MASTERING CHESS STRATEGYJOHAN HELLSTEN MASTERING OSEAN STRATEGY EVERYMAN CHESS www.everymanchess.comFirst published in 2010 by Gloucester Publishers plc (formerly Everyman Publishers plc), Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT Copyright © 2010 Johan Hellsten First published 2010 by Gloucester Publishers plc The right of Johan Hellsten to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978 185744 648 7 Distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, P.O Box 480, 246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437-0480. Allother sales enquiries should be directed to Everyman Chess, Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT tel: 020 7253 7887 fax: 020 7490 3708 email: [email protected] website: www everymanchess.com Everyman is the registered trade mark of Random House Inc. and is used in this work under license from Random House Inc. EVERYMAN CHESS SERIES Chief advisor: Byron Jacobs Commissioning editor: John Emms Assistant editor: Richard Palliser Typesetting and editing by First Rank Publishing, Brighton. Cover design by Horatio Monteverde. Printed and bound in the US by Versa Press.Contents Bibliography Preface Introduction 1 Basic Concepts of Strategy Introduction A review of the concepts 2. Improving the Pieces The bishop The knight The rook The queen The king The bishop pair 3 Exchanges Realizing a material advantage Realizing a positional advantage Eliminating key pieces Facilitating an attack 11 13 13 13 28 28 44 59 73 78 86 95 95 98 103 107Facilitating the defence Reducing enemy activity Series of exchanges Dynamic exchanges Pawn Play Gaining space Creating weaknesses Passed pawns Pawn majorities Pawn chains Dynamics Prophylaxis Restriction Prophylaxis Provocation Miscellaneous Weak squares Weak pawns Doubled pawns Blockade The initiative The link between tactics and strategy Exercises 1-20: The bishop 21-40: The knight 41-60: The rook 61-69: The queen 70-81: The king 82-90: The bishop pair 91-96: Exchanges - material advantage 97-104: Exchanges — positional advantage 105-114: Exchanges — key pieces 112 116 124 128 134 134 142 156 168 179 190 204 204 211 222 232 232 239 249 259 273 288 299 301 304 307 311 312 315 316 317 319115-126: 127-136: 137-148: 149-154: 155-162: 163-174: 175-192: 193-208: 209-218: 219-228: 229-246: 247-266: 267-286: 287-306: 307-314: 315-324: 325-334: 335-350: 351-366: 367-382: Exchanges - attack Exchanges - defence Exchanges — activity Series of exchanges Dynamic exchanges Gaining space Creating weaknesses Passed pawns Pawn majorities Pawn chains Dynamics Restriction Prophylaxis Provocation Weak squares Weak pawns Doubled pawns Blockade The initiative The link between tactics and strategy Solutions Index of players 321 323 327 328 329 331 334 337 338 340 343 350 353 355 356 361 363 367 482Bibliography 90 Schacklektioner, E.Agrest & Je.Hall (Sveriges Schackférbund 2002) Botvinnik’s Best Games Volume 1: 1925-1941, MBotvinnik (Moravian Chess 2000) Botvinnik’s Best Games Volume 2: 1942-1956, M.Botvinnik (Moravian Chess 2000) Botvinnik's Best Games Volume 3: 1957-1970 - Analytical & Critical Works, MBotvinnik (Mo- ravian Chess 2000) Chess in the Fast Lane, M.Adams & B.Adams (Cadogan 1996) Chess Knowledge, Training, Mastery, B.Zlotnik (Sahovski Informator 2001) Chess Strategy Course, A.Bartashnikov (ChessBase 1999) Curso Intermedio, M.Ilescas M (EDAMI, 2001-2003) Curso Superior, Milllescas (EDAMI, 2001-2003) Descubriendo los Conceptos en Ajedrez, J.Hellsten (Esfera Editorial 2007) Dynamic Chess Strategy, M.Suba (Pergamon 1991) £1 Camino Hacia el Progreso en Ajedrez, AYermolinsky (Gambit 2002) Endgame Strategy, MShereshevsky (Pergamon 1985) Entrenamiento de Elite, M.Ovoretsky & A.Yusupov (Ediciones Eseuve 1992) Excelling at Chess, J.Aagaard (Everyman Chess 2001) Excelling at Positional Chess, J.Aagaard (Everyman Chess 2003) Gewinnen mit Sizilianisch, M.Taimanov (Sportverlag Berlin, 1989) Grossmeister Geller, E.Geller (Fizkultura i Sport 1976) Play Against Pieces, S.Gligoric (Batsford 2002) Learn from the Legends, MMarin (Quality Chess 2004) Logika Sovremennyh Shahmat, V.Dydyshko (Polymia 1989) Los Secretos dela Estrategia Moderna en Ajedrez, J. Watson (Gambit 2002) Mezhdunarodniy Turnir Grossmeisterov, D.Bronstein (Fizkultura i Sport 1960) Middlegame Laboratory, A.Suetin (Chess Digest 1974) Middlegame Planning, P.Romanovsky (American Chess Promotions 1990)Mastering Chess Strategy Mis Mejores Partidas, A.Karpov (Paidotribo 2000) Modern Chess Self-Instructor, Book 2, V.Pozharsky (Caissa 1999) My Best Games of Chess, V.Anand (Gambit 1998) Play the Sicilian Kan, J.Helisten (Everyman Chess 2008) Schach Training, A.Suetin (Sportverlag Berlin 1988) Schackgeniet Anatolij Karpov, G.Johansson (Prisma 1976) Skola Vysshevo Masterstva 1-4, M.Ovoretsky & A.Yusupov (Folio 1998) Stormdstare, L.Grahn & 5.Westberg (Bonniers 1979) Tactical Chess Exchanges, G.Nesis (Batsford 1991) Testa din Spelstyrka, B.Larsen (Prisma 1977) The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, M.Tal (Cadogan 1997) The Middle Game, M.£uwe & H.kramer (Bell & Sons 1964) Tréna schack med Jesper Hall, Je.Hall (Natur & Kultur 2001) Tratado de Ajedrez Superior, Y.Estrin (Martinez Roca 1981) Chess informant 1-105 Chess Today 1-3400 MegaBase 2008 The Week in Chess 1-800 Tidsskrift for Schack 2004-2008Preface This book has its origin in my classes as a chess trainer in Chile and Ecuador. The objective of the book is purely practical: to help the reader to improve his skills within chess strategy. It does not pretend to fulfil any scientific, historic or artistic functions. Thanks to my students and ex-students in Chile and Ecuador, whose feedback during classes certainly enriched this material. Also thanks to Alexandra and Nico for your pa- tience while | was writing the book. Johan Hellsten, Riobamba, September 2010Introduction Here | would like to comment briefly on some general aspects of this book. Contents This book touches a wide range of subjects related to middlegame strategy. Each subject comes with some explanatory examples, and in the second half of the book you will find related exercises. | am a strong supporter of the intensive use of exercises in the learning process. In my opinion, the closer you can get to a game situation when you are training (or teaching) chess, the faster progress can be expected. In his excellent work Logika Sovremennyh Shahmat (Modern Chess Logic), Belarusian writer and grandmaster Viacheslav Dydyshko mentions that one major problem faced by chess students is that the theoretical knowledge acquired from literature remains “alien” to us for a long time. In the heat of the battle we will probably rely on what our intuition tells us and, unfortunately, that doesn’t always coincide with our knowledge. Advancing his thoughts a little further, it is one thing to read through and understand a couple of Rubinstein’s rook endgames, and quite another one to be able to play them like him! Naturally, any new chess knowledge has to be integrated in our mind with such depth that we are able to swiftly apply it in practice, even if a long time has passed since the learning moment. School kids often memorize a lot of facts before an exam, and forget most of it within a few weeks. (I, for one, would not like to repeat today my French or Maths exams from 1990.) In contrast, chess players need to store the information fora long time, and retrieve it without much delay. In this context | believe that exercises, alongside normal games and their posterior analysis, are one of the best tools. Compare the case of learning languages: few persons are able to speak a new language confidently after just reading through a few text and grammar books. What most of us need is practice, prac- tice. 14Mastering Chess Strategy Style and level Ihave tried to explain in the most didactical way possible what is actually happening on the board, without an excessive use of analysis, in order not to tire the reader. To experi- enced players some parts of the book will appear rather basic; and to others, more chal- lenging. Club players will probably see a lot of things for the first time. Material There have been many different sources involved in the writing of this book, the most sig- nificant ones being Chess Informant, ChessBase Megabase and Chess Today. | have used a lot of my own games and fragments, simply because these are the games that | know best. Technology lused Chess Assistant 8.1 for the elaboration of this book, with Rybka 2.4 as the main analy- sis engine, and Megabase 2008 as a main reference database. How to read this book? It makes sense to start with the first, short chapter since it touches upon several concepts that will be present during the rest of the book. In contrast, the rest of the chapters are rather independent, although | often make references to earlier examples. Each chapter is divided into several sections, which can be treated in the following, simple way: 1. Go through the explanatory examples; 2. Solve the related exercises; 3. Compare your solutions with the ones in the book. Advice for trainers It is easy to use this book as training material. Choose the section(s) that you need, go through the explanatory examples with your students, and then let them work with the related exercises. In practical terms, | suggest you always have the exercise positions ar- ranged on chessboards. The time needed oscillates roughly between 5 and 20 minutes, de- pending on the exercise (they are presented in ascending order of difficulty) and the level of the student. The solutions can be presented in written form, or played out against the trainer, which creates a closer feeling for them. Please note that the solutions given in the book are not absolute truths - the important thing is to grasp the general strategical idea ineach exercise. One additional piece of advice: many of the explanatory examples, as well as some of the longer exercises, can easily be used as “quiz” games, where the students should find the best move at determined (for example, five) moments during the game, with the trainer awarding the corresponding points and giving hints if necessary. 12Chapter One Basic Concepts of Strategy Introduction The middlegame is perhaps the most de: manding phase of the game, where the player is constantly faced with tactical and strategical challenges. Without doubt, tac- tical capacity is fundamental in order to conduct the direct battle on the board, cre- ating and evading threats, etc. However, we also need some basic notion about what things are beneficial for us in the long run. In his great work Strategia, famous chess trainer Mark Dvoretsky outlined a range of concepts and related definitions, which, with some slight modifications, conform the theoretical basis of this chapter. Areview of the concepts Basically, any action undertaken in the game can be abstracted to tactical and strategical operations. The tactical ones are easy to grasp: direct threats, pins, forks, deflection, etc. As for the strategical ones, we can distinguish between: a) improving our pieces; b) pawn play; ©) exchanges; d) prophylaxis (with restriction and provocation). The remainder of this book is structured around these subjects; for now let's just see afew related examples in practice. Example 1 V.Chuchelov-Kir.Georgiev Mainz (rapid) 2002 ue Vee, i Y 13Mastering Chess Strategy Improving our pieces Atfirst sight, White seems to be clearly bet- ter. All his pieces are active, the opponent has a weakness on a6, and the queenside pawn majority is an asset in any endgame. On top of this, the black forces are ob- structed by the badly placed knight on e8. 21...g6! simple, yet very strong. Georgiev plans ..g7-f5 in order to improve his knight. 22 af A good square for the bishop, where it protects gz and keeps watching the a6- pawn. In the event of 22 £95, fighting for the dark squares, Black could adjust his plans slightly by 22...2g7 preparing ..f6, and the knight reaches a decent square anyway. Another, more enterprising option is 22..0h8!? keeping intact the plan of .DQ7-F5. 