A World Champion’s Guide to Chess
Step-by-Step Instructions for Winning Chess the Polgar Way!
by Susan Polgar and Paul Truong
2015
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
Milford, CT USA
A World Champion’s Guide to Chess
Step-by-Step Instructions for Winning Chess the Polgar Way!
by Susan Polgar and Paul Truong
ISBN: 978-1-941270-32-5 (print)
ISBN: 978-1-941270-33-2 (eBook)
© Copyright 2015
Susan Polgar and Paul Truong
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Published by:
Russell Enterprises, Inc.
P.O. Box 3131
Milford, CT 06460 USA
http://www.russell-enterprises.com
info@russell-enterprises.com
Cover design by Janel Norris
Editing and proofreading by Peter Kurzdorfer
Photo of Susan Polgar by Timea Jaksa
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Essentials of Chess
Tutorial I: The Board and Pieces
Tutorial II: How the Pieces Move and Capture
Tutorial III: Other Rules
Tutorial IV: The Next Step
Section I
1. Checkmate in One Move with Each of the Pieces
2. Capturing Pieces
3. Getting out of Check
4. Forks
5. Making Pins
6. Using Pins
7. Skewers
8. Discovered Attacks
9. Double Check
10. Trapping Pieces
11. The Back Rank
12. Intermediate Moves
13. Castling, Underpromotion, En Passant
14. Stalemate
15. Perpetual Check
16. Proper Defensive Choices
17. Defending by Check or Pin
18. Pattern Recognition
Section II
19. 32 Key Endgame Positions
Section III
20. 50 Quick Mates in One Move
21. 50 Quick Mates in Two Moves
22. 20 Mates in Three Moves
Section IV
23. Some Dos and Don’ts of Chess Strategy
24. Two Instructive Games
Appendix I: Tips, Etiquette, and Helpful Advice for Players
Appendix II: Advice for Parents and Coaches
Introduction
My First Chess Experiences
I discovered the game of chess by accident when I was not quite four years old. While exploring a closet in search of a doll, I found some funny-looking figurines that looked like horses, castles, and a queen’s crown. I asked my mother what they were, and she answered, “They are chess pieces. When your father comes home tonight, he will explain how to play with them.”
It was through my father that I started to learn the basics of chess. He made the game so fascinating that I became deeply interested. Later my two younger sisters, Judit and Sofia, also learned the game and became very strong players. While I was only four years old, I competed in the chess championship for girls under 11 years old in my home city of Budapest, Hungary. Although I was by far the youngest participant, I ended up winning the championship with a perfect 10-0 score! That was the beginning of my long and successful chess career.
During the past 40-plus years, I have been fortunate enough to accomplish quite a bit. I won my first world championship (girls under 16 years old) when I was 12. I became the highest ranked woman player in the world at the age of 15 and have been ranked among the top three women in the world for the past over 20 years. I participated in four Chess Olympiads (team championships), in 1988, 1990, 1994, and 2004, winning five gold medals, four silver medals, and one bronze medal in team and individual competition. My sisters and I ended the Soviet Union’s total dominance in Women’s Olympiads. In 1991, I became the first woman ever to earn the men’s grandmaster title. In 1992, I won my next two world championships (World Blitz and Rapid Championships). In 1996, I won my fourth world championship, becoming the first world champion (male or female) to win the Triple Crown in chess (World Blitz, Rapid, and Traditional World Championships).
What this Book Will Teach You
In this book I would like to share with you what I have learned and what has made me a successful player. This book includes not only methods that I have learned when I was growing up but also exclusive training methods that I have developed and used to train thousands of students over the years. An exclusive pattern recognition chapter will help you understand the foundations of dozens of patterns that will recur constantly in your games. Recognizing these patterns will let you see checkmates and other combinations three, four, five, and even six moves ahead.
In my lectures to parents, coaches, and young players across the country, I strongly recommend exactly what I have put into this book. I have come to realize that in the United States, too many players are not being taught properly. Too much emphasis is placed on the opening and not enough on other areas.
