"I love Chess Tactics Explained in English: Ward Farnsworth's Predator at the Chessboard"

2022-05-14 09:58:21

Toggle navigation Contents Author Links News Toggle navigation Contents Author Links News Chess tactics explained. This site has two parts. 1. The first part is a book that explains chess tactics (in other words, how to make winning moves). It assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. Everything is explained progressively and in plain English. You can read it by clicking anyplace in the table of contents below. The headings can be expanded one at a time by clicking on the [+] signs, or click here to expand all of them at once. (And then you can click here to collapse them all at once.) There are 20 chapters, about 200 topics within them, and over 1,000 positions discussed. 2. The second part is a trainer: a set of puzzles shown without solutions that you can use to practice. Click here or on the "Chess Quizzer" box to the left to use it. You can try a random position from the book or one that involves a particular topic. The trainer allows you to ask for a hint if you're stuck, and to see the answer when you are done. You can always come back here by clicking the "contents" button in the upper right corner of every page. If you arrived by a different route, the best address for returning is www.chesstactics.org. This whole site has now been made much friendlier for mobile devices thanks to the help of a kind and ingenious reader. You can use your keyboard's up and down arrows to scroll through the explanations, and the left and right arrows to navigate from one position to the next. Book versions of this site are available: over 700 pages in total in a two-volume set. Here are links to book one and book two. Check out other books by the author about philosophy here, language here, metaphor here, and law here and here. 1.Introductory Matters. [+]1.1.A Short Guide to the Site. 1.1.1.In Brief. [+]1.2.Rationale for the Project. 1.2.1.Why Tactics? 1.2.2.Why Another Book About Them? [+]1.3.The Elements of Tactics: A Primer. 1.3.1.The Double Threat. 1.3.2.The Loose Piece. 1.3.3.The Forcing Move. 1.3.4.Strategy vs. Tactics. [+]1.4.Notation; Jargon; the Look of the Site; Hard Copies. 1.4.1.Notation and Jargon. 1.4.2.The Value of the Pieces. 1.4.3.Making the Site Easier to Read. 1.4.4.About the Dinosaurs. 1.4.5.Hard Copies. [+]1.5.Acknowledgments and Bibliography. 1.5.1.Alon Cohen. 1.5.2.Tim Feinstein. 1.5.3.Casey Haralson. 1.5.4.Bibliography. [+]1.6.Chess in Literature. 1.6.1.Some Interesting Allusions to Chess. 2.The Double Attack. [+]2.1.The Knight Fork. 2.1.1.Introduction. 2.1.2.Seeing Potential Forks. 2.1.3.The Pinned Guard. 2.1.4.Exchanging Away the Guard. 2.1.5.Distracting the Guard. 2.1.6.Getting Out of Your Own Way. 2.1.7.Unsuitable Targets. 2.1.8.Playing Defective Knight Forks. 2.1.9.Checking the King into Position. 2.1.10.Using Multiple Checks. 2.1.11.Using Mate Threats to Force Pieces into Position. 2.1.12.Strategic Implications. 2.1.13.Summary. [+]2.2.The Queen Fork. 2.2.1.Introduction. 2.2.2.Simple Cases: Forking the King and a Loose Piece. 2.2.3.Using the Side of the Board During the Opening. 2.2.4.Making the Forking Square Available. 2.2.5.Loosening the Target by Exchanging It. 2.2.6.Loosening the Target by Disabling its Guards. 2.2.7.Moving the Enemy King into Position. 2.2.8.Clearing the Path to the Forking Square. 2.2.9.Clearing Paths to the Targets. 2.2.10.More Complicated Cases. 2.2.11.Using Mate Threats. 2.2.12.Mate Threats with Attacks on Underdefended Pieces. 2.2.13.Other Mating Threats. 