Student: I never know when to stay with a plan or when to change it.
Teacher: The ideal is to think ahead but to be flexible at the same time: You might have to modify your design. After all, if your planned objective is to do one thing, and suddenly your opponent alters the character of the position, allowing you to do something else that’s more suitable, your situation should be supple enough so that you can switch gears appropriately. Don’t be afraid to change your mind if you see a better idea or suddenly realize that you’ve committed yourself to the wrong campaign. At the same time, be sure there are justifiable reasons for changing your mind. If you want to win, don’t change on a whim.
1. Stay with a plan, unless you suddenly shouldn’t.
2. No plan is set in stone.
3. Even a bad plan can be better than no plan at all.
4. Small plans can lead to big results.
5. Be willing to change your plan if you can see through your opponent’s.
Student: But I’m not yet able to look far ahead.
Teacher: You needn’t strive to look very far ahead at first. A move or two will usually suffice to get you going until you get better at it. In fact, in most cases, we’re just looking ahead a tad to see the consequences of our moves and how we’re going to respond. As I mentioned during an earlier lesson, you should try to see at least three half moves ahead. A half move is a move for White or Black; a full move is a move for both White and Black together. This means, in considering your next move, you should also try to consider your opponent’s likely reply, as well as your best response to that. Here’s the rule of the three: Try to see your move, then your opponent’s move, then your move.
Student: Now, let’s talk turkey.
Teacher: In addition to being up the exchange, White also has an extra pawn. Specifically, it’s a passed pawn at c2. The further the contest heads toward a nuts-and-bolts endgame, the more important this passed pawn will become.
Student: Could you go over that passed pawn stuff again?
Teacher: A passed pawn is a pawn that’s free to move up the board toward promotion without an enemy pawn being able to stop its movement—that is, no enemy pawn can block it or guard a square in its path. A passed pawn is generally advantageous because it can produce a new queen. A pawn becomes passed when it actually passes beyond the capturing ability of the enemy pawns that might stop its advance, or when those enemy pawns are exchanged off or lured away. Passed pawns can be (1) ordinary, (2) outside, (3) protected, (4) connected, or (5) split.
Student: What is an outside passed pawn?
Diagram 328. Black wins by advancing his outside passed pawn.
Teacher: I thought you might ask that. An outside passed pawn is one that’s positioned away from the main theater of pawns, free to move toward promotion. Threatening to become a new queen, it’s typically used to decoy the enemy king to one side of the board, allowing the friendly king to invade on the other wing. The term often applies to endgames when each side has a passed pawn. The pawn “outside,” or farthest away, confers advantage. It can often be sacrificed for greater gain elsewhere. So in diagram 328, Black to play wins by advancing his outside passed pawn, 1 … a2. White deals with that, 2. Kb2 a1/Q+ 3. Kxal, but then Black eats White’s own passed pawn, 3 … Kxc3 (diagram 329), and soon gobbles the remaining White pawns. He’ll queen one of his own pawns shortly thereafter.
Diagram 329. After the winning line 1 … a2 2. Kb2 a1/Q+ 3. Kxal Kxc3.
Student: I can see how from the position of diagram 329 Black’s king is then going to clean out White’s remaining pawns. What about a protected passed pawn? What’s that?
Teacher: I thought you might ask that, too. Also known as a supported passed pawn, this is a passed pawn guarded by another pawn. A piece, whether knight, bishop, rook, or queen, can’t capture the protected passed pawn without surrendering material, for it could then be recaptured by the protecting pawn.
Student: What’s so good about it?
Teacher: The chief advantage of a protected passed pawn is that it frees friendly pieces from defensive chores and encourages them to pursue attack. They don’t have to be tied down defending what’s already solidly guarded by another pawn. In king-and-pawn endings particularly, a protected passed pawn restricts the defending king to a localized area. If the king wanders too far, say by capturing the back pawn—that is, the one that guards the lead passed pawn—the king might not be able to return in time to catch the lead pawn before it queens.
Student: Could you show an example?
