we ,

must begin all a n ew .

A n alysis of the open ing varies very much in different

cases an d is carried dow n to quite di fferent distances Some .

times i t proceeds right up to a mate sometimes it fi n ishes ,

whe n there are but few pieces left a n d sometimes on the ,

co n trary it fi n ishes whe n half of them are still not brough t

,

i n to action But one may reasonably hold that the stadium

.

of the opening is fi n ished where

Dia g am X LI r the development is over a n d
where i n place of th e i n itial ,

positio n equal for both the ,

Sides with u n developed pieces

,

u n able to attack the e n emy or

help each other comes a new ,

o n e with all the pieces ready

for the battle for attack a n d ,

mutual help .

We have said that the ope n i n g

can only be played correctly
whe n the middle game is u n der
Th O i g i al P i t i
e r n of stood
os
;
on
but still from what ,

p ie c es we already k n ow we ca n
, ,

make several remarks about the

ope n i n g an d the Obj ects to b e attai n ed in it .

Diagram X LI shows the Ope n i n g position on the chess

.
-

board We are familiar with those simple explanations give n

.

i n certain books on the openings speculating which to choose ,

of the 2 0 possible first moves ( I 6 with the Pawn s 4 with the ,

K n ights ) and followi n g on with contradictory statements ;

such as e g that the move P— K 4 is good because it opens
,
. .
,

diago n als for the Bishop and Queen that the Queen must ,

n ot be brought out that n ext K t—K B 3 should be played

—
,

( blocki n g the Queen s diago n al ) that ’

the obj ect ,
of K t K B 3
is the threat agai n st a Black Paw n on its K 4 that Black ,
 GENERAL REMARKS 63

has no need to protect this Pawn etc etc After what has ,
.
, .

been said i n the precedi n g pages co n ce rn i n g the elemen ts of

the game it is u n necessary for us to i n dulge i n explanations
,

of such a ki n d n or is there a n y n eed for us to speculate

,
.

We k n ow that each side must try to occupy the stro n gest

squar es which are i n the ce n tre a n d to p r eve n t the e n emy
, ,

from doi n g likewise Each must try in the Shortest time

.
, ,

to bring out all the pieces at the most profitable poi n ts The .

Ki n g must be take n away from the ce n tre a n d the Pawn s ,

with the exceptio n of the ce n tre o n es must remain i n their ,

places Each player must threate n directly or i n directly

.

(with immediate or dista n t threats) in order to hi n der the

e n emy It is n o secret for us that the ope n i n g game must
.

develop i n the ce n tre a n d as the ce n t r e o n the chessboard is

,

formed by the squares Q 4 K 4 Q 5 K 5 so the obj ect of

, , , ,

both sides is to bri n g fo r ward both the ce n tre Pawns two

squares ( It is also feasible to advan ce besides o n e centre
.
,

Pawn the Q B P as well but n ot the K B P which opens

, ,

up the castli n g positio n ) The ope n i n g battle therefo r e

.
, ,

rages rou n d these poi n ts to decide who Shall occupy the

,

ce n tral squares with his Pawns If o n e player succeeds it

.
,

does not mean that the o n e who failed is n ecessarily i n a worse

positio n provided that he obtai n ed adequate compensatio n ;
,

his game might still be quite good That is why the Spanish .

Game or Ruy Lopez may be counted as one of the best an d

most reaso n able of ope n i n gs because it keeps up the fi ght
over the ce n tre Pawn s lo n ger than all other s SO that it still ,

co n ti n ues when the Ope n i n g may b e regarded as fi n ished .

It can o n ly be so regarded when the e n emy has advan ced

two ce n tre Paw n s an d both the K n ights a n d the Bishops ,

after castli n g an d b ri n gi n g his Rook to the ce n tre .

Thus al though the open i n g is depe n de n t o n the initial

,

position of the pieces it is n ecessary even from the very

,

begi nn i n g to have an aim in view which can be ge n erally

explai n ed as a p osi ti on where a ll on e s own p i eces a re develop ed
rou nd the s tr ong cen tr e If to that we add an i n conve n ie n t
.

position of the e n emy pieces the n we come to the middle

,

game the loss or gai n of which depen ds on us

,
.
66 THE MIDDLE GAME
o n ly small events which do not exhaust all the di ffere n t
,

varieties of chess .

We must look for some i n ter n al system of classificatio n ;

and it seems to me that the followi n g wi ll prove the best :
an in ternal valuation of the positio n which reve al s advantage
, ,

disadvantage or equality an d dictates an active passive

, , , ,

or neutral game .

Thus we divide the middle game into three big groups :

( ) Positio n s i n which the advantage of an active game
.I

i s given to one side

Positions where on the contrary a passive game is
, ,

forced owi ng to certain weaknesses and

,

Equal positions which have no Special character

, .

The last group generall y precedes the two former ; but ,

as it is the most complicated for both sides a correct analysis ,

of it involvin g the k n owledge of positio n s of a more definite

character we must therefore consider it after the two former
, ,

which really are two aspects of the same position first from ,

the side of o n e player and then from that of his oppo n e n t .

We study each of those two groups i n order to learn how ,

to k eep and increase our adva n tage or how to counteract

our weaknesses and not let them increase ti ll the loss of the
game fo llows .

We accept the advantage which accompan ies the active

game because the latter without it is similar to the counter
,

attack on the part of the defence .

Each position has to be looked at from the point of View

of the three eleme n ts of force time an d Space (except in the
, ,

case of Group 3 which deals with equal positio n s) b ut as

, ,

in a practical game they are all combined we Shall very often

have to disregard two of them in order to fix our attentio n
chiefly on one By such a method of observation we S hall
.

examine all possible positions and S hall be able to make some

ge n eral deductio n s after which we shall o n ly have special
,

cases to examine which for their part will also be grouped

accordi n g to the three eleme n ts : ( I ) Space —the game o n
, ,

the wi n gs in the ce n tre in on e S own or in the enemy s camp

, ,
’ ’

the game agai n st castling o n the Ki n g s or Queen s S ide etc ’ ’

, .
 VALUATION OF THE POSITION 67

Time—attack quick or S low ; defe n ce passive or with

, ,

cou n ter attack ; man oeuvres ; S hock tactics

-
Force -
.
,

the game with di ffere n t pieces a n d their combin ations All , .

these will be the subj ect of Part III .

But before studyi n g how different positio n s must be played

, ,

we must make a ge n eral ex amination of what a player has

to do with an y position which is before him With what .

Should he begin and at what obj ect ought he to aim ?

The obj ect of each player in any position is threefold :

( ) To value the positio n a n d weigh up its stro n g a n d weak
I .

poin ts to determin e its cha racter ;

,
As a result of this
valuatio n to make a plan of the game ; and
,
To bring
this plan in to effect .

We must now occupy ourselves with those three points .

V ALUATI ON OF THE P OSITI ON

We know al ready that the
Dia g a m X LH r
valuation of positio n s must be
.

made first of all externally a n d

formally and o n ly afterwards ,

when this earlier v al uation

proves insu fficie n t intern ally ,

an d with a pe n etration i n to
their qualities Such a v alu a .

tion must never be neglected

because it inspires us with
either confide n ce a n d calm or , ,

on the other han d with

—
,

an xiety the latter being of

Black F J Ma shall
: .
use b y e n abli n g 11 8 t o avoid
r
comi n g d i saster It IS how
. .

Whi te P s Leo h a dt
. .

: . , n r , .
,

ever quite easy to make thi s ,

val uation (to cou n t pieces moves and squares) a n d it is the ,

resul t of unquestio n able facts which have in co n sequence ,

great Significa n ce .

Let us take any position such as that shown on Diagram ,

X LI I On countin g the pieces we se e that White has an

.
68 THE MIDDLE GAME
extra Pawn t e has made a gain in force We c an further
,
. . .

easily s ee that White has gai n ed also in space because his ,

Pawns stan d on Q 5 and B 4 a n d the Queen on Q 4 while , ,

Black has all his pieces posted on three ranks Finally on .

,

counti n g the moves necessary to attain the presen t position ,

we give White 8 moves and Black 7 which means that White ,

has gained also i n time Thus White has made gains in all .

three elements .

The game of chess however is seldom seen so clearly , , .

The eleme n ts very often contradict one another a n d gain ,

in one is freque n tly counteracted by loss in the other Here .

,

Dia g am X L III
r . Dia g am X L I V
r .

B la ck : Tei ch ma n
R n . Bla ck : J McConn ell
White : B Ve g ani White : P M o phy
. . .

. r . . r .

for instance we have an other position (Diagr am

,

where the two Sides have an equal number of pieces As .

regards Space Black has u n doubtedly gained than ks to hi s

, ,

advanced Pawns on K 5 and B 4 and the Knight on K 4 .

White has o n ly o n e Pawn on the fourth rank (B all hi s

other men bei n g crowded together on the first three ran ks .

If we cou n t the moves we Shall see that Wh ite has m ade ,

I 4 while Black has made I I Thus White has gai n ed three .

moves H ere we must weigh up gai n s a n d losses i n the di ffe r

.

e n t eleme n ts an d thus come to an analysis of the quality of

the position We form our j udgment easily in cases wh ere
.
 VALUATION OF THE POSITION 69

al l the elemen ts are fou n d in agreement but where o n the ,

co n trary these eleme n ts are i n co n tradiction we can not rely

, ,

on extern al j udgme n t nor be satisfied with it It is how .

,

ever possible to give examples where the gain even in all

, ,

three elements does not prove a real advantage Such is

,
.

the position on Diagram X LI V Let us count the pieces . .

White has 2 Pawns fewer an d even if he can wi n back o n e

,

Pawn he would still have o n e less Black has also more

,
.

Space than ks to the Paw n s o n the Kin g s wi n g which have ’

, ,

advanced i n o n e case to the Sixth rank This advantage .

would be compe n sated by the posti n g of one White Pawn

on K 5 (after taki n g Black s Pawn ) Finall y Black h as made
’
.
,

I 4 moves a n d White o n ly I O Le the former has gain ed 4

, .

moves Yet i n spite of the gain in all elements Black w as

.
,

defeated after very few moves .

From this it foll ows that even with a fu ll agreement of

,

all elements one cann ot rely too much on such an external

,

j udgme n t of position .

On what can we build an i n tern al v al uation of quality ?

IS it some curious unaccou n table instinct P osi ti onsgefnhl ,

as the German s call it or can we make certai n deductio n s

founded o n Obj ective facts ? Undoubtedl y such an instin ct
plays a great part and its sig n ifican ce is Shown both in the
,

j udgme n t of position and also in the worki n g out and reali sa

tio n of pla n s .

The more difficult the position is the deeper are the char ,

act eri s t i c features the less n oticeable are superiority an d

,

inferiority an d the gr eater is its meanin g It is possible to .

say that this i n sti n ct shows itself in the guess i n g of the qual i

ties of a positio n before they are visible If a player is less .

gifted he does n ot realise and does n ot accou n t for them but

, ,

very often n otices them later on whe n their results are

immi n ent Therefore this insti n ct helps to the discovery of
.

the true path in the game an d is more dan gerous to the oppo
ne n t because he does not understand all the peculiari ties of
,

the position a n d does not se e the menace The real facts .

,

however also play a very great part S i n ce chess being an

, , ,

imperso n al game cannot be reduced merely to a matter of

,
70 THE MIDDLE GAME
gu esses AS the i n stin ct guesses the hidde n peculi arities of
.

the position it i s im possible to co n clude that those peculi

,

a ri ti e s do n ot exi st They have n ot yet clearly Shown them

.

selves and therefore to discover them we must apply finer

, , ,

a n d more flexible me an s than the form al criteria which we

have used till n ow .

We must fir st of all use all our kn owledge of the eleme n ts

of chess of their chan ges a n d i n terdependence and the n
, ,

we shal l see everyt h in g i n quite a differe n t light C o n sequently .

perhaps a gain wi ll sometimes appear an indisputable loss .

Let u S turn again to Diagr am X LI I I where White s gai n .

,
’

i n time could not prevent a doubt as regards the rightness

of our method so great an d visible is Black s adva n tage
,
’
.

Let us see whether this gai n i n time really exists .

First of all White has twice moved Pawn s o n the passive

Quee n s wi n g He has made a move P—K R 3 which does n ot
’

.
,

develop hi s game Fi n ally he has adva n ced his ce n tre Pawn

.

o n e square o nl y (Le by SO doi n g lost o n e move ) a n d failed

.
, ,

to obtain co n trol of the centre squares Such is his Pawn .

position With regard to the pieces the case is no better

. .

The K n ight took two moves in order to occupy its post o n

the weakest li n e the Bl ack Bishop made two moves i n order
to occupy the diagonal which it could have taken i n one move
and acts as no stro n ger than a Pawn to preve n t the loss of
the Excha n ge And the Quee n moved once not o n ly to
.
,

become more active but eve n to put herself in a position of

all but absolute stalemate So it is very ofte n enough to .

spend only an extra minute in order to j udge the positio n

ri ghtly What we have j ust do n e ca n not eve n be called a n
.

i n ternal valuatio n of the quality of the position because we ,

sti ll j udged externally but did so more attentively We .

cannot however stop there because such an analysis will

, , ,

give us o n ly a general u n dersta n ding about the positio n a n d

its stro n g points But for the game we must have an exact
.

u n dersta n di n g of all the properties of the position a n d of ,

all its strong a n d weak poi n ts AS a dim position i n sti n ct .

is not e n ough for right j udgme n t still worse is j udgme n t ,

by such shallow facts which gi ve o n ly a very general and ,

 V ALUATION OF THE POSITION 7x

u n satisfactory u n derstandi n g of the positio n What we called

.

the seco n d step in the valuatio n of positio n must be made with

great detail an d exact n ess after which it will be quite easy
to pass to the third decisive step ; the most characteristic
an d in divi dual determi n atio n of the give n position .

Let us take for example the fo llowi n g positio n ( Diagram

Mere external an alysis of this position Shows us
equality of pieces equality of space (the Pawn s o n K 5 an d
,

Q 5 cou n teract each other a n d the Bishop o n B 4 has n o

importa n ce acti n g no mo r e than the r Ole Of a Pawn ) an d
gives a small advantage to White o n ly i n time—j ust o n e move
,

A n i n tern al an alysis of this

Diag am X L V
r . positio n however will value
, ,

it quite di fferently and will

Show the greater advantage Of

White .

It first strikes th e e ye that ,

,

while Whi te has all his pieces

in the game Black has two
,

pieces (B an d R ) n ot p arti ci p a t
i n g If the Bishop ca n easily
.

be moved after the removal

of the K n ight o n Q 2 it is ,

not obvious how the Rook can

come i n to actio n a n d eve n if
viii II:gfi fi
I
figk
’ g
a e
it should co m e i n it ca n,
o n ly
do SO very late an d o n the
ope n ed Q B fil es already occupied by the e n em y .

The position of the other pieces is also disadvantageous for

Black The seco n d Rook is blocked by the White Pawn
.

which has advanced to the fifth ran k an d leaves it too small

a field of operatio n . The Black Bishop o n ly protects the
Pawn o n Q 5 a n d h as n o diago n al The Quee n is n early
.

stalemated because her diago n al to K R 5 is all u n der co n trol

,

of the e n emy ; the diago n al to Q R 4 is closed by her own

Bishop and the Quee n s file o n ly Offer s o n e squar e at Q 4
,
’

from which she can be easily driven away by the Bishop (at
B 4 or K 4) without the possibility of occupyi n g a n y other
72 THE M IDDLE GAME
profitable square AS regards the K n ights o n e of them is
.
,

beautifully placed o n the best square B 3 ; it m oves freely

i n all directio n s and combin es the protection of its own Pawn
at Q 5 with attack on the e n emy s Pawn on K 4 The o n ly ’
.

disadvantage for this Knight is that the enemy has such

an other also placed on B 3 having the same freedom of action
, ,

a n d also combin in g attack an d defe n ce of the same Pawns

( its own o n K 5 and the hostile one on Q We may add
that the latter Knight is better placed th an Black s because ’

it is posted on the Kin g s win g which is in this position the

’

more important .

The position of the other Black Kn ight is not SO good .

First of all i t blocks the Bishop and Quee n Besides it is .

deprived of a ll squares to move to —especially of K B 3

except K B I and the negligible Q Kt I ; an d by moving
it temporarily diverts attack from White s K P ’
.

All White s pieces on the contrary are well pla c ed Both

’

, , .

the Rooks occupy lo n g Open fil es One of them supports its .

own Paw n o n K 5 which is far advanced Le it occupies one

, ,
.

of the best positio n s for the Rook The Knights are also .

well placed About that on K B 3 we have already S poken

. .

The other it is true occupies a bad square at Q Kt 3 b ut

, , ,

i n the actual position it plays a big part because from here

it attacks a stro n g hostile passed Pawn and deprives the
e n emy s pieces of the squares Q R 4 a n d Q B 4 which might
’

be useful to him first in order to divert the Bishop and

, ,

secondly in order to develop the K n ight on Q 2 Especiall y

, .

good is the position of the Bishops One at Q 3 has full .

possessio n of two lo n g diago n als The other at K B 4 has .

o n e diago n al closed by its ow n stro n g Pawn on K 5 which ,

it supports but i tS i n fluence is felt alo n g the whole diagonal

,

beyo n d the Pawn as can be easily proved by imagin i n g the

e n emy to play Q —B 2 The Queen s rOle is at prese n t passive ;
,

’
.

but we must n ot forget that Sh e occupies the third file of the

ce n t re with a n attack o n the Pawn at Q 4 a n d may a n y
,

mome n t use both her diago n als to Q R 4 a n d K R 5 as n ot , ,

a Si n gle square on these diago n als is u n der co n trol b y

74 THE MIDD L E GAME
positio n in fro n t both its diago n als remai n i n g open to it an d
,

the file which it blocks bei n g of n o value to it

, , .

There is a n o ther small di ffere n ce betwee n those two Paw n s .

White s is n ear er to the Ki n g s wi n g an d Black s to the Quee n s

’ ’ ’ ’

an d in this se n se their importan ce depe n ds on the import

an ce of those two wi n gs Thus White s great adv an tage is .
’

quite beyo n d doubt I n disputable obj ective facts prove it

. .

If however we Should desire to map out the li n e of our game

, ,

with regard to the foregoi n g a n alysis we Should get i n to ,

di fficulties It is true that the White pieces are beautifully

.

developed a n d they certai n ly occupy or threate n the most

,

im portant squares ; but what

Diag am X LV r is to be done with them n ow
.

How ar e we to begi n to make

use of the p r ese n t situatio n ?
Agai n the Blac k pieces which ,

are n ot so well placed have ,

n o i n flue n ce over the most

importan t squares What .

must they do ? How must

Black begi n ?
Our di fficulty arises because
we have n ot said a word about
the character of the positio n ,

and that alone can determi n e

Bla c k H S h ti g .
uc n
the ll Il GS Of the game If the
’

White R Ch k . a r o u se .
.

foregoi n g an alysis gives us

the right to speak about the adva n tages of o n e oppo n e n t an d
about his activity s o the pla n of the game can be built up
,

o n ly after knowing the character of the positio n its i n ternal ,

qualities and pecu liarities an d the interdepe n dence of all

the pieces .

I n like mann er a further study Of the positio n o n Diagram

X L V will u n obtrusively mark for us also the pla n of the
.

game and the way of its realisation We Shall Speak of it .

later o n givi n g o n ly a Short accou n t n ow but payi n g all

, ,

atte n tio n to the valuatio n of the quality an d the character

of our positio n ( Diagram
 VAL UATION OF THE POSITION 75

The character of every position is see n more clearly through

the di ffer e n ces existi n g betwee n the relative positio n s of the
two Si des a n d therefo re a fter we have grasped our own a n d
, ,

the e n emy s stro n g an d weak poi n ts we must u n dersta n d

’

clearly the features which disti n guish o n e positio n from the

other That at o n ce gives us a n idea about the possibilities
.

for each Side a n d thei r threats agai n st each other .

The differ ences betwee n the rival positio n s o n the Diagram

may be easily n oted first of all a differe n t Situatio n of the ,

two ce n t r e Pawn s ; the n o n participatio n i n the game of -

two Black pieces (Bishop a n d Rook) while all the others are ,

badly placed an d fi n ally the abse n ce of Black pieces o n the

Ki n g s wi n g We have already Spoke n about the White an d
’
.

Black ce n tre Pawn s a n d we k n ow that the latter is already

a passed Pawn while the White Pawn s file is checked by
,
’

Black s K B P
’
O n reachi n g the e n d game the Black Pawn -

may become ver y st ro n g but at the mome n t both Pawn s are

,

pra c tically isolated C an o n e of them be wo n Black s Pawn

.
’

is protected t w ice a n d attacked the same n u mber of ti mes .

If White attacks it agai n for i n stan ce by taki n g away the

, ,

Bishop from Q 3 the n Black by removi n g the K n ight from

, ,

Q 2 to B I will protect the Pawn with the Quee n an d after , ,

the developmen t of his White Bishop on Kt 5 will threaten ,

to pi n Wh ite s attacki n g K n ight ; an d the n after movi n g

’

the K n ight agai n from B I to K 3 Black c an o n ce more p r otec t

the Pawn .

But White at the sa e time is able with

m ,
B — Q Kt 5 to , ,

direct the Bishop agai n st the pieces protecti n g the Pawn .

Through this the abse n ce of the two Black pieces is clearly

S hown an d also the bad p ositio n of all Black s pieces While ’
.

all White s pieces are attacki n g Black is u n able to b ri n g up

’

e n ough pieces for the defe n ce He has n o time for that . .

C o n seque n tly we may deduce that the more adva n tages on e

has the more e n ergetically a n d quickly must the attack b e
made .

White can thus at o n ce cha n ge his advan tage of positio n

i n to a material one with o n e surplus Pawn leavi n g the enemy
, , ,

however wi th two Bishops

,
.
76 THE MIDDLE GAME
Let u S see whether Black can gai n after wi nn ing White s ’

c e n tral Paw n For that purpose a n other piece must be

.

thrown forwar d to the attack and the enemy s pieces which ’

protect it must be got rid of .

The former can n ot be done S ince the Pawn is attacked ,

already by two Knights and a Rook and the Bishop c an n ot ,

leave the defence of the Pawn on Q 5 So the se c ond way .

must be chosen .

I t is impossible to attack through moves of the K ing s ’ “

S ide Pawns the hostile pieces protecting the Pawn b ecause

, ,

i n that case the positio n of the Black King would be destroyed .

The obj ect moreover would n ot be attai n ed as it is enough

, ,

for White to make one move P—K R 3 in order to pre , ,

vent the attack of the Pawns So it is necessary to pin the .

K n ight standi n g on B 3 by the Bishop which is not yet de

,

v e lop e d ; Le first move the K n ight from Q 2 to B I then

.
, ,

pi n the K n ight by B —K Kt 5 and then with the move K t ,

K t 3 attack the Pawn o n ce more That will take three .

moves an d White has more than enough time to protect

,

himself agai n st this threat possibly b y the move P— K R 3

,
.

Black thus has no chance to win the Pawn and must con
seque n tly think how to complete his ow n developme n t first ,

by advanci n g the Bishop from B I to do which he must play

If he man ages to play these three moves —to
,

K t —B I .

bri n g out the Bishop a n d to take the K n ight from Q 2 through

B I to K 3 or Kt 3—then his position will be much improved ,

because all his pieces will be out the Q P will be protected , ,

a n d he will be able to attack White s K P and the pieces pro ’

teeti n g it .

J ust for a very Short time White has an advantage which ,

if he does n ot press it will quickly disappear This Shows

,
.

that even in such excellent positions it is impossible to wait

to realise o n e s own pla n s or to postpone them They must
’
.

be energetically realised and without delay .

What other possibilities has White through the character

o f the positio n on the Diagram ? Firstly the possibility of ,

posti n g some piece on Q 6 the square which is protected by

,

the Pawn o n K 5 a n d cann ot be attacked by a hostile Pawn .

 VALUATION OF THE POSITION 77

(This we remember is the differe n ce i n the positions Of the

, ,

Pawn s o n K 5 and Q Which piece can be posted o n this

square ? C learly o n ly a Knight Because the K n ight o n .

B 3 must protect the K P therefore it is the other Knight ,

which must be used for this obj ect But if we move that .

K n ight we do n ot threaten the enemy in any way a n d thus

,

allow him time to protect himself Besides by a move of .

,

the Q Kt we check our attack on the Pawn at Q 4 an d on the

,

points R 5 and B 5 an d this relief the e n emy may utilise

, .

It is not essential to go into detail j ust now to exami n e all ,

the variatio n s it is e n ough to Show that by the move B — R 4

Black can preve n t the K n ight (after Q K t—Q 2 ) from goi n g
to Q 6 That move is also impossible after such other moves
.

as K t—B I or K t—B 4 a n d SO o n What does this mea n ?

,
.

Either that the obj ect is n ot important e n ough or that the

way which leads to it does n ot threaten e n ough and thus
leaves the e n emy too great a choice of moves And we know .

that deterioration in a position is characterised also by a

limitation i n the choice of moves which may fi n ally become ,

quite fo rced This example further very clearly shows how

.

importan t threats are especially in a position such as that

give n where Black is playing without two pieces It is
,
.

n ecessary to profit by that circumstance promptly as delay ,

wi ll allow Black to bri n g the undeveloped pieces in to the

game But we noticed an other circumstance in this position
.

the absence of Black pieces on the K i ng s wi n g while White ’

has two pieces (Bishop and Knight ) o n this side The second .

Bishop also strikes at this flank and the cen tre Pawn plays ,

no small r ole by takin g away the n atural p r otecting square

of the Knight K B 3—which as we see makes the difference
, , ,

between the positions of White s central Pawn on the ’

Ki n g s file and Black s o n the Queen s file

’ ’ ’
.

If however Wh ite acts promptly and at o n ce falls on this

, ,

wi n g without waiti n g till it is protected b y the K n ight on

K B I sacrifici n g the Bishop by B >< P ch then the mobility
, ,

which we have won is in vain a n d unreal if it does n ot lead

to certain material gain For example I B >< P ch K >< B 2
K t—K t 5 ch K —K t 3 (more dan gerous seems K —K t I
.
,

, 3 Q
78 THE MIDDLE GAME
K t x P ,etc ) —
’

R 5 ,
Kt B I ; 4 Q >< P ch or .
3 3 ch PQ Q ,

B 4; 4 P >< P e p ch .
,
K x P ; 5 K t— R 7 eh K — B 2 ; 6 Q
,

B 4 e h ( if 6 K t — K t 5ch K —B ,
K—K t 3 ; 7 Q Q 3 -

ch a n d SO on
, .

This result is explai n ed by the fact that though Blac k has

not a si n gle piece o n the Ki n g s side still the positio n of his ’

Pawns her e is quite good while Wh ite by sacrifici n g his Bishop ,

gives away his most importan t attacki n g piece and is after

wards obliged to co n ti n ue the attack o n ly with Queen a n d
Knight (Even the seco n d Bishop has a slight part in it )
. .

Probably those forces are too small for the breaki n g up of

the castled Ki n g s not yet weake n ed positio n ’
.

Next arises a questio n is it possible to attack this flank ,

without s a crifici n g the Bishop or to try to weaken the posi

tio n of the Pawns ? If White play for i n stan ce B —K t I , , ,

in order afterwards to move Q — Q 3 he will fail to weaken ,

the position of the Paw n s because Black will at once play

K t—
,

B I a n d will protect the Ki n g well Thus for the success .

,

of such a n idea also it i s n ecessary to threate n an d it is

, , ,

impossible to make a slow preparatory move That is an other .

rule regardi n g positio n s where there is a gain i n time .

If it is impossible to make preparatory moves or to sacrifice

the Bishop the n White has o n ly o n e possible move that is
, ,

K t — K t 5 directly threatening the R P and by the next move

, ,

—R
Q 5 threatening on c e again to take this and ope n i n g an
,

attack on the B P If Black begins to protect himself through

.

the Paw n s e g by adva n ci n g P—K R 3 or P—K t 3 the n

,
. .
, ,

White will so weaken Black s position that the latter s game ’ ’

will at once break up In the first case White will play

—
.

simply 2 K t P tK ; 3 B B 4 ch K — B I ; 5Q
— B 3;
in the second case 2 P—K 6 P X P ; 3 K t >< K P
, ,

.
, ,

In event of the natural defensive move K t — B I White

will play 2 Q —R 5 P—K t 3 ; 3 Q —R 6 with the threats
, ,

— — — —
, ,

—
K t K 4 a n d K t B 6 ch or K t Q 6 or again B K t 5 B 6 , ,

win n i n g without di fficulty in all cases .

We said however that the Kt at B 3 cannot go away b e

, ,

cause by so doi n g the K P is lost Cannot Black now take

, ,
.

thi s Paw n ? Of course White c o u ld then take R P in

 VALUATION OF THE POSITION 79

exchan ge for i t—but though he would thereby weake n Black s

,
’

castled positio n the R P would not compen sate for the loss
,

of the ce n tral Pawn Therefore after . K t >< P White

must co n ti n ue the attack : 2 Q —R 5 threate n i n g Q X P ch ,

an d more e n ergetically B >< P ch Bt an d Q >< B P mate ,

.

A n d Black is obliged to play P—K R 3 Then 3 B —R 7 ch .

