Table of Contents
Introduction
The psychology of winning better positions
Ten principles for winning better positions
The ten principles in action
Exercises
Tips for self-improvement
Master another chess topic
HOW TO WIN BETTER
POSITIONS
Lars Bo Hansen
-------------------------------------------
Master Chess
Lesson 7
Text copyright © 2015 Lars Bo Hansen
Series Editor: WIM Jen Hansen
All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents
Introduction
An example to get started
The psychology of winning better positions
Ten principles for winning better positions
Principle 1:
Principle 2:
Principle 3:
Principle 4:
Principle 5:
Principle 6:
Principle 7:
Principle 8:
Principle 9:
Principle 10:
The ten principles in action
Exercises
EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3
EXERCISE 4
Tips for self-improvement
Master another chess topic
Lars Bo Hansen
Page 1
Introduction
There is nothing a chess player enjoys more than having an
advantage coming out of the opening. But turning that
advantage into a win is not an easy task. The drawing
range in chess is quite broad, and just because you sit on
an advantage does not guarantee a point. This lesson will
help you turn more of your better positions into wins on
the score board.
I am not talking about how to win winning positions, but
just better positions. There is an important distinction here
that some players tend to confuse. When you have a
winning position – often referred to as having a decisive
advantage – you will win the game no matter how your
opponent defends – as long as you don’t mess it up. Your
advantage is decisive even against best defense. Even
Carlsen, Kasparov or Houdini (the computer) cannot
escape without your “help”. Sure, the game is not over
and your opponent will try his best to complicate matters
and set traps, but if you stay on target and don’t fall for his
tricks, there is nothing he can do. To win winning positions
is an important skill, but not our focus in this Master Chess
Lesson.
Instead, we will focus on how to win better but not
winning positions. These are positions where you have a
small or even clear advantage, but your advantage is not
decisive. It is important to realize that with perfect defense
by your opponent, you will not win the game. With best
play from both sides, the game will end in a draw; the
position is still within the drawing range.
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In the old days, chess players used the symbols invented
by Chess Informant to evaluate a position. For example,
+= indicates that White has a slight advantage whereas ±
means a clear advantage for White (the symbols are
upside down if Black has the advantage). These days, we
are using computer evaluations instead, measured in
“pawns”.
It takes an advantage of about 1.5 pawns for a position to
be evaluated as winning – the advantage is decisive even
against best defense. Below that, the game is still within
the drawing range.
Chess players love talking about advantages. “The
computer gives me an advantage of +0.4 here” or “I was
clearly better after the opening” are phrases you will often
hear at a tournament venue. But what does that actually
mean? In my view, it is often more practical to think of
advantage as “wider margin of error”.
Having an advantage is important because the side who
has an advantage has a wider margin of error than the
opponent.
For example, if you have an advantage of say, +1.1, you
can afford to make a mistake or two and the evaluation
will drop to e.g. -0.3. Both +1.1 and -0.3 are within the
drawing range, so the final result of the game will
(theoretically) not change. But if your opponent, who
started out in this example with a -1.1 disadvantage makes
a mistake, the evaluation may suddenly change to +1.6 for
you – and your advantage is now decisive.
This lesson is about how you can increase your chances of
an advantage growing from merely “small” or “clear” to
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“winning”. We begin by considering a typical example of
this process.
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An example to get started
The above may sound a bit abstract, so let me show an
example of how all this works in a real game. The following
game is a typical one, showing how a strong Grandmaster
gradually grinds down his opponent. The game aptly
illustrates the ten principles of turning a better position
into a win that we will discuss in more detail below.
Sargissian – Bregadze
Chicago 2014
Gabriel Sargissian is perhaps best known to the chess
public as the second of top player Levon Aronian, but he is
himself a strong Grandmaster rated just below 2700 and
an important piece of the Armenian National Team that
has won three of the last five Chess Olympiads (2006,
2008, and 2012). Levan Bregadze is a young Georgian IM
currently attending college in the US.
1 d4 g6 2 Nf3 Bg7 3 c4 d6 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 g3 0-0 6 Bg2 c5 7 00 cxd4 8 Nxd4 Nc6!?
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A well-known pawn sacrifice played by top players such as
Tal, Topalov, Jakovenko, and Mamedyarov. In return for
the pawn Black gets active piece play and Benko-style
pressure on White’s queenside.
9 Nxc6
Sargissian is a principled Grandmaster and does not duck
the challenge. More cautious players may prefer rejecting
the pawn sacrifice and just play positionally with 9 Nc2 or
9 e3, banking on a space advantage rather than a material
one.
9…bxc6 10 Bxc6
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10…Bh3!?
Not the most popular move here and possibly not best.
More common is 10…Rb8, seeking counterplay down the
b- and c-files. A recent high-level game Nepomniachtchi –
Jakovenko continued 11 Bg2 Qa5 12 Qa4 Qxa4 13 Nxa4
Ng4! 14 Nc3 Ne5, when White had nothing better than
returning the pawn with 15 c5 with an eventual draw.
11 Bxa8 Qxa8 12 Nd5!?
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Sargissian has earned a reputation as an important
member of the analytical team surrounding his
countryman Levon Aronian. The former World No. 2 has
publicly credited Sargissian for some of the opening
innovations that have occurred in Aronian’s games. The
text move may be a fruit of the Armenians’ joint labor.
More common is 12 f3 Bxf1 13 Kxf1, but it makes sense to
trade a pair of knights before giving back the exchange.
After all, when you are ahead, coaches advice you to trade
pieces.
12…e6!?
A difficult decision for Black. He has several ways to regain
his sacrificed pawn, but in either line White maintains a
slight positional edge. This is a typical example of the
principle of transformation of advantages – rather than
holding on to a minor material advantage, White returns
his extra pawn in exchange for a positional advantage. For
example, after 12…Bxf1 13 Nxe7+ Kh8 14 Qxf1 Re8 15 Nd5
Nxd5 16 cxd5 Qxd5 17 Be3! Bxb2 18 Qd1! Qa5 19 Rb1
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White has a pleasant advantage with no risk, as Black’s a7and d6-pawns are vulnerable.
13 Nxf6+ Bxf6 14 f3 Bxf1 15 Kxf1 Qc6 16 Qb3
A critical moment in the game. The opening is over and
Black needs to figure out whether he wants to regain the
pawn with 16…Rc8 or seek compensation for the pawn in
other ways.
16…d5!?
Bregadze opts for active play a pawn down instead of
winning the pawn back and facing an unpleasant ending
after 16…Rc8 17 Be3 Qxc4 18 Rc1! Qa6 19 Rxc8+ Qxc8,
when White can choose between the simple 20 a4 with an
edge because of the outside pawn majority, or the more
direct 20 Bxa7 Qc1+ 21 Kf2 Qxb2 (21…Qh1!? 22 Qb8+ Kg7
23 Qxd6 Qxh2+ 24 Ke1 Bxb2 25 Kd2 is also slightly better
for White, but perhaps Black’s best) 22 Qxb2 Bxb2 23 a4,
when the passed a-pawn is dangerous.
17 cxd5 exd5 18 Be3 Re8 19 Bf2
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Of course not 19 Bxa7? Qa6, and Black invades on e2.
19…Qa6 20 Re1
For the moment White has to defend passively, hoping to
consolidate and make his extra pawn matter.
20…d4 21 a3 h5 22 h4 Re6
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White has achieved his objective after accepting Black’s
early pawn sacrifice: He has patiently consolidated and
remains a pawn up. Black is not doing too badly, though.
He is active and has some pressure for the pawn.
According to Houdini, White has a +0.61 advantage in this
position, somewhere between a small and a clear
advantage, but still far away from a win. In other words, if
Black does not make any more mistakes or inaccuracies,
theoretically the game should end in a draw. But of course
there is plenty of play left in the position, and it is
instructive to see how Sargissian gets to work and follows
some core principles to optimize his chances of turning his
better position into a win.
23 Qd3!
Of course White would love to exchange queens, as the
endgame with an extra outside passed pawn would be an
easy win. So Black has to give up ground.
23…Qb7
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With his last move, White forced Black to relieve the
pressure on e2, but now Black has another target – the b2pawn. How to defend it?
24 Qd2!
Excellent technique. 24 b4 looks logical, but White’s main
concern is to restrict counterplay through prophylactic
thinking. 24 b4 would leave the c3-square undefended,
and Black could immediately take advantage of this square
to create counterplay with 24…Rc6! with the annoying
threat of 25…Rc3. No need to allow that; in this position
White does not need to hurry.
24…a5!
Excellent defense in turn. Black threatens to clamp down
White’s b2-pawn with a5-a4 and Re6-b6-b3 and de facto
forces an exchange of pawns. As coaches advice for
defense: When behind, trade pawns. Black also asks White
to make a choice: Does White want to have an extra a-
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pawn after 25 Qxa5 Qxb2 or an extra b-pawn with 25 b4
axb4 26 axb4 ?
25 b4!
Correct! It is better to keep an extra b-pawn than a-pawn.
For example, many rook endgames with an extra a-pawn
are drawn but won with an extra b-pawn, as the attacker
has a safe route for his king via the a-file. 25 Qxa5 Qxb2
would also make Black’s queen unnecessarily active.
25…axb4 26 axb4 Rb6 27 Rb1 Be7!
Again White is at crossroads: Should he transpose into a 4vs-3 ending with 28 Bxd4 Rxb4 or passively defend the bpawn with 28 Be1?
28 Be1!
The right decision, exploiting both the exchanges and do
not hurry principles. Against exchanging the b-pawn for
Black’s d-pawn speaks the fact that most endgames with
all pawns on one wing are drawn. More importantly,
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though, there is no need to do it now. White can almost
always force that exchange, so it is good technique to first
maneuver around and try other ideas before returning to
this one. In general, defense is more time and energy
consuming than offense, so let’s first wear down the
opponent before changing the nature of the position
fundamentally.
28…Qd7 29 Kg2
Prophylaxis; Black was threatening 29…Qh3+.
29…Bf8
30 Qd3!
With this and the following move White exploits the
principle of optimizing all pieces before striking. Black’s
reply is forced as White also threatens 31 b5 followed by
32 Ba5.
30…Rb5 31 Qc4!
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A great square for the queen, covering e2 and aiding the
advance of the b-pawn. The queen also eyes the a2-g8
diagonal, which will soon prove important. With his
excellent use of the principles for converting an
advantage, White’s advantage has now increased.
According to the computer it is now about +1.00 – a clear
advantage, but still far from decisive. That should not be
surprising, as Black has not committed any major
inaccuracies but has defended well. The position is still a
theoretical draw. What the computer evaluation tells us,
though, is that the margin of error for Black to hold the
draw is narrowing.
31…Qe8 32 Rb2
Patiently overprotecting e2.
32…Qd7
Black is defending well so far and is not giving up any more
ground. The b-pawn is blockaded and White needs to
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come up with new ideas to set problems for Black. Again
he uses the principle of optimizing the pieces.
33 Ra2! Rb8 34 Ra6!
Setting more problems for Black. The text move comes
with a dual threat: 35 Rxg6+ (exploiting the pin of the f7pawn, a side effect of the queen maneuver to c4) and 35
Rc6 followed by 36 b5 or 36 Rc7.
34…Qf5?
Finally Black cracks and commits a blunder which increases
White’s advantage to decisive proportions. It is easy to
condemn this move, but it is important to realize that this
blunder did not occur out of the blue. It is a consequence
of the sustained pressure that White has put on Black in
the last 15 moves by systematically setting more and more
problems for Black to solve. The computer evaluation
before this move was still around +1.00, and as noted
before this simply means that the margin of error for Black
was narrowing. In fact, at this point he had only one (two
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according to the computer, but I doubt one of its
suggestions) way to keep White’s advantage in
manageable realms. The correct defense was 34…Rc8! 35
Qd3 (not 35 Rxg6+? Kh7, and the rook is lost) 35…Rb8!,
preventing 36 b5. In this case the evaluation remains at
+1.00. White can either continue to maneuver with e.g. 36
Qb3 Kg7 37 Ra5, or he can finally decide to go for the 4-vs3-endgame with 36 Bc3 Bxb4 37 Qxd4 Qxd4 38 Bxd4,
where he can press for a long time, but Black should be
able to hold. The other defense given by the computer in
the position after 34 Ra6 is parrying the threat of 35 Rxg6+
by the simple 34…Kg7. The queen endgame after 35 Rc6
Bxb4! 36 Rc7 Qe8 37 Bxb4 Rxb4 38 Rxf7+! Qxf7 39 Qxb4
Qd7 40 Qc4 is only given by the computer as +0.76,
suggesting Black should be able to hold. While this may be
so, I believe Black is closer to the abyss than the computer
“thinks”. The d4-pawn is weak and White can initiate play
on the kingside by either g3-g4 or f3-f4-f5, after
maneuvering his queen to e4 via d3. After the impatient
text move, Black is lost, as the evaluation now jumps to
+2.18.
35 Qxd4
It is unlikely that Black missed this simple capture of a
second pawn. Rather, he probably overestimated the
intended counterplay against White’s King along the first
rank. This counterplay never really materializes, but when
you have been on the defensive for many moves, such
illusions often happen. This is why the do not hurry
principle is so powerful in nurturing an advantage – it may
cause your opponent to lose patience, and that is exactly
what you are looking for. Psychology plays a key role here.
Your opponent simply wants to believe that the
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counterplay is real and convinces himself of this in order to
force the issue and avoid a long, grueling defense.
35…Qc2 36 Qe5 Rc8!?
