How to Reassess Your Chess, Fourth edition

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Copyright© 2010 by Jeremy Silman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Edition

10 9 8 765 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Silman, Jeremy. How to reassess your chess : chess mastery through chess imbalances I by Jeremy Silman. -- 4th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-890085-13-1 (alk. paper) 1. Chess. I. Title. GV1449.5.S553 2010 794.1 '2--dc22

2010042391

ISBN 978-1-890085-14-8 (cloth)

Distributed in Europe by New In Chess www.newinchess.com

Cover design and photography by Wade Lageose for Lageose Design

SIL{S PRfSS

3624 Shannon Road Los Angeles, CA 90027

The first edition of How to Reassess Your Chess was dedicated to

Mr. Steven Christopher, who encouraged me to share my teaching ideas with the chess public. It seems only fitting that this final edition should also bear this extremely kind man's name.

Preface

xz

Acknowledgements Introduction

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1

Part One /The Concept of Imbalances Imbalances I Learning the ABCs

3 4

Superior Minor Piece- Bishops vs. Knights

Pawn Structure- Weak Pawns, Passed Pawns, etc. Space-The Annexation of Territory Material-The Philosophy of Greed

5

6 7 8

Control of a Key File- Roads for Rooks

Control of a Hole/Weak Square-Homes for Horses Lead in Development- You're Outnumbered!

8

9

10

Initiative- Calling the Shots

King Safety- Dragging Down the Enemy Monarch

11

Statics vs. Dynamics- The Battle Between Short Term and Long Term Imbalances

12 13

Planning- Creating Your Own Future Talk to the Board and It Will Talk to You Summary

28

Part Two I Minor Pieces

29

Knights I Psychopaths of the Chessboard! Summary

31

50

Knights -Tests

52

Bishops /Speed Demons of the Diagonals The Active Bishop The Useful Bishop

54

54 58

62

The Tall-Pawn

Bishops of Opposite Colors Summary

23

69

74

Bishops-Tests

75

Bishops vs. Knights/Grudge Match Feeling the Minor Piece Tension The Two Bishops

77 78

83

Two Bishops Antidote-Trade One Off

83

VIII

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS - 4TH EDITION

85

Free Range Bishops Are Happier Bishops

87 87

Bishops vs. Knights The Great Breakout

91

The Incarcerated Knight

Pawns and Squares Often Determine a Minor Piece's Value

92

Even the Most Innocent Pawn-Move Can Potentially Weaken a Square

93

All Pawns on One Side of the Board= An Octopus' Garden

99

Mr. Knight Prepares to Take a Journey Summary

102 103

Bishops vs. Knights-Tests

Part Three I Rooks

107

109

Rooks / Files, Ranks, and Targets

109 114

Creating an Open File Stealing an Open File

116

Waiting to Pull the File-Opening Trigger

119

Control of the 7th or 8th Ranks Summary

130

Rooks-Tests

131

Part Four I Psychological Meanderings

133

Material / Fear of Giving Up or Taking Material Stepping Beyond Fear

135

135 142

Embracing Your Inner Greed

144

Imbalances vs. Material

The Stockholm Variation of the Classical Dragon

149

150

Catalan Opening

Ruy Lopez, Marshall Attack Summary

151

154

Material-Tests

155

Mental Breakdown I Overcoming the Trap of "I Can't" and "I Must" Bowing to Panic

158

It's My Party and I'll Move What I Want To The Eerie Phenomenon of Mutual Delusion The Curse of "I Can't" Summary

167

172

Mental Breakdown-Tests

174

Macho Chess IThe Art of Insistence Pushing Your Own Agenda Key Positions Summary

97

194

187

17 6

17 6

160 163

158

C O N T E N T S IX

195

Macho Chess -Tests

Various States of Chess Consciousness

197

201 Lazy/Soft Moves 208 Pay Attention! 217 Summary 220 Lack of Patience

221

Various States of Chess Consciousness-Tests

Part Five I Target Consciousness Introduction

223

225 227

Weak Pawns/The Sound of Ripe Fruit Falling

227 The Backward Pawn 235 Doubled Pawns 239 244 The Irish Pawn Center Summary 246 Weak Squares 248 Summary 258 The Isolated Pawn

Dragging Down the Central Enemy King! Summary

259

273 274

Target Consciousness-Tests

Part Six I Statics vs. Dynamics

277

279

Statics vs. Dynamics

Boxer vs. Puncher- A Battle of Opposing Philosophies Statics vs. Dynamics in the Openings Summary

283

297 298

Statics vs. Dynamics-Tests

Part Seven I Space

301

Crushing Your Opponent in Space's Embrace

303

303 316 323 323 325

The Great Land Grab

Dueling Spatial Plusses Fighting Against Space Exchange Pieces! Use Pawn Breaks!

