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Advanced Chess School - Volume 5 - Majority-Minority & Edged Pieces - Efstratios Grivas 1 FIDE Trainers’ Commission Advanced Chess School Volume 5 Majority-Minority & Edged Pieces Efstratios Grivas

Transcript of FIDE Trainers' Commission Advanced Chess School Volume 5 ...

Page 1: FIDE Trainers' Commission Advanced Chess School Volume 5 ...

Advanced Chess School - Volume 5 - Majority-Minority & Edged Pieces - Efstratios Grivas 1

FIDE Trainers’ Commission

Advanced Chess School Volume 5

Majority-Minority & Edged Pieces

Efstratios Grivas

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First Edition in PDF - 2014 English Copyright © FIDE 2014 ([email protected] - www.fide.com) Copyright © Efstratios Grivas 2014 ([email protected] - www.GrivasChess.com)

The rights of Efstratios Grivas to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted in accordance with the International Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. All rights reserved. This book is distributed for free to the FIDE certified and licenced trainers, subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, 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 imposed on the subsequent owner. Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty: FIDE makes no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. ISBN-13: 978-618-81200-6-8 ISSN-13: 978-618-81200-2-0

Cover and drawings by Nicolas Sphicas Sneaky Pin, 2001, oil on canvas, 75x90 cm. ([email protected]/sphicas-www.logicalchess.com/info/graphics/sphicas) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Commissioning Editor: Efstratios Grivas (www.GrivasChess.com) Assistant Editors: Nicolas Sphicas and Vasilis Vrettos Cover by Nicolas Sphicas English Proofer: Kevin O’Connell (www.kochess.com)

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Contents Title-Description …………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Colophon …………………..……………………………………………………………………….. 2 Contents ……………………………………..…………………………………………….............. 3 Bibliography …..…………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Foreword - Kirsan Ilyumzhinov .…………………………...……………………………………. 4 Symbols ………………………………………………………………………..…………............... 4 Pawn Majority …………...…..…………………………………………….................................. 5 Terminology ………………………………………………………………………………………… 5 Understanding the Majority - Historical Facts ………………………………........................ 5 The Majority in the Opening ……………………………………………………........................ 6 The Majority in the Middlegame ……………………………………………………………… 11 The Majority in the Endgame ……………………………………………………………………. 22 The Minority Attack ......…..………………………...…….………………................................. 27 Terminology ….…………………………………………………………………………………….. 27 Analysis of the Concept - Plans ………………………………………………………………….. 27 Category 1 - Flexible pawn structures ….……………………………………………………… 28 Category 2 - Fixed pawn structures ….…………………………………………………………. 30 2a) Passive defence ……………………………………………………………………………….. 30 2b) Other side’s initiative ………………..……………………………………………………….. 33 2c) Lightsquared bishops’ exchange .………..………………………………………………….. 36 2d) The ...b5 plan ………………………………………………………………………………….. 37 2e) The ...c5 plan .………………………………………………………………………………….. 39 2f) The ...cxb5 and ...a5 plan .……………………………………………………………………. 42 Capablanca's Manoeuvre...……………………………………………………………………….. 44 Edged Pieces……………………..……………………………………….................................... 50 Terminology ….…………………………………………………………………………………….. 50 The Really Bad Piece ……………………………………………………………………………… 50 Attacking the King …………………………………………………………………………………. 56 Playing on the Other Side .……………………………………………………........................... 61 Long-term Compensation ………………………………………………………......................... 66 When the Long-term Compensation Fails …………………………….................................... 71 The ‘Bad’ Piece Prevails! ……………………………………………………............................ 74 Index of Games ..…………………………………………………………………………………… 79 CV - Efstratios Grivas ……..……………………………………………………………………… 80

Bibliography

Chess College 2: Pawn Play; Efstratios Grivas; Gambit 2006 Chess Today (Internet Newspaper); Alexander Baburin; 2006-2010 ChessBase Magazine - Strategy; Daniel King; ChessBase 2000-2010 ChessBase Mega Database; Various Contributors; ChessBase 2010 Exploring the Endgame; Peter Griffiths; A & C Black 1984 Informator; Various Contributors; Informator 1966-2010 Middlegame Motifs; Nigel Davies; ChessCafe 2009-2010 Modern Chess Planning; Efstratios Grivas; Gambit 2007 New In Chess (Magazine & Yearbook); Various Contributors; Interchess BV 1984-2010 Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy; John Watson; Gambit 1998

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Foreword FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov Chess has existed as a sport played at a competitive level for centuries. The common code governing the Laws of Chess is relatively recent, and the foundation of Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), in Paris in 1924, is even more modern. FIDE currently has 181 member federations spread across all continents. Titles for players were introduced by FIDE in 1950, and titles for Arbiters and Organizers followed. From 2005 we are moving to a new phase, with titles for Trainers. Chess is on the increase in schools across the world. It is part of the mainstream curriculum in many countries. It is a goal of FIDE to make chess an educational tool, and generate worldwide popularity for the game. Examples of the many educational advantages of chess are: shows the need to make people realize the importance of advance planning; develops analytic and accurate thinking; shows the necessity for a combative spirit; teaches fair play and emphasizes the need for preparation and hard work for success. However, with the increasing population of chess players, comes the need for trainers to assist with their development. This is a new concept of the ever-active FIDE Trainers’ Commission. This series is dedicated to advanced subjects, consisting of 80-page books. We do hope that we will be able to deliver 3-4 such books annually, increasing the level and the education of our trainers worldwide. This series will provide excellent manuals for trainers and fulfils a considerable need in modern chess literature, concentrating on the technical side of the game, but also covering various other topics and providing information. The best trainers will contribute to this series, which will be an essential tool in the preparation of trainers at all levels for the future. It will ensure that the next generation of players will be at a great advantage over those that have gone before.

Symbols

+ check ++ double check # checkmate !! brilliant move ! good move !? interesting move ?! dubious move ? bad move ?? blunder + White is winning ± White has a large advantage ² White is slightly better

= equal position ÷ unclear position ° with compensation ³ Black is slightly better μ Black has a large advantage + Black is winning 1-0 the game ends in a win for White ½-½ the game ends in a draw 0-1 the game ends in a win for Black (D) see next diagram ○ White to play ● Black to play

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Pawn Majority Terminology By the term 'pawn majority' we mean a numerical superiority in pawns of either side in one of the three sectors of the chessboard (kingside, centre, queenside). The value of a pawn majority as a strategic element lies in its potential mobility; by its advance, it can create multiple problems for the opponent. It must be clarified that this term does not refer to a material advantage in pawns. Instead, it refers to the asymmetrical distribution of the two sides' pawns. It follows naturally that when one side has a pawn majority in one area of the board, the opponent also has a majority in one of the others. There is effectively an exception to the rule, namely that of a deformed pawn structure, the weaknesses of which (usually doubled pawns) deny it the status of a usable majority. In this case the advantage of the other side becomes more pronounced, as there is no counterpart to its majority. What is the power of a flexible and mobile pawn majority? In which ways can we reap the benefits of its advance? An active pawn majority first of all offers more space, controls important squares and guarantees the initiative, as the opponent is (usually) obliged to confine himself to defensive duties. Moreover, it also provides one important prospect, that of creating a passed pawn. In this case the advantage is transformed from a pawn majority into a passed pawn, a significant strategic element examined in another chapter of this book. These elements may assist aggressive actions on that part of the board where our majority lies and in general give our plans the necessary boost. But what happens to the defending side? What should its actions be so as to avoid defeat? As a rule there are two plans against a mobile pawn majority. The first one is passive, though not necessarily disadvantageous, because the prevention of the majority's further advance

and its eventual destruction is in itself enough for success. The second plan consists of the mobilization of the opposing pawn majority, in order to counterbalance the dangers posed by its counterpart. In every type of position with structural imbalances the chess player is obliged to examine the pros and cons of the structure, determine its requirements and act ac-cordingly. Understanding the Majority Historical Facts (Based on the comments of John Watson) The first World Champion William Steinitz first drew attention to the subject of pawn majorities as a separate element of the game. For years thereafter, teachers and theoreticians put great stock in majorities, and in particular, in the queenside majority, which was supposed to be a significant advantage. So, it is not strange that we often read an annotator saying that one side or another has an advantage due to his queenside majority… But as chess has evolved, the value of the queenside majority has become controversial. It is interesting to look at majorities in terms of the passed pawns they potentially create. This is a traditional reason for liking queenside majorities, i.e., that a passed pawn created from it in the ending will be an outside passed pawn, far from the reach of the kings (which are presumably on the kingside). An associated reason is given by Ludek Pachman: ‘In the middlegame, [the queenside pawns] are easier to advance without weakening one’s own king position’. In other words, both sides may be able to create passed pawns, but the player with the queenside majority will be able to do so earlier and with less risk. He adds: ‘A queenside majority shows to best and lasting advantage in positions where … the reduced material has cut out the danger of an attack on one’s own king. This is usually the case

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in the transition stage between middlegame and ending.’ That’s pretty much the traditional view. One of Nimzowitsch’s contributions was in focusing on the mobility of pawn majorities, i.e., to point out that majorities are only useful to the extent that they are mobile. He also systematically worked at restricting the mobility of majorities. Today, the theory of the queenside majority has changed very little, but its relative importance has declined. Modern openings abound in which one side or the other voluntarily accepts a queenside minority; such minorities may even constitute an advantage later on, such as the early stages of the endgame. Another serious consideration is that acquiring a queenside majority usually tends to mean ceding a central majority. We have just mentioned positions in which a minority is more effective than a majority. Furthermore, we must keep in mind that the advance of a majority will often simply expose weaknesses behind the very pawns which have advanced.

The Majority in the Opening There do exist some openings where one side cedes a ‘healthy’ pawn majority to his opponent early on, seeking other compensating elements. As we have already seen in other books of this series, one bare element is not enough to correctly evaluate a position; a chess player should take into account the total situation on the board. In the next four games we will examine exactly these ‘healthy’ majorities which consist of a one-side majority, as the other side simply has no majority at all! This happens due to the appearance of early doubled pawns and it seems to be a quite sensitive concept. More or less, both sides have their pros and cons, and it really looks too early for a definitive evaluation…

□ Stearns Aaron ■ Baburin Alexander B02 San Francisco 2001 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nc3 Nxc3 4.dxc3 d6 5.Nf3 dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Kxd8 7.Nxe5 (D)

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Probably this cannot be considered a strong set-up against the 'Alekhine Defence'. Already Black has put the bases for a successful ending; the only thing he has to do is to exchange pieces and his majority will easily tell. Well, nothing is as easy as it looks by the way! 7...Ke8 8.Lc4 e6 9.f4 Nd7 10.Nf3 This looks a bit better than 10.Nxd7 Lxd7 11.Le3 Ld6 12.0–0 Ke7 13.Rae1 Rhe8 14.Ld3 f5 15.c4 b6 16.Ld4 Kf7 ³ Sarapu,O-Hort,V Sousse 1967 or 10.Nd3 Ld6 11.Le3 Nb6 12.Lb3 Nd5 13.Lxd5 exd5 ³ Ivanov,V-Gerchikov,M St Petersburg 1997. 10...Ld6 11.Ld2 Ke7 12.0–0–0 Re8 13.Rde1 Kf8 The 'castle' is completed! It's true that White has a couple of extra tempi, but as Black's position is very solid he can't take any advantage of this fact. 14.Rhf1 h6 Black avoided the drawish continuation 14...Nf6 15.Ne5 b6 16.Lb5 Rd8 17.Nc6 Re8 18.Ne5. This is fair enough to prove to us the validity of Black's position; he can choose either to draw or to try for more. 15.g4 Nb6?! A better way for Black to develop his pieces starts with 15...a6. 16.Ld3 Ld7 17.Ne5 Rad8 18.h4! Other options, such as 18.Nxd7+?! Nxd7 19.h4 Nc5 20.g5 Nxd3+ 21.cxd3 h5 can be good only for Black. But now suddenly

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White has created a strong initiative on the kingside and Black is obliged to take measures against it. 18...Kg8 19.g5 hxg5 20.fxg5 20.hxg5 Lxe5 21.fxe5 g6 (21...Lc6?! 22.g6 fxg6 23.Lxg6 Rf8 24.Lg5 ) 22.c4 ÷ was also good and interesting. Black's majority on the kingside is balanced by the white bishop pair. 20...Lxe5 21.Rxe5 Lc6 22.h5 22.c4 Nd7 23.Re3 Nc5 was about equal. 22...Rd5 23.Re2 After 23.Rxd5!? Lxd5 24.b3 e5 both sides seem to have chances. 23...Lb5! Of course! Exchanging pieces (especially a part of the dangerous white bishop pair) should be Black's first and most important priority. 24.Lxb5 Rxb5 25.h6 25.b3 is a logical alternative. After 25...Nc8 26.c4 Rc5 all results are possible. 25...Nc4 26.h7+ The safest way to equality. 26.Rh1?! Rd8 (26...Nxd2 27.h7+ Kh8 28.Rxd2 Rd5 ³) 27.h7+ Kh8 μ. 26...Kxh7 27.Rxf7 Rd8! 27...c6?! 28.b3 Nxd2 29.Rxd2 Rxg5 30.Rxb7 ². 28.Rxc7 Rxd2 29.Rxd2 Nxd2 30.Kxd2 Rxb2 (D)

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Black kept his 'extra' pawn all game long. In the meantime White has succeeded in keeping his pieces active and he should have

no real problem to achieve the draw. 31.a4 Kg6 32.Rc5?! The first of a series of inaccurate moves. In this ending White makes one 'mistake' after another and finally manages to lose this position. 32.c4 e5 (32...Kxg5 33.Rxg7+ Kf4 34.Kd3 a5 35.c5 =) 33.Kd3 Kxg5 34.Rxg7+ Kf6 35.Rc7 Ke6 36.c5 = was the simplest. 32...Rb6 33.c4?! Accepting the mistake of the previous move with 33.Rc7! = was not a shame but a must! 33...Rc6! 34.Re5 34.Ra5 a6 35.Kd3 Kh5 36.Re5 Kg4 ³. 34...Rxc4 35.Rxe6+ Kxg5 36.Re7 g6 37.Rxb7 Rxa4 Black has won a pawn but the position still remains drawish. 38.Kd3 Kf6 39.c4 g5 40.c5 Ra6 41.Kd4 g4 42.Kd5 g3 43.c6 43.Rb3! g2 44.Rg3 Ra2 45.c6 Rd2+ 46.Kc5 Ke6 47.Rg6+ Kf5 48.Rg8 = was simpler. 43...g2 44.Rb1 Ke7 (D)

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45.Re1+? The losing move. White could have been very near to his target after 45.Rb7+ Kf6 (45...Kd8 46.Rg7 Ra2 47.Kc5 Rb2 48.Rg8+ =) 46.Rb1 Ra2 47.c7 Rc2 48.Rg1 =. 45...Kd8 46.Kd6 Rb6! Probably White missed this strong move. 47.Rg1 Rb2 48.Re1 Rd2+ 49.Kc5 Rf2 50.Rg1

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50.Kd6 Rf6+ 51.Kc5 Rf1. 50...Kc7 51.Kd5 51.Kb5 a6+ 52.Kc5 Rf5+ 53.Kd4 Rg5 54.Ke4 Kxc6 . 51...a5 52.Kc5 a4 0-1

□ Anand Viswanathan ■ Shirov Alexei C45 Linares 1997 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Lc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qd2 dxc6 (D)

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This is another typical opening variation (Scotch Opening) where Black accepts to give to his opponent a healthy majority in return for quick development and good piece placement. 7.Nc3 Ne7 8.Qf4 Le6 The previous try was 8...Ng6 9.Qxf6 gxf6, but it seems that the text move is rather good. White will be forced to exchange queens and Black will get even quicker development than in the case of 8...Ng6. 9.Qxf6 gxf6 It seems that Black has gone ashtray; not only did he double his queenside pawns but he ruined his kingside pawns too! But in reality he will soon exchange his f6-pawn. 10.f4 10.Na4 Lb4+ 11.Ld2 Lxd2+ 12.Kxd2 0–0–0+ 13.Ld3 b6 seems rather satisfactory for Black. 10...f5 11.Ld2 White rejected 11.Na4?! because of 11...Ld4! 12.c3 (12.e5 a6!) 12...Lg7

13.Nc5 fxe4 14.Nxe4 0–0–0 15.Kf2 Rhe8 ³. 11...0–0–0 12.0–0–0 Rhg8 13.g3 h5!? Black still has some positional disadvantage and his chances lie in active play. Now White opts for a forced line that at the end of all leads to draw. 14.Lh3 14.Le2 h4 15.gxh4 Rg2! promises good compensation for the pawn. 14...h4 15.Na4! Now it looks like Black is in danger as his f5-pawn is going to be hanging. 15...Lf2 16.Lb4 Rxd1+! 17.Rxd1 17.Kxd1 hxg3 18.hxg3 Kd8 is also OK. 17...hxg3 18.hxg3 18.Lxe7? gxh2 . 18...b5! 19.Lxe7 bxa4 20.Lxf5 It was important to notice in advance that after 20.exf5 Black has 20...Lxa2. 20...Lxf5 21.exf5 Le3+ 22.Kb1 Rxg3 23.Rd8+ Kb7 24.a3 Lxf4 25.Rf8 Le5 Draw because of the move repetition after 26.Rxf7 Rg1+ 27.Ka2 Rg2 28.Kb1 Rg1+. A short but interesting battle. ½-½

□ Kasparov Garry ■ Kramnik Vladimir C67 Wijk aan Zee 2001 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Lxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 (D)

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The fashionable 'Berlin Wall' promises White a long-term lasting advantage due to

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his kingside pawn majority but on the other hand gives Black easy development, the bishop pair and not so many tactical dangers in general. 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 Le7 Highly unusual. Normally Black avoids exchanging the darksquared bishops but here he invites it wholeheartedly. 11.Lg5 The thematic response. 11.Lf4 Le6 12.g4 Nh4 13.Nxh4 Lxh4 14.Kg2 Le7 15.a3 Rd8 16.Rad1 h5 = was seen in Jenni,F-Mantovani,R Switzerland 1999. 11...Lxg5 Black's idea is to place his king on e7, connecting the rooks and then to contain the white majority along the diagonal h3-c8. 11...Lb4!? is interesting: 12.Ne4 Le6 13.c3 Lf8 14.g4 Ne7 15.Nd4 Ld5 16.Nd2 c5 17.Nb5 Kd7 18.Lf4 Kc6 ÷ Van den Doel,E-Miles,A Groningen 1997. 12.Nxg5 h6 13.Nge4 b6 14.Rfd1 14.Rad1 La6 15.Rfe1 Ke7 seems OK for Black. 14...Ne7 Now 14...La6 15.a4! is a bit unpleasant for Black. 15.f4 Ng6 16.Rf1 h5 17.Rae1 Lf5 18.Ng3 Ne7! Cautious play. 18...Lxc2?! allows White to expand his majority: 19.f5 Nf8 20.Rf2 Ld3 21.e6 °. 19.Nxf5 Nxf5 20.Kf2 Nd4 21.Rc1 White could think of 21.Rd1!? Rd8 (21...Nxc2?! 22.Rd2 Nb4 23.Rfd1 ) 22.Rd2 ². 21...Rd8 22.Rfd1 Ke7 23.Ne4 White would love to play 23.g3, keeping his majority alive, but Black can continue 23...f6 24.exf6+ gxf6 25.Ne2 c5 26.c3 Nf5 with a satisfactory position. 23...h4! 24.b4 Rh5? Black blunders. The simplest was 24...Nf5 25.a4 f6 26.exf6+ gxf6 =. 25.Ng5? Both players seem to have missed a rather simple combination: 25.g4! Rhh8 (25...hxg3+? 26.Nxg3 Rxh3 27.Rxd4 Rxd4 28.Nf5+ ) 26.f5 with a tremendous position for White. No doubt Kasparov

would have won this and shaken a few ghosts from his shoulders at the same time. 25...Rhh8 25...f6?! 26.c3 fxg5 27.cxd4 gxf4 28.Rxc6 . 26.Rd3 Ne6 27.Nxe6 Kxe6 28.Rcd1 Rd5 29.c4 Rxd3 30.Rxd3 a5! Black immediately creates counterplay on the other side and he has little to fear from White's limited kingside majority. 31.bxa5 Ra8?! 31...bxa5! was simpler: 32.Ra3 (32.Rb3 Kf5 33.Ke3 Re8 34.Rb7 g5 35.fxg5 Rxe5+ 36.Kd3 Ke6! 37.Rxc7 Rxg5 38.Rxc6+ Kd7 39.Rf6 Rxg2 40.Rxf7+ Ke6 =) 32...Rb8 33.Rxa5 Rb4 34.Rc5 Kd7 35.f5 Ra4 36.e6+ fxe6 37.fxe6+ Kxe6 38.Rxc6+ Ke5 39.Rxc7 Rxa2+ 40.Kg1 Ra1+ 41.Kh2 Rc1 =. 32.Ra3 Kf5! 33.Kf3 Ra6! 34.c5! f6? A nearly losing move. 34...bxc5 35.Ke3 ² was Black's only continuation. 35.Re3! Rxa5 36.e6 Ra8 37.e7 Re8 38.a4! Kg6 39.Re6 Kf7 40.Rxc6? 40.f5! was the right path: 40...Rxe7 41.Rxc6 Rd7 (41...bxc5?! 42.a5 ) 42.cxb6 cxb6 43.Rxb6 . 40...Ra8! But now Black saves the day! 41.cxb6 cxb6 42.Rxb6 Rxa4 43.Re6 Ke8 44.Re4 Ra3+ 45.Re3 Rxe3+ 46.Kxe3 f5 ½-½

□ Miles Anthony ■ Karpov Anatoly C68 Biel 1992 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 dxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 (D)

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This is one of the earliest disputes in the theory of doubled pawns and pawn majorities; the 'Exchange Variation' of the 'Ruy Lopez'. This opening often leads to a queenless middlegame, pitting White's static advantage (his opponent's doubled c-pawns which give him a healthy majority on the kingside) against Black's dynamic ones (the bishop pair and an extra semi-open file). 7...Ld7 8.Le3 0–0–0 9.Nd2 Another line is 9.Nc3 Re8 10.0–0–0 Lb4 11.Nde2 f5 12.exf5 Lxf5 = Smyslov,V-Keres,P Moscow 1940. 9...Ne7 10.0–0–0 f6 White dreams of a pawn ending but there is a serious problem that stops his dream; Black will not cooperate, by avoiding pointless exchanges. 11.f3 Ng6 12.h4 h5 13.Nc4 c5 Black is using his doubled pawns for gaining space and generally restricts White's pieces. 14.Nf5 14.Ne2?! Lb5 15.Rxd8+ Kxd8 16.b3 Lxc4 17.bxc4 Ne5 cannot be advisable. 14...Le6!? 14...Lxf5 15.Rxd8+ Kxd8 16.exf5 Ne7 17.Lxc5 Nxf5 = would be OK for Black, who is seeking something more. 15.Rxd8+ Kxd8 16.Nd2 b6 17.b3 Kc8 18.Lf2 Nf4 19.g3 g6! 20.Ne7+ 20.gxf4 gxf5 21.Rg1 Kd7 ÷ was preferable. 20...Lxe7 21.gxf4 f5 22.Rg1 Rg8 23.Nc4 Lf6 24.a4 Kb7 25.Rg2 Lxc4 Leading to equality. If Black wanted to

continue, he should have opted for 25...fxe4 26.fxe4 Lg4 27.e5 Ld8 28.Ne3 ÷. 26.bxc4 Rg7 27.Kb1 Lc3 28.Ka2 Re7 29.Kb3 Lh8 30.e5! 30.Rxg6?! fxe4 31.fxe4 Rxe4 32.Rh6 (32.f5?! Rf4 μ) 32...Lg7 33.Rxh5 Rxf4 ³. 30...Re6 31.Rg1 Lg7 32.Rd1 Kc8 33.a5 Lh6 34.Le3 Lf8 35.Ra1 Kb7 36.Rd1 Le7 37.Lf2 Kc8 38.Ra1 Kb7 39.Rd1 Kc8 40.Ra1 Kb7 41.Rd1 ½-½

Early activity, using a pawn majority in the opening, can sometimes easily backfire. This is quite natural, as development and central control seem to be more important than in any other stage of the game…

□ Salov Valery ■ Gurevich Mikhail E42 Leningrad 1987 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.a3 Le7 8.c5 0–0 9.g3 b6 10.b4 bxc5 11.dxc5 a5 12.Rb1 (D)

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White has taken quick 'advantage' of his queenside majority, threatening to finish off Black in no time. But at such an early stage it is generally more advisable to be concerned with development and castling. 12...Nc6! 13.Lg2 Forced. In case of 13.b5? White bitterly found out that after 13...Ne5! he was plain lost: 14.f4 Nf3+ 15.Kf2 Lxc5+ 16.Kxf3 d4 17.Na4 Qd5+ 18.Kf2 d3+ 19.Nxc5 Qxc5+ 20.Nd4 Qxd4+ 21.Le3 Ne4+

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22.Kf3 Qd5 23.Qxd3 Nd2+ 24.Kf2 Nxb1

0-1 Narva,J-Schandorff,L Tallinn 1989. 13...Rb8! 14.Lf4? Not advisable. White had to opt for either 14.b5 Lxc5! 15.bxc6 Rxb1 16.Nxb1 Qb6 17.Nbc3 Lxf2+ 18.Kf1 La6 19.Lf3 Rc8 20.Kg2 Rxc6 ° as in Siedentopf,D-Dickhoff,R Dresden 2003, or for 14.Nd4 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Nd7 16.Qd3 axb4 17.axb4 Ne5 ÷ Zaja,I-Jukic,M Solin 1993, or, finally, for 14.Qa4 axb4 15.axb4 (15.Qxc6? Ld7 ) 15...Ld7 16.b5 Ne5 17.Qd4 Lxc5 18.Qxe5 Lxf2+ 19.Kf1 La7 20.Lf3 Qb6 21.Nd1 Lxb5 ° Lugovoi,A-Womacka,M Hamburg 2001. In all cases Black should be happy with the opening outcome as he can have too early more than his fair share of potential success. 14...axb4! An excellent exchange sacrifice. 15.Lxb8 bxc3 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-vLlwq-trk+( 7+-+-vlpzpp' 6-+n+psn-+& 5+-zPp+-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3zP-zp-+-zP-# 2-+-+NzPLzP" 1+R+QmK-+R! xabcdefghy

16.Qa4?! But this is too much. Good or bad, White had to go for 16.Ld6 Lxd6 17.cxd6 La6 (17...Qxd6 18.Rb3 e5 19.Rxc3 Ld7 20.0–0 d4 μ) 18.Qa4 Lxe2 19.Qxc6 Lc4 μ. 16...Nxb8 17.Rxb8 Nd7! 18.Ra8 18.Rb1 Nxc5 19.Qc2 (19.Qd4 c2 ) 19...La6 or 18.Rb5 Nxc5 19.Qd4 La6! 20.Rxc5 Lxe2 21.Kxe2 Qb6 . 18...Nxc5 19.Qb5 The alternative is 19.Qd4 Qb6! 20.Nxc3 Qb7! 21.Ra5 Nb3 22.Qa7 Qc6 23.0–0 Qxc3 24.Rb5 Nd4 25.Rb8 Lxa3

26.Rfb1 Ld6 27.Ra8 Lc5 28.Qa1 Nf3+ 29.Lxf3 Qxf3 30.Qb2 e5 0-1 Vidyakin,B-Antipin,A Moscow 2007. 19...Qd6! Also good enough was 19...d4 20.0–0 e5 (20...c2? 21.Rxc8 Qxc8 22.Nxd4 = Nd3? 23.Nc6 ) 21.Rc1 Qd6 . 20.Lf3 20.0–0 La6 21.Rxa6 Nxa6 22.Qb3 c2 . 20...La6 21.Rxf8+ Lxf8 22.Qa5 22.Qb1 Nd3+ 23.Kf1 Qc5 mates! 22...Nd3+ 23.Kf1 Ne5 24.Qxc3 24.Kg2 Nxf3 25.Kxf3 d4 . 24...d4 25.Qb3 Lc4 White decided that he had enough and called it a day due to 26.Qb7 Nxf3 27.Qxf3 Ld5. 0-1

The Majority in the Middlegame A very difficult concept to work out, due to many and various possibilities. Destroying the opponent’s potential activity by using his majority is already a good sign. The next game is considered to be a model one:

□ Spielmann Rudolf ■ Colle Edgar B03 Dortmund 1928 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4 Lf5 6.Nc3 dxe5 7.fxe5 e6 8.Le3 Nc6 9.Le2 Le7 10.Nf3 0–0 11.0–0 f6 12.Nh4 fxe5 13.Nxf5 exf5 14.d5 Nd4 15.Lxd4 exd4 16.Qxd4 Nd7 17.Na4 (D)

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Both sides have prepared their plans according to their majorities. White seems to be a bit quicker, as his c5 advance will create multiple threats. 17...b5! At the cost of a pawn, Black now cripples that majority. The alternative is 17...Lf6 18.Qd3 g6 19.Rad1 Le5 ÷, as in Diaz,J-Freeman,M Siegen 1970. 18.cxb5 Ld6 As Pachman points out, White's two extra pawns on the queenside are very difficult to convert into a passed pawn, and Black's bishop gains a beautiful post on d6, aiming at the kingside. Suddenly, too, the knight on the rim (a4) is out of the action, and Black's opposite-coloured bishop has no counterpart on the side with his majority. In short, Black has full compensation for his pawn. 19.Rae1 Qe7 20.Ld3 Ne5 21.Kh1 f4 This unopposed pawn threatens to cause damage by ...f3. White's play now deteriorates, but his defence was difficult in any case. 22.Re2?! 22.Nc3 Rae8 23.Ne4 f3 ° was about forced. 22...Rae8 23.Nc3 23.Rxf4? Rxf4 24.Qxf4 Nxd3 25.Rxe7 Rxe7 . 23...Qh4 (D)

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24.Ne4?! Probably not best, but it may be too late, since 24.Le4?! Ng4 25.h3 f3 26.Lxf3 fails

to 26...Qg3 27.Qg1 Lc5. This is a typical case of opposite-coloured bishops favouring the attacker. In any case 24.Kg1 Re7 μ was White's only choice. 24...Ng4! 25.h3 25.Qg1 Nxh2! 26.Qxh2 Qxh2+ 27.Kxh2 f3+ . 25...f3! Black's 'majority pawn' delivers the final blow... 26.Rxf3 Rxf3 27.Nf6+ Kf7 0-1

Blockading a potential majority can also be a starting point of success, as then the active play and plans of our opponent are limited. Well, nothing new under the sun; the older masters knew exactly what and how to do it!

