1.

[All of the principles you are learning so far will help you navigate and evaluate complex chess positions. 

  We are seeing that different factors, which sometimes seem irrelevant, have profound impact on the strength or weakness of various pieces. It is the pawns that make a bishop good or bad. They also determine the supremacy of knight or bishop, and usually determine the strategic direction of the game. 

Now that we are seeing how previously unnoticeable elements of the chess landscape are key factors in determining the heart of the position, we should be actively using our new knowledge to mold positions into what works best for our surviving warriors - and we should learn how to trade away the pieces that are not so well-suited for the nuances of a certain battlefield.

This is the art of the trade.

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/32/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR}{W:j36a}

]

2.

[Okay. Here are some guiding principles. Generally, you should trade pieces when, first, you're ahead in material, second, you have a spatial disadvantage, third, an exchange will make one of your surviving pieces more powerful, and fourth, you'll be getting rid of a very powerful piece of the opponent.

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/32/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR}{W:j36b01}

]

3.

[First of all, "You want to trade when you're ahead in material". The reason for this is the more you trade down, the bigger your advantage actually gets. Think about pawns. If you have eight pawns and your opponent has seven, you're up one pawn. Fine. But if you trade one pair of pawns, seven to six, in fact, seven to six is a bigger advantage than eight to seven. Eight to seven is a smaller ratio. If you continue to trade down, six to five, five to four, four to three, three to two, two to one, now suddenly you have twice as many pawns as your opponent. You trade down one more pawn, suddenly you have a pawn, you're opponent has no pawns. A big advantage, obviously. This holds true with all of the pieces. If you're ahead in material, by trading down, you actually increase your advantage.

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/32/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR}{D:7500}{B:4k3/ppppppp1/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/4K3}{D:2000}{H:a2b2c2d2e2f2g2h2}{D:1000}{H:a7b7c7d7e7f7g7}{D:1500}{C}{D:2000}{H:a2a7}{A:Da2a7}{A:Da7a2}{D:1500}{C}{R}{X:a2}{X:a7}{D:500}{H:b2c2d2e2f2g2h2}{D:500}{H:b7c7d7e7f7g7}{D:3500}{C}{R}{D:4000}{H:b2b7}{A:Db2b7}{A:Db7b2}{D:500}{C}{R}{X:b2}{X:b7}{D:1000}{H:c2c7}{A:Dc2c7}{A:Dc7c2}{D:500}{C}{R}{X:c2}{X:c7}{D:1500}{H:d2d7}{A:Dd2d7}{A:Dd7d2}{D:500}{C}{R}{X:d2}{X:d7}{D:1000}{H:e2e7}{A:De2e7}{A:De7e2}{D:500}{C}{R}{X:e2}{X:e7}{D:1000}{H:f2f7}{A:Df2f7}{A:Df7f2}{D:500}{C}{R}{X:f2}{X:f7}{D:1000}{H:g2h2g7}{D:2000}{C}{D:1000}{H:g2g7}{A:Dg2g7}{A:Dg7g2}{D:1000}{C}{R}{X:g2}{X:g7}{D:1500}{H:h2}{D:2000}{C}{W:j36b02}

]

4.

[

{B:r1r3k1/1p3ppp/p1n5/8/2P2P2/qP1R2P1/P2R2BP/3Q1K2}{V:{SAVE}Take a look at this position. It's white to move. What would you do? 

Well, here white is up a pawn and has a bishop for a knight in an open game, but there's a way to simplify into a winning endgame. 

  {W:j36b03}{W:sil500}{W:j36b04}{W:sil500}{W:whitesbestmove};

$The correct move is Bxc6.

  {D:500}{S:g2c6}

  {W:j36b05}{W:sil1000}{J}

$g2c6;That's right!

The correct move is Bxc6.

{W:thatsright}{W:sil500}{W:j36b05}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c Incorrect. This one may take some thought.{W:notbest}{RETRY};

Look for a capture that will set up a series of exchanges.}

]

5.