22...g7 23 We3?! A strange tempo loss. The immediate 23 Wh3 seemed more natural, although after 23..f5 Black hardly has any problems anymore. 23...Af5 24 Wh3 BfdB In just four moves, the situation on the board has changed noticeably. Thanks to his strong central control Black already holds the upper hand. 25 Rd3 The simple 25 Bxd8+ Hxd8 26 Edi might have been preferable. Now Black gains space, with tempo. 25...e51 26 Ld2 e4 27 Exd8+ Bxd8 28 Ata hs A sensible move in order to back up the well-placed knight, which also has an entic- ing destiny on d4. Black went on to win the game. This is a simple example of how to improve one of our pieces and the possible virtues of such an operation, especially if it is our worst piece that is being improved! 14 Example 2 Cu.Hansen-J.Hellsten Malm6 1996 Pawn play Black just needs a few moves like ..2d8, ....97 and ...0-0 to achieve safety. However, it is White to move and he manages to alter the pawn structure to his benefit. asdsl This advance has several virtues: it gets rid of the backward d4-pawn, destroys Black's protected square at d5, and, most importantly, creates a mobile pawn major- ity on the queenside.15...cxd5 After 15..2d8? 16 d6 the protected passed pawn is decisive in the long run. Even worse is 15..)xc5? 16 &xc5 Wxc5 17 Se1+ with the idea of 17...e7 18 dé. 16 Wxds Wd7 Exchanges won't remedy Black's struc- tural problems, but after 16.208 17 Wea, followed by b2-b4 and a2-a4, White has a huge advantage. 17 Badi Wxds 18 Sxds5 Re7 19 bal White's plan is simple: convert the ma- jority into a passed pawn. Black is unable to do the same thing on the kingside, due to the doubled f-pawns. 19...¢8 20 fda Mc7 21 dz! The knight is heading for the comfort- able c4-square. 21...f5 22 Dea 0-0 By playing 22..f4?! 23 dq Black would just help the opponent in improving his pieces. 23 g3 wg7 24 wg2 ds 25 Sxd8 QxdB 26 aa! (D) Little by little White continues with his plan, whereas Black lacks counterplay. Han- sen later won the game by bringing up his king. Evidently, the key to his success was 15 d5!, improving the pawn structure. Basic Concepts of Strategy Example 3 A.Khalifman-M.Adams Groningen 1990 Exchanges The last move was 22 4d2-e4 with the idea of swapping the strong enemy knight on c5. 22.85! The most tempting reply, and the best one as well! Black prepares to exchange his bishop for the white knight, so that his own, powerful knight will remain on the board. 23 Reg b3 24 Wer By unpinning the knight White man- aged to avoid any tactical surprises; how- 45Mastering Chess Strategy ever, the opponent's reply will leave him with a clear strategical inferiority. 24... Lxegl 25 Lxed f5 26 Rg2 Was By now the virtues of the ...&fSxe4 plan are easy to grasp. The firmly installed knight outshines the passive bishop, and the b2-pawn is a burden in the long run. 27 ha Wbs 28 We3 Daal A typical method in superior positions: Black forces the exchange of queens in or- der to limit the opponent's counterplay. 29 Wba Wxb4 30 xba Rfbs! Of course not 30..Axb2? 31 Bxb3, and Black loses his target. Generally speaking, the attacker shouldn't exchange pawns unless there is a good reason fort. 31 Exb8+ Zxbs, The previous exchanges have empha- sized White's problem with the b2-pawn. 32 Hba Bc8 33 2h3 g6 34 eq ez 35 Mar Best The knight returns to its preferred square, where it eyes the e4-pawn. In con- trast, 35..@xb2! 36 Ha8+ wg7 37 Hbs would have complicated Black's task. ESS, WY ian AW RK ‘ ee VA FF Gam a Y GY i, a Z G V, Wa BG Ss RK 36 exfs xb2 37 fxg6 Or 37 Ba&+ wg7 38 a7+ ef6 39 fxg6 sxg6 and the passed pawn decides ~ Ad- ams. 37...hxg6 38 Re6+ HF8 39 HaB+ we7 16 White lost on time in a desperate posi- tion; for example, 40 Ha7+ #d8 41 &f7 Hc2 42 &xg6 e4! wins. In conclusion, the ex- change operation initiated by 22..8f5 helped Black to reach a superior position of the “good knight vs. bad bishop” type, while the subsequent exchanges of major pieces proved useful in order to increase the ad- vantage. Example 4 E.Lobron-R.Dautov Nussloch 1996 Prophylaxis, restriction and provocation White has just played 27 Bd2-e2, with the probable intention of Bfe1 creating a mat- ing threat. 2 6! A typical prophylactic measure. With 87 next, Black safeguards the king from any surprises along the back rank. More- over, he takes the f5 and hS squares from the white queen and knight. 28 Bfer bg7 All of a sudden White has fallen short of active plans, whereas Black is waiting for the right moment to attack the b2-pawn.29 Dgz hst By setting up the positional threat of -h§-h4, Black aims at provoking a weak- ness in the enemy camp. 30 h3 On the intended 30 4e3 there could fol- low 30...h4! with attacking prospects. How- ever, 30 h4 seemed like a safer way of de- fending the kingside, although in this case White would have to be on his guard against a potential ...&.xh4 sacrifice. 30...2d6 31 Dfq? The lesser evil was 31 De3, though after 31.03 32 bxc3 Bxc3 33 Wa2 Wd7! (thanks to the provocation of h2-h3, Black gains a vital tempo) 34 #h2 Wa4 Black enjoys a clear advantage - Dautov. 31...b6 32 Hb1 c3! 33 b4 a5 34 Reg Dds! Y Mey %Y 4g la com en 2 White managed to save the b-pawn, but now the second rank proves to be too vul- nerable. 35 Hbea axb4 36 axb4 Zxb4 37 Bxba Wxb4 38 Hea Wb2 39 Nez Hdz! White resigned. Evidently, the plan with 97-96 and ..%g7 not only neutralized the back rank threats, but also prevented en- emy ideas such as Dhs and Wfs. Another strong move was 29...h5 in order to provoke a weakening of White's kingside. These methods are indeed typical in practice. Basic Concepts of Strategy Now back to our revision of strategical concepts. Before leaving the strategical and tactical operations, the former of which we will return to soon, | would like to empha- size the link between tactics and strategy. Without using tactical weapons and pre- venting the opponent's tactical threats, we won't be able to conduct the strategical battle. Often a strategically superior posi- tion has to be realized in a concrete man- ner; i.e. at some moment we have to resort to tactics in order to impose our advantage. On other occasions, a tempting strategical plan can fail due to a simple tactical detail Finally, by utilizing tactical resources in the position, we can reach minor strategical goals, such as the improvement of a spe- cific piece. Let's see an example that touches on several of these aspects. Example 5 N.Short-L.Ljubojevic Novi Sad Olympiad 1990 In this theoretical position Black aims at completing the queenside development by -~td7-c6, after which he would have a solid game thanks to the strong knight on es. Now let us see how Short fights against this plan with all possible tactical means. 17Mastering Chess Strategy 18. Dds! Supported by the line 18..exd5? 19 Wxd5+ #h8 20 Exf8 mate, White improves his knight, which was not doing anything substantial on c3. 18...Wd8 19 Db6 Hbs Again Black is just one move away from 20...87, so White hurries to create threats. 20Rf41Dd7 After 20..8d7 21 @xd7! (21 &xes dxes 22 Wxd7 Wxb6+ 23 dh1 Wh8! is less clear) 21..Axd7 22 &g4 Black is suffering on the light squares; e.g. 22..We8 23 Wed or 22..e5 23 Wd5+@h8 24 2e3. Probably 20...2c6 was preferable, when 21 Wf2 g6 22 Re2!? &g7 23 3, intending &c4, keeps a pleasant edge for White. 21 Deal Strategically speaking, this is the desired move, since any exchange would help Black to liberate himself. However, before making it Short had to establish that neither 21..e5 nor 21...d5 would work against him. 21...d5 Or 21...e57! 22 Wd5+ #h8 23 %e3 with a huge edge. 22 ¢hal Parrying the threat of 22.25. It also transpires that 22...dxc4 loses the exchange after 23 &xb8. 22...2¢5 23 Wd2 Has 24 2f7+H1 ‘A new tactical twist that helps improve the bishop before grabbing the pawn. 24...@h8 25 exd5 b5 26 Das! Preventing 26...2b7. 26...D£8 27 Lest With the strong threat of 28 2xg7+ &xg7 29 We3+. 27...2g6 28 2xg6 hxgé 29 ba LF8 30 d6 White has an enormous advantage and soon won the game. Please note that the bishop on c8 hasn't moved yet! It is less probable that White would have reached his main objective ~ prevention of Black's queenside development - without such a heavy use of tactical arms.Now we should move on with more con- cepts of strategy. Alongside the strategical operations we have positional elements such as material, weak squares, space, passed pawns, files, diagonals, etc. One im- portant task during the game is to evaluate which of these elements hold most signifi- cance. Let's see an example. Example 6 1.Sokolov-J.Emms Hastings 1998/99 In the above position both sides have their respective triumphs. White possesses the two bishops and more space, whereas Black has the superior pawn structure. 13 fa! Preparing f4-f5 in order to clear the po- sition for the bishop pair. In such double- edged positions, the player with weak- nesses should act rapidly, before the oppo- nent manages to consolidate. Let’s see what can happen in the opposite case: 13 wf1?! Qbd7 14 Re3?! DF8i 15 f4 Dg6 (thanks to the previous manoeuvre, the black king now feels safer, whereas the knight has in- teresting destinies on h4-f5) 16 d5 Wc8 17 Bg3 Dh4 18 &g1 Af5 with excellent play, Basic Concepts of Strategy OJakobsen-CuHansen, Torshavn 1997. Next Black could consider ....£.8 followed by ..g7-96 and ....g7 improving the bishop, whereas White’s doubled pawns are trou- blesome in the long run. 13...bd7 14 We2 45? A tempting counter-strike directed at the king on e1. However, it soon transpires that it is the black king who will suffer from the opening of lines. Considerable safer was 14... F8! 15 f5 Wh8 16 fxe6 fxe6 with just a slight advantage for White - Ftacnik. 15 f5! exfs 16 Wxfs dxcq 17 &xcq Now it becomes evident that the a2-g8 diagonal is a much more relevant factor than the e-file, since the white king could hide on fa at any moment, whereas Black has no light-squared bishop that can chal- lenge the enemy on ca. 17...86 Definitely not 17...Ra3+? 18 Sf1 Rxb2 19 ds; but 17..2f8!? again made sense, e.g. 18 Sf1 Wc8! 19 Wd3 Me6 and Black de. fends much better than in the game. 18 Wf3 We7 19 2b3 Wxh2?! More natural was 19...28+ 20 @f1 297, although at this point both 21 bs and 21 ds spell trouble for Black. 20 Rha We7 21 Sf! Securing the king and preparing 22 Hea. From now on, White’s attack plays itself. 'd8 22 Bei BFS Partying the threat of 23 Dds! @xd5 24 Wxd5 with a deadly attack on f7. 23 Baal Setting up the threat of 24 &xd7. 23...b5 24 &xb5 Eb8 25 &xd7 Wxd7 26 Bxe7! Wxe7 27 Axf6 We6 28 d5 Wa6+ 29 bg2 Eb6 30 He4 in this desperate position, Black re- signed. In conclusion, White’s control of the a2-g8 diagonal and his active bishop pair were decisive factors in this game. 19Mastering Chess Strategy What about planning in chess? Well, this is quite a tricky matter since the opponent might put up obstacles to our plans at any moment. Only in very superior positions, with the opponent deprived of any activity, does a detailed plan make sense. In the ma- jority of cases, we should rather concen- trate on finding the appropriate strategical and tactical operations, and adjust these according to the opponent's play. Of course, this doesn’t exclude keeping general direc- tions at mind, such as “attack on the king- side”, “advance the queenside pawn major- ity”, or “exchange pieces”. Let's see an ex- ample. Example 7 LSokolov-U.Andersson Reggio Emilia 1988/89 White has interesting attacking pros- pects thanks to his control of the semi-open f-file and the strong bishop on c2. With his next move Sokolov takes a first step in this direction. 23 Zg3l Preparing 24 h4 in order to expel the knight from 6. Obviously, the immediate 23 hd? would have failed to 23.294. 20 23...2d8! Wisely enough, Black prevents the en- emy plan. A_ light-hearted reply like 23..Rfd8? permits 24 h4!, when 24..xh4? 25 Hxg7+! &xg7 26 Wi6+ followed by 27 &h6(+) is terminal for Black. On the other hand, an active defence with 23...f6? would have failed to 24 Hxg6! hxg6 (or 24...fxe5 25 Wh4 transposing) 25 &.xg6 fxeS 26 Wh4 with a decisive attack. In effect, White's attack was stopped by the accurate 23...2.d8, so what should he do now? 24 gs! The beginning of a new plan: swap the dark-squared bishops and transfer the knight to the outpost on d6. 