□ Lautier Joel ■ Timman Jan E37 Moscow 1994 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Lxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 Nc6 8.e3 e5 9.Nf3 Lf5 10.Ld3 exd4 11.0–0 Lg6 12.exd4 0–0 13.b4 Re8 14.c5 a6 15.Lb2 Ng5 16.Ne5 Lxd3 17.Qxd3 Qf6 18.Rae1 Rad8 19.Qd1 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Qf5 21.f4 Ne4 22.Ld4 (D)

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Black has successfully blockaded White's pawn majority on the kingside. Generally the queen cannot be considered an ideal blockading force but here it operates quite well. Black has only to be concerned with

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White's main idea: the g4 advance, which will unblock the majority. 22...Re6! 23.Re3 With his previous move Black stopped 23.g4? due to 23...Rg6 24.h3 h5 . 23...Rg6 24.Qe1 Rc8! A nice plan to come in the future is to try to open a file on the queenside. And this is the logical approach, as play on the kingside is temporarily frozen. 25.Qe2 h5 26.Kh1 Ra8 27.Rd3 b6 28.Le3 The opening of the c-file with 28.cxb6 cxb6 would be to Black's benefit: 29.Lb2 Rc8 μ when 30.Rxd5? fails to 30...Rc2! . 28...b5! With the idea ...a5, opening the a-file. 28...bxc5 29.Lxc5 c6 30.Lb6 allows White to defend. 29.a4? White cannot grab the important d5-pawn: 29.Rxd5?! Nc3 30.Qd3 Qg4 31.Rd8+ Kh7! (31...Rxd8? 32.Qxd8+ Kh7 33.Qd2 ) 32.Rg1 (32.Qxg6+? fxg6 33.Rxa8 Qe2 or 32.Rf2? Rxd8 33.Qxd8 Nd1 ) 32...Rxd8 33.Qxd8 Ne2 34.f5 Qxf5 μ but he should have gone for 29.c6!?, aiming for some activity. 29...bxa4! 30.Ra1 Rb8 Not bad, but 30...h4! 31.Rxa4 h3 32.g3 Rxg3 would have been curtains. 31.Rxa4 31.Rxd5 Nc3 32.Qd3 Qg4 33.Rd8+ Kh7 34.Qxg6+ Qxg6 35.Rxb8 a3 . 31...d4? 31...h4 and ...h3, was a killer. 32.Lxd4 32.Rxd4? Nc3 or 32.Ld2? Nf2+ . 32...Qxf4 33.Rf3?! 33.Qf3?! Qh4 μ was also bad but White could have questioned Black's 31st move by 33.g3! Qf5 34.Qf3 ³. 33...Qg4 34.Re3?! Although not fully satisfactory, White had to opt for 34.Rxa6 Nf2+! 35.Qxf2 Rxa6 μ. 34...Qd7?! Black again missed a winning combination: 34...Nf2+! 35.Qxf2 Qd1+ 36.Re1 (36.Qe1 Qxa4 ) 36...Qxa4 . 35.Ra2

35.Rxe4 Qxa4 36.e6 Qb3 . 35...Rxb4 At least Black has won a pawn while keeping the favourable pawn structure. 36.Rxe4 Rxd4 37.Rxd4 Qxd4 38.Rd2 Qg4 38...Qf4!? 39.Rd8+ Kh7 μ 40.Qxh5+? Rh6 . 39.Qxg4 Rxg4 (D)

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The rook ending is won for Black but still some technique is needed in order to secure the full point! 40.Rd8+ Kh7 41.Rd7 Rc4 42.Kg1 Rxc5 43.Rxf7 Kg6 44.e6 a5 45.Rf8 Re5 46.Ra8 46.Rc8 Rxe6 47.Rxc7 Ra6 . 46...Kf6! 47.Ra6 g5 48.Kf2 c5 The white king is cut off from the queenside, so the win for Black is quite easy. 49.Kf3 c4 50.Rc6 a4 50...Rxe6 51.Rxc4 Ra6 52.Ra4 Ke5 53.Ke3 Kd5 54.Kd3 Kc5 55.Ra1 (55.Kc3 Kb5 56.Kb3 Re6 57.Rd4 Re3+ 58.Kb2 Re2+ 59.Kb3 Rxg2 60.Rd5+ Kb6 61.h4 gxh4 62.Rxh5 Rg4 ) 55...a4 56.Kc3 a3 57.Kb3 a2 58.Kb2 Kb4 . 51.Ra6 51.Rxc4 Ra5 52.Re4 (52.Rc2 a3 53.Ra2 Kxe6 ) 52...Ke7 53.Re2 a3 54.Ra2 Kxe6 55.Ke4 Ra4+ 56.Kd3 Kd5 57.Kc3 Ra8 58.Kb3 Ke4 59.Re2+ Kd3 60.Ra2 Rb8+ . 51...a3 52.g3 a2 53.h4 g4+ 54.Kf4 Re2 0-1

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The activity that is created by the advance of a mobile majority is powerful. The next two examples are quite instructive.

□ Carlsen Magnus ■ Jakovenko Dmitrij D31 Nanjing 2009 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Le7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Lf4 c6 6.Qc2 Ld6 7.Lxd6 Qxd6 8.e3 Ne7 9.Ld3 b6 10.Nf3 La6 11.0–0 Lxd3 12.Qxd3 Nd7 (D)

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13.e4! An extremely effective advance. 13...0–0 The point is that after 13...dxe4?! 14.Nxe4 Qd5 (or elsewhere) (14...Qe6 15.Qa3 0–0? 16.Nfg5 ) 15.Qa3!, Black will not be able to castle! Therefore Black decides to let the e4-pawn move forward. 14.e5 White now has an edge due to his space advantage and he will focus on the kingside, as there lies his pawn majority. 14...Qe6 15.Rae1! Rfe8 Maybe Black could have considered 15...f6!? but it is very difficult and in most cases inadvisable to play on the opponent’s 'territory'. 16.Nh4! Revealing his 15th move; the rook should have stayed on f1 in order to help the advance of the f-pawn. 16...Ng6 16...f5!? 17.f4 is interesting, as it would take White a lot of time to prepare the g4-

advance, but nevertheless he would stand clearly better. 17.Nxg6 Qxg6 Or 17...hxg6 18.f4 Qf5 (18...Rad8 19.Qf3 Qe7 20.g4 ) 19.Qf3 . 18.Qd2 18.Qxg6?! hxg6 19.f4 Nf8 wouldn't be so bad for Black. White is obliged to keep pieces on the board, in order to better control his space advantage. 18...Nf8 18...f5 now is not that effective: 19.Re3 Nf8 20.Ne2 Ne6 21.Rc3 Rac8 22.Rfc1 . 19.f4 Qf5?! 19...f5 seems forced at this point, although White would still be on top: 20.Rc1 Ne6 21.Nd1 Rac8 22.Ne3 Qf7 23.Qd3 Rf8 24.b4 . Instead, Black blocks White's f-pawn with his queen, which proves ineffective. 20.Nd1! It’s all about the f5-square! 20...f6 21.Ne3 Qd7 22.Qd3 fxe5 Black finds a way to parry White's threats but now the latter obtains a crushing pawn avalanche. 23.dxe5! 23.fxe5 Ne6 24.Nf5 also seems fine but by the text move White's majority will roll with the maximum effect. 23...Ne6 24.f5 Nc5 25.Qd4 Ne4 (D)

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Desperation, rather than a blunder, as the other options are not helpful either:

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25...Kh8 26.e6 Qb7 (26...Qe7 27.b4 Ne4 28.b5 ) 27.b4 Ne4 28.b5 or 25...a5 26.f6 . White now wins a pawn and then converts his material advantage. 26.Nxd5! Qxd5 Or 26...cxd5 27.Rxe4 . 27.Qxe4 Rad8 28.e6 28.f6!? gxf6 29.Qg4+ Kh8 30.exf6 wins as well. 28...Qxe4 29.Rxe4 Rd6 If 29...Rd2 then 30.b4! (30.g4?! Rxb2 31.g5 Rb5 32.h4 Kf8 33.f6 Rd5 is not clear) 30...Rxa2 31.Rc1 Rc8 32.Rec4 . 30.g4! Of course! The pawn phalanx must roll! 30...Kf8 31.g5 Ke7 32.Kg2 Rd5 33.Kg3 Kd6 34.h4 c5 35.f6 gxf6 36.gxf6 Rd3+ 37.Kh2 Rd2+ 38.Kh1 1-0

□ Morozevich Alexander ■ Sasikiran Krishnan B12 Moscow 2001 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Lf5 4.c4 dxc4 5.Lxc4 e6 6.Nc3 Nd7 7.Nge2 Nb6 8.Lb3 Ne7 9.0–0 Qd7 10.Nf4 h6 11.Le3 Lh7 12.Rc1 Ned5 13.Ncxd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 exd5 (D)

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The pawn structure has been changed, and White has chances to exploit his majority on the kingside by pushing f4-f5. 15.Ld2!? Le7 16.Rc3 Lf5 This is the beginning of a sophisticated blockading plan with ...h5. 16...0–0 was simpler, when after 17.Rg3 Kh8 18.Lc2

Lxc2 19.Qxc2 Qe6 20.f4, Black can blockade the vital f5-square: 20...f5 21.Rb3 b6 22.Lb4 Lxb4 23.Rxb4 ². 17.Lc2 h5?! The continuation of the wrong plan. Even here 17...0–0 was required: 18.Lxf5 Qxf5 19.Re1 ². 18.Lxf5 Qxf5 19.Qb3 Qd7 19...Qc8 20.f4 was not advisable, but maybe Black should have given consideration to 19...0–0–0 even if it looks risky in view of 20.Rfc1 when White has good attacking chances down the c-file. 20.f4 f5 White's f5 could not be allowed: 20...h4 21.f5 0–0–0 22.Qd1 Lb4 23.Rh3 Lxd2 24.Qxd2 . 21.Rg3 21.e6!? was also promising: 21...Qc8 (21... Qxe6? 22.Re3 or 21...Qc7?! 22.Qxd5 ) 22.Re1 Lf6 23.Rd3 0–0 24.Qd1 . 21...Kf7 22.Lb4 The exchange of the darksquared bishops is important for White. 22...Lxb4 Therefore 22...Ld8!? deserved attention. 23.Qxb4 Rae8 The strongly defended e5-pawn secures White a space advantage. Now his plan should be to provoke more weaknesses with his active rooks. 24.Rff3 Re6 25.Rg5 g6 26.Ra3 b6?! Black should have avoided any further weaknesses in his pawn structure, therefore again 26...Ra8 was safer. 27.h3 White is now preparing a future g4, after of course some preparation, in order to open lines for his attacking rooks. 27...h4 Black certainly wants to avoid it! 28.Kh2 Qe7 29.Qa4 a5 30.Rb3 Qc7 31.Rc3 Rc8 32.Qc2 Qe7?! A blunder. Black had to play 32...Kf8 when after 33.a3 Ra8 34.b3 White would have still to work hard for his bread. 33.g4! hxg3+ 33...fxg4 34.Rxg4 Qf8 35.f5 . 34.Rcxg3 Rh8 34...Rg8 also loses by 35.Rxf5+!.

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35.Rxg6! And Black's defensive wall is broken down. 35...Rxg6 36.Qxf5+ Rf6 37.exf6 Qxf6 38.Qd7+ Kf8 39.Qc8+ Kf7 40.Qc7+ Kf8 41.Rg5 Rh4 42.Qc8+ Ke7 43.Rf5 Qxd4 44.Qc7+ Ke6 45.Re5+ 1-0

In the ‘Benoni’ pawn structures, both sides have already their plans designed and a fierce fight is on the cards:

□ Grivas Efstratios ■ Peng Zhaoqin A09 Wijk aan Zee 2008 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 c5 3.c4 d4 4.exd4 cxd4 5.g3 Nc6 6.Lg2 g6 7.0–0 Lg7 8.Re1 Nf6 9.d3 0–0 10.a3 a5 (D)

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11.Ne5!? An interesting new idea. In this pawn structure (reversed 'Benoni Defence'), each side will try to mobilize their pawn majority; White on the queenside (due to his c-pawn) by b4, and Black in the centre (due to the e-pawn) by ...e4. As a result, both sides will try not only to generate a dangerous initiative but also a passed pawn if possible. 11...Nxe5 12.Rxe5 Nd7 13.Rb5! As the queenside will be White's operations territory, all forces are focused in that direction. 13...Qc7 14.Nd2 h6 14...Nc5 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Lxe4 ² is helping White, as then it becomes more difficult for Black to achieve the ...e4

advance. 15.Rb1 Ra7! 15...a4 is not really helping Black to stop White's activity: 16.b4 axb3 17.Nxb3 Ra6 18.Qe1 e5 19.Ld2 ². 16.b4 axb4 17.R5xb4 There was no point for 17.axb4? b6 18.Lb2 La6 19.Rd5 e6 20.Rxd4 Lxd4 21.Lxd4 Lb7 ³. White is obliged to open the b-file, in order to activate his rooks and 'reveal' their combined force. 17...e5 18.Nb3 Kh7 19.a4 b6 20.Ld2 20.La3 is pointless: 20...Re8 21.a5 Lf8 22.Ra4 Lxa3 23.Rxa3 bxa5 24.Rba1 Lb7 =. 20...f5 21.a5! bxa5 22.Rb5 (D) 22.Ra4 Lb7 23.Lxa5 Qc8 ÷.

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22...e4? Black's desire to show her hand early in the centre is wrong. She should opt for 22...a4! 23.La5 Rxa5 24.Nxa5 Nc5!? (24...a3 25.Qa4 La6 26.R5b4 [26.Qxa3 Lxb5 27.Rxb5 ²] 26...Rf6 27.Qxa3 Lf8 28.Nb3 ²) 25.Lc6! (25.Nc6?! Nxd3! 26.Qxd3 e4 27.Lxe4 fxe4 28.Qxe4 Lf5 29.Rxf5 gxf5 30.Qd5 Qf7 μ) 25...Qa7 26.Ld5 Ld7 27.Nc6 Lxc6 28.Lxc6 e4 29.dxe4 fxe4 30.Qd2 ÷. 23.Lxa5?! White missed an excellent chance with 23.Lf4! when Black has no satisfactory continuation at her disposal: 23...Qc6 (23...Le5 24.Nxd4 Ra6 25.Lxe5 Nxe5 26.dxe4 or 23...Qd8 24.dxe4 fxe4

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25.Lxe4 ) 24.Rd5! Nf6 25.Nxd4 Qe8 26.Rd6 . 23...Qc6 24.dxe4 Although a natural response, White should have tried the complicated 24.Rd5! when Black has to be careful: 24...Re8 25.Ld2! (25.dxe4 fxe4 26.Nxd4 Qxc4 27.Nc2 Nf6 28.Rd4 Qa2 29.Lb6 Rd7 30.Rxd7 Lxd7 31.Nb4 Qe6 32.Ld4 Rd8 =) 25...Nf6 26.Nxd4 Qa4 27.Rd6 Qxd1+ 28.Rxd1 exd3 29.Nb5 Ra4 30.Rxd3 Ne4 31.Rc1 ². 24...fxe4 (D)

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25.Nd2 Of course White must avoid 25.Nxd4? as after 25...Qf6! 26.Lc3 (26.Ne2 Qxf2+ 27.Kh1 La6 μ) 26...Ra3 27.R1b3 Rxb3 28.Rxb3 Qxf2+ 29.Kh1 Nc5 μ he will suffer, but 25.Lb4!? was probably preferable: 25...Re8 26.Lc5 Nxc5 27.Rxc5 Qa8 28.Nxd4 Rd7 (28...Rd8 29.Rd5 Rxd5 30.cxd5 Qxd5 31.Nb5 Qxd1+ 32.Rxd1 Re7 33.Nd6 Lg4 34.Re1 ²) 29.Rd5 Rxd5 30.cxd5 Qxd5 31.Nc2 Qd3 32.Ne3 Re7 =. 25...Nf6?! Correct was 25...Re8 26.Lb4 Lb7 27.Ra1 ÷. 26.Lb6 Rd7 A bit better than 26...Lg4 27.Nxe4! (27.Qe1 Rd7 28.Nxe4 Nxe4 29.Lxe4 Qxc4 =) 27...Lxd1 28.Ng5+ hxg5 29.Lxc6 Ra4 30.Rxd1 Rxc4 31.Lg2 ². 27.Re5 Qd6

A dead draw arises after 27...Ng4!? 28.Rc5 Qe6 29.Nxe4 Lb7 30.Qd3 Re7 31.f3 Ne5 32.Rxe5 Qxe5 33.Rb5 Qe6 34.Lc5 Rxf3! 35.Lxf3 Lxe4 36.Qxe4 Qxe4 37.Lxe4 Rxe4 38.Rb7 d3 39.Lf8 Kg8 40.Rxg7+ Kxf8 41.Rd7 Rxc4 42.Rxd3. 28.Ra5?! Too optimistic! White should have played 28.f4! exf3 (28...e3? 29.c5 traps the queen!) 29.Nxf3 Ng4 30.Lc5 Qc7 31.Lxf8 Nxe5 32.Lxg7 Kxg7 33.Nxe5 Qxe5 = or 28.Rxe4!? Nxe4 29.Nxe4 Qe6 30.c5 °. 28...Qe6 29.Lc5 Re8 30.Rb6 Qf7 31.Qe2 e3! 31...d3?! 32.Qe1 ÷. 32.fxe3 dxe3 32...Rxe3?! 33.Qd1 ÷. 33.Nf1 (D)

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So, both sides have achieved their aims, as described in the early parts of the game: White has a passed c-pawn and Black an e-pawn. But Black’s activity in her ‘territory’ seems to be more dangerous. 33...Ng4! 34.Rb1? A blunder in heavy time trouble. White should also avoid 34.Lc6? Rd1! 35.Lxe8 Qxf1+ 36.Qxf1 e2 or 34.Qxg4? e2 35.Rb1 Rd3 36.Qf4 Qxf4 37.gxf4 Rd1 but he should have opted for 34.Ld5! Rxd5! (34...Qf2+ 35.Qxf2 exf2+ 36.Kg2 Rc7 37.Ld6 Rd7 38.Lc5 Rc7 =) 35.cxd5 Qxd5 36.h3 Nf2 (36...Nf6!? 37.Nxe3 Qe5 °) 37.Nxe3 Nxh3+ 38.Kh2 Ng5

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39.Nxd5 Rxe2+ 40.Kh1 Nf3 41.Lg1 Re1 42.Kg2 Nxg1 43.Ra7 =. 34...Rc7? Returning the favour due also to heavy time trouble! 34...Qf2+ 35.Qxf2 exf2+ 36.Kh1 (36.Lxf2 Nxf2 37.Kxf2 Ld4+ 38.Kf3 Rf7+) 36...Re1 37.Rab5 Rc7 was winning. 35.Ld5 Qf5 35...Qf2+ 36.Qxf2 exf2+ 37.Kg2 (37.Lxf2? Nxf2 38.Kxf2 Ld4+ 39.Kf3 h5 40.Ra2 Lh3 μ) 37...Lf5 38.Rb3 Re2 39.h3 ÷. 36.Rb3 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+l+r+-+( 7+-tr-+-vlk' 6-+-+-+pzp& 5tR-vLL+q+-% 4-+P+-+n+$ 3+R+-zp-zP-# 2-+-+Q+-zP" 1+-+-+NmK-! xabcdefghy

36...Nf2? Black cracks! She should have gone for 36...Qf2+ 37.Qxf2 exf2+ 38.Kg2 Lf5 ÷. 37.Nxe3 Nh3+ 38.Kg2 Qg5 39.Qf3 Rxc5? The last mistake, although 39...Qd8 40.Kh1 Ng5 41.Qg2 was not pleasant either. 40.Rxc5 Qe7 40...Rf8 41.Qxf8 Lxf8 42.Rxc8 . 41.Rxc8! 1-0 The following game is very well known and the combination at the 30th move is famous. But before that, the majorities played an important role. □ Botvinnik Mikhail ■ Capablanca Jose Raul E49 Holland 1938

(Notes based on those of Garry Kasparov) 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Lxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Ld3 0–0 9.Ne2 b6 10.0–0 La6 11.Lxa6 Nxa6 12.Lb2 Qd7 13.a4 Rfe8 14.Qd3 c4 15.Qc2 Nb8 (D)

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After the ...c4 push the majorities of the two sides were made crystal clear and determine the future plans; White will play in the centre, trying for the e4 advance and Black will create his initiative on the queenside. 16.Rae1 Nc6 17.Ng3 Na5 In general Black's plan seems to be quite dangerous from a materialistic point of view, as the a4-pawn will be lost. But White's activity on the kingside will produce more than enough compensation. If 17...Ne4 then 18.Nh1! (18.Nxe4?! dxe4 19.f3 Qd5) and White's plan works out anyway: 18...f5 19.f3 Nd6 20.La3 g6 21.Ng3 and after the inevitable e4, the weakened position of the black king is a source of permanent trouble. But maybe Black should have opted for 17...h5 18.f3 g6 (18...h4 19.Nf5 Ne7 20.Nxe7+ Rxe7 21.e4 ²) 19.e4 h4 20.Nh1 h3 ÷. 18.f3 Nb3 Both sides are quite persistent. The a4-pawn is lost, but the long-awaited central advance is also ready. 19.e4 Qxa4 This miserable pawn has played an important role as bait for the tiger! 20.e5 Nd7 21.Qf2

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Otherwise the isolated knight is able to come back into the game extremely effectively after ...Nb3-c5! Now Black has to take his opponent's threats more seriously - the white knight is heading for f5 and d6, and the advancing f-pawn could be a battering ram that will crack open the black castled position. But Capablanca cannot be frightened by these shadows on the horizon. The stubborn proponent of economy was famous for an astonishing ability to defend his king with a minimum of resources while his main army was gaining an advantage elsewhere. 21...g6 22.f4 f5 The text move is forcing the opening of the e-file and an exchange of rooks, but there was no real alternative: 22...Nf8 23.f5 Qd7 24.La3 a5 25.Qf4 . 23.exf6 Nxf6 24.f5 White is obliged to open lines and get closer to the black king. 24...Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8 Using a tactical trick to protect the f6-knight (see variation in the next comment). Capablanca was reducing White's attacking potential, however, from now on he had no choice but to join the club of chess masterpieces. Unfortunately he was sitting on the wrong side of the board! In the event of 25...Rf8 26.Qf4 White's attack is also unstoppable: 26...Qa2 27.fxg6! Qxb2 (27...hxg6 28.Qg5) 28.g7! Kxg7 29.Nf5+ Kh8 30.Qd6 Rf7 (30...Kg8 31.Qg3+) 31.Qxf6+! mating. 26.Re6! Not 26.fxg6? hxg6 27.Rxe8+ Nxe8 μ. 26...Rxe6 Now instead of being consumed in the flame of the attack the modest f-pawn is making a dream career. It was impossible to avoid the appearance of this powerful ally for the white queen: 26...Kg7 27.Rxf6! Kxf6 28.fxg6+ Kxg6 (28...Ke7 29.Qf7+ Kd8 30.gxh7 ) 29.Qf5+ Kg7 30.Nh5+ Kh6 31.h4! Rg8 32.g4 Qc6 33.La3! with mate to follow. 27.fxe6 Kg7 28.Qf4 Qe8 The queen must return: 28...Qa2? 29.Nf5+ with mate in four: 29...gxf5 30.Qg5+ Kf8

31.Qxf6+ Ke8 32.Qf7+ Kd8 33.Qd7 #. 29.Qe5 Qe7 (D) Attack and defence have reached a faltering parity; each side needs reserves to decide an epic battle in its favour. The question is whose minor piece from the forgotten flank is faster? Black's knight is going to use the same route ...Na5-c6, but what about the sleeping white bishop?

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30.La3!! If the first move of the bishop, 12.Lb2, was just a bad joke, then the second little step from b2 to a3 has created a drama! The kamikaze act forces the black queen to leave her king again, this time not voluntarily, and to unblock the ambitious pawn which is running for the biggest prize. 30...Qxa3 31.Nh5+! gxh5 32.Qg5+ Kf8 33.Qxf6+ Kg8 34.e7 34.Qf7+ Kh8 35.g3! with the white king escaping to h3 was also enough, but rushing 35.e7? could spoil everything: 35...Qc1+ 36.Kf2 Qd2+ 37.Kg3 Qg5+ 38.Kf3 Nxd4+! 39.cxd4 Qg4+ with perpetual check. 34...Qc1+ 35.Kf2 Qc2+ 36.Kg3 Qd3+ 37.Kh4 Qe4+ 38.Kxh5 Qe2+ The exchange of queens doesn't help: 38...Qg6+ 39.Qxg6+ hxg6+ 40.Kxg6 and now the pawn promotes to queen (or rook!) with mate. 39.Kh4 Qe4+ 40.g4 The sad knight on b3 is left as a silent reproach for Black's strategic miscalculation

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in the early middlegame. 40...Qe1+ 41.Kh5 Capablanca's resignation (in Kasparov's opinion) symbolized the end of an heroic era of chess titans, dominating the field with their natural genius. Since this historic moment, the professional touch has played a more and more important role as an integral part of chess, the path to ultimate success. 1-0

The next two games of mine will conclude a difficult concept, but one rich in possibilities and ideas. Still, many questions are left unanswered…

□ Grivas Efstratios ■ Nikolaidis Konstantinos D46 Athens 1992 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Ld6 7.Le2 0–0 8.0–0 dxc4 9.Lxc4 Qe7 10.a3 Lc7 11.La2 e5 12.h3 h6 13.Ld2 a5 14.Nh4 Re8 15.Nf5 Qf8 16.dxe5 Rxe5 In this asymmetrical pawn structure position, White seems to stand better due to his space advantage and better-placed pieces. But there is more to come! 17.f4 Re8 18.e4! (D)

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White's superiority is indisputable and is mainly due to his mobile kingside pawn majority. In sharp contrast, Black's queenside pawn majority cannot advance without creating weak squares and cannot become threatening. The qualitative difference of the white e4-pawn compared to

Black's c6-pawn is immense and effectively determines the outcome of the game. 18...Nb6 19.e5 Nh5?! Black's position hardly inspires confidence, but in any case 19...Lxf5 20.Qxf5 Rad8 21.Rad1 Nfd5 22.Kh2 or 19...Nfd5 20.Rad1 (20.Nxd5?! Nxd5 21.Lxd5 Lxf5 22.Qxf5 Qc5+ 23.Kh2 Qxd5 24.Lc3 ²) 20...Qc5+ 21.Kh2 Lxf5 22.Qxf5 was necessary. 20.Nxh6+! White's great strategic plus creates the preconditions for successful combinations. But also 20.Nd4! seems to kill Black, as the threat of Qg6 is rather strong: 20...Qc5 21.Le3 Nd5 (21...Rd8 22.Rad1) 22.Lxd5 cxd5 23.Qf2 . 20...gxh6 21.Qg6+ Ng7 22.Ne4! (D)

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22...Qe7?! White wins after 22...Nd7 23.Lc3! and Nf6+, as well, but Black had to play 22...Ld8! when White would be 'obliged' to find some strong moves: 23.Nf6+ (23.Qxh6? Nd5 24.Lxd5 cxd5 25.Nf6+ Lxf6 26.exf6 Nf5 27.Qg5+ Kh7 28.Rae1 Rxe1 [28...Le6? 29.g4 Qh6 30.gxf5! Rg8 31.Kh2 Rxg5 32.fxg5 Qf8 33.g6+ ] 29.Qh5+ Nh6 30.Rxe1 Ra6 31.Qg5 Re6 32.Re5 °) 23...Lxf6 24.exf6 Le6 25.Qxh6! [25.Lxe6?! Rxe6 26.Qxg7+ Qxg7 27.fxg7 ²] 25...Nf5 [25...Lxa2 26.Rf3! Nd7 27.Rg3 Nxf6 28.Lc3 ] 26.Qg5+ Kh8 27.Lb1! Nc4 28.Lxf5 Lxf5 29.Qxf5 Nxd2 30.Qh5+ Kg8

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31.Rac1! . Black now loses simply, as his pieces are suffocating. 23.Nf6+ Kf8 24.Nh7+ Kg8 25.Nf6+ Kf8 26.Qxh6 Qc5+ 27.Kh1 Black resigned as he loses too much material. 1-0

□ Grivas Efstratios ■ Kramnik Vladimir D45 Dortmund 1992 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Ld6 7.Le2 0–0 8.0–0 Re8 9.b3 Qe7 10.Lb2 b6 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Qxe4 Lb7 14.Ld3?! A pointless move, hoping for 14...Nf6?! 15.Qh4 h6 16.Rfe1 with a slight edge for White. He should instead have preferred 14.Qe3 c5 15.Rfd1 Rad8 16.dxc5 with equality. 14...f5! (D)

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An excellent idea, aiming to create a mobile pawn majority on the kingside. Black will exchange his c-pawn for White's d-pawn and obtain a 4:3 majority on the kingside, which will be able to advance menacingly. On the contrary, White's 3:2 queenside majority will remain immobile for several moves or, even worse, will never succeed in becoming threatening. 15.Qe2 c5 16.Rad1?! White fails to comprehend the problems of the position. He should have played 16.h3 instead (16.d5?! exd5 17.Qxe7 Rxe7 18.Lxf5 d4! μ) and tried to defend.

16...cxd4 17.Nxd4 Qh4! Better than 17...Nc5?1 18.Nb5 Lb8 19.Le5! (19.Lb1 a6 20.Nc3 Lc7 ³) 19...Nxd3 20.Lxb8 Raxb8 21.Rxd3 Le4 22.Rd2 Red8 ÷. 18.g3 The alternative was 18.h3 when 18...Qf4! (18...Ne5?! 19.Nb5! Nf3+ 20.gxf3 Qxh3 21.Nxd6 Lxf3 22.Qxf3 Qxf3 23.Nxe8 Rxe8 [23...Qg4²] 24.Rfe1 ÷) 19.g3 Qh6 20.h4 Ne5, leaves Black with a decisive superiority (then 21.Lxf5? fails to 21...exf5 22.Nxf5 Qg6). 18...Qh3 (D)

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19.f3 Optically displeasing, but the alternative 19.Nf3 Ne5!? 20.Lxe5 Lxe5 was not helpful. 19...Lc5 20.Kh1 Nf6 Black's superiority is obvious, as he has some dangerous plans at his disposal (advance of the pawn majority, attack against the white king) while White cannot react effectively. 21.Nc2?! Allowing the immediate advance of the black pawns. White should struggle on with 21.Qg2 Qh5 22.Lb1 or 21.Nb5!? Re7 22.Ld4 instead. 21...e5! 22.Qg2 Qxg2+ 23.Kxg2 e4 24.fxe4 Compulsory, as 24.Le2 loses immediately to 24...exf3+ 25.Lxf3 Re2+!. 24...Nxe4 25.Kh3 Rad8!! (D)

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XABCDEFGHY 8-+-trr+k+( 7zpl+-+-zpp' 6-zp-+-+-+& 5+-vl-+p+-% 4-+P+n+-+$ 3+P+L+-zPK# 2PvLN+-+-zP" 1+-+R+R+-! xabcdefghy

A ‘quiet’ move, to which White has no good reply. It must be noted that Black could win an exchange with 25...Nf2+ 26.Rxf2 Lxf2 27.Lxf5, but his position is so good that he seeks to extract even greater gains! White resigned due to the continuation 26.Lxe4 (26.Rxf5 Lc8) 26...Lxe4 27.Na1 (27.Nd4 Rd6 or 27.Na3 Rxd1 28.Rxd1 Re6 29.Rd8+ Kf7 30.Lc1 Lxa3) 27...Rxd1 28.Rxd1 Lf3 29.Rd2 (29.Rd7 Lg4+ 30.Kh4 Le7+) 29...Lg4+ 30.Kg2 Re1 31.h3 Rg1+ 32.Kh2 Lf3 33.g4 f4!. 0-1

The Majority in the Endgame The endgame is the stage of the game when the mobile majority and the potential passed pawn can give effective results. A chess player, who wishes to excel in the game, should be alert to the correct handling of such positions. The examples that follow give a clear view of this concept and serve our purposes to the maximum:

□ Ljubojevic Ljubomir ■ Ivanchuk Vassily B80 Buenos Aires 1994 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 Nc6 7.Lg2 Ld7 8.0–0 e6 9.a4 Le7 10.h3 0–0 11.Nb3 Na5 12.Nxa5 Qxa5 13.Ld2 Qc7 14.a5 Lc6 15.Re1 Rae8 16.Le3 Nd7 17.Ld4 Lf6 18.Lxf6 Nxf6 19.Qd4 Re7 20.Qb4 Rd7 21.Rad1 Rfd8 22.Rd4 h6 23.Red1 d5 24.exd5 Nxd5 25.Nxd5 Lxd5 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-tr-+k+( 7+pwqr+pzp-' 6p+-+p+-zp& 5zP-+l+-+-% 4-wQ-tR-+-+$ 3+-+-+-zPP# 2-zPP+-zPL+" 1+-+R+-mK-! xabcdefghy

Black seems to have equalized and this is indeed very near to the truth. 26.c4!? White's interesting chance to fight for something more than the split of the point. 26.Lxd5 Rxd5 27.Rxd5 Rxd5 28.Rxd5 exd5 = isn’t much, but he could also think about 26.Qc3!? Rc8! (26...Lc6?! 27.Rxd7 Rxd7 28.Rxd7 Qxd7 29.Lxc6 bxc6 [29...Qxc6? 30.Qxc6 bxc6 31.b4 Kf8 32.c4 Ke7 33.b5 cxb5 34.cxb5 Kd6 35.b6 ] 30.Qc4 Qd1+?! 31.Kg2 Qd5+? 32.Qxd5 exd5 [32...cxd5 33.b4 ] 33.b4 Kf8 34.Kf3 Ke7 35.Ke3 Kd6 36.Kd4 h5 37.h4 f6 38.f3 f5 39.c3 g6 40.f4! Kd7 41.b5!! Kd6 [41...axb5 42.Kc5 Kc7 43.a6 ] 42.bxa6! [42.b6? c5+ 43.Kd3 Kc6 =] 42...c5+ 43.Kd3 Kc7 44.Kc2 Kb8 45.Kb3 Ka7 46.Ka3!! or 26...Qxc3? 27.bxc3 Kf8 28.c4 Lc6 29.Rxd7 Rxd7 30.Rxd7 Lxd7 31.Lxb7 ) 27.Qxc7 Rcxc7 (27...Rdxc7?! 28.Lxd5 exd5 29.c3 ) 28.c4 Lc6 29.Rxd7 Lxd7 30.Rd6 ². 26...Lxg2 27.Rxd7 Rxd7 28.Rxd7 Qxd7 29.Kxg2 Qc6+ 30.Kg1 After massive and forced exchanges, White's pawn majority on the queenside is ready to roll. Black should seek counterplay against the white king. 30...f5 31.Qb6 Qe4! 31...Qxb6? 32.axb6 Kf7 33.c5 Ke7 34.c6 . 32.b4 g5? A correct idea (...f4) but with wrong

