This forum is for discussing the many fascinating ways that the king can be protected against attack, particular from the point of view of black. Please feel free to post examples or comment.
In Chess960, in many positions protecting the king is even more fascinating than in the standard position 518. From chess we are used to building pawn shields around him, or allowing the pawn shield to open if the incoming diagonals or files are protected or blocked. In some hyper modern theories for standard chess, there is more and more examples emerging where the kings protection can be compromised. In Chess960, the whole concept of protecting the king is extended even further. It is possible to protect the king in many more creative ways including indirect logically constructed defenses, simply because the alignment of pieces in the starting position allow it.
Here is a classic example. Let me ask you a simple question. Do you think that at any time black's king is under any threat what so ever?:
Let me stress that thanks to computer analysis, I can assure you that at no time during this game was black's king safety ever under question. The only absolute imperative is that black MUST either check the king or otherwise give his queen access to the g7 square to neutralise white's discovered attack on the king.
So much about Chess960 is perception. We carry the burden of many games played through SP518 and this clouds our vision and biases it in ways that do not necessarily help us to understand the other 959 Chess960 positions. Here is another classic example. Again at no point is white's king ever under any threat. White's evaluation begins at 0.00 and gradually just keeps on getting better!:
In Chess960, we have to think more critically. We must question our plans more carefully and cannot assume anything. In attack we must ask the question, "is the opponents king exposed or am I just imagining it?" In defense we must ask the question "Although my king looks unprotected, can I devise a logical method to protect it anyway?" All that we have learned from SP518 is both a blessing and a curse to us now.
This forum is for discussing the many fascinating ways that the king can be protected against attack, particular from the point of view of black. Please feel free to post examples or comment.
In Chess960, in many positions protecting the king is even more fascinating than in the standard position 518. From chess we are used to building pawn shields around him, or allowing the pawn shield to open if the incoming diagonals or files are protected or blocked. In some hyper modern theories for standard chess, there is more and more examples emerging where the kings protection can be compromised. In Chess960, the whole concept of protecting the king is extended even further. It is possible to protect the king in many more creative ways including indirect logically constructed defenses, simply because the alignment of pieces in the starting position allow it.
Here is a classic example. Let me ask you a simple question. Do you think that at any time black's king is under any threat what so ever?:
Let me stress that thanks to computer analysis, I can assure you that at no time during this game was black's king safety ever under question. The only absolute imperative is that black MUST either check the king or otherwise give his queen access to the g7 square to neutralise white's discovered attack on the king.
So much about Chess960 is perception. We carry the burden of many games played through SP518 and this clouds our vision and biases it in ways that do not necessarily help us to understand the other 959 Chess960 positions. Here is another classic example. Again at no point is white's king ever under any threat. White's evaluation begins at 0.00 and gradually just keeps on getting better!:
In Chess960, we have to think more critically. We must question our plans more carefully and cannot assume anything. In attack we must ask the question, "is the opponents king exposed or am I just imagining it?" In defense we must ask the question "Although my king looks unprotected, can I devise a logical method to protect it anyway?" All that we have learned from SP518 is both a blessing and a curse to us now.
Cheers