Chapter 2 - The Eight Bad Moves

Neglecting Development | Exposing King | Queen Moves | Weakening Castle | Getting Pinned | Against Captures | Opponent's Threats | Won Game

Neglecting Development of Your Pieces

In the original starting position of a game of chess, the pieces are not ready for action. The process by which we advance them to squares on which they can attack and defend and maneuver freely is called "development."

If we develop the pieces slowly or ineffectively, their action is limited. Their attacking ability is slight, and the initiative passes into the hands of our opponent.

If we move one piece repeatedly, it follows that other pieces are being neglected, still left on their original squares where they accomplish nothing. Lagging or ineffective development accounts for many a stinging defeat on the chessboard.

While each opening presents its special problems, there are some practical rules that are helpful guides. Always start by playing out a center Pawn, as this creates a line for developing a Bishop. Bring out the King Knight very early— preferably to KB3. By playing out the King Knight and King Bishop quickly, you make early castling possible and thus get your King out of any immediate danger.

Try to avoid placing your Bishops on diagonals where they are blocked by your own Pawns. Avoid, too, an excessive number of Pawn moves—they contribute little or nothing to development.

Play over your games to see whether you are achieving the following minimum in the first ten moves: both center Pawns advanced; both Knights developed; both Bishops developed; castling completed. This is an ideal goal which you may not always achieve, but it will help you to guard against moving the same piece repeatedly.

Managing the Queen is a different matter. If you develop her too soon you will only expose her to harrying by enemy pieces of lesser value. A later chapter will treat this point in detail.

Disastrous Pawn Moves

King's Knight's Opening
White                        Black                     White                     Black
1 P—K4                   P—K4                   2 N—KB3             N-QB3
3 B—B4 P—B3??

Black's 3rd move should have been 3 . . . B—B4 or 3 . . . N—B3—useful developing moves that prepare for castling.

Instead, the move actually played, 3 ... P—B3??, is damaging in a number of ways. It is basically bad because it opens up a line of attack on the Black King. (The further play will illustrate the dangers involved.)

Secondly, 3 . . . P—B3?? has the great defect of making it very difficult for Black to castle. The Pawn move extends the diagonal of White's Bishop at QB4 so that the Bishop controls KN8—the square the Black King would occupy in castling.

There might be some point to 3 . . . P—B3?? if the move had good qualities to set off its defects. But it not only has no advantageous features—it even has a fourth defect!— it deprives the Black King Knight of its best square at KB3.

4 N—R4

White wants to exploit 3 ... P—B3?? by playing Q— R5ch.

4....P—KN4???

Suicide. Now White's Queen check will lead to checkmate.

5 Q—R5ch               K—K2         6 N—B5 mate

Of the five moves that Black made, three were Pawn moves and one a King move. Aside from contributing nothing to the development of his pieces, the Pawn moves were definitely harmful in opening the gates to the enemy.

Exposing Your King to Attack

The king is unlike any other piece. In every game of chess, the object, direct or potential, is to checkmate your opponent's King. No matter how the game proceeds, no matter what your plans may be, you must guard your King and look for opportunities to menace your opponent's King.

Since the King's safety controls the fate of the game, you take unnecessary risks whenever you expose your King to attack. One of the most common ways to endanger the King is to leave him on his original square in the middle of the back rank. The other chess pieces are most active in the center and exert their greatest power in that area. Consequently, the King is most vulnerable at his original square.

Leaving the King in the center is particularly dangerous in "open" positions—those in which there are open files. Such open lines are highways along which the Queen and Rooks can operate to menace the hostile King. (In "closed" position—those in which the Pawn position is locked—a King may be fairly safe in the center.)

Leaving the King in the center sometimes leads to ferocious "King-hunts." In the course of such a savage drive on a hostile King, he may be hounded all the way from his original square to the other side of the board. The King-hunt is the extreme example of the helplessness of a King stranded in the center and exposed to the fury of the hostile pieces.

