Chess Teacher Lessons » Chess lessons

The third rank defense

Chess Teacher — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:49:08 +0000

The third rank defense is the most important defense in the king and rook versus king, rook and pawn endgame. A lot of people refer to it as the Philidor position, but this name is also used for some other endgame positions.
There is already a lot of information about this position available on the internet, for example in the Philidor position on Wikipedia and I will limit this post to some additional information which probably helps to really understand this position.

First of all it is important to understand that the weaker side strives to capture the pawn or to exchange the rooks while being in a position that the pawn can be stopped. Therefor it is needed to be familiar with the single pawn endgame and the key squares. However the most important part of this endgame is creating a possibility to start a never ending king hunt by the defending rook which also results in a draw.

The third (or sixth) rank defense can be summarized as:

The black rook is keeping the white king away from the sixth rank.
As soon as the pawn moves to the sixth rank the defending rook has to be moved back
starting a kind of king hunt with distant checks

An illustrative example

Philidor

1… Ke8 It’s always a good idea to put the king on the queening square, but not necesary as long as it’s adjacent to this square 2.Ra2

( 2.Ra8+ Ke7 3.e6 Rxe6 is a draw )

2… Rg6 just waiting on this third, or actually sixth, rank 3.Ra7 Rh6 Still waiting 4.e6 White gives it a try 4... Rh1 Black immediately retreats his rook. This is the key move. 5.Kd6 Rd1+ 6.Kc7

( The black rook is able to drive away the king of the sixth rank 6.Kc6 Rc1+ 7.Kb6 Rb1+

( It will be clear that 7... Re1 8.Kc6 Rxe6+ is also a draw )

8.Kc6 )

( 6.Ke5 will not help either. The black rook can continue with his king hunt. )

6… Ke7 7.Ra6 Re1 8.Rd6 Rxe6 9.Rxe6+ Kxe6 1/2-1/2

Bowdler – Conway (1788)

Chess Teacher — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:34:17 +0000

The game below is a classical game between Dr. Thomas Bowdler and Henry Seymour Conway that can be found in the IJ105 database. The reason it became famous was because of Bowdler’s two rook sacrifice, but I’ll show it here for another reason: if you have a material advantage you have to use this material.

Start

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 The Classical Variation of the Bishop’s Opening 3.d3 c6

Nowadays most players would prefer 3...d6 , 3...Nc6 or 3...Nf6

4.Qe2 d6 5.f4 A little bit to aggressive 5...exf4 6.Bxf4?! Qb6 7.Qf3? This can be considered as a blunder, but this game has become famous because of the two rook sacrifice, probably the first recorded one 7...Qxb2 8.Bxf7+ Kd7 9.Ne2 Qxa1 capturing the first rook 10.Kd2 Bb4+

( 10… Qf6! looks more promising )

11.Nbc3 sacrificing the second rook 11...Bxc3+ 12.Nxc3 Qxh1 13.Qg4+ Kc7 14.Qxg7 Nd7 15.Qg3 b6 16.Nb5+ -+ cxb5 =

( If you are captured your opponent’s rooks you have to use your own rooks, for example by 16...Kb8 17.Bxg8 Qf1 18.Bxd6+ Kb7 19.Be7 Rxg8 )

17.Bxd6+ Kb7 18.Bd5+ Ka6 19.d4 b4? +-

( 19… Nc5 )

20.Bxb4 Kb5? resulting in a mate in three 21.c4+ Kxb4 22.Qb3+ Ka5 23.Qb5# 1-0

The Halosar Trap

Admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:59:10 +0000

Halosar_Trap

1.d4 d5 2.e4

The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (BDG)

2… dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Qxf3

( The main line of the BDG continues with 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.h3 but this time we are going for the Halosar Trap )

5… Qxd4

( 5… c6 is played almost as often )

6.Be3 Qb4

( 6… Qg4 7.Qf2 e5 8.a3 is played more often )

