Fide-Trainers-Commission-Advanced-Chess-School-Vol-3-Doubled & Backward Pawns PDF

FIDE Trainers’ Commission
Advanced Chess School

Volume 3
Doubled & Backward Pawns
Efstratios Grivas
Advanced Chess School - Volume 3 - Doubled & Backward Pawns - Efstratios Grivas 1
First Edition in PDF - 2014
English Copyright © FIDE 2014 (office@fide.com - www.fide.com)
Copyright © Efstratios Grivas 2014 (GrivasEfs@yahoo.co.uk - www.GrivasChess.com)
The rights of Efstratios Grivas to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted in
accordance with the International Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.
All rights reserved. This book is distributed for free to the FIDE certified and licenced trainers,
subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, sold, hired out or
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without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent owner.
Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty: FIDE makes no representation or warranties with
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ISBN-13: 978-618-81200-3-7
ISSN-13: 978-618-81200-2-0
Cover and drawings by Nicolas Sphicas

28...e2 (From the game Zukertort-Steinitz, New Orleans - World Championship Match 1886),
1992, oil on canvas, 100x70 cm
(sphicasnicolas@gmail.com-www.chess.gr/sphicas-www.logicalchess.com/info/graphics/sphicas)
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Commissioning Editor: Efstratios Grivas (www.GrivasChess.com)

Assistant Editors: Nicolas Sphicas and Vasilis Vrettos
Cover by Nicolas Sphicas
English Proofer: Kevin O’Connell (www.kochess.com)
Contents
Title-Description …………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Colophon …………………..……………………………………………………………………….. 2
Contents ……………………………………..…………………………………………….............. 3
Bibliography …..…………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Foreword - Kirsan Ilyumzhinov .…………………………...……………………………………. 4
Symbols ………………………………………………………………………..…………............... 4
Doubled Pawns ..…………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Terminology ………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
An Old Dispute ………………………..………………………………………………...………… 5
Positive Aspects …………... ………………………………………………………………………. 12
The c-pawns …………………………………………..……………………………………………. 12
The d-pawns ……………………………..…………………………………………………………. 19
The e-pawns ………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
The f-pawns ………………………………………... ……………………………………………... 24
Negative Aspects ..………………………………………………………………………………..... 26
The c-pawns …………………………………………..……………………………………………. 26
The d-pawns ……………………………..…………………………………………………………. 35
The e-pawns ………………………………………………………………………………………… 37
The f-pawns ………………………………………... ……………………………………………... 41
Various Doubled Pawns …………………………………………….…………………………..... 43
Tripled Pawns ……………..……………………………………………………………………….. 46
The Backward Pawn ...…………………………………………………………………………..... 51
Terminology .….…………………………………………………………………………………..... 51
The Old Approach …….…………………………………………………………………………… 51
The Modern Approach …………………………………………………………………………..... 51
The Semi-Backward Pawn .……………………………………………………………………..... 52
The Sicilian Theme …………….………………………………………………………………….. 60
The Really ‘Bad’ Backward Pawn ..…………………………………….................................. 64
The Backward c-pawn …………………………………………………………………………..... 64
The Backward d-pawn …………………………………………………………………………..... 70
The Backward e-pawn …………………………………………………………………………..... 73
Backward and Isolated ..…………………………………………….…………………………..... 74
Weak Backward Prevails! .……………………………………………………………………….. 76
Index of Games ..…………………………………………………………………………………… 79
CV - Efstratios Grivas ……..……………………………………………………………………… 80
Bibliography
Chess College 2: Pawn Play; Efstratios Grivas; Gambit 2006
Chess for Tigers; Simon Webb; Oxford University Press 1978
Chess Today (Internet Newspaper); Alexander Baburin; 2006-2013
ChessBase Mega Database; Various Contributors; ChessBase 2013
Informator; Various Contributors; Informator 1966-2013
Modern Chess Planning; Efstratios Grivas; Gambit 2007
My System; Aaron Nimzowitsch; Hays Publications 1991
New In Chess (Magazine & Yearbook); Various Contributors; Interchess BV 1984-2013
Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy; John Watson; Gambit 1998
Foreword
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Chess has existed as a sport played at a competitive level for centuries. The common code
governing the Laws of Chess is relatively recent, and the foundation of Fédération Internationale
des Échecs (FIDE), in Paris in 1924, is even more modern. FIDE currently has 182 member
federations spread across all continents. Titles for players were introduced by FIDE in 1950, and
titles for Arbiters and Organizers followed. From 2005 we are moving to a new phase, with titles
for Trainers.
Chess is on the increase in schools across the world. It is part of the mainstream curriculum in
many countries. It is a goal of FIDE to make chess an educational tool, and generate worldwide
popularity for the game. Examples of the many educational advantages of chess are: shows the
need to make people realize the importance of advance planning; develops analytic and accurate
thinking; shows the necessity for a combative spirit; teaches fair play and emphasizes the need for
preparation and hard work for success. However, with the increasing population of chess players,
comes the need for trainers to assist with their development.
This is a new concept of the ever-active FIDE Trainers’ Commission. This series is dedicated to
advanced subjects, consisting of 80-page books. We do hope that we will be able to deliver 3-4
such books annually, increasing the level and the education of our trainers worldwide. This series
will provide excellent manuals for trainers and fulfils a considerable need in modern chess
literature, concentrating on the technical side of the game, but also covering various other topics
and providing information. The best trainers will contribute to this series, which will be an
essential tool in the preparation of trainers at all levels for the future. It will ensure that the next
generation of players will be at a great advantage over those that have gone before.
Symbols
+ check =equal position
++ double check ÷ unclear position
# checkmate ° with compensation
!! brilliant move ³ Black is slightly better
! good move μ Black has a large advantage
!? interesting move + Black is winning
?! dubious move 1-0 the game ends in a win for White
? bad move ½-½ the game ends in a draw
?? blunder 0-1 the game ends in a win for Black
+ White is winning (D) see next diagram
± White has a large advantage ○ White to play
² White is slightly better ● Black to play
Doubled Pawns
Terminology can reach some conclusions regarding the
Doubled pawns are those pawns of the doubled pawns. The advantages they offer
same army that lie on the same file. These are control of important squares and one
pawns can be classified in four main additional semi-open file. Their main
categories: disadvantage is their vulnerability when they
1. Flank doubled isolated pawns: their are attacked by the opponent; this vulnerabi-
positive aspects are usually short-term and lity becomes obvious (as in all cases
consist of the strengthening of squares, the regarding pawn structures) in the endgame.
additional semi-open file they create and The creation of doubled pawns, with all its
active play for the pieces. In the long term advantages and disadvantages, must not be
these pawns constitute a serious weakness, part of an exchange with other positional
as they display every single aspect of a weak concessions that could possibly harm our
pawn structure. Overall, such pawns usually position irreparably. The careful examination
are a liability and one is advised to avoid and complete evaluation of our possibilities
them. Still, there are some exceptions, most and plans must be the governing factor in
notably in the ‘Sicilian Defence’, where the making any decisions regarding pawn
side taking on such pawns obtains other structures.
concrete counterbalancing advantages. In general, the strategic element of
2. Flank doubled pawns: these are often doubled pawns is a very sensitive subject
beneficial for the owner, as they offer an and only experience derived from practice
additional semi-open file and direct their can enable us to understand when to employ
power towards the centre. Moreover, taking it and when to avoid it. Our decisions should
into account that they are part of a pawn be greatly influenced by the examination of
complex, they are able to support and be the rest of our pawn structure, as well as the
supported by other pawns harmoniously. harmonious disposition of our army in its
3. Central doubled isolated pawns: the entirety.
advantages and disadvantages of flank
doubled isolated pawns apply, with one An Old Dispute
significant difference, that these pawns now One of the earliest disputes in the theory of
control important central squares; this is a doubled pawns had to do with the ‘Exchange
short-term benefit but can often prove of Variation’ of the ‘Ruy Lopez’: 1.e4 e5
decisive importance. In the long term these 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 dxc6 (D)
pawns become weak and are easy targets in XABCDEFGHY
an endgame. Just as with flank pawns, the
square in front of them becomes an outpost 8r+lwqkvlntr(
for the opponent, carrying with it all the
normal headaches for the owner of the
7+pzp-+pzpp'
doubled pawns. 6p+p+-+-+&
4. Central doubled pawns: the most
popular form of doubled pawns, as it not 5+-+-zp-+-%
only occurs most often but also has 4-+-+P+-+$
significant merits (control of central squares,
semi-open file, mutual support between the 3+-+-+N+-#
pawns) while its negative aspects are
minimal and are usually only encountered in
2PzPPzP-zPPzP"
the endgame, where these pawns may 1tRNvLQmK-+R!
become vulnerable.
Taking the above into consideration we xabcdefghy
This opening often leads to a queenless be the main line. With the text move, Black
middle game, pitting White’s static plans to castle kingside, as he believed that
advantage (his opponent’s doubled c-pawns) his king ought to remain on the weaker side,
against Black’s dynamic ones (the bishop to oppose later the advance of White's
pair and an extra semi-open file). pawns. But Black later found ways to
This is a clear example of the opposition enhance his bishop pair by castling queen-
of static and dynamic strategy, which rules side and then opening lines.
modern chess evaluation. 8.Nc3 Ne7 9.0-0 0-0 10.f4
To start with, we will examine one of the Capablanca criticized the text move, as it
most important and famous games in the leaves the e-pawn weak.
history of chess battles: 10...Re8
Later Dr. Tarrasch suggested a ‘better’ line:
□ Lasker Emanuel 10...f5 11.e5 Lc5 12.Le3 Lxd4 13.Lxd4
■ Capablanca Jose Raul b6 and despite White's strong passed pawn,
C68 St Petersburg 1914 Black has enough defensive resources. So
(Notes based on those of Garry Kasparov) strong was the impression of Lasker's
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 original plan that the commentators tried to
A very surprising choice. The 'Exchange improve Black's play at the earliest possible
Variation' of the 'Ruy Lopez' was a stage! But Capablanca was right in his
dangerous weapon in Lasker's hands. But assessment: Black had little to worry about.
nobody in the audience or amongst the 11.Nb3
participants believed that this quiet opening 11.e5 Lc5 12.Le3 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5
would work against Capablanca, whose would be fine for Black.
excellent technique was already widely 11...f6 (D)
recognized. With the charming self-confi- XABCDEFGHY
dence of youth, Jose Raul unfortunately
shared this misconception and did not 8r+l+r+k+(
recognize Lasker's real intentions.
4...dxc6 5.d4 7+pzp-sn-zpp'
Now Lasker is in a hurry to open the 6p+pvl-zp-+&
position for his knight pair...
5...exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 5+-+-+-+-%
Even the queens are off the board. Is this the 4-+-+PzP-+$
way to play for a win in the decisive game?
Keep in mind that in the 'Exchange 3+NsN-+-+-#
Variation' the bishop pair can be very useful
to Black, but White has a pawn majority on
2PzPP+-+PzP"
the kingside. Capablanca comments: 'For 1tR-vL-+RmK-!
many years, the great Lasker considered that
this position was theoretically won for White xabcdefghy
because of White's preponderance of pawns 12.f5!?
on the kingside. It is true that if all the pieces Under the classical rules of the Steinitz
were to be exchanged... White should win... positional school, this move has to be
His famous predecessor, Steinitz, on the damned. White gets a weak and backward
other hand, never had any faith in the pawn on e4, Black a stronghold on e5, with
efficacy of this system. He maintained that a devaluation of White's pawn advantage on
with the two bishops and free game Black the kingside - too many negative points for
had more than enough compensation... I am just one move. But Lasker's eagle eye had
inclined to agree with Steinitz'. seen much further. 'It has been wrongly
L
7... d6 claimed that this wins the game, but I would
Nowadays the move 7...Ld7 is supposed to like nothing better than to have such a
position again - Capablanca'. axb4 26.axb4 Rae7?!
12...b6! A sad retreat. It would be better (and at least
And here 12...Ld7 13.Lf4 Rad8 was more active) to play 26...Ra3 followed by
recommended by stern post-mortem analysts. ...Nb6-c4.
But obviously the bishop is better placed on 27.Kf3 Rg8 28.Kf4
b7, where it attacks the pawn on e4. The 28.Rg1 would be more accurate...
other option was 12...g5!? 13.fxg6 Nxg6 28...g6
14.Rxf6 Le5 15.Rf2 Lxc3 16.bxc3 Rxe4 As now the immediate 28...g5+ should have
17.Lg5 =. been tried.
13.Lf4 Lb7?! 29.Rg3 g5+
An inaccuracy. In general Black should be The last move to be criticized by the
happy to undouble his c-pawns, but here the annotators. But it's too late for good advice.
pawn on d6 will become a permanent 29...gxf5 doesn't offer any relief: 30.exf5 d5
weakness. Necessary was 13...Lxf4! 14.Rxf4 31.g5! hxg5+ 32.hxg5 fxg5+ 33.Nxg5+
c5! 15.Rd1 Lb7 16.Rf2 Rad8 (16...Rac8!? Kf8 34.f6 Ra7 35.Ke5! +.
with the idea ...Nc6-e5) 17.Rfd2 (17.Rxd8 30.Kf3 Nb6
Rxd8 18.Rd2 Rxd2 19.Nxd2 Nc6 =) A desperate try.
17...Rxd2 18.Rxd2 Nc6 19.Rd7 Rc8 and 31.hxg5 hxg5 32.Rh3!
after ...Ne5 Black is fine. This plan was Lasker continues to execute his plan without
recommended by Capablanca - but alas, only any diversions. 32.Rxd6 would have given
after the game was over. John Watson quotes: Black some extra breathing time: 32...Nc4
'With modern eyes, all this seems almost 33.Rd1 Rh8.
self-evidently true; and yet for years, com- 32...Rd7
mentators have claimed that White had a The knight is chained to the b6-square. After
large or even winning advantage after 12.f5!?' 32...Nc4 33.Ra1 the combined invasion of
14.Lxd6 cxd6 15.Nd4 Rad8?! the white rooks on the a- and h-files demo-
Capablanca doesn't take White's plan lished Black's defence.
seriously. The knight on e6 will be a bone in 33.Kg3
the throat. So 15...Lc8 was obligatory. The final preparation.
Maybe the Cuban was too proud to recognize 33...Ke8 34.Rdh1 Lb7 (D)
his mistake so soon.
16.Ne6 Rd7 17.Rad1 Nc8
XABCDEFGHY
Interesting was 17...c5 but White keeps the 8-+-+k+r+(
advantage after 18.Rf3! (18.Nd5 Lxd5
19.exd5 b5 20.Rf3 ² or 18.Rf2?! d5 7+l+r+-+-'
19.exd5 Nxd5 20.Nxd5 Rxd5 21.Rfd2 6-snpzpNzp-+&
Rxf5 22.Rd8 Rxd8 23.Rxd8+ Kf7
24.Rd7+ Kxe6 25.Rxb7 =) 18...Kf7 (18... 5+p+-+Pzp-%
d5?! 19.Rg3 g5 20.fxg6 hxg6 21.exd5 ±) 4-zP-+P+P+$
19.Kf2.
18.Rf2 b5 19.Rfd2 Rde7 20.b4 Kf7 3+-sN-+-mKR#
21.a3 La8? 2-+P+-+-+"
The question mark is deserved, not by the
move, but for the idea to open the a-file, 1+-+-+-+R!
which can be used effectively only by the
white rooks. Of course Black has lost the
xabcdefghy
strategical battle, but an exchange sacrifice 35.e5!
21...Rxe6 22.fxe6+ Rxe6 would have For 23 moves (after 12.f5!?) Black hasn't
given him the best fighting chances. been able to prevent this pawn from going
22.Kf2 Ra7 23.g4 h6 24.Rd3 a5 25.h4 ahead!
35...dxe5 36.Ne4 Nd5 37. N6c5 Lc8 15.axb6 cxb6 16.e5 (16.Lf4 Le7 leads to
38.Nxd7 Lxd7 39.Rh7 Rf8 40.Ra1 nowhere) 16...Le7 17.Rxd8 Lxd8 18.Ne4
Painful punishment for the mistake on move Lxb3 19.Nd6+ Kc6 20.cxb3 Ne7 21.Rxa6
24. Lc7 22.exf6 Lxd6 23.fxe7 Lxe7 = or by
40...Kd8 41.Ra8+ Lc8 42.Nc5 15.Na4 Nh6! 16.axb6 cxb6 17.Lxc5 Lxb3
Black resigned, and the old chess wizard 18.Rxd6 Rxd6 19.Lxd6 Lxc2 =.
Lasker had become the winner of this 15...Le7
historic contest. The psychological effect of Black cannot feel satisfied with alternatives
this brilliant victory was long-lasting. A like 15...fxe5? 16.axb6 cxb6 17.Ne4 Le7
shaken Capablanca lost with White in the (17...Lxb3 18.Nxd6+ Kc6 19.cxb3 Rxd6
next round to Dr. Tarrasch. And even seven 20.Rxd6+ Kxd6 21.Rxa6 Nf6 22.Rxb6+
years later, in his World Championship Kd5 23.Rb7 g6 24.Rc7 +–) 18.Rxd8 Lxd8
match against Lasker, he never played 3...a6 19.Nbxc5+ +– or 15...Lxb3? 16.exd6 Lxc2
in the 'Ruy Lopez'! 17.Rdc1 Lg6 18.dxc7 +–.
1-0 16.Rxd8 Lxd8 17.Ne4 (D)
So, actually the test was passed by White,