This was Black’s idea. He now threatens 37…Bg7 (to take
away a1 from White’s rook) followed by Qd1 and Rc1 with
an attack against White’s King. Objectively speaking, this is
not really dangerous, though, but it is easy to understand
what attracted Black to this idea, as in some lines White’s
King appears vulnerable, especially when calculating from
afar. A plausible sample line is 37 Bf2 Bg7 38 Qe3 Qd1! 39
Ra7! Rc1 with a mating threat on h1.
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However, it turns out that White can repel the attack and
win with 40 g4! (securing an escape route for the King)
40…hxg4 41 Qe8+! (counterattack!) 41…Kh7 42 Qxf7 gxf3+
(the King also escapes after 42…Qh1+ 43 Kg3 Qh3+ 44 Kf4)
43 Kxf3 Qh1+ 44 Kg3 Rg1+ (only chance; 44…Rc3+ 45 e3
wins) 45 Bxg1 Qxg1+ 46 Kf3 Qf1+ 47 Ke3, and the King
eventually escapes the checks. Understandably, though,
Sargissian did not like his King running around the board
and finds a more practical way of neutralizing Black’s
counterattack.
37 Qe4! Qd1
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38 Rxg6+!
The point. White uses the principle of small tactics to
transform his advantage into an easily winning endgame
with four strong pawns for a piece. An instructive example
of how to restrict counterplay.
38…fxg6 39 Qxg6+ Bg7
39…Kh8 40 Qxh5+ Kg8 41 Qg4+ doesn’t help.
40 Qe6+ Kh7 41 Qf5+!
Very accurate – when converting an advantage, it is
important to remain fully focused all the way to the end.
This intermediate check forces Black’s King to a worse
square.
41…Kh6 42 Qxc8 Qxe1 43 Qe6+ Kh7 44 b5
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The transformation is complete. This is what White
envisioned when going for the forced line with 37 Qe4 and
38 Rxg6+. White is now winning, the computer calls this
+2.21. Black has one final trick, though.
44…Qd1!?
Always ask yourself: What is it my opponent wants to do?
The answer is 45…Bd4 now that the queen defends the
bishop; the immediate 44…Bd4? loses to 45 Qe4+ Kh6 46
Qxd4 Qxe2+ 47 Qf2 Qxb5 48 Qd2+ with an easy win with
two extra pawns.
45 Qe4+ Kh6
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Prophylactic thinking: How can I meet the threat 46…Bd4 ?
46 Qe7! 1-0
This accurate move caused Black to resign as his last
chance is denied. After 46…Bd4 White picks up the h5pawn with 47 Qg5+ Kh7 46 Qxh5+; then brings his queen
back to e4 and escapes with the King via h3 and g4, now
that this latter square is available to the King. With five
pawns for a piece, there is no more hope for Black.
Houdini now gives +3.26 with no defense again b5-b6-b7,
so resignation is in order. An instructive performance by
Sargissian on the theme of how to win better positions.
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The psychology of winning better
positions
Turning a better position into a point on the score board is
very much about psychology. Understanding that your
advantage does not guarantee a win is the first
psychological step to overcome. I have seen many chess
players being upset after a game because they felt they
should have won. “I was clearly better, how could I not win
this game?” But that is exactly the point: you were better,
but you were not winning, and the game was therefore
still within the drawing range. As long as your opponent
defended well and did not make any more inaccuracies,
the logical outcome of the game was a draw. Don’t blame
yourself for not winning the game; acknowledge your
opponent’s defensive skills instead.
Even worse, some players seem to become frustrated
during the game when their advantage does not seem to
bring them closer to winning the game. The opponent
defends well and no progress is made. As a result, they
may lose patience and begin to play overly aggressive in an
attempt to force the issue and earn what they erroneously
seem to consider a win that is “rightfully theirs” since they
have the advantage. But again, such frustration is not
warranted because the natural, “rightful” outcome of the
game is still a draw, despite the advantage. It is more likely
that unwarranted aggression and impatience will backfire.
In fact, it might be exactly what an experienced opponent
is waiting for; a chance to land a counter-blow.
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In a better but not winning position it is critical not to get
upset if your opponent defends well. Keep setting
problems along the lines we will discuss later and if he
continues to defend accurately, there is nothing you can
do about it. Then he deserves a draw. Don’t lose
patience; avoid forcing the issue.
I have also experienced players who become complacent
when they have the advantage, apparently assuming the
game will win itself. That too is a big mistake. As I have
discussed in another lesson in this series on How not to
lose in chess, most chess players hate losing much more
than they enjoy winning. A player who is in danger of
losing will increase his efforts and focus to escape the
dreaded loss. So when you have an advantage you must
realize that the closer your opponent gets to the abyss, the
more he will focus and look for any way to fight back. So if
you become complacent and take your foot off the gas
and start cruising while your opponent conversely steps up
his efforts – well, you do the math! That’s why
experienced players are particularly focused and alert
when they have an advantage. They know the hard part is
still to come – the process of converting the advantage
into a full point.
When you have an advantage, you have to be extra
focused and alert – your opponent will be!
There is one more reason why it is of utmost importance
to focus even harder when you have an advantage. It has
been shown scientifically that chess players make more
mistakes when one side has an advantage than when the
position is even. The American computer science professor
and IM Ken Regan is working on how to catch cheaters in
chess, tracking tournament games with powerful
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computers that will raise red flags if they detect signs of
cheating. As an interesting side-effect of this work, Regan
has found that players commit 60-90 % more errors when
one of them is half a pawn ahead (evaluation of +/-0.50)
than when the position is even.
Both the player who has the advantage and the player
who is worse make more mistakes according to Regan’s
findings. As mentioned above, though, the stakes are
higher for the side who is worse – he has a much more
narrow margin of error before the advantage slips beyond
the drawing range and becomes decisive. That is the real
advantage of having an advantage, so to speak. So if you
can cut down on mistakes by remaining focused and
applying the principles in this lesson, it is likely that your
opponent will commit the mistakes you need to push him
off the cliff.
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Ten principles for winning better
positions
As discussed above, you cannot force a win from a better
position. With perfect play from both sides, the game will
end in a draw. But as Ken Regan has shown – and any
competitive chess player will have experienced – nobody
plays perfectly. Your task is to set problems for your
opponent in order to maximize chances of the position
turning from “better” to “winning”. This section presents
ten principles that can help you do just that. The principles
are then shown in action in real Grandmaster games in the
subsequent section.
Principle 1: Use prophylactic thinking to restrict your
opponent’s counterplay. Probably the most critical
principle for converting better positions into full points is
to use Nimzowitsch’ powerful concept of prophylaxis. In
his classic book My System, Nimzowitsch used this term
rather narrowly to mean either preventing a freeing move
by the opponent or to overprotect one’s own strategically
important points. As John Watson has pointed out,
nowadays we interpret the concept more broadly to mean
“pervasive prevention”. The modern emphasis in
prophylactic thinking is on aiming to understand and
prevent the opponent’s ideas and plans.
This is especially important when you hold an advantage.
Often you do not need to do much to expand the
advantage; just make sure you nurse it by not allowing
your opponent to neutralize it. For example, if you have a
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space advantage you should not allow your opponent to
trade pieces, as this will reduce his problem of finding
decent squares for his pieces. A space advantage means
that you have more squares available and allows you more
freedom of movement, so you can expect your opponent
to be interested in trading some pieces. Don’t let him do
that! Similarly, if you have an extra pawn, your opponent
will probably try to liquidate all pawns on one wing, as
endings with pawns on only one side of the board are
often drawn even a pawn down. Again, don’t allow that!
Principle 2: Manage your time wisely. The chess clock
can be regarded as the 33rd piece of the game and as with
all the other pieces it must be managed wisely. That
means not playing too fast and not playing too slow. This is
critical when you have an advantage too. As noted earlier,
some players tend to become complacent and careless
when they have an advantage and start playing too fast.
Big mistake! Using principle 1 of prophylactic thinking –
and all the other principles – requires to take your time to
figure out what to do and also how to prevent what your
opponent wants to do.
On the other hand you should be careful not to fall into
time pressure. Many advantages have been squandered in
time pressure. Some players tend to get too cautious and
slow with the moves. Find a good, appropriate pace of play
depending on the time control and point in the game.
Principle 3: Know technical endgames. Converting an
advantage often takes place in the endgame. When you
hold an advantage, you must know which transitions you
can allow – or even strive for – and which you must avoid.
A powerful tool used by strong players on both sides of the
advantage – when either better or worse – is knowledge of
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technical endgames. A technical endgame is one that can
be found in the endgame literature and where best play
has already been worked out. For example, positions with
rook and pawn vs. rook, which is one of the topics in
another Master Chess Lesson in this series. Experienced
tournament players know that a detailed knowledge of a
variety of technical endgames is extremely helpful when
trying to convert an advantage. If for example you know a
particular rook and pawn vs. rook endgame is winning, you
can use that as a guiding light for where you want to take
the game to be able to convert the advantage. Conversely,
you must be alert to which technical endgames your
opponent strives for because he knows they are drawn.
Principle 4: Consider carefully which exchanges you
want to make – and which to avoid. Chess is a game of
exchanges and trade-offs. Very few games finish with all
32 starting pieces on the board. Some exchanges come
with trade-offs, for example when one side gives the two
bishops in the Nimzo-Indian to double the opponent’s
pawns on the c-file. In the process of exchanging and
evaluating trade-offs, many advantages trade hands.
Experienced players are very alert to getting the better
deal out of such a transaction, and in terms of exploiting
an advantage it is crucial to consider exchanges carefully.
Not only in terms of which exchanges will be favorable for
you to accept or strive for, but also ones that you through
prophylactic thinking can foresee that your opponent will
want to make and which you had better prevent.
Principle 5: Do not hurry, let your opponent lose! Some
advantages are sustainable, meaning that they are longterm and don’t go away. Time is not of the essence for
such advantages and in this case there is no reason to
hurry. In fact, the most unpleasant approach for your
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opponent is often simply to maneuver slowly around
without changing the position much. In many cases you
will see that your opponent loses patience and tries to
force matters rather than just wait. That is exactly what
you are waiting for – unwarranted attempts to force
matters more often than not backfire.
There is an old story about the former World Champion
Capablanca who had a position with a healthy extra pawn.
Instead of actually doing something with this extra pawn,
Capablanca patiently maneuvered around until his
opponent finally lost patience, made a mistake and
dropped a second pawn and the game. Afterwards
Capablanca was asked why he didn’t just do something to
convert his extra pawn, e.g. by turning it into a passed
pawn. The great master replied: “It was more practical to
wait”. In other words, he waited for his opponent to lose
rather than trying to win the game himself. If your
advantage is of the sustainable kind, that is indeed often a
more practical strategy.
Principle 6: Hurry, your opponent threatens to
neutralize your advantage! Some advantages, however,
are only temporary and will evaporate if you don’t act fast.
For example, if you have a lead in development, you must
do something to put your opponent under pressure before
he has time to catch up in development. You only have a
short window of opportunity to exploit the advantage and
maybe transform it into another, more lasting, kind.
Distinguishing between sustainable and temporary
advantages is key in determining the appropriate course of
action when you hold an advantage. Already the first
World Champion in chess history and the father of
positional chess, Wilhelm Steinitz, made this distinction.
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Many advantages have been lost because a player acted
either too soon – when there was no need to hurry – or
too late – allowing the opponent to neutralize the
advantage.
Principle 7: Transformation of advantages from one
type to another. Closely related to the previous principle
of hurrying when an advantage is not sustainable is
Capablanca’s old principle of transforming an advantage
into another, better one. If you have a temporary lead in
development, search for ways to transform that advantage
into something more sustainable before your opponent
catches up in development. For example, you can use your
free moves – while your opponent is busy with completing
his development – to take control of open files and
strategically important squares or to gain space by
advancing pawns.
Capablanca’s transformation principle is not only about
turning a temporary advantage into a sustainable one,
though. The principle is much more universal than that.
More generally, you should always be on the look-out for
how and when to trade an advantage into another, more
valuable, kind. As noted, the drawing range in chess is
broad and to win you must push your advantage – or
rather your opponent’s disadvantage – beyond the
drawing line. In computers’ numerical terminology, your
advantage must pass the 1.50 pawn threshold to be
decisive even against best defense.
The best way to do so is often to make a series of
favorable “advantage trades” that slowly push your
advantage closer to – and hopefully beyond – the winning
threshold.
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The process of exploiting the principle of transformation of
advantages can for example evolve something like this:
You may start out with a lead in development that gives
you a “+0.3” advantage according to the analysis engine.
This is a temporary advantage only, based on a timesensitive initiative. You must act fast, following principle 6.
Given a few moves, your opponent would be able to
neutralize this advantage. But before he has time to do so,
you use this advantage to make a favorable trade of
advantages to a position with a better pawn-structure.
This is a sustainable positional advantage, and the
computer now evaluates your position at “+0.8”, a clear
but still far from winning advantage.
Exchanging some pieces (the right ones, according to
principle 4!) you go into an endgame where you eventually
win one of your opponent’s weak pawns, turning your
positional edge into a material advantage that pushes
your advantage to “+1.3”. Now you are close to winning
the game, but you are not quite there yet. Fortunately,
your opponent does not defend the ensuing rook
endgame perfectly and you are eventually able to drive
home the full point using the Lucena Maneuver – a wellknown technical endgame.
