by John and Victoria Doknjas, offers a totally new perspective on
improvement in chess. This book teaches chess players how to work harder
and smarter in order to achieve their goals, using every tool at their disposal.
Most chess books teach openings, endgames, tactics, but very few books
teach players how to work on chess by themselves. This is what makes this
work so unique and innovative.
What Chess Coaches Don’t Tell You by John and Victoria Doknjas, offers a
totally new perspective on improvement in chess. This book teaches chess
players how to work harder and smarter in order to achieve their goals, using
every tool at their disposal. Most chess books teach openings, endgames,
tactics, but very few books teach players how to work on chess by
themselves. This is what makes this work so unique and innovative.
Over the years, many chess players have come to me for advice on how to
improve, and I never know what to tell them. From now on, I will
recommend that they read this book! I have been using most of the advice
recommended in this book, both for myself and my students, and the results
have been wonderful. I can clearly feel that my work ethic has improved,
thanks to this book. Having worked with Victoria and John, I can safely say
that their method works extremely well, for players of any level. Spending
time with these two authors has taught me the importance of analyzing my
own games, as well as playing training games, and I believe that this advice
applies to any chess player looking to improve.
Also, children and parents who enter the chess world are often disoriented
because there is so much information available. This book, however, offers
valuable and detailed advice to parents on how to guide their children
towards their goals. Victoria, who has 3 master-level sons, is the best person
to answer any questions related to parenting in chess!
Overall, this book guides chess players in their improvement, regardless
of their level. From beginner to grandmaster, every player can benefit from a
steady, structured and detailed workplan.
International Master Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux
2022 World U18 Champion
What Chess Coaches Don’t Tell You is a must-read for those who are either
just starting out in chess or those who feel stuck and have not made any
progress lately. I recommend this book because it can help you avoid making
unnecessary mistakes and enlighten you about the things you should know.
Indeed, it is an insightful book that contains crucial information for
ambitious chess players and their parents who wish to get the most out of
their time and efforts. It offers advice and techniques that enable players to
set their goals clearly and work efficiently toward achieving them. Many kids
start out in chess and show immense potential. However, oftentimes, talent is
not enough; thus, the players have to study chess with either a coach or by
themselves, which can be difficult, frustrating and confusing. Fortunately,
this book teaches its audience the most effective methods to do so by
narrowing down the steps to success, which include how to maximize the
benefits of analyzing one’s games as well as how to create a solid and
pertinent opening repertoire.
Woman Grandmaster Maïli-Jade Ouellet
2019 Woman Continental Champion
In their masterpiece, What Chess Coaches Don’t Tell You, the dynamic duo
of Victoria Doknjas, MBA and Juniors to Masters Chess Academy Cofounder, and her son John Doknjas, FIDE Master and established chess
author, have unlocked the mysteries of the puzzling and confusing world of
chess coaching. Victoria’s business savvy, organized way of thinking, and
crystal-clear explanations combine nicely with John’s technical and coaching
expertise to provide the reader with a valuable road map, which is often
neglected or completely ignored in other chess literature. This book is a mustread for all aspiring chess players and their parents who wish to learn the best
practices and methodologies for developing an effective chess coaching plan.
Coaches and chess trainers will also find it quite useful to fine-tune their
teaching methods and gain insight into the best ways to help their students
achieve their chess goals.
Taken from years of experience coaching junior players, the Doknjas’
have compiled and presented their best teaching tips and advice for players of
all levels and ages to achieve success on their chess journey. As I explored
the different chapters, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were
several teaching tools and techniques that I, an experienced National Master
and chess coach with 15 years of teaching experience, was missing out on! I
found the FAQ chapter for Parents or Those New to Competitive Chess to be
especially helpful, and I will no doubt recommend this book to many chess
families seeking how best to navigate the complex world of chess training
and competition.
National Master Josh Sinanan
President, Washington Chess Federation
The book is a comprehensive manifesto for chess players and parents of
players. The authors stress the importance of developing an individualized
plan for chess improvement, focusing on strengths and weaknesses, and
setting specific goals. The book provides recommendations on how to form a
solid foundation of chess knowledge and how to be more self-sufficient in
one’s own chess studies. It aims to empower chess players and parents to take
control of their own learning journey and achieve their goals, emphasizing
that there is no “magic” formula for instant improvement, but rather a
practical approach utilizing available resources.
If you are a chess coach, a chess parent or a chess player this book will help
speed you, your student or their parents along the journey to chess mastery.
Highly recommended as a work of love created by two people who know
what they are talking about.
National Master Vladimir Drkulec
President, Chess Federation of Canada
First published in 2023 by Gloucester Publishers Limited, London.
Copyright © 2023
John Doknjas and Victoria Doknjas
The right of John Doknjas and Victoria Doknjas to be identified as the
authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 78194 655 8
Distributed in North America by National Book Network,
15200 NBN Way, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214. Ph: 717.794.3800.
Distributed in Europe by Central Books Ltd.,
Central Books Ltd, 50 Freshwater Road, Chadwell Heath, London, RM8
1RX.
All other sales enquiries should be directed to Everyman Chess.
email: info@everymanchess.com; website: www.everymanchess.com
Everyman is the registered trade mark of Random House Inc. and is used in
this work under licence from Random House Inc.
Everyman Chess Series
Commissioning editor and advisor: Byron Jacobs
Typeset and edited by First Rank Publishing, Brighton.
Printed by TJ International Limited, Padstow, Cornwall.
About the Authors
John Doknjas is a FIDE Master and was the 2021 British Columbia
Champion. He has won several strong tournaments including the Grand
Pacific Open, the Langley Open, and the 2017 Canadian U18 Championship.
John is a chess teacher with over 9 years of experience and has annotated
games for distinguished national chess publications.
Victoria Doknjas, MBA was the Canadian Head of Delegation at the North
American Youth Chess Championship (2014 and 2017) and at the 2015
World Youth & Cadet Chess Championships (in Greece). She won the 2016
Canadian Senior Woman Champion title and co-founded the Juniors to
Masters Chess Academy.
Also by the Author, John Doknjas
Opening Repertoire the Modern Benoni
Opening Repertoire the Sicilian Najdorf (with Joshua Doknjas)
Contents
About the Authors
Bibliography
Foreword by Grandmaster Gergely Szabo
Introduction
1 Working Hard with a Set Purpose
2 Defining Goals and Developing a Plan to Achieve Them
3 Analyzing Your Games
4 Creating an Opening Database
5 Will to Win: Essential Endgames
6 Tactics and Studies
7 Slowing Down
8 Training Games
9 Tension: To Exchange or Not To Exchange
10 FAQ for Chess Parents or Those New to Competitive Chess
Epilogue
Bibliography
Databases:
ChessBase Online Database
TWIC
Big Database
BCBASE
CanBase
Websites:
arves.org
365Chess
chess.com
chessgames.com
lichess.org
Media:
Chess Endgames 13 DVD by Müller
Engines:
Stockfish
Deep Fritz
Foreword
When the authors of this book asked me to write a few words about it, I
happily accepted, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, because I was
intrigued by the topic of the book - I considered it thought-provoking and
quite novel among so many opening and tactics books. Second, because our
joint ventures with both Victoria Doknjas and FM John Doknjas, together
with FM John’s previous works as an author were a guarantee that I will see
something extraordinary; and last, but not least, my GM and FIDE Trainer
“ego” was also challenged in a positive way - will this book teach me new
methods?
Reading through the chapters, I wasn’t disappointed at all: I enjoyed
seeing advice for both parents and players, introducing the element of goals
and motivation into the sometimes dull process of training; I have learned a
few new tricks on how to use free resources to build an opening database, and
I was impressed by the emphasis the authors put on maybe the most
important chapter of chess training, the game analysis. Still, while I was
progressing through all chapters, my feeling was “OK, but I know and apply
most of these as a trainer, why do the authors think I am not telling this to my
students?”
And then it hit me - I might know most of this NOW, but it would have been
a great assistance to have someone tell me all of this as a player, or when I
started my coaching career. Maybe also my parents would have appreciated
this when my career as a player was only at the beginning. Thus, What Chess
Coaches Don’t Tell You is (apart from being an excellent read) extremely
useful for players, their coaches and parents alike - the book asks the readers
a large number of important questions and provides an even bigger number of
answers to frequently asked or even to unasked questions. It also has a
downside though: after reading this book, one can never again use the excuse
“oh, I didn’t know about this - our coach never told us!”
Grandmaster Gergely Szabo,
FIDE Trainer
Introduction
Are you an adult or junior chess player who has taken private chess lessons
for years, but feel that you haven’t been progressing? Or are you a parent of a
junior chess player who feels that because you don’t know how to play chess,
you therefore can’t help your child? In both cases, there is a lot of reliance on
the chess coach who has been given a free-hand as to the private lesson
content and direction.
So often is the case that we meet with parents of junior chess players and
they would lament about their previous private coach experience, saying
“since I don’t know chess, I assumed that our chess coach was doing the best
for my child”. Or the adult chess player would say “I assumed that my chess
coach had an overall plan for my chess learning”. Our response is “First tell
us, what are your chess goals - both short term and long term?” In the parent
and child case, it is also important that their chess goals are in alignment oftentimes parents assume their child wants to become a Chess Master, but
only after actually sitting down and seriously discussing with their child what
his/her chess goals are, do they find out that their child doesn’t want to be a
Chess Master, nor put in the required hard work, and instead wants, for
example, to win the school championship. If goals are not verbalized, how
can an effective plan be created to achieve those goals? If your chess coach
has never asked you what your chess goals are, how can your chess coach
properly develop a plan specifically for you to attain your goals - or maybe
there is no grand plan at all?
Likely your chess coach has some sort of rough plan, but also likely, if
you have never been asked or been made to seriously consider what your
actual chess goals are, the plan is a generic one. Effective chess training is not
a “one size fits all” situation. Developing a well thought out individualized
plan, which focusses on the specific chess player’s unique weaknesses and
strengths, is the first step towards making improvements, strengthening play,
and attaining more in-depth chess knowledge, all of which helps us down that
path towards reaching our chess goals.
This book covers the essential elements needed to form a solid chess
knowledge foundation. By learning and incorporating these essential
elements, this will further help chess players get the most out of their learning
with their chess coach. Our book also provides recommendations on how
players can learn to be more self-sufficient in their own chess studies without
a coach. Parents of junior chess players can also benefit from this book as the
knowledge it provides will empower them to help steer the private chess
lessons and learning process to be more efficient and effective.
Make no mistake in that there is no “magic” in this book that will
instantly transport chess players to the next chess level - however, it does
contain something better: it provides solid suggestions to help improve your
chess knowledge. Too often chess players, or their parents, pay for countless
hours of private chess lessons hoping that there is some “magic chess master
sprinkle dust” that will be dispensed which will effortlessly and instantly, or
at least eventually, transform them into a stronger chess player. Even if the
chess players are willing to work hard, they often lack the knowledge of the
best direction that will help them reach their chess goals. Look at the
Energizer Bunny who is constantly working and working and working, but if
he’s not pointed in the right direction, he could waste an enormous amount of
time just going around and around and around in circles, all the while not
making much progress towards his desired destination.
One of our goals for writing this chess book is to help chess players
understand some of the core elements that many chess coaches don’t
automatically tell you, but will give you more control over the direction and
success of your chess studies, and in doing so, will help in identifying and
attaining your chess goals. Note that if your goal is to become a grandmaster
instantaneously after reading this book, then this is not the book for you.
However, if your goal is to get a better understanding of how to establish
what your chess goals are and from that derive a plan to attain those chess
goals, all the while in supporting your chess learning journey with a practical
approach that would include how best to utilize your available resources like
chess software and websites, chess books, your chess coach, chess friends
and colleagues, and other potential training partners, then we are pleased to
be part of your chess learning journey.
Setting up a Solid Chess Foundation, With or Without a Chess Coach
We begin our book by tackling the key activities that chess players need to
know in order to build a solid foundation for their chess training regime. All
of which can be done whether you are self-training or have a chess coach.
Working Hard with a Set Purpose
What does working hard mean exactly?
Defining Chess Goals and Developing a Plan to Achieve Them
The first step is to define your chess goals and develop a plan to achieve
them. Once your chess goals have been established and your plan developed,
we discuss the important elements that make up a proper training regime; and
that is where you are to direct your hard work on a regular and consistent
basis.
Analyzing Your Games
By properly and consistently analyzing your games, you can discover your
areas of strength and weakness, and most importantly, it can provide
direction on where to focus your chess studies.
Creating an Opening Database
It’s important to know your opening lines, so building an opening repertoire
and regularly studying and improving your openings can help you to start all
your games off well.
Will to Win: Essential Endgames
Those eager chess players who are willing to fight tooth and nail to the very
end often are rewarded with favourable results. Studying certain elementary
endgames can come in handy if you’re playing a game that simplifies into
one of them (or an endgame that shares similarities with what you’ve
studied).
Tactics and Chess Studies
Regularly solving tactics problems and chess studies are highly beneficial to
developing good tactical pattern recognition that you can then employ in your
games.
Slowing Down
Good chess play requires slowing down, in order to do things such as
deliberating between candidate moves, figuring out why the opponent moved
there, devising how to improve badly placed pieces, and much more.
Training Games
Training games from a set position that enter into specific chess topics are
helpful, as are training games with stronger opponents, which can help build
confidence when playing higher rated opponents at tournaments.
Tension: To Exchange or Not To Exchange
Mature chess play often evolves from patiently building up your position, as
well as maintaining the pressure and complexity of the position. Studying
such positions and working on exercises can help you develop these skills.
FAQ for Chess Parents or Those New to Competitive Chess
The competitive tournament chess world can at times seem complex and
confusing for those who are new to it, as well as for those who have been
playing in it for several years. This section is made up of questions that we
have been asked over the years by chess players and chess parents alike.
So, let’s get started with this familiar story about a turtle and a bunny.
Tortoise or Hare
We are all familiar with Aesop’s Fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare”, where
an overconfident hare accepts the challenge to race the slow, but steady
tortoise. Halfway through the race, the hare decides to play in the meadow
since he has such a huge lead, and even takes a little nap. The dedicated and
hard-working tortoise continues the race, never wavering from his goal,
which results in his arrival across the finish line, soundly beating the hare.
There are many different types of chess players. Some are “naturally”
talented and like the hare, they start off very strong and shoot out of the
racetrack with a tremendous lead over the rest of their competitors, winning
trophies and competitions for the first few years. Overtime, these naturally
talented players start to lose their initial advantage as some of the
competition, like the tortoise, are dedicated and hard working, and have taken
the painstaking time to study, practice, and then study and practice even
more; and they learn to persevere and overcome obstacles in their chess lives
in order to attain their goals.
Are you a “hare”? If so, be thankful for the talent that you are blessed
with, and then consciously make the effort to add to your natural talents. That
is, make the decision to work hard by being willing to learn, to train with
dedication, to be open to instruction, and to practice, practice, practice.
Are you a “tortoise”? If so, accept that you will need to try and try again
in order to achieve. If you stick with it, you will develop a strong work ethic
that will serve you well on into your chess career. Be thankful that you are
blessed with the knowledge that you will need to work hard, and then make
the conscious decision to do so. Learn from your mistakes, be open to being
taught new things, and practice, practice, practice.
Whether you started the race as a tortoise or a hare, you alone must make the
decision on how best to go forward on your own path. Choosing wisely, and
responsibly, will allow you in time to attain your goals both in chess, and
more importantly, in life.
Acknowledgements
I, Victoria, want to express my gratitude to my family for their
encouragement and support during this writing project. Having been blessed
with three amazing sons who are accomplished National and Provincial
Chess Champions, outstanding chess coaches and chess book authors, and
simply just all-around great guys.
Thank you to my parents, Howard and Kay Jung, for their years of support;
and to Team Doknjas: both to FIDE Master Joshua Doknjas and National
Master Neil Doknjas for your input and suggestions during the writing
process; to Dave Doknjas for your proofreading assistance and your neverending support and love for our sons and me; and immense gratitude
especially to my co-author, FIDE Master John Doknjas, who without his
encouragement and chess coaching expertise, this book would not have been
possible.
I, John, would like to thank my family (Victoria, Dave, Joshua, Neil) for their
continual support. Also, our thanks to Byron Jacobs for making the project
possible, and Grandmaster Gergely Szabo for his encouragement, feedback,
and writing the Foreword to this book.
John Doknjas and Victoria Doknjas,
Canada, June 2023
Chapter One
Working Hard with a Set Purpose
You can have the best chess coach in the world, a library stocked full of
insightful chess books, the latest chess software and online chess tools and
resources, and a variety of strong training partners all at your disposal; but if
not for one thing, it would all be for naught. That one thing is being willing to
work, and more to the point, to work hard with a set purpose.
Likely you have heard that you must work hard in order to improve your
chess. In fact, you might even be more than willing to do the amount of hard
work that is required to achieve your chess goals. However, do you know
exactly where to direct all of your hardworking energy? That is, what are the
essential chess activities that require your regular attention, in order for you
to improve your chess knowledge (and from that your chess play)? Our book
helps to identify these foundational building blocks, and then breaks them
down so that you may understand their importance and how they are best
studied.
Some junior players approach their chess training like a seasonal sport,
like basketball season or football season - and yet even in those sports, we all
acknowledge that the more accomplished players train all year round, rather
than just seasonally. Chess is the same thing. Training ferociously for only
part of the year, instead of studying consistently and methodically throughout
the year, will likely lead to partial results. Imagine working hard for months
training for a marathon, and then after competing in the marathon, you just
stop training cold turkey. Now a few months later when you want to compete
in another marathon - how much harder is it to start from scratch and to build
up your fitness again versus if you had just kept training consistently? How
much better and faster would you have been by building on and continuing
the progress gained from the previous training? Chess is also like that.
You Just Need to Work Hard - But what Exactly Does that Mean?
But you say that you are working hard and consistently, like 8-10 hours per
week or more on your chess; however, you feel that you haven’t been
improving and still make the same blunders over and over. Well, realize that
8-10 hours of back-to-back blitz games per week is not as beneficial as 8-10
hours of practice that focusses on key elements like tactics training, playing
games and analyzing them, reading chess books that pertain to your areas of
weaknesses, regularly reviewing your opening repertoire, etc.
There is a saying that goes something like this: Chess is easy to learn to
play but takes a lifetime to master. There is such a vast number of topics to
study in chess that it can get quite overwhelming. Take it one step at a time:
one tactic problem at a time, one thoroughly reviewed game at a time, one
page of a chess book at a time. One step in the right direction, followed by
another purposeful step forward, and then repeat, and repeat on a regular and
consistent basis.
How much time do you spend on your chess studies per week? For
example, if you have 10 hours per week that you can dedicate to your chess
studies, then a sample training plan could look like this:
1. Private and/or group lessons: 1 to 1.5 hours
2. Homework from lessons: 1 hour
3. Daily tactics: 0.5 to 1 hour
4. Online tournaments or OTB (over the board) tournaments: 4 hours
5. Analyze tournament games: 2 hours
6. Personal training like reading chess books: 1 hour
As one graduates from elementary school to middle school to high school, the
amount of homework and the difficulty level of study increases. Similarly, in
your chess studies, as you get stronger and your chess knowledge grows, you
will also need to increase the dedicated amount of time that you spend on
your chess. Don’t blindly hit the clock punch when you do your chess
studies, but instead use your time wisely and purposefully.
If a tournament game revealed a sideline in an opening that stumped you,
put in the required time to specifically understand it, so that next time you are
better prepared to face it. Or, say if after playing a few games, you realize
that you are often better to winning going into a rook and pawn endgame, but
somehow, a draw or loss occurs. If this is the case, then put in the required
time to specifically go over how you could have played that endgame out
better. Put in the work required on a regular basis, and focus on specific areas
that you have been identified will strengthen your chess play.
Sacrifice
You may have a goal of achieving a chess title, or increasing your rating to a
certain high level, or just generally wanting to improve your chess. So, do
you know what separates players who say that they want to be a Grandmaster
from those who are actually on track to becoming a Grandmaster (or just in
general, on track to attaining their goals both in chess and in life)? The
difference is that one of them is willing to make the sacrifices which are
required.
Sometimes these sacrifices don’t seem like sacrifices and sometimes they
do. For example, many players choose to “sacrifice” some of their weekend
time to play in a chess tournament. They recognize such tournaments as
another opportunity to gain experience and possibly rating points; since they
look forward to playing these events, it doesn’t seem like a sacrifice to them.
However, how many of these same players are willing to sacrifice even more
time after the tournament to methodically review and annotate their games?
Especially the games that they lost or drew, where they need to revisit
(sometimes painfully so) their mistakes and blunders, in an honest and
critical manner in order to learn from these games.
Not everyone will achieve the Grandmaster title, not everyone will earn
that A+ in their math course, not everyone will get that promotion at work.
Only those who sacrifice, and sacrifice consistently, and who recognize that
the oftentimes painful path to improvement is paved with struggle,
determination to persevere, and hard work. Only those willing to go that extra
mile will have the best shot at achieving their goals, both in chess and in life.
These sacrifices are often not easy to do, and may require hard work, or
stretch us to do things that are uncomfortable. But if you put in that extra
effort, and if you go beyond that minimum requirement that’s being asked of
you, then you will be in a good position to achieve the goals that you set out
for yourself both in chess and in life. There is no single “right” or “wrong”
way to work towards a goal, but we think you will agree that “we reap what
we sow”. So, it’s best to take the time to figure out what we want, then
develop an appropriate plan, and finally to practice our chess and live our life
so that we sow what we want to reap, both in chess and in life.
Chapter Two
Defining Goals and Developing a
Plan to Achieve Them
We have all met or read about amazing schoolteachers who have realized that
it was their “calling” to become teachers, and who care deeply about their
students’ well-being and education. They regularly sacrifice their afterschool
time to prepare lesson material that is both engaging and inspires their
students to want to learn. Now, does this sound like any chess coach who you
know of? No chess coach has ever first gotten into chess because they wanted
to be a chess instructor. Most chess coaches are good, perhaps even great
chess players, who decided at one point in their chess career that they wanted
to earn some money by giving chess lessons. They have the chess knowledge
that their chess students want, but what differentiates the effectiveness of
chess coaches is how well they can convey that knowledge to their students
in an efficient way, as normally you are being charged on an hourly basis,
and the clock is ticking…
The situation may not be as sinister as if you can imagine some
mechanics who realize once they fix their customer’s car completely, the
major revenue stream ends. But it could be the situation that the chess coach
is simply reviewing the students’ games, giving generic lessons, or playing
games with the student - all in the name of “chess lessons”. What they should
instead be doing is tailoring a learning plan based on the individual student’s
specific needs and goals, so that with each set of chess lessons, progress is
being made and more chess knowledge is being learned, which can hopefully
translate to being applied effectively in tournament games.
As an adult chess player, or as a parent of a junior chess player,
regardless of what you know or don’t know about chess, you need to take on
an important role, like a project manager dealing with subject-matter experts,
(i.e., the chess coach). The project manager doesn’t need to know what the
subject-matter experts know, but rather needs to know what the plan is, what
steps are in the plan, and whether everyone is delivering on target. Yet, how
are you able to develop an effective plan if you don’t first know what your
chess goals are?
Defining Chess Goals is the First Step Towards Achieving Them
Have you ever sat down and seriously considered what your chess goals are?
Has any chess coach ever asked you what your goals are? When we normally
start with a new chess student, one of our first questions is “What are your
chess goals?” They are often surprised, as no one has ever asked them this
question.
In general, how do you successfully complete a task? For example, if the
task is to drive to a desired destination and you just jump into your car and
start driving, do you think that you will get to where you want to go on time
and on budget? Well, you can’t because you haven’t even decided where that
desired destination is. Is it Vancouver, British Columbia in the north, or is it
Seattle, Washington in the south? As in life, if we can’t clearly define our
goals, then no matter how hard we try, no matter how many painstaking
hours we invest, we won’t achieve our goals because we simply don’t even
know what they are.
In chess, it is no different. You need to decide what your chess goals are
for both the short term (this year) and for the long term (3-5 years). And
that’s when you can start developing a plan to achieve these goals. If your
current situation is one of a junior chess player and chess parent, then you
two need to reach an agreement on the desired goals. There needs to be a
serious discussion. Parents wonder why their child isn’t the National
Champion, and only after that serious discussion about specific chess goals,
to their great surprise, they find out their child wasn’t aiming to be a National
Champion, but was instead happy with, say, becoming the top 10 in their
province/state. When there are totally different or conflicting goals, it can
seriously impede progress or cause goals to not be attainable, due to this
internal and often unspoken conflict. We all need to be on the same page and
in agreement.
Step 1: Write down your chess goals.
1. What do you want to achieve this year?
2. What do you want to achieve in the next three to five years?
Here are some examples:
1. I want to improve my chess rating by 200 points within this year.
2. I want to achieve a chess title in two years, e.g., Chess Expert, National
Master, FIDE Master, etc.
3. I want to improve my online chess tactics rating by 100 points in two
months.
4. I want to have a tournament performance rating above my actual rating for
each tournament that I play in this year.
5. I want to earn rating points in each tournament that I play in this year.
6. I want to improve my final standing in the {name a specific tournament}
from last year’s standing in that same tournament.
7. I want to {specify your chess goal}.
Your goals may be the same as, or unique from, any other chess player - and
that’s okay, because you are trying to achieve your goals, not someone else’s.
Your goals should be meaningful to you, as they are a key motivator for you
to continue to persevere, practice, and work hard at your chess studies.
Imagine if someone said to you that your goal is to be an astronaut, but you
are afraid of heights and being hurdled into space at 20 times the speed of
sound in a small, enclosed rocket somehow just doesn’t appeal to you at all.
What do you think the chances are that you will achieve this goal, especially
as it was a goal assigned to you, and not one that you yourself, deep down
inside, want to achieve? You need to be the one to take charge of your goals:
set goals which are meaningful to you, and that motivate you to want to
achieve them.
Once you state your chess goals, suddenly the types of tournaments that
you should attend (and the immediate steps you need to take) become much
clearer. For example, if your goal is a FIDE title, you need to research the
criteria of how that FIDE title is achieved, which often includes a minimum
FIDE rating and norms. Then you need to attend FIDE rated tournaments. If
the tournaments in your area only FIDE rate the top section, and your rating
is not yet high enough to allow you to enter that top section, then the
immediate steps will also include working on your rating until that minimum
eligibility rating is achieved. Another example: if your goal is a National
Master title, then you need to research the criteria for how a National Master
title is achieved, and then attend tournaments which are rated by your
national federation.
Another consideration is that as a junior player, you may have attended
the same fun scholastic tournaments year after year without question.
However, if your chess goals require you to play in FIDE rated or national
federation rated tournaments, then in order to achieve your goals, you will
need to make the tough decision to move towards these types of tournaments.
It is possible for you to play both types of tournaments, as your time permits,
but often the time controls are different; i.e., 1-day scholastic tournaments
will have much shorter active time controls (like 25 mins + 5 seconds
increment or delay) versus open tournaments which often span over multiple
days with classical time controls of 90 mins + 30 seconds increment. Training
for games with the shorter active time controls is different from training for
games with classical time controls, which requires more thoughtful and
complex decision making, as well as sound mental endurance. Does a
marathon runner train in the same as a sprinter? Of course not.
So, as you can see, it is easy to erroneously go down an alternate path,
trying in vain to achieve conflicting goals. If you want to achieve your chess
goals, sometimes making tough decisions is necessary in order to clearly
define what you want to achieve. Sometimes we get in a routine and go to the
same tournaments year after year, but don’t stop to realize that they have
outgrown their usefulness, and now we need to find the tournaments that
better serve our current purposes and chess goals. For example, if you are the
highest rated player in a tournament and your goal is to increase your rating,
then you will be very hard pressed to benefit from this tournament. Instead,
find a tournament where you are in the middle of the pack rating-wise, or
maybe in say the top 10. Now you have something worth striving for, and if
you do well, you will gain rating points. If you don’t do as well, hopefully
you get games against stronger players which you can now review to help
improve your chess.
Developing a Plan to Achieve Your Chess Goals
Now that you have defined your chess goals, you are ready to develop a plan
for achieving them. Start by making a list of tournaments that you will be
playing during the year. It might be helpful to put this information in a
spreadsheet format with the following columns: Tournament Name, Dates,
Location, Purpose, and Results. Most of these columns are self-explanatory.
In the Purpose column, write down the reasons this tournament is important,
i.e., how it can help with attaining your chess goals. For example, playing up
a section to get experience against stronger players, playing to win the
Provincial/State Champion title, playing to gain FIDE rating points or
National rating points, playing to qualify for the National Championship, etc.
In the Results column, write down how you did in the tournament, and if you
achieved what you expected. You can also write down any positive things or
areas that you had trouble with.
This will give you a schedule for all the important tournaments that you
will attend during the year. Now it’s vital that you are ready for these
tournaments, so appropriately schedule your private lessons, practice games,
daily tactic training, etc. leading up to these tournaments. It’s the same as if
you have an important math midterm test at the end of the month. How would
you schedule your math class, study time, practice math tests, and so on, such
that on the day of the midterm, you are at your best and most knowledgeable
to master each and every question? Similarly, view each tournament as a big
test for which you have spent time preparing and studying. Don’t plan a big
night out the day before the tournament. Don’t stay up all night during the
week binge-watching your favourite TV shows. Don’t eat at irregular times,
and don’t eat too much junk food. You need to be fit both physically and
mentally, well rested, eating properly, and regularly exercising so that you
enable your brain to work at its optimum for an extended length of time.
There is no glory in playing a brilliant chess game for a solid 3 hours, only to
have your brain fail you a half hour later in the crucial endgame that
ultimately decides the game. Be ready, both mentally and physically,
throughout the entire game, throughout the entire tournament. Plan well.
Follow through with the plan execution.
Does this sound like you are training for the Olympics? Well, it’s the
same principle. Plan out your training schedule before the big day, and then
make it count. The Olympics don’t come around every day. Treat your chess
tournament days the same way. It is important to apply discipline to your
regular training regime, and especially during the days (and perhaps weeks)
leading up to your tournaments.
Now let’s talk about what you should be doing between tournaments to
prepare on your own or with your chess coach.
Chapter Three
Analysing Your Games
One of the most important ways that you can improve your game, which is
often bypassed or overlooked, is analyzing your own games before showing
them to your chess coach. Many chess coaches ask their students to send
them their tournament games, or worse, ask to see their games at the start of
their private lesson. If your coach is seeing your games for the very first time
during your lesson, then that means he hasn’t taken the time to deeply
analyze your games beforehand. So, he hasn’t had the chance to identify any
bad patterns that need to be addressed, nor has he prepared any homework for
you on this topic. It’s better if your coach asks you to send your game
notations ahead of time, but even here, if he doesn’t ask you to do any selfreflection (by reviewing and annotating your games) then you are missing out
on some very insightful learning.
Players need to first review and annotate their games on their own before
reviewing them with their chess coach, if they have one. The most effective
way to learn and improve your chess is to be self-critical of your games and
review them by yourself, aiming to find 2-3 things which you can improve. If
you just have your chess coach point them out for you, then there is way less
of a chance for you to fully learn from the game and retain it. Learning
requires a certain amount of effort and struggle - as that is a big part of the
natural learning process.
The best way to analyze your own games is to first enter them into some
chess software that can store them, like ChessBase, or use the game analysis
feature on one of the online chess playing platforms. Then review your game
move by move until you find a critical moment. Note that a critical moment
is a point in the game where the next move will alter the direction of the
game in a very good or very bad way. For example, in life, if you choose to
have cereal instead of eggs for breakfast, likely that is not a life altering
decision; but who you choose to marry, whether you attend university in your
hometown or in another country - these types of decisions are significant and
life-changing. Similarly, critical moments in a chess game are decision points
in the game which can potentially change your position from a winning one
to a losing one, or vice versa.
Now, identify all the critical moments of your game for both Black and
White, and then find better moves or variations. Remember there were two
opponents playing this game, and it is vital to understand the mistakes made
(and the great moves achieved) from both sides. For example, you may have
won the game, but upon review, you see that your opponent executed the
wrong move order which resulted in him losing material. Well, what happens
the next time when you play a similar game, and this time your opponent is
stronger and finds the right move order - you should know how to respond
correctly. So, remember there is always something to learn from your games
whether the result was a win, loss, or draw.
Once you are finished identifying all the critical moments and have added
better moves or variations, provide wording to explain why these are critical
moments. Then at the end of your game notation, write 2-3 things that you
learned from this game, or describe what this game was about. Now you are
in a position to use a chess engine to further review your game by yourself, or
to then discuss your game with your chess coach. Having already reviewed
your game by yourself, the chess engine or chess coach should be able to add
that extra layer of analysis - but you have already done much of the heavy
lifting by first reviewing your game(s) ahead of time and trying to learn what
went wrong and what went right.
Annotating your games should be as if you are telling a story. Each game
that you play tells a story and that’s what you need to capture in your game
annotations. In the beginning, you can state which opening this was and if it
was the main line or a side line. When you hit a critical moment, you can
describe the position from both White and Black’s point of view, and state
who is better and why; then provide better move options for White and/or
Black, with the appropriate commentary to prove why you consider these
moves better than what was played in the original game. In the end, state the
“moral” of the story, or a few things which can be learned from this game. By
annotating your games like this, it provides a complete look at your game,
where it’s as if you are teaching someone else what happened during the
game, and what can be learnt from it.
Here is a summary of steps to annotate your game, with or without a
chess coach:
If you don’t Have a Chess Coach
1. Enter your games in some fashion, such as with ChessBase, or with the
game analysis feature on one of the online chess playing platforms.
2. Slowly move through your game and identify all the critical moments.
3. For each critical moment, find better moves, or variations, for both
Black and White.
4. Add words to describe the game as if you are telling a story where
there is a beginning, exciting things that happen in the middle, and then an
ending with a few things we can learn.
5. When you reach the end of the game notation, write down 2-3 things
that you learned from this game, or what this game was about.
6. Now you can turn on the chess engine to see if it agrees with the
critical moments that you identified, and to see if you missed any critical
moments. If you missed some critical moments, review them carefully along
with the engine’s suggested better moves or variations, and try to understand
why these variations are better ones.
If you Have a Chess Coach
The steps are essentially the same except for the last part:
1. Enter your games in some fashion, such as with ChessBase, or with the
game analysis feature on one of the online chess playing platforms.
2. Slowly move through your game and identify all the critical moments.
3. For each critical moment, find better moves, or variations, for both Black
and White.
4. Add words to describe the game as if you are telling a story where there is
a beginning, exciting things that happen in the middle, and then an ending
with a few things we can learn.
5. When you reach the end of the game notation, write down 2-3 things that
you learned from this game, or what this game was about.
6. (Optional) Now you can turn on the chess engine to see if it agrees with the
critical moments that you identified, and to see if you missed any critical
moments. If you missed some critical moments, review them carefully along
with the engine’s suggested better moves or variations, and try to understand
why these variations are better ones.
Note that if you have a chess coach who reviews your games with you, this
step is optional, and in fact, a good chess coach will want to see from your
annotations what you know and what you don’t know, not what your chess
engine knows. This will help your chess coach to zero in on patterns of
weaknesses in your play, which will in turn allow him to help you become
stronger in these areas.
7. You are now ready to meet with your chess coach to discuss any questions
that you have and to hear your coach’s thoughts on your game. See if you
captured all the critical moments, and if you don’t understand why the
suggested moves are better, then ask your chess coach to help you fully
understand the chess concept.
Additional Suggestions
1. During a tournament, if you have time immediately after your game, then
ask your opponent to review the game with you in the skittles room (i.e., the
room provided by the tournament organizers for players to review their
games together). Realize that your opponent is not going to give you a chess
lesson - rather it should be more like two peers discussing a multi-tiered
puzzle or a series of problems where both should gain some additional insight
by hearing the game from the opponent’s point of view. Note that there are
all kinds of players and people, so avoid the grouches and be open to
reviewing your game with an opponent who is respectful and friendly.
2. Another helpful tip, when you have finished annotating your game(s),
show it to your parent, sibling, chess buddy, etc. Go through your game(s) as
if you are teaching them and point out the critical moments, the better moves
and variations, and the 2-3 things that this game was about. Encourage them
to ask questions, and hopefully you have learned enough about your game so
that you can confidently answer them. When you reach a point where you
know something well enough that you can teach it to someone else, then you
really know it, and have truly learned some things from your annotation
work.
We are going to walk you through the process of how to analyze your
games. In the following exercises, we’ll give you games to annotate. After
you’ve practiced annotating a game, there will then be “solutions” for you to
see how your analysis compares to ours. Note that it’s obviously fine if your
analysis doesn’t match up exactly with ours, but hopefully the solutions will
help guide you in improving your game analysis skills.
Please set up a chess board and then go through each game. A physical
board is good to use - but going through the game on a computer is also fine.
Afterwards, do the exercises for the game, which are the following:
1. Play through the game and identify the critical moments.
2. Find variations, or better moves for Black and White.
3. Provide justification that explains why you consider these critical
moments.
4. Compare the critical moments that you found and the variations that you
came up with to what the engine points out.
5. At the end of the game, write 2-3 things that you learned.
After completing each step, please review our solution for that step before
proceeding to the next step, as it is cumulative. For example, STEP 2 will
involve further annotating the solution that we provided for STEP 1.
Exercise 1
Step 1: Play through this game and identify the critical moments. There are a
number of critical moments in this game, try to identify as many as you can.
As a reminder, a critical moment is a point in the game where the next
move can change the direction of the game in a very good way or in a very
bad way - a game changer; or a critical moment can be when the game has
finished going through a major change and you will then need to reassess to
find new plans.
A.Liu-J.Doknjas
North American Youth Chess Championships U16 2014
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 f3 Bg7 8 Nge2 0-0
9 Ng3 h5 10 Bg5 a6 11 a4 Qc7 12 Qd2 Nh7 13 Bh6 h4 14 Bxg7 Kxg7 15
Nge2 Qe7 16 Nf4 f5 17 Be2 g5 18 Nd3 Nd7 19 exf5 Ne5 20 Nf2 Nc4 21 f6+
Rxf6 22 Qc1 Ne3 23 Rg1 Nf5 24 Nce4 Nd4 25 Qc3 Rf8 26 b4 b6 27 a5 Nf6
28 Rb1 Nxd5 29 Qd2 Nf4 30 Bd1 d5 31 axb6 dxe4 32 Nxe4 Bf5 33 bxc5
Rad8 34 b7 Nxf3+ 35 gxf3 Rxd2 36 Rxg5+ Qxg5 37 Nxg5 Bxb1 38 c6
Rdd8 0-1
Solution
Below are five critical moments in this game. If you found critical moments
that are different from these five, that’s fine, as long as you justified why you
think they were critical moments.
A.Liu - J.Doknjas
North American Youth Chess Championships U16 2014
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 f3 Bg7 8 Nge2 0-0
9 Ng3
Critical moment #1:
W
9 ... h5 10 Bg5 a6 11 a4 Qc7 12 Qd2 Nh7 13 Bh6 h4 14 Bxg7 Kxg7 15
Nge2 Qe7 16 Nf4
Critical moment #2:
16 ... f5 17 Be2 g5 18 Nd3 Nd7 19 exf5 Ne5 20 Nf2
Critical moment #3:
20 ... Nc4 21 f6+ Rxf6 22 Qc1 Ne3 23 Rg1 Nf5 24 Nce4 Nd4 25 Qc3
Rf8
Critical moment #4:
26 b4 b6 27 a5
Critical moment #5:
27 ... Nf6 28 Rb1 Nxd5 29 Qd2 Nf4 30 Bd1 d5 31 axb6 dxe4 32 Nxe4
Bf5 33 bxc5 Rad8 34 b7 Nxf3+ 35 gxf3 Rxd2 36 Rxg5+ Qxg5 37 Nxg5
Bxb1 38 c6 Rdd8 0-1
Step 2: Now, your next task is to provide variations, or better moves, for
each critical moment whether it is for Black or for White (and provide brief
comments explaining the variations/moves).
Do this for the five critical moments that we’ve listed here, as well as for any
additional critical moments that you found. If you think that a move played in
the game was the best continuation from a critical moment, then you don’t
need to provide variations; rather, write a note saying why the game move
was best.
Solution
In this game, we’ve provided examples of variations for each critical
moment. Let’s take a look:
A.Liu - J.Doknjas
North American Youth Chess Championships U16 2014
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 f3 Bg7 8 Nge2 0-0
9 Ng3
Critical moment #1:
9 ... h5
9 ... h5 is a good move, but opting to play on the queenside instead is also
good. For example, after 9 ... a6 10 a4 Nbd7 11 Be2 Ne8 12 0-0 Rb8 13 Be3
Nc7, Black’s pieces are working together to push for ... b7-b5.
10 Bg5 a6 11 a4 Qc7 12 Qd2 Nh7 13 Bh6 h4 14 Bxg7 Kxg7 15 Nge2
Qe7 16 Nf4
Critical moment #2:
16 ... f5
16 ... Nd7 might have been more solid than what was played in the game
(even though Black’s attack ended up working out). After 17 Be2 Ne5 18 0-0
f5, only now Black makes this pawn push, since his knight is active on e5. If
the knight were still on b8, then it would have to go through the d7-square,
but this would temporarily block the c8-bishop (allowing Ne6+).
17 Be2 g5 18 Nd3 Nd7 19 exf5 Ne5 20 Nf2
Critical moment #3:
20 ... Nc4
20 ... Bxf5 may look a little safer, but Black’s 20 ... Nc4 move in the
game seems best, as ... Nc4- ... Ne3 catches White’s king in the centre and
prevents it from castling.
21 f6+ Rxf6 22 Qc1 Ne3 23 Rg1 Nf5 24 Nce4 Nd4 25 Qc3 Rf8
Critical moment #4:
26 b4
A good move, as White needs to get counterplay quickly. Now the c5pawn cannot take on b4 since this would drop the d4-knight.
26 ... b6 27 a5
Critical moment #5:
27 ... Nf6
A strong response. Black ignores White’s queenside attack, and instead
brings his knight back into the game, creating the threat of ... Nxd5.
28 Rb1 Nxd5 29 Qd2 Nf4 30 Bd1 d5 31 axb6 dxe4 32 Nxe4 Bf5 33
bxc5 Rad8 34 b7 Nxf3+ 35 gxf3 Rxd2 36 Rxg5+ Qxg5 37 Nxg5 Bxb1 38
c6 Rdd8 0-1
Step 3: Your next task is to provide a justification for each critical moment,
i.e., explain why each critical moment should in fact be considered a critical
moment.
Solution
Here we’ll go through some critical moments, with explanations for why
they’re critical moments. Note that when you annotate games, you don’t have
to make it as long as what we’ve shown here. Our main goal is to walk you
through the process and explain what we are doing in detail.
A.Liu - J.Doknjas
North American Youth Chess Championships U16 2014
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 e4 g6 7 f3 Bg7 8 Nge2 0-0
9 Ng3
Critical moment #1:
This is a critical moment because White is preparing to develop the f1bishop and castle. If he does this, his king will be safe for the foreseeable
future. So, Black must decide if he wants to disrupt White’s plan with a quick
attack.
9 ... h5
9 ... h5 is a good move, but opting to play on the queenside instead is also
good. For example, after 9 ... a6 10 a4 Nbd7 11 Be2 Ne8 12 0-0 Rb8 13 Be3
Nc7, Black’s pieces are working together to push ... b5.
10 Bg5 a6 11 a4 Qc7 12 Qd2 Nh7 13 Bh6 h4 14 Bxg7 Kxg7 15 Nge2
Qe7 16 Nf4
Critical moment #2:
As in the previous critical moment, White is once again preparing to
develop the bishop and castle kingside. Black must decide how to react.
16 ... f5
16 ... Nd7 might have been more solid than what was played in the game
(even though Black’s attack ended up working out). After 17 Be2 Ne5 18 0-0
f5, only now Black makes this pawn push, since his knight is active on e5. If
the knight were still on b8, then it would have to go through the d7-square,
but this would temporarily block the c8-bishop (allowing Ne6+).
17 Be2 g5 18 Nd3 Nd7 19 exf5 Ne5 20 Nf2
Critical moment #3:
Yet again, White is ready to castle. Black has to decide whether he wants
to stop this - and if so, how?
20 ... Nc4
20 ... Bxf5 may look a little safer, but Black’s 20 ... Nc4 move in the
game seems best, as ... Nc4- ... Ne3 catches White’s king in the centre and
prevents it from castling.
21 f6+ Rxf6 22 Qc1 Ne3 23 Rg1 Nf5 24 Nce4 Nd4 25 Qc3 Rf8
Critical moment #4:
This is a critical moment because Black has a strong initiative in the
centre. If White wants chances, he’ll need to get counterplay now.
26 b4
A good move, as White needs to get counterplay quickly. Now the c5pawn cannot take on b4 since this would drop the d4-knight.
26 ... b6 27 a5
Critical moment #5:
White’s queenside attack has so far been a success, and Black’s b6-c5
pawn chain is on the verge of collapse. Black must decide whether to
continue defending the queenside, or to resume his attack in the centre.
27 ... Nf6
A strong response. Black ignores White’s queenside attack, and instead
brings his knight back into the game, creating the threat of ... Nxd5.
28 Rb1 Nxd5 29 Qd2 Nf4 30 Bd1 d5 31 axb6 dxe4 32 Nxe4 Bf5 33
bxc5 Rad8 34 b7 Nxf3+ 35 gxf3 Rxd2 36 Rxg5+ Qxg5 37 Nxg5 Bxb1 38
c6 Rdd8 0-1
Step 4: Your next task is to analyze with an engine, seeing where it improves
on some of your analysis (or points out something that was missed entirely).
If you feel the engine identifies a new position as a critical moment, note it
down and explain why it’s a critical moment.
Solution
Here we’ll analyze the game with an engine, pointing out some of the
moments where it disagrees with the analysis, or where it suggests new
moves that we haven’t covered. We will place diagrams in the main places
where engine analysis is done, so that you don’t have to go through the preexisting annotations to find where we’ve made additions.
One of the engines we’d recommend using is Stockfish, which is easily
either the first or second best engine in the world. The other top of the line
engine is Leela, but it’s harder to use for most users due to its reliance on a
GPU. However, if you use a different engine for your analysis, that is also
completely fine. The top engines are all vastly stronger than the best humans
in the world.
When going through this game, you may notice that the number of critical
moments has roughly doubled. This is due to the engine pointing out a
number of things which weren’t included in our previous analysis of this
game.
A.Liu - J.Doknjas
North American Youth Chess Championships U16 2014
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6
The engine doesn’t like Black’s position. However, if you’re in a position
that is well-known and early on in the opening, the engine’s opinion can
sometimes be taken with a pinch of salt. That being said, the Benoni (the
opening of the current position) is known to be quite risky.
6 e4 g6 7 f3 Bg7 8 Nge2 0-0 9 Ng3
Critical moment #1: This is a critical moment because White is preparing
to develop the f1-bishop and castle. If he does this, his king will be safe for
the foreseeable future. So, Black must decide if he wants to disrupt White’s
plan with a quick attack.
9 ... h5
9 ... h5 is a good move, but opting to play on the queenside instead is also
good. For example, after 9 ... a6 10 a4 Nbd7 11 Be2 Ne8 12 0-0 Rb8 13 Be3
Nc7, Black’s pieces are working together to push ... b5.
10 Bg5 a6 11 a4 Qc7 12 Qd2 Nh7 13 Bh6 h4 14 Bxg7 Kxg7 15 Nge2
Qe7 16 Nf4
Critical moment #2: As in the previous critical moment, White is once
again preparing to develop the bishop and castle kingside. Black must decide
how to react.
16 ... f5?
Engine critical moment #1 (new critical moment): The engine really
doesn’t like this move. However, for a human playing White it’s not so trivial
to refute over the board. In the 17 0-0-0 variation we’ll see why the engine
dislikes 16 ... f5, and how White should play against it. By the way, we’ve
labeled this position as a new critical moment, since the engine says it’s bad.
This means that if White’s accurate, he can gain an advantage (but if he’s not
accurate, then Black will have a good attack).
16 ... Nd7 might have been more solid than what was played in the game
(even though Black’s attack ended up working out). After 17 Be2 Ne5 18 0-0
f5, only now Black makes this pawn push, since his knight is active on e5. If
the knight were still on b8, then it would have to go through the d7-square,
but this would temporarily block the c8-bishop (allowing Ne6+).
17 Be2
Engine analysis: After 17 0-0-0 g5 (17 ... Nd7? 18 Ne6+) 18 Ne6+ Bxe6
19 dxe6 Qxe6 20 exf5 Qxf5 21 Bd3 Qf4 (21 ... Qf7 22 Bxh7 Kxh7 23 Qxg5
leaves Black behind in development, and his h4- and d6-pawns are weak) 22
Qxf4 gxf4 23 Be4, Black has weak pawns, and White is attacking the two on
b7 and d6 simultaneously.
This helps to explain why the engine likes White so much here.
17 ... g5 18 Nd3 Nd7 19 exf5 Ne5
Engine critical moment #2 (new critical moment). This is a critical
moment since the engine doesn’t like White’s next move in the game. It
suggests 20 f6+, or at least 20 0-0 to get the king safe. Therefore, this means
that after 19 ... Ne5, White has an important decision to make on how to
continue.
20 Nf2?
Critical moment #3: Yet again, White is ready to castle. Black has to
decide whether he wants to stop this - and if so, how?
20 ... Nc4!
20 ... Bxf5 may look a little safer, but Black’s 20 ... Nc4 move in the
game seems best, as ... Nc4- ... Ne3 catches White’s king in the centre and
prevents it from castling.
21 f6+?
The engine dislikes this move. The reason is fairly clear, since it gives up
a pawn for little compensation. White probably wanted Black’s rook on f6, so
that he could move a knight to e4 with tempo.
Engine analysis: 21 Qc1 Ne3 22 g4 hxg3 23 hxg3 Nxf5 reaches a position
that the engine gives as around equal.
This is a pretty fair assessment, as with the h-pawns gone, Black’s king
has become a bit more vulnerable.
21 ... Rxf6 22 Qc1 Ne3 23 Rg1 Nf5 24 Nce4 Nd4 25 Qc3 Rf8
Critical moment #4: This is a critical moment because Black has a strong
initiative in the centre. If White wants chances, he’ll need to get counterplay
now.
26 b4!
A good move, as White needs to get counterplay quickly. Now the c5pawn cannot take on b4 since this would drop the d4-knight.
26 ... b6 27 a5
Critical moment #5: White’s queenside attack has so far been a success,
and Black’s b6-c5 pawn chain is on the verge of collapse. Black must decide
whether to continue defending the queenside, or to resume his attack in the
centre.
27 ... Nf6!
A strong response. Black ignores White’s queenside attack, and instead
brings his knight back into the game, creating the threat of ... Nxd5.
28 Rb1 Nxd5 29 Qd2 Nf4 30 Bd1 d5 31 axb6 dxe4 32 Nxe4 Bf5 33
bxc5 Rad8 34 b7 Nxf3+ 35 gxf3 Rxd2 36 Rxg5+ Qxg5 37 Nxg5 Bxb1 38
c6 Rdd8 0-1
Step 5: Your final task will be to write 2-3 things you learned about the
game. This can often be accomplished by reflecting on what you learned
from a few critical moments of your choice. Although, some things you learn
can come from elsewhere in the game too.
Solution: What you learned - Game 1
Here is an example of three things which could be learned from this game:
1) If feasible, when your opponent is about to castle, try to cause problems
for him before he can manage to do so (references moves 9 and 19).
2) At the same time, if you’re behind in development, it’s not always good to
go on the attack against the opponent’s king (references move 16). It’s
important to know when you’re justified in attacking, and when you should
just develop your remaining pieces.
3) When you’re attacking and your opponent counterattacks, it’s important to
only deal with the counterattack if necessary. If their counterattack is not
dangerous, then you should continue with your attack (references move 27).
Exercise 2
Step 1: Play through this game and identify the critical moments. There are a
number of critical moments in this game, try to identify as many as you can.
V.Doknjas - I.Martinovsky
Bowser Builders Open Bowser 2018
1 Nf3 c5 2 d3 g6 3 g3 Bg7 4 Nbd2 Nf6 5 Bg2 0-0 6 0-0 Nc6 7 e4 d6 8 c3 e5
9 Qc2 h6 10 Nh4 Be6 11 h3 Qd7 12 Kh2 g5 13 Nf5 Bxf5 14 exf5 Qxf5 15
Ne4 Nxe4 16 Bxe4 Qe6 17 f4 exf4 18 gxf4 d5 19 Bf3 Rad8 20 Qg2 Qd6 21
Bh5 d4 22 Bd2 Rde8 23 Kh1 dxc3 24 bxc3 Qxd3 25 fxg5 hxg5 26 Bxg5
Re6 27 Rae1 Rxe1 28 Rxe1 Qh7 29 Bf3 Qg6 30 Be4 f5 31 Bd5+ Kh8 32
Re6 Qh5 33 Bf3 Qf7 34 Bd5 Qh5 35 Bf3 Qf7 36 Bd5 Qh5 37 Bf3 ½-½
Solution
Here are some of the critical moments from this game.
V.Doknjas - I.Martinovsky
Bowser Builders Open Bowser 2018
1 Nf3 c5 2 d3 g6 3 g3 Bg7 4 Nbd2 Nf6 5 Bg2 0-0 6 0-0 Nc6 7 e4 d6 8 c3 e5
9 Qc2 h6
Critical moment #1:
10 Nh4 Be6 11 h3 Qd7 12 Kh2
Critical moment #2:
12 ... g5
Critical moment #3:
13 Nf5 Bxf5 14 exf5 Qxf5 15 Ne4 Nxe4
Critical moment #4:
16 Bxe4 Qe6 17 f4 exf4 18 gxf4 d5 19 Bf3 Rad8 20 Qg2 Qd6 21 Bh5
d4
Critical moment #5:
22 Bd2 Rde8 23 Kh1 dxc3 24 bxc3
Critical moment #6:
24 ... Qxd3 25 fxg5 hxg5 26 Bxg5 Re6 27 Rae1 Rxe1 28 Rxe1 Qh7 29
Bf3 Qg6 30 Be4 f5 31 Bd5+ Kh8 32 Re6 Qh5 33 Bf3 Qf7 34 Bd5 Qh5 35
Bf3 Qf7 36 Bd5 Qh5 37 Bf3 ½-½
Step 2: Now, your next task is to provide variations, or better moves, for
each critical moment whether it is for Black or for White (and provide brief
comments explaining the variations/moves).
