The middle-game in chess 9780710090713, 0710090714

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LudekPachman

The middle-game in chess Translated by John Littlewood

~

Routledge & Kegan Paul London, Henley and Melbourne

English trans/Qtion first published in 1982 by Routledge de Kegan Paul Ltd 39 Store Street, London WCJE 7DD, 296 Beaconsfield Parade, Middle Park, Melbourne, 3206, Australio, and Broadway House, Newtown Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 lEN Set in Press Roman by Hope Services, Abingdon, Oxon and printed in Great Britain by Unwin Brothers Ltd Old Woking, Surrey Copyright Cl 1977 by Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munchen English transliJtion C> Routledge de Kegan Paul 1982 First published as Mhtelspiclpraxis im Schach in 1977 by Wilhelm Heyne Ver/Qg, Mr1nchen No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief pasSilges In criticism British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Pachman, Ludek The middle game in chess. 1. Oless- Middle games II. Mfttelspielpraxis im Schach. I. 1Ytle English GVJ450.3 794.1'23 ISBN 0-7100-9071-4

Contents

Translator's preface

1

vii 1

Can the middle-game be taught?

2 Typical mating combinations

12

3 The elements of chess tactics

43

4

Attack and defence

s Making plans

90

126

6 Effective use of pieces

136

7 'The pawns are the soul of chess' Index

187

163

Translator' s preface

Alongside Nirnzovitch's. masterpiece

My System and Euwe's splendidly Judgement and Planning in Chess it is fair to place Pachman's Modem Chess Strategy as having done for chess what Culbert­

conceived classic

son's books once did for bridge. However, one must admit that begin· ners and even average clubplayers have sometimes found such volumes a little above their heads, with occasional concepts, if not entirely meaningless, often demanding from them a degree of sophistication beyond their chess experience. It is for such players that Pachman has written the present volume. Recognising that at this stage a sound knowledge of tactics is indis· pensable before strategy can be properly understood, he devotes the first half of the book to a comprehensive treatment of combinational elements. Only then does he examine practical aspects of strategic planning in attack and defence, highlighting that subtle blend of tactics and strategy which is the hallmark of all great players. Following Pachman's instructive volume on the chess openings, this book will prove an invaluable addition to Routledge & Kegan Paul's well-known chess series. John littlewood

Chapter 1

Can the middle-game be taught?

Many chess-players limit themselves to studying two aspects of theory: openings and end-games; the former in particular being grossly over· valued. There is a desire to achieve rapid victory by learning opening variations off by heart and overwhelming the opponent in the early stages. Of course, a fairly comprehensive knowledge of opening theory

is essential if one is to achieve results against strong players. Equally, in the fmal stages of the game it is of little use to rely solely on one's own resources; a number of standard theoretical positions have to be part of the arsenal. However, even in both these cases it is often far more important to have a grasp of general principles so as to be able to react to unexpected turns of event. I have heard beginners complain that, despite all their assiduous book-learning, they have often come out of the opening with a lost game although they knew the theory of that opening far better than their less industrious but more experienced opponent ! Clearly, parrot-learning without an understanding of the basic principles is rarely effective. In the middle-game there are so many possible positions, so many variations, that it is seldom we meet the sam� game more than once. In other words, the middle-game can hardly be learnt in the same way as openings or endings. Nevertheless, it is vitally important to have at one's disposal a number of general strategic guidelines and a wealth of specific tactical ideas. Such knowledge enables a plan to be formed and then carried out. In chess, as in warfare and politics,

strategy

tells

us what we should be aiming to do in a given position (bearing in mind that our opponent too has his own plans!), whilst to set about doing it.

tactics

tell us how

Strategy and tactics are intimately linked in every game, since without the former our play is rudderless and without the latter we cannot achieve solutions. Of course, there are times when one element outweighs the other, so it will prove useful if we begin by examining two games from these two aspects: when is it essential to calculate each

2 I Can the middle-game be taught? move with precision, looking out for possible surprises or traps from our opponent and trying ourselves to fmd a decisive combination; and when on the other hand is it more important to pursue a fiXed plan, subordinating all our tactics to this end?

Game 1

French Defence

K. Richter Abramavicius (Hamburg,

1930)

e6

1

e4

2

d4

dS

3

Nc3

Nf6

4

BgS

dxe4

s

Nxe4

Be7

6

Bxf6

Bxf6

7

Nf3

Nd7

8

Bd3

0-0?

White's last move is fairly hannless but Black should react energetically with the immediate

8

... cS! giving

him equal chances. Castling, usually

a good way of placing the king in safety, is premature here. White can now castle long and launch a dangerous attack on the enemy king, as we shall see.

Qe2

9 10

cS

0-0-0!

White's plan is simple and clear: his three minor pieces in conjunction with the advance of

his

g and h pawns will form the basis for an attack

on the king.

10 11

cSxd4

... g4!

... (see next diagram)

White could of course capture the d pawn by

11

Nxf6+ Qxf6 12

1 3 Bxh7+ winning the queen, an discovered check combination. We term 'combination' a

Nxd4, when 12 ... Qxd4?? fails to example of a

series of moves containing a surprising idea and usually involving a sacrifice.

In

this instance a beginne r would

be

surprised by

12

Nxd4

leaving the knight unprotected, but only apparently sol However, this continuation would pose few problems for Black, as we can see if we examine the line 11 Nxf6+ Nxf6 12 Nxd4 QaS Kb1 eS (or simply

13

.. . Bd7) with three variations:

13

Can the middle-game be taught? I 3

. ..... .-•••

Abramav icius (black)

·i·�·i·i • .i. • fl • • • .. ·4J·ft· • 8-'l84J. ftllft.*B B

. ��- .

K.

Richter (white)

( 1 ) 1 4 Nb3 Qc7 1 5 Rhe 1 ReS (guarding the e pawn) 1 6 Bb5 Bd7, etc. (2) 14 Nf3. Black cannot now save his centre pawn by 14 . . . Re8 because of 1 5 Bb5, but he can utilise the pin 1 4 . . . Bg4! thus pre­ venting 1 5 Nxe5?? since a piece of higher value js standing 'behind' the knight, allowing 1 5 . . . Bxe2, or here 1 5 Qxe5? Qxe5 1 6 Nxe5 Bxd l etc. (3) 1 4 Nb5. Again the centre pawn is attacked, but after 14 . . . Dd7! White cannot capture it, since afte r 15 Qxe5? a6 there is another pin on his knight along the rank. Coming back to the game, with 1 1 g4! White elects to leave the d pawn alone, a bold decision which has to be backed up with a careful evaluation of future possibilities. After all, pawns cannot be thrown away lightly, since an extra pawn can oft en prove su fficient to win a game. It is sometimes possible to calculate a sacrifice through to a clear win, but pawn sacrifices are usually based or:� an intuitive assessment in which experience and positional sense play a great part.

11

.

.

.

g6

Black must try to maintain his bishop on the a l -h8 diagonal. If he plays 1 1 . . . e5 then White plays 1 2 g5 Be7 1 3 Rdg l and continues his attack with h4-h5 followed by the breakthrough g6 or h6. Meanwh ile Black must keep control of f6 to prevent the po ssible sacrifice Nf6+ opening the g file if . . . gxf6 has to be played. ll

h4

The correct way to open a fl.le when a black pawn stands on g6. 12 13

Bg7

hS

ReS

4 I Can the middle-game be taught? A useful defensive move in such positions, freeing f8 for hls knight to guard h7 against the threat of Qfl-h3 followed by hxg6 and Qh7 mate. 14

hxg6

hxg6

It is often hard to decide which pawn to capture with in such positions. Taking with the f pawn allows his major pieces to defend along the second rank and keeps open the option of a possible h6, but Black chooses to capture with the h pawn in order not to weaken his e pawn, hoping to have enough protection of his h7 and h8 squares and banking on a rapid counter-attack down the c fJ.I.e. IS

gS!

Not only creating a strong-point on f6 for his knight which occupies the square with decisive effect in seven moves' time, but also preventing the freeing moves . . . Nf6 or . . f5. .

IS 16 17 18

Rh4 Rdhl Qfl

eS Nf8 BfS ReS

Black could also play 1 8 .. . Ne6 in order to block the h flle by Nf4-h5 and at the same tl!ne give his king an escape square on f8. Richter then intended 1 9 Qg2 Nf4 20 Qh2 NhS 21 Ng3 ! Bxd3 22 NxhS Qc7 (threatening mate on c2!) 23 Nf6+! Kf8 (if 23 . . . Bxf6 24 Rh8 + ! followed by mate) 24 Ne l ! not only threatening the bishop and the rook, but also NdS and Rh8+ mating. We must also mention that 1 8 .. . Bxe4 allows 1 9 Qh3 ! when there is no defence to 20 Rh8+! 2

Abramavicius (black)

K.

Richter (white)

I

Black now plans a counter-attack down the c me with a line StJch as 1 9 . . . Bxe4 20 Bxe4 d3 ! hoping to defend against mate by a later

Can the middle-game be taught? I 5 . . . f6. White settles matters with a pretty combination , howeve r, giving Black no time for any of this. 19 20 21

Rh8+ ! ! Rxh8+ Qh1+

Bxh8 Kxh8 Nh7

King moves also lose quickly: if 2 1 . . . Kg7 22 Qh6+ Kg8 23 Nf6+ Qxf6 24 gxf6 Ne6 25 Ng5 ! wins; or if 2 1 . . . Kg8 22 Nf6+! Qxf6 23 gxf6 Bxd3 24 Qh6 Rxc2+ 25 Kd1 Ne6 26 Ng5 ! with the latter move in each variation being an example of deflection of the vital d efender on e6 by White's knight on g5. We shall often meet similar situations. 22

Nf6

Kg71

Losing at once but even the better 22 . . . Qxf6 23 gxf6 Kg8 is insuf­ ficient after 24 BxfS when 24 . . . gxf5 fails to 25 Qgl + followed by mate, and 24 . . . Rc7 25 Qh4! gives White a material advantage. If here 24 . . . Rc6 then 24 Bd7 wins the 'exchange' by attacking both rooks simultaneously, a so-called fork. 23

Qh6+

Resigns

Game 2 Queen's Gambit Capablanca Alekhine (Buenos Aires, 1 927) 1 2 3 4 s

6 7 8

d4 c4 Nc3 BgS e3 Nf3 Rei

dS e6

Nf6 Nbd7 Be7 0-0 a6

a3

The 'Orthodox Defence' to the Queen's Gambit. Black's usual play on move 7 is . . . c6. After 7 . . . a6 White should continue with 8 cxdS or 8 c5, whereas Capablanca's move is too passive and allows Black a speedy development of his Q side. 8 9 10

