Chess improvement for beginners and novice players

This morning I saw the following post on Susan Polgar's Blog, and thought this is excellent for especially all our beginners and novice players.  Thanks to technology, I sent her a tweet and she gave me permission to use anything I wish!  Thanks again Susan. :-)

The Importance of Defense in Chess
Susan Polgar

We all like to be in a position to attack freely and look for ways to checkmate our opponents. However, we cannot always get to that position. In fact, at times we end up on the other side of the coin and need to find the right defensive moves to avoid losing or to turn things around.

In this column we shall examine four examples of successful defense in dangerous looking positions.

In this column we shall examine four examples of successful defense in dangerous looking positions.  (I'm only going to use 3)

1)


In the position above, white’s Rook and Knight work together well in creating a checkmate threat with Rxh7. How can Black defend against it? The solution is: 1...Nf3+ 2.Kg2 Ng5 and Black is out of danger.

2)


Do you see what is White’s sneaky plan in the position above? The plan is to checkmate with Qxb7. So as Black, how would you defend against it?
If, 1...Qb6 then Black’s Knight remains unprotected and White can simply capture with 2.Qxe7.

How about blocking the threat with 1...c6? That seems to work except it allows the highly unpleasant pin by 2.Bf4! So what is the solution?

The right answer is: 1...Nc6! and Black is out of danger.

3)

In the final position above, white’ main threat is Qh8 checkmate. Would 1…Kh6 solve the problem?

No, as after 2.Qh8 the King has no escape on g5.

Would 1...g5 work, freeing up the g6 square? Not quite, because after 2.Qf6, Black cannot properly defend against the upcoming Rh8 threat.

Therefore, the only correct solution is: 1...Be5! and if 2.Qg8+ Kh6 3.Qf8+ then 3…Bg7 saves the day.

Remember, if you are under attack, do not panic! Not every attack leads to checkmate if you defend correctly! And always look out for your opponent's plan.