Tactics

In chess, a tactic refers to a short sequence of moves which limits the opponent's options and may result in tangible gain. Tactics are usually contrasted to strategy, in which advantages take longer to be realized, and the opponent is less constrained in responding[1].

The fundamental building blocks of tactics are two-move sequences in which the first move poses a double threat. The opponent is unable to respond to both threats in one move, so the first player realizes an advantage on the second move. This includes forks, skewers, batteries, discovered attacks, undermining, overloading, deflection, and interference[2]. Pins also fall into this category to some extent, although it is common for a defending player to relieve neither of the two threats posed by a pin, in which case the attacking player commonly maintains the pin for a longer period of time. A pin is therefore sometimes more strategic than tactical.

Often tactics of several types are conjoined in a combination. A combination, while still constraining the opponent's responses, takes several moves to obtain an advantage, and thus is considered deeper and more spectacular than the basic tactics listed above.

Chess computers are considered superhuman at tactics, but rather poor at strategy. Computers do not think about tactics in human terms (fork, skewer, etc.); rather, they apply very simple rules to evaluate hundreds of thousands of sequences, the vast majority of which are spurious.

 

Basic concepts

• Discovered attack
  
• Fork
  
• Pin
  
• Skewer
  
• Pawns
  
• Sacrifices
  
• Zugzwang
  
• Zwischenzug
  

 

The Strategy

Chess strategy is concerned with the evaluation of chess positions and setting up goals and long-term tactics for future play. During the evaluation, a player must take into account the value of the pieces on the board, pawn, king safety, position of pieces, control of key squares and groups of squares (e.g. diagonals, open files, black or white squares), and the possible moves the opponent will make after any move made.

The most basic way to evaluate one's position is to count the total value of pieces on both sides. The point values  used for this purpose are based on experience. Usually a pawn  is considered to be worth one point, knight and bishop three points each,  rook five points, and queen  nine points. The fighting value of the king in the endgame is approximately four points. These basic values are modified by other factors such as the position of the piece (e.g. advanced pawns are usually more valuable than those on their starting squares), coordination between pieces (e.g. a bishop pair  usually coordinates better than a bishop plus a knight), and the type of position (knights are generally better in closed positions with many pawns, while bishops are more powerful in open positions).

Another important factor in the evaluation of chess positions is the pawn structure or pawn skeleton. Since pawns are the most immobile and least valuable of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and largely determines the strategic nature of the position. Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such as isolated, doubled , or backward pawns and holes, once created, are usually permanent. Care must therefore be taken to avoid them unless they are compensated by another valuable asset, such as the possibility to develop an attack.

 

Basic concepts

• Value of the pieces
  
• Space
  
• Defending pieces
  
• Exchanging pieces
  
• Long term plan

The Endgame

The line between middlegame and enddgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with the quick exchange of a few pairs of pieces. The endgame, however, tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular,  pawns  become more important; endgames often revolve around attempting to promote  a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank . The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It can be brought to the center of the board and be a useful attacking piece.

Usually in the endgame, the stronger side should try to exchange knights, bishops, rooks and queens, while avoiding the exchange of pawns. This generally makes it easier for him to convert his advantage into a won game. The defending side should strive for the opposite.

 

Alburt and Krogius give three characteristics of an endgame:

1. Endgames favor an aggressive king
   
2. Passed pawns  increase greatly in importance
   
3. Zugzwang  is often a factor in endgames and rarely in other stages of the game.
   

 

Max Euwe and Walter Meiden give these five generalizations:

1. In king and pawn endings, an extra pawn is decisive in more than 90 percent of the cases
2. In endgames with pieces and pawns, an extra pawn is a winning advantage in 50 to 60 percent of the cases. It becomes more decisive if the stronger side has a positional advantage
3. the king plays an important role in the endgame
4. Initiative is more important in the endgame than in other phases of the game. In rook endgames the initiative is usually worth at least a pawn
5. Two connected passed pawns are very strong. If they reach their sixth rank they are generally as powerful as a rook.

The Middle Game

The middlegame in chess refers to the portion of the game that happens immediately after the opening (usually the first move after the procession of moves that make up a standard opening) and blends somewhat with the endgame. During this time, players will attempt to strengthen their positions while weakening their opponent's, both by careful arrangement of the pieces for prepared attacks and defenses and by whittling away at their opponent's numbers.

