Author: Jon Dart
Date: 11:37:28 09/22/01
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On September 22, 2001 at 08:38:36, Gian-Carlo Pascutto wrote: >Hi all, > >I'm in the process of rewriting my kingsafety, >does anyone have some good testpositions lying around? Here are a few things to look for. First, there are extreme cases like this: [D] 1k6/1b1qn3/r3pb2/2Bp1r1p/1Q1P1p2/3P1N2/2R1BPP1/1R4K1 b - - 0 1 Black is clearly in a world of hurt. No pawns around the king and lots of big pieces bearing down on it. But you have to decide, how much penalty to give? 2 pawns? 3? 4? Here's another where multiple factors contribute to the threat: the combination of an open file near the king, having that file occupied by a queen, and other pieces in close proximity. It's more than additive: the combination is deadly. Example: [D] r6q/p4pk1/R1pp2p1/8/3NPbp1/2N2n2/1PP2PP1/Q2R2K1 w - - 0 1 Then there's cases like this (this is WAC#9): [D] 3q1rk1/p4pp1/2pb3p/3p4/6Pr/1PNQ4/P1PB1PP1/4RRK1 b - - 0 1 Not as extreme, but Black has opened the Rook file and has a rook on it. Bad news if Black can bring more pieces into the attack. Again, though, how much penalty is subjective. But don't make it too low or the experts on ICC will take you apart. Having the king out in the opening or middlegame should give a high penalty. Other common cases to look for include the pawn storm (multiple pawns advancing on the king, possibly backed by pieces). For example: [D] r1b2rk1/2q1bp1p/p2pp1p1/1pn3P1/3RP2P/1BN1B3/PPP1QP2/2K4R b - h3 0 1 Then there's stuff like this: [D] r1r3k1/1b3p1p/p3pBp1/2bqP3/3N4/2P3R1/3Q2PP/5RK1 w - - 0 1 where Black has weak squares around the king due to having pushed g6. White has multiple threats, the crudest one being Qh6, although that might not be best here. Then there are various kinds of latent threat - the king is well-covered, but pieces or pawns are well-positioned to start an attack. E.g. [D] 2r1r1k1/1p1q1ppp/p2p2b1/2nN4/P3PR2/3B2Q1/1PP3PP/5R1K b - - 0 1 This is from a blindfold game, Polgar-Kamsky : Polgar can do this kind of attack with her eyes closed! Black is not in immediate danger but the rooks doubled on a file near the king and the Queen coming close should give some warning.
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