I want to talk about something I call the Art of Evasion. Bobby Fischer famously said, “chess is war on a board.” Well war is something I happen to know something about and I agree. Evasion is perhaps the principle strategy employed in all forms of warfare. After all there are no cowards in war, and everyone wants to live. Sun Tzu said, “If your enemy is stronger, evade him.” This is a strategy that plays a roll in all chess, but is most acutely observable in speed chess. Why?: Because speed chess allows for all the possibilities of chess to unfold in hyper-speed, so evasion as an art, becomes absolutely necessary to master. Your opponent will do anything to conquer you, so you must be willing to evade him if in danger. I had four of the best speed chess games I ever played in this regard with a Candidate Master, Silvio Andrés Llorens, and I will post them below. One of them isn’t evasion, but a checkmate. I only post that one to show that evasion can wear an opponent down and lead to a victory. Just look at Afghanistan. The key thing to remember in evasion is that even down to just a king, evasion is possible. The king is a piece that has strength, and more mobility than a pawn. Many players just give up in speed chess when down to a king, but this is a mistake. The clock is the decision maker between a draw, win, or loss more often than not. It is acceptable to resign a speed chess game when checkmate is unavoidable, even honorable. But, when you can obtain a draw by evasion… it is also fair play. All is fair in love and war after all. Please note that playing the engine is a great way to learn evasion, as is playing “superior” opponents. So next time you feel that your position is hopeless consider evasion. If you can evade, and survive, you will live to fight another day. Thanks chess friends. (FM Stalemate example provided)