XABCDEFGHY
but only when Black decided to help! In our 8-+-vl-+ntr(
next example a similar case can be seen -
Black gave a helpful hand as well! 7+kzp-+-zpp'
□ Fischer Robert
6pzp-+lzp-+&
■ Spassky Boris 5zP-zp-zP-+-%
C69 Belgrade 1992
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 dxc6
4-+-+N+-+$
5.0-0 f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 c5 8.Nb3 3+N+-vLP+-#
Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Lg4 10.f3 Le6 11.Nc3
Ld6 12.Le3 b6 13.a4 0-0-0 14.a5 Kb7 2-zPP+-+PzP"
(D) 1tR-+-+-mK-!
XABCDEFGHY xabcdefghy
8-+-tr-+ntr( With the threat 18.Nbxc5+ bxc5 19.Nxc5+,
7+kzp-+-zpp' winning. 17.axb6?! has been proved clearly
inferior: 17...cxb6 18.Ne4 (18.Lxc5 Nh6!
6pzp-vllzp-+& [18...Lxb3 19.Lf8 Nh6 20.Lxg7 Rg8
21.Lxh6 Lxc2 °] 19.Ld6 Nf7 20.Nd4
5zP-zp-+-+-% Lc8 ÷) 18...Lxb3 19.Nd6+ (19.cxb3 Ne7
4-+-+P+-+$ 20.exf6 gxf6 21.Nxf6 Nf5 22.Nd5 Nxe3
3+NsN-vLP+-# 23.Nxe3 Lf6 °) 19...Kc6 20.cxb3 Ne7
21.Rxa6 Nd5 ½-½ Adorjan,A-Ivkov,B
2-zPP+-+PzP" Skopje 1976.
17...Kc6?
1tR-+R+-mK-! A blunder. Black had to opt for 17...Lxb3!?
xabcdefghy 18.cxb3 Ne7 (18...f5? 19.Rd1 Le7 20.Ng3
In this game, a different approach has been g6 21.axb6 cxb6 22.Rd7+ Kc6 23.Ra7 a5
used. White has created a dangerous 24.Ra8 ±) 19.axb6 cxb6 20.exf6 (20.Nd6+
initiative on the queenside, but still it seems Kc6 21.Rxa6 Nd5 =) 20...gxf6 21.Rd1!
that Black's defence is satisfactory. (21.Nxf6 Nf5 22.Nd5 Nxe3 23.Nxe3
15.e5! Lf6 °) 21...Nf5 22.Lf2 Kc6 23.g4 ².
Best by test! Not much is achieved by It must be noted that other moves are also
playable: 17...Le7 18.axb6 (18.Lxc5 Lxb3 1993.
19.Lxe7 Nxe7 [19...Lxc2? 20.Lf8 +–] 9...exd4
20.cxb3 fxe5 21.axb6 Kxb6! =) 18...Lxb3 Probably best. 9...Ng6?! proved better for
(18...cxb6? 19.Lxc5 Lxb3 20.Lxe7 Nxe7 White after 10.c4 exd4 11.Nxd4 Ne5 12.c5
[20...Lxc2? 21.Lf8 +–] 21.cxb3 fxe5 Qd7 13.Nxe6 Qxe6 14.h3 0-0-0 15.Qc2 in
22.Nd6+ Kb8 23.Rxa6 ±) 19.cxb3 cxb6 Glek,I-Mainka,R Lippstadt 1992.
20.Nd6+ (20.Rd1!? fxe5 21.Rd7+ Kc6 10.Nxd4 Lf7 11.Qe2 c5 12. N4b3 b6 (D)
22.Ra7 a5 23.Ra8 °) 20...Lxd6 21.exd6
Nh6 (21...f5? 22.b4! cxb4 23.Rc1 ±)
XABCDEFGHY
22.Lxh6 gxh6 23.Re1 ² or 17...Ld5!? 8r+-+kvl-tr(
18.axb6 cxb6 19.Nd6+ (19.Rd1 Ne7 7+-zp-snlzpp'
20.exf6 gxf6 21.Nxf6 Lxb3 22.cxb3 Nf5
23.Nd5 Nxe3 24.Nxe3 Lf6 °) 19...Kc6 6pzp-wq-zp-+&
20.c4 fxe5 21.Lxc5! ². 5+-zp-+-+-%
18.axb6 cxb6 19.Nbxc5!
This is what Black probably missed. 4-+-+P+-+$
19...Lc8 3+N+-vL-+-#
Or 19...bxc5 20.Rxa6+ Kd5 21.Lf4! (21.
Nxc5 Ne7 22.b3 +–) 21...Ld7 22.Rd6+ 2PzPPsNQzPPzP"
Kc4 23.b3+ Kb5 24.Nc3+ Ka5 25.Ld2
+–.
1tR-+-+RmK-!
20.Nxa6 fxe5?! xabcdefghy
20...Lxa6 21.Rxa6 fxe5 22.Ra3 was any- 13.a4
way curtains but Black should have tried it. Alternatives are:
21.Nb4+ a) 13.f4 Qc6 14.f5 a5 15.Rad1 0-0-0
Black resigned due to 21...Kb5 (21...Kc7 16.Nc4 ÷ Milu,R-Sofronie,I Predeal 1997.
22.Ra7+ Lb7 [22...Kb8 23.Nc6 #] b) 13.Rad1 Qc6 14.Nf3 Qxe4 15.Rfe1
23.Rxb7+ Kxb7 24.Nd6+ Kc7 25.Nf7 +–) Ld5 16.Qd2 0-0-0 17.Lxc5 Qc4 18.Lxe7
22.Nd6+ Kxb4 23.Ra3 Nf6 24.c3 #. A Lxe7 ÷ Meijers,V-Koneru,H Differdange
brutal game!
2007.
1-0
13...a5 14.Nc4?!
An inaccuracy. White's main alternative was
Well, of course things are not always so
14.f4!? although Black should also feel OK
rosy for White, as we might think after the
after 14...Nc6 15.Rad1 (15.e5?! fxe5 16.fxe5
previous two examples. In this notorious Qe6! [16...Nxe5? 17.Lf4 +– or 16...Qxe5?
‘Exchange Variation’ Black has his own
share of success, as statistics and games 17.Rae1 ±] 17.Nf3 Le7 18.Lg5 0-0 19.
Lxe7 Qxe7 20.Qe4 Nb4 μ) 15...Le7 16.f5
have proven:
Ne5 17.Nf3 ÷ and should be preferred.
□ Rozentalis Eduardas 14...Qc6 15.Nbd2 g6 16.Lf4 Lg7 17.Ne3
■ Timman Jan 0-0-0!
C68 Yerevan 1996 An ambitious try. The ‘natural’ continuation
N N L L
1.e4 e5 2. f3 c6 3. b5 a6 4. xc6 dxc6 was 17...0-0 18.Rfd1 Rad8 19.f3 Rfe8 ÷.
5.0-0 Qd6 6.d3 f6 7.Le3 Le6 8.Nbd2 18.Rad1 Rhe8 19.b3 g5 20.Lg3 Lg6
Ne7 9.d4 21.f4
An interesting alternative is 9.b4!? b6 About forced. The bishop pair comes into
10.Qb1 Ng6 11.c3 Le7 12.a4 0-0 13.a5 c5 action after 21.f3 f5 22.exf5 Nxf5 23.Qa6+
14.axb6 cxb6 15.bxc5 bxc5 16.Nc4 Lxc4 Qb7 24.Qxb7+ Kxb7 25.Nxf5 Lxf5
17.dxc4 Qe6 18.Nd2 Rab8 19.Qc2 Rfd8 26.Ne4 Ld4+ 27.Kh1 g4 μ.
= Rovid,K-Karpatchev,A Capelle La Grande 21...gxf4 22.Lxf4 Kb7
22...Lxe4? 23.Nxe4 Qxe4 24.Qg4+ +–. 38.cxb3 Re3 39.Rxe3 (39.Kg2 Nd3 –+)
23.Qf3 Rd4! (D) 39...Rxe3 40.Kf2 Rxb3 41.Ra1 Rxa3
XABCDEFGHY 42.Rxa3 e1Q+ 43.Kxe1 Nc2+.
38...Re3
8-+-+r+-+( 38...Na6 39.Rf3 Nc5 –+.
7+kzp-sn-vlp' 39.Rxe3 Rxe3 40.Nc4 Rc3 41.Ne5
Rxc2
6-zpq+-zpl+& More precise was the immediate 41...b5!
42.Nxg6 bxa4 43.Nf4 Rxc2 –+.
5zp-zp-+-+-% 42.Kf2 b5 43.axb5
4P+-trPvL-+$ Or 43.Rxe2 bxa4 44.Rxc2 Nxc2 45.Nd3
(45.Nc4 a3 –+) 45...a3 46.Nc1 a4 47.Ke2
3+P+-sNQ+-# Nb4 48.Kd2 a2 49.Nxa2 Nxa2 –+.
2-+PsN-+PzP" 43...a4 44.Ra1 Na2! 45.h4 Nc3 (D)
1+-+R+RmK-! XABCDEFGHY
xabcdefghy 8-mk-+-+-+(
24.Nec4 f5! 7+-zp-+-+-'
Black did not fall for the mousetrap: 6-+-+-+p+&
24...Lxe4? 25.Nxe4 Rxe4 (25...Qxe4?!
26.Qxe4+ Rxe4 27.Rd7 +–) 26.Rd6! 5+P+-sN-+-%
(26.Nd6+? cxd6 27.Rxd6 Rxf4 28.Qxf4
Ng6! [28...Qc7? 29.Rfd1 +–] 29.Qd2 4p+-+-+-zP$
Re2! 30.Rd7+ Kb8 31.Rd8+ Kc7 3+-sn-+-zP-#
32.Qxe2 Kxd8 33.Qh5 Ke7 34.Qxh7
Kf7 ³) 26...cxd6 (26...Rxf4 27.Qxf4 cxd6 2-+r+pmK-+"
28.Nxd6+ Ka8 29.Nxe8 Qxe8 30.Qc7 ±) 1tR-+-+-+-!
27.Nxd6+ Ka7 28.Nxe8 Nf5 29.Qg4
Rxe8 30.Qxf5 Re2 31.Rf3 ±. xabcdefghy
25.Le5!? 46.Nd3
As 25.exf5 Nxf5 26.Qxc6+ Kxc6 μ is White should have tried 46.Nxg6 a3 47.h5
quite bad for White, the latter tried to give as Black had to find the 'proper' continuation
up a pawn in order to put up a more stubborn with 47...Rd2! (47...a2? 48.h6 Ne4+
defence. 49.Ke3! [49.Ke1? Ng5 50.Ne5 Rb2 –+]
25...fxe4 26.Qe2 Lxe5 27.Nxe5 Qe6 49...Nf6 50.Nf4 =) 48.Nf4 Ne4+ 49.Ke1
28.Ndc4?! Rd1+ 50.Rxd1 exd1Q+ 51.Kxd1 a2 –+.
The last mistake. White was obliged to go 46...Rd2 47.Ne1 Rd4 48.Rc1
for 28.Nxg6 Nxg6 29.c3 Rd5 30.Rde1, 48.Kf3 Rd1 49.Ra3 Nb1 –+.
where he still would have chances to save 48...Ne4+ 49.Kxe2 Nxg3+ 50.Kf3 Nf5
the game. 51.h5 gxh5 52.Rc5 Nd6 53.Rxh5 a3
28...Nd5! 29.Rde1 e3 30.g3 54.Nc2 Rc4 55.Rh2 Rc3+ 56.Kf4 Nxb5
30.Qf3 Lxc2 31.Rxe3 Ld1! –+. 57.Ke4 Kb7 58.Ne3 c6
30...Re4 31.Nxg6 hxg6 0-1
White is lost and the rest of the game was a
desperate struggle for him. □ Nikolaidis Ioannis
32.Qf3 Kb8 33.Qf7 e2! 34.Rf3 Qxf7 ■ Grivas Efstratios
35.Rxf7 Nb4 36.Na3 c4! 37.Rf3 C68 Athens 2006
37.bxc4 Re3 –+. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 dxc6
37...cxb3 38.Rxb3 5.Nc3 Lg4
This is quite 'fair': Black keeps the d4 much problem. He kept the d4 advance
advance under control, by returning the efficiently under control and the closed
bishop pair. character of the position does not help the
6.h3 Lxf3 7.Qxf3 Ne7 white bishop.
Also playable is 7...Qf6 8.Qxf6 Nxf6 9.d3 14.f4
Lc5 10.Ne2 Rd8 11.f4 exf4 12.Lxf4 A logical try. The alternative 14.a4 a5 15.g3
Rd7 13.Le5 Le7 14.Ng3 Ld6 15.Lxd6 0-0 16.f4?! was not 'ideal': 16...exf4 17.gxf4
cxd6 16.0-0 0-0 = Georgiev,Kr-Grivas,E f5 ³.
Kavala 1990. 14...exf4 15.Lxf4 Nxf4 16.Rxf4
8.d3 Ng6 9.Le3 Lb4 10.a3 Or 16.Qxf4 Qxf4 17.Rxf4 f6 18.e5 fxe5
An interesting idea. White refrains from an 19.Re1 Rf8 20.Rxe5+ Kd7 =.
'early' castling: 10.0-0 Lxc3 11.bxc3 0-0 16...0-0 17.Rf5 Rae8 18.Kh1!?
12.g3 Qd7 13.Lc5 Rfe8 14.Qg4 Qxg4 The other option was 18.Raf1 c4 19.Rg5
15.hxg4 h6 16.f4 Nf8 17.Kg2 b6 18.Le3 g6 20.e5 Rxe5 21.Rxe5 Qxe5 22.Qxc4 b5
c5 19.Kf3 f6 20.a4 a5 = Topalov,V- 23.Qd4 Qxd4+ 24.cxd4 Rd8 25.Rf4 f5 =.
Grivas,E Kavala 1990. 18...Re7!?
10...Lxc3+ 11.bxc3 18...Re5 19.Qf4 Rxf5 20.Qxd6 cxd6
Now, both sides have to deal with their 21.exf5 Rb8 22.a4 =.
doubled pawns structures! 19.c4 Qd4 20.Raf1 Qc3! 21.e5?
11...Qd6! A critical mistake. White had to care about
Now, the immediate 11...0-0? would be his queenside pawns and defend with
wrong as after 12.h4! White gets too much 21.Qg5 f6 22.Qc1 =.
activity: 12...Qd6 13.h5 Ne7 14.h6 g6 21...g6?
15.c4 f5 (15...c5? 16.Lxc5! +–) 16.c5 Qf6 Black returns the favour. Of course
17.Rb1 ±. 21...Rfe8?! 22.Qf4! Rf8 23.Qh4 Rfe8 =
12.Qg4 or 21...Rxe5? 22.Rxf7 Rxf7 23.Qc8+ +–
The alternatives were 12.h4 h5 13.Qf5 c5 were not adequate options, but he should
14.a4 a5 15.g3 b6 16.0-0 Qd7 = and 12.d4 have accepted the challenge with 21...Qxc2!
c5! (12...0-0!? 13.h4 f5 14.exf5 Ne7 15.g4 22.Qg5 (22.e6 f6 23.Rd5 Qa4! 24.Rd7
Nd5 °) 13.dxc5 Qc6 14.0-0 Ne7 15.Rad1 Rxd7 25.exd7 Qc6! [25...Rd8? 26.Qe6+
0-0 =. Kf8 27.Rxf6+ gxf6 28.Qxf6+ +–] 26.Re1
12...c5 13.0-0 b6 (D) f5 27.Qxf5 Rxf5 28.d8Q+ Rf8 μ) 22...
Rfe8! (22...Ree8?! 23.e6 f6 24.Rxf6 Rxf6
XABCDEFGHY 25.Rxf6 Qxd3 26.Rf7 Qd4 27.Rd7 Qf6
8r+-+k+-tr( 28.Qxf6 gxf6 29.Rxc7 Rxe6 30.Rb7 =)
7+-zp-+pzpp' 23.e6 h6 24.exf7+ Rxf7 25.Qg6 Rfe7
26.Rf7 Qb2 μ.
6pzp-wq-+n+& 22.e6!
22.Qg5? Re6 (22...Rfe8? 23.Qf4 gxf5
5+-zp-zp-+-% 24.Qg5+ =) 23.R1f2 Qxa3 μ. But now
4-+-+P+Q+$ White's counterplay on the kingside is good
enough to compensate for his problems on
3zP-zPPvL-+P# the queenside.
2-+P+-zPP+" 22...f6
22...Rxe6 23.Rxf7 Rxf7 24.Qxe6 Qg7
1tR-+-+RmK-! 25.c3 Qf8 =.
xabcdefghy 23.Rd5 Rfe8
Interesting was 23...f5 but White can find
Black should feel happy with the opening enough compensation after 24.Qe2!? (24.
outcome, as he was able to equalize without Rdxf5 Rxf5 25.Rxf5 Qe1+ [25...Qxc2?
26.Qg5! +–] 26.Kh2 Qxe6 27.Rd5! [27. 30.Ra1 c4 31.Raa7 Rxd7 32.exd7 Rd8 =.
Rf2?! Qxg4 28.hxg4 Re1 μ] 27...Qxg4 30...Rxe6 31.Rxc5 b4 32.Rc4 Rb6
28.hxg4 =) 24...Rfe8 25.Re5 Qxa3 26.g4! 33.Rc7 Rf8! 34.Re1
due to his passed e-pawn and his major piece A last try. The alternative was 34.Rxf8+
activity. Kxf8 35.Rxh7 b3 36.cxb3 Rxb3 37.Rd7
24.Qg3 Rb2 38.Kh2 Re2 39.Kg3 e4 40.dxe4
Or 24.Qf4 f5 (24...Rxe6 25.Qxc7 f5 Rxe4 =.
26.Rd7 Re1 27.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 28.Kh2 34...Rb5 35.Re7 b3
Qe5+ 29.Qxe5 Rxe5 =) 25.Rd7 Qf6 35...Rf2! 36.Ra1 Rf7 = was more accurate,
26.Rxe7 Rxe7 27.Re1 Rxe6 28.Rxe6 but anyway Black is not in any great trouble.
Qxe6 29.Qxc7 =. 36.cxb3
24...c6 White could win a pawn with 36.c4 although
Maybe more accurate was 24...Rxe6 the ending is a theoretical draw after 36...
25.Qxc7 R8e7 26.Rd8+ Kf7 27.Qb8 Rb4 37.R7xe5 Rd8 38.R5e3 b2 39.Rb1
(27.Qc8? Re1 28.Rf8+ Kg7 29.Rg8+ Rb3 40.Re2 Rdxd3 41.Rexb2 Rxb2 42.
Kh6 30.Qf8+ Kg5 –+ or 27.Rd7 Qxc2 Rxb2 Rc3.
28.Rxe7+ Rxe7 29.Qxb6 =) 27...Re1 36...Rxb3 37.Re3 Rd8 38.Rf3 Rf8!
28.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 29.Kh2 Qe5+ 30.Qxe5 39.Re3 Rd8 40.R3xe5 Rbxd3 41.Rb5
fxe5 31.Rb8 Re6 32.Rb7+ Kg8 33.Kg3 R3d7 42.Rb7
e4 =. A rather correct game (barring the mutual
25.Rd7 mistakes on move 21) which I would call 'a
25.Rd6 Rxe6 (25...Qe5 26.Qxe5 fxe5 battle of the major pieces'.
27.Rb1 Rxe6 28.Rxe6 Rxe6 29.Rxb6 e4 ½-½
30.Kg1 exd3 31.cxd3 Rd6 32.Rxa6 Rxd3 So, actually, after all the previous
33.Rxc6 Rxa3 34.Rxc5 Ra2 =) 26.Rxe6 examples, no definite answer has been
Rxe6 27.Qb8+ Kg7 28.Qxb6 Qxc2
given; the dispute will go on, probably for
29.Qc7+ Kh6 30.Qf4+ =. ever. That’s the nature of the beast...
25...Qe5 26.Qxe5 fxe5 27.a4 (D)
Positive Aspects
XABCDEFGHY We will move to more specific categories
8-+-+r+k+( of the doubled pawns, starting with their
positive aspects. We will go further with our
7+-+Rtr-+p' categorization; examining separately each
6pzpp+P+p+& case of doubled pawns according to the file
on which they lie.
5+-zp-zp-+-% Well, of course we will focus mainly on
the central files’ doubled pawns (c, d, e and
4P+P+-+-+$ f), as these are the most important and
3+-+P+-+P# instructional cases, according to what was
already described in the terminology.
2-+P+-+P+" It must be said that I do not find any
1+-+-+R+K! particular differences in doubled pawns
according to the files on which they exist.
xabcdefghy My experience and the examination of the
27...b5! various examples can easily prove that the
Well played! After the inaccurate 27... pros and cons are nearly identical.
Rxe6?! 28.Rff7 White's activity on the 7th
The c-pawns
rank surely compensates for his small This is the case which is probably the most
material deficit. common in practice, so we must have the
28.axb5 axb5 29.cxb5 cxb5 30.Rd5 big majority of examples.
We will start with a very peculiar game, have opted for 14...0-0 15.Nd5 Qd6
which on first sight is hard to ‘understand’ 16.Lf4 La6 17.Qa4 Na5 18.Rad1 Rae8
and accept... 19.Le2 ÷.
□ Lilienthal Andor 15.Le2 Lxe2 16.Qxe2 f6 17.Nd5 Qf7
■ Smyslov Vassily Black could also think of 17...Qb7
E26 Parnu 1947 18.Qh5+ Ng6 19.g4!? 0-0 20.g5 fxg5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.e3 c5 5.a3 21.Lxg5 Nce5 ÷.
Lxc3+ 6.bxc3 Nc6 7.Ld3 b6 8.Ne2 d6 18.Lf4 0-0 19.Lxe5 Nxe5 (D)
9.e4 Nd7 10.0-0 e5 11.f4 Qe7 (D) XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-trk+(
8r+l+k+-tr( 7zp-+-+qzpp'
7zp-+nwqpzpp' 6-zp-+-zp-+&
6-zpnzp-+-+& 5+-zpNsn-+-%
5+-zp-zp-+-% 4-+P+P+-+$
4-+PzPPzP-+$ 3zP-zP-+-+-#
3zP-zPL+-+-# 2-+-+Q+PzP"
2-+-+N+PzP" 1tR-+-+RmK-!
1tR-vLQ+RmK-! xabcdefghy
xabcdefghy 20.a4!
This looks like a solid position for Black, Another amazing idea, which also defends
although White's spatial advantage and against the threatened ...Qb7-a6.
strong centre should say something (and 20...Nc6 21.Qg4 Kh8
surely compensate for his doubled c-pawns). Black overestimated his chances. He could
12.fxe5!? have opted for 21...Ne5 22.Qe2 Nc6 =.
The start of an extraordinary idea. The 22.a5! Nxa5?
alternative is 12.Ng3 g6 13.Le3 Lb7 But this is too much. Forced was 22...bxa5
14.fxe5 dxe5 15.d5 Na5 16.Ne2 0-0-0 ÷ 23.Qf4! Rac8 24.Rfb1 °.
Geller,E-Sokolsky,A Moscow 1949. 23.e5! f5
N
12...dxe5 13.dxe5 dxe5 Black could not opt for 23...Qg6?! 24.Qf4!
Now White has four pawn islands and four (24.Qxg6 hxg6 25.e6 °) 24...f5 25.Rae1
isolated and weak pawns! On top of that, Rae8 26.Nc7 Re7 27.e6 ± but interesting
Black has no weaknesses and already was 23...Rae8 24.Rae1 (24.exf6 gxf6
occupies the ideal e5-square with his knight. 25.Rxf6 [25.Nxf6 Nxc4! 26.Nxe8?
How can White justify his decision? Qxf1+ 27.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 Ne3+
14.Nf4 29.Ke2 Nxg4 μ] 25...Qg7 26.Rxf8+
Of course by occupying the strong d5- R xf8 27.Qe2 °) 24...Qe6 25.Qh4! °.
outpost. But beyond that, White's c-pawns 24.Qe2
cover the d-file, so that a black knight can't Now White has enough compensation for
come to d4. It is not clear who is in fact the pawn (probably more than enough), as
better here, as dynamic play is taking place his passed e-pawn looks rather strong.
already! 24...Rae8 25.Rae1 Re6
14...Lg4 25...Nc6? 26.e6! Qg6 27.e7 Rf7 28.Qe6!
Exchanging White's only bad piece cannot +–.
be an ideal solution. Maybe Black should 26.Nf4 Rfe8!
Black decided (already by his 25th move) to □ Botvinnik Mikhail
sacrifice the exchange in order to blockade ■ Chekhover Vitaly
the strong white passed pawn. E21 Leningrad 1938
27.Nxe6 Qxe6 28.Qd3 g6 29.Rf4 Nc6 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.Nf3 0-0
30.Qd5! (D) 5.Lg5 d6 6.e3 Qe7 7.Le2 e5 8.Qc2 Re8
But White again uses the d5 outpost to break 9.0-0 Lxc3 10.bxc3 h6 11.Lh4 c5 12.Rfe1
through! Lg4 13.Lxf6 Qxf6 14.Qe4 Lxf3 15.Lxf3
XABCDEFGHY Nc6 (D)
8-+-+r+-mk( XABCDEFGHY
7zp-+-+-+p' 8r+-+r+k+(
6-zpn+q+p+& 7zpp+-+pzp-'
5+-zpQzPp+-% 6-+nzp-wq-zp&
4-+P+-tR-+$ 5+-zp-zp-+-%
3+-zP-+-+-# 4-+PzPQ+-+$
2-+-+-+PzP" 3+-zP-zPL+-#
1+-+-tR-mK-! 2P+-+-zPPzP"
xabcdefghy 1tR-+-tR-mK-!
30...Nxe5? xabcdefghy
30...Qxd5? 31.cxd5 Rxe5 32.Rxe5 Nxe5 This is another famous game where White
33.d6 Kg7 34.Rf1 Kf6 35.Re1 was also self-destroyed his pawn structure!
curtains, but Black had to go for 30...h5! 16.dxc5! dxc5 17.Rad1
31.Rf2 Kg7 hoping to hold. At first sight, Black has the superior pawn
31.Kf1! structure, due to White's a- and c-pawns, but
Now there is nothing to be done about Rf2- in reality, those pawns secure an outpost on
e2, and White wins: d5 (eventually to be occupied by his bishop)
31...Kg7 32.Rf2 Kf6 33.Rfe2 h5 and deny any outpost to Black's knight.
34.Rxe5 Qxe5 35.Rxe5 Rxe5 36.Qd6+ 17...Rad8 18.Rd5 b6?!
Re6 37.Qf8+ Ke5 38.Qb8+ Kf6 39.Qxa7 Black should prefer 18...Rxd5 19.cxd5 Ne7
Kg5 40.Qd7 Re4 41.Qd8+ Kh6 42.h4 (19...Nd8? 20.Qa4 +–) 20.d6 Qxd6 21.
Kg7 43.Qc7+ Kh6 44.Qxb6 Qxb7 Qd2 22.Rd1 Qxc3 23.Qxa7 ² or
Black resigned: 44...Rxc4 45.Qf6 Rf4+ even 18...Qe7 19.Red1 g6 20.g4 ².
46.Kg1 Kh7 47.Qf7+ Kh6 48.Qf8+ Kh7 19.Red1 Na5 20.h3
49.Qe7+ Kg8 50.Qd8+ Kh7 51.Qc7+. A good useful move - the king needs to
1-0 'avoid' back-rank mates!
20...Rxd5 21.Rxd5!
Ex-World Champion, the legendary
After 21.cxd5?! Qd6 (21...Nb7? 22.Qa4)
Mikhail Botvinnik, contributed in the theory
of doubled pawns in an extremely interesting 22.Le2 Rd8 Black succeeds in blockading
and instructive way. the white passed pawn.
The following example is quite nice, but 21...Qe7
one should also study as well the famous 21...Rd8? 22.Rxe5 ± Nxc4? 23.Re8+
Rxe8 24.Qxe8+ Kh7 25.Qe4+ +–.
game Botvinnik,M-Kan,I Leningrad 1939, in
which many similarities can be seen. 22.Lg4 Qb7 23.Lf5!
Again threatening Rd7, which Black
http://trainers.fide.com prevented with his last move.
23...Qb8 Ne6 37.Ke3!
Black's alternatives cannot bring success: Accurate. 37.f5? Nf4 38.Lc4 Nxh3+
23...Qa8 24.Rd7 Qxe4 25.Lxe4 Kf8 39.Ke3 Ng5 is not that clear.
26.Rxa7 Re7 27.Ra6 Nxc4 28.Ld5 ± or 37...c4 38.f5! Nc5 39.Rc7 Nd3 40.e6 fxe6
23...g6?! 24.Lxg6! fxg6 25.Qxg6+ Kf8 41.fxe6
26.Rd6 +–. Black resigned due to 41...Re8 42.e7+ Kg7
24.Rd7 Rd8 43.Lc6.
What else? If 24...Rf8 then 25.Qd5 Qa8 1-0
26.Qxa8 Rxa8 27.Le4 Rf8 28.Ld5 +–. Every World Champion handles with
25.Qxe5! Nxc4 excellence the sensitive concept of doubled
25...Qxe5? 26.Rxd8+ Qe8 27.Rxe8 #. pawns. He knows exactly how he has to deal
26.Qxb8 Rxb8 with them, both in terms of a general
Black managed to take the queens off evaluation and the handling of a given
without losing material. but only by granting position.
White's pieces maximum activity.
27.Le4! □ Kasparov Garry
A much better move than the greedy 27. ■ Anand Viswanathan
Rxa7? Nd6 28.Ld3 c4 29.Rd7 (29.Lf1 B14 Amsterdam 1996
Nb5 30.Ra4 Nxc3 31.Rxc4 Nxa2) 29... 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6
cxd3 30.Rxd6 Ra8 31.Rxd3 Rxa2 where 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Lg5 e6 7.Nf3 Le7 8.c5 h6
Black would have good chances to save the 9.Lf4 Ne4 10.Lb5 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Ld7
draw. Good pawns will come later! 12.0-0 0-0 13.Rc1 Re8 14.Re1 Lf6 (D)
27...Na3 28.Ld5 Rf8 29.e4 (D) XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8r+-wqr+k+(
8-+-+-trk+( 7zpp+l+pzp-'
7zp-+R+pzp-' 6-+n+pvl-zp&
6-zp-+-+-zp& 5+LzPp+-+-%
5+-zpL+-+-% 4-+-zP-vL-+$
4-+-+P+-+$ 3+-zP-+N+-#
3sn-zP-+-+P# 2P+-+-zPPzP"
2P+-+-zPP+" 1+-tRQtR-mK-!
1+-+-+-mK-! xabcdefghy
xabcdefghy A typical doubled pawns’ structure has
Now it's all over. White's pieces are arisen. Well, White cannot really feel that
excellently placed and the advance of his his opening play was a success, but on the
kingside pawns and centralization of his other hand, Black should proceed with
king decide easily. accuracy.
29...a5 15.Rb1
29...c4 30.Rxa7 Nb5 31.Rb7 Nxc3 32. Two moves ago White played Rc1, and
Lxc4 Nxe4 33.Rxb6 +–. now Rb1. What is Kasparov doing? It
30.c4 b5 31.cxb5 Nxb5 32.e5 a4 33.f4! seems that 13. Rc1 was directed against
Now the white kingside pawn phalanx starts ...b6. However if Black doesn't play ...b6,
rolling! the rook is not well placed on c1, as, if
33...Nd4 34.Kf2 g5 35.g3 gxf4 36.gxf4 White plays c4 he gets a weak pawn on d4.
15...b6! White's compensation is obvious, as the
A good reaction. Black undoubles White's c- threatened Lxh6 makes his attack very
pawns, but on the other hand his play along dangerous. Black has exchanged the 'wrong'
the semi-open a- and c-files (after 16.cxb6) minor pieces.
would provide him with excellent chances. 24...Kf8
16.La6 Lc8 24...Kh8?! 25.Qh5 with the doubled threat
Of course not 16...bxc5? 17.Lb7 ±. Lxh6 and Qxf7.
17.Lb5 Ld7 18.La6 Lc8 19.Ld3!? 25.Re3 (D)
A courageous decision! White avoids a XABCDEFGHY
repetition, proceeding with an interesting
pawn sacrifice (one of the doubled ones!), 8-wq-+rmk-+(
looking for compensation in space
advantage and the initiative.
7zp-+l+pzp-'
19...bxc5?! 6-+n+p+-zp&
Black accepts the challenge but it is too
dangerous. He should have opted for the 5+-zppzP-+-%
safer 19...Ld7! 20.Ne5 Nxe5 21.dxe5 Lg5 4-+-+-vLQ+$
22.Lxg5 Qxg5 23.cxb6 axb6, feeling OK.
20.Ne5! 3+-zPLtR-+-#
So, White proceeded with a well judged 2P+-+-zPPzP"
pawn sacrifice and he now 'asks' for his
compensation. 1+-+-+-mK-!
20...Ld7
20...Nxe5? is not advisable, as it appears xabcdefghy
that the pawn on e5 acts as a spearhead, Black's kingside is bare, but still intact. The
creating the space that White needs for his entry of the rook into the attack, however,
manoeuvres against the opponent’s king: breaks the defences.
21.dxe5 Lg5 (21...Le7? 22.Qg4 Kh8 25...Qd8?
23.Qh5 ± with the double threat Lxh6 and Also not good was 25...g5? 26.Qh5 gxf4
Qxf7 or 21...Lh4 22.Qg4 f5 23.Qg6 Ld7 27.Qxh6+ Ke7 28.Qf6+ Kf8 29.Rh3
24.Lxh6 ±) 22.Lxg5 (22.Lg3? Ld7 μ) Ne7 30.Qh6+ Kg8 31.Qh8 # or 25...Ne7?
22...Qxg5 (22...hxg5?! 23.Qh5 g6 24.Lxg6 26.Rg3 Ng6 27.Lxg6 fxg6 28.Qxg6 Re7
fxg6 25.Qxg6+ Kf8 26.Re3 +–) 23.Lb5! 29.Qh7 +– but Black should try to organize
Rd8 24.Lc6 La6 25.Lxa8 Rxa8 26.Qa4 his defence with the active 25...Qb2!
±. although White still holds an edge: 26.h4!
Qxc3 27.Rg3 Qe1+ 28.Kh2 Ke7
21.Rb7 Lxe5
Black's options are limited: 21...Nxe5? 29.Qxg7 Kd8 30.Qxf7.
(21...Re7? 22.Rxd7! +–) 22.dxe5 Lg5 26.h4!
(22...Le7 23.Qg4 ± or 22...Lc6 23.Rxf7! Wrong would be 26.Rg3? g5 but 26.Rf3
Kxf7 24.exf6 Qxf6 [24...gxf6? 25.Qh5+ was equally good.
+–] 25.Le5 Qg5 26.f4 Qh4 27.Re3 ±) 26...Qa5
Easily losing was 26...f5 27.exf6! (27.Qg6?
23.Lxg5 ±. Qxh4) 27...Qxf6 28.Ld6+! (28.Rf3 e5!
22.dxe5 Rb8
[28...Kg8? 29.Ld6! {29.Ld2? Ne5 μ} 29...
The white rook on the 7th can become really Ne5 30.Lxe5 Qxe5 31.Qg6 +–] 29.Qg3
dangerous if Black ignores it: 22...Ne7?
23.Qh5! Lc6 24.Lxh6! Lxb7 25.Lxg7! exf4 30.Rxf4 ± or 28.Lg6 e5 29.Qxd7
Kxg7 26.Qh7+ Kf8 27.Qh6+ Kg8 28. Qxg6 30.Lxh6! ±) 28...Kg8 29.Rf3 +–
Lh7+ Kh8 29.Lg6+ Kg8 30.Qh7+ Kf8 (29.Lxc5? Ne5 ÷).
31.Qxf7 #. 27.Rg3 Ke7
23.Rxb8 Qxb8 24.Qg4 27...Qxc3? 28.Qxg7+ Ke7 29.Qf6+ Kf8
30.Lxh6 #. 11.Re1+ Le6
28.Qxg7 Kd8 29.Qxf7 Qxc3 30.Lb5?! The alternative is 11...Kf8 12.c4 Lg4
30.Rg7 Re7 31.Qf8+ Kc7 32.Rxe7 13.Le2 Lxe2 14.Qxe2 ± Mkrtchian,L-
Nxe7 33.Qxe7 Qxd3 34.Qxc5+ Kb7 Gaponenko,I Mallorca 2004.
35.Lxh6 +– was the most accurate line. 12.Lf1!
30...Qa5 31.Rg7 Ne7?! Alternatives such as 12.c4? c6 13.cxd5 cxd5
Black had to fight with 31...Re7! 32.Qf8+ 14.c4 0-0 15.c5 Lc7 16.Lf1 Qf5 17.Lg2
Kc7 (32...Re8? 33.Rxd7+ Kxd7 34.Lxc6+ Rfd8 18.a4 b6 19.cxb6 axb6 ½-½ Pyhala,A-
Kxc6 35.Qxe8+ +–) 33.Rxe7 Nxe7 34.Lf1 Valkesalmi, Espoo 1986 or 12.Qf3? 0-0 =
Nc6 35.h5 ±. Fusco,L-Della Morte,G Villa Martelli 2003
32.Lxd7 can only make Black happy!
32.Lf1! c4 33.Lxh6 was again curtains. 12...Qf5 13.Ld3
32...Kxd7 33.Qf6?! 13.c4? dxc4 14.Lxc4 0-0 15.Lxe6 fxe6
White should be on the alert: 33.Lxh6?! 16.Qe2 Lb4 17.Ld2 Lxd2 ½-½ Herna-
Qe1+ 34.Kh2 Qxe5+ 35.Lf4 Qf5 36.h5 ndez,A-Pereyra Arcija,D Medellin 1996.
Qxf7 37.Rxf7 e5! was not that clear, but 13...Qh3 14.Lf1 Qf5 15.Rb1!
33.Rg6! was calling for: 33...Qb6 34.Kh2 White did not intend to agree to a draw – he
d4 35.Lxh6 +–. was just gaining some time on the clock!
33...d4 15...0-0-0
33...Qe1+ 34.Kh2 Qxf2 35.Lxh6 Qf5 15...Rb8 16.c4 0-0 17.Ld3 ±.
36.Lg5 +– or 33...c4 34.Lxh6 c3 35.Lg5 16.Qe2! c6? (D)
Qc5 36.h5 c2 37.Kh2 c1Q 38.Lxc1 Qxc1 Although Black's position did not look quite
39.h6 Qc5 40.h7 and White wins: 40...d4 satisfying after 16...b6, it was her only
41.Rg3 Qc8 42.Rg4! Qb8 43.Rxd4+ move. After 17.a4 White's attack is strong
Nd5 44.Rd1 +–. but Black is not without chances either.
34.Lxh6 c4 35.Lg5 Qc5 36.Rxe7+ XABCDEFGHY
Black was obliged to resign, as after
36...Rxe7 37.Qxe7+ Qxe7 38.Lxe7 Kxe7 8-+ktr-+-tr(
39.Kf1 the pawn ending is lost for him. 7zpp+-+pzpp'
So, the (funny) motto is simple: if you do
not know what to do with your doubled 6-+pvll+-+&
pawns, get rid of one of them!
1-0
5+-+p+q+-%
Sometimes we do accept doubled pawns 4-+-zP-+-+$
for even ‘tactical’ reasons. One of these 3+-zP-+-zP-#
reasons could be the opening of a file against
the opponent’s king, in order to create an 2P+P+QzP-zP"
attack. Of course this does not always work, 1+RvL-tRLmK-!
as an attack also needs other aspects, but it
seems that it is nevertheless a good start! xabcdefghy
□ Kosteniuk Alexandra 17.Rxb7!
■ Socko Monika Some months earlier than this game, the
C43 Dresden 2008 naive 17.Rb3? was played. Black on his
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Ld3 d5 turn answered with a further mistake: 17...
5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Lxd7 7.0-0 Ld6 Rhe8? (17...Rd7 =) and White again refused
8.Nc3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Qh4 10.g3 Qh3?! to take the advantage, by playing 18.Le3?,
Black should stick to 10...Qg4 11.Re1+ missing the second and final chance to
Kd8 as in the famous game Kamsky,G- sacrifice on b7. White could have won by
Karpov,A Elista 1996. 18.Rxb7! Kxb7 19.Qa6+ Kb8 20.La3!
(20.Lg5? Qxc2 21.Qxc6 f6 =) 20...Qxc2 Qxc3 (22...Lc8 23.a5 Qxc3 24.Rb1! Ld7
(20...Lc7 21.Rb1+ Lb6 22.Rxb6+ axb6 25.Qxd5 Lc6 26.Qe5+ Kb7 27.axb6 axb6
Q K Q K
23. xb6+ a8 24. xc6+ b8 25. b6+ Q 28.Lf4 Rd7 29.d5! +–) 23.Rc1 Ld7
Ka8 26.Lb5 +–) 21.Ld3 Lc8 22.Lxd6+ 24.Qxd5 Lc6 25.Qxd8+ Rxd8 26.Rxc3
Rxd6 23.Rxe8 Qd1+ 24.Lf1 Qg4 f6 27.Lxf6 gxf6 28.Rxc6 Lxd4 29.La6
Q
25. a3 Q R
d7 (25... e6 26. a6L R xe8 and White is a pawn up in the endgame. It is
27.Qd6+ Ka8 28.Qxc6+ Kb8 29.Qd6+ true that there are opposite-coloured bishops,
Ka8 30.Qxd5+ Kb8 31.Qd6+ Ka8 but with rooks still on the board this is not a
Q K Q
32. c6+ b8 33. xe8 +–) 26. b4+ c7 Q K very important point.
27.Rg8 Re6 (27...g6 28.La6 +–) 28.Rxg7 20...Rxd8 21.Ld3 Lc8!
+–, and after 18...Re7 19.Reb1 Rdd7 The only defence: 21...Qxc3? 22.Rb1+
20.a4 Qg4?! (with 20...h5! ³ Black could Lb4 23.Qa5 +–.
well play for the initiative on the kingside) 22.Qa5?
21.Qxg4 Lxg4 there was nothing more to Too optimistic. The opponents could have
play for: 22.c4 dxc4 23.Lxc4 Lf5 24.Ld3 agreed to an immediate draw with the
Lxd3 25.Rxd3 Lc7 26.c4 Lb6 27.Rbd1 natural 22.Qxc8+ Kxc8 23.Lxc2.
Re4 28.Kg2 f5 29.Kf3 g6 ½-½ Mame- 22...Qxd3 23.Qxd8 Lc7 24.Qf8 Kb7!
dyarov,S-Kramnik,V Nice 2008. Now Black's bishop pair is much stronger
K Q K
17... xb7 18. a6+ b8 19. g5! L than the white rook and she has a good point
A strong move, missed by Black! Alter- to look forward to.
natives fail to impress: 25.Qxf7 Lh3 26.Qe7 Lf5?
a) 19.La3? Qxc2 20.Ld3 Lc8 21.Lxd6+ Black could have immediately crowned her
(21.Qxc6 Qxd3 22.Lxd6+ Rxd6 23. ...luck: 26...Qf3 27.Qb4+ Kc8 28.Re8+
Qxd6+ Ka8 24.Qc6+ Kb8 [24...Lb7?? Ld8 (28...Kd7?? 29.Qe7 #) 29.Rxd8+
25.Re8+ Rxe8 26.Qxe8+ Lc8 27.Qxc8 Kxd8 30.Qd6+ Ke8 31.Qxc6+ Kf7
#] 25.Qd6+ =) 21...Rxd6 22.Qa3 Qxd3 32.Qc7+ Kg6 33.Qd6+ Kh5 34.Qe5+
(22... Re6 23.Lxc2 Rxe1+ 24.Kg2 ²) Kh6.
23.Qxd6+ Ka8 24.Qxc6+ Kb8 25.Qd6+ 27.Qb4+ Qb5 28.Qf8 g6 29.h3 Le4
Ka8 26.Qc6+ Kb8 ½-½ Pavlovic,M- 30.Kh2 Qb2 31.c4
Pavasovic,D Topola 2004. The endgame after 31.Qb4+ Qxb4 32.cxb4
b) 19.Lf4? Qxc2 20.Qxc6 (20.Ld3 Qb2 was easily lost: 32...Lb6 33.Rd1 Ka6! –+.
[20...Lc8 21.Qxc6 Qxd3 22.Lxd6+ Rxd6 31...Qxd4 32.Re3 (D)
23.Qxd6+ =] 21.Lxd6+ Rxd6 22.Rb1 XABCDEFGHY
Qxb1+ 23.Lxb1 Lh3 ÷) 20...Lxf4 21.
Qb5+ Kc7 22.Qc5+ = Kd7?? 23.Lb5 #. 8-+-+-wQ-+(
It must be noted that 19.Qxc6 Qxc2 7zpkvl-+-+p'
20.Lg5 transposes.
19...Qxc2 6-+p+-+p+&
Forced, in order to guard the important b1
square.
5+-+p+-+-%
20.Lxd8? 4-+Pwql+-+$
Probably White forgot her homework!