Do this for the five critical moments that we’ve listed here, as well as for any
additional critical moments that you found. If you think that a move played in
the game was the best continuation from a critical moment, then you don’t
need to provide variations; rather, write a note saying why the game move
was best.
Solution
In this game, we’ve provided examples of variations for each critical
moment. Let’s take a look:
V.Doknjas - I.Martinovsky
Bowser Builders Open Bowser 2018
1 Nf3 c5 2 d3 g6 3 g3 Bg7 4 Nbd2 Nf6 5 Bg2 0-0 6 0-0 Nc6 7 e4 d6 8 c3 e5
9 Qc2 h6
Critical moment #1:
10 Nh4
This is a good response to the critical moment. Due to the h6-pawn’s
control of the g5-square, the knight lacked good prospects on f3. So, it moves
to h4, unblocking the f2-pawn and creating the possibility of pushing f4.
Also, if Black plays ... g5, now White can answer it with Nf5.
10 ... Be6 11 h3 Qd7 12 Kh2
Critical moment #2:
12 ... g5
This is a good move, putting the question to the h4-knight. Black
shouldn’t sit back and allow White to push f4 with no resistance.
Critical moment #3:
13 Nf5
This move sacrifices a pawn, but it gives White the initiative and
eliminates Black’s e6-bishop. This seems preferable to retreating the knight
to f3, given that for most players, it’s generally easier to attack than to
defend.
13 Nhf3 was also playable, but things can quickly become dangerous for
White. For example, 13 ... g4 14 hxg4 Nxg4+ 15 Kg1 f5.
13 ... Bxf5 14 exf5 Qxf5 15 Ne4 Nxe4
Critical moment #4:
16 Bxe4
Although this move keeps the light-squared bishop unblocked, it passes
up an opportunity to increase control over the d5- and f5-squares.
After 16 dxe4 Qe6, White’s e4-pawn is supported by the queen and g2bishop in controlling the f5- and d5-squares respectively.
16 ... Qe6 17 f4 exf4 18 gxf4 d5 19 Bf3 Rad8 20 Qg2 Qd6 21 Bh5 d4
Critical moment #5:
22 Bd2
Objectively this isn’t the best continuation, as allowing ... dxc3 will make
the d3-pawn very vulnerable on the d-file. However, practically speaking,
developing the bishop and keeping the pawn structure less fixed can give
White some practical chances (this is especially the case if a time scramble
was on the horizon).
22 c4 is more solid, although now Black can solely focus on converting
his extra pawn on the kingside.
22 ... Rde8 23 Kh1 dxc3 24 bxc3
Critical moment #6:
24 ... Qxd3
Taking the pawn is a good continuation. Black would like to defend his
g5-pawn, but there isn’t a good way to do this.
24 ... f6 protects g5, but blocks in the g7-bishop and loses the exchange to
25 Bxe8; meanwhile, in the case of 24 ... gxf4 25 Bxf4, White has the
initiative.
25 fxg5 hxg5 26 Bxg5 Re6 27 Rae1 Rxe1 28 Rxe1 Qh7 29 Bf3 Qg6 30
Be4 f5 31 Bd5+ Kh8 32 Re6 Qh5 33 Bf3 Qf7 34 Bd5 Qh5 35 Bf3 Qf7 36
Bd5 Qh5 37 Bf3 ½-½
Step 3: Your next task is to provide a justification for each critical moment,
i.e., explain why each critical moment should in fact be considered a critical
moment.
Solution
Here we’ll go through some critical moments, with explanations for why
they’re critical moments.
V.Doknjas - I.Martinovsky
Bowser Builders Open Bowser 2018
1 Nf3 c5 2 d3 g6 3 g3 Bg7 4 Nbd2 Nf6 5 Bg2 0-0 6 0-0 Nc6 7 e4 d6 8 c3 e5
9 Qc2 h6
Critical moment #1:
This is a critical moment because the way White plays next will affect
how the game continues. For example, if White plays 10 Nc4 (aiming to
develop the c1-bishop), then 10 ... b5 11 Ne3 sees the game’s focus shifting
more to the queenside/centre. Meanwhile, 10 Nh4 invites mutual attacks on
the kingside.
10 Nh4
This is a good response to the critical moment. Due to the h6-pawn’s
control of the g5-square, the knight lacked good prospects on f3. So, it moves
to h4, unblocking the f2-pawn and creating the possibility of pushing f4.
Also, if Black plays ... g5, now White can answer it with Nf5.
10 ... Be6 11 h3 Qd7 12 Kh2
Critical moment #2:
This is a critical moment since White is on the verge of attacking with f4.
Black needs to decide if he wants to let this happen, or if he wants to strike
first.
12 ... g5
This is a good move, putting the question to the h4-knight. Black
shouldn’t sit back and allow White to push f4 with no resistance.
Critical moment #3:
This is another critical moment, since White has to choose between
playing 13 Nf5 and 13 Nhf3. The former move is sharper and gives up a
pawn, while the latter is more solid. The question of who will be the one
attacking is determined by how White continues.
13 Nf5
This move sacrifices a pawn, but it gives White the initiative and
eliminates Black’s e6-bishop. This seems preferable to retreating the knight
to f3, given that for most players, it’s generally easier to attack than to
defend.
13 Nhf3 was also playable, but things can quickly become dangerous for
White. For example, 13 ... g4 14 hxg4 Nxg4+ 15 Kg1 f5.
13 ... Bxf5 14 exf5 Qxf5 15 Ne4 Nxe4
Critical moment #4:
White has two ways to recapture on e4. It’s a critical moment because
one way allows her to gain a hold over the position. It’s also critical partly
because it’s not such a straightforward decision.
16 Bxe4
Although this move keeps the light-squared bishop unblocked, it passes
up an opportunity to increase control over the d5 and f5-squares.
After 16 dxe4 Qe6, White’s e4-pawn is supported by the queen and g2bishop in controlling the f5- and d5-squares respectively.
16 ... Qe6 17 f4 exf4 18 gxf4 d5 19 Bf3 Rad8 20 Qg2 Qd6 21 Bh5 d4
Critical moment #5:
The way White continues here could either simplify or complicate the
game, which is especially relevant when time is becoming an issue.
Therefore, the position is a critical moment.
22 Bd2
Objectively this isn’t the best continuation, as allowing ... dxc3 will make
the d3-pawn very vulnerable on the d-file. However, practically speaking,
developing the bishop and keeping the pawn structure less fixed can give
White some practical chances (this is especially the case if a time scramble
was on the horizon).
22 c4 is more solid, although now Black can solely focus on converting
his extra pawn on the kingside.
22 ... Rde8 23 Kh1 dxc3 24 bxc3
Critical moment #6:
This is a critical moment since Black needs to make an important
decision. Should he try to respond to White’s threat of fxg5, or is it better to
simply take the d3-pawn?
24 ... Qxd3
Taking the pawn is a good continuation. Black would like to defend his
g5-pawn, but there isn’t a good way to do this.
24 ... f6 protects g5, but blocks in the g7-bishop and loses the exchange to
25 Bxe8; meanwhile, in the case of 24 ... gxf4 25 Bxf4, White has the
initiative.
25 fxg5 hxg5 26 Bxg5 Re6 27 Rae1 Rxe1 28 Rxe1 Qh7 29 Bf3 Qg6 30
Be4 f5 31 Bd5+ Kh8 32 Re6 Qh5 33 Bf3 Qf7 34 Bd5 Qh5 35 Bf3 Qf7 36
Bd5 Qh5 37 Bf3 ½-½
Step 4: Your next task is to analyze the game with an engine, seeing where it
improves on some of your analysis (or points out something that was missed
entirely). If you feel the engine identifies a new position as a critical moment,
note it down and explain why it’s a critical moment.
Solution
Here we’ll analyze the game with an engine, pointing out some of the
moments where it disagrees with the analysis, or where it suggests new
moves that we haven’t covered. We will place diagrams in the main places
where engine analysis is done.
V.Doknjas - I.Martinovsky
Bowser Builders Open Bowser 2018
1 Nf3 c5 2 d3 g6 3 g3 Bg7 4 Nbd2 Nf6 5 Bg2 0-0 6 0-0 Nc6 7 e4 d6 8 c3 e5
9 Qc2 h6
Critical moment #1: This is a critical moment because the way White
plays next will affect how the game continues. For example, if White plays
10 Nc4 (aiming to develop the c1-bishop), then 10 ... b5 11 Ne3 sees the
game’s focus shifting more to the queenside/centre. Meanwhile, 10 Nh4
invites mutual attacks on the kingside.
10 Nh4
This is a good response to the critical moment. Due to the h6-pawn’s
control of the g5-square, the knight lacked good prospects on f3. So, it moves
to h4, unblocking the f2-pawn and creating the possibility of pushing f4.
Also, if Black plays ... g5, now White can answer it with Nf5.
Engine analysis: 10 Nc4 is slightly preferred by the engine. The reason is
that it activates the knight and aims to fight for the d5-square.
After 10 ... Be6 (10 ... d5? doesn’t work due to 11 Ncxe5; 10 ... b5 is also
met with 11 Ne3) 11 Ne3, although it’s still possible for Black to push …d5,
White now has more influence over this square.
10 ... Be6 11 h3 Qd7 12 Kh2
Critical moment #2: This is a critical moment since White is on the verge
of attacking with f4. Black needs to decide if he wants to let this happen, or if
he wants to strike first.
12 ... g5
This is a good move, putting the question to the h4-knight. Black
shouldn’t sit back and allow White to push f4 with no resistance.
Critical moment #3: This is another critical moment, since White has to
choose between playing 13 Nf5 and 13 Nhf3. The former move is sharper
and gives up a pawn, while the latter is more solid. The question of who will
be the one attacking is determined by how White continues.
The engine prefers to strike in the centre with 12 ... d5, and although
White can counter with 13 f4, 13 ... exf4 14 gxf4 Rfe8 is good for Black, as
his pieces are well coordinated and he has pressure on White’s centre.
Note that 15 f5 gxf5 16 exf5 doesn’t trap the bishop due to 16 ... Qd6+ 17
Kg1 Bd7.
13 Nf5
This move sacrifices a pawn, but it gives White the initiative and
eliminates Black’s e6-bishop. This seems preferable to retreating the knight
to f3, given that for most players, it’s generally easier to attack than to
defend.
13 Nhf3 was also playable, but things can quickly become dangerous for
White. For example, 13 ... g4 14 hxg4 Nxg4+ 15 Kg1 f5.
13 ... Bxf5 14 exf5 Qxf5 15 Ne4 Nxe4
Critical moment #4: White has two ways to recapture on e4. It’s a critical
moment because one way allows her to gain a hold over the position. It’s also
critical partly because it’s not such a straightforward decision.
16 Bxe4
Although this move keeps the light-squared bishop unblocked, it passes
up an opportunity to increase control over the d5 and f5-squares.
After 16 dxe4 Qe6, White’s e4-pawn is supported by the queen and g2bishop in controlling the f5- and d5-squares respectively.
16 ... Qe6 17 f4 exf4 18 gxf4 d5 19 Bf3 Rad8
Engine critical moment #1 (new critical moment):
The engine gives the game’s 20. Qg2 as the only way White can maintain
the balance here. This makes sense, as White is down a pawn and needs to
attack quickly in order to gain sufficient compensation. A standard
developing move like 20 Bd2 would cut the white queen off from the
kingside, giving Black an easy game.
20 Qg2 Qd6
Engine critical moment #2 (new critical moment):
This is a critical moment, as the engine points out a way for White to
immediately continue attacking on the kingside.
21 Bh5
Engine analysis: 21 Kh1, which was played later in the game, is good
here. Now with the f4-pawn unpinned, fxg5 is threatened. After 21 ... f6 22
h4 Kh8 23 hxg5 fxg5 24 fxg5, the game is roughly equal.
21 ... d4
Critical moment #5: The way White continues here could either simplify
or complicate the game, which is especially relevant when time is becoming
an issue. Therefore, the position is a critical moment.
22 Bd2
Objectively this isn’t the best continuation, as allowing ... dxc3 will make
the d3-pawn very vulnerable on the d-file. However, practically speaking,
developing the bishop and keeping the pawn structure less fixed can give
White some practical chances (this is especially the case if a time scramble
was on the horizon).
Engine critical moment #3 (new critical moment):
This is a critical moment since Black must find how to secure his
advantage in this tricky position. 22 c4 is more solid, although now Black can
solely focus on converting his extra pawn on the kingside.
22 ... Rde8
Engine analysis: 22 ... dxc3 23 bxc3 Ne7! (23 ... Qxd3 is met with 24
Rad1, and White has some chances) is the engine’s preference, since the
ability to play ... Nf5 can prove very useful to Black.
For example, 24 Kg1 Qxd3 25 Rad1 Nf5 26 fxg5 Ne3 27 Bxe3 Qxe3+ 28
Kh1 Rxd1 29 Rxd1 hxg5 sees Black up two pawns with good winning
chances.
23 Kh1 dxc3 24 bxc3
Critical moment #6: This is a critical moment since Black needs to make
an important decision. Should he try to respond to White’s threat of fxg5, or
is it better to simply take the d3-pawn?
24 ... Qxd3
Taking the pawn is a good continuation. Black would like to defend his
g5-pawn, but there isn’t a good way to do this.
24 ... f6 protects g5, but blocks in the g7-bishop and loses the exchange to
25 Bxe8; meanwhile, in the case of 24 ... gxf4 25 Bxf4, White has the
initiative.
25 fxg5 hxg5 26 Bxg5
Engine critical moment #4 (new critical moment):
White is threatening Bf6, and Black must figure out how to defend
against this.
26 ... Re6
Engine critical moment #5 (new critical moment):
Black hasn’t defended in the best way, and White can gain a sizable edge
here.
Engine analysis: 26 ... Kh8 was better, sliding the king off the g-file and
preventing the g7-bishop from being pinned. Although White can now win a
pawn with 27 Bxf7, 27 ... Re2 28 Qg4 Qe4+ 29 Qxe4 Rxe4 leads to an equal
endgame.
27 Rae1
Engine analysis: 27 Bg4 is one of the moves preferred by the engine.
Now Black’s rook can move to d6 or g6. After 27 ... Rg6 (27 ... Rd6 28 Rad1
Qg6 defends the d6-rook, but 29 Bf5 traps the queen.) 28 Bf5 Qxc3 29 h4,
White is doing well.
The g6-rook can be taken at any moment, and if it tries moving away to
d6, then Black’s king will be insufficiently defended on the g-file. Note that
immediately taking the rook with 29 Bxg6 (instead of 29 h4) is also good.
27 ... Rxe1 28 Rxe1 Qh7
Engine analysis: 28 ... Kh8 is the engine’s preference, shuffling the king
to the safer h8-square. Now White’s queen won’t be bearing down on it.
29 Bf3 Qg6 30 Be4 f5 31 Bd5+ Kh8
Engine critical moment #6:
The engine gives 32 Re6 as the only way White can maintain some
advantage. If White doesn’t continue creating threats, Black may play moves
like ... Ne5 and ... f4, and he is starting to become dangerous. So, White’s
decision on this move will affect how much initiative both sides will have.
32 Re6 Qh5 33 Bf3 Qf7
Engine analysis: 33 ... Qh7 The engine prefers this move. It has a few
possible ideas:
1) Playing ... f4, which will activate the queen along the h7-b1 diagonal.
2) Play ... Nd8- ... Nf7. Since Black’s queen isn’t occupying the f7square, the knight can make use of it.
34 Bd5 Qh5 35 Bf3 Qf7 36 Bd5
Engine analysis: 36 Qe2 is assessed as roughly +2 for White by Stockfish
14, although things are by no means clear.
Given that both sides were in time trouble and Black was up a pawn,
going for a repetition against a strong National Master was a fair decision.
Interestingly, even Deep Fritz 13 cannot tell White has a sizable advantage in
this position, and instead only thinks White is slightly preferable here. While
Deep Fritz is definitely a weaker engine than Stockfish, it is still far better
than any human player.
36 ... Qh5 37 Bf3 ½-½
Step 5: Your final task will be to write 2-3 things you learned about the
game. This can often be accomplished by reflecting on what you learned
from a few critical moments of your choice. Although, some things you learn
can come from elsewhere in the game too.
Solution: What you learned - Game 2
Here is an example of three things which could be learned from this game:
1) When your opponent is attacking on a flank (or preparing to), a good
counter is often to strike in the centre (references move 12).
2) Giving up a pawn in order to gain activity is often a good idea, especially
if the alternative results in you being passive (references move 13).
3) Blocking one of your own pieces is sometimes okay, if doing so allows
you to control very important squares in the position (references move 16).
Exercise 3
Step 1: Play through this game and identify the critical moments. There are a
number of critical moments in this game, try to identify as many as you can.
A.Karpov - D.Velimirovic
Skopje 1976
1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 g6 3 e4 d6 4 d4 Bg7 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 e5 7 d5 Nh5 8 Qd2
Qh4+ 9 Bf2 Qf4 10 Be3 Qh4+ 11 g3 Nxg3 12 Qf2 Nxf1 13 Qxh4 Nxe3 14
Ke2 Nxc4 15 Rc1 Na6 16 Nd1 Nb6 17 Nh3 Bd7 18 Ne3 f6 19 Rhg1 Rad8
20 b3 c6 21 dxc6 bxc6 22 Nf5 gxf5 23 Rxg7+ Kxg7 24 Rg1+ Kf7 25 Qh5+
Ke6 26 Qxf5+ Kf7 27 Qh5+ Ke6 28 Qf5+ Kf7 29 Ng5+ Ke8 30 Ne6 Rf7 31
Rg7 Rc8 32 Rxf7 Kxf7 33 Ng5+ Ke7 34 Qxh7+ Kd8 35 Qh8+ Kc7 36
Qxf6 Re8 37 h4 Nc5 38 h5 Ne6 39 h6 Nf8 40 b4 Nc8 41 Kd2 Ne7 42 h7
Nxh7 43 Nxh7 Nc8 44 Nf8 Re7 45 a3 Be8 46 Ne6+ Kd7 47 Ng7 Kc7 48
Nf5 Rd7 49 a4 Bf7 50 Kc3 Ba2 51 a5 Rf7 52 Qh6 Rd7 53 f4 exf4 54 Qxf4
Rf7 55 Qh6 Rd7 56 Qh2 Be6 57 Qh6 Bxf5 58 exf5 d5 59 Kd4 Nd6 60 Qf4
Kb7 61 Qe5 Nf7 62 Qe8 Kc7 63 Qa8 Kd6 64 Qf8+ Kc7 65 Qc5 Nd6 66
Qxa7+ Kc8 67 Qa6+ 1-0
Solution
Here are five critical moments in this game. If you found critical moments
different from these, that’s fine, as long as you justified why you think they
were critical moments.
A.Karpov - D.Velimirovic
Skopje 1976
1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 g6 3 e4 d6 4 d4 Bg7 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 e5 7 d5 Nh5 8 Qd2
Qh4+ 9 Bf2 Qf4 10 Be3 Qh4+ 11 g3 Nxg3
Critical moment #1:
12 Qf2 Nxf1 13 Qxh4 Nxe3 14 Ke2 Nxc4 15 Rc1 Na6 16 Nd1 Nb6 17
Nh3 Bd7 18 Ne3 f6 19 Rhg1 Rad8 20 b3 c6 21 dxc6 bxc6
Critical moment #2:
22 Nf5
Critical moment #3:
22 ... gxf5 23 Rxg7+ Kxg7 24 Rg1+ Kf7 25 Qh5+ Ke6 26 Qxf5+ Kf7
27 Qh5+ Ke6 28 Qf5+ Kf7
Critical moment #4:
29 Ng5+ Ke8 30 Ne6 Rf7 31 Rg7 Rc8 32 Rxf7 Kxf7 33 Ng5+ Ke7 34
Qxh7+ Kd8 35 Qh8+ Kc7 36 Qxf6
Critical moment #5:
36 ... Re8 37 h4 Nc5 38 h5 Ne6 39 h6 Nf8 40 b4 Nc8 41 Kd2 Ne7 42 h7
Nxh7 43 Nxh7 Nc8 44 Nf8 Re7 45 a3 Be8 46 Ne6+ Kd7 47 Ng7 Kc7 48
Nf5 Rd7 49 a4 Bf7 50 Kc3 Ba2 51 a5 Rf7 52 Qh6 Rd7 53 f4 exf4 54 Qxf4
Rf7 55 Qh6 Rd7 56 Qh2 Be6 57 Qh6 Bxf5 58 exf5 d5 59 Kd4 Nd6 60 Qf4
Kb7 61 Qe5 Nf7 62 Qe8 Kc7 63 Qa8 Kd6 64 Qf8+ Kc7 65 Qc5 Nd6 66
Qxa7+ Kc8 67 Qa6+ 1-0
Step 2: Now, your next task is to provide variations, or better moves, for
each critical moment whether it is for Black or for White (and provide brief
comments explaining the variations/moves).
Do this for the five critical moments that we’ve listed here, as well as for any
additional critical moments that you found. If you think that a move played in
the game was the best continuation from a critical moment, then you don’t
need to provide variations; rather, write a note saying why the game move
was best.
Solution
In this game, we’ve provided examples of variations for each critical
moment. Let’s take a look:
A.Karpov - D.Velimirovic
Skopje 1976
1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 g6 3 e4 d6 4 d4 Bg7 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 e5 7 d5 Nh5 8 Qd2
Qh4+ 9 Bf2 Qf4 10 Be3 Qh4+ 11 g3 Nxg3
Critical moment #1:
12 Qf2
12 Bf2? seems like a better way to pin the knight, but it doesn’t quite
work: 12 ... Nxf1 13 Bxh4, and now the problem is that White’s queen is
hanging on d2. After 13 ... Nxd2 14 Kxd2, Black is just up a pawn.
12 ... Nxf1 13 Qxh4 Nxe3 14 Ke2 Nxc4 15 Rc1 Na6 16 Nd1 Nb6 17
Nh3 Bd7 18 Ne3 f6 19 Rhg1 Rad8 20 b3 c6 21 dxc6 bxc6
Critical moment #2:
22 Nf5!
Critical moment #3:
22 ... gxf5
22 ... Nc8 could have been played instead, guarding the d6-pawn and
stopping White from playing Ne7+. However, it’s tough to say whether this
would have been a better move than 22 ... gxf5. From a practical perspective,
maybe it would have been slightly better, since now Black’s position remains
more intact.
In your own annotations, when you find an alternative like this to a move
played in the game, analyze it out and write down why you think it’s a better
continuation than what was played in the game. Then, later on when you
review the game again with an engine, you can see how much of your
analysis was correct.
Let’s analyze this variation briefly. 23 Nxg7 exchanges off Black’s
fianchettoed bishop, weakening the Black king’s defenses. On 23 ... Kxg7 24
f4, White is hoping to play f5, attacking the pinned g6-pawn. After 24 ... Nc5
25 f5 Be8, Black is passive, but at least the kingside is relatively well
defended. The c8-knight could move to e7 soon, adding more defense to g6.
23 Rxg7+ Kxg7 24 Rg1+ Kf7 25 Qh5+ Ke6 26 Qxf5+ Kf7 27 Qh5+
Ke6 28 Qf5+ Kf7
Critical moment #4:
29 Ng5+
29 Qxh7+ is a move that White could have played instead, grabbing a
pawn. But this would allow 29 ... Ke8, and now the problem is that the h3knight cannot immediately join the attack. Without the queen on f5 and
Black’s king on f7, the f6-pawn is not pinned (allowing it to prevent Ng5). 30
Rg7 threatens Re7 mate, but Black can quickly make room for his king to
run: 30 ... Rb8 31 Re7+ Kd8, and the black king is safe, for now.
29 ... Ke8 30 Ne6 Rf7 31 Rg7 Rc8 32 Rxf7 Kxf7 33 Ng5+ Ke7 34
Qxh7+ Kd8 35 Qh8+ Kc7 36 Qxf6
Critical moment #5:
36 ... Re8 37 h4 Nc5 38 h5 Ne6 39 h6 Nf8 40 b4 Nc8 41 Kd2 Ne7 42 h7
Nxh7
42 ... Nfg6 was an alternative, defending the h8-square with both the g6knight and e8-rook. But after 43 Nf7, White also has two pieces fighting for
h8, renewing the threat of promoting the pawn. In addition, White is now also
threatening Qxd6+, since the f7-knight controls d6 as well. Black has no
good way to meet both of White’s threats.
43 Nxh7 Nc8 44 Nf8 Re7 45 a3 Be8 46 Ne6+ Kd7 47 Ng7 Kc7 48 Nf5
Rd7 49 a4 Bf7 50 Kc3 Ba2 51 a5 Rf7 52 Qh6 Rd7 53 f4 exf4 54 Qxf4 Rf7
55 Qh6 Rd7 56 Qh2 Be6 57 Qh6 Bxf5 58 exf5 d5 59 Kd4 Nd6 60 Qf4 Kb7
61 Qe5 Nf7 62 Qe8 Kc7 63 Qa8 Kd6 64 Qf8+ Kc7 65 Qc5 Nd6
65 ... Kb7 66 a6+! Kb8 (66 ... Kxa6? runs into 67 Qxc6 mate) 67 Qxc6
sees White winning a pawn anyway, and Black’s king is in trouble.
66 Qxa7+ Kc8 67 Qa6+ 1-0
Step 3: Your next task is to provide a justification for each critical moment,
i.e., explain why each critical moment should in fact be considered a critical
moment.
Solution
Here we’ll go through some critical moments, with explanations for why
they’re critical moments.
A.Karpov - D.Velimirovic
Skopje 1976
1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 g6 3 e4 d6 4 d4 Bg7 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 e5 7 d5 Nh5 8 Qd2
Qh4+ 9 Bf2 Qf4 10 Be3 Qh4+ 11 g3 Nxg3
Critical moment #1:
This seems like a good critical moment, since Black is starting a
combination that leads to him sacrificing his queen. This is a major change in
the game, and White also must figure out how to best respond here.
Although, it should be noted that this position has actually been reached in
close to 200 games. Nevertheless, it’s a good example of a big change
happening in a game.
12 Qf2
12 Bf2? seems like a better way to pin the knight, but it doesn’t quite
work: 12 ... Nxf1 13 Bxh4, and now the problem is that White’s queen is
hanging on d2. After 13 ... Nxd2 14 Kxd2, Black is just up a pawn.
12 ... Nxf1 13 Qxh4 Nxe3 14 Ke2 Nxc4 15 Rc1 Na6 16 Nd1 Nb6 17
Nh3 Bd7 18 Ne3 f6 19 Rhg1 Rad8 20 b3 c6 21 dxc6 bxc6
Critical moment #2:
A critical moment - White has a good way to continue his attack on the
kingside, but the move must be played now (or else Black will have time to
prepare and prevent it).
22 Nf5!
Critical moment #3:
This could also be considered a critical moment, since now it is Black
who has to make a big decision. Should Black capture the knight, opening the
floodgates for White’s pieces; or should he defend passively. It turns out
either option leads to White enjoying a large advantage, but Black’s choice
here will still affect how the rest of the game plays out.
22 ... gxf5
22 ... Nc8 could have been played instead, guarding the d6-pawn and
stopping White from playing Ne7+. However, it’s tough to say whether this
would have been a better move than 22 ... gxf5. From a practical perspective,
maybe it would have been slightly better, since now Black’s position remains
more intact.
Let’s analyze this variation briefly. 23 Nxg7 exchanges off Black’s
fianchettoed bishop, weakening the Black king’s defenses. On 23 ... Kxg7 24
f4, White is hoping to play f5, attacking the pinned g6-pawn. After 24 ... Nc5
25 f5 Be8, Black is passive, but at least the kingside is relatively well
defended. The c8-knight could move to e7 soon, adding more defense to g6.
23 Rxg7+ Kxg7 24 Rg1+ Kf7 25 Qh5+ Ke6 26 Qxf5+ Kf7 27 Qh5+
Ke6 28 Qf5+ Kf7
Critical moment #4:
At the moment, White is only attacking with his queen and rook. So now
he must decide how to continue the attack. Should he keep on using just these
two pieces, or should he bring the knight into the game too?
29 Ng5+
29 Qxh7+ is a move that White could have played instead, grabbing a
pawn. But this would allow 29 ... Ke8, and now the problem is that the h3knight cannot immediately join the attack. Without the queen on f5 and
Black’s king on f7, the f6-pawn is not pinned (allowing it to prevent Ng5). 30
Rg7 threatens Re7 mate, but Black can quickly make room for his king to
run: 30 ... Rb8 31 Re7+ Kd8, and the black king is safe, for now.
29 ... Ke8 30 Ne6 Rf7 31 Rg7 Rc8 32 Rxf7 Kxf7 33 Ng5+ Ke7 34
Qxh7+ Kd8 35 Qh8+ Kc7 36 Qxf6
Critical moment #5:
The dust has settled after a number of pieces and pawns have been taken.
At this point, it’s important for both players to reassess the position and
figure out a plan. Black’s king is safe, so the game will no longer revolve
around White trying to play for a checkmate. A big plan for him is to instead
push the h-pawn and hopefully promote it. Therefore, Black’s main plan will
be to try to resist this. Another plan for him is to try to get counterplay
against White’s king, although this is much easier said than done.
36 ... Re8 37 h4 Nc5 38 h5 Ne6 39 h6 Nf8 40 b4 Nc8 41 Kd2 Ne7 42 h7
Nxh7
42 ... Nfg6 was an alternative, defending the h8-square with both the g6knight and e8-rook. But after 43 Nf7, White also has two pieces fighting for
h8, renewing the threat of promoting the pawn. In addition, White is now also
threatening Qxd6+, since the f7-knight controls d6 as well. Black has no
good way to meet both of White’s threats.
43 Nxh7 Nc8 44 Nf8 Re7 45 a3 Be8 46 Ne6+ Kd7 47 Ng7 Kc7 48 Nf5
Rd7 49 a4 Bf7 50 Kc3 Ba2 51 a5 Rf7 52 Qh6 Rd7 53 f4 exf4 54 Qxf4 Rf7
55 Qh6 Rd7 56 Qh2 Be6 57 Qh6 Bxf5 58 exf5 d5 59 Kd4 Nd6 60 Qf4 Kb7
61 Qe5 Nf7 62 Qe8 Kc7 63 Qa8 Kd6 64 Qf8+ Kc7 65 Qc5
White is threatening to take the a7-pawn with his queen, and the question
is whether Black can successfully defend the pawn. Based off the following
analysis, the answer is no.
65 ... Nd6
65 ... Kb7 66 a6+! Kb8 (66 ... Kxa6? runs into 67 Qxc6 mate) 67 Qxc6
sees White winning a pawn anyway, and Black’s king is in trouble.
66 Qxa7+ Kc8 67 Qa6+ 1-0
Step 4: Your next task is to analyze the game with an engine, seeing where it
improves on some of your analysis (or points out something that was missed
entirely). If you feel the engine identifies a new position as a critical moment,
note it down and explain why it’s a critical moment.
Solution
Here we’ll analyze the game with an engine, pointing out some of the
moments where it disagrees with the analysis, or where it suggests new
moves that we haven’t covered. We will place diagrams in the main places
where engine analysis is done, so that you don’t have to go through the preexisting annotations to find where we’ve made additions. When going
through this game, you may notice that the number of critical moments has
roughly doubled. This is due to the engine pointing out a number of things
which weren’t included in our previous analysis of this game.
A.Karpov - D.Velimirovic
Skopje 1976
1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 g6 3 e4 d6 4 d4 Bg7 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 e5 7 d5 Nh5 8 Qd2
Qh4+ 9 Bf2 Qf4 10 Be3 Qh4+ 11 g3 Nxg3
Critical moment #1: This seems like a good critical moment, since Black
is starting a combination that leads to him sacrificing his queen. This is a
major change in the game, and White also must figure out how to best
respond here. Although, it should be noted that this position has actually been
reached in close to 200 games. Nevertheless, it’s a good example of a big
change happening in a game.
12 Qf2
12 Bf2? seems like a better way to pin the knight, but it doesn’t quite
work because of 12 ... Nxf1 13 Bxh4. The problem now is that White’s queen
is hanging on d2. 13 ... Nxd2 14 Kxd2 and Black is just up a pawn.
12 ... Nxf1 13 Qxh4 Nxe3
Engine critical moment #1 (new critical moment): At depth 27, Stockfish
gives 14 Qf2 an evaluation of around +1.53; meanwhile, 14 Ke2 is only given
an evaluation of +0.81. This means that according to the engine, White could
have gained 0.72 more of an advantage if he had gone for Qf2, which in
human terms can be interpreted as roughly 72% of a pawn. So, one could
arguably label this position as a critical moment, since White has a choice
between gaining a moderate advantage or gaining a large advantage.
However, when an engine gives you an evaluation, it’s important to not
always take it at face value. We should play out some lines the engine gives
for 14 Ke2 and 14 Qf2, to get an idea of why it prefers the latter move. Let’s
do that here.
14 Ke2
Engine analysis: 14 Qf2 Nxc4 15 Qe2 Nb6 16 h4 h5 17 Nb5 Na6 18 Nh3
leads to a position where it seems like White’s pieces are quite active.
The b5-knight pressures the c7-pawn, while the h3-knight controls g5. In
addition, the white king hasn’t moved, giving White the option of queenside
castling; or, he may just play Rc1, leaving the king in the centre. All in all,
this seems like a very nice position for White, and the +1.53 evaluation it
gave back on the 14th move for 14 Qf2 makes more sense now.
14 ... Nxc4
Engine analysis: 14 ... Nc2!? is a move liked by the engine. Black’s
knight declines to capture the c4-pawn, and instead plans to establish itself on
the nice d4 outpost. Notice how if White had played 14 Qf2, the queen would
control the c2-square, preventing this knight maneuver.
Following 15 Rd1 Na6 16 Nb5 Nd4+ 17 Nxd4 exd4 18 Kd2 Nc5 19 Ne2
f5, we could compare this position to the one after 18 Nh3 in the 14 Qf2
variation.
After doing this, it becomes fairly clear that here Black has a lot more
counterplay. His c5-knight and d4-pawn are strong, and Black’s ... f5 move is
opening up the game. White’s king has spent two tempi moving already, and
it is still a bit vulnerable in the centre. White still has an advantage here, but
now it’s clearer why the engine prefers 14 Qf2.
15 Rc1 Na6 16 Nd1
Engine critical moment #2 (new critical moment): In this position, the
engine prefers 16 ... b5, instead of the 16 ... Nb6 move Black played in the
game. Let’s see why:
16 ... Nb6
Engine analysis: 16 ... b5 enables the knight to remain on c4, blocking
White’s rook on the c-file. White could attack the knight with 17 b3, but after
17…Nb6 18 Nh3 Nc5 Black once again blocks the c-file. If White pushes
this knight away with 19 b4?!, then 19 ... Ncd7 20 Rxc7 a5! sees Black
gaining strong counterplay on the queenside.
If White continues with 21 bxa5, then 21 ... Rxa5 will activate the rook.
However, a question we may ask here is why 16 ... b5 was even necessary.
Couldn’t Black have done something similar after his 16 ... Nb6 move in the
game? To figure this out, we’ll analyze the 17…Nc5 variation below.
17 Nh3 Bd7
Engine analysis: 17 ... Nc5 18 b4 Ncd7 are two knight moves which the
engine dislikes for Black. However, the reason we’re looking at this line is to
mimic the 16 ... b5 variation above, just without the ... b5 move. The aim here
is to see how the absence of …b5 will be felt, which will reveal its purpose.
Following 19 Rxc7 a5 20 b5, here we see a key benefit that …b5 would
have brought Black: White would be prevented from pushing his b-pawn to
b5.
Now in this position, White has managed to keep the a-file closed (thanks
to his b4-pawn being able to avoid a trade with the a5-pawn), boxing in
Black’s a8-rook. Consequently, White enjoys a large advantage.
18 Ne3 f6 19 Rhg1 Rad8 20 b3 c6
Engine critical moment #3 (new critical moment): In this position, the
engine doesn’t like 21 dxc6, and instead prefers for White to keep the pawn
on d5. So we could consider this position a critical moment, since what White
chooses to do here is important.
21 dxc6?!
Engine critical moment #4 (new critical moment): Black has two ways to
recapture on c6. The engine points out that one way is losing, while the other
way gives Black a playable position.
Engine analysis: 21 Nf2 is one of the moves the engine prefers more than
the move played in the actual game. After 21 ... cxd5 22 exd5 Bb5+ 23 Kd2,
the engine likes this position for White, as the position remains relatively
closed (limiting Black’s counterplay).
21 ... bxc6?!
Critical moment #2: A critical moment - White has a good way to
continue his attack on the kingside, but the move must be played now (or else
Black will have time to prepare and prevent it).
Engine analysis: 21 ... Bxc6! is the better way for Black to respond. Now
let’s see what happens if White continues in the same way he did in the game
here:
22 Nf5? gxf5 23 Rxg7+ Kxg7 24 Rg1+ Kh8 leads to a position which the
engine says is winning for Black, since he’s up too much material for the
queen.
However, the question we should ask now is why couldn’t Black have
defended like this in the game? To answer this, let’s analyze the 24 ... Kh8
variation later on in the game.
22 Nf5!
Critical moment #3: This could also be considered a critical moment,
since now it is Black who has to make a big decision. Should Black capture
the knight, opening the floodgates for White’s pieces; or should he defend
passively. It turns out either option leads to White enjoying a large
advantage, but Black’s choice here will still affect how the rest of the game
plays out.
22 ... gxf5
22 ... Nc8 could have been played instead, guarding the d6-pawn and
stopping White from playing Ne7+. However, it’s tough to say whether this
would have been a better move than 22 ... gxf5. From a practical perspective,
maybe it would have been slightly better, since now Black’s position remains
more intact.
Let’s analyze this variation briefly. 23 Nxg7 exchanges off Black’s
fianchettoed bishop, weakening the black king’s defenses. On 23 ... Kxg7 24
f4, White is hoping to play f5, attacking the pinned g6-pawn. After 24 ... Nc5
25 f5 Be8, Black is passive, but at least the kingside is relatively well
defended. The c8-knight could move to e7 soon, adding more defense to g6.
Engine analysis: however, on the 23rd move, the engine prefers 23 f4
instead.
This can be explained by the fact that there’s no hurry for White to
exchange off his knight for Black’s g7-bishop. The knight is quite active on
f5, and for the moment it’s too dangerous for Black to capture it with ... gxf5.
23 Rxg7+ Kxg7 24 Rg1+ Kf7
Engine analysis: 24 ... Kh8? is the same as the position reached in the 21
... Bxc6 variation, with the main difference being that here Black’s bishop is
on d7.
After 25 Ng5! fxg5 26 Qxg5, White threatens Qg7 mate, and Black has
no good defense.
Playing ... Rf7 would run into Qxd8+, while ... Rg8 is met with Qf6+.
However, notice how if Black’s bishop was on c6 instead of d7, Black could
defend with ... Rd7, covering the mate threat on g7. This reveals why 21 ...
Bxc6 would have been an improvement.
25 Qh5+ Ke6 26 Qxf5+ Kf7 27 Qh5+ Ke6 28 Qf5+ Kf7
Critical moment #4: At the moment, White is only attacking with his
queen and rook. So now he must decide how to continue the attack. Should
he keep on using just these two pieces, or should he bring the knight into the
game too?
29 Ng5+
29 Qxh7+ is a move that White could have played instead, grabbing a
pawn. But this would allow 29 ... Ke8, and now the problem is that the h3knight cannot immediately join the attack. Without the queen on f5 and
Black’s king on f7, the f6-pawn is not pinned (meaning that it prevents Ng5).
In the case of 30 Rg7, White is threatening Re7 mate, but Black can
quickly make room for his king to run: 30 ... Rb8 31 Re7+ Kd8, and the black
king is safe, for now.
Engine analysis: however, the engine points out that instead of playing 30
Rg7, White can play 30 Qh5+!.
After 30 ... Rf7 (not 30 ... Ke7? 31 Rg7+ Ke6 32 Qf5 mate) 31 Rg8+ Ke7
32 Rxd8, if Black’s king were to capture the d8-rook, then White’s queen
would take the black rook on f7.
29 ... Ke8 30 Ne6 Rf7 31 Rg7 Rc8 32 Rxf7 Kxf7 33 Ng5+ Ke7 34
Qxh7+ Kd8 35 Qh8+ Kc7 36 Qxf6
Critical moment #5: The dust has settled after a number of pieces and
pawns have been taken. At this point, it’s important for both players to
reassess the position and figure out a viable plan. Black’s king is safe, so the
game will no longer revolve around White trying to play for a checkmate. A
big plan for him is to instead push the h-pawn and hopefully promote it.
Therefore, Black’s main plan will be to try to resist this. Another plan for him
is to try to get counterplay against White’s king, although this is much easier
said than done.
36 ... Re8 37 h4 Nc5 38 h5 Ne6 39 h6 Nf8 40 b4 Nc8 41 Kd2 Ne7 42 h7
Nxh7
42 ... Nfg6 was an alternative, defending the h8-square with both the g6knight and e8-rook. But after 43 Nf7, White also has two pieces fighting for
h8, renewing the threat of promoting the pawn. In addition, White is now also
threatening Qxd6+, since the f7-knight controls d6 as well. Black has no
good way to meet both of White’s threats.
43 Nxh7 Nc8 44 Nf8 Re7 45 a3 Be8 46 Ne6+ Kd7 47 Ng7 Kc7 48 Nf5
Rd7 49 a4 Bf7 50 Kc3 Ba2 51 a5 Rf7 52 Qh6 Rd7 53 f4 exf4 54 Qxf4 Rf7
55 Qh6 Rd7 56 Qh2 Be6 57 Qh6 Bxf5 58 exf5 d5 59 Kd4 Nd6 60 Qf4 Kb7
61 Qe5 Nf7 62 Qe8 Kc7 63 Qa8 Kd6 64 Qf8+ Kc7 65 Qc5
White is threatening to take the a7-pawn with his queen, and the question
is whether Black can successfully defend the pawn. Based off the following
analysis, the answer is no.
65 ... Nd6
65 ... Kb7 66 a6+! Kb8 (66 ... Kc7 67 Qxa7+; 66 ... Kxa6? 67 Qxc6 mate)
67 Qxc6 sees White winning a pawn anyway, and Black’s king is in trouble.
66 Qxa7+ Kc8 67 Qa6+ 1-0
Step 5: Your final task will be to write 2-3 things you learned about the
game. This can often be accomplished by reflecting on what you learned
from a few critical moments of your choice. Although, some things you learn
can come from elsewhere in the game too.
Solution: What you learned - Game 3
Here is an example of three things which could be learned from this game.
1) Whenever possible, avoid moving the king while it’s still in the centre,
unless it is specifically beneficial to do so (references move 14).
2) When our king is in the centre, we should generally try to keep the centre
closed (move 20).
3) It’s important to recognize when the attack is over or fizzled out, and when
it’s time to create a new, viable plan (move 36).
Chapter Four
Creating an Opening Database
What do you think would happen if someone gave you a speech to memorize,
with the expectation that you would present it brilliantly in front of an
audience of knowledgeable peers? Yes, it’s possible that you could memorize
the speech word for word without even trying to understand what the speech
was about; however, if you blindly rattle off these words and sentences from
memory, you could easily miss a few words or mix up the order. Since you
didn’t take the time to understand the speech or its content, it would be a
much harder task for you to know where you went wrong. Further to that
point, after completing your speech, what if you had to take questions from
the audience? It would be pretty tough to reply intelligently about something
that you don’t fully understand. The same could easily be said for opening
lines in chess.
Everyone talks about learning theory, and the majority of chess books
nowadays deal with playing openings. But what is the importance of learning
opening theory? There are a few main benefits:
First of all, you can memorize more variations. The consequence of this is
that in your actual games, you’ll tend to know more often what the top engine
move is (compared to if you hadn’t learned theory). If you know more theory
than your opponent, this can translate to you effortlessly playing the best
moves, whilst your opponent must spend time thinking about what to do (and
often they will not play what the engine would). Of course, at some point you
will be out of book (i.e., deviating from opening theory), since it’s impossible
to learn every possible variation which could arise. But the point is that
booked up players will, on average, be able to play more engine moves than
their opponents, which can give them a real advantage.
However, memorizing specific moves in specific lines is by no means the
only benefit of studying opening theory. Another benefit of opening theory is
that you become exposed to the types of positions which can arise in your
opening of choice, and you also learn the types of moves which tend to work
in these positions. Then in your actual games, when you’re no longer in
theory, you might still be familiar with the typical moves and plans to
consider. While a given position may be new to you, it could share
characteristics of positions which you’ve studied before.
Therefore, although memorizing moves is useful, it’s paramount to not
only do this. You also want to understand why a move is favoured by your
engine or reference database. This understanding can then be translated over
into new positions which may arise in your games. On average, there are
something like 30 legal moves that can be made in a given chess position.
This means that after four moves from each side, there are roughly 308
resulting positions which could have arisen, or around 656 billion. To be fair,
if we only include the number of reasonable legal moves in our calculations,
this figure goes down significantly. But still, it’s a good indicator that on its
own, brute force memorization won’t get you very far in mastering the
opening.
A good way to understand moves and plans in your opening is to “ask”
the engine why it recommends the moves it does. By this, we mean that you
respond to the engine’s move with a move of your own, and then play against
the engine for a few moves. Then, the purpose of the engine’s
recommendation should become more evident to you. Another method to
decipher the mind of your engine is by playing its recommended move, and
then getting it to play against itself for a few moves. After doing this, go back
to the initial position, and instead of the engine’s move, play a move which
looks natural to you. Then, once again allow the engine to play against itself
for a bit. If you compare the position the engine reaches with the position it
reached after playing its recommended move in the initial position, you
should see a difference in the outcome. This can give you a good clue as to
why the engine made its recommendation. Normally this method works well,
but there are of course exceptions. For example, in some positions, the
benefit of an engine’s recommendation only becomes evident after 10 moves
or more. But such instances are few and far between, and most of the time an
engine’s idea becomes evident within something like 5-7 moves.
Another way to gain an understanding of your opening is to study model
grandmaster games. Doing this will expose you to even more positions and
structures which can arise and will show you the types of plans that should be
played. Note that it’s fine to study games which deviate from your opening
repertoire at some point. For example, if you find a nice game of Carlsen’s in
the Italian, but on move 10 he plays something different than you do, chances
are it’s still a very useful game to study. The pawn structure and placement of
the pieces are likely to remain similar. If we only studied games which
exactly matched up with our own opening repertoire, then we’d drastically
limit the pool of games we can learn from.
As for obtaining these model games, this can be done by going to some
position in your opening repertoire, and then searching your reference
database for games. If possible, you may want to study grandmaster games
which were played a few decades ago. The reason is that while grandmasters
have gotten stronger over time, their play has also become more concrete.
This means that the moves they play are often quite nuanced, and decoding
the purpose behind them can sometimes prove to be arduous. Comparatively,
the moves seen in grandmaster games from the past decades are often a bit
easier to understand, and they provide more clear-cut examples of how to
play typical positions/structures which can arise in your opening. This is
largely due to players of such eras lacking the technology of today, which
limited the complexity of their opening ideas. All this being said, it is still
good to study some games from the current era, as having a modern
perspective on your openings is important too. It’s simply that studying older
games can often be more efficient, especially if you’re trying to learn some of
an opening’s more fundamental principles.
Let’s start by asking if you already have an opening database that details
your opening lines for when you play with the White pieces and when you
play with the Black pieces. If not, we will help you get started by showing
you how to build your own opening database. If you already have an opening
database, it would be beneficial to review it by comparing it to our
suggestions, to ensure that your opening database is solid.
To build an opening repertoire on your own, a chess engine and reference
database are needed; you can also create it in consultation with your chess
coach. The purpose of the chess engine is to tell you which moves are
objectively the best ones. Meanwhile, the reference database can be used to
inform you about which moves are the most popular. This can be useful when
trying to anticipate which lines your opponents are more likely to play
against you. For example, if the engine suggests move A, but moves B and C
have been featured in more games, then it’s worth also studying B and C.
It’s also worth including some comments in your opening repertoire. For
example, in some positions you can outline what the general plans are. Or if
you’ve found some trap that your opponent could try, you could note it down.
Then, when you review your opening repertoire in preparation for a game or
tournament, you’ll be reminded of what to watch out for.
Start by building your opening repertoire with the main line and the more
popular variations by creating your own opening database using a chess
engine, reference database, and/or in consultation with your chess coach.
Your opening database should include your comments that will help you
remember why a certain move is important in this line. Once you have your
opening repertoire built, review it, and read the comments to ensure that you
understand the moves and the move order.
Now you can practice your opening repertoire by playing training games
with a friend or coach from a set position. Or, you can just play games on an
online chess platform, and then practice the opening whenever it comes up.
Also, once you have your opening repertoire set, it is good to review your
repertoire on a regular basis, and to update your lines. This is especially the
case if you learned something new about them during your tournament
games.
We will use both a chess engine like Stockfish and a reference database to
help us create our opening database. A reference database is the statistical
data on players’ games that show the most commonly played moves in a
given position. The way one can efficiently use these resources is through
some chess software. The typical choice of most serious players is
ChessBase. However, other software will work fine for what we’ll discuss in
this chapter. For example, Scid is a free alternative to ChessBase. In addition,
online chess sites like chess.com allow you to analyze with Stockfish and a
reference database. Using one of these sites is probably the easiest way to get
started on opening analysis if you’re new to it.
In case you decide to use ChessBase, here are some overall guidelines for
getting started:
1. First, in order to save your analyses, you’ll need to create a database. This
can be done by clicking the ‘New’ button (top left corner of the home page),
and then choosing a name and file destination for your database.
2. Now, let’s open a new board by clicking the ‘Board’ button.
3. From here, in order to access ChessBase’s online reference database, all
you need to do is press the ‘enter’ key. This will show you all the games that
have been played from the current position you’re analyzing.
4. As for using an engine, if you click on the ‘Add Kibitzer’ button, you
should see a Deep Fritz engine already available. This engine is fine to use,
but if you want to use Stockfish (the strongest engine), you’ll need to
download it yourself. There are many online tutorials for how to set up
Stockfish in ChessBase, and it should only take a few minutes.
5. Now try loading up an engine (‘Add Kibitzer’, then double click on one).
You should see 1-2 lines shown, with a decimal value to the left of each.
These are the top moves according to the engine, along with the evaluation it
gives them. An evaluation like ‘0.30’ means (roughly) that White is better by
30% of a pawn. If the evaluation is negative, then it’s in Black’s favour. If
you click on the magnifying button, the engine’s next top choice will be
shown. This can be useful if, say, you’re interested in knowing the top 3
moves rather than just the top 2.
6. Moving on, you can make arrows by pressing the ‘alt’ button, and then
doing a right-click drag from one square on the board to another. This can be
useful if you want to visually show what the general plans are in some
position (e.g., where certain pieces should go, etc.).
7. Now try making a move on the board, such as 1 e4. Then on the right, you
should see ‘1 e4’ written. If you double click on ‘1 e4’, you’ll be able to write
annotations. This can be useful if you want to record notes for yourself on a
given position.
8. Finally, let’s click on File -> ‘Save Game As’ to save the analysis in the
database we created from the first step. Then if we navigate back to the home
page, we should be able to click on the icon for our database and then open
the saved analysis. Note that if the database isn’t visible, you may need to
press the ‘Open’ button (top-left corner) and browse to where you saved the
database.
Now let’s move on to some guidelines to follow when creating an opening
database. These guidelines are independent of whichever chess software you
choose to use. All that’s required is an engine and a reference database.
Guidelines for creating an opening database
1. Compare the two sources (chess engine and reference database) and
evaluate their move recommendations in order to choose the move(s) to
include in your opening database.
2. If both the engine and the reference database indicate the same top move
and it seems like a solid move (e.g., it protects a pawn and allows a bishop to
develop), then it makes sense to choose this move to include in your opening
database.
3. If the engine recommends a move, but the reference database favours
another move, which one do we choose? Normally the engine can be trusted
to recommend the stronger move, considering that the current Stockfish is
rated over 3500.
4. Ideally, stop analyzing a line when your side has completed (or almost
completed) development. Also, if you were to then play this position in a real
game, you should be somewhat comfortable handling it. If your opponent is
in the middle of attacking you, or if you don’t know what your plan should
be, then it’s better to keep analyzing a bit more until you better understand
the position.
5. It’s generally a good idea to opt for lines that transpose into other lines
found in your opening repertoire, since this will cut down on your workload,
i.e., learning only 2-3 key lines vs. learning 5-6 different lines.
6. For sidelines, it makes sense to choose the move that is simpler and safer,
e.g., a move that would get our king out of the centre by castling.
7. In general, if you are just starting to learn a new opening, you should only
briefly study sidelines, and as long as you can figure out how to develop and
get into the middlegame, that should be sufficient.
8. In the opening repertoire, when you’re in a position where it’s your turn,
you should find one move that you’d be fine playing. Comparatively, if
you’re in a position where it’s the other side’s turn, you generally want to
analyze a few different moves they could play (unless only one move is
reasonable). The idea here is to try to be prepared for a wider array of lines
that your opponents could play against you.
We are now going to present an example of creating an opening database
using the above guidelines. Then, you can implement these guidelines to
create your own opening database specific to what you play.
Creating a Sample Opening Repertoire in the Italian
For this example, we’ll go through the process of creating an opening
repertoire in the Italian Game. We’ll start discussing which variations to
study by move 3, which may seem fairly basic for some readers. However,
the point of this is to simply outline the process of creating an opening
repertoire. We’ll be omitting some lines from this example, as the goal here
isn’t to give you a full opening repertoire on the Italian. Rather, our intention
is to show you some strategies when you create your own opening repertoires
(for any openings).
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4
Now let’s get started: In the current position, we’re trying to figure out
what moves to analyze for Black (our opponent). According to Stockfish, the
top two moves are 3 ... Nf6 and 3 ... Bc5. In my reference database, these two
moves are also the most popular continuations. So, most of our energy should
be devoted to them. There are other moves that are somewhat popular in the
database as well, such as 3…Be7, 3 ... h6, and 3 ... d6. If you’re just learning
a new opening, generally you shouldn’t study sidelines quite as much. Since
it’s less likely that you’ll face them in actual games, there’s not as much
value in knowing them as thoroughly as the main lines. For this example,
we’ll just cover 3 ... Nf6 here. In a complete opening repertoire, you’d also
include all/most of the other moves discussed above.