I highly recommend that beginners and intermediate players work mostly with tactics and endgames and solve tactical exercises every day. Tactics and endgames are the foundations of chess. Opening study is important only at much higher levels such as expert, master, and beyond. It is enough for beginner and intermediate players to understand only the basic principles of chess openings.
All the puzzles in this book are my original compositions. I feel these are the most important ideas for players to know. You can find more advanced puzzles in my book Chess Tactics for Champions.
How to Use this Book
To get the most value from this book, record the time it takes you to solve each puzzle by making pencil notations in the margins or in a separate notebook. Also note whether or not you’ve been able to find the correct move. When you have finished the entire book, go back and solve the puzzles again. Then compare the times and results. You should be faster and more accurate the second time. Repeat the same procedure a third time and see your solving time improve.
My father used to say: “Repetition makes a master. Repetition makes you a better chess player.” And he was right. Solving thousands of puzzles really helped me become the player that I am today. The point is not to memorize the actual positions but to remember the ideas, to recognize the patterns. Chess is largely a matter of pattern recognition. The more patterns you know, the better player you will be. It is said that an average grandmaster has a mental library of 20,000 patterns, which includes tactical, strategic, and endgame patterns. The main aim of this book is to help you build your own library of ideas.
The Essentials of Chess
Tutorial
I
THE BOARD AND PIECES
The Chessboard
Chess is fun and cool game. But before you can start playing you must know how to set up the board and pieces. It is quite simple so don’t worry. Let’s go through it step-by-step.
There are 64 squares on the chessboard. There are eight squares horizontally (from side to side) and eight squares vertically (from top to bottom). The squares are laid out in alternating dark and light colors, as shown.
In order to keep track of what happens on the board, we use the coordinate (algebraic) system of recording moves and positions. With this system we assign a letter and number to each square. This lets you record a game by noting the location of each piece after every move. This system is based on combining a letter from a to h and a number from 1 to 8.
When referring to the coordinates, remember that the letter always goes before the number. For example, the square below is called d4, not 4d.
The square below is a6.
The square below is g4.
Remember: the board must always be set up with the light square h1 in the right corner closest to the player with the white pieces and the dark square a1 on the left side.
Files, Ranks, and Diagonals
Files are the vertical lines of squares. There are eight files, designated by the letters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h.
Below is the b-file.
Below is the d-file.
Below is the f-file.
There are also eight ranks. These are the rows that extend horizontally across the board. White sets up the white pieces and pawns on the first and second ranks; Black sets up the black pieces and pawns on the eighth and seventh ranks.
Below is the fourth rank.
Below is the sixth rank
Below is the first rank.
Diagonals are the lines of connected squares of the same color slanting across the board. The bishop moves along diagonals. The following example illustrates the light diagonals a6-c8, a2-g8, and d1-h5.
The following shows the dark diagonals e1-a5, h2-b8, and h6-f8.
The Pieces
White’s pieces always start on the first rank. Black’s pieces always start on the eighth rank. The white pawns are placed on the second rank (h2, g2, f2, e2, d2, c2, b2, and a2). The black pawns are placed on the seventh rank (h7, g7, f7, e7, d7, c7, b7, and a7).
The pieces have different values according to their mobility. These values, based on the lowest value of the least mobile unit, the pawn, are used mainly in calculating exchanges. Here are the relative values:
Queen (Q) = 9 points
Rook (R) = 5 points
Bishop (B) = 3 points
Knight (N) = 3 points
Pawn (P) = 1 point
King (K) = 0 points
Sound complicated? It really isn’t. Take a look at this and you can see how all the pieces are set up for both sides.
The Queenside and the Kingside
The squares with the Xs, from the a-file to the d-file, belong to the queenside because the queens start on d1 and d8. All the other squares from the e-file to the h-file belong to the kingside because the kings start on e1 and e8.
Queenside
Kingside
Tutorial
II
HOW THE PIECES MOVE AND CAPTURE
The Queen
The queen is the most versatile, powerful, and valuable piece in the game. It is so versatile because it can move like a rook and a bishop combined. The queen is so powerful because it can move along files, ranks, and diagonals and can move any number of squares as long as there are no pieces in its path. The queen is most valuable because it is worth nine points on the table of relative values. (see Tutorial I).
