C.J.S. Purdy’s fine art of chess annotation and other thoughts. 3 : Annotations to 70 CJS Purdy games plus annotations to 30 John Purdy games 9780938650850, 0938650858

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3. Annotations to 70 CJS Purdy games plus annotations to 30 John Purdy games 2002 251 s.

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C.J.S PURDY'S

FINE ART OF CHESS ANNOTATION and OTHER THOUGHTS VOLUME 3

Annotations to Annotations to

70

CJS Purdy Games

plus John Purdy Games

30

compiled and edited by

Dr. Ralph J. Tykodi

Thinkers' Press, Inc. Davenport, IA

2002

CONTENTS /Mar1azine issue: (monlh/lJear)] Explanation of Symbols

.......... ................ ................... . . . ............ . ...... . . ................

Part 1. 70 Over-the-Board Games of CJS Purdy Part 2. 30 Games of John Purdy

4

8 117

........................... .......... .........

. . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . ...... . . ................ . . . . . .... . . . ....... . . . . .

Part 3. Purdyisms (Observations, Philosophies, Sayings, Thoughts) Hints

..... . . . .

.................. . ............ ................................................ ........................

The Strategic Retreat

..........................................................................

The Purdy Player The Road to 2000 (How to Become an Expert) Purdy Observations (The Nature of Chess)

..................................................... ................... ..........

.......................•..........

......... . . ............................

Psychoanalyze Your f-Pawn A Lesson on "Pawn Islands" and Blockade

............ ................................. ..... . . . . ..........

Bishop Versus Knight

.............................. .........

....................... .... ........ . . . ......... . . . . ....... . . .......... . . . .

How to Plan The Element of Chance in Chess

. . . . .................................................................... ...................

How to See Combinations Index of Openings

Colophon

197 203 209 217 223 228 232 234 240

............................. ....... . . . . . ........ . . . . . . .

244

. . . .......... ................. . . ..... . . . . . .. . . . . . . ...... . . . ....... . .

248

....................................................................... ....................

The Purdy Library of Chess

158

.................................. ................... .....................

..........................................................................................................

251 252 253

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine

Art

of C hess Annotation, Vol. 3

See the !'runt pa rt of Vol. 2 of the series for P1trd11 's riiscuss io11 of the aims and goals of an annotator of chess games and for his disr:ussion of im­ prm:ing one's play by playing over master games in the approprlate way.

PART I

CJ.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

70 OVER-THE-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY kis over th e board play, CJS Purdy was notorious f'or getting into time trouble-in any game of'rnore than twenl!! moves, he was almost always in serious time trouble as each time control approached. Purdy 's nerves we re sufficiently steady so that, despite Ids clock troubles, he was four Lim.es Champion of Austra l'ia. Howevm; t:w relentless tir-k of the clor:k-the pressure of having to make many moves in a short inter­ val of' time-did, on occasio n , advers ely affect Purdy 'splay: there were big clock blunders and there were hurried moves that helped cause a 1oinning position to fade into a drawish or even losing position. A perosal of Purdy's over-the-board games sharply points up the moral: Do not let yourself habitually get into time trouble. In this regard play Hice a computer: allot a certain amount of Nme to a move; whm1 the allotted l'ime is up, MOVE. There is a Dutch proverb: He who burns his posteriors must sit on blis­ ters. Do not let your clock build a fire under your posteriors so that as you approach a time control you find you rself "sitting on blisters."

In

-

-

,

1 1 . Rhg1

1

The sound move in such positions is Kbl, takingthe sting out of Black's coming ... b5 and ...c5. Rushing the kingside is very risky.

Purdy-Kelling ( 1 0/46) Slav Def'enr rte l'aris'? If so, mistakenly, as Tartakower makes no m e ntion of 131ack's best line; nor did Al exan de r himself know it, apparently. 4. ... Nfd7 c5 5. Nce2 White's 5th move is the only one that enables him to maintain h i s pawn center. I n MC O it lead s l o a good game for White, but again only because Black's bes t line is not men­ tioned! cxd4! 6. c3 f6! 7. cxd4 MCO gives Ii . .. Ncli, but the imme­ diate challeng·e is vi tal-pointed out long ag·o by Maroczy in his book on the French Dcfem;c (says Pikler) and also in Fin e's The Ideas Bf'l1i11d the (:/less Openi11r1s. If now 8. Nf4, th e n 8 . . . 13b4t H. Bd2 Bxd2t 10. Qxd2 Qb6. fxe5 8. f4 Qh4t 9. fxe5! The point. In spite of it, Alexander was right to pl ay fxe5 and maintain his pawn center, logically following up his 5th move. Bh4t 10. Ng3 11. Ke2 Not Bd2?, losing a pawn, but 1 1. Kf2 was a little better. After 11 . .. 0-0 12. Nf3 Whi te could follow with Be3, Be2, and Rfl ! , as Black could not then play . . .Qxh2 (because the Rook would simply return and win the Queen).

c.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annot ation Vol. 3

light squares can be exploited in t h e following amaz i n gly s i m p l e way: 20. Bxc4 dxc4 2 1 . Rxc4 Rac8! Thr eatening . . . Nxe 5 ! I f then 2 2 . Qc l , there follows 22 . . . Qxc t ! 23. Rxc l Nxe5! 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. dxe5 Re l t 26. Nfl Bb5 27. g4 Bc6! And Black wins mater ial. 20. ... Rxf2! 21. Kxf2 If 2 1 . bxc4, then 2 1 . . . Rxe2 ! 22. Nxe2 Qe3t 23. Kfl Rf8t 24. Kel Rf2 (threatening ... Rxe2t) 25. Rc2 Nxd 4 ! 26. Rd2 Ba4 ! ! A n d White is in his death throes. 21. ... Rf8t And White cannot play Brn. Ne3 22. Ket Nxg2t 23. Qd2 Ne3t 24. Kdt 25. Ke t Qf4 Nxd4 26. Bh5 The game was adjour ned for the night (day in England) at move 24. I did not do any adjournment analysis, par tly because of feeling "fed up" af­ ter nine hours of play and partly be­ cause I visualized the two Knights on d4 and e3 as guaranteeing a \vinning attack, material being equal (two pawns for the Exchange) . 27. Rc3 Unfor tunately, this simple move is quite embar r assing (same reply if 26. . . g6), and the many near wins now occupied me in a maze of cal­ culations for for ty minutes. The tempting 27 ... Qxe5 28. Rxe3 Nc2t 29. Qxc2 Qxe3t 30. Ne2 ! leaves Black with ample compensation for the piece, but with no clear win. Probably best was the humdr um 20. b3 27 ... Ndf5, conceding no material Choice of evils. If White accepts and pr eserving excellent winning the offer ed p awn , his loss of the chances.

Alexander may have mis sed this point, hence his desire to dr ive the Queen away from h4 quickly. 0-0 1 1. Qg4 12. Nf3 Nc6 13. Be3 Also good was ... h5, but that would be useless had White played 1 1 . Kf2. 14. Kf2 Nb6 Black has a super ior but not won­ derful game. White's pawn center is his asset, and Black can't afford a sacrifice. If now 1 5. Be2, then ... Nc4, exc h a n g·i n g off B l a c k ' s i n ferior Knight, hence White's next. 15. Rel Bd7 16. Be2 Be7 ! 17. Kgt Black threatened ... Bh4. If 1 7. h3, then . . .Qh4. Probably best was 17. N f l , suggesled by the Estonian player Walter Poder after the game. In the heat of play, Alexander may have though l he would be thr eaten i ng Ng5-bu t ther eupon Black would simply play . . . Bxg5! ! , offering the Queen. Nc4! 17. ... For if 1 8. Bxc4, then 18 ... dxc4 19. Rxc4 Nxe5! Bg5 18. Bf2 Qxg5 19. Nxg5

-22-

Chapter One: 70 OVER-THE-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY

27. ...

Rc8

winning.} After the text move, White has an astonis hing but exce l lent move in 12. c4 ! ! , forcing an advan­ tage-but he missed it. After 12. c4, if 12 . . bxc4, then 13. Bxc4 [Ed.: Black might escape by castling. But, af­ ter 13. Bn4 White is better.]; or if 12 .. Bxf3, then 13. Qxf3. The move White does play preserves a slight edge. 0-0 12. c.'l

Also conceding no material (if Rxe3?, then ... Nc2t ) .

28. Rxc8t 29. Qf2!

Bxc8

.

And White reaps the reward of his precarious yet well-judged defense. Black cannot win a third pawn after 2!l.. Nc6 30. Qx.f4 Ng2t 31. Kd2 Nxf4 because of 32. Rel . etc.; and \\ith only two pawns for the Exchang·e, Black's had Bishop makes it futile for him to play for a win in clock trouble. So,

29. 30. 31. 32. 33.

.

13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

Ndc2t Nd4t Ndc2t Nd4t 112-12

Ke2 Kel Ke2 Kel

12

22. Qc5 23. Re7!?

Match Game No. 2

Rd2

White plays too fancifully here. After 23. Qe:J Rxb2 24. Qd4 Rxb:} ( forced) 2 5 . axb3, Black has two pawns for the Exchange; but White threatens to immobilize the pawn­ rnajority by b4 which Black cannot afford to stop with ... a5 becau se of Qc5. Black's disability is too many pawns on the same color as h is Bishop.

Ruy Lopez e5 e4 Nc6 Nf3 a6 Bb5 Ba4 Nf6 Nxe4 0-0 d4 b5 Bb3 d5 dxe5 Be6 Nbd2 Bc5

23. ... 24. Rxg7t!?

In reply to this, Armstrong gives 10. Nxe4 dxe4 1 1 . Bxe6 fxe6 12. Ng5, with advantage. The move chosen here by White is perhaps equally good.

10. Qe2 1 1. Nxe4

Ne7 Qd7 Bg6 B b6 Qd8 Rxf7 Bxd4 Rxf4 Rxd4!?

Black should exchange Queens and play to draw the ending. .

Purdy-Fell (10/48)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Bf4 Nd4 f3 Kh l e6! exf7t Rfel! cxd4 Qxe7

Qd6

This time White should have been content with a drawish endgame.

24. 25. Qc3t 26. Qxd2

Bf5 Bxe4

If 1 1... dxe4, then 12. Rdl ! ; and if then 1 2 . . . Qe7, there follows 1 3. Bd5 ! [Ed.: 13. Bg5 is pretty remarkable. Then if 13. . . f6, 14. exf6g.rl'6 15. Nh4, 23

-

Kxg7 d4 Re8

Black has good winning chances with his pawn majority, for his ex­ posed King is hard to get at.

27. Rf1 28. Bc2 -

Qe5 c5

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3 29. Be4! 30. a4 31. axb5 32. Ral

c4 d3 axb5 Re7

White now has a good game. Black has gone wro ng somewhere-he is

lyzed 46. Qdl !] 46.

Kc3

47. cxb5

d2

48. Qf3t

Kb2! Rel t Qe5t

49 . Rc8 50. Kh2

0-1

soon fighting for a draw.

33. h!J :J4. fxe4

35. Ha6 36. Qc3t 37. Qh8 38. Qc8 39. Ra8 40. Qd7t 4 1 . Qg4 42. Qf3t

Bxe4 h6

A game of vec1·ing fortunes, splen-

didly finished by Fell.

Qg5 Kf7 Qg7 Qe5 Re8 Re7 Qg5 Ke6

13 Purdy-Fell ( 1 1/48) Match Game No. 4 Engl'ish Opeufrtr1

1. 2. 3. 4.

c4 Nc3 g3 e4 !

e5 Nc6 Nf6 d6

White has the initiative because he alone is free to break through with the f-pawn (f4). With 4 ... Bc5!, however, Black would have a good diag·onal in compensation.

5. Bg2 6. Nge2 7. h3

4:t b3

Trying· to open the board still more in an effort to win. A draw by repeti­ tion re sults from 43. Rd8 Rd7 4 4 . Re8t, b u t White had nothing better. 43. ...

Ke5!

44. Rf8

c6

8. d3

0-0

9. 0-0

Ne8 c5

10. Be3 1 1. f4

f5

To reciprocate, Black has had to make a retrogressive Knight move.

If 44. bxc4, then Black forces the Queens off and should win.

44. ... 45. bxc4

Be7 Nd4

Kd4! Rxe4!

From this point, the players ana­ lyzed t h e ga me afterwar d s and could not find a way for White to draw, despite the exposed condition of Black's King.

46. Qf2t

[Ed.: Maybe they hadn 't ana-

12. Nd5 13. Nec3

Be6 Nc7

Chapter One: 70 OVER-THE-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY

Of the 16 central squares, 1 3 are occupied-beat that!

14. b4! Normally a flank maneuver, here this is an attack on the center-the center being so widespread.

14. ... 15. Nxd5

Bxd5 Nxd5

Black rightly seeks salvation in simplification.

1 6. 17. 18. 19. 20.

cxd5 bxc5 Bxd4 Qb3 dxe4

Bf6 dxc5 cxd4 fxe4 b6?

The must move was ... Qb6. Then

White's response would be 2 1. QaJ; for if 2 1 ... d3t?, then 22. Kh l ! exf4 23. Rab l , etc.

21. Hacl 22. d6t 23. Qd5

Rc8 Kh8 Rc3

There is no defense.

24. fxe5 25. Rxf8t 26. RU 27. e6 28. e7 29. d7 [Purdy 'WOn the

Bg5 Qxf8 Qe8 Rxg3 Bf6 1-0

JO game ma teh 'With 4 win'!, 2 losses, and 4 draws, ]

14 Purdy-Koshnitsky ( 12/48) Match Game No. ;1 King 's Indian Defense

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

d4 c4 g3 Bg2 e4 Ne2

Nf6 g6 Bg7 0-0 d6

The best square for this Knight,

e5 6. ... reply to this, White should play d5 at once (in the Ne2 system) to avoid ... exd4, but here we transpose, In

7. 0-0 Nbd7 8. Nbc3 c6 9. d5! Nb6 If fL cxd5, t he n 1 0 , Nxd5! Nxd5 1 1 . Qxd5; and Black's d p awn is per­ -

manently weak. The game might con­

t inue: 1 L Ne!l 1 2 , h:-3 Be!) 1 8 , Qd2 f5

14. exJ5 gxf5 l fi , Rd l e4 1 6. Bb2 Bxb2 1 7 . Qxb2. and B l ack has an u nenvi able hoard of \Veak squares.

­

White's simplest continuation now 1 0. b3 with an evident advantage in space. White prefers a highly ag­ gressive line, however, that is also good.

was

10. dxe6 bxc6 Qc7 1 1 . b:3 Bg4 12. f4 Koshnitsky has disowned his sug­ ·

ges t ion in the IVorld Nen'.'i t h at 12 . . .

exf4 would he sati sfactory. Black's

game is difficult. 13. fxe5

1 4. h:3 1 5. Qe 1 16. Nxe2 17. g4

dxe5 Rad8 Bx e 2 Hd3 h5!

Not . . . hi) because of 1 8. Bxh6. There was danger for Black in open­ ing the h-file, but there was more dan­ ger in excessive cramp on the king­ side. This way, at least, Black gets counterplay against White's g-pawn.

18. Qh4 19. Bg5 20. hxg4

Nbd7 hxg4 Qd6

,' c.J. S.

Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

21. Kh2 White h a s so far p layed t h e sharpest moves; but here the best was probably 2 1 . Rae l , preparing to withdraw the dark-squared Bish­ op (if necessary) to c l . The oppo­ nent's possession of a central file can u s ually be n u ll i fied by two B i s h o p s w h o p r o t e c t t h e vital squ ares on the file. For example, 2 1 . Rael QeG 22. B f:3 Nh7! 23. Be l ! ; and White preserves a superior po­ sition with attacking potentialities. Also good was 2 1 . Bf3, with Kg2 and Rh l as ouc possibility. Qe6 21. Nc5 22. Bf3 23. Bxf6?? One of the two thoroughly mad moves in the match, the other being Koshnitsky's 24th move in the first game. White abandons the mainstay of his position-which immediately collapses, of course. White still had the preferable game with the obvious 23. Ng3. If thereupon 23 ... Nh7, then 24. Be2 Rc3 (say, if 24 ... Rd7, then 25.

all Black needs is a flight square at f8. lt was quite otherwise while White had the power to play, at any time, Bh6. Now White should exchange Queens-the ending, though bad for him, is not hopeless. White was in a dither about his clock. 24. g5? Qe7! This simple move was strangely overlooked by White who now has the bleak choice of leaving the g-pawn to its fate or of completely ceding the open file-now no longer defended by the two Bishops. Rfd8 25. Rf2 Ne6 26. Rg1 27. Rg3 Rd2 28. Bg2 R8d3 Rxg3 ! 29. Bh3 30. Bxe6 White's game is a dead loss, so. rather than just losing slowly, he takes the thin chance of Black doing the wrong thing. 30. Rxg5! 31. Bxf7t Qxf7 ! 32. Rxf7 Rxe2t 33. Rf2 Rh5 If 34. Qxh5, then ... Rx£2t. Rxh4t 34. Rxe2 0-1 A breezy finish. [The third game in a 6-game match-Purdy won the Jst . 1 2 . b3 Bxa4, which would make his development still harder.

12. Bxa6 13. e4

At last. But in so openable a posi­ tion, Black's deficit in development is quite serious.

14. h3 15. Qxd4

16. Bd2! White had to play b:3 earlier, but that does not compel him to follow it up with a fianchetto of the Bishop. Threats are the stuff on which wins are built. Black replies ingeniously.

Qa5

Ba6

Black is still unhappy about 10 ... c5. For example, 1 1 . Bd2 cxd4 1 2 . Nxd4 B b 7 1 3. a3 , which i s awkward for Black.

1 1 . Rel

16. ...

Nc5!

17. Rael 18. bxa4 19. Qb2

Nxa4 Rd8 Qxa4

b4

If 9 ... c5, then 10. dxc5 Nxc5 1 1 . Qxd8t, with advantage. Zagorovsky p layed 9 . . . Bb7, whereupon Bondar­ evsky should have played 1 0. Bd2again hindering ... c5.

10. 0-0

cxd4

h6 This further interruption in devel­ opment stems from the sad observa­ tion that the natural 1 5 . . . Be7 1 () . Hg5 0-0'? would lose a piece.

Baay's is the hitting style. I find that Zagorovsky chose Baay's move against Bondarevsk11 in the semi-f'i­ nal of the last Soviet cha mpionship. The move stops e4 but makes ... c5 somewhat difficult.

9. Na4

Qxa6 c5

Rc8

Black declines the superficially

The main point of White's pawn offer on move 17 was that if Black declined it and developed "safely" here with 19 ... Be7 20. Nef>! 0--0, there would follow 2 1 . Nc6 Rd7 22. Nxe7t Rxe7 23. Bxh6!

20. Rc4

a5

And here if 20... Be7 2 1 . Bxb4 Rb8, then the shock is 22. Bxe7! When one player is ahead in development and lines are open, shocks have a way of

-49-

C.J . S . Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation

cropping up no matter what defense is selected. Here these tactical fi­ nesses have lured Baay into a pawn holding policy quite foreign to his style.

21. Nd4 22. Bf4

Qd7 g5?

Desperate counterattack some­ times succeeds where pat ient de­ fense is doomed. and that is in Baay's style. But this is a little too desper­ ate. Better would be 22 ... Be7 23. Nc6 Rc8, in the hope that White might not find the precise winning line: 24. Ree l ! (preventing castling). I f 22... Bd6 2:3. e5 Nd5, then the simple and obvious moves win (exd6, etc.).

23. 24. 25. 26. 27.

Nc6 Nxd8 Nc6 Nxa5 Qxb4

Bg7 gxf4 0-0 Ng4 Qa7

Black would have a real counter­ attack here were it not for a simple knockout that he missed under time pressure.

28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.

