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[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: English Opening: Agincourt Defense"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/h1Ei8z56"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "A13"] [Opening "English Opening: Agincourt Defense"] [UTCDate "2021.11.17"] [UTCTime "22:29:19"] [Variant "Standard"] { Our next variation is the Agincourt Defense. Like many openings where black plays e6, it is used as a transpositional line. Play the English! } 1. c4 e6 { The Agincourt Defense. This is actually my least favorite line to play against versus the English, but that's an opinion. Stockfish says that it's just best to play d4 and transpose into a QGD, but there are a host of good studies on the Queen's Gambit Declined and I highly recommend looking at them. A good move here is to play Nf3. } 2. Nf3 d5 { Capture the pawn. } 3. cxd5 { Excellent! } 3... exd5 { How to fianchetto the bishop? [%csl Gf1] } 4. g3 { Perfect! } ( 4. g4 { Too far. Now after Bxg4, Black is better. } ) 4... Nf6 { Fianchetto the bishop. } 5. Bg2 { Well done! } 5... Bd6 { Where's the best square for the knight? [%csl Gb1] } 6. Nc3 { Great! } 6... O-O { Castle. } 7. O-O { Excellent! } 7... b6 { If their bishop is developed along the c8-h3 diagonal, White plays Qb3, developing with tempo. Freeze this pawn- but with which piece? [%csl Rd5,Gf3,Gd2] } 8. d4 { Great! } ( 8. Nd4 { Right idea, but not the right piece... } ) 8... Bb7 { Now, where to put the bishop? [%csl Gc1] } 9. Bd2 { Great! Let's look at the next variation. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: English Opening: Great Snake Variation"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/XNTFLn14"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "A10"] [Opening "English Opening: Great Snake Variation"] [UTCDate "2021.11.17"] [UTCTime "22:43:48"] [Variant "Standard"] { We are now looking at the Great Snake variation. While this sounds like the kind of thing you're more likely to find in a reptile house than a chessboard, this is an OK, if not fantastic, variation of the English that takes some ideas from the Hypermodern school of chess. Play the English Opening. } 1. c4 g6 { The Great Snake. Develop this knight. [%csl Gg1] } 2. Nf3 { Perfect! } 2... Bg7 { I may have mentioned earlier that the English can be used as a transpositional tool. Here you can play d4 and take the center. But since I need more original content, play Nc3 for a good ol' fashioned English setup. } 3. Nc3 { Good! } 3... Nc6 { Prepare to fianchetto the bishop. [%csl Gf1] } 4. g3 { Great! } 4... Nf6 { Fianchetto time! } 5. Bg2 { Nice! } 5... O-O { Castle. } 6. O-O { Outstanding! } 6... d6 { Control e4 with a pawn. There's only one move to do that... [%csl Gd2,Ge4] } 7. d3 { Well done! } 7... Bd7 { Where do we put the bishop? [%csl Gc1] } 8. Bd2 { Perfect! Notice the "double hypermodern" setup that's happening on the board. Neither White nor Black has put any pawns in the center! However, White is slightly better. Let's get to the next variation. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: English Opening: Caro-Kann Defensive System"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/70wjoyiC"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "D13"] [Opening "Slav Defense: Exchange Variation"] [UTCDate "2021.11.17"] [UTCTime "22:55:04"] [Variant "Standard"] { This next Black "defensive system" is another transpositional device, as many sixth-rank pawn defenses are. Play c4. } 1. c4 { This pops up after c6. } 1... c6 { Notice how this is (almost) a Caro-Kann Defense, which arises after 1. e4 c6. However, we pushed the c-pawn, not the e-pawn. Play Nf3. [%cal Rc7c6,Re2e4] } 2. Nf3 { d5 is the obvious move. } 2... d5 { Take the pawn. } 3. cxd5 { Good! } 3... cxd5 { Blockade the pawn with another pawn. [%csl Gd5] } 4. d4 { Great! } 4... Nf6 { Prepare to fianchetto. [%csl Gf1] } 5. g3 { Excellent! } 5... Nc6 { Fianchetto! [%csl Gf1] } 6. Bg2 { Nice! } 6... Bf5 { Castle. } 7. O-O e6 { Where do you put this knight? [%csl Gb1] } 8. Nc3 { Super! } ( 8. Na3 { This does nothing for the center. What knight move attacks the center? } ) ( 8. Nbd2 { A less-than optimal square for the knight. What's the very best square? } ) 8... Be7 { Where should you put the bishop? [%csl Gc1] } 9. Bd2 { Great! This is how to play this. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: English Opening: English Defence"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/cj8PNoaR"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "A10"] [Opening "English Opening"] [UTCDate "2021.11.20"] [UTCTime "02:33:41"] [Variant "Standard"] { This next chapter is on the English Defence. The English Defense is similar to the Great Snake defense, except perhaps slightly better. But the basic premises are the same: fight for the center hypermodern-style. Play your (now well-learned) English Opening. } 1. c4 b6 { This is the English Defense. Along with having a very English name, it is one of the most sound hypermodern openings there is. What's the best square for the knight? [%csl Gb1] } 2. Nc3 { Excellent! } 2... Bb7 { What's the best square for the knight? [%csl Gg1] } 3. Nf3 { Great! } 3... Nf6 { Here, the best move is not your customary d3, but e3. [%cal Rd2d3,Ge2e3] } 4. e3 e6 { Control the center! } 5. d4 { Perfect! } 5... Be7 { What's the best square for the bishop? [%csl Gf1] } 6. Bd3 { Well done! } 6... O-O { The bishop's not very happy behind its own pawn... can you find a move that prepares to fianchetto it? [%csl Gc1,Re3] } 7. b3 { Excellent! } 7... d5 { Fianchetto. [%csl Gc1] } 8. Bb2 { Great! } 8... Nbd7 { Castle. } 9. O-O { Great job! This is how you play against the English Defense. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/NIBalxi8"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "A10"] [Opening "English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Malvinas Variation"] [UTCDate "2021.11.23"] [UTCTime "23:16:14"] [Variant "Standard"] { The next variation is the Anglo-Scandinavian Defense. This is not a very good opening, and you can wind up in a better position. Play c4! } 1. c4 d5 { The Anglo-Scandinavian. A poor choice, and highly inaccurate. This is much worse than the already susceptible Scandinavian Defense. Take the pawn. } 2. cxd5 { Great! } 2... Qxd5 { Which square can this knight go on to attack the queen? [%csl Gb1] } 3. Nc3 { Nice! } 3... Qa5 { Bring out your other knight to a good square. [%csl Gg1] } 4. Nf3 { Excellent! } ( 4. Nh3 { A knight on the rim is dim. What's a better square for the knight? } ) 4... Nf6 { Strike in the center with your d-pawn! [%csl Gd2] } 5. d4 { Perfect! } 5... c6 { How can we develop this bishop AND x-ray the queen? [%csl Gc1] } 6. Bd2 { Well done! } 6... Bg4 { Attack the bishop with the horse! (or you can call it a knight, but horse is more fun) [%csl Gg4] } 7. Ne5 { Perfect! } 7... Bh5 { This will be one of the toughest moves to find in the study, so pay attention: We want to strike in the center with e4, but doing so now would pretty much make the bar hydraulic-press from +1.7 to -7. (It's up to the reader to figure out why.) So how do we cut out the scope of the light-squared bishop from pinning the e-pawn? [%csl Gh5] } 8. f3 { Fantastic! } ( 8. e4 { Notice that the bar turned from +1.7 to -7. Take a guess why, then check it with Stockfish. } ) 8... Nbd7 { Attack a pawn with your queen. [%csl Gd1] } 9. Qb3 { Perfect! That's how to play the Anglo-Scandinavian Defense. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: English Opening: Myers Defence"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/D2JkUAJG"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "A10"] [Opening "English Opening: Myers Gambit"] [UTCDate "2021.11.23"] [UTCTime "23:38:36"] [Variant "Standard"] { The Myers Defense is a (somewhat bizarre) way to counter the English Opening. It can almost be considered a novelty. Play your English Opening. } 1. c4 g5 { The Myers Defense. Just play d4 and attack the pawn. } 2. d4 { Nice! } 2... Bg7 { Stockfish already says +1.5. But not if you take the pawn. Play Nc3. [%cal Gb1c3,Rc1g5] } 3. Nc3 ( 3. Bxg5 { White is still winning, but after c5, Black still has some chances. } ) 3... c5 { c5 is an important strike in the Myers Defense. You should probably know that in many of these strikes, it is an attempt to open up the dark-squared bishop, so most of the time, you shouldn't take. But not this time! Take the pawn! } 4. dxc5 { Great! } 4... Na6 { An attempt to win back the pawn. Don't try to hold on to the pawn; it won't work forever. Instead, develop this knight to the best square. [%csl Gg1] } 5. Nf3 { Nice! } 5... Bxc3+ { The best move, but a very pathetic-looking one indeed. Play the only rational move. } 6. bxc3 { Good! This looks stupid, but it's actually really good for White. [%csl Gc5,Gc4,Gc3] } ( 6. Bd2 { It's just went to -7 because you don't know that pawns capture diagonally! } ) ( 6. Nd2 { -7.5! Pawns capture diagonally! } ) ( 6. Qd2 { If you played this move, you are either Magnus Carlsen and the other player will lose anyway, or you are trolling, or you learned that queens are the most powerful piece and you decided to "bring your queen out". Can you think of a better move? } ) 6... Qa5 { Nxc5 was impossible due to Qd4!, forking the knight and the rook. Now you can take that pawn on g5. But which capture is better? [%cal Gf3g5,Gc1g5] } 7. Bxg5 { Yes! That's the correct capture. } ( 7. Nxg5 { Not terrible, but inaccurate. Which is the better capture? } ) 7... Nxc5 { Now Qd4 isn't a move because of f6!, attacking the bishop. How do you get ready to fianchetto the bishop? [%csl Gf1] } 8. g3 { Well done! } ( 8. Qd4 { Fails to f6! } ) 8... Qxc3+ { "What are you doing?? You just gave away a pawn!" Except everything is under control. The computer gives some crazy line where you sacrifice the last c-pawn, but it's much easier, as mere mortals, to play Nd2. [%cal Gf3d2,Rg5d2] } 9. Nd2 { Perfect! Later, you'll fianchetto the bishop and use your open lines on the queenside. [%csl Gf1] }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: English Opening: Jaenisch Gambit"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/tOFCxr7m"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "A10"] [Opening "English Opening: Jaenisch Gambit"] [UTCDate "2021.11.24"] [UTCTime "00:00:54"] [Variant "Standard"] { This opening variation is the Jaenisch Gambit. It is a sacrifice in order to exert some queenside and kingside pressure. Play the English! } 1. c4 b5 { This is the Jaenisch Gambit. Take the pawn. } 2. cxb5 e5 { This is a common strike in the center. Strike in the center yourself! } 3. e4 { Perfect! } 3... Bb7 { A common theme in the Jaenisch Gambit is to fianchetto the bishop. Which knight move defends the pawn? [%csl Gb1] } 4. Nc3 { Good! } 4... Nf6 { Still going after the pawn! Counter-attack their pawn with your knight! [%csl Ge5,Gg1] } 5. Nf3 { Great! } 5... Nxe4 { Take the knight. } 6. Nxe4 Bxe4 { Take their pawn. } 7. Nxe5 { Well done! } 7... Qe7 { This looks scary, but coolly and calmly play d4. } 8. d4 d6 { "But aren't they attacking the knight and when the knight moves they'll play Bf3+ and win all my stuff and ahhhhhhh!" Your only move, then, is to counterattack their bishop with your queen! [%csl Gd1] } 9. Qe2 { Great! } 9... Bb7 { Now move the knight out of the way back to its former home on f3. [%cal Ge5f3] } 10. Nf3 { Excellent! } 10... Qxe2+ { And take (with the bishop, of course). } 11. Bxe2 { And you're winning by quite a bit. The first part of the study is complete. Now we'll look at the tranpositional value of the English. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: Transpositional Values"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/2pWlITEc"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [UTCDate "2021.11.24"] [UTCTime "17:53:56"] [Variant "Standard"] { If you've decided that all of my opening ideas are crazy and you want your own thing, you're in luck: the English Opening has transpositional value. That means that it can turn into other openings. I'll show you the different ways that you can make a new opening. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: What if I want a Queen's Gambit Declined?"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/4QxCx5Rt"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "D30"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined"] [UTCDate "2021.11.24"] [UTCTime "17:56:38"] [Variant "Standard"] { Start with the English. } 1. c4 e6 { This is the Agincourt Defense. If you want to know how to tackle this, a previous chapter describes how. But say that you feel like playing a Queen's Gambit Declined. Then strike in the center with d4! } 2. d4 { Nice! } 2... d5 { And this is a transposition into the Queen's Gambit Declined. I might make a study on this later, but for now, you'll have to find one yourself. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: What if I want a Queen's Gambit instead of an Anglo-Scandinavian?"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/RAYR32qp"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "D06"] [Opening "Queen's Gambit"] [UTCDate "2021.11.24"] [UTCTime "22:32:43"] [Variant "Standard"] { This chapter is for people who hate playing against those people who bring their queen out super early. Play your English. } 1. c4 d5 { This is the Anglo-Scandinavian. If you don't want nothin' to do with it, play d4. } 2. d4 { Perfect! This is now a Queen's Gambit. 99% of Anglo-Scandinavian players expect you to take the pawn, but now, they're out of their territory. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: How about avoiding the Grunfeld?"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/7ymQdS7n"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "A16"] [Opening "English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Knight Variation"] [UTCDate "2021.11.24"] [UTCTime "22:38:40"] [Variant "Standard"] { The Grunfeld Defense is a common problem for d4 players. (Well, not at my level, where nobody knows how to play hypermodern openings, but at ~2000 elo.) So I'm going to show you how to play c4 to beat the Grunfeld. You remember our starting move, right? } 1. c4 Nf6 { Grunfeld players look to use this setup highlighted in red. Play Nc3. [%cal Rg8f6,Rg7g6,Rd7d5,Gb1c3] } 2. Nc3 g6 { Here, if you like playing against the Grunfeld (like me), then you play d4 and transpose into it. But if you want to avoid it entirely, then you play e4. [%cal Rd2d4,Ge2e4] } 3. e4 { This will soon transpose into a King's Indian Defense, a much different opening than the Grunfeld. }
