The Soviet Chess Primer

By

Ilya Maizelis

Quality Chess
www.qualitychess.co. uk
 First translated edition 20 1 4 by Qualiry Chess UK Ltd

Copyright© 20 1 4 Ilya Maizelis

THE SOVIET CHESS PRIMER

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 Contents
Foreword by Mark Dvoretsky 7
Emanuel Lasker: The Meaning of Chess 9
Advice to Beginners 12

PART ONE: THE ELEMENTS OF CHESS

CHAPTER ONE: THE GAME EXPLAINED 13

1 . The Chess Board and Pieces - Object of the Game 13
2. Identifying the Squares - Recording a Position 14
3. The Order of Play - Moves and Captures 15
4. The Moves of the Pieces - Attack and Defence - Exchanges 15
5. The Pawn's Move - Capturing "en passant" - Pawn Promotion 19
6. Check and Mate 21
7. Draw - Perpetual Check - Stalemate 23
8. Castling 26
9. Recording the Moves - Conventional Symbols 28
Entertainment Pages 29

CHAPTER TWO: AIM OF THE GAME 35

1 . Checkmate 35
2. Mate in the Simplest Endgames 38
3. Drawn Game 41
4. Conducting a Pawn to Its Queening Square 44
Entertainment Pages 47

CHAPTER THREE: TACTICS AND STRATEGY 57

1 . The Concept of a Chess Plan 57
2. Relative Strengths of the Pieces 60
3. How the Position Affects the Relative Strengths 62
4. Further Characteristics of the Pieces 69
5. Restrictions on Mobility 70
Obstruction 70
Cutting Squares Off 72
Edge of the Board 73
Defensive Piece 74
Pin 77
Insufficient Time 81
 6. Forcing Moves 82
Check 82
Dual Attack 85
Captures 92
Pawn Promotion 96
Threats 98
7. Series of Moves with a Common Idea 99
Piece Coordination 1 00
Attacking the Unprotected King 1 04
Centralization 1 05
Conquering the Seventh (or Eighth) Rank 1 05
Concentrating the Forces against an Important Point 1 07
Drawing an Enemy Piece towards or away from a Square 1 08
Employing Many-Sided Threats 1 10
The Opening and Blocking of Lines 111
Breaking through the Pawn Position 1 14
Tempo Gain and Zugzwang 1 16
Countering the Opponent's Plans 1 18
Entertainment Pages 1 20

CHAPTER FOUR: TECHNIQUES OF CALCULATION 1 27

1 . The Rule of the Square 1 28
2. The Counting of Moves (or Squares) 1 32
3. Counting the Number of Attacks 135
4. The "Wandering Square" 1 37
5 . Critical Squares for a Passed Pawn 1 40
6. Critical Squares for a Blocked Pawn 1 46
7. Corresponding Squares 1 52
8. Further Devices to Simplify Calculation 1 54
Entertainment Pages 1 56

CHAPTER FIVE: COMBINATION 1 65

1 . Combinative Motifs and Ideas 1 65
2. Types of Combination and Their Characteristics 1 70
3. The Technique of Combinations 1 84
4. Prerequisites for a Combination 1 90
Entertainment Pages 1 94
CHAPTER SIX: POSITIONAL PLAY 21 1
1 . Weak Points (Squares and Pawns) 21 1
2. Piece Configuration - Temporary and Permanent Weaknesses 216
3. The Centre (Pawn Centre and Piece Centre) 224
4. Position and Strength of the Pieces - The Two Bishops 229
5. Evaluating a Position 233
Entertainment Pages 234

CHAPTER SEVEN: HOW TO BEGIN A GAME 24 1

1 . The Opening and Its Tasks 24 1
2. Control of the Centre - Superior Development 242
3. Examples of Opening Play - Opening Mistakes 246
Entertainment Pages 250

PART TWO: THE CHESS GAME (ITS THREE PHASES)

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE ENDGAME 26 1

1 . Basic Ideas of the Endgame 26 1
2. Realizing an Advantage 264
3. Theoretical Endgames 273
4. The Endgame in Practical Play 303

CHAPTER NINE: THE MIDDLEGAME 319

1 . Strategic Ideas of the Middlegame 319
2. Attack and the Methods of Conducting It 320
3. Defence and Counter-Attack 347
4. Equal Positions 359
5. Transition to the Endgame 364

CHAPTER TEN: THE FOUNDATIONS OF OPENING THEORY 369

1 . The Modern Opening and how it is Played in Practice 369

APPENDIX: CHESS COMPOSITIONS 377

Chess Problems 378
{A) Two-Movers 378
{B) Three-Movers 38 1
(C) More-Movers 385
Studies 388
(A) Winning Play 388
{B) Drawing Play 393
Solutions to Problems 396
Solutions to Studies {Winning Play) 398
Solutions to Studies (Drawing Play) 399
 Foreword by Mark Dvoretsky
I didn't take up chess until rather late. At the Palace ofYoung Pioneers I joined the chess section
in the fifth or sixth class. In those days the Soviet grading system included a Fifth and a Fourth
Category. I managed to attain those categories in no time, but afterwards there was a halt in
my progress. It was for that reason that I took the 1 960 edition of Maizelis's Chess with me on
summer holiday, intending to study it thoroughly.
It was an interesting and pleasant read. Large format, large diagrams, a wealth of striking
examples. In both content and presentation, this was a very "tasty'' book! I particularly liked
the short section entitled "Entertainment Pages" with which nearly every chapter concluded. It
contained amusing puzzles with witty, well-written captions. Interpolations like this embellish
a book and make the material easier to absorb. When studying a serious subject it sometimes
helps to divert yourself a little, to read something for pleasure, without at the same time straying
too far from the main topic. Mter all, these "Entertainment Pages" consist of chess material with
illuminating ideas, albeit conveyed in a different and lighter form. Many of the examples stuck in
my memory; I even placed them in my card-index for later use.

Having studied the Chess book, I scored 1 0 out of 10 in my next tournament - more than
fulfilling the norm for the Third Category. After that, I made it to the Second with a score of 1 0
out of 1 1 , then progressed to First Category within a short interval.

Regrettably I was not personally acquainted with Ilya Lvovich Maizelis ( 1 894- 1 978), but it is
obvious he possessed a high level of culture. Though not exceptionally strong as a practical player,
he was an excellent analyst; he made a study of pawn endgames and the "rook versus pawns"
ending (about which he wrote a short book) . Ilya Lvovich associated with several illustrious
chessplayers, for example with Lasker in the pre-war years when the second World Champion was
resident in Moscow. He even translated Lasker's famous Manual of Chess into Russian, as well as
the story How Victor Became a Chess Master. In the pages of Maizelis's book you can find quite a
few "traces" of the author's association with great players.

Chess is a teaching manual with an excellent selection of material convincingly presented, and
a bright outward design. At the same time it is more than just a textbook. It is a story of chess
as a whole, and thus its tide wholly fits its content. Of course, this is not a book for the very
young (writers for them go about it differently) , but it will be very interesting and useful for
schoolchildren and adults alike.

Maizelis lived in the Soviet era, and naturally he could not help incorporating certain ideological
cliches into his text. This sprinkling of ideology is none too obtrusive, however, and is not
experienced as an eyesore.
8 The Soviet Chess Primer

A notable fact is that many of my acquaintances - strong adult players - have wanted to acquire
Maizelis's Chess. The book is very dear to me too; now and again I open it and read through a
few pages afresh. Incidentally, the copy that I studied as a child was "borrowed" by someone long
ago, and it wasn't possible to find another one in a shop and buy it. Then, in the seventies, I was
in Sweden with the "Burevestnik" team, and we visited a chess bookshop there. Some Russian
language publications were in stock, and Maizelis's book was among them. I bought it at once­
money was no object! But afterwards the same thing happened to this copy: someone took it to
read and didn't bring it back, so I had to look for it all over again . . . I now have my third or fourth
copy in my library.

I am glad that Maizelis's remarkable work has finally been re-issued and will be available to many
lovers of chess. It will, I hope, be both useful and pleasurable to acquaint yourselves with it.

Mark Dvoretsky
 Foreword by Emanuel Lasker
The Meaning of Chess
The history of chess goes back a very long way. Many thousands of years ago - no one knows
exactly when - people began to satisfy their need for play by fabricating primitive game boards,
marking lines on them, arranging little objects like stones or pieces of wood on the squares (or on
the intersections of the lines) and moving these objects around. In this way the game of draughts
and many others arose. Illustrations of such games have been discovered in the ancient Egyptian
pyramids. They are mentioned in old songs and sagas. One Chinese game is said to date back
four thousand years; the game of chess has been known in India for more than two thousand.
The Indian form of chess gave rise to a large number of games that are widespread across Asia.

Indian chess travelled across Persia and penetrated to Europe. The rules of the game changed -
they were made more rational. Chess underwent its last significant change about four hundred
years ago in Italy. But it still took a long time for the new rules to gain universal acceptance in
Europe. What became "European" chess is now widely disseminated in all parts of the world.

In India, chess was an image of war. The chessboard figured as a battlefield. The pieces were
divided between two hostile camps that were distinguished from each other by their colours
(black and white) . The classification of pieces according to their types of weapon was modelled
on the ancient Indian army. At the head of the army stood the king, and it was for his life that
the battle was fought. The army consisted of fighting elephants and horsemen, distinguished by
their great strength and mobility, as well as lightly armed infantry. The pieces on the chessboard
were moved by the players in keeping with the prescribed rules. Each player strove to eliminate
his opponent's pieces and reach the enemy king, in order finally to "put him to death".

With the passage of time, the character of real war changed. The time when the life of one person
- the king - was the prize at stake in the battle, receded into the distant past. So did the time when
army elephants had taken part in hostilities. Yet the game of chess still retained the character it
had had at birth. Even today, a chessplayer moving his pieces according to the established rules
can view himself as a warlord in a battle where success depends on how well he has devised his
plan. If we wanted to represent modern warfare in chess, we would need to alter all the rules of
the game. The players, however, would gain precisely nothing from such an alteration, because
what interests them is purely the execution and evaluation of cleverly conceived plans; and any
rules that make this possible will serve - provided they are acknowledged by both opponents and
strictly observed by them. All the better when the game possesses a very long history and a vast
literature, from which advice and instruction may be gleaned.
10 Th e Soviet Chess Primer

In the life of man there are frequent situations where he is forced to deliberate on how to exert
his powers and surmount obstacles of some kind. For this he needs to evolve a definite plan. The
faculty of thought distinguishes man from an animal that acts out of instinct. Over the course of
centuries, man has been working veritable miracles: he subjugates deserts, making them fruitful;
he conquers vast areas, he erects cities; he builds up a social life; he brings forth monuments of
art that triumph over time; he creates science and awe-inspiring technology. Creation proceeds
by dint of struggle and effort. In the process of this struggle, man is not always successful in
discerning the right plan; mistakes occur. Man is prone to yield to preconceived notions and
prejudices rather than to reason and carefully considered judgement. He is inclined to put his
trust in guile and ruse rather than in strength guided by reason. It is not enough for him to resolve
to avoid these errors, for in the heat of the struggle such intentions are forgotten.

A chessplayer is greatly benefited, and his culture enhanced, by the fact that he accustoms himself
to struggle in the very process of playing, and that he trains himself to form indispensable plans
on the basis of much experience.

There is no doubt that combat training was a purpose that the inventor or inventors of chess (on
the origin of the game we have no exact information) will have had in mind. This is evident from
the rules of the game which are not borrowed from the experience of real war. In chess, both sides
have the same quantity of forces at their disposal, with the same type of arms. In real life this does
not occur. In this respect the game is more just than life, where brute force frequently prevails.
In chess a successful outcome is determined not by the quantity of forces but by their skilful
management. In chess, the opponents take it in turns to move; in a real battle, it goes without
saying that a commander will not keep waiting to see what his opponent is going to undertake.
This recognition of the opponent is invested with a profound meaning. Both players have an
equal right of suffrage, and the opinion that is upheld is not the one that was voiced first but the
one that triumphed in the debate. The student of chess thus acquires the civilized habit of hearing
his opponent out - and more than that, of patiently waiting for his opinion.

In this manner the student gradually familiarizes himself with the principles of combat. Thanks
to the exercise he derives from playing, he will gradually achieve mastery. But he should beware of
mechanically following the advice of others. He should not play by rote. Studying material from
books or from the words of a teacher is not enough - the student must form his own judgements
and stand by them persistently. Otherwise he will be playing chess in the same way that a parrot
pronounces words - without understanding their sense.

Personally I was never in my life given a more valuable lesson than on the day when I witnessed
a serious game of chess between masters for the first time. My brother, together with one other
master, was playing against a different pair of masters in consultation with each other. The two
pairs were in different rooms. I was assigned the duty (being still a youth at the time) of relaying
each move to the opponents as it was played. As messenger I was privy to the consultations, I
followed the moves that were being suggested and listened attentively to the arguments "for" and
"against". The discussion of individual moves would sometimes last a quarter of an hour and
more, before the consulting masters reached a final decision. This taught me to work towards
 The Meanin g of Chess 11

a conclusion according to a plan, and to trust my own judgements. Even if I quite often found
myself on the wrong track, I still gained far more from experience, especially from the defeats I
suffered, than from blind faith in the authority of some book or some master or other. A defeat
would distress me; it would always make me try to identify my mistake and work out some better
continuations. In this way, in the course of time, I acquired a keen awareness of what is good and
what is bad, what is genuinely strong and what amounts to a mere delusive mirage. After that I
was no longer frightened by my opponents' cunning tricks; I learned to trust in strength more
than in cunning, even though this is much the more difficult path. And eventually it turned out
that by following that path, I had something of value to give.

Of course the student should not neglect the experience that has accumulated before him. It is
not for nothing that chess has lasted for more than two millennia. It is not in vain that the game
has produced great masters who have astounded their contemporaries and later generations by the
skill of their play. It was not in vain that the theory of the game was developed and given practical
application. It is not in vain that tournaments and matches between masters have been held and
the games have been analysed so thoroughly. The student should acquaint himself with what is
best in all of this, even if he can only devote a small amount of time to the work. Yet however
pleased he may be to feel himself the heir to these abundant labours, he should still endeavour to
assimilate them creatively. To that end he should subject them to analysis, and in the process he
should not only investigate something that is recommended but also something that is quite the
opposite, so as to be in a position to draw independent conclusions. In this way he will acquire
the most valuable thing - a capacity for independent judgement and independent creativity - and
after serving his term of chess apprenticeship he may become a fully-fledged artist of the game.

The perfecting of technique alone is a thankless task. What it perfects is a dead capability, suited
to winning games against ignorant opponents and nothing else - whereas the faculty of thinking
and conceiving plans remains constantly alive and can bring benefit in the most unexpected
manner, not only in chess but in life itself.

This faculty is highly important and is precisely what a chessplayer ought to develop by exercise.
Even if a shortage of free time prevents him from devoting much attention to chess, and he
cannot therefore reach a high level of mastery in the game, nonetheless the habit he acquires of
independently creating plans is of significant value in itself, and will stand him in good stead in
various situations in life. The effort expended in acquiring and developing this ability will not be
wasted.

Emanuel Lasker (World Champion 1 894- 1 92 1 )

Moscow, January 1 936
lhis article was written for the first edition ofthis book.
12 Th e Soviet Chess Primer

ADVICE TO BEGINNERS

When reading a chess book you need to use a chess board and pieces. Set up the diagrammed
positions on your board, then carry out the indicated moves while pondering the explanations.
At the same time, consider some moves that are not given in the book, and try to figure out
what results they lead to. This develops your independent thinking, and the knowledge you
acquire will "stick" particularly well. Should questions arise that you can't deal with on your own,
turn for explanation to a more experienced chessplayer.
Sometimes a diagram in a chess book doesn't reproduce the whole board but just that part of it
where the relevant pieces are. This is mainly done so as to make some particular pattern of pieces
easier to memorize, but sometimes the object is to allow more examples to be included. At first,
until you have reached at least Third Category standard (about 1 600 rating) , all the examples
(except possibly the very simplest) need to be played out on a chessboard, rather than in your
head. The point is that clear visualization is essential for absorbing the material in the best way,
and in addition you need to get used to viewing the chessboard as a whole. As your level of chess
skill rises, you should try solving some of the less complicated examples in your head, so as to
train yourself gradually to calculate moves in advance.
Don't try to work through a large number of examples at one session. The moment you feel
some fatigue, stop reading and put your chess set aside. The important thing is not how much
you have read, but how well you have assimilated it. You are therefore not advised to study the
book for more than one or two hours a day. The opinion of former World Champion Lasker is
interesting: he considered that you could successfully keep up your chess skill and competitive
form by spending no more than 30-40 minutes daily on exercises (analysis) .
Reading the book must be combined with practical play. Play with your friends, take part in
tournaments. Don't get obsessed with playing at fast time rates ("blitz" chess) . Such games are of
some use only to high-graded players; for the junior categories they are downright harmful, as
they teach superficial play and add nothing to your experience.
Keep the scoresheets of the games you play, so that later (either on your own or with friends)
you can work out where you or your opponent went wrong, and how it would have been possible
to play better. Not only the games you lost should be examined like this, but also those you won;
the successful outcome doesn't in any way mean that all your moves were good ones.
Some initial advice on how to begin a game in accordance with the general principles
of development can be obtained from Chapter 7. For more specific information, turn to
Chapter 1 0 .
Your chief goal should b e t o learn how t o interpret the positions i n a game, how t o evaluate
them and analyse the various possibilities. The path to a better understanding of chess, the path
to mastery, is one that all players tread gradually. In this book you will find a body of instruction
and advice which will in some measure make your task easier.
Chapter 1
The Game Explained

1. THE CHESS BOARD AND PIECES - OBJECT OF THE GAME

The chessboard is placed in such a way that there is a light-coloured corner square at each player's
right. Each opponent's "army" consists of eight pawns and eight pieces (a king, a queen, rwo
rooks, rwo bishops and rwo knights) . The rwo opponents' forces are numerically equal, and differ
from each other only in colour. Irrespective of their actual tint, they are referred to as "white" and
"black''. The pieces and pawns are represented in print as follows:

White Black

King (abbreviation: K)
Queen (abbreviation: Q)
Rook (abbreviation: R)
Bishop (abbreviation: B)
Knight (abbreviation: N)
Pawn (abbreviation: P)

The abbreviation for the pawn is used only rarely.