Qxc5 Qc5 Nxf2 Rxc5 Ra8 Rc2 Kxf2 Rxa5 Kf3 e5 Rb1 and 1 -0 ultimately

The game meandered on till move 67. The win is more tedious than dif­ ficult-White's task is to edge up the passed pawn by slow degrees. We spare our readers the agonies. A game full of life up to this point.

27 Purdy-Ozols ( 12/5 1 ) Dutch Defense

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Vol. 3 f5 Nf6 g6 Bg7 Nc6

d4 c4 Nc3 g3 Bg2

Forcing things a bit more than in his telegraphic game with Steiner. There he played 5 . . 0-0. Here if White tries to transpose into the Steiner game with 6. Nh3, then there could follow 6 .. ef> 7. dxe5 Nxe5, with the threat of . . . Nxc4 because Black has NOT castled. As it is, the more aggressive line adopted here by White seems logical. .

.

6. d5 7. Qb3

Ne5

But this is always a dubious place for the Queen. Surely the u ninhibited 7. c5! was the move (if 7... b6, then 8. Be3 Nc4 9. Bd4). From this point on. Black has quite an attractive game.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Nf3 0-0 Re1 dxe6 e.p. e4 Nxe4 Rxe4

c5 Nf7 0-0 e5 dxe6 Nxe4 fxe4 e5

For taking advantage of an iso­ lated e-pawn, White's position is un­ satisfactory-White has a Rook on e4 instead of a Knight. Moreover, White's command of d5 is not as absolute as Black's command of d4.

15. Re1 16. Be3

Be6 Qc7

Ozols pointed out that 16 ... Qe7! was the move-to avoid simplifica­ tion. However, after 1 7. Nd2, White should be all right.

1 7. Ng5!

Nxg5

Once safe in the box, this Knight could never establish itself on d4-

Chapter One: 70 OVER-THE-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY

that was my idea and it seems incon­ trovertible. The game now becomes even or a shade in White's favor-and quite lively. 18. Bxg5 Qf7 19. Be3 Bxc4 20. Qxb7 Qxb7 21. Bxb7 Rab8 22. Be4 Rxb2 23. a4 Rc8 Bb3 24. Rec1 25. Rxc5 Rxc5 a5 26. Bxc5 27. • Bb6 Bc2 Slightly hazardous. Black had a clear draw with 27 ... Bxa4. Both play­ ers were racing their clocks. 28. Bd5t Kf8 e4 29. Bxa5 30. Bc7 Bd4 3L Bd6t Kg7 32. Ba3 Rb6 33. Rc1 Bxa4 34. Bxe4 Rf6 35. Rc7t Rf7 36. Rxf7t Kxf7 adjourned here-then drawn by agreement on move 75 It was quite reasonable for White to continue with perhaps a one-in­ forty chance of winning; but Black declined to blunder, and nothing in­ teresting happened.

28 Purdy-Foster (3/52) Nimzo-Indian Defense 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 e6 'Transposing into the Nimzo-ln­ dian from the English avoids the Queen's Gambit Accepted which has drawish tendencies.

Bb4 3. Nc3 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nf3 c5 Bxc3t 7. a3 8. bxc3 Nbd7 9. e3 0-0 10. c4 Qd6 1 1 . Bb2 b6 Bb7 12. Be2 13. 0-0 All this is only one of numerous possi hle variations after 5. cxd5 Qxd5, all given by the hooks as lead­ ing to equality. It is certainly hard for White to make anything of his two Bishops. Botvinnik played the text move in his match with Levenfisch in 1937. In view of the sequel in that game and (even more so) in the present one, I suggest 13. h3 first. Levenfisch had played ...cxd4 first, but that is only a transposition. 13. ... Be4! With the preliminary exchange of pawns on d4, Levenfisch played here . . . N g4 , h3 . . . Bxf3, hxg4 . . . Bxe 2 . Foster's move i s designed to strength­ en that line by first tempting White's Queen away from the protection of the e-Bishop. I now conceived an elaborate pawn sacrifice, missing Black's 18th move. I have a fondness for inducing my opponent to make a pseudo-attack involving ...Qh2t-but here it wasn't so "pseudo." cxd4 14. Qc3 15. exd4 Ng4 16. Rfd1? The blunder which gives point to Black's strategy. Of course not 16. h3?? (playable in the Botvinnik­ Levenfisch game but not here). Best, of course, was the "woodshifting"

-5 1 -

C . J . S . Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

move 1 n. g'.3-it creates a weakness but nothing tragic. 1 6. Bxf3 17. Bxf3 Qxh2t 18. Kfl Qf4! White would have a splendid po­ sition in ret urn for his sacrificed pmm but for this one reply. For some reason, I had been banking on 18... Qh4 (or . Qh H first). Now White's compensation for the pawn is nebu­ lous. Ndf6 19. Rd3 20. Rel Rac8 21. g3 Qf5 22. Kg2 Rc7 If you must leave your opponent a good move, leave him more than one! Not only will he consume time on his clock, but his choice may not be the best. I felt sme that Black would wa­ ver between 32 ... bf> and a2 . Rc7. The move :32 .. h!J is best, but I was hop­ ing that Black would not like the idea of my getting a supported passed pawn with 33. c5. The idea of doubling Rooks on the c-file was tempting be­ cause that threatens to win a second pawn out1·ight. 23. d5

en prise and wins with 25. d7! (the student should work this out to move 28). White now had his full pawn 's worth of position anyway, but the text move enables him to crash in. Qg6 24. Rxd5 Qg5 25. Rd6 White threatened 26. Bxg4 Qxg4

exd5? .23. Doubtless Foster had intended going on with the pawn win and only now saw that if 23 ... Rfc8 24. cl() Rxc4 then White simply leaves his Queen

Purdy-Kruger (6/52) SicUian Defense c5 1. e4 2. Nc3 Smyslov favored this for a time,

..

..

.

27. RxW.

Nxg4 26. Bxg4 27. f4 Ne3t Forced-leaving White with a piece for, a pmrn. With the white King so exposed, however, the \\in needs great care. 28. Rxe3 Qg4 h5 29. Qd4 Rc8 30. Rd8 Kxf8 31. Rxf8t Kg8 32. Qe4 33: f5! Rxc4 hxg4 34. Qxg4 With a very exposed King, a Queen-swap is well worth one pawn at least. Re4 35. Rc3 Re7 36. Kf2 Rd7 :n Rc4 Rd5 38. Ke3 39. f6 gxf6 Rf5 40. Bxf6 Kf8 41. Rxg4t Ra5 42. Rf4 Rd5 43. a4 44. Rd4 and 1-0 eventually

29

Chapter One: 70 OVER-THE-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY

but it really has nothing in its favor except a possible surprise.

2.

3. g3 4. Bg2 5. d3

Nc6 g6 Bg7 d6

23. h4 24. Bh3

Safer than Botvinnik's 5. . e6 as it takes all the \Vind out of Smyslov's early Bc3. .

6. Nge2 7. Be3 8. h3

Bd7! Nd4

Not very happy, but I considered 0-0 h 5 ! l ! h4 Qc8! t o . Nf4 NfO without deep enthusiasm. Black fol­ lows Steiner in his handling of the ope n i n g-Black's game i s com­ pletely satisfactory. 8.

8. 9. 0-0 10. Qd2 1 1. Rael

e6 Ne7

0-0 Rb8

And still White cannot play Bh6. Rfel 13. Ndl 14. c3

12.

b5 e5 Ne6?

B lack avoids the exch ange of Knights because the white Knight has no squares. But the loss of time gives White the initiative in the center, and then Black's too numerous pieces start getting in one another's way. With eight minor pieces on the board, a pawn center can mean a lot. The turning point. d4 16. 14

15.

Qc7 16

Black now has the seeds of deadly cramp. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

22.

g4

15

Ng3 b3 b4 d5

It might seem that White is run­ n ing the risk of a complete block. No-a breakthrough on the kingside is always open.

Nd8 Nb7 Na5 c4 Nac6 Nd8

25. Kh2

26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Rfl Rc2 a.'l Rf3 Nf2 Nfh l

a5 Ra8 Qc8 Rf7 Qa6 Qc8 Nb7 Qf8

Against a cramped game, do not h u r ry; d e l ay y o u r b r eak t i l l i t comes with m aximum force. Time is nothing, space everything. White still has a Knight entirely without a real fu ture ; but Black has eigh t pieces, a l l w ithout a futu re-too heavy a burden. 31. 32. Qct 33. g5 34. Rcf2

Kh8 Ng8 Bc8

34.

axb4 Nd8 Bd7 hxg6 Rxd7 Qe8 fxg5

Everything on the board, yet Black could well-nigh resign.

35.

axb4 Qfl lxg6 Bxd7 Qh3

36. 37. 38. 39. 40. h5 4 1 . Bxg5 42. Nxh5 43. Bxh6

gxh5 Bh6 1-0

To ex-plain games of this sort fully, you would need to show the threats that Black had of freeing· his game and how all White's play was de­ signed to forestall them. In ad d ition to blocking Black's threats, White was able to prepare an attack at his leisure. A game of creeping paraly-

C.J . S . Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

1 7. Bxe4

sis, with not much in the way of ! or ! !-but such games can be won in no

ideal " Dutch" type.

other way.

18. 19. 20. 21.

30 f5 e6

Bg2

Nf6

Nf:J

Be7 0-0 d5

d4

0-0 c4

Bg4 Rad8 Rfe8

by . . . Bc8 ! , leaving White with new

Dutch Defense g3

Bb2 Rf2 Raft Bf3

The specious 2 1. h3 is met simply

Bowman-Purdy (6/52) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Qh5

Black now has a position of the

weaknesses.

{Ed.: But it looks like 22. R:dfJ fJ.rlO 23. Rxf6 equalizes.]

21. ...

Re3

As will be seen, this required some calculation since it courts a Queen

As is well known, Black adopts the

sacrifice which appears (at first sight) to win. White was a1rcady in

Stonewall formation if White devel­

time trouble and failed to see the vi­

ops his f-Knight at f3 but not if he

tal point.

22. Qc4t 23. Bxd4?!?

develops it at h3.

7. 8.

Nc3

c6 a.3 Qe8 9. b4 Nbd7 After long thought, I declined

This is the ingenious affair-so nearly sound! Otherwise, White's the

game was bad but not lost.

offered pawn. Acceptance is very very

23. 24. Qxd4 25. Bxg4

inconsistent with the Stonewall for­ mation; and after

9. . .

Kh8

dxc4 10. Ne5

Rxd4 Bxd4 Rxg3t

Nd5 (not ... b5? because of Nxb5) 1 1 .

The saver which White, badgered

Qc2, White"s position seems worth

by his clock, had missed. Therefore,

0-1

the material. The finesse, however, has gained White a clear advantage

If White varies the order of moves,

in space on the queenside-Resh­

he fares no better. An interesting sort

evsky has played White along these

of game for students of this opening.

lines with success. But White's next

It may favor White who was going

move is doubtful.

well until his 10th move.

I expected

10. Qd3,

maintaining the central tension­ with some advantage to White.

1 0. 11. 12. 13. 14.

c5

Nxe4 Ne5 Nxd7 f3

Ne4 fxe4 Bf6 Bxd7 e5

The t r aditional counter to c 5

comes in here with strong effect.

15. fxe4 16. Qd3

exd4 dxe4

{The student slunlld continue the game from the resignedposition­ see The Road to 2000 section near the end of this book. Set up the re­ signed position on your computer, take the pa,.t ofBlack, have White play 26 Kltl, arul continue against yaur computer to a more definitive conclusion-there is still plenty of play on the board.]

-54-

Chapter One: 70 OVER-THE-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY

31 Sarapu-Purdy ( 1 1/52) Match Game No. I Ruy Lopez

e5 1 . e4 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Sufficiently unusu al to i nduce Purdy to take 15 minutes over his rn p l y. Sarapu bel ieves that the ··equality" credited to Black by the books is not quite equality-and I believe Sarapu. 5. Be7 b5 6. 0-0 7. Bb3 d6 8. Nd5 Na5 9. Nxe7 Qxe7 10. d3 Nxb3 Both sides lose their "two Bish­ " ops. Quits, so far. But Black is left with a really weak a-pawn-and that is the basis of Sarapu's claim. Bg4 1 1 . axb3 If Black intended this, which is one accepted variation, it would have been better to defer . . . Nxb3 until White made a retreat for his "Lopez Bi shop" with c3 or attacked the Knight with Bd2. When a move can wait, it is almost always best to let it wait-even if only an infinitesimal reward is in prospect. After playing ... Nxb3 so early, bet­ ter was 1 1 ... Bb7. The Bishop is not much hampered by protecting the a-pawn, but that is torture to a Rook. Still, it's just a question of fine shades of position-as yet. 12. b3 Bb5 13. Qe2 0-0 1 4. g4 Bg6 -

Black has virtually forced White to "weaken" his kingside. Black's reasoning was that White could not attack effectively on BOTH wings. Let us see if this analysis holds up. 1 5. Bg5 Qe6 16. Nh4 Nd7! f6 17. Nf5 c5 18. Be3 The routine measure after ... h5 in the Lopez-gaining space on the queenside. Thus Black gives his queenside strengih as well as weak­ ness. 19. Ra5! Sarapu realized that although the game cannot be won on the queenside he MUST obtain temporary pressure there before Black himself can gain an initiative by ... a5. Such an initia­ tive would balance any attempt that White could make, as yet, to attack on the kingside. Nb8 19. ... Be8 20. Rfal The threat was Rxb5. bxc4 21. c4 g6 22. bxc4 Kg7 23. Nh6t White's Knight is not well placed, but he is quite safe so long as the Bishop guards him-he cannot be cut off. Nevertheless, Wh i te would have a more genuine advantage if the Knight could have gone to e3-and that sends us back to move 18. Was 18. Be3 the best? 24. Kh2 Qc8 25. Rgl ! Now comes the switch back to the kingside which enables White to refute to some degl'ee Black's reasoning on move 1 1. Three tempi have been "lost" by the Rooks, but 55

-

C.J.S. Purdy's F i ne Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

Black's game has been sufficiently d isorganized to make the "lost" tempi a sound investment. Nc6 25. 26. Ra.al Rb8?

The game hinged on this move. Black deliberately invited (indeed, virtually forced) the coming sacri­ fice, believing he could weather the storm-Le. his idea was to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous for­ tune and, by opposing, end them. Black should have played safe either with . . . Nd4, virtually forcing· Bxd4 (exchange of an attacking piece), or with ...Kh8. There was no positional reason why Black should lose. Black has a weak a-pawn, but White has a weak b-pawn. Moreover, Black's kingsidc was not essentially weak. Now, how­ ever, the game leaves the posilional realm. 27. Nf5t!! A fine sacrifice. It could not be calculated out, but Sarapu had the insight to see that he must drift into inferiority if he did not play it. 27. ... gxf5 28. gxf5t Kf7 Not ... Kh8?? because of Bh6. Ke7 29. Bh6 Correct. White must now slightly weaken his attack by winning the Exchange.

Kxf8 30. Bxf8t 31. Qg4 Bf7 32. Qh4! Black had banked on Qg7t. Ke7 32. ... 33. Rg'7 Qf8 Seems the best chance. White's threats include Rxh7-h6. 34. Qxh'7 a5 35. Ragl The ·'switch" is completed. The game is an extremely neat example of "s..,vitch" strategy. Ke8 35 . ... Clock trouble. Not 35 ... Rxb2 or 35 ... Nd8 because of 36. Rg8! Worth chancing is 35 ... a4! If thereupon 36. Rxf7t, then 36 ... Qxf7 37. Rg7 Nd8, followed by ... Rxb2 with a hard fight. After 35 ... a4, try 36. h4, waiting. If thereupon 36 ... Rxb2, then 37. Rg8! 36. Rg8 Rxb2 First ... Bxg8 would stave off res­ ignation only a few moves lon ger. Black's King is too exposed. 37. Rxf8t Kxf8 38. Qh8t Ke7 39. Qc8 Nd8 40. Qc'7t Ke8 Rxf2t 41. Qxd6 42. Kg3 Rd2 43. Rel ! To stop ...Bxc4. 43. a4 a3! 44. Rc3 Bxc4 45. Rxa3 1-0 As the game was to be adjourned, there was no further point in continu­ ing. So long as the first session lasts, a fatigue blunder in the 5th hour is always a hope. This game was a fine c urtain­ raiser-one of the best games of the match.

-56-

Chapter One: 70 OVER-THE-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY

{This was the first game in a 10game match for the Australas'ian championship. The match emled in a Ne-each player had 4 w'ins, 4 losses, and 2 draws.]

play (by ... e!)), but safer seems 8 . . . bl), etc. I had, however, prepared against such strategy 9. 0-0 e5

32 Purdy-Sarapu ( 1 1/52) Match Game No. 2 Torre A ttack

Nf6 1. d4 2. Nf3 e6 Keeping the option of an ordinary Q u e e n ' s Pawn i n addi t i o n to a Queen's Indian. My next move was one I h ad never p layed before. Sarapu-for all I knew-had gone o v e r a l l my p u b l i s h e d ga m e s , whereas I knew only a dozen of his, with only one against a player of his own class. Therefore, I naturally wanted to play thinbrs Sarapu would not have specially prepared for. As v.ill be seen later, I did not stick to this idea too slavishly. 3. Bg5 The Torre Attack. 3. Be7 4. Nbd2 c5 5. c3 cxd4 Nc6! 6. cxd4 7. e3 With 5. c3, I had the idea of play­ ing an early e4 in one hop if permit­ ted to do so. Black has already re­ futed that idea. If 7. e4, Black could reply simply 7. . . d5 8. e5 Ne4, with an easy game. Therefore 5. e3 at once may be better than 5. c3. 7. ... 0-0 8. Bd3 d6 I was much impressed by this plan for quick development and central

10. h3 The tempo lost here dogged me for the rest of the game. I had not yet formed a clear plan. At once 10. dxe5! dxe5 1 1 . Bb5! was right. If then 1 1 . . . . Bg4 (the move I wished to stop), sim­ ply 12. BxcH bxcll 1 :3. Qa4 ! produc­ ing pressure to outweigh the loss of the Bishop pair. Or if 1 1 ... e•J, then 1 2 . Bxf()! BxHi t a . Nxe4 Bxb2 14. Rh l forces an advantage sinee l ei... Ba3? would lose a pawn . 10. ... Be6 1 1 . dxe5 ! dxe5 White has now Sf'en the only way to keep any initiative: make Black':-; center pawn a weakness. Qa5! 12. Bb5 Qxa4 13. Qa4! Rac8 1 4. Bxa4 Offering the pawn temporarily for obviously adequate coun terplay. Rfd8 1 5. Rfdl 16. a3 What else? At some t i me, the weakness at a2 must be eliminated. 16. h6 e4! 1 7. Bh4 exf3 ! 18. Bxc6! 19. Bxf3 Rc2 Rxd lt 20. Ne4 .

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

21. Rxdl 22. Nxf6t

Rxb2 Bxf6

readily agreed to a draw. Black's slight losing chances would come if,

If . . . gx f6 , t h e n B l a c k ' s dark­

after 32 . . . Bxd5 ! 33. Rxd5, he were

squared Bishop is stuck in a defen­

tempted into 33 . . . a2? The pawn

sive role.

should stay on the third rank.

23. Bxf6

In these first two games, I played

gxf6

In vain efforts to obtain an ad­ vantage s o m ewh e r e , W h i t e had consumed nearly all his

2.5

hours

better than I had been playing i n practice games in Sydney-but not well enough to win from Sarapu.

and had about ten minutes left for 22 move s . Now, of course, White must play hard to draw since Black has

a

33

pawn majority on the side re­

( 12/52) No. :l Nimzo-lndian Defense Nf6 1 . d4 2. c4 e6 Bb4 3. Nc3

Sarapu-Purdy

mote from the Kings. The drawing

Match Game

technique, however, i s almost me­ chanical ; and White made every move nearly instantaneously from here on.

