Pandolfini’s Ultimate Guide to Chess

by Bruce Pandolfini

  Diagram 166. Petrov’s Defense.

  Teacher: It’s perfectly okay to play. You’re talking about Petrov’s Defense (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6), also known as the Russian Game. It leads to a satisfactory position when handled correctly, but is not suited to players who prefer more active play, mainly because of the static nature of the defense when played imprecisely. The Petrov has been weaponized by such great players as former world champions Anatoly Karpov (1975-85) and Tigran Petrosian (1963-69), as well as perennial world-class challenger Viktor Korchnoi. But these stalwarts probably have a deeper understanding of chess than the guys who play in the park for quarters.

  Student: So maybe it would be better for Black to defend his king-pawn rather than counterattacking mine. How is guarding the pawn directly by 2 … f6?

  Diagram 167. Damiano’s Defense.

  Teacher: Other than resigning, or making a suicidal decision to move either the queen to h4 or the bishop to a3, this is practically the worst defense Black has. It doesn’t contribute to development and deprives the king-knight of its best square. Moving the king-knight to either h6 or e7 offers it fewer options than going to f6. Moreover, putting the f-pawn on f6 weakens the h5-e8 diagonal as well as the a2-g8 diagonal.

  Student: I think I see. A bishop posted on the a2-g8 diagonal, say at c4, would prevent Black from castling kingside, because his king would wind up in check and that’s illegal.

  Teacher: Move that f-pawn this way and Black can end up with a hideous game. It’s not a particularly good idea to make a move incurring several problems with no tangibly favorable outcomes. The rule of thumb is simple: Avoid unnecessary and weakening pawn moves in the opening, especially if they have nothing else going for them.

  Student: Just curious, but does this defense, as poor as it is, have a name?

  Teacher: The move 2 … f6 is actually called Damiano’s Defense, named after the Portuguese-Italian master Damiano of the sixteenth century. Although he correctly analyzed 2 … f6 as being inferior, someone with a vendetta named the defense after him, and it stuck. Damiano, who deserved better, was one of the first players to advocate a classical pawn center. Among his maxims for good play are “With an advantage make equal exchanges” and “If you see a good move, look for a better one.”

  Student: Okay, so pawn to f6 on the second move isn’t very good. What about 2 … Bd6?

  Diagram 168. After a possible 2 … Bd6.

  Teacher: This move develops a minor piece toward the center, while protecting the e-pawn, but it leads to a crisis of coordination. The bishop now blocks the Black d-pawn, preventing its forward movement. If the d-pawn can’t move, the bishop at c8 can’t move along the c8-h3 diagonal. As a result, Black would have to develop this light-square piece unnaturally, at least for double king-pawn openings, by moving the b-pawn when it’s not especially convenient or desirable to move it. Black might thereafter have to find additional defenses to the e5-pawn to help remedy the situation. This might free the d6-bishop for subsequent movement, but it would cost time, the lifeblood of chess. At d6 the bishop itself might even become an object of attack. It’s pretty clear that 2 … Bd6 is undesirable.

  Student: But it does work, at least for now.

  Teacher: Yes, but you can’t just play chess for the now. You have to look into the future to insure that there’ll be one—at least for you. Good development is harmonious development. No piece should be developed without a scheme for developing the other pieces—plain and simple.

  Student: How about the defense 2 … Qf6? That defends the king-pawn and develops a piece.

  Diagram 169. After a possible 2 … Qf6.

  Teacher: True, it does both, but neither one desirably. In addition to usurping Black’s best square for his king-knight (f6), this move unnecessarily and prematurely develops the queen in violation of principle. After 3. Nc3, for example, White will be threatening further harassment to her ladyship by 4. Nd5. Besides, this defense (2 … Qf6) is overkill. Why have the general do what can be done by the private?

  Student: I suppose putting the queen on e7 instead of f6 isn’t much better.

  Diagram 170. After a possible 2 … Qe7.

  Teacher: No, 2 … Qe7 isn’t really any better than 2 … Qf6. While putting the queen on e7 doesn’t derail Black’s king-knight from going to f6, it certainly impedes Black’s king-bishop, which suddenly has no move at all. As a rule, develop your pieces amicably, making sure that they don’t step on each other’s toes. They should be working in concert, not against each other. And, of course, you shouldn’t misuse the queen. It’s only a chess piece, after all. Keep it in readiness for circumstances that call for unleashing its extraordinary abilities. Since nothing is unusual here, either queen move (2 … Qf6 or 2 … Qe7) is premature.

  Student: I refuse to give up figuring out Black’s best second move. What about 2 … d6?

  Diagram 171. Philidor’s Defense.

  Teacher: You’re thinking just as chessically as you should. In fact, it’s a good approach to seek out at least two possible solutions to a problem, so that you can compare them to see which you prefer. Much of chess thinking is exactly this: comparing possibilities to see which one works best in the given circumstances. Of course, sometimes you know the right move right away.

  Student: Especially if you get to say “checkmate” after you’ve made it.

  Teacher: You bet. Here, for Black’s second move, we’ve been looking at a number of reasonable defenses to the king-pawn. This one, 2 … d6, is clearly the best so far. The counterattacking Russian Game, 2 … Nf6 (diagram 166), is also satisfactory. The move d7-d6 protects the e-pawn solidly, with another pawn, and pawn defenses are often the most reliable. It also clears the way for the queen-bishop to enter the fray, along the c8-h3 diagonal. Now it slightly obstructs the development of the king-bishop by limiting its immediate prospects to the square e7, but that’s a small price to pay for solidity. Thus, with 2 … d6, Black derives a partially cramped but soundly playable game.

  Student: So the problem with d7-d6 is that it blocks in the f8-bishop?

  Teacher: No, that’s not the only drawback. The move 2 … d6 can produce another difficulty. It may result in a wasted tempo if Black should later play for a d5-advance, a key equalizing thrust for Black in many defenses. Such an advance often results in an exchange of Black’s d-pawn for White’s e-pawn, dissolving at least a portion of the center and leading to a more or less equal game. If White has already exchanged his d-pawn for Black’s e-pawn, neither side will have a pawn in the center at all, and accordingly both players should have freedom of action for their pieces.

  Student: It seems to me that, in many defenses, advancing the queen-pawn to d5 is a key move for Black. Can you say anything about that?

  Teacher: When it comes to many e-pawn openings, a White leitmotif—and that’s not French, by the way, but German—is to restrain Black’s d-pawn so that it isn’t able to advance to d5. As long as White can hold back the Black d-pawn to no further ahead than d6, Black will either be slightly behind in development or have less space or both. Once the pawn moves satisfactorily to d5, however, Black usually has no trouble equalizing.

  Student: Can you show me an example of one side having more pawns in the center?

  Teacher: One case where Black has two center pawns to White’s one is the Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4). You might notice that a future exchange of Black’s d-pawn for White’s e-pawn would actually result in Black having the only pawn remaining in the center. That situation usually gives Black equality and an excellent chance to control the center of the board.

  Diagram 172. Black has more pawns on the central files.

  Student: You’ve already told me about Damiano’s Defense (diagram 167). Do the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 have a name?

  Teacher: They’re called Philidor’s Defense, named after the great French player François-André Danican Philidor (1726-95).

  Student: This leads me to another question. Afte
r 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3, is there a better defense for the king-pawn than 2 … d6?

  Teacher: There’s a better way to protect Black’s king-pawn, and that’s 2 … Nc6.

  Student: What’s so good about that move?

  Teacher: It does a lot of things, without causing too much trouble. The move 2 … Nc6 (1) protects the e5-pawn; (2) doesn’t block anything except the Black c-pawn, which doesn’t need to be moved here; (3) develops a new piece toward the center; (4) assails the square d4; (5) avoids all of the liabilities raised by the alternative defenses; and (6) doesn’t weaken anything.

