Art of Defence in Chess [2 ed.] 1857441540, 9781857441543

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Lyev Polugayevsky & akov Damsky

Lyev Polugayevsky & lakov Damsky

The Art of Defence in Chess

EVERYMAN CHESS Gloucester Publishers pic www.everymanchess.com

First published in 1988 by Gloucester Publishers pic, (formerly Everyman Publj, , pic), Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London, EC1V OAT Reprinted (with corrections) 1990 This edition (with corrections) published 1996 by Gloucester Publisher pic. English translation copyright© 1988 Ken Neat

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contents

Introduction Cha pter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Cha pter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 1 0. Chapter 1 1 . Chapter 1 2. Chapter 1 3. Chapter 1 4 Chapter 1 5.

Prevention is better than cure Disarmament - the road to peace Trenc h warfare Turnin g the tide Block ade The versatile king Mines on the road Escaping from custody Returning to the Middle Ages . . . Look out: a trap! I n search of stalemate It is never too late to resign! Counterattack Counterblow in the centre Whoever is qu icker, whoever is the more generous . . Chapter 1 6. Forward - through sacrifices! Chapter 1 7. When the hu nter becomes the victim Chapte r 1 8. 1 80 deg ree turn C hapter 1 9. Attack is the best form o f defence Appendix - Answers to the questions: "What wou ld you have played?" Index of P layers .

v

vii 1 12 26 34 66 75 89 1 03 111 1 21 1 34 1 44 1 53 1 58 1 71 1 77 203 212 227 233 264

Symbols

+

x

!

!! ?

??

!? ?!

check a capture a very good move a brill iant move an error a blunder a move deserving attention a d ubious or risky move

vi

I nt rod uction

one last chance. And not such a slight one as might be imagined. This chance is d efe n c e . Passive, active, combi national . . . It is an essential and highly import­ ant component in the game of any player, and it is no accident that even some h ighly talented players, who have idolized only attack to the detriment of defensive mastery, have failed to achieve that which they could well have expected, given their level of talent a nd degree of true love for chess. Therefore masters and g randmasters, notable in their youth for their sharp attacking style, but, as Botvinnik puts it, capable of self-reprogramming, in matur­ ity have demonstrated, even if perhaps not through choice, examples of tenacious and reliable defence. Evidence of this is provided by the game extracts g iven below by such devotees of attack as Tal, Ljubojevic, Vaganian, and others.

Remem ber how sword fig hts are arran ged in films . In the course of battle eve ry noble hero - whe ther he be D'Artagn an, Cira no de Bergerac or someone else inevitably stumb les, falls and . . . after avoiding a fatal sword blow, swiftly leaps up in order to display his skill in a pro­ longed fenci ng exchange. Exactly the same can happen in chess. Yes, on encountering a prepared variation you have lost the opening battle or have simply not managed to equal­ ize with Black. Yes, you have been outplayed by your ex perienced opponent i n positional manoeu vring, or committed a vexing trans­ position of moves, or have not guessed in time the oppo n­ ent's plan, or have simply been careless - and now Your positio n, as the com­ me� tators politel y say, g ives senous cause for alarm I n a . �ord, by analogy with the l nem a you are lying on you r �ck and you are about t o b e P le rced b y the sha rp steel bl ade . . . Do not despair: you have

�

It stands to reason that by defence alone the present-day chess throne cannot be won. vii

viii

The Art of Defence in Chess

The time has long since passed when Steinitz, for the

sake of the triumph of his theory

of

action

and

play,

put up a successful defence".

voluntarily

ion decided to obtain counter­

positional

deliberately avoided positive in

theless, according to Bot­ vinnik, "after 17 ... Nc4! 18 Nc5 Rab8 Black could have

chosen defence exploited the

strategic incompetence of his

attacking opponents. In our day the basis of success is nevertheless offensive play.

But aiming for it contrary to

the demands of the position,

neglecting defence

for the

But the ex-World Champ­

play against the white king, for which he transferred his

bishop to c7. There followed

17

•

•

•

Bd8?

We will again

hand over to Botvinnik, who

annotated this game:

"The primary cause of Black's defeat. It turns out

sake of illusory activity, is just

that

mistake,

such positions. Black's main

as punishable as any other even

the

most

serious. An example is pro­

vided by the 11th game of the Karpov- Spassky Candidates Semi-Final Match, Leningrad, 1974.

Spassky

is

unfamiliar

with the basic subtleties of

problem is to prevent e3-e4.

Therefore, as long as his bishop is attacking the d4

pawn. he can feel secure. Now, however, Karpov makes a breakthrough in the centre and begins a decisive offens-

ive".

18 Nc5 Bc8 19 aS Bc7 20 g3 Nc4 21 e4 Bh3 22 Re 1 and ,

White's initiative, especiallY after the incautious

dxe 4,

decisive.

quickly

22

. .

·

b e came

Thus the neglect of defenc e

White stands slightly better. He controls more space, and after a4-a5 and the invasion of his knight at cS, the weakness of the a6 pawn may cause

Black some trouble. Never-

and an unfounded aim to transform a 'passive' bishoP into an 'active' one led to the defeat of a highly experienced and versatile player . . .

The number of such ex·

amples

is

e n d l ess.

AS·

ix

Introduction are those wher e, by however, ged defence, one arran y timel s an advantage lize eutra n side opponent. It the by ed gain that Alekh ine ent accid no was

once remarked that to defeat him you had to win a game against him three times: first

Goteborg Interzonal Tourna­

ment, 1955. White has boldly

sacrificed two pawns followed by a bishop at h6, and after 15 ... Nh7? 16 Qxh6 fS 17

NxfS RxfS 18 BxfS he practi­ cally restored

the

material

balance while retaining a very

in the opening, then in the midalegame, and finally in the endgame.

picking up two more pawns, he won the game on move 39.

controversial nature of this

have

Disregarding the somewhat

strong

attack. After

Meanwhile, put

up

Black

a

soon

could

successful

assertion we must neverthe­

defence.To do this he should

the

genius

side pieces to the decisive

positions w h i c h a p p e a r hopeless. Even where games have concluded in a crushing

centre! After 15 ... Nc5! 16

less agree with the opinion of combinational

that there is a defence in many

win for one player, in a good half of the cases the analysts have later found adequate defensive resources.

have brought up his queen­

part of the battlefield - the

Rae1 (in the event of 16 Qxh6 Be4 17 NfS NeB the attack can

be regarded as parried) 16 ... Nd3 17 Bxd3 (forced, since

17 Qxh6 NeB 18 ReS fS is worse) 17 ..

.·

cxd3 18 Nf5

Be4 19 Nbd4 ReS 20 Nxh6+

(after 20 Qxh6 BfB 21 Qg5+ KhB 22 ·Re3 Nh7 the attack peters out) 20 ... Kf8 21 Qg5 Bg6! (the apJ2arently natural

