How to play Loop Chess (part 3)

Here I’m playing as Black. As you can easily see there are many pieces of both colors accumulated at the left down corner and it makes it hard to play at the first glance. I did manage to win this game. It’s the final position:



My opponent resigned the game at this point.

Here are the moves:

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 Nc6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O B@h5 9. Ne1 Bxe2 10. Nxe2 Bxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. B@g4 e5 13. N@f5 Bxf5 14. exf5 N@e7 15. B@h4 B@f6 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. B@d3 B@d7 18. B@h3 N@g5 19. c3 Nxh3+ 20. Bxh3 Ndc6 21. Qh5 Kh8 22. N@h6 Qe8 23. Nxf7+ Rxf7 24. p@e6 Rf8 25. Qxe8 Bxe8 26. Be4 p@e2 27. g3 exf1N 28. Bxf1 d5 29. Bf3 N@d2 30. Q@h6 Nxf3+ 31. Nxf3 Q@g8 32. Nh4 B@g5 33. N@g6+ Nxg6 34. Nxg6+ Bxg6 35. N@f7+ Bxf7 36. exf7 N@f3+ 37. Kg2 B@h1+ 38. Kh3 Ng1+

Although it’s usually hard to give precise guidelines on how to play a Loop Chess game in the middle-game part since no two games usually turn out to be the same, there are some tips one can use:

• Always make sure your King is safe enough when you want to attack your opponent.
  Keep an eye for potential pins. Your Queen and King can be pinned easily if your opponent has a Bishop to drop.
• Watch for your opponent’s Knights, the ones he can drop onto the board. Knights can give hard-to-cancel checks and are very dangerous when out of board. A Knight can easily cause the King to move since the check it gives cannot be canceled by blocking.
• Pawns can be dangerous too. Especially if they are dropped on the lines before promotion. They are also handy for opening a column in your opponent’s side of the board.
• Before you try to retreat, see if there’s a move that can remove the threat, for example by posing a threat on one of your opponent’s more valuable pieces, such as the Rooks or the Queen. Sometimes, you can double your force on a square by using your extra pieces. So in each move, study both the moves you can make on the board, and those you can make by using your extra pieces. Also, don’t forget that your opponent is doing just the same!
• Don’t drop your extra pieces onto the board unless it serves a good purpose. So if you just can’t think of a move to make, don’t waste a Pawn which can be used for a very better reason later.
• If you’re trying to trade pieces, make sure your opponent cannot use that very piece you’re giving them as a very deadly weapon against you. Sometimes, you trade a Knight. For a Bishop. In Regular Chess, it’s O.K., but in Loop Chess, a Knight can be very deadly if used correctly. So if your Queen and King are in a position that can be easily pinned by a Knight, don’t trade your Knight for a Bishop or a Rook, unless you know that the next move, you can do something really good with that piece.
• The first thing you do in each move, you should ask yourself one question:
  Why did my opponent make that move? Why not another?
  If you can read your opponent’s mind, it’s very likely that you can prepare your own plan against him, but if you just take a look at the board and make a move, well, you can easily get trapped.
• Never underestimate your opponent. They sometimes do surprise you!
  If you have say, 5 pieces which are ready to drop, and your opponent’s King is positioned at the corner of the board after he/she has castled and it’s not very well protected, spend some time thinking on a possible mate. There usually is one in this kind of situation. A good plan is to force your opponent’s King to get out of his secured position and then attack him. Knights are very good tools here. If you have a couple of them, don’t hesitate to use them.
• Never go for a mate if you’re not sure there’s one. If you just start it, you cannot stop it without a material loss.
• Kings close to the sides of the boards are usually easier to mate. So if you have your King there, make sure he’s secure enough, and if your opponent has his there, make sure there’s no mate at the moment for him!
• And finally, Know that the pieces you have outside the board, are more precious than those you have inside. A Pawn inside the board is nothing more than a Pawn, but one outside the board, is a one-step-away-from-being-a-Queen Pawn. Use it carefully.

(to be continued)