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Andrew Soltis
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Andrew Soltis
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Table of Contents 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 5
MODEL DEVELOPMENT 6
Colle Formation 6
Stonewall Formation 12
Torre Formation 16
CHAPTER ONE 21
The Book Refutation (Black's 2...Bf5) 21
1 d4, d5 2 e3, Bf5 21
Middlegame Strategy 25
Illustrative Games 26
Farago-Tiller, Helsinki 1983 26
Larsen-Gligoric, Larares 1981 30
CHAPTER TWO 34
The Stonewall Introduction 34
1 d4, d5 2 e3, e6 3 Bd3, c5 4 c3!, Nc6 5 f4 34
Yates-Schlechter, Pistyan 1912 40
CHAPTER THREE 44
Stonewall II 44
1 d4, d5 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, c5 4 c3, Nc6 5 f4 44
Chajes-Capablanca, New York 1911 49
Marshall-Rubenstein, Vienna 1908 53
CHAPTER FOUR 57
The Basic Colle 57
1 d4, d5 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, c5 4 c3, Nc6 5 Nf3 57
O'Kelly-Book, Dubrovnik (Olympiad) 1950 61
Koltanowski-Catela, Spain 1934 64
4 Table of Contents
CHAPTER FIVE 66
Main Line Colle 66
1 d4, d5 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, c5 4 c3, Nc65 66
5 Nf3, e6 6 Nbd2, Bd6 7 0-01
lllustrative Games 72
Charousek-Suchting, Berlin 1897 72
Koltanowski-O'Hanlon, Dublin 1937 75
CHAPTER SIX 78
Black Fianchettes (... g6 and ... d5 Gruenfeld setup) 78
1 d4, Nf6 2 Nf3, g6 3 Bg5!, Bg7 4 Nbd2, 0-05 e3, d5 78
Malanink-Dorfman, Lvov 1988 85
Mariotti-Tatai, Rome 19i7 88
Muse-Groszpeter, Kecskemet 1990 90
Smyslov-Vagamian, Soviet Championship 1988 92
Torre-Kasparov, S.W.I.F.T. 1987 95
CHAPTER SEVEN �
King's Indian by Black 97
1 d4, Nf6 2 Nf3, g6 3 Bg5, Bg7 4 Nbd2, d6 97
Dlustrative Games 102
Keres-Taimanov, U.S.S.R. Championship 1973 102
Larsen-Haik, Lanzarote 1976 105
Wirthensohn-Jansa, Timisoara 1977 108
Nalanyuk-Kruppa, Warsaw 1992 111
CHAPTER EIGHT 114

Black Play's the Dutch 1 d4, f5 2 Bg5 114
(a) 2...g6 116
(b) 2...h6 (2... c5 in notes) 118
Cebalo-V. Kovacevic Yugoslav Championship 1984 121
V. Kovacevic-Kristiansen, Plovdia 1983 124
Lputuan-Tseitlin, Sochi 1988 127
Introduction: White Opening System 5
INTRODUCTION
Every chessplayer dreams of finding an opening system
that plays itself. If they could design one, this ideal opening
would be :
( 1 ) Aggressive but not foolhardy

(2) Easy to Understand
(3) Composed of a series of moves that can be played -
at least when you have White - against any Black
setup.
After a while the novice player learns that this is an im

possible dream . There is no magic sequence of moves that you
can play without looking at your opponent's moves. That
would be like a football team planning their first thirty-five
plays before they got on the field. Any football fan knows that
strategy and tactics vary depending on circumstance - that what
play a quarterback calls on third-down-and two-yards-to-go is
different from the one he calls at third-and-37 .
There are, however, some universal systems of de

velopment that a player can adopt when he has the White
pieces. He must be aware of subtle changes to be made de
pending on what Black does. But if the basic system is sound,
you can adjust to circumstances.
6 White Opening Syst.em
MODEL DEVELOPMENT
Colle Formation
White's pieces coordinate beautifully. He controls all

the key central squares with the exception of dS. He will be
able to expand with e3-e4-e5. His Queen and King Rook come
into play naturally - the Rook at el, the Queen at e2 or (in co
ordination with an attack on h7) at c2. If he succeeds in ad
vancing his e-pawn, the question of the future of his Queen
Knight will be answered. It will likely end up on e4 or c4. The
only remaining matters of the opening to be decided are where
to put his Queen Bishop and Queen Rook.
Compared with other typical systems of development,

quite a lot can be decided here. In other major opening sys
tems, such as the Ruy Lopez or Queen's Gambit Declined,
White prides himself on his flexibility. As a result, he may de
cide to play his Queen Knigh, t to c3 or to d2 or even a3.
White's Queen may go to a4, b3, f3 or d3 in those openings,
besides c2 and e2. His Queen Bishop and King Rook have a
variety of future squares.
Typical of how quickly - and effortlessly - White can

win a game was the following, played in the heyday of what
was just beginning to be known as "The Colle System. "
COLLE-VS.-DELV AUX
Ghent 1929
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 e6
3 e3 dS
4 Bd3 cS
5 c3 Nc6
6 Nbd2 Be7
7 0-0 c4?
8 Bc2!
White maintains the Bishop on the "mating diagonal" ,

bl-h7. By his last move B lack has relinquished most o f his
pressure on the center and is saying, in effect, "Look, I can see
that d4 is too well protected. So, what I'm going to do is ad
vance on the Queenside and break through there with . b7-b5-
..
b4xc3. That creates a target on c3 that will be more important

than anything you can do in the center or Kingside. I have
plenty of time to do that before White can open the center. "
How wrong he was.

