Chess Strategy | Page 9

of the inferiority of the pawns, the beginner does not
conclude that it must be advantageous to employ the greater power of
the pieces, but is chiefly concerned with attacking the opposing pieces
with his pawns in the hope of capturing them. His aim is not to develop
his own forces, but to weaken those of his opponent. His combinations
are made in the hope that his adversary may not see through them, nor
does he trouble much about his opponent's intentions. When most of his
pawns are gone, then only do his pieces get their chance. He has a great
liking for the Queen and the Knight, the former because of her
tremendous mobility, the latter on account of his peculiar step, which
seems particularly adapted to take the enemy by surprise. When
watching beginners you will frequently observe numberless moves by a

peripatetic Queen, reckless incursions by a Knight into the enemy's
camp, and when the other pieces join in the fray, combination follows
combination in bewildering sequence and fantastic chaos. Captures of
pieces are planned, mating nets are woven, perhaps with two pieces,
against a King's position, where five pieces are available for defence.
This unsteadiness in the first childish stages of development makes it
very difficult for the beginner to get a general view of the board. Yet
the surprises which each move brings afford him great enjoyment.
A few dozen such games are by no means wasted. After certain
particular dispositions of pieces have proved his undoing, the beginner
will develop the perception of threats. He sees dangers one or two
moves ahead, and thereby reaches the second stage in his development.
His combinations will become more and more sound, he will learn to
value his forces more correctly, and therefore to husband his pieces and
even his pawns with greater care. In this second stage his strength will
increase steadily, but, and this is the drawback, only as far as his power
of combination is concerned. Unless a player be exceptionally gifted,
he will only learn after years of practice, if at all, what may be termed
"positional play." For that, it is necessary to know how to open a game
so as to lay the foundation for a favourable middle game, and how to
treat a middle game, without losing sight of the possibilities of the
end-game. It is hopeless to try to memorise the various openings which
analysis have proved correct, for this empirical method fails as soon as
the opponent swerves from the recognised lines of play. One must learn
to recognise the characteristics of sound play. They apply to all and any
position, and the underlying principles must be propounded in a
manner generally applicable. And this brings me to the substance of my
subject, round which I will endeavour to build up a system compatible
with common sense and logic.
Before I proceed to develop my theme, I shall set down a number of
elementary rules which will facilitate the understanding of such simple
combinations as occur at every step in chess.
If we ignore the comparatively small proportion of games in which the
mating of the opponent's King is accomplished on a full board, we can

describe a normal, average game of chess in the following way. Both
sides will employ their available forces more or less advantageously to
execute attacking and defensive manoeuvres which should gradually
lead to exchanges. If one side or the other emerges from the conflict
with some material gain, it will generally be possible to force a mate in
the end-game, whilst if both sides have succeeded by careful play to
preserve equality of material, a draw will generally ensue.
It will be found a little later that a single pawn may suffice, with some
few exceptions, to achieve a victory, and we shall adopt the following
leading principle for all combinations, viz. loss of material must be
avoided, even if only a pawn. It is a good habit to look upon every
pawn as a prospective Queen. This has a sobering influence on
premature and impetuous plans of attack.
On the other hand, victory is often brought about by a timely sacrifice
of material.
But in such cases the sacrificing of material has its compensation in
some particular advantage of position. As principles of position are
difficult for beginners to grasp, I propose to defer their consideration
for the present and to devote my attention first to such combinations as
involve questions of material. Let us master a simple device that makes
most combinations easy both for attack and defence. It amounts merely
to a matter of elementary arithmetic, and if the beginner neglects it, he
will soon be at a material disadvantage.
Diagram 4 may serve as an example: