~ positional judgement. Applying it enables him to eliminate from con- sideration inferior moves, to which the average player devotes much thought. He hardly glances at moves that are obviously violations of prin- ciple! Here is what might go through his mind as he selects the right move: 2...£6: “Terrible! My f-pawn oc- cupies a square that should be re- served for the knight and it also blocks the queen’s path along the di- agonal. And I've moved a pawn when I should be developing pieces.” 2...WE6: “Bad, since my knight belongs at £6, not the queen. Also, I’m wasting the power of my stron- gest piece to defend a pawn.” 2...WeT: “This shuts the £8- bishop in, while my queen is doing a job which a lesser piece could han- dle” 2...Sd6: “I’ve developed a piece, butthed-pawn is obstructed, and my c8-bishop may be buried alive.” 2...d6: “Not bad, since it gives the c8-bishop an outlet. But wait - it limits the range of the f8-bishop, and again I've moved a pawn when I should be putting pieces to work.” 2...@c6: “Eureka! This must be best, as I have developed a piece to its most suitable square and pro- tected the e-pawn at the same time.” 2 ow Deb! Without going into tedious analy- sis, Black picks out the best possible move. He follows the advice of the Frenchman who said, “Sortez les piéces!”. He brings a piece out and saves the e-pawn without any loss of time. Berlin 1907 13 I would caution you that this and other maxims are not to be blindly followed. In chess, as in life, rules must often be swept aside. In gen- eral, though, the principles governing sound chess play do make wonder- ful guideposts, especially in the opening, the middlegame and the ending! 3 &c4(D) “The best attacking piece is the king’s bishop,” says Tarrasch, so White puts this piece to work and clears the way for early castling. The bishop seizes a valuable di- agonal in the centre and attacks Black's f7-pawn. This pawn is par- ticularly vulnerable as it is guarded by one piece only — the king. It is not unusual, even early in the game, to sacrifice a piece for this pawn, so that the king in capturing it is up- rooted, driven into the open and ex- posed to a violent attack. fe eS Is thisthe most suitable square for the bishop? Let us look at the alter- natives: 3...$b4: Inferior, because Black’s bishop takes no part in the struggle