Why is defense important in progressive chess?
What is scattering?
What is blocking?
What is check defense?
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What is scattering?
One essential element of defense is scattering.
Barring mate/ghost, your opponent's goal is to take as many of your
pieces as possible. One way to thwart that goal is to scatter your
pieces to the four corners of the earth! Frequently, black can win
just by arranging his pieces on the 6 or 8 so that white will be
unable to capture them on his 7 or 9! Scattering formations are
entirely dictated by the position of the enemy forces. They differ
for each individual position. When one has a choice between two
series that eat the same amount of the opponent's material, one
should look at which series will make it harder for the opponent
to counter with captures of his own!
Following are some examples of scattering:
WIPCC 1998 Preliminaries
White: Vargiu, Ottavio
Black: Sicker, Rolf
1. e4
2. d5 Nc6
3. Qg4 Qxc8 Qxd8+
4. Kxd8 Nf6 dxe4 h5
5. d3 dxe4 Bg5 Nh3 Kd2
6. Kd7 Rb8 Na5 Nh7 Nxg5 Nxe4+
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An excellent example of scattering. Black plays the bizarre
looking moves, Na5 and Rb8. However, both pieces are much
harder to capture on these squares than when they sat in the
path of the f1 bishop! The scattering combined with the
concluding check is enough to force a win.
7. Ke1 b4 bxa5 Nc3 Nxe4 f4 Be2
8. g5 g4 gxh3 hxg2 Bg7 Bxa1 e6 gxh1Q+
9. Resigns
WIPCC 1996 Finals
White: Galvin, Fred
Black: Elkies, Noam
1. d4
2. c5 cxd4
3. e4 e5 f4
4. e6 d3 dxc2 cxd1/Q+
5. Kxd1 f5 fxe6 e7 exd8/Q+
6. Kxd8 d6 dxe5 b5 Kc7 Bg4+
An inferior series that neglects the material race.
7. Be2 Bxg4 Bf3 Bxa8 Ke2 Nc3 Nd5+
8. Kd7 Nf6 Bb4 Rc8 Rxc1 Rxa1 Nxd5 Nf4+
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Black attempts to scatter his pieces. He leaves the
rook on a1, the knight on f4, another knight on b8.
But white has a rook left on the 9!
9. Kf3 a3 axb4 b3 Ne2 Nxf4 Nh3 Rxa1 Rxa7+
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A fine lesson in scattering! The pieces are arranged optimally so that the knight will have to spend almost all of the 10 moves to capture them. The knight on h3 is as far away from the rook on a7 as is possible, given the series Galvin wanted to play.
10. Ke6 Kf5 Nc6 Nxa7 Nc8 Nb6 Nxa8 Nb6 h6 e4+
Clearly, black had to take the knight and the rook on
his 10. However, white would have a promotable pawn
on his 11.
11. Ke3 Nf2 Nxe4 Nc3 Na4 Nxb6 Na4 Nc3 Ne2 Kf3 h3
A knockout on the *11*!!
12. Resigns
Scattering pieces is a simple but often overlooked
part of the game. Sometimes it is better not to go
after your opponent's material, but just to arrange
yours optimally so you will have some left on the
following series.
What is blocking?
Sometimes when analyzing various
candidate series, you will come to the realization that
everything you try is refuted by the same idea! Well,
if such is the case, you should take whatever measures
are necessary to STOP your opponent from being able to
realize that idea!
One of these methods is known as blocking. Blocking refers to placing pieces on files, ranks, and diagonals to halt the progress of a particular enemy piece. The most common type of blocking is placing a piece directly in the path of a promotable pawn. Secondary types of blocking include moving pieces onto diagonals and files to stop bishops and rooks, or to make their rampages take one more move than they would otherwise.
There are two distinct types of blocking, direct blocking and indirect blocking (using check defense). Suppose black has a promotable pawn on e5 that you want to stop with your king. You can put your king on e2, square in the path of the enemy pawn. This is direct blocking. However, it also works to put your king on d2 or f2 (assuming you have no capturable pawns on those files) because the black pawn cannot advance to the queening square without delivering check.
