Total Defence Chess
A young disciple embarked on the road to chess mastery soon realizes that knowing how to attack and materialize an advantage is not sufficient. One must learn the difficult art of defence too.
This section will present 10 chess puzzles for each school holiday. The situations on the chessboards below seem dire if not completely hopeless but there are remarkable defensive resources that you'll have to discover, analyse and decide upon. Test your resilience and resourcefulness!
Along with the complete answers, the participants must submit a short essay [maximum 500 words] on "What Will You Defend?" - see the details in the column in the right.
The answers and the essay should be submitted by 20 March 2009. The winner will be announced on 25 March 2009 and will receive an autographed copy of Grandmaster Mihail Marin's widely praised Secrets of Chess Defence (Gambit, 2003).
March School Holidays Contest
Book Recommendations
M.Marin
Secrets of Chess Defence
(Gambit, 2003)
Good defensive abilities earn players a great many half-points and full-points. The climax of the defence is the launching of a devastating counter-attack, a skill at which all the great chess champions have been adept. Of particular interest to club players is Marin's discussion of how to defend against unsound attacks, and the problem of how to parry the attack while retaining winning chances. Other topics include attack and defence in equal positions, where both sides must judge carefully how much of their resources to devote to the attack and the counter-attack. The main subject, though, is the case where the defender is fighting for his life, and must decide how to maximise his chances of survival. Marin considers psychological issues and explains the main options available to the defender: simplification, cold-blooded defence, a positional sacrifice, 'blackmailing' the attacker, or a counter-attack.
J. Aagaard
Practical Chess Defence
(Quality Chess, 2006)
Chess is developing faster now than ever before in history, and the appearance of strong chess computers has changed the way players think. In the past many positions would have been rejected on principle as impossible to defend, and even the best players would shy away from capturing material if it meant that they would have to face a difficult defence. This attitude has changed, and today’s top players are not afraid of walking a very fine line in defence. This book gives practical advice on various methods of defence, offering readers the chance to test and train with 200 challenging examples. While not for the faint-hearted, this book will help the reader greatly improve in this vital part of the game.
M. Dvoretsky, A. Yusupov, J. Sugden
Attack and Defence: How Creative Thought Develops in a Chess Player
(Batsford, 1998)
Dvoretsky and Yusupov deal with the most
crucial aspects of chess:
Calculating Variations; Improving your Chess Intuition
Practical Decision Making; How to Attack, Defend and Counter-Attack
The Dvoretsky-Yusupov chess school has played a key part in the rise to chess stardom of many of today's top young GMs; for example Peter Svidler, Vadim
Zviaginstev, Alexei Alexandrov and Sergei Movsesian all attended the school in the early 1990s. Now the same insights and training methods are available to
all. Packed with brilliant chess and superb advice, Attack and Defence is essential reading for any player eager to improve.
Position no 1
Position no 2
Black to move and win
Black to move and win
Position no 3
Black to move and win
Position no 4
White to move and win
Position no 5
White to move and win
Position no 6
White to move and saves the game
White to move and saves the game
Position no 7
Position no 8
Black to move and wins
Black to move and wins
Position no 9
Position no 10
Black to move and saves the game
Full Name: 
Class:
Class: Answers to all 10 positions:
Total Defence 2009
It's personal. Play your part.
What Will You Defend?
Every year on 15 February, the day Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, Singapore commemorates Total Defence Day to remind Singaporeans that everyone has a part to play in defending our country. In 2009, we will be commemorating 25 years of Total Defence with a key difference. Instead of suggesting to Singaporeans how they should think about the five aspects of Total Defence, the 2009 Total Defence outreach will revolve around a central question - What will you defend?
Let us dig deep within ourselves, and reflect on what it is in Singapore that we hold most dear in life, what it is that we will strive to protect and defend in times of threat or crisis. It may be something connected to our personal passion, or our closest friends and loved ones. It could be a physical item of sentimental worth like old photos, something abstract like the core value of sincere friendship, or just people we cherish.
In doing so, the various Total Defence outreach activities will drive home the theme of "It's Personal. Play Your Part", by providing the people of Singapore with opportunities to reflect on the relevance of Total Defence to their personal lives, and understand that everyone has a part to play.
So, express yourself and share with us: What will you defend?
Sources: www.whatwilludefend.sg
www.totaldefence.sg
Total Defence Chess
Submit your chess answers along with a brief essay [max. 500 words] answering the question "What Will You Defend?"
Name: Class:
Lim Xiao Hui wins the March Holidays Edition!
Lim Xiao Hui (3D) was declared winner of the March Holidays Edition of the Total Chess Defence Quiz 2009. She was commended at morning assembly by the school officials for her essay. School's Vice-Principal (Administration) Mr. Loh Yuh Por rewarded her with a copy of Grandmaster Mihail Marin's Secrets of Chess Defence. The book was signed by our school Principal, Mdm Heng Boey Hong.
Here is Lim Xiao Hui's essay:
"What will you defend?
People often asked...
Economy Defence
We must not give up our material. We must not give up our pieces easily, either in strong or weak position. The Queen is not necessarily a powerful piece, it depends on the situations.Pawns are not necessarily weak pieces, they can promote either into a queen, rook, bishop or knight. So we must protect them like with do with the king. All pieces on the board are very precious.
Social Defence
We must defend our king. We must also offer protection to all our pieces. We must think carefully before we make a move, otherwise, our network connection will be broken.
Psychological Defence
If our opponent makes a very strong move, we must not be alarmed. We should keep calm and think out of an ideal solution.
Military Defence
Pawns are just like our frontline soldiers. They can protect stronger pieces like the king and the queen from attacks. They can also penetrate into our opponent's kingdom.
Civil Defence
Other pieces (besides pawns) are valuable as they can prevent checkmate. They are like police to keep order; and to protect life and properties.
In summary, we must protect our country, family and community."