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execution! After 32...e5 33.b5 f4 the game will end in a draw. 33.b5 f4 34.gxf4! gxf4 34...axb5 35.cxb5 gxf4 36.a6 bxa6 37.bxa6 Qe1+ 38.Kh2 . 35.bxa6 bxa6?! Black had to try his last chance: 35...f3 36.Qd8+ (36.axb7 Qe1+ 37.Kh2 Qe5+ = 38.Kg1? Qg5+ 39.Kf1 Qc1 #) 36...Kf7 37.Qc7+ Kf6 38.Kh2 bxa6 39.Kg3 and pray... 36.Qxa6 f3 36...Qe1+ 37.Kg2 Qe4+ 38.Kh2 Qe2 39.Qa8+ Kg7 40.Kg2 Qxc4 41.Qb7+ Kg6 42.a6 . 37.Qc8+ Kf7 38.Qc7+ Kf6 39.Kh2 1-0

Anatoly Karpov has proved many times that he knows exactly what to do and where and how to place his pieces. The next example is a masterpiece: □ Karpov Anatoly ■ Jussupow Artur D56 Dortmund 1997 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Le7 5.Lg5 h6 6.Lh4 0–0 7.e3 Ne4 8.Lxe7 Qxe7 9.Rc1 c6 10.Ld3 Nxc3 11.Rxc3 dxc4 12.Lxc4 Nd7 13.0–0 b6 14.Ld3 c5 15.Le4 Rb8 16.Qa4 Lb7 17.Lxb7 Rxb7 18.Qc2 a5 19.a3 Re8 20.Rd1 Rbb8 21.h3 Rbd8 22.Rcd3 Rc8 23.d5 exd5 24.Rxd5 Nf6 25.Re5 Qc7 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 (D)

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It seems that Black has solved all his problems and he is even ready to take over the initiative by mobilizing his 3:2 queenside majority. 27.a4! A great move which suddenly immobilizes this majority and, in a way, turns the tables. 27...Rd8 27...Nd7 (planning ...Ne5) 28.Nd4! Nf6 29.Nb5 . 28.Rxd8+ Qxd8 29.Ne5! Also improving the knight. From its future square on c4, it will exert pressure on the weak black b6-pawn. 29...Qd5 30.Nc4 Nd7 31.b3 (D)

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Mission completed! Now the next steps for White must be the mobilization of the king and his kingside majority. 31...f5?! Such central pawn advances are not really helpful and at the end of the day they are just targets for the opponent. 31...h5 32.Kf1, planning to exchange queens with Qd2, was preferable. 32.Kf1! It was too early for 32.g4? fxg4 (32...g6 33.gxf5 gxf5 34.Qc3 ²) 33.hxg4 as Black gets strong counterplay after 33...Qf3! and probably White has nothing better than 34.Qf5 Qd1+ (34...Qxf5? 35.gxf5 ) 35.Kg2 Qxb3 =. 32...Kf7 33.f3 Ke7 34.Ke2 Qe6 35.Qc3 Nf6 35...Qf6 36.Qxf6+ Kxf6 37.e4 is what

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White would love to play, as his e-pawn looks like an extra one (compare it with Black's c-pawn). 36.Kf2 Kd7 Black is short of good alternatives: 36...h5 37.h4 or 36...g5 37.g4 . 37.g4 Kc6?! Hastening the end. Black had to choose between 37...fxg4 38.hxg4 and 37...g6 38.Qe5 . 38.Qe5! Qxe5 39.Nxe5+ Kd5 40.Nc4 fxg4 41.Nxb6+! 41.hxg4 was natural but White took the opportunity to increase his advantage. 41...Kc6 42.Nc4 gxf3 42...gxh3 43.Nxa5+ Kc7 44.Kg3 . 43.Kxf3 Kd5 44.Nxa5 White had won a good pawn and the rest was not that difficult. 44...g5 45.Nc4 h5 46.Nd2 Ke5 47.e4 Or 47.a5 Kd5 48.e4+ Kc6 49.e5 Ne8 50.Ke4 Ng7 51.Nf1 g4 52.h4 . 47...Ne8 47...Kd4 48.a5! Nd7 49.a6 Ne5+ 50.Kg3 Nc6 51.Nf3+ Kxe4 52.Nxg5+ Kd4 53.Ne6+ . 48.Ke3 Nc7 49.Nc4+ Kf6 50.Kf2 Na6 51.Kg3 Nb4 52.h4 Nc6 53.a5! Nb4 54.Nd2 Nc6 54...Na6 55.hxg5+ Kxg5 56.Nf3+ . 55.a6 gxh4+ 56.Kxh4 Ke6 57.Kxh5 Kd7 58.Kg6 Kc7 59.Nc4 59.Kf6 Kb6 60.e5 Kxa6 61.e6 Kb5 62.e7 Nxe7 63.Kxe7 Kb4 64.Kd6 . 59...Kb8 60.Kf6 Ka7 61.e5 Kxa6 62.e6 Kb5 63.e7 Black resigned due to 63...Nxe7 64.Kxe7 Kb4 65.Nd2 Kc3 66.Kd6 Kxd2 67.Kxc5. 1-0

Even in the very late stages of the game a majority can be useful. In combination with other elements, it can prove lethal…

□ Short Nigel ■ Ehlvest Jaan B13 Tallinn/Parnu 1998 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Ld3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Lf4 Lg4 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.Nd2 e6 9.Ngf3 Ld6 10.Lg3 Lxf3 11.Nxf3 Lxg3 12.hxg3 a6 13.Kf1 Qc7 14.Re1

Na5 15.Qc2 Nc4 16.Kg1 h6 17.b3 Na5 18.c4 Nc6 19.c5 Rd8 20.a3 Rd7 21.b4 Re7 22.Qb2 Nd7 23.Lc2 0–0 24.Rh4 Rfe8 25.Lb3 Nf6 26.Ne5 Nxe5 27.dxe5 Nd7 28.La4 Rf8 29.Lxd7 Qxd7 30.Qd4 f5 31.exf6 Rxf6 32.Rf4 Ref7 33.Rxf6 Rxf6 34.f4 Qc6 35.g4 Qd7 36.Re5 Qf7 37.g3 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+k+( 7+p+-+qzp-' 6p+-+ptr-zp& 5+-zPptR-+-% 4-zP-wQ-zPP+$ 3zP-+-+-zP-# 2-+-+-+-+" 1+-+-+-mK-! xabcdefghy

White has successfully blockaded Black's central pawns while he has kept his own queenside majority alive and kicking. 37...Kh8? Passive defence cannot have positive effects. Black should have opted for active play by 37...g5! when White would probably have to concede a draw after 38.f5 (38.Kg2!? gxf4 39.g5 hxg5 40.Rxg5+ Kh7 41.g4 ÷) 38...exf5 39.Rxd5 fxg4 40.Rd8+ Kh7 41.Rd7 (41.Qd3+ Kg7 42.Rd7 Rf1+ =) 41...Rf1+ 42.Kg2 Rf2+ =. 38.Kg2 Qg6 39.Qd1 Qf7 40.Qd3 Qc7 41.Qd4 Qf7 42.a4! The majority starts its movement... 42...Kg8 43.b5 axb5 44.axb5 Qd7 45.Qd3 Kh8 Unfortunately for Black he has no immediate counterplay and he has to wait passively for White to show his hand. 46.Re1? 46.g5! seems strong: 46...Rf5 47.Rxf5 exf5 48.gxh6 gxh6 49.c6 bxc6 50.Qc3+ . 46...Rf8 47.g5! Rf5? This loses. Black had to play the obvious 47...hxg5 48.Rh1+ (48.fxg5 Kg8 49.Qe2

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d4! =) 48...Kg8 49.Qh7+ Kf7 50.Qh5+ Ke7 (50...Kg8? 51.fxg5 ) 51.Qxg5+ Kf7 52.Rh7 Rg8 53.Qh5+ Kf8 54.Qe5 and although White has the initiative, Black might be able to defend. 48.gxh6 d4 48...gxh6 also loses: 49.c6! bxc6 50.Qc3+ d4 51.Qxc6 Qd5+ (51...Qxc6+ 52.bxc6 Rc5 53.Rxe6 Kg7 54.Kf3 ) 52.Qxd5 Rxd5 53.Rb1 Rd7 54.b6 Rb7 55.Kf3 . 49.hxg7+ Kxg7 50.Re4 Rd5 50...Rxc5 51.Rxd4 Rd5 52.Rxd5 exd5 53.Kf3 . 51.g4 White has won a pawn and he still holds the initiative! In order to win, he will combine two elements: his active majority and an attack on the opponent’s king. 51...Kg8 52.Kg3 Qh7 53.c6! bxc6 53...Rxb5 54.Qxb5 Qxe4 55.cxb7 Qe1+ 56.Kg2 Qe4+ 57.Kh2 Qxf4+ 58.Kh3 Qh6+ 59.Kg3 Qe3+ 60.Kh4 Qf2+ (60...Qh6+ 61.Qh5 Qf8 62.Qe5 ) 61.Kg5 Qe3+ 62.Kg6 Qe4+ 63.Qf5! . 54.bxc6 Qh1 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+k+( 7+-+-+-+-' 6-+P+p+-+& 5+-+r+-+-% 4-+-zpRzPP+$ 3+-+Q+-mK-# 2-+-+-+-+" 1+-+-+-+q! xabcdefghy

55.Rxe6! Cool! White can easily escape from the perpetual check. 55...Qg1+ 56.Kh3 Qh1+ 57.Kg3 Qg1+ 58.Kf3 Qh1+ 59.Ke2 Qg2+ 60.Ke1 Qg1+ 61.Kd2 Qf2+ 62.Qe2 Qxf4+ 63.Kd1 63.Kd3! Qg3+ 64.Kc4 was even quicker. 63...Rd8 64.c7!

Wins with a direct attack on the black king - the majority was just the decoy! 64...Qxc7 65.Rg6+ Kh8 65...Kh7 66.Qe4 Kh8 67.Qf5 or 65...Kf7 66.Qe6+ Kf8 67.Rg8 # or, finally, 65...Kf8 66.Qe6 Qf7 67.Rf6 . 66.Qe6 1-0

□ Psakhis Lev ■ Pinter Jozsef B85 Szirak 1986 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f4 Qc7 7.Le2 e6 8.0–0 Le7 9.Lf3 0–0 10.Le3 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Na4 Nd7 13.c4 c5 14.Nc3 Lb7 15.Qc2 Lf6 16.Rad1 Rfd8 17.Rd3 Rac8 18.b3 Nb8 19.e5 dxe5 20.Lxb7 Qxb7 21.Ne4 Le7 22.Rxd8+ Rxd8 23.fxe5 Nd7 24.Rd1 Qc7 25.Qc3 h6 26.h3 Qc6 27.Nf2 Qc7 28.Ne4 Qc6 29.Nf2 Qc7 30.Lf4 Nf8 31.Rxd8 Qxd8 32.Nd3 Qc7 33.Qe1 Qd8 34.Qe4 Qa5 35.Qe2 Ng6 36.Lg3 Nf8 37.Le1 Qc7 38.Qe4 Qd8 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-wq-snk+( 7+-+-vlpzp-' 6p+-+p+-zp& 5+-zp-zP-+-% 4-+P+Q+-+$ 3+P+N+-+P# 2P+-+-+P+" 1+-+-vL-mK-! xabcdefghy

In this simplified position, both majorities seem difficult to move. But White thought up a very strong and efficient plan - to move his king to the queenside in order to support his pieces and his majority! 39.Kf1! Qc8 40.Ke2 Nd7 41.Kd1 Lf8 Black tries to put up a counter defence, planning ...g6 and ...Lg7, putting pressure on White's e-pawn. The alternative was 41...f5 42.exf6 Nxf6 43.Qf3 as Black

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would have been full of weak pawns. 42.Kc2 g6 After 42...Qc7 43.a3 a5 44.Lc3 Qa7 45.Qc6 Black is tied down to passivity. 43.Lc3 Lg7 44.a3! All according to the initial plan. 44...Lf8 45.b4 cxb4 45...Nb6 46.Kb3 Qd7 47.Nb2 is similar to the game. 46.axb4 Nb6 47.Kb3 Qe8 48.Nb2 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+qvlk+( 7+-+-+p+-' 6psn-+p+pzp& 5+-+-zP-+-% 4-zPP+Q+-+$ 3+KvL-+-+P# 2-sN-+-+P+" 1+-+-+-+-! xabcdefghy

White protected his weak points and his queenside pawns are ready now to roll. 48...Qd7 49.Ld4 Nc8 50.Le3 Ne7 51.Qa8! Qc6 Black's hand was more or less forced: 51...Nc6? 52.Lxh6 or 51...Kg7? 52.Lxh6+ Kxh6 53.Qxf8+ or, finally, 51...g5?! 52.Lc5. But now the white king will have no counterpart... 52.Qxc6 Nxc6 53.Nd3 Lg7 54.Ka4! 54.Lf4 was not bad either, but White is not losing time! 54...Kf8 All other continuations lose rather easily:

54...Lxe5? 55.b5 or 54...f6? 55.exf6 Lxf6 56.Nc5 or, finally, 54...Nxe5? 55.Nxe5 Lxe5 56.Ka5 Lc3 57.Lc5. 55.Lc5+ Ke8 56.Ld6 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+k+-+( 7+-+-+pvl-' 6p+nvLp+pzp& 5+-+-zP-+-% 4KzPP+-+-+$ 3+-+N+-+P# 2-+-+-+P+" 1+-+-+-+-! xabcdefghy

56...f6?! More tenacious was 56...Kd7 57.b5 axb5+ 58.cxb5 Nd8 59.Nc5+ Kc8 60.b6 Nb7 61.Ne4 f6 (61...Kd7 62.Kb5 ) 62.exf6 Lxf6 63.Kb5 , although it would be difficult for Black to avoid defeat in the long run. 57.exf6 Lxf6 58.Nc5 A pawn is now lost. 58...e5 59.Nxa6 e4 60.b5 Le5!? 61.Lc5 Nd4 62.Lxd4! Lxd4 63.Kb3 Kd7 64.c5 h5 65.g4 hxg4 66.hxg4 g5 67.Kc4 e3 68.Kd3 Kc8 68...Ke6 69.b6. 69.c6 A game of a clear-cut and effective endgame plan: activation of the majority with the idea of creating a passed pawn. How simple it looked... 1-0

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The Minority Attack Terminology As a strategic element, the minority attack can offer an alternative active plan when our majority on the other wing cannot readily be exploited. Using our pawn minority we can attack an immobile majority, aiming to create (after exchanges) a weak pawn in the opponent's camp. This particular action is called the 'Minority Attack'. With this term, we imply the activity a side can develop on a flank where this side has fewer pawns than the opponent. In a broader sense, any time two pawns advance against three, or one against two, we have a minority attack. The minority attack is a positional plan - and one of the most important middlegame plans. It occurs in asymmetrical pawn structures in which one side has a half-open file. With the use of a pawn lever he then tries to make the file fully open, creating weaknesses in the enemy camp in the process and eventually to exploit them. Naturally, just as with all positional plans we develop during a game, the minority attack does not guarantee victory on its own, but creates the conditions to develop an initiative and provides the side that employs it with clear targets. It is a very sensitive strategic concept that can easily backfire, leaving the opponent with a passed pawn. The minority attack is a strange area of theory. Even Aaron Nimzowitsch, who was very concerned with the restraint of pawn majorities, never dealt with attacking them from a position of numerical inferiority. Also, Ludek Pachman claims that this concept first entered chess consciousness in the 1920s, and thus attributes great historical value to the game Capablanca,JR-Lasker,E Havana 1921 (which is analysed elsewhere). Analysis of the Concept - Plans The strategic element of the minority attack and the ways of exploiting it can be split into two main categories: 1) Flexible pawn structures: The first category concerns the asymmetrical but not

fixed pawn structure (mobile). In this case a minority attack is more difficult to employ, as the opponent's defensive options, active or passive, are several and cannot be accurately described. General principles are in effect here as well, but the dynamics that may result due to the mobility of the respective pawn structures cannot be effectively classified. 2) Fixed pawn structures: The second category concerns fixed pawn structures. Here things are simpler, as practice has determined the recommended actions for both sides. To understand the play of both the side employing the minority attack and the defending side, we shall use the following typical and educational example:

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+-+( 7zpp+-+pzpp' 6-+p+-+-+& 5+-+p+-+-% 4-+-zP-+-+$ 3+-+-zP-+-# 2PzP-+-zPPzP" 1+-+-+-+-! xabcdefghy

The opening in which the minority attack most commonly occurs is the ‘Queen's Gambit Declined’ and particularly the ‘Exchange Variation’, which often starts with the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5. In this pawn structure both sides have half-open files, White's being the c-file and Black's being the e-file. Both sides will build their game around these assets. After Black plays ...c6, to get both his c- and d-pawns protected, White's minority attack takes shape. By playing b4-b5 he pries open this file leaving Black with some kind of pawn weakness whatever he does.

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The above diagram is essential for our training in minority attacks: White will plan the b4-b5 advance, aiming to leave Black with a weak (backward) pawn on c6 or d5. But which details should both sides take into account? What are the sensitive points they must be aware of (and which basically concern the defending side)? We should split the potential choices as follows: 2a) Passive defence. 2b) Other side’s initiative. 2c) Lightsquared bishops’ exchange. 2d) The ...b5 plan. 2e) The ...c5 plan. 2f) The ...cxb5 and ...a5 plan. In the application of methods '2a'-'2e' the defending side must consider whether possession of an open a-file is beneficial, and so whether he should play ...a6 (or ...a5) before b4-b5 comes, thereby forcing White to play a4 (or a3). This dissection of our diagrammed example is valid for every similar pawn structure (fixed or not) and for both sides, on either flank. Now we should move on to examine each of the above plans and the ways to handle them with the help of some good examples.

Category 1 - Flexible Pawn Structures As already mentioned, this is a difficult case. Ludek Pachman considered the next game to be quite important for the history of the minority attack:

□ Capablanca Jose Raul ■ Lasker Emanuel D64 Havana 1921 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Lg5 Nbd7 5.e3 Le7 6.Nc3 0–0 7.Rc1 Re8 8.Qc2 c6 9.Ld3 dxc4 10.Lxc4 Nd5 11.Lxe7 Rxe7 12.0–0 Nf8 13.Rfd1 Ld7 14.e4 Nb6 15.Lf1 Rc8 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+rwq-snk+( 7zpp+ltrpzpp' 6-snp+p+-+& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-zPP+-+$ 3+-sN-+N+-# 2PzPQ+-zPPzP" 1+-tRR+LmK-! xabcdefghy

16.b4 The beginning of a type of 'minority attack', with the a- and b-pawns being used against the black a-, b- and c-pawns. 16...Le8 17.Qb3 Rec7 18.a4 Ng6 19.a5! Nd7 20.e5! Creating a strong outpost on d6; a white knight will soon land on it! 20...b6 21.Ne4 Rb8 22.Qc3 Nf4 23.Nd6 Nd5 24.Qa3 f6 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-tr-wql+k+( 7zp-trn+-zpp' 6-zppsNpzp-+& 5zP-+nzP-+-% 4-zP-zP-+-+$ 3wQ-+-+N+-# 2-+-+-zPPzP" 1+-tRR+LmK-! xabcdefghy

White is surely in the driver's seat and the following exchanges transform his advantage into something 'more' concrete... 25.Nxe8! Qxe8 26.exf6 gxf6 27.b5! Rbc8 Or 27...c5 28.dxc5 Nxc5 29.Lc4 Qh5 30.Nd4 . 28.bxc6 Rxc6 29.Rxc6 Rxc6 30.axb6 axb6 It looks like (as Pachman points out) White

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has apparently merely helped Black to achieve his strategic aim of obtaining a passed pawn from his queenside majority'. But of course isolated passed pawns can be either weak or strong, and Black's b- and e-pawns are clearly weak here. 31.Re1 Qc8 32.Nd2 Nf8 33.Ne4 Qd8 34.h4 Rc7 35.Qb3 Rg7 36.g3 Ra7 37.Lc4 White slowly improves his position while Black just hangs around with his rook... 37...Ra5 (D)

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38.Nc3! Nxc3 Or 38...Qd6 39.Nxd5 exd5 40.Ld3 Ra3 41.Qd1 . 39.Qxc3 Kf7 40.Qe3 Qd6 41.Qe4 Ra4 42.Qb7+ Kg6 43.Qc8?! 43.h5+! was accurate: 43...Kh6 (43...Kxh5 44.Qg7 Ng6 45.Re4 ) 44.Qf7 Rxc4 45.Qxf6+ Ng6 46.hxg6 hxg6 47.Qh8+ Kg5 48.Re5+ Kg4 49.Qh4+ Kf3 50.Qf4 #. 43...Qb4 44.Rc1 Qe7 45.Ld3+ Kh6 46.Rc7 Ra1+ 47.Kg2 Qd6 48.Qxf8+! 1-0 □ Andersson Ulf ■ Rivas Pastor Manuel D56 Hastings 1981 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.Lg5 Le7 5.e3 0–0 6.Nc3 h6 7.Lh4 Ne4 8.Lxe7 Qxe7 9.Rc1 c6 10.Ld3 Nxc3 11.Rxc3 dxc4 12.Rxc4 Nd7 13.0–0 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Re4 Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 Le6

17.Lc4 Rad8 18.Lxe6 fxe6 19.Qe2 Rd5 20.b4 Qd6 21.Qc4 Kh8 22.h3 e5 23.f4 exf4 24.exf4 Rd2 25.Rf2 Rd1+ 26.Kh2 Qf6 27.Qc5 b6 28.Qe3 Qd6 29.Rf3 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-tr-mk( 7zp-+-+-zp-' 6-zppwq-+-zp& 5+-+-+-+-% 4-zP-+RzP-+$ 3+-+-wQR+P# 2P+-+-+PmK" 1+-+r+-+-! xabcdefghy

The isolated e-pawn which appeared at the 18th move was no real burden to Black; it could not conveniently be brought under fire and was actually depriving the white pieces of certain useful squares in the centre. White therefore exchanged it off within a few moves and now plans Re7 plus Rg3. However this will require some preparation, and if Black remains reasonably active he has nothing to fear at this stage. 29...c5 29...Qd2! looks a bit more accurate, keeping an even game. 30.bxc5 Qxc5?! 30...bxc5 was perfectly sound, as the exchange of the queens is a mistake which leaves White with a strong endgame initiative. It was essential for Black to preserve the queens on the board, as then it would not be easy for White to activate his kingside majority and expose his king. After this alternative play might continue 31.Rg3 a5 32.Re7 Rd3 33.Rgxg7 Rxf4 34.Rh7+ Kg8 35.Reg7+ Kf8 36.Qe7+ Qxe7 37.Rxe7 Ra3 ². 31.Qxc5 bxc5 32.Re7 White's advantage lies in the simple fact that his rooks are more active and that he can activate efficiently his kingside pawn majority. At the same time Black's passed c-

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pawn is going nowhere. 32...Rd4 Black is obliged to counter-attack, as the obvious 32...a5?! 33.Rg3 Rg8 34.Ra7 loses material and 32...a6 33.Rg3 (33...Rxf4?! 34.Rexg7 ) 33...Rg8 34.Rg6 Rd4 35.f5 is not advisable either. 33.Rg3 Rg8 34.f5 Of course White must preserve his active majority: 34.Rxa7? Rxf4 35.Rc7 Ra4 36.a3 c4 37.Rc3 Rga8 =. 34...Rf4 35.Rf7 a5 35...Ra4 36.a3! c4 37.Rc7 Ra5 38.Rf3 Rf8 39.g4 . 36.Rg6 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+rmk( 7+-+-+Rzp-' 6-+-+-+Rzp& 5zp-zp-+P+-% 4-+-+-tr-+$ 3+-+-+-+P# 2P+-+-+PmK" 1+-+-+-+-! xabcdefghy

36...c4?! Black missed his best defence: 36...Ra4! 37.Rc6 (37.f6 Rxa2 38.Rfxg7 Rxg7 39.fxg7+ [39.Rxg7 Rf2] 39...Kg8 40.Rxh6 Kxg7 =) 37...Rxa2 38.Rxc5 a4 39.Rcc7 a3 40.Ra7 ². 37.Rc6! Rf2 37...a4 38.a3 Rd4 39.Rfc7 or 37...Ra8 38.Rcc7 Rg8 39.Rc5 Ra8 40.a3 a4 41.Rcc7 Rg8 42.Kg1 . 38.a4 Rf4 39.Kg3 Rd4 40.Ra7 This now wins material by force. 40...Rb8 There is no defence anymore: 40...Rd5 41.Kf4 Rf8 (41...Rd4+ 42.Ke5 Rd2 43.g4 Re8+ 44.Kf4 Rd4+ 45.Kg3 Re3+ 46.Kh4 Rdd3 47.Kh5 Rxh3+ 48.Kg6 Rd8 49.Rxg7 ) 42.g4 Rd4+ 43.Ke5 Rd3 44.Rxc4 Rxh3 45.Rxa5 .

41.Rxa5 Rd3+ 42.Kh2 c3 43.Rc7 Rf8 44.Rb5 h5 45.a5 Rf6 46.Rbc5 Ra6 47.f6 Rxf6 Or 47...gxf6 48.Rxh5+ Kg8 49.Rb5 Ra8 50.a6 c2 51.a7! c1Q 52.Rb8+ Rd8 53.Rxd8+ Rxd8 54.Rxc1 . 48.Rxh5+ Kg8 49.Rhc5 Ra6 50.Rg5 Kf8 Black is plain lost: 50...g6 51.Rb5 Ra8 52.a6 c2 53.a7 c1Q 54.Rb8+ Rd8 55.Rxd8+ Rxd8 56.Rxc1. 51.Rgxg7 Rxa5 52.Rh7 Kg8 53.Rcg7+ Kf8 54.Rb7 Kg8 55.Rhc7 Rf5 56.Rb3 The last black pawn falls... 56...Rf2 1-0

Category 2 - Fixed Pawn Structures

2a) Passive defence: This is not an advisable way to defend against a minority attack. As proven in most cases, a passive defence usually leads to defeat but of course from time to time it is possible to drag out half-points. This has nothing to do with modern chess thinking and generally it should be avoided. The following two examples can guide us:

□ Byrne Robert ■ Eliskases Erich D36 Helsinki 1952 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Lg5 Le7 6.e3 c6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Ld3 Nh5 9.Lxe7 Qxe7 10.Nge2 Nb6 11.0–0 g6 (D)

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12.Na4! Black's knight on b6 was making a minority attack (b4-b5) difficult because of its potential to occupy the c4-square. So White exchanges it off. 12...Nxa4 13.Qxa4 0–0 14.b4 Starting the minority attack. Black's next move holds it up for a while, but in the long run it's very difficult for him to stop b4-b5. 14...a6 15.Qb3 15.b5? cxb5 16.Lxb5 Lf5! . 15...Le6 16.a4 Rfc8 17.Qb2 Ng7 18.b5 And now the minority attack breaks through. Whatever Black does he will end up with some pawn weaknesses; for example, capturing on b5 with his c-pawn leaves the d5-pawn weak. In the game he opts for contracting a weak c6-pawn. 18...axb5 19.axb5 Lf5 Black should have tried 19...c5 when 20.dxc5 Qxc5 leaves a great square for White's knight on d4, but this should not be the end of the world. 20.Nf4 Lxd3 21.Nxd3 Nf5 22.Rxa8 Rxa8 23.bxc6 bxc6 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-+k+( 7+-+-wqp+p' 6-+p+-+p+& 5+-+p+n+-% 4-+-zP-+-+$ 3+-+NzP-+-# 2-wQ-+-zPPzP" 1+-+-+RmK-! xabcdefghy

White has succeeded in ideally performing a typical minority attack. Black remained with a backward weak c-pawn and no real counterplay but of course he can defend it. His main problem is that he will remain under pressure and on the defence for a long time, thus possibilities of blundering are increased. Also, it must be noted that White can combine initiative on every part of the board, using the 'two weaknesses rule' to the

maximum effect. 24.Rc1 Nh4!? 25.Qe2! 25.Rxc6?! Nxg2 26.Kxg2 Qe4+ 27.Kg3 Qxd3 gives Black counterplay. 25...Ra3 26.g3 Here 26.Rxc6?! is answered by 26...Qe4 (26...Nxg2 27.Kxg2 Qe4+ 28.Qf3 Rxd3 =) 27.Ne1 Ra1 28.f3 Nxf3+! 29.gxf3 Qh4 30.Kf1 Qh3+ 31.Kg1 Qh4 =. 26...Qe4 27.Ne1 Nf5 28.Qc2! The exchange of queens kills Black's counterplay. Torture time! 28...Qxc2 29.Rxc2 Ne7 30.Kf1 f6 30...h5! would have been a good idea so that White's g4-advance would not leave Black with a weak h-pawn. 31.Ke2 Kf7 31...h5! was still the right idea. 32.Nd3 Ke6 33.Rb2 Ra7 (D) 33...h5! is still correct, and this was the last chance.

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34.g4! Fixing Black's h-pawn as a target. 34...g5 35.Rb8 Kf7 36.Rh8 Kg7 36...Kg6 37.h3 Rc7 38.Kd2 Rc8 39.Rxc8 Nxc8 40.Kc3 would see White's king heading for c5 with pressure going into the knight endgame. 37.Rd8 Rc7 37...Kg6 38.Rd6 prevents an eventual ...h5. 38.Nc5 Kf7 39.Kf3 Ng6 40.Kg3 Ra7 41.Rd6 Rc7 41...Ne7?! 42.Nd7 Ng8 43.Nb8 wins material.

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42.Na6 Rc8 43.Rd7+ Ne7 44.Nc5 Ra8 45.Rd6 Ra1 Seeing that White is ready to play h4 and maybe f3 and e4, Black decides that passive defence is doomed to failure. 46.Nd7 f5 47.Ne5+ Kg7 48.h3! fxg4 49.hxg4 Rc1 Or 49...Ra6 50.Re6 Kf8 51.Nf3 . 50.Re6 Ng6 50...Kf8 51.Nf3 again wins the g-pawn. 51.Rxc6 Rxc6 52.Nxc6 White is now a pawn up with the d5-pawn being very weak as well. He does a neat job of winning the endgame. 52...Kf6 53.f3 Ke6 54.Nb4 Kd6 55.Kf2 Nf8 56.e4 dxe4 57.fxe4 Ne6 58.e5+ Kd7 59.Ke3 Nf4 60.Nd3 Nd5+ 61.Ke4 Kc6 62.Nf2 Nf4 63.Nd1 h5 64.gxh5 Nxh5 65.Ne3 Nf4 66.Ng4 Ne2 67.Nf6 Ng3+ 68.Kf3 Nf5 69.d5+ Kc5 70.Kg4 Nh6+ 71.Kxg5 Nf7+ 72.Kf4 Kd4 73.e6 Nd6 74.e7 1-0

□ Reshevsky Samuel ■ Myagmarsuren Lhamsuren D36 Sousse 1967 1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Lg5 Le7 6.e3 0–0 7.Ld3 c6 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.Nf3 Re8 10.0–0 Nf8 (D)

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11.Lxf6 With this and his next move, White gets his minority attack going straight away. Another way to play for b4 is 11.Rab1. 11...Lxf6 12.b4 Lg4 13.Nd2 Rc8

A more flexible continuation was seen in the game Timman,J-Kasparov,G London 1984: 13...Le7! 14.Rab1 Ld6 15.Lf5 Lh5! 16.Rfc1 g6 17.Ld3 Qg5 18.Ne2 Nd7 19.h3 a6 20.a4 Rac8 21.Nf1 Lxe2 22.Lxe2 Qe7 23.Qb3 Nf6 ½-½. 14.Lf5! Disarming Black of his bishop pair cannot be a bad choice! 14...Lxf5 15.Qxf5 g6 In some ways Black would prefer not to do this, because one day he might like to get a rook to g6 or h6. The other usual continuation is 15...Qd7 16.Qxd7 Nxd7 17.a4 Le7 18.Rfb1 ² as was seen in Korchnoi,V-Karpov,A Baguio City 1978. White keeps a small but pleasant plus, as he is the only one with a dangerous plan in mind; the minority attack! Finally, Black's other option must be noted: 15...Le7 16.Rab1 a6 17.Rfc1 Ld6 18.a4 g6 19.Qd3 f5 20.g3 ² ½-½ Zilberman,N-Bagirov,V Frunze 1983. 16.Qd3 Qd6 17.Rfb1 Lg7 18.a4 Nd7 19.Ra2! White can't play 19.b5? straightaway because of 19...c5! 20.dxc5? Nxc5 . 19...Re6 20.Rc2 Rce8 21.Nb3 Nf6 Perhaps Black would have had better chances of counterplay had he played 21...f5!? trying to lever open the e-file. This too is a minority attack, trying to extend control of the half open e-file with a pawn lever. White should answer it with 22.g3. 22.h3 b6?! After 22...a6 23.b5 axb5 24.axb5 Ra8 25.Nc5 Re7 26.bxc6 bxc6 27.Rcb2 Black would suffer and be tortured for a long, long time. Maybe computers would be able to keep the draw but a human being is unable to! Nevertheless, this was Black's best defensive set-up. 23.Nc1 23.b5? c5! would again play into Black's hands. 23...Lh6 24.N1e2 Nh5?! Allowing the undesirable breakthrough. Something like 24...Lg5 would leave White with the task of making the b5-advance effective.

