The Everything Chess Basics Book (47 page)

The initiative is an ongoing situation during a game. One of the players keeps making threats, thus forcing the game into channels of his choosing. When you have the initiative, you decide where and when the play takes place. This is a powerful weapon when used with authority.

The latter question is often hard to answer exactly, but if you have more pieces in play
after
the combination, and they can continue to make threats, while your opponent has difficulty getting his pieces into play, you can often justify a fairly substantial investment of material.

The Game

Get out a set and board, or even two sets and boards if you have them. It is possible to follow a game like this through in your head, but you will miss a lot if you are not very experienced. (White: Master; Black: Expert; Los Angeles, 1981.)

The Opening

1. e4 g6

The game opens up a little differently than you have seen. White puts a pawn in the center while Black prepared to fianchetto his bishop, striking at the center through the flank. This is one of the hypermodern openings.

Openings are divided up into five general categories: 1. e4 e5; 1. e4 something else; 1. d4 d5; 1. d4 something else; and 1. something else. These categories are rather wide, and there is sometimes some overlap. In the current game we begin with 1. e4 something else, but later Black plays ... e7-e5, so it’s not entirely clear in which category this opening belongs.

2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Be2 0–0 6. 0–0.

Both players have been developing pieces and focusing on king safety and the center. White has an extra piece in play and an extra center pawn, but of course it is Black’s move. The opening has turned into the Pirc Defense, which is named after Vasja Pirc, a twentieth-century Yugoslavian grandmaster.

6.
... c6.

Black opens a diagonal for his queen and fights for control of the central square d5.

7. h3.

White makes sure the f3-knight will not get pinned.

So far the players have been careful with each other. Nothing very exciting has happened, but each player has been building up a solid position, hoping to be ready for the threats when they come.

The Threats Begin

7.
... e5!?

Black is making sure he has his fair share of the center. But isn’t this move a mistake? Black must know there are two White forces converging on e5, while he has only one pawn defending. Shouldn’t White simply win the pawn?

8. dxe5 dxe5.

White to move.

9. Qxd8.

Recognizing and using threats are the hallmarks of a strong chess player. If you do not disrupt your opponent’s plans forcefully with threats, she will most likely carry them out.

Discovered Attack

Trying to win the pawn directly with 9. Nxe5 won’t work because of the discovered attack 9. ... Nxe4! 10. Nxe4 Bxe5. So White exchanges queens in order to pull the f8-rook away from the defense of its king.

9.
... Rxd8.

White to move.

10. Bc4.

This move threatens 11. Nxe5, with an attack on the vulnerable f7-square. The alternative 10. Nxe5 still does not win a pawn because of a series of desperados.

Discovered attacks are some of the most insidious weapons in chess. The piece that moves may capture something and/or threaten something. But that is all gravy. The unmasked piece and its threat are what weak players will not notice.

Desperado

10. Nxe5 is the attempt to win a pawn. It is answered by the discovered attack 10. ... Nxe4, which regains the pawn. Now White can try the desperado 11. Nxf7. White will lose this knight anyway, so he picks up a pawn with his dying breath.

Black’s d8-rook and e4-knight are en prise.

But Black has his own desperado: With 11. ... Nxc3 Black also sells his knight, but picks up a piece on the way. In this position, if White should capture the knight, Black will also capture a knight. So best is 12. Nxd8 Nxe2+ and you can see that Black has come out ahead in this desperado tradeoff. He has two minor pieces for a rook and pawn, a slight material advantage. The combination has turned out to Black’s advantage.

Figuring out who gets the better of a series of desperado captures can be very confusing. Try to follow the series through in your head and count up the pieces at its end. If there is more than one variation, you have to do the same with each one and compare the final positions in each. No wonder chess can take a lifetime to master, though it can be learned in a mere half-hour!

Missed Opportunity

Back to the position after Black’s ninth move:

What should White play?

It turns out that White missed an opportunity. It’s true, he can’t win a pawn, but he can get a lead in development with 10. Nxe5 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 Bxe5 12. Bg5 Re8 13. Rad1.

Opportunities abound throughout any chess game. The strong players are the ones who recognize and pounce on these opportunities more often. Some opportunities aren’t always easy to find, for they require subtle thought and understanding, or they require you to look quite deeply into the position.