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Creative Chess Strategy

Alfonso Romero

Translated by Roberto Alvarez

First published in the UK by G ambit Publications Ltd 2003

Copyright © Alfonso Romero 2003

English translation © Roberto Alvarez 2003

The right of Alfonso Romero to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accor­
dance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 .

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being im­
posed on the subsequent purchaser.
A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library.

ISBN 1 90 1 983 92 7

DISTRIBUTION:
Worldwide (except USA): Central Books Ltd, 99 Wallis Rd, London E9 5LN.
Tel +44 (0)20 8986 4854 Fax +44 (0)20 8533 5821 . E-mail: [email protected]
U SA: BHB International, Inc., 302 West North 2nd Street, Seneca, SC 29678, USA.

For all other enquiries (including a full list of all Gambit Chess titles) please contact the publishers,
Gambit Publications Ltd, P.O. Box 32640, London W14 OJN. E-mail: [email protected]
Or visit the GAMBIT web site at http://www.gambitbooks.com

Edited by Graham Burgess

Typeset by John Nunn
Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wilts.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Gambit Publications Ltd

Managing Director: GM Murray Chandler
Chess Director: GM John Nunn
Editorial Director: FM Graham Burgess
Gennan Editor: WFM Petra Nunn
Contents

Preface 4
Introduction 5

1 Pawn-Structure 13
2 Space Advantage 22
3 Strong Centre 39
4 Bishop-Pair 45
5 Blockade 56
6 Isolated Queen's Pawn 66
7 Control of Light (or Dark) Squares 104
8 Attacking a Weak Centre 121
9 Open and Semi-Open Files 138
10 Positional Exchange Sacrifices 152
11 Positional Sacrifice of Two Pawns 170
12 Coordinating a Rook and a Knight 177
13 The Dead Bishop 188
14 Lack of Communication 195
15 The Crazy World of Attacking without Rules 201
16 Knowledge of Positions 210

Symbols 222
Index of Players 223
Index of Openings 224
Preface

This book is intended for intermediate and high-ranking players who wish to understand the differ­
ences between ordinary players and masters. I have sought to make this book a course about cre­
ative chess strategy and technique.
The greatest players are those who have the sharpest intuition and perceive the essence of a posi­
tion at just a glance. This intuition stems from the knowledge stored in the player 's mind, and this
knowledge is based on previous study and experience. It is quite obvious that our understanding of
a position, and the ease with which we find the best moves, will be far greater if we have experi­
enced it previously than if it is unfamiliar to us. Thus acquired knowledge is translated into tech­
nique.
However, my fundamental aim in this book is to show that the way we handle and interpret posi­
tions shouldn't become something automatic or mechanical, but it should always be original and
innovative. The positions we encounter will never be identical to those we h ave seen before, and so
there is a need for unexpected and creative solutions.
In this book we examine many typical positions of the sort that can easily arise in practice.
Pawn-structure, bishop-pair, control of light/dark squares, exploitation of weaknesses, general
themes with the IQP, blockade- these are fundamental topics and are examined thoroughly in these
pages.
I'm sure the reader will find the selection of games highly interesting. I have chosen games that
to me seem most instructive, and feature original ideas by grandmasters. I offer my personal reflec­
tions on the positions studied, going into depth in the fashionable world of strategic analysis.
Knowing how to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a position, and reaching an appropri­
ate decision, is one of the most difficult topics in chess. Given this, I found it necessary to analyse
some of the games in great depth, and so to present my conclusions over many pages.
While each chapter is focused on one main strategic subject, these titles naturally can't describe
the entirety of the themes relevant in each game. A well-fought game inevitably includes many po­
sitional and tactical ideas and strategic plans, and they need to be considered as a whole. So let's en­
joy solving this unique puzzle and the creative solutions of the best grandmasters.

Alfonso Romero
October 2003
Introduction

The book Ajedrez en Ia cumbre (Chess at the playing style somewhat resembles that of Eng­
Summit) written by former world champion lish grandmaster Michael Adams: he places his
Tigran Petrosian, raises an important topic in pieces on the best squares and then he thinks.
teaching chess: But this is of course a difficult skill to emulate:
What do we mean by 'chess technique'? mere imitation will not suffice.
The Armenian grandmaster strongly rejects In the following game by Petrosian, his su­
in his book that chess technique should be perb move 1 8 .i. c5 springs from his enormous
deemed as something mechanical, just as the practical understanding.
Chess Dictionary suggests: 'Technique is the
control of the battle in typical positions and, es­ Petrosian - Bannik
pecially, the ability to profit from an acquired USSR Ch (Riga) 1958
advantage by the shortest means ... it has a more
or less mechanical character'. And Petrosian, 1 c4 e5 2 lbc3 lbc6 3 lLlf3 lLlf6 4 g3 d6?
immediately, refers us back to one of his most Often a dubious opening decision shapes the
interesting games, contradicting this definition. course of the middlegame. Here both 4.. ..i. b4
In the game, technique is shown to be creative and 4. .. d5 are considered better. The text-move
and in no way mechanical. allows White to win the central battle.
Technique should be creative - as Petrosian 5 d4! g6
remarks - but only when planning in certain po­ Still trusting in the defensive resources the
sitions demands it. It is not necessary to try to endgame offers: Black appears to be super­
squeeze all situations to the utmost. It is enough solid and without weaknesses.
to discover the critical moments, letting each 6 dxe5 lbxe5 7 lbxe5 dxe5 8 'ifxd8+ c;jolxd8
chess-player's intuition act freely. 9 .i.g5 .i.e7 10 0-0-0+ lbd7 (D)
Apart from this, a technical player should
devote absolute concentration to the game while
he carries out his creative plan, trying to avoid
any tactical trap or undesirable element pre­ w
pared by the opponent. He should avoid the nat­
ural relaxation that affects a player when he h as
the advantage, and should not try to be more
specific than necessary once the winning plan
has been chosen . All this is technique and all
those elements coexist with it.
Everybody knows Petrosian's merits as a
chess-player. In general, many chess-players
remember him as a very strong defensive player
who used his great combinative skills when he
faced danger. A comment Mikhail Botvinnik
made about him is very insightful: "He has the ll h4!
most original and genuine talent in all our This accurate move has a great positional ba­
grandmasters. A surprising talent: he places his sis. This pawn advance tries to produce a future
pieces with such unusual perception that all at­ weakening in Black's pawn-structure and gains
tacks upon them run into serious trouble." His space in a vital part of the board. This is a
6 CREATNE CHESS STRATEGY

sample of Petrosian' s clear-sighted talent. Very favours White, as it enables him to exploit the
probably, he already realized that only a mira­ weakness of the f5-square later on.
cle could save Black. 13...g5
It is worth mentioning that a continuation Although sad, this move is necessary and un­
like 1 1 .i.xe7+ �xe7 12 tiJd5+ �d8 1 3 .i.h3 re­ derstandable, since other moves allow the rook
quires precise calculation to be rejected. Fol­ to penetrate through to the seventh rank.
lowing 1 3 ...f5 ! (due to the threat of tiJf6) 14 e4 14 tbe4
c6, it is clear that after 1 5 tDf6? �e7 all the ad­ Paradoxically, this knight located at the cen­
vantage has disappeared, but not in case of 15 tre is unassailable. During large parts of the
tbc3. Black should be content with the humble game the pressure on f6 will be apparent.
1 5 ... l:!.f8 ( 15 ... �c7 16 exf5 tbf6 1 7 l:!.hel .l:te8 14...�c7 (D)
18 g4 gxf5 19 gxf5 gives Black no compensa­
tion) waiting for the development of the events.
Many chess-players would have chosen this
forcing variation, which is definitely attractive, w
and drastically changes the nature of the posi­
tion. However, Petrosian wants to give the game
a more positional character, choosing a more
'technical' position.
The style of a player is defined by this type
of decision.
ll...f6
Black must act without delay. The king would
remain confined in the centre of the board if
he took no action against the g5-bishop. Mter
ll...h6 1 2 .i.xe7+ �xe7 1 3 tiJd5+ �d8 1 4 .i.h3
f5 1 5 h5 White has achieved one of his goals: 15 .i.h3!
to break up Black's solid pawn-chain, through The exchange of the light-squared bishops is
combining a series of tactical threats. In case of one of Petrosian's goals, since the situation of
ll. ..c6, Black will suffer the consequences of the black pawns on dark squares means that
his early weakening of the d6-square: 1 2 tbe4 ! Black's c8-bishop is a potentially strong piece.
h6 13 tiJd6 ! . Although this move is 'natural', I am convinced
1 2 .i.e3 c6 13 h5 (D) that many players would prefer to break open
the position by 1 5 f4! ?, so as to increase the ac­
tivity of the white pieces. Indeed, this also seems
a healthy move, although the principle that it
B makes sense to keep positional advantages in as
clear a form as possible, should be borne in
mind. The break could simplify the position too
much and also, paradoxically, offer Black's
pieces a freer game with simple tactical threats
after 1 5 ...tbb6 1 6 b3 .i.f5. Petrosian prefers to
secure the position, and only open the game if it
is necessary or clearly increases his advantage.
15 .. tiJb6
.

This knight will be very much misplaced

here. One might suggest transferring the knight
to the centre of the fight by means of 1 5 ... tbf8,
This move complements the previous deci­ although this doesn't win tempi with direct
sion. Forcing the black pawns onto dark squares threats as in the game. After 16 .i.xc8 .:!.xeS 17
 INTRODUCTION 7

f4 ! (now Black doesn't have real counterplay), the white bishop (which is 'good') for the badly
17 ... l2Je6 is no good, since Black is severely placed black knight.
constrained after 1 8 f5! (seemingly, nothing is In this case a target position would be like
achieved by closing the position, but this way this:
the knight is left without squares) 1 8 . . . l2Jf8
( 1 8 ... t2Jd8 19 il.. c5 i.xc5 20 l2Jxc5 gives White
oppressive pressure, and if 1 8 ... l2Jg7 then 19 g4
and the black knight is blocked) 19 il..xa7 l:ta8
20 i.c5 i.xc5 21 l2Jxc5 l:txa2 22 �b 1 .l:.a8 23
l2Je4 l2Jd7 24 l:.d2. All these variations are un­
pleasant for Black, and first opening the g-file
would solve nothing: 17 ... gxf4 1 8 gxf4 l2Je6 19
f5 lDf4 20 il.. xf4 exf4 and now White does not
seek material gains but rather control of the g­
file. Thus 21 .l:.hg1 l:.hg8 22 h6 ! (with the idea
of .l:.g7) is unpleasant.
16 il..xc8 l:.axc8 17 b3 .l:.cd8 (D)