Remember that this process requires some cooperation
from your opponent – you cannot force it. All you can do is
set problems for your opponent and then hope that he
somehow stumbles, e.g. by accepting a trade that is
favorable for you or that he has not studied the Rook and
Pawn vs. Rook volume of this Master Chess series, which
would have allowed him to cling to a draw in the rook
endgame with the Kling & Horwitz Defense (if you are not
familiar with the terms “Lucena Maneuver” or “Kling &
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Horwitz Defense”, I encourage you to study Master Chess
Lesson No. 5 of this Series).
Principle 8: Optimize all your pieces before striking. If
you study the games of former World Champion Anatoly
Karpov, one of the most subtle positional players in chess
history, you will notice how all Karpov’s pieces always
seem to be on the best possible squares when the game
enters the decisive phase. That’s because Karpov is an
expert in optimizing all pieces before striking. This
principle is related to Principle 5 about taking your time
when your advantage is sustainable. Of course, as a
positional master accumulating small, long-term
advantages, most of Karpov’s advantages were sustainable
in nature. Exploiting Principle 5, Karpov would then
carefully – not hurrying – bring all his pieces onto their
best squares before proceeding further. A more aggressive
attacking player like Karpov’s arch-rival and successor as
World Champion, Garry Kasparov, is more likely to collect
advantages that are temporary and based on initiative.
Following Principle 6, Kasparov would then exploit this
advantage to initiate a swift and crushing attack. These
examples highlight how all the principles work together
and also show the impact of personal style on the process
of converting an advantage.
Principle 9: The principle of two weaknesses. This
principle has a long history in the literature of positional
chess, going all the way back to Steinitz and Nimzowitsch
more than a century ago. Nimzowitsch probably outlined
this principle in the clearest manner in his book Chess
Praxis from 1928: Alternating maneuvers against two
opposing weaknesses might be described as follows: Two
weaknesses, which individually are quite capable of being
defended, are attacked in turn and about by an opponent
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who relies on his superior lines of communication; the
result is the loss of the game, because at some point the
defender cannot keep pace with the rapidity with which his
opponent can regroup.
The main point here is actually revealed in the last part of
the quote: When your opponent has two weaknesses,
defending each one of them will typically cause a “traffic
jam” among his pieces, and he will then be unable to keep
up when you systematically shift play from one weakness
to the other, causing more and more disruption among the
defending pieces.
Nimzowitsch goes on to explain that the shifting
maneuvers back and forth between weaknesses typically
involve a specific transfer square which he calls the
“pivotal point”. By controlling this critical transit point, the
stronger side is able to maneuver much more seamlessly
than his opponent.
Principle 10: Use small tactics to increase the
advantage. Most of the other principles are about subtle
positional issues, but we should not forget about tactics in
the pursuit to increase our advantage! Of course all chess
coaches advise students to study tactics and to always look
out for them at every stage of the game, but in this
context the use of tactics is a bit more fundamental; part
of our strategy for how to increase an advantage into
decisive proportions.
Again modern chess players owe a debt to Wilhelm
Steinitz who was the first to point out when tactics are
likely to creep into the position. Steinitz pointed out that
tactics only appear when you have an advantage! There
are no tactics in bad positions – unless of course your
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opponent errs, but then your position in one stroke is no
longer bad, as long as you spot the tactic, of course.
This lesson is about positions where you in fact do hold the
advantage and try to expand it, so Steinitz’ point certainly
applies here. As we shall see, many advantages are
increased by small tactical shots. That is not a coincidence
but a logical consequence of you holding the advantage.
For example, your advantage may be rooted in better
piece coordination, and with your opponent’s pieces
comparatively disorganized it is not surprising if some
small tactic may appear. After all, most tactics exploit
loose or disorganized pieces.
We have now reviewed the ten principles that can help
you increase an advantage – now let’s see how the
principles work in practice!
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The ten principles in action
Mastering the ten principles will have an immediate
impact on your results. This section shows a couple of
Grandmaster games in which the winner exploits one or
more of the principles to emerge victorious.
Judit Polgar – Anand
Wijk aan Zee 1998
Judit Polgar, the best woman to ever play the game, has
emerged from the opening – a Sicilian Najdorf – with some
advantage. My computer assesses the position as “+0.32”
better for White. Why is that? Mainly because of the
weaknesses of the d6-pawn and the d5-square. How
should White proceed to make something tangible of this
modest edge? Polgar starts by optimizing all pieces. The
knight on f3 is not helpful in the battle for the d5-square,
so it is re-routed with…
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15 Ne1! Qb7 16 Bxf6!
Using the principle of exchanging the right pieces. In a
fight for a square – here d5 – a knight is often better than
a bishop.
16…Nxf6 17 Nd5!?
Proceeding with the strategy of exchanging, aiming for a
position with a good knight vs. a bad bishop. It was also
possible to continue with the strategy of optimizing all
pieces first by 17 g3 and Ng2-e3.
17…Nxd5 18 Rxd5 Rc5 19 Rad1 Rxd5 20 Rxd5 Rc8 21 c3
b4!?
A double-edged decision by the future World Champion.
This places another pawn on a dark square and potentially
makes the dark-squared bishop even worse. On the other
hand it solidifies the pawn-structure and the bishop may
be useful on the g1-a7 diagonal, including blocking on the
d4-square that becomes available when White plays c3-c4.
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22 c4 g6 23 g3 Rc5
This is the position I usually start from when using this
game in our Master Chess Camps. Participants are given
15-20 minutes each to play out the position, and the first
decision the White players have to make is whether to
exchange rooks or not.
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24 Rd1!
Best, although not by much. The computer judges White
to hold a +0.47 advantage with the rooks on but only
+0.31 after 24 Rxc5 dxc5. Curiously, in the training sessions
where I have used this position, about 2/3 of White
players trade the rooks. Possibly these players follow the
old saying that the combination of queen and knight is
often better than queen and bishop. While this may be
true, exchanging is not the strongest principle to use here
– for two reasons. First, White can probably always force
the exchange of rooks at a later stage if she changes her
mind. There is no need to hurry in this position, as White’s
advantage is stable. Second, and more important, White
can make use of the principle of two weaknesses. The dfile – pawn on d6 and square on d5 – represents one
weakness, but where is the other one? It is not the apawn, which after a6-a5 can easily be defended by the
rook on c5 or the bishop on e.g. b6. The second weakness
turns out to be Black’s kingside. With a timely h2-h4 White
forces Black to make a tough decision – either to allow h4h5 and an eventual opening of the h-file, or to play h7-h5
himself, which sets up a lever with g3-g4. While all of this
is not critical for Black, it is clear that White’s position is
much easier to play – and that is exactly what the term
“advantage” means.
24…a5 25 Nc2!
Of course White optimizes all pieces before initiating play
on the kingside. The knight strives for d5.
25…Kg7 26 Qd3 Rc6 27 Ne3 Qc8 28 Kg2!
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No need to hurry! Just in case White prevents Qc8-h3 and
takes the King off the first rank – prophylactic thinking –
before playing the knight to d5.
28…Qe6 29 Qe2 Bd8 30 Nd5
The first phase of White’s optimizing pieces strategy has
been concluded; the knight has landed on its dream
square. Next follows the optimization of the major pieces.
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30…Rc5 31 Qe3 Be7 32 Rd3!
The rook belongs in front of the queen to put maximum
pressure on d6.
32…Bd8 33 Qd2 Rc6 34 Qd1 Kg8
White has achieved all she could with piece maneuvers,
but still “only” has a +0.72 advantage, far from winning the
game. It is time to exploit a different principle, that of two
weaknesses.
35 h4!
Winning better positions is very much about setting
difficult problems for your opponent and hoping that he is
unable to solve them – or alternatively that he spends a lot
of time on it and gets into time trouble. The text move is
such a difficult problem, asking Black whether he will allow
h4-h5 or prevent it with h7-h5. The latter option may
appear obvious, but it has the drawback that White can
then prepare a timely g3-g4, which will open the kingside
after all.
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35…Kg7
Anand decides to just wait, allowing h4-h5. The computer
rates this and 35…h5 about evenly; personally I would
probably prefer 35…h5, though.
36 h5! Bg5 37 Qf3!
Taking advantage of the advanced h-pawn, White now
rearranges the major pieces to the kingside, getting ready
for h5xg6 at the most appropriate moment – but not
before.
37…Rc8 38 Rd1! Rc6
Black simply waits, trusting his defenses. And so he should:
although White has a clear advantage, the game is still in
the drawing range. There is no need for Black to drastically
change the position; it is up to White to show how to set
further problems to increase her advantage.
39 Qe2 Rc8 40 Rh1 Kg8
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Introduces a new idea into the position that Black must
react to: White intends to use the g1-a7 diagonal with 42
Qf2. This will not only threaten to penetrate via b6 or a7
with the queen, but also prepares Qf2-g1-h2 to take
advantage of the h-file.
41…Rb8! 42 Qf2 Rb7!
Accurate and tenacious defense by Anand. From b7 the
rook simultaneously prevents White’s queen from
invading on the g1-a7 diagonal and covers the 7th rank.
White needs to come up with a new idea.
43 hxg6!
The right moment for this exchange. Black is forced to
recapture with the f-pawn, since after 43…hxg6? 44 Qg1!
he is unable to simultaneously control the g1-a7 diagonal
and the h-file. As Nimzowitsch noted, more space and
better coordinated pieces allow the stronger side to shift
from side to side faster and more seamlessly. This is the
critical point of exploiting the principle of two weaknesses.
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A sample line showing this in action is 43…hxg6? 44 Qg1!
Bf6 45 Qh2 Kf8 46 Ra1! Ra7 47 Qh6+ Bg7 48 Qe3! Qd7
(48…Ra6 49 Nc7 wins) 49 Qb6, and Black’s position
collapses.
43…fxg6
44 c5!
Polgar exploits yet another principle: that of
transformation of advantages. At first sight it may seem
strange to trade Black’s d6-pawn, which after all was one
of the initial reasons that White had an edge coming out of
the opening. However, having just forced Black to
recapture with the f-pawn on g6, White eyes a new
weakness in Black’s position: the newly opened a2-g8
diagonal. White can exploit that diagonal, as well as the cfile, to put pressure on Black’s vulnerable King from the
“blind side”.
44…dxc5 45 Qxc5 Bd8 46 Rc1! Kf7
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47 Qe3!
As before the rook belongs in front of the queen.
47…Kg7 48 Rc4! Rd7 49 Qc1!
White is now ready to invade down the c-file, but Black’s
defenses still hold.
49…h5 50 Rc6 Rd6 51 Rc8 Qd7 52 Qc5 Kh6 53 Rb8 Bf6 54
Qe3+
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White has done all the right things, following our principles
and setting problems for Black. Yet, so far it has not paid
any dividends. Black has defended patiently and vigilantly,
and the computer evaluation has not gone up – it is now
+0.69, or about the same as 20 moves go. This goes to
show just how important good defense is in chess and how
broad the drawing range is. But all of this has taken its toll
on Black, and now Anand blunders, missing a devilish little
detail.
54…Bg5??
It is important to realize that such a blunder does not
come out of nowhere. It is a consequence of the relentless
pressure that White has put on Black’s position going all
the way back to the early middlegame. Winning better
positions is about exactly that – use your advantage to set
problems and apply pressure, keeping in mind that your
opponent has a slimmer margin of error than you do. After
54…Kg7 the game would go on; the onus would still be on
White to set fresh problems for Black.
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55 f4!
Winning – the computer evaluation shoots up to +2.76.
55…exf4
Giving a piece with 55…Bxf4 was Black’s best chance to
muddy the waters, but after 56 gxf4 Qg4+ 57 Qg3 Qe2+ 58
Kh3 Qf1+ 59 Kh2 Qe2+ 60 Qg2 it turns out to be
insufficient.
56 Rh8+! 1-0
By now Anand had realized what he had done and
immediately resigned, without allowing Polgar to show the
point. The little detail he had missed becomes apparent in
the line 56…Kg7 57 Qd4+ Bf6
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58 Qxf6+!! Rxf6 59 Rh7+! Kxh7 60 Nxf6+ Kg7 61 Nxd7 with
an extra piece for White. A good illustration of the use of
several of our principles, but also shows how broad the
drawing range is in chess if you can conduct a staunch
defense. To keep doing that hour after hour is not easy,
though, even for the best in the World.
The following game is a typical “Grandmaster tug of war”.
With each move, the evaluation goes a little up or down as
both sides commit some minor inaccuracies. This is
consistent with Ken Regan’s research findings that players
are prone to mistakes in positions with a non-decisive
advantage. White always holds some advantage, though,
and eventually breaks through as Black allows too many
weaknesses.
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Eljanov – Guseinov
Shamkir 2014
White has emerged from the opening – a somewhat rare
King’s Indian – with a slight space advantage, giving him a
+0.38 edge according to Houdini.
14…Nfd7 15 Rae1!
Prophylactic thinking.
counterplay with f7-f5.
White
anticipates
Black’s
15…f5?!
Black insists, but now this does more harm than good,
creating weaknesses on the kingside. The computer
evaluation goes up to +0.70, a clear advantage.
16 Bd4
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Thematic, White wants to exchange Black’s long-range
bishop on g7, leaving Black with weaknesses around his
King. 16 Bd3 or 16 exf5 were equally good.
16…c5?!
Another weakness. This leaves d5 and d6 open for attack,
and the evaluation soars to +1.24. Black’s position is
critical, but not yet lost. With perfect play he should still
hold the draw, but nobody is perfect.
