Forcing Moves with Former World Champion Garry Kasparov
Attack! You may know that former World Champion Garry Kasparov is an amazing attacker in chess. Did you also know that he won a human rights award because he is a peaceful activist for freedom?!Kasparov was ranked number one in chess for more than 20 years! He is a great promoter of the game and its benefits. Plus he's a genius! Today we will look at a game of his where he makes chess look easy. By, Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl).
OK chess is not easy. But if you give your opponent only one choice each move, well, then everyone's moves start to look pretty obvious!
---
-----
Forcing moves are checks, threats, and captures. These severely limit your opponents' responses! Let's take a look at the following position. First, do a material count. Don't look at any moves yet.
----
----
After this simple evaluation, you might conclude that everything is equal. The material is the same, although White has a slight advantage because of the bishop versus knight. But remember that chess is both material AND position. So now look at the board again. What do you notice about the position? Look at:
---
- king safety;
- pawn structure;
- and piece placement/activity.
----
Who do you feel is doing the attacking here? And we also need to figure out our opponent's threats. What would Black do if it were his turn?
-----
----
Right, the knight is hanging. So Kaspy can either run away or go forward. What happens if the knight retreats?
---
----
----
Oh no! A pawn fork! 
Clearly Kasparov doesn't want to go backward. His next five moves will all be super forcing checks! Black will only have one possible move each time. Kasparov sacs his knight to lure the king closer!!
Clearly Kasparov doesn't want to go backward. His next five moves will all be super forcing checks! Black will only have one possible move each time. Kasparov sacs his knight to lure the king closer!!---
---
The next forcing move is harder to find. It's not a check, but rather sets up a mating net. Do you remember how strong kings are when they make opposition? Then find mate with the pawns!
----
----
Great work chesskids! It's really motivating to see chess games like this, because they give you great ideas for your own games. Two ideas for today: Use forcing moves, and when evaluating, look at material AND position! Remember: CTC (that means checks, threats, and captures)...Force yourself to study more chess!
---
RELATED STUDY MATERIAL
- Read the incredible story of Kasparov's first tournament and about what may be the best chess game ever played;
- Go raise your puzzle rating by focusing on checks, threats and captures;
- Read GiganticScream's personal story of meeting and training with Kasparov.