21 ... dS? loses to 22 Rxe4! dxe4 23 Ne6+I fxe6 24 Qg6) 2 2 Rxe7! Rxet (22... Qxe7 is bad because of 23 NhfS) 23 Qxf6 Re4 24 Qh8+ Ke7 25

This position arose in a famous game Bronstein keres, which was awarded the first bri liancy prize in the

l

Nhf5+

Bxf5 26

Nxf5+

Ke6

27 Qh3 Qh8! 28 Qxd3 Qe5 his chances would have been preferable.

Defences have also been

X

The Art of Defence in Chess

f ound a g a i n s t s o m e of Alekhine's brilliant combi­ nations, and against many of

Tal's intuitive sacrifices, and in Anderssen's famous 'im­

mortal'

and

'evergreen'

games. And althougn this in no way belittles the genuine unsurpassed

beauty

of

all

that same Bronstein - Keres

game� we saw how on several occasions White had the possibility of inopportunely

capturing the h6 pawn, and how much ingenuity would

have been demanded of him to maintain his attack against c o r r e c t defence b y t he

these works of chess art, it

opponent . ..

devotees

principle a saving manoeuvre,

resourceful defence, which saved a game and, in our

not a day, a week or a year

continue

must

inspire

of

faith

in

def ence:

the in

move or plan may be found later, but directly at the board, during the game. Undoubtedly,

this is not

easy. And besides, ·while a

With a further example of

opinion, won a match, we will this

introduction,

which has perhaps become a little prolonged, but which is absolutely essential ...

mistake by the offensive side

will not necessarily lead to· defeat - perhaps only to a slowing in the tempo of the attack or the loss of the initiative, an error in defence is normally fatal."Experience

shows that errors occur more

often in defence than in attack, especially where the

defence care",

demands

Rudolf

extreme

Spielmann

rightly remarked nearly half

a century ago in his classic

The Art of Sacrifice in Chess.

But firstly, this lends added satisfaction to a well organized and implemented defence, and secondly, for whom is

chess an easy game?! ... In

same match referred to above. It was the eighth game, with the score This

Spassky

is

-

from

the

Karpov

standing at 2-1 in favour of the young challenger (the winner was the first to score 4 wins) , but in this position he stood so badly that in the press

xi

Introduction a 'consultation' of centre World Champions, two exTal, 'active ly and Euw e grandmasters by ' d s upp orte , Taimanov, y k s v e son dar , predicted Kotov and Tim m an

'. tor Black a 'swift end Indeed, had White prosa­ ically captured the pawn- 23 Qxb5 Rab8 24 Qe2 Rb4 25

Rd2 Rfb8 26 Rc 1 Qf4 27 d5! Nb6 28 d6, he would have had every chance of winning. But an attack is -.lways more attractive, and there followed:

23 d5

a6!

Amazing coolness: the pawn is defended, and 'all' that White has left is his attack.

24

h6

It was this move that formed the basis of the afore­ mentioned 'diagnosis' in the press centre ...

24

·

·

.

gxh6

Practically forced, since Black's king cannot 'sit it out' undef the cover of the white pawn: 24 .. g6 25 dxe6 fxe6 �6 NfS!, when he loses after oth 26 . exf5 27 Qe6+ Rf7 28 Oxg6+ Kf8 29 h7, and 26 Raea 27 h7+! Kxh7 28 ;d7+ Oxd7 29 Rh1+ Kg8 3 Oes. ·

·

R

.

·

·

25

Rh1

What is Black to do? He

seems bound to defend the

h6 pawn, since the opening of

the h-file looks fatal. But on 25 ...Kg7 White had prepared a blow of terrible strength -

26 f4!!. when no satisfactory defence is apparent. After 26

. .. gxf4 27 Qh2 Rh8 28 Ng2

e5 29 Nh4 the knight decis­ ively joins the attack, while in the event of 26 . .. Qxf4 27

dxe6 the undefended state of the black knight again allows its white opponent to break through to f5 (27 ... Qe4+ 28 Ka 1 Qxe6 29 Nf5+). Finally,

after 26 ... Nf6 27 dxe6 fxe6 28 f5 White succeeds in seiz­

ing the most important squares in the vicinity of the

black king - in particular, once again f5 . ..

25

.

..

Nf6!!

With the effect of an explod­ ing bomb! Black prophy­ lactically removes the knight

The Art of Defence in Chess

xii

from a possible attack, at the ni sa e time bringing it into the

front defensive line. And the h6

pawn?

. . .

Black

has

calculated that for it h e will

gain a highly important tempo

in the battle for the h-file­ the file of attack. 26 Rxh6

White

also

has

nothing

forcing after the alternative

26 d6 Qc6! (not allowing the

white queen to go to.f3) 27 f3 Kg7 28

Qh2

Rh8 29

Qe5

Qxf3!, with the threat of 30

.. . Qe4+.

26 . . .

Kg7

This tempo allows Black to meet 27 Rdh1 with 27 . Rh8, with saving exchanges. .

27 Rhh1 28 dxe6

.

Rad8

fxe6

29 Nc2 T h r e a te n i n g b o t h t h e capture on e6, and the deadly

30 Nd4. Black still appears to stand badly, but .. . 29

.

•

•

Qf4!

Y e t a n o t h er e xc e l l e n t defensive reply. The advance

of the white knight is pre­ vented, and for the moment

the loss of the pawn can be disregarded: 30 Rxd8 Rxd8 31 Qxe6 Qe4! leads to the rapid restoration of equilib­ rium. In Botvinnik's opinion: "The wors.t is now over for

Black".

30 f3

Kf7

31 a3

eS!

Beginning to eliminate his

pawn weaknesses. 32 Nb4

e4

33 fxe4 34 Rxd1

ReS!

Rxd1 +

That's it! The defence is

s u c c e s s f u l l y c o m p l ete d, whereas, the nasty 34 ... Qxg4?!

35

Qxg4

Nxg4 36

Rf1 + Kg7 37 Rg1 would still have given Black some un­ pleasant moments in the endgame. cluded:

The

35 Nxa6 36 Qxe4 37 Nc7

game

con­

Qxe4+ Rxe4 b4

38 axb4 Or 38 a!J b3 39 aS Rxg4 40_ a6 Ra4 41 Rd3 Ne4! 38 Rxb4 39 Rf1 Rf4 Draw agreed. •

•

.