7.O-O-O Bg4?! Black falls into the trap. Most people do as it looks such a nice combination. 8.Nb5 Na6

( 8… Nbd7?! doesn’t look good, but may still be playable 9.Qxb7 Qe4 10.Nxc7+ Kd8 11.Qxa8+ Qxa8 12.Nxa8 Bxd1 13.Kxd1 Kc8 )

( Black can’t capture the knight because this loses the queen. 8...Qxb5 9.Bxb5+ c6 10.Qg3 )

9.Qxb7 Qe4 10.Qxa6 Qxe3+ 11.Kb1 Qc5 12.Nf3 Rb8 13.Qxa7 Qxa7 14.Nxa7

More than 100 chess lessons

Chess Teacher — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:38:29 +0000

This post is a replacement for the more than 80 chess lessons post that has been published before.

At the moment there are more than 100 chess lessons on almost all stages of the game and for all levels of play on Chess Teaching. You can get a quick overview by looking at the chess lessons index page, but you can also navigate through this site by using the tags or categories or by using the search option on this site.

It is my believe that the interactive way this site offers the chess tutorials gives you something that books are unable to accomplish.
New lessons are added on a regular base and are linked together by links at the end of each lesson about how to continue. At the footer of each lesson you can also find a link to the previous and to the next lesson. This offers you an easy possibility to study all the lessons in the right order. This is not the order based on the publication date, because I am going to continue adding chess lessons on all levels.

Don’t try to learn all the lessons in a couple of days. Take your time. Replay and try some of the things learned on a board and stop after one or two lessons. Keep note of where you stopped, bookmark the page, and return for more when you can give your complete attention to the (next) lesson.

If you are new to chess and not familiar with the rules of the game the chess tutorial about the starting position may be a good start.

Morphy – Isouard (1858)

Chess Teacher — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:08:25 +0000

The game of this lesson between Paul Morphy and Carl Isouard that has been played in Paris 1858 is one of the most famous chess games.
It’s a very interesting short game and it contains at least five important chess lessons:
1. Develop you chess pieces quickly
2. Castling into safety
3. The strategic outpost at d5
4. Attacking a pinned piece
5. The use of an open file

Morphy_Isouard

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 The Philidor Defence 3.d4 Bg4 pins the knight, but also enables White to create an open file as we will see in the next moves

( Nowadays 3... exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 is played more often. )

4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 threatens mate 6...Nf6 7.Qb3! threatens a mate in two as illustrated by the next three variations 7...Qe7

( 7... Nxe4?? 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9.Qe6# like in the 1994 game of Shaun Press vs Tony Salvage )

( 7... b6?? 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9.Qe6# like in the 1994 game of Marek Smilowski vs Daniel Martins )

( 7... Nbd7?? 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9.Qe6# as played in 2003 in the game Karjakin Sergey [2576] — Sola Lluch Miguel Angel [2125] )

8.Nc3 White threatens eventually to use d5 a a strategic outpost 8... c6 prevents that White can position his knight on this important square. 9.Bg5 pins the knight 9...b5

( 9… Qc7 is better, but White still has a strong attack )

10.Nxb5! White gives up a knight in exchange for the two pawns and a strong attack. 10...cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 resulting in another pinned piece. Black is almost unable to move a piece and can only try to defend.

( 11… Kd8 doesn’t help either. 12.O-O-O+ )

12.O-O-O!! Castling into safety and even more important attacking a pinned piece. All White’s pieces are developed, while Black’s pieces are hardly developed and unable to move. 12... Rd8 13.Rxd7!! Please note that the knight at f6 is pinned, but the most interesting part of this move is that White sacrifices the exchange to win a rook 13... Rxd7 14.Rd1 attacking a pinned piece again 14...Qe6

( 14… Kd8 is better, but not enough to hold the position 15.Bxd7 Kc7 +- )

15.Bxd7+ Nxd7? a mate in two. Do you see it?

