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- Herausgeber: Batsford
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
This comprehensive book describes and analyses the intriguing array of tactics available to every chess player. With the help of progressively more difficult exercises and problems, Paul Littlewood shows the reader how to deploy a variety of tactics for attack and how to defend against each type of tactic successfully. Armed with this guide, players of all abilities, from the beginner to the experienced player, will find that they can significantly raise the level of their game.
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Seitenzahl: 102
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013
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www.anovabooks.com
First published by The Crowood Press Ltd in 1984
Reissued by Batsford in 200410 Soutcombe StreetLondonW14 0RAAn imprint of Anova Books Company Ltd.
Copyright © Paul Littlewood 1984, 2004
The right of Paul Littlewood to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher.
First eBook publication 2013ISBN 9781849941297Also availble in paperbackISBN 9780713489347This book can be ordered directly from the publisher atwww.anovabooks.com, or try your local bookshop
To JJ and Katy
CONTENTS
Introduction
1 Pins
2 Skewers
3 Double Attack
4 Discovered Attack
5 Back Rank Combinations
6 Overloading
7 Deflection
8 Decoying
9 Removal of Defence
10 Interception
11 Space Clearance
12 The Zwischenzug
13 Pawn Promotion
14 Draw
15 Miscellaneous Problems
Solutions to Problems
Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
There are numerous views on the nature of chess. Many people, such as Mikhail Tal—world champion 1960-1—see it as an art. Other more precise people, such as Mikhail Botvinnik—world champion 1948-57, 1958-60 and 1961-63—view it as a science. However, I subscribe to the view of people such as Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen, who believe it to be a battle.
In all battles the commanders must have a strategic plan of action. However, no matter how good the plan, the battle will be lost if the soldiers involved are not capable of carrying it out properly.
Chess is very similar. A player may adopt an excellent strategic plan but can often lose the game because his tactics are deficient.
As an illustration consider the following short game, with my view of White’s possible thoughts as he played each move.
I like this move as it controls the important central square e5 and frees my queen and queen’s bishop. It is also the favourite first move of my hero Spassky.
I would like to have played 2 e4 controlling more squares but Black would have just captured the pawn. Therefore I will prepare it by guarding the square.
What a stupid move Black has played! I can simply win a pawn for nothing now as well as make him lose time by having to move his knight again.
Oh, oh—I don’t like this threatening knight very much. I’d better get rid of it before it can do any damage. Unfortunately it will capture the e-pawn but that is probably lost in the long run anyway.
What’s this? I can simply take this piece with my f-pawn. I will then be a piece up for nothing. Who is this silly twit with the black pieces anyway? I am surprised the committee let him join the club. Hang on a minute though—If I take the knight he plays 5…h4+ 6 g3 (forced) 6…xg3 mate. Oh no, what have I done? My queen is attacked and it cannot move. Perhaps if I resign the game quickly and start another, the other club members won’t notice.
What went wrong for White? In fact, he made an instructive error: pursuing a reasonable strategic plan but failing to cope with the tactics employed by his opponent.
The purpose of this book is to arm you with as much of the tactical chess weaponry that is available so that you will not suffer the same fate as White above.
Each chapter deals with one particular tactical point giving many illustrative examples. To ensure that the reader fully understands each point, there are problems to be solved at the end of each chapter. The solutions to these are at the back of the book.
1 PINS
DEFINITION AND EXAMPLES
In battles an enemy can be pinned down so his movement is restricted. A similar fate can befall a chess piece. Consider the following position which arises after the opening moves:
The black knight on c6 cannot move because his king would then be in check from the white bishop on b5, i.e. the black knight is pinned by the white bishop.
This type of pin is an absolute one because the pinned piece is disallowed from moving by the rules of chess. However, consider the next diagram:
Here the black knight on f6 can move but if it does the white bishop on g5 may capture the black queen, leaving White with a substantial material advantage. Therefore unless Black has a very good reason he will not move his knight on f6 because it is pinned against his queen.
There are many other examples of pins, e.g. Diagrams 4, 5, 6 and 7.
The black knight on c6 is pinned against the black rook on a8 by the white bishop on g2.
The black pawn on g7 cannot take the white bishop on h6 because it is pinned against the black king by the white queen on g4. It is also pinned by the white bishop on h6 because if it moves to g6 or g5 the black queen would be captured.
Here again there are two pins. The black pawn on f7 is pinned against the black king by the white bishop on b3. The second pin is more difficult to spot. In fact the black bishop on e4 is pinned by the white rook on e1 because if it moves the white rook will checkmate Black by e8.
Here are three pins—can you spot them all?
Firstly the white bishop cannot take the black queen because it is pinned against the white king by the black bishop.
Secondly, the white bishop cannot take the black bishop because it is pinned against the white rook by the black queen.