Gains in Space= Potential Weak Squares

332

A Space-Gaining Pawn Center Might be a Target

348 Space-Tests 350 Summary

Part Eight I Passed Pawns Baby Queens on the Run

353

355

337

279

X

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS - 4TH EDITION

Creation

356 360

A Little Help From Its Friends

363 3 64

Passed Pawn Tango The Dynamic Passer

Three Kinds of Useless Passed Pawns

374

Blockades

374

Failed Blockades

379

Successful Blockades

Blockade- Caveat (Obicem) Emptor Summary

367

381

385 386

Passed Pawns- Tests

Part Nine I Other Imbalances

389

391

Imbalances in the Opening

391

Creating an Opening Repertoire

Integrating Imbalances With Your Opening Choices Waylaid into Opening Chaos Summary

416

420 421

Imbalances in the Opening- Tests

424

Mixing Imbalances

424

Mixing Imbalances- Tests

429

Answers to Tests

Appendix / Instructive Articles Introduction Imbalances

61 1

613 613 616

Help! I Need a Plan!

Two Questions on Planning

625

The Art and Science of the Isolated d-Pawn The Art of Stealing Opening Ideas Creating a Study Program The Study of Master Games

636 639

641

Offering a Draw

Proper Tournament Diet

643 644 646

Is Chess a Gentleman's Game? Teaching Chess to Children

Bibliography

631

647

Index of Concepts

649

Index of Players and Games

652

627

393

It's hard to believe, but How to Reassess Your Chess first hit the scene more than twenty years ago! As time went by, my ideas changed, expanded, and matured, and I improved each subsequent edition with new material that reflected this shift in perspective. This growing process continued and it became clear to me that a vast overhaul in my chess teaching philosophy necessitated a final edition. Those that enjoyed past editions will discover that I literally wrote this fourth edition from scratch- all new examples, all new prose, highlighted by lots of humor and some very original ways of presenting the material. One thing was true of all the earlier editions: none were computer checked since powerful chess engines weren't readily available. However, now we're in a different age, and since the advent of computers in every household allows players of any rating to find the flaws in my (and others) analysis, I made a point of putting every position in this edition though a detailed analytical check by both Rybka

3 and Fritz 12. Though

I concentrated on concepts over soulless analysis because I thought too many varia­ tions can drown out a book's message, there were times when I gave lines that I felt highlighted the point I was trying to make, or presented a detailed analysis that simply was so bizarre or exciting that I didn't have the heart not to include it in the festivities. This fourth edition is the result of a lifetime of chess coaching and tournament com­ petition. I've removed the extraneous elements from previous editions since I wanted to stay "on point" as much as possible. In fact, I tossed out anything and everything that I felt distracted from the book's real purpose: mastering the imbalances and allowing them to guide you to the correct plans and moves in most positions. On top of that, I also integrated quite a bit of chess psychology into the lessons-you'll find that many of these ideas have never been seen in any chess book before. More than two decades after I wrote the first edition of

How to Reassess Your Chess, I

still get many kind letters from all over the globe. This new edition will please those that wanted more "Reassess" material, and it will also introduce a whole new generation to a system that makes chess far easier to grasp and thus far easier to enjoy. It's always been my passion to help people who feel chess mastery is somehow beyond them to undergo a paradigm shift in their chess consciousness. How to Reassess Your Chess,

4th Edition

was written to elicit that kind of experience. If it helps you, the reader, to

grasp facets of chess that were previously invisible, then the years I spent writing this book will be very well spent.

