DANIEL KING and CHRIS DUNCAN
CADOGAN
chf!SS
Copyright © 1998 Daniel King and Chris Duncan
First published 1998 by Cadogan Books pic, 27-29 Berwick St., London W1 V 3RF
Distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, 6 Business Park Rd, P.O. Box 833, Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475-0833, USA. 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, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 1 85744 135 4
Typeset by ChessSetter
Bibliography Preface Introduction 1 First Steps
2 Tactics and Combinations 3 How to Calculate
4 Positional Play and Planning 5 How to Win Won Positions 6 Practical Play
7
Endings6
8
9
25
47
65
85
116
137
169
Bibliography
M.M. Botvinnik: analysis and critical work 1942-56
M.M. Botvinnik (Moscow Fizkultura I Sport 1985)
Chess Coaching John Littlewood (Crowood 1991)
Chessercizes Bruce Pandolfini (Fireside 1991)
Chess for Tigers Simon Webb (Cadogan 1994)
Chess Tactics Paul Littlewood (Crowood 1993)
Chess Tactics for Advanced Players Yuri Averbakh (Batsford 1984)
Combination Challenge Lou Hays (Hays 1991)
The Complete Games of World Champion Anatoly Karpov
K.J. O'Connell, D.N.L. Levy, J.B. Adams (Batsford 1976)
Danger in Chess Amatzia Avni (Cadogan 1994)
Dynamic Chess Strategy Mihai Suba (Pergamon 1991)
The Fine Art of Swindling Ali Mortazavi (Cadogan 1996)
From Morphy to Fischer Israel Horowitz (Batsford 1973)
The Golden Dozen Irving Chernev (Oxford University Press 1976)
A History of Chess Harry Golombek (Routledge 1976)
How to Be a Complete Tournament Player Edmar Mednis (Maxwell Macmillan 1991)
How to Win at Chess Daniel King (Cadogan 1995)
Korchnoi vs. Spassky: Chess Crisis Raymond Keene (Allen and Unwin 1978)
Logical Chess (Move by Move) Irving Chernev (Faber 1981)
Mastering Chess G. Chandler, Kopec, Morrison, Davies and Mullen (Cadogan 1994)
My Best Games ofChess 1924-37 Alexander Alekhine (Bell1939)
My Sixty Memorable Games Robert Fischer (Batsford 1996)
My System Aaron Nimzowitsch (Hays 1993)
Pawn Endings Y. Averbakh and I. Maizelis (Batsford 1974)
Play Like a Grandmaster Alexander Kotov (Batsford 1990)
Praxis der Turmendspiele Viktor Korchnoi (Olms 1995)
CJS Purdy, His Life, His Games and His Writings J. Hammond and
R. Jamieson 1982
Rook Endings G. Levenfish and V. Smyslov (Batsford 1971)
Technique for the Tournament Player Mark Dvoretsky and Artur Yusupov (Batsford 1995)
Test Your Tactical Ability Yakov Neishtadt (Batsford 1991)
Three Steps to Chess Mastery Alexei Suetin (Pergamon 1982)
Winning Chess Tactics Yasser Seirawan (Microsoft 1995)
World Chess Championship 1995: Kasparov-Anand Daniel King (Cadogan 1995)
Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 David Bronstein (Dover 1978)
Preface
Have you spent years playing chess but still can't seem to make any progress? Or perhaps you are just starting out and aren't sure which of the hundreds of chess books is the best to study? Then you are at the right place.
This is a no-nonsense guide to how you can improve your chess. In this book we aim to set players on the correct learning path, ex plaining how and what to study.
By careful examination of our own play we have sought to iden tify the skills needed to become a chess master. To help us do this we have each analysed one of our own games, which we give in the introduction which follows. This turned out to be a revealing exer cise for both of us- it opened our eyes to techniques that we were commonly using, but had never really appreciated.
Having identified the different skills that we use during a game, we have then examined each of them in the following chapters. Examples and exercises are given in order to test you on these skills, as well as some advice as to where to find further study material.
We are not trying to fool you into thinking that reading this book will turn you into a stronger player overnight. Studying chess is a little like studying a musical instrument: only by constant prac tice will you be able to develop; but this book will at least show you the best way in which to
make use of your study time. There is great mystique sur rounding what it takes to become a leading chess player. This book lets you into those secrets so that you will be able to choose the right move.
To help us identify the skills of a chess master, we have both anno tated one of our games, without too much hindsight, giving the reasons why we played the moves, und our thoughts at the time. Us ing these thoughts as a basis, we have broken down our play into Heveral essential elements.
1 g3
King-Ernst Gausdal 1993
My (DK) opponent, Thomas Ernst from Sweden, has a fear some reputation as an openings specialist. When he is not re searching the purest of pure mathematics at the Royal Acad emy of Sciences in Stockholm, he is back home relaxing in his apartment, refuting the Najdorf, reviving the Dragon, burying the Archangel, or discovering assorted stunning novelties in the Griin feld.
Would it be sensible to risk my favourite first move 1 e4 against such a player? Surely, if I had enough faith in my abilities, then I would rise to the challenge, play 1 e4 and then improvise my way through his web of home analysis. Yes, that's the spirit that made Britain 'Great'; somehow we'll battle through against adversity,
never surrender, fight them on the beaches and all that.
Don't be daft. If your opponent has a strength, avoid it. Lure him onto territory that's familiar to you, but not to him. Hence my choice of first move.
I have some experience in play ing systems with a kingside fian chetto (g3 and .i.g2), so even if I don't have reams of variations in my head backing up the move, I should be able to get out of the opening with my head still on my shoulders. 1 g3 is my equivalent of the slice serve in tennis: it's not going to blow him away, but it's more dangerous than it looks.
l. .. c5
First blood to me. Tommy took five minutes over this move, and looked distinctly crestfallen that I wasn't going to take him on in one of his main lines.
2 .i.g2 ttJc6
From this position White may employ several different set-ups (flexibility is the main asset of the fianchetto system). 3 c4 is prob ably the most orthodox, and cer tainly the most common, move in the position and I've played it a few times; the problem was, I had a feeling my opponent knew much more about it than I did.
In any case, today I preferred to attack. I thought it was too
10 Choose the Right Move
dangerous to hand over the initia tive to an opponent who has justly earned the sobriquet Tommy 'the Hitman' Ernst.
3 e4 e5 4 d3 g6 5 f4 .i.g7 6 lLlf3 d6 7 0-0 lLlge7 8 c3
This is a slightly unusual move that I had already seen a couple of times in similar positions, but had never played before this game. The more usual move here is 8 lLlc3, when the game has trans
posed to a fairly standard Closed Sicilian type position. I don't wish to go into the relative merits of the two systems. I chose to play 8 c3 entirely on the grounds that I mentioned before: in order to reach a position that was unfamiliar to my opponent, even if it meant that it wasn't altogether familiar to me.
8 ... 0-0 9 lLla3
A strange square for the knight? Not really. It may end up moving to c4 or b5 to attack the d6 pawn; and besides, having played c3, where else am I going to develop it to?
. Even though Black's position is quite satisfactory, Ernst looked worried. He spent twenty min utes ruminating before playing ...
9 ... b6 (D)
A blunder.
10 f51
I'd seen and played this kind of sacrifice several times before, so I knew what I was getting into. For instance, in the second diagram on the right:
Aarland-King Stavanger 1989
12 ... f4! 13 gxf4 exf4 14 .i.xf4 lLlg6 15 .i.g3 lLlh5 16 h4 lLlhf4 ... with a strong attack, or, a line from the Leningrad Dutch:
1 d4 f5 2 g3 lLlf6 3 .i.g2 g6 4 lLlf 3 .i.g7 5 0-0 0-0 6 c4 d6 7 lLlc3 lLlc6 8 d5 lLle5 9 lLlxe5 dxe5 10 e4 f4!