3 ... Nf6
Now we need to figure out what to play here as White. The engine’s top
move is 4 d3, and this is also the most popular one in the database. Since it
also seems like a solid move (it will protect the e4-pawn and allow the c1bishop to develop), it makes sense to choose it.
4 d3
Now Black’s three main moves in the database are 4 ... Bc5, 4…Be7, and
4 ... h6. As for sidelines, 4 ... d5 and 4 ... d6 have been featured in some
games, but they are clearly less popular than the other three moves. Once
again, the best course here would be to spend more time analyzing the main
moves (4 ... Bc5, 4 ... Be7, and 4…h6), and less time on the sidelines (4 ... d5
and 4 ... d6). For this example, we’ll just continue with 4 ... Bc5.
4 Ng5 is also a move the engine is fine with, and in the database it’s the
second most popular continuation. So it could be worth analyzing it for a few
moves, just in case this happens to be something we’d like to play instead of
4 d3. The main line runs 4 ... d5 5 exd5 Na5 6 Bb5+ c6 7 dxc6 bxc6 8 Be2 h6
9 Nf3 e4, and the engine gives an evaluation of around equal. This means the
position is definitely playable for White, but you shouldn’t only rely on what
the engine says. You should also ask yourself whether this is the kind of
position you’d like to play in a real game. White is up a pawn, but it’s pretty
clear Black is the one who has the initiative. For this example, we’ll just stick
with 4 d3 instead of going for this system.
4 Nc3 is also a fairly popular move here.
However, let’s use the reference database to look at the total number of
games from this position. Then, go to the previous position (right after Black
played 3 ... Nf6), and see how many games continued with 4 Nc3. You
should find that the first number is around 2-3x bigger than the second one.
Whenever there’s a big discrepancy like this, it means that the position you’re
in has been reached through other move orders too. To see what other move
orders were used, open some of the top games in this position after 4 Nc3.
For example, B.Savchenko-F.Vallejo Pons, Moscow 2016, reached this
position with: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bc4, which is the Four Knights
opening. Other games also feature this move order being used (as well as
some similar ones).
The point of doing all this digging is to make sure we’re not tricking
ourselves, by playing an opening that is different from the one we want to
play. In this example, we want to learn the Italian. So, we probably shouldn’t
be transposing into a main line of the Four Knights.
4 ... Bc5
Now the most played moves in my database are 5 c3, 5 0-0, and 5 Nc3 (in
descending order). For choosing which one we want to play, we can rule out
5 Nc3 fairly quickly, since we already know that putting the knight on c3 will
lead to some variation in the Four Knights. So it comes down to 5 c3 vs. 5 00. The engine is fine with both, so it’s more a question of which is safer and
easier for you to play in a real game. We could analyze both moves, but in
general if castling is a top move according to both the engine and reference
database, then it tends to be a safe bet. Spending a move to make the king
safer is usually a very good use of time.
5 0-0
Now in the database, the most popular moves are 5 ... d6 and 5…0-0. The
engine’s top two moves are 5 ... 0-0 and 5 ... d6, corresponding with our info
from the database. So, since we’d be most likely to face these moves in our
own games, most of our analysis should be spent on them. The fact that the
engine approves of them is all the more reason to do this.
A sideline to briefly consider might be 5…d5. This move is not nearly as
popular as the two aforementioned ones, but it still ranks as one of the top
tries here. It also looks like a forcing move, so it makes sense to at least know
how to punish it, should an opponent play it against us. The top line runs 6
exd5 Nxd5 7 Re1 0-0 8 Nxe5, winning a pawn. So, the reason 5…d5 is
dubious is because Black’s king is still in the centre, leaving him ill-equipped
to defend the e5-pawn.
Moving on, for the purposes of this example, we’ll once again focus on
only one of the main moves for Black: 5 ... d6.
5 ... d6
Now we’re looking for which move we should play as White. Compared
to the previous move, now we’re not looking for multiple moves to analyze.
Rather, we want to pick one that we’d be comfortable playing in a game. This
will depend on what we gather from the engine and the reference database; if
there are multiple good moves, then choosing which one would come down
to personal taste.
In this position, the database has 6 c3 as the clear favourite here. This
move is also liked by the engine, so it seems like a pretty straightforward
choice for us.
6 c3
Now the engine is fine with 6 ... 0-0, 6 ... a5, and 6 ... a6. In the database,
6 ... 0-0 and 6 ... a6 are at the top, with 6…h6 and 6…Bg4 trailing them. So,
our main focus should be on 6…0-0 and 6…a6, with 6…a5, 6…h6, and 6…
Bg4 being potential sidelines. For the purposes of this example, we’ll just
look at 6 ... 0-0 and 6…a6.
6 ... 0-0
Here the top moves in my database are 7 Bb3, 7 Nbd2, and 7 h3.
However, 7 Re1 is one of the engine’s top moves, and if we look at the top
games in the database, we see that 7 Re1 is represented more than its overall
popularity might indicate.
Generally in a situation like this, such a move may come as a surprise to
your opponents, since in their opening database, they might not devote too
much attention to a move that isn’t in the most played top three. In addition,
since the engine likes 7 Re1, we are also assured that it’s also a good move. If
you can play a strong move that also has surprise value, you should seriously
consider adding it to your opening repertoire.
Note though that in this specific position, the game is fairly quiet. So,
playing 7 Re1 instead of a move like 7 Bb3 isn’t going to be such a big deal.
In addition, while 7 Re1 isn’t in the top three most played moves, it has still
been played a decent amount. However, the main point we wanted to
illustrate was about selecting moves for a repertoire in general. Anyway, for
this example we’ll continue with 7 Re1.
6 ... a6
The top moves in the database are 7 Bb3 and 7 a4.
Stockfish is fine with a number of moves, including the above two, but
also 7 b4 and 7 Nbd2 (which have been played in the database as well, but
not to the extent of 7 Bb3 and 7 a4). So, a reasonable decision would be for
us to add either 7 b4 or 7 Nbd2 to our repertoire, since they appear to be both
strong and somewhat surprising moves.
On the other hand, 7 a4 is quite popular in the top games of the database.
If a move is popular amongst super-GMs, then it’s an indication of the
move’s robustness. These GMs obviously understand chess quite well, and
they tend to do a great deal of engine analysis in the opening. So, if many of
them are playing a given move, their support for it can generally be trusted.
In addition, Stockfish seems to like expanding on the queenside in
general, whether it be with a4 on this move or later. So, it’s a move we
probably want to play at some point anyway, which gives us even more
justification to opt for it now.
On 7 a4, the top engine moves for Black are 7 ... h6, 7 ... Ba7, and 7 ... 00.
In the database, these three moves are also the most popular. Since we’re
also going to be analyzing 6 ... 0-0 for this sample opening repertoire, let’s
skip 7 ... 0-0 here, as it seems reasonable that the lines could transpose.
Instead, we’ll just analyze 7 ... Ba7, since this seems like the move most
unique to 6 ... a6 (i.e., …a6 opens up the a7-square for the bishop).
After 7 ... Ba7, the top moves in the database are 8 Re1, 8 Nbd2, and 8
Na3. Stockfish is fine with a number of moves, some of which being 8 h3, 8
Re1, and 8 Be3. This 8 Be3 move seems interesting, since it offers to trade
bishops, right after Black has spent a tempo on ... Ba7. So, if our opponent
then plays ... Bxe3, they’ll have wasted time moving the bishop twice. It’s
also worth noting that while 8 Be3 has been played in the database, it’s not
particularly popular. This means that your opponent probably isn’t too
familiar with it, since they’ll have spent most of their energy on learning the
main moves (8 Re1, 8 Nbd2, etc.).
When we’re trying to find moves for our opponent to include in our
opening repertoire, we should try to find the most popular moves (since these
are what we’re most likely to face in a game). However, when we’re trying to
choose a move to play ourselves, often it’s useful to choose a rare move over
a popular move (as long as the engine is fine with it). This is because our
opponents won’t be as prepared for it, which can translate into a practical
advantage for us in a real game. If your opponent is out of book on move 8,
but you still know a few more moves of theory, then this means you get to
play like an engine for a few moves longer than your opponent (which can
sometimes be quite significant).
So let’s go with 8 Be3!?.
Now the top two moves are 8 ... 0-0 and 8 ... Bxe3. The former is the
more popular one in the database, but the engine prefers 8 ... Bxe3. This is a
case in point for what we were just discussing. It could be that most players
play 8 ... 0-0 because they haven’t studied the rare 8 Be3 that much, and so
they don’t know that 8 ... Bxe3 is a slightly stronger move here.
Anyway, since we’re on the 8th move and this is a somewhat important
variation, we’ll analyze both moves here. The game hasn’t progressed quite
enough for it to be ideal to stop analyzing (although you could if you
wanted).
a) 8 ... Bxe3 9 fxe3 0-0 10 Nbd2 Ne7 reaches a position where we should
stop analyzing.
The game is roughly equal, but depending on your style, this might be
easier to play as White. Since we’re entering the middlegame, it’s useful to
copy a model master game from the database, so that you have a rough
example of how to play this position. Such model games aren’t meant to be
memorized; rather, they could help convey general themes by playing
through them.
I found the game V.Nozdrachev-T.Fakhrutdinov, Serpukhov 2018, in my
database. It seems like a good choice, for three reasons:
1) White won the game.
2) The game was fairly recent.
3) The players were pretty high rated (both in the 2400s).
Of course, it’s not always necessary to meet each of these criteria, but they’re
just signs of a model game being good.
The game continued: 11 Nh4 Ng6 12 Nf5 c6 13 Qf3 d5 14 Ba2 Be6 15
exd5 cxd5 16 d4 e4 17 Qg3 b5 18 axb5 axb5 19 Nb3 Bxf5 20 Rxf5 Qc8 21
Rff1 Ra7 22 Bb1 Rxa1 23 Nxa1 Qc4 24 Qe1 Ra8 25 Nc2 h5 26 Nb4 h4 27
Bc2 Qc7 28 h3 Qd7 29 Qf2 Rd8 30 Ra1 Nh5 31 Bb3 Qb7 32 Qf5 Ng3 33
Bxd5 Nxf5 34 Bxb7 Nxe3 35 Bxe4 Nf4 36 Ra5 Nc4 37 Rxb5, and White was
up a pawn, going on to win over 20 moves later.
Again, we wouldn’t try to memorize everything from move 11 to now.
The point of including the moves from this game are just to give us examples
of what the general middlegame plans are for White and Black. Playing
through the game can also show us typical patterns that can arise in the
Italian, which may then be used consciously or subconsciously during real
games we play.
b) In the case of 8 ... 0-0, Stockfish slightly prefers 9 Bxa7. Meanwhile in the
database, 9 Nbd2 is close to three times as popular. So let’s go with the
former move (again, opting for continuations which are both strong and less
expected).
On 9 Bxa7, note that while White has now moved the dark-squared
bishop twice in order to carry out this exchange, Black will need to recapture
on a7 with his knight or rook.
In either case, that piece will then be misplaced, and will likely have to
spend a tempo to get back into the game. Here Stockfish slightly prefers 9 ...
Nxa7, while the more popular move in the database is 9 ... Rxa7 (by a fairly
wide margin).
Since we’re on the 9th move, let’s analyze each for only a few moves,
before possibly finding a model game:
b1) After 9 ... Rxa7 10 Nbd2, a good model game is S.KhaninO.Korneev, Chelyabinsk 2019. The players were both rated in the 2500s, and
the game was recent. While White didn’t win (the game was a draw), this is
fine; White played a good game, and his play is an instructive example of
how to play Italian middlegame positions.
The continuation was 10 ... Ra8 11 Re1 Ne7 12 d4 Ng6 13 a5 h6 14 Bf1
Re8 15 g3 Bg4 16 h3 Bxf3 17 Nxf3 c6 18 Bg2 Qc7 19 Qc2 Rad8 20 dxe5
Nxe5 21 Nh4 Re6 22 f4 Ned7 23 Nf5 Rde8 24 b4 h5 25 Rad1 g6 26 Nh4 Nf8
27 Kh2 Kg7 28 Re2 c5 29 Qd3 cxb4 30 cxb4, and White had a comfortable
advantage. The rest of the game went on for 38 more moves.
b2) On 9 ... Nxa7, not many games have reached this point; therefore,
we’ll just run through a sample line given by Stockfish.
The point of this isn’t necessarily to memorize specific moves; rather,
seeing Stockfish’s recommendation might give us insights into what White’s
general plans are.
After 10 Re1 c5 11 h3 Qc7 12 b4 cxb4 13 cxb4, Stockfish gives White a
small edge, but Black’s position is certainly playable. This line has showed
us how pushing b4 can be a viable idea in the Italian. Having a pawn on c3
was helpful in carrying out this plan, as it supported the b4-square. The c3pawn could also have been used to carry out a d4 push in some lines.
7 Re1
The top moves in my database are 7…a6, 7…h6, and 7…a5. The a-pawn
moves are also the ones most preferred by Stockfish. With an up to date
database, you might also notice that many of the top games continued here
with 7…a5, featuring super-GMs such as Ding, So, and Firouzja. This lends
more evidence to the belief that it’s a promising move.
In my database, the moves 7…Bg4 and 7…Be6 are less popular than the
aforementioned ones, coming in at 5th and 6th places respectively. However,
depending on your experience with the Italian, they may seem natural - after
all, they develop the bishop. If your instincts are drawn towards a certain
move that isn’t one of the very top tries in the database, it may be worth
analyzing it, if only as a minor sideline. If the engine then indicates the move
is a mistake, it could be instructive understanding why this is. It’s also
important to try and figure out how to punish the move, should an opponent
ever play it (or a similar idea) against you in a game.
For the purposes of this example, the only main move we’ll be
considering is 7 ... a5 (in a complete opening repertoire, you’d also analyze
7…a6 and 7…h6), along with the sidelines 7 ... Be6 and 7 ... Bg4.
7 ... a5
This move gains queenside space, which has the concrete benefit of
resisting any b4 pushes from White. The c5-bishop is also given an additional
retreat square on a7.
Here 8 h3 and 8 Nbd2 are the top moves, both in the database and
according to the engine. So either is fine to play; let’s go with the former.
If 7 ... Bg4?!, the engine’s evaluation has jumped up a bit for White, and
it now claims that White is better by close to half a pawn. On 8 h3, the
engine’s top recommendation is 8 ... Be6, but 8 ... Bh5 is chosen far more
often by players in the database. It wouldn’t make much sense for someone to
bring the bishop to g4, only to retreat it to e6 on the next move (in this kind
of position anyway - provoking the move h3 just helps White). Considering
we’re also going to be analyzing 7…Be6 in a moment, let’s just continue
with the move 8…Bh5 here.
Now the engine gives White close to a +1 advantage. Let’s see an
example of how it handles this position: 9 a4 a5 (something like 9 ... Re8
loses the bishop to 10 b4 Bb6 11 a5) 10 g4 Bg6 11 Bg5 h6 12 Bh4 Ba7 13
Nbd2, and White has a sizable advantage. He has aggressively gained
kingside space, blocking in Black’s light-squared bishop for the foreseeable
future. The bishop’s poor placement helps shed some light on why the engine
likes White’s position so much.
Now let’s move on to 7 ... Be6, the other 7th move sideline. We don’t
need to spend too much time on it, but it’s good to know how to punish this
move and gain an advantage. Although the engine is still okay with Black’s
position, it does give White a small but stable edge after 8 Bxe6 fxe6 9 b4
Bb6 10 a4 a6 11 Be3 Bxe3 12 Rxe3. White has gained a large amount of
queenside space fairly easily. His queen may soon play on that sector of the
board by moving to b3, where it will exert pressure on the weak e6-pawn.
8 h3
In this position, the engine suggests 8 ... h6 as best, and this is also the top
move in the database (with 8 ... Be6 coming in at a distant second). Another
move worth noting is 8…Ba7, which happens to be the engine’s second top
choice, as well as the third top choice in the database. So, these three moves
are all natural continuations to analyze. In an opening repertoire, you’d
probably pick 8…h6 as your main line, with the other two moves as sidelines.
For this example, we’ll just examine 8…h6 and 8…Be6.
8 ... h6
Here the most popular moves in my database are 9 Nbd2, 9 a4, 9 Bb5,
and 9 d4, in that order. Meanwhile, the engine gives 9 Bb5, 9 Nbd2, and 9 d4
as its top moves. So there are a number of good choices; how do we decide
which one to add to our repertoire?
As before, when picking moves for our side, we generally want more
engine approval and less popularity in the database. The engine doesn’t show
much of a difference in evaluation between 9 Bb5, 9 Nbd2, and 9 d4, so we
can essentially say they’re all around the same strength. As for the database,
9 Nbd2 is the most popular move by quite a bit, while 9 a4, 9 Bb5, and 9 d4
are in the same ballpark as each other. Finally, we could also factor in
personal taste: which move would you be most comfortable playing? This is
of course subjective, and will vary from player to player.
Just based off the info from the engine and database though, it seems we
should either choose 9 Bb5 or 9 d4. They’re both a top engine choice, and in
the database they’re not the most popular continuations. So, both moves
fulfill the ‘strength’ requirement, and they could be considered to potentially
have some degree of surprise value.
For this example, we’ll opt for 9 d4.
Before continuing with the 8…h6 main line, let’s analyze the sideline 8 ...
Be6.
Here 9 Bb5 and 9 Bxe6 are engine’s top moves. In the reference database,
9 Bb5 is the most popular, with 9 Bxe6 coming in behind it. Something worth
noting is that 9 Bb5 is the overwhelming favourite in the top games, which
suggests super-GMs believe it offers better practical chances to get an
advantage. Finally, my personal preference would be to avoid capturing on
e6, as doing so would open the f-file, and also give Black more central
control (due to gaining a pawn on the e6-square). Comparatively, by leaving
Black’s bishop alive on e6, it may become vulnerable to a fork if we
eventually push in the centre with d4.
I’ll opt for 9 Bb5. Although it’s true this move doesn’t have much
surprise value (it’s the most played one in this position), that’s okay. Whether
a move is a surprise is only one consideration to account for when deciding
whether to play it. If it so happens that the most popular move is better in
every other way, then there’s no shame in going for it. And besides, in this
position we’re going into the 9th move, so it’s likely our opponents are close
to being “out of book”, if they aren’t already.
So let’s go with 9 Bb5.
Now let’s run through sample continuations for Black’s most popular two
moves here:
a) 9 ... Ba7 10 Be3 Bxe3 11 Rxe3 Ne7 12 d4 saw White enjoying a slight
pull in M.Adams-M.Matlakov, Budva 2019. This encounter was between two
super-GMs, and it is a good model game: 12 ... Ng6 13 Nbd2 c6 14 Bf1 a4 15
b4 axb3 16 axb3 b5 17 b4 Qb6 18 Re1 h6 19 Qc2 Ra7 20 Rxa7 Qxa7 21 c4
bxc4 22 Nxc4 Bxc4 23 Qxc4, and a draw was agreed on move 30. The way
White fought back on the queenside against Black’s a-pawn advance was
instructive.
b) On 9 ... Ne7, a sample engine line continues 10 d4 Bb6 11 Bd3 Ng6 12
Be3, and White’s powerful centre gives him a small advantage. Once again
there happens to be a nice model GM game available for us: K.SychevD.Anton Guijarro, Skopje 2019, continued 12 ... h6 13 Nbd2 c6 14 a4 Re8 15
Qc2 Qc7 16 Rad1 Rad8 17 b3 Kh8 18 Nc4, and White had increased his
advantage by seizing more space (although the game ended up being agreed
to a draw on move 29).
9 d4
Here the engine’s top moves are 9…Ba7 and 9…Bb6, and these also rank
the highest in the database. 9…exd4 is a move that’s been played as well,
though not to the extent of the other two in my database. Captures tend to be
more “combative” moves, so it’s often a good idea to know how to face
them. Even if the engine says it’s a poor move, it’s good to know how to
punish it.
Since we’re approaching the middlegame stage, a reasonable course of
action is to analyze all three moves, but not in too much detail for any of
them.
9 ... Ba7
The top engine moves here are 10 Bb3 and 10 Be3. Let’s go for the
former.
9 ... exd4?! leads to an evaluation of over +1 for White. A sample line is
as follows: 10 cxd4 Bb4 11 Nc3 Re8 12 Bd3 d5 13 e5, and White has a clear
advantage. The d4-e5 pawn wedge gives him superiority in the centre, and
Black’s king is about to become more vulnerable, since the defender on f6 is
being kicked out.
If 9 ... Bb6, the game M.Carlsen-H.Nakamura, online (rapid) 2021, is a
nice example of how to handle this position: 10 Be3 (in previous variations
we have seen how Be3 is a good way to support the d-pawn, if it has been
pushed to d4).
10 ... exd4 11 cxd4 d5 12 exd5 Ne7 13 Nc3 Nexd5 14 Qd2 c6 15 Bxh6!?
(15 Rad1 is also possible, playing more quietly; White may follow up on the
next move with Ne5, continuing to build up his position in the centre) 15 ...
gxh6 16 Qxh6 Bf5? (16 ... Nh7! was necessary to maintain the balance) 17
Re5 Bg6 18 Rg5 Nh7 19 Rg4 Re8 20 Nxd5 cxd5 21 Bd3, and White’s attack
was proving to be decisive; Carlsen won the game on move 31.
10 Bb3 Re8 11 Bc2 Bd7
Here a good model game is J.Burke-J.Xiong, Saint Louis 2021, which
continued as follows:
12 a4 Qc8 13 Be3 exd4 14 Bxd4!? Nxd4 15 cxd4 c5 16 e5 Nd5 17 Qd3
g6 18 Bb3 Nf4 19 Qe4 Ne6 20 Qh4 c4 21 Nc3 dxe5 22 Qxh6 Bc6 23 d5
cxb3 24 Ne4 Qd8 25 dxe6
And Black resigned. A nice attacking game from GM Burke. A
noteworthy point is how White’s light-squared bishop switched back and
forth between b3 and c2. In the Italian, this bishop can often be useful on
either diagonal, depending on the circumstances.
Exercises on Analyzing and Understanding Positions
The following exercises use positions which are in our sample Italian
repertoire. For the exercises, you are allowed to use an engine and a reference
database. The idea is to simulate what you would do if you came across a
position in your opening repertoire that you wanted to understand more. For
example, maybe you’re curious about why the engine recommends a certain
move instead of a different one. Or, perhaps you want to understand what the
plans are behind a move (either for you or your opponent). Putting in the
analysis work to understand individual moves (which you initially may find
puzzling) is a great way to build your understanding of an opening as a
whole. Often tidbits of knowledge you gain in one position can be easily
translated to other similar positions in the same opening.
Exercise 1
Exercise: Black has just played 6 ... a6, which is a good move with a few
different purposes. One of these purposes is to potentially eliminate White’s
c4-bishop. How might Black go about this in the near future, and how does ...
a6 help him?
Exercise 1: Answer
Answer: Besides creating a retreat square for the c5-bishop on a7, Black
would also like to exchange off White’s nice light-squared bishop. The move
... a6 controls the b5-square, which means that if ... Na5 is played at some
point, the c4-bishop won’t be able to sidestep the attack by shuffling to b5.
Explanation of how to arrive at this answer via analysis:
During opening analysis, often a good way to ascertain the opponent’s
plan(s) is to make quiet moves for your side’s pieces. The goal is to see what
the engine/reference database wants to play for your opponent, if you were to
basically do nothing. To that end, let’s go with the move 7 Re1 here:
7 Re1
Now for Black let’s pick the top moves in the database, while for White
we deliberately choose quiet moves.
7 ... Ba7 8 Nbd2 0-0 9 Nf1
Now the engine recommends 9 ... Na5, which is also the top move in the
database.
9 ... Na5!
Suddenly, it’s apparent that the c4-bishop cannot escape being captured.
Thanks to the a6-pawn, the move Bb5 is impossible here. While this position
still isn’t that bad for White (Stockfish is fine with going for 10 Bb3 Nxb3 11
axb3 here), things are definitely not so terrible for Black either. All things
being equal, in the Italian White should generally try to avoid exchanging the
light-squared bishop for a knight so easily.
Exercise 1: Conclusion
Now that we know ... Na5 is a move Black would like to play at some
point, it’s evident why White would want to play 7 a4 or 7 Bb3 here. For 7
a4, a potential ... Na5 could be met with Ba2. And for 7 Bb3, ... Na5 will be
met with Bc2.
In our sample Italian repertoire, the move we selected was 7 a4. Besides
freeing up a2 as a potential retreat square for the bishop, 7 a4 also gains
queenside space while employing prophylaxis against a ... b5 push.
7 a4
Exercise 2
In exercise 1, we figured out a major reason behind White playing 7 a4 or
7 Bb3 in this position. For the purposes of this new exercise though, let’s
return to the 7 Re1 variation, which we analyzed in exercise 1.
7 Re1
Exercise: In our analysis for Exercise 1, we saw how Black played ...
Na5 only after ... Ba7 and ... 0-0 were played. Why is this the case?
Exercise 2: Answer
7 Re1
Answer: If Black plays ... Na5 without ... Ba7, then White can counter
with b4. And if Black plays ... Ba7 but refuses to castle, then there is an
interesting idea White has with capturing on f7.
Explanation: Let’s take a look at 7 ... Na5 here, as well as 7 ... Ba7
followed by 8 ... Na5:
7 ... Ba7
7 ... Na5? is a mistake, as Stockfish gives 8 b4 Nxc4 9 bxc5, with an
advantage of roughly +1 for White. The bishop must be moved off c5 first.
8 Nbd2 Na5
This is a better continuation for Black than the 7 ... Na5 variation. But
with the black king still on e8, it’s favourable for White to play 9 Bd5, which
is one of Stockfish’s top moves.
9 Bd5
Now let’s consider 2 ways for Black to go after the d5-bishop.
9 ... c6
This appears to force the d5-bishop back, which will allow the a5-knight
to capture it. But now the engine uncorks a nice shot for White.
9 ... Nxd5 might seem good for Black, since he’s managed to achieve his
goal of eliminating the light-squared bishop. But on 10 exd5, Stockfish gives
White an edge. Due to the d5-pawn controlling c6, White is threatening to
win the a5-knight with b4 (as ... Nc6 is ruled out). So, Black must play a
move like 10 ... b5, enabling the knight to retreat to b7.
After 11 a4 0-0 12 b4 Nb7 13 d4, it’s perhaps a bit more apparent why
Stockfish likes White here. The minor pieces on b7 and a7 are badly
misplaced, and White has the initiative in the centre and on the queenside.
10 Bxf7+! Kxf7 11 b4.
White is currently down a bishop for a pawn, but he’s about to recover
the material by winning the a5-knight (which cannot retreat to c6, due to
Black’s 9 ... c6 move). Since Black’s king has also lost castling privileges, he
will have to spend a couple of moves to hand castle (e.g., ... Re8 and ... Kg8).
Thus, it’s fairly clear why the engine slightly prefers White here. Note that if
Black had castled earlier, then this Bxf7+ idea wouldn’t be as powerful. The
king would already be tucked away on g8, and Black’s rook would be on f8,
ready to capture the f7-bishop.
Exercise 2: Conclusion
7 Re1
Our analysis has showed us why ... Ba7 and ... 0-0 should be played
before a potential ... Na5. Given this, one might ask why White bothers
playing 7 a4 immediately here. Why not play other moves, and only push a4
(or play Bb3) once Black has played ... Ba7 and ... 0-0?
While this is certainly possible to do, it’s worth considering if there’s
much of an upside in delaying a4. It’s probably a move White will want to
play at some point anyway; even if Black doesn’t threaten to snare the bishop
with ... Na5, a4 is a good move since it begins seizing queenside space. So, it
makes sense to just play 7 a4 now. Generally, if there’s a good move that will
be useful in a wide number of scenarios, and if there’s nothing more critical
we need to attend to (such as our king being attacked), then we should play
this move.
Exercise 3
Exercise: In this position it is White to play, and the move we picked for
the sample repertoire was 8 h3. What’s the point of playing this, instead of
just the immediate 8 d4?
Exercise 3: Answer
Answer: The main purpose of h3 is to rule out any ... Bg4 ideas. In the
current structure, ... Bg4 wouldn’t be particularly good. However, if we play
d4 soon, then the move ... Bg4 could be annoying, since it will attack the f3knight (which provides key support to d4).
Explanation: To see the point of including a move in a variation, a good
method is to analyze the variation without this move. The absence of it
should result in some drawback, and this will tell us why the move is useful.
8 d4
In our repertoire we tended to push d4 soon after 8 h3, so let’s see what
happens if we play d4 right now.
8 ... Bb6
Now we’ll consider a few moves for White here.
9 Be3?!
This is better than 9 Nbd2 and 9 d5, but still not that great. Now the
engine’s top recommendation for Black is 9 ... Bg4.
9 Nbd2? is an obvious mistake, since now Black snags the d4-pawn with
9 ... exd4 10 cxd4 Nxd4 11 Nxd4 Bxd4.
9 d5? appears relatively innocuous, but this is already quite bad for
White. After something like 9 ... Ne7 10 Be3 Bxe3 11 Rxe3 Ng4 12 Re1 f5,
Black is seizing the initiative.
This type of King’s Indian pawn structure is not favourable for White
here. Black has exchanged off his bad dark-squared bishop, while White still
has a bad bishop of his own (which is currently struggling to find a useful
role on c4).
9 h3 is the engine’s top move, and it’s the only continuation which
doesn’t leave White at a disadvantage. However, our goal was to discover the
bad consequences of excluding h3, so we won’t analyze this variation.
9 ... Bg4
This is pretty unpleasant for White, as the d4-pawn is attacked by three
pieces, and one of its defenders (the f3-knight) is pinned.
Note that 9 ... Nxe4? would win a pawn but would be a mistake, since
after 10 d5 Bxe3 11 Rxe3, both knights are attacked. On 11 ... Nxf2 12 Kxf2
Ne7, Black has some compensation for being down two pawns for a piece,
but not enough to claim full equality.
Now after 9…Bg4, let’s examine 10 h3 and 10 d5 for White:
10 d5
White’s best continuation, allowing the d-pawn to escape being attacked
on d4. However, this isn’t really a move White wants to play in this position.
10 h3? loses a pawn to 10 ... Bxf3 11 Qxf3 (11 gxf3 is even worse, as
White’s castle is destroyed - Black can follow up with 11 ... d5!, seizing a
very strong initiative) 11 ... exd4 12 cxd4 Bxd4 13 Bxd4 Nxd4, and Black is
clearly on top.
10 ... Bxe3 11 Rxe3 Ne7 12 Bd3 c6 13 dxc6
Or 13 c4 b5!, undermining the c4-d5 pawn chain.
13 ... bxc6
Black has the slightly better game. He has more centre pawns, his bishop
has greater activity than White’s bishop, the e3-rook is a bit misplaced, etc. If
it weren’t for the bishop on g4, there wouldn’t have been nearly as much
pressure compelling White to push d5, as the d4-pawn would have been
much more securely defended.
Exercise 3: Conclusion
From our analysis, we figured out that the main purpose of h3 is to stop
Black from countering a d4 push with ... Bg4. A secondary purpose might be
to stop any ... Ng4 tricks Black has (attacking the f2-pawn, and possibly
trying to advance the f7-pawn); this wasn’t a big topic of our analysis, but …
Ng4 did come up at the end of the 9 d5? variation.
In this exercise and the previous ones, the knowledge we gained consisted
of fairly general ideas in the Italian; meaning, our knowledge can potentially
be transferred to other positions and variations of the Italian. For example,
this idea of playing h3 in order to push d4 without ... Bg4 comes up in other
lines, not just this one position. Similarly, exercise 1 demonstrated that when
Black plays ... a6 in the Italian, often the immediate idea is to try to snare
White’s c4-bishop with ... Na5.
Note though that sometimes knowledge about a position can only really
be applied to that specific position, and not more generally to the opening it’s
a part of. For example, if you’re in a position which is well into the
middlegame, and the typical pawn structures of the opening are no longer
present, then there’s probably not much you can learn about the opening
itself.
Chapter Five
Will to Win: Essential Endgames
It’s surprising the number of people who automatically think that the
strongest chess player in a tournament is practically guaranteed to win. If that
were true, then why would anyone ever organize or ever play in tournaments?
We should just directly give the 1st place prize to the highest rated chess
player who enters the tournament without even having to move a single chess
piece. Of course, this is ridiculous.
What is the difference between two players who are similar in playing
strength? Can we automatically assume the outcome will be a draw? First of
all, we don’t know what is going on in our opponent’s life. Rarely, do any of
us live such a singularly-focussed life that we can block out all our
responsibilities, all our work or school demands, all our relationship woes, all
the items on our to-do list that have been overlooked for weeks, all our - well
you get the idea. Life tends to interrupt us at the best times and also at the
worst of times because well, that is what life just does. So when you are
about to play the next round of a tournament and your opponent is higher
rated or lower rated or similarly rated, other than making sure that you have
done your best to prepare for this game and that you are mentally and
physically ready to do battle for the next 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours or more,
other than have all this basic foundational readiness, tell us, how badly do
you want to win?
There is an instructive tale which involves a starving lion that has not
eaten for days, and he chances upon a dog. A desperate chase ensues. The
lion chases the dog up the winding road, across the perilous river, through the
darken tunnel, but alas, the dog gets away. A bystander, dumbfounded, turns
to the heavily panting lion and asks, “How is it possible that the dog
escaped?” To which the lion replies, “It was just lunch to me, but to the dog,
it meant his life”.
You can train for hours and hours each week by doing tactics each and
every day, by critically analyzing your games, by playing training games, and
so forth. But, if you don’t have a deep desire to win - deeper than your
opponent’s - then you may be as stuck as that hungry lion that sits and
wonders time and time again, “How did I let yet another dog escape?”
Do you let up when you are ahead in material, thinking this game is over
and that you have basically won? Remember, the game is not over until you
checkmate your opponent or until your opponent resigns. Don’t let your
guard down for one single moment, as the game is not over yet and your
opponent will do anything to fight to stay alive. If you get mentally tired and
want to cut short your calculations, don’t. Push through it and finish the full
calculation, as that is the riskiest time for when you might let your guard
down, leaving you at your most vulnerable to the opponent’s counterplay.
Say to yourself that it is imperative you win this game, and then play that
way. Otherwise, if you think it’s just another game (compared to your
opponent who might want to win much, much more than you), then guess
who’s more likely to achieve the win (or sneak in a draw from a lost
position).
Some of the following examples can help you understand so-called
theoretical draws. It is important not to mentally stop playing with all your
might, and automatically chalk it up as a draw. It is equally vital to actually
learn how these positions can be secured for the draw. There will be cases
where you want the draw, so you need to play precisely. And then there will
be other times when knowing the technique better than your opponent will
enable you to spot an opportunity to change the draw to a win for you. Either
way, you have to know what to do and what to be on high alert for to avoid
being unpleasantly surprised by a change from a so-called “theoretical draw”
to a heartbreaking loss for you.
The endgames in this chapter are intended to teach a few things.
1. It gives a solid foundation of some key endgames which are useful to
know. Some readers may already be familiar with many of the endgames in
this chapter; but even if this is the case, there may be still some techniques
we discuss which you were unaware of. For example, in our coverage of the
Philidor endgame, additional defensive techniques are discussed (which
could be used out of choice or pure necessity).
2. Try to notice how more complex endgames can simplify into simpler
ones. Understanding the evaluation of a simpler endgame (and how to play it)
can inform you on whether you should simplify down into it. For example,
the Philidor endgame (K+R+P vs. K+R) sometimes simplifies into an
opposition endgame (K+P vs. K). There are also many complex rook
endgames which have the potential to simplify into a Philidor.
3. In some of the example games we’ll look at, the endgame will be
“objectively drawn”, but the attacking side will be pressing for a win for a
long time. Meanwhile, the defending side will remain vigilant for the whole
game, and consistently display accurate defense. This is a good style of play
to emulate in your own games, whether you’re the attacking or defending
side in an endgame that’s technically equal, but maybe easier and more
pleasant for one of the sides to play.
Wrong Coloured Bishop
Here is the first example endgame we’ll examine. If you’re familiar with
the “wrong-coloured bishop” endgame, then the next move may be obvious
to you. Otherwise, it’ll probably come as a surprise.
1 ... Bxg4! 2 Kxg4
This position is a theoretical draw, and quite an easy one at that. Since
White has a side pawn, and his bishop can’t control the pawn’s queening
square (h8), White is unable to win. If White’s pawn was on any of the other
files, this endgame would be a win. For the g-file to the b-file, those aren’t
side files (and so it doesn’t matter whether the bishop controls the queening
square). And for the a-file, the bishop would control the a8-square.
2 ... Kg7 3 h4 Kh8 4 Kg5 Kg7 5 h5 Kh8
Black’s “strategy” is simply to move the king, and then move it back to
h8. Repeat indefinitely until a draw is reached via the 50 move rule,
stalemate, or agreement.
6 h6 Kh7 7 Bc2+
7 Kh5 Kh8 8 Kg6 is stalemate.
7 ... Kh8 8 Kg6 Kg8
9 Bb3+
9 h7+ is answered with 9 ... Kh8, and now White’s king must move off g6
in order to avoid stalemating Black. After something like 10 Kh5, Black just
plays ... Kg7- ... Kh8. White cannot stop ... Kh8, as he has no way to control
the h8-square. As for ... Kg7, White could easily stop this move if he wants,
but then Black’s king will be stalemated on h8. 10 ... Kg7 11 Kg5 Kh8 12
Kf4 Kg7 13 Ke5 Kh8 14 Ke6 Kg7 15 Ke7 Kh8 16 Kf8 stalemate.
9 ... Kh8 10 Kg5
Maintaining the status quo with 10 Bc4 is a stalemate.
10 ... Kh7 11 Kh5 Kh8
And White cannot make any progress. The reasoning behind this wrongcoloured bishop endgame being a draw may make more sense now. None of
White’s pieces can ever control the h8-square, which means once the king
moves off h8, it can immediately move back there on the next move.
White could try controlling squares the king can move to from h8 instead
(g8, g7, h7). If he does this, there are two scenarios:
1) At least one of g8, g7, or h7 is left unguarded, allowing Black to move
the king there, and then go back to h8, keeping White at an impasse.
2) Or if all of g8, g7, and h7 are covered, then Black’s king is simply
stalemated on h8. Once again, a draw is reached.
V.Korchnoi-A.Karpov
World Championship, Baguio City, 1978
72 Ke6
This game was played in the 1978 world championship, between
Korchnoi (the challenger) and Karpov (the newly-crowned world champion
at the time). Due to all the off-board drama, many agree that this was the
most infamous (and entertaining) world championship of all time. But for our
purposes, we’re just interested in the endgame that was played in game 5.
Here White is up a bishop for a pawn. He can easily win both of Black’s
pawns, but the dilemma is that this will reach the wrong coloured bishop
endgame. The d6-bishop is on the dark squares, and thus it doesn’t control
the a3-pawn’s queening square (a8). So, White’s hope of winning lies in
trying to leave the b-pawn alive. Then, if White manages to stalemate the
black king, zugzwang would force the b-pawn to march to b4 (running into
axb4). Another idea for White is to drive the black king away from the
queenside, and then try to win the queenside pawns before the king runs back
to a8. Although the current position is a tablebase draw, this by no means
implies it is easy to demonstrate in a practical game. Even Stockfish gives an
evaluation of almost +2 for White here, meaning that it believes there’s a
better chance of Black losing than drawing. Both players deserve some credit
for how they handled the rest of this game. Korchnoi pressed for a long time,
trying to use all his chances to edge out a win. He only stalemated his
opponent after playing all his cards. Meanwhile, Karpov defended accurately
for over 50 moves, never once dropping his vigilance.
72 ... Ka7 73 Kd7 Kb7 74 Be7 Ka7 75 Kc7 Ka8 76 Bd6
76 Kxb6?! would make things way easier for Black. Now he just has to
pass with his king in the corner. For example, 76 ... Kb8 77 Bd6+ Ka8 78
Kb5 Kb7 79 Ka5 Ka8 80 Kb5 Kb7 81 Kxa4 Ka8 is a draw.
76 ... Ka7 77 Kc8
Korchnoi prepares some stalemate ideas, setting up his first trap.
77 ... Ka6!
The only move.
77 ... Ka8? loses to 78 Bb8, when Black is forced to push his b-pawn.
This leads to checkmate after 78 ... b5 79 Kc7 b4 80 axb4 a3 81 b5 a2 82 b6
a1Q 83 b7 mate.
77 ... b5? is also losing, although things are a bit trickier than in the 77 ...
Ka8 variation. On 78 Kc7:
a) 78 ... Ka8 79 Bc5 stalemates the black king yet again, forcing 79 ... b4
80 axb4 a3 81 b5 a2 82 b6 a1Q 83 b7 mate.
b) 78 ... Ka6 79 Bb4 Ka7 80 Bc5+ Ka6 sees White beginning to weave a
net. Now he must decide where to move his king:
b1) 81 Kb8? lets the win slip away after 81 ... b4! 82 Bxb4 (or 82 axb4 a3
83 Kc7 a2 84 Bd4 Kb5 85 Bc3 a1Q 86 Bxa1 Kxb4) 82 ... Kb6, with a draw.
White’s king can work its way around Black’s king to win the a4-pawn, but
then Black can put his king in the a8-corner (which as we know is a draw).
b2) 81 Kc6! is more accurate. Now matters are concluded following 81 ...
Ka5 82 Bd4! Ka6 (82 ... b4 leads to the same thing after 83 Bb6+ Ka6 84
axb4) 83 Bb6, with yet another stalemate of the black king. Forced is 83 ... b4
84 axb4 a3 85 b5 mate.
78 Kb8
78 ... b5!
Great technique. With the pawn on b5, ... b4 is a threat. Since then after
Bxb4, there would be no danger in Black’s king getting stalemated, since
zugzwang becomes a nonfactor (Black’s only other piece, the a4-pawn, will
be unable to move as well). This forces White’s bishop to sit on b4,
restricting what White can try.
78 ... Kb5? is losing, although White must show accuracy to prove it. On
79 Kb7 Kc4 (or 79 ... Ka5 80 Bc7 Kb5 81 Bxb6 Kc4 82 Kc6), White has the
option to capture on b6 right away. Should he do it?
a) No, 80 Kxb6? is a mistake. Now on 80 ... Kd5 81 Bg3 (81 Bb4 also
leads to a draw, as 81 ... Ke6 82 Kc6 reaches a similar position to the one
seen on move 108 of the game) 81 ... Ke6 82 Kb5 Kd7 83 Kxa4 Kc8 84 Kb5
Kb7 85 a4 Ka8, Black’s king makes it back to a8, securing the draw.
b) The only path to a win is with the fantastic 80 Kc6!!. White uses his
king to control d5, preventing Black’s king from running along the route to
a8 via d5-e6-d7-c8-b7-a8. White will only move his king from c6 when he
can win Black’s pawns at a faster rate. This is seen in the following
variations:
b1) 80 ... b5 81 Bc5 b4 (81 ... Kd3 82 Kxb5 Ke4 83 Kxa4 Kd5 84 Kb5
Ke6 85 Kc6 also wins for White) 82 Bxb4 (not 82 axb4?, since 82 ... a3
forces White to play something like 83 Be7 a2 84 Bf6 in order to prevent the
pawn from queening - but this allows 84 ... Kxb4) 82 ... Kd4 is met with 83
Bd6!, another only move. White’s bishop transfers on to the h2-b8 diagonal,
which will become crucial soon. After 83 ... Ke4 84 Kb5 Kd5 85 Bg3 Ke6, if
you compare this position to move 81 of the 80 Kxb6 variation, you’ll notice
that the only difference is White’s king being on b5 instead of b6. This means
White is ahead 1 tempo here, since the king is able to capture the a4-pawn
immediately. Following 86 Kxa4 Kd7 87 Kb5 Kc8 88 Ka6, White’s king and
bishop control b7 and b8 respectively, preventing the black king from
reaching a8. After 88 ... Kd7 89 Kb7, White’s pawn is about to march up the
board, and Black is helpless to prevent it.
b2) 80 ... Kd4 should be met with a move like 81 Bg3 (not 81 Kxb6? Kd5
82 Bg3 Ke6 83 Kb5 Kd7, and White is a tempo too slow to cut off the black
king), aiming to save a tempo once the black king moves to d5, since then it
won’t attack the bishop. Following 81 ... Kc4 82 Kxb6 Kd5 83 Kb5 Ke6 84
Kxa4 Kd7 85 Kb5 Kc8 86 Ka6, White is once again just in the nick of time.
79 Bb4
79 Kc7 makes it easy for Black after 79 ... b4 80 Bxb4 (or 80 axb4 Kb5
81 Be7 a3 82 Bd6 a2 83 Be5 Kxb4) 80 ... Ka7 81 Bc5+ Ka8, and now the
king just has to stay in the corner, and White can do nothing.
79 ... Kb6 80 Kc8 Kc6 81 Kd8!
Korchnoi gives Karpov a chance to go wrong with 81 ... Kb7. When
trying to press for a win in endgames/positions which are objectively drawn,
it’s important to “allow” your opponent to make mistakes. After all, the only
way to win a drawn endgame is if the opponent goes wrong somewhere.
81 ... Kd5!
Again, Black is wary of White’s tricks. It’s generally better to assume
your opponent has some good idea behind each of their moves. Sure, you’ll
be wrong sometimes, but a false positive isn’t that detrimental here.
Comparatively, a false negative could have dire consequences; e.g., your
opponent plays an innocuous looking move, you play a move “on default
mode” in return, and suddenly you’ve walked into some trap.
81 ... Kb7? will lose after a number of moves. One sample line is as
follows: 82 Kd7 Kb6 83 Kd6 Kb7 84 Bc5 Kc8 85 Bb6 Kb7 86 Kc5 Kc8 87
Kc6 Kb8 88 Ba5 Ka8 89 Kc7 Ka7 90 Bb6+ Ka8 91 Bc5, and finally the b5pawn is forced to advance, allowing axb4.
82 Ke7 Ke5 83 Kf7 Kd5 84 Kf6 Kd4 85 Ke6 Ke4 86 Bf8
Now the bishop can move off b4, since due to the placement of the kings,
... b4 can be safely met with axb4.
86 ... Kd4
For example, 86 ... b4? 87 axb4 a3 88 b5 a2 89 Bg7. White stops the
black pawn from queening, while Black’s king is unable to reach the white
pawn.
87 Kd6 Ke4 88 Bg7 Kf4 89 Ke6
89 Be5+ Ke4 90 Bh2 is an idea White would like to play. We saw this
back in the 78 ... Kb5? variation. The idea is to control the b8-square, so that
if White’s king takes the pawns and Black’s king runs back to the corner,
White may be able to cut off the king.
However, Black has a few ways to hold here. Unlike what we’ve seen
earlier, here Black’s king has already reached the e4-square. Thus, one option
is moving to f5, preparing to quickly run to a8 via e6-d7-c8-b7-a8.
Another option is capitalizing on the b-pawns advanced position, as it’s
on b5 instead of b6. If Black plays 90 ... Kd4, then the king is close enough
for ... b4 to be a serious drawing threat.
Let’s take a look at both of these methods:
a) 90 ... Kf5 91 Kc6 Ke6 92 Kxb5 Kd7 93 Kxa4 Kc8 94 Kb5 Kb7, and
Black is in time.
b) 90 ... Kd4 91 Kc6 runs into 91 ... b4. After 92 axb4 a3 93 b5 a2 94 Kd6
a1Q 95 Be5+, White skewers the new queen, but Black is just in time to
capture the pawn following 95 ... Kc4 96 Bxa1 Kxb5, reaching a draw.
89 ... Kf3 90 Ke5 Kg4 91 Bf6 Kh5 92 Kf5 Kh6
White’s latest attempt at winning this endgame is to stalemate Black’s
king in this corner of the board. However, White has no way to force this meaning that the b5-pawn will never have to advance due to a zugzwang.
93 Bd4 Kh7 94 Kf6 Kh6 95 Be3+ Kh5 96 Kf5 Kh4 97 Bd2 Kg3 98 Bg5
Kf3 99 Bf4 Kg2 100 Bd6 Kf3 101 Bh2 Kg2 102 Bc7
It might seem like White is just wasting time now, and to a certain extent
that’s true. But in endgames like these where time isn’t a factor, drawing
things out can be beneficial. Making your opponent play more moves gives
them more chances to go wrong.
102 ... Kf3
103 Bd6
103 Bh2! was maybe a move White should have tried. It’s similar to Bd6,
except here the bishop won’t be attacked with tempo, should Black’s king run
back to a8 in some lines. For example:
a) 103 ... Ke3? is met with 104 Ke5 Kd3 105 Kd5 Ke3 (105 ... b4 also
loses to 106 axb4 a3 107 b5 a2 108 Be5) 106 Kc5 Ke4 107 Kxb5. Now on
107 ... Kd5, Black wants to play ... Kc6 after Kxa4. But White can waste a
move, using zugzwang to force the king off d5. After 108 Bg3! Ke6 109
Kxa4 Kd7 110 Kb5 Kc8 111 Ka6, we’ve reached a familiar type of position,
where Black’s king is cut off from a8. White wins.
b) 103 ... Kg2! is the only move which draws, as it prevents the bishop
from watching the h2-b8 diagonal from a distance on h2. Karpov would have
most likely been able to find this, but nevertheless it’s always a good idea to
force your opponent to find only moves (if it doesn’t hurt you whatsoever).
Had Karpov met 103 Bh2 with 103 ... Kg2, Korchnoi could have then just
repeated the position with 104. Bc7 Kf3, and then proceeded to continue as
he did in the game. 104 Bd6 (104 Bc7 Kf3 transposes to the game, as
mentioned) 104 ... Kf3 105 Ke5 Kg4! (105 ... Ke3? 106 Kd5 Kf3 107 Kc5
Ke4 108 Bh2 Kf5 109 Kxb5 Ke6 110 Kxa4 Kd7 111 Kb5 Kc8 112 Ka6 wins)
holds the draw - the king prepares to run to a8 via f5. After 106 Kd5 Kf5 107
Bh2 Kf6 108 Kc5 Ke7 109 Kxb5 Kd7 110 Kxa4 Kc6, White is one tempo too
short to stop Black.
103 ... Ke3 104 Ke5 Kf3 105 Kd5 Kg4 106 Kc5 Kf5 107 Kxb5
But now White more or less gives up, admitting Black has secured a
draw. With the b5-pawn gone, there won’t be any dangerous zugzwangs
arising if Black’s king gets stalemated. So all Black has to do now is make
sure his king can run to a8 in time, should White’s king take the a4-pawn.
Korchnoi dutifully continues playing on for a bit, again trying to gain any
winning chances he can. It’s still possible Black could blunder somewhere,
especially after having played over 100 moves. However, Karpov continues
to remain vigilant to a fault until the end. Such a quality is essential for any
modern world champion.
107 ... Ke6 108 Kc6 Kf6 109 Kd7 Kg7 110 Be7 Kg8 111 Ke6 Kg7 112
Bc5 Kg8 113 Kf6 Kh7 114 Kf7 Kh8 115 Bd4+ Kh7 116 Bb2 Kh6 117 Kg8
Kg6 118 Bg7 Kf5 119 Kf7 Kg5 120 Bb2 Kh6 121 Bc1+ Kh7 122 Bd2 Kh8
123 Bc3+ Kh7 124 Bg7 ½-½
Finally wrapping up the game with a draw. A great effort from both
players, and an instructive example on how one should play when pressing or
defending in such an endgame. Theoretical knowledge is important (e.g.,
knowing the wrong colour bishop principle), as well as strong calculation
skills (a tempo was often the difference between White winning and a draw).
However, it’s also very beneficial to have the right mindset. When
pressing in an endgame that’s objectively drawn but more pleasant for you,
give your opponents as many chances to go wrong as possible. If they don’t
have any active ideas, and can’t use their “free time” to stop your plans, then
don’t feel any need to hurry. Dragging out the game can provide your
opponent with opportunities to make mistakes. Of course, in a practical
tournament setting you probably shouldn’t do this to a maximum, as you may
want to rest and prep before your next round. But trying to squeeze
everything you can out of a position is an important quality.
As for defending such an endgame, remaining vigilant at all times is
important. Playing lackadaisically and impatiently waiting for your opponent
to offer a draw can be a tempting pattern to fall into, but it can easily lead to
an unexpected loss. Accepting from the start of your defense that the game
will go on for a while longer is a good idea. Then even if it doesn’t, you’ve
lost nothing.
Opposition: for the Attacking Side
The principle of opposition is one of the fundamental building blocks of
endgames. Opposition between kings can happen in more complex
endgames, but it’s also relevant in the event of a complex endgame
simplifying to just kings and pawns (through exchanges). Knowing if a
potential king and pawn endgame is winning or drawn can be important when
deciding whether to simplify down into it.
In this position, Black has just played ... Ke6, currently giving him the
opposition. Basically, this means Black’s king can prevent White’s king from
getting past it, by simply mirroring the white king’s moves. If White can
somehow waste a tempo in this position, he will possess the opposition.
1 e3!
White uses the pawn to waste a tempo. Now Black’s king must move due
to zugzwang, breaking the impasse.
Something like 1 Kd4 Kd6 2 Ke4 Ke6 3 Kf4 Kf6 4 Kf3? Kf5 allows
Black to hold the game.
Now, both ways White can push the e-pawn don’t win:
a) Wasting a tempo with 5 e3 no longer works, since after 5 ... Ke5,
White’s king would like to go to e3 and gain the opposition. Unfortunately,
the pawn is in the way. So instead, something like 6 Kf2 Ke4 7 Ke2 Ke5 8
Kd3 Kd5 9 e4+ Ke5 10 Ke3 Ke6 sees Black holding.
b) 5 e4+ Ke5 6 Ke3 Ke6 7 Kd4 Kd6 is also equal.
1 ... Kd6
If 1 ... Kf6 then 2 Kd5.
1 ... Ke7 2 Ke5 Ke8 3 Ke6 Kd8 4 Kf7 Kd7 5 e4 is also winning for
White. If Black does nothing, the e-pawn will march to e5, and then
subsequently to e6, e7, and e8 (as the white king controls these three
squares). Black should try 5 ... Kd6, forcing 6 Kf6, but after 6 ... Kd7 7 e5
Ke8 (or 7 ... Kd8 8 Kf7 Kd7 9 e6+) 8 Ke6, White again obtains the
opposition, and prepares to gain control of e6, e7, and e8 a second time.
Following 8 ... Kf8 9 Kd7 Kf7 10 e6+ Kf6 11 e7 Kf7 12 e8Q+, White
wins.
2 Kf5 Ke7 3 Ke5
White has successfully moved up a rank, and now he seizes the
opposition in order to continue pressing forward.
3 ... Kf7 4 Kd6 Kf6
With the e4-square unguarded, and with e5, e6, and e7 controlled, White
is ready to advance the pawn.
5 e4 Kf7 6 e5
If 6 Kd7, 6 ... Kf6 would force the king to move back to 7 Kd6, in order
to stop ... Ke5.
6 ... Ke8 7 Ke6 Kd8 8 Kf7 Kd7 9 e6+
White wins.
Opposition: for the Defending Side
Now we’ll take a look at how the defender should draw, when possessing
the opposition. This position is the one after 1 e3 in the previous example,
except now with White to move again. This means that Black has the
opposition here.
1 Kd4
Or 1 Kf4 Kf6, continuing to maintain the opposition.
1 ... Kd6 2 e4 Ke6
Unfortunately for White, his pawn is too far advanced. Its placement on
e4 prevents White from playing Ke4, which would give him the opposition.
3 e5
In the case of 3 Kd3, White bides his time and hands Black the move.
When in a situation like this, you can’t go wrong with the following strategy:
just mark time with your king, by staying on the same file as the pawn, and
on the closest squares to it. In this position, this just means to walk with the
king to e5, and then back to e6 - repeat for however long your opponent
chooses to wait. This is a method I use in online blitz games when I only
have seconds left - Black can’t go wrong premoving …Ke5-…Ke6-…Ke5,
etc.
Having your king directly in front of the opponent’s pawn (in a K vs.
K+P) is a safe way to play. After 3 ... Ke5 4 Ke3,
Black should back up in a straight line with 4 ... Ke6. 4 ... Kd6 and 4 ...
Kf6 also draw without issue, but it’s just a good habit to stay on the file of the
pawn (when given the choice). The reason is that when things eventually
work their way down to the back rank, there it will be vital to stay on the efile when backing up. More on this later.
3 ... Ke7
Again, backing up straight is a good idea, but for the moment it’s not
necessary (4 ... Kd7 and 4 ... Kf7 draw as well).
4 Kd5
4 Ke3 tries to do some kind of a waiting game. Black should just pass by
moving the king in front of the pawn, and then one square back. For example,
4 ... Ke6 5 Ke4 Ke7 6 Kf4 Ke6 7 Ke4 Ke7 8 Kf5 Kf7 9 Kf4 Ke6, and White
is making no progress.
4 ... Kd7 5 e6+ Ke7 6 Ke5
Now we reach the point where backing up in a straight line is vital.
6 ... Ke8!
The only move which draws. 6 ... Kd8? loses to 7 Kd6 Ke8 8 e7,
as now Black is forced to move the king out to f7, allowing White to
respond with Kd7. If Black’s king weren’t on the back rank, he’d have room
to retreat with the king.
6 ... Kf8? 7 Kf6 Ke8 8 e7 Kd7 9 Kf7 Kd6 10 e8Q also wins for White.
7 Kd6 Kd8 8 Kc6
Again, if White tries waiting, just put your king directly in front of the
pawn, and then back up.
Or 8 e7+ Ke8 9 Ke6, stalemate.
8 ... Ke7 9 Kd5 Ke8 10 Ke4 Ke7 11 Kf5 Ke8
12 Ke5 Ke7 13 Kf5 Ke8 14 Kf6 Kf8 15 e7+ Ke8 16 Ke6 Draw
Hou Yifan-A.Giri
Geneva FIDE GP 2017
This position is an example of how knowledge of a more fundamental
principle (opposition) can be used to inform our decisions in more complex
endings. White has just played 60 Kf1, and Black has the option to force a
rook trade with 60 ... Rf6. Should he do this?
60 ... Rf6!
Yes, he should. Black’s extra pawn (the g7 one) is far enough back,
meaning that if needed, he can waste a move in the king and pawn endgame
(ensuring he gets the opposition).
61 Rxf6
61 Kg1 is also losing for White. For example, 61 ... Rxf2 62 Kxf2 h3 63
g3 h2 64 Kg2 h1Q+ 65 Kxh1 Kxg3 66 Kg1 sees White temporarily getting
the opposition,
but now wasting a tempo with 66 ... g5 hands it over to Black. After 67
Kh1 Kf2 68 Kh2 g4 69 Kh1,
Black shouldn’t play 69 ... g3, since that would be stalemate! When the
side with the extra pawn has it on the g- or b-file, this situation can easily
arise. Let’s check some of Black’s options:
a) 69 ... g3? is stalemate, as just discussed.
b) 69 ... Kf3 70 Kh2! forces Black to go back with 70 ... Kf2 (70 ... g3+?
throws away the win to 71 Kh1!, since 71 ... g2+ (71 ... Kf2 is also stalemate)
72 Kg1 Kg3 is stalemate), and after 71 Kh1 we’ve repeated once.
c) 69 ... Kg3! is the key idea.
If the pieces were shifted back one or more ranks, playing like this would
give White a draw. But due to how advanced the pawn is, this strategy will
win. After 70 Kg1 Kf3 71 Kf1 g3 72 Kg1 g2,
White’s only move is to play Kh2, allowing Black to play ... Kf2,
preparing to queen. This is where the part about the pieces being shifted back
is relevant. Let’s say instead the black king were on f3, pawn on g3, and
white king on g2 here. In that case, White would have room to back up with
Kg1, letting him hold the game. But now in the current position, with the
white king on the 1st rank, there is no room to retreat. Mate is reached
following 73 Kh2 Kf2 74 Kh3 g1Q 75 Kh4 Qg6 (a useful pattern to know by
heart for bullet/blitz games) 76 Kh3 Qg3 mate.
61 ... gxf6 62 Kf2
Now Black’s goal is to exchange the h4-pawn for the g2-pawn. As
discussed, the extra pawn on f6 can be used to waste a tempo in the ensuing
K+P vs. K endgame, securing Black a win.
62 ... Kf4 63 Kg1 Kg3 64 Kf1 h3 65 Kg1!
A nice defensive trick, although it doesn’t prevent Black from winning.
Or 65 gxh3 Kxh3 66 Kf2 Kg4 67 Kg2 f5! 68 Kf2 Kf4 69 Kg2 Ke3, and
Black breaks through.
65 ... Kg4!
65 ... hxg2 is stalemate.
65 ... h2+ 66 Kh1 f5 (or 66 ... Kf2 67 Kxh2, with equality) is also
stalemate.
66 gxh3+
In the case of 66 Kf2, now it’s fine for Black to capture on g2 with 66 ...
hxg2. Following 67 Kxg2 f5, Black has the opposition, and will win.
66 ... Kxh3 67 Kf2 Kg4 68 Kg2 Kf4 0-1
White resigned, as after 69 Kf2 f5, Black gains the opposition.
The Philidor Endgame
This endgame is one of the fundamental building blocks of rook
endgames. Often in more complex rook endgames, one side may be ahead a
pawn, and eventually options can arise to exchange a number of pawns (until
the superior side just has one pawn remaining). So, it’s useful to know when
K+R vs. K+R+P is a draw.
Generally, when the defending king is in front of the enemy pawn (or
when it can get in position soon enough), then it should be a draw. This
scenario is often classified as the “Philidor Endgame”, and the current
position is one example of it. In this endgame, Black should keep his king in
front of the enemy pawn, in order to act as a blockader. As for the rook,
Black should use it to defend the ranks, making it more difficult for White’s
king and pawn to advance forward. Sometimes the defending rook can
defend from behind (instead of from the side), but for the moment that’s not
the case.
Also, notice how if the rooks get exchanged at some point, we’ll reduce
to the opposition endgame. So, both sides need to be aware of whether a rook
exchange will benefit them.
1 ... Kf6 2 f4 Kf5
As we saw for defending a K vs. K+P endgame, it’s good for the
defending side to bring the king right up in front of the passed pawn. Then,
only retreat the king when forced back (in this case, when the enemy rook
gives check). Unlike the K vs. K+P though, it’s not strictly necessary to play
this way with the rooks on. It’s still a draw if Black leaves the king on, say,
f8. But with the king further advanced, it makes things a bit more difficult for
White, as the king pressures the pawn and controls some squares that the
white king may like to use.
3 Rh5+ Kf6
3 ... Kg4 tries to win the pawn, but fails to 4 Rg5+ Kh4. Although this
particular position is still a theoretical draw, it’s a needless risk to move the
king away from its post in front of the pawn.
4 Rd5 Rb4 5 Rd3 Ra4
Black just bides his time.
6 Kf3
If 6 Rd4, Black has the option to exchange rooks. Doing so will not end
up in White getting the opposition, which means the K vs. K+P will be a
draw. Note that Black could also decline to exchange rooks here, and the
endgame would still be a clear draw. After 6 ... Rxd4 7 Kxd4 Kf5 8 Ke3 Kf6
9 Ke4 Ke6 10 f5+ Kf6 11 Kf4 Kf7, Black is holding.
6 ... Kf5 7 Rd5+ Kf6 8 Rb5 Rc4 9 Kg4
White is about to play Rb6+, forcing the black king back, and allowing
the white king to move on to the 5th rank. So, it makes sense for Black to
resist this plan by retreating his rook to the 6th rank, preventing Rb6+. The
rook is no longer being that useful on the 4th rank.
9 ... Rc6
Alternatively, something like 9 ... Ra4 10 Rb6+ Kf7 11 Kg5 Ra5+ 12 f5
Ra7, Black defends by controlling the 7th rank instead of the 6th.
This isn’t completely ideal, since it tends to make life easier for Black
when the 6th rank is controlled. However, the 7th rank strategy is still enough
to draw, and sometimes Black has no choice but to go for it (e.g., maybe
White already controls the 6th rank, due to specific circumstances of a game).
After something like 13 Rh6, Black needs to be a bit careful, as Rh7+ is
threatened, skewering the king and rook. He should play 13…Kg7, and after
14 f6+ Kg8 15 Kg6,
White’s plan is to bring his rook back, move it to something like the bfile, and then threaten mate with Rb8 mate. But Black has a key resource
which draws - namely: 15 ... Rg7+!, exploiting the fact that fxg7 would be
stalemate.
After 16 Kf5 Ra7 17 Ke6 Ra6+ 18 Ke7 Ra7+ 19 Ke6 Ra6+, Black’s rook
does an excellent job of defending from the side. All things being equal, it’s
better to keep your rook as far away from the enemy king as possible. On afile, the black rook can defend the ranks just as well as it could on the c-file.
But on the c-file, white’s king could easily attack it. We want to capitalize on
the fact that rooks are long-ranged pieces, while kings obviously aren’t. In
the case of 20 Kf5 (or 20 Kd7 Ra7+ 21 Kc6 Ra6+ 22 Kb7 Re6 23 Kc7 Kf7
24 Kd7 Rxf6) 20 ... Ra1!,
Black is ready to check from behind or from the side, depending on how
White plays. This secures a draw.
10 Rb7 Ra6 11 Rh7
Threatening Rh6+.
11 ... Kg6 12 Rc7 Kf6 13 Rc1 Rb6 14 Rh1 Kg6 15 f5+ Kf7
Of course not 15 ... Kf6?, due to 16 Rh6+ Kf7 17 Rxb6
16 Rh7+ Kf8 17 Kg5 Ra6
This type of piece arrangement can be referred to as a “Philidor position”.
The defending side’s king is either on the 7th or 8th rank, while the rook
guards the 6th rank. Meanwhile, the attacker is ready to advance his pawn to
the 6th rank at any moment. If the attacking side refuses to push the pawn,
then his king will be prevented from advancing on to the 6th rank.
So now Black just waits until White pushes the pawn to f6. When this
happens, he will give checks from behind.
18 Rb7 Rc6
18 ... Ra1 is still a draw, but this needlessly complicates matters. Trying
to check from behind right now is premature, since after 19 Kg6 Rg1+ (not
19 ... Ra6+? 20 f6, which is losing) 20 Kf6,
White’s king obtains shelter in front of the pawn, preventing Black’s rook
from continuing to give checks. This is why it’s better to wait until White
pushes the pawn.
Now in this position Black must be accurate to draw. The strategy is to
move the black king to the “short side” (in this case, to the kingside),
allowing the black rook to give checks from the “long side” (the queenside).
The reason for this is to give the rook more files separating it and the white
king. Following 20 ... Kg8 (20 ... Ke8? 21 Rb8+ Kd7 22 Kf7 Rh1 23 f6 Rh7+
tries giving checks on the “short side” with the rook, but this obviously
makes no sense: White can just play 24 Kg6, and Black’s rook is already out
of checks to give) 21 Rb8+ Kh7 22 Ke6 Ra1,
Black is about to give checks, although things are still not completely
trivial. We won’t examine things too deeply at this point - instead let’s just
look at a sample line: 23 f6 Ra6+ 24 Ke7 Ra7+ 25 Kd6 Ra6+ 26 Ke7 Ra7+
27 Kf8 Kg6 28 f7 Rxf7+, and Black wins the pawn, securing the draw.
19 Ra7 Rb6 20 Ra8+ Kf7
21 Ra1 Rc6 22 Rh1 Ra6 23 Rh7+ Kf8 24 Rb7 Rc6
It’s clear White can make no progress shuffling the rook around. He
could try moving the king to the other side of the pawn, but this won’t help.
Black should just keep defending with the rook, from afar and on the side.
25 Kf4 Ra6 26 Ke5 Rc6 27 Rd7 Ra6
When defending the Philidor endgame, the opponent might spend a long
time shuffling the pieces around, trying to make progress in any way. Also,
by not hurrying, the opponent extends the game for more moves, giving the
defender more chances to make potential mistakes. So, as is the case with
many endgames, the defender must remain patient and vigilant, for however
long it takes to secure the draw.
Understanding the theoretical evaluation of an endgame is very important
- but it’s also vital to have the right mindset to play things out for a
potentially long time. Playing moves on “auto pilot” and just expecting the
opponent to soon offer a draw isn’t ideal.
Anyway, now let’s look at a couple of ways White can try to break the
6th rank blockade.
28 Kf4
28 Rd6 can be met with 28 ... Rxd6 29 Kxd6 Kf7 30 Ke5 Ke7, as White
does not possess the opposition.
28 ... Rb6 29 Kg5 Ra6 30 Rb7 Rc6 31 f6
This prepares to play Kg6.
31 ... Rc1!
Black seizes the correct moment to move the rook down. With the f-pawn
advanced to f6, White’s king will be unable to gain shelter from the ensuing
checks.
32 Kg6
If 32 Rb4 Rg1+ 33 Rg4, Black can again simplify into the drawn
opposition endgame with 33 ... Rxg4+ 34 Kxg4 Kf7 35 Kf5 Kf8.
32 ... Rg1+ 33 Kf5 Rf1+ 34 Ke6 Re1+ 35 Kd6 Rd1+
Basically, Black’s plan now is to just keep checking White. Then, if the
white king moves far enough away from the f6-pawn, Black will just attack
and win it. Some sample lines are as follows:
36 Ke5
Or 36 Kc5 Rf1 37 Rb6 Kf7 38 Kd5 Rxf6.
36 ... Re1+ 37 Kd4 Rd1+ 38 Ke3 Rf1 39 Rb6 Kf7 40 Ke4 Rxf6 Draw
K.Lie-J.Degraeve
36th Olympiad, Mallorca 2004
In this game, we have a rook endgame with a pawn 3 vs. 2 on the same
side. This is almost always an objective draw, although each side still has to
display some degree of technique. There are a few principles which the
defender should try to follow:
1) Defend with the rook from the side. In this example, black’s rook is on h8
(he had trouble developing the kingside previously in the game). He should
move it to somewhere on the queenside, so that it can cause White’s king and
pawns some trouble.
2) The black king should stay roughly around where it is. Its goal is to protect
the black pawns, while at the same time not advancing too far up the board.
3) If possible, the pawn formation g6-h5 works well. The idea is that the g6pawn controls f5 (trying to make it harder for White’s f-pawn to advance).
Since White may want to support his f-pawn by advancing the g3-pawn, the
move …h5 resists g4.
If Black is unable to put the pawns on h5 and g6, that’s okay too. Any
sensible looking placement of the pawns is enough to hold - it’s just that h5
and g6 tend to make things the easiest. Black’s eventual goal is to wait until
the game is simplified into a K+R+P vs. K+R Philidor endgame.
35 ... h5
Black immediately puts the pawn on h5. Playing this move is more
“urgent” than playing ... g6, since currently White has no way of usurping
Black’s control over the g6-square. And as discussed, ... g6 is useful to resist
the eventual advance of White’s f-pawn to f5, and currently this isn’t on the
table.
36 Ra6+ Kf7 37 Kh3 Rb8 38 Ra4 Rb2
Attacking White’s f2-pawn will tie down one of White’s pieces in
defending it. White could instead push the pawn to f4, but then the h2-pawn
is the one that’s pressured.
39 Rf4+ Kg6 40 Rf8 Ra2 41 Kh4 Rb2 42 h3 Rb5 43 Rh8 Rb4+ 44 f4
Rb5 45 Re8 Kh6
Black’s pieces are ideally placed, and White has no way to win any
material. Sooner or later, he’ll have to push g4.
46 Rh8+
46 Re5? Rxe5 47 fxe5 g5 mate would be a bit unfortunate.
46 ... Kg6 47 Re8 Kh6 48 Re6+ g6 49 g4
49 ... hxg4 50 hxg4 Kg7
50 ... Ra5? runs into 51 f5, winning the g6-pawn and the game.
51 Re5 Rb7!
Defending with the rook on the 7th is good technique in this 1 vs. 2. It’s a
good way to prevent White from making progress. Also, as we know,
defending the 7th is sufficient to draw in a Philidor as well; so, if a pair of
pawns get exchanged soon with f5, Black will be fine. While controlling the
6th rank is ideal in the Philidor, having the 7th works too.
51 ... Rxe5? leads to ruination following something like 52 fxe5 Kh6 (or
52 ... Kf7 53 Kg5 Ke6 54 Kxg6 Kxe5 55 g5 Ke6 56 Kh7 Kf7 57 g6+) 53 Kg3
g5 54 Kf3 Kg7 55 Ke4 Kg6 56 Kd5 Kf7 57 e6+ Ke7 58 Ke5 Ke8 59 Kf6 Kf8
60 Kxg5, as White is now up two pawns.
51 ... Rb6 52 Kg5 Ra6? defends the 6th rank, but this actually loses.
We’re not in a Philidor endgame yet, and due to the pawn on g6 White
can make progress with 53 Re7+ Kf8 54 Rb7 Kg8 55 Kh6, as the black rook
can’t guard the h6-square.
Now White’s threatening Rg7+, winning the g6-pawn, and Black can’t do
anything about it. He could try counterattacking with 55 ... Ra4, but 56 Kxg6
Rxf4 57 Rb8+ Rf8 58 Rxf8+ Kxf8 59 Kh7 is a won K+P vs. K position.
52 Kg5 Ra7
The black rook prevents white’s rook from giving a check on the 7th.
This means that Black’s king will not be forced off the g7-square, where it
currently holds White’s king at an impasse. If White instead uses his rook to
attack the g6-pawn (e.g., Re6), then Black’s rook can put White’s king in
check. Finally, if f5 is ever played, another pair of pawns will be exchanged
and we’ll enter a Philidor.
53 Rb5 Rc7 54 Ra5 Rb7 55 Rc5 Ra7
Often when defending a rook endgame down a pawn, it’s important to be
patient. If your pieces are all ideally situated, don’t be in a hurry to change
anything.
56 Rc6!
White wants to play f5, but first throws in this move. A good practical
decision, since it makes it slightly less trivial for Black to defend the resulting
Philidor endgame.
56 f5 gxf5 57 gxf5 (or 57 Rxf5 Ra6) 57 ... Ra6 58 Rc7+ Kf8 is just the
standard drawn Philidor position.
56 ... Ra5+ 57 f5 gxf5 58 gxf5
Now we’re in a Philidor, but Black is unable to guard the 6th rank with
his rook.
58 ... Ra7!
So, Black instead guards the 7th. If you refer to the previous game (on the
Philidor endgame) and go to the 12th move of the 9 ... Ra4 variation, there
you’ll find a position nearly identical to the current one here. In that
variation, we discussed how Black can draw the Philidor endgame, even if
his rook can’t guard the 6th rank. We’ll now see a “real life” example from
Degraeve of how this is done.
59 Rb6 Rc7 60 Ra6 Rb7 61 Rg6+ Kf7 62 Rh6 Kg7 63 f6+
If Black defends well, this is a move White eventually has to play at some
point.
63 ... Kg8 64 Kg6 Rg7+!
65 Kf5
65 fxg7 is stalemate.
65 ... Ra7 66 Rh4 Ra1
Black continues to display accurate technique until the end. The rook is
ready to check the white king either from the side or from behind, and in
either case it will be placed far away from the enemy monarch.
67 Re4 Kf7 68 Re7+ ½-½
Here a draw was agreed.
A possible continuation might have been something like: 68 Re7+ Kf8 69
Ke6 Re1+
70 Kd7 (70 Kd6 Rxe7 71 fxe7+ Ke8 72 Ke6 is stalemate) 70 ... Rd1+ 71
Kc6 Rc1+ 72 Kd5 Rd1+ 73 Kc4 Rc1+ 74 Kd3 Rf1 75 Re6 Kf7 76 Ra6 Rxf6.
Black’s play was quite instructive, as he remained both patient and accurate
for over 30 moves. He handled the 3 vs. 2, 2 vs. 1, and Philidor endgames in
basically the exact way one should strive to do so. Notice how it was
important that Black knew how to play the 2 vs. 1 and Philidor endgames, in
order to successfully draw the original 3 vs. 2 endgame.
The point of studying more rudimentary endgames is so that we will be
comfortable if a more complex endgame simplifies down to it. Also,
understanding these simpler endgames can inform us on whether we should
opt to go for them. For example, if Black didn’t know that the Philidor is still
a draw (even if Black doesn’t control the 6th rank), then the preceding 2 vs. 1
situation might have seemed dangerous. But since controlling the 6th rank in
the Philidor is not necessary (rather, merely helpful), Black knew he would
be fine by just waiting in the 2 vs. 1 endgame, until White decided to push f5.
The Lucena Endgame
This is the Lucena endgame. Like the Philidor, it involves a K+R+P vs.
K+R. However, an important difference is that the defending king is cut off
from the file of the pawn. This means that it can’t act as a blockader - which
in turn means that the attacking side can win. The first step is to advance the
king and pawn up the board.
1 Kg6 Rg1+ 2 Kf7 Rf1 3 f6 Kd6 4 Kg7 Rg1+ 5 Kf8 Rf1 6 f7 Kd7
Step 1 completed. The next task is to push the defending king one file
even further away.
7 Rd2+! Kc6
Now with the black king on the c-file, the e-file is unguarded. The black
rook is unable to guard both the e-file and g-file, which means that White’s
king will never have problems leaving f8. However, things are not so simple
quite yet. The final piece of the puzzle is figuring out how to deal with the
black rook’s checks, after the king moves out of the pawn’s way. To do this,
the white rook must help in some fashion. The 8 Kg7 variation illustrates
some of the problems facing White, and gives us clues as to how the rook can
solve them.
7 ... Ke6 might look tempting, but after 8 Ke8,
White is threatening to promote the pawn, and Black can’t give check
with ... Re1. If 8 ... Rxf7, then White wins the rook following 9 Re2+ Kf6 10
Rf2+ Kg7 11 Rxf7+.
8 Rd8!
The rook goes to the 8th rank, where it could help the pawn promote
(after the white king runs). In the 8 Kg7, 9 Kh6 variation, it’s noted that
White would be winning if only the rook were on the 8th rank.
Immediately playing something like 8 Kg7 doesn’t work, since on 8 ...
Rg1+:
a) 9 Kh6 Rh1+ 10 Kg5 Rg1+ 11 Kh4 Rf1 leaves the pawn without
adequate support.
If White’s rook were on d8 here, the pawn could immediately promote.
But now Black will just win it.
b) 9 Kf6 Rf1+ 10 Kg6 Rg1+ 11 Kf5 Rf1+ forces White’s king to go back
to the 6th rank in order to protect the pawn.
However, notice how if the white rook were on the 4th rank, White could
block Black’s check with Rf4. But now, 12 Ke6 Re1+ 13 Kf6 Rf1+ 14 Ke7
Re1+ 15 Kf8 Rf1 forces White to start over.
8 ... Kc7
Black immediately attacks the rook, nudging it off the 8th rank. However,
remember how in the 8 Kg7 variation, we found that White could win with
his rook on either the 8th or 4th rank. So now with the black king lured to c7,
it is unable to immediately reach the 4th rank.
8 ... Rg1 is met with 9 Ke7 Re1+ 10 Kf6 Rf1+ 11 Kg6 Rg1+ 12 Kh5
Rh1+ 13 Kg4 Rg1+ 14 Kh3, and now 14 ... Rf1 can be answered with 15
f8Q, winning.
8 ... Rf2 9 Kg7 Rg2+ 10 Kh6 leads to a similar outcome as the 8 ... Rg1
variation.
9 Rd4
9 ... Kc6
The king runs back to attack the rook, but it’s one tempo too short. Notice
how even if it were Black’s move again though, White could just meet ... Kc5
with Rd8, reverting to the 8th rank strategy. Now White can immediately
move his king off f8, and complete the process known as “building the
bridge”.
10 Ke7 Re1+
If 10 ... Kc5, then White could just move the rook somewhere else on the
4th rank, as cutting off the black king along the d-file isn’t needed anymore.
For example, 11 Rh4 (or 11 Rd8, switching back to the 8th rank strategy) 11
... Re1+ 12 Kf6 Rf1+ 13 Ke6 Re1+ 14 Kf5 Rf1+ 15 Rf4.
11 Kf6 Rf1+ 12 Ke6
12 ... Re1+
If Black instead just waits with 12 ... Rf2, then White can play 13 Rd8 (13
Rd5? prepares Rf5, but this throws away the win due to 13 ... Rxf7! - White
cannot take the black rook without losing his own), capitalizing on Black’s
lack of control of this square. Now it’s just the 8th rank method of winning:
13 ... Re2+ 14 Kf6 Rf2+ 15 Kg6 Rg2+ 16 Kh5 Rh2+ 17 Kg4 Rf2 18 f8Q.
12 ... Kc7 stops Rd8, but yields the fight over the d5-square. So now
White can just play 13 Rd5, preparing Rf5, which will cut off the f1-rook.
Black has no defense. For example, 13 ... Kc6 14 Rf5 Rxf5 15 Kxf5 Kd7
16 f8Q loses for Black, as the king was one tempo too short to stop the pawn.
12 ... Kc5 gives White a pleasant choice between Rd8 and Rd5+. Let’s go
with the latter: 13 Rd5+ (Black of course has no sneaky ... Rxf7 ideas, since
he’s in check!) 13 ... Kc6 14 Rf5 Rxf5 15 Kxf5 Kd7 16 f8Q.
13 Kf5 Rf1+ 14 Rf4
White completes the bridge, and wins - Black has no way to prevent the fpawn’s promotion. Why this process is commonly known as “building the
bridge” has always seemed a bit off to me. Maybe a more apt term would be
“building the barricade”?
A.Filippov-G.Margvelashvili
Wch U20, Yerevan 2006
This K+R+P vs. K+R is winning for White, as Black’s king is poorly
positioned to help defend. In situations such as these, the attacking side will
often try to aim for a Lucena position. This is what ended up happening in
this game.
52 Kc4 Rd2 53 c3 Ke5 54 Kc5
A nice move. White’s king prevents Black’s king from making inroads,
and at the same time it gets out of the way of the c3-pawn.
54 ... Rd5+ 55 Kb4
Even though White’s king is no longer controlling d5, the black king still
cannot move there due to the rook.
55 ... Rd8 56 c4
Notice how the white rook cuts off the black king along the 6th rank. If
the king could make its way to the c-file via d6, we would end up in a drawn
Philidor.
56 ... Rb8+
In rook endgames, rooks should generally go behind passed pawns. This
principle tends to apply whether the rook is supporting a friendly pawn or
fighting an enemy one. However, in this specific endgame, the rook is a bit
ineffective from behind. A better attempt is to play like Black is doing here,
checking the king and trying to prevent White from marching forward.
57 Kc5 Rc8+ 58 Kb5 Kd4
But now 58 ... Rb8+ wouldn’t do anything, due to 59 Rb6. After
something like 59 ... Rd8 60 c5 Kd5 61 Rb7! Rc8 (trying to stop c6) 62 Rd7+
Ke6 63 c6, White is making nice progress on the queenside.
Black’s king is no longer cut off from behind on a rank; but this is fine,
since it’s now cut off along the d-file, and a Lucena position is imminent. For
example, following 63 ... Rb8+ 64 Kc5 Rb1 65 Rd2 Ke7 66 c7 Rc1+ 67 Kb6
Rb1+ 68 Kc6 Rc1+ 69 Kb7 Rb1+ 70 Kc8, we’ve reached a Lucena and
White will win.
59 Rd6+ Kc3
If 59 ... Ke5, White must be a bit careful in his choice of move:
a) 60 Rd1? Rb8+ is actually drawn.
The reason is that White’s rook can’t intercept the black rook’s checks,
and the king is unable to move up the board. Let’s take a look:
a1) 61 Ka6 Rc8 62 Rc1 (again, 62 Kb5 Rb8+ repeats) allows Black’s
king on to the d-file. He can draw by moving to either d6 or d4. For example,
62 ... Kd6 63 Kb7 Rc7+ 64 Kb6 Rc6+ 65 Kb5 Kc7 66 c5 Rh6 is a drawn
Philidor.
a2) 61 Kc6 Rc8+ forces the king back to b5, and 62 Kb5 Rb8+ repeats.
a3) 61 Kc5 Rc8+ 62 Kb4 Rb8+ 63 Kc3 dodges the checks, but the issue is
that after 63 ... Rc8, how does White make progress?
If the white king advances, the checks will begin anew. White could try
using his rook to block, but the rook also has to keep the black king from
breaching the d-file. The current position is a useful one to remember. It’s an
example of a case where even though the defending king is cut off, the game
is still a draw; this is due to the defending rook’s ideal placement, and the
fact that the attacking side’s king and pawn aren’t too advanced yet. Also, it’s
helpful that the defending king is only cut off by one file, since it’s in a
position to immediately dash to the c-file, should the white rook leave and
give the opportunity.
Here White could try using his rook in a fashion like 64 Rd5+ Ke6 65
Kb4 (or 65 Kd4 Rh8, when the black rook is ready to return to c8 in the case
of Kc5; or, if the white rook moves off the d-file, the black king can run to
the c-file) 65 ... Rb8+ 66 Rb5, but 66 ... Rc8 sees Black threatening to play ...
Kd6 or ... Kd7, which would enter a Philidor endgame due to the king’s
closer proximity to the action. If White blocks this with 67 Rd5, then Black
just gives check again with 67 ... Rb8+.
b) 60 c5! advances the pawn, preventing any of Black’s rook checks from
working.
For example, 60 ... Rb8+ 61 Kc6 Rc8+ 62 Kb6 Rb8+ 63 Kc7 leaves
Black without enough room to move the rook back to the c-file.
So instead, after something like 63 ... Rh8, we could reach a Lucena via
64 c6 Rh7+ 65 Rd7 Rh8 66 Rd8 Rh1 67 Kc8 Ke6 68 c7 Ke7 69 Rd2.
60 c5
60 ... Rb8+ 61 Rb6 Rc8 62 Rb7
Now Black’s king can run back up the board, but it makes no difference.
White can easily advance his pawn, and the rook can move to d7 at any
moment, forcing the black king to move off the d-file and onto the e-file.
62 ... Kd4 63 c6 Kd5 64 Rd7+ Ke6 65 Kb6 Rb8+ 66 Kc7 Rb4 67 Kc8
Ra4 68 Rd1 Rb4 69 c7 Ke7
We’re in a Lucena position, and White wraps things up accordingly.
70 Re1+ Kf7 71 Kd7
It turns out that since Black’s rook is on the 4th rank, it is not far enough
to check effectively. So, White’s rook doesn’t even need to help out.
71 ... Rd4+ 72 Kc6 Rc4+ 73 Kd6 Rd4+ 74 Kc5 Rd3 75 Kc4 1-0
Black resigned, as he cannot stop the pawn’s promotion.
Of course not 75 c8Q? Rc3+ 76 Kd4 Rxc8.
Rook vs. Rook and a7-pawn
Unlike what we’ve seen in the Philidor and Lucena, in this endgame the
defending king is very far away. Also, the attacking rook is stuck in front of
its own pawn, since it needs to defend it against the defending rook. To win
this type of endgame, White would typically need to bring the king over to
the queenside, to relieve the a8-rook of its defensive duties, enabling it to
escape. In order to stop this, Black will aim to check White’s king when it
approaches the a7-pawn.
1 ... Ra3
But for now, Black just passes time by shuffling his rook on the a-file.
It’s important to keep the black king on either the g7- or h7-square.
1 ... Kf7? blunders to 2 Rh8!,
since 2 ... Rxa7 (or 2 ... Kg7 3 a8Q) 3 Rh7+ Kg6 4 Rxa7 wins the rook.
1 ... Kf6? allows 2 Rf8+, which sees White’s rook escaping a8 with
tempo. After 2 ... Ke7 3 a8Q Rxa8 4 Rxa8, White wins.
2 Kf2 Ra1 3 Ke3 Ra2 4 Kd4 Ra1 5 Kc5
White’s king is about to go to the b-file. So, Black should ensure his rook
is far down the board, a good distance away from the white king (which it
already is). Then after Black gives check, White’s king would need several
moves to attack the rook.
5 ... Ra2 6 Kb6 Rb2+
6 ... Ra1? loses to something like 7 Rd8,
when White is simply about to promote the pawn to a8. Black could try
checking with 7 ... Rb1+, but the gravy train ends after 8 Kc5 Rc1+ 9 Kb4
Rb1+ 10 Kc3 Rc1+ 11 Kb2. We saw a similar pattern for the “8th rank
strategy” of the Lucena endgame.
7 Ka6 Ra2+ 8 Kb7 Rb2+ 9 Kc7 Ra2 10 Kb8 Rb2+
11 Kc7 Ra2
White’s king has no way to make progress.
12 Kb6 Rb2+ 13 Ka5 Ra2+ 14 Kb4 Ra1 15 Kb3 Ra6 16 Kb4 Ra1
A draw is inevitable.
The a7-pawn and h-pawn
This is the same endgame as what we previously looked at, except now
White also has a pawn on h4. However, despite White’s two-pawn
advantage, the game remains a draw. The reason is that Black’s king can just
sit on h7, where it will blockade the h-pawn. Remember from before that the
two safe squares for the king are on g7 and h7. So, this works out nicely for
Black.
1 ... Kh7 2 h5 Ra3 3 h6 Ra1
Now what is White to do? If the white king goes over to the queenside,
Black just checks from behind like usual. If the king advances on the
kingside, Black can just keep passing time with the rook, or he can choose to
give checks. Both approaches give Black the draw.
Of course not 3 ... Kxh6? due to 4 Rh8+
4…Kg7 5 a8Q Rxa8 6 Rxa8.
4 Kg3 Ra2 5 Kg4 Ra1 6 Kg5 Ra5+ 7 Kf6 Ra6+ 8 Kf7 Ra1 9 Ke7 Re1+
Moving off the a-file to give checks is fine, as long as the rook has the
option to move back to the a-file immediately. Or, if White’s king is close to
the a7-pawn (which it’s not here), the rook needs to be able to check it. Black
can also just keep the rook on the a-file, and avoid giving such “superfluous”
checks.
10 Kd6 Rd1+ 11 Kc5 Rc1+ 12 Kb4 Rb1+ 13 Ka3
Note how if White’s king were on a2 here, Black would be lost, since the
rook wouldn’t be able to return to the a-file in time.
13 ... Ra1+ 14 Kb2 Ra6 15 Kb3 Ra1 16 Kb4 Ra2 17 Kb5 Ra1 18 Kb6
Rb1+
Etc ... with an eventual draw.
The a7-pawn and g-pawn
This time White has a pawn on the g-file. Again, it’s a draw because g7 is
one of the safe squares for Black’s king, and thus it can just sit there and
blockade the pawn.
1 ... Ra3 2 g5 Ra2+ 3 Kf3 Ra1 4 g6
4 ... Ra4 5 Ke3 Ra1 6 Kd4 Ra2 7 Kc5 Ra1
7 ... Ra5+?? loses to 8 Kb6, as the rook is too close to give check on the
b-file.
8 Kb6 Rb1+
9 Kc5 Ra1 10 Kd4 Ra2 11 Ke5 Ra1 12 Kf5 Ra5+ 13 Kg4 Ra4+ 14 Kg5
Ra5+
And White cannot make progress.
The a7-pawn and f-pawn
Unlike the previous two scenarios, now White wins. He can advance his
f-pawn to f6, at which point the black king will have no good moves.
1 ... Ra5 2 f5 Ra6
Capturing the pawn with 2 ... Rxf5 enables White’s rook to move off a8.
After 3 Rb8 Ra5 4 a8Q, White wins.
3 f6+
Black can capture the pawn in two ways, or he could move the king to
some square. However, all these options lead nowhere good.
3 ... Kf7
Now White just wins with the skewer motif.
3 ... Kxf6 loses to 4 Rf8+ Kg7 5 a8Q.
3 ... Kh7 4 f7 sees White about to promote the f-pawn.
Finally, if 3 ... Rxf6, then 4 Rb8 Ra6 5 a8Q.
4 Rh8 Rxa7 5 Rh7+
5 ... Kxf6 6 Rxa7
One thing to notice is how the white king didn’t have to help at all. The
only possible role it would play in this endgame is to avoid checks, should
black’s rook give them.
J.Doknjas-R.Patterson
BC Open, Richmond 2011
White is up some pawns, but must decide on a method to win the game.
41 Ra8 Kg7
In this position, one option for White is to bring his king all the way up to
b6. Then when checked from behind by the black rook, the king could just
hide on the a7-square. Once there, White will be able to move the rook off
a8, and then the king and the rook working together will succeed in
promoting the a6-pawn. This is a key advantage of having a passed pawn on
a6 instead of a7, in such situations. On a7, the king would have nowhere to
hide when checked by the enemy rook.
However, even though this plan will win here, it’s not necessary. White
has a way to make his f-pawn a passer - and as we know, an a7-pawn plus an
f-pawn leads to a win.
41 ... Rxh4 42 a7 leaves Black with no time to both bring the rook to the
a-file, and to put the king on g7. For example, 42 ... Ra4 (or 42 ... Kg7 43
Rb8 Ra4 44 a8Q) 43 Rf8+ Kg7 44 a8Q
42 a7 Ra2
If Black gives checks with 42 ... Ra1+, then after 43 Kd2 Ra2+ 44 Kc1
Ra1+ 45 Kb2, White will resume his plan with 45 ... Ra4 46 f4.
43 f4
White’s idea is to follow up with h5, and after the g6-pawn moves, the fpawn will advance to f5.
43 h5, although still winning, is premature. Now Black can play 43 ... g5,
and for the moment White doesn’t have a passed f-pawn. There are a few
methods to win, but they take more time than what was seen in the game:
a) 44 Kf1 Ra1+ 45 Kg2 Ra2 46 Kg3 aims to win the g5-pawn with the
king. Black could try 46 ... Ra4, cutting off the king, and after 47 f3 Kh7,
Black hopes to just pass time with his king. However, thanks to the h5-pawn
White can play 48 h6, taking away all of the king’s moves.
Now zugzwang forces Black’s rook to move. Following 48 ... Ra3
(staying on the 4th rank also loses: 48 ... Rb4 49 Rb8 Ra4 50 a8Q) 49 Kg4
Ra5 50 Kh5, we get another zugzwang, and White will win the g5-pawn on
the next move.
b) 44 f3 is another way. White’s idea is seen after 44 ... Kh7 45 Kf1 Kg7
46 Kg1 Kh7 47 h4 gxh4 48 f4, when the f-pawn is now able to roll up the
board.
Black’s has a passer of his own, but White’s king has no problems
blocking it. After 48 ... h3 49 f5 h2+ 50 Kh1 Kg7 51 f6+, White wins.
43 ... Kh7
43 ... Ra5 doesn’t help, since the rook can’t move off the a-file. For
example, 44 h5 gxh5 45 f5 h4 46 f6+.
44 h5 1-0
Black resigned, as after 44 h5 gxh5 45 f5, there is no defense.
J.Doknjas-S.Chakrasali
NAYCC, Tarrytown 2014
In this endgame, Black has the option of pushing the b-pawn to b2. Then,
with the pawn on the 2nd rank, Black will win if and only if he can create a
passer on the f-file. If Black thinks he can’t do this, then he should leave the
pawn on b3, enabling the black king to travel to the queenside (as it will have
a hiding square on b2 if needed).
41 Kg3
41 g4 gives Black a clear cut path to a win. After 41 ... b2 42 Kg2 Kh6 43
Kh2 g6, he is ready to push ... f5.
White can try to cause some trouble with his rook, via 44 Rb6, but this
won’t pose problems to Black for long. He simply needs to move his king
over to the queenside: 44 ... Kg7 (44 ... f5? 45 gxf5 leaves Black unable to
recapture with ... gxf5, and the game is drawn) 45 Rb7+ Kf8 46 Rb8+ Ke7 47
Rb7+ Kd6 48 Rb6+ Kc5 49 Rb8 f5, and there is nothing White can do.
For example, 50 Kg2 f4 51 Rc8+ Kb6 52 Rb8+ Kc7 53 Rb3 f3+ 54 Kf2
Rh1, and Black wins.
41 ... b2?
Believing he can create a passed f-pawn, Black goes for the pawn on the
7th rank scenario. However, it turns out that now the game is objectively a
draw. With correct defense, Black cannot make any progress.
Instead, Black should have left the pawn on the 3rd rank, intending to
bring the king over to the queenside. After 41 ... Kf5:
a) 42 Rb8 Ke4 43 Rb7 just tries to defend by passing, but following 43 ...
Kd3 44 Rb8 Kc2 45 Rc8+ Kb2, Black will win fairly straightforwardly.
For example, 46 Kg4 Rc1 47 Rb8 Rc3 48 Kf5 Kc2 49 Kg6 b2.
b) 42 Rxg7 is a better try. White’s idea is to try to win Black’s kingside
pawns, allowing him to create passers of his own. With Black’s king
venturing over to the queenside, this would (ideally) give White drawing
chances.
However, in this position there is hardly any hope. After 42 ... Rc1 43
Rb7 Rc3+ 44 Kf2 Ke4, Black’s rook is placed very nicely on c3.
It protects the b3-pawn, while also cutting off White’s king on the 3rd
rank (preventing it from marching upwards to attack Black’s kingside
pawns).
Following 45 Rb6 Kd3 46 Rxf6 b2 47 Rb6 Kc2 48 Rxb2+ Kxb2, White’s
kingside pieces aren’t placed far enough up the board to have any chances of
a draw. For example, after 49 g3 Kc2 50 Kg2 Kd3 51 h4 gxh4 (or 51 ... g4)
52 gxh4 Ke4, Black’s king will capture the pawn in a few moves.
However, even if the black king were too far away to immediately help,
Black would still win easily here, due to how unadvanced White’s pawn is.
Black’s rook cuts White’s king off from advancing, and if White plays 53 h5,
the pawn is now too far away from White’s king, allowing the rook to pocket
it with 53 ... Rc5 54 h6 Rh5 55 Kg3 Rxh6. A useful technique to know for
certain K+R vs. K+P endgames.
42 Rb5 Kh5 43 Kh2
43 ... f5
Not the toughest try. It’s funny though, because for all these years since
the game, I assumed that this move was Black’s critical mistake; after my
reply (44 g4), I eliminate his f-pawn. However, now when analyzing the
game, it turns out that even if Black had not played 43 ... f5, he would still
have no way to create a passer on the f-file (with correct defense from
White). The real mistake was going for 41 ... b2 in the first place.
Trickier would have been 43 ... g6.
And now:
a) 44 Rb6? is a serious mistake, and is met with 44 ... g4 . Now after 45
Rb5+, Black is the one who must be accurate:
a1) 45 ... g5? hands the ball back to White, enabling him to draw with
correct play. On 46 hxg4+ Kxg4 47 Rb4+ Kh5, White must decide how to go
about preventing ... f5:
a11) 48 g4+? loses to 48 ... Kh4 49 Kg2 Re1 50 Rxb2 Kxg4, as Black is
up two connected passers.
a12) 48 g3!! secures the draw.
The point of it is just to give Black the move. Now:
a121) 48 ... Kg6 49 g4 now works, since the black king can’t come to h4
anymore. After 49 ... Kf7 (49 ... f5 50 gxf5+ Kxf5 51 Kg2 is a draw, as we
know) 50 Kg2 Ke6 51 Rb8 Ke5 52 Rb7 Kf4, Black attacks the g4-pawn a
different way.
However, 53 Rb4+ Ke3 immediately results in the king being shooed
away. The point now is if Black’s rook moves, and White plays Rxb2, the g4pawn will not immediately hang. Thus, this is a draw.
a122) 48 ... f5 also allows 49 g4+ to work, since after 49 ... fxg4 50 Kg2,
we have a situation similar to the game, and Black is unable to win.
a2) 45 ... f5 is the correct way for Black to block the check.
Now White is unable to draw with any funny business involving pushing
the g2-pawn to g4 later on. After 46 hxg4+ Kxg4 47 Rb4+ f4 48 g3 g5 49
Kg2 Kf5
50 Rb5+ Ke6 51 Rb6+ Kd7 52 Rb7+ Kc6 53 Rb3 f3+, Black wins.
b) 44 Rb4! is key.
It’s vital that White prevents Black from playing ... g4 here. If Black is
unable to exchange off one of the doubled g-pawns, then his kingside forces
will remain backed up, preventing him from creating a passer on the f-file.
After 44 ... f5, White must now play another strong move: 45 Rb6!.
The idea is that if Black goes for ... g4, hxg4+ ... Kxg4, White can capture
the g6-pawn with tempo. Try as he might, Black has no way to create a
passer on the f-file, and thus he is unable to win this endgame.
44 g4+!
This eliminates Black’s f-pawn. Even though it will come at the price of
White’s two remaining pawns, the game will be a draw.
44 ... fxg4 45 hxg4+ Kxg4 46 Kg2
As g2 is one of the safe squares for White’s king, it can just sit here,
blockading Black’s doubled pawns. At this point Black (to his credit) tried
for a long time to win, but in the end nothing could be gained.
46 ... Kh4 47 Rb8 g4 48 Rh8+ Kg5 49 Rb8
49 ... g3
Perhaps Black should have tried his luck in the endgame after 49 ... Rc1
50 Rxb2 Rc3, which is a Philidor with two pawns on the g-file instead of one.
It’s still a draw, but White has to be perhaps a little careful. He should
employ the 7th rank defense strategy (or in this case, the 2nd rank) by
continuing to keep the rook on its current rank. After 51 Ra2 Kh4 52 Rb2,
one way Black could try to win is by exchanging his rook and g4-pawn for
White’s rook. If this were to happen, then regardless of who ended up
immediately holding the opposition, Black could always waste a tempo with
the g7-pawn. So, he could try setting this up with 52 ... Rf3 53 Ra2 Rf4 54
Rb2 g3, threatening ... Rf2+, which would carry out the aforementioned
exchange. White should move the rook away, such as with 55 Rb8 (55 Ra2?
Rf2+ 56 Rxf2 gxf2 57 Kxf2 Kh3 wins for Black), and now
55 ... Rf2+ 56 Kg1 Ra2 57 Rh8+ Kg4 58 Rg8 holds the draw.
White’s rook is ready to counter ... Kf3 or ... Kh3 by playing Rf8+ or
Rh8+ respectively. Or, if Black just passes with his rook, then of course
White will capture the g7-pawn. In the case of 58 ... g5, White just waits with
a move like 59 Rg7, preparing to check the black king once it moves off the
g-file.
50 Rb5+
50…Kh4 51 Rb4+ Kh5 52 Rb5+ g5 53 Rb4 Kg6 54 Rb6+ Kf5 55
Rb5+ Kf4 56 Rb4+ Ke3 57 Rb3+ Kd4 58 Rb8 g4 59 Rd8+ Ke3 60 Re8+
Kf4 61 Rf8+ Ke5 62 Re8+ Kd6 63 Rb8 Kc6 64 Rb3 Kc5 65 Rb8 Kc4 66
Rc8+ Kb4 67 Rb8+ Kc3 68 Rc8+
68 ... Kb3 69 Rb8+ Kc2 70 Rc8+ Kd2 71 Rd8+ Ke3 72 Re8+ Kd4 73
Rd8+ Kc5 74 Rc8+ Kd6 75 Rb8 Rc1 76 Rxb2 Rc3 77 Rb4 Ke5 78 Rxg4
Kf5 79 Rxg3 Rxg3+ 80 Kxg3 ½-½
Queen vs. e2-pawn
A scenario which is sometimes reached is a queen vs. a pawn on the 2nd
rank (or 7th, if White is the side with the pawn). For example, if both sides
were engaged in a pawn race, and one side promoted first, then they could
easily end up in this queen vs. pawn scenario. White’s goal is to force
Black’s king in front of the pawn. Then, since the pawn will be unable to
promote for a move, White will use this reprieve to bring his own king closer.
Rinse and repeat, until the white king is close enough to help the queen win
the game.
This strategy works flawlessly when the pawn is on either the b-, d-, e-, or
g-file. When it’s on the a-, c-, f-, or h-file, sometimes there is no way to win.
We’ll examine those scenarios next.
1 Qf7+ Kg2 2 Qe6 Kf2 3 Qf5+ Kg2
If 3 ... Ke3 4 Qe5+ Kf3, White hasn’t forced the black king in front of the
pawn, but this works just as well.
Since the king isn’t controlling the queening square, Black isn’t
threatening to promote the pawn. So, White can just play 5 Kb7, bringing his
king one step closer.
4 Qe4+ Kf2 5 Qf4+ Kg2 6 Qe3 Kf1 7 Qf3+
This is the key idea: Black’s king is forced to move in front of the pawn,
in order to protect it from the white queen.
7 ... Ke1 8 Kb7 Kd2
Now White begins again.
9 Qf2
This horizontal pin is a neat resource. It leaves Black with only one good
move, ... Kd1, at which point White will then follow up with Qd4+.
9 Qd5+ Kc2 10 Qe4+ is also a completely fine way to handle the position.
9 ... Kd1
If 9 ... Kd3, then 10 Qe1 makes White’s job easier. The queen will just sit
on e1 until the white king arrives.
10 Qd4+ Kc2 11 Qe3 Kd1 12 Qd3+ Ke1 13 Kc6
Another step closer.
13 ... Kf2 14 Qd2 Kf1 15 Qf4+ Kg2 16 Qe3 Kf1 17 Qf3+ Ke1 18 Kd5
Kd2 19 Qf2 Kd1 20 Qd4+ Kc2 21 Qe3
21 ... Kd1 22 Qd3+ Ke1 23 Ke4 Kf2 24 Qf3+ Ke1 25 Kd3 Kd1 26
Qxe2+ Kc1 27 Qc2#
Queen vs. f2-pawn
With a 2nd rank pawn on the c- or f-file, the game has the potential to be
a draw. The main factor is how close the attacking side’s king is. Also, it’s
important that the queen is unable to move on to the queening square, since
as we know, in this scenario it can just blockade the pawn until the attacking
king comes. In the current position though, neither of these conditions apply,
and Black will make a draw. Let’s see how.
1 Qg2 Ke1 2 Qe4+ Kd2 3 Qf3 Ke1 4 Qe3+ Kf1 5 Kb7
So far so good for White, but soon trouble will begin.
5 ... Kg1 6 Qg3+ Kh1!
The point. Black capitalizes on the fact that Qxf2 is stalemate. This
allows him to avoid having to move the king to f1. The consequence of this is
that ... f1Q is still a threat, and White has no time to bring his king any closer.
7 Qh3+
7 Qxf2 is, as mentioned, stalemate. From this position, we can see why
having a pawn on c2 or f2 can give Black a draw. Since the queen can’t move
like a knight, if it captures the pawn on c2/f2, then it won’t control the
corresponding corner square (a1/ h1). However, due to its other powers, the
queen will control all the squares surrounding the corner, enabling Black to
get a stalemate with his king there.
7 Kc6 f1Q is just a draw.
7 ... Kg1 8 Qg3+ Kh1 9 Qh4+ Kg1 10 Qg4+ Kh1 11 Qh5+ Kg1 12
Qg5+ Kh1 13 Qc1+ Kg2 14 Qd2 Kg1
15 Qe3 Kg2 16 Qe2 Kg1 17 Qg4+ Kh2 18 Qf3 Kg1 19 Qg3+ Kh1
Try as he might, White is unable to make any progress.
Queen vs. h2-pawn
With a side pawn on the 2nd rank, Black also has chances to hold. In the
current position, White’s king is much too far away, and thus he cannot win.
1 Qg7+ Kf2
1 ... Kh1 is also fine, even though it’s not forced yet.
2 Qf6+ Kg2 3 Qg5+ Kf2 4 Qf4+
4 ... Kg2 5 Qg4+ Kf1 6 Qh3+ Kg1 7 Qg3+ Kh1!
The point. White is unable to move his king closer, since then Black
would be stalemated. So instead the queen must spend the tempo moving off
the g-file.
8 Qe3
Or 8 Qf2, which also leads to a stalemate. An important point is that
Black should take care to not allow White’s queen on f1, since then it would
be checkmate. But with proper play, the queen is never able to reach this
square.
