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The Great Pawn Hunter
Chess Tutorial

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Ideas on how to play

Experience has shown that if you go into a match with a plan, however much you have to change it, you have an advantage. From the following guide lines, I am giving you a plan that is followed by players of the game in tournaments all over the world today.

1. Control the center
2. Space
3. Time
4. King Safety
5. Pawn Structure
6. Mobility
7. The Attack
8. The Defense
9. Values of the pieces

Control of the Center

Squares (d4,d5,e4,e5)
If you have control of the center of the board then your opponent will have to move along the sides of the board. This will not only cost your opponent extra moves but it will also result in your enemy's pieces getting in the way of each other. Count the squares that you are attacking, then count the squares that your opponent is attacking.

Space

Push a pawn to the center of the board (d4,e4). I say this because it is the quickest way to gain space in the center. Again, count the squares that you attack, then count the squares that your opponent attacks. In the diagram, White controls 5 squares on the opponent's side of the board. All this is because White made a center pawn move (e4). In the opening, attacking the center gains space for your pieces. Controlling more space can give you mobility and more attacking chances.

Time

Move all your pieces off of the back row without touching a piece a second time. When you are doing this, make sure that each piece is attacking at least one of the four squares in the middle of the board.

In the diagram, all the pieces are attacking the center squares and have moved only once. It is important to note that this is only an ideal position. You, most likely, will have to give and take squares depending on how your opponent moves. But, the point is to move a piece only once in the opening. If you waste time moving it a second time, you can lose the ability to capture a needed file, rank, diagonal, or an important strategic square. This is how games are won and lost.

King safety

Castle either king side or queen side to connect your rooks. Try to keep three pawns in front of your king.

Pawn structure

Make the enemy pawns move forward by attacking with pieces. This causes holes to form where your army can camp.

Mobility

If you can, with a pawn, open a file, rank, or diagonal for your rooks, bishops, and queen to move freely onto your opponent's half of the board. Try to control these open files, ranks, and diagonals.

For instance: if your opponent has a rook on a center file then you should put a rook on the same center file protected by another piece like another rook. If you can not do that then try to guard the squares along this file where the opponent's pieces can come into your camp. This deserves a diagram.

Stay with me now because this is very important to understand. I am going to explain an endgame so you can understand forceful play in the opening. In the diagram, it is White's turn to move. The Black rook can move down the (e) file to the (e2) square and enter into the White camp. How can White stop this? Well ideally White should put a rook on the same file to combat the opponent's rook. But if White moves his rook to e1, it will simply be captured by the Black rook because the White rook will have no one to protect it when it is sitting on the (e1) square. So White does the next best thing. He moves his king over to the (f1) square to protect the entry point (e2) against the hostile invasion of the Black Rook and White also makes it possible to bring his rook over to (e1) and contest the Black rook.

If you don't occupy these files, ranks, and diagonals and guard these entry squares, you can get beaten quickly in the first 10 moves of the game.

I want you to become a very strong player so please remember: If your opponent has a rook on a file, you put a rook on the same file. If your opponent has a bishop on a diagonal, you put a bishop on the same diagonal. Make very sure that you have these pieces protected by your other pieces. If you can't do this then guard the entry points along those hostile files, ranks, and diagonals.

The Attack

In diagram #2, the white pieces have all moved only once and are all off the back row. This is the developing stage of the game and one must strive to get their pieces out as quickly as possible and to get the king to safety. One of the early 20th century World Champions, Jose Capablanca (1888 - 1942), believed that one should control at least two squares in the center, before launching an attack. This slows down any of your opponents counter attacking chances.

When you attack, try to get all of your pieces involved in the fight. At the beginning of the game, the object of attack is the center... that is why every piece in the diagram is attacking at least one square in the center.

In the diagram, the knight on the f3 square can move to the square g5! This attacks the f7 pawn with two pieces (bishop and knight) and threatens a quick checkmate with the bishop taking the pawn on the f7 square! The bishop is protected by the knight on g5. Another way, is for the knight to take the pawn on the f7 square attacking the queen! The knight is protected by the bishop on c4. See how quickly the attack for the center turns into an attack on the king!
However, I recommend not attacking, especially for beginners, until you have castled for safety.

The Defense

When your opponent is attacking one of your pieces, always ask yourself:
Should I Take it!, Block it!, or Run away!
If the opponent's piece is not protected then Take it... Make them prove that they didn't make a mistake.
You might also Block the attacking piece. ie. Put one of your pieces in front of the piece you want to protect.
If you are really scared of the attacker then... when all else fails...Run away! (move your piece to a safer square)
Remember...Take it!, Block it!, or Run away!.

Values of the pieces

A Pawn is worth 1 point at the beginning of the game. However, when it moves to the last rank on the other side of the board it can be a rook, knight, bishop, or queen...pretty good isn't it.

A Rook is worth 5 points
A Knight is worth 3 points
A Bishop is worth 3 points
A Queen is worth 9 points

Never lose points in the chess game unless you have a plan!