WHITE TO MOVE

Here is a good example of the dangers confronting a King in the center in an open position. After 1 QxPch!! Black resigns, for if 1 ... NxQ; 2 BxP mate.
 
Knowing that it is bad policy to leave the King exposed to attack in the center, how are we to avoid such dangers? The safest course is to castle fairly early in the game—say no later than the tenth move. Once the King is castled on one side or the other, he is much less vulnerable than in the center.

White Neglects

Castling GIUOCO

PIANO

WHITE            BLACK                          WHITE               BLACK
1 P_K4            P—K4                            4 P—B3             B—N3
2 N—KB3 N—QB3                              5 P—Q4             Q—K2
3 B—B4          B—B4                            6 P—Q5                  

A questionable move; it closes the diagonal of White's Bishop at QB4 and opens the diagonal of Black's Bishop at QN3.

6          ....        N—Ql

This is a good point for White to castle his King into safety.

7          B—K2?                       ….

Incomprehensible. Not only does White neglect to castle; he loses time by moving the already developed Bishop.

7          ....        P—Q3 8 P—KR3? ….

Again neglecting castling and again wasting time; besides, the Pawn move may turn out to have a weakening effect on White's position.

8....                  P—KB4                         10 QN—Q2 Castles
9B—KN5        N—KB3                         11 N—R4? …..

Once more he misses castling, and once more he fritters away precious time by moving an already developed piece.

11 ....   PxP      12 NxP

Calmly relying on the pin on Black's King Knight. But White's numerous violations of chess theory allow Black to violate chess theory too! Black now sacrifices his Queen for a piece of considerably lesser value.

12        NxN!!

13 BxQ            BxBPch            14 K—Bl         N—N6 mate
 
What are the technical factors that made this mate possible? First, 7 B—K2? deprived the King of a possible flight square. Secondly, 8 P—KR3? weakened the King-side (allowing the eventual . . . N—N6 mate). Finally, 11 N— R4? resulted in the complete opening of the King Bishop file.

Thus we see that Black's brilliancy was grounded in the shortcomings of White's faulty play. Yet the crowning mistake was White's failure to castle.

Making Too Many Queen Moves in the Opening

Repeated moves with the same piece in the opening are a form of neglected development. While the same piece is moving again and again, the other pieces remain undeveloped. Always a serious fault, it becomes even more serious when the Queen is the piece which is being moved repeatedly. There are a number of reasons for this.

The Queen is by far the strongest piece on the board. It is the heart and soul of a well-managed attack which is based on systematic, completed development. To move this powerful piece aimlessly and repeatedly dissipates the attacking power of your position. To move the Queen very early while concentrating on a definite but minor goal, is still bad policy; often much more important features are neglected during these short-sighted maneuvers.

Still another drawback to early Queen moves is that they readily expose the Queen to attack by enemy pieces. So we have here the painful paradox that while one player ignores his development with repeated Queen moves, his opponent develops one piece after another with gain of time by simultaneously attacking the Queen!

Your best course, then, is to follow the advice given on page 5: concentrate on playing out the minor pieces at the beginning of the game; make sure of castling into safety; and develop the Queen only after the opening development has begun to take shape.

Black Loses Precious Time
KING'S KNIGHT'S OPENING

WHITE            BLACK                    WHITE                  BLACK
1 P—K4          P—K4                      2 N—KB3             Q—B3?

A thoughtless move. Why use the Queen—the most powerful piece on the board—for such menial work as guarding a Pawn?

(2 ... N—QB3 performs the same task much more economically.)

3          B—B4 Q—N3?

A second move with the unfortunate Queen.

4          Castles! QxKP??

And now a third move with the unfortunate Queen. Far ahead in development, White is now ready to exploit the Queen's exposed position.

5          BxPch!

For if 5 ... K x B; 6 N—N5ch forking King and Queen.