8 White Opening System
8... b5
9 e4! dxe4
Black simply cannot allow 10 eS, which would grant

White too much space. For example, after 9 Bb7 10 eS, Nd7
...
1 1 Ret White has sealed the board off into two vast sections,
divided by a chain of White pawns (b2, c3, d4, e5) and Black
ones (c4, d5, e6, j7).
The difference between the two camps is that there is a

bit more space on the White side of the chain - and the space
that is there is more valuable because both Kings are likely to
be located on that side of the chain.
This means that White, after 11 Re 1 in the above se

quence, can continue calmly with Nfl and Bf4, then Qd2 or
Qbl, without fear of Black counterplay.
10 Nxe4 0-0
11 Qe2 Bb7
12 Nfg5!
A move ago, after 1 1 Qe2, White had threatened 12

Nxf6ch and 13 Qe4, threatening mate on h7- that " mating di
agonal" - as well as threatening to take the Knight on c6.
Now that B lack has protected the Knight, White has a

different threat - 13 Nxf6ch followed by 14 Bxh7ch. As it
turned out in the post-game analysis, Black absolutely had to

play something like 12 ... g6 here.
12... h6?
13 Nxf6ch Bxf6
14 Qe4! g6
There was no other way to block the diagonal. Black

could not survive long after 14 ... Re8 15 Qh7ch, Kf8 16 Ne4
either.
15 Nxe6! fxe6
16 Qxg6ch Bg7
17 Qh7ch Kt7
18 Bg6ch!
It was vital to prevent the King from escaping to the

Queenside via e8, or to organize a m ore disciplined Kingside
defense with 18 ... Rh8 and ... Kf8.
Now after the forcing 18 ... Kf6 19 Bh5! B lack is faced

with the threat of 20 Qg6ch and 21 Qxg7ch.
18... Kf6
19 Bh5 Ne7
20 Bxh6 Rg8
The threat is simply 22 Bg5 mate and there is no longer

a defense. On 21 e5 Black creates some "luft" for his King's
..•
escape - but it costs material after 22 dxe5ch and 23 Bxg7.
21.:. Bxh6
22 Qf7 mate !
1-0
So simple. At least it seemed so at the time.
But, as noted before, White cannot always plan on, for

example, starting a game with 1 d4, then 2 Nf3, then 3 e3, then
4 Bd3, followed by 5 Nbd2 and 6 c3, ending with 7 0-0 - and
only then starting to think. Many things can go wrong long be
fore move seven.
An example of what can go wrong is the game Colle

Capablanca, Karlsbad 1929. White appeared to have per
fected just such an opening system that leads to our Model De
velopment. But against a former world champion he quickly
discovered the limits of a rigid opening sequence. After 1 d4,
Nf6 2 Nf3, b6 3 e3? ! , Bb7 4 Nbd2, e6 5 Bd3, c5 6 0-0, Nc6! 7
c3, Be7 everything seemed to have gone his way. It was time
to begin the middlegame by advancing the e-pawn.
However, 8 e4 was met b y 8 cxd4! . Colle saw that the

..•
move he usually wanted to play in such positions, 9 cxd4, did

not work in this particular one because Black had placed his
pieces and pawns in just such a manner as to exploit White's
apparently superior center. There would have followed
9 ... Nb4! and then 10 Bb1, Ba6 followed by ... ReS (or worse,
10 Be2 ?, Nxe4!) after which Black's pieces are ready to invade
at d3 or c2.
Colle was forced to play 9 Nxd4. But that did not fit
into another of the basic tenets of what was called the "Colle
System. " White was supposed to maintain a pawn on d4 in or
der to keep Black pieces off of c5 and e5. By failing to do so,
he allowed Capablanca to respond 9 . 0-0 10 Qe2, Ne5! and
. .
after the attacked Bishop retreated with 1 1 Bc2, there came

l l .. Qc8! followed by 12... Ba6 ! . Black eventually won a most
.
impressive system. And the Colle System, which had seemed

to be th� Ideal Opening, slowly began to disappear from
grandmaster play.
But there was nothing wrong with the Model Devel
opment. What went wrong with White 's play was the rote ad
herence to an automatic sequence of moves. He had to adjust to
Black's moves, just as Black had adjusted to him .
There are two maj or modifications for White. One is to

advance his f-pawn to the fourth rank before developing his
King Knight at f3. The resulting formation is called "the
Stonewall," because White has created a masonry wall of
pawns at c3, d4, e3 and f4. You must be ready to play the
Stonewall Attack when Black's move order makes the Colle
System less attractive.
Stonewall Formation
The advance of one insignificant pawn would not seem

to have much impact on the overall strategies of White and
Black. But it does. From White's point of view he knows that
he no longer has to advance his e-pawn in order to attack.
There are plenty of mating possibilities available without
chan�in2 the center further. All he need do to abet this attack is
to play Ne5 followed by bringing a heavy piece to h3, e.g. Rfl
f3-h3 or Qdl-f3-h3. Then he has his forces lined up against
h7, which is particularly vulnerable after Black has castled. He
can remove the only defender of h7 (when Black has played
. . . 0-0) by way of Ne5-g4 or g2-g4-g5.
And since he will not be pushing his e-pawn without a

good reason, White can maintain the security of his d4 - unlike
what Colle did in his game with Capablanca. A good example
of this was:
PILLSBURY vs MAJOR HANHAM