10 ... gxf5
If Black leaves the pawn on f5, then White plays g4, and Black
will always be in danger on the kingside.
lllllli4
I played this move fairly quickly.
I was happy if Black continued ll. ..fxe4 12 dxe4, but I stopped just long enough to consider the consequences of 1 l . . .f4. As well us 12 gxf4 lDg6 13 lLlf5!, there is
12 'ii'h5!?, both of which keep con trol over the f5 square. It turned out afterwards that Ernst had been wrapped up in calculating 11 tLlg5 !? He reeled off some long and complicated variations with out coming to any conclusion. They were quite interesting, but totally irrelevant: 1 1 lLlh4 is the most logical move in the position, fighting for control of the crucial f5 square. I didn't even consider 11 tLlg5.
ll ••• fxe4 12 dxe4
This is exactly the position I'd been aiming for. For the small material investment, White has tremendous positional compensa tion: the f5 square is available for the white knight; White's rook is situated on the open f-file; Black's king is slightly exposed; the pawn on d6 is backward and exposed; and the d5 square is weakened.
All for a pawn.
Already I had in my mind's eye such a position (see diagram at top of next column):
This is what Heaven or, if you end up with the black pieces, Hell will look like. Black would have to play fairly ineptly to allow such a
position, but it's good to have a goal in mind. See Chapter 4.
Having thought through in gen eral terms what my plan was to be (occupation of the d5 and f5 squares combined with a kingside attack) I got down to specifics while my opponent was thinking.
First of all, I dealt with Black's most radical freeing move, 12 .. . f5; this gives back the pawn, but pre vents White from using the f5 square. 13 lLlxf5 looks the most
12 Choose the Right Move sensible reply, and if 13 . . . lDxf5 14
exf5, when Black has tremendous problems now that the line of the bishop on g2 has been opened, e.g. 14 . . . �b7 15 lDb5 ! and the d-pawn falls. 13 . . . i.xf5 14 exf5 d5 !? is a better try, but then I could either attempt a pawn roller on the king side with 15 g4, or break up Black's centre with 15 c4. Enough on this. I have two satisfactory continuations to choose from if he goes for 12 . . . f5.
12 . . . �e6 is the most obvious move in the position, but it oc curred to me that 13 lDf5 would cause Black tremendous prob lems. 13 .. . lDxf5 14 exf5 .td7 15 'ii'xd6 is out of the question; and if
13 . . . �xf5 14 exf5, Black has diffi culty meeting the threat off6, for if 14 .. . f6, then 15 �xc6 lDxc6 16 'ii'd5 + 'iL>h8 17 'ii'xc6, wins a piece. The only move to keep going is 14 . . . �f6, but then 15 g4 sets a le thal kingside attack in train: 15 . . . d5 16 g5 �h8 17 'ii'h5, with the simple but effective plan of l:.f3-h3 delivering checkmate.
Having seen this line, I began to feel optimistic. If Black's most natural developing move isn't vi able, then he must be in trouble.
12 ... �a6
Preventing the knight on a3 from entering the game via b5 or c4, but taking away some of the protection from the f5 square.
13 l:lf2
Not much doubt about that one. I want to keep the rook on the
f-file; on f3 it blocks all my pieces; and getting flash with 13 l:t£5
seemed unnecessary, as it doesn't even need to be taken.
13 ... 'ii'c7 14 lDc2
Remember my dream of the knights on f5 and d5? With this move I get one step closer.
14 ... i.c4 15 lDe3 i.e6
The bishop arrives at e6 any way, but via a strangely circuitous route.
Shifting the knight from a3 to e3 took me little time and calcula tion. It is obviously a wonderful square, but it was at this moment that I paused for reflection. I had the feeling that I was already close to winning, and I wanted to find the most precise continuation.
I have three attractive ideas: 1. Playing a knight to f5. 2. Playing a knight to d5. 3. Playing the queen to h5 (put ting off making a decision with the knights!).
The positions after 16 tDef5 ap l"'ured attractive, but I was first
druwn to the consequences of 16
li\d5 as the lines were so forcing.
'l'nking with the knight loses a
pioce, and if 16 . . . i.xd5 17 exd5
ti \d8 18 i.e4!, followed by 'ii'h5, the
ut.tack is irresistible. (Note how important it is to make sure that
llluck is unable to play . . . f5 in these positions.)
So Black must play 16 .. . 'ii'd7 in
HI.ead of capturing, but then I have
I 7 tiJf6 + i.xf6 18 l:txf6, knocking
out the king's most important de fonder, the bishop on g7. This looked like the business. Just one
thing to check: is it possible to
drive the rook from f6 by 18 ... 'it>g7?
No. 19 'ii'h5 is a simple reply (if
19 ... 'it>xf6 then 20 'ii'g5 mate) and
if' 19 ... tiJg8, 20 l:th6 wins simply.
I hardly bothered looking at the other moves: this seemed by far the clearest continuation of the nttack.
16 ttJd5 'ii'd7 17 tiJf6+ i.xf6 18 :.xf6 �h8
Everything according to plan. Now it was time to take stock again. I had already realised that 18 ... �h8 followed by ... tiJg8 would be Black's only chance to defend, and had intended to meet the knight retreat by i.g5. However I now saw that my intended 19 'ii'h5 tiJg8 20 i.g5 actually allows my queen to be trapped by 20 .. . i.g4!
Under no circumstances did I want to retreat my rook; after . . . tiJg8 I wanted to keep Black on the defensive. So I came up with another idea ...
19 tiJf5
If 19 .. . i.xf5, 20 l:txd6 recovers the pawn with a good position (he should probably play this, though).
19 ... tiJg8 20 i.g5
Now I'm back on track. Mate is swift if the rook is captured: 20 ... tDxf6 2 1 i.xf6+ �g8 22 tDh6
or 22 'ii'g4; and with the rook em
bedded on f6, Black's forces will not be able to come to the aid of their king.
14 Choose the Right Move The time has come to look for
the kill. From this moment on it ought to be possible to calculate through to the finish.
The first move I considered was 22 :h6. 22 .. . �h6 23 .tf6+ mates, so Black's only way to defend h 7 is 22 ... .txf5 23 exf5 'ti'xf5, but then I couldn't see a way to deflect Black's queen from defending the h-pawn. I might well have gone for this ifl had seen nothing else. I have a sneaking suspicion that White has a way to win this posi tion but I saw a clear cut way to finish off the game. See Chapter 3 for a full discussion of this skill.
22 �e7! 'ifxe7
If instead 22 .. . tbxe7 23 l:lh6, and the h-pawn drops.
23 llafi
Simple but effective. The rook is maintained on f6. (Incidentally, 23 llh6 would have been a mis take as 23 .. . f6 saves.)
23 • • • :de8 24 .th3!
Black has no defence. The threat is .txe6 followed by llxf'S. If Black continues 24 . . . .txa2, then 25 .tf5 wins.
24 .•• .txh3 25 llxf7 Ibd7 26
.:xf7 "ifixf7 27 'ii'xf7 :ea
Now I have a winning position: a queen is stronger than a rook and minor piece, especially when, as here, the queen has lots of tar gets. Compared with the rest of the traffic on the chessboard, the queen is like a guided missile with a nuclear warhead.
But the game must still be fin ished off. The secret of good tech nique is good calculation. Here, for instance, it looks at first glance as
though White may play 28 'ifh5, winning the bishop on h3, but Black defends with 28 .. Jig6.
The second move that I consid ered was 28 'ifxa 7. Why not take some pawns? I was sure this posi tion was winning, but I was a lit tle uneasy about playing like this,
Why? Because of my king.
Let me show you this position, and you will understand what I mean:
Hamed - Short Subotica Interzonal 1987 There was a keen fight for the
•JIIItlifying places at the top of the tournament and Nigel needed to
wlu this game. However, trying a
lelll.uu hard, the game had turned
"M"IuHt him. The Russian contin
wuul., dolighted that a rival was
�euluw down to the tournament
ll\ll�:111dor, lined up in the front
1 uw of tho auditorium to gloat.