24. Rd8t 25. Ra8 26. Rb8

Kg7

a6

White now plays the Samisch At­ tack (4.

Not W. Ra7'? because of . . . Bc8.

26. ... 27. Rxb7

Ra2

the "Nimzo." I chose it myself in what

I expected to be the most vital game /against Napolitano, World Correspondence Clwss cham­ pio nship].

have no pawns to one rather than one pawn to two. Thus White has attained

28. Ra7 29. g4 30. Ra5 31. Kg2 32. Bd5!

which in practice seems

Rxa3

Usually the draw-seeker prefers to

his first gnal .

a3)

to work out remarkably well against

of my career

4.

a5 An

a4

Ralt a3 1/2-1/2

a3 5. bxc3 " O K ga m e

Bxc3t 0-0 i n 1 9 50 " was

Brons tein-Smyslov, Budapest 1950: 5 . c5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bd3 e5 8. ..

Ne2 d6

B.

e4 Nh5 ! ? Critics praised

'The point. With the Bishops left on,

this in novation of Smyslov's. How­

Black threatens to win quickly by

ever, even Smyslov makes doubtful

... a2. With the Bishops off, it's a book

draw. For example,

32 . . .

opening moves occasionally-and

Bxd5 33.

this is one of them. It was this move

Rxd5, followed by Ra5 again-keep­

that I wanted Napolitano to make

ing the Rook behind the pawn. Of

in November 1950, and he did. As a

course, if 32 ... Bd7, then simply 33.

matter of fact, no one has evolved a

e4; and the a-pawn cannot proceed.

cast-iron system for Black against

With that, White could not lose and

the Samisch.

might even win.

6. e3

Although White still had 13 moves

If, instead, White builds a "formi­

to make in six m i n u t e s , S arapu

dable" pawn center with f3 and e4,

-58-

Chapter One: 70 OVER-TH E-BOARD GAMES OF CJS PURDY lhen Black blocks with . . . d6 and ... e5;

essary by . . . Re 7. I analyzed this posi­

and White's f-Bishop becomes "bad,"

tion with the two strong Aucklanders

note the dynamic role played by that

Turner and Fletcher, and we were

Bishop in the game.

6. 7. Bd3 8. Ne2

unable to show an advan tage for d6

White. Can Sarapu demonstrate one?

e5 Re8

By prematurely going for the recov­ ery of his (unimportant) "half-pawn ,"

"Another story" is 8 . . . e4 9. Bb l .

9 . f3 10. 0-0 1 1. Ng3

Black cedes the initiative to White.

13. ...

c5 d5!!?

Nxc3? 1 4 . Qc2 .

Black could win the d-pawn , but

14. 1 5. 16. 17. 18.

White would equalize material by

Bxh7t

Nc7?

Weak, though not as weak as 13 . . .

Nc6

and would get a small posi­

tional plus. The text move offers a pawn and was roundly criticized.

Qc2 a4! Ne4! Ba3 Nd6!

h6 Ne6 Q a5 Rd8 Qc7

1 1 ... cxd4 and then later ... d5, a

Not ... Nxc5?? because of Nc4. All

la Botvinnik, was preferred. However,

that Black has achieved by his ma­

the text move, though venturesome,

neuver is the complete prevention of

First

is quite logical. To undouble White's

his development. The position is ma­

pawns in the Samisch is a confession

terially even, but positionally lost for

of weakness. Only in the doubled

Black-Black could have had both

pawn s can Black point t o serious

Rooks working, say at e7 and d8.

compensation for "the two Bishops."

19. Rfd 1 20. Bc4!

It was only Black's weak follow-up that made 1 1 . . . d5 appear weak.

12. cxd5

Rb8 Bd7"!?

Black should lose anyway, but only

Nxd5

after long resistance. The text move completely overlooks White's devas­

13. dxc5!

tating reply.

21.

Qf5!

The only way to win the pawn . If 1 3 . c4, then 13 . . . Nc3, followed by ... exd4 whether White plays Qc2 or

21. ...

first Bxh7t. After the text, Black will

The least evil was

Ng5 2 1 . . . Bc8, leav­

gain tempi for his pawn (or "half­

ing White an endgame win with 22.

pawn") and should develop simply by

Nxc8 Qxc8 23. Bxe6 Qxe6 24. Qxe6

13 . . . Be6, defending the b-pawn if nee-

fxe6 25. Rd6.

-59-

c.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3 The text move was the counter to Qf5 had the Bishop stayed at home , but it is now only a wild gambl e. If 21. Rf8 , Sarapu indicated the fine double sacrifice 22. Nxf7 ! ! Rxf7 23. Rxd 7 ! ! Well worth looking at-it wins.

·

..

22. 2:{. 24 . 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30 .

Bxf7t

Kf8 Ke7 Hxd7 Rf8 Nf7 Rdd8 Ke8 Rg8 Rxg7 Rd7

Be6t B xd 7 h4 !

Qg6 Qxg7 N f5t Qf6 Ng7t :u . Qxg7 32. Rd6!

Neat

wins

7. Bxc6t 8. 0-0 !

.

32. 3!3. Rf6

34 . Qg8t

· Ne7 Nd5

1 -0

34 Sarapu-Pu rdy ( 1 /53) �latd1 fiame No. 'i

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

d4 Nd2 Ngf3 exd5 Bh5

e6 d5 c5 Nc6 exd5

bxc6

.

9. Re1 t

Be6

10. b3 Bb4 Choice of evils. This leads to iso­ lated doubled pawns, but 10. . . cxb3 1 1 .Nxb3 gives White a terribly strong posi t ion. 1 1 . bxc4 12. Rbl

Frl'11d1 Din .

39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44.

fxe6

Black is tempted to unisolate the d-pawn, but the coming pin is too awkward. Better was 2 1 . . . Qxe6 22. Bg5 ho; for after 23. Bxf6 Qxf6, White cannot win the d-pawn at once except at the cost of his own b-pawn. Mean­ while, Black has the two Bishops and various tactical possibilities. Even if White ultimately won the d-pawn, he would have a hard struggle to beat the Bishops.

22. Bg5

31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38.

Bf8

Aiming at ... Bg7 so as to add to the pressure on the square d4. But the move momentarily unguards the f-Knight, and White is thereby en­ abled to obtain a tangible advantage. The right way to follow up Black's last move was 20 . . . Qe5, unpinning the Queen and forcing the blockader to exchange or to move-or provoking the harmless Qd2.

axb5 b6 b7 Kf3 Ke4 Kd5

a4 Bd4 Ba7 Kg7 Kf6 g5

White to seal. The win is not easy. If 45. Kc6, then ... h4, allowing White to win the Bishop.

45. Na3

Qe7

Choice of evils. If 22 . . . Qe5, then 23. Qd2; and the black Queen may become the victim of a net.

23. e4

h6

This gives up a pawn, but it may be no worse than 23 ... dxe4 24. Rxd8 Qxd8 25. Nxe4 Rxcl 26. Qxcl Bxe4 27. Bxe4, whereupon White has the two Bishops and a superior game in all respects.

24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

Bxf6 exd5 Bxd5t Nxd5 Rxc4

Qxf6 exd5 Bxd5 Qxb2

[Ed.: Golombek m'isses the k'iller, 28. Qe6f, which w'ill mate or w'in the Queen on b2.]

28. 29. Qe4 30. Qxc4

bxc4 Rd6 Kh7

45. ...

Kf5

Tricky would be 45 ... h4, threaten­ ing to win ( ! ) by . . . g4; but then 46. gxh4 gxh4 47. Nb5 Bb8 48. Ke4 Kg5 49. Na3 Bc7 50. Nc4 Bb8 5 1 . f4t Bxf4 52. Ne5!; and the Knight shuts off the Bishop from the queening square.

46. Nb5 47. Nd4t 48. Kc4

Bb8 Kf6 h4

If 48... Bd6, then 49. Nb5 Bb8 50. Kb4 Kf5 5 1 . Kxa4 , followed by the white King moving down to b6 and then Nc7-a6-and White queens just a move too soon for Black to draw.

- 1 32-

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

49. 50. 51. 52.

gxh4 Kb4 Kxa4 Nf3t

gxh4 Bd6t Ke5 1-0

In winning the h-pawn, the Knight protects his own pawns. If 52 ... Kd5, then 53. Kb5, saving the b-pawn be­ fore winning the h-pawn. A very good game.

available against . . . Bxd4. Not at once 12 . . . f4 because of Bxh7t followed by Ndl . The text move gets two black pieces onto White's d­ pawn and threatens . . . Nb4. Black thinks that leaving his own d-pawn unguarded is all right, but his calcu­ lation is wrong.

13. a3 14. cxd5!

f4

Bxh7t is not good.

82 J Purdy-Citic (9/55) Colle System

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

d4 Nf3 e3 Bd3 0-0 b3

d5 e6 Nf6 b6 Be7

A very old but quite good line­ better than the Colle System at any rate. White keeps c4 in reserve.

6. 7. Bb2 8. c4 9. Nfd2!

0-0 Bb7 Ne4

The best way o f dealing with Black's intended Stonewall.

9. .. 10. f3 .

f5 Nd6

Logical, inasmuch as the swap of Knights would assist White's devel­ opment. Black has in mind the push . . .f4, hence ...Nd6 instead of ... Nf6.

1 1. Nc3 12. Qc2

14. 15. 16. 1 7. 18.

Nxd5 Nxf6t Ne4 d5

exd5 fxe3 Qxf6 Qh6 Nd8

Black has no defense.

Ne8

19. Qxc7

Here, with a pawn up and a great advantage in development as well (since Black has had to undevelop both Knights), White could expect a comfortable win. However, Wh ite played

20. d6??? and then resigned without waiting for Black's reply. 0-1 Most experts have done something like this at least once, and the best way to deal with such calamities is to start talking quickly about Rubin­ stein. Acclaimed by some as the greatest player who ever lived, Rubin­ stein was nevertheless prone to ex­ traordinary aberrations of this sort, a great comfort to us all .

Bf6 Nc6

Too optimistic. In this highly com­ plicated position, a good move was 12 ... Kh8, threatening .. .f4 (by fore­ stalling Bxh7 with check) and pre­ venting Wh ite from winn i n g the f-pawn, after White's Queen finished up at f5, she would not have Qe6t

83 Lloyd-J Purdy (9/55) Queen's Gambit Accepted

1 . d4 2. c4 3. Nf3

d5 dxc4 a6

C.J . S . Purdy's Fi ne Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

acing a second pawn so White can­ not start attacking.

This, followed by the pin after White's e3, is certainly the most at­ tractive variation for Black. Popular­ ized by Alekhine in one of his matches with Bogoljuboff, the line has never been refuted.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

a4 e3 Bxc4 Qb3 gxf3

13. Qd3 White wants to castle, but he is not happy about . . .b5 in reply-winning the b-pawn would lose the Bishop by . .. Na7 after the captures. And if 13. Bc3, then naturally ... Nd5. However, the m ove played also gives Black a chance to free his game.

Nf6 Bg4 e6 Bxf3 Nc6

13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

The same device that Alekhine used to protect the b-pawn (if Qxb7??, then ... Na5 traps the Queen).

9. Bd2 10. Na3 1 1 . Nc2 12. Rg1

Rb8 Be7

e4 Nxb4 Qb3 Bc3

Nd5! Ndb4 , Nxb4 a5 Bf6

To provoke e5; or else, after 18. 0-0-0, to play 18 ... Qe7, followed by ... c5 or ... e5.

0-0

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

e5 0-0-0

Rg4 Bd3 Bd2 Qxa4 Qc2 Rdgl

Be7 c6 b5 Nd5 bxa4 Qb6 g6 a4

For . a3. but 25 ... c5! would have been simple and deadly. ..

12. ...

Kh8

26. h4

Not necessary yet, but quite a good move because the position is one in which White cannot easily make fur­ ther progress-in other words, time· is at a discount for the moment. All the same, it is always a good idea to look for a move with punch; and here there was 12 . . . Qd6! Say 13. Rg2, then 13 . . . b5! starts making it unsafe for White to castle. If White accepts the pawn, then 14. axb5 axb5 15. Bxb5 Rb6; and Black will soon recover the pawn with a good game. On the other band, if White himself offers a pawn with 1 3 . 0-0-0 Qxh2, then t h e trouble i s that Black is already men-

c5

Chess the hard way. This is sail­ ingvery close to the wind now, though evidently well calculated. But instead of such a change of plan, the simple 26 ... a3 was effective and needed no thinking. This may have been where Black got short of time.

27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

dxc5 b5 hxg6 Rht Bc4

Bxc5 Bxf2 fxg6 Rfc8 Rc7!

White threatened Rxh7t ! ! But now White himself is in serious straits. Black threatens .. ,Bd4, and White finds nothing better than the follow-

1 34

-

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

ing desperate gamble.

32. Rxg6 33. Qxc4 34. Kd1

6. 7. 8. 9.

Rxc4 Qxb2t Qatt

[Ed.: :U . . Ne3t is a quick win./

Qxh1 Ba7?

In an easily won game, Black winds up with some feeble moves that point up his time trouble. Crush­ ing was the obvious 36 ... Qg2; for if 37. Qxd5, then 37 . . . Be l t 38. Kd l (forced) Bxd2, and W11ite, unable to take the Bishop, is helpless-a piece down and threatened with . . . Rb 1 t and then . . . Rc1 t.

37. 38. 39. 40.

Qxd5 Kd3 Kc2 Qd7

Qg2t Rb3t Qg8 Bb8???

Evidently played with Black's Ilag about to fall. Even now, Black could save the game with 40 ... Rb8 since 4 1 . Qxa7? i s refuted by . . . Rc8t and . . .Qxe6.

1-0

4 1 . Re8

84 Milner-Barry-J Purdy ( 10/55) Vienna Game (in effect)

1 . e4 2. Bc4

e5

Weaver Adams originally selected the Bishop's Opening as White's one and only winning method. Later, Adams changed over to the Vienna. Here Milner-Barry takes no chances, he starts with the Bishop's Opening and then transposes into the Vienna.

2. 3. d3 4. Nc3 5. Nge2

Nf6 Nc6 Bb4 d5

Nxd5 Be6 Bxd5 Qd7

Some analysis by Euwe continues

.

35. Ke2 36. Rxe6

exd5 0-0 Bxd5 f4

9 .. 0-0 10. f5. Here Black makes it .

lively by castling queenside.

10. fxe5 1 1 . Nf4 12. bxc3

Nxe5 Bxc3 0-0-0

Although the b-file is in White's hands, White is otherwise poorly situ­ ated for attacking on the queenside.

13. Qh5 14. Nxd5

Rhe8!

If 1 4 . Qxh7?, then 14 . . . Rh8 1 5. Qxg7 (forced) Nf3t!

14. ... 15. Ba3

Qxd5

This time, if 1 5 . Qxh7'?, then 1 5. . . Qc5t, followed by . . . Qxc3.

15. ... 16. Qxh7?

g6!

Now White thinks it safe to cap­ ture the pawn, but he miscalculates badly. Black has in any case the bet­ ter game since he can follow with .. .f5 if White doesn't take the h-pawn. See the next note.

16. 17. Qg7 18. Qf6

Rh8 RdgS Rxh2!

The point. White has no resource; for if Rf2, then . . . Rgh8. Black bad cal­ culated more deeply than White sus­ pected. For example, if on move 16, Qh3t, then .. . f5 ! ; and even there it is bad to play Qxh7 because of 1 7 ... Qc6! If thereupon 1 8. c4, then 18 . . . Ng4, threatening both . . . Re2 and . . .Rh8.

19. 20.' 21. 22. 23.

Kxh2 Kgl Rxf6 Raft Be7?

Ng4t Nxf6 Qe5 Qxc3

c.J. S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

Compulsory was 23. Bel, but then simply 23... Rg7 makes White's case hopeless; for if thereupon 24. Rxf7, then 24... Rxf7 25. Rxf7 Qal forces the Rook back, and Black acquires a re­ mote passed pawn (the a-pawn). If 24. R1f2, then 24 ... Qal-with the same consequences. Finally, if 24. R6f2, then 24 . . . f5 25. Re2 Qc5t, followed by an exchange of Rooks (if 26. Be3, then ... Qa3 wins a pawn) . 23. ... Re8! This wins the Bishop outright. If 24. Rxf7, then ... Rxe7. 0-1

85 lsrael-J Purdy ( 1 1/55) Reti 's Opening

C o n c e r n i n g t h i s gam e , J o h n wrote: "When going thro ugh this g-ame, see Capablanca-Yates, New York 1924. l had a good position out of the opening and mucked it up." After 12 moves, John obtains, with Black, effectually the same position that Capablanca had with White! 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 Nc6 3. Bg2 A system much favored for the white pieces against the King's In­ dian Defense-it has been occasion­ ally revived quite successfully. The system may also be all right against the King's Indian Reversed (now of­ ten called the Barcza System). If he is allowed to play ... e5, Black should not fare badly-otherwise he has adequate play, as is now shown. 4. d4 Bf5! 5. c4 dxc4 ! Nd7 6. Qa4

7. Qxc4 Nb6 8. Qb3 e6 9. 0-0 Be4! Black follows Capablanca (White) in the game mentioned-Alekhine's notes to the game are ecstatic about Capablanca's play ( 1924 came within their period of friendship). The rea­ son Black is able to play White here is that Capablanca had interpolated h 3 to make a sanctuary for his c-Bishop if it were hit by ... Nh5. Ale­ khine pointed out that the move by the h-pawn was u nnecessary. The opening moves were 1 . d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 0-0 6. h3. Alekhine recommended 6. Bd3 because if 6 . . . Nh5 then 7. Bg5 (if thereupon ... h6 and ... g5, then the castled King . would be much weak­ ened). Capablanca-Yates continued 6... c5 7. dxc5 Qa5 8. Nd2 Qxc5 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. Be5! In the present game, Israel could have prevented ... Be4 by 9. Nc3! in­ stead of castling. After 9. Nc3 Nb4 10. e4 Nd3t 1 1 . Ke2 Nxcl 12. Raxcl Bg4, Black has some compensation for retarded development; but the posi­ tion needs much analysis for a sure verdict. Could Black have afforded ... Be4 on move 8? No, because of 9. Ne5! (threatening mate) Nxe5 10. Bxe4, and this time White has the two Bishops. Nb4 10. e3 Bxg2 1 1 . Nel 12. Nxg2 Qd5 In the same position with colors reversed, Capablanca played h4 ! a subtle move designed, by threaten­ ing to open the h-file, to "mislead Black (here White) into creating a new weakness," to quote Alekhine.

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,

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

Black's move here aims at queen­ side castling and an advance on the kingside later. The only Oaw is that White might nip the attack in the bud by swapping Queens. As the game goes, Black soon has a strong initiative.

I

13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Qdt a3 Nc3 b4 Qe2 Bb2 Ra.ct Rc2

0-0-0 Nc6 Qd7 h5 g5 Bg7 f5 Kb8

Black falters here. The c-pawn is going to be threatened, but what does the threat amount to anyway?-only t o win Queen and pawn for two Rooks, so Black should proceed with his �wn attack. After 20 . . . h4, if 2 1 . Rfc1, then 2 1 . . . hxg3 2 2 . hxg3. Black thereupon doubles Rooks; and al­ though White can escape mate, he cannot escape an exchange of Rooks ( ... Rh 1). That is a much better way of eliminating White's threat than using a Rook for defense. In this, if 22. fxg3, all Black needs to do is to wait until White moves his Knight to discover the attack on the c-pawn and then to play ... N�f). Again, if (after 20 ... h4) 21. g4, then 21... h3 forces 22. Ne1; and White can­ not double Rook� at �l.:_and 22. . . e5 gives a winning attack. Taking time off for defense costs Black half a point. Black never car­ ries through his advance on the kingside.

21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Rfct b5 a4 a5 Bxc3

Rc8 Ne7 Ned5 Nxc3 Nd5

26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41 .

