Neglecting Development of Your Pieces

IN THE ORIGINAL starting position of a game of chess, the pieces are not ready for action. The process by which we advance them to squares on which they can attack and defend and maneuver freely is called "development."

If we develop the pieces slowly or ineffectively, their action is limited. Their attacking ability is slight, and the initiative passes into the hands of our opponent.

If we move one piece repeatedly, it follows that other pieces are being neglected, still left on their original squares where they accomplish nothing. Lagging or ineffective development accounts for many a stinging defeat on the chessboard.

While each opening presents its special problems, there are some practical rules that are helpful guides. Always start by playing out a center Pawn, as this creates a line for developing a Bishop. Bring out the King Knight very early— preferably to KB3. By playing out the King Knight and King Bishop quickly, you make early castling possible and thus get your King out of any immediate danger.

Try to avoid placing your Bishops on diagonals where they are blocked by your own Pawns. Avoid, too, an excessive number of Pawn moves—they contribute little or nothing to development.

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Before You Start To Play Chess

In order to have the greatest chance for winning at chess, there are two features which you will very likely want to review quickly. One is to check up on the relative values of the chessmen. Expressed in points, their values are as follows:

Queen: 9 points
Rook: 5 points
Bishop: 3 points
Knight: 3 points
Pawn: 1 point

It is important to be absolutely certain of these values, for most games are decided by superiority in force.

Bishops (3 points) and Knights (3 points) are equal in value, but experienced players try to capture a Bishop in return for a Knight.

A Bishop or Knight (3 points) is worth about three Pawns (3 points). If you give up a Knight and get three Pawns in return, you may consider it as more or less an even exchange. If you lose a Knight (3 points) for only a Pawn (1 point), you have lost material and should lose the game, if you are playing against an expert.If you capture a Rook (5 points) for a Bishop or Knight (3 points), you are said to have "won the Exchange." If you lose a Rook (5 points) for a Bishop or Knight (3 points), you have "lost the Exchange." The other important feature in reading a chess book is to be familiar with chess notation. If you can count up to 8, this presents no problem. You may have heard scare stories to the effect that chess notation is inordinately difficult. This difficulty of chess notation is a myth, circulated by people too lazy to discover how simple and logical it really is.

The following are the chief abbreviations used in the chess notation:

King — K
Queen — Q
Rook — R
Bishop — B
Knight — N
Pawn — P
to — —
check — ch
captures — x
discovered check — dis ch
double check — dbl ch
en passant — e.p.
castles, king-side — 0—0
castles, queen-side — 0—0—0
good move — !
very good move — ! !
outstanding move — ! ! !bad move — ?

Here are some examples of abbreviation: N—KB3 mean's "Knight moves to King Bishop three." Q x B means "Queen takes Bishop." R—K8 ch means "Rook moves to King eight giving check."

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Seizing the Initiative

How to Seize the Initiative:

If you accept the view that White has some initiative by reason of being the first to move, you will doubtless agree that in actual practice White often loses that initiative with great rapidity.

When you are playing Black, you can snatch up White's lost initiative and become the aggressor, if you realize just what is happening.

Now, assuming that White does not lose material and does not create weaknesses, just what should Black look for in order to seize the initiative?

There are several ways White can go wrong. He may, for example* play an opening so poor that his theoretical advantage disappears at once. This gives Black his chance.

Or White may play an excellent opening and then ruin his development by a series of foolish, time-wasting Queen moves. Here again Black must be alert to the possibilities.

If Black discovers that White is wasting valuable time chasing a relatively unimportant Pawn, he can use the opportunity to get far ahead in development.

Sometimes White may avoid the sin of greed only to succumb to another fault—bad judgment. Sheer thoughtlessness, inattention, negligence, or happy-go-lucky innocence of a positional trap may ruin White's development. In every case Black should be alert to seize the initiative.

So you see there are many ways for White to go wrong, and it pays Black to keep a sharp lookout for such cases of poor judgment. Now let's see some examples of the kinds of mistakes White may make.

In this game Black gives us a classic example of slashing attacking play. His play is magnificent, and yet—it all stems from White's faulty opening. Black immediately pounces on the opportunities offered by White's faulty play!

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