Power Chess For Kids: More Ways To Think Ahead And Become One Of The Best Players In Your School 48t1m

Power Chess for Kids – Volume 2

Charles Hertan

Power Chess for Kids Volume 2

More Ways to Think Ahead and Become One of the Best Players in Your School

New In Chess 2013

© 2013 New In Chess Published by New In Chess, Alkmaar, The Netherlands www.newinchess.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher. Photos: New In Chess Archives, Photo of the author (page 153): Jerry Rubin

Have you found any errors in this book? Please send your remarks to [email protected]. We will collect all relevant corrections on the Errata page of our website www.newinchess.com and implement them in a possible next edition.

Cover design: Volken Beck Artwork: Zander Dekker Supervisor: Peter Boel Proofreading: René Olthof Production: Anton Schermer

ISBN: 978-90-5691-479-0

Contents

Reintroducing the Main Characters… Plus One!

Introduction To Volume Two

Chapter One: Building a Strong Position

Chapter Two: Discovered Attacks

Chapter Three: Clearance Sacrifices

Chapter Four: Enticement Combinations

Chapter Five: Deflection Sacrifices

Chapter Six: Removing the Defender

Chapter Seven: The Overworked Piece

Chess

About the Author

Reintroducing the Main Characters… Plus One!

Four fun characters return to help you learn power moves and think ahead like a pro:

Zort from Zugzwang

A teenaged computer from planet Zugzwang, his favorite hobbies are chess, facebook and googling. Zort created a splash with earth kids in Power Chess for Kids: Volume One by using his amazing computer board sight to show what’s really going on in complicated variations and key positions.

The Dinosaurs

‘The Dinosaurs’ symbolize players in the first great chess tournaments, from around 1850 to the 1890’s. Like Tyrannosaurus Rex they were crude and deadly, always playing for the kill and producing many exciting power moves.

Power Chess Kids

Chess kids of the world ask typical kid’s questions about winning master tactics and calculation of power moves.

The chess professor answers kids’ questions with wit and wisdom, giving you important winning tips! Finally, introducing an amazing new character…

Knelly the Knight Knelly volunteered to be the ‘voice of the pieces’ for this book, giving important advice about what each piece wants, and how to use its powers most effectively!

Introduction To Volume Two

In Power Chess for Kids, Volume One, we studied four key tricks for thinking 1.5 power moves ahead, and four essential master tactics that win games. We learned that most kids think only of moves they want to make; but to become a tiger, the most important chess skill is to analyze a productive move for yourself, find the opponent’s best answer, and then learn to see one more move ahead (this is what we mean by 1.5 power moves). Meanwhile, to help you catch up, here’s a very quick review of the eight key concepts of Power Chess for Kids Vol. 1. Even if you read Vol. 1, you should at least skim this section for a quick refresher and fun new positions.

Eight Key Concepts from Volume One:

1. Know and Use the Values of the Pieces: Queen = 9 Points Rook = 5 Bishop or Knight = 3 Pawn = 1 The King is priceless; if you lose him you lose the game. But to show what a good attacker he is when few pieces are left, and it’s safe enough for him to advance, the K has an attacking value of about 3.5 points. As noted in Power Chess One, The first thing a master does when s/he looks at a position is count the material on the board using these simple values. Power moves and master tactics can’t help you win, unless you can figure out whose pieces are worth more at the end of your calculations!

Erik Martinez Ramirez - Garagatagli Skelleftea 2013

A recent game showcases four key concepts of Book One. The first task: use the values to figure out who’s ahead, especially in a position like this with great material imbalance! By the way, skip the K’s when counting pieces – both sides always have one! So…White has two R’s for 10 points, plus three minor pieces (bishops and knights are also called ‘minor pieces’, while rooks and queens are nicknamed ‘major pieces’) – 9 points. So White’s material count is 19 points. Black has a Q for 9, 2 B’s for 6, and 4 pawns for a total of also 19 points. Materially the game is even, but Black has a strong attack. With his next move he made White resign! How? He looked 1.5 power moves ahead and found a winning shot using two Volume One master tactics, a fork and a sneaky pin. The move 1…Qd4+! is a queen fork. Forks attacks two pieces at once, here the K and the Nb6.

Wait a minute! Can’t the Ne2 take Black’s Q?

No, because the N is pinned to the K by the Bg4! Book One called this a ‘sneaky pin’. The N appears to protect d4, but doesn’t because taking the Q would illegally expose the WK to capture. White resigned since after 2.Kc1 Qxb6 he’s down three points with a lousy position. This is a winning edge between masters.

This mini-combination shows one more key concept from Book One: Check moves bang! Here’s a key secret to seeing 1.5 moves ahead: when you have a checking possibility, try to look ahead and see his best answer, plus your best second move. (A ‘full move’ in chess means your move plus his reply, so 1.5 moves = a full move plus your second move.) This will win you many games, but it takes practice! Studying the last diagram carefully, you’ll see that the BQ has 8 possible checking moves(!), but they all lose, except the winning check moves bang! fork 1…Qd4+!.

2. The Quick Count Use this master calculation trick when a piece is attacked and protected many times, to quickly and accurately assess who comes out on top. Here’s a typical situation in the Ruy Lopez opening:

Black to move – can he win the d4-pawn?

Computers use the ‘brute force’ method to see if the d-pawn is protected: 1… cxd4 2.cxd4 exd4 3.Nxd4 Nxd4 4.Qxd4 is an even trade, and the Ne3 protects the Bc2. Black can’t win the d-pawn; it is adequately protected.

Thanks for the advice, Zort, but humans aren’t machines! Computers have perfect board sight – they see the exact position in their ‘brains’ even when calculating four moves ahead. But most humans don’t. Seeing where each piece is and what it can do, four moves from now, is very hard for us! Humans need good shortcuts to calculate more easily, and the Quick Count is the best one. Here’s how it works: in the diagram above, count how many black pieces attack the Pawnd4, and how many white pieces defend it. The answer is 3 attackers (Pawn’s and the Nc6) versus 3 defenders (Pawnc3, Nf3 and Qd1).

The Quick Count rule says: if the number of defenders equals the attackers, the pawn is defended. To win a pawn or piece requires one extra attacker.

The Quick Count works perfectly as long as pieces of equal value are being captured.

White to move – exception to the Quick Count

In this typical Sicilian Defense the Pawnb5 is attacked 3 times and defended only once, but White shouldn’t take it! After 1.Ndxb5 axb5 2.Bxb5+ Bd7 the Values show White has lost a point – a N for 2 pawns. So just make sure equally valuable pieces are being traded, and with practice the Quick Count will help you calculate much better.

3-4. Takes Takes Bang! and Check Moves Bang!

We already saw a winning Check Moves Bang! in the first diagram, so to keep our review moving along, the next example shows both concepts.

Ries - Naumann Bad Wiessee 2008

After 1…Nxe3? 2.fxe3 White will take the h-pawn, with equality. But Black used Takes Takes Bang! to find a winning sacrifice! When you capture something he normally must take back – and if you look 1.5 power moves ahead you may find a winning move on your second play! Black found 1…Rxe3+! 2.fxe3 Ng3+! (a winning N fork), regaining the Rh1 with a 4-point edge. Captures like 1…Rxe3 +! are very forcing. Forcing moves limit the opponent’s options, making calculation much, much easier. White had to play 2.fxe3, or lose a bishop for nothing. With a little work, Black’s second move 2…Ng3+ wasn’t too hard to find. There’s another reason you can easily learn to find 1…Rxe3 + – it’s also a Check Moves Bang! combination!

5-6. Two Winning Master Tactics: Forks and Pins

Our first and last diagrams showed forks (also called double attacks) by the Q and N, so let’s look at a winning pin:

Walbrodt - Janowski Budapest 1896

Black’s Bd7 is pinned to the Q by White’s Rd1. Pinning means simply that if the Bd7 moves, it exposes the piece behind it (Qd8) to capture by the WR. Book One taught the best way to exploit a pin: pile up with the cheapest piece possible. 1.Qd3, attacking the B again, looks good, but Black escapes with 1… Be6! when a Quick Count shows the BQ is defended: 2 defenders vs. 2 white attackers. So White used 1.5 power move calculation to find the winning pile-up 1.e6! fxe6 2.Ne5!, when Black resigned! The best try is 2…Rf7 3.Nxf7, losing a rook for knight (also called losing the exchange, a 2-point disadvantage), but White should win.

7. Skewers

Müller - Morawietz Bad Wiessee 2008

Black to move and skewer the knight

Skewers, also called ‘x-ray attacks’, are like pins turned inside out! A pinned piece can’t move without exposing a stronger piece. In skewers, usually a stronger piece (like the K or Q) is attacked, forcing it to move and expose another piece behind it. 1…Qh2+! was a crushing 1.5 power move skewer, forcing 2.Kf1 Qxe2+ winning the N. (By the way, you probably noticed that this was also a check moves bang! trick.)

8. Interference Moves Were the last winning master tactic covered in Book One. In this stratagem a piece gives itself up for the team, by getting in the way of a key enemy defender:

Mamedov - Raznikov Aix-les-Bains Ech 2011

The Quick Count shows White is down a pawn, but he found the spectacular power move 1.Bd8!! with the killing threat 2.Qxg7#. Only this move interferes with Black’s intended defense 1…Qf8 (or 1…Qg8), so Black must give the Q (1 …Qxf5) to stop mate.

Congratulations! You’re now ready to learn the five remaining winning tactics in every master’s toolbox! But first, Chapter One offers six important tips for improving your position. Building a strong position vastly improves your chances of landing a winning blow, using the four calculation tips and nine winning master tactics from Power Chess for Kids, Volumes One and Two.

Chapter One: Building a Strong Position

What should I do if I can’t find a winning power move?

That’s a tough question, but a good one. Chess is not like Angry Birds! In video games you usually bash something every two seconds, but in chess you must learn to build a strong position, to earn more chances for winning power moves. Chess lovers enjoy the challenge of this aspect of the game, called positional or strategic play. Positional play improves the positioning of your pieces and pawns, while strategic play involves a more long-term plan to get the most out of your position.

Here are six crucial tips for strengthening your position:

Positional Rule # 1:

Place your pieces actively whenever possible.

White has four best choices here: Bb5, Bc4, Nc3 and d2-d4. All these moves place a piece actively for the coming battle. 3.Bb5 is the master’s favorite, putting pressure on Black’s e5 pawn by attacking the Nc6. But a master might laugh if you play 3.Be2, 3.Bd3, 3.Na3, or even worse, 3.h4? 3.Be2 is very ive, doing nothing to help your future attacking chances. Putting your B on e2 is a fine move in many positions, but it makes no sense here when two beautifully active B moves are available. , the goal of chess is checkmate, not hiding your pieces in a ive clump! 3.Bd3 is even worse; instead of pressuring the opponent, such a B ‘bites on granite’ – its own e4-pawn blocks it in! If that wasn’t bad enough, 3.Bd3 is very clunky. Clunky moves ‘step on the toes’ of your other pieces. The Bd3 blocks its own d2-pawn, which wants to move soon to control the center and open a nice diagonal for the c1-bishop. 3.Na3? is a ive place for the knight. Knights especially need to develop toward the center – hence the old saying, ‘A knight on the rim is grim’.

Right you are! Please put me in the center. After 3.Nc3 a centralized knight has 8 squares it could go to, if no pieces were blocking it. The yucky 3.Na3 gives me only 4 possible moves! Finally, 3.h4? is ive and slow, doing nothing to help White mobilize and leaving the h-pawn ‘loose’ if White castles kingside. Beginners often follow with 4.Rh3? but this is a bad development strategy since the rook is exposed to attack by the Bc8.

Hoang Thanh Trang - Tan Zhongyi China tt 2011

Here’s a radical example of the need to look at active moves first. Most players would meekly defend the b-pawn with 1…Qe8, since White’s attack looks strong. But Black ed to always consider active moves first, and made White resign with the bombshell 1…Qh4+!!. In Chapter 4 we’ll study similar enticement sacrifices. On 2.Kxh4 the WQ is enticed into a mating net: 2…Bf2#. Declining the Q is no help: 2.Kg2 Qf2+ 3.Kh1 Qg1#; 2.Kh2 Bxf4+ wins; or the final insult 2.Kf3 Qf2+! 3.Ke4 Bc6+! enticing the WQ into a skewer!: 4.Qxc6 Qg2+.

Positional Rule #2:

Cooperation is Important!

Two B’s are the strongest pair of minor pieces, usually better than B+N or 2 N’s. Why? They cooperate in perfect harmony, never stepping on each other’s toes. Two B’s together can attack any square, so when they aim toward the K, watch out!

Wyvill - Kennedy London 1851

Black to give mate

1…Qxf3+! 2.gxf3 Bh3+ 3.Kg1 Rxe1+ 4.Qf1 and now: 4…Rxf1#. The raking B’s dominate every square around the WK.

B+N cooperation: ‘The Lock’

This position is key to understanding the difficult mate B+N vs. K. White must first chase the BK to a corner with the same colored square as his B. Preventing him from ‘running away’ to the wrong corner is almost impossible without the idea in the diagram. ‘The lock’ lets the B&N harmonize perfectly to hem the BK in: the B controls the light squares a6-c6-d7-e8, the N the dark ones b6-c7-e7. The BK is imprisoned in the bad corner: he can run to d8, but no further! White’s K lumbers in and eventually helps deliver mate like this:

1.Nb4! (not 1.Nc7 stalemate!) 1…Ka8 2.Be6! Not 2.Na6?? stalemate! Often a waiting move with the B is necessary, so the N can check him into the corner and let the B deliver mate. This is actually another positional idea – if you really can’t find any moves to improve your game, make a waiting move that doesn’t give up anything! The key to the B’s winning tempo move? It still covers the c8-square so the BK can’t escape after the N check… 2…Kb8 3.Na6+ Ka8 4.Bd5#

Cooperation is important in all stages of a chess game. Here’s an example from the Queen’s Gambit Declined opening:

White’s first-move advantage lets him develop more actively, while Black often builds a solid set-up first, then works to free his game. Black’s N’s are ‘redundant’ here, while White’s are more harmonious. Redundant N’s control the same squares, limiting their cooperation. The Nd7 is also clunky, blocking in the Bc8. Black has two good positional ideas to increase cooperation, 1…Nf8! or 1…Ne4!. After 1…Nf8 the N may later come to g6 or e6 where it harmonizes well with the Nf6, controlling many squares together. 1…Ne4! is a freeing move requiring careful calculation; it works OK here because of 2.Bxe4 Bxg5!, or 2.Bxe7 Qxe7 when a Quick Count shows that e4 is defended. Next the Nd7 may swing to f8 or f6 to the Ne4 (e4 is such a great central square, it’s worth using both knights to control it).

