and Defence The fifth and final session from the world-famous chess schoolAttack and Defence How Creative Thought Develops in a Chess Player Mark Dvoretsky and Artur Yusupov With contributions from: Mikhail Krasenkov Beniamin Blumenfeld Sergei Dolmatov Viadimir Vulfson Igor Belov Translated by John Sugden B, T. Batsford Ltd, Londonisu pubbched 199% © Mark Dvotetshy and Astor Yusupoe 188 ‘English guage caneation © John Sugden 1998 Repnnted 1999. ISBN 0713482141 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. ‘A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library {Al sights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced, by any ‘means, without prior permission of the publisher. Ealted by Graham Burgess and typeset by John and Petra Nunn for Gambit Publications Lid, London. Printed in Great Britain by ‘Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts for the publishers, B.T. Batsford Li, ‘9 Blenheim Court, Brewery Road, London N7 9NT ‘A member ofthe Cheats Group ple A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK Contents Symbots Preface (Mark Dvoretsky) Part 1; Calculating Variations 1 The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking (Mark Dvoretsky) 2. Wandering in the Jungle (Mikhail Krasenkov) 3 Visual Imagination and Chess Analysis (Beniamin Blumenfeld) art 2: Inmuitive Decisions 4 How Chess Inmition Develops (Mark Dvoretsky) 5 Chess in the Style of Jazz (Sergei Dolmatov) Pat 3: The Practical Elements in Decisions 6 Practical Chances in Chess (Beniamin Blumenfeld) 7. Isit Worth Complicating? (Vladimir Valfson) ‘8 Thoughts about a Book (Mark Dvoretsky) Pare 4: Attack 9) Missed Brilliancy Prizes (Artur Yusupov) 10 A Controversial Postion (Mark Dvoretsky) 11 ‘Auacking afer Casting on Opposite Wings (Mark Dvoretsky) Part 5: Defence 12 Training Session: Making Difficult Choices (Igor Belov) 13. Virtoso Defence (Mark Dvoreisky) 146 Exrors and What Lies Behind Them (Mark Dvocetsky) n n 3 3 100 100 110 7 1st 1st 176 12 19 19 216 214 Contents Part 6: Further Examples 15. Analysis of a Game (Mark Dvoreisky) 16 Some Achievements of Our Pupils (Artur Yusupov) Solutions to Chapter 1 Exercises Solutions to Chapter 4 Exereses Solutions to Chapter 11 Exercises Index of Players Index of Composers Index of Games Index of Openings 28 238 251 269 213 26 285 288 Symbols + check 3+ double check 6.0 cates kingsige 0.0.0 cates uoenside 10 Mio . @) briltiant move good move interesting move dubious move bad move blunder the game ends ina win for White the game ends in & draw the game ends in a win for Black mh match game Siagram followsPreface Mark Dvoretsky ‘The book you have before you isthe fifth and final volume inthe series "School for Budding Chess Champions’, based on material from the Dvoretsky/Yusupov school for gifted young chess players. (Our lite school existed foronly three years (1990-2). Its sessions were tended by 10-15 young people. Neary all of them fist joined us atthe age of 12-15 years, Five years on, [am proud to beable to say that eightof| ‘our students have become grandmasters, some of them very strong ones enjoying world fame. Here are thei names: Alexei Alexandrov, Inna Ga- ponenko, Vasily Emelin, Vadim Zviagintsev, Hakha Kadymova, Sergei MovsesiansElla Piter and Peter Svidler. In the very near future Iam sure that Viadimi Baklan and Peter Kiriakov will atain the grandmaster tile too, Hardly any other children’s chess school can boast of such a high Tn listing the school's achievements Tam nonetheless perfecly aware that the successes were gained first and foremost by the students them- selves and their regular coaches. Was there much that we could teach (for instance) Peter Svidler ~thres-times Russian Champion ~ atthe three ten-day sessions of the school which he attended (he second, fourth and sixth)? The chief ingredients of Svidier’ssuecesses were of course his, ‘own immense talent and the help of his oustanding coach Andrei Lukin. "Yusupov and I saw our role as that of stimulating the young players further development; helping them to come to terms with themselves, ‘with theis own strengths and weaknesses; formulating plans for the fu- tue; discussing the problems they faced atthe chessboard andthe means ‘of overcoming them: pointing out the basic policies and methods for per- {ectng their chess. That was al. twas not an immense amount, butt was ‘ot negligible either. The students’ results confirm that this was the right approach, and that a8 & whole we performed our task successfully. ‘Among other things, it was ata session of our school that Peter Svidler was advised by me to tm to Lukin for assistance.8 Preface ‘This same approach is reflected in our books. We have not attempted 9 write textbooks to clarify this or that topic fully and precisely, Our aim, hha been fo equip cur readers with high-quality material anda variety of ideas conducive to independent thinking and work along the lines we hhave mapped ovt. The ideas are not all our own; they include those of other specialists (particularly trainers working together with us at the School, Naturally this method of exposition requires readers to adopt an inventive (and sometimes critical attitude to the text bey are studying: it is unsuited to lovers of ready-made precepts. To judge from the popalar- ity of our books, a great many chess players like this approach. ‘The issues discussed inthis book are not confined narrowly to chess; they are all situated on the border between chess and psychology. The chess player's thoughts at the board, the characteristic processes of ‘decision-taking in a variety of situations ~ this, in a nutehel isthe basic content of the book. Many of the examples that are offered for your aten- tion are highly complex and ambiguous; they require deep investigation ‘of a position, ingenuity and bold, risk-taking actions. In comparison with its predecessors, then, this volume has less to do with instruction and ‘more to do with creative problem-solving, ‘The division of the book into six parts isto some extent arbitrary since the themes ofthe chapters