Quite likely it will not be so easy to bring

w the knight to f5 and the king to e4, but it looks
plausible. It is also logical to suppose that the
black king can reach e6, where it prevents the
white king from entering via f5 (if this hap­
pened the result would be obvious) and the
black bishop may remain on a defensive square,
such as f8, trying to hinder White's plans. Is it
then possible to penetrate the fortress Black
has built?
Let us suppose the bishop leaves the f8-
square. Then, a possibility to activate the white
king is 1 l2Jg7+ <l;f7 2 h6 !?. Now:
It is clear that White has obtained a clear po­ a) The consequences of the 'natural' move
sitional advantage. 2... il..f8 are difficult to foresee (we are in a situ­
What is the right plan to realize the ad­ ation where calculation must be precise). How­
vantage? According to Petrosian this is a criti­ ever, it is not very advantageous for Black; a
cal moment of the game where the player with possible continuation is 3 <l;f5 il..xg7 4 hxg7
the white pieces should display his technique. <l;xg7 5 <l;e6 and White will move towards the
White's advantage is defined by several factors. queenside given that the black king is on g7; all
One very important feature is the configuration attempts to break by . . .h5 or ... f5 to create a
of black pawns, on e5, f6 and g5, all on dark passed pawn fail.
squares. They have no possibility of moving to b) 2 ...�g6 3 l2Je6 i.e7 4 a4 is good for
light squares, and this allows us to conclude White.
that the bishop on e7 may be bad. Based on this However, if Black leaves his bishop on f8,
discovery, an expert reader will deduce that it is these possibilities do not arise.
interesting to leave on the board only the white We have seen that victory becomes difficult
knight (with unassailable squares from which if White leaves himself exposed on the king­
to exercise control) and Black's 'bad' bishop. side, and that Black does best to wait patiently,
This situation would occur after an exchange of alternating his king between the squares e6 and
all the rooks on the d-file and the exchange of f7.
8 CREATIVE CHESS STRATEGY

However, Black finds an unexpected enemy

in his fixed pawn-chain on the queenside, and a
player with good technique would find White's w
winning plan rather easily. After playing a4
first of all (annulling the reply ... b5) a plan
would be to locate his knight at d3, and then to
break on c5 (pushing the b-pawn) and reach a
winning pawn ending:

As Petrosian remarks, it would be very com­

plicated to convert the theoretical advantage
into a full point.
All these general considerations could be
nullified by several very significant details.
After exchanging the bishop for the knight, the
entry of the black king via the dark squares on
the queenside (b4 and a3) becomes a possibil­
ity. Then, the white king might not go towards
White would carry out the break f4 under the centre of the board so easily. Another hurdle
good conditions - with the king on f5 - and he is actually to organize the exchange of rooks,
would get the position to prepare the winning which is not very pleasant for Black's cause. In
break g5 again. We would then reach this posi­ short, mechanical technical play would lead us
tion: to a dead end. We know that the bishop is bad
and the knight is excellent, but this knowledge
is not enough on its own. It is factors like this
that make chess advantages so difficult to real­
B ize.
Now Petrosian makes a move which appears
to defy logic. However, it is at this point that he
really shows his sharp insight and deep under­
standing...
18 i.cS!! (D)
Petrosian will exchange his 'good' bishop
for the opponent's 'bad' one, but thanks to this,
the white knight will occupy key squares. His
rook and knight will operate in mutual harmony
and achieve coordination that Black can only
dream of. Finally, Black's pawn-chain e5-f6-g5
After 1 ...'iii>f7 2 'it>f5 'it>e7 3 'it>e5 'iii>f7 4 'it>d6 will prove weaker and the white king will be
White easily wins the pawn race. able to penetrate through the light squares.
On the other hand, what would happen if in 18..J:t xd1 + 19 .:.X d1 i.xcS
the starting position of our 'endgame study' , The only move. 19 ... i.d8 is too passive.
Black had not altered his pawn-structure (pawn 20 lD xcS l:r. e8 21 lDe4
on a7 instead ofb6), thus keeping it less vulner­ While Petrosian is showing plenty of aces
able? (the rook controls the open file and his knight
 INTRODUCTION 9

White was threatening to launch a pawn-storm

on the queenside, with an offensive like �c2,
B �c3, b4, �b3 and a4, with such a large space
advantage that Black would be unable to cope.
The resource ... a5 airs the small prison in which
Black' s pieces move, but has a formal defect:
White is the one capable of opening another file
when he wants (the h-file).
23 .l:.d3!?
Before defining his true plan, Petrosian lim­
its his opponent's possibilities. Patience is a
limitless weapon. The pressure on f6 is a sec­
ondary idea.
23.. ll:ld7 24 �c2 b6
.

has a superb central square) Black's position is This anticipates an eventual c5 by White,
starting to creak: his far-away knight has diffi­ and a possible infiltration via the d6-square.
culty reaching the main theatre of action and However, is this detail so important? If so, then
his rook is passive. Black would have good possibilities to resist.
21.. .l:.e6
• The pawn's advance to b6 shows the nervous­
There is no alternative. After 2 1 . ...l:tf8 22 g4 ness in Black's decisions. It is possible that
.l:.f7 23 .l:.d6 ll:ld7 24 .l:.e6 a tenible feeling of Bannik had played this move wishing to pre­
resignation would invade Black when he sees in vent any direct variation that requires precise
flesh and bloods how the attacking pieces fulfil calculation, and a simplification to a pawn end­
their threats. game with the white king centralized (i.e. on
22 g4 e3) after .l:.xd7+ �xd7, ll:lc5+, would demand
This is a typical move by the side that has it. Which would then be the most likely result?
the advantage: White prevents any ideas of After analysing this very interesting endgame,
... f5. the reader can conclude that the break with e3
22...a5 (D) and f4 guarantees victory, based on the pawn
moves that White is able to waste. Although the
placing of his h-pawn at h7 (instead of h6) is of
no small significance for Black, the situation
w would become dramatic.
The ramifications of this innocent move in
the course of the fight will be clearer when
White grabs the a-file. It is evident that in this
hypothetical case Black's position would re­
main sounder with the pawn on b7.
25 .l:.f3
Black threatened 25 ...ll:lc5, forcing 26ll:lxc5
bxc5. This exchange undoubtedly does not ben­
efit White, since he has exchanged a strong
piece for a passive one. However, a little analy­
sis is still necessary to confirm this first impres­
Petrosian lightly criticizes this move, with­ sion. After 27 f3?, 27 ....l:.d6? leads to a lost
out actually awarding it a question mark. And pawn ending: 28 l:txd6 'it>xd6 29 �d3 �d7 30
automatically he reminds us about the princi­ �e4 �e6 3 1 e3 �e7 32 �f5 �f7 33 f4! exf4 34
ples of defence: 'in a bad position it is neces­ exf4 gxf4 35 �xf4 �e6 36 g5 ! �f7 37 �f5
sary not to make weaknesses, such as those fxg5 38 �xg5 (it is important that the white
often caused by a pawn advance'. However, pawn still remains on a2, to take advantage of
10 CREATIVE CHESS STRATEGY

these tempi) 38 ...�g7 39 �f5 �h6 40 �g4! black pieces, still more noticeable when the
�g7 4 1 �g5 �f7 42 '5tif5 �g7 43 �e6 and white pieces are more active, are tipping the
White wins. Therefore, Black would do better scale towards White. If Black agreed to ex­
to play actively: 27 ... e4! 28 :e3 �d6 ! . change pawns, the white king would arrive on
25 �d8 26 a3!
.•• c4, the knight on d6 and the rook would move
The imminent threat is the break with b4, up to a6 or b7. Black could not put up any
which would practically force the exchange resistance. Otherwise, White could choose the
(otherwise White would isolate the a-pawn) appropriate moment to capture on b6, taking
getting the control of the a-file to penetrate with advantage of some tactical issues.
the rook. Later, it would be White who could The black king is hardly able to forsake the
choose the pawn formation to suit his needs, defence of the eight rank, giving us an idea of
when advancing up to b5 or c5. These passive the problems Black is facing. With his move
situations for Black are very unpleasant and 26 ... c5 Bannik is trusting that the bestowed
force him to make decisions of dubious value. square is not decisive for the outcome of the
But when everything is bad... it is difficult to game, although this is not the case. Penetration
choose between two evils. by the white king via d5 or f5 will bring about a
26 c5
•.. zugzwang situation.
Weakening another square, i.e. d5, to which 27 �c3 riif e7 28 .l:r.d3 :c6 29 .l:r.dS
the white knight (or the king) can easily go. The rook leaves its post, allowing the king's
Another difficult decision for Black, added to approach to the centre. Of course, the rook
... aS and ... b6: the three pawns moved to dark should be placed ahead.
squares, with unusual stubbornness. What jus­ 29 lZ'lf8 30 ltJg3
.•.

tification is hiding behind Black's last move? The f6-pawn is no more the ultimate goal
The black king seeks to go to e7 freeing a for White. The knight will coordinate better
black piece of the painful burden of defending with the white rook from f5, where it has good
f6, and for this purpose he doesn't like the penetration squares. Anyway, the d6-square
opening of the a-file. After 26 . . . riif e7 27 b4 will continue being a key one.
axb4 28 axb4 nothing could prevent White 30 ltJe6 31 liJf5+ �e8 32 e3 (D)
.•.

from taking possession of the a-file and the

seventh rank. The alternative is 26 . . . �c7 27 b4
axb4 28 axb4 �b7 29 .l:!.d3 �c7 30 :a3 '5tib7
3 1 c5! (D). B

To have moves like this is a perfect luxury.

Here we can observe the difference between the
knights of one and the other side. One has im­
pressive squares in prospect while the best the
Despite the simplification that might hap­ other can do is to control small squares without
pen, the problems remain. The activity of the any chance of creating danger.
white rook on the a-file and the passivity of the 32 ltJc7
..•
 INTRODUCTION 11

According to Petrosian the result of the game a) If Black plays 42 ...'it>e7, 43 tDc3 ! tDc7 44
is in no doubt from now on. He suggests trans­ ttJd5+ decides matters, since White has many
ferring the knight to f7 defending the vital d6- available tempi.
square. Conceptually, this is right, but Black b) 42 ... ttJf8 43 'it>f5 'it>e7 44 tDc3 ttJd7 45
will lack useful moves after 32 ...ttJd8 33 'it>d3 h6 ! and Black is helpless.
lDf7 34 'it>e4. Black cannot play the natural c) If 42...tDg7, 43 h6 ! tDe8 (43 ...tDe6 is met
34....l:te6 due to the surprising jump 35 tDg7+, by 44 tDc3 ! , but not 44 c;t>f5? 'it>e7 45 tDc3 tDc7
and other moves such as 34 .. .'it'f8 35 .l:td7 or 46 tDe4 tDe8 ! when surprisingly it is White
34...l:tc7 35 ttJd6+ only confirm the zugzwang who is without a move, in face of the unusual
situation. Probably the best thing would be to mating possibility ... lDd6# if the white knight
go back with 34 ... tDd8 and we would arrive at a retreats; White could still undo the error by
similar situation to that in the game. playing 47 a4 c;t>n 48 f3 c;t>e7 49 f4, with some
33-l:t dl winning possibilities) 44 c;t>d5!.
The exchange of rook is only favourable to 40 lD d8 (D)
•••

White when the white king arrives at e4. Intending to play 4 1 . . .tlJf7 with some resis­
33 ttJ e6 34 'it>d3 .l:tc7 35 'iti> e4 (D)
••• tance.