Positional Rule #2a

Placing the Pawns

If you have one bishop left, your pawns should (almost always) be placed on the opposite color squares as the B! This allows the B&Pawn’s to cooperate instead of bumping into each other. The chess program on my i-phone is master strength, but it has a terrible habit that most kids share. In the endgame it likes to place its pawns on the same colored squares as its remaining B, ‘so the B can protect them’. This policy is so bad, I almost always beat it in any ending where I have a N or B vs. its B!

Hertan - Computer 2013

1…h5?? Completely wrong! Black could draw by correctly putting his pawns on the opposite-colored squares of the B: 1…g5! 2.fxg5 (2.Kf3 Bd7! or 2.f5?! Kf6) 2…hxg5 3.Kf2 Bd7! 4.Bg2 Kf6 5.Ke3 Ke5 is equal. 2.h4! I simply follow the rule. Now Black’s pawns are locked on the wrong-colored square, while mine are all on correct dark squares. This gives me three(!) great advantages that far outweigh black’s B ‘protecting his Pawn’s’: 1. My B+Pawn’s cooperate to control dark and light squares, while Black is very weak on the dark squares. A cooperating B is called a ‘good bishop’ while one stuck on the same squares as his Pawn’s is rightly called a ‘bad bishop’. 2. My B can attack his Pawn’s, while his B is completely toothless – it can never attack mine! So Black’s 1…h5 was much too ive – thinking only of defending. 3. Black’s Pawn’s block his own B, giving it less mobility. White can exploit this factor to win: 2…Kf6 3.Kf3 Ke6 4.Ke3 Kd6 5.Kd4 Bf7

An extremely instructive position. Black’s K can’t move because the WK will penetrate on c5 or e5 and gang up with the WB to win a pawn. Black can only move his B, but my more mobile B runs his out of good squares: 6.Bc2! Another winning waiting move in the ending! If 6.Bd3? Be8 holds both pawns, so White forces black to go to e8 first. 6…Be8 Black’s B is caught on a ‘short diagonal’: to hold his g-pawn he must fall for the trap – 7.Bd3! 1-0

final position after 7.Bd3 - Zugzwang!

The triumph of ‘good B’ over ‘bad B’ – Black loses because he has to move, but any move allows White’s K or B to invade and win a pawn or more. Zugzwang is a position where a player loses because he’s not allowed to ‘’ – he has to move somewhere, but every move leads to loss.

Hey, Zugzwang is my planet!

True, your ancestors must have loved chess!

Positional Rule #3:

Rooks belong on open files! Zort, 2013

Whoever moves probably wins

This position cooked up by Zort shows the power of the R on an open file. White to move plays 1.Rc1!, controlling the only open file. Next the R invades on c7. Black’s R is then forced to ively protect his pawns, but ive rooks in the ending are a huge problem. If it’s Black’s move, he plays 1…Rc8! with the same idea.

The powerful rook is much, much happier attacking the enemy pawns than defending his own. Controlling the only open file often wins games! Here’s an example:

Kramnik - Deep Fritz Bahrain 2002

White is much better – his R has penetrated on the open file while Black’s is tied down ively. Any human master would try 1…Rc8!, intending 2.Rxe5 Rc2! when Black’s active R gives excellent drawing chances. But machines calculate variations and don’t know positional rules! Only when Deep Blue was programmed to think ‘more positionally’ did a computer beat the best human, Garry Kasparov. Deep Fritz played 1…f6? and after 2.Kd2! his R is glued to the a-pawn and former World Champ Kramnik penetrated with his R and won. (To see the rest of this instructive ending, click ‘Nicbase’ at newinchess.com and punch in the player names Kramnik and comp Deep Fritz, and the year 2002.)

If no open files are available for the R, you can often create one:

In the King’s Indian Defense Black activates his rook without moving it from f8! The main idea is 1…Ne8! (Black is willing to backpedal with the N to activate his R and f-pawn, another example of cooperation) 2. Nd3 f5! and Black can either force open the f-file for his R, or more commonly play …f5-f4 with extra space on the kingside to launch an attack.

Positional Rule #4:

Improve the position of your worst piece. If you can’t find a power move combination to give mate or win material, figure out which of your pieces is badly placed and try to activate it.

This is a main line in the ultra-sharp Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defense. Black allows a ‘hole’ on d5 where White has correctly sunk his N. An ‘outpost’ is a square in enemy territory where you can safely put a piece, and a ‘hole’ is an outpost where your piece can’t be chased by enemy Pawn’s In return for the hole, Black got the B pair and a sharp position with open c- and g-files. White’s ‘problem piece’ is the Na3, stuck on the edge with no mobility. His main scheme spends 3 moves to transfer the N to a strong central square where it reinforces the d5 hole.

1.c3! (1.c4 is interesting) 1…f5! 2.exf5 Bxf5 3.Nc2! 0-0 4.Nce3 Be6 5.Bd3 f5 6.Qh5 with a sharp position where both white N’s play an active role.

Weindl - Rodshtein Biel 2012

Grandmasters have a great positional sense of where the pieces belong! This intuition comes from lots of practice. Black has more space here, and a key open d-file to attack White’s backward d3-pawn with the rooks. A ‘backward’ Pawn can’t be protected by neighboring Pawn’s, and becomes a prime target when it sits on an open file. White’s men are all ively placed. Watch how GM Rodshtein slowly improves his piece coordination – until magically a winning power move combo appears. 1…Red6! Two rooks on an open line are often better than one! Black piles up on the Pawnd3. 2.Be3 Ne6! Centralizing the N onto a perfect square, where it’s active and harmonious. 3.Bc1 White has no good plan and is reduced to waiting. 3…c4! Piling up on the pinned Pawnd3. 4.Ne1 Qd7! 5.Re3 f4! 6.gxf4 exf4 If 7.Re4, a Quick Count shows the d-pawn dropping with 4 attackers versus 3 defenders, so White tries to free himself with a desperate sacrifice: 7.Rxe6 Qxe6 8.Bxf4 cxd3! 9.Nxd3

But now a takes takes bang! sac wins a N: 9…Rxd3! and White resigns due to 10.Rxd3 Qe1 +! 11.Kg2 Qe4+! emerging a full R ahead.

Positional Rule #5:

Make luft, but think ahead! One way to improve your position a bit is by ‘making luft’, also called making an ‘airhole’ for the king. This is a great positional idea to stop a future back-rank mate, but you need to think ahead to figure out which ‘airhole’ works best:

Both sides want to penetrate with their active rooks, but neither can yet due to back rank mate! If 1.Rd7?? Rc1+ mates next:

White has fallen for the classic back rank mate: a major piece checks on the back row, and White’s f-, g-, h-pawns block the king’s escape. Instead White makes luft to free his R, but which airhole is right? Best in the prior diagram is 1.g3!. On 1.f3? (or 1.f4) 1…Kf8 2.Rd7? Black wins a Pawn with two checks: 2…Rc1+ 3.Kf2 Rc2+! and 4 …Rxb2. After 1.g3! Kf8 2.Rd7! White goes on the attack; if 2…Rc1 + 3.Kg2 Ra1 4.a3! wins a pawn. 1.g3! is better than 1.h3 here; on R checks the WK stays closer to the center. To know which Pawn to move when making luft, you must know the key concept of assisted back rank mate. In this variation, the airhole is controlled by an enemy piece.

How should Black make luft?

1…h6?? is a horrible blunder: 2.Rb8+ forces assisted back rank mate! The Bd3 controls the BK’s escape hatch on h7. Also bad is 1…f6? when 2.Rb8+ Kf7 3.Rb7+ will spear the a-pawn. Instead the right luft 1…g6! (or 1…g5) is completely fine for Black, e.g. 2.Rb8+ Kg7 3.Rb7? Ra5! winning a Pawn for Black! If we change things slightly the situation is reversed.

Here Black can make luft perfectly well with 1…f6 or 1…h6, but 1…g6?? gives the WB the tremendous outpost 2.Bf6!, plugging the airhole and forcing assisted back rank mate! Too late now is 2…h5 3.Rd8+ Kh7 4.Rh8#.

Positional Rule #6:

Weigh the pluses and minuses of each position! The rules in this chapter will certainly help you get better positions and increase the odds of finding power moves. But each chess position is unique, and no rule holds true every time.

Hertan - Yakovich Hastings 1994/95

In my game against Russian GM and trainer Yury Yakovich, I faced a ‘bad B’ that was actually very good! My backward e2-pawn on the open file is a big weakness. Black can triple up there with his major pieces, with enormous pressure. Meanwhile, my pieces are too ive! His ‘not-so-bad’ B seals off any play for my R’s on the open b- and c-files. Doing nothing against a grandmaster tends to get ugly, so I tried for more freedom with 1.Rfe1!? Re6 2.e4!?. After 2…dxe3! (en ant) 3.fxe3 his B is unblocked, and my central pawns remain vulnerable. Black won a nice endgame. (You can find this game also at Nicbase.)

Positional Rule #6a:

Always look for power moves first! Before you worry about a bad B or misplaced piece, first check the forcing moves and see if any of them leads to mate or win of material – in 1.5 power moves (or more as your board sight increases). To become # 1 in your school, you have to focus on winning master tactics, and fall back on positional play only if there’s no immediate blow for you or your opponent! Before we return to the most important business of Volume Two – learning the best ways to checkmate or win material with 1.5 power move calculation – here’s a quick quiz on positional play.

Building a Strong Position: Exercises

What is White’s worst positional move?

Should White make luft? If so, how?

Building a Strong Position: Solutions

i-phone - Hertan Northampton 2013

This morning my i-phone did it again! It played 1.f4??, fixing another Pawn on the same color as his bad B! (only the lemon 1.Kc2?? is just as bad – 1…Kc4 wins a Pawn) I immediately maneuver my B to d6 to attack two Pawn’s: 1…Bf2 2.Bf6 Bg1! I chase a Pawn to deny him a waiting move later… 3.h3 Bb6 4.Bc3 Bc7! 5.Bd2 Bd6 6.h5 gxh5 7.h4 h6 White’s in zugzwang and loses a Pawn. How should he play instead? Leave that Pawn on f3 where it controls e4 and is safe from my B, and wait with 1.Ke2 Bc3 2.Kd3 or 1.h5!? gxh5 2.h3. Then he has only one weak Pawn on b4. In the ending one weakness can often be defended, but two normally lose!

Zort - Norf 2013

If 1.d8Q?? Qe1#, so White should make luft: 1.h3! Qe1+ 2.Kh2. The WQ stops any checks on the h2-b8 diagonal. White promotes and wins. Wrong are 1.g3 Qe1 + 2.Kg2 Qe2+ 3.Kh3 Qh5+ drawing by ‘perpetual check’; or 1.h4? Qe1+ 2.Kh2 Qxh4+=, again checking ‘forever’ on e1/h4.

Who is ‘Norf’?

I believe on earth you’d call him ‘the family dog’. He’s very bad at endgames, but at least he plays better than Mr. Hertan’s i-phone!

Chapter Two: Discovered Attacks

‘Fooled you! You thought the piece I moved was going to get you, but you forgot about the piece behind it!’

A discovered attack is a move by one of your pieces that opens up a key line for another piece. Most kids miss this tactic all the time! When you move a piece, it’s hard to see every possible option for that piece on the next move, from its new square. To have great board sight, you must also notice every new possibility that the moving piece opened up for the chess men behind it! Discovered attacks always involve at least two pieces: the one that moves, and the one whose attack is uncovered. Either one or both of these pieces may do some damage! Since both pieces can make a different threat on the same move, the discovery is a potent weapon. Aside from regular discoveries (‘discovery’ is a nickname for ‘discovered attack’), there are two special kinds of discovered attack: discovered check and double check.

Discovered Check Since discovered and double checks both involve checking the king, both are very forcing and dangerous.

Falkbeer - Anderssen Berlin 1851

White has sacrificed his Q for just a B, but he wasn’t crazy! Black’s K faces a dangerous discovered check by the Be5, and such a discovery can be worth more than the queen. After 1.Rf7+ Kg8 now the Bc4 is poised to give discovered check. White found 2.Rxf3+! Kh7 3.Rxf8 and he was a piece up. Since the rook’s moves both uncovered a bishop check, he was free to wreak havoc. Notice the tremendous power of 2 B’s aimed at the enemy K!

Many combinations are based on forcing the king into a deadly discovery. Can the king deliver checkmate?

Careful, it’s a trick question! True, he can’t directly attack the enemy king: that would illegally expose himself to attack. But there are actually two ways to mate with a king move: castling, and discovered check. No rule prevents a K from discovering check and mate by another piece.

Whoa, Knelly! Checkmate with a king move? I’ve got to see this!

Cummings - Basanta Vancouver 1999

White sacrificed a whole queen on g6 – for mate! 1.Be6+! Kh7 The king is forced into a crushing discovery: 2.Kg3+! The winner – but rats, it’s not quite mate – Black has the meaningless interpolation 2…Bh6 3.Rxh6#. Still, the K discovery was the mating idea.

Kvicala - NN Prague 1875

Since I mentioned castling checkmates, here’s my favorite example. White wasn’t happy just taking the rook, he found a 1.5 power move checkmate: 1.Ne4+!! dxe4 2.0-0-0#! (2.Rd1# is just as good, but who could resist mate by castling??) Not me! Castling mate is too extreme to resist!

Instead of making the enemy king step into a discovery, it may be easier to clear away the obstacles between your attacking piece and his king on the same line:

S. Wagner - Gockner Vienna 2008

Typical discovered check magic: White doesn’t mind that his Q is attacked, and his R+N are forked by the Pawne5. A looming discovery solves all problems, forcing Black to resign: 1.Rxd5! Attacks the Q and sets up killer discoveries! 1…Qc8 The Q can’t hide! If 1…Qe7 2.Rxe5+ Qf7? 3.Rxe8# is a sneaky pin. Or 1…Qh4 2.Rd8+! Kh8 3.Rxe8#. Now on every discovery but one, Black can play 2…Qxc4: 2.Rc5+! stops the trade and wins the Q.

See why discovered check is so powerful? The WR had so many discovering options, Black couldn’t withstand all of them.