Black's defence had such a strong psychological effect

on his opponent that the match lasted only another three games .. . There are many convincing examples of how, even in

opponents of s t re n g t h , l e a d i n g players have achieved their aim by tenacious defen ce. They will be given in the games equal

with

xiii

Introduction

to the n s rela ting . . s ectio d fens1ve I e ate typ1ca a ropri e we should cedure. Her anoth er mention ke to mple, cha racter­ actical exa � fact that t e ed by th play was m weaker side s with all the rules accordance _ takmg warfare: ess ch of account of all conceivable nuances, clinging to literally

�� � �

�

every 'entrenchment' in the defending position ... Yes, the story of the adjourned

game Reshevsky - Geller, Candidat es T o u r n a m e n t , Zurich 1953, is very instructive.

handed

to

the

controller.

Shortly before the resumption he

even

enquired

as

to

whether I might not be intend­

ing to resign without playing

on. And on arriving at the

tournament hall he demonst­ ratively

ordered

a

coffee,

asked for a spoon, and began

stirring in some sugar.

Meanwhile, in our adjourn­

ment analysis Yuri Averbakh

and I had found as many as three ideas which gave Black

hopes of saving the game.

The first was to try and obtain an ending with f- and h-pawns for White,

in which, as is

known, there are a number of

drawn positions. The second was to search for a position where

It will be sensible for us to read the acco unt by Geller, Who tenaciously defe nded at each of the possible lines. "It stands to reas on that the outcome of the gam e is dec1"ded. Therefore Reshevsky lo oked especially pleased aft r the h � envelope with t e adJourne d position ha d been

White's

two

extra

pawns would be blockaded. The third -a fantastic one­ was to play for stalemate! The resumption s h o wed t h a t, while Reshevsky had some­ how reckoned with the first two possibilities, he had not even considered the third. 41 . . .

Re1

42 f4

Re3

43 Rg4

Kh7

44 Rg3 45 h4? An

Re2

imperceptable

but

serious mistake. Reshevsky

thought that he could win as he pleased, and did not even

The Art of Defence in Chess

xiv

imagine how difficult his task

would become after such a careless

weakening

of the

g4 square. He should have

freed his king by moving his ro"ok from g3. 45 ...

46 Rf3

Re4 f6

This exchange is possible

only thanks to White's mistake on the previous move. Black

aims to establish control over g4, not allowing White to set up a pawn phalanx. 47 exf6 48 Kg3

gxf6

On 48 g4 Black had pre­

pared 48 ... f5, leaving White with a choice: either ari ending

with f- and h-pawns, or after 49 g5 Kg6 - passed g- and h-pawns blockaded, and the win more than problematic. 48 . . . 49 Ra3

Kg6

f5

Black has achieved a great

deal: his pieces are active, and

the

white

pawns

are

immobilized. Now the only way for Reshevsky to win was by 50 Ra8!, aiming for the

following deployment of his

forces: the white rook goes to g5, then the pawn advances

to h5 and the king to h4. During this Black is obliged to keep his king at h6 and his

rook on the 5th rank. Then comes g2(g3.)-g4, when Bla ck

cannot interpose a saving check in order to go into an ending with f- and h-pawns.

Reshevsky evidently de. cided that he could arrive at the· same position by a different, more forcing way.

But it was here that a surprise

awaited him. 50 Ra6+

Kh5

51 Rf6 Black seems doomed, but his king is too restricted! 51 .. .

Re3+

52 Kf2

Ra3

53 g3 White knows that after 53

Rxf5+ Kxh4 one of the drawn positions with blocked pawns is reached, but he is quit e happy with the proximity of his planned set-up after 53 ... Ra5 54 Kg2 Rb5 55 Kh3 Ra5 56 Rf8 Rb5 57 Rg8 Kh6 58 Rg5 Ra5 59 h5, then 60 Kh4 and 61 g4.

53 . . .

Rf3+!

The bomb explodes. If he takes the rook immediately or after 54 Kg2 Rxg3+, Black announces ... stalemate! I

have to admit that here I allowed myself a little bit of revenge, which was so pictu r· e descibed in th esquely s e n zi newspapers and maga

XV

Introduction

time. While Reshevsky of that pe d, at the board, stu fie stared and, tea of ss gla 1 ordered a he as kingly sta ·ust as pain an beg ier, earl ad done ... sugar me so stirring in Rxg3 2· Ke 54 Kxh4 55 Rxf5 +

�

Now everything is clear. off from B oth kings are cut ported unsup its and the pawn,

It is simply .not possible for

them all to occur within a

single game. Here, neverthe­

less, is a game in which, as if

to order, Black demonstrates a large number of purely

defensive ideas. Here we will

merely

designate

order to

them,

in

examine them in

more detail later.

advance leads to full material equality." 56 Kf2 Ra3 57 Rg5 Rb3 58 Kh5 59 Ke2 Ra3 60 f5 Draw agreed.

Rg1 Ra5

But tenacity in defence is a

purely

competitive

and the chess

feature,

content

of

defence can be highly diverse. Time-approve d defensive procedures are considered in the corresponding sections of the book. Of course, they are almost always inter­ con ected: for e xample , � passave defence gives way to the elimination of the opp on­ ent. s attacking pote ntial, or through simpli fication one can arrive at the creation of a rtress or at sta lemate. herefore an acquaint ance . •th defensive 'themes' will elp a Play er during a game t ·rec ognize the conditions � emp loyi ng par ticu lar •cs or a parti cular procedure

�

� � ta�r

A position by no means new to theory arose from the Nimzo-lndian Defence in the game Kasparov - Andersson,

Mosco w 'Tournament of Stars', 1981. It was simply Black' s plan that was not

altogether usual: to voluntarily spend the defending. 13 . . .

entire

game

Rxe31?

By sacrificing the exchange

(the first defensive procedure)

for

White's (future) central

striker, Black at the same time guarantees himself perma-

The Art of Defence in Chess

xvi nent

control

of e5,

which

enables him to blockade (the

second defensive procedure!)

the centre and White's king­

side.

14 fxe3

15 0-0 16 Qd4 17 Qf4

g6 Qe7 Bg7 Ne8

Passive defence, allowing

Black to commence block­

ading

action. After

the

outwardly more active 1 7 ... Ne5, the d6 pawn would have

been inadequately supported and the knight at f6 not too

secure. Now, in addition, the

invasion square c7 is prop,hy­ lactically defended ... 18 Rac1

BeS

19 Qf2

Ndf6

20 Bd3

hS

to g5 with control over f6

is now nipped in the bud.And,

given the opportunity, Black strengthen

the

blockade on the dark squares,

by placing his pawn at h4 and

hence controlling g3. 21 Nge2

Nh7

Preparing a prophylactic d e f e nc e o f t h e s li g h t l y weakened g 6 pawn. 22 Nf4

Nf8

a6 Bd7

It would have been a bad mistake to exchange on d4 The doubling of White·

�

pawns would have bee n an insignificant price to pay for the lifting of the blockade and the -increased activity of his pieces.