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25.b5! This was a long time in coming, but it's very strong. White is breaking through on the c-file and the d5-pawn becomes very weak. 25...Qd7 The sidelined h5-knight does not allow Black to continue with the desirable (but unplayable now) 25...c5? 26.dxc5 bxc5 27.Nxd5 . 26.bxc6 Rxc6 27.Qb5 Rec8? A blunder. 27...Qe6 was Black's only chance. 28.Rbc1? Which White did not notice! 28.Nxd5 would win on the spot. 28...R8c7? (D) And here 28...Qe6 would have been better, unpinning the rook and introducing the possibility of a sacrifice on e3. White then could continue with 29.a5 Nf6 30.axb6 axb6 31.Qb3 with play against two weak black pawns.

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29.g4! a6 Both 29...Nf6 and 29...Ng7 are answered by 30.Nxd5!. 30.Qxa6 Nf6 31.Nxd5! Nxg4 If 31...Nxd5, there follows 32.Rxc6 Rxc6 33.Qa8+ and 31...Qxd5 is met by 32.Rxc6 Rxc6 33.Qa8+ too. 32.Rxc6 Qxd5 33.Qa8+ Black resigned due to 33...Kg7 34.Rxg6+. 1-0

2b) Other side’s initiative: In this case the defending side (Black) is

trying to seek the initiative in the other sectors of the board (centre and kingside). On the other hand, he must also take care over his defensive task. If he can successfully accomplish both these tasks, then he will be able to assume the initiative, thus rendering White's plan unsuccessful.

□ Flohr Salo ■ Ragozin Viacheslav D36 Leningrad 1939 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Lg5 Nbd7 5.e3 c6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Ld3 Le7 8.Qc2 0–0 9.Nf3 Re8 10.0–0 Nf8 11.Ne5 Ng4 12.Lxe7 Qxe7 13.Nxg4 Lxg4 14.Ne2 Rad8 15.Ng3 g6 16.Rfe1 Lc8 17.Rac1 Ne6 18.Nf1 Rd6 19.Nd2 Ng7 20.Qa4 a6 21.Qa3 Qd8 (D)

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22.b4 After some manoeuvres, White opts for the usual plan... 22...g5?! Black decides to get active on the kingside but he could also play 22...Lf5 23.Lxf5 (23.Le2!?) 23...Nxf5 24.Qd3 Rde6 25.a4 Nd6 with a great game. 23.Qc3 f5 24.a4 Rh6 25.b5 axb5 26.axb5 Qf6 27.bxc6 bxc6 White has concluded his plan and he has the advantage. Black is still looking for his chances. 28.Ra1 Rf8 29.Ra8 f4 30.exf4? A bad mistake. After 30.e4! f3 31.g3! White would be on top. 30...Qxf4 31.Nf3 g4 32.Qd2 Qf6?

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Black is even trying to win! He should opt for the natural 32...Qxd2 33.Nxd2 Lf5 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 =. 33.Ng5 Lf5 Or 33...Rg6 34.Lxg6 Qxg6 35.h4 h6 36.Re5 . 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 (D)

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35.Lxf5?! It was time for White to benefit from Black's decisions (22...g5, 32...Qf6), which created weaknesses around his king, with 35.Qf4! Kg8 (35...Lxd3?! 36.Qb8+) 36.Lxf5 Nxf5 37.Re8+ Kg7 38.Qc7+ Kg6 39.Rg8+ Kh5 40.Nxh7 . 35...Qxf5 36.f3 Also good was 36.Nf7! Re6 37.Ne5 Kg8 38.Qa5 . 36...Rg6 Or 36...gxf3 37.Nxf3 Rf6 38.Ne5 . 37.Re5?! Again White misses his chance: 37.Qb4+! Kg8 38.Re5 Qf8 39.Qxf8+ Kxf8 40.Nxh7+ Kg8 41.Ng5 . 37...Qb1+ 38.Kf2 Rf6! 39.Re1 Qf5 40.Re5 40.Ra1 Kg8 41.Ra8+ Rf8 42.Rxf8+ Qxf8 =. 40...Qb1 41.Qa5 A last winning attempt. 41...Kg8! 42.Qa8+ Rf8 43.Qxc6 Qb2+ And White cannot avoid the perpetual check: 44.Kg3!? (44.Kf1 Qb1+) 44...Nh5+ 45.Kh4 Nf4 46.Nxh7! Nxg2+ 47.Kh5 Nf4+ 48.Kg5 Kxh7 49.Re7+

Kg8 50.Qh6 Nh3+ 51.Kh5 Nf4+. ½-½

The next game was a painful defeat for the ex-World Champion Anatoly Karpov, one of the strongest positional players and greatest defenders of all time.

□ Karpov Anatoly ■ Beliavsky Alexander D36 Tilburg 1986 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Lg5 Le7 6.e3 c6 7.Ld3 Nbd7 8.Qc2 0–0 9.Nf3 Re8 10.0–0 Nf8 11.h3 Le6 12.Lf4 Ld6 13.Lxd6 Qxd6 14.a3 (D)

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14...Qe7 14...a5!? is interesting: 15.Na4 N6d7 16.Nc5 b6 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.e4 c5! ÷. 15.b4 Rac8 16.Rfc1 Black was ready to answer 16.b5? with 16...cxb5! 17.Lxb5 Ne4 μ. 16...N6d7 17.Ne2! White is in no hurry and before he goes for b5, regroups his pieces. 17...Ng6 17...Qd8?! is too passive: 18.Nf4 (18.Ng3 a5 19.Qd2 ²) 18...Ng6 19.Nxe6 Rxe6 20.Lf5 Rd6 21.b5 . 18.Ng3 Ndf8 18...b6?! can only weaken Black's queenside: 19.Qa4 (19.La6 Rc7 20.Rab1 ²) 19...Nb8 20.Rc3 . 19.Nd2 Nh4 20.Nb3 Qg5 Black starts his usual operations on the opposite side; the kingside.

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21.Kh2 Rc7 22.Nc5 Lc8 23.Re1 23.Qd2!? Nf5 24.Nxf5 Lxf5 25.b5 ². 23...g6 Black could also think about 23...f5!? 24.f4 Qf6 25.a4 ². 24.Rac1 h5 (D)

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25.b5? The wrong moment to carry out this thematic advance. White should insert 25.f4 Qf6 and only now 26.b5 ². 25...Nxg2! 26.Kxg2 26.Rg1?! Nxe3! (26...Nh4 μ) 27.fxe3 Rxe3 μ can only be beneficial for Black. 26...h4 27.bxc6 hxg3! There was no need to delay the piece re-capture with 27...bxc6?! 28.e4 Ne6 29.exd5 Nf4+ 30.Kh2 Rxe1 31.Rxe1 cxd5 ÷. 28.fxg3 Rxe3 29.Rxe3 White regains his pawn after 29.Qf2 Rxe1 30.Rxe1 Rxc6 31.Re5 but Black keeps a firm grip: 31...Qd8 32.Qf3 Ne6 33.Rxd5 Qe7 μ. 29...Qxe3 30.cxb7 Lxb7 31.Qc3? A blunder in a difficult position. White could not be saved by 31.Qb2?! Ne6! (31...Lc8? 32.Rd1 ÷) 32.Lf1 Nxd4 either, but he should have tried 31.Rb1! Lc8 (31...Qxd4 32.Rxb7 Rxc5 33.Qf2 Qxf2+ 34.Kxf2 μ) 32.Rb4 Ne6 33.Qf2 Qxf2+ 34.Kxf2 Nxc5 35.dxc5 Rxc5 36.Ra4 where he could have saving chances. 31...Rxc5! 32.Qxc5 32.dxc5? d4+.

32...Qxd3 Two pieces for a rook and a weak white king is no match for White... 33.Qc3 Qe2+ 34.Kg1 Ne6 35.Re1 Nxd4! 36.Kh1 Nb5 0-1

Not every time do we have to face a ‘QGD’ opening in the given examples; remember that minority attacks can occur in any opening, for example the ‘Caro-Kann’. The next two examples are quite instructional for our theme:

□ Fischer Robert ■ Petrosian Tigran B13 Belgrade 1970 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Ld3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Lf4 Lg4 7.Qb3 Na5 8.Qa4+ Ld7 9.Qc2 e6 10.Nf3 Qb6 11.a4 Rc8 12.Nbd2 Nc6 13.Qb1 Nh5 14.Le3 h6 15.Ne5 Nf6 16.h3 Ld6 17.0–0 Kf8 (D)

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18.f4! White starts operations on the kingside, in this reversed 'QGD' pawn structure. 18...Le8 18...Nxe5? does not win a pawn but loses a piece: 19.fxe5 Lxe5 20.a5 . 19.Lf2! Qc7 19...g6 does not avoid White's 'annoying' advance: 20.f5! gxf5 21.Lxf5 exf5 22.Qxf5 Qd8 23.Lh4 . 20.Lh4 Ng8 21.f5! Nxe5 22.dxe5 Lxe5 Or 22...Lc5+ 23.Kh1 exf5 24.Lxf5 Ra8 25.e6 .

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23.fxe6 Lf6 24.exf7 Lxf7 25.Nf3! Lxh4 What else? After 25...g5 26.Lf2 Kg7 27.Ld4 White is near to winning. 26.Nxh4 Nf6 27.Ng6+ Lxg6 28.Lxg6 (D)

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28...Ke7! Probably Black's best, as it is essential to connect his rooks and transfer his king to a more secure place, if there is any left... 29.Qf5 Kd8?! Good or bad, Black was forced to go for 29...Rhd8 30.Rae1+ Kf8 31.Lh7 and pray. 30.Rae1 Qc5+ 31.Kh1 Rf8 Black is in a difficult situation and without a good move. Other options such as 31...Rc6 32.Lf7 Kc7 (32...Rf8 33.Lxd5 ) 33.Qg6 also fail to impress. 32.Qe5! Rc7 No good replies for Black anymore, as neither 32...Qc7 33.Qxd5+ Nxd5 34.Rxf8+ Kd7 35.Lf5+ Kd6 36.Rxc8 Qf7 37.Re6+ nor 32...a5 33.c4! d4 34.Qg3 holds. Not a surprise, due to the central location of the black king! 33.b4! Qc6 33...Qxc3 34.Qd6+ . 34.c4! dxc4 35.Lf5 Rff7 36.Rd1+ Rfd7 36...Nd7 37.Rfe1! . 37.Lxd7 Rxd7 37...Nxd7 38.Rf8 #. 38.Qb8+ Ke7 38...Qc8 39.Rxd7+ Nxd7 40.Qd6 . 39.Rde1+

And Black resigned as mate follows: 39...Kf7 40.Qe8 #. 1-0

2c) Lightsquared bishops’ exchange: A simple and effective plan if it can be applied. The concept is simple: after White's b4-b5 advance, which will weaken the c4-square, Black will exchange the lightsquared bishops and then occupy the c4-square with a knight, usually via b6 or d6.

□ Trifunovic Petar ■ Pirc Vasja D65 Saltsjobaden 1948 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Lg5 Le7 5.e3 0–0 6.Rc1 Nbd7 7.Nf3 c6 8.Qc2 Re8 9.a3 a6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Ld3 Nf8 12.0–0 (D)

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12...g6 This idea was first introduced in 1930 by Fritz Saemisch. Black's plan is simple: ...Ne6-g7 and ...Lf5, exchanging White’s lightsquared bishop thus weakens the c4-square. But it is true that Black loses valuable time and he gets nearly no activity. 13.Na4 13.Rfe1!? Ne6 14.Lh4 Ng7 15.Qb3 Nfh5 16.Lxe7 Qxe7 17.e4 dxe4 18.Lxe4 ² was seen in Le Roux,J-Legky,N France 2005. Also, 13.b4 Ne6 14.Lxf6 Lxf6 15.a4 Ng7 16.b5 axb5 17.axb5 Lf5 18.Lxf5 Nxf5 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Na4 ² should be taken into account, as in Kotov,A-Pachman,L Venice 1950.

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13...Ne6 14.Lh4 Ng7 15.Nc5 Nd7! Exchanges help the 'weak' side! 16.Lxe7 Rxe7 17.b4 Nb6 Preparing the occupation of the c4-square, after the lightsquared bishops' exchange. White must hurry. 18.a4! Lf5 19.Nd2 Lxd3 20.Qxd3 Nf5 Draw agreed, as after 21.a5 (21.b5?! cxb5 22.axb5 a5 23.Ra1 Nd6 favours only Black) 21...Nc8 22.Nf3 Ncd6, Black is fine but no more. ½-½

□ Agdestein Simen ■ Hansen Curt D65 Espoo 1989 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Le7 5.Lg5 0–0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 a6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Ld3 Re8 10.0–0 c6 11.Qc2 Nf8 12.a3 g6 13.Na4 Ne6 14.Lh4 Ng7 15.Nc5 Rb8 16.b4 Lf5 17.Ne5 Lxd3 18.Qxd3 Ne4?! Black could think of 18...Ng4!? 19.Lxe7 (19.Nxg4 Lxh4 20.Nh6+ Kf8 21.f4 f5 22.e4 dxe4 23.Qc4 Qd5 24.Qxd5 cxd5 25.Nd7+ Ke7 26.Nxb8 Ne6 °) 19...Nxe5 20.dxe5 Qxe7 21.f4 Ne6 22.Nb3 ² but not of 18...Nf5? 19.Lxf6 Lxf6 20.Ned7 Ra8 21.Nxf6+ Qxf6 22.Nxb7 . 19.Lxe7?! Missing a good chance with 19.Nxb7! Rxb7 20.Nxc6 Qa8 21.Nxe7+ Rexe7 22.Lxe7 Rxe7 23.Qc2 . 19...Qxe7 20.Nxe4 Now the 'combination' of the previous move is not that effective: 20.Nxa6 bxa6 21.Nxc6 Qb7 22.Nxb8 Rxb8 23.Rc2 Nd6 24.Rfc1 Ne6 ÷. White was forced on the text move, as Black was planning ...Nd6 and ...f6, with a perfect position. 20...dxe4 21.Qb3 Ne6 A typical pawn structure transformation has occurred. Although it is still possible to continue with the minority attack (a4, b5), there is a second, quite active continuation. 22.f4!? exf3 22...f6?! 23.Nc4 f5 24.a4 favours White. 23.Rxf3 Ng5?! 23...f6! 24.Nd3 Rbd8 25.Rcf1 f5 ÷ was correct.

24.Rf2 Qe6 25.Qxe6 Rxe6 26.h4! Ne4 27.Rf4 27.Rxf7? Rxe5!. 27...Ng3 28.Kf2 Nh5 29.Rf3 f5 30.g4 fxg4 30...Rxe5?! looks very attractive, but White can come out on top: 31.gxh5! (31.dxe5? fxg4 32.Rf4 Nxf4 33.exf4 Rd8 μ) 31...Re4 32.hxg6 hxg6 33.Rg1 Kg7 34.Rfg3 (34.h5?! Rg4 =) 34...Rxh4 35.Rxg6+ Kf7 36.Rg7+ Ke6 37.Ke2! . 31.Nxg4 Re4 32.Rg1 Kg7 32...Rd8!? 33.Nh6+ Kg7 34.Nf7 Rb8 35.Nd6 Re6 36.Nf5+ Kg8 37.Ng3 ². 33.Ke2 Rbe8?! Better was 33...Rf8 34.Rxf8 Kxf8 35.Kd3 Re6 36.Rf1+ Ke7 37.a4 ². 34.Kd3 R8e7 35.a4! It is never too late for the minority attack! White's advantage is growing. 35...a5 So Black tries to be active. 36.bxa5 c5 37.Ne5! Rxh4 38.Rgf1 cxd4 39.exd4 Re8 40.Rf7+ Kh6 41.Rxb7 Nf4+ 42.Kc4 Rc8+ 43.Kb5 Ne6 44.Rff7! Nxd4+ 45.Kb6 Re4 45...Kg5 46.a6! Re4 47.Rbe7 . 46.Rbe7 Nf5 47.Rxh7+ Kg5 48.Nf7+ Kf4 49.Rh4+! Nxh4 50.Rxe4+ Black resigned as White's a-pawn is too quick: 50...Kxe4 (50...Kg3 51.a6 ) 51.Nd6+ Kd5 52.Nxc8 . 1-0

2d) The ...b5 plan: A very common plan. Black can physically prevent White's b4-b5 advance with ...b5. The resulting weakness on c6 can be easily covered by placing a knight on c4 (...Nc4), via b6 or d6. Usually White tries to break down Black’s pawn structure with a central e4 strike. □ Pachman Ludek ■ Averbakh Yuri D38 Saltsjobaden 1952 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Lg5 Lb4+ 5.Nc3 h6 6.Lxf6 Qxf6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Rc1 0–0 9.a3 Lxc3+ 10.Rxc3 c6 11.e3 Re8

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Also possible is 11...a5 12.Ld3 Lg4 13.h3 Lh5 14.g4 Lg6 15.Ne5 Lxd3 16.Qxd3 Qe7 = Denker,A-Fischer,R New York 1959. 12.Le2 a5 12...Lf5 13.Ne5 Nd7 14.Nxd7 Lxd7 15.0–0 Qd6 is equal, but White should be careful not to try the minority attack with 16.b4?! a5 17.Qb3 axb4 18.axb4 as after 18...b5! (Botsari,A-Atalik,S Chalkida 1998) Black takes over the advantage, as the white b4-pawn is weaker than his c6 one and the occupation of the a-file is rather pleasant. 13.0–0 Lg4 White might get something after 13...a4 14.Ne5 Nd7 15.f4 ² as it is very difficult for Black to go for ...f6, which will create too many holes around his king. 14.b4 The minority attack rolls. 14...axb4 15.axb4 Nd7 16.Qb3 (D)

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White should be careful, as the game of chess contains not only strategic concepts but also tactical ones! After the naive 16.b5?! Black replies with 16...c5! achieving a better position: 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Lxe2 19.exf6 Lxd1 20.Rxd1 b6 μ. 16...b5! Stopping White's b5-advance and preparing ...Nb6-c4. 17.Rfc1 Re6! The correct set-up. Black must protect his pawn from the side, not self-pinning his rooks: 17...Rec8? 18.Lxb5 . 18.Qb2

White must hurry to exchange rooks in order to avoid falling into a passive position. 18...Lxf3 18...Nb6 19.Ra3 Ree8 20.Rca1 Rxa3 21.Qxa3 Ra8 22.Qc3 Rxa1+ 23.Qxa1 =. 19.Lxf3 Nb6 20.Ra3 Ree8 21.Rxa8 Rxa8 22.Ra1 Qd8 23.h3 Draw agreed in an equal position. ½-½ □ Radjabov Teimour ■ Bruzon Batista Lazaro D36 Biel 2006 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Lg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Le7 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Ld3 0–0 9.Qc2 Re8 10.0–0 Nf8 11.h3 g6 12.Lf4 Ne6 13.Le5 Ng7 14.Rab1 Lf5 15.b4 a6 16.a4 Lxd3 17.Qxd3 (D)

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17...b5!? This is a valid way to prevent a worse structural position on the queenside. The alternative is 17...Ld6 18.Rfd1 Ne6 19.b5 axb5 20.axb5 Lxe5 21.Nxe5 c5! (21...Ra3?! 22.bxc6 bxc6 23.Qd2 ) 22.dxc5 Nxc5 23.Qd4 Nce4 24.Rbc1 ². 18.Rfc1 Nf5 19.e4!? 19.Ne2 Qd7 20.Rc2 Ne4 with the idea ...Nd6, seems fine for Black and 19.Lh2!?, planning Ne5 to create some unpleasant threats, was also possible. But the text move is a typical 'mechanism' to play against the b5-c6-d5 pawn structure. White 'states' that Black's c6-pawn will prove weaker than his d4-pawn.

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19...dxe4 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 Black might have considered 20...bxa4 21.Rxc6 Nxe4 22.Qxe4 a3 23.g4 Nd6 24.Qd3 (24.Qd5 Nb5 25.Qc4 ²) 24...Nb5 25.d5 Qd7 26.Qc4 Rad8 27.Rd1 ². 21.Qxe4 Qd5 21...f6 was possible, when 22.g4! would be strong: 22...fxe5 (22...Ng7 23.Lh2 ²) 23.gxf5 gxf5 24.Qxc6 (24.Qxf5 exd4 25.Rxc6 Rf8 26.Qe4 ²) 24...Kh8 (24...e4?! 25.Qe6+ Kh8 26.Ne5 Qxd4 27.Kh1! ) 25.axb5 axb5 26.dxe5 Rg8+ 27.Kh1 Ra2 28.Rg1! Rxf2 29.Rxg8+ Qxg8 30.Rg1 ². 22.Qxd5 cxd5 23.axb5 axb5 (D)

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24.Rc6! A very important move that had to be foreseen around five moves ago. White stops an eventual ...f6 and prepares Rb6. 24...Ra2 25.Rb6 f6! 26.Lh2 26.Lb8 would probably be a better move, to close the a8-square for the e8-rook, as after the move played, the fantastic manoeuvre ...Ra8-a3 was possible. After this move Black should get active with 26...Rc8! 27.Rxb5 Rcc2 28.Rf1 Rab2 29.Rxd5 Rxb4 ². 26...Lxb4?! Black missed 26...Rea8! 27.g4 (27.Rxb5 Ra1! 28.Rf1 Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Ra1+ 30.Ke2 Ra2+ = or 27.Rf1!? Lxb4 28.Rxb5 Lc3 29.Rxd5 R2a4 30.g4 Nxd4 31.Kg2 =) 27...R8a3! (this was really hard to foresee for Black after White's 26th move)

28.gxf5 Rxf3 29.fxg6 Rfxf2 30.gxh7+ Kxh7 =. 27.g4! La5? 27...Nxd4! was a better choice: 28.Nxd4 Lc5 29.Re6 Rxe6 30.Nxe6 Lxf2+ 31.Kf1 ². 28.Ra6! Ng7 29.Rxb5 Ra3 30.Kg2 Lb4 31.Rxa3 31.Rxf6 Le7 32.Rc6 was quite possible. 31...Lxa3 32.Rxd5 Le7 33.Ra5! Rd8 34.d5! Lb4 35.Rb5 Lc3 36.Kf1! White had won a healthy pawn and the rest was a matter of good technique. 36...h5 37.Ke2 hxg4 38.hxg4 Ra8 39.Rb3 La5 40.Nd4 Re8+ 41.Kd3 Le1 42.d6! Rd8 43.Rb7! Black resigned due to 43...La5 (43...Lxf2 44.Rxg7+ Kxg7 45.Ne6+ Kg8 46.Nxd8) 44.d7 Kf7 45.Nc6. 1-0

2e) The ...c5 plan: This is another often used concept; Black may reply to White's b4-b5 with ...c5, ignoring the resulting isolated pawn on d5 and creating a powerful initiative in the centre. In practice, this plan has proved one of the most dangerous for the side executing the minority attack, as it contains a lot of ‘energy’ that is seeded in the centre.

□ Pachman Ludek ■ Ragozin Viacheslav D35 Saltsjobaden 1948 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qc2 g6 7.Lg5 Lg7 8.e3 Lf5 9.Ld3 Lxd3 10.Qxd3 Nbd7 11.0–0

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0–0 12.Rab1 Qe7 13.Rfc1 Qe6 14.Nd2 Rfe8 15.Lxf6 Lxf6 16.b4 Rac8 (D)

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17.b5?! Too optimistic. White should have opted for 17.Na4 Qd6 18.Nc5 Rc7 ÷. 17...c5! 18.dxc5 And now he should also seriously consider 18.Nf3 c4 19.Qc2 Ld8 ³. 18...Nxc5 19.Qf1 d4 20.exd4 Lxd4 Black got rid of his central pawns, offering to his bishop a wide range of action and he can already state that he has gained a nice advantage. 21.Re1 Qf5 22.Ne2 Lf6 23.Nc4 Ne4 24.Ng3 Nxg3 25.Rxe8+ Rxe8 26.hxg3 Ld4 27.Rd1 Qc5 28.Na5 Rd8 29.Rd2 Qc7 30.Nb3 Lb6 31.Rxd8+ Qxd8 32.Qe2 Qd5 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+k+( 7zpp+-+p+p' 6-vl-+-+p+& 5+P+q+-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3+N+-+-zP-# 2P+-+QzPP+" 1+-+-+-mK-! xabcdefghy

Black still holds a great advantage but in the end he couldn't achieve more than the split of the point. The rest of the game is irrelevant to our subject. 33.g4 h6 34.Kf1 Kg7 35.Qb2+ Kh7 36.Qe2 a5 37.bxa6 bxa6 38.Kg1 a5 39.Nc1 a4 40.Nd3 Qc4 41.Kf1 a3 42.g3 Ld4 43.Nf4 Qc1+ 44.Kg2 Qb2 45.Kf1 Kg7 46.Nd3 Qb7 47.Kg1 g5 48.Kh2 Qc6 49.Nb4 Qc5 50.Nd3 Qc6 51.Nb4 Qb6 52.Nd3 Qb7 53.Kg1 Qb1+ 54.Kg2 Lc3 55.Nc5 Qb4 56.Ne4 Lb2 57.Qd3 Qb7 58.f3 Qc6 59.Nd6 Kg8 60.Nf5 Qe6 ½-½

Well, Black will not always be as successful as in the previous example. White can usually drag out a slight advantage but of course Black is still very much in the game and can present a very tough fight.

□ Portisch Lajos ■ Beliavsky Alexander D36 Brussels 1988 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Lg5 Le7 6.e3 0–0 7.Ld3 Re8 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.Nf3 c6 10.h3 Nf8 11.Lf4 Ld6 12.Lxd6 Qxd6 13.0–0 Qe7 14.Rab1 Ne4 15.b4 Lf5 16.Rb3 (D)

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16...Rad8?! 16...Rac8! looked more to the point: 17.b5 c5! 18.dxc5 (18.Nxd5? Qd8! 19.Nf4 c4 20.Lxc4 Nd6 μ) 18...Rxc5 (18...Qxc5 19.Nd4 Ne6 20.Nxf5 Nxc3 21.Nd6 Qxd6 22.Rxc3 Rxc3 23.Qxc3 d4 24.exd4

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Nxd4 =) 19.Qb2 Ne6 ÷. 17.b5 c5 Black had no choice. After 17...cxb5 18.Rxb5 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 Lxd3 20.Qxd3 b6 21.a4 another minority attack will be seen against b6. 18.dxc5 Qxc5 19.Nd4 Lg6?! Black should have opted for 19...Rc8 20.Rc1 Lg6 21.Nxe4 Qxc2 22.Rxc2 dxe4 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Lf1 Nd7 25.Ra3 ². 20.Nxe4! Qxc2 21.Lxc2 Lxe4 Black's problems could not be solved either with the alternative 21...dxe4 22.Ra3 Ra8 23.Lb3 . 22.Lxe4 Rxe4 Or 22...dxe4 23.Ra3 Ra8 24.Rc1 a6 25.bxa6 Rxa6 26.Rxa6 bxa6 27.Rc6 Ra8 28.Nf5 . 23.Ra3 (D)

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23...Ne6!? An interesting pawn sacrifice in exchange for some activity. Black would be tied down after the prosaic 23...Ra8 24.Rc1 Re7 25.b6 (25.Rc5 Rd7 26.Rac3 ) 25...a6 26.Rac3 . 24.Nxe6 White could also consider 24.f3!? Re5 25.Rxa7 Nxd4 26.exd4 Re7 27.Rc1 or 24.Rxa7 Nxd4 25.exd4 Rb8 26.Rd1 . 24...fxe6 25.Rxa7 Rd7 26.Rc1?! The accurate 26.Rb1! should prove enough: 26...e5 27.a4 d4 28.a5! dxe3 29.fxe3 Rd2 30.Rxb7 Rxe3 31.Rb8+ Kf7 32.Rf1+

Kg6 33.Rf3! . 26...Rb4! 27.a4 e5 28.Rc6?! White's best chances lay in 28.Rc8+ Kf7 29.Rb8 Kf6 30.Raxb7 Rxb7 31.Rxb7 Rxa4 32.Rb6+ Ke7 33.Kf1 . 28...d4 29.exd4 exd4 30.b6 bxc6 30...d3 was good enough for the draw: 31.Rc7 (31.Rc8+? Kf7 32.Rc7 (32.Rc1 d2 33.Rd1 Re4 34.Kf1 Rde7 ) 32...Ke6 (32...Rbd4? 33.Raxb7 ) 33.Raxb7 Rb1+ 34.Kh2 Rd6–+) 31...Rd8 32.Raxb7 d2 33.Rxg7+ =. 31.Rxd7 Rxb6 32.Rxd4 c5 33.Re4 Rb4 34.f3 c4 35.a5 Ra4 ½-½

When White’s b-pawn advances without being able to be exchanged, then it ‘creates’ some holes and leaves a number of unprotected squares on the queenside. Taking these facts into account, Black usually has enough compensation for his structural weakness.

