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12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 3

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Posted by ChessMaster on January 15, 2010 – 5:02 am
Filed under Attacking tactics, Beginner Chess Tips, Chess Tutorials, Chess lessons, Chess tactics
Tagged as attacking chess, attacking chess tactics, Attacking tactics, chess combination, Chess tactics, Chess Tutorials

3. Double Check

From your basic knowledge on chess, you know that when you give check, your opponent has to leave aside all other plans he may have and immediately take action to evade or neutralize the threat to his King.

There are three ways he can do it:

  1. moving the King to any of the adjacent squares where it will not be under check
  2. capturing the attacking piece/pawn that created the check
  3. interposing one of his pieces/pawns in the line of threat between his King and the attacker

If he cannot do any of these, his King is said to be checkmated.

After a double check, which as the name implies is a check from two sides, the problem your opponent faces is that he needs to tackle both with his single move. This is not possible without shifting his King and the other two options 2 and 3 are not available to him. This means that both your attacking pieces are safe from capture by anything other than the King.

The ability of the pieces to attack with a fair amount of impunity and to force the King to move makes double check a dynamite in chess games and you will hardly ever see anyone recovering from its effect! But it is presumed that like any other chess tactics, this double check is also applied with due thought to the opponent’s alternatives.

We borrow the first diagram from the previous lesson after a little alteration to show how double check comes about and the effect it can have.

Just like last time, here also White plays 1. Rd8+. But unlike last time when it was only a discovered check of the Bishop, here the Rook also delivers a check to the Black King. So it becomes a double check and though Black’s Rook is in a position to capture both the attackers, he cannot have both in one move. Even if one were taken out, the other would be delivering check and so Black has no other option but to move his King. But where will he go? In the previous leson, he had at least one move and White had to make a second move for checkmate but here it is a checkmate straightaway!

In the last lesson, we have already shown how Philidor’s mate utilizes the power of double check.

I do not know of any instance, but it is theoretically possible to deliver double check where the piece moved does not give check but exposes the King to attack by another piece (besides the discovered check by the first piece), thereby creating the double check.

This can occur with an en passant pawn capture as shown below.

1. Ba3+ c5 Black interposes his QBP to block the Bishop’s check
 
2. dxc6++ The ‘en passant’ capture by White’s QP removes the interposing pawn to restore Bishop’s check as also creates the Rook’s check, so that it becomes a double check.
 
Note: To show Double check more explicitly, the symbol ++ is used sometimes.

 

You will also appreciate that discovered check through en passant capture is an exception to the general pattern of discovered check by the movement of your own interposing piece as shown in previous lesson.

Here are some examples of double check in master play, the first two being fairly well-known to chess enthusiasts.

After 20 moves in this reputedly “evergreen game”, the play continued as follows:

21. Qxd7+ Kxd7 White made the Queen sacrifice to set up a double check and a quick mate
22. Bf5++ Ke8
23. Bd7+ Kf8
24. Bxe7#

 

The second well-known game in this genre was played at Vienna in 1910 between Reti and Tartakower, two top grandmasters of those times. We will not repeat the play as you can see it in Chess Tactics – some days are really not yours, where White makes a Queen sacrifice at move 9 to set up a double check on the next move. The game ended after another two moves!

In the next position after 20 moves had been played, White maneuvered to set up a double check preceded by a Queen sacrifice!

The game proceeded as given below.

21. Be7 Bxe7
22. Qxe7 Qd6 White’s Queen move attacked Black’s Queen and the Bishop and Black defended in the way expected by White.
 
23. Rxf7 Qxe7 White gives up his Queen to get the double check as his Rook at g4 now comes handy!
 
24. Rfxg7++ Kh8 The double check at last!
25. Rg8+ Rxg8
26. Rxg8#

 

In the next lesson, we will discuss about the use of Pin as a chess tactics.

 

12 chess tactics and how to use those to gain advantage – Part 2

6
Posted by ChessMaster on January 12, 2010 – 6:10 pm
Filed under Attacking tactics, Chess Tutorials, Chess lessons, Chess tactics
Tagged as attacking chess, attacking chess tactics, Attacking tactics, chess combination, Chess tactics, Chess Tutorials

2. Discovered Check

In the first part of this series, you saw the tactical use of checks. We now take up a type of special check known as discovered check which is a much more potent weapon than simple checks.

In simple checks, you just attack the opponent’s King with a piece or pawn. In discovered check, you not only attack the King but possibly (though not always) another piece or pawn of your opponent. Even when the latter part is absent, you can gain some advantage of space or position if planned carefully.

To create a discovered check, you must have the opponent’s King in the line of attack of one of your pieces, but there is no check as yet (or we may say that the check is ‘hidden’) because another of your pieces or pawns (which by itself is not attacking the King) is standing between the King and your attacking piece. If you now move the interposing piece or pawn from the line of attack, the hidden attack is exposed or ‘discovered’ and the King will be under a ‘discovered check’.

Note: There is a sole exception to this pattern as you will see in next lesson.

The following diagram explains the mechanism of discovered check.

The Black King is in the line of attack of the White Bishop but not in check because of the interposing White Rook. If White now moves his Rook, the Black King will be under a ‘discovered’ check of the White Bishop.

You can see that the discovered check will arise irrespective of where the White Rook is moved. The power of the check comes from your freedom of placing your Rook at a position where you can reap the maximum benefit from this check, while the opponent is busy in defending his King.

In the above diagram, a little study will make it clear that you will gain most by playing 1. Rd8+. As the checking Bishop cannot be captured by Black and the Black Rook, being under Pin, cannot be moved to f7 to interpose, Black has no other alternative but to move his King to h8. Thus, the subsequent moves will go like 1. … Kh8 2. Rxf8#.

