By Joshua Anderson

1) Johnny was very excited to play in a simultaneous exhibition with his favorite chess player, Viswanathan Anand. "Vishy" sacrifices one pawn and then another. Johnny's bishops have almost no movement so he trades one for a knight and then trades the other for 2 pawns. Johnny misses a fork and loses an Exchange. Who is leading in points and by how many?

ANSWER: At first Vishy sacrificed two pawns, leaving him 2 points behind. Johnny traded a bishop for a knight an even swap since both pieces are worth 3 points each. However, when he gave up a bishop (3 points) for two pawns (two points), he lost a point. [So far Vishy is 1 point down!]. Then Johnny lost the Exchange , meaning he lost a rook (5 points) for his opponent's bishop or knight (3 points). So Johnny lost another 2 points, suddenly leaving him 1 point down.

The final tally tells us that Johnny ended up 1 point behind.


2) Susannah sits down at the board eager to trounce Cecil, her annoying little brother. Not focusing on the game, she loses a rook for 2 pawns. Still in shock, Susannah loses a bishop for a pawn. She concentrates and with stronger play manages to trade a set of bishops and then wins a rook for a pawn. Then Susannah wins a rook for a knight. She is also able to capture a knight for two pawns. Has she achieved material equality?

ANSWER:  Susannah lost a rook (5 points) for 2 pawns (2 points). She was 3 points down at that point. Then she lost a bishop (3 points) for a pawn (1 points) for a further 2-point loss. This left her 5 points down. When she won a rook for a pawn, she regained 4 points, which left her down by 1. Next she won a rook for a Knight (for another 2 point gain), leaving her up 1 point. Adding insult to injury, she picked up an enemy knight for 2 pawns, allowing her to bank an additional point, leaving her up by 2 points.

The final tally tells us that Susannah ended up 2 points ahead.


3) Wayne challenges his girlfriend Jennifer to a game of chess, expecting an easy victory.  Jennifer, full of surprises, plays solidly and is able to gain a pawn after trading off a set of bishops. Wayne sacrifices a rook for the other bishop. Feeling that her position is about to crumble, Wayne sacrifices a knight for two pawns. Jennifer comes up with a brilliant defensive idea and is able to rebuff the attack and exchange queens. As they approach the endgame, how much material is Jennifer ahead? Is this generally considered enough to win a chess game?

ANSWER: Jennifer starts out by taking a 1-point lead. When Wayne sacrifices a rook (5 points) for a bishop (3 points), he loses an additional 2 points. He's now down 3 points. When Wayne gave up a knight for two pawns, he found himself down by a total of 4 points. He hoped that his attack would compensate for the sacrificed material. However, 4 points is a LOT, so if the attack fizzles, he will almost certainly lose.

Jennifer ended up 4 points ahead.