Temposchlucker

The first six positions of my database of doom are perfectly solvable with the aid of PoP, LoA and Fun. This raises of course the question if this is going to help to build the cues I need. For this six position this is probably the case. I missed a few PoPs, and a few LoAs, and some Fun. I used some bad methods like capturing with the cheapest piece first without further thinking. Those methods will render themselves useless when confronted with the logic of PoPLoAFun, so within this very limited sample the answer to the question is a resounding yes. Time to enhance the sample. Today I did a few exercises in standard mode in stead of in blitz mode at CT. Those problems are higher rated. I found problems that are not covered by the PLF method (PoP LoA Fun). There are problems with other motifs, like the promotion motif and the assault motif, which are not covered by the three motifs of the PLF method. But besides that, the PLF method seems to work well. Albeit I have to learn a lot...

My own scheme of a complete direct attack would be as follows One attacker, one target. Attacker Road to attacking square Attacking square Road to target square Target square Road from target to target square Target With this scheme it is possible to describe every obstacle in an attack, and every preliminary move. Is the attacker already on the attacking square? Is the road to the attacking square blocked? Can the attacker reach the attacking square with tempo? Is the attacking square free from defense? Is the road from attacking square to target square blocked?  Is the target square free from defense? Is the target already on the target square? Is the road from the target to the target square free? Can I force the target towards the target square? With a duplo attack the scheme gets more complicated. One attacker, two targets. Attacker Road to attacking square Attacking square Road to target square 1 Target square 1 Road from target to target squar...

It is surprising to see how fast a LoA that seems totally obstructed, can be opened. That's why you have to follow the LoA to the rim of the board. Black to move 2k2b1r/1pp3p1/p1p3qp/4Pn2/N4Bb1/1P1r1N2/P3QPPP/R4R1K b - - 0 1 [ solution ] Encircling f3 LoA g6-g1 f3-h1 Function d2, g2 protect f3 Error 1. ... Bxf3 seems a double attack on Q and M#1, but gxf3 gets rid of the attacker which can cover h1. Missing cue: Nd4 is the way to add to the superior force against f3 with tempo (double attack) cue: importance of keeping an attacker for the LoA f3-h1 In general: a piece that is B.A.D. can be encircled by harassing a defender or by adding an extra piece to the attack with tempo (which means a duplo attack)

Black to move  1b1r1r1k/1p4qp/p1pBn3/6p1/2P1P3/Q6P/P1B3P1/3RR2K b - - 0 1 [ solution ] Encircling d6 Geometry d8-d1 b8-h2 f8-f1 g7-a1 Function a3 protects d6 d1 protects d6 Error 1. ... Bxd6 take with cheapest piece. But that's just an exchange. Misleading variant: 1. ... Bxd6 2. Rxd6 Rxd6 3.Qxd6 Qc3 double attack Why Why does 1. ... Rxd6 work? At first sight, I thought that d8-d1 was the most important line of attack (LoA). But the only important point of it is d6, the point on which you try to mount a superior force. The most important LoA is b8-h2 though. The exchange of the rooks diminishes white's influence along the LoA. 1. ... Rxd6 2.Rxd6 Qe5 builds up a battery along the LoA, at the same time outnumbering the defenses of d6 and pinning the rook. Missing cue: pin while loading a battery

This is not going to be a vegetarian Christmas, that's for sure. Diagram 1. White to move 7k/ppr1npp1/1q5p/3b4/N2Np3/PP2P2P/2r2PP1/1QR3K1 w - - 0 1 [ solution ] Encircling c2 type of immobility: lack of time b6 type of immobility: function Geometry c1 - c8 Function c7 protects c2, e7 b6 protects c7 e7 protects d5 Error Taking the juicy queen b6 in stead of the meager looking rook on c2 Not firing cue 1: zwischen check Rxc1+ Not firing cue 2: black queen has no safe place to protect c7

After a lot of thinking, reading and talking, we have build us a nice carcass. Now let's see if we can put some meat on it. To make it more attractive for the vultures view. Diagram 1. Black to move 1r3r1k/p5bp/3p1Nn1/3q2BQ/1pp2p2/3P4/PPP4P/4RKR1 b - - 1 1 [ solution ] Encircling It seems logical to keep matters simple, and just ask ourselves "which piece(s) am I encircling now " without further ado. In the future things might be different, but we must not becloud our mind with that just yet. The task of the "encircling cue" is to get our attention to the right part of the board. If the encirclement doesn't work just that, then that is what we are going to think about. Can I make it work? You can compare it to the geometrical motif. There you follow the aura of your attackers to the rim of the board, without worrying whether you can clear the line of attack or not. For the time being. Just to inventory where the line of attack is. Which pieces ...

