Black has just played the bishop from f5 to c2, attacking the a4 pawn.
Seemingly there is no way to protect that pawn. It's gone, and we simply have to accept this loss, which is rather significant in this part of the game, with this few pieces left. A pawn advantage at this stage is extremely important, but we just lost it.
Or did we?
There is a way to protect the pawn from being captured, but it's a rather sneaky indirect way of protection. Play the knight to b7!
How does this protect the pawn? The knight isn't directly protecting it. However, it is protecting it indirectly. If the bishop were to now capture the a4 pawn, we can fork the king and the bishop, and gain the bishop:
The a4 pawn cannot be captured. We could later protect the pawn directly by moving the knight to c5, but as long as the black king remains at d7, there is no hurry. If black moves something else, we can afford to likewise do something else. If the black king moves anywhere, we can then play the knight to c5, safely protecting the a4 pawn directly.
This is one of the tactical aspects of chess that can be difficult for many beginners to see and learn to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment