Uttering a sentence in the chess language

 The word

The previous post was about chess words. It consists of mini decision trees of one move deep. Very much like the IF THEN ELSE constructs in programming. It is important to look at the most principled variation first. If you sac a bishop on h7, you must first consider the potentially worst case scenario: that he takes it. If the worst case scenario works, then you can look at the next variation. If it doesn't work, you are wasting your time anyway.

The word consists of the conceptual pattern of the move (system 1) and its logical consequences (system 2).

The sentence

A chess sentence is the logical narrative that describes the plan.

In the beginning was the Word. But where is the beginning of a chess sentence? According to GM Smirnov you must reconsider your plan every time a piece is exchanged or a pawn is moved. These moves have in common that they are irreversible. A plan is a sentence.

In an unfamiliar situation you can start at any word in the sentence, based on the salient cues that you encounter. But in an ideal world you start at the beginning of the sentence.

How does such sentence look like?

An example

White to move

bn2r1k1/2p2ppp/3p1b2/5N2/2q1B3/2P2Q1P/5PP1/2B1R1K1 w - - 0 24

Harikrishna, Pentala vs. Vishnu, Prasanna, Douglas 2015

The salient cues:

• Bishop e4 is cross pinned
• Rook e1 is undefended
• Rook e8 is undefended
• Bishop a8 is undefended
• Discovered attack bishop x h7+
• Clearance with tempo by Nxd6

These words form the most principled sentence:

1. Nxd6
2. cxd6
3. Bxh7+
4. Kxh7
5. Qh5+
6. Kg8
7. Rxe8#

Word for word:

1.Nxd6 This clears the diagonal e4-h7 with tempo

2.cxd6  The worst case scenario. The pawn takes the knight.

3.Bxh7+ Discovered attack with check.

4.Kxh7 Worst case scenario. King accepts your sacrifice.

5.Qh5+ Chases the black king to the back rank with tempo. Frees the queen from the attack by the black bishop.

6.Kg8 Skedaddle the check

7.Rxe8# Mate.

The most principled variation works. Now you must start from word 1 and look for alternative scenarios.

Alternative responses:

2.cxd6
Blacks queen is under attack. If black wants to do something different, he must at least have a counter attack against the white queen. Bxe4 or Rxe4 springs to mind (IF ... THEN ... ELSE).

4.Kxh7

The only alternative is Kf8 Rxe8+ trading your problem piece with tempo, Kxe8 Qxa8.

This should give you a clear impression what you need to become fluent in the chess language. You can only speak chess when you have absorbed enough relevant chess words. Only then you can expect to be capable of visualizing a variation.