The Art of Swindling

      Have you ever been in the heat of a chess game when it dawns on you that you've just hung a piece? Or maybe you've conceded a major central square and have handed your opponent a massive positional advantage. Maybe you missed a killer tactic that leaves your position in shackles. In all of these scenarios the initial impulse to press the resign button pops into your head. But wait. What if there was a way to prevent this kind of catastrophe? There isn't. We're all humans and we all make mistakes and are unable to play perfect chess, and unless your last name is Stockfish, then you've been in this kind of situation before. And while you can't stop the occasional chess blunder, there is a way to salvage the game. And that's precisely what swindling is. While much of swindling in chess has to do with circumstantial luck, it is a skill nevertheless and can be learned. Hopefully, after reading this blog you'll be able to turn around a losing position into either a draw or even a victory...

Introduction:

           Swindling is when a chess player has a significant advantage, either positionally or in material, and the opposing player snatches away the win, typically by some sort of tactic or trick. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the dreaded Rosen Trap, named after IM Eric Rosen, in which a player forces stalemate in a clearly lost position. Below is an example of this Rosen Trap/stalemate motif.

       Now before heading into the main section of this article, I'd like to summarize the life of one of the greatest chess swindlers to ever exist, Frank Marshall.

        Frank Marshall:

        Frank Marshall lived from 1877-1944, and had a very productive chess career. While he never held an official FIDE title (which wasn't established until late in his life), he held the U.S. Championship title for twenty-seven years after effortlessly claiming it in 1909 with a score of 8.5-3.5. He even contested for the World Championship versus Lasker, who requires no introduction, although he went on to lose the match. He was well-known for being a spicy, aggressive player, and the Marshall Attack, named for him, and perhaps one of the most aggressive openings of all time, is testimony to this. However, Frank Marshall is most renowned for his swindling ability. No chess book or article on swindling is complete without Frank Marshall's work. In fact, there's an entire term named after him, the "Marshall Swindle," described by the New York Times as "a diabolically clever move or combination that turns the tables on the opponent." (Byrne, Robert 1987). 

     The purpose of this blog will be to share a few imperative tips to perfect your swindling technique, and to demonstrate how to prevent swindling when you're on the receiving end. For each swindling tip, I will use either one of my own games, or one of Frank Marshall's as an example. Without further ado, let's begin!

Tip #1: Time

          This first tip is an obvious one. Every chess player is familiar with the irritating feeling associated with dirty flagging. Despite that, when I say to use time to your advantage I don't mean that you have to play solely for the flag, because in a lot of circumstances this is simply impractical (especially in lengthier time controls), and may lead you further down a rabbit hole of blunders once you start recklessly blitzing out moves. Instead, it's best to play quickly and get your opponent into time trouble, where they will have to convert a winning advantage with little time on the clock. This way you could capitalize on a potential blunder by your opponent. Generally, the best method to achieve this is by declining all trades and keeping as many pieces on the board as possible (of course there are exceptions to this rule, but typically trading pieces when in a worse position is a horrible idea). 

As a general rule of thumb, when down a piece, you should aim to trade off as many pawns as possible since they will be necessary for the enemy to force checkmate.

      Furthermore, I've found that playing tricky lines will usually force the opponent to spend time in calculation, dwindling their time even further. These moves don't even have to necessarily be the best, just enough to obligate the opponent to take time to parry your threats. In other words, a distraction if you will. You can see these aspects come into play in the below example:

        Brilliant demonstration of how to swindle by my opponent. Notice how he deviates from normal chess strategy and on move 19, rather than castle or finish development like the engine suggests, he plays c3, hitting my knight. Because despite what the computer may say, you can't afford to merely "finish development" in a losing position. You have to adjust to your situation and your gameplan must follow suit. And this is where humans and engines differ. Also, notice how moves like g5 and h5 from my opponent are purely psychological. They're empty threats, but from a human perspective, they seem terrifying. In fact, watch the evaluation bar skyrocket in my favor after the move 25. h5.

  When down material, throw in a lot of threats and discard traditional strategy.

        My opponent's mock attack was not only to steal the advantage back but to turn the game psychological and get into my head, which he succeeded at doing. Next, I'll share a portion of a game, where I had to take the role of swindler...

       In the above diagram, I have two pawns for a knight, with both pairs of rooks on the field. This case is different than the ones aforementioned in that I'm actually striving to trade off the rooks. The reason being, that white can not checkmate with two knights. It's simply impossible. And with a two-pawn advantage, there's a high chance I'll be able to trade off all the pawns and secure a draw. Observe my technique. 

           Thus, you can see that time is a valuable asset when you're seeking to snatch victory from your opponent's clutches.

Tip #2: An Attack

            Forming an attack is probably the most efficient way to begin the swindling process. Your opponent has been applying tremendous pressure to your position so why not flip the pressure back onto them? Having an extra piece is virtually useless if it's tied-down defending. The first step to developing such an attack is by keeping heavy pieces (queen+two rooks) on the board. Minor pieces can't checkmate on their own most of the time, plus there's a greater chance your opponent will go amiss with more pieces on the board, so it makes sense to not trade. This tip is best utilized in conjunction with the first tip. Generating a quick attack and thinking on your opponent's time will give you great swindling potential. You also shouldn't be afraid to sacrifice even more material to open up your opponent's king, since you're already down material. Watch how Frank Marshall recovers from a -3 point deficit to win the game in what was a stunning masterpiece of a game.

               Insane that a game played over a century ago can still be relevant and breathtaking today . What makes this game so special in my eyes is that Marshall didn't play a sound sacrifice knowing that he'd regain the material. No, this was a full-blown blunder and Marshall had to fight to turn this game around. And the way he did is truly incredible, especially for the era he played in. 

Tip #3: Never Resign

          A no-brainer, but still important to note. Obviously, there's no swindling to be had if you just resign whenever you make a mistake. Even if your position looks hopeless because there's always the chance your opponent screws up, and as my coach once told me, there's something to be learned in every loss. Here's another Frank Marshall classic to prove my point.

       With white to move, in this game between Marshall and AJ McClure in 1923, it looks like a completely lost cause. Marshall is down an entire rook and the engine deems all moves as losing. I'm willing to bet that if I asked a group of chess players if they'd resign as white in this position, the majority of them would answer in the affirmative. However, Marshall was a swindling genius and had some stalemate tricks up his sleeve.

      Of course, with perfect play that position was losing for white, but Marshall knew that he was playing a human and that he had nothing to lose, and it saved him the half point. Remember, NEVER RESIGN.

Conclusion:

     As always, thanks so much for reading; I hope you enjoyed and at least learned something from one of the games I showcased. Shoutout to BlogChamps again, the largest club on Chess.com devoted to blogging. We're currently in Season 1, and this is my post for the Sweet Sixteen, and I'm hoping to go all the way for the Championship! If you'd like to receive constructive criticism and feedback on YOUR blogs from professionals, make sure to join! That's it for now. Until next time, 

-Nimzo