New York 1893
1 d4 dS
2 e3 e6
3 Bd3 Nf6
4 f4! Bd6
5 Nf3 b6
6 0-0 0-0
7 c3 c5
8 NeS Qc7?
9 Nd2 Nc6
10 Rf3!
White's attack proceeds naturally. Black had one ex

cellent opportunity to block the "mating diagonal " with
8.. .Ne4. Now that he missed that chance, Black is in major
trouble since the elimination of the most advanced White piece
- 10... Nxe5 only gives White more room to attack after 1 1
-
fxe5! .
10 ... Bb7
1 1 Rh3 cxd4?
12 Bxh7ch!
There are no automatic moves in such a position and

Black had no right to assume that once he played l l cxd4
...
White would have to retake on d4 immediately.
12... Nxh7
13 Qh5 Rfe8
14 Qxh7ch Kf8
15 exd4 f6? !
1 6 Ng6ch Kti
17 Rg3
The game is largely decided now: White has an extra

pawn, a continuing attack and an immediate threat (18 Ne5ch
and 1 9 Qxg7 mate).
17 ... Rg8
18 Nf3 Ne7
19 N3h4 Nxg6
20 Nxg6! Ba6
21 Bd2 Qc4
22 Re 1 ! Qxa2
��
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23 Nh8ch!
An unusual m ove - sending the Knight into the remote
corner square. B ut it helps bring the game to a speedy conclu
sion since 23 Ke8 will allow 24 Qxg8ch, and 23...Ke7 invites
..•
24 Rxg7ch. Black's King is therefore forced to f8, behind the

indefensible r7 square, and the rest of the game went:
23... Kf8
24 Qg6! Rxh8
25 Qxg7ch Ke8
26 Rxe6ch Kd8
27 Rxd6ch Kc8
28 Rc6ch Kd8
29 Qc7ch Ke8
30 Re6ch Kf8
31 Qg7 mate
1-0
Of course, the Stonewall does not work against any
Black setup. There are certain ideal ones, such as when Black
has played his d-pawn to dS and blocked in his Queen Bishop
with ...e7-e6. One of the best ways for Black to play against the
Stonewall is by fianchettoing his King Bishop, that is, devel
oping it on g7 after advancing his g-pawn one square. This not
only solves the problem of how to bring his King Bishop into
play, but it also �trengthens his King position a bit and blunts
the "mating diagonal."
Once again, there is a modification to counter this
modification. Returning to our Model Development, let's con
sider placing White's under-used Queen Bishop outside of the
center pawn structure. Let's put it on gS for example, a square
which isn't obstructed by White pawns.
Torre Formation
This formation, another version of the Model De

velopment, has the advantage of getting all of White's minor
pieces into play. It is particularly effective when Black needs
to advance his e-pawn to eS in order to liberate his heavy
pieces. Also, it works well when Black has placed his King
Bishop on a square other then e7. (With the Bishop on e7 and
his Knight on f6, Black can often ease the pressure on his
somewhat cramped position by a series of exchanges of minor
pieces with . . . Nf6-e4.)
With his first rank cleared of minor pieces, White is in

a better position to open up the Queenside favorably. Black,
meanwhile, is often stumped for a middlegame plan. Here is a
disastrous example of what happens when a strong grandmas
ter- long skilled in the handling of super-theoretical King's In
dian Defense variations - has to handle the " simple" Torre
Treatment. The move order, once again, will be slightly differ
ent from the one we'll recommend in subsequent chapters, but
the basic formation is the same. (Note that in some cases White
will delay advancing his c-pawn or, as in the following, de
velop his King Bishop at e2 rather than d3).
KA VALEK-BROWNE
U.S. Championship 1986
1 d4 Nf6
�� gS
4 Nd2 �d�5 7
Black acts to prevent White from occupying the center

with pawns (4... d6 5 e4) - although we will recommend in this
book that White delay playing his e-pawn that far that early in
the game even if Black allows it.
5 N f3
6 e3
g 0-0
b6
7 b4
This move is played with the idea of restraining Black

on the Queenside. Normally, in such positions Black recog
nizes how double-edged it is to try to play e7 -e5, and there
...
fore turns his attention to the c-pawn. Here, however, 7 c5 is

...
risky because of 8 bxc5! , bxc5 9 Qa4 after which W hite con

trols key Queenside diagonals (9 Bd7 10 Qa3, cxd4 1 1 cxd4).
...
7••• Bb7
8 Be2 Nbd7
9 0-0 Ne4?
Black is still having doubts about the wisdom of c7-