B w

The king has approached the border zone, 41 tD h6!

aiming to occupy d5 or f5 (the holes in Black's This jump prevents Black from reaching a
position) at a favourable moment. Meanwhile, defensive fortress, and helps to clear the way
Black's pieces must remain where they are. for the king, thanks to some tactical points. The
As general rule, now it would be interesting first consideration when carrying out this move
for Black to exchange a passive rook for the ac­ was, without a doubt, the rook endgame that
tive one, by playing 35 . . J:td7. However, apart arises after 41 ...lDf7 42 tDxf7 c;t>xf7 43 .l:td7+
from making it easy for the white king to infil­ finishing in a simple position. Other replies
trate the enemy camp (for example, 36 .l:td6 don't seem satisfactory either. For example, af­
.Uxd6 37 tDxd6+ c;t>d7 38 lDb5) Black should ter 4L.c;t>e7 42 ttJg8+ 'it>e8 43 c;t>f5 White ar­
fear the simple tactical detail 36 ttJd6+ 'it>e7 rives at a won position, and the same happens in
(otherwise follows 37 c;t>f5) 37 tDc8+. the event of 41 ...lDb7 42 lDg8 Wf8 43 l:td7.
35 .l:tc6 36 ttJ d6+ c;t> e7 37 tD fS+ 'it>e8 38
.•. Petrosian's move is highly imaginative: it is
ttJ d6+ c;t> e7 39 ttJ fS+ 'it>e8 40 a4 rare that a move so close to edge of the board
This decision may have been due to the ap­ causes such chaos amongst the enemy pieces.
proach of the first time-control. After 40 .l:td6 ! 4t...ttJ e6 42 ttJ gs ttJ rs
.l:txd6 41 tDxd6+ c;t>d7 42 tDb5 Black is in zug­ White exploited the fact that both rook and
zwang, thanks to the manoeuvre tDc3-d5 and knight are unusually misplaced: 42 ...'it>f7 43
the king's entry. Now: .l:.d7+ c;t>xg8 44 Wd5 ! winning.
12 CREATIVE CHESS STRATEGY

43 .l:r.d2
Surprisingly enough, as Petrosian notes, the
sequence 43 <it>f5 'iitf7 44 tt:lh6+ <it>g7 45 .l:r.d8 B
fails to the resource 45 ... tt:le6! 46 l:te8 tt:lc7, win­
ning. In advantageous positions is not advis­
able to relax too much, since there are always
surprises possible. Although certainly there is
nothing more pleasant than winning from the
beginning to the end, is also true that losing half
or a whole point due to a lapse in concentration
is very depressing.
43 'iii>f7
...

A beautiful finish arises after the passive de­

fence 43 ... tt:ld7 44 <it>f5 <it>d8 45 e4! �e8 46 f3
�d8 47 l:hd7+ <it>xd7 48 tt:lxf6+, chewing up All variations end up in zugzwang, like we
all the black pawns. saw in notes to move 40.
44 tt:lh6+ <it>e8 45 tt:lf5 tt:le6 49 h6 tt:le8 50 �d5! f5 51 �xeS fxg4 52
There is no longer any chance to escape. tt:lc3 �e7 53 tt:le4 �7 54 �f5 g3 55 fxg3 g4 56
45 ...tt:ld7 46 �d5 tt:lb8 47 tt:lh6! �f8 (if Black tt:lg5+ �g8 57 <iii>e6 tt:lc7+ 58 �d7 tt:la6 59 e4
plays 47 ... <it>e7, then 48 tt:lg8+ <it>f7 49 <it>e4) 48 tt:lb4 60 e5 tt:ld3 61 e6 1-0
<it>e4 �e8 49 <it>f5 tt:ld7 50 tt:lg8 transposes to In short, Petrosian reminds us that in techni­
the note to Black's 43rd move. cal positions it is necessary to take original de­
46 .l:r.d6! (D) cisions many times - sometimes they are the
Finally, the decisive move. only correct ones. This game provides an em­
46 .l:r. xd6 47 tt:lxd6+ <iti>d7 48 tt:lb5 tt:lg7
••• phatic example.
1 Pawn-Structure

In his well-known book Chess Fundamentals, opening lines where a backward pawn is ac­
the great Cuban chess-player and former world cepted in return for other advantages. The im­
champion Jose Raul Capablanca wrote on the provements in Black' s play are very interesting
Open Spanish and the methods of fighting from the point of view of dynamic strategy.
against it. Great 'Capa' had some contempt for Euwe, Korchnoi, Yusupov and Timman are
Black's pawn-structure in this line, devoting a four of the players who injected new life into
section of his book to its study, as an example this line.
of how to take advantage of a favourable Capablanca recommended an opening and
pawn-structure. His outstanding skill in this rniddlegame set-up that supports his theory. The
matter makes his comments extremely interest­ course of events seems logical for White and a
ing. bit less for Black - that seems liable to show all
Given the state of theoretical knowledge in the shortcomings in his position. These are the
Capablanca's era, and the trouble faced by the initial moves:
supporters of this defence, to some degree his 1 e4 e5 2 ll'lf3 ll'lc6 3 .i.b5 a6 4 .i.a4 ll'lf6 5
contempt for the Open Spanish is natural. In 0-0 ll'lxe4 6 d4 b5 7 .i.b3 d5 8 dxe5 .i.e6 (D)
fact, he illustrates in his book one of his games
with this system (Capablanca-Salwe et al., Lodz
(consultation) 1 9 1 3) where all the weaknesses
in Black's position were demonstrated. The fol­ w
lowing is a typical position of the Open Span­
ish, an opening which will be our subject of
study in this chapter.

All three options available in this position (9

c3, 9 .i.e3 and 9 ll'lbd2) are directed towards d4.
A more contemporary treatment requires the
study of the Karpov-Korchnoi games from the
Baguio ( 1978) and Merano ( 198 1) matches,
and the Candidates matches Dolmatov-Yusu­
pov, Wijk aan Zee 1 991, and Short-Timman, El
Capablanca's way of exploiting the central Escorial 1 993 . In this sense, it is highly heart­
superiority and kingside pawn-majority was warming to get to discover the evolution of the
made clear in this line. variation through these kind of encounters.
Gradually, and thanks to more active proce­ These four matches left a deep imprint in the
dures by Black, the Open Spanish found a fol­ heart of the variation, with major theoretical
lowing, along with the trend for re-evaluating and strategic discoveries.
 14 CREATIVE CHESS STRATEGY

Dolmatov - Vusupov 13 .tc2 (D)

Wijk aan Zee Ct (5) 1991

9 .te3
Dolmatov concentrated his attention on this B
move.
9 .te7
•••

Yusupov had achieved some success with

9 ...lt:Jc5 but the game Smagin-Mikhalchishin,
Moscow 1 989 created doubts about its validity:
10 lt:Jc3 lZ'lxb3 1 1 cxb3 ! .te7 12 l':t c l 'iVd7 13
lZ'le2 (Black remains with the usual problem,
his c-pawn, while he is not in good condition to
press against e5) 1 3 ... .tg4 14 lZ'lf4 ! .l:i.d8 1 5
'iVxd5 ! .
1 0 c3 'iVd7
Another possibility is 1 0... lt:Jc5 1 1 .tc2lZ'ld7 13 lt:Jxd2
.•.

(demonstrating the shortcomings of White's 9th Or:

move, in neglecting the defence of the e5-pawn; a) 13 ....tf5 14 lt:Jxe4 .txe4 1 5 .txe4 dxe4
instead, 1 l . . . .tg4 followed by ...lZ'le6 did not 1 6 'ib'xd7 Ilxd7 1 7 e6! fxe6 1 8 lZ'ld2 lt:Je5 1 9
achieve equality in Dolmatov-Yusupov, Wijk lt:Jxe4 lt:Jd3 20 .l:!.e2 gave White a clear advan­
aan Zee Ct ( 1 1) 1 991) 1 2.Ue1lZ'ldxe5 ! ? (declin­ tage in Dolmatov-Yusupov, Wijk aan Zee Ct ( 1)
ing the pawn with 12 ... 0-0 1 3 .tf4lZ'lb6 1 4lZ'ld4 199 1 .
lt:Jxd4 1 5 cxd4 c5 16lZ'ld2lZ'lc4 17lZ'lb3lZ'lxb2 b) 13. . . f5 ! ? 14 exf6 lt:Jxf6 1 5 'iVb1 h 6 1 6
18 'iVb1 gave Black a difficult position in Dol­ lZ'lh4lZ'le5 17lZ'lb3 lZ'lfg4 1 8 lt:Jc5 'i!Vc8 1 9lZ'lxe6
matov-Yusupov, Wijk aan Zee Ct (7) 199 1) 13 'i!Vxe6 20 .th7+ 'it>h8 leaves the game terribly
lt:Jxe5 lt:Jxe5 14 .td4 ! lt:Jc6?! (the other possi­ unstable, Ki.Georgiev-Ivanchuk, Manila OL
bility is 14 . . . lt:Jg6 15 .txg7 .l::r g8 16 .txg6 .l:i.xg7 1992; here Ivanchuk suggested 21 .tg5 ! .
17 .l:i.xe6! hxg6 as in Ernst-Todorovic, Vienna 1 4 'ifxd2 .trs
199 1 , but here White missed 1 8 l':te2 ! with If 14 ... .tg4 there follows 1 5 'ili'd3 ! g6 16 .tf4
some advantage) 15 .txg7 l:.g8 1 6 'iVh5 �d7 ! ? and then h3, when Black would only achieve a
17 .th6 .td6?! (better i s 17 ... .tg5 1 8 f4 .txh6 weakening of his own position.
19 'ifxh6 though it doesn't solve all Black's 15 l:!.ad1 l:tfe8 16 h3 iVe6
problems) 1 8 f4 ! ( 1 8lZ'ld2 is met by 1 8 . . . 'iVf6 !) The best possibility.
18 ... 'it>c8 ( 1 8 ... 'iVf6 19 f5 ! lt:Je5 ! ? 20 l:.xe5 .txe5 a) 16 .. .f6, on the other hand, doesn't seem
21lZ'ld2 is likewise advantageous for White) 19 suitable. Right now the reply will be 17 exf6
lZ'ld2 'it>b7 20 f5 ! .td7 21 lZ'lf3? (after 21 .tb3 followed by 1 8 .tb3, making the defence of d5
Black has serious problems: 2 1 . . .lt:Je7 22 f6) troublesome.
2 l ...f6 ! 22 l:!.ad1lZ'le5 ! 23lZ'lxe5 .txe5 24l:txd5 b) Nor does the exchange of bishops solve
l:!.xg2+ 25 'it>xg2 .tc6 and Black achieved Black's problems: 16 . . . .txc2 1 7 'ib'xc2 f6 1 8
equality in Dolmatov-Levin, Dortmund 1 992. exf6 .txf6 19 .tg5 ! .
lllZ'lbd2 l:!.d8 12 l:!.e1 c) 1 6. . .h6 (this also leads to trouble) 17 .tf4
A good novelty, improving over the usual .tf8 1 8 .tg3 ! .txc2 19 'iVxc2 'iVe6 (D).
continuation 12 h3 . White seeks to get rid of the Now:
pressure exerted by the strong black knight, and c l ) 20 lt:Jd4? lZ'lxd4 21 cxd4 l:.c8 ! 22 f4 c5 !
to protect the e5-pawn. (the logical reaction, getting rid of the perpetual
12 0-0
... weakness in this opening line, and obtaining
Winning the pawn by 12 ...lZ'lxd2 1 3 'iVxd2 enough counterplay to equalize; instead, 22... f5
.tg4 14lZ'ld4 lt:Jxe5 is risky due to the strong re­ allows the rook to penetrate: 23 exf6 'i!Vxf6 24
ply 1 5 .th6 ! . l:!.e5 !) 23 f5 cxd4 24 'ifd3 'ifc6 25 .tf2 'i!Vc2 and
 PAWN-STRUCTURE 15

These many variations constitute just a tiny

part of modem theory about this sharp open­
w ing, and my reason for quoting them is to show
the complexity of the play and how important
move-orders are. The Open Spanish, despite its
defects, is still played in high-level games. Was
Capablanca too dogmatic? An opening varia­
tion like this, so rich in tactical and strategic
nuances, is a good source of study for the chess­
player.

