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01. Before Begin
02. 8 Bad Moves
03. White Pieces
04. Black Pieces
05. Advantage In Material
06. Brilliant Combinations
07. Checkmates
08. Key Openings
Resources
Chapter 4 - How To Play The Black Pieces
Seize Initiative | Seize Attack | Opening Mistakes
If you accept the view that White has some initiative by reason of being the first to move, you will doubtless agree that in actual practice White often loses that initiative with great rapidity.
When you are playing Black, you can snatch up White's lost initiative and become the aggressor, if you realize just what is happening.
Now, assuming that White does not lose material and does not create weaknesses, just what should Black look for in order to seize the initiative?
There are several ways White can go wrong. He may, for example* play an opening so poor that his theoretical advantage disappears at once. This gives Black his chance.
Or White may play an excellent opening and then ruin his development by a series of foolish, time-wasting Queen moves. Here again Black must be alert to the possibilities.
If Black discovers that White is wasting valuable time chasing a relatively unimportant Pawn, he can use the opportunity to get far ahead in development.
Sometimes White may avoid the sin of greed only to succumb to another fault—bad judgment. Sheer thoughtlessness, inattention, negligence, or happy-go-lucky innocence of a positional trap may ruin White's development. In every case Black should be alert to seize the initiative.
So you see there are many ways for White to go wrong, and it pays Black to keep a sharp lookout for such cases of poor judgment. Now let's see some examples of the kinds of mistakes White may make.
In this game Black gives us a classic example of slashing attacking play. His play is magnificent, and yet—it all stems from White's faulty opening. Black immediately pounces on the opportunities offered by White's faulty play.
Lost Initiative from a Poor Opening Irregular Opening
WHITE
1 P—QN4
BLACK
P—K3
WHITE
2 B—N2
BLACK
N—KB3
Even at this early stage we can see the faulty character of White's first move. Black is attacking, White is defending! Black's development will proceed rapidly, while White's will be laborious.
3 P—QR3 P—B4 4 P—N5 P—Q4
Black's Pawns already have a substantial foothold on the center, while White has no Pawns in the center at all. His attempt to improve the situation leads to disaster.
4 p—Q4?
Plausible but weak, as Black promptly proves.
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Black now seizes the initiative.
5 Q—R4ch!
This forceful move starts a chain reaction. It forces White to play N—QB3 in order to protect his unfortunate Queen Knight Pawn. Then, to protect this Knight, White is forced to develop his Queen in a risky manner. These factors give Black his chance for a brilliant attack.
6 N—QB3
7 0—03
N—K5 PxP
8 QxP
9 QxNP
B—B4! BxPch
Black's brisk attacking play has shunted White's Queen far from the scene of action and has deprived White's King of the castling privilege. Even at this early stage White's position is shattered.
10 K—Ql
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How does Black guard his menaced Rook?
10 ....
P—Q5!!
Black ignores the attack on his Rook because he has decided on an all-out attack on the White King. Note, by the way, that 11 NxN? allows 11 ... Q—K8 mate!
11 QxRch K—K2!
12 QxB PxN
In the event of 13 BxP Black intends 13 ... NxBch; 14
K—Q2, N—K5 dbl ch; 15 K—Q3, Q—Q7ch; 16 KxN, Q—K6 mate.
13 B—Bl N—Q2!!
Thus, if White now plays 14 Q—B4, Black would reply with . . . R—Ql, and the game would develop as follows: 15 Q—N4ch, QN—B4 dis ch!;
16 B—Q2, RxBch; 17 K— Bl, R—Q8ch!!; 18 KxR, Q—Qlch followed by
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mate.
Black offers another Rook!
What now follows is a foregone conclusion, despite White's enormous material advantage. With four powerful attacking" pieces at his disposal, Black engineers a sparkling mating attack.
14 QxR
15 B—B4
QxNP Q—Q4ch
16 K—Bl B—K6ch!!
17 BxB N—B7!!
White resigns, for after 18 BxN Black replies 18 . . .
Q—Q7ch forcing mate in two more moves.