She could have played 20.Qxc6! Lc7
3+-+-tR-zPP#
(20...Rd7 21.Rxe6 fxe6 22.Qxd7 Lc7 2P+-+-zP-mK"
23.Qxe6 Qxa2 24.Qf7 ± since Black's
pawns are weak and her king remains very
1+-+-+-+-!
exposed) 21.Qb5+ Lb6 (21...Ka8 22.Rb1
Qxb1 23.Qxb1 Rb8 24.Qc2 gives White a
xabcdefghy
32...dxc4?!
large advantage as Black will have serious Clearer was 32...a5! 33.Rb3+ Ka7 –+.
problems along the h1-a8 diagonal) 22.a4
33.Qb4+ Kc8 34.Qf8+ Kb7 35.Qb4+ Black's advantage is considerable. The
Kc8? doubled d-pawns control important central
Black, in time-trouble, missed her last chance. squares, in sharp contrast to the white
With 35...Ka8! 36.Qe7 Le5 37.Qe8+ Kb7 doubled f-pawns that don't contribute much.
38.Qe7+ Ka6 39.Ra3+ Kb5 μ she would Moreover, the presence of the b-pawns
be on the right track. favours Black as the white pawn on b5 is
36.Qf8+ Kb7 ½-½ more accessible and thus weaker than the
black one on b7. Finally, the c1-bishop is
The d-pawns only apparently a better piece than the g7-
Doubled d-pawns mostly occur in bishop (due to the presence of the d4-pawn);
openings like the ‘English Opening’, the a more careful examination reveals that the
‘Queen’s Indian Defence’ and others. c1-bishop does not have a satisfactory
□ Dedes Nikolaos square to move to as it must keep a3 and c3
■ Grivas Efstratios under control, preventing an invasion by the
A26 Iraklion 1992 black rook.
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Lg2 Lg7 4.0-0 0-0 19.Re1 Rfc8!
5.c4 d6 6.Nc3 e5 7.d3 Nc6 8.Rb1 a5 9.a3 Black cannot expect anything special from
Nd4 10.b4 axb4 11.axb4 c6 12.b5 Lg4 using the e-file; in fact, White could in that
13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.Lxe4 d5! case proceed with relieving exchanges.
Black takes advantage of the placement of 20.Qe2
the e4-bishop, gaining central space. White is running out of satisfactory moves,
16.cxd5 as neither 20.Ld2 Ra3! nor 20.Lb2 Rc5!
After 16.Lg2 dxc4! 17.dxc4 (17.bxc6 cxd3 is of much help. Now, the threat of 21.Qe7!
18.Qxd3 bxc6 19.Lxc6 Ra2 20.Re1 Lf5 with counterplay against the b7-pawn forces
21.Le4 Lxe4 22.Qxe4 Re8) 17...Ra2! Black's hand.
18.Re1 (or 18.Rb2 Rxb2 19.Lxb2 d3!! 20...Re8 21.Qd2 h5!
20.Lxg7 dxe2) 18...d3! Black is much Opening another front, as the threatened
better (19.Qxd3 Rxe2!). ...h4-h3 can only be met by a further
16...cxd5 17.Lf3 weakening of the white pawn structure.
Practically forced, as after any other retreat 22.h4 Rac8!
of the e4-bishop the white e2-pawn would Threatening an invasion by 23...Rc3.
come under unbearable pressure (...Ra2 and 23.Rxe8+ Qxe8!
...Re8). All of Black's pieces are optimally placed,
17...Lxf3 18.exf3 Qd7 (D) maximizing the dynamic potential in his
position. On e8, the queen controls the e-file
XABCDEFGHY while also eyeing the b-pawn, while the c8-
8r+-+-trk+( rook is ready to penetrate White's ranks.
24.Kg2 Rc3 25.Qg5?
7+p+q+pvlp' A mistake in time trouble. White ought to
6-+-+-+p+& remain passive with 25.Qd1 when his
position is unpleasant, but Black would have
5+P+p+-+-% to work to prove his superiority (25...Qc8!?,
intending ...Qf5 or ...Rc2, or, finally,
4-+-zp-+-+$ 25...Kh7!? intending ...Lh6).
3+-+P+PzP-# 25...Qe1!
The threat of 26...Rc2! forces White to
2-+-+-zP-zP" retreat.
1+RvLQ+RmK-! 26.Qd2 Qxd2 27.Lxd2 Rxd3 28.Lb4
Lf8! (D)
xabcdefghy
XABCDEFGHY 0 Ld7 10.Ld2 Qc8 11.Lg5 Le6 12.Qd2
Re8 13.Ne1 Nd7 14.Nc2 Nd4 15.Nxd4
8-+-+-vlk+( cxd4 16.Nd5 Lxd5 17.cxd5 (D)
7+p+-+p+-' XABCDEFGHY
6-+-+-+p+& 8r+q+r+k+(
5+P+p+-+p% 7+p+nzppvlp'
4-vL-zp-+-zP$ 6-+-zp-+p+&
3+-+r+PzP-# 5zp-+P+-vL-%
2-+-+-zPK+" 4-+-zp-+-+$
1+R+-+-+-! 3zP-+P+-zP-#
xabcdefghy 2-zP-wQPzPLzP"
The resulting rook ending is won for Black 1+R+-+RmK-!
as the passed d-pawns are very powerful and
the black king will be quickly centralized. xabcdefghy
29.f4 Lxb4 30.Rxb4 Kf8 31.Kf1 Ke7 A rather unusual position with four doubled
32.Ke2 Ra3! pawns on the d-file has arisen. Both sides
Black returns his ‘optical’ material have gained their pluses by controlling
advantage. The white f4-pawn is hardly a important squares, files and diagonals, a fact
worthy opponent for the black passed d- that promises an interesting battle.
pawn as it is doubled and devoid of 17...Nc5 18.Rfc1
prospects. In effect, Black has an extra After 18.b4?! axb4 19.axb4 Na4 Black
pawn. enters on the c3-square.
33.Rxd4 Kd6 34.Rb4 f5! 18...Qd7 19.Qd1 a4!
Preventing any counterplay involving a Secures for ever the 'outpost' of the c5-
future sacrifice with f5. knight. This kind of blocked position nearly
35.Rb2 d4 36.Kd2 Kd5 always favours the knight.
The ending is easily won as Black enjoys 20.Qf1 h6 21.Ld2 Nb3 22.Rc2 Rac8
several advantages: centralized king, passed 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Qd1 Rc7 25.Lb4 h5
extra pawn, more active rook. 26.h4 Qc8
0-1 Black also won the c-file and little by little
improves his position.
27.Kh2 Rc2 28.Lh3 f5 29.f4 Kh7
30.Lg2 b5 31.Lf3 Rc5?! 32.Kh3
Black was 'wishing' for 32.Lxc5 dxc5
33.Qc2 c4 where he would have had
excellent compensation for the sacrificed
exchange, but White did not cooperate. But,
as the result of the game was not in his
favour, maybe he should have taken the
challenge.
□ Bus Tom 32...Rc7 33.Kh2 Lf8!
■ Werle Jan Finally, after a lot of 'innocent' moves, Black
A38 Netherlands 2009 found the correct way; to open the e-file and
1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Lg2 Lg7 4.Nc3 d6 penetrate with his queen to e3.
5.d3 c5 6.Rb1 Nc6 7.a3 a5 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0- 34.Kh3 Kg7 35.Lg2 (D)
XABCDEFGHY following, which will be our basis for the
examination of doubled e-pawns:
8-+q+-vl-+( □ Botvinnik Mikhail
7+-tr-zp-mk-' ■ Sorokin Nikolay
D60 Moscow 1931
6-+-zp-+p+& 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nbd7
5+p+P+p+p% 5.Lg5 Le7 6.e3 0-0 7.Ld3 c6 8.0-0 a6
9.a4 dxc4 10.Lxc4 c5 11.dxc5 Lxc5
4pvL-zp-zP-zP$ 12.Qe2 h6 13.Lh4 Le7 14.Rfd1 Nh5
3zPn+P+-zPK# 15.Lxe7 Qxe7 16.Rd2 Nb6 17.Rad1
Qc5 18.La2 Nf6 19.e4 e5 (D)
2-zP-+P+L+" XABCDEFGHY
1+R+Q+-+-! 8r+l+-trk+(
xabcdefghy 7+p+-+pzp-'
35...e5! 36.dxe6
White did not have much choice: 36.Lf3 6psn-+-sn-zp&
Qe8 37.Kh2?! (37.fxe5 dxe5 μ) 37...e4
5+-wq-zp-+-%
38.Lg2 e3 39.Lf3 Qc8 40.Kg2 Rc2
41.Kg1 Nd2 –+. 4P+-+P+-+$
36...Qxe6 3+-sN-+N+-#
Now Black has obtained additional pressure
down the e-file. His doubled d-pawns help in 2LzP-tRQzPPzP"
that direction.
37.Lf3 d5 38.Qe1 1+-+R+-mK-!
The immediate exchange of the bishops does xabcdefghy
not change the evaluation of the position:
Black's position is without weaknesses, so if
38.Lxf8+ Kxf8 39.Qe1 Kg7 40.Qb4 White is to achieve anything, he should do it
Rc5 41.Rg1 Qe3 42.Rf1 Qd2 μ.
quickly. Black's queen is his best placed
38...Ld6 39.Kg2 Qe7! 40.Lxd5?! piece, as it keeps White's aggressive advance
Shortens the end. White was not fond of a5 under control and protects the important
40.Lxd6 Qxd6 41.Qd1 Rc5 μ but e5-pawn, so a superlative defensive job is
nevertheless he had to opt for it. performed by this important piece.
40...Lxb4 41.axb4 Rc2 42.Lf3 Nd2! 20.Qe3!
43.Qd1 So, important pieces must be exchanged! If
43.Rd1 Nxf3 44.Kxf3 Qe3+ –+. White hesitated with 20.h3 then after
43...Qc7! 44.Ld5 20...Le6! 21.Lxe6 fxe6, Black should feel
44.Ra1 Rxb2 –+. fine, as he covers d5, opens the f-file, and
44...Nxb1 45.Qxb1 Rxe2+ 46.Kh3 Qc2 contests the light squares. So, it is actually a
47.Qh1 Qxb2 48.Lf3 Rf2 49.Lxh5 fight to double the e-pawn and he who
Rh2+! succeeds in doing so, is the happy one!
White resigned, as after 50.Qxh2 Qxh2+ 20...Qxe3 21.fxe3 Lg4 22.a5! Nc8
51.Kxh2 gxh5, the a-pawn promotes. Of After the alternative 22...Nbd7 23.h3 Lxf3
course he did not fall for the naive 24.gxf3 Nc5 (24...Rfd8? 25.Nd5! +–)
49...gxh5? 50.Qb7+ =. 25.Nd5 (25.b4 Ne6 26.Lxe6 fxe6 27.Na4
0-1 and Nc5 ±) 25...Rab8 26.Nxf6+ gxf6
The e-pawns 27.Rg2+ Kh7 28.Rd6 ± Black would not
Another two famous games played by the last long.
ever instructive Mikhail Botvinnik, are the 23.Rc1!
Eyeing c7 and threatening e5, so Black must Unfortunately for Black, 32...Nc6 33.Rxb7
cede his good bishop. +– or 32...Rb8 33.Kg3 is curtains anyway.
23...Lxf3 33.b3!
23...Re8?! 24.h3 Lh5 25.Nd5! (25.Nh4 33.Ra7 Nc4 34.b3 Nb6 35.Rxa6 Nxd5
Ne7 26.g4 Lg6 27.Ld5 ±) 25...Nxe4 36.exd5 also wins, but there is no need to
26.Rdc2 Ncd6 27.Nc7 +–. allow the badly placed a5-knight to be
24.gxf3 exchanged!
Now White’s pawn structure is improved 33...Rd8 34.Kg3
and his central doubled pawns are a 34.Rf7 also looks good: 34...Rd6 35.Kg3
considerable force. Add to that his strong Nc6 36.Kg4 Nb4 37.Kf5 Nxd5 38.exd5
bishop and you will understand why he Rxd5 39.Kg6 Kg8 40.Ra7 Kf8 ±, but
holds the advantage. there is no need to go after such pawns. The
24...Ne7 25.Nd5 Nc6?! white king will deliver the decisive blow.
Good or bad, Black should have opted for 34...f5 35.Kh4 fxe4 36.fxe4 Rd6 37.Kh5
25...Nfxd5 26.Lxd5 (26.exd5? Nf5 Rf6 38.h3 Rd6 39.h4 Rb6 40.Kg4 Rf6 41.
27.Kf2 Nd6 [blockading!] 28.Rdc2 Rfc8 Ra7 Rb6 42.Re7 Rd6 43.Rc7 Rf6 44.Ra7
÷) 26...Nxd5 27.exd5 (27.Rxd5 ±) 27... Rb6 45.Rc7 Rf6 46.Kh5 Rd6 47.Lf7!
Rfc8 28.Rdc2 Rxc2 29.Rxc2 Rd8 30.e4 Creating a mating net. Black's days are
Rd7 31.Rc8+ Kh7 32.Kf2 ± or 25... numbered.
Nexd5 26.Lxd5 (26.exd5? Rfc8 27.Rdc2 47...Rf6
Rxc2 28.Rxc2 Ne8 29.Kf2 [29.d6 Rd8] 47...Kg7 48.b4! wins the knight!
29...Kf8 30.e4 Ke7 =) 26...Nxd5 27.exd5 48.Lg6 Nxb3 49.Kxh6 Rf8
± which transposes to the above line. Or 49...Kg8 50.Kg5 Rf1 (50...Rf8
26.Nxf6+ gxf6 27.Rd7 Rab8 51.Lf5 Re8 52.h5 +–) 51.Lf5 +–.
Or 27...Nxa5 28.Rcc7 Rad8 29.Lxf7+ 50.Rh7+ Kg8 51.Rg7+ Kh8 52.Lf7!
Kh8 30.Rxd8 Rxd8 31.Ld5 (31.b4 Nc6 Rxf7 53.Rxf7 Kg8 54.Kg6 Nd2 55.Rd7
32.Rxb7 Rd1+ 33.Kf2 Rb1 34.Kg3! 1-0
Rxb4 35.Rc7 Rb6 36.Kg4 +–) 31...b5 □ Botvinnik Mikhail
32.Kf2 +–. ■ Euwe Max
28.Kf2! D46 Den Haag/Moscow 1948
Forcing Black's hand, as the threat 29.Rg1+ 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3
is lethal. Nbd7 6.Ld3 Lb4 7.a3 La5 8.Qc2 Qe7
28...Nxa5 29.Rcc7 Rbc8 30.Rxf7 Rxc7 9.Ld2 dxc4 10.Lxc4 e5 11.0-0 0-0
31.Rxc7+ Kh8 32.Ld5 b5 (D) 12.Rae1 Lc7 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 a5
XABCDEFGHY 15.La2 Nf6 16.Qh4 e4 (D)
8-+-+-tr-mk( XABCDEFGHY
7+-tR-+-+-' 8r+l+-trk+(
7+pvl-wqpzpp'
6p+-+-zp-zp&
6-+p+-sn-+&
5snp+Lzp-+-% 5zp-+-+-+-%
4-+-+P+-+$ 4-+-zPp+-wQ$
3+-+-zPP+-# 3zP-+-zPN+-#
2-zP-+-mK-zP" 2LzP-vL-zPPzP"
1+-+-+-+-! 1+-+-tRRmK-!
xabcdefghy xabcdefghy
17.Ne5! these pawns are quite strong as they have the
A nice positional pawn sacrifice. White power to restrain Black’s forces and control
would get nothing after the natural 17.Ng5 important central squares, so White keeps a
h6 18.Nh3 Nd5! (18...Lxh2+? 19.Kxh2 clear plus.
Ng4+ 20.Kg3 g5 21.Qh5 Qd6+ 22.Nf4 22...b6
±) 19.Qxe7 Nxe7 =. Unfortunately for Black, nothing works
17...Lxe5?! satisfactorily for him:
Black should not accept the offer and instead a) 22...Le6 23.Lxe6 fxe6 24.Rxf8+ Kxf8
opt for finishing his development with (24...Rxf8 25.Rd1 Ng6 26.Lxa5 ±)
17...Le6 18.Lb1 Ld5 19.f3 Rfe8 ÷. 25.Rf1+! Kg8 26.Rd1 ±.
18.dxe5 Qxe5 19.Lc3 Qe7 20.f3! b) 22...Lg4 23.Rf4! Lh5 24.h4! Lg6
The point behind White's 17th move. Bad 25.Ld4 ±.
was 20.Lxf6? Qxf6 21.Qxe4 Lf5 22.Qd4 c) 22...Ng6 23.Rd1 Le6 24.Lxe6 fxe6
Qxd4 23.exd4 Ld3 μ. 25.Rd7 Rxf1+ 26.Kxf1 Rf8+ 27.Ke2
20...Nd5? Rf7 28.Rd6 Nf8 29.Rd8 Rd7 30.Rb8
Black should keep a cool head and go for the Kf7 31.Lxa5 ±.
visually dangerous 20...exf3! 21.Lb1 Re8! 23.Rd1!
(21...h6? 22.Rxf3 Nd5 23.Rg3! Qxh4 Now White will also enter via the d-file.
24.Rxg7+ Kh8 25.Rh7+ Kg8 26.Rh8 #) 23...Ng6
22.Lxf6 Qxf6 23.Qxh7+ Kf8 24.Rxf3 23...c5? 24.Rxf7! shows White's main
Qh6 25.Qxh6 gxh6 26.La2 Le6 27.Lxe6 threat.
Rxe6 28.Ref1 Re7 29.Rd1 ². It must be 24.Rd6 La6 25.Rf2 Lb5
noted that bad was 20...Le6? 21.fxe4! 25...Rac8 26.e5! Ne7 27.Rd7 Nd5 28.e6
(21.Lb1?! Nd5 22.Qxe4 f5 23.Qe5 Nxc3 +–.
24.Qxc3 Qf6 =) 21...Lxa2 22.Rxf6! 26.e5!
(22.Lxf6? gxf6 23.Rf3 Le6 24.e5 Kh8 – The doubled pawns are moving forward,
+) 22...Kh8! (22...gxf6? 23.Lxf6 +– or creating more dangerous threats.
22...Le6? 23.Rg6! Qxh4 24.Rxg7+ Kh8 26...Ne7
25.Rxf7+ Kg8 26.Rg7+ Kh8 27.Rg5+ The main alternative was 26...Rae8 27.e6
Rf6 28.Lxf6 #) 23.Ref1 Rfd8 24.Qg4 ±. fxe6 28.Lxe6+ Kh8 29.g3! (29.Rd7 Rxe6
21.Qxe7 Nxe7 22.fxe4 (D) 30.Lxg7+ [30.Rxg7? Ne5 31.Rg5 Rxf2
32.Kxf2 Rf6+ 33.Kg3 Nd7] 30...Kg8
XABCDEFGHY 31.Lxf8 Nxf8 32.Rd8 +–) 29...Rxf2
8r+l+-trk+( 30.Kxf2 +–.
27.e4! c5 28.e6
7+p+-snpzpp' 28.Rxb6 Lc6 29.e6 Lxe4 30.exf7+ Kh8
6-+p+-+-+& 31.Re6 Ld5 32.Lxd5 Nxd5 33.Le5 +–
would also do the job.
5zp-+-+-+-% 28...f6
Or 28...fxe6 29.Rxe6 Rxf2 30.Kxf2 Kf8
4-+-+P+-+$ 31.Lxg7+ Kxg7 32.Rxe7+ Kh8 33.Ld5
3zP-vL-zP-+-# +–.
29.Rxb6 Lc6 30.Rxc6!
2LzP-+-+PzP" A small combination to crown a great game!
1+-+-tRRmK-! 30...Nxc6 31.e7+ Rf7 32.Ld5
Black resigned due to 32...Rc8 33.e8Q+
xabcdefghy Rxe8 34.Lxc6 Rd8 35.Ld5.
The complications are over and White 1-0
emerged with the bishop pair but also central
doubled, isolated pawns. In the present case, http://trainers.fide.com
The f-pawns key point is that it is Black who stands to
This must be a very similar (nearly gain more from a light-squared contest - but
identical) case to the c-pawns, but we will a very specific, 'localised' light-square con-
examine it separately, as some minor test. Black's `bad' bishop will protect his
differences do exist, mainly because of the pawns while he exchanges down with con-
king’s position. nected h- and g-passers in mind. 20...Kd7?
21.h3 ÷ was again a naive continuation.
□ Ivanchuk Vassily 21.b3
■ Anand Viswanathan 21.Lxc4 bxc4 22.Rd5 Rb5! μ (22...Rxh2
B66 Linares 1992 23.Ra5 ÷) 23.Rxb5 axb5 24.Rg2 Rh3 is
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 also nice for Black.
5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Lg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 21...Lxf1 22.Rxf1 Rh3!
9.Le3 Nxd4 10.Lxd4 b5 11.f3 Qa5 12.a3 And here we have the key - the h3-square
e5 13.Le3 Le6 14.Kb1 Le7 15.g4 Rb8 gives Black the bulk of the play, while his
16.Nd5 Qxd2 (D) 'bad bishop' performs a very crucial de-
XABCDEFGHY fensive duty with great ease. The light
squares, which are incontestably White's -
8-tr-+k+-tr( d5 and f5 - may provide some aesthetic
7+-+-vlpzp-' compensation, but little in terms of tangible
benefit. One must notice that here White has
6p+-zplsn-zp& three pawn islands compared to Black's two,
but most important is the fact that White's
5+p+Nzp-+-% paws are under attack.
4-+-+P+P+$ 23.Re2
After 23.Lg1 Kd7 24.Rd3 Black gains a
3zP-+-vLP+-# clear advantage: 24...Rh4! (24...Rxd3 25.
2-zPPwq-+-zP" cxd3 Rh8 26.Rf3 d5 ÷) 25.Rg3 (25.h3?!
Rbh8 26.Rff3 f5! 27.Rxf5 Rxh3 μ)
1+K+R+L+R! 25...Rg8 26.h3 Rgh8 27.Rff3 f5! 28.exf5
xabcdefghy (28.Rxf5 Rxh3 29.Rxh3 Rxh3 30.Lf2
17.Nxf6+?! [30.Rxf7? Rh1 31.Rf1 Lg5 32.Re1 Ld2
It takes considerable positional flair to –+] 30...Ke6 μ as the white e4- and g4-
appreciate quite how vulnerable White's pawns are rather weak) 28...e4 29.Re3
kingside is here. 17.Rxd2! = was a must. (29.Rc3? Lf6) 29...d5 μ.
17...gxf6! 23...Kd7 24.g5 Ke6 25.gxf6 Lxf6 26.Ld2
Setting up the attack on White's g- and h- Le7
pawns. The doubled pawn plays a key role Of course 26...Lh4 27.Lb4 leads nowhere,
in defending the g5-square. Of course but it seems that Black could also play
17...Lxf6?! 18.Rxd2 Ke7 19.h4 ² was out 26...Rg8 27.Ref2 Le7 28.Rxf7 Rg4 μ.
of the question. 27.Le1 f6 28.Lg3 d5 29.exd5+ Kxd5
18.Rxd2 h5! 19.Rg1 30.Rf5!
Black would feel more than happy after Forces Black to lose some time.
19.Le2?! hxg4 20.fxg4 Rh3 μ. 30...Kc6
19...hxg4 20.fxg4 Lc4! The only move. Alternatives do not lead
Just a great positional move, on the basis of anywhere: 30...Ke6? 31.Lxe5! Re8
its surprising disrespect for established 32.Rxf6+ Lxf6 33.Lxf6+ Kf7 34.Rf2 =
wisdom and as beautiful as chess moves or 30...Rb7? 31.Lxe5 Ke6 (31...fxe5
often are. Or, more accurately, it is a very 32.Rfxe5+ Kd6 33.Re6+ Kd5 34.Rxe7)
precise weighing of different factors. The 32.Lxf6+! Kxf5 33.Lxe7 =.
31.Ref2?!
More tenacious was 31.Rf3 Rh7 32.Rc3+ The notorious 'Sveshnikov Variation' is a
Kb7, as the king belongs on e6 and thus very popular branch of the 'Sicilian Defence’
Black would have a hard technical task for many decades. Here the doubled f-pawns
ahead. seem to offer Black the possibility of
31...Rh6 32.Kb2 Kd7 33.Re2 Ld6 attacking White's centre twice with ...f5.
34.Rf3 Rc8! 10.Nd5 Lg7 11.Ld3 Ne7 12.Nxe7 Qxe7
Playable was 34...Ke6, as White cannot 13.c4 f5!
play 35.Rc3 Lxa3+! 36.Ka2 Rb6. According to theory, the best reaction to
35.Le1 Ke6 White’s early queenside assault.
Mission accomplished! 14.0-0
36.Rd3 Rh7 37.Rg3 Lc5 38.Ka2 Rd7 14.cxb5 is supposed to be inferior. After
39.Rc3 Rcc7 14...d5 15.0-0 fxe4 16.Lc2 Le6 17.bxa6
Of course not 39...Rd1? 40.Lf2 Lxf2 0-0 Jobava,B-Yakovich,Y Moscow 2007,
41.Rxc8 Ld4 42.c3 Kd7 43.Rf8 Lxc3 Black has a strong centre and the bishop
44.b4 Ke7 ÷. pair. In contrast, the white pawn phalanx on
40.h4 Rd1 41.Lf2 Ld6 42.Rg3 e4! the queenside does not seem to go anywhere.
The central black pawn phalanx starts 14...0-0 15.Qh5 Rb8 16.exf5 e4!
rolling! Black sacrificed one of his doubled f-pawns
43.Rxe4+ Le5 44.Rxe5+ fxe5 45.Kb2 for initiative and a strong pawn centre.
Rd2 0-1 17.Rae1 Lb7 18.Qg4 Rfe8
The alternative is 18...Kh8 19.Lxe4 and
The ‘Sveshnikov Variation’ of the Black seems to be OK: 19...Lxb2 (19...
‘Sicilian Defence’ offers us many examples, Rfe8 20.Ld3 Qxe1 21.f6 Lxf6 ½-½
sometimes positive and sometimes negative, Solovjov,S-Zhigalko,S St Petersburg 2008)
in what concerns the doubled pawns. Well,
20.Ld5 Qc7 21.f6 Lxf6 22.Qf5 Le5
this is natural, as the opening is the start of
23.Rxe5 dxe5 24.Qf6+ Kg8 ½-½ Luther,T
our journey; the end of it depends on how
-Muzychuk,M Neustadt 2009, although the
we will proceed in the in-between; on how
judgement in this variation changes daily...
we will plan and handle our army.
19.cxb5 d5 20.bxa6 Lc6 21.b3
□ Shirov Alexei Previously 21.Le2 Rxb2 (21...Qf6
■ Carlsen Magnus 22.Rc1 Ld7 23.a7 Rb7 24.Qf4 Rxa7
B33 Sofia 2009 25.Nb5 Rxa2 26.Nc3 ½-½ Mekhitarian,K-
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 Kuipers,S Hoogeveen 2008) 22.Rc1 Najer,
5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Lg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 E-Yakovich,Y Novokuznetsk 2008 or 21.a7
9.Lxf6 gxf6 (D) Rxb2 Ye,L-Lawson,E Montreal 2007 has
XABCDEFGHY been played, when Black is very active. The
threat of a7 is stronger than the execution!
8r+lwqkvl-tr( 21...Kh8
7+-+-+p+p' An interesting improvement was found later
in 21...h5!? 22.Qg3 Kf8 23.Nb1 Le5
6p+nzp-zp-+& 24.f4 Lf6 25.Qf2 Qb4 ÷ Koch,J-San Eme-
5+p+-zp-+-% terio Cabanes,J Le Port Marly 2009. It must
be noted that 21...Qxa3? 22.f6 Qf8 23.Le2
4-+-+P+-+$ +– or 21...Ld7? 22.a7 Rb7 23.Nc4! dxc4
24.Rxe4 Qf8 25.Rxe8 Qxe8 26.Qg3!
3sN-sN-+-+-# Kh8 27.f6 Lf8 28.a8Q Qxa8 29.Le4 +–
2PzPP+-zPPzP" does not really help Black.
22.Nc2 Le5
1tR-+QmKL+R! 22...Qc5? would be rather naive. After
xabcdefghy 23.Le2! Qxc2 24.Rc1 Qxa2 25.Rxc6
White regains the piece with advantage. Negative Aspects
23.Le2 d4 24.Lc4 Rg8 25.Qh3 Rg7 Of course in every action there is re-
It is too early for 25...e3?! 26.g3 Qd6 as action, in every positive there is negative
after 27.Rd1! (27.fxe3? Lxg3 μ or and the doubled pawns cannot go against
27.Lxf7?! Rg7 28.Lc4 exf2+ 29.Kxf2 d3 nature! In our examination we will use the
÷) White seems to be on top, although the same breakdown as in the positive aspects
position is still rather complicated. sections.
26.g3 Rbg8 27.Qh6 (D) The c-pawns
XABCDEFGHY Again this is the most common case;
openings such as the ‘Nimzo-Indian
8-+-+-+rmk( Defence’ are quite often met, in which we
7+-+-wqptrp' have to deal with doubled pawns quite often.
Some old but instructive games will open
6P+l+-+-wQ& the gates of our journey:
5+-+-vlP+-% □ Janowski Dawid
■ Nimzowitsch Aaron
4-+Lzpp+-+$ E43 St Petersburg 1914
3+P+-+-zP-# 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.e3 b6
5.Ld3 Lb7 6.Nf3 Lxc3+
2P+N+-zP-zP" Nimzowitsch was a fanatic believer in the
1+-+-tRRmK-! play against doubled pawns, so he is even
ready to spend a tempo for that, as usually
xabcdefghy White 'invites' the exchange with a3.
Black's compensation lies in his piece 7.bxc3 d6 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.e4 e5 (D)
activity and his strong pawn centre, so we XABCDEFGHY
might call this position extremely complica-
ted, where each side has its own potential 8r+-wqk+-tr(
piece of success. 7zplzpn+pzpp'
27...Qc7?
This lets the knight in the game with 6-zp-zp-sn-+&
decisive effect. Retreating the attacked
bishop with 27...La8 was best, when the
5+-+-zp-+-%
bizarre looking 28.a3 is interesting, with the 4-+PzPP+-+$
key point to bring the c2-knight into play:
28...Qc5 29.Nb4 d3 ÷. 3+-zPL+N+-#
28.Nb4! 2P+Q+-zPPzP"
Now White's material advantage will tell, as
Black will lose all his counterplay. 1tR-vL-mK-+R!
28...La8 xabcdefghy
28...Lxg3 29.fxg3 Rxg3+ 30.Kh1 e3+
John Watson states: 'Now the position has
31.Qxc6.
taken on features typical of a Nimzo-Indian
29.Nd5 Qd8
Defence. Please note the role of Black's c-
29...Lxd5 30.Lxd5 e3 31.Qc6 +–.
pawns. If Black has to play ...c5 in order to
30.Rxe4
force White to play d5, then White's
Black resigned due to 30...Lxd5 31.Rxe5
Lxc4 32.bxc4. queenside pawns will be hard to attack, e.g.,
Black won't be able to play ...Nc6-a5,
1-0
...La6, and ...Qd7-c6 to attack the forward
c-pawn. On the other hand, if White plays d5
http://trainers.fide.com
without being provoked by ...c5, Black gains
two important advantages: a fine square c5 knight. 33.Nf3 Nf7 34.f5 = or 33.g5 hxg5
for his knights, and more importantly, the 34.fxg5 Nxg5 35.Lxg5 fxg5 36.La4 Ld7
possibility of opening the position against 37.Lxd7 Rxd7 38.Nf3 Nf7 39.Qe3 =
White's queenside by ...c6.' were acceptable options.
10.0-0 0-0 11.Lg5 h6 12.Ld2 Re8 33...dxe5! 34.Nf3 Nf7 35.Ref1 Kg8
13.Rae1 Nh7 36.Nh4 Nd6 37.Nf5 Lxf5 38.gxf5 Ng5
Planning ...Nh7-f8-e6, to centralize the (D)
knight and provoke the d5 advance. The XABCDEFGHY
immediate 13...c5?! 14.d5 would leave
White with a free hand on the kingside (g3, 8-+-wqr+k+(
Nh4 and f4 to come). Another idea is 13...
Re6 14.Re2 (14.d5 Re8 already threatens 7zpr+-+-zp-'
...Nc5 and ...c6) 14...Qf8 15.Rfe1 Rae8 6-zp-sn-zp-zp&
16.Nh4 g6 17.g3 Qg7 18.Ng2 ² and
finally, Nimzowitsch’s proposal of 13...Nf8 5+-zpPzpPsnP%
14.h3 (14.Nh4!? Ne6) 14...Ng6 15.Nh2
Re7 16.f4 exf4 17.Lxf4 Qe8! 18.Lxh6
4-+P+P+-+$
Lxe4 ÷. 3+-zP-+-+-#
14.h3 2P+L+Q+-+"
The alternative 14.g3 Ng5 15.Nh4 Ne6
(15...Nf6 16.f3 ²) 16.Nf5 ² looks more to 1+-vL-+RtRK!
the point. xabcdefghy
14...Nhf8 15.Nh2 Ne6 16.Le3 c5!?
'Nimzowitsch shows a typically modern Now Black's knight pair is superior to the
flexibility; if he can't force d5 without white bishop pair, giving him a small but
playing ...c5, well, he'll play ...c5 anyway, lasting advantage.
but at a time when he has kingside 39.Lxg5
prospects! Still, 16...Qf6 would be a sound White is in too much of a hurry to clear
alternative, intending 17.Ng4 Qh4.’ - John things up, creating a weak h-pawn on a
Watson. semi-open file.
39...hxg5 40.La4 Rf8 41.Lc6 Rb8 42.a4
17.d5 Nf4 18.Le2 Nf8 19.Lg4 Lc8 Kf7 43.Kg2 Rh8 44.Rh1 Rh6 45.Ra1
This does not look correct at first sight, as
Qc7 46.Kf2 Rbh8 47.Ke3 Kg8 48.Kd3?
Black exchanges his more active bishop, but
in this way the c4-pawn loses one of its main A plain blunder. White had to go for
protectors. 48.Rh3 Qf7 49.Rah1 Kf8 ³.
20.Qd2 48...Qf7! 49.a5!
20.Lxc8 Qxc8 21.Nf3 N8g6 would be White's only chance to create counterplay.
fine for Black. 49...Rxh5 50.Rxh5 Rxh5 51.axb6 Rh3+
20...La6?! 52.Kc2 axb6 53.Ra8+ Kh7
Black changes direction without any good Black has won a good pawn and his
reason. Good was 20...N8g6. advantage must tell in the end.
21.g3 N4g6 22.Le2 Nh7 23.h4 Nf6 54.Rd8 Qa7 55.Ra8 Qf7 56.Kb3
24.Ld3 Rb8 25.Qe2 Rb7 26.Lc1 Rbe7 After 56.Rd8 Black would not concede the
27.Kh1 Lc8 28.Rg1 Kf8?! draw but he would have gone for 56...Qc7
Forcing his knight to an awful square. 57.Ra8 Rh4 μ.
Natural was 28...Rb7 with an equal game. 56...Qh5?!
29.h5 Nh8 30.g4 Nh7 31.Lc2 Rb7 32.f4 The queen exchange does not help Black.
f6 33.fxe5?! 56...Rh4 μ was the natural continuation,
Not the most accurate, as it gives a nice although things are far from easy.
blockading square on d6 for the black 57.Qxh5+ Rxh5 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 83.Rf1 Rf8 84.Kd5 f5 =.
83...f5 84.Kc7 Rf8 85.c6 f4
8R+-+-+-+( ½-½
7+-+-+-zpk' □ Marshall Frank
6-zpLsn-zp-+& ■ Nimzowitsch Aaron
C01 New York 1927
5+-zpPzpPzpr% 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.exd5 exd5
4-+P+P+-+$ 5.Nf3 Ne7 6.Ld3 Nbc6 7.h3 Le6 8.0-0
Qd7 9.Lf4 Lxc3 10.bxc3 (D)
3+KzP-+-+-# XABCDEFGHY
2-+-+-+-+" 8r+-+k+-tr(
1+-+-+-+-! 7zppzpqsnpzpp'
xabcdefghy 6-+n+l+-+&
58.Le8!
This is probably what Black missed! Wrong 5+-+p+-+-%
would be 58.Rd8? g4! 59.Rxd6 g3 60.Le8 4-+-zP-vL-+$
Rh1 –+.
58...Nxe8 3+-zPL+N+P#
Forced: 58...Rh2? 59.Lg6+ Kh6 60.Rh8 #.
59.Rxe8 Rh2 60.Ra8 g4 61.Ra1 Kh6
2P+P+-zPP+"
62.Ka4! 1tR-+Q+RmK-!
Now the activity of White's king and his
passed d-pawn generates enough compensa- xabcdefghy
tion for the material deficit. 10...f6!
62...Kg5 63.Kb5 Kf4 64.Rg1 This restricts White's pieces (especially the
Also good was 64.Rd1 Rh8 65.d6 g3 66.d7 f3-knight) and prepares the kingside pawn
g2 67.Kxb6 Kxe4 68.Kxc5 Kf3 69.Kb6 advance by ...g5 and ...h5. It is obvious of
e4 70.c5 e3 71.c6 e2 72.Rc1 Kf2 73.c7 course that Black prepares his queenside
e1Q 74.Rxe1 Kxe1 75.c4! g1Q+ 76.c5 =. castling.
An amazing position - still drawish! 11.Rb1 g5 12.Lg3?!
64...Kxe4 White should have played 12.Lh2 as later
Or 64...Rd2 65.Kxb6 g3 66.Kxc5 Rd3 his bishop came under attack.
67.Kb6 Kxe4 68.c5 Kxd5 69.c6 Rxc3 12...0-0-0
70.c7 Kd6 71.Rd1+ Ke7 72.Kb7 Rb3+ But what about the semi-open b-file? Isn’t
=. this fact to White's benefit? Well, not really
65.Rxg4+ Kxf5 66.Rxg7 Rb2+ 67.Kc6 as it is rather hard for him to transfer his
e4 68.d6 Rd2 69.d7 e3 70.Kxb6 pieces harmoniously to the queenside - his
70.Kc7 Kf4 71.Re7 f5 72.d8Q Rxd8 doubled c-pawns block files and diagonals.
73.Kxd8 Kf3 74.Kc7 e2 75.Kxb6 Kf2 13.Qe2
76.Kxc5 f4 77.Kd5 f3 78.c5 e1Q 79.Rxe1 13.Nd2! would be more to the point - White
Kxe1 80.c6 f2 81.c7 f1Q 82.c8Q Qd3+ =. must transfer pieces to the queenside, in
70...e2 71.Re7 Rxd7 72.Rxe2 Rd3 order to strength his attack.
Now it's a draw. 13...Rde8 14.Rfe1 Nf5
73.Rc2 Rd8 74.Rc1 Rb8+ 75.Kc7 Re8 With the text move Black opts for
76.Kd6 Rd8+ 77.Kxc5 Rc8+ 78.Kd6 simplification. Interesting was 14...Ng6,
Rxc4 79.Kd5 Rc8 80.c4 Rd8+ 81.Kc6 seeking more complex play.
Kg4 82.Rg1+ Kh3 83.c5 15.Lxf5
15.Lh2 Nd6 would also be fine for Black. 44.Lxa3 Lb1
15...Lxf5 16.Qb5 Nd8 17.Qc5?! Winning a second pawn and the game.
White rightly avoids a queen exchange, as 45.Lf8 Lxa2 46.Lg7 Lc4 47.Ke3 Kb7
then his endgame would be rather difficult, 48.Lh6 Ka6 49.Kd2 Lf1 50.g3 Kb5
due to his shattered pawn structure. But he 51.Kc1 Kc4 52.Kb2 c5 53.Le3 cxd4
should have done that with 17.Qb3 h5 54.Lxd4 b5 55.Lb6 a4 56.La5
18.c4, as then he would at least have got rid White is also lost after keeping his bishop on
of his doubled c-pawns. the g1-a7 diagonal: 56.Lf2 Lh3 57.Lg1
17...b6 18.Qa3 Kb7 19.Qb3 Nc6! Le6 58.Lf2 d4! 59.Lxd4 b4 60.Lf6 a3+.
Already Black has taken over the advantage 56...d4! 57.cxd4 b4 58.Lb6 a3+ 59.Ka2
and now threatens ...Na5-c4, with decisive Kb5
effect. 59...b3+ 60.Kxa3 Kc3 –+.
20.Nd2 Na5 21.Qb2 (D) 60.Lc5 Ka4
XABCDEFGHY 0-1
8-+-+r+-tr( Doubling pawns in order to achieve a

