Attack and Counterattack in Chess

Notes

About the Author

Fred Reinfeld was a master chess player. It was in the city schools and at City College that he began his chess playing. While still in his teens, he became Intercollegiate Champion, and was victorious in the New York State, Manhattan Club, and Marshall Club championship matches, defeating such worthy opponents as Sammy Reshevsky, Reuben Fine, Arnold Denker, and I. A. Horowitz.

Mr. Reinfeld was an editor of Chess Review and a prolific writer, with more than 50 chess books to his credit. Eight of these have been published in the Everyday Handbook Series: First Book of Chess (co-authored with Al Horowitz); Improving Your Chess; How to Win Chess Games Quickly; 1001 Ways to Checkmate; Complete Book of Chess Openings; Chess Strategy for Offense and Defense; 1001 Chess Sacrifices and Combinations; and this volume. He also wrote two other Everyday Handbooks, How to Build a Coin Collection and (with C.C. Chamberlain) Coin Dictionary and Guide.

From the Editor

Start with the basic premise that White plays to build on the natural initiative that is inherent in having the first move, while Black plays to sap White’s divine right to this initiative, only to take it over the moment it is possible. You now have the idea behind Fred Reinfeld’s Attack and Counterattack in Chess.

The book is neatly divided into two sections: How White manages to make good use of his right to the first move by taking advantage of typical mistakes by Black, and how Black succeeds in sapping that right and taking over the initiative by jumping on blunders from White.

There are several points to keep in mind as you peruse the games involved. The first is that this is not an opening book. The examples of play are all built around a complete chess game that came to a logical conclusion based on one player’s muffs and the other player’s exploitation of those errors. The other point is that the poor moves that are taken advantage of were to some extent based on carelessness or inattention or lack of knowledge but were also set up on purpose by the winning player.

The first seven chapters cover how to control the center; how to exploit superior mobility; how to exploit Black’s premature opening of the position; how to exploit Black’s premature counterattack; How to exploit Black’s weakening pawn moves; how to exploit Black’s errors of judgement; and how to exploit irregular defenses. All these subjects are covered by a close look at several chess games in which the bungles are followed by their natural punishment

The last five chapters look at how to seize the initiative as Black; how to play against gambits; how to defend against a powerful attack; how Black can seize the attack; and how to exploit unusual openings. Again, each topic unfolds during a a few chess games with faulty play by White and its logical destruction by Black.

Mid twentieth century best-selling author Fred Reinfeld introduced thousands of players to the wonderful game of chess through his tireless efforts. His books were ubiquitous and covered every conceivable aspect of the royal game.

Fred’s books are peppered throughout with words and phrases in italics to emphasize ideas. Moves are punctuated with single, double, and even triple exclamation marks and question marks to span the entire spectrum of emotions the moves conjure up. He had a way of reducing the most intricate, complicated combinations to their basic components. After Reinfeld explains a combination, it makes sense.

The few analytical mistakes that crop up from time to time are easily checked with a monster chess engine, which Fred never had access to. In those far-off pre-computer days, you analyzed each position, including any variations you thought up, with nothing more than a board and pieces, using your knowledge of the pieces’ potential.

I have called attention to those errors that do not support the main idea Fred is engrossed with. These tactical nuances are there in practically every game, even at the highest levels, so they certainly do not detract at all from the fresh charm he imparts on every position he looks at.

I am pleased and honored to be a part of bringing back my old mentor to new generations of chess players. Russell Enterprises Inc. is engaged in a project of resurrecting the immortal Reinfeld classics, republishing them with the modern algebraic notation in place of the archaic English descriptive notation that was popular years ago to make them accessible to twenty-first century chess players.

This undertaking, begun under General Editor Bruce Alberston, has been passed on to me. So, I get to reread these wonderful old books, change the notation in ChessBase, type up Fred’s snappy prose, and look out for potential errors.

Peter Kurzdorfer

From White’s Point of View

Chapter 1

How to Control the Center

You are about to start playing a game of chess. The pieces and pawns are all set up in their proper opening positions. You are playing White. What is the basic thought that will guide you through the opening during the first few moves?

You know that it is important to bring out your pieces quickly and effectively. You have been told that it is a good idea to begin by moving up one of your center pawns. You have been advised to control the center.

Control the center – that is the basic idea of opening play. But just what is the center? How do you control it? And why is it important to control it?

The squares inside the heavy lines make up the center

The center, as you can see from Diagram 1, is made up of the squares e3, d3, f4, e4, d4, c4, f5, e5, d5, c5, e6, d6.

When you post (centralize) your pieces in the center, they have their greatest range and power. Once you play them to the center during the opening, they can be moved quickly to other sectors as the course of the game requires.

We often use the term center in a restricted sense, referring only to the inner four squares: e4, d4, e5, and d5. These are the most effective squares for center pawns. Why? Because a pawn at e4 or d4 or e5 or d5 prevents hostile pieces from establishing themselves at the center squares controlled by that pawn.

Controlling the center, then, means posting your pawns and pieces in such a way that you have a decidedly more powerful grip on the center than your opponent has.

White has the first move. Consequently his chance of controlling the center is a pretty good one. Now let us turn to some examples which show what you do to Black if you get control of the center.

White – Black

Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3

White intends to form a broad pawn center with d2-d4.

Black must fight for the center here by playing 4...Nf6, attacking White’s e-pawn. Then, after 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 d5! Black has successfully achieved a foothold in the center.

Instead, Black loses his way in a clumsy line of play:

4...Qe7 5.d4 Bb6 6.0-0 Nf6 7.Re1 d6 8.a4 a6 9.Na3 Bg4 10.Nc2 0-0 11.Ne3!

White’s powerful pawn center stifles Black’s pieces and deprives them of adequate scope.

(Note how effectively White’s knight has reached the center by a roundabout route.)

If now 11...Bh5 12.Nf5! drives back the Black queen.

And if 11...Bxf3 12.gxf3 exd4 13.Nf5! again drives back the queen.*

So Black’s light-square bishop makes a sorry retreat all the way back.

11...Bc8 12.Nd5! Qd8 13.Bg5 exd4 14.cxd4 Bg4

Black desperately hopes to consolidate his