As chess players, we often measure progress by Ranking, Rating, Wins or Tournament Victories. But there are many ways to measure progress. The growth of our aesthetic sense, the capacity to appreciate beauty for its own sake. Richard Feynman once observed, in relation to his perspective as a quantum physicist towards appreciating the beauty of a flower as compared to an artist : Understanding something more deeply “only adds to the excitement, the mystery, and the awe”. This sentiment applies perfectly to the layered beauty of a Study.
A Chess Study is a composed position, with a clear condition such as ‘White to play and win’ or ‘White to play and draw.’ Mostly the condition is not specified and figuring out what to play for is also a part of the solution. Unlike tactical puzzles from actual games, studies are often created to showcase an idea or combination that is both instructive and aesthetically pleasing. A Study is always composed from the White side to maintain uniformity and has only 1 right answer i.e. only 1 correct move, or correct sequence of moves. Solving a study includes asking the right questions, finding the best reply for the opponent for each move of yours, responding correctly, and continuing this exercise till the goal is achieved.
Book recommendations:
One of my first chess books was a hand me down from my older cousin who was then studying in IIT Bombay, where he developed a keen love for the game. It was the ginormous book “2545 Endgame Studies” in hard cover, written by the Armenian Chess Player, Coach and Study Composer Ghenrikh Kasparyan (1910- 1995). The book contains 2545 Studies based on the theme of ‘Domination’ in the Endgame, many composed by Kasparyan himself, and many by other Brilliant composers like Alexey Troitsky, and Henri Rinck.
Incidentally, Kasparyan learnt to play chess through a chess column in the newspaper, about a 100 years ago!
‘Solving in Style ‘ by English Grandmaster ( and PHD in Mathematics ) John Nunn is another amazing book that presents challenging studies. Nunn emphasizes structured thinking, patience, and visualization—essential skills for both competitive players and lovers of chess compositions.
Solving a Study
Study composed by Afanasyev, 1964
Here, White is in a spot of bother as Black is ready to make a Queen on the next move. On the other hand, Black has no other material apart from his King and pawn. Since it’s a Study, we know that there is a solution! This means that White will either win or draw this position. The only possibilities here are either White wins by stopping Black from Queening with the help of his Knight, or he checkmates Black OR he makes a draw by creating a Stalemate idea, or a Fortress.
After some trials, it becomes clear that the White Knight on c4 is unable to stop the Black ‘e’ pawn from Queening. White also has too many pieces to play for Stalemate or Fortress tricks here. So, the only option is a Checkmate idea. But how do we Checkmate the Black King on this open board?
Solution: 1. c3! controlling the d4 and b4 squares. The d6, c6, and b6 squares around the Black King are already controlled by the White King whereas the pawn on e4 does the important job of controlling d5.
1…e1 = Queen! (If Black had opted for 1…Kc4, we could go 2. Ne3 Check followed by Ng2, controlling the Queening square) 2. Nd6!! Now our Knight controls the remaining 2 squares around the Black King: c4 and b5. White’s next move would be b4 Checkmate!! Knight on d6 also blocks the diagonal a7-g1, thus eliminating Black’s Qb6 check resource! Black has only 1 trick left in the position to avoid an immediate loss
2…Qc3 Now pause! If we capture bc3, it would in fact Stalemate the Black King! Did you notice that?
Usually, a draw would be a good result when you are a Queen down, but here we have a chance to win thanks to an Intermezzo.
3. Nb7! Check first. Chess is not Checkers, we do not need to capture back immediately and can first give this check, forcing the Black King to move and get rid of Stalemate ideas.
3…Kd4 4. bc Kc3 (if 4…Ke4 5. C4 Kd4 6.c5 wins) 5. e5. And White will eventually Queen the pawn. White wins!
Benefits
Studies improve our imagination and challenge us to look beyond the obvious. Solving studies is about finding a key idea. The idea could be ‘Domination’ like in Kasparyan’s book, or ‘Stalemate’ or even pure Geometry. They train our minds to ask the crucial question: What if…? This helps us form the habit of questioning and exploring hidden possibilities. This needs to be backed up with accurate Calculation. Since studies have only one correct answer, they develop the ability to chose between several options and force us to visualize positions several moves ahead—skills that translate directly to better play in practical games.