Bf6 Bb2 a6 b6 e4 fxe4 Qxe4 Qxb5 Qxe6 Rhe8 c6 Qf5 Qd7 Nc7 Qxc6 Qxc6 Rxc6 Ne6 Rxc6 Ba3 Bxd4 Rxc6 Ka8 Bd6t Ne3 Bc5 Bxd6 Nd5 Kb8 Rxd6 Re7 Nf6 1/2-1/2 by agreement

If 42. Nxh5, then 42 . . . Nc5 (not ...Nc7?? Why'?) 43. Rd5 Nxa6 44. Rxg5 Nc7; and it is Black, though a pawn down, who has the winning chances, White must lose time in trying to keep Black from queening. Israel played the game well after b e i n g at a d i s advan tage in the opening.

86 J Purdy-Beach ( 12/55) King's Indian Defense

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Bg2

Nf6 g6 Bg7 d6

0-0

0-0

c4 Nc3 Qc2

Nbd7 e5

d4 Nf3

g3

T h e m o re e nd u r i n g l i n e for White is the solid 8. e4, followed by h3 and Be3.

8. 9. b3

Re8 exd4

C.J . S . Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

10. Nxd4 1 1. Bb2 12. Radl

moves. [Ed. : White can hold Black off with 25. h4.] Going back to moves 1 3 and 1 4 , we still see n o t h i n g b e t t e r f o r White, which gives point to our note to move 8.

c6 a5 Nc5

Inviting 13. Nxc6 ! ? which would exchange White's best two minor pieces for Rook and two pawns. Such an exchange is not a good bargain unless an endgame is approaching, and it is particularly poor when it concedes "the two Bishops," as here.

87

Qb6

13. Rfel 14. e3

White secs . a4 coming and de­ cides to answer it in a certain way for which he needs to keep open the diagonal of his f-Bishop. There is probably nothing better. ..

14. 1 5. Nxa4! 16. bxa4 17. Rb1

a4 Nxa4 Qb4

Probably stronger is 6. Be3. Usu­ ally, White does not move the f-Bishop at all for some time.

Other ways of carrying out the idea arc less satisfactory. It is impor­ tant for White that Black's a-Rook should he on a4 rather than a8.

17. 18. Qxa4 19. Nxc6!

Qxa4 Rxa4 b xc6

A very dra'hish ending also results from 1 9. Rxc4 20. Na5 or from 19 .. Rxa2 20. Nb4. ..

.

20. Bxf6 If 20. Bxc6, then ... Bd7.

20. 21. Bxg7 22. Rb6

Rxc4 ! Kxg7

More p recise was 2 2 . a4 , but Black would have little difficulty in drawing.

22. 23. Rat 24. Bfl !

Klass-J Purdy (4/56) King 's Indian Defense Nf6 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 0--0 5. f3 6. Bd3

d5 Bf5 1/2-1/2

White points out that 24. a4? would have lost: 24. a4 Ra8 25. a5 Rxa5!-if 26. Rxa5, then Black mates in a few

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

d5 Nge2 Bc2 Be3

e5 Na6 Nc5 a5 Nh5!

Offering· a pawn: 1 l . g4 Nf4 1 2 . Nxf4 exf4 1 3 . Bxf4 f5. The resulting· type of game would be very suitable to John's style of play from Black's point of view and would be very un­ suitable to Klass' style of play from White' s point of view. Quite apart from psychological aspects, however, Black's compen sation looks ad­ equate. If Black wanted to play this way without offering a pawn, he could have done so on move 7, deferring the routine queenside maneuver till later. If, to prevent Black's kingside activ­ ity, White plays 6. g4 , then the imme­ diate ... Ne8, followed by .. .f5, is the right play-otherwise White may build up a bind on the kingside.

1 1 . Qd2

f5

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

Preventing the Samisch theme move g4.

12. 0-0-0

f4?

E n tirely overlooking that that permits a central attack by White which makes Black's flank advance futile. First of all, 1 2 ... b6 was nec­ essary. Whether chances are then better for White or for Black is an open question.

13. Bxc5 14. d6! 15. dxc7

dxc5 Be6 Qxc7

16. Nd5 17. Nec3

Qf7 Bf6

If 1 5 ... Qxd2, then 1 6. Rxd2 Bxc4? 1 7. Nd5 is too strong.

The defensive plan tried here by Black does not prove satisfactory; but in an intrinsically inferior position, it is never easy to find a plan that does.

1 8. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

Qf2 Kbl Ba4! Rd2 h3 Rhdl

Rac8 Ng7 Bd8 g5 Qg6 Rc6??

A h ad blunder. It is true that White's Knight on d5 had no move in the position as it stood, but that was true only while the Bishop on d8 was doubly defended. However, a game in which one side is fairly close to pa­ ralysis is usually lost. For example, if23 ... b6, then 24. Nb5, with the threat of . . . Na7-c6, would be the winning method.

bxc6 24. Bxc6 25. Nxf4 and 1-0 eventually

88 J Purdy-Kellner (4/56) King 's Indian Defense

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

d4 c4 g3 Bg2 Nc3 Nf3

Nf6 g6 Bg7 0-0 d6

An important move because it pre­ vents Black from playing immediately . . . e5. Black must first play either the obstructive 6 ... Nbd7 as Kellner does here and as Smyslov did against Bot­ vinnik-and as almost everybody did until last year--0r else 6 . . . Nc6 which is not obstructive but which has the objection that 7. d5 hits away the Knight which must either go home again (with the net loss of one tempo) or go to the edge of the hoard with 7 . . . Na5. "Knight to the edge" is now the procedure of choice, experience hav­ ing shown that it is not as bad as it looks.

6. 7. 0-0 8. e4

Nbd7 e5 a5

Preparing Black's 1 1 th. The key line is 8... c6 9. h3 (not now 9. Be3 because of 9 ... Ng4 1 0. Bg5 Qb6!) Re8 10. Be3 exd4 1 1 . Nxd4 Nc5 12. Qc2 Qe7 13. Rfe 1 !; and the e-pawn is still safe; for if Black takes thrice on e4, he loses to Bd2-the black Queen on ' e4 being pinned.

9. 10. 1 1. 12.

h3 Be3 Nxd4 Qc2

c6 exd4 Nc5 Qe7

Note the importance for White of having his Bishop on e3 by the time h e h a s to p lay Qc2-o t h erwise

c.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 exf4 4. d4 Qh4t . The move is also reminiscent of the Willhemsen Gambit: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nc3 Qh4t 4. Ke2. A very lively game anyway, whether the gambit interests you or not.

...Nfxe4 would hit (discover onto) the Knight on d4. 13. Rad 1 Nh5 Prevents either f4 or Bf4, but fits in with no concerted plan. If 13 ... Re8, then 14. Rfe l as in the variation dis­ cussed above. 1 4. Rfe1 Bd7 15. Kh2 Rae8 Bc8 16. Qd2! To enable Black to defend the d-pawn. \\'bite now makes the win­ ning move. 17. Nb3! Bxc3 Probably in the desperate hope that White will recapture with the Queen. Anything else loses at least a pawn. For example, 1 7 . . . Nxb3 18. axb3 Rd8 19. Bb6 Rd7 20. h4, threat­ ening Bh3. 1 8. bxc3 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Qxe4 20. Bh6 Qf5 Had White taken with the Queen ( 18. bxc3) , this would be highly ob­ noxious. As it is, Black is lost-like­ wise if 20... Qf3? because of 2 1 . Nd4. 2 1 . g4 Qd7 22. Bxf8 Kxf8 23. Rxe8t Kxe8 Kf8 24. Qe3t 25. gxh5 and 1-0 eventually

1. e4 2. f4 3. Nf3

Be7 Bh4t 4. d4 There can be no question that the check is commendable here. After the orthodox 4. Bc4, there is much to be said for Kmoch's 4 ... Nf6. A corre­ spondent asks what to do if White plays 4. h4-as he says most (!) of his opponents do to stop the check. Evidently the answer is 4 ... Nf6: if hit by e5, the Knight goes to h5, an ex­ cellent square now that White has weakened the g·3 square. White should have hard work to get even a reasonable game.

5. Ke2

d5

White's special idea is to meet this with e5, establishing the type of pawn center that so often serves White well in the King's Gambit.

6. e5

Bg4

g3

Ng6

Qd2

Be7

Bg2 h3 Nc3 Rae1 Kd 1

0--0 Bf5 f6 Nc6

Better than fl... b6!? 7. Bxf4 Ba6t 8. Kd2, which does not hurt White at all. Ne7 7. B:xf4 The immediate .. .f6 was more logi­ cal. Bypassing the center, even tem­ porarily, seldom pays.

89 Muller-J Purdy (4/56) King's Gambit The following game from the world junior championship tourney, An­ twerp 1 955, is interesting as an ex­ ample of the rarely played 4. d4 in the Cunningham Gambit, giving the open­ ing a Steinitz Gambit tinge: 1. e4 e5

e5 exf4

8. 9. 1 0. 11. 12. 13. 14. ·

Inviting a line that White seems to have calculated fairly far ahead, but

- 1 40-

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

1 1 . Nbd4 12. cxd4 13. Be2

not quite far enough. In retrospect, it is clear that White ought to have played 1 4 . a3, with not a bad game.

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Nxf4 Nb4 ! Nxc2 Nxel Kh8 fxe5 exd4! dxc3 Rf6

gxf4 a3

Nh4 Bxd5t Nxf5 Nxe7 Qxe 1 Qh4

Bxd4 Be6

A regrouping plan. White's game is not easy.

13. 14. 15. 1 6. 17.

Net Bf3 g3 hxg3

f4! QM g5! fxg3

Averts mnte and leaves \Vhite with a losing game after the fantastically , Jong series of captures.

2!t 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

c6 Ret f5 cxd5 Ng6t Rxg6 Rxd8 Qxd8t fxg6 cxb2 hxg6 Kc2 and 0-1 eventually

17. ...

Qh3?

It seems strange that .John, who revels in attacking p lay, should have bucked at the obvious combination­ actually, his rather scanty knowledge

90

. Nxg'J! 18. fxg3 Qx g'Jt 19. Ng'2 (best) Nxd4 20. Qxrl4 Rxfa 2 1 . Rxf3 Qxf3, of end games was to blame. After 1 7 .

Endzelins-J Purdy (2/57) Ruy Lopez

1 . e4 2. Nf3 3. Bb5 4. c3 Sounder than

Black saw that the Qu eens would

e5 Nc6 Bc5 Nf6

have to come off and did not realize that in the ensuing endg-ame the three pawns would be superior to the odd

4 .. f5-with which, .

however, John used to be rather suc­

piece since White's only asset, the passed e-pawn, is well blockaded. Once having jibbed (or bucked) at

cessful.

5. 6. 7. 8.

.

d4 0-0 dxe5 Bd3

Bb6 0-0 Nxe4 d5

this, Black never gets another chance to assert himself.

Black has come through the open­ ing quite well. Evidently the Classi­ cal Variant cannot be refuted this way.

9. Nbd2 10. Nb3

f5 h6 -1 4 1-

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Bg2 Be3 Nd3 Rel

Nc5 Rxc5 g4! Bxg5

Qf5 Kg7 h5 Rh8 Nxc5 h4 Qf7 h3

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

29. Kh2! Threatening gi), but allowing an apparently strongreply. [Ed.: {/6 can be played imm.ediately.]

Rxd4 29. 30. g6 Qf8 :H . Bxd5!! A pretty Queen offer. Rxd5 31. ... 32. Qh5! 1-0 We seem to remember Shake­ speare saying thal there is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune but if you miss out your boat stays beached­ or words to that effect. A very nice kill by Endzelins.

91

With Bishops of opposite color and equal pawns, you would hardJy credit that White could lose from this posi­ tion; but John, ably abetted by Cam­ pomanes, found a way. 30. Kf3? This is not very bad; but since White obviously has the inferior game because of his weak pawns, he ought to pin the Bishop and make st11·e of the draw. Bc5! 30. Rd3t 31. bxc5 32. Ke4?? An incomprehensible move-it gives Black a remote passed pawn. White also acquires a passed pawn, but it will be relatively useless since White's Rook will be in that notori­ ously bad position-in front of the passed pawn. Rxb3 32. bxc6 33. c6 Kg7 34. Rxc6t 35. Ra6 Rxh3 Ra3 36. Rxa7 37. a5 White is helpless. h5 37. g5 38. f5 h4 39. Ra8 h3 40. f3 Kh7! 41. f6t Rxa5 42. Rb8 Kg6 43. Rb1 44. Ke3 If 44. Rh l , then ... Ra4t, etc. 44. Ra2 h2 45. Ke4 Rg2 46. Ke3 Kf5! 47. Rhl 0-1 An instructive lesson in the weak­ ness of Rook-in-front-of-passed­ pawn. Even so, White would have

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Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

drawn h ad he retained h i s own h-pawn and given u p the u seless pawn on f4 instead.

12. Bd3 13. a3

Both sides have played for this crisis, but White has miscalculated.

13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

92 .J Purdy-Pikler ( 4157) Budapest Gambit

1. 2. 3. 4.

d4 c4 dxe5 e4

Nf6 e5 Ng4

It is safe to say that most Buda­ pesters hope that White will adopt this "aggressive" line which leaves White's position full of weak squares and does not generate enough initia­ tive to keep Black from taking advan­ tage of White's weaknesses. The line that makes it hardest for Black to break even is 4. Bf4.

fi ...

4. ... 5. f4

22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.

Nxe5 Nec6 Bb4t

Better 7. Nc3. The reasoning is obvious: if Black doesn't exchange, the Knight is better there; and if Black does exchange, bang goes the Bishop needed to make something of White's weakened dark squares. The isolated doubled pawns are not terribly weak because they are not exposed to fron­ tal attack.

7. 8. 9. 10. 1 1.

Qc2 0--0-0 Ngf3 Nb3!?

Qe7 d6 0-0 Na6

The losing move. If you finesse, your calculation has to be right ( 1 1 . Bd3 was the move).

1 1. ...

Bf5

Bxe4 Bxd3 f6 Bxa3 Nab4 Nxb4 Nxd3t Qxe3t Rxe3

Ng5 Rxd3 Nf3 bxa.1 axb4 Qbl Qxd3 Qxe3

Not only has Black a win on mate­ rial, but he has a threat that allows him to gain in position.

Ng() is now preferred.

6. Be3 7. Nd2

Rae8

Nbd2 cxd5 g4 h4 Kc2 Net Kb2 Nc2 Kb l Rdl Kcl Nal Kc2 0-1

d5 Rd8 Rxd5 a5 Rdd3 Rc3t a4 a3t Re2 Rd3 a2 c5 c4

93 Hanks-J Purdy ( 6/59) Pirc Defense We get used to thinking of a ba!

6. 0-0 7. a4!'!

d6 Bg4

Black's anxiety to stop d4 does not justify giving up a useful Bishop for the m ediocre Kni gh t . By the way, Kellner's theory i s t hat the B ishop is undervalued by all the books and that it is a m istake to teach even beginners that Knight and B ishop are "equal . " My own policy has been to tell begi nners that Knight and Bishop are rougl)'ly equal ( for simplicity) and then to explain t h at i n t h e m aj o r i t y o f cases the Bishop is better. The ad­ vantage of proceeding thus is that occasionally t h e Knight is better and that is more easily explained away if you have started off by say­ ing that the two pieces are roughly

1 49

-

c.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

equal. B u t the sheer fact of t h e Bishop's average superiority i s be­ yond doubt, even apart from the "two Bi shops" factor. The old tim­ ers, even up to Chigorin, overrated the Knigh t; and part of Stein itz' great success was due to his being the pioneer Bishop fan. Much better than the text m ove was bold central play (invited by 7. a4) with 7 . . e5, followed if and when necessary by .. .f5. If thereupon 8. d3, then 8 ... Nge7 9. Be3 b6 10. d4 Ba6; and White is forced to renounce, in some way, his double pawn center

The Knight cannot maintain his post. Nimzovich sneered long ago at the old idea that a game of opposite castling automatically meant a race to attack on the castled Kings. Central play can be an excellent prophylactic.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 1 7.

.

(e4, d4). 8. h3 9. Qxe2

Bxe2 e6

10. f4

0-0-0

Thi::; goes against the grain since it turns White's 7. a4 into a useful move. There was no need to worry about f5-for example, 10 ... Nf6! 1 1 . f5 Nh5!, with a counter threat. White cannot reply with any ag­ gressive move. For example, 12. Qg4? Ne5, or 1 2 . fxg6? Nxg3 1 3 . gxf7t? Qxf7 ! And if 12. Qf2 (or Qel ) , then ... Be5. Finally, if 12. Qe3, then 12 ... exf5 1 3. exf5t Qe7, with a good game. In other words, White could not af­ ford f5 at once; and Black could then castle, probably kingside, 'vith a fair game. Kb8 1 1 . Na3 The right play seems ...d5 since there is no need to fear e5 and Nd6 in such positions (I mean after Nb5).

Nge7 Nc8 f5 fxe4 Qe7

Ra,ther slow. Since the game is clearly a race now, a quick 17. b4 was the shot, threatening to win off hand by bxc5, . . . dxc5, Rb5-thus forcing 1 7 ... exb4.

1 7.

Since Black cannot prevent f4 and f5 with this move, he should have kept the e-pmvn at home-at least mak­ ing· rn impossible and thus rendering the advance of the white f-pawn less obnoxiou::;. So, fl ... Nf6, with a fairly ::;olid position still.

d3 Be3 Rfcl Rahl dxe4 Qf2

•.•

g5!

A safe pawn offer since 18. fxg5 would expose White's Queen.

1 8. b4 19. gxf4

gxf4 e5!

Black has u sed his breathing space well. If now 20. bxc5, then 20. . . exf4 2 1 . Bxf4 Be5, with counterplay for the pawn.

20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

f5 cxb4 Nc2 b5 Qd2

cxb4 Bf6 Rhg8 Bh4 Nd4

Forced, but Black is pleased to yield a pawn for counterplay.

25. Bxd4 Truer to Kellner's own principles would be 25. Nxd4. White is tempted by the idea of Knight on d5, but he soon finds his loss of the dark squares to be serious.

- 1 50-

25. 26. Qxd4 27. Ne3

exd4 Qg5

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

All his earlier errors have done Black little harm; he now had good chances for his pawn (largely be­ cause of White's 17th move). It is only t h i s and his following move that wreck Black. Over and over again, we see that the middlegame is the deci­ sive part of chess. Opening errors tend to be of minor consequence. 27. ... Qg'J? The move was 27 ... Bg'J ! , threat­ ening ... Bf4. White could not reply 28. Nd5'?? because of 28. .. Bh2t! There­ fore 27 ... Bg3 28. Rc2 Be5 29. Qd3 (forced) Qg'J, with an awkward pin and ... Qxh3 now a threat. If 30. Kf1, then 30 ... Bf4 3 1 . Re i Nb6 32. a5 Nd7, wit h excellent counterplay. There­ fore, better 30. a5, sacrificing the h-pawn-but not with an easily won game such as he gets now. Qxh3? 28. Rc2 Now almost suicidal. 29. Qc3 Qg3 Ka8 30. Qc7t 31. Nd5 Qe5

32. a.I) 33. 34. 35. 36.

Khl b6 Qc4 e5!

37. Kgl

Qd4t Qg7 a6

Bg5 Qh6t

Kb8

38. f6'? White misses a forced win pointed out by Perth's ace kibitzer, Vernon Stannard, th e solution appears at the end of the game. When a playe1· has a win anyway, he is especially prone to miss the neat and forcing way. Now Black had to seal-his posi­ tion looks really hopeless. After some time, Black found a sealed move that would at least disconcert White if, as was probable, White did not think the game worth looking at during the adjournment. Somebody asked .John how his game was. and he replied in a very dispirited voice, quite truth­ fully but with gamesmanship intent, "Oh, it isn't a game at all." hoping that his doleful \Vords would be heard in the right quarter. Black could not af­ ford to neglect even the flimsiest straw. 38. ... Bd2! Now the players have resumed. Kellner realizes with pained surprise that Black himself is threatening mate in about four by ... Rxg2t. Mildly worried, White sets about looking fo r a suitable defense. 39. Qe4? First error. If he had kept quite cool, While would have seen lhat the . aggressive 39. f7 would stop the mate and would leave Black ' s game as hopeless as ever. B l ack knew all

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

about that and banked solely on the surprise th rowing his opponent off balance.

