1

L
Susan Lalic
Your Chess Questions
Answered

WGM Susan Lalic

B.T. Batsford Ltd, London

First publ ished in 1 999
© Susan Lalic 1 999

ISBN 0 7 1 34 8406 3

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

reproduced, by any means, without prior permission
'of the publisher.

Printed in Great Britain by

Polestar Wheatons Ltd, Exeter
for the publishers,
B.T. Batsford Ltd,
5 83 Fulham Road,
London SW6 5BY

A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK

General Manager: Nigel Davies
Advisors: Mark Dvoretsky, Raymond Keene OBE,
Daniel King, Jon Speelman, Chris Ward
 Contents

Introduction 5

Getting Started 7

2 Advanced Rules 16

3 Mating 26

4 Jargon 32

5 Children 43

6 Tournaments and matches 49

7 Chess Clock 60

8 Improvement 64

9 Grading 76

1 0 Openings 79

1 1 Computers 98

1 2 Puzzles 1 09

1 3 General Information 1 16

Solutions 1 25
 Introduction
Many years ago, I remember
learning chess at about the age of I 0
and spending hours moving pieces
around the board without really
knowing what I was doing.
Now I am teaching all levels from
beginners up to secondary school
pupils and it is relatively easy to
spot what each person needs to do
to improve their game.
Once a player has learnt the
moves the key to improvement is
quick, friendly games, while trying
to implement basic principles. One
needs gradually to obtain
recognition of the possibilities on
the board.
Practice and repetition, like most
things, being fundamental, the
pattern of progress is normally
something like this:
step 1: learning the rules.
step 2: long uncertain games
while carefully checking what each
piece can do.
step 3: within weeks or months
the penny usually drops and the
games speed up as the player is
more able to spot checkmates and
see captures in a shorter space of
time. The quality of games will still
be low at this stage as much is
overlooked.
step 4: games lengthen as the best
moves are searched for and some
strategy and openings come into
play. Finally a player is ready for
serious chess ...
This book is designed to help you
from step 1 , right through as a
beginner to beyond "minor"
tournament level.
I have also put together many of
the questions I have been asked over
the years to guide player or parent
alike through the different aspects
of chess. I hope it will help to make
the chess scene enjoyable and
perhaps whet the appetite of many
to start on the road to realising their
chess potential.
 1 Getting Started
Is it difficult to learn how to
play chess?
Chess is recognised as one of the
most complex, yet popular games
ever invented. I will not pretend that
you can master the game in a few
hours, but certainly it should be
possible to begin challenging
relatives and friends after a few
days of going over this opening
chapter.
Why play chess?
Good question. I think that only a
certain amount of people will be
drawn even to learn the rules, but
there can be all sorts of social
occasions when it is useful to be
able to play. For example, visiting
in hospital, playing in a chess team
at work or school and teaching your
children if they ask!
What is the object of the game
of chess?
Everybody will have seen people
playing a game of chess even if it
was just on an advert or film. It is
for two people, one has the white
side and the other black. Both sides
begin with 1 6 men and they are set
up on a board opposite each other.
The players take it in turns to
move and the game is decisive when
one of the players ' kings is going to
be captured and cannot escape.
While all other pieces can be
captured, it is tradition for the kings
to remain on the board.
How are the pieces set up?
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a b c d e f g h
On many sets, you will find that
the files and ranks are lettered "a to
h" and numbered " I to 8"
respectively on the edge of the
board.
It is a good idea to get into the
habit of setting up the white rooks
on a l and h l and the black pieces
on the eighth rank as this will be
important for recording games later.
I have seen many chess sets in
the shops-can I learn on any?
Yes, but practically it is wise to
stick with one set that is used in
99% of tournaments which is the
standard plastic "Staunton set" that
any chess supplier would sell.
8 Your Chess Questions Answered

Once when abroad playing in a

tournament , I was surprised at how
difficult I found it to play with a
slightly different set and I insisted
that the regulation pieces replace
them. Therefore, I recommend that
you do not make chess any harder
than it is already by playing with a
"Batman" or "Simpson" chess set,
that my pupils boast of owning!

What common mistakes are

made by beginners in starting How does a queen move?
out? The queen is the most powerful
piece and she can move in a straight
Setting up the board the wrong line or a diagonal line in any
way round is typical. The way to direction as shown.
remember is to note that "white is
on the right" i.e. that a white square
must be on the right hand corner of
the board when set up in front of
you. The queen goes on her own
colour, so that a white queen starts
on a white square and the black
queen on a black square. Also the
board must be correctly positioned
in the first place.
I also occasionally spot people
tossing for colour and then starting
with the black pieces rather than
turning the board round, but please How does a rook move?
note that White always starts first
and that is not negotiable.

How does a king move?

A king can move one square in

any direction and the following
diagram shows the choice of squares
he can move to.
Remember that two kings can
never be on adjacent squares since
they will be attacking each other.
This is explained in more detail on The rook is known as the second
page 1 0, under "what is check?". most valuable piece and moves in a
 Getting Started 9

straight line in any direction. For

obvious reasons, this piece is often
1 cl 'erred to as a "castle" by amateur

players.

llow does a bishop move?

There are two bishops and they

hcgin on opposite coloured squares.
They are able to move on diagonals
in any direction, but are confined to
t he colour of the square they begin
on. If you suddenly find you have

1 wo dark squared bishops, the How does a pawn move?

chances are one of them was nudged
accidentally.
You may have noticed that, in
combination, the rook and bishop
move in the same way as the queen,
covenng the same lines and
diagonals.
The pawn has a few features that
are unusual. First, it is the only
piece which cannot move
backwards. A pawn moves one
square forward, but, on its very first
go, is able to move two squares.
The three pawns illustrate the
different ways a pawn can move.
Pawns are also unique by being
able to promote to a piece if they
reach the eighth rank. This is
discussed further in Chapter 2.

How does a knight move?

The knight is the only piece that is

able to jump over other pieces. It
moves in the shape of a capital "L"
and you can expect the general
public to call this piece a "horse".
1 0 Your Chess Questions Answered

How is a capture made? they are able to capture one square

diagonally forward, north-east or
A piece can move to a vacant north-west.
square as described previously, or it In the following position, the
can capture an enemy piece by pawn is able to capture either the
landing on its square, removing the black pawn or the bishop.
piece and taking its place.
The pawn however operates under
different guidelines as explained in
the next question.
No piece except the knight is able
to jump over its own or enemy
pieces and there can never be more
than one piece on any square at one
time.
You cannot capture your own
pieces and kings do not . get
captured. Instead the game ends
with "checkmate" when a king is
destined to be captured next move.
What is check?
The following is a simple diagram
Qf a capture. "Check" is the word that describes
when a king is attacked by an
enemy piece.

White to move is able to capture

the enemy queen by moving the
rook to take its place and removing
it from the board.
How does a pawn capture differ
from other pieces?
Whereas all the other pieces
capture in the same way as they
move, pawns cannot capture in the
direction that· they move. Instead
The white king is in check from
the opposing queen.
It is often denoted by a "+" sign
in notation, which is covered on
page 19.
It is illegal to put your king into
check and if you are in check you
must escape. If you cannot, it is
checkmate.

is useful to remember that there
11
an.: three ways out of check, as
discussed in the next paragraph.
What is checkmate?
Checkmate is when a king is in
rhcck and it cannot escape, as
.•;hown in the following diagram.
Many beginners always respond
to check with a king move, but
don't forget that it is just as
important to look to see if you can
capture the opponent's piece which
is giving check. It may also be
possible to block the check.
White has more than one way out
of check in the next position. Make
sure you are 1 00% confident of the
answer before moving on.
Getting Starll'd 11
What if my opponent allows me
to capture his king ?
If your opponent makes a move
that allows you to take his king, you
must point this out.
For this reason, beginners are
encouraged to say "check" if they
attack an opposing king, so the
player will not accidentally remain
in check.
What if we suddenly discover
that a king has been in check for
many moves?
If playing a tournament game you
must call over an arbiter to sort out
the situation. The rules state that
you must return to the position
where the illegal move was first
made, and a time penalty might be
awarded if applicable. It is easy to
return to the relevant position if the
game is being recorded but could
prove more difficult if the moves
have to be replaced from memory.
A friendly game might as well be
abandoned at this point!
What are the values of the
pieces?
This is a rough guide, but it is
useful to work on the assumption
that the relative strength of the
pieces are as follows:
Queen=9
Rook=5
Bishop=3
Knight=3
Pawn = l
We do not give a value to the king
as it cannot be captured in the same
way as other pieces and is worth the
whole game.
1 2 Your Chess Questions Answered

However, the value of each piece

actually depends on the role it is
playing in each game and if a knight
is totally out of the game and on the
sidelines it is obviously not worth
its true potential.

I heard that a bishop is worth

3.1 points and is more valuable
than a knight. Is this true?

As it is possible to checkmate
with two bishops and not with two
knights (with best play), there are
clear stages when it is better to have
possession of bishops than knights.
You could liken it to Scrabble-a
" C and "P" are both worth three
"
The knight can land on different
coloured squares while the black
bishop is restricted to the light
squares and is hemmed in by his
own pawns.

points, but in each game it may be The next case shows a typical
preferable to own one rather than situation when the bishop IS more
the other. powerful than the knight.
In chess you begin with two of
each and as you progress in
strength, you might think a bit
harder which to exchange or retain
according to the rest of the position.
For example, if you are heading
towards a closed position, a knight
1s more useful as it can jump
around, while open positions
generally favour bishops who
operate best on long diagonals.
As you may not know which
course the game is taking in the
early stages, it is a good principle This is perhaps an extreme
not to exchange bishops for knights example since the knight is trapped
without good reason. However, I do and can be rounded up by the black
stress that this is not particularly king. However, even if the knight
useful information to a beginner were on a more sensible square such
since they must first concentrate on as c5, Black would still be vastly
not dropping pieces for free! better placed since a knight finds it
The following example is a case much harder to cope with action on
of when a knight is superior to a both sides of the board.
bishop.

As with other sports, are there
h•dmlques that I should adopt as
n hl'j.!lnner?
1\ sensible guide to follow, that
•,11ong players will do automatically,
1:., immediately your opponent has
111oved, to ask yourself:
1) "Can I capture anything?". It is
·.uqmsmg how many double
blunders there are as someone can
111ake a terrible move in all
lllllocence and the opponent not spot
11 because he assumes the move is
::ound. It is always useful to expect
had moves so they can be taken
advantage of when they appear.
I I' you do have the misfortune of
blundering and noticing your
111is1ake while your opponent is
t hinking, do keep a poker face.
There is a real chance that if a
blunder is not spotted immediately,
11 may be overlooked. Gasping and
going red will only alert your
opponent to scan the board with a
looth-comb for your error.
ii) "What is the threat?". It is no
good just conceiving your own
plans and being unaware of any
danger posed to your position by
your opponent. It is possible there
will be no immediate threat, but you
must assess the risks and act
accordingly. Thinking should be
logical i.e. "Black threatens a pawn
and so White defends it, also setting
up the threat of mate which is met
by . . . " A clinical approach can often
be the best way to steer through an
<llanning maze of possibilities.
Remember CAT.
Any Checks or checkmates?
Any Attacks on pieces to capture?
Any Threats against my pieces or
king?
Getting Started 13
Is there a method for describing
a move without having to
demonstrate it on a board?
Yes, and because I wish to intro­
duce a test to make sure everything
is clear so far, it is an excellent time
to learn algebraic notation.
It is one of the first things I teach
in schools because otherwise the
children must get out of their seats
and come right up to the large
demonstration board if they wish to
suggest an answer.
Let' s have an empty board and
name every square. A method is
needed to describe a move using an
easy system of co-ordinates.
If you are older, you will have
done graphs at school with the x and
y-axis, and the principle is exactly
the same.
Remember to go along the
corridor before you go up the stairs
i.e. the letters along the bottom,
denoting the files, come before the
numbers of the ranks, going up the
board.
I allow younger children to draw
arrows on a test to denote their
choice of move, but try and write
down your answers using the name
of the piece (K for king, Q for
1 4 Your Chess Questions Answered

queen, R for rook, B for bishop and Ql White has just played bishop
N for knight) and the square you to b5. Is it possible for Black to
wish to land on. move his pawn from d7 to d6?
Don't worry, chess players can
spell, but it is convenient to use the
letter "N" for knight since the "K"
has been taken by the king.
For convenience and speed,
pawns are not called anything and
therefore a pawn move is simply
denoted as the square it moves to.
However, describing pawn captures,
which we shall save until later, is
slightly more complicated.
So, take the following diagram
and we can see a bishop moving
from c3 to f6. Q2 It is White to move. If he
plays .i.xf6, can Black recapture the
same value of 3 points?

This will be written as .i.f6. If the

bishop was capturing something on
that square it is normal to write it as Q3 White is in check. How can he
i.xf6. escape?
Note that black moves are nor­
mally written after three dots if they
are written by themselves i.e . . . . .l:te8.
This should be enough
information to complete the
following questions.

Can you set some tests to cover

what we have learnt so far?
Here are five positions with
questions to answer. Answers on
page 1 24.
 Getting Started 15

{!4 Can Black escape from the Q5 It is White to move. Is it check

li1l lowing check? or checkmate?
 2 Advanced Rules

What are the special rules of
castling?
You can castle either side of the
board using one rook and your king.
You must clear a path between the
two and must not have moved either
before. You may not castle out of
check and you must not castle
through a square that is attacked, or
in other words "through check". The
king always moves two squares
towards the rook and the rook
comes over the top of the king and
to the side. For example:
the black king and rook would end
up on c8 and d8 respectively.
A common mistake made by
beginners is to move the king three
squares (instead of 2) when castling
queenside.
Assuming White's king and rooks
have not moved before, is it
possible for him to castle in the
following two positions? (Q6 and
Q7) Answers on p. 1 24.

In this case White is able to castle

kingside and Black may castle
queenside if neither the rook or king
has moved before. I doubt this
position has ever come close to
happening in a real game but serves
to illustrate the method of castling
as the white king would finish up on
gl and the white rook on fl while
 Advanced Rules 1 7

Uocs it matter if I touch my in chapter 7) and ticking the moves

ldn� or rook first when castling? is not going to put any fear into
your opponent. When I did athletics,
I·IDE (Federation Internationale it was those with spikes whom I
1k:; Echecs-the world body of feared before the race and therefore
1 hl'ss) are constantly changing the it is worth gaining the psychological
1 11111or rules of chess. It used to not upper hand by appearing to have the
11111llcr whether you touched the right equipment, so to speak.
1, 111� or the rook first when castling. It may seem a massive step to
I· 11>1 � then made it imperative to suddenly have to move, press the
I Ill k up the king first, or the king clock and write a move down, but if
nnd rook simultaneously. you remember that there are three
I once prided myself on knowing parts, it will become second nature
lhl' rules and forced my opponent to after a while.
111akc an unwanted rook move when First, let us go over the names of
IIH· poor man clearly intended to each square on the board:
1 u:;llc, but touched his rook first. I al is always in White's left hand
won the game but remember it far corner and you will find that many
1norc for the fact that I behaved like boards are produced with the
11 hccl. lettering and numbering along the
I would always advise touching side already. Otherwise a black
lhl' king first, whatever rules FIDE felt-tip pen will do the trick-but do
have in operation. ask the owner first!
The principle is easy-we must
What else is algebraic notation explain what piece moves and
IISl'd for? where it moves to. There are a
couple of ways to do this, although
Tournament games and matches ultimately it is in the players interest
llll' recorded on score sheets in to write as little as possible for the
ul�cbraic notation-how else can sake of neatness and time.
lhc games go down in history! I shall consider the longer system
1\lthough you may not be and shorter method together.
planning a tournament just yet, you Next we will revise how to
w i11 need to follow algebraic describe the pieces-remember that
notation in order to play through the pawn is not called anything. So:
lulure games in this book. King=K
Queen=Q
l low do I record a game? Rook=R
Bishop=B
When playing for your school Knight=N
league or in a tournament, it is Notice that the pieces take capital
dcsirable to have a copy of the letters while the square names take
�ame. It is necessary to keep an l ittle letters for the a-h co-ordinates.
accurate record of the number of I should also mention that chess
moves played if there is a time columns and books are likely to
rontrol in operation (see chess clock have chess figurines (pictures) of
18 Your Chess Questions Answered

the pieces as you will notice in this

book.
It is worth slowly going through a
game here because it is difficult to
move on without a strong grasp of
this "algebraic" notation. As a
trainer, I am constantly being
handed games that are so badly
annotated that it is impossible to
reconstruct what happened.
You should also know that
castling kingside is written as 0-0
2 c4 or 2 c2-c4
and castling queenside as 0-0-0.

The following is one of the oldest

tricks in an opening called the
Budapest Gambit:

2 ... e5 or 2 ...e7-e5

This would be written as 1 d4 or 1

d2-d4 (pawns are not given a
descriptive letter).

3 dxe5 or 3 d4xe5
Professionals might even cut this
move down to 3 de, but in the early
stages it is probably best to put in
the capture sign "x" and remain
l. . .lt::lf6 or L.lt::lg8-f6 consistent as much as possible.
 Advanced Rules 1 9

.L.tt::lg4 or 3 .tt::lf6-g4
.. 5 tt::lf3 or 5 tt::lgl-f3

4 �f4 or 4 �cl-f4 5 ...�b4+ or 5 ...�f8-b4+

Notice the "+" which denotes
check. Again, it is not necessary but
common and generally helpful.

4...tt::lc6 or 4...tt::lb8-c6

6 tt::lbd2 or 6 tt::lbl-d2
An important factor here is that
two knights could go to d2 and
therefore it is necessary to identify
20 Your Chess Questions Answered

the correct knight. If instead, there 7 ...ltJgxe5 or 7 ...ltJg4xe5

were knights on bl and b3, obvious­ Black does not save his bishop
ly ltJbd2 would then not describe that was attacked on b4. A mistake
which knight moved and in this case or part of the plan?
ltJ3d2 or ltJ l d2 would have to be
used. Make sure you fully under­
stand this point before you move on.

8 axb4 or 8 a3xb4

White cannot actually get away

6 .. .'ii'e7 or 6 . .'ii'd8-e7
. with this greed . . .

7 a3 or 7 a2-a3 8 ..)ijd3# or 8 ...lt::J e5-d3#

An unusual smothered mate but
an opening trap that has caught out
many an unwary opponent. It is also
possible to write 8 lt::Jd3 mate.
.•.

What is "en passant"?

It is surprising how difficult

people find this rule and grand­
masters have been known to forget
about it, so it is well worth getting
to grips with. There is actually a
 Advanced Rules 2 1

wry easy method for remembering

the rule.
111 the old days it was only
pu�sihle to move a pawn one square
1111 its first move which meant
Hllllles progressed very slowly. For
, ..�umple, it was several moves
hdiu·e exchanges began. The
p,l'lll�ral consensus among players
wus that the game was too slow and
th,·relore it was speeded up by
ullowing pawns to move two
1 0 exf6e.p.
"'luures on their first g�. However,
This can also be written simply as
' uusider the following diagram:
1 0 exf6.

If the white pawn moves to a4, 10 Jhf6

..

11111neone can rightly say that, in the

old days, that pawn could have only
�one one square when it could have
he en captured on a3. Therefore, if
the pawn moves two squares, it is
ullowed to be captured exactly the
sume as if it had been moved one
square. The en passant rule only
lusts for one move however.
Play out the following moves of a
line in the French defence where an
example ? f en passant occurs early
llll:
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lLlc3 Ji.b4 4 e5
li.)e7 5 a3 Ji.xc3+ 6 bxc3 c5 7 'ii'g4
0-0 8 Ji.d3 lLlbc6 9 lLlf3 f5
Is there any more chess
equipment?
You will probably not meet one
until you begin some form of com­
petitive chess at a club or school,
but you should know that chess
clocks are used as a matter of course
in tournaments. See chapter 7.
How many ways are there to
finish a game of chess?
The decisive ones are checkmate
and resignation, but there are ways
for the game to end in a draw. Stale­
mate, perpetual check, the 50 move
22 Your Chess Questions Answered

rule, draw by threefold repetition, game is drawn. This normally takes

insufficient mating material and an place with a lone king. Here is a
agreed draw are all covered later in simple example with Black to play.
this chapter. It is an advantage if
these are all understood before
entering into a tournament. The
arbiters are not there. to teach the
players the finer points of chess.

If I have no chance, can I

resign?

Yes, you can always resign and

therefore lose the game. It makes
me laugh when a child tells me he
doesn't want to play any more and
so I tell him that is fine and to As Black is unable to move, how­
resign. "I can't" he says, "George ever painful, White must concede a
'
won't let me". Your opponent may draw.
well be enjoying his excellent
position and wish to continue to The next is a further example of
checkmate, but he cannot force you stalemate. Although Black, to play,
to play on ! has several pieces, he cannot legally
At the top level of chess, material move anywhere and can proudly tell
deficit of as little as a pawn may be his friends that he didn't lose this
enough to cause a player to resign. time.
Newcomers to chess are more likely
to play on to the bitter end.
One grandmaster is famous for his
habit of playing on in ridiculously
lost positions. Some top opponents
would take this behaviour as an in­
sult, but the grandmaster in question
feels totally justified because he did
once salvage a totally hopeless situ­
ation for his efforts.

What is stalemate?

This is probably the best reason to What is perpetual check?

play on if you are materially disad­
vantaged and have precious little
left on your side of the board. If
your opponent puts you in a situ­
ation where you cannot move any­
thing and you are NOT in check, the
Exactly what it implies! If one
player is determined to give check
forever and the other player cannot
prevent this, the draw is inevitable.
Take the following example:

I once couldn't understand why a
l l lcnJ was playing on in such a
hopeless position. White had just
quL·cned a pawn when it became
dear that l llc2+ 2 'it>b3 1Ic3+ 3
...
·.£.·u2 llc2+ leads to perpetual check.
What is threefold repetition?
t\ player may claim a draw using
llie threefold repetition rule if, with
llie same player to move on each
m:casion, an identical position is
1 ep cated three times. To prove a
draw the game must be recorded or
an arbiter be present to witness the
1 el e v ant moves.
Threefold repetition and perpetual
check are intertwined since
perpetual check will inevitably lead
lo lhe position being repeated three
limes anyway.
What is the 50 move rule?
If there is no capture (involving
pieces or pawns) or a pawn move
over the period of 50 moves (each),
a player is able to claim a draw.
l lowever, it is obviously necessary
lo have an up to date score sheet to
prove the point. A well-known
figure recently forgot about the rule
in the British Championships and
Advanced Rules 23
went on to lose an ending which had
gone 70 moves without a pawn
move or capture-there was no
reason why his opponent was going
to point it out.
The real irony was that he claimed
a draw by threefold repetition, but
this was rejected as incorrect.
Several years ago, FIDE, the
world governing body of chess,
extended some endings to 75 moves
as it was felt that 50 moves was not
sufficient to test the defender to the
full, and in the days of adjourn­
ments (see page 57) I found myself
playing out king, rook and bishop
against king and rook for several
days. Fortunately, adjournments
have all but been abandoned in
favour of quickplay finishes and the
50 move rule is back to a uniform
figure for all positions.
Why would you wish to claim a
draw?
There are many reasons why you
may wish to claim a draw. For
example, if it secures victory for
your team or if you are up against a
substantially stronger player. Most
commonly you will only be too
pleased to claim a draw if you are
losing the game.
What is the procedure for
claiming a draw?
The player wanting to claim a
draw should inform his opponent,
before moving, by making a
statement of his intented next move
and claim.
This could be either to repeat the
position for the third time for a
threefold repetition claim or to
24 Your Chess Questions Answered
complete the fiftieth move for that
particular rule. The opponent may
immediately agree to this claim and
therefore succumb to the draw.
Alternatively, he may dispute the
fact, then further investigation is
required, often with the assistance
of an arbiter.
Is there a penalty for an
incorrect claim?
Yes, normally if the claim is
incorrect a time penalty of no more
than five minutes is awarded.
Problems can occur if one or both
players are in time trouble, say less
than five minutes. In extreme cases,
if the claim is incorrect, this could
result in a player losing on time. To
avoid losing unnecessary time, it is
normal procedure for the clocks to
be stopped whilst finding an arbiter
who will examine the claim. Make
sure your claim is correct if you do
have less than five minutes, or it
could cause you to overstep the time
limit.
·
What would be classed as
insufficient mating material?
When there are just two kings left
on the board, a king and knight ver­
sus a lone king or a king and bishop
versus a king, the game is declared
drawn as even with terrible mistakes
there is no possibility of checkmate.
Is "offering a draw" as easy as
it sounds?
Yes, although you must time it
correctly to abide by the rules. The
correct process is to say "Do you
want a draw?" or something similar
as you make your move and before
you press the clock. It is extremely
rude to offer a draw while your op­
ponent is thinking and if you offer
one while it is your move, your
opponent is allowed to force you to
play a move before answering.
Also, as a word of warning, be
careful how you reply to a draw
offer because a sarcastic response
"Oh yeah, I really want a draw" has
actually been made to stand on more
than one occasion!
I was sitting next to a game
recently and was surprised to hear
the conversation "Would you like a
draw?" answered by "yes please,
with two sugars". The outcome was
that the second player got a cup of
tea and enjoyed it while playing on.
It is considered bad manners for
the weaker player to offer a draw in
an atrocious position, although a
well timed draw offer can act as the
stronger player's salvation if his
reputation is such that his opponent
lacks the confidence to see his
advantage through.
It is also rude to consistently offer
draws throughout a game-two is
more than enough. There is a new
rule in international tournaments
which obliges players to register
when draw offers are made (an "="
sign next to the move in question)
which is interesting for the public to
know as the game is circulated and
can be important for the arbiter if a
complaint ts made against an
individual.
When I get a pawn to the eighth
rank, do I have to promote to a
queen?
No, when a pawn reaches the end
of the board it can be exchanged for
any piece, although invariably a
 Advanced Rules 25

qul'l'll is chosen because it is the

111osl powerful piece. Some people
11 " ' under the impression that, if you
,dll'ady have a queen, you are not
i'''llnilled another, but in fact y�u
, 1u1 have up to nine queens and will
huve lo ask the arbiter to bring you
•uune spares.
Hemember though, don't mess
uhoul by queening as many pawns
11'1 possible for the sake of it. You
will annoy your opponent at the
1 c8�? .!:f.c4+ 2 �xc4 is stalemate
,.,.,y least and perhaps run the risk
and therefore White must look at
ol �lalemate if there are only a few
other possibilities. The key to the
l'lll'lllY pieces left. An upside down
solution is to underpromote with l
1 ook can serve as a queen if you
c8.!:f.! when l .. ..!:f.c4+ 2 .!:f.xc4 is no
only have one set.
longer stalemate. White
llere is a wonderful example of
immediately threatens 2 .!:f.a8+ and
w here it is a mistake to promote to a
therefore l....!:f.a4 is forced and now
queen:
2 'it>b3! finally causes Black's
position to crack under the strain
due to the threats of 3 'it>xa4 and 3
.!:f.c l mate.
 3 Mating

Which m1mmum amount of The technique is relatively simple

pieces is it possible to checkmate but should be mastered before
with? moving. on as it a common failing
for beginners to allow stalemate
The basic answer is two, but it is with queen and king v king. Take
worth discussing which pieces and the following position with White to
which combination of pieces are move.
able to do the business.
Novices often enquire whetht<r it
is possible to checkmate with two
knights and king versus king, or two
bishops or a bishop and knight duo.
It is certainly worth knowing these
off by heart as it can influence your
decision of which pieces to
exchange as you enter the final
stages of the game.
Queen and king against king, and
rook and king against king are
trivial in comparison. The first job is for the queen to
How do I checkmate with king trap the black king and form a
and queen against a lone king? "cage" from which he caimot
escape. This is done by 1 'ii'c 4.
First let us look at one of the final
checkmate positions we must aim
for.