...
c5 or of preparing e7 -e5. The former allows bxc5 and Rb 1

...
by White. The later (e.g. 9. . . Re8 followed by 1 O.. e5) may

.
create a problem some pin because of the Bishop at g5.
The text move, however, leads to a dubious change in

the central pawn structure.
10 Nxe4! dxe4
1 1 Nd2 h6
12 Bh4
12 ...
13 Bg3
A bad plan, as Frank Marshall once said, is better than

no plan at all. Here Black needed some method of activating
his heavy pieces, his Rooks and Queen. Having rejected the
natural c-pawn and e-pawn advances, he hopes to create neces
sary pressure by harassing White's Bishop at g3.
14 f3! f4?
15 Bf2 exf3
16 Bxf3 Bxf3
17 Nxf3 fxe3
18 Bxe3 e5
It appears B lack has emerged from the opening without

serious problems. Actually, his position is loaded with hidden
weaknesses on the light squares. And this becomes clear after a

few deft touches:
19 Qb3ch! Kh8
20 Qe6! Qc8
Black saw that 20 ... Re8 21 Qh3 threatening 22 Nxg5

would be dangerous. He also rejected 20 ... Qe8 21 Qh3, Kg8,
perhaps because of 22 Rael, e4 23 Nd2. after which there are
too many weak Black pawns.
21 Rae1 ReS
22 Qg6! e4
23 N xg5! hxg5
24 Rt7
B lack Resigns.
As drastic a defeat as former Champion Walter Browne

ever suffered in a U.S. Championship.
Our plan of analysis will be to consider the three basic

formations - Colle, Stonewall and Torre - in Chapters Two
through Eight. The first chapter is reserved for one special
case, something that is not part of our basic formation at all but
is necessary to counter one of the few counter-systems that
Black can choose that would otherwise be effective against all
forms of our Model Development. this is to meet 1 d4, d5 2 e3
with 2... Bf5.
That antidote, however, creates a new disease. Black's
Bishop turns out to be wonderfully placed at f5 if White pro
ceeds routinely with Nf3, c2-c3, Nbd2 and Bishop somewhere.
But by moving the c8-Bishop so early - and preparing to shut it
off with ... e7-e6 Black removes a fine defensive piece from
-
the Queenside.
The underlying theme of this book is that White must
adapt to his opponent. Therefore, White will try to exploit the
Bishop's placement after 2... Bf5 - and that leads us to 3 c4! .
Therefore, our outline will look like this:
CHAPTER ONE:
The " Book Refutation: (1 d4, d5 2 e3, Bf5)
CHAPTER TWO:
The Stonewall, Introduction
CHAPTER THREE:
The Stonewall , II
CHAPTER FOUR:
The Basic Colle
CHAPTER FIVE:
Colle, II
CHAPTER SIX:
Torre Treatment vs ... g6 and . . . d5 (Gruenfeld setup)
CHAPTER SEVEN:
Torre Treatment vs g6 and
... ... d6 (King's Indian Defense)
CHAPTER EIGHT:
Torre vs Dutch (l .f5)
..
Chapter One: The "Book Refutation" 21
CHAPTER ONE
The "Book Refutation"

(Black's 2 Bf5)
...
Many opening books dispense with the first moves of

our basic system in a footnote . They give the following:
1 d4 d5
2 e3
"Peaceful only in appearance, " is the way the noted

authority Savielly Tartakower said of this modest move.
2... Bf5
And since Black has seized control of the key diagonal,

he is equal, according to a number of authorities. Of course,
they say, White can challenge the diagonal with 3 Bd3, but af
ter the ensuing exchange of Bishops, White's attacking chances
evaporate. And, what's more, he is left with a " bad" Bishop,
that is, one restricted by his own center pawns.
3 c4!
Chess can be a simple game if you ask yourself two

questions after each move. The first is: "What did his last move
stop me from doing ?". The second and perhaps more important
one is: "What did it allow me to do ?"
In this case, the answer to the first is "Black's 2... Bf5

stopped me from seizing sole control the mating diagonal with
3 Bd3." The answer to the second, however, is "He left his
Queenside light squares, particularly, b7, vulnerable."
In the diagrammed position it may not appear that

White will be able to get to the area around b7. But 3 c4
changes that. The immediate threat is 4 Qb3, followed by 5
Qxb7 or 5 cxd5.
3 ... c6
Black can anticipate- one of the threats with 3 ... dxc4,

but this helps White accelerate his development with 4 Bxc4.
Then 4 ... Nf6? would be an error (5 Qb3! followed by 6 Qxb7
or 6 Bxj7ch!).
Instead, Black would likely reply 4... e6, after which 5

Nf3 followed by a timely Qb3, should give White an excellent
game. For example, 4... e6 5 Nf3, Nf6 6 Qb3, Qc8 7 Nc3,
Be7?! 8 d5! and White opens the center favorably. ...
Note also that the natural 3 ... e6 leads to risky play after
4 Qb3 ! , Nc6 (not 4... Qc8 because then 5 cxd5 wins a pawn) 5
Bd2 (better than 5 Qxb7, Nb4). After 5 Bd2 the Black b-pawn
is threatened and his Queenside is under considerable restric
tion. Typical play could then be 5 ... Rb8 6 Nf3, Nf6 7 c5! in
tending 8 Bb5 and 9 Ne5.
4 cxd5
It is important to make this capture now rather and wait,

since Black would like to play 4 ... e6 and be able to recapture
on d5 later on with his e-pawn, e.g. 4 Nc3, e6 5 cxd5, exd5! .
A spectacular illustration o f how vulnerable the Queen

side can be was the infamous game Schlechter-Perlis, Karls-
bad 191 1 which went 4 Qb3, Qb6 5 cxd5, Qxb3? 6 axb3,

Bxb1 7 dxc6! and Black had to concede the loss of a pawn.
Had he tried to meet the two threats (8 Rxbl and 8 cxb7) with
7... Be4 he would have fallen into the wonderful trap of 8
Rxa7! !, Rxa7 9 c7 and White Queens!
This trap, however, can be avoided by Black if he takes

time at move five, rather than move six, to capture on b 1 . The
position after 5 ... Bxb1 6 Rxb1, Qxb3 7 axb3, cxd5 is not bad
for Black.
4 ... cxd5
Of course, 4 ... Qxd5 just loses time without reason.