39. ... 40. Rd t

dxe5

Nd6!

White can now pin off hand, but again there is that ... Rxg2t!

4 1 . Qe2 42. Rc7 43. Kft

Bf4 Bh2t e4!

Six moves after adjourning with an almost resignable game, Black has a wi n n i n g position ! The glorious un­ cctfainty of chess. With both Kings exposed, safety lies as a rule only i n aggression, if it lies anywhere at all.

44. 45. 46. 47.

Rdct Rtc5 Ket Kdt

Rg5 Rf5t Qh4t Qg5

Leaving White no resource.

48. Qd2 Qxd2t 49. Kxd2 Rf2t 50. Ket Rxg42 and 0-t eventually

Forced Mate at Move 38 (Stannard)

Refer to the diagram after 37 . . . Kb8.

38. Qe7t 39. Qxb7t! ! 40. Nb4t

Ka8 Kxb7 d5

If 40... Kb8, then 4 1 . Nxa6# .

4 t . Rc7t

42. b7t 43. Nxa6t !

Kb8 Qxa6

If 43 ... Ka7, then 44. bxc8= Q#.

Might as well play Qxe5t. White is like a batsman who withdraws and crouches behind his crease to cope with a googly howler. That mental altitude is hard to avoid for a player who has had an easy win, but who now realizes that the win is not so easy and is desperately anxious to hang on to it.

40. ...

If 4 1 ... Kh8, then 42. Nxa6t Ka8 43. b7t Ka7 44. bxc8=Q#.

Ka8

44. bxc8=Q#

99 Kotov-J Purdy ( 10/63) Queen 's Gambit Declined This was the most exciting game in the Sydney Kotov Tou rnament . Black declined a n easy win on move 1 9-not because of missing it, but because he erroneously thought he had a quicker one. The moral is that a win that is so easily calculated that it can have no loophole is better than one that could be swifter or more el­ egant but that involves the risk of miscalculation. Afterwards, Black still had the chance of a forced win according to Peter Wren , but an exceeding·ly sub­ tle one. 1. c4 e6

2. Nc3 3. d4 4. cxd5

Nf6 d5 Nxd5

This works out to equality if White plays the obvious e4; but probably White should rather play 5. e3, aim­ ing to transpose into Keres-Geller; final ptav-off game {CJS Purdy 's Fine Art . . fol. I, Game 44/-it looks tame, but it was chosen by Keres when he despemtely needed a win. .

5. 6. 7. 8.

e4 bxc3 Nf3 . cxd4

Nxc3 c5 cxd4 Ne6

The routine and probably correct move is 8. . . Bb4t, on the theory that

Chapter Two: 30 GAM E S OF JOHN PURDY

the value of a pawn center is reduced by exchanges. White's asset is the midcll egame one of the pawn center, whereas Black's is the endgame one of the queeenside majority. 9.

Bc4

The Euwe move is 9. a3, giving up a whole tempo to avoid the exchange, ii may be worth it, or it may not.

9.

..

.

b5!?

Very tempting as the fianchetto by ... a6 and ...b5 gains territory and ad­ vances Black's pawn majority. Such � an advance, howeve1� can be weak­ ening in the m iddlegame; and the gods, as Tarrasch remarked, have placed the m iddlegame before the endgame. See the next note.

1 0. Bd3 1 1 . Ke2

Bb4t

Tempting as it avoids an exchange (see the note to move 8), but specula­ tive. As will be seen, White could have follmved it up quite safely-but only \vith equality. White's correct play to try to take advantage of Black's pawn advance was simply 1 1 . Bd2 Bxd2t 12. Qxd2 a6 rn. 0-0 0-0 14. Qb2 Bb7 15. a4 ! (giving Black a passed pawn but some weaknesses) b4 16. Rfc 1 , followed by R c 5 w i t h p r e s s u r e . (Analysis mainly b y Peter Wren.)

1 1 . ...

Bc3!

Initiating a remarkable sacrifice for the purpose of exposing White's King. If White declines with 12. Rb l , then 1 2. . . a() 13. Be3 (Bb2 allows the exchange after all) Bb7, followed by ... Rc8 '>vith equal chances.

12. Bxb5

0-0! !

"Bravo! , " remarked Kotov. This rem inds me of a letter 1 received f r o m Kotov in w h i c h he wrote, "Thank you for your letter enclos­ ing the two stamped addressed en­ velopes (bravo!)."

13. Bxc6 Burning his boats. Safe and sound was 13. Bail. In answer to the obvi­ ous 1 3 . . . Qa5!?, hitting both Bishops, White obtains the better endgame by 1 4 . Qa4 Qxa4 1 5 . Bxa4 Nxd4t r n . Nxd4 Bxd4 1 7 . Rad l Ba6t 18. Kf3 Rfc8! ( 1 8 ... Rfd8 loses the Exchange) 19. Rxd4 Rc3t 20. Kf4 Rxa3 2 1 . Rhd t ; and probably 2 1 ... gii i s Black's best chance, but none too promising. However, in answer to l B. Ba3, there is the surprising Rook sacrifice 13 ... Nxd4t 14. Nxd4 Bxd4! ( ... Qxd4 loses) 1 5. Bxf8 Qf6 ! ! While unpinning the Bishop to threaten ...Bxal, this also threatens mate in four. If White saves either h i s Rook or his Bishop, his King gets into enough trouble to assure Black at least a draw. For exampJe, 1 6. Re l Qx1'2t 17. Kd3 Kxf8 18. Qe2 Qf6, and White's advantage i n ma­ terial is too small to compensate for h i s ghastly King. Or 16. Bb4 Q x f2 t 1 7 . Kd3 Qe3t 1 8 . Kc4 e 5 , threatening mate. Later, Black can take the Rook if he likes, remaining with enough in pawns plus attack

c.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

for the piece down. In this last var­ iation, if 18. Kc2, then ... Bb7; and still White has no time to save his Rook so the same thing applies. Fi­ nally, if safely 16. f:J, then HL Bxa1 1 7 . Qxal Qxa1 1 8. Rxal Kxf8 1 9. Rel c5: and Black should draw the ending. Also sugg·ested, but inferior, was rn. Rb l? Nxd4t 14. Nxd4 Bxd4! ; for if 1 5. Ba3. then clearly 15 ... Qf6! is even stronger now since Bxf8 allows mate in t hree. 13.

14. Ke3

Ba6t ' Qf6!

A fine move which introduces a new threat of wi n nin g a piece with check.

1 5. Rbl

Kotov did not give a verdict on this position in the analysis he published on it in his excellent article in Chess World; but in conversations, he al­ ways held to the opinion that he ought to have played 1 5. h4-and even went so far as to say that it would have j us­ tified the whole line for White. How­ ever, not only Kotov but also all the other analysts in the postmortem overlooked a very simple win for Black. Thus (after 15. h4), 15 ... Qh6t 16. Ng5 Rad8. This move was exam­ ined-it was the correct sequel to it that was missed. Now Black is really threatening to grab a whole Rook,

and the obvious reply is 1 7. Ba3. And now a curious psychological quirk enters. Because the white Rook is still en prise, the tendency is-no, not to take it, but to hold the threat in reserve to gain a tempo. Masters don't mind giving away pieces, but they hate giving away threats. This, and something else, has prevented the pundits from examining what would otherwise be the glaringly ob­ vious play of 1 7 ... Bxd4t. The some­ thing else is the fact that winning Queen for Rook and Bishop has no attraction with Black a piece down. What has been m issed is that Black afterwards wins the loose Bishop on c6 without (big point) losing· his own en prise Rook. Thus, 1 8. Qxd4 Rxd4 19. Kxd4 (not 19. Bxf8? because of ... Rd3t) e5t 20. Ke3 (other moves arc worse-for example, 20. K..xe5 Qf6t!, followed by . . . Rd8t, . . . Rxd7t, and . . .Qdli#) Qxc6 (threatening mate) 2 1 . Rael Qb6t 22. Kf3 (worse is 22. Bc5 because of ... Qb2, again threatening m ate) Rd8, and as Black has won material while still keeping his at­ tack, the rest is easy. For example, 23. Rhd1 h6! (best), and if 24. Rc6!?, then simply ...Rxd 1-and White loses yet another piece. Apart from 1 7 . Ba3, White has nothing worth serious examination. If 17. Rb1 , then ... Bxd4t is at least as good as before. If 17. Ba4, then sim­ ply . . . B xa 1 . If 1 7 . Qa4 , then 1 7 ... Bxd4t 18. Kf3 Qf6t 19. Kg4 Qxf2 ! , with an easy win since White cannot take the a-Bishop; and if 20. Kh3, then ... Be5, etc. It may seem strange that this easy \\-in should have been missed in a postmortem of experts, masters, and a grandmaster, but the old adage of

- 1 54-

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

" too many cooks" applies to mass postmortems. Each cook vies with the others in displaying his quick sight of the board, and usually it is left to some lone armchair cook to produce the true recipe later on.

15. ... 16. Ng5

Black to discard a winning line with only one variation and no possibility of error in favor of a more compli­ cated one-however elegant the fin­ ish that Black envisaged. Not 1 9 ... Bxd4t? 20. Kxd4-Black can win White's Queen, but he gets mated if he does.

Qh6t Qxg5t

20. Qf3 2 1 . Ra3

Quite good enough. A strong alter­ native was HL. Rad8; and if 1 7. f4, then ... e5! ( He rmann ) . [Ed. : A fter 18. Bh5 Bxd4f 19. Ke2 what does Black

have?] 17. f4 1 8. Bxa8

Qxa2 Bd2t

This should probably win still, but not in the way Black has calculated. Wren has worked out an almost oc­ cult win by 2 1 ... Bxd4t, hut he admits that it would hardly be good to play it over the board since the correct continuations are so obscure.

Qxg2 Rxa8

Simplest since other lines can be interrupted by Bd5.

22. Kf2

19. Rb3

Belt

It is easy to see how Black became fascinated by this line on move 19. If now 23. Ke3, then ... Qxa3t ! ! mates in two. Unfortunately for Black, he had overlooked on move 19 that White has another move.

23. Kgt

In this position, White should have a losing game-he is only the Ex­ change up, and his King is so exposed that a clear extra piece is needed. Black has two threats, viz. the simple one of ...Qxa2 and the stronger one of ... Rd8. It is impossible for White to hold everythi ng. If 1 9. Bd2, then ...Qh3t, etc.

19. . . .

24. Be3 25. Ral

Rc8!?

Black saw the fairly obvious win by 19. .. Be2! 20. Qxe2 Bxd4t 2 1 . Kd3 Qxh 1 22. Kxd4 Qxc 1 , after which, with White's King so exposed and with White a pawn down as well, further resistance would be very brief. It was a great psychological blunder for -

Qc4?

Kotov said that when he played 23. Kgl he saw John sag, as one who sees all his good play spoiled by one mis­ take-after that, ,John seemed to lose his mental elasticity. How important it is to play every position as an en­ tirely new strugg1e and to forget the past! Actually, Black should probably win still by 23 ... Qh l , makinghaywith the motif of the back rank-at least, Black could not lose.

Bb4 f5?

Now the white King· has reached comparat ive safety, and W h i t e ' s m aterial advantage counts, even moreso after this move.

26. Kf2 27. Rhcl 28. Rxc4

1 55

-

Bc3 Bxal? Bxc4

c.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3 29.

30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46.

exf5 Qdl fxe6 d5 Bxa7 d6 Qd5t Bd4 Qxd4t Qa7t Ke 3 Qe 7 Qe5 Kd4

Kc5 Kc6 h4 Qh8

Bd5 Bc3 Bxe6 Bf5 Bf6 g6 Kg7 Bxd4t Kf7 Kg8 Rd8 Rd7 h5 Kf7 Bg4 Ra7 Bf5 1-0

capture on move 5, Black would have played ... exf6. The whole idea, however, is unattractive to Bishop fanciers.

7. c3 8. Qb3

Bd6 Nd7!

B l ack avo i d s weake n i n g h i s queenside b y offering a pa\\11. White would get a very unattractive game, especially so for a player of Basta's active style, upon accepting the pawn offer. For example, 9. Qxb7 Rb8 10. Qxa7 Rxb2 1 1 . Ngf3 0-0 12. h3 [U is

not clear wha t Purdy intended here-the move a3 printed, 12. e.1. 'is obviously in error} e5; and if 13. Be2, then ... e4, forcing White into fearful cramp.

M ight-have-beens are never as attractive as brilliancies that are car­ riecl to victory, but this one produced m o re excitement and discussion than any game in Sydney that I can renwmber-H could not escape pub­ licalion.

100

9. Qb5 10. c4 1 1 . Qa4

Rb8 c6 e5!

Forcing lines open quickly to take advantage of Black's plus in develop­ ment.

12. 13. 14. 15.

cxd5 dxc6 e4 Ngf3

exd4 bxc6 Bg6 0-0!

Well calculated.

Basta-J Purdy (2/65)

16. Qxd4 17. Qxf6

Teletype Match vs. New South Wales Trompowsky's A ttack 1 . d4 d5 2. Bg5

Rxb2 ! Nxf6!

Victoria

Played quite a bit lately. Reasonable enough: clear the way for e3.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Nd2 e3 Bh4 Bxf6

Nf6 Bf5 h6 e6 Qxf6

W h i t e ' s i d e a is to decoy t h e Queen, then Black's queenside will be vulnerable. Had White made the

The whole point of Black's play is this finesse, White being unable to afford any of the obvious forks.

- 1 56-

18. Bd3

Bf4

Chapter Two: 30 GAMES OF JOHN PURDY

1 9. 20. 21. 22. 23.

Nc4 g3

Bxe4 Na5 Nxc6

Rb4 Bxe4! Nxe4 Bc7 Rb2

White has equalized the material, but only temporarily-his position is too insecure.

24. 0-0 25. Nfd4 26. a4

Bb6 f5 f4!

It is always fun to develop a Rook without moving it, as this does. If 27. Nefi, then ... Rf6.

27. a5

Bxd4

28. Nxd4 29. hxg3

fxg3

The alternative is far worse.

29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

Nd2 Rfd l Ne4 Rfl Nxf2 Rahl Ra2 Nh3t Ral Khl Rxfl t Rxfl Rxa5 and 0-1 eventually

[As prin ted, the moves from Black 's 28th through Wh ite 's .'Wth are garlJled, and the reconstnu·tion here is somewhat urwertffi n .}

CJ.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

PART I I I P U R DYl.IM.f

observations Ph ilosoph ies Sa� i ngs Thougnts /Commn1ts b,11 CJS Purdy in annota t ion.\-11. This is not a very reliable guide, and it may be bet­ ter to say that the value varies from a little over a quarter of a center pawn, in very closed positions, to just under half a center pawn, in very open positions. . After the opening, i.e. when one's pieces are all reasonably "in play," what then'? Well, there are excep­ tional positions where, because of King trouble, the value of a tempo may increase; but normally it de­ creases, and it may go very close to zero.

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C.J . S . P u rdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

This means that a move such as a3 or h3 (or ... aH or ... h6), or the re­ grouping of some developed pieces, may be excellent if postponed till af­ ter development, and crazy if played before that. Let us take a case in point: Horseman-J. P11rr1;11, early in the game. J. Purdy

strange hallucinations and put pieces en prise; others who would never have that trouble may, instead, come adrift from first principles-their blunders are of a positional kind. In the opening, it is extremely un­ safe to throw away tempi. The player who has a preponderance of pieces effectively in play has an easy game. He has a big choice, and whatever he tries will be difficult to answer.

Hint 25: Which Piece to Develop

Horseman Here Black eviden tly got the idea that White's Bishop on dR was very strong and conceived the plan of ex­ changing it off. Thought led to ac­ tion, and Black played . . . Bh5, fol­ lowed by ... Bg6. Now, the plan would have been all right if kept in mind as a future possibility; but when Black's development is so far from comple­ tion, it means the clear loss of two tempi in development-decidedly more than half as bad as giving away a pawn for nothing. There could not be a better way of handing White the game on a platter. Black ought to have castled (kingside) . Perhaps you think that the player of Black was inexperienced, but John Purdy at the time ( 1 955) was Cham­ pion of Australia. This was his most "terrible" game in Birmingham. Dif­ ferent players' mental processes go awry in different ways. Some suffer

Although the opening has been claimed to be the hardest part of chess to play perfectly, it is the easi­ est to play fairly well. Many players are bothered about which piece to develop before another. But usually that problem is extremely simple. ,Just ask yourself which piece has only one good square. lf there is such a piece, that is the piPce to develop. And the piece that has several good squares is not the piece to develop. In nearly all openings, kingside cas­ tling is a "must" move; and that is why experts usually play it very early. The game Horseman -J. Purdy, see Hint 24, began thus:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

e4 Nc3 f4 fx.e5 d3 bxc3 Nf3

e5 Nf6 d5 Nxe4 Nxc3 Nc6

Now Black played 7 .. Bg4, not a blunder but clearly a wrong choice. The threat to the e-pawn is futile since White wants to play d4 any­ way. The c-Bishop leaves the b-pawn u ndefended-as also happens in the Q ueen's Gambit Declined if the c-Bishop is developed early. In addi-

-200-

.

Hints and The Strategi c Retreat

t i o n , the c-Bishop has several squares available, whereas the f-Bishop has only one. The1·efore 7 .. . Be7 was better. Quite by the way, 7 .. . d4! was better stiU; cut across your opponent's intentions and cramp him if possible. White ought to have played 7. d4. And Black, on move 6, ought to have played 6 . . . d4! But that's a refinement. The simple 7 ... Be7 was good, and 7 ... Bg4 not so good. That's simple arithmetic: 7 .. Be7 gives nothing away, whereas 7 .. Bg4 gives away the possibility of go­ ing to other squares.

nothing bigger is involved. Where you can win a pawn safely, usually do so rather than go for a "positional ad­ vantage." W11at will you do with the positional advantage? You'll be lucky if, later on, you can transform it into the win of a pawn ! Of course, if you have a really terrific attack, that's different. Common sense must be used.

.

H I NT 46:

.

Checks

H I NT 44: Take Things

In complicated positions with things able to be taken or exchanged, it is almost certain that the best move is to grab something. Don't dither. It's your opponent's move next time, so don't give him free rein, force him. Some players have heard that an exchange in the opening loses a tempo if the opponent can recapture with a developing move. But you may have to lose a tempo whatever you do; in that case it is usually best to exchange (unless Bishop for Knight, where "usually" is an exaggeration), because you force the opponent and then it is your move again--0ften a vital point. IC you just move away, it is the opponent's move. Once you re­ ally grasp this idea firmly, you cease to be a tyro. H I NT 45: A Pawn's a Pawn

Fine shades of position, such as a difference of one tempo, assume that

A check is the most compelling type of move because it threatens to take the King. You MUST know all checks available for each side, or all your thinking is liable to be futile. But avoid wasteful checks. Don't drive a King where he wants to go. H I NT 47: Use Rook to Cut Off

The Rook's natural function in endgames, apart from grabbing pawns, is to cut off pieces from where they want to go, especially the King. In general, don't check with a Rook, but cut off, where feasible. H I NT 51: Provision for Rooks

A test of a good opening is whether it makes provision for Rooks, e.g. 1 . e 4 e 5 2. d4. This move already cre­ ates the possibility of an exchange of pawns, thus making provision for Rooks. As an example of what to avoid, see Sulik's opening against Koshnit­ sky, Game 101 (Vol. 2), Sulik is a mas­ ter, but could not "get away with it."

