THE CHESS TEACHER THE CHESS TEACHER Oxford Chess Books Editor: Adam Hart-Davis lrving Chernev The Golden Dozen THE CT lrving Chernev Copoblonco.'s Best Chess Endings Fischer's Chess Gomes lntroduction by Raymond Keene H. Golombek & W. R. Hartston TEACH. The Best Gomes of C, H. O'D. Alexonder T. D. Harding Better Chess for Averoge Aess,Ployers W. R. Hartston & R. D. Keene Korpov-Korchnoi 1974 Kavid Levy & Kevin O'Connell Oxford Encyclopedio of Chess Gomes ALAN PHILLIPS P. R. Markland The Best of KorPov H. ,. R. Murray ,4 HistorY of Chess J. N. Walker Chess Openings for /uniors J. N. Walker Attocking the King J. N. Walker First Steqs in Chess Simon Webb Chess for Tigers lf you would like to receive regular information about Oxford Chess Books, we should be happy to send you our free bulletin. Just send your name and address on a Postcard to Oxford University Press (Chess) Freepost Oxford OX2 68R No stamp is required if you post the card in the United Kingdom t o OXFORD UNIVERSN 1978 : l I THE CHESS TEACHER ALAN PHILLIPS t o OXFORD UN IVERSITY PRESS 1978 Preface Oxford tJniversity Press, lilolton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP OXFORD LONDON GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELEOURNE WELLTNOTON KUALA LUMPUR SINGAPORE JAKARTA HONG KONO TOXYO DELHI BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADMS KARACHI IBADAN NAIROBI DAR ES SALAAM CAPE TOWN As its title suggests, this is a in educational establishmen @ Oxford UniversitY Press 1978 pert players-require an ord issued as a class text-book;: All rights reserved. No port of this publicotion moy be reproduced, bitious beginner or an ayerq stored in o retrievol system, or tronsmitted, in ony form or by ony ledge. lndeed an alternatiye mweisoen,s w, eitlheocturot nthice, pmrieocrh poenrimcoisl,s piohno toofc oOpxyfionrgd, Urencivoerdrsinitgy, Porre sosther- for I have tried within this i ment needed by a very stron This book is sold subiect to the condition thot it sholl not, by woy As mentioned in the App ocifr ctruolodete odr woitthheorwutis teh,e bpeu lbeliinsht,e rre's- soplrdio, rh icreodn soeuntt, ino ra ontyh eforwrmise of or read consecutively, if so d binding or cover other thon thot in which it is published ond without set of pupils concerned: thb o similor condition inctuding this condition being imposed on the in general there is a rotation subsequent purchoser, play, and hence a gradual bll combined with a historical 1 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data vidual student will probably Phillips, Alan development the game isetf The chess teacher. - (Oxford chess books). gical order of presentation €rl -7ll. .9 TC4.h1iet' sl2se ll. SGeVri e1s 445 78-401 98 tg(hfaremosmee sg taihnme ae l sew aaarsnye nr,os t ptoooin tin oofa nr lsBN 0-19-217561-0 proliferation tsBN 0-19-21 7560-2 Pbk. o through whole way along the to heart the advice of Abd, d at least one problem that Crl had achieved that unusual kin masters, not their pupils., You will only get to the en Set by Hope Services, Wontoge and printed in Greot Britoin bY Lowe & Brydone Printers Limited, Thetford, Norfolk of ambition fulfilled is only e; who play, however badly, thel Preface As its title suggests, this is a multi-purpose book. lt can be used by teachers in educational establishments who-whether or not they themselves are ex- pert players-require an ordered set of lessons for their pupils; it may be issued as a class text-book; and it will serve as a self-tutor for either an am- brqrduced, bitious beginner or an average club player who wishes to increase his know- foto u bY onY ledge. lndeed an alternative title might be Chess in 25 not-so-eosy Lessons, u other' for I have tried within this short compass to provide all the basic equip- kcss ment needed by a very strong player. flrri,bY woY As mentioned in the Appendix for Teachers, the Lessons can be given cdsvie or read consecutively, if so desired, with appropriate modifications for the iitoy fum of set of pupils concerned: this book differs from other chess tutors in that otd without in general there is a rotation between opening, middle-game, and endgame flre -recdot play, and hence agradual build-up of knowledge and skill. This has been combined with a historical approach, partly because by and large the indi- vidual student will probably learn best by following the same path of development the game itself took, and partly because a roughly chronolo- gical order of presentation enabled me to introduce great players and their games in a way not too inconsistent with agradual, and I hope logical (from the learner's point of view), exposition of chess theory. I regard these games as the most important part of the book, for despite the great proliferation of books on opening theory I think it is still true that playing through whole master-games with understanding will take you at least half way along the road to chess mastery. In that connection you should take to heart the advice of Abel, the Norwegian mathematician who dealt with at least one problem that Gauss himself never solved. When asked how he had achieved that unusual kind of success, Abel replied 'By studying the masters, not their pupils.' You will only get to the