Wllll.c' huH a winning position.
tlltwk c•n11 do nothing at all: he is 1 ''''"'''•ell.o pushing his queenside
''"w""' up tho board; but instead
ul 111111 pnying attention to the po
llllluu of hiH king, he got greedy:
1111 l11hrl (not fatal, but the calm
1111 *,c:.t would have been better)
IHI t .. u :S4 .J:b6?? (poor chap;
lfattllltl,
l'rom
Egypt, had had arotten tournament, and this could have been his moment of glory) 34 .. . �h3 (with much shaking of heads and eyes rolling skywards, the Russians filed out of the hall as soon as this move appeared. There was no need to stay for the end of the game. White has no satisfactory method of defending against the mate on fl) 35 .J:b8 lhb8 36 0.f7 + 'ifxf7 37 'ile5+ 'iifg8 38 1i'xb8+ ri;g7 39 'ife5+ 'iifh6 and White resigned.
Witnessing such an incident makes a strong impression. Re turning to the game, take another look at the position of my king. I know the rook can't get to the f flle immediately, but it still seemed to me that my best policy would be to remove my king from the po tential mating net. See Chapter 5 for more practical tips.
28 'it>f2! l:g6 29 �d8 a6 30 �e3!
This is the other reason for moving the king out: the e-pawn is defended.
16 Choose the Right Move 30 ••• b5 31 'ii'f8l
This is more to the point than chasing after the queenside pawns. As well as pinning the knight and reducing the rook's mobility (it must take care of .i.f6), an attack on the centre pawns is threat ened.
31. •. .i.g4 32 .i.e7
. . . and here Black resigned, as it is impossible to prevent 33 .ixd6 followed by 34 .ixe5, winning two more pawns, and at the same time starting a mating attack against Black's king.
For me, that was not a very dif ficult game to play. I knew the opening much better than my op ponent, and the resulting attack was straight-forward and hardly original. It is curious, but in my first ever game against Ernst, in a junior tournament in 1979, I had
won in a similar way:
a b c d e g h
King - Ernst Eeklo 1979
3
Don't the weaknesses on f5 and h5 look familiar? The kingside at tack is equally effective here:
13 ••• 'iti>h8 14 l:.ad1 ..tf8 15 'ii'f3
l:te6 16 lt:)f5 l:tc8 17 'ifh5 l:te8 18 l:td3 ..tf5 19 'iff5 .ig7 20 l:th3 h6 21 lt:)e3 l:te6 22 'ilfh5 1-0
By now you are probably begin ning to feel a bit sorry for poor old Tommy but please don't; in the very next tournament after play ing the 1993 game, he thrashed me convincingly (but you don't get to see that one).
The next game was played be tween Keith Arkell and myself (Chris Duncan) during the Mid lands Championship, a gruelling tournament with six rounds in a weekend. Round 1 on Friday night finishes at 1 1.00pm, then we pick ourselves out of bed on Saturday morning to start round 2 at 9.30am, grab a bite to eat before round 3 starts at 2.30pm and then hope to survive for round four at 7.30pm. If you're lucky you can be back in bed by midnight, but don't forget to be ready for round 5 at 9.30am on Sunday morning, followed by the last round at 2.30pm. This punishing itinerary means that players really have to earn their prize money and goes by the name of 'the weekend cir cuit'. Often it can be more strenu ous than a week on an army survival camp.
Anyhow, it was 7 .25pm on Sat urday evening and time for the
fourth round. I looked at the draw
nnd thought 'What a nightmare, ( lrandmaster Arkell on a Satur
clny night. I'll never make it to the hur before closing time! ' (Keith Arkell is renowned for his boast
of winning rook and bishop vs.
mok eight times out of eight and
nil from drawn positions!) Then I t.hought a bit longer. Keith Arkell
iM a very strong positional and l.nchnical player, but his opening rnpertoire never seems to be that c·onvincing. I decided my best plan of action was a tactical opening with as much theory as possible. llunce my choice of this line of the '�uoen's Gambit Accepted.
Arkell - Duncan Midlands Championship 1995
l d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 e4 c5 4
d" ltJf6 5 lbc3
In our most recent encounter I hnd blundered straight into my opponent's hands with 5 ... e6. This
IH not a bad move, but it is totally
l.lw wrong plan against Keith Arkell. Within three moves (6
.t xc4 exd5 7 tLlxd5 tLlxd5 8 .i.xd5
.tn7) he was able to get the type of
Hirnple position he excels in and ultimately I was ground down in a
l'fHik and pawn endgame. I thought l.hu game was particularly boring,
hut Keith gained what can only be dt,Hcribed as sadistic pleasure in l.orturing me throughout the end wume. After the game I told him
lhnt I believed I had had some
drawing chances in the later stages, to which he responded, 'I've played that endgame before, it just looks like you have got drawing chances, but really you are lost.'
5 ... b5!
This was my surprise weapon. At the time it was relatively new theory and I figured that Keith may not have looked sufficiently deeply into this variation. It is known as the Linares variation af ter a number of players employed it in the 1993 Linares super grandmaster tournament. In par ticular, Anand played a superb game against Gelfand.
6 e5
Just as I thought, Keith plays the old move. The fashionable move is 6 .i.f4, but the resulting positions can be very messy. The following extract shows the type of tactically hair-raising positions you can get from this opening.
18 Choose the Right Move Gelfand - Anand
Linares 1993
6 i..{4 'flia5 7 e5 lDe4 8 t'iJge2 tiJa6! 9
f3
%4/A brilliant invention. 9 . . . lZ'lxc3 was played in the game Beliav sky-Anand earlier in the same tournament.
10 fxe4 0d3+ 11 'it;d2 g6!! Mter this move Black's pieces seem to control the whole board, despite the sacrificed material and his lack of central pawns.
12 b3? i..g7 13 bxc4 lZ'lxf4 14 lZ'lxf4? .
14 cxb5 i.xe5 15 'ii'b3 would still have left Black on top.
14 ... i.xe5 15 lLlfe2 b4 16 'ii'a4+ 'ilxa4 17 lZ'lxa4 i.xa1 18lZ'lxc5 0- 0/ . . . and Black's extra exchange helped him to convert the win.
Back to the game ...
6 ... b4
Attack is the best form of de fence.
7 e:xf6 bxc3 8 bxc3
Should Black capture the white f-pawn with his e-pawn or g-pawn?
8 ••• tZ'ld7!
Neither, development is more important! The idea of this move is to force White to capture either the g-pawn or the e-pawn, after which Black will be able to develop his dark-squared bishop and cas tle quickly. In an open position like this it is imperative to de velop as quickly as possible. (A good example of the merits of speedy development is the game between Paul Morphy and the team of the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard de Vauvanar gue in Chapter 1.) If White does not capture either of the black pawns, then Black will simply take the f6 pawn with his knight, thereby saving the pawn struc ture from any damage and allow ing a fianchetto on the kingside.
9 'ii'a4
A clever move which is designed to stop Black from carrying out
his intended ... lLlxffi. However the last two moves have seen Black develop his knight and White de velop his queen, and that can only be good news for Black. The prin ciples of good development sug gest that you should only develop your queen later in the game. I
think White must have regretted this luxury later in the game.
9 ... ex:f6
Black's position has been con siderably improved by the inclu sion of the moves . . . lLld7 and it'a4 and he is now able to play 9 ... exf6.
10 .txc4
White should have played 10 .tf4, as after the text move Black gets all his pieces to ideal squares.
10 • • • .td6
When I have castled my knight will no longer be pinned and I will be able to play ... c!Db6 or ... lLle5.
11 .te2?!
11 'ifc6 is tempting, but after ll.. .'ii'e7+ 12 lLle2 .:.bs White's queen looks very misplaced on c6.
