Conversation Guide for Chess Enthusiasts Crafted by Bernard Thornton; Chess Master General of the United States

Home , Deflection (chess), Endgame study

Chess is a combat board game that is best used as a learning utensil.

It facilitates us with opportunities to make pro-active as well as re-active decisions.

The motives for making these decisions are to gain an advantage, or to prevent the attainment of advantage, in the elements of space, time and material, and the attainment of advantage in terminal positions.

Strife over advantages in these elements require the exertion of either topologically, chronologically, materially and/or terminally combative efforts.

With space we are concerned with points, avenues, and areas of influence occupation, and contention.

With time we are concerned with these peculiarities or types: elapsing, relative, metabolic and metamorphic time.

With material we learn to sacrifice, decoy and deflect in efforts to gain advantage in time and access to, and occupation and control of space. We learn, too, that the movements of the pieces are based on the directions derived from the peculiarities of both the quadratic and diagonal cruciforms; the cross and the X. Relative or exchange values are based on these.

The three most encountered terms in chess literature: Tactics; Induced circumstances and combative effects that facilitate the immediate attainment of advantage: opening tactic, middlegame tactic, endgame tactic.

Strategy; The eventual manifestation of effort and effect that obtain advantage in one or more of the elements: opening strategy, middlegame strategy, endgame strategy.

Combination; In an effort to obtain advantage we combine the peculiarities of one type of maneuver with those of another: Scheme of Maneuver.

The clearest meanings of these terms are developed by the repetitive study of orthodox chess problems and composed endgame studies. Historically they have been presented as enigmas. This has not been conducive to dividend yielding study. The solutions to these must be published along side (or juxtaposed with) the initial diagramed position.

These are the facets of combative pecularity that facilitate the attainment of advantage: Pin, fork, skewer, discovered assault, double assault, line opening, battery-play, line closing; interference (self and hostile) cross-check, discovered-check, double-check, decoy, deflection, self-block, self-pin, half-pin, line-pin, un-pin, zugzwang (relative, absolute, reciprocal) reversion of the initiative, the opposition. The fore-going peculiarities of combative effort are the means, motives, methods and mechanisms by which orthodox chess problems metamorphose. They make up the contents of problems. Orthodox chess problems are composed positions that exhibit multi-faceted examples of chess peculiarity. These peculiarities may be either terminal, facilitating, metamorphosing, perpetrating, defensive and/or culminating in character. This is also true for the composed endgame study which exhibits strategic examples of chess peculiarity. Their ,solutions should always be published next to their diagrams

We are fortunate to have the works of A. A. Troitzky. Study of the illuminative notes in his “Collection of Studies” yields the most dividends in the fastest possible manner. In them he makes many references to the peculiarities of the game’s elements of space, time and material. We, too, are fortunate to have the work of G. M. Kasparyan. His “Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies” is a book we can refer to when learning how the peculiarities of teams of pieces of varying types are best maneuvered against those of another. These two volumes are endgame studies of the artistic kind. They show how to convert advantages in space and time into those of material and checkmate.

The other type of endgame study book you need are those that illuminate the peculiarites of the Analytical Endgame Study. These show how to either strive for, or strategically manifest, advantages in the elements of space and time; sometimes converting them into material advantage, or equality in the terminal position. In these Kings and Pawns play active roles. Study of these yield ease of effort in the endgame. Peculiarities of the analytical endgame study are the main features in “Chess Studies 1851” by J. Kling and B. Horwitz. The only other work that I have about these are treated by Walter Korn in his “American Chess Art: 250 Portraits of Endgame Study”. History of the peculiarities of the composed endgame study is treated by A. J. Roycroft in his “The Chess Endgame Study: A Comprehensive Introduction”. In it we find that the modern history of the study began in the early 1800s, while the ancient history of this artform was started in a.d.950. So, too, did the ancient history of the composed chess problem begin; it’s modern history coinciding at the same time as that of the study. Modern history of the orthodox chess problem is adequately treated by Brian Harley in his “Mate In Two Moves; The Two-move Problem Made Easy”. It is also adequately treated in “The Enjoyment of Chess Problems” by K. S. Howard. These two works were completed in the 1930s and they show the development of the problem up until this point. Since then no notable work on this subject has been produced except the collection compiled by R. C. Moore in his “Two-Move Chess Problems”. He goes a long way in helping to develop an understanding chess peculiarity by having the solutions to his problems published adjacent to, or juxtaposed with, the diagramed positions. His only shortcoming is that the solutions are given in horizontal, line- or running type instead of vertically; in columns. The notes to them are superb and all positions are prize winners.