ae closely interrelated. tis obvious, for exam- ple, thatthe discussion about the accurate and decp analysis of variations ‘is merely begun in Part I and continues right to the end ofthe book. ‘The analysis of variations is by no means an omnipotent foree; inthe course ofa gamea player needs to guess as wells calculate. The problem ‘of developing your intuition has hardly attracted any serious discussion in ‘hess literature. Lam not a professional psychologist and make no claim to treating the subject scientifically, but hope my practical ideas and rec- ‘ommendations will prove useful tothe reader. Many chess players make the serious mistake of devoting their free solely othe study of opening theory. The fact is that errors commit- ted at later stages have just as much bearing on the result asa poor sar to the game. Some weaknesses which can and must be overcome with inten- sive will-power and persistence are shared by chess players ofall levels. ‘To emphasize this point, the book includes critical analyses of games not only by young masters and candidate masters but also by high-ranking Preface 9 _grandmasters — such as Artur Yosupov (who performs the task himself, in (Chapter 9, Missed Brilianey Prizes) and Garry Kasparov. ‘Opening theory is subject to speedy revision, so that opening manuals ae sometimes out of date even before they are published. By contrast, tute observations and conclusions about the game of chess a8 a whole re- tain their value over a period of many years. You may confirm this by acquainting yourself with the two arucies writien some decades ago by Beniamin Blumenfeld, a master who was also a penetrating researcher into practical chess psychology. Don’ tbe patoff by the mode of preseata- tion, which seems slightly outdated by present-day standards. The writ- ‘es thoughts are what matters, and they remain as relevant as eve, have already devoted one book ~ Secrets of Chess Tactics ~ 0 the problems of attack and defence. However, these themes are inexhaust- ble, and I hope that the fresh material discussed in the relevant chapters will be useful to you. In what has become in this series the waditional concluding chapter, ‘Yusupov analyses some games by our students. Whereas in our previous books he placed the emphasis on instructive errors, this ime the grand- ‘master concentrates on displaying the young players” creative achieve- ‘ments, The book ends witha brilliant game by Vadim Zviaginise, which the experts rated as the best in Informator 62. Its extremely tare for young players to receive this honour, given the jury's susceptibility to tes and big names. I wish our readers the same competitive and creative ‘success as our best students. hope you wil be aided inthis by ideas that ‘you derive from the books in our sees.1 The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking Mark Dvoretsky ‘What do we think about daring @ game of chess? We look for prom Ising possibilities, compare them With each other, work out varia- Hons, ry 10 neutralize our oppo- ‘nents counterpay, and s0 forth ‘Al thisuis a creative process ‘which admits of no recipes euited to all cases, Yee there definitely do exist rules, precepts of thought, ‘which in some way help us 1 or- ganze and regulate this process, 0 ‘make it more reliable, to avoid the simplest mistakes and economize ‘ar thinking time ~in shor, to rise the level of our decision-aking, "A fair amount has been written con this subject. Grandmaster Alex- ander Kotoy, for example, hat set ‘ont his ideas on the technique of ‘alealation in Think Like « Grand Imazter. [would also advise you to Consult the interesting article by “Mikhail Krasenkov included i the next chapter, and also the old but by no means antiquated articles by Beniamin Blumenfeld, a master ‘who perceptively investigated the psychology of chess thought. "The problem of thinking about moves has always interested me. I have devoted a number of articles toi, as well at several chapters in my previous books. Thave studied ‘some methods and devices (for ex- ample ‘prophylactic thinking’ ~ see the book Positional Play) in considerable detail, others only in broad outline. !cannot formulate a precise scheme for optimal think- {ng atthe chessboard (Iam con vinced that in principle no such Scheme exist), but Iwill give you some advice which I hope will be ‘of use to you in future contests, ‘The thought-processes which ‘we are going to examine can be conveniently divided into rwo eate- ories: 1) Methods of searching for & ‘move and calculating variations; 72) Means of economizing time and effort rational thinking.12 The Technique of Analysis and Declslon-Taking Technique of searching for moves and calculating variations 1. Candidate moves Koto was peshaps the fist ohigh- light this device of calculation. He recommended that you should m= mediately identify all the possi- ble candidate moves, not just for ‘your first move but for subse- ‘quent ones ~and not just for your- self but for your opponent. Ifyou read the article by Kraseakov that I ‘mentioned, you will see that this principle (ike others that we shall iseuss) by no means always ‘works’, Nonetheless it is very 00d advice for many situations. ‘Why is it so important to apply the principle of ‘candidate moves"? Inthe first place, ithelps us tosur- vey the variations rationally, to single out all the continuations ‘that have to be ealeated. Black is ewo pawns up, but his ‘opponent's pieces are very active, ‘The g7-pawn is under attack. If Black defends it with 33.714 34 g2 Wy6. then ater 35 Zed? 148.36 845 White wins back the d= ‘pawn and will probably soon lg date toa drawn ending with three pawns against two on the same ‘Nottingham 1936 side, Also 33.145 34 Wd Bxds 35 Hed? leads to roughly the same thing. The attacking try 33.065 (feckoning on 34 Hxg? Hxg7 35 Exg? Wbl+ 36 Sg? Ehs) is re- fated by 34 Ze, Finally, f Black plays 33,28, White should not reply 34 Wed? Eb (threatening 35..WbI+) or 34 Wa7? xb 35 Hixg7 Hol 36 g2 Wass, but 34 ‘Wes! is a perfectly playable move G4. xbd 35 Hag?! 34..W LY 35 dig? Webs 36 Wafo!; 34.03, 35 soya? a2 36 Hea”) wouldn't say it was essential to ‘work out ll these variations acct- rately. You only need (0 satisfy ‘yourself thatthe opponent retains possibilities of defence. The point 4s that Black has just one more re- source available: he ean simply The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 13 push his passed d-pawn, allowing ‘Hag? and defending 87 from bl With his queen. This is the most forcing and heace the most empt- ing line, and naturally the one to ‘examine fist. Itis important to de- ‘ide whether the opponent has per- petual check, Ifnot, Black should definitely play this fine ashe will fcquire an overwhelming material plus. If there is no escaping the perpetual, he can go back to the ‘ther continvatons and sady them ‘more thoroughly. 