3 Ms Of Chess: Material
Greetings,
Happy Father's Day to all the chess dads out there! As is my tradition, I am publishing a game where my Dad beat me (in chess).
This week's position comes from:
Douglas Anderson vs Paul Anderson (Online Game Viewer: http://cschess.webs.com/ )
White to move and name the opening.
Read The Newsletter!
http://cschess.webs.com/apps/blog/entries/show/28434181-3-ms-of-chess-material
1. Game Of The Week: 3 Ms Of Chess: Material
2. This Week In Chess: June Mating Game Standings
3. Tuesday Night Chess Tour Cumulative and 2nd Quarter Standings
2013 Calendar Of Events for the Colorado Springs Chess Club:
http://cschess.webs.com/apps/calendar/
For additional events, see the following websites:
Denver Chess Club: DCC (http://www.denverchess.com)
Colorado State Chess Association: CSCA (http://colorado-chess.com/)
Wyoming Chess Association: WCA (http://www.wyomingchess.com/)
ps - Newsletter preview with pgn:
Game Of The Week
When I started playing tournament chess, I read a pamphlet from GM Arthur Bisguier about how to improve at chess. Since I had been crushed by him in a simul, I was more than willing to take his advice, even though I knew little about what a GM was. He had a list of 10 principles to keep in mind when playing. I thought that was a little too complicated for me to remember.
So, I condensed those ideas into what I considered the 3 strategies of chess. I also wanted something easy to remember so I decided to use the trick of alliteration to make them even more unforgettable. I called them the 3 Ms of chess:
The idea was that every chess move was an attempt to accomplish one of these three strategies and provided an ordered thought process in choosing a move.
The 1st priority chess strategy (Mate, http://cschess.webs.com/apps/blog/show/26159418-3-ms-of-chess-mate) was to protect your King from checkmate. Once you decide your King is not in harm, you can strategize about getting your opponent’s King. However, in most chess positions checkmate is a long way off. So, now what do you do?
The 2nd priority chess strategy (Material) was to gain a more powerful army than your opponent. This idea involved not only a simple piece count, but also the understanding that each piece has a different value.
Piece Values In Chess:
1. Queen = 9
2. Rook = 5
3. Bishop = 3
4. Knight = 3
5. Pawn = 1
6. King = Eternal
I quickly learned to grab up the pieces my opponent was giving away and hold on, as tight as I could, to mine, but also I used this simple chart to calculate the success of piece trades. Trading a lower value piece for a higher one was almost always the right move.
I learned that even a one Pawn advantage could be the difference in the game. The special move a Pawn has, called Promotion, is probably the most decisive way to gain a material advantage. In one move you typically gain 8 points of material (Pawn + Promotion = Queen; 1+8=9). The more Pawns you have versus your opponent just means more chances to promote.
Here is an example:
Anderson,Douglas -Anderson,Paul [B12]
7-7-3 Email,17.05.2000
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5...
[Event "7-7-3"]
[Site "http://cschess.webs.com/"]
[Date "2000.05.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2000.03.13"]
[TimeControl "0"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. Be3 Qa5+ 6.
Qd2 Qxd2+ 7. Nxd2 Nc6 8. Bb5 Nge7 9. c3 g6 10. f4 Bg7 11. Ngf3 O-O 12. Kf2 Nf5
13. Bd4 h5 14. g3 Bd7 15. Bd3 Nfe7 16. Rae1 a5 17. h3 f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Kg2
Nf5 20. Bf2 Kf7 21. g4 Ng7 22. g5 Be7 23. Nh4 Nf5 24. Nxf5 exf5 25. Nf3 Bd8 26.
Re2 Bc7 27. Kg3 Rfe8 28. Rhe1 Rxe2 29. Rxe2 Re8 30. Rxe8 Bxe8 31. h4 Ke6 32.
Bb5 Bd7 33. a3 Na7 34. Nd4+ Ke7 35. Bxd7 Kxd7 36. a4 Bd8 37. b4 Nc8 38. Kf3 Ne7
39. b5 b6 40. c6+ Kd6 41. Ke2 Bc7 42. Be3 Nc8 43. Kd3 Ke7 44. Nf3 Ke6 45. Kd4
Bd6 46. Ne5 Ne7 47. Nd7 Bc7 48. Kd3 Nc8 49. Ke2 Bd8 50. Bd4 Bc7 51. Kd3 Bd8 52.