25 Rc2

Bg7

Black continues to maint ain

the status quo. 26 Qg3

Rb8

In anticipation of an attack

on the b7 pawn - which will happen sooner or later Black prophylactically de­ fends it. 28 Nf3

attacking move, but simply . .. prophylaxis. The possible advance of the white g-pawn

to

24 Nd4

27 Re2

Of course, this is not an

intends

23 NbS

Nf6 Be8!

By overprOtecting his g6, Black forestalls a possible sacrifice here with a strong attack. 29 e4

Convinced that there is no prospect of an attack on g6,

White switches to the ide a of the e4-e5 breakthrough. 29 . . .

N6d7

It too is forestalled! 30 Rc2

NeS

Exploiting an opportunitY to simplify the position s orn what. With the exchange all the knights Black's block·

0�

xvii

Introduction

k squares will n tne dar ade o h absolute. e as thoug becom Bxe5 31 Nxe5 N d7 2 Qf QdS b4 invasion of the Dela ying the nting the preve nd a rook at c7 n at b6, quee the f invasion o the weak­ of w which, in vie n, wo paw d6 �ld ness of the p mg rou reg the ed have hinder . of the black pieces

32 33

Bg7

34 Be2 35 Nd3

Ne5

36 Nxes

Bxe5

For the third time, but by no means the last, the bishop appears at e5. Its blockading strength has grown to the

maximum, even though White

now penetrates seventh rank. 37 38 39

Rtc f Rc1 R1p2

�

onto

the

Kg7 QgS

6

��

•

·

-

�

39

•

• •

40 Bg4

h4

Kh6

In this position the game

was

adjourne d .

resumption 41 Kh1

there

b6

On

Bg3

43 Qd2

Bf4 Be5

44 Qd4 45 Qg1 The

time

the

followed:

42 Ra7

aS has

come

to

switch to more active defence. If White accepts the pawn sacrifice (46 bxa5 bxa5 47

Rxa5), he opens a way for the

black rook into his position.

Therefore:

46 Qc1 47 Qa1

Bf4 Be5

48 Qg1

axb4

49 axb4 50 Qa1 51 Qa3

Now th threat.of a counte r­ attac k o the dar k squares . restrrcts he wh ite queen, and does not allo w it to go to the ueenside. Fo r example, 39 a7 Og3, and White cannot take eith er the rook or the b7 wn because of 40 ... Bd4+ Khl Be5 42 Kgl Bd4+ Ne vert he 1ess Kaspar ov h1m Se ' r lf ca IIed 39 R1c2 a 'sound lrne-tro ubl . e move, and an alter atlve su ggestion of his .. •

is given at the end of the game.

Bf4 BeS Kg7

Black again sticks to wait­ ing tactics. 52 Rf2

Bf6

Breaking the combined 'glances' of the white pieces at f7 (in reserve White still has

Be6 in combination with Rcl and Qa7). 53 Qd3 54 Be$ 55 Qf3 56 Qf4

Qe5

57 Rf1

b5

58 Bg4

Rd8

Kg8 Kg7 Qd4

The Art of Defence in Chess

xviii

Of course, not 58 ...Qxa7

59 Qxf6+, breaking through the defensive barriers with

an easy win. 59 Rc7

Qb2

60 Rc2

Qd4 QeS

61 Rd2

principle,

a

major

achievement for White. He

has forced the exchange of

queens and rid himself of the

spectre of a counterattack,

but ...The blockaded nature

of the position is retained, and will the exchange advantage

suffice for a win? 62 . . .

BxeS

63 Rc2

Bd7!

64 Be2

would tie up his opponent's

forces by a counterattack on the b4 pawn. •

•

fS 65 Rc7 Kh6 66

Bd3 fxe4 67 Bxe4 KgS 68 Bd3 Bd4 69 Rb7 Bc3 70 BxbS Winning also a pawn, but as

compensation

both

.

•

Although later analysis showed that White did no t exploit all his chances (thus stronger was 39 h4! Qh 6 -if 39 .. . Qd2 40 R1c2- 40 g3, while in Kasparov's opinion

64 Bxd7 would also have 64 . . . Rxdl 65 given a win ReB Rb7 66 Rfc1 Kf6 67 R1c7 Rb6 68 RaB or 65 . . . Ral 66 RbB Ra2 67 Rb 1 Kf6 68 Rxb5, -

and the b-pawn cannot be

At this pomt White evidently decided that after the ex­ change of bishops Black

64 .

.

Draw agreed.

62 QxeS In

BfS 71 Be2 Raa 7 70 2 bS Ra2 73 Bf3 Rb2 74 Rba Bd4 75 Rd1 BcS 76 Kh2 Be3 77 Re1 Bf2 78 Rf1 Bcs 79 . ReS Bd4 80 Rd1 Bf2 81 Be 2 Bd7 82 Re4 BfS 83 Rea Bd?

black

bishops become threatening.

stopped) Black was neverthe· less awarded a special prize

for his defensive skill: such was the diversity of defensive ideas that he displayed in game.

this

this

And in concluding 'speech for the defence ' in favour of defence, we would

remind the reader that the

defending

has

side also another serious weapon counterattack. But about

that

in the second part of the book.

1

prevention

is better than cure

medical say­ This well known ble to chess. lica app ing is fully hylactic prop ugh And altho an embryo t ins aga s measure nt one may at opp the attack by un­ and us tedio seem time s fit can­ bene their y, essar nec not be overestimated. Grand­ master Aron Nimzowitsch, who first introduced into chess theory the concept of prophyl­ axis, considered such actions to be not only a guarantee of

strongest and most dangerous,

to restrict the opponent in

carrying out this plan- this is

a touchstone on which true

mastery is tested. Achieving the ideal here is evidently not

possible for anyone, just as no one can in general play chess faultlessly. But not to

learn this means to come to a halt in one' s chess develop­ ment.

success, but also an essential component of any 'compet­ ently' organized chess battle. Nimzowitsch deemed the main tasks of prophylaxis to be, firstly, the restriction of the opponent's possibilities, �nd secondly, the ove rprotec-

110� of strategically important POints.