5 ....     K—K2

5 ... K—Ql is slightly better, but the damage is done: Black's King is stranded in the center and has lost the castling privilege.

6          R—Kl! Q—KB5

With a mating attack in the offing, White does not mind sacrificing his Bishop:

7 RxPch!

7 ....     KxB     8 P—Q4!

Gaining valuable time by again attacking the unfortunate Queen.

8....                  Q—B3                      11 P—KN4ch!            KxP
9 N—N5ch K—N3                          12 Q—KR3 mate
10 Q—Q3ch    K—R4

An extraordinary game: out of 11 moves, Black made five with his Queen, five with his King. Small wonder that his King was battered into an early checkmate.

Four Consecutive Queen Moves—and "Resigns" CARO-KANN DEFENSE

WHITE            BLACK                       WHITE               BLACK
1 P—K4          P—QB3                      3 PxP                  PxP
2 P—Q4          P—Q4                         4 P—QB4          B—B4

It is poor policy for Black to expose his Queen to immediate attack.

5 PxP               QxP                 6 N—QB3                Q—R4
7 Q—N3         Q—N3
Still another Queen move.

8 N—Q5!

If Black now tries to defend the Queen Knight Pawn with 8 . . . Q—QB3, then the pinning move 9 B—QN5 wins the Queen.

8 ....                 QxQ                         9 PxQ                       Resigns!

Black cannot meet the double threat of 10 N—B7ch or 10 N—N6, winning the Exchange. If he tries 9 ... N— R3 then 10 RxN!, PxR; 11 N—B7ch wins for White.

The excessive number of Queen moves has resulted in an undeveloped position lacking adequate defensive resources.

Weakening Your Castled Position

It stands to reason that leaving the King in the center often means exposing the King to a dangerous, very possibly fatal, attack. This leads us to the conclusion that castling is the best way to safeguard the King.

The castled position, then, is the King's safeguard. But, though the King is better protected when castled than when in the center, that does not mean that castling alone assures you complete immunity from attack. If your opponent has an overwhelmingly superior development, he can concentrate more forces for attack than you can supply for defense. Sometimes brilliant sacrifices are made to smash down a defender's barriers.

But we are now concerned mainly with Pawn weaknesses in the castled position. In the case of castling on the King-side, three Pawns are involved: the King Rook Pawn, the King Knight Pawn, and the King Bishop Pawn. As long as all three Pawns are still on their original squares, the castled position remains strong and difficult to take by storm.

Yet once a single member of the trio advances, the defender is headed for trouble. For example, suppose the King Knight Pawn advances one square. Then immediately the squares it formerly protected—KR3 and KB3—must receive protection from pieces. Worse yet, these squares become targets for enemy occupation. Let a hostile Queen and Knight, or Queen and Bishop, occupy these squares, and you will see the castled position totter and crumble.

The advance of the King Rook Pawn is also dangerously weakening. Very often the attacker is able to sacrifice a piece for the Pawn on KR3, in this way ripping up the castled position and leaving it wide open for large-scale invasion. The advance of the King Bishop Pawn creates similar problems, and very often opens up a vital diagonal for the hostile Bishop.

Another serious consequence of any of these Pawn advances is that they enable the attacker to open lines by advancing his own Pawns and forcing Pawn exchanges. Thus, after Blacks plays . . . P—KN3, White may reply P—KR4 and P—KR5, exchanging Pawns and thus opening the King Rook file for attack. Or, after White plays P—KR3, Black may react with . . . P—KN4 and . . . P—KN5, likewise obtaining an open file for attack.

Once the attacker succeeds in forcing open a line leading to the castled position, he has enormously improved his prospects of taking the hostile King by storm. As long as the Pawns remain on their original squares, they form a road block for the attacking pieces. After one of the Pawns has advanced, the barrier is much more likely to be breached —by exchanges, by sacrifices, by violent line-opening.