Anderssen - Rosenthal Vienna 1873

Teachers often say: ‘Don’t leave your K in the middle too long’. A great German dinosaur shows why! The slicing Qa3 cuts the black king off from castling kingside; his K would have to illegally through the Q’s check. Now White pries open the e-file with a sacrifice leading to discovered check, and mate appears: 1.Nf6+! gxf6 2.exf6+ Ne6 3.Qe7#

Schulten - Kieseritzky London 1851

Here’s some great dinosaur chess: A Q sac unleashes a dynamite discovery.

1…Qxf3!! 2.gxf3 Bxf3+ 3.Kg1 d3+ 4.Kf1 And Black mops up with 4…dxe2+ 5.Ke1 exd1 Q checkmate. Bishop power!

Here’s a very important recurring master queen sac involving discovered checkmate:

Naiditsch - Onischuk Poikovsky 2009

Black resigned here. 1…f6 to stop the threat of Qxg7#, looks like a very solid defense since White’s queen is attacked, but there’s a huge problem which happens often in master play: 2.Rxe7!! fxg5 3.Rxg7+ Kh8 You already know that a strong discovery can beat a queen. Here’s more proof: 4.Rg6+ (or 4.Rxg5+) 4…Rf6 5.Bxf6#

Discovered Check: Exercises

Bag the lady with a discovery!

Find an ingenious check moves bang! discovery.

Discovered Check: Solutions

Kholmov - Taimanov Moscow 1969

White’s K tries to run from checks and be active in case of a Q trade. Just one problem: the discovery 1…f6+! gives check, attacks the queen, and prevents a trade all at once! White of course resigned since a whole Q falls.

Mchedlishvili - Podolchenko Khanty-Mansiysk 2010

White found the beautiful, surprising combo 1.Qf8+!! Rxf8 2.e8Q+! winning a major piece! 1-0

Pawn promotion with discovered check often wins.

Double Check

You know that forcing moves limit the opponent’s options. When s/he has few options, there’s less chance for a good one! To find winning power moves, get in the habit of looking at forcing moves first. When a king’s in check, there are only three options to get out of it: Take the checking piece. Interpose – by putting a defender between your K and the checking piece. Move the king.

Double checks have a special power that normal checks don’t: they make it impossible to interpose or capture the checking piece. Double checks are literally two checks in one! The moving piece gives check, while also discovering check by a piece behind it. Since it’s impossible to block two checks at once or capture two men in one turn, the defender of double check is stuck with only option 3: moving the K. So double checks are extremely forcing – limiting the opponent to K moves which escape both checks. In the old days this power move was called ‘double discovered check’, a silly name because every double check is also discovered check. Double checks often win outright, so when you have a chance to make one, take a careful look!

H. Schmidt - Kummer Werther 2000

Black’s extra exchange and ed Pawn are useless! Double check wins immediately: 1.Nd5+! Kd7 The only option. As mentioned earlier, Black can’t take or block both the Qg5 and the Nd5. 2.Qe7#

Masters even give the Q for double check, when 1.5 power move calculation forces checkmate:

Fontaine - Clemens Groningen 1997

White sacked a whole Q on g7 to land 1.Rxg6+! Both the moving R, and the Bb2 it uncovered are attacked, but Black can’t take either! He has only one legal move: 1…Kf8 2.Rh8#.

Carlsen - Daly (variation) Gausdal 2003

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen achieved the highest human rating ever in 2013, at age 22! His eagle eyes see a Q sac forcing double check and mate next: 1.Qg7+! Rxg7 (if 1…Bxg7 2.hxg7#) 2.hxg7+ Kg8 3.Rh8#

Watch this special trick: a player suddenly gives the Q, forcing the enemy K into a crushing double check. Here’s the most famous example:

Réti - Tartakower Vienna 1910

Great Czech GM Réti set this trap really well. If his Bd2 was gone, White could mate on d8. Moving the B is too slow; 1.Be3 Nd7 blocks the threat with ease. Réti finds a violent way to force the BK into double check: 1.Qd8+!! Kxd8 2.Bg5+. The awesome double check gives Black no time to block the d-file! Mate follows by 2…Ke8 3.Rd8#, or the beautiful variation 2…Kc7 3.Bd8#. The special term for forcing an enemy piece onto a bad square is ‘enticement’ (see Chapter 4).

A top Chinese star learned from Réti’s idea:

Li Chao - Bu Xiangzhi Xinghua Jiangsu 2009

White’s a piece up and counting on 1…Qa1+ 2.Kd2 Bf3+? 3.Bd3 Bxd1 4.Rxd1 to stay ahead. But GM Bu Xiangzhi uncorked a fabulous power move: 1…Qa1 + 2.Kd2 Qxd1+!! Giving the Q to lure the WK into a mating double check! 3.Kxd1 Bf3+

You could call this finish a ‘double check moves bang!’.

position after 3…Qf3+

The double check forces 4.Ke1 (or 4.Kc1) 4…Rd1# (big bang!).

Double awesome! How do grandmasters find ideas like 2…Qxd1+!!?

It all starts with power move calculation. Taking the R was very forcing. But studying master tactics makes it so much easier! Black saw a chance to sacrifice the Q for double check and knew he had to look into it.

Double Checks: Exercises

Sac the Q for a mating double check combo.

Sac again for a 1.5 power move mate.

Double Checks: Solutions

Kasparov - Larsen Bruxelles Wch Blitz 1987

Did your board sight notice the sneaky WB hidden on a2? 1.Qxg6! fxg6 (or 1… hxg5 2.Nf6+! (a sneaky pin) 2…Kh8 3.Qh7#) 2.Ne7+! Kh8 3.Nxg6#

Mason - Marco Leipzig 1894

1…Rg1+!! 2.Kxg1 Rxf1!# – double checkmate!

Discovered Attacks The third kind of discovery is the plain old discovered attack, or ‘simple discovery’. Unlike discovered checks and double checks, the moving piece doesn’t uncover check by the piece behind it; it uncovers a key attack on an enemy piece, or a mate threat.

Check+ Discovery One particular kind of discovered attack is like discovered check turned inside out! Discovered checks uncover check from a piece behind the mover. But in check+discoveries it’s the opposite: the piece that moves gives check, and the piece behind it makes a discovered attack on some other piece, or threatens mate.

Ghitescu - Fischer Leipzig 1960

Rumanian GM Ghitescu just blundered badly by taking a Pawn: 1.dxc5?? Even masters can fall into ‘knee-jerk thinking’, assuming ‘if I take, he has to take back’. Black followed ex-World Champ Lasker’s advice: ‘If you see a good move, look for a better one!’ The check+discovery 1…Bxh2+! wins the white Q, uncovering an attack by the Qd8. The B sac didn’t uncover check by the BQ; the B itself gave check, while discovering an attack by Black’s Q on White’s.

I get it: a check by the bishop, plus a discovery by the Q!

Rousseau - Stanley New Orleans 1845

Black’s pile-up pin on the Bd5 looks winning, but… it boomerangs with a check+discovery 1.Bg8+! Kxg8 2.Qxd6 winning the exchange.

Mas - Ginting Tarakan 2008

Where’s the discovery? Black sets it up with a forcing check: 1…Qf6+! 2.Rf3 (2.Kg1 Re1+ is even worse) 2…Re2+! Power move calculation is magic! 3.Kxe2 Qxd4 0-1

Check+Discovery: Exercises

Win the big one: check+discovery.

Find a 1.5 power move crusher.

Check+Discovery: Solutions

Deüs - Jugelt Bad Wiessee 2008

1…Nd3+! uncovered an ambush on White’s queen.

Calvi - Kieseritzky Paris 1842

The check+discovery 1…Be4+ wins the exchange first: 2.dxe4 Rxf1+. Power move calculation shows it does even more – 3.Kg2 Rg1+, skewering White’s queen!

Simple Discoveries Even without a check, there are many ways to win material with discovered attacks.

Jänig - Reefschläger Bad Wiessee 2008

1…Nb6! attacks both B’s; one directly, one with a R discovery. A white B must perish.

Mieses - Blackburne Dresden 1892

This dinosaur discovery ruined White’s day. Instead of moving the Nc4, Black used 1.5 power move calculation to find a stronger threat: 1…d3! 2.Qe1 The Q and Rg1 are en prise (under attack) and 2.Qd1/f1 allows 2…Qe3+ and mate next. 2…d2+! A royal pawn fork! Mamma mia, White resigns!

The German dinosaur Louis Paulsen had many interesting opening ideas. An important line of the Sicilian Defense is named after him.

L. Paulsen - Rosenthal Baden Baden 1870

1.e6! threatens the Bd7, and uncovers a second attack on g5 by the WQ.

Ju Wenjun - Ning Chunhong Ningbo tt 2011

When power moves convert a strong extra Pawn, or another big advantage, it’s called a ‘technical combination’. The beautiful simple discovery 1.d6! ends Black’s resistance. The d-pawn is bound for glory after 1…Qxc5 2.Qxf6, 1… Qe6 2.d7!, or 1…Rxf3 2.Rxe5 Rfxf2 3.d7 Rxg2+ 4.Kf1 Rbf2+ 5.Ke1.

Li Shilong - Wang Hao Xinghua Jiangsu 2009

White hopes to resist on 1…Rfd8 with 2.Rxg5, but the pin-buster discovery 1… Bc4! decides. Black threatens 2…Rf1 # and discovers an attack on the Rd4. On 2.Rxc4 comes 2…Rd1+ with assisted back rank mate.

Discovered Attacks: Exercises

Win with a simple discovery.

Threaten checkmate and something else.

Discovered Attacks: Solutions

Kolisch - De Vere Paris 1867

1.f6! won the exchange for a pawn, by attacking the bishop and discovering a hit on the Rc8. White converted his plus after 1…Bxf6 2.Bxc8.

Tal - Bannik Yerevan 1962

Former World Champion Mikhail Tal was one of the most feared and creative attackers ever! His brilliant power move sacrifices earned him the nickname, ‘the Wizard from Riga’. After the discovery 1.Bg5! Black could have resigned immediately, because White threatens 2.Qe8+ with back rank mate, while 1… Bxe1 2.Bxf6 Nxf6 3.Qxe1 wins the Q for just a R. 1.Bd4 also wins, though 1… Qd8 loses ‘only’ a B.

Chapter Three: Clearance Sacrifices

‘Get out of my way, please, fellow chess piece!’

Clearance sacrifices are some of the coolest power moves in chess. Why? When you first see them, they look completely crazy! A piece seems to suddenly throw himself away, begging you to take him! In fact, he tries to make you take him.

Why, has he lost his marbles?

No, it’s a diabolical plan! Chess pieces are part of a team; we must work together to win. Sometimes one piece has to give itself up for the good of the team.

Cochrane - Mahescandra Calcutta 1850

This common example shows how clearance sacs are related to discoveries, but a little different: 1.Rh8+! (1.Bc4+ is also crushing, but you can’t argue with mate in 2!) 1…Nxh8 2.Qh7# 1.Rh8+! didn’t uncover a line of attack for the Q like a true discovery; instead it opened up a single critical square for the Q to enter and mate. All children have heard their parents say this: ‘Get out of my way!’

No kidding!

Sometimes if chess pieces could talk like Knelly, they would say the same thing! Before we look at loads of power move clearance sacs, it’s important to mention that sometimes you can win just by getting your pieces out of each other’s way, without a fancy sacrifice. In this case we call it simply a clearance move:

Simple Clearance Moves Knelly has shown us the power of B’s on long, clear diagonals, especially when aimed at the enemy K. Watch how clearance moves unleash ‘bishop power’!

Köpke - Prusikin Bad Wiessee 2008

Black won simply by getting out of the B’s way: 1…e3! This strong clearance move not only frees the Bd5 to the Q: it also guards the f2 airhole, making twin mate threats: 2…Qh1# or 2…Qf2#. 2.Qe8+ Kh7 0-1

Fischer - Andersson Siegen 1970

1.f7! clears the B’s diagonal, threatening 2.Rg8 double checkmate! Even on 1…h5, the double check 2.Rg8+ wins the Q. Can’t Black sac his Q back with 1…Qxg7? Then 2.Bxg7 +?? Kxg7 – +, but the answer is a sneaky pin mate: 2.f8Q#

Clearance Sacrifices When simply moving aside won’t work, the time is right for brilliant clearance sacs!

Klovans - Zakharov Leningrad 1963

Black threatens 1…Nc3+, attacking the WK with the discovery 2.bxc3 bxc3+. The best defense is good offense, so White rushes the Q into the attacking zone: 1.Rh8+! Kxh8 2.Qh1+ (a backward attack requiring good board sight) with mate in two.

Naturally, Q+R are the strongest attacking duo! The rook often gives itself up to open a key square for the queen:

Wolf - Linhart Kitzingen 1980

White’s major pieces knock at the K’s door, but how to get in? Wolf sees that he can give mate if the Q reaches h8, so ‘get out of the way, rook!’: 1.Rg8+! Kxg8 2.Qh8#

Can you see another mate in 2? Yes, by a queen sacrifice! 1.Qh7+ Nxh7 2.R1xh7#

Tiviakov - Miton Montreal 2007

An interesting position! Each side has just a few pieces, but White’s are much more active and his K is safer. The strong clearance move 1.Re6 wins, threatening the royal skewer 2.Bh6+. Then if 1…Kh8 2.Bf6+ wins, or if the BQ moves, also 2.Bf6+ Kf8 3.Qh6+. White’s clearance sac is prettier: 1.Rg6+! and if 1…hxg6 2.Qh6# or 1…Kh8 2.Bf6+.

Tan Zhongyi - Xu Tong Beijing ch-CHN W 2008

White is winning, but with such firepower against the naked king he rightly wants mate! If 1.Rxh7 then 1…Qe4 trades queens and blunts the attack. The white queen needs an opening: 1.Rf7+! (a royal skewer!) 1…Kxf7 2.Qg7#

Deacon - Morphy London 1858

Here’s a rare loss by the ‘king of the dinosaurs’, Paul Morphy. Instead of 1.Rxf8+ and 2.Qxg5 with a winning endgame, White finds a beautiful way to force checkmate: 1.Rg7! Be7 Forced, to stop 2.Rg8# (1…Bxg7 2.Qxg7#). White lured the B from defending g7 – now he just needs his R to vamoose: 2.Rh7+! Nxh7 3.Qg7#

A R clearance sac sometimes opens a diagonal for the Q instead of a file:

Hammer - Carlhammar Gibraltar 2009

White’s R blocks a mating pattern, so: 1.Re5+! Bxe5 (on 1…Kd7 2.Re7+ is a winning skewer) 2.Qe6+ Qe7 3.Qxe7#

Any piece (except obviously the K) can give himself up to make way for another. Here are some fine clearance sacs by the minor pieces.