Here we will deal with the . fir st of these task s one which r main s topical to his day. To ace an impenet rable dam in e path of the opponent's . Ideas is certamly not possible: 1" the maJont y of positions th are several plan s, several o s of pla y. Bu t to correcti Y Single out the objectively

� fh

t

·

·

rn:;�

·

�

·

Lanka-Kharit­

In the game onov, Leningrad 1 977, Black has no difficulties, but never­ theless he has to reckon with

the opponent's mobile pawn

pair in the centre.On the other

hand, for White the possible march of the black knight to g4 is unpleasant. Therefore,

2

The Art of Defence in Chess

from the viewpoint of prophyl­ axis - in its first sense - he should have continued 28 Qf2 (removing the queen from its

position opposite the black

rooks), and if 28 ... Nf6, then

29 h3.

In fact the hasty

29 Qd3

28 eS? Nf6!

(both 29 .. . Ng4 and

29 .. . Nd5 were threatened)

29 dxeS 30 fxeS Ng4 32 Nf1 RxeS quickly led to his defeat, •

.

o

since 33 AxeS Qf2+ leads to mate.

Bxc6 Nxc6 27 Rxe6 Rxh2 28 Rf6 he would have had goo d

drawing chances. the

But in followed:

game

there

23 Bh1? Rf8 24 f4 gxf4 25 gxf4 Ng6 26 exfS RxfS, and the

c5 pawn, which had been lett without prophylactic defence, caused White's downfall: 27

b4 Nxf4, with a straightforward win.

An excellent example of the opponent's restricting possibilities was given back in 1894 by

Emanuel Lasker,

in

the 3rd game of his World Championship

Steinitz

In the game

Moscow, merely

a

(Black).

Match

with

Gik-Dvoretsky,

1972,

slight

Black

has

initiative,

associated with . . . Rf8 and pressure on the f2 pawn.But if

White, after correctly assessing

the position, had prophylacti­

cally strengthened his queen­

side defences and simul­ taneously moved his pawns out of danger by 23 b4! Rf8 24 a3, then in variations such

as 24 ...fxe4 25 Bxe4 Rxf2 26

a !s

White is a bishop and pawn up, the black rook attacked, and yet the gam e 15

not yet decided.

27 28 Bd2 0

.

0

Qc2 Re7

The immediate 28 . ..

Rd8

3

Prevention is better than cure 29 Ne 6 Ra8 did not work 30 Qxg7+.

-

will take up an ideal post at

29 Ne6

The action of the rook on mu t be blocke , the e-file _ Wh1te w111 be m e wis other tr ouble .

?

�

29 . . . 30 Qe3

Qxe4 + Qxg2

"Now comes a very import­ ant manoeuvre, the key to White 's defence" - this and the following comments are by Lasker.

31 b3

"If instead 31 Qe2, then

Black replies 31 ... Qd5, when

the entire queenside will be at his disposal".

31 . . . 32 Qe2

the position, and after 35 b51 c5 (otherwise the white knight

ReS Qh3

d4)

36 Nxg7 d5 37 Kc1

Black

himself offered the exchange of queens:

37 . . . Qd3 ("on 37

. .. c4 there would have fol­

lowed 38

bxc4,

or 37 ...

Nd3+ 38 Kb1 with exchanges

to follow"- Lasker) 38 Qxd3 Nxd3 + 39 Kb1 Rb2 + 40 Ka1 Rxb3 41 Rf3, and White con­

verted his advantage into a

win, by a timely sacrifice of

the exchange: 41 . . . c4 42 Ne8 Nb4 (alas, this is insuffic­ ient) 43 Rg3 Ra3 + 44 Kb1 Rb3+ 45 Kc1 Nd3+ 46 Rxd31 cxd3 47 Nxf6 Rxb5 48 Ne8, and the white pawn promoted to a queen.

"The first sign that Black's attack is gradually petering out. The queen would have

sto od better somewhere on the queenside, but 32 ...Qd5 cannot be played, however, for then 33 c4 forc es the ex­ change of queens".

33 Kd1 34 Rf2

Ra8 Ra2

"Black's pieces are well Placed, but they are no longer t hreate ning anything". 8 We would agree with this. Y restric ting the bla ck queen on rno ve 31, White stabilized

In the 13th game of the Return Match, London I Leningrad

�arpov - Kasparov

1986, White has just prophy­ lactically reinforced his d4

4

The Art of Defence in Cl'less

pawn by Bc1-e3-f2, and plans sooner

or

later

to

initiate

active play in the centre by

advancing e2-e4. In principle Black could have 'disregarded'

this threat, since in the compli-

cations after 13 ... Nc4 14 e4 (if 14 b3, then 14

the

planned

.

. Nd6, and .

break is

less

favourable for White) 14 ...

Nxb2 15 Qc2 Nc4 16 exd5

exd5 17 Nxd5! N6a5 he has

his trumps. But he preferred to narrow sharply the battle

region,

by

prophylactically

closing the centre.

13 . . .

fS!?

In conceding the e5 square

to his opponent, Black has

also secured for himself an analogous outpost in the

In the game

Mortensen -

Karpov,

European Tea m Championship, Plovdiv, 1983,

White holds the initiative and threatens to intensify his

queenside pressure by Ra4b4.

In addition, how should the d6 pawn be defended? The

that now pawn tension is pos­

active defence 26 ... Nd7 27 Rxd6 ( 27 Rxbl? NcS) 27 ...

expose the white king. The

Rxc8 30 Re6 does not give Black anything for the pawn,

centre. But the main point is sible only after the double­ edged g3-g4, which would

subsequent manoeuvring bat­

tle confirmed the correctness

of this strategy, and the game ended in a draw. True, we cannot avoid mentioning that

the decision taken by Black

on his 13th move also made it extremely difficult for him to

begin an open piece battle, but nevertheless an objective assessment of the position

demanded precisely this pro­ phylaxis.

Nc5 28 Qc4 Ne4 29 Qxc8

and the passive regrouping 26 .. Rd8 27 Ra4 Kg? (27 . .. Rddl? 28 Bxa6) 28 Rab4 Rdd7 .

deprives him of any counter­ play. Therefore Black adopts

more flexible tactics- some­

thing in between active and passive defence: he as tar as possible restrains the oppo­ nent's initiative, if only tor t he time being.

26 . . 27 Ra4 .

Nf7 Qd7!?

5

Prevention is better than cure The defence of the d6 pawn orarily entrusted to the te is mp in order to fr e the n, e e qu knight. 27 ... Rd7, w1th the

�

sam e aim, does not work because of a familiar blow, but in a m ore elegant form - 28 Rc4! Q a8 29 Rcb4 Nd8 30 sxa6! bxa6 31 Rb8, and the que en is caught.

28 Rab4 29 Qa4

With

the

Nd8

exchange

of queens the advance of White's

queenside pawns will become possible.

29 . . .

Bd2!

A strange looking move,

which nevertheless has a lot

sense. After 29 ... Qxa4 30 Rxa4 Rd7 31 b4 the threat of 32 b5 would have arisen.Now

the b2-b4 advance is delayed, if only temporarily.

