Luft
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2008-04-08T15:43:43Z
Bubba73
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/* 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]]