Positional Play in Chess

King safety - middle game vs. endgame

That brings us to another positional factor. The role of the King changes as the pieces disappear from the board. Consider the diagram, which is from a real game.

The preceding moves were 13.Bxh7+ Kxh7, where White sacrificed a Bishop on d3 for a Pawn. The Black King seems to be in no particular danger, but within a few moves every White piece -- including the two Rooks -- was attacking squares around the King. Black was unable to cope with the numerous threats and lost the game.

Index: Positional Play in Chess

1. The center
2. The center (cont.)
3. Open lines
4. Piece activity
5. Pawn structure
6. Strong and weak squares
7. Strong and weak squares (cont.)
8. King safety - middle game vs. endgame
9. King safety - middle game vs. endgame (cont.)
10. Summary