8 ... Kg2 9 Qe2+ Kg1 10 Qg4+ Kf2 11 Qh3 Kg1 12 Qg3+ Kh1
Queen vs. h2-pawn (with White’s king nearby)
This position is an example of a case where the location of White’s king
makes a difference. Here, the king is just close enough to secure the win.
First, the white queen gets into position by checking from the side.
1 Qb1+! Kg2 2 Qc2+ Kg1 3 Qd1+
3 ... Kg2
3 ... Kf2 is just met with 4 Qh1.
4 Qe2+ Kg1
Now the queen is ideally placed for White’s king to run to g3, and it
makes it just in time.
Or 4 ... Kg3 5 Qf1, controlling the promotion square.
5 Kf4! h1Q 6 Kg3
Despite Black now having a queen, he is helpless. White is threatening a
few different mates (Qf2 mate, Qe1 mate, Qd1 mate), and the black queen
lacks a safe square from which it can give checks.
A.Predke-G.Guseinov
EU-ch, Batumi 2018
Now we’ll examine a couple of real-life examples featuring the queen vs.
pawn scenario. In this game, both sides are in a pawn race, and a pair of
rooks are on the board.
70 Rf5
White decides to force a rook exchange.
70 ... Rxf5+
70 ... Rd7? 71 Rxf4+ is losing for Black.
71 Kxf5 Kg3 72 d7 f3 73 d8Q f2
Now we have a king and f2-pawn vs. a king and queen. In the previous
example we looked at (where White’s king and queen won against the black
king and h2-pawn), White won due to his king being close by (on e5). In the
current position, the king is on f5, which is as close to the action as e5.
However, the pawn being on the f-file instead of the h-file enables Black to
narrowly draw in this instance.
74 Qg5+ Kh2 75 Qd2 Kh1!
The key idea. With the queen on d2, Black refuses to put his king on g1.
75 ... Kg1 loses to the familiar pattern 76 Kg4 f1Q 77 Kg3, and the mate
threat of Qh2 mate nets White the game.
76 Qe2
Controlling the f1-square and forcing the black king to move to g1. But
now with the queen on e2, this is fine.
76 Kg4 f1Q 77 Kg3 doesn’t win,
since Black can capitalize on the vacant g1-square with 77 ... Qg1+, and
after 78 Kh3 Qf1+, White has nothing.
76 ... Kg1 77 Qg4+
If 77 Kg4 f1Q, the black queen attacks the white queen, giving White no
time for Kg3.
77 ... Kh1 78 Qd1+ Kg2
79 Qd2 Kh1 80 Qxf2 ½-½
M.Hebden-L.McShane
84th British Championship, Hove 1997
Again, we have a pawn race going on. Now White most likely had
everything calculated out until move 75. This isn’t that difficult to do, since
on most of the moves Black tends to have only one or two reasonable
options. Because of this, the “calculation tree” that White must traverse
doesn’t have many branches.
67 Kg8 Rb8+ 68 Kg7 d3
68 ... Ra8 would have to be considered as well, but this is refuted
following 69 h7 Ra7+ 70 Kh6 Ra8 71 Rg8 Rxa6+ 72 Kg5,
as the black rook is unable to sacrifice itself for the h7-pawn, and thus
White will soon have an extra queen.
69 h7 d2 70 Rg1 Kc2
71 h8Q Rxh8 72 Kxh8 d1Q 73 Rxd1 Kxd1 74 a7 c4 75 a8Q c3
This might have been the point where White stopped in his calculations.
Despite Black having a c-pawn and White’s king being far away, the game is
a win. This is due to the pawn being on the 3rd rank, not the 2nd. Its
placement prevents Black from utilizing the stalemate trick in the corner.
In fact, a pawn on the third rank will always lose, for any file. For
example, say Black’s pawn and king were on a3 and b2 respectively. In that
case, all White would have to do is work his queen down to the b4 square, at
which point ... Ka2 wouldn’t threaten stalemate (giving White time to march
his king over to the queenside).
76 Qf3+ Kd2 77 Qf2+ Kc1 78 Qe3+ Kb2 79 Qd4 1-0
79 Qd4 was met with resignation, as there are simply no good
continuations for Black:
a) 79 ... Kb3 is just met with 80 Kg7, since 80 ... c2 would run into 81
Qa1, controlling the queening square.
b) 79 ... Kc2 is also just met with 80 Kg7, and eventually the white king
will make its way to the queenside.
c) In the case of 79 ... Ka2,
this resembles how Black would play if the three pieces were shifted down
one rank (queen on d3, pawn on c2, king on b1) - in that case, the king would
slide to a1, and then Qxc2 would be a stalemate. But here with the pawn on
the third rank, 80 Qxc3 is not stalemate since the black king can move to b1.
Chapter Six
Tactics and Studies
Most players are initially drawn to chess because of their intuitive ability to
do tactics. Tactics are probably the most enjoyable part of chess; e.g.,
spotting a nice tactical combination and as a result, becoming up in material.
Chess Master Richard Teichmann has often been quoted saying, “Chess is
99% tactics”. While that’s not 100% true, the essence holds a lot of merit.
Even though there are many different areas of chess that require in-depth
study, regardless of your level, it is vital to stay tactically sharp.
Tactical training is one area that you don’t need a chess coach to help by
holding your hand. In fact, this is one of the areas where it is especially
beneficial for you to struggle on your own in order to learn and recognize the
tactical patterns and their solutions. You actually have to do the tactics
yourself in order to benefit from it, and it’s ideal that you do these tactics
daily. The focus should be more on accuracy; e.g., doing 10 tactics puzzles
and getting 80% to 100% correct, instead of attempting 100 tactics puzzles
and only getting 50% correct.
You can do tactics either from books, or on chess websites that allow you
to do multiple tactics each day for free. Take the time to ensure that you get
the tactics problem correct. Imagine that you are playing in a chess
tournament - if you don’t pull off the tactics problem just right, often it’s
going to be bad news for you. So, take the time to really explore the position
to find the winning tactic. If you do get it wrong, don’t just immediately
move on to the next tactics problem. Review the correct solution, and then try
it again. Making mistakes during your tactics training is completely fine, as
long as you learn from it.
Parents of junior chess players often say they can’t really tell if their kids
are progressing, other than seeing their ratings go up or down, or if they win a
prize from a tournament. Well, one way for both the chess player and parent
to monitor progress is to keep track of what improvements are being made in
the daily tactical training area. By implementing another spreadsheet, or
adding on to the spreadsheet that details your tournament information, you
can keep track of your tactical work. Columns could be Date, Tactics Rating
on whichever online chess website where you can do multiple tactics for free,
Time Spent (in mins), # of Tactics Attempted, and # Correct.
It’s nice to see progress, and it can be motivating to both the chess player
and the parent to see the hard work is paying off. Often chess players study
hard and practice, but don’t have a concrete way to see if any of their hard
work is making a difference. Now, if things are not progressing, one only
needs to check this tactics spreadsheet to see when the last time tactical
problems were attempted, how many, for how long, and at what accuracy
rate. The stats don’t lie and can help to point out where the issue may be, i.e.,
do your tactical training regularly!
In addition to the online tactics that you can practice each day, you can
also try on a real chess board to set up the positions found on the following
pages. These positions we’ve included are known as “endgame studies”.
Unlike standard tactics problems (such as those found on the online chess
playing platforms, which are taken from real games), endgame studies tend to
be composed by an author. The majority of your tactics training can just be
done on one of the online chess playing platforms or tactics books, but
throwing in some endgame studies as part of your training regimen is also
good.
Since you can easily do standard tactics online (and may already be doing
so), the positions we’ve included in this book are just composed endgame
studies. If you find that you like these types of problems, you can find more
online by simply searching something like “chess endgame studies”.
Note that these composed positions below are fairly hard. Study the
position, and only when you have fully deliberated on what you think the
winning line is, write it down. By doing this, you are emulating what you
should do during a real tournament game; i.e., only when you have decided
on your move do you commit to it by making that move and writing it down no take-backs, it’s done. After careful reflection on your position, you decide
on your move or plan of attack, and commit to it. Practicing this can help
improve your discipline when deciding what to move in actual games.
Once you have completed a problem, you can check its solution to see if
your idea is correct. If it’s not, take the necessary time to read and understand
the explanations. Ideally, if your parent, sibling, or chess buddy, is willing to
help, you can have them check the solutions instead of you; then if your line
is incorrect, you get sent back to the chess board to dig deeper. Remember,
we all need to struggle a bit and wrestle with the problem before we can fully
conquer it and burn that tactical pattern into our memory. Then, we can
triumphantly display it in our next masterpiece tournament game.
Endgame Study #1
Y.Afek 1976. White to move and win.
Endgame Study #1 - Calculations
For this study I spent half an hour trying to solve it, and didn’t succeed.
But that’s okay, since many studies (especially hard ones like these) are
extremely difficult to solve, and can have fine nuances many moves into the
solution. The benefit of trying to solve hard studies (and most of the time
failing) is that you get a lot of practice calculating and trying to make ideas
work. Then when you finally give up and check the answer, you should see
some of your ideas crop up in the solution. And then you likely will see
which subtleties you missed that were required to make the line work.
This process is very conducive to learning, and not just in chess. For
example, a common piece of advice when it comes to math textbooks is to try
to solve each problem for a while. If you can solve it, great; if you can’t
check the textbook solution and see what you missed. This is way more
beneficial than just immediately checking the solution, and not trying to solve
the problem yourself first. The following includes some of the more
important ideas and lines I calculated:
1 Re8
Unable to make headway, I also considered this. One idea I had was
trying to use the white rook to cut off Black’s king and h5-pawn from each
other - however, this never ended up working. Another idea is playing Kf6,
and then being able to block ... Ra6+ with Re6.
1 Kg8 is an obvious first move to consider.
White unpins the pawn, threatening to promote. However, after 1 ... Ra8+
2 f8Q Rxf8+ 3 Kxf8 Kg3 4 Kf7 h4, White isn’t fast enough.
The white king still has to spend a number of tempi moving down the
board, and the rook needs 2 tempi to start checking from the side. For
example: 5 Kf6 h3 6 Ra8 h2 7 Ra1 Kg2 and Black comfortably draws. Even
if White’s king was on g5, he wouldn’t be in time to win.
1 Kf6 aims to be a better version of 1 Kg8. Again White unpins the pawn,
but now the king runs down the board, to where it wants to go. The problem,
however, is that Black’s rook can give checks. Following 1 ... Ra6+ (1 ...
Rxf7+ also draws, albeit narrowly as well) 2 Ke5 Ra5+ 3 Kd4 Ra4+, White’s
king can run in either direction:
a) 4 Ke3 Ra3+ 5 Kf2 Ra2+ 6 Kg1 Ra1+ 7 Kg2 keeps Black’s rook from
moving on to the f-file, but White’s king cannot hide from the checks.
b) 4 Kc3 Ra3+ 5 Kb2 Rf3 6 f8Q Rxf8 7 Rxf8 Kg3 looks like there could
possibly be something for White, but Black just barely manages to draw. For
example, after 8 Kc2 h4 9 Kd2 h3 10 Ke2 h2:
b1) 11 Rg8+? can be met with 11 ... Kh4!, actually winning. Black
prepares to meet Rh8 with ... h5, and the rook can’t stop the h2-pawn. I had
only considered the king moving to h3 in my calculations. To be fair, 11 ...
Kh3 draws, so it’s enough to discard this line for White anyway.
b2) 11 Rf1 is better, but 11…Kg2 12 Rf2+ Kg1 is a draw.
1 Rg8 was a move I eventually found.
The idea is that when the white king moves, Black’s king will be cut off
along the g-file. 1 Rg8 is the first move of the solution, but in my calculations
I couldn’t quite make it work. I examined the following:
a) 1 ... Kg5? loses on the spot, since White’s king can move off the g7square with tempo, unpinning the f7-pawn: 2 Kh8+ Kh6 3 f8Q+.
b) 1 ... Kh3? is met by 2 Kf6 Ra6+ 3 Kg5! Ra5+ 4 Kh6, when Black faces
a dilemma. If he checks again, White’s king will capture the h5-pawn,
eliminating Black’s key source of counterplay. And if Black plays 4 ... Rf5
instead, then White just wins the black rook with 5 f8Q - after which, the
white king and rook will be too close to Black’s king and h5-pawn.
c) 1 ... Rb7 was a defense I hadn’t considered. However, now the black
rook is one file closer, meaning that White’s king won’t have to run as far to
escape the checks after 2 Kf6 Rb6+ 3 Ke5 Rb5+ 4 Kd4 Rb4+ 5 Kc3.
In a previous similar variation (for 1 Kf6), the king had reached the b-file.
Here, it only has to go to the c-file, meaning that White will save one tempo
running back to the kingside. This proves decisive - for example: 5 ... Rf4 6
f8Q Rxf8 7 Rxf8 Kg3 8 Kd3 h4 9 Ke2 h3 10 Rg8+ Kf4 11 Rh8 h2 12 Rxh7
Kg3 13 Kf1, and White wins.
d) 1 ... h6! is the strongest defense, and it’s the main move I considered
for Black. 2 Kf6 Ra6+ 3 Ke5 Ra5+ 4 Ke4 Ra4+ 5 Kf3 Ra3+ 6 Kg2 Ra2+ 7
Kh1 Ra1+ 8 Kh2 Ra2+ 9 Rg2 Ra8 reaches a position I got to in my
calculations, and here I didn’t see a good way to continue for White.
If 10 Rg8, Black’s rook just comes back with 10 ... Ra2+. And if 10 Rf2,
10 ... Rf8 blocks the pawn. It turns out that getting to this position is the
correct way to go. When we examine the solution to the study, we’ll see a
fantastic way for White to continue here.
1 ... Kg3 2 Kf6
Now the problem is that Black can simply give up his rook for the f7pawn, and White is too slow. For example:
2 ... Rxf7+ 3 Kxf7 h4 4 Kf6 h3 5 Kg5 h2
And White is one tempo too short. If Black’s pawn were on h3, Re3+
followed by Kg4 would win.
Endgame Study #1 Solution
1 Rg8! h6 2 Kf6
2 Kg6 Ra6+ 3 Kh7 is an interesting try. In my calculations, I’m pretty
sure 3 ... Ra7 was the only move I considered here (or at least the main one).
This move loses, (although I didn’t see how to win against it), but Black has
3 ... Rf6 instead. Let’s take a look at these:
a) 3 ... Ra7? and now:
a1) 4 Rg7? allows Black to draw with 4 ... Rxf7 5 Rxf7 Kg3 6 Kxh6 h4 7
Rg7+ Kf2 8 Kg5 h3, and White isn’t fast enough.
a2) 4 Kg7! reaches the position after 1 ... h6, except now it is Black to
move. This is a decisive zugzwang (i.e., when it’s the player’s move and all
the move options are bad), since either the black king or rook has to move:
a21) 4 ... Kh3 5 Kg6 creates the dual threat of f8Q and Kxh5, winning.
a22) 4 ... Rb7 is a tougher defense, but as we saw in the 1. Rg8 Rb7
variation from a while earlier, the Black rook being on the b-file puts it too
close. After 5 Kf6 Rb6+ 6 Ke5 Rb5+ 7 Kd4 Rb4+ 8 Kc3 Rf4 9 f8Q Rxf8 10
Rxf8, White’s king has only had to run to the c-file to end the checks (not the
b-file), so now it’ll save one tempo running back to the kingside.
b) 3 ... Rf6! is stronger, and is the only way to draw.
On 4 Kg7 (4 f8Q Rxf8 5 Rxf8 Kg3 is a draw), White is hoping to play
f8Q, and after ... Rxf8 Kxf8, the white rook will cut Black’s king off along
the g-file. This would give White the win, but Black has a key move that
thwarts this plan: 4 ... Kg5!, protecting the rook and moving the king off the
h-file. Now 5 Ra8 Rxf7+ 6 Kxf7 h4 will draw.
2 ... Ra6+ 3 Ke5 Ra5+ 4 Ke4 Ra4+ 5 Kf3 Ra3+ 6 Kg2
6…Ra2+
6 ... Rg3+ is an interesting move mentioned by Afek, and I don’t believe
it’s one I considered. White just needs to take care not to put Black in
stalemate; this is best done with 7 Kf2, and Black loses. For example, 7 ...
Rxg8 8 fxg8Q Kh3 9 Qg3 mate.
7 Kh1 Ra1+ 8 Kh2 Ra2+ 9 Rg2 Ra8
As I mentioned earlier, I had reached this position in my calculations, but
didn’t see how to continue.
10 Rg7!!
The rook seizes the chance to move to the g7-square. If you go through
the previous moves leading up to this point, playing Rg7 wasn’t possible.
White’s king was either in the way, or the king was being checked by Black’s
rook.
10 ... Ra2+
Now the checks begin anew, and White’s king runs back to the ruins of
Black’s kingside.
11 Kg1 Ra1+ 12 Kf2 Ra2+ 13 Kf3 Ra3+ 14 Kf4 Ra4+ 15 Kf5
15…Ra5+
15 ... Ra1 is a less stubborn defense. Now Afek gives 16 Kg6 Rg1+ 17
Kh7 Rf1 18 Kg8, and White wins. He’s about to play f8Q, winning the black
rook. Then, the black king being stuck on the h-file gives White the win. For
example: 18 ... Kh3 19 f8Q Rxf8+ 20 Kxf8 h4 21 Kf7 Kh2 22 Kf6 h3 23 Kf5
Kh1 24 Kf4, and here we could consider a few short lines:
a) If 24 ... h2 25 Kf3 h5 26 Kf2, White is about to play Ra7-Ra1 mate,
ending the game. Notice how if it weren’t for Black’s extra h-pawn on h5, the
game would be stalemate here.
b) 24 ... h5 25 Kf3 h4 26 Kf2 Kh2 is a little more stubborn, but now
White checkmates with 27 Ra7 Kh1 28 Ra3! Kh2 (or 28 ... h2 29 Ra1 mate)
29 Rb3 Kh1 30 Rxh3 mate.
16 Kg6
16…Ra8
Or 16 ... Ra6+, which is also well met with 17 Kh7.
If you compare this position with the one in the 2 Kg6, 3 Kh7 variation,
you’ll notice the only difference is that White’s rook is placed on g7 instead
of g8. While subtle, there is a world of difference between the two
placements.
Now:
a) 17 ... Rf6 was how Black defended in the 2 Kg6, 3 Kh7 variation.
However, since the white rook is on g7 instead of g8 here, White can play the
immediate 18 Kg8. After 18 ... Kh3 19 f8Q Rxf8+ 20 Kxf8, we transpose to
the 15 ... Ra1 variation, which led to a win for White.
b) 17 ... Ra8 18 Rg8! Ra7 19 Kg7 is the position after 1 ... h6, but with
Black to move!
In real games, spending 18 moves just to waste a tempo is unheard of.
But in studies, which are composed with such ends in mind, anything is
possible. Now Black’s rook must move while still keeping the pawn pinned.
And as we know, if the rook comes closer, the game is lost since White’s
king doesn’t have to run as far to end the checks. For example, 19 ... Rb7 20
Kf6 Rb6+ 21 Ke5 Rb5+ 22 Kd4 Rb4+ 23 Kc3 Rf4 24 f8Q Rxf8 25 Rxf8,
winning.
17 Kh7
17 Kxh6? Rf8 is the same as what we’ll get in the main line, except
White is to move in this position. We want it to be Black’s move, in order to
put him in zugzwang and force the rook to move off f8.
17 ... Rf8 18 Kxh6 Rh8+ 19 Kg6 Ra8 20 Rg8 Ra6+ 21 Kf5
White embarks on another king march, but this one will conclude matters,
as Afek demonstrates with the following moves. This position is very similar
to what was seen in the beginning of this study - the key difference is that
White has successfully gotten rid of one of Black’s h-pawns. It only took
around 20 moves(!), but that’s the beauty of long studies like these.
21…Ra5+ 22 Ke4 Ra4+ 23 Kd3 Ra3+ 24 Kc2 Ra2+ 25 Kb1 Rf2 26
f8Q Rxf8 27 Rxf8 Kg4 28 Rg8+ Kf3 29 Rh8
Since Black doesn’t have the extra h-pawn anymore, the rook is able to
immediately put pressure on the more advanced pawn. This forces the black
king to spend a tempo moving to g4 in order to protect it.
29…Kg4 30 Kc2 h4 31 Kd3 Kg3 32 Ke3 Kg4 33 Rf8 h3 34 Kf2 h2 35
Kg2
This study was very difficult, and I would expect that even some GMs
wouldn’t be able to solve it. The rest of the studies we’ll examine are easier.
However, there’s still some benefit in doing very hard studies. For example,
for this study let’s say you only figured out that White has to first march the
king down the board, but maybe you couldn’t calculate a concrete way for
this to work. That’s okay - then when you read through the solution, when
getting to around the 8th move (8 Kh2), don’t look at the rest of the solution.
Instead, try to solve the study on your own from there. Because of this
particular study’s difficulty, even this would be a tough task. But again, if
you get stuck at a point, simply read the solution for a few more moves and
then try to solve on your own. It’s also worth noting any variations the
solution includes for your opponent, which you didn’t consider when trying
to solve.
Endgame Study #2
R.Tavariani, 1970. White to play and win
Endgame Study #2 Solution
In general for these long studies involving a lot of calculation, it’s better
to do ones that seem more realistic. This is because we’re training to be better
calculators in the types of positions that might actually come up in our
games. The position for this study is a little unrealistic, but it’s not too far
outside the realm of possibility. Comparatively, positions where there are
many pieces of high value placed in a seemingly random pattern are perhaps
not as useful. They can still be fun problems to solve, and can help with
calculation, but there won’t be much benefit as far as pattern recognition
goes.
1 Kc8
The e2-pawn can’t be stopped, so White’s only sensible plan is to push
his own passed pawn.
1 ... e1Q 2 d7
Now the two main responses to consider are 2 ... Qa5 and 2 ... Qb4. Other
responses are just met with 3 d8Q, and White’s up a bishop.
2 ... Qb4
This is the tougher nut to crack. Even Stockfish 15 doesn’t see the win
here for White, until it reaches around depth 24.
2 ... Qh1? 3 d8Q Qxh2 wins the bishop, but now it’s mate after 4 Qd7+
Kb6 5 Qb5 mate.
2 ... Qa5 forces 3 d8N+! (3 d8Q?? loses to 3 ... Qa6+ 4 Kb8 Qb7 mate) in
order to avoid mate. Underpromotion is an idea that crops up in studies at a
much higher rate than it does in real games. Now White has a few different
ways to win. One of which is as follows: 3 ... Kb6 4 Bc7+ Ka6 5 Bxa5 Kxa5
6 Nc6+ prevents the king from accessing b4.
Now there are two paths to consider:
a) 6 ... Kb6 7 Kd7 leaves Black with nothing to do but push the kingside
pawns. But on 7 ... g5 8 Kxe6 Kxc6 9 Kxf5, White is about to win the g5pawn and then push his passed f-pawn. Black is far too slow to get his
queenside pawns rolling in time.
b) 6 ... Kxa4 7 f4 leaves Black out of good moves. The king is stuck on
a4, and the kingside pawns are now fixed by the f4-pawn. It’s important to
note that if something like 7 ... g5 is played, then 8 fxg5 f4 9 Ne5 leaves
Black’s pawns blockaded, while White’s new passer is about to queen.
3 d8N+ Kb6 4 Bc7+ Ka6 5 Nc6!
This is the key idea. White threatens Nb8+, and importantly realizes that
it’s fine to allow ... Qb7+, as White can just move the king away to d7.
5 ... Qb7+
Black’s only defense. Let’s say you had tried to solve this study but
didn’t succeed. When you then read through the solution and get to a point
like this, you could then try to solve the study from here. These long studies
tend to have multiple motifs crop up over the duration of the solution. So,
being given the first few moves of the solution doesn’t necessarily spoil the
rest. There will likely be other ideas that still need to be found.
6 Kd7 Qa8
Making room for the black king to run to b7.
Something like 6 ... g5 loses the queen after 7 Nb8+ Qxb8 8 Bxb8, and
White is easily winning.
7 Nb8+ Kb7 8 a5!
A very nice idea. White threatens a6 mate, and Black has no good way to
respond.
8 ... a6
This stops the mate threat, but now with the black pawn on a6, the king
no longer has access to this square. This frees up the knight to move, since it
no longer needs to control it. In addition, the a5-pawn prevents the black king
from moving to b6, which in turn frees up the c7-bishop.
8 ... Qxb8 loses to 9 a6+ Ka8 10 Bxb8 Kxb8 11 f4 Ka8 12 Kc7. Despite
being two pawns up, Black is dead lost. He is in zugzwang and is forced to
push either the e6- or g6-pawn - after which White will capture and promote
with mate, e.g. 12 ... g5 13 fxg5 f4 14 g6 f3 15 g7 f2 16 g8Q mate.
9 f4!
The last finesse. White gives Black the move, and once either the king or
queen move to a7, the b8-knight can move to c6 with tempo.
9 Nc6?? lets the queen escape, and White loses everything following 9 ...
Qc8+ 10 Ke7 Qxc7+ 11 Kxe6 Kxc6.
9 ... Ka7
9 ... g5 10 fxg5 f4 11 g6 f3 12 g7 f2 13 g8Q f1Q 14 Qc8+ Ka7 15 Qxa6
mate is also curtains for Black.
10 Nc6+ Kb7 11 Bb8
White has finished weaving the net. The only black pieces which can
legally move are the queen and kingside pawns.
11 ... Qxb8
11 ... g5 again just loses to 12 fxg5 f4 13 g6, when White will promote
first and proceed to checkmate the black king.
12 Nxb8 Kxb8 13 Kxe6
Now White’s king will mop up the kingside, concluding the game.
Endgame Study #3
J.Timman, 1981. White to play and draw
Endgame Study #3 Solution
This study is a good example of what we mentioned previously about
“realistic” looking studies. It’s plausible that this kind of position could end
up happening in a real game. This exact configuration of the pieces is
obviously extremely unlikely to occur, but there may be patterns we can
recognize here which will help us in real games.
In this study, White’s goal is to draw. One way this can be achieved is by
capturing one of Black’s pieces. The easiest target is of course the pawn; if
White wins it, then the king and knight will easily be able to draw against the
black king, bishop, and knight. The other way White can draw is by
maneuvering Black into stalemating him.
1 Nd2!
An important move which does a few things:
1) It takes the f3-square away from the h4-knight.
2) It prevents Black’s bishop from protecting the g6-pawn by moving to
b1. In fact, the bishop is completely prevented from moving on to the b1-h7
diagonal. Due to the knight’s control over b3, c4, and e4, all routes are closed
to the bishop: ... Bb3- ... Bc2, ... Bc4- ... Bd3, and ... Bd5- ... Be4 all don’t
work.
3) The white knight is a tempo closer to being in striking distance of the
g6-pawn. On e4 the knight was two squares diagonally away from the g6pawn, which means it would take four tempi to reach it. On d2, the knight
now “only” needs 3 tempi (e.g., via f3-e5-g6).
1 ... Bf7
This is also a sensible way for Black to protect the pawn. Now if White
plays Kg5, Black will soon play ... Kf8- ... Kg7, giving the pawn more
protection. However, this is very similar to what we will see in the 1 ... Kf7
variation, and White can apply the same stalemate motif again here.
1 ... Kf7 (1 ... Ng2? drops the pawn to 2 Kxg6) is a reasonable move,
defending the g6-pawn in preparation for the h4-knight being chased away by
Kg5.
Now if one reaches the following position in their calculations: 2 Kg5
Ng2 3 Nf3 Bb1…
it may become evident that White has a way to force a stalemate with 4
Ne5+! Kg7 5 Nxg6 Bxg6, and the game is drawn.
2 Kg5 Ng2 3 Nf3
3…Kf8
3 ... Ne3 does nothing, as 4 Ne5 prepares to win the g6-pawn.
4 Ne5 Kg7 5 Nxg6
White draws with the same stalemate idea employed in the 1…Bf7
variation.
5…Bxg6
This study wasn’t particularly long, and the solution is a bit easier than
the previous two “long” studies. However, it’s a neat puzzle that involves
finding a stalemate pattern - in our real games, being able to find similar
patterns may end up saving a game one day. Also, this puzzle shows how
finding an idea in one variation can often be applied to other variations in our
calculations as well. In this example it was how the stalemate motif in the 1
... Kf7 line easily transferred over to 1 ... Bf7.
Endgame Study #4
J.Timman, 2011. White to play and win
Endgame Study #4 Solution
This is another fairly good example of a realistic looking endgame
position. For example, maybe before this point, White could have had a
bishop that was sacrificed for a passed pawn Black was pushing on the
kingside. Now the black king is running back, and White is trying to draw the
game while he still has the chance. It doesn’t matter that this study was
composed and didn’t occur in an actual game - the important thing is that it’s
similar to the type of position which reasonably could occur.
1 d6 Bd8
2 Ka7!
This is the key move to make the Rf4+ idea work. White forces the black
rook to c8, since then the ... Bc7 motif will not protect the rook. This is an
important lesson for calculation. Sometimes you find an idea that you can’t
quite make work. When this happens, often tweaking the move order of your
variation can help. Or, as is the case with this study, throwing in an additional
move(s) can modify the position so that your idea works. In this case,
breaking the coordination between the black rook and bishop does the trick.
2 Rf4+ was the move I spent some time trying to make work. However, I
couldn’t figure out a winning line. After 2 ... Ke3 3 Rf8 Bc7!, White has two
options:
a) 4 Rxb8 Bxb8 5 d7 Bc7 6 Kb7 Bd8 7 Kc8 Bg5 8 Kc7 (8 d8Q? Bxd8 9
Kxd8 Kd4 10 Kc7 Kc4 is a draw) aims to win the b6-pawn, and then push the
b4-pawn up the board.
The hope is that the black bishop won’t be able to stop both pawns.
However, Black’s king is in time to help: 8 ... Kd4 9 Kxb6 Kd5 10 Kc7 Kc4,
and the b-pawn is lost.
b) 4 dxc7 Rxf8 5 Kxb6 is also too slow for White to win.
The black king is too close: 5 ... Kd4 6 b5 Kd5 7 Kb7 Kc5 8 b6 Kb5.
This is a useful pattern to remember, where the king and rook can draw
against a king and two connected passed pawns. The king attacks the pawn
lagging behind (in this case b6), while the rook controls the queening square
of the pawn more advanced (here the one on c7). If White plays 9 Ka7 (in the
case of 9 c8Q, Black wins both pawns after 9 ... Rxc8 10 Kxc8 Kxb6), trying
to push b7, this fails to 9 ... Kc6. Now White has to bail out with 10 c8Q+ (10
b7?? loses to 10 ... Kxc7) 10 ... Rxc8 11 b7 Rc7 12 Ka8 Rxb7 stalemate.
2 ... Rc8 3 Rf4+ Ke3 4 Rf8
4…b5!
The best try. Black pushes the pawn further from White’s king, and also
fixes the pawn on b4. This aims to make the ... Bc7 idea work, since in the 4
... Bc7 variation, we saw how after 5 Rxc8 Bxd6 6 b5, the white pawn
escaped the bishop’s attack. This parallels our discussion in the notes to 2
Ka7, on how throwing in an intermediate move can strengthen an idea. In this
case though, 4 ... b5 will unfortunately still not manage to save the game for
Black.
Unlike in the 2 Rf4+ variation, here playing 4 ... Bc7 is hopeless, as the
black rook is unguarded. After 5 Rxc8 Bxd6 6 b5 Bc5 7 Rc6 Kd4 8 Rxb6,
White wins.
4 ... Kd4 also loses to 5 Kb7 Bc7 (5 ... Rc1 6 Rxd8 is an easy win for
White as well) 6 Rxc8 Bxd6 7 b5 Bc5 8 Rc6 Kc4 9 Rxb6.
5 Kb7 Bc7 6 Rf3+!
A fantastic move. This is yet another example of making an idea work by
injecting a move beforehand. The purpose of Rf3+ will soon become evident
in the notes to 7…Rf8.
6 dxc7?? Rxf8 lets Black win following 7 c8Q Rxc8 8 Kxc8 Kd4 9 Kb7
Kc4 10 Kc6 Kxb4 11 Kd5 Kc3 12 Kc5 b4.
6 Rxc8? now only draws. After 6 ... Bxd6 7 Kc6 Bxb4 8 Kxb5, this is a
theoretical draw. We go over this K+B vs. K+R endgame as part of a
different chapter.
6 ... Kxf3 7 dxc7 Rf8
This position is the same as the one seen in the 6 dxc7 variation, except
that Black’s king is on f3 instead of e3. It being one tempo further away is the
difference between a win and a loss here.
8 c8Q Rxc8 9 Kxc8 Ke4 10 Kc7 Kd5 11 Kb6
Attacking the b5-pawn and luring the black king to c4. This sets things up
for a winning zugzwang.
11 ... Kc4
11 ... Kd6 also loses, as after 12 Kxb5 Kc7 13 Ka6 Kb8 14 Kb6, White
seizes the opposition.
12 Ka5
And White wins.
This zugzwang is a fundamental and important pattern of king and pawn
endings.
Endgame Study #5
T.Ristoja. White to play and win
Endgame Study #5 Solution
Relative to some of the previous studies we’ve looked at, this one is more
straightforward. When solving studies, it’s best to calculate lines until you
reach a point where you’ve clearly obtained the goal of a winning or drawn
position. If there are still moves that give your opponent decent looking
chances, you should try to keep calculating until the outcome is no longer in
question. Finding just the first 1-2 moves of a solution doesn’t really count as
solving a study. You should also try to calculate how to play against different
lines the opponent can try. For example, if you figure out all the correct
moves in one variation, but completely missed that the opponent has an even
trickier move at their disposal, then you haven’t found the full solution.
Of course, for some studies it’s very hard/impossible for even titled
players to find the whole solution. And that’s fine - the main point is to try to
solve as much as you can. Then when looking at the solution, maybe it points
out a variation for the opponent that you overlooked, or it shows you how to
continue in a position you felt stuck in. At this point, you could then set up
that position and try to solve the rest from there.
For the current study here, the solution doesn’t involve calculating too
many moves ahead. Also, there are a limited number of ways Black can try to
defend. So, this is a study that you should definitely try to solve completely.
1 Rf8+!
If this move doesn’t jump out to you, it could be found by the method of
elimination. All other moves give Black an easy path to at least a draw.
1 Rg5 is the best attempt besides 1 Rf8+, but after 1 ... Rxg6+ 2 Rxg6+
hxg6 3 Kxg6 Kf8 4 e6 (4 Kh7?? loses to 4 ... Kf7 5 Kh6 Ke6) 4 ... Kg8,
Black draws since he has the opposition. White’s king cannot make inroads
to the e7-pawn.
1 ... Kxf8 2 Kxh7
Now some reasonable moves include ... Rxg6, ... Rxe5, ... Ke8, and
moving the rook somewhere to the left on the 6th rank. As discussed earlier,
to solve the study “fully” we should find a refutation to each reasonable
option that our opponent can play.
2 ... Rxg6
2 ... Rxe5 3 g7+ Ke8 4 g8Q+ Kd7 leads to an endgame which is winning
for White.
Some technique may be needed to finish off the game, but trying to
calculate this until checkmate is not part of solving the study. White has
many viable moves here, and most of them leave him still up a queen vs. the
rook and pawn (so, still winning). So, there’s no one correct way to continue
here as White, as opposed to previously in this study.
2 ... Ke8 3 g7 Rxe5 4 g8Q+ just transposes to the 2 ... Rxe5 line.
2 ... Ra6 3 g7+ Ke8 4 g8Q+ is also clearly winning for White.
3 Kxg6
With both sides just having a king and pawn, it’s easier to completely
map everything out here. If you reached this point in your calculations, you
should consider all of 3 ... Ke8, 3 ... Kg8, and 3 ... e6, and ensure that all lead
to a win for White.
3 ... e6
3 ... Kg8 is refuted by 4 e6 Kf8 (or 4 ... Kh8 5 Kf7) 5 Kh7 Ke8 6 Kg7
Kd8 7 Kf7 Kc7 8 Kxe7.
3 ... Ke8 4 e6 Kf8 (4 ... Kd8 allows 5 Kf7) 5 Kh7 Ke8 6 Kg7 Kd8 7 Kf7
leads to the same zugzwang position, and White wins.
4 Kf6
4 ... Ke8
4 ... Kg8 is met with 5 Kxe6 Kf8 6 Kd7, and White controls all the
squares leading to the pawn’s promotion.
5 Kxe6
White wins. Even if he didn’t have the opposition here (so if it was his turn to
move again), this position would still be winning. This is a pretty basic but
useful pattern to be aware of.
Chapter Seven
Slowing Down
Undoubtedly your chess coach has told you to slow down at one time or
another, or maybe even at every single lesson; however, it’s easy for
someone to simply tell you the words, “slow down”, but it’s an entirely
different thing to provide meaningful advice on how to actually get you to
slow down your play.
Are you surprised that there are players who play 3 to 5 hours for just one
game, compared to your longest game perhaps being only 1-2 hours, or
shorter? Like what are these players doing or thinking about? Did their chess
coach just tell them to “slow down”, and so they do that by just falling asleep
at the chess board or mentally blanking out in order to needlessly prolong
their games? Well, likely these players are doing something more productive
during their think time, and because of that, it takes them longer to process
what will be their best move.
If your games end up with your clock accumulating more time than what
it had in the beginning (time controls with increments add for example 30
seconds to your clock time after each move that you make), it’s a sure sign
that you aren’t using your time wisely; or if you have a substantial amount of
time left on your clock and are one of the first games to finish, then you know
that you are moving way too fast and not taking advantage of your time
allotment.
What would the result be if you tried to hurry baking a cake? The recipe
calls for the cake to be in the oven for 45 minutes, but because you pull it out
after only 15 minutes, instead of a nice, golden brown, fluffy cake, what you
get is a mushy, lopsided cake that is likely only fit for the trash can.
Michelangelo worked for 4 years on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Imagine if he
rushed through his work and finished it in only 2 hours. Instead of creating a
breathtaking masterpiece, where each image and scenery required an
extended and dedicated amount of time, if it were done in only a couple of
hours, there would only be enough time to draw simple stick people on the
ceiling.
Anything well done needs time to be done well. Consider your chess
games as your own work of art and take the necessary time to ensure each
and every one of them becomes one of your great chess masterpieces.
Mental Checklist Starting with the Basic Chess Principles
Many players know about the Basic Chess Principles, i.e.,
1. Control the centre squares.
2. Develop your pieces.
3. Castle to keep your king safe.
4. Connect your rooks.
5. Don’t bring your queen out too early.
But how many times during the game do you check your position to see that
you are adhering to these basic chess principles? So, to help you slow down,
you should be doing something productive during your turn and that is to try
to have a mental checklist that you run through in your mind that covers the
basic chess principles.
When it’s your turn to move, consider the following:
1. Am I controlling the centre squares?
If your answer is “no”, then think about how you can achieve this. For
example, what can you do to kick out your opponent’s centralized knight? Or
would it be beneficial for you to advance your e- or d-pawn to challenge for
control of the centre squares. Or maybe can you get your own knight to take
hold of some of the central squares? Would it be a good idea for you to attack
your opponent’s pawns that currently have a strangle-hold on the e4, d4, e5,
d5 squares?
2. Are all my pieces developed?
To illustrate the advantage of developing your pieces, imagine that there are
two competing teams that are about to commence their battle on the soccer
pitch. If one of the teams only fields five of their players against its
opponent’s team, which decided to field its full 11 players, this would clearly
create a huge lopsided disadvantage. It’s the same in chess, in that it is most
beneficial to get all your pieces developed and active in game play to help in
the fight for victory.
Develop your knights, get your bishops in the action, have your rooks
ready to shoot down at the opposing castled king, and bring your powerful
queen to cause havoc on your opponent. Get your pieces into play. Game on!
3. Is my king safely tucked in its castle?
Be careful not to keep your king in the centre too long - otherwise you may
lose the opportunity to castle, and then your vulnerable king will be stuck,
making it more susceptible to attacks.
Never lose sight of the fact that even though you want to checkmate your
opponent’s king, your opponent also has the very same goal, i.e., to
checkmate your king. So, if you leave your own king defenseless, focusing
only on your own attack, and ignoring your opponent’s plan, your king may
pay a dear price. Keep your king safe, so that you are free to continue with
your own plan of attack.
4. Are my rooks connected?
Once your king is safely castled, your rooks are freed up to help with your
attack. Along with the queen, the rooks are considered major pieces, and they
work very well together. If you line up both rooks on a file, this creates a
battery where the rooks are supporting each other, all the while shooting
down at the opponent’s territory.
5. Refrain from bringing your queen out too early unless you want to
waste your turn by constantly moving your queen away from your
opponent’s pieces which are both developing and attacking your queen at the
same time. In general, it’s better to get your other pieces developed and your
king castled before developing your queen.
If you are taking only a couple of minutes per move, then for sure you are
not fully evaluating your position, and thus leaving areas for your opponent
to exploit. Or you may be missing important tactical opportunities. Go
through your mental checklist, and start with the basics, i.e., go through the
basic chess principles to see how you can improve your pieces and your
position by identifying where you are lacking in piece development, king
safety, central square control, etc. In addition, evaluate your opponent’s
pieces and position in the same way using those basic chess principles to
identify weaknesses that you can attack and take advantage of.
Why Did My Opponent Move There?
Another important item for your mental checklist is to ask yourself, “Why did
my opponent move there?” every time after your opponent moves; the goal is
to try to discover your opponent’s plan of attack. Imagine there are two
armies, one protecting the castle and the other outside ready to invade the
castle. If the army in the castle found out that the outside army’s plan was to
wait until nightfall to attack them from the rear/back door, then the army in
the castle could either reinforce its locks and barriers in the rear of the castle,
or better yet, it could lay a sly trap and allow the outside army to come in and
then boom! Attack them with more forces than their enemy has.
As you can see, if you have the blueprint of your opponent’s plan or can
decipher what your opponent is trying to do, you can more easily thwart any
potential attacks or threats. And once you have done that, you can more
confidently go forward with your own plan of attack.
One problem is that your opponent’s plan may not be immediately
obvious, so if you can’t readily understand why your opponent made a certain
move, try mentally skipping a move, i.e., even though your opponent just
moved, pretend that it is your opponent’s turn again. This way it helps you to
identify what the threat is. By doing this, you now can think about how best
you can ward off your opponent’s plan. Did that knight move to set up an
upcoming fork on your king and queen? Did your opponent make that rook
move to set up doubling up the two rooks to shoot down an open file? Was
that bishop move to prepare to pin your knight to your queen? All good
questions, and all ideas that can be spotted if you pretend it is your
opponent’s turn again.
Make Your Worst Piece Better
Examine your position and identify which is your worst piece. It could be
your undeveloped rook, or the knight stuck out of play, or any piece that is
not actively helping to put pressure on your opponent. Look to see which is
your worst piece, and then find a way to position it in a more active or
threatening square. How much better would your attack be if you could
improve your worst piece to one that is a fully contributing combatant?
Try to remove anything that limits the activity of your worst piece. For
example, activate your rook and put it on an open file. Bring your poorly
placed knight on the a- or h-file to the centre of the board, so that it can
threaten more squares. Open up the position by capturing some pawns to give
your bishop room to control more space.
That’s a good move, now look for an even better move
Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to get an exceptional
birthday gift for a friend, but after spending just a little bit of time, you could
only come up with a “good enough” gift? You know that it’s not an amazing
gift - it’s just an okay gift. Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to take that extra
time to think a bit more and come up with a really great gift - one that you
know will make your friend shed tears of joy?
Now think about this in terms of finding chess moves. Try your best to
take your time to consider what is the best move in the current position that
you are facing. Now, once you find a good move, don’t move immediately;
instead, take the time to look deeper into the position for an even better move.
One that will make your opponent shed tears of anguish.
You actually go through the same thinking process when you are doing
your daily tactics problems. When you are doing the exercise, you initially
find a good move, but you know that is not the best move or the solution, so
you continue your search. You do this because it’s a tactics problem, and it
may even state “mate in 3”. But, in your actual games, there is no header
giving you a hint that if you make the correct move right now, it’ll
immediately lead to a mate in 3. So, you need to translate the same thinking
process that you use when solving your daily tactics to your actual chess
games, especially during the critical moments.
10 Seconds Rule
Let’s say you’ve finished all your calculations and have decided what your
final move is. Before you actually touch a piece to move it, take 10 seconds
to quickly check for any obvious threats or blunders, such as:
1. Am I going to get back rank mated?
2. Is my queen being attacked?
3. Are any of my pieces hanging?
The reason that this 10 seconds rule is important is because sometimes as we
are calculating, we momentarily ignore the obvious threats as we search for a
better move. For example, we may miss things like simply protecting the
back rank mate, or moving our queen that’s being attacked, or protecting our
piece that’s hanging. We might get caught up in making complex
calculations, all of which are fine, except that at the end we must remember
to apply the 10 seconds rule to check back on any obvious threats which we
may have missed.
In the following exercises, go through your mental checklist and evaluate the
position:
1. Identify which basic chess principles are not being addressed.
2. Mentally skip a move (even though it is your turn to move, imagine that it
is your opponent’s turn again) to identify what your opponent’s threat is, and
then come up with moves to nullify that threat.
3. Identify which is your worst piece and discover where it could move to
improve.
4. When you find a good move, take more time to find an even better move.
5. Before you make your final move, double check to make sure you didn’t
overlook any obvious threats or blunders.
I.Farago-R.Mateo
Balaguer 2005
39 ... e3
Exercise: Try to determine why Black played 39 ... e3, and what Black’s
threat is.
Answer: To figure this out, we can ask how the move ... e3 changes the
position. First of all, the e-pawn is now more advanced, and controls the f2square - maybe this will be a bit dangerous for White’s king. Also, by virtue
of being further advanced, the pawn is closer to queening (should the e2pawn be eliminated). The e3-pawn also cuts off the d4-bishop from accessing
f2. This may be relevant if Black’s planning an attack on White’s king.
Finally, it’s worth noting how the defender of the e-pawn changes. Before, it
was the f5-pawn; but now, it’s the black bishop and queen. So, it’s possible
the f5-pawn may be freer to move, as it’s much less likely it will need to
protect e4.
40 Re5+
The conclusion from our analysis below is that Black’s main threat is to
push ... f4. However, figuring that out is just one part of the puzzle. The other
issue is deciding on how to counter the threat. In the game White played this
rook check, which is the best move.
40 - We could now try skipping a move, and then consider how our
opponent might like to continue:
a) 40 ... Qh4 is a natural move for us to consider. The queen threatens to
come to e1, attacking the king. Note how the e3-pawn prevents White from
defending against this with Bf2. However, White can respond with 41 Re5+
(41 Bc3, guarding e1, would also suffice) 41 ... Kd7 42 Rxf5! (42 Bxe3?
drops a rook to 42 ... Bxe3+ 43 Rxe3 Qd4 44 Kf2 f4), snagging a pawn and
preparing to defend with Rf1. After 42 ... Qe1+ (42 ... Qxd4? 43 Rd5+ wins
the queen) 43 Rf1 (43 Kh2 also works, due to the f5-rook preventing ... Bf4+)
43 ... Qd2 44 Bf6, White’s king is safe, and the likely result will be a draw.
b) 40 ... Bh4? hopes for ... Bf2+, aiming to capitalize on the e3-pawn’s
control over the f2-square. However, White simply plays 41 Re5+ Kf7 42
Rxe3, winning a pawn and attacking the queen. In order for the queen to
escape, Black must employ tactics with 42 ... Bf2+ 43 Rxf2 Qg4+ 44 Kf1
Qxd4, but 45 Rxf5+ Kg6 46 Rfe5 still gives White the advantage, and with
proper technique he should win.
c) 40 ... Bf4 doesn’t seem to build off the previous ... e3 move that much,
but it’s still a reasonable move in and of itself. The bishop controls h2, and
prepares to move to g3. Also, it prevents Re5+ ideas. However, White can
gain counterplay with 41 Rg6+, and this actually leads to a perpetual from
which Black cannot escape. For example, 41 ... Kf7 42 Rg7+ Ke8 43 Rg8+
Ke7 44 Rg7+ Ke6 45 Rg6+.
d) 40 ... f4! takes advantage of the pawn being on e3, since as discussed
earlier, it’s now not that important for the f5-pawn to control e4. If the epawn were still on e4, White could play Re5+, winning the pawn. But now,
after something like 41 Be5 (pawn grabbing with 41 Rxa5 is also met with 41
... f3, when White’s three connected passers on the queenside aren’t advanced
enough to be a real threat) 41 ... f3 42 exf3 Qxf3, Black is breaking through.
The e3-pawn is extremely dangerous, and White’s pieces are not well
coordinated. Black also has an extra passed h-pawn, which is ready to start
running if needed. These factors give Black a winning game.
40 ... Kd7 41 Rd5+ Kc6 42 Rc5+
White just keeps checking, taking advantage of the fact that he controls
all of b5, c5, d5, and e5. This allows the rook to keep giving checks across all
these files.
42 ... Kd7
42 ... Kb7 43 Rb5+ Ka6? is a gross error, as it loses the queen to 44 Rb6+
Ka7 45 Rxh6+ Kb7 46 Rxh3.
43 Rd5+ Ke6 44 Re5+ Kf7
Black’s king is forced to seek refuge on the kingside, if it hopes to avoid
the checks. Now White must decide on how to continue, since as before, ... f4
is still a threat.
45 Rxa5
This is a mistake, although it’s a natural move in such a situation. Seeing
no way to prevent ... f4, White snags a pawn, and prepares to follow up by
giving checks on the side with Ra7+. However, objectively Black should be
winning now.
45 c5! is the key move. White can’t stop the advance of the f-pawn, but
he can create counterplay by pushing his own passer. With the black king cut
off on f7, it will be unable to act as a blockader of the passed c-pawn. Also,
this move keeps the rook on e5, where it prepares to defend against the e3pawn (once it becomes passed).
After 45 ... f4 46 c6 f3 47 exf3 Qxf3, White must again find a difficult
move to save the game. To understand Black’s threats, we could again apply
the method of skipping a move:
In this position, what new squares does the black queen control? The key
one is d1, and if Black had the move here, he would like to play 48 ... Qd1+,
forking the king and the bishop. Also, note how even if the bishop wasn’t on
d4, this would still be winning for Black, since after 49 Kh2, he has 49 ...
Bf4+ as well, forking the king and rook. And if 50 Kh3, Black could even
throw in 50 ... Qh1+ first, planning to win the g2-rook as well.
Now that we know Black’s threat is …Qd1+, let’s look at some attempts
for White to mitigate it:
a) 48 c7? is one try to counter Black’s ... Qd1+ threat. White simply
avoids trying to defend against it, and instead creates a threat of his own:
promoting the c-pawn. However, Black still wins via 48 ... Qd1+ 49 Kh2
Bf4+! 50 Rg3 Qc2+ 51 Kh3 Bxg3, as the queen prevents the pawn from
promoting. Note how 52 Rc5 fails to 52 ... Qh2+ 53 Kg4 Bxc7.
b) 48 Rexg5! is the only way to save the game. After 48 ... hxg5 49 c7:
b1) 49 ... Qd1+ 50 Kh2 reaches a similar position to what we saw in the
48 c7 variation, except that White’s e5-rook has been exchanged for Black’s
g5-bishop. This prevents the key ... Bf4+ move from working here. Instead,
after something like 50 ... Qc1, 51 Bxe3 Qxc7+ 52 Kg1 is just a draw.
b2) 49 ... e2 is just met with 50 Rxe2 (50 c8Q? gets White mated after 50
... e1Q+ 51 Kh2 Qf4+ 52 Kh3 Qeh4 mate). If Black tries 50 ... Qxe2 (or 50 ...
Qg3+ 51 Rg2 Qxc7 52 Be3, reaching that drawn position we got to before)
51 c8Q Qd1+ 52 Kg2 Qxd4 53 Qf5+, the endgame is drawn. For example, 53
... Ke8 54 Qxa5 Qe4+ 55 Kf2 Qf4+ 56 Ke2 Qe4+, etc., with an easy
perpetual.
45 ... f4 46 Ra7+ Ke6 47 Ra6+ Kf5 48 Ra8
Although Black is objectively winning, it’s not so easy to convert this
position into the full point. Both sides make some mistakes for the remainder
of the game, with the evaluation shifting between a draw and a win for Black.
48 ... Bh4 49 Rf8+ Ke4 50 Bb2 Bf2+ 51 Rxf2 exf2+ 52 Kxf2 Qh4+ 53
Kf1 h5 54 Re8+ Kf5 55 Rf8+ Ke6 56 c5 Kd5 57 c6 Kxc6 58 Bc1 Kd7 ½-½
A.Ushenina-O.Girya
Dilijan 2013
In this game, we start off at move 35. Things have simplified into a fairly
balanced endgame, and the most likely result is a draw (which is indeed what
happened over 20 moves later). However, White enjoys a space advantage
and a bit more activity, so Black has to be somewhat careful. The pawns on
a7, e6, and g7 are also rather weak, as they can’t be defended by fellow
pawns.
35 ... Bd8
Exercise: Why did Black move here?
Answer: Let’s see how the bishop’s new location changes the position.
On b6, the bishop defended the a7-pawn, and it targeted the d4-pawn. Now
that it’s no longer there, the a7-pawn is a bit more vulnerable, as now only
the knight is defending it. So, it might be worth considering if there’s some
way to exploit this.
Meanwhile, on d8, the bishop enters onto a new diagonal: d8-h4. Fairly
quickly, we can notice that the h4-pawn is on this diagonal, and that it is
undefended. So this means that Black’s threat is to play ... Bxh4. However,
since White can easily defend the pawn with g3, it’s worth asking if the
opponent has any other ideas with this ... Bd8 move.
Is there anything else on the d8-h4 diagonal that’s relevant? Well, the
bishop might move to e7 at some point, activating itself along the f8-a3
diagonal as well. This isn’t really a threat per se, and it’s not like White can
do much to prevent it, but it’s useful to at least be aware of this idea. As for
the g5-square, the bishop’s new control of it will allow Black to push ... g5.
This will undouble the g-pawns, and also attack the f4-knight. White can’t do
much to stop this idea though, but it’s at least useful to be prepared for it. For
example, maybe make sure that the f4-knight will have a retreat square
handy.
36 g3
This is the natural move, defending the h4-pawn. White also prepares to
retreat the knight to g2.