Be5 Nd6 53. Bxd6 Kxd6 54. Kd4 Bc7 55. Ne5 Ke6 56. Nxg6 Bd6 57. Ne5 Bc5+ 58. Kd3
Bd6 59. g6 Kf6 60. Nd7+ Kxg6 61. Nxb6 Bxf4 62. Nxd5 Bd6 63. c7 Bxc7 64. Nxc7 f4
65. Ke4 1-0
When I started playing tournament chess, I read a pamphlet from GM Arthur Bisguier about how to improve at chess. Since I had been crushed by him in a simul, I was more than willing to take his advice, even though I knew little about what a GM was. He had a list of 10 principles to keep in mind when playing. I thought that was a little too complicated for me to remember.
So, I condensed those ideas into what I considered the 3 strategies of chess. I also wanted something easy to remember so I decided to use the trick of alliteration to make them even more unforgettable. I called them the 3 Ms of chess:
- Mate
- Material
- Mobility
The idea was that every chess move was an attempt to accomplish one of these three strategies and provided an ordered thought process in choosing a move.
The 1st priority chess strategy (Mate, http://cschess.webs.com/apps/blog/show/26159418-3-ms-of-chess-mate) was to protect your King from checkmate. Once you decide your King is not in harm, you can strategize about getting your opponent’s King. However, in most chess positions checkmate is a long way off. So, now what do you do?
The 2nd priority chess strategy (Material) was to gain a more powerful army than your opponent. This idea involved not only a simple piece count, but also the understanding that each piece has a different value.
Piece Values In Chess:
1. Queen = 9
2. Rook = 5
3. Bishop = 3
4. Knight = 3
5. Pawn = 1
6. King = Eternal
I quickly learned to grab up the pieces my opponent was giving away and hold on, as tight as I could, to mine, but also I used this simple chart to calculate the success of piece trades. Trading a lower value piece for a higher one was almost always the right move.
I learned that even a one Pawn advantage could be the difference in the game. The special move a Pawn has, called Promotion, is probably the most decisive way to gain a material advantage. In one move you typically gain 8 points of material (Pawn + Promotion = Queen; 1+8=9). The more Pawns you have versus your opponent just means more chances to promote.
Here is an example:
Anderson,Douglas -Anderson,Paul [B12]
7-7-3 Email,17.05.2000
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5...
[Event "7-7-3"]
[Site "http://cschess.webs.com/"]
[Date "2000.05.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderson, Douglas"]
[Black "Anderson, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2000.03.13"]
[TimeControl "0"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. Be3 Qa5+ 6.
Qd2 Qxd2+ 7. Nxd2 Nc6 8. Bb5 Nge7 9. c3 g6 10. f4 Bg7 11. Ngf3 O-O 12. Kf2 Nf5
13. Bd4 h5 14. g3 Bd7 15. Bd3 Nfe7 16. Rae1 a5 17. h3 f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Kg2
Nf5 20. Bf2 Kf7 21. g4 Ng7 22. g5 Be7 23. Nh4 Nf5 24. Nxf5 exf5 25. Nf3 Bd8 26.
Re2 Bc7 27. Kg3 Rfe8 28. Rhe1 Rxe2 29. Rxe2 Re8 30. Rxe8 Bxe8 31. h4 Ke6 32.
Bb5 Bd7 33. a3 Na7 34. Nd4+ Ke7 35. Bxd7 Kxd7 36. a4 Bd8 37. b4 Nc8 38. Kf3 Ne7
39. b5 b6 40. c6+ Kd6 41. Ke2 Bc7 42. Be3 Nc8 43. Kd3 Ke7 44. Nf3 Ke6 45. Kd4
Bd6 46. Ne5 Ne7 47. Nd7 Bc7 48. Kd3 Nc8 49. Ke2 Bd8 50. Bd4 Bc7 51. Kd3 Bd8 52.
Be5 Nd6 53. Bxd6 Kxd6 54. Kd4 Bc7 55. Ne5 Ke6 56. Nxg6 Bd6 57. Ne5 Bc5+ 58. Kd3
Bd6 59. g6 Kf6 60. Nd7+ Kxg6 61. Nxb6 Bxf4 62. Nxd5 Bd6 63. c7 Bxc7 64. Nxc7 f4
65. Ke4 1-0
Peace be with you,
Paul Anderson
Chess Coach (http://cschess.webs.com/coaching.htm)
Cell: 719-310-9635
Facebook: paul.anderson.904750
Twitter: @cschessnews
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