33 ast ‘The precise order of moves is {mportant. On 33.,.WD1+? 34 g2 43, White has the additional possi- bility of 35 Bed7! d2 36 Beds ‘Haxd8 37 Wa7!, leading to a draw, ‘After the toxt-move, however, 36 ea is useless as after 34.42 the pawn will queen with check. ‘M4 Bxg? ug7 35 Exe? Whl+ ‘Black's next move willbe 36.02. ‘This is where we have to concen- trate on picking out the candidate moves. White has two ways of con- tinuing the attack: 37 Hes (threat- ‘ening mate on g7) oF 37 WT (with the idea of 38 Hg8+ of 38 Exh7+), Teach case the white king may be ‘on either'g2 orh2. So there are four possibilities, andit was essential to ealculate all of them before play- ing 33.03, Let us begin with the queen's move to £7: 2) 36 bh? a2 37 WT WISI, Now 38 Zxh7+ is impossibie as the rook is taken with check, while fon 38 Bd Black has the decisive 238..Wxi2+ 39.3 WII 40 don? White! (or 40..Wer+ 41 hs Wrest), ) 36 bg? a2 37 WHT. This lime 37...9157 is bad due to 38 hr! Wxh7 39 Wat6+ We7 40 ‘Wrd+ and 41 Wxd2, when White comes out a pawn up, while the line 37..d18? 38 Hg8+! HxgS 39 ‘Wet6+ leads to perpetual check, However, Black can win by insert ing 37..es+!, Then 38 ha Wes teansposes to variation ‘a 1F38 13, the simplest answers 38. Wxt3+ 39 dixf3 dIWH leading toa quick ‘mate, though another possibilty is 38.124 39 ons WEL 40 Sh? Wale! 41 sexni aris 42 a2 Ba24 4343 Wh 44 dpa SH! 45 ta Hat 46 hes Wel ‘We will now look atthe r00k’s move to et ©) 36 g2 a2 37 ed Whi! 38sbxhI d1W+ and 39...Wxps. ) 36 don2 d2 37 gd (D). ‘The hl-square is controlled by the white queen. Black gets no- where with 37...Wg1+? 38 3! I+ 39 she. The only possibil- ity in 37. Wo! 38 Hig hg. Let us see if White can give perpetual14 The Technique of Analysis and Dectsion-Taking ‘check with his lone queen: 39 WET a1W 40 Wai6+ h7 41 We7+ (af ter 41 WIT4 oho 42 Wet deg7 43 Wes, Black has either 43..<2h7 44 Wes dhs —sce the main line — or 43.217 44 Was sega 45 Woes Wes) 41.sbh6 42 Wha (ater 42 Wed 5143 Wes g5 the checks run out) 42..WhS, and the ook cannot be taken because the queen is pinned. We can now see why, af- ter 36 tg? d2 37 Rigs, the reply 37..lig6? would be insufficient to Win; the sole correct move is 37,.WhL+!. Te remains to add that in the ‘ame, after 36 2 d2, White re- signed (0-1) ‘Thus, preliminary review ofthe ‘candidate moves ensures precision ‘and reliability in our calculation of variations. However, the ‘explor- ‘tory function’ of this method is ‘even more important. I enables us tw avoid typical mistake that nearly all chess players make time and again ~ plunging straight into ana- lysing the first continuations that come into their head. That way some powerful possiblities may bbe neglected, resulting in a great ‘waste of time and energy. If we hhave concentrated on seeking out all the sensible candidate moves, ‘wesometimes discover resources the existence of which we never suspected at the outset. ‘The first thing that strikes you is ‘hat White can win the h-pawn with check: 21 Bxf6 Sext6 22 Wxh7+ 18. There is nothing to calculate here ~ the resulting position just needs tobe assessed. White has no The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Tabing 15 chance of giving mate (the king- Side is solidly defended by the £6- bishop). Black keeps some pos tional compensation for his pawn, inthe shape of control ofthe e-file and the weakness of the white pawn on d4, ‘Another, more tempting, con- tinuation is 21 gd. Obviously 21,..u6? 22 @xh6+ leads to mate 1s also easy to see the variation 21..xb3? 22 DxiG+ Bxl6 23 Wan7s shes 24 Whse! be7 25 ‘Wrg7 and wins. However, we must ‘not jump to conclosions. First we reed to check that we have taken All the defepsive resources into ac- ‘count (we have to look fo the op- ponents candidate moves as well 3s our own). We find the sole de- fence in 21..<2f8!. There are vari- ‘ous way’ to win the h-pawn, but ‘none of them are entirely clear For instance, after 22 Qxf6 Bxf6 23 Bxi6 Weis 24 Wet6 gxt6 25 ‘BadS exdS 26 Hxh7 48, the out- ‘come is obscured by the activity of Black's rooks on the open ¢- and eiles. Of course, no one guaranteed that we could do more than win & pawn ere. The knight's move tg Tooks very strong, especially if we notice that after 21.78 White can ‘continue the atack with 22.267 Wait, though. A litle belatedly (whieh is quite excusable — 21 Sixf6 and especially 21 Qg4 were too tempting) let us recall the pei ciple of “candidate moves", and look for some other possibilidies for White 1 turns out that there are two ‘other methods of conducting the auacke a) 21 Sl (with the idea of 22 ns), 'b) 21 Sc? (withthe threat 22 2xh7+ and justified by the varia- tlon 21...ixe2 22 Sxf6 x6 23 Wih7+ and 24 Wrc2). ‘Method "bis more forcing, 80 We should consider this one first. 