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by Bruce Pandolfini
Hosted by
Mark Donlan
The Q & A Way by Bruce Pandolfini
No One s That Old
Question I m not a big player of chess. I was playing my brother and one
of my pawns reached to the other side. When I was young, I remember
someone saying that if the pawn reaches the other side, you can take back
a captured piece. If this is true, where do you place the recaptured piece?
Marilyn C. Krasch (USA)
Treasure Chess
by Bruce Pandolfini
Answer Just a little review. If a pawn reaches the other side, whether by
advance or capture, it must be promoted. This means it must be changed
into a piece  any piece, except the king. It can t continue to be a pawn.
Most of the time one makes a new queen, even if her original queen is
still on the board. In fact, if somehow all eight of her pawns sneak
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through, the promoter can make as many as eight new queens, though one
the games from
extra queen is almost always sufficient to force checkmate. Nor does the
Pandolfini s
ChessCafe.com in the
promoting player have to change the pawn into a queen. She can take any
Chess Challenges
DGT Game Viewer.
of the other pieces, converting the pawn into a rook, bishop, or knight.
by Bruce Pandolfini
The Complete
Changing a pawn into anything other than a queen is called
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underpromotion, because none of these pieces (rook, bishop, knight) are
as valuable as the queen. Instances when underpromoting to a rook or
bishop are rare, but occasionally underpromoting to a knight is
purposeful, either because of the knight s ability to give a forking check
in a way different from that of the line-pieces (queen, rook, bishop) or for
some other tactical reason. Most of the time, however, one makes an extra
queen for its sheer power, so promoting is typically referred to as
queening.
Getting around to your questions, as I understand them, you do not have
to draw your new piece from the stockpile of previously captured pieces.
Their type and number are irrelevant. As far as where you place the new
piece, put it on the square to which the promoting pawn has just moved.
You simply replace the pawn with the new piece on the same square.
A practical concern is, what should you do if a queen is not readily
available on the side of the board? Or, to pose a related question, how can
the promoted pawn be distinguished from an ordinary pawn?
Putting aside that a pawn placed on the last rank can t legally stay a pawn,
there are several things you might try. You might be able to take a
captured rook and turn it upside down, if the top is flat enough. If not, or
if this isn t possible, tie a rubberband around the promoted pawn. If this
can t be done, use scotch tape. And if this doesn t work, you ll simply
have to remember which pawn is no longer a pawn. It s a challenge, like
most moves in the black and white jungle.
Question I am 70 years old. I ve been playing postal chess for many
years. I just can t seem to improve (1200). Is it that I am too old to
comprehend the game further? Joe Koenig (USA)
Answer Generally, the longer you look at positions, the more you will
derive from them. An advantage of postal chess is that it gives you a
lengthier period in which to analyze, but this abundance of time has value
only if you use it. Once you get beyond the known moves of your chosen
opening, you should devote at least 15-30 minutes per turn to decide your
next move in clear positions, and at least double that in more complex
situations.
Furthermore, make sure to go over your postal games after their
completion with your respective opponents. See what they suggest and
what they think you missed. Don t be afraid to ask questions, for this is an
excellent way to learn things and gain comprehension. Having already
invested effort in these encounters, it makes sense to spend a little more
time to overcome any obstacles to real understanding.
Playing postal chess can be terrific fun, but it doesn t necessarily increase
your skill. To do that, you might start with an overall evaluation of your
game by a competent player, preferably one who is experienced at
helping people make decisions about their chess futures. Once you find
this advisor, think in terms of meeting with him or her for at least a
couple of sessions, just to be evaluated. Have this sympathetic person
help you in planning a course of study that can be pursued on your own.
Then follow up with additional sessions every month or so, to get
feedback on how you re doing. You can probably get the names of a few
worthy people from your local chess club. Call them all up, tell them what
you want to do, hear what they have to say, and give one of them a try. If
it doesn t work out, you can always change teachers.
Concerning how old you are, it s true that the ability to maintain
concentration can decrease with age. But this doesn t mean that you can t
get any better as you get older, especially if you believe in yourself and
love what you re doing. Consider IM Walter Shipman, who, at age 70, is
having some of the best results of his already distinguished career.