I would like to thank all my students, who, over the years, have given me permission to use their games as instructive templates. In particular, I must give Pam Ruggiero (aka girl-brain) a full salute for sending me dozens of her games, some of which showed a high level of chess understanding, and others which illustrated weaknesses that most amateur players also share (thereby making these examples invaluable). A debt of gratitude is also owed to both New In Chess, which allowed me to use various quotes from their wonderful magazine, and

www.chess.com,

that

let me reprint some of the articles I wrote for them. I must give some love to my "posse"-Dr. Manuel Monasterio and the inimi­ table Vance Aandahl, Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan and Joel Benjamin, and International Masters John Watson, John Donaldson, Dr. Anthony Saidy, and Jack Peters. All of them helped with alternative piece names, analysis, and/or the sharing of general ideas that ultimately enriched the book. Finally, I want to give a hearty thank you to International Master Elliott Winslow, who was happily retired from all chess-related things, only to be dragged screaming back into the fold when I nagged him, again and again, to put his life on hold and proof this book. Realizing that he had to shut me up or go insane, he ultimately complied.

How to Reassess Your Chess is all about turning you, the chess student/lover of the game, into a player with superb positional understanding and skills. You may ask, "Why do I need another instructive chess book?" The answer is: Look at your rating. Look at your playing strength. Do you feel like you have superb positional skills? If not, wouldn't you like to have them? As a chess teacher and, more importantly, as a student of the game that person­ ally ran into many hard-to-scale learning plateaus, I fully understand the frustration chess fans experience when they find themselves frozen at a particular skill level. It's my belief that every player needs a firm chess foundation to reach his potential, and the lack of such a foundation more or less forestalls any real hope of attaining the chess heights most players dream of.

How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range. A close study of its contents will imbue the serious student with a rock solid positional chess foundation, an appreciation of planning plus an understand­ ing of how to make logical plans based on the needs of the position, and surprising insights into previously ignored areas of chess psychology. By employing new ways of presenting concepts and games, and by making the book feel both personal and fun to read, I've done everything possible to ensure that studying becomes a joy and that the material presented-often viewed as too complex for the masses-will suddenly make sense and, as a result, be remarkably easy to retain. Ideally, this fourth edition should be read from beginning to end. However, two indexes add to the ways the book can be read. One acts as both a games' index and a list-of-players' index, and can be used to find all the games in the book by a favorite player or, at a glance, just see who played whom. The other index is about chess concepts, and can prove to be a very useful study tool-for example, if you wish to study isolated pawns, just look that up in the index and go to each listed page. This lets you make a detailed examination of any particular concept that interests you. A word about the examples: you'll notice that I've used games by grandmasters and also games by amateurs! I've used new games, and I've also used games from the seventeenth century! I made use of blitz games from the Internet, and even used the blitz players' online names. I have a simple philosophy: if a position or game is instructive, it's important. I don't care if Kasparov played it, or if it's beginner vs. beginner. In fact, lower rated games and/or blitz games often feature the kind of

XIV

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS - 4TH EDITION

errors real players make, and this makes the example far more personal for a large range of readers. To top it all off, I didn't shy away from employing humor if

I felt it added to the

lesson being taught, or improved the book's overall readability. Who said that it's not possible to study chess, learn advanced concepts, and laugh at the same time?

I tell

stories in the book that push home a point and also entertain. I used online handles because they are colorful and add to the example's fun-quotient. Why shouldn't chess study be fun?

I honestly believe that a thorough study of this book will take you on an enlight­ ening journey that, ultimately, will shatter your old chess misconceptions and drag you laughing into a Golden Age of chess understanding and chess enjoyment.

"A sound plan makes us all heroes, the absence of a plan, idiots." -G.M. Kotov, quoting a mysterious "chess sage."

At some time or other every tournament player learns a few opening lines, some tactical ideas, the most basic mating patterns, and a few elementary endgames. As he gets better and more experienced, he significantly adds to this knowledge. However, the one thing that just about everybody has problems with is planning. From class "E" (under 1200) to Master, I get blank stares when asking what plan they had in mind in a particular position. Usually their choice of a plan (if they have any plan at all) is based on emotional rather than chess-specific con­ siderations. By emotional, I mean that the typical player does what he feels like doing rather than what the board is telling him to do. This somewhat cryptic sentence leads us to the following extremely important concept: If you want

to be successful, you have to base your moves and plans on the specific imbalance-oriented criteria that exist in the given position, not on your mood, tastes, and/or fears! Literally every non-master's games are filled with examples of "imbalance avoidance." Beginners, of course, simply don't know what imbalances are. Most experienced players have heard the term and perhaps have even tried to make use of them from time to time; however, once the rush of battle takes over, iso­ lated moves and raw aggression (or terror, if you find yourself defending) push any and all thoughts of imbalances out the door. In this case, chess becomes an empty move-by-move, threat-by-threat (either making them or responding to them) affair. What is this mysterious allusion to the chessboard's desires (i.e., doing what the chessboard wants you to do)? What is this "imbalance-oriented criteria" that we are going to have to become aware of, and how do we master its use? What, exactly, is a plan? To answer these questions, the first thing we have to do is understand that an imbalance is any significant difference in the two

respective positions.

