Lessons From Crete VI: The Most Important Factor In Chess

THERE are many candidates for what counts most in chess, including material, time, initiative and accurate analysis, all of which have been put forward by one top player or another.

But arguably all these are trumped by grandmaster Nigel Davies's "most important factor," namely king safety*, as was graphically illustrated in my round-six game at the Amateur Chess Organization's 50+ 'world championships' at Fodele Beach, Crete.

The following position arose after 30 moves.

Black has just played 30...Ke8-e7

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Black's rook-plus is only temporary, so really the material situation can be thought of as favouring White by a pawn.

Not only that, but White also has the safer king ... provided the black queen is not allowed into White's position.

I played 31.Qxh7, which turns a probable win into a loss as there is no good answer to 31...Qg4.

Instead 31.h3 would have covered the g4  square, given the white king a bolt hole at h2, and left the rook to be picked up next move.

LESSON: nothing else matters in chess if your king is not safe.

*Davies is not the only GM to emphasise king safety, but he is the one I have seen - mostly on DVDs - emphasise this factor the most.