There's no mate in sight. What do I do now?
What are the pieces worth in progressive chess?
What is a knockout?
What is the principle of quantity?
What does development mean in progressive chess?
Which is worth more, material or development?
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Back to the mates and ghosts page.
Onward to the art of disruption page.
There are further elements that need to be considered, such as
disruption, scattering, and prophylaxis, but at the heart of the
game is the struggle to attain a sufficient lead in material and
development to force mate or elimination of the entire enemy army.
What are the pieces worth in progressive chess?
Most chessplayers are familiar with the following scale: Pawn = 1 point,
Knight = 3 points, Bishop = 3 points, Rook = 5 points, Queen = 9 points.
These values are generally retained in progressive chess, but it is
worth discussing the situations in which the pieces do NOT adhere to the
above scale.
First and foremost, when considering which pieces to capture, look first at those around your own king. A bishop cutting off your king's escape squares is much more valuable than a rook in a corner. Yet often beginning players will grab a rook in the corner that is doing nothing, and leave a bishop or knight that is already deep in their territory. Enemy pieces closer to your king are worth more. You should also value your own pieces more highly if they are in enemy territory.
Pawns are the most important pieces in the latter stages of the game. A promotable pawn is extremely dangerous, and often a single promotable pawn in the 8+ range is enough to win the game. Stopped pawns are practically worthless in the late game. The pawn's value therefore fluctuates wildly depending on its promotability.
Knights are slow to get where they are going, but they are valuable pieces late in the game when they can eat pieces on squares of both colors. Their primary asset is their ability to deliver a check that forces the enemy king to move, thus losing time. Their drawback is they are poor at eating pieces on both sides of the board.
Bishops are extremely powerful pieces in the early game. They are the ideal soldiers to send forth into enemy territory on a capturing spree, since they are also one of the best pieces to LOSE. Late in the game, a bishop is practically worthless, since the enemy may place all his pieces and pawns on opposite colored squares. A bishop is stronger than a knight in the early game, and much weaker in the late game.
Rooks are some of the most powerful pieces. A single rook can wipe out an entire enemy army. Once a rook threatens to come out, its value increases dramatically. However, the rooks begin the games in the corners, where they have little effect on the early stages. Often, rooks in the corners are captured when they really don't need to be (i.e. a knight or bishop should have been captured instead).
Queens are obscenely powerful and must usually be eliminated as quickly as possible. Their value is near infinite as the game progresses, since leaving one on the board almost always means you will get mated, and having one means you will mate. The exception is the lone queen, which is not all that powerful if the opponent has any pieces left at all.
What is a knockout?
The first thing you should look for after a mate or ghost
is a knockout. A knockout, as
in boxing, is that which knocks your opponent clear out of
the game. In progressive chess terms, this means eating so
much of your opponent's material that he has nothing left to
do anything with. This translates to one side being reduced
to no promotable pawns, and either zero pieces or one impotent bishop.
Most games at
the higher levels of play are won by knockout. Following are
some examples of the knockout.
WIPCC 1996 Finals
White: Geissler, Norbert
Black: Galvin, Fred
1. d4
2. c5 cxd4
3. e4 e5 Bd3
4. e6 Qg5 Qxc1 Qxd1+
5. Kxd1 Nf3 Nxd4 Nxe6 Nxf8
6. Kxf8 Ke7 Nc6 Nxe5 Nxd3 Nxb2+
7. Kd2 h4 h5 h6 hxg7 gxh8/Q Qe5+
8. Kd8 d6 dxe5 Bh3 Bxg2 Bxh1 Kd7 Rb8
9. Nc3 Nb5 Nxa7 Rxh1 Rxh7 Rh8 Rxg8 Rxb8 Rxb7+
10. Kd6 Nd3 Nxf2 Nd3 Nc5 Nxb7 Na5 Nc6 Nxa7 Kd5
11. Kc3 Kb4 Ka5 Ka6 Kxa7 Ka6 Ka5 Kb4 Kc3 Kd3 c3
12. f5 f4 Kc5 Kb5 Ka4 Ka3 Kxa2 Ka3 Ka4 Kb5 Kc5 Kd5
13. Resigns
The knockout occurs on black's 10, which reduces white to nothing but a king and UNPROMOTABLE pawns.
WIPCC 1998 Preliminaries
White: Jendras, Gerard
Black: Hyatt, Doug
1. b4
2. d5 Nf6
3. Bb2 Bxf6 Bd4
4. e5 exd4 Bxb4 Ke7
5. e3 exd4 Qg4 Qxc8 Qxd8+
6. Rxd8 Rd6 Ra6 Rxa2 Rxa1 Rxb1+
7. Ke2 Nh3 g3 Bg2 Rxb1 Nf4 Nxd5+
8. Ke8 Be7 Nc6 Rd8 Rxd5 Rb5 Rxb1 Nxd4+
9. Kd3 Bxb7 c3 cxd4 d5 d6 dxe7 Kc2 Kxb1
10. Kxe7 Kd6 Kc5 Kb4 Kb3 c5 c4 c3 cxd2 d1Q#
Here the knockout occurs on black's 8, which reduces white to a king, an IMPOTENT bishop, and UNPROMOTABLE pawns.