36 Ra6! may have been slightly better, but this is quite a difficult move to
find.
White pressures the c6-knight and x-rays the e6-pawn. Now the threat is
to push b4-b5, since if the knight moves, the a7 and e6-pawns will hang. As
noted earlier, without the black bishop on b6, the a7-pawn is less secure.
Also, the 6th rank is more vulnerable since the bishop no longer acts as a
blockader of it on b6. This makes the rook more of a threat on a6. Now let’s
consider some of Black’s responses:
a) 36 ... Bxh4? makes good on the threat to win the pawn, but with b4-b5
looming, this is a waste of precious time. After 37 b4 Rc7 (or 37 ... Bd8 38
b5 Nb8 39 Rxa7+, with a large advantage for White - the passed b5-pawn is
very dangerous), White must decide how to continue:
a1) 38 b5?! is a natural move, but not the strongest. After 38 ... Nb8! (38
... Nd8? 39 Ba5 Rb7 40 Bxd8 Bxd8 41 Nxe6 is very good for White), we
enter a series of forcing moves: 39 Rxe6 g5 40 Nxd5 Rxc3+ 41 Nxc3 Kxe6
42 g3. Currently White’s down a pawn for a bishop, but she will recover the
material soon, as the h4-bishop is trapped. White is certainly a bit better here,
but it’s not much.
a2) 38 Nxe6! is much stronger.
Sometimes when an idea almost works (but doesn’t fully), we can
consider doing a few things:
1) See if switching up the move order works. For example, for the second
move of the combination you’ve calculated, see if playing it on the first move
instead works. In the case with 38 Nxe6, this is kind of doing that. The idea
with 38 b5 was to ideally follow up with Nxe6, but 38 ... Nb8 forced White to
play 39 Rxe6. So now, White instead plays 38 Nxe6 right away, and after 38
... Kxe6, the idea is to follow up with 39 b5.
2) Try throwing in an intermezzo (in-between move) before employing
your idea. This position is also kind of an example of this. Before pushing b5,
White throws in Nxe6 first. Black’s only serious reply is ... Kxe6, at which
point White will be able to play b5.
After 38 ... Kxe6 39 b5 Kd7 40 bxc6+ Rxc6 41 Rxa7+, the material is
even, but White is winning nonetheless.
The d5-pawn is weak, and if it falls then White will have two connected
passers. Black’s doubled g-pawns are also poor.
b) 36 ... g5! is a better response.
Black carries out her other idea on the kingside, and the important part is
that it is with tempo (unlike ... Bxh4). White has to play 37 hxg5 Bxg5, and
now again Black is playing with tempo by attacking the f4-knight. This
prevents White from playing b4-b5. So instead after 38 Nh3, 38 ... Be7
prevents b4. White is still a bit better, largely due to the active a6-rook, but
Black should have no serious problems.
36 ... g5 37 hxg5 Bxg5 38 Ng2
Exercise: Does this move open up any aggressive ideas for White? If so,
how should Black reply?
Answer: Although Ng2 just seems like White’s retreating the knight (to
avoid ... Bxf4), the knight’s absence on f4 opens up some possibilities. For
example, maybe White would like to play Bd2, offering to trade her bad
bishop for Black’s good one. This isn’t really a threat though, since if Black
doesn’t want to exchange, she can just retreat her bishop to the e7-square. A
more pressing issue is the possibility of White playing f4, advancing the
pawn with tempo. Then, maybe there are some f5 ideas in store, especially
since the g2-knight can easily move to e3 (where it will hit the d5 and f5squares).
38 ... h5
Preventing White from playing g4, which could be helpful in pushing the
f-pawn to f5.
38 ... g6 was also possible, creating more resistance against the
aforementioned f4-f5 idea. Although Black’s move in the game was fine too.
39 Ra1
However, it was still possible to play 39 f4!? Be7 40 f5,
since if ... exf5, White can follow up with Nf4, attacking the h5 and d5pawns. A better move is 40 ... Bg5! (40 ... exf5 41 Nf4 Rd8 42 Ba5 gives
White some initiative), preparing to capture the knight if it moves to f4 or e3.
The position after 41 fxe6+ Kxe6 42 Ra6 Kd7 43 Nh4 should be roughly
balanced.
39 ... g6 40 Rh1 Rb8 41 Ra1 Rb7 42 f3 Ke8 43 Ke2 Kf7 44 Kd3 Ke8
45 Ke2 Kf7 46 g4
Exercise: What are some of White’s ideas with this move, and how
should Black respond?
Answer: The pawn being on g4 pressures the h5-pawn. One idea is if
gxh5 ... gxh5 is played, White might be able to push the f-pawn to f5, as
Black’s control over that square will have been weakened.
Another idea White has is to try and win the h5-pawn. It’s not
immediately obvious how White is threatening to do this. If White goes for
gxh5 ... gxh5 Rh1, Black can defend the pawn with ... Kg6. However, if we
try the method of switching the move order, White’s threat becomes evident:
she wants to play Rh1 first, since with the black pawn still on g6, ... Kg6
can’t be played.
To neutralize these ideas, the simplest solution is to just capture on g4,
which is the move Black played in the game. Probably not a lot of analysis
was required on Black’s part to play this move, since it’s pretty intuitive and
just simplifies the situation. However, the position after 46 g4 is still a good
exercise for us to try to decipher what ideas/threats the opponent might have.
46 ... hxg4 47 fxg4
Exercise: How has the position changed as a result of the pawn swap?
Answer: The f- and h-files have been opened. This means that White
may play Rf1+ or Rh1 (threatening Rh7+) at some point. Since Black’s
position is solid and she doesn’t need to do anything else at the moment, she
decides to spend a move playing ... Kg7. This prevents Rf1 from coming with
check, and Rh1 will no longer threaten to bring the rook to h7. This is an
example of “prophylaxis”, which is essentially the practice of anticipating
and neutralizing your opponent’s ideas, before they become actual threats.
Currently, it’s not like Rf1 and Rh1 are serious threats. If White plays them
right now while the black king is still on f7, it’s not that dangerous. But
maybe down the road, when in the middle of a tactical scuffle, Rf1/Rh1 could
be a key move that allows White to make some combination work. In this
scenario, Black might not have time to play ... Kg7, since there could be other
pressing matters to deal with. So instead, Black plays ... Kg7 now,
capitalizing on the fact that there’s currently a lull in the battle.
47 ... Kg7! 48 Ne1 Be7 49 Nd3
Exercise: Where is the knight trying to go from d3?
Answer: The main squares to consider are c5 and f4. Maybe White
would like to play Nc5 at some point. However, at least currently, this isn’t
dangerous since Black can just reply with ... Bxc5. Then after dxc5, the d5pawn will become a connected passed pawn, giving Black a good game. The
real threat is Nf4, attacking the e6-pawn. If Black defends with ... Nd8, White
may have some pressure after Ra6.
49 ... g5!
Simple and good, taking away the f4-square. Now the only active square
the knight can access on the kingside is h5, but it would take a number of
moves to get there. The knight arriving on h5 is also not particularly
dangerous in the first place since Black could just reply with ... Kg6. The h5knight would only control f6 and g7, and the king watches over both of these
squares from g6.
50 Ne1
50 Nc5?! Bxc5 51 dxc5 hopes to follow up with Ra6, but Black can play
51 ... a5!, since 52 Bxa5 is met with 52 ... Rxb2+ 53 Bd2 Nxe5.
50 ... Kg6 51 Nf3 Bd8 52 Ra6 Rb6 53 Ra1 Rb7 54 Rc1 Bb6 55 Rh1
Bd8 56 Rc1 Bb6 57 Rh1 Bd8 58 Rc1 ½-½
A draw was agreed, as both sides cannot make any progress.
58 Rh8 isn’t dangerous, since 58 ... Kg7 59 Re8 Kf7 60 Rh8 Kg7 chases
the rook away.
AllieStein-Houdini
TCEC 2020
This game was played between two engines. We’ll just examine a few of
the moves which followed from this position.
59 Bd3!
Exercise: Why did White move here?
Answer: The bishop enters on to the b1-h7 diagonal, and the h7-pawn is
undefended here. So, it seems like White is simply threatening to capture the
pawn. However, White’s true threat is far more devious. Another new square
the bishop controls is e4, and because of this, the black rook is actually in
danger of being trapped. Notice how the only unprotected squares it can
access are d4 and b3 (and as we’ll see, these squares are not safe).
59 ... Rb3!
A stone cold counter to White’s idea. For an engine such a move is
trivial, but we can appreciate a nice move for a nice move. Black correctly
realizes that Bxh7 is not a threat, since it would allow Black to reply with ...
Ne2+. So instead, Black attacks the d3-bishop, neutralizing White’s threat of
Bd2 (which would attack the rook on b4).
59 ... h5? is a natural looking response, but 60 Bd2! attacks the rook.
Now:
a) 60 ... Rd4 runs into 61 Bc3, pinning the rook.
b) 60 ... Rb3 61 Bc4 Rb5 (61 ... Rb2 loses the rook outright to 62 Bc3+
Ke7 63 Bxb2) 62 Bxb5 axb5 63 a6 is easily winning for White.
c) 60 ... Re4 61 Bxe4 Nxe4 62 Rb1 Bc8 (if 62 ... Nxd2 then 63 Rxb7) 63
Be3 leaves White up the exchange and completely winning.
60 Bc4
At first it might seem like the black rook is still getting trapped, but this is
not the case.
If 60 Bxh7, then on 60 ... Ne2+:
a) 61 Kf2 is met with 61 ... Nxc1 62 Rxc1 Ra3 63 Rc5 Ra2+, when Black
will win back the pawn. If White moves his king away, Black captures on g2.
Meanwhile, if White blocks the check with Rc2, then the black rook will take
the a5-pawn.
b) 61 Kh2 g4! 62 hxg4 Rg3 equalizes, as Black is about to play ... Rxg2+.
60 ... Rb4
If the c4-bishop was still on d3, White could indeed trap the rook with
Bd2. But now ... Rxc4 is a threat which must be parried.
Of course not 60 ... Rc3? 61 Bb2.
61 Bd3 Rb3 62 Ra3
With no way to gain any advantage by moving the bishop, White instead
forces a rook trade.
62 ... Rxa3
62 ... Rb4? loses to the familiar 63 Bd2.
63 Bb2+ Ke6 64 Bxa3
After a fairly major exchange happens, it’s often worth reassessing the
position. I.e., how has the position changed, what will be my new plan (if
any) going forward, etc. Some relevant changes here include Black no longer
having a rook on the third rank, and White’s dark-squared bishop being
moved off c1 to a3. Without these components, it’s not strong for Black to
answer Bxh7 with ... Ne2+. So, the threat on the h7-pawn is now real.
Another way to identify the Bxh7 threat here is by the “skip a move”
method. If you examine this position from White’s perspective, the move
Bxh7 is clearly one White wants to play. Okay, Bxh7 isn’t something that’s
too difficult to spot, but it’s an example of how certain innocuous moves can
become real threats, after some major change has taken place in the position in this example, the exchange of rooks and the dark-squared bishop moving
off c1.
64 ... h5 ½-½
We won’t examine the rest of the game, as it’s pretty uninteresting. Long
story short, after almost one hundred more moves, the engines finally called
it a day.
E.Bacrot-M.Godena
Spilimbergo 2018
Sometimes in chess, we end up in a position where there are multiple
good moves. We might find one which is good, and then play it impatiently.
However, this could come at the price of missing an even better move. The
subject of this game will be on this topic: if you find a good move, check if
there’s an even better one. This is another good way to spend your time,
when slowing down.
In this position, White is threatening to play Qxg7 mate.
18 ... Nh5
Black defends g7, while attacking the white queen simultaneously. Now
White must decide whether to play Nxh6+ immediately. The ensuing
variations are quite complicated, and it’s not necessary to fully understand all
the tactical details.
19 Qh3!
White opts for a move which is a bit better, since as we’ll see, it rules out
Black’s king running to h7. It would be more complicated to go for 19
Nxh6+, due to 19…Kh7; we’ll examine this below.
19 Bxd8? Nxg3 20 Nxd4 Raxd8 21 hxg3 leads to a position where the
material is even, and White certainly has no advantage. If anything, Black is
the one who is slightly better here, although the likely result is a draw.
19 Nxh6+ looks tempting, and in the following variations White obtains
some advantage:
a) 19 ... Kf8 transposes to a position reached in the game, on move 21.
After 20 Bxd8 Nxg3 21 Bxc7, White is better.
b) 19 ... Kh7! 20 Qh3 g5! is a very complicated position. The top engine
line runs 21 Nxf7 g4 22 Qxg4 Nxg4 23 e5+ d3 24 Bxd3+ Kg7 25 Nxd8 Nxe5
26 Be4 Raxd8 27 Bxd8 Rxd8 28 g3. After an extremely messy sequence,
we’ve arrived at an endgame where White has a rook and two pawns for two
knights. He is a bit better, although the advantage is not so great. Also, when
calculating during the game, White may have not seen this far. The positions
were tactically complicated, and remember that White would have started
calculating after move 18 in the game. The main point is that it would be nice
if White didn’t have to deal with Black’s ... Kh7 move (after Nxh6+). This
would cut down on a great deal of complications.
19 ... Nf4 20 Nxh6+
Only now does White play this move. The point is that with the queen on
h3, White is ready to answer 20 ... Kh7 with the immediate 21 Qf5+. This
leaves Black with only one reasonable move: 20 ... Kf8.
20 ... Kf8
20 ... Kh7? runs into 21 Qf5+, and after 21 ... g6 (21 ... Kxh6 22 Bxd8
Raxd8 23 Qxf4+ is also winning for White) 22 Qxf4 f6 23 Ng4, White is a
whole piece up, and the attack is still raging.
21 Qg3 Nh5
We’ve transposed to the position seen in the 19 Nxh6+ Kf8 variation. So,
White’s 19 Qh3 move basically led to a version of the 19 Nxh6+ variation,
where Black’s king didn’t have the option of moving to h7.
22 Bxd8 Nxg3 23 Bxc7 Ke7
Now once again, White has a few good moves at his disposal.
Exercise: How should he play?
Answer: 24 cxd4!
This move makes things temporarily more complicated, but when the dust
settles, White will be doing even better than he would in the 24 hxg3
variation. His idea is to switch up the move order a bit. Instead of playing 24
hxg3, 25 cxd4, 26 Rad1, he opts for 24 cxd4, 25 Rad1, and only after 25 ...
Bc5 will he play 26 hxg3. The reason for this will be seen shortly.
24 hxg3 is simple, immediately capturing the g3-knight - and after 24 ...
gxh6 25 cxd4 Bxd4 26 Rad1, White is a pawn up, with a definite advantage.
However, Black has 26…Nc6!, keeping the bishop on d4. This gives Black
some chances to draw the game.
So, White shouldn’t hurry with 24. hxg3: it’s worth calculating 24 cxd4
as well.
24 ... Bxd4
If the g3-knight moves away with 24 ... Nh5?, White just takes the other
knight with 25 dxe5, and he is winning.
25 Rad1
25 ... Bc5
Moving the bishop off d4 is a sad necessity, but it’s the best Black can do
in this position.
The point of White’s play is that 25 ... Nc6?! doesn’t work well here. In
the 24 hxg3 variation, it was noted that ... Nc6 gave Black some chances,
since it kept the bishop on the nice d4-square. But now this move is bad,
since the h6- and g3-knights are currently still on the board. White can thus
bring the hammer down with 26 e5! dxe5 27 Ng4, escaping with the knight,
as the c6-knight no longer controls g4.
After 27 ... Nh5 28 Nxe5 Kf8 29 Nxc6 Rxe1+ 30 Rxe1 bxc6 31 Bd6+
Kg8, White has a dominating position (ahead a pawn, has the two bishops,
better placed pieces, etc.).
26 hxg3 gxh6
If you compare this position with the 24 hxg3 variation (after 26 Rad1),
you’ll notice that this is what would ensue if Black had played the suboptimal
26 ... Bc5 there, instead of 26 ... Nc6.
27 Ba5 Rec8 28 Bb3 b6 29 Bc3
White’s two bishops and extra pawn gives him a large edge. For most of
the game’s remainder, White nurtured his advantage well, but some mistakes
near the end allowed Black to gain a draw.
29 ... b5 30 Rd5 f6 31 Kf1 a5 32 f4 Ng4 33 Rd3 b4 34 Bd2 a4 35 Bd5
Rab8 36 Ke2 h5 37 Rc1 Rh8 38 Bc6 f5 39 e5 a3 40 b3 Rhc8 41 Ba4 dxe5
42 Bd7 e4 43 Rd5 Rd8 44 Rdxc5 Rxd7 45 Rxf5 Rd3 46 Rxh5 Rxg3 47
Rg1 Nf6 48 Rg5 Rxg5 49 fxg5 Nd5 50 Rc1 e3 51 Be1 Rg8 52 Rc4 Ke6 53
Bxb4 Rxg5 54 g4 Rg8 55 Bc5 Kd7 56 Rc1 Rxg4 57 Bxa3 ½-½
M.Carlsen-B.Socko
Bundesliga 2006
17 c4
Exercise: In this position, how should Black continue? Hint: try to
exchange one of Black’s bad pieces for one of White’s good ones.
Answer: 17 ... Qf8!
Black prepares to play ... Bh6, offering a bishop trade. The c1-bishop is a
good piece, as it’s blocked by none of White’s own pawns. It also exerts
some important influence on the dark squares. On the queenside, White’s
pawns currently don’t control a complex of dark squares (c5, b4, d4, etc.); in
such a situation, having a dark-squared bishop is useful, since it can do what
the pawns cannot. As for the kingside, the bishop’s control over the f4 is
useful. If Black eventually puts a piece there (such as a knight, or even a
queen, which happens later), the c1-bishop would pressure it a bit.
Meanwhile, the g7-bishop is a fairly passive piece. The e5-pawn isn’t
going anywhere anytime soon, which means the long diagonal the bishop is
on (h8-a1) will remain closed. Although the g7-bishop is somewhat useful in
that it protects Black’s kingside dark squares (f6, g7, h6), this will become
less needed once White’s own dark-squared bishop is eliminated.
If you don’t have an immediate active plan, an excellent way to spend
your time is by examining the quality of the pieces (for both sides). Which of
your pieces are bad, and can you improve or exchange off any of them? As
for your opponent, are there any ways to exchange off one of their good
pieces? Or, is there some way to modify the position, such that it worsens
said pieces?
An example of this would be building a pawn chain on a diagonal that an
enemy bishop is controlling. In the current position, Black could opt to do
this with ... h6 and ... g5, limiting the c1-bishop’s scope on the c1-h6
diagonal, but this would come at the cost of gravely weakening the f5-square
(giving the g3-knight an excellent outpost).
18 Be3
18 Bb2 aims to avoid a trade, but now the bishop doesn’t control the c1h6 diagonal anymore. If the g7-bishop moves to h6 at some point, it will be
unopposed on the diagonal.
18 ... Bh6
Black’s own dark-squared bishop was pretty passive, considering that the
long diagonal it was on (h8-a1) was blocked. While it’s true that the bishop
acted as a guardian of Black’s somewhat weak dark squares (g7, f6, h6), this
isn’t too important.
19 Bxh6 Qxh6 20 cxb5 axb5 21 b4!
White immediately begins fighting for some dark squares. This strategy
would have worked well even if his dark-squared bishop was still on the
board, but now it’s especially important to play like this.
For example say White had played some routine move like 21 Bd3. This
would have allowed Black to play 21 ... b4, fixing White’s queenside pawns
in place.
Without pawns or a bishop to fight for the dark squares, Black could
easily use them for activity (e.g., ... Nc5). Although, it should be said that
White still has a slight advantage in this position. His light-squared bishop
has gained some activity along the f1-a6 diagonal. Also, his central pawn
wedge (e4-d5) controls important space, restricting Black’s pieces (especially
the b7-bishop).
21 ... Rec8
Exercise: What does Black want to do with this move? And how should
White prepare to meet it? Hint: try to improve one of your passive pieces.
22 Bb3!
Answer: Black’s intent is fairly obvious - he wants to push the c-pawn.
So, White reacts by putting his bishop on b3, where it will gain activity on
the opened diagonal (once the d5-pawn is exchanged for Black’s c-pawn).
22 ... c5 23 dxc6 Rxc6
White’s light-squared bishop has inexplicably gone from being one of his
worst pieces to one of his best. If you compare this position to the one on
move 17, there’s a world of difference in the quality of the bishop.
Exercise: Now how should White continue?
Answer: 24 Qd3!
Technically speaking, White wasn’t fully developed yet, since the queen
was still on d1. With this move, White connects his rooks, and places the
queen on an active square. It still puts pressure on the d-file, but now it also
attacks the b5-pawn, and guards f3, c3, and c4.
As with the strategies of improving/exchanging your pieces (and
weakening/exchanging pieces of your opponent), completing development is
another way to slow down. In a way, completing development is just another
form of improving your pieces. In positions where there’s no clear plan to
attack or defend, some players just play moves “on default”, and get
nowhere. Improving one’s pieces is very often a good use of time, since then
your pieces will be better equipped to act later on, when opportunities arise.
24 ... Ba6
Exercise: There’s still at least one white piece that can be improved.
Which is it, and how can this be done?
Answer: The knight on g3 doesn’t have great prospects, as the g6-pawn
controls f5 and h5. Rerouting it would make sense. The engine is interested in
Ne2-Nc3 at some point (e.g., see the 25 h4 variation).
25 Nf1!?
This is another good way to transfer the knight. The idea is to bring it to
e3, where it will control d5. On e3 it will also help to defend the c4-square,
which Black might want to use some time to play ... Nb6- ... Nc4.
One sample line from the engine runs 25 h4 Re8 26 Rad1 Rb6 27 Ne2
Bb7 28 Nc3, and the knight has been transformed into an excellent piece. It
defends the e4-pawn, controls d5, and pressures the b5-pawn.
25 ... Rac8 26 Ne3 Qf4
This position could be considered a critical moment. Black has activated
his queen by moving it into White’s territory, and White must decide how to
respond.
27 h4!
The best move. White’s idea is to threaten Ng5, and if Black’s stops this
with …h6, it will take away h6 as a retreat square for the queen. Then, White
could consider trying to attack it, such as with Qd1 followed by g3.
27 Qd1?! is a natural reaction, immediately protecting the knight and
aiming to play g3. However, even though White will still have some
advantage here, it’s not the best move. After 27 ... Nb6!, Black gains more
control over the d5-square, mitigating any Bd5/Nd5 ideas from White. If
White instead plays 28 g3, the queen just retreats with 28…Qh6.
27…h6
White has succeeded in provoking the black pawn to h6.
28 Qd1
Now White goes ahead with the Qd1, g3 plan.
However, it was possible to throw in yet another move before Qd1. 28
Bd5! would be an even stronger continuation, bringing the bishop to d5 with
tempo (as it hits the c6-rook).
Now White’s idea is to follow up with Qd1, threatening g3, since the d5bishop protects e4. This will leave the black queen without any moves to
escape. For example, after 28 ... Rc3 29 Qd1, Black should play something
like 29 ... Nh5 (29 ... Nb6? allows White to win the queen with 30 g3),
allowing the black queen to retreat to f6. However, now White can press on
the queenside with the strong 30 a4!, which will create a passed pawn.
It’s unclear how Black should respond, since his forces are very
uncoordinated. The black queen and h5-knight are misplaced, and both will
need a few tempi to get to the queenside. Meanwhile, White’s queen, a1rook, d5-bishop, and e3-knight are participating in the queenside struggle.
Black has pieces on the queenside too of course, but they aren’t particularly
formidable. For example, although the rook on c3 might look active, it could
easily become a tactical target (say if White’s e3-knight moves to d5 at some
point).
28 ... Kg7
28 ... Nb6!, resisting Bd5, was better. After 29 g3 Qxe4 30 Nd5 Qxd5 31
Bxd5 Nbxd5, Black has a bishop, knight, and pawn for the queen. His pieces
are also pretty good, and he has decent compensation for the material deficit.
29 Bd5
White doesn’t waste his second chance to bring the bishop here. White
has a large advantage, and the rest of the game isn’t as important for us.
29…Nxd5 30 Nxd5 Qg4 31 Ne7 Nf6 32 Nxc6 Rxc6 33 a4 Bb7 34 axb5
Rb6
35 Nd2 Qxh4 36 Qe2 d5 37 Nf3 Qh5 38 exd5 e4 39 Nd2 Ng4 40 Qxe4
Rf6 41 Qd4
For a few seconds, Stockfish 15 doesn’t realize that White is still better
by over +1 here. Initially, it evaluates 41 Qd4 as a serious mistake. In truth,
41 Qd4 is a good move, just maybe not the best one.
Objectively, 41 Nf3 Bxd5 42 Qd4 was stronger, although when reaching
the position after 42 ... Bxf3 43 gxf3 Qh2+ 44 Kf1 Qh3+ 45 Ke2 Qxf3+ in
his calculations, Carlsen probably figured this was needlessly risky.
I’d assume he guessed White was most likely winning, but wanted to play
it safe.
41 ... Nxf2 42 Nf3 Nh3+ 43 Kf1 Ng5 44 Re3 Bxd5 45 Ra6 Ne6 46 Qc3
Qh1+ 47 Kf2 g5 48 Ra1?
This move could be considered Carlsen’s only real mistake in the game.
Now Black is objectively equal and remains so for a few moves.
48 ... Qh4+ 49 Kg1 Bxf3 50 Rxf3 Nd4 51 Re3 Qf2+ 52 Kh2 Nxb5?
Black’s moves after 48 Ra1 were good, but now he errs, handing White
back the advantage.
52 ... Ne2! (or 52 ... Rf4!) 53 Qe5 g4 sees the e2-knight controlling g1,
while the g4-pawn grabs h3.
This means Black is now threatening ... Qh4+, since the king won’t be
able to run, and blocking with Rh3 loses the rook. So now White has to bail
out in some way, such as with 54 Rf1 Qxf1 55 Rxe2, and the game is
objectively equal.
53 Qe5 Qh4+ 54 Kg1 Qf2+ 55 Kh1
55 ... Kg6 56 Rh3 Nd6 57 Ra8 Nf5 58 Rg8+ Kh7 59 Rxg5 Ne3 60 Qg3
Qf1+ 61 Kh2 Nf5 62 Qe5 1-0
Chapter Eight
Training Games
You have likely heard the saying “practice makes perfect”, and perhaps have
even heard this quote from Vince Lombardi: “Practice does not make perfect.
Only perfect practice makes perfect”. Regardless, the important thing to take
to heart is that chess, like any other sport or activity that we want to improve
in, requires intentional and purposeful practice, and application of what we
are learning.
We have already discussed several things that require consistent practice
and review, such as analyzing your games, reviewing your opening
repertoire, tactical training, and completing homework. Each of these serves
as an important part of your chess training. Another key factor is actually
practicing by playing chess games. Playing games with family and friends, or
online, or with chess club members, or with schoolmates, etc., is good and
will provide you with a lot of variety in terms of the level of play and
different styles. However, what would be an even better use of practice time
is to also play training games with stronger opponents, as well as to play
training games from a set position. Both types of training games provide
unique and important practice.
Training Games with Stronger Players
Most ambitious players want to play training games with a stronger or higher
rated opponent. In fact, even these stronger players want to play against those
who are stronger than them. So, it can be a bit difficult to convince these
stronger players to play training games with someone who is weaker or lower
rated than them. If you are in this situation, here are a few things that you can
try:
1. Ask your chess coach to set up training games with stronger players
for you.
Your coach may have other chess students or chess colleagues who would
welcome a training game or two.
2. Ask stronger players from your chess club to play training games with
you.
From our experience, many skilled seniors at chess clubs are happy to play
keen young players as long as they are respectful and polite.
3. Ask some of the slightly higher rated players in your chess network to
play training games with you.
Chess players in general enjoy playing chess, regardless of the level of the
opponent. Of course, if the discrepancy in strength is quite wide, it will be
less enjoyable for both players. However, if there is only a 100-200 points
rating difference, then both players should be receptive to play.
4. If all else fails, you can pay a higher-rated player to play training
games.
These training games can be over-the-board (OTB), or perhaps for the sake of
convenience, online games can be arranged. The benefits of playing training
games with stronger players include:
1. It builds confidence and helps to reduce the awe and fear of playing
higher-rated players. Then, when you’re paired with a higher rated player
during a real tournament, the novelty of playing such strong players has
already worn off, and you can instead focus all your energies on making the
best moves, rather than being nervous or intimidated.
2. If you train with challenging and stronger players, it pushes you to play
more precise moves and with more care; otherwise, it’s likely any imprecise
moves would be swiftly punished by your strong opponent.
Training Games from a Set Position
Training games from a set position are also beneficial. For example, if you
want to practice a certain opening like the Sicilian Najdorf or Modern
Benoni, then just set up the board after the first 7-10 moves into the specific
line that you want to practice. Or you can start playing from a dynamic
middlegame position. Or you can play out a rook and pawn endgame.
Training games from a set position can have equally matched players play
out playable positions that are not so simple and require some careful thought
and precision. You can play these set positions against a chess friend or
against on one of the online chess playing platforms’ computer set at an
appropriately challenging level, and then make sure to review these games by
yourself or discuss with your chess buddy. The key idea is to practice these
types of positions before playing them for real at tournaments.
For training games from a set position, you can ask your chess coach to
research and provide some interesting positions that you can use to play
training games. These set positions can lead into a certain theme like 2 minor
pieces vs. a rook or being up the exchange of a rook for a knight and then
trying to methodically convert the advantage to a win (while your training
partner has the onerous task of defending). Then after the game, switch
colours and practice playing that same position from opposite sides. This will
help provide you with insights on both sides of the board; e.g., playing with
an advantage, and then playing with a disadvantage; or going for the attack,
and then trying to fend off an attack, etc.
If you don’t have a chess coach to help you find playable set positions,
you can research games of your favourite chess player, and then play out
some of those games from around move 10-15. Ideally, if you can find such
games that have already been annotated, then after you have played out the
position yourself (both as Black and White), you can review and annotate
your games. After which, you can then read what the original annotation said,
and learn from that.
To start you off, here are some playable, set positions that you can use for
training games with a friend or against the computer. After you play out the
games, review and annotate them; then, you can review the annotations that
we provide to see if it matches up with your assessment of the initial position
and plans. You can play these positions first as one colour and then switch
colours so that you can gain insight from each side’s perspective.
L.Bregadze-D.Myers
Training Game Positions
Grünfeld Defence
White to move
Playing with/against an isolated pawn:
White to move
Playing with/against an isolated pawn:
White to move
Converting an advantage:
Black to move
K+R+B vs. K+R endgame:
Black to move
J.Tomczak-R.Polzin
Training Game Positions:
Italian Opening:
White to move
Common type of Italian middlegame position:
White to move
Converting an advantage/attacking:
White to move
K.Rathnakaran-R.Laxman
Training Game Positions:
Italian opening:
White to move
Opposite-coloured bishop ending, where one side is pressing:
White to move
V.Spasov-S.Feller
Training Game Positions:
Italian middlegame position:
White to move
Whether to liquidate/exchange:
White to move
E.Bareev-Z.Runic
Training Game Positions:
Queen’s Gambit Declined Opening:
White to move
Playing with a space advantage, and attacking:
White to move
J.Doknjas-H.Wu
Training Game Positions:
Queen’s Gambit Declined Opening:
White to move
Seizing the initiative:
White to move
Converting an advantage:
White to move
Defending or pressing in an almost equal endgame:
Black to move
J.Doknjas-V.Plotkin
Training Game Positions:
Queen’s Gambit Declined Opening:
White to move
Attacking in an opposite-side castling middlegame:
White to move
Activating a passive piece/converting a winning attack:
White to move
P.Negi-M.Yilmaz
Training Game Positions:
Najdorf Opening:
Black to move
Middlegame position where one side has the bishop pair:
Black to move
Rook endgame:
Black to move
2-v-1 rook endgame:
Black to move
Zhou Jianchao-B.Adhiban
Training Game Positions:
Isolated d-pawn:
White to move
Converting an advantage:
Black to move
Rook endgame:
White to move
P.Czarnota-P.Bobras
Training Game Positions:
Rossolimo Sicilian Opening:
Black to move
Rook and bishop endgame:
White to move
2-v-1 rook endgame:
White to move
Philidor endgame under nonideal conditions (but still objectively drawn):
White to move
E.Geller-M.Euwe
Training Game Positions:
Nimzo-Indian middlegame position:
Black to move
Attacking/getting counterplay:
Black to move
J.Doknjas-A.Hong
Training Game Positions:
Using a development advantage:
Black to move
Converting a winning attack:
White to move
J.Doknjas-P.Huang
Training Game Positions:
Najdorf Opening:
White to move
Piece improvement and colour complexes:
White to move
Converting an advantage:
White to move
J.Doknjas-J.Fedorowicz
Training Game Positions:
Nimzo-Indian middlegame position:
White to move
Converting an advantage:
Black to move
Annotations for the games containing the training positions
L.Bregadze-D.Myers
Charlotte 2019
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5 5 Bd2!?
A move that has gained some popularity in recent years. White’s idea is
to recapture on c3 with the bishop, in the event of ... Nxc3.
5 ... Nb6
Another popular line runs 5 ... Bg7 6 e4 Nxc3 7 Bxc3 0-0 8 Qd2 c5 9 d5,
with chances for both sides.
6 Nf3 Bg7 7 Bf4 0-0 8 e3 c5
Training Game Position
In standard Grünfeld style, Black begins breaking down White’s centre
with ... c5.
9 dxc5 N6d7 10 Bc4 Nc6 11 0-0 Nxc5 12 Qe2 Be6 13 Rfd1 Qa5
13 ... Qb6 was perhaps a tad better, as 14 Nd5? would now just run into
14 ... Qxb2.
14 Nd5 Bxd5 15 Bxd5 Na4 16 Bxc6 bxc6
Training Game Position
Black has played the opening phase well, and now the game is equal. The
isolated c6-pawn is a bit weak, but Black has a good deal of queenside
activity to compensate for this. In order to remain equal, he should aim to use
his activity to create threats and keep White under pressure, in order to
prevent White from building up a gradual attack on the isolated c-pawn.
17 Rd2 Rfd8
17 ... Qb5, attacking the b2-pawn even more, would have been a good
approach. Now White has to find some way to deal with this threat, and it’s
not so easy. For example, 18 Ne5 blocks the g7-bishop’s attack on the pawn,
but after 18 ... Bxe5, White is forced to exchange queens, or else Bxe5 would
be met with ... Qxe5. After 19 Qxb5 cxb5 20 Bxe5 f6 21 Bc7 Rfc8, Black no
longer has a weak pawn on the c-file, and he enjoys full equality in the
endgame.
18 Rc2 Rd5 19 Rac1 Rad8
Although Black’s last few moves have developed his rooks, there isn’t
really a concrete plan in the works. White has been allowed to double his
own rooks on the c-file, aiming at the c6-pawn. In addition, the c2-rook helps
to defend White’s own vulnerable pawn on b2.
20 h3 h6?
20 ... Qb5 was better, and following 21 Qxb5 cxb5 22 b3, Black has
decent drawing chances.
21 Rxc6 Qb4 22 e4 Rd3 23 Ne5 R3d4 24 Rc8?!
It’s hard to criticize this move, as it’s a pretty natural response. White has
no good way to defend both the e4- and b2-pawns, so he seeks activity
against Black’s kingside.
24 f3 is met with 24 ... g5 25 Bg3 Nxb2.
However, 24 Nxf7! Kxf7 25 Qg4 gives White a winning attack, although
calculating this out isn’t trivial.
24 ... Rxc8 25 Rxc8+ Kh7 26 Nxf7 Rxe4
27 Be3 Nxb2 28 Qf3 Qb7
28 ... Nc4! 29 Qxe4 Qe1+ 30 Kh2 Nd2 is a neat idea, aiming to give a
perpetual with the knight. But again, not so easy to find during a practical
game. After 31 Qh4 Nf1+ 32 Kh1 Nxe3+ 33 Kh2 Nf1+, the king can’t escape
the checks.
29 Rc1
29 Nxh6 works due to the fork at the end of the following line: 29 ...
Qxc8 30 Qxe4 Bxh6 31 Bxh6 Kxh6 32 Qh4+ Kg7 33 Qd4+ Kh7 34 Qxb2,
and White is playing for two results.
29 ... Rb4 30 Qxb7 Rxb7
Training Game Position
White has some chances to press in this endgame. The isolated pawns on
e7 and a7 require defense, and the b2-knight is a bit misplaced. Ideally, Black
would like to attack White’s pawn on a2, but it’s not so easy to arrange.
31 Nd8 Rd7 32 Ne6 a5 33 Nxg7
This trade is a good decision. Since the position is open and play is still
happening on both sides of the board, the bishop has a natural advantage over
the knight. It also helps that Black’s knight is poorly placed on b2.
33 ... Kxg7 34 Rb1
This isn’t the best though, since it allows the knight to easily reposition
itself.
Something simple like 34 Kf1 h5 (34 ... Nd3 runs into 35 Rd1, pinning
the knight to the rook) 35 Ke2 Rd6 36 Rc5 was better, just improving the
king and the rook.
34 ... Nd1
34 ... Nc4 was also good.
35 Bf4 Rd5 36 Rb7 g5 37 Bc1 Kf7 38 Rb3 Rc5 39 Bd2 Rc2 40 Rf3+
Kg6 41 Bxa5 Rxa2
Black has played well, and the game is almost completely equal. Black
still has a weak pawn on e7, but now this is his only weakness (the knight
isn’t misplaced anymore, and there’s no longer an a-pawn Black needs to
defend).
42 Bb6 Rd2 43 Bc5 e5 44 Ra3 Nb2 45 Ra6+ Kg7 46 Kh2 Rd5 47 Ra7+
Kg6 48 Bf8!
White begins prodding Black’s kingside pawns. If he wants any chance to
win, it’s important to create a second weakness. Just attacking the isolated epawn is not nearly enough to win.
48 ... h5 49 Rg7+ Kf6 50 Rh7 h4
Although Black’s still equal, White now has an additional target: the
fixed pawn on g5.
51 Rb7 Nd3 52 Be7+ Kf5 53 Rb6 e4 54 Rf6+ Ke5 55 Rg6 Kf4 56 Kg1
Rb5
Or 56 ... Nc5, preparing to meet 57 Rg8 with 57 ... Ne6.
57 Rg8 Rb1+ 58 Kh2 Rb5?
An unfortunate error - now White wins two pawns.
58 ... Kf5 was better, when 59 Bxg5 Nxf2 60 Bxh4 Nd3 sees White up a
pawn, but Black’s advanced e4-pawn gives him enough compensation to
draw.
59 Rf8+ Ke5
The point is that 59 ... Rf5 would run into 60 Bd6+ Ne5 61 g3+ hxg3+ 62
fxg3+ Ke3 63 Rxf5, picking up the rook.
60 Bxg5 Rb6 61 Bxh4
Training Game Position
White’s two extra pawns gives him a clear winning advantage. It’s likely
that both players were in time trouble, since from this point on, the game
goes back and forth between winning for White and being drawn.
61 ... Rh6 62 Bg5 Rg6 63 Be3 Ne1 64 g4 Nf3+ 65 Kg3 Ng1 66 h4
66 f4+! would have won the knight with a discovered attack.
66 ... Ne2+ 67 Kg2 Rxg4+ 68 Kf1 Nc3 69 Re8+ Kd6 70 Bg5 Nd5 71
Ke2 Nc3+ 72 Kf1 Nd5 73 Ra8 Ke6 74 Ra5 Ke5 75 Ke2 Ke6 76 Rc5 Rg1
77 Rc6+ Ke5 78 Rc8 Nf4+ 79 Kd2 Ne6 80 Be3 Rh1 81 Rh8 Ng7 82 Kc3
Nf5 83 Bg5 Rh3+ 84 Kb4 Rf3 85 h5 Rxf2 86 h6 Nxh6 87 Bxh6 Rb2+ 88
Kc3 Rb7 89 Re8+ Kf5 90 Rf8+ Ke5 91 Bf4+ Kd5 92 Rf5+ Ke6 93 Re5+
Kf6 94 Rxe4
Training Game Position
After some mistakes by both sides, we’ve reached a K+R+B vs. K+R
endgame. Theoretically this endgame is a draw, but in practice it’s not so
easy to demonstrate. It’s not so uncommon for even strong players to mess up
the defense.
94 ... Rd7 95 Be3 Kf5 96 Re8 Rd6 97 Bd4 Ra6 98 Kd3 Ra3+ 99 Bc3
Ra4 100 Re5+ Kf4 101 Rb5 Ra3 102 Rb6 Kg5 103 Rc6 Ra4 104 Bd4 Kf5
105 Rf6+ Kg5 106 Rf8 Kg4 107 Ke4
Black’s rook is positioned well, as it defends from “behind”. That is, it
sits opposite to where Black’s king is. This makes it difficult for White’s king
to chase Black’s king, since the rook attacks the bishop.
107 ... Kg3 108 Rg8+ Kh4 109 Rg7 Kh3 110 Rg8 Kh4 111 Rg1 Rb4
112 Ke5 Kh3 113 Be3 Rc4 114 Bf4 Rc5+?
It doesn’t seem like this move should lose, but it actually does. There’s a
reason this endgame is so notorious.
114 ... Ra4 was better, continuing to block White’s king on the 4th rank.
After 115 Rg3+ Kh4 116 Kf5, throwing in 116 ... Ra5+ 117 Ke4 (or 117 Be5
Rxe5+) 117 ... Ra4+ works, since if White’s king moves on to the 3rd rank,
Black forces a rook trade with ... Ra3+.
115 Ke4 Rc3 116 Be3 Kh2 117 Rg6 Rc4+ 118 Kf3 Rh4 119 Bf4+ Kh3
120 Rg1 1-0
J.Tomczak-R.Polzin
Germany 2013
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 c3 Nf6 5 d3 d6 6 0-0 0-0 7 Re1 a6
Training Game Position
Black opens a7 as a retreat square for the c5-bishop. ... a6 also controls
b5, which may support some ... b5 or ... Na5 idea later on. These aren’t
particularly dangerous right now, but it makes sense for White to anticipate
them in advance.
8 Bb3
White does just this by retreating the bishop, allowing it to move to c2 if
needed.
8 a4 is also a good move, resisting the ... b5 push, and opening a2 as a
retreat square for the bishop.
8 ... Ba7 9 h3 h6 10 Nbd2 Re8 11 Nf1 Be6 12 Ng3 d5
Training Game Position
A somewhat typical situation that can arise in the Italian. Black pushes ...
d5, and White just ignores it for the time being.
13 Qe2 Qd7 14 Bc2 Rad8 15 Kh2 Qe7 16 a4 Qc5
16 ... a5 17 Bd2 d4 may have been a slightly better way to handle the
position. Black fights for some space on the queenside/centre, and also
ensures that the b1-h7 diagonal remains closed (keeping the c2-bishop
passive).
17 d4!
White jumps on the chance to seize the initiative.
17 ... exd4 18 cxd4 Qf8
18 ... Qb4 19 e5 Bg4! 20 hxg4 Nxd4 would have given Black better
chances, but finding such a line (and then choosing to play it) isn’t easy at all.
19 e5 Ne4!
The best chance at gaining counterplay.
19 ... Nd7 leaves Black ill-equipped to defend his king against the
onslaught of white pieces. After 20 Ra3!, even the queen’s rook is ready to
join the attack via a rook lift.
20 Nxe4 dxe4 21 Qxe4 g6
Training Game Position
Although White is currently up a pawn and has strong kingside pressure,
Black has some counterplay against the d4-pawn. He’s currently threatening
to play ... Nxd4.
22 Qh4
There’s no good way for White to defend the d4-pawn. So, he creates a
threat of his own against the h6-pawn.
22 ... Nxd4 23 Bxh6 Nxf3+ 24 gxf3 Bxf2 25 Qf4!
White has dealt with Black’s counterplay accurately, and he’s retained his
winning advantage.
25 Qxf2? allows 25 ... Qxh6, and now it’s Black who’s much better.
25 Qg5?! isn’t as strong as the game move, since on 25 ... Qe7, White
can’t respond with Bg5.
25 ... Bxe1
Black opts to sacrifice his queen for a rook and bishop. Swapping off
some pieces will relieve some of the pressure on the black king.
25 ... Qe7 is met with 26 Bg5.
26 Bxf8 Rd2+ 27 Kh1 Rxc2 28 Rxe1 Rxf8 29 Qf6!
Despite White once again being a bit ahead in material, he doesn’t let up.
His pieces are still active and Black doesn’t have any immediate threats; so,
there’s no reason to stop creating threats against the black king. With this
move, White threatens to play Re4-Rh4.
Making use of all your advantages is an important concept in converting a
winning position into a win. If your attack forces your opponent to give up a
bit of material, that’s great. But just because you now have a material
advantage, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should start playing passively,
aiming to just rely on the extra material. If the position allows it, continue
playing actively.
29 ... Rxb2?
It was necessary for Black to stop Re4 somehow, such as with 29 ... Bd5.
30 Re4 Rb1+ 31 Kh2 Rb2+ 32 Kg3 1-0
K.Rathnakaran-R.Laxman
Hyderabad 2019
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 c3 Nf6 5 d3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 Bb3 h6 8 Re1
Kh8 9 h3 Bb6 10 Nbd2 Ng8
Training Game Position
Often in the Italian, White’s d2-knight goes to f1 and then g3, aiming to
control some kingside light squares. However, with Black about to push ... f5
on the next move, this knight maneuver no longer seems to be quite as good.
A better idea is to instead move the knight to c4. Here it will attack the b6bishop, and White could follow up with some aggressive a4 or d4 pawn
move.
11 Nc4 f5 12 Nxb6
12 exf5 Bxf5 13 a4 was also possible, preparing to attack the bishop with
a5. This will force Black to spend an additional tempo moving it somewhere
(as it’s already spent one tempo going from c5 to b6 earlier on).
For example, 13 ... Bc5 (13 ... a5? 14 Nxb6 cxb6 ruins Black’s pawn
structure) 14 a5 Bg6 15 Bc2 a6 16 Be3 Bxe3 17 Nxe3 Nf6 18 d4 seems
roughly balanced.
12 ... axb6 13 exf5 Bxf5 14 d4 e4 15 Nh2 d5
White’s bishop pair is roughly balanced out by Black’s space advantage.
White should try to break down the d5-e4 pawn chain, such as with f3.
16 Nf1
16 f3 exf3 17 Nxf3 opens up the e-file for the e1-rook, and gives the
knight better prospects (it now controls e5). An open position in general is
also good for the bishop pair.
16 ... Na5 17 Be3 c6 18 Ng3 Bh7 19 Qd2 Qh4 20 Qe2 Nf6 21 Rf1 b5
Black has done well to gain a grip on both sides of the board. He’s also
managed to keep the position closed, making things more unfavourable for
White’s bishop pair.
22 Kh2 Nc4
22 ... h5, preparing to play ... Ng4+ followed by ... Nxe3, deserves
consideration. Eliminating the e3-bishop would weaken White’s dark-squares
(such as g3).
23 Bxc4 dxc4 24 a3
Perhaps 24 b3 could have been tried, again with the theme of trying to
break down Black’s restricting pawn chains.
24 ... Nd5 25 Rae1 g5 26 Qg4 Qxg4 27 hxg4 Rae8 28 Bc1 Bg6 29 Ne2
Kg7 30 Kg3 Rf7
30 ... e3! 31 fxe3 Rxf1 32 Rxf1 Bd3 33 Re1 Nf6 prepares ... Re4,
targeting the g4-pawn.
31 Be3 Ref8 32 Rh1 Nf4
Training Game Position
33 Nc1
33 d5! was necessary to equalize, but sacrificing a pawn like this isn’t an
easy decision to make. The opposite-coloured bishops give White drawing
chances, but he needs to activate his bishop. Opening up the e3-a7 diagonal
gives the bishop access to the rest of the dark squares on the board.
Following 33 ... Nxd5 34 Bd4+ Kh7, Black is threatening ... e3 (preparing
to meet fxe3 with ... Be4), so White should play 35 Ng1!. Then after
something like 35 ... Nf4 (35 ... e3? 36 Nf3! suddenly turns the tables, as
White creates the dangerous threats of Nxg5+ and Rxh6+) 36 Nh3 Ne6 37
Be3, White should hold this endgame.
33 ... h5
33 ... b6! may have been stronger, preparing to meet a potential d5 with ...
c5. This would give Black control over the d4-square; and after he wins the
d5-pawn, the d-file would be open.
34 gxh5 Nxh5+ 35 Kg4 Nf4 36 d5!
White seizes his second chance to play this move.
36 ... Rf5 37 dxc6 bxc6 38 Rd1 Nd3 39 Nxd3 cxd3 40 f3 Re8 41 Rhe1
Rd5 42 Bxg5 e3 43 Bf4?
White had played a series of good moves up to this point, but now errs.
43 Bxe3 d2 44 Rxd2 Rxe3 45 Rxd5 Rxe1 46 Rd7+ leaves White with
three pawns for a piece, and he is equal. His king and rook enjoy good
activity.
43 ... e2 44 Rd2
Although White’s rooks blockade the connected passed pawns, they are
quite passive on d2 and e1.
44 ... c5 45 Bh2 Kf6 46 Kg3 b4?!
46 ... Rh5! aims to use zugzwang. Soon the h2-bishop will have to move,
allowing the rook to invade on h1. For example, 47 b3 Ke6 48 Bg1 Rh1 49
Kf2 Kd5 leaves White’s pieces in very poor positions. Once Black’s king
manages to break through, it will be over.
47 axb4 cxb4?! 48 cxb4 Rc8
Although Black has opened up the queenside, this has come at the cost of
a pawn. Now his only remaining pawns are on d3 and e2, which reduces his
winning potential.
49 Kf2 Ke6 50 g4 Rb5 51 Ke3 Kd5 52 f4?
Surrendering control of the e4-square.
Sitting tight with 52 Kf2 Ke6 53 Bg3 Rxb4 54 Ra1 was better, and White
should hold.
52 ... Re8+ 53 Kf2 Kd4 54 Bg1 Ke4 55 f5 Bf7 56 Kg3 Rg8
Black’s king is active in White’s territory, and White’s fortress isn’t as
airtight anymore. The g8-rook’s pin on the g4-pawn gives Black some threats
like ... Rxf5 and ... Bh5. If White’s king moves off the g-file to h3 (where it
could still protect the g4-pawn), then Black’s king gains access to f3.
57 Rexe2+!? dxe2 58 Rxe2+ Kd3 59 Re3+ Kd2 60 Rf3 Bh5
Capturing the pawn while it was still undefended with 60 ... Rxb4 was
better.
61 Rf2+ Kd3 62 Rf3+ Kc2 63 Rf4 Rb7 64 f6 Kxb2 65 Bc5
65 b5! Kc3 (65 ... Rxb5?! allows 66 f7) 66 b6 would make the b-pawn
more dangerous. It’s not clear whether Black can win this endgame. The
issue is that even if he could trade one of his rooks for White’s bishop and
three pawns, the resulting K+R+B vs. K+R would be a theoretical draw.
Although as we saw in a previous game, this endgame still offers some
practical winning chances to the side with the bishop.
65 ... Kc3 66 Kf3 Bf7 67 Ke4 Rd7 68 Rf3+ Kc4 69 Kf4 Kd5 70 g5 Bg6
71 Re3 Rh8 72 Re5+ Kc4 73 Re4+ Kb5 74 Re5 Rh4+ 75 Kg3 Rc4 76 Re3
Rd5 77 Rf3 Rxg5+ 78 Kf2 Bf7 79 Be7 Rgg4 80 Rf5+ Kc6 81 b5+ Kd7 82
Kf3 Rg1 83 Re5 Rb1 0-1
V.Spasov-S.Feller
CRO-chT1B 2015
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 0-0 Nf6 5 d3 d6 6 c3 0-0 7 Bb3 a6 8 Nbd2
Ba7 9 Re1 h6 10 Nf1 Re8 11 Be3 Bxe3 12 Nxe3 Be6 13 h3 Qd7
Training Game Position
14 Nh2
White prepares to play Nhg4, challenging the f6-knight. Eliminating this
knight will weaken Black’s influence over the key d5 and e4 squares.
14 ... d5 15 Nhg4 Nxg4 16 exd5!?
Recapturing with 16 hxg4 was also possible, although this gives Black
time to push 16 ... d4 .
16 ... Nxe3 17 dxe6 Nxd1 18 exd7 Re7 19 Bxd1 Rxd7
We’ve reached an endgame that’s roughly level. White’s bishop is maybe
slightly preferable to the black knight; however, Black has more space, and
the d3-pawn is a weakness.
20 Bf3 f6
Training Game Position
Here White has to decide whether to exchange on c6. In this case,
accepting or declining to exchange are both fine options, but they can lead to
different types of endgames.
21 d4!?
White sees his chance to liquidate the weak d-pawn. Although this will
temporarily sacrifice a pawn, White will have enough activity in the resulting
position to easily maintain the balance.
21 Rad1 Rad8 22 Re3 Rd6 could be a tad unpleasant for White, although
objectively the game is still completely equal.
21 ... exd4 22 cxd4 Rxd4 23 Rac1 Rd6 24 Re3
Preparing to swing the rook over, applying further pressure on Black’s
queenside.
Also good is 24 Bxc6 bxc6 (or 24 ... Rxc6 25 Rxc6 bxc6 26 Rc1 Rd8 27
Rxc6) 25 Re7 Rc8 26 Rc2, when Black remains up a pawn, but all his
queenside pawns are weak. White’s rooks are also quite active, and he should
easily draw this ending.
24 ... Rad8 25 Rb3 Nd4
Now Black decides to swap a few pieces, reaching a rook endgame which
is easily drawn for both sides.
25 ... Rb8? drops the knight to 26 Bxc6, as the b7-pawn is pinned.
25 ... Na5 would be a reasonable way to defend, but 26 Ra3 Nc6 27 Rb3
just repeats the position.
26 Rxb7 Nxf3+ 27 gxf3 Rd1+ 28 Rxd1 Rxd1+ 29 Kg2 Rd2 30 b4 Rxa2
½-½
E.Bareev-Z.Runic
Bihac 1999
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 cxd5 exd5 5 Bg5 Nbd7 6 e3 Be7 7 Bd3 0-0 8
Nge2 Re8 9 0-0 c6 10 Qc2 Nf8 11 f3 a5
A fairly rare move in this position. Black gains some queenside space,
resisting any potential b4 ideas White may have in the future. Also, with the
pawn stationed on a5, maybe Black could consider a pawn storm at some
point with ... b5.