Black has forcefully punished White for losing the initiative by choosing an inferior opening line.
In the next game White starts out with an excellent opening; but then, animated by some perverse suicidal impulse, he lets his Queen drift out of play. Black develops rapidly and forcefully, sacrifices both Rooks, and wins handsomely.
Lost Initiative from too Many Queen Moves Nimzoindian Defense
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 p_Q4 N—KB3 5 PxP N—R3
2 P—QB4 P—K3 6 P—QR3 BxNch
3 N—QB3 B—N5 7 QxB NxP
4 Q—B2 P—B4 8 B—N5 P—QR4
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A typical situation in the Nimzoin-dian Defense.
This position is typical pf the opening because Black has developed rapidly but has had to give up one of his Bishops in the process.
White should now play 9 P—B3, P—R5; 10 P—K4, P—Q3 leading to a position with chances for both sides. Instead, his weak play enables Black to seize the initiative.
9 Q—K5? P—Q3 11 Q—B4? P—K4
10 BxN PxB 12 Q—R6 Q—N3!
Black has gained two moves for developing his Bishop and has also brought his Queen into active play. White belatedly returns to rational moves, but as Black demonstrates, it is already too late for that.
13 R—Nl B—B4!!
14 QxBP BxR
15. QxRch
16 QxR
Q—K2
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Black has a mating attack.
This is the position Black has played for: White's Queen is far afield, and his other pieces are still on their home squares.
16 ....
N—K5!
Threatens mate in two.
17 P—K3 QxNP
Threatening mate on the move.
18 QxRP QxBPch
White resigns, for if 19 K—Ql, QxBch; 20 Q—Kl, Q—Q6ch and mate next move. Black has played with superb energy to exploit White's nerveless loss of the initiative.
In the next game, also, White plays the opening not toe badly but Black maneuvers ingeniously to obtain the advantage when White becomes greedy.
Lost Initiative from Greedy Play FRENCH DEFENSE
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 p—K4 P—K3 5 B—Q3 B—Q3
2 P—Q4 P—Q4 6 Castles Castles
3 PxP PxP 7 N—B3 N--B3
4 N—KB3 N—KB3 8 B—KN5
White has already forfeited part of his initiative by playing 3 PxP and thereby opening the diagonal of Black's imprisoned Queen Bishop. Nevertheless, Black is still under some pressure, mainly because his King Knight is pinned and his Queen Pawn is under attack.
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How is Black to defend his Queen Pawn?
Black's daring conclusion is that he need not defend his Queen Pawn altogether! Therefore he plays:
8 ....
B—KN5!
The first point of Black's play is that if 9 NxP, BxPch; 10 KxB, QxN and he has recovered the Pawn with a good game.
9 BxN
QxB!
10 NxP
Q—R3!
Now Black threatens 11 ... BxN and 12 ... QxP mate.
Nor can White defend with 11 P—KN3?, for then 11 . .'. Q—R4! wins.
True, White can play 11 Q—Bl, but after 11 ... QxQ; 12 QRxQ, BxN; 13 PxB, NxP Black has regained his Pawn and has a very promising endgame. White therefore selects what seems to be the least evil:
11 P—KR3
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Black has seized the initiative.
11
NxP!
Black offers a piece that cannot be accepted, for if 12 PxB???, NxNch; 13 QxN, Q—R7 mate.
12 B—K2 NxNch
13 BxN
BxP!
Black, who gave up a Pawn a few moves ago, is now actually a Pawn ahead. White cannot play 14 PxB because of 14 ... QxP; 15 R—Kl, B—R7ch; 16 K—Rl, B—N6 dis ch; 17 K—Nl, Q—R7ch and mate next move.
14 R—Kl B—K3 16 Q—K2 BxN
15 P—KN3 QR—Ql 17 BxB BxP!
A neat thrust. If 18 PxB, RxB with a second Pawn to the good.
18 B—K4 R—Q7 19 QxR B—R7ch!
White resigns, for if 20 K—N2, QxQ: 21 KxB, QxKBPch with a tremendous advantage in material for Black.