Now the king is in a restricted

area forming 1 5 squares since it
 Mating 2 7

'tlllllot cross the 1magmary lines but with less dangers o f stalemate.
' ·I h·l a nd c4-c 1 . Let us first establish a mating
I 'it>f3 position.
z 'ii'd4
lhc cage is getting smaller.
2 'it>e2
t\1 this point there is no way for
1111' queen to force a smaller cage
1111d therefore it is time to bring in
IIH· aid of the king .
.\ 'it>e5 �f3
_. 'iVe4+ 'it>f2
� �f4 'it>gl
I low would you tie the black king
d�twn to two squares on the back
Ill Ilk?
You will notice that these
checkmates invariably occur at the
side or edge of the board. This is for
the simple reason that a king has 8
squares to go to in the centre of the
board, only 5 possible squares at the
edge and 3 at the corner of the
board. Towards the end of the game,
the attacking side may not have
many pieces left himself. Delivering
checkmate on one of the edges is
much easier and with fewer pieces
may prove a necessity.
(, 'ii'e2
This is the best square as there is Now let us set up a position where
1u1 danger of stalemate when the we must force the king to the edge
white king steps forward next move. of the board in order to deliver
The black king must now resort to checkmate. White to play.
moving between the squares gl and
hi.
6 'it>hl
7 'it>g3 'it>gl
8 'ir'el mate.
How many different mates are
you able to find on move 8?

How do I checkmate with king

nnd rook against a king?
Mating with rook and king versus
king is similar to queen and king,
28 Your Chess Questions A nswered

The first job is to cut the king off. How do I checkmate with king
and two bishops against a king?
1 �e1
2 'it>dS First it is worth looking at the
3 �e4 final mate and then discussing how
to force it from any situation to
avoid falling foul of the 50 move
rule.

The black king is in a cage of 3x3

already.
3 'itf3
4 'itd4 'itg3 Now we will start from the next
5 'ite3 'itg2 position and drive the black king to
6 �f4 'itg3 the corner in order to deliver the
This is an important point that checkmate.
confuses some people since there is
no move to make the cage smaller
and no move to bring the king
forward either.
This calls for a waiting move
since Black will have to give ground
next move.
7 'ite4 'itg2
8 �f3 'ith2
9 'itf4 'itg2
10 'itg4 'ith2
11 �f2+
Be careful not to play 1 1 �g3 Our job is first to drive the king to
'ith 1 12 'ith3 stalemate here as you the vicinity of the back of the board
must never let the cage get down to and as he is three squares away at
one square since then your opponent the moment, our initial aim is to
cannot move at all and you will push him back to two squares from
have thrown away half a point. the edge. Don't forget that there are
1 1 ... 'itg1 four sides to consider and any one
12 'itg3 'it>h1 . will do.
13 �fl mate. 1 .i.d3
 Mating 29

11 1ssimple centralising move

a 11 �e6 'it>e8
thotl es the black king to give
l·a u s The first step has been completed
111111111d as he must move and cannot and now that the king is confined to
ll lltllill on a central square.
' the back rank, we must nudge him
1 'it>cs into a corner. Let us choose the one
Z 'iti>e4 on h8, and therefore we must pre­
Wtthout the use of your king, vent the king heading the other way.
1\'hll'h is a powerful piece in the 12 �c7 'it>f8
o•tullng, you will get nowhere. 13 'it>f6 'it>e8
z 'it>d6 14 �c6+ 'it>f8
.I �c4 1S �d6+ �g8
16 'it>g6 'it>h8

Nolice how the bishops combine

tu l orm a solid l ine through which
'

thl· king cannot cross . With the job all but completed
.I 'it>cs there are two things to watch out
4 i..a2 for.
This ts a set up worth One, stalemate is always a
ll'tm:mbering because the king possibility and that is why 17 �d5?
,·nnnot even approach the bishops to must be rejected; secondly, you
hurass them while they guard each might be tempted to start checking
ulhcr's territory. here with 17 �e5+ �g8 18 �d5+
4 'it>d6 which unfortunately allows the king
�d4 'it>c6 to escape. If the king were on g8, it
�c4 'it>d6 is evident that we could check on d5
�dS and then on e5 with mate, so we
/\nother important manoeuvre as must play a "waiting" move in order
lhc bishops and king work in perfect to force the king to a worse square,
harmony to drive the enemy otherwise known as placing the
monarch to its downfall. black king in "zugzwang" (see page
7 'it>d7 3 8).
K �cS �c7 17 �cS �g8
9 �es 'it>d7 18 �dS+ 'it>h8
10 �d6 'it>d8 19 �d4 mate.
30 Your Chess Questions A nswered

A helpful point is to remember match and it took me 48 moves (2

that the attacking king is best
positioned on g6, fl, g3 , f2, etc.
depending on the corner used. If
you can achieve this mate within 30
moves from any position or with 5
minutes on the clock, it should pose
no problem if you are faced with it
m a senous game.
Is it possible to checkmate with
king, bishop and knight against a
king?
away from a draw) so I am not an
authority on the technique!
Is it possible to checkmate with
king and two knights against a
king?
It is possible to set up a position
where two knights mate, but only if
the opponent walks into the mate by
himself as it cannot be achieved by
force against the best defence.

Yes, but this one is incredibly

difficult and one that can take more
than 30 moves, even with best play.
Again, certain techniques are vital
here. Notice from the diagram that
the mate occurs in the corner of the
same colour as the bishop and in
fact it is not possible to force mate
in the other corner. Therefore, if
you are the one defending, you
know which corner to run to if you
have the choice!
However, you may be interested
in the fact that if Black had a pawn,
it may be possible to force
checkmate. Sounds perverse, let me
expand.
Set up this position with a pawn
blockaded by a knight.

The method of mating here has no

place in a beginner's book because
it requires such perfect coordination
between the pieces and therefore I
will not burden you with the
method. To be honest, to date I have
only ever had to do it once in a

I he pawn must be safely
lolurkaded and preferably as far
'"""Y from the queening square as
l""':;ihlc for which reason it will
I nTomc clear soon. It takes a lot of
do·liratc manoeuvring, but gradually
Wl11lc can squeeze his opponent's
1, 111g into the corner.
I lnlinarily the other knight would
hoiVl' no time to move in for the
11111lc due to stalemate, but now we
' 1111 see how the pawn changes the
p�o·turc. The knight, which has been
'"' patiently guarding the enemy
1111W1l is now able to finish the job
Mating 31
off and find the quickest route to
mate before the pawn queens.
For example 1 ltJc5 aS 2 ltJd7 a4
3 ltJf6+ �h8 4 ltJg5 a3 (this is the
point that stalemate would have
occurred without the pawn) 5 ltJfl
mate.
There has been extensive study on
this ending but it is extremely rare
in tournament practice and normally
takes more than 50 moves to
execute so please don't waste too
much time on it as it does not hold
much value to the ordinary chess
player.
 4 Jargon
Can I ask about all the jargon
because it can be off putting?
As with most fields, there are a lot
of chess terms that will mean
nothing to the general public, but
are often spouted in chess circles. I
remember being confused by the
word "birdie" in golf and thinking it
meant that a ball hit a poor low
flying bird, so it is important not to
assume that everyone knows exactly
what you are talking about.
I guess we will never achieve total
uniformity however, because I
know at least two pupils who have
their own little j argon which they
cannot be shaken from and for all I
know their whole school talks in the
same way. For example, one young
boy always says "castle-up" for the
act of castling and another will not
budge from referring to "taking" or
"capturing" as "cutting" the piece.
What is a TN?
This stands for "Theoretical
Novelty". More recently, a single
"N" is more commonly used.
A move that has never been
published before can be claimed to
be a "TN". The more successful and
notable it is, the more important the
novelty.
A novelty can come as early as
move 3 in obscure openings or as
late as around move 30 in well
known lines.
However, the move itself can
have been played by a club player
for years. This club player can be
upset that he gets no credit for the
idea, but that's life!
I accidentally hit on a novelty
many years ago just before a famous
grandmaster used it in a top
tournament. However, my game
rightly went unnoticed as the follow
up was totally unconvincing and it
took place against a weak opponent.
The relevance of a TN is that it is
likely to change the course of an
opening in favour of one side.
The world's top players have to
keep up with all the latest TN's in
their openings so they are not
caught out.
What is a "plus" or "minus"
score?
I didn't come across this phrase
until I embarked on international
tournaments, but you may well read
it in a chess article or magazine.
If a player has 50%, their score is
"evens" while anything above or
below will be a plus or minus score
respectively.
That is straightforward enough,
but it is not so obvious to work out
what is "plus one", "plus two" or
"minus three" for example.

" Plus one" means that a player
hns won one more game than he has
lost. Therefore, to be on "plus one"
,,ner 9 rounds means that the player
hns 5 points. This could be made up
"r X draws and one win, or 5 wins
,,ud 4 losses.
So "plus one" means half a point
11111re than a 50% score.
" Plus two" means two more wins
1han losses, so after 4 rounds the
·.rore would be 3 .
"Minus three" means three more
losses than wins which equates to 0
1 r only three rounds have been
played.
S imilarly, a plus score against a
particular opponent means that you
have won more times than you have
lost.
heard someone saying
"j 'adoube"-why?
Once the ruleo of "touch a p.iece,
move a piece", which is explained
on page 53, is ingrained into you,
t he thought of touching a piece that
you do not intend to move will fill
you with horror in case your
opponent insists on you moving it.
Therefore, what happens if a piece
is misaligned and it begins to bug
you that it is off-centre? Here you
must carefully adjust the piece and
instead of explaining "I'm just
adjusting the piece", most players
prefer to announce "j 'adoube" as
the short and sweet French
equivalent. You must forgive
players for appearing to shout it out,
but woe betide if there is a
misunderstanding and an argument
breaks out over the person's
intention for touching the piece.
Likewise, .you are able to adjust
your opponent's piece, but make
Jargon 33
sure this is always when it is your
turn to move so you do not interfere
with your opponent's train of
thought. Remember that if you
touch an opponent's piece without
any explanation and it is your turn
to move, you are expected to take it
if possible.
What does "en prise" mean?
I have always thought this phrase
was a rather unnecessarily
complicated way to point out that a
piece could be taken for nothing.
You may hear people discussing a
position and the remark "your
knight is en prise" means nothing
more than that the knight IS
undefended, often implying a
blunder or oversight.
What is a tempo?
This refers to time taken, in
moves, for a useful manoeuvre. If
you have lost a tempo or some
tempi, the plural, then you have lost
or wasted a move or some moves.
For example, in a king and pawn
ending, if some kind of pawn race is
taking place; then you may like to
count how many tempi (moves) it
will take until the pawn promotes.
To put it simply, 1 e3 e5 2 e4
would be a blatant waste of a tempo
as White had the opportunity to play
1 e4 at once.
What is material?
I once gave a puzzle to a senior
school chess club and said "White
to play and win material". They all
looked at me with a blank face until
I rephrased the question to "White
34 Your Chess Questions Answered
to play and win a piece or pieces".
Material is just another way to de­
scribe some amount of pieces, and
in this particular case I was looking
for a solution that won a bishop.
Pawns are sometimes referred to
as pieces, although if a player
claims to have won a piece, the im­
plication is more than just a pawn.
What is being the "exchange up
or down"?
This is a phrase that beginners
hardly use but experienced players
don't think twice about. It can
actually cause some confusion
because a straight "exchange"
implies two pieces of equal status
being swapped off while an
"exchange down" in this context
refers to a piece count of bishop or a
knight for a rook. Therefore, being
the "exchange up" will mean you
have a rook for a minor piece.
There again, a bit of jargon crept
in as a "minor" piece refers to a
knight or a bishop while the "major"
or "heavy" pieces are the queens
and rooks.
So don't be put off by hearing
comments such as "Whoops, there
goes an exchange ! " or "I'm only an
exchange down but if I can
exchange queens I should be okay
in the ending". Of course this ex­
change (of conversation) could not
take place during a game since one
is not allowed to discuss one's posi­
tion while a match is in progress.
What is a Gambit?
A gambit is when a player gives
up a pawn in the opening for some
compensation· which may lie in a
big centre or rapid piece
development.
1 d4 dS 2 c4
. . . is the most well known gambit
when it is further categorised into
the Queen's Gambit Accepted with
2 . . . dxc4 and the Queen's Gambit
Declined with 2 . . e6.
.
The pawn might be regained in a
couple of moves or not even taken
in the first place. However, the
opening will still be referred to as a
"gambit" if a pawn is offered.
What is a Swiss Gambit?
This is nothing to do with the
actual moves played in a game of
chess. This is occasionally what
strong (but lazy!) players do in a
tournament.
Let's say there are 6 rounds and
Mr.X realises that it will be hard
work to win all his games. The best
players will no doubt win their early
games and be on a 1 00% score. In
order to avoid playing them, Mr.X
might draw his first game and will
therefore be playing just below the
top boards.
The idea is that the top players
will take points off each other and
Mr.X ends up on the top board in
 Jargon 35

lhc last round, not as tired as his known that rooks are useful on open
',pponent who has had to deal with files since there are no pawns to re­
ull lhe tough competitors. strict their firing power. An example
Mr.X. drawing the first game and of this is on the e-file below.
winning his last 5 to take first prize
would be a classic example of a
"Swiss Gambit".
l lowever, the term is used far
111orc as a feeble excuse for a good

player messing up his first seeded

1 ound against a weak opponent, pre­
ll'llding it was intentional. It is very
rare to be able to predict results and

pa irings where a lost half a point

ran ever work to one's advantage.
"Swiss" refers to the type of
lournament and is discussed further
1 11 chapter 6. What is a semi-open file?
What does "fianchetto" mean? A semi-open file refers to a file
that has one pawn or pawns of one
This describes a method of colour blocking it.
developing a bishop on the wing to This time the example occurs on
h2 or g2 as White and b7 or g7 as
the c and d-files:
Black, instead of the more common
route via the centre, as shown in the
l'o llowing diagram.

What is a closed file?

A closed file will have at least one

What is an open file? pawn of each colour along the way.
The following diagram clearly
This describes a file which has no shows an example of this on the
pawns blocking it at all. It is well e-file.
l f1 Your ( 'lrcs.1· Questions Answered
What are doubled pawns?
This is a term used to describe
two pawns of the same colour which
have made it onto the same file.
They can be extremely weak and are
generally considered bad, although
some openings encourage such a
structure in order to aim for rapid
piece development or to open an
important file. For example, the first
diagram clearly shows that White is
worse due to the fact that his c­
pawns will be picked off eventually.
The next example comes after
several moves in the Caro-Kann
opening where Black willingly
receives the doubled pawns: 1 e4 c6
2 d4 dS 3 tt'lc3 dxe4 4 tt'lxe4 tt'lf6 5
tt'lxf6+ gxf6 which leads us to the
position:
Black prepares to castle queenside
and intends to use the open g-file
for attacking purposes. The f-pawns
are not really much of a liability
here since the trio of pawns can
defend each other well enough on
f7, e6 and f5 later.
What is a backward pawn?
Again this is something that
normally suggests a negative
quality. Backward pawns cannot be
defended by another pawn and
therefore a piece could have to
waste itself supporting the pawn in
question.
The following diagram illustrates
an example of a backward pawn on
d6
It is generally a good idea to re­
lieve oneself of a backward pawn if
 Jargon 37

possible, because it might turn out

lo be awkward to defend, but just
like in the case of doubled pawns,
there are one or two openings that
a rc happy to be saddled with a

backward pawn.
One of the most notable is the
Kalashnikov Sicilian where the
opening moves run:

1 e4 c5 2 lLlf3 lLlc6 3 d4 cxd4 4

tilxd4 e5 5 lbb5 d6
The black pawns on c5 and d5 are
hanging. Note that they cannot be
defended by any other pawns.

What is an I.Q.P?

This stands for isolated queen's

Practice has shown that Black gets
plenty of piece activity to compen­
sate for his backward d-pawn.
pawn. It is also called an isolated
d-pawn, since the queen's file and
d-file are one and the same. An
isolated pawn is simply a pawn that
has no neighbouring pawns, while
an I.Q.P. is a queen's pawn that is
bereft of a mate on either side.
The I.Q.P. position is one that can
occur from many openings. An
example can be found in chapter 7.

What are hanging pawns?

These describe two pawns

standing alone, abreast of each
other. They are normally associated
with fourth rank pawns on the c and
d-files. A typical example of an
opening leading to the possibility of
hanging pawns is the Tartakower
variation of the Queen's Gambit
Declined:
1 d4 dS 2 c4 e6 3 lbf3 lLlf6 4 lLlc3
!ii..e7 5 !ii..g5 h6 6 !ii.. h4 0-0 7 e3 b6 8 This diagram illustrates the pawn
cxd5 lbxd5 9 !ii..xe7 'ii'xe7 10 lbxd5 structure that often arises with an
exd5 11 .l:tcl !ii.. e6 12 !ii.. e2 c5 13 I.Q.P. Notice how White has a weak
dxc5 bxc5 d-pawn but has the half open e-file
38 Your Chess Questions Answered

and the e5-square can often serve as

a springboard with which to launch
an attack.
The golden rule in I.Q.P positions
is for Black to blockade the
d5-square to prevent White pushing
forward in the centre in favourable
circumstances. Black also wishes to
exchange pieces in order to reach an
ending. The onus is definitely on
White to attack.
However, as we know a player is
What is an outpost?
not permitted this way out and
therefore he must relinquish the best
An outpost is a square which a
square and will lose without a fight
piece is able to occupy and be
after the enemy king invades and
supported by a pawn without the
then shepherds his pawn home to
possibility of being ousted by an
make a queen. When a player must
enemy pawn.
move and in doing so worsen his
For example, in the following
position, we say he Is m
diagram, the white knight on d5 is
"zugzwang".
settled in an outpost whilst the
Here is a further example of
opposing knight on d4 cannot claim
"zugzwang".
an outpost since it can be removed
by the pawn push c3.

Black has no other possibility

What is "zugzwang"?
If a player was allowed to say
"pass" and forfeit his go, the
following ending would be drawn as
nothing could budge the black king
from the e6-square.
than to move his king, thus leaving
his knight on f8 without defence.
What is a fork?
Just as a road forks in two
directions, so a piece can attack two
things at once. Knight forks are the
most common but it can be
 Jargon 39

associated with any piece. See if

you can spot the various forks
quickly here:

Q8) Here it is White to play with

two possible knight forks, although
one is clearly superior to the other.

Qll) And now one that is a bit

deeper as White can cause
devastation with a queen fork.

Q9) Now a more complex form of

the same theme: Again it is White to
play and win material.

Q12) Here I have chosen a typical

method of picking up a piece. It is
always necessary to be extra careful
when exposing your king to a
check. White to play.

QJ O) White has a simple bishop

fork to pick up the enemy queen.
I f / l'u111 ( '/t , ·,\',1' (h�t•stion1· Answered
QJ3) Pawn forks should be
watched out for especially in the
opening when the board is crowded
with pieces. The following is a
typical example with White to play:
King forks are decidedly
uncommon as very often a king will
not even enter into the battle, but the
same principle applies and a king
can certainly attack two pieces at
once:
Ql4) White is a pawn down, but
can he safely capture the pawn on f7
this move?
Ql5) Rook fork. Two bishops are
generally stronger than a rook, as
long as they are not about to be
forked ! White to play:
Answers on page 124.
What is a skewer?
This is where you attack along a
line with the potential to pick up
some material behind another piece.
Again, the same trick can be done
with several different pieces and I
leave you to solve them:
Ql6) White is threatening
checkmate with .1:1£8 but Black, to
play, is able to turn the tables with a
bishop skewer.

Q 1 7) Both sides have just
queened and now Black, to play, is
nhlc to make use of a queen skewer
in a combination two moves deep
which rounds up the enemy queen.
Q 1 8) A simple one move rook
skewer that ensures White (to play)
a winning ending.
Answers on page 1 24.
Jargon 41
What is a pin?
This means that a piece 1s
"pinned" down and either cannot
move due to check or it is not wise
to move it due to the loss of
material, such as a queen. For
instance the knight on f6 is pinned
in the following diagram:
Here are some examples of how
to take advantage of a pin.
Q19) Black is threatening mate on
g2, but White to play, can disable
his opponent's forces with a timely
pm.
42 Your Chess Questions Answered

Q20) White has just castled, and Q21) White to play and wm
so the question is whether Black is material.
able safely to snaffle the pawn on
e4?

Answers on page 1 24 . .
 5 Children
Should I want my child to learn
dtcss?
Evidence suggests that it ts
beneficial for every child to be
taught the rules of chess as it
encourages concentration and
discipline skills. For example, it is
important for a child to learn how to
take it in turns to move and how to
cope with adversities such as being
checkmated or losing their queen
during a game. I actually teach all
the year twos (aged 6-7) in a school
a nd it is interesting to watch their
different approaches.
Even at that early age, some
children are more than happy to
resign their game in favour of a
peaceful, contented and unambitious
l i fe while others fight on to the
death or even try a spot of cheating
to secure the point. It is clear that
about one third will never want to
play a game of chess again but more
than half pick it up quickly and
enj oy the endless complexities.
Another school in the area does
not believe in competition for the
children and, although chess is
taught, matches are not played and a
school champion is not sought. Ad­
mittedly I have not heard the rel­
evant arguments for the other side
but I cannot understand the concept
of protecting children in this way as
we live in such a competitive world.
I have found nearly every child to
relish the prospect of entering a
chess tournament and, while I
would not dream of forcing
someone to play against their will, I
would never deprive the children of
a chance to excel at something they
enjoy.
We must not forget that every
child is different and a taste of chess
might be just the right medicine for
endless hours of constructive fun.
What age should my child start
playing chess?
This is a difficult question to
answer because it is different for
every child. For example, you will
hear stories about Fischer (eccentric
former World Champion) and
Kasparov (the current World no. 1 )
picking u p the moves and playing
from the early age of 4, but I know
at least one grand master who learnt
the rules at the ripe old age of 1 5 !
Of course the sooner the better is
a logical rule to apply, but not all
children will take to it until their
powers of concentration develop
and premature pressure could have
an adverse effect. I was intrigued to
hear from the renowned junior
coach Richard James that starting at
1 1 can bear equal fruits to someone
who learns much earlier. He
explained that it is easier for most
44 Your Chess Questions Answered
older children to pick up the lost
time by studying themselves,
whereas younger children often
need constant attention and
stimulation from a parent or teacher.
He advocates that if a parent is
able and willing to put in the time,
and this could include ferrying a
child to a club and/or playing at
home, all well and good, but in fact
the age is not as critical as you
could imagine. I myself did not
participate in my first tournament
until the age of 1 0, and it was quite
rewarding to gradually overtake
those rated higher, who had been
playing for several years already.
I don't believe in forcing a child
to learn unless they show interest,
and this could well happen when
they want to be included in a family
game of chess or if, for example,
their grandpa challenges them. If
you don't play yourself, perhaps
there is a beginner's club at school,
but there is no point sending your
child to a club at school or
otherwise until the rules are well
known. There are occasionally chess
workshops set up during the school
holidays, particularly in London.
These are designed to prepare
children for a club and normally last
about 5 days but are admittedly few
and far between.
If the worst comes to the worst,
learn from a book, but make sure it
is understood and expect it to take at
least 1 0 hours to master the rules.
If your child shows an unusual
passion for the game at a young age
(4-7) and picks up the rules and
ideas with uncanny speed, you owe
it to him or her to search out a club
and find competitions because you
could well have a champion in the
making. Don't worry, there are
chess millionaires, the money is
excellent at the top !
If my child proves to be talented
at chess, is it my job to push
him/her?
The answer is definitely a
resounding NO! Ideally your role is
only to be an encourager, a funder
and a chauffeur.
I noticed that a father was always
telling off his son when he lost and
when I was privy to give private les­
sons to the boy, the most important
advice I could give was for the
father to leave him alone concerning
chess. I can relate many stories of
extremely talented youngsters who
have left the chess scene due to the
miseries encountered by loud, angry
parents that seem to take it
personally when their child loses a
game. If only the parent could take a
minute to realise that their child is
upset at the result and that the best
course of action is to build up their
child for the next game instead.
I am grateful for the chess books
that my father used to bring home
and for the coaching he arranged for
me, but the well meant advice of
suggesting that I should try
concentrating during my games was
incredibly annoying as we both
knew he had not played a serious
game of chess in his life. It was a
source of amusement when he told
the English soccer team how to play
from his armchair but they had the
advantage of not being able to hear
the hot air.
How do I find out where my
local club is situated?

