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Tempo: a move as time
At a glance
A tempo is a move seen as time. You gain a tempo when your move achieves something and your opponent has to waste a move. In “My System”, Aaron Nimzowitsch shows how tempi are gained and lost in the opening. At the board, this helps you bring your pieces into play faster than your opponent.
In short
Nimzowitsch compares the opening to a race. Whoever stops along the way loses time. In chess both sides move in turn, and every move is a step. This step is called a tempo.
He shows the typical gain of a tempo after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3. The knight comes into play and attacks the queen at the same time. The queen has to move again. In this way White makes progress, but Black does not.
A gain of tempo is often preceded by an exchange. The opponent has to recapture, and the recapturing piece then stands badly. Then you attack it and gain time. A check in between only interrupts this plan, as Nimzowitsch shows with an example.
Tempi can be counted. In one example Nimzowitsch counts five white tempi. They are two knights, a rook, the pawn in the center and the king after castling. For him a safe king also counts as a tempo.
Start with lesson 9, where you develop a piece with an attack. Lesson 10 shows the safe king as a tempo. In Nimzowitsch – Alapin you see what grabbing a pawn costs. In Lee – Nimzowitsch, an exchange is followed by a gain of tempo.
Summarized by the editors in their own words. This is not a quotation.
How tempi get lost
If a piece moves several times, it swallows tempi. If it is then exchanged for a freshly developed piece, these tempi are lost. Nimzowitsch compares this to a farmer who, along with his piglet, also loses all the feed he gave it.
In Nimzowitsch – Tarrasch, a black bishop goes from f8 via c5 to b4. There it is exchanged. Nimzowitsch remarks how much precious time Black has lost by this.
No time for grabbing pawns
In the opening, development is the most important business. Whoever captures a harmless pawn with unfinished development loses tempi. So Nimzowitsch advises not to play for winning pawns in this phase.
He names one exception himself. You may take a pawn in the center if you can do so without great danger. To him, a gain in the center is worth a tempo, because it brings room for your own pieces.
Today’s view
The early queen after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 is still played today. Black then usually retreats it to a safe square and catches up on development. So a lost tempo is not a fixed price: what counts is whether your opponent can use the time.
In the endgame a move can even do harm. Then you would rather give the duty to move to your opponent. The article on zugzwang explains more about this.
Where to find it in Nimzowitsch
- My System: I. Teil, 1.3 Der Entwicklungsvorsprung als Ideal (original text)
The lead in development as the aim of the opening and the typical gain of tempo after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3.
- My System: I. Teil, 1.4 Abtausch nebst nachfolgendem Tempogewinn original text not yet published
The exchange followed by a gain of tempo, the check as an interlude and the counting of tempi.
- My System: I. Teil, 1.7 Vom Bauernraub in der Eröffnung. Zum Bauernraub sei keine Zeit. Die besondere Hochachtung vor dem Zentralbauern und worin diese sich äußert original text not yet published
Why there is no time for grabbing pawns in the opening.
- My System: I. Teil, 1.7a. Nimm jeden Zentralbauern, wenn solches ohne größere Gefahr geschehen kann! original text not yet published
The exception: a pawn in the center is worth a tempo if it can be won without great danger.
- My System: I. Teil, Partie-Beispiele zu den ersten drei Kapiteln (original text)
Games for the first three chapters, among them Nimzowitsch – Alapin, Lee – Nimzowitsch and Nimzowitsch – Tarrasch.