4

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS - 4TH EDITION

This sounds rather vacuous. How can such a simplistic thing be important? The answer is that it's far from simplistic, and that this easy-to-grasp concept allows any player from 1400 on up to understand most positions in a basic but logical fashion. In other words, where a position may have looked much too complex to fathom, the imbalances deconstruct it in a way that makes it user friendly. Here's a simple example: if one side has more queenside space while the other side is staring at his opponent's weak pawn, those are the imbalances that delineate the moves and plans that both players would follow. In effect, the imbalances act as a roadmap that shows each side what to do. The following list of the imbalances will be discussed all through this book: ••�

Superior minor piece

••�

Pawn structure Space

IN A NUTSHELL

Material

An imbalance is

__..._

any significant difference in the

Control of a key file __.... Control of a hole/weak square

two respective positions.

__..._

Lead in development

--� Initiative (though I'll usually refer to it as Pushing Your Own Agenda) __..._

King safety

••�

Statics vs. Dynamics

"Whole sections are devoted to each imbalance on this list, but first let's take a quick, at times exaggerated, look at all of them. My immediate goal is to give you a feel for what imbalances are. My ultimate goal is to train your mind to embrace "Imbalance Consciousness"-a state where the use of imbalances becomes a natural and often unconscious process.

Diagram 1

White to move

PART O N E I T H E C O N C E P T O F IM B A L A N C E S

Compare white's Bishop, which is eyeing two position-penetrating diago­ nals, and black's slacker Knight, and you'll immediately know which minor piece is winning this battle. When we add other imbalances into the equa­ tion-White has an advantage in both central and queenside space, a target on a7 (which can be gobbled up by Ra l -b l -b7), and chances to mate (after Bc3 followed by Qd4) black's vulnerable King-one could understand if Black chose this moment to resign. Diagram 2

\Vhite to move Black's Bishop, which is caged and useless, is no match for white's Knight, which is the ruler of the known universe. Combined with other favorable white imbalances-central, queenside, and kingside space, control of the hole on e6, and (after Ral -b l -b7) pressure against a7 and c7-Black would be well advised to resign as quickly as possible.

Pawn Structure - Weak Pawns, Passed Pawns, etc. Diagram 3

\Vhite to move

5

6

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS - 4TH EDITION

Black is a pawn up and he has two passed pawns to white's one passer. Yet, Black can resign! The reason? White's passed pawn is further advanced and all his pieces are working with the pawn to make sure it scores a touchdown on b8:

l.b7 (Threatening to win a whole Rook with 2 .b8=Q.) l . . .Rh8 2.Bxh8 Rxh8 3.Qc6 Qd8 (No better is 3 . . . Qxc6+ 4.Rxc6 Be5 5 .Rc8+ Kg7 6.f4 Bd6 7.Rxb8 Bxb8 8.Ral d3 9. KB stopping any d-pawn nonsense and intending Rxa6 fol­ lowed by Ra8) 4.Qc8 Be5 5.Qxd8+ Rxd8 6.Rc8, 1-0. Diagram 4

White to move Black has a weak, isolated pawn on e6. Naturally, White dedicated his game plan to going after it. Thus far, white's Queen and Rooks are piling on the pres­ sure but, since chess is a team game, he's not done yet! l.Bh3 (A fourth white piece enters the assault against e6) l . . .Nd8 2.Ng5 (The entrance of this fifth white piece into the battle for e6 dooms black's pawn.) 2 . . . Bh8? (This allows a trick that makes black's game even worse) 3.f5! gxf5 4. Bxf5 and e6 will still fall, but now black's King is sitting in "open air" (another imbalance White can use!).