17 Bxg7 Qxg7 18 exf5!?
Pavel Eljanov is a strong Grandmaster from Ukraine who
has won two Gold Medals at the Chess Olympiad as an
important member of the Ukrainian team. He is rated in
the low to mid 2700s, placing him squarely in the top 30 of
the World. Eljanov plays in a sound positional style and is a
thematic player. This and the following moves are
examples of such thematic positional play, as Eljanov
intends to exchange his rather inactive light-squared
bishop, leaving Black with structural weaknesses. It is a
very “human” approach to this position and the logical
choice for any classically trained positional player. I would
have played like this too. Computers don’t “think” in such
thematic terms, though, and actually labels this move as
inaccurate, causing White’s advantage to drop a bit to
about +0.90. The computer likes 18 f4! better, attempting
to activate the bishop to f3 instead. In this case, White
would hold a +1.20 advantage.
18…Bxf5 19 Bd3!
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The point of the previous move. When the light-squared
bishops disappear from the board, Black is left with lasting
structural weaknesses down the d-file. He does have a
tactical chance of transposing into a worse but defendable
endgame, though. This illustrates how positional and
tactical considerations go hand in hand in chess. You
cannot really separate one from the other; they are two
sides of the same coin. Steinitz was the first to recognize
this when he noted that tactics only occur in positionally
sound positions.
19…Kh8?!
Black misses his chance. After this the evaluation of the
position shoots up to +1.68 – for the first time a decisive
advantage. Correct was 19…Bxd3 20 Qxd3 Ne5! 21 Qxd6
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21…Nexc4! 22 bxc4 Qxc3 23 Qxb6 Qxc2 24 Qxc5 Qxa2 25
Qd5+ Kh8 26 Qf7! Re2! 27 Rxe2 Qxe2 28 Qxb7 Rd8 29
Qxa6 Rd2! 30 Qf6+ Kg8 31 Qg5 Rd1! 32 Rxd1 Qxd1+ 33 Kf2
Qc2+ 34 Kg3 Qxc4
While this long sequence is not absolutely forced, White
has nothing better than entering this queen endgame with
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an extra pawn. The evaluation is about +0.80, meaning
that Black is within the drawing range and has good
chances to hold. Calculating such forcing lines and on
purpose looking for ways to enter technical endgames that
you know you should be able to hold is actually a powerful
defensive tool. Such a forcing line may also help explain
why the silicon monster preferred 18 f4 over 18 exf5 and
19 Bd3; while the latter continuation allowed a forcing
transformation of the position, the former would simply
keep pressure.
20 Be4 Ne5!?
An attempt to alter the course of the game by offering
White the d6-pawn as bait. Quiet continuations look
positionally grim, so this is an understandable practical
decision, even if the move objectively does not work. To
accept the pawn and earn a decisive advantage, White
would have to throw long-term positional consideration
out the window and instead calculate a complex forcing
line – and accurately assess the resulting position – with
the ever present risk of miscalculating something.
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21 Bxf5!?
Black’s gamble pays off! White could win with 21 Qxd6!
Nexc4 22 bxc4 Nxc4 23 Qxc5 (23 Qd3 Nb2 24 Qe3 Nc4 25
Qxc5 transposes; to avoid a draw by repetition White has
to give up his c3-knight) 23…Qxc3 24 Re3! Re5!? (24…Rac8
25 Qxc8! Qxe3+ 26 Nxe3 Rxc8 27 Nxf5 gxf5 28 Bxb7 wins)
25 Qc7! Re7! (25…Qd2 26 Qxc4 Rc8 27 Qf7! wins) 26 Qxe7
Nxe3 27 Nxe3 Qxe3+ 28 Kh1.
However, this line is not straightforward to calculate, and
additionally the final position is not easy to evaluate
accurately, especially from afar. It turns out, though, that
White is winning here (+1.84 according to Houdini) as the
b7-pawn drops and Black’s King is too exposed after
28…Bxe4 29 fxe4. Eljanov prefers to stick to positional
play, ruining Black’s pawn-structure even further. A good
practical choice, although the evaluation drops to +1.10,
meaning that theoretically Black is not lost (as he would be
in the 21 Qxd6 line). In practice, though, Black’s position
remains very difficult.
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21…gxf5 22 Ne3 f4?
Another gamble by Black of the same kind – hoping that
White will not go for a forced sequence that increases his
advantage, but will continue to play positionally at the
expense of some of his advantage. But this time Eljanov
correctly goes for a forced line, the point of which
becomes visible at move 29. Objectively better were
22…Qf6 or 22…Og6, but Black would be in for a highly
unpleasant passive defense.
23 Nf5!
After the cautious 23 Ned5 Nxd5 24 Nxd5 b5!? Black
obtains some counterplay and White’s advantage drops to
+0.61.
23…Qg6 24 Nxd6!
24 Qxf4!? Rf8 25 Rxe5 dxe5 26 Qxe5+ Qf6 27 Qxf6+ Rxf6
28 g4 is also favorable for White with two good pawns for
the exchange, but an old rule of thumb advises that when
converting an advantage, you should avoid positions with
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“strange” material distribution if you can. Such positions
are often hard to evaluate accurately and it is easy to lose
control.
24…Nxf3+!
24…Rad8? loses to 25 Rxe5! Rxe5 26 Nf7+ Qxf7 27 Qxd8+.
25 Rxf3 Rxe1+ 26 Qxe1 Qxd6 27 Ne2!
An instructive transformation of advantages. Black got rid
of his weak d6-pawn, but White now zooms in on the f4pawn instead. Additionally, Black’s King is weak and the
knight on b6 out of play.
27…Rf8 28 Qc3+ Kg8
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29 Rxf4!
The point of the transformation initiated with 23 Nf5. As
29…Rxf4 is met by 30 Qg3+, White wins a pawn and
transposes into an endgame that should be winning.
Eljanov had to see this when deciding between 23 Nf5 and
23 Nfd5. Accurate calculation at deciding moments is key
to converting advantages. Since the sequence is pretty
forced (albeit long), this one was easier for White than the
more complex complications after 21 Qxd6.
29…Qd1+?!
The Queen + Knight endgame is easy for White because of
Black's weak king. It was better for Black to trade the
queens and activate his king, but it is unlikely to hold. After
29…Rxf4 30 Qg3+ Kf7 31 Qxf4+ Qxf4 32 Nxf4 Kf6 33 Kf2 Kf5
34 Ke3 Nd7 35 Nd3 Houdini only gives an evaluation of
+1.21 for White, suggesting Black would still be within the
drawing range. This seems to me to be a too low
evaluation, though. In general, Knight endgames are
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similar to pure King & Pawn endgames, where one extra
pawn is usually decisive.
30 Kf2 Rxf4+ 31 Nxf4 Qb1 32 Qd2 Kf7 33 Kf3!
White activates his King, preparing to exchange the
Queens and enter a winning Knight endgame.
33…Ke7 34 Qe3+ Kd6 35 Qe6+ Kc7 36 Qe5+ Kc6
37 Qe4+
In this version of the Knight endgame with the active
White King there is no doubt: White is winning.
37…Qxe4+ 38 Kxe4 Nd7 39 g4 b5 40 Nd3 Kd6 41 Kf5 bxc4
42 bxc4 Nb6 43 Ne5 Na4 44 h4 Nc3 45 a3 Ne2
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46 Kf6! a5
46…Ng3 47 Nf7+ Kd7 48 Ng5 h5 49 gxh5 Nxh5 50 Ke5 wins
easily; Black is unable to control White’s outside passed
pawn on the h-file.
47 g5 Nc3 48 Nd3 1-0
Some chess players seem to think that analysis engines –
strong chess computers – provide “the ultimate truth” to
evaluating a position, must like a pocket calculator
presents the one and only correct answer to a
computation
problem.
That’s
a
fundamental
misunderstanding. While theoretically at some point in the
future it will be possible to work out all chess position to
one of three results – draw or win for either side – even
the best chess computers of today don’t provide the
absolute truth to the evaluation of a position.
First, as I have discussed in my previous book How Chess
Games are Won and Lost (Gambit 2008), even the
strongest contemporary analysis engines are prone to
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either the understanding problem (computers don’t
“understand” a position the way humans do and approach
evaluation of a position in a completely different way) or
the horizon problem (the evaluation always depends on
the computer’s horizon; any important detail beyond the
calculation horizon of the computer may alter the
evaluation fundamentally). Second, even the best analysis
engines often don’t agree on the evaluation of a given
position; depending on which computer program you ask,
you will get different answers. The following position is a
case in point.
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Carlsen – Aronian
Wijk aan Zee 2015
This is a rather standard position emerging from the 5
Qa4+ line of the Ragozin Variation in the Queens Gambit
(1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Bb4 5 Qa4+) from a
recent game between the World Champion Magnus
Carlsen and the long-time World No. 2, Levon Aronian. If
you run this position through your analysis engine, you will
find that all give White a slight advantage, but don’t agree
on how slight. Houdini evaluates the position as +0.14 for
White; Deep Fritz calls it +0.03 (essentially equal); while
Stockfish is the most optimistic on White’s behalf, settling
on a +0.42 advantage.
Who is right? I don’t know, and frankly it does not matter.
The important thing for our purposes is that everyone –
humans as well as silicon monsters – seem to agree that
White has a modest advantage, but that Black need not
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worry unduly. He is well within the drawing range and can
be quite content with the outcome of the opening. White’s
minimal edge is rooted in a better pawn-structure. The c7pawn is backward and weak and also the d5-pawn may be
vulnerable. For the moment, though, the pawns are not in
any danger and most of Black’s pieces are pretty active.
Additionally, he holds the two bishops. What now follows
is the World Champion trying to make something tangible
of his small edge by following the principles outline here to
set problems for Aronian. In the style of Karpov, Carlsen
starts by optimizing his pieces, targeting Black’s backward
pawn on c7.
21 Rc3! Bf5 22 Rac1
Since the c7-pawn is securely defended by the bishop on
d6, what does White gain by doubling rooks on the c-file?
Not only does White introduce a possible positional
exchange sacrifice on c7 in some lines, he also ensures
that the bishop on d6 is tied to the defense of the c7pawn. This in turn reduces the bishop’s mobility; White
can always regroup the rooks if he wants while the bishop
is less flexible.
22…Rad8
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23 Nd2!
Sets up a positional threat which Aronian apparently
underestimates: Carlsen plans to exchange the lightsquared bishops with Be2-g4. As already Nimzowitsch
pointed out almost a hundred years ago, a good way of
neutralizing an opponent’s two bishops is to exchange one
of them. We have already seen how the remaining bishop
on d6 is pretty immobile given that it has to keep c7
defended. The exchange will also allow White to use the
light squares for maneuvers – e.g. c6 and f3, as we shall
see – and makes the d5-pawn even more vulnerable.
23…Rd7?!
While this is not a major inaccuracy, it does raise White’s
advantage. The various analysis engines now converge on
an evaluation of about +0.40 for White. Not much, but a
step in the right direction for White in his efforts to put
pressure on Black and gradually narrow the margin of
error. It was safer for Black to counter White’s plan with
23…Qe6 or 23…Qg5, when he has little to fear.
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24 g3?!
Gives Black a second chance. White could play 24 Bg4
immediately, forcing the exchange.
24…Nf8?!
But again Aronian ignores the positional threat which
could still be prevented with 24…Qg5.
25 Bg4! Nh7 26 Bxf5 Qxf5 27 Qf3!
Offers another favorable exchange. When you have the
better pawn-structure, it is often a good idea to strive for
an endgame. In the middlegame active pieces may
compensate for a weak pawn-structure; when pieces
come off the board there is less piece activity. After
27…Qxf3 28 Nxf3 Black has to reckon with a knight jump to
e5, and if he prevents that with 28…f6 White will go 29 h4,
and the knight on h7 does not look pretty. So Black has to
give up ground.
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27…Qg5 28 h4 Qe7 29 Rc6
Notice how the exchange of the light-squared bishops has
enabled White to use the light squares on both sides of
the board for his maneuvers.
29…Nf6 30 Nf4!
Zooms in on Black’s d5-pawn. As noted, one of the ideas
behind doubling on the c-file was to tie Black’s bishop to
d6, as otherwise c7 would be very weak. Therefore Black is
not able to trade the bishop with 30…Bxf4 31 Qxf4. White
has clearly made some additional progress, but how
much? Deep Fritz still only sees White’s edge at +0.35, but
Houdini’s evaluation has now risen to +0.55, while
Stockfish remains the most optimistic (probably a bit too
much so – I would probably go with Houdini here) with
+0.82. In other words, Black’s margin of error is narrowing.
30…g6?
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A clear mistake that allows White a favorable
transformation of advantages. This weakens the 6th rank
and more generally Black’s kingside. Since c7 is for the
moment sufficiently defended by the rook and the queen,
Black could take the chance to use his bishop actively to
disturb White with 30…Ba3 or 30…Bb4. In this case,
White’s advantage would still be within manageable
boundaries of about +0.50.
31 h5!
Of course – it was necessary to hurry with this move,
because otherwise Black might play h6-h5 himself,
repairing the light squares. Now the engines agree that
Black is close to slipping beyond the drawing line and into
“decisive advantage territory”. For example, Houdini and
Deep Fritz both give an evaluation of +1.47. Only Komodo
is a bit more reluctant, showing only +1.24 - this engine
may already have “seen” how Black might be able to put
up resistance with a tactical defense on move 36 after a
forced sequence.