  Diagram 173. After 2 … Nc6 in the actual game.

  Student: Those sound like terrific advantages. Black doesn’t really do anything toxic to his game in playing 2 … Nc6. It must be a good move! It’s amazing. We’re only two moves into a game, and it’s obvious that some choices turn out to be far better than others.

  Teacher: Each move in chess establishes integral relationships or hinders them. Each move can lay claim to an advantage, either in time, space, material, pawn structure, or king safety. Your job is to play moves that strive to better your position while conceding as little as possible. I think what you’ve said about some choices being significantly better than others points out something important: how good players can look far ahead.

  Student: What do you mean?

  Teacher: Besides having good visualization skills, experienced players realize that most moves are not really relevant, and don’t have to be considered too thoroughly or even at all. Good players don’t try to look at everything. Rather, they focus their attention on only a few logical moves. These players can do more because they’re focusing on less. On the other hand, the beginner doesn’t know what to look for. So he tries to look at everything and sees nothing. To some extent, the fine art of analysis consists in eliminating the irrelevant so that one can spotlight only the most logical and likely possibilities.

  Student: Remind me to become more discriminating. But before I acquire the necessary skills, I’ll have to ask you this question. Most beginners’ chess books recommend moving the center-pawns two squares each. Why, then, do so many strong players use flank openings? They don’t necessarily move their center pawns at all, at least initially.

  Teacher: Flank openings, where you generally place the king-bishop on the side, directing its power toward the center instead of using it directly to occupy the center, can be effective if you understand how to develop them. When you play a flank opening, you might seem to be abandoning the center, but what seems to be is not always so. A flank opening doesn’t ignore the center. It just fights for it in a different way.

  Student: I don’t get it. How does putting a bishop on the flank affect the center?

  Teacher: You can play for the center not just by occupying it, but also by attacking it. A flanked, or fianchettoed, bishop aims at the center from either g2 or b2 for White, and either g7 or b7 for Black. The idea is part of a grander strategy: to avoid immediate occupation of the center in favor of first controlling it from the flanks and/or from just off the center. At a later time, when you’ve gotten a grip on the central squares and feel more secure there, you’ll want to place your pieces in the center according to plan.

  Student: Assuming I indeed have a plan.

  Teacher: Of course you have a plan: to play for the center by attacking from the flank. But you have to face the difficulties first. Initially, you’re giving your opponent free rein in the middle when playing a flank opening. If you don’t proceed intelligently, you may not be able to come back and undermine his centrally based fortifications. Those who like flank openings think they can. Those who dislike them think they can’t.

  Student: As a beginner, should I consider playing flank openings?

  Teacher: As a teacher, I’d be happy if you just consider playing. Flank openings are not recommended for the beginning student because they’re harder to grasp and manage. To comprehend them more fully, it’s wise to start playing chess by grappling with more traditional approaches to the center. After assimilating those ideas and playing hundreds of games, you’ll probably be better equipped to experiment with flank openings and put them to work. Understanding them better, you’ll play them better. At least that’s the theory.

  Student: I think it’s time for another summary. Some of the opening do’s are becoming clear, but what are some of the important don’ts in the opening?

  Teacher: Try these on for size. Don’t: make unnecessary pawn moves; bring out the queen too early; move a piece twice in the opening; trade a developed piece for an undeveloped one; exchange without good reason; develop just to bring a piece out and not with a specific purpose; block your center pawns; or impede the development of other friendly pieces.

  Student: I think I counted eight don’ts. I hope there aren’t any more.

  Teacher: It’s always possible to find more. We could easily add these to the list. Don’t: weaken your king’s position or move your uncastled king; move knights to the edge of the board; waste time or moves; indulge in pawn-grabbing; sacrifice without good reason; refuse a sacrifice because your opponent made it quickly and confidently—analyze it, then decide; play without a plan; develop in an uncoordinated way; or change plans from move to move.