Bh4 Bxc4

h6 dxc4 bS

6 I Can the middle-game be taught? 11 12 13

\

Bel 0-0 dxc5

Bb7 c5 Nxc51

Despite the seemingly peaceful nature of the position, there are still tactical points to note. White should now try 14 Bxf6 with two vari· ations: ( I ) 14 . .. gxf6, weakening his K side pawn position, but this is of little significance in view of Black's advantage of the two bishops. We shall see later why in most positions two bishops are stronger than knight and bishop or two knights. (2) 14 . .. Bxf6, when White can exploit the unprotected knight on c5 by 1 5 Nxb5 ! Qxd1 1 6 Rfxd1 Nb3 (after 1 6 . .. axb5 1 7 RxcS Bxb2 1 8 Rxb5 Bxf3 1 9 Bxf3 Rab8 20 a4 White is a pawn up) 1 7 Rc7 Bxf3 1 8 Bxf3 axb5 1 9 Bxa8 Rxa8. After the game Alekhine gave this variation as better for him, but this is not the case. Normally of course two minor pieces are much better than a rook, and a pawn is rarely sufficient compensation, but here White can win a second pawn by 20 Rb7 since 20 .. .Bxb2? fails to 21 RxbS Rxa3 22 Rb1 etc. However, Black can maintain the balance by 20 . .. Nc5 ! 2 1 Rxb5 Na4. White cannot advance his b pawn without losing- the exchange to .. . Nc3 and if instead 22 Rd2 then 22 .. . Nxb2! 23 Rdxb2 Bxb2 24 Rxb2 Rxa3 the draw is clear. 1hi.s is an example of a forced manoeuvre, beginning with 1 5 Nxb5. Both players must follow a defmite line of play to avoid some dis­ advantage. A different kind of manoeuvre is seen when there are no threats or capture of material involved, such as when we regroup our pieces; these are of a more strategic than a tactical nature, and the order of moves is not always so important. After the game continuation, however, Black already stands better, so Capablanca should at least have exchanged queens. 14 15

Nd4(?) b4(?)

Rc8

Such careless moves are typical of an inexperienced player. The fact that a World Champion is involved here only confinns the accepted opinion that Capablanca was well below form for this decisive match. (See next diagram) The move b4 creates a serious but by no means obvious weakness in White's position: the c4 square. It is to this square that first the black rook then the knight will penetrate to great effect.

Can the middle-game be taught? I 7 3

Aljechin (black)

Capablanca (white) In fact Black's main strategic plan within the next few moves is based on this weakened square. It is important for the reader to note how often games are decided not by i nunediate material gain or a rapid mate, but by the creation and exploitation of small positional ad­ vantages. IS

...

Ncd71

A surprising but very strong retreat, based of course on the occupation of c4. The seemingly powerful 1 5 .. . Nce4 on the other hand would allow too many exchanges after 1 6 Nxe4 Bxe4 1 7 Bf3; or here 1 6 . . . Rxcl ( 1 6 . . . Nxe4? loses to 1 7 Rxc8 Bxc8 1 8 Nc6 Qxd 1 1 9 Nxe7+! a typical example of a zwischenzug.) 1 7 Nxf6+ Bxf6 18 Qxcl Bxh4 1 9 Bf3 etc. It is subtle points like this that reveal the true master, rather than the calcu lation of standard combinations! 16

Bg3

White avoids a possible exchange of this bishop (by . . . Ne4) which shows that he is not yet fully aware that he stands worse and should be striving for equality. lt is vital to protect his c4 by 1 6 Nb3 ! followed by NaS . Note that after 1 6 Bf3 Qb 6 1 7 Ne4 Rxcl I B Qxc I Black is first to occupy the c file, with advantage. We shall con sider later the impor­ tance of open lines. ,

16 17

Qb 3

Nb6 NfdS!

Exchanges can also play their part in an attack, sin ce Black now threatens I B . . . Nxc3 1 9 Rxc3 Bd5 20 Qb2 Rxc3 2 1 Qxc3 Qa8 followed by . . . ReB, not only seizing the c me but also controlling the long diagonal (h l -aB), thereby increasing the effectiveness of his piece s.

8 I Can the middle-game be taught? IS

Bfl

White understandably wishes to challenge the diagonal, but as a result lets Black in on c4. lS 19 Ne4 20 Rxc4?

Rc4! QcS

The decisive error. White's last chance lay in holding on to the vital c ftle by 20 Qbl ! threatening 2 1 Nd6 and if 20 . . . Rd8 2 1 Nd2! Rxcl 22 Rxcl Qa8 23 Bc7! and 24 Bxb6, almost neutralising Black's ini­ tiative. 20 21

... Ret

Nxc4 QaS!

A typical manoeuvre in modem chess; Black's queen is posted on the diagonal behind a weaker piece, thus doubling up in a similar way to the doubling of rooks on a fl.le or rank. He now threatens to win a pawn by . . . Ndxe3 or . . . Nxb4, and if 22 NcS BxcS 23 bxcS ReS 24 Be2 RxcS 25 Bxc4 Qc8! the pin of the bishop again wins a pawn.

Nc3 NxdS 24 BxdS lS a4

22 23

ReS BxdS QxdS

Capablanca (white) Whit� cannot tie his queen down permanently to the defence of his a pawn, but a further weakness now appears on b4! Let us again consider the problem of exchanging pieces. Black has allowed the exchange of two minor plecea (bishop and knight) and one

Can the middle-game be taught? I 9 trllljor piece

(a rook), and yet we were reconunending the use of ex­

changes as a method of equalising! The contradiction is only apparent, because exchanging pieces is often the correct and indeed only way of increasing or exploiting a positional advantage, provided that it is our least active pieces we are exchanging for our opponent's most active ones, never of course the other way round! Alekhine has managed to do

this; he has exchanged his 'bad' bishop on b7 for White's 'good' bishop

will surprise most readers that we refer to Black's beautifully Q bishop as 'bad', so let us explain our terms by looking again at

on f3 . It posted

the diagrammed position, and asking ourselves the question: which pawns can the bishop on g3 attack? The answer is, practically none. Even if it could reach e5, which it cannot, and apply pressure on the g7 pawn, this pawn is guarded by the king and can later (in the ending) move to g6. The same applies to the h6 pawn. Contrast this with the pawn set-up on the

Q side: White's b4 pawn is ftxed by the pawn on b5

and vice versa. Such blocked pawn positions are particularly significant from a strategic point of view, when we compare the attacking poten­ tial of each side's black-squared bishop. Tills gives us the important principle: in positions with blocked pawns, a 'good' bishop is one which is of the same colour as the squares on which the enemy pawns are placed, whilst a 'bad' bishop is one which is restricted by its own pawns. We can now ask if White's 25. a4 has only served to increase the potential of Black's

K bishop. 'This is not so, because even with the

pawns on a3 and b4 the e7 bishop is 'good' and the g3 bishop 'bad'. We can see this clearly if we visualise an ending with only the bishops on

the board; the black bishop would in that case immediately win a pawn ·

if it reached b2.

25

.

.

.

Bf6!

Black surprisingly gives up his attack on the b pawn, since he wishes to drive the knight away from its strong central post. Note that this could not be achieved by 25 ... eS? 26 NfS! Bf6 27

f3 , threatening 28 e4

which would make Black's bishop 'bad' (blocked by the eS pawn), when 27 ... e4 fails to 28 Nd6! since Black's knight is pinned.

26

NO

Bbll

An original idea, disturbing the co-ordination of White's pieces by driv­ ing the rook to a less active square because more favourable squares are tactically dangerous, i.e.

(1)

27 Rd l , surely the most natural square attacking the queen, fails to

10 I Can the middle-game be taught?

the interesting 27...bxa4! 28 Qxa4 Nb6! 29 Rxd5 Nxa4 30 Rd l Nc3 31 Re l Rc4 32 Bd6 Ne4 33 Be7 f6 34 Rbl Kl7 35 Kfl _Bel and the b pawn fall s . (2) 27 Rbl Na3! 28 Qxb2 Nxbl 29 Qxbl Qb3! wins, because 30 Qxb3? allows a back-rank mate by 30 . . . Rcl+ etc.(Such a mate along the unprotected back rank is common enough to warrant our constant vigilance. It is amusing to note that if Black's h6 pawn had been on h 7, White himself could have answered 26 ... Bb2 with 27 Qxb2! Nxb2 28 Rxc8+ followed by mate!) Of course, the white queen can move' away, but aftef 30 Qfl bxa4! Black's passed pawn wins the game for him . 27 28 29

Rei axbS h3

Rd8 axbS

Beginners must be careful not to make such moves without a specific purpose, but here it is essential to cut out the chance of a back-rank mate. 29

.. .

eS!

Now this is strong. because it no longer restricts the power of his bishop and if now 30 e4 Qd31 3 1 Qxd3 Rxd3 32 Rbl f6, the weak pawn on b4 will soon be lost. ·

30 31

Rbl Nd4

e4

A fmal desperate attempt which Black refutes by a little combination,

but other moves are just as bad, i.e. ( 1 ) 31 Net Qd2! (threatening to win at least the e pawn by . . . Be l ) 32 Qc2 Qxc2 33 Nxc2 Rd2 34 Net Na3 and the white rook is captured in amusing fashion. (2) 3 1 Nh2 Qd3! 32 Rxb2 (after 32 Qxd3 exd3 the black passed pawn Is unstoppable) Qxb3! 33 Rxb3 Rd l + 34 Nfl Nd2 35 Ra3 Nxfl ! (better than the obvious check which leads nowhere) and there Is no real defence to the threatened discovered check by the knight e.g.after 36 Bc7 Nxe3+ followed by 37 ...NdS Black has a won ending. 31 32

Rdl

Bxd4 Nxe31

Can the middle-game 33

be

taught? I 1 1

Resigns

He must lose a piece after 33 QxdS RxdS when 34 fxe3 Bxe3+ wins the rook. This game has taught us several important points about strategy and tactics, but above all we have seen something of the thought processes of an expert player as he plans his game, even if we may not understand it all. It would seem logical to begin by examining what to do in a game (i.e. strategy) rather than how to do it (i.e. tactics), but this would be contrary to the established teaching method of going from the concrete to the abstract or, if you like, from the simple to the more complex. For this reason we shall first examine principles and examples from the realm of tactics.