The library or the local paper
m ight have information, but the
British Chess Federation should be
able to put anyone in touch with
their nearest club:
British Chess Federation
9a Grand Parade
St. Leonards-on-Sea
East Sussex
TN3 8 ODD
tel: 0 1 424-442500
fax: 01 424 7 1 8373
e-mail: office@bcf.org.uk
What should I look for in a
club?
From an adult point of vie;w this
could be whether or not the
premises are licensed while perhaps
parents are more interested in the
distance from home and the meeting
times.
Surprisingly enough, children are
not always welcome at a chess club
as they nearly always meet in an
evening and nobody wants to
encounter a group of over-excited
schoolkids on their late night out.
Therefore I recommend that you
seek out a club that has special
facilities for juniors. For example,
Ashtead Chess Club in Surrey
specializes in a junior section that
meets one hour before the main
session while Richmond Junior
Chess Club meets on Saturdays, a
lower group in the morning and the
top set in the afternoon.
Not all, areas have such luxuries
and there might only be one club for
miles around which gives you little
choice. My brother and I had an
excellent club that we attended from
the age of about 1 2 which consisted
Children 45
of about 10 members. They actually
welcomed some young blood into
the gathering and we were given
special attention for this reason.
People wondered why we didn't nip
round the corner to the local club of
60 odd members but we never
considered leaving the struggling
village club, even when we missed
the last bus home and had to walk 4
miles.
What opportunities are there
for talented youngsters?
Firstly, there are many regional
junior events and national events
that you can find out about through
your school or the British Chess
Federation. You can take part in
those events, either as part of a
team, or the events are there to enter
independently.
Then there are the world junior
events which now take place over
all the age groups starting at under-9
and going up to under-20 for which
most countries normally send a
representative and a special
invitation must be issued.
Selections are made by a body of
about six involved in chess
throughout the country and there are
also European junior events to
which different children are sent if
possible.
The latest successful venture in
England was to compile a national
squad of under- 1 1 children who are
trained and given the chance to
experience tournaments abroad.
There are several events that are
held throughout the year which
enable a player to qualify for the
squad and it has proved an immense
incentive and goal for the children.
46 Your Chess Questions Answered
How do I know if my child is
exceptionally talented?
As a junior it is especially
important to keep track of your
progress in relation to other juniors
as this is largely how selections are
made.
As a guide, if your BCF grade is
your age x 10 + 40, you are a
contender for the national squad and
will be ranked high in the country
for your age.
There are similar selections made
separately for girls. Here the
achievement guide is less at (your
age x I 0). For example, a boy of I 0
rated 140 is a rare achievement and
a girl aged 1 0 rated 1 00 will also be
noticed. That is not to say that some
girls do not attain the same standard
as the boys however.
Gradings are discussed in chapter
8.
How d o I g o about setting up a
school chess club?
This may be a relevant for a pupil
in a secondary school, a parent or a
teacher and it is actually not as
difficult as it sounds.
The equipment required is
perhaps 10 chess sets to allow for 20
children, a demonstration board if
any teaching is to take place and a
vacant room once a week with the
blessing of the school.
I have attended many school clubs
and was interested in all the
different approaches possible. For
example, one school might have a
beginner's course for years 2 or 3 at
lunch-time and then a chess club
after school for those already able to
play.
A coach may be used for chess
training and parents may help to
supervise chess matches against
other schools. Each child pays in the
region of £25 for a term and this
covers the coach's fees, although
siblings are often given a discount.
Other schools might be lucky
enough to have a strong chess
teacher or parent who is willing to
give their time free, but make sure
this person really can play properly.
I took over a school where a teacher
had got the numbers up to about 80,
but in fact the children had been
taught incorrectly and would resign
when they lost all their pieces, or
incorrectly talk of stalemate if they
happened to reach king against king.
Castling was a mystery to them and
checkmate something that
occasionally happened by accident.
It is extremely difficult to re-educate
children when they have been
taught badly as old habits die hard.
Teaching beginners is a relatively
straightforward proposition and
often a teacher with no
understanding of chess can convey
the rules from a book in about 1 0
sessions o f one hour each. However,
there should be an advanced chess
teacher to help the children progress
once they have mastered the moves.
Is it possible to mix a range of
abilities in a school chess club?
It is best avoided if at all possible.
Certainly total beginners cannot mix
with more experienced players as
both sets are likely to be put off.
The ideal situation is to have
about 20 children who can be
divided into roughly equal sized
groups, depending on age and
 Children 4 7

ability, and run an all-play-all The rules are harder to ascertain

event. This means that you play
everyone in your group. It may be
suitable to play everybody once
only with an equal share of whites
and blacks. Alternatively, if the
group is small, everyone can play
each other twice, once with each
colour and the final total can be
totted up at the end. A chart can be
made up for any amount of players
but looks like this.
1 2 3 4 5 Total
I Terry X •h I I I 3 1h
2 Linda •h X I I •h 3 following week.
3 David 0 0 X I I 2
4 Yvonne 0 0 0 X I I gets checkmate puts up their hand
5 Michael 0 •h 0 0 X 'h
The results allow relegation, and
promotion. Prizes can be awarded as
incentives and the tournaments can
serve as a way to determine who the
best players are. It will then be
easier to construct the strongest
school team.
I have found the senior schools to
be more informal but structured
events are again necessary to keep
interest going.
What other activities can I run
in a school chess club?
Ladders are also popular where
the children are placed on rungs and
are allowed to challenge people
ahead of them to take their place
and try to move up to the top of the
ladder.
here as you have to decide how
many places above is permissible to
challenge, what happens if someone
is absent and which challenge takes
priority. Children are excellent at
taking advantage of unclear rules so
a clear set of guidelines are
necessary here.
One interesting activity that is
ideal for large or small numbers is
called "circle chess" and carried out
as follows:
Two equally balanced teams are
formed and sit opposite each other
in a circle. One team gets white on
every board for the whole session
but this can be reversed the
Games begin and any player who
and scores a point for themselves
and their team. Finished games
restart and every 10 minutes or so
all the games will be stopped and
both teams will move one place to
their left, carefully having noted
whose turn it is to move on each
board. Now everyone is faced with
a new opponent and a position they
have never seen before. At this stage
it is important for the participants to
study each game for at least a
minute and assess the situation
before continuing with the game (as
a rule kids move far too fast without
checking all the possibilities).
It is of course bad luck if someone
has passed on a diabolical position
to you but there is no penalty for
being checkmated in this game,
there are only rewards for spotting
the win. The team angle adds
excitement to this activity.
Puzzles are popular too, but in
order to make a fair contest, harder
48 Your Chess Questions Answered

puzzles can be given to the stronger

players, or the same puzzles can be
handed out with clues for the
younger children.
For example, take the following
puzzle which can be announced as
mate in two:
For the stronger players this will
pose no problem but it is possible to
give 1 l:tb_ for White's first move,
and then � _ _ for Black and finally
2 l:t 8 mate for the weaker players.
_

The missing letters and numbers reasons, this is known as

should be filled in. For obvious "hangman" puzzles.
 6 Tournaments and matches

What is the shortest game of

chess?

Two moves is the quickest way to

give checkmate, although one's
opponent must be pretty obliging.
It has been named "Fool 's Mate"
and it comes about when White
plays a couple of crazy moves on
the kingside and allows Black to
deliver mate on his second move.
At this point someone might
1 g4 eS 2 f3 1i'h4 mate
touch their king by mistake (if it is
intentional, the situation is extreme­
ly sad!) and be obliged to move it.
There is only one square:
2 .c$;e7 and there follows 3 'ir'xeS
..

mate

Which quick methods of

checkmate do I need to be aware
of?
Far more common is the "Four
The above is most unlikely to
Move Checkmate" or "Scholar's
happen but there is an unusual mate
Mate". While supervising junior
in three that occasionally happens in
school matches, I have often wit­
school chess.
nessed one or two games invariably
1 e4 eS 2 1i'h5
50 Your Chess Questions Answered
ending in a couple of minutes in this
way.
1 e4 e5 2 'iVhS tbc6
It is useful to develop a piece and
defend the e5-pawn. At this point
many games take a turn for the
worse with 2 . . . g6 when 3 'iVxe5+
followed by 4 'iVxh8 is disastrous
for Black.
3 i..c4
White is now threatening mate
with 4 'iVxf7. 3 . . . lbh6 is not a
particularly effective way to defend
f7 since White can continue with 4
d3 and undermine the knight by
threatening 5 i..xh6 followed by 6
'iVxf7 mate.
3 . . . g6 4 'iVf3 tbf6 is one of the
best methods to counter the system.
3 . . .'iVe7 is sensible enough but has
the drawback that it blocks the
development of Black's dark
squared bishop.
However, you would be surprised
at how many times games end in the
following way:
3 tbf6 4 'iVxti mate.
...
There is an easy way to recall the
checkmate. First White should
pinpoint the pawn in Black's camp
that is only defended by his king.
The weak square is f7 and then
White's job is to target it with his
bishop and queen, first by moving
the e-pawn to let both pieces out.
Black can also try to do some
damage on White's f2-square but is
slightly handicapped as he moves
second.
Having said all this, the quickest
game I witnessed was during an
international tournament in Ostend
between two international masters.
The game began:
1 d4 d5 and at this point the
player with the black pieces said
"would you like a draw?".
There was only a second of
hesitation before White replied :with
his move 2 c4 and declined the
offer.
At this point Black resigned with
the comments that he didn't feel like
playing today. Rumours blamed a
tiff with the wife!
How do I know when I am
ready for a tournament?
When you are confident that you
know all the rules about castling,
"en passant" and the various ways a
game can end, and have an instant
 Tournaments and matches 51

recognition of how the pieces move, victory. The pairings are seeded top
you are ready to enter a tournament. half against bottom half so it is
always comfortable to be rated near
Does everybody take part in one the top as you are likely to play
big tournament? nearly everyone rated lower than
yourself. The drawback of this is
No, not necessarily. It is by far the that people will concentrate doubly
more normal for the tournaments to hard against you because you are
be divided up into three or four one of the best players and their
separate events. In that way sense of danger might mean they
everyone will meet an opponent of a put up a hell of a fight. This is
similar calibre as they are placed in especially fatal if you are prone to
sections according to grade (see overconfidence because without
chapter 9) or age. your brain on full alert, it is possible
It can be very confusing because to lose to anyone.
there is no standard pattern for how On the other hand, some players
to divide players up by grade. Each ambition is simply to become
congress is different and can set stronger and therefore they tend to
their own limits. For example, one opt for tournaments with a higher
tournament might have a novice grade upper limit so they will meet
event for those ungraded and under tougher opposition. Normally a
1 00 grade, while another team of mixture of the two is best for moral
organisers may wish to be less and general improvement.
insulting and call an event of under And of course I must mention the
80 grade a minor tournament. hustlers who keep their grade low
Meanwhile, the congress which on purpose in order to clean up in
has a novice event will undoubtedly certain tournaments. Their clubs can
call the next group up the "minor" find that they lose every game for
while the one which has already them, playing like a total idiot (how
used "minor" must call theirs to keep the grade low) and can't
"intermediate" and so on. To this understand how they win rich
day I never know if "intermediate or pickings at a tournament the
"major" is the higher classified following weekend.
event as it varies from city to city! I am pleased to tell you that these
The "Open" is the main event and scoundrels are few and far between,
this will often have higher prize but probably only because the prize
money than the other sections in money has diminished considerably
order to tempt the professionals to over the past 10 years.
put in an appearance. Another problem is with unrated
As the groups are divided by players as it is difficult for
grades, you will not be surprised to organisers to know if they really are
hear that people choose their events ungraded or if they have just
carefully as if your grade is 99, it disappeared off the national list due
makes sense to hunt out the under to inactivity over recent years. They
1 00 tournaments if you are after a could even be strong foreigners. For
52 Your Chess Questions A nswered

this reason it is not uncommon for one-day quickplay or week-end

ungraded players to be restricted to congress there would generally be 5
only receiving half of the advertised or 6 rounds whilst an International
prize if they are successful. event, where there tends to be only
one round a day, normally
What format does a chess comprises of 9 rounds. (The reason
tournament take? International tournaments are nearly
always at least 9 rounds is because
The answer is many different that is the minimum number of
formats, but the very first schools rounds for players to achieve title
tournament I played in was a requirements on their quest to
knock-out competition where only become an international master or a
the winners went through to the next grandmaster but we shall come to
round until only one person was that later).
left. This works quite well if one If you win your first game you
game is played a week for example, will be paired against someone who
but is hopeless for a one day event is also on 1 point in round 2, while
as you have no idea what time you if you lose the first game your next
will finish. opponent will also be on 0 points.
Another type of competition that Obviously the ideal situation is for
is useful in clubs and schools is an there to be two people to reach 5 out
all-play-all event (already discussed of 5 and battling it out in round 6
on page 4 1 ) where everyone plays for an overall winner, but of course
against each other. It is possible to it hardly ever works out like that as
play everyone once or to swap there are draws to be taken into
colours and play everybody twice, account which could force half
and the winner is clearly found as point floats up and down and if
the person with the most points at there are only about 20 entrants, it is
the end of all the encounters. This is possible for the winner to score
the fairest tournament by far as it much less than a 1 00% score.
cannot come down to who you had All tournaments beyond the junior
to play along the way as everyone's school stage, and sometimes even
opponents are identical. However, then, will be played with clocks.
due to time constraints, it is unwise The normal schedule for one day
to run such a competition if you events is for each player to have 30
have a large number of participants. minutes with which to complete
As a rough guide, 10 or 1 2 IS an each round and then about 20
ideal number. minutes break in between games.
Therefore it is the swiss Weekend congresses tend to play
tournament rules, which combines under time limits of about 36 moves
the concept of both knock-out and in the first hour and a half (on each
all-play-all that have become by far clock) with the rest of the game to
the most popular. It is used on the be completed in about twenty min­
week-end chess circuit as well as in utes each.· This particular scenario
international competitions. Basically would make a maximum total poss­
everyone plays all the games. In a ible time of three hours and forty

minutes for each game. A break of
at least an hour is customary and
after one game on Friday evening,
two or three on Saturday, finishing
with two on Sunday, there is
generally about half an hour break
until the prizegiving.
If you have never been to a chess
tournament that is open to all ages,
you may be interested to know that
there are money prizes which can
range from peanuts to an average
weekly wage for all th.e levels of
ability.
Once you are on the chess circuit
it is easy to find out details of future
events because there is nearly
always a large display of other entry
forms and you will be on a mailing
list. As I write this book, Ceefax and
Teletext have an informative chess
section that advertises tournaments
too.
What do I score for a win?
In tournaments and matches you
score one point for a win, half a
point for a draw and nothing for a
loss.
It is extremely rare for any other
point system to be used but there is
an enormous nationwide
tournament, run by the imaginative
international master Mike Basman,
and now involving 35,000 children
through schools that scores 3 points
for a win, two for a draw, one for a-
loss and zero for an absence.
What i!$ a bye?
If there is an odd number of
players in a tournament, the person
at the bottom of the list will be
given a point bye.
Tournaments and matches 53
A fairly standard procedure to
most people, but one man got very
upset at an event when his opponent
"Mr.Bye" never showed up!
If I touch a piece, do I have to
move it?
Yes, absolutely. Likewise, if you
touch one of your opponent's pieces
you must take it if you can. If you
touch two pieces, the one you fin­
gered first takes priority. An acci­
dental brush or knock over should
not count and even if your opponent
is blue in the face insisting that you
must resign because your king was
toppled, a calm explanation to the
arbiter should sort out the problem.
As discussed in chapter 4 about
jargons, you are able to adjust
pieces by saying "j 'adoube" or
some such colloquialism, but pre­
ferably in your own time so as not
to disturb your opponent.
Can I eat during a game?
This is on a par with reading a
noisy newspaper in your seat while
your opponent is thinking.
I know that a few people resort to
these methods to put their adversary
off, but if you wish to remain popu­
lar, both habits are best avoided.
Of course if you happen to be rav­
enous, there is no rule that says you
cannot eat at the board, but please
limit the munching to when your
clock is ticking and avoid crisps, ap­
ples and carrots which will disturb
the neighbouring players too.
What is descriptive notation?
Up until about 20 years ago, the
recognised method of recording
54 Your Chess Questions Answered
games and the standard form in
nearly all chess books was
descriptive notation. Although
extremely cumbersome, one or two
people have hung onto the system,
refusing to change with the times.
Here the squares are named
according to where the pieces are
set up at the start of a game. 1 e4
would be 1 P-K4 (this time pawn is
written as P) and 1 . . .e5 would also
be l . . .P-K4. 2 Nf3 is written as 2
N-KB3 and so on. . . It is really not
necessary to familiarize yourself
with this notation. Any good, old
book will have been rewritten in
algebraic notation.
The only danger is if a grand­
father was to declare "I have some
excellent chess books in my library"
to his enthusiastic grandchild, only
to hand over some antique chess
books in descriptive notation that
will quite frankly scare off anyone.
Of course the need for an interna­
tional chess language became more
urgent with increased technology
and freedom of knowledge. The
world-wide publication Informator,
which is a selection of annotated,
top games, uses no letters for pieces
but only figurines.
Why is it necessary to have
separate tournaments and titles
for women?
I should immediately point out
that it is far more common for
women to compete in mixed events,
often with special prizes, than for
single sex tournaments. However,
there is a totally separate Women's
World Championship cycle.
Additionally, there are special titles
for women which are set at a lower
level than the male equivalent.
Despite the fact that many women
are able to attain a "male" (open)
title, the system looks set to remain.
The hard and fast women's
libbers will scream that it is lack of
opportunities and years of
repression that has led to chess
being male dominated, but I am
embarrassed to admit that as a
female I have had more
opportunities than most and still lag
behind the top men.
It is interesting that girls and boys
are quite equally matched in junior
schools, but as the hormones start to
shape us in our teens, there is a
remarkable drop out rate amongst
girls. I am convinced that men are
more likely to become dedicated or
even obsessed with a project, while
women are generally more involved
with several interests and tend not to
specialize as much.
Perhaps women are not so
competitive and do not wish to
waste their life on a board game, but
I think few would doubt that the
difference between the sexes is a
real thing that is mental as well as
physical.
Some would say that there should
be no special events and prizes for
women in order to encourage them
to improve, but then I would
question whether any women would
play at all ! I will get into trouble for
that one, but I definitely only stuck
with chess due to the wonderful
opportunities to represent England
and travel around the world.
There are of course a handful of
women in the world who are able to
compete against the men in their
own right and I sincerely hope that
the situation continues to improve.

Is there any protocol I should be
aware of?
You should shake hands before
the game and the loser should offer
his hand afterwards. Some people
get infuriated if you tell your oppo­
nent he was "lucky". I am afraid it is
etiquette to hide your feelings about
what a bad game you played and
don't rub it in if you win!
Your opponent may want to invite
you to "analyse" the game
(normally there is a room set aside
for this purpose) which you do not
have to accept. A polite excuse
about being starving or having to
make a phone call should make
them leave you alone, but it can be
interesting to find out just what your
opponent did spot during your
encounter and you might pick up
some tips on the opening.
The player who wins, or the
player with the white pieces if it is a
draw, should hand in the result
immediately after the game finishes.
This will help the arbiters who must
fill in the results and prepare for the
next round pairings.
What if I think that the arbiters
have done the pairings
incorrectly?
Sometimes the organizers make
mistakes doing the pairings and they
should be made aware if you are
paired to play someone for the sec­
ond time that tournament. Also if
your next round opponent has a to­
tally different score to you, unless it
is a legitimate float because no-one
else is available on that score group.
I remember a group of elderly
chess enthusiasts who ran a
Tournaments and matches 55
tournament in the Midlands, Eng­
land every year. The main arbiter
who had passed the various tests
suddenly died and the rest decided
to continue to run the event with no
outside help as they had "watched"
the deceased doing the pairings for
the past 20 years. However, they did
the cards correctly but forgot to re­
verse them at the crucial stage
meaning that it was always the top
players paired against each other
and the bottom players paired to
meet. Imagine seeds one and two
meeting in the first round at the
Wimbledon tennis Championships?
This is how it was and no amount of
complaining would budge their
opinion. This contributed to one of
the lowest graded participants walk­
ing away with first prize. The only
thing you can do in that situation is
to boycott the event the following
year as the controller's word is final.
Do I have to take my own board
and clock to tournaments?
This sounds like a silly question
in England and Europe where all the
sets and clocks are supplied by the
organizers, but in America it is ap­
parently normal to supply your own.
I don't know if it is insisted that
there are only regulation (i.e. Staun­
ton) pieces and who gets to choose
which set and clock is used but it
must be a bit clumsy. Foreigners
must also turn up blissfully unaware
of this rule-I guess the chess stall
does a roaring trade.
There are several suppliers in
England and as far as I know, only
one event was sent into chaos by the
non-arrival of all the equipment.
There are few instances of chess
56 Your Chess Questions Answered
equipment being stolen but one
organizser asked customs in
Guernsey to look out for 10 little
metal buttons in a suitcase going
through x-ray as 5 chess clocks had
been stolen during the event!
Which tie-breaks are used if
scores are equal?
Chess is nothing like tennis or
Formula One when the winner of
the race is clearly defined. It is
possible for a tournament to end in a
mass tie on, for example 5 out of 7 .
It i s impossible to separate players
in an all-play-all (otherwise known
as a round robin event) where
everybody plays each other, but in
swiss tournaments tie-breaks are
possible.
Normally prize money is shared
but if there is one trophy to be
awarded, various tie-breaks may
come into force. The most common
is "sum of progressive scores" (or
S.O.P.S.) as the theory is that the
person who scored the points early
on will come up against harder
opposition and therefore had the
more difficult route. Let us take
player a and b and their results
round by round:
a) 1/z, 0, 1 , I , 1/z, 0, 1 , 1 .
On the score chart which displays
scores from the whole tournament,
the running total will appear as:
1/z , 1/z, 1 11z, 2 11z, 3, 3, 4, 5 .
add these u p and the sum o f the
progressive scores totals 221/z.
b) I, I, I, I, I, 0, 0, 0.
the score chart, which should be
updated after every round, displays
the running total as:
I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5
making the progressive score a
total the above set of figures as 30.
So b) wins on sum of progressive
scores.
In the event of S.O.P.S. being
equal, a second popular system is to
split players on "sum of opponent's
scores" which involves totalling the
final scores of all the opponents.
The higher your opponents score,
the better for you since it suggests
you played stronger opposition and
therefore should be rewarded for
that fact. The drawbacks come if
one of your opponents withdraws
ill, or goes off in a huff if things
were going badly, and you find that
he delivers a low score to your tally
that is not truly representative.
The entry form should explain
exactly which, if any, tie breaks will
be in force, although weekend
tournaments with solely money
prizes will just split the prizes
equally in the case of a tie. The
confusions there can arise from
special prizes which are often
awarded in addition to the mam
prizes.
For example, there might be three
main prizes of £300, £200 and £ I 00
with £75 for the top female and £50
for the top junior. Normally one
player is not able to win more than
one prize. So if you are a talented
female, still under 1 8 and win the
event, you will not be able to go
home with more than the £300 first
prize. But what if you finish third

with one other player who is not
eligible for a special prize? If you
take the share of third place, you get
£50. If you get your women's prize,
it is worth more at £75, but that
leaves the lucky man who shared
th ird place to get a full £ 1 00, and
the junior who finished next to take
£50 when he might have already
gone home expecting nothing!
It takes a mathematician to work
out the correct permutation so
no-one loses out, but there are no
hard and fast rules as different
organisers interpret the sharing of
these prizes in different ways. In
order to eliminate the problems, I
prefer the option of a player being
able to win more than one prize but
I understand the organisers wish to
spread the gains round as much as
possible.
What is an adjournment?
An adjournment is fairly rare
nowadays, but it used to be common
practice to adjourn unfinished
games and continue after a break,
the next day or even later.
It was permissible to study the
positions during the break and there
would be frantic searching for the
best player available to help out. I
recall players having to be sworn to
secrecy in case they gave away a
crucial move to the opponent before
the restart of the game.
Further adjournments of the same
or later games during a tournament
were possible and it was indeed
difficult for the arbiters to make fair
pairings without the correct result
being known. It was also tiring for
players and arbiters alike who were
involved in endless adjournments.
Tournaments and matches 5 7
There did no appear t o b e an
alternative without speeding up the
time limit at the end of a game by
adding a quickplay finish which
would lead to lower quality games.
The drawback of only having the
one long session was that competi­
tors would have to go without food
for longer than they are normally
accustomed.
It was with the influx of powerful
chess computers which could no
doubt influence the analysis of
positions during adjournments that
seven or eight hour session were
firmly introduced. It is only in local
amateur leagues held after work
where it is perhaps only possible to
fit in 35 moves in an hour and a
half, totalling three hours of play,
that adjournments are still practised.
Even then the players are often able
to opt for adjudication instead if
they cannot spare a further evening
to finish the match.
How do you adjourn?
So, let's imagine you are faced
with your first adjournment. When
the session ·is over, the arbiter or
team captain in the case of a match
will bring round an envelope. The
player whose turn it is to move will
concentrate on deciding his next
move, with his clock still ticking.
Meanwhile the second player will
write down the position on the
diagram on the outside of the
envelope. As soon as the move has
been decided and discreetly written
down so no-one can see, the first
player is allowed to take the
envelope, enter both scoresheets and
lick the seal. Only then will his
58 Your Chess Questions Answered

clock be stopped and the times What is an adjudication?