1 1 •.. 0-0 12 c!Df3 .:.es
So far I have developed nor mally, just playing natural moves which anyone can find. I have only used one move with each piece, castled quickly and placed my rook on an open file. White has brought his queen into the game and moved his light-squared bishop twice, so it is no wonder that he is already in trouble. We will look at the advantage of development in greater detail in the next chapter.
13 c4?!
White was hoping to guard all his pawns, develop his pieces and castle all at the same time. It would have been better to play 13 .te3, preparing to castle, but then 13 . . . lLlb6 keeps the pressure on White.
13 ••• it'e7! 14 'ii'c2
Here White found that he was unable to castle: 14 0-0? (or 14 .te3 .tf4) 14 . . . 'ii'xe2 15 .:.e1 'ii'xel + 16 lLlxe1 .:.xe1 mate. We must con stantly watch for this type of tac tic and Chapter 2 will help you to spot these possibilities.
14 . • • lbe5!
Continuing the theme of stop ping White from castling: 15 0-0?
lLlxf3+ 16 .txf3 it'e5! , threatening 17 ... 'ii'xh2 mate and 17 ... it'xal.
15 .tea c!Dg4 16 o-o
White decides to sacrifice a pawn in order to castle.
16 ••• c!Dxe3 17 fxe3 'it'xe3 + 18
.l:f2 .tg4
Another simple development move.
20 Choose the Right Move 19.l:afl
19 ••• .l:ab8
Having reached a winning posi tion (a pawn up with White's pieces tied down), it is important that every piece is made productive. Clearly the rook is better placed on b8, from where it could enter the fray down the b-file or ma noeuvre to b7-e7 to reinforce Black's grip on the e-flle.
20 g3 h5
Now that my pieces are on their ideal squares, I can try and break down his king position. There is also the hidden benefit of creating an escape square for my king, just in case I get back-rank mated!
21 �g2 'ii'a3?!
Not a bad move, but I should have played 21...h4, a move I re jected because of 22 ttJxh4. How ever, I could then have played (see small diagram)
22 ... 'ii'xe2! ! (I had missed this and only considered the variation
22 ... J..xe2 23 l:el 'ii'e4+ 24 'ii'xe4 :Xe4 25 l:.fxe2).
22 J..dl l:e3
With the threat of 23 ... h4 24 tbxh4 and now either 24 ... l:xg3+ or 24 ... J..h3+ first.
23 'ii'd2 h4 24 J..b31
Effectively blocking the co-or dination between my queen and rook on the third rank. Not 24 tbxh4? J..h3 + 25 'iltxh3 .l:xg3 + 26 hxg3 'ii'xg3 mate. 24 ••• h3+ 8 7 6 5 2
At this point I have to be hon est and admit a little prayer went up to the heavens. I was hoping my opponent would play 25 �hl.
25 �gl
Of course not 25 �h1? .Ubxb3 26 axb3 i.xf3+ 27 :xf3 llxf3 28
ltxf3 'ir'a1 + . 25 ••• .Ube8
Now that the b-file is blocked, my rook on b8 is doing nothing, so I have two choices: either to sacrifice it for the bishop on b3 or to bring it to the e-file. Although 25 .. . .Ubxb3 is a reasonable alter native, in general I never sacrifice material if I think I can win by normal means. If you sacrifice and things go horribly wrong you nor mally lose, whereas if you don't sacrifice material and things go wrong sometimes you can fall back on a draw.
26 :tel lhel + 27 tLlxel i.e5 I had calculated that White must stop me playing 28 . . . i.d4, either by 28 tLlf3 or 28 tLlc2, both of which have drawbacks.
28 tLlc2
Although this move does stop the bishop from coming to d4, it does have the drawback of allow ing my queen back into the game. After 28 tLlf3 i.xf3 29lbf3 i.d4+ 30 �fl 'ii'a6 I considered White's king position to be indefensible in the long run. There is nowhere for the king to hide and opposite coloured bishops always helps the attacker (see also the game Dun can-Molyneux from Chapter 5).
28 ..• ft2 29 tLle3
White has laid a few traps with this move - time for some serious calculation (see also Chapter 3).
29 •.• 1Wal +
The idea of this move is to force the rook back to n before playing .. ."i!i'd4. When I played this move I felt I had calculated it to a win, but the first move I considered was actually 29 . . . 1Wxd2, then 29 . . . 1Wd4 and only then 29 . . . 1Wa1 + . Let us look at the alternatives in turn:
a) 29 . . . 1Wxd2 30 ll.xd2 i.d4?? (Black should still be able to win after 30 .. . i.xg3, but Keith is an endgame specialist, so I would like to polish him off quicker if possi ble) 31 .Uxd4! (oops!) 3 1 . ..cxd4 32 tLlxg4 f5 33 d6 fxg4 34 c5 .Ud8 35 i.a4 .Ub8 36 c6 .Ub1 + 37 �f2 .:tb2 + 38 �fl %lb1 + 39 �e2 and White's pawns are unstoppable.
b) 29 .. . 1i'd4 doesn't achieve a great deal because the knight on e3 is not pinned: after 30 tLlxg4
22 Choose the Right Move 'ifxg4 3 1 'ii'e3 White is still in the
game.
So 29 .. . 'ii'al + was the correct move.
30 lUI 'ii'd4
The in-between move 29 ... 'ii'al + ensures that the knight is now pinned.
31 .:t2
White has nothing better. 31. •• 'it'xd2 32 :Xd2
As you enter the time trouble stages of the game, you must al ways be on your guard. Chapter 6 (practical play) offers an insight into how'to avoid the pitfalls wait ing for you in time trouble.
32 ••• i.c3
Not 32 . . . i.d4?? 33 l:lxd4! cxd4 34 tbxg4 f5 35 c5 fxg4 36 c6 and White's c- and d-pawns are too strong. This would have been a typical time trouble disaster, and after the game I would have used the immortal words 'If only I hadn't played . . .' My move avoids
the dangers of 32 . . . i.d4 and sets up a picturesque combination (which at the time I thought was stronger than it really is).
33 .l:.d3 .:.Xe3!
The sneaky combination that I needed to see when I played 31...'ii'xd2.
34 .:.Xe3 i.d4 35 �f2
This whole concept of immobi lising the white rook and king came from the following study that I remember seeing as a child.
Black can win a whole rook by making sure that White is unable
t.o extricate himself from this uwful pin. White's only attempt
to free himself is by playing g5, so 13lack gets in first.
57 ... :Xf4 58 :Xf4 g5 59 hxg5 <j;g6 60 a4 a5 61 bxa5 bxa5 0- 1
White is in Zugzwang and must move his king from the defence of his rook.
35 .•. 'iitf8 36 d6
Unfortunately I had forgotten about White's d-pawn, which I
have no way of stopping without loosening my grip over the white rook and king.
36 ••• f5 37 i..a4 g5 38 d7
This forces the issue. White couldn't allow Black to play ... f4.
38 •.. i..xe3+ 39 'iti>xe3 'iti>e7
The tactics have finished and we now begin the endgame phase of the game. Fortunately for me the position is an easy win. But too often game commentators just say 'and the rest was technique'. Believe me, you still cannot afford to make any mistakes. The phrase 'and the rest was technique' seems to suggest that the game will play itself; but far from it, you must be as vigilant as ever. I
think a better ph_rase to use might be 'as long as Black plays accu rately and precisely he should win the game'. Too often I have seen players throw away games in win ning positions. If you don't want to be a victim of this, make sure you study Chapter 5.
40 i..b5 f6
With the time trouble over, I have a simple plan in mind: re route my light- squared bishop to e6 to pick off White's dangerous d 7 pawn. Then help my kingside pawns advance while attacking White's weak queenside pawns with my light-squared bishop.
41 i..a4 i..h5 42 i..c2
First problem - I cannot get my bishop to e6. Oh well, Keith will have to put his bishop back on a4 to defend his d-pawn and then I can get on with my plan.