[Event "English Opening!󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: Thank you for watching!"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qkiEGvJu/rRkX4Gqd"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessBeginner210"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [UTCDate "2021.11.24"] [UTCTime "22:45:59"] [Variant "Standard"] { Thank you for visiting my study! }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Introduction"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/i8C1m7oU"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "4k3/R7/8/8/8/8/8/4K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Welcome to another instructive study by NoseKnowsAll. This interactive study is for newer players and those <1600 lichess, taking you through the absolutely most important endgames to master. For those of you at the lower end of this rating range, take your time and try to see why other ideas may not work out. For those at the top, master these positions so you can nail them in blitz games! If you're looking for more advanced endgame positions that are equally important, please check out Intermediate Endgames You Must Know instead: https://lichess.org/study/UsqmCsgC Throughout this study, I will also provide general endgame tips that these important endgames showcase. Whenever this general advice occurs, I'll write it just like this: PRO TIP: Always bring your king up in the endgame! If you find this study useful, please heart it and share it with any friends! [%cal Ba7h7] }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Staircase mate"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/aad83qtx"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/8/4k3/Q7/1Q6/4K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Welcome to another instructive study by NoseKnowsAll. This interactive study is for newer players and those <1600 lichess, taking you through the absolutely most important endgames to master. For those of you at the lower end of this rating range, take your time and try to see why other ideas may not work out. For those at the top, master these positions so you can nail them in blitz games! } 1. Qbb4+ { Notice how both queens defend each other, and together the queens control the 3rd and 4th rank. There's only one place for the poor black king to go: up! [%cal Bb4h4,Ba3h3] } 1... Kd5 2. Qaa5+ { Up, up, and away! [%cal Ba5h5,Bb4h4] } 2... Kc6 3. Qbb6+ { See how it's nice the queen on b6 is already protected? Our pattern does not depend at all on where black's king goes. [%cal Bb6h6,Ba5h5] } 3... Kd7 4. Qaa7+ { [%cal Ba7h7,Bb6h6] } 4... Kc8 5. Qbb8# { With every move coming with check, you can be sure you're heading towards checkmate and not going to accidentally stalemate your opponent. [%cal Bb8h8,Ba7h7] }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Sideways staircase mate"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/HYMvmWf4"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/4k3/2Q5/3Q4/8/4K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { A common occurrence in many of these endgames: without pawns on the board, the definition of "up" is irrelevant! You can re-orient this mate any way you want. As Ender Wiggin from the novel "Ender's Game" once put it: the enemy gate is down. } 1. Qce4+ { In this example we perform the same staircase mate but this time walk the king to the far right of the board to his doom. [%cal Bd3d8,Be4e8] } 1... Kf6 2. Qdf3+ { [%cal Be4e8,Bf3f8] } 2... Kg5 3. Qeg4+ Kh6 4. Qfh3# { Notice how you can premove this entire checkmating sequence. The black king can't stop you! }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Staircase mate with a rook"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/RFzyvDZm"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/2k5/1R6/Q7/8/4K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { This same staircase mate works just as well with a queen and a rook too. You have to be careful though - the rook MUST be closer to the black king than the queen. } 1. Qa5+ { [%cal Ba5h5,Bb4h4] } ( 1. Qa4 Kd6 2. Qb5 Kc7 3. Qc5+ $6 { This orientation of the pieces is definitely not the right way to go. Notice how the queen is closer to the king than the rook. Now you might accidentally lose your queen if you try the same staircase mate... } 3... Kd7 4. Rd4+ Ke6 5. Qe5+ $4 { Oops! Remember: with the rook between the queen and enemy king, there's no way for his king to attack any of your undefended pieces! } 5... Kxe5 $1 ) 1... Kc6 2. Rb6+ { [%cal Bb6h6,Ba5h5] } 2... Kd7 3. Qa7+ Kc8 4. Rb8#
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 1: Staircase mate with a rook"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/Tg5fUN8X"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/2k5/R7/1Q6/8/4K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Your first exercise. What's the easiest way to staircase your opponent, given the way the pieces are currently setup? } 1. Rc4+ $1 { Yes! With the rook in front of the queen (in this case, between the king and queen), we can be certain that the rook is always protected. The staircase mate follows immediately. [%cal Bc4c8,Bb3b8] } ( 1. Qb5+ $4 { Don't worry, this is a typical mistake. With the queen in front of the rook, you might forget that sometimes the queen is undefended and can be freely captured. Try again. [%cal Gc5b5] } ) ( 1. Qb4+ { Yes this move wins, but we haven't created the staircase mate we know and love! } ) ( 1. Rb4 { This move should also create the correct staircase if you were planning to follow up with Qa3->Qa5. But why reshuffle our pieces when they're already setup perfectly to staircase our opponent in a different direction? } ) 1... Kd5 2. Qd3+ ( 2. Qb5+ { Excellent! You have now setup the staircase mate we know and love - walking the black king up the board. For this exercise, though, let's try to walk the black king to the h file instead. } ) 2... Ke5 3. Re4+ Kf5 4. Qf3+ Kg5 5. Rg4+ Kh5 6. Qh3# { This checkmate is the easiest of all the checkmates, but being able to pull this off quickly is a crucial part of everyone's game. Even the World Champion Magnus Carlsen needs to know this checkmate! https://lichess.org/II6pkHsh#123 }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Ladder mate"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/7EktV4MO"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/8/8/1k6/R7/2Q1K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Sometimes your pieces are in a different position than the usual staircase mate, and instead you can perform this so-called ladder mate. Note that this is not any better or worse than the staircase mate, but having both checkmates fully under your belt can be useful if there are more pieces on the board! } 1. Ra3+ { The beginning of the ladder mate. We will walk the king down the board as if he is climbing down a ladder. [%cal Bc1a3,Ba3c3,Bc1c3] } ( 1. Rb2+ { If you fully understand the staircase mate, we can use this to see that this move leads to a quick checkmate. However, let's learn a new way to checkmate instead! Sometimes the pieces aren't set up for the classic staircase mate. } 1... Ka3 2. Qa1# ) 1... Kb4 { Notice how the king only has one legal move! } 2. Qc3+ Kb5 { Again, only one legal move! } 3. Ra5+ { As with the staircase mate, we must start with the rook in order to ensure all our pieces stay protected. } ( 3. Qc5+ $4 { Starting with the queen is a no-go! } 3... Kxc5 ) 3... Kb6 4. Qc5+ Kb7 5. Ra7+ Kb8 6. Qc7# { This checkmate pattern gets its name from the squares our queen and rook took - resembling a ladder. [%csl Gc1,Ga3,Gc3,Ga5,Gc5,Ga7,Gc7][%cal Gc1a3,Ga3c3,Gc3a5,Ga5c5,Gc5a7,Ga7c7] }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: A small trick in the ladder mate"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/QBJ0JaTk"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/1k6/8/R7/8/2Q1K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { This position is identical to the previous one, except the black king lies on b5 instead of b4. If we naively follow the ladder mate sequence, we might be in for a rude awakening... } 1. Qc3 Kb6 { Black again only has one move. Note, however, that none of white's moves have been check. } 2. Ra5 Kb7 3. Qc5 Kb8 4. Ra7 $4 $10 { Oops. We accidentally stalemated the black king! This will probably only occur if white is too busy premoving the ladder mate pattern to notice that these moves weren't coming with check. To avoid falling into this, just make sure that your last rook move hits with check. This can be accomplished many different ways, but my personal choice would be a king move. } ( 4. Kd2 $1 Kb7 { Black again only has one legal move. But this move walks directly into the ladder mate we know and love. } 5. Ra7+ Kb8 6. Qc7# { Nice. The pattern hits exclusively with checks and ends in checkmate. } )
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: The two rook shuffle"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/7SsNnILX"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/8/8/3k4/1R6/R3K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Our last king-less checkmate uses two rooks. We want to perform the staircase mate, but because rooks can't protect diagonally, we'll have to make a few intermediate moves in order to get the job done. } 1. Ra3+ { Just as in the staircase mate - whenever we can control all the squares along two consecutive ranks/files, the king must move towards his doom! [%cal Ba3h3,Bb2h2] } 1... Kc4 $1 { A clever move by black - he sees that you are trying to checkmate him with the staircase method, so he stops you in your tracks. So what can we do? } 2. Rh2 $1 { We quickly move our rook as far away as possible from the enemy king and continue our idea of checking him up the board. PRO TIP: Rooks need space to work. When checking the king, make sure your rook is as far away from the king as possible! } ( 2. Rb4+ $4 Kxb4 { Both staircase patterns fail! } ) ( 2. Rc3+ $4 Kxc3 { Both staircase patterns fail! } ) 2... Kb4 3. Rg3 { Now that both rooks have escaped the black king's reach, we can continue the staircase checkmate. } ( 3. Rh4+ $4 { Stay alert to your opponent's threats! } 3... Kxa3 ) 3... Kc4 4. Rh4+ { [%cal Bh4a4,Bg3a3] } 4... Kd5 5. Rg5+ { Up he goes! [%cal Bg5a5,Bh4a4] } 5... Ke6 6. Rh6+ { [%cal Bg5a5,Bh6a6] } 6... Kf7 7. Ra5 $1 { We've been here before. Give your rooks space to check before continuing the staircase mate. } 7... Kg7 8. Rb6 Kf7 9. Ra7+ { [%cal Bb6h6,Ba7h7] } 9... Ke8 10. Rb8#
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 2: The two rook shuffle"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/OrUEVA1k"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/8/2k5/4K2R/6R1/8 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Exercise 2: Let's checkmate the king using the two rook shuffle we just learned. But there's a problem... our king is actually in the way! } 1. Ke2 $1 ( 1. Kd2 { Also completely correct! Play Ke2 instead for the solution I input into this exercise. } ) ( 1. Kf2 { Also completely correct! Play Ke2 instead for the solution I input into this exercise. } ) ( 1. Ke4 { This is a great move if you were planning to checkmate the king by pushing him towards the a file! Nice! However, this exercise asks you to perform the same shuffle we just saw instead. } ) ( 1. Kf4 $2 { This move doesn't get out of the way of our rooks, right? } ) ( 1. Kf3 $2 { This move doesn't get out of the way of our rooks, right? } ) ( 1. Rg4+ { While this move will certainly checkmate eventually, you're not making immediate progress here because black can play Kc3! Your king is in the way of your rooks. } ) 1... Kd4 2. Rg4+ { And now we've reached the same checkmating pattern we just learned. Let's play this out to checkmate so that you can fully practice it. } 2... Ke5 3. Rh5+ Kf6 4. Ra4 ( 4. Rb5 { Equally good. Play Ra4 for the intended solution, with this move to follow next. } ) 4... Kg6 5. Rb5 Kf6 6. Ra6+ Ke7 7. Rb7+ Kd8 8. Ra8# { Nicely done! PRO TIP: Once you have mastered fundamental endgames, you'll see them pop up everywhere! Keep your eyes out for ways you can transform a position that you don't fully understand into one you have already mastered such as by playing Ke2 at the beginning of this exercise. Here's Magnus Carlsen himself pulling this off! https://lichess.org/bqu8Ozhr/black#65 }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: The queen box"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/56iA0NCU"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/3k4/8/2Q5/4K3/8 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { While this is not the fastest way to checkmate with just a queen and king left, this is definitely the easiest. So how do we push him down the board? Our goal is to imprison the black king in an ever-shrinking box, and then finally checkmate him. } 1. Qb4 { Our queen moves a knight's move away from the king (so it is not hanging for free), and shrinks the box the king can travel within to just the 4 top ranks. [%cal Bb4h4,Bb4b8] } 1... Kc6 ( 1... Ke5 2. Qc4 { [%cal Bc4c8,Bc4h4] } 2... Kf5 3. Qd4 { We can checkmate our opponent in any quadrant of the board. Remember to stay a knight's move away from the king! [%cal Bd4d8,Bd4h4] } ) 2. Qa5 { [%cal Ba5a8,Ba5h5] } 2... Kb7 3. Qc5 { We are again a knight's move away from the king. While this new box has changed from the previous ones, do notice how it is smaller. PRO TIP: Centralizing the queen is a good idea if you can't quite get any pattern to work out. [%cal Bc5c8,Bc5a5] } 3... Ka6 4. Qb4 { [%cal Bb4b8,Bb4a4] } 4... Ka7 5. Qb5 { The king is now stuck to only two squares, and is ready to be checkmated [%csl Ra7,Ra8][%cal Bb5b8,Bb5a5] } 5... Ka8 6. Kd3 $1 { CAUTION: DO NOT STALEMATE YOUR OPPONENT. Once our opponent is completely restricted, we bring our king into the action. PRO TIP: A lone queen cannot ever checkmate a king. } ( 6. Qb6 $4 $10 { Stalemate! PRO TIP: Make sure your opponent's king always has at least one square it can move to after you make your move. } ) 6... Ka7 7. Kc4 Ka8 8. Kc5 Ka7 9. Kc6 Ka8 10. Qb7# { With our king fully participating, we are able to checkmate the king by placing our queen directly in front of the king. Now that we finally can cover those last two squares in the box, black is checkmated. } ( 10. Kc7 Ka7 11. Qb7# { Just as good. } )