21 ez! xe? Not 21.96 22 8x66, oF 21..n6 22.8.x56.0n 21.818, White wins ‘with 22.8xh7 @inh7 23 WAS! 22 Bxf6 kG 23 Wns! xt6(D) (0 23..2168 24 Sixg7,16. The Technique of Analysis and Dectsion-Taking 24 Watts HT (0c 24.2825 Bxnst! x6 26 Dg64, 25 anos! dexhé 26 Wyo ‘This winning combination (as ointed out by lor Zaitsev) imme- {iately sees the question ofthe strongest way to continue the at tack: There is no need to analyse any of the other lines. As you ee, itis not only important to draw ‘up a complete list of candidate ‘moves; you must alo decide on the Dest order In which toexam- Ine them, “The combination would be much casier to find if White clearly had 0 other promising possibilities. However, inthis cate he did have some, and they began by distrac- ing oar atention. fa such cium stances you could easly miss 21 ‘Be2tt even if you were an excel- lent tactician. "The search tech- nique that we have been practising (Ceandidate moves) significantly Increases our chances of success “However, no technique is any help fa player lacks Keen com- Dinatve vision. This quality must ‘be developed and trained by rego- larly solving appropriate exer- ses. ‘In the actual game, Miguel Naj- orf played the weaker 21 £417! His opponent could have parried ‘White's threat by giving advance protection othe F7-point 21.27! (22 hs @ixh5 23 Wxhs? xe), Instead Kotov carelessly played 21..Wa5?, and after 22 RRS! the white atack was irresistible. The concluding moves were: 22.Hed8 (22. BxhS 23 Wahs; 22.8 23, Bxi6 xfs 24 xf7+ Ext7 25 Wan74) 23 Sixt7+ o18 24 6! Deb 25 WHs 66 26 Rxg7+ eT 27 Sixe8 Sing? 28 Dh 1-0. Droretsky ~ Butnorius ‘Dubna 1970 Thad mishandled the opening, and af this poine Black could have ‘biained an excellent position with the simple continuation 16..dxe4t 17 bxe4 Bes, forcing 18 D3 oF 18 483 (not 18 xc6? bxo6 19 ez a3 threatening 20...xh3 and 20..2d8). Without @ doubt, ‘The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 17 the game would not yet be won for Black it would ‘merely"be excel- lent. Alternatively he can wy for more by playing his knight to e4, ‘bat in that ease he is falling be: hind in development, so the conse- quences need to be calculated in etal Luckily for me, my oppo- rent made bis move without prop- erly examining the variations. 16 ‘Ded? Clearly White must sacrifice the exchange (17 813? @xd2 18 Qa dict is thoroughly bad for him), but which way should he do it? Once we locate all the eandi- date possiblities, iis fairly easy to ‘decide which s strongest: 2) 17 Hxed dred 18 Dred; b) 17 Qed Sxel 18 Wael red 19 ret; ©) 17 Qxed Sxel 18 exds, In the first ewo cases all we can speak of s some compensation for the lost exchange; whereas in the third case a double-edged position arises, and it is not clear whose game is preferable. ‘So you see that sometimes we are not looking for candidate ‘moves but for “candidate possi- bilities” ~ short variations which ‘may begin identically. 1? @xedt xed 18 exdst Whites pieces dominate the cen- tre, und his dS-pawn is preventing the normal development of Black's ‘queen's knight 18 18. a5, iy Ot kes 20 Wate What does Black want to do ‘now? To bring his knight out tod7, ‘of course, Can this be stopped? 21 Best WG? Black would lose at once with 21.007? 22 Dxa? WaT 23 6+. tt was worth considering 21,45, but White would then have ‘maintained the advantage with 22 gh Wee 23 £8 2 a3 Black has no moves. 1f22...0a6, then 23 a7 followed by 24 6+ is decisive. must explain that despite the ‘obvious excellence of my position, [wasa’t tall in an optimistic mood, In the Dubsa Young Masters* ‘Toumament T had been playing atrociousy, constantly commiting fversights which were chiefly due to lack of patience, a wholly une Justified haste inthe taking of dee ‘ions. In the previous game I had thrown away what was virtually a ‘won position with a single hurried move. In the present game, my ‘pening play had been abysmal. It Was sheer lick that my opponent had handed me the initiative forthe proverbial “mess of pottage’ aot18 The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking “Sure”, thought, "“T've gotade- ‘cent position, but Tet I'l Tose my ferve again and make some blun- er, Well, whatever he plays, I'm ‘going to take a fll ve minutes over ‘my next move! I've got loads of time in hand — I must use it” "After a loag think, Butnorius played: 22 £6(D) ‘This actually disconcerted me. “ava quite clear —Ttake on g6, he ‘develops his knighton 47, and then there'l be something to think about, but ight now, what am I supposed to do with my five minutes? Well ‘never mind, I'm sticking to my ‘word all the same: “ust for something to do, I started going over some other pos- sibilities apart from 23 xg6. (There we are candidate moves!) "The result was that after thinking for not just five minutes but twenty, T worked out a winning combina. ton 23 aot Bxes On 23.fre5 1 intended 24 ‘246+ 2405! equally song) ng (24217 25 Dine eB 26 Wxgo ds 27 Wgs+!) 25 ‘Wrg6+ ns 26 Wes Wxo6 27 ‘Hel We7 28 We8, and Black is de- fenceless. 24 xcs tues 25 Wo | th7 26 Wes Was (D) 26. ixd6 27 045+ and mates. 27 Bese “White takes i into his head 10 sive up another rook for luck. The Suctfice leads toa forced mate. In principle, however, this kind of "Combination for combination’s sake” (the phrase is Grandmaster Vladimir Simagin's) should on n0 The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 19 sceount be commended. After fon the elementary 27 Hel ( threats of WES and Wxb7) Black could only esign. The best way is always the simplest! 2 the 23 Gere ah7 29 wxts Waals 30 dy 6 3 Wins gS 32 Dags+ x6 33 Webs! 1-0 2. What could | have missed? ‘Sometimes during our analysis we reed to come back to the task of looking for candidate moves. (We may simply have forgotten to per- form that task atte right time: but then again, we ean’talways be sure that our list of possibilities was ‘complete.) Ifthe variations aren't ‘turing ovt in our favour, it makes sense to go back tothe beginning and ask, “What else could there be in the position? What idea could 1 have failed to notice?” Conversely, if the prospects look particularly bright, we should tur the question round what other resources might the opponent have? From time to ‘time, try throwing off the burden. of the lines you have analysed, land take a look at the position ‘wlth fresh eyes. This practice of- ten gives excellent results. Here is another aspect of the same rule, Don’t be in a hurry to calculate too far ahead. If prob- lems arise that demand analysis in depth, don’t rush to do it First ask yourself how essential it is, Are there any