Contents

Foreword vii

Symbols vill

lntroduct~on IX

1 . Combinations 1

2. Mlssed Opportunities

3. Never Sav Die!

4. Coincidence in Chess

5. Opportunities Selzed

Solutions

Index of Players

Pergarnon Chess Books

"There must have been a time when men were demt-gods-or they
could not have ~nventedchess "

-Gustav Schenk.

W h ~ t eto Play
(See d ~ a g r a m107)
 Foreword
It glves me great pleasure to wrlte a few words of n t r o d u c t ~ o nfor a
book wrltten by my good fr~end, M o e Moss, In collaborat~on with a n
Mullen of Scotland Both of the authors have long been k n o w n as
successful and entertanlng chess column~stsas well as very strong players.
and they have c o m b ~ n e dthelr talents w ~ t hgreat success In this work
The book deals w t h a varety of common themes w h ~ c hoccur In the
game of chess, w ~ t hample and well explained illustrat~ons Some of the
toplcs such as Blunders and B r ~ l l ~ a n c ~ eCso,m b ~ n a t ~ o nand
s Dupllcat~ons,
M ~ s s e dOpportunltes, Never Say Die, and Opportunlt~esSeized are occur-
rences that every chess player encounters In the course of playing, whether
~t be In competlton or In a fr~endlygame. The ~Ilustratlonsare taken from
publ~shedgames and clearly ~ n d c a t ethe themes which p r e v a ~In the
chapters
T h ~ s~ s book
a whlch not only w ~ bel helpful t o the beg~nnerand average
player, but also t o the above-average player, and I am very pleased to have
the opportunty to help Introduce ~t to the chess playlng p u b l ~ c

D A. Yanofskv. G M
 Symbols
a capture
check
checkmate
a very good move
0 a b r ~ l l a n tmove
? an error
?? a blunder
I? a move deserv~ngattention
?I a dublous or r s k y move
(cand) Candidates tournamentlmatch
(01) Oymplad
(ch) Champ~onsh~p
(121) Interzonal tournament
(corr) Correspondence game
( s ~ m u l ) Simultaneous game

The f o l o w n g relate to the d ~ f f c u l t yof solut~ons.

* easy, one or t w o moves deep

** stra~ghtforward
*** d~ff~cult
**** very d ~ f f c u l t
***** you have been warned1
 Introduction

"Without error there can be no brilliancy "

-Emanuel Lasker
T h ~ swork takes a novel look at the ever-popular subject of c o m b ~ n a t ~ o n s
n chess Its lnspratlon derlves from artcles written Independently by the
authors on thegenerai theme of c o m b ~ n a t ~ o nwsh c h , co~nc~dentally, placed
special emphas~so n the "grey areas" of overs~ghts These were publ~shed
n the magazines Chess, Chess Life, and elsewhere. they rece~veda postlve
response w h ~ c hencouraged collaboraton on the present book.
We wrote ~t wlth the club player In m ~ n dalthough, hopefully. ~t w ~ l l
appeal to players over a broad range of strengths In many ways, the
approach IS d~ametricalyopposed to the conventonal text o n the subject
I n general, the standard work on c o m b ~ n a t ~ o nconslstss of themat~cally
arranged b r ~ l l ~ a n c efrom
s master play Often, the student IS lnvlted to galn
a g r o u n d n g In the bas~cs by s t u d y n g mater~al grouped under such
headings as 'The P n ' , 'The Fork', etc. T h s IS a w e l l - t r e d method w h c h
allows the mater~alt o be presented n a systematic manner The underiyng
assumpton-that c o m b n a t o n s may be split n t o elements and a k n o w -
ledge of these can be used t o a ~ dunderstand~ng-s q u t e reasonable
However, the authors' experiences In chess teach~nghave convnced them
that many students w o u l d welcome an o r g ~ n aand l less academ~capproach
to the subject Countless readers must have despa~redover the fact that
chess is never qulte as easy a game as ~t can be made t o appear n the
books. W h ~ l ethe gap between theory and practlce IS one that can never
be b r ~ d g e dtotally, t h s gap 1s far w ~ d e rfor the club player than ~t I S for the
master. H o w often t 1s that the c o m b ~ n a t ~ ogoes n awry1 What a mess w e
make of our games n t m e trouble1 A n approach w h ~ c htreats chess solely
as a scence-and c o m b n a t o n s as mere molecular reactions-completely
gnores the human element and all the lmperfectlons whlch t m p e s The
authors have reacted to t h ~ sby produc~ngthe present text, one w h ~ c h
starts at the darkest end of the c o m b n a t ~ o n a lspectrum. Our object~ves
were threefold
(a) To supply test positions of great human interest and thus provide
the reader w ~ t hmotlvatlon w h ~ c hotherw~sem ~ g h tbe lack~ng.Of course.
experlence IS the best teacher However, vlcarlous experlence (as may be
g a ~ n e d by studylng the d~agrams In t h ~ sbook), can act as a useful
supplement t o or, subst~tutefor, the real t h ~ n g
( b ) To emphas~zethe mportance of learn~ngfrom one's m~stakes It has
often been s a ~ dthat a player can learn more from h s losses than from h ~ s
wins It does not necessarily follow that one can learn more from the
defeats, or m~stakes,of the masters than one can from t h e ~ rtr~umphs-yet
such p o s t o n s are often of except~onalnterest The I n e of reasoning w h c h
suggests that they may be of spec~alb e n e f ~ tIn teach~ng1s not hard to
follow.
( c ) To entertain Chess, desp~terumours to the contrary, IS f ~ r s tand
foremost a game! W h ~ l s tevery player naturally sees wlnnlng as one
object~vethere are other alms whlch, though subord~natet o the flnal goal.

1X
 Introduction
are nonetheless important. There are t w o extremes of emotional stress
w h c h the chess player repeatedly experiences' the high point IS the joy of
sacrifice, or of making a pretty or unexpected move, the l o w polnt is the
sinking feeling which goes in hand with the blunder When a player
sacrifices his Queen, his heart beats faster! When he blunders, his pulse
races1 Of course, time trouble-or any number of external factors-can
add to, or artificially stimulate. similar exhilaration or dismay Our aim was
to concentrate on this human facet of the game
The examples in Chapter T w o are "missed opportunt~es". illustrating
the kind of oversights with which everyone is painfully familiar. Many of
these are combinations which were overlooked, or victories which were
snatched from the jaws of defeat Such incidents are often very instructive
and f a within the range of every player's experience Chapter Three
focuses on case studies of premature or unjustified resignation-a morbid
topic, true, yet one with a fatal fascination, It is surprising h o w often very
strong players have unwittingly resigned positions which were objectively
won1 After a brief interlude w e return in Chapter Five to more familiar
ground with selections of some of the most attractive and successful
combinations of recent years These are presented in the form of three
short tests w h ~ c hwill enable the reader to gain a rough estimate of his or
her tactical ability
While operating under the premise that there is much to be learned from
the mistakes of the masters, ~t is not our intention to overwhelm the reader
with a dismal catalogue of catastrophes-and the choice of pos~tionshas
been restricted to those of intrinsic chess merit, or those of historical or
psychological interest Most of these are presented as problems for the
reader to solve, thus enabling him to test and sharpen his skills They range
from the triv~alt o the c o m p ~ c a t e dand run the gamut of combnative
themes It is hoped that the reader will be able t o associate on an emotional
level with the thoughts and feelings of the players and also will be tolerant
of their mistakes I n the maln. the facts are presented and the reader is left
to draw the conclusions. Those w h o wish to dig deeply for the root causes
of blunders-and likewise of brilliancies- will find much food for thought.
The rationale of this work lies in a paradox. 'the ultimate aim of the chess
player is to achieve perfection However, should he ever reach that elusive
goal, chess as a contest will cease to exist Without blunders there would
be few brilliancies-and without either of these, chess would be devoid
of interest.
The brilliancy is a topic which has been well covered in chess literature;
its counterpart. the blunder, has been ignored all too often Here, w e aim
to redress the balance and, in dolng so, to supply the reader with a wealth
of new ideas.
 Combinations