5 4 3 2 42 ••• i..g6 43 i..d3? 8
This allows Black to finish off the game straight away with a tactic.
43 ••• f4+ 44 gx:f4 i..xd3 0-1
After 45 'iti>xd3 g4 White has fi nally made it back to material equality, but he cannot prevent Black promoting a pawn: 46 <iPe3 g3 47 hxg3 h2 with 48 . . . hl(Q) to come next move.
24 Choose the Right Move We have broken down the skills
as follows:
Chapter 1: First Steps (open ing play) [written by Daniel King -DK]
The opening played a great role in both of our illustrative games. In each example, it was psychol ogy rather than learning long variations that played a major part in the choice of opening. Above all it is vital to have a fun damental grasp of opening princi ples.
Chapter 2: Tactics and Combi nations [written by Chris Duncan -CD]
In this chapter the various types of tactics are systematically dis cussed, and we then move on to
how you can learn to spot combi nations in your own games. It is critical to develop a basic level of tactical competence.
Chapter 3: How to Calculate [CD]
The ability to spot tactics is the first stage on the road to calcula tion. Now you have to be able to fathom 'out long variations and work out the consequences of different moves. This chapter is a no frills guide to the secrets of cal culating.
Chapter 4: Positional Play and ·
Planning [DK]
Having a view of the 'big pic ture' is common to every strong player. Positional motifs recur, just like tactical motifs. Such knowledge is built up by studying 'model games', typical manoeu vres and being able to recognise weaknesses in a pawn structure.
Chapter 5: How to Win Won Positions [CD]
We all lose games we should win, but why? This chapter seeks to identify the mistakes we make and tries to maximise our chances of success in the future.
Chapter 6: Practical Play [CD] It's okay knowing all the the ory, but what about all the practi cal tips (and sneaks!). You have to
be able to look after yourself in time trouble (and beat your oppo nents in their time trouble), swin dle people, avoid blundering and play to your strengths. This is a rough guide to winning ways.
Chapter 7: Endings [DK] The endgame is a neglected phase of the game. Too many players are put off by the vast amount of dry theory on the sub ject. This is a realistic guide, giv ing you a sound basis from which to play endgames.
This first chapter deals with the opening phase of the game. I am not going to concentrate on any particular variation here, but in stead look at what our aims and objectives should be in the open ing; and don't tell me you've heard it all before. While mis takes such as the following still occur, then it is worth re-examin ing our opening play. (Perhaps you haven't done so since you first started playing? Well, then!)
Anand - Kasparov PCA World Championship,
New York (13) 1995 Here Anand was expecting Kas parov to recapture the pawn on e6, with the queen for instance, when he would have castled on one side or the other with roughly
equal chances. Unfortunately, we are all handicapped by our mate rialistic mind-sets, and the Indian was shocked to see . . .
19 ... c4
. . . played on the board. 'When he took the pawn he should have remembered his king was still on el and something can happen . . .' (Kasparov at the post-game press conference) With one move Kas parov prevents the king from cas tling both on the kingside and the queenside (b3 would collapse in that case). White's king is swiftly dispatched, trapped in the middle of the board:
20 c3 llce8 2 1 bxc4 llxe6 22 <oWl llfe8 23 i.d3 dxc4 24 i.xc4 lt:le4
If the knight is taken then 25 fxe4l%f6+ 26 �el :xe4 + 2 7 i.e2
26 Choose the Right Move 'ii'f2 + 28 'iftd1 :Xe2 29 'ii'xe2 l:[d6+,
for instance, so Anand resigned. We all know that Anand should have castled earlier; Anand knows that he should have castled ear lier; so just why didn't he? More on that later.
First let's think about what we are trying to achieve in the open ing. Underpinning all opening play is the struggle for the initia tive, in other words the fight for the attack, or at the very least to control the future course of play.
In order to gain the initiative, there are three goals to keep in mind:
1. To strive for fast and effec tive development of one's pieces.
2. To attempt to occupy the centre with pawns, or to control the centre with pieces.
3. To aim for a healthy pawn structure.
And naturally, if you can pre vent your opponent from achiev ing any of the above, then that is also desirable!
It is also possible to break those aims down into some well-known guidelines, for instance:
• Castle as quickly as possible • Don't move the same piece
twice
• Don't make too many pawn
moves
• Don't bring the queen out too
early
• Bring the rooks out through
the middle of the board, not at the side
• Don't grab pawns if the posi
tion is open and you are behind in development
• Don't begin an attack until you
have brought all your pieces into play . . . and so on.
I should stress that these really are only guidelines, hints that may help in the decision-making process; don't hold to them at all costs. As the Rumanian grand master Mihai Suba likes to say, 'The Golden Rule is that there are no Golden Rules! '
It is important to keep our original aim in mind. There are many ways to win the initiative, and it might mean following some of the rules above, but also break ing them sometimes.
When the concept of rapid and efficient development is brought up, there is one player in particu lar who comes to my mind: the American genius Paul Morphy who, for a few brief years in the late 1850s and 1860s, dazzled the chess world with his dynamic and innovative play, defeating the leading players in Europe before returning to the United States. It is a pity that Morphy's most fa mous game from that time is a one-sided encounter against two aristocrats playing in consultation, supposedly during a performance of the Barber of Seville at the Paris Opera. Well, it was never go ing to be an epic. However, it is a perfect illustration of rapid devel opme;nt in the opening.
Morphy - Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard de
Vauvanargue Paris 1858
1 e4 e5 2 lDf3 d6 3 d4 i.g4? 4 dxe5 i.xf3
In order to save the e-pawn, the bishop has to make a second move, and then it is exchanged off, at the same time helping the queen to develop.
5 1i'xf3
Now you can see why I was keen to stress that the guiding rules should not be taken too lit erally: White has only one piece developed and it is the queen! However, at some stage the queen must find a square for itself, ena bling the rooks to connect, and on f3 it is safe from attack.
5 ... dxe5
6 i.c4
Bringing a piece out with gain of time.
6 ... tDf6 7 'it'b3
A cardinal sin, moving the queen for the second time? Hardly; White wins a pawn quite safely. After all, it is not as though he is behind in development.
7 ... 1i'e7
8 lLlc3
I have a feeling that Morphy took a look at his witless opponents as they cracked open the next bot tle of champagne in the theatre box, and thought to himself, 'Al right, let's have a bit of fun. ' In stead, 8 'ifxb7 is not a bad move. Because of the threat to the rook, Black is forced to go into a lost ending: 8 . .. 1i'b4 + 9 'ifxb4 i.xb4 +
10 i.d2 and White is a clear pawn up. I would guess that if Morphy had been facing anyone half-de cent, he would have gone for this in a shot. It is hardly imaginable, but according to my records, this position actually arose in a later game, played in 1930. Here White
2B Choose the Right Move dared to innovate with B i.xf7 +
which looks dangerous to me; that really is flouting the rules. White won the ending after B .. . �dB 9 1i'xb7 1i'b4 + 10 11Vxb4 i.xb4 + 11 c3 (Tenk-Egert, Brno 1930). But instead of B . . . �dB, giving up the exchange with 8 .. . 'ifxf7! would
have been more in the Morphy spirit: 9 'ii'xb7 (this is the point, Black cannot exchange queens on b4 now, so White wins the rook in the corner) 9 . . . i.c5 10 'ii'xaB 0-0. Black is down on material, but he has managed to develop most of his pieces, in stark contrast to White. Black is on the attack!
B ••• c6 9 i.g5 b5?
9 . . . 1i'c7 would have kept Black in the game.
10 �xb5! cxb5 1 1 i.xb5 + lL!bd7 12 0-0-0
There is no defence to the at tack. How could there be when Black is unable to develop any of his pieces?
12 ••• .1ldB 13 :Xd7!
