A mixed bag of tricks that people often miss.

Bughouse for Beginners: Commonly Missed Opportunities

JarlCarlander

Updated: Feb 10, 2020, 11:17 PM | 20

Often in the random pool, I'm playing as a 2400 with three 1800 players, and I have noticed a few recurring patterns; opportunities that are often missed. There is no real structure to the things that 1800s tend to miss, so I just give these as they occur to me.

#1. Smothered Mates

One of the most common things I am just a little too slow to type is "play N@h3, it mates". Let's look.

White is being positionally squeezed, but Black has neglected a few things. First, the h6 square is not defended. Secondly, the f7 square is only defended once. If White drops Nh6+, and White has a Rook or Queen in hand, Black must take. If Black plays Kh8, R@g8 forces Black to play Rxg8 and Nxf7 is mate. If Black does take, White needs the house to mate. But if White has enough Knights, Rooks, and a Queen, mate is possible. 1. Nh6 gxh6 2. R@h8+ Kxh8 3. p@g7+Kxg7 4. N@h5 will mate. Always look for this.

Some positions are like this but require less material to mate. It will depend on what squares each of the players are controlling.

Some positions are not quite like this but are close. Sometimes when you are on the back foot, you can lure away a key defender and then commence the attack. Sometimes such trick moves are all you have.

Sometimes a knight on f6 makes the smothered mate impossible, because the f6 Knight defends g8, meaning that the Rook on f8 can remain defending the f7 square against the Knight. I have played many a "smothered mate" where all I did was give a free rook and make my opponent safer. But with a Bishop on e5, sometimes you get this sort of thing...

If Black plays Kh8, Rg8 now mates, because if Rxg8 Nxf7, or if Nxg8 Bxg7 is mate.

#2. Conserve attacking material and force opponent to spend defensive material

Instead of dropping a Bishop right next to the enemy King where it can be taken, you can drop it two squares away, and force your opponent to interpose a piece (because you should nearly always block a check when under attack), then take the piece interposed. You will get more time and more checks for less, and your opponent will be forced to spend their pieces with which they can block checks, or with which they can counterattack you later. And of course, your partner will get more stuff to work with, which they made need if you are sacking.

In this position, supposing you only have a Bishop, dropping it at b3 makes more sense than dropping it on c4.

Moves which force your opponent to spend a pawn or a piece to block are often good, even in general. Even pawns are very powerful, and if an opponent is forced to use them for awkward defensive moves, that's good for me.

#3. When being attacked, trade off attacking pieces

Important, but frequently neglected. There are three reasons to do this. First, less attacking pieces around your King. Second, if you trade off some attackers, the attacking pieces will not defend each other as the attack progresses. Many games are lost because someone was not able to play King takes Knight in a variation where an initial checking Knight should have been captured. There are many variations of this, but I will try to set up a good example.

Here, if White doesn't play Bxf4, they will not be able to play Kxf4 later. Kxf4 might be vital for White. White will still be in check by a Knight, but the option to take f4 with the King and then try to get back to safety will not be there if White neglects to play Bxf4 first. Keeping attacking pieces undefended allows your King more flexibility.

I never tire of saying this: give up material to stay alive. A strong partner can play down material. But they can't play if you are mated. Many players are afraid to be burdensome, but losing your King is more burdensome than losing a few Queens. Queens are stupid, unwieldy, overrated, and overpriced pieces. The strongest piece is a pawn, because pawns can become either a Queen or a Knight.

#4. Defensive Bishop Checks

This one happens all the time.

It seems as if White is in some trouble, but B@a4 solves the problem. R@c6 might be a good counter, but there shouldn't be a rook in Black's hand so early.

Some players try to exchange the Queens with a sac on d4, hoping for N@c2, displacing the enemy king and regaining the Queen.

In this position, it is good to have B@a4. Black probably shouldn't play this way. Or, if White cannot get a Bishop, they should be sure of no Knight.