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31…Kg7
31…g5 is no better. It weakens the light squares –
especially f5 – even further, and after 32 Nxd5 Nxd5 33
Qxd5 Bxg3 34 Qf5! Bd6 35 Nc4 Rb8 (otherwise after 36
Nxd6 either c7 or b6 would fall) 36 Ne5! Rdd8 (36…Bxe5
37 dxe5 Kg7 38 e6 wins) 37 Ng4! …
…Black is helpless against e4-e5, when either c7 or h6 falls.
Notice how White dominates and maneuvers on the light
squares, a consequence of Black allowing the exchange of
the light-squared bishops.
32 hxg6 fxg6
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33 Nxd5!
Now that Black’s kingside is weakened – a second
weakness – Carlsen initiates a transformation of
advantages, where he zooms in on the g6-pawn.
33…Nxd5 34 Qxd5 Bxg3
Otherwise Black is just a pawn down for nothing and
totally lost.
35 Qg2! Bd6 36 Nc4!
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The point of the transformation. White exploits the
principle of two weaknesses – the vulnerable pawns on the
queenside and the insecure Black King. Not only does
White threaten 37 Nxd6, when either the c7 or b6-pawn
falls, an even more dangerous threat is 37 Ne5!, hitting the
g6-pawn and the d7-rook. That’s why 30…g6 was a mistake
– it made the 6th rank vulnerable. Yet, Black may not be
entirely lost in this position.
It was possible to defend against both threats by 36…Qd8!
– probably the move Komodo envisioned at move 30,
when its evaluation after 30…g6 only rose to +1.24. Now
after 37 Nxd6 cxd6 all queenside pawns are defended, and
37 Ne5?! is met by 37…Bxe5 38 Rxg6+? (38 Qxg6+? loses
to 38…Kh8 39 Qxh6+ Rh7, while after 38 dxe5 Rd1+ 39
Rxd1 Qxd1+ 40 Kh2 Qh5+ Black has perpetual check)
38…Kh7 39 dxe5 Rd1+ 40 Rxd1 Qxd1 41 Kh2 Qh5+!, Black
picks up the rook on g6 and wins.
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After 36…Qd8!, White should therefore simply continue to
improve his position with 37 f4!, when Black’s position
remains unenviable but possibly not lost.
36…Rf8?
The decisive mistake. Now the evaluation of all engines
shoot up to more than +2.00 – a decisive advantage.
Carlsen mops up efficiently.
37 Ne5! Bxe5
Giving the exchange with 37…g5 wouldn’t last long either.
38 Qxg6+ Kh8 39 Qxh6+
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The big difference: Had Black played 36…Qd8! instead of
36…Rf8?, he would even win with 39…Rh7 here. As it is, he
is just lost.
39…Kg8
39…Qh7 40 Qxf8+.
40 dxe5 Qxe5 41 Rg6+ Kf7
After 41…Rg7 42 Rxg7+ Qxg7+ 43 Qxg7+ Kxg7 44 Rxc7+ the
weak pawn finally falls. In the game the king falls instead.
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42 Rc4!
Including the last inactive piece in the attack on the naked
Black King.
42…Qa1+ 43 Kg2 Rh8
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The last bullet. White still needs to keep the Qa1-h1+
threat in mind.
44 Rf4+ Ke8 45 Re6+ Re7
45…Kd8 46 Rf8+ mates.
46 Rxe7+ Kxe7 47 Re4+ 1-0
47…Kf7 or 47…Kf7 are both met by 48 Qe6+, while 47…Kd8
loses to 48 Rd4+ Qxd4 (48…Kc8 49 Qxh8+) 49 Qg5+! and
50 exd4.
________________
From 2000 to 2004, I did not play any individual
tournaments, focusing on my career off the board. In that
period, I only played in team events in the leagues in
Denmark and Germany, helping SK34 Nykøbing F win two
National Titles in the Danish League and Lübecker SV win
three National Titles in the German Bundesliga (and two
Cup Finals). Chess leagues are a very important part of
European chess culture and typically run over several
months, e.g. from October through April with matches
about one weekend a month. A team representing a chess
club consists of eight players, but the format differs across
leagues. In the Danish League, board points count first,
simply adding all individual points. In Germany, match
points count first, meaning that the team that scores 4½
points or more in a match get two points for the standings,
the losing team zero (one point each in case of a 4-4 tie).
Board points are only used as tiebreak if two teams end up
with the same number of match points.
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The 2004 Politiken Cup in Helsingør marked my return to
individual tournaments. The Politiken Cup, named after its
long-standing sponsor, a major newspaper, is the flagship
Open of Danish chess and is one of the best organized
Opens in the World. In fact, it is more than a chess
tournament; it is a chess festival with numerous side
events like simuls, lectures, blitz etc. Over a period of 10
days, the festival brings together more than 300 chess
fans, amateurs as well as professionals, including several
2700+ players. I have fond memories of the Politiken Cup,
scoring my first IM norm there in 1986, my last GM norm
in 1990, and winning the 1995 and 2000 versions, the
latter tied with GMs Boris Gulko and Jonny Hector.
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Lars Bo Hansen – Allan Holst
Politiken Cup, Copenhagen 2004
White has a solid positional advantage coming out of the
opening, a Bogo-Indian. Black’s d6-pawn is backwards and
vulnerable, the b5-pawn is a strong, protected passed
pawn, and White has more space for maneuvers. Houdini
evaluates this +0.74, a clear advantage. But how to
proceed? The key here is to think prophylactically and ask
yourself: What does my opponent want to do to neutralize
my advantage? Before reading on, take a minute or two to
consider this question and come up with a way to prevent
Black’s defensive plan.
21 Nf1!
A natural move in itself – White reroutes the knight to e3
to control the d5 and f5 squares. The real point, though, is
that while optimizing the knight, White simultaneously
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prevents Black’s defensive plan. Did you figure out what
Black wanted to do? His best bet to neutralize the threat
of White’s passed b5-pawn would be to transfer his own
knight to b6. From this square it not only blocks the passed
pawn, but also – in combination with Bg4-e6 – nudges the
pawn on c4. White cannot allow this transfer to happen; in
this case most of his advantage would disappear.
21…Be6 22 Ne3
22…g6
It transpires that Black is unable to reroute the knight to
its intended square on b6, as the desired 22…Nd7? fails to
23 Rxa8 Rxa8 24 Rd1! Nb6 (otherwise the d6-pawn simply
falls) 25 Qxd6 Qxd6 26 Rxd6 Nxc4
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27 Rxe6! Nxe3 (27…fxe6 28 Nxc4 is easy, and 27…Ra1+ 28
Bf1 Nxe3 29 Re8+ is mate!) 28 Ra6! Rxa6 29 bxa6 Nc4 30
a7 Nb6 31 Bf1!, followed by Bc4-d5, winning. This line is
the correct response to the question of what Black wanted
to do and what White could do to prevent it. It illustrates
that while many of the principles are grounded in sound
positional thinking, it is still necessary to calculate accurate
variations and use small tactics to (preserve or expand)
your advantage. Back to the game.
23 Rd1!
Forces Black to make a difficult choice: Either to abandon
the open a-file to White with 23…Rxa1 24 Rxa1 or place
the knight passively on e8 to cover the d6-pawn – far away
from the dream square on b6. Both options are minor
concessions.
23…Ne8
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OK, so we managed to keep the knight away from b6.
What’s the next step?
24 Qf1!
A multi-purpose move that simultaneously helps to fight
for the a-file – with Rxa8 and Ra1 – while at the same time
preparing to exchange the light-squares bishops with Bh3.
24…f6?!
Black wants to preserve the light-squared bishops by being
able to answer Bg2-h3 with Be6-f7. However, this creates
more weaknesses in Black’s position, and the evaluation
goes up to +1.26. Although avoiding the exchange makes
sense because White’s bishop is the “bad” one with a lot
of pawns on light squares, from h3 the bishop actually has
a lot of scope when allowed a free diagonal. It was better
for Black to just leave his bishop on e6, and if White goes
Bh3 and Bxe6, then recapture with the f7-pawn. While this
too leaves Black’s pawn structure damaged, at least a
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pawn on e6 would keep White’s knight away from d5 and
f5.
25 h4 Qd8 26 Bh3 Bf7
White has made progress, but Black is still within drawing
range – albeit by now with limited room for error. After
improving the minor pieces in the previous sequence,
White now turns to working with the major pieces, fighting
for control of the a-file.
27 Rd3
Prepares to double on the a-file. Black cannot avoid White
taking over the only open file on the board.
27…Rxa1 28 Rxa1 Nc7
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29 Qd1!
Again prophylaxis. Black’s last move prepared the knight
maneuver Nc7-a8-b6 – maybe preceded by Kf8-e7 to cover
d6. White can’t allow Black to regroup. The text move
once again prevents this by reminding Black of the weak
d6-pawn.
29…Ne8
The alternative was 29…Rb6, but then the rook would
block the coveted b6-square for the knight. White should
probably continue with 30 h5, exploiting the principle of
two weaknesses to create play on the kingside.
30 Ra3
White takes control of the open a-file and adds a little
more to his advantage, which is now very close to passing
the threshold to being decisive. Houdini gives +1.49 at this
point, making it very difficult – if at all possible – for Black
to hold even with perfect defense.
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30…Ra8?!
Understandably Black did not like to allow White to exploit
the a-file uncontested. However, this move makes things
worse, as the computer evaluation now jumps to +2.98 –
clearly winning for White. The reason is that White is now
able to optimize the bishop and subsequently force a
favorable exchange of the light-squared bishops.
31 Rxa8 Qxa8 32 Bd7!
This is it. Since Black is unable to stop the passed b-pawn
after 32…Qxe4? 33 Bc6 Qd4 34 Qxd4 cxd4 35 b6! dxe3 36
fxe3, there is no way he can prevent the maneuver Bc6-d5.
32…Qb8 33 Bc6 Qd8 34 Bd5
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When the light-squared bishops come off, the White
knight gains access to d5, supporting the advance of the bpawn.
34…Nc7 35 Bxf7+ Kxf7 36 Qa4! Qb8
After 36…Qa8 37 Qxa8 Nxa8 38 Nd5 Black’s knight is
trapped in the corner and White wins easily.
37 Qa5
Preparing the advance of the passed pawn. Of course
37…Na8 is met by 38 Nd5, again dominating the knight.
37…Ne6 38 b6
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Threatening 39 Qa7+, so Black has to retreat even further.
38…Nd8 39 Qa7+ Qb7 40 Nd5
Finally the knight reaches its dream square.
40…Ke6
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With Black completely tied up White is of course winning
(+2.52), but still needs to find the most efficient way to
pocket the point. It turns out to be by using the principle
of two weaknesses, transferring play more seamlessly to
the kingside, as Nimzowitsch advocated.
41 g4! f5
Fastens the end, but there was no good defense against
g4-g5 and Qa3-h3.
42 exf5+ gxf5 43 g5 f4 44 Qa3!
The queen invades from the right-hand side.
44…Kd7 45 Qh3+ Kc6 46 Qf3 Kd7 47 Nf6+ Ke7 48 Qh5!
Threatening mate on e8.
48…Ke6 49 Nd5 Kd7 50 Qxh7+ Kc8 51 g6 1-0
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Exercises
This section contains four exercises with multiple subquestions. Each sub-question highlights one or more of the
10 principles discussed above. In the exercises, I will ask
you to pause to consider specific questions or decisions.
The questions and the subsequent answers will be in
italics. Take your time before deciding on your answer and
remember to use the 10 principles actively!
If you are working with a study partner, I recommend that
you play out the initial exercise position with 20-30
minutes on the clock. Notate the moves and analyze the
game together afterwards while going over the game and
the comments. Pay particular attention to which of the 10
principles are used.
If you are working alone, I suggest you try to guess each
move before moving on. Take your time; the positions are
not easy, and even the Grandmasters playing made
mistakes!
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EXERCISE 1
Sasikiran – Curt Hansen
Malmö/Copenhagen 2005
Krishnan Sasikiran has been one of India’s leading
Grandmasters (after Vishy Anand) for many years and is a
strong positional player. My compatriot Curt Hansen was
Denmark’s second Grandmaster (I was the third) after
Bent Larsen. Curt won the World Junior and European
Championships in his youth and was ranked No. 14 in the
World at one point. In 2007 he retired from competitive
chess to pursue his business career, but in 2015 he came
back to chess, finishing second in the Danish
Championship despite his 8-year hiatus away from the
board!
In the diagram position White has an edge coming out of
the opening – a Queens Gambit Exchange Variation.
Houdini gives White a +0.47 advantage. But how should
White continue to make something tangible of this edge?
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Question 1-1) Is White’s opening advantage sustainable
or temporary? How should White continue to build on it,
and which principles should he use?
15 e4!
Answer to question 1-1: White definitely needs to hurry.
This can be deduced by prophylactic thinking. Black’s last
two moves – Rac8 and b7-b6 – clearly indicated Black’s
ambition to contest the center with c6-c5. That would
allow Black to neutralize White’s edge.
15…dxe4 16 fxe4 Qc7
Question 1-2) What is the next step in White’s plan?
17 e5!
Answer to question 1-2) White is now looking for the right
exchanges. This advance grabs extra space in the center
and puts the pawns on dark squares. With pawns on dark
squares, White would like to trade the dark-squared
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bishops. Again White needed to hurry, since if given time
Black would still like to play c6-c5, forcing d4-d5, and then
blockade on the dark squares.
