importance which you can make before you take him. Beware also of
snatching hastily a proffered man, it may be only given as a bait to
catch a more important advantage from you.

If at the end of a game you remain with Pawns against a Knight and find
it difficult to evade his repeated checks, recollect that by placing
your King on the same diagonal as the Knight, with but one intervening
square between them, you cannot again be checked under three moves.

When you have lost a game which has cost you great attention, it is a
good practice to play it over afterwards in private, and endeavor to
discover where the error occurred through which your opponent gained his
first advantage. This custom will improve both your memory and your
play.


ON THE SEVERAL OPENINGS OR BEGINNINGS OF GAMES.

Before proceeding to the consideration of the various methods of
commencing the game, it is advisable for you to recur to the preceding
sections, which treat of the arrangement of the men--the moves of the
men--their relative powers--the technical terms in use among
players--and the laws of the game. When you have familiarized yourself
with these, it will be time for you to direct your attention to that
most important feature in the game of chess--the art of opening the
game.

There are several modes of beginning the game, but the following are the
principal:--