We shall now return to the classical continu­

ation.
9 c3 �e7
Black is still in the game, Dolmatov-Yusupov, After 9 . . . l2Jc5 1 0 �c2, 10 . . . �g4 is a key
Wijk aan Zee Ct (3) 199 1 . move in Black's system, exerting pressure on
c2) 20 l:td2 !? prepares to double on the d­ e5. Then 1 1 .l:te1 �e7 ( 1 l ...d4 12 h3 ..th5 1 3
file as well as the typical move l2Jd4. e6!) transposes to the main line.
c3) 20 �h4 ! l::td7 21 l2Jd4 l2Jxd4 22 cxd4 Instead, 9 ... �c5 !? is more interesting and in­
l:tc8 23 f4 (the c8-rook is defenceless) fulfils dependent. 10 l2Jbd2 0-0 1 1 �c2 and now:
the outlined positional goals. This was Dvor­ a) 1 1 ...f5 !? 12 lLlb3 �b6 1 3 l2Jfd4 l2Jxd4 14
etsky's suggestion. l2Jxd4 ..txd4 1 5 'ii'xd4 (this is necessary now,
17 ..tg5?! because 15 cxd4 f4 ! 16 f3 lLlg3 leads to compli­
17 ..tf4! is somewhat better, and if 17 ... �xc2 cations that favour Black) 1 5 ... c5 16 'ikd1 h6 !
18 'i!kxc2 'i!kg6 1 9 'i!fxg6 hxg6 then 20 e6 ! . ( 1 6... f4 had been the usual move) 17 f3 l2Jg5 1 8
17 ..txc2 1 8 'ilfxc2 'i!kg6 1 9 'ii'xg6 hxg6 20
.•• �e3 l:tc8 1 9 ii'd2 a5 20 l:lad1 ii'e7 and in return
�f4 �c5 21 lLld4 l2Jxd4! for the bishop-pair, Black has a space advantage
In case of 2 l .. .�xd4 22 cxd4 l:td7 23 �e3 and good chances on the queenside, Short-Tim­
White can break through on the c-file. man, El Escorial Ct ( 12) 1993.
22 cxd4 �b6 23 l:te2 l:te6 (D) b) 1 l ...�f5 1 2 lLlb3 and here:
b1) 12 . . .�g4? ! was played in several games
of the 1978 world championship match. Korch­
noi successfully held in the 2nd and 4th games,
w but Karpov later showed an interesting improve­
ment: 1 3 h3 ! �h5 1 4 g4 �g6 1 5 .i.xe4 dxe4 1 6
l2Jxc5 exf3 17 �f4 'ilfxd1 1 8 llaxd1 lLld8 ! 1 9
l:td7 l2Je6 20 lLlxe6 fxe6 21 �e3 and the ending
certainly favours White, who achieved a bril­
liant victory in Karpov-Korchnoi, Baguio City
Wch ( 14) 1 978.
b2) 12 ... �g6! 1 3 l2Jfd4 �xd4 14 cxd4 a5 1 5
�e3 a4 1 6 lLlc 1 a3 ! 17 b 3 ( 17 bxa3 l:txa3 1 8
�b3 l2Jc3 has been tried many times, but Black
has no trouble) 17 ...f6 1 8 l2Jd3 ( 1 8 exf6 was
seen in Karpov-Korchnoi, Merano Wch (6)
Black has reached comfortable equality, com­ 1 98 1 , where Black won) 1 8 ...fxe5 19 l2Jxe5
pensating for his problems on the c-file with l2Jxe5 20 �xe4 �xe4 21 dxe5, Aseev-Komeev,
pressure on d4, the king's approach to d7 and Krumbach 199 1 . White's guarantees are his
especially the possibility of a break with ... f6, strong bishop and his great freedom to exploit
and in some cases with ... c5. his pawn-majority.
 16 CREATNE CHESS STRATEGY

10 lt:'lbd2 Black is not ready for a break with the d­

In his book Capablanca proposed the move­ pawn: 1 l . ..d4?! 1 2lt:'l e4! dxc3 13 lt:'l xc5 .i. xc5
order 10 .l:r.e1 lt:'l c5 1 1 .i. c2 .i.g4 1 2lt:'l bd2 0-0. 14 .i.e4 'ir d7 1 51i' c2 .i. d5 16 bxc3 .l:r.d8 17 .i. g5
However, 10 .l:te1?! seems less precise and flex­ with a clear advantage for White, Capablanca­
ible due to 10 ...0-0 1 1 lt:'l bd2 (after 11 lt:'l d4 Chajes, New York 1916.
Black will continue sacrificially: 1 l .. lt:'l . xe5 12 12.l:r.e1
f3 .i. d6! 13 fxe4 .i. g4 14 'if c2 c5 1 5 .i. xd5 cxd4 In the game Capablanca-Salwe, White didn't
1 6 .i. xa81i' h4) 1 1 . ..lt:'l c5 12 .i. c2 d4! with good play so carefully: 12 h3 .i.h5 13 .l:r.e1 .i. g6 14
play for Black, Lasker-Tarrasch, St Petersburg lt:'l d4.
1914. The addition of.l:r.e1 and . . . 0-0 favours the 12 0-0
•••

advance . . . d4, which otherwise is ill-advised. 12 ...'i!k d7!? (a standard move in thi s set-up,
10 lt:'lc5
••. thwarting the attack on d5) has become quite
Or 1 0. . .0-0 1 1 .i. c2: popular. 13 lt:'l b3 lt:'l e6 and now:
a) 1 l ...f5 (a typical continuation to support a) 14 h3 .i.h5 1 5 .i. f5 .i. g6 16 g4lt:'l cd8 17
the knight) 12lt:'l b3 'i!i' d7 13 .l:r.e1 .l:r.ad8 14 1i' e2 .i.e3 a5 181i'e2 a4 1 9lt:'l bd4.l:r.b8 20lt:'l xe6lt:'l xe6
.l:r.fe8 15lt:'l fd4lt:'l xd4 16lt:'l xd4 (again 1 6 cxd4 is 21 lt:'l d4 c5 gave Black no trouble in Zielinski­
interesting; White perhaps feared the counter­ Haba, Cappelle la Grande 1989. The move
play with 16 ... c5 1 7 f3 c4 18 fxe4 dxe4!?) 16 .. lt:'l
. cd8 is another 'modern' idea, strength­
16 ...c5 17 lt:'l xe6 'ili' xe6 18 f3 lt:'l g5 19 a4 and ening e6 and easing the advance of the c-pawn.
White begins to open the position for his bish­ b) 14 'if d3!? .i.h5 1 5lt:'l fd4lt:'l cxd4 1 6lt:'l xd4
ops, Nunn-Wedberg, Novi Sad OL 1 990. .i. g6 17lt:'l f5 and White makes progress with 18
. c5 1 2lt:'l d4!? (12lt:'l b3 is also pos­
b) 1 l. . lt:'l 'i!i' g3, Hazai-Diesen, Helsinki 1989.
. xe5 13 b4lt:'l a4 1 41i' h5lt:'l g6 15 f4
sible) 12 . . lt:'l 13 lt:'lb3 (D)
with an advantage for White.
11 .i.c2 (D)

13 lt:'le6
.••

This move seeks to support the advance of

ll .i.g4
... the d-pawn but restricts the pressure on e5.
Black wants to 'make contact' with the e5- Other moves:
pawn, and eventually to let the knight retreat via a) 13. ..lt:'l e4 14 .i. f4 f5 1 5 exf6 lt:'l xf6 16
e6. Another customary move is 1 1 ... 'i!i' d7 (with 'ii' d3! (as we will see, this move is mostly a very
an exchange of bishops on f5 in mind) although strong one, allowing .l:r.ad1 and to try weaken­
a possibility like 12 b4 will always be something ing the castled position) and then:
to worry about, as it banishes a knight from the a1) 1 6. ..lt:'l e4? 1 7 .i. xc7! 'i!V d7 18lt:'l e5lt:'l xe5
battlefield. Since the queen's natural square is 19 .i.xe5 .i.h4 20 .i.g3 .i.xg3 21 hxg3 and White
d7 (thus depriving the knight of a choice) the secured a material advantage in Alekhine-Nim­
bishop does well to vacate the e6-square. zowitsch, St Petersburg 1914.
 PAWN-STRUCTURE 17

a2) 1 6. . .'ii' d7 is an attempted improvement there follows 24 .i. xf6 .l:!.xf6 25 dxc5 .l:!.xc5 26
but the attack speeds up with 17 Q\ g5! g6 18 'ii d4! and Black faces several tactical prob­
Q\ xh7! � xh7 1 91li' xg6+ 'it>h8 20 .l:!.e3 .i. d6 2 1 lems) 24 .i. xf6 l:.xf6 25 ..t b3 (25 ..t xf5 is inter­
.i.xd6 cxd6 22 .l:!.g3 Ql e5 23 'i!V h6+ Qlh7 24 f4 esting, with a better ending) 25 . . ..l:!.cf8 26 .l:!.e3
"ilf a7+ 25 Q\ d4 .i. f5 26 .i. xf5 .l:!.xf5 27 fxe5 dxe5 � g7 27 .l:!.cel (White is going to exert pressure
28 .l:!.g7 and White should win the game with on the open file and he will take advantage of
his extra pawn, Am.Rodriguez-Milos, Bogota the availability of the e5-square; the subsequent
1 99 1 . development of the game indicates that Black
b ) 1 3 .. .'iV d7 14 Q\ xc5 .i.xc5 i s another idea. should have fought for control of the e-file ear­
The drawback of this move is that delays the lier on) 27 ... "i!f d6 28 .l:!.e5 l:t8f7 29 l:tle3 .i.d7 30
advance of the c-pawn. 15 h3! (this exploits a f3 .l:!.f4 3 1 .i.dl! (supporting the advance of
tactical detail to get a favourable pawn-structure, White's kingside majority, something that is go­
and is lvanchuk's contribution; another possi­ ing to limit the scope of Black's rooks) 30... 'ii f6
bility is 1 5 'ili' d3 g6 1 6 .i. g5 .i. e7 1 7 .i. xe7 Q\ xe7 32 g3 .l:!.f5 33 'if el 'ii d6 34 b4! .i. c8 35 h4 (D).
18 'ili' e3! and the castled position is seriously
weakened) 1 5 .. ..i. e6 (if 1 5 .. . .i.h5, 16 .i. xh7+
� xh7 17 Q\ g5+ � g6 18 g4! winning) 16 Q\ d4!
Q\ xd4 1 7 cxd4 .i. e7 (a forced retreat, because B
after 17 . . ..i. b6 18 'ii d3 the black bishop cannot
defend the newly-created weaknesses) 18 .i.e3
(D) (White can also play 18 'if d3 g6 1 9 .i.e3
with an advantage).