17…Nd5 18 Bxe7
From a practical perspective 18 Nxd5! is probably more
accurate. After 18…cxd5 (or 18…Bxd5) 19 Bxe7 Qxe7, the
same position arises as in the game, but without giving
Black the chance to avoid the exchange of the knights with
18…Ndxe7!? While this would not really change the overall
assessment of the position or the strategies of both sides,
it is often useful to limit your opponent’s options – unless
of course you are certain that the additional option is bad.
Here I think it is actually worth a shot for Black to keep
more pieces on the board.
18…Qxe7 19 Nxd5 cxd5?!
Surprise! Now the evaluation goes up from about +0.50 to
+0.80, from small to clear advantage for White. It was
better to recapture with the bishop on d5, even if White is
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still better after 20 Nc3. The drawback of the text move is
that now the pawn-structure is static and with the better
minor pieces for White. However, while White has made
progress in terms of the evaluation of the position, he is
still far away from winning the game. Black is still solid and
White needs to continue to exploit the ten principles.
20 Qd2 Rf8 21 Qe3 Qh4
Question 1-3) The pawn structure in the center is now
blocked. How does this change White’s priorities? Which
principles should he use?
22 Rf3!
Answer to question 1-3) 22 Nc3 is at least equally good
and is in fact Houdini’s first choice, optimizing the knight
and putting pressure on the weak d5-pawn while closing
the c-file for Black’s rooks. But I like the logical reasoning
behind Sasikiran’s move. He is thinking prophylactically,
asking himself: What is Black’s idea? Clearly the only lever
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Black has in this position is f7-f6 (after Rce8). White
therefore attempts to nip this idea in the bud by doubling
rooks on the f-file. Of course, this also improves his pieces
by exerting pressure down the half-open f-file. With the
static and favorable pawn-structure, White no longer
needs to hurry; he just needs to prevent any Black
counterplay.
22…Rce8 23 Rdf1 f6?!
Black insists, and indeed it is difficult to suggest another
sensible move. The computer suggests 23…Ra8 as Black’s
best move here, testimony to Black’s difficulties. Waiting
passively is always unpleasant.
Question 1-4) How should White react to Black’s pawn
advance?
24 exf6
Answer to question 1-4) The most natural move, playing
for a safe and durable positional advantage based on a
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clearly better pawn-structure. Houdini gives White an
advantage of about +0.90 after this move. Still, White had
an even better move here, which would take his
advantage to +1.25: 24 Nf4! The point is that after
24…Nxf4 (worse is 24…fxe5? 25 Bxg6! exf4 26 Rxf4 Rxf4 27
Rxf4, and White wins material) 25 Rxf4 Qg5 26 Qf3!, Black
cannot avoid losing a pawn because of the pin down the ffile. This is an example of transformation of advantages –
White trades a positional advantage for a material one.
24…Rxf6 25 Rxf6 gxf6
Question 1-5) White has saddled Black with another
weak pawn on f6. How should he continue next, and
which principle should he use?
26 Qg3!
Answer to question 1-5) White correctly strives for the
exchange of queens. With a better pawn-structure this is
often a good strategy, as without queens Black will have
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less dynamic options in compensation for the structural
weaknesses.
26…Qg5
In the first instance Black declines the trade – White
obviously does not want to take on g5, straightening out
Black’s pawns.
27 Kh2 Qxg3+
White’s previous move set up the threat 28 Qd6,
infiltrating with the queen without allowing any Be6xh3
ideas, so Black accepts the queen trade after all. White’s
advantage is still about +0.90, a clear but far from decisive
advantage.
28 Nxg3 Rf8
Question 1-6) For the time being Black has everything
defended. How should White continue?
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29 Nh5!
Answer to question 1-6) This move forces Black’s pawn to
the light square f5, which allows White’s bishop to attack
it while weakening the dark squares around the pawn (e5
and g5). White’s King can use these squares to advance.
29…f5 30 Kg3!
In the endgame, the King is a powerful piece.
30…Ne7?!
An inaccuracy, allowing White’s King access to vital dark
squares on f4 and e5. After this move, Houdini’s
evaluation goes up from about +0.9 (after the better
waiting moves 30…Bd7 or 30…h6) to about +1.3. Still not
quite enough for White to claim a theoretical decisive
advantage, but Black is getting dangerously close to the
abyss.
Question 1-7) How can White best exploit Black’s
inaccuracy?
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31 Rc1!
Answer to question 1-7) Not only does this move
prophylactically defend against Black’s threat 31…Nc6.
You noticed that, right? If not, you are “playing” too fast
when solving the exercises; make sure to take as much
time as you would in a real game to make a decision! But
31 Rc1 also forces a favorable exchange of the rooks. Of
course, Black cannot allow White to invade on the 7th rank,
but after the rooks come off, White’s King has a vacant
pathway forward via f4.
31…Rc8 32 Rxc8+ Bxc8 33 Kf4!
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33…Kf7
After this move, White’s advantage for the first time
enters theoretically decisive territory. 33…Ng6+ was
probably a better chance, leading to an endgame very
similar to the famous Game 9 of the first World
Championship match in 1984 between Karpov and
Kasparov. After 34 Kg5 Kf7 35 Ng3! (after 35 Bxf5 Bxf5 36
Kxf5 Nh4+ 37 Ke5 Nxg2 38 Kxd5 Kg6!, Black wins the h3pawn with good drawing chances) 35…f4 36 Ne2 f3 37
Bxg6+ hxg6 38 gxf3 Bxh3 39 Nf4…
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…White wins a pawn, and the evaluation hovers just at the
borderline between win and draw, but as the KarpovKasparov endgame – and all the analyses of it – showed,
the win is far from trivial for White. This line shows why it
is so important to study the classics of chess – you get a
toolbox full of knowledge and examples from the highest
levels the game has seen.
34 Ke5!
White now wins a pawn, and the evaluation goes up to
about +1.6.
34…Nc6+
There is nothing better, otherwise White continues 35 Nf4
or 35 Kd6, invading.
35 Kxd5 Bb7!
A good try, setting White a serious dilemma.
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Question 1-8) How should White react to the threatened
discovered check?
36 Nf4!
Answer to question 1-8) Just ignore it and optimize your
pieces, bringing your knight back into the game and
covering the g2-pawn. White also uses prophylactic
thinking to accurately determine that Black’s discovered
checks are in fact not really dangerous. Automatically
avoiding the discovered check with 36 Kd6 Nxd4 or 36 Kc4
Na5+ 37 Kc3 Bxg2 leads nowhere, and after 36 Bxf5 Ne7+
37 Ke5 Nc6+! (better than 37…Nxf5 38 Kxf5 Bxg2 39 h4,
when White’s extra pawn and active King secures the win)
38 Kf4 (after 38 Kd6 Nxd4 39 Bxh7 Bxg2 or 38 Ke4 Ne7+ 39
Kf4 Bxg2, Black has excellent drawing chances) 38…Nxd4
39 g4 h6, Black has chances to draw; the evaluation is at
the borderline between winning and drawing.
36…Kf6
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After 36…Nb4+ 37 Ke5! (King activity is key in endgames!)
37…Nxd3+ 38 Nxd3 Bxg2 39 Nf4 Be4 40 d5…
…material is even, but White’s passed d-pawn and active
King should win the game (+1.6 evaluation).
The move played in the game takes away the e5-square
from White’s King and prepares a possible raid towards
White’s kingside pawns with 37…Kg5.
Question 1-9) How should White continue to maintain his
by now winning advantage?
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37 Kc4?
Answer to question 1-9) Oh no! White, perhaps in time
trouble, throws away the win. Now the computer
evaluation drops back to +0.90. As on the previous move,
there was no need to blink and be afraid of the discovered
check. Instead, White could win by 37 Bb5! Ne7+ 38 Kd6
with a +2.3 evaluation.
37…Kg5?!
Not losing – the evaluation goes up to about +1.3 – but
better was 37…Ne7 38 g3 Nc8!, intending to blockade on
d6 (+0.9). White would have a hard time making any
progress.
38 g3 h5 39 d5
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39…Na5+?
Definitely losing, the evaluation shoots up to almost +2.00.
The knight will be side-tracked at the rim – Tarrasch
already said as much more than 100 years ago – and will
actually be in danger of getting trapped with b2-b4. After
39…Nd8 40 Ne2 Nf7 the evaluation would be somewhere
between +1.2 and +.1.3 (depending on analysis engine),
still within the drawing range.
40 Kd4 h4 41 Ne2 hxg3 42 Nxg3
Now, with the time control made and a +2.6 advantage,
the win is easy. Still, never relax until the result has been
posted – remain focused!
42…Kf4
42…f4 43 Ne4+ Kh4 44 Nd2! highlights the precarious
position of Black’s knight – 45 b4 is a threat and Black is
unable to stop the passed d-pawn.
43 Ne2+ Kf3
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Question 1-10) How can White wrap up the win in the
most efficient manner?
44 Nc1!
Answer to question 1-10) While there are several ways to
win, this move uses prophylactic thinking and the
strategic endgame theme of domination to prevent
Black’s knight from re-entering the game. Again 45 b4 is a
threat, trapping the knight.
44…Bc8 45 b4 Nb7 46 Ke5 f4 47 Ne2 Bxh3 48 Nxf4 Bd7 49
Ne6! 1-0
Once more the knight is in trouble, the lethal threat is 50
Ba6 followed by advancing the d-pawn.
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EXERCISE 2
Carlsen – Vachier-Lagrave
Shamkir 2015
The World Champion Magnus Carlsen has emerged from a
very creative opening – starting with 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 b5!? 3
Bg2 Bb7 4 Na3!? – with an edge against his same-age
opponent Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. It’s a curious fact that
they are both born in 1990. Adding Sergey Karjakin –
another world top player born in 1990 – makes for the
highest concentration of players from the same year in the
world’s top-12.
Back to the game: Engines all agree that White is slightly
better, but not by how much. Houdini gives a modest
+0.18, Komodo +0.41, and Stockfish +0.46. I would tend to
be in the higher end of this spectrum, agreeing with
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Komodo and Stockfish, but again – it doesn’t really matter.
As we have discussed repeatedly, “advantage” simply
means “larger margin of error”, but still with the same
theoretical result – draw – with perfect defense by Black.
What matters is how White can look for ways for putting
Black under more pressure, hoping to induce inaccuracies
or mistakes that can boost his advantage into something
really tangible.
14 Bg5!
In fact, neither of the three analysis engines mentioned
above indicate this move as their top choice. Houdini
suggests 14 Be3; Komodo 14 f3; and Stockfish 14 b3. All
sensible moves, but I like Carlsen’s “human” move
because it sets a problem for Black, tempting him into
going wrong.
Question 2-1) Can’t Black win a pawn with 14…Nxd5
here?
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14…Nxd5?! 15 Bh6!
Answer to question 2-1) No! Or rather, he can but it is not
good. White gets more than enough compensation for the
pawn. It is what Carlsen was hoping for. Now White’s
advantage goes up to about +0.7 through the use of a
small tactic that Vachier-Lagrave may have missed. It
would have been better for Black to simply bring his
stranded bishop on b7 back into the game with 14…Bc8,
when White probably has nothing better than 15 Nxe7+
Qxe7 16 f3 with a slight edge because of the two bishops.
Given the closed nature of the position, this would only be
a minor advantage, though.
15…gxh6
Now Black’s kingside will be irreparably weak, but there
was nothing better. Allowing 16 Bxg7 would be even
worse, of course.
16 Qg4+!
Forcing Black’s bishop to a square where it can be attacked
with tempo.
16…Bg5 17 cxd5 Kh8 18 h4 Bf6
Question 2-2) Should White regain his pawn with 19
Nxh6 or does he have better?
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19 Nce3!
Answer to question 2-2) Were you greedy and grabbed
the pawn? If so, you gave away some of your advantage.
To be fair, only a little bit – from +0.7 to +0.5, but still…
When nurturing a positional advantage, often you
shouldn’t rush to win (or in this case regain) material. If
you continue to build your positional pressure, often
material gain will be the outcome at the end, without
having to give up any of your positional plusses. In this
case, 19 Nxh6 would disrupt the coordination of White’s
pieces. Carlsen instead employs the principle of
optimizing all pieces, bringing the c2-knight towards the
center rather than moving the other knight away from the
center just to win a doubled pawn.
19…Bc8 20 Qf3 Bg7 21 Bh3!
21 Bf1, activating the bishop on the f1-a6 diagonal, was
also possible and in fact equally strong according to the
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computers. Again I like Carlsen’s human choice better,
though. He has a strong idea in mind.
21…Rg8
Question 2-3) How should White proceed now, and which
principles should he use?
22 Bg4!
Answer to question 2-3) An excellent little maneuver,
prepared on the previous move. White intends to optimize
the activity of the bishop by using it to attack the
weakness on f7 from h5. Black clearly would not like to
play f7-f6, as this would bury the bishop on g7 forever.
22…Qf6 23 Bh5! Bxf5 24 Nxf5
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24…c6?!
So far MVL, as Vachier-Lagrave is often called in the chess
world, has defended well, and before this move White’s
advantage was still only around +0.7. But this thrust is
impatient and raises the advantage to +1.15. The idea of
breaking in the center is not bad in itself, but it needed to
be prepared by e.g. 24…Rgc8. This can be seen as a subversion of the do not hurry principle; by just slowly
improving his pieces with maneuvers like Nc2-e3 and Bg2h3-g4-h5, Carlsen tests Black’s patience – and it works.
25 dxc6 Rac8
Question 2-4) How can White take advantage of Black’s
impatient freeing attempt?
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26 Qd1!