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: An important king standoff"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/8ZE0KEgU"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/3k4/8/3K4/7R/8 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { When the kings are exactly two squares away from each other, they are in what's known as "opposition." Notice how both kings are holding their ground against each other. PRO TIP: When two kings are in opposition, the player who has to move their king FIRST must give up ground. [%cal Gd3c4,Gd3d4,Gd3e4,Rd5c4,Rd5d4,Rd5e4] } 1. Rh5+ { In this case, white can force the opponent king backwards with this annoying rook check. This concept of taking opposition between two kings in order to force your opponent backwards will be a crucial part of many endgames, especially king and pawn endgames. [%csl Gc5,Gc4,Gd4,Ge4,Ge5,Gd5][%cal Gd3c4,Gd3d4,Gd3e4,Bh5a5] }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: A first rook mate"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/XAhp9gWl"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/3k4/7R/4K3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { First I will introduce the old-fashioned way to checkmate with the king and rook (which takes forever). In the upcoming chapters, we'll see more efficient technique. Here, the main idea is to keep forcing the black king up the board by taking away more and more ranks from him. To do this, we need to take opposition from black. } 1. Rg6 $3 { A genius waiting move that forces black to self-destruct. Either (1) black has to move into opposition with Ke7 (reaching the position we saw from the previous chapter), (2) the black king voluntarily moves onto the back rank in which case Rg7 seals his fate, or (3) we get a chance to chase him down to the edge of the board. } 1... Kc7 ( 1... Ke7 $6 { [%cal Ge5d6,Ge5e6,Ge5f6] } 2. Rg7+ Kf8 3. Kf6 { The progress we're looking for. Black is now trapped on the back rank. } ) ( 1... Ke8 $6 2. Rg7 Kf8 3. Kf6 { The progress we're looking for. Black is now trapped on the back rank. } ) 2. Kd5 Kb7 3. Kc5 Ka7 4. Kb5 { Finally, black has to walk into opposition, and we can force him onto the back rank. } 4... Kb7 { [%cal Gb5a6,Gb5b6,Gb5c6] } 5. Rg7+ { [%csl Ga6,Gb6,Gc6,Gc7,Gb7,Ga7][%cal Gb5a6,Gb5b6,Gb5c6,Bg7a7] } 5... Kc8 6. Kc6 { With the king stuck on one less rank than the original position, we repeat the same pattern until checkmate. } 6... Kd8 7. Ra7 $3 { The genius waiting move again. PRO TIP: When checking with a rook, it's often best to keep as much space from enemy kings as possible. } ( 7. Rb7 $6 { This doesn't accomplish the same thing as Ra7 because we're not far enough from the king. } 7... Kc8 { With the kings in opposition, we would love to play Rb8#... } 8. Rb8+ $4 Kxb8 $10 { Oops. The rook was too close to the king. } ) ( 7. Rh7 $6 { The right idea, but the wrong execution. Black is never going to intentionally walk into opposition, so the game will continue like so: } 7... Ke8 8. Kd6 Kf8 9. Ke6 Kg8 { Our rook is again too close to the enemy king. We'll have to reposition it two more times before being able to checkmate. } ) 7... Ke8 8. Kd6 Kf8 9. Ke6 { Notice how it's immediately checkmate if at any point black walks into opposition with our king. } 9... Kg8 ( 9... Ke8 { Walking into opposition immediately results in checkmate. } 10. Ra8# ) 10. Kf6 Kh8 11. Kg6 { Again, we've chased black to the edge of the board and the king has to self-destruct by walking into opposition. } 11... Kg8 { [%cal Gg6f7,Gg6g7,Gg6h7] } 12. Ra8# { [%csl Gf7,Gg7,Gh7,Gh8,Gg8,Gf8][%cal Gg6f7,Gg6g7,Gg6h7,Ba8h8] }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: The rook box"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/OPBv5FWe"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/8/8/3k4/1R6/3K4 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Instead of the previously described (and painfully slow) pattern, we will now instead checkmate the king by squeezing it into a smaller and smaller box. The key advice to remember here is: the enemy gate is down. So with every move, don't worry about how we shrink the box, let's just shrink the overall box! } 1. Re2 $1 { The black king is already stuck on less than one-half of the board. [%cal Be2e8,Be2a2] } ( 1. Rb3+ { This is the old-fashioned way to learn it. When the kings are lined up, we can check the king back and he must be stuck on less ranks/files of the board. But does this really limit the overall squares the black king can move to? Hardly... [%csl Gc2,Gd2,Ge2][%cal Gd1c2,Gd1d2,Gd1e2,Gb3h3] } ) 1... Kc3 { First we'll see what happens if black thinks that the only way he's going to get checkmated is on the 8th rank. Next chapter we'll revisit this position and see better defense from black. } 2. Rd2 { [%cal Bd2d8,Bd2a2] } 2... Kb3 3. Rc2 { [%cal Bc2c8,Bc2a2] } 3... Ka3 4. Kc1 { Always improve the king when the rook can no longer tighten the box. } 4... Kb3 5. Kb1 Ka3 6. Rb2 $1 { The black king is now stuck to a single file. Remember: the enemy gate is down, which in this case means we are checkmating the opponent against the far left wall. [%cal Bb2b8,Bb2a2] } 6... Ka4 7. Kc2 Ka3 8. Kc3 Ka4 { With the king trapped on one file, we need to again use opposition in order to find a checkmate. As in the previous example, we can only checkmate the black king once the kings are lined up in opposition. In this case it's against the far left wall instead of the top wall. } 9. Rb1 $3 { Excellent! Now the opponent has to either step into opposition with Ka3 and immediately get checkmated, or we can chase him all the way up the board until he has to step into opposition. } ( 9. Kc4 $2 { This move looks good, but the black king can escape this opposition and we're not any closer to checkmate. } 9... Ka5 ) 9... Ka5 ( 9... Ka3 $2 10. Ra1# ) 10. Kc4 { We continue our chase. Notice how the black king can no longer walk down the board because he would be stepping directly into opposition and therefore mate with Ra1#. } 10... Ka6 11. Kc5 Ka7 12. Kc6 Ka8 13. Kc7 { The chase is complete. With nowhere left to go, the black king is finally forced to walk into opposition and checkmate himself. } 13... Ka7 14. Ra1#
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: The rook box with better defense"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/tGmDrQtl"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/8/8/8/3k4/R7/3K4 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. Re2 { Now let's see what happens if black plays smarter and realizes that stepping towards any of the four walls will lead to a fast checkmate. PRO TIP: If you're looking to survive the longest in any endgame, stay central with your king. It is much easier to get checkmated against a wall than in the center of the board. [%cal Be2e8,Be2a2] } 1... Kd4 2. Kd2 { Our rook could not make a move that shrunk the box, so we take the time out to improve our king. This moves takes opposition (and therefore the important c3 and d3 squares from our opponent), shrinking the box a tiny bit. } 2... Kd5 3. Kd3 { If our opponent lets us, we can continue to take opposition - black has to keep giving ground. } ( 3. Re3 $2 { Reasonable, but this move doesn't make progress. } 3... Kd4 { Now we see it's us who has to give up ground! The rook cannot move because then the king escapes the box. The king cannot move because it must protect the rook. } ) 3... Kc5 { And here's the only tricky move to remember in this checkmate. } ( 3... Kc6 4. Re5 { Mission accomplished - the box is being shrunk } 4... Kd6 5. Kd4 { And we've seen this position already. Black has to continue giving ground. } ) ( 3... Kd6 4. Kd4 { The box continues to be shrunk... } ) 4. Ke4 $3 { Because black is not threatening to escape the box created by our rook for one turn, our king is allowed to cross over to the other side of the e file in order to force the king back. [%csl Bd5][%cal Be2e8,Be2a2] } 4... Kc4 ( 4... Kd6 5. Kd4 { Taking opposition. We've seen this position above. Black has to continue giving up ground. } ) 5. Rc2+ { Opposition allows us to continue shrinking the box. [%cal Ge4d3,Ge4d4,Ge4d5,Bc2c8] } 5... Kb3 6. Kd3 Kb4 7. Rc3 Kb5 8. Rc4 { [%cal Bc4c8,Bc4a4] } 8... Kb6 { The box has been shrunk as much as we can with just the rook. Now we again involve our king to force the black king further back. } 9. Kc3 Kb5 10. Kb3 Kb6 11. Kb4 { We continue the pattern. Within the box defined by our rook, improve the king as much as possible until we hit the critical juncture here. Black has to give up ground by either going towards the side of the board or give up ground by going towards the top of the board. [%cal Bc4c8,Bc4a4] } 11... Ka6 12. Kc5 $1 { Compare this position to the position on move 4. When the king is not threatening to leave the box created by our rook, our king is able to crossover the line in order to cover the b6 (in the previous position d5) square. [%csl Bb6][%cal Bc4c8,Bc4a4] } 12... Kb7 ( 12... Ka5 $6 13. Rb4 { With the king trapped on the side of the board, we know how to chase him all the way to a corner. } ) 13. Kb5 Ka7 14. Kc6 $1 { Crossing over again. [%csl Bb7] } 14... Kb8 ( 14... Ka6 $6 15. Ra4# ) 15. Kb6 Ka8 16. Rc8# { The king is trapped. No need to chase him any further. To remember this checkmate, ask yourself two questions: (1) Can I use my rook to shrink the box around the king further? If so, make a rook move. If not, (2) Where do I need to position my king to keep shrinking this box further? This usually means taking opposition from our opponent and push him back more. }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 3: The crucial rook box position"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/ldlxdMdS"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/2k5/8/3K4/4R3/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Black has just played Kc6, trying to stay as central as possible. What maneuver do we need to remember in order to take opposition away from our opponent? [%cal Be3e8,Be3a3] } 1. Ke5 $1 { Nice job! Because the black king wasn't threatening to escape our box, white can cross over this line in order to wrestle away more space from the black king. [%csl Bd6] } ( 1. Kc4 $2 { A good try, but not correct. In this case black can go back with Kd6 and our best move should be to repeat ourselves with Kd4, trying again. We have taken opposition, but in this case our opponent sadly does not need to give ground. } 1... Kd6 2. Kd4 ) ( 1. Re5 $6 { This move definitely makes a lot of sense, but after Kd6 it's us that has to give ground. The rook needs to stay in place to prevent the enemy king from escaping the box, and the white king has to keep protecting the rook. } 1... Kd6 ) ( 1. Re6+ { An excellent move that I didn't show in the previous chapter. After Kd7, we have Kd5 and we have made progress. And after Kb5!? we can play Rd6! and black must again walk into opposition with Kb4 Rb6+, giving further ground. } 1... Kb5 2. Rd6 $1 Kb4 3. Rb6+ Ka5 4. Kc5 ) 1... Kd7 { The best try from black would have been to stay centralized with Kc5, but walking into opposition like that allows Rc3+, and we have successfully shrunk the box. } ( 1... Kc5 2. Rc3+ Kb4 3. Kd4 { The box has shrunk. } ) 2. Kd5 ( 2. Rc3 $1 { The fastest way to mate! This excellent move is one I didn't show in the previous chapter. After Ke7, we have Rc7+ and the king is forced onto the back rank. } 2... Ke7 3. Rc7+ Kd8 4. Kd6 ) 2... Kc7 3. Ke6 { Not the fastest way to win (we should already be thinking about trapping him against the top wall instead of the left wall), but this is the move that we have already discussed. [%csl Bd7] } ( 3. Rb3 $1 { The fastest way to mate! Now Black will again have to walk into opposition and next be forced against the top wall. } 3... Kd7 4. Rb7+ Kc8 5. Kc6 ) ( 3. Re6 $6 { This move definitely makes a lot of sense, but after Kd7 it's us that has to give ground. The rook needs to stay in place to prevent the enemy king from escaping the box, and the white king has to keep protecting the rook. } ) 3... Kc6 4. Rc3+ Kb5 5. Kd5 Kb4 6. Kd4 $18 { And we again have shrunk the box considerably. White is making progress. Here's Magnus Carlsen pulling this checkmate off in only 5 seconds! https://lichess.org/nPI3zfiw/black#123 } ( 6. Rd3 $1 { The fastest way to mate! Now black will again have to walk into opposition and next be forced against the top wall. } 6... Kb5 7. Rb3+ Ka4 8. Kc4 ) ( 6. Re3 $1 { The fastest way to mate! Now black will again have to walk into opposition and next be forced against the top wall. } 6... Kb5 7. Rb3+ Ka4 8. Kc4 ) ( 6. Rf3 $1 { The fastest way to mate! Now black will again have to walk into opposition and next be forced against the top wall. } 6... Kb5 7. Rb3+ Ka4 8. Kc4 ) ( 6. Rg3 $1 { The fastest way to mate! Now black will again have to walk into opposition and next be forced against the top wall. } 6... Kb5 7. Rb3+ Ka4 8. Kc4 ) ( 6. Rh3 $1 { The fastest way to mate! Now black will again have to walk into opposition and next be forced against the top wall. } 6... Kb5 7. Rb3+ Ka4 8. Kc4 ) ( 6. Rc5 $1 { An equally good move. We have shrunk the box to the bottom left corner and have made considerable progress. Play Kd4 instead to solve this exercise. } )
