Attack and Defense
A player is said to ATTACK another player if he moves so that on his
next move he could capture the other player. Thus, in Diagram 5,
White could attack Black’s Bishop by moving his Rook to d1 or to
e6.
A player is said to DEFEND or to PROTECT another player if he moves so
that in case the other player is captured by a hostile player he could
recapture the latter. Thus, in Diagram 5, Black could defend his
Bishop by moving his Knight to either e4 or e8 in case White
attacks with the Rook from d1. Should White attack from e6, then
Black would not defend the Bishop with the Knight, for on e4 as
well as on e8 the Knight is unprotected and could be captured by
the Rook without White losing anything in exchange. Black has a
much more simple way to defend the attack of the Rook from e6,
that is, by capturing the Rook with the Pawn f7. For this reason
White would not have moved the Rook to e6.
Check and Checkmate
If a man makes a move which attacks the opposing King the King is
said to be in "check." The player whose King is checked then has
to make a move which gets the King out of check
+---------------------------------------+
8 | | | | | | | #K | |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | | | | | | #P | #P | |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | | | | #B | | #Kt| | #P |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | ^P | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | | ^P | | | | | ^P |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | | | | | | | ^P | |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | | | | | ^R | | ^K | |
+---------------------------------------+
a b c d e f g h
DIAGRAM 5.
or he forfeits the game. This is the only case in which a player
is not at liberty to make any move he likes.
Unless the attacking man can be captured there are only two ways
of getting out of check. One of these is to interpose a man
between the King and the attacking piece, and the other to move
the King out of the line of attack. In Diagram 5 Black could give
check by moving the Bishop to c5. In answer to this White has
four moves at his disposal. He may either move the King to f1 or
h1 or h2, or he may interpose his Rook on e3. The latter would be
very unwise as Black would simply take the Rook with his Bishop,
again checking White’s King. The situation would then not have
changed at all except that White would have lost his Rook.
White’s King could not move to f2, for this would leave him still
attacked by the Bishop.
Instead of checking on c5 Black could have attacked White’s King
on h2. But in this case the King would have simply captured the
Bishop.
If it were White’s move he could give check with the Rook on e8.
But Black could take the Rook with the Knight. He would naturally
do this instead of either moving out with the King to h7 or
interposing the Bishop on f8.
If a King is in Check and there is no move with which to get him
out of it he is said to be "checkmate" and the game is over.
Diagram 6 shows an example in which either player can give
checkmate on the move.
If it were White’s move he would take the Pawn on g6 with his
Queen. Now Black’s King is in check as White’s Queen threatens to
take him on the next move. The King cannot move to either g7 or
h7, for these two squares are also commanded by White’s Queen.
+---------------------------------------+
8 | | | | ^R | | #Kt| #K | #R |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | #P | #B | #P | | | #P | | |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | | #P | #Q | #B | | | #P | |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | | | | | | ^Kt| ^Kt| |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | ^B | | ^Q | | | | ^P |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | ^P | ^P | ^P | | | | ^P | ^K |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | | | | | | | | |
+---------------------------------------+
a b c d e f g h
DIAGRAM 6.
Moreover, the latter cannot be taken by the Pawn on f7 as the
black King would be in check by the Bishop on b3. The Pawn is
"pinned" by the Bishop. Black’s Knight cannot take White’s Queen
either as he is pinned by White’s Rook. Finally, there is no
piece available which may be interposed between White’s Queen and
Black’s King; in other words: Black is checkmate, his game is
lost.
If it were Black’s move he would take the Pawn g2 with the Queen.
Now White’s King is in check as Black’s Queen threatens to take
him on the next move. He may not take the Queen as he would then
be captured by the Bishop b7. Neither may the Knight f4 take the
Queen as he is pinned by the Bishop d6. Moreover, the King may
not escape to g1, h1 or g3, these three squares lying in the
rangeof Black’s Queen; and so there is no move on the board with
which to get White’s King out of check: He is checkmate, White
loses the game.
Android Stalemate
If a player, without being in check, cannot make any move which
would not get his King into check, he is said to be STALEMATE. In
this case the game is considered a draw. Diagram 7 shows an
example.
White on the move, although his forces are much inferior, can
draw the game by checking with the Rook on f3. Black cannot very
well make a move with his King in reply, as then White’s Rook
would take the Queen. Black, therefore, must capture the Rook
with the Queen and with this move he stalemates White, as the
latter has no move left which would not bring his King into
check.
+---------------------------------------+
8 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | | | #Q | | | | #K |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | | | | | | ^R | | |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | | | | | #R | ^Kt| ^K | |
+---------------------------------------+
a b c d e f g h
DIAGRAM 7.
If it were Black ’s move he would easily win. In fact he has two
different ways of checkmating White in three moves. One of them
would be to take the Knight with the Rook, attacking the King and
forcing White’s Rook to recapture as the King has no square to go
to; then to give check with the Queen on g3 forcing White’s King
to h1 and enabling the mate with the Queen on g2 or h2.
The other way would be to start with the check on g3. As White’s
Knight is pinned he cannot capture the Queen.
+---------------------------------------+
8 | | | | | | | #K | |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | | | | | | | #P | |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | | | | | ^Q | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | #Q | | | | | ^P | |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | #P | | | | | | | ^P |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | | | | | | | | ^K |
+---------------------------------------+
a b c d e f g h
DIAGRAM 8
Interposing the Rook on g2 would not help either as the Queen
would simply take him at the same time checkmating the King.
White’s only move is, therefore, to play the King into the
corner, and Black then mates by first taking the Knight and then
moving the Queen to g2 or h2.
Perpetual Check
If a player is able to check the opposing King continually and he
indicates his intention to do so the game is considered a draw.
In the following position, for instance, White on the move can
draw the game by giving a perpetual check on e8 and h5. Black
cannot help himself as he has to go back and forth with the King
on h7 and g8. Without the possibility of this perpetual check
White would be lost, for he cannot prevent the Pawn a2 from
queening and with two Queens against one Black would easily win
as will be seen later from the discussion of elementary endings.
Exchange
To exchange means to capture a hostile man when it allows a man
of the same value to be captured by the opponent.
It is rather confusing that the term "exchange" is also used for
the difference in value between a Rook and a Bishop or a Knight.
To win the exchange, in this sense, means to capture a Rook and
to lose for it only a Bishop or a Knight.
Double Pawn
Two Pawns of the same player standing in one file are called a
double Pawn. Three Pawns in one file are called a triple Pawn.
Passed Pawn
A Pawn whose advance to the eighth rank is not blocked by an
opposing Pawn in the same file and who does not have to pass one
on an adjoining file is called a passed Pawn.
Isolated Pawn
A Pawn is called isolated if there are no Pawns of the same
player on the adjoining files.
Backward Pawn
A Pawn is called backward if he cannot advance far enough to be
protected by fellow Pawns in an adjoining file.
Fork
A Pawn is said to fork two pieces if he attacks them
simultaneously.
Minor Piece
The Bishops and the Knights are called minor Pieces as compared
with the Rooks and the Queen.
Sacrifice
To sacrifice a game means to give up a man without obtaining for him a
man of the opponent or to give up a man for one of lesser value.
Discovered Check and Double Check
A discovered Check is an attack on the King caused by a man
moving out of the line of a piece which he was obstructing. If
the man discovering the Check also attacks the King the Check is
called a double Check.
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