Foisor - A. Chia Wattignies 1976

1.Nxe6+! bangs the Q into h6. Black resigned. If 1…Qxe6 2.Qh6+ Kf7 3.Qh7#, or 1…Kg8 2.Qh6! mating on h7 or h8.

Klavins - Poliak Riga 1954

Want to know the key to successful clearance sacs? Get out of the way with the most accurate power move. Not 1.Bg7?? allowing the K or Q to capture and defend h6, but only 1.Bf8! Rxf8 (1…Nf4 2.Rh6+ is a royal skewer) 2.Qh6#.

This bishop clearance sac stopped the enemy king from running away:

Webb - Kristjansson Haifa 1970

Black hoped attacks on the Bc4 and Re1 would save him after 1.Qh6+ Ke8 2.Bxd4+?? Qxe1+. A clearance sac lets White’s R keep the BK corraled: 1.Bd6+! This royal fork forced Black to resign! If 1…Qxd6 2.Qh6# A fancy and alert check moves bang! mating sequence.

Kasparov - Bareev Cannes World Cup rapid 2001

Another royal fork forces the WQ in for mate: 1.Nd7+! Bxd7 2.Qf6+ with checkmate by 2…Kg8 3.Qg7# or 2…Ke8 3.Ng7#.

Wigmore - Hertan Northampton 1997

I found a fun power move here. If my N was off the board, the stock Q sac 1… Qxh2 +! 2. Kxh2 Rh6+ 3.Rh4 Rxh4 mates! But getting the horse out of the way proves tricky. 1…Nh3 blocks the h-file, while 1…Nxd3? 2.Qxd3 Qxh2 +? 3.Kxh2 Rh6+ 4.Qh3 loses. Finally I found the best clearance sac: 1…Ne2!! Threatens 2…Qxh2+ or 2…Rg1+ 3.Rxg1 Rg1#. Two direct mating threats are usually too much for the defender, and this position is no exception: White resigned after 2.Nxe2 Qxh2+.

3…Rh6+ next forces checkmate

Cochrane - Mahescandra Calcutta 1853

Here a N sac opens key lines for both Q and R: 1.Ne7+! This royal knight fork is also a deflection sacrifice (see Chapter 5), chasing the R from defending c8. 1… Rxe7 2.Qc8+ and mate follows on f8.

Clearance Sacrifices by the Queen There’s a funny reason why these are pretty rare. It’s not that the Q doesn’t like to give herself up for the team; we’ve seen tons of Q sacs for mate or material gain.

The reason is this: why clear a file or diagonal for a R or B, when she could use those lines herself! Instead of saying ‘get out of my way!’, those two pieces would tell her, ‘you’re already there, please do the job yourself!’. What chess piece moves in a way the Q never can? You guessed it: the tricky knight, called the ‘Springer’ in German. That piece tells even the queen to ‘move over’ in positions like this:

Khasdan - Ussakovsky (variation) USSR 1964

The N tells the Q, ‘Just disappear!’ If she vanishes, the springer mates on f7. But not so fast! to find the right way to get out of the way. Like if your mom says ‘Go wash the dishes’, you don’t go play chess instead – at least I hope not. She might blame me!

Ha! I’m not telling.

So 1.Qxg8+?? only works if Black takes with the rook or knight; 1…Kxg8! spoils everything. But 1.Qb3 is too slow, giving Black time to defend with 1… Rdf8. There’s only one right way for the queen to clear out; luckily for White it’s the most beautiful: 1.Qxh7+! Nxh7 2.Nf7#

Final position: assisted smothered mate

Clearance Pawn Sacrifices Compared to the Q, Pawn’s are like the young kids of the chessboard – they hear the words’ get out of my way’ a lot. Pawns are very valuable, so don’t give them up for nothing…but opening key lines for pieces is often worth more than a pawn. The dinosaurs understood this – they loved giving a Pawn or two in the opening, to gain time and open the board up for attacks. Openings which sac Pawn’s for time and space are called gambits. Every chess player should experiment with them! Gambits are fun to play, and help you learn how to attack.

Vergani - Teichmann Hastings 1895

Black gets a great idea: ‘Opening my B’s diagonal to attack his K is worth more than my f3 pawn.’ Boy, is he right: 1…f2+! 2.Kxf2 On 2.Qxf2 the B already s mate: 2…Qh1#. 2…Qf3+! 3.Ke1 Even worse is 3.Kg1 Qxg3+ with mate next. The Bb7 has become a real monster! 3…Qxe3+ forks the K and B, so White had to resign soon.

K. Christensen - Oosterman Maastricht 2009

Black found an incredible power move clearance sac, opening not just one, but two diagonals:

1…e3!! To find such wonderful moves, you must calculate power move threats worth more than a whole Q! Black’s stunning point: If 2.Qxg4 exf2# mates with the pawn; if 2.fxe3 Bxe3+ White loses the Q, and if 2.Nd1 exf2 + discovers an attack on the Q by the Re8. So… 2.f4 Bf3! 3.Qc2 Ready for a great discovery?

I’ll show it!

3….e2#

We’ve seen it before: when a Pawn on the seventh rank sacrifices, it’s hard to decline since he’s becoming a new queen!

Stahlberg - Najdorf La Plata 1944

The values show Black up 2 points, but White’s powerful ed Pawn saves the day. A timely push clears the seventh row for the R+B to land a winning discovery: 1.f8Q! (1.f8N+! is cute) 1…Rxf8 2.Rxg7+ 1-0. On 2…Kh8 3.Rg6+! wins a R.

Clearance sac or Discovery? Some ‘clearance sacs’ might also be classified as check+discovery. You can call it whatever you like when power move calculation leads to mate!

Parpieva - Jain Vung Tau World Championship girls U12 2008

White was too slow getting her pieces out, and young Radha Jain found the crusher 1…Nf3+! 2.gxf3 Bxf2+ 3.Kd2 Qe3#.

Mahescandra - Cochrane London 1850

A very common and important clearance idea – but also a check+discovery! 1… Nf3+! 2.gxf3 Qxh2#.

Wasn’t that just check moves bang!?

True, but a surprising one! You make a great point, though, chess kids: when you always look out for check moves bang! tricks, you will find all kinds of winning master tactics.

Clearance Sacrifices: Exercises

Clear the diagonal for a power move mating sequence.

Find the right clearance sac.

Clearance Sacrifices: Solutions

Steinitz - Rosenthal London 1883

Black already sacked a R so he could give up his Pawn and force mate: 1…f2+! 2.Kxf2 (2.Qxf2 Qh1#) 2…Qg2+ 3.Ke3 Qf3#. Power move calculation wins games!

F. Burden - NN London 1850

Here White has sacked a whole Q! What’s he up to? The correct clearance move 1.Nb6+! stops 1…Kd7: 1…axb6 2.Bxe6#

Clearance Sacrifices: Exercises

Find an awesome hidden clearance sac.

A clearance sac forces a new Q!

Clearance Sacrifices: Solutions

Topalov - Radjabov Astana blitz 2012

Black only calculated the normal capture 1.fxe8Q+ Rxe8, surviving for a few moves, but 1.f8Q+! made him surrender due to 1…Rxf8 2.Qe6#.

Karpov - Nakamura Cap d’Agde rapid 2008

Great ex-World Champion Anatoly Karpov desperately chases the ed hpawn of a dashing young American GM. He’s too late after the clearance sac 1…Bb8+! 2.Kxb8 h2 0-1.

Chapter Four: Enticement Combinations

‘Come over here – so I can get you!’

Enticement moves are like a chess version of the Big Bad Wolf In Grimm’s tale he tricks Little Red Riding Hood into coming to him – and you know the result. Enticements force the enemy piece onto a bad square, setting up checkmate or material gain. We may force him to block his own men, or walk into a fork, pin, deflection, or another master tactic. What if your mom said ‘there’s a chocolate bar for you in my office’ but once you got there she forced you to go over a bad report card! Enticement sacrifices are almost like that – a sneaky way to force the opponent to move into your trap.

Back Rank Enticements and Other Typical Enticement Mates Enticements can trick the opponent into back rank mate with power move calculation.

NN - Rellstab Berlin 1936

Black’s Bd1 blocks assisted back rank mate (the BQ controls the airhole on g2). But clearance moves are too slow: 1…Bf3 2.Qxg7#. So Black entices the WK into a winning check: 1…Qh1+! ‘Come here please – so I can checkmate you!’ 2.Kxh1 Bf3+ 3.Kg1 Rd1+ and mate!

A K in the corner has less escape options and is vulnerable to back rank threats. Here White finds a move that both deflects the black king from his rook, and entices him into position for a quick mate.

Tregubov - Sasikiran Moscow rapid 2013

A classic enticement: 1.Rh8+! Kxh8 2.Rf8#

A trickier version of the same theme:

Morozevich - Bologan Sochi 2004

1.Qh8+! Kxh8 (1…Kf7 drops the R) 2.Rxf8+ Qg8 3.Be5+! and mate.

Göring - Anderssen Leipzig 1877

Black made a stinky dinosaur fart, falling for a cute enticement trap a R up! 1.Qc8+ Nf8 2.Qxf8+! White only analyzed 2.Rh8+? Kxh8 3.Qxf8+ Kh7, but this takes takes bang! Q sac forces a modified back rank mate: 2…Kxf8 3.Rh8#

Van Tilbury - Hook Washington 1973

Here’s one of the most common enticement combos. Mate comes on h7: 1.Rh8+! Kxh8 2.Qh7# this master 1.5 power move mate; it’s a great way to overcome a strong defensive bishop on g7.

Both mates were check moves bang!

Good point! A lot of enticement mates use that trick.

Here’s a similar enticement pattern in a more unusual setting:

Samsonkin - Nakamura (variation) Toronto 2009

Black has just resigned. 0…Rc8 looks like a great try to boot the Q, but… 1.Rxa6+! Kxa6 2.Qa5# (very beautiful – and – you guessed it: another 1.5 power move takes takes bang!)

Sanden - Nyberg Sweden tt 1998/99

Another beautiful motif from the master’s bag of tricks: 1.Qh7+! entices the K into a mating discovery: 1…Kxh7 2.Bxf7# If he runs the other way, 1…Kf8 is cut down by a thunder bolt from the queenside: 2.Bb4+! Ke8 3.Qg8#.

Balogh - Maroczy Györ 1924

White converts a winning attack, enticing the WK into a sneaky pin pile-up on g7: 1.Rh8+! Kxh8 (1…Nxh8 2.Qxg7#) 2.Qh6+! (a sneaky power move) 2…Kg8 3.Qxg7#

OMG – another check moves bang! But that’s 2.5 power moves of calculation – no fair!

Yes, I know – it’s hard work to find the really great combinations. But you will if you keep practicing. Think of all the great tricks you’ve already learned!

Inants - Melnichenko Chervonograd 2008

An exciting master finish; both sides play for mate! White threatens a standard check moves bang! Q+R mate: 1.Rb8+ Kg7 2.Qh8#, but it’s Black’s turn! Using the mating power of Q+h3 pawn, he flushes out the WK with enticement: 1… Rh1 +! 2.Kg3 (2.Kxh1 Qf1 + 3.Kh2 Qg2#) 2…Rg1+! 3.Kf4 (3.Kh2 Rg2+ 4.Kh1 Qf1#) 3…Qd2+4.Ke4

4…Bf5# Or 4…Re1#.

No one expects you to see four power moves ahead, yet. But here’s a hint: if you can chase his K to the middle of the board like this with your Q+R, try it! Look ahead as far as you can, and something good will probably turn up. Sometimes you have to take chances to play great attacking chess.

Andersson - Hartston Hastings 1972

A beautiful type of enticement sac is sometimes called the King Hunt. A queen is violently thrown away, enticing the enemy king into a mating net. A super-GM was caught off-guard and blew a great position by allowing 1…Qh3+!! 0-1. It’s mate after 2.Kxh3 Bf1#; 2.Kg1 Qf1#; or 2.Kh1 Qf1+ (also 2…Bf1) 3.Bg1 Qxf3#.

Self-Blocking Sacrifices (‘Please, don’t make me trap my own K!’) A key type of enticement combo is the ‘self-blocking sacrifice’. An enemy piece is forced to block his K’s only escape hatch. These tricks are extremely common in master play. Still, they’re often quite dramatic and easy to overlook. The most famous self-blocking maneuver is called Philidor’s Legacy, after ’s first great player, François André Danican Philidor. (He wrote a great chess book before the age of the Dinosaurs!) The common name for Philidor’s Legacy is smothered mate.

Yildiz - Batory Rijeka Ech W 2010

N discoveries seem to let the BN take the Q… 1.Nh6+! Except this double check! 1…Kh8 2.Qg8+! The key enticement shot. Since N defends Q, the BR must self-block his K’s escape hatch. 2…Rxg8 3.Nf7# Smothered mate!

Reefschläger - Astengo Bad Wiessee 2008

Smothered mate almost always happens in the corner, where the K has so few escape options. Here’s a very rare one in the middle of the board! 1.Nd7+ Ke8 2.Nf6+! Kf8 3.Qe8+! Rxe8 4.Nd7#

final position - smothered mate

An amazing pattern: all five of black’s escape squares are blocked by his own pieces. The poor K looks like he got buried in a black avalanche!

Niesslbeck - Kuh Munich 1946

This key mate resembles a Philidor – a double check and self-block. The difference: White’s slicing Bc4 aids the mate. Don’t grab the queen!! 1.Rxe1?? Rxe1+ mates! 1.Nf8+! Kh8 2.Qh7+! (‘Come over here, knight!’) 2…Nxh7 3.Ng6#

Final position - assisted smothered mate

Spielmann - Duras Berlin 1935

Most smothered mates use check moves bang! to entice a piece to self-block the K. With a slicing Ba3, White just needs to plug the king’s g7 airhole, so he tells Black’s knight, ‘come here so my N can mate you!’ 1.Qg7+!! Nxg7 2.Nh6#

Nunn - Plaskett (variation) London 1986

Self-blocking sacs on e7 commonly stop the enemy K from escaping the back rank. In this battle of strong Englishmen Black avoided the move 0…Qd8, not because of 1.Rxe8+ Qxe8 2.Qxh7+ Kf8 3.Qh8+ Ke7 with drawing chances. But the self-blocking sac 1.Re7!! is lethal! The point: 1…Qxe7 2.…Qxh7+ Kf8 3.Qh8# and the e7 airhole is occupied by Black’s own Q. White also threatened 2.Qxf7+, mating, and on 1…Rf8 2.Qxh7#.

