The Everything Chess Basics Book (45 page)

The e5-pawn is under attack by the knight on f3. It is also defended by the knight on c6. So White removes the defender and picks up the pawn for free one move later.

5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nxe5.

Here’s one a bit more complicated.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 Bd7 5. Nc3 Nge7 6. Bc4 exd4 7.
Nxd4 g6 8. Bg5 Bg7.

Black threatens to capture the knight on d4. He has a converging attack with his knight on c6 and bishop on g7, while White only defends with his queen.

9. Nd5.

White did not defend the d4-knight. What does that mean? Black decided to find out the hard way.

9.
... Bxd4.

White’s knight went to d5 so it could get to f6 with a check. But f6 is defended—by the bishop on d4. Therefore, White removes it.

10. Qxd4! Nxd4.

So what did White get for his queen? How about a checkmate?

11. Nf6+ Kf8 12. Bh6 checkmate.

All these tactics, whether long-range or short-range, are possible with the right buildup. It is merely necessary to know what you are looking for and then find a way to implement it.

The hard part is that you have an opponent who doesn’t want you to pull off any of those tricks. So you need to learn to look at whatever position is in front of you with a keen eye for any of the patterns you have learned. When one begins to take shape, play for it. The rewards will come soon enough.

Overload

A related concept to removing the defender is the overloaded piece. In this one, a piece is doing more than its fair share, and an astute opponent notices this and takes advantage of it.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Bg4 5. 0–0 Nd4 6. h3.

The g2-bishop is doing double duty. It is defending both the pinned knight on f3 and the pawn on h3.

Black makes use of this situation to win a pawn.

6.
... Nxf3+ 7. Bxf3 Bxh3

Why are queens less than ideal defenders?
The queen is powerful. She can defend as well as attack. But using such a valuable resource as a backup for stray pieces and pawns detracts from her attacking power. She can quickly become overloaded when spread too thin.

Interference

Another type of overloading is shown through the subtle idea of interference. In this one, a piece gets in the way or interferes with two cooperating pieces. It is White to move.

First the king is driven back so he can interfere with the Black rooks defending each other: 1. Rh7+ Ke8.

Next the White queen swoops in to get at everybody:
2. Qe6+ Kd8 3. Qd6+.

We have a tragic-comic situation. The rooks can defend each other as long as the Black king doesn’t interfere. But there’s no way for him to slip out, and one of the rooks will exit as a result of the queen’s triple fork.

3.
... Kc8 4. Qxf8+.

White has picked up one of the rooks.

Zwischenzug

This one isn’t as difficult as it may look or sound (the Zs are pronounced
ts
). As explained in Chapter 8,
Zwischenzug
is a German word meaning “in-between move.” It refers to a situation where one player responds to a threat by ignoring it temporarily in order to threaten something else that is more important. After the more important threat is seen to, the player may come back and take care of the original threat.

More often than not, a Zwischenzug is a check or an attack on the queen. These are threats not easily ignored. Here is an example that happens very early:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6

Black does not have to recapture the knight right away. Instead, he can play the Zwischenzug 5. ... Qf6, which threatens checkmate.

Only after White has seen to the checkmate threat with, say, 6. Qe2 will Black recapture the knight.

The early play you have been witnessing is called the
opening
. Openings are a series of moves by both players that bring about a position each is comfortable with. Chess masters have been playing and compiling openings for hundreds of years, and there are not too many positions you can reach early in the game that some master hasn’t at least experimented with at some time or other.

The following opening trap is very interesting because it contains several Zwischenzugs.

1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5.

Black doesn’t move the f6-knight, which is under attack, relying instead on a Zwischenzug.

5.
... Nc6!