,

— —
K B I (if K R I the n 4 K t >< P ch K t t ; 5 B — K t 6)
—
, ,

4 B K 4 Black now
. ma n ages to bri n g out his Q B late in ,

the day with ,

— Kt 5 —
But after 5 Q R 4 White s .
’

threats are too stro n g In the actual game they resulted in

.

the wi n of a Pawn for White .

We have n ow mad e out the character of the positio n a n d ,

also the two li n es Of play which both lead to the wi nn i n g of

a Pawn O n e of these li n es is based o n the weak n ess of
.

Black s ce n tre Paw n due to his pieces bei n g undeveloped

’

, ,

the other o n the u n protected situatio n of the Ki n g s wi n g ’

.

We see however that this wi n g eve n without pieces can

, , , ,

well withstan d attack an d tha t Black eve n succeeds in de

v e lopin g his pieces The reaso n is because the Pawn s o n this
.

wing ca n meet the co n cen t r ated assault of three pieces The .

attack led to the gain of a Paw n but it was possible to wi n

the Pawn Simply by att ackin g it as was Shown before ,
.

That result was more decisive in that it made Black s ’

developmen t more di fficult White s combi n ation the n began .

’

by a pin n ing of pieces the attack o n the Ki n g s wi n g began ’

by freein g hostile pieces But we Shall n ot e n ter i n to details

.

now as to which of the two ways we ought to choose We .

are occupied at present n ot with the plan an d its carryi ng ,

out but with the valuatio n of the position It seems to me

, .

that the examples which have bee n adduced expl ai n quite

clearly ho w to co n duct this valuatio n an d that it estab lishes ,

the basis for the plan of play Further the last example .

demonstrated how disast r ous are combi n atio n s which are

either too Slow or too fast The temp o of the game must .

depend entirely on the magn itude of the advantages accruin g .

We may now proceed to discuss the building up of the

pl an of the game an d its realisation entering into a more ,

detailed estimate of the position .

80 THE MIDD L E GAME

C ONSTRU CTI ON AND EX E C UTION OF THE P LAN

Although the pla n of the game does not appear with all ,

its i n di vidual features at once or at any particular moment

, ,

but gr ows unnoticed from the first move and even after ,

assuming a certain character o n ly reveals itself little b y ,

little as the game develops finally however it takes shape , , ,

in every game Positions could be Sho wn where the plan

.

of the game to come might be an d i ndeed must be mapped , ,

out with more or less certainty .

I n practice it is useful for each player from time to time , ,

to make a general summi n g up of the position and to test

his own game In this way he can shake himself free from
.

the pressi n g i n fluence of moves that have been made through

force of circumstance and devote all his atte n tion to the
obj ect which he has in V iew The well known fact that the .
-

looker on sees most of the g ame arises not o n ly from his

-

lac k of exciteme n t and impartial point of view but also from ,

his being u n affected by stro n g or weak moves which have

been made previously so that he can consider more clearly
,

any given position and its possibilities .

But it would of course be incorrect to thin k that in mak ing

, ,

a plan one can foresee all the possibilities the game of chess
bei n g so deep that no intelligence can grasp it completely .

It is important to mark the general direction of the game

and to guess the c hief counter moves which the enemy can -

make If the plan is sound and rightly executed then all

.
,

the obstacles set up by the enemy will be overcome and the

plan wi ll not su ffer but will attain its obj ect
,
.

If however the obj ect is n ot followed exactly it does not

, , ,

very much matter for it may happen that the game while
, ,

developi n g reveals other no less important obj ects ; and

, ,

finally while the game is a struggle in which it is necessary

,

to have great obj ects in V iew o n e sometimes has to put up ,

with small gains tryi n g o n ly not to have gain turned into loss
,
.

Every plan as we have seen is based on a j udgment of

, ,

the position on a determination of its character and its strong

,
82 THE MIDDLE GAME
AS regards space Black has advan ced the Pawn s o n th e
,

Queen s wi n g but White has a ce n t r al Pawn on the four t h

’

ra n k while Black s is only on the third It is true that this

,
’
.

advantage is very sm all indeed in the diagrammed position ,

it is not even an adva n tage because it would n ot be profitable

,

for Black to have his Pawn also on the fourth rank as the n ,

White could post a K n ight very profitably on Q 5 (a n d on

K B seriously threate n i n g the hostile position But n ow .

if Black should play P— Q Kt 5 the Whi te K n ight at B 3 ,

would have n owher e to go This K n ight therefore in spite

.
, ,

of standin g o n the best square for a K n ight would appe ar ,

to be badly placed .

It is curious also to notice that though the White Pawn ,

sta n ds o n the fourth ra n k i n the ce n tre a n d the Black one o n ly

on the thi r d a n d though White has o n e piece more tha n Black
in the great ce n tral square (i n cludi n g the t hi rd a n d Sixth
ran ks and the Bishop s files) and commands the two central
’

fil es still Black threatens more ce n tre squares than White

,
.

Without threats from Black there are only four squares ,

without threats from White fiv e squares .

There are probably some peculiarities i n the position which

it is very impo rtant n ot to miss The situatio n of the pieces .

is really in favour of Black All his pieces are beautifull y

.

placed occupyi n g the best squares and connected with o n e

,

an other Both the Bishops command lo n g free diagonals

.
,

while o n e threatens the enemy s ce n tre Pawn The K n ight ’

.

occupies one of the best squares threatening the centre Pawn ,

.

In the event of the Pawn attacki n g him a beautiful square

is Ope n to him at Q 4 He stands much better than the
.

opposing Knight at Q B 3 which does not threaten a n ythi n g

, ,

but merely protects the Pawn on K 4 a n d if he is attacked

has n owhere to retreat .

The Black Queen holds a good open file ( Q B ) a n d has also

freedom on her lo n g diago n al while the White Quee n is tied
,

down to the defence of the K P and does not command a

sin gle li n e .

It is true that the Bl a ck Rooks are n ot yet i n the game ;

but they are connected a n d n o thi n g ca n hi n der them from
,
CONSTRU C TION AND E X E C UTION OF THE PLAN 83

seizin g the ce n tre files i n the n ext two moves Mean while .
,

White has o n e Rook blocked by the Bishop and the other ,

though occupyi n g an ope n file is quite u n natural ly placed ,

o n the thir d ran k .

Especi al ly badly placed however are the fo llowi ng White

pieces : the Bishop which has n o good outlet—on K 3 he
, ,

deprives the cen tre Pawn of the p rotection by the Queen ,

a n d on his natural square Kt 5 he can n ot move because that

would be foll owed by K t >< P K t >< K t (B X B K t X K t) ,

B x Kt B >< B B x R—and both the K n igh ts the one stand

, ,

i n g o n B 3 o n accou n t of the lack of a free square and the

, ,

threat of the Pawn on Kt 5 the other stan di n g on Kt 3 ,

on acco unt of the weakn ess of t hi s squar e from which he can ,

o n ly go back to when ce he came o n K B 3 through Q 4 or Q 2 , .

Obviously then it is thi s K n ight s developme n t which is ’

quite u nn ecessary an d al so the premature adva n ce of the

,

Rook whi ch have give n Whi te a formal gain in time which

, ,

in fact is re al ly a loss .

But it is n ecessary to n ote al so the position of the White

Pawn on K 4 Tho ugh a stro n g Pawn because protected
.

twice it is al so a weak o n e because it is attacked twice and

, ,

after the execution of Black s threat P— K t 5 would be lost ’

, , .

Ca n it be protected by P—B 3 Then would follow P—K t 5

K t —Q I P—Q R 4 with the threats B —R 3 and P R 5
,

an d White would be e n tirely hem m ed in Besides we must .

,

n ot forget the di agonal which is ope n ed for Black Q R 2 ,

K Kt 8 and the square K B 5 for the K n ight

, .

Thus i n this Pawn which disti n guishes White s positio n

, ,
’

from Black s is comprised the character of the situation on

’

the diagram A n d we see that the character of the positio n

.

dictates a defen sive game for White the advantage bein g on ,

the Side of Black .

This is manifested first of all in Black s threat to wi n Wh ite s ’ ’

centre Pawn by the move P— K t 5 but n ot less important

is the disadva n tageous position of the Wh ite pieces though ,

in that positio n there are n o weak poin ts yet .

So White h as both a special obj ect — to save the centre

P awn ; and a ge n eral one—t o develo p and post his badly
84 THE M IDDLE GAME
placed pieces on better squares If Wh ite makes too passive .

a defence Black wi ll stre n gthen his position more an d con

,

t inn e more developed than Wh ite We have already seen

t o what the move P—B 3 led
.

St ill worse would be the

result from P—Q R 3 (to stop Black s P—K t
.

because ’

White would then con n ive at the loss of his centre Pawn in
exchange for Black s wi n g Pawn after P—Q R 4 Kt x Kt P
’

, ,

Q — K t —
3 not to mention i n connection wi th this move the
, ,

weakn ess of the po i n t Q B 4 which the Black K n ight could

,

occupy wi thout hindrance O n the preceding facts White s

.
’

plan must be based Probably he has n o other mean s of

.

protecti n g the K P except by advan ci n g it By that it es .

capes the threats Oi two pieces and it is n ot easy to direct ,

two threats against it agai n By the advance however the .

, ,

diagonal of the Black Bishop o n Q Kt 2 is at once Opened ,

with a threat agai n st the K Kt P which Black can at once ,

attack twice by playi n g the Queen to B 3 If White after .

e d s seeks protection for the centre Pawn by the move

—
P B 4 first of all he will open a second diagonal for a Bishop
, ,

Q R 7
— K Kt I and secondly
,
he will give the opportu n ity ,

to Black to make a stro n g attack on the Ki n g s wi n g and to ’

dest r oy the White centre Paw n s positio n by P—B 3 and ’

P —K t 4 .

So instead of the pro b lem how to protect the Pawn on

,

K 4 we have the problem how to protect the Pawn on K Kt 2

,
.

In order to solve this we must use the piece which stands

for the moment idle a n d does not occupy a profitable position ,

vi a ,
the Rook on Q 3 That is a general rule : If a piece is
.

posted badly befo r e taking it away or retreati n g it is n ecessary

, ,

to see if it would be possible to use it as it stands in some

other combination .

Thus the Rook on Q 3 b y its move R—K Kt 3 ca n protect

,

the K Kt P and also ope n a n attack on the enemy s K Kt P ’

threateni n g to bri n g out the u n developed Bishop without

loss of time playi n g B —R 6 or even B —K t 5 with a V ie w
, ,

to exchange We see herein the i n terdepende n ce of all the

.

moves in chess : When White advanced the Rook to Q 3 he

probably had in V iew its movement to K Kt 3 .
C ONSTRU C TION AND E X E C UTION O F T H E P L AN 85

And so if White plays I P —K 5

,
then follows Kt —Q 4;
2 R—K t 3
If Black forestalli n g the threats B —R 6 and Q —K t 4
.

plays at o n ce P—K t 3 he not only does not preve n t the

, ,

Bishops from goin g with threats to R 6 or Kt 5 but al so gives ,

the White K n ight a beautiful square o n B 6 Further White .

,

will al so bri n g out his seco n d undeveloped Rook playi ng

‘

B —R 6 a n d after the r et r eat of Black s Rook K t X K t

’

, , ,

Bt ; R B I Then his development wi ll be complete

.
,

and the same result wi ll fo llow if Black immedi ately takes

the Rook from B I in order to protect himself afterwards
by B —K B I .

Thus Black for his part is compelled to play

, ,

By that he first of all postpo n es the threat again st his K Kt

P because the Rook will be obliged to retake the K n ight
,

Rt Mo reover the Black Queen will now be able to

occupy the diago n al s R I —K t 7 in fro n t of the Bishop at
.
,

Kt 2 whi le by not ch an gi ng the K n ights but givin g White ,

the possib ili ty of doin g so the Bishop w as bound to re ,

capture and so fou n d itself in front of the Queen .

The attacked Queen is obli ged to leave the Bishop s fil e ’

goes on to the open Quee n s fil e a n d by Q —Q 4 threa tens to ’

, ,

attack again the Pawn s on K Kt 2 and K 5 .

After makin g the moves : 3 R X K t —

Q Q 2 , ,

the t hreats of Black an d the obj ects of White remain n early

the same as they were White s ce n tre Pawn is removed from
.
’

danger but his Bishop is still undeveloped Therefore it is

natural for Wh ite to play again 4 R—K t 3 with threats as
.
,

before but n ow still stro n ger again st the K Kt P—because

,

, ,

now the Queen might attack it without hi n drance from , ,

Kt 4 as she is not ob liged to protect the Pawn o n K 5 which

, ,

is n ot attacked by the hostile Quee n From this it fo llows

that the Black cannot now avoid the move P—K t 3 which
.

h as not its former weakness the White Knight whi ch might ,

have go n e to B 6 havin g been exchanged Black therefore .

first moves away the Rook R—Q I ( al so threatening

—
Q Q 8 ch ) a n d after 5 B —R 6 plays
, P— Kt 3 Wh ite h as ,
.

got what he wanted He has brought out the Bishop res cued
.
,
86 THE MIDDLE GAME
the centre Pawn from the threat an d compe lled the enemy
to move P—K t 3
,

Still his development is not finished because his seco n d

Rook is not yet i n the game a n d what is more importa n t , , ,

his K n ight is badly placed So his next obj ect is to put that .

in a better place .

H e has a choice First of all he may play it through Q 2

. .

But then Black profits by the fact that White does not threaten
a n ythi n g He answers
. R B I with a threat of R—B 7
— ,

a n d on 7 Kt B if
3 ( 7 K t— K 4 B X K t ; 8 QX B —
Q Q 8 ch ; , ,

9 Q
— K I Q — B 7) B t ,
8 R X B —
Q Q 5 co n ce n trati n g , ,

the attack of all his pieces on the K P while White can n ot

use the Bishop for protection and if 7 P—B 4 then the Bishop
,

wi ll b e cut off entirely .

It is therefore n ecessary to remember again what we said

, ,

before about the bri n gi n g of badly placed pieces to better

positions Such a movement must be made with a threat
. .

Fi rst there is the threat to put the Knight on B 5 or Q 4 .

F or one or the other we must make the move 6 B —K 3 by ,

which means the Bishop which was out of the game is brought, ,

into it .

L et u s see if the position of the K n ight on those squares

has a n y importa n ce We kn ow that o n B 5 the K n ight stands
very well especially in the prese n t position where he attacks
,

the strong Bishop on Kt 7 and the Pawn o n R 6 If he is

reinforced by P—Q Kt 4 he will inconveni ence the enemy s
.

whole game especially the Black Bishop If the latter

,
.

captures then Bishops of opposite colours remain by which

, ,

the game will be brought to a draw if White does not wi n ,

it by using the strong position of his Paw n on K 5 which ,

will allow him to place his own Bishop o n Q 6 or K B 6 where ,

he will have n o oppo n e n t after Black s K B has bee n exchanged ’

off . But also the K n ight does not stand badly on Q 4 because
n ot only does he th r eaten to move to B 3 but also through
B 2 —K 3—K t 4 to K B 6 or K R 6 with check
, ,

.
, ,

In like mann er Black is obliged to prevent the K n ight from

occupyi n g a n y of those squa res ; a n d he plays —Q 4
But thereby he allows 7 K t—R 5 which White could n ot d o
.

,
CONSTRU C TION AN D E X E C UTION OF THE PLAN 87

before as Black would the n reply B Q 4 Now the Bishop

,
-
.

cann ot move a n d the K n ight (which was badly placed o n

,

Kt 3) is exchanged for the well placed Bishop the co n ti n ua ,

tion bei n g R—B I ; 8 K t Qt But at a n y

,
.

rate Black has avoided Bishops of opposite colours .

If we look at the prese n t positio n (Diagram eight

moves later tha n the precedi n g o n e we Shall see n ot White , ,

with o n e extra move but Black wi th two extra moves That

,
.

is the result of the bad position of the K n ight From K Kt I .

he made three moves i n order to arrive at Q Kt 3 a n d from

here two more moves to be excha n ged for the Bishop which ,

only made o n e move !

Dia g am X L V I I
r Black s advantage is indis
.
’

pu t ab le ; but White has held his

own All his pieces are de
.

v e l op e d an d it will o n ly be
,

necessar y to make a special

e ffort i n order to remove Rook
from K Kt 3 where it n ow has ,

no obj ect as it is n ot obliged ,

either to protect the Kt P or

to attack the enemy s Ki n g ’
.

But we sh all now leave this

positio n which approaches the
en d—
,

game our obj ect havi ng

J R C ap ab la c a
,
Bl k
ac
.
n
Whi g D E Las ke bee n to Show how the plan
i ’ ’

, r. . r .

must be co n structed .

Undoubtedly from the point where we bega n the analysis

White ought to have foresee n the resulti n g position and to
have calculated whether it would be dan gerous for him or
n ot But he did execute i n full his plan for getti n g rid of
.

his badly placed pieces an d Pawn s and the removal of the

e n emy s well placed Bishop an d Knight
’
.

On a n alysi n g the position we may mak e some general

observatio n s with regard to the co n struction of the plan and
bri n gi n g it to fruition .

We have already see n that the b asis of the plan is the nature
of the p ositio n which determines the direction of the game
,
88 THE MIDDLE GAME
and its active or passive character We have also seen in .

which temp o it is n ecessary to develop o n e s own game de ’

pendin g on which side has the advantage a n d on the positio n

of the e n emy s pieces F in ally we begi n to see how to direct
’
.
,

our threats for the attack we saw how to repulse the threats
of the enemy a n d if he attack how to prepare to meet his
, ,

blows .

This however is far from bei n g all Whi le formi n g our

, , .

plan it is important to foresee the poi n ts where the main

,

blow will be delivered a n d to decide which pieces can be

spared for the attack and which must be left for the defence
ag ai n st the enemy s cou n ter attack Then we must try not
’
-
.

to let the Opposing forces counter attac k or defe n d them -

selves and to do this we must use threats (real and fictitious)

,

and also k n ow how to oppose similar h ostile threats Finally

'

.
,

we must try to hide our own plan from the enemy and to
deceive him .

We k now that all these detai ls are very rarely realised in

fu ll in the game and that the pla n marked out on general
li nes develops i n detail only gradually as the game develops ,
.

But perhaps the i n troduction of a certa i n clearness in the

most diffi cult part of the game Le the buildi n g of the plan , .
, ,

may help to elucidate its obscurities .

It is hard in chess to conce al one s plan from the enemy ’

because he actually sees every move and none can be hidden

from his eyes A tale is told of a player who want i ng to
.
,

conceal his plan for which he had to move his King and
, ,

bei n g afraid that this move would e n lighten hi s opponen t

'

made a false move so that by the rules he was obliged to move

,

the King The manoeuvre succeeded the opponent paid no

.
,

atte n tion to the forced move of the Ki n g did not trouble ,

himself about i ts mea n ing and SO lost the game b eing caught ,

in the trap .

Such things are done to conceal a plan from the enemy !

There are however examples where in the legitimate chess
, , ,

manner the same result may be attai n ed Let us take for

,
.

example the foll owi n g position ( Diagram The

— —
contin uation was I R Q 3 R K t 7 ; 2 B — K t I Q —
,
R 8 ; ,
90 THE M IDDLE GAME
develop the activity of the game with full force only those ,

pieces that are absolutely necessary must be devoted to the

defence It ofte n happe n s that it is e n ough to reserve one
.

particular piece for defe n ce but a player who does n ot know ,

that sometimes keeps two a n d n ot always those which best ,

solve the problem of defe n ce Of course the choice of pieces .

is very often made not by the will of the player but b y

n ecessity .

A question may arise as to the order in which the pieces

Should be brought i n to the game The a n swer is of course .
, ,

show n by the positio n of the pieces in each separate case .

We must however have i n view , ,

Dia g am X LI Xr that if the Short ran ge pieces -

,

for i n stan ce the K n ights be ,

brought in first they will be ,

either driven away or exchan ged

before the pla n i s evolved .

On the contrary when pieces ,

with lo n g— ran ge threats are

i n troduced first this gives more ,

freedom to the enemy It .

is therefore n ecessary to com

bine the two processes while ,

n ot forgetting the importance

Of tryi n g to W ork out 0 11 6 8
Bla ck D T : h r arr a s c

White H N Pills b u y own plan It IS also necessary

. .

: . . r .
.

to remember that threats ca n

be executed o n ly if it is possible to drive the hostile forces
from the threate n ed poi n ts This too determi n es the order .
, ,

in which the pieces must be brought i n to the game and shows ,

the n ecessity of diversio n s in di fferent parts of the board .

Later on we shall study in detail the directio n of the game

in differe n t cases a n d the adva n tages a n d d efic i en c e s i n all
elements of the game But here let u S tur n our atte n tio n to
.

one example (Diagram X LI X ) where all questions are repre .

sented which may be put i n the valuation of a position .

We se e that while the forces are similar White has made

I 3 moves Black o n ly 1 2
,
White has also a small advantage
.
CONSTRU C TION AND E X E C UTION OF THE PLAN 9 1

in Space because he holds the ce n tre than ks to the Pawn s

, ,

o n Q 4 a n d K B 4 a n d also to the Bishop on K Kt 5 a n d

K n ight o n K 5 Further the Bishop o n Kt I comman ds the
.
,

most importan t ce n tre squares K 4 a n d K B 5 .

Whe n we begin to value the positio n of each separate piece

we fi n d that n early all the White pieces are very well placed .

The K n ight on K 5 n ot o n ly occupies a beautiful positio n ,

but also threate n s all the n ear squares The other K n ight .

stands on B 3 a better square for a K n ight but i n this ex

, ,

ample his positio n is somewhat weake n ed by the positio n of

the Black Pawn o n Q 5 which deprives the K n ight of the ,

square K 4 Besides Black s adva n ced Pawn s o n the Quee n s

.
,
’ ’

wi n g threate n to drive him away f r om his square so that he ,

facilitates their advan ce without loss of time The Bishop .

on K Kt 5 has really no diago n al but he pi n s the K n ight o n

B 6 The seco n d Bishop comman ds t h e wh ole diago n al from
.

Q Kt 1 to K R 7 The worst placed White pieces are the

.

Rooks They have n o Open files for the Q B file is closed

.
,

by the st r o n g hostile Pawn advan ced to the fifth ran k The K ,

.

file is blocked by the backward Pawn o n K 3 which cann ot ,

be pushed forward since then the Pawns on Q 4 an d K B 4

,

will become very weak But the wo r st about the White .

Rooks position is that it is not obvious how they can begi n

’

to participate in the game and which fil e can be ope n ed for ,

them The o n ly possibility is by a move of the K Kt P for

.
,

which purpose the Ki n g must be put o n K R I This way .

,

however is very lo n g because Black s Pawn s o n the Ki n g s

, ,
’ ’

side are excell e n tly placed n ot o n e of them havi n g been ,

weake n ed which mean s that to open the file eve n if it be

, ,

possible will n ot be a quick process

, .

Black s position is n ot bad but is much more passive The

’

, .

K n ight on B 3 occupies a fi n e positio n but first he is pi nn ed ,

by the hostile Bishop a n d seco n dly he has o n ly o n e move ,

to K 5 whe re he can be exchan ged for White s passive K n ight

,
’

givi n g White a passed Paw n o n Q 4 a n d blocki n g for the

Black Rook the Ki n g s file on which it ca n attack the back
’

ward White Pawn .

The role of the K n ight o n B 1 is clearly protective He .

92 THE M IDDLE GAME
has however good possibili ties in the moves on K 3 and Kt 3
, , ,

and besides by his positio n he very considerably par al yses

,

the actio n of the Whi te Bishop on Kt I The Black Bishops .

are excelle n tly placed It is true that the one on Kt 2 is .

blocked by the Q P but at the same time he supports this ,

important Pawn an d holds the poi n t K 5 u n der threat The .

other Bishop temporarily protects the K n ight on B 3 a n d

besides has a good open diago n al K B I — Q Kt 5 .

But especially well placed are the Black Rooks one on the ,

Open Ki n g s file me n aci n g White s backward Pawn ; the

’ ’

other standing beh i nd the adva n ced Pawns and helpi n g them
in their advance But the re al advantage of Black over
.

White li es i n the Pawn positio n H is Queen s side Pawns .

’

are decidedly threatenin g one of them bein g potentially ,

passed ; a n d though their action is not directed agai nst the

Kin g it is nevertheless in itself very dan gerous because
, ,

White cann ot oppose suffi cie n t Pawn s against them O n .

the other hand the extra White Pawn the backward one on
, ,

K 3 not o n ly cannot advan ce but may be the obj ect of the

,

enemy s attack on the Kin g s file and after the advance of

’ ’

, ,

Black s Queen s side Pawn s of horizontal attack also

’ ’

,
.

Thus whe n we sum up we may reckon the position for b oth

sides more or less equal While White has the minor pieces .

placed more freely and aggressively tha n Black the latter ,

has his Paw n s a n d Rooks much better placed And so the .

character of the game is determined quite clearly for both

sides White wi ll attack the e n emy s Ki n g and Black wi ll
.
’

advance his Queen s side Pawns in order to quee n o n e of

’

them and to open the lin es for the attack alo n g the ran k
aga inst the backward K P .

The temp o of the game is foretold by the equality of the

position a n d by both sides bei n g well protected AS there .

are no weak points there is no Scope for rapid action Both

,
.

oppone n ts must develop slowly not allowin g a n y weaknesses ,

to be formed The White position however is aggressive

.
, , ,

not o n ly owing to the arrangement of the pieces but also ,

because the attack is directed against the hostile King Let

us suppose for i n stan ce that Black plays K t—K 3 White
.

, ,
. .
94 THE MIDDLE GAME
can move this Pawn up to the sixth ra n k only whe n it is
rei n forced from the back by the Rook ; because otherwise
White will simply take it an d Black by re taki n g with the , ,
-

Pawn on B 5 an d thus ope n i n g the Q B file for the White Rook

whil e Openi n g n o n e for his own Rook will lose all advantage ,
.

O n the other hand the move of the Q R P first of a ll threate n s

,

to open the li n e for the Rook to attack White s R P a n d with ’

P—Q R 3 Black will obtai n a very st r o n g passed Pawn on

,

the Rook s file Such are Black s threats As we can see

’
.
’ ’
.
,

they are still very distan t a n d besides they amount o n ly to , ,

a n attack alo n g the Q R file agai n st White s Pawn at Q R 2 ’

.

This means that White may meanwhile take away all his
pieces from the Queen s wi n g There will be n o catastrophe ’
.

as a result of that If however White s attack o n the Ki n g s ’ ’

.
, ,

Side should be without success then Black wi ll break through

on the Quee n s ’
.

But Black has still a n other threat which forces White to ,

come to some decisio n or other at once Black has the .

move —K 5 with the threat of wi n ni n g a piece by

,

P—B 3 . If Wh ite exchan ges Bishops Black recaptures with ,

the Rook and White can not win a Pawn by 3 B t PXB ,

4 Kt P Bt , 5 Q >< B for then Black with the move ,

P—B 3 wins the Knight on K 5 Meanwhile by —K 5 .

n ot only does Black threaten to paral yse White s K B and ’

exchan ge Off the Q B but the position of his K n ight in the,

centre gives Black an immediate advantage in space as he ,

ca n drive away White s Knight on K 5 by P—B 3 and his ’

K n ight while it can n ot be dislodged forms a good support

, ,

to the adva n ce Of Black s Quee n s Side Pawns ’ ’

—K 5 therefore it is necessary to c ap
.

I n a n swer to , ,

ture the K n ight Of course this must be do n e with the

.

Bishop o n Kt I for that Bishop has n ow but a closed diag

,

o n al whereas the K n ight on Q B 3 may still play a big part

,

i n the game So White is obliged to exchan ge off both his

.

Bishops From this it follows that it is n ecessary for him

.

to bri n g up an extra piece to the attack Which piece ? .

Nothi n g r e mai n s but the K n ight on B 3 To bri n g a Rook .

i n to t he at t ack is possible o n ly after an adv an c e of the K Kt P ,

CONSTRU CTION AND E X E C UTION OF THE PLAN 95

which is very Slow an d dan gerous as it quite destroys White s

’

Kin g s Side while Black s is n ot eve n weake n ed

’

,
’
.

The move of the White K n ight o n B 3 r eprese n ts for Black

a real dan ger from which he must p rotect himself Let us
,
.

suppose that White can make two moves with it vi z ; ,

K t —K 2 —K t 3 Now there is n o doubt as to the seriousness

.

of the threats either K t—K B 5 with K t ch to follow ,

or B X Kt and K t—R 5 Black Of cou rse can p r otect himself

.
, ,

with P— K t 3 but by that he weake n s the Ki n g s Side an d

’

gives White good chan ces for attack by mean s of P—K B 5 .

Black can p arry this threat best of all by the move of the
K n ight to K 5 which brin gs ,

Diag am L about a double exchan ge This

r . .

mean s that either side at the

give n mome n t must clearly see
for its e lf whether it ca n a fford
this exchan ge an d to what it
leads Thus I K t —K 2 K t .
,

K 5; 2 B >< B R >< B ; 3 B >< K t

, ,

P >< B 4Q
— K t 3 ( Diagram L ) .