-20 1 -

C.J .S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

In the Giuoco Piano, with Knights going to c3, IB, cfl, and f6, neither side can exchange a pawn for a long time. That is all right for Black, who will be left in peace and quiet while he develops most of his pieces. White gets little or nothing out of the first move.

ture, prefer to move it rather than protect it with another piece. Protect­ ing it hampers the protector and pro­ motes combinations for the opponent. H I NT 77:

Don't Gamble

H I NT

53: Checks to Other Pieces It is impossible to play good chess unless you are always aware of any checks available to either side. But you also ought to be aware of checks that might be made to other pieces besides the King, i.e. any move that threatens a capture. Any such move is likely to have a compulsive effect, and there is al­ ways the chance that it might initiate a combination. During your oppo­ nent's turn to move, glance briefly at every move that would attack some­ thing. It takes very little time and gives you a better chance of avoiding an oversight after your opponent has moved. H I NT 54:

Clear Back Line Development is not complete when the Rooks can see each other, but it is an important stage. It is often un­ safe to move one Rook to an open file until it has the protection of its fellow Rook, or, at any rate, can get it in one move. H I NT 76:

Move Away If a piece is threatened with cap-

Unless your game is a dead loss, don't gamble. With an inferior posi­ tion, play for balance, not a win. With a level game, set your oppo­ nent puzzles while keeping the bal­ ance. With a winning game, avoid lines needing much calculation. H I NT EXTRA:

Every Move Has a Double Effect /C. HUJJ(lerts (Chess World, JulJJ 1960, p. 125) poirits out that e1w11 move haR a double effect: a depar­ ture-effect and an arrival-effect. When a clwssman is remm•ed from the square on whfrh lte stands (de­ parture-effect), he no longer ocmtpial-effect). If a Rook on the back rank moves out to capture or to attack an enem11 unit (arrival-effect), it at the same Ume ceases to protect the back rank (departure-etrect}, u.rith possibly cat­ aslro-pfdc results (back rank mate). Failure to fitll?J take into account the departure-effect for a move is a com-

mon cause of blurulers at the board. In your games, when thinking about a possible move, check out both aspects of the move, its departure­ effect and Us arrival-effect, before settling on the move. Do that system­ atically and you will strengthen your play and will reduce the chance$ of" 11our falling into a blun­ der. See the arf'icle EVERY MOVE IS PARTLY WEAKENING in The Search for Chess Perfection.]

TH E /TRATEvlC RETREAT (5/56) One often reads that it is advisable, once having embarked on a plan, to stick to it. Even Capablanca gives this counsel in one of his books, though he does qualify _it somewhat. Chess maxims vary enormously in reliability, and this one is about the least reliable of all. Sometimes it is not only inadvisable to proceed with a plan, but one should actually retract one's last move. The average player, and even many a player above that class, has a rooted objection to doing that; but any student of master play must have noticed how often, perhaps somewhat to his surprise, the experts quite happily restore the status quo. There should be nothing very surprising in that. We have often men­ tioned the fundamental truth in chess that past moves can have absolutely no logical bearing on the question as to what is the best move in the given position. Some students will remember that Alekhine states this is the chief difference between chess and cards. In actual practice, u nder a time limit, knowing the last few moves is often helpful; it gives a player his bearings. But sometimes it is a downright handi­ cap. Here is a case in point, from the Australian junior championship, where a 1�year-old competitor overcame the handicap by a great effort of wiU­ and, a few moves later, reaped his reward. There arc quite a few morals to be drawn from this game. D.

H. Hodgson-N.

F.

Nettheim

Queen 's Gambit Declined (Orthodox Defense)

1 . d4 2 . c4

d5 e6

3. Nc3

4. Bg5

Nf6 Be7

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

5. Nf3 6. e3 7. Rel

0--0 Nbd7 c6

Bd3 Bxc4 Bxe7 e4 Rxc3

t h e Rooks can sec each other. If Black's Rooks were connected, or if

Super-orthodox.

8. 9. 10. .11. 1 12.

Here Black discovers the awkward side of developing one Rook before

dxc4 Nd5 Qxe7 Nxc3 c5

The wrong push, partly because it requires two pawn-moves to open the

he could connect them by moving his Bishop, there would be no trouble. The importance of getting to the stage where the Rooks can sec each other is enormously greater in a position with open files such as the one here than in a game with s ixteen pawns.

fianchetto diagonal whereas 12 ... e5

What is Black to do'? There is cer­

would open the Bishop's original di­

tainly no developing move that will

agonal at once, and partly because

not lose outright. That means that

White already occupies the c-file with

Black's development is again halted.

a Rook-::;o it is just the file not to

B u t here-and N i m zovich empha­

open. In answer to 12 . . . e5, White

sized the terrific importance of spy­

mi1,,rh t perhaps attempt to open the

ing the silver lining-Black can take

c-file still, v.ith d5; but to allow White

comfort since White's last move,

to go to that trouble is quite different

Rd3-for all its cunning-has not ad­

from going· to trouble to do the job for

vanced White's development; it has

him.

only taken a Rook from one open

13. 0--0 14. Nxd4

cxd4 Rd8

A most natural move, based on the

(pawnless) file to another. Black must make some move that will enable him to move his Knight­

obvious objection to 14 ... b6 ( 1 5. Bb5!

and, above all, a move that does not

Bb7? 16. Rc7). Every move is attended

create a weakness. Backward devel­

with some difficulty after Black's loss

opment is not necessarily fatal; back­

of time.

ward development plus weaknesses

15. Rd3 !

is fatal. A move such as 15 ... e5? could well be disastrous, giving new scope to White's Bishop and Knight. After calculating all possibilities for nearly half an hour, Black regretfully played

15. ...

Rf8 ! !

What was White's best now? In view of Black's threat of either ... Nc5 or . . . Ne5, it seems a good idea for White to transfer his Rook to the kingside (it is not usually good to play

A clever move that cuts across

a Rook in front of pawns; but because

Black's plan of moving his Knight and

of White's start in development, it

then developing his Bishop at d7 and

should be all right here). That was the

afterwards probably to es. For if the

idea White did follow, but he thought

Knight moved now, Nf5! would win.

he would finesse. Thus,

,

Hi nts and The Strategic Retreat

1 6. Qh5 !?

course.

See the idea? If now . . . Nc5, the Rook skips lo h3 with an extra loud bang. But alas! Chess is a difficult game.

19. Nf3 20. b4

White does not want the further attack on his e-pawn.

16. ... Qc5! A combination! A very little one, but still a combination. The Queen forks Bishop and Queen (motif of the loose piece) and thus absolutely forces a most unfavorable exchange of Queens. Unfavorable because of the weakness of the e-pawn, which­ we have been holding out on you about this-Wh ite already made a small error in advancing on move 1 1 when all the heavens cried out to him to castle. On the principle, and a re­ ally solid principle this time, Do the move you kn ow you will have to do, not the one you may have to do, or, in the mmal form that many players don ' t understand , Reserve the greater option. After Black's appar­ ent loss of two tempi with his Rook (really only one, net), While probably felt too exuberant. It is only in bad positions that optimism helps.

17. Qxc5 If 1 7. Rh3, then 1 7 ... Qxh5 18. Rxh5 Nf!i; and the weakness of the e-pawn again shows up-a weakness that was no wealmess while the Queens remained on, showing how a "weak" pawn often becomes weak only in the endgame. Nxc5 1 7. ... Rd8! 1 8. Re3 Now really good. The initiative has changed hands with bewildering sud­ denness. • • •

The phase we wanted to feature is over, but it may interest some stu­ dents to follow the game's further

b6

20. 2 1 . a3 22. Rd3

Na6 Bb7

With both Rooks, Black will con­ trol both open files. So White elimi­ nates one pair of Rooks.

22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

Bxd3 Bc4 Ret Kft

Rxd3 Rd8 Nc7 Kf8 f6

Here the principle of development, and also that of reserving the greater option, dictated rather 26 . Ke7; but it may be just a case of transposition here. ..

27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Re3 Ke2 Nd2 Bxe6 f3

e5 Ke7 Ne6 Kxe6 Ba6t

By forcing off White's Bishop (by t h reat e n i n g t o ge t a Ta rrasch Knight), Black has made his own Bishop good.

32. Ket

Rd3

Black simplifies, partly with the idea of keeping the draw in hand-a nat ural de sire with first rou n d "nerves" t o cope with. For winning chances, it was better to utilize the superior mobility of the Rook, with 32 ... Rc8. The Bishop-Knight ending should have been drawn: White ought to keep the center closed to prevent the Bishop from getting too mobile. Black actually won; but White made a fa­ tigue slip in a position that was prob­ ably still drawn with best play, so we

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C.J .S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

omit the final phase.

The S trategic Retreat to End AU Strategic Retreats The lllost remarkable example of a strategic retreat that I ever came across occurred in a game of my own. After d eveloping a Queen and a Bishop in successive moves, I brought them back to their original squares in the next two moves ! And nobody can deny that the retractions were the best moves on the board, what­ ever m ay be said of the original sor­ t ies. Th e game was Purdy-Crowl, Melbourne 1934-35; and the opening moves were: 1 . c4 Nf6 2. d4 e5 3 . dxe5 Ng4 4 . Bf4 g5 5 . Bd2 Best. 5. Nxe5 6 . e4 Bg7 7 . Nc.1 d6

8 . Qh5 Not bad, though 8.

excellent position existing on move 8. (Humor as laid down by the late Dr. Tarrasch.) White has not finished with strategic retreats yet. There followed: Be6 11. 12. b3 Qd7 13. Be2! Rounding off the whole grand con­ ception. 13. 0-0-0 14. Nf3 Ng6 15. Qc2 g4 1 6. Ng1 ! ! With this second glorious coup, White preserved the artistic theme of his opening strategy. Even this was not the last of his strategic retreats. Carrying on for a few more moves (if you can stand it) we have: 16. f5 1 7. exf5 Bxf5 Rde8t 18. Bd3 Rhf8 19. Nge2 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 Nh4 2 1 . 0-0-0 22. Nf4 Qf7 23. g'J Nf3 24. Be:l Qf6 And now 25. N b1 ! White actually won this game; it was given in full in theAuslrala.'! ian Chess RevieuJ of November 1936 un­ der the title, "Humor in the Opening."

Plans in Chess Be2 was better. h6 Nbd7 Nb6

9 . Be2?? 10. Bft ! ! 1 1 . Qd1 ! ! ! At the trilling cost of four tempos (or tempi) , White has preserved his

In the second of these illustrations (Purdy-Crowl), White was forced into his strategic retreats as the result of an oversight (9. Be2, leaving his Queen in danger of a net). In the first (Hodgson-Nettheim), I would not like to have to demonstrate that 14 .. Rd8 .

2 06

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Hints and The Strategic Retreat

was faulty. Long analysis might ulti­ mately show that after 15. Rd3 Rf8 White had nothing appreciably bet­ ter than Rc3, restoring the status quo; and that of course would validate 1 4.. Rd8, since Black, with an inferior position, should be quite happy with a draw. Even if I 4 . Rd8 should prove faulty, many positions do arise in which a perfectly corrf;ct move should be retracted at the next move-posi­ tions in which any disturbance of the position would be harmful. And as for changing plans-not necessarily retracting moves-never regard a plan as anything but a work­ ing hypothesis that will serve while the opponent steers the game along .

.

.

channels you have already charted in your mind. Revise a plan at every move, particularly after a move you have not foreseen. A military commander usually has to follow a plan once mapped out, partly because changing it is at­ tended with all sorts of difficulties; but chiefly because many of the ene­ my's moves are hidden. The com­ mander himself depends largely on his own moves being hidden also. In chess, each side makes one move at a time-and nothing is hidden. The player who pursues a plan irrespec­ tive of his opponent's moves is just not-a player. It would have been easy to confront Capablanca with nu-

C.J.S. P u rdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

TH E P U RDY PLAYER • Call a chessplayer who follows as faithfully as possible Purdy's recommendations about how to play chess a "Purdy Player" or a Player (with a capital P) for short. Listed here are some of the characteristics of a Purdy Player so that you can see if you want to try to become one.

c.J.S. Purd y's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

CATALO�J The Purdy P l ayer carries in memory several catalogs of chess conditions that he or she refers to over and over ag-ain during a game.

A) Catalog of Combinational Motifs, With Ways to Take Advantage of Each i) EJJHJsed Kin{/ - expose him even more. ii) Castled King, unprotected blf pieces sacrifice and mate. iii) Undefended or "loose " unit fork it, pin it (or pin something to it), attack it with gain of tempo. iv) Forkable unit fork it. v) Pi11 ned unit attack it. vi) Bi{I pieces 011 o line (on a rank, file, or diagonal) pin or skewer. vii) Tier! piece or 011erworked piece attack a tied piece or put some­ thing en pri.w: lo it if you can thereby gJ.in an advantage; for1�e an overworked piece to abandon one or more of itH funetions. viii) Confined piece (lirn:iterl number of" availafJle nwl'es}, incl11di11[/ the Kin{/ attack it. ix) Masked hottem unmask. -

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)( In analyzing· a position for the presence of combinational motifs, the Player routinely checks out the "X-ray" or "jump" effect of those pieces that act on a line (Queen, Rook, Bishop): What effect would the piece have if it could go right through (X-ray) or over ijump) a chessman that is blocking its line of action? If the X-ray or jump effect is strong, that suggests thinking about ways to deflect or remove the blocking piece(s) or about ways to gain an advantage by threatening to remove or deflect the blocking piece(s). )( The Player also routinely examines all (actual or potential) forcing moves: mate threats; checks, X-ray or jump checks, X-ray or jump mates; captures, X-ray or jump captures; threatening moves (moves which, if car­ ried out, would do damage to the recipient's game). The Player notes that "check" (a move that makes a capture-threat) may also be given to a unit other than the King (Queen, Rook, minor piece, pawn). X

The Player observes that every move has a double effect: a departure-2 1 0-

·1 he t'uray t"1dyt:1

effect and an arrival-effect. When a chessman is removed from the square on which he stands (departure-effect), he no longer occupies his initial square and no longer blocks the rank, file, and diagonals that pass through that square; also, he no longer exerts pressure on (i.e. attacks) certain squares of the chessboard. When a chessman is placed on a square (arrival-effect), he occupies the new square and blocks the rank, file, and diagonals that pass through that square; also, he exerts pressure on (i.e. attacks) certain other squares of the chessboard. X The move e2-e4 of the e-pawn, for example, vacates the square e2, un­

blocks a diagonal for each of the Queen and the f-Bishop, and removes pres­ sure from the square's d3 and f3 (departure-effect). On the other hand, the move occupies the square e4 and blocks the e-file, the fourth rank, and two light;squared diagonals at the point e4; also, it exerts pressure on the squares (ff> and f5 (arrival-effect).

If a Rook on the back rank moves out to capture or to attack an enemy unit (arrival-effect), it at the same time ceases to protect the back rank (de­ parture-effect) , with possibly catastrophic results (back rank mate). F'ailure to fully take into account the departure-effect for a move is a common cause of blunders at the board. X

A few additional combinational motifs are primarily endgame oriented:

x) Pmvn promotion

xi) Zl.l{/Zl/Hlfl!/

xii) Stalemate

X Occasionally, however, pawn promotion and

zugzwang themes make

themselves felt in the middlegame.

B) Catalog of Weaknesses in a Position i) Weak pawnB, weak squares ii) Pawn(s) moved in front of castled Kin{} iii) Conl'ined piece(s), including the King iv) Cramped uame v) Backward urdy system that you would be comfortable with; modify features that do not appeal to you as presented; add to or delete from Purdy's system as necessary. In the end, come up with your own routine for selecting a move at the board-then use that routine for each and

erery mmJe of each and every serious garne of chess that you play. You must discipline yourself to hold to your routine at all times.

Evel'y six months or so, rmiew your routine for choosing a move at

the boaJ"d to see how effective it has been; and make adj ustments if necessary. If the system feels cumbersome and you are always tempted to abandon it at the first h i nt of time trouble, simplify it sufficiently so t h at the temptation is no

longer

there. If you find that you have been

overlooking certain feat ures of pos i lions on the board, review the full

Purdy system once again to see if you could, with profit, introduce mm·e

of Purdy's suggestions into your routine. If you have been shirking the bltmdercheck, you have probably been stung often enough to realize that .lfOll nwst

carry

out the IJ!underdwck every time bef'ore execut­

it1r1 a move a t t h e board.

Try l.o avoid time trouble-in the words of Capablanca, "move quickly

but not precipitou sly. " The time control for your game establishes an

average number of minutes per move. Do not use up more than twice the average number of minutes on any one move. Look for good moves

rather than "best" moves. Make effective use of the time during which it is the opponent's turn to move.

There may be positions for which you feel you have to violate the

" hvice the average number of minutes" rule. Go along with your j udg­ ment, but decide /Jeforelumd on the number of minutes to invest in the analysis of the position. When the allotted time is up, make the move

that seems the most promising from among those that you analyzed­ but !VlAKE A

MOVE, no backsliding, no ''I'll just look for another minute "'

or two" procrastination.

D) Calendar of Activities

Study some endgame material every week.

Play over at least one annotated game each week. Play at least one serious game of chess a week-at your club, at a

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Road to 2000-How to Become an Expert

tournament, or with your computer. Every six weeks or so, read over the Purdyism s (the Sayings of Cecil), and The P urdy Player. Every other month, play a "hold the draw" game against your com­ puter (sec section E). Every six months or so, review your routine for choosing a move at the hoard. Then play a game with your chess computer in which a t ear·h of" vo11r turn'! lo mm;e you write out in full the analyses called for in your routine.

E) Analyzing Your Play Keep a record of each serious game of chess that you play. Alter each serious game of chess, if your opponent is willing, conduct a postmortem of the game-looking for errors on both sides and explor­ ing alternative lines of play. Later on, go over the game again, by yourself, and annotate the game. U se the terminology in the Purdyisms and The Purdy Player in your annotations. Each of your games will quite likely have in it several "choice points"-places where you chose one line of play hut felt that one or more alternative lines of play were also feasible. At each such choke point. set up the position on your chess computer and, using a tourna­ ment-level time control, play a serious "branch game" against your com­ p u �cr. Then, later on, annotate the branch game in the usual way. Each serious game of chess that you play will thus give rise to a set of branch games. By annotating the stem game and the branch games. you will become more familiar with the resources inherent in your opening repertoire. After each serious game of chess, if you played an opening not cov­ ered in Action Chess, look up the opening in Modem Chess Ope11 ;nus t o seq where the play diverged from the "book" line and to see what A1C'O has to say about the variation that you chose. After each of your games which had an endgame, go over all the articles in your endgame books that have relevance to the kind of endgame that you played . In this way the amount of time that you devote to the study of specific endgame themes or topics will be in proportion to their occurrence in your own games. After his defeat by Alekhine in the World Championship m atch of 1937, Euwe concluded that there was a weakness in his own play: from a position even in m aterial but somewhat inferior in position, he could not hold the draw. Practice in "holding the draw" from an inferior position can be quite beneficial. Every other month, select an opening variation in MCO that leads to a position equal in material but inferior in position for one side. Set up the position on your computer and take the inferior side. Then play out a -22 7 -

c.J. S. P u rd y ' s F i n e A rt of C h e ss A n n ota t i o n Vo l . 3 seri ou s game against your computer, trying to hold the draw. Keep a record of the game, and annotate the game in the usual way.

F) Miscellaneous Join your national chess organization. Join a chess club. Spread your study time over all parts of the game, opening, middle­ game, and endgame; but devote more study time to the m iddlegame and endgame than to the opening. ln studying opening lore, spend twice as much time on play with the black pieces as on play with the white pieces: White, with his original slight advantage to cover him, can afford to make slight mistakes whereas Black cannot.

CONCLUSION

If you follow this Purdy-inspired advice with dedication and disci­ pline, then, provided that you have some aptitude for chess, you should eventually reach Expert level (Elo 2000).

