Figuras y frases recurrentes

The number of units is not the only or even the most important way to judge who is ahead in material. Quality of forces is also important. To understand this idea better, we need to look at the following table of of material (how each pawn or piece com­

pares to the others). When judging which side is material up, quality often beats number. Here's what I mean.

White has six units on the board (the kings are not counted since they cannot be traded), and Black has only one. But what a unit! What Black lacks in number is made up for in quality. The queen, valued at 9 pawns, is clearly better to own than the measly six pawns who won't look her in the eye.

Here is another position that validates the 'quality versus number' rule:

White has four units to Black's one, but Black is still to be favoured because the queen is too powerful. The table of values confirms that Black is ahead:

White Black

2!Lls = 3 ⁺ 3 = 6 'ii' = 9 28s = 1 ⁺ 1 = 2

Total 8 points 9 points

How can we efficiently look at the board and decide which side is ahead on mate­

rial? Do a simple comparison: simply com­

pare each type of piece for both sides from least important to most important (or vice versa) and check to see how many of each there are. You can choose to compare what is off the board or compare what is on the board. Both ways work, but most seasoned chess-players prefer to look at what is on the board since that's where the action is anyway. Take a look at the following:

White Black

Pawns 6 6

Knights 1 1

Bishops 2 1 (White ahead by a bishop) Rooks 1 2 (Black has an

extra rook!)

Queens 1 1

DOLlARS AND SENSE 53

This quick comparison shows us that Black has an extra rook for White's extra bishop. According to the table of values, Black is ahead by two points.

While the comparison method may seem slightly tedious at first, it is an extremely useful technique to develop. In time, you will learn to do this easily and efficiently.

We will have practice exercises at the end of the chapter.

If only things were that easy.

For decades, chess instructors (me in­

cluded) have asked their beginning students to commit this table to memory for later use in their games. As a guide to help as­

sess good and bad trades, these numbers hold up fairly well in practice. The problem is that, much like the stock markets dis­

cussed earlier, these values are not set in stone, and exceptions pop up far more of­

ten than one might suspect. Players with a deep understanding of what makes a piece hold its value will be much more adept at knowing when to flout the table than those players who are slaves to the numbers. Let's try to penetrate deeper into the mystery be­

hind this imperfect chart.

Cinderella

As stated earlier, pawns are the least valued units on the board. They move at a snail's pace, can never retreat and are constantly being stopped from moving by some pawn or piece getting in their way. They are con­

sidered the baseline on the material scale, meaning that every piece is judged based on how many pawns it is worth. Simple enough. But what happens when the mis­

treated step-sister suddenly becomes the princess at the ball? Take a look at the fol­

lowing:

What value would you place on each white pawn? The pawn on b2 looks fairly scrawny. It's just another pawn that's prob­

ably happy to be valued at 1 point. Looking at the d5-pawn, we have even less respect for it than we did the b2-pawn. Though it is advanced (and in the centre), the black king is about to snack on it. We can see this pawn is a lost cause and is not even worth the wood (or plastic) it was made out of.

We give it no value. Now, switching our at­

tention to the pawn on h7, we see that noth­

ing can stop it from promoting. It will soon go from being a humble pawn to a majestic superstar, most likely in the form of a dom­

inant queen. Start shining the tiara because we smell perfume! This pawn will start taking prisoners and win the game with ease. If this were the last-round game of a major tournament, this pawn might win us thousands of dollars. It's almost a shame to say it will be worth only nine points.

Let's look at another position (see fol­

lowing diagram).

Both sides have three pawns, but White has what is known in the business as an outside passed pawn. The a-pawn is a thoroughbred racehorse trying to get to the finish line. Black's king has to stop it. Let's watch this tale unfold.

w

a b c d e g h

1 a7! <&ti>b7

Black had no choice but to stop the pawn from going any further. Now White

switches the direction of the attack.

2 <&ti>d6! <&ti>xa7

Black is now ahead by three pawns to two. But not for long !

