Blunder and woodpusher

Press, 9 April 1977, Page 17

Blunder and woodpusher

Attacking The King. By J. N. Walker. Oxford University Press. 171 pp. $4.10. (Reveiwed by Bob Schumacher) John Walker has a simple theory about chess when it comes to teaching young players the basics of the game. He advocates that they should understand the. principles involved rather than attempt to memorise countless examples. With so many books concentrating on openings and end games, it is refreshing to find one with a different theme — attacking the king. Too much importance can sometimes be placed on openings and, as Mr Walker emphasises, the king is the kingpin. It does not matter how well a player has played for 30 moves — a silly mistake on move 31 can lead to a checkmate, and the good preparatory work is wasted. Mr Walker’s principal characters in his nine well-illustrated chapters are Bobby Blunder and his teacher, Mr Woodpusher. Bobby is a youngster in a hurry to become a world champion; Mr Woodpusher, the patient, throughful tactician.

Mr Woodpusher, obviously a spokesman for the author, compares chess to boxing. One boxer can beat his opponent around the ring for half an hour, leaving him battered and bruised and then be caught by one knockout punch. It does not matter how easily one player appears to be winning his chess game; it is usually lost by the player who makes the last important mistake. He can still be a threat while there is one pawn remaining. Bobby is a player who plays himself into winning positions, but becomes over-confident, and is amazed to find himself checkmated. But he listens to Mr Woodpusher, and in the end he wins because he capitalises on the mistakes and over-confidence of his opponent — the same traps that ensnared him. The summaries at the end of each chapter are concise and informative. They complement the diagrams and commentaries that precede them. Mr Walker, a school teacher and chess champion of Oxfordshire several times, gets his message across — checkmate ends a game of chess.