registered on the envelope.
That only leaves the details of Some leagues prefer adjudication
who will look after the envelope. to adjournments to resolve
Normally the player who has sealed unfinished games. This involves
will give the envelope to his making a record of the position at
opponent. This avoids the the end of the playing session and
possibility of the first being sorely sending it off to an independent, and
tempted to boil his kettle up and hopefully very strong player, to
change his move. judge the outcome of the game.
Finally, players adjourning must The · adjudicator must assess
arrange another date to finish. Be extremely complicated situations
sure you are aware of the finer and assume best play from both
details because sometimes if a sides. There is then an appeals
player elects to adjourn rather than procedure for those dissatisfied with
adjudicate, he has the inconvenience the result which causes further
to travel to the opposing club to delays as the position must then be
complete the game. sent of to another body. Match
If the sealed move is illegal or results often hinge on the discretion
even ambiguous, the player could of the adjudicator and this is most
well be defaulted. Another excellent unsatisfactory if the person in
·reason for making sure your question is not of at least
algebraic notation is in order. international master strength.
A grandmaster (still playing in the Some primary school matches
English team as I write) who had the stop their unfinished games after
displeasure of finding himself in a one hour when a minimum of thirty
lost position against an arch rival moves (using a chess clock if
one evening, (the adjourned games necessary) have been made. At this
were scheduled for the following point anyone with two or more
day) once sealed his move as "good points ahead is awarded a · win
morning a . . . . . . . ". Fortunately he unless the opponent can prove
bragged of his misdeed and also of over-riding factors such as
his intention not to turn up at the imminent mate.
tournament hall for the This system is designed to cater
adjournment. Even with a legal for matches where a teacher or
sealed move, this in itself is rude parent may be in charge who does
since it leaves the opponent having not even play chess. If there is any
to hang around for an hour until the difficulty reaching a decision, there
person who doesn't show is given a is a back-up possibility to send the
loss on time. Fortunately the captain position off to an adjudicator.
managed to get there in time to grab No procedure will satisfy
the envelope and hide the offending everyone but the argument in favour
score sheet whilst resigning for his of adjudications is that the quality of
player and avoided what could have games will be ruined with rapid
been an international incident! time limits to complete games in a
relatively short space of time.

As a youngster I was faced with
an adjudication in a winning
position and my opponent informed
me in no uncertain terms "I offer the
young lady a draw but if she turns
me down I will claim a win".
This was designed into scaring me
to accept a draw, but I stuck to my
guns and thought the adjudicator
might be amused as we both
claimed a win. Generally, the player
(or club) who claims incorrectly
must pay for the service but it is
Tournaments and matches 59
currently only running at about £4
per position.
I now have to adjudicate games
myself and, while some positions
are clearly able to be analysed as
they have reached an ending with
forced continuations or recognisable
structures, others seem to have only
just entered a middle-game with a
level but huge amount of pieces and
possibilities. Then the only answer
is to label the game as drawn.
 7 Chess Clock
What is a chess clock?
In case you have not come across
one, chess clocks are designed to
make sure the game is over in an
allotted time. This may be a 1 hour
game in which the players have
1/z-hour each on the clock or up to 8
hours m an international
competition.
The longer games will normally
be divided up into separate time
limits such as 40 moves in the first 2
hours (each), then 20 moves for the
next hour and then perhaps 1/z-hour
to complete the remaining moves.
However, the vast majority of
matches are finished by 60 moves.
If any of the time controls are not
reached the player will lose on time,
although there are special cases in
the final time control where a win
cannot be awarded to the defender
who has no mating material left.
The clocks consist of two faces
and a button that you must press
after each move in order to stop
your own clock and start your
opponent's. Naturally enough,
digital clocks are replacing the
traditional ones, which has the
bonus of eliminating the possibility
of faulty flags falling early and any
disputes of which flag fell first.
Remember that the clocks are not
particularly robust and need careful
handling. I remember vtsttlng a
school club and was impressed to
notice that they possessed four chess
clocks. However, they were totally
lifeless as they had been stored at
the bottom of a large box that
housed all the chess sets. So be es­
pecially alert when you are playing
blitz (a rather wild time limit of be­
tween 1 and 5 minutes each on the
clock) and avoid both buttons being
pressed simultaneously by force.
Also, get used to making your
move and pressing the clock button
with the same hand as it is illegal to
do otherwise.
How can I make best use of the
clock?
It is important to use your allotted
time effectively. At first the clock
will be a major worry and beginners
tend to play too fast to avoid any
danger of losing on time. It is also
common for beginners to forget to
press the clock at all as they become
wrapped up in the game, so if your
opponent is spending an excessive
amount of time thinking, check that
you pressed your clock and he is not
just watching your time ticking
away!
Remembering to press the clock
will gradually become second
nature. You will be less aware of the

dock's presence. In fact, when I
play without a clock, I always reach
1 1 1 1 the imaginary clock button
Instinctively after moving. Using
your time to the full, but not getting
1 1 1to time trouble is a harder skill to
1 1 1aster.
I would advise no-one to willingly
1 1 1 11 into time trouble, although if
you have a lost position it may be
your best chance to make your
opponent nervous when he may
hl under. I don't know w_hy it is, but
the game takes on a terrible tension
when one or both of the players is in
severe time trouble, and sometimes
1t is the player with bags of time
who cracks under the pressure.
Again, there are people who
would ignore my advice about
avoiding time pressure because they
thrive on the adrenaline and
excitement caused by a massive
time scramble and their opponents
are doing themselves no favours by
being dragged into time trouble too,
as is so often the case. By the way,
time trouble is normally considered
to be anything worse than a move a
minute but I have known the real
addicts to get down to as little as 2
minutes for 25 moves and this is a
real crowd puller.
I try and apply the rule to always
stay ahead of my opponent on the
dock, which is an extremely satisfy­
ing feeling although it is helpful to
know your openings in depth if you
are going to get off to a head start. -
Many games become totally
random , in time trouble and
therefore if you want to keep control
of the position, you should avoid
running short at all costs.
Chess Clock 61
Are there any tips if my
opponent is in time trouble?
If your opponent insists on
creating a crisis as he is poised to
make about 20 moves in 2 minutes,
your job is to remain calm (which is
surprisingly difficult if he is
twitching away and breathing at
twice the normal rate) and carefully
analyse the variations. Don't forget
that you must write down your
moves as they happen until you
have less than 5 minutes left on
your clock and don't fall into the
trap of playing quickly because you
don't want to give your opponent
time to think. Basically he is
functioning on a different level to
you as he is geared up for the
impending action and so you must
wear him out as it is harder to keep
the level of alertness up indefinitely.
The famous player and trainer
Bob Wade once told me how his
opponent was in ridiculous time
trouble and so he got a cup of coffee
and stirred it very slowly and only
moved when he sensed that his
opponent had relaxed a bit and was
not ready to answer at once. Also,
unless you are confident that it is
your best option, there is absolutely
no point in entering a line with a
forcing variation if you are trying to
win on time as it will be simplicity
itself for your opponent to reply
instantly. It is wiser to attack
squares where your opponent is
likely to have planned his next
move, or create a threat that is
perhaps not even the best move as it
will be unexpected.
62 Your Chess Questions Answered
What is a "Fischer" clock?
You may come across certain
tournaments where Fischer clocks
are used. Named after the great
Bobby Fischer, his concept is
interesting but chess players have
enough to worry about without a
new style of clock being introduced.
Basically the Fischer clock is a
digital clock able to be set with
many different functions but his
main aim was to create a time limit
where no-one should actually lose
on time at the end.
The idea is that when a player
makes a move he gets an extra
minute or 30 seconds on his clock.
So, as a minimum, a player will
have 30 seconds (or however much
time is added) for one move. Less
fun for time trouble addicts who
revel in making 20 moves in a
couple of minutes!
This may apply from move one,
or it can be used after an original
time control at move 40 for
example. An organiser commented
that, despite the theoretical
possibility of a game going on
indefinitely with the Fischer time
limit, he had never experienced this
and games have always been over
within the allotted time.
A time limit like this was used at
the latest European team
Championships. After move 60, as
soon as one player's three hours of
time expired, both players were then
given an extra 30 seconds of time
on each subsequent move. From that
moment, one player could have the
luxury of, for example, an hour plus
lots of extra half minutes thrown in
while the other player is reduced to
a stressful situation of having 30
seconds to make each move
thereafter. It is possible to build up
time by making obvious moves
quickly, but even storing up a
couple of minutes will not feel
comfortable to face a difficult
decision later.
Before the event began, our
women's team captain suggested
that this would cause a problem for
someone to visit the lavatory after
move 60 since, if her opponent's
flag fell first, she would have
precisely 30 seconds from the
.
moment her opponent made her
next move to get to the ladies and
back (+ reply !) before forfeiting the
game on time. The arbiters
dismissed this as an "English
problem" and the decision to use the
clocks went ahead.
However, two incidents cast grave
doubt on the effectiveness of the
new time control.
Two world class grandmasters, on
separate days, were unaware that
they had reached zero time on the
clock because this occurred well
after move 60 when they would
ordinarily have no sense of danger
regarding the clock. Normally at
this point we are used to an extra
half or full hour to complete the
game. However, when they did see
the clock ticking to zero, they
wrongly assumed that this was the
first occasion and they would soon
be entering the Fischer mode and
receiving 30 seconds a move.
Instead, both clocks had already
counted down once and the fact that
they had already had the extra 30
seconds added on meant that they
were obliged to make a move within
the next half minute. Oblivious to
this fact, the players calmly watched

I IH:ir seconds tick away and were
holh flabbergasted that they had the
f!,n mcs awarded against them. One
f!.a m e should have ended in a draw
w h ile the other was particularly
poignant for me as it was the
1 :uglish board one, Nigel Short, who
lost a winning ending. It took
!;l·vcral days before the English
l·amp was back to normal spirits. I
should add that they recovered
udmirably and went on to take the
l ·: uropean team gold medals.
So, make sure that you understand
the time limit and the workings of
l h c clock before you sit down to a
�ame, but I do think that it is in
l' vcry chess player's interest to have
Chess Clock 63
a standard mechanism to get used
to.
Is it possible to hold a series of
quick matches without the use of a
chess clock?
"Lightning chess" is a popular
way to hold a tournament over one
evening. Instead of using clocks, a
buzzer is sounded every ten seconds
to indicate when the next player
must move. If someone consistently
fails to move on the buzzer they will
be disqualified.
Games would normally be over
within 1 5 minutes when the next
pairings can be made. They are
certainly amusing events to watch
and participate in.
 8 Improvement
What is the best way to improve
early on?
You must play and play and play.
It is like learning the piano or
.driving. At first it is nigh to
impossible as you must concentrate
on every little aspect, but gradually
it becomes easier and easier until it
becomes natural (perhaps after one
year) and then the time is ripe to
learn more advanced tunes,
manoeuvres and ideas.
Bill Hartston used to relate that
the Polgar sisters had learnt chess as
their "mother tongue" and it was
second nature to them. That really is
the key at the beginning because
until someone can spot the squares
that the pieces are attacking with a
degree of speed and confidence,
there is certainly no point trying to
understand deeper concepts.
What makes a successful
player?
Of all the criteria, I think the
ability to analyse, or to see far
ahead, is the most important. If you
cannot calculate what will happen in
a complex variation, you will not be
able to assess whether it is correct to
enter the complications.
There are of course different types
of players and Karpov (the
ex-World Champion) and Kasparov
(the present World Champion)
illustrate the point perfectly.
Karpov prefers technical positions
with few tactics, although that is not
to say that he cannot calculate accu­
rately. He has a fantastic feel for
where the pieces belong and is quite
happy to grind down a position in
the endgame where he is able to
convert the smallest of advantages.
A weak pawn of his opponent's or a
superior placed king is all that Kar­
pov needs to smell victory. Let me
give you an example.
Anatoly Karpov White
R. Debarnot Black
French Defence
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lt:Jd2
Karpov, who was World Cham­
pion at the time of this encounter in
1977 chooses the most solid option
against the French Defence. Note
that 3 lt:Jc3 is not at all the same as it
allows 3 ...il.b4 and the exciting
Winawer variation.
3 ... c5
Now we have entered the Tar­
rasch variation as Black is happy to
be saddled with an isolated d-pawn
in return for some activity. How­
ever, this is playing into Karpov's
hands as he will already be planning
for his opponent's pawn weaknesses
to prove fatal in the ending.
4 exd5 exd5 5 lt:Jgf3 lt:Jc6 6 iLb5
il.d6 7 dxc5 il.xc5 8 0-0 lt:Je7 9
lt:Jb3 i..d6 10 .l:te1 0-0 1 1 iLg5 iLg4
12 i..e2 'ikc7 13 h3 il.d7 14 lt:Jfd4

It is nearly always useful to
blockade an isolated pawn in order
to prevent it advancing, and d4
makes an excellent square for a
white piece in this case since no
enemy pawn can dislodge it.
14 ... ltJxd4 15 ltJxd4 h6 16 i..e3
i..h2+ 17 'iii>h l i.. f4 18 i..f3 .l:tfe8 19
c3 .l:tad8 20 'iVb3 iLxe3 21 .l:txe3
'i¥b6 22 .l:teS i..c6 23 .l:tael 'ii'xb3
24 axb3 'it>f8 25 b4 ltJg6 26 ltJxc6
bxc6
Karpov has changed one
weakness for another as he seeks to
harrass the vulnerable a7 and
c6-pawns. He is also relying on the
fact that a bishop is generally
stronger than a knight when there
are pawns on both wings since a
bishop, unlike a knight, can exert
power over opposite sides of the
board at once.
Improvement 65
27 .l:txe8+ .l:txe8 28 .l:tal .l:te7 29
g3 ltJeS 30 i..e2 .l:tc7 31 'it>g2 'it>e7
32 f4 ltJd7 33 .l:tdl lLlb6 34 'it>f3 cS
35 bxcS .l:txcS 36 'it>e3 .l:taS 37 .l:td4
.l:tal 38 .l:tb4 'itd6 39 h4 .l:tgl 40
'it>f3 .l:tal 41 i..d3 .l:tdl 42 i..bS .l:tbl
43 .l:tb3 .l:tal 44 'it>g4 g6 45 fS 'it>eS
46 fxg6 fxg6 47 .l:tb4 .l:tel 48 i..d3
'iii>f6 49 .l:tf4+ '>tg7 50 'it>f3 .l:teS 51
.l:tb4 .l:te7 52 .l:tbS .l:tc7 53 'it>e3 'iii>f6
54 'it>d4
Kings are powerful pieces in the
ending and the pawn structure is
still one of the most relevant factors
as White's pawn formation is made
up of two pawn islands while Black
has to worry about defending three
pawn islands..
54 ... g5 55 hxgS+ hxgS 56 .l:taS
'it>e6 57 b3 'itf6 58 .l:tal ltJd7 59
.l:taS ltJb6 60 g4 '>te6 61 c4 dxc4 62
bxc4 .l:td7+ 63 '>tc3 .l:tg7 64 iLfS+
'iii>f6 65 'itd4 .l:te7 66 cS .l:teS 67 iLe4
ltJd7 68 .l:ta6+ .l:te6 69 .l:txe6+!
'it>xe6 70 .ifS+ 'it>e7 71 c6 1-0
Black resigns on account of
7 1 . . .lLlb6 72 c7 etc.
Now test your technique and
make sure you are satisfied that you
could convert this position against
any grandmaster.
66 Your Chess Questions Answered

Meanwhile, Kasparov is aggress­ 9 ...tt:ld7 10 il.d3 tt:lc5 1 1 il.c2 a6

ively minded and often sacrifices 12 tt:lge2 b5 13 b4 tt:ld7 14 cxb5
pieces in order to expose and then axb5 15 tt:lxb5 �xa2
attack his opponent's king. He has
an excellent feel for the initiative
and has carefully chosen his
openings to suit his style. One such
"defence" is the King's Indian
which has served Kasparov well
over the years and brings out the
best in his ability to king hunt.

Jan Timman White

Garry Kasparov Black
King 's Indian Defence
We can see that Kasparov has
1 d4 tt:lf6 2 c4 g6 3 tt:lc3 il.g7 4
succeeded in opening the position
e4 d6 5 f3 0-0 6 i.e3
on the queenside which is the first
step. Now he must direct his forces
to threaten the white monarch be­
fore his own king comes under fire.
16 tt:lec3 �aS 17 'it>b2 tt:ldf6 18
tt:la7 fxe4 19 tt:lc6 'ii'd7 20 g4 tt:lf4
2 1 g5

White has chosen the Saemisch

variation against the King's Indian
Defence which is designed to set up
a strong pawn formation and bolster
up the e4-pawn as Black invariably
tries the f5-break to
counterplay.
6 ... e5 7 d5 tt:lh5 8 'ir'd2 f5 9 0-0-0
Timman has no desire to castle in
the direction of the world cham­
pion's attack and therefore settles
his king on the opposite wing. How­
ever, this policy is always extremely
double-edged as both sides try to
blow open their opponent's king.
seek
The complications are already
relentless as pawns are offered for
the initiative left, right and centre.
Timrnan hopes for 2 1 . ..tt:l6h5
when 22 i.xe4 gives him a sturdy
position and time to challenge the
a-file with a later �a l . However,
Kasparov rejects that continuation
and spots an amazing sequence that

leaves White floundering as his
centre collapses around him.
21 ...lLl6xd5! ! 22 lLlxd5 lLld3+
I hope you weren't tempted by
22 .. .'ihc6?? which falls foul to 23
4'Je7+ picking up the queen.
23 �xd3 exd3
Notice how the fianchettoed
bishop on g7 is gradually coming to
life.
24 lLlce7+ 'it>h8 25 lLlxc8
25 ...e4+ 0-1
At this point Timman called it a
day as the forcing variations clearly
lead to painful consequences, i.e.
a) 26 'it>b3 'it'a4+ 27 'it>c4 'i!Vc6+
28 'it>b3 'iix d5#.
b) 26 lLlc3 'it'a4 27 'it>c l 'iia l + 28
lLlb l .l:ra2.
c) 26 lLlf6 .l:rxf6 27 �d4 .l:rxf3 28
�xg7 �xg7+.
To sum up, it is a mixture of hard
work which enables you to study
and learn the openings, experience
which is gained from playing
tournaments and the ability to
calculate long variations in order to
choose the most favourable path
that all contribute to being a
successful player.
Improvement 67
Determination and confidence
will also play a major part, as with
other sports.
What is the m1mmum amount
of time that I should spend on
chess if l want to remain in trim?
It is actually rather uncomfortable
playing in a serious tournament
after a few months of not touching a
chess board, but of course these
things cannot be helped if exams or
job commitments take over.
As a minimum guideline, I would
recommend at least one weekend
tournament a month, perhaps 4 club
games and a couple of hours study a
week.
How should I study?
This study can take many forms
but as with most things; a variety is
probably the most interesting
approach.
This might take the form of
puzzles, playing through games,
studying books on planning or
endings or just playing.
The Evening Standard and other
newspapers often contain a puzzle
which is normally aimed at club
players and are worth a look.
However, a straight game between
two top players without notes can be
more off putting than constructive.
How can I learn from my
losses?
The most important study to do is
psychological as well as practical
because if you lose a game, it is
imperative to have something else to
do next time if the game followed
the same path. There is nothing
68 Your Chess Questions Answered
worse that losing twice in the same
way and it is totally pathetic to sit
down opposite your opponent and
"pray" that he doesn't open with
certain moves because you don't
know how to meet them (I speak
from experience). You may have to
resort to a "system" while working
out your repertoire, but as you im­
prove and meet stronger opposition,
the greater the urgency not to have
holes in your opening knowledge.
What magazines should I take?
There is a wide range to choose
from. The most popular in England
is CHESS Monthly which tries to
cater for all levels. It is colouful and
chatty with a useful guide to future
events and is connected to a large
supply of chess books from its
outlet in Euston. Its ownership was
in doubt for a period following the
death of Robert Maxwell but it was
taken over by a group including the
energetic and likeable businessman
I.M. Malcolm Pein, who also runs
the chess column in the Daily
Telegraph.
The British Chess Magazine is
more high powered with in-depth
reports on elite events and long
technical articles that are more
suited to the professional. The
British Chess Magazine has a long
and respected history and G .M.
Murray Chandler continues to
guarantee its high quality of chess.
Kingpin is the magazine I most
enjoy. There chess players look at
the lighter side of life and dig up
anything connected with chess or
chess players worth sharing. As
with "Have I got News for you", a
satirical news quiz on T.V. people
must be careful about libel, but until
now I believe the magazine has got
away with its frankness. You may
not have heard of all the players
mentioned if you have not been on
the chess scene for long, but Garry
Lane's agony column is a must for
all chess addicts.
For serious players who like to get
hold of as much information as
possible, there are others. Several
countries have one or two leading
magazines. For example, The
Netherlands has New in Chess,
U.S.A. has Chess Life, Germany has
Rochade, Switzerland Schach­
woche, France has Europe Echecs
while Spain operates Jaque and
Ocho par Ocho (Eight by eight).
Teletext and Ceefax may also be
useful with tournament dates and
results, but it is sporadic and
depends on the information received
and updated.
What are the basic principles in
chess?
You will come across the term
"basic principles" in books and
conversations when it can often be
assumed that you are well
acquainted with them. As they are
so important I must at least mention
them as a reminder.
a) What should I concentrate on in
the Opening?
i) Develop your Pieces.
I liken the pieces to an army or a
football team and which army
commander leaves his men at home
and goes into battle with a couple of
heroic but senseless soldiers? The
illustration is perhaps even better
with the football team because
 Improvement 69

children will be learning that it is 1 e4 e5 2 t'Llf3 f6 3 t'LlxeS fxeS 4

not good to watch from the 'ii' hS+ 1;e7 5 'iVxeS+ 'i;f7 6 ..ic4+
side-lines and it is equally crazy to 'i;g6 7 'ii'fS+ 'ith6 8 d4+ g5
all go chasing wildly after the ball.
Positioning the players to the best
points is the way to maximise t�e
forces and this is exactly the same m
chess. There is a best square for
each piece and experience and
knowledge will tell you how to
co-ordinate them ready for action.
I mpatience plays a large part in
the desire to go for chec�ate from
the word go and this can result in a
player only developing a couple of
pieces. It is fundamental to Q22) And now I want you to find
remember that a game of chess does a strong move for White that will
not really start until all the pieces win in a few moves. Answer on
are out and only then will you be page 1 24.
able to keep control of the position.
Of course beginners chess
iii) Castle.
involves many quick wins, but once Castling is the best way to protect
a player has learnt to spot and meet
your king and it also brings a rook
any threats, the games will last to the centre of the board. Castling
longer. There are also some basic kingside protects the weak f2 and
openings that I will cover in chapter f7-squares (as the rook lands on f1
I 0 to avoid any of the typical tricks or f8 depending on whether you are
and early accidents. black or white) where a vast
maj ority of the early checkmates
ii) Control the Centre. occur, and it hides the king away
The most effective way to from any potential checks. One of
develop your pieces is to have some the most common and safest castled
control in the centre and I generally king position is as follows:
recommend that you should make
2-3 pawn moves in the opening
stages until all the pieces are out.
Of course it is the d and e-pawns
which will allow your bishops out
and the other pawn that may move,
perhaps to bolster up your centre, is
the c-pawn. The f-pawn is very
dangerou� to move in the beginning
as illustrated from the following
example:
70 Your Chess Questions Answered
Note that the f2 and h2-squares
are protected and later on it is also
worth thinking about moving the h2
pawn to h3 in order to prevent a
back rank checkmate.
And now my favourite illustration
of a king caught in the middle of the
board.
Q23) White to play and force
checkmate in 3 moves. Answer on
page 1 24.
b) What should I concentrate on
in the middlegame?
This is a harder subject to pin
down as it largely depends on the
position but there are some hard and
fast rules that are useful to apply.
However, the most important factor
by far is to avoid losing material as
the game can be immediately over if
your queen falls by the wayside.
Whenever your opponent moves,
you must be aware of the threat, if
there is one. For example, a pawn
move could be opening diagonals
and ranks, as well as attacking
something directly and therefore the
most common blunder is made
when you think you have
understood the threat, only for there
to be a further reason behind the
move. A basic illustration will make
this point clearer:
1 b3
This appears to simply attack the
knight, but if you look further,
White is also now threatening 2
i.a3, skewering the black queen and
rook on f8.
i) Forming a Plan
Easier said than done but here are
some ideas. I remember when I was
graded about 1 20 and would be
stumped as how to proceed in a
relatively lifeless position. I would
waste precious time looking at many
possibilities but could not choose
between them. However, a practical
decision must be taken as time
should be saved (assuming a clock
is being used) until it is needed in
handling later complications. The
first words of advice that helped
enormously was to consider what I
would play if I had several moves in
a row.
For example, is there a way to
round up a pawn or is there a
checkmate to set up? Okay, I am not
allowed to have these moves
consecutively but I have formed a
plan and can strive to carry it out.