improvements for yourself or your opponent at an ‘earlier stage? New Ideas at the ‘start ofa variation are a good deal ‘more important than refinements at the end of it; they are far more relevant to the process of fighting, A. Wotawa Deutsche Schachecitang 1938 Draw ‘Artur thought for a long time, vainly tying to find salvation among the intricacies of the un- pleasant rook endin20 The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking “Stop analysing!” I said to him at last. “Just look a the position and think what you mighthave missed” ‘llatonce Artr hit onthe solu 1 bret 2 ey hs 3 bes Kes 406 | Hes 8 et7 “The king endlessly pursues the rook. 3. Should wo re-check our calculations? Another of Kotov's principles to ‘go down each branch ofthe ‘tee ‘of variations once and only once ~ Ssecins tome dubious. Afterall, we fre not disinterestedly exploring possibilities ~ we are looking for the strongest moves. They don'tal- ‘ways come into our head immedi- ately, and sometimes there is no reason why they should do so be~ fore our analysis ofthe position has reached. certain point. Suppose the ‘variations are not turning outright for us because some detail is lack- ing. Te then dawns on us that this ‘detail can be supplied by inserting some intermedisie move. which Tooked pointless at fist sight. How is White to stop the enemy pawn? Inthe event of 1 d5 Stxd7 Bondarenko and ‘A-Kuznetsov Commendation, Gorgiev Mem 1977 2 a5, Black manages to bring his bishop to 13: 2.bS 3267 Be 4 6 £035 xfs gxf3 607 hI. and Black has the advantage. The wischentug 1 Ba (withthe idea (f 1.296? 2 d64 and 3 3.45) is Inet by 1..f51 2 Het5+ 6, for ‘xample: SES ans 4865 Sas followed by bringing the bishop to 13,0r3 a5 doxf5 45 eS 5867 8.7 6 26 145, and Black wins. “There remains 1 Hdl, but then 1.fixad! 2 Bel 06+ 3 &b8 nw leads to drawa bishop endgame. "This appears to be the best ‘White can do but the appearance is deceptive, Let's not be in such a hurry to agree a draw Let us try 0 invent something. This of course is ‘The Technique of Anatysis and Decision-Taking 21 where some imagination is called for, but the accurate analysis we hhave already pecformed will also be of use. ‘We can find the solution if we think ofthe move 3 Hixc6 (instead of 3 b8) in the last-mentioned ‘variation, Unfortunately it doesn’t work, but the idea can be im- proved. 1 Maser fs We already know that this isthe nly move. 2 Batt sad Here again, our foregoing analy- sis established that Black bas no choice. If te a-pawn stays on the board, White easily wins the bish- op ending 3 Rel Rese 4 Hest ne 5 BIT 95/0) 7 Bese ths 8 Bee ths 9 Eh8+ and wine Calevlating variations right to the end, one after the other, is, then, something we rarely have to do, After putting together thelist ‘of candidate moves, perform ‘quick assessment, a preliminary ‘examination of them. Your pro- visional conclusions are sure to come in useful as you pursue your calculations further. You may be able to gauge how promising some particular variation is, and es- {tablish a rational order for your further analyses. Perhaps (as in [Najdort-Kotov, for instance) ome move will prove so strong that It is simply not worth analysing the ‘others. 4. Keop a mental note of the sults of your calculations; srminate each variation with a definite conclusion Sometimes a completely precise verdict is required, as when ana~ lysing 33..d3! in the Alexander- Euwe game. In that case an exact result ~ win or draw ~ had to be reached. If we had broken off the ‘calculations only half-way through, With the verdict a bit unclear’, we ‘could not have taken the right deci-22. The Technique af Analysis and Decision-Taking However, a precise evaluation is bby no means always essential. For example, you may come to the ‘conclusion that a certain position ftizes by force buts difficult as- fess and would require additional calculations. I necessary you will ‘camy them out late, starting from the postion in question and not re- peating the analysis that led up to ft. That isthe point of retaining your conclusions from the varia- tions already studied. ‘5. Prophylactic thinking 1 often helps to begin thinking ‘about the position by asking, “What does my opponent want? ‘What would he play iit were his mover” ‘Readers familiar with my earlier ‘books will surely need no convine- {ng that a capacity for prophylactic thought is of immense value. All the same, let me give one more exam- ple. ‘What does Black want? Advane- ing the -pawn would only weaken his position, A much beter idea is to being his bishop into play via cB forby. Te do this, he fist has to pro- tect his Knight with bs “This tells us how White should handle the position, (one teat is 22 £11-121-05, shen a2 At Red (22.206 23 Bat Gxes 24 Ws 16 25 ash ‘27 26a 23 Wes 24 dee ace 25 Wact leaves White with nents pew ‘fhe qoenion arises whether White can each he same ponon win a0 ll ond 21, then Jan, Which move-odar ie ore Secure? Here we have to concen- tra on looking fr revoures for ths opponen. We are bound to pve pretence to the pews move once Sepovce aca i beet ieunexpected 2. a3! even {Bough a0‘Otat Adianto pointed ‘ue Wate sil etane the beter Shanees with 22 Axct Soxod 23 Sasres a det The Technique of Analysis and Decision Taking 23 In the game, Konstantin Lerner didn’t think about prophylaxis, He simply played 21 Eadl?!. His ‘opponent replied 21..bS!, not wor- ‘ying about 22 B47 eB! 23 Be? (or 23 €6 xd7 24 exd7 Wrel+ 25 rel Hxels 26 fl Has) 23..ixg4 24 Baa? 221325 x03 ‘2xe5 with approximate equality 6. What ie the drawback to ‘my opponent's move? {the makes an unexpected and disconcerting move, ask yourself this question. Logical considera- tions sometimes help you to find ‘the weak spot in your opponent's fdea and the best way to counter 16 abs Lotus apply some ‘prophylactic thinking” and ask ourselves what Black wants, Obviously, to play 15, open the bile and pressurize the b2:paven, How can this be op- Now 17..b5 will be answered bby 18 axbS ixbs 19 2. Then the bishop will go to el, so Let us now put ourselves in Black's place and try to detect the ‘minus side of White's plan. With the white rook on c2, Black has ‘44 with the threat of ..b3. However, White replies e4, when the blocking of the queenside should be to his Uking. ‘Another point is that after He? the ad-pawn is vulnerable. How ‘can Black exploit this? Ihe is giv- ing up the idea of --bS, there is ‘othing fo the rook to do on bS. So 17,.Sibe8 seems indicated, and if 18 He? then 18...2d81. On the other hand if White tries 18 dte3 6 19 2”, our previous idea will work: 19..d4! (with tempo) and then. tb. v7 Best “This is another way to attack a (18 He2 Ob6), but a less effective ne. What sit disadvantage? The24 The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking Jenight has left the kingsid, where ‘twas needed for defence. 