Chess and Checkers: The Way to Mastership by Edward Lasker (debian ebook reader TXT) 📕

Q-g4, Q-b7; (14) P-f5, R-c4; (15) Q-g3, R-f4!. White cannot capture the Rook on account of Bxg2 mate. (16) P-f6, P-g6. There is now no defense against R-f2 which attacks g2 and b2 at the same time. (17) B-a2, R-f2; (18) Bxd5, Qxd5! and White resigns as he loses his Bishop on account of the mating threat.

It remains to examine typical middle-game maneuvers with the Queen and with the Pawns. Little is to be said about the Queen. On account of her tremendous mobility she is liable at any time to initiate a dangerous attack in conjunction with one or more of the other pieces, and most of the examples given for the typical Rook’s, Bishop’s and Knight’s maneuvers have also shown the methods by which the cooperation with the Queen can be effected. The main field of action for the Queen is the side on which the opponent has castled. In games, in which both players have castled on the same side of the board, and which, as stated previously, constitute the vast majority of cases it is dangerous to make excursions with the Queen to distant regions away from the King, as her retreat might be cut off, making impossible an adequate defense against an attack which the opponent might be able to initiate on the King’s side with the help of his own Queen.

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DIAGRAM 56.

In the position of Diagram 56 for instance, it would be very risky for White to take the Pawn a6. Black would play P-c4, cutting off the retreat of White’s Queen, and then start a violent attack with his Queen in conjunction with the two Bishops. Another example is the position of Diagram 57 which occurred in a game between Capablanca and Bernstein in the San Sebastian Tournament 1911. White played (1) Kt-e2 and Black, in view of the threatening accumulation of white pieces on the King’s wing, should not have risked to capture the Pawn a2, getting his Queen quite out of play.

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DIAGRAM 57

He underestimated the danger and lost the game very quickly. The attack developed as follows: (1) …, Qxa2; (2) Kte2-g3, Qxc2. In taking the second Pawn Black loses another move. He might have tried Q-a5, threatening to exchange Queens with Q-b6. But it is doubtful whether he would have been able to save the game. White would, of course, have avoided the exchange by playing his King into the corner. (3) R-c1, Q-b2; (4) Kt-h5; this prevents the Queen from getting back into play via f6. The threat is now R-c3, cutting Black’s Queen off from g7, and then Kth5xg7 and Qxh6. Black defends himself against this threat by (4) …, R-h8 with the intention to answer R-c3 with K-g8; but White’s position involves so many threats that Black cannot provide a satisfactory protection. (5) R-e2, Q-e5; (6) P-f4, Q-b5; (7) Ktf5xg7 ! and wins, as Ktxg7 is followed by (8) Kt-f6+, (9) Ktxd7 and (10) P-f5 or P-e5 with overwhelming attack.

The most difficult problem in the conduct of the middle-game is the timely maneuvering with the Pawns. Although it is impossible to give a general rule which will apply to all cases it is a good principle to avoid Pawn moves in the middle-game just as carefully as in the opening, at least in the early stages of the middle-game. In the opening the argument against Pawn moves was the time loss connected with them from the point of view of development. In the middle-game it is mainly the weakness created by the Pawn move on the squares which were protected by the Pawn before he advanced. A square may be termed “weak” if it can be safely occupied by men which help the opponent in his attack, and this is generally possible if the square in question cannot any longer be defended by a Pawn. The great danger involved in the occupation by hostile pieces of such weak squares is evident if they are situated near the King, and examples of how the attack develops in cases of this kind have been discussed in connection with Diagrams 48, 49, 50 and 52. It is less apparent why a Pawn move should create a weakness if a center-Pawn or a Pawn on the Queen’s wing is concerned. In the latter case, the possibility of deriving an advantage during the middle-game is rare, indeed; but the weakness produced by the Pawn moves invariably shows itself in the ending. In the position of Diagram 58 for instance, White wins on account of the weakness of the squares a6, c6, d5 and b5 from which his King can attack the Black Pawns as soon as the Queen and the Rook are exchanged. The following play may ensue: (1) R-e8, Rxe8; (2) Qxe8, Q-f8; (3) Qxf8 , Kxf8; (4) K-d3, K-e7; (5) K-c4, K-d7; (6) K-b5, K-c7; (7) K-a6, K-b8; (8) P-a4, K-a8; (9) P-a5, Pxa5; (10) Kxa5 and wins the c-Pawn. Or: (5) …, P-a6; (6) K-d5, K-d7.

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DIAGRAM 58.

For the time being Black has the opposition so that White’s King cannot advance any further; but White has so many more Pawn moves at his disposal than Black that the latter is soon forced to move his King allowing White to break in with his King at one or the other side. For instance: (7) P-a4, P-a5; (8) P-f4, P-f6; (9) P-g4, P-h6; (10) P-h3, P-g5; (11) P-f5; King moves, and White wins either the f-Pawn or the b-Pawn.

This example brings out another reason why it is advantageous to keep the Pawns of the wings back. In the ending positions frequently arise in which it is important to have some moves to spare in order to be able to maintain the opposition of Kings; and the player whose Pawns are farther back naturally has more spare moves.

A disadvantage which is liable to make itself felt in the middle game as well as in Rooks’ endings as a consequence of Pawn moves on the wing is the opening of an adjoining file for a hostile Rook, as illustrated by the play in the positions of Diagrams 50, 51 and 54. In the middle-game this is also true of certain Pawns, as for instance in the following position which arises after the opening moves (1) P-e4, P-e5; (2) Kt-f3, Kt-c6; (3) P-d4, Pxd4; (4) B-c4, Kt-f6; (5) o-o, B-e7. The proper continuation is (6) R-e1, protecting the center-Pawn. The advance of this Pawn is entirely uncalled for. Not only does it enable Black to open the f-file for his Rook by advancing his f-Pawn, but it gives up the greatest advantage connected with the possession of a center-Pawn, that is the control of two center-squares. As long as White has his Pawn on e4, the two squares f5 and d5 are inaccessible to black pieces; as soon as the Pawn advances, however, he does not do Black any further harm, as the two squares which he controls after the advance are firmly in Black’s hands on account of the two Pawns f7 and d7.

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DIAGRAM 59.

A game played with this opening proceeded as follows: (6) P-e5, Kt-e4; (7) B-d5, Kt-c5; (8) Ktxd4, Ktxd4; (9) Qxd4, o-o; (10) Kt-c3, P-d6; (11) B-e3, P-c6; (12) B-b3, P-d5; (13) Ra1-d1, K-h8; (14) Q-f4, P-f6. This decides the middle-game in Black’s favor. Not only will he have superior mobility with his Rooks, but his two Bishops are much stronger than White’s two minor pieces, especially as White’s Bishop is shut in.

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DIAGRAM 60.

Moreover, Black has the better chances even in the ending, as he has a majority of Pawns on the Queen’s wing. After all pieces have been exchanged, these Pawns would finally result in a passed Pawn, which White would have to stop with his King while Black can leisurely attack the Pawns of the King’s side.

A disadvantage due to Pawn moves which up to now has not yet been discussed is the weakness of so-called “backward Pawns.” A backward Pawn is one whose adjoining kindred Pawns have advanced while he is unable himself to advance far enough to obtain their protection from a frontal or diagonal attack. In the position of Diagram 60, for instance, Black would make his Queen’s Pawn backward if he played P-c5; for if White handles the game right Black will never