Chapter2

Typical mating combinations

The chess public is greatly impressed by combinations in which material is sacrificed to bring about a rapid mate, such games being awarded brilliancy prizes and acclaimed in the Press, but our problem is whether we can acquire the tactical skill to produce fmishes like these. Each position seems so different and requires such creative imagination that it appears impossible to learn the art of combination. However, this is only partially true. Of course, original ldeaa and surprising twists are always cropping up (thankfully!), but most com­ binations can be broken down to various common elements which occur frequently and are readily learnable. Let us examine some basic mating combinations which have already occurred in countless games, admittedly within varying contexts but essentially containing the same idea. One of the commonest and therefore most important of these is the so-called smothered mate with queen and knight, known for many centuries, illustrated in the following composed position. ·

5

Composed position

White is threatened by the terrible I a l (Q)+ so must act at once. Clearly 1 Qf7+ Kh8 is useless, and it seems at first that White is forced to take the draw by perpetual check with I QdS+ Kh8 (Kf8? 2 Qf7 .

.

.

Typical mating combinations I 1 3 mate) 2 Nf7+ Kg8 3 Nh6++ K.h8 4 Nf7+ etc. However, this very

line

gives us a clue to the solution: after 3 ... Kh8 White has the beautiful

4 Qg8+!! Rxg8 5 Nf7 mate. Now let us see this idea utilised in a game position. Trifunovic

Opocensky

(black)

(white)

Black played I . . . Ng4 2 Qe2 Nd3! since neither knight can be cap­ tured in view of . .. Qc5+ mating as above or winning the rook (after 3 Qxd3 Qc5+ 4 Re3). So White replied 3 BO when 3 ... Qc5+ 4 Kg2 Nxe l + lost him the 'exchange', i.e. a rook for a minor piece. The knight is a splendid piece for tactical surprises, as we see in the next position. Praszak

(black)

Enden (white) White first of

all stops the black king escaping to the back rank by play­ 1 .Qc7 produces the pretty 2 Qxg5+! fxg5 3

ing I. Re8 and after

.

.

Nh5 mate.

An

unusual form of smothered mate occurs when two

involved, as in the following couple of typical examples.

knights are

1 4 I Typical mating combinations Eisenschmidt (black)

Clemens (white) After the preliminary I Ba3 ! which is essential in order to prevent I . . Qxe l mate, play continued I . . Qxa3 2 Qe6 Nd8 (the only way to stop mate on f7) 3 Qf7+!! Nxf7 4 Ne6 mate. This Q sacrifice has been known since the Middle Ages and repeated many times sub­ sequently, proof once again that combinations are learnable! .

.

Sampomo (black)

Thorwaldsson (white) Black first plays I . . . Nf3 threatening mate on h2. Now if White replies 2 Bxf3 he loses his knight after 2 . Qxf3+ (3 Qg2? would lose the rook on d 1 ), so he settles for 2 Ng3 only to fmd that even worse is in store for him after 2 . . . Qxg3! 3 fxg3 Nxg3 mate. Analogous to the smothered mate with the knight is the diagonal mate by a bishop, although not as frequent, which we see in the next position. (See next diagram) Black forces mate by first blocking an escape square of the white king with I Qfl +I 2 Bgl and then fmishing him off with 2 . . . Qf3+! 3 Bxf3 Bxf3 mate. ln this example the diagonal onto the king was already open, but in other cases it is necessary to create an open line for the bishop, as in the .

.

.

.

.

Typical mating combinations I 1 5 10

Pillsbury

A. N.

(black)

Other

(white)

well-known trap against the Dutch Defence: 1 d4 f5 2 8g5!? h6 3 Bh4 gS 4 8g3 f4? 5 e3! (threatening both 6 Qh5 mate and simply 6 exf4) S . . . h5 6 Bd3 and if now 6 .. . Rh6? then 7 Qxh5+! Rxh5

8

Bg6

mate. There is a similar outcome from the opening stages of a game in the following position. Eperjesi

(black)

Perenyi (white) From a sharp line in the Caro Kann Defence, White concludes attract­ ively with 1 Nc6 Qc7 2 Qxe6+!! fxe6 3 Bg6 mate. The shortest game in chess, the so-called 'Fool's mate', also utilises a diagonal as follows: 1 f3? e5 2 g4?? Qh4 mate. Mates by minor pieces alone are fairly corrunon, and opening theory provides us with yet another interesting example: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 (the Griinfeld Defence) 4 cxdS NxdS 5 e4 Nxc3 6 bxc3 cS 7 Bc4 Bg7

8

Ne2 Nc6 9 Be3 cxd4 10

cxd4 Qa5+!? 11 Bd2 Qa3 12 Rb1 0.0 13 dS? NeS 14 Bb4?

(See next diagram)

Black now wins with the startling move 14 . ..

Qf3!! threatening . . . Qxg2 or ... Qxe4 and if 15 gxf3? Nxf3+ 16 Kf1 Bh3 mate.

16 I Typical mating combinations 12

Variation of Grunfeld Defence

In similar vein, a minor piece mate arose in our next position. Termer (black)

Field (white) After I . . Qh3 ! ! White resigned at once In view of 2 gxf3 N xh3 Or yet again, from a game played In the U.S.S.R. in 1 974: .

14

rna te.

Kalinski (black)

White sacrificed both rooks by 1 RxhS+! gxhS 2 RxhS+ ! NxhS in order to bring about a minor piece finish with 3 Nxf7 + Kh7 4. Bd3 + and mate next move.

Typical mating combinations I 1 7 We have already met the back-rank mate which is a common feature ol combinations with the major pieces. It is essential to bear in mind

this danger whenever our first rank is left denuded! 15

• ••• •

Composed position

• • • :t•:t • :t• • • fl II • • • • • • • R • II ft B B II II � � R B FW"' • � l::Hf� li!JI In this composed position the only piece guarding Black's back rank is his rook , but White removes this control as follows: 1 Qe 7 ! when 1 . . . Rxe7 allows 2 Rd8 mating, and if 1 . . . h6

4

Rxf8+ Kh7 5

Qe4+

Rf8

then 2 Rd8 Qc I+ 3 Kg2

g6 6 QeS still leads to mate on h8 by the

rook or queen. We shall be returning later to this type of mate. 16

Ljunquist

Jvarsson

(black)

(white)

White is threatening to open up the c ftle onto the enemy king, so Black plays 1 . . . Qe4 ! not only preventing this by attacking the rook on c2 but also tlueateni.ng . . . Qxe l mate. As both 2 Rxe4 Rd l+, followed by mate, and 2 Rce2 Qxe2 ! are insufficient, White must try 2 Qc3 , but now 2 . . . Bd2 ! 3 Rxe4 Bxc3 wins at least a rook in view of the possible back-rank mate. We cannot resist quoting the beautiful fmish from a famous game Adams­ Torre {USA 1 92 1 ) which became known world-wide, and justly so

.

1 8 I Typical mating combinations 17

...... B rt t •it•t • t • • • • • . ft . • • m • • • • .4J. ftll BEtBftB iJ fl �� �

Torre

(black)

Adams

(white)

The black queen is preventing a back-rank mate by Rxe8+ etc., so

White's first move is fairly obvious, I Qg4! a so-called deflection

fice

sacri­

which clearly cannot be accepted, just as after 1 . .. Qb5 2 Qc4!

neither the rook nor the queen can capture the queen in view of the same back-rank mate. Play continues 2 . . . Qd7 3 Qc7! Qb5 (if instead . . . Qa4 then 4 Re4 wins at once). We have now reached the critical point of the combination. It appears that White can crown his tactics with the thematic 4 Qxb7 but the weakness of his own back rank could then be brilliantly exploited by 4 . . . Qxe2!! when it is Black who wins after 5 Rxe2 Rc 1 + 6 Ne 1 Rxe 1 + etc. However, the win is still there; Adams continued. 4 a4! Qxa4 5 Re4! (the point of White's previous move, since he wins a tempo to remove his rook from the dangerous e2 square) 5 . . . Qb5 and only now the deadly 6 Qxb7! when Black must finally resign, because there is no way of saving

his

queen without

allowing a back-rank mate. I recommend the reader to study this com­ bination carefully, since it teaches us important tactical elements such as

deflection

3 and 6) compelling a black piece to give up its decoy (move 4), luring Black's queen onto a square

(moves 2,

defensive role, and

where it can be attacked by the white rook with �ain of time. 18

Fridriksson

Westyn

(black)

(white)

Typical mating combinations I 19 Our next example is much simpler but just as effective. Black sacrifices

hb queen by 1 . .. Qxc2+ ! ! giving White the choice between 2 Kxc2 Bxe4+ etc or 2 Rxc2 Rd l+ 3 Rei Bxe4+ 4 Ka l Rxc l mate. Note that if White's pawn were on a3 instead of a2, play would be the same except for the second line which would fmish

3

Ka2 b3 mate, a good

example of a back-rank mate linked with a pawn on the sixth rank. Even world-class players are not immune to the danger of a back­ rank mate, as Cl\fl be seen in the following position. 19

Eising (black)

Polugayevsky (white) At Solingen in 1 974 Polugaevsky succumbed after 1 Qd7?? Qxg2 !! when he resigned in view of 2 Rxg2 Rb l+ etc., a clear case of the notorious 'chess blindness'. The situation in our next diagram is more complicated, because White has to reckon with a dangerous counter-attack. 20

Ghitescu

Batrina

(black)

(white)

For example, 1 Rd8? fails to 1 ... Bfl+! 2 Kxfl Rxb2+ when Black wins on the principle of 'first come, first served'. However, White has I Bg7 !! when 1 . . . Qxg7 2 Rd8+ mates next move, or if 1 . . . Qb8 2

20 I Typical mating combinations BeS! with the double-attack on the queen (Bxb8) and the king (Qg7 mate). One tlueat is usually easy to meet, but two threats can cause real �rouble, as here, where 2 . . . QxeS allows 3 Rd8 mate. For this reason, after I Bg7 ! ! Black tried the desperate 1 . . . Bf2+? 2 Kfl ! (but not 2 Kxf2? Rxb2+) Bb5+ (or 2 . . . Bxg2+ 3 Kxf2! Rxb2+ 4 Kgl winning, because Black's bishop has now blocked the g2 square) 3 Kxf2 and once again the black rook is frustrated by his own pieces (problemists call it line-interference). Play continued 3 . . . Qe2+ 4 KgJ Qxdl and now comes the whole point of the combination: 5 Bh8! ! with a forced mate, since 5 . . . Kxh8 (to prevent 6 Qg7 mate) allows 6 QfB mate. In the game Black tried 5 . . . Qd6+ 6 Kf2 then resigned. Another typical back-rank mate is seen in our next diagram. 21

Composed position

White wins by 1 Qxc6! Qxc6 2 Rd8+ BfB 3 Bh6 followed by mate on fB, unless Black gives up a whole queen by 3 . . . Qcl + . A similar mate with B and R, but this time with the rook on h 1 , is illustrated by a well-known trap in the Italian Game after the opening moves 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 d3 Nf6 S �? d6 6 BgS h6 7 Bh4? gS 8 BgJ h51 9 NxgS h41 1 0 Nxf7 hxg31 1 1 Nxd8 Bg4 1 2 Qd2 Nd4 22

Variations of the Italian Game

Typical mating combinations I 2 1 1 3 Nc3 Nf3+! 14 gxf3 Bxf3 (tlueatening . . . gxh2 mate) IS hxg3 Rhl mate. Note that if from the diagram White tries 1 3 h3 Black finishes neatly with 1 3 . . . Ne2+ 1 4 Kh1 Rxh3+! 1 5 gxh3 Bf3 mate. Here is a back·rank mate with R and 8 in the centre of the board, taken from a game played in Sweden in 1974. 23

•• • • ·i·.l·§ · . . ·�· • • • • • lll • • • • m • ftHft• a •

. � . .