At the start of the game, the players' forces are arranged facing each other, as in illustration 1 . (The
image of the board and pieces is called a "diagram".)

The half of the board in which the kings are placed at the start is called the kingside (more exactly
this means the three outermost columns in that half) . The opposite area is the queenside.
14 The Soviet Chess Primer

1 The object of the game is to overpower the

opponent's king - to "checkmate" it. We shall
Black explain this in detail later.
Queenside Kingside
Modern chess pieces
8
7
6
King Queen Rook Bishop Knight Pawn
5
4 2. IDENTIFYING THE SQUARES ­
RECORDING A POSITION
3
2 To identify the squares of the chessboard,
we use the following simple and convenient
�������� system. All the ranks, that is the horizontal
a b c d e f g h rows of squares running from left to right, are
designated by the numbers from 1 to 8. All
Queenside Kingside
the vertical files, or columns pointing in the
White
direction of the opponent, are designated by
the letters from "a' to "h". Each square of the
The arrangement of the pieces in the starting
board is identified by the letter of the column
position, which is the same for White and
and the number of the row in which it is
Black, needs to be memorized. In the corners
located.
there are the rooks, then come the knights
By using these names for the squares and the
and bishops, and in the middle the kings and
abbreviations or symbols for the pieces, we can
queens - with the white queen placed on a
concisely record any position on the board.
light square and the black queen on a dark
For instance, the starting position of the
square, while the kings are on the opposite­
game (see Diagram 1) can be recorded as
coloured squares.
follows.
The pawns are often identified by the pieces
they stand in front of - thus we speak of a White- me l , 1Mfd l , E:al and h i , J.c i and fl,
rook's pawn, a knight's or bishop's pawn, the lLl b l and gl , ,0,a2, b2, c2, d2, e2, f2, g2, h2.
queen's pawn or the king's pawn. Black- me8, 1Mfd8, E:a8 and h8, J.c8 and ffi,
Pieces with different names have different lLlb8 and g8, ,0,a7, b7, c7, d7, e7, f7, g7, h7.
ways of moving.
Pieces can be moved on the board in all In the above scheme, the most important
directions, but pawns can only ever move pieces are placed first, followed by all the others
forwards. according to their "strength". The functions
Pawns also have some other peculiarities and strength of the pieces will be discussed in
which we shall meet with presently. However, due course.
from now on, whenever we need to speak of
pieces and pawns together, we shall simply say The board is always visualized, so to speak,
"pieces" for brevity. from White's point of view. Thus for example
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 15

in Diagram 1 , all the black pawns are arranged one square to another. The players make moves
on the seventh rank, and although from Black's alternately. The game is always started by the
viewpoint this rank is the second, he still calls player with the white pieces.
it the seventh just as White does. He regards The question as to which of the opponents
his own back rank as the eighth, in other words will have White is decided by lot.
the counting starts from White's back rank. In successive games, the players take White
Every chessplayer needs to be well acquainted and Black alternately. In tournaments, tables
with the nomenclature of the squares on the giving the order of play are used.
board (see Diagrams 2 and 3) . After White's first move, Black carries out his
first move, then White's second move follows,
2 and so on.
Only a single piece can be moved at each
8 turn. A piece cannot be placed on a square
7 already occupied by a piece of the same colour.
6 A piece can be placed on a square occupied by
an enemy piece, as long as the move conforms
5
to the rules. In this case the enemy piece is
4
"captured", that is, it has to be removed from
3 the board (you cannot of course capture pieces
2 of your own) .

a b c d e f g h
4. THE MOVES OF THE PIECES ­
ATTACK AND DEFENCE - EXCHANGES
Viewedfrom White's side

3 THE ROOK

The rook moves along the ranks and files, in

any direction and over any distance.
2

3 4
4

5 8
6
7
7
6
8

h g f e d c b a
5
Viewedfrom Black's side 4
3
3. THE ORDER OF PLAY ­
MOVES AND CAPTURES 2
1
A game of chess is played by making moves on
a b c d e f g h
the board, that is, by transferring pieces from
16 Th e Soviet Chess Primer

In the position in Diagram 4, the rook can The greatest number of moves that a bishop
move to any of the fourteen squares indicated. may have at its disposal is 13 (this is when the
The mobility of the rook, as of any other bishop is placed in the centre, that is on one
piece, is reduced if there are other pieces in its of the squares e4, d4, e5 and d5) . On b7, the
line of movement. bishop would have only 9 moves available, and
5 on al it would have no more than 7. Thus the
bishop's mobility is less than that of the rook,
which on an open board always has 14 moves,
8
no matter which square it is on.
7 Furthermore the bishop operates on squares
6 of one colour only - the light squares or the
dark squares (hence we use the expressions
5 "light-squared bishop" and "dark-squared
4 bishop"), whereas all the squares on the board,
irrespective of colour, are accessible to the
3 rook's action.
2 This all goes to show that the rook is stronger
than the bishop.
1
a b c d e f g h THE QUEEN
In the position in Diagram 5 , there are only
nine vacant squares that the white rook can The queen is the strongest piece of all; it can
move to. The rook may also, however, capture move like a rook and like a bishop. On an
the enemy pawn on e7 (by removing the pawn open board it has a choice of 27 moves from
from the board and occupying the e7-square any of the centre squares.
itself) . Thus, the total number of possible
moves for the rook in Diagram 5 is ten. 7

THE BISHOP 8
The bishop moves only along the diagonals, in 7
any direction and over any distance.
6
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h

Thanks to its immense mobility and also to

its option of making diagonal moves on either

a b c d e f g h
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 17

the light o r the dark squares, the queen proves 9

to be a good deal stronger than a rook and
bishop combined.
8
8 7
An ancient puzzle 6
5
8
4
7
3
6
2
5
1
4
a b c d e f g h
3
The greatest number of moves that a knight
2 may have at its disposal is eight. This is when
1 it isn't too close to the edge of the board. On
a 1 , the knight would only have two moves - to
a b c d e f g h b3 and c2. It is important to note the knight's
In this diagram, eight queens are placed characteristic of changing the colour of its
in such a way that not one of them is within square with every move. It is owing to this that
capturing range of another. In 1 862, Carl all the squares on the board are accessible to
Jaenisch proved that 92 such configurations it. In this respect the knight has an advantage
are possible. From the solutions he gave, over the bishop which considerably surpasses it
we have selected the one that is simplest in in mobility and long-range action.
outward appearance. Try to find another one Another advantage of the knight is its greater
for yoursel£ capacity for multiple strikes: in theory it can
attack eight enemy objects at once, while the
THE KNIGHT bishop can only attack four (though these
things never actually happen in practice) . These
The knight's move is more involved than that advantages and shortcomings approximately
of the other pieces. It can jump in any direction cancel each other out, so that the knight is
across one square and onto a square of the considered equal in strength to the bishop.
opposite colour to the one it is starting from.
The knight, so to speak, takes a path that is Unlike the other pieces, the knight has the
mid-way between a rook's move and a bishop's right to jump over pieces of its own or the
move. But whereas the rook and bishop can go opposite colour.
any distance, the knight only jumps across one
rank or file.

The rook, bishop and queen, unlike the knight,

are long-range pieces.
18 Th e Soviet Chess Primer

10 An ancient puzzle

Move a knight round all the squares of the

chessboard without landing on any square
twice, in such a way that from the final square
the knight may move straight to the square it
started from.

11

a b c d e f g h
In Diagram 10, the knight may move to any of
the six squares that are marked; it cannot go to a4,
as that square is occupied by a pawn of its own
colour. By moving to a6, the knight is jumping
over enemy pawns. The knight may also capture a b c d e f g h
the pawn on e6, but in that case it is placing itself
under attack from the black bishop on c8; so, We give you the solution straight away. The
since any piece is more valuable than a pawn, the numbers indicate the order in which the knight
capture on e6 is unfavourable to White. must visit the squares. Looking through the
The pawn on e6, as we say, is protected by the solution just once will give you a better grasp
bishop. If the knight moves to b7, it will be of the way a knight moves.
under protection from the white bishop on f3. (From the numerous published solutions,
If the black bishop captures the knight on b7, it we have selected one of those deriving from
will be captured by the bishop on f3 in return. Jaenisch. Its special characteristic is that the
This is called "exchanging" a piece. numbers in any rank or file add up to 260.
The bishop is equal to the knight in strength, Apart from d3, the starting square could be
hence neither opponent has reason to fear this not only d6 but also c2 or c7, f2 or fl. If you
exchange. draw lines to mark out each step of the knight's
In other cases, the pieces captured may be of route, a complete symmetrical picture will
unequal value; for instance, the so-called "minor" emerge.)
pieces (bishop and knight) are weaker than the
"major" pieces - queen and rook. Here we can THE KING
speak of an exchange only perhaps if two minor
pieces are obtained for a rook, or three for a The king moves in any direction, either
queen. orthogonally (that is, along the file or rank) or
This means that when exchanging you need to diagonally, but only one square at a time.
have a precise grasp of the relative strength of the
pieces. We shall go into this in detail later (see
page 60) .
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 19

12 knight on f8 or the pawn on h7, since they are

protected by other black pieces.
The black king in this position has one move
only - to e7.

5. THE PAWN'S MOVE - CAPTURING

"EN PASSANT" - PAWN PROMOTION

The pawn is weaker than any of the other

pieces, since it moves only forwards along the
file and only one square at a time. This rule
has, however, one exception: if a pawn has
not yet moved - in other words if it is still on
the second (or seventh) rank - then it may, if
a b c d e f g h desired, make a double advance, crossing over
The maximum number of moves available one vacant square and landing on the 4th rank
to the king is eight. What is special about the (or the 5th rank for Black) .
king is that the rules of the game forbid you The pawn's capturing move is not the same
to place it on a square that is under attack, as its ordinary move; in this respect the pawn
in other words a square within the capturing differs from all the other pieces. To make a
range of an enemy piece. It follows that the capture, the pawn goes one square diagonally
king cannot capture a piece that is protected. forward. It conforms to the general rule,
however, in occupying the square from which
13 the captured piece has been removed.

14

a b c d e f g h
In this situation White can capture the a b c d e f g h
unprotected rook on h6, which his king is
attacking from the square g7. The king may If it is White to move here, he can take the
also move to g8 or h8, but not to f6, f7 or g6. pawn on b6 with his pawn on a5 . The latter
It does not have the right to take either the may also move to a6; in that case it will be
under attack from the black pawn on b7.
20 The Soviet Chess Primer

The black pawn on b6 has already moved (it can only have reached this square by making a
capture from a7 or c7) ; at this moment it can only move to b5 or capture on a5.
The pawn on b2 has not yet moved - it is still on its starting square. It can therefore move to
either b3 or b4. By playing b2-b4 White would be defending his pawn on a5 which at present is
under attack.
The pawns on h6 and h7 have no moves at all; they are "blocking" each other.
The pawn on f4 directs its attack against the squares e3 and g3. lfWhite moves his pawn from
g2 to g3, the pawn on f4 will be able to capture it. However, if White jumps across the attacked
square by playing g2-g4, this does not deprive the black pawn of the right to capture; it may still
take the white pawn by moving to g3, just as if the pawn on g2 had only gone one square forward.
This rype of capture is called a capture "en passant" . The following set of diagrams illustrates it.

14a

f g h f g h f g h

Initial position White has played g2-g4 Black has captured 'en passant"

The capture en passant can only occur on the following move, that is, as an immediate reply to
White's g2-g4; after any other move, the right to capture en passant is lost.

Let us make further use of Diagram 14 to explain some chess terminology.

Pawns such as those on b2 and g2 are called "backward", since the pawns on the adjacent a- and
h-files have moved further forward.
The pawns on f4 and h7 are called "isolated" since they cannot be defended by other pawns.
There are "doubled isolated" pawns on b6 and b7. If Black captures on a5, he will be disentangling
his pawns and they will become "united", that is capable of defending each other.

When a pawn reaches the last rank (the 8th for White, the 1 st for Black) , it is immediately
removed from the board, and the player chooses any other piece of the same colour {except a
king) to put in the pawn's place. In this way he may place a second queen on the board (or even
a third, etc.) , or he may insert a rook or a minor piece (bishop or knight) . Usually, the strongest
piece - the queen - is chosen. The pawn's promotion to a piece is counted as a single move.
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 21

15 6. CHECK AND MATE

The object of the game, as stated before, is to

overpower the enemy king - to checkmate it
(for checkmate we also simply say "mate") .
This defines the role of all the pieces on the
board: in the last resort, they are attacking
the opponent's king and defending their own.
The king's downfall signifies loss of the game.
The king does not have the right to place
itself under attack from a hostile piece. If one
of the players does accidentally put his king
under attack, then the king will not of course
be captured, as the rules of the game do not
a b c d e f g h permit this. The player who made the illegal
In the position in Diagram 1 5, by playing move merely has his mistake pointed out, and
. . . c2-c l , Black can obtain a queen on the c l ­ he is obliged to make some other move with
square. I n that case the queen can b e captured his king.
by the knight on e2, whereupon Black (with
his bishop on a3) wins a piece in return for In general, according to the rules of the game,
his pawn. a piece that has been touched must be moved.
If it is White to move, he can take the knight This rule is very strictly observed. If you want
on b8 with his pawn on a7 and place a queen or to adjust a piece on its square, you tell your
another piece on the b8-square (after removing opponent first. (The French phrase "j' adoube"
the black knight and the pawn) . Black cannot traditionally serves this purpose.) Otherwise
forestall this by playing his bishop to d6, as you have to move the touched piece, or capture
White also has the option of moving his pawn it if it is an enemy one. If, however, the piece
straight forward and queening on a8. The cannot be moved or captured, any other move
pawns on c2 and a7 (and also the one on f6) may be played.
are called "passed pawns", since no enemy
pawn can place an obstacle in their "path to If any piece positions itself in such a way that
queening". the enemy king could be captured on the
In Diagram 1 5 White could also take following move, this threat to the king is called
the pawn on f6 with his knight ("sacrificing a "check". It is not obligatory to warn your
a knight for a pawn") . Then if the pawn on opponent out loud that he is in check, and
g7 takes the knight, the white pawn on g6 usually this is not done.
b ecomes "passed" and can promote to a queen When your king is in check, you must free
within two moves, seeing that none of Black's yourself from the check with your next move.
pieces can hold it up. There are three ways:
( 1 ) Capture the piece that is giving check.
(2) Move a piece to block the line along
which the enemy piece is delivering its threat
(your king is then shielded from the check) .
And finally:
22 The Soviet Chess Primer

(3) Move your king to one of the adjacent 17

squares that are not under attack from your
opponent.
8
If all three methods of defence against check
prove impossible, this means that the king has 7
been mated. 6
16
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
Any move of the bishop in Position 1 7 results
in a discovered check from the rook on a7. If
the bishop goes to f5, it gives double check.
The only defence against a double check is a
move of the king.
a b c d e f g h If the bishop goes for instance to e8, then
In this position, Black can give check to the Black has the option, apart from moving his
white king by moving his queen to a1 or b l . king, of shielding it by playing his knight from
In reply, White can only shield his king h5 to g7. (After that, the knight is unable to
by moving his rook to g 1 . After that, Black move, as it is not allowed to expose the king
may take the rook with his queen; or he may to attack from the rook; it is "pinned" and
capture it with the pawn on h2, promoting to deprived of mobility.)
a new queen (or a rook) . In either case, White
is mated. If during a game you unexpectedly notice that
The queen on a2 can also give check by one of the kings has been left in check, you
going to a8 (or d5) . If the white rook blocks must go back to the position where the check
the check on c6 (or g2) , Black captures it, was given, and resume the game only from that
again giving mate. point. Other irregularities are handled in the
same way, for instance if the starting position
In Position 1 5 which we examined earlier, was set up wrongly or a piece has made an
White could mate the black king by moving illegal move, etc. In all such cases you must
his knight from g4 to f2. It sometimes happens correct the error and continue playing from
that a move by one piece opens up the line of that point in the game.
action of a different piece that is placed behind
it, resulting in check to the opposing king. A In view of its special significance, the king
check of this type is called a "discovered check''; is subject to constant threats and cannot
if the piece that moves away gives check itself therefore take an active part in the opening
at the same time, this brings about a "double and middle phases of the game. In the final
check''. Here is an example: phase, however, its role increases.
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 23

A fun exercise 7. DRAW - PERPETUAL CHECK ­

STALEMATE
18
Checkmating one of the kings is not possible
in every game of chess. In many cases neither
player can achieve victory, and the game is
counted as a draw.
The following are types of drawn game:

(I) When one of the kings is subjected to

"perpetual check", that is a continuous
series of checks from which it has no way
of sheltering.
(2) When one of the players is "stalemated".
That means he is in a position where
neither his king nor any other piece can
a b c d e f g h make a move, and his king is not at present
Mate in one move, in 47 different ways in check (if it were in check, this would be
checkmate) .
Diagram 18 (a position from J. Babson, 1 882)
gives an example of mate in one move. In this In the position in Diagram 1 6 the weaker side
position, mating in one move is not difficult, can save itself from loss, thanks to perpetual
but it turns out that there are forty-seven ways check or stalemate. White, if it is his move,
of doing so. In practical play, such positions gives check on g3 with his rook. If the black
don't arise - this puzzle is in the nature of a king captures the rook, White is stalemated.
joke. If the king goes to h4, the rook checks again
To solve the puzzle, you need to remember on g4, and so on. Black either allows perpetual
that pawns can be promoted to various types check, or else (by taking the rook) stalemates
of piece. his opponent. In either case the game is a draw.
A rook like this, persistently chasing the king
SOLUTION and intent on perishing as a means to avoid
losin� the game, may be called a "rook running
In Diagram 1 8, the queen gives mate in six amok , .
ways (on six squares) , and the pawn on d3
has one mating move. In addition, mate arises The next two diagrams, 1 9 and 20, show
from discovered checks: fourteen moves with instances of perpetual check that occur
the rook on b2, eleven with the bishop on d5, extremely often in practical play.
seven with the knight on f5 . Finally, White can
mate by promoting pawns: two of them can
promote to queen or bishop (four options) ;
two others can promote to queen or rook (four
further options) . The total is 47 moves.
24 The Soviet Chess Primer

