The Great Pawn Hunter
Chess Tutorial

Sunny days with a little haze. Summer's just a toss from April's and May's and outside the school, the Great Pawn Hunter was playing catch with his friends the Restless Knight and Shrubs. They were waiting for the bell to ring for the start of Math class when Old Maestro came along collecting bottles and humming a tune to his favorite melody. It went:

Didillee--Di--Dildee--Dildum
Didillee--Dee--Dildi--Dildum
Didillee--Li--Dillee--Dilli--Dillee--Dilli--Dillee--Dillum.
"That's a beautiful song you are humming," said the chess player's. "Yes," said Old Maestro "I call it 'The Knight's Waltz. He asked the Restless Knight if she wanted to learn the steps. Restless smiled and said "I'd love to". "Now," Old Maestro said "Take two steps to your right. Then keep your weight on your right foot and drag your left foot to your left one step. When you master this footwork you can move forward or sideways always repeating the same pattern of steps in whatever direction you choose. The chess players clapped as Old Maestro and the Restless Knight danced out the steps to Old Maestro's melody. They finished it off with a full turn and a bow to their endearing audience of two.

Well, the bell sounded for Math class and the chess players had to leave Old Maestro. When the students were gathered in the class, they all took their seats. Now, the Talker walked in minutes after the bell, late as always. He walked by the Great Pawn Hunter's desk on his way to, where else, the back row. The students waited for some time and it became clear that Big Louie, the Math teacher, was not going to show. All the students talked to each other questioning Big Louie's whereabouts. They should have asked the Talker. He knew. For, as the Talker made his way to school, he passed by Big Louie's car which had been broken down with flat tires. It just so happened that one of the tires was marked with a "T"...the mark of, well, you know who. However, my friends, I refuse to believe that the Talker was that diabolical. He was ,after all, a chess player like you and me. Even though, some believed, he had no blood in his veins at all.

Well, the Principal, Ms. Harmony, walked in and told the students to quiet down. She said "Everyone would have to remain still in their seats for the whole period and she would teach them poetry." Shrubs said to himself "Just what I need...Training for detention." Big Louie's math topic for today, "Area", would have to be postponed. Now, the Great Pawn Hunter knew his math well. He knew that "area" was simply measuring the amount of "space" contained in a shape like a square or triangle. He learned about "space" from Old Maestro in a chess lesson who happened to be outside collecting bottles at this very moment. He also knew that Ms. Harmony had a sweet spot for Old Maestro. Well, it didn't take the Great Pawn Hunter very long to put one and one together. He raised his hand and mentioned to Ms. Harmony that Old Maestro could teach them the math subject with chess.

Well, Ms. Harmony thought to herself, if Old Maestro didn't mind, it would be a brilliant idea. After all, math is closely related to chess. Ms. Harmony walked out and spoke to Old Maestro. The Great Pawn Hunter, the Restless Knight and Shrubs looked on from the window. They could see the two figures talking for a few minutes. There was a pause and finally Old Maestro nodded his head in agreement. Ms. Harmony came back into the room with a chess demonstration board and hung it on the chalk board. Then a hush filled the room as Old Maestro walked in. Ms. Harmony introduced him as a teacher of chess. However, you and I know that Old Maestro is much more than a teacher. A champion from years gone by, Old Maestro was considered to be a chess player's chess player. The highest compliment.

Now, Old Maestro, asked the Restless Knight to come to the front of the room for a demonstration. The Restless Knight walked up to the front of the class, looked at the two adults, and smiled. Then Old Maestro asked if one of the male students would come up to the front of the room to help with the demonstration. Well, the Talker saw this as a perfect opportunity to show off in front of the students. He volunteered. However, when he found out that Old Maestro wanted the two students to dance around in a circle, he thought Old Maestro was surely crazy.

Well, the Restless Knight moved around to her left and the Talker moved to his right and stepped all over her toes. He shouted at the Restless Knight "You are a lousy dancer. You are supposed to go in the other direction. I don't see how any of this is related to chess!" said he. He thought his trademark thoughts "Plotting and planning is all in a days work." He smiled a satisfactory smile. Well, Ms. Harmony asked the Talker to take his seat. However, the Talker did have a point.

Ms. Harmony asked Old Maestro "How does it relate to chess?" Well, this was the very same question that Old Maestro was trying to figure out himself. His mind churned and finally it all gelled like glue...he didn't have a clue. But he was having fun and he didn't let this unsolved problem cloud his mind, which was clouded already. "Principal," he said "If you just give me a moment to finish my demonstration you will see what I am trying to demonstrate." What ever that was. This is where Old Maestro implemented his decoy maneuver. He asked Ms. Harmony to take his hands and dance the Knight's Waltz. She thought to herself "I still don't see how it relates." But, she was in front of all those students and she had to give in.

