Schacksnack

Many chess players make the mistake of effectively playing with only seven pieces, forgetting that the king can also become an active and useful piece when the position allows it. The strongest players understand that they are not playing with seven pieces and a king, but with eight pieces and eight pawns.

The game Anatoly Karpov – Alexander N Zajcev, RSFSR-ch Kuibyshev 1970, is an extreme but instructive example of transition from the ”safe king” into the ”useful king” phase and vice versa.