better development and generate an initiative
7zpkzpq+-+p' towards the opponent’s king are acceptable
facts. But what happens when these facts are
6-zp-+-zp-+& slowly eliminated by time and ‘suspicious’
5sn-+p+lzp-% handling?
4-+-zP-+-+$ □ Markland Peter
■ Korchnoi Viktor
3+-zP-+-vLP# B02 Bath 1973
2PwQPsN-zPP+" 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nc3 Nxc3 4.dxc3 d6
5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Lb5 Ld7 7.Qe2 Nxe5
1+R+-tR-mK-! 8.Nxe5 dxe5 9.Qxe5 f6 10.Qh5+ g6
11.Qe2 e5 (D)
xabcdefghy
21...Rxe1+!
XABCDEFGHY
An instructive moment. Black exchanges all 8r+-wqkvl-tr(
rooks, as he wants to reduce to the minimum
the protectors of his main target: the c2- 7zppzpl+-+p'
pawn! 6-+-+-zpp+&
22.Rxe1 Re8 23.Rxe8 Qxe8 24.Qb1
Kc8?! 5+L+-zp-+-%
Missing 24...Qe2!, but Black retains his 4-+-+-+-+$
large positional advantage.
25.Qd1 Qe6 26.Nb3 Nc4 27.Nd2?! 3+-zP-+-+-#
Blundering a pawn. Forced was 27.Nc1,
although after 27...h5 Black retains his 2PzPP+QzPPzP"
advantage. 1tR-vL-mK-+R!
27...Na3 28.Nf1 Nxc2
Black has won a pawn, while retaining his xabcdefghy
positional advantages. White accepted a 'worse' pawn structure
29.Qh5 Ld3 30.Qd1 Qe4 31.Nd2 Qe2 (doubled c-pawns, which gives a pawn
32.Qxe2 Lxe2 33.f4 Na3 34.fxg5 fxg5 majority to Black on the kingside) in
35.Kf2 Lh5 36.Le5 g4 37.hxg4 Lxg4 exchange for easier development and some
38.Ke3 Lf5 39.Lg7 Le6 40.Lf8 Nb5 initiative. So, here is a fight for time,
41.Nb1 a5 42.Kd2 Lf5 43.Na3 Nxa3 development and initiative; in other words
for short-term advantages. But on the other XABCDEFGHY
hand the doubled c-pawns can be proven a
long-term disadvantage. 8-+-+q+k+(
12.Le3 Ld6?!
A rather optimistic text move. 12...a6! is a
7zp-+-+-+-'
fair alternative: 13.Lxd7+ (13.Lc4 Ld6 6-+p+-+p+&
14.0-0-0 Qe7 15.Rhe1 Le6) 13...Qxd7
14.Qf3 Qc6 15.Qxc6+ bxc6 16.0-0-0 =. 5+-zp-+r+-%
13.0-0-0 b6
Lc5 was a nasty threat.
4-+-+p+Q+$
14.f4! 3+-zP-+-+-#
Files and diagonals must be opened! 14.Lc4 2PzPP+-+P+"
Qe7 15.Ld5 c6 was nothing much.
14...0-0 1+-mKR+-+-!
Now 14...e4 fails to 15.Lc4 (15.f5 Qe7)
15...Qe7 16.Ld5 Rd8 (16...c6 17.Lxe4
xabcdefghy
Qxe4 18.Rxd6 ±) 17.Qc4 ±. Black's exposed king and his queenside is in
15.fxe5 Lxb5 tatters but he does have good compensation
Best, as after 15...fxe5?! 16.Lc4+ Kg7 from his strong passed e-pawn.
17.Ld5 Rb8 18.h4 h5 19.Qd2 White 27.Qh4
would be clearly on top. In cases of Maybe it was time to force a draw with
opponent's initiative, it is advisable to 27.Rd8 Rf1+ 28.Rd1 Rf5 but probably
exchange pieces. White was 'delighted' by Black's queenside
16.Qxb5 fxe5 17.Lh6 Rf7 18.Qd5 Qe8 shattered pawns!
19.h4 27...e3! 28.Qd8
Best. White cannot exploit the pin: 19.Rhf1 Bad was 28.Rd8? Rf1+ 29.Rd1 e2 –+ but
Rd8 20.Rf6 Le7! (20...Rdd7 21.Rdf1? White could force a draw with 28.Rh1 Rh5
Lf8 –+) 21.Qxf7+ Qxf7 22.Rxd8+ Lxd8 29.Qc4+ Kg7 30.Rxh5 gxh5 31.Qxc5!
23.Rxf7 Kxf7 μ, as now Black has an extra (31.Kd1? Qf8! 32.Qe2 Qf4 μ) 31...e2
e-pawn in the endgame! 32.Qd4+.
19...Rd8 20.h5 28...Qxd8 29.Rxd8+ Kf7 30.Kd1
Maybe White should have gone for 20.Kb1! The resulting rook ending is equal, but
Rdd7 (20...e4?! 21.Rhe1 ±) 21.Qc4 Lf8 White should play with accuracy.
22.Le3. 30...Rf2
20...e4! 30...Rg5 31.Ke2 Rxg2+ 32.Kxe3 Rxc2
Now the threat of 21...Lf4+, allows this 33.Rb8 is also equal.
important advance. 31.g4?
21.Le3 c6 22.Qg5?! An important mistake. Equal was 31.Rd7+
Ke6 32.Rxa7 Rd2+ 33.Ke1 Rxc2
White missed his way. He should again have
preferred 22.Qc4 b5 23.Qe2 gxh5 24.Qxh5 34.Rb7 Rxg2 35.a4.
². 31...Kf6 32.Rd3?
22...Rf5 23.Qg4 Lc5! And this is the losing mistake! White had to
Exchanging pieces is the number 1 priority go for 32.Re8 Rd2+ 33.Ke1 Rxc2
for Black! 34.Rxe3 Rxb2 μ.
24.Lxc5 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 bxc5! 32...Rd2+!
It is important to keep the rook on an active Forcing a won king and pawn ending.
square even at the cost of the queenside 33.Rxd2
pawn structure. 25...Rxc5?! 26.hxg6 hxg6 Or 33.Ke1 Rxd3 34.cxd3 Kg5 35.Ke2
Kxg4 36.Kxe3 g5 –+.
27.Rd6 was good only for White.
26.hxg6 hxg6 (D) 33...exd2 34.c4 Kg5 35.c3 Kxg4 36.b4
Kf3 37.Kxd2 Ke4 What is a knight doing at the very edge of
37...g5 38.b5 cxb5 39.cxb5 g4 40.Ke1 the board? Not much I presume, so the
Kg2! –+ was easier. 'punishment' is quick and 'violent'.
38.a3 19...Rxc3! 20.bxc3 Na2 21.Qd3
38.b5 cxb5 39.cxb5 g5 40.a4 Kd5 41.a5 c4 Forced. 21.Rb1? Nxc3 would be too
42.Ke3 Kc5 43.b6 axb6 44.axb6 Kxb6 much...
45.Kf3 Kb5 –+. 21...Nxc1 22.Rxc1
38...cxb4 39.axb4 g5 40.Ke2 g4 41.c5 Kd5 So, by a small combination Black succeeded
42.Kd3 g3 in shattering White's queenside pawn
White resigned a lost case: 43.c4+ Ke5 structure. Especially the doubled c-pawns
44.Ke3 g2 45.Kf2 Kd4 46.b5 Kxc5 will be a permanent target, as they also lie
47.Kxg2 cxb5 48.cxb5 Kxb5 49.Kf2 Kc4 on the open c-file.
50.Ke2 Kb3 51.Kd2 Kb2 and the a-pawn 22...Rc8 23.Rb1 Lc4 24.Qd1 Nd7
queens. High voltage defence! Also possible was 24...Rc6 25.Nb3 Qc7 μ
0-1 or 24...Nxe4 25.Rxb6 Qa8 μ.
25.Nb3 Qc6 26.Nd2 Le6 27.Lf1 a5!
The ‘Sicilian Defence and the ‘Nimzo- Black is in no need to exchange his 'healthy'
Indian Defence’ have offered many cases of a-pawn for any of White's weak ones:
bad doubled pawns on the c-file. 27...Qxa4 28.Ra1 Qc6 29.Lxa6 Ra8
This has to do with the nature of these 30.Lf1 or 27...Qxc3 28.Lxa6 Ra8
openings - in the first case, the c-file is 29.Lb5. On the contrary, he fixes his
usually already opened and in the second opponent’s weakness and waits for the right
case, quite early a bishop is ready to be moment.
exchanged on c3 (...Lxc3). Two games 28.c4 Qxa4 29.Lxb6 Nxb6 30.Rxb6 (D)
worth noticing are the following:
XABCDEFGHY
□ Hulak Krunoslav 8-+r+-+k+(
■ Cebalo Miso
B80 Zagreb 1982 7+-+-vlpzpp'
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3 d6 6.g3 Nc6 7.Lg2 Ld7 8.0-0 Le7
6-tR-zpl+-+&
9.Re1 0-0 10.Ndb5 Qb8 11.a4 a6 12.Nd4 5zp-+-zp-+-%
Qc7 13.Nb3 Rac8 14.h3 b6 15.Qe2 Nb4
16.Le3 e5 17.Red1 Le6 18.Rac1 Qb7 4q+P+P+-+$
19.Na1 (D) 3+-+-+-zPP#
XABCDEFGHY 2-+PsN-zP-+"
8-+r+-trk+( 1+-+Q+LmK-!
7+q+-vlpzpp' xabcdefghy
6pzp-zplsn-+& Now, Black achieved a strong passed pawn
5+-+-zp-+-% and the bishop pair - his opponent's doubled
c-pawns remain on the board...
4Psn-+P+-+$ 30...h5
Black's position is so good that he could
3+-sN-vL-zPP# even choose between another two good
2-zPP+QzPL+" continuations: 30...Ra8 31.Rb5 Qa3 μ or
30...Qd7 31.Ra6 Qd8 32.c3 Ld7 μ.
1sN-tRR+-mK-! 31.h4
xabcdefghy Or 31.Qxh5 Qxc2 32.Qe2 Ra8 and the a-
pawn becomes too dangerous. probably there is nothing better for Black
31...g6 32.Qb1 Lf8? than 37...Qc3 (37...Lh6 38.Rxd6 Rb8
Black should have opted for 32...Qe8! 39.Qa7 Rb2 40.Rd8+ Kh7 41.Re8=)
(freeing his a-pawn’s path) 33.Kh2 and only 38.Qb2 Qxb2 39.Rxb2 Lh6 40.Rc2 Kf8
now 33...Lf8! (33...a4?! 34.Lh3! Lxh3 41.Nb1 ³.
35.Kxh3 a3 36.Qa2 Ra8 37.Rb3 Qc8+ 37...Rb8!
38.Kg2 Qc5 39.Nb1 ³) 34.Lh3 Lxh3 The intervention of the black rook on its 7th
35.Kxh3 Qe6+ 36.Kg2 Lh6 μ. or 8th rank is decisive.
33.Ra6! Qa3 34.Qb5! 38.Nf3
It is important for White to eliminate the 38.Nb3 Qc3 39.Ra3 d5 –+.
monster on a5. The other option 34.Nb3?! 38...Rb2 39.Qa3 Lh3+!
still keeps Black in the driver's seat: And White resigned, as he will be mated
34...Lxc4 (34...a4 35.Qa1 Qxa1! 36.Nxa1 after 40.Kxh3 Qxf1+ 41.Kh2 Rxf2 #.
Ld7 μ) 35.Rxa5 Qb4 μ. 0-1
34...Qc3
After 34...Qc1 35.Qxa5 Rb8 White can □ Pinter Jozsef
become rather active with 36.c5! dxc5 ■ Timman Jan
37.Qc3 Rb2 38.Rxe6! fxe6 39.Qxe5 °. E41 Las Palmas 1982
35.Qxa5 Qxc2 36.Qa2 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.Nf3 c5
White has succeeded in exchanging one of 5.e3 Nc6 6.Ld3 Lxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.0-0 e5
his weak doubled c-pawns for Black's strong 9.Nd2 0-0 (D)
passed a-pawn and it seems that somewhere XABCDEFGHY
Black mishandled his position.
36...Qc1 (D) 8r+lwq-trk+(
No better was 36...Qxa2 37.Rxa2 Lh6 7zpp+-+pzpp'
38.Rc2 Kf8 39.Nb1 ³ or 36...Qd1
37.Qb2 Lh6 38.Rxd6 Lh3 39.Qb1! 6-+nzp-sn-+&
Qxb1 40.Nxb1 Lxf1 41.Kxf1 Rxc4
42.Nd2 Lxd2 43.Rxd2 Rxe4 ³ both
5+-zp-zp-+-%
leading practically nowhere. 4-+PzP-+-+$
XABCDEFGHY 3+-zPLzP-+-#
8-+r+-vlk+( 2P+-sN-zPPzP"
7+-+-+p+-' 1tR-vLQ+RmK-!
6R+-zpl+p+& xabcdefghy
5+-+-zp-+p% This is the so-called 'Huebner Variation' of
the 'Nimzo-Indian Defence'. White's doubled
4-+P+P+-zP$ c-pawns are in control of valuable squares
3+-+-+-zP-# and will assist their pieces in the coming
middle game battle.
2Q+-sN-zP-+" 10.d5
Some other options are 10.Re1 h6 11.La3
1+-wq-+LmK-! b6 12.Qc2 Ld7 Acs,P-Meier,G Eppingen
xabcdefghy 2009 and 10.Rb1 b6 11.h3 Re8 12.Qf3
Ld7 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Lxe4 Rc8 15.Ld5
37.Kg2?
Qe7 Van der Stricht,G-Timman,J Antwerp
A critical mistake. 37.Nb3? Qd1 38.Nd2
Rb8 was also curtains, but White could 2008.
have saved himself by 37.Rb6! where 10...Ne7 11.f3 Lf5!? 12.e4
12.Lxf5 is not much for White: 12...Nxf5 22...Lf5!
13.Qe1 Qd7 14.g4 Ne7 ÷ Urosevic,M- The light-squared white bishop is a
Benderac,A Zlatibor 2007. potentional protector of its c4-pawn, so it
12...Ld7 13.Qc2 Nh5!? must be exchanged!
A rare bird in top level chess. 23.Qc2 Raf8 24.Ref1 Lxe4 25.Qxe4
14.g3 f5?! Qf5!
Too optimistic. Probably Black should have Yes, the white queen can protect the c4-
opted for 14...g6 15.Rf2 Kh8 16.Nf1 f5 pawn, so it must be eliminated!
17.exf5 Lxf5 18.Lxf5 gxf5 19.Lg5 Qd7 26.a4?!
½-½ Lukacs,P-Vratonjic,S Budapest 1990. There was no reason to make things worse
15.exf5 Lxf5 16.Ne4?! with this illogical and nonsensical advance.
16.Lxf5! Nxf5 17.Ne4 (17.g4? Ne3 –+) White should have stayed put with 26.Qxf5
17...Qe8 (17...h6? 18.g4 +–) 18.Ng5 would Nxf5 27.Ld2 and pray...
leave White on top. 26...Qxe4 27.fxe4 Rxf2 28.Rxf2?!
16...h6! 17.Ld2 White should have kept a pair of rooks on
Now the difference is obvious: 17.g4 Lxe4 board, in order to be able to create some
18.Lxe4 Nf4 and Black's knight pair is no counterplay. So, the alternative 28.Lxf2
less important than White's bishop pair. was a must, although Black retains the
17...Qd7 18.Rae1 Lh3 19.Rf2 Rf7! advantage anyway: 28...Nc8 (28...Rf3!?
A good and natural plan - doubling rooks on 29.Rb1 b6 30.Rb3 Rd3) 29.a5 b6 μ.
the semi-open f-file. 28...Rxf2 29.Kxf2 a5!
20.Qd1 Nf6 Winning a pawn by force, by using a well-
20...Raf8? 21.f4! ±. known method: first fix, then attack and
21.Le3?! finally capture!
An inaccuracy. White should have played 30.Ke2 Nc8 31.Kd3 Nb6 32.h4 Nxa4
21.g4 Raf8 22.Le3 ÷. 33.Lc1 Nb6 34.g4 Kf7 35.Ld2 a4
21...Nxe4 22.Lxe4 (D) 36.Lc1 Kf6 37.La3 g5 38.h5
38.hxg5+ Kxg5 39.Lc1+ Kxg4 40.Lxh6
XABCDEFGHY a3 41.Lc1 a2 42.Lb2 Kf3 –+.
8r+-+-+k+( 38...Ke7 39.Lc1 Nd7!
Accuracy till the end: 39...Kd7? 40.Lxg5.
7zpp+qsnrzp-' 40.Ke2 Nf6 41.Kf3 Kd7
6-+-zp-+-zp& And White resigned as Black's plan with
...Kc7-b6-a5 and ...b5, wins without much
5+-zpPzp-+-% trouble.
0-1
4-+P+L+-+$
3+-zP-vLPzPl#
2P+-+-tR-zP"
1+-+QtR-mK-!
xabcdefghy
Black's position is more attractive as he has □ Shavtvaladze Nikoloz
a certain plan to generate at his disposal: ■ Grivas Efstratios
exchange all pieces that can protect the B30 Athens 2002
doubled c4-pawn, going to a favourable 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.Lb5 Nge7
endgame. On the other hand, White has not 5.0-0 Ng6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Qc7 8.Re1
done much during the last moves, so he has Ld6 9.g3 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 a6 11.Le2 Le5
fallen into a passive position. 12.Qd3 b5 13.f4 Lxc3 14.bxc3 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 18...Rac8 (D)
8r+l+k+-tr( XABCDEFGHY
7+-wqp+pzpp' 8-+r+-+-tr(
6p+-+p+n+& 7+lwq-mkpzpp'
5+p+-+-+-% 6p+-+p+-+&
4-+-+PzP-+$ 5+p+pzP-+-%
3+-zPQ+-zP-# 4-+-+-zP-+$
2P+P+L+-zP" 3+-zPQ+LzP-#
1tR-vL-tR-mK-! 2P+P+-+-zP"
xabcdefghy 1tR-+-tR-mK-!
Naturally, a queen exchange would favour xabcdefghy
Black, because White would lack any The struggle for the initiative and the
attacking possibilities as compensation for creation of weaknesses has concluded in
his doubled c-pawns. Black's favour. White is left with weak
14...Lb7 doubled c-pawns and without any
14...0-0? 15.La3 Rd8 16.Ld6 Qb6+ compensating factors for this weakness.
17.Qd4! would give White the advantage. Black naturally has the advantage exactly
15.La3 d5! 16.e5?! because of White's weak pawn structure; still
White should seek complications and try to he needs to come up with a plan to exploit it.
open the position by means of 16.Lf3! In positions of this type, the move
when Black must be extremely cautious and 18...Rhc8 is more common. However,
continue 16...0-0-0! 17.e5 Ne7! 18.Ld6 Black is planning to open up the position
(18.Lxe7!? Qxe7 19.a4 Qc5+ 20.Kg2 with the future ...d4 advance, so the other
Kc7 ÷) 18...Qb6+ 19.Qd4! (19.Kg2 Nf5) rook will be needed on d8. Black's idea of
19...Rxd6!! (19...Qxd4+ 20.cxd4 Nf5 voluntarily relieving White of his doubled
21.Lc5 Lc6 =) 20.exd6 Qxd4+ 21.cxd4 pawns seems irrational, but the invasion of
Nf5 22.c3 Lc6! with obvious compensation the black major pieces into White's camp
for the exchange. and pressure on White's remaining
16...Ne7! 17.Lxe7? weaknesses (c2 and a2) is much more
Incomprehensible, as White's only hope is to significant. Besides, if Black simply ganged
retain his dark-squared bishop. White would up against the c3-pawn, White would be able
then remain worse, as he cannot dent Black's to defend it adequately.
position, but this aimless exchange leads 19.Re3 Qb6 20.Kh1 Rhd8 21.Rae1 g6!
him into a hopeless position. Thus, White The correct arrangement, as 21...h6?! would
had to go in for 17.Ld6 Qd7. allow a future invasion with Qh7 or
17...Kxe7! counterplay connected with the f5 advance.
This excellent move prevents White's 22.Qd2 d4!
immediate counterplay connected with a4 All of a sudden White is relieved of a major
(see following notes). The black king is organic weakness and still his position
perfectly safe and helps his forces to collapses! The explanation is simple: the
coordinate. weaknesses in White's position that are
18.Lf3 accessible to Black increase from one (c3) to
18.a4 bxa4 19.Rxa4 a5 20.Rea1 Qc5+ three (c2, a2 and the white king).
21.Kg2 Lc6 and Black stands excellent. 23.cxd4 Rxd4 24.Qg2 Lxf3 25.Rxf3
Qc6 26.Rf2 Rc4! 27.Rc1 b4!
Fixing the weak white queenside pawns and The d-pawns
preparing to pressurize them further. If ‘Very’ central double pawns, such as the d
White evaded the exchange of queens, he and the e are less common than the c, but
would have to worry about his exposed king still, if they offer no compensation, they can
as well. But now, the black king is 'freed' be miserable. Everybody knows the
and can contribute to the pressure on White's Botvinnik games that we examined in the
position. positive aspects chapter and they tend to fall
28.Kg1 Qxg2+ 29.Kxg2 a5 30.Kf1 (D) in love with them, but reality sometimes is
XABCDEFGHY harsh and much different... The following
examples can easily prove it.
8-+r+-+-+( □ Eley Brian
7+-+-mkp+p' ■ Uhlmann Wolfgang
C01 Hastings 1972
6-+-+p+p+& 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.exd5 exd5
5zp-+-zP-+-% 5.Ld3 Nc6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Ng3
f5 9.Nce2 Ld6 10.Nh5 Qe8 11.Nhf4 h6
4-zpr+-zP-+$ 12.Lb5 g5 13.Lxc6 Qxc6 14.Nd3 f4
3+-+-+-zP-# 15.f3 Nf5 16.Ne5 Qb6 17.Ng4 Ld7
18.a4 Rae8 19.Qd3 Kg7 20.Ld2 Nh4
2P+P+-tR-zP" 21.a5 (D)
1+-tR-+K+-! XABCDEFGHY
xabcdefghy 8-+-+rtr-+(
30...h5! 7zppzpl+-mk-'
Intending to create one more weakness in
White's camp, either on g3 or f4. This is a 6-wq-vl-+-zp&
typical and often decisive idea, useful in 5zP-+p+-zp-%
plenty of endgames.
31.Ke1 h4 32.Kd1 hxg3 33.hxg3 Rc3 4-+-zP-zpNsn$
34.g4
Or 34.Rg2 Rf3! and 35...Rcc3.
3+-+Q+P+-#
34...Ra3 35.Ra1 Rc4 36.g5 Rcc3 37.Ke1 2-zPPvLN+PzP"
Rh3 38.Kd2 Rhf3! 39.Ke2 Rxf2+!
The exchange of one pair of rooks eases 1tR-+-+RmK-!
Black's technical task, since the material xabcdefghy
White could use to protect his many
Black's position is quite comfortable, as his
weaknesses is reduced.
spatial plus and his bishop pair can confirm.
40.Kxf2 Rc3 41.Rc1 Kd7 42.Ke2 Kc6
So, the outcome of a passive opening
43.Kd2 Kd5!
treatment was not what White wished for,
The black king is decisively activated, while
but that was his mistake already.
Black at the same time avoids White's last
21...Qb5!
trap: 43...Rf3? 44.c3!.
The simplest solution, avoiding any
44.Rh1 Ke4 45.Rh7 Rc7 46.Rh4 Kf3
complications which are always suited to the
The threatened 47...Kg3 is decisive. An
inferior side.
instructive detail is that Black eventually
22.Nc3
captures White's third weakness, the one
22.Qxb5? Lxb5 –+ or 22.Nc1? Qxb2
caused by the move 30...h5!.
23.Nb3 Lf5 –+ were the other options.
0-1
22...Qxd3 23.cxd3
http://trainers.fide.com But now White 'obtained' doubled d-pawns.
In this case they offer nothing positive to 36...Lf4 37.Rd1 Lg4 38.Re1 Rc8
their boss, just a permanent headache. 39.Nb7
23...c6 24.Na4 Lf5 25.Nc5 Rf7! Now both White's knights are trapped in
An instructive moment. Black does not 'fall' opposite corners of the board!
for the obvious 25...Lxc5?! 26.dxc5 Lxd3 39...Rh8 40.Lb4 Rh2 41.Nd8
which would win a pawn, but would It is time to finish the job, with a small but
unweaken White's pawn structure and let his effective combination.
bishop out. When you have a positionally 41...c5!
won game there is no need to grab the first 41...Nh4? 42.Le7+.
pawn you see - wait for a really tasty one. 42.dxc5 Nh4 43.cxb6
26.Rae1 Rxe1 27.Lxe1 Ng6 28.Lc3 (D) 43.Lc3+ Kg6 44.Ne6 Rxg2+ 45.Kf1
XABCDEFGHY Lh6 –+.
43...Rxg2+ 44.Kf1 Rh2!
8-+-+-+-+( And White had to resign, as he was faced
7zpp+-+rmk-' with the double threat of 45...Rxh1 # and
45.Le7+ Kg7 46.Lxh4 g2+.
6-+pvl-+nzp& 0-1
5zP-sNp+lzp-% □ Beliavsky Alexander
4-+-zP-zpN+$ ■ Chernin Alexander
E12 Tunis 1985
3+-vLP+P+-# 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Lb7
2-zP-+-+PzP" 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qa4+ Nbd7 8.g3
a6 9.Lh3 Le7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rd1 Ld6
1+-+-+RmK-! 12.Nh4 b5 13.Qc2 Ne4 14.Nf5 Re8
xabcdefghy 15.Ld2 Nxd2 16.Nxd6 cxd6 17.Rxd2
Nf6 (D)
28...h5!
Having reduced White to passivity, Black XABCDEFGHY
slowly advances on the kingside, keeping 8r+-wqr+k+(
everything under control as he does so.
29.Nf2 g4 30.fxg4 7+l+-+pzpp'
Forced. After 30.Re1?! Black wins with 6p+-zp-sn-+&
30...gxf3 31.gxf3 Nh4 –+.
30...hxg4 31.Re1 g3 32.hxg3 fxg3 5+p+p+-+-%
33.Nh1?!
White was lost anyway, but surely this is not
4-+-zP-+-+$
the ideal way to create counterchances! He 3zP-sN-+-zPL#
was also lost after 33.Nh3 Lxh3 34.gxh3
Rf2 35.Rf1 Rc2 –+ but he should have 2-zPQtRPzP-zP"
gone for 33.Nd1 Nf4 34.Ne3 (34.Re3?
Lg4! –+) 34...Lxd3 μ.
1tR-+-+-mK-!
33...b6 34.Ne6+ Kf6 35.Nd8 Rc7 36.a6 xabcdefghy
White hurries to secure his knight but this White has obtained the healthier pawn
loses without much trouble. White should structure, as Black's doubled d-pawns seem
have tried to set a trap with 36.Ld2!?. Black to be rather weak. But on the other hand it
then wins with 36...c5! (36...Le7? 37.Nxg3 cannot be said that it is easy for White to
Lxd8 38.Rf1 Nh4 39.Nxf5 Nxf5 40.g4 attack them. One must also add another
Rg7 41.Rxf5+ Ke6 42.Kf2 Rxg4 ³) important plus for White; his superior
37.Lc3 c4 38.dxc4 Rxc4 39.Rf1 Lf4 –+. bishop.
18.Qb3 Qc7 19.Rc1 Ne4?! 33.e4 fxe4 34.fxe4 Le6 35.Rf2 ±.
Obviously Black must try to solve (at least 33.Rg1 (D)
partly) the problem of his bishop and for that XABCDEFGHY
purpose he should have opted for 19...Lc8!
20.Lg2 Le6 ². 8-tr-+-+-+(
20.Rdc2 Qc4 21.Qb4!
This is what Black probably missed. Now
7+-+-trl+p'
his doubled d-pawns will come under heavy 6-+-zp-mk-+&
attack.
21...a5!? 5zp-+-+p+-%
Black tries to be active by sacrificing a 4L+pzP-mK-+$
pawn, as the main alternative 21...Nxc3
fails to satisfy: 22.Rxc3! Qxe2 (22...Qxb4 3zP-zP-+P+-#
23.axb4 ± Rxe2? 24.Rc7 Rb8 25.Rxb7 2-+R+P+-zP"
+–) 23.Rc7 Rab8 (23...Re7? 24.Ld7!
Rb8 25.Rxb7 +–) 24.Ld7 Rf8 25.Re1 ±. 1+-+-+-tR-!
Of course, the 'natural' 21...Qxb4 22.axb4 xabcdefghy
leaves Black with a shattered position:
22...g6 23.e3 (23.Nd1 Re7 24.Rc7 ±) 33...Lg6?!
23...Re7 24.Nxe4 dxe4 25.Rc7 ±. In all This is extremely passive. Black should have
these variations the misery of the black b7- tried to get rid of the bishops (again) with
bishop is well proved. 33...Le8. White stands of course clearly
22.Qxb5 Nxc3 23.Qxc4 better: 34.Lxe8 Rbxe8 35.Rg2! (35.Rg5?
Re4+! [35...Rxe2? 36.Rxf5+ Kg7 37.Rxe2
23.Qxb7?! is not recommended, as after
Rxe2 38.Rxa5 Rxh2 39.Ra4 d5 40.Ke5
23...Nxe2+ 24.Kg2 Nxc1 25.Rxc4 dxc4
Rc2 41.Ra7+ Kg6 42.f4 Rxc3 43.f5+
26.Qd5 Nd3 Black retains chances of
Kh6 44.f6 Re3+ 45.Kf5 c3 46.Rc7 Rf3+
salvation.
23...dxc4 24.bxc3 Rab8 47.Ke5 Kg6 48.Rg7+ Kh6 49.Rg2 +–]
24...Le4 was an interesting option. White 36.fxe4 Rxe4+ 37.Kf3 Kxg5 =) 35...a4
keeps his large advantage with 25.Rd2 36.h4 ±.
(25.Rb2?! Rab8 °) 25...Rab8 26.d5 Rb3 34.h4 Rb6 35.e3 d5 36.Rcg2! Rbe6
27.a4 Re5 28.Rd4 Rb2 (28...Lxd5? 29.f4 37.Re1?!
+–) 29.Lf1 ±. 37.Rg5! Rxe3 38.h5 +–.
37...Rb6 38.Reg1 Rbe6 39.Rg5!
25.Ld7 Re7 26.La4
Finally! Black is plain lost.
Also good was 26.Lb5 Le4 27.Rb2 Reb7 Rxe3 40.h5 Re1
39...
(27...a4? 28.Rb4 +–) 28.a4 Lc6 29.Rcb1
Kf8 (29...Le4 30.Ra1 Lc6 31.Rba2! 40...Le8 41.Rxf5+ Ke6 42.Rgg5! Re2
Lxb5 32.axb5 Rxb5 33.Rxa5 ±) 30.f3 f5 43.Re5+ Kf7 44.Lxe8+ Rxe8 45.Rxd5
+– or 40...Lf7 41.Lc6! +–.
31.Kf2 ±.
41.hxg6 Rxg1 42.Rxg1 hxg6 43.Lc6 Re2
26...Ld5 27.g4! 1-0
An instructive moment. White could imme-
diately play 27.f3 f5, but with the text move The e-pawns
he succeeds in isolating another black pawn Of course what concerns the e-pawns has
and in gaining the f4-square for his king. already been described in the previous
Good technique from ‘Alexander the Great!’ chapters; here we will just analyse some
27...g6 28.f3 interesting and instructional cases.
28.g5?! h6 29.h4? Re4 =.
28...f5 29.gxf5 gxf5 30.Kf2 Kf7 31.Kg3 □ Jussupow Artur
Kf6 32.Kf4 Lf7 ■ Christiansen Larry
Maybe Black should have gone for 32...Rg7 B07 Las Palmas 1993
1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.f3 e5 4.dxe5 dxe5 good is 12.Nd2 with interesting possibilities
5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Lc4 Le6 7.Lxe6 fxe6 such as c3, Nb3 or, c3, Nc4, but White
(D) wants to place his knight on d3. A possible
XABCDEFGHY continuation could be 12...Rhd8 13.a4 Rd7
14.Nc4 Rad8?! 15.b4! ± Bae,T-Curtis,J
8rsn-mk-vl-tr( West Bromwich 2005.
7zppzp-+-zpp' 12...a6 13.c3 Rhd8 14.Ke2 h6 15.Nc2
Rd7
6-+-+psn-+& After 15...a5 16.a4 White can also plan b4
and Na3-c4.
5+-+-zp-+-% 16.Rhd1
4-+-+P+-+$ White is obliged to reduce Black’s activity
on the d-file by exchanging a pair of rooks.
3+-+-+P+-# 16...Rad8
2PzPP+-+PzP" 16...Rxd1 17.Rxd1 Rd8 18.Rb1! ².
17.Rxd7+ Rxd7 18.Ne1!
1tRNvL-mK-sNR! Planning Nd3, putting pressure on the weak
xabcdefghy e5-pawn.
18...Ne8 19.Nd3 Nd6 20.Lf2!
In general, I am not very fond of such pawn 20.Nc5 Rd8 21.b3 a5 22.a4 b6 23.Nd3 ².
structures, as I fail to see Black's
20...b6 21.Lg3 Nf7?!
compensation for the doubled pawns in the
Too passive. Black should use the 'principle
long run. It must be said that many times
of economy' to protect his weak pawn and
Black has succeeded in defending success-
use his king for that purpose: 21...Kf6 22.h4
fully, but he had to suffer for ages...
g6 ².
8.Nh3
22.a4 a5
The main alternative is 8.Le3 Ld6
It's now too late for 22...Kf6 23.b4! Ne7
(8...Nbd7?! 9.Nd2 Lc5 10.Lxc5 Nxc5
24.a5 ±.
11.Nc4 Ncd7 12.Nh3 Ne8 13.0-0-0 Ke7
23.Rc1 Kf6 24.b4! Rd8
14.Rd2 b5 15.Rhd1 ± Spassky,B-Rivas,M
24...axb4 25.cxb4 Nd4+ 26.Ke3 ±, as the
Salamanca 1991) 9.Ne2 Ke7 10.Nd2 a6
threats Rc4 and Nxe5 or simply a5, are
11.a4 Nc6 12.c3 Nd7 13.Nc1 b5!? 14.Nd3
Na5! 15.b4 Nb7 16.Nb3 ² Hertneck,G- nearly decisive.
25.b5 Ne7 26.Lf2!?
Lutz,C Munich 1993.
Also good is 26.c4 c5 27.bxc6 Nxc6 28.c5
8...Lc5
±.
Maybe Black should preserve his bishop by
26...Rb8 27.c4
playing 8...Ld6 9.Ke2 Ke7 10.Le3 h6
White could also opt for 27.Rb1 intending
11.Nd2 Nc6 12.c3 g5 13.Nf2 Rhg8 14.g4!
Nd8 15.a4 Nf7 16.b4 a6 17.Nb3 ² to stop ...c5, but as the game continuation
shows, White has no need for such finesses
Alterman,B-Akopian,V Beersheba 1992.
(27...Nd6 28.Nxe5! Kxe5 29.Lg3+ Kf6
9.Nf2 Lxf2+?! 30.e5+ +–).
There is no point surrendering the bishop.
27...c5 28.Nxc5!
9...Nc6 10.Nd3 Lb6 11.Na3 Ke7 12.Nc4
A positional sacrifice in order to obtain an
² Mohammadi,H-Salehian,S Tehran 2008, is unstoppable pawn phalanx.
the natural continuation. 28...bxc5 29.Lxc5 Nd8
10.Kxf2 Nc6 11.Le3 Ke7 Or 29...Nc8 30.Le3 Nfd6 31.Ld2 (31.c5?
11...Rf8?! 12.Rd1+! Ke8 (12...Ke7? Nxb5 32.axb5 Rxb5 =) 31...Rb7 32.Rc2
13.Lc5+) 13.Ke2 ±. ±.
12.Na3!? 30.Ld6 Rb7
With the idea Nc4, Nc2 or Nb5. Equally 30...Rc8 31.La3!.
31.Rd1 XABCDEFGHY
Equally good is 31.c5 Nec6 (31...Rd7?!
32.f4! exf4 33.e5+ Kf5 34.c6 +–) 32.Kd2! 8r+-wqk+-tr(
±.
31...Ndc6!?
7zpl+-vlpzpp'
As 31...Rd7 32.Lxe5+ +– or 31...Nf7 6-+n+psn-+&
32.La3 and c5-c6, were easy to handle,
returning the piece is Black's best practical
5+-zp-+-+-%
chance. 4-+L+P+-+$
32.bxc6 Nxc6 33.Lc5! Rb2+ 34.Rd2
Rb3 3+-sN-+-+-#
After the rook exchange 34...Rxd2+ White 2PzP-sN-zPPzP"
wins as follows: 35.Kxd2 Kf7 36.h4! h5
37.Ld6 Ke8 38.c5 and Kd3-c4-b5. 1tR-vLQmK-+R!
35.Rd6 Ne7?! xabcdefghy
Black did not find the best defence.
35...Rb2+?! was equally bad after 36.Kd1! This position has been analysed in my book
(36.Kd3? Nb4+! [36...Ne7? 37.Ra6 ±] Beating the Fianchetto Defences (Gambit
2006). White has obtained the better pawn
37.Lxb4 Rxb4 38.c5 Rxa4 39.c6 Ra1
structure, but on the other hand Black has
40.Kc2 Ra4 41.Kc3 Ra1 42.Kb2 Ra4 =)
developed harmoniously and controls the
36...Nb4 37.Lb6 Rxg2 38.c5 +– but
central d4-square. My opinion is that White's
35...Nd4+! was calling for: 36.Lxd4 exd4
structural advantage will tell in the end, but
37.Rxd4 Ra3 38.c5 Rc3 39.Rd7 ±.
he should tread carefully among the tactics
36.Lb6 Ng6 that Black can employ in the centre and on
36...Rb2+ 37.Kd3 Rxg2 38.Ld8! Kf7 the d- and b-files. This is the kind of position
39.c5 +–. that I would love to play as White, but also
37.Lxa5 Nf4+ 38.Kd2 Nxg2 39.c5 Ne3 would not be afraid to play as Black!
40.Ld8+ 10.Lb5!?
40.c6 Nc4+ 41.Kc2 Rb2+ 42.Kc3 +–. This is a rare bird compared to alternatives.
40...Kf7 41.Rd3 Nc4+ 42.Kc2 Rb8 With the text move, White wishes to
42...Rxd3 43.Kxd3 Nb2+ 44.Kc2 Nxa4 eliminate the black knight before coming to
45.Lb6! Ke8 46.Kb3 Nxb6 47.cxb6 Kd7 d4. Also playable is 10.0-0 0-0 11.Re1 Ne5
48.Kb4 Kc6 49.Ka5 +–. The doubled e- 12.Qe2 Qd4 (12...Qc7 13.f4!) 13.Rd1!
pawns seal Black's fate in this ending. (13.Nb5? Qd7 14.f3 Nxc4 15.Qxc4 La6
43.c6 Ke8 44.c7 Ra8 45.Rc3 Nb6 46.a5! 16.a4 Rfb8μ Srebrnic,V-Kuljasevic,D Nova
Rxa5
Gorica 2005 or 13.Lb3 ÷ ½-½
46...Nc8 47.Rc5 +–.
Nikolaidis,K-Jackson,O Hastings 2009) 13...
47.c8Q Rfd8 14.Lb5! and White retains a tiny
Black resigned due to heavy material losses:
advantage due to his better pawn structure.
47...Nxc8 48.Lxa5 +–.
Of course, this position is also quite difficult
1-0 for both players, but in such cases chess
http://trainers.fide.com understanding decides...
10...0-0 11.Lxc6 Lxc6 12.Qe2 Nd7
□ Grivas Efstratios The main alternative is 12...Qb6 13.Nc4
■ Georgiou Kostantinos Qa6 14.0-0 Rfd8 15.b3 Nd7 16.Qc2 Lf6
A57 Amfissa 2008 ÷ as in Koneru,H-Weiss,C Budapest 2002.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Nf3 Lb7 In my opinion Black's bishop pair fully
5.Nfd2 bxc4 6.e4 e6 7.dxe6 dxe6 8.Nc3 compensates for his weakened pawn
Nc6 9.Lxc4 Le7 (D) structure.
13.Nc4 Qc7 14.0-0 Lf6 15.Ld2 Rab8 XABCDEFGHY
16.Rac1 Ld4 17.b3
White completed his development and he is 8-+-+-trk+(
ready to start pressure on Black's weakened
queenside pawn structure.
7zp-+-+-zpp'
17...Ne5!? 6-+-wqp+-+&
An interesting continuation. White retains
somewhat better chances after 17...f5 5+-zp-zp-+-%
18.exf5 exf5 19.Qe6+ Kh8 20.Nd5 Lxd5 4-+P+P+-+$
21.Qxd5 Nb6 22.Qd6 ² or 17...Nb6
18.Na5 Ld7 (18...La8 19.Nb5) 19.Rfd1 3+-+-+P+P#
Rfd8 20.Nb5 Lxb5 21.Qxb5 ² but Black
2P+-+-wQP+"
could also try 17...a5 18.Rfd1 Ne5 (18...
a4? 19.Nxa4 Lxa4 20.bxa4 Qc6 21.a5 ±) 1+-+-+R+K!
19.Lf4 f6 ÷. xabcdefghy
18.Lf4 f6 19.Kh1!
Black's doubled e-pawns should be rather
The f-file will open soon, so White removes
weak in the endgame, but the activity of his
his king from the lethal diagonal g1-a7, in
pieces compensates for those weaknesses.
order to be able to continue with f3.
27...Rd8?
19...Rb4 20.f3 Qe7
A poor move, as was 27...Rb8? 28.Qc2
Maybe Black should delay the doubling of Qd4 29.Rd1 Qb2 (29...Rb2? 30.Qa4!
his pawn by playing 20...a5. Qc3 31.Qe8 #) 30.Qa4 ±. The correct
21.Lxe5 fxe5
Planned and correct! After the naive 21... approach was as follows: 27...Qd3! 28.Rg1
Lxe5? 22.Nxe5 fxe5 23.Rfd1 Rd4 (28.Rc1 Qxe4 29.Qxc5 Rxf3! 30.Kg1
24.Qa6 Qd7 25.Qa5 Rd8 26.Re1 Black [30.gxf3? Qxf3+ 31.Kg1 Qg3+ 32.Kf1
Qf4+ μ] 30...Rf8 31.Qxa7 Qd4+ 32.Qxd4
will face big problems with his pawn
structure. exd4 33.c5 e5 ÷) 28...Qxc4 29.Qd2! Qd4
22.Nd1! 30.Qa5 Qd6 (30...c4 31.Qc7 Qc3 32.Qxa7)
White regroups his knight in order to put 31.Qxa7 c4 32.Rb1 ÷.
pressure on Black's pawn structure. 28.Rb1! Qd4
22...Lb5 The alternative 28...Rd7 was not that
Black could also play 22...Qg5 23.Nf2 helpful either after 29.Rb5! Qd4 30.Rb8+