What has White gain ed by

this He has weake n ed Black s ’

Q B P because o n e of its pro ,

teeti n g Pawns has moved away

an d it will n ow be weak in case
Bla c k D S T
.
r h a rr as c
Of the adva n ce of the Paw n
W hi t ! H : N : P il ls b u y:
e r

at Q Kt 4 .

Wh ite has stren gthe n ed the positio n of his backward K P ,

because it has n ow in fro n t of it a Black Pawn closin g the

fil e for its own Rook B esides Wh ite has secured a powerful
.
,

passed Pawn o n Q 4 an d though he h as exchan ged Off his

,

two Bishops he sti ll keeps a stro n gly posted K n ight o n K 5

, ,

an d he has also made the attack o n the Ki n g s side easier for ’

himself si nce the positio n of the Ki n g at R 1 o n the diago n al

, ,

of Black s Bishop will n ot be da n gerous while the Black

’

Pawn stan ds on K 5 .

But that same Pawn might be the obj ect of White s attack ’

—
b ecause in View of White s threat P K Kt 4 i t is hardly ’
96 THE MIDDLE GAME
possible to stre n gthen it by P—B 4 and therefore it must ,

remain isolated Further the abse n ce of the Knight on

.
,

K B 3 allows White to threaten attack by P—B 5—B 6 .

What did Black get as the result of the exchanges ?

F irst of al l he a nn i hilated both his opponen t s attac k ing
,
’

Bishops ; and then by removin g his Pawn from Q 4 he is

now able to post his Bishop there so bri n ging him into the
game for the support of the Queen 5 side Pawns Thus what .

we found so di fficult for Black has been made possi b le owing

to these exchan ges .

Agai n we s ee n early e q ual posi tions and ch an ces for b oth

sides o n di fferent flanks It i s however impossible not to .
, ,

notice that the nearer the game is to the e n d the stro n ger ,

will Black s position be as White has chances only in the

’

attack but Black in his stro n g Quee n s side Pawn s Wh at

,
’
.

possibilities has Wh ite now ? As we already mentioned

— —
,

P K B 5 with the threat of P B 6 and with a threat also

aga i nst the Black K P This Pawn White can attack with .

Quee n Rook and two Kn ights while Black c an protect it

, ,

with Queen two Rooks and Bishop which is j ust su fficient

, , .

H as Black e n ough time for that ? In order to execute hi s

threat White has to make 7 moves (P—B 5 Q —R 4 R
— —
, , ,

K B I — K B 4 K t — K t 4 B 2 K t K t 3 or Q B Black
to defend must make 5 moves (P—B 3 B —Q 4 Q —Q 2 —B 3
, , ,

—
, , , ,

Q R K 1 ) and so he has enough time Otherwise he could .

not risk this double exchan ge .

White however in carryi n g out these man oeuvres threatens

more For i n stance after P—B 5 he threate n s to play P—B 6
, , ,

.
,

Black protecting himself from that plays P—B 3 and White

, , ,

a n swers K t—K t 4 threatening Kt X P ch or K t R 6 ch There

fore Black is ob liged to play K —R 1 After the move P—B 5
.
,

.
,

White threatens to get his K night through K B 4 to K 6 ;

and moreover the Pawn on B 5 takes away the natural
, ,

squares from the Black K n ight on B I But at the same time .

the Pawn itself remains without protectio n and the attac k ,

b y the K Kt P remains very diffi cult .

So we see how adva n tages an d disadvantages are inter

wove n I n that is the peculiarity and delight of a good game
.
98 THE MIDDLE GAME

4 Q
,
R— K ; 31 IO
4; Kt
Q — —
B
B ,
B —Q II —B
Kt 2,

3. Thus the series of n ecessary moves for both Sides has

bee n made and a n ew grouping of the pieces is obt ain ed
,

(Diagram L L ) .

If we j udge this position we S hall s ee that all Black s pieces ’

are e n gaged in defe n ce while White attacks the K P a n d ,

threate n s attack (by the advan ce of his K Kt P ) against

K B P White has n ot however succeeded in bri n gin g an
.
, ,

extra piece i n to the attack on the King s Side because the ’

K n igh t on B 3 a n d the Rook on B 1 stand mea n while o n the

Queen s wi ng an d it is not Obvious how they can mOv e over
’

to the Ki n g s and so be able to participate in the attack

’
.

But if we exami n e the position we shall see with asto n ish

me n t that for the 1 2 moves made by White Black has made ,

1 8 moves which me an s a gain of 6 moves ! With regard to

,

space Black is n ot i n ferior because his gain through the ,

advan ce of the Queen s Side Pawn s is greater th an Wh ite s ’

,
’

gain on the Kin g s side We must also notice that though

’
.
,

the Black pieces are o n the defensive they have nevertheless , ,

reached a positio n which is nearly ideal from the point of

view of preparation for moveme n t of the Pawn s on the Queen s ’

Side It is further impossible not to see that White s Queen ’

.
, ,

an d o n e of his Rooks are now out of the game an d wi ll come

into it only if White manages to break through o n the Ki n g s ’

side From this it follows that Black s positio n is n ow clearly

.
’

better than White s ’

.

How did it happen that after 1 1 good and correct moves ,

on both Sides White made his game so much worse It seemed

,

that he had better chances .

It is plain that the differe n ce in the positions was that

White was draw n up aggressively visibly attacking while , ,

Black s possibilities were hidden White s threats were not

’
.
’

serious enough to prevent Black from placi n g his pieces so

as to combi n e the defe n ce with the Pawn advan ce But .

still Black has as yet achieved nothi n g he o n ly threatens ,

.

Let us look at the mean in g of his threats We must not .

forget that White is quite prepared for breaking through on

the Ki n g s side a n d if he ca n bri n g over an extra piece here
’

,
C ONSTRU C TION AND E X ECUTION OF THE PLAN 99

he may obtain an advan tage It is true that the Black .

Bishop is now used for defe n ce but we have al ready said that ,

durin g a n attack by the Black Pawn s on the Quee n s win g ’

other pieces must be employed because the Pawns cann o t

do it alone .

We discuss all these examples at length because they are

very typical It is impossible to fi n d better o n es for the
.

valuatio n of the position step by step a n d for fo llowi n g the

buildi n g up of the plan s an d their realisatio n Supposin g .

that White eight moves before n ot o n ly foresaw the future

, ,

positio n (which he certai n ly foresaw) but also j udged it with

regard to the quite i n disputable facts that are shown her e ,

he would perhaps have tried to chan ge the directio n of the

game This dem onstrates how useful it is from time to time
.
,

duri n g the game to ve rify one s play by such a valuatio n

,
’

of the positio n For if the plan and its chief li n es are marked
.

out it develops with i n evitable logic a n d develops move by

, ,

move mechan ically

, .

At an y rate at the prese n t moment (Diagram LI ) the

, .

i n itiative is with Black Let us see what he can do after the

move 1 2 R—B I by which Wh ite mechan icall y continu es
.

his idea .

The position of the Knight on B 3 foretells the first move

P—K t 5 But after the retreat K t—K 2 if Black at o n ce
.
,

begi ns to press on his Pawn s he may lose his advantage , .

For i n stan ce : P— B 6 I 4 P >< P (with 1 4 P—Q Kt 3 White

ca n brin g the game n early to the variation which will b e
given later as a main li n e) P >< P 1 5 K t—Q I P—B 7 1 6
K Kt —
,

B 3 B —B 5 (i n Vi ew of the th r eat R—B 1 lea di n g

, ,

t o t h e ga i n of t h e B P 7) ; I 7 P I8 R—B 1 ,

win n ing the B P The exchan ge h as taken place of the stro n g

.

a n d active Black Pawn on B 5 for the sti ll passive White

Pawn on Q 4 It is clear that as White must have an other
.
,

piece o n the Ki n g s side s o also must Black have another

’

on the Quee n s But Black s misfo rtu n e is that all his pieces
’
.
’

must protect the Kin g s Side Now as the K n ight moved ’

.

away from B 3 he took off an attack from the K P ( He can

however ren ew it at o n ce by playi ng K t —K t
.
,

, This mean s ,
1 00 THE M IDDLE GAME
that one piece may be taken away from the d efe n ce in such ,

a way however that it will not be n ecessary to bring it back

, ,

again at o n ce for the same defe n ce Le it may be taken away , .

with a threat .

J ust such a piece is the Queen which can play to R 5 n ot , ,

only attacking the White Q R P but threate n i n g to go to

Q B 7 attacking the Q Kt P and thence to Q 6 attackin g
the K P White s move K t—B I would protect the R P
, , ,

’
.
,

but would n ot meet the further threats SO that White must ,

find another means of defence .

H ere we have a beautiful example of combined attac k and

defence By movi ng away from B 3 the Black Queen n ot
.
,

only took away the defe n ce from the K P but also from the
K B P White can therefore attack this Pawn and as his
.
,

attack o n the King s side has always a greater sig n ifican ce

than Black s on the Queen s S ide Black cannot of course
’ ’

, , ,

disregard this attack .

Actually if White Should play 1 4 K t—K t 4 he would threaten

— —
,

Kt P Pt ; Q X B P ch R — K t 2 ; R K t 4 Q Q 2;
K t—B 4 which would wi n
, , ,

, This means that Black must .

protect the K B P in order not to have to return with the

Queen For that he has one move K t—Q 2
.
, .

Let us notice the first result of Black s attack H e is ’

.

ob liged at once to look for defensive moves which do not make ,

his position stro n ger The Knight on B 1 which formed .

,

a good protection for the R P a n d the point K Kt 3 must ,

now move away to protect the K B P This shows how .

dangerous is the two S ided b attle when attack i s c ombi n ed

-
,

with defen c e .

But this was not the only obj ect of White s move H e ’
.

also had a defensive one on the Queen s side by taking away ’

the Knight from B 2 he opened this square for the Rook

from which it prote c ts the whole second ran k n ot letti n g in ,

the hostile Queen o n B 7 Can the Queen now take the Q R P .

or not She c an not The Rook by moving away from B 4 .

, ,

freed this square for the Knight and to Q x P the reply would
be K t—B 4 threatening both the Bishop o n Q 5 an d a check
,

on Kt 6 with a gain of the Exchange Black might answer

,
.
102 THE MIDDLE GAME
Wh ite has but one move 1 7 P—Q Kt 3 a n d Black returns , ,

w ith the Queen to B 3 Why here Because White threate n s

.
,

by playi n g Q —K t 3 an d by usi n g the th r eat K t—R 6 ch ,

to thrust his Quee n i n to Black s gam e— Q —Q 6 ’

C ompari n g this position ( Diagram LI I ) w

.

ith the precedi n g .

o n e we fi n d that the number of moves that Black made

,

remai n s the same 1 8 but White took adva n tage of the last
,

series of moves a n d the n umber made by him is n early equal

,

to Black s to be exact 1 6 IS Black s positio n worse now ?

’

, ,
.
’

Not at all O n ly his advan tage i n time has tu r n ed i n to

.

advantage in Space for he has succeeded i n adva n cing his

,

Quee n s side Paw n s b ri n gi n g ’

Diag am l I ro n e of them to the sixth ra n k

. .

White has n ot gai n ed an ythi n g

i n space Black n evertheless .
, ,

though gai n i n g in S pace can ,

not go further In order to .

co n ti n ue the development of
his attack he must Open a file ,

for the Rook as o n ly that piece ,

can begin the attack Which .

file ? Quite clearly o n ly the ,

Q R s This shows that as

’
.
,

White is obliged to move the

K Kt P so also must Black ,

331 ; ggjggigg;
1 3 5
move the Q R P With what .

Obj ect ? To Open this file to ,

occupy it with the Rook to attack the Kt P and since White , , ,

cann ot protect it with a n y piece SO also to win by getti n g ,

two passed Pawn s .

It is possible to calculate exactly how much time that will

occupy two moves by the Pawn (the exchan ge is n ot cou n ted ,

as White is also obliged to Spe n d a move o n that ) then two ,

moves with the Rook so that on his fifth move Black can win,

a Pawn .

Of cou rse White can protect this Pawn in fiv e moves with

,

the Quee n but the n he will n ot be able to make a n attack

,

on the K i n g s S ide Further Black will have the possibilit y

’
.
,
C ONSTRU C TION AND E X E C UTION OF THE PLAN 10 3

of bri n gi n g other pieces up for his attack on the Quee n s side ’

such as the seco n d Rook a n d the K n ight a n d of putti n g the ,

Quee n behi n d the Bishop n ot o n the lo n g Wh ite diago n al , ,

as now but on the diago n al K B 2 —Q Kt 6 in order to attack

, ,

the White Paw n Wh ite is ob liged to co n ti n ue his attack

.
,

which is possible o n ly by advan ci n g the K Kt P How man y .

moves must he make for that ? To retire the K n ight from

Kt 4 two moves an d two moves by the K Kt P ; an d so
, , ,

o n hi s fourth move Wh ite will threate n to exchan ge Pawn s

,

on K B 6 .

Thus Wh ite executes his threat one move before Black ;

an d in order to de c ide which of the Oppo n e n ts is j ustified i n
,

begi nn i n g these combi n atio n s it is n ecessary to take i n to ,

co n sideratio n the n ature of the thr eats It is however .

, ,

impossible n ot to n otice that both Sides are al m ost obliged

to choose these courses because they cann ot possibly make ,

their defe n ce stro n ger and each Slow move gives the opponent
,

a n extra chan ce
Thus 1 8 P— K R 3 P—Q R 4 ; 1 9 K t—R 2 P—R 5 ; 2 0
.

, ,

P— K t 4 ( it is clear that White c an n ot play P >< P because ,

then Black wi n s the R P without di fficulty by Q X P followed

by P—B 7 or R—R 1 followed by R >< P a n d P—B
, ,

Black has n ow to de c ide the questio n whether he wishes

to co n tin ue his advan ce in which case he proceeds ,
P
2 1 P >< P R—R 1
,
If he prefers to protect hi mself on the
.

Ki n g s Side an d to make it temporarily safe it is n ot n ecessary

’

, ,

for hi m to exchan ge Pawn s since White would then by

R—R 2 occupy the ope n file
,

If Black wan ts to protect himself he must n ot all ow the

— He has time for P —R 3 whe n White is
,

move P Kt 5
obliged to play 2 1 Q — K t 3 wi th the threat of P—K R 4
.
,

.
,

In a n swer to that Black ca n play K t—B I 2 2 P—R 4 K t ,

R 2 Now this K n ight protects n ot o n ly the K B P but also

.

the poi n t K Kt 4 If White n ever theless plays 2 3 P—K t 5

.
,

Black answers R P >< P an d o n 2 4 K t—K t 4 P >< P 2 5 Q >< P

K t—K t 4 with the threat of K t —B 6 but on 2 6 R—R 2
, ,

Black can play K —B I e n abli n g his Bishop to p r otect the

,

point K Kt 1 So even by sacrifici n g the Pawn White does

.
1 0
4 THE MIDDLE GAME
n ot ma n age to bri n g the Rook i n to the game ; a n d should ,

he bri n g it i n it wi ll b e on the Rook s file without a real

,
’

threat .

This result is natural for all the Black pieces prote c t the
,

K i ng s Side which has not bee n weakened at all But cannot

’

, .

Black continue his attack without pausi n g to defe n d his ,

King s Side If that is possible of course his position would

’

become more menacing to his oppone n t Suppose that he .

adopts the co n tinuation with the immediate exchange of

Pawns , 2 1 P >< P R— R I Now (Diagram LII I ) , . .

White can adva n ce his Pawn 2 2 P—K t 5 .

Diag am LIIIr . Diag am LI V r .

Bla ck : Dr S Ta rr as c h Bla ck : Dr S T
. h a rr as c .

P lls b u y N Pills b u y
.
. . .

White : H N i r .
W hite : H . . r .

Let us examine the threats If Black exchan ges Pawns .

,

White responds 2 3 Q x P threate n i n g P—B 6 Black defends

wi t h Q —B 3 to which White a n swers 2 4 Q — K t 3 threatenin g
.
,

K t— K t 4 and there is no defe n ce agai n st P — B 6 and K t—K 5

, ,

If after the exchan ge of Paw n s Black co n ti n ues n ot Q —B 3

.
,

but K t — B 3 White all the same plays 2 4 K t—K t 4 as the

, ,

, ,

K n ight cannot be captured o n account of 2 5 Q x R (a n d even

if Kt Kt were possible it would not help 2 5 P x Kt Q —B 3
,

2 6 Q —B 4 threate n i n g 2 7 P—K t
, , ,

a n d Wh ite now threate n s ,

not o n ly R—K Kt 2 a n d K t t ch or K t— R 6 ch but also

K t —K 5 This mea n s that Black ca nn ot himself exchan ge
,

.
1 0 6 THE MIDDLE GAME
the protectio n of the poi n ts K B 2 a n d K Kt I —the
hila t i n g
Bishop ) R t ; 2 7
,
K t — R 6 ( with the th r eats R— Kt 8
mate if R—K 1 th e n 2 8 K t — B 7 mate if Q —B 1 or Q —R 1 ,

the n 2 8 Q —K t 3 an d mate i n 2 moves) R—K t 2 (forced ) ,

28 RxR ,
K xR .

This position calls for atte n tio n Not a si n gle piece of .

Black s protects the Ki n g s Side The Rook is out of the game

’ ’

the Queen is on the closed sixth file the Knight holds the ,

B P and the poin t B 1 but all the other poin ts a n d both the ,

open K Kt a n d K R files are u n defe n ded by Black ; an d

mean while White has n ow the Queen and the Knight agai n st
the ope n Ki n g a n d can bri n g the Rook at o n ce i n to th e game
,
.

But how man y preparatory moves had White to m ake for

that ! He must n ow make use of the open positio n of the
Black Ki n g a n d the abse n ce of the Bishop which protected
the White squares against which the attacks of the Knight
are directed .

—
For i n stan ce 2 9 Q K t 3 ch The King can go neither
, .

to R 1 n or to B I as the n follows Q —K t 8 ch and i n the first

,

case it will be mate in the seco n d Wh ite wi ll be able to take

, ,

the Rook on his Kt 3 (The lack of the protective Bishop .

is sadly felt l) Therefore Black is obliged to take the K n ight

.

K x Kt White cann ot now play 30 R—B 4 with the threat

.
,

of R—R 4 mate for the n the Black Rook comes i n to the game
,

with checks on Wh ite s second a n d first ra n ks The White ’

.

Ki n g ca nn ot escape these because as soon as he goes to the ,

Queen s file Black at o n ce an swers P—B 7 an d makes a Queen

’

,
.

In such a va riation Black s material advan tage o n the Queen s ’ ’

S ide would Show itself .

But White has also another way He plays 30 K —R 1 .

,

a n d Black is defe n celess against the threat 31 R—K t I a n d

mate the n ext move For i n stan ce 30 K —R 1 K t — B 1 ;
.
,

3 1 R— K t I Q — K I 3 Q
2 —,
B 4 ch K — R 4 33 R — K t 4 ,
.

Or 30 K —R I Q —Q 4 ; 31 R— K t I Q >< B P ; 32 Q —R 4
ch Q —R 4 ; 33 Q —B 4 ch Q —K t 4 ; 34 R >< Q P >< R ; 35
, ,

, , ,

Q Q — 6 ch K — R 4 36 Q >< K t with the threat of mate the

, ,

n ext move : Q >< R P mate .

CONSTRU CTION AND E X ECUTION OF THE PLAN 1 0 7

So White s idea was right the ope n i n g of the file an d the

’

brin gi n g in to attack of a n extra piece decided the game .

Does thi s mea n that Black s idea was wro n g —because he ’

also realised it won a Pawn on the Quee n s side a n d got two

,
’

passed Pawn s there ?

We kn ow that Black had the opportu n ity of avoidi n g haste
while realisi ng his idea an d of not chan gi n g his advan tage
in time in to o n e in force before he could protect his positio n
o n the Ki n g s side At any rate if Black s idea can be real ised
’
.
,
’

o n ly by an e n tir e open in g up of the Kin g s S ide an d leavin g ’

it without an y protecti n g pieces the n of course it cann ot , ,

possibly be realised But the question is whether as

.
,

Whi te did not hesitate to sacrifice first the Pawn o n his passive
win g and the n the K n ight o n the active wi n g —an d those
sacrifices were not in vai n as the game came in to its decisive
phas e whi ch dem anded decisive measures—ought n ot Black
,

to have do n e li kewi se ? Perhaps he ought to have taken the

Whi te Q Kt P not with the Bishop but with the Rook ?
, ,

That might be co n sidered a sacrifice ; but i n fact i n the , ,

actual positio n the Bishop is stro n ger than the Rook because ,

the latter o n Q Kt 6 is out of the game while the Bishop ,

keeps up the defen ce of the poin ts K Kt 1 an d K B 2 the ,

defenceless state of which caused Black to lose the game .

Black would have succeeded in protecti n g him self again st

Wh ite s combination and if his two u n ited passed Pawns
’

, ,

o n e of which had reached the Sixth ran k could win they , ,

would not depe n d o n the Rook or the Bishop to rei n force them .

To j udge t hi s co mbi n atio n it is importan t to show that ,

\Vhi t e c an not at o n ce protect himself agai n st those Pawn s

because after , 24 Kt B >< K t ; if Whi te ,

plays 2 5 R—K t I the n Black at once an swers P—B 7 Like

.

.
,

wise White s whole combin atio n cann ot be realised a n d

’

Black is not ob liged to move away the Kin g to R I because ,

he can oppose his Rook o n K Kt 2 to the White Rook an d

, ,

move the Kin g to K B 1 u n der the protectio n of the Bishop

,

on the diago n al Besides if White plays 2 5 R—K t 2 before

.
,

the exchan ge of Pawn s o n K B 6 Black has a choice betwee n

K —B I a n d K —R 1 (but n ot P >< P because then 2 6 Q >< P
,

, ,
10 8 THE MIDDLE GAME
K —B I 27 P— B 6
decides the game) If White exchanges .

Pawns Black will an swer P >< P (n ot K t >< P) a n d o n 2 6 K t

,

K 5 (2 6 R— K t 2 R—K t K t x Kt 27 Pt
,
R— K t 2 ch ,
.

We m ay c on si der that by k eepi n g the Bishop Black could , ,

protect his Ki n g s side and if that be so the sacrifi c e of the

’

, , ,

Exchan ge would be quite sound .

That is why the example before us is wonderful It illus .

trates a struggle between two equally sou n d ideas based o n ,

n early equal positio n s The fluctuatio n s which occur while .

the ideas are bei n g realised S how us all the cases of change
of one eleme n t into an other and all the deman ds that arise ,

in connection with the construction and rea lisatio n of plan s

are here man ifested i n fu ll an d with co n vinci n g clear n ess .

In this example we have seen the buildi n g of a plan a n d

its realisatio n based on the character of the positions of
,

both oppo n ents an d on their adva n tages We have seen .

how certai n pieces were co n ce n trated for attack or defence ,

how the mai n assault became more accentuated how different ,

pieces participated in it and also how certai n pieces were ,

kept for defe n ce But in addition to that we have seen

.
, ,

that the plan while foll owing its main line was divided into
, ,

di fferent parts with a mul t i tu de o f Special obj ects having

,

c on n ection with the main plan helping its development and ,

hindering the enemy In the attai n me n t of these special

.

obj ects we have fou n d how o n e element passed into another

and how the advantage in one changed into advantage in
another This latter circumstance must be particularly
.

noted as it is not often that the adva n tage in one element

,

can grow indefinitely There comes a mome n t when one .

cann ot gain more in S pace or in time O n e may in certain .

,

cases ma i ntai n the position achieved without change u n til

, , ,

new possibilities arise ; b ut more often the advantage

obtained disappears if it is not chan ged in due c ourse
for another .

This mome n t Often plays a decisive rOle in a game We .

saw i n the last example how Black lost the game because
he turned advantage in space an d time i n to advantage in
force If on the contrary he had sacrifi c ed the Exchan ge
.
, ,
 C H A P TE R II

SUPE RIO R POSITIONS

I NTR ODU CTORY

WHEN we speak o f the superiority of a position we bear in ,

mi n d that however great may be the pecu liarities of these

,

positio n s an d whatever their fluctuatio n s as regards the

di ffere n t eleme n ts in general there is an adv an tage on one
,

side.

The enemy may have gained in force time or space even , ,

in two or all of these elements Bu t if the qu ali ties of the

.

positio n are such that these speci al gai ns are nevertheless

small er than the counter advantages which offer u S the
-
,

opportunity of playi n g an active game even though for the

,

tim e being we must act on the defe n sive we can do s o and ,

afterwards realise our advantag es Here we sh al l n ot go

.

into detail about each separate position but merely generali se

about typical insta n ces which S how how to m ai ntai n the
,

advantages an d add to them until they lead to indisputable

victory .

We al ready kn ow the close connection which exists b etween

the character of the position and the plan of the further game .

There is doubtless a Similar con n ection betwee n the quality

of the position and the realisation of advantages With .

reference to the latter we must first of all determi ne in what

,

it co n sists
.

Of course the Simplest case is when o n e player has adv an

tages in all the eleme n ts an d the e n emy has no counter
,

opportu n ities The Obj ect is the n so simple that it does n ot

.

even call for notice The wi n ca n be reached in different ways

.
 INTRODU C TO RY III

a n d between stro n g oppo n ents the game is ge n erally not

conti n ued the weaker Side merely resig n i n g Let us take
,
.
,

for in stan ce the followi n g position (Diagram White s

’

advan tage in all the eleme n ts is treme n dous He can quietly .

take the Rook an d with the help of the Pawn on Q 6 he

, ,

wi ll have a still better positio n for attack I n each situation .

in every game however we must always look for the most

, ,

forcible conti n uatio n which will soo n est lead to a wi n Le

, ,
.
,

we must see clearly in which eleme n t the gain is greater a n d

try to use it .

So in the example before us Wh i te s advantage i n the ’

positio n is worth more than the

Diag am LV r gain of the Exch an ge There
.
.

fore he plays to stre n gthe n his

attack carefull y reservi n g the ,

possibili ty of win n i n g the

Exchange when n ecessary
The co n tinuatio n is :
I K R—K I B —K 3 (forced ) .

2 . K t—K 5
Threate n ing ch 3 P— Q 7 ,

K t >< P ; 4 B >< R winnin g

n ot ,

the Exchan ge but a whole

Rook— the latter not bein g able
P S
to reti re for then foll ows ,

i ié i P
l ’ ’
féi y
’
S Kt x Q B P
‘
'

w ii M i

K t —B
.

2 .
3
The Black Rook can n ow retire an d therefore White cap ,

tures it with good r easo n as thereby he removes o n e of the

, ,

K n ights from the defe n ce of the poin t Q 7 at which attack ,

is directed by the Pawn .

3 B >< R . Kt (B 1 ) >< B
4 B —B 5
With the former threat of 5 P—Q 7 ch a n d if K t >< P then
.

—
,

6 K t >< K t Q t
, ; 7 Q R 8 ch K t —B I ; 8 Qt mate , .

Black therefore preve n ts the Pawn s move ’

.

4 Kt —Q 2

5 . Kt —K t 4
 1 2 SUPERIO R POSITION S
—
With a double (indirect ) threat Q R , 8 ch and Kt —B
6 ch .

P Kt 3
-

7 K t ( R 2 —
) B 1
6 —
Q Kt
If P >< B then 7 Q >< K t followed by 8 Q —K t 8 ch K t
.

, , ,

B 1 ; 9 P—Q 7 K t— B 6 ch .

7 B — Q 4 an d Black resigns having no defence

.
, ,

against the threats B —B 6 R >< B B —K 7 and K t—B 6 ch , , .

In the diagrammed position White could simply have won

the Exchange but this i s not always the case as some small
—
, ,

error such as a move without a su ficient threat

f i n i t— often
chan ges the situation immed
Diag a m L V I i a t ely and ro b s the player of the
r .

advantage when the win was ,

quite obvious The rule must .

,

therefore be observed that , ,

however great the advan tage in

a n y position it is necessary to ,

seek for the quickest forced win .

Let u s take the position

Shown on Diagram LV I Whi t e s
’
.

advantage here is in all the ele

me n ts It is cle arly S hown in .

two Pawns but also in time ,

an d m Sp a ce But if White
B la ck A K Ru b i stei
.
,
: n n
White A D mamb e g be i n g content W i th the two
. .
.

; , . r ,

Pawns and seein g that Black

ca nn ot take K t P on account of Q K t 8 ch and Q >< K t -
,

Should play not e n ergetically enough I B —K 5 then Black

would at once begin an attac k : K t — B 8 ch ; 2 K —K t I

, , ,

K t — Q 7 (with threat of perpetual chec k by Q —K 8 ch Kt

,

B 8 ch a n d so on ) 3 K —B 2 Q —Q 6 forcing the gain of one

,

, ,

of the Pawns .

How did that happen ? Thus : Wh ite simply wanted to

utilise his advantage in force forgetti n g that he also had ,

others i n time and i n space He ought to co n tinue energetic

, .

ally with direct threats and the i r will have the possibility
, ,

of realising his advan t ag e in force or of obtaini n g other ,

I I4 SUPERIOR POSITIONS
But if we have an extra Pawn or perhaps a Bishop or a
K n ight we must then carefu lly weigh the possibili ty of b rin g
ing about a n end —
,

game and j udge whether the prese n t adv an

,

tage is e n ough to gain in the e n ding or whether on the , ,

co n trar y its v al ue wi ll be less in the endin g and the game

,

wi ll be di fil CUIt In that case it will be n ecessary to make

.

the pres ent advantage greater before proceedi n g to the e n d

game But this must be dealt wi th when we S peak of the
.

advantages in the various eleme n ts .

