Chess lessons › Good chess habits
Calculating forcing lines to the end
Follow every check and capture until the position is quiet, then count who is ahead.
The idea
Follow every check and capture until the position is quiet.
- One rook comes down the open file and checks the king.
- The other rook was waiting behind it, ready to recapture.
- The queen finishes it, once the king has run out of squares.
In a game: Before you count who is ahead, make sure no check or capture is left for either side.
How the lesson begins
A forcing move is a check, a capture or a serious threat: it leaves your opponent only a few replies. When you find one, do not stop to count material straight away. Follow every check and capture, for both sides, until neither side has one left. Only then is the position quiet, and only then should you judge who is ahead.
Here is a forcing line of five moves, three for Black and two for White. Step through it without stopping to count in the middle. After Rxf1 White is a rook up, and after Rxf1+ the material is level again. Only the position at the very end tells you who has won.
- 30... Rf1+ 31. Rxf1 Rxf1+ The second rook recaptures, with check again.
- 32. Kd2 Qe1# Checkmate. The king has no square left.
Find the move
White to move. Start with a check that also attacks a loose piece. Find it, and the move after it.
A hint
Move the queen to check the king. What else does she attack from her new square?
Show the answer
48. Qc3+ Ke4 49. Qxb2
Qc3+ checks the king along the third rank and attacks the rook on b2, which nothing defends. After Ke4, Qxb2 takes the rook.