White is virtually a pawn ahead. Black's

pawn-majority is restrained, whereas White has
possibilities of a breakthrough in the kingside,
taking advantage of the weakness in Black's
castle d position, and greater control of the posi­
tion. 35 . . ..l:!.xe5 36 l:txe5 .i. d7 37 � g2 � f8 38
.i. c2 � g7 39 h5 "ilf f6 40 'i!V e3 .i. g4? 41 h6+ 1-0
lvanchuk-Haba, Debrecen 1988.
18 . . .f5 (this allows White control of the e­ 14 'iid3!
file, but it is practically forced; after 18 ....i. f5 Capablanca possessed a remarkable clarity
19 .l:!.c 1 .i. xc2 20 'if xc2 .l:!.fc8 2 1 'ii c6 White has of thought. This move not only weakens Black's
a great advantage) 19 exf6 .i. xf6 20 l:!cl .l:!.ac8 kingside but also prevents a quick ... f6.
21 'iW d3 (always the same theme, so that after­ 14 g6 (D)
...

wards, the exchange of the dark-squared bish­ Having reached this point, it makes sense to
ops will be more effective) 2l ...g6 22 'ili' d2 c6 pause to consider the position in general terms.
(in case of 22. .. c5 23 dxc5 .i. xb2 24 .l:!.cdl it is What is your assessment of this position?
true that Black gets rid of his troublesome c­ Black has a solid position but also an addi­
pawn, but White will press strongly on the d­ tional difficulty: the backward pawn on c7,
pawn and he will exchange the dark-squared which most likely will never reach c5. Capa­
bishops, making clear the weakness of Black's blanca annotates in his book that 'such a position
castled position) 23 .i. g5 .i. f5 (if now 23 ... c5 must be considered lost from a theoretical point
18 CREATIVE CHESS STRATEGY

before we can find them, we need to have deter­

mined where we actually want to go. The se­
w quence could be 1 5 ctJfd4 ct:\cxd4 1 6 ctJxd4
ctJxd4 17 cxd4 i..f5 1 8 'iVc3 i..xc2 19 'iVxc2. Let
us investigate the specifics:
15 ctJfd4
This seems adequate to shake the dust off the
f2-pawn, although this is not the only method to
combat Black's scheme.
Geller-Unzicker, Bad Wi:irishofen 199 1 fea­
tured an excellent display by Geller, a player
with a classic style. He preferred to continue
with 1 5 i..h6 .l:!.e8 1 6 l:.ad1 i..f5 (only move) 17
'ifd2 i..xc2 1 8 'ifxc2 'ifd7 1 9 l:td3 ! .l:!.ad8 20 h3 !
of view, and in practice, a strong master will win (White is pre-empting counterplay against his
without exception having the white pieces' . A back rank and also supports typical expansion
powerful statement. on the kingside; instead, 20 l::t e dl moves the
How should White take advantage of the rook away from the defence of the e-pawn, and
slight weaknesses in Black's camp? Consider allows 20 ...i..f8 2 1 i..xf8 ctJxf8 22 .l:.xd5 'iVxd5
for a moment the endings that might arise. Ob­ 23 .l:!.xd5 l:txd5, when the e5-pawn is lost; with
viously, if we remove a pair of knights (and this 20 h3 ! played, White could now consider play­
can be done by preparing the exchange on d4) ing this way, with 25 c4 at the end of the se­
and the light-squared bishops, this lessens the quence) 20... i..f8 2 1 'iVd2 ctJe7 22 i..xf8 l:txf8
possibility of counterplay by Black; moreover, 23 ctJfd4 'iVc8 (D).
White's plan of expanding the kingside, trying
to exploit his superiority on that side of the
board, will be more feasible. The importance of
the exchange on d4 is very significant to under­ w
stand. After the pawn captures, the black c­
pawn will have trouble advancing, with the
negative effect that this implies.
Let us take a look at a position that results
from our long-term vision:

Now Geller played 24 'iVe3, which is much

better than 24 ct:\xe6 fxe6 25 ct:\c5, after which
White finds it difficult to make progress. In this
way, White stops any possible counterplay by
... c5 or . . .f6, and he will continue his kingside
play. After some moves like g4, 'iii>g2 and f4, the
threat of f5 will loom.
15 ct:\cxd4 16 ct:\xd4
•••

1 6 cxd4 brings about the desired structure,

The intermediate moves that enable us to but risks losing the initiative. In view of the
reach this point are of course important, but threatened 17 'iVg3, Black must play 16 ... i..f5
 PAWN-STRUCTURE 19

17 'iie2 .i.xc2 18 'ifxc2, when we can make a a) 17 ...c5?! is not one of them: 1 8 'ii'g3 !
quick assessment of the position. The blockad­ 'iid7 1 9 dxc5 .i.xc5 20 .i.g5 (the bishop seizes
ing knight on e6 not only limits the scope of upon the weaknesses in Black's kingside to cre­
White's knight but also presses on d4 and it can ate trouble) 20 ...l:!.fe8 2 1 .i.f6 l:!.ac8 (if 2 l ....i.e7
support the advance of the c-pawn. This gives then 22 'ii'f4 is annoying) 22 .i.b3 .i.f5 (22 ...d4
rise to a new and straightforward plan: the ex­ loses to 23 l:!.e4 ! .i.e6 24 'ii'h 4! h5 25 'ii'g5 .i.f8
pulsion of the white knight by means of the ad­ 26 l:!.h4) 23 .!:!.ad1 d4 24 'ii'f4 (D).
vance ...a5-a4, now or after the more elastic
1 8 . . .'iid7 ! . If White tries to develop a quick of­
fensive on the kingside, Black is in time to
counter this: 1 9 .i.h6 l:!.fe8 20 f4 f5 21 h3 a5 ! 22 B
g4 a4.
16 lbxd4
••.

The flexible 16 ...'iid7 ! ? is interesting. Then:

a) 17 h3 looks like a loss of time: 1 7 ...lbxd4
1 8 cxd4 .i.f5 1 9 'ii'c3 .i.xc2 20 'ii'xc2 and Black
has several plans at his disposal:
a1) A kingside counterattack by means of
20 .. .f5, intending further expansion with the
advance of the g-pawn, if allowed.
a2) A typical break by 20...l:!.ac8 21 .i.e3 c5
22 dxc5 d4.
b) 17 'ifg3 and only now does Black play Black is in serious trouble due to his king's
17 ...lbxd4 (Black fixes the pawn-structure, but shaky defences and the pressure on the d-pawn.
he will prepare counterplay with ...c5) 1 8 cxd4 The game Chandler-Wedberg, Haninge 1988
l:!.ac8 (18 ...l:!.fc8 is very interesting, to meet 1 9 continued 24 ... d3 25 h3 l:!.c6 26 'ili'f3 .i.b4 27
.i.e3 with 19. . .c5 20 dxc5 d4!) 1 9 .i.e3 c 5 20 l:!.e3 d2 28 a3 .i.e7 29 l:!.xd2 l:!.c 1 + 30 l:!.d1
dxc5 .i.xc5 (if 20 ...d4 then 2 1 .i.h6) and al­ l:!.xd1+ 31 'ifxd 1 'i!Vxd1 + 32 .i.xd1 with a win­
though Black still has some problems to solve, ning advantage for White.
he is very close to equality. b) A more serious alternative seems to be
17 cxd4 (D) 17 ...l:!.c8 ! ? with the idea of reaching a tenable
isolated d-pawn position. 1 8 .i.e3 .i.f5 ! 1 9
'ili'd2 .i.xc2 20 'iixc2 c5 ! 2 1 dxc5 d4 22 l:!.ed1
(after 22 l:!.ad 1 .i.xc5, 23 iie4 allows the trap
B 23 ... dxe3 and 24 ... exf2+, while 23 .i.h6 .i.b4 !
leads to complications that White should avoid)
22 ... .i.xc5 23 'i!Ve4 f5 ! 24 'iff4 (after 24 exf6
'i!Vxf6 and exchanges on d4, Black will gain
counterplay with ...l:!.c2) and now 24...d3 offers
prospects of equality, but 24 ...'ii'd5 ! is best, since
25 .i.xd4? loses to 25 . . .l:!.fd8 26 .l:!.d2 .i.xd4 27
l:!.ad1 iie4 !.
After all these possibilities for Black, it seems
clear that the four knights and the light-squared
bishops are going to be exchanged, but not in
the most advantageous way for White.
17 .i.f5?!
... Capablanca also considered it appropriate
This gives up the control of the c-file without for Black the exchange dark-squared bishops,
resistance, and White gets his desired position. though I think he was going too far in his wish
There are better possibilities ... to show us a pawn-structure decorated with few
20 CREATIVE CHESS STRATEGY

pieces. The lack of dark-squared bishops seems

to favour White, since the black bishop protects
the c5-square and brings hopes for a further ad­
vance of the backward black pawn. Besides,
from the perspective of an ending, it is clear
that the presence of the bishops may result in
additional difficulties for White over d4. We
can find a model endgame in Dolmatov-Yusu­
pov, Wijk aan Zee Ct (5) 199 1 , where Black's
defensive possibilities are not worse.
We can imagine that White might force the
exchange of the dark-squared bishop, by trans­
ferring it to g5, or to h6, provoking .. i.f8. So, it
.

is not unrealistic to think - from the position we

are now seeing - that it is possible to reach the If at this moment, the reader discovered that the
following position (which we first mentioned exchange of all the pieces leads to a won end­
on page 1 3), where the white pieces get a domi­ ing, and the new goal is to take control of the
nating set-up tying Black to grim defence. The g-file, he will experience a pleasant sensation.
c-pawn must be placed on c6, both to defend d5 The execution of the advantage must be pre­
and to allow the queen to help the a-pawn. cise, and calculation comes into play. In this
case, Black has no real chances of counterplay,
so the task is relatively easy. The game could
continue as follows:
1 gxf5 gxf5 2 'i!kf3
White brings the queen to the kingside (to­
wards the important penetration square h5)
with an additional gain of time: the tactical
threat of 3 'i!i'xd5 ! forces Black's reply. Accu­
racy and technique go hand in hand.
2 'ii'd7
...