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: King and pawn endgame"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/2ru3TC7p"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/3k4/8/8/3PK3/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { The goal of every king and pawn endgame is to create a queen (or rook!) with this pawn. Once that happens, using what we've learned from the previous chapters in this study, we know how to checkmate the lone king. Here, we again use opposition to push black's king back. This time the plan is to take control of the queening square. } 1. Kd5 $1 { Black must retreat, which allows our king to infiltrate even further. [%cal Gd5c6,Gd5d6,Gd5e6] } ( 1. d5 $4 $10 { A terrible mistake that draws the game. We'll see precisely how this plays out in a coming chapter, but in the meantime... PRO TIP: Always get your king up in the endgame. Especially in king and pawn endgames, be sure to get your king as active as possible before pushing pawns. } 1... Kd6 2. Kd4 $10 ) 1... Kc7 2. Ke6 Kd8 3. Kd6 { Taking opposition again means the black king must retreat again. [%cal Gd6c7,Gd6d7,Gd6e7] } 3... Ke8 ( 3... Kc8 4. Ke7 { This amounts to the same thing as in the main line. } ) 4. Kc7 { Now that white has control of the d8 square, we can push our pawn all the way home until we queen. [%csl Bd8] } 4... Ke7 5. d5 Ke8 6. d6 Kf7 7. d7 Ke7 8. d8=Q+ $18 { We'll be able to win this endgame as in https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/56iA0NCU }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: King and pawn endgame"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/A1W1Huoz"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/3k4/8/8/4K3/3P4/8/8 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. Kd5 { As before, we always seek opposition in these king and pawn endgames in order to force the black king backwards. [%cal Gd5c6,Gd5d6,Gd5e6] } 1... Kc7 2. Ke6 Kd8 3. Kd6 { Opposition again! [%cal Gd6c7,Gd6d7,Gd6e7] } 3... Ke8 { We now need our pawn a little closer in order to show how to finally kick the black king away from d8 for good. } 4. d4 ( 4. Kc7 $6 { It's too early for this because black can now dive bomb our pawn, and we'll have to retreat in order to defend it... } 4... Ke7 5. d4 Ke6 6. Kc6 Ke7 { This is still winning, but we now must transpose to the main line in order to win from here. } ) 4... Kd8 5. d5 { White already has the opposition between the kings, so again black must give ground. } 5... Kc8 6. Ke7 { [%csl Bd8] } 6... Kc7 7. d6+ Kc8 8. d7+ Kc7 9. d8=Q+ $18 { After promotion, checkmate is soon to follow. }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Drawing a king and pawn endgame"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/fHmVLjSJ"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/3k4/3P4/3K4/8/8/8 b - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Black has to step backwards, but because white has pushed their pawn too far, black can draw this endgame by always trying to gain opposition. } 1... Kd7 2. Ke5 Ke7 $1 { Opposition! White cannot enter with the king. First let's see how to keep drawing this if white tries a different approach with their king. We'll see what happens if they push the pawn a little later. } 3. Ke4 Kd6 4. Kd4 { We return to the original position. PRO TIP: Get your king up in the endgame as much as possible. No matter which side you are playing. } 4... Kd7 5. Kc5 Kc7 $1 { Opposition! White cannot enter here either. } 6. d6+ ( 6. Kb5 Kd6 7. Kc4 { If white ever leaves the defense of the pawn, we can now pressure the pawn, forcing white to retreat. } ) 6... Kd7 7. Kd5 Kd8 $1 { Black must be ready to gain opposition from white no matter which direction they head to: the e file or the c file. [%cal Gd5e6,Gd5c6,Gd8e8,Gd8c8] } 8. Ke6 Ke8 $1 { Opposition. White makes no progress on this side of the pawn. } 9. Kd5 Kd7 10. Kc5 Kd8 $1 11. Kc6 Kc8 $1 { Opposition again. White makes no progress here either. } 12. d7+ Kd8 13. Kd6 $10 { If white ever pushes this pawn to the 7th rank, we immediately get stalemated. Black draws the game. This concept of opposition is explored further in the next endgame study: https://lichess.org/study/UsqmCsgC/YBtOyp2n }
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Exercise 4: Can you draw this?"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/6bficx4X"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/8/3k4/3P4/3K4/8/8/8 b - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { This important endgame requires both sides to fully understand the power of taking the opposition. Strong players can draw this position given less than 1 second. Can you? } 1... Kd7 ( 1... Ke7 { This also draws. But be careful about giving up opposition after Ke5. If you were on the back rank, this would be a losing maneuver! } ) ( 1... Kc7 { This also draws. But be careful about giving up opposition after Kc5. If you were on the back rank, this would be a losing maneuver! } ) 2. Ke5 Ke7 $1 ( 2... Kd8 $4 { Oh no! After Kd6, your opponent takes the opposition and wins the game. } ) ( 2... Ke8 $4 { Oh no! After Ke6, your opponent takes the opposition and wins the game. } ) 3. Ke4 Kd6 4. Kd4 Kd7 ( 4... Ke7 { This also draws. But be careful about giving up opposition after Ke5. If you were on the back rank, this would be a losing maneuver! } ) ( 4... Kc7 { This also draws. But be careful about giving up opposition after Kc5. If you were on the back rank, this would be a losing maneuver! } ) 5. Kc5 Kc7 $1 ( 5... Kc8 $4 { Oh no! After Kc6, your opponent takes the opposition and wins the game. } ) ( 5... Kd8 $4 { Oh no! After Kd6, your opponent takes the opposition and wins the game. } ) 6. d6+ Kd7 ( 6... Kd8 { Yes this also draws. Play Kd7 instead to get back to the main line. } ) ( 6... Kc8 $4 { Oh no! After Kc6, your opponent takes the opposition and wins the game. } ) 7. Kd5 Kd8 $1 ( 7... Ke8 $4 { Oh no! After Ke6, your opponent takes the opposition and wins the game. } ) ( 7... Kc8 $4 { Oh no! After Kc6, your opponent takes the opposition and wins the game. } ) 8. Ke6 Ke8 9. d7+ Kd8 10. Kd6 $10 { Nice job escaping with the draw. Here's Magnus Carlsen nailing this technique against the upcomer Alireza Firouzja as well! https://lichess.org/VRbVnnAa/black#138 }
[Event "Capablanca - Kostic"] [Site "Havana CUB"] [Date "1919.03.25"] [Round "1"] [White "Jose Raul Capablanca"] [Black "Borislav Kostic"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Russian Game: Cozio Attack"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { I will leave this endgame study with advice that I have already repeated several times. PRO TIP: In an endgame, get your king up the board as much as possible. Once there is no more fear of getting checkmated, the king is a fighting piece that can help you win the game! Activate it as best you can. Here is a famous example from Capablanca. Skip ahead to move 49 to see the endgame. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. d3 Nf6 7. Bg5 Qxe2+ 8. Bxe2 Be7 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. O-O O-O 11. Rfe1 Nc6 12. d4 Rfe8 13. Bb5 a6 14. Ba4 b5 15. Bb3 Na5 16. Re3 c6 17. Rae1 Kf8 18. Bf4 Nb7 19. h3 h6 20. Bh2 Bd8 21. Rxe8+ Bxe8 22. a4 c5 23. Ne4 Nxe4 24. Bd5 Ra7 25. Bxe4 Be7 26. axb5 axb5 27. dxc5 dxc5 28. Bb8 Ra8 29. Bg3 Ra7 30. Bb8 Ra8 31. Bg3 Ra7 32. Ne5 Nd8 33. b3 Ne6 34. Bd5 Nd4 35. c3 Nf5 36. Bh2 b4 37. g4 Nd6 38. c4 Ra3 39. Re3 Nc8 40. Bb7 Na7 41. Bd5 f6 42. Nf3 Nc6 43. Nh4 Nd4 44. Nf5 Nxf5 45. gxf5 Bd7 46. Be4 Ra6 47. Rd3 Bc6 48. Bxc6 Rxc6 49. Kg2 $1 { With so many pieces traded, it's clear neither side will be getting checkmated. Now is the time to activate our king! } 49... Ra6 50. Kf3 Ra2 51. Bg3 $1 { In a perfect world we would keep bringing our king up the board. First we defend the f2 pawn. } 51... Ke8 52. Bf4 Ra6 53. Be3 Ra1 54. Kg4 { Now that the f2 pawn is again solidly defended, we keep bringing our king up in the endgame! } 54... Ra7 ( 54... Rh1 55. h4 { This wouldn't have stopped Capablanca from marching his king further up the board. } ) 55. Kh5 $1 Kf7 { Black stops us from reaching the g6 square - the optimal square to apply pressure to black's pawns. [%csl Bg6] } 56. Rd5 Ra3 57. Rd7 Ke8 58. Rd3 Kf7 59. h4 Ra7 60. Rd5 Ra5 $6 ( 60... Rc7 $1 { Black surely wanted to avoid this passive defense, but it might have just worked out. } 61. Bf4 Ra7 62. Bg3 Bf8 63. Bf4 Be7 64. Bd2 Ra3 { With best play, black might have still had a draw here... } ) ( 60... Ra3 $2 $16 { The move black wants to play doesn't work. White will transpose to this on move 63. } ) 61. Rd7 Ke8 62. Rd3 Kf7 63. Rd5 $1 { But with several precise moves from white, we are now able to make further progress. After these incoming piece trades, our king is able to enter further. } 63... Ra3 64. Bxc5 Bxc5 65. Rxc5 Rxb3 66. Rc7+ $1 Kf8 67. Kg6 $1 { With white's king so active, and black's king so passive, white is certainly winning now. } 67... Rf3 68. Rf7+ Ke8 69. Rxg7 Rf4 ( 69... Rxf2 70. h5 $18 { Capablanca will win both the f and h pawns whenever he feels like it. Black can do nothing against white's active king. } ) 70. h5 Rxc4 71. Kxh6 Kf8 72. Rb7 Rg4 73. f3 ( 73. Kh7 $1 { [%cal Gh5h6] } 73... Rg5 74. h6 Rxf5 75. Kg6 $1 Rxf2 76. Rb8+ Ke7 77. h7 $18 { Capablanca found this key winning idea (which depends on the active king and passed h pawn) only two moves later. } ) 73... Rg5 74. Rxb4 Kf7 ( 74... Rxf5 75. Kg6 $1 { If black played the "obvious" move, the king returns to its active post and wins the game. } 75... Rxf3 76. Rb8+ Ke7 77. h6 $18 { [%cal Gh6h7,Gh7h8] } ) 75. Rg4 Rxf5 76. f4 Ra5 77. Rg7+ Kf8 78. Rb7 f5 79. Kg6 Ra6+ 80. Kxf5 Ra5+ 81. Kg4 Ra6 82. Kg5 $1 { Notice how Capablanca is never quick to push his pawns, but first seeks to activate his king as much as possible before pushing any pawns. } 82... Rc6 ( 82... Ra5+ 83. f5 $18 { The f pawn will protect the white king from lateral checks, so we can keep walking up the board to further support these pawns queening. } ) 83. f5 Kg8 84. f6 Rc1 85. Rg7+ Kf8 86. h6 $18 { 1-0 Black resigns. A fitting finish. Black's king is completely dominated and white's king dominates. Remember that your king is a fighter. Get your king up in the endgame! } 1-0
[Event "Beginner Endgames You Must Know!: Thanks for enjoying this study!"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj/uCRQ1IkV"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "4k3/R7/8/8/8/8/8/4K3 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.24"] [UTCTime "16:53:15"] [Variant "Standard"] { Be sure to like this study and share with your friends if you enjoyed it! Feel free to ask/answer any questions in the chat room if you're stuck on a key idea. You can check out my other instructive studies too if you're working on improving your game. -NoseKnowsAll Beginner endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/wukLYIXj * Intermediate endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/UsqmCsgC (the next in the series) * More endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/xtDSXkyi * Advanced endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/UO2zqigQ * Rook endgames you must know! https://lichess.org/study/bnboDhFM * Knights \| How to dominate your opponents! https://lichess.org/study/kI8ikTU4 * Bishops \| Slice through the opposition! https://lichess.org/study/kNn68T8l * Rooks \| Infiltrate for activity! https://lichess.org/study/U7tTRtdj * Always sacrifice the exchange! https://lichess.org/study/h3ccaYFE * Beautiful checkmates https://lichess.org/study/YtBYXc3m [%cal Ba7h7] } *
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 31. The Knight is the best piece to block a passed pawn"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/IjP71cLx"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r1bq1rk1/pp3ppp/3n4/2pPp3/4P3/2N5/PP2BPPP/R2Q1RK1 w Qq - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "11:36:02"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ Thanks to its ability to jump over all units, the Knight is considered the best piece to block a passed pawn, because its range isnâ€™t impaired by the pawn itself. â™¦ The Bishop is the second best blockader, especially if the pawnâ€™s adjacent diagonals are open. [%csl Gd6,Rd5][%cal Ge8d6] }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 32. Pawn majority distant from the enemy King is an advantage"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/rHZX9wo8"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r2r2k1/pp3pbp/5qp1/2p5/8/1P2PQP1/P2N1PKP/1R1R4 b q - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "11:39:38"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ Majority is when a player possesses more pawns on one side than the opponent. For example, 2 against 1, 3 against 2, etc... â™¦ In many cases, majority results in a spatial advantage, but most important is that this majority always produces a passed pawn, when pawns are correctly advanced. [%csl Rf3,Ya2,Yb3,Ba7,Bb7,Bc5][%cal Ge7f6,Rf6f3] }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 33. Minority Attack"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/aMny9urU"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "3rr1k1/1pb2pp1/p1p2n1p/1P6/P3P3/2N1BP2/6PP/2RR4 b q - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:00:35"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ Whenever a color has majority of pawns on one side, the other color may perform a minority attack. â™¦ This attack consists of advancing pawns in order to force trades, leaving the opponent with only one isolated pawn or a backward one. [%csl Ya4,Yb5,Ga6,Gb7,Gc6][%cal Bb4b5] }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 34. Avoid Unnecessary Trades"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/La5t6KHs"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r1b2rk1/pp1nqppp/2p1p3/3n4/2BP4/2N1PN2/PP3PPP/2RQK2R w q - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:03:36"] [Variant "Standard"] { As a general rule, you should only trade pieces: â™¦ When your opponent has the initiative â™¦ When you are in a restricted position â™¦ In order to weaken your opponentâ€™s pawn structure â™¦ When you are in material advantage â™¦ In order to trade off a passive piece for an active one of your opponent â™¦ In order to simplify position and reach a more favorable endgame â™¦ In order to eliminate an important enemy defense [%cal Bc3e4] }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 35. The value