24..Rx85 Possibly a better choice was 24..f6 25 exf6 &xf6 in order to put an end to the en- emy plan, although after 26 We3 Bdf7 27 De4 White keeps the initiative. 25 Hxgs Wd8 Before doubling rooks on the d-file, Andersson brings the queen closer to the kingside. 26 We3 We7 27 ea bé The immediate 27...2fd8 gives White the additional option of 28 4c5!? with an even stronger plan: swap on e6 and attack with the bishop along the a2-98 diagonal. After 28..01c7 29 Dxe6 Wxe6 30 2b3 We7 31 Eft, followed by 32 ofS, Black is in trouble. 28 Bfa By keeping the knight on e4 for one more move, Sokolov maintains the option of Df6+. 28...2fd8 If 28...2d5, with the idea of 29 xd6?? Exd6, then White could again deviate from his original plan with 29 4q3! heading for £5. 29 Dd6Mission accomplished. On dé the knight not just controls a variety of key squares (such as f7 and f5), it also interferes with the opponent's main idea, an attack on the d4-pawn. If these circumstances are main- tained, then White could start over again with the attack. 29...xd6! This sacrifice is probably Black’s best shot. On 29...f6? 30 Bhs fxe5 31 dxe5 intend- ing Exh7 and/or We4, with a strong attack. Not much better is 29..c5?! due to 30 dxcS ‘bxc5 31 Wg3! resuming the idea of h4-h5. At this point both 31..h6 and 31..f6 permit a strong sacrifice on 96, while 31..W#8 32 ha Dxe5 33 Ded! is equally decisive. 30 exd6 Xxd6 32 Bg3 Thanks to his slight material edge and active pieces, White holds a stable edge. The next plan might be b2-b4, Re4 and Hca inorder to attack the weak c6-pawn. In this whole example we can notice the flexibility with which White executed his plans. Another important concept within chess strategy is the so-called typical positions. Here 1am referring to those with a similar pawn structure and piece configuration, although the involved set-ups (the location of some of the pawns and pieces) may differ from case Basic Concepts of Strategy to case. For example, in the above fragment Short-Ljubojevic we came across a typical Si- cilian position. The study of games that lead to typical positions is essential in order to learn openings properly, since it helps us to master the related plans in the middlegame, and acquire a “feeling” forthe opening. Technique is a term used frequently when referring to the realization of an ad- vantage without allowing the opponent any chances of counterplay. Furthermore, good technique is often related to the at- tention on small details in the position. By now we have arrived at two impor- tant concepts: initiative and dynamics. By initiative | refer to some kind of major in- fluence on the battle, without necessarily being an advantage in itself. The side that possesses the initiative has a greater liberty when it comes to the choice of actions, whereas his opponent is mainly reduced to defensive tasks. Later on, the initiative can be converted into an advantage, or it can disappear. Let's see an example. Example 8 Y.Seirawan-G.Sosonko Bad Kissingen 1981 21Mastering Chess Strategy White is slightly better due to the badly placed black king that obstructs the rook on a8. He should now create some activity be- fore Black manages to coordinate his forces. 13 h3l Seirawan prepares g4-g5 in order to gain space and access to the e4-square for his knight. Stereotypical play with 13 Bd2?! promises less after 13...f8 14 &xf8 Exf8 15 Bhdi &c7 16 Hd6 Se6, followed by .Mad8, and Black has no major problems. 23...h5, Now after 13...0f8 14 &xf8 Bxf8 15 94 Reb 16 g5 Dd7 17 &g4! White obtains some advantage - Cvetkovic. White also gains the upper hand in the event of 13..h6 14 94 Re6 15 Rd6! De8 16 Le7 followed by De4. With 13..h5 Black instead aims at preventing the g2-94 advance, and would indeed succeed after the slow 14 Ehg1?! ha. However, White has a much stronger move, which allows him to seize the initiative. 14 g4! hxg4 15 hxga This pawn sacrifice is mainly based on the fact that the clearance of the h-file fa- vours White, due to the disconnected black rooks. 15..2xg4 After 15..xg4 16 Zxh8+ &xh8 17 Bhi 4&fé 18 2h7! the black kingside comes un- der strong pressure. 16 Exh8+ &xh8 17 Re7! Generally speaking, the side that pos- sesses the initiative should play actively, creating new threats whenever possible. Here Black is faced with the double threat of 18 Bd8+ and 18 &xf6. 17...2d7 18 Hha 2g7 19 &xf6! In order to keep up the pressure White needs to bring his knight into the game. The bishop pair matters less. 19...Rxf6 20 De4 Rd8 21 Bh7! Seizing the seventh rank and creating 22 new threats. The materialistic 21 Dd6+?! &c7 22 Dxf7 promises less due to 22...2f6 23 Eh7 Eg8!, followed by ...Bg7, and the initiative starts to evaporate. 21..0e8 Or 21..Re6 22 Dcs! KFS 23 e4! b6 24 exf5 bxc5 25 fxg6 fxg6 26 2F3 with a con- siderable advantage despite the minus pawn. 22 Rga+ her Obviously 22...f5?? failed to 23 Dd6+ with mate. 23 Re6! Re7 24 Axf7 Rxf7 25 Oxf7 Sd7 26 Bg7 Finally White has managed to convert his initiative into something more tangible: a superior endgame. The knight outshines the bishop, the rook is well placed on g?, and Black has weak pawns on the g6- and eS-squares. 26...he6 27 da! After 27 Hxg6+?! Sf5 28 Hg7 &xe4 (not 28...2a3+? 29 &d2 &xe4 30 Bf7! intending mate) 29 Bxe7 28! Black gets some coun- terplay for the pawn. Seirawan prefers a more technical path, simply bringing up the king. 27..0f8 28 Se2 Lf7 29 2g8 Heading for b8 in order to provoke new weaknesses. White later won.Dynamics is another frequently used term in chess literature, and one that can be interpreted in different ways. | regard it asa force that changes the long-term char- acteristics of a position. This force is closely related to pawn play and exchanges, since these are the only irreversible actions in the game - after any pawn move or exchange, the position never becomes the same (com- pare the 50 moves rule). In concrete terms, pawn moves (some more than others) let new elements appear, such as open files, passed pawns and weak squares. In other words, dynamic play is the one that creates something “new” in the position. Let’s see anexample. Example 9 K.Sasikiran-A.lljushin FIDE World Cup, Khanty Mansiysk 2005 In this structure known as the Stone- wall, Black deliberately leaves a weak square on 5, but in return gains control of the light squares, in particular e4. azhst A useful pawn advance that prevents +97-95 and creates a weak square on g6, Basic Concepts of Strategy which can soon be occupied by a knight. Moreover, the fact that the g6 and eS squares are at a knight jump’s distance is rather practical for White. 12.26 Black should probably avoid 12...\df6?! due to 13 4es followed by 2g6; however, the restrictive 12..We8!? intending 13 Dh4? Wxhs was worth consideration. 1363 Due to Black's previous move White must protect the d4-pawn before moving the knight towards g6. 13...a4 14 Dha Abe Black's play is logical as well. By attack- ing the c4-pawn he asks the opponent to define his centre, for example by 15 Dxeq fxea 16 cS, when 16..d7 followed by 17..He8 gets him closer to the desired ..e6- e5 advance. On the other hand, 15 b3 would clear the a-file for the black rook. However, there is a third, stronger option. 15 Rxea! Sasikiran swaps the rather passive bishop for the active enemy knight. Regard- ing his own knight on da, its mission will be revealed two moves later. 15...fxeq 16 Dgeé Hes 17 £3! White adjusts the pawn structure so that the other knight gets into play. More- over, he clears the b1-h7 diagonal for the queen. This key move had to be executed at this very moment - after, for example, 17 5?! Dd7 18 f3 es! Black takes over. 17...exf3 18 ¢5 d7?! in a closed position such as this one, 18.242 19 sexf2 hardly makes any sense But 18...cal? was a more active choice; e.g. 19 @xf3 (avoiding 19 Oxc4 dxc4 20 Wxc4 b6! with counterplay) 19..b6 20 b3 axb3 21 axb3 as and Black has far more play than in the game. 19 Dxf3 bE 20 cxb6 Dxbé6 21 0-0! 23Mastering Chess Strategy White avoids 21 Wxc6?!.2d7 followed by Ac4 with counterplay. 22...2a6 22 Bf2 Rds 23 Dfes a White has achieved his main objective: a grip ones. 23...2c4 24 Dgat By means of the threat 25 &xh6, Sasikiran forces the black bishop to gS where it can be exchanged. 24...2g5 25 D6eS Dxes 26 Dxe5 WH 27 what Dac8 28 Qxgs Wxgs 29 We6! With every exchange, the knight's supe- riority over the bishop is more evident. 29...Wxgé After 29..Wxe3? 30 If7 Black is mated. We now appreciate the merits of the pro- phylactic 27 @h2!. 30 hxgél A dynamic recapture that creates an en- try square on f7 and also enables a future g4-g5, clearing the h-file. 30..e7 31 Bec2 Bf8 At this point Sasikiran played 32 g4 folk lowed by #3 and won without any major problems. However, the consequent 32 Zf7! seems even stronger; e.g. 32..Bexf7 33 gxf7+ Bxf7 (or 33...eh7? 34 Bf2 with the threat of 35 &d7) 34 xf7 Sxf7 35 Bc3! followed by b2-b3, creating a decisive passed pawnon the a-file. 24 Alast aspect of strategy is the rhythm of the position. Imagine that one player pos- sesses a far advanced passed pawn, or a strong attack. In such positions the play tends to become sharp and tactically com- plex, where one single slip might lead to defeat. We saw an example in Sokolov- Emms above. Conversely, in more balanced positions, such as in the previous example, the spirit of the battle is a bit different. The game becomes slower, with both players carefully choosing between different strategical operations, evaluating what are the most important elements in the posi- tion, etc. In conclusion, our way of playing has to be in accordance with the rhythm of the position - we shouldn't lose our pa- tience in the slow ones, nor neglect the dangers and complexities of the quicker ones. Finally, | would like to show you one of my own games, in which many of the pre- ceding concepts are reflected. Example 10 J.Hellsten-M.Olesen Malm6 1997 Benoni Defence (A43) 1d4 e6 2 c4.c5 3 d5 exds 4 cxds d6 5 Dc3 Ber With 5..2f6, followed by 6..g6 and 7...g7, Black would have entered the main pathways of the Benoni Defence. 6 DF3 Dee The set-up with ...2g6 has its pros and cons, compared to the mainstream Benoni. Black increases his control of the important e5-square, thus complicating one of White's key ideas in this opening, the e4-e5 advance. On the other hand, the dark-squared bishop is deployed less actively on e7 783 7 e4 is perfectly possible, but the fi- anchetto has its logic too. The g3-pawn takes the ha and 4 squares from the en- emy knight, whereas the e4-square remains accessible for a white knight, an idea that might come handy if Black later moves the bishop to f6. 7.27 8 2g2 0-09 0-0 Daé Black initiates a standard plan in ti structure: ...b7-b5, advancing the queenside pawn majority. 20 a3 White resorts to another typical plan in the Benoni: 11 Zb1 and 12 b4, gaining space and preventing ...b5-b4. Another, perhaps more promising option is 10 @d2, followed by a2-a4 and c4, in order to im- prove the king's knight. 10...2d7 11 Bb1 cq Thus Black prepares ...\c5 and also neu- tralizes the b2-b4 advance, since 12 b4?! is now met by 12..cxb3 ensuring the c5- square for the knight. On the minus side, the c-pawn becomes a little loose, and White gains access to the da-square. let’s check Black's other options. On 11..b5?! there follows 12 b4 intending Basic Concepts of Strategy 12...c4 13 4)d4 and White gains the upper hand. The paradoxical 11..22f5!? makes more sense: after 12 e4 &d7 Black has man- aged to provoke e2-e4, which means that White can no longer use the e4-square for his pieces, whereas the e4-pawn might soon turn into a target for the enemy forces, after moves like ..Ze8 and ..2f6. There is also 11..21c8, getting on with development and complicating the b2-b4 advance. Z.Gyimesi-L.Seres, Balatonbereny 1997, continued 12 £d2 Bes! (avoiding 12...2f6 13 Bed) 13 b4 cxb4 14 axb4 LF6 with a comfortable game for Black. Perhaps White could try the odd 13 h4!? instead, intending 45 as well as h4-h. 12 2e3 Heading for the promising d4-square and preparing to meet 12..c5?! with 13 &xc5 dxc5 14 dé. 12...Wa5 Black develops the queen and strength- ens the c5-square. 