So many beginner’s buy chessbook after chessbook in a desperate desire to improve their game. Unfortunately, all the opening knowledge, strategy, and endgame skill in the world is useless if you let your opponents eat your pieces for free.

If you are afflicted with this “piece blunder” disease, you should ignore the siren call of your chess library until you find a cure. Fortunately, the cure is rather straightforward: play as many games as possible, but use each and every one as an exercise that will help you root out the hopeless habit of dropping your men. To accomplish this, you must understand the following bit of truth: Every undefended piece that stands on the fourth rank or further is at risk (pieces on the first, second, and third ranks must still be watched over, but they tend to be automatically guarded since they are so close to their own army)! Make sure these wandering pieces are protected or, at the very least, be aware of their plight and make sure nothing can swallow them up. Conversely, the undefended pieces of your opponent are like targets in a shooting gallery. Be on the lookout for the opportunities that your opponents will surely give you!

Again, let me repeat:

EVERY UNDEFENDED PIECE THAT STANDS ON THE FOURTH RANK OR FURTHER IS AT RISK!

By playing a huge amount of games (experience really is the best teacher!) and seriously repeating this “mantra” over and over, you will eventually develop an eye for when a piece is safe, or when the possibility of danger exists.

Let’s take a look at the following moves:

1.e4 (A popular move that immediately grabs central space, takes control over the squares on f5 and d5, and frees the diagonals for the f1-Bishop and the Queen.) 1…e5 (Black frees his own Bishop and Queen, and also fights for his fair share of the center.) 2.Nf3 (White develops a piece, attacks the e5-pawn [the fact that it stands on Black’s fourth rank makes it vulnerable!], and also challenges Black’s control of the d4-square.) 2…Nc6 (An excellent reply. Black also develops a piece, defends his e5-pawn at the same time, and adds to his control over d4.) 3.d4 (The Scotch Opening, which has recently come back into prominence due to the efforts of former World Champion Garry Kasparov. White gains more central space, threatens the e5-pawn a second time, and also frees his c1-Bishop.) 3…exd4 (This prevents the loss of the e5-pawn by making an even trade of pawn for pawn on d4.) 4.Nxd4 (White reestablishes material equality. Since the Knight is on the fourth rank, it is both strong [Knights, being short range pieces, gain in strength as they advance down the board] and potentially weak [Okay, repetition number three: Every undefended piece that stands on the fourth rank or further is at risk!!]. In this case, White is aware of this weakness but has the problem well in hand since his Knight is firmly protected by his Queen.) 4…Nf6 (Black doesn’t take on d4 since, after 4…Nxd4 5.Qxd4, White’s Queen would be well-placed in the center of the board. Instead, he wisely develops another piece [now he’s just two moves away from castling], attacks the e4-pawn, and also counters a bit of White’s pressure against the d5-square.) 5.Nc3 (White counters Black’s last move by bringing out his other Knight, guarding the e4-pawn, and placing more pressure against d5--note how the e4-pawn and the c3-Knight combine to put pressure on d5. Nowadays most masters prefer the more forcing 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5, attacking the Black Knight and gaining quite a bit of central space.) 5…d6 (A passive move that blocks his f8-Bishop. The active 5…Bb4, pinning the c3-Knight and once again threatening the e4-pawn [since the pinned Knight would not be guarding it anymore] makes a better impression.) 6.Bc4 (A logical move that develops a third piece to a very active diagonal [it scares the Black King by taking aim at f7], prepares to get the King to safety by castling, and also adds to his team attack of the d5-square [the e4-pawn, the c3-Knight, and now the c4-Bishop are all putting pressure on that square]. Yes, the Bishop is potentially vulnerable on c4 since it stands on the fourth rank, but this shouldn’t prove to be a problem if White keeps its safety in mind.) 6…Ne5? (A poor move that moves the same piece twice in the opening [something you should generally avoid] without gaining anything worthwhile by doing so. Note that the Knight is also exposed to a possible pawn attack by f2-f4.)

Is this Knight move any good?

7.0-0?? (Poor White plays a move that would be excellent in normal circumstances, but he forgot about his c4-Bishop’s potential vulnerability. By ignoring Black’s move and rushing to continue with his own plans, White sets himself up for instant doom. Correct was 7.Bb3, bringing the Bishop to a tightly defended post.) 7…Nxc4! Imagine the pain from White’s viewpoint, and the rush of euphoria from Black’s! White forgot about our lesson rule [Fourth repetition: Every undefended piece that stands on the fourth rank or further is at risk!] and paid a heavy price.

Let’s look at one more example:

Should White Allow …Nxe3?

Black has just played 8…Nf6-g4, attacking White’s e3-Bishop. True, it appears to be an even exchange: three points for three points (see Point Count in the Glossary), but at this stage of the game White would prefer to keep his guardian of the dark squares on the board (you start every game with two Knights that do the same thing, but you only have one Bishop patrolling the dark squares!). With this in mind White can move his Bishop to safety by Bg5, Bd2, or Bc1 (hoping to chase away the offending Knight by h2-h3 or f2-f3 on the next move). But wait one moment! Can’t White take Black’s Knight for free by 9.Qxg4? No, the Queen would be removed from the board by 9…Bxg4 (If you bring a piece out to the fourth rank or further it just might be snapped off! Such would be the Queen’s fate after 9.Qxg4?? Bxg4.).

With all this in mind, White played 9.Bg5??, completely forgetting two things: First, moving the Knight to g4 uncovered a Bishop attack against d4 from the g7-Bishop. Second, the e3-Bishop was needed on that square to defend the d4-Knight! After Black’s 9…Bxd4 (Yes, White had forgotten about the potential vulnerability of a piece on the fourth rank.) the game was as good as over. So, it turned out that White had to acquiesce to the exchange of Bishop for Knight after all!

To Sum Up:

EVERY UNDEFENDED PIECE THAT STANDS ON THE FOURTH RANK OR FURTHER IS AT RISK!

NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF THIS FACT, AND MAKE SURE YOUR PIECES ARE PROTECTED OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, NOT UNDER ATTACK AT ALL TIMES!

TRAIN YOUR MIND TO AUTOMATICALLY LOOK FOR THIS KIND OF THING BY PLAYING LOTS OF GAMES, USING THEM AS A MEANS TO CURE YOURSELF OF THE DISEASE OF “HANGING PIECESITIS!”

YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HANGS PIECES! BY LOOKING FOR THE ENEMY'S UNDEFENDED MEN (AND PUNISHING HIM FOR THE INFRACTION), YOU CAN TURN YOUR PAST PAIN INTO YOUR PRESENT GAIN.