Chess tactics PDF
Preview Chess tactics
Chess Tactics Chess Tactics Alexander Kotov Translated and edited by John Littlewood American Chess Promotion, Macon, Georgia First published in the United States 1983 © Estate of Alexander Kotov, 1983 ISBN 0 7134 2562 8 (limp) Printed in Great Britain for the publishers American Chess Promotions 3055 General Lee Road Macon, Georgia 31204 Contents Preface vi Introduction vu 1 The Combination 1 2 Mating Combinations 6 3 Game Patterns 50 4 Combinations Involving Pawns 56 5 The Genesis of Combinations 84 6 Combinations Exploiting Piece Placings 91 7 Beauty and Imagination 118 8 Tactical Finesses 125 9 Conclusion 137 Translator’s Note 142 Index of Players 145 Preface In order to play chess well, it is vitally important, along with the need to evaluate a position correctly and form suitable plans, to be able to produce accurately calculated combinations when the conditions are right for them. Most combinations consist of a series of forced moves, usually involving a sacrifice, which lead to either material or positional advantage, if not mate. In the present volume we first examine briefly the background and then attempt the difficult task of classifying the vast range of combinations in a way which we hope will prove useful to the reader. By thus pin-pointing the basic elements of the combination and studying its mechanism, we must surely remove some of that unnecessary fear or unquestioning admiration which many players experience when faced with a lengthy and complex combination. If the careful reader can then begin to apply to his own games the lessons in tactics that he acquires, the author’s efforts will be amply rewarded. Alexander Kotov Introduction Many grandmasters testify to the profound impression which their first encounter with the game of chess made on them. How romantic and mysterious did the appearance and movements of the various pieces seem to their young gaze! The fleet-footed bishop, sturdily dependable rook, voraciously powerful queen, not forgetting that restless spirit, the fearless knight, nimbly leaping over those foot-soldiers, the humble pawns, mostly cannon-fodder lending support to their officers or preparing to be sacrificed for the greater good, but occasionally, as if by magic, being promoted to the top of the hierarchy! Gradually, and in some respects sadly, theoretical knowledge dispelled the mists of this first impression, revealing the iron logic of strategic ideas and affording a glimpse of the ultimate truth in chess attainable solely via the path of hard work and methodical training. Once a chess-player has acquired elementary knowledge and is ready to test himself in the hard school of practical play, he soon learns to recognize that the three pillars of chess wisdom are: the art of combination, the ability to calculate variations rapidly and accurately, and finally the understanding and creative application of strategic principles. This chess wisdom enables the master to respond pertinently to the two basic questions constantly facing him: what to do and how to do it. The first involves strategy, the second tactics. Strategic plans can be many and varied, ranging from switching a piece to a strong square to the regrouping of a whole wing, involving decisions about whether to close the centre or when to launch an attack, and so on. The success in carrying out such plans largely depends upon our tactical ability; not only must we be capable of exploiting the means at hand, but we must also be aware of the tactics available to our opponent. These underlying strategic and tactical possibilities determine the character of the position which can thus be roughly considered as belonging to a certain general type. In some cases it is the strategic aspect which is uppermost, and the calculation of specific variations recedes into the background. In other cases the opposite is true, and the outcome may then hang on a tactical thread, with strategy being of little or no use and combinative resourcefulness at a premium. It is the latter situations which form the subject of this volume, so let us now enter the marvellous world of tactical dangers, hidden traps and razor-sharp positions. 