12 Rae1
White prepares to advance in the centre.
12 ... g6
Training Game Position
13 Kh1 Ne6 14 Bh4 Ng7?!
This move prepares ... Bf5, aiming to swap off White’s good lightsquared bishop. While this is a fairly typical idea in the QGD exchange
system (moving a knight to g7 and playing ... Bf5), in this position it’s not so
good since White is on the verge of pushing e4. Instead, the knight should be
left on e6 in this instance. There, it will pressure the d4-pawn if e4 is placed.
14 ... b5 15 Bf2 Nh5 16 g4 Nhg7 may have been a better approach. With
Black’s f6-knight transferred to g7, it’s not in danger of being attacked by e4e5 at some point. Black’s also expanding on the queenside and could try
arranging the desired bishop exchange with ... Ba6 + ... b4 at some point.
15 Bf2 Bf5 16 e4 dxe4 17 fxe4 Be6
Training Game Position
18 Nf4!
Activating the knight and unblocking the e1-rook. Now the knight is
prepared to eliminate the e6-bishop, which is one of Black’s more active
pieces. The bishop is also a defender of the f7-pawn, which could become a
major weakness at some point. Although the f-file is blocked right now, later
on some pieces may be moved off it, allowing the f1-rook to apply pressure
up the board.
18 ... Nfh5 19 Nxe6 Nxe6 20 Be2
Threatening to play Bxh5; however, this threat isn’t strong enough to
warrant leaving the d4-pawn en prise.
Or 20 Ne2, defending the d4-pawn.
20 ... Nf6
20 ... Nxd4! would have given Black some chances, even though 21 Bxd4
Qxd4 22 Bxh5 gxh5 seriously weakens the black kingside.
21 Rd1 Qd7 22 d5
White’s pieces are well placed, and he is ready for an open fight.
22 ... Nf4 23 dxc6 Qc8 24 cxb7 Qxb7 25 Bf3 Rad8 26 e5 N6d5 27 Nxd5
Nxd5 28 Qd3 1-0
The pinned knight cannot be saved, and Black resigned.
J.Doknjas-H.Wu
Victoria op Scheveningen 2016
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 cxd5 exd5 5 Bg5 Be7 6 e3 c6 7 Bd3 0-0 8 Qc2
Re8 9 Nge2 Ne4
Training Game Position
10 Bxe7
Avoiding the bishop trade with 10 Bf4 is another possibility in these
types of positions.
10 ... Qxe7 11 Bxe4 dxe4 12 Ng3 f5 13 0-0 Be6 14 f3!
Opening the game up makes sense, as White’s pieces are well poised for
battle in the centre.
14 ... Qg5
Training Game Position
14 ... exf3 15 Rxf3 g6 would have been a bit better, when 16 e4 fxe4 17
Ngxe4 Kh8 18 Re1 maybe gives White a small edge, but it’s nothing much.
15 Rae1 exf3 16 Rxf3 Rf8 17 e4
White continues playing actively before Black can fully complete his
development.
17 ... f4 18 Ref1 Bg4 19 R3f2 Nd7 20 Qd2 Be6 21 Rxf4 Rf6 22 R4f2
Qh4 23 Rxf6 Nxf6 24 Qf4 Qxf4 25 Rxf4 b5 26 b3 a5!
Training Game Position
In this endgame White is a pawn up, but he must display some technique
to convert the advantage. Black is actively seeking queenside counterplay
with ... a4. Also, if the game opens up, the bishop will thrive.
27 e5
Trying to play aggressively before Black can carry out his idea with ... a4.
However, this is the wrong way to go about things. Now Black gets the nice
d5-square as an outpost.
27 d5! was a better way to shake up things in the centre. Now after 27 ...
cxd5 28 Nxb5 dxe4 29 Nxe4, White has decent winning chances in this more
technical endgame.
27 ... Nd5 28 Nxd5 Bxd5 29 Nf5 Ra7
29 ... Kf7 was also possible, immediately activating the king. The point is
that White’s knight has no good way to utilize the discovered check.
30 Ne3 Be6 31 Rf2 Rd7 32 Rc2
This simplifies things too much. The e5-pawn will not be that strong
without the d4-pawn to support it.
32 Rd2 was better, simply protecting the pawn. During the game I may
have felt that Black was improving his position over the past few moves, and
so I had to change things up somehow. While the first part of this is true,
there was still no need for drastic measures yet. White should just protect the
d4-pawn, activate the king, and maybe maneuver the knight to a better
square.
32 ... Rxd4 33 Rxc6 Kf7 34 Rc5 Rd3 35 Nf1 a4 36 Rxb5 axb3 37 axb3
Bxb3 38 Kf2
Training Game Position
This endgame is objectively a draw, but in a practical game White can
still try to create some problems. Even though Black’s bishop is by no means
worse than the knight, White should still try to avoid exchanging them. The
reason is that the ensuing 2 vs. 3 rook endgame will likely be more familiar
to the opponent, making it easier to draw.
38 ... Bc4 39 Rc5 Be6 40 Ne3 h6 41 Kf3 Rd4 42 g3 Ra4 43 Rc7+ Kf8
44 Rc5 Rd4 45 h4 h5 46 Ra5 Kf7 47 Rb5 Kf8 48 Rb6 Kf7 49 Rd6 Ra4 50
Nc2 Bg4+ 51 Ke3 Ra2 52 Nd4 Ra1 53 Kf4 Ra4 54 Kg5 Ra3?
Black had defended well, but now errs by allowing White to advance the
e-pawn. I’m pretty sure that at this point in the game (and probably earlier
too), we were both in time trouble.
54 ... Ra5 55 Nc6 Rc5 prevents White from making progress.
55 e6+ Ke8 56 Nc6 Ra8 57 Kg6 Bf3 58 Kxg7 Bg4 59 Kf6
59 Rd7 is quicker, preparing to deliver mate on e7.
59 ... Rc8 60 Rd8+ Rxd8 61 Nxd8 Bf3
61 ... Kxd8 62 Kf7 threatens e7+, and the pawn endgame after 62 ...
Bxe6+ 63 Kxe6 is winning.
62 Nf7 1-0
J.Doknjas-V.Plotkin
Canadian Open 2016
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Be7 4 cxd5 exd5 5 Bf4 Nf6 6 e3 0-0 7 Bd3 c6 8 h3
Nbd7 9 Nf3 g6 10 Qc2 Nh5
Training Game Position
11 Bh6
White prepares to pressure Black’s knight if it arrives on g7. The
intention isn’t necessarily to exchange it, but merely to have the option of
doing so.
11 ... Re8 12 0-0-0 Ng7 13 g4
This move begins a kingside pawn storm, but it also has a strategic aim.
The g4-pawn controls f5, preventing any ... Bf5 ideas (once the d7-knight
moves away). Keeping the light-squared bishop is a nice plus for White.
13 ... Nf8 14 Rdg1 Be6
Training Game Position
15 h4 c5 16 h5
Using the g6-pawn as a “hook” for the attack. White wants to capture on
g6, which will open the h-file.
16 ... c4 17 Bf5!?
The bishop is safe here, as Black can’t afford to open the g-file with ...
gxf5. And going forwards, White will always have the option to trade the
bishop off with Bxe6, should ... gxf5 become a real threat. Opportunities
might also arise to sacrifice the bishop on g6 at some point. 17 Be2 is also
fine.
17 ... g5
But now Black releases the tension involving the g6-pawn. His aim is to
try to keep the g-file closed, limiting White’s attack on the king.
17 ... gxf5? 18 gxf5 Bf6 19 Bxg7 Bxg7 20 h6 is winning for White.
17 ... b5! was maybe the best chance, becoming active on the queenside
and trying to force White’s hand. After 18 hxg6 fxg6 19 Bxg7 Kxg7 20 Bxe6
Nxe6 21 Rg3!, White has the advantage, but he still must play accurately to
prove it. If he plays too slowly, Black could become quite dangerous on the
queenside (opening lines with ... b4, ... c3, etc.).
18 Nxg5!
Temporarily sacrificing a piece.
18 ... Bxg5 19 Bxg5 Qxg5 20 h6
The point - the g7-knight cannot escape.
20 ... Rad8 21 hxg7 Qxg7
Training Game Position
22 Ne2!
White decides to improve the knight. It isn’t really needed on c3, as
control of the d5- and e4-squares isn’t that important now. Also, the
queenside doesn’t need much defense. The knight would be much better
utilized on the h5-outpost.
22 ... Ng6 23 Ng3 Kf8 24 Nh5 Qh8 25 g5 Rd6 26 Nf6 Bxf5 27 Qxf5 1-0
Rxh7 or Nxh7+ is coming, when White’s attack will fully break through.
P.Negi-M.Yilmaz
Chotowa 2010
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 Nbd7 7 f4 Qc7 8
Qf3 h6 9 Bxf6 Nxf6 10 f5
Training Game Position
With this move, White prepares to capture the e7-pawn, should it
advance. This will weaken the stability of Black’s position. This 10 f5 move
also rules out ... Bg4.
10 ... e5
10 ... Qc5 11 0-0-0 g5 is another popular way of handling this position.
11 fxe6 fxe6 12 0-0-0 Bd7 13 g3 0-0-0 14 Bh3 Re8 15 Rhe1
White is fully developed, his pieces are all fairly active, and Black has to
defend the vulnerable e6-pawn. Despite all this, Black is still equal; he has
the bishop pair, as well as some nice dark squares to play on (e5, f6, g5, etc.).
15 Nce2 deserves consideration, preparing to increase the pressure on the
e6-pawn with Nf4.
15 ... Nh7 16 Qe2 Ng5 17 Bg4 g6 18 h4
18 e5 was better, before Black had the chance to play ... Nf7- ... Ne5.
18 ... h5
18 ... Nf7! 19 Qf2 Ne5 secures the wonderful e5-square as an outpost for
the knight, giving Black an edge.
19 hxg5 hxg4 20 e5
Training Game Position
20 Qxg4? runs into 20 ... e5, and the d4-knight is lost.
20 ... dxe5 21 Nb3
This position is quite chaotic, but overall it is dynamically balanced.
Black’s pawns are weak, but his bishops provide some compensation for this.
They will allow Black to gain activity in this open position.
21 ... Bb4 22 Rd3 Bc6! 23 Qxg4 e4
Black plays actively with his pieces, forcing White to spend time reacting
to threats.
24 Rde3 Kb8
24 ... Rhf8!, planning ... Rf3, would be a good follow up to Black’s
previous moves. For example, after 25 a3 Bxc3 26 Rxc3 Rf3, the game is
equal, but Black’s side arguably seems easier to play.
25 a3 Bxc3
Black trades pieces in order to prevent White from capturing on e4 with
the knight.
26 Rxc3 Qe5 27 Kb1 Qf5 28 Qd1 Qd5 29 Qc1! Ref8 30 Nc5
With Black’s dark-squared bishop gone, White is able to dominate the
dark squares. This allows him to do things such as defend the g5-pawn easier,
blockade the e4-pawn (by controlling e3), and establish the knight on the
active c5-outpost.
30 ... e3!?
Giving up the pawn in a bid for some activity.
31 Qxe3 Rh1 32 Nb3?
32 Rxh1 Qxh1+ 33 Ka2 leaves black without a good continuation. Maybe
White was worried about 33 ... Rf1, with attacking ideas such as ... Bd5+ and
... Ra1+. However, 34 Nxa6+! decides matters. If 34 ... bxa6, then 35 Qb6+
Bb7 36 Rd3! Ra1+ 37 Kb3 wins. Rd8+ is threatened, and none of Black’s
responses are satisfactory.
32 ... Rf3 33 Qc1
33 ... Rxe1
A bit better was throwing in 33 ... Rxc3 first, since with White’s queen
still on c1 (not e1 yet), he must recapture with 34 bxc3, weakening the
queenside pawns. Now 34 ... Rxe1 35 Qxe1 Qxg5 36 Qxe6 Qxg3 leaves
Black on the better side of an objectively equal endgame.
34 Qxe1 Rf5 35 Rd3
35 Re3, pressuring the e6-pawn, would have neutralized the ... Qh1 idea.
Since now if 35 ... Qh1 36 Qxh1 Bxh1, 37 Nd4 Rxg5 38 Nxe6 nets White the
e6-pawn, and gives him excellent winning chances.
35 ... Qh1 36 Qxh1 Bxh1 37 Nd4 Rf1+ 38 Ka2 e5 39 Ne6 Be4 40 Rd8+
Ka7 41 c3 Rg1 42 Nc5 Bc6 43 Rd3 Re1 44 c4 e4 45 Rd6 e3 46 Rxg6 e2 47
Re6 Bf3 48 g6 Rg1 49 Nd3 Rxg3 50 Re3 Rxg6 51 Rxf3
Training Game Position
White temporarily wins a piece, but Black will recover it.
51 ... Rd6 52 Ne1
52 Re3 would be met with 52 ... Rxd3, since 53 Rxd3 would allow 53 ...
e1Q. So instead White should play 53 Rxe2, reaching a 3-v-2 endgame that
Black should draw.
52 ... Rd1 53 Nc2 Rc1 54 Re3 Rxc2 55 Kb3 Rc1 56 Rxe2
Generally, a 3-v-2 endgame is a fairly straightforward draw, especially
for strong players like the contestants of this game. However, Negi does a
good job of creating some chances for himself, and in the end, he actually
manages to win the ending.
56 ... a5 57 Rc2 Rh1 58 Rd2 Rc1
Putting the b-pawn on the 6th rank with 58 ... b6 would have been
helpful. While not required, it makes things easier for Black if his pawn is on
the 6th rank instead of b7. It limits how far White’s pieces can advance,
before having to exchange another pair of pawns.
59 Rc2 Rh1 60 c5 Ka6
It still wasn’t too late for 60 ... b6, since 61 c6 Rh8 62 Kc4 Kb8 63 Kb5
Kc7 leaves White unable to hang on to the c6-pawn.
61 Ka4 Rh4+ 62 b4 axb4 63 axb4 Rh3
63 ... b6 would have made the path to the draw easier. Now after 64 c6
b5+ 65 Kb3, the c6-pawn isn’t supported by its fellow pawn, and Black can
easily round it up. For example, 65 ... Rh8 66 Rc5 Kb6 67 Kc3 Rc8 68 Kd4
Rxc6.
64 b5+ Ka7 65 Re2 Rh4+ 66 Kb3 Rg4 67 Kc3 Rh4 68 Rd2 Kb8 69
Rd4 Rh5 70 Kc4 Kc7
This endgame is similar to the 2-v-1 which was examined in the LieDegraeve game of the “Will to Win” chapter. One difference is that here, the
action takes place on the queenside. But the difference that actually matters is
that White’s pawns are on the 5th rank, and Black’s pawn is on the 7th. In the
Lie-Degraeve game (say, on move 52), White’s two pawns were on the 4th
rank, and Black’s pawn was on the 6th. Even though it’s not required for
Black’s pawn to be one rank further advanced, it would make things easier.
The current position is still objectively a draw, but things are a bit tricky.
71 Rf4 Kd7?
Giving White a chance to win.
72 Rg4?
72 Rf7+! Kc8 73 Rf8+ Kd7 74 Kb4 and now:
a) 74 ... Rg5 75 Ka5! Rxc5 76 Kb6 Rh5 77 Rb8 Rg5 78 Rxb7+ Kc8 79
Rh7 prepares to kick the black king out with Rh8+, and a Lucena position
will soon be reached.
b) 74 ... Rh7 75 Ka5 Rh6 tries to prevent Kb6, but now 76 Ra8 Rg6 77
c6+ bxc6 78 b6 wins.
72 ... Rh1 73 Kd5
Trying 73 Rg7+ Kc8 74 Rg8+ Kd7 75 Kb4 no longer wins, since 75 ...
Ra1 prevents the king from reaching a5.
73 ... Rh5+ 74 Kd4
Training Game Position
74 ... Rh1 75 Rf4 Rb1 76 Kc4 Kc7 77 Rh4 Kd7 78 Rh7+ Kc8 79 Rh8+
Kd7 80 Rh4 Kc8 81 Rh3 Kd7 82 Rb3 Rh1 83 Kb4 Kc7 84 Re3 Rc1
84 ... Ra1 may have been safer, preventing Ka5 outright.
85 Re7+ Kc8?
A subtle error which unfortunately costs Black the game. The fact that
this move can lose just shows how tricky this 2-v-1 can be, when the two
pawns are so advanced.
85 ... Kb8! is better, since now 86 Ka5 Rxc5 87 Kb6 can be met with 87
... Rc8!, as the black king isn’t occupying the c8-square. After 88 Rxb7+ Ka8
89 Ra7+ Kb8 90 Ka6 Rh8, this is a draw. Black just passes time with his rook
on the 8th rank, and White cannot make progress. This is an easy way to
defend a K+R vs. K+R+P ending, when the attacking side’s pawn is on the a, b-, g-, or h-file.
86 Ka5!
White seizes his chance.
86 ... Rxc5 87 Kb6 Rc1 88 Re8+ Kd7 89 Rb8 Rb1 90 Rxb7+ Kc8 91
Rc7+ Kb8 92 Rg7 Kc8 93 Rg8+ Kd7
With the black king prevented from sitting in front of the pawn, it’s only
a matter of time until White achieves the Lucena position.
94 Rb8 Ra1 95 Kb7 Rb1 96 b6 Ra1 97 Rc8 Ra2 98 Rc3 Rb2 99 Rd3+
Ke7 100 Kc7 Rc2+ 101 Kb8 Rb2 102 b7
The Lucena position has been reached.
102 ... Ra2 103 Rd4 Ra1 104 Kc7 Rc1+ 105 Kb6 Rb1+ 106 Kc6 Rb2
107 Rd5 1-0
Zhou Jianchao-B.Adhiban
Hyderabad 2015
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3 c5 5 cxd5 exd5 6 Bb5+ Nc6 7 0-0 Bd6 8
dxc5 Bxc5
Training Game Position
9 b3 0-0 10 Bb2 Bg4 11 Bxc6!?
Often in isolated d-pawn positions, the side playing against the isolani has
some opportunity to trade off the enemy c6-knight (or c3-knight). Doing this
would make the d-pawn no longer isolated because there would now be a pair
of c- and d-pawns in the centre (known as “hanging pawns”). However, the
upside of this is that the c-pawn would become the weakness, and White may
be able to pressure it on the c-file. In some instances, White may believe that
a black pawn on c6 will be an easier target than an isolated pawn on d5.
Sometimes giving the opponent hanging pawns is a good way to play, but
it depends a lot on the specifics of the position. For example, if the opponent
can easily push the c-pawn to c5, and then protect both pawns without much
difficulty, then his hanging pawns will simply be an asset for him.
11 Nc3 Rc8 12 Rc1 Bd6 13 h3 Bh5 14 Be2 is maybe a slightly better way
to play. A few top level games have reached this position, such as I.Ortiz
Suarez-J. Polgar, Tromsoe 2013.
11 ... bxc6 12 Nbd2 Bd6 13 Qc2
13 ... c5 14 Qd3 Be7 15 Ne5 Rc8 16 Nxg4 Nxg4 17 h3 Bf6 18 hxg4!?
White decides to give up his bishop for Black’s knight. A reason for
doing this is that the d5-pawn may be difficult for Black to defend, if he
doesn’t have a knight to move to f6.
18 Bxf6 Nxf6 19 Rac1 Qb6 would be roughly balanced.
18 ... Bxb2 19 Rad1 g6 20 Nf3 c4!
A good response. Now Qxd5 would be a blunder, since Black’s c-pawn
would run.
21 Qc2
21 Qxd5? Qxd5 22 Rxd5 c3 23 Rdd1 c2, and Black is winning.
21 ... Bg7 22 e4 Qd7?
Black errs, and White gains the advantage. 22 ... c3! 23 Rxd5 Qe7 still
sees White winning a pawn, but now Black has terrific compensation for it, in
the form of his monster c3-passer.
23 bxc4 Qxg4 24 Rxd5
Training Game Position
24 ... Rfe8 25 Re1 h5 26 c5 h4
Threatening ... h3.
27 Rg5?!
While it’s natural to want to chase the black queen away, this isn’t the
best continuation. Now White’s pieces become a bit uncoordinated.
27 Qd3! was better, protecting the f3-knight (enabling White to simply
meet ... h3 with g3). With the queen and rook on d3 and d5, White maintains
his iron grip on the position, and he will be ready to continue to play
aggressively in the centre.
27 ... Qf4 28 Qd3 Bf8 29 Qd7!
29 ... h3?!
Diverting White’s queen away from d7. This takes the pressure off the
e8-rook, relieving the c8-rook of its defensive duties and allowing it to
capture on c5. However, White will remain a pawn up, as he’s taking the hpawn; and in addition, he will be able to follow up actively, as we will see.
29 ... Bxc5? would lose to 30 Rxc5 Rxc5 31 Qxe8+
29 ... Rcd8! 30 Qg4 (or 30 Qxa7 Rxe4) 30 ... Qxg4 31 Rxg4 Bxc5
equalizes.
30 Qxh3 Rxc5 31 Rg4!
Not giving Black a moment’s respite.
31 ... Qc7 32 e5
White continues playing energetically. His immediate plan is to play
Rge4 followed by e6, shattering the black kingside.
32 ... Bg7 33 Rge4 Bxe5
Winning the e5-pawn, but now the e5-bishop is in a very unpleasant pin.
34 Qh6! Re7 35 Qe3
A strong queen maneuver.
35 ... f6 36 Qh6
With the f-pawn provoked to f6, the queen returns to h6, as now the g6pawn is weak.
36 ... Rg7 37 Nxe5 Rxe5 38 Rxe5 fxe5 39 Qg5
Black cannot hold on to both the e5- and g6-pawns.
39 ... Qd6
39 ... Re7 would allow 40 Qxg6+.
40 Qxe5 Rd7 41 g3 Qxe5 42 Rxe5 Rd6
Training Game Position
White now displays nice technique in converting this endgame.
43 a4 Kf7 44 Ra5 a6 45 Kg2 Kf6 46 Kf3 Re6 47 Kg4 Rc6 48 f4
The white king and rook are both active, and all of White’s pawns are
defended. So now White begins advancing his pawn majority.
48 ... Rb6 49 Rc5 Re6 50 a5 Rd6 51 Rc7
White threatens Rb7-Rb6, which would force a rook trade. This prevents
Black from sitting with his king and rook on the 6th rank.
51 ... Ke6
51 ... Re6 52 Rb7 prepares Rb6, and Black doesn’t have a good response.
52 Kg5
White’s king breaks through, and the rest is easy enough.
52 ... Kd5 53 Re7 Kd4 54 g4 Rc6 55 Re1 Kd3 56 Re8 Kd4 57 Rg8 Ke4
58 Rxg6 Rc5+ 59 f5 Rxa5 60 Rb6 Ke5 61 Kg6 Kf4 62 Rb4+ Ke5 63 f6
Rc5 64 f7 Rc8 65 Kg7 1-0
P.Czarnota-P.Bobras
Poland 2015
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 g6 4 0-0 Bg7 5 Re1 Nf6 6 e5 Nd5 7 Nc3 Nc7 8
Bxc6 dxc6 9 h3
Training Game Position
9 ... c4?!
A rare move in this position. Black threatens to answer d4/d3 with ...
cxd3, which will give White a backwards pawn on the d-file. So instead,
White should play b3 first, in order to eliminate the c4-pawn.
One of the main lines is 9 ... 0-0 10 d3 Ne6 11 Ne4 b6, when Black’s c5pawn isn’t necessarily “weak”, even though it is doubled. The pawn is well
protected, and it helps to control the important d4-square.
10 Qe2 Be6 11 Ne4 b6 12 b3 cxb3 13 axb3 c5
It might appear as if Black has improved his position. He has exchanged
off his doubled c-pawn, and now the remaining c-pawn takes up the role of
occupying on c5, where it controls the d4-square. However, in actuality
White is the one who has benefited. This is due to a few factors:
1) Thanks to the pawn swap on b3, the a-file is open for the a1-rook. The
rook has essentially been “developed”, even though it hasn’t even moved yet.
2) Black’s operations on the c-file have costed him some time. He’s
pushed the old c5-pawn to c4, and then just now he advances the remaining
c-pawn to c5. As for White, he spent some time on the move 12 b3, which
challenged the c4-pawn. However, this move would be good on its own
merits anyway, since it allows the c1-bishop to be developed.
3) Black’s influence on the d-file has diminished a bit. Before, he had
pawns on c6 and c5; now he just has one on c5. Without a pawn controlling
d5, White has chances to eventually seize control over the square later in the
game.
14 d3
14 Ba3! 0-0 15 c4 Re8 16 Rad1 Qc8 17 d4 cxd4 18 Nxd4 would give
White some initiative in the centre.
14 ... 0-0 15 Ng3
Not the most active way of continuing.
It wasn’t too late to fight in the centre with 15 d4 cxd4 16 Rd1 Qc8 17
Nxd4.
15 ... Nd5
This move gives White another opportunity to push d4.
15 ... Bd5 16 Bb2 Ne6 would improve the placements of both minor
pieces. The bishop on d5 exerts control over the long diagonal and may
eliminate the f3-knight at some point. Meanwhile, the knight gains access to
e6, which is a natural home for it in the Rossolimo.
16 Bd2
16 d4! cxd4 17 Nxd4 Qd7 18 Bb2 Nb4 19 Rad1, and White’s pieces seem
more harmoniously placed.
16 ... a5 17 Ne4 Qd7 18 Neg5
18 ... Nb4 19 Rac1 h6 20 Nxe6 Qxe6 21 Qe4 f5 22 Qe3 Nc6 23 c4 Rfd8
24 Bc3 a4 25 d4 cxd4 26 Nxd4 Nxd4 27 Bxd4 axb3 28 Bxb6 b2 29 Rb1 f4
30 Qb3 Rdc8 31 Rxb2 Qxc4 32 Qb4 Qxb4 33 Rxb4
We’ve reached an endgame which is roughly equal, but if anyone has
some chances to win it’s Black. The issue for White is his e5-pawn, which
cannot be defended by a fellow pawn. Since it’s also in Black’s territory, it’s
a bit vulnerable.
33 ... Rab8 34 Bc5 Rxb4 35 Bxb4 Kf7
Training Game Position
36 e6+ Kf6 37 Ba3 g5 38 Bb2+ Kg6 39 Bxg7 Kxg7 40 h4!
White knows it’s inevitable that he will lose the e6-pawn in a few moves.
So, he immediately initiates a pawn swap, steering the game towards a 2-v-3
rook endgame. A 2-v-3 is more straightforward to defend than a 3-v-4.
40 ... Kf6
40 ... g4 would be met with 41 Re4 Rf8 42 g3, when White is netting a
pawn.
41 hxg5+ hxg5 42 f3 Rc6 43 Kh2?!
White likely wanted to play g3, but in the game he doesn’t have time to
do this.
Playing 43 g3 immediately would have worked.
Now after something like 43 ... Rxe6 44 Ra1 Re2 (or 44 ... fxg3 45 Kg2
Kf5 46 Kxg3) 45 gxf4 gxf4, we have a standard looking 1-v-2 that White
should draw with no problems.
43 ... Rxe6 44 Ra1 g4!
Black seizes his chance to create some winning chances. Although the
game is still objectively a draw, it’s not as easy anymore.
45 Ra8 Kg5
45 ... g3+ 46 Kh3 Ke5 was another option. A sample continuation is 47
Kg4 Rg6+ 48 Kh5 Kf5 49 Rf8+ Rf6 50 Rh8 e5 51 Ra8, when White should
hold. If the black rook moves off the f-file, White gives check with Rf8+, and
then brings his own king to g4.
46 fxg4
46 Rg8+? Rg6 47 Ra8 (47 Rxg6+? Kxg6 48 fxg4 Kg5 49 Kh3 e5 is an
even easier win for Black) 47 ... g3+ should be winning for Black. The king
must retreat to g1, and White is way too cramped due to the pawn on g3.
46 ... Kxg4
Training Game Position
47 Kg1
This endgame is a technical draw, but Black has some winning chances.
Unlike a typical 1-v-2, here Black’s extra pawn is already passed. This means
he won’t have to trade a pair of pawns to gain a passer.
47 ... Re2 48 Kf1 Re3!
Black is alert.
48 ... Rb2 would allow 49 Ra5, when Black cannot prevent White’s rook
from coming to e5. After something like 49 ... e6 50 Re5 Rb6 51 Kf2, White
is easily drawing. The passed pawn on e6 is unable to advance, and it
requires defense from the black rook.
49 Kf2
49 Rf8, preventing the black king from moving to f5, is maybe a bit
better. With the rook on f8, White can also check the king if it advances to
g3. If Black pushes his pawn to e4 with 49 ... e5 50 Kf2 Ra3 51 Kf1 e4, then:
a) 52 Kf2? lets Black play 52 ... e3+ with tempo, and on 53 Kf1 he can
follow up with 53 ... Ra1+ 54 Ke2 Kg3 55 Rg8+ Kh2, with a winning
position. If White tries 56 Rg4 Ra2+ 57 Ke1, Black can protect his f4-pawn
with 57 ... Rf2, thanks to the e-pawn being on e3.
b) Better is to leave the king on f1, and instead play some waiting move
like 52 Re8 (52 Rg8+ is also good).
Now if White can ensure Black can’t play both ... Kg3 and ... e3, he will
have a draw. For example:
b1) 52 ... e3 can be immediately met with 53 Rg8+!, preventing ... Kg3.
After 53 ... Kf5 54 Ke2 Ke4 55 Re8+ Kd4 56 Rd8+ Ke5 57 Re8+ Kf5 58 Rg8
Ra2+ 59 Kf1 Rf2+ 60 Ke1, Black cannot make progress.
b2) 52 ... Ra4 53 Re7 Kg3 can be met with 54 Rg7+ Kh2 55 Rh7+, and
Black’s king can’t make inroads, due to White’s king still being on f1.
b3) 52 ... Ra1+ 53 Ke2 (53 Kf2? lets Black play 53 ... e3+ with tempo,
after which 54 Ke2 Kg3 55 Rg8+ Kh2 56 Rg4 Ra2+ 57 Ke1 Rf2 is winning)
53 ... Kg3 sees Black bringing the king to g3, now that White’s king is off f1.
However, since the e-pawn isn’t on e3 yet, White can draw. Following 54
Rg8+ Kh2 55 Rg4, the f4-pawn is attacked, and Black has no good way to
defend it. The important point is that on 55 ... Ra2+ 56 Kf1, the black rook
cannot come to f2, since the e-pawn isn’t on e3 yet.
49 ... e5
49 ... Kf5 could also be played first before White has a second chance to
play Rf8.
50 Ra2?
Now Black is actually winning. Although defending with the rook from
the side is a common strategy, in this particular endgame it is not sufficient to
draw. Rook endgames are hard.
50 Rf8 would transpose to the analysis in the 49 Rf8, 50 Kf2 variation
earlier.
50 ... Rb3 51 Re2
Trying to defend from behind would no longer work, since on 51 Ra8
Rb2+ 52 Kf1 Kf5, Black’s king makes it to f5 before White can cut it off
with Rf8.
51 ... Rb5 52 Re1 Rb2+ 53 Kf1 Kg3?
Black allows a simplification into a K+R vs. K+R+P which White is able
to draw.
Bringing the king around with 53 ... Kf5! is the correct strategy, with a
technically winning (although not so trivial) endgame.
One long sample continuation is as follows: 54 Ra1 Rd2 55 Ra7 Ke4 56
Ra3 Rd3 57 Ra2 Ke3 58 Re2+ Kd4 59 Ra2 e4 60 Ke2 Rb3 61 Ra4+ Kd5 62
Ra5+ Kc4 63 Ra4+ Rb4 64 Ra2 Kd4 65 Rd2+ Kc3, and Black has
accomplished a number of things. His king has invaded White’s position,
both pawns are on the 4th rank, and he is about to play ... Rb2.
54 Rxe5 Rf2+ 55 Kg1 Rxg2+
Training Game Position
56 Kh1 Rd2
If 56 ... f3 57 Rg5+ Kf2 58 Ra5! Rg8, Black threatens ... Rh8+, but White
checks the black king away with 59 Ra2+ Ke3 60 Kh2, and this is a draw.
The white rook is able to defend from the side, and there is plenty of distance
between it and the black king. For example, 60 ... f2 (or 60 ... Rd8 61 Kg3)
61 Ra3+ Ke2 62 Ra2+ Ke1 63 Ra1+.
57 Rg5+ Kf2 58 Ra5! f3 59 Kh2!
Even though White’s king isn’t in front of the passer, this is still a
straightforward draw. The white rook is ready to give checks from the side,
and the white king is waiting for its chance to move to g3. If Black wants to
prevent White’s king from sitting on g3, he’ll have to use either his king or
rook to control the square.
59 ... Ke3+ 60 Kg3 Rg2+ 61 Kh3 Rc2
If 61 ... Rg7, Black continues to control g3, and prepares to push ... f2.
However, now there is nothing to guard the black king from the white rook’s
checks: 62 Ra3+ Ke2 63 Ra2+ Ke1 64 Ra1+.
62 Kg3 Rg2+ 63 Kh3 Rb2 64 Kg3 f2 65 Re5+ Kd4 66 Rf5 ½-½
E.Geller-M.Euwe
Candidates Tournament Zuerich, 1953
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 b6 7 Bd3 Bb7 8 f3
Nc6 9 Ne2 0-0 10 0-0 Na5 11 e4
Training Game Position
11 ... Ne8 12 Ng3 cxd4
12 ... Ba6 is a bit better, denying White any chances to push c5.
13 cxd4 Rc8 14 f4
14 c5! is stronger. The point is that on 14 ... bxc5 15 dxc5 Rxc5, 16 Bd2
threatens Bb4, and sees White gaining queenside play in general. He has very
good compensation for the pawn.
14 ... Nxc4 15 f5
White is generating a kingside attack, which gives some compensation for
the pawn. Black must obtain counterplay quickly.
15 ... f6
Immediately going ahead with the 15 ... b5 16 Rf4?! (a better move for
White now is 16 Kh1, but it’s also well met with 16 ... Qb6) 16 ... Qb6 idea
would be even better.
16 Rf4
Training Game Position
16 a4, intending to prevent ... b5, is better.
16 ... b5! 17 Rh4 Qb6
Creating the threat of ... Qxd4+.
18 e5
Opening up the 4th rank, which allows the h4-rook to defend d4. White
also begins to unclutter the b1-h7 diagonal, in the hope of allowing the d3bishop to attack Black’s king.
18 Qh5? Qxd4+ 19 Kh1 Qxa1 20 Qxh7+ Kf7 is completely winning for
Black.
18 ... Nxe5 19 fxe6 Nxd3 20 Qxd3 Qxe6 21 Qxh7+ Kf7 22 Bh6 Rh8
A nice thematic move - Black sacrifices the rook to divert White’s queen
off h7. However, objectively speaking it’s not the strongest continuation.
22 ... Rc3! brings the rook to c3 with tempo, since now Black levies two
threats:
1) ... Rxg3, since on hxg3 he could follow up with ... Qe2, threatening
mate on g2.
2) ... Rxa3, since Rxa3 would be met with ... Qe1+.
White should defend with 23 Rf1, and now 23 ... Qd5 24 Ne4 Ke7! 25
Rg4 Rc2 26 Nf2 Re2 27 Bxg7 Rf7 favours Black. However, there were
multiple only moves Black had to find in this variation. Expecting a human to
find such a continuation over the board is a bit unrealistic.
23 Qxh8 Rc2
With White’s queen no longer controlling c2, Black invades with his
rook.
24 Rc1?
24 d5! was the only way to defend. After 24 ... Bxd5 (24 ... Qxd5? allows
25 Re4!, blocking Black’s pieces from attacking g2 on the long diagonal) 25
Rd1! Rxg2+ (25 ... Qb6+? can be met with 26 Rdd4, thanks to White’s
previous move) 26 Kf1, the engine gives an evaluation of equal. Over the
board though, any of the three results are still possible.
24 ... Rxg2+ 25 Kf1 Qb3! 26 Ke1 Qf3 0-1
Mate is unavoidable.
J.Doknjas-A.Hong
NAYCC Windsor 2016
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c6 4 e4 dxc4?!
This gives White a large advantage in the centre.
4 ... dxe4 is the main line. Andrew and I played again in the NAYCC the
following year, and we each blitzed out many moves of prep here.
5 Bxc4 Nf6
6 a3?!
Playing a defensive move like this is unnecessary when having a large
centre and a development advantage.
6 Nf3 b5 7 Bd3 b4 8 Na4 is very good for White. For example, 8 ... Ba6 9
Bxa6 Nxa6 10 0-0 Be7 11 Bf4, and White has an advantage due to his central
superiority and more active pieces. Black’s queenside is also weak (the c4square, c6-pawn, etc.).
6 ... c5 7 d5 e5?!
7 ... exd5 8 exd5 would have tamed White’s aggression in the centre a bit.
After something like 8 ... a6 9 Bg5 Be7 10 Nf3 0-0 11 0-0, it’s just a game
and Black has reasonable chances. White’s position is preferable, but it’s not
much.
8 f4
Training Game Position
Immediately aiming to open the centre up before Black can castle.
8 ... Bd6 9 Nf3 Nbd7
9 ... Bg4 10 fxe5 Bxf3 11 gxf3 Bxe5 12 0-0 0-0 would have allowed
Black’s king to gain safety, although White’s bishop pair and preponderance
of central pawns gives him a sizable edge.
10 Nb5!
Continuing to aggressively play with tempo.
10 ... Qe7 11 fxe5 Nxe5 12 Nxe5 Qxe5 13 Nxd6+ Qxd6 14 0-0 Bg4
14 ... 0-0 15 Bf4 Qd8 16 e5 is also very good for White.
15 Bb5+!
Capitalizing on the fact that blocking the check with ... Nd7 would drop
the g4-bishop to Qxg4.
15 ... Bd7
Training Game Position
16 e5
White definitely shouldn’t stop attacking now, especially since Black is
on the verge of castling.
16 Bxd7+?! Nxd7 17 Bf4 Qb6 18 Qe2 0-0 is still much better for White,
but not to the extent of the game.
16 ... Qf8
16 ... Qxe5 loses the queen to 17 Re1.
17 Bc4
17 exf6 would be met with 17 ... Bxb5, although this line is also winning
for White.
17 ... b5 18 exf6 bxc4 19 Qe1+
White has managed to catch the black king, and the rest is
straightforward.
19 ... Kd8 20 Qa5+ Kc8 21 Bf4 Kb7
21 ... Qd8 runs into 22 Qa6 mate.
22 Qc7+ Ka6 23 Qxd7 Rc8 24 Rfe1 Qd8 25 Qa4+ Kb6 26 Re7 a5 27
Bd2 Ka6 28 Bxa5 Qxa5 29 Ra7+ Kxa7 30 Qxa5+ 1-0
White won on move 47.
J.Doknjas-P.Huang
British Columbia-ch Victoria 2021
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 h3 e5 7 Nde2 Be7 8 g4
h6 9 Bg2 b5
Training Game Position
10 a4
Not the most challenging continuation.
10 Ng3 is better. Then, 10 ... g6 11 0-0 Bb7 12 f4 Nbd7 13 Nd5 should
favour White.
10 ... b4 11 Nd5 Nxd5 12 Qxd5 Ra7
If White’s knight was on g3, he would be able to immediately play Nf5,
with some initiative. But with the knight on e2, White is not well equipped to
continue pressing Black.
13 Be3
Developing with tempo, but Black has a good response ready.
13 ... Be6 14 Qd3 Rd7
14 ... Rc7!? is an idea that I doubt either of us considered much during the
game. While it isn’t necessarily better than the game move, the exchange
sacrifice after 15 Bb6 Nd7 16 Bxc7 Qxc7 is interesting. Black should have
full compensation, since a big issue for White is his weak kingside dark
squares. He no longer has a dark-squared bishop to defend them, and Black’s
e7-bishop has the potential to wreak serious havoc. Black’s other pieces are
also good; the e6-bishop controls an array of squares, the knight may head to
c5 or b6-c4, etc. If Black can keep the game mostly closed, White’s rooks
will lack immediate prospects.
15 c3
Aiming to reactivate the e2-knight and generate some queenside activity.
15 0-0! would be a slight improvement. The idea is to leave the knight on
e2 for the moment, so that 15 ... Bg5?! could be met with 16 f4 exf4 17 Nxf4,
avoiding the exchange of dark-squared bishops. This allows White to guard
his weak kingside dark squares more effectively.
15 ... d5
15 ... bxc3! 16 Nxc3 Bg5 17 Bxg5 Qxg5 18 b4 h5 is perhaps slightly
better for Black.
16 exd5 Bxd5 17 Bxd5 Rxd5 18 Qe4 0-0 19 0-0 a5
Training Game Position
Or 19 ... Nc6, immediately developing the knight. ... a5 isn’t that
necessary at the moment, and it could be played later if needed.
20 c4
Fighting for the d5-square, and also ensuring the c-pawn will remain both
passed and not isolated (since ... bxc3 isn’t a possibility anymore). However,
this isn’t the most challenging try.
20 Ng3! bxc3 21 bxc3
and now:
a) 21 ... Nc6? 22 Nf5 is actually winning for White. The threat is 23 c4,
and Black has no good defense. For example, 22 ... Qd7 23 c4 Rd6 (23 ...
Rd3 24 Qxc6 wins a piece, since 24 ... Qxc6 is met with 25 Nxe7+ Kh7 26
Nxc6) 24 Nxd6 Qxd6 25 Rfd1, and White’s just up a whole exchange.
b) 21 ... Na6 is a better way to develop the knight, but Black still has
some problems here. After 22 Nf5 Bf6 23 c4 Rd3 (or 23 ... Rd7 24 c5, with
the initiative) 24 Bb6! Qd7 25 c5, White’s pieces are quite active, and he has
an edge.
c) 21 ... Bg5 can be met with 22 Nf5!, and after 22 ... Re8 (22 ... Bxe3?
runs into 23 Qxd5 Qxd5 24 Ne7+ Kh7 25 Nxd5) 23 Rab1 Bxe3 24 Nxe3 Rd6
25 Rfd1, White enjoys some superiority on the queenside, although Black
definitely has his chances as well.
20 ... Rd7 21 Ng3 Qc7
21 ... Bg5, offering an exchange of bishops, was probably called for.
White’s weakened kingside dark squares will provide Black with equal
chances. If White tries avoiding the trade with 22 Bc5?, then his bishop will
be awkwardly placed on c5.
22 Nf5
My idea with this move was to at least create the possibility of
exchanging the knight for his bishop. This would safeguard my kingside dark
squares, since then there would be no easy way for Black to eliminate my
own dark-squared bishop. And even if the knight doesn’t capture the bishop,
it would still be well-placed on the active f5-outpost. But in the current
position, it’s more pressing for White to start fighting for the d-file
immediately.
22 Rad1 is stronger, immediately putting the rook on the d-file before
Black has the chance to double his own rooks. Then, something like 22 ...
Bg5 23 Nf5 Bxe3 24 fxe3 b3 25 Rd5 should favour White.
22 ... Nc6
Better was 22 ... Rfd8, preventing White from putting a rook on d1 unless
he takes on e7. Following 23 Nxe7+ Rxe7 24 Rfd1 Red7, and Black is doing
fine. If 25 Rd5 Rxd5 26 cxd5 Nd7, Black maintains the balance.
23 Rfd1
It was more accurate to move the other rook to d1, for a subtle reason. On
23 Rad1!, 23 ... Nd4? doesn’t work since after 24 Bxd4 exd4 25 Rxd4 Bf6 26
Rxd7 Qxd7, White can play 27 b3, neutralizing the attacks on both his bpawn and a-pawn. Black has no compensation for White’s extra c4-pawn,
which is both protected and passed.
23 ... Rfd8
Now 23 ... Nd4! would work well, since after 24 Bxd4 exd4 25 Rxd4 Bf6
26 Rxd7 Qxd7, the b2-pawn is pinned to the a1-rook, preventing White from
playing b3. Instead, he may go for a move like 27 Qc2, protecting the pawn,
but now the queen will be tied to its defense for at least a few moves. If Black
is accurate, he can use this time to generate activity which will compensate
for him being down a pawn.
24 Rd5
This maneuver with the rook gives White a firm grip on the position.
24 ... Bf8 25 Rad1 Qb7 26 Rxd7 Rxd7 27 Rd5 b3 28 Rb5 Rd1+ 29 Kg2
Qd7 30 Rxb3 Nb4 31 Qa8!
A move I was happy to find. The threat of Bc5 is unpleasant for Black to
deal with.
31 ... g6
31 ... Qc7 is met with 32 Bb6! Qxb6 33 Ne7+ Kh7 34 Qxf8, and White is
winning.
31 ... Qd8 could of course be tried, but the endgame after 32 Qxd8 Rxd8
33 Bb6 Ra8 34 c5 is winning for White. He has an extra pawn and active
pieces, and Black’s rook is passive on a8.
32 Bxh6 Qd8
Training Game Position
33 Qxd8 Rxd8 34 Bxf8 Kxf8 35 Ne3 Ke7 36 Nd5+!
Forcing simplifications.
36 ... Nxd5 37 cxd5 Rxd5 38 Rb5
Getting this position was why I gave up one of my two extra pawns.
38 ... Rxb5
Avoiding the rook trade with 38 ... Rd2 is met with 39 Rxe5+ Kf6 40
Rxa5 Rxb2, and White is once again two pawns up, with a rook endgame
that’s easily winning.
39 axb5
Before playing 36 Nd5+, I had calculated that this pawn endgame would
be winning by force. In the ensuing pawn race, White is faster.
39 ... g5 40 Kf3 Kd6 41 Ke4 Kc5 42 Kf5 Kxb5 43 Kxg5 Kc4 44 h4
Kb3 45 h5 Kxb2 46 h6 a4 47 h7 f6+ 48 Kxf6 1-0
J.Doknjas-J.Fedorowicz
CAN-op Quebec 2018
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 c5 5 Bd3 Nc6 6 Nf3 Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 d6
The Hübner variation; one of the well-known tabiyas of the Nimzo
Rubinstein.
8 0-0 e5 9 Nd2 0-0 10 d5 Ne7
Training Game Position
11 Qc2
The most popular move in the database. White develops the queen and
strengthens his control over the b1-h7 diagonal. Besides putting some
pressure on Black’s kingside, this could also be useful in preventing some ...
Bf5 or ... e4 idea later on.
11 e4 is a move current Stockfish prefers slightly more, immediately
deciding to lock down the b1-h7 diagonal. Then, after 11 ... Ng6, White plays
12 g3, taking the f4 and h4-squares away from the g6-knight. The game is
roughly balanced. On 12 ... Bh3 13 Re1:
a) 13 ... Qd7 gives White time to play 14 Nf1!, and then 14 ... Ne8 could
be met with 15 Ne3, preventing ... f5. If Black tries to force this move
through with 15 ... Ne7, White can strike with 16 f4!, gaining a nice position.
b) 13 ... Ne8 is better, immediately preparing ... f5. Now White can
choose between a few different ideas:
b1) 14 Nf1 opts for this knight move, even though Black can push ... f5
before the knight arrives on e3. After 14 ... f5 15 exf5 Bxf5 16 Bxf5 Rxf5 17
Qg4 Rf7 18 Bg5! Qc8 (18 ... Qa5 is met with 19 Nd2!, preparing Ne4) 19
Qxc8 Rxc8, the endgame is equal.
b2) 14 a4 expands on the queenside, and also prepares to follow up with
Ra2 (enabling the rook to defend/play along the 2nd rank). After 14 ... Qd7
(14 ... f5 is premature, since after 15 exf5 Bxf5 16 Bxf5 Rxf5 17 Ne4, 17 ...
Nf6? can be met with 18 Bg5!, pinning the f6-knight) 15 Ra2, Black is about
to expand on the kingside, but White is ready to meet him.
Following 15 ... f5 16 exf5 Bxf5 17 Bxf5 Rxf5 18 Ne4 Nf6 19 Ng5 h6 20
Ne6, the game is balanced, although one could make a case for White’s
position being a tad more pleasant to play. Note that in the case of 20 ... e4,
White should play 21 Bf4, threatening to capture on e5 if the g6-knight
moves there.
11 ... Kh8!?
An interesting and fairly rare move. Black’s plan is to follow up with ...
Nfg8, allowing the f-pawn to advance. Also, with the king on h8, a potential
Bxh7 move down the road won’t come with check.
11 ... Ng6! is probably the best move by a slight margin, as it prepares to
counter some of White’s ideas:
a) The natural 12 f4?! runs into 12 ... Ng4!, attacking the e3-pawn while
preparing to follow up with ... f5. The knight on g6 is useful since it blocks
White’s pressure on the h7-pawn.
b) 12 e4?! is immediately met with 12 ... Nf4.
c) 12 g3 aims to control f4 before pushing e4. But now Black could play
along the lines of 12 ... Bh3 13 Re1 h6 14 e4 (14 Bxg6? fxg6 15 Qxg6
temporarily wins a pawn, but leaves White’s kingside light squares extremely
weak; believe it or not, Stockfish 15 evaluates this at over -5 for Black) 14 ...
Nh7 15 Nf1 Qf6 16 Qd1 Ng5, building up some activity on the kingside.
12 h3
White prepares to potentially push g4, which will be useful in the event of
f4 ... exf4 exf4 ... g6.
However, 12 f4 immediately was nevertheless possible. On 12 ... exf4,
white has a choice:
a) 13 exf4 g6 (13 ... Nfg8? is met straightaway with 14 f5) sees Black
about to exchange bishops with ... Bf5, and during the game this is likely
what I didn’t like.
However, here it’s alright for White, and after 14 h3 Bf5 15 g4 Bxd3 16
Qxd3 Qd7 17 Nf3, the game should be equal. While White’s light squares
have been weakened, he has a lot of kingside space. It’s not so easy for Black
to play on the light squares. f5 is controlled by White, the f6-knight cannot
jump to e4, etc.
b) 13 Nf3!? fxe3 14 Bxe3 Ng4 15 Bf4 Ng6 16 Bxg6 fxg6 17 Qd2 sees
White sacrificing a pawn to open some lines, and he should have full
compensation.
12 ... Nfg8
The drawback of 12 h3 is that Black has time to throw in this move. Now
he’s ready to meet 13 f4 with 13 ... f5.
13 f4
13 Bxh7 snags a pawn, but after 13 ... f5 14 Bxg8 Nxg8, Black has a
small advantage. He is becoming aggressive on the kingside, and White is
now vulnerable on the light squares.
13 ... f5!
13 ... exf4? 14 exf4 g6? 15 g4 is just very good for White.
14 e4 exf4 15 exf5 Bxf5 16 Ne4
16 Bxf5 is a bit better. I likely didn’t go for this because after 16 ... Rxf5
17 Ne4 g5 18 h4 h6, Black seems to be holding on to his extra pawn.
However, White is equal following 19 hxg5 hxg5 20 g3! Nf6! (not 20 ...
fxg3? 21 Bxg5, with a very dangerous position for Black) 21 gxf4, as the
material is recovered.
16 ... Ng6 17 Nxc5
I recover the pawn with this tactic, but Black nevertheless gains the
advantage.
17 ... Bxd3
Not 17 ... dxc5? 18 Bxf5.
18 Nxd3 f3!
The key move which gives Black the better chances.
19 Be3!
Training Game Position
The best chance to defend.
19 Rxf3?! Rxf3 20 gxf3 wins a pawn (for the moment), but after 20 ...
Qf8 21 Qg2 Qf5, Black is completely dominating. White has a number of
pawn weaknesses, his pieces are passive, etc.
19 ... Qh4
19 ... Qc7! is worth consideration. Like 19 ... Qh4, this move threatens to
capture the c4-pawn. But the difference is that White cannot block the attack
with his bishop. So, White should go for 20 c5, but after 20 ... Rae8! 21 cxd6
Qc4 Black has the initiative. The e3-bishop is under attack, Black is about to
play ... fxg2, and his major pieces are very active.
19 ... fxg2?! 20 Qxg2 sees White being active enough on the kingside to
have almost equal chances.
20 Bd4 Nh6 21 Rae1 Nf5
Opting to simplify the game.
The natural 21 ... fxg2 22 Qxg2 allows White to equalize. Black must
deal with the threat of c5, as this would undouble White’s c-pawns and make
the d5-pawn a passer. In the case of 22 ... b6, White has time to throw in
something like 23 Rxf8+ Rxf8 24 Re4! Qh5 25 Nf4, and he is fine.
21 ... b6! fixes the issue seen in the 21 ... fxg2 variation. Instead of
capturing right away on g2, Black first plays ... b6, preventing any c5 ideas.
The point is that in the current position, White can’t play a move like Re4, as
the white queen hasn’t recaptured on g2 yet. Now the best White can do is
provoke Black into playing ... fxg2, lest he play ... Rf5 (which is also a bigger
threat now that ... b6 has been played). Following 22 Re3 (threatening Rexf3)
22 ... fxg2 23 Qxg2 Rxf1+ 24 Qxf1 Rf8 25 Qg2 Nf5 26 Re4 Qh6, White
certainly has chances, but Black’s position is a bit preferable.
Notice how unlike in the 21 ... fxg2 variation, here Black had time to play
... Nf5, activating the knight and allowing the queen to retreat to the h6square.
22 Rxf3 Nxd4 23 Rxf8+ Rxf8 24 cxd4 Qxd4+ ½-½
Chapter Nine
To Exchange or not to Exchange
It’s almost incredible to think that there was a time when people used “snail
mail” as their main means of communication with friends and family. It
wasn’t just days, but rather weeks or months before receiving a letter in the
mail in reply. When phones became a common fixture in each home, there
was still a delay if the person who you were calling was out. Now with cell
phones nestled in each and everyone’s pockets, we demand an instant
response, so we text; and sometimes seeing those 3 floating dots and waiting
for our friend to text a reply may feel like it’s taking hours, when in fact, it’s
merely just a few seconds. We live in a world of instant gratification, one
where we need an immediate reply. The art of patience is a difficult one to
master.