Rbb8 24.Nd3 Rbd8 25.Rfd1 (25.Ncxe5 Kf7 31.Qh4 Qxc4 32.Qh5+! Ke7
Lxe5 26.Rxc5 Rxd3 27.Qxd3 Qf4 28.g3 33.Qxe5 ±.
Lxe4 29.Qe2 Qf5 30.Rxe5 Qxe5 31.fxe4 29.Qg3!
Rxf1+ 32.Qxf1 Qxe4+ =) 25...Lb5 Now White has coordinated his pieces and
26.Qe1 Rd7. His pawn structure would be can put pressure on nearly all Black's pawns
rather weak, but his bishop pair strong. - the absence of the f7-pawn means that even
23.Nf2?! g7 is weak!
Now White should have played 23.Ndb2 29...Qc3?!
Lxb2 (23...Rb8 24.Nd3 Lxc4 25.Rxc4 Defence is becoming more difficult with
Rxc4 26.bxc4 ²) 24.Qxb2 Lxc4 25.Rxc4 every move, but Black should have gone for
Rxc4 26.bxc4 Qd6 27.h3 achieving a better 29...Qxc4 30.Qxe5 Qa6 (30...Qxa2?
version of the ending than in the game. 31.Rb7 +–) 31.Qxc5 Qxa2 32.Rb7 Qa1+
23...Lxf2! 33.Kh2 a5 34.Ra7 ±.
Liquidating to a drawish endgame. 30.Kh2?!
24.Qxf2 Lxc4 25.Rxc4 Rxc4 26.bxc4 30.Rb7 Qc1+ 31.Kh2 g5 (31...Qf4
Qd6 27.h3 (D) 32.Rxg7+ Kf8 33.Rxh7) 32.Qxe5 Qf4+
33.Qxf4 gxf4 34.Rc7 +– was winning but
in time-trouble White played it safe. XABCDEFGHY
30...Kh8?!
Black also had no chances to survive after 8r+l+-trk+(
30...Rd7?! 31.Rb8+ Kf7 32.Qg5 but he
had to try 30...Rf8! 31.Rd1! h6 32.Qg6
7+-wq-vlp+p'
Qe3 33.Rd7! (33.Qxe6+? Kh7 34.Qxe5 6p+-zppzp-+&
Rxf3 35.Rd7 Rxh3+! 36.gxh3 Qf2+ =)
33...Qf4+ 34.Qg3! (34.g3 Qf6 35.Qxf6 5+p+-snP+-%
gxf6 36.Rxa7 Rb8) 34...Rf7 35.Rd6 Re7 4-+-sNP+P+$
36.Rc6 ±.
31.Rb7 Rg8 32.Rxa7 Qxc4 33.Qxe5 3+-sN-+-+Q#
White won a pawn and his king security and 2PzPP+-+-zP"
pawn structure are superior to Black's.
33...Qd4 1+-mKR+L+R!
33...h6 34.a4 +–. xabcdefghy
34.Qxe6 c4 35.Rc7 Qd2 36.Qe5 Qxa2
37.Qd4 h6 38.Rxc4 14.g5
A second pawn has been won! The end was: A novelty at that time. Later, White often
38...Qa6 39.Rc5 Qb6 40.Rd5 Qc7+ tried 14.Qh6 (and 14.Rg1) 14...Kh8 15.g5
Rg8 16.g6 fxg6 17.fxe6 Lb7 18.Nd5
41.e5 Qe7 42.f4 Rf8 43.Qe4 Qh4
Lxd5 19.exd5 f5! 20.Lg2 Lf6 ÷. In the
44.Rd4 Re8 45.Ra4 Qd8 46.Qg6 Qd7
47.Ra7! Qxa7 48.Qxe8+ Kh7 49.e6 Qe3 stem game for 13...0-0, Gligoric,S-Fischer,R
50.Qf7 Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade 1959, White played
1-0 14.Nce2.
14...b4?
Objectively, Black is OK after 14...fxg5! (as
Kholmov confirmed in his 1982 book)
15.fxe6 fxe6 16.Nxe6 Qd7 17.Nd5 (after
17.Nxf8?! Qxh3 18.Lxh3 Lxh3 the white
f8-knight is trapped) 17...Qxe6 (or,
possibly, 17...Rf3!?) 18.Qxe6+ Lxe6
19.Nxe7+ Kf7 = which occurred in several
later games. Therefore, White's novelty
failed to refute the variation...
15.gxf6 Lxf6 16.Rg1+ Kh8 17.Qh6!
The f-pawns Qe7 18.Nc6!!
The examination of the negative aspects of But instead the game provided an amazing
the doubled pawns will be concluded with example of the distracting Nd4-c6 sacrifice.
the f-pawns. This idea enriched the arsenal of White's
Our first example will deal with a brutal attacking ideas in the Sicilian.
attack in a famous game; the doubled f- 18...Nxc6
pawns failed to protect their king: Now the attempt 19.Rd3? is parried by the
bishop's check from g5, and after 20.Rxg5
□ Kholmov Ratmir Black plays 20...f6. But White found a better
■ Bronstein David move.
B99 Kiev 1964 19.e5!!
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 cxd4 White 'cleaned' the e4-square and the b1-h7
5.Nxd4 a6 6.Lg5 e6 7.f4 Le7 8.Qf3 Qc7 diagonal, making his remaining minor pieces
9.0-0-0 Nbd7 10.g4 b5 11.Lxf6 gxf6 12.f5 active. 19.Rd3 Lg5+ 20.Rxg5 f6 leads to
Ne5 13.Qh3 0-0 (D) nowhere.
19...Lg5+? 26...Lxd7 27.Rg7.
After 19...Lxe5 20.f6! Lxf6 (forced!) 27.fxe6 Nxe6 28.Lxe6 Rd1+ 29.Rxd1
L
21. d3 L R
g5+ 22. xg5 f5 (22...f6 L xe6 30.Kxb2 Rb8+
23.Rg3! [23.Lxh7 fxg5 24.Le4+ Kg8 30...Lxa2 31.Rd7 Rb8+ 32.Ka3! +–.
25.Rg1 Ra7 26.Nd5 Qg7 27.Rxg5 31.Ka1 Lxa2?! 32.Rgd3 Qe7 33.Kxa2
Qxg5+ 28.Qxg5+ Rg7 29.Nf6+ Kf7 Qe6+ 34.Rb3
30.Qh5+ Kxf6 31.Qh4+ Kf7 32.Lxc6 ²] 1-0
23...Rf7 24.Rdg1 Qf8 [even worse is The doubled f-pawns are not as common
24...Ld7 25.Ne4! with the idea of 26.Nxd6 in practice as their ‘cousins’. This fact has to
and 27.Rg7] 25.Rg8+ Qxg8 26.Rxg8+ do with the king’s protection.
Kxg8 27.Ne4 ±) 23.Rdg1! Ra7 24.Ne2!
As in most of the cases there is a short
Ne5 25.Nf4 ± Black is unable to survive
castle going; chess players are not very keen
the attack. The most stubborn defence is on doubling their f-pawns, creating serious
19...Nxe5!? 20.Ne4 Ng6! (not 20...Nd7? weakness around their king and then pay the
21.Rxd6! exf5 where 22.Nxf6! just wins) heavy price that it is usually promised...
21.Nxf6 Qxf6 22.fxg6 Qg7! (22...fxg6?
23.Lg2! +–) 23.Qxg7+ Kxg7 24.gxf7+ □ Jachym Marc
(after the capture on h7 Black also has ■ Grivas Efstratios
problems) 24...Kxf7 25.Rxd6 ± and White C82 Athens 1983
is clearly better, but, as Kholmov puts it in 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.La4 Nf6
his book, it is hard to say with confidence 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Lb3 d5 8.dxe5 Le6
that White is winning. The worst of Black's 9.c3 Nc5 10.Lc2 Lg4 11.Re1 Le7
options, 19...dxe5? loses to 20.Ne4 Lg5+ 12.Le3 Ne6 13.Lb3 Nxe5 14.Qxd5
Qxd5 15.Lxd5 Lxf3 (D)
21.Nxg5 f6 22.Nxh7.
20.Rxg5 f6 21.exd6 Qf7 22.Rg3! bxc3 XABCDEFGHY
23.Lc4!
A nice move, after which Black is paralysed.
8r+-+k+-tr(
23.Le2 Rd8 24.Lf3! (24.Rdg1? Ra7 7+-zp-vlpzpp'
25.Lh5 Qf8 ÷) 24...cxb2+ 25.Kb1 Ne7
(25...Ld7 26.Lxc6 Lxc6 27.fxe6 +–)
6p+-+n+-+&
26.fxe6 Lxe6 27.Lh5 Lxa2+ 28.Kxb2
Rab8+ 29.Ka3 Ng8 30.Lxf7 Nxh6
5+p+Lsn-+-%
31.Lxa2 ± was not bad either. 4-+-+-+-+$
23...cxb2+ 24.Kb1 Nd8 3+-zP-vLl+-#
Alternatives such as 24...Rg8 25.Rxg8+
Qxg8 26.d7! Lxd7 27.Rxd7 Qg1+ 2PzP-+-zPPzP"
28.Kxb2 Rb8+ 29.Lb3 +– or 24...Re8 1tRN+-tR-mK-!
25.d7 Lxd7 26.Rxd7 Re7 27.Lxe6 Qf8
28.Rg8+ +– or, finally, 24...Rd8 25.fxe6 xabcdefghy
Qf8 26.e7 Nxe7 27.Qxf8+ Rxf8 28.dxe7 16.gxf3
Re8 29.Rd8 +– prove Black's misery. White's opening play can hardly be
25.Rdg1?! considered a success. The alternative
Kholmov even put a question mark to this 16.Lxf3 Nxf3+ 17.gxf3 f5 18.Nd2 Kf7
move, calling it a technical inaccuracy. His 19.Nb3 c5 was equally good for Black in
L
line with 25.d7 is much stronger: 25... xd7 the game Tseshkovsky,V-Tal,M Tbilisi
(25...Lb7 26.Rdg1 White wins at once) 1978.
26.Rdg1 and Rg7 +–. 16...0-0-0! 17.Lxe6+
R
25... a7 26.d7!? Or 17.Le4 Lg5! 18.Na3 g6! μ.
Also winning is 26.Le2 exf5 27.Lh5. 17...fxe6 18.Kg2
R
26... xd7
Now both sides have to deal with their weak be defended, or an enemy passed pawn
pawn structures. But it seems that the which must be blockaded. A smartly
doubled white f-pawns can be an easier conducted defence will usually be able to
target than the black e-pawn. cover one weakness without too much
18...Rhf8 19.Nd2 Nd3 difficulty. So, if your opponent is
Forcing the white rook to occupy a passive condemned to passivity, do not attempt to
position. force the win at this one single point - play
20.Reb1 Nf4+ 21.Kf1 widely! The correct strategy for the stronger
After 21.Lxf4 Rxf4 22.Rd1 (22.Ne4 side is to find, or create, a second weakness
Rd3) 22...Rd3 White has fallen in a kind of in the enemy camp. By attacking this second
zugzwang. weakness, and then if necessary switching
21...Rd5! back to the first, we break down, and finally
Activate the rook via the fifth rank, planning destroy, the enemy's defence. Observe how
to attack the white kingside pawns and the great masters of the endgame exploit
especially the one on h2! their advantage. You will see that, nearly
22.Lxf4 always, they open up a 'second front'.
An unwilling necessity: 22.Ne4 Rh5 28.Ng3
23.Lxf4 Rxf4 24.Kg2 Rhf5 25.Nd2 The alternative 28.cxb4 also loses to
Rg5+ 26.Kf1 Rh4 27.Ne4 Rgh5 –+. 28...Rxb4 29.b3 Ra5.
22...Rxf4 23.Ke2 28...Ra5 29.Ra1
23.Rd1 loses to 23...Rh4 24.Kg2 Rg5+. Or 29.cxb4 Rxa2 30.Rb1 Rxb4 –+.
23...Rh4 24.Rg1 g6 25.Rg2 Ld6 26.Rh1 29...bxc3 30.bxc3 Rha4
Rdh5 And White resigned as he loses a pawn, and
Now all Black's forces are concentrating on also remains in a bad position.
the kingside (or maybe not?). 0-1
27.Nf1?!
Looks obligatory, but White had to seek his
salvation in a more active defence: 27.Ne4
Le5 (27...Lxh2 28.Rg4 [28.Nf6 Le5!]
28...Lg3 29.Rd1 Le5 30.Rxh4 Rxh4
31.Nc5 Ld6 μ) 28.Rg4 Rxh2 29.Rxh2 Various Doubled Pawns
Rxh2 30.Nc5 Rh1 μ. In various games there have been ‘many’
doubled pawn complexes (at least more than
27...b4!
one), a paradoxical situation where special
Opening a second front on the queenside,
measures has to be taken into account.
according to the 'Two Weaknesses
It must said that there is no real difference
Principle', one of the most important
in the handling of this from what we have
techniques for exploiting an advantage. You
already presented and studied, but in my
may read about it in Endgame Strategy by
opinion this case should be examined on its
Mikhail Shereshevsky, and Technique for
own.
the Tournament Player by Mark Dvoretsky
and Artur Jussupow, or in School of Chess □ Karpov Anatoly
Excellence 1 - Endgame Analysis by Mark ■ Ribli Zoltan
Dvoretsky. In order to remind you of what B52 Bath 1973
we're talking about, I will cite from the latter 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Lb5+ Ld7 4.Lxd7+
book: ‘On defence, your opponent will try to Qxd7 5.c4 e5 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.0-0 Nge7
defend his weaknesses securely. In a general 8.Nd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 Nd4 10.Nxd4 cxd4
sense, the “weakness in his camp” might 11.d3 Le7 12.Qb3 0-0 13.f4 Rac8
turn out to be, not merely a vulnerable pawn 14.Ld2 f6 15.h3 Rc7 16.Rf2 Rfc8
or an unfortunately placed piece, but also, 17.Raf1 Rc2 18.g4 a6 19.a4 R8c5
for example, an invasion square which must 20.Lb4 Rxf2 21.Kxf2 Rc7 22.Ld2 (D)
Rxb6+ Kc7 59.Rb7+ Kd8 60.Rxg7 +–)
XABCDEFGHY 58.Le7 ±.
8-+-+-+k+( 57.axb7 Rb8 58.Ld2 Rxb7?
7+ptrqvl-zpp' Black should not agree to the exchange of
rooks. He should have gone for 58...Lb6
6p+-zp-zp-+& 59.Rb1 Rxb7 and although White still
stands better after 60.g5 hxg5 61.hxg5 he
5+-+Pzp-+-% could probably defend. But the question
4P+-zpPzPP+$ remains: why should Black have avoided the
rook exchange? - The answer is simple: in
3+Q+P+-+P# order to be able to create counterplay by
2-zP-vL-mK-+" attacking White’s pawns in the future, as his
bishop cannot operate this important
1+-+-+R+-! mission!
59.Rxb7+ Kxb7 (D)
xabcdefghy
The agreement of a draw in this position, in
XABCDEFGHY
the game Unzicker,W-Gheorghiu,F Bath 8-+-+-+-+(
1973, was completely unjustified. White can
proceed at no risk whatsoever. 7+kvl-+-zp-'
As we can observe, there are doubled central 6-+-zp-zp-zp&
pawns for both sides. White's bishop is
superior but Black controls the only open 5+-+PzpP+-%
file, so a kind of balanced position is on the
cards.
4-+-zpP+PzP$
22...Qc8 23.Ke2 Rc5 24.f5 Ld8 25.Qa3 3+-+P+-+-#
Kf7 26.Rb1 Ke7 27.Kd1 Qd7 28.b4
Rc8 29.Qa2 Lb6 30.Le1 Kf7 31.Ra1 2-+-vLK+-+"
Ld8 32.Ld2 Lb6 33.a5 Ld8 34.Qa4
Qxa4+ 35.Rxa4
1+-+-+-+-!
During the last moves little has been xabcdefghy
achieved by White. He gained some space The white bishop's superiority over its black
on the queenside and exchanged the queens counterpart, in view of the pawn structure, is
(reducing Black's pressure down the c-file), undeniable. Since White also has the
but still Black has a defendable position. possibility of a breakthrough, his win comes
35...Ke8 36.h4 h6 37.Ra2! Kd7 38.Le1 naturally.
Le7 39.Rg2 Ld8 40.Ld2 Le7 41.Rg3 60.g5!
Rh8 42.Kc2 Rc8+ 43.Kb2 Rh8 44.Rg2 Preparing the invasion of the white king
Rc8 45.Rg1 Rh8 46.Kc2 Rc8+ 47.Kd1 through the weak light squares (f3-g4-h5-
Rh8 48.Le1 Rc8 49.Rg2 Rh8 50.Rb2 g6).
Rc8 51.Ld2 Ld8 52.b5! 60...hxg5
White finally found the correct plan, which 60...fxg5 61.hxg5 h5 62.f6 gxf6 63.g6.
consists of: 61.hxg5 Ld8
1. Exchange the queenside pawns. Or 61...fxg5 62.Lxg5 Kc8 63.Le7 Kd7
2. Exchange the rooks. 64.Lf8.
3. Break through on the kingside with g5. 62.Kf3 Kc8?
4. Penetrate with his king. 62...fxg5 is not helping either: 63.Kg4 Kc8
52...axb5 53.Rxb5 Kc7 54.Ke2 Kb8 64.Lxg5 but Black should try to activate his
55.Lb4 Lc7 56.a6 Ka7! king with 62...Ka6 63.Kg4 Kb5 64.Kh5
56...b6? 57.Lxd6! Ka7 (57...Lxd6? 58. Ka4 65.Kg6 Kb3 66.Kxg7 fxg5 67.f6
Lxf6+ 68.Kxf6 g4 69.Le1 Kc2 70.Ke6 bishop pair.
Kxd3 71.Kxd6 Ke2 (71...Kxe4 72.Ke6 14.c5!
Kf3 73.d6 g3 74.Lxg3) 72.Kxe5 d3 (72... This forestalls ...exd4 and ...c5, as well as
Kxe1 73.d6 g3 74.d7 g2 75.d8Q g1Q restricting Black's bishops. White isn’t
76.Qxd4 +–) 73.d6 g3 74.d7 g2 75.Lf2! content to have space as compensation for
Kxf2 76.d8Q g1Q 77.Qxd3 and although the black bishop pair, but aggressively
White should win the queen ending, there attacks with his pawns to translate that space
are chances that he will go wrong. into enhanced scope for his knights.
63.Kg4 Kd7 64.Kh5 Ke8 65.Lb4 14...Qb7 15.Rfd1 Rad8 16.b3
An alternative win can be found in 65.Kg6 The immediate 16.Rc2 was also good, but
Kf8 66.gxf6 Lxf6 (66...gxf6 67.Lh6+ White solves the problem on the semi-open
Ke8 68.Lg7) 67.Lg5 Lxg5 68.Kxg5 b-file forever.
Kf7 69.Kg4! Ke7 70.Kh4! Kf6 71.Kh5 16...Le8
Kf7 72.Kg5 +–. 16...Le6 looks like a fair alternative, but
65...fxg5 White can proceed with 17.d5! Ld7 18.Qc4
This seems like a weak move, but the and his activity assures him the advantage.
alternative 65...Le7 66.Kg6 Kf8 67.gxf6 17.h4! Nf4
gxf6 68.Lxd6! Lxd6 69.Kxf6 would not White's idea is revealed by 17...h6 18.h5
save the game either. Nf4 19.Lxf4 exf4 20.Nh4 ±.
66.Lxd6 Lf6 67.Lb4 Kf7 68.Ld2 Le7 18.Lxf4 exf4
69.Lxg5 La3 70.Ld8 Ld6 71.Kg5 Now Black has to deal with a second
And Black resigned due to 71...Ke8 72.f6 doubled pawn complex, the f one. On the
gxf6+ 73.Lxf6 Kf7 74.Kf5. other hand he now possesses the bishop pair
1-0 against the knight pair.
19.Na4 Lh5 (D)
□ Adams Michael
■ Conquest Stuart XABCDEFGHY
C73 Hastings 1996
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.La4 d6
8-+-tr-tr-mk(
5.Lxc6+ bxc6 6.d4 f6 7.c4 Ne7 8.Nc3 7+qzp-vl-zpp'
Ng6 9.Le3 Le7 10.0-0 0-0 11.h3 Kh8
12.Rc1 Ld7 13.Qe2 Qc8 (D) 6p+pzp-zp-+&
XABCDEFGHY 5+-zP-+-+l%
8r+q+-tr-mk( 4N+-zPPzp-zP$
7+-zplvl-zpp' 3+P+-+N+-#
6p+pzp-zpn+& 2P+-+QzPP+"
5+-+-zp-+-% 1+-tRR+-mK-!
4-+PzPP+-+$ xabcdefghy
20.d5!
3+-sN-vLN+P# What's this? Is it White that wants to open
2PzP-+QzPP+" the position? And what about the black
bishop pair? Well, the secret lies in initiative
1+-tR-+RmK-! and activity, clear assets of the modern chess
xabcdefghy treatment.
20...Qb5?!
This is a typical opening position with a
Too optimistic. Black had to go for a slightly
doubled c-pawn complex for Black. Of
worse position: 20...cxd5 21.Rxd5 f5
course, as compensation, he possesses the
22.cxd6 cxd6 23.Rcd1 ². best 33...a5 34.a4 Rf7 35.Rc5 Rhf6
21.Nc3! Qxe2 36.Ne4 Rf4 37.Re5 ±.
21...Qxc5? 22.dxc6 and 23.Nd5. 34.Nf5!
22.Nxe2 Black resigned due to heavy material losses:
Now, the square e6 is available to both white 34...Rhe6 35.Rxc6 Rxc6 36.Ne7+.
knights. 1-0
22...f5! Tripled Pawns
Black tries to mix up the position. Passive This is a quite rare bird, which doesn’t
was the alternative 22...cxd5?! 23.exd5 g5 come so ‘easily’ as the ‘pure’ doubled cases.
24.Ned4 ±. But actually what is the reason for tripling
23.Nxf4 fxe4 24.Nxh5 exf3 25.cxd6 Rxd6 (and crippling) our pawn structure? Well,
26.dxc6 Rh6! the answer if of course quite simple, as
A fighting continuation. Black was not always: When we are on the procedure of
satisfied to fight an endgame a pawn down: tripling our pawns, we will have to correctly
26...fxg2?! 27.Rxd6 Lxd6 28.Kxg2 ±. assess that our superior piece play will force
27.Ng3 fxg2? a favorable transformation of the game
Of course, Black should instead have (either by change of structure or win of
eliminated the h-pawn: 27...Lxh4! 28.gxf3 material) before the long-term, static dif-
Rxf3 29.Kg2 Rf7 30.Rd5 (30.Rd7 Kg8) ficulties with our pawns ever come into
30...Rhf6 31.Rc2 ². effect.
28.h5! Kg8 This is of course easier said than done, but
Or 28...Ld6 29.Rd5! g6 30.Kxg2 ±. that’s why we have examples in this book!
29.Rd7 La3 □ Vladimirov Evgeny
29...Ld6 30.Kxg2 ±. ■ Vaganian Rafael
30.Rc2 Rf7 31.Kxg2 E05 Moscow 1990
Now the difference is obvious: White is a 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Le7
clear pawn up. 5.Lg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Ne5 (D)
31...Lf8 32.Rd8 Rff6 XABCDEFGHY
32...Rhf6 33.Ra8 g6 34.Ne4 Rf4 35.hxg6
hxg6 36.f3! ±. 8rsnlwq-trk+(
33.Rc4 (D)
7zppzp-vlpzpp'
XABCDEFGHY
6-+-+psn-+&
8-+-tR-vlk+(
5+-+-sN-+-%
7+-zp-+-zpp'
4-+pzP-+-+$
6p+P+-tr-tr&
3+-+-+-zP-#
5+-+-+-+P%
2PzP-+PzPLzP"
4-+R+-+-+$
1tRNvLQ+RmK-!
3+P+-+-sN-#
xabcdefghy
2P+-+-zPK+" 7...Nc6!
1+-+-+-+-! The Austrian GM Karl Robatsch invented
the text move back in the '70s and it was
xabcdefghy quickly adopted by the top players all over
33...Rxc6? the world. Black accepts the tripling of his
A time-trouble blunder, although Black’s pawns and the possibility to lose at least one
position is not rosy also after the relatively (in the short or long run) in exchange for
quick development. 11...Rb8 12.Qa4 Rb6 13.Lg2
8.Nxc6 The alternatives are 13.Lf3 and 13.Ld2.
The other option is 8.Lxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 13...Nd5 14.Qc2?!
Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qa4 and now A dubious move, and extra dubious is 14.e4?
Black has got a decent position with either Nc3 15.Qc2 Qxd4 (15...Nb5 16.d5 Nd4
11...e5, or 11...c5, or, finally, 11...a5, as his 17.Qd1 c5 μ) 16.Le3 Qd3 17.Qxd3 cxd3
better development usually sufficiently 18.Lxb6 axb6 –+. But White should try
compensates for his minimal material or 14.Qa5!? Qc8 15.e4 Rb5 16.Qa4 Nb6
positional deficit. 17.Qc2 Qd7 18.Rd1 ÷ Liptay,L-Mathe,G
8...bxc6 Hungary 1989.
This is a typical, well-known position to 14...f5!
chess players who have been armed with the The Greek GM Vasilios Kotronias, rightly
'Catalan', with either colour of course. praises the text move, which prevents White
9.Na3!? from kicking the knight away from its
As 9.Lxc6 Rb8 has been analysed as powerful post on d5.
satisfactory for Black (10.Nc3 Lb7 15.e4 fxe4 16.Lxe4 h6!
11.Lxb7 Rxb7 12.e3 c5 13.Qf3 Rd7 The other option is the naive 16...Nf6?!
14.dxc5 Lxc5), White is willing to take on a 17.Lg2 Nd5 18.Re1 (18.Le4 =) 18...Qf6
pair of doubled pawns as well! 19.Re5 h6 20.f4 Ne7 21.Ld2 ÷ Palatnik,S
9...Lxa3 10.bxa3 (D) -Kruppa,Y Kherson 1989.
XABCDEFGHY 17.Lg2?!
Now, this is just losing time. White had to
8r+lwq-trk+( opt for 17.Le3!? although after 17...Qf6
7zp-zp-+pzpp' 18.Rfb1 Rfb8 ³ Black should feel happy.
17...Qf6 18.Le3 c3! 19.Rfb1 Lc4!
6-+p+psn-+& A good move, which allows Black to
5+-+-+-+-% maintain his strong c3-pawn. 19...Rfb8?
20.Rxb6 Rxb6 21.Lxd5 exd5 22.Qxc3
4-+pzP-+-+$ Le2 (22...Rc6 23.Qd2 Qf3 24.Rb1
3zP-+-+-zP-# [24.Rc1? Lc8! –+] 24...Rb6 25.Re1 ÷)
23.Qxc7 Qf5 (23...Lf3 24.Qf4 =) 24.Rc1
2P+-+PzPLzP" = would only please White.
1tR-vLQ+RmK-! 20.Rxb6 cxb6 21.Re1 b5!
Now ...a5 and ...b4 is threatened.
xabcdefghy 22.f4 (D)
And a very instructive position has arisen. XABCDEFGHY
Despite his doubled a-pawns, White has an
extra central pawn and the bishop pair -
8-+-+-trk+(
classical advantages that should make any 7zp-+-+-zp-'
serious player happy. But Black is not
without chances. The tripled pawns yield
6-+-+pwq-zp&
him play on the b- and d-files, which is 5+p+n+-+-%
critical, and he also gets time as White must
recover his material.
4-+lzP-zP-+$
10...La6! 11.Lxc6 3zP-zp-vL-zP-#
11.Lg5?! h6 12.Lxf6 Qxf6 13.Lxc6 2P+Q+-+LzP"
Rab8 14.Qa4 Rb6 was already much
better for Black in the game Antunes,A- 1+-+-tR-mK-!
Karpov,A Tilburg 1994. xabcdefghy
22...Nxe3! c3+ (34...a4 35.Rf7 c3+ 36.Kd1 ³)
Black is not carried away by his plan. He 35.Rxc3! Re2+ 36.Kxe2 Kxc3 37.a4!
sensed the danger after the 'natural' 22...a5? Kb4 (37...Kb2 38.Kd3 Ka3 39.Kc3 =)
23.Lf2 b4 24.Lh3! Ne7 (24...Nb6? 25.d5! 38.Kd3 Kxa4 39.Kc2 = but he could
±) 25.axb4 axb4 26.a3 ÷. preserve his great plus with 32...g5! 33.h3 a4
23.Rxe3 Qxd4 24.Qxc3 Rd8 25.Lf3 34.Ke3 h5.
Black wins a pawn after 25.Qxd4 Rxd4 33.h3
26.Re1 Rd2 and probably the game. There was no need for White to weaken his
25...a5 kingside pawns, but after 33.Ke3 Ke5!
White's compensation would be excellent 34.Ke2 Black can continue with the correct
after 25...Qxc3?! 26.Rxc3 Rd2 27.a4! 34...g5!.
Rxa2 (27...a6 28.axb5 axb5 29.a4 =) 33...g5 34.Rf3+ Ke5 35.a4
28.axb5 Lxb5 29.Lh5! Kf8 30.Rc7. But it 35.Rf7 Rd3 –+.
must be noted that Black could immediately 35...Rd6!
play 25...Lxa2! - he was obviously not in a Ready to penetrate via the b- or the f-file.
hurry! 36.g4
26.Qxd4 36.Rf7 Rd3 –+.
Alternatives fail to save White: 26.Kf2?! 36...Rf6 37.Re3+
Qd2+ –+ and 26.Qe1 Lxa2 (26...Qd2 37.Rxf6 Kxf6 38.Kd2 Ke5 –+.
27.Lg4 Qxe1+ 28.Rxe1 Kf7 μ) 27.Kg2 37...Kd5 38.Kd2
Qd2+ μ. 38.Rc3 Kd4 39.Re3 Rb6 –+.
26...Rxd4 27.Le2 Kf7 28.Lxc4 bxc4 38...Rf2+ 39.Kc3 Rxa2 40.Re8 Rxa4
29.Rc3 41.h4 gxh4 42.Rd8+ Ke5 43.Rf8 h3
29.Re5 Rd5 30.Re4 Rc5 μ. 44.Rf5+ Ke4
29...e5 Black wins after 45.Rh5 Kf4 46.Rxh6
29...g5! 30.fxg5 hxg5 was even better. Kxg4.
30.fxe5 Ke6 (D) 0-1
XABCDEFGHY http://trainers.fide.com
8-+-+-+-+( Another opening in which tripled pawns
7+-+-+-zp-' routinely arise is the ‘French Defence’ and
especially the ‘Winawer Variation’.
6-+-+k+-zp& Probably the most famous example of
5zp-+-zP-+-% tripled pawns is the following masterpiece
by the ex-World Champion Vassily
4-+ptr-+-+$ Smyslov:
3zP-tR-+-zP-# □ Smyslov Vassily
■ Uhlmann Wolfgang
2P+-+-+-zP" C19 Mar del Plata 1966
1+-+-+-mK-! 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Lb4 4.e5 Ne7
Smyslov had played before with tripled
xabcdefghy pawns against Botvinnik, in his 20th match
Black is clearly on top. Ironically it was game of the 1957 FIDE World Champion-
White's doubled a-pawns that allowed ship: 4...c5 5.a3 Lxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Qg4
Black's passed c3-pawn to become a major f6 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Qg3 Qf7?! 10.dxc5!
force. Nge7 11.Ld3 fxe5 12.Nxe5 ± Smyslov,V-
31.Kf2 Kxe5 32.Ke2 Kf5 Botvinnik,M Moscow 1957.
Black starts to lose his way. Bad was of 5.a3 Lxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.Nf3 Ld7 8.a4
course 32...Re4+? 33.Kd2 Kd4 34.Rf3 Qa5 9.Qd2 Nbc6 10.Le2 Rc8 (D)
XABCDEFGHY It seems that Black can equalize by some
delicate yet rather simple moves: 16...Rb8
8-+r+k+-tr( 17.a5 a6 18.Nd6 Nce7 19.Rab1 Lc6
20.Ld3 Nc8.
7zpp+lsnpzpp' 17.Nd6 Rc7 18.a5!
6-+n+p+-+& A better continuation than 18.Rfb1 Na5
19.Rb4 Ne5 where the black knights are
5wq-zppzP-+-% guarding important squares.
4P+-zP-+-+$ 18...e5
More or less, Black has to take advantage of
3+-zP-+N+-# his centre.
2-+PwQLzPPzP" 19.Rfb1 Nd8 20.Rd1?!
20.Rb6! f5 21.f3 looks more to the point.
1tR-vL-mK-+R! 20...Lc6! 21.Lg4 Ne6 22.Rab1! Ne7
23.g3 f5 24.Lh3 g6 (D)
xabcdefghy
11.dxc5
XABCDEFGHY
So, here it is! John Watson states: 'Thus the 8-+-+-trk+(
tripled pawns arise, and on an already-
occupied open file (10...Rc8) to boot! 7+ptr-sn-+p'
What's more, the e5-pawn is irrevocably 6p+lsNn+p+&
weakened and will almost certainly fall. It is
a tribute to both Smyslov's imagination and 5zP-zPpzpp+-%
modern pragmatism that such a line was
discovered after years of Winawer practice.
4-+-+-+-+$
White's point is that rather than defend his 3+-zP-vL-zPL#
centre, he will use d4 as a pivot post for his
knight and open as many lines as possible 2-+P+-zP-zP"
for his bishops. Up to this move, Black was 1+R+R+-mK-!
ready for ...cxd4 and simplification, but now
he has to reorganize. xabcdefghy
Having said that, Black has some advantages 25.f4!
here which White lacked in our “Catalan” A good move, which is fighting for the dark
example: squares, as Black cannot oppose any piece to
1. He has plenty of active pieces developed. the white dark-squared bishop.
2. He has a strong grip on the light squares. 25...d4
So, that the move c4 by White tends to 25...exf4!? 26.gxf4 Nc8 was Black's main
activate Black's pieces at least as much as option.
White’s. These dynamic features lead to a 26.cxd4 Nd5 27.Lf2 exd4!?
complex and balanced struggle.' Black could also play 27...exf4 28.Re1
11...Ng6! 12.0-0 0-0 Ng5 29.Lg2 ² but not winning the ex-
It seems that it is possible to capture the change with 27...Nc3?! as after 28.fxe5 ±
e-pawn immediately: 12...Ncxe5 13.Nd4 White's compensation would be excellent.
0-0 14.La3 Lc6 15.Nb5 Ra8 16.Nd6 28.Lxd4 Nxd4 29.Rxd4 Re7
Nc4 17.Lxc4 dxc4 18.Qd4 ÷ Morovic
Black sacrificed a pawn but this material has
Fernandez,I-Shaked,T Groningen 1997. limited value for White. Obviously Black's
13.Qe3! Qc7 14.Nd4! Qxe5! compensation is good.
White should feel happy after 14...Ncxe5 30.Kf2 Nc3 31.Re1 Rxe1 32.Kxe1 Ne4
15.La3 Ne7 16.Nb5 ². 33.Nxe4 Lxe4
15.Nb5 Qxe3 16.Lxe3 a6?! 33...fxe4? 34.Ke2 Kg7 35.Ke3 g5
36.Ld7! was curtains for Black. 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nc3 Qh4+ 4.Ke2
34.c3 Rf6? A typical case of an early king develop-
Black does not handle the endgame with ment...
accuracy. He should have gone for 34...Re8 4...Nc6
35.Kf2 Re7 where he would be able to The alternative is 4...c6 5.Nf3 Qh5 6.d4 d5
hold equal chances. But here comes a 7.Lxf4 dxe4 8.Nxe4 Qg6 9.Ke3 ÷
question: If White was able to play so many Macieja,B-Karpov,A Warsaw 2003.
exclamation marks why can’t he present an 5.Nf3 Qh5 6.d4 g5 7.Nd5 Kd8 8.Kf2
advantage? The answer lies in Black’s solid Lg7 9.Le2 Qg6 10.Qd3 h6
pawn structure - do not forget that the Too optimistic but still not critical. Black
doubled and tripled pawns in the endgame could have an acceptable position after
cannot be considered as a great power! 10...Nf6 11.Nxf6 Lxf6 12.e5 Le7 ÷.
35.Rd8+ Kg7 36.Rd7+ Rf7?! 11.h4 Nge7 12.hxg5 Nxd5?
36...Kh6 37.Rc7 ± was Black's only Black is obsessed with the possibility of
chance. creating doubled pawns for White. He had to
37.Rxf7+ Kxf7 go for 12...hxg5 13.Rxh8+ Lxh8 where
The ending should be won for White, as nothing is clear yet.
Black's pawns are placed on his bishop's 13.exd5 Qxd3 14.Lxd3 Nb4 15.gxh6!
colour and the white king can be centralized 15.Le4 would have given an advantage as
and penetrate into Black's camp. well: 15...hxg5 16.Rxh8+ Lxh8 17.c3 f5
38.Kd2 Ke6 39.c4 Kd7 40.Ke3 Kc6 18.Lxf5 Nxd5 19.Nxg5 Lf6 20.Nh3 d6
41.Kd4 Kd7 42.Ke5 Lf3 21.Lxc8 Rxc8 22.Nxf4 ± but the text
42...Kc6 43.g4 fxg4 44.Lxg4 Lc2 45.Kd4 move is even stronger.
Kc7 46.Le6 +–.
15...Nxd3+ 16.cxd3 Rxh6 17.Lxf4
43.Kf6 Kc6 44.Kg7 Kxc5 45.Kxh7 Lh5 White's tripled pawns restrict Black's
46.Lf1?! development and control important squares,
46.Kh6! b5 47.axb6 Kxb6 48.Lxf5 gxf5 and this more or less seals his opponent's
49.Kxh5 a5 50.g4 +– was not that difficult. fate, as White will soon penetrate into his
46...Kb4 47.Lg2 Kxa5 48.Lxb7 Kb6 opponent's camp.
49.Lc8 a5 50.Ld7 Kc5 51.h3 Lf3 17...Rg6
51...Kd6 52.Le8 Kc5 53.Lb5 Kb4 17...Rxh1 18.Rxh1 Ke7 19.Lxc7 d6
54.Kh6 +–. 20.Rh7 Lf6 21.Rh6 also seems quite
52.Kxg6 Lc6 53.Lxf5 difficult for Black.
Or 53.Lxc6 Kxc6 54.g4 fxg4 55.hxg4 a4 18.Ne5 Lxe5
56.f5 a3 57.f6 a2 58.f7 a1Q 59.f8Q +–. 18...Rf6 19.Ke3 Ke8 (19...d6 20.Lg5 +–)
53...a4 54.Lb1 a3 55.f5 Le4 56.La2 Ld3 20.Rac1 c6 21.Nc4! and White is on top
57.h4 Kd4 again.
57...Lxc4 58.Lxc4 Kxc4 59.f6 a2 60.f7 19.dxe5 Rg8 20.Rh7
a1Q 61.f8Q +–. Shattering once more his pawn structure was
58.h5 Ke4 59.g4 Kf4 60.Kg7 White's best: 20.d6! cxd6 21.exd6 f6
1-0 22.Rh7.
Doubled or tripled pawns can arise in any 20...Ke8 21.Rah1 d6 22.Rh8!
opening, as the following game proves. A White's main interest is not to allow Black to
chess player must be ready to play with or finish his development - material gain comes
against them, according to the evaluation later.
that he has concluded. 22...Rxh8 23.Rxh8+ Kd7 24.Lg5! dxe5?
The alternative 24...c6 was netherless
□ Waterfield John curtains: 25.Rd8+ Kc7 26.exd6+ Kb6
■ Kitson Peter 27.d7.
C33 Bristol 2008 25.Rd8 # 1-0
The Backward Pawn
Terminology as the defending side usually succeeds in
Ex-World Champion Max Euwe and the protecting the pawn.
great theoretician Ludek Pachman tried to The third plan consists of exploiting the
give the terminology of the backward pawn: outpost that is usually created right in front
A pawn which has been left behind by of the backward pawn.
neighbouring pawns and can no longer be Piece exchanges exacerbate the weakness of
supported by them. the backward pawn and increase its
Such a pawn is almost invariably a serious vulnerability in the endgame, as also happens
disadvantage. They also noticed that it is the with all pawn weaknesses in general.
square in front of the pawn which causes all It is also important to understand what
the trouble. exactly the term 'backward pawn' means and
Another good definition of the backward when such a pawn really constitutes a
pawn is that a pawn is backward when it lies weakness for its side in each concrete
on a semi-open file (very important) and position. For example, in many variations of
constitutes the last part in a pawn-chain or the ‘Sicilian Defence’ the backward black
group, and thus cannot be protected by pawn on d6 is not such a serious weakness,
another pawn. In several cases an isolated as Black enjoys active counterplay as a
pawn can also be a backward pawn, when it compensating factor while White finds it
is situated deep in its own camp. very hard to approach the pawn.
The Old Approach The Modern Approach

