Homeschool Chess Lesson: Week of Sept 28 – Oct 2, 2009

Welcome back everybody.  Our previous lesson was “the value of the pieces”.  Building on that lesson, this week we look at

• What to do when you’re ahead in the point count
• What to do when you’re behind

When you’re ahead (winning)

Two things to remember when you’re ahead:

1. trade pieces as much as you can;
2. then mop up what’s left of your opponent’s pieces and pawns.

It’s easier to win the game if you get rid of your opponent’s resistance first.  So that means trade off pieces.  Here’s an illustration:

Diagram 1. White to move

Diagram 1 is an easy win for White. All of Black’s army is gone.  White is 3 pawns ahead.  Black can only wiggle around with his king while White pushes his pawns down the board to become queens.  Black is helpless.

Diagram 2. White to move

In diagram 2, White is ahead by the same 3 pawns but it’ll take more work to win.  Black has a fighting chance to salvage a draw, if White gets careless and lets Black pick off one or two of White’s pawns.  If you have the White pieces in this position, you want to trade off the bishops if possible.  That will eliminate Black’s strongest defender.  Then you can move in with your king, pick off Black’s pawns, and it’ll be easy like Diagram 1 was.

Diagram 3. White to move

There’s even more stuff on the board in Diagram 3.   White is still ahead by the same 3 pawns, but Black can put up a lot of resistance with two bishops and a rook.  Playing White, you want to simplify and trade pieces to make the win easier.  Since your knight is already attacking Black’s bishop on c6, and knights are equal to bishops in point value (both are worth 3 points – did you remember that?) you can start by taking that bishop with check:  1. Nxc6+.  Black will recapture with the pawn, 1. … bxc6.  And then you can force a trade of rooks by bringing your rook over to give check (2. Re1+).  After Black moves his king away (2. … Kd7) you can trade rooks (3. Rxe8 Kxe8) and you’ve made it look a lot like Diagram 2.  Find a way to trade off the last bishop and the rest will be a piece of cake.

So remember:  when you’re ahead, trade off pieces.  It makes winning easier when your opponent has fewer pieces to play with.

To use another basketball analogy, a 2-on-1 fast break is easier to convert than a 3-on-2 fast break.  And an uncontested layup (1-on-0) is the easiest of all.  When you’re winning in points, remember this.

When you’re behind (losing)

Nobody likes losing.  But hey, let’s be real.  Nobody can win all the time.  There will be times when you fall behind in points.  When this happens, don’t quit playing.  Keep fighting. You’ll be surprised how often your opponent gets lazy, or careless, and makes a mistake that lets you back in the game.

When you’re behind, you want to

• Avoid trading pieces if at all possible.
• Trade pawns instead.
• And look for ways to attack your opponent’s King (giving check).

The first rule makes sense — it’s just the opposite of what your opponent wants to do.  If your opponent offers a piece trade, try to avoid it.  Eventually you may have to trade, but you want to delay this as long as possible.  Resist!  If you show that you’re not going down without a fight, it may frustrate your opponent into making a mistake!  Trust me, it will pay off.

The second rule may seem weird.  Why would I want to trade pawns? The answer is because pawns can become queens.  If you can get rid of most or all of your opponent’s pawns, your opponent may not have enough material left to win.

Diagram 4. Black to move

In Diagram 4, it’s Black’s turn.  White is ahead by a full bishop.  But Black to move can immediately force a draw by pushing his pawn forward.  This forces a trade that gets rid of White’s last pawn.  White can’t avoid it … either he captures the pawn or Black will do it on the next move.  After the pawns are gone, the game immediately ends as a draw, because White doesn’t have enough material to win.  (You can’t checkmate with only a king and bishop.)

Our final position is a little more complicated but the same idea holds true.

Diagram 5. Black to move

You are playing the Black pieces against a much stronger player, and you’re behind by 4 points (a knight and a pawn).  Your opponent has just moved his Knight to b3, trying to trade off your bishop.  Should you move your bishop to avoid the trade?

Normally, avoiding the trade is a good idea since you’re behind.  But you should also look for chances to check the White king. If you move your rook to give check (1. … Rg8+) it puts your opponent in a difficult spot.  Either he moves his king forward (to h3) and you can keep checking him forever with the rook, back and forth between … Rh8+ and … Rg8+.  That will earn you a draw!  Or, if your opponent gets greedy or careless, he might make a huge mistake by playing his king backward to f1 or h1.  Why is that a mistake?

Highlight the next line with your mouse to reveal the answer:

>>>Because you would play 2. … Rg1 checkmate!

So, even if you’re behind, never give up!  As the famous Polish-French grandmaster Savielly Tartakower (1887-1956) once said, “Nobody ever won a game of chess by resigning.”

Until next time!

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