Secrets to Help Your Chess Game
The mental development of the chess
player begins with a state of chaos and gradually struggles toward
to a clear conception of the game.
The period required for this development depends to a great extent
upon the special gifts of the learner but also on the methods used
to foster development.
Most beginners do not trouble themselves to follow any particular
plan in their study of chess. As soon as they learn the moves, they
rush into the fray of playing the game. It is evident that their
prospects cannot be very bright with this approach. A beginner
generally has too many plans, and his capacity to subordinate all
his combinations to following one leading idea is nonexistent.
Yet, upon investigation, it cannot be denied that a certain kind of
method is used in the play of all beginners and seems to come to
them naturally. For example, beginners push the pawns forward
frantically, because they can’t yet appreciate the power and value
of the pieces. Conscious of the inferiority of the pawns, the
beginner doesn’t understand that it would be advantageous to employ
the greater power of the pieces. Rather than develop his forces, he
is chiefly concerned with attacking the opposing pieces with his
pawns in the hope of capturing them. His aim is to weaken his
opponent.
The beginner’s combinations are made with the hope and expectation
that his opponent won’t see through them. He also doesn’t trouble
himself with trying to figure out his opponent's intentions. When
most of his pawns are gone, he expects his more powerful pieces to
get their chance to take the enemy. He is especially fond of the
queen and the knight, the former because of her great mobility, and
the latter because of his peculiar two-step, which seems well
adapted to take the enemy by surprise.
Watching beginners, you will frequently observe countless moves by a
peripatetic queen and reckless incursions by the knight into the
enemy camp. When the other pieces join in the fray, bewildering
combinations follow along with a fantastic mix of chaos. Captures of
pieces are eagerly planned and checkmating nets are tightly woven,
perhaps with two pieces against the king's position, where five
pieces are available for defense. This unevenness in the first
stages of development makes it very difficult for the beginner to
get an overview of the board, yet the surprises that each move bring
give him great enjoyment.
A few dozen games of this type are by no means wasted. After certain
moves have proven to be his undoing, the beginner will begin to
develop the ability to perceive threats. He will see danger one or
two moves ahead, and thereby reaches the second stage in his
development as a chess player.
His combinations will become increasingly sound. He will begin to
value his forces more appropriately and husband his pieces and even
his pawns with greater care. In this second stage, his strength will
increase steadily, but only regarding his power of combination.
Unless a player is exceptionally gifted, he will only learn what may
be termed “positional play” after years of practice, if at all.
Positional play means knowing how to open a game so as to lay the
foundation for a favorable middle game. Then it means knowing how to
treat a middle game without losing sight of the possibilities of the
end game. It is hopeless to memorize the many openings that analyses
have proven to be correct, for this empirical method fails as soon
as the opponent swerves from recognized lines of play. Recognizing
the characteristics of sound play must be learned. They apply to all
positions, and the underlying principles of the characteristics must
be propounded in a manner that is generally applicable. This brings
us to the substance of this article. But first, it’s important to
understand some elementary rules that will facilitate a discussion
of the simple combination that occurs at every step in the game of
chess.
If we ignore the fairly small number of games in which the
checkmating of the opponent's king is achieved on a full board, we
can describe an average game of chess in the following way. Both
sides will use their available forces as advantageously as possible
to execute attacking and defensive maneuvers that should gradually
lead to exchanges. If one side or the other emerges from the
conflict with sufficient gain, it will usually be possible to force
a checkmate in the end game. However, if both sides have succeeded
through careful moves to preserve equality, a draw will generally
occur.
Later it will be found that a single pawn, with some few exceptions,
will be able to achieve a victory. We shall adopt the leading
principle for all combinations: Loss of resources must be avoided,
even if only a pawn. It is a good habit to look upon every pawn as a
potential queen, as this has a sobering influence on premature or
impetuous plans of attack.
On the other hand, victory is often brought about by a timely
sacrifice of resources. In such cases, the gains are greater than
the sacrifice, and the sacrificing of resources is compensated by
some particular advantage of position. The principles of position
are difficult for the beginner to grasp, however, and it’s usually
best at this point to focus on combinations that involve questions
of materials or resources. The beginner should master a simple
device of elementary arithmetic that makes most combinations easy
for both attack and defense. If the beginner neglects mastering this
device, he will soon be at a material disadvantage.
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