But in such cases the sacrificing of material has its
compensation in some particular advantage of position. As
principles of position are difficult for beginners to grasp, I
propose to defer their consideration for the present and to
devote my attention first to such combinations as involve
questions of material. Let us master a simple device that makes
most combinations easy both for attack and defence. It amounts
merely to a matter of elementary arithmetic, and if the beginner
neglects it, he will soon be at a material disadvantage.
Diagram 4 may serve as an example:
---------------------------------------
8 | | | | | #R | | | #K |
|---------------------------------------|
7 | #P | #P | #Q | #Kt| #R | | #P | |
|---------------------------------------|
6 | | | #Kt| #B | #P | | | #P |
|---------------------------------------|
5 | | | | | | | | |
|---------------------------------------|
4 | | | | | | ^P | | |
|---------------------------------------|
3 | | ^P | | ^Kt| | ^Kt| | |
|---------------------------------------|
2 | ^P | ^B | | ^Q | ^R | | ^P | ^P |
|---------------------------------------|
1 | | | | | ^R | | ^K | |
---------------------------------------
A B C D E F G H
Diag. 4.
It is Black's move, and we will suppose he wishes to play P-K4. A
beginner will probably calculate thus: I push on my pawn, he
takes with his pawn, my Knight takes, so does his, then my Bishop
takes, and so on. This is quite wrong, and means waste of time
and energy.
When the beginner considers a third or fourth move in such a
combination, he will already have forgotten which pieces he
intended to play in the first moves. The calculation is perfectly
simple upon the following lines: I play P-K4, then my pawn is
attacked by a pawn and two Knights, a Bishop and two Rooks, six
times in all. It is supported by a Bishop, two Knights, two Rooks
and a Queen, six times in all. Therefore I can play P-K4,
provided the six units captured at K4 are not of greater value
than the six white units which are recaptured. In the present
instance both sides lose a pawn, two Knights, two Rooks, and a
Bishop, and there is no material loss. This established, he can
embark on the advance of the KP without any fear.