3 <&ti>e7! (D)

B

3 ^••• <&ti>b6

Black's f-pawn cannot try to escape by jumping two squares because White could still capture it using the en-passant rule.

4 <&ti>xf7 <&ti>c6 5 <&ti>xg6 <&ti>d6 6 <&ti>xhS (D) The a-pawn has not died in vain. White's king has eliminated all the black pawns and will now shepherd the remaining white pawns to paradise on the opponent's back

B

a b c d e g h

rank. White's g- and h-pawns will get the glory, but it' s obvious that the a-pawn is the real hero of our story. Trying to put a value on it is impossible. Its mere potential to become a queen dictated the flow of the game, causing White to win easily.

From these examples, the reader can no doubt surmise that all evaluations depend on the situation in the game. No piece or pawn has concrete value: there may be a number of reasons that cause its value to fluctuate. Let's analyse this position.

What value would you place on the white pawn ?

The a-pawn is one step from becoming a queen, but Black's bishop prevents it from

DOllARS AND SENSE 55

doing so safely. White will never be able to chase this bishop off the diagonal, which means White must accept the inevitable and let Black take the new queen. But the question to be answered was "What value would you place on the white pawn?" Is it worth one point? Is it almost nine? From Black's standpoint, it' s worth the black bishop. Does that make the pawn worth three points? If Black had a rook instead of the bishop, it would be worth the black rook. Would it then be five? In my mind, it has no set value. Even the idea of a set value is not worth talking about.

Players who are slaves to the table of values often exchange pieces and pawns in a mechanical way. They depend on the numbers, not realizing that it's all about context. Hopefully, by recognizing this simple truth, you will learn to avoid think­

ing that way too.

Here are some other interesting posi­

tions where the value of pawns changes, for good and bad:

These two connected passed pawns are priceless. The white queen has no way to stop at least one of them from promoting.

B

The white bishop prevents the black a­

pawn from advancing. Black continues

l ^{. .} .'ii'xb3! 2 cxb3 a2!. The pawn will pro­

mote to a queen, forcing the white queen to capture it and leaving Black with an ex­

tra bishop. The pawn was so important that it was worth sacrificing a queen to move it forward.

Two pawns on the sixth rank easily de­

feat a rook. No matter what Black does, one of the pawns will become a queen.

w

White is a lot of material down and the c-pawn is under attack. However, it seems that by promoting the pawn to a queen, White will suddenly be a couple of pawns up. But not so fast! If White were to play 1 c8'if?? then Black could reply 1 ^••• 'ife1#. If White opens a space for the king to run to (let's say 1 g3), then the black queen will snap off the c-pawn in a blink. White seems dead lost. But, miracle of miracles, White does have a saving move. By playing 1 c8lD+! (D) White promotes to a knight, checks the black king, and attacks the black queen simultaneously (this is called afork).

B

Black must move the king, allowing White to take the queen. White is now win­

ning by a huge margin.

Pawns don't just gain value. They lose it as well.

a b c d e g h

In this highly unlikely position, the five white pawns are meaningless. Black's king can simply shuffle back and forth in the comer and the best White can ever do is stalemate Black. White would gladly give all of these pawns for just one pawn any­

where else. When pawns are lined up in such a way, they can often lose strength (value). It's worth knowing the following closely related position:

w

Even though White has a bishop and five pawns (theoretically White is eight points ahead), this position is drawn because Black's king cannot be driven from the cor­

ner. The five pawns don't matter and the

DOUARS AND SENSE 57

bishop is of no help. White would happily give away four of the pawns if only Black would agree to allow the bishop to change colour!

B

It's critical for Black to play l. .. a4! . White's two pawns are held frozen by the lone black a-pawn because 2 ^b4 is met by 2 ... axb3 en passant. White's b-pawn is known as a backward pawn since it has lost the protection of a pawn adjacent to it.

For this reason, backward pawns are often less valuable than normal pawns.