Rasch - Aemi Gibraltar 2009

A quick count shows Black’s back rank defended three times, including an x-ray defense by the Rc8. So White tries the back door: 1.Qh5! threatens mate on h8 or f7. 1…Qxe7 is forced but this self-blocks his escape hatch – 2.Qh8#

Vujacic - Turunen Groningen Ech-jr 1969

Think about the self-block any time the enemy K has just one escape. Can you tell an enemy piece ‘hey, move over here please!’? The WK tries to find a safe haven on h4, but Black forces another white man to occupy it: 1…h4+! 2.Bxh4 Rg2#

In the next example, a queening threat forces the opponent to self-block his king’s escape:

Minasian - Iliushin Antalya 2004

Black ignores a threat to his best piece, in order to give up his ed pawn!! The wonder of chess is this: the worst-looking move may be best!! (with good calculation) 1…Qh4+ 2.Kg2 leads nowhere, so Black forces the R to block this escape: 1…g2!! 2.Rxg2 On 2.Bxe4 gxf1Q+ wins a knight. 2…Qh4#

Enticement Checkmates: Exercises

Find a beautiful enticement mate.

Entice the BK into a Q+N onslaught.

Enticement Checkmates: Solutions

So - Giri Wijk aan Zee B 2010

The values show White ahead two B’s for three Pawn’s, but who’s better? Black, because he sees a super enticement combo: 1…Rf1+! (check) 2.Kxf1 (only move) 2…Qf2# (bang!)

Tate - Thomas Bristol 1968

Much better than 1.Qh5 Rxg5! is a stock enticement sac setting up the queen: 1.Rh8+! Kxh8 2.Qh5+ Kg8 3.Qh7#

Enticement Checkmates: Exercises

Find a self-blocking surprise.

Force Black to self-block the escape hatch.

Enticement Checkmates: Solutions

Aronian - Anand (variation) Wijk aan Zee 2013

Black found a classic smothered mate forcing the WR to self-block the king’s escape: 1…Qg1+! 2.Rxg1 Nf2# 0-1 As you’ll see in the next chapter, this smothered mate combo is also a deflection, since the WR is drawn away from defending f2. Note the crucial role of the c5bishop, forcing White to self-block rather than taking with the K on g1.

O’Kelly de Galway - Böök (variation) Dubrovnik 1950

It’s true White wins with the discovery 1.Qh8+ Ke7 2.exf7+ and 3.fxe8Q. But much more quick and elegant is the check moves bang! self-block 1.e7+! Rxe7 2.Qh8#.

Material-Winning Enticement Sacrifices Enticements aren’t just great for checkmating – they also force defenders into other winning master tactics. For example: Enticement/Forks – the enemy piece is forced to walk into a winning fork.

Alterman - Kurajica Dresden 1998

White sees the chance for a royal fork and tells the king ‘Come over here!’ 1.Rh8+! Kxh8 (otherwise the c8-rook is skewered) 2.Ng6+ 1-0 Yes – another check moves bang!, but a very surprising one! Try to to look at every check 1.5 power moves deep – unusual moves like 1.Rh8 +! are the ones your opponent will overlook every time.

Song - Hertan Watertown 1989

White would draw if it were his move! I ambushed Mr. Song with a clever enticement sac setting up a winning fork and skewer: 1…Rc1!! 2.Kf2 He can’t avoid losing two Pawn’s and the game! If 2.Rxc1 Bxe3 + (fork) 3.Kf1 Bxc1 skewers the queenside Pawn’. 2…Rxe1 3.Kxe1 Bxe3 4.d5 exd5 5.Bxd5 Bc1 0-1 This one wasn’t check moves bang! I was happy to find the crazy-looking forcing move 1…Rc1!! and he just missed it. It’s very easy for us humans to miss such moves – so be creative and stay alert! If you find a nasty surprise like this you usually win.

Enticement/Pins The enemy piece is forced onto a square that allows a killer pin.

Fridjonsson - Goodman Reykjavik 1982

1.Rxh8+! Kxh8 On 1…Qxh8, the BQ self-blocks the Q’s escape – 2.Qf7#. But now the K has been enticed into a royal pin: 2.Bf6 Re1+3.Ka2 1-0

Schut - Gretarsson Wijk aan Zee C 2013

Here’s an important endgame situation. If White can promote he draws at least, while if Black wins both Pawn’s his R will mate. Black arrives just in time by enticing the WQ into a pin: 1…Ke6 forcing 2.Kg7 Rb7! and both pawns fall, 0-1.

Enticement/Skewers Enemy pieces can also be enticed to allow a winning skewer.

Loyd - Czarnowski Paris 1867

White is two Pawn’s up, but Black’s attack is too strong! In major piece endings, K safety is often more important than material. 1…Rh2+! finishes White. His Q is tempted into a winning skewer: 2.Qxh2 If 2.Ke1 Rg2 or 2…Qc2! both win quickly. 2…Qc2+! 0-1

Enticement/Discoveries Enticement moves set up many different master tactics! Here White tells Black, ‘Move over there, please, so I can win your Q with a discovery!’

Meijers - Golubovic Berne 1995

1.Rh8+! a familiar check moves bang! enticement idea. The K can’t refuse. 1…Kxh8 2.Nf7+ A royal fork and check+discovery! 2…Rxf7 3.Qxd8+ 1-0 , in a true enticement, he’s forced to go where you want him!

Fischer - Shocron Mar del Plata 1959

Black’s Q pin seems to win the Re6. Fischer shocked Shocron with GM 1.5 power move calculation: 1.Bd7!! saves the R! On 1…Qxd7 the BQ is enticed into a winning discovery: 2.Rxg6+! and 3.Qxd7. Black resigned since White keeps his extra piece.

Kasparov - Carlsen Reykjavik blitz 2004

This battle of the highest rated humans ever ends with an enticement sac. Black’s Ng4 tries to undermine the Be3’s defense of b6 but 1.b7! entices Black into a winning skewer after 1…Rxb7 2.e5!. Black is stuck because 1…Ra2? allows 2.Rc8+ with a new Q coming for White. (Magnus would probably like you to know that he was still a young kid back when this was played!)

Material-Winning Enticement Sacrifices: Exercises

Entice Black into a monster knight fork.

Force the BK into a royal pin (takes takes bang!).

Material-Winning Enticement Sacrifices: Solutions

Janowski - Maroczy London 1899

1.Rh8+! Kxh8 2.Nxf7+ Kg8 3.Nxd8 Rxd8 4.Nb5 won the Q and the game.

Mackenzie - Bird London 1883

Due to the pinned Qg7, 1.Rxf8+! forces 1…Kxf8 2.Bh6! etc.

Material-Winning Enticement Sacrifices: Exercises

Entice White into a royal B fork

A hidden mate threat forces the BQ into a discovery.

Material-Winning Enticement Sacrifices: Solutions

Ware - L. Paulsen Vienna 1882

1…Rh1+! tells the WK: ‘Get on the a8-h1 diagonal!’ 2.Kxh1 (or 2.Kg2) 2… Bxe4+ is curtains.

Blackburne - Steinitz Vienna 1882

White is two Pawn’s behind but has a crushing resource: 1.Rd7! Qxd7 The Q must fall into discovery or allow 2.Rxg7+ and 3.Qxh7#. 2.Nh6+! gxh6 3.Qxd7 (threatening 4.Bxh6 and the Bb7) 3…Re7 4.Qxb5 with a winning edge.

Chapter Five: Deflection Sacrifices

‘Look over here for a minute – Fooled you! I win over there!’

The deflection move is one of the most common and important power moves in the master repertoire. Deflection moves tell the other guy’s pieces, ‘get out of the way!’

What if the other guy doesn’t want to get out of the way?

Well, that’s the tricky thing about deflection moves; they force the opponent to budge, by making some other threat that can’t be ignored.

‘Simple Pokes’ This chapter is devoted to deflection sacrifices, a great surprise weapon requiring power move calculation. But you also need to look out for simple deflection moves that poke the defender away from a key piece or square. Often no sacrifice is needed to tell the key defender, ‘get out of my way!’

Hertan 2013

This simple check moves bang! deflection happens ‘every day of the week’: 1.Rb7+! and Black resigns because if 1…Kc8 2.Bxc6 is a ‘hook-up’ move rescuing the WR.

Horwitz - Staunton London 1846

1…Ba5! is a simple deflection shot winning the Ne2.

Kasparov - Yermolinsky Yerevan 1996

Due to the sneaky-pinned Nf8 only Black’s queen guards the rook, but White can poke her away twice! 1.f3! Qf5 2.g4! Black has no safe checks and loses R or Q.

The ‘simple poke’ is a versatile weapon! Here Black cashed in on his powerful doubled seventh-rank rooks by poking away a defender:

Mons - Lupor Bad Wiessee 2008

1…Bd4! wins because on 2.Rd1 Bc5! (a decisive quiet move) the WK is in a mating net; B moves allow 3…Rxh2#.

Horwitz - Staunton London 1846

Deflection moves happen in the opening too! 1.f4! chases the BQ from defending a winning knight fork: 1…Qc5 2.Nxc7+ and White won easily.

Deflection Sacrifices If you can’t just poke away a key defender, it’s time to look 1.5 power moves ahead for winning deflection sacrifices.

Back Rank Deflections

Reshevsky - Fischer Palma de Mallorca 1970

If the opponent has a weak back rank, look for ‘crazy moves’ diverting his defenders! Fischer does better than defending e8: 1…Qf2!! deflecting the WR; on 2.Rxf2 follows 2…Re1+ with mate next. Suddenly, White’s back rank is toast! If 2.Qxe8 Qxf1#, while on 2.Rg1 or 2.Qb5 Re1! is crushing, so Reshevsky resigned.

Carlsen - Fressinet Cap d’Agde rapid 2006

If 1.Rxb8+ Qxb8, but the deflection sac 1.Qf5! wins because 1…Qxf5 2.Rxb8+ is mate soon, while 1…Qc7 loses a R to 2.Rxb8+ Qxb8 3.Qxe6.

Miton - Charbonneau Montreal 2007

A deadly version of back rank mate involves Qf8 vs. a cornered K; she covers his airhole on g7. White deflects the black B: 1.Rd8+! Bxd8 2.Qf8#

Assisted Back Rank Mate Deflections

Alapin - Mieses Breslau 1889

Black wins a free N with the deflection 1…Rxa5!; if 2.Rxa5 Rf1#.

In Chapter One we focused on B’s assisting a back rank mate, but any piece can cover a K’s airhole, even a pawn or king. Here young Magnus was the victim:

Carlsen - Nijboer Wijk aan Zee B 2005

The Pawnb3 covers a2 and c2. Black wins by deflecting the Q: 1…Qd3+! 2.Qxd3 Rc1#

G. Kozlov - Chernobay Sochi tt-2 2009

A pawn on a3 or c3 for Black creates a key mating idea; worming the Q into b2 for checkmate. After the deflection sac 1…Qd4! White can’t cope with both threats of 2 …Qb2# and 2.Rxd4 Rf1+, mating.

Kasparov - Lutz Frankfurt simul 1986

Why did Black resign? A mate threat on g7 looms, so the WR uses the back row for diversion. Lutz resigned due to 1…Qf8 2.Ra8! Qxa8 (otherwise the sneaky pin 3.Qg7# mates anyway) 3.Qg7#. An advanced pawn guarding the enemy K’s airhole is a potent weapon!

Here a N assists a back rank mate:

Schallopp - Burn Frankfurt 1887

White rounds off the attack with the deflection shot 1.Qxf7!, winning a rook and more, since 1…Rxf7 2.Re8+ is mate next.

Even if back rank checks by a R or Q don’t mate, they may win decisive material. Below, a common back row deflection wins the queen.

Mahescandra - Cochrane Calcutta 1854

1.Re8+! wins by diverting the BR from defending the Q. On K moves 2.Rxd8! simply snatches a R. After 1…Rxe8 2.Qxd6 Rxe2 3.Qd3! Re1+ 4.Kf2! Black can resign; 5.Qg6+! and 5.Kxe1 are monster threats.

Back Rank Deflections: Exercises

Deflect the Q and break through.

Can White win the e4-pawn?

Back Rank Deflections: Solutions

Schulte - Tuncer Deizisau 2008

The deflection shot 1…Rc2! wins a knight after 2.Qxc2 (2.Qd1? Qxg2#) Qxe1+. White resigned.

Leko - Svidler Linares 2007

Did your board sight recognize the assisted back rank mate theme from Chapter 1? The Be6 plugs the airhole, so 1.Qxe4?? is a losing blunder: 1…Qxe4 (1…Rd1+ would deflect the R and win the Q, but this is even better) 2.Rxe4 Rd1# Leko played 31.a4 but lost anyway.

More Checkmating Deflection Sacs

While deflecting defenders of back rank mates is very common, the idea of forcing the opponent’s piece away from mating squares happens across the entire board. Here are some pretty deflection sacs on different squares. Always look for these when only one enemy piece guards checkmate!

Three Great Mating Squares: h7, g7, and f7 These may be the most common squares for White to deliver checkmate. Why? Because Black usually castles kingside, and these squares are right in front of his K.

Deflection mates on h7

Fokin - Gleizerov Kursk 1987

All White’s men point at h7. He exploits this with a super takes takes bang! combination: 1.Rxh7! and Black resigns due to 1…Rxh7 2.Nf6+! (a fork, discovery and deflection!) 2…Qxf6 (2…Kg7 3.Rxh7+ wins the Q) 3.Qxh7#

Stanley - Schulten New York 1844

Two R’s on the seventh row are a mating machine! White sees mate on h7 by diverting the BK: 1.Rxh7+! (or 1.g5+ first) 1…Bxh7 2.g5+Kh5 3.Rxh7#

Schallopp - Anderssen Berlin 1866

You may have seen mates on h7 or f7 with a Ng5 and Qh5. Black’s h7 Pawn is alone on the edge, and his defenders often get cut off White sees mate if the Pawnf6 can be diverted: time to sac! 1.Rxe5! fxe5 2.Ng5 mates next on h7, but wait! The Q+N stock mate 2.Qf6# is quicker.