Diagram 330. Black’s protected passed pawn at f3 insures the win.
Teacher: Consider diagram 330. It’s Black’s turn, though Black wins no matter who moves. The winning technique is simple: Black’s king moves over to the a-pawn, wins it, and then comes back to the kingside to assist his own pawns in eventually producing a new queen. We’re not going to run through all the reasonable variations, but I’m going to show you a sample one to provide you with a feel for what I’m talking about. I’m also going to give the moves without commentary. Just trust me when I say that both sides are making good moves. There are quite a number of them, but this way you can get some practice playing longer variations out on a board. As a test, see if what you play winds up looking exactly like diagram 331. Make sure to play out this test variation on your analysis board, not on your actual game board: 1 … Kc4 2. Ke3 Kb4 3. a5 Kxa5 4. Kf2 Kb4 5. Ke3 Kc3 6. Kf2 Kd3 7. Kf1 f2 8. Kxf2 Kd2 9. Kf1 Ke3 10. Kg2 Ke2 11. Kg1 Kf3 12. Kh2 Kf2 13. Kh1 Kxg3 14. Kg1 Kh3 15. Kh1 g3 16. Kg1 g2 17. Kf2 Kh2 18. Ke2 g1/Q (diagram 331). Note that at move 4 the White king was unable to attack Black’s g-pawn with 4. Kf4 because that would have allowed the Black f-pawn to queen in two moves.
Diagram 331. After a test variation of eighteen moves ending in promotion.
Student: I’ll save the test for later, if you don’t mind, because something else is on my mind just now. Can you explain connected passed pawns?
Teacher: Connected passed pawns, also called united passed pawns, are two pawns on adjacent files that are both passed, so no enemy pawn can block them or guard squares in their path. Such pawns are free to advance toward promotion, assuming no enemy pieces can hinder them. They are particularly resilient if attacked, for they can defend each other: Whichever pawn advances is guarded by the pawn remaining a square behind.
Student: These sound really cool.
Teacher: You bet. Connected passed pawns can be extremely strong. When two of them occupy their sixth rank and confront a lone enemy rook, for example, unless there are immediate saving tactics or the defending king is close enough to lend a hand, the pawns are unstoppable. Attacked along the rank, either pawn can advance, threatening to make a new queen and effectively preventing the capture of the other. In diagram 332, at least one of Black’s connected passed pawns will queen for sure, no matter who goes first.
Diagram 332. Black’s center pawns are unstoppable. One of them will queen for sure.
Student: Could you show another test variation for me to play out later? You don’t have to explain all the side moves.
Teacher: Sure. This time, let’s have White go first. A possible line for your analysis board might go: 1. Rh3 e2 2. Re3 d2 3. Rxe2 d1/Q (diagram 333), and Black’s queen and pawn will eventually beat White’s plain old rook.
Diagram 333. After White’s rook fails to cope with the pawns.
Student: It’s amazing how helpless the rook was against those particular connected pawns. I might as well finish out your list. What are split passed pawns?
Teacher: Split passed pawns are two passed pawns of the same color, separated from each other by at least one file. Neither split pawn can be defended by a pawn and therefore both might be vulnerable to piece attack. In guarding them, friendly pieces may be forced to assume passive, defensive roles, losing scope and flagging into general inactivity.
Student: Are split pawns always a liability?
Teacher: Sometimes split pawns are more a weapon
than a weakness, especially in pure pawn endings that do not include the presence of queens, rooks, bishops, or knights on the board. If both pawns are passed, and also within the enemy king’s ambit, they can defend themselves by timely advances. As the opposing king attacks one of the pawns, the other can advance. If the attacked pawn is then captured, the other pawn advances unstoppably toward promotion. Diagram 334 provides an example.
Diagram 334. Black to move; The split pawns can safeguard each other after 1 … a3.
Student: So those are split pawns. Why can’t White’s king simply capture the c-pawn and then catch Black’s a-pawn?