Answer to question 2-4) Again Carlsen uses the principle
of improving all pieces by bringing his queen to the newly
vacant square d5. He combines it with the principle of two
weaknesses, since from d5 the queen hits both d6 and f7.
Notice how the preparatory bishop maneuver to h5 now
comes in handy by pressurizing f7. There is also a small
tactic involved, because the tempting 26…Nxe4, trying to
undermine the White knight, doesn’t work because of 27
Bg4! Nc5 28 Nxg7 followed by 29 Bxc8, winning material.
26…Rxc6 27 Qd5 Rgc8 28 Rad1!
Calmly bringing this rook into play as well before picking
up the f7-pawn. Black cannot afford to let go of the d6pawn.
28…Bf8 29 Qxf7 Qxf7 30 Bxf7 Na4 31 Re2 Rc1 32 Rxc1
Rxc1+ 33 Kg2 Nc5 34 b3 Rc3
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Black survived into an endgame, but he is still worse and
had to give the pawn back without White having to give up
anything of his positional stronghold.
Question 2-5) How should White proceed in this strategic
endgame?
35 Kh3!
Answer to question 2-5) Again optimizing pieces! Those
readers who have read my earlier book Secrets of Chess
Endgame Strategy will remember that in strategic
endgames the King is a powerful contributor. White
threatens to advance his King via g4 and then on to h5
(hitting h6) or f5 (after moving the knight), so Black has to
retreat to meet this threat.
35…Nd7
Now 36 Kg4 can be met by 36…Nf6+.
36 Be6 Nc5 37 Bd5 Nd7
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Black managed to defend against the threat of activating
the King, so White needs a new idea.
Question 2-6) Which principles can White exploit to
increase the pressure on Black?
38 Ne3!
Answer to question 2-6) Once more the World Champion
looks for ways to optimize his pieces, combining it – like
with 26 Qd1! – with the principles of two weaknesses and
small tactics. The two weaknesses are now d6 and a5, and
from c4 the knight can hit both simultaneously.
38…Nf6 39 Be6!
There is the principle of small tactics, 39…Nxe4? loses to
40 Nd5 with a double attack.
39…Rc5 40 Nc4! Kg7 41 f3 Ne8 42 Rd2 Nc7 43 Bg4
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The computer evaluation is now +1.43, very close to
winning. Black has a hard time defending all his
weaknesses.
43…a4?!
Understandably MVL is searching for counterplay, but this
pawn sacrifice of the d6-pawn is insufficient and the
evaluation goes up to +2.17. It was better – but highly
unpleasant – to defend passively with 43…Ne8 or perhaps
sacrifice the a5-pawn instead with 43…Nb5 44 Nxa5 Rc1.
44 Nxd6 Bxd6 45 Rxd6 a3
Question 2-7) How should White react to Black’s threat of
46…Rc2, going after the a2-pawn?
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46 Bd7!
Answer to question 2-7) Carlsen exploits the strategic
endgame principle domination. The knight on c7 is in
trouble and dominated by White’s rook and bishop.
46…Rc2 47 Bc6! Rxa2
As a last desperate attempt to create some counterplay
Black sacrifices his knight, but it doesn’t work. White can
easily deal with the passed a-pawn. 47…Na6 48 Bd5 Nc5
49 Rc6! h5 50 g4 wasn’t much better, though. White wins
easily.
48 Rd7+ Kf6 49 Rxc7 Rc2
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50 Rxh7!
Small tactics again – the bishop is immune because of the
skewer 51 Rxh6+.
50…Kg6 51 Rc7 Kf6 52 h5! Rc1
52…a2 53 Ra7 Rxc6 54 Rxa2 is an easily winning rook
endgame.
53 Rh7!
White exploits the skewer to weave a mating net around
Black’s King, a typical occurrence in strategic endgames.
53…a2
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54 Bd5! 1-0
Black is mated after 54…a1Q 55 Rf7+ Kg5 56 Rf5++.
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EXERCISE 3
Lars Bo Hansen – Bjarke Sahl
Espergærde 1992
This game is from a GM tournament in my home country,
Denmark, where I finished second after the Ukrainian GM
Vladimir Malaniuk. My opponent in this game is my
compatriot IM Bjarke Sahl, who went on to pursue an
administrative career as General Secretary of the
Norwegian Chess Federation. In my 2008 book How Chess
Games are Won and Lost, I used this game to illustrate the
concept of transformations of advantages. Analyzing the
game with contemporary analysis engines now, just a
couple of years later, paints a slightly different picture of
some of the moves and lines, but the basic flow of the
game as a series of transformations of advantages
remain. I start by initiating play on the queenside.
13 a3 a5 14 axb4 Bxb4
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Opening the a-file for the rook on a1 with 14…axb4 would
ultimately be to White’s advantage. White as a slight edge
(around +0.3-0.4) coming out of the opening – a Semi-Slav.
Now, however, Black threatens to open for his bishop on
b7 with c6-c5, which would leave White with little or no
hope of an advantage.
Question 3-1) How should White continue in this critical
early middlegame position in order to preserve his slight
opening advantage?
15 Nc5!?
Answer to question 3-1) In my original notes to this game
from back in 1992, I gave this move an exclamation mark
and noted that “If Black were allowed to push …c5, he
would free his game and equalize comfortably”. The best
way to prevent c6-c5 was to blockade it, was my
reasoning, and this is indeed a good move that preserves
White’s opening edge (+0.37).
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Analyzing the game today, more than 20 years later, my
analysis engines tell me that 15 Bd2! was probably even
stronger, leading to a marginally higher evaluation (+0.44).
This is grounded in a long, more or less forced line –
computers’ core competence: 15 Bd2! c5 16 dxc5 Be4 17
Qc4 Bxc5 18 Nxc5 Rxc5 19 Qa6 Qb8 20 Bc3 Nd5 21 Rxa5
Nxc3 22 bxc3 Qc7 (22…Rxc3? 23 Rxd7) 23 Rxc5 Nxc5, when
White keeps an extra pawn, but with good drawing
chances for Black because of the blockade on c5. This line
shows how accurate calculation – the theme of the next
book in this series – is critical to win better positions. I still
like my move, though – it is the “human choice”.
15…Nxc5 16 dxc5 Qe7 17 Bd2!
The point, now the c5-pawn is traded for the a5-pawn,
with an edge for White.
17…Bxc5
17…Qxc5 18 Qxc5 Bxc5 19 Bxa5 doesn’t fundamentally
change the position.
18 Bxa5 Bd6
Now Black again threatens c6-c5, freeing his position.
Question 3-2) How can White maintain some pressure,
and which principles should he use?
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19 e4!
Answer to question 3-2) According to the computers,
White has two more or less equal continuations to
maintain a modest advantage of about +0.3 – 19 Nd2 to
settle the knight on the nice square c4, and 19 e4,
initiating play in the center. 19 e4 is clearly the most
forcing, which may have some psychological benefits over
the more modest and positional 19 Nd2. After all, as
humans we don’t like being attacked. White hurries to set
up new threats – 20 e5, winning a piece – and thus doesn’t
allow Black time for the liberating c6-c5.
19…Ng4
A slight inaccuracy that causes the evaluation to go up,
albeit not by much. White still only holds a small
advantage, about +0.4. In my original comments to the
game in How Chess Games are Won and Lost, I only
considered 19…e5 as an alternative, but that clearly gives
White a long-term structural advantage. In that case c6-c5
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would leave a gap on d5 and on the light squares more
generally. It doesn’t take long for a modern computer,
though, to point out another even better alternative:
19…Bb8! Then after 20 e5 Nd5 21 Bd3 h6 22 Bh7+ Kh8 23
Be4 c5 24 Qc4, White only has a very tiny edge.
20 Bc3 Bb8 21 h3
After 21 e5 c5 Black frees his position and threatens
22…Bxf3 and 23…Nxe5.
21…Nf6
Back to Square One. Again Black is ready for c6-c5, so
White needs to come up with a new idea.
Question 3-3) How should White continue and which
principles should he use?
22 Bxf6!
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Answer to question 3-3) White clearly needs to hurry to
hold on to any advantage. The text move exploits the
principle of exchanges to force a transformation of
advantages, where White trades his slight initiative for a
better pawn-structure – a more long-term asset. An
important subtlety is that Black is forced to recapture with
the g7-pawn, breaking up the pawn-structure, because
after 22…Qxf6?! 23 Rd7! Rc7 (23…Bc7? loses to 24 Ra7) 24
e5! (stronger than 24 Rxc7 Bxc7 25 Ra7 Rb8, when the
seemingly powerful combination 26 Rxb7? Rxb7 27 Qxc6 is
refuted by 27…Qe7! with the idea 28 Qxb7? Bh2+!,
winning White’s queen) 24…Qg6 (after 24…Qh6? the
combination works: 25 Rxc7 Bxc7 26 Ra7 Rb8 27 Rxb7!
Rxb7 28 Qxc6, winning material) 25 Bd3!...
Black has to sacrifice his queen for insufficient
compensation with 25…Rxd7 26 Bxg6 hxg6, as 25…Qh6?
would again lose to 26 Rxc7 Bxc7 27 Ra7 Rb8 28 Rxb7!
Rxb7 29 Qxc6. The position with queen vs. rook and bishop
is not yet winning for White, only clearly better (+1.1), but
obviously an important step forward.
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22…gxf6
23 Ba6!
Also an important component of the exchange operation
initiated at the previous move. It follows the lesson from
Nimzowitsch: “When your opponent has the two bishops,
try to exchange one of them”.
23…Bxa6 24 Rxa6 Rfd8!
Black defends well; with the open kingside he needs to
reduce White’s potential attacking force.
25 Rxd8+
In the same vein, White could consider keeping one extra
pair of rooks on the board with 25 Rda1, but I didn’t like
allowing Black control of the open d-file.
25…Qxd8
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26 Ra3?!
The right idea – toying with a rook lift to the kingside – but
not the most optimal execution. Using the fourth rank with
26 Ra4! was more accurate. Of course White could not
grab the pawn on c6 with 26 Rxc6?? because of 26…Rxc6
27 Qxc6 Qd1+ with mate.
26…c5
Finally Black got to push c6-c5, but without the bishop on
b7 the benefits are clearly less. The main feature of the
position is Black’s damaged pawn-structure and the weak
King. Together these features give White an advantage of
about +0.5, still only a small advantage. White will require
additional mistakes or inaccuracies from Black to make
something tangible from this advantage.
27 Rc3 Qb6 28 Rc4
Correcting the inaccuracy on move 26. Since White’s
advantage is now of the sustainable kind, this loss of a
tempo is not too significant here.
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28…Bd6?!
There is the inaccuracy that White was hoping for! Now
the advantage goes up to about +0.7, by now close to a
clear advantage. Instead, Black should have played
28…Rd8! (again exploiting White’s vulnerable back rank)
29 g3 Bd6 30 e5!? Be7! 31 Rg4+ Kh8 32 exf6 Bxf6, with
only an edge for White (+0.3)
Question 3-4) How can White take advantage of this
inaccuracy?
29 e5!
Answer to question 3-4) White exploits small tactics to
force another transformation of advantages. He now
zooms in on Black’s open King.
29…Bxe5!
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Only defense, because 29…fxe5? fails to 30 Rg4+ Kf8
(30…Kh8 31 Ng5 wins immediately) 31 Qxh7 with a
winning attack (the knight coming to g5 is too much for
Black to handle), and 29…Be7 is met by 30 b4! f5 31 Ne1!,
and White wins a pawn because of the pin down the c-file.
That’s why Black should have moved the rook away from
c8 on move 28!
30 Rg4+ Kf8
30…Kh8? loses to 31 Rh4! f5 32 Nxe5.
31 Nxe5 fxe5 32 Qxh7
The position has changed, but the strategic features of the
position remain: Black’s vulnerable King and White’s
better pawn-structure, with the h-pawn being passed now
that Black’s g7-pawn has been transformed into an e5pawn! Yet, White’s advantage is still nowhere close to
decisive, only a clear advantage of about +0.7. There is still
work to do to put our principles to work to increase the
odds of building on that advantage.
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32…Ke7
Black exploits the “run from the bully defense”. His King is
safer in the center.
33 Qh4+
Played with an idea in mind, but possibly not the most
accurate. A good alternative was 33 Rg7 first, forcing
33…Rf8.
33…Kd6
Question 3-5) How can White put more pressure on Black
in an attempt to increase his advantage?
34 b4!
Answer to question 3-5) 34 Qf6 was an equally good
alternative according to the computers, so if that was your
answer, you did well! But I liked the idea of opening a
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second front, so as to be able to attack the fleeing Black
King “from the left”.
34…cxb4 35 Rxb4 Rc1+?
Black’s first real mistake in the game, lifting the evaluation
to +1.3. This natural move misplaces and exposes the rook.
It was better to keep the forces closer together with
35…Qd8 36 Qg3 Qc7 (+0.7)
36 Kh2 Qc7 37 Rb5?!
Continues to pursue the idea of attacking Black’s King from
the left, but it was probably more accurate to play 37
Rb2!, shifting to an attack from the front. Now the
evaluation drops back to about +0.7
37…Rc4 38 Qg3 Rc5?
With the time control on move 40 looming, Black commits
the mistake that finally pushes him over the edge. The
evaluation shoots up to +3.0 and rising. Defending the
hanging e5-pawn was of little importance; it was much
more vital to safe-guard the King by again “running from
the bully” with 38…Ke7! 39 Rxe5 Kf8. In this case the King
is relatively safe and Black has good drawing chances in
such a 3-vs-2 ending. The computers call it +0.7.