13 2d4 Bfcs Black continues with preparatory ac- tions, aware that 13..4c5?! is still prema- ture due to 14 @d2 intending 14..b5 15 Lxcs dxcs 16 dé. 14 Dd2 bs Finally Black is ready to go 15...@)c5. He 25Mastering Chess Strategy would then retreat the queen to d8 in preparation for a queenside advance with ~7-a5 and ...b5-b4, How should White re- act to this plan? 15 fal A powerful thrust that creates new op- portunities on the kingside. White now threatens f5-f6 in order to soften up the f6- square, while e4-e5, seizing the centre, might also come into consideration. 15 e421 is less flexible due to 15..c5 16 f4 Qd3 with counterplay, but 15 b4!? also made sense, with a fight for the queenside. After 15...cxb3 (not 15...Wxa3? 16 Za1 Wxb4 17 Bxaé etc) 16 Axb3 Wad8! followed by 26, there are chances for both sides. 25.16 Preventing the f5-f6 plan once and for all, at the cost of weakening the light squares and restricting the bishop on e7. However, the alternatives all lead to trouble for Black: a) 415...f52! invites 16 e4! intending 2h3, with excellent attacking prospects. b) 15...Wd8, covering the f6-square, is well met by 16 f5 eS (or 16..0f8 17 f6! &xf6 18 Bxf6l gxf6 19 Ades with a strong attack) 17 &xe5 dxe5 18 Dde4 with a clear edge. The e4-square is ideal for the knight, from where it limits Black’s counterplay and supports a future d5-d6 or f5-f6. 1 cS is the move that Black would like to make, but this runs into the strong continuation 16 f5 Des (16.8 again fails to 17 f6l) 17 Sxe5 dxe5 18 dé! 2g5 (or 18...2xd6? 19 2xaB Hxa8 20 Dxc4! bxc4 21 Wxd6 winning) 19 2xa8 Bxa8 20 Af3 2e3+ 21 $2. White isn’t just an exchange up, he also has a dangerous passed pawn, along with several strong threats such as 22 Oxe5, 22 Ads and 22 Was. After 15...f6 White has to forget about a direct kingside attack and, instead, focus on 26 the new weaknesses in Black's camp. As a consequence, the game slows down and becomes strategically more complex. 16 @h1 A prophylactic measure in conjunction to my next move, which will expose the g1- a7 diagonal. 16..¢5 Finally the knight reaches its destiny. The ambitious 16...2d8, intending ..2b6, fails to 17 b4! forcing the queen to retreat. lie zz Batya i Me ‘yp 17 xcs! It might appear illogical to swap the “good” bishop, but this exchange has sev- eral virtues. White gets rid of the oppo- nent's most active piece, the knight on cs. Moreover, after ..f7-£6 has been played, the d4-square is in fact more useful toa knight, where it can access the weaknesses on c6, e6 and f5. Finally, if we imagine a later ex- change of the light-squared bishops, as well as of a pair of knights, then White would teach a “good knight vs. bad bishop” sce- nario. We already came across this topic in the Sasikiran-lljushin fragment (p. 23). 17...21xc5 18 DF3 Wb6 19 da White now enjoys a pleasant edge thanks to his light square control. In retrospect, please note that he would probably not have reached such a favourable situation withoutplaying 15 f4, whose tactical potential (cf. the 15..c5 subline) convinced Black to weaken his structure by 15..f6. Again, tactics at the service of strategy. 19...e8?! 19..a5 was preferable, speeding up the queenside play, although after 20 £e4 ba 21 a4 &xa4 22 Wxa4 White keeps the bet- ter chances. 20 Rea! Intending 21 &f5 in order to swap the opponents “good” bishop 20... Hcc8 21 2 f5 Qxfs 22 Dxfs RB? Again Black should have resorted to 22...a5 with the idea of ...b5-b4. As a general piece of advice, in inferior positions one should hurry to create even the most minimal counterplay. 23 Ada! The knight returns to its ideal square and restricts Black’s only active plan: ..a7- a5 followed by ...b5-b4. 23...a6 24 e4 Hb8 25 Wd2 Wb7 26 Hbe1 White has strengthened his centre, in particular the d5-pawn, which means that the knight on c3 can now look for new hori- zons. WT Black underestimates, or misses, White’s next move. Basic Concepts of Strategy 27@a2! Improving the knight in the swiftest way. Now that 27..a5 is unavailable (for this reason, 26..Wb6 was preferable), Black can't stop the @b4-c6 manoeuvre. 27....8e7 28 Db4 BaB 29 DAbcé 2.8 30 Wg2 Aber Black should have exchanged one of the powerful knights by 30...4e7, even though after 31 @xe7+ Wxe7 32 Wh3 White keeps a clear advantage. In the game the bishop soon proves to be useless on b6 anyway. 31 Ofs DE 32 gal White can finally convert his positional advantage into a direct kingside attack. e6? Desperation, but it was already too late for a satisfactory defence; e.g. 32..h6 33 95 breaking through, or 32..g6 33 Dh6+ fol- lowed by 34 g5 and possibly 35 eS with a crushing attack 33 g5 fxgs 34 dxeé Wxc6 35 Wxgs g6 Both 35..Wb7 and 35..Ra7 are met by 36 €7 renewing the threats. 36 Wf6l gxfs 37 Zgit &xgi 38 Xxgi mate In the following chapters we will con- tinue the revision of these strategical con- cepts. 27Chapter Two Improving the Pieces In this chapter we will study in more detail how to improve our pieces. On several oc- casions we will observe the cooperation between two or more pieces, for example rook and queen or the bishop pair. The bishop In all phases of the game, we should con- stantly search for ideal diagonals for our bishops. Since the bishop is able to move rapidly from one flank to another, its range can be drastically improved in afew moves. We will start with some examples where one player seizes one of the long diagonals. The fact that these cross the whole board turns out to be more important than one might perhaps initially think. Example 11 A.Bujakevich-L.Kritz Moscow 1996 Already in the opening we are faced with the choice of diagonals for our bish- 28 ops. In the diagram position White is about to develop his remaining bishop. Ideas like 12 gS, or perhaps 12 f3 followed by 2e3, come to mind. However, there is another, more powerful diagonal. 12b3! Intending ba in order to seize the long diagonal, which is of great importance when there are no central pawns on it. 12...Efe8 If Black tries to challenge the enemy bishop by 12..g4 preparing ..2f6, then White has 13 dS! c6 14 @b2 with strongpressure. A more careful way of launching the previous plan is 12..c6!? 13 &b2 Aes. Here White could try 14 Hada We6 (not 14...2.f6? 15 eS!) 15 Zfe1 &f6 16 Wd2 witha slight edge, although Black probably has less trouble than in the game. 13 Rbz 28 14 Bada White slowly reinforces his position, aware that the opponent can't undertake any active measures, e.g. 14.96? 15 Dds! 14...Wc6 15 Rfe1 a6 16 f3 ads After 16..b52! 17 Dds! Dxds 18 cxds followed by 8c1, Black ends up with a bad structure. 17 &hi Wd7 18 Dez He6 19 Af4 Bees 20 ga! Finally White is ready for concrete ac- Improving the Pieces tion. The immediate threat is 21 gS trap- ping the knight. 20...h6 21 Hgi Preparing g4-g5, with a strong attack. Evidently, the bishop is well placed for this purpose on b2. Not surprisingly, there are entire opening systems based on the de- ployment of a bishop on the long diagonal, such as the Catalan and the Griinfeld. Example 12 Z.Efimenko-V.Neverov Ukrainian Championship, Rivne 2005 In open positions with pawns on both flanks the bishop tends to outshine the knight. Here White also commands the open d-file, and the black queenside pawns, are weak. How to progress? 30.te2! The bishop is regrouped to the long di- agonal, where it will control more squares. 30.26 Heading for c7 in order to protect the seventh rank. In the event of 30...f6, in- tending 31 &f3 b4, White has 31 a5! Bb4 32 Wd6 with strong pressure on the a6- pawn. 29Mastering Chess Strategy 31 Wes No hurry. Efimenko lets his bishop glance at the a6-pawn for one more move, while improving the queen. 31...Df6 32 2f3 Bc7 33 Bde! Activating the rook and creating the threat of 34 Bxa6. 33...0d7 34 We3 c4 Now there arises a strong passed pawn; however, Black lacked a good defence against 35 We4 or 35 Wa5. 35 ba D6 36 Wdg Bd7 37 Bxd7 Oxd7 After the alternative 37...Wxd7? 38 Wxd7 ®xd7 39 Re2 Ab6 40 as Dds 41 c3! White soon wins - Ribli 38 Wd6 D6 39 bs! Passed pawns should advance, as the old saying goes. Instead, the game contin- ued 39 Wc6!? Wd8 40 Wa8! Wxa8 41 2xa8 with a very superior endgame that Efimenko went on to win without any prob- lems. But the advance with the b-pawn wins practically on the spot. 39...axb5 40 axbS Wd7 One of several insufficient ways of fight- ing against the passed pawn. 41 Wb8+ th7 42 b6 There will inevitably follow 43 b7, with aneasy win 30 Example 13 S.Gligoric-W.Unzicker European Team Championship, Bath 1973 ~ — re ate. ne < wt White enjoys some positional advantage due to his superior pawn structure - there are weak points on eS and e6. Moreover, his own pawns on e4 and f3 restrict the enemy pieces. How should he move on? 27 b3! Gligoric prepares the transfer of his dark-squared bishop to the long diagonal, where it will become quite strong in the absence of a black f-pawn. 27..Hfd8 28 8.c1 Wf8 After 28..e5?1 29 &b2 the pawn be- comes exposed on eS. A more aggressive option is 28..Oh5!? intending 29 &b2?! W45! with counterplay. White could try 29 £e2 instead, in order to swap rooks before continuing his plan. 29 &b2 h6 30 gz Dee 31 Des! Seizing the bishop pair. 31...ixe5 32 &.xe5 De7 Preparing 33..2c6 followed by ..e6-e5 and ...”\c6-d4, but the opponent is alert. 33 Rbs! Dd5I? After 33..2ixd1 34 Exd1 White keeps aclear advantage due to his active pieces, so Black tries to complicate the game. 34Weal Gligoric has noticed that is worth the exchange to launch a strong attack. Much less was promised by 34 Hde1?! ®b4 and a black rook enters on d2. 34..De3+ 35 Wxe3 Hxd1 36 Zxd1 Bxdi 37 Wxh6+ 2h7 38 Bc4 The other bishop joins in and Black is helpless. 38...W47 39 Rxe6 Wg6 40 WFal Dds Or 40..Wxe6 41 WE8+ Wg8 42 2xg7 mate. 41 27! Black resigned in view of 41..Wc6 42 Wa5 or 41..Ed2+42 &h3. Now let's continue with some other di- agonals, such as h3-c8, h2-b8 and their equivalents on the other flank. Example 14 L.Stein-S.Schweber Mar del Plata 1966 White is a pawn down but the following bishop manoeuvre, typical in this French structure, will yield him a strong initiative. Improving the Pieces 19 &cal Heading for the a3-f8 diagonal, where there is no black counterpart. 19..86 Preparing 20...h7 in order to swap the strong knight on gS. 20 £a3 Oh7 21 Df3! A logical retreat, by which White retains the knight for future attacking purposes and leaves its counterpart badly placed on h7. 21...Wd8 On 21..0-0 there could follow 22 Wd2 97 23 De1 intending Og2-F4, in prepara- tion for a kingside attack. In the game, Black prefers quite a different destiny for his king. 22 Wd2 &d7!? 23 Bfba Dfs 24 Acs wc6 In order to construct some kind of for- tress on the queenside. 25 Wea! A e It is the queen’s turn to exploit the a3-f8 diagonal, 25...2g8? Perhaps Black was expecting the natural 26 Wa3, but White has a much stronger option that will produce a decisive attack. The immediate 25..Was was called for. 26 Exa4! bxa4 27 Wa3 Was 28 xfs Bgbs On 28..gxf5 there follows 29 Se7! 31Mastering Chess Strategy threatening mate, and after 29..2gd8 30 Rxd8 Exd8 31 Bb4 Black is finished. 29 Exb8 Oxb8 30 Lh3 White later realized his material advan- tage. Example 15 E.Raaste-V.Yemelin St. Petersburg 1996 Black is better thanks to his space ad- vantage and more actively placed pieces. He now launches a strong bishop manoeu- vre that will step up the pressure. 36..Re7! Intending ...,&d8-b6 in order to seize the gi-a7 diagonal. Also interesting was 36..@h7!? intending ...2h6, but the text is more aggressive. 37 B1d2 It is not easy for White to improve his pieces; e.g. 37 We2 Rd8 38 De3? Rxeg. 37...Rd8 38 gi 2b6 39 We2 tg7 In such a superior position, Black has time for a few useful moves. 40 Dha Wade 41 Dg2 Desi Before White plays h3-h4. Now 42 ha? is impossible due to 42..h3+ snatching the f2-pawn. 32 42 Sh2 Of6 Increasing the pressure on the e4-pawn and creating the threat of 43..Wxd2! 44 Wxd2 Of3+. 