All of the circumstances, and all of the effects, that can be exhibited in chess problems are in John Rice’s “Chess Wizardry; the new ABC of Chess Problems”. It is an encyclopedic dictionary that exhibits and comments upon all that is peculiar to chess terms. All concepts and peculiarities are clearly defined. It elaborates and illuminates. Forks and skewers are prominent only in recorded games and composed endgame studies. They are inconcequentual in the problem world and are conspicuously absent from Rice’s work.

Masters hang no pieces. Masters sleep no moves. This is what we’re looking for when we study masterfully contested games of chess. The best to have are those collected in “500 Master Games of Chess” by S. G. Tartakower. The illuminative notes in this work yields more dividends, faster, than the peculiarities of other collections of recorded games. The companion to 500 master games is “Masters of the Chessboard” by R. Reti. In this work peculiarities of the opening are illuminated. We learn about the peculiarities of open, half-opened, semi-opened and closed centers. We need to familiarize ourselves with these because they affect the volition of a game’s play. By keeping the center closed we frustrate the efforts of those who like to play games where the center is opened.

Recorded and composed play make-up the three dimensions of chess’ existence. Orthodox chess problems, composed endgame studies and recorded games of chess manifest the scope, depth and range of our understanding of the game. Scope-problems; depth-studies; range-recorded games. These are the three dimensions of chess. We need collections of these in our chess library if we are to become masterful players.

The foundation of chess understanding has four corners. These are where our confidence develops.They are where our competence is manifested. Checkmate construction drills Checkmate maneuvering drills Pawn maneuvering drills Pawn-less maneuvering drills We can conduct these with ourselves or with others. Through these we develop a familiarity with the varying peculiarities of the elements of space, time and material By periodicly conducting checkmate construction and checkmate maneuvering drills we can readily develop into masterful chessplayers. This occurance is augmented by the contemporaneous conduction of both pawn maneuvering and pawn-less maneuvering drills. These form the four corners of the foundation of our understanding of how best to maneuver the pieces. The peculiarities of the game’s elements are more pronounced in these drills than in the early stages of a game. The capabilities and limitations of the pieces, and teams of pieces of varying types, are more pronounced in these drills than in the game. Checkmate is a situation where the defending King has no time to move to a space that is not influenced by opposing material. In conducting construction drills we have to determine, or otherwise ascertain, the square from which the checkmating piece came. We must work backwards, as the composers of posions do, from the checkmating move to the last defensive move; from where did the defending King come. Going backwards, still, we must determine from where did the next to last move come. And so on. In this way do we familiarize ourselves with the peculiarities of space, time and material. Like we do at the culmination of composed and recorded play we must dwell upon the peculiarities of our chekmate positions. Then, we must toy with the moves that lead-up to the final position. In this way do we become competent at concieving and synthesizing schemes of combative maneuver. During the conduction of mate maneuvering drills we begin to understand the peculiarities of the opposition, reversion of the iniative and the inducement of zugzwang circumstances. These are more prevailent in those drills envolving the minor pieces than those envolving the major pieces. In these drills we strive to confine the defending King to one part of the board and then to systematicly constrict the amount of space that it can be maneuvered within.

The other two corners of the foundation of our understanding of chess are the conduction of pawn maneuvering and pawn-less maneuvering drills. In these we sacrifice, decoy and deflect material in efforts to obtain influence, occupation and control of points, avenues and areas of space. This we do in efforts ro induce the withdrawl of defending influence on a particular point, avenue or area of contention. Here we learn how pawn structures influence the peculiarities of combative traffic, and how they affect the volition of a game’s play. Contemporary writers have called pawn structure and king safety elements. They are not. They are cosiderations and concerns; respectively. There is no such thing as advantage in pawn structure or advantage in king safety, only advantageous or inadvantageous circumstances of the two. In Pawn maneuvering drills the Kings become aggressing pieces; taking space away from the opposing King and hunting down opposing pieces. Add a minor piece or two to the pawn drill and we get experience maneuvering both with and against pawns. We familiarize ourselves with the capabilities and limitations of varying teams of pieces and pawns.

Through the conduction of pawn-less maneuvering drills we develop an appreciation for the existence of pawns. As we gain experience at making pro-active and re-active decisions; when conducting these drills, we will come to rely on the strategic, or eventually manifested peculiarities of combative efforts. The tactics that we employ when exerting these efforts are the game’s facets of combative peculiarity. Being thoroughly familiar with these helps us to improve our Success-To-Failure Ratio. In conclusion; we will also be readily enabled to descibe what occurred on the board that helped us to win a game. We, too, will also be readily enabled to desribe what occurred on the board that caused to us lose a game. Up until the creation of this work, these things were hard to do.

Remember!

Hindsight is 20/20.

Use it often.

Use it now.