18 Dest ‘Threatening 19 WAS and 20 De68 16 ser 18.2166 is better, Now the a 1 diagonal is weakened. How can ‘White utilize tis weakness?” welt dd 19.04? ie unplayable due to 20 x06. By forcing his opponent to close the queenside, White has freed his hands for active opera tions on the other wing His advan tage is now beyond doubt, "20 We2 Db6 21 b3 Bhes 22 WI 28 23 3 Hxet+ 24 Zxel He8 25 Ze Web 26 gi! 24627 gxfS Out 28 hed De3 (28..“Dee7 Is more tenacious) 29 S-xe6! bxes 30 died Zig 31 We? Dh6 32 HS Wee 33 Wes Wes 34 DxeS 1-0 7. What am I trying to achieve? ‘This toois a useful question. Clar- ly your aims. Do you want toex- change a pair of pieces, seize an Important square, prevent some active undertaking by your oppo- ‘nent, or what? A lopcal examina ‘ton of the position may suggest 2 ‘rection for further analysis. Black has a healthy extra pave. It is tempting o go into action at once with $4.Ha3+. That move ‘ust be adequate to win, and yetto ime it scomed technically impre~ cite, Black's king is stuck on the edge of the board and at the m0- ‘ment i taking no part inthe game, Here i a sample variation (though ‘of course itis not forced), in which this defect makes itself felt: $5 bd Budd? 56 add Bd3s 57 Wer ‘Hat 58 Zel!, and White actually Black would frst like to bring his king a bit nearer, s0 a5 to sup- port the e-paven of stop the Oppo- ents pasted e-pawn If the need frites. therefore started coasider- 1g a rook exchange. = mhst? Now if 55 Halt, then after ‘55.5807 the king has moved closer The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 25 to the centre, and Black will stil sgethis check onthe third rank. The ‘only question is what happens if ‘White exchanges on bS and picks ‘up the d-pawn wit his knight. Let 1s try to ind theanswer, bat til have to be coniineing. and re tively uncompltated. ‘The inital position s too good to warrant slightest risk 58 66D, ‘obvious. After the text-nove, Black may play 58...De71?,but firs it is bet {erto lookat something more forc- ing ~ winaing th white knight 8 3 59 Bes xc 6 as Quickly reaching thie position \nmy calculations, Thadamomen- ‘ary fright — didn't see how t0 stop the pawns. However, I then asked myself, “Where should my ‘night be going?" To dé of course, and if possible with tempo, So its route Became clear, 60 Bast ae Bete 2 wr D6 ‘This whole episode is instruc. tive from the viewpoint ofthe teeh- nical exploitation of an advantage Black is clearly more comfortable playing with his king on 67. Once ‘tums out that White cannot af ford to exchange rooks, Black can make life easier for himself by playing 54..HbS. For chat reason it |b worth making the effort and cal- lating the forced variation, espe- ally if you are able to do itquickly and accurately (in my ease i took ‘hour three minutes). think we are "ow beter placed i understand that 00d technique Is in many re- spects founded on short, precise {lctical calculations. It remains for me to show how the game concluded: $4.-HbS! $5 Eal+ 07 56 2 Zb2 57 ted Eb3+ 58 12 Hb? 59 des Zb3+ (Gealed). Another point about tch- ical exploitation: in won pos ‘ons it doesn’t pay to foree events before the adjournment ~ though26 The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Tabing ‘of course new regulations to elimi fate adjouraments make this ad- vice redundant. (60 £2 he 61 6 sbe7 (this is where Black's 54th move brings results!) 62 HaB h3 63 Bg De? 64 DHS a6 65 Del 3 66 ed <2 (another way is 66.1 67 Be2h2 68 Zxh2 c2 69 a2 c1W+ 770 @xcl Hb2+) 67 ded2 Hg3! (but not 67. .H0b}768 e2h2 69 De!) on Let us now proceed to examine the other aspect of decision-taking technique. This aspect i even less ‘well studied. Principles of rational, ‘economical thinking First, the most general satement of ‘ims, When thinking about your ove, your task is not at all t-cal- cclate every variation to the end ‘and attain an exhaustive under- standing ofthe position. You have fone task, and one only: to take the correct decision, to play the best move. As far as possible, try tominimize your expenditure of time and effort. You should only calculate the minimum number ‘of variations necessary for mak- 1. What should you think about first? In Kratenko's ance you wil find some interesting ideas on this topic, but they are partly at variance with ‘my own recommendations. Its up to-you to choose which ones you think are nearer the rut. If there i an attractive continua- tion which forces the play, then of, course itmakes sense to begin your Calculations with this Hine (as we ‘aw, for example, when analysing. ‘Alexander-Euwe). It is usually en sible to start by examining the forcing moves such as exchanges, moves that win material, or the ‘opposite sacrifice. Calculating a concrete line is often simpler than appraising the consequences ‘ofa quiet continuation. ‘Once T was talking to Mihail Katz, the famous draughts trainer ‘who has coached an entre galaxy ‘of Women's World Champions (Elena Altshil, Zoya Zadovskaya land others). He told me he taught ‘his pupils to stat by considering all possible moves that put men en prise, Asa result it was extremely fare for them to miss unexpected combinations. Ifyou discover a combinative idea and feel it is probably sound, tmakes sense to examine the op- ponent’s weakest looking answers The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 