1 The Combination Logic lies at the heart of chess and PAr is mirrored in principles which have been distilled from centuries of chess thought-and play and which serve as a compass to steer a player towards the selection of the appropriate strategy. The first concept a beginner acquires is the different values associated with individual pieces. He learns that a queen is nearly worth two rooks, a minor piece and one or two pawns balance N ezhmetdinov—Kasparian Riga, 1955 out a rook, bishop and knight are about equal and that a minor piece is equivalent to three pawns. Both kings are in danger, but White However, he soon realizes that this to move can exploit the situation evaluation is only a guide-line and before Black can carry out his that, for example, in certain situations threat of 1 ... d2+. Whilst there is a pawn can be worth more no doubt that queens are normally than a rook or even a queen. In far stronger than knights, we are fact, positions often occur in which here dealing with a mating set-up in a drastic reversal of accepted values which no sacrifice is too great. The takes place, with a player suddenly black knight is eliminated, exposing giving up his queen for a knight or the king to a forced mate as follows: sacrificing his rook for a single 1 *xg6+! xg6 2 1f6+ g5 pawn, not through an oversight 3 f5+ (the black rook on d4 but because in that particular prevents 3 g7+ h5 4 g4 mate, situation it represents the best so White aims to switch his rooks plan. Of course, such sacrifices are round) 3 ... g6 4 7f6+ h7 usually short-term, involving a 5 h5+ g7 6 g5+ h7 7 f5 forced sequence of moves which mate. rapidly lead to an advantage for the perpetrator of them. Our first It is clear that all these moves position illustrates this point. were forced, a typical feature of 2 The Combination combinations which makes it easier already planned the following final for the attacker to calcu late. The king hunt: 7 h2! xe2 8 h4+ so-called ‘quiet’ move within a g4 9 7f4+ h5 10 h3! gS combinative sequence is not met 11 g4+ and Black resigned in view as frequently, for obvious reasons. of the forcing line 11 ... g6 Consider our next example. 12 hS+ g7 13 4t7+ ‘h8 when any move of the knight mates him. 2 I VA We repeat that no sacrifice is ii I1141 too great when our aim is to mate the enemy king. Here is a typical Alekhine combination involving a queen sacrifice, a king hunt and finally a quiet move to complete the kill. 3 PA IiF Levenfish—Gotthjlf Leningrad, 1924 First of all, a queen sacrifice exposes the weakness of the f7 pawn, leading to a forced series of moves up to a point. It is here that White had to foresee a couple of quiet moves, admittedly not too difficult to visualize, plus a further sequence Alekhine—Prat ending eventually in mate. Play Simultaneous, Paris, 1913 continued: 1 *xf8+! ‘xf8 2 xf7+ g8 3 e7+ h8 (he could The black king is clearly in trouble of course give up his queen for the on f7, facing the crossfire of knight, but White would then have White’s pieces, so it is hardly a clear material advantage. However, surprising that the end is nigh. in general the attacker must always 1 *hS+!! xh5 2 fe+ g6 3 c2+ carefully consider such a defensive g5 4 f5+ g6 S f6+ g5 possibility) 4 f8+ g7 5 1f7+ 6 g6+ h4 7 e4+ f4 8 xf4+ h6 6 g8+ g5. The forced ‘‘h5 9 g3! and Black has no way sequence is at an end, since the of preventing 10 h4 mate. obvious check with the h pawn would allow ‘g4 attacking the The end-product of a sacrifical pawn on g3. White must have combination does not necessarily The Combination 3 have to be mate; it could instead 5 lead to a material advantage, or else both ideas are present, as in the following example. A %11I 4 ‘%tmLlLrA t1 r%4rAI. ttF4Ir4 rAtIIR Lazdis—Zemftis Riga, 1936 •4i 74 side of combinations delighted the public who appreciated a startling sacrifice. Here is an example from Composed position Persia. By 1 ... *xe3! Black either obtains 6 material superiority or mates as in the game continuation: 2 fe 4g3+ 3h2xf1+ 4h1 ig3+ 5h2 II4/M1I II ‘e4+ 6 g3 (or 6 h1 f2 mate) 6 f2+ 7 h1 xg3 mate. There are also combinations which save the game in desperate situations, the stalemate type being one of the most attractive as well as occurring more often than people Persian study of the 14th century imagine (See Diagram 5) White to move appears to have a 1 h7+ g8 2 f6+ f8 3 e7+! completely hopeless position, but a xe7 4 f7+ xf7 5 e6 mate. surprising sacrifice brings about the draw as follows: 1 *f8+ ‘sf6 Combinations such as these were 2 *h8+ f5 3 g4+! hg 4 d5+! ed written down to delight later 5 c8+! xc8 stalemate. generations of chess-players, and we can all still enjoy a piece of tactical Even in the earliest recorded wizardry like the following composed period of chess history the aesthetic by Stamma, an Arab.
The list of books you might like