□ Van Wely Loek ■ Sokolov Ivan D36 Wijk aan Zee 1995 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Lg5 h6 6.Lh4 Le7 7.e3 0–0 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qc2 Re8 10.Ld3 c6 11.0–0 Ne4 12.Lxe7 Qxe7 13.b4 Ndf6 Possible is 13...a6 14.a4 Nb6 15.a5 (15.b5 cxb5 16.axb5 a5! ÷) 15...Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Nd7 17.Nd2 ². 14.b5 (D)

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14...c5 15.dxc5 Nxc5 15...Qxc5? is a blunder: 16.Nxe4 Qxc2 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 18.Lxc2 . 16.Rac1 Nce4! Accurate. 16...b6 17.Nd4 Lb7 18.a4 Rec8 19.Lf5 Ne6 20.Nc6! Qd6 21.Ne2 ² Geller,E-Durao,J Sochi 1977 and 16...Nxd3 17.Qxd3 Le6 18.Nd4 ² proved quite nice for White. 17.Qb2 Ld7 (D)

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Time to take stock. White has succeeded in his minority attack; he has created an isolated weak black d-pawn and can plan around it. On the other hand Black should also be satisfied, as he has solved his opening problems more or less, except of course his weak pawn. But his well-placed and active pieces fully compensate for it. 18.h3 Rac8 19.Ne2 Nc5 19...Rxc1 was possible: 20.Qxc1 (20.Rxc1? Nxf2! ) 20...Rc8 21.Qb2 Nc5 ÷. 20.Lc2 Nce4?! Not so bad, but 20...Rc7! 21.Nfd4 Rec8 ÷ was more active. 21.a4 Ng5 22.Nfd4 Rc4 23.Nf4 Rec8 24.Lb3 R4c5 25.Rcd1?! Too optimistic. The natural continuation was 25.Rxc5 Rxc5 (25...Qxc5? 26.Qa2! ) 26.Nd3 Rc7 27.Rc1 ². 25...Nge4 26.Nde2 Le6 27.Qd4 a6 28.Nd3?! 28.bxa6 bxa6 29.f3 Nc3 30.Nxc3 Rxc3 ÷. 28...R5c7 29.b6

29.Rc1? would be a blunder: 29...Nd2! but 29.Ndf4 was about equal. 29...Rc6 30.Ne5 Rc5 31.Nf4 31.Nd3 Nc3! 32.Nxc3 Rxc3 ³. 31...Qd6 32.Ned3? Here comes the blunder anyway! 32.Rb1 was forced. 32...Rc3! 33.La2 a5?! 33...Ra3! 34.Qb2 Nc3 35.Ra1 Rxa4 was winning on the spot. 34.Ne5 R3c5 35.Ned3 Rc2 36.Ra1 36.Lb3 R2c3 37.La2 Ra3 . 36...Rd2 37.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 38.Rxd1 Nc3 39.Rd2 39.Ra1 Qa3 40.Nc1 Nxa2 41.Nxa2 Rc2 . 39...Nfe4 40.Nxe6 fxe6 41.Rc2 Rc6! White is about to lose material - Black's pieces proved rather active and White never had any real 'annoying' plan. 42.Ne5 42.f3 Ng3! . 42...Rc5 43.Nd3 Nb5! 44.Qb2 44.axb5 Rxc2 . 44...Rxc2 45.Qxc2 Nbc3 46.f3 Ng3! 47.Kf2 47.Qxc3? Ne2+ . 47...Nge2 48.Nf4 Qc6! 49.Ke1 49.Nxe2? Ne4+ . 49...Nxf4 50.exf4 Qc5 50...Qxb6 was playable too: 51.Qxc3 Qg1+ 52.Kd2 Qxg2+ 53.Ke3 Qxa2 . 51.Kf1 Ne4! 52.Qxc5 Nxc5 White can resign as all his queenside pawns are ready to fall. 53.f5 Kf7 54.Ke2 Nxa4 55.Kd3 Nxb6 56.fxe6+ Kxe6 57.Kd4 Kd6 58.f4 Nc4 59.g4 59.Lxc4 dxc4 60.Kxc4 a4 61.g4 b5+ 62.Kb4 Kd5 . 59...b5 60.g5 a4 61.h4 b4 62.f5 b3 0-1

2f) The ...cxb5 and ...a5 plan: Rare in practice, but a fully acceptable plan when it can be applied. So, Black may reply

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to White’s b4-b5 with ...cxb5 and ...a5. In this case Black remains with a weak isolated d-pawn but he gets good activity based on his passed a-pawn. □ Portisch Lajos ■ Beliavsky Alexander D36 Linares 1989 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Lg5 Le7 6.e3 0–0 7.Ld3 Nbd7 8.Nf3 Re8 9.0–0 c6 10.Qc2 Nf8 11.h3 g6 12.Lxf6 Lxf6 13.b4 Ne6 (D)

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14.Rfd1 Probably it is too early for 14.b5?! c5! 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Rac1 Le6 when Black would be rather active. 14...a6 15.Rab1 Le7 15...Ng5 16.Nxg5 Lxg5 17.a4 Le6 = is an alternative continuation. 16.a4 Ld6 A typical rearrangement of the darksquared bishop, aiming to reinforce the attack towards the white king. 17.Re1 White could play the main theme in this pawn structure: 17.b5 axb5 18.axb5 Ng5 19.Nxg5 Qxg5 20.bxc6 bxc6 (20...Lxh3? 21.f4 Qg3 22.cxb7 Qxe3+ 23.Qf2 or 20...Rb8? 21.f4 Qg3 22.Nxd5 ) 21.Kf1 ÷. 17...Ng5 18.Nxg5 Qxg5 19.Kf1 Le6 20.Ne2 Only Black would be happy now after the thematic 20.b5?! axb5 21.axb5 c5 22.dxc5

Lxc5 μ. 20...Qh4 21.Ng1 Qe7 22.Qc3 Qf6 23.Qc2 Of course not 23.Nf3? Lxh3 μ. 23...Rac8 24.Qd1 Kg7 25.Rb2 Qe7 26.Qb1 Qf6 27.Qd1 h5 28.Qf3 Qg5 29.Qd1 Ld7 30.b5? White should adopt a 'waiting policy' with something like 30.Nf3 Qe7 31.Qb3. 30...cxb5! Also good was 30...axb5 31.axb5 c5 32.dxc5 Lxc5 33.Nf3 Qf6 34.Rb1 Ra8 μ. 31.axb5 a5 Black's position is rather attractive. He can try to benefit from his bishop pair and his passed a-pawn. On the other hand weaknesses like his isolated d-pawn do not count as White is not in a position even to approach it! 32.Rc2 Qf6 33.Rxc8 Rxc8 34.Re2 Qd8 34...Lf5!? 35.Lxf5 Qxf5 36.Ra2 Lb4 μ. 35.Rb2 35.Rc2 a4 36.Ne2 (36.Rxc8 Qxc8 37.Qxa4? Qc1+ 38.Ke2 Qxg1 ) 36...Rxc2 37.Qxc2 Qa5 38.Nc3 a3 . 35...a4 36.Ne2 Qa5 37.Rb1 There is no difference with 37.Qe1 as Black's passed pawn is too strong: 37...Qa8 (37...Qxe1+ 38.Kxe1 a3 μ) 38.Rb1 a3 . 37...Lb4 37...a3 was more accurate. 38.Kg1 Lxb5 39.Lxb5 Qxb5 Black has won material and the end is near. 40.Nf4 (D)

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40...a3 40...Rc4 41.Qf3 a3 was clearer. 41.Nd3 41.Qb3 Qc4! 42.Qxb4 Qxb4 43.Rxb4 a2 44.Ra4 Rc1+ 45.Kh2 a1Q 46.Rxa1 Rxa1 47.Nxd5 b5 . 41...Rc4 42.Ne5 After 42.Qb3 Black wins with 42...Rc3! 43.Qxb4 (if 43.Qxc3 Lxc3 44.Rxb5 a2 ) 43...Qxd3 44.Ra1 Rb3 45.Qd6 Rb1+ 46.Rxb1 Qxb1+ 47.Kh2 a2 48.Qe5+ Kh7 49.Qxd5 Kg8 50.Qd8+ Kg7 . 42...Rc3 White resigned as he had no satisfactory continuation at his disposal: 43.g4 (43.Qf3 f6 43...hxg4 44.Qxg4 a2 45.Ra1 Ld6!. 0-1

Capablanca's Manoeuvre This is one of the means of trying to counter the minority attack, which was first used by the great Jose Raul Capablanca during his World Championship match with Alexander Alekhine. This plan still occurs in games played today and represents a major weapon in Black's (the defending side’s) general arsenal of ideas. Capablanca's remarkable intuition led him to understand that in the ‘QGD - Exchange Variation’ pawn structure formation, the very best place for a black knight is on the d6-square. From here it not only helps defend against the minority attack (b4-b5) but it is ready to hop into either c4 or e4 at the right moment. Additionally the knight can be used to support an exchange of the lightsquared bishops with ...Lf5 (White's bishop presumably standing on d3). This is one of Black's major themes in this structural formation because it makes b4-b5 even harder for White to achieve and may also help to expose the c4-square. Here is the historic game:

□ Alekhine Alexander ■ Capablanca Jose Raul D64 Buenos Aires 1927 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nd7 4.Nc3 Ngf6 5.Lg5 Le7 6.e3 0–0 7.Rc1 c6 8.Qc2 a6

9.a3 h6 10.Lh4 Re8 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Ld3 Nh5 13.Lxe7 Rxe7 14.0–0 Nhf6 15.h3 (D)

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It was even way back in 1927 when the great Capa first introduced this very important idea: 15...Ne8! 16.Ne2 Nd6 This is a really superb post for the knight, as it's now very difficult for White to achieve any of his desired pawn levers (b4-b5 or e3-e4). The game now sees steady simplification after which nobody has much to play for. 17.Ng3 Nf8 18.Ne5 f6 Black can afford this dangerously looking move as White cannot really benefit from the holes around the black king. 19.Ng6 Nxg6 20.Lxg6 Le6 21.Ne2 Qd7 22.Nf4 (D)

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22...Lf5! Of course. The exchange of the lightsquared bishops helps Black to better control the valuable c4-square. As previously mentioned, another point behind having the knight on d6 is that it is often able to support this exchange. 23.Lxf5 Qxf5 23...Nxf5 is playable but Black is satisfied with the draw. 24.Qxf5 Nxf5 25.Nd3 Nd6 In an equal position both sides decided to call it a day. ½-½

The importance of preserving a knight (and the queen in most of the cases) on the board can be seen in the following game:

□ Andersson Ulf ■ Atalik Suat D36 Kusadasi 2006 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Lg5 Le7 7.Qc2 g6 8.e3 Lf5 9.Ld3 Lxd3 10.Qxd3 Nbd7 11.0–0 0–0 12.Rab1 a5 13.Qc2 Re8 14.a3 Nb6 15.Na4?! This move looks really bad and it has to be bad. White has to opt for 15.Ne5 Nfd7 16.Lxe7 Rxe7 17.Nxd7 Rxd7 18.Na4 Nc8! ÷, as in Kaposztas,M-Szalai,K Hungary 2007. 15...Nxa4 16.Qxa4 (D)

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16...Ne4! 17.Lxe7 Rxe7 Black is ready to place his knight on d6 and

then try his chances on both sides. 18.Qc2 a4 19.Nd2 Nxd2?! Of course there was no point to this exchange, as the white knight has no real prospects. 19...Nd6 20.Rbe1 Qd7 ³ was the correct follow-up. 20.Qxd2 Qa5 21.Qc3! Qxc3 22.bxc3 b5 23.Rfe1 f5 24.Kf1 Rf8 25.Ke2 The endgame is equal and both sides cannot do much. 25...Kf7 Or 25...f4 26.Kd3 f3 27.g3 =. 26.Kd3 Ke6 27.h4 Kd6 28.g3 h6 29.Rh1 Rfe8 30.Rbe1 Rc8 31.Rb1 Ke6 32.Rb2 Kd6 33.Rbb1 Rce8 34.Rbe1 Rc8 35.Rb1 Rce8 ½-½

The next two games are an even more vivid demonstration of Black's strategic themes. Black exchanges the lightsquared bishops in the opening and with the knight on d6 effectively stymies any hope that White might have had of playing b4-b5. The knight later plays a decisive role in both Black's kingside pawn advance and an eventual harvest of White's queenside pawns (or in the attack).

□ Nikolic Predrag ■ Kramnik Vladimir D35 Monte Carlo 1998 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Lg5 Le7 7.e3 Lf5 8.Ld3 Lxd3 9.Qxd3 Nbd7 10.0–0 0–0 11.Rab1 a5 12.a3 Ne4 13.Lxe7 Qxe7 14.b4 A typical minority attack for which Black seems to be fully prepared. 14...b5! A black knight is prepared to enter safely the c4-square sooner or later. 15.Qc2 axb4 16.axb4 Nd6! Avoiding future exchanges which would ease White's position. The d6-knight is a much more useful piece than any of its opposing knights. 17.Rb3 Nb6 18.Ne5 Rfc8 19.Nd3 Nbc4 20.Nc5 Re8 21.h3 g6 22.Rc1 Ra7! Black prepares the full occupation of the a-file (or not?). His active pieces and plans

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secure the advantage. 23.Qd1 h5 24.Kh1 Qg5 25.Rbb1 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+r+k+( 7tr-+-+p+-' 6-+psn-+p+& 5+psNp+-wqp% 4-zPnzP-+-+$ 3+-sN-zP-+P# 2-+-+-zPP+" 1+RtRQ+-+K! xabcdefghy

It's quite clear that something went wrong for White in the middlegame. He succeeded neither in his minority attack, which Black managed properly to halt, nor in a central break. Black's reactions were excellent and, as a result, he has taken over the important a-file and has placed his knights on excellent central squares. Black has a great advantage, but no position can be won just by sitting back and waiting - a typical mistake that we can see in a lot of games. Having achieved a huge advantage only means that we have the best chance of winning, but not that we have already won! Black must form a plan to convert his huge advantage. 25...Rae7!? Of course 25...Rea8 is the move that 99,99% of all serious chess players would choose but Kramnik belongs to the other 0,01% minority, which consists of the absolute top genius! He judged that he could not 'expect' much from the a-file and that the real target is the white king, so he chose to transfer his forces towards him. Doubling rooks on the e-file and sacrificing a knight on e3 was seriously consider by Kramnik, although this is hardly a standard plan in such positions. A powerful plan which will break down White's defence. 26.Ra1 Nf5 Now the threat of ...Nxe3 becomes very real! 27.Ra2 (D)

There was no reason to prepare the next sac further. White's position falls apart, as Black's activity is too powerful. This game is highly instructional, as it shows how the 'logical imagination' of a strong GM converts an unquestionable positional advantage into a full point on the scorecard, without 'sitting on his hands' and waiting for the fruits to fall. It is of greater importance to shake the tree well!

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+r+k+( 7+-+-trp+-' 6-+p+-+p+& 5+psNp+nwqp% 4-zPnzP-+-+$ 3+-sN-zP-+P# 2R+-+-zPP+" 1+-tRQ+-+K! xabcdefghy

27...Ncxe3! 28.fxe3 Rxe3 29.Rf2 There was no real alternative: 29.Qd2 Qh4 30.Raa1 Ng3+ 31.Kh2 Ne2 32.Nxe2 Rxe2 33.Qd1 R8e3 . 29...Qh4 Combining the attack with threats for material gains; the weak white pawns (d4, b4) can fall apart. 30.Qd2 White could try 30.Kg1 although after 30...Nxd4 (30...Re1+ 31.Qxe1 Rxe1+ 32.Rxe1 Qxd4 ³) 31.Qd2 Nf5 32.Ne2 Qf6 Black would be in the driver's seat anyway. 30...Nxd4 Also possible was 30...Qxd4 31.Qxd4 Nxd4 32.Kg1 (32.Rd2 Nf5 33.Kg1 h4 ³) 32...Nf5 33.Rf4 h4 ³ but there is no point exchanging queens when in attack. 31.Rcf1? 31.Nd3? Nb3 was not a real alternative, but White had to opt for 31.Kg1 Nf5 32.Ne2 Qf6, transposing to the line mentioned above on White's 30th move.

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31...Nf5! 32.Rxf5 Making Black's task easier. More practical chances were to be found in 32.Kg1 Qxb4 33.Nxd5 Qxc5 34.Nf6+ Kg7 35.Nxe8+ Rxe8 or in 32.Rf4 Qg5! 33.Kg1 Rxh3, although White's position would be objectively lost in both cases. 32...gxf5 33.Nd1 Or 33.Nd3 Qg3! 34.Rd1 Rxd3 35.Qxd3 Re1+ . 33...Re1 34.Kg1 R8e2! 35.Qc3 Rxd1 0-1 □ Portisch Lajos ■ Kasparov Garry D36 Skelleftea 1989 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 6.Qc2 Na6 7.a3 Nc7 8.Lg5 g6 9.e3 Lf5 10.Ld3 Lxd3 11.Qxd3 Le7 12.0–0 0–0 13.b4 Ne4 14.Lf4 Nxc3 (D)

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15.Qxc3?! White should definitely take out Black's remaining knight via 15.Lxc7 Qxc7 16.Qxc3 =. Probably he missed Black's clever sixteenth move. 15...Ld6 16.Lxd6 Nb5! Very clever. Now Black's knight gets to the ideal square and it becomes much easier for him to advance on the kingside than it is for White to make progress on the other flank. 17.Qb3 Nxd6 18.a4 a6 A clear mistake would be 18...a5?! 19.b5! cxb5 20.Qxd5! ÷. 19.Ne5?!

The knight will get driven away from here via ...f7-f6. 19.g3 might have been a better plan, intending to reinforce White's king position with Nf3-h4-g2. It would have been very difficult for Black to make progress after that but of course he will be the only one to have chances. 19...Re8 20.Rfe1 Qg5 21.h3?! 21.g3 was better here too, not least because Black's breakthrough may come via ...f7-f5-f4. 21...Kg7 22.Qc2 Re6 23.Rac1 Rae8 24.Qb1 And here 24.Qd1 was better, keeping the queen in contact with the kingside. 24...Qh5! 25.Qb3 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+r+-+( 7+p+-+pmkp' 6p+psnr+p+& 5+-+psN-+q% 4PzP-zP-+-+$ 3+Q+-zP-+P# 2-+-+-zPP+" 1+-tR-tR-mK-! xabcdefghy

Black should be quite satisfied by the opening outcome and his middlegame prospects. White seems to have no active plan at his disposal, as his minority attack cannot progress. As a result of this, Black's hands on the kingside are free and as his pieces are well placed; his kingside pawns must start rolling. This can be done best by the ...f6, ...g5 and ...h5 structural formation. 25...f6 26.Nd3 It seems that White could put up a more stubborn defence after 26.Nf3 g5 27.Nh2 but this is not the case after 27...f5! μ. 26...g5 27.Qd1 Qg6! Of course! Black's queen will prove to be more useful than its counterpart. 28.Qc2 R6e7! 29.Red1 Maybe White had to try 29.Nc5 when Black

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should calmly retreat with 29...Qf7 (29...Qxc2 30.Rxc2 f5 31.Nd3 f4 32.Ne5 fxe3 33.fxe3 Nf7 34.Nxf7 Kxf7 35.b5! ³ or 29...f5 30.Nd3 f4 31.Ne5 ³ should only help White) 30.Nd3 h5, when the attack will grow strong. 29...h5 30.Qb1 After 30.Ne1, Black would again avoid the exchange of queens with 30...Qh6! in order to maintain his chances against White's king. 30...h4 31.Qc2 g4 32.Nf4? This loses. White's best try was 32.hxg4 Qxg4 33.Nf4 after which 33...Kh6 34.Kh2 Rg8 gives Black very dangerous attacking chances but nothing that's crystal clear. 32...Qxc2 Now Black accepts the queen exchange, as he has a clear winning continuation to follow. 33.Rxc2 g3! 34.Rd3 34.fxg3 is powerfully met by 34...Nf5! . 34...Kh6 35.Kf1 Kg5 36.Ne2?! In time trouble White's resistance crumbles and we see the d6-knight make a decisive entrance. 36.Re2 was the best, though Black could then play 36...Ne4 37.f3 Nd6 intending 38...Nc4. 36...Nc4! 37.Rcc3 Nb2 38.Rd2 Nxa4 (D)

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The first pawn falls with more to follow. 39.Rb3 Nb6 40.Ng1 Or 40.fxg3 Nc4 . 40...Nc4 41.Nf3+ Kh5 42.Rdd3 a5!

43.bxa5 Ra8 44.Rd1 Rxa5 45.Re1 b5 46.Re2 Ra1+ 47.Re1 Rea7 48.fxg3 Rxe1+ 48...hxg3 would also have been good. 49.Kxe1 Ra1+ 50.Ke2 hxg3 51.Ne1 Ra2+ 52.Kd1 Rd2+ 53.Kc1 Re2 54.Kd1 Rxe3 55.Rxe3 Nxe3+ 56.Ke2 Nf5 57.Nc2 Nh4 58.Nb4 58.Kf1 Kg5 59.Nb4 Kf4 60.Nxc6 Ke4 would see Black's king make a decisive entrance. 58...Nxg2 59.Kf3 Nh4+ 60.Kxg3 Nf5+ 61.Kf4 Nxd4 62.Ke3 Nf5+ 0-1

Of course, Black is not always in the driver’s seat but at least he can’t complain about the opening outcome!

□ Wang Yue ■ Carlsen Magnus E35 Dresden 2008 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Lg5 h6 7.Lxf6 Qxf6 8.Nf3 0–0 9.e3 Lf5 10.Ld3 Lxd3 11.Qxd3 c6 12.0–0 Nd7 13.a3 Lxc3 14.Qxc3 Nb6 (D)

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As already said, the 'QGD-Carlsbad' structure with only knights on the board is considered comfortable for Black. The present game doesn't change that evaluation but sheds light on some niceties. 15.Ne5 Qf5 16.Rfc1 f6 17.Nd3 Nc4 18.Nc5 Nd6 19.Qc2! The exchange of the queens is essential for

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White's defence and by it he keeps an equal game. 19...Qxc2 In my opinion, Black should seriously consider 19...Qh5 ÷. 20.Rxc2 Rae8 21.g3 g5 This move creates an object of attack for White (h2-h4). 21...h5!? = was the main alternative. 22.Kg2 Kg7 23.a4 Re7 24.Rh1 Kg6 25.Rc3 h5 26.h4 Rh8 26...g4!? keeps an equal game as the transfer of White's knight to f4 is harmless. 27.Rcc1 27.hxg5!? fxg5 28.Nd3 Kf6 ÷. 27...Rhh7 28.Rh2 Nf5?! 28...g4 was still possible, with a completely dead position. 29.hxg5 fxg5 30.Nd3 g4 Now the situation is completely different: the white knight has got the e5-square, and Black's h5-pawn is weak. 31.Rch1 Kg5 32.Nf4 Ng7 (D) 32...h4? 33.gxh4+ Rxh4 34.Rxh4 Nxh4+ 35.Rxh4! .

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33.b4! The 'two weaknesses rule'! White can be active on both sides of the board and this fact guarantees him the advantage. 33...a6 34.b5 axb5 35.axb5 Rh6 36.Ra1 Nf5 37.Ra8 h4!? 37...Rg7 ² is possible but the text move gives White a seemingly attractive possibility.

38.gxh4+ 38.Rg8+ Rg7 39.Rxg7+ Nxg7 40.Rxh4 Rxh4 41.gxh4+ Kxh4 42.bxc6 bxc6 43.Ng6+ Kg5 44.Ne5 is hardly enough for a victory, e.g. after 44...Nh5 45.Nxc6 Kf5 but White could have considered it. 38...Nxh4+ 39.Rxh4!? A 'brilliant move' but Black miraculously holds his ground. Therefore 39.Kf1 ² maybe was better. 39...Kxh4 The alternative 39...Rxh4!? 40.Rg8+ Kf5 41.Ng6 Rhh7 42.Nxe7+ Rxe7 43.bxc6 bxc6 44.Kg3 looks bad but after the active 44...Rc7! 45.Rxg4 c5 46.Rf4+ Ke6 47.dxc5 Rxc5 Black should hold. 40.Rg8 40.bxc6 bxc6 41.Rg8 Ra7 ÷. 40...Rf7 41.f3 41.bxc6 Rxc6! (41...bxc6? 42.f3! ) 42.Ng6+ Kh5 43.Ne5 Rf5 44.Nxc6 bxc6 =. 41...Rxf4 42.exf4 cxb5! Again accurate, as 42...gxf3+? 43.Kxf3 should be lost for Black: 43...cxb5 44.f5 b4 45.Kf4 b3 46.Rg1. 43.Rxg4+ 43.fxg4 Ra6! 44.f5 (44.Kf3 Ra3+ 45.Ke2 b4 =) 44...b4 45.Kf3 Ra1! 46.Rh8+ Kg5 47.Rh5+ Kf6 48.Rh6+ Kg5 49.Rg6+ Kh4 50.Kf4 Rf1+ 51.Ke5 b5! 52.Rb6 Kxg4 53.f6 Kg5 =. 43...Kh5 44.Rg5+ Kh4 45.Rg7! 45.Rxd5?! Rb6!. 45...Kh5 46.Rxb7 Ra6 47.Rxb5 Kh4! 48.Rb2 Nothing could be gained by 48.Rxd5 Ra2+ 49.Kf1 Kg3 50.f5 Kxf3 51.Ke1 Ke4 = or 48.Kf2 Ra2+ 49.Ke3 Ra3+ 50.Ke2 Ra2+ 51.Kd3 Ra3+ 52.Kc2 (52.Kd2 Kg3 53.f5 Kxf3 =) 52...Rxf3 53.Rxd5 Kg4 54.Rd8 Kf5! 55.d5 Ke4 56.d6 Kd5 =. 48...Ra4 49.Rd2 Kh5 Despite two extra pawns, White can't strengthen his position. 50.Kg3 Rb4 51.Rd1 Ra4 52.Kh3 Ra3 53.Rh1 Rd3 54.Kg3+ Kg6 55.Rh4 Rd2 56.Rg4+ Kf6 57.f5 ½-½

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Edged Pieces Terminology A piece that it is placed on the a- or h-file, or on the first or last rank should be considered to be on the edge of the board. An expanded definition could also include the b- and g-files and the second and seventh ranks too. As we have been taught in our younger chess years, development and centralization of our pieces governs the early opening stages of our decisions but can also govern the other stages of the game, the middlegame and the endgame. These are logical thoughts born out of the geometrical construction of the board: the closer to the centre, the easier the transfer! Easy and effective; isn’t it? The answer is yes but unfortunately it seems that a vast majority of both weak and strong players (even the strongest) tend to forget about it and misplace their pieces on the wrong squares, those of the edge of the board! So, as a (general) conclusion, a piece that is on the edge of the board and is constrained in its movement by other pieces has a smaller value than a piece situated in the centre of the board.

The Really Bad Piece As was explained above, our pieces are ‘seeking’ mobilization, activity and easy transfer, in order to apply their entire positive ‘energy’ to the realization of the plans and the ideas we have formed. A piece placed on the edge of the board, doing nothing useful, is usually a sign of weakness. It is an alert for the opponent to take advantage of it. There are many ways to realize it; here we will examine cases of a really ‘helpless’ bad piece that was self-trapped in this ‘discriminated’ situation. The reasons can be many - no reasonable chess player wants to fall into such problems, but that’s the nature of the beast: when you feel it, it is probably already too late! The first example is a nice, instructive one:

□ Svidler Peter ■ Harikrishna Penteala C95 Gibraltar 2009 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.La4 Nf6 5.0–0 Le7 6.Re1 b5 7.Lb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Lb7 12.Lc2 Re8 13.a4 Lf8 14.Ld3 c6 15.b3 g6 16.Qc2 Rc8 17.La3 Qb6 18.Lf1 Nh5 19.g3 exd4 20.cxd4 c5 21.axb5 axb5 22.Qd3 La6 23.Lb2 d5 24.dxc5 Nxc5 25.Qd4 Lg7 26.e5 Qb7 27.Rec1 Ne6 28.Rxc8 Rxc8 29.Qe3 Lf8 30.Nd4 Nxd4 31.Lxd4 Ng7 32.Nf3 Ne6 33.h4 Nxd4 34.Nxd4 Lc5 (D)

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The a6-bishop is somehow misplaced and hardly serves Black any benefit; on the contrary, it only causes painful headaches! 35.b4 It looks like the most ambitious move but the simple 35.e6! Qb6 (35...Re8 36.Qc3 Lxd4 37.exf7+ Qxf7 38.Qxd4 ) 36.exf7+ Kxf7 37.Qf3+ Kg7 38.Re1! would give White excellent attacking chances - the a6-bishop is still out of play! 35...Lxb4 36.e6! Re8 The fact that the only other move that does not lose on the spot here is 36...Ra8, should tell a bit about how bad Black's position is. 37.Qb3?! White should start with 37.Lg2! fxe6 (37...Lc5? 38.exf7+ Qxf7 39.Lxd5! Rxe3

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40.Lxf7+ Kxf7 41.fxe3 and 37...f6? 38.e7! Lc5 [38...Rxe7 39.Qb3 ] 39.Qe6+ Kg7 40.Nb3 loses material) 38.Qb3 transposing to 37.Qb3. 37...Lc5 38.Lg2 f6?! (D) In reality this is a poor move but an excellent practical choice. Black had more chances of survival after 38...fxe6 (which would be the case resulting from 37.Lg2!) 39.Nxe6 Lxf2+ 40.Kh2! (40.Kh1? Qc8 41.Lxd5 Lb7 ÷) 40...Lxg3+ 41.Kxg3 Qb8+ 42.Nf4 Lb7 43.Lxd5+ Kg7 44.Qc3+ but then White's hand would be more or less free.

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39.Qc3? White's heavy time trouble did not allow him to find the pretty win: 39.e7! Kh8 40.Ne6 Ld6 (40...Lxe7 41.Qa2! indicates the problem with the bad piece on a6) 41.Nd8! Qxe7 42.Nc6 Qb7 43.Qxd5 Le5 (43...Lf8 44.Qa2! ) 44.Nxe5 Qxd5 45.Lxd5 Rxe5 46.Lc6! and once more the poorly placed piece is a goner! 39...Le7? Returning the favour is never a good sign... Black could have more or less solved his problems with 39...Qb6 40.Rxa6 Lxd4 41.Rxb6 Lxc3 42.Lxd5 Re7 43.Rxb5 f5 ² or even better with 39...Qc8! 40.Lxd5 b4 41.Qd2 Lb7 42.Nb3 Lxd5 43.Qxd5 Lb6 =. 40.Qa5! Lc5?! Desperation but although 40...Ra8 was more tenacious, it could not save Black:

41.Rc1! (41.Nxb5 Rb8! 42.Nc7 Lb4 43.Qxd5 Qxc7 44.Rxa6 Le7 45.Lf3 ) 41...Kh8 (41...Rc8 42.Rxc8+ Qxc8 43.Lxd5 Kf8 44.Nc6 or 41...Ld8 42.Qa2 Rc8 43.Rxc8 Qxc8 44.Lxd5 Le7 45.Nc6 ) 42.Nc6 Qc8 43.Qd2! La3 44.e7! Lxc1 45.Nd8! Qd7 46.Qxd5 Qxe7 47.Qxa8 Kg7 48.Ld5 and White wins the long-suffering bishop yet again! 41.Nb3 Now White's task is easy: 41...Lxf2+ 42.Kxf2 Qa7+ 43.Kf1 Qe3 44.Qxa6 Qxb3 (D)

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45.Qa3?! 45.Qc6! Qc4+ 46.Qxc4 dxc4 47.Lc6 was cleaner. 45...Qc4+ 46.Kg1 b4?! Black could have put up more resistance: 46...Qd4+ 47.Kh2 Qe5! picking up the e6-pawn. Of course White is still winning but his task would be harder. 47.Qa7! Kh8 47...Rxe6 48.Qa8+ Kf7 49.Ra7+ Re7 50.Lxd5+ . 48.Qd7 Qc5+ 49.Kh2 Qe7 50.Lxd5 1-0 In the previous example Black’s main defence was based on how not to lose material and the badly placed bishop was ‘produced’ after the opening stage. But this is not the case with the next example. In this opening, the Panno / Yugoslav Variation of the g3 King’s Indian

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Defence, an early ‘acceptance’ of a bad piece is on the cards. Well, Black has also some ideas in mind, as we will examine later, but for the time being we will only take care of the really bad piece concept!

□ Geller Efim ■ Velimirovic Dragoljub E66 Havana 1971 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.c4 Lg7 4.g3 0–0 5.Lg2 d6 6.0–0 c5 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.d5 Na5 9.Nd2 e5 10.e4 Ng4 11.b3 f5 12.exf5 e4 13.f6 Nxf6 (D)

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This is a well-known variation of the KID. Black is usually suffering due to his poorly placed a5-knight but on the other hand, if he is quick enough, he can put pressure on the c4-pawn by playing ...a6, ...Rb8 and ...b5, turning this knight into a 'useful' piece. 14.Ndxe4! But not today! The great legend Efim Geller (who used to be my personal trainer for about two years back in the 80's) had done his homework! 14...Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Lxa1 16.Lg5 Lf6 Forced, as after 16...Qc7?! 17.Qxa1 Lf5 18.Nf6+ Rxf6 19.Qxf6 White has a clear material and positional advantage. 17.Nxf6+ Rxf6 18.Qa1! Kf7 Till now both players followed a more or less forced line and it looks like Black is in no danger... 19.Re1! White activates his last piece, creating serious threats. In the meantime Black's

queenside pieces are still 'frozen'. 19...Rb8? But this is a critical mistake. 19...Qh8! was the right continuation for Black, when after 20.Qc3! (20.Re3 Lf5 21.Rf3 h6 22.Lxf6 Qxf6 23.Qxf6+ Kxf6 24.g4 Re8 25.gxf5 Re1+ 26.Lf1 gxf5 =) 20...b6 21.Re6! Lxe6 22.Lxf6 Qxf6 23.dxe6+ Kxe6 24.Ld5+ Ke7 25.Qe3+ Qe5 26.Qxe5+ dxe5 27.Lxa8 ² he would have fair chances to split the point. It must also be noted that 19...h6?! does not solve Black's problems: 20.Lxh6! Ld7 21.Lg5 Qh8 22.Re4! Rf5 (22...Rf8 23.Rh4 Qg7 24.Lh6 Qg8 25.Lxf8 Qxf8 26.Rh7+ Ke8 27.Qe1+ ) 23.Re7+ Kg8 24.Qxh8+ Kxh8 25.Ld2 . 20.Re3! b6 21.Rf3 Lf5 22.g4 Qh8 23.Lxf6! 23.Lh3 Re8 24.gxf5 Rxf5 25.Qxh8 Rxh8 26.Lxf5 gxf5 27.Ld2 . 23...Qxf6 24.Qxf6+ Kxf6 25.gxf5 gxf5 26.Re3! (D)

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The complications are over and the material is even again. But White's advantage is obvious as he controls the important e-file and the a5-knight is out of play. 26...Nb7 27.Re6+ Kf7 The active 27...Kg5 does not solve Black's problems: 28.Re7 h5 29.Lh3 Kf6 30.Rh7 Kg6 31.Rd7 a6 32.f4 . The black knight is a real headache! 28.Lf3 Rg8+ 29.Kf1 Kf8 30.Lh5 Rg5 31.Re8+ Kg7 32.Re7+ Kh6 33.Rxb7

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Rxh5 34.Rxa7 Rxh2 35.Rd7 Black 'solved' his 'knight problem' but now White wins material and the game. 35...Kg5 36.Rxd6 Kf4 37.Ke2 b5 38.cxb5 Ke5 39.Rd7 Rh4 40.a3 Rh3 41.f3 Kd4 42.b6 Rh2+ 43.Ke1 Rh1+ 44.Kf2 Rh2+ 45.Ke1 Rh1+ 46.Kf2 Rh2+ 47.Kg3 Rb2 48.b7 Rxb3 49.a4 c4 50.a5 c3 51.a6 Rb6 52.Rc7 1-0

Although it is not customary, we can come across many games where more than one badly placed piece has appeared. And as it is logical, the outcome is evident; how is it possible to stay alive with so many horrible disadvantages at the same time? Usually you cannot, so try to avoid them!

□ Yilmaz Turhan ■ Erdogdu Mert B26 Bursa 2009 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Lg2 g6 5.d3 Lg7 6.Le3 e6 7.Qd2 Qa5 8.Nge2 Nd4 9.Nc1 Ne7 10.0–0 Nec6 11.Nb3 Qb6 12.Rab1 0–0 13.Rfc1 a5 14.Na1 a4 15.Nd1 (D)

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A position to be avoided! White's pieces seem to be so badly placed on their first rank and more or less totally un-coordinated! 15...Ne5! As White's pieces are lying on the queenside, Black starts operations on the opposite side. 16.Kh1?!