It was fascinating to see how cleverly Black snatched the initiative and the attack in this bright little game. In the next game all is tranquil throughout, but the game is if anything even more instructive.
Lost Initiative from Blocked Development Four Knights' Game
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 P—K4 P—K4 4 B—N5 B—N5
2 N—KB3 N—QB3 5 Castles Castles
3 N—B3 N—B3 6 BxN
If Black plays 6 ... NPxB?, he will create lasting difficulties for himself, because his Queen Bishop will no longer be able to develop. However, he uses his Queen Pawn to recapture. This enables the Bishop to develop effectively.
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How should Black retake?
6.... QPxB!
7 P—Q3 B—Q3
8 B—N5 P—KR3
9 B—R4 P—B4!
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Black has set a subtle trap.
Black's last move not only prevents P—Q4; it also sets a trap into which White falls headlong.
10 N—Q5? P—KN4!
11 NxNch
Likewise after 11 B—N3, NxN; 12 PxN, B—N5 Black has all the play.
11.... QxN
12 B—N3 B—N5!
13 P—KR3 BxN
14 QxB
15 PxQ
16 K—N2
P—KB3
The result of Black's positional trap is that he is in effect a piece to the good. White's Bishop is a dead piece, and can play no effective role in the game.
16 .... P—QR4
17 p—QR4 K—B2
18 R—Rl K—K3
19 P—R4 KR—QN1
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Black is a piece ahead!
Black's strategy is delightfully simple. He plays to open a file on the Queen-side, by advancing . . . P—N4 and . . . P—B5. Then his "extra" piece is bound to win for him.
20 PxP RPxP 22 R—QR2 P—N4
21 P—N3 P—B3 23 KR—Rl P—B5
If now 24 NPxP Black wins easily after 24 ... PxBP; 25 PxP, R—N5 etc.
24 RPxP PxP/N6 27 P—Q4 R—N4
25 BPxP RxP 28 R—B4 R—N5
26 R—R4 RxP 29 RxBP RxP
White resigns, as he is powerless against Black's "extra" piece. There is a great deal to be learned from the way Black seized the initiative by taking advantage of White's careless 10th move.
In the following game Black sees his opportunity to seize the initiative when White condemns his King Bishop to lasting inactivity. Then Black continues to exercise cumulative pressure on White's weakened position.
Lost Initiative by an Error of Judgment Sicilian Defense
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 P—K4 P—QB4 6 B—K2 P—K4
2 N—KB3 P—Q3 7 N—N3 B—K3
3 p—Q4 PxP 8 Castles QN—Q2
4 NxP N—KB3 9 P—B4 Q—B2
5 N—QB3 P—QR3 10 P—B5?
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Black can now take the initiative.
With Pawns on the white squares King 4 and King Bishop 5, White has reduced the mobility of his King Bishop to an alarming extent. If this piece is not "dead," it is certainly "half-dead." Another drawback to White's last move is that it releases pressure on the center, thereby enabling Black to react eventually with . .. P—Q4!
10 ....B—B5 13 Q—K2 QR—Bl
11 B—Q3 P—QN4! 14 QR—Bl Castles
12 B—K3 B—K2 15 N—Q2 P—Q4!
Declaration of independence. As in the previous game, White's colorless opening has been the first step in Black's seizure of the initiative.
True, Black permits White to get rid of the useless Bishop and cancel Black's pressure on the half-open Queen Bishop file. But Black exacts a heavy price: the opening of the Queen file for Black's forces.
16 BxB QPxB
17 P—QR3 P—N5!
18 PxP
19 P—N4
BxP
A gesture toward attack on the King-side. But Black is well prepared for it. The permanent result is a weakness that Black will exploit later on.
19.... BxN 23 K—Rl KR—Ql
20 PxB Q—B3! 24 Q—K2 P—R3
21 Q—N2 N—B4! 25 R—Rl Q—Q3
22 BxN QxBch 26 KR—Ql
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Black is ready for the final blow.
