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My System Part I
Notes on the first part of Nimsowitsch's My System
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| The seven elements of chess strategy | The center, open files, play on the 7th and 8th ranks, the passed pawn, the pin, discovered check, the pawn chain, and exchanging. |
| Center | The four squares in the center: e4, d4, e5, d5 |
| Development | Strategic march of the troops toward the border (between 4th and 5th rank). |
| Developing pawn moves | Pawn moves are not developing in themselves, but they can be a move that helps development. |
| Demobilising | Pawn moves can demobilize pieces. Your pawns need to be placed to prevent that. |
| Wasted pawn moves | Any pawn move that does not support your center or attack your opponent. |
| The ideal in the opening | A lead in development. |
| Developmental exchanges | Exchange with a gain of tempo, allowing you to develop with an attack that forces a double piece move by your opponent. |
| Pawn grabbing | There is no time for pawn grabbing in the opening. Develop instead. |
| Central pawn grabbing | Take any central pawn if it can be done without danger. |
| Open file | A file is open if you have a major piece on in and your pawns are not in front of the major piece. |
| Peacefully opening files | This occurs when you have a strong central piece your opponent must take. The pawn recapture opens a file. |
| Why open files | To use that file to penetrate your opponent's position, specifically the 7th and 8th ranks. |
| Block of granite | A pawn both protected by another pawn and blocking an open file. |
| Protected | Only a pawn can protect without complaint over a long period of time. |
| The evolutionary attack | Thin out the ranks of defenders by driving them away, exchanging them, or cutting them off. |
| The revolutionary attack | Exchanging a piece for a pawn to gain access to the 7th or 8th rank. |
| The order of attack | Pile on attackers, try to thin off defenders, and then consider a revolutionary attack, an indirect attack, or an outpost |
| The indirect attack | Limited advance along a file to give it up in favor of another file. |
| Outpost | A piece (usually a knight) protected by a pawn and on an open file in enemy territory. |
| Effect of an outpost | It constitutes a base for new attacks, and provokes a weaking of the defense of the file. |
| Flank outposts | Flank outposts should be occupied by a major piece with good attack radius. |
| Exchanging outposts | Outposts are frequently exchanged, and should be replaced with as good or better a piece (or a passed pawn). |
| Flank files | a, b, g, and h |
| Central files | c, d, e, and f |
| 7th rank case 1: absolute | Control of every square on the seventh rank and an advanced passed pawn almost always win. |
| 7th rank case 2: double rooks | Two rooks on the seventh rank can force a draw, but watch out for defended squares on the seventh rank that can stop this. |
| 7th rank case 3: rook + knight | A knight in opposition to a king (on 8th behind 7th rank rook) can check it back and forth IF there is a corner or blockage that allows a R+N mate. |
| 7th rank case 4: marauding | Doubled rook continually checking can fork pieces off the 7th rank if the other rook is defended. |
| 7th rank case 5: 8th rank (start) | Get the king out of the corner and into something like Rh7, Rg7, Kf8 |
| 7th rank case 5: 8th rank (attack) | Gain of material by forking or skewering, mate by breaking king contact with the rooks, or intermezzo captures that threaten mate |
| Passed pawn | A pawn with no enemy pawn in front of it on it's file or either adjacent file. |
| Pawn majority rule | Every sound, uncompromised pawn majority (two files away from an enemy majority) is capable of generating a passed pawn. |
| Candidate passed pawn | The pawn in a pawn majority with no (enemy?) pawns in front of it. |
| Candidate rule | The candidate pawn takes precedence in trying to create a passed pawn. Push it and use the other pawns to support it. |
| Blockade | Physically stopping an opposing passed pawn with a piece. |
| Pawn roller | A compact, advancing mass of pawns in the center. |
| First reason to blockade | To stop the pawn from advancing and either opening up lines or promoting. |
| Second reason to blockade | Blockaders are defending from frontal attacks by the pawn they are blockading. |
| Weak square | A square in front of a pawn that can be occupied, and the occupier cannot be easily removed. |
| Third reason to blockade | The blockaded pawn can block your opponent's pieces. |
| Main function of the blockader | To immobilize the passed pawn. |
| Secondary function of the blockader | To threaten into the opponent's territory. |
| Elasticity | A blockader is elastic if it is justified in leaving it's post. |
| First justification for elasticity | An immediate gain is possible. |
| Second justification for elasticity | It can return in time to blockade on another square after the pawn advances. |
| Third justification for elasticity | If it has a deputy that can take over the blockade. |
| Effective deputies | Effective deputies of blockaders have safe squares of their own. |
| Defending a blockader | Over defending a blockader gives it more elasticity. |
| Strong blockaders | Weaker pieces are more effective blockaders because they can't be pushed away by an attack from an even weaker piece. |
| Replacing a blockader | When attacking a defender you may want to force an easier to attack deputy to take it's place. |
| Isolated pawns | Get the king in front, get his king out from behind (perhaps with zugzwang), then flank the pawn |
| Strength of attacks | Weakest to strongest: frontal, side(?), flanking |
| Flanking's weakness | Only useful against immobile targets |
| Reserve blockading square | The first unprotected square in the pawn's line of advance |
| Kings in a pawn advance | Attacker strives for the lead, defender tries to prevent this with the reserve blockading square. |
| Privileged passed pawns | Passed pawns that are linked, protected, or distant |
| Ideal linked passed pawns | Ideal linked passed pawns are on the same rank, because in that position they cannot be blockaded |
| Advancing linked passed pawns | Do it at a moment when the enemy cannot form a strong blockade. Then advance the trailing pawn after breaking any weak blockade |
| Plugging the gap | With advancing linked pawns, the king is often strongest filling the gap left by the leading pawn. |
| Protected passed pawn | Can be protected by an unpassed pawn. Their strength is that they are immune to attacks from kings |
