Luft 1181957 204234154 2008-04-08T15:43:43Z Bubba73 218586 /* References */ {{chess notation}} {{Chess diagram|= | tright | |= 8 | | | | |rd| | |kd|= 7 | | | | | | | | |= 6 | | | | | | | | |= 5 | | | | | | | | |= 4 | | | | | | | | |= 3 | | | | | | | | |= 2 | | | | | |pl|pl|pl|= 1 | | | | | | | |kl|= a b c d e f g h | White needs to give his king ''luft'' to avoid a back rank checkmate. }} '''''Luft''''', the [[German language|German]] word for "air" (sometimes also "space" or "breath"), is used by some [[chess]] writers and commentators to denote a space left by a [[Pawn (chess)|pawn]] move into which a [[castling|castled]] [[king (chess)|king]] may move, especially such a space made with the intention of avoiding a [[back rank checkmate]]. A move leaving such a space is often said to "give the king some ''luft''". A simplified example is seen to the right. Black is threatening [[checkmate]] with the simple 1...Re1# and White must deal with this threat. The right thing to do is to give the king some ''luft'' by moving a pawn on the ''g'' or ''h'' [[File (chess)|file]]: 1.g3, 1.g4, 1.h3 and 1.h4 should all be good enough to avoid immediate mate. After each, 1...Re1+ can be simply met with 2.Kg2 or 2.Kh2. {{Chess diagram|= |tright | |= | |kd| | | | | | |= |pd| |pd| | | | | |= |xo|pd|xo| | | | | |= | | | | | | | | |= | | | | | | | | |= | | | | | | | |pl|= | | | | | |pl|pl| |= | | | | | | |kl| |= |Black has a weak luft, White has a strong luft (Evans, 1967). }} It is usually better to move the h-pawn (or the a-pawn if the king is on the [[chess terminology#Queenside|queenside]]) because moving the f-pawn can weaken the king's position and moving the g-pawn creates [[chess terminology#Hole|holes]] at f3 and h3 (or f6 and h6 for Black on the kingside). In the diagram, Black has a weak luft because of the holes on a6 and c6; White has a strong luft, without holes {{Harvcol|Evans|1967|pp=52-53}}. {{clear}} ==See also== *[[Flight square]] ==References== * {{Citation |surname1=Evans|given1=Larry|authorlink1=Larry Evans |title=New Ideas in Chess |year=1967 |publisher=Cornerstone Library (1984 Dover edition) |ID=ISBN 0-486-28305-4}} [[Category:Chess terms]] [[Category:German loanwords]]