26 Q—B3!
Black threatens 27 . . . RxN!; 28 RxR, NxKP and wins because of the menace of a murderous discovered cueck.
If now 27 R—KN1, RxxN!; 28 QxR, NxKP; 29 Q—N2,
N—B7 mate. Or if 27 R—Kl, NxNP! winning a Pawn.
27 K—N2 R—Q3!
28 P—R3 QR—Ql!
29 K—B3
30 K—K3
Q-Q2!
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How does Black add the last bit of pressure that topples White's position?
White has rushed in his King to the center to bolster his position. But Black's mighty pin on the Queen file leaves White helpless while the Black Knight makes a lengthy trip to Queen Knight 4.
30....N—Kl!
31 R—R5 N—B2!
32 RxKP
33 R—Q5
N—N4!
Losing the Exchange by 33 RxN is even worse.
33 ....
34 PxR
RxR NxP
35 Q_B3 Resigns
NxRch
White has no compensation for the loss of the Exchange. Having seized the initiative at an early stage, Black made admirable use of it thereafter.
Thus, in all the games in this chapter, we have seen the various ways that Black can seize the initiative in consequence of faulty play by White.
So far we have seen how Black defends, how he reacts to gambits, how he seizes the initiative, how he counterattacks. Now we want to see situations in which a serious flaw in White's game gives Black a chance for a slashing all-out attack.
One word of warning: when playing the Black pieces, do not embark lightly on an attacking policy. Note in each of the following games that White compromises his game in some fashion, while Black maintains an impeccable position.
Exploiting White's Faulty Development
VIENNA GAME
WHITE
1 P—K4
2 N—QB3
BLACK
P—K4
N—KB3
WHITE
3 P—B4
4 BPxP
BLACK P—Q4
NxP
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Black's Knight is splendidly centralized.
5 N—B3 N—QB3. 6 B—Q3? P—KB4
White cannot very well play BxN now, as he would lose further time—and his King Pawn as well. He therefore captures Black's King Bishop Pawn in passing. This returns Black's King Knight to the King Bishop 3 square. But meanwhile White's Queen Pawn cannot advance. As a result, White's Queen Bishop and Queen Rook are still on their original squares at the end of the game.
7 PxPe.p. NxBP 8 Castles B—B4ch
Development with gain of time. Note that White is unable to reply P—Q4.
9 K—Rl Castles 10 B—N5 N—KN5!
Threatening to win the Exchange by ... N—B7ch.
If White tries 11 P—Q4, then 11 . . . NxQP; 12 NxN, RxRch; 13 QxR, BxN and Black is a Pawn ahead.
Thus Black wrests another concession from White. In giving up his developed Bishop, White increases Black's lead in development and his attacking prospects.
11 BxN PxB 12 P—Q4 B—Q3
Black's attack has become very powerful; he threatens to win the Exchange by ... B—R3.
13 P—KR3 B—R3!!
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Can Black afford to ignore the attack on his Knight?
14 PxN BxR 15 QxB RxN!!
With this sacrifice, Black establishes the soundness of his previous sacrifice. First point: if 16 PxR, Black has a quick mate with 16 ... Q—R5ch etc.
Second point: if 16 QxR, Q—R5ch—and now if 17 Q— R3, Q—K8 mate. Or 17 K—Nl, Q—K8ch; 18 Q—Bl, B—R7ch winning White's Queen:
But the best is yet to come.
16 Q—Kl Q—R5ch!! 17 QxQ R—B8 mate
Thus we see that Black's brilliant attack succeeded because White's Queen Bishop remained at home.
This game is a joy to play over because Black never misses a chance to find an energetic move. His play is forceful but not brash. White, on the other hand, dawdles. First he hits out aimlessly—and then strikes at the wrong target.
Exploiting White's Neglected Development Scotch Gambit
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 p_K4 P—K4 3 P—Q4 PxP
2 N—KB3 N—QB3 4 B—QB4 N—B3
Ignoring the defense of his Queen Pawn, Black strikes at White's King Pawn.