[This may seem unprincipled because the bishop is slightly stronger than the knight because it's an open game, but in this case, white can force a position which is relatively easy to win. As a rule, whenever you can reduce the complexity of a position into an endgame in which the path to victory is clear, do it. After bishop takes C6, black recaptures B takes C6, otherwise, the back rank is undefended. Now you can continue to trade off. Rook D8 check. Black has to capture, rook takes D8. White plays rook takes D8. Once again, check, black has to take it. Rook takes D8. Now white plays queen takes D8 check. Black's only defense of mate is queen F8. Now white trades once more. Queen takes F8, king takes F8. Now look at this position. While in the first position, the pawn might not have seemed so important, now the slight material edge is decisive.

{B:r1r3k1/1p3ppp/p1n5/8/2P2P2/qP1R2P1/P2R2BP/3Q1K2}{D:1500}{H:g2}{D:1000}{H:c6}{D:2000}{C}{D:11000}{S:g2c6}{D:1500}{S:b7c6}{D:5000}{S:d3d8}{A:Cd8g8}{H:g8}{D:2000}{C}{R}{S:c8d8}{D:2000}{S:d2d8}{A:Cd8g8}{H:g8}{D:3500}{C}{R}{S:a8d8}{D:2000}{S:d1d8}{A:Cd8g8}{H:g8}{D:2500}{C}{R}{S:a3f8}{D:3000}{S:d8f8}{D:1000}{S:g8f8}{W:j36b06}{B:5k2/5ppp/p1p5/8/2P2P2/1P4P1/P6P/5K2}

]

6.

[Now let me show you how to win this king and pawn endgame. First of all, we know what to do. Activate the king. A critical principle in the endgame is to activate the king. So white can play king E2. Let's say black knows how to do that too. King E7. What you'll actually find when you play endgames against beginners is a lot of them don't know to activate their king, so you can win easily, but here, you play king D3, king D6. Now let's say you make the move B4. What you're plan's is going to be in this position is next to play king D4. Then you could play the move A4 at one point. The queen's side is really where you're going to focus. 

  A basic way to win this position is to make a passed pawn on the queen's side and distract black's king with it. Black will have to defend on the queen's side, and then you could run your king to the king's side. Remember when we talked about the principle of two weaknesses. This applies in the endgame as well. White's potential passed pawn on the queen's side is one weakness, and black's king's side pawns is the second weakness. So let's say black were to make a normal move like F6, here. Now with white, you could even choose to play B5 right away. Black will take the pawn. C takes B5. And now let's say white plays A takes B5. Black plays A takes B5, C takes B5. Now, white has a passed pawn on B5. Black's going to have to defend it. Let's say black moves his king back, trying to blockade the pawn with king C7. Now white can play king C5. Now let's say black makes the move king B7. Now white doesn't have to do this right away. White can take some time expanding on the king's side first. What I want you to see here is that white can run his king to the king's side and win the game. So you can play king D6. Now the black king has to take some time on the B pawn. King B6. King E7. King takes B5. King F7. And now it's clear that white's winning the game. Next, white will play king takes G7. Take the F6 pawn. You can even take the H7 pawn. And, slowly but surely, you'll push these three pawns up the board, queen one of them, and win the game. 

  I go more deeply into detail about this type of position in the endgame course, and I really recommend that you pay careful attention to those lessons after you finish this Academy. For now, just think about the principle of two weaknesses, activating your king, and trading into winning endgames when you're ahead in material.