Take the following position:
It is White to play, but there are
no direct threats to analyse.
White could consider the two
move sequence of c3 and then d4 to
liven up the position or even the
three move sequence of tt:lh4, tt:lf5
and 'iVg4 which sets up a threat of
mate on g7.
It is helpful to be able to
formulate a plan in this manner.
ii) I can't think of anything to do.
If you are still stuck, a golden rule
that will help on many occasions is
to improve the position of your
worst placed piece. Search around
the board for a misplaced knight or
an undefended bishop or an unde­
veloped rook and then it is clear
how to better your position. When
the tactics begin, you need your
pieces ready for action and if there
is a loose piece around, you can be
sure that it will enter the equations!
What should I concentrate on in
the ending?
Now we are back in territory
similar to openings as we are likely
to experience identical positions that
can be learnt and . applied in
Improvement 71
different games. It is worth going
over a few of the most common.
Before embarking on a
tournament it is a good idea to
familiarize yourself with how the
mate with king and queen against
king, then rook and king against
king and finally two bishops and
king against king which is a great
aid in piece co-ordination. Just
watch out for stalemate as it is about
the only way to mess it up and of
course you have 50 moves to
complete the checkmate from the
last moment that a pawn is moved
or a capture takes place. In all these
cases just mentioned a capture will
no longer permit a checkmate and
therefore the 50 move rule comes
into effect immediately.
The following are more advanced
endings that anyone above 80 BCF
grade should be able to grasp.
What is the opposition?
As the king often plays an impor­
tant role in endings, the "opposi­
tion" is the term given to two kings
opposing each other when one must
give way. Here is a useful example.
If it were White to move, 1 'it>d4
gains the opposition, and with no
72 Your Chess Questions Answered
"waiting" move such as a decent
pawn advance, the black king must
give way allowing the white king to
infiltrate.
For example, l ...'it>c6 is answered
by 2 'it>e5 and the white king heads
for the h and g-pawns, while
l...'it>e6 is no improvement for
Black on account of 2 �c5 when
the a-pawn will drop.
To show just how important the
opposition can be, imagine it is
Black to play from the diagrammed
position. Again, l . . .'it>e5 is the move
that forces the enemy king to step to
one side and this time White is on
the defensive.
Rook and pawn against rook.
I was shown this particular ending
prematurely and did not understand
the point at all until I was faced with
how to defend the position in a
tournament game. Thereafter it has
cropped up regularly and I would
recommend that you get to grips
with this one. Take the diagrammed
position:
White is threatening 2 'it>f6 and
then pawn forward with devastating
effect. The problem for Black is that
if he does nothing, and meets 2 'it>f6
with 2 . . �b6+, 3 e6 wins and if he
.
tries to check from behind with
l ...�b l , 2 'it>f6 �fl+, the white king
can make use of his pawn to shield
him from the checks with 3 'it>e6
when a standard winning position is
reached.
This is the last moment to set up
the "third rank defence" with
l...�b6 which crucially prevents 2
'it>f6. Now if White wishes to make
progress he must play 2 e6 and the
threat becomes 3 'it>f6 again.
Now the second critical moment
as the rook has served its purpose
on the third rank and has to re-route
with 2 . �bl so 3 'it>f6 can be met
..
by an annoying set of checks from
behind starting with 3 ... �fl +. This
time there is no refuge on e6 and so
the game is drawn with correct play.
Don't worry if White tries to
bring his rook back to block the
checks with 3 �aS as 3 . .�fl + 4
.
�f5 �xf5+ 5 'it>xf5 'it>e7 brings us to
another relatively simple draw,
which comes next.
King and pawn against king.
Another common ending and
essential knowledge for the
tournament player.

This position is in fact drawn
whoever it is to move, but let us
lind out how Black does in fact
draw the above.
l . 'it>e6 2 'it>d4 'it>d6
. .
Another example of taking the
opposition which reduces the scope
of White's king.
3 eS+ 'it>e6 4 'it>e4 'it>e7 5 'it>dS
'it>d7 6 e6+ 'it>e7
Remember to stay directly in front
of the pawn as much as possible.
7 'it>eS
Black could have made various
moves to eventually reach this
position, but now he is on a
tight-rope as one slip can cost him
the game.
The way to "remember" how to
draw is that you have two moves
that lose and only one that saves
you. 7 ... 'it>d8 8 'it>d6 'it>e8 9 e7 'it>fl
10 'it>d7 and similarly 7 . . . 'it>f8 8 'it>f6
are situations that permit White the
opposition and a safe passage for
the pawn to become a queen.
Therefore, Black must ensure that
it is he who is able to take the
opposition at the critical stage.
7 ... 'it>e8 8 'it>d6 'it>d8 9 e7+ 'it>e8
And White's pawn must drop or
else 10 'it>e6 is stalemate.
Improvement 73
It used to be said of British chess
that endings were played weakly in
comparison with the rest of the
game.
Our chess books, especially
literature on openings lead the
world market, but perhaps due to
the fact that so many club games
used to end in adjudications, our
endgame technique is not nearly so
impressive.
When entering an endgame, it is
worth bearing in mind the following
guidelines
i) Rooks behind passed pawns.
ii) Use your king in the ending.
This diagram can serve to
illustrate the first two examples as
Black, to move, should place his
rook behind the a-pawn with
l.. ..l:f.a2 before White can turn his
weak a-pawn into a strength. .l:f.a3
would leave Black in the
unfortunate situation of having to
run back passively to stop his
opponent's a-pawn queening, but
having the black rook behind the
passed pawn will leave White tied
up defending the a-pawn and enable
Black to remain actively posted.
Play might continue 2 .l:f.c4 'it>hS 3
'it>n 'it>g4 and suddenly we can see
the power of the king in the ending.
74 Your Chess Questions Answered
iii) Outside passed pawns.
At the risk of generalising,
because each position you face is
likely to be unique, it is only
sometimes in rook and pawn
endings, such as the above that an
outside passed pawn can prove to be
more of a liability than an asset.
The following is a definite
example of the outside passed pawn
being a winner.
White just has to shepherd the
a-pawn up the board while keeping
an eye on the f2-pawn.
Knights are especially bad at
dealing with outside passed pawns,
even if they are in the vicinity.
1 a6! and the pawn cannot be
stopped. If t ..:�c8 2 a7 queens.
What does a good chess library
consist of?
I look at my chess library and I
never know where to start as I · have
6 bookcases full of every chess
subject under the sun. However,
these have been built up over 20
years and here we are interested in
an essential backbone of books to
equip the novice and mmor
·
tournament player.
You will need one opening ency­
clopaedia that covers all openings as
it will be a valuable reference book.
When you have recorded a game, or
even from memory, it is intriguing
and extremely helpful to go and
follow the moves and see how
previous top class games have gone.
You may find that you followed
Kasparov for 8 moves or that you
fell for an opening trap that a
previous champion also experienced
and of course the encyclopaedia will
give assessments and
recommendations for your next
encounter with the same opening.
You might meet an opening that
you have never seen before and it
will be listed in the pages unless it is
a ridiculous choice of moves by
your opponent and is not classed as
a worthy opening!
There are 5 mass1ve
Encyclopaedias of Chess Openings
A-E that are necessary for the
professional but I recommend the
Batsford Chess Openings 2 as an
excellent starter which should serve
you until grade BCF 160.
As you become acquainted with
various openings and develop your
repertoire, you will want to obtain
more information on specific open­
ings and you will find an excellent

range of up to date books from
Batsford.
A selection of a player's best
annotated games or selected master­
pieces is one of the most enjoyable
ways to help your middle-game play
as it will include explanatory
comments and a variety of
openings. The only problem is not
choosing a book that is analysed too
deeply for your level and therefore I
suggest the following books as
suitable for players up to 1 30.
My 60 Memorable Games by
Bobby Fischer
The Most Instructive Games of
Chess Ever Played by Irving
Chemev
My System by Nimzovitch
Simple Chess by Michael Stean
Another necessary accessory is a
book of combinations and tactics
that illustrate recurring themes of
sacrifices or unusual continuations
that force mate or win material.
There are many books on the market
that deal with this topic, such as:
Simple Chess Tactics by
A.J.Gillam
Improvement 75
The Daily Telegraph Chess
Puzzles by Norwood
There are far fewer books
published on the ending for the
obvious reason that not all games go
the distance to an end-game and the
possibilities are less far-reaching.
However, one comprehensive
ending book that seeks to cover all
essential knowledge with practical
examples is a wise investment. One
such book that is highly acclaimed
IS:
Practical Chess Endings by Paul
Keres.
Something I was glad to have
done from an early age was to keep
scorebooks of my games, copied up
after the match with records of the
date and result. It is interesting to
play over the early games years later
and an effective way to keep track
of your progress. There is often also
a place to put comments and so a
quick message of how to improve
on the game next time can be
invaluable. The books, soft or hard
bound can be bought from all the
major chess suppliers and normally
contain room for I 00 games.
 9 Grading
What is a British grading?
It is a figure that illustrates your
chess strength and the higher the
number, the better you are.
Typically English, unlike the rest of
the world, we have adopted a three
figure rather than a four figure
grading system. The general
standards are as follows:
beginner: 40-80
low club player: 80- 1 20
average club player: 1 20- 1 50
strong club player: 1 50- 1 90
1 st team county player: 1 70+
International player 220+
Top 1 00 in the world: 250+
What is an Elo rating?
There is an International body of
chess called FIDE (Federation
International des Echecs) that takes
care of the Elo (named after
Professor Arpad Elo who invented
the system) rating list that covers
the whole world. This however only
begins at elo 2000 which is the
equivalent of 1 75 in English terms
or first team county player level.
To put it in perspective, there are
about 30,000 players on the British
grading list with less than 2% of
these having achieved an Elo rating.
Therefore countries all adopt their
own internal list too, almost always
following the Elo style, in order to
cater for the masses of lower rated
players that do not have an
international rating.
It can be very confusing that the
Elo list is also called the
"international rating list" or the
"FIDE rating list" as these are all
one and the same.
Don't be fooled by the fact that
we call our list the BCF (British
Chess Federation) ratings because
the Scots, Welsh and Irish in fact
use the Elo system to calculate their
own ratings. They are not part of the
British Chess Federation and their
list is independent of the
international list.
It is noticeable on the USCF
(United States Chess Federation)
rating list that most players are
about 1 00 points higher than their
FIDE rating but this does not matter
as you can only compare ratings in
the same list. Again, it is an
interesting statistic that there are
about 80,000 USCF players on their
internal Elo-based rating list with
only about 1 % of these also on the
Elo or international list.
How do I obtain a BCF
grading?
You must play 12 games against
other officially graded players dur­
ing the period of one year in order

to obtain a grading, although I doubt
one would be published if you lost
all relevant encounters!
Can I keep track of my grading
once it is published?
Once you have a grading, if you
know the basic way to calculate a
grading performance, it is possible
to keep track of changes before a
new grade is published the
following year. . grading?
You will get 50 points more than
your opponent's grade if you win
and have 50 points deducted off his
grade if you lose. Obviously a draw
will mean the performance for the
game will be you taking. each
other's grade, and the performance
is the average result over the year.
(The maximum range of plus or
minus for one game is 90 points
meaning that no-one counts more
than 40 points above or below your
own grade for each match).
So let us assume your grade is
1 00 and you play a 6 round
tournament with the following
results:
1. 1 V 95
2. 0 V 120
3. 1/2 V 50
4. 0 v ungraded
5. 1 v40
6. 1v87
Now we have to do the sums fo-r
each round:
1 . 145
2. 70
3 . 60 (cannot be more than a 40
point range)
Grading 7 7
4. This will not count since the
opponent was ungraded.
5. 1 1 0 (must take player as 60
using same rule as round 3)
6. 1 3 7
Total=522 which must b e divided
by 5 graded (don't forget the
ungraded does not go forward to the
calculation) opponents= 1 04.4
Do all games get sent off for
Absolutely not. It depends largely
on the organizers to make the effort
to send the results for grading and
while most are extremely efficient
some results will always slip by the
wayside.
The problems also come when
there are political interferences. For
example, you may have an excellent
result somewhere but if the
tournament is connected to a county
association that has fallen out with
the BCF there may well be no
co-operation between the event and
the national graders and therefore
you will never be rewarded for your
efforts. Specifically Yorkshire and a
few other counties up north split
away from the BCF about a decade
ago. Conversely you might be lucky
enough to get away with your
grading being protected from a
disastrous performance, but of
course about 80% of all tournament
and club games will make it on to
the grading list.
There are actually two grading
lists as quickplay events (half an
hour per person on the clock) and
slow play games are calculated
separately.
78 Your Chess Questions Answered
Are there any changes proposed
to the grading list?
Yes. There is talk of
amalgamating the separate slow
play and rapid play grading lists.
Also, there may be a conversion
of the current grading structure to an
ELO (four figure) system but this
has still to be finalised in the ranks
of the British Chess Federation.
How do I obtain an
International rating?
This time you must have a
performance over 9 games of at
least 2000 against other Elo rated
players. As this is unlikely to
happen in one event, the rules state
that it can be achieved over two or
three stages called "norms" or "part
ratings" where the Elo rating must
be achieved over a minimum of 4
games.
The beauty of this system is that
you can try many times and
eventually the best result will count
towards your first elo rating, suiting
erratic players. However, perhaps a
serious cause of inflation as
ultimately some unworthy players
will immediately lose their points
into the system as others strip them
of their rating when they venture
into future tournaments.
How often is the International
rating list updated?
Every six months the new list is
published along with the number of
games played in that period. The
deadline of games for the July list is
May 30th while the January list in­
cludes games up to November 30th.
How do I correlate BCF and Elo
grades?
It is useful to be able to change
one to the other but there are some
easy markers to remember for the
round numbers:
Elo BCF
2400 225
2200 200
2000 1 75
1 800 1 50
1 600 1 25
Basically, 25 BCF points is
equivalent to 200 Elo points.
If you have a rating like 2 1 30 and
wish to convert it to a BCF grade
the sum to do is as follows:
Subtract 600 and divide by 8.
i.e. 2 1 30---600
= 1 530.
1 530/8 = 1 9 1 rounded to the
nearest whole number.
To get from BCF to Elo, you must
reverse the process and therefore
you multiply by 8 and add 600.
i.e. (200 x 8) = 1 600 + 600 =
2200.
The Elo system cannot be an
exact science, but the hardest thing
to determine is whether the overall
rise in ratings is due solely to
inflation or to the fact that chess
players are stronger.
For example, in 1988, the top
rated was Kasparov at 2775 and
second Karpov at 2750. Ten years
later in 1 998, Kasparov still leads
the way at 2825 with next Kramnik
2790 and Anand at 2770.
I actually believe that the added
strength is spread across the whole
board as I feel that today a 2200
player is far stronger than a 2200 of
ten years ago and that inflation is
minimal.
 10 Openings

What openings should I start stage because he felt bored by the

with? stagnant positions that can arise
after the standard 1 e4 e5 opening:
This is not so easy to answer since
there are a few totally different 1 e4 e5 2 ti::lf3 tt::lc6 3 ..ic4 ..ic5 4
schools of thought. The famous tt::lc3 ti::l f6 5 0-0 0-0 6 d3 d6 etc.
Richmond junior chess club which
is well-known for its ability to chum
out masses of strong juniors is strict
about the children sticking to the
classical opening 1 e4 e5 until they
have mastered certain aspects of the
game. At this stage other openings
are not allowed to be practiced in
coaching sessions.
On reaching a specific standard
(BCF 50/Elo 1000) they are then
invited up to the next group which
is enlightened with practically every
opening that exists. Individually, I know how he felt, but in fact a
they are then able to decide which more advanced player could find
opening they feel at home with and plenty of ways to liven up the posi­
make a choice when they come to tion with, for example 4 c3 . I think
play their own tournament games. it is a sensible idea for any player to
The alternative approaches are to experiment with new openings
experiment at an early stage with (especially the mainstream ones) but
unusual openings or to learn just I can't deny that the Richmond
one opening and stick to it for many policy works well for them.
years. The dangers here are being
put off openings that are just too Do I need an opening
subtle for a beginner to understand repertoire?
in the first case or to limit your
repertoire and never find the perfect You won't get far without one.
opening that suits you in the latter. There is not much point fishing in
I read an article where Steve the dark in every game when it is so
Davis was complaining that he was easy to look up the first few moves
put off chess at a relatively early to set you on your way.
80 Your Chess Questions Answered

You would be surprised how 2 tZ'lO

many traps there are to fall into in Attacking a pawn and following
the early stages and therefore it is basic principles by developing a
necessary to know a safe route into piece.
the middlegame. We have not compromised our
It is possible that someone with position at all and already we can
no opening knowledge can get by hope for Black to go wrong. For
blissfully unaware of his inaccurate example, 2 . . . f6? defends the pawn
play if he is up against people of the and allows 3 tZ'lxe5 fxe5 (3 ...'ii'e7
same standard who are unable to escapes the worst) 4 'ii'h 5+ g6 5
take advantage of the mistakes, but "ir'e5+ and 6 "ir'xh8 as already
he could suddenly experience great discussed under the heading
difficulties when entering tourna­ "Control the Centre" in chapter 6. 3
ments with stronger opposition. d4 is also extremely sensible.
There is nothing worse than being 2 . . . tZ'lf6 is actually called the
beaten straight from the opening Petroff Defence, but it is often
"out of a book" and your opponent misplayed by beginners as they tend
kindly informs you "Yes, I have to play it to copy their opponent' s
caught 47 people in exactly the moves. I f this i s the case, 3 tZ'lxe5
same way. Excuse me if I don't tell tZ'lxe4 (as you will soon see, it is
you what you should play but I necessary to kick the knight back
mustn't let the cat out of the bag from the powerful square on e5 with
must I?" 3 . . . d6 and only then can Black
The best part of having some safely regain the pawn with 4 tZ'lf3
knowledge of the opening moves is tZ'lxe4) 4 'ii'e2 tZ'lf6 (4 . . . d5 5 d3 tZ'lf6
that it gives you immense will lead to the same)
confidence because you can always
reassure yourself that some
grandmaster played it and therefore
it must be okay. However, if you are
making it up, you cannot be sure if
there is a trap waiting for you round
the corner and you can waste far too
much time checking every
possibility.

How do I commence building an

opening repertoire?
Let us assume that you have
chosen 1 e4 as your first move.
1 e4 e5
This is by far the most popular
defence and one that beginners
should get to grips with before
branching out to other defences.
Q24) And now White can win
hefty material. Can you work out
how? Answer on page 1 24.
2 tZ'lc6
And so our repertoire is forming
with various branches along the
way. Here we have a further choice
 Openings 81

of learning 3 .ic4 which is the

"Italian Game" (also known as the
"G iuoco Piano") or 3 i.b5 which is
named the "Spanish" or the "Ruy
Lopez". There is absolutely no
sense in studying both openings in
depth to begin with as you only
have to choose one here from
White's point of view.
3 i.c4
As with "Scholar's Mate", it is the
17-square that is vulnerable and that
Q25) And now I leave it to you to
is why the bishop develops to this
work out the forced mate in 2.
square.
Answer on page 1 24.
3 tiJf6
4 ltJgS
Here we have a major crossroads
Normally you would not move a
as Black can also play 3 ... i.c5 .
piece more than once until you have
You will also want to know the
fully developed but Kasparov has
beautiful line that can occur after
given this move his seal of approval
3 . . . d6 as you can set up an opening
and it sets a dangerous trap. If you
trap without compromising your
do not like dangerous and tactical
position: 4 tLlc3 i.g4 5 h3 i.h5
positions, you should consider a
continuation such as 4 d3 or 4 tLlc3
instead and form a more docile
repertoire.
4 dS
There is no other way to defend
the f7-pawn.
5 exdS ltJxdS?

. . . and now you can win at least a

pawn with 6 lLlxe5! (now the point
of driving the bishop back to h5
with 5 h3 can be seen because with
the bishop still on g4, 5 lLlxe5
would have been simply met by
5 . . . ltJxe5, defending the bishop)
6 . . . i.xdl (6 . . .ltJxe5 7 'ir'xh5 lLlxc4 8
'i!Vb5+ is worth remembering A mistake that anyone could
because it is not easy to calculate so easily find himself playing as it
far ahead at the board) appears to regain the pawn, and
82 Your Chess Questions Answered
simultaneously open a line of attack
on the knight at g5.
The next move is one that you
would never find over the board but
is a real killer and catches thousands
of unsuspecting victims every year,
especially during school matches
and in novice tournaments. About 5
minutes of studying is all it takes to
notch up wins for the rest of your
life. I find it especially useful to
reduce the number of boards at a
simultaneous as my opponents
rarely last longer than 10 moves.
6 tt:lxf7!
I will be criticised if I do not
mention that 6 d4 is supposed to be
potent here. I have always been
satisfied with 6 tt:lx£7 but have been
assured by colleagues that 6 d4 may
be even stronger.
6 �xf7
Black has no choice as his queen
and rook were forked.
7 'ir'f3+ �e6
The only way to hang onto his
extra piece. You will be surprised at
how many people try to run their
king into "safety" with 7 ... 'it>g8
when 8 i..xd5+ leads to mate.
8 tt:lc3
It is important that White keeps
up the pressure.
8 tt:lb4
At this point some players may try
and set up a solid defence with
8 ... tt:lce7 but White will always get
a dangerous attack by ripping open
the centre with d4.
9 1i'e4
A duel purpose move that defends
c2 and now threatens 1 0 a3 , driving
the defence of the knight on d5
away, and setting up threats along
the e-file.
9 c6
10 a3 tt:la6
11 d4
Preventing the knight regrouping
to c5.
11 'i¥d6
12 i.. f4 ! !
I think i t i s White having all the
fun here and you should learn and
understand this sequence of moves
and practice finishing Black off
while testing out earlier deviations
to make sure it suits your style.
Once you have accepted this as
one of the main lines of your
repertoire, you must fill in the
alternative 5th moves, which can be
found in any good encyclopaedia.
In this case, you can expect
5 ... tt:la5 about 50% of the time and a
mixture of 5 ... tt:ld4, 5 . . . b5 and
5 . . . tt:lxd5? the rest.
As Black, let us set about
preparing you against the most
common opening move 1 e4.
You have a wide choice on the
first move, as there is the solid
French defence (l...e6), the safe
Caro-Kann defence (l ...c6), the en­
ergetic Sicilian defence (l. . c5), the
.
stubborn and popular l. ..e5 reply,
the flexible Modem defence (1 ... g6)
or provocative Alekhine defence

( l . . lt:lf6), to name a few. These are
. opponent had not yet arrived for the
discussed in more depth in later in
the chapter.
Let us suppose you go for the
normal choice for beginners, l . ..e5.
Now you must have some idea of
how to prevent Scholar's Mate with
2 �h5, 3 �c4 and 4 �xf7 mate. I
suggest 1 e4 e5 2 �h5 lt:lc6 3 �c4
g6 4 �f3 lt:lf6 5 d3 lt:ld4 etc. but
there are many other ways to avoid
the instant humiliation of losing in
four moves.
Generally speaking, nobody in a
tournament will have the audacity
or the optimism to attempt the four
move checkmate, since it is serious
time wasting of the queen if it does
not come off. Instead, Black can
expect to meet continuations such as
1 e4 e5 2 lt:lf3 or the King's Gambit
with 1 e4 e5 2 f4.
Against the Queen's Gambit 1 d4
d5 2 c4, I recommend that my
pupils bolster up the centre with
2 .. e6, since capturing the pawn
. castle, you cannot go far wrong.
with 2 ... dxc4 can lead to White
obtaining a formidable centre with 3
e4 and attempts to hold onto the
pawn with 3 ... b5 backfire to 4 a4 c6
5 axb5 cxb5 6 b3 cxb3 7 �xb5+
�d7 8 �xb3 when White 's lead in
development guarantee him a
pleasant edge.
I cannot do the whole repertoire
for you, but I wanted to give you
and idea of how to go about it.
Much of it will depend on your
style.
What if someone plays an
opening I have never seen before?
I was sitting next to the well
known "inventor", international
master Mike Basman, whose
Openings 83
start of the game. Basman opened 1
a3 and pressed the clock. Five
minutes later his opponent rushed
in, sat down and immediately
pressed the clock without making a
move with the black pieces.
Basman then returned the action,
much to the dismay of the young
man who hit the clock button with
some force and declared "You
haven't moved". The likeable
master replied calmly "oh, but I
have" and waved in the direction of
his a-pawn.
So, there are some weird openings
that you will come across, but by
and large, the stranger they look the
worse they are.
It is worth brushing over a couple
of examples that you are likely to
meet once or twice over your chess
career, but if yotl remember the
golden rules of two or three pawn
moves, piece development and to
1 b4. The Sokolsky Opening.
This move is not as crazy as it
looks as its aim is to exchange a
wing pawn for a more central pawn.
White would then be able to cover
more key squares. Therefore, after 1
b4 e5, White generally continues 2
�b2, in order to meet 2 ... �xb4
with 3 �xe5 and he has succeeded
in eliminating one of his opponent's
central pawns .
This opening is rather irrelevant
to beginners, who must first and
foremost concentrate on not
dropping material.
A simple way to meet this obscure
opening lies in l ...d5 2 �b2 �d6
(threatening the pawn on b4) 3 a3
84 Your Chess Questions A nswered

eS and Black has succeeded in ob­
taining a solid centre. It is not often
that one is able, as Black, to occupy
the centre with two pawns, so make
the most of it when you can.
1 g4. The Grob Opening.
Surprisingly enough, this inventor
was Michael Basman, as mentioned
above. One is almost obliged to
follow up with l. . eS, just in case
. to play h3 at some stage in case the
your opponent has a brain storm and
decides to move his f-pawn,
allowing an instant mate on h4 !
The secret is not to be too
ambitious for Black here as
grabbing the g-pawn with l. . dS 2
.
systems for White and one for
Black.
The most popular systems for
White include:
a) The London System.
1 d4, 2 lt:'lf3 and 3 �f4. These are
three of the early moves and class
the opening as a London System.
About the only thing you should
know is that it is often a good idea
bishop on f4 is attacked by . . . lt:'lh5
when it can retreat from f4 to h2 in
order to avoid being exchanged.
Let us now consider the London
System in practice:

�g2 �xg4 runs into some pressure

Larry Christiansen White
from 3 c4 and perhaps 'ifb3 later.
Instead, the reason the Grob is not Dmitri Gurevich Black
London System
seen at the highest level is because
sensible moves should show it up to
be weakening.
1 d4 lZ'lf6 2 lt:'lf3 e6 3 �f4 cS 4 e3

I hate learning theory. Can you

suggest an alternative?