Patience is something we all have to learn. No one was born patient. Why
do babies cry? Because they are hungry, so they want food now! Or they are
wet, and they need to be changed now! It doesn’t matter that you are on an
important conference call. It doesn’t matter that you haven’t slept in the past
24 hours. All of that just doesn’t matter to a baby. When baby needs
something, baby wants it now! Then as babies grow older and become
toddlers, parents try to teach them patience. Even though these toddlers want
that cookie now, they must wait and eat a nourishing lunch first, and then
after they finish their last pea and carrot, they are rewarded with their longawaited cookie. And slowly they begin to accept that good things come to
those who wait.
In chess, patience is important as well, and knowing when to drastically
change the game (and when to stay on course) is an important skill. For
example, when faced with a pawn trade, is it better to accept it (thus changing
the structure), or is it better to keep the tension. Or, when we can trade a
bishop for a knight, we should ask whether this exchange would benefit us.
It’s important to know when it’s better to be patient; and in these instances,
we need to have the discipline to do so.
You may be tempted to exchange in order to simplify the position. When
deciding on whether to exchange or not, remember that if it’s hard for you to
calculate, then often it’ll be the case that it’s hard for your opponent to
calculate as well. So, if you opt to relieve the tension, thinking that it will
benefit only you, realize that you are also relieving the tension for your
opponent, which unfortunately might turn out to be more helpful for your
opponent than for you. Instead, you should try to pick the most optimal time
to exchange, and don’t feel pressured to exchange just because you can.
Often tension builds when the opportunity to exchange pieces or pawns
presents itself. The following exercises will illustrate when it’s best to either
maintain the tension or diffuse it.
Comp Deep Junior-G.Kasparov
New York Man-Machine 2003
This was one of the positions given in Müller’s “Chess Endgames 13”
DVD. Here there is some tension, both between the bishops, and the pawns
on e4 and d5.
Exercise: Should White play Bxb7 or exd5?
45 Bxb7?!
Not the most challenging continuation. While it does give White a
straightforward way to follow up (exd5 and then Qa7), this doesn’t improve
the quality of his position.
Answer: Better is 45 exd5! (the immediate 45 Bd3 allows 45 ... Qf4, as
White’s queen doesn’t control f4 yet) 45 ... exd5 (45 ... Bxa6? 46 Qxa6 exd5
47 b7 is lost for Black, as the b-pawn is too far advanced) 46 Bd3. Retaining
the bishops gives White some attacking chances on the kingside. For
example, at some point he might try to create a battery on the b1-h7 diagonal.
It could prove difficult for Black to defend his king, since he also has to deal
with White’s dangerous b6-pawn.
It’s also worth noting the difference in quality between the two bishops.
White’s bishop is excellent, controlling an array of light squares; meanwhile,
Black’s bishop is blocked in by the d5-pawn, and even if it wasn’t, its scope
would be limited by White’s f3-pawn. The black bishop’s only good quality
is that it blocks the b6-pawn, but this isn’t enough to put it on par with
White’s bishop.
45 ... Qxb7 46 exd5 exd5 47 Qa7
Exercise: How should Black respond to this move?
Answer: 47 ... R5c7 It’s necessary for Black to continue to occupy the
b7-square, preventing White’s b6-pawn from becoming more dangerous. The
reason Kasparov went for this move, as opposed to ... Rcb8/ ... R8c7, is likely
that he believed the computer wouldn’t be able to resist playing 48. Qxb7
Rxb7 49 Rxd5. However, despite being a pawn down, Kasparov knew that he
would be able to draw this endgame. Doing so would be a slightly easier task
than drawing the game with the queens on (even though Black would still be
equal here too).
47 ... Qxa7? 48 bxa7 is losing. For example, after 48 ... Rf8 49 Rdc1 (not
49 Rb8? Ra5, as White cannot counter this move with Ra1) 49 ... Ra5 50 Ra1
Rxa1 51 Rxa1 Ra8, this single rook endgame is easily winning for White. His
passed pawn is on the 7th rank, and the white rook is also supporting it from
behind. Black could run his king over to the queenside to win it, but this
would leave his other pawns at the mercy of White’s king.
47 ... Rb8 and 47 ... R8c7 are also completely correct.
48 Qxb7
Not 48 bxc7? Qxa7+.
48 ... Rxb7 49 Rxd5 Rc6
Immediately forcing White to play Rdb5, tying both rooks down to the
defense of the b6-pawn.
50 Rdb5 h5!
Nice technique. Black immediately starts setting up the pawn formation
with f7-g6-h5, which is often the best option when defending rook endgames.
Black’s pawns control space, limiting how much the white pawns can
advance without being exchanged. In this formation, the black pawns also
remain protected. Finally, by choosing to keep the f7-pawn where it is, the
black king retains shelter against any potential rook attacks on the 7th rank.
51 Kf2 Re6
The rook on e6 is a fantastic piece, as it attacks b6 while cutting White’s
king off on the e-file. Since White’s rooks must defend the b6-pawn, they are
unable to help the king break the impasse. If you removed a pair of rooks
from this position, White would be easily winning. Black’s rook would have
to block the b6-pawn, allowing the white king to march to the queenside. But
with both rooks on, one of Black’s rooks can sit on b7, while the other one is
free to be active. Often single rook endgames are more drawish than double
rook endgames, but this position is an exception.
52 f4 g6 53 Kg3 Kg7 54 Kh4 Kh6 55 R1b4 Rd6 56 g3 f6
Threatening ... Rbxb6.
57 g4
As noted by Müller, 57 Rb1 Rbxb6 58 Rxb6?? would lose to 58 ... g5+ 59
fxg5+ fxg5 mate.
57 ... hxg4 58 hxg4 Kg7
59 Rb3
Another funny line given by Müller is 59 f5 g5+ 60 Kh5?? Rb8, as
White’s king cannot avoid being mated on the next move, e.g. 61 b7 Rh8
mate.
59 ... Rc6 60 g5 f5 61 Rb1 ½-½
A.Delchev-K.Rusev
83rd ch-BUL, Kozloduy 2019
1 c4 c6 2 e4 e5 3 Nf3 d6 4 d4 Nd7 5 Nc3 Ngf6 6 Be2 Be7 7 0-0 0-0 8 Be3
Ng4 9 Bd2 Qc7 10 d5
There’s now some tension between the c6- and d5-pawns. It’s worth
considering the options both pawns now have:
For the c6-pawn, it can advance to c5, take on d5, or stay where it is.
For the d5-pawn, it can capture on c6, or stay where it is.
From this, we can kind of see that White doesn’t really profit from the
tension. Taking on c6 wouldn’t be good, since after Black recaptures with ...
bxc6, White would have lost a major pawn in the centre.
Meanwhile, Black’s options with the c6-pawn are more promising. At
some point in the game, he may find it favourable to play ... c5 or ... cxd5.
The former would aim to close up the queenside, while the latter tries to open
it up. There’s no need to commit to either of these moves right now though,
since both aren’t particularly appealing. Black can just wait and leave the
tension as it is, essentially keeping all his options open. For Black, he can
choose between taking on d5, pushing ... c5, or leaving things as they are.
10 ... a5
Black controls b4 and prepares to play ... Nc5, capitalizing on the fact that
White’s d-pawn no longer controls c5.
10 ... c5?! is too accommodating. Going for this fixed structure so soon
doesn’t make much sense, as Black’s pieces aren’t particularly well prepared
for the ensuing positions. This ... c5 move would be better if Black’s pieces
were more actively placed on the kingside. Now White can just play along
the lines of 11 Ne1 Ngf6 12 Nd3 Ne8 13 g3, and he’s ready for a kingside
skirmish.
10 ... cxd5?! is, like 10 ... c5, too early. Opening the queenside like this
isn’t at all to Black’s favour. For example, after 11 cxd5 (11 Nxd5 is also
good) 11 ... Ngf6 12 h3 Nc5 13 Rc1 a5 14 Be3, White’s pieces are wellplaced for a positional squeeze on the queenside. Going for ... cxd5 would
have made more sense if Black’s queenside was fully developed. In the
current position, only the c5-knight is active; the queen is developed on c7,
but it’s mainly just a target right now.
11 h3 Ngf6 12 Be3 Nc5 13 Nd2 Bd7 14 Rc1 a4
Exercise: Should White win a pawn with 15 dxc6 bxc6 16 Bxc5 dxc5 17
Nxa4?
Answer: 15 dxc6?! Winning the pawn might appear to come with no
strings attached, but in fact Black has very serious compensation. This will be
discussed in the notes to 17. Nxa4.
Better would have been 15 b4 axb3 16 axb3, when White has a pull. It’ll
be tricky for Black to prevent him from advancing further on the queenside.
15 ... bxc6 16 Bxc5 dxc5 17 Nxa4
Despite Black’s deficit of one pawn, he actually enjoys equal chances.
White’s dark squares are much weaker, now that the dark-squared bishop is
gone. Also, Black’s c5- and e5-pawns give him an iron grip over the d4square. At some point, he may maneuver his knight to use this square as an
outpost.
Also worth noting is how the c6-pawn controls b5 and especially d5. This
drastically lowers the prospects of White’s knights, since they are unable to
use d5 as an outpost. Black’s doubled c-pawns may appear weak, especially
since they both lack protection from any fellow pawns. However, in this case
they are in fact extremely strong, due to the central superiority they provide
Black.
17 ... Rfd8 18 Nc3 g6 19 Qc2 h5 20 Nf3 Nh7 21 b3 Nf8 22 Na4 Ne6 23
Rcd1 Kg7 24 Qb2 f6 25 Rd2 Rdb8 26 Rfd1 Nd4
Now White must decide whether to immediately exchange knights. The
first question is whether there’s any hurry for him to do so. Well, not really,
since while Black’s knight is well-positioned, it currently doesn’t have any
good moves. Black certainly won’t want to play ... Nxf3+ or ... Nxe2+, as this
would give up the knight and unblock the d-file for White’s rooks. Therefore,
White is by no means forced to play Nxd4 now - he should only do so if it
benefits him somehow.
27 Qa1!
White takes a moment to slide the queen off the b-file, preventing Black
from winning the a4-knight with ... Rxa4. Then on the next move, White will
be prepared to carry out a follow up to Nxd4, now that …Rxa4 is no longer a
threat.
27 Nxd4?! would be premature. After 27 ... cxd4, White would like to
follow up with c5, limiting the e7-bishop’s scope and securing the b6-square
for the white knight. However, the problem is that Black is actually
threatening ... Rxa4 here, as the b3-pawn is pinned. If White takes a tempo to
unpin with 28 Qc2, Black could answer with 28 ... Bb4 29 Rd3 c5, and he has
the advantage.
27 ... Ra5 28 Nxd4
Now White decides to go for this. His idea is to meet ... cxd4 with c5,
which will provide him with good queenside activity.
28 ... cxd4 29 c5
29 ... Be6
29 ... Bxc5 was probably called for, restoring the material balance and
settling for an equal game. After something like 30 Nxc5 Rxc5 31 Bc4 Ra5
32 Qc1, the chances are even.
30 Qc1 f5 31 Bc4 Bc8 32 exf5!?
In the case of 32 Qc2, perhaps White wanted to avoid 32 ... Bg5 33 Re2
f4, when Black has seized kingside space and may try a pawn storm down the
road.
32 ... Bxf5
32 ... Bg5! was best, although this is quite dangerous looking for Black.
After 33 fxg6, Black has the option of immediately winning the exchange
with ... Bxd2. However, it’s worth asking if there’s any benefit to him doing
this. White’s rook is pinned, and it can’t go anywhere right now. If the white
queen moves, then Black could choose whether to play ... Bxd2 at that point.
In addition, if Black plays ... Bxd2 now, then after Qxd2, White’s queen will
be able to start attacking on the kingside.
So there’s really no benefit to playing ... Bxd2 now. It would just limit
Black’s options while dangerously activating the white queen. A better move
is 33 ... Bf5!, developing the bishop and preventing White from playing Qc2.
While the position is quite wild (Black is currently down 3 pawns), the game
is objectively equal.
33 Re2 Bxc5 34 Nxc5 Rxc5
Exercise: How should White play?
Answer: 35 f4! White strikes in the centre before Black can fully
coordinate his pieces.
35 ... exf4?
35 ... Qa5 would have been a better try. The endgame after 36 Qd2 Qxd2
37 Rdxd2 exf4 38 Rxd4 f3 39 gxf3 Bxh3 gives Black good drawing chances,
although White still has some edge.
36 Rxd4 f3 37 Qc3 Kh7 38 Qxf3 Re5 39 Rxe5 Qxe5 40 Qf4 Qxf4 41
Rxf4 1-0
And White eventually won the endgame on move 89.
A.Karpov-W.Unzicker
Olympiad-21 Final A, Nice 1974
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 00 9 h3 Na5 10 Bc2 c5 11 d4
One of the major tabiyas of the Ruy Lopez. It used to be even more
popular before the likes of the Berlin and Marshall came to the fore. There is
obviously some tension in the centre with the pawns. Black could play 11 ...
cxd4 here, opting to relieve some of the tension. Or, he could leave the pawn
on c5 for the moment, and continue developing.
Exercise: Which do you think is better?
Answer: 11 ... Qc7 Keeping the tension is the most popular choice, and
probably the slightly better option. By not capturing on d4, White’s c3-pawn
will remain where it is, preventing the b1-knight from developing to that
square. This theme is also seen in other systems, such as the French Advance
Variation. Now in this position, White needs to decide whether to push 12 d5
or leave the pawn on d4.
11 ... cxd4 is nevertheless a playable continuation, as it has some merits.
For example, after 12 cxd4 exd4!? 13 Nxd4 Bd7, Black has relieved the
tension and opened the position. He has a clear plan of following up with
moves like ... Rc8, ... Re8, ... Bf8, ... Nc6.
12 Nbd2
Keeping the tension is the more common choice, although Stockfish
slightly prefers 12 d5. With 12 Nbd2, White continues to give Black the
option of playing ... cxd4. While the tension also gives White possibilities of
playing dxc5 or dxe5, these moves aren’t particularly strong right now.
However, it’s understandable to not want to commit to closing the game with
12 d5 just yet.
Exercise: The ball’s back in Black’s court again - how should he deal
with the centre situation?
12 d5 immediately controls the c6-square, before Black’s knight can use
it. So now the knight may reroute to b6 with 12 ... Nc4 13 b3 Nb6, with an
interesting strategic game ahead. White should be a bit better, but it’s not that
much.
12 ... Nc6?!
Not the strongest continuation. Moving the knight back to c6 is the right
idea, but after 13 d5, the knight won’t have an ideal square to move to.
Answer: Better is 12 ... cxd4 13 cxd4 Nc6, since now 14 d5?! would run
into 14 ... Nb4.
13 d5 Nd8
Black prepares to transfer his knight to b7; from there, it will have access
to c5 and a5. So, Karpov immediately gets to work on controlling these
squares.
14 a4 Rb8
The immediate 14 ... Nb7? drops a pawn to 15 axb5, due to the a-file pin.
15 axb5
Also good is the immediate 15 b4, opting to leave the tension between the
a4- and b5-pawns. White may soon continue with axb5 or a5; or, he might let
the tension remain even longer.
15 ... axb5 16 b4! Nb7
Black moves his knight off the 8th rank, allowing him to connect his
rooks after the bishop moves. However, the knight continues to be poorly
placed, since it lacks prospects on b7. The square it would really like to be on
is b6, but this cannot be arranged.
17 Nf1 Bd7 18 Be3 Ra8 19 Qd2
For the moment, both sides have no interest in exchanging on the a-file.
Doing so would give the opponent control of the file, after they recapture.
19 ... Rfc8 20 Bd3 g6
A bit better would be 20 ... c4 21 Bc2 Ne8! 22 Ng3 Nd8, when Black is
about to play ... f6 and ... Nf7, finally solving the problem of his knight. The
knight will still be a bit passive on f7, but at least it will fight for some
squares and provide defense to the king. As for the other knight on e8, it may
move to either c7 or g7, after the queen or pawn respectively gets off that
square.
21 Ng3 Bf8 22 Ra2 c4 23 Bb1
23 Be2!, keeping all lines of communication open on the queenside, is an
improvement. The e4-pawn is already sufficiently defended by the g3-knight.
23 ... Qd8
Now White must figure out a way to make progress.
Exercise: How do you think he should continue here?
Answer: 24 Ba7! A wonderful move, and the reason this game is rather
famous. White uses the bishop to block the a-file, enabling him to double his
rooks on it without issue.
24 ... Ne8 25 Bc2 Nc7 26 Rea1 Qe7 27 Bb1 Be8 28 Ne2 Nd8 29 Nh2
Bg7 30 f4!
Karpov has won the strategic battle on the queenside. He dominates the afile, and it’s up to him if/when he will continue the fight by moving the a7bishop away. In the meantime, Black has to constantly be prepared for this
possibility, which leaves some of his pieces tied down in passive positions on
the queenside. This is a good example of the commonly quoted saying “the
threat is stronger than the execution”.
With the queenside controlled, White decides to gain an advantage on the
other side of the board as well. Black’s forces can only do so much to defend
both sides of the board, especially when his pieces have such poor mobility.
30 ... f6
Now White must decide how to deal with the tension between the f4- and
e5-pawns. Black’s last move has finally given the d8-knight a decent square
to move to. Once it’s on f7, it would be even nicer if it could settle on e5 after
... exf4 is played. So, the tension between the pawns mainly favours Black,
since ... exf4 could be a strong move at some point. There’s also the fact that
with the pawn on f4, Black’s bishop might activate itself on h6 (as the white
queen is blocked from controlling this square).
31 f5!
Karpov correctly releases the tension, as it doesn’t benefit him. By doing
so, he ensures the prospects of Black’s pieces remain dim.
31 ... g5
Aiming to further close the position, but there are too many openings for
Black to have any real hope of a fortress.
31 ... Nf7 32 Ng3 Bh6 would be a bit better, at least improving the knight
and bishop a little. However, after something like 33 Qf2 Bd7 34 Ra5,
White’s position is tremendous. The tension between the f5- and g6-pawns is
nice for him, since at any moment he could play fxg6, opening the f-file to
attack the f6-pawn. Since White’s not that prepared to pile on this pawn, he
can just leave his pawn on f5, where it cramps Black’s position. This is
similar to how his bishop on a7 can sit there for as long as it wants, while
having the ability to move away at any time.
32 Bc2
White’s bishop wasn’t doing anything on b1, so Karpov maneuvers it to
the newly weakened h5-square.
32 ... Bf7 33 Ng3 Nb7 34 Bd1 h6 35 Bh5 Qe8 36 Qd1 Nd8 37 Ra3 Kf8
38 R1a2
Just playing waiting moves, likely in order to reach the time control on
the 40th move.
38 ... Kg8 39 Ng4 Kf8
39 ... Bxh5 40 Nxh5 Qxh5 is unplayable due to 41 Nxf6+ Bxf6 42 Qxh5.
40 Ne3 Kg8 41 Bxf7+ Nxf7 42 Qh5
42 ... Nd8 43 Qg6 Kf8 44 Nh5 1-0
Black resigned, as White’s pieces are just way too strong.
For example, after 44 Nh5 Qxg6 45 fxg6 Nb7 46 Nf5 Ne8 47 Bb6, White
is finally about to invade along the a-file, and there’s nothing Black can do.
O.Almeida Quintana-M.Diaz Perez
CUB-ch, Santa Clara 2022
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 Nc3 c5
The Tarrasch defense immediately poses both sides with questions on
how to continue in the centre.
5 e3 cxd4
Black decides to act first. This transposes to a variation of the Caro-Kann
Panov.
Keeping the tension with 5 ... Nc6 is also a common move, putting the
ball back in White’s court.
6 exd4
Exercise: Should Black continue by also exchanging on c4?
Answer: 6 ... Bb4
Keeping the tension and developing the bishop is probably the strongest
continuation. By bringing the bishop to b4, Black prepares to pressure the c3knight (in the event of cxd5 ... Nxd5). Now White has a small dilemma. If he
develops the f1-bishop to d3, then ... dxc4 would force the bishop to spend an
additional tempo recapturing. So White’s best move is to play 7 cxd5, even
though Black has prepared for this.
Taking with 6 ... dxc4, while certainly playable, isn’t the best move. Now
White is able to develop the bishop to c4 in one tempo with 7 Bxc4, and after
something like 7 ... Be7 8 0-0 Nc6, we’ve transposed to a position often
reached through the Queen’s Gambit Accepted.
7 cxd5 Nxd5
Now White has to defend the c3-knight, either with 8. Bd2 or 8. Qc2.
8 Bd2
8 Qc2 is also popular; one sample continuation is 8 ... Nc6 9 Bd3 h6 (9 ...
0-0? blunders to 10 Bxh7+) 10 0-0 0-0 11 Bd2, with a balanced game.
8 ... 0-0 9 Bd3 Be7
Having provoked White’s bishop to d2, the black bishop returns to e7.
10 0-0 Nc6 11 a3 Bf6
Here we can see the point of Black’s play over the past few moves. Due
to White’s bishop being on d2, playing Be4 here wouldn’t allow the queen to
defend the d4-pawn.
Exercise: So how should White deal with the attack on the pawn?
12 Be3
Although this move looks quite natural, it gives Black at least equality.
Black has a few nice ways to respond.
Answer: There are a few good continuations - one of the best is to
simplify with the rare move 12 Nxd5, even though this goes against the
general principle of not exchanging pieces when possessing an isolated dpawn.
Now:
a) 12 ... exd5 opens up the c1-h3 diagonal, so best is 13 h3!, preventing
the bishop from developing to the nice g4-square. After 13 ... Re8 (13 ...
Nxd4?! 14 Nxd4 Bxd4 15 Bb4 Re8 16 Bxh7+ Kxh7 17 Qxd4 gives White a
small advantage) 14 Bc3 Qc7 15 Rc1, the position is perhaps a tad more
comfy for White. The c3-bishop defends the d4-pawn while shoring up the
queenside (it fights for some squares, protects the b2-pawn, etc.). This makes
it a bit safer for White to focus more on playing in the centre/kingside.
b) 12 ... Qxd5 keeps the pawn structure as is. Once again, White’s bishop
capitalizes on the vacated c3-square with 13 Bc3.
After 13 ... Bd7 14 Qc2 Qh5 15 Rfe1 Rfd8 (15 ... Ne7 was met with 16
Ne5! Bc6 17 Re3 g6 18 Rh3 in J.Briza-T.Hanak, Valasska Bystrice 2019) 16
Be4 Be8 17 Rad1, White’s position seems slightly better.
12 ... Nce7
Keeping the tension by not moving the d5-knight is one good way to go.
Black reinforces the d5-knight for the moment, while preparing to move the
e7-knight to the kingside in a bit. A slight downside to not playing ... Nxe3
right away though is that it gives White the option of retreating the bishop
back to d2.
12 ... Nxe3! is the move Stockfish likes the most. Even though this
relieves White of having an isolated pawn after 13 fxe3, Black has swapped
off a fairly active bishop of White’s.
This is an example of a transformation of advantages. Black gives up
White having an isolated d4-pawn, but in return gains a new advantage in the
form of the bishop pair.
A sample continuation is 13 ... g6 14 Qe2 Bg7 15 Qf2 Ne7 16 e4 Bd7 17
Kh1 Qb6, and Black’s position seems a bit preferable. White’s centre, despite
controlling several squares, proves to be a target for Black’s pieces. Black’s
bishop pair is also a long-term asset, and White doesn’t have a piece which
can oppose the dark-squared bishop on g7.
13 Ne4
Going back with 13 Bd2 perhaps deserved consideration, as it ensures the
bishop pair will be retained.
13 ... b6
Exercise: Should White keep his knight on e4 for the moment, or is it
better to just exchange off the f6-bishop immediately?
Answer: In this position, exchanging now and trying to make some
positional gains makes sense. Black’s position is very solid, and White needs
to do something concrete to maintain the balance. In this type of isolated
pawn position (where Black has firm control over d5, fine development, and
a fairly safe kingside), White can run into trouble by just playing routinely.
14 Rc1
This is fine, but White should probably play Nxf6+ on the next move.
For example, after 14 Nxf6+ Nxf6 15 Ne5 Bb7 16 Rc1, the game should
be roughly level. As compensation for the isolated d4-pawn, White has the
bishop pair and well-placed pieces. In addition, Black currently doesn’t have
a knight on d5 anymore; he could easily move one of his knights back here,
but this will cost a tempo.
After 16 ... Re8 (or 16 ... Nf5 17 Bxf5 exf5 18 Qd3, with a balanced game
in M.Broniek-J.Knap, correspondence 2009) 17 f3 (blunting the b7-bishop on
the long diagonal) 17 ... Nfd5 18 Bf2 f6 19 Nc4, the chances are even.
14 ... Bb7 15 Qe2
15 Nxf6+ Nxf6 would transpose to the 14 Nxf6+ variation.
15 ... Ng6!
Threatening to move a knight to f4, forking White’s queen and d3-bishop.
16 g3
The best bet may have been 16 Nxf6+ Qxf6 17 Bg5 Ndf4 18 Qe3, and
now things simplify into an endgame after 18 ... Nh3+ 19 gxh3 Qxf3 20 Qxf3
Bxf3 21 Bxg6 hxg6. Black’s pawn structure is much better, but the oppositecoloured bishops give White excellent drawing chances.
16 ... Nge7
Having provoked g3, the knight returns on its route to f5. Without the
pawn on g2, White’s kingside light squares have been weakened. This may
be something the b7-bishop will be able to exploit in the long run.
17 Rfd1 Nf5 18 Bb1 Rc8 19 Rxc8 Qxc8 20 g4?
This weakens the kingside too much.
20 ... Nfxe3 21 fxe3 Be7!
Retreating the bishop to safety, and preparing to open lines with ... f5.
22 Nf2 f5 23 gxf5 exf5 24 Nd3 f4 25 e4 Ne3 26 Nf2 Qe8 27 Kh1 Nxd1
28 Qxd1 Qh5
Black has displayed nice technique, and now has the extra exchange. He’s
winning, but later White manages to get back in the game.
29 Kg2 Bh4 30 d5 Bxf2 31 Kxf2 g5?
Both sides now make a few errors each. This was likely due to time
trouble leading up to the 40th move.
Stronger would be 31 ... Bc8 32 d6 Bg4, putting pressure on the f3knight.
32 d6 g4 33 Ba2+ Kg7 34 Qd4+?
It was necessary to play 34 d7! first, since now in the case of 34 ... g3+,
White can answer with 35 hxg3 fxg3+ 36 Kg2, as the queen is still on d1
where it defends the f3-knight.
34 ... Kh6 35 d7 Bd5?
35 ... g3+! and now:
a) 36 Kg2 gxh2 37 Nxh2 Qe2+ will soon lead to Black forcing a queen
trade, which will leave the d7-pawn without sufficient support to promote.
b) 36 Ke2 Qc5! is the key move, but this isn’t so easy to find (especially
if the players were in time trouble). The point is that after 37 d8Q Qc2+ 38
Nd2 (38 Qd2 is met with 38 ... Qxe4+ 39 Kd1 Rxd8 40 Qxd8 Qxf3+) 38 ...
Ba6+ 39 Bc4 Bxc4+ 40 Qxc4, White’s queen has been diverted off the d-file,
allowing Black’s rook to win the other queen for free following 40 ... Qxc4+
41 Nxc4 Rxd8.
36 Qxd5?
36 Qb4! Rd8 37 Qd6+ would be winning.
36 ... Qxd5 37 Bxd5 gxf3 38 Bf7 Rd8 39 Be6 Kg5 40 e5 Kg6 41 Kxf3
Kg7 42 Kxf4
Things have settled down into an endgame where White has a bishop and
two pawns for a rook. Black is just in time with his king to set up a blockade
on the dark squares.
42 ... Kf8 43 Bf5 Ke7
Now the e-pawn has no way of advancing to e7.
44 h3 h6 45 e6 Rg8 46 b4 b5 47 Bg4 Rg5 48 Bf3 Rg1 49 Ke5 Ra1 50
Be4 a6
50 ... Rxa3? would lose to 51 d8Q+ Kxd8 52 Kd6, as White is threatening
53 e7+ followed by 54 Bc6+, driving the black king off the promotion square.
The problem for Black is that he can’t play ... Rd3+ here.
51 Kd5 Rd1+ 52 Ke5 Rd2 53 Bb7 Re2+ 54 Kd5 Re3?
This is too ambitious.
It was necessary to keep checking with 54 ... Rd2+ 55 Ke5 Re2+.
55 Bxa6 Rxh3 56 Bxb5 Rxa3 57 Kc6 Rc3+ 58 Kb7 h5 59 Bc6
White’s bishop is very nicely placed. It continues to participate on the
queenside, while also guarding the h1-square.
59 ... h4 60 Kc7 Rd3 61 b5 h3 62 b6 h2 63 b7 Rd6 64 Bh1 Rd1 65 b8Q
Rc1+ 66 Kb7 Rb1+ 67 Kc8 Rc1+ 68 Qc7 1-0
Chapter Ten
FAQ for Parents or Those New to
Competitive Chess
Q1) Which chess books should I be reading?
Answer: First of all, Congratulations! By purchasing our book, What
Chess Coaches Don’t Tell You, you have made an important first step in
building a solid personal chess book library. You will also need to add to
your library as you continue on your chess learning journey.
As you will quickly discover, there are many, many chess books out
there. If you do a search on “chess books” on Amazon, it will produce a
result well over 50,000. This can be overwhelming to figure out which chess
books are good for you. There are different categories of chess books for
openings, middlegame ideas, endgames, etc. For the most part, if you get
books on openings, it’s best to get ones in your desired opening which have
been published in more recent years because the more recent opening books
should cover the latest theory developed, whereas a book on tactics will
remain more pertinent and less dated even after several years; and the same
goes for endgames.
Here are some suggestions on how to determine which chess books can
best serve your needs:
1. Determine which areas in chess that you need help in. Reflect on what
do you think you need help with, or more knowledge in, to get to the next
level. Which areas you are uncomfortable with, or which areas that you feel
you need more knowledge in.
With those topics in mind, you can start researching and reading reviews
on these chess books. Often the websites selling these chess books will have
a sample excerpt that you can read and judge for yourself if the book’s
content makes sense and if it would be a good addition to your chess book
collection. There also may be some reviews from others who have already
read the book.
2. Ask your chess friends and colleagues which chess books that they
would recommend. Ask them why they would recommend these books and
what specific things did they find most helpful in reading or working through
these chess books. If that matches what you are looking for, then it would be
a good new book candidate for you.
3. Ask your chess coach for good chess book recommendations. In some
cases, you two may decide that it would be beneficial to work through a good
chess book together in the same way as a teacher assigns a textbook for a
math course. Remember to bring up any questions with your chess coach that
you have on the material, and if you didn’t fully understand something, you
have the chess book to read over again.
Readers should not read chess books as they would a novel. They can be
viewed more like textbooks, where the readers would benefit from setting up
positions (or games highlighted in the chess book) on a real chessboard to
work out the chess problems or to try to understand the annotated games.
You can also set up the position using chess software or on the free online
chess tools.
Q2) The Answer is Often Within Ourselves: Which areas should I work
on, which are my areas of weaknesses?
Answer: It is not uncommon for people who are faced with a difficult
dilemma in their lives or a tough decision to make, to reach out to their
family, friends, or colleagues to ask them for their opinions. They may even
engage several such people looking for their sage advice. Interestingly, in
many cases, people don’t need to venture too far to find what they are
seeking, as the answer is often within ourselves if we choose to be very
painfully honest.
There are people who have spent years building a “successful” career but
are unhappy because they really don’t enjoy their work. They would often
daydream about what it would be like to leave their current industry to pursue
one that is more satisfying and better suitable to them, yet there are serious
considerations like mortgage payments and other bills to pay, as well as
dealing with the thought of leaving a steady, reliable income to pursue their
dream job as being all too foolhardy. What to do? What would you do? It’s a
difficult decision and an equally difficult question to answer, but deep down
inside, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we all know what that best
answer is for us. It’s not easy to arrive at, but we all know what that answer
is.
The same can be said for your chess knowledge in that you know yourself
where your areas of weaknesses are - if you are willing to admit it. The first
step in improving is to be honest with yourself and verbalize where you think
your weaknesses lie. Many players go and seek their chess coach’s
assessment of how good of a player they are and what they need to improve
on to be better; and yet, often the answer lies within the individual players
themselves, if they could only honestly answer the following question:
What do you think you need help with or more knowledge in to get to the
next level?
In chess, there are many different areas which we can work on to improve our
overall play. Under the general areas of openings, middlegames, and
endgames, there are more layers of topics. There are countless openings,
sidelines, and traps. There are a vast number of middlegame topics involving
tactics, pawn structure, open and closed structures, piece coordination, etc.
And there are numerous endgames dealing with rook and pawn, queen vs. 2
rooks, rook vs. 2 minor pieces, triangulation, pawn breakthrough, etc.
So, how can anyone possibly answer for themselves: What do I need help
with or more knowledge in to get to the next level? Try approaching this
question in another way. Here are some questions that can help you discover
what you need help with, or more knowledge in, to get to the next level.
1. What types of positions or situations do you feel most uncomfortable
playing? For example, tactical or strategical positions, endgames (specify
which types like rook and pawn endgames), certain openings, etc.
2. In most games, do you feel that you are winning, but can’t convert it
into a win, and instead end up drawing, or worse, losing?
3. Do you avoid making the best move that the position calls for because
you know that it will lead you into a certain position or situation that you are
uncomfortable playing and so would much rather avoid it altogether? For
example, 2 rooks vs. queen, 2 bishops vs. 2 knights, etc.
Be an active participant in your chess training and private chess lessons. If
you want to sit passively and wait to see what your chess coach comes up for
you, that’s fine. However, if you want to help your chess coach get to the
main issues faster, tell him/her what you think will help you get to the next
level, and then ask for specific lessons and practice exercises that can address
your areas of weakness. If all goes according to plan, by working specifically
on these “uncomfortable” areas, they will become less uncomfortable to play,
and less of a weakness in your play that can be exploited by your opponents.
Once you identify your areas of weakness, if you don’t have a chess coach,
you can read books and practice chess problems on these topics. The next
important step is to commit to actually doing the homework, and deliberately
study in order to strengthen your play.
Q3) Should I ask my coach for chess homework?
Answer: Who wants to do homework? In fact, the very name can put some
people off. When we think of “home”, we may get a warm fuzzy feeling of
peace, security, and love; whereas, “work” does not normally elicit such
pleasant feelings - that is why it’s called “work”, not “super happy fun”. And
now you want to bring that into our sanctuary, our home, this so-called
tedious “work”?
We all realize at a very early age that anything that is worth doing
requires effort, work, and some sacrifice. Learning chess is no different, so it
should be no surprise that to improve your chess play, it will require
homework and purposeful study. Even though you may have had a great 1
hour, 1.5 hours, or even 2 hours of an engaging and thought-provoking
private or group lesson, you should still expect to receive homework that will
help reinforce the learning topics.
It is not surprising that some chess coaches do not automatically give out
homework, as this takes extra time and effort for the chess coach to create.
Also, sometimes the chess coach doesn’t want to push the chess student who
has already indicated that he has a heavy school or workload, or who just
doesn’t want to do “extra” homework. Yet, it is immensely helpful for the
chess student to receive homework that can be worked on during the week
between chess lessons.
For example, if you study math, but don’t get homework to practice what
you are being taught, then can you effectively learn these new math
concepts? If you take piano lessons, but don’t practice the new piece during
the week, then how much will you have progressed by the next lesson? It’s
the same with chess. If your chess coach doesn’t automatically give you
homework, it is to your benefit to ask for it. This lets your chess coach know
that you are serious about improving your chess and want to work on it
during the week. This is a good thing.
The homework topic should be one that helps to reinforce the lesson. It
shouldn’t be a random chess problem on, for example, back rank mate, when
the lesson was on improving the placement of your pieces. The homework
should be an extension of the private lesson that you then take back home
with you to work on until the next private lesson. And if you didn’t get
everything right or had some questions, the homework should help to bring
this out, which you can then ask your chess coach at your next meeting.
We suggest that your homework should be positions dealing with the
current lesson topic and your annotations from any of your recent tournament
games. Package that all up and send to your chess coach well before the next
private or group lesson to give the coach time to review your completed
homework and be ready for your next meeting.
Something that can help you organize your homework, game annotations,
and the like, is software that stores your annotated games (e.g., ChessBase or
similar). You can also use one of the online chess playing platforms to store
your homework positions and solutions.
Q4) How many game annotations do I need to complete per week?
For example, I played 5 games in the Fall Open tournament last weekend, so
should I annotate all 5 games in the next week? And for the weeks without
tournaments, I played some active games online. Does that count?
Answer: You know how we say for daily tactics it’s better to do 10
tactics and get 80% to 100% correct vs. doing 100 tactics and getting only
50% correct? It’s the same here. If you play five tournament games, ideally
you should thoroughly annotate all five games - if you just rush through your
annotations, the value of this exercise is lost. Note that each game you play
provides an opportunity for you to learn from it, if done properly. In one way,
even though it’s important that you play games, you shouldn’t play so many
active games online without pausing to review them, for the simple reason
that if you are making the same mistakes over and over again, it only
reinforces those mistakes in your mind. So, you see we need to strike a fine
balance.
When analyzing your games, you should also find better moves for your
opponent, so that when you play a stronger opponent next time, you will be
more prepared because you have already had an opportunity to review these
lines in more depth. Realize that this is hard, detailed work, and not appealing
to most players, as per the reasons stated earlier. As a parent, you can help by
encouraging your child, which will definitely be good for both of you. Let’s
say your boss tells you to do a job that you don’t like to do. How would you
feel? Now think what your boss could do to make this unappealing work
more appealing for you. So, that’s your job as your child’s “boss”.
Q5) Why is it important for me to review my games?
Answer: Let’s say you write a short story and don’t proofread it, or just hand
in the first draft. Instead, wouldn’t you be able to enhance your story if you
first read it over and over, added some descriptive adjectives as well as
replaced some basic sentences with more vivid imagery and wording?
Similarly, when reviewing your chess games, do so with a very critical
eye, finding the critical moments, writing down better moves or variations for
BOTH Black and White, and then thinking of the 2-3 things that you learned
from that game. Enter in all that you know that could have made that game
better (by critically and honestly self-reflecting on it), and then send it to your
chess coach so that he can see what you know and what you don’t know - and
there is where the coach can give that added value. Alternatively, if you don’t
have a chess coach, this would be the point where you can now turn on the
chess engine to see what lines it recommends. But it is important that you try
to understand why the engine recommends these moves as being better.
Q6) I have studied my opening repertoire but have trouble remembering
the moves during my games. What can I do to better memorize my
opening lines?
Answer: Some players are able to memorize lines, but the best way to know
your opening repertoire is to understand it. Understand why you need to
move the bishop to g4 before castling, or why it’s important to cover the d4
square when your opponent brings his knight out, etc. If you just memorize
and don’t fully understand the purpose of each move, you might mix up your
lines. Also, when your opponent doesn’t make the correct move, then you
might not know how to continue. However, if you understand the general
plans and themes, you will be better equipped to punish your opponent by
taking advantage of his incorrect response.
A good interactive way of helping you learn and understand your
openings is to practice them by playing training games on one of the online
chess playing platforms from a set position in your opening line. This way
you can practice it over and over until you have a better understanding of
your opening line.
Q7) My rating is constantly going up and down. How can I keep my
rating going at a steady increase?
Answer: Too often players get caught up in their ratings going up or down. If
you start to worry too much about your rating, it can paralyze you from
continuing to work hard and consistently at your chess studies - i.e., chess
homework, daily tactics, reviewing your repertoire, reading chess books,
training games, private and/or group lessons, etc. Or worse, it could stop you
from playing in more tournaments.
If you are a junior player, we suggest that you play in tournaments that
have both adults and junior players as your opponents. Don’t just restrict
yourself to playing tournaments where there are only juniors. Juniors can be
harder to play against, and their ratings are often lower than their actual
playing strength because they are constantly studying and improving, so their
true ratings may not have caught up with their actual playing strength yet but it might after they get a chance to feast on your rating!
If you continue to put in a good effort with your chess studies, and play in
a variety of tournaments, the results will come. Do not worry about your
rating at this point and have confidence that your training regime will help
you to improve. So often when we worry about things, it negatively impacts
how we study, play, and work, so much so that it can actually take away from
the good progress that we are making.
Focus more on determining what is the best chess training regime for you
and we assume that’s one reason that you purchased our book, which is a
good first step. Once you have developed your training regime and
understand each component and their importance, then you will feel
confident that this is the correct path forward for you. And with that
confidence, you need to believe that your chess training will help improve
your chess knowledge, which in turn will improve your rating over time - but
it does take time. You can’t rush learning chess, like you can’t rush the
baking of a cake. It takes time and for good reason.
So be confident and continue to learn, work regularly on your chess
studies, and play in tournaments - it is also very important for you to review
your tournament games and find out what went right and what went wrong,
and then find ways to improve.
Q8) Is There Luck in Chess?
Answer: Several years ago, we were at a junior chess club and got into an
interesting discussion with another chess parent. He contended that chess
success was based partly on luck. A huge debate ensued as I felt that I had to
“defend the honour” of chess, as I believed that there was no such thing as
“luck” in chess, i.e. chess success was purely derived from hard work
coupled with talent. Now fast-forward several years later, having seen so
many unpredictable results. We won’t go as far as saying “luck” in chess but
can attest to seeing things that happen beyond the players’ control that had a
significant impact on the game and/or tournament results.
It seems that there are some chess players and parents who think that
luck, or rather things beyond their control, play a big enough part in chess so
much so that it prevents them from fully committing themselves to the hard
work and dedication that is required to attain substantial chess improvement.
We all have some anecdotal chess stories that resulted in something that is
inexplicable such that we conveniently chalk it up to “luck”. For example, if
a certain tournament is not bound by FIDE or the national governing chess
body to have a specific set of tie-breaks, then the tournament organizers can
select which tie-breaks to use; and there are many tie-breaks to choose from
like ones that take into account the cumulative scores, or the result of the
game against the player that you have a tied tournament score with, or based
on your opponents’ performance, etc. So, is it “luck” that the tournament
organizers picked, before the start to the tournament, a tiebreak that turned
out to favour you over another player (or vice versa) with the same
tournament score?
Is it luck that your higher rated opponent stayed up all night with chess
friends who he hadn’t seen for years, causing him to sleep in and show up
late to your game, or show up very tired and not fully prepared for the
“surprise” that you had prepped for him?
Is it luck that your opponent gets into an argument or misunderstanding
with one of the arbiters or organizers, and decides to storm off under protest,
and thus forfeiting his game to you?
Is it luck that an inexperienced tournament director pairs a player with the
white pieces for 6 of his games and only 3 with black pieces?
Is it luck that your opponent ate something disagreeable for lunch and is
about to play you? Or if your opponent can’t fully focus on his game because
he is worried about losing his job, or making this month’s mortgage payment,
or the health of his elderly parents, or etc.
We’re sure that you could add many more examples to this list. There are
many things in this world that we have absolutely no control over, however,
that doesn’t excuse us from doing all that we can to prepare, to study, to
practice, to train, to analyze, and to muster the courage to go for the win.
There are things that will happen that may seem unfair or unlucky due to
your opponent’s situation or the tournament director’s decision, or whatever,
but no matter what, good or bad, you need to be ready to do your part by
doing your best, because that is one area that you have control over. Before
any tournament, you alone are responsible for your physical well-being, that
is you are well rested, eating properly, and getting appropriate exercise. You
alone must make that commitment to work on your tactics each day, to
analyze your chess games, and to practice, practice, practice. You alone must
have the courage and be willing to go for the win, regardless of the
consequences that may result in a win, loss, or draw, and with the possibility
of either being kicked out of the money or with the possibility of winning the
championship of your dreams.
Recently, some of our students were anxiously waiting to hear if they had
been selected to play in a prestigious team event. I spoke with the parents
who were checking emails several times each day as both the players and the
parents were hoping, and worried about making the team. In fact, they were
so worried, that they were losing sleep and was constantly thinking about this
situation. I asked if they had submitted all the required forms and did all that
they could to be eligible for the team. Yes, they had. So, then I advised them
as follows: Does it help you to worry about this situation? You have done all
that you can and now it is out of your control to progress this matter. So,
instead of halting your preparation until you hear if you are on the team, all
you can do is to be prepared and ready for what you are in control of, e.g.,
continue to prepare assuming that you will be playing on the team. Research
possible opponents’ games, continue your chess studies and tactics, and be
well rested, try not to worry too much, eat properly, and stay physically fit.
All this applies to both the players and the parents. Everyone needs to be
well rested because the player will need the parents’ support during this team
event, especially if travel is involved. If you both worry too much or don’t
stay physically and mentally well, you might get sick, not be focussed,
etc. You need to be at your physical and mental best. Know that any
preparation and study that you do now will never go to waste. If you don’t go
to this team event, the work and study that you do now can always be applied
to your next tournament. It’s all good.
I know this can be hard to do, but that is what champions do. Champions
do extraordinary things under extraordinary circumstances. Can you be
counted on to do what is necessary to be a champion? To succeed in both
chess and life, we need to be prepared for the opportunities that come our
way. You are only responsible for what you can do that is in your control, so
do that to the best of your ability.
Q9) Even though I see some improvements, if I compare with my main
competitors, Billy Bishop and Rachel Rook, who are the same age, I
always had a higher rating until this year when Billy Bishop scored 4
points/5 games and I only scored 3 points/5 games in the same
tournament, and now his rating is higher than mine. Should I be
concerned?
Answer: Which is more important to attain: a certain personal chess rating
goal, or always having a higher rating than your main competitor or specific
chess friend?
You should also realize that the latter is not fully in your control. If a goal
is based on a “moving target”, it is much harder to achieve because we don’t
know or have control over what your chess buddy Billy Bishop is working
on, how many extra hours Billy Bishop is studying, if Billy Bishop gets better
pairings, which tournaments that Billy Bishop attends, and so on.
Of course, as humans, it’s hard not to compare ourselves with others. If
we get a $5K raise, we are happy only until we find out that our co-worker
got a $10K raise! Good competitive spirit and good peer pressure can help
encourage and spur us on, but if we put too much pressure on ourselves,
which may cause anxiety, impatience, and undue stress, it can impede on the
good progress that we are already making.
You are you. Billy Bishop is Billy Bishop. Rachel Rook is Rachel Rook.
Let’s build on the progress that you have made and focus on achieving nonmoving target goals like attaining a certain chess rating, or earning a chess
title, or in every tournament achieving a tournament rating performance that
is higher than your actual rating, or in every tournament you aim to gain x
number of rating points.
Q10) What is the difference between chess rating systems for National,
FIDE, and Scholastic?
Answer: Many chess players and parents at first are often overwhelmed with
trying to understand Swiss pairings, how to read the standings, tournaments
in general, some chess rules like en passant, and in particular, the various
chess rating systems. Chess ratings are used to estimate the playing strength
of a player, and are an important component when creating pairings for
tournaments.
Often you hear young chess players say, “I want to be a Grandmaster!”,
even though they just as often don’t fully understand the requirements to
become a Grandmaster. So, it’s good research homework for all those
aspiring GMs to find out what exactly is required. It may also help to have a
brief discussion on the various chess rating systems, as this may help players
and parents to understand the importance and use of each type of rating
system. In addition, a player’s rating can be one of the goals to which players
can aspire.
There are a number of different chess ratings:
1. FIDE Rating
FIDE is the acronym for Fédération Internationale des Échecs, which
translated from French is International Chess Federation. It is the
international chess organization that connects the various national chess
federations and acts as the governing body for international chess
competitions. Players from all countries recognize a player’s FIDE rating,
and increasing this rating is the main way to obtain an internationally
recognized chess master title, such as the following: FIDE Candidate Master
(CM), FIDE Master (FM), International Master (IM), and Grandmaster
(GM).
FIDE titles for a CM (2200) and a FM (2300) can be attained by reaching
a minimum FIDE rating or can be won by performing well in such
tournaments like a continental or national event. There are also titles
specifically for women, i.e., Woman Candidate Master (WCM) and Woman
FIDE Master (WFM).
FIDE titles for an IM (2400) and a GM (2500) also require a minimum
FIDE rating in addition to three IM or three GM norms, respectively, from
different tournaments. Similarly, there are titles specifically for women, i.e.,
Women International Master (WIM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
Norms are, to put it in very simple terms, a high level of performance in a
tournament that has adhered to the specific, strict criteria as laid out by FIDE.
For example, the tournament requires a minimum of three titled players
(IM/GMs) from different countries, and the norm seeker must achieve a
certain tournament performance rating (TPR) as specified by the FIDE rules.
2. National Rating
Some countries like Canada and the United States have chess master titles
like National Master.
In Canada, the Chess Federation of Canada (CFC) recognizes those
players who achieve 2300 or higher CFC rating as a National Master (NM).
The NM title can also be achieved by attaining a minimum 2200 CFC rating
plus three NM norms, i.e., achieving a 2300 or higher tournament
performance rating in three separate tournaments. The National Candidate
Master (NCM) title is awarded to those players who achieve 2100 CFC rating
or hit a minimum of 2000 CFC rating plus three NCM norms, i.e., achieving
2100 or higher tournament performance rating in three separate tournaments.
There are also titles specifically for women, i.e., Woman National Master
(WNM) and Woman National Candidate Master (WNCM). In the United
States (USCF), the highest titles are rating based, i.e., Senior Master (2400)
and National Master (2200).
3. Scholastic Rating
Some parts of the United States and Canada have chess ratings that are
primarily for Kindergarten to Grade 12 players. These scholastics ratings do
not lead to any chess titles.
4. Online Chess Rating
Online chess playing platforms also provide players ratings. These online
ratings do not lead to any chess titles.
Understanding the different chess rating systems helps players when they
are thinking about their chess goals. One type of chess goal can be rating
oriented - for example, to reach a certain rating, or increase by a certain rating
amount by the end of the year. Some other goals, like earning a chess title,
would require attaining a minimum chess rating.
Note that depending on which country you reside in, the rating system
may differ. The aforementioned rating systems just give examples of how
some rating systems work. For more specific details that affect you, it may be
helpful for you to search up your country’s chess federation.
Q11) Will playing physical sports help my chess?
Answer: Staying physically fit helps players to stay mentally fit.
The importance of being physically fit, eating healthy, and getting a good
night’s sleep, all help in staying physically and mentally fit, which is a big
factor when you consider classical chess games can last over 3-4 hours, and
you need to stay alert throughout the entire game to reduce the possibilities of
blunders.
Take inventory of your physical fitness routine. Do you have the capacity
to add in an extra run or walk; or practice physical exercises that enhance
hand-eye coordination; or play a table tennis game. Good chess and a good
life require good mental stamina, which is supported by healthy lifestyle
choices.
Q12) How can chess software or online chess tools help me study chess?
Answer: Most people who work with a computer will store their documents,
spreadsheets, presentations, and other work using software instead of
handwritten notes. Work stored and edited using such software makes these
types of tasks easier. The same can be said for using chess software or online
chess tools to store your games, but they also provide additional features like
a chess engine to help improve your chess play.
All serious chess players have a way to store their games, analyze them,
and enter their comments or annotations in key parts of their games, like at
critical moments. Many chess players use ChessBase, or similar such tools.
ChessBase is a powerful software for maintaining all your chess databases,
providing analysis with a chess engine, and giving you access to an online
database with the most recent top-level chess games. The main drawback is
cost.
Many other chess players use the features found on online chess playing
platforms to accomplish very similar things. The features also include game
storage, analysis with chess engines, etc. These online options, of course,
require Internet access, whereas having a game data storage software on your
laptop can be used both online and offline. In addition, another main
drawback is that these online chess websites’ databases are more limited and
can be difficult to access top-level games. The main advantage is that you
can’t beat their price (free) to use their features for game analysis.
Compare two different situations of no access to software vs. the use of chess
software or online chess tools.
Scenario 1: After a player finishes playing 5 games in a tournament, the
player takes all 5 hand-written game scoresheets to the chess coach, who in
turn tries to decipher the chess notations, and who along the way points out
some critical moments and what the player could learn from each game. If the
player doesn’t have a chess coach or another way to review the 5 games, then
it is harder to gain insight on them.
OR
Scenario 2: After a player finishes playing 5 games in a tournament, the
player takes all the 5 hand-written game scoresheets and enters each game in
some chess software or online chess tool. The player thoroughly reviews each
game and finds critical moments, for which the player then reflects on in
order to provide better variations for both Black and White. The player adds
comments or annotations that help bring out important points found in the
game analysis. Having done a thorough analysis, the player then writes 2-3
things that were learned from each game. Only at that point does the player
send the PGN (Portable Game Notation) file containing all 5 games to the
chess coach well in advance of their next private chess lesson. When the
player and the chess coach meet, the discussions of the 5 games are at a
deeper level, because the player has already put in the vital groundwork to try
to understand and learn from the 5 games. Note that if the player does not
have a private chess coach, then the player can still learn from the games by
turning on the chess engine provided by the chess software or online chess
tool, which will then add that additional layer for analysis with better move
suggestions.
Which of the two scenarios do you think is more rewarding and beneficial
from which the player can learn? Scenario 2 shows that if you do your
preliminary work and self analysis before the chess lesson, then you will get
more from the lesson at a deeper level, which would likely provide you with
a more satisfying and meaningful learning experience.
Epilogue
You may have noticed that the way we approach training and improving in
our chess studies resembles how we can approach problems and opportunities
that life presents us. Even though many people view chess as simply a game,
chess can also provide much more meaning and clear examples of how we
can apply the lessons that we learn from our chess studies to our lives in
general, including:
1. Decide what your goals are and from that create a plan to achieve them.
2. Realize that nothing worth achieving comes easily or instantaneously; that
consistent hard work with a set purpose to practice will provide a deeper
personal satisfaction of accomplishment.
3. Admit your mistakes, which can be a difficult and painful process, but
once you can face your missteps honestly, you are in a great position to find a
better way.
4. The choices and the sacrifices that you make play a huge part in what you
end up with, as in “you reap what you sow”.
Chess is fascinating and can provide a multitude of important lessons that can
often be translated to our everyday lives. Chess holds a treasure trove of
important avenues from which we all can learn and improve.
Thank you for including us on your chess learning path, and all the best to
you in your chess journey.
John Doknjas and Victoria Doknjas