Temposchlucker

I'm slowly working my way through the 40 positions I have been investigating since Dec 3rd. Now I have a Tree of Scenario's, I have something to give the more subtle knowledge a place. It is remarkable how commonly usable this knowledge is. Did you for instance know: A target is protected by two defenders. When you trade off one defender, the other defender becomes immobile. When this kind of knowledge is discovered, it feels as being subtle knowledge. But when you think about it, it is actually rather surprising that you have never realized it before. It is no rocket science, and very obvious. And remarkably commonly usable.

The Tree Of Scenario's (TOS) has three main branches. Lack of space, lack of mobility due to function and lack of time. First I'm going to investigate lack of space. The typical examples of immobility due to lack of space are the trap and mate. For the sake of simplicity, I take mate as illustration. Work on the box We talked a lot about the imaginary box that is used to contain the hostile king. There are a few scenario's that are based on working on the box. Work on the material of the box. Your own pieces are “soft”. Which means that the king can walk “through” them. While the king cannot walk “through” his own pieces. The “hard” pieces of the opponent are the perfect blockaders. Hence it is best to use the enemy pieces to build the box. Plugging a hole in the box. Sometimes a king can skedaddle out of the box when he feels itchy. You must keep the box closed. Breaking the box open. When the king is surrounded by its own pieces, you can't deliver the fin...