Knutsson (black)

S. Andersson (white)

1 . . . Qd1 +! 2 Kxd1 Bg4++ (a double-check is highly effective because the only way to escape it is by moving the king) 3 Ke 1 (or 3 Kc 1) 3 . . . Rd 1 mate. Once the pattern of mate is part of our tactical equipment, we can freely sacrifice material to bring about the desired position, as in the following diagram. 24

Kusmin (black)

Yutchov (white) By means of a sacrifice and exploitation of the pin of a pawn White achieves the R and 8 mate we have already seen: 1 Qxh7+!! Kxh7 2 RhS+ Kg8 3 Rh8 mate. The same sacrifice and mate is brought about in even more spec­ tacular fashion in a well·known variation of the Berlin Defence to the

22 I Typical mating combinations Ruy Lopez. After the moves I e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0 Nxe4 5 Rei Nd6 6 NxeS Be7 7 Bd3 NxeS B RxeS 0.0 9 Nc3 c6 1 0 b3 NeB I 1 Bb2 dS 1 2 QhS Black must defend against the mate threat on h7 by playing . . . h6 ! but not 1 2 . . . g6?? when the surprise move 13 NxdS ! ! leads after 1 3 . . . cxd5 to the same fmish as above with 14 Qxh7+! etc., or if 1 3 . . . gxh5 14 Nxe7+ Kg7 15 RxhS+! (but not the obvious 1 5 RgS++ Kh6) Nf6 1 6 Rxh7 mate when this time it is a knight which is pinned. A so-called 'Epaulctte' mate is seen in the following situation: White B on f6, R on e7; Black R on dB, K on eB, R on f8. The black king is hemmed in by his own pieces, so a single rook can mate him with the support of the bishop (or it could have been a pawn on f6 or d6, or a knight on fS , or a king on e6). The king can also be blocked on one side only, with two rooks combining to mate him on the seventh rank, as in the situation : White rooks on g7 and h7; Black R on fB, K on gB. Here are two typical real examples from play. 25

Bogoljubow (black)

A. N. Other (white)

It is a good time to ask ourselves how a player discovers a combination. Clearly we in no way wish to decry the part played by originality and the creative imagination, but we are also helped a great deal by our knowledge of basic tactics and mating positions. In this situation, once White has seen that the two black rooks blocking the king make an 'Epaulette' mate possible, it is much easier for him to visualise the actual fmish of the game: 1 Rxb71 Qxe6 2 BcS!I Qxe2 3 Rxe7+ Qxe7 4 Rxe7 mate. (See next diagram) In this case, in order to achieve the required mate, White must first remove or deflect the two pieces guarding e7, giving us 1 QgB+ Rf8 2 Qg6+! ! Qxg6 3 Rexe7+ Kd8 4 Rbd7 mate. ·

Typical mating combinations I 23 26

••••• • [1§. • •• 'i!Y

Whitely (black)

• • • • B rl B • • • • • B • • II llftB • II

.. � �

27

•• -�··· • ·�· • t

Hartston (white) Just (black)

.t.B •tat• •

•

a II

•

IJ_ij� •

•t • IJc£). ij ft g • II ft . ft. 11\fl. Platz (white)

In our next position the mate is brought about by the two rooks operating along two files, after the splendid sacrifice of both queen and knight, by

S

1

Qxh7+! ! Kxh7 2 Rh l + Kg8

3

Nh6+ Kh7 4 Nf7+! Kg8

Rh8+! ! Kxf7 6 Rh7+ Kg8 (note how Black is blocked in by four of

his own men) 7 Rg7+ Kh8 8 Rh l mate .

Opening lines onto the king by sacrifice o f material or luring the

king to an open fLle, are typical ideas in mating combinations. Let us consider a few examples. 28

Henneberger (black)

Gygli (white)

24 I Typical mating combinations Black wins by 1 . . . Ne2+ 2 Kh1 Qxg4 ! 3 hxg4 Rh5+! 4 gxh5 Rh4 mate. Again the answer to the question of how we arrive at such a concept is given by the following standard position.

White wins by 1 Ne7+ Kh8 2 Qxh7+! Kxh7 3 Rh3 mate. Once this idea is known, it becomes much easier to work out the individual application of it to a specific position. An open h file is once again the major factor in White's original com­ bination leading from our next diagram. Becker (block)

30

--="-===-==---""=-=-'

Renman (white)

'Normal' continuations of the attack fail: e.g. if I Qxg6 NxdS, or 1 Be3 Rxc3 ! 2 bxc3 NxdS 3 RxdS Be6 etc. The only path to victory lies in the unusual move 1 Rh8+ ! ! Kxh8 (if I . . . Dxh8 2 Qxg6+! Bg7 3 Qxf7+ Kh8 4 Rh1 + Nh7 5 Qg6 etc. wins) 2 Bxf7 and Black resigned because he had no defence to the decisive attack down the he file, e. g . 2 . . . Nh7 (if 2 . . . Nh5 3 Qxg6) 3 Rh1 when White threatens both 4 Qxg6 and 4 Rxh7 + Kxh7 5 Qxg6+ Kh8 6 Qh5+ Bh6 7 Qxh6 mate. ·

Typical mating comblnations I 25 Carlsson (black)

31

Westin (white) White's king is already situated on an open me, but Black cannot exploit this by the immediate 1 . Rh6, since the white king can escape to g2. For this reason the rook is needed on g7, so it is the other rook which must use the h file. But how? Black solves the problem by the startling but logical I . . . Kf7 ! ! allowing the dreaded knight fork of king and queen. However, after 2 Nxd6+ Ke7 3 QxbS Nf4+! White realgned because it is mate next move. .

32

.

Schlechter (black)

This time the h me is not used directly for mate but allows a rook, in conjunction with a knight, to achieve a typical mating finish as follows: 1 Qxh7+!! Kxh7 2 RhS + Kg8 3 Ng6! Rf6 4 Rh8+ Kf7 5 Rf8 mate . There are many combinations based on a mate by the queen on h7 or g7 (h2, g2). (See next diagram) Every beginner knows the mate brought about by a queen on h7 supported by a knight on gS , but in this position not only does the knight on f6 defend h7 but also White's knight on gS is under attack from the pawn. However, I NdS ! settles matters at once, since

26 I Typical mating combinations Schwarz (black)

33

Uhlmann (white) 1 . . . exd5 loses to 2 Bxf6 Qxf6 3 Qh7 mate. Black tried the hope­ less 1 .. . hxg5 2 Nxe7+ Nxe7 and then resigned. Composed position

34

All good players know off by heart the following basic manoeuvre : 1 Qh6! Rxe1 2 Bxh7+ (not of course 2 Qxh7+?? when the king escapes to e7) 2 . . . Kh8 3 Bg6+! Kg8 4 Qh7+ KfB 5 Qxf7 mate. Oearly this mate can appear in various guises and usually forms the

routine conclusion to a more complex piece of tactics. Take for example our next position. (See next diagram) White played 1 Re6 ! threatening 2 Rxh6+ gxh6 3 Qxh6+ Kg8 4 Qh7 mate. Black cannot take the rook (I . . . fxe6 2 Qg6 and mate on h7) but after 1 . . . Kg8 2 Bh7+ Kh8 3 Rxh6! he had to resign in view of 3 . . gxh6 4 Qxh6 tlueatening both 5 QxfB mate and 5 Bg6+ followed by 6 Qh7 mate. Often when the queen mates on h7 it is supported by� pawn on g6 as in our next diagram. .

Typical mating combinations I 27 JS

Mjagmarsuren (black)

36

White must act quickly before Black mates him , so he carries out a well-known clearance idea to make way for the powerful queen to reach h7: 1 Rh8+! Kxh8 2 Rhl + Kg8 3 Rh8+ ! Kxh8 4 Qtil+ Kg8 S Qh7 mate. When the queen mates on g7, it is often supported by a pawn on f6 u in the following typical finish. 37

28 I Typical mating combinations I . . . Qh3 2 Qfl (or 2 Qxf3 Rei mate) ReI! and since 3 Qxel allows 3 . . . Qg2 mate, White must try 3 Rd8+ Kf7 4 Rd7+ Kg6! (of course, the king dare not move onto the e file because Qxel would then be check!) 5 Rd6+ Kh5 ! winning. We see a more complicated example of the same basic idea in our next position. 38

Gangijew (black)

Sacharov (white) White first removes one possible protector of g7 by 1 Nxb5 ! so that if I . . . Nxb5 2 Qh6 Qf8 3 Ra8 leads to a similar fmish to the one above. For this reason Black replies 1 . . . g5 only to fmd that White has catered for this by the pretty idea 2 Qxe 5 ! dxe5 3 Nxc7 when Black resigned, because 3 . . . Qxc7 allows a back-rank mate by 4 Ra8+ etc., or if 3 . . . h6 4 Ra8 Qxa8 5 Nxa8 White is a piece up, or finally if 3 . . . Qxf6 4 Ra8+ Kg7 5 Ne8+ wins the queen for the knight, ending a whole rook up. In the following position White uses his advanced queen to threaten mates on both g7 and h7, linking this with another common and im­ portant idea. Hardicsay (black)

Pinter (white)

Typical mating combinations I 29 I NbS! lhreatens 2 NgS when Black will be mated on g7 or h7. If I . . . BeS 2 NxeS follows, and if I . . . Bh8 2 NgS Nf6 3 Nxf6+ and 4 Qh7 mate. So Black played 1 . . . gxhS 2 NgS! BxgS 3 QxgS+ Kh7 4 QxhS + Kg7 S QgS + Resigns. The point is that after S Kh7 White lw 6 Rf3 then 7 Rh3 mate. The same final idea is seen in simple form in the next position. .

40

••

d

B -

•

a.

-

.

•

Composed position

ll i rlit. • t ..... . . • • • • • • • • B.4JB • • ft O. ft ll H ft O • • �Er . Bxg2 ! 2 Kxg2 Qg4+ 3 K.h 1 QD + 4 Kg1 Rf6 etc. Anolher common rnating attack occurs after a piece sacrifice on h 7, a theme which is illustrated in our next two positions. 1

.