{B:5k2/5ppp/p1p5/8/2P2P2/1P4P1/P6P/5K2}{D:9000}{S:f1e2}{D:3000}{S:f8e7}{D:8000}{S:e2d3}{D:1000}{S:e7d6}{D:3000}{S:b3b4}{D:4000}{S:d3d4}{D:2000}{S:a2a4}{W:j36b07}{W:sil1000}{B:8/5ppp/p1pk4/8/PPPK1P2/6P1/7P/8}{D:2500}{B:8/5ppp/3k4/1P6/3K1P2/6P1/7P/8}{D:1500}{A:Tb5b8}{D:2500}{A:Dd6b8}{D:2500}{A:Dd4f7}{H:f7g7h7}{D:2000}{C}{R}{D:4000}{H:b5}{D:3000}{H:f7g7h7}{D:1500}{C}{R}{D:500}{B:8/5ppp/p1pk4/8/PPPK1P2/6P1/7P/8}{D:2000}{S:f7f6}{D:4000}{S:b4b5}{D:3000}{S:c6b5}{D:3000}{S:a4b5}{D:2000}{S:a6b5}{D:2000}{S:c4b5}{D:2000}{H:b5}{D:3000}{C}{D:3000}{S:d6c7}{D:2000}{S:d4c5}{D:3000}{S:c7b7}{D:11000}{S:c5d6}{D:4000}{S:b7b6}{D:1000}{S:d6e7}{D:1000}{S:b6b5}{D:1500}{S:e7f7}{D:4000}{G:WKf7}{S:f7g7}{D:1500}{S:g7f6}{D:1500}{S:f6g7}{S:g7h7}{D:3500}{H:h2g3f4}{A:Tf4f8}{A:Tg3g8}{A:Th2h8}{W:j36b08}{C}{R}{W:sil500}{W:j36b09}

]

7.

[The second principle of trading is that "When you have a spatial disadvantage, it's good to trade". If your position is cramped, trading pieces will relieve your pressure. On the other hand, when your opponent is cramped, you want to increase pressure without allowing the liberation of exchanges. Here you can see that white has a huge spatial advantage and total central domination. Black has wasted alot of time on flank moves, and now white is in control. Put yourself in black's shoes for a second. It's very hard to find a path of action. White, on the other hand, can easily develop with moves like bishop E3, bishop D3, castles, queen E2, rook A to E1, F5, etcetera. One of the biggest plusses of white's position is that he can develop freely while black is cramped. Now, imagine if black could trade king's side knights. Now take off the queen's side knights. Suddenly black is gaining breathing room and white's advantage is shrinking. So, when you have a spatial advantage, you want to increase pressure and avoid most exchanges. When you're defending positions with a spatial disadvantage, on the other hand, obviously the reverse holds true. You want to trade down as much as possible.

{B:1n1qk1nr/rbppppbp/pp4p1/3PP3/2P2P2/2N2N2/PP4PP/R1BQKB1R}

{D:17000}{H:c3c4d5e5f4f3}{H2:b5c6d6e6f6g5}

{A:Td5c6}{A:Td5e6}{A:Te5d6}{A:Te5f6}{A:Tc4b5}{A:Tc3b5}{A:Tf4g5}{A:Tf3g5}

{D:5000}{C}{R}{D:7500}{S:c1e3}{D:1000}{S:f1d3}{D:700}{S:e1g1}{S:h1f1}{D:800}{S:d1e2}{D:1000}{S:a1e1}{D:1500}{S:f4f5}{D:7000}{B:1n1qk1nr/rbppppbp/pp4p1/3PP3/2P2P2/2N2N2/PP4PP/R1BQKB1R}{D:1500}{H:g8f3}{D:1500}{X:g8}{X:f3}{C}{D:1000}{H:c3b8}{D:1000}{X:c3}{X:b8}{C}

{D:5000}

{B:1n1qk1nr/rbppppbp/pp4p1/3PP3/2P2P2/2N2N2/PP4PP/R1BQKB1R}

{D:1000}{H2:c3c4d5e5f4f3}

{D:3500}{C}{R}

{D:1000}{H:a6b6c7d7e7f7g6h7}

{W:j36b10}{C}{R}

]

8.

[Okay, the third principle of trading: "When an exchange will make one of your surviving pieces more powerful, it's usually a good one". For example, you've already learned about good bishops and bad bishops. Well, sometimes trading off your opponent's last knight will make his bad bishop even worse. This is the type of situation we're looking for. So we've already seen some examples of this type of strategical trading. Here's another one.

{B:r2q1rk1/2pbp1pp/p2p1n2/1p1P4/4PN1Q/PP4P1/2P3BP/4RRK1}{W:j36b11}

]

9.