19 21

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Black gives perpetual check on the squares Here only the kings are left on the board.
f2 and fl . With his last move (�g6) White has placed
his king vis-a-vis that of his opponent. Such a
20 situation of the kings is called "the opposition'';
White "gained the opposition'' with that move.
Although White has restricted the freedom
8
of manoeuvre of the black king (which can't
7 go to any square on the 7th rank) , there are
6 still two squares on the 8th rank that Black can
move to. Neither king can go right up to the
5 other, since neither one has the right to place
4 itself under attack. Obviously the game is a
draw.
3
2 22

1
8
a b c d e f g h
7
Here Black gives perpetual check on the
squares h4 and e l . 6
5
(3) The next case of a drawn outcome is when
neither side is left with sufficient forces to mate 4
the enemy king. 3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 25

In Positions 22, the stronger side has an 25

extra bishop. The black king in the corner is
so cramped as to have no moves whatever.
8
Yet since Black is not in check, a position like
this is stalemate - that is, a draw once again. 7
It is not possible to arrange things so that the 6
bishop, while cutting off the king's moves on
the 8th rank, gives check at the same time. If 5
the bishop were on f6, the black king would 4
be able to go to g8. Just as before, the position
would be clearly drawn.
3
2
23
1

8 a b c d e f g h
7 In Positions 24 and 25, Black too has a
minor piece - that is, he has more forces than
6 in Positions 22 and 23. And yet - strangely
5 enough! - he has been checkmated. But this
is very easy to explain. The black pieces are
4
occupying exceptionally bad positions; they
3 are cramping their own king, depriving it of
an essential flight square.
2
These examples show what forces cannot be
1 considered adequate for victory. At the same
a b c d e f g h time, we are beginning to see that a matter
of great significance is the arrangement of the
We have a similar situation when the pieces - the positions they occupy.
stronger side has an extra knight. Here too, the
position is clearly drawn. 26

24
8
8 7
7 6
6 5
5 4
4 3
3 2
2 1
1 a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
26 The Soviet Chess Primer

In the position in Diagram 26, the forces So the question whether your forces are
are equal in quantity but not in quality: we sufficient for victory is decided by the relative
know that the rook is stronger than the bishop. strength and positioning of the pieces.
A rook's superiority in strength over a bishop Further cases of a drawn game are the
(or knight) is called "the exchange". White, following:
then, is "the exchange up". Is that sufficient (4) The two opponents can agree to call the
to win? It turns out that in this position, it is. game a draw if they think it futile to continue
If White, in fact, makes a waiting move with the struggle (because there are no winning
his rook - to d8, say - then Black's sole and chances) .
obligatory reply is . . . @h8, whereupon the rook (5) If the same position (with the same side
captures the bishop, giving checkmate. to move) occurs three times (this can come
about, for example, through both opponents
27 repeating their moves) , a draw may be claimed
by one of the players.
(6) Also if, during the course of 50 moves,
8
not a single capture has been made on the
7 board and not one pawn has advanced, a
6 player may claim a draw. (Conventionally,
"one move" is taken to mean a move by White
5 together with Black's reply.)
4
8. CASTLING
3
2 This is the name given to another possible
move in a game of chess: the simultaneous
1
movement of the king and one of the rooks.
a b c d e f g h This is the only case of a move being made
However, if this position is slightly altered with two pieces at once. Each side is permitted
by shifting the black king to h8 and the bishop to castle only once in the game. An essential
to g8 (see Diagram 27) , White's win no longer prerequisite is that the squares between the
proves possible. If the rook goes to d8, this king and the rook should not be occupied,
gives stalemate. either by the player's own pieces or by his
Other possible winning attempts by White opponent's.
are also futile. Here is an example (you would Castling is carried out like this: the king
do better to come back to it after mastering jumps across one square in the direction of the
the notation of the moves and acquiring some rook, and the rook stations itself on the other
practical experience) : l .E:e7 i.c4 2.E:h7t @g8 side of the king, on the square next to it.
3.E:c7. White is attacking the bishop and The king may castle towards either the king's
simultaneously threatening to give mate on rook or the queen's rook, as the player wishes.
c8. However, Black replies 3 . . . i.d3t, forcing In the former case we speak of "castling short",
White to abandon the opposition of the kings and in the latter case "castling long".
- after which the threat of mate disappears,
and the game remains drawn.
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 27

28 cannot reply to a check by castling) , and

the king must not be placed in check by the
3 castling move.
2 (4) The square that the king moves across (fl
or f8 in the case of castling short, d 1 or d8 for
castling long) must not be under attack from
a b c d e f g h
any enemy piece.
Position before castling If the rook, not the king, is under attack, or
if the rook has to cross over an attacked square,
In this situation the king may castle on either this in no way prevents castling.
side. All these issues are illustrated by Diagram 3 1 .
29
31
3

a b c d e f g h

Castling short

White has castled on the kingside - that is, the

king has moved to g1 and at the same time the
rook on h 1 has moved to fl .

30

2
In this position, only White can castle - and
only on the queenside. Black, if it is his move,
b d f g h
a c e
could check on f3 with his knight and thereby
Castling long deprive White of the right to castle at all,
seeing that White would have to move his king
White has castled on the queenside - the king from its starting position to one of the adjacent
has moved to c1 while the rook on a1 has gone squares (he could not reply by castling) .
to d l . Should one of the players castle in
contravention of the rules, he must replace his
For castling to b e possible, the following king and rook on their starting squares and
conditions must be met: carry out a move with his king.
(I) The king and rook must be on their The point of castling is that it permits a major
original squares and must not have made any change in your king's position (when danger
moves so far. threatens), and also enables a powerful piece ­
(2) The squares in between the king and the the rook - to be brought quickly into play.
rook must be vacant. Preventing your opponent from castling is
(3) The king must not be in check (you sometimes highly advantageous.
28 The Soviet Chess Primer

9. RECORDING THE MOVES- CONVENTIONAL SYMBOLS

For recording the moves of a game, we use so-called "algebraic notation" to indicate the square
to which a piece is moved. If the move is made by a piece other than a pawn, we also insert the
standard abbreviation or symbol for that piece. In addition, the following signs are normal in
chess literature:

X captures
t check
tt double check (often not used, just described as t)
# mate
0-0 castles short (kingside)
0-0-0 castles long (queenside)
any move

a weak move
?? a blunder
a good move
!! an excellent move
!? a move worth considering
?! a move of doubtful value
# mate

t White is slightly better

+ Black is slightly better
± White is better
+ Black is better
+­ White has a decisive advantage
-+ Black has a decisive advantage
equality
with compensation
with counterplay
00 unclear

Thus, "e4" means that a pawn moves to e4; "Ei:xd6" means that a rook makes a capture on d6;
"axb8='1W" means that a pawn on the a-file captures on b8 and promotes to a queen; "exd8=tt::l t"
means that a pawn on the e-file makes a capture on d8 and promotes to a knight which gives
check to the king; "i.h5tt" indicates a bishop moving to h5 and bringing about a double check.
If two pieces of the same type may move to a particular square, we must specifY which one of
them is going there. For example, if one rook is on al and the other is on fl, we write Ei:ad l or
Ei:fd 1 . If there is a knight on a4 and another on a2, the notation is tLl 4c3 or tLl 2c3.

Apart from this "standard" algebraic notation, there is also a "long" version which records both
the departure square and the destination square of the piece that is moving. The above moves
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 29

might thus be written as "e2-e4", "l'!d l xd6", 2

"a7xb8=Wf" and so on. Although the long
version is perfectly understandable, the short l.e4 e5 2..ic4 .ic5 3.�h5
version is used by the overwhelming majority A lunge that is typical of beginners. We shall
of chess players and publishers. By avoiding later see that moves with the queen in the
any superfluous information, it occupies less opening stage are rarely useful and sometimes
space and is quicker to write down. even harmful to the development of your
game.
Moves may be written in a column or across
the page. As an example, we will take the 3 ... d6??
following opening of a game: Black has defended his pawn on e5 but has
failed to notice that first and foremost he is
l.e4 e5 threatened with mate. The correct course was
2.�f3 �c6 3 . . . Wfe7 and then 4 . . . lt:lf6, bringing a new
3 ..ic4 �f6 piece into play ("developing" it) and repelling
the white queen.
Written across the page, the moves look like
this: l .e4 e5 2.lt:lf3 lt:lc6 3 . .ic4 lt:l f6 4.�xf7#
Or in "full" notation: l .e2-e4 e7 -e5 2.lLlgl-f3
lt:l b8-c6 3 ..ifl -c4 lt:l g8-f6 3

ENTERTAINMENT PAGES l .e4 e5 2 ..ic4 .ic5 3.�f3 �h6?

An unsuccessful way to defend the point f7,
Take a chess set, start from the initial position as the knight on h6 will presently be eliminated
(see Diagram 1 ) , and play through some short by the white bishop on cl . A sound defence
games in order to master the notation of the would be 3 . . . lt:l f6.
moves, the conventional symbols, and some
checkmating positions. Where the moves 4.d4! i.xd4 s ..ixh6
leading up to the mate are not indicated, find If Black now takes the bishop, he will be
them for yourself. Then try solving the "fun mated. But if he defends against the mate he
exercises". They are not only amusing; in their will lose in the long run anyway, as he will
own way they are also instructive. be left with a piece less (for example: 5 . . . 0-0
6 . .ic l ) .
SHORT GAMES
4
1
I.e4 b6 2 ..ic4 .ib7 3.�f3 �f6 4.�h3 .ixe4?
1.£4 e5 2.g3? exf4 3.gxf4?? �h4# Better is 4 . . . e6.
White's mistaken play laid bare the e l -h4
diagonal. 5.�g5?
White could regain his pawn by 5 . .ixf7t
The record for brevity would be this game: �xf7 6.lt:lg5t and 7.lt:lxe4.

l.f3? e5 2.g4?? �h4#

30 The Soviet Chess Primer

5 ....ixf3 ?? 8
It was essential to play 5 . . . d5.
I.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.ttlf3 d5 4.ttlc3 dxe4
6.i.xfl# 5.ttlxe4 .ig4 6.'fle2 .ix£3??
He had to cover his king with 6 . . . '1We7.
5
7.ttlf6#
I.e4 e5 2.<�:lf3 d6 3 ..ic4 .ig4 Mate resulting from a double check.
The answer to 3 . . . lt:\f6 would be 4.lt:\g5.
9
4.c3 ttlc6 5 Vlb3 .b£3??
He had to play 5 . . . lt:\a5 . I.d4 5 2 ..ig5 h6 3.�h4
White tries to provoke a weakening of the
6 ..ixf'7t ®e7 7.Vle6# e8-h5 diagonal.

6 3 ...g5 4..ig3 f4?

The right move was 4 . . . lt:\f6.
I.e4 e5 2..ic4 ttlf6 3.ttlf3 ttlxe4 4.ttlc3 ttlxc3
5.dxc3 d6 6.0-0 �g4? 5.e3 h5
Better is 6 . . . .ie7, followed by castling. Black defends against the threat of '!Wh5#.

7.ttlxe5! hdl 6.�d3 gh6??

In reply to 7 . . . dxe5 White would not He had to play 6 . . ..ig7 7.exf4 h4.
continue with 8.'1Wxg4, but would win the
queen by 8 . .ixf7t <Jle7 9.ig5t <Jlxt7 1 o.'!Wxd8. 7.Vlxh5t! �xh5 8.�g6#
Now, White mates in two moves.
10
s ..ixfit ®e7 9 ..ig5#
l.e4 b6 2.d4 �b7 3.�d3 5?
7 Black has thought up a scheme for winning a
rook, but he is weakening the e8-h5 diagonal.
I.e4 c5 2.ttlf3 ttlc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.ttlxd4 e5
White could meet this by playing 5.lt:\f3, 4.ex5 hg2 5.Vlh5t g6 6.fxg6 ttl£6??
followed by .ic4 and lt:\ c3, to seize control of 6 . . ..ig7 was best, although Black is still in
the point d5. danger.

5.ttl5 ttlge??? 7.gxh7t! ttlxh5 8.�g6#

He should have played 5 . . . d6 or 5 . . . d5.
11

This type of mate is called a "smothered" I.e4 e5 2.ttlf3 d5 3.exd5 Vlxd5 4.ttlc3 Vla5
mate. 5.Vle2 ttlc6 6.d3 .ig4 7.�d2 ttld4 s.VNxe5t?
Vlxe5t 9.ttlxe5 ttlxc2#
 FUN EXERCISES

1 3
You can't fail to solve it! Correct the mistake!

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Mate in 1 move There is clearly a mistake in this diagram.
Find what it is, and you will then discover that
"I haven't learnt to solve chess problems yet," White can give mate in one move, no matter
says an inexperienced reader. which way you correct the mistake.
"Have a go anyway. Here's a problem you're
quite sure to solve. What's more, you won't 4
manage not to solve it!" Have the rules sunk in?
"You don't say! That is interesting. Well,
which side is to move?"
8
"Usually White is. But this time, just as an
exception, either White or Black gives mate in 7
one move. " 6

2 5
Do you know the rules? 4
3
3 2
2 1
1 a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h White mates in one move
Mate in halfa move
32 The Soviet Chess Primer

5 7
How did this position come about? Couldn't hear! Say that again!

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Find the preceding moves The task for this problem - or at least the
first part of the wording - was announced
6 rather indistinctly in noisy surroundings by the
Killing several birds with one stone famous problemist Sam Loyd. It was possible
to catch the words " . . . to play'' (now his voice
grew stronger!) "and mate in four moves."
The listeners racked their brains for a long
time, but their efforts to mate the black king
within four moves came to nothing.
"White cannot give mate in four moves
here," they finally decided.
"What do you mean, White?" Loyd asked
in feigned astonishment, pleased to have had
his listeners on. "I said quite clearly, it's Black
to play and mate in four moves." Sure enough,
the black pawn solves the problem easily and
amusingly.
a b c d e f g h
Black has too many kings (ten) , but all of 8
them are mated by one single move. Three questions

4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
 Chapter 1 - The Game Explained 33

Where must Black's king be placed, so Already after White's first move, Black is
that ( 1 ) he is in a mate position, (2) he is in essentially defenceless. All he can do is put off
a stalemate position, {3) White can mate him the mate until the tenth move by sacrificing his
in one move? {Set up the pieces on a board pieces and pawns (placing them in the way of
- you need to see the whole board to find the the checks) .
solution.)
9 11
Straightforward The horse is a useful animal!

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Mate in 5 moves Mate in 12 moves
Don't be afraid of having to find five moves - With a solitary knight, White successfully
the task is easy! You just need that number of fights against the entire hostile army. This
p . . . (stop, no hints!) . is possible here because the black pieces are
10 occupying exceptionally awkward {deliberately
"Fighting not with numbers, but with skill" concocted!) positions.

Fun questions

12. What is the greatest number of knights

that can be placed on the board in such a way
that not one of them is within capturing range
of another?

13. How must you play in any position in

order to "guarantee" becoming a master within
a certain time?

a b c d e f g h
White wins (mate in 1 0 moves at the latest)
 SOLUTIONS TO FUN EXERCISES

1. The joke is that any move by White or Black brings about mate. Thus there are 30 mating
moves: 16 for White and 14 for Black!

2. White completes the queenside castling move. He has moved his king from e1 to c l , and now
he has to bring the rook from a1 to d l .

3 . A ninth black pawn has been mistakenly placed on the board. Remove any one o f them, and
you will see that mate next move is possible.

4. l.e5xd6 (capturing the d5-pawn "en passant") .

5. Once you have seen that last problem, solving this one is not hard. The pawn on e6 was
previously on d4, and Black had a pawn on e7. There followed l.d5t e5 2.dxe6t.

6. I. tileS# (Some wits say that with a strength of "ten horsepower" this is the most aggressive
move in the history of chess!) Inspect for yourself how the mate is performed on each individual
king.

7. Naturally l. .. exf5 etc. Of course, such a position could not arise in a practical game (look at
the bishop on g1 and the pawn on h4) , which means it infringes the rules that conventionally
govern chess problems. But . . . what would you not do for a laugh?

8. Sam Loyd, 1 866: ( 1 ) on e3, (2) on h 1 , (3) on a8 (Wfg4-c8#) .

9. The pawn makes 5 moves and promotes to . . . a third knight.

10. I..la6t! tLlbl 2.:Sxbl t :Sci 3.:Sxcl t ttldl 4.:Sxdl t .lei s.:Sxel t gl =Wf (or any other
piece) 6.hb7t :Sc6 7.hc6t Wfd5 8 ..ixd5t e4 9 ..lxe4t f3 IO ..ix£3#

1 1 . I.lLlf4t, 2.ttle6t, 3.tLlxc7t, 4.ttlxa6t Now round and back again. 5.ttlc7t, 6.ttle6t, 7.tLlf4t
�c5 8.�e4! d5t 9.�e5 .if6t 10.�e6! ttldSt l l.�d7 and 12.lLld3#.

12. The maximum is 32 - on all the light squares or all the dark squares.

13. Well.
Chapter 2
Aim of the Game

From our preliminary discussion we already know that the customary finale (conclusion) to a
game of chess is checkmate or a draw. We will now try to expand these introductory remarks; first
let us study some finishes of a very simple kind.

1. CHECKMATE

The ultimate aim of the game is to checkmate the enemy king. Let us examine some typical
mating positions. We will start with those where the mate is given by a rook.

32 33

Mate with rook

34 35

Mate with rook

36 The Soviet Chess Primer

36 37

Mate with rook

In all the above positions, the rook is giving mate on the 8th rank. In practice, the edge of the
board is nearly always (with very rare exceptions) the place where checkmate is achieved, as the
king's mobility here is extremely limited.
In the Diagrams 32-37 the king's escape to the seventh rank is prevented either by its own
pieces or by those of the enemy, or sometimes a combination of both.
A rook in conjunction with some other piece quite often finishes the game in the following
ways:

38 39

Mate with rook

40 41

Mate with rook

Checkmate with the queen is illustrated by the next examples.

 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 37

42 43

Mate with queen

44 45

Mate with queen

In the positions below, the mate is carried out by minor pieces.

46 47

Mate with bishop

48 49

Mate with knight

.3 8 The Soviet Chess Primer

In Positions 46 and 47 a bishop delivers the mate, while the other minor piece prevents the black
king from sidestepping to b8. The mate with a knight in Position 49 is a so-called "smothered"
mate. A pawn too can give mate just like the other pieces. Positions 50-50a may suffice as an
example.