You should realize that a discovered check is not possible where the check is to be delivered by a Knight or Pawn though they may very well be in the interposing role. The check has to be by Queen, Rook or Bishop.

In certain positions where the attacked King has only one escape hole, a series of checks and discovered checks can have a devastating effect. This kind of shuttling is often referred as ‘windmilling’ or ‘see-saw’. A very famous example is shown below where White went to the extent of sacrificing his Queen to create this type of position as he was sure to recoup with interest!

25. Bf6 Qxh5 Black had to accept the offer as otherwise he would lose his own Queen
 
26. Rxg7+ Kh8 A normal check and Black King has only h8 square available
 
27. Rxf7+ Kg8 A discovered check and the King has only g8 square available so long as the White Rook occupies the 7th rank
 
28. Rg7+ Kh8 Back to the normal check!
 
29. Rxb7+ Kg8 A discovered check again!
 
30. Rg7+ Kh8 Repeats the normal check
 
31. Rg5+ Kh7 The King gets some option at last but his Queen gets caught!
 
32. Rxh5 … White won after another 11 moves

 

You should also be aware of another special situation where a discovered check, coupled with a double check leads to a smothered mate (King being hemmed in by his own pieces when the last check is delivered). This type of situation has been coming up off and on over the last five centuries and is known as Philidor’s mate. The basic idea is shown below.

1. Qd5+ Kh8 Simple check
 
2. Nf7+ Kg8 Simple check preparing way to a discovered check
 
3. Nh6+ Kh8 Discovered and double check combined
 
4. Qg8+ Rxg8 King cannot capture because of Knight. So Rook has to capture, hemming in (‘smothering’) the King in the corner
 
5. Nf7# Smothered mate by the Knight check

 

You can see more illustrations of this theme in Chess Tactics using opponent’s pieces to mate the king! and Chess Tactics: the Old but Evergreen Philidor’s position.

We take up double check in the next part.

 

Chess Games featuring David vs. Goliath

2
Posted by ChessMaster on November 29, 2009 – 9:17 am
Filed under Attacking tactics, Chess tactics, General Chess
Tagged as attacking chess tactics, chess combination, Chess tactics

Continuing with our theme in Beginners may take heart from these games, we bring three more games where a player rated much lower than his opponent shows that how you play over the board is more important than what elo rating you hold.

At the time the first game (Fouts-Firman, Philadelphia, 2003) was played, White’s elo rating was about 800 points less than Black’s. But that did not daunt him and he kept on seizing the initiative at every step. White had to capitualate ultimately under the relentless pressure.

The figure below shows the position after 20 moves.

 

david_vs_goliath_case1

21. Ne4 Nd5
22. Nf4 Nxf4
23. Nxf6 Bh5
24. Nxg8 Rxg8
25. Rxg8+ Kxg8
26. Rg1+ Ng6
27. Kb1 Resigns A quiet move after some hectic activities! But it raises the threat 28. Qxh5 besides the inevitable capture of the Knight.

 

The following position was reached after 14 moves in the game (Spielmann-Van den Bosch, 1935). Johannes Van den Bosch is relatively unknown whereas you must have heard of Rudolf Spielmann as one of the best chess tacticians ever. But here the master tactician gets outsmarted pretty thoroughly!

 

david_vs_goliath_case2

15. Nf3 Qf7 Black threatens 16. … Qxa2 with mate to follow.
16. Ng5 Bf5
17. Qxb7 Rxc2+
18. Kb1 Rc1+ After White’s 18th move, Black seemed to be heading for trouble as both his Queen and Rook are under attack. But his reply shows the power of double check which dooms White now as the subsequent moves are almost forcing on White.
19. Kxc1 Qc4+
20. Kd2 Qd3+
21. Ke1 Qe3+
22. Kf1 Rf8

 

White resigned as he has no adequate defense to the threat of 23. … Bh3#. Both 23. Qb3+ Be6+ and 23. Kg2 Qe2+ 24. Kg1 Be6 lead to mate.

The next game (Tarrasch-Yates, Hamburg, 1910) had a piquant background. It seems that Dr. Tarrasch, a stalwart of his time, objected to the entry of Yates in that tournament considering him to be below par in comparison to other participants. Yates had only one win in that tournament but he possibly kept it in reserve as a fitting reply to his redoubtable opponent!

The position after 18 moves stands as below.

 

david_vs_goliath_case3

19. Rc1 Nxe3 This sacrifice turns the game in favor of Black.
 
20. fxe3 Qg5 Black threatens 21. … Qxg2# or 21. … Qxe3+ with a strong attack in coordination with his Bishop pair.
21. Kf2 Qxg2+
22. Ke1 Bxh2 Black has got three pawns for his Knight, an adequate compensation, besides ruining White’s castle and opening lines for his Bishops. White cannot play 23. Nxe6 because of 23. … Bg3+ 24. Kd1 Bf3+ leading to mate.
23. Be2 e5
24. Ne6 Bg3+
25. Kd1 Bf3
26. Bxf3 Qxf3+
27. Kc2 Qe4+
28. Kd2 Qd5+
29. Nd4 exd4
30. Bxd4 f4
31. e4 Qxe4
32. Rc4 Rd8 Black’s move puts paid to all hopes of White for saving the Bishop due to coming 33. … Bf2
33. a4 Bf2

White resigned as he cannot avoid losing his Bishop and the game.

The final position:

 

david_vs_goliath_case3_final

Do you still have doubt in yourself?