2.2.14.Attacking Two Loose Pieces. 2.2.15.Attacking Two Loose Pieces: More Procedures. 2.2.16.The Enemy Queen as a Target. 2.2.17.Summary; Strategic Implications. [+]2.3.The Bishop Fork. 2.3.1.Introduction. 2.3.2.Bishop Forks One Move Away. 2.3.3.Loosening the Forking Square. 2.3.4.Loosening the Target and Forking Square. 2.3.5.Moving the King into Position, etc. 2.3.6.Bishop Forks of the King and Queen. 2.3.7.Bishop Forks of Other Pieces. 2.3.8.Playing Defective Bishop Forks. 2.3.9.Strategic Implications. [+]2.4.The Rook Fork. 2.4.1.Introduction. 2.4.2.Simple Cases. 2.4.3.Creating a Target. 2.4.4.Moving the King into Position. 2.4.5.Clearing Paths. 2.4.6.Working with Mate Threats. 2.4.7.Strategic Implications. [+]2.5.The Pawn Fork. 2.5.1.Introduction. 2.5.2.Exchanges to Create Working Pawn Forks. 2.5.3.Forcing Pieces into Place with Threats and Checks. 2.5.4.Forks By Marching Pawns. 2.5.5.Strategic Implications. 3.The Discovered Attack. [+]3.1.Bishop Discoveries. 3.1.1.Introduction to Discovered Attacks Generally. 3.1.2.Introduction to Bishop Discoveries. 3.1.3.The Classic Pattern. 3.1.4.The Unmasking Piece Makes a Capture or Threat. 3.1.5.Drawing the Enemy King into Place. 3.1.6.Drawing the Target into Place. 3.1.7.Clearing Needed Lines. 3.1.8.Horizontal Discoveries. 3.1.9.Introducing the Discovered Check. 3.1.10.Removing Impediments to Discovered Checks. 3.1.11.The Bishop and Rook Mate. 3.1.12.Other Large Threats By the Stationary Piece. 3.1.13.Horizontal Discovered Checks. 3.1.14.Two-steppers: Building the Kernel. [+]3.2.Rook Discoveries. 3.2.1.Introduction; Simple Cases. 3.2.2.Threatening Mate. 3.2.3.The Rook Discovers Check. 3.2.4.Manufacturing Discovered Check. 3.2.5.Two-steppers: Building the Kernel. 3.2.6.The Windmill. [+]3.3.Knight Discoveries. 3.3.1.Diagonal Patterns. 3.3.2.Vertical and Horizontal Patterns. 3.3.3.Building Knight Discoveries. 3.3.4.Working with Mate Threats. 3.3.5.More on Mate Threats: Vertical and Horizontal Patterns. 3.3.6.Discovered Check with the Knight. 3.3.7.Discovered Checks with Preliminary Exchanges. 3.3.8.Discovered Mate Threats. 3.3.9.Discovered Check Leading to Mate. 3.3.10.Building the Kernel: Diagonal Patterns. 3.3.11.Building the Kernel: Vertical and Horizontal Patterns. [+]3.4.Pawn Discoveries. 3.4.1.Introduction; Simple Cases. 3.4.2.A Step Up in Complexity. 3.4.3.Arranging Pawn Discoveries on Diagonals. 3.4.4.Arranging Pawn Discoveries on Ranks and Files. 3.4.5.Strategy and the Discovered Attack. 4.The Pin and the Skewer. [+]4.1.Arranging a Pin. 4.1.1.Introduction. 4.1.2.Simple Absolute Pins. 4.1.3.Creating a Toothless Target. 4.1.4.Upgrading the Value of the Target. 4.1.5.Exchanges of the Target for Other Purposes. 4.1.6.Clearing Excess Enemy Pieces. 4.1.7.Consolidating Excess Enemy Pieces. 4.1.8.Getting the Pinning Piece to the Pinning Square. 4.1.9.Loosening the Pinning Square. 4.1.10.Protecting the Pinning Piece. 4.1.11.Pushing the Enemy King into Line. 4.1.12.Making Use of Forced Interpositions. 4.1.13.Making Use of Forced Captures. 4.1.14.Using Threats and Captures without Check. [+]4.2.Exploiting a Pin. 4.2.1.Using Pawns to Attack the Pinned Piece. 4.2.2.Ganging Up on the Pinned Piece. 4.2.3.Using Checks to Separate the King from the Target. 4.2.4.The Cross-Pin. 4.2.5.Other Ways to Constrain the Pinned Queen. [+]4.3.Other Patterns and Applications. 4.3.1.Pinning a Piece to Take Its Protectorate. 4.3.2.Pinning a Pawn to Take Its Protectorate. 4.3.3.Pinning a Pawn in Front of the King as an Aid to Mate. 4.3.4.Pins of Pieces to Allow Mate. 4.3.5.Pins to Mating Squares. 