Question 3-6) How can White take advantage of Black’s
time trouble mistake?
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39 Qa3!
Answer to question 3-6) Attacking from the left! This pin is
lethal for Black. White threatens to simply start running
with the passed h-pawn.
39…Kd5 40 Rxc5+ Qxc5
Question 3-7) White is now winning, but what is the most
efficient way to seal the victory?
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41 Qxc5+!
Answer to question 3g) Did you go for the queen ending
with 41 Qf3+ Kd6 42 Qxf7 ? That should be easily winning
too, as the White King is safely shielded from checks and
the h-pawn can start advancing. The computers evaluate
this as +2.7. But it is even more efficient to calculate the
pawn ending to the end, which is not too difficult (I was
also fortunate to have now plenty of time, having just
passed the time control). It is a rather long line to
calculate, but without many branches. This highlights the
importance of calculation skills, the topic of the next book
in this series.
41…Kxc5 42 Kg3!
Activating the King is the final accurate move.
42…f5
42…Kd6 43 Kg4 Ke7 44 Kg5 is hopeless; White’s King
invades using the h-pawn as decoy.
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43 Kh4! Kd4 44 Kg5 Kd3
This raid is too slow.
45 h4 Ke2 46 h5 Kxf2 47 h6 e4 48 h7 e3 49 h8Q e2 50
Qd4+ Kxg2 51 Qe3 1-0
Now it is an easy technical endgame, so Black resigned.
51…Kf1 52 Qf3+ Ke1 53 Kf4 wins. While not perfect, I
consider this one of my best games. What I like about the
game is the flow of advantages. For a long time Black
defended very well and only committed real, gamedeciding mistakes in time pressure.
Let us summarize the flow of advantages:
- White’s advantage started out as a small lead in
development (Black was not in time to push …c5).
- It changed into an initiative through the advance of the epawn.
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- Then an exchange sequence transformed the initiative
into a better pawn-structure and a vulnerable Black King.
- Through two pawn-thrusts (e5 and b4) the King was
deprived of shelter.
- Eventually a liquidation into a pawn ending in which the
superior pawn-structure (in particular the presence of an
outside passed h-pawn) decided the game.
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EXERCISE 4
Kramnik – Adams
Shamkir 2015
Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik is one of the
best positional players in chess history and has won
countless games slowly nurturing a small advantage into
something more tangible. This game, from the 2nd
Gashimov Memorial tournament, is one more instructive
example.
Question 4-1) White has emerged from the opening –
Kramnik’s favorite Catalan – with a modest advantage of
+0.37. How should he continue now and which principles
can he use?
16 Nxc4!
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Answer to question 4-1) Kramnik solves the problem of
the knight on the rim by using a small tactic – the pin
down the c-file.
16…Bxc4
The natural response, but Adams did have another viable
alternative: 16…Nd5!? 17 Qd4 Qa4 18 Bf2 Qxa2 19 e4 Nb4
20 Rfd1, with just a small edge for White (+0.39). The
difference to the game is that White has no passed pawn,
which might ease Black’s defense. Especially against
Kramnik who is known to be very skilled at exploiting
passed pawns. As one of Kramnik’s peers – I forgot who –
once noted: “Kramnik’s passed pawns always queen!”
17 Qd4!
Better than 17 b3 Bxe2 18 Qxe2 (18 Rxc6 Bxd1 19 Rxd1
Nd5 should be OK for Black) 18…Qb7, when Black’s knight
will have a nice, safe central square on d5.
17…Rfc8
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Again Adams goes for the most straightforward
continuation. He had a more combative alternative in
17…Nd5!?, which leads to a double-edged material
configuration after 18 Rxc4 (18 Bf2 Nb6 19 b3 Rfd8 20 Qc3
Rac8 21 bxc4 Nxc4 is equal) 18…Qxc4 19 Qxc4 Nxe3 20
Qa4 Nxf1 21 Kxf1.
I would guess that this is a position both players spend
some time evaluating accurately. It was not hard
calculating it, the difficult part was evaluating it – positions
with uneven material are often among the most difficult to
evaluate. The computers call this +0.45, similar to the
game continuation, but it is clearly a completely difficult
type of position where Black may also end up having
practical winning chances, so perhaps Adams should have
gone this route rather than accepting a position with a
safe edge for White.
18 b3 Qa6 19 bxc4 Qxa2 20 Kf2
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Covering the e2-pawn while preparing for an endgame
where the King can quickly join the game. His majesty is
completely safe here. 20 Qd3 with the idea 21 Bd4 was an
equally good alternative, though.
20…a5
A very natural move – after all, as the saying goes: “Passed
pawns must be pushed”. Still, in the post-game press
conference Kramnik called this a “very tempting mistake”,
but without offering an alternative. In fact, the computers
think it is the best move; Kramnik probably suffered from a
kind of hindsight bias in that he would later be able to
attack the a-pawn from behind and eventually win it.
Black’s real mistake apparently comes later.
Question 4-2) How should White continue now, and which
principle should he use?
21 Bg5
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Answer to question 4-2) Kramnik plays to optimize his
pieces relative to Black’s by intending to push Black’s
knight back. It is the right idea, but a more accurate way of
executing it was 21 Rfd1!, and only after 21…a4 then 22
Bg5! Ne8 (with this move order, 22…e5?! is not good
because of 23 Qd6 e4 24 Bxf6 gxf6 (24…exf3? 25 Rd2 wins)
25 Qxf6 exf3 26 Qxf3 with a healthy extra pawn and clear
advantage for White) 23 Rd3, with a small, but stable
advantage for White (+0.44). The point of this move order
is prophylaxis; preventing Black from harassing White’s
queen as in the game by taking control of the d-file. After
the text move White’s edge drops to about +0.2.
21…e5!
Good defense, Adams grabs his chance to create
counterplay.
22 Qd6
22 Qd3 was perhaps slightly more accurate, again using
prophylactic thinking to prevent any ideas with e5-e4.
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22…Rd8
22…e4!? 23 Bxf6 exf3! (this would not have been possible
with the interpolation of 21 Rfd1 a4, since White could
then play Rd1-d2 here) 24 Kxf3 gxf6 is very close to equal,
as 25 Qxf6 Rxc4 leads White nowhere. There is nothing
wrong with the move played, though.
23 Qb6 Rab8?!
A slight inaccuracy. It was better to play 23…Rdb8! 24 Qe3
a4 25 Bxf6 gxf6, with only an edge for White. Black’s King
is not in any real trouble, and he has counterplay with the
a-pawn.
Question 4-3) How can White take advantage of Black’s
inaccuracy?
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24 Rfd1!
Answer to question 4-3) White exploits a small tactic –
Black’s weak back rank – to correct the inaccuracy on
move 21. The evaluation now goes up to about +0.5.
24…Re8 25 Qe3
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25…a4
An interesting alternative was 25…Rb3!?, although White
would maintain an edge in the endgame after 26 Ra1!
Rxe3 (or 26…Qb2 27 Qd2) 27 Rxa2 Rc3 28 Rc1 Rxc1 29
Bxc1 Ra8 (+0.58). Adams prefers to bank on his passed apawn in the middlegame.
26 Bxf6 gxf6
Question 4-4) How should White continue now, and which
principle should he use?
27 Qe4?!
Answer to question 4-4) Overly slow. As Black threatens to
just keep pushing his a-pawn, using it as a decoy to trade
for White’s c-pawn and kingside play, White needed to
hurry by pushing his own passed pawn with 27 c5!, which
would maintain a +0.5 advantage. After the text move,
White’s edge drops to about +0.2 – very close to even.
One reason that Kramnik has dropped a bit down the
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rating list is that he is no longer quite as accurate as at his
peak.
27…a3 28 Rd7 Rbd8
For the second time in the game, Adams chooses the
wrong rook to move to this square. As my great
compatriot Bent Larsen used to advice in such situations:
“If you have a choice about which rook to move to a
square, then decide which one you want to move there –
and then choose the other one!” Correct was 28…Red8! 29
Ra7 (29 Rcd1 Rxd7 30 Rxd7 Qb1 is equal) 29…Qb2 with
close to equality. In contrast to the game, White does not
have 30 Rb1 and both Black’s rooks are active.
29 Ra7!
Rooks belong behind passed pawns.
29…Qb2?!
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In time pressure, Adams starts to crack. After this move
the evaluation goes up to +0.65 – close to a clear
advantage, but still far from winning. Correct was
29…Qd2! 30 Ra1 (30 Rb1 f5! 31 Qe3 (31 Qxf5? Qd4+ picks
up the rook on a7) 31…Qxe3+ 32 Kxe3 Ra8! 33 Rbb7 a2 34
Rxf7 a1Q leads to a draw, White has to give perpetual
check) 30…Qd4+ 31 Qxd4 Rxd4 32 Rc1 Rc8 33 c5 Rd5 34 c6
Rd6 35 c7 Rd7, and a draw is not far off, as Black can
simply advance his a-pawn and win the c-pawn in return.
Question 4-5) How can White exploit Black’s inaccuracy?
30 Rb1!
Answer to question 4-5) White now forces a trade into a
technical ending that might be a draw but which is not
easy for Black. Compared to the 29…Qd2! line, the rook
will now be on b1 rather than a1 – a small but critical
difference, as we shall see.
30…f5?
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This would be the saving grace if Black’s queen was on d2,
but here it leads to a lost technical endgame. Houdini and
Komodo’s evaluations go up to +1.5, Stockfish even to
+1.8. Could Black have saved the game? Yes, but it would
require a tough defense in a double rook endgame a pawn
down. There are lots of nuances here, and I encouraged
the reader to study this position in some depth – it is
highly instructive for this type of endgame. Doubling on
the 7th rank is a critical theme for both sides. The main line
goes 30…Qd4+! 31 Qxd4 Rxd4 and now…
32 Rb4! (This was not possible in the 29…Qd2 30 Ra1 Qd4+
variation. It is stronger than 32 Rbb7 a2! or 32 Rb6 e4! 33
Rxf6 e3+! 34 Kg2 Rd2! 35 Rfxf7 Rxe2+ 36 Kh3 a2, and in
both cases White has nothing more than a draw) 32…Rc8
33 Rb6! (only now, when Black no longer has e5-e4-e3+)
33…Rcxc4 34 Rxf6 Rc2! 35 Rxa3 (35 Rfxf7 Rdd2! draws)
35…Kg7 36 Rf5 f6.
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Clearly White has practical winning chances in this
technical endgame, but objectively it is drawn – the
computer calls it about +0.6, and such 4-vs-3 endgames
are covered in the endgame literature. That’s why
studying technical endgames is an important part of
learning how to win better positions – and drawing worse
ones!
31 Rxb2 fxe4 32 Rxa3
Now White simply has an extra pawn.
32…Rd4
32…Rc8 33 Rc3 exf3 34 Kxf3 would offer more resistance.
Houdini even sees it as “only” +1.35, still within drawing
range. The other engines assess it as +1.6, in other words
winning. I side with the latter evaluation.
33 Rc2 Rc8 34 c5 exf3 35 Rxf3 Rc6 36 Rd3!
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The right exchange. Once a set of rooks come off, White’s
King can advance to support the passed pawn.
36…Rxd3
36…Ra4 37 Rd5! f6 38 Rd7 doesn’t help; with the King cut
off Black has little hope.
37 exd3 f5
After 37…Kf7 38 Kf3 Ke7 39 Ke4 Ke6 40 g4, Black will
eventually end up in Zugzwang and have to move his rook,
after which the c-pawn advances. The pawn endgames are
always won for White, even if he has to part with the cpawn to advance his King.
38 d4! exd4 39 Ke2 1-0
Sometimes it is funny to compare computer evaluations.
Houdini gives this as +2.66; Fritz as +3.68; and Komodo as
+250… In either case it is a technically winning endgame
after 39…Kf7 40 Kd3 Ke6 41 Kxd4.
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Tips for self-improvement
The ability to win better positions is critical for ambitious
tournament players. By studying this book, you have
hopefully gained tools that can help you convert more of
your favorable positions into full points. I will close the
book with four tips for self-improvement with regard to
this topic.
Analyze your own games carefully. There is a lot to be
gained from a detailed study of your own games. Most
chess players I know of spend too little time and effort on
analyzing their own games. That’s a lost learning
opportunity. When analyzing your games, pay specific
attention to the flow of advantages. Analysis engines can
be helpful in that regard, but remember to always try to
“translate” what the computer is trying to tell you into
“human language”.
Study well annotated games by positional masters.
Converting better positions into full points is part of
positional mastery. Essentially you are accumulating more
and more small advantages. That’s the domain of
positional masters like Capablanca, Smyslov, Karpov and
Kramnik. Study the games – annotated either by the
players themselves or some other strong players – and
follow how they slowly and systematically add to their
advantage by exploiting the principles outlined in this
book.
Read chess books. By “read” I mean exactly that – read
chess books as you would read any other book, as prose. I
realize that many readers will not have the time to really
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study chess books – bringing out a chess set, going over
the games diligently and studying all lines in the
annotations. That’s OK, even if this is of course the most
optimal way. When I was a young player coming into the
game, I learned a lot by simply reading chess books
without board and pieces, just reading the annotations
and comments by the author.
Work on your psychology. As discussed early on in this
book, psychology matters a lot when you are trying to win
a better position. Be careful not to become complacent or
annoyed in the process. Full focus is required. If you have
experienced such problems, then work on your psychology
and outline a game plan for how you will remain calm and
focused in these situations.
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Master another chess topic
HOW TO WIN BETTER POSITIONS