Chess Strategy
of the Black Knight can only be injurious to Black if he does not
take timely measures to provide against White's Kt-Q5, which
threatens to concentrate more forces for the attack on KB6 than
Black is able to mobilise for its defence.
Beginners, after having experienced frequent trouble through
their inadequate defence of this kind of attack, try to avoid
their recurrence by making such pinning moves impossible from the
first and playing P-R3 on whichever side the pin is threatened.
Apart from the loss of time, on which I remarked at length when
discussing the opening, such pawn moves have various other
drawbacks.
With every pawn move it should be considered whether the squares
protected by the pawn before it has moved may not need the
support of that pawn at a later stage. This is particularly the
case with regard to squares in front of the castled King. If one
of those pawns pushes on, the squares which have lost its
protection frequently offer an opening for a direct attack by the
enemy's pieces on the King.
A second consideration is the fact that the advancing pawn itself
becomes a target for an assault in which the opponent, moving up
a pawn on the next file, brings his Rooks into play, or in which
he sacrifices a piece for the advanced pawn and the one that
protects it, thus robbing the King of the protection he sought to
obtain in castling.
The following examples will contribute much to the understanding
of this most important subject, the grasp of which will mean a
great step forward for the student.
The position in Diagram 93 is from a game v. Scheve-Teichmann
(Berlin, 1907). White played 1. P-R3 in order to avoid the
pinning of his Knight through B-Kt5. The move is not unjustified,
as the Knight is required for the support of the square at Q4.
The pawn move, however, has the drawbacks enumerated above, and
White must think of keeping a sufficiency of pieces for the fight
on the King's wing, in order to prevent Black from utilising the
weakness thus created for a combined assault by superior forces.
---------------------------------------
8 | #R | | #B | | #K | | #Kt| #R |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | #B | #P | #P | | #Q | #P | #P | #P |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | #P | | #Kt| #P | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | ^P | | | | #P | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | | | ^B | ^P | ^P | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | | ^P | | | ^Kt| | |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | | ^P | | | | ^P | ^P | ^P |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | ^R | ^Kt| ^B | ^Q | | ^R | ^K | |
---------------------------------------
A B C D E F G H
Diag. 93
In this case White does not take precautionary measures, and
succumbs in a surprisingly short time.
1. ... Kt-B3; 2. PxP? With this move White opens the diagonal for
Black's KB for no apparent reason. 2. ... QKtxP; 3. KtxKt?
Instead of providing for the defence of his King's wing, White
exchanges one of the King's side pieces, 3. ... QxKt; 4. Kt-Q2,
BxP! White has provoked this sacrifice by his last two moves. The
KBP is pinned, and the Q enters by way of her Kt6, the protection
of which was given up by pushing on the RP. The rest is easy; 5.
PxB, Q-Kt6ch; 6. K-R1, QxPch; 7. K-Kt1, Kt-Kt5; 8. Kt-B3, Q-
Kt6ch; 9. K-R1, BxP; 10. resigns.
Diagram 94 shows a position from a game Marshall-Burn (Ostend,
1907). Strong in the knowledge that the Black Queen's side pieces
are not developed, and can only with difficulty be of assistance
in the defence of the King's side because of their limited
mobility, White takes advantage of the weakness created by the
advance of the Black KKt pawn to his third, and initiates an
immediate assault on the King's stronghold.
---------------------------------------
8 | #R | | #B | #Q | | #R | #K | |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | #P | #P | #P | #Kt| #P | #P | #B | #P |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | | | | #P | | #Kt| #P | |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | | | | ^P | | ^B | | |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | | | ^B | ^P | ^Kt| | |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | ^P | ^P | ^P | ^Kt| | ^P | ^P | ^P |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | ^R | | | ^Q | ^K | | | ^R |
---------------------------------------
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