of a piece varies according to its position"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/JtdFadhh"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "rn2kb1r/p3qppp/2p2n2/1p2p1B1/2B1P3/1QN5/PPP2PPP/R3K2R w KQkq - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:09:17"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ The value of a piece is, generally, consistent with the number of squares it dominates, because the more squares it controls, the more it threatens the opponent. â™¦ A well-positioned piece is of much higher value than the equivalent enemy piece that occupies a bad position. â™¦ In general, a well-positioned piece has the following qualities: it is protected, has great mobility, isnâ€™t easily attacked, cooperates with the other pieces and attacks enemy pieces or pawns. [%cal Bc3b5] } 1. Nxb5 cxb5 2. Bxb5+ Nbd7 3. O-O-O { [%csl Yf6,Yd7] } 3... Rd8 4. Rxd7 Rxd7 5. Rd1 Qe6 6. Bxd7+ Nxd7 7. Qb8+ Nxb8 8. Rd8# { Morphy's Game. }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 36. Whenever possible, place your Rooks on the 7th or 8th rank"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/43KE2gQI"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "5rk1/pp1R1p1p/2p3p1/8/8/8/PPP2PPP/5K2 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:13:17"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ A Rook on the 7th rank is an advantage, not only because it represents danger to enemy pawns, but also because it restricts the opponentâ€™s King and creates various mate possibilities. [%csl Yb7,Ya7,Yf7][%cal Bd2d7] }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 37. Double Rooks on the 7th rank"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/PtIyiYRm"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "br3rk1/2R2p1p/6pB/8/8/7P/5PP1/3R1K2 w - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:16:33"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ Two Rooks occupying the 7th rank is an extremely dangerous weapon, because the enemy is condemned to the most complete passivity. [%cal Bd1d7] } 1. Rdd7 { â™¦ The enormous amount of pressure on the pawn base and the possibility of innumerous tactic themes, almost always turn this advantage into a win. [%csl Bc7,Bd7,Yf7,Yh7,Yg8] }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 38. Not always a pawn should be promoted into a Queen"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/8k4nBhqr"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "5N2/3q3k/6p1/6K1/r7/8/5PPP/8 b - - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:19:20"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ In amateur games, automatically queening a pawn has been the reason for many stalemate draws. [%cal Bf7f8,Rf8h7,Rf8d7] } 1... Kg7 2. Nxd7 { â™¦ Carefully consider which piece is most appropriate for that specific circumstance. }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 39. Keep your Knights close to the center"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/BfU965gm"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "rn1qk2r/pb1pbppp/1p2pn2/2p5/2PP4/2N2NP1/PP2PPBP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 0 7"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:22:16"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ Knights, more than any other piece, need to be close to the center of the chessboard. â™¦ First, because a Knight can control 8 squares from the center, while from the borders it controls only 4. â™¦ Second, because a Knight needs 4 moves to cross the chessboard and reach the other side, while from the center it takes only 2 to get to one of the borders. [%csl Bc3,Bf3] }
[Event "ðŸ’¡ Chess Tips [ Part 4 ]: 40. Rooks should rapidly occupy open or half-open files"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/qh6X5hLD/wpqF2BlR"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Toxenory"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n5/1B2p3/4n3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQR1K1 b kq - 0 5"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2016.08.11"] [UTCTime "12:23:45"] [Variant "Standard"] { â™¦ During opening, Rooks are the last pieces to be developed, because they are effective when they settle on open or half-open files. â™¦ Usually, the ideal squares to place Rooks are e1, d1 and c1 (e8, d8 and c8 for Black), because from these positions they can put pressure on the center and defend the backrank at the same time. â™¦ A Rook may, however, be an effective defense when placed on the 2nd file, while it still operates aggressively in the file. [%csl Be1,Ye8,Ye4][%cal Bf1e1] }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 1"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/5byS5HzD"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.09"] [UTCTime "21:33:54"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 { Develop knights (Nc6/Nf6) before bishops. } 5. Be2 Nf6 6. Nc3 ( 6. c3 { Strongest move; discussed on ch. 3. } ) 6... Bf5 { Bf5 is strong; opt for Bg4 to pin the knight if bishop isn’t placed on e2. } ( 6... Bg4 { Bg4 is a mistake in this position. } 7. h3 Bf5 8. Ne5 { Position is now equal. } ) 7. O-O e6 { E6 is best. } 8. Bf4 Be7 { Be7 or Bd6 is good. } 9. Re1 O-O { Castling is great for black (position is currently at -0.7); expansion on the queen side with Rac1 and a6/b5 will lead to an exciting game. The knight can eventually hop into e4 as well. }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 1 cont. (2. Nf3)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/ubwdLu6x"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "02:09:22"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 { Nf3, a very common move among beginners. This position can also transpose into that of the first chapter. } 2... d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nc6 { Follow the same principals and themes as the first chapter. }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 1 cont. (4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bd3)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/DHhrx4Uz"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.09"] [UTCTime "22:13:19"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 { Essentially the same theme, but white’s light-squared bishop is placed on d3 rather than e2. } 1... c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bg4 7. Bf4 { Bf4 in this position is a blunder. } 7... Nxd4 8. Be2 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Nxf3+ 10. Qxf3 { White is just down a clean pawn and black has the easier game 10. e6 11. O-O Bc5/Be7 12. Rad1 O-O/Rc8 is promising: }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 1 cont. (4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c3)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/JnenBXId"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.09"] [UTCTime "22:40:12"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c3 { c3, the best move in this variation for white. } 5... Nf6 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. Bf4 e6 8. O-O Bd6 { An equal game, but fighting chances for black. Attempt to trade off the dark-square bishop and continue to make simplifications. Also, never let go of the d5 pawn which would allow for a d4-d5 pawn break. }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 1 cont. (5. c4)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/Z14guKaO"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "02:20:13"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 exf6 { In this position, black is already slightly better. Put bishops on e6 and d6 (if Nc3, opt for Bb4). }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 2"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/fOnCFRFT"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation, Rubinstein Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.10"] [UTCTime "02:10:46"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 { White’s light-squared bishop on d3 restricts black’s light-squared bishop by preventing it from going to f5. } 4... Nc6 { Nc6 hits the weak pawn on d4, a critical theme in the caro-kann. Also, after 5. c3 Nf3, white’s queen won’t be able to give check on the a5 square. An important theme in this variation is the danger of the b5 square and its diagonal towards the king along with b1-h7 diagonal. Another logical continuation would be a6 to restrict the b5 square. } 5. c3 { The best move for white. Moves like Nf3 allow for the bishop to jump to g4. } ( 5. Nf3 Bg4 ) 5... Nf6 { Nf6 controls the g4 square. If white wants to continue the restriction of the light-squared bishop, the move h3 would have to be played, which would in turn inhibit white’s development. } 6. Bf4 Bg4 { A comfortable game for black in which problems are unlikely to occur. Common themes include trying to trade off the light-square bishops and further simplifications. Main line includes 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. Nd2 e6. Only downside is that white’s dark-squared bishop restricts black’s bishop from coming to d6. } 7. Qb3 { Here is a game that continues from this position (Aronian vs Caruana): } 7... Qc8 8. Nd2 e6 9. Ngf3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Rae1 Bh5 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bg6 14. Bxg6 hxg6 15. a3 Qc6 16. Nf3 Ne4 17. Bf4 f6 18. Nd2 g5 19. Be3 f5 20. f3 Nd6 21. Bf2 Nc4 22. Nxc4 dxc4 23. Qc2 Bf6 24. Re2 Rad8 25. Rfe1 Rfe8 26. Bg3 f4 27. Bf2 Kf7 28. Re4 Qb5 29. Qe2 Qd5 30. g3 fxg3 31. Bxg3 Re7 32. Rg4 b5 33. f4 gxf4 34. Bxf4 Rh8 35. Rf1 Ke8 36. Qe3 Rh5 37. Qg3 Rf5 38. Qg2 Kd7 39. Re1 a5 40. Bg3 Qxg2+ 41. Kxg2 b4 42. axb4 axb4 43. Ra1 Kc6 44. Ra4 Rb7 45. Re4 bxc3 46. bxc3 Rb3 47. Re3 Kb5 48. Ra8 Bxd4 49. Rxe6 Bxc3 50. Rb8+ Ka4 51. Rc8 Rb4 52. Ra6+ Kb3 53. Bd6 Rf6 54. Rac6 Rg6+ 55. Kf3 Rb7 56. Rxc4 Rf7+ 57. Ke4 Rg4+ 58. Kd5 Rf5+ 59. Ke6 Rf6+ 60. Kd5 Rxd6+ 61. Kxd6 Rxc4 62. Rxc4 Kxc4 63. Ke6 Bd2 64. Kf5 Bh6 65. Ke4 Kc3 { Aronian, L. - Caruana, F., 0-1, chess.com Speed 3m+1spm 2017, 2018, https://lichess.org/aCYoermQ }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 2 cont. (5... Nf6 6. h3)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/NDt1fOU5"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.10"] [UTCTime "03:44:04"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. h3 $5 { h3!? The move we discussed before is a slow move but is heavily preventing black from developing the light-squared bishop. } 6... g6 $1 { g6! Preparing to fianchetto the dark-squared bishop while also giving us a square to develop the light-squared bishop. } 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. O-O Bf5 $1 { Bf5! Our solution to developing the light-squared bishop. White has a choice on whether to take or to ignore. Let’s see what happens when takes: } 9. Bxf5 ( 9. Re1 $2 Bxd3 { White has traded off his best minor piece: the light-squared bishop on d3. } 10. Qxd3 O-O 11. Bf4 Ne4 12. Nbd2 Nxd2 13. Nxd2 e6 { Here, black’s pawn structure is solid and shouldn’t have any problems. You have the choice of maneuvering the knight to c4 (via Na5) or you can push the a and b pawns down the board. Great fighting chances for black! } ) 9... gxf5 { The pawns on f5 and d5 allow for a strong hold on the e4 square in which we can eventually put our knight. In fact, the only way for white to kick our knight out would be the dubious f3. } 10. Bf4 O-O 11. Ne5 e6 12. Nd2 Ne7 { The e7 knight can eventually jump to g6 and kick the bishop from f4. Eventually, the knight will move to e4 where it will be very hard for white to force it away. The e4 knight will be a very powerful piece that can be heavily utilized. The fianchettoed bishop can eventually move to h6 after white’s bishop moves to h2/g3 after the Ng6 maneuver. The middle game after this position will be comfortable as all of the pieces seem to work in harmony. } 13. Re1 { Here is game that continues from this position (Nun vs Rogers): } 13... Ng6 14. Bh2 Ne4 15. Nd3 Bh6 16. Nf3 f6 17. Re2 b6 18. Qb3 Rc8 19. Kh1 Qd7 20. Rae1 Kh8 21. Ng1 Rfe8 22. f3 Nd2 23. Qd1 Nc4 24. f4 Nd6 25. Nf3 Ne4 26. g4 fxg4 27. hxg4 Bg7 28. Rg2 Rf8 29. Reg1 a5 30. Qe1 Qb5 31. Nf2 f5 32. gxf5 exf5 33. Nxe4 dxe4 34. Ng5 Rf6 35. Qd1 Bh6 36. Nh3 Nh4 37. Re2 Qd5 38. Re3 Nf3 39. Rg2 Rg6 40. Rxg6 hxg6 41. a3 Kg7 42. Bg3 b5 43. Ng1 Ne5 44. Qf1 Rh8 45. Kg2 Ng4 46. Re1 Rc8 47. Qe2 Kg8 48. Nh3 Bg7 49. Ng5 Bf6 50. Bh4 Rc7 51. Kg3 Bxg5 52. Bxg5 Rh7 53. a4 e3 54. Bh4 g5 55. fxg5 Qd6+ 56. Kh3 Nf2+ 57. Kg2 Rxh4 58. Qxe3 Qh2+ 59. Kf1 Ne4 { Nun, Jiri - Rogers, Ian, 0-1, CZE-chT 9495, 1995, https://lichess.org/nGSVXeml }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 3"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/CDnzQYOx"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Panov Attack, Modern Defense, Mieses Line"] [UTCDate "2020.12.10"] [UTCTime "04:16:57"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 { c4, the Panov Attack. Likely the most challenging reply to the Caro-Kann due to the aggressive approach. } 4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 ( 5... g6 { g6 is a valid option if you don’t want to go into the endgame line. This variation leads to exciting play in which black gambits a pawn for rapid development. } 6. Qb3 Bg7 7. cxd5 O-O 8. Be2 Nbd7 ) 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qb3 Bxf3 9. gxf3 e6 10. Qxb7 Nxd4 11. Bb5+ Nxb5 12. Qc6+ Ke7 13. Qxb5 Qd7 14. Nxd5+ Qxd5 15. Qxd5 exd5 { The very common endgame line! This position is equal for both sides but is a solid choice for black. The doubled pawns on the c file will be an eventual weakness and Ke6/Bb4 for black will lead to a endgame that will be very hard to lose. Let’s play out the endgame (Ivanchuk vs Najer): } 16. Be3 Ke6 17. O-O-O Bb4 18. Rd3 Rhc8+ 19. Kb1 Bc5 20. Rc1 Bxe3 21. fxe3 g5 22. Ra3 Rxc1+ 23. Kxc1 a5 24. Kd1 Rb8 25. b3 Rb5 26. Ra4 h5 27. Ke1 f5 28. h3 Kd6 29. Ke2 Rc5 30. Kd2 Rb5 31. Ke2 Rc5 32. Kd2 Rb5 { Ivanchuk, V. - Najer, E., 1/2-1/2, TCh-TUR Super League 2017, https://lichess.org/BIJJfPm7 }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 3 cont. (6. Bg5)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/SUq4c727"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Panov