Q+N stock mate

Deflection mates on g7

Cochrane - Mahescandra Calcutta 1854

Our old dinosaur friends meet again. It looks even, but not really! All Black’s pieces attack the WK; White’s R’s are bunched up and ive. The Indian player finds a smashing blow to divert White from the defending g2: 1…Bxf3+! 2.Rxf3 Qg2#

Harrwitz - Szen London 1851

Black must keep the WQ out of two mating squares, g7 and f6. White’s R bursts in with a brilliant diversion: 1.Re8! Mate ensues on 1…Rxe8 2.Qg7# or 1…Qxe8 2.Qf6+ Rg7 3.Qxg7#.

Globus - Gross Riga 1844

Here’s a rare and pretty double deflection. White’s R and two B’s are all forked by the BQ, but he forces mate with 1… Bb2!!. The Q is deflected, see 1…Qxb2 2.Bd3# or 1…Qxc4 2.Rxg7#. If 1…Be8 the other B says ‘Hey, look over here’ – 2.Bd3+! Qxd3 3.Rxg7#.

Deflection sacs on f7 The f7-square is a vulnerable target, defended only by the K in the starting position. Black has many defensive resources, but if he forgets to develop and castle early he may run into problems like this:

The deflection shot 1.Bxf7+! wins the Q by diverting her royal defender.

Hulse - Faber Fairfax 1976

1.Bxf7+! wins the Q. or more after 1…Ke7 2.Qe6#.

Assisted Smothered Mate Deflections on f2/f7

Cochrane - Staunton London 1841

Last chapter we learned to entice defenders into Philidor’s Mate. Deflection is another key path to smothered mate by a knight. Another piece usually ‘assists’ deflection smothered mates on f7/f2 by cutting off the K’s escape. 1…Rg1+! Black wants more than 1…Nf2+. winning the exchange! 2.Rxg1Nf2#

C. Bauer - Kortchnoi Enghien les Bains 2003

Deflection/smothered mates are often shocking and beautiful. French GM Christian Bauer subdued all-time great Victor Kortchnoi with 1.Rg1 + Kh8 2.Qd6!!. Black is defenseless against 3.Qxf6+, mating; or 2…Qxd6 3.Nf7# – assisted smothered mate!

Another beautiful Nf7 mate – helped by the Rg1

Mating Deflections on Other Squares

Neumann - Schulten Berlin 1865

Only the Qd8 stops a classic two B mate with Bxf6. White gives his Q to strip the defender! 1.Qe8+! Qxe8 Or 1…Nf8 2.Qf7 with mate threats on g8 and f6. 2.Bxf6#

Ipatov - Edouard Wijk aan Zee B 2013

Only the Q pin prevents 1…g5+ 2.Kh5 Rxh3#, so… 1…Re5! 2.Qd7! Maintaining the pin. 2…Ree3! A new mate threat on h3! 3.g5 Rf4+! 0-1 The pin is finally broken by another deflection sac: 4.Kh5 Rxh3+! 5.Qxh3 g6#

Booth - Voon Ballarat 2013

White deflects the g-pawn to land a critical stock mating pattern: N on f6, plus a major piece on g8 or h7: 1.Qxh6+ gxh6 2.Rg8# 1-0

Checkmating Deflection Sacs: Exercises

Say ‘Look, over there!’ to the BQ & N.

Deflect and mate on a key square.

Checkmating Deflection Sacs: Solutions

Pedersen - Simonen Odense 1963

1.Be6+! diverts the Q or N while clearing the f-file for the Rf1. On 1…Qxe6 (or 1…Kg7) 2.Qh8#, or 1…Nxe6 2.Qh7#.

Heinemann - Trisic Hamburg 1999

1.Ne6+! (even better than 1.Rxg7 Qxg7 2.Ne6+) diverts Black from the mating square: 1…Qxe6 2.Qxg7#

Checkmating Deflection Sacs: Exercises

Deflect and give mate on f7.

Chase White’s key defender.

Checkmating Deflection Sacs: Solutions

Kiefer - Luige (variation) Bühl 1983

1.Rh8+! diverts the BQ and mates; the BN is caught in a sneaky pin. Or 1.Rxf7 +! Qxf7 2.Rh8# achieves the same result on a different square.

D’Andre - Loyd Paris 1867

White’s h2-h3 push tried to chase the B from defending the Re2. Black counters with his own winning deflection: 1…g5! The WQ is glued to preventing …Qf3+ (2.Qxg5? Qf3#). 2.hxg4 gxf4 3.Kxe2 fxg4, winning easily with extra material plus attack.

Material-Winning Deflections Sacrifices chasing a key defender from guarding another piece are even more common than mating defections. Deflections are a great, sneaky way to win the enemy Q:

Berndt - Federau Bundesliga B 1983/84

If only the enemy K defends his Q, try telling him ‘Hey, look over here!’ 1.Rh8+! Kxh8 2.Qxf7 made Black resign.

Corti - Sosa Raddi Cordoba 1967

Take a good look at this idea, the most important power move deflection for winning the Q. Thousands of children and adults have lost their best piece this way! 1.Rh8+ Kg7 The BK doesn’t want to be parted from his lady, but now a diversion+skewer forces him to say ‘goodbye’: 2.Rh7+! wins the Q.

Bronstein - Hunt Maidstone 1994

The R is the best, but not only piece, to deflect the K from protecting his Q. 1.Be7+! was an accurate deflection sac (1.Be5+? Kf7!), because if 1…Kf7? 2.Qf8#.

Zukertort - Steinitz (variation) USA 1886

The point of a beautiful piece sac in this World Championship match was a deflection move parting White’s K&Q: 1…Qxf2+ First the WQ is enticed onto a bad square. 2.Qg3 g5+! 3.Bxg5 hxg5+ and the Q goes.

Not every deflection wins the Q, but winning a lesser piece is great too!

Jugelt - Ehrke Bad Wiessee 2008

Black looks solid but a simple pawn push breaks his defense: 1.Bxe5 fxe5 2.d6+!, deflecting the king, wins a whole rook.

NN - Sarratt England 1810

In the discovery chapter you learned how a trapped K in the corner is exposed to B discoveries on the long diagonal. Black deflects the WR from the key g2square: 1…Rxf5! 2.Rxf5 Rxg2+ 3.Kh1 Re2+, winning a N.

Zuhao Luke Li - B. Kerr Ballarat 2013

In this recent game, a simple Pawn push caused Black’s position to collapse! The pawn break 1.h4! deflects the g-pawn for a winning fork: 1…gxh4 2.g5! Qd6 3.f6+!. The threat 2.hxg5! wins because if 1…Kh6? 2.hxg5+ Qxg5 3.Rh3+! wins the BQ by deflection.

MacDonnell - Blackburne London 1862

After 1.R1d6+ Ke5 Black counts on the zwischenzug (or ‘in-between move’) 2.Rxf6 Re1+! to rescue the R. But the deflection shot 2.f4+! decides instead.

Kamsky - Carlsen Khanty-Mansiysk 2005

A close race with both sides trying to promote a Pawn! White looks for active play first, even with his Q attacked: 1.b6! 1-0. White queens on 1…Rxf7 2.bxa7; otherwise the BQ is deflected from e7 – 1…Qxb6 2.Qxe7 Qxc6?? 3.Qxf8#

Deflection to Promote a Pawn

Yi Liu - Stojic Ballarat 2013

I think you know by now: watch for master tactics when a Pawn is close to queening! 1.Rxc4! wins both black Pawn’s and the game. On 1…Rxc4 2.d7! the R can’t get back to stop 3.d8Q (if 2…Rc1+ 3.Ke2 d3+ 4.Kd2!). If 1…Rd8 2.Rxd4 with two extra pawns. Black tried 1…Rb8 2.d7! 1-0 because 2…Rd8 3.Rc8! pins and wins the BR.

Deflections are crucial in R endings, to pry the defending R from guarding the queening square.

Elsness - Salem Istanbul 2012

Black has a great ed pawn, but the WK and R defend e1. If 1…Kd2 2.Ra2 + Kd1 3.Ra1+ the R checks from a safe distance, forcing the BK away. The win requires ingenious play with a key deflection: 1…Rf6+! (chases the WK due to 2.Ke1 Rf1#) 2.Kg2 Ra6!!

position after 2…Ra6!!

The BR is doubly deflected! Either he allows promotion 3.Rxa6 e1=Q, when Q vs. R is a difficult, but forced win (as happened in the game); or he must leave the crucial a-file which gave the WR checking distance to harass the BK. After 2.Rb1 Kc2! 3.Re1 Kd2! 4.Kf2 Rf7+ the ed Pawn finally triumphs.

Material Winning Deflections: Exercises

Win the BQ with a deflection.

Find a winning fork+deflection.

Material Winning Deflections: Solutions

Eichborn - Anderssen Breslau 1853

1.Rh4+! deflects the BR from defending his lady. 1.Rg8+? Kh7 is much weaker because the WQ is pinned and can’t the attack.

Rizvonov - Kasparov Vilnius 1975

1…Bc2! deflects the Q; if 2.Qxc2 Rxb5. Some twenty moves later White gave up against the strongest human player ever (Magnus Carlsen still needs to match Kasparov’s 20+ years as # 1!). White should instead defend with 2.Rxb8! Bxb3 3.Rxb3 when the values show him just a point behind.

Material Winning Deflections: Exercises

Tell the defender ‘Look, over here!’ to promote a pawn.

Entice the Q into a winning deflection.

Material Winning Deflections: Solutions

Blackburne - W. Paulsen Dresden 1892

1.Ba4! is a killer deflection. 1…Qxa4 2.e8Q+, 1…Bc6 2.Bxc6, or 1…Qxe7 2.Qxe7 Rxe7 3.Rxe7 skewering the bishops, isn’t Black’s idea of fun.

Jackova - Decka Moravia tt 1998/99

Black’s f6-square seems well-defended, but a takes takes bang! trick rips him apart: 1.Bxf6+! Qxf6 The royal fork entices the BQ into position for a deflection blow: 2.Rh7+! 1-0

Chapter Six: Removing the Defender

‘So, you think your piece can stop my threat? Not after I take him!’

Another key master tactic for checkmating or winning material is called ‘removing the defender’. It’s a well-named trick, because that’s exactly what it does! Removing the defender is like an extreme form of deflection. In deflection sacs, we force an enemy piece to get out of the way, to execute a big threat. In removing the defender, we make sure the enemy piece gets out of the way by taking it! Sometimes this involves a heavy sacrifice, even giving up the Q, to gain something bigger – like a back rank mate.

Kolisch - D’Andre Paris 1867

With the Bh6 and Ng5 plugging the BK’s escapes, only the Rc8 prevents assisted mate on the back row. So let’s get rid of him: 1.Qxc8+! Bxc8 2.Re8+ Bf8 3.Rf8#

Harmonist - Von Minckwitz Breslau 1889

Same deal here – one black piece stands between the WR and mate, so: 1.Qxb6! wins; 1…axb6?? 2.Rc8+ and mate. Max Harmonist was a pretty weak dinosaur, like one of those 5 pound planteaters – but he managed to beat a decent player this time.

Removing the Defender: Other Checkmates

Ashwini - Shivacheva Vung Tau Wch Girls U-10 2008

Ashwini is a strong girl! Her opponent seems good too, because they reached a very ‘adult-looking’ position. Ashwini’s play is inspiring, because she saw 1.5 power moves ahead, plus one extra forcing move, checkmating Black by removing the key defender: 1.Rxe6! fxe6 2.Qd7+ Kb8 3.Qb7#

Here’s a beautiful example by the powerful Russian GM Alexey Dreev:

Dreev - Hernandez Carmenates Barcelona 2008

It only takes 1.5 power moves of calculation to find the winning 1.Qxg5!!. Still, it’s almost tricky enough for a master to miss in his calculations. It takes great board sight to see that after 1…Rxg5 2.Rdxf7#, the R delivers the mating blow on f7, while discovering the bishop’s defense of the airhole e8.

Topalov - Anand (variation) Sofia 2010

Here’s a key variation from the decisive game of the hard-fought World Championship match of 2010. If White had taken a piece on a8, his K would have been pinned to the edge with big artillery still on board. This is as dangerous as a weak back rank! Black spots a clearance sac to open up mate with the Q, but first he must remove the defender of g4: 1…Rxe3+! 2.Rxe3 Rh4+! 3.Kxh4 Qg4#

Queen and pawn defend each other – an important elementary mate!

Thanks, Zortoppotomus.

I’m not fat like your earth hippopotamus!

I know, I just felt like calling you that.

Yates - Rubinstein Budapest 1926

White eyes a standard Q+N mate. Just one problem: the Ne6 defends g7. Not for long! 1.Bxe6! and Black resigned because after 1…fxe6 2.Qg4+ Qg6 (or 2…Kh8 3.Qg7#) 3.Ne7+! 1-0 Black stops checkmate, only to fall into a royal knight fork.

Removing the Defender: Material Gain

Bird - Englisch Vienna 1882

We’ve seen how one power move tactic can set up another! Black removes the defender to make a crushing royal pin: 1…Rxa4! gets a knight, or the queen after 2.bxa4? Bc5.

Ovod - Sirotkina St Petersburg 2000

Another word for removing the defender is ‘undermining’. This means removing the s of something. For instance, if you knock down the legs of a bridge, guess what? It falls! What s the BQ here? The Ne8. Black’s N’s look connected, but aren’t really, thanks to the sneaky pinned Nf6. So: 1.Rxe8+! blows up Black’s position; 2.Qxg7 next wins the queen.

Tarrasch - Alapin Frankfurt 1887

White calculates 1.5 power moves to undermine the Rb2’s defender: 1.Ng6+! Nxg6 2.Qxe5 Nxe5 3.Rxb2 and White converted his material advantage.

Mieses - Harmonist Breslau 1889

Black has just taken a knight on e6. White now undermines the R’s defender by exchanging it with a check moves bang! sequence: 1.Qg8+! Qxg8 (1 …Kc7 2.Rxe6) 2.Rxg8+ and 3.Rxe6.