27 ‘rst. (Again, let us recall Alexan- sder-Euwe. We did things in thator- der when we studied the position after Black's 35th move.) Quickly looking over the easiest variations, you narrow down the field of i vestigation, possibly restricting it to one or two continuations. After that itis easier, from the psycho- logical viewpoint, to concentrate allyourefforts onthe crucial ines. Conversely, if you suspect the combination ‘will not work, be- gin by concentrating on the de- {ence that looks best it refutes the combination, that is enough; there is no point in examining any other resources the opponent may have, ‘Obviously these recommends- tions are fa from having absolute validity. In chess the most varied stations arise, and you may have to cope with them in completely different ways, but the guidelines I have given will apply tothe major- ity of cares 2. The ‘emergency exit’ T shall not give any examples of this, but simply explain the idea, ‘Suppose an obscure position has arisen and itis not clea who is better, You start to work out acom- plex combination and notice tha at some point, if you want, you can force perpetual check or (for in stance) a level endgame, You are now justified in breaking off and saying "Right, then ~T'll play the combination! T've got perpetual check in hand. There should be some more atacking chances, bat L ‘won't finish calculating them — can do it late, oF force the draw if there's nothing else frit” ‘The ‘emergency exit, which a- lows you to do without calculating the critical variation in advance, oesn'thave tobe a forced draw. It is enough to note that somewhere along the line you have a move ‘which may actully be second-rate but which you nonetheless judge to be perfectly acceptable. A few moves later you will find it much ‘easier to decide whether to go into the main variation or be content ‘witha reasonable deal }. Process of elimination ‘Sometimes there is no point in precisely calculating the line you Intend to play. You just need to conclude that the line makes ‘some sense, that there Is no im- mediate refutation, and that you have nothing better anyway ~all ‘other moves are bad. By such _means you may be able to save a great deal of time and energy. Some chess players are prone to28 The Technique of Analysis and Declsion-Taking forget this method of selecting & ‘move, or apply it inepdy in the years 1973-5 I worked with Valery Chekhov, preparing him forthe World Junior Champi- ‘onship. We gave alot of attention to perfecting his technique for stars the ish as apne he piyer who went on #0 win the Eamponship but se ow easy this win was for Yusupow 4-86 3 1440-06 842 Oba? (Backs in- fending 5, ee botertoplay tat ne 6 and mee 7 da05 by Seana 7 0-0 eS (7. es! 161 8 dues Og 9 D3 dees 10 a2 2e8 10.18 would be a fered by 1108 bt perhaps chat fre thelese evi) 11d 6 12 Biehl exb6 (12x06 13 Wd Had 14201, and 4, 68 flo 15 045) 13 Wad ina 14 Kad 4S (good ideas for Black ar al- Teady hard to come by) 15 8x67 Eabs 16 ef a7 17 03, and ‘White went onto exploit his ex in comfort ae 4 00 ‘occasionally even sochanato- ral move as casting ean prove @ fos of tine, The, most precise tnovearer is 4,061 Gntending Bucs) 5 dt oS. The point is that ‘White has to-do someting about Suexdt 7 Sad a5, bot Och can ‘The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 29 be answered cither by 6..0xd4 7 Dxdd 45 8 Bg? des, or by 6..Ded with the unpleasant threat cof 7. a5+ (if the moves 4.0.05 g2, had been inserted, White ould simply caste here). Nor docs White achieve anything with 6 dees WaS-+7 bd We (ehreat- ‘ening 8..Qg4; 8 23 would now be 3 mistake due 10 8.0.0 9 Sp? Dat 10 De Dxs2t!) 8 ad ws (8.397 is also good) 9 2 6 10 bbe ans, Another way of carying out the same idea is 4..5! (threatening 5.8) 5 e4 d6! (with a view to 6.25) 6 d4@e4! Sa os 6 ef Bes 700 a6 In such positions ..e5 pleasant positional threat, the b2-bishop would be shut oat of the game. White could only acti- vate it with €2-e3 and d24, which ‘would be dificult to carry out 8 a4 ‘Bed 9 Dbaz ‘The game Korchnoi-Gligorié, LUSSR-Yagoslavia match 1956 con- tinued 93 Ses 10 Wel xt3 11 x13 igs 12 xc6 bxe6 13 dxeS dec 14 xg7 sbxg7 15 14 Ded ‘with equi ° rs After 9."@xd2 10 Wa? the pin ‘on the al-h8 diagonal disappears and White wll aim to gain a space advantage with dé-d5, 10 Dh4!? (D) ‘The ef-knight is attacked. How would you continue for Black? ‘What position would you aim for? Sharp attempts like 10..¢5? 11f4@h3+ 12 ht and 10..d5? 11 exds Was 12 g4 clearly fail 10..2167 ig also bad; the space ‘ining 4-45 (ether atonce or af- ter exchanging on 15) guarantees ‘White a positional plus, That leaves only 10..2xa2. ‘When playing 10 0b, Twas in- tending to investigate whether I could spoil Black's pawn forma- tion by inserting an exchange on £5. The complications following 11 DxfS Oxf 12 Dixg7 mighe wen ‘out n my favour, due tothe power- falb2-bishop. Butof course didn’t start working out the variations30. The Technique of Analysis and Decison-Taking beforehand: merely satisfied my- Self thatthe simple 11 Wxd2 (the “emergency exit!) was perfectly playable, Th general terms 11 Daf looks suspect idea; therefore, as Thave Said before, we should begin by Tooking forthe simplest refutation. “Theres no hurry to study the posi- tion where Black isthe exchange ‘up (even that position isin his fa- ‘your. Fist ask yourself what the Candidate moves are. Tsaw the re- ply 11..2xes!, keeping a sound xtra pawn for Black, and broke (off my calculations at that point. ‘$0 11 Wad? is forced. Most likely Black should not allow the advance dé-d5 (although 11.107 is possible) so he should choose between IL ond 12 Dx gxf5 13 Src6 bees 4 xd and 11d 12 Oxf5 OxfS 13 Lxb7. Which of ‘these positions should Black pre- fer? What is required now is not calculation bat sue positional as- festment. Tthink the second possibility is the rghtone, White has to conduct lan attack onthe Kngside with hd- 1S or f4-5 as appropriate, but the success of such an attack is very ‘oubifl, because there are not all that many pieces left on the