How to Double Your Chess Performance?

Posted on January 31, 2012 by iPlayooChess in Beginner's Corner, General Chess Articles

Double attack!

All chess combinations are based on either double attack, or combined attack (for definitions see here).

Three variants of double attack

Double attack is a powerful weapon. It is a much broader term than fork. It covers the following situations:

1. Two units are attacking an object; this is the basic form of cooperative piece play in chess using concentration of force (which is one of the main principles of warfare),

2. One unit is attacking (or threatening to attack) two objects; the object of attack may be an enemy piece or important square,

3. Two units are attacking two objects; that happens, for example, with discovered attack.

It is important to note that double attack not only includes attacking contact (as defined here), but also threat of attack on an enemy piece, or any other threat, like checkmate, stalemate, pawn promotion, etc.

Elke Rehder, Schach Läufer im Angriff/Chess Bishop Attacking

Three stages of attack

There are several stages of the attack. Before a direct attacking contact is established, there is the threat of attack (or indirect attack) that is one move away from an actual attack.

Then there is the threat of attack of second order (or preliminary threat) that is two moves away from a direct attack.

For example, after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4, the white bishop is attacking the f7-pawn. After 1.e4, there is a threat of attack on the f7-pawn. In the starting position, there is the threat of attack of second order on the f7 by the bishop.

We see the attack is developing gradually over time. The bishop’s influence is increasing over a sequence of two moves.

Players with strong board vision see not only direct attacks, but also threats lurking in the position. It offers them a chance to respond successfully by setting up defenses in time.

Here is an example of double attack:

Perrina - Besant, USA, 1944

1.Bb4! Double attack in the form of a discovered attack. Black king resigns as after

1…Qxb4 2.Qxd4 there’s another double attack consisting of the direct attack on the rook and a threat of discovered attack on the queen.

Defending against double attack

In the above example we saw how double attack was hard to parry. Black can carry out one threat (here castle of move the rook), but the other threat remains unmet.

If you think about it, double attack on two targets (variants ## 2 and 3 above) is a form of restriction (as is known, putting restraint on the enemy is a cardinal feature of chess and warfare). The side under attack can repel attack on one target, but the other target is restricted to move, or otherwise defended, as one doesn’t have an extra move to make.

While it is extremely difficult to defend against a double attack, here’s an example showing it is possible. And that by using – a double attack!

J. Kling, 1849. White to move and win

White seems to be in a precarious situation: black queen is threatening to checkmate, while the king is attacking the rook. So what can White do against this double attack?

1.Ra4 Defense by a double attack! There’s the direct attack on the queen, and the threat of checkmate (2.Rh3#)

Black has two options:

I. 1…Qxa4 2.Rh3+ driving the king on the 4th rank 2…Kd4 for a skewer 3.Rh4+ that is actually a double attack consisting of the direct attack on the king and the threat of attack on the queen

II. 1…Qc8 another double attack targeting h3-square (to stop 2.Rh3+) while still threatening checkmate (2…Qc1#). However, white plays it anyway 2.Rh3 Qxh3 and finishes off with another skewer (=double attack) 3.Ra3.

So double your chess performance by using more double attack tricks!

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Momir Radovic is a chess instructor at Kennesaw State University. He maintains a chess blog at http://iplayoochess.wordpress.com/