In the next diagram, the queen can move to any of the starred squares. As you can see, that includes all the squares on the d-file, the fifth rank, and the a2-g8 and h1-a8 diagonals.
In the next diagram, the queen can move to the squares h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, h8, g6, g7, g8, f5, f7, e4, e7, d3, d7, c2, c7, b1, b7, and a7.
In the next diagram, the queen can move to b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, or b8, on the b-file; a7, c7, d7, e7, f7, g7 on the seventh rank; a8, c6, d5, or e4 on the h1-a8 diagonal; or c8 on the a6-c8 diagonal. The queen can capture the black rook on h7, the pawn on f3, the knight on b1, or the bishop on a6. But the queen may not move to g2 or h1 because the black pawn on f3 is blocking its path.
Remember: the queen is the most versatile, powerful, and valuable piece in chess.
The Rook
There are four rooks in the game, each player having two of them. The diagram below shows the starting positions of the rooks for White (at a1 and h1) and Black (at a8 and h8). The rook is the second most powerful piece after the queen. Each rook is worth five points on the table of relative values (see Tutorial I).
The rook moves along ranks and files, not diagonals, and can move any number of squares as long as its path is clear. A rook can capture any piece in its path.
In the diagram below, the rook can move to the following squares: h1, h2, h3, h4, h6, h7, h8, a5, b5, c5, d5, e5, f5, and g5.
In the next diagram the white rook on a8 can move to b8, d8, e8, f8 c3, c4, c5, c6, and c7. The white rook can capture the black bishop on g8, or the rook on c2, or the knight on a8. The white rook may not move to h8 or c1 because it cannot jump over pieces that are in its path.
Remember, the rook is the second most powerful piece in chess after the queen.
The Bishop
There are four bishops in the game. Each player has two of them, one that moves only on the light squares and one that moves only on the dark squares. The first diagram below shows the starting position of the bishops for both White, at c1 and f1, and Black, at c8 and f8. Each bishop is worth three points on the table of relative values (see Tutorial I).
Each bishop can move only on the color of the diagonal it starts on, though it can move in any direction. That is, a bishop that starts on a dark square can move only on dark squares for the rest of the game, and a bishop that starts on a light square can move only on light squares for the rest of the game. A bishop can move any number of unobstructed squares and can capture any enemy piece in its path.
In the example below, the bishop can move only along dark diagonals because it is located on a dark square.
In the next example the bishop is on the light square e4. That means this bishop can move only to the light squares c6, c2, d5, d3, f5, f3, g6, and g2. It may not move to a8 because a black pawn is blocking its path. The bishop can capture the black pawn on b7, the rook on b1, the knight on h7, or the bishop on h1.
Remember, the bishop can move only on the same color diagonal that it starts on.
The Knight
There are four knights, each player having two of them. Below are the starting positions of the knights for White, at b1 and g1, and for Black, at b8 and g8. The knight is the most unusual piece in chess because it can jump over another piece. Each knight is worth three points on the table of relative values (see Tutorial I).
The knight moves and captures like a capital L. The knight must move to or capture on a square of the opposite color each move. In the diagram below, the knight (on a light square) can move to eight different (dark) squares: b4, b6, c3, c7, e3, e7, f4, or f6.
In the following diagram the knight (on a dark square) can capture the black rook on b3 or the pawn on c2 (both on light squares). The knight’s mobility is most limited in the corner.
In this example the knight (on a light square) can capture the black bishop on c7, the rook on d6, the pawn on f6, or the pawn on g7 (all on dark squares).
In the next example the knight (on a light square) can move to the dark squares g1, g5, f2, or f4.
Remember, the knight always moves to a square of the opposite color.
The King
There are two kings. Each player has one. Below are the starting positions of the kings: for White, at e1, and for Black, at e8. The king is the only indispensable piece in chess. You cannot win without it, and therefore you must always protect it.
diagonally
A pawn cannot move forward if there is something in front of it. In the example below, none of the white pawns can move because Black pieces and pawns are blocking them.
Remember: each pawn, on its first move only, may move either one or two squares forward. After its first move, a pawn may advance only one square at a time.