  Student: Sounds like another nine reasons, which makes seventeen all told, at least for now.

  Teacher: We’re not finished yet. Let’s add a few more. Don’t: remain uncastled too long; advance pawns too far too soon; ignore your opponent’s moves; give pointless checks; capriciously avoid making natural captures or recaptures; take your opponent too lightly or too seriously; play a set order of moves without regard to your opponent’s responses; or open the center with your king still uncastled.

  Student: Okay, that’s at least a total of twenty-five things to remember about the opening. Where do we go from here?

  Teacher: To a place where we once again learn not to follow any piece of advice too religiously, namely Lesson 8.

  Opening “Don’ts”

  1. Don’t make unnecessary pawn moves.

  2. Don’t bring out the queen too early.

  3. Don’t move a piece twice in the opening.

  4. Don’t trade a developed piece for an undeveloped one.

  5. Don’t exchange without good reason.

  6. Don’t develop just to bring a piece out and not with a specific purpose.

  7. Don’t block your center pawns.

  8. Don’t impede the development of other friendly pieces.

  9. Don’t weaken your king’s position or move your uncastled king.

  10. Don’t move knights to the edge of the board.

  11. Don’t waste time or moves.

  12. Don’t indulge in pawn-grabbing.

  13. Don’t sacrifice without good reason.

  14. Don’t refuse a sacrifice because your opponent made it quickly and confidently. Analyze it, then decide.

  15. Don’t play without a plan.

  16. Don’t develop in an uncoordinated way.

  17. Don’t change plans from move to move.

  18. Don’t remain uncastled too long.

  19. Don’t advance pawns too far too soon.

  20. Don’t ignore your opponent’s moves.

  21. Don’t give pointless checks.

  22. Don’t capriciously avoid making natural captures or recaptures.

  23. Don’t take your opponent too lightly or too seriously.

  24. Don’t play a set order of moves without regard to your opponent’s responses.

  25. Don’t open the center with your king still uncastled.

  LESSON 8

  COMPARING MINOR PIECES

  Teacher: Central control and sensible development: these are valuable to any opening. During our game, we both tried to stake a claim to the middle of the board and develop a minor piece in the process. White and Black have both moved the king-pawn and a knight.

  Student: Is it a good idea to develop knights early?

&nb
sp; Teacher: Generally, yes. This is just as true for bishops. Both bishops and knights should be mobilized fairly soon.

  Student: Why is that?

  Teacher: It makes sense to bring out the knights and the bishops early because they’re the easiest pieces to activate. The knights can be developed without having to move a pawn. Once the king-pawn has been advanced, the king-bishop is ready for action. And if the queen-pawn is pushed, the queen-bishop can sweep into position. In addition, by bringing out these lighter forces early, advanced posts can be established, making it safer to develop the queen and the rooks later on.

  Student: I’ve figured out that the queen can become dangerously exposed when developed too early, and it may take a while to discover the best stations for the rooks. But which should you develop first, knights or bishops?

  Teacher: It depends. Neither, necessarily. It can be easier to develop knights than bishops because of the former’s jumping ability. Since no pawn has to be moved to develop any knight, it’s natural to see at least one knight enter the fray before any bishop. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just because you can develop both knights without moving any pawns at all doesn’t mean you should move both knights, or even one, before developing a bishop. Development, like anything else in chess, depends on circumstances.

  Student: Where should knights go when they first move into the game?

  Teacher: At the risk of sounding repetitive, it depends.

  Student: I should have known. Silly me.

  Teacher: If you’re free to do anything you’d like, it’s usually best to move the knights toward the center, to the bishop-three squares. The White king-knight, for example, almost always stands well on the square f3, observing eight different squares concurrently, thus reaching its full spatial potential. Placed on f3, White’s knight prevents an opposing queen incursion at h4, which can be important to dissuade encroachment in the king-side sector. And from f3 the knight may be able to advance later to even more powerful spots in the center, as well as the opponent’s half of the board.