#5. Dying while trying to make back time

So your partner has mate. You are are down some material, and down a few seconds on the clock. Your King is a little uncomfortable, or as VampyreSlayer sometimes says, "In the witness protection program". Your partner writes "wait". You make a move. Your partner tells you "wait let's think about how to live". You don't wait. Now you are almost mated. Your partner spams the red hand, signalling for you to stop. You move again. Your opponent mates you. Your partner gets mad. You feel bad. Your opponents write "LOL" in the comments. It's not a fun time. Don't do this. Ask your partner for advice on how to make up the time. Bughouse is a collaborative game. Find out what pieces your partner has to give. If the time is extremely close, and your position very desperate, try to find some anti-premoves. If you have plenty of time to think, you should use it. The burden is on your opponent to move quickly to prevent you from making up the time.

Conversely, if you are mated and your partner has the opportunity to chess, (to play bughouse in a chess-like manner) you should let them try if they want to. Try to buy as much time as you can, and perhaps as many trades as you can, unless your partner wants to attack without trades, which many titled players like to do.

#6. Knowing when to keep check

In some positions, all you have to do is spam checks and you will eventually mate. Your partner, if perceptive, will play for your board. Many times, I am trading for my partner's attack, and they inexplicably stop giving checks, and get mated. Well, perhaps the right move was hard to see. But if your King safety is bad beyond repair, it is good to ask for advice on how to attack.

Sometimes, instead of spamming checks, you have to find a judicious quiet move which cuts off the retreat of the opponent's King.

Assuming low flow, B@g7 could be an excellent idea for White. Sometimes non-checking moves are better. All you do is control some key squares.

Another example of a strong quiet move, taken from a game of ZLangley's.

What Black wants is a Knight, but it isn't there. So ZLangley played B@e4!

In the Helms/Botez stream, WFM Alexandra Botez plays B@g1! An excellent move. Botez mates shortly after.

Perhaps CheckForChess should try N@h6 in response. He does not have enough material after N@h6, gxh6 (forced since Kh8 R@g8 Rxg8 and Nxf7 is mate) R@h8 Kxh8 p@g7 and after N@h5 CheckForChess needs another Knight--but it should be possible to force on the Helms board since the CheckForChess team is up six seconds. B@g1 would be stronger if the f7 square was defended. But it is a clever trick nonetheless!

You can watch this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNEK-bgVN4I

#7. Lead your attack with weaker pieces

Like all of the above, this is just a rule of thumb, but you can see a game where I screwed up by leading with the Queen instead of a pawn.

I am White, and my opponent is the immensely strong HisokaCC. Here, I played the egregious Q@d6+, when I had N@f5+, which leads to mate after Kf7 Nb5-d6. If Kg8 Q@f7+ and Kh8 Qxg7 is mate. If Kg6 Q@f7+ and after Kg5 h4 Kg4 dropping a pawn or Bishop on f3 is mate. Instead my move means my Queen is already dropped and I only won the game because my partner NM Frolik flagged KenFromFics. In such a tough match-up, it's easy to forget what you know.

#8 Move-order in back rank mates

With a Rook and Knight, R@a1 and N@e2 mate. Strangely, many players play N@e2 and then ask for the follow up. Unfortunately, after N@e2 there really is no follow up.

#9 Sneaky Rook Checks

Suppose in this position, with White to move, that both players have essentially everything in their hands. They can drop anything. White cannot take on g7--it's just too slow. You have to keep check. R@h8! is the move, forcing the King to take, and then check, check, check, and it's over. But don't play hxg7 without check--that means a loss.

Less frequently, you may also see a similar idea with R@h1/h8...

The details don't matter so much here. (And the game I had in mind is for some reason no longer in the database). The key is in making Rxh2 a check to the White King. Sometimes that's the only way. In one game I said "Rh1' and my partner played Rh4-h8. It's easy to confuse the coordinates, especially in bughouse. However, if you have the idea of R@h1 among your usual bag of tricks, it will jump out at you.

In this game, good-gamer missed a sneaky Queen mate.

Q@h1+, with a Knight in hand, is excellent. The Queen can't be taken due to Bxg2+ Kg1 and N@h3#. Perhaps after Ke1 instead of taking the Queen, Black simply plays Qxg7, taking the pressure off of his own King. Fortunately good-gamer found mate later.

In the following game between two strong players, aaaanwar81 and JeremyDurham, the following position was reached.

I think it's pretty easy to see the mate White has, with a Rook in hand. R@h8+, Rxh7+, Rxg7+, Ne6++, and Qg7 mates.