30 Qxd7 31 Rd4

Rxd7 Bg5!

Again indirectly hindering White's plan: 32 b4?! Nf7 33 bS Bd8 34 bxa6 Bxb6 35 axb6 bxa6 3 6 Bxa6 Rb8 37 Rc4 Ne5 38 R c7 Kf7, and White has no ore than a draw in the varia­ tion 3 9 B b5 Rxc7 40 bxc7 ReS 41 B b6 Ke7 42 Ba6 Kd7 43

�

Bb5 + .

32 Rd1 33 R b3

W hite's

Nf7 Bf6

position is slightly

more pleasant, but that is all. Now he should have continued 34 c4, although even after this the advance of the b-pawn is

not at all easy to prepare.The exchange of the bishop which is

preventing

this deprives

White of his control of the dark

squares and hands the initia­ tive to his opponent.

34 Bd4? 35 Rxd4

Bxd4

Paradoxically, in the interests

of defence 35 cxd4!? followed

by Rc3 came into consider­ ation.

35 . . . 36 Rdb4

Re1 Nd8

With the threat of 37

Ra1.

37 Ra3 38 c4

Rde7 Rc1

And without particular diffi­ culty, by including his knight

in the attack, Black went on to win.

The Art of Defence in Chess

6

In the 11th game of the

Sokolov-Yusupov

Candidates

Match, Riga, 1986, for the moment the main battle is taking place on the queen­ side. Here White's 'heavy arti­ llery'

is

concentrated,

and

now Black increases his pres­ sure on the half-open c-file.

18 . . .

Rfc8?!

But meanwhile he should

not have forgotten about the

thematic White attack on the

kingside,

which

is

always

possible in the French De­ fence: thus the advance of

one of the white pieces tq g5 suggests itself. Therefore the

most serious consideration should have been given to the prophylactic 18 ... Nxe3 19 fxe3 ( 1 9 Qxe3? Nf5) 19 ...h6, after which it is practically impossible to approach the

black king: the g5 square is covered, and there is nothing

that can be sacrificed on h6

... White would only have been left with the activity associated

with

c2-c4,

but

then Black would have obtain­

ed- even if only temporarily

- the d5 square and the a8-h1

diagonal for his bishop, which would have given him certain

counterchances. After

the

move

played,

White's offensive, which Black has failed to restrict in time,

now commences.

1 9 BgS 20 h4

Ng6 NaS?

And this is a serious mis. take, again on the theme of prophylaxis. A direct 'bayonet' attack was threatened, and the advance of the white pawn needed to be halted by 20 ...

h6, when after 21 h5 Black

could have chosen between passive defence by 21 .. .Nf8, and an active search for com­ plications

such as 21 .. . Ngxe5 22 dxe5 hxg5 23 Nxgs

Nxe5 24 Qh7+ Kf8 25 Qh8+ Ke7 26 Oxg7 Rxc2.

21 Rb4 22 hS 23 Qe3

Qc6 Nf8

The hasty 23 h6 would have

allowed Black. by 23 . . . Qc3 to avoid the direct threats: the

exchange of queens favours him, and after.24 Qd1 White

has nothing with which to

attack.But on the agenda now are both 24 h6, and the co n· tinuation which occurs in the game.

23 . . .

Be8

Preparing a defensive line in the event of 24 h6 g6 Qf4 Nd7, but .. .

24 Bf6!

25

A pseudo sacrifice, since its acceptance leads to mate.

24 . . .

h6

Prevention is better than cure

7

no other defence There is . Og5 25 agains t

of achieving this woUld have been by 22 .. . Nd6. Then after

ial a White h as gained mater urn­ r ret late he and , age advant e for an attack and ed the piec 41. ove m n o won

edge of the board, the white bishops have little mobility,

25 Qf4 Qc3 26 Qg4 Ng6 27 hxg 6 fxg6 28 Bh4

23 Qxc6 Bd5 24 Qa4 as the white queen is driven to the

the centre is blockaded, and

Black has at least equal pos­

sibilities, while after 23 Qxg6 the exchange of queens reduces

White's

attacking

however,

chose a

chances to nought. Black,

different way.

22 . . . 23 Qxc6 24 dS!

BfS? Nd6

The situation has immedi­

ately changed: the dark-square bishop has gained scope.

This position from the game

Gheorg hiu-Ljubojevic,

Riga Interzonal, 1979, is not easy to assess. All Black's pawns are �eak, but for the moment he IS a pawn up. White also has Plenty of pawn islands, and,

�hat is especially significant, his two bishops are not very . act1v e.

r Had Black made this par­

ICula r fact or the basis of his �sse s smen t, in the firs t lnstan ce he would have taken Prophyl a ct1c measures against the acti. vation of the bishops and th at means against the' d4-d5 breakthrough. One way ·

24 . . . 25 Bxc4 26 a3

Timely

as a4

prophylaxis:

the

king must keep under cover.

26 . . . 27 Qxc4 28 Bd4!

Nxc4 Rfb8

The opposite-colour bishops

merely increase the active potential. attacking side's Against the advance of the

h-pawn there is no satisfac­ tory defence.

28 . . . 29 h4 30 f3

ReS Re4 Re7

Alas, on 30 ... Rxh4 there

8

The Art of Defence in Chess

would have followed 31 Bxg7+.

Kh7

31 hS 32 Qc6

Threatening both the pro­

saic 33 Qxa8, and the little

combination 33 hxg6+ Bxg6

34 Rxg6 Qxg6 35 Rh1 +. Black therefore resigned.

*

*

*

of

at the enemy king position.In particular 34 Rdf1 is threaten­

ed, and Black has to decide on the basic aim of his actions.

this be a counter­ b2, passive defence of f7, or . . . Should

attack

against

He chose

33 . . . Rfc8?!, and 34 Rxf7 Bd4 35

quickly lost:

In present-day chess the

concept

pieces being strongly directed

overprotection

has slightly changed - masters

Oa3! BcS

(parrying the threat 37 + Of7!

36 Qf3! Rf8 Rf1 Kg8 38 Rg7 Kh8 39 Rxf7 40 Rfxf7, and Black

of 36 Rxh7+)

and grandmasters prefer to

resigned: if 40 ... Qg8 41 Nf6.

and at times to leave this or

would have been seriously

economise that

on

their

weakness

forces

altogether

undefended - for the sake of

activity on another part of the board. But nevertheless, this principle of Nimzowitsch can in no way be considered completely obsolete.