White plays 5 Nc3 and 6 e4. Better is 4 ... Bxb1 5 Rxbl, Qxd5,
which safeguards the position of the Queen now that White has
no Knight that can immediately attack it from c3. However,
White obtains a good game with 6 Qa4 followed by Ngl-f3
and Bfl-c4 or Ng1-e2-c3.
5 Qb3
Exactly how will Black protect the two attacked pawns

now? On 5 ... Qb6 he simply abandons the d-pawn.
-
The humble 5 ... Bc8 clearly is a step in the wrong di

rection, even though it was played in the first official world
championship match. That was Zukertort-Steinitz, New York
1886 and a key game continued 5 ... Bc8 6 Nf3, Nc6 7 Ne5, e6 8
Bb5, Qc7 9 Bd2, Bd6 10 f4! .
A more modern example i s given i n Illustrative Game

#2.
5 ... Qc8
This trick, attacking c1, gives Black time to play 6... e6.
It should not, however, be enough to equalize.
6 Bd2
For the more forthright 6 Nc3, e6, we transpose into

Illustrative Game #2. This procedure is not particularly ambi
tious since it assumes that White will be able to make some
thing out of the minute advantage he obtained from his more
aggressive Queen placement at move 5. The text is more hope
ful.
6... Nf6
Note that 6... Qc2?? 7 Qxb7 and 6... Nc6? 7 QxdS are
unsound.
7 Nf3
White delays developing his Queen Knight because he

wants to use the extra tempo thus saved to build pressure on c6
- the latest light-colored square White has chosen as a target.
7..• Nc6
8 Ne5!
The Knight is planted on this strong square and not

easily removed (8. . . Nxe5 9 dxe5 forces the other Knight to
move and thus costs Black his d-pawn).
White's plan is to post Bishops at bS and b4, followed

by 0-0 and Qa4 or Rcl .
8... e6
9 Bb5
Now the game Nikolic-Nogueiras from the Barcelona

1989 World Cup Tournament went 9 ... Bd6 10 Bb4!, and the
elimination of his bad B ishop assures at least a slight edge to
White, e.g. 10 ... Bxb4ch 1 1 Qxb4, Nd7 12 Bxc6 and 13 Nxd7
and 14 0-0, followed by mining the c-file with Rooks.
The game actually went 10 ... Bxe5 1 1 dxeS, Nd7 after

which 12 Bd6! threatened long-term dangers on the board's
dark squares.
White's Middlegame Strategy
Get his dark-squared, Queen Bishop to a good diagonal

and try to saddle Black with a pawn-bound light-squared
Bishop. Occupy the c-file with Rooks and break the blockade
on the file at c6. He does not have to change the pawn structure
to increase his advantage but sometimes b2-b4-b5 serves to
break open the -file logjam.
Illustrative Games
(1) FARAGO-TILLER
Helsinki 1983
1 d4 d5
2 c4 c6
3 Nc3 Nf6
4 e3 Bf5
5 cxd5 cxd5
6 Qb3 Bc8
This position should be familiar from our previous

analysis. It would come about from our system in this manner:
1 d4, dS 2 e3, BfS 3 c4, c6 4 cxdS, cxdS 5 Qb3, Bc8 and now
6 Nc3, Nf6. White now proceeds in the manner that Zukertort
did in the note to White's 5th move in our main line analysis.
He creates a delayed Stonewall in order to occupy eS with his
Knight. This is effective even though the c-file is open.
7 f4! Nc6
8 Nf3 g6
9 Bb5 Bg7
10 Ne5 Bd7
1 1 Bd2 0-0
12 0-0
White avoids the complications of 12 NxdS, Be6!.
12... Na5
13 Qa4 Bxb5
14 Qxb5 a6
15 Qb4 b5
16 b3 Nb7
17 a4! Qd6!
18 Nd3 bxa4
In the endgame, Black will have the better Bishop - be

cause White's remaining Bishop is hindered by his pawns at f4,
d4 and e3. But the weakness of B lack's Queenside pawns and
the superiority of the White Knights may take precedence over
any Bishops.
Note, by the way, the mini-trap of 19 Qxb7??, Rfb8,

winning the White Queen.
19 Rxa4! Rtb8
20 Rfal Qe6
21 Qa3 Ne4
22 Nxe4 Qxe4
23 Rxa6! Rxa6
24 Qxa6 Nd6
25 Nc5 Qf5
With a safe, passed extra pawn White should win the

game with moderate technical difficulties. His next few moves
complicated matters, since Black is able to exchange off
Knights while avoiding a trade of Queens.
26 Qa7? ReS
27 Qa6 Ne4!
28 Nxe4 Qxe4
29 Qc6 Rf8
30 Qc1 f5
31 Qbl Qe6
32 b4? gS!
33 g3 gxf4
34 g_xf4 Kh8
35Qd3 Rg8
36 Khl Qg6
37 Rgl QhS
38 Qfi Rb8
39 Qg2 Qfi
40 Rcl e6
41 Qe2 Qd7
Despite his awful Bishop, White can make enough

progress to advance his passed pawn now:
Worse was 44... Bxb4 45 Bxb4, Rxb4 46 Qd6! , attack

