José Raúl Capablanca

“ The four squares, K 4 and Q 4 on each side respectively, are the centre squares, and control of these squares is called control of the centre. The control of the centre is of great importance. No violent attack can succeed without controlling at least two of these squares, and possibly three. Many a manœuvre in the opening has for its sole object the control of the centre, which invariably ensures the initiative. It is well always to bear this in mind, since it will often be the reason of a series of moves which could not otherwise be properly understood. ”

“ This ending, apparently so simple, should show the student the enormous difficulties to be surmounted, even when there are hardly any pieces left, when playing against an adversary who knows how to use the resources at his disposal, and it should show the student, also, the necessity of paying strict attention to these elementary things which form the basis of true mastership in Chess. ”

“ It should be noticed how often the White King has moved next to the Rook, not only to defend it, but also to reduce the mobility of the opposing King. Now White mates in three moves thus: 9 R - R 4 ch, K - Kt 8; 10 R - any square on the Rook's file, forcing the Black King in front of the White, K - B 8; 11 R - R 1 mate. It has taken eleven moves to mate, and, under any conditions, I believe it should be done in under twenty. While it may be monotonous, it is worth while for the beginner to practice such things, as it will teach him the proper handling of his pieces. ”

“ By the time the student has digested all that has been previously explained, he, no doubt, is anxious to get to the actual game and play with all the pieces. However, before considering the openings, we shall devote a little time to some combinations that often arise during the game, and which will give the reader some idea of the beauty of the game, once he becomes better acquainted with it. ”

“ I have previously stated, when speaking about general theory, that at times the way to win consists in attacking first on one side, then, granted greater mobility of the pieces, to transfer the attack quickly from one side to the other, breaking through before your opponent has been able to bring up sufficient forces to withstand the attack. ”

“ Before proceeding further I wish to lay stress on the following point which the student should bear in mind.
Before development has been completed no piece should be moved more than once, unless it is essential in order to obtain either material advantage or to secure freedom of action. ”

“ The Bishop will be stronger against Pawns than the Knight, and in combination with Pawns will also be stronger against the Rook than the Knight will be. A Bishop and a Rook are also stronger than a Knight and a Rook, but a Queen and a Knight may be stronger than a Queen and a Bishop. ”

“ Failing an opportunity, in the second case, for direct attack, one must attempt to increase whatever weakness there may be in the opponent's position; or, if there is none, one or more must be created. It is always an advantage to threaten something, but such threats must be carried into effect only if something is to be gained immediately. For, holding the threat in hand, forces the opponent to provide against its execution and to keep material in readiness to meet it. ”

“ In this ending, as in the case of the Rook, the Black King must be forced to the edge of the board; only the Queen being so much more powerful than the Rook, the process is far easier and shorter. These are the three elementary endings and in all of these the principle is the same. In each case the co-operation of the King is needed. In order to force a mate without the aid of the King, at least two Rooks are required. ”

“ White can win by advancing any of the three Pawns on the first move, but it is convenient to follow the general rule, whenever there is no good reason against it, of advancing the Pawn that has no Pawn opposing it. ”

“ Example 4.—We now come to Queen and King against King. As the Queen combines the power of the Rook and the Bishop, it is the easiest mate of all and should always be accomplished in under ten moves. Take the following position:
A good way to begin is to make the first move with the Queen, trying to limit the Black King's mobility as much as possible. ”

“ A simple examination will show that White is minus a Bishop for all practical purposes. He can only free it by sacrificing one Pawn, and possibly not even then. At least it would lose time besides the Pawn. Black now devotes all his energy to the Queen's side, and, having practically a Bishop more, the result cannot be in doubt. The rest of the game is given, so that the student may see how simple it is to win such a game. {99}
There is no necessity to pay any attention to the King's side, because White gains nothing by exchanging Pawns and opening the King's Rook file. ”

“ Black's manœuvring for positional advantage is admirable throughout this game, and if he loses it is due entirely to the fact that the sacrifice of the exchange, without even a Pawn for it, could not succeed against sound defensive play.
The position begins to look really dangerous for White. In reality Black's attack is reaching its maximum force. ”

