Squeezing the dynamic killbox



I use a problem set with a lot of sacrifices around the king. Of course you have the usual tactics, which we all know. What we do need most, though, is to identify the logical scenarios that are involved. A useful metaphor is to identify the killbox that the king is in, and to build your logic around that.

White to move

r4rk1/pbq2pp1/1p1b4/4B2p/7P/2PBQ2R/PP3PP1/R3K3 w Q - 1 20

Janowski, Dawid Markelowicz vs. Saemisch, Friedrich, Marianske Lazne 1925

One square is not accounted for: h8. Yet you have already a piece in place to cover that: Be5.

  • 20. Qh6! f6
  • 21. Qh7+ Kf7
  • 22. Bxd6 Qxd6
  • 23. Re3
Look how the killbox is morphing. 

Black to move



These moves are not the only way to win. But I want to show you how the killbox evolves over time. It requires a different way of thinking. The tactics are subordinate to the killbox. Just like the tempo moves.

Comments

  1. I decided to put new problems on hold. There is still so much wealth in the 850 problems I have already absorbed, that I can achieve more by fully mining these resources first.

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  2. This is the message after my latest inquiries: postpone new stuff. Use system 2 to discover more in the stuff you already master to a certain degree.

    1. Discover stuff with system 2
    2. Spaced repetition of the stuff (memorization=precursor absorption)
    3. Discover more stuff with system 2
    4. Split until every move has its own logic (into tactical chess words)
    5. Absorb the vocabulary

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