PU RDV 08/ERVATIONf

The Natu re ot Chess •

Ralph J. Tykodi Frank P. Hutchings [In this essay we call attention to some observations by CJS Purdy (see the list of 1·eferences at the end of the essay) obser­ vations that present Purdy 's view of' the true nature of' the game of' chess. Purdy di,scussed those f'eatures of chess that distinguish it from other games or forms of' combat, at the same time pointing out general principles of' combat that apply, in appropriate circumstances, to chess also. !11 his research Purdy, in part, followed alonr1 paths pioneered by others, notably Emanuel Lasker (whose writinf/S impressed him deeply), and in part struck of'f in new directions to make original observations.}

The art of war is "getting there firstest with the mostest" -attributed to Nathan Bedford Forrest ( 1 821-1877) . Confeder­ ate Cavalry General in the American Civil War.

The things that go to make up chess must be the things that go to make up the whole chess and nothing but the chess, and these are: the units of force, the 64 points in which they operate, and the rules under which they operate -CJS Purdy

C.J.S. P u rdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

THE BASIS O F PURDY'S THOUGHTS Purdy considered it logical to base his thoughts on the nature of chess on the things that go to make up chess, as described in the quotation. He arbl11ed that these unique features define the game of chess-that chess cannot be explained in general terms which, though they may have rel­ evance to chess, apply also to many other activities. Thus Purdy disagreed with the assertion of Znosko-Borovsky that the elements of chess can be defined as SfHWe, tirne, and force; and he pre­ . sented• his own view, balling himself firmly on the specific laws of chess rather than dealing in generalities. PURDY'S CHESS INSIGHTS In the articles listed in the references, Purdy laid bare the foundations of chess, showing the elements of both logic and romance that go into its makeup. He stressed how the specific rules of chess set it apart from war and from other forms of combat. In contrast to other writers, Purdy claimed that what we call tactics and combinations arise from the true elements of chess, that the basis for tactical action is the unique interaction of the warring units on the chessboard, according to the rules of play. Chess tac­ tics, said Purdy, vvith their potentially enormous influence on any chess game, override all other considcl'ations. A vital point made by Purdy follows directly from that most significant rule that the players play alternately, moving one man at a time. The simple point is that the need to do tv.ro things at once (to defend against a double attack) is usually disastrous. Most chess games, said Purdy, are decided by some form of double attack (tactics ag-a in). Chess tactics and combinations belong exclusively to chess, and these, to Purdy, constitute the "romance" of the game. However, in situations where no sound combinations exist (i.e. most of the time), Purdy pointed out that "general principles" become relevant, and he then showed how general "laws of combat" are applicable, and indeed essential, to the conduct of a game of chess. "Getting there firstest with the mostest" {i.e. superior force wins), is an example. The application to chess of the "principle of economy" (maxi­ mum utilization of all resources) and "reserving the greater option" (keep­ ing as many irons in the fire as possible ) was discussed in detail by Purdy, as well as the application of other principles; but, while emphasizing their value, he took care to remind us that such general principles can always be overridden on the chessboard by tactical considerations. WHAT WE SHOULD DO WHEN

WE

PLAY CHESS

A favorite saying of Reuben Fine, author of Chess the Easy Way, was "Chess is a hard game." Since our brains, unlike computers, can process only a small fraction of the astronomical number of possibilities capable of arising on the chessboard, especially with our thinking time limited by the rules, we are essentially forced to think in terms of general concepts, to

The Nature of Chess disregard the bulk of the possibilities, and to concentrate our attention on the most critical characteristics of the position at hand. Purdy recognized this, expounded the practical value of general prin­ ciples, and proposed m ethods of thinking to assist us to determine, and focus on, the relevant factors governing a position, with consequent savings in valuable thinking time. He also proposed a method of thinking to assist u s t o "see" tactical possibilities quickly, a field pioneered b y Emanuel Lasker.

One piece of practical advice was to visualize the position after a planned move (noting the changes in the position that would be brought about by the intended move) and to check that no combinative opportunity would be thereby afforded to the opponent. The use of the word "see" when referring to combinations is noteworthy. It is usually necessary for us to visually recognize a "pattern" or piece/pawn configuration on the board in order to notice a tactical possibility. [Purdy estimated that the number of tourna­ ments and matches be won would have been increased by perhaps a third

had he consistently followed his own advice.]

HOMAGE TO PURDY

ln addition to fostering a general unde1·standing and appreciation of chess,

Purdy's writings on the nature of chess ai·e rich in practical advice to the student. Purdy gives illustrative examples, some from grandmaster play,

showing how his recommended systems of thought could have been applied

with advantage. Pui·dy's writings, described above, arc supplemented by his many other i nstructional articles and game annotations. In the full corpus of his works, Purdy illustrates the complex interplay between material and position, strat­ egy and tactics, that can challenge the powers of even the greatest masters, and shows us how to appreciate some of the depth and subtlety in the play of an Alckhine, a Botvinnik, a Fischer, a Tai. We honor Purdy for his dedication to chess and for his efforts, via his

writings, to share the fruits of his researches with others. In order that the "Pu rdy message" be readily available, the essential parts of Purdy's chess output have been packaged into the volumes of The Purdy Library of Chess.

REFERENCES Guide to Good Chess (1996) The Search for Chess Perfect'ion ( 1 997) The Dual Soul of Chess; The True Elements of Chess; Every Move is Partly Weakening!

CJS PurdlJ 's Fine Art .. Vol. 2 (200 1) .

Balance; The Law of Combat; Reserving the Greater Option; Faulty and Sound Thinking in Chess

CJS Purdy 's Fine Art ... Vol. 3 (2002) Every Move Has a Double Effect

c.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

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Articles §1 §2. §3 §4 §5 §6

P sychoanalyze Your f-Pawn (4/46) A Lesson On "Pawn Islands" And B lockade ( 1 2/54) Bishop Versus Knight ( 1 0/56) How To Plan ( 1 2/56) The Element Of C hance In Chess (8/57 ) How T o See Combinations (4/59)

C.J .S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

§ 1 PSYCHOANALVZE YOUR f-PAWN (4/461

the pawn is weak, it is never as weak as a weak King-and frequently its

Many a kingsidc attack is built up on

weakness is illusory.

the very cramping effect of an outpost

The first full-size di ag1·am shows a p o s i t i o n t h a t can arise in t h e

pawn on e5.

F1·ench Defen se. The moves arn:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

e4 d4 e5 Nf3 dxc5 Bd3

e6 d5 c5 Nc6 Bxc5 15!

Emanuel Laske1·'s.

7. exf6 e.p.

Nxf6

The left-hand diagram shows the typical position. White has a great advantage in space. The right-hand d iagram shows B l a c k ' s {-pawn m o ved u p two squares. This position is comparn.­ tively safe for Black. White's advan­ tage in space has practically d isap­ peared. The w h i t e o u tpost pawn has lost nearly all its sti ng. I t still

The position is excellent for Black,

i n com modes Black a l i t t le by i t s

as he cannot be prevented from ad­

contrnl o f dU and f(l , h u t t h e posi­

vancing his backward pavrn. l f 8. 0-0.

tion is too closed up for White to

then 8. . . e5! 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Re l (or

make much use of that.

Qe2) 0-0 ! , returni n g the piece for a

So we see that a pa\\.11 on c5 is not

winning attack. Or if 8. Qc2, then 8 . . .

necessarily "very cramping" in its

0-0 9 . 0-0 e 5 ! 1 0 . Nxe5 Nxe5 l l .

effect. It is so only when it holds back

Qxe5 Ng4 12. Qll.5 hu, again \\ith a

the opposing f-pawn.

(Klass-Purd;IJ, charnpion�hip, 1944).

win ning advant age

And what deters the f-pawn from

N.S. W.

moving? Nearly always it is just the

Howeve1-. even if the backward

fear of being taken in passi ng. Black

e-pawn has to stay backward, such

knows that he will be "saddled" with

positions are usually quite satisfac­

a backward e-pawn, which from his

tory for Black, as his play in the f-file

earliest chess years he has been

fully compensates for White's play in

taught t o regard as a grave weak­

the e-file. The backward e-pawn has

ness. Never m ind if he get s mated on

a slightly repulsive appearance, but

the 30th move; he wil l at all costs

that is s uperficial.

avoid being saddled with a backward pawn.

A study of the games of Emanuel Lasker has convinced me that he was

This is often a bogey. Even when

prepared to play . . .f5 in all kinds of

228

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positions in t h e French Defen se where other players would not even think of it. A move which in 1 940 I claimed as an innovation of my own was ultimately traced back to a non­ tournamen t game, MacCutcheon­ Lasker. The second full-size diagram shows the position after e6 1 . e4 2. d4 d5 Nf6 3. Nc3 4. Bg5 Bb4 The Maccutcheon Variant. 5. e5 h6 6. Bh4 g5

7. Bg3 8. Ne2

Ne4

pawn-sacrifice by 1 3. Qh5t Ke7 ! 1 4 . 0-0-0 (as in Steiner-Purdy, N.S. W championship, 1940) because 1 3. Bb5? is met by 1 3 ... 0-0! Nc6! 10. . A simple and strong move ana­ lyzed by A.L. Miller, champion of South Australia. 1 1 . 0-0-0! Nxg3! Acceptance of the pawn would be risky. 12. Nxg3 Bd7 0-0-0 13. B e2 Black's position is entirely satis­ factory. At the moment, Black has the two Bishops; he has command of the [-file, and White can neither establish a piece on e5 nor seriously attack the backward e-pawn. An immediate 14. Bg4? is ruled out by ...Qf4t; and White played 1 4 . Kb 1 , followed by Bg4 , maintaining only equality: Purdy­ llfillm; Austmlian dunnpionsh ip, ..

J.9.f5.

Black played his Knight to e7, with the choice of going to f5 or to f4 (via The "book" move here is 8... c5, on the accepted idea that in the French Defense White attacks on the king­ side and Black counterattacks on the queenside. Lasker played, instead, 8. . . f5! Before doing anything else, Black eliminates his raggedness on the kingside. The main question now is what happens after \.Vhite takes in passing, that being the only reply likely to discourage anyone from playing Lasker's move. .

9. exf6 e.p.

Qxf6

1 0. Qd3 If 10. ail, then 1 0... Bxc3t 1 1 . Nxc3 Nxg3 12. hxg'3 Nc6; and White is vir­ t ually committed to a speculative

g6).

In some positions it is better to move the f-pawn only one square, but only when Black can improve his po­ sition by exchanging pawns himself (if \.Vhite refrains). Very often this course only serves to establish a white Knight on e5 and is therefore worse than useless. By moving two squares, Black forces the enemy to make an immediate decision. Sometimes a player refrains from moving his f-pawn two squares, not because he fears the opponent will take in passing, but because he fears the opponent will NOT take in pass­ ing-in other words, because . .f5 makes White's pawn on e 5 a passed .

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

pawn. Again this is a bogey. A central passed pawn , even i f supported, means practically nothing in the middlcgame. It can very easily be blockaded and is usually only a source of immobility to its own forces. A.nd even if an endgame ultimately arrives, it is not so terrible; a passed pa\\11 in the center is of considerably less value than one on the wing re­ mote from the enemy King. In both the Vienna Game and the tluy Lopez, .. .f5 is often played where it concedes the enemy a passed pawn on e5. Lest the reader should imagine that he has only to play .. .f5 to be safe from all ills, let him carefully follow the game Sm.yslov-Reshevsky, from the USA - USSR Radio Ma tch, as given below. Reshevsky plays .. .f5 on move 1 1 and ultimately loses the game. But note that Black does not lose because White has a passed pawn-that is no advantage to White at all. Black's troubles arc: i) a really weak backward c-pawn and ii) the inability of his Knight on e4 to remain at this strong post. That virtually forces Black into a very ag­ gressive line in which he sacrifices the Knight. AU the same, the sacri­ fice has been considered sound for about half a century; and only some recent research in the USSR has brought it into question. In view of the precarious situation of the Knight on e4, it may be better to make a very small sacrifice at once with 1 1 ... Nxf2! !? 12. Rxf2 Bxf2t 13. Kxf2 (two pieces for Rook and pawn); and now play 13 ... f6. This is known as the Dilworth Variation; it has not

yet been refuted. Note that here, too, Black moves his f-pawn. but this time only one square; having sacrificed for attack, he is bound to open lines rather than close them up.

121 Smyslov-Reshevsky (2/46) Radio Match Ru.iJ LOpez e5 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 a6 3. Bb5 4. Ba4 Nf6 Nxe4 5. 0-0 b5 6. d4 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 Bc5 9. c.'J 10. Nbd2 0-0 f5 1 1 . Bc2 12. Nb3 A line often played in the Soviet Union. It leads to a difficult but very interesting position. Also playable is 12. exf6 e.p.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Nbd4 Nxd4 cxd4 f3

Bb6 Nxd4 Bxd4 f4 Ng3

AU this seems pretty startling, but it has been known since 1882 (Fleis­ sig-Mackenzie).

17. hxg3 18. Qd3

fxg3

Forced, as otherwise 1 8 . . . Qh4 would be decisive. Now 18 . . . Qh4 would be refuted by Hl. Qxh7t Qxh7 20. Bxh7t Kxh7 2 1 . Bg5, followed by Bh4-winning the pawn.

18. ...

Bf5

Forced again. If 18 ... g-6, then 19. Qe3 Qh4 20. Qh6, etc.

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19. 20. 21. 22.

Qxf5 Bxf5 Bh3 Kh1

Rxf5 Qh4 Qxd4t Qxe5

This is practically the basic posi­ tion of the opening. We can start tak­ ing stock now. White has a Rook and two Bishops for the Queen-an over­ whelming force. But Black has three extra pawns. That should overbalance the for­ . ces materially in Black's favor. But positions with such greatly divergent forces defy pure material calculation, and Soviet masters seem to favor White's possibilities of attack with his lii,rht, highly mobile forces.

23. Bd2

the one attained by Black in the pre­ vious note, White must be given a winning advantage.

26. ...

Rd8

If 26 ... Qd4, White must play Be4 as 27. Bxa8 Qxf4 would be unpleas­ ant.

27. Rad1 28. Bxg3

c4

c3 It does not mean much if Black takes the a-pawn also-his chance is the quick advance by his pawns.

29. Be5 These Bishops are very effective. If nothing were done by Black ag-ainst it, White would play f3-f4-f5-f6-with deadly effect.

29. ... 30. Bb3

b4

Against 30 . . . Qe2. threatening . . .Rxd5 and . . . c2.

30. 31. f4 32. Rbl

Rd2 h5 Rf2

...Qa3 would be answered by 32. f5 as planned.

33. Rfe 1 23. ...

Qxb2

Euwe favors 23 . . . c5. Botvinnik seems to think so too, as in a game against Boleslavsky he played 23 ... c5. There followed 24. Rael Qxb2 25. Bf4 d4 26. Bxg3 d3 (does it not look menacing'?) 27. Be5 (critics recom­ mend Be6t first) Qxa2. Would not one lose one's breath here? And still, quite legitimately, White built up a winning attacking position . White faltered, however, and Botvinnik obtained a draw.

24. Bf4 25. Be6t 26. Bxd5

c5 Kh8

If one compares this position with

33. ...

Qd2

Black has a hopeless task. If 33 ... Re2, then 34. Redl Qa3 (if 34 ... c2, then 35. Rxb2, as the Rook is now protected) 35. Rd8t Kh7 36. Bg8t Kgti 37. Rd6t Kf5 38. Bh7t; and Black is in a mating net.

34. Rbd1

Qb2

C.J . S . Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

Kh7 Rd8t Kg6 Bg8t Rd6t Kf5 Be6t Kg6 Bd5t Kh7 Kg8 Be4t Bg6 1-0. If 4 1 ... Kf8, then 42. ltd8t Ke7 4.3 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41.

Bf6t! K;dfi 44. lldu#. A creditable game for Smyslov.

- Notes by Lajos Steiner

C.J.S. Purdy-Mangalis White to play his 22nd

AND

§2 A LESSON ON "PAWN ISLANDS" BLOCKADE (2/54)

t i m e o v e r s o m e e a r l i e r move s ,

Errors by experts in chm;s arc not

thought h e had an obvious move that

Here, White, who had taken a long

necessarily instructive. For example,

he could play fairly q u ickly-he

an expert can make a "clock blunder ..

played

or miscalculate a combination like

22. Rd5!?

anybody else, the only difference be­

If Black does not exchange Rooks,

ing that the expert's blunders are

this move is clearly the quickest way

fewer-bu t no particular lei;son can

for White to complete his develop­

be drawn except that good manag·e­

ment, as the other Rook can then

ment of the clock is very important.

double up. And quick development is

Genuine errors of j udgment, how­

always a good thing. If Black docs

ever, can be very instructive. Cross­

exchange, White then has a passed

board chess has to be played largely

pawn (which Black obviously can't

by principles, but principles come

take), and White's Bishop immedi­

into conflict in most positions. There

ately acquires an open diagonal. It

is no principle to tell you, then, which

did strike me as a bit unfortunate

principle outweighs the other or oth­

that I would acquire a fixed pawn on

ers. In such cases, writers almost in­

a light square, the same color as my

variably mention the principle that

Bishop; tut I had visions of using the

ought to be operative and say noth­

Bishop against the black King.

ciples in conflict with it; but this con­

the move, I must admit that I did not

ing about the other principle 01· prin­

In the minute or less that I gave

flict of principles is one of the things

think of "pawn islands" at all. Bot­

that make position play so difficult.

vinnik says in a note somewhere that

A case in point occurred in the game C.J.S. Purdy-Mangalis, Ade­

Capablanca evolved this term; and I do not doubt it, though I don't remem­

laide 1953. We diagram the position

ber coming across the term in Capa­

with White to play his 22nd

blanca's works. It is a very good con­ cept. Many t h i ngs that most good players realize more or less vaguely do not become the common property

Articles

of chess students until words are found for them-the chief contribu­ tor, of course, is Nimzovich. The term "pawn island" is perfect; it defines itself instantaneously-ob­ viously, any island of pawns-from a single isolated pawn to a group of any number of united pawns. To give credit where credit is due, I mention that the first writer, as far as I know, to state the following prin­ ciple was M. D. Broun, in a manu­ script that we intended to publish but lost. Broun's principle follows auto­ matically from the definition-it ad­ mits of no argument. It is this:

For winning purposes, the best number of pawn islands to have is two. To have only one pawn island se­ riously limits you r winning chances; to have three makes it almost certain that you will have trouble protecting them all. Not only that, but a single mobile group of pawns is often an asset for attacking purposes-far better, at least for middlegame pur­ poses, than a sing1e passed pawn not advanced beyond the 5th (4th) rank. That qualification is needed; a single passed pawn on the 6th (3rd) rank, safe from capture, does tend to cramp enemy forces considerably. On the 5th (4th) rank, a well-block­ aded passed pawn is seldom a seri­ ous asset. That is partly because a blockading piece on the 6th (3rd) rank has offensive value, on the 7th (2nd) rank not; and partly , of course, because being two squares from queening is enormously more men­ acing than being three squares from queening. If the blockader is ever

uprooted, the 6th (3rd) rank pawn becomes a terrible fellow, whereas the 5th (4th) rank pawn merely be­ comes a 6th (3rd) rank pawn. The fact to which I gave insuffi­ cient consideration was that 22. Rd5 Rxd5 23. exd5 would throw away my great asset, my mobile kingside ma­ jority. With 22. f4! N moves 23. e5, I could have at once freed my Bishop more effectively than by Rd5. Also, I would threaten to acquire what Nim­ zovich calls a "pawn-roller," or what I often call a "steam-roller of pawns," for the benefit of begi nners who might not realize what "pa�11-roller" means. With this play, White could have shown an advantage.

22. ...