Leko - Kasimdzhanov Nalchik 2009

Black’s N is trying to escape with the hook-up theme 1.Qxd4+ Nxd4. What if White tries his own hook-up, 1.Bxf5, defending the queen? This is a terrible trap due to 1…Qd1+ 2.Kg2 Rg8+! and Black captures the white rook with check. So White uses board sight like Zort’s to ‘uncouple’ the BQ’s defender with check: 1.Rxh7+! 1-0. If 1…Kxh7 2.Bxf5+ Rxf5 3.Qxd4 wins the queen.

Holen - Hovde Gausdal 1983

Black’s push …c4? looked great. It attacked the WQ and threatened the fork … Nxe3+. But power move calculation reveals White’s trap: 1.Bxf7+! Kxf7 Now White removes the defender with check: 2.Rxd7+! Rxd7 3.Qxb6 winning the Q.

Black is also lost after 1…Rxf7 2.Qxb6 Nxb6 3.Rxd8+, or even 1…Kh7 2.Qxb6 Nxb6 3.Rxd8 Rxd8 4.h5! with a mating attack on the h-file.

analysis after 4.h5!

Sherwin - Zalys Boston 1964

Another uncoupling theme: 1.Rxc8? allows 1…Bxc8!, defending (not 1…Rxc8? 2.Rxf5!), but White wins by 1.Rxf5! If 1…Qxf5 2.Qxf5 Rxf5 3.Rxc8+, or 1… Rxc6 2.Rxf7! (or 2.Qxf8+!) 2…Rxc5 3.Rxf8+.

This example showed a very important power move calculation trick. If you find a tactic that almost works except for one key defense, try switching the move order! In the last diagram, by switching to 1.Rxf5! first White avoided the key defense 1.Rxc8? Bxc8! by first eliminating the B.

These two dinosaurs with similar-sounding names played dozens of games together around the time when the first great tournaments were played.

Horwitz - Harrwitz London 1846

Are you really worried about the Be2’s attack on the Q? Black wasn’t; the WB is pinned. He calmly removed its defender and saved his rook with a hook-up: 1… Bxc3! and White can resign due to 2.Qxc3 Rxe2+. If 2.g4, 2…Qe8 is one easy way to win; and the tricky 2.Qxd2 to unpin the Be2 also fails to 2…Bxd2 3.Bxh5 Bxe1.

Dufresne - Anderssen Berlin 1847

An important type of undermining removes a Pawn that s a N’s outpost. Normally such a ed N on the f5 hole is very strong, but here its dissolves to dust with 1…Nxe4! 2.Rxe4 Rxf5 with a winning game. 2.Nh4?! is a nice try, but after 2…Rf2 + 3.Kh1 the power move 3…Qd2! is crushing:

analysis position after 3…Qd2!

Black ignores the fork Ng6+ thanks to a stronger threat: …Rxh2# (don’t forget the ‘long’ Ba7!). On 4.Qxd2 Black mates with a zwischenzug instead of a normal recapture: 4…Nxg3+! 5.Kg1 Rxd2+ – discovered check and mate in two!

Eingorn - Skembris Bad Wiessee 2008

White tells the f7-pawn, ‘So, you think you’re defending the R, huh?’ Not any more after 1.Nxf7! with a winning king fork.

Back off, lizard-breath!

When does computer meet dinosaur? When White uses Zort-like analysis to win by removing a key defender:

De Vere - De Riviere Paris 1867

1.Bxc5! Rxc5 2.Rxd7! wins a piece. White prevails after 2…Rxc4 (2…Qc8 3.Qa4, or 2…Qxd7 3.Nxd7 Rxc4 4.Nxf6+ and 5.bxc4) 3.Rxb7.

Loyd - D’Andre Paris 1867

White won a N with the simple uncoupling/hook-up combination 1.Rxf4!, removing the Q’s defender while allowing the R to hook up and escape attack on 1…Qxf3 2.Rxf3.

Englisch - Skipworth London 1883

Again White removes a defender and uses 1.5 power move calculation to refute Black’s attempt to wiggle out: 1.Rxc8! Rxd5! Clearly, if 1…Rxc8 2.Qxd7 + is a winner. Instead, Black falls into another power fork: 2.Rxd5 (2.Qxd5) 2…Rxc8 3.Qd7+ winning a R.

Wasn’t that takes takes bang! with some extra calculation?

Yes, you’re right of course. Most ‘removing the defender’ tactics use the takes takes bang! power trick, since they involve capturing a key defender and then seeing ahead one more power move – or sometimes more.

Delgado Ramirez - Hernandez Carmenates Havana 2009

White used great calculation to ignore a threat to his Q and spear a key defender: 1.Rxd8! and Black resigned. 1…Rxh6 (if 1…Rxd8 2.Qxg5+; or 2.Qxe6 fxe6 3.Ne7+) 2.Ne7+Kg7 3.Nxc6

We can’t end this chapter without seeing how removing a defender can make a new Q.

Beloy - Grischuk Sochi tt 2009

A ‘blockade’ tries to stop an enemy ed Pawn from advancing, by occupying the square in front of it. Major pieces aren’t great blockaders; they hate to be tied down defensively. But the BQ must stop White’s e-pawn from ing his brother on the 7th row! White sacs a B to tell the BQ: ‘You can’t stop my pawns if you’re off the board!’ 1.Qg7+! Qxg7 2.Bxg7 wins. If 2…Kxg7 3.e7! two connected pawns on the seventh are deadly and will produce a queen and more, for instance 3…Rd4 4.e8Q. In the game Black resigned after 2…Rd8 3.Be5!.

Removing the Defender: Exercises

Win material by undermining a key defender.

Remove the defender of back rank mate.

Removing the Defender: Solutions

Barnes - Cunningham London 1855

Another nice dinosaur undermining: 1…Rxb4! 2.Rxb4 (2.Rxe8 Rxc4) 2…Rxe1+ and Black won in a few moves.

Kasparov - Nikitin/Shakarov Moscow 1981

Garry sees a neat assisted back rank mate idea against the cornered king – ‘So, you think your rook can stop me? Not after 1.Qxf8+! Bxf8 2.Rg8#!’

Removing the Defender: Exercises

Use a sneaky pin to undermine the N.

Find a deep mating net.

Removing the Defender: Solutions

Harrwitz - Anderssen Breslau 1848

1…Bxe2! wins the pinned Nf4.

Karavade - Gunina Astana Wch-tt W 2013

Black wins with 1…Rcxc6! intending 2.Rxc6 Qxd4+! 3.Kh1 (or 3.Kg2 Re2+ 4.Kh3 Qg4#) 3…Re2 0-1. White can’t prevent a Q check on d5 or e4 and … Qg2#.

Chapter Seven: The Overworked Piece

‘I have too much to do – leave me alone!’

Suppose your mom told you to brush your teeth and do your homework, at the same time. Bet you’d be in trouble! The same thing happens to a chessman. Sometimes his fellow pieces ask him to do too much, and he just can’t handle his responsibilities. Then it’s time to pounce, and make him pay for biting off more than he can chew!

When a piece is overworked, you have two powerful threats, and only one defender stops both. By executing one of your threats you force his piece to respond, and then you land the other winning idea. Think of the overworked piece as being like a juggler trying to keep too many balls in the air. Get him to look away for a moment, and the balls all drop to the floor.

As usual, we start with back rank mate tricks using the overworked piece. After finishing this last chapter you’ll be checkmating a lot more classmates!

Cochrane - Mahescandra Calcutta 1851

Let’s pay one more visit to our old dinosaur friends. White told the BN, ‘You have too much to do, defending both the rook and the c8-square!’ 1.Rxe8+ Nxe8 2.Qc8#

Blackburne - L. Paulsen Baden Baden 1870

Black sees the WN isn’t really defended; the Bc2 is overworked: 1…Rxf5! wins a N or mates on the back row.

Gheorghiu - Kasparov Thessaloniki 1988

Here’s a more complicated case. Back rank mates are often hidden, unless you look ahead 1.5 power moves or more! A quick count shows the Pawnb2 is attacked 3 times by Black (good board sight notices the x-ray attack by the Qf6). White defends b2 three times – so the Pawn is defended, right? Well, yes, but… the Rb1 is overworked, also having to defend the knight, and when it falls, so does the back rank! Garry played 1…Bxb2+! 2.Qxb2 (2.Rxb2 Rxc1# due to the sneaky-pinnned Rb2!) 2…Qxb2+! and the famous Rumanian resigned: if 3.Rxb2 Rxc1+ and mate next.

Thanks Zort!

Position after 3…Rxc1+

You gotta love Garry’s power moves!

Benjamin - M. Arnold Philadelphia 2009

Here is a sneaky combination by an American GM who became a master at age 13! White finds a hidden back rank weakness caused by White’s slicing Ba6: 1.Rxh6! We could also call this a deflection, diverting the BR from the back rank. But the Rh8 had too many jobs, defending the pawn and the first row! If 1…Rxh6?? 2.Qc8+ Rxc8 3.Rxc8#. Best was 1…Rhg8 but White has won a free pawn. In the game Black played 1…Bb7?? but now his Q was overworked, having to defend f6 and c7! White played 2.Rxf6! 1-0 due to 2…Qxf6 3.Qc7+ Ka8 4.Qxb7#.

More Mates with the Overworked Piece

Kovanova - N. Kosintseva Sochi tt-W 2009

Black wants to trade queens and use her ed e-pawn. But White sees a hidden threat: the BQ must defend the a1-h8 diagonal and the rook, so: 1.Rxb6! Qxb6 2.Qc3+ with a stock mate on the 2 long diagonals!

Final position - stock diagonal mate in 2

Tal - Vaganian Dubna 1973

How can the BQ be overworked here? She isn’t yet, but the wizard from Riga forces her into it with power moves! 1.Qf3! A simple checkmate threat on f7. 1…Qe7 If 1…Qb8 2.Qf7+ Kd8 3.Qf6+ is a winning fork. 2.Nxc5! Surprise! Black’s Q now has too much to do, defending the N and the f7-square. 2…Qxc5 3.Qf7+ Kd8 4.Qf6+ 1-0

Movsesian - Ionov Sochi tt 2009

How does a grandmaster exploit an uncastled king? With beautiful power move calculation! White sees deeply to understand that the BQ is overworked: 1.Rxb8+! Qxb8 2.Rxe6+! fxe6 (2…Kd7 3.Qe7#) 3.Qxe6+ Kd8 4.Bb6+ Qc7 5.b8Q#

Final position - a sneaky pin promotion mate

Tal - Levin Poti 1970

Latvia’s greatest player proves the Ne7 is overworked: 1.Qxd5! wins – if 1…Nxd5 2.Re8+ Kh7 3.Rh8#.

Overworked Piece Mates: Exercises

Show the Rd8 he has too much homework.

Mate or win the queen!

Overworked Piece Mates: Solutions

Becker - Yates Karlsbad 1929

Black asks too much of his poor rook: 1.Qxd5! wins due to 1…Rxd5? 2.Re8#.

Sadilek - Wurzenberger Vienna 2008

White tells the Rf8, ‘You’re too busy!’ He must stop a royal fork, and protect the Nf6. So White executes one threat, forcing Black to ‘drop the ball’ on the other: 1.Nc8+!

The right way. For power moves to work you must think ahead with good board sight! If 1.Rxf6? Rxf6, the other rook defends the N fork) 1…Rxc8 2.Qxf6+ Ke8 3.Qf7#

The Overworked Piece – Material Gain Mate threats are always nice, but you don’t need one to prove that an enemy piece has ‘too much to do’.

Christiansen - Stripunsky USA Internet 2008

Here’s a textbook example of the overworked piece. The BQ must defend both R+B, but that’s too much responsibility! 1.Rxe8! Qxe8 2.Qxc7 1-0

Fleissig - Blackburne Vienna 1882

This one is sneakier! A quick count shows White has 3 defenders of f2 (including the Q’s x-ray defense), but the Be1 has to go first, and she also has to guard the queen…what’s a poor B to do?? 1…Bxf2+! 2.Kh2 (2.Bxf2 Qxd2) 2…Qxe1 won B+Pawn and the game.

Smeets - McShane London 2009

1.Rfxf6+! proves the Rf8 was overworked by removing one defender of d8 and deflecting the other.

Shumov - Von Jaenisch Russia 1849

The WQ is overworked, but can you see the right 1.5 power moves to take advantage? The wrong answer: 1…Qxe4+?? 2.Qxe4 Rxe4 3.Rxa1 and White holds on; correct is 1…Qxf1+! 2.Qxf1 Rxf1 (if 3.Bxc6 Ree1).

Radfar - Kargl Vienna 2008

The poor black g-pawn has too much homework! How does Black expect him to guard the Rh6, and prevent the family fork 1.Nf6+!? (but not 1.Qxh6?? Qd6+!)?

Anderssen - Winawer Baden Baden 1870

White’s queen is too busy! She has to stop a killer check on f2 and guard the rook. Make her drop the ball: 1…Bxf2+! 2.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 3.Kxf2 Kxe8 etc.

Kozul - Van der Wiel Bugojno tt 1999

Two R’s against a naked king are big trouble! White uses a skewer combo to overwork the BQ: 1.Rh8+ Kf7 2.R4h7+! Kf6 3.Rxe8. The queen says, ‘I can’t guard both R’s – I need a vacation!’

Lorenz - Schieck Chemnitz 1998

White avoids the hook-up defense 1.Rxf8+ Nxf8! and overworks the BK with 1.Qxh7+! Qxh7 2.Rxf8+! Kxf8 3.Rxh7, winning a N.

Bernadsky - Inants Chervonograd 2008

Black’s lady looks awfully worried, defending mate on e8 and the Bd4. Black has a surprise defense, but White’s trick is better: 1.Rxe8+! Not 1.Rxd4?? Rxe 1+!, solving his problems. 1…Rxe8 On 1…Qxe8 the Rd8 is overworked: 2.Qxe8+ Rxe8 3.Rxd4 Re1+ 4.Bf1. Now Black meets 2.Rxd4?? with 2…Re1+! 3.Bf1 Qxd4, but a power move interference shot cuts off the B’s protection: 2.Bd5+! Kh8 (2…Qxd5? 3.Qxe8+ wins)

Black should throw in the towel, as you say on earth. 3.Rxd4 1-0

Nakamura - Ponomariov San Sebastian 2009

We could call this a deflection sac or overworked BK, so you decide! 1.Bxe6+! wins the exchange plus a Pawn. The B skewer forces 1…Kxe6 2.Qxg8+, but Black resigned instead.