43 Of By counterattacking the e5-pawn White is able to keep the material balance. How- ever, the fact that the h1-a8 diagonal is cleared will soon play against him. 43...Dfxea 44 Rxea Dxeg 45 Des Las L+ Vi, 7 a a BUEN Black maintains the strong bishop, thus creating several strong threats, such as 46...Rxf2, 46..e7 and 46..a2 46 f3 Ze7! This intermediate move destroys the white defence. 47 Oxge fxgé 48 fred Bxe4 49 We2 Zxe1 50 ®xer hal A final power move, that leaves the white king without shelter. 51 &c1 Wds 52 Dg2 hxg3+ In view of 53 &xg3 WF3+ 54 @h2 £F2, White resigned. Example 16 E.Gufeld-A.Kolarov Odessa 1968 Here the choice of diagonals takes placeina slower position. White is slightly better thanks to the two bishops; however, only one of them is active at this moment. \r> 2ohal A typical idea in structures with a king- side fianchetto. White plans h3 in order to seize the h3-c8 diagonal, thus exploiting the absence of a light-squared bishop in the black camp. if Black tries to prevent this manoeuvre by ...Wd7 or ...Wc8 at any mo- ment, then simply wh2 renews the idea. 20...Hxdi+ 21 Bxd1 Bd8 22 a5 Dc8 23 £.h3 The bishops are cooperating very well, at this moment creating an indirect threat towards a7. q x] @1 71 g i i 23...a6 Black parries the threat but also fixes his Improving the Pieces pawns on light squares, where they can be attacked by the enemy bishop later on. 23..Qd6!? 24 .&xa7 Axe4 seems more ac- tive, although after 25 #.b6 Hxd1+ 26 Wxd1 White keeps an edge. 24 Bxds White temporarily hands over the d-file in order to advance the queenside pawns, since the immediate 24 c4? failed to 24..Hxd1+ 25 Wxd1 &xb4, 24...Wxd8 25 4! De7 Now on 25...d6 White has the strong 26 Wd3! (threatening to win the knight) 26...Wc7 27 c5 Abs 28 Wd7! and the game is soon decided by a bishop move to c8. 26 ba! A common prophylactic measure in end- games with major pieces. White would like to improve his queen, but first he must cover the entry square on da, a task that he now assigns to the king 26...9g7 27 e2 h6 28 Wc3 Wd6 29 fal By this strong advance White opens up a second front on the kingside. 29...f6 30 tc5 We7 31 fxes fxes On 31...Wxe5 there follows 32 Wxe5 fxe5 33 &xe7! Rxe7 34 c5 with 35 28 to follow. 32 WEB! Intending 32 £e6 with deadly threats. 32...Wd8 33 2e6 Wes 34 Zd6! 33Mastering Chess Strategy The virtues of the f2-f4 advance are eas- ily appreciated: the e5-pawn and the e6- square have turned into weaknesses. 34...dch7 35 WEE Des 36 Qxgse dxgs 37 &xes Finally White’s positional advantage is converted into a material one. 37.h5 38 c5 &h6 39 Wh8+ 27 40 Wxh6e Wres 41 Wige! The ensuing pawn endgame is easily won. Example 17 H.Ree-L.Portisch Wijk aan Zee 1968 There has just been a queen exchange on di and one might get the impression that the game is entering peaceful waters. However, Portisch now initiates active measures in which his light-squared bishop will play a crucial role. T.nb61 Considering that White is eager to play €2-¢3 to secure his king on c2, Black hurries to put the bishop on the f1-a6 diagonal, where it will touch the key square on d3. 837! After seeing the game, you will probably 34 share my anxious feelings about this natu- ral move! One try to do without it: 8 h3 Ra6 9 23 0-0-0+ 10 Abd2 AF6 11 #1 intend- ing b2-b3 and wb2, with much safer play than in the game. 8.2369 ft White tries to swap the dangerous en- emy bishop. 9 #c2 0-0-0 10 &f1 £b7! reaches similar play. 9...0-0-04 10 Abd2 &b7! Very strong. After having displaced its colleague, the bishop shifts to the long di- agonal, where it will put pressure on the e4-pawn. 11 dc2 D6 12 Rd3 An awkward square for the bishop; how- ever, both 12 h3? Axeq! 13 Axe4 Db4+, regaining the piece with interest, and 12 &g2?! Qga! 13 Hf1 Ra6! 14 c4 Abas, head- ing for d3, were highly unpleasant for White. 12...h6 13 Hei gs! Black continues with active play. He now intends ..g5-g4 followed by ..Des, an idea familiar to us from the Seirawan-Sosonko game (p. 21). 143 ga 15 huge Axge 16 Sf hst Portisch hurries to open upthe h-file be- fore White's queenside pieces get into play. 17 a4 Aces 18 Dxes Dxes 19 Sez h4 20 gsOr 20 Bhi hxg3! 21 Bxh8 g2 22 Bg8 D6 23 Df3 &xe4+ and wins ~ Portisch. 20..,h3 21 3 h2 22 Bha Hh3 Intending ...&.h6, with devastating pres- sure on White's camp. Black soon won, Example 18 V.Kramnik-B.Gelfand Belgrade 1997 White is a pawn down but his active pieces and the weak enemy pawns on c6 and e5 provide compensation. Can you spot Kramnik’s strong bishop manoeuvre? 23 Wea! Preparing £d1-b3 in order to seize the 42-98 diagonal. This would transform the passive bishop on f3 into a terrific piece now that Black has no light-squared coun- terpart. 23 Wb12! is less accurate due to 23...Qc4 attacking the other bishop. 23...Wea Gelfand searches for relief in a queen exchange. 23...2c4? no longer worked due to24 £d1 followed by 25 £b3; while 23..a5 24 2da a4, taking the b3-square from the bishop, can be met by 25 bi Efb8 26 Re2!? Hh7 (the threat was 27 Bxb6) 27 Wc2 followed by 28 Hed with strong pressure. Improving the Pieces Again please remember, that we are not always able to fulfil our plans! 24 &d1 Wxe1 25 Exci Bfc8 26 &b3+ h7 27 Dee White has managed to activate his pieces considerably. 27..a5! A good defensive move. The queen's rook will be useful along the seventh rank, whereas the a-pawn gets ready to kick away the bishop on b3. 28 Dxg7 28 Bc3!? a4 29 &Kc2 seems more ambi- tious, keeping the powerful knight. 28...41xg7 29 Re6 Dbd7 30 Meda Ba7 31 bz White maintains strong pressure for the pawn, although Gelfand eventually drew. Now let's see a complete game where White's light-squared bishop did the main part of the work. Fxample 19 J.Hellsten-A.Brkijaca Belgrade 2002 Nimzo-Indian Defence (E46) 1d4 Of6 2.c4.e6 3 D3 Rb4 4 €3 0-05 Dgez 35Mastering Chess Strategy d5 6 a3 Re7 7 Of4 This is a modest, yet fully playable ver- sion of the Rubinstein Variation in the Nimzo-Indian, in which White gives priority to a swift development. The experts prefer 7 cxd5 exds 8 g3 with strategically complex play. 7..€6 8 2d3 dxe4 9 2x4 Dbd7 100-05 Black exploits the fact that, with a knight on f4 instead of £3, White has less control of the eS-square. 11 Dfez Ob6 12 Ra2l GEG A nice hideout for the bishop, where it stays in charge of the a2-98 diagonal with- out exposing itself to the enemy pieces. 12...exd4 13 xda c5 14 D3 25 Parrying the e3-e4 advance. In contrast, after 14...2g4 15 e4! White's kingside pawn majority slowly starts rolling, and the other bishop wakes up as well. Now in the event of 15...Wxd1 16 Bxd1 2xf3?! 17 gxf3 the mobile doubled pawns are more of an asset than a burden, whereas the black knights are a long way from reaching the outpost on da. 15 Hes Touching the f7-pawn while preparing the advance of the kingside pawns. 15...We7 On 15...Abd7 | had planned 16 Wf3! on 36 the hunt for the bishop pair 16 f4 Dads 17 Ws Wc8?! Preparing 18..2e6 in order to swap White's “good” bishop; however, a simpler way to this goal was 17...fd7! 18 Dxd7 (not 18 ca?! 243!) 18..Wxd7 19 e4 2e6 with approximate equality, e.g. 20 &b1 2c4 21 Hd1 Wc6 fighting for the open d-file. 18 a4! Black was perhaps expecting 18 e4?! Reb 19. Lxe6 Wxe6 with an easy game Now, on the other hand, the white queen keeps tying its counterpart to the b7-pawn and there appears the threat of 19 a5. 18...a5? A strategical mistake that creates a weak square on bs and makes the queen- side pawn majority less mobile. Black should have preferred the pragmatic 18..2e6! 19 &xe6 (or 19 2b1?! Dc4 with counterplay) 19..fxe6 with just a minimal disadvantage due to the weakness on e6. 19 e4 Re6 20 Lb1! The bishop switches to the b1-h7 diago- nal, where it will enhance a future kingside attack. 20.047 Black tries to get rid of the active enemy knight. If 20..2c4?! with the same inten- tion, then 21 2d3! creates the double threat of 22 f5 and 22 e5. 21 ga In the same spirit of keeping the pieces for future attacking purposes. Moreover, Black’s minor pieces now start to feel little cramped. 21...f6 Black weakens his kingside in order to cope with the impending white pawn ad- vances. 22045! Exploiting the fact that a capture on d5 would clear the bi-h7 diagonal for thebishop, White brings the other knight into the attack. 22...2.d6 23 &d2?! Here | missed 23 Wh3!, with the double threat of 24 @h6+ and 24 e5, when both 23...f52! 24 Age3 and 23...2xg4 24 Wxg4 2xd5 25 exds (preparing £f5 or Ha3-h3) leave Black under alot of pressure. 23...c4! 24 Sha The pawn was poisoned due to check, but now the threat is real. 24... x05? Black should have postponed this ex- change as long as possible. 24...Wc5 was much better; for example, 25 2e3 Wc6 26 Axb6 Dxb6 27 f5 LF7 28 e5 S.ds! 29 W2 &c7 with a complex game. 25exds &b4?! Again 25...Wc5 was called for, although after 26 25! followed by 27 .2e6(+) White is clearly better thanks to the powerful bishop. 26 &xb4 axb4 27 a5 DaB 28 2fs! Now the bishop aims for the protected square on e6 and also puts some pressure along the h3-c8 diagonal. 28...We5? A tactical oversight in time trouble. Even though 28..g6 29 e6+ wh8 30 f5 is de- Improving the Pieces pressing for Black, this was his last chance. 29 Wh3! The double threat towards h7 and d7 decides the game. 29...g6 30 Axd7 Exd7 31 Oxf6+! Exf6 32 Wxd7 De7 33 Bada c3 34 bxe3 bxc3 35 dé Dee 36 Wess In view of 37 d7 on the next move, Black resigned. So far we have mainly been dealing with open diagonals. In the following examples, we will examine a few different methods of clearing a key diagonal for our bishops. Example 20 M.Vokac-D.Navara Czech Championship, Karlovy Vary 2005 In a typical Sicilian battle a piece ex- change on d3 deprived White of the bishop pair but also strengthened his centre. Next he would like to attack on the kingside by Wq3, f4-f5 etc. st A standard advance that softens up the long diagonal for the bishop. Black could also consider 17...f5!? in the same spirit; for example, 18 4g3 fxea 19 Qdal? 2F6! 20 37Mastering Chess Strategy dxeq Wc7 21 &b2 We4 intending ..c6 with counterplay. 28 e521 A safer choice was 18 4g3 dxe4 19 dxeg Wd3 20 ci intending Ef2-d2. After 18 es White plans to put a knight on d4 in order to block the bishop on b7, and then resume the kingside attack with f4-f5. However, when playing 17..d5 Navara had already defined his next, powerful move. 18...d4l This pawn sacrifice turns the bishop on b7 into a giant, and also creates a protected square on ds. 19 Dexda Acé It was time for the passive knight to en- ter the game. Less appropriate is 19...Wds?! 20 f5! with an attack. 20 &b2 Now after 20 f5 Dxd4 21 Dxd4 Sha! 22 Wd2 2g5, followed by Wd, it is Black who ends up attacking. 20...)xd4 21 Sixdg Ws 22 We2 fs! Eliminating the f4-f5 idea once and for all. Now 23 exf6 is strongly met by 23 ..S&xf6, pinning the knight. 23 Baca Bxca 24 Bxea 2d8! Black improves the other bishop as well. 25 Bes Wa2 26 Scr Before 25...Wa2 Black had to anticipate 38 the line 26 We2l? &b6 27 Der! &xcs 28 Dc3 Wxb2 29 Wxb2 £3! 30 De2 Ac8 with a clear initiative. 26..Wxe2 27 Axe2 £b6 28 He3 Hds Despite the minus pawn Black has the better chances in this endgame, thanks to his bishops. The game saw 29 h3 hé 30 @h2 Sf7 31 &g3 Bd7 32 dg? Lds 33 Le3 as! {opening a second front) 34 bxaS 2xa5 35 c1 2.4 followed by ...2b6, pressuring d4. Navara went on to win after a long battle. Example 22 S.Krivoshey-G.Timoshenko Kiev 2001In this strategically complex position White enjoys some advantage, thanks to the bishop pair and his sounder pawn structure, but Black's game is compact. 28 fal Softening up the a1-h8 diagonal for the bishop, where there is no black counterpart. 2B...047! Preferable was 28...Wf8 keeping the ten- sion, though Black is under pressure after 29 fxe5 dxe5 30 Wg3!, eyeing the e5-pawn as well as the g6-square. 29 &e2 eG 30 ga! Another strong advance that aims at clearing the g-file towards the target on g7. White also puts some indirect pressure on e4, which explains Black's next move. 30...d5 Or 30...fxg4?! 31 Wxf6! gxf6 32 Axg4 with a clear advantage thanks to Black's numerous weaknesses ~ Krivoshey. 