Chess Counting - Exercises Page 2
This set of exercises is taken from real game situations. You'll be asked to decide whether a certain Pawn or piece is safe.
Exercise 7
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It's white to move. Is the black Pawn on b5 safe? If not, with which piece should white capture the pawn?
Exercise 8
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White to move. Is the black Rook on d8 safe?
Exercise 9
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White to move. Is the black Knight on d4 safe?
Answers
Ex 7: The black Pawn is not safe. White can capture the Pawn with his Rook or Knight. Note: Capturing with the Queen would be a terrible mistake! After 1. Qxb5 Rxb5 2. Rxb5 black does not have to recapture with his Queen to continue the exchanges. Remember: You aren't forced to play out exchanges right to the end.
Ex 8: No, the black Rook is not safe. If played out completely, the exchange would go: 1. Rxd8 Rxd8 2. Qxd8 Qxd8 3. Rxd8, and white comes out a Rook ahead.
Ex 9: Yes, the black Knight is safe. It's a good idea for white to get rid of the Knight by exchanging: 1. Bxd4 cxd4. However, this is an even trade. It would be a mistake for white to continue the exchange sequence with 2.Nbxd4 exd4 3.Nxd4. White appears to have 'won' the exchange by making the last capture - but adding up the piece values tells a different story. White captured 2 pawns and a Knight (5 points), but lost a Bishop and a Knight (6 points). Also, white's d5 pawn is now unprotected!