Attack, Modern Defense"] [UTCDate "2020.12.10"] [UTCTime "04:37:03"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 { Bg5 leads to a more eventful game where both sides are scrambling for a win. } 6... dxc4 { dxc4, the more aggressive line. } 7. Bxc4 h6 ( 7... Qxd4 $2 { Qdxd4 at this stage is a mistake because of the potential danger, yet black is not actually losing. } 8. Qxd4 Nxd4 ) 8. Bh4 Qxd4 9. Qxd4 Nxd4 10. O-O-O e5 ( 10... Nc6 $4 { The rather calm move Nc6 is actually a blunder. } 11. Nb5 { After Nb5, the rook is going to fall. } ) 11. f4 Bg4 12. Nf3 ( 12. Rd2 $2 { Rd2 is a mistake because it can lead to a devastating attack. } 12... Rc8 13. Bb3 $4 Ne4 { After Ne4, white is almost completely lost. } ) 12... Bxf3 13. gxf3 Rc8 14. fxe5 Rxc4 15. exf6 Ne6 { This line isn’t intuitive at all but leads to weird positions where both sides can make mistakes. }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Exchange Variation 3 cont. (7. d5)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/f3tBcIFq"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Panov Attack, Modern Defense"] [UTCDate "2020.12.10"] [UTCTime "05:01:10"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 dxc4 7. d5 { d5 takes allows a lot of central control for white, but with correct play, black can rally on. } 7... Ne5 8. Bxc4 Nxc4 9. Qa4+ Bd7 10. Qxc4 h6 { h6 in these tricky Bg5 exchange variations is always going to be a viable option. } 11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Bg7 { This is a solid position for black and is relatively easy to play because you are up the bishop-pair. }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Advance Variation 1"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/ZNCxM8af"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B12"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Tal Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "04:02:27"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 { e5, the Advance Variation: the most common Caro-Kann variation! } 3... Bf5 { Bf5 before e6 is one benefit of the Caro-Kann, as the French Defense leads to the restriction of black’s light-squared bishop. } 4. h4 $1 { h4! The threat is obviously 4...e6 5. g4 which picks up the bishop. } 4... h5 { h5 controls the f4 square along with allowing a retreat square for the bishop. } 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 Qa5+ ( 6... e6 { e6 is the most popular move in this position, but it allows Bg5 and black’s dark-squared bishop would be somewhat of annoyance due to it being extremely hard to kick out. Yet, this position is playable after Qb3 and going for this line is totally okay. } 7. Bg5 { After you interpose with Be7, don’t trade off the bishops because of the eventual g4/g5 which would lead to a solid space advantage for white. } ) 7. Bd2 { Looking in the future, with queens off the board, white’s pawns are distanced from the rest of the pieces (h4, e5, d4) and black can later attack them. } 7... Qa6 8. Qxa6 Nxa6 9. Nc3 e6 { e6 is the move to play here. Even though the evaluation bar represents an equal position, I find this game easier for black because of white’s pushed pawns. In the future, moves like c5 and Rc8 will exploit white’s weakness and undermine their position. }
[Event "Caro-Kann: Caro-Kann Advance Variation 1 cont. (7. Nd2)"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/VJb8YgoJ/Nt8vB3aW"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/Hairy_poppins"] [ECO "B12"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Tal Variation"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "04:21:38"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 Qa5+ 7. Nd2 { Nd2 here is the most common move because of the reasons we discussed before concerning white’s pawns. The downfall for Nd2 is that it blocks in white’s dark-squared bishop. } 7... e6 8. Nf3 { Now, blacks pieces can be developed freely. Qa6, Nh6, and Ne7 are all candidate moves for black in this position. Later plans include attempting to trade off the queens and putting the knight on d7. } 8... Nh6 { Here is a game that continues from this position (Jones vs Xiong): } 9. O-O Nf5 { This knight on f5 is going to be a very important piece throughout the game because of its attacks on the h4 and d4 pawns. } 10. Nb3 Qa6 11. Qd1 Nd7 12. Bf4 Be7 13. g3 Rc8 14. c3 c5 { Practically all of black’s moves have been leading to this important c5 break. } 15. a4 Qb6 16. Ra2 a6 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Kg2 Nf8 19. a5 Qb5 20. Nxc5 Rxc5 21. Re1 Ng6 22. Be3 Rc8 23. Bb6 Nge7 24. Nd4 Qd7 25. Ra3 Rc4 26. Qf3 Qc8 27. Rd1 g6 28. b4 O-O 29. Bc5 Re8 30. Bxe7 Nxe7 31. Rb3 Nc6 32. Qe3 Qc7 33. Re1 Rc8 34. Qf4 Nxd4 35. cxd4 Rc3 36. Re3 Rc1 37. Rf3 Rf8 38. g4 hxg4 39. Qxg4 Qc4 40. Rfd3 Ra1 41. Qf4 Qc2 42. Qe3 Kg7 43. h5 Rh8 44. Qf4 Qe2 45. Qf6+ Kg8 46. Qd8+ Kg7 47. Qf6+ Kg8 48. Qd8+ { Jones, G. - Xiong, Jeffery, 1/2-1/2, St Louis Summer A, 2019, https://lichess.org/peUnUhjc }
[Event "How to CRUSH the Caro Kann: 2 knights overview"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/RHQLcFIb/j8mI2GPa"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/EricRosen"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack"] [UTCDate "2021.09.27"] [UTCTime "04:45:25"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 { The beginning of the 2 Knights Attack } 3... dxe4 ( 3... d4 { See Chapter 5 } ) ( 3... Bg4 { See Chapter 6 } ) ( 3... Nf6 { See Chapter 7 } ) 4. Nxe4 Nf6 { "Tartakower" Variation (Levy's Recommendation) -- See chapters 3 and 4 } ( 4... Bf5 $2 { The most common mistake of Caro Kann Players -- See Chapter 2 } )
[Event "How to CRUSH the Caro Kann: The Most Common Trap: Punish 4...Bf5?"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/RHQLcFIb/wOSZ9xrp"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/EricRosen"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack"] [UTCDate "2021.09.27"] [UTCTime "17:54:14"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 ( 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 { [%csl Gf5][%cal Gc8f5] } ) 2... d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 { [%csl Ge4] } 4... Bf5 $2 { [%csl Gf5][%cal Gc8f5] } ( 4... Bg4 5. h3 { [%cal Gg4f3,Gd1f3] } 5... Bh5 6. Ng3 { [%cal Gg3h5] } 6... Bg6 7. h4 { transposes to mainline } 7... h6 8. Ne5 Bh7 9. Qh5 g6 10. Bc4 ) 5. Ng3 { [%csl Gf5] } 5... Bg6 6. h4 h6 ( 6... Nf6 ) 7. Ne5 { [%csl Gg6] } 7... Bh7 8. Qh5 g6 ( 8... Qd5 { White to move } 9. Bc4 ) ( 8... Nf6 9. Qxf7# ) 9. Bc4 { oh no my queen! [%csl Rf7][%cal Gg6h5] } 9... e6 { [%csl Rf7][%cal Gh5f3,Gf3f7] } ( 9... gxh5 10. Bxf7# ) 10. Qe2 ( 10. Qf3 Nf6 ) 10... Bg7 ( 10... Nf6 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. Qxe6+ Kg7 13. Qf7# { [%csl Gg7][%cal Gf7g7] } ) ( 10... Qc7 11. d4 { [%csl Gc4,Ge5,Gg3,Rh7,Gc7][%cal Gc1f4,Gf4c7,Ge1c1] } ) 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. Qxe6+ Kf8 13. Qf7#
[Event "How to CRUSH the Caro Kann: Tartakower: Smothered Mate Trap"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/RHQLcFIb/yGjiY6DG"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/EricRosen"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack"] [UTCDate "2021.09.27"] [UTCTime "17:55:43"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 ( 5. Nxf6+ exf6 { [%csl Gg8,Gf7,Gf6,Gg7,Gh7][%cal Gf8d6,Ge8g8] } ) 5... Nbd7 { [%csl Rd7] } ( 5... Bf5 6. Nxf6+ gxf6 7. d3 { [%csl Gg3,Gf2,Gh2,Rf5,Gb3][%cal Gg2g3,Gf1g2,Ge1g1,Gh8g8,Gg8g2,Gf3h4,Gb2b3,Gc1b2,Gb2f6] } ) ( 5... Nxe4 6. Qxe4 { See chapter 4 } ) 6. Nd6#
[Event "How to CRUSH the Caro Kann: Tartakower: OH NO MY QUEEN"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/RHQLcFIb/9wECjqWz"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/EricRosen"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack"] [UTCDate "2021.09.27"] [UTCTime "17:58:40"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 { [%csl Gf6][%cal Gg8f6] } 5. Qe2 Nxe4 6. Qxe4 Nd7 { [%csl Gf6,Re4][%cal Gd7f6] } 7. Bc4 Nf6 8. Ne5 { OH NO MY QUEEN } 8... e6 ( 8... Nxe4 9. Bxf7# ) 9. Qe2 Bd6 10. d4 O-O { [%cal Ge1g1] } 11. Bg5 { [%csl Gc1][%cal Ge1c1] } 11... h6 12. h4 Be7 ( 12... hxg5 13. hxg5 { [%cal Gh1h8,Gf6d5,Gf6d7,Gf6h7,Ge2h5] } 13... Nh7 { [%csl Gh7][%cal Gf6d7,Gf6d5] } ( 13... Nd5 14. Qh5 { [%csl Gh8][%cal Gh5h8] } ) 14. Qh5 Re8 { [%csl Gh7][%cal Gh5h7] } 15. Qxf7+ Kh8 16. Ng6# { [%cal Gh1h8,Gg6h8] } ) 13. O-O-O { [%csl Gg4,Gf6,Ga5][%cal Gg2g4,Gg5f6,Gg4g5,Gd1g1,Gg1g8,Gd8a5] } 13... Qa5 14. g4 { [%csl Gf6,Gg5][%cal Gg5f6,Gg4g5] }
[Event "How to CRUSH the Caro Kann: EASY PLANS vs 3...d4"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/RHQLcFIb/nHhr0wbx"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/EricRosen"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack"] [UTCDate "2021.09.27"] [UTCTime "17:59:31"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 d4 4. Ne2 c5 5. Ng3 { [%csl Gc4][%cal Gf1c4,Gd2d3,Ge1g1] } 5... Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 ( 6... e5 7. d3 Nf6 $2 { [%cal Gf3g5] } 8. Ng5 Be6 9. Nxe6 fxe6 10. Bxe6 { [%cal Ge6c8,Ge6g8] } ) 7. d3 Nf6 8. O-O a6 { [%csl Gb5][%cal Gb7b5] } 9. a4 Be7 10. Bd2 ( 10. Ng5 ) 10... O-O 11. Ng5 h6 12. Nh3 e5 13. f4 Bxh3 14. gxh3 { [%csl Gg8,Gh1,Gf5,Gc4][%cal Gg2g8,Gf2f8,Gg1h1,Gf1g1,Gd1e2,Ge2g2,Gf4f5,Gd2h6,Ga2g8] }
[Event "How to CRUSH the Caro Kann: CLEVER TRAPPY LINE vs 3...Bg4"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/RHQLcFIb/DKbsy8n5"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/EricRosen"] [ECO "B11"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack, Mindeno Variation"] [UTCDate "2021.09.27"] [UTCTime "17:58:00"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. Be2 $5 { Check out Jonathan Schrantz's thorough video on this variation: https://youtu.be/3gocSY9dEKk } 4... e6 ( 4... d4 $2 5. Nxd4 Qxd4 ( 5... Bxe2 6. Ndxe2 ) 6. Bxg4 ) 5. O-O Nf6 ( 5... d4 $2 6. Nxd4 ) 6. h3 ( 6. e5 Nfd7 7. d4 ) 6... Bh5 ( 6... Bxf3 7. Bxf3 ) 7. Ne5 Bxe2 8. Qxe2 d4 ( 8... Bd6 9. d4 ) 9. Nb1 Bd6 10. Nxf7 Kxf7 11. e5 Bxe5 12. Qxe5 { [%csl Gf7,Gd3,Gg5][%cal Gd2d3,Gc1g5,Gb1d2,Gf1e1,Ge1e6] }
[Event "How to CRUSH the Caro Kann: AGGRESSIVE GAMBITS vs 3...Nf6"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/RHQLcFIb/bttNGPpB"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/EricRosen"] [ECO "B10"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Two Knights Attack"] [UTCDate "2021.09.27"] [UTCTime "19:46:00"] [Variant "Standard"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Ne4 ( 4... Nfd7 5. e6 $1 fxe6 6. d4 { [%csl Re6,Re7,Rd5,Rf8,Rd7,Rc8,Rb8] } 6... Nf6 7. Bd3 $16 g6 8. h4 Bg7 9. h5 Nxh5 10. g4 Nf6 11. Bh6 { [%csl Rg7,Rh6] } 11... Bxh6 12. Rxh6 Nxg4 13. Rh4 { [%csl Gg4,Gh8][%cal Gh4g4,Gd3g6,Gh4h8,Gf3e5] } ) 5. Nxe4 $5 dxe4 6. Ng5 { [%csl Re5] } 6... Qd4 7. d3 exd3 8. Bxd3 Qxe5+ 9. Be3 { A fun gambit-style position, with lots of practical compensation for white! } 9... Qxb2 10. O-O
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Advanced pawn"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/sw8VyTe1"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "6k1/6b1/B5p1/1pr3p1/2p1P3/6P1/P4P1P/1R4K1 b - - 2 32"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "15:48:28"] [Variant "Standard"] { An advanced pawn pushing forward will threaten to promote, leading to the opponent giving up material. [%cal Gc4c3,Gc3c2,Gc2c1] } 32... c3 33. Bxb5 c2 { [%cal Gc2b1] } 34. Rc1 Bb2 { [%cal Gb2c1] } 35. Rxc2 Rxc2
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Attack on f2 or f7"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/r1ZAcrjZ"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "rnbqk1nr/1ppp1ppp/p7/2b1p3/2B1P3/5Q2/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K1NR w KQkq - 0 4"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "15:53:26"] [Variant "Standard"] { Pieces converge on the tender f2 square which is often under-defended and key to the safety of the king - as seen in the classic mating pattern. [%cal Gf3f7,Gc4f7] } 4. Qxf7#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Attraction"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/3arGcr8n"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "4k2r/rb1qbppp/3p4/1p1P4/8/1Q3N2/PP3PPP/R3R1K1 w k - 2 19"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "17:28:55"] [Variant "Standard"] { An attraction draws a piece, usually the king, to a square leaving it vulnerable to another tactical idea. } 19. Rxe7+ Qxe7 { If Qxe7 as a response, we have Re1, pinning the queen to the king and winning material! } ( 19... Kxe7 { If Kxe7, we have a follow-up fork, with Qe3+ winning the undefended a7 rook. } 20. Qe3+ { [%cal Ge3e7,Ge3a7] } 20... Kf8 { [%cal Ge3a7] } 21. Qxa7 ) 20. Re1 { It's important that the knight defends the rook or the queen can take it with mate! [%cal Ge1e7,Bf3e1] }
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Back rank mate"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/VVzwe5vV"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "6k1/pp3ppp/5b2/8/5nQP/1P6/Pq4PK/8 w - - 0 31"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:46:24"] [Variant "Standard"] { One of the most common mating patterns, when the castled king has no back rank defenders it can be vulnerable to rooks and queens, which attack all squares on the rank at once, leaving no escape! } 31. Qc8+ { Black can delay the end by putting pieces in the way, but cannot prevent the mate. [%cal Gc8h8] } 31... Bd8 32. Qxd8#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Capture the defender"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/2s7CaC2h"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r4rk1/pp2bpp1/2n2n1p/1B1p1q2/3Q3B/2N5/PPP2PPP/R3R1K1 w - - 2 14"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "20:27:36"] [Variant "Standard"] { A piece is attacked and defended an equal number of times (the bishop on e7), by removing the defending knight on c6, the bishop will be undefended and free to capture on the next turn. [%cal Ge1e7,Rc6e7,Gb5c6] } 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Rxe7
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Castling"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/edXPYM70"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "7r/3k1ppp/5b2/p1p5/4P3/2N2P2/Pr3P1P/R3K2R w KQ - 0 17"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:07:27"] [Variant "Standard"] { Castling provides a tactical opportunity, moving two pieces at once can sometimes have impressive effects. In this tactic, castling queen-side comes with a tempo check, and at the same time the king attacks the undefended rook on b2. } 17. O-O-O+ { [%cal Gd1d7,Gc1b2] }
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Discovered attack"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/DYcrqEPt"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "4rrk1/pp1b1ppp/4p2n/3p4/3P4/Pq1B1R2/4N1P1/3R1QK1 w - - 0 21"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:13:42"] [Variant "Standard"] { An undefended (or higher value) piece lies in the path of a long range piece, but with the attack blocked by another piece. If the blocking piece can be removed with tempo, then the undefended piece can be captured on the following turn. [%cal Gf3b3] } 21. Bxh7+ { [%csl Rb3][%cal Gf3b3,Gh7g8] } 21... Kxh7 { [%csl Rb3][%cal Gf3b3] } 22. Rxb3
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Double check"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/EXAQJVNm"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "rn1k1b1r/ppp2pp1/4b1np/4P3/2p5/2N2N2/PP1BPPPP/2KR1B1R w - - 4 9"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:18:25"] [Variant "Standard"] { Using a discovered attack where the uncovered piece and the moving piece attack the king, it's possible to give a double check. Since some of the usual methods of avoiding check - capturing the attacking piece, or blocking the check - are not possible because there are two attacks, this forces the king to move, often to a bad square! } 9. Bg5+ { Here, the bishop and rook both check the king, forcing it to a square where it happens to be checkmate! This is not necessary for a double check, but a nice side effect here. [%cal Gg5d8,Gd1d8] } 9... Ke8 ( 9... Kc8 10. Rd8# { Also mating. } ) 10. Rd8#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: En passant"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/G7ILIqhG"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r1bq1rk1/ppppn1pp/2n5/1Bb1P3/8/1Q3N2/PP1B1PPP/RN2R1K1 b - - 4 12"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:22:46"] [Variant "Standard"] { En passant (explained at lichess.org/learn#/15) is a chess rule allowing a pawn to capture an opponent pawn if it uses its initial 2-square move to bypass capture. This can occasionally lead to tactical opportunities. } 12... d5 { Here, black has played d5, bypassing our e5 pawn, but we can still capture it! Since the d pawn is blocking the queen's attack on the black king, this will be restored. At the same time, the capturing pawn will attack black's knight on e7. Black has to respond to the check, allowing us to capture the knight on the next move. [%csl Rd5][%cal Gb3g8,Rd7d5] } 13. exd6+ { [%cal Gb3g8,Gd6e7] } 13... Kh8 14. dxe7
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Exposed king"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/K882yZgm"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r1b5/pp3R2/3p2k1/4p1r1/4P3/8/P5PP/5RK1 w - - 2 25"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:31:12"] [Variant "Standard"] { The king doesn't have many defenders nearby, this can often lead to a mating attack! } 25. R1f6+ Kh5 26. Rh7+ Kg4 27. h3+ Kg3 28. Rf3#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Fork"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/AUQW7PKS"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r1b3k1/1p3p2/p2p2p1/6P1/2P1P1n1/1P3QP1/PB1qB3/1R3K2 b - - 8 28"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:33:59"] [Variant "Standard"] { A fork involves one piece attacking two other pieces at once. This is often with knights, but can also be any other piece. Here the knight can fork the king and queen. It is important that neither of the forked pieces can simply capture the attacking piece! This is why forks with knights are common as their attacking direction is unique. } 28... Nh2+ { [%cal Gh2f1,Gh2f3] } 29. Kg1 { The king must move, allowing the queen to be captured next move. } 29... Nxf3+
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Hanging piece"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/y65GVqXf"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "6k1/7p/1p4p1/2b5/8/5NP1/P3RP1P/3r1BK1 w - - 1 34"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:43:37"] [Variant "Standard"] 34. Re7 { White just moved their rook, but it's not defended on e7 and it's attacked by the bishop! } 34... Bxe7 { We can take it with our bishop for free. Insufficiently defended pieces can also be hanging, if they are attacked more times than they are defended. }
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Kingside attack"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/f62Rz8Qb"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r3k2r/pp3p2/2p1b3/2N4q/3Qp1p1/1P4P1/P3N2P/1R3RK1 b kq - 3 21"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:49:53"] [Variant "Standard"] { Here the queen and rook converge on the castled king, on the king-side of the board (closest to the king's initial position at the start of the game). In this case, it's a mating attack too. [%cal Gh5h2] } 21... Qxh2#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Pin"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/WCTmpBFb"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r1b1r3/pp3k1p/5pp1/3q4/4p3/5PB1/P1B1Q1PP/5RK1 w - - 0 32"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "16:54:56"] [Variant "Standard"] { Black just captured on d5 with their queen, but they've walked into a trap! [%cal Gd8d5] } 32. Bb3 { Bb3 and the queen is pinned along the diagonal to the king. If the queen moved, then we would be able to capture the king and win the game, but this is not allowed! This is known as an absolute pin (against the king). Pins don't have to be absolute, when the piece is not the king, but it is important that the higher value piece is behind the lower value piece . [%csl Rd5][%cal Gb3f7] } 32... Be6 { Black defends their queen but it's not helping, we can capture the queen now. } 33. Bxd5
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Promotion"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/BNuCO8JO"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/6kp/1qPN2p1/3Pb3/2P1P2P/8/6P1/5R1K w - - 4 35"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.06.20"] [UTCTime "11:46:36"] [Variant "Standard"] { When a pawn reaches the opposite side of the board, it promotes (often to a queen but potentially to a rook, bishop or knight too). In the endgame this is a very common idea. Here, white has equal material but would be struggling without a tactical idea. [%cal Gc6c7] } 35. c7 $1 { Advancing the pawn and creating the threat of promotion! The promotion square is also defended by the knight, so a move such as Qc5 to cover the promotion square doesn't help. [%csl Yc8][%cal Gc7c8,Yd6c8] } 35... Qxd6 { [%cal Gc7c8] } ( 35... Qxc7 $2 { Qxc7 would be a mistake, due to the unfortunate placement of the black king, white could fork the royal pieces. [%csl Re8][%cal Gd6e8,Re8c7,Re8g7] } 36. Ne8+ ) 36. c8=Q { Since black cannot capture the pawn, the best available is to take the knight instead, but now white is in a much better position with a new queen and more dangerous pawns threatening promotion. }
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Sacrifice"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/ezFdOVtv"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "4r2k/1b4p1/2q3pp/p1N1P1r1/2Qp4/1P3P2/P5PP/R3R1K1 w - - 1 28"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "17:05:16"] [Variant "Standard"] 28. Kf2 { White sees that there is a dangerous attack coming and tries to run, but it's too little too late. Black can give up material in a sacrifice, leading to a strong attack which gains an advantage, in this case, forced mate! } 28... Rxg2+ { The rook sacrifice undermines the defence of the f pawn. } 29. Kxg2 Qxf3+ { [%cal Gb7g2] } 30. Kg1 Qg2# { The queen bishop battery follows up with unstoppable mate. }
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Skewer"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/iF38PGid"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "8/5p2/pp2bk2/2p4p/2P1K2P/1P3PP1/P1N5/8 b - - 1 28"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "17:10:52"] [Variant "Standard"] { White just played Nc2, leaving it undefended on the same diagonal as the king. Here, like the reverse of a pin, we can attack along the diagonal. } 28... Bf5+ { Here, the higher value piece is in front (the king) and must move out of the way, allowing the undefended knight to be captured. [%cal Gf5c2] } 29. Kd5 { [%cal Gf5c2] } 29... Bxc2
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Trapped piece"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/ZJQkwFP6"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "1r4k1/p1n2r1p/1b2N1p1/2p1PP2/2p3Pq/5Q2/P1P4P/2B2R1K w - - 2 31"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "17:15:44"] [Variant "Standard"] { When a piece is short of squares, there can often be a tactic to trap it! Here the black queen is very boxed in on the side of the board, if we can attack it, it doesn't have many undefended squares to escape to. In fact, the only one is e7, if we can attack the queen and block or defend e7 we can win it [%csl Rg3,Rf2,Re1,Rh5,Rh6,Rh3,Rg4,Rh2,Rg5,Rf6,Rd8] } 31. Bg5 { Bg5 and the queen is lost! [%cal Gg5h4] }
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Clearance"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/ZZsl7iCi"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "rn3rk1/ppb2ppp/2p1p3/8/3PN2q/5N2/PPPBBPPn/R2Q1RK1 b - - 9 16"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "17:39:12"] [Variant "Standard"] { Here, we could give mate if we could get the queen to h2, but our own knight is in the way. Fortunately (for us), we can clear the way with tempo! } 16... Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 Qh2#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Defensive move"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/mbI3OkEB"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "R7/5p2/1K6/5b2/8/8/2p3kp/2R5 b - - 0 58"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "17:57:38"] [Variant "Standard"] 58... h1=Q 59. Rg8+ { We just promoted our pawn to a queen on h1 and white has checked with their rook. If we step to the f-file, we will lose the queen for free. If we step to the h-file, white can check again with Rh8+, and again win the queen for free. Fortunately we have another resource. } 59... Bg6 { Blocking the check and defending a winning position. } ( 59... Kf2 60. Rxh1 ) ( 59... Kh3 60. Rh8+ Kg2 61. Rhxh1 ) ( 59... Kh2 60. Rh8+ Bh3 61. Rxh3+ Kxh3 62. Rxh1+ )
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Deflection"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/S7ozMyZz"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "rn2kb1r/p3pppp/1q3n2/8/p1B1pPQ1/8/1PPP3P/RNB1K1R1 w Qkq - 3 15"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:02:51"] [Variant "Standard"] { Here, white has a dangerous attack with Qc8+, almost mating and forcing the black queen to block. } 15. Qc8+ Qd8 { Now only the king defends the queen, and we can force it to move away from that defence with a nice sacrifice. } 16. Bxf7+ { The king is forced to capture the bishop as the only move, leaving the queen undefended for capture on the next turn. } 16... Kxf7 17. Qxd8
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Interference"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/nAojbDwV"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "3q3k/4R3/p3p3/1p1p1ppp/2rP4/Q3P1P1/PP3PPK/8 b - - 12 41"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:08:38"] [Variant "Standard"] { Interference puts something in the way of a defender, blocking the defence. Here, the white queen defends the rook, which is also attacked by the black queen. We can block that defence with one of our pawns here! [%cal Rd8e7,Ga3e7] } 41... b4 { Now the queen is blocked from defending the rook (and also attacked in this example), and can't move anywhere that still defends the rook. [%csl Re7][%cal Ga3b4,Rd8e7] } 42. Qxa6 Qxe7
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Intermezzo"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/ltMgw4Vj"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r3r1k1/5p2/p6p/1p4p1/2p5/2P2QP1/PP2RP1q/R4K2 b - - 0 27"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "20:39:45"] [Variant "Standard"] 27... Rxe2 { Black just took our rook on e2, but instead of simply recapturing with Kxe2 or Qxe2, we can first take the other rook on a8 with check! After black responds to our attack on their king we can capture the other rook. [%cal Gf3a8,Gf1e2,Gf3e2] } 28. Qxa8+ Kg7 29. Kxe2
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Overloading"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/0e8aApup"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "r3k2r/ppq1bppp/2n1p1b1/1B1n4/3P4/4BNNP/PP3PP1/R2Q1RK1 b kq - 4 14"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:19:52"] [Variant "Standard"] { Overloaded pieces are performing too many responsibilities! If a piece defends two others, and we capture one of them, then the defender must recapture... but this leaves the other piece undefended. Here, the f2 pawn defends both bishop and knight. [%cal Gf2g3,Gf2e3] } 14... Nxe3 15. fxe3 { It defended the bishop well, but now the knight is undefended. [%cal Rf2g3,Gf2e3] } 15... Qxg3