A typical method of bringing the other rook into the attack. Black is just carried along by the tide of White's play.
13 ••• l:.xd7 14 l:.d1 1i'e6 15
i.xd7+ �d7 16 1i'bB + �bB 17 l:.dB mate (D)
Pretty, but marred by Black's dreadful defence. This final posi tion reminds me of a theory that one South London wag used to ex pound a few years ago: 'I will al low my opponent a great lead in development, so that when he
enters the middlegame, I am still in the opening; then when he en ters the endgame I will still be in the middlegame; and finally when he has finished the game -I will
still be in the endgame, and thus I will be declared the winner! ' Won derfully absurd logic, but a little dangerous, as the above game dem onstrates.
That was fun, but it is worth looking at Morphy's play when he faced decent opposition. In 1B5B, Morphy played a match against Daniel Harrwitz, a German mas ter who had the dream job of resi dent professional at the Cafe de la Regence in Paris. It is said that Harrwitz put up some of the stiff est opposition that Morphy en countered on his European tour, and this was perhaps due to the German's style: he preferred closed positions rather than the open kind of game that the American was used to; and, unlike many of Mor phy's Qpponents, he understood
the necessity for quick develop ment.
Morphy - Harrwitz 2nd match game, Paris 1858 1 e4 e5 2 lLlf3 d6 3 d4 exd4 4 'ii'xd4
I like this move. Morphy was an intuitive player: he had no set of rules to follow, so had no qualms about bringing his queen out; he simply judged each situation on its own merits. The early queen move envisages a rapid mobilisa tion ofhis queenside forces. Natu rally, there is nothing wrong with 4 lbxd4, in fact this seems to be the most popular move these days, but 4 'ii'xd4 looks ·more dynamic.
4 ... lbc6
In my view, a better way to meet White's strategy is 4 . . . �d7, fol lowed by . . . lbc6, ensuring that the queen is driven from its excellent central position.
Question 1 . 1 : How would you respond to 4 .. . �d7, to ensure that your smooth development contin ues uninterrupted? (Answers to questions are given at the end of each chapter.)
5 �b5!
Of course! Bringing out a piece while meeting the threat to the queen, and ensuring that the queen remains in its superb cen tral position.
5 •.• �d7 6 �xc6 �xc6 7 i.g5
Another piece is developed with gain of time.
7 ••• lbf6 8 lLlc3 �e7 9 0-0-0
Here we see another point to the early queen move: it clears the back rank, enabling White to castle queenside, and the rooks are now connected.
9 ... 0-0 10 .l:the1
The perfect position. Morphy has developed every single one of his pieces and has excellent cen tral control. He knew intuitively
30 Choose the Right Move that any attack before he had
brought out all his pieces would not have succeeded. Only now is he ready.
10 ••• h6 1 1 .i.h4 lbe8
In order to relieve the conges tion in his position, Black seeks exchanges, but the knight retreat breaks the connection between the rooks, and Morphy seizes his chance.
12 J.xe7 1Wxe7 13 e5!
Morphy' s decision to open the position is logical because he has the better development.
13 ••. .i.xf3 14 gxf3 1Wg5+ 15
�b1 dxe5 16 1:.xe5 1Wg2 17 lbd5 1i'xh2
And now, as Golombek points out, 18 f4, cutting off the queen's retreat, would leave White with a powerful initiative, in spite of being a pawn down. For our pur poses we can leave the game here: Morphy has a promising attack, therefore his opening play can be
counted as a success. (Inciden tally, in the game Morphy played 18 :eel, and after some deter mined and accurate defence Harr witz won the game.)
Morphy - Harrwitz 4th match game, Paris 1858 The opening of the fourth game of the match was similar.
1 e4 e5 2 lbf3 d6 3 d4 exd4 4 'ii'xd4 lbc6 5 .i.b5 .i.d7 6 J.xc6 .i.xc6 7 .i.g5 f6
This is Harrwitz's attempted improvement. It is true that Black gains time by attacking the bishop, but the pawn move interrupts the smooth flow of his development as the f6 square is taken from the knight, and the scope of the dark squared bishop is also limited. However, it does give Black some security as the e5 break, which Morphy used to good effect in the previous game, is prevented.
8 .i.h4 lDh6 9 lbc3 1i'd7 10 0-0 .i.e7 11 :adl
Once again, Morphy brings all
his pieces into play before em barking on a middlegame plan of action.
1 1 ••• 0-0 12 'ii'c4+
Now he is ready, and he seizes upon the slight weakness of the e6 square (no black pawns can cover it).
12 ••• lU7 13 lL!d4
Morphy might have been toy ing with the idea of advancing his pawn to f4 and then f5, to support a knight on e6. Black prevents that but, in so doing, creates fresh weaknesses in his position. The opening is over and the struggle of ideas in the middlegame be gins, but it is clear that Morphy, with his greater control of the centre, and better co-ordination of his forces, has the better chances. I give the rest of the game as it is a good illustration of Morphy's fluent and logical play. Looking at these games again, it is no wonder that Bobby Fischer, a player with a similarly crystal-clear strategic style, was a great admirer of his compatriot.
13 ••• lL!g4 14 h3 lL!e5 15 'iie2
g5 (D)
This pawn push prevents White from playing f4 driving away the knight, but leaves the f5 square fatally weakened - think back to my introductory game, and see the chapter on planning and posi tional play!
16 .i.g3 l:tg7 17 tL!f5 l:tg6 18 f4 gxf4 19 l:xf4 �h8 20 l:th4 .i.f8
21 i.xe5 fxe5 22 lm. 'ife6 23 lL!b5 'iig8 24 .l:.f2 a6 25 lL!xc7 l:tc8 26 tt:Jd5 .i.xd5 27 exd5 .l:.c7 28 c4 .i.e7 29 l:th5 'ii'e8 30 c5 l:txc5 31 .l:.xh7+ �xh7 32 'ii'h5 + <li>g8 33 tt:Jxe7+ �g7 34 lL!f5+ <li>g8 35 tt:Jxd6
Here Black resigned.
You might be thinking after seeing those games, 'Well, I think I've got the hang of that, castle
32 Choose the Right Move early, bring all my pieces out, and
there you are, I've got a great opening. ' Unfortunately it isn't quite as easy as that. First, be cause we were only considering the white side of the position; and second because Black made no real attempt to interfere with White's plan of development. If we return to the Anand-Kasparov game, then we will see how even one of the world's strongest players man aged to forget one of the basic opening rules.
Anand - Kasparov PCA'World Championship,
New York (13) 1995 Going back a few moves, we can see that Kasparov already has some initiative: he has developed his pieces, castled, and his queen is attacking the pawn on b2. In other words, for him, the middle game has begun. Anand has to be careful. His position is fine, apart
from the fact that he has not cas tled, so for him the opening phase is not over. The obvious way for White to defend the b-pawn and at the same time complete his de velopment is to castle on the queenside, but Anand must have been reluctant to do this in case he found himself moving into an attack. It is true that after 16 0-0-0 .:tb8, Kasparov is able to operate on the b-file, but White's position is solid enough after 17 b3, and, importantly, he is able to organise counterplay in the centre through the pawn break e5 (after due preparation), or lt:ld5.
16 b3
A little bit too careful, but cer tainly not fatal.
16 ... .i.e6!
This is the kind of difficulty that confronts the player who has yet to castle: Anand isn't faced with a direct attack against the king, but Kasparov is keeping him busy with other problems - in this case a threat to his pawn struc ture by . . . .i.xc4. If now 17 .i.xe6 fxe6, then Black has covered the crucial d5 square, preventing the white knight moving in, and Black is ready to open up the posi tion with the pawn break . . . c4. So instead of castling, Anand spends another move dealing with the threat to double his pawns.
17 lt:ld5 .i.xd5 18 exd5
If White had already castled here, then he would be ready to double rooks on the e-file, tying
Black down to the defence of the pawn on e7. But it is Black to move, and White's king is still in the middle of the board . . .