1998 Fischer Random Championship (Setup = QNRKNRBB)
White: Santoni, Fabio
Black: Hyatt, Doug
1. d4
2. d5 g5
3. g4 Na3 c3
4. Na6 c5 f5 Kd7
5. Rc2 Nf3 Nxg5 Nxh7 Nxf8+ !!
6. Kc7 Nb4 Nxc2 Nxa1 Nc2 Nxa3
7. bxa3 Be4 Bxf5 Bxc8 Bxb7 Bxa8 Kc2
8. Be6 Be5 Bxg4 Bxh2 Bxe2 Bxg1 Bxf1 Bxf2
9. Bxd5 Bf7 Bxe8 Bb5 Bxf1 d5 c4 Kb3 Ne6+
10. Resigns
Here the knockout occurs on white's 9, where he reduces black to nothing but a helpless bishop.
Barring mate/ghost, the knockout is the next-best thing. Attaining a knockout means mate will follow eventually. Getting to a knockout position is accomplished by maintaining a relative lead in both material and development. Thus, you should always try to end your series with MORE MATERIAL THAN YOUR OPPONENT and BETTER DEVELOPMENT THAN YOUR OPPONENT.
What is the principle of quantity?
Before leaving the subject of piece values/material, it is necessary to
explain the principle of quantity.
The principle of quantity, simply put, says that it is better to
capture MORE STUFF than it is to capture GOOD STUFF. This does
not always hold true, i.e. when the stuff is around your king, you
must get rid of it. However, blindly going after a rook in 4 moves
is pointless when you can take a bishop and a pawn in 3 and deliver
an annoying check on your last move. The following game is an
excellent illustration of the principle of quantity.
Correspondence Game, 1998
White: Ming, Liong Sauw
Black: Hyatt, Doug
1. e4
2. e5 Nh6
3. Bb5 Nh3 b3
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In the diagrammed position, white has decided not to capture black's queen with d4 Bg5 Bxd8, but instead to develop his pieces. How can black punish white for leaving his queen on? 4. Qh4 Qxh3 Qxg2 Qxh1 comes to mind, but then white would simply reply 5. Ke2 Qxh1, and we would have lost our queen in only two moves. Typical chess thinking, and completely incorrect! In the absence of mate, the rook, knight, and pawn will be worth much more than the enemy queen! So...
4. Qh4 Qxh3 Qxg2 Qxh1+
5. Ke2 Qxh1 Ba3 Bxf8 Ba3
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Once again, white's logic is perfectly reasonable. He knows the a3 bishop is a very valuable piece, because it restricts the development of the enemy king. Yet black must also take white's queen, which will be very dangerous on the 7. So a series like 6. a6 axb5 Rxa3 Ng4 Nxf2 Nxh1 comes to mind. However, such a series is easily refuted by 7. Nc3 Nd5 Rg1 Rxg7 Rxh7 Rxh8#. But consider the principle of quantity: it is better to eat more than to eat good stuff. So black finds the decisive:
6. a6 axb5 Rxa3 Rxa2 Rxa1 Ke7 !!
This extraordinary position deserves a diagram:
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Despite having a QUEEN on his *7*, white is helpless! If he moves the b1 knight to a3 or c3 in order to capture the rook on a1 with his queen, the knight will be taken with the b-pawn. If he leaves the rook on a1, it will be sufficient to eat his remaining material. White opts for:
7. Nc3 Qxa1 Qa8 Qxb8 Qxc8 Qxh8 Nd5+
8. Kd6 c6 cxd5 dxe4 f6 Nf7 Nxh8 h6
The knockout! And black went on to win... This game clearly illustrates how one side can win by capturing a lot of pieces rather than only capturing the best ones.
What does development mean in progressive chess?
What is development? In regular chess, development consists of
"getting the pieces out". The center pawns are thrust forward,
knights are moved to put pressure on the central squares, bishops
leave their home squares behind, and kings castle so that the
rooks may enter the game.
In progressive chess, the concept of development is also extremely important. However, development in progressive chess does not mean the same thing as in regular chess. Development consists of the following:
Pawns should almost always move two squares forward in the opening. Otherwise, they will get in the way of the king. Unless a bishop is going on a capturing spree, it should stay close to home. The same goes for rooks and queens. Knights are the safest pieces to move out, since they cannot be captured so easily.
In general, a piece should not be sent forth from its home square unless it is going to capture more than that piece itself is worth. So a bishop can travel forth and snag a queen, but it is inadvisable to send a rook out just to eat an enemy bishop. Unlike in regular chess, pieces should be kept back, not thrust forward. The ideal situation is to send one piece into the enemy camp on a rampage.
Development is an extremely important part of the game. The side who neglects it usually gets mated or winds up giving all his extra material back.
Which is worth more, material or development?
Ideally, you should be ahead both in material and
development. But this will not always be possible.
Consider the following lines:
1. e4 2. d5 Nc6 3. Qg4 Qxc8 Qxd8+ 4. Kxd8 Nf6 dxe4 h5
1. d4 2. d5 Nc6 3. Bf4 Bxc7 Bxd8 4. Kxd8 Nh6 e5 Bb4+
In both of the above lines, black finishes his four behind in material. In the first case, he is down a piece for a pawn. In the second case, he is down a queen and a pawn for a piece! Both lines, however, are very popular for black because in both cases he has a lead in DEVELOPMENT. In the first case, his rook is available to come out via the h6 square, his h-pawn threatens to promote, his knights have both been brought out, the e-pawn looms threateningly close to the white king, and black's king has been given some breathing room. In the second line, black moves an e-pawn closer to promotion, develops his h6 knight, gets space for his king, and ends with an annoying check that paves the way for his h8 rook to enter the game via e8.
White often loses in the above two lines because he gets too greedy, i.e. he continues to eat material and neglects his development.
Personally, I believe material to be far more important than development. I do not see adequate compensation for black in either of the above lines, but the verdict is still in question in both cases. In most positions you encounter, it will be more important to be up material at the end of your series than it will be to be up in development.