To sum up: you have seen that Pawn advances in front of the castled King can be weakening—even dangerous. You should therefore avoid such advances. Sometimes you are forced to make such advances—but at least you can avoid making them needlessly. Avoid such Pawn moves if it is at all possible to avoid them!

Queen-side castling, which we rarely encounter, presents difficulties for the inexperienced player. The castled King has a wider area to guard than on the King-side. Hence the temptation to meet threats with Pawn advances is much stronger in the case of Queen-side castling. This makes it more likely for the defense on this broader front to be upset by violent sacrifices.

BLACK TO MOVE

White's Queen-side castled position is shaky, menaced as it is by Black's Bishops and the open Queen Knight file. Right now the castled Pawn position is intact, but Black's masterly probing soon creates weaknesses that pave the way for brilliant sacrifices.
 
1 ....                 B—Q5!                 2 P—B3                   QR—Nl!
3 P—QN3 KR—Ql!

For if 4 PxB, then 4 . . . QxQP wins at once. White's weakened castled position is now riddled with weaknesses.

4 N—B3          QxP!!!

Beautiful play, made possible by the Pawn weaknesses.

5 PxQ  RxP

Threatens mate.

6 B—Kl                       B—K6ch!!                Resigns

Black mates next move. A convincing demonstration of the disastrous effect of weakening Pawn moves.

WHITE TO MOVE Black's castled position has been sadly weakened. His King Rook Pawn is gone; his King Knight Pawn has had to advance. Meanwhile White has established a menacing Pawn wedge at KB6, and all his pieces are admirably poised for an assault on Black's King. In fact, White forces mate in three moves!

1 QxPch!!

A rude shock for Black. But what interests us is this thought: if White can afford to sacrifice his most valuable piece, then Black has indeed damaged his King-side fatally by weakening Pawn moves.

1 ....     PxQ     2 P—B7ch!

The real point of the sacrifice. The long diagonal becomes completely clear, allowing White to set up a familiar mating pattern. The Rook on KR3, supported by the Bishop, forms this mating pattern.

2 QxP  3 R—R8 mate

One of those combinations that are so distinguished in 'heir artistry that we can play them over again and again and still enjoy them. And again, observe that what makes the artistry possible is the weakening of Black's castled position.

Why do players weaken the castled position? Some do not realize the weakening effect of the moves; others cannot help themselves. In this case, it was White's earlier threats that cleverly forced Black to weaken his castled position.

Getting Pinned

The best advice about getting pinned is: Don't!

Pins occur more frequently on the chessboard than any other type of attack. Yet, strangely enough, pins are rarely defined or explained. A pin is an attack on a piece which screens another piece from attack. A piece

that is pinned is tied down.

In the above diagram, Black's Queen pins White's Rook. The Queen attacks the Rook, which in turn screens the White King from attack. The Rook is pinned (tied down to its present square) because a move of the Rook would expose the White King to attack by the Black Queen. (As you know, the laws of chess forbid your making any move that exposes your King to attack by a hostile piece.)

To emphasize the helplessness of White's pinned Rook, let us suppose that it is Black's move, and that he plays . . . N—B7ch forking White's King and Queen. One's first thought is to reply RxN, in order to save the menaced Queen. But the pinned Rook is helpless; it cannot move. White, in check, must move his King, losing his Queen by ... NxR.

The pathetic helplessness of White's Rook in the previous diagram is typical of pins where the screened piece is the King.

Where the screened piece is any other piece but the King, the player subject to the pin has greater freedom of action. If the screened piece is a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight, the pinned piece can legally move. But though such a move is legal, it is not necessarily advisable. The move of a pinned piece will generally involve a serious loss of material. This is brought out in the following position:

White's Queen, supported by a White Rook, pins Black's Bishop, which is protected only once and cannot be protected additionally. If the Bishop remains on K3, it is lost; if the Bishop moves, the Knight at K2 which it screens is lost. Black can try 1 ... N—K5, blocking the pin. But after 2 NxN, PxN; 3 QxP the pin is renewed and White also threatens 4 Q—R7 mate.