18 ••• e5
'After . . . e5, psychologically it's very unpleasant for White. Sud denly the e7 pawn, which was weak, comes to e5 and becomes strong. White has to admit the strategic loss of the opening and play an equal position. ' (Kasparov
speaking immediately after the game) The champ has put his fin ger on the problem. Anand feels that with the white pieces, the onus is on him to play for the in itiative, which dulls his sense of danger. The correct move is to castle on the queenside, even though it is not clear where White is going to find play - and that is what Anand must have feared. Damage limitation - compromis ing - is one of the hardest things to do in chess.
19 dxe6? d5
This one Anand had foreseen: if 20 .i.xd5 :fd8 2 1 c4 fxe6 wins a piece.
20 .i.e2 c4!
But not that one and, as we saw earlier, Anand was blown away. So the reason Anand failed to com plete his development was that he became pre-occupied with other strategical ideas (his pawn struc ture being damaged, for instance), and that he was worried about losing the initiative.
There are many other reasons why we all, on occasion, forget the basics in the opening. In re searching this chapter I thought it might be worth looking at some of my own games from when I was just starting out, to see how I managed in the opening. It was a salutary experience. I will cer tainly be more tolerant of my pu pils when they fail in the opening. Some of my games were simply appalling. I think the first chess book that i ever bought was Bobby Fischer's My Sixty Memorable Games (not a bad start). I blindly copied the openings that he played. After all, Fischer was 'The Greatest', and if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me. Unfortunately, I had no idea of the strategic basis behind these openings, and where the dangers lay in them. By accident, some of the openings worked well for me. For instance the Ruy
34 Choose the Right Move Lopez (Spanish), Exchange vari
ation, which Fischer employed a few times in the late sixties, was a hit, though at the time I really had no idea why. I seem to re member the following sequence occurring on a few occasions:
1 e4 e5 2 lL!f3 lL!c6 3 i.b5 a6 4 i.xc6 dxc6 5 0-0 lL!f6 6 lL!xe5 lL!xe4 7 l:le1
. . . and White wins a piece. The reason why the Ruy Lopez, Ex change variation is good for a be ginner to start with is because it facilitates ·rapid development, as this extreme example shows.
I wasn't quite as lucky with some of the other Fischer openings that I copied. For instance, I had great difficulty playing against the Pirc and Modern Defences. Fischer won a wonderful game against Benko in the 1963/64 US Championship using the Austrian Attack, so that was my choice. It
involves launching three pawns into the centre right from the start, which is fair enough, but I had no idea of the risks involved. This game was typical.
King - D. Powell Ashford Open 1975 1 e4 g6 2 d4 i.g7 3 f4
There they go, sound the trum pets. Unfortunately, I didn't know what to do with them once they were there.
3 ... c5
Black attacks the centre imme diately, although it might be bet ter just to play 3 ... d6.
4 lL!f3
A poor reply, justifying Black's last move. Given that I've pushed all these pawns, potentially giving Black a lead in development, I should have tried to keep the cen tre closed with 4 d5.
Black has an excellent version of the Sicilian Defence where, in stead of developing a piece, White has played the premature f4, leav ing a gaping hole in his position. Dealing with the attacked knight on d4 is not easy. Capturing on c6 improves Black's pawn structure (a pawn is brought closer to the centre) ; retreating to f3 or b3 gives Black another tempo in the race to develop; and 6 .i.e3 allows 6 ... 'ifb6! attacking both d4 and b2 (White could then play 7 l2Jf5 'ifxb2 8 l2Jxg7 + 'ibg7, gaining the two bishops for a pawn, but the compensation is thin) . I went for another option which was no bet ter than any of the above.
6 c3
Another pawn move. Morphy would have been horrified.
6 ••• d6 7 .i.e3 l2Jf6 8 �f3 .i.g4 9
'ifg3 .i.d7 10 .i.d3 0-0 1 1 0-0 Black has completed his devel opment and is ready to attack, whereas I am a move behind; more over, my pieces are poorly placed, like targets in the centre of the board.
u ... l2Jg4! (DJ
Seizing the initiative. I can't re treat the bishop as the knight on d4 would be hanging, so I have to compromise.
12 l2Jxc6 bxc6 13 l2Jd2
Instead, 13 .i.d4 .i.xd4 14 cxd4 'ifb6 would be dire.
13 ••• l2Jxe3 14 �xe3
Black has gained the two bish ops which in this open position
constitutes a significant advan tage. He forced an endgame by playing . . .
14 ••• 'ifb6 15 l2Jc4 'ti'xe3+ 1 6
l2Jxe3 a5 17 .l:.fc1 a4 18 l2Jc4 .l:.fb8
. . . and won fluently, combining pressure on the queenside with an advance in the centre.
King - Adorjan Simultaneous Exhibition 1975 Another disaster. 1 e4 g6 2 d4 .i.g7 3 l2Jc3 d6 4 f4 l2Jf6 5 l2Jf3 0-0 6 .i.d3 l2Jc6 7 0-0 .i.g4 8 .i.e3?
I didn't understand that when you have such a powerful pawn centre, you have to do something with it, or else it becomes a target. White's best move here is 8 e5.
8 ... e5! (D)
A typical move, breaking up the pawn centre. White has a number of captures and pawn pushes to choose from, but none hold out
36 Choose the Right Move
any hope for an advantage. Per haps it is best for White to cut his losses with 9 dxe5 dxe5 10 fxe5 �e5 11 .te2, and exchange some pieces; the position should be about equal.
9 f:x:e5 d:x:e5 10 d5?! ll:ld4 1 1 .te2 .txf3 1 2 .txf3 c6
Black already has the more promising position owing to the knight embedded on d4 and the pressure on the d5 pawn. At this point I clearly couldn't see any thing constructive to do at all and came up with . . .
1 3 .tg5? 'ii'b6 14 .te3 'ii':x:b2 . . . and Ire polished me off with ease. It is okay to be caught out once, but it is none too bright to let it happen again in the same way. As blues man B.B. King says, 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. ' (Inciden tally, I've never quite understood the apathy to simultaneous exhi bitions that exists in England. As a junior I had the chance to play
in quite a few simuls and without exception they taught me valu able lessons. There is no better way to have one's ideas tested than against a strong player, and I can honestly say that I am still using some of the strategies that were employed against me by some of the grandmasters.)
When one builds a pawn centre in the opening:
1. Time is lost because piece de velopment has been neglected.
2. One takes on great responsi bility. A single error could cause the whole edifice to collapse. That's alright if you are able to play as accurately as Fischer but, let's be realistic, for the rest of us, par ticularly when starting out, it's chancy.
King - Barkas Islington Major 1975 It is true that I learned a great deal from simultaneous games, but obviously the lessons didn't go in quickly enough. This last ex ample of my efforts against the Modern/Pirc is the most painful to look back on, and it must have finally induced me to do some thing about my, er, unique treat ment of the opening.
1 e4 g6 2 d4 .tg7 3 lLlc3 d6 4 f4 lLlf6 5 e5
I remember that I had seen a game that had continued 5 . . . dxe5 6 dxe5 'ii'lCdl + 7 �xdl ltlg4 8 �el,
and later White had played h3 and g4, leaving Black terribly cramped. Unfortunately, my op ponent quickly played . . .
5 ••• lt:lfd7
. . . and I was left on my own again.
6 ltlf3 c5
The pressure on White's centre is too great; it must collapse.
7 exd6
Remarkably, I managed to find the best move, and Black now makes a mistake.
7 ••• exd6?
Question 1.2: What should Black play instead of this?
8 'ii'e2 + !