board fnd meanwhile Black is ready to Counter-attack on the ueenside at fonce by advancing his a-pawn. CObjectively the chances are about level bere. “Taking on d4 withthe pawn is ‘weaker, rince pawn weaknesses te formed in the black camp. The better pawn structure guarantees ‘White & small but lasting advan- tage. "What happened in the game? ‘After I played 10 4, Chekhov ‘sank into thought. spent a couple fof mingtes looking at the conse (quences of 10..2ixd2 11 Dxt5. ‘Then, ving convinced myseif Gin his thinking ime!) that that line ‘was unplayable, got up and walked bout, There was nothing more to think about it was upto my oppo- ‘nent to choose his move. “Ten minutes passed, then an- ‘other ten. This rather began to ir- fate me, What was he thinking of? By process of elimination it is quite eagy to see that Black must ‘Exchange knights. Why waste any time oni, then? 10 ead a1 xa ‘As you would expect, Imade my ‘move instantaneously, whereupon ‘Chekhov once again immersed hi>- self in thought fr twenty-five min- bites or so. Evidently he had still pot come toa definite conclusion, frelse some new doubts had arisen, bringing him back wo the problem he had been strugaling with ‘The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 31 Of course it was sheer waste to spend nearly an hour on such ¢ relatively uncomplicated problem. ‘What's more, Chekhov's solution was by no means the best in exdat n Sas exis. 13 Bxcé bes 14 Bead Saar 14.05 15 2b? WeT was prefer- able. a 15 Wxdd 0527/0) ‘After this Black has a difficult position. He had to choose be- tween 15..Wd7, intending ..£5, and 15..06, preparing ..45. But then, there ix nothing surprising in ‘my opponent's weak play. If you ‘use up foo much time and energy at ‘one particular stage, you won't have enough lft to solve your prob- 17 Bad ‘This threatens 18 245, winning a pawn, 7 wes, 18 Bret Black has to contend not only with Bas, but also with the line- opening move e2-e4, fa 16 118,816, White plays 19 as 5 20 Wa2 (fom this variation we can see why 18 637! would have been less exact). 19 Has a5, Black could pu up stiffer resis tance with 19. 20 Ext Wis 21 Bixfd a5. The advance of the a- awn would promise him some ‘counterplay in the endgame, bt i ‘pot much use in the middlegame. White replies by organizing an at- tack onthe ng 20 Hes ad et ans 2 mbs Ens 23 res White has a strategically won ‘position. He aims to open lines on the kingsde with After the game naturally asked (Chekhov what he had been think= ing about when he took such along time over move 10. “Well you know” he replied, “L deciding what to do after- wards.”32 The Technique of Analysis and Decision Taking “But 10..@xd2 was forced, wasn’t?” "Yes, it we “Were you risking anything when you played it? Could it have Jost outright?” “No” “Then why didn't you play it and think afterwards, in the pos tion where you actually had to ‘make a choice? With that position in front of you on the board, it ‘would be easier ~ there would be Jess chance you'd miss something. Tn any case, you might have been able to do some of your thinking in my time. If you'd taken on 02 at ‘once, I'd still have been looking at x5." (daly enough, these arguments wore new 10 Chekhov atthe time. He was wholly unfamiliar with such time-saving devices as the process of elimination. But then, large numbers of players are prone to this same kind of inefficient thinking, ‘As a result of analysing his typi- cal mistakes inthe taking of deci sions, Chekhov almost eliminated the desperate time-scrambles that had characterized his earlier games. Im the following year (1975) he successfully came through the ctimination process and went on to gain the distinguished tie of ‘World Junior Champion In Part 3 of Secrets of Chess “Training {described an interesting type of exercise playing out end- ‘game studies over-the-board. In this way you can develop your {imagination and your analytical technique: in particular, you can eam to make sensible use of the process of elimination, It Price, '30 Years of Soviet ‘Armenia’ Tourney 1950 White's knight is trapped and will hardly escape alive. The at- ‘tempt o extricate it with the aid of the bishop is easly refuted: 1 845? fd (oot the immediate 1.06? 2 Bexe6 dexe6 3 6) 2 shed 06 3 Hp a6 and 4..%297. 1 Pxh3 Jooks tempting in view ofthe lines 1figT 205+ and 1.287 2 ded Dios 3 G15. However, Black has The Technique of Analysis and Decision-Taking 33 the much suonger 1. Qts+2 oes St followed by Sig7 Paying it this way, White has no chance. "What els cane do? The only continuation o offer any hope i 5+ 7, and now either 2 213 ees dps or2deahs da 3 ips g7 4 dp5, trying to exploit the temporary lack of co-ordination of the black pisses. OF course, we fave tobe quick to unearth the it- Ue eaps that make ie easier forus in some variations, for instance 2 and De 3 hes and then 3.243 4 Bg6" 06 3.6 4 7! Gur7 5 as witha daw. “Thus ourtrst move is cleat Lest Sey [Now which way do we go? 12 2037143493, the black knight finds an extra square, g2. After 3.g2l 4 Sxh3 De our defen sive resources are exhausted. There- fore we must capture the pawn at 2 dana dans ‘An immediate draw would re- sult fiom 2, Ste 3pd Ded (we tlready know bow to mect 3.243 or 3.006) 4 gs xh 5 x6, hd Black cannot stop the threat. ened 69017 (eg. 5.898 6.8454). ated ORT 4 oes Now Black must have a long think, as iis not at all simple to convert his exta kaght into 8 win, ‘While hes tit, we shall work out some variations too. After 4g '52g6, he can only strengthen his position by 5.06 6:46 Sib4. Now 7 eX? would be a misiake, 35 af ter 7..s2f8 the e6-pawn cannot be taken because of 8.2274; while on 8 a7 e749 shg6 aS 10 Soe th (Zugzwang) 11 27 Black places his king on €7 and consoli- dates his forces. We must attack the pawn from the other diagonal: 7 a6! 8 8 Lot Be7+ 9 e6 hd 10.242, and Black is unable toimprove his postion any further. {4.3887 does not alter matters: Bott bes 6 96. ‘Black's only remaining try isto remove his knight from 27: ‘4 ‘Debs 5 es eT! (D) 5...Bd8 is useless: 6 dS (in- tending 76) 6..067 dixe6! Dxe6 ar.