Let us co n sider the fo llowin g example (Diagram

Here ag ai n Whi te s advantage is indisputable and is expressed
’

in all the elements Actu all y .

Dia g am LV H r White has an extra Pawn

.

a n d he attacks Black s ce n tre ’

Pawn while Black attacks ,

White s K B P It is clear ’
.

that if White continues with ,

passive defence the n Black w ill ,

i n co n ve n ie n ce him seriously
an d the adva n tage of o n e Pawn

perhaps may not suffi ce to

w in the game .

Wh i te h as n ot enough oppor
t u n i ti es to begin the attack
himself an d so i nitiates a
Bla c k J H B l kb
.

ac u rne
,

Wh i té M j T hi g i f
, . ,
gener al exchange by the threat
c or n

of a strong attack bringin g ,

about an indisputably won end game -

.

White Operates by mea n s of direct threats (another way

is also possible vi a a gradual repulse of the e n emy s threats
, ,
’

a n d a slow progress towards the e n d game ) removi n g his own -

,

Pawn from the enemy s attack while at the same time attack ’

i n g his centre Pawn a n d threate n in g to wi n it

1 P—B 4 .
Q — B 3 ch
2 —
Q B 3 Q >< Q ch
—
.

3 K >< Q . R Q 1

If P >< P the n 4 R— K 7 (with threats of R X B a n d B >< K t

P ch ) P >< P dis ch ; 5 K —K t 2 R—B 7 ch ; 6 K —K t 1
,

, .
, ,
 INTRODU C TO RY 1 1 5

B —Q I
7 B X P ch
; a n d 8 B X R wi nn i n g the Excha n ge a
,
n d
the game which gai n is see n in the threat of attack o n the
,

Black Ki n g .

4 BxP .

It w as probably possible to play more forcibly 4 K —K 4 , ,

.

4 B .x B
5 RxB R >< Q P ch
R (K 1 ) —
.

6 K 3 R >< R ch
.

K x R R —B I
7 .

—
.

R — R Kt
8 K 6 .
Q 1

K —K
9 4
And the e n d game is easi ly
won by Wh ite
-

I n some positio n s it i s not feasible to play for the e n d —

.

game ,

as the adva n tage is not great e n ough for t hi s To determine .

when this is so is a matter of e n d game co n ditio n s an d the -

player s u n derstan di n g of them an d therefore does n ot fall

’

within the scope of the prese n t work Of course all the .

,

examples which we are co n siderin g are such that o n e side s ’

advantage is big enough to al low an immediate liquidatio n .

Much more comp licated is it when a struggle is still possible ,

when the e n emy yet has chan ces an d though there is an ,

advan tage it is not an in disputable factor of victory .

We Shall n ow give our atte n tion to such cases a n d shal l

di vide them into three groups : advantage in force S pace ,

an d time .

It is not always possible to fin d ex amples where those

advantages are clearly Shown separately V ery often the .

advantage in one eleme n t is accompan ied by gai n or loss i n

a n other It wi ll therefore ofte n b e n ecessary to sac rifice
.
, ,

detail s in order to get a clear co n ceptio n of the idea It is .

importan t for us that in the positio n discussed ( 1 ) the adv an

tage o n o n e side shall be obvious ; and (2 ) this advantage
Shall be in each of the three ele m e n ts sepa r ately a n d i n tu rn .

In this case all other i n terdepe n de n ces of the elem e n ts will

,

si mply be occasional co mplicatio n s of the mai n positio n s .

.

When exami n i n g each example we sh al l perceive the di ffer

e n ce s i n the co n duct of the ga m e which are dictated by the

pres en ce of advan tages i n o n e or other ele me n t But let us .

1 1 6 SUPERIO R POSITIONS
remember once more that there is no o b j ect in getting the
, ,

advantage i n o n e o n ly of the elements It is necessary i n .

,

gett i n g the adva n tage to strive after i n crease of strength

,

in every way ; to be stro n ger than the e n emy a n d to have ,

—
the initiative the character of each position determining
in which element .

A DVANTA G E IN FOR C E

Superiority in force is the easiest to determine and at the ,

same time it is the most decisive Time and space are co n

, .

di ti ons u n der which force acts and so the last i s the active
,

element in the game Superiority therefore in space and

.
, ,

time appears in fact the c reation of better conditions for the

action of the pieces Superiority in force is already a real
.

advantage a n d it is said n ot without reason that the gain

, , ,

of a Pawn means the winning of a game We know however .

, ,

that all sacrifices are the giving away of a piece in order to

gain an advantage in other elements This means that one .

side in order to o b tain a greater a c tivity of pie c es coming

,

into the game i s ready to allow the enemy to have a greater

,

number of forces but the latter c annot p articipate directly

,

in the main conduct of the game .

We also k now that there are often c ases when one side ,

having the advantage in for c e gives it up for advantage i n

,

other elements which may de c ide the game more q ui ck ly

, ,

because his pieces remai n ing on the board then acquire a

greater activity
We c ome n ow to positions in which one side h as a superiority
which is accompanied by the adva n tage i n force The opposite .

case need not be studied by us j ust at present as the advantage ,

there is a general one and is accompan ied by Shortage in the

number of pieces Bu t cases of useless sacrifices where the
.
,

e n emy wi n s a piece or a Pawn keepi n g at the same time

,

a general superiority may be dealt with here

,
.

In the preceding chapter we h ave al re ady treated of cases

where the advantage was in all the elements a nd we shall ,
1 1 8 SUPE RIOR POSITIONS
possible i n order to destroy Wh ite s adv antage and brin g ’

about an e n d game But he must make this a n e n d game

-
.
-

profitable to hi mself because hi s extra Pawn is doubled an d

, , ,

if o n ly Rooks remain on the board it is impossible to be sure ,

that this Pawn wil l win .

With t hi s in view Black must speculate o n the weakness

,

of the Wh ite K P If thi s is removed from the K i n g s file

.
’

Black wi ll get a protected passed Pawn to the good So .

speculatin g Black plays :

,

I —
Q Q 5
pinn ing both K n ights a n d retiri n g the Quee n from the Rook s ’

threat Note at —
( . th K t Q 5 would place the Black
Quee n in com pl te st al emate positio n with n o protectio n
e ,

at all after 2 R—K t White s answer is obvious : ’

2 . K— R I B —K 3
with the n atur al obj ect of exchan gi n g Bishops If White .

tri es to avoid t hi s he must retreat the Bishop to K 2 or B 1

, ,

Le lose a move to escape attack of which Black would take

.
, ,

advantage by playing P B 4 If White exchanges Bishops

-
.

himself (3 then after P >< B Black w ith this Pa wn ,

cuts the White K n ight off from Q 5 a n d K B 5 a n d besides ,

gets an ope n K B fil e which w ill w eaken the Wh ite K B P

, .

White s attack will be futile whereas Black will strengthen

’

his ce n tre and wil l support his extra Pawn .

So White will have only one move :

3 R — Q B 1
. B >< B
4 . R >< B
The question now arises for Black w hither to retreat the
Queen If Sh e moves to B 3 then White will answer P—K 5
,

with the threats K t—K 4 or P—B 5 This means that Black

.
, ,

must play
4 .
—
Q Kt 7
threate n ing the R P White c annot give up a second Pawn
.
,

his attack not bei n g stro n g enough Besides after Q X R P

Black will threate n K t—Q 5 hitti n g the Rook o n B 3 a n d the
.
, ,

Pawn o n Q Kt 3 and shutti n g o ff the Rook on Q B 4 .

So White drives away the Queen

5 R — Q B 2 .
 AD V ANTAGE IN FOR C E 1 1 9

There is n o other move But this is now possible because . ,

after P—K 5 the Black Quee n wi ll go to R 5 a n d P—B 5 will

n o longer hurt as the Rook has moved from Q B 4 On his .

side Black now threate n s to wi n the Exchan ge by K t—Q 5

,

.
,

White therefore chooses another method of attack °

—
, ,

6 . K t —K t 4 Q K t 3
7 . R— K t 3
If Black moves the Queen to K 3 then P— B —
5 B 6 will ,

follow If the Quee n retreats to R 4 she will be lost a fter

.
,

K t—B 6 ch This mean s that the Quee n has to r em ai n where

.

Sh e is and it is necessary to prevent White s P—B 5

’
.

Black therefore plays :

7 . P —B 4
Wh ite can n ot take this Pawn S ince K t >< P follows with , ,

a threat to the Rook and it is therefore necessary to move

,

the Knight
8 K t —K 5 Q — K 3
.

9 . Kt t Kt t
Black s superiority is n ow obvio us In the number of
’
.

moves both Sid es are equal Black has en ough space his extra , ,

Pawn is maintai n ed , two min or pieces have been exchan ged

an d White is thus deprived of al l chances of attack while ,

Black attacks White s ce n tre Paw n s If White n ow plays

’

P >< P then after R >< P he wil l be u n able to protect his

, , ,

isolated K B P which stands on an open file where Black s

, ,
’

second Rook will now come in Mean while Black threatens .

P >< P ope n in g an attack on the K B P

, White mu st th ere .
~

fore advance the attacked Pawn :

1 0 P—K 5 K t —K t 5
K t—Q 4
.

Threaten in g the Rook and the R P an d to move

—Q
,

an d Kt 6 .

1 1 . R—B 4 P >< P
Threateni n g if P ,
1 2 R >< B ,
P >< P a n d there is no good
retreat for the Rook o n Kt 3 .

Q — R I 1 2 .

Protecting the R P a n d attacki n g Black s K P which can ’

not move o n accou n t of Q x P mate .

1 2 —
Q Q 2
.
1 20 SUPER I OR POSITIONS

C ombining defe n ce from mate with a threat to the K n ight .

1 3 K t —B 3 .P >< P
1 4 K t—K 5 .
—
Q K 2
1 5 R >< P B
( 4) .
Q R — K I

I6 K t —B 4 .
Q — K 8 ch
1 7 R—B 1 .
Q >< Q
1 8 . R >< Q K t >< P
Black has now won three Paw n s exchan ged off nearly al l ,

the pieces a n d ruined all possibili ties of attack by White .

It is clear that the game is won without di fficulty .

But if we wan t to profit by this example we must not ,

forget that the loss of more Pawn s by Whi te was the result
of his being obliged to mai n tai n his advantage in time ; b e
cause had he lost that Black would have had the clear a d
, ,

va n tage of a n extra Pawn Black s pla n was therefore to .

’

paralyse the White pieces a n d to exchan ge them ; by this

White s advantage in time was destroyed and at the same
’

time Black attacked Wh ite s o n ly weak poin t—the K P

,
’

combin i n g this attack with his own defe n ce especial ly of the ,

Queen At the time Black havi n g a Pawn ah ead was able

.
,

to protect himself as every extra move o n ly stre n gthe n ed

,

his position and made his advantage in force greater But .

if Wh ite had remained on the defensive he would not have

hi ndered the enemy from realisi n g his advantages From .

this we may make a similar deductio n to the o n e made when

we co n sidered the co n struction of the plan The realisation
of material advantage must be a distant obj ective in the at ,

t a i n men t of which there are other obj ects to be sought in the

other eleme n ts reached gradually and attai n in g by degrees
,

the main Obj ective .

If i n t he example before us we remove Black s extra Pawn ’

we shall at On ce see how all is changed Though this Pawn .

does not participate i n the game it governs it by influe n cin g ,

both players Thanks to it Black s threats become e ffectual

.
’

(which they would n ot have been but for the extra Pawn )
'

an d thanks to it also White is debarred from attacks and

, ,

defences which he might have selected had he not been a

Pawn down .
1 22 SUPERIOR POSITIONS
freely The latter is of course preferable Being a Pawn
.
, ,
.

down White selects the way of a quick attack :

— K —R
,

3 .
Q K t 5 1

It is still impossible to take the Pawn because the n after , ,

—
the exchange of Rooks a n d the move Q R 6 the Black Queen ,

wi ll be lost .

4 . K t—B 6 R >< P
5 RxR Q X R
So we s ee that Black has won a seco n d Pawn a n d in a few ,

moves Wh ite will be obliged to give up the Bishop

,
.

All this we ca n safely att ribute to the action of an extra

Pawn which gives the stro n ger side the possibility of protect
,

i n g itself more freely eve n i n di fficult positio n s .

It must n ot however be thought that havi n g an advantage

, , ,

in force it is necessary to keep it i n Spite of everythi n g On

,
.

the co n trary one has ofte n to part with it i n order to better

,

o n e s position One may give back a piece which has been

’
.

won i n order either to repulse too strong an attack or to

, ,

make one s own attack more energetic There are plenty of

’
.

examples of such cases For instance i n every gambit the .

, ,

piece or Pawn gai n ed is a real advan tage a n d ca n therefore ,

o n ly be give n back when it can be replaced by a big advantage

elsewhere or when we are forced to do so The latter necessity
,
.

proves either that our ow n game was not strong enough or

else that the e n emy s positio n al adva n tage was so great that
’

only our extra material made things even If we are not .

obliged to surrender a piece or Pawn or fail to obtai n su fficie n t

adva n tage by the surrender but do so i n order to make our ,

game e asier this simply shows that our co n duct of the game
,

has not been su fficiently energetic I n chess no Single e ffort .

must be made in vain and nothi n g must be taken u n til it ,

ca n be utilised .

So if o n e has an extra piece and the better game it must

, ,

first of all b e decided at what stage this extra piece will be

most e ffective—i n the middle or the e n d game I n the latter -
.

case one must try to bri n g about an e n d game clearly under

,
-
,

stan di n g however what form of e n di n g will be the most

, ,

p rofitable In the former case on the contrary the end ga me

.
, ,
-
 AD VANTAGE IN TIME 1 23

must be avoided I n accordance with the character of the

.

position o n e must either attack e n ergetically or protect

,

o n eself with co n fide n ce havi n g i n both cases the possibility

,

( if the n ecessary mome n t should a r ise) of givi n g back the piece

to get a decisive advantage in other eleme n ts .

But as we have said before a piece which has been won

, ,

must only be give n back i n exchan ge for a real an d tan gible

advantage I n itself the possessio n of extra material does
.

not give a special character to the game for the co n ditio n s

of the game are time a n d space and the latter determi n e the ,

co n ditions— i t is o n ly the differe n ce betwee n them which

determines the character of the game At the same time the .
,

di ffere n ce i n those eleme n ts is most di fficult to work out and

to apply in o n e s own game ’
.

We now proceed to discuss these elements .

A DVANTAGE IN T IME
If superiority in force is lost o n ly in the event of hostile
attack on our pieces if advantage i n space is very last i n g
, ,

advantage i n time o n the contrary is very tran sie n t an d may

, ,

disappear quite u n obtrusively That is because after havi n g

.
,

developed our own pieces i n the best possible way we cann ot ,

always find n ew good positio n s in t h e succeedi n g moves ,

since time does n ot extend indefi n itely After a gai n i n Space .

,

we can keep the game in that positio n but after a gai n in time ,

without getting new adva n tages we risk losi n g the old o n es .

Therefore having advantage i n time we must first of all ask

, ,

a very important question (though it is of little importance

when other advantages are dealt with ) How n ot to lose the
advantage won ? The e n emy s threats here come in to con ’

sideratio n b ut more important is the co n sideratio n how to

i n crease the advantage gained i n time an d if it is impossible , ,

to in crease it then how to turn it into adva n tage i n a n other

,

element and in which element This constitutes the decisive

, .

momen t of the game as the co n version of o n e eleme n t i n to

,

an other is always attended by dan ger .

Before discussing how to play when havi n g the advantage

i n time let us look at the followi n g position which may be
, ,
1 24 SUPERIOR POSITIONS
regarded as classical i n r espect of gain in time ( Di ag ram

The position is re all y typical because not o n ly are the pieces ,

the same but both oppo n e n ts have them placed near ly alike ,

except that the two Whi te K n ights have made three moves
more than Black s In that lies Whi te s real advan tage
’
.
’
.

I n accordance with what we have said Whi te must first ,

of all ask if he can gi ve up the advantage won It is possible .

to lose the advan tage i n time i n two ways either the enemy
has the chance of attac k ing the more rapidl y developed pieces
a n d compelli n g them to retire a n d thus lose the time g ai n ed
or he simply makes import an t developin g moves o n e after
the other while the other side ,

D iag a m Lx has no such moves I n the

’

r .
.

example before u s there are no

such direct threats as the B P ,

can attack n either the K n ight

o n Kt 5—which would check
at Q 6 an d win a Pawn nor —
the Knight on Q 4 whi ch would ,

move to B 5 threate n in g the ,

K Kt P an d a check on Q 6 .

White al so has n o luck in de

v e lo in g moves We must how
p .
,

ever continue our study more

m
,

dee !?
Bla c k J Mi
:

Wh i te s advantage that
White D 5 Ts iii
‘ ’
is
: h
r. . sc .

his two K n ights are developed

on good squares while one hostil e Knight is still o n his origi n al
,

square an d the other occupies a weak square But let us .

suppose that Black succeeds in bri n ging out the K n ight to

K B 3 a n d castlin g We note that White s advantage w ill
.
’

decrease at once a n d Black wi ll have no di ffi c ulty in getti n g

,

rid of the troublesome K n ights .

Thus White must fir st of all n ot let Black complete his

, ,

development Le n ot a llow him to bri n g out the second Knight

, .
,

an d c astle This mean s that after havi n g gai n ed an a dv an

.
,

tage in time it is i mpossible to rest quietly o n o n e s laurels

,
’
1 26 SUPERIOR POSITIONS
With the next move Black may begin to overtake him i n
developme n t If the White s play has been far sighted he
.
’
-
,

will fi n d further resources if there are n o n e the n he adv an ced ,

his K n ights too early a n d is obliged to lose time in retiring

them White really has a resou r ce which shows that his
.
,

man n er of developme n t was right that he was far sighted ,

-

a n d his plan deep After 1 K R—K 1 Castles Q R

he can play : 2 K t >< P ch K —K t 1 ; 3 K t—B 6 ch P X K t ;
.
, ,

—
, ,

4 K t >< P ch K B I ; 5 Kt
,
remai n i n g with Rook and ,

two passed Pawn s agai n st two K n ights Thereby he will .

have made no g ai n either in time nor in space a n d all the

, ,

di fference in the game wi ll lie in force In other words Wh ite .

,

has turned his advantage in time i n to advantage in force .

But let us suppose that the Black Pawn stands not on

Q R 2 but o n Q Kt 3 The position would not be changed
,
.
,

but White s combi n ation would be i ncorrect This shows

’
.

how atte n tive one must be to the smallest details of the

situation .

We have thus seen how to disarm the enemy s threats in ’

order t o destroy an advantage i n time and what measures ,

to take to maintai n such a n advantage We have also seen .

how thi s advantage at a decisive moment tur n s into an ad

va n tage in a n other element .

Let us n ow see how to increase an advantage in tim e an d

how to play the game when i n possessio n of such an advantage .

From our last example we know that one must not

always retire the developed pieces as by that considerable ,

time may be lost Of course if the retreat is o n ly a pre

.
,

paratory or i n termediate stage i n a preco n ceived plan then ,

that is n ot the case ; but retreat in itself always mean s a

surrender to the enemy s will This shows that we must ’
.

support the position of the advanced pieces and so far from ,

allowi n g the e n emy to threate n them threate n him i n stead ,

.

We have also lear n t that we must hi n der the hostile develop

me n t i n its mai n directio n s threate n i n g poi n ts cutting li n es
, , ,

a n d so on But in additio n we learnt that whe n allowi n g

.
, ,

the realisatio n of a hostile threat we must cou n t on the positio n

which he gets bei n g to his disadva n t age So it happe n ed .
 AD VANTAGE IN TIME 1 27

in our last example Black threate n ed to castle White

.
,

allowed it an d the r esult was be n eficial to White This Shows

,
.

that our rule was sound : it is necessary to build up a far

sighted general plan and i n divi dual threats must be but
,

milesto n es o n the way n ot the obj ective itself

,
.

Let us look at a n ew position (Diagram

This is as typical of adva n tage i n time as the precedin g
o n e but it has a Special character Black havi n g gai n ed three
, ,

moves whil e White gai n ed a Pawn an d space than ks to the ,

Pawn o n K 4 an d the Queen at R 6 Besides White h as .

,

n ot a s i ngle weak point i n his positio n an d all that Black ,

can attain wil l be owi n g to his

Diag a m LX I
r gain i n time
.
,

But what is the char acter of

the position It can as usual , ,

be found most easily by an

al y s i n g the di ffere n ce between

the two sides Here the d i ff .

erence is in the station of

the Bishops Whi le White s .
’

Bishop is undeveloped Black s ,

’

Bishop strikes alo n g a Splendid

diago n al He fir st threate n s
.

to take the K n ight a n d by so ,

doin g he would weake n the

Bla ck J R C ap a b la c a
‘
n
Wh j t é A Ni m
; it hf
, e defe n ce of K P and double
zov c

the Pawn s o n the Bishop s file ’

.

The Q Kt P is Ob ii ge d to protect the K n ight a n d if the latter ,

goes away then the Bishop is tied down bein g obliged to ,

protect the Pawn ; an d the position of the Rook preve n ts

the r emov al of both K n ight and Q Kt P .

The re are however n o weak n esses in White s positio n

, ,
’

an d if Black does n ot hi n der him he wil l quietly develop his

, ,

Bishop retire the Quee n (which alo n e is out of the gam e ) to

, ,

protect the K n ight a n d will the n play P—Q Kt 3 and remov e

, ,

the Rook an d fin ally the K n ight His ga me will the n be .

safe a n d he wi ll still have a n extra Pawn .

How ca n Black hi nder him ?

1 28 SUPERIO R POSITIONS
It is clear that his whole game lies in an attack on the
hostile Quee n s side Pawn s concentrating his pieces on this
’

flan k But if Black at once plays R—R 1 he will o n ly drive

,

the Wh ite Queen into her own camp he wi ll attain nothi n g

and wi ll lose one move Should he shift the Knight in order
.
'

t o attack the White K night with the Bishop he will take off ,

the attack from the K P If he moves the Queen he will .

,

lose the Pawn on B 3 .

SO the game must b e conducted in a more complicated way ,

observin g the general rules of not losing time and n ot allowing

the enemy to gain it and of developing freely Le threatening
, , .
,

directly and unceasingly .

Blac k makes his first move R—K 1 .

This is a curious situation Black attacks the Pawn which .

,

White can protect by bringi n g the Queen bac k i n to the game

and of course he haste n s to do so thin king to strengthen
, , ,

h i s position and to gain time .

2 —
Q Q 3
But b y this he drops his threat against Blac k s Pawn on B 3 ’

a n d now the hostile Queen is free for attack whereas before ,

Sh e w as tied Having a disadvantage in time one must never

.
,

make it easier for the enemy nor cease to threaten him It .

is clear that it would have been better to have played at

once 2 P—B 3 which must b e played in a n y c ase
, .

Blac k s answer is o b vious

’

2 .
—
Q K 3
A new threat from Black !
3 . P —B 3
We have now another curious moment The attack on .

the K P is fi n ished What has Black to do It is clear that

.

this attack was merely a demonstration It was made in .

order to tie up the enemy s pieces Further the Rook moved

’
.
,

in order to free the Queen the Queen moved to give plac e

to the K night .

The K n ight attac k ed the Pawn This attack is n ow .

fi n ished a n d he has to go to the Queen s wi n g where the game ’

will be decided .
1 30 SUPERIO R POSITIONS
If we now sum up the position (Diagram we see
that Black h as gai ned o n ly one move but with that he h as ,

u n doubte dl y gai ned i n space as al l his pieces occupy Open ,

li n es while the Queen comma n din g adj acent squares is

, , ,

placed i n the mid dl e of the board A n d Black estimates thi s .

adv an tage so highly that he prefers it even to the g ai n of a

Pawn
Io .
Q —K 3 R— K t 5
Threate n i ng B -
Q 5 .

II .
—
Q Kt 5 B —Q 5 ch
1 2 .
—
K R 1 R ( R 1 ) —K t 1

Now the gain of a piece is

Diag am r L X IL threatened and White is there
,

fore obliged to sacrifice the

Exchange .

1 3 RxB
The game i s won .

The conduct of this game b y

Black is wo n derful an d it is ,

really the best example of how

one s adv an tage may be i n ’

creased when one has the supe

ri ori t y in time It is necessary .

to make threat after threat ,

W h i le playing e ach mov e i n

Bla ck J R C apa bla c a
: n
accordance wi th the plan I n
.

Whi te A Ni m i t h
. .

: . e z ov c .
.

this way the enemy s develop ’

ment is hampered and he is not a llowed to gai n in time The .

most diffi cult point in this is the chan gi n g over of pieces from
one attacking s quare to another through a series of passive
ones In the example this feature is also marked The chan gi ng
. .

over is com b ined with the open i ng up of another piece which , ,

at this moment makes the threat The most diffi cult process
, .

is the conversion of one element into the other Here this is .

managed b eautifully owi n g to the chan ge bei n g gradual and

,

unobtrusive A n d all our ge n eral rema rks about advantage i n

.

t ime are illustrated here They will be clearer still when we

.

c onsider the game in whi c h there is an advantage in space .

 AD VANTAGE IN SPA C E 1 31

A DVANTA G E rN S PA C E

The obj ect of the player who has a n y advantage is always

the same firstly not to lose it and seco n dly to i n crease it
, , , ,

u n til it is enough for victory The diff ere n ce in the attai n

.

me n t of these obj ects while havi n g the adv an tage in o n e of

,

the elements depe n ds on the qualities of those elements

,
.

We saw that it is easy to lose o n e s advantage in time and ’

therefore the player having it must be very careful Furth er .

,

advantage in time can n ot be kept lo n g and cannot increase

much a n d must therefore be converted early into advantage
in another element .

Both ends in time are attain ed by means of unceasi ng

, ,

threats which hamper the e n emy s developme n t and help

,
’

to i n crease one s own advantage

’
.

The obj ect of the game whe n havi ng the advan tage in
,

Space, is a di ffere n t one H ere the e n emy is much more

.

in conve n ie n ced in the movement of his pieces ; therefore it

is not so necessary to threate n his pieces or poi n ts as to try
to deprive him of some of the squares on which he could place
a piece .

To lose the advantage in space i s much more diffi cult than

to do so in time and to avoid it o n e has only to refrain from
, , ,

retirin g the pieces from the important advan ced posts which
they occupy and on the contrar y to strengthen them there
, ,
.

H aving th e advan tage in space it is possible to lose many ,

moves without makin g a n y threats an d even to allow a real

development as the e n emy cannot profit by his moves when
,

he h as his squares taken from him Therefore in order to .

,

increase one s adva n tage i n space it is enough to hamper

’

the enemy quietly almost without real threats A n d as

, .

advantage in S pace can develop i n defi n itely it is unnecessary ,

to try to change it into advan tage in other elements That .

will come of itself when the e n emy bei n g too hard pressed , ,

will have n o other mean s of extricati n g himself except by

sacrifici n g a piece .

This mome n t is very d angerous The sacrifice of a piece .

or a Pawn may mean for o n e s adversary escape from the ’

1 32 SUPERIO R POSITIONS
e n circli n g ri n g and a b reak through may be made which will
,

undo the player who had the advantage in Space This shows .

that if o n e has the advan tage in time there are specially

, ,

diffi cult moments when it must be chan ged into a n other,

eleme n t but if o n e has the advantage in space it is p ar ti cu

, ,

larly da n gerous when the adversary h as got free from the

pressure of his position by givi n g up some of his materi al .

Examples will show us the di ffere n ce sti ll more clearly .

First let us look at Diagram L X II I Force a n d time on both .

Sides are ali ke ; the di ffere n ce is o n ly in space White has .

two centre Pawns and a K n ight o n the fourth rank while ,

Black has all his pieces on the

Diag am L X I I I
r first three ranks But further .
, ,

the Black pieces have no good

developme n t in V iew of the
threats of an adva n ce of the
centre Pawns ; the Knight
cann ot go to his n atural square
K B 3 ; the Bishop cannot
go to K Kt 5 the other Bishop
ca nn ot go to the Queen s side ’

as he will then leave without

defence the cen tre and the
Ki n g s side against which ’

Bla c k J R C ap ab la c a
.
W h ite s attack is directed
n
’
.

W h i te D E Las k e How can Black develop his

' '

: r , , r ,

game What can he threaten ?

He must first of all develop his Q B There is no develop .

ment i n B —Q 2 as here there is no diagonal But there is

, .

the possibility of development through Q Kt 2 By that .

Black can open the attack on the hostile K P reinforcing it ,

with the Rook on the King s file I f Wh ite advan c es the ’

.

K P then the Bishop and Knight get a beautiful square at

,

K B 4 Besides the other Black Bishop threatens with

B —Q B 4 to pin the K n ight a n d to occupy a good positio n
.
,

Has White any direct threats ? Except P—B 5—B 6 not

.

o n e a n d that o n e can n ot be realised at once So i t is clear .

that White s obj ect while playing in the c entre and o n the
’

,
1 34 SUPERIO R POSITIONS
i n order to develop the Bishop But a question arises ought
.

he perhaps to remain on his origi n al diago n al to protect the

poin t K 3 I n that case it was n ot worth while making the
preceding move ! And b esides if B —Q 2 then 3 B —B 4
, , , ,

and White gets a Sple n did game by Q R—Q I White s chief .