"The game gives us a satisfaction that Life denies us. A n d for the Chess
player, the success which crowns h ~ swork. the great dispeller o f
sorrows. is named 'cornbinat~on'"
-Emanuel Lasker

What is a C o m b i n a t i o n ?
The question is a difficult one to answer It has often been said that a combination
is far easier t o play than it is t o define and, as yet, a precise and universally agreed
d e t ~ n i t i o nof the term has eluded the authorities Botvinnlk, in a short essay on this
t o p ~ c ,came t o the conclusion that "a combination 1s a forclng sequence of moves
involving a sacr~fce",a definition which 1s sufficient for most practical purposes.
The follow up-"but does a combination necessarily involve a sacrifice?"-can
be answered w i t h a qualified affirmative A forcing sequence of moves which does
not involve a sacrifice is generally termed "a manoeuvre", although the borderline
between the t w o may occasionally be confused

1 Brill~ancy-or Blunder?
R o u s s e a u - S a i n t A m a n d Jr.. M o n t r e a l
1983
W h ~ t eto play
Often, these are opposite sides of the same
coin in that it is common to see an error
exposed as such by a tactical retort
Black's last move in the diagram, Pg4-
f3, was ambitious and understandable, as it
threatened 1 Wg2 - -1
However, it was a mistake In reply, White
took the offenswe with 1 n , e 7 i - O h 8 2
4 x g 7 + 9 x 9 7 3 '#g5+ &h8 4 ' W f 6 f l

Whether you regard this as an example of a blunder ( P g 4 ~ f 3 ) or

. a brilliancy
( 2 P x g 7 t ) , w o u l d depend on your viewpoint
A t h ~ n g sare relative
 Blunders and Brilliancies
H o w D o e s t h e Chess Player Think?
"Could w e look into the head o f a chess player, we w o u l d see there a
whole w o r l d o f feelings, images, ideas, emotion a n d passion "

- A l f r e d Binet
Ah, if only w e knew the answer-for then w e could supply the reader with a
blueprint for success! But In some cases it is true to say that the chess player hardly
thinks at all-he s l m p y sees.
2 The Seeing Eye
R o s e n b l a t t - W o l k . B i e l 1977
White to play
White, in this position, played 1 Pb811,
whereupon Black res~gned
Most exper~enced players are capable of
discover~ngsuch turns in a matter of seconds,
yet find it very difficult to explain h o w they do
SO
As if by a magnet, the mind's eye is drawn
to the square b8, the variations are checked
for soundness and presto!-the problem has
been solved.
Tarrasch laid d o w n the rule for the discovery of similar possiblities, w h ~ c hw e
glve as the first law of c o m b ~ n a t ~ o n s .
"You nlust see/"

Chess B l i n d n e s s
"What w o u l d chess b e without silly mistakes>"
-Kurt Richter
But what happens when the chess player doesn't see? Blunder, oversight, lemon.
turkey-call it what you will, 11amounts to the same thing In football terms, the
player has scored in his o w n goal I n duelling terms, he has shot himself in the foot.
3 The Unseeing Eye
Mikhalchishin-Romanishin, U.S.S.R.
1981
White to play
The general impression is that it is the club
player w h o stumbles regularly and that the
grandmaster rarely goes wrong, except per-
haps in a complicated position
To show that they too are blind at times, the
ending of t h ~ sgame between grandmasters-
and at only the 1 2 t h move! -suggested to a
well-known writer that it be awarded a prize
for the most embarrass~naaame of the "ear
White played 1 d5, on ;he presumptidn that
1 @ x d 2 + w o u l d be forced in reply We leave the reader to discover for himself
the rude surprlse which lay in store