| Distant passed pawn | Distance is from the center. It can be used to distract the enemy king and take him away from another area of play. |
| Danger of distant passed pawns | They can be played too soon. Make sure you can take advantage of a distraction before sacrificing. |
| When to advance passed pawns | When they cannot be strongly blockaded, when they will protect valuable squares, it clears space for a piece to move behind it, or the advance makes a good sacrifice |
| Sacrificing passed pawns | Must be done to create maximum loss of time for your enemy |
| First reason to exchange | To occupy or open a line without loss of time |
| Second reason to exchange | To get rid of a defender. It may defend a square, not a piece. |
| Third reason to exchange | To retreat without losing time. This is usually in response to a counter attack. |
| Fourth reason to exchange | When we are ahead on material. |
| Zeroth element of the endgame | The passed pawn |
| First element of the endgame | Centralization |
| Second element of the endgame | Aggressive rooks and activity in general |
| Third element of the endgame | Consolidating isolated forces |
| Fourth element of the endgame | General advance |
| Fifth element of the endgame | Materialization of files |
| What to centralize | The king (at the start of the endgame), the pieces, the queen (preferably protected by a pawn) |
| Why centralize | It allows the centralized piece to attack either side |
| Shelters | Squares (often behind pawns) to hide you king from piece attacks |
| Bridge | A pair of shelters allow king movement when under attack |
| Defending endgame rooks | Weak because of lack of mobility, which gives enemy king more mobility. |
| Attacking endgame rooks | Can attack multiple ways, one pinning down the defending rook. |
| Value of aggressive endgame rook | It is worth (intelligently) sacrificing a pawn to go from defensive to active. |
| Where to put the endgame rook | Behind the passed pawn, whether it is yours or theirs |
| Non-rooks in the endgame | Same principle: be aggressive, not defensive |
| Advancing endgame pawn | Fill in behind with a piece/king |
| General advance | A slow, combined advance of your pieces in the endgame |
| Knight-pawn interaction | Knight protected by pawn can attack blocking pawns in chain or move once to defend allied pawns in chain. |
| King-pawn interaction | King can plug holes in pawn chains and hide behind pawns |
| Queen-pawn interaction | Centrally posted queen can defend widely separated pawns. |
| Endgame files | Easier to exploit with less work than midgame files |
| How to exploit endgame files | Maintain them and a way will open |
| The strategy of pins | The effect a pin has on a position can be used as a strategic weakness to attack. |
| Partial pin | A pin where the pinned piece can move along the line of the pin. |
| Protection of a pinned piece | It is an illusion. You can place your pieces on "protected" squares |
| Attacking a pinned piece | Several attacks with pieces, finish it off with a pawn. |
| Exchanging pins | It is often advisable to exchange for the pinned piece to pin a better piece or to make a partial pin complete. |
| Danger of challenging pins | It can open up a position. Do it if it forces the attacker (bishop) to a bad spot. Watch for an open center which can make that a good spot. |
| When to ignore a pin | When the center is open and moving pawns to the center can give us activity. |
| Double challenge a pin | Bring a knight around to cover the escape square that continues the pin. This is slow, so only use it with a closed center. |
| Tacking a pin | Manouvering to keep open the option of challenging, exchanging, or double challenging it. |
| The corridor | The line from the pinning piece through the pinned piece to the piece it is pinned to. |
| Breaking a pin | Placing a protected piece in the corridor of the pin |
| Connecting a pin | Creating contact between the pinned piece and the piece it is pinned to. |
| Escaping a pin | The piece behind the pin moving away. |
| Techniques for pins in the opening | Challenging, exchanging, double challenging, and tacking |
| Techniques for pins in tactical situations | Breaking, connecting, and escaping |
| Discovered check vs. pin | A discovered check is like a pin where the pinned piece is the attacker's. |
| Little man | The "pinned piece" in a discovered check |
| First action of the little man | Take anything not protected by the king. |
| Second action of the little man | Attack anything, even from a defended square. |
| Third action of the little man | Switch to any spot he wants. |
| Treadmill | Repeated discovered checks with captures in between. |
| Double check | Discovered check where moving piece also checks. The king must move. |
| Pawn chain | A diagonal line of black and white pawns defending each other |
| The base of a pawn chain | The pawn at the back of the chain (the least advanced pawn with an enemy pawn blockading it). |
| Cost of a pawn chain | Creating the pawn chain gives up the opportunity to open a file. |
| Benefit of a pawn chain | Opens up two attacks: ahead and in the direction of the chain. |
| Attacking in the direction of the chain | The lead point attacks into enemy territory, and the enemy pawns clog up his position |
| Attacking forward of the chain | Attack the base of the chain with a pawn, then flank the new base with the rook that was supporting the attack. |
| Purpose of the pawn chain | To restrain the enemy. It is a blockading issue. |
| When to attack the pawn chain | As soon as possible |
| Surprise attack of the pawn chain | Attack the base pawn with another pawn, then attack the new base. |
| After the pawn chain is destroyed | Advance the pawns that had been restrained |
| When to exchange for a pawn in a chain | To replace it with a weaker blockader |
| Siege of the base, step 1 | Attack the fixed base with multiple pieces. |
| Siege of the base, step 2 | Post attackers aggressively to impede enemy development |
| Siege of the base, step 3 | Maintain the pressure at least until weakness show in the enemy position. |
| Siege of the base, step 4 | Attack the new weakness as energetically as possible |
| Siege of the base, step 5 | Allow the base pawn to become an endgame weakness |
| Siege of the base, step 6 | Never forget that you too have a base pawn to defend. |
| Transference and pawn chains | If the base is too strong, advance a pawn to create a new, weaker base. |
Created by:
ichabod801
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