The backward pawn is the only strategic Of course the old approach is definitely
element regarding pawn structures that has correct, but modern chess players are no
only disadvantages and almost no merits, longer as dogmatic as they used to be… The
and therefore one is advised to avoid such modern players are more willing to take on
pawns unless there are considerable backward pawns, although this mostly
compensating factors. happens in particular openings with known
The backward pawn is the cause of characteristics.
multiple problems and disharmony, as it So, we can say that backward pawns are in
forces one's pieces to occupy passive general less of a disadvantage than classical
positions in order to ensure its adequate theory would imagine, and in some cases, no
protection. disadvantage at all.
The dangers facing the possessor of such a With regard to this last point, John Watson
pawn are serious, because its presence quotes the ultra rebel GM Mihai Suba: ‘Bad
usually leads to passivity and inactivity. The bishops protect good pawns!’ A rather
side that is attacking the pawn or is generally shocking principle, which he even modified
trying to exploit its presence has several to ‘Bad bishops protect bad pawns, but for
viable plans at its disposal. good reasons!’
The first plan is simple and concerns the The idea puts the accent chiefly on the
pawn itself. The opponent's pieces focus on play of the pieces, their activity being
it and eventually capture it, securing a sufficient to compensate for the weakness of
material advantage. the backward pawn.
The second plan revolves around the Of course we can draw some important
passivity of the defending pieces, which conclusions from the above facts, such as: a
allows the opponent's army to develop a backward pawn needs its pieces on the
dangerous initiative on other parts of the board, does not like endgames and is ready
board. to punish the dogmatic player who does not
This is the most common plan in practice, use his mind in a proper way!
The Semi-Backward Pawn to cope with what is coming, but it is easy to
This is an interesting case, which mostly sympathize. The Scheveningen is normally
can be seen in openings like the ‘Sicilian associated with 'White' (in this case Black,
Defence’ and the ‘English Opening’ (reversed of course) calling the shots on the kingside.
colour of the Sicilian) and especially in the 16...g6
‘Hedgehog’ formations with both colours - 16...Nb6!? 17.Nfd2 Rd7 18.Rg3 ÷ is
see next diagram (D) another way to handle the position. But it
XABCDEFGHY must be mentioned that the text move
weakens the a1-h8 diagonal.
8-+-+-+-+( 17.Rg3 Lg7
7zpp+-+pzpp' Black could also think of 17...Nb6 18.g5!
Nd7 19.gxf6 Lxb3 20.Qb1 Ld5 ÷.
6-+-+-+-+& 18.Rag1 Nb6 19.Nc5! Lc8 20.Nh4
Nd7?!
5+-zp-zp-+-% Black misses the point. 20...Kh8!? was an
4-+-+-+-+$ interesting and acceptable option.
21.Ne4 Nf8?! (D)
3+-+PzP-+-# Although White keeps an advantage after
2PzP-+-zPPzP" 21...Kh8 22.Rf3 Nb6 23.Nxf6! Lxf6
24.g5, Black had no choice than to accept it.
1+-+-+-+-! XABCDEFGHY
xabcdefghy 8-+ltrrsnk+(
Here the backward pawn is not really the
last in his ‘boss’ pawn-chain, but still stands 7+pzp-+qvlp'
on a semi-open file, without protection by its
fellow pawns. In order to clarify the pros
6-+n+-zpp+&
and cons of such pawn it would be good to 5zp-+-zp-+-%
examine some well-known games, played by
leading players… 4-+-+N+PsN$
□ Fischer Robert
3zPP+PzP-tR-#
■ Andersson Ulf 2-vLQ+LzP-zP"
A01 Siegen 1970
1.b3 e5 2.Lb2 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3 Le7
1+-+-+-tRK!
5.a3 0-0 6.Qc2 Re8 7.d3 Lf8 8.Nf3 a5 xabcdefghy
9.Le2 d5 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Nbd2 f6 12.0-0 22.Nf5! Le6
Le6 13.Kh1!?
The alternatives were 22...Lxf5 23.gxf5
The beginning of a fascinating plan, which is g5?! (23...Ne7 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.d4 ±)
now familiar to the modern player from the 24.Nxg5! fxg5 25.Rxg5 +– and 22...gxf5
Hedgehog, but was highly original in 1970.
23.gxf5 Lxf5 (23...Kh8 24.Rxg7! Qxg7
Interesting is that the centre is full of
25.Rxg7 Kxg7 26.Ng3 Rd6 27.f4 +–)
tension, yet sufficiently closed to permit a
24.Rxg7+ Qxg7 25.Nxf6+ Kf7 26.Rxg7+
serious wing commitment. Kxg7 27.Nxe8+ Rxe8 28.b4 +–.
13...Qd7 14.Rg1
23.Nc5 Ne7?!
White’s idea is now perfectly visible:
Black again misses his best defence:
generate initiative on the kingside and
23...Lc8 24.Nxg7 Qxg7 25.h4 ±.
especially on the g-file.
14...Rad8 15.Ne4 Qf7 16.g4! 24.Nxg7 Kxg7 25.g5!
Not so much to secure the e4-square but And now it’s pretty much slaughter, and a
good old full-blooded attacking. Black fails rather traditional style slaughter at that.
White succeeds in opening the g-file and to Rd2
strengthen his b2-bishop. Another beautiful variation can be seen after
25...Nf5 38...gxh5 39.Qg8+ Qxg8 40.Rxg8+ Kxg8
25...fxg5 26.Rf3 Nf5 27.e4 (27.Lxe5+ 41.f7 #.
Kg8 28.Ne4!? Nd7 29.Nxg5 +–) 27... 39.Rh3 Kg8 40.hxg6 Nxg6 41.f4 Kf8
Ld5 28.Rxg5 +–. 42.Qg5 Nd6 43.Lxd6+
26.Rf3 b6 27.gxf6+! Kh8 Black resigned due to 43...Rxd6 44.f5
27...Qxf6 28.Ne4 Qe7 29.Lxe5+ +–. Qxf6 (44...Nh8 45.e5 Qd5+ 46.Rg2 Rd7
28.Nxe6 Rxe6 29.d4! 47.Rd3! +–) 45.fxg6 (45.Qxf6+ Rxf6
A bishop pair versus a knight pair - no 46.fxg6 hxg6 47.e5 Re6 48.Rh7) 45...
chances for survival! Qxg5 46.gxh7 Qe5 47.h8Q+ +–.
29...exd4 30.Lc4 d3 31.Lxd3 Rxd3 1-0
What else? The white bishop pair was rather
The previous game was a sensation for the
powerful. The main alternative was 31...
Red6 32.Lxf5 (32.Lc4 Ne6 33.Rxf5! chess world at those times, as it was a rare
bird to see Fischer playing anything other
gxf5 34.Qxf5 +–) 32...Rd2 (32...gxf5
than 1.e4. Thus it became more than a
33.Rg7 Qd5 34.f7! h6 35.Rgg3+ Kh7
certainty that the ex-World Championship
36.Qc3 +–) 33.Qc3 c5 34.Lc2 +–.
Candidate Artur Jussupow paid a great deal
32.Qxd3 Rd6 33.Qc4 Ne6 (D) of attention to it:
XABCDEFGHY □ Taimanov Mark
8-+-+-+-mk( ■ Jussupow Artur
A31 Kislovodsk 1982
7+-zp-+q+p' 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 b6
6-zp-trnzPp+& 5.Nc3 Lb7 6.f3 e6 7.e4 d6 8.Le2 a6
9.Le3 Nbd7 10.0-0 Le7 11.Qd2 0-0
5zp-+-+n+-% 12.Rfd1 Rc8 13.Rac1
4-+Q+-+-+$ After the premature 13.b4? Ne5 Black
would already be on top.
3zPP+-zPR+-# 13...Qc7 14.Lf1 Rfe8 15.Kh1 Qb8
2-vL-+-zP-zP" 16.Qf2 (D)
1+-+-+-tRK! XABCDEFGHY
xabcdefghy 8-wqr+r+k+(
34.Le5 7+l+nvlpzpp'
The text move was enough for a win, but 6pzp-zppsn-+&
more to the point was the spectacular
34.Rxf5! gxf5 35.Rg7 Qf8 (35...Qh5 5+-+-+-+-%
36.f7 Qf3+ 37.Rg2+ +–) 36.Qxe6! 4-+PsNP+-+$
(36.Rxc7 +–) 36...Qa8+ (36...Rxe6 37.f7!
+–) 37.e4 Rxe6 38.f7 Qxe4+ 39.Rg2+ 3+-sN-vLP+-#
Qe5 40.f8R #.
34...Rd8 35.h4
2PzP-+-wQPzP"
Again 35.Rxf5 was as good as it was 1+-tRR+L+K!
spectacular: 35...gxf5 36.Rg7 Qh5 37.Rd7!
(37.Qxe6?? Qf3+ 38.Kg1 Rd1 #) 37... xabcdefghy
Qf3+ 38.Kg1 Rg8+ 39.Kf1 Qg2+ John Watson writes in his book Secrets of
40.Ke2 Qg4+ 41.Qxg4 fxg4 42.f7+. Modern Chess Strategy: 'White has
35...Nd6 36.Qg4 Nf8 37.h5 Ne8 38.e4 succeeded in suppressing both of the breaks
...b5 and ...d5, but it doesn’t seem to be White probably was in no 'mood' to feel the
doing him much good. GM Mihai Suba talks danger! He should keep the g-file closed
about this as the problem of “a good position with 22.g4! ÷, although then Black would
which can't be improved” versus “a bad get the strong outpost e5 for free and
position that can be substantially improved”. forever!
White's pieces are in a sense ideally placed, 22...Rcg8 23.Nd3
preventing Black's counterplay and “fixing” Now 23.g4 is not satisfactory: 23...h5!
the weaknesses on b6 and d6, but almost any 24.gxh5 (24.h3? hxg4 25.hxg4 d5! –+) 24...
committal move he makes (b4, Nc2, Nb3) Rh6 ³.
allows Black to free his game. For his part, 23...Qf8! 24.Re1
Black is stuck on the first three ranks, but Also after 24.Nf2 e5! 25.Le3 g4 Black's
has continuous threats of breaking out with attack is growing anyway.
advantage via ...b5 or ...d5, and lacking 24...g4!
those, can proceed to improve the position of Precise timing!
his pieces.' 25.fxg4
16...Ld8!? White did not have many options at his
A creative strategy, designed to harass the disposal. Both 25.Le2 Rh6 26.g3 d5 and
white kingside by ...Lc7 (threatening ...d5) 25.f4 g3! 26.h3 e5 (wins the e-pawn) are not
and at the same time to protect the two satisfactory for him. So, he has to allow the
weaknesses on b6 and d6. opening of the e-file.
17.Nb3?! 25...e5 26.Le3 Nxg4 27.Nd5?!
A naive reaction. Also the 'active' 17.b4?! The other option was 27.Nf2!? Nxe3
Ne5 (17...Lc7 18.Qg1 d5? 19.cxd5 exd5 28.Rxe3 Qh6 29.Rde2 Nf6 ³ and should
20.Nxd5 Nxd5 21.exd5 Lxd5 22.Lxa6 have been preferred.
Rcd8 23.Nb5 1-0 Bykhovsky,A-Rabre-
27...Ld8 28.Nf2 Lh4! 29.Ree2?
novic,M Budva 2009) 18.Na4 d5!, as in Also losing was 29.Nxb6? Nxb6 30.Lxb6
Acebal Muniz,A-Aguera Naredo,J Trevias Nxh2! but White really had to go for
2004, is good for Black, but White should 29.Rdd1 Ndf6 30.Nxg4 Rxg4 31.Nxf6
try 17.b3!? Lc7 18.g3 (18.Nde2 La8 19.a4 Lxf6 32.g3! (32.Ld3?! Rxg2! 33.Qxg2
Ne5 20.h3 ÷ Zlotnikov,M-Gurevich,D Fort Rxg2 34.Kxg2 Lh4 35.Rg1 f5 –+)
Lauderdale 2004) 18...Kh8 19.Lg2 Rg8 32...Lxe4+ 33.Lg2 Le7 μ.
20.Qd2 ÷ Urytskyy,A-Zaragatski,I Nurem- 29...Nxe3 30.Nxe3
berg 2008. White has no weaknesses, and Or 30.Rxe3 Lg5.
steadfastly refuses to make any (e.g. g3 or 30...Lxf2 31.Qxf2
h3), and yet his opponent, operating from far 31.Rxf2 Nc5 also wins the important e4-
away on the other side of the board on his pawn.
first two ranks(!), created enough threats to 31...Lxe4
break down White's position anyway. Winning a pawn and the game. The rest is
17...Lc7 18.Qg1?! just a matter of directing all of Black's forces
Too passive. Good or bad, White should go against the king:
for 18.g3!? Ne5 19.Le2!. 32.Nf5 Nc5 33.Ng3 La8?!
18...Kh8! Decisive was 33...Ld3! 34.Re1 Lxf1
Reflections of the previous example! 35.Nxf1 (35.Rxf1 Rxg3 36.hxg3 Qh6+
19.Rc2 Rg8! 20.Rcd2 g5! 37.Kg1 Ne4 or 35.Qxf1 Qh6) 35...Rxg2
The same strong plan as in the previous 36.Qxg2 Rxg2 37.Kxg2 f5 –+.
game. 34.Rd1 Ne6?!
21.Ld4 Rg6 Time trouble did not prove friendly for
Accurate. Bad would be 21...h5?! 22.Qf2 Black. Good was 34...Qh6 35.Nf5 Qh5
Rg7 23.Nc1. 36.Rxd6 (36.Nxd6 Rxg2!) 36...Ne4
22.Nc1?! 37.Rxe4 Lxe4 38.Rxg6 Rxg6 39.Ng3
Qh4 40.Nxe4 Qxe4 41.Qxf7 Qf4 –+ or □ Charbonneau Pascal
(the most difficult) 34...f5! 35.Qxf5 Rf6 ■ Anand Viswanathan
36.Qb1 h5! 37.Kg1 h4 38.Ne4 Nxe4 B44 Turin 2006
39.Rxe4 Qh6 –+. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6
35.Qxb6 Nf4 36.Rf2 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 Le7
36.Red2 Qg7 37.Kg1 d5 μ. 9.Le2 0-0 10.0-0 b6 11.Lf4 Lb7 12.Qd2
36...Qh6?! Ne5 13.f3 Qc7 14.Rac1 Rac8 15.Rfd1
Accurate was 36...Qe7 37.Kg1 d5 38.Qe3 Qb8 16.Kh1 Rfe8 (D)
Qg5 μ. XABCDEFGHY
37.Kg1 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 8-wqr+r+k+(
8l+-+-+rmk( 7+l+-vlpzpp'
7+-+-+p+p' 6pzp-zppsn-+&
6pwQ-zp-+rwq& 5+-+-sn-+-%
5+-+-zp-+-% 4-+P+PvL-+$
4-+P+-sn-+$ 3sN-sN-+P+-#
3+-+-+-sN-# 2PzP-wQL+PzP"
2PzP-+-tRPzP" 1+-tRR+-+K!
1+-+R+LmK-! xabcdefghy
The standard, already 'well-known' position!
xabcdefghy 17.Lf1 Kh8
37...Qh4? Black adopts his usual stuff.
But now this is a fatal mistake, losing all the 18.Le3 La8 19.Lg1 Rg8 20.Qe3
advantage. Black should have played 37...d5 White wants to add his a3-knight to the
38.Qc7 f6, with a clear plus. defence, so he tries to ‘force’ the black e5-
38.Qb3? knight to retreat.
And, in turn, White also foregoes his chance. 20...Ned7
He should have played 38.Rxd6! Nh3+ Of course, possible is 20...Nfd7!? 21.f4 ÷
39.gxh3 Rxg3+ 40.hxg3 Qxg3+ 41.Rg2! or 20...Ld8 21.f4 Ned7 ÷.
Lxg2 42.Qf2! Lxf1+ 43.Qxg3 Rxg3+ 21.Nab1!
44.Kxf1 Rxh3 45.Rxa6 ÷. A correct follow-up and at least better than
38...Rh6! 21.Nc2?! g5. The knight belongs to f1!
Now it's all over. 21...g5 22.Nd2 Ld8
39.Rxf4 exf4 40.Qc3+ f6 41.Nf5 Rxg2+! 22...g4?! 23.f4 g3 looks interesting, but after
42.Lxg2 Qxh2+ 24.h3 the black g-pawn might just be weak.
White resigned as he will be mated: 43.Kf2 23.b4
Qxg2+ 44.Ke1 Rh1 #. A sensational win Black should feel happy after the early
by a young player over the renowned GM… 23.c5?! bxc5 24.Lxa6 Rc7.
0-1 23...Lc7 24.Qe1!? Rg6 25.Ld3
After 25.Le2?! Rh6 Black has some big
So, a new idea came into force, chess
threats.
players got fascinated, but of course not
25...Ne5 26.Le2 Rcg8 27.Le3!
every time did it work perfectly. The
White could easily have fallen for 27.Nf1?
following game was also a sensation and a
where after 27...g4! 28.f4 Nf3! 29.gxf3 gxf3
valuable proof that dogmatism is not of help
30.Ng3 fxe2 31.Qxe2 d5 he would face
in this world!
lethal threats along the long diagonal h1-a8. 38.Lf4 Nxe4 39.Qd4+ Nef6 [39...e5?!
27...Rh6 40.Lxe5+ f6 41.Nxe4 fxe5 42.Qe3 +–]
Maybe Black should insert 27...Nh5!? 40.Ng3 ±) 37.Qxd6 Qa8 ÷.
28.Nb3 Rh6 29.Rc2 ÷. b) 36.Le3! Rh4 (36...g3 37.h3 Rh4 38.
28.Nf1 Rgg6?! Kg1) 37.Lxa6 g3 (37...La5 38.Qd6 +–)
Probably again the 'wrong' reaction, since 38.Lb7! ±.
...g4 always hangs the rook on h6. Also But of course the most interesting
wrong was 28...d5? 29.cxd5 Nxf3 30.Lxf3 continuation was 35...Nf3! 36.gxf3 g3!
Lxh2 31.Qd2! +– but Black could again try 37.Nxg3 Rxg3 38.Rg1 Nh5! 39.Qd4+ e5
28...Nh5, with interesting complications. 40.Qf2 exf4 41.Qd4+ f6 42.Lc4 Qc8 ÷.
29.Qd2 Qg8 30.a4 36.fxe5 Nxe4 37.Nxe4 Lxe4 38.Ld3!
It was too early for 30.c5?! as after 30...bxc5 This neutralizes the attack. Black either has
31.bxc5 d5 32.exd5 Nxd5 33.Nxd5 Lxd5 to trade his strong bishop or sacrifice more
÷ Black is back in the game. material.
30...Lb7 31.c5 38...Lxg2+ 39.Qxg2 gxh2 40.Lxg6 Rxg6
Finally White succeeded in his primitive 41.Ng3! Rxg3 42.Qe4 Rg4 43.Le7!
plan - open the queenside! A nice end to an interesting game. Black
31...dxc5 resigned due to 43...Rxe4 44.Lf6+ Qg7
White also stands fine after 31...bxc5 45.Rb8+ Lxb8 46.Rd8 #.
32.bxc5 d5 33.Rb1 Lc6 34.exd5 Nxd5 1-0
35.Nxd5 Lxd5 36.Kg1.
Even with simple play, facing a backward
32.bxc5 bxc5 33.Rb1 Lc6 34.Lxc5?!
pawn can be a real pleasure, as ex-World
34.Lxa6 La5 35.Qc2 was correct and
Champion Garry Kasparov was in a clear
good.
mood to prove:
34...g4!
And finally Black also got what he was □ Ehlvest Jaan
looking for! ■ Kasparov Garry
35.f4 (D) A28 Reykjavik 1988
XABCDEFGHY 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Lb4
5.Qc2 0-0 6.d3 Re8 7.Ld2 Lxc3 8.Lxc3
8-+-+-+qmk( d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Le2 (D)
7+-vl-+p+p' XABCDEFGHY
6p+l+psnrtr& 8r+lwqr+k+(
5+-vL-sn-+-% 7zppzp-+pzpp'
4P+-+PzPp+$ 6-+n+-+-+&
3+-sN-+-+-# 5+-+nzp-+-%
2-+-wQL+PzP" 4-+-+-+-+$
1+R+R+N+K! 3+-vLPzPN+-#
xabcdefghy 2PzPQ+LzPPzP"
35...g3? 1tR-+-mK-+R!
Black panicked, probably unhappy with the
course of events. 35...Ned7 was the natural xabcdefghy
move, when White has to play very 10...Lf5!?
carefully: A logical idea - Black puts immediate
a) 36.Ld6?! Lxd6 (36...La5?! 37.f5 Rg5 pressure on the semi-backward white d-
pawn, threatening ...Ndb4. During the last moves, White uncoordinated
11.Rd1?! his pieces and lacked a proper plan and now
A passive move. White should have he even lost his sense of danger. Also not
preferred the natural 11.e4 when Black satisfactory was 16.d4? e4 (16...Nb6
would have to make a decision: 11...Nf4!? 17.Lb4 [17.Qc3 e4 18.Nd2 Qg5 19.Nc4
(11...Nxc3 12.bxc3 = is the main Nd5 20.Qc1 Re8 ³] 17...Nxb4 18.Qxb4
alternative) 12.exf5 Nd4 13.Lxd4 exd4 Qxb4 19.axb4 e4 20.Ne5 ÷) 17.Nd2 Lf5
14.Ng1 (14.0-0? Rxe2 15.Qb3 Qd5 μ) (17...Nf4? 18.exf4 Nxd4 19.Nb1! b5
14...Qd5! 15.0-0-0 (15.f3? Nxg2+ 16.Kf2 20.Qxd4 ±) 18.Qc5 Qg5 μ or 16.Nh4?
Ne3 17.Qxc7 Qxf5 μ) 15...Qxa2 16.Lf3 Nf4! 17.exf4 (17.Nxg6? Nxe2+ 18.Kh1
(16.g3?! Qa1+ 17.Kd2 Qa5+ 18.Kc1 hxg6 –+) 17...Qxh4 18.fxe5 Nd4 μ but he
Re5!? [18...Qa1+ = or 18...Nd5!? °] should have opted for 16.Qh4 f6 17.Qg3 ÷.
19.gxf4 Rc5 ³) 16...Qa1+! (16...Re5? 16...Nd4!
17.Qc4! Nxd3+ 18.Qxd3 Rc5+ 19.Kd2 An excellent combination, based on the
Re8 20.Qa3! +–) 17.Kd2 (17.Qb1 Qa5 passivity and the uncoordination of the white
18.g3 [18.Nh3? Ne2+ 19.Kc2 {19.Lxe2 pieces (and of course on some other concrete
Rxe2 –+} 19...Qc5+ 20.Kb3 a5 21.Ka2 calculations!).
a4 μ] 18...Re5! °) 17...Qa5+ 18.Kc1 =. 17.exd4
Also playable (and of course better than the White was obliged to accept the 'Greek gift':
text) was 11.a3!?. 17.Lf3 b5 18.Qc1 Nxf3+ 19.Nxf3 Lh5 –
11...a5 12.0-0 Qe7 13.a3 +.
It was too early for 13.e4?! Ndb4! 14.Qb1 17...Nf4 18.Lf3 Rxd4 19.Qb5?!
Lg4 15.a3 Na6 16.h3 (16.d4 exd4 White had to go for 19.Qc3, although after
17.Nxd4 Lxe2 18.Nxe2 Qxe4 19.Qxe4 19...Rad8! (19...Lxd3 20.g3 Ne2+
Rxe4 20.Ng3 Rc4! 21.Nf5 Rc5!) 21.Lxe2 Lxe2 22.Rc1 c6 23.Nf3 Rd5 μ)
16...Lxf3 17.Lxf3 Qd6! (17...Nc5 18.d4 20.g3 (20.Rc1 c6! 21.Ne4 [21.Qc5?!
Nxd4 19.Lxd4 exd4 20.Rxd4 =) 18.Qc1 Qxc5 22.Rxc5 Nxd3 –+] 21...Rxd3
Nc5 19.Qe3 Red8 20.Le2 Ne6 with 22.Qc5 Qd7 23.La5 Rxf3! μ) 20...Nh3+!
domination. (20...Rxd3?! 21.Qa5! [21.Qb4? Qxb4
13...a4 14.Le1?! 22.axb4 Rxf3 23.gxf4 {23.Nxf3? Ne2+ –
After 14.e4?! Nxc3 15.bxc3 Le6 ³ Black +} 23...Rxf4 μ] 21...e4 22.Lg2 Ne2+
should feel fine but maybe White should 23.Kh1 Qd7 °) 21.Kg2 (21.Kh1 Lxd3
have opted for 14.Rfe1!? Lg6 15.Nd2 ÷. 22.Lg2 Lxf1 23.Lxf1 Ng5 μ) 21...Lxd3
14...Lg6 15.Qc4 Red8 16.Nd2? (D) 22.Kxh3 Lxf1+ 23.Nxf1 Rxd1 24.Lxd1
XABCDEFGHY Rxd1 25.Kg2 Qd6 μ he will suffer.
19...c6! 20.Lxc6
8r+-tr-+k+( White had no option, as after 20.Qb6?!
7+pzp-wqpzpp' Ra6 his queen is trapped.
20...bxc6 21.Qxc6 Qd8!
6-+n+-+l+& An excellent reply. The naive 21...Rad8?
5+-+nzp-+-% 22.Nf3 Le4 23.Lb4! Qxb4 24.Qxe4!
Rxe4 25.axb4 Rxb4 26.g3 Ne6 27.Nxe5
4p+Q+-+-+$ Rxb2 28.Ra1 would only please White,
although he would still have to suffer!
3zP-+PzP-+-# 22.Nf3 Rd6!
2-zP-sNLzPPzP" Even better than 22...Le4 23.dxe4 Rxd1
24.g3 μ.
1+-+RvLRmK-! 23.Qb5
xabcdefghy 23.Qb7?! Rb6 and the white queen again is
trapped! After a long theoretical variation, Black is
23...Rd5 24.Qb4 stuck with a weak backward pawn on d7.
Or 24.Qb7 Lxd3 (24...Lh5 –+) 25.Lc3 Naturally, as often happens in this type of
(25.Rxd3 Rxd3 26.Ng5 Ne2+ 27.Kh1 position, White's advantage is not really
Qd5) 25...Lxf1 26.Nxe5 Ne2+ (26... great, but it is static and consequently long-
Rxd1?? 27.Qxf7+ Kh8 28.Ng6+ hxg6 term, while the danger of defeat is
29.Qxg7 #) 27.Kh1 Nxc3 28.Qxf7+ Kh8 significantly reduced. White's plans are
–+. simple and include the doubling of the major
24...e4 pieces on the d-file and the development of
24...Lxd3 also wins. an initiative on both flanks.
25.Lc3?! 16...Qc7 17.Rfd1 Rfd8 18.Rd4 d6
The final blunder, but White was anyway 19.Rad1 Rd7 20.R1d3 Rad8 21.Qd2
lost: 25.Rd2 Nxd3 –+ or 25.Nd2 Qh4! Kf8 22.e4 h6 23.f4
26.g3 (26.Nxe4 Ne2+ 27.Kh1 Qxh2+! Rather premature. The move 23.h4!,
28.Kxh2 Rh5 #) 26...Qh3 27.gxf4 Rh5 –+. intending h5 and g4-g5, would cause Black a
25...Ne2+ serious headache.
0-1 23...Qc6! 24.a4 a6 25.h4 f5?!
Black finds it impossible to remain passive
But as is common with every pawn for such a long time. With this move he also
weakness, the endgame is the phase of the weakens the e6-pawn, but hopes for
game when the ‘pain’ can become strong! counterplay based on the exposed white
Exchanging minor pieces and falling into king.
passivity are the greatest enemies of the 26.Qe2 fxe4 27.Rxe4 Re8 28.Qf3 Rf7
backward and semi-backward pawns. The 29.Kh2 Qc5 30.Rde3 Rf6 31.Qe2 Kf7
next three examples will help to illuminate: 32.Qd2! a5
Forced, as White was threatening 33.b4!.
□ Grivas Efstratios But now Black has given up the possibility
■ Ionescu Constantin of counterplay with ...b5, the only decent
E19 Elista 1998 plan he had at his disposal.
1.d4 N N
f6 2. f3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 L b7 33.Rd3 Rd8 34.Red4 Ke7 35.Qe2 Kf7
5.Lg2 Le7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 36.Qe4! Qc7 37.Kg2?
Nxc3 9.Qxc3 c5 10.b3 cxd4 11.Nxd4 White had made good use of his position so
Lxg2 12.Kxg2 Nc6 13.Lb2 Nxd4 far and should have now played 37.h5. Next
Q L Q L
14. xd4 f6 15. d2 xb2 16. xb2 (D) Q would be the advance of his g-pawn,
supported by the white rooks. It is not
XABCDEFGHY necessary to offer specific variations as
8r+-wq-trk+( means of proof, as these plans would take up
a lot of time and preparation. The only
7zp-+p+pzpp' certain thing is that Black cannot effectively
6-zp-+p+-+& stop White's plan and, as a result, is
condemned to defeat.
5+-+-+-+-% 37...h5!
The only move and a very good one,
4-+P+-+-+$ securing the draw. The question is, of
3+P+-+-zP-# course, why? The answer is simple! The lack
of any satisfactory breakthrough favours the
2PwQ-+PzPKzP" defending side. Both flanks have been
1tR-+-+R+-! blocked; as a result, White does not have at
his disposal the most useful tool in such
xabcdefghy positions, i.e. the creation of a second front.
This is an instructive and very significant
strategic motif. 31.Rxd6 exf4 (31...Qxd6 32.Rxd6 Rxd6
38.Qf3 g6 39.Qe4 Rd7 40.Rd2 Rd8 33.c5 ÷) 32.Qxc5 fxg3+ 33.hxg3 Rxc5 =.
41.Kh2 Rf5 42.Qd3 Ke7 43.Re2 Kf7 31...exf4 32.gxf4 Qa3
44.Qf3 Re8 45.Qe4 Re7 46.Red2 Rd7 Now the exchange of the queen will offer
47.Qf3 Rd8 48.Qd3 Ke7 49.Qe4 Kf7 White a pleasant double rook ending: 32...
50.Re2 Rf6 51.Rd3 Rc8 52.Red2 Rd8 Qxe3+ 33.Kxe3 Re6 34.h4!.
53.Rd4 Rf5 33.Rg1 Qb2+ 34.Rd2 Qf6 35.Rg4 Rc5
White cannot make any progress… 36.Qd4! Rce5
½-½ Probably Black had to accept a slightly
worse ending with 36...Qxd4+ 37.Rxd4
□ Gheorghiu Florin Re6 but it is understandable that he did not
■ Ree Hans feel in a mood to fall for passivity.
E12 Lone Pine 1979 37.Kg3 h5?!
1.c4 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 c5 5.e3 Black overdoes it! Essential was 37...R5e6
Lb7 6.Nc3 Ne4 7.Nxe4 Lxe4 8.Ld3 38.Qxf6 Rxf6 39.Kf3 ².
Lxd3 9.Qxd3 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Nc6 38.fxe5 dxe5 39.Qd7 (D)
11.Qd3 Le7 12.e4 Qc7 13.0-0 0-0 14.b3
Lf6 15.Ra2 Rfd8 16.Rd1 Rac8 17.g3 d6 XABCDEFGHY
18.Lf4 Ne5 19.Qe2 Ng6 20.Le3 Qb7 8-+-+r+k+(
21.Lg5 Lxg5 22.Nxg5 Qc7 23.Nf3 Qc5
24.a4 Ne5 25.Rad2 h6 26.Nxe5 Qxe5 7zp-+Q+pzp-'
27.Qe3 Rc6 (D) 6-zp-+-wq-+&
XABCDEFGHY 5+-+-zp-+p%
8-+-tr-+k+( 4P+P+P+R+$
7zp-+-+pzp-' 3+P+-+-mK-#
6-zprzpp+-zp& 2-+-tR-+-zP"
5+-+-wq-+-% 1+-+-+-+-!
4P+P+P+-+$ xabcdefghy
3+P+-wQ-zP-# 39...Re7?
2-+-tR-zP-zP" A blunder. Forced was 39...Rf8 but after
40.Qd6! Qxd6 41.Rxg7+ (41.Rxd6 hxg4
1+-+R+-mK-! 42.Kxg4 g6 43.Rd7 f5+ 44.Kf3 Rf7
45.Rd5 Re7 ²) 41...Kxg7 42.Rxd6 White
xabcdefghy has good chances to cash the point.
Here we have again an ending without minor 40.Qd8+ Kh7 41.Rf2! Qe6 42.Rg5 g6
pieces, so White has all the play entirely to 43.Kg2 h4 44.Qd5
himself. 1-0
28.f4 Qc5 29.Rd4!
Correctly keeping the queens on the board. □ Pantsulaia Levan
29.Qxc5 bxc5 30.e5 Kf8 31.exd6 Ke8 is ■ Palac Mladen
not much for White. A30 Rethymnon 2003
29...Re8?! 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 c5 4.Lg2 Lb7
Black should think of 29...e5 30.R4d3 5.0-0 e6 6.Nc3 Le7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 d6
Qxe3+ 31.Rxe3 Rc5 where his chances to 9.Lg5 a6 10.Rfd1 Nbd7 11.Nd2 Lxg2
draw would be quite good. 12.Kxg2 Rc8 13.Nde4 Rc6 14.Lxf6
30.Kf2 e5 31.Rd5! Lxf6 15.Nxf6+ Nxf6 (D)
XABCDEFGHY dxe4 ±) 29...Rxd3 30.Rxd3 exd5 31.exd5
±.
8-+-wqk+-tr( 27.Nxe4?
7+-+-+pzpp' A must was 27.Rxd6 Rxc3 28.Rd7,
retaining a large advantage.
6pzprzppsn-+& 27...Qxb5? (D)
5+-+-+-+-% XABCDEFGHY
4-+PwQ-+-+$ 8-+r+-+k+(
3+-sN-+-zP-# 7+-+-+pzp-'
2PzP-+PzPKzP" 6-+rsnp+-zp&
1tR-+R+-+-! 5+q+-+-+-%
xabcdefghy 4-wQ-+N+-+$
A typical position with a semi-backward d- 3+P+R+-zP-#
pawn has arisen.
16.Rd3 2-+-+-zP-zP"
The correct approach - White will move his
pieces towards it!
1+-+R+-mK-!
16...0-0 xabcdefghy
16...Qc7 17.Rad1 Rxc4?! 18.Qxd6 ±. A decisive mistake. Essential was 27...
17.Rad1 Qc7 18.b3 Rc8 19.Ne4! Nxb5, and 28.Rd7 can be parried by 28...
Exchanging the last minor piece can be good R6c7! (28...R8c7 is elegantly refuted by
for White, as already said. 29.Nf6+! gxf6 30.Rd8+ Kh7 31.Qg4,
19...Ne8 with inevitable mate), and White cannot play
19...Nxe4 20.Qxe4 would be also rather 29.Nf6+, in view of 29...gxf6 30.Qg4+
unpleasant for Black (20...b5?! 21.cxb5 d5 Kh7 31.Rd8 Rxd8 32.Rxd8 Rc1+.
22.Qa4). 28.Qxd6! Rxd6 29.Nxd6 Qc6 30.Nxc8
20.a4 Qb7 21.Kg1 b5?! Qxc8? 31.Rd8+
This appealing move turns out to be a 1-0
mistake. 21...Qe7 was to be preferred.
22.cxb5 axb5 23.Qb4! d5
Black got rid of his backward pawn but at
the price of a pawn. Still White has to be
careful.
24.Nc3 Nd6 25.axb5 h6
25...Rc5 was a better choice, although
White retains an advantage after 26.b6
R5c6 27.Na4. The Sicilian Theme
26.e4! In many Sicilian pawn structures (as in the
This energetic continuation yields White Najdorf and the Sveshnikov variations) a
excellent winning chances, as it gives extra backward pawn appears early without
power to the doubled white rooks. causing any real problems to its position, at
26...dxe4?! least for the coming middle game battle.
Black had to opt for 26...Nxb5! 27.Qxb5 In order to get a greater understanding of
(27.Nxb5 Rb6 28.exd5 Rxb5 =) 27...Rb6 the above, we will use as an example the
28.Qa4 Rxb3 29.Nxd5!? (29.Ne2 Rxd3 following diagram, where a typical reversed
30.Rxd3 Qb1+ 31.Qd1 Qxd1+ 32.Rxd1 Sicilian pawn structure appears (D):
Lb8 16.Nc4 Nde7 17.Qe2 Nf5 18.g3 b5
XABCDEFGHY 19.Ncd2 Qb6 20.Lg2 Rfd8 21.Rc2 Nce7
8-+-+-+-+( 22.Rdc1 Ng6 (D)
7zppzp +pzpp' XABCDEFGHY
6-+-+-+-+& 8-vlrtr-+k+(
5+-+-zp-+-% 7+l+-+pzpp'
4-+-+P+-+$ 6pwq-+p+n+&
3+-+P+-+-# 5+pzp-+n+-%
2PzP-+-zPPzP" 4-+-+-+-+$
1+-+-+-+-! 3zPP+PzPNzP-#
xabcdefghy 2-vLRsNQzPLzP"
The well-known theoretician GM Ludek 1+-tR-+-mK-!
Pachman examines the above diagram in