Let's consider some practical examples:
1998 Fischer Random Championship (Setup = QNRKNRBB)
White: Blazsik, Zoltan
Black: Hyatt, Doug
1. c4
2. f5 g5
3. f4 fxg5 Nd3
4. Bxb2 Bxa1 c5 d6
5. g3 Bxb7 Bxa8 Kc2 Kb3
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While analyzing this game, it became clear to me that black cannot win a material race. If he tries to eat rooks, white responds with a bigger munch or a mate. Then it occurred to me that in all lines, white was smashing through my position with a rook on the f-file. Suppose I eliminated this possibility? Thus emerged the following series which uses blocking to great effect:
6. Bd5 Bxa8 e5 Ke7 Kf7 Nc6 !!
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In Karpov-like fashion, the king strolls calmly across the board. With the advance of the g-pawn and the vertical attack on the f-file both defended by indirect blocking, it becomes clear that white cannot capture enough on his 7 to avoid harsh retribution on black's 8. The game concluded as follows:
7. Rf3 Re3 Rxe5 Rxe8 Rxc8 Rxa8 Rxf8+
8. Kxf8 f4 f3 fxe2 e1=Q Qxd2 Nb4 Qxa2#
Consider also the Pfeiffer-Boniface game from the previous section on the harassing check. Pfeiffer's 7 is very instructive, in that he directly blocks the black a-pawn, c-pawn, and h-pawn with the moves a4, Nc3, and h4, respectively. That he does so while taking a lot of material is what makes the series so impressive!
Blocking can occur as early as the 2nd series! One of black's most popular responses to 1. e4 is 2. e5 f6, the sole point of which is to prevent a bishop from capturing the queen in 3 moves! White often responds by playing a 3 involving either Nf3 or f3, blocking the d1-h5 diagonal so his queen cannot be taken in 4 moves without allowing a checkmate!
Blocking also occurs when one side has a single move that he can afford to use for prophylactic measures. Consider the following position:
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This position occurred in Williams-Ostrovskij , WIPCC 1998 Preliminaries. Black decides to play 8. Kd7 Rf8 Rxf7 Rf3 Rxa3 Rxa2 Rxa1, but he has one move left! He finishes his series with the excellent move ...h4!, which, through a form of blocking (in this case restricting the movements of the g2 pawn) makes white take one move too long to promote! Thus black obtains a winning position.
Another example is the following position, taken from Blazsik-Saukkola, WIPCC 1998 Preliminaries.
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White utilizes blocking to secure a winning position with the series 7. Nxg5 Ba6 Bxb7 Bxa8 Bxc6 Na3 Rg1.
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Black cannot promote because Na3 blocks his a-pawn and Rg1 blocks the path of his h-pawn via g2. Combined with the restrictive power of the c6 bishop, this is enough to win for white. After this strong 7, black resigned.
What is check defense?
Another form of prophylaxis, extremely common in progressive
chess, is check defense.
Since delivering check ends a player's series, forcing an
opponent to deliver check in order to capture a piece becomes
a very important way of protecting your soldiers!
A basic position is W: Kd1, Qd2, B: Kd8, Rb6, Rf6, Nd7, white to move. White is lost because he can't eliminate either rook without delivering check. This concept is very simple and occurs over and over again in practical play.
The following game provides a nice illustration:
13th Italian Progressive Chess Championship, 1988
White: Polacco, Deumo
Black: Rallo, Vito
1. e4
2. e5 f6
3. Bb5 Nc3 d4
4. c6 d5 Bg4 Bxd1
5. Kxd1 Nf3 Nxe5 Nxc6 Nxd8+
6. Kxd8 Nc6 Nxd4 Nxb5 Ne7 Nxc3+
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Black has equalized material and delivered check. However, white can obtain a completely winning position by defending his pieces with check defense, thus assuring he will have a rook left on the 9!
7. bxc3 Bd2 e5 exf6 fxg7 gxf8=B Bxe7+ !