The demarcation between the opening and middlegame, and the middlegame and endgame, is not always clear. Compared to the opening, both players will usually have completed the development of all or most pieces (except the king which will usually have been brought to relative safety.) Compared to the endgame, the middlegame has several pieces on the board, and the strength of these forces makes the kings' roles rather defensive. Factors such as control of the centre are more important in the middlegame than the endgame. There are differing opinions and criteria for when the middlegame ends and the endgame starts.

Theory on the middlegame is less developed than the opening or endgames. Since middlegame positions from game to game are unique, memorization of theoretical variations is not possible as it is in the opening. Likewise, there are usually too many pieces on the board for theoretical positions to be analyzed as can be done in the endgame.

 

The Aims of Middle Game

The Middle Game in Chess by Reuben Fine lists three major factors in the middlegame: king safety, force (material) and mobility, although not all of these factors are of equal importance. If king safety is a serious issue, a well-executed attack on the king can render other considerations, including material advantages, irrelevant.

Material is another important consideration, Fine notes that with all other things equal, any material advantage will usually be decisive. According to Fine, a material advantage will usually not give a direct mating attack unless the advantage is very large (a rook or more), rather it can be used as a means of gaining more material and a decisive endgame advantage.

The issue of mobility is ensuring that the pieces have a wide scope of action and targets to focus on. The concept is largely strategic  in nature, and involves concepts as space, pawn weaknesses (since weak pawns can compel pieces to defensive duties, reducing their mobility), and securing outposts for the pieces.

The strategy required for middlegame play varies considerably. Some middlegame positions feature closed centers featuring maneuvering behind the lines, while other middlegames are wide open, where both players attempt to gain the initiative. Dan Heisman noted three features which can seriously alter the way the middlegame is played.

1. First, if the kings are castled on opposite wings, and queens remain on the board, the position can be very violent, with both players aiming to assault the enemy king. Material considerations are often secondary to pursuing the attack, and it can even be advantageous to lose pawns in front of the enemy king in order to open up lines for the rooks and queen.
2. Second, positions where the pawn structure is static and locked, can also feature mutual attacks, since players often elect to play on the side where they have more space (playing on the side of the board in which their pawns are pointing). Time is often less of a concern in such middlegames, allowing lengthy maneuvers. Both players need to be on the lookout for pawn breaks, and the possibility of taking advantage of the open files which may arise from them.
   
3. Third, if one player has an overwhelming material advantage and is clearly winning, the stronger player can usually afford to violate several of the normal middlegame principles in order to trade down to an endgame. For example, trading queens even at the cost of a ruined pawn structure may be a viable option.
   

 

Transition to the Endgame

Not all games reach the endgame, since an attack on the king, or a combination leading to large material gains can end the game while it is still in the middlegame. At other times, an advantage needs to be pursued in the endgame, and learning how to make favorable exchanges leading to a favorable endgame is an important skill.

The last thing that happens in the middlegame is the setup for endgame. Since many endgames involve the promotion of a pawn, it is usually good to keep that in mind when making trades during the middlegame.

As capablanca said, one can study opening and endgame individually but the middlegame must be studied keeping the endgame in mind. And the goal of middlegame is to reach a winning endgame.

 

RUY LOPEZ - Smyslov Defence (3...g6)

The Smyslov Defence, Fianchetto Defence, or Barnes Defence (ECO C60), (3...g6), is a quiet positional system played occasionally by Vassily Smyslov and Boris Spassky. It became popular in the 1980s when it was shown that 4.c3 a6! gives Black a good game. Later it was found that after 4.d4 exd4 5.Bg5 White has the advantage, and the variation is rarely played today. An interesting gambit line 4.d4 exd4 5.c3 has also been recommended by Alexander Khalifman, although some of the resulting positions are yet to be tested extensively.

Games: Three games are given below which show the three different results. The third game shows the 'gambit line' played by Khalifman. 

Garry Kasparov - Vasily Smyslov

1975, 0-1

Judit Polgar - Boris Spassky

1993, 1-0

Alexander khalifman - Vladimir P Malaniuk

1987, 0.5-0.5

RUY LOPEZ

THE RUY LOPEZ

It is also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterized by the moves:

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Bb5

The Ruy Lopez is one of the most popular openings. It has such a vast number of variations that in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) all codes from C60 to C99 are assigned to them.