#10. Active Defense

If your opponent gives check from a distance, it's often a good idea to block with something that threatens to take the checking piece. So this means blocking with Bishops or Rooks instead of pawns. Especially if your King is on the run, it's a good idea to get as much control of the squares around your King as you can. Often you should even use the Queen. In the diagrammed position, unless B is really bad for my partner, I would prefer B@f6 to p@f6.

Here, NM Frolik67 has been sacrificed on. He responds to Qf3+ with Nf6, but I preferred Qf6, which more actively challenges the active White Queen, and also makes room on d8 for his own King. Additionally, the Queen is good for me since I am White and I have a Knight on e5.

When you have moved a rook over for defense, activate it if you can, by recapturing with a pawn.

Here Black should recapture with the pawn, and not the Bishop.

#11. Block Checks

In general, it is best to place pieces around your King when being checked from a distance. Moving your King means that the Bishop, Rook, or Queen, projects control through your position. You should nearly always try to nullify this control by placing pieces.

#12. Add more attacks/defenders

Rather than recycling trades, it is often good to drop more pieces, to increase your control.

Black could take g2 and drop a pawn on h3. But it might be better to play p@f3 and then p@g2. If it were White to move, a good idea might be B@h1.

Sometimes, you can drop a Queen next to your king. You can expect to lose the Queen, but the Queen is the best defender. Probably the thing I have taken most pains to emphasize in all my blogging is that it's ok to lose a Queen. Sometimes it is awful not to lose the Queen, since saving the Queen often loses the game.

As a side note, on chess.com, the piece values displayed in bughouse games are those of chess. So if you are up a Knight and a pawn, you will +4. But the values of the pieces in bughouse are not those of chess. The Queen is worth 9 points in chess, and so many players are reluctant to part with Queens. But if you know the bughouse values of the pieces, you will be ready to give away Queens more freely.

The Values of the Pieces in Bughouse

Pawn = 1

Knight = 2

Bishop = 2

Rook = 2

Queen = 4

Everything is expendable. Materialism in bughouse is generally not worth it. Pieces are only as valuable as the squares they control.

#13. Enemy pieces can be your best defenders

If you have a castled king, and your opponent sacs a Knight on g2, you might not want to take it.

The Knight has damaged White's Kingside, but the Knight is not immediately threatening anything. This means you can add a defender--perhaps B@g3 or B@h3. Perhaps you can make a threat or your own. Many players grab the Knight and get killed. But often you just captured one of your best defensive pieces. The enemy Knight on the g2 square means there can be no enemy Queen there, unless the opponent spends time to move it. Often Nxg2 is too slow, and Black needs to find a better way into White's Kingside.

#14. Controlling c4/c5 and f4/f5

A very specific one, but common enough to deserve a place.

My (obviously limited) understanding of chess is that capturing with the Bishop is equally as viable as capturing with the pawn. However in bughouse, the pawn capture is a clearly better move, since the Bishop is needed on d2 in order to protect the f4 square against Knight drops. A Knight dropped on f4 can harass the White Queen, attack g2, and even support annoying moves like p@e2. The doubled pawns really don't matter that much, since in bughouse you can always fix weaknesses later. B@a3 seems like a plausible way to do that while also trying to prevent Black from castling.

#15. Move Order in f7-sacrifices

Supposing that White has a Queen in hand, the move Qxf7+ probably leads to mate. But it is important to first remove the defender of the e5 square. Bxc6+, is an important preparatory move. N@g5 is not mating, because Black can sacrifice their Queen in defense. Remember to move the defender first, especially if you can do it with check.

#16. Use your pieces to drag the enemy King to the right square.

Black has a Rook and Queen in hand. First drop the Rook at h1, forcing the King to capture it. Then Q@h2 is mate in one.

I took this from a real game. White's partner is perilously close to being mated. It's essential to be fast and to the point. White correctly plays B@d8+!. If the Bishop is taken, Q@e8 is mate in one. The Bishop defends the Knight, so the only other option for the Black king is Kd6, after which White mates with Q@d7, making use of the d4 pawn.

This list is always expanding. I am taking examples from real games not to pick on anyone, because the artificial positions I come up with are never very good.

Bughouse for Beginners: Commonly Missed Opportunities

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