Teacher: Because it’s not White’s move to start with. After Black continues with the push 1 … a3, White’s king can’t take the c-pawn and still get back in time to catch the a-pawn. A concluding line might go: 2. Kc2 Kc6 3. Kb1 c3 4. Ka2 c2 5. Kxa3 c1/Q+ (diagram 335).
Diagram 335. After Black’s c-pawn promotes.
Student: Okay. I’ll look at all those specific variations later. But for now, could you just furnish me with some kind of endgame overview or something?
Teacher: Endgame theory is based on the conversion of an extra pawn into a win. Surely there are other factors that apply, such as basic mates, strengths and weaknesses of pieces, time, and so on.
Student: In some endgames we start off ahead by more than a pawn.
Teacher: Of course, in numerous theoretical and practical endgames, one side may have a material advantage greater than a single pawn. But the core of endgame theory has to be the methods and techniques for creating a passed pawn and advancing it to the promotion square, either to make a new queen or to force the defender into sacrificing a piece to stop the promotion. The extra piece should lead to a quick mate, win more enemy material, or help promote yet another pawn that will lead to mate. And if it doesn’t result in any of this, well, there’s always next game.
Student: Somewhere I’ve heard that unmoved pawns are considered strong in the endgame. Why is that?
Teacher: First of all, that’s not always true. But sometimes unmoved pawns are easier to defend and, having remained on their original squares, have created no pawn weaknesses. But the chief value of an unmoved pawn is that it’s still capable of moving either one or two squares, which can be a critical option at the right moment. On occasion, it can be desirable to take longer to do something, so that the other side must then respond in a way that commits to a losing strategy. By having to make a move, the other player loses because he must reveal his intentions or because he must move away from his true objective. In our game, White has a pawn majority on the queenside.
Student: Slow down, please. Could you once again say something about the pawn majority?
Teacher: As the name implies, a pawn majority is a numerically superior group of pawns. You have a pawn majority if, over any consecutive group of files, you have more pawns than your opponent does.
Student: Could you give an example?
Teacher: For instance, in diagram 336, White has a healthy queenside pawn majority. With sound play it can produce a passed pawn on the d-file. Meanwhile, Black’s kingside pawn majority is unable to produce a passed pawn because of the doubled f-pawns. So it’s as if White’s up a pawn, even though in actuality he’s not.
Student: When is a pawn majority considered healthy?
Teacher: A pawn majority is healthy if it consists of no doubled or backward pawns and can therefore produce a passed pawn. If one of the pawns in your majority is doubled, the value of your pawn majority is lessened because a single enemy pawn may be able to hold back your doubleton, which then functions as if it were one pawn. If your opponent has a healthy majority elsewhere on the board, even though the position might be materially even, you could be, in effect, a pawn down.
Student: Let’s say I wind up with a passed pawn as a result of correctly advancing my pawn majority. Then what?
Teacher: Once a healthy pawn majority produces a passed pawn, the pawn should be advanced, or prepared for advance, with the eventual threat of promoting. This is possible because no enemy pawn can block the passed pawn’s advance or guard a square over which it must pass. Since no enemy pawn can stop your passed pawn, the enemy pieces will have to do the job, which forces them to assume defensive roles. This should increase the power and possibilities of your own pieces, which may be able to pursue their own plans unimpeded. If only kings and pawns remain, a passed pawn can signify an even greater advantage. It can be used to lure away the enemy king, so that other important individual pawns or groups of pawns might become totally indefensible to your marauding king. Such a passed pawn is known as a decoy.
Diagram 336. White’s queenside pawn majority is healthy. Black’s kingside pawn majority is ineffective.
Student: A decoy. I like that. So how should one best mobilize a pawn majority?
Teacher: Start the mobilization by advancing the unopposed pawn first, a technique classified as Capablanca’s Rule, after Jose Raul Capablanca, the third champion of the world (1921-27). He emphasized this principle in several of his books. The unopposed pawn, also known as the candidate passed pawn or even simply the candidate, has no enemy pawn occupying its file.
Student: Could you show me a concrete example?