50 50a

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
Mate with pawn

The positions we have given are frequently met with in practice, so it is useful to commit them
to memory.
2. MATE IN THE SIMPLEST ENDGAMES
Towards the end of the game, one of the players may possess an extra piece while his opponent
has only his king left. If the extra piece is a bishop or knight, it cannot give mate (see Diagrams
22 and 23 in Chapter 1 ) .
It's a different matter i f a rook - o r a n even stronger piece, the queen - i s left o n the board. In
this case, winning (using your own king in support) is very simple. In order to mate the enemy
king, you have to drive it to the edge of the board, where its mobility will be most severely
curtailed (there will be no rank in the king's rear for further retreat) .

In Diagram 5 1 the kings are in opposition; the black king is already somewhat restricted - all
three squares ahead of it on the 5th rank are out of bounds.
51

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
White to move
 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 39

U:�a6t i>d7 Here White can continue as above, with Wg5,

The black king is thrown back by one rank. waiting for Black to move into opposition.
With the following continuation, however,
2.i>c5 White can arrive at the mate sooner:
So as to answer 2 . . . i>c7 by giving check
again and forcing the black king onto the edge U:�g6 i>hs 2.i>f6 i>h7 3.i>f7 i>hs 4Jlh6#
of the board. A further solution is also possible: 1 .E:a7t
Wg8 ( I . . .<it> h6 is met by the waiting move
2 i>e7 3.i>d5 i>f7 4.i>e5 i>g7 5.i>f5 i>h7
.•. 2.E:b7 and then 3.E:h7#, while if l . . .Wh8 then
6.i>g5 i>g7 2.Wg6) 2.Wf6 etc. Mate in four moves can also
Now that the opposition has been attained, be achieved by l .Wf6 (find it for yourself!) .
a new check follows. No matter how unfavourably the white pieces
are placed to begin with, mating with a rook
7J�a7t i>£8 8.i>f6 i>es 9J�h7 requires no more than 1 6- 1 7 moves.
Note this waiting move with the rook; now
the black king will sooner or later be forced Mating with a queen is easier still; it takes 9- 1 0
into an opposition situation. moves at the most.

9 ...i>ds 10.<it>e6 <it>cS 1 1.i>d6 i>hs 12.i>c6 53

i>aS 13. i>b6 i>bs
The opposition is achieved.

14J:�h8#
In this example we have demonstrated the
simplest way, though rather a slow one, to
bring about the mate. After Black's 5th move
the mate could have been achieved more
quickly.
52

a b c d e f g h
White to move

l .�d7 <it>e4 2.i>fl i>e5 3.i>f3 <it>f6 4.i>f4

i>g6 5.�e7 i>h6
In such situations a little care is needed.
If for instance White plays 6.V!if7?, Black is
stalemated and the game is a draw.

6.i>f5 i>h5 7.�h7#

a b c d e f g h Or 7.Vfig5#.
White to move
40 The Soviet Chess Primer

To mate with two rooks or queen and rook, l.:Sxb3t! <it>xb3

there is no need for support from your own White forces mate in a characteristic manner:
king.
2J�c3t <it>b4 3.�a3t <it>b5 4.:Sc5t <it>b6
54 5.�a5t <it>b7 6J!c7t <it>bs 7.�a7#

Two bishops or a bishop and knight, with the

support of their own king, can also give mate.
The mate with two bishops can be achieved
within 1 8 moves by driving the king into any
of the corners. As in the foregoing examples,
the winning process demands coordinated
play with the pieces.

56

8
a b c d e f g h 7
White to move 6
5
l .:Sa4t <it>e5 2.:Sb5t <it>d6 3.:Sa6t <it>c7
4J�h5 <it>b7 4
If 4 . . . @d7, then 5 .1:!h7t and 6.1:!a8#. 3

5J!g6 <it>c7 6J!h7t <it>ds 7.:Sg8# 2

1
55
a b c d e f g h
White to move
l ..if3
The bishops occupy the diagonals a8-h l and
b8-h2, barring the black king's path towards
the right.

l. <it>d3 2 .ie5 <it>d2 3 .ie4

•• • •

White has regrouped his forces. His bishops

now additionally control the diagonals a l -h8
and b l -h7. The black king already has few
squares left.

a b c d e f g h 3 <it>cl
•••

White mates in 7 moves Hoping for a draw after 4. @e2?? (stalemate) .

 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 41

4.<be3 <.f.>dl
With his next move White stops the black king from returning to c 1 and begins to drive it
gradually towards the h1 corner square.

5.i.b2 <bel 6.i.c2 <.f.>fl 7.<.f.>f3 <bgl

The answer to 7 .. .'it>e 1 would be 8.i.c3t. Now White takes measures to prevent Black from
breaking out via h2 and h3.

s.i.f5 <.f.>fl 9.i.c3 <bgi iO.<.tlg3 <.f.>fl l l.i.d3t <.tlgi i2.i.d4t <.tlhi 13.i.e4#
These last moves with the bishops call to mind the mating process with two rooks in Position
54; there the rooks were advancing rank by rank, here the bishops encroach diagonal by diagonal.

Mating with bishop and knight is more difficult; we shall examine this endgame later (see page
1 00) .

3. DRAWN GAME

If the game has not been going our way, and the preponderance of force is on our opponent's side,
then we must bend our efforts to saving the game in some way or other - we must try to reach
a draw. Something was said about draws on page 23. Now let us look at some more examples.

A common type of draw is stalemate:

57 58

With his last move Black has made the mistake of depriving the white king of all its squares.
White is stalemated. The game is a draw.

59 60

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
 The Soviet Chess Primer

When trying to mate with king and rook or In Positions 57-60, the white king was
two rooks, you have to play carefully to avoid playing a passive role and was stalemated as the
putting your opponent in a stalemate position result of an error on Black's part. Sometimes,
- which is just what has happened in Diagrams however, the king fights for the draw actively
59 and 60. Two knights are incapable of giving and brings about stalemate by its own efforts.
mate if the opponent defends correctly.
62
61
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
White to move
The criticaljuncture: White is in checkfrom h6
In Position 62, the black pawn is only one
In Position 6 1 , if White makes the mistake of
square away from queening. But the promotion
�h8?, he will be mated by . ..Ci:J ef7#. But after
square is occupied by Black's own king, and
the correct ci>fll ! , the game will end in a draw.
the white king will not let it out of its prison.
If it is White's move here, he plays ci>c1 and
61a
Black is stalemated.

63

8
7
6
5
4
3

a b c d e f g h 2

White has made the correct king move 1

a b c d e f g h
 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 43

In Position 63, even the presence of a knight is no help to Black if it is his turn to move. White
keeps playing mel and mc2, refusing to be sidetracked even if Black tries offering his knight as a
sacrifice - say with . . . tD d2. On the other hand ifWhite is to move, he loses - for example 1 .mc1
lDa3, and White is forced to move away to the d-file, freeing the black king's exit. The important
thing for White is that the knight and king should match each other in switching the colour of
their squares: for instance l. .. tDa3t (the knight occupies a dark square) 2.®c1 (likewise moving
to a dark square) , etc.
It is now easy to understand that if the white king were on d l {let us say) , and the black knight
were at the other end of the board - so that White had the choice of moving his king to cl or
c2 - then he would need to choose the square of the same colour as that currently occupied by
the enemy knight. (Try it and see!)

This last example is not the only case where a minor piece and a pawn are unable to win.

64 65

4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d a b c d
In Position 64, the bishop doesn't control the pawn's queening square, and the white king
cannot be driven away from the corner. It can only be stalemated.
In Position 65 Black cannot win either, since the white king cannot be forced away from the
defence of the b2-pawn. Any tries lead only to stalemate.

The king may also be stalemated when the opponent has just one pawn, as in the following
positions:

66 67 68

8
7
1!� � %

6 '"" ��
k
""" " /-

Black to move - Stalemate

44 The Soviet Chess Primer

4. CONDUCTING A PAWN TO ITS The whole point is that in the first case Black
QUEENING SQUARE has the opposition, but not in the second case.
This will be explained more fully in Chapter 4,
An extra pawn in the final phase of the game "Techniques of Calculation" . If it were Black's
will often enable us to win, seeing that after move in Position 70, he would play I...@b8 ,
conducting the pawn to the far end of the gaining the opposition and drawing.
board we can promote it to the strongest piece It is worth memorizing the rule for this type
- the queen. There are, however, positions of position: if the pawn advances to the 7th
where one extra pawn is not enough for victory rank (for Black, the 2nd) with check, there
because the stronger side is unable to bring the is no win. If it goes there without check, the
pawn to its promotion square. game is won.

69 71

8 8

7 7

6 6

5 5

White to move - Draw Black to move

I.d7t @ds 2. @d6 Black's salvation depends on which square he

Black is stalemated. moves his king to. In Position 7 1 he retreats
with his king to the crucial square c8, so that
70 either move by the white king (to b6 or d6)
can be answered by taking the opposition with
. . . @bs or ... @d8.
8
7 71a
6
8
5
7
6
White to move wins
5
l.c7 @d7 2.@b7 @_. 3.c8=�
White wins.
Black has made the sole correct move, and
In Diagrams 69 and 70, the slight difference the draw is now assured.
in the placing of the black king is decisive.
 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 45

72 These exceptions to the rule are due to the fact

that the pawn is located either on the edge of
the board (the rook's file) or on the next file
8
from the edge (the knight's file) .
7
6 74
5
4
3
2
1

a b c d e f g h
Draw, whichever side is to move

An attempt to win from Position 72 would

lead to stalemate (compare Diagram 67) .
a b c d e f g h
73 White wins

1 . ci>d5 ci>d7 2. ci>c5 ci>d8 3. ci>d6! ci>c8 4. ci>c6

ci>bs 5.h7
Winning.

We have now examined all the basic situations

that can come about with the pawn on the
sixth rank (6th for White, 3rd for Black) .

It is extremely important for the beginner

to set up some examples on a chessboard
independently and satisfy himself that he has
fully mastered these positions and can infallibly
a b c d e f g h tell what the play from any such position will
White to move - Draw lead to - win or draw - with either White to
move or Black to move.
There is no win from Position 73 either. No
matter how White continues, it will eventually If your pawn - other than a rook's pawn - is on
be stalemate (see Diagrams 66, 68, 7 1 and the fifth rank (counting from your own end) ,
7 1 a) . Yet if Black is to move in this position, then it is always possible to win on condition
White does win. that your king is in front of the pawn.
46 The Soviet Chess Primer

75 77

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
White wins, whichever side is to move White wins, whichever side is to move

In Position 75, if it is Black to move and he Then if Black replies l. .. i>d8, this gives
plays l ... i>d8, this gives Position 76. Position 78.

76 78

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
White replies 2.i>b7, taking control of all Black is trying to retain the opposition,
the squares over which his pawn will advance which is often very useful (recall for instance
to queen (c6-c8). Diagram 69) . However, with 2.c6, White forces
Black to abandon the opposition and wins as in
If it is White's move in Position 75, he can play Diagram 70.
I.i>d6 (see Diagram 77) . In Position 77 if it is White to move, he
gains the opposition with I.i>c6. Then when
the enemy king steps aside to the right or left,
 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 47

White goes to the opposite side as in Position 80

76. It would be wrong, on the other hand, to
play l .c6, as Black would play l . . .�d8, reaching
Diagram 69.
Positions 75-78 present no difficulties once
you have mastered Positions 69-7 1 .
If the pawn is on a rook's file and the enemy
king controls the queening square - if, that is,
the king is in the corner or can get there - then
the game will eventually come down to a draw
(see Diagrams 72 and 67) .
The most interesting case is when the pawn is
on the knight's file, where the closeness to the
edge of the board influences the play - owing to
the danger of stalemate. a b c d e f g h

79 Again it is White to move, and this time 2.g6?

gives stalemate as in Position 68. 1he stalemate
arises because Black, being on the edge file, is
8 unable to step to the right. It remains to try to
7 make him go to the left:

6 2.�g6! �g8 3.�h6! �h8 4.g6 �g8 5.g7

5 White wins.
4
There are some interesting devices to help you
3 find your bearings quickly in any position
2 where your pawns are advancing to queen;
these will be demonstrated in Chapter 4
1 ("Techniques of Calculation").
a b c d e f g h
ENTERTAINMENT PAGES
White wins, whichever side is to move

SHORT GAMES
In Position 79, should White play l .g6t, the
reply would be l . . .�h8!, drawing as in Position
1
73. Therefore seeing that the pawn cannot yet
advance, White plays:
I.e4 e5 2.ltlf3 ltlc6 3.i.c4 ltlf6 4.d4 exd4
5.0-0 d6 6.lLlxd4 i.e7 7.ltlc3 0-0 8.h3 ge8
l.�f7
9J:!:el ltld7?
Black can reach Position 80 with his reply:
A fatal error. He needed to play 9 . . . lLl xd4.

IO.i.xflt! �xf7 l l.�e6!!

Black resigned, as he loses his queen (if
l l . . . �xe6, then 1 2.Wfd5t and 1 3.Wff5#) .
48 The Soviet Chess Primer

2 5

I.e4 d6 2.d4 ttld7 3 .ic4 g6 4.ttlf3 .ig7?

• I .e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.c3 i.d7? 4 .ic4 ttlf6?•

5.J.xf'7t! 5.Y«b3! Y«e7 6.Y«xb7 i.c6 7.Y«c8t Y«ds

A sound sacrifice. s.J.xf'7t! <i!?e7??
5 <i!?xf7 6.ttlg5t
.•• After 8 . . . mxf7 9.V!!lxd8 lD a6! 1 0.V!!lxa8 .ixa8
Black resigned, since after 6 ... me8 or 6 . . . mfs Black would be an exchange and two pawns
White wins the queen, while after 6 ... mf6 he down, but could continue the game.
gives mate.
9.Y«e6#
3
6
l.e4 e5 2. tll f3 tll c6 3.i.c4 tll d4?
This move is a trap, to which the simplest I.e4 d5 2.exd5 Y«xd5 3. tll c3 Y«a5 4.d4 c6
answer is 4.lDxd4. 5.ttla .ig4 6.i.f4 e6 7.h3 i.x£3
The retreat 7 . . . .ih5 would have been better.
4.ttlxe5? Y«g5! 5.ttlxf7??
This loses quickly. After 5 ..ixf7t i>d8 the s.V!!lx£3 .ib4 9.i.e2 tll d7 10.a3 0-0-0?
play becomes double-edged and difficult for Black doesn't notice the danger.
both sides (though Black still has rather the
better chances) . l l .axb4! Y«xalt 12.<i!?d2 Y«xhl 13.Y«xc6t!
bxc6 14.i.a6#
5 Y«xg2 6J:UI. Y«xe4t 7.i.e2
•••

After 7.V!!le2 the queen is lost. Now, Black 7

gives mate.
l .e4 e5 2.tll f3 d6 3 .ic4 .ig4 4.h3 i.x£3
•

4 This exchange loses time and merely helps

the development of White's pieces.
l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.tll c3 i.h4 4.i.d3 hc3t
Better is 4 . . . c5, attacking the centre. 5.Y«x£3 Y«f6
Hoping that White will exchange, when
5.bxc3 h6? Black will bring his knight out with "tempo";
Instead of this move, which is not just but White avoids that mistake.
redundant but weakens the g6-square, Black
should have played 5 . . . lD e7, preparing to 6.V!!lb3 b6 7.ttlc3 ttle7 s.ttlb5 ttla6?
castle. White now makes a move that develops After 8 . . . md8 9 . .ixf7 White is much better,
a piece and at the same time stops his opponent but the game continues.
from castling.
9.Y«a4 ttlc5
6.i.a3! tll d7? 7.Y«e2 dxe4 Rescuing his knight, Black comes up against
White was threatening exd5. a devastating double check.

8.i.xe4 ttlgf6 9 .id3 b6? lO.YlYxe6t! fxe6

• IO.tll xd6tt <i!?ds l l .YlYe8#
l l .ig6#
•
 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 49

8 Now on 1 0.�xf3, Black has 1 0 . . . .ig4t

winning the queen.
l.e4 e5 2.tLlf3 tLlc6 3.tLlc3 .ic5
This gives White the chance to sacrifice 10.�e1 flt 1 1 .i>e2 .ig4#
a piece temporarily and regain it by means
of a "fork'', leaving him with the better 11
development.
l.e4 e5 2.d4 tLlf6
4.tLlxe5 c!L!xe5 5.d4 .ixd4 6.�xd4 �f6 A dubious move. Better i s 2 . . . exd4 3.Wfxd4
This looks good, as Black not only defends tLlc6, when Black develops his pieces while
the knight on e5 and the pawn on g7, but White loses time retreating.
also threatens to win the queen with . . . c!L!f3t.
However, it turns out that White has a strong 3.dxe5 c!L!xe4 4.c!L!f3 .ic5 5.�d5 c!L!xfl 6 .ic4 •

reply. 0-0 7.tLlg5 tLlxh1 s.tLlxf'7 c6??

8 . . . Wfh4t 9.g3 .if2t! should be played.

Defending the queen on d4, and threatening 9.c!L!h6tt i>hs 10.�g8t! l::!:xg8 1 1 .tLlf7#
to take on c7.
12
? ••• i>ds 8.�c5! c!L!c6? 9.�f8#
l.e4 e5 2.c!L!f3 d6 3 ..ic4 f5
9 A risky move that opens lines for an attack
by the enemy pieces.
l.e4 e5 2.tLlf3 tLlc6 3 .ic4 i.c5 4.d3 tLlge7?
•

The knight here gets in the way of other 4.d4 c!L!f6 5.tLlc3 exd4 6.�xd4 .id7?
pieces. Better is 4 . . . tLl f6. It was essential to drive the queen back at
once with 6 . . . tLlc6.
5.c!L!g5 0-0 6.�h5 h6 7.c!L!xf'7 �e8?
Black had to sacrifice the exchange - White's 7.tLlg5 c!L!c6 s .if7t i>e7 9.�xf6t!! i>xf6
•

attack is very strong. 10.c!LJd5t i>e5 1 1 .c!LJf3t i>e4 12.tLlc3#

s.c!L!h6tt i>hs 9.c!L!f7tt i>gs 1o.�h8# 13

10 l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c!L!c6?