History

The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priestRuy Lopez de Seura. He made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del Ajedrezwritten in 1561. However, although it is named after him, this particular opening was known earlier; it is included in theGottingen manuscript, which dates from around 1490. Popular use of the Ruy Lopez opening did not develop, however, until the mid-1800s when Carl Jaenisch, a Russian theoretician, "rediscovered" its potential. The opening is still in active use as the double king's pawn opening most commonly used in master play; it has been adopted by almost all players at some point in their careers and many play it from both the white and black sides.

Basics

At the most basic level, White's third move attacks the knight which defends the e5 pawn from the attack by the f3 knight. It should be noted that White's apparent threat to win Black's e-pawn with 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 is illusory — Black can respond with 5...Qd4, forking the knight and e4-pawn, or 5...Qg5, forking the knight and g2-pawn, both of which win back the material with a good position. 3.Bb5 is still a good move, however: it develops a piece, prepares castling,  and sets up a potential pin against Black's king. However, since White's third move carries no immediate threat, Black can respond in a wide variety of ways. This opening has been dubbed the "Spanish Torture" because Black has to struggle a long time in order to achieve equality.

Traditionally, White's objective in playing the Ruy Lopez is for the destruction of Black's pawn structure at an early and tender stage in development. Not only does the Ruy Lopez trade double the pawn which takes the White bishop, but it is certain to draw off either the d or b pawns from their positions, either event being highly detrimental to Black's game because if the d pawn is drawn off, Black's attack on the center is handicapped and if the b pawn is drawn off, castling is prevented on that side and the c and a file pawns are left to future exposure. However, White does not always exchange light-squared bishop for queen's knight on c6, but only in the Exchange Variation (ECO C68-C69).

Main variations

• Smyslov Defence
  
• Cozio Defence
  
• Bird's Defence
  
• Steinitz Defence
  
• Schliemann Defence
  
• Classical Defence
  
• Berlin Defence
  
• Morphy Defence 
  
• Exchange Variation
  
• Norwegian Defence
  
• Steinitz Defence Deferred
  
• Schliemann Defence Deferred
  
• Arkhangelsk Defence
  
• Russian Defence
  
• Open Defence
  
• Closed Defence 
  
• Delayed Exchange Variation Deferred
  
• Centre Attack
  
• Worrall Attack
  
• Averbakh Variation
  
• Trajković Variation
  
• Marshall Attack
  
• Pilnik Variation
  
• Bogoljubow Variation
  
• Chigorin Variation
  
• Breyer Variation
  
• Zaitsev Variation
  
• Karpov Variation
  
• Kholmov Variation
  
• Smyslov Variation
  
• Uncommon Black 3rd moves

Ruy Lopez opening is very vast and it takes a lot of time to understand and master all intricacies of this opening. Only sicilian opening matches the Ruy Lopez opening in terms of number of variations.

This blog tries to provide information on every variation and two example games on that variation.

The Way I Learnt Chess...

It was just an accident that I developed an interest in chess. It was the end of summer 2001 and my Bachelor of Science classes have just begun, a young guy who was studying in 11^th Std (Pre University) came to stay with us for studying. His dad was of the opinion that if he is away from home then he concentrates better on study. But he had more interest in games than study, and he had brought a chess set with his belongings. And as natural as it can be, he invited me to play chess. I didn’t have any exposure to chess as there was no one in our friend circle or relatives who played chess. Cricket was the major interest with most of the people.  I was a good cricketer.  I had my small contact with Chess when I was 13 years old. I had read a small article in a regional magazine on chess and tried to play chess but the information given in that article wasn’t enough to grasp the exact method of playing chess. So after some time, the enthusiasm diminished. To add to that, my younger brother was such that he could never accept a defeat. He used to argue “the knight was in that square”, “the Rook was here only” etc., and change the moves.

My full concentration went to cricket and I became a very good cricketer. Now, after so many years I sat down to play a game of chess and I admit I didn’t know all the rules of chess moves (like enpassant etc). So when the game began, this young chap started laughing, looking at my moves! I lost the game, obviously. I told him, “In cricket, I can defeat anyone in the world! But I don’t know much about chess.” But I couldn’t take my mind off the way he laughed at my moves. Something made me to determine to learn chess.

The next morning in the news paper I saw moves of a game between Anand Vs Zvulon Gofshtein. I didn’t know how the moves are recorded in chess so I went for trial and error method and tried to play out the game through the moves. I couldn’t understand the notation “0-0” and “0-0-0“ and I thought maybe it indicates “no move!” But as I progressed with the moves I come to know that “the king and the rook have changed the places. “ I thought “0-0” must be some special move.