The most bearable pins, as far as the defender is concerned, are those where the pinned piece is guarded by a Pawn. In such cases, protection is automatic—and cheap. Where the pinned piece has to be guarded by another piece, you can expect trouble. The pinned piece is tied down; the protecting piece is tied down to the defense of the pinned piece. Thus two units are deprived of much of their mobility and therefore of much of their power.

Another point to remember about the pin is its psychological value. The restraining effect of the pin has a depressing effect on the defender. Pinning and restraining are attacking functions and assure a player the initiative. He has a positive goal—to weaken the pinned piece, to pile up pressure on it, to take advantage of its immobility. The player whose piece is pinned is at a disadvantage. He is at his opponent's mercy, and must often look on helplessly while his pinned piece is being undermined.

It follows, therefore, that you should avoid the pinning of your pieces. Once you are pinned, your freedom of action is restricted, and you are exposed to threats that may cost you the game. Just as it is important not to neglect your development in the opening stage, it is equally vital not to allow your pieces to be pinned later on.

White To Move

Black's position seems quite secure— until you observe that he has badly weakened his King-side with . . . P— KN3. White's problem is—how is he to take advantage of this weakness? He solves the problem by means of a brilliant combination.

1 RxB!!            QxR
Now Black's Knjght is pinned—in a particularly dangerous way, too. For this Knight is not protected by a Pawn—thanks to the earlier . . . P—KN3. Therefore the pinned Knight must be guarded by pieces—always a dangerous and costly procedure.

2 Q—B3          K—N2
3 N/B3—K4!!            

Beautiful play. By sacrificing another piece White crushes Black's resistance to the pin.

3 ....     PxN     4 NxP  Q—K3

If 4 . . . QxN; 5 QxNch, K—Nl; 6 B—R6 forcing checkmate. Again the weakening of Black's King-side tells against him.

5 BxNch          K—Nl 6 Q—B4          Resigns

There is no defense to the threatened Q—R6. White's pin was the weapon that smashed Black's King-side.

Failing to Guard Against Captures

Few mistakes can be more costly in chess than failing to guard against captures. A capture is often the turning point of a game; it may involve gaining a decisive advantage in material or, in some cases, a vastly superior position.

Sometimes a capture is bound up with a sacrificial combination, in which a piece of great value is given up for one of slight value. Such captures are naturally difficult to foresee. Much more common are those situations in which a capture is quite obvious.

Why are such captures overlooked? Probably because they turn up in positions that seem simple and routine; the player's alertness is lulled; he forgets that almost every position in chess has some element of attack and threat. Positions that are simple on the surface will often turn out, on careful scrutiny, to contain a fantastic wealth of intricate details. If you can acquire the faith that almost every chess position, no matter how simple, has its share of tactical possibilities, you are well on the way to overcoming any tendency to overlook captures.

In the game on page 26, Black overlooks a deadly capture that checkmates him on the 13th move. "Who would have dreamt that it was possible!" is the wondering comment of most chessplayers. Well, the player who saw and executed this combination certainly dreamt it was possible. Whether he found the combination by logical reasoning or by a flash of "inspiration," his example is one that we should all imitate.

WHITE TO MOVE

Without bothering to look very deeply into the position, White snaps at a loose Pawn. It is curious that he jails to see the crushing though obvious reply. This kind of slip often occurs in positions that look too "simple" to require careful appraisal and calculation.

1 QxRP?? .
 
This blunder converts a probably drawn position into immediate loss for White.

The chances are that White expected 1 . . . N—K6? in reply.

In that event, 2 RxR??? allows 2 . . . Q—N7 mate, while 2 BxN is answered by 2 ... RxRch winning the Exchange. However, White has 2 Q—R5ch!, K—K2; 3 BxN winning a piece.