depth by coming to the following conclusions xabcdefghy
as to what concerns the ‘positive’ sides of 23.e4!?
the backward d3-pawn and the placement of A typical idea aiming to restrain Black's
the pawn on e4: pieces, which are hanging around on the
1. White controls the d5- and f5-squares, queenside without any concrete plan.
including preventing Black from occupying Anyway 23.Ne4 was a good alternative:
d5. 23...Ld6 (23...Lxe4 24.dxe4 Nd6 25.e5
2. Preventing the dangerous ...e4. Nf5 26.e4 Nfe7 27.h4 ±) 24.h4 Le7 25.h5
3. Preparing a ‘speedy’ development (Le2, Nf8 26.g4 ².
Le3), and one, moreover, in which he has 23...Nfe7?!
control of d4. Black should seriously consider blocking the
4. Often (White) succeeds in playing d4. If d-file and exchanging some pieces in order
Black seeks to prevent this, he must to ease his position, for example: 23...Nd4
generally occupy the square d4 with a knight 24.Nxd4 cxd4 25.b4! Rxc2 26.Rxc2 Rc8
and, after White exchanges the piece, retake 27.Nb3 e5 28.Nc5 ².
with his e-pawn; the result is then 24.h4!
superiority on the kingside for White… Trying to further restrain and 'compress'
5. It is interesting to note that White’s Black's pieces, creating an attack at the same
operations on the c-file are mostly more time.
effective than Black’s on the d-file, for the 24...Nf8 25.h5 h6 26.Nh2 Qd6
pawn on d3, protected by the bishop, is a Black could go for 26...e5 although White is
great barrier for Black. still on top after 27.Lh3 (27.Ng4 Ne6!)
Maybe all the above seems a bit ‘difficult’ 27...Ne6 (27...Rc6 28.Ng4 f6 29.Ne3 ±)
to fully understand without some illustrative
28.Nhf3.
examples:
27.Ng4! Qxd3?
□ Grivas Efstratios A miscalculation. Forced was 27...Nd7
■ Velikov Petar 28.Nf3 (28.e5 Qb6 29.Lxb7 Qxb7
A09 Xanthi 1991 30.Qe4) 28...Nc6 29.e5 Qf8 30.Nd2 ±.
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 Nf6 4.Lxc4 e6 28.Nxh6+! gxh6
5.0-0 a6 6.b3 c5 7.Lb2 Nc6 8.Le2 Le7 Black had no real option: 28...Kh7 29.Qg4!
9.d3 0-0 10.Nbd2 b6 11.a3 Lb7 12.Qc2 f6 30.Nf7 +–. Isn’t it funny that Black’s
Rc8 13.Rac1 Nd5 14.Rfd1 Ld6 15.Lf1 position collapsed at the very moment he
won the backward white d-pawn? 16.e4!?
29.Qg4+ Neg6 30.hxg6 Nxg6 White creates his 'usual' set-up, using the d3-
Or 30...fxg6 31.Qh4 +– as the double threat e4 pawn chain to restrain Black's piece play.
Qf6 or Qxh6 cannot be met. And as usual, the backward d3-pawn
31.Lf6! receives minimal pressure!
The naive 31.Qh5? Lxg3! 32.Qxh6 16...Qc8 17.Rac1 h6 18.Lh3
(32.fxg3 Qe3+ 33.Kf1 Rxd2) 32...Le5 White is 'playing' with Black's nerves, as the
would have destroyed all White's efforts! latter does not really have a concrete plan at
31...Kh7 32.Nf3! his disposal. Of course White cannot
Of course White is no longer interested in improve his position by just playing like
winning the exchange - the target is the that, but the text move is part of a concrete
black king! plan: Nfe5 and f4-f5.
32...Ld6?! 18...b5!
32...e5 33.Qh5 Rc6 34.Lf1! Qd7 Black tries to become active; on the other
35.Ng5+ Kg8 36.Lxd8 Qxd8 37.Qxh6 hand he weakens his c5-pawn.
Nf8 38.Qh8+ Kxh8 39.Nxf7+ +–. 19.Nce5 Nxe5 20.Nxe5 Rc7 21.Lg2
33.Rd2?! Forced, as the immediate 21.f4? c4! 22.bxc4
The simple 33.Rc3 was enough! bxc4 23.Nxc4 Nxe4 ÷ would play into
33...Qxb3 34.Qh5 Lf8 35.Rxd8 Black's hands.
White won a rook and he is still on the 21...a6 22.h3
attack! 22.Lc3 looks like winning material, but
35...Rxd8 36.Lxd8 c4 37.Lf6 Qxa3 Black should be happy after 22...Nd7!
38.Rd1! Lc6 23.Nxd7 (23.Qg4 Nf6 24.Qf4 Ld6 ÷)
38...c3 39.Rd8 c2 40.Ng5+ Kg8 41.Qxh6 23...Rdxd7 24.La5 Rc6 25.e5 Qa8! ÷.
c1Q+ 42.Kh2 Qxg5 43.Qg7 #. 22...Ld6 23.f4 Nd7 24.Ng4
39.Rd8 c3 40.Ng5+ 1-0 Of course White avoids further exchanges,
□ Grivas Efstratios as his spatial advantage demands.
■ Sarwat Walaa 24...h5?
A14 Moscow 1994 There is no need to weaken his king, so
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Lg2 Lb7 Black should prefer 24...Nb8! planning to
5.0-0 Le7 6.b3 0-0 7.Lb2 c5 8.d3 d5 9.e3 come to d4, with unclear play.
Nc6 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.Nbd2 Rad8 12.a3 25.Ne3 g6
Rd7 13.Rfd1 Rfd8 14.cxd5 Rxd5 25...h4 26.Qg4 Lf8 27.Qxh4 +–.
15.Nc4 R5d7 (D) 26.Rf1!
White prepares his lethal attack on the king.
XABCDEFGHY Meanwhile Black still remains passive...
8-+-tr-+k+( 26...Lf8 27.g4?!
27.f5! deserved attention and it was
7zplwqrvlpzpp' probably more to the point, as the text move
fails to an interesting pawn sacrifice.
6-zpn+psn-+& 27...hxg4 28.hxg4 Lg7?!
5+-zp-+-+-% Here Black missed his chance to get active:
28...c4! 29.dxc4 (29.bxc4 Nc5 30.Rfd1
4-+N+-+-+$ [30.Rcd1 bxc4 31.Nxc4 Nxd3 ÷] 30...
3zPP+PzPNzP-# Nb3 °) 29...Nc5 30.cxb5 axb5 31.Le5
Rc6 °.
2-vL-+QzPLzP" 29.Lxg7 Kxg7 30.g5
1tR-+R+-mK-! 30.Qb2+ Kg8 31.Rf3 f6 32.Rh3 e5 33.f5
g5 34.Kf2 ± was the alternative option.
xabcdefghy 30...Rh8 31.Qb2+ Kg8 (D)
Ngf6 9.b3 c5 10.Lb2 Le7 11.d3 0-0
XABCDEFGHY 12.Nbd2 Qb6 13.Rac1 Rac8 14.Rfd1
8-+q+-+ktr( Rfd8 15.a3 Qa7 16.Qb1 Qa8 17.Qa1
Ne8 18.Rc2 Lf6 19.Rdc1 Lxb2 20.Qxb2
7+ltrn+p+-' Rc7 (D)
6p+-+p+p+& XABCDEFGHY
5+pzp-+-zP-% 8q+-trn+k+(
4-+-+PzP-+$ 7+ltrn+pzpp'
3zPP+PsN-+-# 6p+-+p+-+&
2-wQ-+-+L+" 5+pzp-+-+-%
1+-tR-+RmK-! 4-+-+-+-+$
xabcdefghy 3zPP+P+NzP-#
32.Ng4!
Now, threats of Nh6+ and f5 are in the air. 2-wQRsNPzPLzP"
32...Qf8 33.f5?! 1+-tR-+-mK-!
A bit early. White's advantage would be
nearly decisive after 33.d4! c4 34.bxc4 bxc4 xabcdefghy
35.Qc3 ± as Black could hardly move. White's unambitious opening play has
33...exf5?! allowed Black to feel that he is near
33...gxf5 34.exf5 (34.Nh6+ Rxh6 35.gxh6 equality. Although White remains at a safe
Qxh6 36.exf5 Qe3+ 37.Qf2 Qg5 °) 34... distance from the battlefield (on the three
Qg7 35.Nh6+ Kh7 36.Qxg7+ Kxg7 first ranks), his pieces have occupied their
37.fxe6 fxe6 38.Rce1 Nf8 39.Re3 ² was a best possible squares. The semi-open c-file
must for Black. is in White's favour, as his rooks apply
34.exf5 Lxg2?! constant pressure on the black c5-pawn.
The final mistake, although 34...Rh4 White should stand a tiny bit better.
35.Nh6+ Rxh6 36.gxh6 Qxh6 37.Rce1 ± 21.a4!
was also not pleasant... Best. White concentrates on weakening
35.Qxg2 gxf5 Black's queenside pawn structure - and this
35...Qd6 36.fxg6 Qd4+ 37.Rf2 Ne5 is best done by planning to isolate the b5-
38.Nh6+ Rxh6 39.gxf7+ Rxf7 40.gxh6+ pawn. Not much was 21.b4 Rdc8 22.Nb3
+–. c4! 23.Na5 cxd3 24.Rxc7 Rxc7 25.Rxc7
Nxc7 26.Nxb7 Qxb7 27.Ne1 Qb6
36.Rxf5 Rh7
36...Qg7 37.Re1 Rc8 38.Nh6+ Rxh6 28.Nxd3 Qd6 or 21.d4 Rdc8 22.dxc5
Nxc5 23.b4 Na4 24.Qb3 Rxc2 25.Rxc2
39.gxh6 Qxg2+ 40.Kxg2 +–.
Rxc2 26.Qxc2 Nf6 with equality in both
37.g6! Rg7 38.Nh6+ Kh8 39.Nxf7+ Kg8
40.Rh5 cases.
Black resigned due to 40...Qxf7 41.gxf7+ 21...Rdc8 22.e4!?
Kxf7 42.Rg5. An interesting idea. White restrains the
1-0 power of the black bishop, at the same time
gaining control over important central
□ Grivas Efstratios squares. Of course, he creates a backward d-
■ Logothetis Sotirios pawn, but Black is not able to put any kind
A13 Ermioni 2005 of pressure on it.
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 dxc4 4.Qa4+ Nd7 22...Nef6
5.Qxc4 a6 6.Lg2 b5 7.Qc2 Lb7 8.0-0 It is also possible to play 22...Qb8 23.Ne5
Ndf6 24.h3 ². 32.Qd4 Qxb7 33.dxc4 e5 34.Qd3 bxc4
23.Ne5! 35.Rxc4 ±) 32.Ra1 Na4 33.Lf1! f6 (33...
White cannot hope for more than equality h6 34.dxc4 bxc4 35.Qa5 Qxa5 36.bxa5
after the premature 23.axb5 axb5 24.b4 Qa7 Rb4 37.e5 ±) 34.Qd4 Rbc7 35.dxc4 bxc4
25.h3 Qb6 26.bxc5 Rxc5 27.d4 Rxc2 36.Lh3! ±.
28.Rxc2 Rxc2 29.Qxc2 b4. 31.Qxb5 La8
23...Nxe5 Black resigned before 32.Nxc4 was played.
Maybe Black should have preferred 23... 1-0
Qb8 24.h3 ², as on his previous move. The ‘Really’ Bad Backward Pawn
24.Qxe5 Nd7 25.Qb2 Lc6?! Well, this looks like an easy chapter to
25...Qa7 was the best try. explain, as its simplicity is evident: the pure
26.axb5 axb5 27.b4! old backward pawn with its total minuses,
The time has come! which we know.
27...Lb7 (D) As already explained, such cases should be
Maybe Black should choose 27...cxb4 avoided, as long as we do not have to
28.Qxb4 Nf6 29.d4 Ne8 30.h3 instead, surrender other, more important elements.
although White holds the advantage. For the sake of creating an index, we will
XABCDEFGHY examine separately each case of a central
backward pawn; the c (f), d and e.
8q+r+-+k+(
The Backward c-pawn
7+ltrn+pzpp' This is a common bird and we have a lot
of cases of a backward pawn on a bishop’s
6-+-+p+-+& file. Classical games were played and some
5+pzp-+-+-% of them will be on our dish. We will start
with a game of the ex-World Champion
4-zP-+P+-+$ Anatoly Karpov:
3+-+P+-zP-# □ Karpov Anatoly
2-wQRsN-zPLzP" ■ Spassky Boris
D58 Leningrad 1974
1+-tR-+-mK-! 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Le7
xabcdefghy 5.Lg5 h6 6.Lh4 0-0 7.e3 b6 8.Le2 Lb7
9.Lxf6 Lxf6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.0-0 Qd6
28.Nb3?
12.Rc1 a6 13.a3 Nd7 14.b4 b5 (D)
After this miscalculation Black is back in the
game. White could get a clear advantage XABCDEFGHY
with the natural 28.bxc5 Rxc5 (28...Nxc5 8r+-+-trk+(
29.Qxb5 La6 30.Qb6 Rc6 31.e5! Rxb6
32.Lxa8 Rxa8 33.Rxc5 ±) 29.Rxc5 7+lzpn+pzp-'
Nxc5 30.d4 Nd7 31.Ra1 La6 32.e5 Qa7
33.Ne4.
6p+-wq-vl-zp&
28...c4! 29.Na5 Nb6?! 5+p+p+-+-%
Black slips again. 29...Qa6 30.Lf1 Qb6
31.Nxb7 (31.dxc4!? Lxe4 32.c5 Qb8
4-zP-zP-+-+$
33.Rc3) 31...Qxb7 32.dxc4 bxc4 33.Rxc4
Rxc4 34.Rxc4 Rxc4 35.Lxc4 Qxe4
3zP-sN-zPN+-#
36.Qc3 ² was not that bad. 2-+-+LzPPzP"
30.Qe5! Qb8? 1+-tRQ+RmK-!
The final and fatal mistake. 30...Qa6! was
essential: 31.Nxb7 Rxb7 (31...Nd7 xabcdefghy
Black has voluntarily created a backward c- 24.Re1 Lf5 25.Rc2! Ld6 26.Rce2 and
pawn, deep in his camp, but as he was ready White stands better.
to play ...Nb6-c4, blocking the c-file, he felt 22.Re1 dxe4
in no danger. The main alternative was 22...Rfe8 23.e5
15.Ne1! Qg6 24.Ld3 Lf5 25.Ne2! and White's
The correct plan. In the case of backward knights dominate (and of course keep the a8-
pawns, not only the pawn but the square in rook passive, with its nasty obligation to
front of it suffers. The knight is heading to guard the weak a6-pawn). Next he will take
the c5 outpost. advantage of his mobile pawn majority on
15...c6 16.Nd3 Nb6?! the kingside - take a look at Black's c-pawn;
A passive move. Black was obliged to seek what's its purpose?
counterplay and for this important reason he 23.N3xe4 Qg6 24.Lh5!
should have played 16...a5!, creating a kind White should not be in a hurry to win
of initiative on the queenside and especially material: 24.Lxc4?! bxc4 25.Rxc4 f5
on the a-file. 26.Nd2 f4 and Black's activity and bishop
17.a4! pair fully compensate his small material
An instructive moment. White, before he deficit.
goes on with his plan, stops any counterplay 24...Qh7?!
on the a-file and fixes the 'weak' black a6- Although White also retains a clear plus
pawn, which will be a target of his knight after 24...Qf5 25.Rc3! Qd5 26.g4 f5
(when it comes to c5). 27.Rxh3 fxe4 28.Lg6, Black should go for
17...Ld8 18.Nc5 Lc8 19.a5! Lc7 20.g3 this line, as he would have more chances
Nc4 (D) than in the game continuation.
XABCDEFGHY 25.Qf3! (D)
8r+l+-trk+( XABCDEFGHY
7+-vl-+pzp-' 8r+-+-trk+(
6p+pwq-+-zp& 7+-vl-+pzpq'
5zPpsNp+-+-% 6p+p+-+-zp&
4-zPnzP-+-+$ 5zPpsN-+-+L%
3+-sN-zP-zP-# 4-zPnzPN+-+$
2-+-+LzP-zP" 3+-+-+QzPl#
1+-tRQ+RmK-! 2-+-+-zP-zP"
xabcdefghy 1+-tR-tR-mK-!
Now it seems that Black stands fine, as there xabcdefghy
is no way for White to accomplish 25...f5?!
something dangerous - or maybe this is just Good or bad, Black could only opt for
an illusion? 25...Qf5 when White retains a clear plus
21.e4! after 26.Qxf5 Lxf5 27.Le2! Nd6 28.Lf3,
Just like that! As objectively there is not as Black's queenside (backward) pawns are
much to do on either of the flanks, White weak. With the text move he tried to
must create some initiative in the centre, complicate matters, but White was well
strengthening his position. This is a typical prepared!
reaction for this kind of pawn structure. 26.Nc3! g6 27.Qxc6! gxh5 28.Nd5! f4
L
21... h3 Or 28...Ld6 29.Rxc4 bxc4 30.Qxd6 +–.
N Q
Or 21...dxe4 22. 3xe4 d5 23. f3 d8 L Q
29.Re7 Qf5 controls several central squares and has at his
29...fxg3 30.Nf6+! Rxf6 31.Qxa8+ Rf8 disposal a clear plan, to exploit the backward
32.Qxf8+ Kxf8 33.Rxh7 +–. c2-pawn.
30.Rxc7 21.Qe2 Ndb6 22.Le1 Nd5 23.Lf2 Rc8
30.Qxh6 Rf7 31.Nd7! would have been 24.Ra2 Qd7 25.Rd1 g6
immediately curtains, but of course the text Both sides manoeuvre, but with different
also wins. aims: White is defending, Black is attacking.
30...Rae8 31.Qxh6 Rf7 32.Rxf7 Kxf7 In these ‘charmless’ cases, the attacker can
33.Qxf4 Re2 34.Qc7+ Kf8 35.Nf4 rarely go wrong!
1-0 26.Rd4 Rbc7 27.N1d2 Nxd2 28.Qxd2
Rc3! (D)
When I was young I was able to study a lot
of games like the previous ones and I was
XABCDEFGHY
‘lucky’ enough to ‘repeat’ them in practice: 8-+r+-+k+(
□ Frendzas Panayotis 7+-+qvlp+p'
■ Grivas Efstratios
B24 Athens 1996 6p+-+p+p+&
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e6 4.g3 Nf6 5+-+nzP-+-%
5.Lg2 Le7 6.0-0 0-0 7.h3 a6 8.d3 Re8
9.f4 d5 10.e5 Nd7 11.Kh2 b5 12.a4 Rb8 4Pzp-tR-zP-+$
13.b3 Qc7 14.Ld2 b4 15.Nb1 (D) 3+Ntr-+-zPP#
XABCDEFGHY 2R+PwQ-vL-mK"
8-trl+r+k+( 1+-+-+-+-!
7+-wqnvlpzpp' xabcdefghy
6p+n+p+-+& Black's advantage is clear and is not based
5+-zppzP-+-% solely on the presence of the backward c2-
pawn, but also on the better placement of his
4Pzp-+-zP-+$ pieces in comparison with White's, the
power of which is totally ‘wasted’ on
3+P+P+-zPP# guarding the weak pawn. If we also take the
2-+PvLN+LmK" weakness of the white king into account, we
can consider that Black's superiority is
1tRN+Q+R+-! nearly decisive.
xabcdefghy 29.Rd3 Qc7 30.Nd4
30.Rxc3? Nxc3 31.Ra1 Ne4 would be
White is playing without a plan. His last
easy.
moves have greatly damaged his position.
30...Lc5!
15...c4! 16.dxc4 dxc4 17.bxc4
Exchanging a minor piece will further
Forced, due to the threat of 17...c3 which
highlight White's weaknesses on both flanks.
would lock in the b1-knight forever.
31.Nb3 Lxf2 32.Qxf2 h5!
17...Na5
An instructive moment. Black could
But now the backward c2-pawn will come
immediately win the weak white pawn on
under strong pressure.
c2, but then he would have to exchange his
18.Nd4 Lb7 19.Lxb7 Rxb7 20.Nb3
Nxc4 good pieces for White's useless ones. As a
result he would have won a pawn that is
With his last few moves, Black has exchanged
doomed anyway, but he would also have
the strong g2-bishop and improved the c6-
missed the chance to increase his superiority.
knight's prospects. His advantage is big, as he
This is a good example of non-trivial
exploitation of this superiority. XABCDEFGHY
33.Nd4 Qc4! 34.Rxc3 Nxc3 35.Ra1
Rd8! 36.Nf3 Nd1! 37.Qg2 Ne3 38.Qf2 8-+r+r+-mk(
Nxc2
The weak c2-pawn has been lost without
7zppzpn+-vlp'
Black having to exchange his more active 6-+-+-+p+&
pieces. Black retains an attack and, if he fails
to achieve anything more, will just win the 5+-+PzppvL-%
ending! 4-+-+P+-+$
39.Rb1 Nd4! 40.Rb2 Nxf3+ 41.Qxf3 a5
42.h4 Qc1 43.Rf2 Qd1 44.Qb7 Qe1 3+-+-+P+P#
45.Rc2 Rd3 46.Qg2 Kg7 2PzP-sNK+P+"
0-1
1+-tR-+-+R!
□ Grivas Efstratios
■ Drosakis Nikolaos
xabcdefghy
E90 Athens 2007 18...Lf8 19.g4 Lc5 20.Rc2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Lg7 4.e4 d6 Doubling rooks on the file where the
5.Nf3 0-0 6.h3 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 backward pawn is placed can only be the
Rxd8 9.Lg5 Re8 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.cxd5 correct strategy.
f5?! 12.Lc4 20...c6?!
Best. White has also tried: Black's desire to get rid of his backward c-
a) 12.Le3?! Lf8 13.Lc4 Lb4+ 14.Ke2 pawn is entirely understandable, but the text
Kg7 15.Rac1 c6 = Kersting,M-Djondras,B is just blundering this pawn! 20...f4 21.Nb3
Hessen 2000. Ld6 (21...Lb6 22.Rhc1 Kg8 23.Lh4!
b) 12.Ld3?! f4 13.Rc1 h6 14.Lb5 c6 Kf7 24.Lf2 +–) 22.Na5 b6 23.Nc6 a5
15.dxc6 bxc6 16.Lc4+ (16.Rxc6 Nxc6 24.Lh4 ± was a forced (although not
17.Lxc6 La6 18.Lxa8 Rxa8 19.Le7 pleasant) line for Black.
Ld3 μ) 16...Kf8 μ Barre,M-Denicourt,B St 21.Rhc1! b6
Jean sur Richelieu 2004. 21...cxd5 22.b4 dxe4 23.fxe4 +–.
12...Kh8 22.dxc6 Nb8 23.Le3
12...h6!? 13.Le3 Kh7 14.Nd2 Nd7 15.f3 Also good was 23.b4 Lxb4 (23...Nxc6
² is another defensive try. 24.bxc5 Nd4+ 25.Kd3 Nxc2 26.Rxc2
13.Nd2 fxg4 27.hxg4 Rxc5 28.Rxc5 bxc5 29.Lf6+
A correct follow-up. Too optimistic is Kg8 30.g5 +–) 24.c7 Na6 25.Lf6+ Kg8
13.h4?! h6! 14.Le3 (14.h5? fxe4 15.Nd2 26.gxf5 gxf5 27.exf5 Lc5 28.Ne4 Rxc7
hxg5 16.Nxe4 Lh6 –+ Mohebbi,J- 29.Rd2 ± but the text move is equally
Aguettaz,M Cannes 1999) 14...Nd7 15.h5 strong.
g5 16.exf5 Nb6 17.Lb3 Lxf5 18.Rc1 23...Lxe3
Rac8 ÷ but 13.Le3 is fully playable: 23...Nxc6 24.Lxc5 bxc5 25.Rxc5 Nd4+
13...Nd7 14.Ng5 ± Khudaverdieva,A- 26.Ke3 f4+ 27.Kf2 +–.
Umudova,N Khalkidiki 2000. 24.Kxe3 f4+ 25.Ke2 Re6 26.c7 Na6
13...Nd7 14.f3 Nf6 15.Lb5! Ld7 27.a3?
The alternative was the passive 15...Re7 White overlooked the simple 27.Rc4! Re7
16.Rc1 ±. (27...b5 28.Rc6 Rxc6 29.Rxc6 Nb4
16.Lxd7 Nxd7 17.Rc1 Rac8 18.Ke2 (D) 30.Rc5 Nxa2 31.Nb1! Nb4 32.Nc3 +–)
White has built up a safe advantage, as the 28.Ra4 with material gains.
exchange of the light-squared bishops was in 27...Re7 28.b4 Rexc7?
his favour (the ...c6 advance became more A bad mistake. Black could maintain
difficult). drawing chances with 28...Kg7 29.g5 ±.
29.Rxc7 Rxc7 30.Rxc7 Nxc7 31.Nc4 16.axb5 Rxa1 17.Rxa1 Ne4
And now the weak black e-pawn falls (see A correct strategy to defend a backward
the note to Black's 11th move). pawn is to exchange the rooks, as these are
31...Ne6 32.Nxe5 Kg7 33.Nc6 a6 34.h4 the pieces which can attack it from distance.
g5 35.h5! Of course bad was 17...Qxe2? 18.Re1
35.hxg5 Nxg5 gives Black some kind of Qxe1+ 19.Nxe1 Rxe1+ 20.Nf1 ± but
threats due to his ‘active’ knight. Black should seriously consider 17...Ra8
35...Kf6 36.Kd3 b5 37.e5+ Kf7 38.Ke4 18.Rxa8+ Lxa8 19.Qa4 Qe8 and White's
Black resigned as White's position is fully advantage is kept to the minimum.
dominant and his extra pawn will easily tell 18.e3 Ra8 19.Rxa8+ Lxa8 20.Qa2!
in the end. Keeping an eye on f7!
1-0 20...Qe8?
And Black bites the decoy! He should opt
□ Grivas Efstratios for 20...Qf8! after which White can claim
■ Klimis Laertis an advantage: 21.Nxe4 dxe4 22.Ne5!
E11 Athens 2007 (22.Ng5 Nf6 23.d5 [23.Nxf7? Ld5] 23...
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Lb4+ 4.Nbd2 d5 Lxd5 24.Qa4 Qa8! 25.Qxa8+ Lxa8
5.a3 Le7 6.g3 0-0 7.Lg2 Nbd7 8.0-0 b6 26.Lxf6 gxf6 27.Nxe4 Lxe4 28.Lxe4 h6
9.cxd5 exd5 10.b4 Re8 11.Lb2 (D) =) 22...Lxe5 (22...Nf6?! 23.Nc6! [23.Lf1
XABCDEFGHY Ld5 24.Lc4 Lxc4 25.Qxc4] 23...Qe8
24.d5 ±) 23.dxe5 Qe8 24.Lf1! Nc5
8r+lwqr+k+( 25.Lc4 Ne6 26.h4 thanks to his bishop
7zp-zpnvlpzpp' pair.
21.Nxe4! dxe4 (D)
6-zp-+-sn-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+p+-+-% 8l+-+q+k+(
4-zP-zP-+-+$ 7+-zpn+pzpp'
3zP-+-+NzP-# 6-zp-vl-+-+&
2-vL-sNPzPLzP" 5+P+-+-+-%
1tR-+Q+RmK-! 4-+-zPp+-+$
xabcdefghy 3+-+-zPNzP-#
11...Ld6?!
Generally Black should avoid staying for a 2QvL-+-zPLzP"
long time with a backward pawn. He had 1+-+-+-mK-!
nothing to fear after 11...c5 12.bxc5 bxc5
13.dxc5 Nxc5 as his active pieces would xabcdefghy
compensate for his isolated d-pawn. 22.Ng5! Nf6
12.Re1 Lb7 13.b5! The cruel reality for Black is that after
A typical strategy: White permanently stops 22...Lb7 23.Lf1! he has no way to defend
the ...c5 advance, ensuring the weakness of against the threats Lc4 or Nxf7.
the c7-pawn (or of the d5-pawn after ...c5 23.Nxf7! Ld5
and bxc6). 23...Qxf7 24.Qxa8+.
13...a6 14.a4 Qe7 15.Qb3 axb5 24.Nxd6
After 15...a5?! 16.La3! the weakness of the That's the difference between 20...Qe8? and
c7-pawn will be fatal (especially after the 20...Qf8! - the black queen is attacked!
exchange of its d6-bishop protector). 24...cxd6 25.Qa4
White won a pawn and the bishop pair. The begins.
rest is easy: 20...Nd7
25...Le6 26.La3 Qc8 27.Lf1 20...c5 21.Rc1 was not a solution either.
Also possible was 27.Lxd6 Qc1+ 28.Lf1 21.Nxd7
Lh3 29.Qc4+. A correct decision. In a game with only
27...d5 28.Qa6 Nd7? 1-0 major pieces, Black’s queenside weaknesses
will be most telling.
All these examples seem to be rather
21...Qxd7 22.Qc2 Rab8 23.Qc4 a5
simple and one wonders if they really could
24.Qc5 Qc7
occur at the highest level nowadays. Well,
Black remained with a weak backward c-
the answer is of course yes; we have many
pawn, located on a semi-open file and
examples at this level, not because the
without any counterplay; a nightmare for
players ignore the ‘facts’ but just because
every serious player.
there are other, more important elements to
25.Rb5!
consider and take into account!
The first rook appears on b5, forcing Black
□ Kasimdzhanov Rustam to abandon the b-file in order to cover his a-
■ Vallejo Pons Francisco pawn. White's advantage is increasing and
D80 Wijk aan Zee 2009 Black's potential counterplay is nil.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Lg5 Ne4 25...Ra8 26.Qc3
5.Lh4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 dxc4 7.e3 Le6 8.Rb1 Making room for the tripling of the major
b6 9.Nf3 c6 10.a4 Lg7 11.Nd2 0-0 pieces along the c-file, targeting the
12.Le2 a6 13.Nxc4 Nd7 14.Nd2 b5 15.c4 backward pawn.
bxc4 16.Lxc4 Lxc4 17.Nxc4 (D) 26...Rfc8 27.Rc5 e6 28.Rc1 Ra6 29.h4
XABCDEFGHY h5
It would be 'awful' to allow a white pawn on
8r+-wq-trk+( h6: 29...Qd8 30.h5 Qc7 31.h6 Qd6 32.d5
+–.
7+-+nzppvlp' 30.Rb1 Raa8 31.g3 Ra6 32.Kg2 Qa7
6p+p+-+p+& 33.Rbb5!
And now the second rook! One of the weak
5+-+-+-+-% pawns will be lost now.
4P+NzP-+-vL$ 33...Kh7
33...cxb5 34.Rxc8+ Kh7 35.d5 +–.
3+-+-zP-+-# 34.Rxa5 Rxa5 35.Rxa5
2-+-+-zPPzP" 35.Qxa5 Qxa5 36.Rxa5 would also do the
job.
1+R+QmK-+R! 35...Qb7 36.Rc5 Qb1 37.Qc2!
Avoiding any nasty ideas along the h1-a8
xabcdefghy diagonal and forcing matters.
Black is about to make it easy for him. He 37...Qxc2
will have just to get rid of his weak and 37...Qb4 38.Rxh5+ Kg7 39.Rc5 was just
backward c-pawn. another one pawn plus for White.
17...Lf6? 38.Rxc2 Ra8 39.Ra2
But surely this was not the correct way! He Rooks belong behind passed pawns! The end
had to go for the natural 17...c5 18.d5 was:
(18.dxc5 Nxc5 19.Qxd8 Rfxd8 20.Lxe7 39...Kg7 40.a5 Ra6 41.Kf3 Kf6 42.Kf4
Rdb8 21.Ke2 Nxa4 =) 18...Ne5 19.Nxe5 Ke7 43.Kg5
Lxe5 20.0-0 Qc7 ÷. 43...Kd7 44.Kf6 Ke8 45.e4 Kf8 46.Rb2.
18.Lxf6 Nxf6 19.0-0 Qc7 20.Ne5 44...e5 44.dxe5 c5 45.Kf4 c4 46.Ke4
And now the pressure on the weak c-pawn 1-0
The Backward d-pawn such kind of positions.
As in the case of the c(f)-pawn, the central 20...Re8 21.Rad1 Qc7
d-pawn can be also prove a headache. Forced, as the a5-pawn needs protection:
Generally it should be avoided, especially 21...Kh7? 22.Lxe4 fxe4 23.Qd2 ±.
when passivity and lack of a decent plan are 22.h4 Kf7 23.Lf3
hand in hand. Remember: when having a As Black cannot become active, White takes
backward pawn, one should be active in his time and slightly improves the position
order to compensate for this minus. of his pieces. Next he will try to be active on
A lot of instructive examples on this the queenside, as he needs to open a second
common feature will follow, in order to help front (the principle of the two weaknesses).
us understand the concept. 23...R8e7?
□ Grivas Efstratios A blunder. Black had to play 23...Nc5 or
■ Palatnik Semon 23...Kf8.
A88 Iraklion 1992 24.Kg2?
1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Lg2 Lg7 White didn't understand it! He could have
5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 d6 7.Nc3 c6 8.d5 e5 9.dxe6 won a pawn with 24.Lxe4! fxe4 25.Qd2
Lxe6 10.Qd3 Na6 11.Ng5 Re8 12.Rd1 Rd7 26.c5! d5 27.Ra4 ±. This same thing
Nc5 13.Nxe6 Rxe6 14.Qc2 Nfe4 also could have happened during the next
15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Le3 Qe7 (D) few moves!
White has retained a slight advantage due to 24...Ke8? 25.a3? Nf6
Black’s backward d-pawn. His bishop pair is Black finally sensed the danger, so we return
not counting as he will have to oppose the back to the natural continuation of the game.
g7-bishop's power down the long diagonal. 26.b4 axb4 27.axb4 Ng4?! (D)
But of course still he can be happy having XABCDEFGHY
the light-squared bishop against the black
knight. 8-+-+k+-+(
XABCDEFGHY 7+pwq-tr-+-'
8r+-+-+k+( 6-+pzpr+p+&
7zpp+-wq-vlp' 5+-+-+p+p%
6-+pzpr+p+& 4-zPPtR-+nzP$
5+-+-+p+-% 3+-+-zPLzP-#
4-+P+n+-+$ 2-+Q+-zPK+"
3+-+-vL-zP-# 1+-+R+-+-!
2PzPQ+PzPLzP" xabcdefghy
1tR-+R+-mK-! This doesn't help, but White holds a pleasant
advantage even after the correct 27...Ne4
xabcdefghy 28.R4d3 Kf7 29.Ra3, planning to pene-
17.Ld4! a5?! trate with his rooks via the a-file.
This is more a weaknesses than anything 28.Lxg4! fxg4
else. Something like 17...a6 would be 28...hxg4 29.h5 Qd7 30.Rf4 Rf7 31.hxg6
normal. Rxg6 32.Rh1 ±.
18.e3 h5 19.Lxg7 Kxg7 20.Rd4 29.Qd3 c5
A natural continuation; doubling rooks or Black tries to solve partly his huge
generally trebling the heavy pieces against problems. The other option was 29...Rd7
the backward pawn is a nice first step in 30.e4 Rde7 (30...Ke7 31.c5 ±) 31.Qd2
(31.c5 dxc5 32.bxc5 ±) 31...Kf7 32.Qh6 ± 47.h5 Qc2 48.Qc8+
and the black king will also suffer. And Black resigned in view of 48...Kf6
30.bxc5 dxc5 49.Qxg4 Qd3 50.h6 c3 51.Qg7+ Ke6
White wins material after 30...Qxc5 52.h7.
31.Rxd6 (31.Kg1!? Kf7 32.Rd5 Qc6 1-0
33.Qb3 ±) 31...Rxd6 32.Qxd6 Qxd6
33.Rxd6 ±. □ Grivas Efstratios
31.Rd5 ■ Papas Konstantinos
Now the backward pawn has disappeared A52 Athens 1999
but White's advantage is obvious and it is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 Nc6