2....l:tf8 doesn't help due to 3 .l:txc6.

3 .l:t5c2 l:tg6 4 .l:tg2 'it>h8 5 .l:tcgl .l:tcg8 6
'i!khS! .l:txg2+ 7 .l:txg2 .l:txg2+ 8 �xg2 (D)

After tying Black in extreme passivity (...f6

would only result in a passed white pawn) B
Capablanca's claim of a decisive positional su­
periority is based on his mobile and dangerous
kingside pawn-majority. The e5-pawn doesn't
only mean a space advantage, but it is also go­
ing to become a major character in the battle. In
the end, it will be the winning passed pawn.
Let us look at the king shelters, as little by lit­
tle the pawns start moving. Black cannot gladly
wait; he must avoid being overrun by playing
...f5. We should sum up the situation with an­
other diagram.
Which is the new idea that Capablanca had in White's queen is now threatening to pene­
mind to break through Black's shaky blockade? trate via the dark squares, and to support the
 PAWN-STRUCTURE 21

passed pawn. The lesser evil is to get rid of the better-placed king and the possibility of reach­
active white queen. ing promotion first. The pawn-structure will fa­
8 �g7+ 9 �h2 �g6 10 �xg6 hxg6 (D)
••• vour White again.

Capablanca managed to carry out this 'mop­

ping-up' procedure over the board. The above­
w mentioned example, Capablanca-Salwe et al.,
Lodz (consultation) 1 9 1 3 went 9 c3 i...e7 1 0
tt::lbd2 tt::lc5 1 1 i...c2 i...g4 12 h3?! i..h5 13 l:te1
i..g6 14 tt::ld4 tt::lxd4 15 cxd4 tt::le6 16 tt::lb3 i..g 5?
17 g3 i..xc 1 18 l:txc 1 0-0 19 f4 i..xc2 20 l:txc2
g6 21 tt::lc5 l:.e8 22 �d3 tt::lxc5 23 l:.xc5 'ii'd7 24
g4 c6 25 l:.ec1 l:tac8 26 �c3 l:.e6 27 �h2 �h8
28 'ii'a3 'ii'b7 29 �g3 f5 30 'ii'f3 'ifd7 3 1 �g3
l:.f8 32 'ifa3 l:ta8 33 'li'c3 l:.c8 34 �c2 'lti>g8 35
�3 (forcing Black to play .. .fxg4) 35 ...fxg4+ 36
hxg4 �f7 37 'iii>e3 .U.f8 38 l:tfl �d7 3911i'g211i'e7
40 l:tfc 1 l:tef6 41 .U.fl �h8 42 �c2 'ife8 43 'ifh2
This ending is easily won in several ways. �e7 44 l:.f3 l:.e6 45 'iti>f2 a5 46 f5 gxf5 47 gxf5
The most elegant and practical is 1 1 b4! (im­ �g5 48 'ikf4!, winning. Capablanca combined
peding the potential creation of a black passed the threat against the weak c6-pawn with the
pawn), followed by the king's trip to g5, sup­ one on f5 until Black was forced to play ...fxg4,
porting the passed e-pawn. giving White an impressive pawn-centre.
Instead, the typical king-march beginning As Konstantinopolsky wrote, a good teach­
with 1 1 �g3 is also decisive. Black can try ing method is to delete the intermediate moves
l l ...a5, with the idea of sacrificing the c-pawn that link the positions shown in the diagrams, in
on c5 and to get a passed d-pawn only when the order to allow the reader to learn to conceive
white king oversteps the boundaries of the fifth strategic plans and to analyse the consequences
rank. However, White will still win due to his of one idea or another seriously.
2 Space Advantage

Usually, a nice game or a brilliant position re­ positions? It is easy to conclude that from my
mains in our mind because of a unique feature - own side, one is the g5-pawn, which besides re­
a positional factor that grabs our attention. Of straining Black' s position, could easily become
course, the strategic topic that prevails in a par­ a target for Black's attack, thanks, partially, to
ticular game is rarely the sole reason for the fi­ the docile posting of the black knight on h7.
nal outcome, although in our recollection these The second weakness in my position is the
subsidiary factors tend to be forgotten. pawn on b3, a defender of the whole pawn­
Pawn-structure is used to define the topics chain on the queenside. Of course this is very
we usually discuss (such as the centre, hanging difficult to exploit and an experienced player
pawns, or an isolated pawn). The structure also can predict how long will elapse until this point
determines who has a space advantage, as it really becomes a true target for Black, due to its
marks out a boundary between the two sides, distant location. On the black side, the weak­
although this is often an ambiguous issue. nesses are clearly defined. The g6-pawn, the
In one of my battles against GM Zenon important d6-pawn (which has the difficult task
Franco, white and black pawn-chains, totally of supporting other links of the chain) and the
blockading each other, gave the game a very distant aS-pawn are the elements that must con­
positional character. cern Black. White has established reasons to be
optimistic in the general assessment of his posi­
tion. The defence of these three points together
with the lack of space define, even more, the
w passivity of the black pieces.
What hope does Black have? The defender
must always be realistic, and he must identify his
possibilities in an inferior position. Of course,
if Black manages to bring a knight to e5 in good
conditions, having defended himself against
the threats on d6 and g6, and avoided the entry
of the white knights, he would get rid of some
pressure. If the black knights, now totally inac­
tive, could change their current positions, with
one on d7 and the other on f8, a draw would be
very close. Of course this is not easy, because
Romero - Franco when playing . . .lZ:Jd7 you may allow White to
Las Palmas 1992 put a knight on e6. However, the small amount
of material on the board provides some drawing
The pawn-structure proves essential to the chances, but Franco's hopes were directed to­
final outcome. Specifically, the white pawns on wards a much less noticeable detail. To Black,
d5 and g5 are indicating the path to follow for it is essential to reach an ending where the
the active white knights, which have good entry white knights can be adequately countered by
points in Black's position. The e6-square, for their black counterparts. He needs to defend all
instance, will be the main point of contention. his weaknesses or bring about extensive sim­
We need to add another argument to all this. plification (for instance, without knights and
What weaknesses are there in the two sides' where the white rook cannot make progress),
 SPACE ADVANTAGE 23

and keep the white king out. Note that the sensi­ strong pressure on the granted square. White
tive pawns on d6 and g6 currently create an un­ has two natural ways of establishing a presence
breakable barrier to penetration by the king. in Black's camp.
1 tLlc7!
With this move White seeks a knight ending
where Black cannot defend his weakness on d6.
The other idea involves an invasion by the
rook: 1 tLlxf8 'ifi>xf8 (if l .. .tLlxf8, then 2 .l:!.f4+
and 3 .l:!.f6 ! winning, because of the simulta­
neous attack against d6 and g6; in case of
l ....l:!.xe4 2 tLlxd7 l:l.h4 3 tLlb8! White will arrive
just in time) 2 .l:!.e6! .l:!.xe6 3 dxe6 (the d-pawn
becomes a strong passed pawn thanks to the
support of the e6-square) 3 ... tLlb6 (after 3 ... tLlb8
4 'ifi>e4 the white king will pass through the light
squares) 4 tLlf4 'ifi>e7 5 'ifi>e4 tLla8 (due to the
threat of tLld5+) 6 tLlxg6+ 'ifi>xe6 7 tLlf4+ and
there is nothing that prevents White's king from
A position like this will be ideal for Black, deciding matters.
because although he remains in a passive situ­ l...lh:e4 2 'ifi>xe4 'ifi>e7
ation, he is able to control every route for 2...tLlh7 3 'ifi>f4 'ifi>e7 4 tLlb5 tLlb8 (defending
White's rook and king. in time against the threat of tLla7-c6) 5 'ifi>g4
So, what sort of position may White seek to 'ifi>d7 6 tLlf4 tLlf8 7 tLla7 (or 7 'ifi>f3 ! ?) 7 ...'ifi>e7 8
attain? There are three principal scenarios, and 'ifi>f3 ! (the 'natural' 8 tLlc6+ tLlxc6 9 dxc6 'ifi>d8
we shall consider them in turn . 1 0 tLld5 tLle6 doesn't seem to bring White any
particular advantage) 8 ...'ifi>d7 9 'ifi>e4 transposes
A) White must try to paralyse both black to the main line.
knights, and at the same time, to support the 3 tLlb5 tLlb8 4 tLlf4 'ifi>d7 5 tLla7 tLlb7
penetration by a knight to a strong point. This A practically forced move. Black cannot
square could be f6 or e6. From e6 it would be move his king because that would allow a
easy to find another entry point to attack Black's deadly knight move.
weaknesses. Let us take this example, which 6 tLle6 'ifi>e7 7 'ifi>f4 'ifi>d7 8 'ifi>g4 'ifi>e7 9 tLlc7!
could rise from our starting position: The only move to win; accuracy is always
needed. After 9 tLlc8+ 'it>d7 1 0 tLlb6+ 'ifi>e7 1 1
tLlc7, with the same idea of putting pressure on
d6, there comes the freeing move 1 1 ...tLld7 ! 1 2
tLlc8+? 'it>d8 ! . In this line, i f White plays 1 1
'ifi>f4 first, then 1 1 . ..tLla6 ! prevents any progress.
9.. 'ifi>d7
.

Now 9 ..tLld7 is met by 10 tLlc6+. This is the

.

main reason why the white knight must go to a7

and not b6.
10 tLla8!! (D)
Giving the technical work an artistic touch.
Paradoxically, both white knights have better
prospects from this far comer. The target re­
mains the black pawn on d6, which cannot be
protected due to the sad position of the black
Black has allowed the entrance on e6 in re­ knights. The possibility of bringing them back
rum for placing his knight on d7 and now puts to life relies on playing ... tLld7, which is not
24 CREATNE CHESS STRATEGY

The right move, defending against Black's

tactical resources. Without this move White
B could not make progress. Instead, 3 ll:lxg6 lb.e6
4 dxe6 is met by 4 . . .ll:lxg5+ and 5 . . . ll:lxe6.
3...e4+
3... ll:lf8 and 3. . . c,i;>f7 would both be met by 4
ll:lxc5, again showing the passivity of the black
pieces.
4 c,i;>xe4
4 c,i;>e3 is also possible, and surely more pre-
cise.
4 ll:lf8 5 ll:lf4
•••

Or 5 c,i;>e5 .
5...r:J.f7
possible while White has the unpleasant move In case of 5 ... ll:ld7, seeking a blockade, 6
ll:lc8 at his disposal. ll:lxg6 is decisive, while 5 . . . ll:lxe6 cannot be
10 ll:lf8
.•. recommended either, because the rook will be
If 10 ... r:J.e7, then l l ll:lb6! followed by ll:lb5 . dominated by White's strong king and knight.
U ll:lb5 rJile7 12 ll:lb6 6 c,i;>e5
The d6-pawn finally falls, in face of the pas­ and the white king penetrates easily.
sivity of the black knights.
C) If the black pieces are displaying ex­
B) The l atent strength of the d-pawn is a vi­ treme passivity, it is not difficult to believe
tal theme for White. As we have seen, the im­ there are real possibilities to put them in zug­
portance of this pawn stems from its support for zwang. The entry of the white rook via the h­
an invading piece on e6. At the same time, file is a destabilizing motif.
Black has chances to get counterplay on the The following diagram shows this possibil­
e5-square. So, we can see that the following di­ ity:
agram is quite easy to reach from the starting
position.