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Queenside attack"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/94d9UPIQ"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "1r3r2/3p1p1k/4b1pP/p7/1pq5/3B2R1/PPPQ1P2/1K2R3 b - - 15 36"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "20:53:18"] [Variant "Standard"] { Here the queen and bishop converge on the castled king, on the queen-side of the board (the opposite side to the king's initial position at the start of the game). In this case, it's a mating attack too. } 36... Qxa2+ 37. Kc1 Qa1#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Quiet move"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/qrORK5ks"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "2k5/3b3p/3p3B/3Pn3/2P1P1P1/p3N2P/4B3/7K b - - 0 37"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:25:36"] [Variant "Standard"] { A quiet move is subtle, not a check or capture. Here, we want to promote our a pawn, but white's knight is able to hunt it down. Before we push the pawn we must make a preparatory move, stopping the knight from getting involved. [%cal Ga3a1,Ge3c2,Gc2a1] } 37... Ba4 { Now our bishop controls the knight, allowing us to push our pawn to promotion. [%cal Ga4c2,Re3c2,Ga3a1] }
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Smothered mate"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/3eGRYiJW"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "5r1k/pp4pp/1qnp4/2b3N1/2b5/2N1r3/PP4PP/R4RK1 w - - 0 21"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:43:16"] [Variant "Standard"] { A smothered mate is always given by a knight, as the only piece to attack over other pieces. It occurs when the opponent king is fully contained by its own pieces, and the knight delivers the fatal attack. } 21. Rxf8+ { Almost mate here but black must block the rook's check with the bishop. } 21... Bg8 { And now the knight can deliver the check to win the game. Note that the bishop cannot capture the knight since it's pinned by the rook. } 22. Nf7#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Underpromotion"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/dmvXRuFv"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "6k1/2p1Pp1p/pp4p1/1q6/3r1P2/P1nP3B/6QP/7K w - - 1 33"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:29:46"] [Variant "Standard"] 33. Qa8+ Kg7 34. Qf8+ Kf6 { Sometimes, we want to promote a pawn not to a queen, but to a lower value piece. Usually this is a knight, because it has an attack unlike any other piece. This can be very useful to keep the attack going with tempo! } 35. e8=N+ { Promotion to a knight is almost mate here, and black must give up their queen. [%cal Gf4e5,Gf4g5,Gh3f5,Gf8g7,Gf8e7,Gf5e6] } ( 35. e8=Q { If we promote to a queen instead, we allow black to escape! } 35... Qb1+ 36. Kg2 Qc2+ { And there is a forced draw. } ) 35... Qxe8 36. Qxe8
[Event "Puzzle Themes: X-ray"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/OHg7wA4C"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "2r2rk1/p3p2p/bpR2pp1/3P4/1Q2Pq2/5B2/P4PPP/2R3K1 b - - 7 20"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:33:29"] [Variant "Standard"] { An x-ray is where two pieces attack another piece or square, and one of the pieces is attacking through another piece. Here, the black queen attacks the c1 rook normally, but the rook on c8 also attacks the c1 rook through the c6 rook! [%csl Rc6][%cal Gf4c1,Gc8c1] } 20... Qxc1+ { We give up our queen, backed up by our rook, for an eventual back rank checkmate. } 21. Rxc1 Rxc1+ { White can only prolong the inevitable by sacrificing their pieces. [%cal Gc1g1] } 22. Bd1 Rxd1+ 23. Qe1 Rxe1#
[Event "Puzzle Themes: Zugzwang"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/viiWlKjv/YQaPrb0K"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/somethingpretentious"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "3B4/1kb4p/p1p3p1/P1K5/6P1/7P/8/8 w - - 2 46"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.12.11"] [UTCTime "18:38:31"] [Variant "Standard"] 46. Bxc7 Kxc7 { Zugzwang is a position where the side to move would rather just pass, but this is not allowed in chess. Any move they make will make their position worse. Here we can force zugzwang! } 47. g5 { Black has a few options here but all of them are bad, let's look. } 47... h6 ( 47... Kc8 48. Kxc6 ) ( 47... Kd7 48. Kb6 { Here, the a pawn will fall and we can promote! } 48... Kd6 49. Kxa6 Kc7 50. h4 c5 51. Kb5 { Or black gives up their pawn and we can race to the king-side and win the other pawns. } 51... Kb7 52. Kxc5 Ka6 53. Kd6 Kxa5 54. Ke6 ) 48. gxh6 { [%cal Gh6h8] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: The Sicilian Defense üõ°Ô∏è"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/EbqGNvhT"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "B20"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense"] [UTCDate "2021.05.05"] [UTCTime "19:11:08"] [Variant "Standard"] { Hello Everyone! This study is about the Sicilian Defense, the best response to the move 1. e4. This opening is very sharp and tactical, so get ready for some super crazy positions. You have to be very careful! Anyways, the Sicilian is good for intermediate to advanced players and has many lines to memorize. I will be going over the main lines, and the ideas. Let's start! } 1. e4 { White starts with e4. You reply with c5, controling the critical square d4. [%csl Re4,Bc5][%cal Re2e4] } 1... c5 { This is the start of the Sicilian Defense. There are several variations. The first place where the opening branches out. White can decide to play the Open or Closed Sicilian. From the Open Sicilian, you can play 3 main variations, the Najdorf, Dragon, or Classical Sicilian. These are only the basics! [%csl Gc5,Bd4][%cal Gc7c5,Bc5d4] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: Sicilian Defense: Open"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/P19i58y1"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "B54"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations, Main Line"] [UTCDate "2021.05.05"] [UTCTime "19:28:40"] [Variant "Standard"] { Play what you have learned in the Introduction. } 1. e4 { [%csl Re4][%cal Re2e4] } 1... c5 { Yes! [%csl Gc5,Bd4][%cal Gc7c5,Bc5d4] } 2. Nf3 { Here, white is trying to push for d4. Play 2. ...d6. [%csl Rf3,Yd4][%cal Rg1f3,Yf3d4,Yd2d4] } 2... d6 { [%csl Gd6,Bc5,Be7][%cal Gd7d6] } 3. d4 { Capture! [%csl Ye4,Rd4][%cal Rd2d4,Yf3d4] } 3... cxd4 { [%csl Gd4][%cal Gc5d4] } 4. Nxd4 { How do we put pressure on the e4 pawn? [%csl Rd4,Ye4][%cal Rf3d4] } 4... Nf6 { [%csl Gf6,Be4][%cal Gg8f6,Bf6e4] } 5. Nc3 { This is the starting position of the Open Sicilian, the most popular choice. Here, you have 3 main choices: The Dragon (highlighted in blue), the Najdorf (highlighted in green), and the Classical (highlighted in yellow/orange). Let's learn the Najdorf first. [%csl Rc3,Bg6,Bg7,Ga6,Gb5,Yc6,Yd4][%cal Rb1c3,Bg7g6,Bf8g7,Ga7a6,Ga6b5,Yb8c6,Yc6d4] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: Sicilian Najdorfüí°"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/xryhrBbn"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "B90"] [FEN "rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/3p1n2/8/3NP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 1"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.05"] [UTCTime "19:35:12"] [Variant "Standard"] { In the Najdorf, black plays 5. ...a6. Play it! } 1... a6 { This move prevents any white pieces from coming to the well-protected b5 square. None of that is possible now :) [%csl Ga6,Gb5,Bf1,Bd4,Bc3][%cal Ga7a6,Ga6b5] } 2. Be3 { This is what white plays most of the time. Now, you will push for e5, grabbing space, and kicking out the knight. [%cal Be7e5] } 2... e5 { [%csl Ge5,Rd4][%cal Ge7e5] } 3. Nb3 { Good! Now you will continue with Be6, Be7, and the knight on b8 goes to d7, so you can put your rook on c8. One advantage you have is the open c file, you should put your pieces there, and also push for b5, gaining more space and attacking on the queenside. This gives black a solid fighting chance: Najdorf games are usually very sharp and tactical! Bobby Fischer used it. Plans are highlighted. [%cal Gc8e6,Gf8e7,Bb8d7,Ge8g8,Yb7b5] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: Sicilian Dragonüêâ"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/S1AXJ7G9"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "B76"] [FEN "rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/3p1n2/8/3NP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 1"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.05"] [UTCTime "19:43:37"] [Variant "Standard"] { The Dragon variation is the sharpest of these lines. Get ready for a big fight! The dragon variation starts after 5. ...g6. [%cal Bg7g6] } 1... g6 { You want to make a kingside fianchetto with a strong bishop. [%csl Gg6][%cal Gg7g6] } 2. Be3 { This is the most common line. Other lines are f4 and g3. Continue with your plan :) [%csl Re3,Yf4,Yg3][%cal Rc1e3,Yf2f4,Yg2g3,Bf8g7] } 2... Bg7 { [%csl Gg7,Ga1][%cal Gf8g7,Gg7a1] } 3. f3 { This move is going to prevent you from playing Ng4. Now, castle your king out of the center. [%csl Rf3][%cal Rf2f3,Be8g8] } 3... O-O { Yes! Most dragon games reach this position. Please don't push your central pawns, they stay behind. Fight with your mighty bishop on g7 instead! Don't block it with pawns. Now, you will finish development with Nc6, Bd7, Rc1, and Qc2. Attack on the queenside with a6-b5. White has plans to Qd2, castles long, and h4-h5. Soon there will be fireworks over the board. Plans for both sides are highlighted. [%csl Gg8,Yc1,Yg4,Yh4,Yc4,Ba6,Bb5,Bc6,Bd7,Bc8,Bb4,Ba5,Ga1][%cal Ge8g8,Yd1d2,Ye1c1,Yg2g4,Yh2h4,Yf1c4,Ba7a6,Bb7b5,Bb8c6,Bc8d7,Ba8c8,Bb5b4,Ba6a5,Gh8a1] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: Classical Sicilian"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/F1PIDiGW"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "B63"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Traditional Variation"] [UTCDate "2021.05.05"] [UTCTime "19:52:48"] [Variant "Standard"] { Repeat what you have learned. } 1. e4 { [%csl Re4][%cal Re2e4] } 1... c5 { [%csl Gc5][%cal Gc7c5] } 2. Nf3 { [%csl Rf3][%cal Rg1f3] } 2... d6 { [%csl Gd6][%cal Gd7d6] } 3. d4 { [%csl Rd4][%cal Rd2d4] } 3... cxd4 { [%csl Gd4][%cal Gc5d4] } 4. Nxd4 { [%csl Rd4][%cal Rf3d4] } 4... Nf6 { [%csl Gf6][%cal Gg8f6] } 5. Nc3 { You got to this position! In the Classical Sicilian, you start with 5. ...Nc6. [%csl Rc3,Bc6][%cal Rb1c3,Bb8c6] } 5... Nc6 { [%csl Gc6][%cal Gb8c6] } 6. Bg5 { This is the most common move. Here, the best move is e6. [%csl Rg5][%cal Rc1g5] } 6... e6 { [%csl Ge6,Bf6][%cal Ge7e6,Bd8f6] } 7. Qd2 { Yes! Now, you will create a hedgehog structure with Be7 Bd7, use the open c-file, castle short, and push your queenside pawns! White will try to castle long. Equal position. [%csl Rd2,Be7,Bd7,Bc8,Ba6,Bb5,Bg8][%cal Rd1d2,Bf8e7,Bc8d7,Ba8c8,Ba7a6,Bb7b5,Be8g8] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: Sveshnikov Sicilian üí£"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/s4UOv0JN"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "B33"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation"] [UTCDate "2021.08.28"] [UTCTime "19:32:42"] [Variant "Standard"] { Play the Sicilian Defense. } 1. e4 { [%csl Re4][%cal Re2e4] } 1... c5 { [%csl Gc5,Ge4][%cal Gc7c5] } 2. Nf3 { Now, play Nc6. [%csl Rf3][%cal Rg1f3,Bb8c6] } 2... Nc6 { This move increases the pressure on d4. [%csl Gc6][%cal Gb8c6] } 3. d4 { Capture or not? [%csl Rd4,Re4,Gc5][%cal Rd2d4] } 3... cxd4 { Always capture when white plays d4. [%csl Gd4][%cal Gc5d4] } 4. Nxd4 { Attack the e4 pawn. [%csl Ye4][%cal Rf3d4] } 4... Nf6 { [%csl Gf6][%cal Gg8f6] } 5. Nc3 { Now, play the very aggressive e5. [%csl Rc3][%cal Rb1c3,Be7e5] } 5... e5 { This move kicks the knight out, but weakens the light squares. We will get a lot of compensation, though. [%csl Ge5,Yd5,Yf5][%cal Ge7e5,Be5d4] } 6. Ndb5 { Play d6 [%csl Rb5][%cal Rd4b5,Yb5d6] } 6... d6 { Black must not allow white to enter d6 with the knight. [%csl Gd6,Bd8][%cal Gd7d6,Bf8d6] } 7. Bg5 { White wants to enter d5. a6 here is the best move. [%cal Rc1g5,Yg5d8,Yc3d5,Ba7a6] } 7... a6 { [%csl Ga6][%cal Ga7a6,Ba6b5] } 8. Na3 { Expand on the queenside! [%csl Ra3][%cal Rb5a3] } 8... b5 { This is the Sveshnikov Sicilian. It is very sharp. You have weak central squares that can be exploited, but black also has a lot of piece activity. Magnus Carlsen used it to defend his world champion title in 2018! Plans are highlighted. If you like piece activity and don't care about positional play, this opening might be for you. Go ahead and do more research! [%csl Gb5,Ga6,Ra3,Rc3,Gf6,Gc6][%cal Gb7b5,Bc8e6,Bf8e7,Be8g8,Gg7f6] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: Closed Sicilian‚öîÔ∏è"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/bx1u8GcM"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "B23"] [FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.05"] [UTCTime "19:59:19"] [Variant "Standard"] { In this position, white also can play Nc6, the Closed Sicilian. } 1. Nc3 { Copy him! [%csl Rc3,Bc6][%cal Rb1c3] } 1... Nc6 { Yes! This is how you play the Closed Sicilian. White will never get the move d4 in! Here, white will play g3 Bg2, or an f4, short-castles, and try to gain space on the kingside. Here, you will try to go for a6-b5 Bb7, g6-Bg7, complete developent, castle, and you have a very dynamic game. Plans are highlighted. [%csl Gc6,Yg3,Yg2,Yf4,Yg1,Bg7,Bg6,Ba6,Bb5,Bb7,Bf6,Bg8][%cal Gb8c6,Yg2g3,Yf1g2,Yf2f4,Ye1g1,Bf8g7,Bg7g6,Ba7a6,Bb7b5,Bc8b7,Bg8f6,Be8g8] }
[Event "Sicilian Defenseüî•‚öîÔ∏è: Review and Conclusion"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/4wIIAqhD/y6tjBkMf"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "?"] [Black "?"] [Result ""] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/heyucatchthis"] [ECO "?"] [FEN "rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"] [Opening "?"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2021.05.05"] [UTCTime "20:04:58"] [Variant "Standard"] { Now, time to review. The Sicilian Defense is a very tactical game, and there is a big chance there is going to be a crazy game. White can respond with either the Closed Sicilian or the Open Sicilian. The Sicilian Defense is prefered by masters, and sooner or later you are going to have to check it out. Thank you for visiting my study, I hope you will have a fun time using the Sicilian! Please leave a ‚ù§Ô∏è if you enjoyed, and be sure to check out my other studies for more openings and tips. https://lichess.org/study/search?q=owner%3Aheyucatchthis+ Happy chess! }