After two days, I read a chess book and come to know about “Castling” and so on I went on to learn about chess. Then accidentally, I found that a news paper named “Deccan Herald” publishes an article on chess every week. The writer was “Manisha Mohite”  a reputed Chess journalist and writer in India. That helped me a lot, and within a few weeks I was strong enough to play some good chess! Then I started defeating that young chap consistently. One night, he just cried when I defeated him without giving away even a single pawn. I didn’t stop there, I went to play with local champions and chess enthusiasts. Needless to say, I got defeated repeatedly. I come to realize that winning a game of chess is very difficult than winning a game of cricket. In chess, u make one single mistake and you are gone. But I was of the opinion that, if I give up now I can never win a game of chess. So I continued to play with more determination. Finally, that day came when I won a game of chess! It was some inexplicable feeling.  It gave me the confidence that I can win. From there I went on to search for more info and history of Chess world champions etc and kept on improving my chess regularly. And after two years I started beating them (who had earlier beaten me) convincingly.  And I  won against delorie.com engine. Then I realized that I have improved a bit. I came across chess websites as I was trying to improve my chess. I played correspondence chess through “Chessworld.net” and blitz games on Freechess.org and Chess21.com. I loved chess21.com. Later Chess21.com merged with “Chessclub.com” or “Internet Chess Club.”

Here I am posting two games, one is Anand Vs Gofshtein game which was the first chess game I used to understand chess notations. And another is an annotated game from which I started my chess learning…

Vishwanathan Anand - Zvulon Gofshtein

Sicilian Defense: Kan. Midern Variation (B42)

2001, 1-0

Alexander Alekhine - Vladas Mikenas

Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation (B06)

1933, 1-0

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 Nd7

The Modern Defence. This defence is generally not liked much by players with aggressive styles as White gains control of the central squares.

5. Bc4 e6

Halting White's pawn advance in the center.

6. 0-0 Ne7 7. a4! 0-0 8. Be3 h6 9. Qd2 Kh7 10. h3 c6 

This weakens the d pawn but then black does not really have much options.

11. Bf4 d5 12. Bd3 a6? 

Black could have thought of playing ...Nf6 and retreat to e8 as the d6 square is weak.

13. Bd6 f5 14. e5 Rg8 15. h4

White enjoys a positional advantage and has plenty of options to make inroads into enemy territory.

A tempting move would have been the queen sacrifice 15. Qg5 hxg5 16. Nxg5+ followed by Nf7 which would fork the king and the queen. But Black without accepting the queen has a good move 15... Bf8 which would offer some defence. 

15...b6! [15... Nf8? 16. Qg5!] 16. Ne2 Nf8 17. a5

 

Further weakening Black's black squares.

17... b5 18. g3! Taking time off to make a defensive move to prevent Black from making any counter attack on the kingside.

18... Rh8 19. Kg2 Kg8 20. Rh1 Kf7 

Black can get no more worse positionally than he already is.

21. Nf4 Rg8 22. b3! Nh7 23. c4 Bd7 24. Rac1 Bf8 25. Be2! Nc8

If 25...g5 26. hxg5 Nxg5 27. Nxg5+ hxg5 [27...Rxg5 28. Nh3] 28. Bh5+ Kg7 29. Nxe6+ Bxe6 30. Qxg5+

26.cxd5

Surprisingly this is the first capture.

It is also rare in chess games taht a game is strategically lost (by black here) even before a single exchange has taken place.

26... cxd5 27. Bxf8

After causing maximum damage the black bishop decides to exit the board.

27... Nxf8 28. Rxc8 Bxc8 29. Nd3 Kg7 30. Rhc1

 

Devastating move.

30... Rc8 31. Rxc8 Bxc8 32. Qc3 Kh7 33. Qc5 Rg7 34. Qb6

 

Invading ruthlessly. The dark squares on Black's sides are like open gates. 

34... Qe7 35. Nc5 g5 

More desperation than anything concrete.

36. hxg5 hxg5 37. Ne1! Ng6 38. Ned3 f4 39. Rh1+ Kg8 40. Bg4 fxg3  41. fxg3

Another unusual position which is also a rarity in games. There are seven pieces including both the kings queueing up on the g file.

41... Nh4+ 

A knight sacrifice? It is too late and does not serve any purpose as Black is hopelessly lost by now. 

42. gxh4 gxh4 43. Nf2 Rf7 44. Nxe6

 

Putting the issue beyond doubt.

44... Kh7 45. Qd6 

and Black resigned.