There are certain openings

regarded as "systems" and the idea
is that White or Black will play
more or less the same moves against
anything and therefore guarantee
solid and safe development.
The games may well start on a
quiet footing as the openings are
designed to avoid early
complications and sharp tactics but Once the dark squared bishop is
this does not mean that they will not developed, White carefully
explode into fireworks later. completes the pawn chain and
However, while systems works allows his second bishop to emerge
perfectly well with White, it is not into the game. There is no question
so easy with Black as there are very on embarking on any heroics until
few decent combinations that will all the pieces are developed.
be possible against 1 c4, 1 d4 and 1 4...b6 5 �d3 �b7 6 c3 �e7 7 h3
e4. We shall consider three such 0-0 8 0-0 d6

Black must make a small
concession here for either he plays
8 .. d5, which prevents a later e4 by
. 19 'ii'd2 d4
White but permits White to land a
knight on the e5-square or he
continues as in the game where
White will soon be able to claim an
extra stake in the centre with e4.
9 'ii'e2 li:Jbd7 10 e4 cxd4 11 cxd4
�e8 12 li:Jc3 .ifS 13 �fd1 g6 14
�acl a6 15 a4
It is not easy to understand the
complex manoeuvring of the grand­
masters but neither side is giving
anything away materially or posi­
tionally a� White prevents pis oppo­
nent's plan of expanding with ...b5.
15 ...�a7 16 e5 dxe5 17 dxe5
li:Jd5 1 8 li:Jxd5 exd5
Openings 85
The more natural 1 8 ... ..ixd5 is not
wise due to the loose pawn on a6.
Black seeks to activate his bishop
on b7 by tactical means as if White
captures the pawn with 20 li:lxd4,
Black then regains the pawn with
20 ...li:Jxe5.
20 e6 �xe6 21 li:Jxd4 �e8 22
li:Jb5!
White has obviously been
calculating the tactics and is seeking
to take advantage of the pin along
the d-file. It is justice that White has
this powerful continuation since all
his pieces are activated and
well-placed.
22 ... axb5 23 ..ixb5 ..ic8 24 �xc8
'ii'xc8 25 ..ixd7 �xd7 26 'ii'xd7
'ii'xd7 27 �xd7
86 Your Chess Questions Answered

The smoke has cleared and White The obvious drawback is that the
is now entering the ending a clear bishop on c 1 is shut out of the game
pawn ahead and goes on to win in for some ·time to come, but it is a
43 moves. Notice that 7 h3 also small price to pay for what is to
turned out to be useful because it follow.
allows an escape square after 3 ... e6 4 f4
27 . . l:te I + . In fact there is a valuable
. It is important to prevent 4 . . . e5
lesson here because it is important and the d and f-pawns are preparing
not to get carried away with to support a knight on the e5-square.
board-clearing tactics if there is a The golden rule of this opening is
serious detail of back rank mate at that the light squared bishop is the
the end. key to the whole system and you do
not want it to be driven from its
b) The Stonewall Attack. (d4, e3 potent diagonal.
and f4). 4 ...lt::Jc6 5 c3
This is an opening I recommend To prevent 5 . . . lt::lb4 .
to many pupils who are starting out s ... .td6 6 tt::Jo o-o 7 o-o .td7 s
in tournaments as there is a definite �el !
and concise plan from move one.
It is not played much at the
highest level for the reason that it is
relatively easy for Black to equalise
if he knows what he is doing, but
against your average minor or major
tournament player (i.e. BCF grade
80- 1 50) it can be a most effective
weapon.
Our first job is to aim the light
squared bishop in the direction of
the kingside.
1 d4 dS 2 e3 lLlf6 3 .td3 I t will only b e now that a player
with no experience of this line will
 Openings 87

realise what White is up to. The

queen intends to commence a
vicious attack with 9 �h4 and
White also has the e5-square on
which to post a knight. Black might
have to also contend with an
aggressive rook which can enter the
attack via the f3-square and the
knight on b 1 could suddenly come
alive via d2-f3-e5 .
8 ... I!e8 9 �h4 h6 10 li:Jbd2 'ike7
1 1 li:Je5 ii..xe5 12 fxe5
19 ii..xg6 ii..xf3
White captured the correct way
19 . . . fxg6 20 'ir'xg6+ 'it>h8 2 1 l!h3
since this opens the f-file for the
will win.
white rooks. Also, as a general rule,
20 ii.. h7++
it is normally best to capture
Double check must be answered
towards the centre since more of the
by a king move.
vital central squares are controlled
21. .. '1t>xh7 22 �g7 mate.
by doing this.
12 li:Jh7 13 �g3
Obviously Black could have put
..•

Again, a useful general rule is

up better resistance earlier on, but
seen here. The attacking side wishes
the game illustrates the main points
to avoid exchanging as many pieces
of the system.
as possible and certainly to retain
I should mention that after 1 d4
the queens, the most powerful piece
d5 2 e3, once someone has exper­
of all.
ienced the Stonewall, some players
13 ...li:Jg5 14 li:Jf3 li:Jxf3+ 1 5 I!xf3
are determined to throw a spanner in
the works with 2 ... ii..f5, preventing
you developing next with 3 ii..d 3.
Instead, it is worth knowing that
you can then transpose to an
excellent version of the Queen's
Gambit with 3 c4 since you can
quickly follow up with moves such
as 4 li:Jc3 and 5 �3 which targets
both d5 and the weak pawn at b7.

c) The Colle System. (d4, li:Jf3

15 ... li:Jd8 16 e4 dxe4 17 ii..x h6 g6
18 ii..xe4 ii..c6
Can you see a strong continuation
now?
and e3).
This opening is flexible but often
characterised by developing ii..d 3,
0-0, li:Jbd2, c3 (if necessary to
bolster up the centre) and White will
hope to open the e-file later. It is
also popular to fianchetto the dark
88 Your Chess Questions Answered
squared bishop which may support
an eventual lt:\e5 . Our illustrative
game sees the elder of the famous
Polgar sister trio defeating a leading
grandmaster with the Colle.
Zsusza Polgar White:
Leonid Yudasin Black
Colle System
1 d4 lt:\f6 2 lt:\f3 e6 3 e3 c5 4 �d3
lt:\c6 5 0-0 d5 6 b3 �d6 7 ..ib2 0-0
8 a3 "iVc7 9 c4 cxd4 10 exd4 e5
White was ready to follow up
with lt:\bd2, l:te l and lt:\e5 with
excellent prospects so Black does
his best to mix things up.
1 1 dxe5 lt:\xe5 12 lt:\xe5 �xe5 13
i.xe5 ifxe5 14 lt:\d2 �g4 1 5 l:te1
"iVd6 16 "iVc2 l:tac8 17 h3 �h5 18
i.f5 .!:r.c7 19 "iVd3 .!:r.d8 20 "iVd4 b6
21 l:te5 .!:r.e7 22 f4 "iVc7 23 l:tae1
l:txe5 24 fxe5 dxc4 25 exf6!
Oops, that tactic must have been
overlooked by Black who would
have assumed that his opponent
must move her queen. However,
25 . . .l:txd4 loses instantly to the
undefended back rank with 26 l:te8
mate. The rest is relatively easy. I
am especially drawn to this example
of the Colle as simple development
and logical piece placement made
everything flow smoothly from
White's point of view.
25 ... gxf6 26 "iVxf6 c3 27 lt:\e4 c2
28 "iVh6 ..ig6 29 lt:\f6+ 'it>h8 30
lt:\e8! 1-0.
And now, as promised, one
system for Black.
The "Double Fianchetto" system
allows you to carry out a familiar
set-up against any move order from
White.
For example:
1 d4 b6 2 e4 �b7 3 lt:\c3 g6 4
lt:\f3 ..ig7 5 ..id3 e6 6 i.f4 d6 7 0-0
lt:\d7 8 .!:r.e1 lt:\e7
Black is solid and is ready to react
to anything White may conjure up.
Black may also consider ... c5 when
he is fully developed to liven up the
position.

What are the more common
openings?
When people have exhausted I e4
e5 or begun playing tournaments,
they normally become hungry for
knowledge of alternative openings
they may face or wish to experiment
with themselves. However, it is
extremely difficult to pick up a book
and expect to understand and
remember the moves and therefore
it is invaluable to have some
explanations of the ideas alongside.
l t is worth going through some of
the more well known openings and
defences that are popular at club
level. First we shall examine some
defences to e4.
French Defence
I e4 e6
Black makes sure that he is not
going to fall foul to anything on the
t7-square as can happen in I e4 e5
openings when a bishop plants itself
on c4, firing at f7. Now it is
pointless White continuing 2 i.c4 as
2 . . . d5 gains time and allows Black a
foothold in the centre with tempo.
However, you would be surprised at
how many beginners will play just
that.
Openings 89
I always advise pupils to take the
centre with two pawns if permitted
and therefore 2 d4 is the common
reply.
2 d4 d5
Black challenges the centre and
already White must decide how to
defend the e-pawn.
a) 3 e5
Classified as the "Advance
French", White hopes to set up an
attack against the castled king
position with help from more space
and a well positioned bishop on d3 .
Meanwhile, Black's best is to
pressurize the centre and
specifically the d4-pawn in order to
undermine the strong point on e5.
Play therefore often continues
along the lines of: 3 . . . c5 4 c3 l2Jc6 5
liJf3 'ifb6 and it is debatable
whether White is now able to play
the natural 6 i.d3 since 6 . . . cxd4 7
cxd4 l2Jxd4? 8 l2Jxd4 'ili'xd4 wins the
queen with 9 i.b5+ but 6 . . . ..td7
threatens simply to win the pawn on
d4. More aggressive minded players
are indeed perfectly happy to
sacrifice the pawn in order to secure
an attack and rapid development.
90 Your Chess Questions Answered
b) 3 exd5 exd5
Rather tedious, the blocked
position leads to a drawish situation
with a symmetrical pawn structure
but there have been one or two
grandmasters who have adopted the
opening to play for a win. It is more
normal for a weaker player to
include it into his repertoire to gain
a solid draw against a stronger
opponent, but it is well worth being
aware that the position can be
livened up by castling opposite sides
which nearly always spells time for
a pawn storm on both wings.
c) 3 liJc3
The Winawer variation is a lively
choice as White goes for piece
development. Here Black can
choose betwe.en the Classical lines
with 3 . . .tDf6 4 e5 tiJfd7 5 f4 c5 or
the exciting 3 . . ...ib4 which also
renews the threat on the e4-pawn.
The main line of the latter runs 4 e5
c5 5 a3 ..ixc3+ 6 bxc3 tDe7 7 'ii'g4,
although there are a lot of dangerous
sidelines that also need to be
checked.
d) 3 tiJd2
Known as the Tarrasch variation,
White bolsters up his centre and
keeps the option of playing c3
without allowing the pin as in the
Winawer variation above. If you
know anything about Karpov and
Kasparov, it would not be difficult
to guess that the Winawer is a
favourite of Kasparov while. Karpov
scored well with the Tarrasch.
Again, Black has two distinct
paths to take here.
3 . . . c5 leads to an I.Q.P. (Isolated
Queen Pawn) position which
enables Black to have free lines to
attack. This can lead to a bad ending
with a weak pawn if the pieces are
exchanged.
Meanwhile 3 . . . tiJf6 encourages
White to advance with 4 e5 tiJfd7
where again Black hopes to break
up the centre with moves like ... c5
and perhaps a later , .. f6.
 Openings 91

A lot of this will mean nothing

until you actually play out the
opening but some guidelines should
help.
If you confront a move that �ou
arc not aware is possible, there IS a
chance that it is dubious. For
example, 3 f3 certainly defends the
c4-pawn, but would you know how
lo respond?
Answer on page 1 24.
A typical move order of the
Sicilian Defence
Closed Sicilian where White makes
no pawn breaks in the centre and
1 e4 cS
generally plays for a kingside attack
aided by an f-pawn advance after all
his pieces are developed.

b) 2 tt:lf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 tt:lxd4

Here Black stakes a claim in the

centre and retains a flexible
structure that allows his pieces to be
developed in a number of ways . He
. There are heaps of off-shoots
also avoids any tricks on fl smce
from the Open Sicilian but it is
i.c4 can be met by ... e6, which
relatively easy to take up as Black
blunts the power of the bishop.
as you just have to choose one of
the many set-ups. Don't be put off
White must now choose which
by all the variations such as the
type of position to enter as there is a
Najdorf, Sveshnikov, Kan, Dragon,
vast difference between Closed and
Taimanov, Scheveningen etc. as
Open Sicilians.
they only refer to the different
opening moves.
a) 2 tt:lc3 tt:lc6 3 g3 g6 4 ..tg2
The Dragon is perhaps the most
i.g7 5 d3 d6 6 f4
well-known of all and is
characterised by the following
moves:
92 Your Chess Questions Answered

1 e4 c5 2 tt:lf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 With the 2 c3 Sicilian, White

tt:lxd4 tt:lf6 5 tt:lc3 g6 6 .i.e3 .i.g7 wishes to follow up with 3 d4 and
after 3 . . . cxd4, recapture on d4 with
the c-pawn and have two nicely
posted pawns in the centre. This
response can be rather off-putting
for a seasoned Sicilian player who is
booked up on his pet Dragon
variation, only to find White here is
looking for a safe and solid opening
position.
2 . . .tt:lf6 3 e5 tt:ld5 4 d4 cxd4 5
tt:lf3 e6 6 cxd4 or 2 ... d5 3 exd5
'ifxd5 4 d4 are the two sharpest
continuations that prevent White
. . . when there can be incredibly
securing pawns at d4 and e4,
sharp attacking possibilities after 7
nevertheless, White has easy
f3 0-0 8 'ifd2 tt:lc6 9 .i.c4 which is
development and central control.
referred to as the "Yugoslav attack".
The Najdorf is often in the Meanwhile, 2 ... e6 3 d4 d5 4 e5 is
a transposition into the Advanced
limelight as one of Kasparov's
French which has already been
weapons and therefore you may
wish to become familiar with the discussed.
opening moves of 1 e4 c5 2 tt:lf3 d6 d) 2 d4 cxd4 3 c3 dxc3 4 tt:lxc3
3 d4 cxd4 4 tt:lxd4 tt:lf6 5 tt:lc3 a6.
To the untrained eye, 5 . . . a6 will
make no sense but in fact Black may
wish to expand on the queenside
(place a bishop on b7 and then run
up the b-pawn to harrass the knight
on c3 which is busy defending the
e4-pawn) and 5 . . . a6 serves to
prevent any annoying .i.b5+.

c) 2 c3

It is worth mentioning the

Smith-Morra Gambit here as White
is happy to shed a pawn to obtain
rapid development. It is probably
unsound at the highest level but
extremely dangerous to face and
therefore players often opt to cop
out with 3 . . .tt:lf6 4 e5 tt:ld5 which
actually transposes to a line from
the 2.c3 Sicilian above.

Caro-Kann Defence
I e4 c6
Here Black plans to challenge the
centre with 2 . . . d5 while not shutting
in his light squared bishop as' in the
French Defence.
2 d4 d5
Again we reach some crossroads:
a) 3 tt:'!c3 dxe4 4 tt:'!xe4
. . . when Black now often develops
with 4 . . .il.f5 5 tt:'!g3 il.g6, known as
the Classical variation or adopts
'
Karpov's pet line of the solid
4 ...tt:'!d7 5 tt:'!f3 tt:'!gf6 to chase the
central white knight away.
b) 3 e5
Openings 93
The Advance variation gets its
title for obvious reasons as White
goes for more space, and as in the
Advance variation of the French,
Black's counterplay lies on the
queenside. The key differences to
each other are that Black's light
squared bishop is able to enter the
game directly, but Black will have
to waste a tempo with . . . c5 since the
pawn first went to c6.
c) 3 exd5 cxd5 4 il.d3 tt:'!c6 5 c3
The exchange variation, with a
later c3 , rather than c4, is the one
that beginners tend to play auto­
matically if they haven't seen the
Caro-Kann before. A pupil of mine
had a nasty experience recently as
Black after 4 tt:'!f3 il.g4 5 c3 e6 6
'i!Va4+ tt:'!c6 7 tt:'!e5 when everything
was hanging. Therefore Black
94 Your Chess Questions A nswered
should consider 4 lL\f3 lL\c6 5 c3 g6
6 .id3 .ig7 and then think about
where to place his light squared
bishop.
d) 3 exd5 cxd5 4 c4
The Panov-Botvinnik Attack sees
White willing to saddle himself with
an I.Q.P in exchange for the
initiative and attacking possibilities
while the key for Black is to hang
onto control of the central d5-square
and a typical continuation runs
4 . . . lL\f6 5 lL\c3 e6 6 lL\f3 iJ..e7 7 .id3
dxc4 8 iJ..xc4 when Black need not
worry about shutting in the bishop
at c8 since it can develop via the
b7-square later.
Alekhine Defence
1 e4 lLlf6
Although relatively unusual, this
provocative defence has stood the
test of time. Black encourages his
opponent to push forward in the
centre in the hope to undermine the
advanced pawns later.
2 e5 lL\d5 3 d4 d6 4 c4 tZ:lb6 5 f4
boasts a formidable pawn structure
but the question is if it is stable or
not. Players are suspicious about the
viability of White's strategy and for
this reason, most prefer the more
sedate option of 4 tZ:lf3 .
Pirc/Modern Defence
1 e4 d6 2 d4 g6
I lump these two openings to­
gether as they often transpose. Here,
Black wishes to adopt a flexible
set-up, normally with d6, g6, tZ:lf6,
iJ..g 7, 0-0 and then plays for ... c5,
. . . e5 or even ... d5. White also has a
number of options, but the Classical
with 1 e4 d6 2 d4 lL\f6 3 tZ:lc3 g6 4
tZ:lf3 iJ..g7 5 iJ.. e2 (this may look odd,
but is designed to take the sting out
of ... .ig4 and anyway, 5 iJ..c4 allows
5 ...lL\xe4 6 lL\xe4 d5) 5 ... 0-0 6 0-0 is
a sensible way to react.
For those of you seeking a more
aggressive approach, the Austrian
Attack with 4 f4 .ig7 5 lL\f3 will
probably be just the ticket.
 Openings 95

Scandinavian/Centre-Counter While the Queen's Gambit is

White's choice of opening, Black
I e4 d5 must now decide whether to accept
the gambit with 2 . .dxc4 or decline
.

the pawn with 2 . . e6.

.

The reason White is happy to give

away the pawn is to guarantee
himself a strong centre and it is also
a safe bet that he will regain the
pawn.
For example, the backbone of the
line runs 2 . dxc4 3 e4 and if Black
..

attempts to hang on to the pawn

with 3 ...b5?, White has 4 a4! c6
(note that 4 . . . a6? allows 5 axb5
axb5?? 6 l:txa8) 5 axb5 cxb5 6 b3
2 exd5 'ii'xd5
cxb3 7 ..i.xb5+ ..i.d7 8 'ii'xb3 with an
We are all taught not to bring our
advantage due to superior
queen out too early, but it is not so
development.
clear that White can use this
2 . . e6, the Queen's Gambit
particularly to his advantage here.
.

Declined is a safer option as Black

3 tbc3 'ii'a5 4 d4 tbf6
seeks to maintain a pawn in the
This is all very normal, but it is
centre. For this reason 2 . tbf6 is not
surprising that natural developing
..

favoured due to the continuation 3

moves can lead White nowhere.
cxd5 tbxd5 4 e4 etc.
Black is extremely solid and should
remember that he might need to
Nimzo, Queen's and
play . . . c6 to run back with his queen
Bogo-lndian Defences.
at a later date.
1 d4 tbf6
Defences to 1 d4 Also a logical response as Black
prevents his opponent following up
Queen's Gambit with 2 e4 and two pawns in the
centre.
1 d4 d5 2 c4 2 c4 e6
96 Your Chess Questions Answered
White has many deviations here,
but most common are the
development of a knight.
3 ltJc3 , renewing the possibility of
4 e4, is often met by 3 . . . i.b4 which
is the Nimzo-Indian defence, while
3 ltJf3 tends to lead to the Queen's
Indian after 3 ...b6 or the
Bogo-Indian with 3 . . . i.b4+.
These three openings are closely
intertwined as they sometimes
transpose into each other, but the
key strategy continues to revolve
around control of the e4-square.
King's Indian Defence
1 d4 ltJf6 2 c4 g6 3 ltJc3 i.g7 4
e4 d6
Hang on a minute, White has
three pawns in the centre. Does this
mean he already has a big advantage
due to extra space?
Some people, would touch neither
side of the King's Indian as it has a
well-deserved reputation for being
one of the most complex and
aggressive systems.
Graham Burgess, author of The
Mammoth Book of Chess remarks of
the opening "This, to me, is real
chess. The King's Indian is a cross
between all-out-warfare and a
fairyland where incredible sacrifices
and sensational brilliances are
possible".
It is true to say that when a player
takes up the King's Indian. it seems
to become their pet defence for life
and for many years Kasparov has
been one of the greatest authorities
on the opening.
Black will first strike at his
opponent's centre, normally with
... e5, and when the pawns are fixed,
attack on the kingside. Meanwhile,
White is doing his best to break
through on the queenside, but of
course when Black's attack breaks
through it will be mate!
The following illustrates the
typical pawn structure that arises
when the centre becomes fixed.
Notice how White expands with c5
and Black tries to launch an attack
by pushing his f and g-pawns.