But in reply to 1 QxRP?? Black has a devastating alternative:
 
1 ….NxP!!
 
If now 2 RxR???, Q—N7 mate.

Or 2 PxN, RxRch and White loses his Bishop as well.

After 1 ... NxP!!, White resigned. The real finesse of this move lies in the fact that it renders Q—R5ch impossible for White, leaving him without a defense.

Overlooking a Capture that Leads to Checkmate!
 
Queen's Pawn Opening
 
WHITE               BLACK                 WHITE               BLACK
1 P—Q4             P—Q4                   3 P—KB3          PxP
2 P—K4!?          PxP                        4 NxP                 ….

White has offered a Pawn in the hope of getting a big lead in development. With careful play, Black has nothing to fear.

4 ....                    B—N5                   5 B—K3             N—QB3
6 P—B3          P—K4
 
After this optimistic reply Black's pieces are driven back. He gets an easier game with 6 ... P—K3.
 
7 P—Q5                                                 N/B3—K2
8 Q—R4ch                                             B—Q2
9 Q_K4                                                  P—KB3
10 B—Q3                                               N—N3??

Black's last move is quite plausible, and yet it allows a forced mate!

11 QxNch!!! PxQ                             12 BxPch            K—K2
13 B—B5 mate!
 
How did this catastrophe come about? Naturally, Black did not dream that the Queen sacrifice was possible. What features of the position might have helped him to see danger ahead?

In the first place, Black's King is in the center, where, as we know, he is vulnerable. Secondly, the development of his pieces has become tangled up, so that the King can expect no help from his own forces. Finally, Black has advanced the King Bishop Pawn, which opens up a line of approach for White's pieces.
All these factors create danger for Black—but they need not necessarily be fatal. If Black is aware of the difficulty, he will be careful in selecting a Knight move. For example, 10 ... N—B4 is quite safe and provides relief for the cramped state of Black's pieces. It is the careless 10 ... N—N3??, played without understanding of the position, that leads to a catastrophe.

Underestimating Your Opponent's Threats

Threats are harder to see than captures. Some moves threaten checkmate, some threaten captures, some involve a general improvement in position. Some threats are crude, brutal, obvious. Others are unbelievably subtle in their intentions, refined in their execution. Some threats are sound and directed toward winning the game. Others are based on a foolish idea and will prove disastrous for the player who has devised them. Some threats are irresistible, others can be topped by a stronger threat.

In a game between good players, threats and counterthreats are essentially a matter of interplay of ideas and intentions. If each player does not always see through his opponent's threats, he is at least prepared for them. Thus, as in the case of captures, it is important to realize that threats are always possible, that they must be looked for.

That is why threats are most dangerous when they are devised by an opponent who seems to have a lost game. When victory seems within your grasp is just the time when you are most likely to underestimate the other player's resources. "Simple" positions, too, are the downfall of many a player who feels that the game no longer requires careful scrutiny.

Overconfidence is unquestionably the quality that leads many players to overlook their opponents' threats.

BLACK TO MOVE

All that Black sees in this position is that one of his Bishops is attacked, and that he can capture the advanced White Knight if he wishes. Yet White threatens one of the most startling brilliancies ever played on the chessboard. Can you see White's threat and how to meet it?
 
Black's safest course is 1 ... B—K2 avoiding the opening of the King Rook file and also guarding his Queen Bishop Pawn.

But Black is blind to the explosive possibilities in the position and plays:
1          .... Q—R4ch?? 2 P—QN4!!    ….

After this Black can avoid mate only by losing his Queen!

2          ....        PxNP   3 QxPch!!!       ….

This was White's hidden threat.

