Weapons of Chess: An Omnibus of Chess Strategies

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About the Author

Bruce Pandolfini is the author of ten instructional chess books, including Bobby Fischer's Outrageous Chess Moves, Principles of the New Chess, Pandolfini's Endgame Course, Russian Chess, The ABC's of Chess, Let's Play Chess, Kasparov's Winning Chess Tactics, One-Move Chess by the Champions, Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps, and Square One. He is also editor of the distinguished anthologies The Best of Chess Life, Volumes I and II. Perhaps the most experienced chess teacher in North America and the Executive Director of the Manhattan Chess Club, Bruce Pandolfini lives in New York City.

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ADVANTAGE

Any factor that increases your winning chances is an advantage. The player who has the most such factors in his or her favor has the advantage in the game; that is, the better winning chances.

Specific advantages fall into categories. For instance, if you have fewer weaknesses than your opponent, you probably have an advantage in pawn structure. In Diagram 1, since White's pawns are in fewer groups than Black's, they are easier to guard. Black's pawns have more weaknesses.

TIME

If you have more pieces developed than your opponent, you probably have an advantage in time. White has a large edge in development in Diagram 2.

Note that White has one less pawn than Black. In order to capture the White b-pawn, Black wasted valuable time and moved the queen several times. As a result, Black now has only three developed pieces, while White's seven pieces are all in action. This gives White a winning superiority in time.

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