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Chess Guide for the Intermediate Player/Tactics for beginners

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Value

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Value is an approximate number for evaluation and analysis. If you are "up in material", the value will be positive; vice versa.

Let's say the pawn is worth 1 unit. Then, bishops and knights (also known as "minor pieces") are worth 3 units, rooks are worth 5, and queens are worth 9. (They are called "major pieces".) The king, of course, is worth ∞ unit, because if you lose your king, you lose the game.

There are two variations of this value system. One says minor pieces is worth 3½ units, the other is more complicated. We'll see the second one in the "Engine Programming" chapter because it is usually used in chess engines.

Note that units are usually referred to as "points".

Defending

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Defending is the simplest tactic. If you place one of your pieces so that it attacks a square occupied by a friendly piece, the former is defending the latter. If your opponent captures the defended piece, you can recapture with the defending piece (see below for a description of an exchange). However, if after a defending piece moves and the king would be exposed, the defending piece would not be able to move.

Exchanging

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Exchanging means to capture a defended piece. Because that piece is defended, your piece will (probably) immediately get recaptured by the defender. Exchanging is also known as "trading".

We can use the chess piece values in order to decide to exchange or not. What's the value of the piece that you captured? What about the pieces that he captured? For example, you should NOT use a queen to capture a defended pawn (or "trade a queen for a pawn" because a queen is worth 9 points, but a pawn is only worth 1 point.

Sometimes, exchanging can be complex, because a piece can have multiple defenders and attackers, so after the first attacker is lost, the second attacker can continue. This is called a complex exchange. Calculate carefully before a complex exchange. A way to create complex exchange is to build "batteries", which are the lining up of multiplex long-ranged pieces in a row so they can make breakthrough on the piece it is aiming even though that piece is defended.

Trade Example 1: an "even" trade

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Now we are going to look at an even trade which happens in opening. An even trade is a trade where you didn't gain any advantage on values, but also didn't lose any.

a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 white bishopc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 is known as the Ruy Lopez Opening (also known as the Spanish Opening). The b5 bishop is threatening the c6 knight, and can trade it (which means to capture something and get recaptured) off or retreat any time.


a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black kingb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black pawnb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 white bishopc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
3...a6 is the Morphy Defense. Black forces White to make a choice: trade on c6 or retreat to a5.
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black kingb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black pawnb6 black kingc6 white bishopd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
4. Bxc6. White decides to take. Now Black can take the bishop with b7 or d7 pawn. Because bishops and knights are minor pieces, this trade is even (3 points for 3 points).

Trade Example 2: an "uneven" trade

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a b c d e f g h
8a8 black queenb8 black kingc8 black kingd8 black rooke8 black kingf8 black kingg8 black kingh8 black king8
7a7 black kingb7 black kingc7 black kingd7 black kinge7 black kingf7 black kingg7 black kingh7 black king7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 black kingb2 black kingc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white kingg2 black kingh2 black king2
1a1 white rookb1 black kingc1 black kingd1 black kinge1 black kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Black is given a choice: exchange or retreat.
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black kingb8 black kingc8 black kingd8 black rooke8 black kingf8 black kingg8 black kingh8 black king8
7a7 black kingb7 black kingc7 black kingd7 black kinge7 black kingf7 black kingg7 black kingh7 black king7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 black kingb2 black kingc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white kingg2 black kingh2 black king2
1a1 black queenb1 black kingc1 black kingd1 black kinge1 black kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Black decides to take the rook.
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black kingb8 black kingc8 black kingd8 black rooke8 black kingf8 black kingg8 black kingh8 black king8
7a7 black kingb7 black kingc7 black kingd7 black kinge7 black kingf7 black kingg7 black kingh7 black king7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 black kingb2 black kingc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 black kingf2 white kingg2 black kingh2 black king2
1a1 white rookb1 black kingc1 black kingd1 black kinge1 black kingf1 black kingg1 black kingh1 black king1
a b c d e f g h
White recaptures. This was an uneven exchange (5 points for 9 points). (Note that this position is a draw.)

Batteries

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Batteries are formed when multiple pieces work together (e.g. rook-rook, queen-rook, or bishop-pawn).

A triple battery is formed when the queen and two rooks work together. It can be very dangerous. The queen should be placed behind one or both rooks, as it is the most powerful piece.

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