31 cxds ixds This drops a pawn, but after 31...bxd5 32 Wq3 fxg4 (parrying the threat of 33 g5) 33 Oxg4 White's kingside pressure is un. bearable. 32 gxf5 2b3 33 He1 ca 34 Higal Again unblocking the long diagonal for the bishop. 34..2\xga 35 Wxg4 Eds Vi, Ji, Wat : Pit etacm Yi ee i, f Z. \ WY WWAW ES ® ST Improving the Pieces 36 ha! White avoids the removal of his bishop after 36 £6?! Exf6! 37 &xf6 Wxf6 and in stead prepares 37 Higa with increased pres- sure. 36...We5 37 f6 37 Hg1! was even simpler, but the text doesn’t ruin anything 37.005 38 Ada Wxb5 39 fxg7 With a clear extra pawn and a strong at- tack, White won without major difficulties. Example 22 A.lstratescu-V.Buturin Bucharest 1992 a! 7 j “O11 vg maie20 ee ‘k a ai . y ON ‘a a a mite re = ~~ WE mr White is a pawn up, but how canhe pro- gress? 24 gal Istratescu prepares 25 f5 in order to sof- ten up the a2-98 diagonal for his bishop. This plan goes very well with the position of the white king, who won't get exposed by the pawn advances, nor obstruct a future kingside attack. 24...Hbc8 25 5! exf5 26 gxfs &g7 After 26..Wxfs 27 Wxa4 the three passed pawns will become extremely pow- erful in any endgame. As for the middle- 39Mastering Chess Strategy game, White may consider an attack down the f-file. 27 fxg6 hxg6 28 Zf3 Bes 29 gi The straightforward 29 Wf2!? seemed even stronger. 29... 621 Black should have tried 29...He8! with the threat of 30..2e2. At this point, the tempting 30 Sxf7? backfires due to 30...11g5!, exploiting the motif of a back rank mate. 30 Zgfal Rg5+ 31 ba fs Black has avoided a direct attack on 7, but now faces problems on the g-file. 32 hal £f6 Or 32...S¢xh4? 33 Wxa4 with the double threat of 34 Wxh4 and 34 Wd7+. 33 Gai Wbs 34 gal By the threat of 35 hS White provokes Black's next move, which will clear the h- file for the attack 34..2xh4 35 Bh3 &f6 36 Ughi €8 37 Waal Suddenly the black king has nowhere to hide. 37..Wc6 38 Bh7 £g7 39 Bh8+! Lxhs After 39..e7 40 Hei+ White wins quickly. 40 Exh8+ ve7 41 Bh7+t There follows 42 Wda4(+) with decisive 40 threats, so Black resigned. In fact the bishop on a2 didn't move during this whole frag- ment, but it still performed an important role by controlling crucial squares such as #7, €6 and g8. Example 23 V.Kramnik-L.Van Wely Dortmund 2008 b> bet \N \\ rs Le b> ™ White has already taken the first steps to a kingside attack, but it is unlikely to succeed unless more pieces participate. Kramnik finds a way to activate the bishop on b2. 17 &xeg dxeg 18 5! This clever move exploits the vulnerable position of the bishop on b4 in order to clear the long diagonal. 18...bxe5, Safer was 18...f6, pushing away the pow- erful knight, even though after 19 Dca &a6 20 Bfc1 followed by a2-a3 White gets some advantage - Kramnik. 19 a3 Ras 20 dxcs WxcS Slower moves, such as 20..Bcc8, permit 21 f5 with a promising attack. The lack of defenders on Black's kingside is strongly felt, just as in the game.21b4 Wbs 22 Wg3! The clearance of the long diagonal has tumed g7 intoWhite’s main target. 22... R67! This doesn't contribute a lot to the de- fence. Preferable was 22...f5, clearing the seventh rank, although after 23 Hada! c5 (the threat was 24 @d7) 24 Wg6 &d5 25 Exds! exds 26 We6+ White still obtains a dangerous attack 23 D7! g6 Both 23..axe3+ 24 Whi and 23..f6 24 Oxf6+ Sf8 25 Dxe4 were equally bad for Black. 24 Dfe+ Kramnik also suggests 24 @xb6 Wxb6 25 f5! exf5 26 Hxf5 and the black king is doomed on the dark squares. 24.8 25 Les cc8 26 Whal The white forces coordinate nicely. 26...h5 27 Dh7+ wes 28 2d6 Hc7 29 Eda! One more piece enters the attack, and Black resigned in view of the decisive 30 Of6+ on the next move. Example 24 LSokolov-T.Nedev Calvia Olympiad 2004 In order to exploit the strength of the Improving the Pieces bishop pair White needs to open up the position. Sokolov hurries to clear the best diagonal for his dark-squared bishop. SS Nob: AY mA \ we x WS A « moe 16 f51g5 Preventing 17 &f4+, but not the idea to occupy the h2-b8 diagonal as such. Sokolov suggests 16..e5! as a better option, al- though after 17 fxe6 fxe6 18 &f4+ e5 19 &.h2 followed by 2.43 White seems a little better anyway. One future idea is Ad2-f1- e3-d5, redirecting the knight to the centre. 17 Bgilté Creating a protected square at e5 18 Bhaves A temporary pawn sacrifice in order to liberate the pieces. On 18..DdeS there is the strong 19 &)xeS Dxe5 20 Eds}, threat- 41Mastering Chess Strategy ening to capture on eS in both ways. 19 fxe6+ Ddes 20 7! The most annoying way of returning the pawn. 20...He8 21 Re2 Exe7 22 Bhfa White now puts his focus on the weak f6-pawn. 22...Rd7 23 Dxes fxes 24 RFE! The f-pawn is gone, but the same square remains weak, 24..Hh8 25 Rh5! Fixing the hé-pawn as a future target. 25...hh7 26 2g6 Zhg7 27 Dds With long-term pressure on the e5 and h6 pawns, White is better in this endgame. = ay ale Finally, let's see a complete game on the topic of clearing diagonals for our bishops. Example 25 G.Kamsky-G.Kasparov Manila Olympiad 1992 King's indian Defence (E88) 14 Df6 2 c4 g6 3 Dc3 Lg7 4 e4 dé 5 £3 0-0 6 Rez e5 A classical response to the Samisch Variation 75 6 Considering that White often castles 42 long in this variation, it makes sense to take action on the queenside. 8 Wd2 cxd5 9 cxd5 a6 10 &d3 Dhs 12 ga? A bad mistake that will cause White trouble for the rest of game. 11 Age2 was correct, covering the f4-square. os Be 11...0f4) A typical sacrifice in the King’s Indian. Sometimes in this opening, it is even a rook that settles on 4! 12 Rez At this point White shouldn't even con- sider accepting the gift with 12 Rxf4? exfa 13 Wxf4, since the bishop on g7 turns into a monster. After 13..b5, followed by ...Wb6 and ..2d7-e5, we can also notice that the e3-bishop is sorely missed in the white camp. 22...b5 Black resumes the queenside offensive that was initiated five moves ago. 13 Wf2 Dd7 14 Dgez b4 15 Dag as! Not 15...2)xe2? 16 Wxe2 and Black's po- sition loses a lot of its potential. Instead, Kasparov lets the knight stay on f4, con- vinced that it will be worth a pawn to clear the long diagonal for the bishop. In fact, by 15...a5 followed by 16...2.6, he is trying to provoke the capture on f4. 16 Dxta16 0-0-0 Rab 17 Dxf4 exf4 18 Rxf4 Des reaches similar play as in the game. 16...exf4 17 Rxf4 Des In return for the pawn, Black enjoys con- trol of the long diagonal and the powerful e5-knight. 18 0-0-0 18 Qbé6? fails tactically to 18..Oxf3+, while after 18 0-0 &a6 19 Hfda Hc8 Black is better - Kasparov. It is evident that the g2- g4 move doesn’t fit very well with short cas- tling 18...Dc4! Black prepares ...2d7 with an attack on b2, and simultaneously prevents 19 Dbé. 19 Re3 19...xe3! A very important exchange. Any other move would have allowed 20 £d4}, taking up the battle for the long diagonal 20Wxe3 Eb8! Since the immediate 20..2d7 permits 21 Db6, Black activates the rook first. 21 2b3 2d7 22 dba Wes 23 Abs Lbs! The tempting 23..a4?! lets White defend alittle better after 24 Dxd7 Wxd7 25 &c4. But now ...a5-a4 has turned into a threat. 24 d2 a4 25 Rd1 Ob7! With the subtle idea of 26..b3 27 axb3 axb3 28 .2xb3 Wb8, trapping the knight. Improving the Pieces Kamsky finds the only response. 26 eS! b3 The simplifications arising _ after 26...2xe5 27 f4 were not to Kasparov's taste. 27 axb3 axb3 28 &xb3 Wb8 29 Dea Lxea 30 &xc4 Rxes 31 Wer Not 31 b3? Hc8 32 @c2 Bxc4+! 33 bxca Eb2+ and Black wins - Kasparov. a ie é m0 Ot @ nea oe Thanks to the inventive 26 e5 White managed temporarily to block the black bishop, thus avoiding a mortal capture on b2. Even so, his king is in a lot of trouble. The principle that the presence of opposite- coloured bishops favours the attacker ap- plies well to this position. 31...Wa7! Black prepares an invasion down the a- file. 32 Hea Kamsky deliberately exposes himself to a pin with &f4 at any moment, aware that the loss of the exchange would be the least of his problems. 32...a8 33 b3 R434 Sez He7! The rook shifts to a better file. Now the white king turns out to be stuck in the mid- die. 35 Wd3 Wc5 36 Hb1 e3! Before checking on a2, Black lures the 43Mastering Chess Strategy enemy queen to a more exposed square. 37 Wd4Ha2+ 38 oda Or 38 Bb2 Exb2+ 39 Wxb2 Res 40 Waz Ec3+ and the check on gi decides. 38...Hxf3 White can’t avoid material losses. 39 Wxfa Hxf4 40 Hxaz Wgi+ 41 &c2 Wxh2+ White resigned. For the related exercises, see page 301. The knight Due to its short range the knight usually becomes stronger the closer it gets to the centre. Typically it is looking for squares where it won't be chased away by the op- ponent’s pawns, so-called _ protected squares or outposts. Let's see some exam- ples on this topic. Example 26 Y.Pelletier-M.Sebag French Team Championship 2007 White has just played 22 b4, gaining some space on the queenside. Should Black prevent the further advance 23 bS or ignore it? 22...a6? 44 Preferable was 22..Rc7 23 bS Bfc8 - Pelletier. With the a-pawn still on a7 Black keeps the option of ...b7-b6 if necessary. In contrast, 22..a6 leaves the b6 and cS squares seriously weakened, something that Pelletier immediately exploits. 23 Rfal Vacating the d3-square for the knight. 23.7 Or 23..0c6 24 Der We7 25 Recs! fol lowed by Baci with a clear plus. Later on the knight might replace the rook on cs. 24 Der! A key move. The knight is heading for the protected square at c5, where it will attack the weak pawns on b7 and e6, while restricting Black on the open file. fe8 25 Dd3 Dc6rt White is also much better after 25...Bxca 26 Bxci Exca 27 Wxc1 Le8 28 Wes, intend- ing Wa7 and 4c5. But the text loses mate- rial, 26 Des We7 27 Dxb7! A tactical twist that decides the game. Now after 27..2xb7 28 &xa6 White recov- ers the material and, more importantly, obtains two terrific passed pawns. 27..@xd4 28 Bxe7 Exc7 29 Des Exc5 30 Waxed Of course not 30 bxc5? 4\b3. In the game White is able to generate a decisive passed pawn. 30...Hc6 31 b5! axbS 32 a6 Hc8 33 Whe! Ws 34a7 In this desperate position, Black resigned. Example 27 G.Kasparov-A.Beliavsky Candidates match (game 9), Moscow 1983 White is better thanks to his sounderpawn structure and more active pieces. Kasparov now initiates a transfer of his knights to the kingside, where the absence of a black g6-pawn has left the light squares a little loose. 19 Seat Heading for the protected square at f5. 19... g8 20 3 Da6 21 \g3 WB?! Bothered by the threatened 22 “hs Be- liavsky unpins the knight. However, 21.88! preparing ...2e7, was a better re- ply - Kasparov. There can follow 22 Aca (22 Ds?! &e7 makes less sense) 22...£e7 23 Wd2 &h7 24 4e3! preparing 25 Defs. At this point, both 24..Axd5 25 Hefs! and 24..Oxe4 25 &xe7 Dxd2 26 Lxd8 Bxd8 27 Bada Db3 28 .2d3+ 4g7 29 Ac4, with the double threat of 30 .&c2 and 30 Sed, are troublesome for Black. 22 Odfat The other knight joins his colleague in the battle for the f5-square. Less logical is 22 @f5?! &xf5 23 exf5, when the pieces can no longer make use of this square. 22...Dh7 23 De3 Af6 Black manages to swap his bad bishop, but the problem with the f5-square re- mains. 24 Qxf6+ Dnf6 25 Dgts Dhs 26 ef2! ‘A clever move that improves the king Improving the Pieces and clears the path for the rook. 26...2xf5 27 Dxfs Dfa 28 g3 Dh3+ 29 we2z mm te Ot yo With Bha coming up, White has a huge advantage and won just a few moves later. Example 28 M.Matulovic-S.Marjanovic Yugoslav Championship, Bjelovar 1979 In this typical French structure, in ex- change for his weaknesses on e5 and e6, Black has some pressure on the d4-pawn and along the f-file. His next moves might be ..af8 and ..g5-g4. Matulovic found an excellent knight manoeuvre. 45Mastering Chess Strategy 20 Daal This knight was not doing anything sub- stantial on c3. Now it is heading for c5-d3- e5, and also eyes the b6-square. 20...2af8 After 20...“xd4 White had prepared 21 Dbol Dxf3+ 22 Wxf3 Was 23 Wh3! and wins, since 23..2d8 24 @xd7 Bxd7 25 Rc8+ ends with mate. 21 Dcs £8 22 Dd3 Who Or 22..Wb8 23 Hides Axes 24 Axes witha clear advantage thanks to the strong knight on e5. Black has no time for 24...Bxf2 because his own knight hangs on hs. 23 Ddes Dxes 24 Dxes! Based on the tactical line 24..xf2? 