Dutch Defence
1 d4 f5
The Dutch is not regarded as a
solid weapon, but rather as a
fighting and ambitious
counterattacking system.
Black is prepared to saddle
himself with permanent weaknesses
on the kingside. The intention is to
launch a dangerous attack later._
Openings 97
2 e4 (The Staunton Gambit) and 2
..i.g5 are both lively ways for White
to meet the Dutch, although the
main line has established itself as 2
g3 tiJf6 3 ..i.g2 after which Black
has the choice of "The Stonewall"
with 3 ... e6 and then ... d5 or "the
Leningrad" with 3 ... g6 and . . . ..tg7.
Remember that these set-ups have
taken years to take shape and I am
sure that nearly everything
worthwhile in the early stages of a
chess game has been discovered.
However, I am amazed by how
many aspiring pupils in the school
chess teams attempt to make up
their own openings It is not clear if
they are trying to avoid doing any
book work or if they hope to
produce the discovery of the decade.
An enormous amount of time and
grief (especially for the teacher)
would be saved by looking up an
opening first.
 11 Computers
Do I need a computer?
Quite frankly, no. However, in
this age of computers it is easy to
believe that you can't keep up
without one.
I would also answer that you
don't need a cup to enjoy a drink of
water, but that extra expense for a
mug or glass does make life easier.
I remember being asked to try out
a computer in their early days of
manufacture. It was an electronic
one where you had to push the
square you were moving from and
then push the square where the
piece landed. The lights and beeping
noises were an added irritation and I
remember that few games were
finished as I always managed to
spoil the game by leaning on an
irrelevant square and lighting up the
whole board or purposely
destroying the game when I
blundered.
The main factor in playing against
computers is that the better ones
don't make tactical oversights and
therefore you have to use a slightly
different approach than if you are
playing a human.
How can a chess computer help
you?
For those players who wish to
reach the highest levels in the
shortest time possible and who are
fortunate in having the time to both
study and play chess on a daily
basis, a chess playing program will
be a tireless opponent being more
than willing to play you for as long
as you desire; whether it is for a half
hour game or for eight hours a day!
Although it is a frequently made
comment that there is no substitute
for playing human opponents, there
are a number of advantages in
playing computers:
I . Humans of greater strength
may be reluctant to play you on a
regular basis as although it may be a
great challenge and very instructive
for you to play them, they are
unlikely to feel the same way.
2. One useful purpose that the
computer can serve is to acquaint
you with many different openings as
nowadays their repertoire is extens­
ive and varied. For example, you
can get machines and programmes
where you can select their style of
play and each will react differently
to your opening moves. This is a far
cry from when I was young and
there was a tendency for them to
follow exactly the same game.
3 . It is possible to set up positions
from books, newspapers or your
own games and either play the
position out yourself or get the
computer to analyse the position for
you.

What are the Limitations?
As of yet, no machine has any
understanding of the psychology of
chess.
A computer is not capable of
judgements either and bases its
"decisions" on calculation. It could
never assess whether a sacrifice is
correct in return for long term
pressure.
The problem can be highlighted
by the following position:
A human can quickly spot that the
position is drawn despite the fact
that White is two rooks ahead. As
long as Black is not tempted to
capture the rook on a4, the white
pieces will never be able to
infiltrate.
However, a computer is more than
likely to play l . . .bxa4, resulting in
an eventual loss.
What should I take into account
when selecting a chess computer?
When choosing a chess computer,
often the main constraint is price,
and the question: 'How much do I
need to spend?' often arises. The
main factor in deciding how much is
necessary to spend is the strength of
Computers 99
the player. It is generally accepted
that to improve it is useful to play
opponents that are stronger than
oneself, so to this end you should
look to purchase a machine stronger
than yourself. How much stronger
than yourself depends on who the
computer is for; whether the user is
an up and coming junior or
someone who is retiring and keen to
renew their interest in chess.
Although they may be of similar
strength, the former's grade may
double in five years, whereas in the
latter's case this is unlikely.
Where can I purchase a chess
computer?
Countrywide are the main British
distributors for Kasparov, Mephisto
and Novag chess computers. They
have a large Showroom at their
premises in Wilburton, England. All
of the recommended models as well
as many others, and all types of
chess playing, tutorial and database
software, are available. Visitors are
always welcome, and there is plenty
of free parking space. They also
specialise in Mail Order purchases
for those unable to visit, and can
supply helpful free Catalogues and
Fact Sheets of all of the main
models.
Further information can be
obtained from:
Countrywide Computers
Victoria House
1 High Street
Wilburton
Cambs.
CB6 3RB
tel: 0 1 353-740323
fax: 0 1 3 53-74 1 439
100 Your Chess Questions A nswered
If a machine advertises itself as a
certain playing strength, does it
always play to that standard?
No, the grading represents the
BEST level that the machine can
attain on one of its tournament
levels normally moving at around a
move a minute.
Would it be a waste of money
buying one of the best machines
when the person it is intended for
is not very strong?
No, these days the machines
invariably have a beginner of
practice level at which they will
deliberately play below their top
strength, down to around BCF grade
40-50 or Elo 800- 1 000.
So if you anticipate fast
improvement, it may well be
worthwhile opting for a stronger
model from the word go.
It is possible to buy cheaper (and
therefore weaker! ) models than
those listed here. However I do not
believe that really weak models
below BCF 50/Elo 1 000 at their
best, with little or no chess
knowledge and using simple brute
force search techniques can actually
teach users how to play good chess.
It is also possible to buy models
playing up to BCF 2 1 2/Eio 2300-
these however cannot always be
"turned down" to play at levels very
much weaker.
Invariably models can give "good
move" hints to the user, and allow
moves to be taken back to let the
user experiment and learn from their
mistakes.
What are the different types of
Portable chess computers?
There are five main types of
portable computer:
i) Plug-in press sensory boards.
Here the pieces fit into a hole in
the square fitted with a sensor to
detect the move. There is a system
of lights to indicate the reply. This
is a little fiddly and not really
suitable for young children but
handy to play while travelling on a
train or plane since the pieces are
secure and the board specially
designed small.
ii) Press sensory flat boards.
This system is most suited to
table-top computers and you get a
real feeling of playing a real
opponent as the size of the board is
a standard size. A small amount of
pressure on the square is enough to
signal the move to the computer and
then the computer's reply, although
it is a delicate procedure.
iii) Magnetised press sensory.
This is where magnetized pieces sit
on the board and convey the move
to the machines.
This is handy for a travel size set
for stability of pieces, but otherwise
very similar to the other press
sensory devices. Again, lights on the
corners of the squares indicate the
computer's reply.
iv) Auto-sensory boards.
Here the board will detect the
piece automatically so the players
only job is to move to the correct
square. Again, for use on a
table-top, easy to use but obviously

a luxury compared to the altern­
atives and reflected in the price.
The wooden auto sensory sets can
come in beautiful wood with felted
soft bases, making a show piece as
well as a formidable opponent!
v) LCD Liquid Crystal Displays.
This relies on a different system
which relates the moves played in
algebraic notation on a visual
display and the moves have to be
entered using the keys. .
Also referred to as a portable
calculator when there is a separate
board and pieces.
RECOMMENDED BEST BUYS
(listed in increasing strength) . .
N.B. Saitek products are available
at Harrods, Hamleys and Selfridges
in London or through "Chess and
Bridge".
Chess and Bridge
369 Euston Road
London NW 1 3AR
tel: 0 1 7 1-388 2404
fax: 0 1 7 1 -388 2407.
Saitek Electronic Chess Man
£ 1 9.99 (for beginners max. BCF
40/Elo 820).
An ideal beginner product at a
very reasonable price. The Chess
Man is plug-in sensory and is both a
tutor and an opponent designed to
teach yo1,1 how to play and then
challenge you.
It is useful if you have a bad
memory of how the pieces move
and is a conveniently weak
opponent on its weakest level.
Computers 101
However, on its 64th and top
playing level it will give a decent
game and prepare you for more
challenging competition.
Chess Man is small for travelling
and also has a useful rack for
storing captured pieces. It requires 2
x AAA batteries.
The Novag Topaz at £ 1 9.99 and
BCF 1 00/ELO 1400 also· comes
highly recommended for beginners,
although I have not tried out a
model myself.
Saitek Portable Talking Coach
£49 (max. BCF 1 00/Elo 1 400).
The next step up in the price
range and ability level. Again, it is
plug-in sensory and chiefly
designed for beginners. There is a
voice coach that warns of attacked
pieces and even praises a good
move (Don't use this on public
transport!). The top level of BCF
1 00 suggests it would win a novice
tournament or be a useful
competitor in a minor event-in
other words the best player at an
average school or a reasonable club
player.
Kasparov Bullet £49 (max. BCF
1 05/Elo 1440).
Portable plug-in sensory with a
size of 9"x6" overall and a play area
of 4.5"x4.5".
It talks, teaches and travels. A
good size and with a folding lid.
With a relatively small opening
library, it is ideal for a beginner who
requires a voice coach and help
options.
Runs off batteries only.
1 02 Your Chess Questions Answered
Novag Opal Plus £50 (max. BCF
1 1 0/Elo 1480).
Portable magnetised press sensory
with a size of
1 0.5"x 1 2" overall and a playing
area of 5"x5" with stand up pieces.
The opening repertoire is
extensive with 8,500 different lines
(known as "Opening Book") and it
comes with a teaching mode. It can
solve mates up to 8 and runs off the
mains or battery.
Novag Aquamarine Premier £49
(max. BCF 120/Elo 1 5 60).
In the same price range is this
popular plug-in sensory model from
Hong Kong. It omits many of the
tutorial facilities but instead plays to
a higher level and therefore is more
suited to club and tournament
players. The top level boasts a grade
of 1 560 (BCF 1 20). If you don't
mind the off-beat title, it is a sound
investment.
Novag Agate Plus £69 (max. BCF
1 35/Elo 1 680).
An attractive and efficient
machine. Press sensory with an
8"x8" playing area. 8,500 Opening
Book. It has the popular teaching
mode facility and solves mates up to
8 moves deep. The moves are
displayed and the machine runs off
the mains and takes batteries.
Kasparov Chess Academy £149
(max BCF 1 60/Eio 1 880).
A good size at 1 5 "x 1 0" overall,
with an 8"x8" press sensory playing
area. Always a strong opponent with
1 00 levels of play, 6,000 Opening
Book and multi-information display.
PLUS 1 00 interactive voice
commentary lessons incorporating
many 'Teaching Topics' including
the Rules, Openings, Tactics,
Endgames, Pawn structure, Mating
methods, Famous chess games and
more! Mains or battery.
Saitek Executive £99 (max. BCF
1 70/Eio 1 960).
This is one of the best buys for
under £ 1 00. The 64 levels of the
press sensory table top computer are
enough to keep an ambitious player
busy for many years and the top
strength would ensure most county
players a decent opponent.
The Executive has a large display
which can be set up to show a
variety of information, including
time taken, an evaluation of the
position and the moves being ·
considered by the computer.
The openings are varied and the
choice of playing styles an
interesting bonus. It works off
batteries or mains on a neat compact
board.
Saitek President £299 (max.
BCF 1 70/Eio 1 960).
A similar strength to the
Executive model, the President is
set in a hand crafted wooden board
with an auto-sensory playing area
and matching wooden felted pieces.
A show piece in its own right but
also an extremely versatile and
powerful opponent with its multiple
levels and county standard strength.

Kasparov Cosmos £99 (max. BCF
1 80/Elo 2040 range).
A stylish portable plug-in sensory
in a good size at 9"x7" overall and a
4. 5"x4.5" playing area.
Analysis + evaluation display.
35,000 Opening Book. Runs off
batteries only.
If it is a strong machine that you
are after for under £ 1 00, you cannot
go wrong here.
Kasparov Cougar £ 1 29 (max.
BCF 1 80/Elo 2040)
A similar strength to the Kasparov
Cosmos, the Cougar differs with its
press sensory board and larger size
of 1 6"x l l " with an 8"x8" playing
area. The powerful 32K program
creates a strong machine with fun
levels and coaching. There is also
an analysis and evaluation display
as well as holding a 35 ,000 Opening
Book.
Runs off mains or battery.
Novag Sapphire I! £249.99 (max.
BCF 2 1 0/ELO 2280).
If you are looking for a press
sensory and strongest possible
portable chess computer, this is for
you. The Sapphire has a 32Mhz
Rise type micro processor and an
excellent rating which is not far off
top board of a county team.
Any beginner will of course not
stand a chance against such a
machine, but it is an excellent way
to learn as you can spend any
amount of time on your moves.
Alternatively, use it for setting up
original positions or puzzles or
trying out new openings.
Computers 1 03
What about programmes for
P.C.s?
If you have a P.C. then there is
lots of choice with excellent playing
programmes for all levels. There are
also databases such as "Chessbase"
and "Chess Assistant" that allow
you to save all your games (or just
your wins if you like!) and come
with a package of about a quarter of
a million top class games which can
be categorised into openings. For
example, if you had a game that
started 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lbc3 .ib4
4 a3 and you did not possess an
encyclopeadia to look it up, you
could enter the moves on chessbase
and press "compare" which would
come up with all the games that also
arrived at the identical position.
An additional programme called
"Fritz" works alongside the
Chessbase and can analyse your
games or can play any speed of
chess game against you.
Are there any tips for beating a
computer?
I'm glad you asked this question
because I wish I had known the
answer instead of always refusing to
play against computers in
tournaments when it was asked in
the past on an entry form.
I spent a fascinating afternoon
watching Paul Lamford, a Welsh
International, annihilate Fritz.
Previously I had only seen various
titled players cursing the strength of
the programme, especially at 5
minute chess where I had
incorrectly heard that it never lost
on time. There were two treatments
that Paul had in store for it.
1 04 Your Chess Questions Answered
One was to play a totally
tactic-free game where poor old
Fritz had no calculations to get his
microchips into and the other was to
set up the famous Greek Gift
sacrifice as Fritz seems unable to
realise when mate is looming on the
horizon.
Of course Paul had "prepared" the
games before but it is worth
remembering the techniques (or
even the exact moves if you wish to
show off against Fritz to your
friends) for handling a computer
and Kasparov could pick up a few
tricks here. Sometimes it pays to
play quietly!
The following examples all took
place with 5 minutes each on the
clock.
Fritz 4 White
Paul Lamford Black
Bogo-Indian Defence
1 d4 lt:Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 lt:Jf3 i.b4+
i.d2 "ike7 5 g3 "o-0 6 i.g2 lt:Jc6 7 a3
.txd2+ 8 lt:Jbxd2 d6
This is called the Bogo-lndian and
is extremely positional as Black first
exchanges his dark squared bishop
and then seeks to place his pawns on
dark squares to fulfil the potential of
his remammg bishop. This deep
opening does not suit tacticians as it
is more to do with seeking out the
right squares for one's pieces rather
than developing rapidly with
aggressive possibilities.
9 h3 e5 10 d5 lt:Jb8 11 'ii'h3
lt:Jbd7 12 0-0 lt:Jc5 13 'ii'e3 a5 14 b4
lt:Ja6 15 bxa5 lt:Jc5 16 'ii'c3 ne8 17
nad1 .td7 1 8 'ii'b4 na7 19 lt:Jb3
tt:Jxb3 20 'ii'xb3 nea8 21 nre1 .tc8
22 nd2 nxa5 23 na1 b6 24 .nb2
.td7 25 e3 na4 26 'ii'c3 .tf5 27
nb4 n4a5
The position is a dream for Black.
The c5-square is his and White's
bishop is uncomfortably restricted
due to the fact that the pawns on c4
and d5 are fixed on squares of the
same colour. A further bonus for
Black is that there is a lonely and
vulnerable pawn for him to pile up
against on a3 .
28 lt:Jh4 i.g6 29 lt:Jxg6 hxg6 30
.nb5 na4 31 .nb3 lt:Jd7 32 nb4
n4a5 33 .nb5 na4 34 na2 lt:Jc5 35
nb4 n4a5 36 nh1
The computer is stumped as he
doesn't know what to do. A human
would never admit so pathetically
that it was at a loss for an idea, but
without clear calculations Fritz can
only wait.

36 .'ii'f6 37 e4 'ii'gS 38 .l:.bS .l:.a4
.•
39 .l:.bl 1i'd8 40 .l:.aal 'iWb8 41 .l:.el
'ii'a7 42 .l:.e3 'ii'aS 43 'ii'c 2 'ii'a6 44
.l:.c3 'ii'c8 45 t3 'ii'd8 46 'ii'd2 'ii'f6
47 'ii'e3 'ifi>f8 48 .l:.bl 1;;e7 49 .l:.b4
.l:.4aS SO .l:.bS .l:.Sa7 51 1;;h l .l:.h8
Also here Paul has succeeded in
gaining a lot of time and some of his
moves are to cement his advantage
on the clock as well as over the
board.
52 .l:.b1 .l:.hS 53 .l:.b4 'ii'gS 54 'ii'e l
:as SS .l:.e3 .l:.ah8 56 .l:.b2 'ii'h6 57
'ii'g l f6 58 nbe2 gS 59 .l:.b2 .l:.a8 60
'ii'e l 'ii'h8 61 .l:.be2 .l:.aS 62 .l:.c2
'ii'a8 63 'ii'c3 'ii'a7 64 .l:.cl nhs 65
nbl .l:.a8 66 .l:.al .l:.a4 67 na2 'ii'a s
68 �fl 'ii'xc3 69 nxc3 .l:.SaS 70
�e2 .l:.a8 71 �fl .l:.4aS
Not a great deal has happened
between this and the last diagram.
However, the exchange of queens
and Black's light squared bishop for
his opponent's knight has cut out
any chance of counterplay from
White's point of view. The ending is
a nightmare for White as he can
only sit and wait for Black to
infiltrate on the dark squares over
which he has no control. This is the
kind of long term judgement that is
at the root of chess technique and
something that (I hope) will always
set us apart from computers.
Computers 1 05
72 �d3 lLib7 73 �c2 .l:.cS 74 .l:.b2
ltJaS 75 .l:.b4 .l:.h8 76 �g2 lt:\b7 77
.l:.bS .l:.a8 78 �gl .l:.aS 79 a4 .l:.a8
80 �g2 .l:.h8 81 .l:.b4 .l:.aS 82 .l:.e3
.l:.ha8 83 rt;;n ltJcS 84 .l:.a3 1;;d7 85
.l:.al 1;;e8 86 1;;e3 rj;;f7 87 nbS
.l:.Sa7 88 .l:.b4 1;;g6 89 1;;e2 nhs 90
.l:.hl .l:.aa8 91 1;;e3 .l:.h6 92 h4 gxh4
93 gxh4 nah8 94 nbs .l:.xh4 95
nxh4 nxh4 96 aS bxaS
Most of this lengthy sequence has
been useful for Black to gain a
massive lead in time.
97 .l:.xaS nh2 98 �dl .l:.b2 99
.l:.a7 .l:.b7 100 .l:.xb7 lt:\xb7 101 f4
lt:\cs 102 �c2 rt;; hs 103 �dl+ 'ifi>h4
104 fS 'iti>gS 105 �c2 g6 106 fxg6
1;;xg6 107 1;;e2 �gS 108 �0 �h4
109 1;;e3 1;;g3 1 1 0 �dl lt:\d7 1 1 1
..tc2 lt:\b6 1 1 2 �d3 lt:\c8 1 13 �c2
lt:\e7 1 1 4 �a4 lt:\g6 1 1 5 �d7 lt:\f4
1 1 6 �fS lt:\g2+ 117 1;;d3 1;;f4 1 18
..td7 lt:\h4
The rest is easy as Black can mop
up is several ways. In the end it
went to 172 moves which means
they used an average of about 3
seconds a move and Fritz was down
to 2 seconds when he was
eventually mated. Paul commented
after the game " 1 72 moves without
a single tactic!".
1 06 Your Chess Questions A nswered
Now for a more interesting way to
put Fritz in his place, as both the
following examples make use of the
sacrifice on h7 to force mate. The
problem seems to be that the
computer can only see so many
moves ahead and when mate takes
more than that number to execute, it
can find itself having entered a
catastrophic variation.
On the contrary, humans can
sense danger a mile off and are
unlikely to allow a lethal sacrifice
whether or not we can calculate it
accurately to the end.
However, you must be very
careful when sacrificing against a
computer, for if there is a defence
you can bet your bottom dollar that
it will find it !
All the games here took place in
"blitz" conditions, and it is possible
that Fritz would come up with some
better calculations if given more
time, but the general themes of
course do not change.
Paul Lamford White
Fritz 4 Black
French Defence
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lt::lc3 ..ib4 4 e5
lt::le7 5 ..id3 0-0 6 lt::lf3 c5
7 ..ixh7+'it>xh7 8 lt::lg5+ 'it>g6 9 h4
..ixc3+ 10 bxc3 'ii'e8 11 'ii'g4 f5 12
h5+ 'itth6 13 lt::lxe6+ 'itth7 14 'ii'xg7#
1-0
That is the "Greek Gift" sacrifice
for those who have not seen it
before. The point is that after 8
lt::lg5+ 'ittg 8 9 'ir'h5 is too strong.
The next game is a similar theme
of inevitable mate ahead.
Paul Lamford White
Fritz 4 Black
French Defence
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lt::lc3 ..ib4 4 e5
c5 5 dxc5 'ilic7 6 lt::lf3 lt::le7 7 ..id3
lt::lec6 8 0-0 ..ixc3 9 bxc3 0-0 1 0
�e1 �d8 1 1 lt::ld4 'ii'aS
Here 1 1 . . .lt::lx e5? fails to 12 lt::lb 5
'ii'xc5 13 �xe5 winning.
12 ..ig5 �e8 13 i.f6!
13 ...lt::le7
1 3 . . . gxf6?? is the first move that
Fritz rejected since 14 exf6 cannot
be satisfactorily met i.e.
a) 14 ... 'itth 8 1 5 'ii'h5 with mate on
h7.
b) 14 ...'ii'x c5? 1 5 'ii'g4+ 'it>h8 1 6
'fig?#
14 ..ixh7+ 'ittx h7 15 'ii'hS+ 'ittg8
16 �e3! 'ilixa2
 Computers I 07

Fritz now analyses 1 6 . ..ltJg6 1 7

l:th3 ! gxf6 1 8 'ir'h7+ 'iti> f8 1 9 exf6
l:f.d8 20 'ir'h8+ lt:Jxh8 2 1 l:txh8# and
so staves off mate for one more
move. Again, a strange quirk that
only a computer could carry out
with such satisfaction.
17 l:f.xa2 lt:Jg6 18 l:th3 gxf6 19
exf6 l:f.d8 20 'ir'h7+ 'iti>f8 21 'ir'h8+!
lt:Jxh8 22 l:f.xh8# 1-0

Kasparov stated that he could

detect when he was up against a
computer solely from the moves it
made. He therefore disqualified a
group of 4 competitors who were
sharing one board in a London
simultaneous in late 1 997 and
accused them of cheating by having
access to a machine. Let's hope he
was correct or he is guilty of both
slander and bad sportsmanship.
Perhaps it was all too soon after his
defeat by "Deeper Blue" and he was
still seeing red.
I now have to watch my questions
at school chess clubs because when
I enquire who is the world chess
champion, it is difficult to explain
why "Deeper Blue" is not the
correct answer.
The final game is back to the
Bogo-Indian and a technical victory
as Fritz was unable to see far
enough ahead to realise that his rook
was likely to be trapped after 23
l:th4.
It can sometimes be fatal to lose
time by moving pieces twice in the
opening, but here in this blocked
position tempi are not so important.
Black is more than happy to have
secured control of the c5-square and
to have fixed his opponent's pawns
on the same colour square as his
remaining bishop. White has extra
space but Black's position is very
comfortable.
11 b4 aS 12 'ir'a4 b6 13 bS?
lt:Jbd7 14 l:f.cd1 lt:Jcs 15 'ir'c2 g6 16
a3 ..trs 17 'ir'c3 a4 18 l:f.fe1 ..tc8 19
'i!i'e3 lt:Jfd7 20 lt:Je4 fS 21 lt:JxcS
lt:JxcS 22 l:f.d4 'ir'f6
It is not wise to grab the rook
since 22 ... exd4? leaves the black
queen hanging on e7.
23 l:th4?! ..td7 24 l:f.d1 l:f.ae8 25
'ir'h6 'ir'g7 26 lt:JgS 'ir'xh6 27 l:txh6
l:f.e7 28 h4 ..te8 29 lt:Jf3? 'iti>g7

Fritz 4 White
Paul Lamford Black
Bogo-Indian Defence

1 d4 lt:Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 lt:Jf3 ..tb4+ 4

..td2 'ir'e7 5 g3 lt:Jc6 6 ..tg2 ..txd2+
7 lt:Jbxd2 0-0 8 0-0 d6 9 l:f.c1 eS 10
d5 lt:Jb8
1 08 Your Chess Questions Answered

There goes the rook as a 30 .l:r.xh7+ 'itr>xh7 31 li::lg5+ 'itr>g7

consequence of 6 moves earlier. 32 li::lf3 e4 and Black won in 7 1
However, this is not so much of a moves. 0-1
computer error as I have done
similar things myself!
 12 Puzzles

I like unusual puzzles to solve-­ unnatural looking move on the

what different types are there?
There is in fact a whole area
devoted to chess problem solving
and indeed composing.
As we are supposed to be in a
book devoted to chess playing, I
will only graze this subject, but
some people are immediately
fascinated by this "alternative
medicine". Let us examine the
different types of puzzles. For
convenience, White moves first
unless stated otherwise.
board. The best defence must
always be assumed in these type of
mates.
The well known composer and
solver, Brian Stephenson, once
explained to me that the real beauty
of these puzzles is that no piece is
an accessory, but each one is there
for a special reason and contributes
to the beauty of the solution. It is
time for an example and the
following appeared in GM Jonathan
Levitt's most entertaining and
challenging book Genius in Chess.

i) Checkmate in a certain number All the answers to the following

of moves. puzzles can be found on pages
1 24-5.
It will be written as "White mates
in two" (or three etc.)
Q26) White mates in two
The positions are totally unique
and by tradition unlike ones that
appear during a normal game. Let
us take a mate in 2: the object of the
exercise is to take a move, and
whatever Black replies he will be
mated on the following move (no.
2). For a mate in three, he will be
mated on the third move etc.
It may sound easy but the
composer makes sure there are
many red herrings and only one
solution, which is always the most
1 1 0 Your Chess Questions Answered
Q2 7) White mates in three
ii) Helpmates
Helpmates are an interesting
alternative. Black moves first and
helps White deliver mate in a
certain number of moves. In the
following case it is a helpmate in 7.
Q28) Black helps White mate him in
seven moves.
The next example is helpmate in
two and there are two solutions.
Q29) Black to move and help White
mate him in two moves.
iii) Serieshelpmates
Serieshelpmates are not as
frightening as they sound. This time
Black makes a series of moves to
reach a position where White can
play mate in one. I used to consider
these as a waste of time (mainly
because I couldn't solve them!) as
they appear to differ violently from
the basic rule of chess that players
take turns to move.
However, spotting checkmates in
unusual situations is a fundamental
key to improvement and therefore I
think all these puzzles can in fact
benefit one's chess overall.

