Piece Functions

In earlier posts (here, and here) I described a new

approach I am taking to teaching chess to my son
using the concept of the Three Levels of Vision:
Three Levels of Vision
1. Bottom-up perception. See the individual
piece AND the squares it can move to as one
inseparable unit. See the lines of power (like an
aura) emanating from the piece.
2. Top-down processing. See the six functional
relationships between the pieces.
3. Interconnected system. See the entire board
as (5 to 6) groups of pieces with functional
relationships (not unconnected sets of individual
pieces).
To understand the first level of vision you only
need one piece. There are simple exercises and
activities to build this vision.
But the second level requires a second piece
(allied or enemy) to understand any of the
functions, and requires a third piece to
understand all six functions.

The Six Piece Interactions (or "connections")

1. Allied pieces: (1) defend, (2) limit, and (3)
shielding.
2. Enemy pieces: (4) attack, (5) blockade, and
(6) restrict.
Writing this blog I realized that this list is
incorrect. Read to the bottom for an updated
list!
Let's look at what happens
when two allied pieces are on the board:

Here we see the queen "connects" with his allied

bishop using the (1) defend function. But that is
not the only interaction taking place here:

No good deed goes unpunished! The queen is

providing a useful function by defending his
allied bishop, but the bishop is not being so
helpful and interacts with his allied queen using
the (2) limitfunction. The limit function is harder
for beginners to see because the bishop is not
visually "connecting" with the queen...the queen
is "connecting" with the bishop.

The same relationship between functions is true

with one enemy and one allied piece:

Here we see the queen "connects" with the enemy

bishop using the (4) attack function. But, again,
that is not the only interaction taking place.

The bishop also interacts with the enemy queen

using the (5) blockade function. Like the (2) limit
function, the blockade function is harder for
beginners to see because the bishop is not actually
"connecting" with the queen...the queen is
"connecting" with the bishop.
This gives us TWO pairs of (almost)
inseparable functions:
1. Allied pieces: (1) defend PLUS (2) limit
2. Enemy pieces: (4) attack PLUS (5) blockade

"Almost" because these pairs apply to all chess

pieces except for the pawn, king, and knight.
The pawn does not move and capture in the same
direction, which means the pawn can both (1)
defend without being (2) limited, and can (4)
attack without being (5) blockaded.
The first pair applies to the king and knight, but
to a lesser extent due to their more limited scope
of movement. Since they are short range pieces
the impact of being (2) limited is only the one
square the allied piece is standing on but not the
squares behind it. (Note -- long range pieces are
prevented from moving to squares BEHIND the
defend piece AND the square the defended/allied
piece is standing on.)
The second pair does NOT apply to the king or
the knight. When a king is attacking an enemy
piece, he can move to that square (by capturing)
UNLESS the enemy piece is defended which
means that square is (6) restricted. When a knight
is attacking an enemy piece, he is not in turn
prevented from moving to that square (by

capturing). (Note -- unlike the knight, long range

pieces are prevented from moving to squares
BEHIND the attacked piece but, like the knight,
not the square the attacked piece is standing on.)
What happens when three pieces are on the board
(two allied pieces and one enemy piece), but not
in a line?

Here we have the same TWO PAIRS discussed

above: between the allied queen and bishop
(defend plus limit), and between the enemy queen
and bishop (attack plus blockade).
It is important to note in this position that the
bishop is NOT performing the additional (3)
shieldfunction because the pieces are not in a line.

Now the queens are on the same line with the

bishop standing between them.
The (3) shield function is more complicated
than the two basic pairs, and at least one of the
two pairs must exist in order for the shield
function to also exist (in addition to the pieces
being on the same line).
We have the same TWO PAIRS discussed above
between the queens and the bishop AND we have
added a new function -- the bishop is now (3)
shielding the two queens from attacking one
another. (Note: this is the basis
for pins and discoveries.)
Let's look at an example with all three pieces in a
line and only the first pair of functions is present,
but not the second:

The limiting function of the bishop (an allied

interaction) is shielding the enemy knight from
the queen's attack (an enemy interaction). This
forms the basis of a discovered attack.
Let's look at an example with all three pieces in a
line and only the second pair of functions is
present, but not the first:

The blockading function of the bishop (an enemy

interaction) is shielding the allied knight from the
queen's attack (an enemy interaction). This forms
the basis of a pin.
Since the shield function requires an enemy piece
to be on the board (along with other
conditions...on the same line, and one of two
function pairs present) the shield function

should be considered an enemy interaction not

an allied interaction:
Revised -- The Six Piece Interactions (or
"connections")
1. Allied pieces: (1-2) defend AND limit pair.
2. Enemy pieces: (3) shielding, (4-5) attack
AND blockade pair, and (6) restrict.
Here is a simple example showing the (6) restrict
function, which was also present in the above
positions but I chose not to highlight it:

The enemy pieces are interacting by attacking the

same SQUARES on b8 and h8, thus restricting
each other from accessing those squares.
I believe these six functions adequately cover all
of the basic ways pieces interact with each other
on a chess board. These basic functions form the
basis for more complex interactions, and provides
the vocabulary needed to understand the more
complex systems of interactions needed for the
third level of vision.