ing the Rook and preparing a mating attack with 47 Rgl and
48 Qe5ch or 48 Qd8ch.
45 bS Qg6
46 Ba5 Bd6
47 b6!
Not 47 Qxd6??, Rg8! and Black's mating threats take

center stage. After the next few moves White consolidates his
King position and the game is essentially decided.
47... �g8
48 Qc2
49 Qf2 Kh7
50 Rbl Qf6
5 1 Bb4 Bb8
52 Qf3 Kh6
53 Bel h4
54 Ret Qe7
55 Qh3 Kh5
56 Rc6 Bd6?
57 Bxh4! Qxh4
58 Qxh4ch Kxh4
59 Rxd6 Ra8
60 Kg2 Ra2ch
61 Kf3 Kh3
62 Rxe6 Kxh2
63 Rf6
B lack Resigns.
(2) LARSEN-GLIGORIC
Linares 1981
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 d5
3 c4 c6
This doesn't look like our system, but the similarity will
become apparent after the transpositional moves 4-7 .
4 e3 Bf5
5 cxd5 cxd5
6 Qb3 Qc8
7 Nc3 - e6
8 Bd2 Nc6
9 Ret Bd6
10 Nh4!
White goes after the light-squared Bishop, which has no

escape from capture after 7 e6. Once the Bishop is gone,
...
Black's defenses will be softer on the light-colored squares.

Black's next move actually helps White strengthen his position,
despite the apparent loosening. Note how he protects his dark
squares at moves 1 4 to 1 6.
10... Be4?!
1 1 f3 Bg6
12 NbS Be7
13 Nxg6 hxg6
14 Kf2! Qb8
15 g3 0-0
16 Kg2
Completing a strange-looking King maneuver which is

often called "castling by hand" . White keeps his Rook at hl be
cause he wants to attack on the Kingside, which is now absent
its Bishop defender.
16... Qd8
17 h4 a6
18 Na3! Qd7
19 Be2 Bd6
20 g4!
White hints at an opening of Kingside lines, but he also

discourages any action in the center (20...e5 21 g5 and Qxd5).
As the game goes, Black seeks refuge in a queen-and-minor
piece endgame - but this only increases the value of White's
light-squared B ishop. White's advantage is a small one almost
throughout this game but such advantages regularly yield full
points.
20... Rfc8
21 Nc2 Ne7
22 Nb4 Rxc1
23 Rxcl ReS
24 Rxc8 Qxc8
25 Nd3 Nc6
26 Qc2 Qd8
27 Bel Nd7
28 a3 Qc7
29 b4 e5
30 dxe5 Bxe5
31 Nxe5 Qxe5
White's two Bishops promise him strong winning

chances, which he increases with his next few moves.
32 Bxa6! bxa6
33 Qxc6 Qxe3
34 Qc8ch Kh7
35 Bf2 Qe6
36 a4?
Simply 36 Kfl would have given White a clear road to

winning the endgame.
36 ... d4!
37 Bxd4 Qa2ch!
38 Kg3 Qxa4
39 Qe8 f6
40 h5 gxh5
41 Qxh5ch Kg8
42 Qe8ch Kh7
43 Qe4ch Kg8
44 Qd5ch Kh7
45&5 Qb5
46 Qxb5! axb5
White has winning chances in the Bishop-versus

Knight ending because the Knight can be run out of moves.
Now not 47 gxf6, Nxf6, but. . .
47 Kf4! Kg6
48 gxf6 gxf6
49 Ke4 Nb8
50 Be3 Na6
51 Bd2 Nc7
52 f4! Kfi
Black has to give ground since 52... Na6 53 f5ch and 54

Kd5 would win once the White King reaches c6.
53 Kd4 Ke6?
But here 53 ... Na6 54 f5, Ke7 55 Kd5, Kd7 might have
held.
54 Kc5 Kd7
55 Bel ! Ke6
56 Kc6 Ne8
57 Kxb5 Kd5
58 Ka5 Nd6
59 b5 f5
60 Ka6 Ne8
61 b6 Kc6
62 Ba3
Black Resigns.
After 62 ... Nb7ch 63 Ka6, Nd8 64 B b4, Nb7 65 Be7

Black has run out of moves.
CHAPTER TWO
The Stonewall (Introduction)
We turn our attention now to more traditional methods

of countering White's first two moves.
In the early days of 1 d4, back in the 1 9th Century,

Black often played super-cautiously in the opening. You can
still find many amateurs today playing this symmetrical way:
The choice of a Stonewall or a Colle is up to you, but

we like the Stonewall if Black blocks his Queen Bishop with
... e6.
1 d4 d5
2 e3 e6
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But in chess

it's the easiest way of getting a lost game. By duplicating his
opponent's moves, Black usually places himself in the position
of playing catch-up. If White can create a forcing position -- a
position in which Black cannot imitate White's last move be
cause he must respond to a specific threat - then the symmetry
is broken, often with tragic results.
Notice, by the way, that Black can temporize with a

"waiting move" such as 2 c6. This strengthens Black's center,
•..
just as 2 e6 does, but it does not block in his Queen Bishop. as

...
2 e6 does. But there is another problem with 2 c6. Black of

... •..
ten needs counterplay in the center to combat the Stonewall.