.

(See also next diagram) The solution is the same in both cases: 1 Bxh7+! Kxh7 2 NgS + Kg8 3 Qh5 and Black can only prevent the mate by a great loss of material. If here 2 . . . Kg6, in the first case White wins by 3 Qg4 or 3 Qd3+, and in the second case by 3 h5+. Note that in diagram 42 the g5 square is guarded by the black bishop on e7 but after 2 . . . Bxg5 3 hxg5+ Kg8 4 Qh5 fS 5 g6 it is mate next move . Beginners often imitate this combination without really making

30 I Typical mating combinations

a proper examination of all the consequences, in particular the possi­ bility of the king flight to g6, but even after 2 . . . Kg8 3 Qh5 the situ­ ation is not always clear because of a possible flight square on f8 when Black's rook moves away. Consider for example the following position: 43

• • • ••• • t •_t_• t • t ·� · t · • • • • • • t n-'t• • • II ·�· ft ll B H ft B � IJ'it�� w

Horn (black)

Fincke (white)

Here White wrongly carried out the routine sacrifice and lost after 1 Bxh7+? Kxh7 2 Ng5+ Kg6! 3 h4 Rh8 4 Qf3 Raf8 5 hS+ Rxh5 6 Nxf7 Rf5 ! (more precise than 6 . . . Rxf7 7 Qg4+) 7 Ne5+ Nxe5 8 Qg3 + Kf7 9 dxe5 Bxe5 etc. If instead White had played 3 Qg4, the 'normal' move, 3 . . . fS ! would have beaten off the attack. This possibility must always be taken into account ; in fact as a general rule (which of course does not always apply) one might say that one of the most important prerequisites of this sacrifice is that a white pawn on e5 is available for capturing Black's f pawn en passant. (See next diagram) Tills is a well-known position arising from a vari­ ation of the French Defence after I e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Nf3 Be7 6 Bd3 Ngf6 7 Nxf6+ Bxf6 8 Qe2 0-0 9 h4!? White

Typical mating combinations I 3 1 44

. ....... . . · t ·�· t • t • . t il • • • • • • B • II • fJ.Q.B{).

Variation of French Defence

ft ll ft ri*B ft . D. 11 � · �

now threatens 1 0 Bxh7+! winning, so it seems that Black is forced to make a weakening defensive move such as . . . h6 or . . . g6, when White will castle long and launch a K side attack by using his g and h pawns to open the necessary fl.les. However, Black can instead equalise by playing 9 . . . eS! and after 10 Bxh7+!? Kxh7! I I NgS + Kg8 1 2 QhS ReS 1 3 Qxf7+ Kh8 we have a Nrprising situation in which White has no more than a draw by repetition of moves ( 1 3 QhS + Kg8 14 Qfl+, or 1 3 Qg6 Kg8 14 Qf7+) which he would be wise to take, because Black is threatening a counter­ attack by . . . exd4+ followed by . . . NeS if White tries to exploit the insecure position of the black king. This variation illustrates the impor­ tant strategic principle that a wing attack is often best countered by a central thrust (here, 9 h4!? being answered by 9 . . . eS!). There are, of course, many variations of the basic sacrifice on h7, but we shall restrict ourselves to one example of an original fmish. Grzelak (black)

Pinkas (white) position Black controls gS , but the fact that White has the open f me available to his rooks enables him to launch a highly interesting

In this

3 2 I Typical mating combinations attack beginning 1 Bxh7+! Kxh7 2 Ng5 + Bxg5 {2 . . . Kg8 3 Qh5 Bxg5 4 Bxg5 transposes to a position we shall be examining later) 3 Qh5+ Bh6? (it is understandable that Black would like to remain two pieces up, but if he had realised the strength of White's next move he would have played 3 . . . Kg8 which we shall consider later) 4 Rf6 ! ! (surprising and decisive, since i f now 4 . . . gxf6 5 Qxh6+ Kg8 6 exf6 followed by mate on g7) 4 . . . Nd7 (After the alternative 4 . . . Kg8 White again sacrifices with 5 Rxh6! gxh6 6 Bxh6 Qb6 7 Rf1 ! and the threat of 8 Rf6 followed by 9 Qg5+ forces 7 . . . Qg6 8 Qxg6+ fxg6 9 Rxf8+ Kh7 1 0 Rxc8 Kxh6 when 1 1 e6! wins for White because this pawn cannot be stopped in view of the pinned knight. 1bis is a typical situation where the mating attack has been warded off at the cost of material or positional disadvantage.) 5 Rxh6+! gxh6 6 Bxh6 ! Qe8 (or 6 . . . f6 7 Bxf8+ Kg8 8 Qg6+! Kxf8 9 exf6 Nxf6 1 0 Rfl winning) 7 Bg5+! Kg8 8 Bf6 Nxf6 9 Qg5 + Kh8 1 0 exf6 and Black resigned since it is mate next move ( 1 0 . . . Rg8 1 1 Qh6 mate). Now let us return to the position after the moves 1 Bxh7+ Kxh7 2 Ng5+ Bxg5 3 Qh5+ and consider the better defence 3 . . . Kg8 4 Bxg5 Qb6 when White can pursue the attack in two ways: ( 1 ) 5 Bf6 c4+ 6 Kh1 Qe3 ! 7 RD Qh6 8 Qxh6 gxh6 9 Rg3+ Kh7 1 0 Rg7 + Kh 8 1 1 Rfl ! and Black has no defence to the threat of Rf4 and Rh4 followed by mate, since 1 1 . . . Nd7 fails to 1 2 Rxf7 + Kg8 1 3 Rg7 + Kh8 14 Rxd7 + Rxf6 1 5 Rd8+! an important zwlschenzug (interposed), winning material. (2) 5 Rf6 also gives White a tremendous attack, since 5 gxf6 fails to 6 Bxf6 followed by mate, and 6 . . . Be6 7 Bh6! wins quickly. .

46

.

Plater (black)

Pachman (white) Sacrifices on g7 are also very common. In this positiqn Black can defend against normal attacks on g7 e.g. 1 Bh6 Nh5 2 Qg4 g6 etc. or 1

Typical mating combinations I 33 Bxf6 Dxf6 or 1 Nxe7+ Qxe7, but after 1 Nxg7! Kxg7 2 e5! (the point, Iince an inunediate discovered check is ineffective) 2 . . . dxe5 3 Bf4+ Kh8 (3 . . KfB? 4 Bh6 mate) 4 Bxe5 Qb7 S Qh4! Nd7 6 Rxd7! Qxd7 7 Ne4 QfS 8 Nxf6 BcS + 9 Kh1 RxeS 1 0 RxeS White won. The king's side II amashed up in spectacular fashion by the famous two bishops' sacri· 8ce in which both the h7 and g7 pawns are eliminated to expose the eoemy king, as can be seen in the composed position which follows. .

47

Composed position

1 . Bxh2+! 2 Kxh2 Qh4+ 3 Kg1 Black produces Bxg2! 4 Kxg2 (it is vitally important to examine the consequences if White refuses the second sacrifice. In this case, after 4 f3 or 4 f4 Black has 4 . . . Rf6 ! with a winning attack) 4 . . . QgS+ S Kh 1 Rf6 ! (without the vital entry of this rook Black's attack would fail, whereas now there is no defence) 6 Nf3 Rh6+ 7 Nh2 Qh4 8 Kg2 Qxh2+ 9 Kf3 QhS+ 10 Kf4 (or 1 0 Kg2 Rg6+) 1 0 . . . Qh4+ 1 1 KeS ReS+ 1 2 KdS Qe7 and mate next move. Now let us see how this knowledge is utilised in practical play by a talented player who tragically died just before the end of the Second World War. .

.

48

• • ••• ltt.• 'lfl i . i • Fl i . • .. · i � • B. ft B'IB B B. ft �.Q.. II II ft ll -�· ft ll

.. . - ��

Kottnauer (black)

Junge (white)

34 I Typical mating combinations The apparently closed nature of the position is deceptive, for in the space of three moves White brings about by force the desired situation. I NbS ! Qb8 2 Nxd7 Rxd7 3 dxcS Nxc5 (essential if he is not to lose a pawn, since 3 . . . bxcS? 4 Bxe4 wins a piece for White because of the unguarded rook on d7), and now the 'standard' set-up is reached. Play continued 4 Bxh7+ Kxh7 5 Qh5 + Kg8 6 Bxg7 f5 (after 6 . . . Kxg7 7 Qg4+ Kh7 8 Rf3 it is all over) 7 Be5 ! and since 7 . . Qe8 allows 8 Qh8+ Kf7 9 Qg7 mate, Black had to give up his queen which only postponed the inevitable. We have already seen the enemy king being driven up the board and mated, once he is deprived of his pawn protection, and to achieve iliis result no sacrifice is too great. Take the following classical example. .

Thomas (black)

Lasker (white) White visualises the possibility of a successful 'king hunt' as it is termed, so I Qxh7 + ! ! Kxh7 2 Nxf6++ Kh6 (or 2 . Kh8 3 Ng6 mate) 3 Neg4+ Kg5 4 h4+ Kf4 5 g3 + Kf3 6 8e2+ Kg2 7 Rh2+ Kgl 8 0-0-0 mate! A perfect conclusion to a king hunt. .

50

.

Skotarenko (black)

Selinsky (white)

Typical mating combinations f 3 5 is a similar example o f massive sacrifices t o lure the king u p the board, but the tactical calculation is much more demanding as will be teen : I Nxg6 ! Kxg6 2 Nxf5 ! Rxf5 3 Qxf5+! ! Kxf5 4 Be4+ Kg4 5 h3 + giving us three variations: (1) 5 . . . Kh5 6 g4+ Kh4 7 Re3 and 8 Be l mate . (2) 5 . . . Kxh3 6 Bf5+ Kxg3 7 Re3 + Kh4 8 Be I + Kh5 9 Rh3+ Qh4 10 Rxh4 mate. (3) the game continuation, 5 . . . Kxg3 6 Re3 + Kh4 7 Bg6 ! ! and Rlack resigned because he cannot even stop mate by returning material e.g. 7 . Qg5+ 8 fxg5 Bxe5 9 Re4+ Kxh3 10 Bf5+ Kg3 I I Be l mate. 11lis

.

.