25 Rixc8!, White is able to recapture in the best way. 24...Wg5 25 f3! Simple but strong. Now Black's kingside attack is practically over, whereas the con- trol of the c-file and the prominent knight ‘on eS are long-term factors in White's fa- vour. 254.86 Or 25..Qf4 26 g3 intending Bc7 and Wc2 - Matulovic. 26 He7 Wha 27 Wd2 Hf4 28 Heca Hxdg 29 Whe! Ina hopeless position Black lost on time. 46 Example 29 J.Polgar-V.Anand Wijk aan Zee 1998 Ma, we 2 we wat ‘Tm oe VW, a eae w SN es %Y The present structure can arise in sev- eral Sicilian variations. Usually Black needs active piece play in order to compensate for the weaknesses on d5 and d6, whereas in the above position, he has been left with the “bad” bishop. Thus White's plan sug- gests itself: install the knight on the pro- tected square d5, exploiting the fact that Black has no minor pieces that can swap it off. 2ac3! Preparing c2-e3-d5. 21...b4 If 21..Wce6 22 4c2 .2g5, intending to swap the knight when it arrives to e3, then simply 23 ba! followed by Rda and Ads. The ability to use different routes to the same square is indeed a key virtue of the knight. On the other hand, after 21..Bc5 22 Eda! a5 23 c2 the knight will choose the €3-d5 route instead, after a preparatory 24 Wd3. Contrary to the previous subline, ..&.e7-g5 is unavailable here due to the dé- pawn hanging. 22 c4 g6 23 g3Another option was 23 4c2I? Bc5 24 e3, speeding up the knight manoeuvre. 23,5 24 Edi! White should keep d5 clear for the knight. 24..a5 25 Dez &g7 25.5? failed to 26 Hxdé6, while after 25...1Wc6 26 Wd3! the problem with the d6- pawn remains. 26 Was Of course the immediate 26 e3? failed to 26...Wxe4, but after the preparatory text move there is nothing that can stop Ae3- ds. 26...Hc6 27 De3 We8 28 gz A useful move that rules out any moment. 28...We6 29 We2.#.d8 30 Dd5 Wh3 at White has fulfilled his plan. On ds the knight is controlling a lot of important squares, and it can't be expelled nor ex- changed. 30.15 Or 30...2b6 31 Bd3 followed by Zf3 with attacking prospects - Polgar. 31 We3 White now slowly prepares a kingside attack, exploiting Black’s lack of counter- play. 31..e7 32 Bd3 £.d8 33 Wd2 Ee6 34 Wd Improving the Pieces ge 35 hal og7?! Preferable was 35...hS, complicating the enemy attack, although after 36 f3 &g7 37 ‘We2 followed by 21d1-h1 and g3-g4, White’s game is promising anyway - Polgar. 36hs! After this White can clear the h-file whenever she likes. 36...0g5 37 WF3 Hc8 38 Xda Hcé 39 We2 ‘Bc8 40 Bhi &gs 41 £3! Bbs 42 WE2 (On f2 the queen not only controls the entire g1-a7 diagonal, but also gets closer to the h-file via g1-h2. 42...21b7 43 hxgé fxg6 Or 43..hxg6 44 Wi followed by Wh2 with a strong attack. 4acst A logical advance after the ...fxg6 recap- ture, which left the black king more ex- posed towards the centre. 44..dxe5 45 Wxe5 2d8 46 Het With the plan of Bcq4 and We3-c1 to seize the c-file and enable Zc8. White has a clear plus and went on to win the game. Example 30 G.Kasparov- Tilburg 1997 47Mastering Chess Strategy In exchange for the pawn White has a lead in development. Kasparov now seizes the initiative by means of a strong knight manoeuvre. 16 Dfd2! 0-017 Deq Getting ready to install a knight on d6. 17...2e7 18 &g3! After 18 &xe7?! Wxe7 White can't go 19 ®Ded6? due to 19...Axes! 20 Axb7 Axc4 21 &xc4 Wxb7 etc. In the game, the bishop on 93 keeps an eye on the vital eS and d6 squares. 18...WWd8 19 Dcd6! By using this knight White clears the c- file and also keeps the De4-c5 resource. 19...2a5 20 Rc2! Preparing Wd3 with a kingside attack We saw a similar pattern in the previous game: once White has completed the knight manoeuvre, he is ready for action on other parts of the board. 20...b3 21 &b1 Wb6 22 Wd3 g6 23 Acs! With the double threat of @d7 and Dxeb. 23...R¢8 24 hal Dc6?t White is also much better after 24...h5 25 Wxd4 Dcé6 26 We4, but now he wins on the spot. 255! An ingenious intermediate move to de- 48 flect the black pieces from the kingside de- fence. In contrast, the immediate 25 hs? permitted 25..4)xe5! 26 &.xeS &xd6 with unnecessary complications. 25...Wxas Now on 25..@)xa§ the time is right for 26 h5 with an irresistible attack. 26 Oxf71 Lxf7 27 Wxge+ SFB Or 27.297 28 We8+ 2f8 29 Wxcé win- ning. 28 Dxe6+ Lxe6 29 Uxc6 Ld7 30 Wxh6+ Black resigned in view of 30.8 31 e6 &xc6 32 exf7+ bd7 33 RFS+. Quite often the idea of exploiting pro- tected squares appears as a consequence of incautious pawn moves by the opponent. We already saw this in Pelletier-Sebag (22...262), and here is another example. Example 31 $.Guliev-J.Timman European Team Championship, Pula 1997 24 f4? Strengthening the knight on e5 but leaving the pawn structure in bad shape. The simple 24 @cd3 was much a sounder option.24...0d61 Timman immediately directs his atten- tion to the newly created protected square ated, Improving the Pieces reduce his counterplay. 36 Rf7 Hxf7 37 gxf7+ Wxf7 38 Wxh6 Kes! The last piece enters the game. 39 h4 Ze6 40 Wa Whs aoe 25 g4 Dfes 26 Acd3 6 Black has been more cautious with his f- pawn than his opponent, and now man- ages to expel the enemy knight from the centre. 27 OF3 Dea A nice square for the knight, but it doesn't really match its opposing number on ed. The more centrally placed, the more powerful are the knights! 28 Wei dhs 29 Wha White prepares a kingside attack, but this is unlikely to succeed with the centre under Black's command. Moreover, the c1- bishop is out of play. 29...Wd7 30 g5 fxgs 31 fxgs &gs Timman also suggests the simpler 31...g6!?. 32 g6h6 33 Dfes!? Axes 34.dxe5 We7! Avoiding 34..@xe5? 35 &b2l Dxd3 36 27 and White takes over. 35 Whs Xtal Again 35..2xe5? was wrong due to 36 @xes Wxes 37 Wxes Exes 38 Hf7! with compensation - Timman. Instead, Black aims to exchange White's active pieces to Black enjoys a clear advantage thanks to his active pieces. In conclusion, we should remember that any pawn move leads to some kind of weakening; 24 £4? in this ex- ample handed over the e4-square to Black and restricted the white bishop. Example 32 G.Cabrilo-R.Ziatdinov Belgrade 1991 In this typical Spanish structure it is not 49Mastering Chess Strategy easy for White to exploit his space advan- tage. The desired c4-c5 advance is unlikely to succeed in the near future; e.g. 24 Haz £7 25 Hac2 Rec8 and Black holds. Instead, Cabrilo launches a slow, but powerful knight manoeuvre. 24 fei! Preparing @d2-b3-a5-c6, by which the passive knight would turn into a giant. 247 The closed nature of the position makes it difficult for Black to interfere with the opporent's plan. So he prefers to reinforce his queenside defence, aware that when the knight arrives at b3, the threat of c4-cS will be renewed. 25 Qd2 Bec8 26 b3 Le7 27 Baz! The queen's rook should also enter the game. The knight's jump to aS can wait. 27...Wa7 Another option is 27.7 28 a5 Wa7 preparing ..Rbc8. At this moment, let’s compare the knights on a5 and a4. Both are situated on protected squares; however, the difference is that the white knight may soon jump to a more powerful one, i.e. 29 cxbS axbS 30 Bxc7 Wxc7 31 Bc2 Wb6 32 ®c6! with a clear advantage. 28 Hac2 Des Enabling ...&@e7-95. There was no time for 28....2.d8?, heading for b6, due to 29 cs. 29 cxbS After activating his pieces, White resorts to concrete action. The quiet 29 g3!?, pre- paring 30 h4 to prevent ...&g5, was inter- esting as well, since 29...2g5?! at once would fail to 30 ¢5. 29...2xe2 30 Wxe2 axb5 Or 30..2c8 31 Wxc8! &xc8 32 Bxc8 Wd7 33 Bb8 with a decisive advantage. 314a5 2gs 32 R2d2 Ras Prophylaxis against Aas-c6. 33 g3 2d8? 50 Black should not have abandoned the kingside defence with his bishop. After 33.-hS! 34 Dc6 Wb7 35 h4 &h6 he would have much better chances of resistance. 34 Dc6 Was White has completed the manoeuvre initiated ten moves ago, and the knight is terrific on c6, But how to make further pro- gress? 35 Rea! The initial move of this example is re- peated, and again it is very strong. Cabrilo wants to put his queen on e2, from where it can take part in a kingside attack and also puts pressure on the bS-pawn. 35...8b6 36 We2 De7?! Black should have played 36..2xe3!, eliminating the e3-f5 resource. After 37 fxe3 (not 37 Wxe3?! bz and the knight reaches c4) 37..Wb6 38 &xbS?! .@g4! 39 Wa3 4b2 Black obtains counterplay. So the immediate 36 ®f5!? was probably more precise. 37 Of5 &xfs 38 De7+! Thus White manages to keep a knight on the excellent f5-square. 38...6f8 39 Dxf5 ds 40 Heb! £6 41 Sg2! Some prophylaxis in view of the line 41 Dxd6? Bxd6! 42 Bxd6 &xf2+. Now the rest is easy.41...Wa7 42 Wga Des 43 Qxbs Obs 44 Bea! da 45 2xe8 xes 46 Haz Black resigned. Sometimes, the usage of a protected square is preceded by the exchange of the enemy forces that defend it. Here is a sim- ple example. Example 33 Z.Hracek-2.Almasi Odorheiu Secuiesc 1995 JE, / aU GEG, YY ig a ake @ Black is just about to improve his pawn structure by 29..d5, while ..©b6-c4 is an- other interesting resource, for example if White snatches a pawn with 29 Wxbs?l. Hracek opts for a more strategical solution. 29 &xb6l A strong exchange square for the knight, knight vs. bad bishop” 29...xb6 30 41! The knight hurries that secures the ds- and creates a “good scenario. to d5 before Black manages to resume the ...d6-d5 idea. 30...Re7 31 Dez Khe 32 Dd51Zb7 After 32...xe1? 33 Axb6 Bbs 34 bxas White wins a decisive pawn. 33 Hebi Improving the Pieces The strong knight leaves White better ‘on the whole board, and he now opens a new front on the queenside. 33...Wc8 34 Ph2l Against the plan of...&g3 and ...Wd8-ha. 34..Wd8 35 g3 Rgs 36 a4! axbg Or 36..bxa4 37 DSI, creating a terrific passed pawn. 37 Exb4 Wbs 38 Wba Zaa7 39 as! 39...Ha6 Black had to stop 40 a6, but now he suc- cumbs on the b-file. 40 cat Creating a strong passed pawn. 40...2d8 41 Zxbs Exbs 42 cxbs Exas 43 Exas &xas 44 b6 The further advance of this pawn is soon helped by the queen, so Black resigned. In the previous examples the protected squares were available from the very be- ginning. Now let’s see a few different ways in which they can be created. Example 34 A.Vyzmanavin-F.Braga Benidorm 1993 White is slightly better thanks to his 51Mastering Chess Strategy space advantage. Vyzmanavin now opts for a concrete plan: the installation of a knight ond6. 16 eS! 2b7 Also after 16.246 17 Deq the knight reaches d6 with an initiative for White. 17 Dea c5 18 Dd6 Debs On 18...2xf3 Vyzmanavin had planned 19 Wxf3 Hed8 20 Wg3 cxd4 21 f4!. Then White could consider Hcd1xd4 or even f4- £51? with attacking prospects. Zs ‘Us alle OY BG _ Be Oy 19. 2b5 A clever move that enables Hct-c7 as a response to ...c5xd4 at any moment. 19...8d5 20 We3 Acét Despite b4 being a protected square, the knight wasn’t doing anything substantial 52 there. Now it helps Black in the fight for the central dark squares. 21 Qxc6 Qxc6 22 Dd2 White avoids the swap on f3 and pre- pares f2-f4 in order to reinforce his centre. 22...cxd4 23 Wxd4 Dcs 24 Be3! ith the strong knight on d6 paralysing the black camp, an attack on the king has every reason to succeed. 24... Rxaq 25 Dreat White is better after 25 Excs bxc5 26 Wxa4 Hxb2 27 D2c4, but the text is more energetic. 25.86? Underestimating the enemy attack. Cor- rect was 25..0xe4 26 Wxe4 .2e8, reducing the material, though after 27 Mfc1 fs 28 We3, intending %c7, White has a great game anyway. 26 Df6+! Shs After 26...gxf6 27 Hg3+ Wh8 28 exf6 Wc7 29 Hg7 the attack is irresistible; eg 29...1g8 30 Bxh7+! &xh7 31 Wh4+ #6 32 f4l with decisive threats. 27 Bh3 exf6 Or 27..h6 28 W4 Wf8 29 Dxf7+! and wins - Vyzmanavin. 28 Wha In view of the imminent mate, Black re- signed.Example 35 L.Cheparinov-J.Hellsten Belgrade 2002 \\y ae \\ NY; a a, (SRD W > SON we LOS, @ bb Here is a less dramatic case of creating protected squares. White aims to exploit his space advantage by moves like Dad, Bd2 and Heda, with pressure on the b6 and d6 pawns. How can Black generate some activity? 26..e5! A typical idea in such positions. Black deliberately weakens the d5-square, in or- der to transform d4 into a protected square for his knight. 27 fxes After 27 @ds d4 Black could soon swap the strong enemy knight by ...