5 P—K5
White, too, intends to attack.
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How does Black save his Knight?
5.... P—Q4!
Instead of defending, Black attacks!—and opens up the diagonal of his Queen Bishop at the same time.
6 B—QN5 N—K5
7 NxP B—Q2
8 NxN PxN
9 B—Q3 B—QB4
Black's obvious eagerness to attack is perfectly well grounded in the fact that he has two extra pieces in play.
10 BxN . . . .
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Should Black recapture?
10 .... Q—R5!
The alternative 10 ... PxB is quite satisfactory, but Black's Queen move brings still another piece into play— threatening mate, by the way.
11 Q—K2
PxB
12 B—K3 B—KN5!
Forcing a crisis, for if 13 Q—Q2 Black leaves his opponent without an adequate reply by playing 13 ... R—Ql.
13 Q—B4 . . . .
Apparently crushing: if Black moves his attacked Bishop, the Queen fork 14 QxQBPch seems deadly.
13 . . . .
BxB!
On 14 QxQBPch Black intends 14 ... B—Q2!!; 15 QxRch, K—K2!!; 16 QxR and Black forces mate beginning with 16 ... QxBPch.
Suppose, however, White interpolates 16 P—KN3 in this variation? Then Black wins with 16 ... BxPch!; 17 KxB, P—K6ch! If now 18 KxP, Q—N4ch wins White's Queen, and if 18 K—Nl, P—K7! decides.
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Black has started a crisp winning combination.
Finally, if 18 K—Kl, Q—QN5ch; 19 P—B3, QxNP; 20 QxR, B—N5! and Black forces mate.
14 P—KN3 Q—Ql!!
15 PxB Q—Q8ch
On 17 K—Kl Black had 17 B—R6 mate.
17 .... B—R6!
18 QxQBPch K—Bl
16 K—B2 Q—B6ch
17 K—Nl
QxKPch; 18 K—Bl,
K—K2
19 QxRch Resigns
White's Queen is en prise and he cannot stop mate. Beautiful play by Black.
Sometimes White gets a good development and then embarks on a faulty plan. It takes a sharp eye to see the flaw in White's procedure. In the following delightful game Black takes admirable advantage of White's shortcomings.
Exploiting White's Faulty Plan Giuoco Piano
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 P—K4 P—K4 3 B—B4 B—B4
2 N—KB3 N—QB3 4 P—B3
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Black must decide on his policy in the center.
White intends to play P—Q4. Then, if Black exchanges Pawns, White gets a powerful Pawn center and an ideal development. Black therefore determines to avoid the exchange of Pawns.
4.... P—Q3 9 R—Kl Castles
5 Castles B—N3! 10 P—QN4 K—Rl!
6 P—Q4 Q—K2 11 B—R3 N—KN1!
7 P—QR4 P—QR3 12 P—N5 N—R4!
8 P—R3 N—B3 13 NxP
Since . . . PxN??? would lose the Queen, Black seems to have blundered. How does he regain his Pawn?
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Black seizes the attack.
13 . . . .
P—KB3!
With this powerful reply Black completely turns the tables. If the attacked Knight moves, Black wins a piece. Thus he forces White's reply.
14 BxN BPxN! 15 B—R2 KPxP
If now 16 BPxP, Q—B3 is much in Black's favor.
16 N—Q2 BxP!
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Black's surprise sacrifice is only the beginning.
On 17 PxB Black intends 17 ... Q—N4ch; 18 K—B.I, RxPch!!; 19 KxR, P—Q6 dis ch with a crushing attack.
17 N—B3 B—N5 18 BPxP PxP!
For on 19 PxP Black continues 19 ... BxN; 20 PxB, Q—N4ch; 21 K—Bl, QxPch and is ahead in material.
19 Q—Q3 BxN 21 K—Bl N—B5!
20 PxB Q—N4ch 22 B—Bl Q—R4
23 PxP RxP!!
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Black has given his opponent another unpleasant surprise.
The point of Black’s last sacrifice is that if 24 QxN, Black wins with 24 ... R—KR6!