4.3.6.Breaking an Absolute Pin. 4.3.7.Strategy and the Absolute Pin. [+]4.4.The Relative Pin. 4.4.1.Simple Relative Pins. 4.4.2.Loosening the Screened Piece. 4.4.3.Other Issues That Arise in Creating Relative Pins. 4.4.4.Ganging Up on the Relatively Pinned Piece. 4.4.5.Taking the Protectorate of the Relatively Pinned Piece. 4.4.6.Taking the Protectorate: More Involved Cases. 4.4.7.Breaking a Relative Pin: Moving the Screened Piece. 4.4.8.Breaking a Relative Pin: Moving the Pinned Piece. [+]4.5.The Skewer. 4.5.1.Simple Skewers Through the King. 4.5.2.Simple Skewers Through the Queen. 4.5.3.Simple Skewers Through Rooks. 4.5.4.Substituting the King to Create a Skewer. 4.5.5.Other Substitutions: Queens, Rooks, etc. 4.5.6.Checking the King into Position. 4.5.7.Working with Multiple Checks. 4.5.8.Getting the Skewering Piece to the Skewering Square. 4.5.9.Consolidating Excess Enemy Pieces. 4.5.10.Preventing the Middle Piece from Guarding the Target. 4.5.11.Skewers Where Enemy Pieces are Underdefended. 4.5.12.Breaking a Skewer. 4.5.13.Strategic Implications. 5.Removing the Guard. [+]5.1.Capturing the Guard. 5.1.1.Introduction to the Section; Simple Cases. 5.1.2.Cases Involving Multiple Steps. 5.1.3.When the Target is Protected Twice. 5.1.4.Capturing the Guard of a Mating Square. [+]5.2.Distracting the Guard (The Overworked Piece). 5.2.1.Simple Cases: One Guard Protects Two Men. 5.2.2.One Piece Guards a Mating Square and Something Else. 5.2.3.When a Piece Guards Two Mating Squares. 5.2.4.Adding a Mate Threat to Create an Overworked Piece. 5.2.5.Distracting a Rook from Duties Up the Board. 5.2.6.Forking Squares and the Overworked Piece. [+]5.3.Attacking the Guard. 5.3.1.Introduction. 5.3.2.Checks to Drive the King Away from Guard Duty. 5.3.3.Flush Checks (the Decoy). 5.3.4.Decoys on the Diagonal: Bishop Check Sacrifices. 5.3.5.Driving Off the Queen with a Threat. 5.3.6.Using the Priority of Check. 5.3.7.Attacks on the Queen to Loosen a Mating Square. 5.3.8.Flush Attacks Against the Queen. 5.3.9.Threats Against Rooks and Minor Pieces. 5.3.10.Forking the Guard and Another Piece. 5.3.11.Using Pawns to Threaten the Guard. [+]5.4.Blocking the Guard (Interference). 5.4.1.Interference to Loosen a Piece. 5.4.2.Interference to Loosen a Mating Square. 5.4.3.Interference on the Penultimate Rank. 5.4.4.Interference as Part of a Double Threat. 5.4.5.Removing the Guard: Strategic Implications. 6.Mating Patterns. [+]6.1.The Back Rank Mate. 6.1.1.Introduction; Simple Cases. 6.1.2.Dealing with Interpositions. 6.1.3.Sealing Off the King's Flight Squares. 6.1.4.Drawing Defenders Forward. 6.1.5.The Role of the Bishop I: Pinning Defenders. 6.1.6.The Role of the Bishop II: Preventing a Recapture. 6.1.7.The Role of the Bishop III: Driving Back the King. 6.1.8.Applying Pressure Up Close. 6.1.9.Combining Back Rank Themes with Forks. 6.1.10.Combining Back Rank Themes with Discoveries. 6.1.11.Combining Back Rank Themes with Pins. 6.1.12.Combining Back Rank Themes with Removal of the Guard. [+]6.2.Other Classic Mating Ideas. 6.2.1.Introduction. 6.2.2.Anderssen's Mate and Kindred Spirits: Mating on h8. 6.2.3.Morphy's Mate. 6.2.4.Greco's Mate. 6.2.5.Lolli's Mates; Damiano's Mate. 6.2.6.The Knight As a Substitute in Morphy's Mating Pattern. 6.2.7.The Knight As a Substitute in Greco's Pattern. 6.2.8.Anastasia's Mate. 6.2.9.The Arabian Mate. 6.2.10.Blackburne's Mate and Kindred Spirits. 6.2.11.Boden's Mate. 6.2.12.The Greek Gift (generally). 6.2.13.The Greek Gift: The King Goes to g6. 6.2.14.The Smothered Mate. 6.2.15.Legall's Mate and Pseudo-Sacrifice. Click here to send a comment or correction