( 15… Qxd7 is a better move, but look at what happens after this better move 16.Qb8+ Ke7 17.Qxe5+ Kd8 18.Bxf6+ gxf6 19.Qxf6+ Kc8 20.Rxd7 Kxd7 21.Qxh8 +- )

16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8# 1-0

Liked this game? You will probably also like Bird – Steinitz (1866) or you can have a look at the complete overview of chess lessons.

Bird – Steinitz (1866)

Chess Teacher — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:45:32 +0000

This position occurred in the game Bird -Steinitz (1866) and Steinitz played the winning move 66…b5+.
Bird reacted with 67.Kc3 and now we get an even more interesting position.

Should you also have played 66…b5+ or would you have tried something like 66…a3?
Are you able to win this won game? What are Black’s next moves?

Be careful. Some moves will result in a draw.

Black to move and wins.

More chess lessons? The next lesson in this series is about the King’s Gambit.

Mortimer Trap

Chess Teacher — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:40:52 +0000

In this lesson I will show you the Mortimer trap, also known as the Mortimer Variation of the Berlin Defense.

Mortimer_Trap

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3

( Today 4.O-O is played far more frequently )

4… Ne7?!

This is the Mortimer Variation of the Berlin Defense. It’s not a good move, but it sets a trap and the capture of the black pawn on e5 may be very tempting for White.

( 4… d6 5.c3 is a more normal continuation )

5.Nxe5?

( Even after 5.O-O Ng6 6.d4 c6 7.dxe5 Nxe4 Black is not without chances. )

5… c6! 6.Nc4

( 6.Ba4 Qa5+ 7.Nc3 Qxe5 )

( 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Bc4 Ng6 )

( 6.Nxf7 Probably White’s best move 6...Kxf7 7.Ba4 )

( 6.Bc4 Qa5+ 7.Nc3 Qxe5 )

6… d6! 7.Ba4 b5 This move forks the white bishop and knight and wins a piece

The next lesson is about the Immortal Game, but you may also be interested in the previous lesson about the Kieninger Trap.

The bad bishop

Chess Teacher — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:52:58 +0000

Let’s have a look at the diagram below. White is two pawns ahead, but it is Black’s turn to move. Is he able to get a draw?

White’s bishop is a bad bishop. It has the wrong color and will not be able to drive away Black’s king from the promotion square of the rook pawn. Knowing this Black only has to capture the b-pawn to get the draw.

Bad_Bishop

32… Nb8!! 33.Kc4

( The alternative 33.b5 doesn’t help either ... Nc6+ 34.bxc6 Kxc6 35.Bd8 Kb7 )

( And 33.Bd8 even gives away the bishop, but it doesn’t matter anymore. ... Nc6+ 34.Kc4 Nxb4 ( 34… Nxd8 doesn’t fit within this lesson, but will also result in a draw ) 35.Kxb4 Kc6 36.Ka5 Kb7 )

33… Nc6 and White is unable to save the b-pawn

34.Kb5 Nxb4 35.Bxb4+ resulting in an endgame with a rook pawn and a Bishop of the wrong color. This will result in a draw, because the defending king is able to reach the corner.

35… Kc7 36.a5 Nothing helps. Black may try something like 36...Kb7 but if White pays attention the result remains a draw 37.Bc5 Kb8 38.Bd6+ Ka7 39.a6 Ka8 40.Bf8 Kb8 41.Bd6+ Ka8 42.Bc5 Kb8 43.a7+ Ka8 1/2 – 1/2

Grigoriev, 1938

Chess Teacher — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:49:21 +0000

The following diagram is a nice exercise about a chess position that looks rather easy at first sight. It’s White turn to move. Is this a draw?

It’s White’s turn to move, but Black will gain a tempo because of the check by f4+. So at first sight it may look like a draw, but as we will see White will be able to win this game.