24 BxN RxR! 25 Q—Ql RxB!
White resigns, for if QxR/Bl, R—KR6! wins.
Opening Mistakes Black Should AvoidAs we've pointed out earlier, an opening mistake on White's part may cost him the initiative; an opening mistake on Black's part may cost him the game. If Black plays well, White's advantage of the first move will be neutralized from the start; if Black plays badly, White's advantage will result in a quickly winning game.
The Dangers of Thoughtless Development
In the following game Black begins with inexact moves and soon finds himself in a hopeless position:
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 p—Q4 P—Q4 2 N—KB3 N—QB3
A doubtful move, because Black needs to advance the Queen Bishop Pawn to free himself.
3 p—B4 P—K3?
Again he cramps his game voluntarily. 3 ... B—N5 is more promising.
4 N—B3 PxP?
Now he surrenders the center. Eventually White will react powerfully with P—K4.
5 P—K3 N—B3 9 Q—B2 N—K2
6 BxP B—N5 10 B—R3 P—B3
7 Castles BxN? 11 P—K4 P—KR3?
8 PxB Castles 12 QR—Ql B—Q2
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Black has played the opening very badly.
Black's thoughtless development has left him in a hopeless position. Blocking his Queen Bishop Pawn on move 2, he is now unable to play the freeing move . . . P—QB4.
Having hemmed in his Queen Bishop on move 3, he has condemned this piece to lasting uselessness.
By surrendering the center on move 4, Black gave his opponent a chance to build up a mighty center.
The exchange on move 7 created a magnificent diagonal for White's Queen Bishop.
On move 11 Black weakened his King-side, making it easier for White to conduct an attack against the Black King.
The Dangers of Ignoring the Center
Having an adequate command of the center is a life-and-death matter for Black. What happens if he ignores the center is well illustrated in the following opening:
WHITE
BLACK
KN3?
WHITE
2 P—K4
BLACK
B—N2
Black's fianchetto of his King Bishop is premature. His poor timing has allowed White an overwhelming Pawn center.
3 N—QB3
4 N—B3
P—Q3
N—Q2?
5 B—QB4
6 Castles
P—K3?
N—K2?
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The Black pieces have no striking power.
Any expert player would dismiss Black's position as lost.
White has complete control of the center, while Black has neither center Pawn on the fourth rank.
White's Knights, are developed aggressively on the third rank; Black's Knights go timidly to the second rank.
Black's fianchettoed King Bishop accomplishes nothing, while his other Bishop is already destined to be a "problem child." White's Bishops, on the other hand, will have bold, free diagonals.
The Dangers of a Planless Opening
Sometimes Black's positional blunders are not so gross, and therefore perhaps not so easily recognizable; yet the results are equally disastrous. In the following example, Black's hit-or-miss development ruins his prospects.
WHITE BLACK WHITE BLACK
1 P—K4 P—QN3? 2 P—Q4 B—N2
Black has made the same kind of mistake as in the previous example.
3 B—Q3 P—K3 4 N—KR3 . . . .
Usually it is not good play to develop a Knight away from the center. Here the move is good because it prepares for the line-opening advance of White's King Bishop Pawn.
4 .... P—Q4 5 P—K5! . . . .
Black has belatedly advanced in the center, but White's reply creates difficulties for Black: he can no longer play . . . N—KB3.
5.... N—K2 7 P—KB4! B—K2
6 Castles N—N3 8 P—B5!
Black has had to develop his King-side pieces ineffectually, and his Queen Bishop has no scope. His position offers no promise whatever, and he will soon be exposed to a violent attack by White's well-placed forces. Since Black's pieces are not very active, his chances of successful resistance are microscopic.
These three samples of poor play can therefore serve as horrible examples of what Black must avoid in the opening. He need not find the ideal development or the very best moves. But he does need moves that give him a fighting chance, a basis for planning, a hope that he will have something to say about how the game unfolds. If he can achieve these substantial goals, he can truly say that he knows how to play the Black pieces.
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