Space_:- The Annexation of Territorr Diagram 5

White to move

PART O N E I T H E C O N C E P T O F I M BA L A N C E S

A nightmare for Black, who is so cramped that he's gasping for air! �ite has claimed an appreciable advantage in space in virtually every sector. Note how black's lack of wiggle room leaves his pieces in a tight little box, while white's are happy free range pieces. In such positions the side with this much extra space will almost certainly win if he can find a way to break into enemy territory. Here �ite, who enjoys a wealth of riches, can accomplish this by preparing a queenside entry via c4-c5 , or a kingside slaughter via g4-g5 (both pawn advances dare to demand even

more

space!). Thus, logical moves would

be l .c5, l .g5, l .Rcgl , or l .Rhl .

Diagram 6

White to move �ite is solid, but Black seems to have a nice, active position. If black's c-pawn was on c6 he wouldn't have any problems at all, but it's still on c7 and that gives �ite the chance to embrace his inner greed and claim a material imbalance:

l.Bxb7! (Taking this pawn does a number of useful things: It gives�ite "end­ game odds"-annoying for Black since the more pieces the materially challenged side trades, the closer to a pawn up endgame victory�ite gets; it creates a hole on c6 which allows�ite to grab control of the central light squares along the hl -a8 diagonal; it places great psychological pressure on Black who now has to get something going in an effort to justify the lost pawn.) l . . .Kh8 (Black would love to take advantage of the errant white Bishop, but nothing works: l . . .c6 2 .Qc4+ picks up the c6-pawn; l . . .Bg4 2 .Qc4+ [2.8 is also strong] 2 . . . Kh8 3 .Bc6 [3.Rd4 is a nice alternative] 3 . . . Qf5 4.Rd2 intending f2-f4 when Black doesn't have enough compensation for the lost pawn.) and now�ite is very much on top after both 2.Bg2 (A "reset" that can be played if�ite suddenly freaks out a bit and decides that his Bishop is too far from home.) and 2.Qc4, making new light-squared inroads.

7

8

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS - 4TH EDITION

Control of a K!r£i!� - !loads for Rooks Diagram 7

White to move White is doubled on the e-file (important since it's the only open file on the board), he has more central and queenside space, and his Bishop is the master of the light-squares along the h l -a8 diagonal. Nevertheless, a lot of material has already been exchanged and the presence of Bishops of opposite colors leads one to believe that Black will be able to hold on. On top of all that, Black intends to swap Rooks along the e-file with . . . Rde8. Fortunately for White, there's no need to worry since he has l.Bc6! (l . . . Qg4 2 .Re4), permanently laying claim to the e-file. Now Black has no active plan and he can only sit back and passively wait, hoping that White won't be able to figure out a way to break through. In the position after l .Bc6, both sides are playing for two possible results: Black will either lose or draw, and White will either win or draw. Obviously, nobody would want to be in black's shoes.

Control of a Hole/Weak Diagram 8

White to Move

- Homes for Horses

PART O N E I T H E C O N C E P T O F I M BA L A N C E S 9

White enjoys extra space all over the board, but this battle is clearly about the minor pieces: Both have fallen on hard times-black's Bishop is living in the dirt with no hope of improving its lot, while white's Knight dreams of a better home than the hovel on c l . However, unlike the poor Bishop, the Knight doesn't have to stay in the gutter. Two squares (the mansion on d5 and the mega-mansion on e6) beckon, and all White has to do is figure out how to get his horse there. Once you know your destination/goal, it's easy to find the path to it: l.Nd3 (l .Ne2 is also good) followed by 2.Nf4 and 3 .Ne6. Once the Knight reaches its dream square, a well-timed g4-g5 advance will finish Black off.

!:ead in Develo£�nt - You're Outnumbered! A lead in development is a very dangerous thing, and the developmentally challenged side should do his best to keep things closed until his King gets safely castled and his other pieces find their way into the fray (thereby catching up in development and allowing a fight of equal armies). Opening gambits are based on creating the imbalance of material vs. develop­ ment, and they can give the attacker some quick wins if the opponent foolishly allows the position to open up.

l.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 White has two pieces out to black's one-on top of this, white's other pieces can be developed far faster than black's. It's clear that the second player has to be careful!

6. . . Nf6?! The more prudent 6 . . . e6 and 6 . . . a6 are fine.