White had to lose one of his bishops, making his position even worse. Nevertheless he should have chosen to give up the darksquared one with 16.Lxd4 cxd4 17.c3 Ld7 μ. 16...Nef3 17.Lxf3 Nxf3 18.Qe2 Nd4 19.Qd2 f5! A sound and logical follow-up, intending to prepare an attack against the weak white king. 20.f4 e5! Blowing up the centre, which suits the bishop pair of course! 21.Nf2 Le6 22.c4 Forced. 22.c3?! Lxa2! 23.cxd4 cxd4 wins material. 22...Qc6?! The accurate 22...exf4 23.gxf4 fxe4 24.dxe4 Qc6 25.Qd3 Rae8 would soon have been curtains. 23.Lxd4 cxd4 24.fxe5?! 24.Nc2 exf4 25.gxf4 would have prolonged the fight, although Black's obvious advantages (space, bishop pair, better placed pieces) leave no question of the final result. 24...Lxe5 25.Nc2 (D)

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25...f4! The right follow-up, which is much stronger than the alternative 25...fxe4? 26.Nxe4 Lf5 27.Re1 ³. 26.g4 f3 The rest is easy as Black's army is ready to come closer to White's weakened kingside. 27.Rg1 b5 28.Nb4 Qb7 29.Nd5 Lxd5

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30.exd5 Lf4 31.Qb4 Qe7 32.Rbf1 Qh4 33.h3 Rae8 34.cxb5 Re2 And White resigned as he cannot avoid mate: 35.Qxd4 Qxh3+ 36.Nxh3 Rh2 #. 0-1

But even the very top players can fall into such unpleasant situations. Of course, it was never their intention to achieve such problems but somehow this happens from time to time! See the next game:

□ Karpov Anatoly ■ Kasparov Garry D72 Valencia 2009 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Lg7 4.Lg2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nb6 7.Ne2 c5 8.d5 e6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Nec3 Na6 11.a4 exd5 12.exd5 Nb4 13.Le3 Ld4 14.a5 Lxe3 15.axb6 Ld4 16.bxa7 Lf5 17.Na3 Rxa7 18.Ncb5 Rxa3 19.Rxa3 Lxb2 20.Re3 Qb6 21.Qe2 Lg7 22.Rd1 Ld7 23.Na3 Ld4 24.Re7 La4 25. Rc1 Qf6 26.Rxb7 Lb2 27.Rxc5 Lxa3 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-trk+( 7+R+-+p+p' 6-+-+-wqp+& 5+-tRP+-+-% 4lsn-+-+-+$ 3vl-+-+-zP-# 2-+-+QzPLzP" 1+-+-+-mK-! xabcdefghy

Black seems to have a good material balance, as his two pieces against rook and pawn cannot be considered weaker. But his minor pieces are not well placed on the queenside, while White's rooks are active. 28.h4?! Not so bad but, of course, the logical 28.Ra5! would do the job: 28...Re8 (28...Qa1+?! 29.Qf1! Qxf1+ 30.Lxf1 Le8 31.Rxa3 Nxd5 32.Ra6 ) 29.Qd2! Na6 (29...Qa1+ 30.Lf1 Re1 31.Ra8+ Kg7

32.Qf4 Rxf1+ 33.Kg2 Rg1+ 34.Kh3 )

30.Rxa4 Nc5 31.Rxa3 Nxb7 32.Qb4 . 28...Nd3! Black finds the proper solution to his problems, using some 'basic' tactics. 29.Ra5 Nc5?! This is a really 'hard' position with many tactics in the air, so it is quite 'natural' that Black missed his best chance: 29...Lc5! 30.Qxd3 Qxf2+ 31.Kh2 Lc2! (31...Qg1+?! 32.Kh3 Ld1 33.Rb1 ) 32.Qf1 Qe3 33.Rxc5 (what else? Black's bishop pair is rather strong as compensation) 33...Qxc5 34.Qf4 ². 30.Rba7 Qd4! Best again, as 30...Re8? 31.Ra8! (31.Qf3? Qxf3 32.Lxf3 Lb4 33.Rxa4 Nxa4 34.Rxa4 Ld6 and although Black will suffer, he will have ample to draw) 31...Rxa8 32.Rxa8+ Kg7 33.Qe3 Lb4 34.h5! gxh5 35.Rb8 is what White was looking for. 31.Qe3?! In his turn, White missed the rather 'simple' 31.Ra8! Lb4 32.Rxa4 Nxa4 33.Rxa4 Rb8 34.Lf3 . Here the difference compared to the previous analysis is obvious: the queens being on the board helps the stronger side. 31...Qxe3 32.fxe3 Lc1 33.Kf2 Nd3+? But Black overdid it! He should have opted for 33...Re8! 34.e4 Rc8 35.Rxa4 Nxa4 36.Rxa4 Rc2+ 37.Kg1 Lb2 38.Kh2 Le5 39.Ra3 h5 with a drawish ending. 34.Ke2 Lc2 35.d6! Now White stands clearly better, as his d-pawn is rather strong and Black's minor pieces are too far away to stop it efficiently. 35...Re8? But this makes White's life too easy. Black should put up a fight with 35...Nb2! 36.Rc7! (36.Ra8 Ld1+ 37.Ke1 Lg4 38.Lc6 Lxe3 39.d7 Lxd7 40.Lxd7 Nc4 = and 36.Ld5 Ld1+ 37.Ke1 Lg4 is drawn but not with 38.Rxf7? Rxf7 39.Ra7? Nd3 #!) 36...Ld3+ 37.Kf3 Nc4 38.Rd5 Rd8! 39.d7 Kf8 40.Rxd3 Ne5+ 41.Ke2 Nxd3 42.Kxd3 . 36.Ra8! The d-pawn is now unstoppable! 1-0

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Particular examples, where you can meet the bad piece at an early stage are easy to find. But what about when two pieces are placed on the edge also at a pretty early stage? The following game makes a deep impression and it is quite instructive: if you know what you must avoid you have already made a further improving step towards climbing up the chess hierarchy… Well, the white player had already ‘climbed’ high enough but he forgot to look around and most importantly, on the edge!

□ Kharlov Andrei ■ Vaulin Alexander B30 St Petersburg 1998 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nd4 4.Lc4 Nxf3+ 5.gxf3 a6 6.d4 b5 7.Ld5 Ra7 8.Lf4 (D)

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8...e6! 9.Lb8 Rc7 Black could use the same idea more precisely - 9...Qb6 10.Lxa7 Qxa7 11.Lb3 (11.dxc5 exd5 12.b4 d6 μ) 11...c4 μ. 10.La8 Here we are - after just ten moves, White's bishops are on a8 and b8! 10...cxd4 11.Lxc7 Qxc7 12.Qxd4 Qb8 But they are both lost in a few moves. Pieces on the edge usually have no bright future... 13.Ld5 b4! 14.Na4 exd5 15.exd5 White's material loss is minimal but Black's minor pieces should tell in the end. 15...Ld6! 16.0–0–0?! Good or bad, White should have opted for

16.Qxg7 Le5 17.Qg4 Qb5 18.0–0–0 Ne7 19.d6 Ng6 μ. 16...Ne7 17.Qxg7 Le5 18.Qg4 d6! That’s the difference! 19.Qc4 0–0?! 19...Qb5! 20.Qxb5+ axb5 21.Nb6 Lf5 was accurate. 20.f4 Lf6 Good was 20...Qb5 21.Qxb5

Lxf4+ 22.Kb1 axb5 23.Nb6 Lf5 24.Rd4 Ng6 25.Rxb4 μ. 21.b3 a5 And Black brought the bacon home without facing too many problems: 22.Rhe1 Lf5 23.Re2 Ng6 24.Rg1 Kh8 25.Rd2 Re8 26.f3 Qa7 27.Rgd1 Qe3 28.Qa6 Nxf4 0-1

The concept of the sidelined (bad) piece can be met in all stages of the game. The endgame is no exception; none of the common three stages can be independent, as all together form a ‘natural’ chess game.

□ Lputian Smbat ■ Tukmakov Vladimir D97 Moscow 1983 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Lg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0–0 7.e4 Na6 8.Qb3 c5 9.d5 e6 10.dxe6 Lxe6 11.Lc4 Lxc4 12.Qxc4 Qa5 13.0–0 b5 14.Nxb5 Nxe4 15.Re1 Rae8 16.a3 Nd6 17.Nxd6 Rxe1+ 18.Nxe1 Qxe1+ 19.Qf1 Qxf1+ 20.Kxf1 Rd8 21.Lf4 c4 22.Re1 Lxb2 23.Nxc4 Lc3 24.Rc1 Ld4 25.Ne5 Lc5 26.Nc6 Re8 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+r+k+( 7zp-+-+p+p' 6n+N+-+p+& 5+-vl-+-+-% 4-+-+-vL-+$ 3zP-+-+-+-# 2-+-+-zPPzP" 1+-tR-+K+-! xabcdefghy

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Black's a6-knight is clearly out of play, on the edge of the board. 27.Rc3! And it should remain like that! 27.a4?! Re6 (27...Nb4? 28.Rxc5 Nd3 29.Re5 ) 28.Nb8 Le7 would be out of question. 27...Re6 28.Ne5 g5 Black could also think about 28...Ld6 29.Lh6 Nc7 30.Nc6 ². 29.Lg3 Kg7 30.Nf3 h6 (D)

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31.h4! Such moves are always unpleasant to meet. 31...g4?! This advance further weakens Black's camp. Preferable was 31...f6 when White can retain some advantage after 32.h5 Kf7 33.Rd3 planning Nd4 or Nd2, though Black can of course defend himself for a long time. 32.Ne1! It turns out that the knight is heading for the f4-square. 32...Ld6 33.Lxd6 Rxd6 34.Rc4 h5 35.Ke2 Nb8 The black knight is struggling to get back into the game. In the meantime new accessible targets have appeared in Black's camp (h5 and a7). 36.Rc5! Kh6 37.Nd3 Nd7 38.Ra5 a6 39.g3 Rb6 40.Nb4! By covering the b-file, White prevents the activation of the enemy rook. 40...Re6+ 41.Kf1 Kg7 Black cannot avoid material losses anymore: 41...Nb8 42.Nd3 Rb6 (42...f6 43.Rxh5+!

) 43.Rf5 (43.Nf4 Rb5 44.Rxb5 axb5 45.Ke2 Na6! 46.Nd5! [46.Kd2? b4! =] 46...Kg6 47.Kd3 Kf5 48.Kd4 Kg6 49.Nb4 ) 43...f6 44.Nf4 . 42.Rxa6 42.Rxh5 is equally satisfactory: 42...Ne5 43.Nd5 . 42...Re8 The alternative 42...Re4 does not help either: 43.Nd3! (43.Nd5 Nc5 44.Rc6 Ne6 45.Nc3 ) 43...Ne5 44.Nf4 Nf3 45.Nxh5+ Kf8 46.Ra8+ Ke7 47.Re8+! . 43.Nd5 Nc5 44.Rc6 Ne6 45.Rc4 Rb8 46.a4 Rb2 47.Nf4 Rb1+ After 47...Nxf4 48.Rxf4 the rook ending is hopeless, since the white king simply walks to his passed pawn and Black lacks any counterplay. 48.Ke2 Kf6 49.Nxh5+ Ke5 50.Rxg4 And Black soon resigned. 50...Nd4+ 51.Kd3 Rd1+ 52.Kc3 f5 53.Rg8 Rc1+ 54.Kd2 Nb3+ 55.Ke3 Rc3+ 56.Ke2 Rc2+ 57.Kf1 Nd2+ 58.Kg1 Ne4 59.Re8+ Kd6 60.Nf4 Nxf2 61.Re2 Nh3+ 62.Kf1 Rc1+ 63.Re1 1-0

Attacking the King Edged and badly placed pieces can offer to their opponent many opportunities to take advantage of their poorness. One of the most frequent is the attack on the king concept. As the main problem of a sidelined piece is its problematic and time-consuming transfer to useful squares in order to fulfil its ‘duties’ (improvement), it is quite common for its opponent to look for opportunities such as an attack on the king. In both of the next examples the great Garry Kasparov ‘kills’ his main rival Anatoly Karpov, by using this concept: □ Kasparov Garry ■ Karpov Anatoly D31 Valencia 2009 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Le7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Lf4 c6 6.Qc2 Ld6 7.Lxd6 Qxd6 8.e3 Ne7 9.Ld3 Nd7 10.Nge2 h6 11.0–0 0–0 12.a3 a5 13.Rad1 b6 14.e4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Qb8 16.N2c3 La6 17.Lxa6 Rxa6 (D)

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XABCDEFGHY 8-wq-+-trk+( 7+-+nsnpzp-' 6rzpp+-+-zp& 5zp-+-+-+-% 4-+-zPN+-+$ 3zP-sN-+-+-# 2-zPQ+-zPPzP" 1+-+R+RmK-! xabcdefghy

Black's pieces seem too uncoordinated and especially his a6-rook is out of play. So, it is time to open up the position. 18.d5! Nxd5 19.Nxd5 cxd5 20.Rxd5 Ra7 In view of the game continuation, Black should have seriously considered 20...Nc5!? 21.Nxc5 bxc5 22.Rxc5 Re8 23.g3 . 21.Qd2! 21.Rfd1 looked more natural, but perhaps Kasparov already prepared his next move. 21...Nc5? (D) 21...Ne5? looked like a natural move too but after 22.f4 Nc4 23.Qd4 b5 24.b3! Nxa3 25.Nf6+! gxf6 (25...Kh8 26.Nd7 ) 26.Qxf6 Rc7 27.Rd3 White wins. Black should seek salvation in 21...Re8 22.Nd6 Re5 23.Nxf7 Kxf7 24.Rxd7+ Rxd7 25.Qxd7+ Kg8 26.g3 .

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22.Nf6+! Brilliant! Kasparov has not lost any of his tactical vision! Black would be happy to see 22.Nxc5? bxc5 23.Rxc5 Rd8 as then he would have good practical chances for a draw. 22...gxf6 22...Kh8?! 23.Rh5 mates soon. 23.Qxh6 f5 24.Qg5+! 24.Rxf5? allows Black to consolidate with 24...f6!. 24...Kh8 25.Qf6+ Kg8 26.Rxf5 Black's king is too exposed, so the end is near. 26...Ne4 27.Qh4! Precise! Black is lost. 27...Re8 27...f6 averts mate but of course, after 28.Qxe4, White is simply two pawns to the good. 28.Rh5 f5 And Black lost on time in making this move but the result is in no doubt after 29.Rh8+ Kf7 30.Qh7+ Kf6 31.Qh6+ Ke5 32.Rd1. 1-0 □ Karpov Anatoly ■ Kasparov Garry E86 Linares 1993 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Lg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0–0 6.Le3 e5 7.Nge2 Nbd7 8.Qd2 c6 9.Rd1 a6 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.b3 b5 12.cxb5 axb5 13.Qxd6 Nfd7 14.f4 b4 (D)

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Black has sacrificed a pawn in order to gain

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the initiative, as White still has to complete his development. 15.Nb1? But this cannot be right. Of course 15.Qxb4? c5! 16.Lxc5 Nxc5! 17.Rxd8 (17.Qxc5 Nd3+ 18.Rxd3 Qxd3 ) 17...Ned3+ 18.Kd2 Nxb4 or 15.Na4? Rxa4! 16.bxa4 (16.fxe5 Rxa2 17.h4 Lxe5 μ) 16...Nc4 17.Qd3 Nb2 18.Qc2 Nxd1 19.Qxd1 Qa5 μ was not advisable either but White was obliged to try 15.fxe5! bxc3 16.Nxc3 (16.e6? fxe6 17.Qxe6+ Kh8 ) 16...Lxe5 17.Qxc6 (17.Qd2?! Lxc3 18.Qxc3 Qh4+ μ) 17...Lxc3+! 18.Qxc3 Qh4+ 19.Kd2! (19.g3?! Qxe4 20.Rg1 Rxa2 μ or 19.Lf2?! Qxe4+ 20.Qe3 Re8 21.Qxe4 Rxe4+ 22.Le2 La6! 23.Rd2 Rae8 24.0–0 Lxe2 25.Rxd7 Lxf1 26.Kxf1 Re2 μ) 19...Rxa2+ (19...Nf6 20.Kc1 Nxe4 21.Qe5 Lf5 22.g3! [22.Ld4? f6 23.Lc4+ Kh8 24.Qe7 Qg5+! ] 22...Qg4 23.Ld4 [23.Lc4?! Rfe8 24.Qf4 Rxa2 25.Qxg4 Lxg4 μ] 23...f6 24.Lc4+ Kh8 25.Qf4 Qxf4+ 26.gxf4 Rxa2 μ) 20.Kc1 Nf6! (20...Qxe4? 21.Lh6 Ne5 22.Ld3! [22.Lxf8? Lf5 23.Ld3 Qe3+ {23...Qxd3? 24.Rxd3 Nxd3+ 25.Kb1 Nb4+ =} 24.Kb1 Rxg2 25.Lh6 Lxd3+ 26.Rxd3 Qxd3+ 27.Qxd3 Nxd3 28.Rd1 Rxh2! ] 22...Qa8 23.Kb1 Re8 ÷) 21.Kb1 Ra8! ³. 15...Ng4 16.Ld4 16.Lg1 is the main alternative but Black's advantage in development is too great: 16...Rxa2 17.h3 (17.Nd2 Re8 18.e5 Re6 19.Qd4 Qe7 20.Nf3 f6 μ) 17...Qh4+ 18.g3 Rxe2+ 19.Kxe2 (19.Lxe2 Qxg3+ 20.Kf1 La6! 21.Lxa6 Qf3+ 22.Ke1 Qxh1 ) 19...Qxg3 and now: a) 20.Rd3 Qh4! 21.Lg2 (21.Nd2 La6 22.Qxd7 Rd8 23.Qxg4 Lxd3+ 24.Kf3 Qe1 μ) 21...Nge5 22.fxe5 Nxe5 23.Nd2 (23.Rd2 Qg3! ) 23...La6 24.Nc4 Lxc4 25.bxc4 Nxd3 26.Qxd3 Ra8 μ. b) 20.Qd3 Qxf4 21.hxg4 Ne5 22.Qe3 Lxg4+ 23.Ke1 Nf3+ 24.Kf2 Qxe3+ 25.Kxe3 Nxg1 . c) 20.hxg4 Nf6 21.Lf2 (21.Qd3 Lxg4+ 22.Kd2 Nxe4+ [22...Qxf4+ 23.Le3

Nxe4+ 24.Kc1 Qe5 μ] 23.Qxe4 [23.Kc1 Lxd1 ] 23...Rd8+ 24.Ld3 Lxd1 25.Kxd1 Rxd3+ 26.Kc2 Rxb3 27.Qe8+ Lf8 28.Rxh7 Qd3+ 29.Kc1 Rxb1 #) 21...Lxg4+ (21...Qxg4+ 22.Ke1 Nxe4 23.Qd3 Re8 μ) 22.Ke1 Qf3 23.Rh2 Nxe4 . There were many more of these variations but it's obvious that White is nearly lost. 16...Lxd4 17.Qxd4 17.Nxd4 is clearly not sufficient to save White: 17...Rxa2 18.Rd2 (18.Nxc6 Qh4+ 19.g3 Nxh2!! 20.Qd3 Qf6 21.Nxb4 Ne5! ) 18...Ra1 19.Ld3 Qb6 20.0–0 Rd8 21.Lc4 Nde5 22.fxe5 Rxd6 23.exd6 Ne3 . 17...Rxa2 18.h3 18.Qxb4 Ne3 19.Rd2 Nc2+ . 18...c5 19.Qg1 19.Qd3 was another, insufficient alternative, but maybe worth a try: 19...La6 20.Qf3! (20.Qxd7? Qh4+ 21.g3 Rxe2+ 22.Lxe2 Qxg3+ 23.Kd2 Qe3+ 24.Kc2 Qxe2+ ) 20...Nde5! 21.fxe5 Nxe5 22.Qe3! (22.Rxd8?! Nxf3+ 23.gxf3 Rxd8 24.Nc1 Rc2 ) 22...Nd3+ 23.Rxd3 Qxd3 (23...Lxd3!? 24.Nd2 [24.Nc1?! Lxf1 25.Nxa2 Lxg2 26.Rh2 Lxe4 ] 24...f5! 25.Nc1 Ra1 26.Kd1 fxe4 μ) 24.Qxd3 Lxd3 25.Nc1! (25.Nd2?! Rd8 26.Nc1 Rxd2! ) 25...Lxb1 26.Nxa2 Lxa2 27.Lc4 Lb1 28.e5 Lf5 29.Kd2 Re8 30.Re1 h5 μ. 19...Ngf6 20.e5 Ne4 21.h4?! White's last saving try was based on 21.Qe3 Lb7 22.Nd2 (22.Nc1? Qh4+ or 22.h4 c4 23.bxc4 Qe7 μ) 22...Nxd2 23.Rxd2 Rxd2 24.Qxd2 Nb6! (24...Qh4+ 25.g3 Qe7 26.Rg1 Rd8 μ) 25.Qxd8 Rxd8 26.Nc1 Nd5 27.Nd3 Ne3 μ. 21...c4! 22.Nc1 (D) Looking to the diagram, one should be really impressed by the immobility of the white pieces sitting on their first rank. Well, it is not an uncommon 'reality' between the lowest ranked chess players but here we have a World Champion handling the white pieces! White is plain lost anyway: 22.bxc4 Qa5 23.Qe3 Ndc5 24.h5 b3+ 25.Nbc3

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Lg4 or 22.Qe3 c3 23.Qxe4 c2! 24.Rd2 (24.Rc1 Nc5 ) 24...Nc5! (24...cxb1Q+ 25.Qxb1 Rxd2 26.Kxd2 Nxe5+ ) 25.Rxd8 Nxe4 26.Rd1 cxd1Q+ 27.Kxd1 Rd8+ and mate follows!

XABCDEFGHY 8-+lwq-trk+( 7+-+n+p+p' 6-+-+-+p+& 5+-+-zP-+-% 4-zpp+nzP-zP$ 3+P+-+-+-# 2r+-+-+P+" 1+NsNRmKLwQR! xabcdefghy

22...c3!? Black had many ways to crown his efforts: 22...Rb2! 23.Qd4 Nf2 24.Qxb2 Nxh1 or 22...Rf2 23.Lxc4 Qb6 24.Rh3 Nxe5 or, finally, 22...cxb3 23.Qd4 Nf2 24.Nxa2 Nxh1 25.Nxb4 Qxh4+ 26.Kd2 Lb7 but Kasparov wanted to play the most spectacular! 23.Nxa2 c2 24.Qd4 Although it would not change the final result, White had to present Black with more problems by 24.Rc1, as then only 24...Nxe5! is good: (24...cxb1Q? 25.Rxb1 Nxe5 26.Rd1 Lg4! 27.Rxd8 [27.Le2? Qa8 28.fxe5 Lxe2 ] 27...Rxd8 28.Le2 Nd3+ 29.Kd1! [29.Lxd3? Rxd3 30.Qd4 Rxd4 31.0–0 Le6 ] 29...Nxf4+ 30.Kc2 Rd2+ 31.Kb1 Nxe2 32.Qb6 Lf5 33.Ka1 Nd4 ÷) 25.Rxc2 (25.fxe5? cxb1Q 26.Rxb1 Qd2 # or 25.Qe3?! cxb1Q 26.Rxb1 Ng4 ) 25...Lg4 (25...Nd3+? 26.Lxd3 Qxd3 27.Nxb4 ÷) 26.Rd2 (26.Le2 Nd3+ 27.Lxd3 Qxd3 or 26.Nd2 Nd3+ 27.Lxd3 Qxd3 28.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 29.Kd2 Qxf4+ 30.Qe3 Rd8+ ) 26...Nxd2 27.Nxd2 (27.fxe5 Ne4 28.Le2 Lxe2 29.Kxe2 Ng3+ 30.Kf3 Nxh1 31.Qxh1 Qa8+ ) 27...Re8 28.fxe5

Rxe5+ 29.Kf2 Qxd2+ 30.Kg3 Re3+ 31.Kh2 (31.Kxg4 Qd4+ 32.Kg5 Rg3+ 33.Kh6 Qf4 #) 31...Rh3 #. 24...cxd1Q+ 25.Kxd1 Kasparov left a pawn on d1 and Karpov played 25.Qxe4!! here. After a brief show for the spectators (in English!) the game resumed with more 'natural' moves! By the way, 25.Qxd1 was also not of any help: 25...Ng3 26.Rh3 Nxf1 27.Kxf1 (27.Qd4 Nxe5! ) 27...Nc5 28.Qxd8 Rxd8 29.Re3 Rd1+ 30.Re1 La6+ 31.Kf2 Nd3+ . 25...Ndc5! 25...Nxe5 also wins but this finishes the job. 26.Qxd8 Rxd8+ 27.Kc2 27.Ke1 Lg4 28.Le2 Lxe2 29.Kxe2 Ng3+ or 27.Kc1 Nf2 28.Rg1 Rd1+ 29.Kb2 Ncd3+ . 27...Nf2 White finally resigned! The prettiest variation arises after 28.Rg1 Lf5+ 29.Kb2 (29.Kc1 Rd1+ 30.Kb2 Rxb1 #) 29...Nd1+ 30.Ka1 (30.Kc1 Nxb3 #) 30...Nxb3 #. 0-1 The next game is quite spectacular and won a beauty prize in the Manila Olympiad. Well, White’s excellent attack did not come from the ‘chaos’; it was born out of logical facts: the passivity and sidelined (bad) piece of his opponent! □ Rogers Ian ■ Milos Gilberto A41 Manila 1992 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Lg4 4.e4 e6 5.h3 Lh5 6.Qe2 c6 7.g4 Lg6 8.Lg5 Le7 9.Lxf6 Lxf6 10.h4 h6 11.0–0–0 Nd7 12.Kb1 Qc7 13.Rg1 h5 14.g5 Le7 15.d5 e5 16.Lh3 0–0–0 17.Nd2 Kb8 18.Nc4 Nb6 19.Nxb6 Qxb6 20.Rd3 Ka8 21.a3 Rdf8 22.Lf5 Lh7 23.Rgd1 g6 (D) Such self-immolation of the h7-bishop looks awful, but Black is hoping to break out with ...f6. 23...c5 seemed to be the lesser evil but then White would have a free hand on the kingside: 24.Lxh7 Rxh7 25.Rf1! f6 (25...f5 26.exf5 Rxf5 27.Rf3 ) 26.f4 .

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XABCDEFGHY 8k+-+-tr-tr( 7zpp+-vlp+l' 6-wqpzp-+p+& 5+-+PzpLzPp% 4-+-+P+-zP$ 3zP-sNR+-+-# 2-zPP+QzP-+" 1+K+R+-+-! xabcdefghy

24.dxc6! bxc6 24...gxf5? allows a rapid mating attack with 25.Nd5 Qd8 (25...Qxc6 26.Nxe7 ) 26.Rb3 . 25.Ld7 25.Lh3?! Rb8 (25...f6? 26.Ld7 Qc7 27.gxf6 Rxf6 28.Lxc6+ Qxc6 29.Nd5 ) 26.b3 Rhd8 and Black returns to the game. 25...Qc7?! (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8k+-+-tr-tr( 7zp-wqLvlp+l' 6-+pzp-+p+& 5+-+-zp-zPp% 4-+-+P+-zP$ 3zP-sNR+-+-# 2-zPP+QzP-+" 1+K+R+-+-! xabcdefghy

Black was hoping to force White to retreat his d7-bishop to h3, when after ...f6 he would have an acceptable game in hindsight, but 25...Rb8! 26.b3 (26.Lxc6+!? Qxc6 27.Nd5 Ld8 28.Qf3 ° is probably sound - the h7-bishop 'helps' for this 'evaluation') 26...Qc7 was necessary, although after 27.Lh3 White keeps the edge because 27...f6 is not playable. It must also be noted

that 25...Rd8? does not solve Black's problems, especially after the concrete 26.Rxd6! Lxd6 27.Rxd6 . 26.Lxc6+! A fully justified piece sacrifice, which hands the important d5-square to the white knight. Black's pieces are badly placed on the kingside, while at the same time White's pieces are fully coordinated and ready for a fierce attack on the queenside. 26...Qxc6 27.Nd5 Ld8 27...Qd7 loses more prosaically to 28.Rc3 Rc8 29.Qa6 . 28.Rc3 Qb7 Alternatives are losing: 28...Qd7 29.Qa6 and 28...Qa4 29.Qd3! f6 30.Nb4 . 29.Rb3 Qc6 Or 29...Lb6 30.Nxb6+ (30.a4 followed by a5 is also decisive) 30...axb6 31.Rxd6 Rb8 32.Qd3 Rhc8 33.Rb4 . 30.Rdd3! Another piece joins the attack! 30...La5 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8k+-+-tr-tr( 7zp-+-+p+l' 6-+qzp-+p+& 5vl-+Nzp-zPp% 4-+-+P+-zP$ 3zPR+R+-+-# 2-zPP+QzP-+" 1+K+-+-+-! xabcdefghy

Black seems to have held off the immediate threats but White is ready to add a rook and a queen to his bishop sacrifice. 31.Rdc3! Lxc3 32.Qa6!! The last blow! Black resigned due to 32...Rc8 (32...Qxa6 33.Nc7 #) 33.Nb6+ Qxb6 (33...Kb8 34.Nxc8+ Kc7 35.Qxa7+ Kd8 36.Ne7 Qc7 37.Rb7 ) 34.Rxb6 Rb8 35.Rxb8+ Rxb8 36.Qc6+ Rb7 37.Qxc3 . 1-0

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Playing on the Other Side Temporarily sidelined pieces can of course cause headaches but we should keep in mind that these pieces can improve! And also, there are certain cases where we cannot ‘touch’ them or attack the opponent’s king. Then usually the solution is logical and effective: play on the other side. This concept is based on the significant fact that the sidelined piece needs time to ‘return’ to the game and perform the needed duties. Here is how a young Garry Kasparov tried to apply the above concept in one of his games with Anatoly Karpov (although he failed in the end):

□ Kasparov Garry ■ Karpov Anatoly E15 Moscow 1984 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 La6 5.b3 Lb4+ 6.Ld2 Le7 7.Lg2 0–0 8.0–0 d5 9.Ne5 c6 10.Lc3 Nfd7 11.Nxd7 Nxd7 12.Nd2 Rc8 13.e4 b5 14.Re1 dxc4 15.bxc4 Nb6 16.cxb5 cxb5 17.Rc1 La3 18.Rc2 Na4 19.La1 Rxc2 20.Qxc2 Qa5 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-trk+( 7zp-+-+pzpp' 6l+-+p+-+& 5wqp+-+-+-% 4n+-zPP+-+$ 3vl-+-+-zP-# 2P+QsN-zPLzP" 1vL-+-tR-mK-! xabcdefghy

Black's forces are hanging on the a-file and at first sight do not look that badly placed, as they have created some initiative on the queenside. 21.Qd1! But of course the centre and Black's kingside has been left without sufficient protection, so it is quite natural that White should focus his pieces on that part of the board.

21...Rc8?! 'Badly' placed pieces should be exchanged in general, so Black should consider 21...Nc3! 22.Lxc3! (22.Nb3 Qb4 23.Qc2 [23.Lxc3 Qxc3 24.d5 e5! ÷] 23...Rc8! ÷ [23...Nxa2? 24.Re3 ]) 22...Qxc3 23.Nb1 Qb2 24.Nxa3 Qxa3 25.d5 Rd8 (25...Qxa2 26.Qd4! Lc8 27.Ra1 ²) 26.Qd2 ² or 21...Lb2 22.Nb3 Qb4 23.Lxb2 Nxb2 24.Qb1 ². 22.Nb3 Qb4 23.d5! Time for White to get some real activity! 23...exd5 Now it is too late for the immediate 23...Nc3 as after 24.Lxc3 Qxc3 25.e5! (25.dxe6 fxe6 26.Lh3 ²) 25...b4 (25...exd5 26.e6 fxe6 27.Rxe6 Lb7 28.Lxd5 Lxd5 29.Qxd5 ) 26.d6 White holds a pleasant edge. Also 23...Nb2 is not helpful: 24.Lxb2 Lxb2 25.e5! . 24.exd5 Nc3 25.Qd4?! White's advantage decreases considerably after the exchange of queens. He should have tried 25.Qh5! Nxa2 26.Qe5! (26.Re3?! Nc3 27.Qe5 Qxb3 28.Lxc3 Lf8 =) 26...Qf8 27.Le4!, when he would have achieved a fierce attack towards the black king, as there are no defending pieces around to protect him. 25...Qxd4 26.Nxd4 Nxa2? (D) Black returns the favour. 26...Lf8! was good: 27.Nc6 Nxa2 28.Lb2 b4 29.Ne7+ Lxe7 30.Rxe7 Nc3 31.Rxa7 ². This is a variation which we will often meet.

XABCDEFGHY 8-+r+-+k+( 7zp-+-+pzpp' 6l+-+-+-+& 5+p+P+-+-% 4-+-sN-+-+$ 3vl-+-+-zP-# 2n+-+-zPLzP" 1vL-+-tR-mK-! xabcdefghy

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27.Nc6? White missed his second chance: 27.Nf5! Lb4 (alternatives as 27...g6 28.d6 gxf5 29.d7 or 27...Lf8 28.d6 Rd8 29.Ne7+ Kh8 30.Le5 Nb4 31.Re4 or, finally, 27...Rc1 28.Rxc1 Lxc1 29.d6 Lg5 30.h4 Lc8 [30...Ld8 31.Ne7+ Kf8 32.Nc6 Ke8 33.Lh3! ] 31.hxg5 Lxf5 32.Lc6 Kf8 33.Ld4 Nb4 34.Lxb5 are not of a help) 28.Re2! Nc1 (28...Nc3 29.Lxc3 Lxc3 30.Ra2 ) 29.Re4 Lf8 (29...Nd3 30.Lf1! [30.d6? Lxd6 31.Nxd6 Rc1+ 32.Lf1 h6 33.Ld4 b4 °] 30...Lf8 31.d6 Nc5 32.Ne7+ Lxe7 33.Rxe7 ) 30.d6 f6 (30...b4 31.Nh6+! gxh6 32.Rg4+ Lg7 33.Rxg7+ Kf8 34.Ld5 Ne2+ 35.Kg2 Nc3 36.Rxf7+ Kg8 37.Lxc3 bxc3 38.Rxa7+ Kf8 39.Rxa6 c2 40.d7 c1Q 41.dxc8Q+ Qxc8 42.Ra8 ) 31.d7 Rd8 32.Lh3! . 27...Lc5! An accurate move. White could still hold some advantage after either 27...Ld6?! 28.Le5 Re8 29.Ra1 Lxe5 30.Rxa2 Lb7 (30...Lc8 31.Re2 Ld7! [31...f6 32.f4 Lg4 33.Re4 ] 32.Nxe5 f6 33.f4 fxe5 34.fxe5 ) 31.Rxa7 (31.Nxe5? Rxe5 32.Rxa7 Re1+! 33.Lf1 Lxd5 34.Rd7 Lc6 35.Rd8+ Re8 36.Rd6 Lf3 37.Rd3 La8 38.Rb3 =) 31...Lxc6 32.dxc6 Rc8 33.Rb7 (33.Lh3?! f5!) or 27...Lf8 28.Lb2 b4 29.Ne7+ Lxe7 30.Rxe7 Nc3 31.Rxa7 ². 28.Lh3?! 28.Ld4 is also not much: 28...Lxd4 29.Nxd4 (29.Ne7+? Kf8 30.Nxc8 Lxc8 31.d6 Lf6! 32.Lc6 Le6 ) 29...Rc1!? 30.Rxc1 Nxc1 31.d6 Kf8 32.d7 (32.Nc6 Lc8! = or 32.Lh3 Lb7! = or, finally, 32.Lc6 g6! =) 32...Ke7 33.Nc6+ Kxd7 34.Nb8+ Kc7 35.Nxa6+ Kb6 36.Nb4 a5 ÷ or 28.Le5 Re8! (28...Nb4?! 29.d6 Nxc6 30.d7 Nxe5 31.dxc8Q+ Lxc8 32.Rxe5 Lf8 33.Rxb5 or 28...Lb7?! 29.d6 Lxc6 30.Lxc6 Rxc6 31.d7 Le7 32.Lf6 gxf6 33.Rxe7 Rd6 34.Re8+ Kg7 35.d8Q Rxd8 36.Rxd8 a5 37.Kf1 ) 29.Ra1 Nb4 30.Nxb4 Lxb4 = but White should have chosen 28.Lb2 b4 29.Ne7+ Lxe7 30.Rxe7 Nc3 31.Rxa7 ².

28...Ra8! (D)

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29.Ld4 Lxd4 30.Nxd4 Kf8 31.d6 Nc3 Now Black tries to be creative; 31...Rd8 32. d7 Lb7 33.Nxb5 Lc6 = looked too easy. 32.Nc6? And White helps! 32.Lg2 Rd8 33.Lc6 Lc8 34.Nxb5 Nxb5 35.Lxb5 Ld7 = was good. 32...Lb7! 32...b4 33.d7 b3 34.d8Q+ Rxd8 35.Nxd8 Ld3 36.Nxf7 b2 37.Ne5 b1Q 38.Rxb1 Lxb1 ³. 33.Lg2 Re8 34.Ne5 f6! 35.d7 35.Nd7+ Kf7 36.Ra1 Lxg2 37.Kxg2 Ke6 μ or 35.Lxb7? Rxe5 (35...fxe5?! 36.Re3! b4 37.Rf3+ Kg8 38.La6 ³) 36.Ra1 b4 37.Rxa7 b3 . 35...Rd8 36.Lxb7 fxe5 37.Lc6 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8-+-tr-mk-+( 7zp-+P+-zpp' 6-+L+-+-+& 5+p+-zp-+-% 4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-sn-+-zP-# 2-+-+-zP-zP" 1+-+-tR-mK-! xabcdefghy

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37...Ke7?! A slight error in time trouble. Black should have opted for 37...e4 38.Ra1 Ke7! (38...Ne2+ 39.Kf1 Nd4 μ) 39.Rxa7 Kd6 40.Ra6 Kc7 μ. 38.Lxb5! Nxb5 38...Kd6 39.Ld3 Rxd7! (39...g6?! 40.Rc1 Nd5 41.Lb5 =) 40.Lxh7 a5 ³ was also good. 39.Rxe5+ Kxd7 40.Rxb5 Kc6 Black preserved some advantage and finally won the game. The rest of the game has little to do with our subject. 41.Rh5 h6 42.Re5 Ra8 43.Ra5 Kb6 44.Ra2 a5 45.Kf1 a4 46.Ke2 Kc5 47.Kd2 a3 48.Kc1 Kd4 49.f4 Ke4 50.Kb1 Rb8+ 51.Ka1 Rb2 52.Rxa3 Rxh2 53.Kb1 Rd2 54.Ra6 Kf5 55.Ra7 g5 56.Ra6 g4 57.Rxh6 Rg2 58.Rh5+ Ke4 59.f5 Rf2 60.Kc1 Kf3 61.Kd1 Kxg3 62.Ke1 Kg2 63.Rg5 g3 64.Rh5 Rf4 65.Ke2 Re4+ 66.Kd3 Kf3 67.Rh1 g2 68.Rh3+ Kg4 69.Rh8 Rf4 70.Ke2 Rxf5 0-1

In open positions, such as the open ‘Sicilian Defence’ types, the problem of the sidelined piece can be most dangerous for its owner. And again this is logical, as it is in these structural types that the need for quick transfer is of ultimate importance. The good chess player is obliged to ‘smell the rabbit’ and go for its throat as quickly and effectively as possible. Time counts!

□ Arakhamia Ketevan ■ Kersten Uwe B85 Muenster 1993 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Le2 Qc7 7.0–0 Nf6 8.Le3 d6 9.f4 Le7 10.a4 0–0 11.Kh1 Rd8 12.Qe1 Nxd4 13.Lxd4 e5 14.Lg1 exf4 15.a5 Re8 16.Lb6 Qb8 17.Rxf4 d5 18.Qf2 Le6 19.exd5 Nxd5 20.Nxd5 Lxd5 (D) With the exception of his queen and the a8-rook, Black's forces make a decently centralized impression. However, White soon shows that she can still create weaknesses which will demand extreme caution.

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21.Lh5! The problem with the off-side minor pieces - Black's rook wants to be on both e8 and f8! 21.Rd1 Le6 22.Re4 was also possible, although it does not seem to give White much. 21...g6 21...Lf6? 22.Rxf6! gxf6 23.Ld4 looks dangerous for Black and 21...Rf8 22.Rf1 g6 (22...Qe8?! 23.Re1! looks extremely dangerous) transposes. 22.Rf1 Rf8 Black faces serious problems after 22...Qe5? 23.Ld4! Qe6 (23...Qxh5?! 24.Rxf7 Lf8 [24...Qh6 25.Rg7+ Qxg7 26.Lxg7 Kxg7 27.Qd4+ ] 25.Qf6 Lxg2+ 26.Kg1 ) 24.Lf3! f5 (24...Lxf3 25.Rxf3 Rf8 26.Re1 Qd6 27.Rb3 ) 25.Re1 Qf7 26.Rxf5! Qxf5 27.Re5 Qxe5 28.Lxe5 and 22...gxh5? 23.Qg3+ Kf8 24.Rxf7+! Lxf7 25.Qf3 results in a crushing defeat for the defence. 23.Re1!? 23.Ld4 is not much due to 23...Ld6 or 24.Re4 Qd8! ÷ but White could consider 23.Rd4 Qe5 24.Lf3 Lxf3 25.Qxf3 Rac8 26.Re4 ². 23...Re8 Neither 23...Le6?! 24.Ld1! Ld6 25.Rh4 Le5 26.c3 nor 23...Lg5?! 24.Rg4 Lh6 25.Rd4 Lc6 26.Lf3 guarantees a quiet life either. 24.c4 Le6 24...Ld6? looks tempting but it only gives

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Black headaches after 25.Rxe8+ Qxe8 26.cxd5! Lxf4 27.Qxf4 Qe1+ 28.Lg1 gxh5 29.Qg5+ Kh8 30.d6 Qd1 31.Qe5+ Kg8 32.d7 . 25.Ld4 25.Ld1 was not bad at all either - Black's passively placed pieces on the queenside makes the difference. 25...Lf8? Passive. But also alternatives like 25...Qc7? 26.Rxe6! (26.Rfe4? Qxc4! [26...gxh5? 27.Qe3! or 26...Qxa5?! 27.Rxe6 fxe6 28.Lg4 Lf8 29.Lxe6+ Rxe6 30.Rxe6 ²] 27.Lg4 Lxg4 28.Lc3 Qd5 29.Rxe7 Rxe7 30.Rxe7 Le6 ÷ and 26.Lg4 Lh4! ÷) 26...fxe6 27.Lxg6 hxg6 28.Qg3 (28.Qc2? Lf8 ÷) 28...g5 29.Qh3! (29.Rf8+? Rxf8 30.Qxc7 Rf1+ 31.Lg1 Lf6 32.Qxb7 Rd8 ÷ or 29.Qd3? Lf8 ) 29...Lf6 30.Rxf6 Qh7 31.Qg3 Qb1+ 32.Lg1 Re7 33.Qxg5+ Rg7 34.Qe5 or 25...Lg5? 26.Rfe4 gxh5 27.h4! or, finally, 25...Lb4? 26.Rxf7!! Lxf7 27.Rf1 were not helpful at all. Black could equalize if he would just think about centralizing his army: 25...Qd6! 26.c5 Qd7 27.Lf3 Rad8. 26.Lxg6? Spectacular, but not the best solution. 26.Rfe4!? Qd8 27.Lg4 Lb4 28.R1e2 Rc8 29.b3 is a strong continuation but 26.Rxf7!! Lxf7 27.Rf1 Lxc4 28.Qf6 Lxf1 29.Lg4! (29.Lxg6? Lxg2+! 30.Kxg2 Re2+ 31.Kf1 Rf2+! =) 29...Qe5 30.Lxe5 is the correct follow-up. 26...fxg6 There is no choice, as 26...hxg6? 27.Qh4 Lg7 28.Lxg7 Kxg7 29.Qf6+ Kg8 30.Rh4 is immediately decisive. 27.Rfe4 Qd8!? Black had another chance to fight: 27...Qc7!? 28.Qf6 (28.Rxe6? Rxe6 29.Rxe6 Qxc4 30.Re1 Qf7 =) 28...Lg7 29.Qxg7+ Qxg7 30.Lxg7 Kf7 (30...Kxg7 31.Rxe6 Rxe6 32.Rxe6 Rd8 33.Kg1 ) 31.Le5 . In this ending Black has good drawing chances due to the opposite-colour bishops. 28.Rxe6 Rxe6 29.Rxe6 Qxa5 30.h4

30.c5?! looks more precise, once again cutting Black's queen off from the defence, but Black can equalize: 30...Rd8! 31.b4 Qc7 32.Kg1 Lg7 =. 30...Qd8? But this is too much. Active or dangerous pieces should be exchanged in principle, so 30...Qf5! was called for. After 31.Qxf5 gxf5 32.Le5 Rc8 it seems that Black can hold his slightly inferior ending. 31.h5? White returns the favour. With the active 31.Qf4! she could have obtained a decisive advantage: 31...Rc8 32.Qe5 Qxh4+ 33.Kg1 Qxd4+ 34.Qxd4 Lc5 35.Re8+ Kf7 36.Rxc8 Lxd4+ 37.Kf1 . 31...Lg7? (D) But this is the decisive mistake. Black could have put up a defence with 31...Qg5! 32.Re5 Qg4 33.hxg6 Qxg6 (33...hxg6? 34.Qf6 Qxd4 35.Qxg6+ Lg7 36.Qe6+ ) 34.Qh4 Lh6 and although after 35.Le3 Lxe3 36.Rxe3 Kh8 37.Qd4+ Qg7 38.Qxg7+ Kxg7 39.Re7+ Kg6 40.Rxb7 a5! White would be a pawn up, but the ending is drawish.

XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wq-+k+( 7+p+-+-vlp' 6p+-+R+p+& 5+-+-+-+P% 4-+PvL-+-+$ 3+-+-+-+-# 2-zP-+-wQP+" 1+-+-+-+K! xabcdefghy

32.hxg6! Qd7 What else? If 32...Qxd4?! 33.Qf7+ Kh8 34.Re8+ Rxe8 35.Qxe8+ Lf8 36.Qxf8 # and 32...hxg6 33.Rxg6 is also decisive. 33.gxh7+ Kh8 34.Lxg7+ Qxg7 35.Qf6! Precise. The rook ending is now won. 35...Qxf6 36.Rxf6 Kg7 The main alternative was 36...Rc8 37.b3

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Rc7 (37...b5 38.cxb5 axb5 39.Rb6 Rc5 40.Rb7 ) 38.Rh6 a5 39.Rh4 . 37.Rb6 Ra7 38.Rh6! Kh8 39.g4 b5 40.cxb5 axb5 41.g5 Black resigned as there is no salvation anymore: 41...Ra4 (41...Rxh7 42.Kg2 Rxh6 43.gxh6 Kh7 44.b4 Kxh6 45.Kf3 ) 42.Rh5! Rg4 (42...Rb4 43.Kg1 Rb3 44.Rh2 ) 43.Kh2 b4 44.Kh3 Rg1 45.b3 Rb1 46.Kg4 Rxb3 47.g6. 1-0

It is a fact that lower-rated players usually do not care much about their sidelined (badly) placed pieces, nor their passivity. This happens because they generally fail to understand certain valuable assets that rule the game and must guide our correct decisions and plans and their execution. And of course, by failing to ‘prepare’ you are ‘preparing’ to fail…

□ Grivas Efstratios ■ Shahtahtinsky Alekper D94 Athens 2004 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 g6 5.e3 Lg7 6.Ld3 0–0 7.0–0 Na6 8.cxd5 cxd5 9.Qb3 e6 10.Ld2 Re8 11.Rfc1 Lf8 12.a3 Nd7 13.Nb5 Ndb8 14.Rc2 Nc6 15.Rac1 Nab8 16.Nc3 a6 (D)

XABCDEFGHY 8rsnlwqrvlk+( 7+p+-+p+p' 6p+n+p+p+& 5+-+p+-+-% 4-+-zP-+-+$ 3zPQsNLzPN+-# 2-zPRvL-zPPzP" 1+-tR-+-mK-! xabcdefghy

White obviously stands much better, at least due to his huge spatial advantage. His pieces seem to be harmoniously placed on the queenside and his rooks are ready to exploit the open c-file. In contrast, Black's pieces

are squeezed in the last rank (how about placing the c6-knight on h8?) and, in general, can hardly move properly. His position is not collapsing immediately, mostly thanks to his main defender, his well supported knight on c6. So, as no position can be won without a decent plan, White should choose the most effective one. 17.e4! When there are passive and badly placed pieces, then the right way to exploit this is to open up the position. It is then that the quality of piece placement really matters - the weakness of the d4 pawn is irrelevant, as White's 'compensation' will be tremendous. In such positions it is important to create immediate pressure, as Black's pieces are not ready to defend on all sides of the board, as time is needed for proper regrouping. 17...dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nd7 Black could not play 18...Nxd4? 19.Nxd4 Qxd4 20.Lc3 . 19.Lg5! Qa5?! 19...Le7 20.Lxe7 Qxe7 21.h4 was preferable but hardly acceptable. 20.h4! The attack is growing. The idea of h5 and transferring the queen towards the black king is quite strong. But of course 20.Lc4 Qf5 21.Qe3 was also fine. 20...Qd5 21.Qc3 Lg7 (D)

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22.Qe1! White could protect his d4-pawn with 22.Le3, but this is not as important as the

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transfer of his queen to the kingside. The threat of 23.Lc4 forces Black to accept the sacrifice, which opens more lines against the exposed black camp. 22...Nxd4 23.Nxd4 Qxd4 24.Rd1! With many threats, such as 25.Lb5. Black is undeveloped (the c8-bishop and the a8-rook are still on their initial squares) and the weak spots at d6 and f6 are a nightmare for him. 24...Qe5 25.Qe3 Nf6? Black cracks under pressure, as often happens – that’s human nature! He should continue the fight with 25...Nf8 26.Le2! Ld7 27.Lf4 or 25...Rf8 26.h5 . 26.f4! Winning a piece! The rest was easy: 26...Nd5 27.fxe5 Nxe3 28.Lxe3 Lxe5 29.Le2 b5 30.Lf3 Rb8 31.La7 Rb7 32.Ld4! 1-0

Long-term Compensation The sidelined piece’s ‘fame’ is hardly the best among the top players. In general they try to avoid it and when the chance comes that their opponent has one of them, they feel quite happy! They are even ready to sacrifice some material in order to benefit from the poorness of a sidelined piece and this concept results in long-term compensation in middlegames (or even endgames). Of course, sacrificing material is a dangerous job in general but modern chess fully appreciates and counts in respect valuable factors such as initiative and time. □ Gelfand Boris ■ Leko Peter E15 Jermuk 2009 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 La6 5.Qc2 Lb7 6.Lg2 c5 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.0–0 Le7 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.Qf5 Nf6 12.e4 g6 13.Qf4 0–0 14.e5 Nh5 15.Qc4 d5 16.exd6 Lxd6 17.Nc3 Na5 18.Qd3 Lc7 19.Qc2 (D) White is a pawn down, but Black's pieces (a5- and h5-knights and c7-bishop) are poorly placed and thus White has full compensation for the pawn.

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19...Qe7 Another possibility is 19...Qc8 20.Nd5 Lxd5 21.Rxd5 Qe6 22.Rxh5! gxh5 23.b4!! Qc4 24.Qd2! Ld8 25.Lb2 Qxb4 26.Lc3 Qa4 27.Ng5! with a mating attack. 20.Re1 Qd7 The queen's fianchetto looks too bizarre: 20...Qf6 21.Lg5 Qg7 22.Nb5 Ld8 23.Ld2 °. 21.Lg5 f6 An inaccurate move. Better was 21...Rfe8 22.Rad1 (22.Red1?! doesn't work: 22...Qe6 23.b4 cxb4 24.Nb5 Le5 μ) 22...Rxe1+ 23.Nxe1 Qg4 24.f4! ÷ with a complicated game. 22.Lh6 22.Rad1 Qf7 (22...Qg7 23.Ld2! Nc4 24.Qb3 Qf7 25.Ng5! ) 23.Lh6 (23.Nb5!? Rad8 24.Lh6 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Rc8 [25...Rd8 26.Rxd8+ Lxd8 27.Nd6 ²] 26.Nxa7 ²) 23...Rfd8 leads to a transposition and was probably the most precise move order. 22...Rfd8 Maybe Black could try 22...Rfe8!? 23.Rad1! (23.Red1?! Qf7 24.Nd5 Rac8! μ [24...Lxd5? 25.Ng5 fxg5 26.Lxd5 Re1+ 27.Kg2 ]) 23...Rxe1+ 24.Nxe1! Qf7 25.Lxb7 Nxb7 26.Qa4! Nd6 (26...Rd8 27.Qxa7! ² or 26...a6? 27.Rd7! ) 27.Nd5 °. 23.Rad1 23.Ne4?! leads nowhere: 23...Qd3

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24.Qxd3 Rxd3 25.g4 f5! μ. 23...Qf7 (D)

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24.b4!? White cannot afford to slow down - he should keep the flame of initiative burning even at the cost of new sacrifices. But he also had at his disposal a decent alternative: 24.Nb5 Nc6 (24...Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Rd8 26.Rxd8+ Lxd8 27.Nd6 Qe7 28.Nxb7 Nxb7 29.b4! °) 25.a3 Rxd1 26.Rxd1 Rd8 27.b4 °. 24...cxb4 24...Nc6?! 25.bxc5 bxc5 26.Nb5! is in White's favour. 25.Nb5 Rxd1 25...Rdc8? loses to 26.Lh3! Lxf3 (26...f5 27.Ng5 Qc4 28.Lxf5! [28.Qxc4+ Nxc4 29.Re7 ] 28...Qxc2 29.Le6+ Kh8 30.Rd7 ) 27.Le6 Qxe6 28.Rxe6. 26.Rxd1 Rd8?! The most natural, but probably not the best defence. 26...Rc8 was stronger, when White has to choose between 27.Nxa7 Rd8 (27...Re8 28.Nb5 Lb8 °) 28.Nb5 Rxd1+ 29.Qxd1 ° or 27.Nxc7 Qxc7 28.Qxc7 Rxc7 29.Rd8+ Kf7 30.Rf8+ Ke7 31.Rh8 Ng7! ÷ or, finally, 27.Lh3!? f5 28.Lg2 °. 27.Rxd8+ Lxd8 28.Nd6 Qd7 Black carefully avoided a deadly blunder with 28...Qc7?: 29.Qd2! (29.Qe2? Qe7 ÷) 29...Lc6 30.Ne5!! fxe5 (30...Lxg2 31.Kxg2 Qc5 [31...fxe5 32.Qd5+ Kh8

33.Nf7+ Kg8 34.Nxd8+ Kh8 35.Nf7+ Kg8 36.Nxe5+ Kh8 37.Qa8+ Qd8 38.Qxd8 #] 32.Ne4! ) 31.Ld5+! Kh8 32.Nf7+ . 29.Nxb7 For the last ten moves Black hasn't been able to find a moment to get any of his knights into the game. White managed to exchange the key piece, the b7-bishop, and is now starting to penetrate into Black's camp via the light squares. Unfortunately, 29.Qd2 Lc6 30.Ne5 fxe5 31.Ld5+ Kh8 32.Nf7+ = only leads to a draw. 29...Nxb7 30.Qc4+ The immediate 30.Lh3 Qd5 (30...Qxh3? 31.Qc4+ Kh8 32.Qf7 ) 31.Nd4 also deserved attention, but it was difficult to decide on the move order. But probably it leads to the same type of position. 30...Kh8 After 30...Qf7? 31.Qxf7+! Kxf7 32.Nd4 Nc5 33.Ld5+ Ke7 34.g4! White wins the unfortunate and out-of-play black knight! 31.Lh3! 31.Nd4 Nc5 32.Qxb4 was also possible, but not in the spirit of position! 31...Qe7 31...f5? 32.Ne5 or 31...Qxh3? 32.Qf7 . 32.Qd5 Nd6 32...Nc5 33.Nd4 ° and 32...f5 33.Ng5 (33.Lg5?! Qc7 ³) 33...Nf6 34.Qb3 Nd6 35.Ne6 ° were both worthy alternatives. 33.Nd4 (D)

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33...Qe1+? After this mistake Black's position deteriorates rapidly. 33...f5 34.Nc6 Qc7 35.Lf8 was not advisable either but Black had to go for 33...Nf7 34.Ld2 (34.Nc6 Qe1+ [34...Qe8?! 35.Ld2] 35.Lf1 Nxh6 36.Qxd8+ Ng8 [36...Kg7?! 37.g4] 37.Nxa7 Qa1 =) 34...f5 35.Nc6 Qe8 36.Nxd8 Nxd8 37.Lxb4 °. 34.Lf1 34.Kg2!? Qe5 (34...Qe4+? 35.Qxe4 Nxe4 36.Ne6 Le7 37.g4! ) 35.Qa8 ² was also possible. 34...Qe5 35.Qa8 Qe8 Or 35...Nf7 36.Le3 . 36.Qxa7 Nf7 37.Le3 The simple 37.Ld2! f5 (37...Ne5?! 38.Lxb4 Ng7 39.Qb8 ) 38.Lxb4 Nf6 39.Lc3 was clearly better than the text move. 37...Ne5 38.Qa8 Qg8 Maybe it was time for the poor h5-knight to return to the game: 38...Ng7! 39.Nc2 Qg8 40.Lh3 . 39.Nc6 White could also go for 39.Ne6 Le7 (39...Qxe6 40.Qxd8+ Kg7 41.Qc7+ Kg8 42.Qb8+ Kg7 43.Qb7+ ) 40.Qxg8+ Kxg8 41.Lxb6 or for 39.Nc2!? Ng7 40.Nxb4 Nf5 41.Lf4 . 39...Nxc6 40.Qxc6 Ng7 40...Qxa2? loses a piece: 41.g4 Ng7 42.Qd7 Qg8 43.Lh6. 41.Lh6 Le7 41...Qf8 was no better: 42.Lc4 Qe7 (42...Qc5 43.Qb7 Qf8 [43...Qe7 44.Qd5 ] 44.h3 Qe7 45.Qd5 ) 43.Qd5 Qf8 44.g4 (44.Qd4!? g5 [44...Qe7 45.Ld2 Lc7 46.Qd5 ] 45.Qd3 followed by Lb3-c2) 44...g5 (44...Le7 45.Kg2 ) 45.Qd4 Le7 46.Qxb6 f5 47.Lb3 fxg4 48.Qd4 or 41...Nf5? 42.Lc4 . 42.Lc4 42.Qxb6? Qxa2 was not what White had wished for! 42...Qd8 43.Le3! The bishop is retreating temporarily, to win the b6-pawn. 43...Nf5 43...Lc5?! 44.Lxc5 bxc5 45.Qxc5 Qb8

46.Qe7 f5 47.Lf7 or 43...Qd6 44.Qxd6 Lxd6 45.Lxb6 . 44.Lxb6 Qf8 An attempt to counter-attack with 44...Qd1+ 45.Kg2 Nh4+ backfires after 46.Kh3 (46.gxh4? Qg4+ =) 46...Nf5 47.g4! . 45.Le6 Now White has a clear plan: to exchange queens, followed by the march of his king to the b-pawn and transposition into a won bishop ending. Another plan was starting with 45.Qd5, planning g4 and Ld4-b2, with a mating attack. 45...Ng7 46.Ld7?! Centralization with 46.Ld5 Nf5 47.Qd7 was the correct and nearly always proper strategy. 46...h5 47.Qc8 Kg8 48.Kf1 Qxc8 49.Lxc8 Kf7 White's strategy triumphed at the end, as now he has obtained a strategically won ending due to his bishop pair. The rest of the game was one-sided. 50.Ke2 Ne6 51.Kd3 Nc5+ 52.Kc4 Ne4 53.La6 Ke6 54.Le3 Nc3 55.Kb3 Nd5 56.Lc4 Ke5 57.Lxd5 Kxd5 58.Ld2 Lc5 59.f3 f5 60.Lxb4 Lg1 61.h3 Lf2 62.g4 fxg4 63.fxg4 hxg4 64.hxg4 g5 65.a4 Lb6 66.Le7 Ke4 67.Lxg5 Kf3 68.Kc4 Kxg4 69.Kb5 Lf2 70.Ld2 Kf5 71.a5 Ke4 72.Kc6 Kd3 73.Lg5 Kc4 74.Le7 Le3 75.a6 La7 76.Ld8 Lb8 77.Lc7 La7 78.Kb7 1-0

In general I have noticed that sacrificing a pawn in a position with an open centre, to gain the darksquared fianchettoed bishop is a compensating idea. The next example proves the validity of this thought:

□ Shirov Alexei ■ Kasparov Garry E86 Dortmund 1992 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Lg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0–0 6.Le3 e5 7.Nge2 c6 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.0–0–0 a6 10.Kb1 b5 11.Nc1 exd4 12.Lxd4 Re8 13.Lxf6 Qxf6 14.Qxd6 Qxd6 15.Rxd6 Ne5 16.f4 Ng4 17.e5 Nf2 18.Rg1 Lf5+ 19.Ka1 b4 20.Na4 (D)

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XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+r+k+( 7+-+-+pvlp' 6p+ptR-+p+& 5+-+-zPl+-% 4NzpP+-zP-+$ 3+-+-+-+-# 2PzP-+-snPzP" 1mK-sN-+LtR-! xabcdefghy

Black has given up a pawn in order to achieve the bishop pair and to create abnormalities in White's piece placement. True, White's pieces have no cooperation at all but how can Black benefit from it? 20...f6! Opening up the position is the right strategy to take advantage of the opponent's badly placed pieces. 21.e6?! Of course 21.exf6? Re1 was out of the question but White should consider playing 21.g4!. After 21...Nxg4! (21...Lxg4 22.Lg2 Rad8 23.Lxc6 fxe5! ÷) 22.Ld3 fxe5! (22...Nh6 23.exf6 Lf8 24.Rxc6 ÷) 23.Lxf5 gxf5 24.h3 exf4! 25.hxg4 f3! 26.gxf5 (26.Nd3? fxg4 27.Rxg4 Re1+!! 28.Nxe1 f2 or 26.Rd2 fxg4 27.Rxg4 Rad8! 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.Rg1 f2 30.Rf1 Rd2 31.Kb1 Ld4! 32.Nb3 Re2 33.Nxd4 Re1+ ) 26...f2 27.Rf1 Re1 28.Rd1 Rae8 29.Nd3! Rxd1+ 30.Rxd1 Ld4! 31.Kb1 Re2 ° Black holds the initiative anyway but there is not any easy continuation for either side. 21...Rxe6 Exchanging a pair of rooks is favourable for Black, as he can more easily penetrate into his opponent’s camp and also reduce his counterplay. 22.Rxe6 22.c5 is of no help: 22...Rxd6 23.cxd6 Rd8 24.Lxa6 Rxd6 μ. 22...Lxe6 23.Le2 f5! 24.Nb3 Lf7!

25.Na5 Now both White's knights are offside but at least they created some threats! 25...Rd8! 26.Rf1 Or 26.Nxc6 Rd2 27.Lf3 Nd3 28.Rd1 Rxd1+ 29.Lxd1 Lxc4 μ. 26...Ng4! 27.Rd1 Rxd1+ 28.Lxd1 Ne3! 28...Nxh2?! 29.Lb3! Nf1 30.Nxc6 Nd2 31.Nb6 would only help White to improve his pieces. 29.Lf3 Nxc4 30.Nxc6 The concept of total domination can be seen after 30.Nxc4?! Lxc4 31.Lxc6 Ld4! . 30...a5! 31.Nd8 Winning a pawn with 31.Le2 is no help after 31...Kf8 32.Lxc4 Lxc4 33.Nxa5 Ld5 34.g3 Ld4! - again the total domination by the bishop pair decides the game. 31...Nd2! (D)

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32.Lc6?! The last mistake. White should have opted for 32.Nxf7. After 32...Kxf7! (32...Nxf3 is far less convincing. 33.gxf3 Kxf7 34.Nc5 Lf8 35.Nd3 Ke6 36.Kb1 Kd5 37.Kc2 Ld6 38.Kd2 Kd4 39.Ke2 a4 40.Kd2 and the endgame has yet to be won) 33.Ld5+ Ke7 34.Nb6 (34.Lg8? Ld4! ) 34...Kd6 35.Lg8 Kc5 36.Nd7+ (36.Na4+ Kb5 37.Lf7 Ld4! ) 36...Kc6 37.Ne5+ (37.Nb8+? Kd6! [37...Kc7?! 38.Na6+ Kb6 39.Nb8 a4 40.Lxh7 a3 41.Nd7+ Kb5 42.Ne5 ÷] 38.Na6 [38.Lxh7 a4 ] 38...Ld4 ) 37...Lxe5 38.fxe5 h6 39.Lh7

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Kd5 40.Lxg6 Kxe5 μ he would have chances to survive. 32...Lh6 Even better was 32...Ld4! (centralization!). 33.g3 Nf1 34.Nb6 Or 34.Nc5 Nxh2 35.Nd3 Lg7 36.Kb1 Lf6 37.Nxf7 Kxf7 . 34...Nxh2 35.Nd7 Lg7 36.Ne5 Lxe5 37.fxe5 Kf8! Covering the important e7- and e8-squares, decides the game at once. 38.e6 Le8 39.Lxe8 Kxe8 40.Nc6 Nf1 0-1

In the previous games the sacrificed material was small - just a bare pawn. But of course there are cases where the sacrificed material can be more substantial:

□ Kramnik Vladimir ■ Vallejo Pons Francisco B32 Monte Carlo 2005 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 a6 6.Nd6+ Lxd6 7.Qxd6 Qf6 8.Qd1 Qg6 9.Nc3 Nge7 10.h4 h5 11.Rh3 d5 12.Rg3 Lg4 13.f3 dxe4 14.fxg4 Rd8 15.Ld2 (D)

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White's pieces seem to be somehow uncoordinated and not ideally placed. But of course being a piece up can easily compensate this 'misfortune'. 15...f5! Black will now get a second pawn for the piece, at the same time creating a massive central pawn roller.