Diagram 337. Black wins by advancing the unopposed pawn first, 1 … b5.
Teacher: Black wins in diagram 337 by advancing the b-pawn first, 1 … b5, adhering to Capablanca’s Rule. A possible conclusion might then be: 2. Kd7 a5 3. Kc6 b4 4. axb4 axb4 5. Kc6 b3 6. Kc5 b2 7. Kc4 b1/Q (diagram 338), and surely Black will win.
Diagram 338. After Black has made a queen.
Student: Would it be unwise for Black to instead push the a-pawn first, 1 … a5 (diagram 339)?
Diagram 339. After the erroneous advance 1 … a5.
Teacher: Absolutely. After 1 … a5, White can stop Black in his tracks with 2. a4 (diagram 340), and Black’s queenside pawns aren’t going anywhere in particular after that.
Diagram 340. After 1 … a5 2. a4, stopping Black’s queenside pawns.
Student: What about if Black then sacrifices his b-pawn to create a passed pawn? Could you provide me with a sample variation to check out later?
Teacher: Sure. One possible conclusion might then be: 2 … b5 3. axb5 a4 4. b6 a3 5. b7 a2 6. b8/Q+ (diagram 341). Can you handle it from there?
Diagram 341. After White queens with check.
Student: I sure hope so! Since we’ve been talking about pawn majorities, is there anything I should know concerning how they usually arise?
Teacher: Pawn majorities are created either by exchanging or by sacrifice. Kingside/queenside majorities often result when one player captures away from the center, which may give the opponent a majority on the other side of the board. This explains why, in many cases, you should take back toward the center even though doing so isolates a rook-pawn. Capturing toward the center may prevent your opponent from obtaining a workable pawn majority and a treacherous passed pawn.
Student: One last thing, for now: The endgame seems to rely a lot on king usage. Why should I seclude my king in the opening but activate it in the endgame?
Teacher: Okay. I’m happy to go over this again in greater detail. In the opening, you usually have to castle to get your king behind a wall of pawns, just for safety. If not, your king might be subjected to a fierce assault from numerous enemy attackers, since the center is likely to be open or may suddenly become so. But in the endgame, many of the enemy pieces—especially the queen—have been exchanged off the board, and the chance that a quick mating attack will sink your king is greatly reduced. Thus the benefits of using your king for attack and defense tend to outweigh the accompanying risk, so it generally makes sense to bring it back to civilization.
Student: I guess this means that we have to question absolute thinking, that what doesn’t work under one set of circumstances might work admirably under another.
Teacher: Absolutely. I think you’ve got the chessic picture.
Student: That depends.
Teacher: On what?
Student: Our final lesson, of course.
LESSON 16
THE SEVENTH RANK, INVASION, AND SIMPLIFICATION
Teacher: I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it never hurts to repeat a principle, so long as you don’t become enslaved to it. The correct strategy when ahead in material is to trade off pieces, accentuating your advantage and making it harder for the enemy to offset your extra force. It’s also important to take note of what the difference in force really is.
Student: If you should have an advantage, as White does in this game, of a rook and a pawn for a minor piece, how should you generally proceed?
Teacher: You should use any greater mobility you may have gained to attack and force your opponent to play defensively. Keep up the pressure, eke out as much as you can from the position, and at the right moment, if you can’t really make further progress, be willing to sacrifice your rook for the minor piece to simplify to a winning endgame. The trade-down usually works if in the process you win a pawn, which can then be made into a new queen.
Student: Here, White is already up a pawn.
Diagram 342. After 18 … Rxa8.
Teacher: Exactly. So winning another pawn would put him up two pawns, and two is much greater than one. To best feel the effects of being up the exchange, it would make sense to exchange a pair of rooks, leaving Black only his bishops. White’s remaining rook would then have no counterbalancing force.
Student: Other than the possibility of driving away Black’s light-square bishop by a move like h3, what are the targets White should be shooting for?
Pandolfini’s Ultimate Guide to Chess Page 20