’

idea is now to place the K n ight on K 6 How can he do that .

It is necessary to pass through K B 4 or Q 4 but previously

Wh ite must drive away the Blac k Bishop from Q 6 -
.

Therefore :
3. B —B 4
Of course Black ought to take this Bishop as he c annot ,

avoid the exchange a n d by allowing the enemy to take he

,

will create for ll nself a n other weakness in the Pawn at Q 3

. .

Besides by taking the Bishop he gai n s several moves as

, , ,

the White Rook at B 4 must Spend time i n order to return

into the game on the Ki n g s or Queen s file Black however
’ ’
.
, ,

co n ti n ues h i s plan of development without the necessary

attention
3 .

4 . B >< B
s Kt Q 4
Here at last is the first White threat in five moves ! This
threat is o n ly to move the K n ight to K 6 We n ote that .

White lost o n e move during these manoeuvres and h ampere l

still more the enemy pieces which had no moves at all Black
,
.

has now one threat the attack on the K P a n d he must

, ,

not let the White K n ight fortify himself at K 6 For this .

end he must advance his Q B and Q PS .

H e ca n not preve n t the K n ight from goi n g to K 6 whence ,

it wi ll threaten the square Q 8 so that the Rook must b e put

,

here as quickly as possible in order to have time to protect

the Q P which wi ll otherwise be attacked by the White Rook
,

and will be helpless .

5 .
Q R— Q I
6 . K t— K 6 R—Q 2

It is curious that White when he has attained o n e of his

,

Obj ects a n d whe n he has i n creased the e n emy s i n conve n ie n ces

’

h a s n ow made three moves fewer than Black It is true that .

 AD V ANTAGE IN SPACE 1 35

those moves the advancing one step of the Queen s side

,
’

Pawn s do n ot mean much and therefore the advantage is

, ,

still with Wh ite But the fact remains Similar to what we

.
,

noticed i n the chapter about time where gain in time during , ,

its development is often combi n ed with loss i n Space

,
.

White now of course attac k s the weak point created b y

, ,

Black at his Q 3 .

7 Q R— Q 1 .

Black can save this Pawn either b y protecting it or by

advan ci n g it It is i mpossible to advan ce it at o n ce as the n
.
,

there will be a n isolated Pawn which wi ll fall u n der the threat

,

of both the Rooks Black bei n g u n able to bri n g up a n other

,

Rook for the defe n ce Therefore Black must first play P—B 4
.

in order to hold the square Q 4 with the Bishop and not the
Pawn In reply White would guard against the weakness of
.

this Pawn on K B 5 in the abse n ce of the K P and would

play 8 P —
,

K Kt 4 The continuation would be as follows

—B
.

P—Q 4 ; 9 P >< P B >< P ; I O K t Rt , , ; 1 1 Kt 7!

R >< R ; 1 2 R >< R R—Q B 1 ; 1 3 R—Q 7,
an d wi ns ,
.

From this it follows that Black cann ot realise his idea and
must fall back on passive defence That is the real result .

of the White man oeuvres .

7 .

8 . R—B 2
9 K R—Q 2
—
.

Io
Q Kt 4 P
Parryi n g the threat of P—B
.

4
10 . K —B 2

n . P—Q R 3
IS there not a great an d wo n derful di fference from the
game which we last looked at ? Black cann ot move and ,

White also does nothing but fortify his position in order to

begi n a decisive attack later ! Such tactics are possible only
wh en the advantage is in space n ever when it is i n time ,
.

But n ow comes the decisive mome n t mentio n ed above .

Black can sac rifice the Exchange for a Pawn ( R t ; 12

P >< R ch R >< P) and by threate n i n g the K P will get u n
, ,

expected chan ces In order to prove the reaso n able n ess or

.
1 36 S UPERIO R POSITIO NS

oth erwise of this sacrifice the game would have to be played ,

out but at a n y rate it is i m portan t to n otice that after the

sacrifice Black would have a Bishop Paw n a n d three moves ,

again st the White Rook while White s gai n s i n Space would

,
’

all disappear ! It is clear that if Black does not seize this ,

his last chan ce he delivers himself e n tirely into the power

,

of the enemy who will n ow dictate his will

,
.

1 1 . B—R 1

1 2 . K— B 2 R—R 2

P— K t 4
'

1 3 .

Now begi n s the decisive stage like that which we mentioned ,

i n positio n s where o n e Side had the adva n tage i n all the

eleme n ts White must break through somewhere a n d Black
.
,

is helpless to preve n t it .

1 3 . P— R 3
1 4 . R— Q 3 P— Q R 4

In vai n . The ope n i n g of the files is p r ofitable to the stronger

player .

PxP
R ( R 2 ) —K 2

R —Kt 1
P— K t 3
P— K t 4 ch
K t—K t 3
R PXP
The continuatio n has hardly any i n terest for ou r purpose ,

as Black havi n g lost his advantage in time has n o obj ect

, ,

in the game while White co n tinues to destroy the hostile

,

position .

22 . R—R 3
23 K —K t 3
—
.

24 .
Q R K R 1

25 . P— K 5

Here is the decisive break through White gets -

.

his weak Paw n i n order to put the K n ight in its place ,

e n i ng the Ki n g and both the Rooks .

1 38 SUPERIO R POSITIONS
White cannot bri n g the K B into the game by B —R 4—K t 3 ,

with a n attack o n P Q 5 .

But White ca n n ow win a Pawn by Q B >< K t Q >< B ; 2 ,

P >< P . If B >< K t then 3 P >< R B >< P ( Kt

, 4 Q
— K 3 ,

(n ot 4 P >< P ch for then Black quickly wi n s by K X P ; 5

— —
,

Q K 3 B , R 6 ch ! and mate in two moves) and White ,

has the Exchan ge agai n st a Pawn plus If Black does not

—
.

sacrifice the Exchange but plays B 3 then follows ,

3 P t B >< K,t ( if P >< P 4 K t — K 7 ch wi nn i n g ) ; 4 P >< P

, , ,

with the better game But Black in the former variation can
—
.

play Kt 3 remai n i n g with a good attack a n d a Pawn

,

for the Exchange or may play instead of , ( Kt ,

X P (K keeping a beautiful att ackin g position against

the Exchange This is the moment when the oppo n ent
.
,

havi ng i n curred a loss i n S pace is ready to give up material ,

for freedom V ery possibly Wh ite while accepting the sacri

.
,

fice would win the game j ust the same but he would lose
, ,

the initiative H ow must White play if he wants to keep

.

the initiative
His o b j ect is to develop the Q B and transfer the K B to
the diago n al Q R 2 —K K t 8 a n d to double the Rooks or ,

a Rook and a Queen on the K R file so as to preve n t the , ,

e n emy from w inning the K P and to closing the K R file .

All these Obj ectives can be attai n ed by a fresh attac k

agai n st the K night at Kt 5 which can n ot retire to R 2 for , ,

then the pressure of the doubled Rooks would be directed

against it on this file and Should it try to escape from this
s quare the n the Rooks would mate on R 8 The Knight .

must therefore be supported By what ? Only the K B P .

can do so But that Pawn at B 3 would spoil the Rook s

.
’

chance of goi n g to R 3 to block the K R file against the White

Rooks Besides the Paw n s move would open for White ’

the diagonal Q R 2 —K Kt 8 on which Black s K i n g s Roo k

.
,
’ ’

an d the Q P stand and the White K B would try to seize it

,
.

Now the threat of this Bishop will deprive Black of the possi
b i li ty of adva n ci n g the Q P or with it capturi n g White s K P
’

as then the win of the Exchange will follow with a crushi n g ,

attack Black will be obliged to protect the Q P but that

.
,
 AD VANTAGE IN SPA C E 1 39

gives White the Opportu n ity of taki n g off the defe n ce fro m
the K P and i n this way of developi n g the Q B which ca nn ot ,

be developed n ow o n accou n t of the weakn ess of the K P .

An d the developme n t of this Bishop allows the possibility

of doublin g the Rooks on the K R fil e .

So the first part of White s pla n u n folds itself before us

’

the doubli n g of the Rooks o n the K R file the bri n gi n g out ,

of the Q B an d the placin g of the K B on the weake n ed diago n al

R —
Q 2 K Kt 8 An d all this plan is carried through n early
.

without threats With the exceptio n of the first move

.
,

White does n ot threate n at all but i n stead he ties down all ,

Black s pieces parri es all his th r eats a n d deprives his forces

’

, ,

of the possibil ity of developme n t .

Let us give a series of moves

I .
—
Q K 3 P—B 3
2 . B —R 4 K t —K 2
3 . B —K t 3 P—B 3
4 .
—
Q Kt 3 P—R 4

This is do n e not for attack on the Bishop which White

, ,

can easily preve n t but i n order to ope n the seven th ran k

,

for the Rook from which on the Quee n s Side it can protect
, ,
’

the Kin g s Side Thi s might be done by the move R—B 1

’

but the n B —K 3 would attack the Q R P in order to p rotect

.
,

which it would be n ecessary to play P—Q Kt 3 an d White

could again attack by P—R 4 wi th thr eat of P—R 5
,

.
,

5 . P—R 4 K t —B 2

6 . B —K 3 P— K t 3

This is do n e with the obj ect already me n tio n ed (defe n ce

by the Rook o n the seve n th rank) an d also to p r eve n t the
Bishop from going to B 5 .

7 . R—R 4 K— B 1

8 .
Q R —R 1 K t— K t I

The first part of the plan is executed The position is .

blocked an d all Wh ite s pieces occupy their proper places

,
’
.

At the same time all Black s threats are parried White has
’
.
1 40 SUPERIO R POSITIONS
g a i n ed two moves while losi n g nothing i n space As in the .

precedi n g game White without an y threats merely hampers

, , ,

the developmen t of the enemy s pieces but here to his gain in ’

time is added a gain in Space .

But Black s positio n is not yet ruined What can White

’
.

do to bring that about ? He must certai n ly profit by the

adversary s weaknesses Those weaknesses are first of all
’
.
, ,

the Q P the position of which is very unstable as it can not

,
, ,

be successfully protected ; but still more the hole which

exists in the King s side Le the poi n t Kt 3 At present the
’

,
.
,
.

Bishop which protects the King s Side well stands there ;

,
’

but if there were no Bishop then not o n ly would the poi n t

, ,

be at once co n siderably weake n ed but also the White Rooks ,

would be able to attack the K Kt P from R 7 By now .

n early all Black s pieces have been brought up for the defe n ce
’

among White s pieces the Bishop on K 3 does n ot participate

’

in the attack In order to bring him i n to the game it is

.

necessary to get up an attack on K R 6 .

So White s plan is to dri ve away the Black Bishop and to

’

force Black to put a piece o n K R 6 This is done with the .

help of a n attack on the Q P which for the time bei n g can not ,

be protected Black however threate n s to withdraw it

.
, ,

from the pressure of the Bishop first movi n g his Rook on ,

K 3 from this Bishop s diagonal White must prevent this ’

.

and therefore cannot postpone the attack on the Q P a n y

lo n ger But let us note that even n ow after the direct threat
.
,

of the first move the following moves have been lacki n g in

,

direct th r eats and o n ly convey distant ones What a di ffer .

e n ce from positions showi n g gain i n time where the distant ,

threats are accompanied by direct threats !

9 Q — B 3 B x Kt
R—Q 3
.

10 Kt P >< B
— —
.

1 1 Q R 5 R R 2
—
.

1 2 Q Kt 6 .

The game is o n the white squares The absence of Black s .

’

Q B makes itself felt

Now R—R 7 is threatened attacki n g the Kt P
.

Kt ( B 2 ) —R 3
.
,

1 2 .
 CH A P TE R III

INF ERIOR POSITION S

I NTR ODU CT ORY

WHEN we speak about inferior positio n s we have in V iew ,

those where there are great or small adva n tages for the enemy ,

which e n able him to execute his plan to man ifest his will ,

a n d compel the other side to submit to it It may happen .

that the weaker S ide while submitti n g to the stro n ger some
, ,

times co n ducts an energetic attack ; th at is because it may

have some special advan tage of its own which it tries to use ,
.

If however this S pecial advantage is sma ler tha n the oppo

, ,
l

neut s the latter must u n dersta n d how to defe n d himself and

’

realise his advantage and then his attack comes the quicker .

It is not always possible in practice to estimate quite clearly

, ,

who has the advantage in each case so that mistakes and ,

u n sound play often occur But as we study the game th eoreti

.

call y we can estimate the position correctly We shall .

therefore discuss here o n ly those positions which really are

weak Cases in which the advantage is very small will b e
.

discussed in Chapter IV where we shall deal with equal

.
,

positions We shall also omit positio n s where enormous

.

adva n tages i n all eleme n ts are on one side it is b etter in such

a case to give up the game .

All our attentio n on the contrary must be given to positio n s

, ,

which in Spite of their defects are sti ll defensi b le Of course

, , .
,

the maki n g of a plan of defe n ce must depend on a valuation

of the position But in so doin g and seeing our own defects
.
, ,

it is useful to ask ourselves if the e n emy s adva n tage is enough ’

i n itself to wi n or if it h as to be i n creased co n siderably in order

to give winning chances The a n swer to this q uestion fa c ili
.
 INTRODUCTO RY 1 43

tates the cont i nuation of the game ; for if the advantage is ,

not e n ough to win then the obj ect of the game is more simple
, ,

vi z n ot to make one s own positio n worse If on the co n

’
.
,

trary the advantage is great a n d might lead to V ictory the n

, ,

much more complicated plans and man oeuvres wi ll be n ecess ar y

to avoid losin g In practice a player with a disadvantage
.
,

may win the game and must as a rule always try for vi ctory , ,

but in theory we must only study how to prevent our weak

nesses from increasi n g an d how to get rid of them if possible , .

We Shall not study cases where bad positions win because ,

if the wi n is not accide n tal and the result of a big mistake

by the e n emy it can o n ly come about after the positio n s have
,

been made equal Le from the moment when they fal l within
,
.
,

the scope of the chapter on equal positio n s .

When we say that the weaker Side submits to the wi ll of

the enemy we do not mean that all his moves are forced
,

an d that he has n o choice On the co n trary in all the posi

.
,

tions al ready mentio n ed we ha v e see n that with a defe n sive ,

game a choice can be made between the methods of defence

,
.

If the wi ll of the weaker side is quite par al ysed by the e n emy ,

who en forces his own will then the position is a lost o n e and
, , ,

until this compulsio n is got rid of and a right of choice is

attained there can be no chan ce in the game We have
,
.

already shown that forced moves indicate that the positio n

is a critical one .

SO we may s ay that the obj ect of the defence is first of ,

all to destroy the influe n ce of the enemy over its own moves
,
.

The methods of attai n men t depend of course on the nature , ,

of the position and on the elements in which the enemy h as

his advantage . If this supremacy is in Space and the enemy ,

wi thout us i ng direct threats slowly presses the weaker Side , ,

ties up the pieces and paralyses the moves then it is best ,

to make a diversio n on the flan k opposite that on which the

attack is conducted so as to p r eve n t the enemy from com
,

ple t ely par al ysin g it If o n the co n t r ary the superiority

.
, ,

is i n time an d the e n emy by di rect thr eats prevents the pieces

from developin g then we must protect ourselves not allowi n g
, ,

the hostile attac k to develop a n d continuin g our own few

1 44 INFERIO R POSITIONS
threats In this way o n ly can we hamper his pieces But
.

nowhere is it so important as during defe n ce to have in V iew

a ge n eral long plan and not to be co n tent to protect o n eself
from move to m ove merely parrying individual threats while
,

givin g way before the main attack And as the weaker .

player i s in flue n ced by the stronger agai n st his own wi ll , ,

s o it i s most important to under stand and make clear to one

self the threats of the other S ide .

J ust now in superior positio n s it w as the desire of the

, ,

stro n ger side to detect the adversary s threats so as to parry

’

them in seaso n and carry out the realisation of its own plan .

In inferior positions the weaker side must construct its plan

i n relation to the adversary s threats First of all comes
’
.

the question of defe n ce If i n the last example Black had

.

rightly recog n ised the value of his Bishop o n Kt 3 he would

n ot have a llowed it to be forced off by an exchan ge Black .

had other hopes of defendi n g the Ki ng s side by means of ’

a Rook sta n di n g o n the seco n d ra n k on the Quee n s S ide ; ’

but in reality this Rook n ot only di d not take part in the

defence but was one of the causes of the final ruin Bei n g .

u n protected it fell at its defensive post and thus gave the

,

enemy the material superiority which decided the game !

But for the creation of the plan of the counter game it is -

necessary to grasp the enemy s plan thoroughly to foresee

’

all his threats and how to repulse them Then it is possible .

to evolve a plan of active i n itiative on one s own part ’

.

We have already pointed out the necessity of seeing

Whether the enemy s adva n tage is enough to win the game
’

or not Then we must make clear at what point this ad y ah

tage will lead to a win—i n the middle or the end game—and
.

on that depends the choice of the kind of game to play But .

we must understan d what kind of e n di n g can be defended

successfull y On that depe n ds the question to which we ak
.

ness in our own positio n we should pay attention .

It ofte n happens that the loss of a Pawn or of the Ex c hange

is unavoidable We must therefore decide on the natu r e of
.

the end game i n either case in order to cho ose what material
-
,

to surre n der and when and where .

1 46 IN F ERIOR POSITIONS
study al l the cases We must leave the maj ority of them
.

for future study an d limit ourselves to typic al on es .

I NFERI ORITY IN F OR C E
If one player has fewer forces than the other he must decide ,

between a passive defence and an active po licy Of course .

whe n a piece or a Pawn has been sacrificed voluntarily for

the sake of an attack the question is settled of itself The
,
.

question remains ope n o n ly i n cases when pieces are lost

involuntarily It is then necessary to be careful n ot to lose
.

the game an d to choose the

Dia g a m L X V
r methods which will most of all
.

hamper the enemy We have .

already spoken of the necessity

of seei n g clearly where the en
emy s advantage wi ll manifest ’

itself i n the middle or the e n d ,

game an d of co n ducting the ,

game accordi n gly Most di ffi .

cult are the cases when the

advan tage is mainly i n the mid
dle game a n d will not decrease
in the end — game Then such .

a plan must be fou n d as wi ll

tjij hj t g ! : fi
j I
j ftzj
Bl a’ ‘ a n ca
check the mergi n g of the middle
'

e s

into the e n d game and will -

considerably paralyse the adva n tage i n the middle game .

L et us take for instance the position in Diagram L X V

, ,
.
,

in which Black has lost the Excha n ge for a Pawn AS regards .

space the positions are n early alike though Black s centre

, ,
’

Pawn gives him a small advan tage ; while White has two
extra moves Thus the di ffere n ce is only in material the
.
,

Rook bein g stronger than the Bishop and Pawn ; and as ,

it is now so it will also remain in the e n d

,
.

What plan can Black formulate ? Naturally only one ,

to try to get a passed Pawn on the Queen s wi ng where he ’

h as one Pawn more which being rei n forced by the B ishop

, , ,
 INFERIORITY IN FOR CE 1 47

wi ll counteract the hostile Rook What threat h as Wh ite ? .

At the mom ent to advance the K B P to B 6 and in ge n er al

,

to attac k with the Pawns on the Kin g s Side the opposin g ’

position Black must preve n t this and by combining defence

.

with the attack Shown before must brin g the Bisho p to the
Kin g s Side
’
.

Thus
1 .

2 .
Q R—K 2

3 Q — R s
Of course this is n ot good as the Queen is rut off and out ,
S t

of the game It would be better to co n ti n ue the attack by

P—K Kt 4 Q —K t 3 P—K R 4 P—K t 5 a n d so on
.

.
, , , ,

P -
K R 3
4 Kt 4 .K —R 2 P— K
Preventin g P K R 4 which would be met b y P—K Kt 3
-
, ,

winning the Queen By t hi s Black enti rely protects his

.

King s side and is able with all hi s forces to begin the move
’

men t on the Queen s side ; a n d as the White Queen is out

’

of the game he has chances of attack It would be unwise

,
.

for Black to keep up the passive game Whi te would retire .

the Quee n and would renew the attack or on the other hand , ,

might try to brin g the game to an ending This mean s that .

if four moves earli er Black s idea co n sisted o n ly in the

, ,
’

establishment of a passed Pawn protected by the Bishop now ,

Whi te s mi stake al lows indeed obliges Black to play ener

’

, ,

ge ti c ally for the attack

5
1

1 .
—
R Q 1 K —K t
6 R—Q 1 . P—B 4
r Q
— R 3
—
Q Rs
Brin gi ng the Quee n in to the g am e an d freeing his Pawn s for
a further advan ce Meanwhile the Quee n attacks the Rook
.

and the K Kt P by which mean s the White Queen is kept

,

out of play .

8 . R (K 2 ) —
Q 2 —
Q K 5 ch
9 . Kt 4 K —R I P— Q
Here is the importan t mome n t Black could attain his .

first obj ective—the passed Pawn —with —Q 5 but b y ,

1 48 INF ERIOR POSITION S
that he would b lock the Bishop and the Pawn could easily
,

be held up by the e n emy s Rooks In the first part of the

’
.

game that would be enough but now Black ought to play

for more—not for a wi n but simply to utilise all the possi
,

b ili ti es of the position .

—
The text move threateni n g P K t 5
-
, ,

also gives Black a passed Pawn but it does not block the ,

Bishop and therefore to this Pawn it adds the possibi lity of

direct attack
Q —K t 2 —
Q R 5
Of course Black does n ot now exchan ge Queens ,
as that
would end all his attacks .

1 1 . K —K t I P— K t 5
We can n ow leave this posi
Diag am L XV I
r . tio n It is clear that Black
.
,

bei n g the Exchan ge down knew ,

how to chan ge from a passive

to an active game and even to
make a stro n ger attack which ,

he begi n s and continues by

sacrifices This example may b e .

looked on as an instance of the

weaker side getti n g possession
of the initiative and maki n g an
attack while havi n g inferior
forces .

But there is another consi d

? si mffit j
I L k cr
e r a ti on which ought to be kept
c er

in view whe n one is left with

inferior forces towards the end of the game : that is which ,

piece to give up and what ki n d of e n ding to select if of , ,

course o n e has the possibility of choice

, .

H ere more knowledge and understanding of the end game -

is n ecessary We must however see the way in which the

.
, ,

weaker side can attai n to a better ending for its own purposes .

Let us look at Diagram L X V I .

Here the number of pieces is still the same but White s ,

’

position is such that Black is forced to lose a Pawn or the

1 50 INFERIO R POSITIONS
This is the e n d game which Black tried to obtain But
-
.

what must we say when he freely gives away a second Pawn

for the sake of an endin g yieldin g a draw
1 a K —B 3 R—K 5
1 3 R—B 5 K —B 3
1 4 RxR P
And this endi n g forced the draw ! Black has suc c eeded
through his grasp of the essential point of the position that ,

the K B P must be preserved .

The two examples quoted Show us how material in feriority

may be nullified by reduci n g the game to a n e n di n g by way ,

of defen c e and o f attack .

I NFERIORITY IN T IME

Such a case may also occur when there is an inferiority in

time a n d then too it is possible that the disadvantage may
, ,

turn to loss in materi al a n d the kind of end game to be at,

-

f ained must be calculated beforehand It has truly been said .

that one must not hurry to convert positional adv an tage into
material advantage In spite of its tangible c haracter the
.
,

latter advantage is often less important th an superiority in

positio n Tak e Diagram L X V I I
. .

The number of moves and pieces i s equal on both sides and

we might look on Black as having an advantage in space on
the Queen s wing We k n ow however that in re al ity the
’
.
, ,

latter is not the c ase Black has developed but one piece
.
,

and that only one move ; and from the poi n t of V iew of ,

defence Black h as neglected t o c astle White has developed

,
.

two pieces for attack and his attack is against an insu ffi ciently
,

protected Black piece whereby White threatens to wi n a ,

Pawn and in some eventualities even the Bishop Owi n g to .

Black s delay i n development his Queen s side Pawns are

’

,
’

not only not a source of stren gth but are a weakness s i nc e , ,

they are open to immediate attack b y the hostile Rooks .

 INFER I ORITY IN TIME 1 51

So Black must decide how to protect his Pawns and if he ,

gives o n e up which o n e and whe n and wi th a V iew to what

, , ,

kin d of e n di n g .

Supposing that Black can n ot save all the Pawns the ,

question at once arises which Pawn to surre n der .

Let us say that he decides to give up the Q B P How can .

he then protect the Q R an d Q Kt PS ? It is clear that they

too will f all and s o it is impossible to gi ve up this Pawn
, .

Next we m ight try to give up the K B P and castle at once

but the n the Bishop an d n eighbou ri n g Pawn wi ll be captured
o n K 3 and Black wi ll with di fficulty protect his Queen s side
,
’

Pawn s At an y rate he wil l .

Dia g am v i i
r have n ot o nl y o n e Pawn less
,

o n the K i n g s side but also weak ’

Pawns o n the Queen s This ’

.

Shows that care must be taken

of the latter either by rein ,

forcin g them or if their ad ,

v a n ce d posi tio n permits by ,

usin g them for attack .

Thus the plan is gradually

marked out : to protect the
attacked Bishop and to use
the ti m e whi ch White will lose
i n attacki n g it to better the
Bla c k Dr s T
: h ar r as c
posi t i o n on the Queen s Si de
. . .

Wh ite G M O y
’

: . ar cz . ,

an d when that obj e c t is at ,

tain e d to sacrifice the least valuable Pawn

, .

And so :

1 . K —K 2
2 . R—K 5

Attacking the B P and threatening to double Rooks 2 .

P—K B 4 would not be immediately da n gerous as after

—
,

P4 K t 3 3 P K t 4 White does not threaten

-

4 P B 5 for
then P >< P ; 5 P >< P R—K Kt 1 attackin g the u n prote c ted
,

, ,

K n ight which stands on a fil e with the White Ki n g

,
.
1 52 INFERIO R POSITIONS
2 .

3 .
Q R— K 1

4 . P— K B 4
5 . P— K t 4
The decisive mome n t has arrived White threatens to .

Wi n either the Bishop or a Paw n He threate n s both P B 5 .

-

and also K t—K 4 with a double attack on the Q B P If

, .

Black should protect the latter with the seco n d Rook K R ,

Q B 1 both his Rooks will be tied up and the Pawn will be

, ,

attacked as before .

So Black p l ays :
5 P— B 5
removing the Pawn from the Roo k s attack and threate n ing ’

a further adva n ce of both the Pawns .

6 . P— R 4
Prepari ng for —
P B 5 .

6 .

7 . Kt
8 . R >< R ch
9 . P—B 5
Io PXP
1 1 . P ch R ><
1 2 R >< Q R P
.

White has won a Pawn but only on the Rook s file Black s
,
’
.
’

Ki n g h as come into the game and threate n s to attack White s ’

K R P as well as the Pawns on the Queen s Side where Black

,
’

has two S plendid P awns beautifu lly protected when the Roo k
,

goes to the fifth rank with an attack on the K R P and the ,

White King is far off (Therefore it would have been better

to have played 6 K —B 2 instead of 6 P—R
.

Such a result
is the best which is possible in Black s di fficult positio n and ’

, ,

though White has not lost his winning chan ces yet he has a ,

more difficult win Black n ow plays R—Q 1 with the threat

R—Q 7 and a good free game
.
,

Let us now take a position where there is no question of

b ringing about a n end game a n d there is not yet a loss in
-

mate rial H ere for example is such a positio n ( Diagram

.
, ,
1 54 INFERIOR POSITIONS
an d the Q R file . It is clear that White s attack wi ll be ’

directed here .

5 . K t— Q 2 P >< P
The Knight tries to move to Q 6 it is necessary to prevent
hi m
—B
.

6 . Kt 4 K t—K t 3
With the same obj ect . We s ee how Black protects his
weakest point
—R 5 ch
.

7 . Kt K —R 1

8 P >< P
then K t—Q
.

If 8 K t >< P , 4 and P — B 5 In gen eral we are .

now co n sideri n g defe n ce an d therefore do n ot speak of the

various possibilities for White .

K P —Q 4
9
—
Q Q 4 R B 1 —
Blac k has now protected his positio n and drawn level i n
the number of moves and only in space is Wh ite a little ahead
, ,

havin g a Knight two Pawns and the Quee n on the fourth

,

and fifth ranks whi le Black has o n ly o n e K n ight in the ce n tre

,

of the board But this Knight is very we ll placed a n d Black

.

has already a small chance There is the possibility of ad .

v an c i n g the K P attacki n g first the Queen than the Rook

, , ,

with a menace even against the second Rook Meanwhile .

,

White s attack has no direct obj ects I t is perhaps better

’
.

for him to parry Black s threat a n d re n ew the attempt to put

’

the Knight on Q 6 by playi n g ag a in K t—B 4 but now this

,

me n ace is not so dangerous a n d Black moves R—K t 1 occu , ,

p yi ng the o n ly Open file This moment is decisive As we . .

have noted before those moments are decisive when the

,

attacki n g S ide converts its advantage from one eleme n t i n to

another or whe n the defe n ding S ide surre n ders material i n
,

order to get rid of positional pressure We have here an other .

case when the defe n di n g side passes from passive defence to

activity Wh ite attacks the Knight (Diagram
.