16.Re3? 16.Qc1 was the last chance, hoping to return the piece after 16...f4 17.Lxf4 exf4 18.Qxf4 ÷. However, Black would play instead 16...hxg4 17.Lg5 f4 18.Rxg4 (18.Lxf4?! exf4 19.Qxf4 Rf8 20.Qxe4 Qf6 ) 18...Qf5 19.Le2 (19.Lxe7?! Qxg4 20.Lxd8 Qg3+ 21.Kd1 Qf2 ) 19...f3 20.Lxe7 Qxg4 21.Qg5 Qxg5 22.Lxg5 fxe2 23.Lxd8 Nd4 24.Kd2 Kxd8 25.Nxe2 Rxh4 μ where he will be a pawn up in the endgame but White's chances to save the game are rather serious. 16...hxg4 Now it's all over as White's pieces are so tangled up he can hardly move... 17.Kf2 17.Qe2 loses to 17...Nd4. 17...Rxh4 17...Qf6 would have won more quickly, but it hardly matters now. 18.Rc1 Qd6 19.Ke1 19.Re2 Qc5+ 20.Ke1 Rh1 . 19...Rh1 (D)

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Black is fully dominating, as White's pieces are hanging around their back rank or they are just badly placed. The execution must not be far away... 20.Qe2 Nd4 21.Qf2 f4! 22.Nxe4 Qg6 23.Ng3 fxg3 24.Rxg3 Qe4+ 25.Kd1 No salvation was offered by 25.Re3 Nxc2+ 26.Rxc2 Qxc2 . 25...Nef5 26.Rd3 g3 0-1

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When the Long-term Compensation Fails Sacrificing material in order to benefit from a sidelined piece is a dangerous job, as already noted. Nobody promises success; the chess player is usually alone to evaluate, plan, execute and suffer in the end! This is the nature of the game; the sidelined or badly placed pieces find the needed time to ‘recover’ and then the material advantage usually tells in the end…

□ Short Nigel ■ Sokolov Ivan C58 London 2009 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Lb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Ld3 h6 9.Ne4 Nd5 10.0–0 g6 11.Re1 Lg7 12.Lf1 0–0 13.d3 f5 14.Nc5 Qd6 15.Nb3 Nb7 16.g3 Le6 (D)

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It seems that something has gone wrong for White, as the vast majority of his pieces are lying on the edge of the board. On the contrary, Black's forces are well developed, just at the cost of a bare pawn! 17.c4! Gaining valuable space and driving back Black's well-placed knight. 17...Nb6 18.Qc2 Nd7 19.Nc3 a5 Black would love to play straight away 19...Nbc5 but after 20.Nxc5 Nxc5 21.b4! White would obtain a much preferable game. 20.Na4! (D) From one edge of the board to the other but for a good reason: White blocks the

annoying advance of the black a-pawn and controls the c5-square. 20.a4?! Nbc5 21.Nxc5 Nxc5 ° was what Black would love to see.

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20...g5 Mainly White should have predicted what to do against 20...Qb4. At first sight this seems to oblige White to return his knight back but a closer examination reveals 21.Nd4! Qxe1 (21...exd4?! 22.Rxe6 ) 22.Nxe6 Rf7 23.Nxg7 Rxg7 24.Nc3 e4 (24...Nf6?! 25.Rb1! and the queen is lost) 25.dxe4 Ne5 26.Qe2 Qxe2 27.Lxe2 . Also Black should not really feel happy exchanging pieces: 20...Nbc5 21.Naxc5 Nxc5 22.Nxc5 Qxc5 23.Lg2 . 21.Ld2 Lf7 Good or bad, Black should have tried to reinforce his attack by 21...f4 and hope for the best. 22.Lc3 Rfe8? 22...f4 again looks better, as now White gets the chance to advance his backward d-pawn. 23.d4! e4 If 23...exd4 then 24.Nxd4! as White stays with a clear pawn up after 24...Lxd4 25.Lxd4 Qxd4 26.Red1 Qe5 27.Rxd7 . 24.Rad1 Lg6?! 24...Qc7 was a 'wiser' thought. 25.c5! Qc7 26.d5 It is quite strange that during the last moves only White's pieces improved and now, as a result of this, Black is in dire straits. 26...cxd5 27.Rxd5 Lxc3 28.Qxc3 Ne5

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29.Red1 f4 (D) There is no hope left for Black. Alternatives like 29...Lf7 30.Nb6 (30.Rxe5 Qxe5 31.Qxe5 Rxe5 32.c6 ) 30...Lxd5 31.Nxa8 Qf7 32.Rxd5 Qxd5 33.Nc7 Qc6 34.Nxe8 Qxe8 35.Nd4 or 29...Nf3+ 30.Kh1 Lf7 31.Rd7 Qc6 32.Nb6 Ne5 33.Nd4 simply do not work.

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30.c6! Qxc6 30...Nxc6 31.Rd7 is catastrophic, while 30...Nd8 31.Rxe5! Qxe5 32.Qxe5 Rxe5 33.Nb6 wins a piece as in the game. 31.Rxe5 Black resigned due to 31...Qxc3 32.Rxe8+ Rxe8 33.bxc3 . 1-0

□ Lasker Emanuel ■ Steinitz William C62 Moscow 1896 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 d6 4.d4 Ld7 5.Nc3 Nge7 6.Lg5 f6 7.Le3 Nc8 8.Ne2 Le7 9.c3 0–0 10.Ld3 Nb6 11.Ng3 Kh8 12.0–0 Qe8 13.Rc1 Nd8 14.Re1 c5 15.Nd2 Na4 16.Rc2 b5 17.f4 Ne6 18.f5 Nd8 19.d5 Nb7 20.Nf3 c4 21.Le2 Ld8 22.Nh4 g6 23.Lg4 g5 24.Nf3 Nbc5 25.h4 gxh4 26.Nxh4 Nd3 27.Rf1 Naxb2 28.Qf3 Lb6 29.Kh2 Rg8 30.Lh6 Qe7 31.Nh5 Le8 32.Qh3 Na4 (D) White has sacrificed a pawn to launch an attack on the black monarch and for that purpose he has gathered his pieces on the kingside and especially along the h-file. But

it is not clear yet how to continue the attack - White's forces are lacking sufficient cooperation and the h-file is overloaded.

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33.Lf3?! Passive. White should have withdrawn his h5-knight - as noted, the h-file is overloaded and does not really help him to attack: 33.Ng3 Nf4 34.Lxf4 exf4 35.Rxf4 Le3 36.Rf3 Lg5 37.Ng6+ Lxg6 38.fxg6 Rxg6 39.Lh5 °. 33...Nac5 34.Re2?! 34.Ng6+ Lxg6 35.fxg6 Rxg6 36.Ng3 Nf4 37.Qh4 ° seemed like a fair alternative. An attack cannot be conducted in such a passive way... 34...Nd7?! 34...La5! μ would have questioned White's plans. 35.g3 A 'retreat' like 35.Ld2 to ease the overloaded h-file or even 35.Lg4 with the idea of Ng6+, were much better ways to continue the attack. 35...a5 36.Ng2 b4 37.Ne3 Rc8 The text move is not bad but Black could have dominated with the simple 37...bxc3 38.Nxc4 Ld4 μ. 38.Nd1 bxc3 39.Nxc3 Ld4 40.Ld2 N7c5 41.Qh4 White's attack is over and his material deficit will tell in the end. 41...Lxh5 42.Lxh5 Rb8 43.Nd1 Na4 44.Lxa5 Ra8 45.Ld2 c3 46.Lxc3 Nxc3 47.Nxc3 Lxc3 48.Rf3 Nc1 49.Rc2

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Or 49.Rxc3 Nxe2 50.Lxe2 Rxa2 51.Qh5 Qa7 . 49...Nxa2 50.Rfxc3 Nxc3 51.Rxc3 Rgc8 Black has won material and, most importantly, has exchanged many pieces, weakening any potential attack or other counterplay by White. The end should be near. 52.Rb3 Ra2+ 53.Kh3 Rac2 54.Rb6 R2c3 55.Lg6 Rd8? A blunder. Black could have brought the bacon home with the simple 55...Rc1! . 56.Rb7! A small combination, forcing Black to accept the unavoidable draw: 56...Qxb7 57.Qxf6+ Qg7 58.Qxd8+ Qg8 59.Qf6+. ½-½

‘Identical’ twins are the rarest case in our game. Especially, when these twins come from the same player, in the same tournament and in consecutive rounds! In the ‘Acropolis 2007’ the following games were played in rounds 1 & 2:

□ Parginos Vassilios ■ Grivas Efstratios A80 Athens 2007 1.d4 f5 2.h3 d5 3.g4 Nf6 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Rg1 Ne4 7.gxf5 exf5 8.Ng5 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Le7 10.e4 fxe4 (D)

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White has sacrificed a pawn trying to gain the initiative but Black is well prepared to defend properly. 11.Qh5+?!

A tempting move. 11.Nxe4?! leads nowhere after 11...0–0! (11...dxe4? 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Rxg6 hxg6 14.Qxg6+ Kd7 15.Qf5+ =) 12.Lh6 Rf7 13.Qh5 Lf5 14.Ng5 Lxg5 15.Lxg5 Qd6 but probably White should have chosen the lesser evil 11.h4 Lf5 12.Lh3 Lxh3 13.Nxh3 0–0 14.Qg4 Rf7 15.Lh6 Lf6 μ. 11...g6 12.Qh6 Lf8 13.Qh4 h6! No escape for the poor g5-knight! 14.Le2 Lg7 15.Lh5 (D)

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Keep in mind this diagram; you will need it for the next game! 15...Lf5 15...hxg5 16.Lxg5 Qd6 17.Lf4 Qe7 18.Lxg6+ Kf8 was also winning, but Black wanted to play it safe. 16.Qf4 Qd7 16...0–0 was also enough. Unfortunately for White, all these pieces gathering on the kingside was nothing but an empty balloon. 17.Nf3 17.Nxe4 gxh5 18.Rxg7 Qxg7 19.Qxf5 dxe4 or 17.Ne6 Qxe6 18.Qxf5 Qxf5 19.Lxg6+ Qxg6 20.Rxg6 Kf7 were easy and ineffective. 17...exf3 18.Rxg6 Lxg6 19.Lxg6+ Kd8 0-1 □ Malakhatko Vadim ■ Parginos Vassilios D32 Athens 2007 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 cxd4 5.Qa4+ Ld7 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.Qxd5 Nf6

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8.Qb3 Nc6 9.Nf3 Lc5 10.Lg5 h6 11.Lxf6 Qxf6 12.Ne4 Qe7 13.Nxc5 Qxc5 14.e3 (D)

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Black again sacrificed a pawn for the initiative, as in the previous game. 14...Qa5+ It seems that the Black player loves this kind of check. The alternative was 14...Rc8 15.Le2 Le6 16.Qb5 Qxb5 17.Lxb5 Ke7 ³. 15.Qc3 Nb4?! 15...Qxc3+ 16.bxc3 Ke7 was what Black should have opted for. 16.Nd4 Rc8 17.Qd2 La4?! Placing his pieces on the edge is not a good sign for Black. 17...b6 was better: 18.a3 Nc2+ 19.Nxc2 Rxc2 20.Qxa5 bxa5 21.b4 axb4 22.axb4 0–0 23.Ld3 Rb2 24.0–0 Rxb4 25.Rxa7 Lb5 26.Lxb5 Rxb5 27.g3 . 18.b3 0–0?! Black had to accept an inferior but ‘defendable’ position with 18...Ld7 19.Le2 Nc6 20.Qxa5 Nxa5 21.Ld3 . 19.a3! Compare this position with the previous game. Parginos has put his pieces on the edge of the board again and loses in an identical way! 1-0

The ‘Bad’ Piece Prevails! (Based on comments of John Watson) Instructional texts generally include some

horrific examples of a badly placed piece (or pieces) stuck on the edge of the board, cut off from the rest of the play, haplessly watching as the owner is condemned to play effectively a piece down. These examples duly cite Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch’s comment about knights which, loosely translated, goes ‘knights on the rim are grim’; consider the lesson well taught. The innocent student files away this gem of wisdom and keeps his knights, and generally his pieces, in the centre thenceforth. But in modern chess, the good players have a thoroughly pragmatic attitude towards this old saw, and don’t hesitate to use the pieces on the edge of the board when it serves their purpose. Of course, this lawless attitude towards the pieces and especially the knights, applies primarily to the middlegame and opening. Jonathan Tisdall’s comment about rules in chess tending to retain more validity in the ending applies here as well; certainly a well-centralized piece tends to show its superiority when few other pieces are on the board. So, as a general conclusion we should not be dogmatic and should accept that moves to the edge of the board can be quite good if they are associated with a logical idea. This ‘logical idea’ should be connected to plan, activity and time, as the latter factor is extremely important for manoeuvring, aiming to easily transfer the sidelined piece when in need. During the rest of the struggle, however, the player who ignores the side of the board for his pieces, merely on principle, only cripples his ability to deal with positions optimally. This is best shown by example, so we turn to a number of well-established modern openings and early middlegames in which a knight serves a positive function out on the rim. It might be appropriate to begin with the example almost always given to show how bad a rim knight can be: the Panno/Yugoslav Variation of the g3 King’s Indian Defence, as we have already done in a previous example:

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□ Karpov Anatoly ■ Shirov Alexei E63 Monte Carlo 1998 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Lg7 4.g3 0–0 5.Lg2 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6!? 7.0–0 a6 8.Re1 Rb8 9.Rb1 Re8 10.d5 Na5 11.Nd2 c5 12.a3 Ng4 13.Qc2 Ne5 14.b3 b5 15.h3 It is true that the a5-knight is placed on the edge of the board but in this specific case is an 'active' piece, which is putting strong pressure on White's c4-pawn. 15...bxc4 16.bxc4 Rxb1 17.Ncxb1 Qb6! Preparing the domination of the b-file, planning ...Ld7 and ...Rb8. 18.Nc3! 18.Lb2? Qxb2 19.Qxb2 Nf3+ 20.Nxf3 Lxb2 would only increase Black’s advantage. Now, by tactical means, White saves the pawn which otherwise would drop after, for example 18.f4? Nexc4. 18...Lf5! Of course 18...Naxc4? 19.Nxc4 Nxc4 20.Qa4 would be a really cheap trick for Black to fall for! Black could have played 18...Ld7 at once, but it is better to weaken the d3-square first. 19.e4 Ld7 20.Nd1?! The alternative was 20.Ne2!? g5! ÷ and should be preferred. 20...Rb8 In accordance with his primary plan. 20...Nb3!? was interesting but after 21.Qxb3 (21.Nxb3? La4 μ) 21...Qxb3 22.Nxb3 Rb8 23.Nxc5 (23.Nd2? Nd3 μ) 23...dxc5 24.Nb2 Lxh3 it only leads to unclear play. 21.f4?! 21.Ne3?! loses to 21...Nb3 22.Qxb3 Qxb3 23.Nxb3 Rxb3 but 21.Re3 g5 μ was probably White's only chance. 21...La4! This was of course the idea behind Black's previous moves. 22.Qxa4 Nd3 23.Nf3 23.Rf1 Nxc1 μ was the alternative. 23...Nxe1! The position would be unclear after the natural 23...Nxc1?! 24.e5!. Black has 'sacrificed' some material (two pieces for a rook) but the penetration of his heavy pieces

would be decisive. 24.Nxe1 Qb1 25.Qxa5 What else? If 25.Le3 then 25...Nb3 26.Lf3 Ld4! μ. 25...Qxc1 26.Lf3 26.Qa4 Rb1 27.Lf3 Qd2 28.Qe8+ (28.Kf1 Lc3 ) 28...Lf8 29.Kf1 Rxd1 30.Lxd1 Qxd1 was no better. 26...Ld4+ 27.Kh2 27.Kf1 loses to 27...Rb3. 27...Rb3! 28.h4 Rxa3?! A bit too optimistic. The prophylactic 28...Kg7! would do the job: 29.h5 Rxf3 30.Nxf3 Qxd1 . 29.Qd8+ Kg7 (D)

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30.e5? White missed his last chance to stir things up and muddy the waters with 30.h5 when Black would have to find first 30...Rxf3! (30...Qd2+? 31.Ng2 Rxf3 32.h6+ Kxh6 33.Qf8+ Lg7 [33...Kh5 34.Qxf7 Rf1 35.Qxh7+ Kg4 36.Qxg6+ Kf3 37.Qh5+ Kxe4 38.Qg6+ =] 34.Qxe7 f6 35.Qe6 Rxg3 36.Kxg3 Qxd1 37.Qh3+ Qh5 38.Qe6 =) 31.h6+ (31.Nxf3 Qxd1 32.h6+ Kxh6 33.Nxd4 [33.Qf8+ Kh5! 34.Nxd4 cxd4 35.Qxf7 Kg4! ] 33...cxd4 34.Qxe7 Qe2+ 35.Kh3 [35.Kg1 d3 36.Qg5+ Kg7 37.e5 dxe5 38.fxe5 d2 ] 35...Qf1+ 36.Kh2 Qf2+ 37.Kh3 Qf3! ) 31...Kxh6 32.Qf8+ Lg7 33.Qxe7 and second the only move 33...Rxf4! 34.gxf4 Qxf4+ 35.Kg2 Ld4! (35...Qg4+ 36.Kf1 Qxd1 37.Qh4+ Qh5 38.Qf4+ g5 39.Qxd6+ f6 μ) 36.e5

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Lxe5 37.Nf2 Qg5+ 38.Qxg5+ Kxg5 . 30...Qd2+ 31.Ng2 Rxf3 32.Qxe7 dxe5 33.h5 Qxd1 White has no perpetual check, so he resigned. 0-1

One game is like no other, but as far as one can make a research, there are plenty of games like the previous one or the next:

□ Relange Eloi ■ Grivas Efstratios E62 Cannes 1995 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Lg7 4.Lg2 0–0 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0–0 Lf5 8.d5 Na5 9.Nd4 Ld7 10.b3 c5 11.Nc2 a6 12.Qd3 Rb8 13.Lb2 b5 14.Rab1 Qc7 15.h3 Rb6 16.La1 (D)

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16...bxc4! This is a critical and instructive moment. If Black continues with the natural 16...Rfb8?! after 17.Rbe1! Black's rooks are not doing much along the b-file (no real entrances) while White's rooks will prove rather active after supporting the white pawns' advance: e4, f4 and e5. 17.bxc4 Rxb1 18.Rxb1 Rb8 After exchanging all rooks, Black can continue with ...Le8 and ...Nd7-b6, achieving excellent play on the queenside - the a5-knight is rather helpful for that concept! 19.Re1 Le8 20.e3 20.Ne4?! Nxe4 21.Lxe4 Lxa1 22.Rxa1 Rb2 only helps Black.

20...Nd7 21.f4 Nb6 22.Na3 Ld7 Black could also think about 22...Na4 23. Nxa4 Lxa4 24.Lxg7 Kxg7 25.e4 Rb4 ÷. 23.g4 Rb7 24.Lf1 Black could continue the fight with 24...f5, but he decided that a draw suited him. ½-½

As a conclusion we should accept that the point is not whether Black has equality in this opening; theory tends to revise its judgements continually about such things. But at least it should be obvious from these examples that the knight on a5 has both advantages and disadvantages, and that a host of factors, both static and dynamic, will decide who comes out on top, as opposed to a narrow and simplistic rule. The dispute could go on forever, but the point should be obvious by now. Modern players have no inhibitions about placing knights on the edge of the board, for the simple reason that they serve active functions there, and can combine with other pieces and ideas in an optimal manner. The old days of dogmatic knight centralization are forever gone. In the next example both sides go for the sidelined knight in a very early stage:

□ Gofshtein Leonid ■ Avrukh Boris A01 Israel 2008 1.b3 e5 2.Lb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Lb5 Ld6 5.Na3 (D)

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5...Na5! Unusual positions call for non-standard solutions! This is the main move here - Black wants to prevent the white knight from landing on the c4-square. 6.Le2 Another line is 6.Nf3 a6 7.Le2 Qe7 8.Nb1 0–0 9.c4 b6 10.Nc3 Lb7 11.0–0 Rfe8 12.d3 La3 13.Qc1 Lxb2 ½-½ Hodgson,J-Speelman,J England 1998. 6...a6 7.c4 0–0 8.Nc2 Re8 9.d4?! Perhaps 9.Nf3 or 9.d3 are better options. 9...exd4 10.exd4?! (D) Of course 10.Nxd4?! Lb4+ 11.Kf1 d5 μ is not advisable but White should go for 10.Lxd4 b5 11.Nf3 bxc4 12.bxc4 Ne4 13.0–0 Lb7 ³.

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10...b5! Black found a clever way to employ the a5-knight. 11.Ne3 Alternatives such as 11.cxb5 Lb7 12.Nf3 (12.f3 Nh5! ) 12...Lxf3 13.gxf3 Nd5 or 11.c5 Lb7 12.f3 Lf4 13.Nh3 Nd5 μ fail to impress Black. 11...bxc4 12.bxc4 Lb4+ Equally good is 12...Rb8 13.Rb1 (13.Lc3?! c5 14.d5 Ne4 ) 13...Ne4 14.Nf3 Lf4 μ. 13.Kf1 d5 14.c5 Nc4 14...Rb8!? was a worthy alternative but when a piece on the edge can be exchanged or come back to 'real life' that is a sign of strength!

15.Nxc4 dxc4 16.Qa4 White's position is beyond repair! Other options such as 16.Lxc4 Re1+ 17.Qxe1 Lxe1 18.Rxe1 Rb8 19.Lc3 Le6 or 16.Qc2 Ne4 17.Nf3 c3 18.Lc1 Lg4 μ just prolong the fight. 16...Rb8 17.Lxc4 Ne4! Black is fully mobilized, while half of White's pieces are in the barracks. It's therefore not surprising that Black already has a decisive advantage here. 18.Nf3 Lg4! 19.Rd1 Lxf3 20.gxf3 Nd2+ 0-1

A chess player should also try to understand the ‘worst-piece principle’. In situations involving strategic manoeuvres (when the time factor is not of decisive importance), a chess player should look for the piece which stands worse than the others. Making this piece more active will often turn out to be the surest way to improve the position as a whole. Using the worst-piece principle makes it easier to search for the strongest continuation. I have come across many games with a sidelined piece where the owner had sacrificed material to gain this ‘disadvantage’! Well, of course this cannot be considered a guide and is merely an exception, but still it exists:

□ Bologan Viktor ■ Volokitin Andrei D73 Sarajevo 2005 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Lg7 4.g3 c6 5.Lg2 d5 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Ne5 Ng4 8.Nxc4 Qxd4 9.Qc2 0–0 10.Nba3 Qf6 11.h3 Ne5 12.Na5 Na6 13.Rd1 g5 14.Le3 g4 15.h4 Lf5 16.Qa4 b5 17.Qb3 Le6 18.Qc2 Ld5 19.Lxd5 Nb4 20.Lxf7+ Nxf7 21.Qb3 Qxb2 (D) White did sacrifice a pawn in the opening for some (dubious) compensation, but after Black’s bad reaction he has obtained real counterplay on the queenside. Especially his sidelined knights are quite helpful in that direction!

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22.Rab1! Qxb3 22...Qxe2? 23.Qxb4 Ne5 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.Qc2 would only help White. 23.Rxb3 Nxa2 23...Nd5? 24.Nxc6 Nxe3 25.Rxe3 a6 26.Nxe7+ Kh8 27.Nc2 is another line that Black should avoid. 24.Nxc6 Nc3 The main alternative was 24...a6!? 25.Nxe7+ Kh8 26.Nb1 Rfd8 27.Nd5 Rd7 ÷. 25.Nxe7+ Kh8 26.Rxc3! An excellent and forced exchange sacrifice. White wouldn't be happy with the other option 26.Rd3? as Black would be fine after 26...Nxe2+ 27.Kf1 Nxg3+ 28.fxg3 Ne5+ 29.Ke2 Nxd3 30.Rxd3 a6 μ. 26...Lxc3 27.Nxb5 Lg7?! Chances should be around equal with the precise 27...Lf6 28.Nd5 Le5 29.Lxa7 Rfd8 30.e4 Rd7. 28.Nxa7 The white knights proved to be powerful in their sidelined positions, swapping all Black's queenside and central pawns! Of course White had to sacrifice an exchange but he is not in real danger of losing the game, as he has got two good pawns and his pieces are standing quite acceptably. 28...Ne5 28...Rfe8!? 29.Nac6 Ne5 30.Nxe5 Lxe5 31.Nf5 ². 29.Rc1! The black knight is deprived of its decent

c4-square and thanks to White's control of the c8-square his rook is invulnerable here. 29...Rf7 30.Nec8 Not bad also was 30.Nac8 Ra2 31.Kf1 h6 32.Nd5 ². 30...Rd7 31.Nb5 Ra2 32.Ncd6 32.Nb6 Rd8 33.Nc3 Ra5 34.Ne4 ². In this part of the game the white cavalry is clearly superior to the black rooks! 32...h5?! 32...h6, denying to the white knights the important g5-square was better. Also the black pawn on h5 will prove vulnerable. 33.Kf1 Kh7 34.Ne4 Kg6 35.Nc5! Now one of the knights reaches the f4-square with check. 35...Re7?! Maybe the lesser evil was 35...Rf7 36.Ne6 Lh6 37.Lf4! ². 36.Nc3 Ra3 36...Ra5 37.Nd5 Rf7 38.Nf4+ Kh6 39.Kg2 . 37.Nd5 Rf7 The other option was 37...Rea7 38.Nf4+ Kf7 39.Nxh5 (a third pawn to the good. Black is doomed) 39...Ra1 40.Nxg7 Nc4 41.Lh6 Rxc1+ 42.Lxc1 Ra1 43.Nf5 (43.Nb3!? Rb1 44.Nf5 Rxb3 45.Kg2 ) 43...Rxc1+ 44.Kg2 . 38.Nf4+ Kh7 38...Kh6 39.Nce6 . 39.Nce6! Lh6 40.Rc5 White is winning, as Black did not find the correct way to annihilate the enemy cavalry! 40...Ra1+ Or 40...Ng6 41.Rxh5 Nxf4 42.Nxf4 (42.Ng5+?! Kg6 43.Rxh6+ Kxh6 44.Nxf7+ Kg7 45.Lxf4 Kxf7 ) 42...Ra6 43.Nd3 . 41.Kg2 Nd7 42.Rxh5 Re7 43.Ng5+ Kg8 44.Rxh6 Rd1 45.Rg6+ Rg7 46.Rc6 Re7 47.Rc8+ Kg7 48.Ld4+ Nf6 49.Nge6+ 1-0

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Index of Games When a player’s name appears in bold, that player had White. Otherwise the first-named Player had White. A total of 60 games and examples are analysed in this book. Agdestein Simen - Hansen 37 Karpov Anatoly - Shirov 75 Alekhine Alexander - Capablanca 44 Kasparov Garry - Karpov 54 Anand Viswanathan - Shirov 8 Kasparov Garry - Karpov 56 Andersson Ulf - Atalik 45 Kasparov Garry - Karpov 57 Andersson Ulf - Rivas 29 Kasparov Garry - Karpov 61 Arakhamia Ketevan - Kersten 63 Kasparov Garry - Kramnik 8 Atalik Suat - Andersson 45 Kasparov Garry - Portisch 47 Averbakh Yuri - Pachman 37 Kasparov Garry - Shirov 68 Avrukh Boris - Gofshtein 76 Kersten Uwe - Arakhamia 63 Baburin Alexander - Stearns 6 Kharlov Andrei - Vaulin 55 Beliavsky Alexander - Karpov 34 Kramnik Vladimir - Grivas 21 Beliavsky Alexander - Portisch 40 Kramnik Vladimir - Kasparov 8 Beliavsky Alexander - Portisch 43 Kramnik Vladimir - Nikolic 45 Bologan Viktor - Volokitin 77 Kramnik Vladimir - Vallejo 70 Botvinnik Mikhail - Capablanca 18 Lasker Emanuel - Capablanca 28 Bruzon Batista Lazaro - Radjabov 38 Lasker Emanuel - Steinitz 71 Byrne Robert - Eliskases 30 Lautier Joel - Timman 12 Capablanca Jose Raul - Alekhine 44 Leko Peter - Gelfand 66 Capablanca Jose Raul - Botvinnik 18 Ljubojevic Ljubomir - Ivanchuk 22 Capablanca Jose Raul - Lasker 28 Lputian Smbat - Tukmakov 55 Carlsen Magnus - Jakovenko 14 Malakhatko Vadim - Parginos 73 Carlsen Magnus - Wang Yue 48 Miles Anthony - Karpov 9 Colle Edgar - Spielmann 11 Milos Gilberto - Rogers 59 Ehlvest Jaan - Short 24 Morozevich Alexander - Sasikiran 15 Eliskases Erich - Byrne 30 Myagmarsuren Lhamsu - Reshevsky 32 Erdogdu Mert - Yilmaz 53 Nikolaidis Konstantinos - Grivas 20 Fischer Robert - Petrosian 35 Nikolic Predrag - Kramnik 45 Flohr Salo - Ragozin 33 Pachman Ludek - Averbakh 37 Gelfand Boris - Leko 66 Pachman Ludek - Ragozin 39 Geller Efim - Velimirovic 52 Parginos Vassilios - Grivas 72 Gofshtein Leonid - Avrukh 76 Parginos Vassilios - Malakhatko 73 Grivas Efstratios - Kramnik 21 Peng Zhaoqin - Grivas 16 Grivas Efstratios - Nikolaidis 20 Petrosian Tigran - Fischer 35 Grivas Efstratios - Parginos 72 Pinter Joszef - Psakhis 25 Grivas Efstratios - Peng 16 Pirc Vasja - Trifunovic 36 Grivas Efstratios - Relange 76 Portisch Lajos - Beliavsky 40 Grivas Efstratios - Shahtahtinsky 65 Portisch Lajos - Beliavsky 43 Gurevich Mikhail - Salov 10 Portisch Lajos - Kasparov 47 Hansen Curt - Agdestein 37 Psakhis Lev - Pinter 25 Harikrishna Penteala - Svidler 50 Radjabov Teimour - Bruzon 38 Ivanchuk Vassily - Ljubojevic 22 Ragozin Viacheslav - Flohr 33 Jakovenko Dmitrij - Carlsen 14 Ragozin Viacheslav - Pachman 39 Jussupow Artur - Karpov 23 Reshevsky Samuel - Myagmarsuren 32 Karpov Anatoly - Beliavsky 34 Relange Eloi - Grivas 76 Karpov Anatoly - Jussupow 23 Rivas Pastor Manuel - Andersson 29 Karpov Anatoly - Kasparov 54 Rogers Ian - Milos 59 Karpov Anatoly - Kasparov 56 Salov Valery - Gurevich 10 Karpov Anatoly - Kasparov 57 Sasikiran Krishnan - Morozevich 15 Karpov Anatoly - Kasparov 61 Shahtahtinsky Alekper - Grivas 65 Karpov Anatoly - Miles 9 Shirov Alexei - Anand 8

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Shirov Alexei - Karpov 75 Timman Jan - Lautier 12 Shirov Alexei - Kasparov 68 Trifunovic Petar - Pirc 36 Short Nigel - Ehlvest 24 Tukmakov Vladimir - Lputian 55 Short Nigel - Sokolov 70 Vallejo Pons Francisco - Kramnik 70 Sokolov Ivan - Short 70 Van Wely Loek - Sokolov 41 Sokolov Ivan - Van Wely 41 Vaulin Alexander - Kharlov 55 Spielmann Rudolf - Colle 11 Velimirovic Dragoljub - Geller 52 Stearns Aaron - Baburin 6 Volokitin Andrei - Bologan 77 Steinitz William - Lasker 71 Wang Yue - Carlsen 48 Svidler Peter - Harikrishna 50 Yilmaz Turhan - Erdogdu 53

Curriculum Vitae of Efstratios Grivas

Efstratios Grivas (30.03.1966) is a highly experienced chess trainer and chess author

Has been awarded by the

International Chess Federation (FIDE) the titles of: ▪ International Chess Grandmaster ▪ FIDE Senior Trainer ▪ International Chess Arbiter ▪ International Chess Organizer

What he does/did:

▪ Secretary of the FIDE Trainers’ Commission ▪ Head Trainer of the Turkish Men’s National Team (2006-2012) ▪ Head Coach of the Greek Men’s National Team (2013) ▪ Winner of the FIDE Boleslavsky Medal 2009 (best author) ▪ Winner of the FIDE Euwe Medal 2011 & 2012 (best junior trainer) ▪ Trainer of Various GMs & IMs - In 2009-2011 alone, he formed 5 GMs! ▪ Trainer of the FIDE World Junior Champion U.20 2012 Alex Ipatov ▪ Director of the FIDE Grivas International Chess Academy (Athens) ▪ Worked over 12.000 hours on training! ▪ Official Commentator of the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Ch 2013 ▪ Lecturer at FIDE Seminars for Training & Certifying Trainers ▪ Author of Various Books ▪ Cooperating with the World’s Most Important Magazines