Frankie (black)

Pa tt y (white) Black's king is already exposed, but if he is given time to play . . . f6 he set up a solid defensive position. So White must play energetically to prevent this by 1 N xh6 ! gxh6 2 Rxf7+ Kd6 3 Qh5 ! Bd7- (to create a flight square on c7) 4 Qxe5 +!! KxeS S Bf4 m�te.

can

Tatai (black)

Rorrun (white) White has a difficult decision to make in this position, because after the first part of the combination which is relatively easy to see, he has to

36 I Typical mating combinations evaluate a new situation where Black has given back all the sacrificed .material and assess whether or not he has sufficient resources to achieve a win. 1 Qxh6+!! Kxh6 2 Nxf5+! KgS (Black cannot accept the second sacrifice in view of 2 . . . NxfS? 3 Bf7+ KgS 4 f4+ Kg4 5 BhS mate, or here 3 . . . Nh4 4 Rxh4+ KgS 5 Rh5+ Kg4 6 f3 mate) 3 Nd6. Ng6 (probably the best practical chance lay in 3 . . . Qf8 4 f4+ Qxf4 5 gxf4+ Kxf4 6 Kf2 NfS 7 Ne8! Rg8 8 Rag1 Rgxe8 9 Bxe8 Rxe8 1 0 Rh3 Nxd4 1 1 cxd4 Nxd4 1 2 Rh4+ KxeS 1 3 Rel + and the other knight is lost) 4 Nxc8 Rxc8 5 f4+ Nxf4+ 6 gxf4+ Kxf4+ 7 Kf2 RegS 8 Bf3. Black is now positionally lost because his e pawn is weak and White's rook on the h ftle becomes very active along the sixth or seventh rank. The game ended 8 . . . Nd8 9 Rh6 Rg6 1 0 Rah1 Rxh6 1 1 Rxh6 Rf8 (or . . . Rg6 1 2 Rh8! etc.) 1 2 Rg6 ! KfS 1 3 Rg7 aS? (it was essential to play 1 3 . . . Kf4 but White still wins by 1 4 Rg4+ KfS 1 5 Ke3 ! Nf7 1 6 Rf4+ KgS 1 7 Rf6 etc.) 1 4 Ke3 Resigns. 1 5 Bg4 mate comes next. 53

Karl (black)

White has already sacrificed two pieces to reach this position and he must give up more material to expose Black's king before he can con­ solidate. 1 RxeS ! KxeS 2 Qf7! (the real point of the sacrifice, prevent­ �g the king's retreat to f6 and threatening d4+) 2 . . . Qxd2 3 Be l ! Black must now give up his queen to stop Bxf4+, but although he obtains more than adequate material compensation with a rook and two minor pieces for it, his king is far too exposed to survive for long. The game ended 3 . . . Qxc1 4 Rxc l Nc6 5 Re l + Be4 6 Qxg7+ KdS 7 Qf7+ KcS 8 Rxe4 Rac8 9 Qc4+ Kb6 1 0 Qb3+ Ka6 1 1 Ra4+ Resigns. (I I . NaS 1 2 Qc4+ bS 1 3 Qc6 mate, or here 1 2 . . . Kb6 1 3 Rb4 mate.) (See next diagram) On looking at this position, one is first inclined to echo Najdorrs famous dictum that 'both players stand badly', but .

.

Typical mating combinations I 3 1 Pachman (black)

54

Fuderer (white) Black has a chance to carry out a long-winded king hunt which is not too difficult to work out . I . . Rg4+! 2 fxg4 (2 KxfS Qe6 mate) Qe4+ 3 Kg3 Q xg4+ 4 Kf2 (after 4 Kh2 Qh3+ 5 Kg1 Qg3+ White is mated by 6 Kh l Be4 or 6 Kfl Bd3) 4 . . . Qf4+ 5 Kg2 Be4+ 6 Kh3 Qt1 + 7 Kh4 Qf2+ 8 Kg4 (or 8 Kg5 Qg3+ followed by mate) 8 . . . Bt1 + 9 Kf4 Be2+! 1 0 KgS ( 1 0 Ke4 Qf3 mate) 1 0 . . . Qg3+ I I Resigns. .

ss

Bednarski (black)

Kavalek (white) Following White's thought sequence, we can see that there is no effective way of increasing the pressure on g7 , so play must be switched to the h7 square. We already know the mating set-up with White's queen on h7 and knight on gS , but how can we achieve this with gS blocked and anyway guarded by the bishop on d8? Once an idea is found, other elements are brought in to complete the combination as follows: I g6 ! hxg6 2 Rxd8! (removing both obstacles to the occupation of the gS square) 2 . . . Rxd8 3 NgS QfB (or 3 . . . Qf6 4 Qg3 gaining time) 4 Qe4 ! Resigns. (See next diagram) Everything is decided by a single move , the two key factors being the overloading of the bishop on g7 (guarding both h6 and

3 8 I Typical mating combinations 56

•• • • • • • • •• . . ·�· li ft . · � · •*• • • • • . ft ll .§ . . ft l:l. • • • ..§

Adorjan (black)

Smeljkal (white)

the queen) and the open h ftle. After 1 Rxh6+! Black was forced to resign, as 1 . Kxh6 allows 2 Qh4 mate, whereas 1 . Bxh6 loses the queen. .

.

.

.

Posner (black)

Once again a fairly simple idea leads to a quick win. White sacrifices a rook in order to penetrate to f7 with his queen and it is all over. 1 Rh7+! Kxh7 2 Qf7+ Kh8 (2 . . . Kh6 3 fS+ and mate next move) 3 Bc3 Ra6 (Black must give up his queen to avoid mate) 4 Bxf6+ Qxf6 5 Qxf6+ Kh7 6 Qe7 + Kh8 7 g3 Resigns. White is not only up on material but will soon be able to advance his e pawn. (See next diagram) White here brings about a mate which is rarely seen in practical play : 1 QxeS ! QxeS 2 Rd8+ Ke7 3 ReS mate. Problernists will recognise this as a so-ca11ed 'pure' mate (or 'model' mate), since all the white pieces take part in the mate with no square being controlled more than once.

Typical mating combinations I 39 58

Thornblom (black)

Friedman (white) Achmedov (black)

Radulov (white) White's position, with all pieces ready for action, is in stark contrast to Black's undeveloped game. Uttle wonder that there is a sacrificial finish at hand, as follows: 1 Bb6! axb6 2 Rxe6+! Ne7 (or 2 . fxe6 3 Bxg6 + followed by mate) 3 Qxf7 + Kd8 4 Qe8 +!!· (there are many roads to victory, but White chooses the shortest and most elegant) and Black resigned in view of the 'pin-mate' 4 Kxe8 5 Bxg6 mate. .

.

.

.

.

Heinrich (black)

Kaplan (white)

40 I Typical mating combinations At first sight it looks as if any discovered check by the rook on f7 would be successful, but in view of the fact that both the rook and bishop are under attack the logical solution must lie in a double-check. So 1 Rf8++! Kxf8 2 Ng6+ hxg6 3 Qh8 mate is the answer. 61

Schiljejev (black)

Mirsajev (white) Clearly an attack down the h me is called for, but the 'evolutionary' method of I Qh2 h5 2 Rdgl Qf3 ! seems rather slow. The 'revolutionary' 1 Rxh7 ! is much more successful, since 1 Kxh7 allows White to gain time by 2 Qh2+ Kg8 3 Rh l etc. Black replied I Qxg3 2 Rdh1 Bxf6 3 gxf6. Nxf6 but now White finished neatly with 4 Rh8+ Kg? 5 Bh6+! Kxh8 6 Bg7 +! forcing mate in two moves. .

.

.

.

.

.

Sanz (black)

62

Medina (white) Tineatened with mate in one, White has a clear incentive to fmd the winning sequence : I Nf5+! Kh5 ( 1 gxfS 2 Qxf6+ and 3 QgS mate) 2 Qxh7 +! Nxh7 3 g4 mate. (See next diagram) TI1e back-rank weakness again comes into play after 1 Rxf7 ! Rxf7 (the tempting 1 Rd8 fails to 2 Rxd8+ Q�d8 3 Rf8+! Qxf8 4 Bxe6+ mating) 2 Dxe6! Resigns. A good example of overloading .

.

.

.

.

.

Typical mating combinations I 4 1 Gutkin (black)

63

Thelidse (white) along with the usual deflection, since 2 mate in two moves. 64

.

.

.

Qxe6 allows 3 Rd8+ and

Carlsson (black)

White cleverly exploits tluee basic mating patterns in the sequence I Nf6+ Kh8 2 QgS ! ! with mates after 2 . . gxf6 3 Qg8, or 2 hxgS 3 Rh3, or fmally 2 . . Bxd3 3 Qxh6+ gxh6 4 Rg8. Our next two examples are two sides of the same coin. .

.

65

Antosh.in (black)

Forintos (white)

.

.

.

42 I Typical mating combinations We first have a typical king hunt offering few problems and ending successfully for Black: 1 . . . Qg1 + 2 Kg3 Qe1 +! 3 Kg4 (3 Kf3 Qf2+) 3 . hS+! 4 KgS RxeS+! S Kh6 (or S fxeS QxeS+ 6 Kh6 Qf4 mate) S . . . Re6! 6 Rxb7 gS+ 7 Resigns. All very clear and simple, but we must warn the reader that it is vital to calculate the fmish precisely, since it is often the case that an ad­ vanced enemy king which is not immediately mated can prove a serious embarrassment to our own king. Witness the following tragi-comedy. .

.

66

..._. . . • it. • . t • .t. • • • • • • • • o B g II II ft . • II • . ·�· �

Darga (black)

Filip (white)

Black, a pa�n and the exchange down, should probably have resigned already, but on the other hand optimists claim that no game was ever won by resigning! Play went : 1 . . . QO ! 2 Rcl (much simpler is 2 Rbl preventing 2 . . . Bb7 because of 3 Qc7+, but White opts for mate . . .) 2 . . . Bb7 3 Rc7+ Kg6 4 Qg8+ KfS S Qxh7+?? (the losing move, whereas White could still have brought his king hunt to a successful conclusion by S g4+! KeS 6 ReS+ Kd6 7 Qf8+ Kd7 8 Qfi+ Kd8 9 Qc7+ Ke8 1 0 Qb8+ followed by 1 1 Rc7+ and this time round the king is really mated!) S . . . Kg4! and White realised he had to resign, because after both 5 Qg6+ and 6 Rxb7 Black plays 6 . . . Kh3 followed by mate on g2.

Chapter 3

The elements of chess tactics

As we have already seen in the previous chapter, within even the most complex combination certain basic recurring features emerge which we can identify as the elements of chess tactics. The most important of these are: the double-attack, the fork, deflection, decoy, the pin, discovered check, double check, perpetual check, stalemate, trapping a piece , piece elimination, unprotected pieces, line-opening, line 'f-",. : · of the bishops and rely on the superiority of the remaining bishop ·tp�nst the passive knight. Black pursues this plan with ruthless logic .7 • · �·-. · . throughout. nus move deprives the knight of c5 and prepares . . . c5 ·· ,·_]/ controlling the even more vital d4 square.