Question Has anyone written a book about how to evaluate and analyze a
position? R. R. Gonzalez (USA)
Answer I m not aware of a lot of books that treat this subject fully, but a
large number of them offer sections on it. Many others touch upon the
theme in the context of presenting various concepts, so there s plenty of
material from which to choose. You might check out Alexander Kotov s
Think like a Grandmaster. It furnishes some cues and tries to show what
goes through the head of a grandmaster. C.J.S. Purdy s The Search for
Chess Perfection, as well as several other works by him, may also prove
valuable. Purdy s exposition is clear and orderly, offering numerous rules
and carefully presented steps. Romanovsky s Chess Middlegame
Planning has some useful ideas, as does Paul Schmidt s How
Chessmasters Think. Then there s Jeremy Silman s How to Reassess Your
Chess. This is a great book, by one of America s foremost chess teachers.
Silman is particularly adept at providing insights on chess thinking for a
wide range of players. These are just a few of the books that come to
mind. You can t go wrong with any of them.
Question I am age 40, with an ELO rating of 1980. Do you think I could
get to FM level at 2300? If so, what are the best training methods I should
employ to at least attempt reaching my goal? Kevin Bailey (USA)
Answer First of all, Kevin, I do not know you, so I can t respond to you
as an individual. But if you re asking me to reply in terms of your class
(age 40, strong A player), I would say that it s quite possible for you to
achieve your goal, though you should expect to involve yourself in a lot
of hard work.
There is no one best way to study chess, and what succeeds with one
person may fail with another. But if I had to recommend doing anything,
it would be to work with a strong player, twice a week or more. You
should play real training games, at least sixty minutes per side, if not two
hours each, and afterward analyze the games in minute detail. Get the
master/teacher to explain why he or she did and didn t do certain things,
and find out what you should have done and why. Over the course of
time, the sheer momentum of this accumulated experience should lead to
significant improvement in your play. Will it make you a 2300 player?
This, of course, is up to you and the gods. May Caissa be with you.
Question I have read many books and play as many games as I can. My
question is, when I read these books I understand the principles of play,
strategy and tactics, but I find it hard to implement them in my own
games. Are there exercises I can do to better improve my sight? My
openings are OK. Most of my games go to pot in the middlegame, and if I
survive the middlegame, I almost always have a tendency to sabotage the
endgame. I can read until I am blue in the face, but I really want to
understand what everyone means when they say  The board told them the
correct move. Martin Mendelsohn (USA)
Answer Be cautious about listening to what everyone (and everything)
says. Even in the computer age, no board has ever advised me to my
satisfaction. The best things you can do to improve your general sight at
the board, electronic or not, are to take your time and to get into the habit
of analyzing everything in your head, no matter how daunting. You
should never have to move the pieces to check an idea. If you ve done
your mental work, you know your ideas are right or good by virtue of
having already seen them in the mind s eye. Yes, this may sound
intimidating for those who haven t practiced analysis, which is why you
must try to analyze in your head every chance you get. This is the way to
become comfortable with the process, and the process is essential to
quality chess performance. Besides, why would you want to move the
pieces on the board when moving them in your head is so much more fun?
We close with a poem submitted by one of readers.
Men of War
For fifteen hundred years or more
These famous men have been at war
They fight by day, they fight by night
On squares of black and squares of white.
And so they come face to face
Armed with sword, axe and mace
Soldiers stand in double line
Pawns in front and kings behind.
Towering rooks do guard our flanks
While watching over waiting ranks
Next to rooks my knights are placed
Dressed in armour silk and lace
Lances pointed at their foe
Waiting for King to order go.
Bishops stand upon their square
Perfectly still in silent prayer
Men of god they may be
But here to fight for victory.
My queen she stands upon my left
And of my men she fights the best
No mercy will my queen bestow
On other queens or ranks below.
She s feared by men one and all
From towering rooks to pawns so small.
She s feared by Bishop,Knight and King
She s here to fight, she s here to win.
My army s famous as my name
For in their King, I m Charlemagne.
My men are ready, they re at their best
These ancient warriors
These men of chess.
By C.R. Carroll (Australia)
This article first appeared at ChessCafe.com in October 1999.
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