A paradoxical move, blocking in the bishop,- but in this case wholly justified as it disrupts Black's development. The natural move would be for Black to block the check with the queen, but that would give White a powerful in itiative in the ending, e.g. 8 . . . 1We7
9 'ilfxe7 + �xe7 10 li:ld5 + 'it>d8 1 1 .i.e3. Black's king is caught in the centre, and even without queens this can be extremely dangerous when so many pieces remain on the board. The opening should be good for White if the correct move is now played.
8 ... 'it>f8
Have a think about what you would play here if you were White. How, for instance, are you going to deal with the threat to the d pawn?
9 d5??
Not like this I hope. I must have imagined that with the black king stuck on f8 I could play al most anything, and that would be sufficient to win. The move shows that I had no understanding of the fundamentals of opening play - I had never seen any ofMorphy' s games. The move 9 d5 closes the position, instantly giving Black more security. When one has a lead in development it makes sense to open up the position (or in this case simply to keep it open) in order to take advantage of it. At this point, someone has writ ten on my scoresheet, 'Too many pawn moves - play with your pieces! ' and that just about sums it up. The natural move here is 9 .te3 followed by castling on the queenside, with a tremendous at tack. It is a shame it didn't seem natural to me then. The game has a curious, but just, conclusion.
38 Choose the Right Move The effects of closing the posi
tion are immediately apparent: Black is able to complete his de velopment unhindered, and his king is safe.
10 g3 .tf5 11 .tg2 1i'd7 12 0-0 lLla6 13 a3 lLlc7 14 lLlh4 l:te8
It is Black with his lead in de velopment who is able to assume the initiative.
15 'ifd2 lLle4 16 lLlxe4 .txe4 17 c4 f5
I should play 18 lLlf3 here, when Black has a pleasant choice be tween 18 . . . b5 undermining the d pawn, or 18 . . . h6, preparing ... q;f7, connecting the rooks. However, by this stage I had obviously lost the run of myself, and I came up with ...
18 .:.b1??
. . . and I resigned before he took the rook off. Sad, but true.
Luckily, help was at hand. I re ceived some good advice from my
first (and only) chess coach, Nigel Povah, who appeared on the scene around this time. The Austrian Attack against the Modern/Pirc was given the boot, and I began playing
1 e4 g6 2 d4 .tg7 3 lLlc3 d6 4 .tc4 lLlf6 5 'ii'e2
At that stage in my develop ment this was just the right sys tem for me: White brings out his pieces rapidly, and at the same time, Black is unable to develop straightforwardly as e5! is a threat.
For instance, 5 . . . 0-0 6 e5! dxe5 7 dxe5 lLle8 8 e6, and White already has the attack. Most of my oppo nents played . . .
5 • • • c6 6 e 5 dxe5 7 dxe5 lLld5 8
.td2 .te6 9 0-0-0
. . . when White has a pleasant lead in development: he has al ready castled; Black's queen will soon have to move as there is al ready a rook facing opposite; and finally �lack has yet to castle.
White already has the initiative. There are of course drawbacks to White's system, as I discovered later, but it gave me a much bet ter idea of what I should be trying to achieve when playing with the white pieces, and to this day I don't play the Austrian Attack against the Pirc/Modern. (I gener ally play the so-called ' Classical' system: 1 e4 d6 2 d4 lDf6 3 lDc3 g6 4 lDf3 i..g7 5 i..e2 0-0 6 0-0 - you get your pieces out, get castled, and two pawns in the centre is good enough for me.) I'm not say ing that the Austrian is a poor system - it isn't - it is just that it doesn't suit me. But not only that. If one plays too many pawn moves in the opening, then there is the danger of falling behind in development; and if you do con struct a pawn centre, then it re quires delicate handling or it will merely become a liability. Unfor tunately, Fischer didn't mention that anyone below grandmaster level would have a hard time with the opening! My advice is to play a system which enables you to bring your pieces out easily.
There are many ways to mess up the opening, and at that time, I discovered several of them. Pawn-grabbing was a problem. Even today I am a bit of a materi alist - I like capturing pawns and pieces and I like hanging on to them once I've got them - but in those days I was just downright greedy. This was a fairly typical
encounter. So far we have mainly considered examples where the advantage of the first move has gone to White's head, and he be lieves that he is indestructible. Now we return to situations where Black is in some peril.
D. Lynch - King Islington Open 1976 1 e4 c5 2 lDr3 lDc6 3 i..b5 g6 4 0-0 i..g7 5 c3
Everything alright so far, but after this move I'm faced with the threat of d4, seizing control of the centre. What to do? Nowadays I would prefer 5 . . . lDf6, and if 6 e5, the knight settles on d5. Then I'm ready to castle, and to break up White's centre with . . . d6.
5 • • • e5
That one seemed reasonable to me, preparing to bring the knight out to e7, and at the same time preventing d4.
40 Choose the Right Move 6 d4!
I said, preventing d4. What's this?
6 .•. cxd4 7 cxd4 lDxd4 8 lDxd4
exd4 9 i.f4
I think White's best move here is probably 9 e5, followed by iixd4 and lDc3 - White has a lovely posi tion, but the move played was quite good enough for me.
9 ... 'iVb6?
Instead, 9 .. . lDe7 is better: 10
i.d6 'iVb6 11 i.xe7 <i;xe7 (ll ... 'iixb5
12 i.d6) 12 lDa3 l:td8 and the black king should reach safety on g8. 9 . . . iib6 is a greedy move. I know just how my mind would have worked: I was giving my ex tra d-pawn some support, and at the same time, who knows, once the bishop moves, I might be able to capture another pawn on b2! Desire is the root of all evil.
10 lDa3!
One simple developing move is enough to kill me. White's threat
is lDc4, and I don't have a good de fence.
10 ... 'it'f6 1 1 iid2 lDe7 12 i.g5 'iie6 13 i.c4 'iib6 14 lDb5 d5 15 exd5 i.d7 16 'fi'e2 f6 17 d6
1-0
Dismal. Most of White's moves came with gain of time; either something was threatened or Black was prevented from castling.
The previous game is perhaps evidence to the contrary, but around this time the lesson of rapid development seems to have got through to me. I particularly like the following miniature.
King - G. Heap London Junior U16 Championship 1976 1 e4 c5 2 lDf3 d6 3 i.b5+ This bishop check has a tedious reputation on the international circuit, mainly because exchang ing ofhl pair of bishops on move
four is thought to reduce White's kingside attacking chances. Well, yes, and no: look how quickly I'm able to bring out my pieces.
3 • • • i.d7 4 i.xd7+ "ii'xd7 5 0-0
g6 6 c3 i.g7 7 d4 cxd4 8 cxd4 �c6 9 �c3 tMG
I've got my strong centre, and now I have to do something with it. In one move, Black's king will be castled and safe, so now is the moment to strike.
10 d5! �a5
A horrible square for the knight, but the alternatives also weren't particularly rosy. Possibly the best move was 10 .. . �e5, though after 1 1 �xe5 dxe5 White has a solid positional advantage: using the extra space on the queenside it is possible to start an attack with moves such as f3, i.e3, 'ifh3 and a4.
1 1 e5!
If Black tries ll ... dxe5, then 12 �e5 "flc7 13 1i'a4+ is embarrass
ing. Already, the consequences of
the king remaining in the middle of the board are being felt.
l l ... �g4 12 exd6 exd6 13 'ii'e2+
Black should now compromise and play 13 ... �£8, and while White
has no immediate way to continue the attack, he is obviously better due to his lead in development: for the foreseeable future Black is playing without one of his rooks.
13 ... �e5? 14 b4
Black cannot hold his position together, for instance, if 14 ... �ac4 15 �xe5 �e5 16 f4.
14 ... :cs 15 i.h6!
Though I say it myself, good move!
15 ... 0-0
Losing a piece. The only move was 15 ... i.xh6, though Black must play with accuracy if he is to avoid immediate disaster: 16 �xe5 '"fle7 17 'ifb5 + �£8 18 �d7 + �g7 19 l:tfe1 'ifh4 20 �e4 and White's in itiative continues.