> . .

··

:

:

..

.•

18 19 20

21

'.

h3 Rfd 1 BgS Bf4

Be6 cS f6 Kf7

And here we see another advantage of the bishop pair; Black can easily centralise his king, whereas 22 Kfl Bc4+ would bring White's king into the firin g line o f the black pieces. 22

f3

gS !

aeverly forcing White to concede the d me because 23 Bel loses a piece to 23 . . . Rxd 1 + 24 Rxd I Bxb3 and 23 Bg3 f5 ! would drive the bishop into a passive position. 23

24 25 26

Rxd8 Bel Ret f4

Rxd8 h6 rs

Otherwise . . . f4 would swamp White. However, the text move aUows Black to open up the game later to his advantage. 26

27

.

..

g3

Bf6! aS!

Every Black move counts! He now threatens 28 . a4 29 Nc l a3 ! amashing White's pawn position and opening lines for the bishops, so the knight's humiliation is now complete. .

28 29 30

Nc l a3

Kf2

a4 Dc4

.

1 60 I Effective use of pieces 238

•

•

•

•

•

•••

•

Englisch (black)

• • • •

• • .1. 1 ._.. II . II II II li ft II • � • • [1 � •

Steinitz (white)

TI1e diagrammed position clearly reveals the success of Black's strategy, with either of his bishops now superior to the knight in any bishop versus knight ending. Titis means that Black can begin the second phase of opening up the position, even if this entails the exchange of his dark-squared bishop.

30 31

... Bxf4

gxf4! BgS!

Tiueatcning 32 Bxf4 33 gxf4 Rd2+, and if 32 Ke3 ReS + 33 Kfl Rxel 34 Kxel Bxf4 3 5 gxf4 Ke6 and . . . KdS winning, again illustrat­ ing the helplessness of the knight. .

32 33 34 Or

.

.

BxgS Ke3 h4

hxgS Kf6

34 Rhl Ke5 foUowed by . . . f4+ and Black's rook penetrates to d2. 34 35 36 37 38

gxh4 Kf2 Kxel Ne2

gxh4 Re8+ Rxe l KeS

The only way to free the knigllt but it allows Black to transpose to an ending in which his active king is his main asset.

38 39 40 41

Kxe2 c4 Ke3

Bxe2! Kf4 Kg4 f4+

Effective use of pieces I 1 6 1 Not of course 4 1 . . . Kxh4?? 42 Kf4 and White even wins! 42 43 44

Ke4 Ke3 Resigns

f3 Kg3

With more material on the board, other tactical and strategic elements como Into play, but basically it is still a question of utilising to the full ' the power of the attacking pieces.

239

Barwick (black)

Mileika (white) White is a pawn down here but his pieces exert tremendous pressure on Black's position, with the white-squared bishop in particular proving moat effective in stopping king side castling. Play went: I 0-0 Nc6 2 Rad l ! (tlueatenlng 3 Rhe i + Kf8 4 Bh6 mate !) 2 . . . hS 3 Bd6! Rh7 (he cannot castle long in view of 4 RxfS ! gxfS 5 8e6+ and 3 . . b6 falls to 4 BbS etc.) 4 Rfe i + Kd8 5 Bxc5+ Rd7 6 Bd6! a6 7 Be6 ! (once again we see the advantage of the two bishops . is that one of them can be exchanged at an appropriate moment. Here White clears the way for the entry of his rooks) 7 . . . Bxe6 8 Rxe6 bS 9 Rxg6 Kc8 1 0 RdS ! Kb7 1 1 RxhS Rad8 1 2 Rhh6! NaS I 3 DeS Resigns. (See next diagram) Whitfs task is more difficult here because the black knight is strongly posted on d4. Nevertheless, White has the advantage since he can if need be exchange his bishop for the knight, when his blahop on e4 is more actively posted than the bishop on g7. For the moment, however, the aim is to open up the queen's wing: I QaS ! Rff8 (indirectly protecting his pawn, as now 2 Qxa7?? loses to 2 . . . Ra8 3 Qxb7 Rfb8 trapping the queen) 2 cS ! b6 3 cxb6 cxb6 4 Qa6 (if now Black occupies the c file by 4 . . . ReS White can use the entry point at c6 with 5 Re i followed by 6 Bxd4 and 7 Rc6! so Kotov tries to relieve his position by exchanges) 4 . . . QbS 5 QxbS NxbS 6 Re i ReS .

1 6 2 I Effective use of pieces 240

Kotov (black)

Pachman (white) 7 Rc6! (even better than the alternative pla·n of 7 a4 Nd4 B Dxd4 exd4 9 Rc6! because now the two bishops can be used in the attack on the queen's wing) 7 . . . Rxc6 B dxc6 Kf7 9 a4 Nc7 1 0 aS ! bxa5 (if 10 . . d5 1 1 axb6!) 1 1 Bxa7 d5 1 2 Bb6 dxe4 1 3 fxe4+ Ke6 14. Dxc7 (but not 14 RxfB Dxf8 1 5 Bxc7 Bc5 + 16 Kfl a4) 14 . . . ReB 1 5 Bxa5 Rxc6 16 Bc3 and White eventually won the ending. Of course, the two bishops do not always represent an advantage. Sometimes they are not active enough or else the knight has points of support in the centre. There are even positions where two knights are more useful than . two bishops. Consider, for example, the following variation arising from the Ragosin System of the Queen's Gambit: 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Nf3 Bb4 5 Qa4+ Nc6 6 Ne5 Bd7 7 Nxd7 Qxd7 B a3 Bxc3 + 9 bxc3 e5 I O e3 0-0 I I Bd3 ReB I 2 0-0 e4 1 3 Bc2 dxc4 1 4 Qxc4 Nd5 ! 1 5 Bd2 Na5 I 6 Qa4 Qxa4 I 7 Bxa4 c6. Despite hi s two bishops White has slightly the worse of it. His bishop on d2 is passively placed, whereas Black's knights will have excellent posts on d5 and (after . . . b5) c4. If the knight is exchanged when it reaches c4, Black will be left with a strong knight against a bad bishop! In this variation Black can proceed in even sharper fashion with 9 . . 0-0 I O e3 a6 ! I I Be2 b S ! I 2 cxbS axbS I 3 QxbS RfbB I 4 Qd3 Na5 and the actively posted knights plus control of the b fl.le fully compensate the two bishops and extra pawn. .

.

Chapter 7

'The pawns are the soul of chess'

1bJa famous quote stems from F. A. Danican, the strongest player of hll time, whose pseudonym as a well-known musician was Philidor . In hll L 'analyse des echecs ( 1 74 9 ) he explained further: 'pawns determine

tho conditions for attack and defence ; it is on the pawn structure that the fate of the game depends'. Titis statement which was revolutionary In ttl time remains one of the most important principles of chess strategy. AI wo have already pointed out, it is fairly easy to change the position of our pieces, whereas a pawn which has been thoughtlessly advanced can cause irreparable damage. We have also seen in the previous chapter tho dramatic e ffect that the pawn structure can have on the potential atrongth of our pieces, opening or closing flies or diagonals, creating good or bad bishops and providing points of support for the knights. All chess-players must learn the difficult and wide-ranging art of handling pawns correctly. Here we shall just discuss a few basic prin­ ciples to guide the reader. Already we have seen the rook's pawn used u an attacking weapon , particularly when opening a file against the enemy king. We have also witnessed the power of passed pawns (posi­ tions 90, 1 43 , 1 44, 1 4 5 , 1 48) and the indirect exploitation of them (positions 1 46, 1 4 7 ). An important method of defending against passed pawns is (a term oined by one of the greatest strategic thinkers of all time , Nimzovitch) c the blockade. In its simplest form this entails placing a piece in front of an enemy pawn to prevent its advance. However, Nimzovitch demon­ strated that such a blockade was not always of a defensive nature, because the blockading piece itself often draws strength from its position in front of the pawn! For example, a knight situated on e6 preventing the advance of a white passed pawn on e5 can exert great power in its centralised position , protected as it is from frontal pressure by the very pawn it is restraining! (See next diagram) White is threatening f5 with attacking chances, but Black's first move I . . . fS ! which presents White with a protected ·

1 64 I 'The pawns are the soul of chess' 24 1

Nimzovitch (black)

Leonhardt (white) passed pawn and at the same time seriously restricts the activity of his own bishop on c8 may seem strange until we consider it in the light of the blockade. By placing a knight on e6 and a bishop on b7, Black will hold back the e and f pawns whilst aiming to set his own pawns in motion by . . . c5, an ambitious scheme involving that subtle manoeuvring which was so characteristic of Nimzovitch. Play went: 2 Be3 g6! 3 Na4! (White also realises the importance of blockading Black's c pawn) 3 . . . Ng7 4 Qd2 Qd7 5 QaS ! Ne6 6 Rad 1 Rfd8 (and now White could main­ tain the initiative by 7 DeS ! Bxc5 8 Nxc5 Qe7 9 Nxe6 Bxe6 when the blockading bishop is no way near as strong as the knight was. White instead goes in for ihe two bishops whilst Black is happy to preserve his splendid blockading knight) 7 Nc5? Bxc5 8 Bxc5 Bb7 ! 9 Rf3 Kf7 1 0 Rh3 Kg7 I I Rfl ReS 1 2 Rhf3 Rad8 (White can now make no real progress and 1 3 Qxa7? loses the queen after 1 3 . Rr.F. i 4 Qxb7 Reb8) 1 3 Rd 1 a6 14 b4 Kh8 1 5 Qa3 Rg8 1 6 Qc3 Rg7 1 7 Kh l Rdg8 {the threat of opening the g me persuades White to end the blockade of the c pawn. Note the effectiveness of the centralised knight supporting both advances) 1 8 Be3 c5 ! 1 9 Rg3? (he had to go into the complica­ tions of 1 9 bxc5 ! d4 20 Rxd4! Nxd4 2 1 Bxd4 Bxf3 22 Bxf3) 1 9 . . . d4 20 Qa3 g5 ! 2 1 Bc4 gxf4 22 Bxe6 Bxg2+! 23 Kg1 (or 23 Rxg2? Qc6, or 23 Kxg2 Qc6+ 24 Kfl fxg3 25 Bxg8 gxh2 and suddenly a winning passed pawn has appeared for Black!) 23 . . . Qxe6 24 Bxf4 Bb7 25 bxc5 QdS 26 c6 Bxc6 27 Kf2 Rxg3 28 hxg3 Qg2+ 29 Kel Bf3 30 Qxa6 Qg1 + 3 1 Resigns. In the variations of the above game we saw the possibility of a bishop on e6 being a poor defender, but this is not always the case. Take for example the following position which arises after the moves: (Ruy Lopez) 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 d4 e xd4 6 0-0 Be7 7 e5 Ne4 8 Nxd4 0-0 9 Re 1 Nc5 10 Bxc6 . dxc6 I I Nc3. .