L. Paulsen - Schwarz Vienna 1882

White uses another power move skewer to overwork the BQ: 1.Be3! Qc7 2.Bxb6 Qxb6 3.Qxc8+ 1-0

Mackenzie - Schwarz Vienna 1882

Poor Schwarz gave his Q too many jobs again! A strong Scottish dinosaur used a fork to take advantage: 1.Nf5! Qe6 2.Nxf7+ Qxf7 3.Nxd6

We close with a few examples of how a queening threat causes a piece to say, ‘I have too much work to do!’

Ciuksyte - Safarli Internet Blitz 2008

1…Bxa5! forced resignation because the pawn can’t be stopped after 2.Bxa5 h2.

Von Jaenisch - Petrov St. Petersburg 1844

The d7-pawn is itching to promote, but l.d8Q+? Rxd8 is premature. First White deflects or takes the key defender: 1.Bxf4+! If 1…Bxf4 2.d8Q+ mates, 1…Ka8 2.Bxg5 makes a queen, and 1… Ne5 2.Bxe5+ Rxe5 3.Qxe5+ wins the BQ. A nice try for Black is 1…Qxf4, but 2.Rxf4 e2 3.Re1 wins.

Bokuchava - Tal Poti 1970

What power a Pawn has when close to queening! A quick count shows the Be5 is defended and attacks Black’s queen, but Tal ignores it with the power move 1…f2!, winning! The threat to queen on f1 or e1 diverts either the Q or R from defending the Be5, while if 2.Bxc7 Rxe1#.

The Overworked Piece-Material Gain: Exercises

Give the WQ too much to do.

A sneaky pin and ed Pawn are the keys!

The Overworked Piece-Material Gain: Solutions

Löwenthal - Williams London 1851

1…Rxf7! nabs the B due to 2.Qxf7 Qxe1+.

Taubenhaus - L. Paulsen Frankfurt 1887

1.Qg6+! Did your board sight notice g6 isn’t defended by the pinned R? 1… Kg8 (forced to hold the R) 2.Rxg7+ Qxg7 3.e8Q+! wins the B.

The Overworked Piece-Material Gain: Exercises

A classic overworked BQ

How much can one knight defend?

The Overworked Piece-Material Gain: Solutions

Suetin - Savon Yerevan 1962

1.Rxc8! Qxc8 2.Qxe2 wins a N, so Black gave up.

Naiditsch - L’Ami Wijk aan Zee B 2010

The poor N has to stop mate and prevent White from queening! He can’t do both for long: 1.e8Q! Nxe8 2.Qxb5#

Congratulations! You’ve now learned all of the most critical master tactics! to have fun, play often, use good sportsmanship, and always try to look 1.5 power moves ahead! Soon you’ll be finding some great winning combinations.

Chess

Attack When a piece is threatened by capture or a king is threatened by checkmate.

Back rank The first rank (for White) or the eighth rank (for Black) on the board.

Blitz game Quick game in which each player gets five minutes (or less) for all his moves.

Board sight The ability to mentally envision where the pieces are, and what they can do, at each step of a calculation.

Capture When a piece is removed by an enemy piece, which takes the place of the captured piece.

Castling A move by king and rook that serves to bring the king into safety and to activate

the rook. The king is moved sideways two squares from its original square. At the same time, a rook moves from its original square to the first square on the other side of the king. Castling can take place either to the queenside or to the kingside. It is the only way of moving two pieces in one turn. A player may only castle if both the king and rook have not moved before, his king is not in check, and his king does not a square on which it will be in check.

White castles kingside

White castles queenside

Check When a king is under direct attack by an opposing piece. A check can be countered either by moving the king, or by capturing the piece that gives the check, or by placing a piece between the king and the piece that gives check.

Checkmate When a king is under direct attack by an opposing piece and there is no way to deal with the threat.

Combination A clever and more or less forced sequence of moves which usually results in an advantage for the player who starts the sequence.

Cover When a piece or a square is protected from attacks; as soon as an enemy piece captures the covered piece or occupies the covered square, it is (re) captured by the covering piece. Also: Protect.

Deflection When a piece is lured away from an important square, file, rank or diagonal.

Diagonal A line of squares running from top left to bottom right or the other way round (e.g. ‘the a1-h8 diagonal’, ‘the light-squared diagonal’).

Direct attack (or Direct threat) A threat to capture an enemy piece or give checkmate next move, if the opponent does not stop it. The first move of a ‘Takes Takes Bang!’ or ‘Check Moves Bang” combination always makes at least one direct attack, and often two!

Double attack When one piece is attacked by two enemy pieces at the same time, or when one piece attacks two enemy pieces at the same time (for the latter, see also Fork).

Doubled/tripled pawns Two/three pawns of one color on the same file.

Endgame/Ending The final phase of the game when few pieces are left on the board.

En ant When a pawn which has just moved forward two squares from its original square, is captured by an enemy pawn standing immediately beside it. This capturing pawn then occupies the square behind the captured pawn.

White captures the d5-pawn en ant

Exchange When both sides capture pieces that are of equal value. Synonyms are ‘trading’ or ‘swapping’ pieces. ‘Winning the exchange’ means winning a rook for a bishop or knight, a twopoint advantage.

Exposed king A king unprotected by its own pieces and, especially, its own pawns.

File A line of squares from the top to the bottom of the board (e.g. ‘the e-file’).

Forcing move A move that limits the opponent’s options by making a concrete threat, such as mate or gain of material.

Fork Attacking two or more enemy pieces simultaneously with the same piece.

Hook-up move A move or combination which wins material by taking an enemy piece, while also defending a key piece to escape recapture.

Kingside The board half on the white player’s right (i.e. the e-, f-, g- and h-files).

Major piece A queen or a rook.

Mate See Checkmate.

Mating net A situation where a king is attacked by enemy pieces and in the end cannot escape the mate threat.

Middlegame The phase of the game that follows after the opening and comes before the endgame.

Minor piece

A bishop or a knight.

Open file A vertical file that isn’t blocked by one’s own pawns, usually a great place to post the rooks.

Opening The starting phase of the game.

Perpetual (check) An unstoppable series of checks that neither player can avoid without risking a loss. This means that the game ends in a draw.

Piece All chessmen apart from the pawns. In this book, mostly queen, rook, bishop and knight are meant, since many tactical motifs (sacrifices, for instance) cannot be carried out by a king.

Pin Attack on a piece that cannot move away without exposing a more valuable piece behind it. Pins take place on a rank, file or diagonal.

Queenside

The board half on the white player’s left (i.e. the a-, b-, c- and d-files).

Rank A line of squares running from side to side (e.g. ‘the third rank’).

Sacrifice When material is deliberately given up for other gains.

Skewer When a piece attacks two enemy pieces that stand on the same rank, file or diagonal, and the piece in front is forced to move, exposing the one behind it to capture.

Square One of the 64 sections on the chess board that can be occupied by a pawn, piece or king.

Stalemate When a player who is not in check has no legal move and it is his turn. This means that the game ends in a draw.

Black is stalemated

About the Author

American FIDE Chess Master Charles Hertan has been teaching chess to kids of all ages for more than three decades. He believes that kids’ great enthusiasm and capacity for learning should be encouraged in every way possible, using humor, a personable style, and top-notch instruction that respects children’s innate ability to appreciate the artistic beauty of chess. In addition to Power Chess for Kids, Volumes One and Two, Mr. Hertan authored the adult chess tactics book Forcing Chess Moves, winner of the prestigious Chess Café Book of the Year Award for 2008. He contributed a chapter to The Chess Instructor 2009, a compendium for chess teachers, coaches and parents, and was a regular columnist for New In Chess Magazine and Chess Horizons. Hertan also produced and edited a poetry book, Dream Catcher: Selected Poems by Lynn Kernan (2006). He lives with his wife, Rhonda, in Northampton, Massachusetts, and welcomes at [email protected]. or via the facebook page Power Chess for Kids.

Index of Players The numbers refer to pages.

A Aemi 71 Alapin 88, 119 Alterman 77 Anand 76, 117 Anderssen 27, 29, 64, 94, 112, 122, 130, 141 Andersson 48, 68 Arnold,M 133 Aronian 76 Ashwini 116 Astengo 69

B Balogh 66 Bannik 46 Bareev 53

Barnes 128 Basanta 28 Batory 68 Bauer,C 98 Becker 138 Belov 126 Benjamin 133 Bernadsky 142 Berndt 105 Bird 82, 118 Blackburne 43, 84, 108, 114, 132, 139 Bokuchava 144 Bologan 64 Book 76 Booth 100 Bronstein 106 Bu Xiangzhi 35 Burden,F 60 Burn 90

C

Calvi 42 Carlhammar 51 Carlsen 34, 80, 88-89, 108 Charbonneau 88 Chernobay 89 Chia,A 52 Christensen,K 56 Christiansen 139 Ciuksyte 143 Clemens 34 Cochrane 47, 54, 58, 90, 95, 97, 131 Computer 17 Corti 105 Cummings 28 Cunningham 128 Czarnowski 79

D Daly 34 De Riviere 124 De Vere 46, 124

Deacon 51 Decka 114 Deep Fritz 19 Delgado Ramirez 125 Deüs 42 Dreev 116 Dufresne 122 Duras 70 D’Andre 104, 115, 124

E Edouard 99 Ehrke 106 Eichborn 112 Eingorn 123 Elsness 109 Englisch 118, 125

F Faber 97

Falkbeer 27 Federau 105 Fischer 39, 48, 80, 87 Fleissig 139 Foisor 52 Fokin 93 Fontaine 34 Fressinet 88 Fridjonsson 78

G Garagatagli 7 Gheorghiu 132 Ghitescu 39 Ginting 40 Giri 74 Gleizerov 93 Globus 96 Gockner 29 Golubovic 79 Goodman 78

Gretarsson 78 Grischuk 126 Gross 96 Gunina 130 Göring 64

H Hammer 51 Harmonist 115, 120 Harrwitz 95, 122, 130 Hartston 68 Heinemann 102 Hernandez Carmenates 116, 125 Hertan 17, 24, 26, 53, 77 Hoang Thanh Trang 14 Holen 121 Hook 65 Horwitz 86-87, 122 Hovde 121 Hulse 97 Hunt 106

I Iliushin 72 Inants 67, 142 Ionov 135 Ipatov 99 i-phone 26

J Jackova 114 Jain 58 Janowski 11, 82 Ju Wenjun 44 Jugelt 42, 106 Jänig 43

K Kamsky 108 Karavade 130 Kargl 140

Karpov 62 Kasimdzhanov 120 Kasparov 38, 53, 80, 86, 89, 112, 128, 132 Kennedy 15 Kerr,B 107 Khasdan 55 Kholmov 32 Kiefer 104 Kieseritzky 30, 42 Klavins 52 Klovans 49 Kolisch 46, 115 Kortchnoi 98 Kosintseva,N 134 Kovanova 134 Kozlov,G 89 Kozul 141 Kramnik 19 Kristjansson 52 Kuh 69 Kummer 33

Kurajica 77 Kvicala 28 Kopke 48

L L’Ami 148 Larsen 38 Leko 92, 120 Levin 136 Li Chao 35 Li Shilong 44 Linhart 49 Lorenz 141 Loyd 79, 104, 124 Luige 104 Lupor 86 Lutz 89 Löwenthal 146

M

MacDonnell 108 Mackenzie 82, 143 Mahescandra 47, 54, 58, 90, 95, 131 Mamedov 12 Marco 38 Maroczy 66, 82 Martinez Ramirez 7 Mas 40 Mason 38 McShane 140 Mchedlishvili 32 Meijers 79 Melnichenko 67 Mieses 43, 88, 120 Minasian 72 Miton 50, 88 Mons 86 Morawietz 11 Morozevich 64 Morphy 51 Movsesian 135

Müller 11

N NN 28, 60, 63, 107 Naiditsch 30, 148 Najdorf 57 Nakamura 62, 65, 142 Naumann 10 Neumann 99 Niesslbeck 69 Nijboer 89 Nikitin 128 Ning Chunhong 44 Norf 26 Nunn 70 Nyberg 66

O Onischuk 30 Oosterman 56

Ovod 119 O’Kelly de Galway 76

P Parpieva 58 Paulsen,L 44, 84, 132, 143, 146 Paulsen, W 114 Pedersen 102 Petrov 144 Plaskett 70 Podolchenko 32 Poliak 52 Ponomariov 142 Prusikin 48

R Radfar 140 Radjabov 62 Rasch 71 Raznikov 12

Reefschläger 43, 69 Rellstab 63 Reshevsky 87 Ries 10 Rizvonov 112 Rodshtein 21 Rosenthal 29, 44, 60 Rousseau 40 Rubinstein 118 Réti 35

S Sadilek 138 Safarli 143 Salem 109 Samsonkin 65 Sanden 66 Sarratt 107 Sasikiran 64 Savon 148 Schallopp 90, 94

Schieck 141 Schmidt,H 33 Schulte 92 Schulten 30, 93, 99 Schut 78 Schwarz 143 Shakarov 128 Sherwin 121 Shivacheva 116 Shocron 80 Shumov 140 Simonen 102 Sirotkina 119 Skembris 123 Skipworth 125 Smeets 140 So 74 Song 77 Sosa Raddi 105 Spielmann 70 Stahlberg 57

Stanley 40, 93 Staunton 86-87, 97 Steinitz 60, 84, 106 Stojic 109 Stripunsky 139 Suetin 148 Svidler 92 Szen 95

T Taimanov 32 Tal 46, 134, 136, 144 Tan Zhongyi 14, 50 Tarrasch 119 Tartakower 35 Tate 74 Taubenhaus 146 Teichmann 56 Thomas 74 Tiviakov 50 Topalov 62, 117

Tregubov 64 Trisic 102 Tuncer 92 Turunen 71

U Ussakovsky 55

V Vaganian 134 Van Tilbury 65 Van der Wiel 141 Vergani 56 Von Jaenisch 140, 144 Von Minckwitz 115 Voon 100 Vujacic 71

W Wagner,S 29

Walbrodt 11 Wang Hao 44 Ware 84 Webb 52 Weindl 21 Wigmore 53 Williams 146 Winawer 141 Wolf 49 Wurzenberger 138 Wyvill 15

X Xu Tong 50

Y Yakovich 24 Yates 118, 138 Yermolinsky 86 Yi Liu 109

Yildiz 68

Z Zakharov 49 Zalys 121 Zort 26 Zuhao Luke Li 107 Zukertort 106