mainly dictated by Black's weak king, the 5.Lg5 Le7 6.Lxe7 Qxe7 7.Nc3 Ngxe5
numerous weaknesses (b7, c5 and g6 pawns) 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.e3 0-0 10.Le2 d6 11.0-0
and the activity of his heavy pieces. c6 (D)
31...Kf7 32.Ra1 Qc6 33.Kg1 b6 34.Rd1
Rf6 35.Qc2 Qe6 36.Qb2! Qe4 37.Rd6
XABCDEFGHY
Rxd6 8r+l+-trk+(
Or 37...Ree6 38.Rd8 Qc6 39.R1d7+ Re7 7zpp+-wqpzpp'
40.Rd5 ±.
38.Rxd6 Re6 39.Rd7+ Re7 40.Rd8! 6-+pzp-+-+&
40.Rxe7+?! was losing most of White's 5+-+-sn-+-%
plus: 40...Kxe7 41.Qxb6 Qxc4 42.Qxg6
Qd5!. 4-+P+-+-+$
40...Re8
What else? After 40...Qc6 41.Qh8 the
3+-sN-zP-+-#
black king will not survive in the long run. 2PzP-+LzPPzP"
41.Rxe8 Kxe8 42.Qxb6
White has converted his positional 1tR-+Q+RmK-!
superiority into material gain. Black xabcdefghy
correctly decides to abandon his kingside
White has achieved a slight but secure and
pawns, in order to create a passed pawn of
permanent advantage due to his spatial plus
his own. Although this didn't suffice to save
and the weak black backward d-pawn.
the game, it was the best practical chance.
12.Qd2!
42...Qxc4
White should be careful. With 12.Qc2?!
42...Qf5 43.Qc6+ Kf7 44.e4 +–. Le6 13.b3 f5 14.f4 Nd7 15.Lf3 Nf6
43.Qxg6+
16.Rae1 d5! (16...Qf7 17.Ne2 d5 18.cxd5
The difference to the note on the 40th move - Nxd5 19.Nd4 Rae8 20.Qc5 ² Nielsen,P-
White captures the pawn with check and this
tempo is rather important. Christensen,H Esbjerg 2006) 17.cxd5 cxd5 =
43...Ke7 44.Qxh5 or 12.f4 Ng6 13.e4 f5 ÷ Dlabik,J-Pecner,D
Forced, as White must also obtain a passed Slovakia 2002, he lost his advantage.
pawn, and one that suits his purposes at that. 12...Le6 13.b3 f5
The requirements are not met by the e-pawn, Now 13...Rad8? is not possible: 14.f4! Ng4
as it can be stopped by the black pieces. 15.f5 Lxf5 16.Rxf5 Qxe3+ 17.Qxe3
44...Qc1+ 45.Kg2 c4 46.Qc5+ Nxe3 18.Rf3 Rfe8 19.Ld3 d5 20.cxd5
Or 46.Qxg4 c3 47.h5 c2 48.Qg7+ Kd6 cxd5 21.Re1 1-0 Lozachmeur,Y-David,P
49.h6 Qd1 50.Qf8+ Kd7 51.Qf7+ Kd6 Chateauroux 2005.
52.Qf4+ Kd7 53.Qa4+ Ke7 54.h7 +–. 14.f4! Nf7
46...Ke6 14...Ng6 15.g3 Rfe8 16.Lf3 ².
Black could have tried 46...Kf7 47.h5 c3, 15.Lf3 Rad8 16.Qd4 Qf6?!
but in vain: 48.Qf5+! Ke7 49.h6. The inferior side should refrain from
creating further weakness. Black had to opt further comments.
for 16...a6 17.e4 ². 43...Nd6 44.R4e3 Rd4 45.Ke1 f5
17.Qxf6 gxf6 18.Rad1 Kg7 19.Rd2 Rd7 46.Rd2 Rxd2 47.Kxd2 Ne4+ 48.Ke2
20.Rfd1 Rfd8 21.Kf2 Nh6 22.h3 Kf7 Kf4 49.Rh3 b5 50.a4 bxa4 51.bxa4 Kg4
(D) 52.Ra3 Nc5 53.a5 Na6 54.Rb3 f4
XABCDEFGHY 55.Rb6 f3+ 56.Kf2 Nc5 57.Rb4+ Kh3
58.Kxf3
8-+-tr-+-+( 1-0
7zpp+r+k+p' □ Adams Michael
6-+pzplzp-sn& ■ D'Costa Lorin
B42 Daventry 2009
5+-+-+p+-% 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6
4-+P+-zP-+$ 5.Ld3 Nf6 6.0-0 Qc7 7.Qe2 d6 8.c4 g6
9.Nc3 Lg7 10.Nf3 0-0 11.h3 Nc6 12.Le3
3+PsN-zPL+P# Nd7 13.Rac1 Re8 14.Rfd1 b6 (D)
2P+-tR-mKP+" XABCDEFGHY
1+-+R+-+-! 8r+l+r+k+(
xabcdefghy 7+-wqn+pvlp'
It seems that Black has defended 6pzpnzpp+p+&
successfully. But White can further improve
his position. 5+-+-+-+-%
23.Ne2! Ke7 24.Nd4 d5 4-+P+P+-+$
What else? If 24...Rg8 White wins with
25.e4! fxe4 26.Lxe4 Rg7 27.Re1 +–. 3+-sNLvLN+P#
25.Nxe6 Kxe6 26.cxd5+ cxd5
Black's pawn structure is a mess.
2PzP-+QzPP+"
27.g4! 1+-tRR+-mK-!
White further increases his advantage by
fixing it a bit! But he gets in return xabcdefghy
sufficient pressure against all Black’s pawn Black's semi-backward pawn seems to be
weaknesses. under no threat, thus his position should be
27...fxg4 28.hxg4 Ng8 29.Rh1 b6 30.Rh5 OK.
d4?! 15.Qd2!
This loses without a fight, as Black cracked But that's a great move. White is preparing
under the heavy pressure. 30...h6 31.Rd4 ± to weaken Black's kingside with Lh6 and he
was forced. is also clearing a way for his other bishop to
31.exd4 Rxd4 32.Re2+! Kf7 f1, after which the d6-pawn will come under
32...Kd6 33.Ke3 Rd1 34.Rxh7. pressure.
33.Rxh7+ Kg6 34.Rxa7 Rxf4 35.Kg3 15...Nc5
Rdd4 36.Rb7 Nh6 37.Rbe7! Nf7 Black could try to target the c4-pawn, but it
37...Nxg4 38.Le4+ +–. does not look too appealing: 15...Nce5
38.Le4+ Kg5 39.Lf5 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 (16...dxe5 17.c5! Nxc5
Now Black is plain lost and he is even 18.Na4 Ld7 19.Nxc5 bxc5 20.Rxc5 ±)
forced to give up the exchange. 17.Le2 Nxc4?! 18.Lxc4 Qxc4 19.Qxd6
39...Rxf5 40.gxf5 Nd6 41.Kg2 Nxf5 ±.
42.R7e4 Rd3 43.Kf2 16.Lb1 Lf8
The rest of the game does not need any 16...Rd8!? 17.Lh6 Lh8 might be an
interesting try. The Backward e-pawn
17.Lh6! Another quite often met case, mostly due
Exchanging the dark-squared bishops to the ‘French Defence’! Of course this does
usually favours White in this structure, as it not mean that this popular opening is bad; on
weakens Black's kingside and the semi- the contrary it is supposed to be one of
backward d6-pawn. Black’s most solid defences!
17...Lxh6 18.Qxh6 Lb7 19.Nh2! Just, sometimes, Black falls into
New troubles are in the air. Black's kingside unpleasant situations, where there is no way
and the dark squares around the king are back than to accept some pawn structure
quite weak and White hurries to benefit from minuses…
it.
19...Rad8 □ Morozevich Alexander
Not satisfactory is 19...Ne5?! 20.f4! Nxc4 ■ Petrushin Alexander
21.b3 Na3 22.Ng4 and Black is in deep B50 Krasnodar 1997
trouble. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Lc4 Nf6 4.d3 Nc6
20.Ng4 Qe7 21.f4 f6 22.Rd2 5.c3 e6 6.Lb3 Le7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 b6
White is ready to apply more pressure with 9.Nbd2 Lb7 10.Nf1 Rc8 11.Ng3 Ne5
Rcd1 and then attack with f5. 22.f5!? Qg7 12.d4 Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 cxd4 14.cxd4 d5
(22...Ne5 23.Nxe5 dxe5 24.fxg6 hxg6 15.e5 Ne4 16.Qg4 Nxg3 17.hxg3 Kh8
25.Qxg6+) 23.Qh4 g5 24.Qh5 Rf8 18.Qe2 f5 19.exf6 Lxf6 (D)
25.Nh6+ Kh8 26.fxe6 Nxe6 27.Nf5 is XABCDEFGHY
another excellent option for White.
22...b5?!
8-+rwq-tr-mk(
Black tried to distract White with a counter- 7zpl+-+-zpp'
attack but unfortunately this fails. Also not
satisfactory was 22...Qg7 23.Qxg7+ Kxg7 6-zp-+pvl-+&
24.Rcd1 h5 25.Ne3 ±, but Black had to go 5+-+p+-+-%
for 22...Rf8 23.Rcd1 f5 24.exf5 gxf5
25.Ne3 and defend a worse position. 4-+-zP-+-+$
23.cxb5 axb5 24.Nxb5 f5 25.exf5 exf5 3+L+-+-zP-#
26.Lxf5!
That's what Black missed, as he hoped to get 2PzP-+QzPP+"
counterplay after 26.Nf2? La6 27.Nc3
Qe3. 1tR-vL-tR-mK-!
26...La6 xabcdefghy
Or 26...gxf5 27.Nf6+ Kh8 28.Rxc5 dxc5 White has emerged with the slightly better
29.Re2 Qf7 (29...Qg7 30.Rxe8+ Rxe8 pawn structure. Black's weak backward e-
31.Qxg7+ Kxg7 32.Nxe8+ +–) 30.Nxe8 pawn is partly compensated by his own
Rxe8 31.Nd6 +–.
pressure on the white d4-pawn.
27.Lxg6! hxg6 20.Qd3
27...Lxb5 28.Lxh7+ Qxh7 29.Nf6+. The queen protects temporarily the weak
28.Qxg6+ Qg7 pawn, allowing the e1-rook to concentrate
28...Kf8 29.Rd5! Lc8 30.Rg5 +–. on its pressure against the opponent’s e6-
29.Nf6+ Kf8 30.Qxg7+ Kxg7 31.Nxe8+ pawn.
Rxe8 32.Nxd6 20...Qd7 21.Lf4!
And Black resigned as he loses too much Another good move, planning to exchange
material. the active f6-bishop, when the pressure on
1-0 the d4-pawn will disappear and the square in
front of the backward e6-pawn will become
http://trainers.fide.com strong.
21...Lc6 22.Lc2 39...Qd7 40.Qe3
A move connected to the previous plan. In addition to his extra pawn, White has a
Black is forced to move his g-pawn, so he strong initiative thanks to Black's weak king;
will not be able to take back with ...gxf6 and this means the game is close to its end.
White will proceed with Le5 and Lxf6. 40...Qxb5?! 41.Qe5+ Kh6 42.g4
22...g6 23.Rad1 1-0
Now it is just like a dream to play with the
white pieces. White has control over key Backward and Isolated
squares in the centre, clear targets to attack, Such cases mostly belong to the isolated
better pieces... pawn chapters but here we will examine the
23...Lb5 24.Qd2 La6 25.Lb1 Rc6 isolated pawn when it is not placed on its
26.Le5 fourth rank, thus we can call it more a
So, here comes... backward than an isolated one (although it is
26...Lxe5 27.Rxe5 both!).
Now White, after exchanging the dark- Our examples consist of two masterpieces
squared bishops, will also have full control played by ex-World Champion Garry
over the dark squares. Kasparov. He really knew how to handle
27...Kg7 28.Rde1 Qf7 29.f4 Qf6 30.Qe3 these positions, as his education in the
Lc8 ‘Botvinnik Chess School’ was excellent!
It is clear that White has made a big progress □ Kasparov Garry
over the previous diagram, but how to ■ Huebner Robert
proceed from now on? A new plan must be D46 Brussels 1986
created. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3
31.Ld3! Nbd7 6.Ld3 Lb4 7.a3 Ld6 8.e4 dxe4
The white bishop is directed to g4, from 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Lxe4 e5 11.0-0 0-0
where it will put extra pressure on the 12.Lc2 Re8 13.Re1 exd4 14.Rxe8+
backward e6-pawn. Qxe8 15.Qxd4 Le7 16.Lg5 Lxg5
31...Rc7 32.Le2 Rc6 33.b4! 17.Nxg5 Nf6 18.Rd1 Le6 19.Re1 Qd8
A good example of the principle of the 'two 20.Nxe6 fxe6 (D)
weaknesses'. With his last move, White tries
to achieve another weakness to attack; the XABCDEFGHY
a7-pawn! 8r+-wq-+k+(
33...Qd8 34.b5 Rd6?
This loses immediately. The only chance 7zpp+-+-zpp'
was to play 34...Rc2 but anyway White's
position is close to winning: 35.Lg4 Rf6
6-+p+psn-+&
36.Lxe6 Lxe6 37.Rxe6 Rxe6 38.Qxe6 ± 5+-+-+-+-%
Rxa2? 39.Rc1 +–.
35.Lg4 Rf6 36.Qa3!
4-+PwQ-+-+$
And now White will win material, as Black 3zP-+-+-+-#
cannot cover all his weaknesses.
36...Rf7 2-zPL+-zPPzP"
Black's position is in a great mess: 1+-+-tR-mK-!
36...Qc7?! 37.Rc1 Qd7 38.Rxc8 Qxc8
39.Qxd6 +– or 36...Qe7 37.Rxd5! +– or, xabcdefghy
finally, 36...Qd7 37.R5e3! and White This is the kind of position that Black will
simply doubles his rooks along the c-file and have to suffer for a long time, trying to save
wins... the half point in general. And this judgement
37.Lxe6 Lxe6 38.Rxe6 Rxe6 39.Rxe6 is based on two basic factors; the better
The backward e-pawn has fallen. minor piece (bishop vs. knight) and the weak
backward and isolated e-pawn. □ Kasparov Garry
21.Qe3 ■ Karpov Anatoly
White should keep the queens on the board, B17 Amsterdam 1988
as in this case he can more easily attack 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7
Black's weaknesses. His last move is aimed 5.Ng5 Ngf6 6.Ld3 e6 7.N1f3 Ld6 8.0-0
at the e6-pawn, but for the moment he is h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Lxe4 0-0 11.c3 e5
more concerned with preventing the black 12.Lc2 Re8 13.Re1 exd4 14.Rxe8+ Qxe8
queen from generating any activity along the 15.Qxd4 Qe7 16.Lf4 Lxf4 17.Qxf4 Nf8
d-file. A blunder would be 21.Qxd8+? 18.Re1 Le6 19.Nd4 Rd8 20.h4 Qc5
Rxd8 22.Rxe6 Rd2. 21.Re3 Qd6 22.Nxe6 fxe6 (D)
21...Kh8! 22.h3! XABCDEFGHY
White does not feel in a hurry to win the
pawn! After 22.Qxe6?! Qd4! Black 8-+-tr-snk+(
suddenly would have achieved distinct
counterplay on the dark squares.
7zpp+-+-zp-'
22...Qd7 23.g4! 6-+pwqp+-zp&
An excellent idea, planning to restrain the
black knight. Of course, possible was the 5+-+-+-+-%
natural 23.Re2 e5 24.Qc3! Qd4 25.Rxe5 4-+-+-wQ-zP$
Qxc3 26.bxc3 Rd8 27.Kf1 ± but not
23.Qxe6? when 23...Re8 wins a rook for 3+-zP-tR-+-#
Black: 24.Qxd7 Rxe1+ 25.Kh2 Nxd7. 2PzPL+-zPP+"
23...Re8 24.Qe5!
Another good move which prevents ...e5 and 1+-+-+-mK-!
...Qd4. The alternative was 24.Rd1?! Qc7
25.Qxa7 c5! °.
xabcdefghy
24...Qd8 25.Kg2 (D) Black's last move is a mystery. He had of
Again we see the 'not hurry policy' in action! course to opt for the natural 22...Nxe6
25...Qb6?! 23.Qe4 Nf8 24.g3 ².
Although not pleasant, Black had to live 23.Qg4
with 25...b5 26.Rd1 Qb8 27.Qxb8 Rxb8 Now White holds the same advantages as in
28.cxb5 cxb5 29.Rd6 ± or 25...Qd2 the previous example (better minor piece
26.Re2 Qd8 ±. and better pawn structure).
26.Rd1! c5 23...Qd2 24.Lb3 Kh8
Or 26...Rf8 27.Rd2! h6 28.Lg6 and Black Black would have no chance after 24...
Qxb2 25.Rg3 Qb1+ 26.Kh2 Qh7 27.Lc2!
has run out of good moves.
Qh8 28.Qb4!.
27.La4! Rf8
27...Rd8 28.Rxd8+ Qxd8 29.Qxc5 +–. 25.Re2 Qd6
28.Rd6 Qc7 25...Qc1+ 26.Kh2 Rd2 27.Qf4 +–.
28...Qa5 29.Lc2 Qc7 30.Rxe6 Qxe5 26.g3 a6 27.Kg2
31.Rxe5 +–. Again White slowly improves the placement
29.Rxe6 Qf7 of his pieces, as there is not much that Black
A last try, as 29...Qxe5 30.Rxe5 Kg8 31.f4 can do.
+– was anyway curtains. 27...Re8 28.Re3 Re7 29.Rf3 Rd7
30.Qxc5! Nxg4 30.Qh5 Qe7
Or 30...Ne4 31.Qxf8+ Qxf8 32.Rxe4 b5 Black had no choice but to guard his
33.Lxb5 Qa8 34.f3 Kg8 35.Re8+. opponent's queen’s entrance squares (e8).
31.Qxf8+! Qxf8 32.hxg4 31.Qe5 Rd8 32.a4!
The principle of the 'two weaknesses' again
Black resigned due to the coming 33.Re8.
is in action. Black will find it hard to defend
1-0
all over the board. the rest was rather simple.
32...b5 33.Qe4 Qc7 34.Rf4 55...Ng4+ 56.Kg1 Qc6 57.Ld3+ g6
Here it seems that White missed a nice 58.Qe7+ Kh6 59.Le4 Qb6
chance: 34.axb5 cxb5 (34...axb5 35.Qb4 59...Qxc3 60.Qg5+ Kg7 61.Qxg6+ Kf8
Nh7 [35...Kg8?! 36.Rxf8+ Rxf8 37.Lxe6+ 62.Qd6+ +–.
Rf7 38.Qb3 +–] 36.Lxe6) 35.Rf4 (35.Qb4 60.Qf8+ Kh7 61.Qf7+ Kh6 62.c4 Qa6
Qc6) 35...Qe7 36.Qc6 ±. 63.c5
34...c5 35.Qf3 Qd6 36.axb5 axb5 37.Rf7 1-0
Rb8?!
Weak Backward Prevails!
Up to this point Black had defended with Of course this is a rare case and has
accuracy, but now he missed his best nothing to do with the pawn itself. It is just a
chance: 37...c4 38.Lc2 Kg8 39.Rb7 Rd7! cruel ‘reality’ which reminds us that the
40.Rxd7 (40.Rxb5? Rf7! 41.Qa8 Qd2 opponent’s weak pawn structure is a fine
–+) 40...Nxd7 41.Lg6 ±. start to build on but it does not guarantee
38.Ra7 b4 39.Lc2 bxc3 40.bxc3 Qe5 victory by itself!
41.Rf7 Nh7 42.Qg4 In other words, in this world you have to
A nice variation occurs after the interesting work hard for your bread, as your opponent
42.Rb7 Nf8?! (42...Rxb7 43.Qxb7 Qd5+ is your enemy and not, by any means, your
44.Qxd5 exd5 45.Kf3 Nf6 46.Kf4 ±) cooperator!
43.Qe3! Qxe3 (43...Qd6 44.Rxb8 Qxb8 The game that follows is one of my
45.Qxc5 +–) 44.Rxb8! +–. favourites:
42...Kg8 43.Re7 Nf8 44.Qf3 c4 □ Matisons Hermanis
A commitment, but after 44...Rd8 45.Lb3 ■ Rubinstein Akiba
Black has run out of useful moves. C68 Karlsbad 1929
45.Le4 Kh8 46.Lc6 Nh7 47.Qf7 Nf8 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 dxc6
After some 'testing' moves, White decided to 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Ld6
execute the rook exchange, an act that will 8.Le3 c5 9.Ne2 f6 10.Lf4 Le6 11.Lxd6
allow him to win material.
cxd6 12.Nf4 Lf7 13.Nc3 Ne7 14.0-0-0 0-
48.Re8?! 0-0 (D)
Preferable was 48.Le8 Qf6 49.Qxf6 gxf6
50.La4 Kg8 51.Rc7 and White will XABCDEFGHY
prevail. 8-+ktr-+-tr(
48...Rxe8 49.Lxe8 Nh7 50.Ld7 Nf6
51.Lxe6 h5 52.Lxc4 Qe4+! 7+p+-snlzpp'
That's the point of Black's defence!
52...Qxc3? loses to 53.Qf8+ Kh7 54.Qc5!
6p+-zp-zp-+&
Qd2 (54...Kh8 55.Qc8+ +–) 55.Qf5+ 5+-zp-+-+-%
Kh8 (55...Kh6 56.Lf7 +–) 56.Lf7 +–.
53.Kh2 Kh7?
4-+-+PsN-+$
But now Black committed suicide! He had 3+-sN-+-+-#
to opt for 53...Qf3 54.Qf8+ Kh7 55.Qc5
Ne4 56.Ld5! (56.Qd4? Nxf2) 56... 2PzPP+-zPPzP"
Qxg3+! 57.fxg3 Nxc5 58.Lf3! Kh6 59.c4
(59.Kg2 g5 60.Kf2? Na4 61.c4 gxh4
1+-mKR+-+R!
62.gxh4 Nb2 63.Ld5 Nxc4 =) 59...g5 xabcdefghy
60.Kg2 Kg6 61.Kf2 ± where his chances White holds a slight advantage due to
of surviving seem good; at least he would be Black's backward d-pawn - the only negative
still alive and kicking! part of Black's camp.
54.Qe6! Qf3 55.Qe1 15.Ncd5?!
White protected both his extra pawns and Exchanges will help Black to equalize.
White should have gone for 15.h4! h5 24.exf5+
16.Rh3 ². White is still under the illusion of being
15...Rhe8 16.f3 better! A draw should arise after the natural
16.Nxe7+ Rxe7 17.f3 Re5 =. 24.e5 b6 25.g3 Rd7 26.Rxd6+ Rxd6
16...Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Lxd5 18.Rxd5 Re5! 27.exd6 Kxd6 28.f4.
19.Rhd1 Rxd5 20.Rxd5 24...gxf5 25.Rd2
Of course 20.exd5?! can only help Black: White plays safe. The alternative 25.g4!?
20...Re8 21.Kd2 (21.c4 b5!) 21...Re5 Rf8! 26.g5 (26.h3 b5) 26...b5 27.b4 cxb4+
22.c4 b5 23.b3 bxc4 24.bxc4 Kc7 25.Rb1 28.Kxb4 Rc8 29.Rd4 bxc4 (29...Rxc4+?
(25.Re1? Rxe1 26.Kxe1 Kb6 27.Kd2 30.Rxc4 bxc4 31.Kxc4 Ke5 32.h4 +–)
Ka5 28.Kc3 Ka4 –+) 25...Rg5 26.g3 Rh5 30.Rxc4 Rb8+ 31.Kc3 Rb1 would be
27.h4 g5 28.Rh1 Kb6 and Black is in the unclear.
driver's seat. 25...b5
20...Kd7 (D) Now here comes the second!
26.b3 h5!
XABCDEFGHY Activating another pawn, also aiming to put
8-+-tr-+-+( further pressure on White's g-pawn.
27.g3
7+p+k+-zpp' As 27.h3? h4 is not welcome by White, he
6p+-zp-zp-+& plans h3, Rg2 and g4, with activity.
27...f4!
5+-zpR+-+-% A good move. It is remarkable the way
4-+-+P+-+$ Black continually creates problems for
White. Although the latter is not in grave
3+-+-+P+-# danger, he is obliged to find solutions and
make decisions. And this is the part of the
2PzPP+-+PzP" game in which the stronger player will
1+-mK-+-+-! prevail in the end!
28.Re2+
xabcdefghy 28.gxf4 Rf8 29.Re2+ Kf5 30.Re4 Rg8
In this endgame White cannot prove any 31.cxb5 axb5 32.b4 should again lead to a
advantage anymore, as Black's only draw, but not the naive 28.g4?! hxg4 29.fxg4
weakness (the backward d-pawn) can be Rh8! 30.Kd3 Rh4 31.Rg2 Ke5 32.Re2+
easily covered. Kf6 and ...Kg5, with an advantage to
21.c4 Black.
A good master must keep in mind that any 28...Kf5 29.Re4 fxg3 30.hxg3 Rg8
pawn movement is a commitment. There is 31.Rf4+
no need for White to create a possibility of a Again drawish was 31.Rh4 Rxg3 32.Rxh5+
black breakthrough with ...b5 at a given Ke6 (32...Kg6 33.Rd5 Rxf3+ 34.Kc2
moment. Rf6 35.cxb5 axb5 36.b4 =) 33.Rh6+ Kd7
21...g6! 34.Rh7+ Kc6 35.Rf7 Rg2 36.a3.
The position still remains equal of course, 31...Ke6 32.Re4+?!
but actually it is Black who can order the A slight mistake. Possible and good was
play, by his two basic breakthroughs: ...b5 32.g4! h4! 33.g5! h3 34.Re4+ Kf7 35.Rh4
and ...f5. b4+ 36.Kc2 Rxg5 37.Rxh3 Rg2+
22.Kc2 Ke6 23.Kc3 f5?! 38.Kb1 =.
Here comes the first, but at the wrong 32...Kd7 33.g4 Rf8! 34.Re3?
moment! Black should have first played White should have accepted a theoretical
23...Rc8 but probably he could not see what drawn ending, a pawn down, by 34.gxh5
to do after 24.g4 with an equal game. Rxf3+ 35.Kd2 (35.Kc2 Rh3) 35...Rh3
36.Re2 Rxh5 37.Kc2. backward pawn to d4! A common blunder is
34...h4! 35.a4 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4?? that fails to 7...Qxd4!.
Or 35.Kd2 h3 36.f4 Rxf4 37.Rxh3 Rxg4 6...Nd3+ 7.Ke2 Nf4+
μ. 7...Nxc1+?! 8.Rxc1 Nc6 9.Lb5 Ld7
35...bxa4 36.bxa4 (D) 10.d4 is already much better for White, due
XABCDEFGHY to his superior development.
8.Kf1 Ne6
8-+-+-tr-+( Forced: 8...Le6? 9.Lb5+ Ld7 10.Lxd7+
Nxd7 11.d4 ±.
7+-+k+-+-' 9.Ne5
6p+-zp-+-+& As said before, White is fighting for the
initiative and he avoids passive moves like
5+-zp-+-+-% 9.d3 which would just establish the back-
4P+P+-+Pzp$ ward pawn on d3. But interesting is 9.b4!?
g6!? (9...cxb4 10.Nd5 and the mighty pawn
3+-mK-tRP+-# centre e4 and d4 is about to be created)
2-+-+-+-+" 10.bxc5 Lg7 11.Lxe6 Lxe6 12.d4 0-0
13.Le3 f5 ° Khairullin,I-Naiditsch,A
1+-+-+-+-! Moscow 2009.
9...Qd6
xabcdefghy Black has many alternatives at his disposal:
36...Re8! 37.Kd2?! a) 9...Qd4?! 10.Qa4+ Ld7 11.Nxd7 Qxd7
The final mistake. White had to try to put up ².
a fight with 37.Rd3 although by correct b) 9...Nd7? 10.Nxf7 Kxf7 11.Lxe6+
play Black would have prevailed: 37...h3 Kxe6 12.Qb3+ ±.
38.f4 (38.Rd1 Re3+ 39.Kd2 Rxf3 –+ or c) 9...Nc6? 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.d3 ±, as Le3,
38.Kc2 Re2+ 39.Kc3 h2 40.Rd1 Re3+ –+) Rc1 and Na4 will follow.
38...h2 39.Rd1 (39.Rh3 Re3+! 40.Rxe3
d) 9...g6! 10.Qa4+ Ld7 11.Nxd7 Qxd7
h1Q –+) 39...Re3+ 40.Kd2 (40.Kb2 Rh3
12.Lxe6 fxe6 13.Qxd7+ Kxd7 = Vallejo
41.Rh1 Ke6 42.Kc2 a5 43.Kd2) 40...Re4 Pons,F-Fernandez Romero,E Dos Hermanas
(40...Ra3 μ) 41.Rh1 Rxf4 42.Rxh2
(42.Kd3 Rf3+ 43.Kd2 [43.Ke4 Rf2 2002.
44.g5 Ke6 –+] 43...Ra3 –+) 42...Rxc4 10.f4! Nc6 11.Qa4 Ned8? (D)
43.Rh7+ Kc6 –+.
37...Rxe3 38.Kxe3 d5! XABCDEFGHY
The backward and weak black d-pawn 8r+lsnkvl-tr(
delivers the final blow! White resigned due
to 39.cxd5 h3 40.Kf2 c4 41.g5 h2 42.Kg2 7zpp+-zppzpp'
h1Q+ (42...c3 43.g6 c2 44.g7 c1Q 45.g8Q 6-+nwq-+-+&
Qg1+) 43.Kxh1 c3 44.g6 c2 45.g7 c1Q+
46.Kg2 Qb2+. 5+-zp-sN-+-%
0-1
4Q+L+PzP-+$
□ Suba Mihai
■ Sax Gyula 3+-sN-+-+-#
A34 Hastings 1983 2PzP-zP-+PzP"
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5
5.e4 Nb4 6.Lc4 1tR-vL-+K+R!
White voluntarily accepts a backward d-
pawn. He hopes to fight for the centre and
xabcdefghy
the initiative, and later even push this A blunder. Black had to go for 11...Ld7!
12.Nb5 Qb8 13.Nxd7 Qxf4+! (13... 14.dxc5 Qxc5 15.Nd5 Qd6 16.Le3 ±.
Kxd7? 14.f5 ±) 14.Kg1 Qxe4! (14... 13.Nb5 Qb8 14.Nxd4 f6?
Kxd7? 15.d4 Qxe4 16.d5 +–) 15.Nxf8 Black had no other choice: 14...e6 15.Lb5
Kxf8 16.Nc3 Qd4+ 17.Kf1 Nb4 ° where Qc7 16.Le3 Le7 17.Rc1 0-0 18.Kf2 ±.
his compensation seems to be sufficient, or 15.Ndxc6?!
for 11...f6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.e5 fxe5 14.fxe5 Accurate was 15.Lf7+ Nxf7 16.Ndxc6 +–.
Qd7 15.d3 ². 15...bxc6?!
12.d4! Again Black had to go for 15...Nxc6
The backward pawn is moving forward, 16.Lf7+ Kd8 17.Nxc6+ bxc6 18.Le3 +–.
creating many threats. 16.Lf7+!
12...cxd4?! And Black resigned as he will be mated after
If 12...Qxd4? then 13.Nb5 +– but maybe 16...Nxf7 17.Qxc6+ Ld7 18.Qxd7 #.
12...f6 was the 'lesser' evil: 13.Nxc6 bxc6 1-0
Index of Games
When a player’s name appears in bold, that player had White. Otherwise the first-named Player
had White. A total of 58 games are analysed in this book.
Adams Michael - Conquest 45 Grivas Efstratios - Ionescu 58
Adams Michael - D'Costa 72 Grivas Efstratios - Jachym 42
Anand Viswanathan - Charbonneau 55 Grivas Efstratios - Klimis 68
Anand Viswanathan - Ivanchuk 24 Grivas Efstratios - Logothetis 63
Anand Viswanathan - Kasparov 15 Grivas Efstratios - Nikolaidis 10
Andersson Ulf - Fischer 52 Grivas Efstratios - Palatnik 70
Beliavsky Alexander - Chernin 36 Grivas Efstratios - Papas 71
Botvinnik Mikhail - Chekhover 14 Grivas Efstratios - Sarwat 62
Botvinnik Mikhail - Euwe 22 Grivas Efstratios - Shavtvaladze 33
Botvinnik Mikhail - Sorokin 21 Grivas Efstratios - Velikov 61
Bronstein David - Kholmov 41 Huebner Robert - Kasparov 74
Bus Tom - Werle 20 Hulak Krunoslav - Cebalo 31
Capablanca Jose Raul - Lasker 6 Ionescu Constantin - Grivas 58
Carlsen Magnus - Shirov 25 Ivanchuk Vassily - Anand 24
Cebalo Miso - Hulak 31 Jachym Mark - Grivas 42
Charbonneau Pascal - Anand 55 Janowski Dawid - Nimzowitsch 26
Chekhover Vitaly - Botvinnik 14 Jussupow Artur - Christiansen 37
Chernin Alexander - Beliavsky 36 Jussupow Artur - Taimanov 53
Christiansen Larry - Jussupow 37 Karpov Anatoly - Kasparov 75
Conquest Stuart - Adams 45 Karpov Anatoly - Ribli 43
D'Costa Lorin - Adams 72 Karpov Anatoly - Spassky 64
Dedes Nikolaos - Grivas 19 Kasimdzhanov Rustam - Vallejo Pons 69
Drosakis Nikolaos - Grivas 67 Kasparov Garry - Anand 15
Ehlvest Jan - Kasparov 56 Kasparov Garry - Ehlvest 56
Eley Brian - Uhlmann 35 Kasparov Garry - Huebner 74
Euwe Max - Botvinnik 22 Kasparov Garry - Karpov 75
Fischer Robert - Andersson 52 Kholmov Ratmir - Bronstein 41
Fischer Robert - Spassky 8 Kitson Peter - Waterfield 50
Frendzas Panayotis - Grivas 66 Klimis Laertis - Grivas 68
Georgiou Kostantinos - Grivas 39 Korchnoi Viktor - Markland 29
Gheorghiu Florin - Ree 59 Kosteniuk Alexandra - Socko 17
Grivas Efstratios - Dedes 19 Lasker Emanuel - Capablanca 6
Grivas Efstratios - Drosakis 67 Lilienthal Andor - Smyslov 13
Grivas Efstratios - Frendzas 66 Logothetis Sotirios - Grivas 63
Grivas Efstratios - Georgiou 39 Markland Peter - Korchnoi 29
Marshall Frank - Nimzowitsch 28 Shirov Alexei - Carlsen 25
Matisons Hermanis - Rubinstein 76 Smyslov Vassily - Lilienthal 13
Morozevich Alexander - Petrushin 73 Smyslov Vassily - Uhlmann 48
Nikolaidis Ioannis - Grivas 10 Socko Monika - Kosteniuk 17
Nimzowitsch Aaron - Janowski 26 Sorokin Nikolay - Botvinnik 21
Nimzowitsch Aaron - Marshall 28 Spassky Boris - Fischer 8
Palac Mladen - Pantsulaia 59 Spassky Boris - Karpov 64
Palatnik Semon - Grivas 70 Suba Mihai - Sax 78
Pantsulaia Levan - Palac 59 Taimanov Mark - Jussupow 53
Papas Konstantinos - Grivas 71 Timman Jan - Pinter 32
Petrushin Alexander - Morozevich 73 Timman Jan - Rozentalis 9
Pinter Jozsef - Timman 32 Uhlmann Wolfgang - Eley 35
Ree Hans - Gheorghiu 59 Uhlmann Wolfgang - Smyslov 48
Ribli Zoltan - Karpov 43 Vaganian Rafael - Vladimirov 46
Rozentalis Eduardas - Timman 9 Vallejo Pons Francisco - Kasimdzhanov 69
Rubinstein Akiba - Matisons 76 Velikov Petar - Grivas 61
Sarwat Walaa - Grivas 62 Vladimirov Evgeny - Vaganian 46
Sax Gyula - Suba 78 Waterfield John - Kitson 50
Shavtvaladze Nikoloz - Grivas 33 Werle Jan - Bus 20
Curriculum Vitae of Efstratios Grivas

Efstratios Grivas (30.03.1966)
is a highly experienced chess trainer and chess author
Has been awarded by the

International Chess Federation (FIDE) the titles of:
▪ International Chess Grandmaster

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

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FIDE Trainers’ Commission

Advanced Chess School

Cover and drawings by Nicolas Sphicas

Commissioning Editor: Efstratios Grivas (www.GrivasChess.com)

So, actually the test was passed by White,

8-+-+r+-tr( Doubling pawns in order to achieve a

The Old Approach The Modern Approach

Curriculum Vitae of Efstratios Grivas

Has been awarded by the

▪ International Chess Grandmaster

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