.

l

'The pawns are the soul of chess' I 1 65

242

The old continuation was 1 1 . . . ReS 1 2 Be3 Bf8 1 3 f4 with some advantage to White, but I discovered the much more effective I I . . . fS ! giving White a passed pawn but creating a fine blockading square on e6. The game continued : I 2 Nce2 (after I 2 f4 I played against Foltys 1 2 . . . Ne6 1 3 Be3 Nxd4 I4 Qxd4 Qxd4 I S Bxd4 8e6 with an ideal set-up for Black, since White has no counterplay and no way of prevent· ing the advance of Black's queen side pawns) I 2 . . . Ne6 I 3 Nxe6 Qxd i 14 Rxd l Bxe6 I S Nf4 (even after the relatively better 1 5 Nd4 Black could either play I S . . . Kf7 1 6 Nxe6 Kxe6 with a drawn position in which neither side can make progress, a rare case of a successful block· ade by the king, or else continue in similar fashion to the game with I S . . . Bc8 ! and the white knight cannot maintain its centralised position for long e.g. I 6 b3 gS ! foUowed by . . . cS and . . . Be6 with a clear advantage to Black) I S . . . Rad8! 1 6 Be3 Bc8 1 7 Nd3 b6 1 8 b4 (con­ troUing c5 and threatening to advance his pawn to aS ftxing the black pawns, but unwittingly allowing the foUowirtg counter-action) 1 8 . . . f4! 19 Nxf4 Bxb4 20 Ne2 Bf5 ! 2 1 c3 (after 2 1 Nd4 Bc3 ! 22 Nxf5 Bxa l 23 Nxe7+ Kf7 24 Rxa l Kxe7 2S Bg5 + Ke6 26 Bxd8 Rxd8 27 f4 Rd2 Black wins, with the king once again successfuUy blockading on e6) 21 . . . BaS 22 Rac l c5 23 f3 Be6 24 Kfl Bc4 ! (more exact than 24 . . . Rxd l 25 Rxd l Bxa2 26 Rd7 or 24 . . . Bxa2 25 Rxd8 Rxd8 25 c4 etc.) 25 Nf4 Rfe8 26 Rxd8 Rxd8 27 a3 ReB 28 e6 Bxe6 29 Nxe6 Rxe6 30 c4 Kf7 3 1 Bf4 b5! 32 Be3 Bb6 33 cxb5 axb5 34 Rb l (34 BxcS? Rc6) 34 . . . c4 ! 35 Bxb6 Rxb6 36 Ke3 c5 37 Ke4 Ke6 38 Resigns. In view of the principle of economy in defence , major pieces arc rarely used for blockading purposes, whereas minor pieces are ideal for this task. Our next diagram shows a typicaUy favourable set-up for Black.

1 66 / 'The pawns are the soul of chess' 243

••

• •• 11 • ._._. t . t • • • • • . ft . • · ft · ft · • • �A· B ft ll •-tt8 ft 0 t1 • - � �

Composed position

White has no chance of exploiting his passed pawn, whereas Black is prepared for action on both wings. On the queen side he has the possibility of . . . a6 and . . . b5 and on the king side the plan of . . . Rae8, g6 and . . . f5. Should his knight have to move for some reason, he even has a 'reserve' blockader on d7. Compare the effectiveness of these two minor pieces with the white bishop on d3. Even two connected passed pawns can be successfully blockaded, although of course the task is far more difficult. Consider the following position. 244

Euwe (white) Dlack played 1 . . . exf4! 2 Bxf4 (2 gxf4? Nxe4 3 Bxe4 Rxe4 wins a pawn) 2 . . . Ba6! 3 Rae 1 Qe7 4 g4 DeS ! and now White's d and e pawns are fully restrained and this is linked in typical fashion with the weak­ ness of the dark squares in White's position. TI1e game continuation was most instructive : 5 Bxe5 Qxe5 6 Ng3 Re7 7 Bfl Bc8 ! 8 Be2 Bd7 9 Refl Rf8 1 0 Qcl Nce8 1 1 Kh 1 f6 1 2 Rg1 Ng7 1 3 BfJ QgS ! ! (a fine strategic concept; Black allows White two connected passed paw�s and doubles his g pawn but the two blockading knights now completely

'The pawns are

chess' I 1 6 7

the soul of

dominate the board, fully vindicating Black's strategy. We give the remaining moves without comment) 1 4 Qxg5 fxg5 1 5 Rgfl Nge8 16 Be l Rxfl 1 7 Rxfl Kg7 1 8 h3 Nf6 19 Bf3 Be8! 20 Re2 Nd7 2 1 Rd 2 NeS 22 &2 b 5 ! 23 Rc2 Rc7 24 Nd l c4 25 bxc4 bxc4 26 Nc3 Kf6 27 Nb1 Rb7 28 Nd2 Ba4! 29 Rc l Rb2 ! 30 Nxc4 Nxc4 3 I Bxc4 Dc2! 32 Bb3 Rb l ! 33 Rxb l Bxb l 34 Ne2 Bxe4+ 35 KJ12 Ke5 36 Nc3 Bd3 37 Kg3 Ne4+ 38 Nxe4 Bxe4 39 d6 Kxd6 and Black won in a few moves. We have given many examples of the strength of pawns used as attacking weapons, or creating space for us (the e5 pawn in positions 45 and 1 86), or providing useful support for our pieces, or fmally being important factors in a mating attack (on f6 in positions 27, 38 and 61 ; on f3 in positions 37 and 68; on h6 in positions 82 and 139; on a6 in positions 83, 1 36 and 2 1 7). However, pawns can also become fatally weak. An advanced pawn is often a weakness either in itself (position 78) or weakens squares behind it (position 157), and we have seen how weak a backward pawn can be (positions 1 95, 22 1 , 222 and 225). An important strategic element is the potential weakness of isolated pawns, that is pawns with no pawn alongside them. Let us examine more fully the tricky problems which arise when assessing the pros and cons of such pawns. 245

Pachman (black)

Zita (white) Both e pawns are isolated but cannot be attacked from the front . Never­ theless such pawns must be classed as weak if enough pressure can be applied on them. In tllis instance Black's pawn is adequately defended but White's pawn on e4 can be attacked further by . . . Nf6 and even by . . . Rf4 if Wllite's bishop goes to b2. In view of tllis weakness Black quickly obtains a favourable end -game as follows: I h6! (not im­ mediately I . . Nd7? 2 Ng5 !) 2 Nd2? (White intends to guard his pawn .

.

.

.

1 68 I 'The pawns are the soul of chess' by Bf3 but this reduces his bishop to the status of a pawn. He should activate the bishop by 2 Be2 ! c4 3 Qb41 when Black has the choice between creating a passed pawn by 3 . . . Bxe4 4 Qxc4+ Qxc4 5 Bxc4+ Kh7 or 3 . . . Ba6 followed by . . . Nd7 and . . . Nf6, but in both cases his task would be harder than in the game) 2 . . . Nd7 3 RxfB+ Rxf8 4 Bf3 Nf6 5 Nfl Qf7 ! (threatening 6 . . . Nxe4! even after 6 Bd2) 6 Ng3 Qc4 7 Qc3 (Black's last few moves have increased the power of his pieces to such an extent that 7 c3 Rd8! would be greatly in his favour, so White is forced to exchange queens even at the cost of weakening his queen side pawn position) 7 . . . Qxc3 8 bxc3 h5! 9 Bg5 Nh7! I O Be3 Bf6 I I Rd l Bg5 ! (exchanging White's good bishop and at the same time increasing his pressure on the e pawn) I 2 Bxg5 Nxg5 I 3 Rd7 Rf7 1 4 Rxf7 Kxf7 1 5 h4 Nxf3+! (it is only after the forced 1 5 h4 that this exchange is good, because in two moves Black will obtain an outside passed pawn giving him a won ending. Once again we see how a weak­ ness, in this case the e pawn, is exploited indirectly by forcing White's pieces into unfavourable positions. We give the remaining moves with· out comment) 1 6 gxf3 Bc8 ! 1 7 K.f2 g5 ! 1 8 hxg5 Kg6 1 9 Nfl Be6! 20 a3 Kxg5 2 1 Ne3 Ba2 ! ! 22 c4 h4 23 Ng4 Kf4 24 Ne3 h3 25 a4 Bb l ! 26 Resigns. 246

Capablanca (black)

Keres (white) Black's isolated pawn on c6 is easily attackable down the half-open file, but even in such cases the winning method seldom consists in capturing the pawn directly. The attacker usually forces the defending pieces into passive positions by building up pressure on the weakness and then exploits this tactically in another area of the board. In the present game White's task is simplified by a mistake on Black's part. Play went: I h3 Rb5 2 Rac l Rfc8 3 Rfd i Ng6? (this leaves the pawn insufficiently defended allowing a tactical break-through. White was threatening 4

'The pawns are the soul of chess' I 1 6 9 Qd4 with a double attack on d6 and g7, so 3 . . . Bf4 was the correct move even though White is clearly better after 4 Rc2) 4 Nd4 Rb6 (4 RdS allows S Nxc6 ! Rxd l + 6 Rxd1 Qxc6 7 Rxd6 ! winning) 5 Ne6 ! Qb8 ! (not 5 . . . Dxh2+ 6 Kh 1 fxe6 7 Qxe6+ Kh8 8 Rd7 etc.) 6 Ng5 Rb7 7 Qg4 Bf4 (the threat was 8 Qh5 h6 9 Nxn ! Kxf7 1 0 Qf5 +) 8 Ro4 RhS? (he had to play 8 . . . Dxg5 9 Qxg5 when White's bishop is far stronger than the knight) 9 Nxf7! ReS 1 0 g3 Qc8 1 1 Rxf4 Qxg4 1 2 Rxg4 Kxf7 1 3 Rd7 + Re7 14 Rxe7 + Kxe7 1 5 Bxg7 and Black resigned a few moves later. In a wide range of openings including the Queen's Gambit and NJmzo-lndian Defence, certain variations result in an isolated d pawn for one side or the other. We have already met two such cases in posi­ tions 1 7 1 and 203 , in one case with a fuUy open c me and in the other an open e file. There is no doubt that such a pawn can become very weak in certain situations. Here is an example. •

.

.

247

Bronstein (black)

Botvinnik (white) White's thematic plan in these positions is to simplify the game as much possible to prevent Black using his only assets of open lines and active piece play. Tite game proceeded: 1 Nd3 ! Nx