end of the road to mastery by hard effort. The exercises, explanations of principles, and practical suggestions contained in this book will, I hope, be a real help, but what you must do to succeed is make a habit of seeking out rather stronger players than yourself-and then beat them! lf you manage that, well and good; if not, then you may Ftqtolk console yourself-as I have often done-with the thought that the pleasure of ambition fulfilled is only a poor second to the happiness shared by all who play, however badly, the greatest of intellectual games. lt is not only T- Prefoce happiness that chess players may share-my introduction of chess as part Contents of tile mathematics curriculum at Charlton School of the ILEA over a decade ago was largely due to the conviction that chess may sharpen a prpit't sJnse of lusiice as well as his intellect, for he will soon learn that excessive greed and paltry cowardice are equally punished in our game' I should like to dedicate this book to Stanley wood, vassily smyslov, David Bronstein, and all those other chess-players, great and small' who- by the science, artistry, and courage shown in their games-taught and List of illustrations still teach me chess. Alon Phillips Shrewsbury Symbols November I 977 Lessons 1. The board and men, moves roo ks i, 2. The moves of bishop, queer :) examples of checkmate 3. The moves of the pawn, cas 4. The opening: military rank development and central contr 5. The Evans Gambit: open lin Anderssen, and Blackburne 6. Force, Time, and Space; ma theendingKandPvK 7. Gaining time; the Danish Ga Ph ilidor Mikhail Tal Tigran Petrosian Viktor Korchnoi Anatoly Karpov 8. Mainly tactics: the pin, tie l 9. The attack on the uncastled Dr. Tarrasch; a modern sacrifict 10. The attack on the castled l success; some mating ideas Poge vi Contents of chess as Part tre ILEA over a mav sharPen a soon learn that d in our game. Vassilv SmYslov, . and small, who- t and List of illustrations Alon PhilliPs Symbols Lessons 1. The board and men, moves of king and rook, checkmate with roo ks 2. fhe moves of bishop, queen, and knight; stalemate, and more 8 examples of checkmate 14 3. The moves of the pawn, castling, and the values of the pieces 4. The opening: military rank of the pieces; general principles, development and central control; an awful warning by Greco 5. The Evans Gambit: open lines; some traps; games by Evans, Anderssen, and Blackburne 6. Force, Time, and Space; material superiority and exchanging; theendingKandPvK 7. Gaining time; the Danish Gambit; Paul Morphy versus the 35 Ph ilidor 39 AnatolY KarPov 8. Mainly tactics: the pin, the fork, and the skewer 9. The attack on the uncastled king: a Fried Liver; a Vienna by Dr. Tarrasch; a modern sacrifice in the Sicilian 10. The attack on the castled king: methods and conditions for success; some mating ideas Contents 'l 1. Position play: strengths and weaknesses of pawns, lines, and 58 25. Choosing an opening repertrii squares; endgames by Rubinstein and Keres; the uses of knights games by Karpov and the youngcrt 12. Positional iudgement and strategy in the middle-gamei 62 More illustrative games Capablanca Solutions 13. More tactics: discovered and double checks; desperado com- 67 binations; u ndermining, decoying and overloading Appendix for teachers 14. Building up an attack on the castled king; the Queen's Gambit t1 lndex Declined-games bY Alekhine 15. Pawn storms: a Two Knights Defence and a King's Gambit 78 featuring David Bronstein 16. Rook endings: R v Ps; R and P v R; pawn maiorities on one 83 wing; the passed pawn on the other; general principles 17. Main variations of the Ruy L6pez; the world championship; 88 games by Smyslov and Geller List of illustrations 18. Treatment of gambits; defensive exchanging; bishops of oppo- site colour; heroic defence by Botvinnik 19. The hypermodern school: a review of openings; an opening 99 Tal, Petrosian, Korchnoi, and Krpo by R6ti and a game by Nimzowitsch Capablanca (naaioTimesl 20. The Nimzo-lndian Defence: the doubled pawn and restraint; 104 Alekhine games by Reshevsky and Taimanov Bronstein (Novosti) 21. Other endings: good and bad minor pieces; endings by Yanovksy, 109 Larsen, and Fischer; K and Q v K and P Smyslov (BCMI 22. The King's lndian Defence: pawn chains and play on both 1"t4 Botvinnik (Novosti\ wings; games by Bronstein and Rodriguez Tal (Novosti) 23. fhe art of sacrifice: Tal versus the Caro-Kann, the French, 119 and the Sicilian Fischer (Keystone) 24. Bobby Fischer and how to become a genius; the Sicilian 124 Karpov and Spassky (Novosd) Defence: games by Fischer and Spassky Poge viii ContenB lines, and 58 25. Choosing an opening repertoire; the contemporary scene: 129 m*e< of knights games by Karpov and the younger generation 62 More illustrative games 133 Solutions 137 67 Appendix for teachers 144 Queen's Gambit 73 Index 148 Ki6'sGambit 78 83 88 Listof illustrations ofoppo- 94 Tal, Petrosian, Korchnoi, and Karpov (Novosti\ vi 99 en opening Capablanca (RodioTimes) 66 104 Alekhine 77 Bronstein (Novosti) 82 Gldintt by YanovksY, 109 Smyslov (BCM) 93 play on both 114 BoWinnik (Novosti) 98 Tal (Novosti) 123 the French, 119 Fischer (Keystone) 128 :the Sicilian 124 Karpov and Spassky (Novost) 136 Poge ix