Pawn_run

1.Ke4

First of all White forces Black’s king to move away from the promotion field f1.

1… Kg4 2.a4 f5+ 3.Kd3!

This is the key move. Black won’t promote with a check and White’s king is still in reach of the black pawn.

3… f4 4.a5 f3 5.a6 Kg3 6.a7 f2 7.Ke2 Kg2

In order to keep the pawn Black’s king was forced to do so, but this enables White to promote with check.

8.a8=Q+ 1-0

The Classical Bishop Sacrifice

Chess Teacher — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:21:57 +0000

In the game Colle – O’Hanlon, Nice 1930 we have seen one of the most famous examples of the Classical Bishop Sacrifice. In this lesson we will focus on some of the aspects of such a position that will help you to determine whether or not the sacrifice will be sound. I am going to use the game Kothe Harry G – Lewis James W, 1974 as an example.

Classical

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 e6 4.e4 b5 5.a4 c6 6.Bd2 a5 7.axb5 cxb5 8.b3 Bb7 9.bxc4 b4 10.Bd3 Bd6 11.Be3 Ne7 12.O-O O-O 13.e5 Bc7

The main conditions for the sacrifice are met:
- A bishop is able to capture the pawn on h7
- A knight is able to move to the g5 square
- This g5 square is defended
- The queen can reach h5

We even have some additional conditions that make it more likely that the sacrifice will be correct:
- Black’s Queen on d8
- Black’s Rook on f8
- White’s pawn on e5 will prevent an escape to f6

But there is also an indication that the sacrifice will not be sound:
- Black’s bishop on b7 may be able to defend h7

As we will see the sacrifice will be sound. Black’s bishop is rather harmless and will be attacked and undefended on e4.

14.Bxh7+ Kh8 Probably the best move, but we are mainly interested in the other alternative ( 14… Kxh7 15.Ng5+ Kg8

( 15… Kh8 is a mate in two 16.Qh5+ Kg8 17.Qh7# )

( 15… Kg6 16.Qg4 f5 17.exf6 gxf6 18.Nxe6+ Kf7 and White will win the queen 19.Nxd8+ )

( 15… Kh6 results in a mate in five 16.Qg4 Bxe5 17.dxe5 Nf5 18.Qh3+ Nh4 19.Qxh4+ Kg6 20.Qh7# )

16.Qh5 Be4 17.Nxe4 )

15.Ng5 g6 16.Bxg6 fxg6 17.Qg4 Kg8 18.Qxe6+ Kg7 19.Qh3 Rh8 20.Ne6+ Kg8 21.Nxd8 Rxh3 22.Nxb7 winning a piece

But the game continues for a while.

22… Rh7 23.Nc5 Nbc6 24.Ne4 Rh4 25.Nbd2 Nf5 26.Nf6+ Kg7 27.Nf3 Rxd4 28.Nd5 Rxd5 29.cxd5 Nxe3 30.fxe3 Nxe5 31.Rfb1 Re8 32.e4 Bb6+ 33.Kf1 Nc4 34.Ke2 Na3 35.Rc1 Rxe4+ 36.Kd3 Re3+ 37.Kd2 b3 38.Rxa3 b2 39.Rb1 Rxa3 40.Rxb2 Be3+ 41.Kc2 Kf6 42.Rb3 Ra2+ 43.Kd3 Bc5 44.Rb5 Bd6 45.Rb6 Ke7 46.Nh4 Kd7 47.h3 Ra3+ 48.Kc2 Rg3 49.Ra6 g5 50.Rxd6+ Kc7 51.Rg6 a4 52.Nf3 Rxg2+ 53.Kb1 Rf2 54.Nxg5 Rd2 55.d6+ Rxd6 56.Rxd6 Kxd6 57.h4 Ke5 58.Nf3+ 1-0

A final exercise:
Is the classical bishop sacrifice sound for the following position? The answer will be given in the comments.

More chess lessons? An index of all chess lessons can be found here.