Chapter Two: The Stonewall 35
This means that after 2...c6 3 Bd3 White is in an ideal

position to convert to the Stonewall with 4 f4! . It's the best of
Stonewall worlds: (a) B lack has committed his d-pawn to the
fourth rank, and (b) it will take him two moves to get his c
pawn to the fourth rank.
Black can also play 2. Nf6 or 2 ... c5 and transpose into

..
our next chapter. Note, however, that moves such as 2 . Nd7 or

. .
2.. Nc6?, encourage White to stop 3 ... e5 with 3 f4! , thereby

.
obtaining a particularly favorable version of the Stonewall.
One unique situation that can arise comes about after

2 . Nf6 3 Bd3, Nc6 and now 4 f4 (to stop 4 . e5), Nb4! . This is
. . .
another move order that was once thought to be the definitive

answer to White's 2 e3. After 4 ... Nb4 White cannot afford to
retreat the Bishop from d3, because then S ... BfS! will be too
strong.
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The proper response then is 4 ... Nb4 5 Nf3, Nxd3ch 6

cxd3! . White surrenders Bishop for a Knight but gains some
thing valuable in return : pawn control over the key c4 and e4
squares. The result is a semi-closed position in which Knights
may be worth more than Bishops. For an example of what may
happen, see Illustrative Game 3.
3 Bd3 c5
4 c3!
This important move by White adds additional pawn

protection for the center but, equally important, it provides a
good retreat square at c2 for his Bishop. Remember the Colle
Dei vaux game from the Introduction? Then the move c5-c4 ...
turned out to be a major strategic error by Black.
4••• Nc6
For examples of an early Nf6, look to chapter Three.

..•
The advantage of 4... Nc6 is that it threatens to play 5 ... e5! , a

move that would be a positional refutation of White's strategy,
e.g. 4... Nc6 5 Nd2, e5! , after which 6 dxe5, Nxe5 or 6 Ne2,
Nf6 leaves Black with an obviously better position in the cen
ter.
5 f4
White can, if he prefers, play 5 Nf3 (Colle) as in Chap

ter Four.
5 ... f5
This move creates a double-Stonewall with these fea

tures. Black: (a) shortens the attacking diagonal of d3-h7, (b)
assures himself of his own outpost square at e4, while conced
ing eS to White, and (c) makes it likely that if any file is going
to be opened in the middlegame, it will be the g-file by way of
g2-g4 or ... g7-g5.
This last point is worth considering in a different light.

Black can play the immediate S ... gS! ? . In a celebrated game
from before the turn of the century (Showalter-Maroczy,
London 1899) Black obtained the better chances following 6
fxgS?, QxgS 7 Nf3, Qg4! (better than 7 . Qxg2 8 Rgl) 8 Qe2,
. .
fS! 9 Nbd2, Nf6 10 Nfi, Rg8 with an initiative.
A simpler way of handling this for White is 6 Nf3! ,

thereby preserving his pawn at f4. After 6... gxf4 7 exf4, cxd4 8
cxd4, Bg7 9 Nbd2 and 10 Nb3, B lack has succeeded in isolat
ing White's d-pawn as a target, but White has the excellent
outpost squares on eS and cS. Note that 9 ... Nxd4? 10 Nxd4,
Bxd4 11 Qa4ch costs a piece and 9 ... Bxd4 10 Nxd4, Nxd4 1 1
0-0 is a risky gambit to accept.
And, once more, on S ... Nf6 Black will transpose into

positions considered in the next chapter.
6 Nf3 Nf6
7 Nbd2
Now Black can continue in various ways, including

7 ... Bd6, 7 ... Be7 or 7 ... Ne4. He will castle Kingside and
(hopefully) be ready to challenge White on that wing.
A game Showalter-Marco, Cambridge Springs 1904

went:
7... Ne4
8 0-0 Be7
Here White decided to gain unopposed control of his

outpost square by way of 9 Bb5? ! , Qb6 10 Bxc6ch, bxc6 1 1
Ne5. But since he has parted with his good Bishop, Black can
afford to give up his own (with . . Be7-d6xe5) in order to obtain
.
an equal game. A better strategy for White is open the King

side. Therefore :
Direct your attention towards the enemy King. Since

Black has bought a share of the Kingside with his fifth move,
you will not be able to demonstrate a superiority with mere
maneuvers, such as Rfl-f3-h3. Therefore, you need to change
the pawn structure and open a file for your heavy pieces.
This means opening the g-file. One procedure to ex

ecute this plan would be 9 Kh 1 followed by 10 Qe1 , 1 1 Rg1
and 12 g4. At some point you may have to recapture on e5 af
ter B lack takes your Knight. In general, you should retake with
the f-pawn. The exception is usually when dxc5 would allow
you to occupy the now-vacant d4 with your remaining Knight.
Illustrative Game
(� YATE�SCHLECHTER
Pistyan 1912
1 d4 d5
2 e3 Nf6
3 Bd3 Nc6
4 f4 Nb4
5 Nf3 Nxd3ch
6 cxd3! g6
7 Nc3
As mentioned above, B lack's fourth and fifth moves

were once thought to be the way to defang the Stonewall, by
eliminating White's best attacking piece. However, thanks to
his sixth move, White can now play the position in a strategic
manner, rather than in an all-out dash for the King.
Note his last move. The old rule about not playing Nc3
before c2-c4 in a 1 d4 opening makes sense when the Knight
move blocks the c-pawn's advance. Here White no longer has a
c-pawn, so his last move is perfectly normal. The Knight, in
fact, is heading for e2 and possible use on the Kingside (at g3)
or in the center at d4 (after . . c7-c5/dxc5).
.
White need not obtain a mating attack to win : A good