White establishes threats on g6 with the help

of the rook and both knights.
The rook watches over the entry square of l l:.e2!
the black knight, e5 . There are tactical possibil­ This is a typical sort of move to create a zug­
ities that demonstrate the potential strength of zwang. The fact that the rook goes to a square
the white d-pawn; e.g.: that remains defended should not go unnoticed.
l ll:le5+?! 2 l:.xe5! dxe5 3 ll:lh3!
••• And now. . . what useful moves does Black have
 SPACE ADVANTAGE 25

at his disposal? One of the knights cannot move, provided White could not get an entry point for
and the other does best to remain passive, since his rook. This general notion can help us avoid
there is an elegant tactical resource possible trouble, and the need to analyse the attractive but
due to the situation of the black rook and the unnecessary line 2 ltJxf8 tiJxf8 3 .l:.f2 (making
h7-knight: I . . .tiJd7 2 ltJxg6 ! �xg6 3 liJf4+ �f7 sure of winning the f6- or e6-square; it may ap­
4 g6+. Then, there remain only rook and king pear that with only one knight Black now isn't
moves. After the 'natural' l . . . .l:le7 there will in a good position to prevent the rook entry via
follow 2 tiJd8+, so Black can only wait with e6 or f6, but the black knight proves highly ver­
l .. .�g8, or give up the e-file, which at first satile) 3 ...�g8 ! (Black must be precise; he loses
glance seems inadvisable. Of course nobody after both 3 ...tiJd7? 4 tiJd3+ followed by .l:le2
will consider the possibility of l .. .liJxe6, be­ { with the idea of .l:le6 or .l:le7 } and 3 ....l:le8 4
cause 2 dxe6+ will transform a totally block­ tiJh5+ �e7 5 tiJf6 ! .l:ld8 6 liJg8+ 'iite8 7 l:.e2+
aded pawn in a passed and well-supported one. {the white rook is busily looking for his best po­
In these cases the pawn-structure becomes fa­ sition, combined with an active knight } 7 ...1l;f7
vourable to the side with a space advantage, a 8 tiJh6+ �g7 9 .l:le7+, etc.) and White's win­
fact that is emphasized by the strong position of ning chances fade; after 4 tiJd3 .l:.e8 ! 5 .l:lf6
a piece placed on e6. I:te3 ! the position requires extensive analysis to
l.. .l:lc8 (D)
. determine a clear verdict.
After l ...�g8 2 ltJc7 ! (with the black king 2 .l:le8 3 .l:lh6! (D)
.••

away this knight trip is decisive) 2....l:lxe2 3

ltJxe2 'iitf7 4 tiJb5 �e7 5 liJf4 (5 ltJa7 also wins)
5 ...'iitd7 6 ltJa7 �c7 7 tiJc6 �b6 (now the black
king is too far from the other weakness, g6) 8 B
ltJe7 ! the black knights are too poorly posi­
tioned.

White threatens simply 4 ltJxg6! ltJxe6 5

dxe6+ .l:lxe6 6 tiJh8+ winning (or 6 .l:lxh7+
�xg6 7 l:.h6+ �f7 8 .l:lxe6 winning the pawn
ending).
3 �g8 4 tiJxf8 tiJxf8 5 ltJxg6
•..

White's rook on the sixth rank more than

2 .l:lh2! outweighs Black's counterplay with 5 ...l:.e3.
White's goal is shown by this move. First,
the black pieces are denied any possibility of All these considerations and variations have
counterplay, and secondly, g6-pawn has become an undeniable practical value, especially in un­
a tactical target. The f8-knight cannot support derstanding the trouble faced by Black, with his
the entire load while the black king doesn't oc­ weaknesses, with the awkward movements of
cupy the g7-square, and so the disturbing pres­ his knights and his need to prevent the white
ence of the advanced white knight is essential. pieces from entering. A knight on e6 is not only
We see that the possibility of exchanging a decorative. It will go into action at some point,
pair of knights would reduce the pressure, or assist the action of its fellows. Because of
26 CREATIVE CHESS STRATEGY

this, Franco decided to avoid this possibility

and left his knights in their initial positions for a
while. However, this doesn't prevent zugzwang w
from arising.

43 tiJf2 :es
Franco made all his moves quickly once he
had reached the first time-control, which can
be a good method if you have clear ideas, and
want to put the pressure on your opponent.
42 :gt However, here we could analyse the conse­
My plan is clear. White shall transfer the quences of 43 ... tiJd7 deeply. After 44 lDe4
d3-knight to a more active position; e4 is the lDe5+ 45 �e3 ! the black knight will be well
ideal place. It is true that I need first to restrict placed, but the d6-pawn will require the atten­
all possible counterplay, such as the manoeuvre tion of the only active black piece: his rook.
...tiJd7-e5, whenever it can represent a severe Then:
threat. Indeed, after 42 tiJf2 tiJd7 White has no a) If 45 ...:d7 46 l:.h1 'it>g8, the best White
satisfactory response: 43 lDxg6 is answered by can do is to play 47 tDe6, with the same position
43 ...:g7 ! . as at the end of line 'b' . It would be wrong to
With the text-move, the rook willingly steps enter the endgame arising after the combination
aside from the unpleasant idea that Black has in 47 :xh7 :xh7 ! 48 tiJf6+ �h8 49 lDxh7 �xh7
mind. Besides, the first rank will be protected, 50 tiJe6 tiJf7 ! 5 1 'Otf4 (5 1 tiJf8+ doesn't help:
because a later tiJf2 would weaken it, allowing 5 1 ...'it>g7 52 tiJd7 and now 52 ...tiJd8 defends,
the black rook to enter. but not 52... tiJxg5?) 5 1 ...'0tg8 ! (starting a race
42 �f7 (D)
.•. is risky: 5 1 ...tiJe5 52 lDxc5 tDxc4 53 tiJe4) and
Black's king approaches the defence of d6, Black patiently waits in his fortress, because
and on its way, it also protects g6. However, White cannot make progress; after 52 lDc7, the
42...tiJd7 does not seem useful: black knight will join the defence through the
a) 43 ltJxg6 l:.g7 ! is a trap White should manoeuvre ...tiJd8 and ... tiJb7.
avoid: 44 tiJdf4 �f7 45 l::le 1 (or 45 tiJh8+ 'it>g8 b) After 45 . . .�g8 46 lDe6 l:.d7 (the attempt
46 tiJhg6 with a draw) 45 ...ltJxg5+ 46 'it>g4 to simplify fails: 46 ...tiJf8 47 liJxd6 ! tDxe6 48
:xg6 47 ltJxg6 �xg6 48 :e7 ltJe5+ and the mi­ dxe6 :xe6 49 ltJe4 ! and Black has opened the
nor pieces are beginning to create problems. d-file in favour of the white rook, and at the
b) 43 lDe6! would scare even the calmest same time he now has an eternal weakness on
chess-player. After 43 ...tiJhf8, 44 tiJd8 ! (or 44 c5, well accessible to the white pieces; more­
lDc7 !) profits from the fact that the white king over, the active 46....l:.f7 fails: 47 tiJxd6 :f3+
is defending the entry points of the black rook. 48 �e4) 47 :h 1 ! Black is in zugzwang.
White will transfer his knight to attack Black's 44 tiJe4 <3i;e7
queenside weaknesses: a5, and especially d6. Both players have managed to defend their
The knight must therefore remain on f8, await­ own weaknesses, and activate their forces. Now
ing the later development of White's plans. Black faces three new problems:
 SPACE ADVANTAGE 27

1) The fact that the king no longer protects bl l ) 49 ...'itd8 fails to 50 l2Jxg6 ! l2Jxf6 5 1
g6 leaves his knights less useful. lLlxf8 l2Jg4+ 5 2 <t>f4 lLlxh6 5 3 l2Je6+ winning.
2) White's e4-knight hints at another method b12) In case of 49 ...ct>c8 there follows 50
of opening the position: the f6-square. The black l2Je6 ! l2Jxe6 51 dxe6 l2Jxg5 52 .l:f.h8+ �b7 53
knights thus have another reason to be con­ l:!.e8 and e7.
cerned: penetration by their white counterparts. b13) 49 . . .<t>e7 50 l2Jxh7 (or 50 l2Jxg6+)
3) The poor mobility of the black rook, 50...lLlxh7 5 1 lLlxg6+ winning.
caused by the presence of the king on e7. b14) 49 ...l2Jxf6 50 gxf6 .l:f.h7 (50....l:f.f7 5 1
45 .l:tg4! l2Jxg6 :xf6 52 lLle5+, etc.) 5 1 .l:f.xh7+ lLlxh7 52
A key move to make progress. White creates f7 rJile7 53 l2Je6! should be compared with note
the possibility of an exchange of rooks on f4. 'b' to White's 47th move.
Now I realized that with the rooks exchanged All these variations tactically favour White,
my chances would greatly increase, thanks to the who is well prepared to decide the game in this
superb situation of my knights. Indeed, nothing way.
can prevent my knight from reaching the key b2) However, White can also win in classi­
ffrsquare, with terrific results. Now I had the cal style with 49 <t>f3 ! , heading for g4, to de­
feeling that my advantage could be turned into fend g5 and to follow later with lLlf6.
a win. 47 l2Jh3
45 .l:f.f5 46 �e3 .l:f.eS
••• A strong move, and unexpected since the
This is a natural move, 'pursuing' the white knight allows itself to be diverted. Nonetheless,
king. The other possibilities are based on the this odd move has an unquestionable advantage
potential activity of the black rook along the f­ over the natura1 47 l2Jd3 ! , by which White de­
file. For instance: fends the g5-pawn so as to threaten a favour­
a) After 46 .. .<it>d7 47 l2Jh3 ! :n 48 .l:f.f4 .l:tb1 able exchange of rooks on f5, by playing .l:f.xf5
tbe exchange of rooks will ease White's task, gxf5, l2Jg3. However, this interesting idea is
as we shall see later. 49 .l:f.f7+ �d8 50 lLlf4 ! based on a serious calculation mistake (though
:Xb3+ 5 1 �e2 and White is preparing strong it may also be labelled a positional error) when
threats against the black king. analysing the sequence 47 ....l:f.f5 48 .l:f.f4 (D).
b) The 'passive' 46 ....l:f.f7 (D) has the major
dnwback of relaxing the pressure on g5, and
Ibis allows White to create another target.
B

