Chess Strategy. Edward Lasker

moment in the fight for positional advantage.

      Considerations of this kind will help to improve our judgment in many of the various openings treated in the following pages.

      We will class the openings in this way:

      A. White 1. P-K4.

      (a) Black 1. P-K4 (b) Black 1. Any other move

      B. White 1. P-Q4.

      (a) Black 1. P-Q4 (b) Black 1. Any other move

      C. White 1. Any other move

      We shall find that openings classed under C generally lead to positions treated under A and B.

      A. We have already come to the conclusion that after 1. P-K4, P- K4 White does well to try to force the exchange of Black's centre pawn on Q4 or KB4, and that Black will try to counteract this, unless by allowing the exchange he gets a chance of exerting pressure in the centre by means of his pieces.

      We will first see what happens when White undertakes the advance in question on his second move. Superficially the difference between 2. PQ4 and 2. P-KB4 is that in the first case the pawn thus advanced is covered, while in the second it is not. An opening in which a pawn sacrifice is offered, is called a "gambit"; 2. P-KB4 is therefore a gambit.

      2. P-Q4 is only a gambit if after 2. … PxP White does not recapture the pawn. Nevertheless this opening has been called the "centre gambit," and though the denomination is not correct we will adhere to it, as it is in general use.

      A very considerable difference between the centre gambit and the King's gambit lies in the fact that in the former acceptance is compulsory, whilst in the second it may be declined.

      For: 2. P-Q4 threatens to take the King's Pawn. To defend it by means of 2. … P-Q3 is unwise, since White exchanges pawns and then Queens, by which Black loses his chance of castling and impedes the development of his Rooks. 2. … Kt-QB3 is also bad, since after 3. PxP, KtxP; 4 P-KB4, White drives the Knight away, gaining a strong hold on the centre, and Black has no compensation for giving up his centre pawn. It may be mentioned here that after 2. … Kt-QB3, 3. P-Q5 would be a useless move, as to begin with it would be inconsequent, since P-Q4 was played in order to clear the centre, and moreover it would block up a diagonal which could be most useful to the King's Bishop.

      We conclude now that Black cannot hold his pawn at K4. He must relinquish the centre by 2. … PxP. He will now either attempt to bring away White's King's Pawn by advancing his own QP to Q4, or try to utilise the King's file, which was opened by his second move, and operate against White's KP. The Rooks are indicated for this task. We shall refer to the execution of these plans later on.

      In the King's gambit, White's attempt to bring away Black's

       King's Pawn may be safely ignored.

      The move 2. P-KB4 does not threaten to take the King's Pawn, as Black would win White's KP by Q-R5ch. Black can therefore develop in security with 2. … B-B4, and if then White prevents the Q check by Kt-KB3, there is no objection to Black protecting his King's Pawn with P-Q3, as the King's Bishop is already developed. After 4. B-B4, Black has still no need to protect his KP with Kt- QB3, but can play Kt-KB3 first, because after 5. PxP, PxP; 6. KtxP would be answered by 6. … Q-Q5 winning a piece. Black keeps the upper hand in these early encounters because he has made a developing move with a piece, whilst White has played a pawn move which is useless for the purpose of development.

      ———————————————————

       8 | #R | | | #Q | #K | | | #R |

       |———————————————————|

       7 | #P | #P | #P | | | #P | #P | #P |

       |———————————————————|

       6 | | | #Kt| #P | | #Kt| | |

       |———————————————————|

       5 | | | #B | | #P | | | |

       |———————————————————|

       4 | | | ^B | | ^P | ^P | #B | |

       |———————————————————|

       3 | | | ^Kt| ^P | | ^Kt| | |

       |———————————————————|

       2 | ^P | ^P | ^P | | | | ^P | ^P |

       |———————————————————|

       1 | ^R | | ^B | ^Q | ^K | | | ^R |

      ———————————————————

       A B C D E F G H

      Diag. 18.

      Diagram 18 shows the position which results from the following plausible moves:

      2. P-KB4 B-B4 3. Kt-KB3 P-Q3 4. B-B4 Kt-KB3 5. P-Q3 Kt-B3 6. Kt-B3 B-KKt5

      If White wishes to castle on the K side, which must have been his intention when playing 2. P-KB4, he will have to play Kt-QR4 and KtxB.

      Though this is of no disadvantage to Black, he could avoid the exchange of his KB by playing 2. … P-QR3 instead of B-KKt5. If then White plays P-B5 in order to hinder the development of Black's QB and to bring out his own, the pressure on Black's KP is relieved permanently, and sooner or later Black will break through on the Q file, as his QP is no longer needed at Q3 for the support of the centre pawn.

      A different pawn formation is the result if White enforces the exchange of Black's centre pawn at once. This he can do by playing P-Q4, e.g.:

      2. P-KB4 B-B4 or 4. P-B3 Kt-KB3 3. Kt-KB3 P-Q3 5. P-Q4 PxQP 4. P-Q4 PxQP 6. PxP B-Kt3 5. KtxP

      Here Black can get an early advantage by attacking White's KP, taking possession of the K file after castling on the K side.

      All things considered, the student should in my opinion decline the gambit, as in doing so he can get an easy and satisfactory development. The treatment of the "King's Gambit accepted," which aims at holding the gambit pawn, is most difficult and leads early in the game to such complications as none but an expert can hope to master.

      [Footnote: As an example of the difficult play which ensues when Black defends the pawn in the King's Gambit, I give the latest variation of an attack introduced by Professor I. L. Rice, and called the "Rice Gambit":

      1. P-K4, P-K4; 2. P-KB4, PxP; 3. Kt-KB3, P-KKt4; 4. P-KR4, P-Kt5; 5. Kt-K5, Kt-KB3; 6. B-B4, P-Q4; 7. PxP, B-Q3; 8. Castles! BxKt; 9. R-K1, Q-K2; 10. P-B3, Kt-R4; 11. P-Q4, Kt-Q2; 12. PxB, KtxP; 13. P-QKt3, Castles; 14. B-R3, Kt-B6ch!; 15. PxKt, QxP; 16. R-K5! B-B4!!; 17. Kt-Q2! Q-Kt6ch; 18. K-B1, Q-R7; 19. BxR, P-Kt6; 20. B-B5, P-Kt7ch; 21. K-K1, Q-R5ch; 22. K-K2, Kt-Kt6ch; 23. K-B2, Kt-K5ch; 24. KxP, B-R6ch; 25. K-R1, K-R1; 26. KtxKt, R-KKt1; 27. R-Kt5, with interesting possibilities.

      Numberless interesting variations are possible, but their discussion does not lie within the scope of this work. They will be found in books treating of the analysis of the openings.]

      It is therefore unwise for the beginner to accept the gambit, unless there be a chance of compensation for the disappearance of his centre pawn, by forcing the exchange of White's centre pawn as well. The following line of play would fulfil this condition:

      1. P-K4, P-K4; 2. P-KB4, PxP; 3. Kt-KB3, Kt-KB3; 4. Kt-B3, P-Q4! Black thereby abandons the gambit pawn.

      On principle, and when he has the choice, the beginner should give preference to simple and clear development in the opening, rather than to the gain of a pawn, when this involves difficult and intricate play. This principle must also guide us in other openings.

      A good example is to be found in the so-called "Danish gambit," [Footnote: The names of the various openings, which