First Among Equals

Richard Roseborough
Starting Out: Chess Tactics and Checkmates by Chris Ward, 2006 Everyman, English Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 172pp., $23.95 The Everyman Chess Starting Out series has proved to be very popular, perhaps nowhere more so than on my own bookshelf where I count at least a dozen titles. The early books on openings such as Gallaghers on the Kings Indian Defense or Coxs on Alekhines Defense struck a chord with intermediate players who were fairly well-grounded in tactics and basic strategy, but who may not have fully appreciated the merits of, say, 7Na6 in the Classical KID. Later the Starting Out series expanded to address other phases of the game besides the opening, including defensive play, attacking play, and various endings. Along the way, the series has developed a split personality. The openings books cater to an increasingly more advanced audience: the theory becomes denser and entire volumes are devoted to individual variations. Conversely, the non-openings books are more generalized and seem to be aimed at the type of audience one might expect a series named Starting Out to be targeting in the first place: novices. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it seems to me there is a broad gulf between the type of player who might benefit from a book discussing the latest theory in the Najdorf and a player who needs to be taught what checkmate means, and potential buyers of books in this series should be aware of this dichotomy. Chris Wards Starting Out: Chess Tactics and Checkmates decidedly belongs to the latter category. While it stops short of explaining how the pieces move, it does begin with an explanation of check, checkmate, and the relative value of the pieces. Also included in the first chapter are brief definitions of the most basic tactical motifs including forks, pins, skewers, discovered check, double check, and stalemate. The core of the book comprises three chapters largely devoted to detailed explanations and examples of traditional checkmating and tactical patterns, such as the Greek gift, but there are also many sections that do not fall neatly into traditional categories but might better be described as somewhat random musings and ideas that Ward felt compelled to include. Each chapter ends with a handful of exercises. A frequent complaint among beginners or even experienced players who seem to have peaked at a certain level of tactical proficiency is that they are easily bored or otherwise dissuaded from studying traditional tactics books that

contain page after page of diagrams without any sort of annotation. I have often been asked to recommend books on tactics that contain more words. This book fits the bill and is similar to Yasser Seirawans recently re-issued Winning Chess Tactics in this regard. Wards writing style is clear and informal, and throughout the book he deftly inserts bits of advice not necessarily directly related to tactics or checkmates, such as when he slips in some commentary about connected pawns while explaining the tactical motif Overloaded Piece, or the tip that When in possession of a space advantage, one should avoid fair swaps. That said, since this is a book written for novices many of his Tips and Notes are fundamental, and many convey little more than common sense, such as Dont forget it pays to be careful at all times. Another similarity between this book and Seirawans book is the idiosyncratic one is tempted to say haphazard organization of material. As noted above, it seems at times as if Ward is trying to convey a personalized interpretation of tactics, and sometimes this interpretation does not fit within classifications most of us are accustomed to. Chapter Two First Steps Towards Checkmate, for instance, describes some of the most common checkmating patterns, but with some uncommon names. For example, Ward uses the not-so-simple phrase Simple Diagonal Alignment to describe what is more commonly known as a Battery. He also identifies three mating examples Eliminating an Escape, The Queen and Knight Pairing, and Plugging the Gaps which arguably are nothing more than variations on the theme of a restricted king. On the other hand, I had never heard of the basic K+R+R vs K mating technique described as a Lawnmower Checkmate, a term which I find to be quite apt and vividly descriptive of the way the rooks take away one rank at a time like lawnmowers going back and forth across a lawn to drive the king to the edge of the board. Chapter Three More Practical Lessons is primarily devoted to exploring various tactical motifs, although the chapter also includes a section on Legalls Mate, which I suppose might be considered a mating pattern. Again in this chapter we find a rather subjective but nonetheless instructive tactical categorization called a Copying Error: Diagram 21 A released pin To play reasonable chess, one needs to take ones time and think things through carefully. An extremely common mistake that I see occur, particularly at junior level, is the good old copying error. In Diagram 21, lets say that Whites dark-squared bishop has just taken a knight on f6. Most likely having come from g5, it seems like a completely unnecessary exchange. After all, being pinned to the queen, the knight wasnt going anywhere and, had the black queen strayed off the d8-g5 diagonal, a trade on f6 would have resulted in Black having to compromise his pawn structure. Okay, its fair to say that Be7 to unpin was probably up soon anyway, but my argument stands all the same.

TIP: Dont be so eager to release pins. Remember that (barring tricks!) a pinned piece doesnt do the job it might otherwise do, and you may be able to turn the situation even more to your advantage later. Surely the most natural-looking and best move for Black from Diagram 21 is 1Qxf6, re-establishing material equality and adding further pressure to the pinned knight on f3. I have, however, lost track of the amount of times in which I have seen a response such as 1Bxf3?, adopting a kind of Well, if its good for you, then its good for me! type attitude. If, in a different scenario, all has been calculated and its been decided that this is the best move for the job, then fair play. However, too often this sort of thing occurs when its exponent is blissfully unaware of any complications ahead. Ironically, the chances are that play would continue 2 Qxf3 Qxf6, and after a queen swap, Black would escape with just a compromised kingside pawn structure. A little vision though would uncover the variation 2 Bxd8 Bxd1, and now not just both sides taking the bishops located on the queen home squares, which would again leave the piece count even, but rather 3 Bb6! . White saves his bishop, at the same time attacking the rook on a7. When Black opts to preserve his rook, he will find himself 3 points down after White takes on d1. Finally, Chapter Four Popular Themes and Real Life Chess contains both checkmating and tactical patterns, including knight forks, Greek gifts, and, again, Exploiting the Restricted King. In addition to the ten or so exercises at the end of each chapter, Ward has included a chapter of one hundred exercises or quick-fire puzzles to help the reader apply what he has learned in the preceding chapters. The exercises are not difficult, and the reader is aided by captions such as White to play and give checkmate in one move. Perfect for the player who has little or no experience with tactical puzzles, but not very challenging to anyone rated above, say, 1200 USCF. While reading Starting Out: Chess Tactics and Checkmates I found myself frequently comparing it to Seirawans books on tactics and combinations. Comparisons are easy: both books are written for a novice audience; both authors use an informal, conversational writing style; both emphasize verbal explanation rather than repetitive diagrams; and both authors present material in what might be described as a personalized and non-traditional way. In fact, as far as content goes, it is difficult to make much of a distinction at all. If pressed to recommend one over the other, I suppose I would choose Wards book. His writing style comes across as a little more sophisticated and less obviously aimed at juniors. I also think that solving a lot of exercises is still a good way to improve, and Wards chapter with 100 puzzles is a good introduction to this kind of practice. Finally, readers of Staring Out: Chess Tactics and Checkmates may someday grow up to be readers of other books in the Starting Out series and, who knows, maybe someday Ill see that book on the Budapest Gambit Ive been wishing for.

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by Chris Ward

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