[Here black has a huge hole in his position, the E6 square. It's white to move. What would you play?

{B:r2q1rk1/2pbp1pp/p2p1n2/1p1P4/4PN1Q/PP4P1/2P3BP/4RRK1 w}{D:1000}{H:e6}{D:2500}{C}{W:j36b12}{V:{SAVE}Here black has a huge hole in his position, the E6 square. It's white to move. What would you play?;

$White's best move is bishop H3, and suddenly white's position becomes completely dominant.

  {C}{D:500}{S:g2h3}

  {W:j36b13}{W:sil1000}{J}

$g2h3;That's right! 

White's best move is bishop H3, and suddenly white's position becomes completely dominant.

  {C}{W:thatsright}{W:sil500}{W:j36b13}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c That's not the best move.{W:notbest}{RETRY};

Think about trading the defender of the e6 square to make it available for your knight.}

]

10.

[After the trade of bishops, the white knight will lodge on E6, causing big problems for black. Notice that the black knight, though right next to E6 is actually quite far from the square, because it would take him three moves to get there. In this type of position, there's no time for that kind of maneuver because white's king's side attack would build too quickly. So here a well thought out trade, like bishop H3, can make a huge advantage emerge from nowhere. When the bishops are gone, the white knight on E6 will become a devastating force.

{B:r2q1rk1/2pbp1pp/p2p1n2/1p1P4/4PN1Q/PP4PB/2P4P/4RRK1}{S:d7h3}{S:h4h3}{D:1500}{G:WNe6}{A:Gd5e6}{A:Gh3e6}{H2:e6}{A:Tf4e6}{D:1500}{D:2000}{R}{O}{D:500}{H:f6}{D:5500}{C}{R}{D:11000}{S:f4e6}{D:1000}{H:d8f8g7g5f4d4c5c7}{W:j36b14}{W:sil1000}

]

11.

[

{B:r1bq1rk1/4pp1p/2np2p1/2p5/2P1P3/P2P1N2/2B3PP/R2Q1RK1 b}{V:{SAVE}Now take a look at this exercise. Black to move. What would you do?{W:j36b15};

$The correct move is bishop G4.

  {D:500}{S:c8g4}

  {W:j36b16}{W:sil1000}{J}

$c8g4;Good job!

The correct move is bishop G4.

{W:goodjob}{W:sil500}

{W:j36b16}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c This is not the best move.{W:notbest}{RETRY};

Look for a way to attack the white knight and set up an exchange.}

]

12.

[Okay, it's true. This is technically a good bishop, but after the bishop for knight trade, the black knight becomes an absolute monster on D4. Take a look at it. Getting rid of the knight on F3 made the black knight capable of dominating the center of the board, and the white bishop is terrible. This is a perfect example of good knight against bad bishop.

{B:r1bq1rk1/4pp1p/2np2p1/2p5/2P1P3/P2P1N2/2B3PP/R2Q1RK1 b}{D:1000}{H:c8}{H2:a6b7d7e6f5g4h3}

{D:2000}{C}{S:c8g4}{A:Cg4f3}{A:Df3d1}{D:1500}{R}{S:g4f3}{S:g2f3}{D:1000}{S:c6d4}{H:b5c6e6f5f3e2c2b3}{D:7000}{C}{R}{D:500}{H:c2}{D:1000}{A:Tc2b1}{A:Tc2d3}{A:Tc2a4}{D:2000}{C}{R}{W:j36b17}

]

13.

[

{B:r2q1rk1/p4ppp/1p2p3/2p5/2Pp4/PP1Pn2P/3QPRP1/RN4K1 w}{V:{SAVE}The fourth principle of trading is pretty straightforward, "When you'll be getting rid of a very powerful piece of the opponent". Like in this exercise, it's white's move. Here black's knight on E3 is a thorn in white's side. The top priority should be to get rid of this powerful piece. 

What would you do? You have to calculate several moves ahead here...