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A phenomenal series! The bishop on d2 guards against all possible mating configurations! Both rooks are protected by check defense... one can be taken, but not both! White will have a bishop and a rook on his 9; as a result, black's best move in this position is to resign.
8. Kxe7 Kd7 a6 Rhf8 Rxf2 Rxg2 Rxh2 Rxh1+
9. Ke2 Rxh1 Rg1 Rg8 Rxa8 Rxa6 Ra3 Rb3 Bh6
10. Resigns
A masterful game from Polacco!
Although the next example shows nicely how to use check defense to guard against minor pieces, it also illustrates every other defensive theme described in this guide: scattering, blocking, and the fortress (which, although technically a defensive strategy, will instead be discussed later in the section on endgame principles).
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This series is very effective. Black can draw this position because of 2 factors: 1. He has not moved his king, and white has (this is a gain of time that neutralizes the loss of time with c6), and 2. Since white captured the e5 pawn, he opened up the diagonal for the black bishop to eat everything. It would have been better not to have captured this pawn. The knight check also helps to secure the draw, but it is not a harassing check, as the white king does not mind being on e2.
7. Ke2 g4 gxh5 Bh3 Bxc8 Bxb7 Bxa8
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At first glance, the above position looks won for white. How does black stop the annoying h-pawn? It doesn't work to maraud with knights and block with the bishop; black must utilize all the defensive techniques we have looked at in order to draw this game.
8. Nxf2 Nxh1 Nf2 Ng4 Nh6 Be5 Bxh2 Bxg1 !
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Let us look closely at this position. First, black's pieces are completely scattered. His bishop is in one corner, his first knight in another, and his last knight in another. They are all on dark squares, so the only pieces that can capture them are the king and the knight. The black pieces are nearly optimally scattered for such captures. Second, black has neutralized white's promotable pawns. The black knight on h6 directly blocks the h5 pawn, and the black king indirectly blocks the path of the c-pawn. However, even so, it is check defense that holds the position together! If white could legally play 9. Nc3 Nb5 Nxa7 Nxc6 Nxb8 Nd7 Ne5 Nxf7 Nxh6, he would win the game. But the c6 and f7 pawns are defended by check defense, thus assuring black of the draw.
9. Nd2 Nf3 Nxg1 Bxc6 Be8 Bxf7 Bg6 Kf3 Kf4
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Now it is white's turn to use check defense to draw, although it is not strictly necessary to do so. The bishop on g6 and pawn on h5 are both defended by check defense, so it is impossible for black to capture both of them on his 10. Since the 2 pieces defend each other, black cannot capture one without also losing a knight. Trying to win with a series like 9. Bxc6 Bg2 Nd2 Nf3 Nxg1 Nh3 Kf3 Kf4 a4 would only backfire after 10. f6 Ke7 Kf7 Nc6 Nb4 Nxc2 Nd4 Nf3 Ng1 Nxh3+. Notice in this line how black sets up a fortress on the kingside. Despite the fact his knight is unprotected, the white king has no way to "break in" to the corner where the knight is located. If black instead captured all the pawns, white could reach a winning K+B+N versus K ending. White could have played several lines attempting to secure this ending, but black can always draw such lines by capturing the c-pawn, h-pawn, and knight, as the K+RP+B versus K+RP is only a draw (with 11 moves to play, white won't be able to capture the B on g1, the pawn on a7, and get the rook pawn advanced to a6 with the king on b7).
10. Nc6 Nb4 Nxa2 Nb4 Nxc2 Nd4 Nf3 Nxg1 Ke7 Kf6
If black tries instead 10. Nc6 Nb4 Nxc2 Nd4 Nf3 Nxg1 Nf3 Ng5 Ke7 Kf6, white just plays 11. Kxa7 Kf4 with the same check defense-based draw. 10. Nxa2 Nc3 a1Q Qxg1 gets mated after the bishop finesse 11. Bf5 Bg4 Kxh6 Kd6 h8Q#
11. Draw agreed
White will capture the g1 knight and the a7 pawn on his 11, and black will capture the g6 bishop and h5 pawn on his 12. A very interesting game!