1 0 . P—B 4
But this Knight is the base of all Black s defence ; if he ’

moves from here (to Kt 5) the defe n ce is ruined The time .

may come at last when the idea of c ounter attack seems to -

 INFERIORITY IN TIME 1 55

offer less cha n ces than passive defe n ce ; but as the former ,

h as bee n prepare d for a lo n g time the rej ection of it i n volves ,

a par al ysis of the will an d the loss of initiative .

So it is n ow If Black does not begin to attack he wil l

. ,

al low full liberty of attack to White and therefore

—
,

10 P K 4
P—K 5
.

1 1 Q — K t 1
—K 6 threaten
.

If the Rook moves away Black can reply P

in g n ot o n ly P—K 7 but better still Q X P
, ,

Thus we see
, , ,
.

that White has the option of sacrificin g the Exchan ge not ,

merely for the sake of attack but also to parry the hostil e
coun ter attack
-
.

1 2 P X Kt PXR .

Diag am L X I X r I3 __
P Q 6 . R _ K 7 .

It is n ow clear that Black

is n ot defen ding himself but
attacki ng It is true that he .

is me n aced by a move of the

strong White Q P ; but for ,

all that his own threat is also ,

power ful and he h as the ,

Exchan ge to the good .

We can n ow leave the posi

tio n as it is n o lo n ger interest ,

in g for our purpose We have .

seen that all Black s defe n ce ’

Bla c k E Z k B
: ky n os o- or ov s
Whi te J R C ap ab la c a w as bas ed o n passive resistance
.
,

;
.
, , n .

He first levelled up the ad y ah

tage i n time whi ch changed to that of space in favour of the
,

enemy ; and then came the begi nn i ng of hi s activity at the ,

moment when the enemy tried to shatter the whole system of

defence But we must note that for the success of such a
.

tran sition we must make a complete defe n ce of our own we ak

po i n ts (n ote the position of the Kin g the Rook protectin g ,

the Pawn the other Rook with the Quee n ready to protect
, , ,

the whole seve n th row) an d also pay heed to the weak po i nts
of the enemy or such positio n of his pieces as wi ll allow u n
ceasing threats durin g the development of the cou n ter attack -
.
1 56 INFERIO R POSITION S
If the latter state of affairs does not exist the force of the
counter —
,

attack is n egligible since the e n emy will deliver his

,
‘

attack o n ly one or two moves later I n this last example .

Black s threats were so stro n g a n d ceaseless that they obliged

’

White n ot o n ly to give up the Exchan ge but al so to change

the whole direction of the attack
We n ow come to the last part of th e present chapter—t o
.

positio n s where o n e Side has a disadvantage in space .

I NFERI ORITY IN S PA C E

As we know lack of space mea n s for the pieces the limita

,

tio n of their moveme n ts the absence of c o ordination the

,
-
,

i n ability to occupy good squares and finally the absence of ,

i n itiative and threats which allows the adversary to develop

,

his game quietly to put his pieces on the best s quares and
, ,

more and more to restrict the opposi n g game .

For the defence in this case where there is no way of b egi n

,

ni n g to be active it is n ecessary to understand first of all

,

what is the chief weak n ess of one s own position and then ’

what is the chief threat on the other side A c lear under .

standing about these two points will Show how to forestall

this threat a n d how to nullify one s own weakness Both ’
.

Obj ects must be combined in order not to have to contend

with u n importan t obstacles This means that we must settle

.

the q uestion how to remedy our own wea kness or how to

prevent it from increasi n g .

L et us take the accompanying position (Diagram

This position is especially interesting for us as it is taken ,

from the beginni n g of the game when only few of the possi,

b ili t i es are marked out and when there can be no question

about the ending There will however be no diffi culty in
.
, ,

fi n ding that the chief disadvantage in White s position maki n g ’

it inferior to Black s is the situation of the Bishop on Q 2

’

, ,

where it has no good developi n g move a n d at the same time ,

blocks the Rook The Bishop can not go to B 3 a n d there

is no possibility of opening the diag onal Q B I —K R 6 for
.
,

,
1 58 INF ER IOR POSITIONS
from B 5 now that the Black Q K t P has moved Black is .

obliged to bri n g up new pieces in order to make it possible

for the Kn i ght to go to B 5 which is his chief threat,
.

3 . K t— K 5
4 B —K 1 R—B 1
—Q
.

5 .
Q R—B 1 Kt 3
6 . K t —Q 2

We see what a severe struggle White has to make in order

not to let a hostile Knight in at Q B 5 .

7 . B —B 3
Going on to the long diagonal and attacki n g the Q Kt P .

8 . P -
B 3
So at last this move is possible which opens a new diagonal ,

for the Bishop Now the stre n gth of the White positio n is
.

in the Knight on Q 4 which cuts the diagonal of the Bishop

,

and ca n not be d rive n away Therefore .

8 . K t —B 3
9 . Kt Kt R X Kt
1 0 RXR Q XR
1 1 . K t— K t 3
Threateni n g to move again to Q 4 and attacki n g the Kt P
with the Bishop Black parries these threats with a move
.

which attacks at the same time the K P

1 1 .
Q -
Kt 3
1 2 . B —B 2

Hereby White s chief Obj ect is achieved His Bishop is

’
.

developed and the positions are becomi n g equal Black

,
.

could n ot realise his main threat The game now comes to .

an equal endi n g
1 2 .

1 3 .
Q XQ
1 4 . R— Q 2

It is impossible to give a better example of paralysis of the

enemy s threat and of n u llifica ti on of one s own weak n ess
’ ’
.

A n d it is also characte ristic that equality is attained by way

of the passive game without any trace of activity or attack
,
.

It is true that on the e n emy s side also there is n o attack i n

’

this example L et us look therefore at a position where lack

.
 INF ERIORITY IN SPA C E 1 59

of S pace is combin ed with defe n ce against an already consider

able hostile attack .

Such is the following position (D i agram

The superiority is here considerably on the Side of the White ,

though Black has gained o n e move But White s attack o n

’

the King s Side is very menacing a n d what is more importa n t

’
, , ,

Black s pieces are quite paralysed an d n either of the Bishops

’

n or the Knight h as good squares while the Rook on B 3 is ,

very unsatisfactorily placed .

At the momen t Black has a choice of taki n g the Q P or of

advanci n g P—B 5 The latter will close the diagonal for
.

the hostile Bishop which is ,

Diag am L XX I
r very important as from the
.
,

poi n t Q 5 which the Bishop ,

is threatening he attacks not ,

only the King but also both

the Rooks However in reply .
,

to this move the White Bishop

goes on an other no less i m
portant di agonal and Bl ack gets ,

n o compe n sating adva n tage ,

sin ce the forces on hi s Queen s ’

wi n g are immobile for a long

time By P >< P on the other .
,

han d Black either wins the ,

Whi tf g gfi fifi g fg w
k
Pawn or obtains the initiative
with the move B —
n vs

B 4 if White ,

recaptures with the Knight White s n atur al course is to

.
’

give up the Pawn when Black will have a Pawn to the good
,

a n d will also have more freedom for his pieces a n d be able

to defend them whereas at present they are the obj ect of
,

attack by White It is also a n atural course for White to

.

combine the attacks on the Ki n g s Side and the Q P ; and ’

again to retire his Ki n g from a square where he can be at

,

tacked by the hostile Bishop And so .

1 P >< P
2 .
Q — K t 2 P—Q 6
3 . K —R 1
1 60 INF ERIOR POSITIONS
This is an importan t moment for Black He has to protect .

him self agai n st numerous Wh ite threats of which as we , ,

k n ow the pri n cipal one must be particularly distin guished

,

i n order to meet it .

What then does White threaten ? To advance P—K t 6

and to attack the Pawn on Q 5 H e cannot do the former .

while the pieces sta n d as at present because the point Kt 6 ,

is protected by the Rook and the Bishop For the latter .

threat White must move the K n ight which prote c ts the Pawn ,

on Kt 5 But White can put this on Q 4 with a threat to

.

the Rook and then the Pawn is lost for if Black protects it
, ,

by R— Q 3 White rep lies B —K B 4 a n d wins the Paw n j ust

the same If to save the Pawn B lack plays the K n ight
.
, ,
'

K —
the n White has a winning move in t K 5 Black can pro .

teet the Pawn by givi n g up the Rook R—B 5 ; but it is ,

unwise to wi n a Pawn i n order to gi v e up the Exchange to

,

keep it A n d besides White can at once play P—K t 6 n ot

.
, , ,

for the tim e being taki n g the Rook which remain s pin n ed ,

by the threat Of the Bishop b ut continuin g his attack u n ,

hi n dered .

No the Black Roo k must remain on the third ran k for we

, ,

know that the Pawn attack on the castled King can only be
-

crown ed with success when the opposin g Pawn barrier on the -

third rank can be broken .

This means that Black must protect himself against the

move K t—Q 4 If he e ffects this by Q —K t 3 he takes away
.

the defence from his Pawn on Q 4 and allows White b y Kt

R 4 to attack it at once not only reservi n g the threat P — Kt 6
but also obtaini n g a new threat P—B 6 Black must there
, ,

fore protect himself by B — B 4 But what will Black then .

threaten The threat against White s Kt 5 wi ll be removed ’

a n d he will be able to advance the Kt P in order to place ,

the K n ight on Kt 5 and threaten not o n ly Black Q B but also

an attack o n the K R P by Queen and K n ight The need of .

defe n di n g the Pawn on Q 4 wi ll compel Black to put his K n ight

not o n B 1 but o n B 3 and that will allow White to keep his
,

Paw n o n Kt 6 an d therefore me n ace co n tinually the poi n ts

R 7 and B 7 or if Black s Kt P should leave the file to push
, ,
’

,
1 62 INFERIOR POSITIONS
piece In one of the examples already given the same methods
.
,

were used by Black for the defence but they were fat al as , ,

they did n ot parry the chief threat of the e n emy in this case
they really protect Black who managed to s e e the enemy s
,
’

chief threat i n time and to prepare the defence against it

—R 2
.

10 . R
Now White h a s only to win back the lost Exchange and then
everythi n g wi ll be equal with Bishops of opposite colours ;
,

but the King is exposed and the Bla c k Pawn at Q 6 is very

strong .

1 1 . B >< R P >< B
In this way the defence has proved brilli ant .

We have exhausted the topic of bad positions and have

seen various cases of passive and active defence comin g into
the end game the beginning of the attack etc If we add
-
, , .

to them the examples given elsewhere in the chapters on the ,

construction of the plan a n d superior positio n s we Shall have ,

quite enough to guide us correctly in various cases where our

game is inferior Let us make a Short resu me
. .

H aving an i n ferior positio n we must first grasp thoroughly

,

i n what its defects consist how great they are and also where
,

they will prove decisive in the middle or the end game We

,
-
.

must al so quite recognise what are the e n emy s chief threats ’

and what his plan is In counteracting that we must try not

.

to increase our own weaknesses and if possible get rid of

them little by little Duri n g passive defence the cha n ce must
.

not be lost of tur n ing it to active defence sometimes even ,

risking the givi n g up of material in order to get greater free ~

dom During the defen ce we must remember that in a n y

.

other ki nd of game time and space are as valuable as material .

 CH A P TER IV

EQUAL POSITIONS

WE now come to the last part of our study to the most diffi ,

cult section : equal positions These positio n s are not only

.

di fficult but also very important as nearly every game passes

, ,

through them provided that the open i ng was played correctly

, ,

and the most lively games often arise out of them after various
comp licatio n s sudde n ly leadi n g to equality .

Their di fficulty is that they have no clear and direct oh

j ecti v e their peculiarities bei n g often deeply hidden and every
, ,

u n sound move an d s mall mistake becomes the source of i m

mense trouble and occasio n ally of absolute loss It is easy .

to play when one has an adva n tage It is even a Simple .

matter to protect oneself whe n o n e clearly realises one s own ’

weakn esses and defects But how must one play when one
.

has n either advantage nor disadvantage ?

The real ly hard thi n g here is the conceptio n of a plan ;
o n what to base it if the positio n s are quite level ; how to
build it up a n d by what to be guided in improvi n g it Not .

i n freque n tly equal positio n s have no disti n ctive character

either for Black or for White This is especially so i n the
.

open i n g of the game i n such debu ts as the Four K n ights

, ,

Giuoco Piano Fre n ch Defen ce (the exchange variatio n )

, .

Here the positio n s ar e exactly alike and each oppo n ent has
to compose a plan havi n g no defin ite obj ective for it
, .

Of course we kn ow that there are hardly ever positio n s

absolutely alike ; but the di ffere n ce may be so small that
n othin g ca n be based on it We are already aware that it
.

is impossible for the players to repeat each other s moves ’

i n defi n itely but which o n e wi ll first have to avoid repetition

and for what reason In a word we see that e qual positi ons
,

1 63
1 64 EQUAL POSITIONS
may for all their equality have a special meaning for each
, ,

side a n d this fact will decide the game ; or else equali ty is

,

combin ed with abse n ce of all character in the positio n a n d ,

the n the obj ect is a very subtle game exhibiting the art of ,

pl an composition at its highest The positio n game s o

-
.
-
,

fashionable at the end of the nineteenth and the beginnin g

of the twe n tieth ce n tury w as re al ly the game of equal ,

positions where neither oppo n ent had the chance to get any
,

advantage or eve n to impart much character to his play and ,

-

the result was a great number of drawn games .

Whi le studying such kinds of positions we must bear well ,

in mind all the foregoi n g ex

D iag am L XX II r amples in order to k n ow both
.
,

what to try to attai n and how

to use the di ffere n ces which
may be met in equal positions
i n the various eleme n ts ; for
equality may result from an
advan tage i n o n e eleme n t be i n g
balan ced by a disadvantage in
a n other The game in such .

positio n s may generally be

called the game of man oeuvres ,

comprising the ope n ing period

of the game and the i n ter
Bla ck D E Las ke : r r

0 S m ht me di ate stage b etween attack

. . .

Wh i t e ; . o ec e r,

and defence .

We shall begin with the simpler positio n s which can be ,

m ore easily u n derstood owi n g to there bein g fewer pieces ,

.

To commence we take Diagram L X X I I where the posi

, .
,

tion is almost equal White has the adva n tage of one move
.

more a n d a Pawn o n the fourth rank while Black has his ,

ce n tre Pawn on the third But these di fferences are quite .

unimportant the most that they can yield is a certain activity

for White But how ca n White make use of it H is advantage
.

could be realised only on the Ki n g s side where he has four ’

Paw n s agai n s t three ; but for that purpose the Black Pawn
o n the Queen s fil e m u st be transferred to the Bishop s file
’ ’

.
 1 66 EQUAL POSITIONS
o nly yield him no advantage at all the enemy havi n g an ,

extra Pawn o n the Ki n g s Side but also the isolated Pawn ’

might become very weak So Black s obj ect is much more .

’

complicated ; he must move so as to weake n the hostile

Pawns a n d if possible to paralyse those of the Ki n g s Side
, , ,
’
.

After accomplishi n g this the Pawn on the other wing can b e ,

played But the same remark applies to both players : it is

.

necessary for the pieces to b e free The Quee n has freedom .

,

but not the Rook For the latter open files are necessary
.
, .

There is such a file in the centre and a n other o n the King s ’

side But there is none on the Quee n s Side which is the

.
’

more important This means that first of all it i s necessary

.
, ,

to make o n e .

9
—
P Q R 3 .

1 0 P— Q Kt 4 .

IL PXP

The o b j ect is attained A file is ope n here and it is a very.

,

importa n t file as White s b ackward Paw n stands on it Now

,
’
.

the Rook must occupy such a position as to be able at a n y

mome n t to seize one of the ope n files Black has a certai n .
,

though not a great adva n tage and in order to keep the, ,

i n itiative he must not o n any a c count allow the enemy to

relieve his cramped position .

12 . P Kt 3 -

1 3. K —K t 2
1 4 .
—
Q Q 1

Threateni n g P—Q R 4 and also Q —R 5 We se e how care .

fully o n e must play in such positions how every adva n tage ,

Obtai n ed a n d each gai n i n activity co n ceal da n gers After .

movi n g the Queen s side Pawn s Black n ot o n ly gets an a dv a n

’

tage here but also gives the e n emy the cha n ce to attack :
,

movi n g the Ki n g s side Paw n i n order to paralyse the hostile

’

Pawns he ope n ed up u n protected places to which the hostile

, ,

pieces can go Wh e n there a re ma n y pieces it is easy to pro

.

t ec t o n eself from many threats ; whe n there are but fe w pieces

one must be very skil ful i n ma n oeuvri n g A n d perhaps .
 EQUAL POSITION S 1 67

n owhere else ca n victory be attained chiefly by persistence

so readily as i n these positio n s
P—B 3
.

14 .

15 —
Q Kt 3 .

Here is a curious situation Wh ite executes none of his .

threats It is true that if he plays Q —R 5 Black will answer

—
.
,

Q K 3 a n d White wi ll get nothi n g But suppose he were .

to play P—Q R 4 ? He was probably afraid to get a back

ward isolated Pawn o n Q Kt 4 This mea n s that he threatens .

nothing And so again st the in itiative of Black he employs

.

only passive defe n ce Thus of course he yields all the

.
, ,

advan tage to the e n emy .

We must however acknowledge that passive defence in

, ,

such positions is sometimes very good The e n emy s ady an .

’

tage is so small that in order to obtain a n ything it must be

pressed A defence of this ki n d must be kept up very per
.

si st en t ly and atte n tively as the enemy may i ncrease his

,

advantage very considerably and unobtrusively by each move .

This is only good when there are very few pieces an d the
advantage is very sm al l But then arises the q uestion .

Why choose such a passive game ?

1 5 .
—
Q K 3
1 6 .
—
Q Q 1

After re n ounci n g the in itiative White refuses to exchange

the most active pieces thereby avoidi n g an e n d game with
,
-

Rooks the most drawi sh pieces in the endin g White is

, .

inco n sistent and clearly ackn owledges his adversary s ad ’

vantage .

1 6 . R—K R 1
1 7 . P—K t 4
White s King s Side Pawn s are paralysed Black s second
’ ’
.
’

obj ective is attain ed He can now pass on to the third a n d

.

most decisive obj ective : the obtain i n g of the advantage on

the Queen s side for whi ch purpose he must first prevent
’

the move P Q R 4 -
.

—B
1 7 .
Q 5
Here is reve aled the inconsiste n cy of White s game Now ’
.

whe n his pieces are bei n g used for defe n ce whe n Black s ,
’
1 68 EQUAL POSITIONS
Pawns on the contrary occupy the better positions and his
, ,

Queen attacks the Queen s Side Pawn s White begi n s the ’

attack on this flan k Whilst three moves before he did not .

risk moving the Q R P he n ow combines this move with a

sacrifice of a Pawn Was he obliged to do so ? Not at all
. .

All his pieces were protected a n d havi n g al ready re n ounced ,

the initiative he could wait for Black to strive for advan tage
,
.

Besides he had a good cha n ce to threaten somethi n g ; for

instance 1 8 Q —K B 3 threatened at o n ce R—Q B 3 followed
,

by P—K 5 with an attack o n the Q B P This man oeuvre

, ,

would have put the Black Queen o n the defensive obligi n g ,

her to return to her own camp .

18 P— Q R 4 Qt P
“

1 9 PxP Q t P
20 R—K t 3 —
Q R 3
R—K 1
.

21 .
—
Q Q 4
22 . K —K t 1 R— K 4
and so on Black s advantage now equals one Pawn and
.
’

White s attack is of course not stro n g enough to compe n sate

’

for this loss And it is curious that this attack is o n the

.

Queen s S ide where Black has brought his King where Black
’

, ,

is strongest and h as an extra Pawn .

Th e example S hows how dan gerous it is to try to get an

advantage in such a position This is a task involvi n g weak .

n esses which may later on turn against the i n itiat or of the

complications .

Wh at can we learn from the present example

In this kind of game more than anywhere else we must ,

have an idea of what we are doi n g as a n y hesitation allows ,

the enemy to begin his activity Further it is n ecessary to .

,

try to get the initiative a n d then n ot to lose it on any a c

count We can see clearly how to keep it First of all one s
. .
,
’

own strong points must be stre n gthened eve n at the expe n se of

other parts of the position playi n g however very carefully , , ,

.

O n e m ust strive to weake n the enemy s positio n for this pur ’

pose occupying necessary points with one s own pieces a n d ’

thus givi n g them greater activity A n d a decisive game must .

be begun only whe n all the Special obj ectives have been
1 70 EQUAL POSITIONS
Kt I or Kt 5) a n d to put the Rook o n Q 1 after which he will
—
,

threate n as P a n d so — He w ll thus set the

K 4 al K t Q 4 i .

battle rou n d the e n emy s piece but havi n g no chance of ’

, ,

winn in g it wi ll give away the initiative to the e n emy We

must not forget that Black in certain cases can play K t—K 4
.
,

threate n in g K t—B 5 where the K n ight will be very stro n gly

,

placed me n acing at the same time the Q Kt and K PS Not

, .

wanti n g therefore to give over the initiative to the enemy

, , ,

Wh ite begins the game on the Ki n g s side hopi n g to attack ’

here and so paralyse Black s advantage in the centre ’

.

1 P—K t 4 Q.R— Q 1
Freeing the Knight an d strengthe n ing the Q P .

2 . K —R 1 R— Q 3
A move which has a great preparatory significance Bla c k .

i n te n ds to adva n ce his Q P which is his chief asset There , .

fore this move must be made with the maximum of force ,

parryin g all Black s threats beforehan d and giving the greatest

’

activity possible to hi s own pieces White meanwhile threatens .

to advance the King s side Pawns not shrinking from some ’

sacrifice such as P—K t 5 Q >< K t P ; P —

, B 6 Besides he ,
.
,

threatens also to move the K R P In order to meet all these .

threats the Black Rook must stand on the third rank pro
, ,

te eting it and threate n ing to move at any moment to the

Ki n g s side Further by moving to Q 3 the Rook frees both
’
.
,

the Knight on B 3 and itself from the possible threat of B

Kt 5 Black s own threat (the centre Pawn ) is not stro n g
.
’

enough for him to neglect the hostile cou n ter attack On -

.

the co n trary let there be the slightest carelessness and Black s

,
’

t hreat may lose all its meaning Only if well prepared for .

may it become serious .

3 R — K Kt 1 —
Q Kt 4
.

White threatened P—K t 5 .

4 Q R — K B 1 .

Wh ite is resolved to post his pieces for attack In so doing .

he gives the e n emy the opportunity to execute his th reat .

All the White pieces have left the ce n tre of the board a n d
o n ly the Bishop remai n s on the Quee n s file which will be ’

,
 EQ UA L POSITIONS 1 7 1

the first obj ect of an attack after an exchan ge of centre Pawns .

Wh en the Bishop moves away the doubled Rooks attack the ,

seventh ran k (the K n ights will also be exchan ged ) and Black
wi ll be able to carry out a n attack by the Rooks along the
rank not only again st the Quee n s Side Pawns but especially
,
’

agai n st the Ki n g s side which is weakened by the advan ce

’

of the K B an d K Kt Ps And we al ready know how strong.

such attacks are .

P -

Q 5
Let u s notice that thanks to Black s previous move this
,
’

advance n ow threate n s to wi n the K P White is compelled .

to decide whether to chan ge Pawn s or to advance his K P .

We have already seen the result of the first but let us pay
attentio n to the e ffect of the Bishop s bad position on Q 3 ’
.

After the exchan ge of Pawns a n d K n ights o n Q 4 White s ’

threat P—B 6 will not attain its obj ect on account of this
Bishop Should he move beforehand for instance to Kt 1
.
, ,

Black could not at once advance his Pawn but would be

obliged either to play P—B 3 or to remove the K n ight from
K 2 From this we see that White when begi n ning his attack
.
, ,

did n ot take necessary precautio n s agai n st Black s threat ’

an d owi n g to this the latter became much stro n ger AS a .

ge n eral rule in equal positio n s where threats can o n ly be,

small o n es they should not be realised till all the e n emy s

,
’

chances are forestalled and all one s own pieces are well ’

placed .

So White chooses another way of playing

5 . P—K 4
What is Black s obj ective ? To guard agai n st the advance
’

of the centre Pawn This means that the attacks of the

-
.

K n ight must be directed o n the Bishop to force him to leave ,

Q 3 Where he supports the Pawn A n d so

, .

5 Kt —K 4
6 . R— K t 3 Kt ( K 2 ) —B 3
7 . K t —Q 2
Even here White pays no attention to the e n emy s threats ’

and co n tinues his attack He wants to put his Knight on

.
1 72 E QUAL POSITIONS
B 3 to drive away the Queen from Kt 5 and to safeguard
, ,

the advance of his King s Side Pawn s Determi n ation is a

’
.

good thi n g generally and in equal positio n s eve n necessary

, ,

but in this case it adheres to a wro n g idea and is carried

through without su fficie n t security agai n st the e n emy s ’

threats It was necessary to play K t—B 1 i n order to cope

.
,

with an exchan ge on Q 3 so as to be able to oppose the second

,

Black K n ight with this K n ight ( K t—B 1 K t ; Kt X Kt

preventi n g K t—K
, ,

Black would probably answer K t

Kt 5 and White after playi n g R—Q I could await the
, , ,

development of Black s threat But in this way Blac k would

’
.

get all the in itiative ; Wh ite would be checked in his own

attack his Pawns would be weakened on the Ki n g s side
,
’

and he would have no threats at all Is this a small result ? .

The game as it was actually played is i n teresti n g as a n ex

ample of the struggle of counter plots the battle of two ideas -
, ,

the better of which wins : not the determi n ation not the ,

way of playi n g not the tacti c s but the strategy

, , .

7 . Kt x B
8 . R x Kt Kt—K 4
9 . R —K K t 3 P—Q 6
1 0 .
Q — K t 2

The Black Pawn has n e w advanced o n e move But it is .

restrained from further advance by the K n ight Le White ,

.
,

h as realised on the second ra n k what we recommended should

be done on the third What di fference is there in that Only
.

this that the Black Rook n ow comes into the game without
,

hi n drance on the Q B file and threate n s to move to B 7 a t

tacki n g the K n ight a n d the Queen s side Pawn ; while in ’

the first c a se the point B 6 was defended by White s Q Kt P ’

and it would be more di fficult for Black to bring the Rook

i n to the game and to begin the attack on the rank But .

that shows how mistaken White was when he removed his

Rook from Q B 1 o n the fourth move Had his Rook re .

mai n ed on this file Black would have been unable to realise

his idea without further preparation .
1 74 EQUA L POSITION S
the opening This happens most frequently on the board
.

( Diagram
The di ffere n ce in the position of White and Black is as we ,

se e only that White has a Bishop on B 2 and Blac k one on

,

Kt 3 otherwise the positions are identical Wh at does this .

di fference mean to the two opponents and i s it su fficient for ,

constructing the plan of the game ?

It seems as if the Black Bishop were placed more aggres
si ve ly as he occupies an ope n diagonal
,
and if White makes ,

the natural move P— Q 4 he wi ll menace this Pawn W hile

the White Bishop is blocked by his own two Pawns—W hich ,

on the other hand he protects , .

Diag am L XX I V
r
When however the situation , ,

is looked at more atte n tively

this does n ot appear to be
the case First of all if White .
,

plays P—Q 4 Black can n ot ,

answer with the same move as ,

his K P i s not protected e n ough .

So the position of the Bishops

gives White the chance to play
P—Q 4 whereas Black ca nn ot ,

do so a n d this means that the,

White Bishop can open up his

diago n al when the dia go n al of ,

itiii ffiiéf
l ‘
the Black Bishop ge ts close d
‘ ‘

e .

Further the Black Bishop s ,

’

diagonal strikes at White s K B P agai n st which it is not ’

easy to direct an attack and Wh ite can place his Bishop on

,

K 3 against it The White Bishop s diagon al on the con

.
’

t rary strikes at Black s K R P which relies for its defence

’

, ,

on the Knights which owing to that are tied to their places

, , .

White c an also place his Queen upon this diagonal but Black ,

can not From this it follows that Black must on n o account

.

allow White s K P to leave its square si n ce then this impor

’

tant diago n al wi ll at o n ce h e opened This mean s that Black

can play n either P—Q 4 P—K B 4 nor K t—K t B 5 Le
.

.
, , , ,

the moves n ecessary for an attack Meanwhile Wh ite can .

,
 EQUA L POSITIONS 1 75

play not only P—Q 4 but also P — K B 4 and K t —K B 5 ,

.

In a word the position of the Bishops gives White more

,

attacki n g possibilities than Black .

It is however sti ll too early to thi n k about attacks as

, , ,

neither Side has fi n ished its development What plan of .

development can the two players pursue ?

White s development begins with the move P—Q 4 Then
’
.

he has a threat with B —K t 5 and K t—R 5 of doubli n g the

, ,

Pawns o n K B 3 If Black plays P—K R 3 the Bishop will

.
,

return to K 3 and both Bishops will be directed agai n st the

weakened King s side If Black thinks to realise a S imilar
’

K t 5 Wh ite has n o n eed to play P—K R 3

.

threat an plays
d B — , .