He taught the students his melody and they all whistled it while Old Maestro and Ms. Harmony danced 'A Knights Waltz down the first Aisle and around the room. They came to the Talker's desk and Ms. Harmony put it into high gear for by now she had the steps memorized. She turned 'The Knight's Waltz' into a Fox Trot and shouted out "Old Maestro, hold on and I'll show you how it's done." They went off down the aisle with loops and turns and finished it off by circling the teacher's desk in the front of the room.

Now, the Talker, shouted out "But, how does it relate to chess?" to put Old Maestro on the spot. However, by this time Old Maestro had the answer. Old Maestro questioned the Restless Knight "What happened when you and the Talker went in the same direction?" Restless replied "We collided". The students giggled. Then he asked Ms. Harmony "What happened when you and I danced in a circle during the Knight's Waltz?" Ms. Harmony replied "I moved where I had some space to my left." "Ah," said Old Maestro "and I moved where I had some space to your right." He went up to the demonstration board and showed the students the following diagram.

Diagram #1

Old Maestro said to Ms. Harmony and the students "Attack where you have the most space! You see, the white pieces have space on the king's side because the white Pawns on d4 and e5 point to that side of the board. For white, the king's side is the strong side of the board, all because of the pawn structure. The black pieces should attack on the queen side because black's pawns on e6 and d5 point to the queen's side. For black, the queen's side is the strong side of the board. If you attack where your opponent has most of their pieces , on the weak side of the board, then it is likely that you won't make any headway because you will be stepping on each other's toes. Attacking on the weak side of the board is not in the spirit of your pawn structure. Only attack on the weak side if you are trying to divert your opponent from your attack on the strong side of the board." Then he showed them the following game:

1.e4 e6 French Defense 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 Classical Variation
7.f4 White builds a quartgrip of pawns on (e5,f4,g4,h5). This quartgrip is used to make a "Threat" on the king's side.
7...a6 8.Nf3 c5 9.dxc5 Nc6 10.Bd3 Qxc5 11.Qd2 b5 12.h4 b4 13.Na4 Qa5 14.b3 Nc5 15.Nxc5 Qxc5 16.Rc1 Opposing the queen with a lesser valued piece, like a rook behind a pawn, is a subtle threat.
16...Bd7 17.c4 bxc3 18.Rxc3 Qb6 19.h5 h6 20.Qf2 Qb4 21.Qc5 Qxc5 22.Rxc5 Ke7 23.Kd2 Rhb8 24.Rhc1 Rb6 25.Be2 f6 26.Ke3 Ra7 27.g4 White has made a first "Threat" by attacking on the weak side of the board with rooks. All the opponent's pieces are there. The players are stepping on each other's toes! However, now a second "Threat" is created on the king's side by the Quartgrip. Against advanced players, you need at least two threats to make an attack successful.
27...a5 28.exf6+ gxf6 29.g5 fxg5 30.fxg5 hxg5 The Quartgrip obtains a pawn majority that produces a Passed Pawn. The Passed pawn is pushed. This pawn becomes a second "Threat".
31.h6 Ra8 32.Bb5 Kd6 33.h7 d4+ 34.Kd2 e5 35.Nxg5 Rxb5 36.Rxb5 Ke7 37.Rb7 The pin of the bishop wins the day. The c6 knight is threatened. If the knight moves, then white rooks can double on the 7th rank. Or, the rook on b7 can simply sacrifice itself for the bishop. This draws the black king to d7, allowing the knight on g5 to move to the f7 square and the passed pawn on h7 promotes! 1-0

Well, Old Maestro pulled it all together, didn't he. He proved he was quite a great and courageous chess teacher. For, he solved his chess problem, put a scoundrel in his place, and won the heart of Ms. Harmony. All in all, a very eventful day.

and the Great Pawn Hunter leaves you with this piece of wisdom:

A heart's beating
fondest memories
a prayer or two entwined.
Loving adoration
gently brought to mind.
I think of love in silence
My hands against my chest.
A little dove, the spirit of,
upon my heart does rest.
Thumbs: the head
Fingers: the wings
My body sighs.
My spirit sings.
A symbol of endearing love
not of earth but God above.
A faithful watch I'm keeping
this night
this gentle knight.

The Great Pawn Hunter

Copyright © Manus Patrick Fealy 1994-2003

Game
(1) Sutovsky(GM) (2652) - C.Hansen(GM) (2610) [C14]
Sigeman Tournament Copenhagen, Denmark (6), 05.05.2003

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