The next is serieshelpmate in 10.
Don't forget that Black must make
ten moves in a row before White
delivers the mate.
Q30) Serieshelpmate to the black
king in ten moves.
Finally, the following example
was used as an introduction to the
Batsford Schools Problem Solving
Championship.
Q31) White to play and mate in two
moves.
As a clue, the first move does not
threaten checkmate, but rather
places Black in zugzwang as mate
will follow each response.
Puzzles Ill
Are puzzles beneficial?
Sharpening up one's tactics is a
sure way to improve. Certain mating
patterns are repeated time and time
again, but don't be put off if you
cannot solve a mate in three, for
example, because it is necessary to
build up the amount of moves ahead
you can see.
Puzzles can be equally stimulating
if they occurred in a real game or
are simply made up to illustrate a
point, but often involve a beautiful
sacrifice.
For the beginners I shall now
include 6 mates in one move,
increasing in difficulty, leading up
to mates in three for the more
advanced player. Beforehand, let us
just go over the famous Philidor's
mate which is always a joy to carry
off. The following diagram is
actually mate in 5 moves but the
forcing nature of the moves makes it
possible for anyone to work out as it
is check with each white move.
1 �d5+
1 �3+ leads to the same.
l ...'it'h8
1 12 Your Chess Questions Answered

l . . .'iti>fE 2 'ir'f7 is mate. There are Q32) White to play and mate in o
no alternative variations to analyse.
2 lL\ti+ 'it>g8
3 lLih6++
This is not an obvious move as we
are taught to look for a piece to grab
with a discovered check. For this
reason many people would opt for 3
liJd6+, picking up the rook on e8.
Even repeating the position and
settling for perpetual check with 3
lLig5+ would tempt some players.
After all, there is potential back rank
mate threat from Black in this
particular position.
However, the key to this
Q33) White to play and mate i n o
spectacular mate is to cover the
g8-square as you will soon see ...
3 ...'it>h8
Again, 3 . . .'it>fE gives White an
immediate mate.
4 'ir'g8+!! �xg8
The rook has to capture leaving
the smothered mate open to White's
remaining piece.
S liJti mate

Q34) White to play and mate in o

Mate in One.

Unless it says otherwise, White

shall move first in every puzzle and
mate in one move. Answers on page
1 25 .
 Puzzles 1 13

Q35) White to play and mate in one Q38) White to play and mate in two

Q36) White to play and mate in one Q39) White to play and mate in two

Q3 7) White to play and mate in one Q40) White to play and mate in two

Mate in Two.
In the following positions White
mates in two moves.
1 1 4 Your Chess Questions Answered

Q41) White to play and mate in two Q44) White to play and mate in
three

Q42) White to play and mate in two

Q45) White to play and mate in
three

Q43) Black to play and mate in two

Q46) Black to play and mate in

three

Mate in Three.
Now the object is to mate in three.
 Puzzles 1 15

Q4 7) Black to play and mate in Q49) White to play and mate in

three three

Q48) White to play and mate in

three
 13 General Information
How is chess as a profession?
Judging by the amount of
professionals there are, it is possible
to assume that there is a lot of
money to go round, but the truth is
actually far different.
About 20 years ago it was enough
to be an international master to
make a decent living from chess
playing. One could receive fees in
tournaments and winning prizes.
However, as sponsorship dried up
and more international masters
arrived on the scene, orgamzers
became only interested m the use of computers, surely all
grandmasters.
Soon afterwards the fall of the
Iron Curtain saw a mass exodus of
grandmasters from eastern Europe
who were willing to play for smaller
fees. Nowadays only GMs
consistently above 2600 can expect
to make a decent living at solely
chess playing.
However, on the plus side there
are many opportunities for the
average titled player. One can
juggle teaching both in schools and
privately with writing books and
articles. However, this is little
consolation to the players drawn to
the life of tournaments and
travelling.
When I first appeared on the
international tournament scene, I
was quite shocked by the amount of
eastern European "gangs" who used
to work in "company" and arrange
games during a tournament in order
to maximise the amount of prize
money they would win between
them. This was their "business" but
one had to pity their efforts as they
might resort to sleeping in cars or
sharing 5 to a room to save money
while waiting for the customary
hotel to be provided by the
organisers during the next
tournament.
With the amount of books and
the games of chess have been
worked out?
This is a total misconception
which is better fired at noughts and
crosses or draughts !
As Graham Burgess states in his
Mammoth Book of Chess, "There
are far more possible games of
chess than there are particles in the
known universe, and the number of
possible chess positions, although
far fewer, is still astronomical".
Since one of his friends, Dr. Nunn is
one of the greatest mathematicians
and chess players of all time, I feel
extremely safe passing on this
quote.
I may have an immense library
that would no doubt aid in beating
99% of the chess playing

community, but without a player writes down secretly on a
photographic memory it is not much
use during a game.
The top players commonly know
theory to between 20 and 30 moves
deep, but sometimes this is only to
achieve equality with Black and
then they are on their own. In all my
thousands of games, only about 5
have been complete repetitions of
previous games played. Either my
opponent or myself fell prey to a
trap that had already been published
of which one of us was blissfully
unaware.
There are so many side-lines and
obscure openings that are still to be
tested and many forgotten moves
that can be dug up to surprise the
younger generation that we can
never know all the possibilities in
chess. The unknown territory of the
computers is more worrying, but
then again they only work if humans
are there to plug them in.
Are there variations of chess for
light amusement?
Let me share some of the most
popular:
i) Flick chess. This is when you
set up the pieces normally and
White goes first. He flicks one of
his own men, like in Subuteo, and
tries to annihilate the enemy pieces
by sending them flying. The winner
is the one who knocks the
opposition down first. Not to be
tried in a, crowded chess club or at
home.
ii) Name a Piece. This is an
entertaining exercise if one player is
superior to the other. The stronger
General Information 1 1 7
piece of paper the name of a piece
which he intends to checkmate the
opponent with. He can then only be
declared the winner if he succeeds
in this task. A checkmate with a
queen when "bishop" is written on
the paper is obviously no good.
iii) Suicide chess.
This time the winner is the person
who loses all his pieces and if you
can take something, you must. If
there is a choice of two or three
captures you may choose which
piece to take and in this game the
king is also captured. It is so
popular amongst young people that
opening sequences have been
developed and it is the one time
when I always lose to my pupils!
iv) Progressive chess.
This game can perhaps even
benefit beginners (unlike the rest!)
as it is vaguely similar to real chess.
This time the players have one
move each and then two moves each
and so on. Check ends a sequence
so if you are on 4 moves and give a
check on move 2, you forfeit the
right to your remaining two moves.
The person to first deliver
checkmate wins the game.
Alternatively, White can
commence the game by moving
once, then Black has two moves,
White has three and so on. Again,
check will end a sequence.
v) Exchange chess. This is a team
game which can be played with
many people but is easier to explain
as two groups of two. You sit next
to your partner, who has a different
colour to you, and opposite your
1 18 Your Chess Questions Answered
opponent. Whenever a piece is
captured on your board it is passed
along to the partners and they will
give you any of theirs. You are
allowed to place this extra material
on your board, but the rules
normally disallow you to put them
on with checkmate. It 1s an
interesting, but much more
aggressive version if the pieces are
allowed to come on the board giving
check, but obviously the rules have
to be established before the battle
begins.
The team wins who first delivers
checkmate on one of the boards.
What is Postal Chess?
Although have never got
involved in postal chess, it opens a
whole new area to many players.
There are separate titles and ratings
in this field and I have heard that it
is unusual to excel in both over the
board and postal chess.
The idea is to spend a couple of
days replying to each move and
access to books is permitted which
often leads to obscure and tactical
variations being tried. I have no idea
whether computers are influencing
the postal chess scene, but the
temptation for a weak player to plug
in the "board" must be difficult to
resist.
As you can imagine, tournaments
take years rather than days to
complete, but friendly postal games
can be an interesting way of keeping
in touch with a chess playing friend.
There are also some strange
stories: I heard that one man
managed not to have to buy a new
stamp for a year since he constantly
readdressed the envelope for his
reply. Eventually his opponent
complained and said that he should
share in the costs as it is the window
envelope that should be re-used and
not the stamp!
Another incident occurred when a
university player told his girlfriend
to enter the British Women's Postal
Chess Championships and then he
promptly won it for her. They
confessed rather than accept the
trophy, but it does highlight the
difficulties to enforce rules. And
what if the letter gets lost in the
post? (Happens to the tax man all
the time!).
Is there chess on the Internet?
What isn't on the Internet?
Yes, it is possible to play chess on
the Internet, receive tournament
information and the latest
grandmaster games if you so desire.
There are two excellent chess sites
that I use:
i) The New In Chess site:
http://nic.net4U .nl
ii) Chess Cafe site:
http://www .chesscafe.com
and both will give you more
information on other sites, the latter
being under the "Links" section.
A recent advert was recently
drawn to my attention that may also
prove useful. F.I.C.S. stands for
Free Internet Chess Server under
http://www . freechess.org and was
set up by chess enthusiasts in 1 995
who wished to create a free service
for people to play and access
information 24 hours a day.
The Internet chess club is proving
to be a real time consumer for chess
 General Information I I 9

enthusiasts. Games are played every In fact it was Wilhelm Steinitz

day and ratings are updated who became the first world
immediately. Time limits range champion and held the post from
from three minutes each for the 1 886- 1 894. The Championship
whole game to a couple of days per cycle was not structured as we know
move. The idea is that you it today, but rather players had to
challenge other users and one aspect challenge each other until the
seems to be to try and guess the powers that be were satisfied that
identity of some of the strange there was no-one else in the picture.
names with massive ratings. The second world champion,
Apparently Kasparov was one of the Emanuel Lasker, was crowned in
users and anonymous grandmasters 1 894 on defeating Steinitz and holds
regularly spend some spare hours at the longest reign to date at a length
the site. of 27 years.
It was the Cuban, Jose Raoul
Who are the past World Capablanca, who eventually
Champions? dethroned the ageing Lasker in 1921
and held the title until 1 927 when
I have to admit that I am asking the determined Alexander Alekhine
this as much for my benefit as realised his ambition. Alekhine was
yours. well known for his inexhaustible
I was once on a train returning energy for travelling and blindfold
home after an important simultaneous displays, and he did
International Open in Hastings and a not let the major setback of a
pleasant man began asking me how surprise defeat for the world title by
I had got on in the tournament. I the Dutchman Dr Max Euwe in
·

replied and felt a bit guilty that I 1935 put him off as he regained the
didn't recognize him. Perhaps he title two years later, and this time
was playing in one of the lower held it until his premature death in
events, so I enquired politely in 1 946.
which section he had participated. The World Chess Federation
Embarrassingly, it transpired he had organised a match to determine
won the Open, was a famous Alekhine's successor and by now
International Master and in future I the Soviet Union was dominating
vowed to take a bit more of an the chess scene. Mikhail Botvinnik
interest in the chess world as a was awarded the title in 1 948 and
whole, rather than just my own after fighting off a couple of
games ! challenges from fellow Soviets
Paul Morphy l ived from 1 837-84 during his reign, he succumbed to
and is regarded as one of the most Smyslov in 1 957, only to regain the
talented players of all time as he title the following year.
influenced the chess world greatly Following the same trend, the
with his attacking style. Had there tactician Latvian Mikhail Tal was to
been a World Championship title at rob Botvinnik of his crown in 1 960
the time, the crown would have only to find the mighty Botvinnik
belonged to Morphy. bounce back with a vengeance the
120 Your Chess Questions Answered
very next year. It was the Armenian,
Tigran Petrosian who finally
disposed of Botvinnik for good in
1 963 . Boris Spassky was tipped as
the tenth world champion, but failed
to deliver against Petrosian until
1969. Spassky was a popular figure
to head the chess world and
regarded as an accomplished player,
but his passion for tennis and lack
of devotion for chess should have
been a sign of things to come.
By now there were knock-out
tournaments to determine who
should challenge the World
Champion and Spassky was set to
face the first post-war western
challenge. This came from the
American Bobby Fischer in
Reykjavik in 1 972. If the Russians
minded that the match was outside
Moscow and the prize money was
ridiculously more than what they
were used to supplying, it was
nothing compared to the outrage
that must have been felt as Fischer
crushed Spassk)r.
Despite Fischer defaulting a
challenge match in 1 975 against
Karpov, international interest in
chess grew to record proportions.
Nowadays Iceland has the greatest
number of grandmasters per capita
thanks to the intrigue of the
infamous match in its capital city.
Karpov held his title until 1 985
when it was time for 22 year old
Garry Kasparov to come storming
onto the scene as the youngest title
holder. He is still the present day
champion and highest rated player,
despite political scrapes with the
world body of chess who nominally
stripped him of his title a few years
ago.
Who are the big names on the
scene today?
It can be confusing when arriving
on the chess scene to know who is
who and frustrating to hear names
that mean nothing. I will try to fill
you in on some of the strongest
players in the world today and
characters that hold a lot of
influence.
Garry Kasparov, the World
champion, is currently rated 2825
and at only 35 years of age, he
could have enough energy to remain
at the heights for at least another
decade. His distractions include
being outspoken in politics and an
avid sportsman.
Despite the fact that he took
Russian nationality it is largely
believed that the Russian chess
federation was never I 00% behind
the World Champion due to his
Jewish roots and birthplace Baku
(Azerbaidjan).
In his excellent autobiography
Child of Change Kasparov is frank
about the way he was treated
unfairly by the authorities. It was
therefore hardly surprising in 1 993
when Kasparov and other players
formed a breakaway group from
FIDE (Federation Internationale des
Echecs) called the PCA
(Professional Chess Association).
Kasparov had never forgiven
Campomanes, the head of FIDE for
prematurely ending the World
Championship match between
himself and Karpov in 1 985.
Karpov was suffering from
exhaustion and the rules were
conveniently changed in order to
give him a chance to recover.
Kasparov clearly believed the

Russian Federation and
Campomanes to be working
together against him and at the time
the whole incident was shrouded in
mystery.
As we know, Kasparov eventually
won the encounter, but not until
after a lot of bitter accusations and a
rescheduling of the match.
The battle between FIDE and the
PCA was fierce with both groups
claiming to have the authority to
crown a World Champion.
FIDE and the PCA. have now
come together to amalgamate their
agendas of separate world
championships that created chaos
for some time. FIDE stubbornly
announced Karpov as World
Champion in February 1 998,
although no-one in the chess world
took the news seriously.
It could only be good news that
Campomanes was concluding his
term of office m 1 995 but
unfortunately the new President
who took over is just as
controversial.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is not only
President of FIDE but also President
of Kalmykia, a remote Russian
Republic hidden away m the
Russian Steppes. The Chess
Olympiads, which take place every
two years, was held there at the end
of 1 998 in the capital Elista, but
there was a lot of dissent and calls
for countries to boycott the event.
The claims are that Kirsan, by
robbing his impoverished citizens of
their rightful wealth, has much
money to throw around. It is true
that he has already contributed a lot
of prize money to chess
tournaments. In mid- 1 998 rumours
that Kirsan was no more than a
General Information 121
violent dictator were fuelled by the
murder of the editor of the
opposition newspaper.
The uncertainty of the Olympic
village that was still being built
while the competitors anived did
not help his reputation. However,
eventually the event was staged
successfully and it no doubt aided
the President's ambitions.
Anatoly Karpov, the slight
Russian and previous World
Champion has slipped to sixth in the
January 1998 rating list while the
biggest challenge to Kasparov is
likely to come from the youthful
Russian Vladimir Kramnik,
currently ranked second in the
world.
Viswanathan Anand from India
achieved fame in 1995 by being
Kasparov's challenger for the World
Championship and at 28 has an
excellent future as a popular and
practical player. Despite Anand
clinching the first win after 8 draws
in his tussle with Kasparov, he
failed to score another victory and
went down with a creditable 7- 1 0
score. The fact that Anand i s the
only player in the top 1 4 who did
not originate from Eastern Europe
already ensures him plenty of
support among the chess playing
public.
It is actually rather confusing to
know who originates from where,
because since the fall of the Iron
Curtain there has been a mass
exodus of Russians to the West.
For example, Gata Kamsky
acquired U.S. citizenship and
represented America for a few years
but then famously gave up chess at
the height of his career at no. 7 in the
world to pursue a medical career.
122 Your Chess Questions A nswered
Also in the top ten, Latvian Alexei
Shirov took advantage of the
opportunity to play under the
Spanish flag and move to a warmer
climate.
The most famous case was when
Victor Korchnoi defected to
Switzerland in the 1 970s. However,
the gentle giant, Arthur Yusupov set
the recent trend by recelVmg
German nationality in the early
1990s, but this was more motivated
by the fact that he was robbed and
shot in the stomach at his flat in
Moscow, rather than simply seeking
a more prosperous life in western
Europe.
Alexander Beliavsky, Alex
Yermolinsky and Mikhail Gurevich
are three further well known
Russian names high on the rating
list who are now residing in and
representing Slovenia, America and
Belgium respectively. Other
grandmasters live abroad, obtain a
new passport but still play for their
country of birth.
It is becoming more and more
unusual for a national team to
consist of pure patriots, and England
is definitely one of the only
countries m western Europe
(perhaps because of strict
immigration laws and lack of high
class chess events) that can boast a
true English team.
Nigel Short has led the way in
British chess for a decade but is now
joined by Michael Adams and
Matthew Sadler in the World's top
30, with Luke McShane following
in their footsteps with a grandmaster
norm at the tender age of 15.
Women's chess is very different
with only one female, the young
Hungarian Judith Polgar (recently
she took Israeli citizenship!), rated
amongst the World's top 1 00 men.
In fact the trio of Polgar sisters
revolutionized the chess scene for
women as they emerged one · at a
time, ready to do battle with men,
which was virtually unheard of just
over a decade ago. Previously the
strongest women tended to
participate in female only
tournaments and the separate rating
list was headed by the Georgian
Women's World Champion Maia
Chiburdanidze.
It was the oldest sister, Zsusza
who took the title away from
Russian and Georgian domination
and is the current holder today,
despite a temporary seizing in
between by the talented Chinese
player Xie Jun. About a decade ago,
it was felt that the women' s rating
list had suffered deflation compared
to the men's list and somehow FIDE
was persuaded to amalgamate the
two separate lists, add I 00 Elo
points to every women except
Zsusza Polgar who clearly played
against men, thus causing
Chiburdanidze to re-emerge as no. l .
on the rating list. Of course these
ratings did not last long, but was an
annoying example of FIDE bowing
to pressure from its Soviet Union
delegation.
Even the middle sister, Sofia, who
never struck me as being
particularly obsessed with chess is
with her Hungarian sisters in the top
ten female list, and with two
Chinese and two Georgians featured
in the top ten, the battle for
supremacy is definitely between
those three countries. However, in
the Olympiads, only once did all
three sisters compete under the
 General Information 123

Hungarian flag for the Women's Hungary, while Judith and Zsusza
gold medals. Normally it is left to make up part of the larger 6-man
Sophia and other talents to represent team in the "Open" Olympiads.
 14 Answers
Ql) No, the pawn cannot move as
the bishop would be putting the king
into check
Q2) Yes, with .. .'iVxf6 . .
Q3J 1 ..tn .
Q4) l .. .'ii'x f8.
Q5) checkmate.
Q6) No, White cannot castle
kingside due to the bishop covering
the fl -square (it is not possible to
castle through check) and cannot
castle queenside due to the rook on
d8.
Q7) Yes, White can castle either
side.
Q8) 1 ltJf7+ wins the queen.
Q9) 1 'ii'xc8 'ii'xc8 2 ltJe7+ nets a
rook.
QIO) l ..td4+
Ql l) 1 ..tc4. Don't forget that the
black rook on d5 cannot move.
Q 12) 1 ' 'ii'b 3+ picks up the loose
rook on c2.
Q13) 1 d5 attacks two pieces.
QI4) No, 1 l:txf7+ <t>e6 wins a
piece.) 1 l:tb5 attacks two .bishops
simultaneously.
Ql6) 1 . . . i.b7+ picks up the rook
on f3 .
Ql 7) l . . .'ii'a 1 + 2 'it>b3 'ifb l + wins
the queen.
QI8) 1 l:tb5+.
Ql9) 1 ..td4.
Q20) No, l . . .'ii'xe4 is too greedy
on account of2 l:te l .
Q2 1) 1 e5.
Q22) 1 h4!
Q23) 1 'ii'd8+! ! <t>xd8 2 ..tg5+
'iti>f8 3 l:td8 mate.
Q24) 1 ltJc6++ (double check)
Q25) 1 ..txf7+ <t>e7 2 ltJd5 mate.
Q26) 1 'ii'd5+! ! and now:
i) l . ....txd5 2 ltJxd3 mate
ii) 1 . . .-l:txdS 2 ltJe4 mate
iii) l .. .<t>xd5 2 l:tb5 mate.
Q2 7) 1 l:tb8+! (the red herring 1
l:th 1 allows Black to escape with
1 .. .0-0-0) l . . .l:txb8 (the alternative
126 Your Chess Questions Answered
l .. ..i.xb8 2 l:txa8 'it>f8 3 l:txb8 is
mate) 2 l:th I ..td4 3 l:th8 mate.
Q28) I .. .'it>b2 2 f4 'it>c3 3 f5 �d4
4 f6 'it>e5 5 fl 'it>f6 6 'it>e8 'it>g7 7
lt:\g5 �h8 8 f8=1i". A total of 7
moves each have taken place.
Q29) l . . ...tf2 2 ..te5 'it>e3 .i.c3
mate or
l . ....tb4 2 l:te5 'it>c3 3 l:te2 mate.
Q30) 1 a5 2 a4 3 a3 4 a2 5 a i B
(promote to a bishop) 6 ..td4 7 ..tb6
8 'it>b7 9 'it>a8 1 0 ..ta7 ..tf3 mate.
Q3 1) 1 1Wb7 and now:
i) l . ..l:tcxb7 2 l:tc l mate
ii) l . . .l:tbxb7 2 l:th6 mate
iii) l .. .lLlxd3 2 1i"xf3 mate
iv) l . . .l:txc4 2 1i"h7 mate
v) l . . .l:tb2 2 l:th6 mate
vi) l . ..l:txg6 2 1rh 1 mate.
Q32) I iVfl mate.
Q33) I l:th8 mate.
Q34) I lt:\g6 mate.
Q35) 1 l:th7 mate.
Q36) I 1i"h8 mate.
Q3 7) I 'ii'xg6 mate.
Q38) 1 l:th l + �g8 2 l:th8 mate.
Q39) 1 'ii'xc6+! bxc6 2 .i.a6 mate.
Q40) I 1i"xh7+! 'it>xh7 2 l:th3
mate.
Q41) I 'ii'g8+ ! l:txg8 2 lLlf7 mate.
Q42) I l:th6+ ! <it>xh6 2 l:th8 mate.
Q43) I ...'ii'x g3+! 2 hxg3 i.xg3
mate.
Q44) 1 1i"xh7+! lt:lxh7 2 l:txh7+
'it>f8 3 lt:\g6 mate.
Q45) 1 1i"a8+ 'it>h7 2 'iih8+ !
lt:\xh8 3 l:tg7 mate.
Q46) l ...lt:lfl + 2 'it>h1 'ii'h 2+! 3
lt:lxh2 lt:\g3 mate.
Q47) l . ..lt:ld3+! 2 exd3 1i"xg3+ 3
'it>e2 lt:ld4 mate.
Q48) 1 l:txh6+! 'ifxh6 2 'ifxh6+
..txh6 3 l:th7 mate.
Q49) 1 lt:le7+ �h8 2 'iVxh7+!
<it'xh7 3 l:th3 mate.
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