The theme for the day is to get the idea home about thinking more about defence and what to do when being attacked.
A simple method to help you defend your pieces when being attacked is the TRIP method, just ask yourself four questions:-
Black to move in this example, white’s knight attacks b6 pawn, so ask yourself
1) Can I take the attacking piece? – YES
2) can the attacked pawn Run? – NO
3) Can I block the attack – NO (you can never block a Knight)
4) Can I protect the pawn? – NO
So review your answers and act on the best defence, in this case, Bishop takes Knight.
In another quick lesson, a technique was explained about how to win an endgame situation, when each side had a King and a pawn racing to Queen.
King and Queen Endgame sequence
When both sides can Queen a pawn with their next moves, it’s important for the one who Queens first stops the other one getting a Queen. This example demonstrates how it can be done, but only if the opponents pawn is on Knight, King or Queen files, otherwise a draw can be forced if played correctly.