Page:The chess-player's text book.djvu/36

Seldom or never play your King's Bishop to Q.'s 3rd before the Q.'s Pawn is moved, and, as a general rule, when playing an open game, do not move the Q.'s Pawn one step only before you bring out the K.'s Bishop, as you thereby afford him but the King's 2nd square to go to.

When the other pieces are off the field, and you are left with a Bishop and two or three Pawns, it is often advisable to keep your Pawns on squares of a different colour to those on which your Bishop moves, as he can then prevent the adverse King from coming near them ; but when the game is decidedly against you it is generally better to keep the Pawns on squares which the Bishop can defend.

When strong in Pawns at the end of a game, try to exchange off the enemy's Bishops, since they can impede the march of your Pawns more readily than either the Rooks or Knights : but do not indiscriminately change your Bishops for Knights, or Knights for Bishops. Two Bishops at the termination of a game are stronger than two Knights, and one Knight usually better than a single Bishop.

Towards the end, when you have Pawns only against an opponent's Bishop, it is mostly prudent to get the Pawns as soon as possible on squares of a different colour to the diagonal he travels on.

The Knight.—At the opening of a game the best place for the K.'s Knight is K. B's 3rd sq., for it there attacks your adversary's K.'s P., if it has been moved to K.'s 4th, offers no obstruction to the march of your K.'s Bishop, and effectually prevents the opponent's Queen from being played to your K. B.'s 4th sq.

When you have played your Q.'s Kt. to K. B.'s 3rd sq., it is often serviceable to bring him round by K.'s 2nd to the K. Kt.'s 3rd. whence he may be moved at a proper juncture to K. B.'s 5th.

Remember that a Kt. with three or four Pawns at the