3          ....        KxQ    4 PxB dis ch K—N3

5 N—K7 mate

Black Is Shown the Threat—and Misses It! PETROFF'S DEFENSE

WHITE            BLACK                    WHITE                  BLACK
1 P—K4          P—K4                      5 Q—K2               Q—K2
2 N—KB3       N—KB3                   6 P—Q3                N—KB3
3 NxP              P—Q3                      7 B—N5                B—K3
4 N—KB3       NxP                          8 N—B3                QN—Q2

Since neither player can develop his King Bishop, both are likely to castle Queen-side.

9 P—Q4          P—Q4 10 Castles        P—B3

Not good. Since he will probably castle on the Queen-side, the Pawn weakness will endanger Black's castled position.

11 K—Nl P—KR3                                 12 B—B4!             Castles

13 Q—R6!!

This unwelcome intrusion was made possible by Black's weakening 10th move. // now 13 . . . PxQ??; 14 BxQRP mate!
 
The fact that Black does not capture the Queen indicates that he sees through this variation. This in turn should give him the key to White's threat—but it doesn't!

13 .... N—R4??

Best was 13 . . . Q—N5, countering the threat by preventing the sacrifice which follows:

14QxBPch!!! PxQ       15 B—R6 mate!

Another example of the weakening effect of a Pawn advance on the castled position.

Losing A Won Game

Of all the different kinds of mistakes in chess, losing a won game is undoubtedly the most exasperating. No other mistake is more likely to rob you of self-confidence.

What do we mean by a "won game"? When you have a demonstrable mate, a sizable material advantage, a decisive attack, you have a won game. Some advantages are clearer than others; for example, a forced "mate in three" brooks no argument, whereas the advantage of a piece ahead may allow the losing side to play on for a long time.

The ways in which players lose won games can be grouped under a fairly small number of types. Some, when they have an advantage in material, seek complications instead of exchanging remorselessly. As the game simplifies, the excess of material becomes more telling; contrariwise, obscure complications give the prospective loser a chance to turn the tables and befuddle his opponent.

Faulty execution of a winning combination has lost many a game on the very brink of victory. In such cases a player sees the winning idea, plays the winning sacrifice and then inverts the order of his follow-up moves or misses the really clinching point of his combination.

A fault shared by many players is the habit of drifting aimlessly once they have achieved a winning position. Like the man who can't bring himself to say goodbye, they dawdle and delay, seemingly unable to bring the game to a successful conclusion. Even great masters have suffered from this affliction.
Closely related to this psychological handicap is the notion that once a player has achieved a decisive advantage—winning a Rook, for example—he can relax, take it easy, and let nature take its course. This often turns out disastrously, especially against an opponent who is determined and resourceful.

Quite different, but equally unsuccessful, is the player who gives way to despair all too soon. He may even go so far as to resign in a position where he has a quick forced mate!

Most of the faults that turn a won game into a lost one are really aspects of character and temperament. Postmortem analysis shows us what went wrong in the last game, but does not tell us what to do in the next game. To acquire the ability to win won games consistently, you must train yourself to play with determination, to play at all times the best chess of which you are capable, and to give equal care to every, type of position.

It will help you to remember that every player has the shattering experience of losing a won game. Every great player owes a good deal of his success to his ability to apply himself to all types of positions; and even the best players have their lapses from time to time.

WHITE TO MOVE

Though White threatens Q—N7 mate, he cannot carry out his threat because of the pin on the King file which wins his Queen. In the actual game, White was so depressed that he resigned. Had he been alert, he would have found a way to force victory in this desperate-looking situation. How?
 
1 BxPch!                      ….

This looks like a "spite check"—the last gasp before resigning.

1          ....        KxB

Forced—not that Black seems to have anything to worry about, as he still maintains the pin.

2          R—KBlch K—Nl

Again forced. But now White has run out of checks—or so it would seem.

3          R—B8ch!!       ….

Another spite check? No, much better than that—White forces Black to give up the pin on the Queen. Result: White's mating threat comes to life.

3…. RxR         4 Q—N7 mate!

Remember, none of this happened! White resigned in the diagramed position, unaware that he had a checkmate within his grasp!

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