2
 Combinations
The Rational Basis of Combination
"Methodtcal thinktng IS of more use in chess than mspirat,on:'
- C J. S Purdy
Chess 1s not a game of chance and, although ~t may appear occas~onallythat
c o m b ~ n a t ~ o narse
s by accident or through divine ntervention, t h e ~ true
r basls always
118sIn a positional or tactcal advantage. Tactcs w l l f l o w naturally from a superlor
p o s t ~ o n the
, c o m b ~ n a t o nb e ~ n gthe method by which such advantages are usually
turned to account

4 Fox's C u n n ~ n g
Fox-Casper ( s ~ t eand date unknown)
White to play
I n t h ~ sdiagram, w e have an exaggerated
example. White has an overwhelm~ngattack-
ing force w ~ t h nrange of Black's undefended
King, and just a cursory examination 1s needed
t o convlnce us he should w l n
Any 'normal' move such as 1 A d 4 or 1
E f 3 comes n t o cons~derat~on.1 Qxg7 1s
also worthy of examlnatlon. Best of all w o u l d
be the simple 1 t g 5 g6 2 Wf6 gxf5 3 P d 4 .
w l t h mate next move

W h ~ t e ' stask is easy, for h ~ sadvantage IS o b v ~ o u s Of such postions, F ~ n ewrote

that the combnation arises "as naturally as a baby's sm~le"
However, Fox chose a more circuitous and incredibly lngenlous route t o vlctory.
for ~t may be that he hked h s posltion so much that he w s h e d to prolong the game
a I ~ t t l e .He continued 1 k b 6 e x b 6 2 t g 6 (Bravo! Even n o w 2 t g 5 g6 3 t f 6
gxf5 4 i f 3 wlns more s~mply) 2 . hxg6 3 Q e 7 - h h 8 4 E f 3 Wc5 5 E d 5
resigns, because after 5 Wxd5 6 A x d 5 , mate follows next move by 7 E h3
l , showmanship
Object~vely,w e must be c r ~ t ~ c afor IS hardly to be recommended-
yet w e must adm~reWhite's splrlt of adventure

The Role of Memory

"He w h o has Imag!natton w ~ l h o u iearn~ng,
t has w ~ n g sand no feet "
-Joubert

The role of memory IS important In chess, perhaps exaggeratedly so n some areas

of the game While it is a moot point h o w much of combinational art is truly creative
and h o w much I S mere recollect~onor synthes~sof k n o w n ideas. it IS a fact that
certaln themes. I k e old fr~ends,return time and t m e aga~n-and a recognition of
such famllar faces is essent~alfor any degree of practcal success
The chess player should not be a slave to h ~ memory,
s yet he must be aware of
many common themes
 Blunders and Brilliancies
5 Themat~cPosition
R i c h t e r - A n o n . , B e r l i n 1930
Black to play
The d~agram llustrates t w o memorable
deas Black played 1 E h l + which, in
v e w of the fact that he was three pawnsdown,
was probably the best practical try n the
positon
After 2 Q x h l gxf2. ~t appears that White
was unable to prevent the pawn from queen-
n g . R~chter,however, had antclpated t h s r u r n
of events and rose to the occasion w ~ t h3
Ef5!1 Qxf5 4 g 4 + Qxg4 5 Q g 2
The student w ~ l be
l quite capable of learning from such examples and of uslng
the deas to good effect in h ~ sor her o w n games