. White is not threatening 49 l:.xf5 because the

g-pawn fails. Nor is he threatening 49 �f3
(since 49 ... l2Jxg5+ is check) or 49 <t>f2 l2Jxg5 50
After 47 .l:f.h4! �d7 (47 ....l:f.f5? is not possible :Xf5 ? l2Jxe4+. Therefore I abandoned this line.
111oc:ause of 48 l2Jxg6+ !) 48 .l:f.h6 .l:tg7 White has However, this was a big mistake - I forgot that
a cboice: sometimes it is not necessary to threaten some­
bl) 49 lLlf6+ and here: thing to make progress, because the opponent
28 CREATNE CHESS STRATEGY

must play a move ! As you will have guessed, (other possibilities are worse: 55 ...tt:Jf6+ 56
we have a surprising zugzwang. 'it>g5 �xf7 57 tt:Jd8+ �g7 58 lLlb7 tt:Je4+ 59
After 48 .. .'it>d7 (there is no other move, be­ �f4 lLld2 60 tt:Jxa5 �6 6 1 We3 and the a-pawn
cause 48 ...tt:Jd7 stops guarding the g6-square cannot be stopped; 55 ...tt:Jf8 loses to 56 'it>g5 !,
and allows the exchange: 49 l:txf5 gxf5 50 g6 ! because after 56...'ifi>xf7 57 lLlxf8 'it>xf8 58 'it>xg6
tL!hf6 5 1 tLlg3 tL!e8 52 lLlxf5+ Wf6 53 g7 ! win­ the pawn ending is hopeless for Black) 56
ning) 49 �f3 ! (of course; now the f8-knight is tLld8+ �e8 57 tt:Jc6 Wd7 58 lLlxa5 and now:
undefended, and this prevents the possibility of b 1 ) The immediate 58 ...lLlf6+ is poor, be­
49 ... tt:Jxg5+ 50 tt:Jxg5 :xg5) 49 ... 'iti>e7 50 'iti>g4 cause after 59 �g5 lLle4+ 60 �xg6 'it>c7 White
(concluding the plan) 50...l:txf4+ 5 1 lLlxf4 �d7 arrives just in time with his king to protect b3,
52 lLlf6+ tt:Jxf6+ 53 gxf6 lLlh7 ! (D) and an im­ even though this seems incredible: 61 �f5 lLlf2
portant position appears, whose analysis to a (if 6 1 .. .lLld2, 62 �f4 �b6 63 �e3 lLlfl+ 64
large degree determines the whole validity of 'it>f2 tLld2 65 'Oti>e2 reaching the goal) 62 lLlc6!
the plan started with 45 :g4. liJd3 63 tt:Ja7 tt:Jcl 64 lLlb5+ �b6 (64 . .�d7 65
.

a5 lLlxb3 66 a6 �c8 67 'it>e6 +-) 65 tt:Jxd6

lLlxb3 66 'iti>e4 with good winning chances.
b2) 58 ... �c7 59 tt:Jc6 (D).
w

Of course the f-pawn cannot be sacrificed.

There are two ways of trying to convert this
small advantage into something more tangible:
a) The first supposes to profit from the space This is a critical endgame position. The
advantage and the situation of the white pieces passed a-pawn is undoubtedly much more im­
(active king and knight), with the only draw­ portant than the black one, which remains at
back of keeping the same structure of block­ least as weak as it was before. The black king
aded pawns, but with the additional advantage must not only watch White's passed pawn, but
that many pawn endings are won. After 54 must also guard the 'eternal' weakness, d6.
lLlxg6 lLlxf6+ 55 'ifi>f5 White wins following White's last move shows all his cards, threaten­
55 ... tt:Je8? 56 lLlf8+ We7 57 lLle6 lLlf6 58 liJd8 ! . ing to activate the knight in an unstoppable
The same goes for 55. . .tL!h7? 5 6 lLlf4! We7 way. If the knight reached b5 and the pawn
(56 ... tt:Jf8 also loses: 57 �f6 lLlh7+ 58 �g6 were advanced to a6, the game would be de­
lLlf8+ 59 �f7 lLlh7 60 lLle6 ! ) 57 lLle6! lLlf6 (or cided. Of course the knight is not only threaten­
57 ...�f7 58 tL!d8+) 58 tLld8 ! , winning. How­ ing to reach b5; the second possibility is to go
ever, Black only needs to activate his knight for the g-pawn. 59 ...tt:Jf6+ and then:
slightly more to show the trip by the white king b2 1 ) 60 'it>f4 is an interesting idea but is not
to be too slow: 55 ...tt:Jh5 ! with counterplay. too successful: 60 .. .'it>b6! (60 . .g5+ 61 �f5 lLlh5
.

b) The most attractive option is therefore 54 62 lLla7 tt:Jg3+ 63 'Oti>xg5 tt:Je4+ 64 �f4 liJd2 65
f7 ! 'iti>e7 55 lLle6! (sacrificing the f-pawn in re­ lLlb5+ �b6 { if 65 ...'iti>d7, 66 a5 lLlxb3 67 a6
turn for the important black a5-pawn) 55 ...�xf7 winning } 66 tLlxd6) 61 tLle7 g5+ 62 'it>f5 (or 62
 SPACE ADVANTAGE 29

itf3 ! ?) 62 ... g4 63 'Ot>f4 g3 64 'Ot>xg3 lbe4+ keeps

Black in the game.
b22) 60 'Ot>f3 (the most precise way to play B
this position is to deprive Black of any coun­
terplay, watching out for ideas by which the
black knight might reach b3 ; it does not matter
that the king moves away from the black g­
pa\\11 for a moment) 60 ... '0t>b6 (avoiding the
"inning manoeuvre lba7-b5) 61 lbe7 g5 62
85 'Ot>c7 and now White can choose between
the simple 63 lbe3 ! followed by tt:Jfl and l2Jd2,
.md 63 lbg7 ! ?, forcing the g-pawn to advance:
63 ...'0t>b6 64 lbe6 g4+ 65 'Ot>e3 lbh5 66 lbg5
�g3 67 lbe4 l2Jf5+ 68 'it>f4 g3 69 lbxg3 l2Jd4
-o !De4 lbxb3 7 1 lbxd6. the latter, White ends the game in elegant fash­
47..JU5?! ion: 55 ... l2Jxf6+ 56 gxf6 .l:!.f7 57 'Ot>g5 ! lbh7+ 58
Black should play 47 ...'0t>d7. Then: llxh7 .l:!.xh7 59 l2Je6+, etc.
a) The idea is to reply to 48 .l::tf4 l:te7 49 'Ot>f3 b222) 54.. .'it>e7 55 lbf6 'it>f7 (not 55 ...lbxf6+
"ith 49 ... '0t>c7 ! followed by ... l2Jd7, with a stub­ 56 gxf6+ 'Ot>xf6 because of 57 lbh5+ !) 56 lbe6
born defence. lbxf6+ 57 gxf6 .l:!.g8 58 lbxf8 followed by 59
b) White's only chance of securing the win 'itg5 with complete command of the position.
is to play 48 lbf4 ! . Now: 48 .l:!.f4 :te5
b l ) 48 ...'0t>e7 repeats the position that oc­ Black should probably play 48 ....l:!.xf4 49
.:urred in the game after Black's 46th move, l2Jxf4 'it>d7 50 'it>f3 'Ot>e7 5 1 'Ot>g4 transposing to
gi\ing White another chance to play 49 lbd3 !, the note to White's 47th move.
lS in the note to White's 47th move. However, 49 'Ot>f3!
Black has other options ... Slowly but surely, White is implementing
b2) Although he cannot develop the same his plan. First, he transfers the king to g4, from
defensive set-up as before, it is possible to where it will protect the g5-pawn and control
.:ontinue 48 . . .'0t>c7 49 'Ot>f3 'it>d7 and now 50 the f5-square (denying the black rook its flight­
� ! leads the game to normal paths: 50....l:!.e7 square). Later, the h3-knight, released from its
' 50. .. .l:!.f5+ 5 1 .l:!.f4 transposes to the note to defensive task, will go for the black rook.
\\bite's 47th move, i.e. the position after 49 49 l2Jd7
•••

;f3 !) 5 1 .l:!.h4 ! 'Ot>c7 (in case of 5 1 ....l:!.f7+, 52 If 49 .. .'ifi>d7 there can follow 50 .l:!.f7+ l:te7 5 1
84 'Ot>e7 53 'it>g4 seems to put Black in zug­ lhe7+ '1t>xe7 52 lbf4 or 5 0 lbhf2 .l:!.f5 5 1 lbd3.
zwang) 52 lbf4 and then: 50 'it>g4 tt:Jdf8
b2 1) After 52....l:!.e5 everything is ready for a There is no escape for Black. The interesting
tactical solution: 53 lbe6+ 'Ot>d7 54 l2Jxf8+! (the idea 50 ...'0t>d8 ! ? 5 1 lbxd6 .l:!.e3 doesn't work: 52
simplest way is best; 54 lbf6+ lbxf6 55 lbxf8+ .l:!.e4 ! .l:!.xb3 (52 ....l:!.xh3 is met by 53 l:.e8+ !, and
�e8 56 :th8 .l:!.f5+! 57 '>te2 lbe4 58 lbe6+ 'it>d7 52 ...lbe5+ by 53 .l:!.xe5 !) 53 .l:!.e8+ 'Ot>c7 54 lbb5+
15- unclear) 54 ... l2Jxf8 55 .l:!.f4 ! 'it>e7 (55 ... lbh7 '>tb6 55 .l:!.e6+ 'Ot>b7 56 .l:!.e7 winning, and the
56 :t7+ .l:!.e7 57 .l:!.xh7 !) and now rather than 56 same goes for 50...lbhf8 5 1 lbhf2 'Ot>d8 52 lbd3 !
��d6, which allows Black a rook ending with (52 lbxd6 .l:!.e3 53 .l:!.e4 .l:!.xb3 54 .l:!.e8+ 'it>c7 55
� drawing chances, 56 .l:!.f6 ! wins. lbfe4 also deserves attention) 52 ....l:!.e7 53 lbxd6
b22) 52 . . .'0t>d7 53 .l:!.h6 .l:!.g7 (53 ... :te5 54 .l:!.e3 54 lbb7+! followed by 55 lbbxc5.
��g6!) 54 'Ot>g4 (D). 51 l2Jhf2 (D)
White is bringing about a new zugzwang po­ The knight is threatening to go to d3, con­
Ytion. Now: trolling e5. 51 lbgl (with the idea of lbf3) is
b22 1) 54 ...'0t>c7 presents White with a pleas­ also viable, but the text-move is probably
.ml choice between 55 lbe6+ and 55 lbf6. With more precise, with the additional possibility of
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