Against the pawns on d4 and e5, which
l.f4 e5 2.fx:e5 d6 3.exd6 .ixd6 are cramping Black's development, it was
Black is now threatening . . .'lWh4t and mate better to proceed with . . . c5!, and then . . . ttJ c6,
on g3. . . . Wfb6 etc. Now the advance of the c7-pawn is
obstructed by the knight.
4.c!L!f3 g5 5.e4?
A good option here is 5.d4 g4 6.tLle5, 4.f4 tLlge7 5.c3 c!L!f5
shutting off the diagonal of the bishop on d6. In reply to this, White needs to play 6.tLlf3,
stopping the queen from checking on h4.
5 g4 6.e5 gxf3 7.exd6 �h4t 8.g3 �e4t
••• With the following mistake, he throws the
9.i>fl �d4t! game away.
50 The Soviet Chess Primer

6..id3? 'i!Yh4t
Aiming to answer 7.g3 with 7 . . . ltJxg3!. This same move would be the reply to 7.\t>fl or 7.1t>e2.
All the same, 7.\t>fl would be better than the continuation in the game.

7.®d2? 'i!Yxf4t 8.®c2? �cx:d4t! 9.cx:d4 �xd4t10.®c3 J.h4t!! l l .®xb4 �c6tt 12.®c3
'i!Yb4t 13.®c2 �d4#
14

l.d4 g6 2.e4 Ag7 3.ti)f3 d6 4.ti)c3 �d7 5 ..ic4 ti)gf6?

White now overruns the centre and conducts the decisive attack.

6.e5 dxe5 7.dxe5 �h5 S.Lf'lt! ®xf7 9.ti)g5t ®g8 10.'i!Yd5t ®£8 l l.'i!Yf7#

FIND THE MATE IN ONE FIND THE MATE IN TWO

1 5

2
6

3
7

4
Note that I.li?f8 or l .'Wf7 would give
stalemate.
 Chapter 2 - Ai m of the Game 51

8 12

9 Without the pawn on f5 White mates in 3

. � �
moves; if the pawns o f5 nd h7 are removed,
he mates m 4 moves. olve all three tasks.

12a

10

12b

11
52 The Soviet Chess Primer

FIND THE SOLUTION

13 14
Different means to identical ends

e f g h a b c d e

White draws in both 13 and 14

15
Not a "four-mover", and not a "six-mover" either!

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

a b c d e f g h
"How many moves does White need, to give mate from this position?"
"It looks like four: I .ib2, 2.ia3, 3 .if8, 4.ig7#. Black can't do anything to stop it, can he?"
''Aha, Black isn't that helpless. On I .ib2, he plays I . . .ih l ! 2.ia3 g2, and he's stalemated."
"You're right. To let Black out of the stalemate, White needs another two moves: 3.1t>h2 gl =Wt
4.\t>xgl . So it's mate in six moves!"
"You were being too hasty before, now you're taking too long. It's actually mate in five moves!
Try and find it."
 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 53

16 FUN EXERCISES
An unusual case
18
Going up i n the lift
8

a b c d e f g h
White to move
a b c d e f g h
"I can't see you saving this game," said the Mate in 6 moves
player with Black. "I'm a rook up already,
and I'm going to get a second queen for good Just switch on the mechanism, and the rest
measure." follows easily.
"You're celebrating your victory too soon,"
came the unexpected retort. "lin the one who's 19
going to save the game, and you definitely Coming down the escalator
won't manage to."
Indeed White won by spectacular means. 8

17 7
Relatively simple 6

a b c d e f g h
Mate in 5 moves

Although it's a moving staircase, you still have

to walk down slowly from step to step, to avoid
a b c d e f g h a stoppage (stalemate!) .
Mate in 2 moves
54 The Soviet Chess Primer

20 22
In the best-defended place Hard-working queen

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Mate in 5 moves Mate in (?) moves

The surprising and amusing thing about this White has nothing but his queen against the
problem is that although the b6-point is entire hostile army. He wins nonetheless. By
defended five times, White's concluding move what means, and in how many moves?
to give mate will be 1:!xb6.
23
21 Tricky exercise
Timely assistance

a b c d e f g h
Mate in 7 moves

''I've got to go and help my minor pieces," the

white king decides. "They won't manage it in
seven moves on their own. I daresay it's quite
a long way, but maybe I'll get there in time."
 Chapter 2 - Aim of the Game 55

24
Similar to the last one

a b c d e f g h
In contrast to Exercise 23, this time not
just two knights but all four are missing. The
position can arise (in a different manner from
last time!) after 5 moves. Find those moves.
 ANSWERS AND SOLUTIONS

Mate in 1 and 2 moves Fun exercises

1. I..ig7# 18. I..ibl! Press the button, and the lift goes
into action. l. .. b2 2.�a2 b3 3.�a3 b4 4.�a4
2. U�h7# b5 5.�a5 b6 Stop, we've arrived! 6 .ie4#•

3. l.�xg6# 19. I..ib6! bxc6 2 ..ic5 cxd5 3 ..id4 dxe4

4..ie3 exf3 Now we just have to jump offi
4. I.Yfig7# or I.Yfid8#. 5 ..ifl#
5. I.g7t tLlxg7 2.tLlg6# 20. l.�g7 �g1 2.�f7 .ic3 3.�e7 tLlc5 4.�c7t
tLlxc7 5.�xb6#
6. I .�f7! 'it>h8 2.�£8#
21. I .'it>b2 a4 2.'it>c3 a3 3.'it>d4 a5 4.'it>e5
7. 1 . <it>f7! <it> h7 2.Vfih4# a4 5. 'it>f6 In the nick of time! 5 ...g4 6. 'it>g7t
'it>h5 7.tLlg3#
8. I .tiJf7t 'it>g8 2.tLlh6#
22. White mates in 64 moves (by making use
9. I.Yfixh7t! Yfixh7 2.tLlf7# of checks and waiting moves to annihilate all
his opponent's pieces and pawns except for
10. I..ig6t! 'it>g7 (or l . ..mgS) 2.Yfih7# the queen on a 1 and the pawns on a3 and
b2) : I.'it>xc3t, 2.Yfixf5t, 3.Yfif7t!, 4.Yfffh7t,
1 1 . l.�h6! gxh6 2.g7# 5.Yfffxg8t, 6.Yfih7t, 7.Yffff7 t, 8.Yfif5t, 9.Yfid5t,
10.Y!ffe4t, 1 1.Yfffc4t, 12.Yfixfl t, 13.Yfffc4t,
12. 1.£6
14.Yfffe4t, 15.Yfffd 5t, 16.Yfixh1t, 17.Yfid5t,
12a. I..if6!, 2.'it>f8 (Another solution, using 18.Yfid3t, 19.Yfic4t, 20.Yfixa6! ma2 2I.Yfic4t,
the whole board, is l .i.a7, 2.mf8.)
22.Yfffe4t, 23.Yfffe6t, 24.Y!ffc4! g2 25.Yfffe4t,
12b. I.'it>f7, 2.tLlg8, 3 ..ig7 (or 3 .i.xg7t) 26.Yfid5t, 27.Yfffxg2 'it>a2 28.Yfid5t, 29.Yfic4
h4 30.Yfffe4t, 31.Vfie6t 32.Yfffc4 h5 In similar
Find the solution
fashion, all the remaining black pawns are
forced to move. The white queen captures them
13. I..ih2!! gxh2 ( L .mf3 2.i.xg3!) 2.'it>g2
on appropriate squares, and finally (after . . . a3-
a2) gives mate on f1 on the sixty-fourth move.
14. I.b8=Yfi! hb8 2 ..ib1!! cxbl =Yfi
stalemate. If Black promotes to a rook on b l it
23. The knight on b8 is the one that started
is still stalemate and if he promotes to a bishop
the game on g8. After this hint, try to solve
or knight, White takes the bishop on b8 and
the problem for yourself. Don't get into the
mate becomes impossible.
habit of peeping at the solutions straight away;
make your own attempt first, and only read
15. I..ie5! .ih1 2.hg3! and 3 ..id6 etc.
the solution to check it. (Solution: I.tiJf3 d5
16. I ..ib8! �xb8 2.'it>c7!! �xb6 3.cxb6 and 2.tLle5 tiJf6 3.tLlc6 tiJfd7 4.tLlxb8 tLlxb8)
mate in at most three more moves.
24. I.tiJf3 tiJf6 2.tLlc3 t£Jc6 3.tLld4 tLld5
17. l.�e4! Problem by E. Umnov, 1 944. 4.t£Jxc6 dxc6 5.tLlxd5 cxd5
Chapter 3
Tactics and Strategy

1. THE CONCEPT OF A CHESS PLAN

In the confined space of the chessboard, the pieces of the two hostile "armies" carry out their
operations. They move in various directions, attack, capture, defend themselves - in short, they
are in constant confrontation with each other. The diversity of possibilities is a perplexity for the
beginner.
Can we make sense out of all this? Absolutely! All the changes on the chessboard occur, after
all, as a result of the moves of the two players, and these moves are not fortuitous. They are united
by an overall purpose - to win, to checkmate the enemy king, to avoid defeat by the opponent.
Every move attempts to do something which contributes directly or indirectly to achieving the
ultimate aim.
Out of such purpose-oriented moves, whole manoeuvres and game plans regularly take
shape. The plans must be conceived in advance, and constitute what is known as strategy; the
implementation of these plans is the task of tactics. Strategy clarifies what we need to do, what
problems have to be solved to attain the end in view; tactics determines how we do this. Tactics
solves each problem in its context (in the current situation on the board) by selecting the best
moves and ascertaining their logic. Thus in addition to the general strategic plan (the general
task) , specific tactical plans arise (the specific task) .
In Position 5 1 (on page 38) we already saw an example of play to execute a certain plan - that of
mating the black king with White's king and rook. The plan consisted of driving the king to the
edge of the board. The tactical device with the aid of which this gradual constriction took place
was a check with the rook when the kings were in opposition.

Let us consider another example.

58 The Soviet Chess Primer

81 82

Lasker, 1 926 B. Horwitz, 1 857

8 8

7 7

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

1 1
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
White wins White wins

U3h7t ®d8 2. ®e6 l..iflt ®h5 2.g4t ®h6 3.®f6! ®h7!

Black cannot prevent his opponent from The king is forced to retreat gradually into the
carrying out the plan of :!'%d7 and :!'%xd6, which, most inauspicious position - the corner. Black
although it involves giving up rook for bishop, cannot free his bishop on g8 by advancing his
enables White to win all the black pawns. f-pawn, since the white king has stopped the
Exchanging the rook for Black's bishop and pawn from moving; while 3 . . . .ih7? would be
pawns is what constitutes White's plan. The met by 4 . .ie3#.
tactical means to this end lies in forcing the
black king away from the defence of d6. 4.g5 ®h8 s.J.d4!
The bishop positions itself in ambush. If
As another example, here is a study by a Black now tries 5 . . . .ih7, White plays 6.®xf7,
composer from the past (Diagram 82) . Let us which is checkmate resulting from a discovered
follow the solution, observing what White's plan check. As you can see, White's plan consists
is based on, and how he brings it to fruition. not only in driving the black king back, but
also in keeping the bishop imprisoned on g8,
where it hampers the king's mobility.

5 ®h7 6.J.al
.••

The bishop could also go to b2 or any other

square on the diagonal. This is purely a waiting
move; after the sole reply at Black's disposal,
the end comes quickly.

6 ®h8 7.g6 fxg6 8.®xg6#

•••
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 59

We will now look at an example from An improvement would have been 1 3 .. .!l:f7,
tournament practice (Diagram 83) . but it hasn't yet dawned on Black that the
point g7 will soon need defending. He wants
83 to free his game by means of . . . e5.

Tarrasch - Scheve, Leipzig 1 894 14.0-0-0!

Crossing Black's plans. His line-opening
advance is now unplayable, since after
8 exchanges an attack from the rook on d 1
7 would b e opened up against his queen.
6
14 ... tLlf6 15 .le5 .id7 16.f3! exf3
•

5 This is already forced; otherwise White plays

17.i.xf6 and 1 8.fxe4.
4

3 17.gxf3
2 White's strategic plan is fully disclosed: he
has obtained the open g-file for an attack on
1 the enemy king. Black will soon be forced
a b c d e f g h completely onto the defensive.
White to move
17 ... b5 IS,ggl g£8
To answer Wfg2 with . . . gf7. Of course
Only 1 1 moves have been made, in the course
1 8 . . . ge7? would fail to 1 9.J.xf6; but . . . g6, now
of which the players have exchanged two pairs
or later, would weaken Black's entire castled
of minor pieces; but already Black's camp has a
position (the manoeuver h3-h4-h5, after
characteristic peculiarity, namely the position
preparation, would become a possibility) .
of his pawn on e4.
Sooner or later Black will clearly have
19.gd2! gf7 20,gdg2 aS
to defend this pawn with . . . f5. After that,
The exchange . . . bxc4 would merely facilitate
however, his centre will easily prove vulnerable
the development of the bishop on f1 , which
- White will be able to attack it with f2-f3.
would arrive in a good attacking position
without loss of time.
Thus, the general direction of the play may
already be viewed as laid down; the strategic
21.'ef2 �e8
plan is clear. What remains is the correct
Endeavouring to prevent Wfh4.
tactical implementation of it, after suitable
preparation.
22,gg5! 'ee7
On 22 . . . h6 (weakening the castled position!)
12.'ec2! f5 White would continue with 23.gg6 <i>h7
If 1 2 . . . tLl f6, then 1 3 .g4 (threatening g4-g5)
24.Wfg3 Wfe7 25.gxh6t!, but now the white
and 14.i.g2.
queen conveniently comes across to h4 behind
the rook's back, with the threat of Wfh6 and
13 ..id6 ges �h5 .
60 The Soviet Chess Primer

Black misses his king's bishop; as a defender it might have prevented this dangerous concentration
of white pieces on the dark squares.

23.YBh4 tl)f6 24.VBh6 ga7

White's attack is irresistible. On 24 . . . g6, he wins with 25J:hg6t. Now he has the possibility of
25 .ixf6, but he isn't content with the win of two pawns.

25 .id6! YBxd6 26.gxg7t ctf?£8

•

If 26 . . . cj;lh8, then 27.Wxh7t! and 28J:!g8#.

27.gxh7t! ctf?e7 28.gxf7t ctf?xf7 29.gg7t ctf?es 30.V9xf6

Black resigned, as after 30 . . . Wff8 he loses his queen to 3 1 .Wfg6t (this is why White eliminated
the h7-pawn) and 32J:!g8.
White's exploitation of the weakness of Black's e4-pawn gradually grew into a crushing attack.

The wins for White in the examples we have looked at were the result of play that was well
thought out, planned and technically correct.

2. RELATIVE STRENGTHS OF THE PIECES

In Position 8 1 , White wins by exchanging pieces. There are some difficulties for the beginner in
the fact that White gives up a stronger piece (a rook) for a weaker one (a bishop) , even though he
is winning some pawns in the same process. How do we determine whether or not an exchange
is favourable?
Naturally, with an exchange of pieces of the same type (bishop for bishop, pawn for pawn, and
so forth) we are losing no material and the forces remain equal. On the other hand if pieces of
differing types are involved in the exchange, we have to be acquainted with their relative strengths.
The strength of a piece is determined by its mobility in open space, in other words by its degree
of influence on the squares (or lines) of the chessboard. Since mobility depends on a way of
moving which always remains the same, the absolute strength of a piece undergoes comparatively
little change (we would only recall the greater mobility of pieces in the centre of the board as
opposed to the edge) .
But during a game the chessboard is not empty. The mobility of a piece is influenced by the
arrangement of other pieces on the board. The position of an individual piece can also be favourable
or unfavourable for attaining the aims we are setting ourselves. Hence what is important to us is
only the relative strength of the pieces - their strength in relation to each other in each particular
situation. It is here that the fluctuations can be considerable.
Based on experience from an immense number of games played, the average relative strength
of the pieces has been more or less accurately established. This scheme of values is useful to
memorize. The gradual accumulation of experience will permit a player to cope with this issue
more independently.
The pawn is taken as the unit of strength. The bishop is considered equal to the knight, and
each of the minor pieces is held to be worth 3Y2 pawns (that is, a little stronger than three pawns
but weaker than four) . A rook and two pawns are equal to two minor pieces, and a minor piece
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 61

plus 1 Y2 pawns is the equivalent o f a rook. From this i t follows (purely arithmetically) that a
rook is equal to five pawns. The queen is considered equal in strength to two rooks or to three
minor pieces, or sometimes also to a rook plus bishop and pawn. The king has approximately the
strength of a minor piece (three units on the conventional scale) .

If for the moment we ignore the factor of how the pieces are arranged and approach the matter
arithmetically, we conclude that an exchange of pieces (that is, a simplification of the game)
always favours the stronger side. Suppose that in some position White's forces count for twenty
units and Black's for ten. White is twice as strong. But after an exchange of (say) five units, the
ratio of forces will be 1 5 :5, in other words White will be not just twice (20: 1 0) but three times
as strong.
Now let us come back to our example number 8 1 . From an easy count, we see that the ratio of
forces before the exchange was 1 0:9'12, in other words White was stronger by a factor of 1 . 1 . The
exchange was to White's profit - in return for five units, he obtained 6.5. Following the exchange,
the ratio of forces was 5:3, so White was stronger by a factor of 1 . 7 (compared with 1 . 1 before) -
largely thanks to the mere fact of simplification, quite apart from the material gain from the deal.
Such computations - of who is stronger by how much - are not to be carried out in practical play;
we are just presenting them for greater clarity of explanation.

Applying this same scheme of relative strengths, we can ascertain that in Position 84 it doesn't pay
White to give up two minor pieces for a rook and pawn ( l .lL'lxf7 E:x£7 2.hf'lt Wx£7) .

84

a b c d e f g h
For full material equality, White would have to win one pawn more. Whether even that would
benefit him for the further course of the game is another question that would have to be decided
in each individual case.
It must once again be emphasized that the relative strengths of the pieces in the scheme we
have demonstrated are very approximate. Everything depends on the position. If this scheme
remains more or less valid in the opening and middlegame, it may prove downright spurious in
the endgame when as the result of exchanges there are hardly any pieces left on the board.
62 The Soviet Chess Primer

In the endgame the mobility of the pieces increases of course, but then the value of the pawns
(the basic unit of measurement!} often rises incomparably faster as they advance and their chances
of queening improve. It is by no means always possible to avoid losing, for instance, with a minor
piece against three connected pawns or a rook against four, not to speak of the exceptional cases
where just one or rwo pawns may win.
You should make a study of examples in which some peculiarities of the piece configuration
upset the normal balance of strength of the remaining material. The play is then apt to take an
unexpected turn.