Meanwhile,

White's

task

complicated by overprotection

of the e5 pawn, but not by the 'active' 33 .. . Bd4? (34 Rxd4!

exd4 35 Rxf7! RfcB 36 Nell Qb5 37 Qf3 Qc4 38 Rf8+ RxfB 39 QxfB + QgB 40 Qe7!

and White wins), but by the defensive 33 . .. Re6. This

would have freed Black's hands, and in the event of, tor example, 34 Rdf1 Bd4 35 b4 axb3 36 Rxb3 Qa7 he wo uld have gained definite counter­ play.

the last game of the Wo rld Championship Match, Mos· cow, 1985, only a win would In

Karpov - Kasparov

In the game

Glek - ltkis,

Borzhomi, 1984, White's ad­ vantage is mainly due to his

do for White and, while en· gaging in play over the entire board, he was neverthele ss

Prevention is better than cure

primarily threatening an attack

on the kingside. But it only

required a single prophylactic move, one which, it is true, Kasparov called

"the

most

difficult move in the game ", to neutralize all White's ambitious

aspirations.

23

• • •

Re7!!

By 'encaging' itself in this original way, the rook securely covers f7, which was not threatened for the moment, but which was nevertheless insufficiently defended. In this way the bayonet atta ck f4-fS is ruled out. At the same time t he roo k avoids being Passively pla ced at f8 and in ' Prin ciple pre pares a cou nter­ oftensive in the attacked sect­ or (this theme is examined in second pa rt of the book). t hat w e should mention here· 25 IS that after f5 Black gained fully equal chances.

��

Rd 1

24 Kg 1 RceS!

9

In the heat of the battle the

white knight has gone too far,

Kr.Georglev-Dolmatov,

and in Sofia, 1985, the correct con­ tinuation was the prophylactic

18 ... Be8, defending the

knight at h5, and if 19 Nc3

Rf5!, blocking White's only

attacking diagonal.And since

20 g4 does not work because

of 20 ... Rf4 21 gxh5 Nxd4

with the decisive threat of ... Nf3+ followed by . .. Bxh5 and ... Rh4, in the end Black would have obtained two pieces for a rook. But Black incorrectly open­

18 . . . e5?, and after 1 9 Rxc6! bxc6 20 dxe5 QxeS 21 Nd4 Rf7 22 Re1 he had to find the only saving reply 22 . . . Bg4 23 f3 Qd6, which, however, would ed up the position with

not have promised him any

advantage after the correct 24 Qd3 Bd7 25 Ng5 Nf6 26 Nxf7 Kxf7 27 Qg6+ Kf8 28 Kg2.

10

The Art of Defence in Chess

An elegant system of de­ fence, comprising a whole series

of

operations,

was

demonstrated in the rast game

Paul Keres, play­ against Browne at

of his life by ing Black

Vancouver, 1975.

ferring the knight to a different more favourable positi on Now Black has everything

:

prepared for a counterblow in the centre, when W hite's king's rook will be misplaced.

21 Rh3 d5 22 Qe2 Qd7 23 Nh4 dxe4 24 dxe4 Rad8 25 Nf5 Qd2 26 Qf3 Re6

The threat of 27 Nxh6 + is parried, and White's position has been invaded. Black's prophylaxis and active de­

fence have borne fruit: his position is already better.

27 Rg3 28 Rf1

g6 Qf4!

White cannot save his e·

White's initiative is threat­ ening to develop into a direct attack, and in the first instance Black overprotects his most

vulnerable point - the ad­ vanced h6 pawn.

16 . . . 17 Rg3 18 Nf3

Kh7 Ng8

An enforced retreat: after

strengthening his h6 pawn,

Black was ready to meet 18 Nf5 With 18 ... g6, and if 19

Nfe3 h5, winning a piece.

18 . ... 19 Rxg4 20 Rh4

Prophylaxis possibility of

Bxg4! Nf6 Kg8

against the Ng5+, trans-

pawn, and his tactical threats are easily parried.

29 Rd1

The

most

Ree8

accurate:

the

d-file remains in Black's pos· session, although he could also have played 29 ...Rxd + 30 Qxd1 Nxe4 31 Rf3 Qd2 32

1

Qxd2 Nxd2 33 Nxh6+ Kg7

34 Rd3 Nc4 35 b3 Kxh6 36 bxc4 Rc6, with an extra pawn in the rook ending.

30 Ne7 + 31 Nd5 32 Rxf3

Kg7 Qxf3

Nh5

In the event of 32 gxf3 and 33 . .. c6 White's rook would have been a help less witness to the destruction his queenside.

of

11

Prevention is better than cure 32 Nxd1

c6 33 Ne3 Rxd1 + 34 d8 R 35 Ne3 Nxe4

. •

•

won a pawn, and Black has sed his advantreali he easily

age:

36 h3 NgS 37 Rg3 fS 38 NxfS + gxfS 39 h4 Kg6 40 hxgS hxgS, and within a few moves White resigned.

What would you have pl�yed? No. 1

Black has a weak pawn at c6, difficultie s over the de­ velo pment of his light-sq are u bish o p, and, most impor tant, an insecurely pla ced king.But as c o mpensa tion for all this h e is prepa ring an attack on th e kings ide (in particular a ong th e g-file and the b8-h2 diagonal); in addition it can b e stren gthened by the trans­ h rence of the queen's rook VIa b S to fS or hS. What sho uld White play?

No. 2

The white bishop is attacked,

and on many occasions fam­ ous players have exchanged it without loss of time - 11 Bxf6

Bxf6,

then

given the

opponent a weakness at c6 by 12 Nxc6 bxc6, followed by

�

pressure on the c-file with 13 Qc2 and Rac1. True, in this

�

counter-play.

case Black gains control of

the a1-h8 diagonal and obtains What other plan does White

have? On what variation is it

based?

2

Disarmament - the road to peace The outward simplicity of position is deceptive: there is no doubt about White's

The strength of an attack lies

in the dynamic potential of the

the

fence can be based on a mass exchange of fighting units,

advantage. He is ready to seize the open d-file, which in

types of ending which are

ness of the queenside pawns

pieces, and very often a de­ transposing into one of the . famous

for

their

combination with the weak­ may cause Black a mass of

drawing

example, 17 ... Be7 18 Rfd1 Rfd8 19 Na4 bS 20 Rxd8+ Rxd8 21 Rxd8+ trouble. For

tendencies - rook endings,

those

with

opposite-colour

bishops, and so on.Moreover,

the defending side even plans a certain loss of material again taking account of the

Bxd8 22 NcS Bc8 23 Bf3 Be7 24 b4, and Black is cramped. It is with this in mind that

fact that an extra pawn, say,

Alekhine draws up a clear-cut plan of simplification.

does not always guarantee a

win in the endgame. Here the

1 7 . . . Ne4! 18 Nxe4 Bxh4 19 Nd6 Bd5 20 e4 Rfd8!