  {D:8300}{H:e3}{D:500}{H:d1f1g2g4d5f5c2c4}{D:2000}{C}

  {W:j36b18};

${J}

$a3a4;Good job!{C}

{W:goodjob}{W:sil1000}{J};

$c Incorrect. {C}{W:notbest}{RETRY};

d2c1:$c Good job! {C}{W:goodjob}{W:sil1000}{J};

Plan several moves ahead. Find a way to set up a future attack from your knight to the black knight.

}

]

14.

[Here there are two possible solutions. Either move the queen, say to C1, and then play knight B1 to D2 to F1, trading off the knight on F1 for the knight on E3, getting rid of black's strong piece, or you could play A4 on the first move, followed by knight A3 to C2. Personally I prefer the first alternative because it doesn't further weaken white's pawn structure. By playing A4, you create another hole in B4, but the most important thing is to recognize the need to drive out the black knight.

{B:r2q1rk1/p4ppp/1p2p3/2p5/2Pp4/PP1Pn2P/3QPRP1/RN4K1}{D:2500}{S:d2c1}{D:2000}{S:b1d2}{D:1000}{S:d2f1}{D:500}{A:Cf1e3}{D:3500}{R}{S:f1e3}{S:d4e3}{S:c1e3}{D:2000}{B:r2q1rk1/p4ppp/1p2p3/2p5/2Pp4/PP1Pn2P/3QPRP1/RN4K1}{D:1500}{S:a3a4}{D:2000}{S:b1a3}{D:1000}{S:a3c2}{A:Cc2e3}{D:2000}{C}{R}{D:5000}{H:b4}{D:2000}{C}{D:2000}{A:Cc2e3}{H:e3}{W:j36b19}

]

15.

[Okay, you're about to jump into the Master Quiz, but first let's review the four principles of trading. First of all, you trade down when you're ahead in material. The more material that comes off, the bigger your advantage gets. Next, you trade off when you have a spatial disadvantage. If your opponent is crunching down on you, by trading off pieces, you relieve the pressure on your position. Third, you trade when an exchange will make one of your surviving pieces more powerful. For example, when trading bishop for knight, will leave you with a position with a very strong knight against a bad bishop of your opponent's. And fourth, you trade when you'll be getting rid of a very powerful piece of your opponent. Now, on to the Mastery Quiz.

{B:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/32/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR}{D:4000}{B:r1r3k1/1p3ppp/p1n5/8/2P2P2/qP1R2P1/P2R2BP/3Q1K2}{D:400}{S:g2c6}{D:400}{S:b7c6}{D:400}{S:d3d8}{D:400}{S:c8d8}{D:400}{S:d2d8}{D:400}{S:a8d8}{D:400}{S:d1d8}{D:400}{S:a3f8}{D:400}{S:d8f8}{D:400}{S:g8f8}{D:3000}{B:1n1qk1nr/rbppppbp/pp4p1/3PP3/2P2P2/2N2N2/PP4PP/R1BQKB1R}{D:5500}{H:g8f3}{D:500}{X:g8}{X:f3}{C}{D:1000}{H:c3b8}{D:500}{X:c3}{X:b8}{C}{D:2000}{B:r1bq1rk1/4pp1p/2np2p1/2p5/2P1P3/P2P1N2/2B3PP/R2Q1RK1 b}{D:1000}{C}{S:c8g4}{A:Cg4f3}{A:Df3d1}{D:1000}{R}{S:g4f3}{S:g2f3}{D:1000}{S:c6d4}{H:b5c6e6f5f3e2c2b3}{D:6000}{C}{R}{H:c2b1b3a4}{A:Tc2b1}{A:Tc2d3}{A:Tc2a4}{D:2000}{B:r2q1rk1/p4ppp/1p2p3/2p5/2Pp4/PP1Pn2P/3QPRP1/RN4K1}{D:500}{S:d2c1}{D:500}{S:b1d2}{D:500}{S:d2f1}{D:500}{A:Cf1e3}{H:e3}{D:700}{R}{C}{S:f1e3}{S:d4e3}{S:c1e3}{W:j36b20}

]