3. HOW THE POSITION AFFECTS THE RELATIVE STRENGTHS

The queen, as a rule, wins easily against a few pawns. Yet in can happen that one single pawn,
when close to its promotion square, requires serious measures to deal with it.

85

a b c d e f g h
White wins

Let us follow the steps by which White achieves the win.

l .�g2t �el
If l .. .�e3, then 2.Wffl - preventing 2 . . . d l =Wf - followed by 3.Wfd l , after which White
approaches with his king.

2.�e4t �fl 3.�d3! �el 4.�e3t

This check is crucial.

4... �dl
Black's king is forced to occupy the promotion square, impeding his own pawn and granting
White the opportunity to bring his king up. White, as we say, has gained a tempo - he has gained
time for a useful move.
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 63

5.c.!.>f4 c.!.>c2 6.Yfe2

Making use of a pin to stop the pawn from moving.

6 c.!.>cl
•••

If 6 .. .'�c3, then 7.%lfd l .

7.Yfc4t
White carries out the same manoeuvre as before.

7 c.!.>b2 8.Yfd3! c.!.>c1 9.Yfc3t c.!.>dl

•••

Once more White has gained a tempo, this time for his king's decisive approach.

In the next examples (against a rook's pawn and a bishop's pawn) the queen is quite unable to win,
because Black makes use of a stalemate possibility while the white king, being far away, cannot
lend support.

86 87

White cannot win

In Position 86 White gives a check:

l.Vfg4t
Black now hides his king in the corner.

l. c.!.>hl
••

Now if White makes a king move, Black is stalemated. There is no use either in:
64 The Soviet Chess Primer

Again the white king cannot approach. 88

4.�el t @g2 5.�e2t @gil 8

Not 5 . . . @g3? on account of 6.\Mffl ; another
7
mistake would be 5 . . . @h l ?, allowing 6.\Mffl #.
6
6.�ei t @g2 5
Draw.
4
However, if White's king in Diagram 86 were 3
located nearer - for example on e5 - he could
win by a noteworthy stratagem: l .Wg4t @h l 2
2.\Mfd l t @g2 3 .1Mfe2t @gl Now the white king 1
approaches decisively. 4.@f4 h l =W 5 .@g3!
Threatening mate on f2 or on the first rank, a b c d e f g h
against which there is no defence. In this posltlon a bishop, with waiting
Returning again to Diagram 86, an moves between a l , b2 and c3 at its disposal,
interesting position arises if we transfer White's draws against two rooks. If Black moves his
king to h7 and his queen to e5. After l .Wg7t, rook from d8 to any square on the 8th rank
Black can draw as before by playing l . . .@fl or or makes a king move, White plays t.xd4,
L . .c;;t> £2 , only not by L . .c;;t> h l ?, which is met and with one rook Black is unable, in general
by 2.c;;t> g 6! c;;t> g2 3.@f5t, and having brought terms, to win against a bishop (see Position 27
his king two squares closer by means of the on page 26) . This example shows just how
discovered check, White wins in the way we important the pinning of a piece (in this case
just demonstrated. the rook on d4) can be.
We now turn to some examples of greater
In Position 87, Black can draw as follows: practical significance.

l.�g4t @h2 2.�f3 @gl 3.�g3t 89

Now Black unexpectedly plays, not 3 . . . @fl , Lolli, 1 763
but:
8
3 ... @hl!
IfWhite captures o n f2, this gives stalemate. 7

6
In Examples 86 and 87 White doesn't succeed
in bringing his king up, and in spite of his huge 5
material advantage he has to settle for a draw. 4
The peculiarities of the position, as we can see,
3
serve to level out the strength of a queen and
a pawn. 2

a b c d e f g h
White wins, whichever side is to move
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 65

A queen usually wins against a rook. 90

In Position 89, if it is Black to move, he
cannot play l . . .�h3 owing to 2.'\Wfl , when Ponziani, 1 782
the pinned rook perishes. Also l . . .l'l:gl fails to
2.WI'h4#.
8
Consequently the rook is forced to move
away from the king - and deprived of 7
protection, it quickly succumbs. For example: 6
(a) l . . .l'l:g7 2.Wfe5t with simultaneous attack
on the rook. 5
(b) l . . .l'l:g8 2.WI'e5t �hl 3.WI'a l t �h2 4
4.WI'a2t, and the rook is lost.
3
(c) l . . .l'l:a2 2.WI'e5t c.t>gl 3.WI'd4t c.t>hl
4.Wfh8t c.t>gl (4 ... l'l:h2 5 .'\Wal#) 5 .WI'g8t and 2
again White wins the rook.
1
Thus whatever move Black makes, he quickly
loses his rook after a series of checks. a b c d e f g h
Black to move draws
If it is White's move in Diagram 89, he
obviously needs to reach the same position In Diagram 90 the forces are the same as in
with Black to move - after which the win is Diagram 89, but their arrangement is different.
simple. This is achieved in three moves: It turns out that if it is Black to move here, he
can draw by giving perpetual check on the h-,
I.'i!Ye5t c;!?hi g- and f-files. The white king cannot go to the
If l . . .�h3 then 2.WI'h5#. e-file on account of . . . l'l:e7, winning the queen.
If the king works its way, in the face of the
2.'l!Yal t c;!? h2 checks, as far as h6, Black still plays . . . l'l:h7t,
Not 2 . . . l'l:gl 3.WI'h8#. as �xh7 gives stalemate. If the king goes to f6,
the reply is . . . l'l:g6t, and with �xg6 Black is
3.'l!Yel! again stalemated.
The goal is attained. The draw is made possible here by the
unfortunate position of the queen on e6.
What is the rationale of this manoeuvre? In The queen has acted prematurely to cramp
Position 89 it was White to move, but by the black king's mobility before White's own
executing a three-move manoeuvre he handed king has arrived on the scene. If it is White
the move over to his opponent. Essentially, he to play from the diagram, he wins easily by
lost a move. And yet a chessplayer will say that first removing his queen (for instance, l .WI'd6t
White gained a tempo - he gained the time �e8) and then bringing his king up (via h6) .
necessary to achieve the aim he had in mind.
Such cases of handing the move over are often
encountered in games, and we shall have more
to say about them later.
66 The Soviet Chess Primer

91 The position in Diagram 92 is a little more

complex. Black has a bishop for two pawns.
The white pawns cannot advance - their path
is blocked. However, White plays:

IJ1xf6! gxf6 v;t>gs

This move was previously prevented by the
bishop. Now, when Black's advantage might
seem even greater than before (not just a
bishop but a rook for the two pawns) , White
wins easily by advancing both pawns and
obtaining a queen.

The examples we have examined show that

a b c d e f g h the true correlation of forces depends not only
Black cannot avoid loss on the material but on the position. At the
same time it must not be forgotten that these
A rook is incontestably stronger than a pawn, examples are merely rare exceptions which
yet in Position 9 1 Black loses because the pawn by no means overturn the solidly established
on f7 cannot be stopped. opinion of practical chessplayers concerning
the average relative strengths of the pieces (see
L.J�g2t v;t>n page 60) .
Black has no more checks to delay the pawn's The important thing to understand is that
promotion. On obtaining a queen, White will the relative value of the pieces must not be our
win as in Position 89. sole guide; we must also take account of what
role the pieces are playing, what work they are
92 doing in this or that position.

To conclude, let us discuss the relative value of

8 bishop and knight.
7 Beginners often seek to exchange off their
opponents' knights by any available means,
6
as they experience some trepidation in the
5 face of a knight's unexpected forays. This is
quite wrong. There is nothing unexpected if
4
we carefully consider what squares an enemy
3 knight can move to, what threats it can create
2 when occupying these squares, and what our
moves will be in reply.
1 Generally speaking, the bishop and the
a b c d e f g h knight are of equal worth. The bishop, to be
sure, has more mobility than the knight, but
White to play and win
only the squares of one colour are accessible
to it, whereas the knight changes the colour
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 67

of its square with every move. If the position l .. .c!t�aSt 2.�c3 �a4 3 ..t£2 �c6 4..te3 �a7
is of the closed type, that is if the bishop's s ..ifl �hst 6.�d3 �h3
lines of action (the diagonals) are blocked by All that remains now is for Black to give
immobile pawns, then the bishop's long-range check on b4 or b2, and he conquers the square
fighting power diminishes and the knight c4. Once his king is on that square, the white
may prove more useful. If however the lines pawns will quickly fall.
are open and the players have to contend
with pawns advancing, then the advantage is However, if in Position 93 we transfer the
rather with the bishop. Two bishops are often white king c3, the black knight to e7 and the
stronger than two knights or a bishop and white bishop to f3, then Black can no longer
knight, since while retaining the advantage of win. The light-squared bishop in this (new)
greater mobility they control all the squares of position is no longer playing the passive role
the board between them. of defending White's pawns like the bishop
in the diagram, but acquires the possibility of
Depending on the position, sometimes one attacking the pawns on the black side.
minor piece proves stronger, sometimes
the other does. Let's look at the following 94
examples.

93

2 a b c d e f g h
1 White wins with either side to move

a b c d e f g h Here the bishop is victorious, since it easily

stops the advance of the a-pawn while Black
Black to move
has no possibility of sacrificing his knight for
the h-pawn. For example:
Black wins by driving the white king back and
gaining the c4-square for his own king. For l. .. �d3 2.�f5
example: The h-pawn will soon promote to a queen.
68 The Soviet Chess Primer

95 96
Schlechter - Walbrodt, Vienna 1 898

a b c d e f g h
Black to move b d f h
a c e g
Here again the bishop triumphs (the position Black to move
occurred in a tournament game played by
the author, with Black, in 1 924) . Black first In Position 96, the bishop is completely
exchanges his e-pawn for the white a-pawn, at helpless against the knight. On l . . .J.e6 or
the same time as shutting the white king out l . ..J.h3, White plays 2.li:lxc6 bxc6 3.b7 and
of the action: obtains a queen. If on the other hand Black
moves his king, White decides the game
l �xa4 2.�c3t �b3 3.�xe4 �c2! with �g5, winning the h-pawn. Black is in a
situation where the obligation to make a move
•••

Now White tries to hold up the advance of

the a-pawn with his knight: entails adverse consequences (such a situation
is called zugzwang) .
4.�d6 a5 5.�b5 a4 6.�el .le3! 7.t�e2 .lc5 97
Black didn't play his bishop to c5 in one
go, because it is important for him that the Zukertort - Winawer, London 1 883
hostile king shouldn't be on e2 when he begins
moving back with his own king.

s.�el �b3 9.�d2 �c4

White resigned, seeing that 1 0.li:lc7 (not
1 0.li:lc3 ? because of 1 0 . . ..tb4) is met by
1 0 . . . a3 1 1 .�c2 J.d4 1 2.<;t>b 1 �b3, and the
pawn queens.

a b c d e f g h
White to move
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 69

In Position 97 the knight is again stronger the bishop, impeding its movement.
than the bishop: We observe this first characteristic of a piece:
it often forms an obstruction, preventing other
l.�d3 .ic3 2.�f4t �e7 pieces from moving freely. For the pawn to
Black couldn't save himself with 2 . . . �d7 advance, the bishop must move away.
either, in view of 3.e6t �e7 (if 3 . . . �d8 then How, then, will Black defend after the
4.tDe2, with 5.�f4 to follow) 4.tLlxd5t cxd5 bishop moves?
5 .c6 and one of the pawns will queen. The rook on h2 will capture on c2, then
Black will stop the a-pawn with . . . �a2 and start
3.�xd5t pushing his own c-pawn. This being so, can't
White wins as the queenside pawns will we utilize our bishop's power of obstruction to
break through as in the note above. make it harder for the rook to get to a2?
... 1-0 By now the first move is clear:

I..ifl!
4. FURTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF Giving the rook a second obstacle on the
THE PIECES second rank (the other obstacle is the pawn
on c2) . This is enough to make that rank
In the following position White achieves the "impassable" .
win thanks to the possibility of successfully
combining the obstructing and striking powers l .. J�xh5
of a piece. Threatening to go to a5 .

98 2 ..ib6
Preventing this (the aS-square is placed under
F. Sackmann, 1 9 1 9 attack) . We observe a second characteristic of
the piece - its striking power.
Now 2 . . . �h2 would be useless, for the pawn
8
on a6 no longer has the bishop in front of it, so
7 it would have time to queen. Therefore:
6
2 �h3
••.

5 The subsequent play is easy to understand:

4
3 ..ic5
3
3 . .ia5! also wins after either 3 . . . �a3 4.�b6
2 or 3 . . . �h5 4 . .ic3.
1
3 ... ghl 4.i.d4 gh3 5 ..ib2 gh5 6 ..ic3
a b c d e f g h White achieves the win by advancing his
White to move wins pawn, since the rook cannot reach the a-file
in time: three ranks are barricaded, and the
The only possible way to win is by queening leftmost squares of the other two - a1 and a5
the a6-pawn. But in front of the pawn there is - are under attack.
70 The Soviet Chess Primer

In the above example we may also note the 99

following. At first, each move with the bishop
deprived the rook of some square on the a-file Alekhine - Colle, Paris 1 925
but at the same time released some other
square, allowing the rook to aim at h 1 , h3 and
h5 in succession - until the bishop took up the
crucial post on c3 and all squares on the a-file
were cut off.

We can very often observe positive and negative

points combined in one move. Acquiring scope
for action from its new square, a piece loses
the influence it was exerting from its previous
one. You need to keep a sharp eye on all these
factors and clearly deduce what aim each move
is pursuing and what action it performs.
a b c d e f g h
5. RESTRICTIONS ON MOBILITY White to move

A chess piece has to be active, it has to perform I .'ilYxd7!! gxd7 2.gest �h7 3J;cc8
operations - attacking, confining the enemy Black resigned. The situation is tragi-comic:
units, winning them. A piece has to be mobile. 3 . . . �h6 is useless, since the g5-square is
Any restriction on its mobility lessens its blocked by Black's own queen; and for this
power, making it weak - as a result of which same reason . . . g5 (to escape with the king to
it sometimes becomes a target for the enemy g6) is impossible.
to attack. Let us see what the circumstances 1-0
are in which mobility is restricted. The cases
arise from a fair number of reasons, and a close Obstructions lead to cramped posltlons in
study of all of them is essential. which, as a rule, the power of the pieces
cannot be utilized for either attack or defence.
OBSTRUCTION You therefore need to think about open lines to
ensure freedom of action for your pieces.
The mobility of a piece is restricted by other A restriction on the enemy king's mobility is
pieces, by reason of the lines they obstruct and often achieved by the attacking side in order to
the squares they take up. bring about mate.
For a vivid illustration of how much the
obstructing potential of the pieces influences
mobility, recall the starting position of the
game (Diagram 1 on page 1 4) , in which the
lines of action of the bishops, queens and
rooks are completely blocked. Pieces also play
the role of blockaders later in the game. Let us
examine some examples.
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 71

100 101

Atkins - Gibson, Southport 1 924 Chigorin - Davydov, S t Petersburg 1 874

1
a c e g h a b c d e f g h
White mates in 2 moves White to move

l.'l'gSt! The black king is very cramped, but White still

Black's reply is forced: needs to open some lines to create dangerous
threats. He begins with an exchange sacrifice.
l. . .llxg8 2.�f7#
An example of smothered mate. 20J�xe5 dxe5 2l .'l'xe5
The threat is 22.V!ld4t followed by mate.
If in Position 1 00 the bishop on b3 is
removed from the board and the rook on f8 21 ....bg4?
is transferred to e8, White can give mate (in 2 1 . . .ie6! is a better defence, based on the
4 moves) as follows: LlLlf7t Wg8 2.ltlh6tt continuation 22.V!ld4t ltld5! 23.ixd5 V!lg3t!
Wh8 (if 2 . . . Wf8, then 3 .V!lf7#) 3.V!lg8t! !%xg8 24.ig2t V!ld6, and the black queen comes to
4.ltlf7# the rescue of the king.

22.'1'd4t �c8 23.ie6t!!

Various types of obstruction, as well as the
Now 23 . . . ixe6 is bad because of 24.V!lxh4,
possibility of opening lines for himself, were
while in the event of 23 . . . fxe6 Black's pawn on
finely exploited by White in the following
e6 would be creating an obstruction for his
game.
own bishop - and White would give mate in
three moves, beginning with 24.V!ld7t.

23 ...�b8 24.�d7t �c8 25.�c5t �b8

26.�a6t! bxa6
White now utilized the opening of the b-file
by playing:

27.'1'b4#
72 The Soviet Chess Primer

102 The significance of obstructions is amusingly

demonstrated by this joke exercise.
Flohr - Tolush, Tallinn 1 945
I..la4t �xa4
8
If l . . .�c4 then 2 . .ib3t, and the king is
forced to return to b5. But now White seals up
7 the position completely.
6
2.b3t �b5 3.c4t �c6 4.d5t �d7 5.e6t
5
�xd8 6.f5
4 The construction of a wall that Black cannot
breach is accomplished.
3

2 CUTTING SQUARES OFF

1
The mobility of a piece is restricted when the
a b c d e f g h squares to which it could move are under
Black to move attack.

Black exploited his passed pawn by means of: 104

An ancient puzzle
34 ... c2 35J�xc2
Threatening mate by :gcst.