Capablanca­

15th game of the World Championship Match, Buenos Aires, 1927,

Aiekhine

By this pawn sacrifice an ending with opposite-colour

serves as a model example.

bishops is forced.

21 Nxf7

Otherwise a pawn cannot be won .

21 . . . Kxf7 22 exd5 Rxd5 23 Rxd5 exdS 24 Rd1 Bf6!

This is stronger tha n the 'greedy' 24 .. . Ke6 25 B gM KeS 26 g3 Bf6 27 f4+, peace for the black king 1

whe.�

only a dream.

25 Bf3

12

ReS

13

Disarmament - the road to peace

26 Bxd5 + Ke7 Bb2 27 b3

n, Now, in defending his paw ed to all ow the Wh ite is forc rooks. of ge exc h an

28 a4 Rc1 29 Rxc 1 Bxc 1 30 Bc4 D raw agreed.

modest position, but on the other hand Black no longer has to fear a d i rect attack . . .

1 4 Bh6 Driving the black rook into a fork.

14 . . . 15 BgS

Rea

Otherwise Black transfers his knight via e4 to f6 with gain of tem po, ridding himself of the most annoying enemy piece - the knight at dS.

15 . . .

Ne4!

Conti nuing the same 'ex­ changing policy'.

16 Bxd8 17 BbS

The diagram position was tested on several ocasions at the time when the game was played. The verdict of theory was that both after 1 1 . . . Be6 12 h5, and after 1 1 . . . h6 1 2 Bd3, White's initiative becomes threatening. Therefore i n the game

Sanakoyev - Damsky,

Rostov-on-Don, 1 961 , Black . decid ed to base his defence on mass, and as far as possible ' ra pi d, exchanges.

11 . . . 1 2 Oxf6 1 3 NdS

016 Bxf6 Bd8

The b1Sh · op has been d rive n fro m th 1 e ong dark-squ are d iag o n al to a much more

Rxd8

White threatens to capture on c6 followed by g ivi ng check with his kn ight, but as compensation Black is the fi rst to begin . . .

17 . . . Nxf2 18 Bxc6 Nxd1 19 Rxd1 bxc6 20 Nf6 + Kg7 21 NhS + Kh6 22 Rxd8 KxhS 23 Rf8 IS 24 Rf7 h6 25 Rxc7 Be6 26 Rxc6 BdS 27 Rd6 Bxf3 28 gxf3 Rg8 White's initiative has sufficed merely to force a rook ending with an extra pawn, which is of little significance in view of the activity of the black king. The game ended in a d raw after 29 Rd4 Rf8! 30 Kd2 14 31

Rd6 Rg8 32 Rf6 Kxh4 33 Rxf4 + Kg3 etc.

The Art o f Defence in Chess

14

The defensive strength of exchanges is demonstrated even more strikingly (i nci­ dentally, in the same openi ng - Petroff's Defence) by the 30th game of the 1 984/5 Kasparov - Karpov World Championship Match.

w hite king.

14 . . . 15 Rxe7 1 6 Qxb7

Qxd4 Qxc4 c6

Thus on every move pieces have disappeared from the board and there are very few left. W h ite's invasion of the 7th rank can hardly be con­ sidered an achievement, sin ce the black queen is active and 1 7 . . . Rab8 is threaten ed, w ith a counter-invasion.

17 Qb3 Qxb3 18 axb3 Rab8 19 Ra3 Rfe8 20 AxeS + Axes Draw ag reed .

In Tai-Suetin, Sochi, 1 977, Black eq ualized i n this posi­ tion by 1 2 . . . Na51 3 Bd3 ReS 14 h3 Bh5 14 a3 a6 etc. It t urns out t hat there is also a sounder cont i n uation, one which in addition is forci ng.

12 . . . 13 Qxf3

Bxf3

The avalanche of exchanges which has been set in motion can be interrupted only by 1 3 gxf3, but then the only 'decent' w h ite pawns left are those at a2 and b2 . . .

13 . . . 14 Bxd4

Nxd4

After 1 4 Oxb7? Nc2 1 5Rad 1 Bd6 Black seizes the i n itiative and is ready to assail the

White's two active bishops and the poss i bi l ity of creati ng pressure on the half-open b-file give him the better chances i n the 26th game of the 1 984/5 Kasparov-Karpov World Championsh i p Mat ch. Thus, f or exam ple, the tra ns· fer of the kni ght to a more active posi t i on - 1 7 . Na5 encounters the refutati on 18 Qb4 Nc4 19 Bxb7!, when after .

.

15

Disarmament - the road to peace 19

Rxd1 + 20 Rxd1 Rb8 21 kness of the B a? the wea te also has Whi . tells rank b ck the inter­ after ge anta adv . t e . w1th the . h6, . 7 1 of ion posit oss ible seq uel 18 Rab 1 Na5 9 Rxd8+ Qxd 8 ( 1 9 . . RxdB 6 21 Ob 5 4 20 Bxa7) 20 Bb Nc xb4. R 22 4 Nxb Therefore the exchangi ng operation which occurs in the game, where Black sacrifices a pawn to go i nto an end i ng with opposite-colour bishops, must be considered the most sensible. .

.

.

x �

�

.

17 Rxd1 + 18 Rxd1 Rd8 Rxd8+ Qxd8 20 Bxa7 QaB! 21 Bxc6 bxc6 22 Kh2 h5 23 Qa5 f6 .

.

•

19

After the obvious 24 a4 Qc8 is securely controlled and there­ fore a draw was agreed.

25 h4 Bc4 the a6 square

1 983, Black is doomed to passive defence, if, of course, she does not resort to a pawn sacrifice for the sake of greatly simplifying the position.

23 24 Nxc5 .

•

•

Without mass exchanges the pawn cannot be won: 24 Nxh5? Nxe4.

24 Qxc5 25 Qxc5 dxc5 26 Rxd8+ Bxd8 27 h4 c4! 28 Rh1 Rh6 29 Bxh5 Bb6! .

.

•

It would have been a bad mistake to play 29 . . . Bxe4 30 Nxe4 Rxh5 31 g4 with good winning chances. By activat­ ing the bishops to the maxi­ mum, Black gains counterplay in the endgame. 30 Rf1 (or 30 Bf3 Bf2 31 Nh5 Bxe4) 30 . . . Be3 (with the threat of 31 . . . Bf4) 31

Bxf7 Rxh4 32 Bxc4 Bxe4 33 Nxe4 Rxe4 34 Re1 Rh4 35 a3 Bc5 36 Bd5 bxa3 37 bxa3 Draw agreed.

I n the 6th e of the Liu Shilan - losgam eliani Women's Ca n didate ··o\Dc--