H e can move Q —Q 3 freei n g the K n ight on B 3 and makin g ,

the positio n of the Black Bishop at Kt 5 useless It thus .

appears that White can permit the doubli n g on K B 3 but

Black cannot as the position of White s K B allows him after
,
’

the doubling of the Black Pawns to move at o n ce K t—K B 5 , ,

an d after the excha n ge B >< K t P >< B this Pawn w i ll be pro ,

t ec t e d and White begin his attack first Meanwhile Black .

, ,

after doubli n g the White Pawns can n ot play K t— K B 5 , ,

because after an exchan g e the K B P wi ll remain defenceless

a n d the Black K n ight will be obliged to protect it from
R 4 of which Wh ite will take advant ag e in order to be first
,

to recommence the attack Here we see how in various .

,

ways the di fference in the positions of the Bishops Shows

,

itse lf A slight di fference but its results are i n calculable !

.
,

There are really no equal positio n s in chess and we o n ly n eed ,

t o study the si tu atio n of each piece more deeply i n order to

grasp the differences .

But from what has been said it follows that the initiative
must go to Wh ite and if Black tries to seize it he will only
,

make his game worse This means that he must quietly

develop e g with R—K 1 B —K 3 P—K R 3 Q —B 2 Q
.

R—Q 1 an d so on without bri n gi n g the game over to the

. .
, , , , , ,

K ing s Side but try ing to maintain the centre and not allow
’

it to be broken .

I n stead of this however Black wanted to take the i nitia

, ,

tive ; a n d now we have a striki n g example of what results

1 76 EOUAL POSITIONS
when one side tries to get the i n itiative in disregard of the
n ature of the positio n While the game is develop i ng we
.

shall see that the character of the two positions wi ll S how

itself more clearly .

I P—Q 4 B —K t 5
—
.

2 .
—
Q Q 3 Kt R 4
Black wants to improve the position of his Bishop on Kt 5 ,

but he makes it still worse He ought to keep what he has .

already got lett i ng Wh ite decide for himself how lo n g he will

,

let this Bishop which threatens to take the Knight remain

, ,

here .

3 Kt Kt .

4 . B— K t 5
5 . K t —Q 2

The Black Bishop is now badly placed it does not threaten

anything and has no move In this way both the Black .

Bishops are out of the game while the White Bishops stand ,

sple n didly Now Black might see that the i n itiative is n ot

.

on his S ide a n d that he is obliged to mak e a series of defensive

,

moves first of all in order to b ri n g the Q B back i n to the

,

game With that in V iew he could play K t— K 2 with the

.
,

threat of P—B 3 and B —K B 2 after which he c ould when , ,

circumstan ces allow replay the K n ight to Kt 3 Instead of

, .

this he strives after the in itiative at a n y cost

, .

P—K R 3
6 B —K 3 .
Q R — K 1
It was now necessary to remove the Queen i n order to ,

bri n g the second Bishop into the game through Q B 2 But .

Black seei n g the number of White pieces in the ce n tre de

, ,

cides that he can take the i n itiative on the King s Side It ’

.

is true that he h as a gain in time but it co n sists of the moves ,

of the Bishop to K R 4 and of the Knight to K Kt 3 which ,

both stand badly Black tries to use his position for attac k
. .

But what sort of an attack can it be whe n White is better

placed a n d when his Ki n g s S ide is not weake n ed at all ?
’

Black s mistake i n reasoning q uickly b rin gs his game to ruin

’
.

7 P — B 3 .
1 78 EQUAL POSITION S
gradually give more chan ce to one Side It is an example of .

positio n al play Le a typical study of man oeuvres (Diagram

,
.
,

L XX V )
We s ee that the position is quite equal as regards all three
elements The only di ffere n ce betwee n White and Black is
.

i n the S ituation of the Bishops White has them already .

developed for an aggressive game in the ce n tre while Black ,

has them still on their original squares and can therefore

either protect the centre or attack the wi n gs As however .
, ,

neither Black nor White can at present begin a wi n g attack ,

it is clear that the Black Bishops occupy a defensive position ,

while White has the initiative

Dia g am L XXV
r
in the ce n tre How can this .

i n itiative fi n d expression It is
n o secret for us Fi r st of all in .

the advance of the Pawn o n Q

3 If the move were with Black .

he would try to prepare for the

possibility of advan ci n g this
Paw n whi ch is n ow preve n ted ,

by the White Bishop on K Kt 2 .

A n d though the centre Pawn s ’

positio n s are equal White can ,

begin his advance while Black

Bla c k 0 D :
ca nn ot and
un s
therefore the ,

White A K Ru b i stei B laCk Q P Wl ll always ham

. .

: . . n n .

per its Bishop on K B 1 which ,

must protect it .

Naturally on the advance of the White Pawn to Q 4 Black

,

ca nn ot take it as i n that case he would isolate his Q P

, , , ,

agai n st which the whole White attack would be directed .

White has to ask himself what to do with his Q P when ad

v an c e d to Q 4 Should he capture with it on K 5 he would
.
,

better the position of the Black Paw n s and would open the
diago n al for Black s K B Meanwhile the White K B would
’
.

r e ma i n as before blocked by the K P This means that

, ,
.

White ca nn ot capture o n K 5 .
 EQUAL POSITIONS 1 79

Should he however leave the Pawn on Q 4 Black after

, , , ,

attacki n g the White Knight would hold this Pawn under

,

threat and would i n some cases play P—Q 4 That is to say .

,

White s advan ce to Q 4 is bound up with a further advan ce

’

to Q 5 a n d this is White s pla n If he does n ot inte n d this

’
.

further advan ce to Q 5 he ought to leave the Pawn at Q 3 ,

at any r ate for a time .

What kin d of game can he have with the new position of

the Pawns The Black Pawn on Q 6 will be a backward o n e ,

but the attack on it ca n hardly be successful while the Black

Bishop is on K B I It follows that White advan ces the
.

Pawn to hamper the moves of the Black pieces on the Quee n s ’

wi n g ; an d he appears to have divided the board i nto two

parts so as to make it di fficult for the Black pieces o n the
Ki n g s side to move to the Queen s White will have to ’
.

bri n g the Quee n both the Rooks the K n ight an d the Q B

, ,

to the attack on the Quee n s side and m ove the Pawn s so as

’

to ope n up for themselves profitable li n e s an d squares for the

attack on Black s co n gested position Then the attack o n
’
.

the Q P a n d o n the o n e Pawn o n the Quee n s side which will ’

r emai n after the probable excha n ge of the others wi ll yield

a defi n ite result .

What can Black do to combat this idea ?

The advan ce of a ce n tre Paw n as far as the fifth rank is
ge n erally dan ge rous if the e n emy ca n destroy the other
ce n tre Pawn which supports it by the move P—B 4 In the
, .

example before u S that is hardly possible as Wh ite s K P is ,

’

protected by the Bishop a n d if it is take n the latter will

, , ,

make an e n ergetic e n tran ce into the game This Bishop can .

be got rid of where it stan ds by the oppo n e n t s move of B ’

R 6 (a commo n man oeuvre agai n st a Bishop sta n di n g on

Kt 2 an d o n e which weaken s the fia nehetto positio n pro
, ,

du ci ng two holes at R 3 a n d B 3 at present protected by the

,

Bishop ) but i n our example such a course would not be good ,

because the Black Bishop has a wide ran ge of action while ,

the White Bishop at K Kt 2 is playin g a purely passive part .

Besides in this case activity o n the Ki n g s side is impossible

,
’

a n d therefore Black must take care of the pieces which can

1 86 EQUAL POSITION S
be used for the defence of the Queen s Such is the Bishop ’
.

at Q B 1 If the excha n ge of this Bishop is made with

.

the obj ect of advancing P—K B 4 i n our example such a ,

procedure carries no menace Black can attack n either on .

the Ki n g s side nor on the K B file the latter being occupied

’

by his K B a n d Whi t e will simply defe n d the K P by P

,

K B 3 so that Black s idea of getti n g rid of the Wh ite K P

,
’

would not be realised Black must therefore look to a .

, ,

counter attack on the Queen s side and take advantage of

-
’

White s Pawn advan ce to Q 5 to place his pieces on points

’

which are n ow weakened such as his Q B 4 In order to , .

prevent it Wh ite must begi n to move his Pawns on the Quee n s

,
’

side which will bri n g them u n der the attack of the Black
,

Pawn s or will open n ew squares for the Black pieces This .

shows that the advance of White s Q P may transfer the ’

i n itiative to Black .

Black however chooses an other plan hopi n g to get the

, , ,

initiative on the Ki n g s side He soon sees his error an d ’

.

brings back his pieces This loss of time gives White a mi n i .

mum advantage which he i n creases move by move a n d brings

,

to victory .

I . P— Q 4 B —K t 5
2 . P— Q 5 K t— K 2
In accorda n ce with what we have said it was necessary to ,

move this K n ight to Kt I in o rder to post it afterwards o n

R 3 or Q 2 threate n i n g K t—K t 5 Kt 3 or B 4 But Black
, ,
.

has in V iew P—B 4 .

3 Q —
Q 3 —
Q Q 2
4 . K t —Q 2 B —R 6
We see that as White t ran fers his pieces to the Queen s ’

wi n g Black prepares Operatio n s on the Ki n g s Black soon ’

.

perceives the mistake in his j udgment a n d without weake n ing ,

the Ki n g s Side retur n s to the defe n ce which he has already

’

made di fficult for himself This game gives us a fourth .

variety of equal positions and we here see how a game grows ,

i n fe rior owi n g to a false valuation an d how the balan ce cann ot

afterwards be r eadj ust e d when the mistake is recognised .

5 . P— R 4
1 82 EQUAL POSITIONS
it here if Black wanted to transfer it through K B I to Q 2 .

But he did n ot do that .

10 K R—Q R I P— R 3
.

1 1 . B —B 1

The Bishop standi n g at present on the wi n g and striki n g

,

at the centre moves to the centre for an attack on the Quee n s

,
’

Wi n g .

How must White place his pieces i n order that his attack
may b e crown ed with success T h e Black Q R P can be pro
t e ct e d by the Queen a n d the two Rooks To make that .

possible one Rook ought to go to a Black square R 2 or Kt 3 ,

.

The Bishop on K 3 can preve n t this It is possible also to .

take off the defence of Black s Quee n which White can at ’

tack with hi s own Queen whe n Sh e is defe n ded but i n order ,

to be ab le to capture Black s Q R P with the Rook it is meces ’

sary to relieve the latter of the defe n ce of the Q Kt P namely

by defending the Pawn by K t—Q 2 So in order to complete
,

.
,

his evolution White must make three moves : B K 3 Q

,
— ,

B 1 K t —Q 2
, .

H ow much time has Black to spend meanwhile in the pro

t ec ti on of his Paw n ? His Knight takes two moves to go to

Q B 1 where,
he protects n othi n g I f he makes his way .

through K B 1 it will take three moves an d he will be u n able

, ,

to sta n d an ywhere S i n ce though from Q 2 he can move to

, ,

B 4 here he will be take n by the Bishop while he must make

, ,

a n other move to go to Q Kt 1 and then o n e move is n eeded ,

for the Rook to vacate the square ; i n all five moves I n .

the i n terim the White Knight by goi n g o n Q 2 will also pro

teet the K P and there is therefore no diversion possible by
means of P—B 4 From this it follows that the Black Q R P
,

is lost it mean s also that the game is lost as White will be ,

left o n e extra passed Paw n a n d the position of his Pawn s and

pieces is better To this end leads loss of time whe n it comes
.

from an unsound plan based o n a wrong estimate of the ,

situation I n t en moves the equal position is lost

—
.

1 1 R Kt 2
1 2 B —K 3 P —B 3
—
.

1 3 . P B 3
 EQUAL POSITIONS 1 83

V ery good Bef ore the realisatio n of th e threat the e n emy s ’

possibilities must be thwarted If White at o n ce plays Q —B 1 . ,

— —
Black will an swer P B 4 a n d after 4 P B 3 P >< P ; 1 5
1 ,

P >< P R —
,

K B 2 with a defi n ite attack maki n g it impossibl e

—
~
, , ,

for White to realise his plan Ne w Black can not play P . B 4 ,

and if he does so move after the withdrawal of the White

—
,

Quee n to K B 1 then White will have time to play

,
K t Q 2 ,

attacki n g the Quee n a n d once more protecti n g the K P .

1 3 K t— K 2
—
.

1 4 Q — K B.1 K t B 1

1 5 K t —Q 2 .

The desired positio n is attained and the Black Pawn is lost ,

.

1 5 .
—
Q Kt 5
1 6 —
Q B 4 .

White desires to force the game still more and compel the
exchan ge of Queens beforeha n d i n order that the e n emy s ,
’

Queen S hall n ot attack o n Q B 6 if White at o n ce takes the ,

R P .

1 6 .

1 7 . Kt x Q
1 8 . K t —Q 2

J ust the same Wh ite s Kt P protected by the Knight

’
: ,

an d the Black R P falls .

1 8 . R—Q B 2

1 9 RxP R—B 7
R ( R 6) —R
.

20 . 2 RXR
21 . RXR
and wins without di ffi
culty .

With this we may finish the study of equal positio n s .

AS we see the chief mistakes are strategic ; a n incorrect

,

plan ba sed on a wr o n g valuation of the position Wh ether .

the player persists with it whether he changes it or is , ,

generally u n decided in the conduct of the game—all tends to

make the position worse and to reve al its character a n d this ,

gives the oppone n t an advantage which bri n gs him to vi ctory .

All the methods in equal positio n s are the same as we

already know and demand o n ly extra care and preparation
,

for an active game and great restrai n t duri n g a passive

1 84 EQUA L POS I TI ONS

o n e with a readi n ess at an y mo me n t to begin the c ounter

,

advance .

If in u n equal positions one has to deal more often with

mati n g combi n ations or the playi n g for the e n d game it is
-
,

most important for a correct co n duct of equal positions to

have a right understandi n g of the position and a correct
strategy with the knowledge how to value not o n ly the present
,

position but also that which will be reached i n a certain time .

In this way in equal positions we return more often to the

,

valuatio n of the positio n a n d to the construction of the plan

,

with which we thi n k the reader is already su fficiently ac

qu a i n t e d .
1 86 E XAMPLES
the before mentioned positions We shall not give detailed
-
.

descriptio n s of games nor shall we go into the various plan s

,

a n d threats trusti n g that the reader will k n ow how to do

,

this for himself Some examples will be given without any

.

explan ations o n ly the moves which occurred in the game

,

being prese n ted others wi ll be give n with a few S hort remarks .

AS regards the order we shall fo llow the same as before

,

equal superior an d i n ferior positions—an d shall place the

, ,

examples i n groups with refere n ce to the elements of the

game We shall study su c h groups as man oeuvres attacks
.
, ,

defence the temp o of the game the forces taki n g part

, ,

in it maki n g a separ ate chapter of the most i n teresti n g and

comp licated cases of the cou n ter battle We are not now
-
.

obliged to proceed from the simplest to the most complicated ,

but may observe the normal order of the game an d therefore

begin with man oeuvres We may repeat agai n that attack
.

a n d defe n ce can be illustrated by the same examples .

 CH A P TER II

MAN( EUV RES

1 . MANcEUV RES ON THE W H OLE B OARD

L XX V I )
K B >< P
Kt t
Kt —
B5
P—R 5
Q — R 3

Diag am L XXV I
r .

Black seems to press White .

But the latter will drive away

the K n ight a n d the n the u n sat
,

i sfa ct ory positio n of the other

Black pieces and the excelle n t
,

positio n of the White Bishop

and ce n tre Pawn s wi ll beco me
clear Black has now a fic
.

t i t i ou s gai n in time AS soon

.

as it disappears White s gain

,
’

in S pace wi ll b e plain .

Bl ack H S h t i g
: uc n

White : C S c hle chte

. .

. r .

6 R—K t 1
—
.

7 . K R 2
—
Q Q 3
9 . P —K t
Io PXP
1 88 E X AMP L ES
The reader k n ows how to esti m ate the positio n a n d White s ’

advan tage i n it how to state in what that co n sists how to

co n struct the pla n a n d Show the direction of the attack the ,

temp o of its realisatio n and the cha n ge of threats

, .

—
Q B 3
K t— K t 2
P —B 3
R—K
Q 1

B —
B 1

2 . MANCEUVRES IN THE CENTRE

(Diagram L X X V I I ) .

Such congested positio n s without stro n g files a n d with

,

a multitude of pieces give a wi de field for Knights Black

'

.
,

h as his pieces crowded together a n d badly protected in the

centre while the Pawn on R 3 is also weak White h as strong
,
.

points for Knights at K 5 and Q B 5

1 . Kt —B 1

2 K t —K t 3
—
.

3 . Kt B 5
4 . K B x Kt
5 . K t— K 5
The Bishop is attacked twice the Pawn on B 5 is attacked
if B x Kt ( B then a piece is lost after P >< B .

5 B >< K t ( K 4)
6 . B >< K t
If Black replies —K 1 then 7 P >< B R >< B ; 8 K t— K 4
with threats of K t—B 6 and Q —Q 6
, , ,

.
1 96 E XAMPLES
A magn i ficen texample of the development of the Knight
an d of placi n g it in a good positio n after its first forced
u n profitable move .

6 . K t— K 2 K t— K 3
7 . P—B 3 P— Q B 4

After developi n g the Ki n g s side and there repulsi n g the

’

first o n slaught of the enemy Black himself begi n s man oeu res
,
v

on the Quee n s Side

’
.

8 K t— B 4
. Kt Kt
9 B x Kt. PxP
10 PxP . K t—B 3
1 1 B— K 3 Castles K R
—K t 3
.

1 2 . P— R 6 P
1 3 . K t— B 3 P—B 3

Black plays excelle n tly He n ow obtai n s an advantage

.

o n the King s side which is weake n ed on the enemy s part

’

,
’

by his premature man oeuvres .

1 4 PxP RxP
1 5 .
—
Q Q 2 B— Kt 5

Foreseei n g White s castli n g on the Queen s S ide Black

’ ’

prepares an attack on it White havi n g no choice as a castlin g

, ,

on the Ki n g s side is impossible

’
.

1 6 C astles Q R K t— R 4
—K t
.

1 7 . K 1 K t—B 5

an d Black can make an attac k against which White has hardly

a n y defence .

4 . MAN( EUV RES WITH P AWNS

( Diagram L XX I X ) .

White has b eaten Black in development and therefore

thi n ks that the time has come for a break through especially -
,

as the Black Ki n g still sta n ds in the centre He does not .

,
 MAN( EUVRES 1 9 1

however take all precautions against the Black threat based

, ,

o n the crowdi n g of the e n emy s pieces on the first three ranks

’

of the ce n t re an d therefo r e quickly loses his adva n tage an d

,

r emain s with the weakness of doubled Pawn s on the

Q B file .

1 . P— K 4 P— K 4

With the threat i n case of ,

2 K P >< P ,
of wi nn i n g a piece
by P—K 5 .

Di a g mm L XX I X '

Black has already begun to

over take White i n develop
m e n t bri n gin g out his pieces
,

with direct threats An d .

moreover his pieces begi n to

,

occupy better places than the

e n emy s ’
.

5.
—
Q K 3 K t —Q 2

6. B P >< P Q P >< P
7 . K t— K t 3 C astles K R
8 . B —Q 2 Q R —K 1
Bla ck R Spi el mann R_ K I Q _
Q Q
:
9 3
. .

W hite M Vid ma
: . r .

The Wh ite Pawns become the obj ect of the enemy s attacks ’

an d the doubled Pawn s allow White n either to exchan ge his

Q P n or to advan ce it Now begins the game with the pieces
.
,

i n which Black wins a Pawn .

 CH A P TE R III

ATTACK
1 . THE A TTA CK IN THE CENTRE

(Diagram L XXX ) .

T HIS position may serve as the example of an attack in the

centre whe n the enemy s Ki n g is on the flan k The attack
’
.

Dia g a m L XXX
r . Diag am L XXX I
r .

Bla ck A Bu : rn Bla ck G Sal we

:
Wh ite C S chle c hte
. . .

Wh ite D S T
: r . . a rr a s ch . : . r .

has the e n emy s K i n g in V iew more precisely the point K B 7

’

, .

We shall see further examples of the attack in the ce n tre on

the Ki n g standi n g in the c entre a n d also of the attack in
, ,

the ce n tre made i n depe n de n tly of the Ki n g sta n di n g on the

wing .

White gave up a Pawn and has a loss in time But his .

pieces are much better placed than those of the enemy whose ,

pieces are cr owded o n the second and third lines i n the c entre
1 92
1
94 E X AMPLES
the attack on the centre Pawn s combi n ed with attack on the
—
Ki n g s side primarily with the help of the Rook on R 1
’

which occupies the o n ly ope n file givi n g an inst ance of an ,

attack on the ra n k .

1 R — R 6 R—R I
.

2 . P >< K P R >< R
If the Rook doe s not take Black will hardly be ab le to ,

protect himself at K 4 (The best move was . But

the Black Rook will now be able to defend the Ki n g s side ’

along the rank and therefore White ought not to allow the
enemy to advance the Q P .

3 P x Kt
—
.

4 K t Q 5 .

Locking up the Pawn an d the Rook a n d attacking the K R P

B t
5 . PxB K —K t 2
6 . K t— R 4

The reader wi ll note the strict cohesion between White s ’

moves Now he threate n s by R X Kt to win either the K n ight

.

or the Queen If Black s Knigh t retires there will follow

.
’

K t—B 5 ch and Q X P But in additio n the text move has

.
, ,
-

freed the third ran k for the Rook to begin its attack on the
K Kt file The Rook can n ot at once move away from the
.

first rank as the n the Black Rook will check White must
, .

fi rst therefore defend himself against mate But when

, ,
.

Wh ite s Rook ultimately checks on Kt 3 Blac k must move

’

his King and the n his R P i s lost Black must accordingly

,
.

forestall this check but this gives White new threats .

6 . R—K 1

7 P—R 3 —
Q Q r
— —K t 3
.

8 R K 3 Kt
K—B 1
.

9 . K t—B 5 c h
10 . R— K 6
Excellent A n att ack is opened o n the K R P and the K ing
is n ot allowed to escap e f rom th e Ki n g s side And again a ’
.

Rook is o n the sixth r ank !

 ATTACK 1 95

m . RxR
IL PXR
V ery good The Ki n g can not move away he is ne w threat
.

ened with mate and the loss of the K n ight is also threatened
,
.

1 1 . P— Q 4
P ch K —K 1 >< R
Q 1 2 .

1 3 P >< P ch K >< P
—
.

14 Q — R 7 ch K . K 3
15 Q >< K t and wins without
. di fficulty ,
.

This may b e take n as a n example of an attack over the

W hole b oard as the first sacrifice is made o n the Queen s side
’

( on the Q R file ) a n d the other a Rook sacrifice agai n i n the , ,

ce n tre ( Ki n g s file ) an d yet al l the attack is b rought against

’

the Ki n g s Side directed at the K R P

’

,
.

3 . THE A TTA CK ON K ING STANDING IN THE C ENTRE

( Diagram L XX X I I ) .

Diag am L XXX II
r .

Black has now obtained a

beautiful attacki n g position for
two Pawn s All his pieces .

stan d excellently and strike at

the hostile Kin g who cannot ,

Bla c k D J P m castle All depe n ds on whether .

: r er s
the Pawn on K 4 can hold
. . .

White A Ni m i t h
: . e zov c .

out against the attacks directed

at it Should it fall White s position wil l be rui n ed It
.
,
’
.

cannot be protected by the Q P since in that case after the , ,

exchan ge on B 3 the Q R is lost White can move the King

, .
1 96 E X AMPLES
to Q 1 but that will not decide the question how to develop
,

the Quee n s side pieces It is curious to note moreover

’
.
, ,

that time a n d space were formerly equal for both players .

7 . K t —Q 1 P—Q 4
8 . K t —B 2 P >< P
9 P X P . B — B 4
The K P is now lost and with it the game , .

1 0 P—B 3 . B x Kt ch
1 1 QxB . R x P ch
1 2 . K —Q 1 B —Q 6
Blocking the Ki n g on Q 1 . Black threate n s Q K R 4 ch .

—B K 7 ch
1 2 .
Q 3 B -

1 3 .
QxB RxQ
1 4 . KxR Q — R 4 ch
an d Black wi n s .

Diag am L XXX III

r . Dia g am L XXX I V
r .

Blac k R Reti
: Bla ck S W i w : na er .

White : R Spielmann
. . .

. . W hite : J Ma o n . s .

( Diagram L X XX II I ) .

The essentials of the position are as follows : The Black

King is on K 1 His Q P protects him Should that fall
. .
,

th e White ce n tre Pawn will decide the game The Ki n g may .

save himse lf by castli n g Q R ; this ought to b e prevented .

1
98 E X AMP L ES
the stalemate position of the Rook on Kt 3 and Black s threat ’

to take the K B P may make victory if not more di fficult , ,

a n yhow much more distant A file must be open ed in order .

,

to break i n to the e n emy s camp and to make use of the position

’

of the Bishop
Rt P
—
Q R 7 eh
B >< K t
R—K t 7 ch
B —B 8 dbl ch -
.

Q X Q a n d wi n s ,
.

5
. THE A TTA CK ON THE K ING S S IDE C ASTLING ’

( Diagram L XXX V ) .

Diag am L XXX V
r Here it i s still more di fficult
.

to determi n e o ffhan d where a n d

how the attack may be de
livered If we an alyse the .

position as carefully as we have

do n e before we shall find that ,

White has weak Paw n s o n K 2

and K B 2 a n d that Black ,

can adva n ce his K and K B

PS profiti n g by the fact that ,

White has his Q and K Kt PS

adva n ced When this barrier .

Bla ck S L i t ki
is destroyed Black will be able ,
: ev s
to rush upo n the hosti le Ki n g s ’
. .

White A A Alj h i
: . . ec n .

side Before doing this how .

,

ever he must paralyse the opposi n g pieces and occupy the

,

threateni n g positio n s with his own .

I K t >< K t
Cleari ng the file for his own K B P
—Q
.

2 Bt Kt 5
Attacki n g White s K P ’
.

3
—
Q Q r B —K Kt 5
 ATTACK 1 99

Again attacking the same Pawn .

4 . R— K 1

Now the poi n t K B 2 is weake n ed towards which Black s

,
’

attack will be directed

—
.

P Q B 3
In order to make possible the move of the K B P .

5 B — K t 2
. P — K B 4
Threateni n g P B 5 to open the file for the Rook to attac k
-
,

White s K B 2
’

P—K R 3
.

6 .

7 P — Q Kt 4
.

8 . K t —K t 3
9 . P— K t 4
This closes diago n al of the Bishop W ithout openi n g the
th
file for the Rook but instead allows the Quee n to come i n to
,

the game with a n attack on the K B P .

—
Q R 5
10 .B5 P— Q
,Closi n g the diagonal of another Bishop . We see a severe
battle for ope n files .

10 . K t >< K t
ch —B 2
Q
1 1 . >< B Kt
The Bishop not o n ly moves away without loss of temp o from
withi n ran ge of the Pawn but also threate n s to occupy ,

a new diago n al striki n g at the Ki n g s Side

,
’
.

1 2 .
—
Q B 3
It is necessary to protect the Q B P .

1 2 R4 P— K
If the Pawn is taken the Bishop will agai n come into the
game threateni n g P—K B 6 Meanwhile there is n othi n g
,

.
,

to protect the Pawn White therefore ope n s the way for

.

the Quee n to go to the Ki n g s Side an d relieves her of the ’

defence of the Q B P
P—Q 4
.

1 3 . R PXP
Black of course does n ot take the Q P as Wh ite would
the n get an excelle n t diago n al Q R I —K Kt 7 an d would
, , ,

threate n to capture the K B P .

14 R P >< P
. B— Q 4
20 0 E X AMPLES
If Q >< K t P then White develops himself fairly well with
,

the help of Q P >< P P—K B 3 etc Now the only White

, ,
.

piece which protects the Ki n g s side is an n ih i lated ’

1 5 .
Q P >< P B >< B
1 6 . K >< B Q t P ch

I7 . K —B I P >< E P
Threatening by the further advance of thi s Pawn to open
the diagonal for the Bishop .

I8 PXP B xP !
1 9 .
Q >< B —
Q R 6 ch
20 . K —K t I R—B 4
21ch .
Q —
B 4 K —R 1
White s game is lost He is menaced with mate and with
’
.

a doubling of the Black Rooks If 2 2 B X P the n Q —K t 5 ch .

, ,

winning the Bishop .

22 QxK B P RxQ
.

23 BxR R— K B 1 and wi ns
.
, .

6 . P AWN S A C RIFI C ES F OR THE O P ENIN G or F ILES

(Diagram L X XX V I ) .

The first obj ective is to open the files the seco n d to form ,

weak n esses in the position of the Black Pawns Le to compel ,

.
,

the advan c e of o n e of them

P—B 5
.

1
—K t
.

2 . P 4
3 K t—K t 5
—
.

By this White forces Black to advance a Pawn If R 3

P
then K t—R 7 and one of White s pieces gets to B
.
,

6
’

—K t 3
.
,

P
4 . R—B 6
Threats : four attacks o n the poi n t K B 7
combi n ed with Q —K t 5
,

4
— B
.