&xd5, whereas White is unable to do the same thing. Please note that with dark-squared bishops on the board, this would not be the case, thus the ..e6-e5 idea becomes less appealing. By the text move Cheparinov avoids the ..2c6-d4 idea but lets the black knight settle on another protected square. 27..e5 Not 27..dxe5? 28 Hxd7 Wxd7 29 Dds Wd8 30 c5 with a clear initiative on the queenside. The bishop could soon exploit Improving the Pieces the a2-g8 diagonal. 284\d5a5 By swapping the a-pawns, Black avoids ending up with a weak pawn on a6 after White's c4-c5. 29 Wa The threat of 30 Af6+ forces the ex- change on ds. 29...Sxd5 30 Hixds axb4 32 axb4 Acé! Black prevents 32 c5 with an indirect at- tack on eS, and also eyes the b4-pawn 32 Beda After 32 b5? Des White loses his dy- namic potential on the queenside, while 32 Wa2!? is well met by 32...Wc7 33 c5 bxcS 34 bxcs Hbd8, when 35 di fails to 35..e7! 36 cxd6 Wa7+. In the game Cheparinov in- stead trades the b4-pawn for the oneon dé. 32...xb4 33 Exd6 We7 34 Wie Exd6 35 Exd6 On 35 Wxd6 | had planned 35..WcS+!? when both 36 wha He8 and 36 Wxcs bxc5, followed by 37..Hc8 and maybe ..Dc6-d4, seem to favour Black. 35..2a6! Heading for the protected square at c5. 36 Hic6 Wa7 37 Hxb6! White simplifies in order to avoid long- term inferiority due to his weak pawns. 37...Wa7 38 ¢5 Axcs 39 Bxbs+ Wxbs 40 53Mastering Chess Strategy icq We8 41 e5! Dd7 42 We6 Wxes 43 sixf7+! dexf7 44 Wxd7+ We7 Drawagreed. Example 36 R.J.Fischer-J.Durao Havana Olympiad 1966 In this typical position from the King’s Indian Attack, Fischer hurries to create a protected square for his knights. 27 aal Fixing the pawn on b6 so that a knight can settle on c4 later on, without worrying about ...b6-b5. Moreover, bS and b6 might turn into long-term weaknesses. 17...ad7? This stereotypical move does nothing to. stop White's plan. Much better was 17.95! trying to trade the g-pawn for the central e- pawn, for example 18 h3 hS 19 @xg5 Axes with rather unclear play. 18 fal This bishop exchange makes it easier for White to exploit the weak c4- and bs-squares. 18...Rxf1 19 Wxfa Dde7 204 Thanks to the clever 17 a4, the black pieces are now unable to get rid of the knight from c4. 54 20...\c8 21 RBs \6e7? A strategical error that leads to a “good knight vs. bad bishop” scenario. Correct was 21..Bf8 preparing ..h7-h6, and only then ..@Qce7. Durao perhaps feared 22 Bed1, but after 22...2d5! he is still defending. 22 Dfd2 h6 23 Lxe7! Bxe7 24 Ba3! Heading for b3 in order to attack b6. [c7 25 Zb3 Bc6 26 eq &f8 27 vez Preparing g2-g4 and f2-f4 in order to open a second front. Fischer soon exploited his huge advantage. Now let's have a look at a few examples regarding “semi-protected” squares, where the knight feels quite safe despite a poten- tial attack from an enemy pawn. Example 37 Gonzales-A.Karpov Linares 1981 G.Garcii mE as In a typical Hedgehog position White just played 23 #h2?!, accidentally exposing his king along the h2-b8 diagonal. Karpov reacts very opportunely. 23.5! With the intention of 24..h4, softening up the dark squares around White's king.24ha The threat was 24...h4 25 g4 dS+, and if White prevents this by 244 h4 25 g4, then after 25...e5! 26 fxeS HxeS Black is better anyway thanks to his dark square domi- nance. By 24 h4 White avoids such a sce- nario, but the lost control over g4 will soon make itself felt. 24..0eB 25 ogi Dgal 26 f3 Des From now on, Karpov is ready to answer £3-f4 with ..Ag4! at any moment, exploit- ing the fact that White can’t play h2-h3 anymore. As a consequence, the knight is practically untouchable on es, and Black obtains a great game. 27 Rdd2 Wa7 28 Whi Keds 29 f4? White loses his patience. As we already noticed, this move would be fine with the h-pawn still on ha, but in the present case it just helps Black to establish a strong knight on g4. Preferable was a non-committal move like 29 Wd1. 29... g4 30 Dd1?! An awkward square for the knight. White should have preferred something like 30 &f3, although after 30..Wb8!, pre- paring ...b6-b5, Black is much better any- way ~ Kharitonov. 30..e5! Black deflects the other knight from d4 Improving the Pieces to enable the ...b6-b5 thrust. 31 Df3 bS 32 cxbS axbS 33 Dgs ba mae With the simple idea of ...2b7-a6. White had a very difficult game and soon lost. Here is related case on the other flank: 1 e462: d4 ds 3 Dc3 dxeg 4 DAxeg 55 Des (a rather rare, but not harmless line against the Classical Caro-Kann) 5...b6 6 b3 Df6 7 243 e6 8 g3 (after the provocation of ...b7- b6, the kingside fianchetto makes sense) 8..a5!? (intending ..a4-a3 to soften up White's queenside) 9 a4 Re7 10 &.g2 Dds 11 0-0 0-0. Now on c2-c4 at any moment, there follows ..d5-b4 and the knight be- comes excellent. The game Zo.Jovanovic- F.Doettling, European Junior Championship 1999, continued 12 ¢3 Od7 13 We2 2a7 14 @bd2 He? and Black had no problems. Example 38 E.Rozentalis-|.Georgiadis Athens 2006 Sicilian Defence (823) 1e4 6523 a6 An interesting Closed Sicilian. sideline against the 55Mastering Chess Strategy 3 .g3bS 4 2g2 Rb7 5 d3 e6 6 F4 bal? 7 Dcez ds 8e5 Black's previous two pawn moves had the merit of provoking e4-e5. Since his knight on g8 hasn't moved yet, it may now proceed directly to the “semi-protected” square at fs. 8...De7 9 c3 Abc6 10 A\f3 Afs 110-0 White could chase the knight away with 11 g4, but then 11..2)h4! is a little annoy- ing for him. 24...h5t Y . be Sp . A Vi jag A useful move that reinforces the f5- square for the knight. Now if h2-h3 and g3- g4 at any moment, then after swapping on 94 followed by ..h4 or even ..)h6, Black obtains counterplay against White's weak- ened kingside. Thus quite often White pre- fers to let the knight stay on f5, at least for a while, 12 dq? More cautious was 12 h3 preventing the course of the game. There can follow 12..e7 13 We1 a5 14 Wf2 a6 15 Dda Wh6 with a tense struggle. if now 16 g4, then 16..hxg4 17 hxg4 Dha! with counter- lay. 12..h4l At first glance this is rather illogical since the knight is now expelled from fs. 56 However, Georgiadis has seen a little fur- ther into the position. 13 g4h3!14 2h1 Oho! Thanks to the clever 13...h3, White now can't protect the g4-pawn by 15 h3. 15 g5?! After this Black regains control over f5 with an excellent game. White should have tried the active 15 f5!? instead, although after 15..exf5 16 gxfs xfs 17 Ogs Wd7 Black defends quite well, whereas White has a long-term problem with his unsafe king. 15...D5 16 Dg3 Dce7! Keeping up the fight for the f5-square. In contrast, after 16..xg3? 17 hxg3 White would again have g3-94 at his disposal. 17 exb4 exdal There was nothing wrong with 17...cxb4, but the text is more ambitious. In retro- spect, White should probably have released the tension by 17 dxc5. 18 Bf2 Not 18 @xd4? Wb6 19 Age2 Ac6 and Black wins a piece. in these positions we may observe that the knight on f5 is useful in preventing 2c1-e3. 18...Wb6 Black has a huge advantage, in great deal thanks to his fantastic knight on f5.From now on the position plays itself. 19 a3 ReB 20 De2 Dc6 21 Wd3 a5 22 b5 Bes! 23 b3 Or 23 bxc6 &.a6 followed by 24..d3 with strong pressure. 23...2)a7 24 a4 Deo! Again exploiting the 25 bxc6 a6 idea, Georgiadis gets his knight to the excellent b4-square. 25 &d2 Dba 26 Lxb4 txb4 27 Ndi we7 28 Bef Black also has strong pressure after 28 Dexd4 Oxd4 29 Oxd4 Bc3 30 We2 Bhd. 28.3! 29 Qxc3 dxc3+ 30 Af2z cs 31 Edfa Re8 White is completely tied up and the rest is pure desperation. 32 De1De3 33 f5 Dxfa 34 16+ Sd7 White resigns. Going back to the first diagram, the combination of ...2e7(h6)-f5 and ...h7-hS are seen in a few other openings as well, such as the French and Caro-Kann. It also appears on the other flank, in terms of ®d7(a6)-c5 and ..a7-a5, in openings like the King's Indian and Bogo-Indian, among others. Finally, let's see the knight performing one of its favourite tasks: blocking enemy pawns. The blockade concept will be inves- tigated more thoroughly later on in the book, so here | will restrict myself to two simple examples. Example 39 V.Mikhalevski-J.Ehlvest Lake George 2005 In exchange for the pawn Black enjoys active pieces and a strong passed pawn on 4. Improving the Pieces oe WS WN; \ \ “\ lad N ~\ ie \ WS « \ Fe NS ws Om \ ANN ER NY laa 33 Dea! Simple but strong. The knight is redi- rected to d3 where it will block the passed pawn. In contrast, 33 @xd4?? Hed8 loses on the spot, while 33 2g5?! h6! 34 Df7+ @h7 35 ®d6 Was is also unconvincing for White. 33..RedB On 33...He2? there follows 34 Hdca!, winning thanks to a back rank mate, but not 34 Abc1?? Bxe1+! 35 Hxe1 Wxc1 and it ‘is Black who wins. 34 Wg4 Rez 35 Rbca The immediate 35 2d3!? was possible as well. 35...Wa6? Preferable was 35...Ede8! 36 g3 Wb3 37 57Mastering Chess Strategy d3 bg8 with just a slight white advan- tage - Mikhalevski 36 @d3 Ede8 37 g3 Wb7 38 Zea! Being a pawn up White is happy to ex- change pieces. 38..xe1+ 39 Hxe2 Thanks to the extra pawn and the pas- sive bishop on g7, White is clearly better. Please note here that 39..Hxe1+ 40 Oxe1 Wxb2? fails to 41 Wc8+, a line Mikhalevski surely observed when playing 38 Het. Example 40 M.Stolz-J.Hellsten. German League 2000 EV al i a 58 Black has a slightly cramped position and his development is yet to be completed. My first intention was the simple 17..sd7 followed by ..Rac8, but after 18 Dea We 19 b4!, preparing 4c5s, White obtains some initiative. Then I saw a better solution... 17...W61 The queen vacates the d6-square for the knight and takes control of the long diago- nal. Such an arrangement also gives the bishop access to f5 and g4. 18 Het 18 Dea? fails to 18..Wxb2, so before ac- tivating his knight White improves his ma- jor pieces. 18...Dd6 19 We2 He8 20 Dbs A logical move in order to swap the strong enemy knight, but 20 eq was a simpler way of achieving this; e.g. 20..xe4 21 &xeq &d7 22 Haci Hac8, when Black has just a minimal advantage thanks to his active queen. 20...Rg41 Tactics at service of strategy. Now after 21 Wxg4?! Oxbs 22 Wb4 Dd6 followed by _-Bac8, the knight on its strong blockading post clearly outshines the bishop. 21 Wa3 Dac8 22 da? At this moment Stolz perhaps thought that he was provoking a repetition ofmoves, but this is not so. 22 4)xa7? 25 fol- lowed by ..Bc2 leads to a strong black ini- tiative, so preferable was 22 xd6! exd6 23 Wa2, eliminating the black knight. There can follow 23.23 24 &xf3 Wxf3 25 Wd4+ Wfe with just a slight black edge. 22...2e4 23 bs Heck! Simple and strong. Black seizes the c-file and enables a future invasion on c2, whereas the a7-pawn is irrelevant. 24 ®xa7? The last chance was 24 4\c3, admitting that the whole knight journey was flawed. In the game Black obtains too much activ- ity. 24..0d4l 25 We3 Bc2 26 h3 This loses on the spot, but the alterna- tives weren't much better; e.g. 26 Bact Bxb2 27 h3 &xh3! 28 .Axh3 Hed and Black is winning after 29 Wc5 b6 or 29 Wc3 Wxc3 30xc3 Hxet+. 26.004 Unable to keep the f2-pawn protected, White resigned. For the related exercises, see page 304. The rook The natural working areas for our rooks are open and semi-open files. The possession of Improving the Pieces an open file often leads to control over the whole board, which is why both sides will fight for them by all possible means. One typical method in this sense is doubling rooks on the open file, sometimes even ac- companied by the queen. Let's see a few examples. Example 41 J.Hellsten-L.Rojas Santiago 2006 a . SS s x WY \ NY) N x \\ NV N \ SE a & “\ AW Zi YY SA PP: NY wom Be White has a slight but enduring advan- tage thanks to the weakness on d5. He now proceeds with the seizure of the open file. 20 Bact! We7?! Black develops the queen with tempo, but now his rook remains misplaced on e5, a fact that will play against him in the bat- tle for the c-file. In this sense, 20...c8 was better, although White keeps the advan- tage with the simple 21 c2!, preparing to double rooks by Bfc1. 21.e3 hs If 21...a5, trying to swap pawns and cre- ate activity on the queenside, then 22 bs! followed by Hc6, with strong pressure. With 21..hS Rojas instead secures a flight square for his king and enables ..h-h4 at some moment. \S 59