7.e5! Diagram 9

White offers a second pawn so he can rip open the central lines and gobble up the juicy King-treat on e8.

10

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS - 4TH EDITION

7 . . . dxe5 Foolishly doing exactly what White wanted him to do. Though 7 . . Nxe5?? .

8.Nxe5 dxe5 9.Bxf7+ allows White to pick up the black Queen, 7 . . Ng4! refuses .

to let White completely rip the position open.

8.Qxd8+ Nxd8? 8 . . . Kxd8 is a better try.

9. Nb5 Kd7?? It's still a fight after 9 . . . Rb8.

10.Nxe5+ Ke8 l l .Nc7 mate.

!!!itiative - Calling the Shots I consider the initiative to be a physical manifestation of a psychological battle-both sides champion their view of things in the hope that the opponent will have to eventually forgo his own plans and react to yours. Thus, I usually refer to it as "Pushing Your Own Agenda" (presented in Part Four, Macho Chess), since that clarifies what the initiative is and, at the same time, it tells you how to get it! Diagram 1 0

Black to move White has just played l .Nh4, intending 2.Ng6 (and, once g6 is covered, an eventual Nf5). Other than this obvious threat, White would like to swing his other Knight over to e3 and, from there, to d5. On the other hand, Black would like to take advantage of the somewhat loose Knight on c4 and the undefended pawn on a2. Black can stop the Ng6 threat by l . . .Kh7 but, by making a purely defensive move, White gets the opportunity to continue to push his agenda by 2.Bxc5 Qxc5 (2 . . . Nxc5 3 .Ne3 idea Nd5) 3 .Ne3 Nb6 (3 . . .Bxa2? ? 4.Bh3 and Black

PART O N E I T H E C O N C E P T O F I M BA L A N C E S

i s suddenly dead meat ! ) 4.N d 5 ! Bxd 5 (4 . . . Nxd 5 ? ? 5 . exd5 Bxd5 6 . Bxd5 Rxd 5 7.Qe4+) 5 .exd5 Ne7 6.Qe4+ Kh8 7.c4 and

PHILOSOPHY

The initiative is a physical manifestation of a psychological battle.

White has managed to create some interest­ ing complications. Instead of handing White the initiative in this manner, Black should answer

l.Nh4 with 1 . . . Qf7! when Ng6 is stopped and c4 is under attack (it defends and pushes black's agenda at the same time!). Now the e 3 -square isn't available for White, but a Knight retreat hangs a2. Suddenly, Black is the one dictating the direction of the game and White has to scramble to keep his position together. His choices are all unappetizing: _..,... 2.Rxd7 fails to 2 . . . Rxd7 3 .Bxc5 Bxc4 4.Qg4 Bxfl 5.Bxfl

(5 .Bxf8 Bxg2) 5 . . . Rfd8 and Black is two Exchanges up! 2.Bxc5 Bxc4. __....

2.Rd5 ! ? (an imaginative try to infuse some energy into his position and regain the initiative-White is hoping for 2 . . . Bxd5 3 .exd5 Ne7 4.Nxa5 Bxe3 5 .fxe3 Nxd5 6.Nf5) 2 . . . b6! ending the nonsense and leaving White in a quandary.

__....

11

2.b3 Bxc4 3 .bxc4 Bxe3 4.fxe3 and White is left with an exceptionally ugly pawn formation.

King Safety - Dragging Down the Enemy Monarch Diagram 11

White to move This isn't a book about attack, but I felt that King safety should be stressed since it's a major factor (imbalance) in many games. In particular, this book will point to an uncastled King as something that should usually be avoided like the

12

H O W T O R E A S S E S S YO U R C H E S S - 4 T H E D I T I O N

plague. In the diagrammed position, White has sacrificed a pawn but enjoys a lead in development and a safe King. Black's King, though, is still in the center and White punishes it before it can get castled.

l.Nxf7! Kxf7 (Better is l . . . Qc7 but there's really no reason for Black to continue the game after 2.Nxh8) 2 .Qxe6+ Kg6 3.Bd3+ Kh5 4.Qh3 mate. The focus in this book won't be on attacking techniques, but rather on recognizing the dangers of a central King-this will allow you to punish this transgression when it occurs in your games, and to avoid falling victim to this "illness" yourself.

�tati�s vs. Dynamics - The Battle Between Short }'erm �!!.�!