5 .
QR K 1

6 Q —B 4
—
.

7 . P K 6
20 2 E X AMP L ES
2 K t—B 3
3 . Kt Kt K x Kt
4 . P— K t 3 K t— K t 3
5 .
—
P K B 4 K P >< B P
PxP 6 . PxP
7 BXP . Kt x B
Black has now n ot a si n gle piece for the defence
—
.

8 Q x Kt ch K K t 2
—
.

9 R — K t 1 ch
. K R 2

10 Q — B 6 .and Wins ,
.

Quicker would have been 1 0 R — Q 3 with the threat

.
a

of Q >< P ch .

8 . THE S T ORM BY THE P AWNS

( Diagram L XXX V I I I ) .

The position of the Black Pawns is bad but the castled ,

King is protected by the Bishop It is necessary to paralyse .

this or to drive it away from the Ki n g s side For that the ’

.

Pawn on B 4 must move to B 6 This mean s that the attack.

on Black s Kt P must be conducted not by the B P but by

’

the R P .

1 . P— K t 4
2 P— K t 5
—K t 3
.

3 . K

I n order to be able to advance the R P an d protect the B P .

—
It would be better to achieve the latter end by R B 2 as ,

Black c ould n ow get a perpetual check by sa c rificing the

Rook : R >< P ; 4 K >< R B —K 4 ch etc , , .

—
Q R2
4 . R—B 1 P— R 3
One ought never in i n ferior positio n s to open the files one
self n or to isolate or exchan ge the Pawn s White should be
, .

left to destroy Black s positio n without help from Black

’

5 . P—R 4 P —R 4
 ATTACK 20 3

But White can now adva n ce the B P .

6 P—B 5 P >< P
R—K
.

7 . P >< P 1

8 . P—B 6 B >< P

On R—K 6 ch Wh ite takes with the Queen and , ,

moves gives mate with the help of

,
R— B 8 ch .

9 PxB —
Q Q 2
—
.

1 0 .
Q Kt 6 Resig n s .

9 . THE A TTA CK WITH THE B ISH OP S

(Diagram L XXX I X ) .

Diag am L XXXV III

r . Diag am L XXX I X
r .

Bla ck C S chle chte

: r Bla ck J H Baue
: r

Las k e
. . . . .

White D S T
: r . . ar r as c h . White D : r , r,
20 4 E X AMPLES

IO . T HE A TTA CK W ITH THE K NIGHTS

( Diagram X C ) .

The weaknesses in Black s position are the Pawns on Kt 2 ’

an d R 3 and the poi n t K Kt 4 Black can not advance a .

si n gle Pawn So if White bri n gs forward his second Knight

.

he will threaten to take on Kt 7 wi th a menace agai nst R 6 , .

Besides he c an move his Pawn s e g P— K t 5 , . . .

1 Kt ( K 2 ) —K t 3 Q >< B P
.

Threatening the exchan ge of Quee n s by Q —B 4 .

2 R—Q B 1 .
—
Q Kt 7
Dia g am X C r . Diag am X C I
r .

Bla ck
: Dr 0 . . S Be stei n
. rn . Bla ck J Mieses
:
C apab la c a
. .

White : J . R . n . Whi te J B eye

: . r r .

For the defence of the Ki n g s side which White prevents at ’

once
3 . K t—R 5
4 . R— K 2
5 . P—B 4
Drivi n g away the Queen from the defence of the Kt P
—
.

5 .
Q K t 4
Kt (B 6 P .

Threate n ing to win the Exchange It is impossible to take

the K n ight for the n will follow K t—B 6 ch If the Rook
.

.
,
20 6 E X AMPLES
Cutting off the King from all the other pieces .

1 0 . R—B 1

Strivin g to protect the fatal third rank on which the , re

si st an ce of the Pawn s is totally shattered .

10 . B —B 1

The last piece comes into the attack Black threatens .

R >< P a n d B — R 6 Besides the Rook is now pr otected and

.
, ,

therefore the Pawn o n B 5 can be advanced .

1 1 . R—B 3 P—B 6
The u n supported Rook on Q 4 does not allow White to m ake
any defensive man oeuvres .

1 2 RxR
. P—B 7
Here is a classical position in the attack on the Queen s ’

Side castli n g which can hardly be imagined against Ki n g s ’

side castli n g
.

1 3 Q XP
1 4 . K >< B
And of c ourse White resigned
, , .
 CH A P TER IV

DEFEN C E
1 . P ASSI V E D EFEN C E

( Diagram XC I I ) .

White threatens to attack

Dia g am X C II
r . the Q Kt P It can n ot be
.

advan ced as it may then be

,

attacked by the Q R P ; an d ,

besides the Queen wi ll come

,

in to the game without loss of

temp o after P— Q 4 threaten ,

in g the Q R P Black has a .

protection in the manoeuvre

K t—B I —Q 3 But he must
.

also retir e the Queen If he .

puts her o n R 4 he wi ll not only

pi n the Whi te Knight but also
stop the adv an ce of the Wh ite
m
gg
B s h
afia fgg Q R P Therefore White
s
hg
a '

li
.

preve n ts this .

I P—Q R 4 Q Kt 5 -

2 . P— R 5 K —K t 1
3 . K R—Q Kt 1 Q — B 4
4 . K t—R 4 —
Q R 2

In order t o leave Q 3 free for the Knight to defend the

Q Kt P
—B
.

5 . P 4
Threatening to shut out the Black K n ight from Q 3 .

P—B 4
K t—B 1
K t—Q 3
20 8 E X AMPLES
Black s obj ect is now attai n ed with a threat to capture
’

either the K P or the Q B P after drivi ng the White Knight

away Wh ite immediately parries this threat
. .

8 . K —B 3 P—B 3

Black s posi t i on is very di fficult By this move he pre

’
.

pares to free his Que en ; but at the same time he weakens

the point Q Kt 3 and giv e s Wh ite the opportunity to begin
the attac k on the Kt P and also on the Pawn at B 4 .

9 . K t— K t 6 —
K B 2

10 . R— K t 1

There w as no necessity for transferri n g the a ttac k to the

other flan k Wh ite could very well play K t—R 4 t hreaten
.
,

i n g R—K t 6 Q R—K t 1 K t , P with a menace of Ii i , ,

K 6 ch and s o o n
, .

Q R—K Kt 1
—
Q Q Kt 2

White again now attacks on the Queen s Side But he has ’

.

l ost a move as the Queen does n ot threaten at Kt 6 and oa

,

the attack o n the Q B P remains .

1 1 .

1 2 . K t— R 4
1 3 . Kt X P
1 4 .
—
Q R3
1 5 .
Q R — K t 1

Nothi n g preve n ted White from taki n g the Pawn

1 5 . P >< P
1 6 Kt
Kt P K r >< K t
— —K t
.

17 .
Q K 7 ch K r

18 Q XB P K —R I

1 9 . R x R ch RxR
29 Q XB P

With the threat of R—K t 6 followed by R >< P Bl ack , .

,

however has a defe n ce as the result of careless attac k by

,

White givi n g Black his centre Pawns

, .
21 0 E X AMP L ES
K —R 1
R—K 3
Kt Kt — 2

R—K Kt 1
—
Q K 7
K xR
Blac k i n a few moves .

3
. C OUNTER A TTA CK
-

( Diagram X CI V ) .

Diag am X C I V
r .

The Knight on Q 4 b eing

under threat Wh ite is unable to,

retire the Queen from the

Rook s attack Black s threat
’
.
’

to win this K n ight prevents

White from making the moves
preparatory t o castling Owi n g .

to this White s position is very

,
’

difficult and he seeks safety

,

in a counter attack directed -

at the Black Knight o n B 3 ,

which attac k s hi s K night

Bla c k : D J a n ows ki on Q 4
Las ke
. .
.

Wh ite : Dr E . . r.

1 P —Q Kt 4
—
Q K 4
K t (B 3) —
.

2 . Kt 5

Drivi n g away the Q u een and freei n g the K night on B 3 .

White has succeeded in affording protection to his Knight on

Q4 He
. had the option between K t — K 2 which would block ,

the Bishop and so deprive him for ever of the opportunity

of castli ng and the move he actually made which al lows
him to atta c k If for example Black moves P—R 3 White
, ,

by sacrificing the Knight gets a strong attac k : 3 Q —B I

.
, , ,

P >< K t ; 4 K t >< K t P >< K t ; 5 Q >< P ch Q —

,

B 2 ; 6 Q
, ,

R 6 ch etc , .
 DEFEN C E 21 1

2 Kt —B 4
—B
.

3 . R 1

Protecti n g the K n ight on Q 4 by pi nn i n g Black s Knight ’

.

H ereby White gives up a Pawn but gets some small chances , .

Kt
4 Pt Q >< P ch
—K
.

5 . B —K 2 B 2

V ery good The weakness in Black s position is that his ’

.

Q R is u n p rotected That is why he cann ot move away his

.

K i n g and free his Knight Now he at the sam e time protects

.

the Rook and brin gs a new piece in to the attack The dan ger .

of his position would be clearer if he had taken the commem

t at or s advi ce a n d had played B —K t 6 which would be
’

foll owed by 6 K t >< P ch K —B 2 (if K —K t 1 7 Kt (Q 4) X

, ,

Kt ch) 7 Kt ( Q 4) —K t 5 ch K —K t 3 (if K —K t 1 8 Q >< R

c h and 9 R—B 8 mate) ; 8 R t
, ,

ch P >< R ; 9 Q >< R ch an d ,

6 . R—B 3
If the Black Queen moves away White castles at once ,

freei n g his pieces an d keepi n g the attack o n the Quee n s Side ’

.

H ere is the decisive moment for Black His attack brought .

the gain of a Pawn Must he now co n se n t to give over the

.

attack to the enemy and to protect himself or does he wan t ,

to continue the attack ? In the latter case he has to t ake .

such en e rgetic measures as sacrifici n g the Queen ; Q >< R ch

and K t >< K t In the former case he must ack n owledge that
.

his attack is repulsed Black chooses a third a n d worse

.

al ternative U n will in g to begi n defe n ce he is in su fficie n tly

.

decisive in attack with the result that White gets the attack
,

by force .

6
—K t 3
.

7 . P
8 . C astles
RxB 9 .

Wh ite on the co n trary puts his heart i n to the counter

, ,

attack H e a nn ihilates the piece which attacks his K n ight

. ,

a n d as the Black K R is out of the game he has an extra piece

in play .
21 2 E X AMP L ES

9 . PxR
IO . B —B 3 —
Q K 4

Four White pie c es will now attack the once prote c ted
Black K n ight .

K t x P ch K —B 2

Kt P X Kt
RXP ch K —K t 1

R—K t 6 ch K —B 1

Q —B 1 ch K —Q 2

Kt X B and wins ,
in a few moves .

4 . D EFEN C E BY MEANS OF C OUNTER C OMBINATI ON

-

( D iagram XCV ) .

Dia g am X CV
r .

This Knight sa c rifice imp orts

new activity into an exactly
equal position Obviously the .

accepta n ce of the sacrifice

would bring with it the loss of
one of the Bishops .

Bla ck : R Pr z e p i Or ka
sb e g
. .

White : 1 On u . r .

Now both the K n ight and the Queen are enprzse Besides
’

Black threatens with Q —Q 4 a mate and both Kn ght and

.

Rook .

—
5 Q Kt 3 .

If P >< K t then 6 B >< P

R—
, .

6 K B 1
—Q
.

7
. B 3
8
. B >< R
 CH A P TE R V

THE COUNTE R BATTLE -

1 . THE C OUNTER B ATTLE -

IN THE CENTRE

(Diagram X C V I ) .

Dia g a m X CV I
r
Black has a S plendid passed
Pawn on Q 5 but it is blocked
.

and White is ab le to c on cen

trate the attack of all fiv e pie c es
on the Q B P which protects ,

it Black can defe n d this Pawn .

fiv e times but then all hi s pie c es ,

are taken up with the defence

and White at the decisive
mome n t would play P—Q Kt
4 W i nn in g o n e of the Pawn s
, .

Therefore Black conceives a

plan to advance the Q B P on ,

Bla ck E C oh : . which the blows of White are

n .

Whi te 0 D : '

concentrated but thereby Q P

u n ?"

is weak ened and Wh ite directs his attack against it .

1 .
—
Q R5
2 P— K t 3 Q — R 4
K —K t 2 P—B 5
.

3
K t—B 4
.

—K
4 .
Q 4
5 BxB P—B 6
6 .
Q Q 3 Kt
7 R i —Q 5
White now threatens first of all K R—Q 1 attacking the
—
,

Q P Black i s unable to prote c t it by K t K 3 on acco u nt

of the threat K t—K 7 c h wi nning the Exchange But
.
,

.
,

against other preparatory moves o f Blac k White threatens

 THE COUNTER BATTLE -
21 5

P—B 4 ,
drivi ng away the Quee n Black therefore decides .

to force on his stro n g passed Pawns an d sacrifice the Exchange .

7 Rt
8 PxR Q xP
9 . K R —Q 1 Kt —K 3
Protecting not o n ly the Q P but also the Q B P because if ,

White Should take that the n after the gener al exchange the
move P—B 7 wi ll win the g am e
, ,

1 0 Q >< R P —
R R 1
—
.

1 1 .
Q K 2 P—Q 6

Black now begins a direct attack on the King wi th the

help of the Rook s attack on the rank
’
.

1 2 R >< Q P —
Q K Kt 4
—
.

1 3 .
Q K 3 RXP ch
1 4 K—K t 1 Q K -
R4
—
.

1 5 .
—
P R 4 Q K B4
Threatening Q —R 6 If 1 6 P—K Kt 4 then Q B .
, 5; 1 7
Q XQ ,
Kt xQ with
,
the threat of K t — K 7 ch .

15 R (Q —
Q R6
—B
.

16 . R 8 ch K —K t 2

Blac k thinking his position very strong mak es a mistak e

After the defe n sive K t—B 1 he would probably draw the game
.
, ,

by perpetual chec k White now manages to attack prote c ting

.
,

himself at the same time Thereby he reinforces his own

.

positio n and weaken s the enemy s so that the c on c luding ’

comb i nation b ecomes profitable to him .

18 Q — K 5 ch P— B 3
R (B 1 ) —B 7 c h K —
.

1 9 R3
—
.

20 Q — K
.
3 ch P Kt 4
21 P x P ch
. Kt x P
All the same better would be P >< P 2 2 Q >< K t ch Q X Q
—
, ,

R B 6 Black comi n g out one Pawn do wn But he plays

for a mate—
23 , .

and loses right off .

21 6 E X AMPLES
22 . R >< P ch
23 .
—
Q K 7 ch
24 . R— K t 8 ch
25 . Rt ch
The Queen is lost i .

2 . THE C OUNTER B ATTLE -

IN THE C ENTRE AN D ON THE W ING

(Diagram X CV I I )
.

1 . Castles
By this White at once opens the attack on the enemy s ’

K i n g as he threatens to play B —B 4 and P—Q 5 The latter

,
.

move menaces the ruin of Black s Pawn s with the possibili ty ’

of attack on the K B P Therefore Black on his Side b egi ns .

an attack .

Diag am X CV II
r . Diag am X C V I I I
r .

Bla ck : F J Ma shall r Bla c k : 0 Du as

r

L
. .

E Las k e Wh te
. . .

Whi te : Dr . . r .
i : . F or ga c z .

e
s
i P 5
—Q
m B —K t s
e Bf
Q xK B P
r

P
21 8 E X AMPLES
Threate n ing P >< P .

8 . P— K t 5
It looks as though by this White blocks his game on the
Kin g s side but in reality he is prepari ng a new stormi n g
’

operation safeguarding himself beforehand from hostile

,

attack
—B
.

P 4
The sacrifice of the Pawn gives Black great ch an ces .

it would perhaps be better to prepare a push .

9 . P >< P P —Q 5
Black s threats B —B 5 K t—Q 4 P—Q 6 P—
’
Kt 6 -

so on—are countless We might wonder whether White

, , , ,

h as a defence .

IO —
Q Q 2 B —B 5
—K 1 —
.

1 1 R Q Q 4
—Q R 3 P—K t 6
.

1 2 P
B —K t 2
.

1 3 . K t —B 3

White has S hattered the most immediate threat s of the

enemy and forces his pieces to protect the Q P One threat .

is left to take the Q B P and Black s stre n gth lies in two

, ,
’

passed Pawns Therefore White for his part agai n b egins

.

an attack

P—K R 4 K—
.

14 B 2 .

Better at once K—K t 2

K—
.

15 P—K 6 ch Kt 2
P—R 5 —K
.

1 6 R 1

R ( Kt 3) —K —B
.

17 .
3 K 1

18 PXP
A very beautiful a n d a scrupulously sound com b ination .

If Black takes this Pawn then the Queen will sei ze the open ,

Roo k s file
’
.

1 8 PXR
1 P >< P K K — 2
9
—
.

20 . RxP R K B1
The Queen c ann ot b e tak en on a c count of B B 6 mate .
 THE C OUNTER BATTLE -
21 9

2L Q XQ
22 . P—R 8 = Q
more decisive was P—K t 6 .

22 RxQ
K —B 1
.

23 . B —B 6 ch
24 . B x R and White win s easily
, .

4
. T HE C OUNTER B ATTLE -
ON THE SAME WIN G

( Diagram X CI X ) .

Diagr am X C IX .
Whi te s attack is directed
’

again st the King s side His ’

.

ce n tre Pawn prevents him from

brin gin g the Bishop i nto the
game Therefore a lin e has to
.

be opened for this Bishop .

1 . R—B 5 Q —B 6

R 2 ; 3 K t >< R (R
4Q
— R 4 ch , K —K t 2 ; 5R
B 5 ,
etc .

Bla c k R Tei ch ma
: nn
2 ' P_ K 5 P >< P
. .

White O Du r as
It i s ImpossIDle not to capture
. .

as then would follow P—K 6 And it i s impossible to take

,

with the Rook on account of R X P ch

—R
.

3 . R —K t 5 K 2

Q —B 6 ch was threatened .

4 . Kt —B 5 Pt

Otherwise White wo n the Exchange We see how White .

,

by two sa c rifices has opened the diago n al for the Bishop .

—K
,

5 .
Q >< P ch R t 3

If K —R 1 , then 6R —R 5 .
2 20 E XAMPLES
6 .
—
Q B 6 —
Q Q 5 ch
7 . R— B 2 —
Q Q 8 ch
8 . K —R 2 P— K 5
Now Black by sacri ficin g the Rook closes the Bishop s
, ,
’

diago n al and by so clos i ng it gets a cert ai n freedom H ere

‘

.
, ,

is a case of transition from p assive defence t o counter attack -

,

through the sacrifice of a p i ec e whi ch has been won '

9 .
Q >< R ( K 7) R—R 3 ch
Io . K — Kt 3 —
Q K 8
White threatened R >< P ch . If Q >< P ch then
,
1 1 R —B 3 ,

with the same threat .

1 1 Q >< B Q —K 6 ch
—K t 4
.

1 2 . K

Wh ite is not afraid to play the K ing forward as his at ,

tac ki ng positi on is stronger than the enemy s t hreats ’

.

1 2 P—B 4 ch
R—K t 3 ch
.

13 R ( Kt 5) >< P
.

With the menace of a mate in two moves But .

14 Q >< R ch .

By this new sacrifice Whi te gets the initiative whi ch now ,

decides the game Nowhere is the comparative value of

.

force space and time so c learly S h own as in this game

, , .

14 KxQ
R—B 6 ch K —K t 2
.

1 5

R—B 7 ch K —K t 1
.

1 6

R—B 8 ch K —K t 2
.

1 7

R (B 2 ) —B 7 ch K —K t 3
.

18

K —K t 2
.

19 R—B 6 ch
R (B 8) —B 7 ch K —K t 1
.

20
—R 5
.

21 . K
Excellent ! White threatens a mate against whi c h there is
no defence .

21 .

22 . P— K t 4
222 E X AMPLES
In this way Black brings his Rook into the game and so
gets one piece more White therefore on his S ide start s
.
, , ,

an attac k .

14 Kt x P B x R dbl ch
—
. .

1 5 K >< B Q B 7 ch
—
.

1 6 K —Q 1 Q K 7 ch
K —
.

17 B 1
. P >< Kt
1 8
. R— Q 1

Again as in the preceding game Whit e after sacrifi c ing

, , ,

a piece gets the initiative H e has now a free position and

,
.

two Pawns for the B ishop .

and Black wins having a Bishop against

, on e Pawn .
 C ON C LUSION

OUR study is completed The novelty of the subj ect and

.

the limited size of this b oo k must serve as excuses for its

defects especially for its lack Of detai l as regards the methods
,

of attain i n g the obj ects in V iew and the n ecessarily general

character of the n otes c oncerning the various positions In .

order to push the study further many new works would be

needed ; and I hope some day several such will fo llow My ai m .

has been to S how the gener al types of positions which must

gu ide a player in chess as I am convinced that n ot only does
,

a g ame represent in i tself a S ingle logical whole in whi c h ,

every mistake is in evitably punished but also there exist ,

obj ective facts which aid the player in findi n g his way in
each separate case V ery often a player seein g that he has
.
,

the adv an tage does n ot know how to make use of it fails

, ,

to understand i n what his advantage consists how to con ,

struct a plan for what to strive Still more is this the c ase
, .

when a player has no advantage The very frequent reason .

is that he cannot grasp an d formulate the qu al ities of the

position not being given obj ective fact s for a valuation of
,

positions nor havi n g been taught how t o make that v alu a

tion
The chief point of my book I b elieve i s the wor king out
, ,

of the problems of valuation of positions a n d c onstruction

and realisation of plans That is why I have devoted so
mu c h space to those subj ects All this is based on u ncon
.

trov ert ib le facts which form the basis of the game Con se .

quently the reader must n ot merely accept the deductions

in the first part of the book which discuss the elements of
,

the game but must thi n k c arefully over a n d comprehe n d the

,

qualities of those eleme n ts because if he f ai ls to do that he

, ,

wil l never be able to mak e a proper valuation of positions .

223
2 24 CON C LUSION
On this is founded the co n duct of games which I have divided ,

into three classes accordi n g as one has su periority in feriority

, ,

or equality Le an active passive or n eutral game (the last

, .
, ,

bei n g the game Of man oeuvres ) .

It is impossible to go into detail in each individual case

since for that it would b e necessary to give hundreds of ex
amples and to study them with the same care that is devoted
to the positions in Part I I .

In Part I I I I group the examples not according to the

.
,

eleme n ts involved (Space time force) Si n ce I assume that the

, , ,

reader is now su fficiently acquai n ted wi th these but according ,

to the character and qualities of each position I am studyi n g .

i n dividual cases each of which is interesting as illustrati n g

,

stateme n ts previously made so far as they apply to these

,

cases I must leave this work of applicatio n of the stateme n ts

.

to the i n dividual cases to the reader himself because the ,

examples s erve as a co llectio n of exercises on the b ody of

the book .

I hope that my b oo k will be of service to many players in

the practical game but still more that it will help them to
,

a comprehensio n of chess That I co n sider the most import

.

ant point AS chess is the deepest a n d most logical of games

.
,

it needs to be understood in all its qualities and laws .

Without that understa n ding it is impossible not o n ly to play

o n eself but also to grasp correctly the play of others and to
appreciate their ideas .

If the book serves this purpose for lovers of chess I shall ,

have bee n rewa rded for the great labour which I have put
into the task of writin g it .
226 ILLUSTRATI V E POSITION S
A RAM
DI G P AGE
EQUA L P OS ITION S
S chl e c hte Las ke r- r

B u n Z O kO B
r ky
n S -
orov s

Riga Be li n
-
r

Ru bi n stei n Du as -
r

E X A MPLES MAN( EUV R ES :

S chl e c hte S h ti g r- uc n

Alj e chi Ru b i stei n

n- n

Spiel ma nn T t k w -
ar a o er

V id ma Spiel mann
r-

E X AM P LES ATTA CK
T h Bu
ar r as c -
rn

S ch le c hte S l we r- a

Ni m e i t h P e lis
zov c -
r

Spiel ma Reti nn -

Mason W i n w -
a er

Al j e ch i n Le vi t s ki
-

F or ga c z- Ta r t a kow er
S c hle c hte r- Tarr as ch
Tarras eh -S chle c hte r

L as k e B auer- r

C apab la c a B e nstei n
n -
r

B eye Mieses
r r-

E X A MPLES D EFEN C E
K Oh nl e i n - Tarr asch
L ask e T r-h arr as c

L as k e J a ows ki
r- n

Gu nsb e rg-P r z e pi Orka

TH E C OU NTE R B AT TL E -

Du C oh
r as - n

L as k e M a shall
r- r

Du as
F or ga c z- r

Du as Tei ch mann
r -

Pills b u y T as hr -
arr c
BELLS BOOKS FOR CHESS PLAYERS
’

Wri te for C omplete Chess C a tal ogu e

MY B ES T GAM E S OF C H E SS
1 90 8—
1 92 3

By A . AL E K H IN , Ch e s s Ch a mp i on of th e Worl d .

1 os 6d n et
E e y c hess p laye will wa t it —
. . .

v r Sp t t -
r n ec a or

Without dou b t n of the fi est c hess b oo k s e e written

. .

'

o e n v r . F i eld
- .

C H ES S F UN DAM E N TALS
By J R CA P A B L A N C A 1 0 8 6d n e t
. .
, . . .

Beyo d q uestio this b oo k is a alua b le additio to c hess l ite atu e A

n n, v n r r
b oo k that will li e d b e sought f b y chess stude t th oughout the
.

wo ld f ma y a yea to c o m e —S d y Ti m
v an or n s r
”
r or n r . un a es .

M Y C H E S S C AR E E R
B y J R CA P A B L A N C A
. A Coll ec t i on of hi s Not able
. .

Game s wi th Ann ota t i on s

, Wi th P ortra i t 7s 6d n et . . . . .

Those who study f the sa k e of i mp o e m e nt will fi d i the a otatioor r v n n nn n

of the ga m es e ti ely w d most illu mi ati g m ethod ha dled b y a
an n r ne an n n n
playe who h r u pa alleled c o mma d of the p i c iples of the ga me
a s an n r n r n .

C ou n try Li fe .

S TRATE GY C H E SS
A Gu i de t o P rac ti c a l P la y B y E D WAR D . LA SK ER .

Tra n sla t e d by J DU MON T Si xth e d i ti on . . r e v i se d .

73 6d . n et .

Mr La ske r s c he m e is all e mb a c i g nd f the fi st ti m e O ffe s logi c al

’
s -
r n a or r r

guida n c e i e e y stage of the ga m e

.
,

n vTh autho s method o f

r e r
’

getti g at the oot of the su b j e c t must b e c o dially wel c o m ed as a e y

.

n r r v r
eedful sa i g of t m e nd e ffo t d as a alua b le aid to c hess
playe s g e e ally —M i g P t
n v n i a r an v

r n r . or n n os .

M O DE RN IDE AS IN C H E SS
By R IC H AR D R ETI Tra nsl a t e d by J OH N H AR T . .

7s . 6d . net .

de li ght f l t eatise n the mode e olutio n o f maste r chess

most e n t a n c i n g b oo k —
A u r o rn v
-
.

”
M m gP
’

r . or n os t.
 THE E LE M E N TS OF C H E S S .

By J . DU MON T F u lly I ll u stra t e d Demy 8v o. . .

7s . 6d . ne t .

Th e b es t E n g lish wo k the g a me si n c M as n s c lassi c Fu ll o f n w

r on e o
’
e

to m eet b e gi nn e s di ffi c ulties nd e p essed i n the c l ea est

.

poi ts of
—Ob
’
n fl ew r a x r r

la g ua g e
,

n . s erve r .

M Y S Y S TE M
A C hess Tr e a t i se . By A R O N NIM Z OW ITSC H . E n gli sh
V ersi o n by PHILIP HE R EFO R D 1 2 5 6d n e t . . . .

“
C hess pl aye s -
will g i e a c o dial we l c o me to A N i m owi t h M y
r v r z sc
’
s

No stude nt of the g a m e n a ff o d to n e g le t this o i g i n a l

.

Sy t m
thought ful b oo k —M n h t G di n
s e nd ca r c r a

. a c es e r u ar a .

H is e po sitio n o f his p i n c iples i e t e m e l y i n te ac ti n g n d h i s c o mme nt

e y illu m i nati n g —
x r s x r r a s
on g a m es
,

a e N ti n r v r . a o .

M O RPH Y S GAM E S OF C H E S S ’

B ei ng a sel ec ti on of thr ee h u n dre d of hi s Game s wi th ,

Ann ot a t i ons a n d B i ographi c a l I n t r odu c ti on by P W . .

SER GEA N T 7 s 6d n e t . . . .

This co ll e c tio o f the ga mes o f P aul M o phy will b e wel c o me to e e y c hess

n r v r
lo e Th a alysis is lu c id e e wea i so me the c iti c is m is
ge e ous d i the li g ht o f latt day c hess st ate gy sou d —
v r . d e n an n v r r r
”
n r an ,
n S t d y er -
r ,
n . a ur a
R evi e w .

S TAUN TO N S C H ES S PLAY E R S ’
-
’

H AN DBO O K
t o wh i ch h av e b e e n a dd e d t h e Ch i e f Vari ati on s from
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