Finally the white pawn at d4 cannot take the black knight because it is pinned against the white rook by the black rook.
Whew!
Having pinned the enemy down, the next question is how to exploit this favourable state of affairs.
EXPLOITATION
An important thing to remember is that the pin is unlikely to last for long, so that it must be exploited as quickly as possible if any advantage is to be gained.
Consider the following positions:
White wins a piece for a pawn by playing 1 d5. The black knight on c6 is attacked and it cannot move because it is pinned against the black king by the white queen. White must not delay—if he plays a normal developing move such as 1 d3 Black will get out of the pin by 1…0-0 for example.
White can force immediate resignation by 1 h6. The pinned black bishop is helpless and nothing can be done to stop White from playing 2 xg7 mate. Again any delay will allow Black to play 1…h8 and remove himself from the pin and hence any immediate danger.
White wins immediately by 1 xf6+ xf6 2 xg6+! (the black f-pawn is pinned against the black king by the white bishop) 2…h8 (or 2…g7) 3 h7 mate. Again note that any delay will allow Black to escape in a number of ways.
Mikenas-Aronin USSR Championship 1957
Black wins by 1…d8!, which exploits the pinned white queen, since if either 2 xf5 or 2 e4 then 2…xd1 is checkmate.
There are many other examples. Always remember, though, that pinning a piece does not necessarily lead to an advantage—the enemy can often defend and indeed sometimes launch a counter-attack.
DEFENDING AGAINST A PIN
Of course, the simplest way is to immediately unpin the piece involved, e.g:
In this position, which has arisen after the opening moves 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 c3 f6 4 g5, Black usually removes any danger from the pin on his king’s knight by playing 4…e7. Another rather more clumsy alternative would be to play 4…d7 and again remove the knight from the pin.
Sometimes, even though it appears that there is a dangerous threat there is no need to immediately unpin, e.g:
The pin on Black’s queen’s knight looks dangerous because of the possibility of White playing d5. However, Black can simply carry on developing by 1…f6 because if then 2 d5 he plays 2…a6 3 a4 (to maintain the pin) 3…b5 4 b3 and now the pin has been broken, so Black can simply move his queen’s knight.
Another defensive possibility involves pinning the piece that is doing the pinning, e.g:
White plays 1 d5 pinning the black queen but Black defends by 1…c6 pinning the white bishop.
Finally, the most aggressive way of defending against a pin is to virtually pretend it does not exist—strange, you might think, but consider the following short game.
Black now plays the startling 6…xd5! and the game continues 7 xd8 b4+ 8 d2 (forced) 8…xd2+ 9 xd2 xd8 and Black emerges a knight for a pawn up. This is in fact a famous trap which I once fell into as a junior—always be wary of the Greek gift (Black’s d-pawn)!
There are many other variations on this aggressive pin-counter, e.g:
Black’s knight on c6 is pinned and seemingly undefendable. However, he can counter by 1…d4 attacking White’s queen. White must then save his queen and so is unable to capture Black’s rook.
PROBLEMS TO SOLVE
1) What are the two ways in which Black’s knight is pinned?
2) Which is the other black piece that is pinned and why is it pinned?
P.Littlewood-T.Gulbrandsen Norway 1977
How and why did I win a piece?
White is threatening mate by xh7.
1) Why is 1…g6 not possible?
2) Why is 1…h6 an ineffective defence?
Donner-Hübner Busum 1968
How can Black win a rook?
Why does 1 e5 not win Black’s knight on f6?
1) Black has two possible ways to pin White’s rook—what are they?
2) Which one would you choose and why? (Hint—one of them is an outright blunder.)
Black seems to have a dangerous pin on White’s knight on f3. However, White played 1 xe5 ignoring the pin. Why is this possible?
P.Littlewood-G.J.Willetts Correspondence 1979 (Possible continuation)
How would I have exploited the pin on the black f-pawn to force checkmate? (Black resigned on the previous move having seen the inevitable conclusion.)
How did White win?
How did White make former world champion Max Euwe suffer from the deadly effects of a pin?
2 SKEWERS
DEFINITION AND EXAMPLES
A metal skewer keeps meat together by piercing right through from top to bottom. In chess a piece is skewered when it is attacked through another piece. As an example consider the following short game.
White plays here 8 e1! The bishop on g2 now attacks Black’s queen and skewers the black bishop on b7. In fact Black resigned at this point because his attacked queen must move and then White plays 9 xb7 winning a bishop and also trapping the black rook on a8.
There are many examples of skewers, e.g. Diagrams 28, 29 and 30
Black wins by 1…d5+ skewering White’s queen.
White wins by 1 d8+ skewering the black rook.
P.Littlewood-A.Trangmar County Match 1980
White won material by 1 f4 skewering Black’s rook on b8.