After reading the chapter about combinations in Lasker's Manual of chess, I extended the tree of motifs. Tree of motifs vs. 0.3

Sometimes, a tail piece of a pin isn't in place just yet. There are several ways to lure the target into the line of attack. Capture is one of them. Diagram 1. White to move 2r2q2/2r2pk1/2R3p1/3pp2p/2bP1N1n/4P1P1/4BP1K/R1Q5 w - - 1 1 [ solution ] The c-file is the line of attack. After 1.Rxc7, the bishop on c4 is immediately pinned. The aura of the white queen extends to c8. After 1. ... Rxc7, the tail piece of the pin is in place. I promote the "coat hook" target placement to the branch of the geometry motif. Tree of motifs vs. 0.2

After an unexpected twist, we all of a sudden have a tree of motifs to hang our knowledge on in stead of a coatrack. At the moment, I have stumbled on three motifs. One of the things we have to do, is hanging the coat hooks we already discovered on their rightful place in the tree of motifs. But first, let's see if we can discover what the rationale is behind the motifs. Rationale behind the geometry motif Geometry is everything that concerns the lines of attack. Theoretically is should be possible to have a tactic with no straight line of attack whatsoever. Yet that is highly unlikely though. Usually, a combination exists of more tactical themes. One theme, take for instance a knight fork, can be without a straight line of attack, but 3 or 4 themes combined cannot. Because 4 of the 5 duplo attacks consist totally of themes with straight lines (pin, skewer, roentgen, discovered attack), while a lot of the double attacks are based on a straight line of attack either. So if you ...

So far, our findings weren't just limited to the pin. Which is great, since it makes them more often applicable. The following might look familiar, because I already posted about it before. When I came across it lately, I saw the geometry of it. Luckily there was a pin involved, so I could use it in this series about pins. Diagram 1. White to move 2b1r3/3n1p1p/p1Nb1nk1/3p2p1/N7/2B2PPB/PPR2K1P/8 w - - 1 1 [ solution ] This is a position where my mind wanders around for quite some time. With trial and error the wrong cues are triggered first. I have done an awful lot of analysis on this kind of positions. And although that often leads to a deep understanding of the specific position at hand, it usually doesn't yield anything that goes beyond that very position. The reason for that is, that the positions differ so much. Chess is such a rich game, that no game resembles another. And even the tactical combinations are extremely rich. Which is the main reason we don't co...

Alright, after a cumbersome begin, we finally have a place to start from. A coat rack to hang our knowledge on. Value Defenders Geometry Initiative Target placement Exploiting immobility Opening of the line of attack Connection to other tactical themes As you see, I have added an extra clothes hook to the coat rack: Connection to other tactical themes . In a combination, a pin is often interlocked with a preceding tactical theme and/or a following tactical theme. To keep matters simple, I define a target as a piece , not as a square . Squares as the goal of a pin are treated when I describe the connection to other tactical themes. Since squares are the connection points to other themes. Let's have a closer look to the pin from our starting point. Diagram 1. White to move Alas, Lucas chess doesn't allow positions without a king. Be not distracted by the fact that it looks like a chess position. Imagine the white king isn't there. When the positions become m...

Due to my previous actions, I have a database of 110 problems which I failed to solve correctly. I already have been putting a vast amount of effort in the analysis of these problems, so it seems logical to use them for the future genesis of knowledge. If I use problems I showed you before, please bear with me. The position might already be familiar, but the yet to derive knowledge is not. The sheer amount of different "techniques" in the dataset is simply baffling. There are so much different things to know, that it seems almost impossible to distill some knowledge that is commonly usable. I decided to start with the pin, since that is what the book of Weteschnik does. Let's describe a few things we know about pins. I reckon the pin to the family of the duplo attacks. With one move, you attack two targets at the same time. The head and the tail of the pin. The opponent needs two tempi to get both the head and the tail out of harms way. Unless he has a dual function m...

What didn't work out: The board vision exercises as presented in my sidebar, AKA "the salt mines" Decompose the solution for an hour and visualize the results for a few minutes Imagine the future position with the aid of a verbal narrative Identify the function of the pieces and visualize this Identify the tactical themes of a combination and visualize this Verbal formulation of the purpose of a move Solving problems extreme fast Solving problems extreme slow Solving extreme many problems Doing extreme many repetitions Solving without repetition Playing blindfold chess Playing correspondence chess Playing a lot of blitz Playing a lot of rapid Playing a lot of slow OTB Stoyko exercises Extreme difficult problems Extreme easy problems All kind of scanning techniques All kinds of thought processes All kinds of board vision exercises Exercises for specific pieces Themed exercises Random exercises With clock Without clock Visualization of covered ...