35 ....lb2!!
Freeing the g7-square for the king and
screening the a2-pawn, for which a rook must
now be given up. White resigned.
0-1
103

a b c d e f g h
White mates in 3 moves

Black is extremely cramped: the squares for

his king are all cut off, he cannot play . . . .ia2
because of Ci:Jxc2#, and his pawns are blocked.
The only one of his pieces with some mobility
is the bishop on h6.

a b c d e f g h l.�e6
White draws
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 73

Robbing this bishop of all its squares. 106

Wherever it goes, White captures it, and there
follows: Keres - Kotov, Parnu 1 947

2 ....ia2 3.t!xc2# 8

105 7

6
8 5
7 4
6 3
5 2
4 1
3 b d f h
a c e g
2 White to move
1
20.t!xe5!
a b c d e f g h Here Black's queen succumbs since all
In Position 1 04, a knight deprived a bishop the squares for its withdrawal are cut off;
of all the squares it could move to. This is quite if 20 . . . dxe5, then 2 1 .Wfd8#.
a rare case. It was made possible by the fact that 1-0
one of the bishop's diagonals was obstructed by
a pawn of its own colour. EDGE OF THE BOARD
As Diagram 1 05 shows, it is much easier for
a bishop to deal with the task of taking squares When a piece is far from the centre of the
away from a knight. board - on or near an edge file or rank - this
significantly affects its mobility.
Restrictions on the mobility of pieces In the starting position of the game, for
through the inaccesibilty of squares and the instance - and even after a few pawn moves -
blocking of paths - are a factor that plays an the mobility of the pieces is very small.
immense role in any game of chess. Sometimes To enable them to act effectively, they
it brings about a catastrophe, as for example in are brought closer to the centre - they are
the following position. "developed" . Quite often, pieces at the side of
the board, cut off from their base, will quickly
meet their doom.
74 The Soviet Chess Primer

107 108

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
White wim White to move

l.�g3 �flt 2.�f2 �d2 White plays:

Or 2 . . . ltlh2 3.�g2.
l.�f8t Yfx£8 2J�xf8t gx£8 3.Yfxg6#
3 .ia2
108a
.

Now Black has no good move with which

to answer:

4.� e2
The knight perishes.

In practice, when a king is checkmated, this

nearly always occurs on one of the edges (see
Diagrams 32-50) , as the king's mobility here
is minimal. Hence the basic principle for
bringing about mate in the simplest endgames
is to drive the enemy king gradually towards
the side of the board, and sometimes even into
the corner. b d f h
a c e g
When mobility is curtailed by the edge of the
board, this often combines with other factors: This is a so-called "epaulette mate".
the cutting-off of squares, and obstructions to
DEFENSIVE PIECE
the pieces' lines of action.
The mobility of a piece is limited when it is
In the following example, White exploits a occupied with the defence of another piece or
situation where the mobility of Black's king is
of some important point. In many such cases,
cramped by his own pieces. the diversion or capture of the defender proves
decisive.
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 75

109 1 10

In Position 1 09 the bishop on f8 is defending the point g7, preventing the advance of the g6-
pawn. White wins by:

t..le7
Diverting the defending piece from the f8-h6 diagonal.

In Position 1 1 0, White wins a piece by:

1J�xh5
The bishop was the black rook's only defender.

111

Alatortsev - Konstantinopolsky, Tbilisi 1 937

1
a b c d e f g h
Black to move
 The Soviet Chess Primer

29 ....ixc4 30.�xc4 1 13
Black draws the white queen onto a square
attacked by the black one. White's queen is Keres - Fine, USSR - USA, Moscow 1 946
defended by the rook on cl .

30 .. J�M1t
White resigned, seeing that 3 l .:B:xd 1 is
answered by 3 1 . . .'1Wxc4, while if 3 I .'i!ig2, then
3 1 . . .Wfxc4 32.:B:xc4 :B:xal .
0-1

1 12

Ragozin - Panov, Moscow 1 940

8
a b c d e f g h
7 White to move
6
25.�xf7!
5
Black can reply neither with 25 . . . <j;>xf7 which
4 allows 26.Wfe6#, nor with 25 . . . :B:xf7 (diversion
3
of a defending piece) which allows 26.Wfxc8t,
winning the exchange.
2 . .. 1-0
1
1 14
a b c d e f g h
Levenfish - Chekhover, Moscow 1 935
Black to move

25 ...�c6 8
White has no defence against the threatened 7
loss of a rook. In attacking the white queen
6
on 8, which defends the rook on d 1 , Black
simultaneously attacks the rook on b5. He will 5
answer 26.Wfxc6 with 26 . . . :B:xd1 t and then
4
27 . . . bxc6.
Nor does 26.Wfe2 or 26.Wfd3 rescue White, 3
since his queen cannot protect both rooks at 2
once (26 . . . :B:xd 1 t) .
1

a b c d e f g h
Black to move
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 77

The queen on d4 is simultaneously defending 1 16

the pawns on h4 and f2. It will amount to a
catastrophe if this piece is forced to change its
position.

35 ...e5
Hence this insignificant-looking move
proved decisive. Black won shortly afterwards .
... 0-1

Further examples of diverting or destroying a

defending piece will come to our notice in due
course.

PIN a b c d e f g h
In Position 1 1 6, the knight is actually able to
A piece is restricted in its mobility when move, but if it does so, the queen on h7 will be
pinned, that is, when it is acting as a shield for under attack from the bishop.
something important such as a valuable piece
or a crucial point. 1 17
1 15
8

a b c d e f g h
White to move
a b c d e f g h
The pinned knight is totally deprived of The pawn on g7 is pinned by the bishop on e5.
mobility.
l .�xh6t
White can play this move with impunity and
follow with 2.V!ffxg7#.
78 The Soviet Chess Primer

1 18 is pinned by the rook on c7. Black is forced

to reply:
8 1 i>as
•••

7 Now that the king has moved away, it might

seem that the pawn is no longer pinned, but
6
in actual fact it is shielding the key point a7.
5 Forcing the diversion of this pawn, White
4
gives mate in rwo moves:

3 2J�a6t bxa6 3J�a7#

2 120
1

a b c d e f g h 8

White to move 7

6
In Position 1 1 8, White has:
5
l .f6
4
Attacking and winning the pinned bishop
on g7. 3

2
1 19
1

a b c d e f g h
White to move

In Position 1 20 White sets up a pin, and then

wins a piece with his following move:

1J�xg6 gxg6 2.h5

After Black's obligatory move with his king,
White has to take the rook with his pawn, as
he cannot win if he takes it with the bishop
(see Diagram 64 on page 43)

a b c d e f g h In practical play there are cases where you can

White to move ignore the pin and move the pinned piece;
but in such a case your move needs to attack
From Diagram 1 1 9 White plays: a hostile piece of greater value than the one
that your own piece was shielding (or at least
l.�xc6t, a piece equal to it in strength) ; or alternatively
l . . .bxc6 is impossible since the b7-pawn you must be creating some dangerous threats
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 79

or other, for example a threat of mate. The pawn on b6 is defenceless. Yet if White
As an example, consider the following game: succeeds in winning the one on a6 in return
for it, the outcome of the fight will be decided,
l.e4 e5 2 ..tc4 d6 3.�f3 �c6 4.�c3 .tg4 thanks to his extra pawn - a passed pawn -
5.�xe5?? on b2.
White has moved his pinned knight away
from £3, secretly hoping that Black won't be 39.b7! .te6
able to resist temptation and will capture the If 39 . . . .ixb7, then 40 . .ixa6, exploiting the
queen. That indeed is what happened: pin against the bishop on b7 and exchanging
off all the pieces; while on 39 .. .l'!xb7, White
s ...hdl?? 6 .bf'7t q;e7 7.�d5#
• wins a piece by 40J'k3t q;d7 4 1 ..ih3t.
The so-called "Legal mate". If Black had been
playing more attentively and had seen through 40 .ixa6 q;c7 4I.l3c3t
•

the trap, he would have continued 5 . . . �xe5, Black resigned. After 41 . . . 'kt>b6 there follows
fully guaranteeing victory for himsel£ Thus 42.l3c8! 'kt>a7, and with the black pieces tied
White's 5.ttlxe5 was incorrect; his effort to down, White brings his king across to the
administer a pretty mate could have been queenside.
severely punished. 1-0
To play bad moves that rely exclusively on
a mistake from your opponent is, of course, Some interesting cases of pins arose in the
extremely unwise. Yet if the point e5 had not following games:
been defended by the black knight, the move
tt:lxe5 would have been very good. White could 122
have answered . . . dxe5 with Wlxg4, emerging
with an extra pawn. Bykova - Bain, Moscow 1 952
121
8
Smyslov - Kasparian, Parnu 1 947 7

a b c d e f g h
White to move

a b c d e f g h 27.13£8!
White to move Threatening 28.V!ffg7#.
80 The Soviet Chess Primer

27... ltlf5 of 39 . . . lDf3t, which wins the queen since the

Or 27 . . . lD e8 28J:ixe8! Wfxe8 29.Wff6t. g2-pawn is pinned.

28Jlxg8t WfxgS 29.Wfxf5 39.h3

This is simpler than 29.Wff6t. Black now replied 39 . . . Wfg3 in a flash, and
went on to win on the 56th move. Had it not
29...Wfxg2 30.Wff8t been for the time trouble, the following move
Black resigned, as a check on f6 and mate on would not have escaped his attention:
g7 will follow.
39 ... �f3t!
1-0
White's resistance would then have been
broken at once. Owing to the dual pins,
123
neither 40.gxf3 nor 40.l:!xf3 is possible;
White's only move to avoid mate, 40.'i>f2,
Euwe - Keres, World Championship (I)
would be answered by 40 ... !!xfl t.
The Hague/Moscow 1 948
124

Klaman - Lisitsyn, Leningrad 1 937

a b c d e f g h
Black to move

In Position 1 23 both opponents were in a b c d e f g h

"time trouble", meaning they were forced to
White to move
play extremely fast, as their allotted thinking
time (two-and-a-half hours for 40 moves) was The pin (horiwntal and vertical) against
running out. Although Keres only had seconds the doubled pawns on the c-file is the
left, he managed to spot the opportunity to characteristic feature of this position. White
win a piece. won immediately with:

38 .. J�xcl! l .l:!b3!
It becomes dear that White's queen and rook If the queen moves away, White has the
are both occupied as defenders, and it would decisive 2.Wfb8t followed by 3.l:!b7t, while
consequently be bad to play either 39.Wfxcl on l . . .cxb3 loses to 2.Wfxb4.
account of 39 . . . Wfxg2#, or 39.l:!xcl on account 1-0
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 81

INSUFFICIENT TIME normal action of the black pieces - to render

them immobile; otherwise a catastrophe is
Time plays a major role in chess. The unit of unavoidable. White's first two moves serve as
time is the move, which in one way or another a spectacular prelude.
alters the arrangement of the pieces on the
board. If we leave castling aside, each move is l.gest! ti)xe8 2.�h7t! <;t>xh7
capable of altering the position of one piece White now has the chance to give perpetual
only; the other pieces are forced to remain check.
immobile at the moment when the move is
carried out. Hence mobility in chess may be 3.ti)f8t <;t> hs 4.�g6t <;t> h7 s.�f8t
limited by a lack of time in which to move this By forcing Black to move his king
or that piece. continually, White condemns to inactivity the
To clarify this, we may take an example that hostile pieces that are a danger to him.
was given earlier - Position 85 on page 62. In 1/z-lh
that example the pawn on d2 could not at any
moment move to dl and be queened, since In this ancient position, there is also another
White was constantly forcing Black to move interesting possibility for perpetual check:
his king, leaving him no time (no move) in I .%Vh7t ltlxh7 ( l . . .�xh7 2.ltlf8t <;t>h8
which to promote the pawn. We may say that 3.ltlg6t=) 2J:!e8t ltl f8 3J!xf8t <;t>h7 4.�g8t
in this way the pawn was deprived of mobility. <;t>g6 5 .�f7t �f5 6.�d5t <;t>g6 (not 6 . . . <;t>g4??
Let us look at another example. 7.f3t <;t>hs 8.�f7t g6 9.ltlf6#) 7.�f7t=

125 Considering that whenever any piece moves

the others remain immobile and often
From a game by A. Neyman (White) idle, players avoid making several moves in
succession with the same piece in the opening
phase of the game. Time (moves) must be used
8
economically - more pieces must be brought
7 into the fight in the smallest number of
6 moves. If you neglect this rule, you will be left
with many pieces bunched together on their
5 starting squares. At the crucial moment there
4 will no time to activate them and enable them
to repel your opponent's pressure.
3
A lack of time also comes into play when two
2 pieces are threatened at once. In most cases it is
only possible for one piece to be moved away
1
or defended, while the other succumbs to the
a b c d e f g h attack.
White to move draws In speaking of difficulties associated with a
lack of time, we are essentially moving on to
Black has an extra piece and a strong position our next subject: the enhanced activity of the
too: he threatens mate on g2, and the knight on pieces resulting from so-called "forcing" moves
d7 is under attack. It is essential to impede the which create various threats.
82 The Soviet Chess Primer

6. FORCING MOVES 126

The term "forcing" is applied to moves of

particular power that compel the opponent
to attend to them before anything else, on
account of the dangers (threats) they create.
An example of a threat is an attack on the king
(a check, a threat of mate) . A player may also
be threatening to win material or to occupy
a square that in some respect is important.
Generally, the danger to the opponent cannot
be met by a nondescript move. To most forcing
moves, the playable replies are specific and
limited in number; often only a single move
will do. a b c d e f g h
White to move
CHECK
127
If your king is placed in check, your choice of
moves in reply is small. Move the king out of
8
check; shield the king with some piece or other,
using that piece's blocking ability; or capture 7
the checking piece. There are no other options.
6
Parrying a check sometimes brings adverse
consequences. Thus for example, moving the 5
king to an adjacent square may involve it in 4
new dangers. Shielding the king with a piece,
as we know already, means that that piece is 3
pinned, which again can be very dangerous. 2
Subconsciously feeling its power, a beginner
1
will never miss giving a check if only he gets
the chance. Isn't it pleasant to be in control of a b c d e f g h
the events on the board! And the king of course
White to move
is the chief enemy that has to be annihilated!
But a check that is unconnected with the
further course of the play is often as harmless In Positions 1 26 and 1 27 White gives a check
as a blank cartridge. Sometimes it can even that drives the king into the corner and cuts
harm your own cause, if for instance the check off its possibility of moving away from there.
drives the king onto a better square, or if your White then gives mate with his bishop.
own piece, after giving the check, is in a bad
position.
Check is a powerful tactical device if forming
an integral part of the right manoeuvre.
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 83

128

Tolush - Randviir, Parnu 1 947

1
a b c d e f g h
White to move

With a sequence of checks, White gave an original mate in 3 moves:

44J�d6t! 'it>xe5 45.tLlf7t 'it>5 46.g4#

129 130

a b c d e f g h
In Position 1 29 the rook has attacked the bishop and knight simultaneously. White replies
l..ia6t. By moving one piece away with check and forcing Black to move his king, White gains
the time to defend his other piece with 2.'ibb2.

In Position 1 30, if the white queen could give a check on the h-file, that check would be followed
by mate on h7. Black's material plus means that there is no time to lose, so White achieves his
84 The Soviet Chess Primer

aim with a continuous sequence of checks that 132

involves sacrificing his rook:
A. Troitsky, 1 930
1 .:1�h1 t <i!>gs 2.ghst! <i!>:xhs 3.'eh1 t <i!>gs
4.'eh7#
131

a b c d e f g h
White to play and win

a b c d e f g h l.a8='et 'e£8 2.'ea2t <i!>hs

White transfers his queen to d4 by executing
White to move
an original "staircase" or "step-ladder"
movement:
In this eccentric position with four queens
(from the 1 947 Tallinn Championship) , the
3.'eb2t <i!>gs 4.'eb3t <i!>hs s.'ec3t <i!>gs
white king is in great danger as it lacks cover
6.'ec4t <i!>hs 7.'ed4t <i!>gs s.'ed7
from pawns. However, White saved himself
A mating net has been created from which
with the aid of a typical device:
Black cannot escape. (White threatens to give
mate on h7, or on g7 if the black queen moves
49.'ehst! <i!>:xhs so.gcSt <i!>g7 5 1.'ee5t
away. Black has no checks.) In this example
�U6 52.gg8t! <i!>xg8 53.'ee8t <i!>g7 54.'eh8t
White succeeded in bringing his queen straight
<i!>:xhs
across, so to speak, from a8 to d7, by means of
Stalemate! White sacrificed all his pieces
a series of checks.
with continuous checks.
lf2-lf2
An even more powerful effect is produced by a
One instance of a continuous sequence of double check - a variety of discovered check (see
checks is perpetual check - this is when the commentary on Diagram 17 on page 22) .
the weaker side constantly attacks the king The only defence against a double check is an
to rescue itself from the threat of loss (see escape move with the king.
Diagram 1 25 on page 8 1 ) .
Very often the purpose o f a series of checks
is to bring a piece into a crucial position
without giving your opponent the time for any
defensive moves.
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 85

133 134

A. White, 1 9 1 9 N.N. - N.N., Paris 1 922

Fun exercise
8

1
a b c d e f g h
White to move
a b c d e f g h
White to play and win U hf6 hdi 2J�g6tt 'ii> h7 3J�g7t 'it>hs
4J�h7tt 'it>gs sJ�hS#
This exercise vividly illustrates the immense A double check is not the only dangerous
power of the double check. With a ladder variety of discovered check. Another variety
movement (via f2, f3, e3, e4 and so on) , can arise when the piece that moves away
the white rook gives a continuous series of attacks an enemy piece other than the king.
double checks to drive the black king to a7. This produces a simultaneous attack, all the
After IOJ:�b7tt the king has the choice more dangerous since the king is one of the
between 1 0 .. .'it>a6 {allowing immediate mate attacked pieces. Simultaneous attacks are what
by 1 1 .l:l:a7#) and lO 'it>aS - which allows
••• we shall examine next.
one more double check, l l.l:l:a7tt, and then
12.l:l:a8#. The clumsy rook has marched to a8 DUAL ATTACK
(diagonally, so to speak) in a highly amusing
manner. The simultaneous attack on a number of
pieces - usually two of them (hence the term
A similar rook march is also possible in "dual attack") - is among the most dangerous
practical play: of moves, and has decided the fate of many a
game of chess.
A dual attack may be carried out by any
piece in the appropriate circumstances.
Of course the most varied forms of attack are
performed by the queen, since the move of this
piece amalgamates the moves of all the others
except the knight.
86 The Soviet Chess Primer

Here are some typical examples of dual attacks of varied kinds, carried out by various pieces.

135 136

In Position 1 36, the knight simultaneously attacks the king and queen.

137 138

The king's attack on the minor pieces in Position 1 37 differs from Position 1 3 5 in that the
knight, this time, is defending the bishop. If Black can defend the knight, he saves his piece.

139 140

141 142

6
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 87

When one piece directly attacks enemy 4I.f6t

pieces in different directions, as in all the In this position, the fork wrecked Black's
Examples 1 35- 1 42, this is called a "fork''. The entire defensive set-up, creating all manner of
characteristic device of winning a piece by a interrelated threats.
pawn fork was seen in the following game.
4I. .. 'it>xf6 42.�f5t 'it>g7 43.llxg4t
143 Black resigned.
1-0
S. Belavenets - N.N., 1 936
Simultaneous attacks are encountered in the
8 most varied forms. These include cases where
7 the attacked pieces are aligned one behind the
other on a rank, file or diagonal.
6

5 145
4

1
a b c d e f g h
White to move

Here White played 1.£4, and in an attempt

to defend against the threatened f4-f5 Black
replied 1. £5. However after 2.g4! he had to
••

resign, as he could not avoid losing a piece.

a b c d e f g h
144
Chigorin - Showalter, Vienna 1 898

a b c d e f g h
White to move
88 The Soviet Chess Primer

146 147

The attack is particularly incisive if one of the pieces in the alignment is the king, as in Diagrams
1 46 and 1 47 - for the defence is then burdened with a pin. (Pins were covered in greater detail
earlier in this chapter.)

148

Chekhover Kasparian, Yerevan 1 936

-

a b c d e f g h
Black to move
34 c�he4
••.

Black has won a pawn and broken up his opponent's pawn chain. 35 .'\Mfxe4 .!\g6 would pin the
white queen to the king, while 35.fxe4 is unplayable owing to the original pin on the f3-pawn .
... 0-1
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 89

149 Here one dual attack is immediately succeeded

by another. White first draws the black bishop
8 onto the f5-square with the aid of a pawn fork:
7 26.£5! .tx£5
6 He then follows with the decisive dual
attack:
5

4 27.�c5!
Simultaneously aiming at the bishop on f5
3
and the point f8 (the threat is 28.Wff8#) . Faced
2 with this, Black resigned.
1
1-0
a b c d e f g h 151
If the attacked pieces are the other way
round, with the king (or the more valuable 8
piece) "in front" and an undefended piece
7
behind it, the latter inevitably succumbs. This
is called a skewer. Diagram 1 49 shows a typical 6
case where a player wins a rook on the 7th rank 5
by means of a skewer.
4
Naturally, a simultaneous attack may aim not 3
only at pieces but also at some points (squares
on the board) which for some reason it is 2
crucially important to occupy. 1
150 a b c d e f g h
White to move
Chigorin Janowski Paris 1 900
- ,

The rook on a8 is obstructing the pawn on a7,

8 but if the rook moves away the pawn will fall.
7 However, White can make use of a skewer:

6 U�h8!
5 Threatening 2.a8=Wf.
4
l..J:�xa7 2J:�h7t
3 Winning the black rook as in Diagram 1 49.
Black would also lose with his king on e7
2
or d7.
1
But if it is Black to move in Position 1 5 1 , then
a b c d e f g h
after 1 ... i>g7 White cannot win.
White to move
90 The Soviet Chess Primer

152 153

Petrosian - Simagin, Moscow 1 956

a b c d e f g h
In Diagram 1 53 White has played 1.f3-f4t,
a b c d e f g h accompanying the discovered check with an
White to move attack against the bishop on e5.

White cannot win by 1 .ll'lxf7? on account of 154

l . . .Wd 1 t, with perpetual check. Instead there
followed:
8

!.Wast <!>g7 7
Now a sparkling sequence of dual attacks 6
decided the game:
5
2..ixe5t Yfxe5 3.Yfh8t!! <!>xhs 4Jihf7t 4
Black resigned. We shall frequently meet
3
with examples of such dual attacks in the rest
of this book. 2
1-0 1

We will now give some more attention to a b c d e f g h

simultaneous attacks created by a discovered The similarity between a discovered check
check, or by a non-checking "discovery" and a discovered attack is shown by Diagram
against a piece. 1 54. Here White can play 1 .gxf3 with a dual
attack on his opponent's minor pieces.
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 91

155 156

Liublinsky - Baturinsky, Moscow 1 945 "See-saw"

a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Black to move White to move

22 ... c!ll f3 t! U:�g7t i>hs 2J�xd7t

Black simultaneously attacks the king and The fact that the rook places itself under
rook. attack from both knights is of no importance,
as Black has to move out of check.
23.gxf3 t¥g6t
Utilizing the file that has been opened, and 2 ... i>g8 3J:�g7t i>hs 4J�xc7t
taking aim at the queen on c2. In this way White picks up all the queenside
pawns, and in conclusion he moves his rook to
24.i>h1 �g3t 25.hxg3 t¥xc2 b7, winning the knight too. Such a manoeuvre
Black went on to win. In this case a fork (with its distinctive to-and-fro movements
and a discovered attack were interestingly of the rook along the rank or file) is called a
combined. "mill" by Russian players; here we saw White
... 0-1 "grinding" his opponent's entire queenside .

A discovered check becomes a particularly The power of dual attacks is so great that
devastating weapon when it can be repeated defending against them involves extreme
several times over, as for example in the difficulty; at any rate, the defence has to be
position below. based on equally sharp moves in reply. In
Position 1 29 (on page 83), for example, White
was able to save himself thanks to a forcing
move - namely a check (one of his pieces
moved away with an attack on a piece of
greater value) . The threat has to be answered
by a counter-threat, as the following example
shows.
92 The Soviet Chess Primer

157 CAPTURES

Ilyin-Zhenevsky - Levenfish, Leningrad 1 936 The capture of a piece is also a forcing move,
for in most cases it compels the other side to
continue in only one way - with a recapture.
Sometimes a capture can also be answered by
a dual attack or by some other forcing move,
but usually this will still have the same purpose
of recovering the piece, as otherwise the game
may be lost as a result of the opponent's
material plus.
If a capture involves giving up one piece in
return for a weaker one, this is called a sacrifice,
just as when a piece is surrendered outright.
In either case we are deliberately losing some
material for the sake of obtaining an advantage
a b c d e f g h in position.
Black to move The aims pursued by sacrifices are of the
most varied kinds; in this chapter we shall have
The white queen threatens to take the knight the chance to acquaint ourselves with some of
on e3, but if the knight moves, the bishop them.
on g4 is left undefended. Powerful defensive If we are giving up a piece equal in value to
measures are needed. the one captured, this is an exchange. What
is achieved by an exchange? What aim can it
15 ...�d4! 16.Axc6t bxc6 17.�xd4 pursue?
After 1 7.Wxc6t 'it>f7, the menacing position An exchange with the straightforward aim of
of the black pieces would tell. reducing the material or, as we say, simplifying
the position, was already seen at the start of
17.. Jl:k2t this chapter. As a rule, such simplification
Thanks to the fork Black regained the favours the stronger side.
queen, although White did still go on to win When exchanging it is very important not
the game. to allow a deterioration of your own position,
... 1-0 especially your pawn formation - since defects
in the pawn structure tend to be irreparable.

158 158a
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 93

In Position 1 5 8, if Black allows the exchange 160

of his knight, he is left with a disrupted pawn
formation {see Diagram 1 58a) . The pawns on
f6 and f7 are doubled, which reduces their
mobility; deprived of protection from other
pawns, they are weak.
Apart from the damage to the pawn
position, the exchange has opened up the g-file
against the black king, possibly putting it in
great danger. The h6-square has also become
accessible to the white pieces.

1 59

Nimzowitsch Jacobsen Copenhagen 1 923

- ,
a b c d e f g h
White to move
8
In Position 1 60, White exchanges pieces in
7
order to open the d-file:
6

5
I..ixb5 i.xb5 2.E:d8
The rook pins the black queen and king.
4

3 161
2

a b c d e f g h
White to move

By skilfully exchanging, White shattered his

opponent's pawn formation:

42J�c6t! �d7 43.hxg6! hxg6 44.tLlxe6! fxe6

If 44 . . . �xc6 then 45.lt:ld8t, exchanging
everything off and winning easily.
a b c d e f g h
45J�c5 White to move
Intending E:g5xg6. White soon won a
second pawn and the game. In Position 1 6 1 on the other hand, the purpose
.•• 1-0 of exchanging with 1 .i.xg4 or l .�xg4 is to
force the opponent to close the g-file with
94 The Soviet Chess Primer

l...hxg4 or l ...fxg4, after which his pressure 163

against the backward (and therefore weak)
pawn on g3 is at an end. Black has to take on 8
g4 with a pawn, as he would lose the exchange
if he captured with the rook. 7

6
162
5

4
8

7 3

2
6

5 1

4 a b c d e f g h

3
Black to move

2 The aim of an exchange is often to eliminate

1 hostile pieces that are especially mobile or
dangerous. In Position 1 63, Black plays:
a b c d e f g h
White to move l. ..�xh4
Eliminating White's most dangerous piece.
We already know that the diversion or After 2.1"i:xh4 Black easily defends the point h7
elimination of a defending piece is often with . . . g6 or . . . h6.
decisive. For instance in Position 1 62, White
has an exchange: A special category consists of exchanges that
have the aim of gaining time.
I.haS
Diverting a defender (the c7-bishop) from 164
the knight on d6, which falls victim to the
rook. IfWhite had a rook on e7 instead of d 1 , 8
he could play 1 .1"i:xc7t (destroying a defensive
7
piece) l . ..c.:t>xc7 2 . .ixa5t, concluding a
favourable transaction (two minor pieces for 6
a rook) . 5

a b c d e f g h
White to move
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 95

In Position 1 64, the rook has attacked the 166

bishop and knight simultaneously. White is
rescued from this dual attack by exchanging
8
with:
7
l.b6 6
He has now captured a piece and can
therefore give up one of his own; he will then 5
be able to move or defend his second piece. 4
The gain of time here is obvious - exactly as in
3
Example 1 29 (on page 83) .
2
165 1

a b c d e f g h
Black to move

l . .. a6
White must be careful to avoid 2.:!':k5, as
2 . . . Wfxc5 3.Wfxc5 ia7 wins the exchange.
Exchanging rooks is the only move.

2J:!!xb7 Wfxb7
White now defends against the threat of
. . . ia7 by moving his king or queen.

a b c d e f g h Black may also continue in a different manner

White to move from the position in the diagram:

In Position 1 65, White wants to give mate on 1 .. J:�xb5 2.hb5 a6

e8 with his rook. If he moves his bishop aside Threatening . . . ia7 as before. Now White
from e4 to £3, Black has time to defend himself has another exchange at his disposal to rescue
(for instance by opening a loophole for his him:
king with . . . h6) . White therefore plays:
3.he8t
1.Lf5 If this move didn't give check it would be
Opening the file without loss of time. useless, and in defending against . . . ia7 White
would lose his bishop on b5.

In practical play, exchanges for the purpose of

gaining time can be encountered right from
the very first moves. For example:

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Yfxd5

96 The Soviet Chess Primer

White now brings out a piece with: 167

3.t!Jc3 Chekhover - I. Rabinovich, Leningrad 1 934

Attacking the queen at the same time and
forcing it to withdraw, that is, to make a
second move. After the queen's move White
develops a new piece, thus drawing ahead of
his opponent in the number of pieces brought
into battle.

Another example:

l.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.dxe5 dxe5 4JWxd8t 'i!?xd8

Black has been deprived of the right to
castle. As a result, White will bring his pieces
(especially the rooks) into play more quickly
than his opponent and will obtain better a b c d e f g h
chances in the coming fight. Black to move

Such are some of the aims that are pursued In this position, Black won a pawn with an
through exchanges. In other cases, players will unexpected move:
seek exchanges in order to give the position
a particular character (open or closed) ; or to 46 ... t!Jxb3!
achieve the desired relation of fighting forces The reply 47.axb3 would be bad on account
(such as knight against bishop, or the opposite of 47 . . . a3, after which one of Black's pawns
- which may confer the advantage of the will queen. Similarly 47.lt:lxb3 loses to
bishop pair); or to gain control of squares of 47 . . . axb3 48.axb3 d2, when the passed d-pawn
one colour; and so forth. These cases are more - which, before the exchange, was blockaded
complex, and we will not dwell on them at this by the knight and therefore immobile - is
stage. given its freedom.

PAWN PROMOTION 47. 'i!?e3

White must settle for the loss of a pawn
The promotion of a pawn to a piece (usually due to the reasons given above. The game
a queen) is a special form of material gain. eventually concluded in a draw.
Usually it alters the balance of forces so •• .t/2-lf2
greatly that players will often resign a game,
acknowledging the uselessness of fighting The threat to queen a pawn has an especially
on, if they recognize that they have no way powerful effect when other threats are
of stopping a passed pawn. In view of this, combined with it.
the advance of a passed pawn, or sometimes
even the mere threat of creating such a pawn,
amounts to a sharp, forcing continuation.
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 97

168 169

Lisitsin - Riumin, Leningrad 1 934

2
a b c d e f g h
1
The pawn has to promote to a rook!
a b c d e f g h
Black to move In Position 1 69 White wins by:

64...d3 65J:�xd3 l.f8=g!

Black is able to queen his e-pawn by 1 .£8=�? would be stalemate.
exploiting a discovered check and the
constricted position ofWhite's king. 170

65 ... e2t 66.<!>g2 g£2t 67.i>h1 gflt 8

Black has taken control of the pawn's
promotion square, e l . 7

6
68.<!>g2 el=YlY
White now has to give up a rook (69.gxe 1 5
gxe l ) , leaving Black with an extra piece. 4
0-1
3
•••

Cases where a pawn needs to be promoted to 2

a piece other than a queen, though rare, do
1
occur in practical play.
a b c d e f g h
White to move

In Position 1 70 White plays:

l.h7t <!>g7 2.gxf'7 i>xh7 3.f8=g!

98 The Soviet Chess Primer

The following is an example of a posltlon THREATS

where a pawn has to be promoted to a knight.
Inasmuch as a capture is a forcing move, it's
171 easy to understand that even a simple attack,
in other words the mere threat of a capture, can
Labourdonnais - N.N., 1 837 sometimes be a forcing move too, as it leaves
the opponent with the choice between only a
small number of defensive moves. For instance
when a pawn attacks a piece, as indeed when
any piece of lesser value attacks one of greater
value, this nearly always causes the more
valuable piece to move, and the number of
suitable squares where it can go may be very
limited.
Naturally other threats also arise in a game,
not just threats to capture material. You can
threaten to occupy an important square, to
mate the enemy king, to promote a pawn, and
so forth. Threats like this of course require your
a b c d e f g h opponent to defend against them. However, an
isolated threat, so dear to beginners, very often
White to move
yields little. We attack a piece and it moves
away, perhaps even attacking a piece of our
Black is threatening . . J�e 1 #; and if l .Wfxd3,
own; we threaten mate in one move, but our
then l . . .f1 =Wf#. The correct continuation is:
opponent is playing attentively and parries this
threat with ease. It's a different matter when a
l.c8=�t! �e8
number of threats combine with each other or
l . . .'it>d8 is met by 2.Wfxd3t and 3.�xe2.
immediately follow one another.
2.Wfg6t! �£8 172
As before, the king cannot go to the d-file.
L. Kubbel, 1 922
3.Wff6t �g8
Otherwise White gives mate on e7.

4.�e7t �h7 5.Wfg6t �h8 6.Wfg8#

The examples we have examined show
what great significance a passed pawn has. To
advance your passed pawn you have to choose
the appropriate moment, when your opponent
cannot stop the pawn or win it. Sometimes
the advance is carried out for the purpose of
diverting enemy pieces.

a b c d e f g h
White wins
 Chapter 3 - Tactics and Strategy 99

In Position 1 72 for example, the black pawn on The very essence of any game of chess is the
a3 is threatening to queen, and White would creating and parrying of threats of every kind.
seem to have no way to prevent this. Yet he At this stage it was merely important to note
starts operating with a whole series of threats, that threats are forcing moves, restricting the
of which the significance soon becomes clear. opponent to a small number of defensive
continuations.
l.�c6! �xc6
Black takes the knight, seeing that 1 . . . a2 7. SERIES OF MOVES WITH A
would be met by the dual attack 2.ltlb4t COMMON IDEA
(a threat!) . There is no use in 1 . . .\!?c4 either, on
account of 2.ltlxd4. Then if 2 . . . \!?xd4, White Up to here we have acquainted ourselves
plays 3 .if6t, gaining control of the pawn's chiefly with the aims and effect of individual
promotion square; or if 2 . . . a2, then 3.ltlb3. moves. We now proceed to look at how
separate moves are associated or combined - in
2 ..tf6 �d5 other words, we shall be examining sequences
White was threatening to take the d4-pawn, of moves which are in some way joined in a
so Black defends it. He couldn't play 2 . . . \!?c5 single whole.
because of 3.ie7t, winning the pawn on a3. What binds a series of moves into a single
whole is a common idea - a plan. In Position
3.d3! a2 1 32 (on page 84) , for example, we saw a
To White's move, which looks incom­ series of moves (checks) that culminated in
prehensible, Black replies by pushing his pawn mate. That was what constituted the purpose
towards its queening square. But White has of the sequence; each of the checks occurred
been preparing a fine manoeuvre. as part of the common plan. In another case
such as Position 1 72 (the study by Kubbel) ,
4.c4t �c5 a continuous sequence of threats from White
Of course 4 . . . dxc3 would be bad in view pursued the aim of stopping the enemy pawn
of 5.ixc3, when the a2-pawn is stopped. from queening; again a common plan united
Black's 4 . . . \!?c5 seems wholly natural. Yet an all these moves.
unexpected denouement follows. Moves by White and Black combined in a
continuous unbroken sequence are called a
5.�b7! variation.
Now 5 . . . a 1 =Wi will be met by 6.ie7#. If one of the players employs forcing moves
With such a small quantity of pieces on the - to which the playable replies are specific and
board, it would have been hard to suspect that few in number, and sometimes limited to one
this final threat was available - but it proves move only - then a forced variation comes
decisive. Black is compelled to move his king, about.
whereupon 6.ixd4 stops the pawn, and White Such forced variations are termed
easily wins. combinations when they involve sacrifices from
which the player counts on deriving some
Of course, this example comes nowhere near to benefit or other. We have already come across
exhausting the immense variety of threats. We numerous combinations in this book, and a
have come across many types of threat already, separate chapter will be devoted to them later
and we shall meet with still more of them later. on.