Lessons of a Great Battle

Gambiteer walks among us

Here are four lessons of A Great Chess Battle, the ultimate goal of those players who consider chess more as an adventure than a deadly serious sport. Sometimes the Great Battle leads to A Brilliant Victory, which is always nice, but the Great Battle alone can make the chessplayer satisfied.

Hereafter I call this adventurous player by the name Gambiteer. Of course, one does not have to play gambits to reach the noble goal of brave chess, but it definitely helps. Gambiteer's mission is twofold:

1. Win fast. Giving a checkmate as soon as possible gives some pleasure. As White is assumed to have a small advantage in the opening, Gambiteer has to break some rules and set the board on fire in order to take total control of the game. His style of play has to be active, optimistic, risky, often unsound. He has to set opening traps constantly.
2. Fight brilliantly. The great battle gives the greatest pleasure; the result is less important. Fascinating combinations, sacrifices and attacks inspire Gambiteer and give the whole meaning for the game. Games are wild and spectacular, moves double-edged.

Lesson 1: Surprise, surprise!

Without a plan, many players just follow well-known paths in the opening. A strange opening will shake them awake. Unorthodox openings require an exploring mind, but they also suit for the lazy players! The explanation is that instead of learning all the trendy variations of the respectable openings, Gambiteer can go deeply in some rare openings and variations, thus most often outplaying the opponent. Gambiteer is not looking for the objectively strongest move but the strangest one.

Lesson 2: Take risks?!

Gambiteer walks a tightrope even as White, taking a risk of losing the slight advantage given by the first move -- in order to gain even bigger advantage. But it should also be considered what are the risks of not taking the risk: the game might turn into some standard, boring, easy-to-understand opening.

According to Avni, the analogy between chess and war is not perfect because chessplayers have equal chances: the starting position is (almost) equal, both players make one move in their turn, and they both see the whole battlefield all the time. What is most important, it is notably easier to take risks in chess as, after all, it is only game -- for most of us anyway.

Lesson 3: Create complications!?

The more you have pieces, the more you can create combinations. Gambiteer's guiding stars, combinations, typically arise from complicated positions that no-one can objectively assess. This strategy includes inherent optimism: finding the best plan in complicated positions is difficult, and the player more familiar with that type of positions clearly has better chances. Gambiteer trusts his imagination in finding more profound tactics; many players dislike complications and are prone to make weak moves.

The player with more material wins most endgames, and Gambiteer by definition has less material. Simplifying the position, for reaching endgame, is therefore hardly ever an option for Gambiteer: he knows by heart that all exchanges shall be avoided. In fact, he considers exchanging pieces only in three cases:

• Gain time. By exchanging a piece with a tempo, Gambiteer gains lead in development. For example, after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 (Blackmar-Diemer Gambit) exf3, White has gained two tempi as Black has moved one pawn three times.
• Gain space or create immediate threats. By exchanging a defending piece, Gambiteer weakens the opponent's position and creates pressure, forcing the opponent to reorganize his pieces.
• Gain material. Gambiteer is not looking for material -- Caissa forbid! -- but sometimes the opponent gives material back in order to defend, and it might be unwise not to take it.

Lesson 4: Attack!!

To win fast, one must attack. Typically only the player with the initiative can attack. The initiative can be gained in two ways: passively, by waiting for the opponent's error; or actively, by playing in an unorthodox way.

Gambiteer is used to sacrifice in order to take the initiative. Steinitz urged the player with the initiative to init an attack. But how do you know when you have the initiative? Hard facts (space or time advantage) often tell it, but there are also psychological factors: by always attacking, Gambiteer may eventually gain the initiative!

Start to fight

There are a huge amount of wild and unexplored openings to choose from. For the beginning, Unorthodox Chess Openings (UCO) by Schiller introduces more than 1,200 of them! A review of UCO by British Chess Magazine put it nicely: "Schiller seems more comfortable sifting through the garbage of the more weird and wonderful opening-mutations than appreciating the best of contemporary theory."

Many players miss promising opportunities just because of their deep love for material. They simply are afraid of sacrificing -- unless, of course, there is an immediate win, or extra material is clearly to be gained in the end.

Spielmann gave an advice: "In the opening of a game; play like a book; in the midgame, play like a magician; in the ending, play like a machine." Choose unorthodox openings, and you can play the opening by your own book!

Example: Diemer-Duhm Gambit