Hello bloggers! Sorry I haven't been updating regularly. Please enjoy this chess chapter. I would post Section 5, but it has a diagram that requires extensive formatting. Perhaps in a few days.
Section 4: Removing the Defender
Victory and Defeat
For a twist, I'm going to give my unusual game story at the start of my section. That's because I will be referencing to it at key points. If this works, this may become my new section format, after all unusual games that draw upon the things I teach in the section are a great learning tool!
I was playing a match against someone, and he tried to use the 4-move checkmate, known as a Scholar's Mate. Now, this was a school tournament, back when I had only been playing for about 5 years. (Turns out I've been playing for nearly 10 years, I did some reminiscing).
I went 7-2 in this tournament, and one of them I lost against the best team in the whole place. The other one... So I did the basic defense against that Mate (You'll see it in the next section) and so he started to harry my defending piece! I rebuffed him, he kept attacking, until I moved my Knight. BAM! I was checkmated.
Now why do I tell this story at the start? Well, the Scholar's Mate is something I want to tell you all, so you can defend against it. The only way he beat me was by REMOVING THE DEFENDER, which is something I want to talk about today!
Scholar's Mate The Scholar's mate goes as follows. Black's moves are sensible opening moves.
1.e4. e5 2.Bc4. Bc5 3.Qf3. Nc6 4.Qxf7++
When someone goes Qf3, there's a very good chance they are planning the Scholar's Mate. The defense is very simple. Instead of Nc6, the move is Nf6. Now, the Knight guards the square being attacked, and the g-pawn guards the Knight! One more tip for the Scholar's Mate. Don't do it. If you win, you don't learn from your experiences, and if they defend, you are at a disadvantage in the opening.
Removing the Defender
Now there is one strategy that can make the Scholar's mate viable. Follow the first 3 moves of the mate. If they move their Knight to defend, here is a sample series of moves. This gets complex, so bring a chessboard. I'll explain the more complex moves.
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qf3 Nf6
Note the correct defense by Black.
4.d3 d6
d3 allows the Bishop to threaten the next move, as well as being a solid move. d6 is a typical good move.
5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Pxf6 7.Qh5 Nc3
The Queen makes a different angle of attack. Note that both the Queen and the Bishop are attacking the f7 pawn. Nc3 is a developing move. 8. Qxf7++ This is nearly the same as the match that defeated me. The match is over. However, a clever opponent would have done the following: 4. d3 h6 This defends against Bg5. Or, at any point, Black could have used the move Be6, stopping the Bishop in it's tracks. So I also would not usually recommend you use this mate as well.
However, it can show you that Removing the Defender can be effective. Whenever a foe's piece is the only piece guarding a square you need to reach, and Piling Up is infeasible, try to Remove the Defender. Occasionally you may have a defender being defended, in which case you must remove the defender in order to remove the real defender.
You may want to read over this again, it's a complicated section. Next section, we'll learn how to 'discover' attacks, check the king with two pieces at once, and make a fork....but with TWO pieces, on the one turn! But wait! Didn't I say only castling moved two pieces at once? Yes I did, but I'll only be moving one piece! You'll also find out how to trade pieces into a winning endgame so you can win the match!
Next Section: Discovered Attacks
Exchanging Material
I hope you enjoy these Chess guides. In a few more chapters I'll have to start writing about Chess again. I hope I'm not too rusty. Anyway, on to the Dailies.
Daily Quote: Chess. A day to learn, a lifetime to master. -Jay Bailey
Daily Website: http://www.puzzlepirates.com/. A silly piratey themed MMORPG, however the various activities in the game are not done by skill level, but rather through puzzles. The Carpentry puzzle involves fitting shapes into larger shapes, and the Drinking puzzle is a strategic board game! Give it a go! (Note: If you do not wish to pay monthly for this, go to a Doubloon Ocean, (server) not a Subscriber Ocean.)
Until next time, may you take the time to just relax and have fun.
-Callanthae
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