Qe7

Black does not take advantage of the error. Black s h o u l d i s o l ate White's pawn and then at onee play ... Nc4 to be ready at any time to es­ tablish the ideal blockade with the Knight on d6. In these cases, however, do not always rush to complete the blockade; for it may be that some­ thing can be gained by attacking the pawn first. For example, 22. Rd5 Rxd5! 23. exd5 Nc4 24. Qd3 g6, and White cannot at once play h4 (for h5) because Black is threatening ... Rd8, winning the d-pawn (since Rd1 by White would lose to a fork). There­ fore 25. Qd4 Rd8 26. Rd 1 ; and now . .. Qb6, because for the time being it is more important to displace White's well-placed Queen, or to exchange it, than to blockade. If White exchanges Queens, he still cannot push d6, else the pawn is soon lost. In this way Black could have obtained a slight edge.

23. Rfd1 24. exd5

Rxd5

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3 black Queen moves, then d6. For ex­ ample, if 3 1 . . . Qc5, then 32. d6; and if thereupon 32 ... Rc2, then 33. d7, as ... Qxf2t is not to be feared. The block­ ade by the Queen may hold all right in this situation, but Black cannot play offensively; to do that, he should have the Knight as blockader. That is a principle of general application and therefore useful. This is not quite so bad now, be­

Still more instructive, however,

cau se the Knight i s tem porarily

was the harm White did to himself by

pinned. However, 24. Rxd5 was the

allowing three pawn islands to grow

move, retaining, as I have explained,

where two g1·ew before. White had an

the mobile pawn-majority instead of

advantage and lost it by getting a val­

saddling· myself with a third island.

24. ...

Re8

Threatening . . . Nf3t.

25. h3 26. Qd3 27. Qd4

ueless passed pawn. You will not find

the subject of "pawn islands" more than touched upon in any book, yet it

Nc4 g6 Qd6

seems a particularly useful concept because so frequently applicable. The point was not so much that

If . . . Nd6 here, the position would

White's isolated pawn was weak,

not be quite as good for Black as be­

but rather that it was not nearly as

fore, White's Queen being strongly

strong· and u seful as the mobile

posted. However, the Queen is not an ideal blockader.

ki ngside majori ty. w h i c h would

28. Bd3

Nb6

have carried the possibility of get­ ting that frequently decisive pha­

White may breathe more freely

lanx: pawns at e5 and f5.

now; the Knight is farther removed from the key s quare d6. However, White can do no more than hold a

§3 BISHOP VERSUS KNIGHT

(10/56)

balance.

29. Be4 30. Bf3

In the Endgame

Rc8 Rc4

In the endgame, the chief factors

Now the game ceased to flow on a logical course, as White mistakenly tried to "mix it" with 3 1 . Qe3? Rc2 32. Rel? Rxa2. Owing to clock trouble, I

determining the relative values of Bishop and Knight are:

1 ) Whether there are pawns on both wings, or only on one wing. The

had been under the strange halluci­

smaller the fighting area, the better

nation that I could play Rc6. Against

for the Knight and the worse for the

the two passed pawns there is noth­

Bishop.

ing to be done. But the instructive fea­

2) If there are pawns on both

ture is that after the obvious 3 1 . Qd3,

wings, are they balanced; or can

threatening R e l , Black can do no

passed pawns be made'? The Bishop

more than hold his position; for if the

can stop an enemy passed pawn and

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help his own at the same time. The Knight can only do one thing at a time, if the pawns are distant; nor can he change rapidly from one job to the other. 3) Is the pawn position mobile or locked? The Knight likes fixity; for if his position is disturbed, he loses command of every square he for­ merly commanded. 4) If the pawn position is blocked, are the Bishop's pawns on his own color? If they are, the Bishop is weak for two reasons: a) since both he and his pawns command squares of only one color, their powers overlap instead of com­ bining; and b) he will be forced onto the de­ fensive. Where everything favors the Bish­ op, he may be nearly a pawn better than a Knight, e.g. pawns on both wings and each side having a distant passed pawn. Where everything favors the Knight, e.g. pawns all on one wing, blocked, and the Bishop's pawns on the same color as the Bishop, then the Knight may be nearly a pawn better than a Bishop! In other words, the Bishop may confer a winning advantage in the first case, and the Knight in the second. With pawns all on one wing, blocked, but the Bishop's pawns not on his own color, the Knight is still anything up to half a pawn better than the Bishop. (Note: We prefer to speak arith­ metically for clarity; but of course it must be taken that the various un­ mentioned factors of the position are equal, and even then the values we

give are to be regarded as only ap­ proximate.) With pawns all on one wing, and mobile, the Knight would be just a shade better-and then only because of the possibility of a block arising. W i t h p awn s on both w i n gs , blocked, the Knight is generally pref­ erable-the extent of the Bishop's inferiority probably varying from zero up to, say, half a pawn, depend­ ing chiefly on the colors the Bishop's pawns are on. With pawns on both winf:,rs, mobile and balanced (each pawn having· an opposing pawn on the same file) , the Bishop is anything up to half a pawn better than a Knight. The extreme cases have already been covered. Now, mobile pawn positions are much more common than blocked ones , especially s i nce Stei n i t z showed the danger of early pawn ad­ vances. Again, there are nearly al­ ways pawns on both wings. In par­ ticular, the extreme case whe re a Bishop is about a pawn better than a Knight is very com m o n indeed, whereas the opposite extreme is very rare. Consequently, so long as a po­ sition has not already assumed char­ acteristics favorable to a Knight if an endgame results, one can regard a Bishop as decidedly the better piece for a possible future endf:,Tame. The statements given above are based mainly on the researches of Capablanca, the results of which c1·e­ ated quite a stir among masters when they appeared for the first time in Chess Fundamentals. The discus­ sion given above is more detailed and complete.

C.J.S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

In the Mid-Game The Knight The Knight is a trench mortar with a fixed range. It cannot be moved bach.'Wards and forwards and still bear on its target, as a Bishop can. Further, its range is a very close one. It is uscfcss at a distance, whereas distance to a Bishop is nothing. Throughout the game, therefore, the value of a Knight depends chiefly on two things: 1) Position, and 2) Stability In the middlegame, a Knight can he really dangerous to the enemy only if it has advanced at least three ranks heyond its starting rank-and it is either in or very close to the cen­ ter. or else on the wing where the en­ emy has castled. But a Knight is practically u1-;cless in any such position if it can be driven away-unless the driving move cre­ ates a bad weakness in the enemy camp. A Knight's post must be a firm one. "Firm" means that the Knight must both be supported by a pawn and not attackable by an enemy pawn. [Most of the following oliserva­ tions of this section are stated frorn fVltite's point ofvimv. Keep in mind the analogous relations for Black.] In such a post, a Knight is seldom inferior to any Bishop; and if at d6, e6, or the appropriate 6th rank square (c6 or f6) in front of the en­ emy castled King, and not exchange­ able, the Knight is often nearly as good as a Rook (that is, in the mid­ dlegame). A Knight firmly on the fourth rank

at c4 or f4 (see above what is meant by "firmly") is strong, but usually not as strong as a mobile Bishop. A firm Knight on the fourth rank at d4 or e4, say in front of an isolated d-pawn 01· isolated e-pawn, is a shade better still; but a healthy Bishop will still usually be right in declining to exchange-unless the opponent must recapture with a pawn, thus closing the file onto the isolated pawn . A Knight on c5, d5, e5, or f5 will vary in value according to where the enemy has castled, or will castle. For instance, a firm Knight on f5 in front of the castled King is usually ex­ changed off by a Bishop automati­ cally, if possible. On one of the other squares named, a firm Knight is gen­ erally at least as good as a good Bishop; and a Bishop will usually ex­ change u nless an important line would be opened for the opponent or a strong passed pawn created. On c6, d6, e6, or f6 one is very rarely able to get a firm Knight in the middlegame. If you do, his variabil­ ity according to the whereabouts of the enemy King is still greater than that of a Knight on the fifth rank; but on any of those squares he is very strong, and anything that can ex­ change him off will normally do so. If no minor piece is available, it is usual to brive up the Exchange for a pawn, if possible, and sometimes even the whole Exchange. A general excep­ tion i s where the enemy King is castled on the k.ingside, and the firm Knight is right over at c6. Here one does not care to sacrifice, as a rule, but will certainly try to exchange. Even a firm Knight on the sixth rank, however, loses in value if a

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n u mber of p ieces have been ex­ changed-the Knight likes a crowded board.

The Bishop A Bishop's value depends chiefiy on: 1) Clear diagonals. 2) Command of squares that mat­ ter. 3) The presence or absence of the enemy Bishop of the same color. /D i s c u s s i o n m o s t l y fr o m lt11'ite's point of' v'iew again.}

What do we mean by "squares that matter"? It is possible for a Bishop at b1 (say) to be bearing right down on h7, with the enemy King castled on that side, and be doing no good at all. His effect in that direction is nil unless other pieces are cooperating in exerting pressure on that wing. l l may b e vital for h i m t o command some square on the f1-a6 diagonal, or the h 1-a8 diagonal. In that case, his worth will depend on whether he can go to d3 or e4, as the case may be. If he can, at the cost of one tempo, his present position does not much affect his value. An instance of a "square that mat­ ters" is when a Bis:fu op is bearing right down on a mating-square, say h8 or g7. Now we see the importance of 3). If the enemy still has his dark­ squared Bishop, he has only to put that Bishop on any safe square be­ tween the nasty Bishop and the mat­ ing-square so as to exchange off the attacking Bishop. On the other hand, an exchange-offer by a Knight is usu­ ally avoided comparatively easily simply by having the Bishop make a strategic retreat along the diagonal. If the enemy Bishop be off the

board, the Bishop bearing on the mating-square is a terrible fellow. Consequently, in allowing an ex­ change of your dark-squared Bishop, say for a Knight, you must weigh the prospects of the enemy dark-squared Bishop becoming mobile-e.g. see if the enemy can force any of your pawns to advance and thereby weak­ en dark squares. An ideal situation for a Bishop is on d4, e4, d5, or e5, with clear diago­ nals in all directions, and a fight in progress on both wings. The Bishop then commands anything up to 1 3 squares, i n comparison to the 8 of a Knight, and they all count. Such a situation occurs in the favorable endg-ame position already discussed where pawns race on opposite wings. It remains to note that a firm post (pawn-support and pawn-invulner­ ability) is valuable for a Bishop also, though not, of course, as valuable as it is to a Knight.

In the Opening Alekhine's dictum that " i n any mobile pawn position the Bishop is a stronger piece than the Knight" cov­ ers all stages of the game. In the opening, it means that a Bishop is ne arly always p re ferab l e , as a blocked pawn-position rarely arises early. Most prolific of exceptions is the French Defense. Whenever White plays e5 in this opening, leaving all the four center squares except e4 occupied by pawns, the black Bish­ ops, at any rate, become weak, while the black Knigh t s become very strong, owing to the possibility of their putting pressure on the white d-pawn after .. c5, etc.-they may, e.g. .

C.J S. Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol . 3

post themse . ves at c6 and f5! The doubled c-pawns, the white c-Bishop white f-Bish : 1p, on the other hand, still tends to have a comparatively remains a sl , ·ong piece if posted on low value on account of the fixed either diago :.al passing through e4, pawns at c3 and d4. But even in the ordinary run of but especiall fT the b1-h7 diagonal. Again, ta rlays 3... Bb4 and has no give up two tempos to get Bishop for objection at : ill to exchanging Bishop Knight; it may not be disadvanta­ for Knight. I- oere the point is that the geous, but it is seldom advantageous. game hingef around White's e4 and The reason is that, as is well known, d5, so that V hite's Knight on c3 is a time has a special value in the open­ most import; nt vicce. Also, if\Vhite's ing, where there is so much dead c-pawn is do •tbled, the pawn-position force waiting to be brought out. is such that White's dark-squared An exceptional case where it is Bishop is n< it likely to become dan­ well worth even two tempos to get a gerous despi , e the removal of Black's Bishop for a Knight occurs in the fol­ dark-square l Bishop. The pawns on lowing variation: 1 . Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. c3 and d4, b1 ·th of which are virtually g'd d.xc4 4. Qa4t Bd7 5. Qxc4 c5. immobile (fc :� df> leaves the doubled Now 6. Ne 5 ! , eliminat i ng the c-pawns ba1 [kward and weak), pre­ Bishop before Black can play ... NcO, vent the dai :k-squared Bishop froin is quite strong and gives White a acquiring E ' ther of the diagonals slight advantage. That is not because through d4; 1.nd if the Bishop goes to Black's c-Bishop is a very mobile f4, he is vuln ! �rable either to ... cl6 and piece; for as can be seen, it is not at ... e5 or to .. !h6 and ...g,)--advances all well placed at d7. But, owing to the which Black may make without great fact that White has moved neither of danger in tt ·,� Dutch. since his pa'W11 his center pawns, the position is elas­ at f5 protec . s his kingside from at­ tic or mobile in the highest degree, tack. Nor i: I Black's dark-squared so that any Bishop is potentially a rip­ Bishop muc 11 better off, so that his snorter. With the permanent removal presence on : .he board is by no means of Black's light-squared Bishop, essential to : , is army's peace of mind. White's f-Bishop knows that it has the freedom of the board for the whole All this appl ::is only if White's c-pawn is doubled. game, no matter how the position changes. Nevertheless, Black's gain of time Rather d Jferent is the Nimzo-In­ dian Defens !!, 1 . d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 is important, and Black may be able Bb4. Here White's e4 is not held as to utilize it in such a way as to neu­ sec urely by Black as in the Dutch, tralize the effect of the Bishops. and it is U 1 1 usual for Black to ex­ Notice that a Bishop very rarely change off t lie Bishop for the Knight exchanges off a once-moved Knight unless he gf ts a tempo in compensa­ unless it has developed on c3, f3, c6, tion througt White's playing a3. Nev­ or f6. A Knight on any of these ertheless, i !' Black can give White squares commands two vital central

[

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Articles s q u ares; and, especially if those

squares are unoccupied (as is the

case for d4 and e5 in the Dutch), such

a Knight is a powerful piece in the

ftght for central control.

dxe4, it is no longer thought good to

play 5. Bxffl immediately to give

Black doubled f-pawns, as Bl.a.ck fol­ lows up with . . . . f5 and then ..

.

Bg7; and

the fianchctto Bishop covers the

weakened dark squares and has a

Exchanging to Give the Enemy {)oubled Pawns There are many cases where it

pays to exchange Bishop for Knight y0luntarily, to give the enemy doubled

uawns-it al'r:nost always does when

die doubled pawns will he isolated.

long diagonal. But after 5. Nxe4 Be7,

then 6. Bxf6! is strong-a subtle dif­ ference!

Bishop's Restraining Influence

A Bishop tends to haYe a fairly

constant value on a central diagonal,

Even when the doubled pawns will

even if obstructed. For it mayrestrain

ptlYS if the a-pawn or the h-pawn will

that they wish to keep the Bishop

aot be isolated, the exchange often

lie isolated thereby. It is easy to un­

derstand why that should be so on the

side where the enemy has castled or

will castle, but it is also frequently

guod on the quecnside in the Ruy

IJ>pez.

the opponent's forces by the very fact

obstructed.

An example from t h e E nglish

Opening:

1. c4 Nf6 2. g'J d5 3. cxd5 Bg2 g6 5. Nca Nxc3 l:i. bxc3 Bg7 7. Rb t . To shield his b paw n

Nxd5 4.

-

(Rxb7! is the threat), Black will now

Herc we might mention that the

play 7 ... c6. This greatly reduces the

1he center is not invariably justified.

in forfeiting the option of ...c5, Black

customary joy at capturing toward fake the Ruy Lopez. After 1. e4 e5

2.

Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6, it is not now con­

sidered good to exchange the Bishop

range of the fianchettocd Bishop: hut

is leaving White free to establish 1111challcngcd control of the center by d4.

Black would better have snapped

[Or the Knight, 4. Bxc6, even though

his fingers at the Bishop and played

case. Black replies 4 ... dxc6! (captur­

must not let a single Bishop terror­

the Bishop must lose a tempo in any

itlg away from the center), with a line

apened for his c-Bishop and a solid

pawn formation.

But in the same opening, after 3 . . .

ct6 4 . Ba4 d6, it is now good t o ex­ cl:lange voluntarily! Black captures

toward the center, hut gets a weak

i3olated a-pawn; and White gets com11and of the center with d4, through removal of the Knig"ht.

The same considerations apply in

4 ... c5, and subsequently ... Nc6. One ize a whole army.

This tempting . . . c6 leads even

masters to their doom in many simi­ lar situations. Note for

Students

A knowledge of the variations in

the value of the Bishop and Knight

will help you not once or twice in a

lifetime, like a knowledge of some particular variation in the openings,

111alogous positions on the kingside.

but in every game you play. There­

iilr 1 . e4 e6

feel themselves not absolutely at

lftlwever, in the French Defense af­

2.

d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5

fore, we suggest that all students who

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C . J . S . Purdy's Fine Art of Chess Annotation Vol. 3

home with Bishops and Knights should study this article very care­ fully.

§4 HOW TO PLAN (12/56)

The Place of Plans In mos(chess positions, exact cal­ culation several moves ahead is im­ possible, especially over the board. To any move that is not a forcing (combinative) move, there are usu­ ally several reasonable replies; and this sends the number of possible variations up to three figures in no time, even if you try to see only two or three moves ahead. Cataloging all possible variations several moves ahead just cannot be done. Therefore, in most positions you have to disregard, for the time being, the opponent's right to make moves in between yours and to conceive what is called a plan-a series of moves by which you hope to achieve a certain aim. Testing Your Plan Having thought of a plausible plan, you then have to put it through cer­ tain tests. You cannot, as a rule, be certain that your plan is the best pos­ sible; but you can at least look for any obvious ways in which it may be de­ feated-and if you find any, you must discard the plan. For instance, if your plan consists of three moves culminating in plant­ ing a Knight on d6, and your oppo­ nent can make three moves that stop you and do not harm his own posi­ tion, waste no time-look for a dif­ ferent plan. Again, you have to decide which

move of the p:an to play first (in this, the principle of reserving the greater option is of inestimable help); and in considering each candidate, you have to look for possible combinations that your opponent might spring in reply.

Nature of Plans One cannot demonstrate the cor­ rectness of a plan, as one can with a combination. A plan has to be based on principles derived from experi­ ence-there are no immutable laws for it to draw on. What are regarded as strategical axioms in one age are sometimes ridiculed in the next-or at least find themselves in conflict with new ideas. Nimzovich carried h is own ideas to excess, and much of his success, fully deserved, of course, was due to his opponents' i�fJ10rance of the motives behind the moves. Nowadays, the Nimzovich principles are understood and used by all mas­ ters, but i ncorporated in a wider, more elastic system. If a player gets too Nimzovichian, his opponent sim­ ply applies Nimzovich's own anti­ dotes. The upshot is that there is some scope for individuality in choosing one's plans, and the styles of the dif­ ferent masters are distinguished partly by the different ways they lean when a choice of aims presents itself. An aim, of course, is the basis of a plan. Plan vs. Combination I hope it is clear by this time that a plan must be regarded as some­ thing to fall back on when no sound and correct combination presents it­ self. For a plan, since it consists of non-forcing moves that allow the op-

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Articles

pouent a comparatively wide choice in his replies, can only concern itself with small improvements in one's position, whereas a combi nation (which can arise accidentally at any time) m ay gain anyt hing up to the King. Why did I say "sound and cor­ rect''? Because a combination may be sound, in the sense that it cannot be absolu tely refuted, and yet be incor­ recl because it does not make the most out of the position. An Example An excellent example, if fairly old, is provided by the diagrammed posi­ lion from the second game of the re­ markable 12-game match in which the great Pakistani chess genius Sul­ tan Khan defeated Tartakower. At the same time I shall use the example to illustrate various other points about planning that are of primary impor­ lance.

After White's 16th Looking at "jump" captures, we quickly note 16... Rxc3 and 1 6 . . . Bxa3 for Black. Correlating the two, the combination 16 ... Bxa3 is obvious. Note: '