“ The fact that he has to exchange Queens when he is a Pawn behind shows that Black's game is lost.
The Knight was too threatening. But now the ending brought about is one in which the Bishop is stronger than the Knight; which makes Black's plight a desperate one. The game has no further interest, and it is only because of its value as a study of this variation of the Petroff that I have given it. Black was able to fight it out until the sixtieth move on account of some poor play on White's part. The rest of the moves are given merely as a matter of form. ”

“ This combination is rather long and has many variations, therefore a beginner will hardly be able to fathom it; but, knowing the type of combination, he might under similar circumstances undertake and carry out a brilliant attack which he would otherwise never think of. It will be seen that all the combinations shown have for a foundation the proper co-ordination of the pieces, which have all been brought to bear against a weak point. ”

“ White has no longer an attack, but he has compelled Black to create a marked weakness. Now White's whole plan will be to exploit this weakness (the weak K P) , and the student can now see how the principles expounded previously are applied in this game. Every move is directed to make the weak King's Pawn untenable, or to profit by the inactivity of the Black pieces defending the Pawn, in order to improve the position of White at other points. ”

“ My idea is that as there is no Black Bishop and because Black's pieces have been developed with a view to an attack on the King's side, it will be impossible for Black to take advantage of the apparently unprotected position of White's King. ”

“ The advance of either Pawn often determines the course the game will follow.
Another thing to be considered is the matter of one or more passed Pawns when they are isolated either singly or in pairs. We might say that a passed Pawn is either very weak or very strong, and that its weakness or strength, whichever happens to be in the case to be considered, increases as it advances, and is at the same time in direct relation to the number of pieces on the board. ”

“ It is what is called a "block position," and all the Pawns are on one side of the board. (If there were Pawns on both sides of the board there would be no advantage in having a Knight.) In such a position Black has excellent chances of winning. Of course, there is an extra source of weakness for White in having his Pawns on the same colour-squares as his Bishop. This is a mistake often made by players. The proper way, generally, in an ending, is to have your Pawns on squares of opposite colour to that of your own Bishop. ”

“ We must take it for granted that the student has already reached a stage where, while not being able fully to understand every move, yet he can derive benefit from any discussion with regard to them.
[7] A "hole" in chess parlance has come to mean a defect in Pawn formation which allows the opponent to establish his forces in wedge formation or otherwise without the possibility of dislodging him by Pawn moves. Thus, in the following diagram, Black has two holes at K B 3 and K R 3, where White forces, e.g. a Kt or B, could establish themselves, supported by pieces or Pawns. ”

“ Two Rooks are slightly stronger than a Queen. They are slightly weaker than two Knights and a Bishop, and a little more so than two Bishops and a Knight. The power of the Knight decreases as the pieces are changed off. The power of the Rook, on the contrary, increases.
The King, a purely defensive piece throughout the middle-game, becomes an offensive piece once all the pieces are off the board, and sometimes even when there are one or two minor pieces left. ”

“ It would have been better to hold it in reserve and to have played P - B 4, to be followed in due time by P - K Kt 4 and P - B 5, after having placed the Q at Q 2, K B 2, or some other square as the occasion demanded. The text move blocks the action of the powerful B at Q B 4, and tends to make White's position safer than it should have been. The move in itself is a very strong attacking move, but it is isolated, and there is no effective continuation. Such advances as a rule should only be made when they can be followed by a concerted action of the pieces. ”

“ White, according to the principles already laid down, develops his pieces as fast as possible, but in so doing he also tries to hinder his opponent's development, by applying pressure wherever possible. He tries first of all to control the centre, and failing this to obtain some positional advantage that will make it possible for him to keep on harassing the enemy. He only relinquishes the initiative when he gets for it some material advantage under such favourable conditions as to make him feel {78}assured that he will, in turn, be able to withstand his adversary's thrust ”

“ Whether it is sound or not remains yet to be proved. Its good features are that it keeps the centre intact without creating any particular weakness, and that it gives plenty of opportunity for deep and concealed manœuvring. The drawback is the long time it takes Black to develop his game. It is natural to suppose that White will employ that time to prepare a well-conceived attack, or that he will use the advantage of his development actually to prevent Black's complete development, or failing that, to obtain some definite material advantage.
{171} ”

“ In chess the tactics may change but the strategic fundamental principles are always the same, so that Chess Fundamentals is as good now as it was thirteen years ago. It will be as good a hundred years from now; as long in fact as the laws and rules of the game remain what they are at present. ”