The Fantasy Element

"
a lively tmagtnation can exercfse ftself most fully and creatively fn
conlurtng up magnificent combtnattons. "
- Tarrasch
The authors suspect that an exhaust~veapproach to either tultlon or study can
be self-defeat~ng,In that ~ttends to s t f e the element of fantasy and, perhaps more
important, the pleasure w h ~ c harlses from g ~ v n gfree rein t o the m a g ~ n a t ~ o Inn
order to turn theory Into practice, even the best-stocked memory w ~ l have
l t o Indulge
in the occas~onalleap of l m a g n a t o n Chess cannot be played by numbers nor, w e
beleve, should ~t be taught In that way
6 lmag~nat~on
H o i t - A n o n . (slte and date unknown)
Whtte to play
As can be seen, W h ~ t ewas a pawn u p
and could face the future with confidence.
However. the best method of proceeding was
not ~mmediatelyapparent After due thought,
H o ~ tbrought about a w ~ n n n gending w t h
the following nspired sequence 1 Wxh6 1 +
&xh6 2 E x d 6 + Wxd6 3 Q f 5 +
There are no hard and fast rules w h ~ c hcan
be appiied for the d~scovery of such latent
p o s s ~ b l t ~ e fs , there were. then chess would
have few surprises left to offer
In the f n a analysis, the player must rely on h ~ so w n ~ m a g n a t l o n
The above does not ~ n f e rthat there is a n y t h n g m y s t c a or mysterious about
combnational talent for, n r e a l t y the opposite I S more hkely to be true In most
cases, the assessment of a c o m b ~ n a t ~ o n 'soundness s w ~ depend
l on preclse
c a l c u l a t i o n s o m e t h ~ n gw h c h can undoubtedly be enhanced both by experence
and practce, and which owes more t o cold and ruthless loglc than to vague
fantaszlng In t h ~ srespect, mag in at on n chesij can be seen as a w i l ~ n g n e s st o
examlne the unobvous. ~f w e may coln a word 8
 Combinations
The Inquisitive M i n d
"We must despise our opponents strategically, yet respect them tactically ''
- Mao Tse Tung
In chess, a s u s p ~ c ~ o ums ~ n dcan be a virtue-and a very p o s ~ t v eone It rarely
pays to accept matters at face value for, h a v ~ n gfound a good move, the strong
player's f ~ r s lnstlnct
t should always be t o look for an even better one
Of course, not all combnatlons are successful
7 A Faulty C o m b ~ n a t o n
H a r t l a u b - A n o n . , B e r l i n 1913
Black to play
Black was a plece u p and In no ~ m m e d ~ a t e
danger Perhaps t h ~ slulled h ~ mInto a false
sense of securty, for he t r ~ e dt o increase h ~ s
advantage by way of a c o m b ~ n a t ~ o n w,h c h
proved to be faulty, t o w l n his opponent's
Queen
After the moves 1 k x b 2 2 P x b2
Q f 4 + 3 Qh2 Qxd3, Black was glven a
painful remnder of the need at all tlmes to
look one move deeper
There followed 4 P x g 7 1 Q t 18 5 P g 8 + (the move Black had not seen)
. . Q x g 8 6 E g l +, w i t h mate next move
Such inc~dents, ~ n v o l v n gthe pecul~arlyhuman element of error, can often be
particularly instructve-and they form the maln framework of t h s text.

Can a Mastery of Combinations be Taught?

"The pupil wants n o t so much to learn, as to learn h o w to learn "

--S Boden
The depth-and beauty-of a profound posltlonal manoeuvre may well be lost
on a but the greatest of players I n contrast, the p o n t of a Queen sacr~flcew h ~ c h .
by forced stages culm~nates In mate, will not be hard t o see Comb~nat~ons, by
v r t u e of their forced nature and ~ m m e d ~ a appeal,
te are often pleasant to study and
relat~velyeasy to understand
But can a mastery of combinat~onsbe taught, Surprslngly a number of emlnent
authorlt~eshave answered t h ~ squeston w t h a firm "No!", which may seem strange
However-and thls IS a m e d at the would-be teacher-the polnt IS s ~ m p l ythat the
pup11cannot be taught to see, he can only be encouraged to look
We leave the f ~ n a l word on the subject to, Kurt Richter, author of "Chess
Comb~nationas a Fine Art" and founder of "The Advanced School of Comb~nation":
'
w e have often stressed the point that combtnations do not lend
themselves to systemattc exposttton because of their variety and u n w i l -
ltngness to follow certatn rules A course of tnstruction on combinations
must therefore restrict itself to stimulating the tmagination of chess
players and guiding it along certatn lines But everyone must do his
o w n thinkingl"