illustration of how this opening can lead to a won end�ame is
Marshaii-Suchting, Vienna 1908. Black varied at move six
with 6...e6 and there followed 7 Nc3, b6 8 0-0, c5 9 Ne5, h5
(to avoid 9.. . 0-0 10 g4) 10 Bd2, Bd7 1 1 Qf3, ReS 12 Bel ! ,
Be7 13 Ne2, cxd4 1 4 Nxd4, Bc5 15 Bc3, b 5 16 a3, a6 1 7 Qg3,
Kf8 18 Rac1, Rh6 19 Nb3, Bd6 20 Qg5, Be7 21 BaS ! , Qe8 22
Qg3, Ng8 and now 23 Nxd7ch, Qxd7 24 Rxc8ch, Qxc8 25
Rc1 , Qa8 26 Nd4, h4 27 Qf2, Nf6 28 Qc2! , Bd6 29 Qc6!,
Qxc6 30 Rxc6, Ne8 31 Rxa6, e5 32 Nf5, Re6 33 Nxd6, Rxd6
34 Rxd6, Nxd6 35 Bb4 Resigns.
7... Bg7
8 0-0 0-0
9 Ne2 b6
10 Bd2 c5
1 1 Ret Ba6
12 Ne5 Nd7
13 Qa4!
Despite all the attention focused on the Kingside in

Stonewall positions. White has an excellent game on the other
wing here. The next few moves are forced.
13 ... NxeS
14 Qxa6 Nd7
15 Rc2 e6
16 Rfcl ReS
17 b4!
17... cxd4
18 Qb7?
This is an overfinesse, rushing towards doubling heavy

pieces on the seventh rank (19 Rc7) but apparently overlooking
Black's resources. With the simple 18 Nxd4 White would have
an excellent game.
18... dxe3
19 Bxe3 d4!
20 Rc7 dxe3
21 Rxd7 Qf6
22 Rcc7 Rf8
23 d4 Rad8
Now 24 Qxa7 allows 24 ... Ra8! 25 Qxb6, Rxa2 when

suddenly it is Black, not White, who has the more dangerous
heavy-piece play (and a threat of 26 . . . Qxf4 27 Nxf4, RaJ ch and
mates).
24 Qe4 Rxd7
25 Rxd7 Qh4
26 g_3 Q�4
27 Qxe3 e5.
28 Rxa7 exd4
29 Qe4 Qc8
30 Qd3 Qe6
3 1 b5 Re8
32 Kf2 Qh3
33 Kg1 Qf5!
34 Qc4! d3
35 Nd4 d2!
A last bid for complications. There was nothing to be

had from 35 ... Bxd4ch 36 Qxd4, Qc5 because the endgame af
ter 37 Qxc5, bxc5 38 Rd7, c4 39 Kfl is harmless.
36 Nxf5 d l (Q)ch
37 Kf2 Qelch
38 Kf3 Qhlch
39 Kf2 Qxh2ch
40 Kf3 Qh5ch?
Black fails to find a fine winning idea: 40 ... Qh lch 41

Kf2, Qelch 42 Kf3, Kh8! and he wins a piece because 43
Nxg7 allows 43 ... Re3ch and mates.
41 g4! Qhlch
42Kg3 Qglch
43 Kf3 Qdlch
44 Kg3 Qelch
45 Kf3 Re6
46 Qc8ch Re8
47 Qc4 Kh8
48 Qxf7 Qc3ch
49 Kf2
Draw
Notes to move 6 and 1 8 show how White should have

played to go for the win.
CHAPTER THREE
Stonewall II
Now let's examine the most common pos1t1ons that

arise in the Stonewall formations. Remember that White need
not play exactly in this manner but can back out of the
Stonewall by playing 5 Nf3, reaching one of the true Colle po
sitions we'll consider in succeeding chapters.
1 d4 d5
2 e3 Nf6
3 Bd3 cS
It is sometimes believed that the Stonewall was re

placed by the Queen's Gambit (2 c4) once masters began to re
alize the strength of the latter. Not entirely true: Frank Mar
shall was one of the few topnotch players before World War I
to regularly resort to 1 d4. And yet after nearly ten years of de
votion to the Queen's Gambit, the 3 1 -year-old American
champion turned to the Stonewall and won some of his nicest
games in 1 908.
4 c3
4 ... Nc6
Chapter Three: Stonewall II 45
There is no particularly better square for his Knight. It

was fashionable around the tum of the century to play moves
such as ... Nbd7 and ... Qc7 early on, but they perform no better
than simple development.
For example, Chajes-Capablanca, New York 191 1

went 4... Qc7 5 f4, Bg4 6 Nf3, e6 after which White obtained a
nice game by getting out of the Kingside pin with 7 Qa4ch ! .
Then 7... Qc6?? is a blunder (8 Bb5) and 7 ... Nc6 makes

8 Ne5 strong. Best, relatively, is 8 .. Nbd7 8 Ne5, c4 9 Nxg4,
.
Nxg4 and then 10 Be2, Nh6 1 1 b3! after which Black cannot
maintain his chain of light-square pawns and has nothing to
show for having given up a Bishop for a Knight. White was
clearly better after 1 1 ... cxb3 12 axb3, a6 13 0-0 and 14 c4. See
Illustrative Game 4.
5 f4
This presents a maj or crossroads to Black since he has

two reasonable alternatives to our main line of 5 ... e6. Modem
players may feel more comfortable with 5 ... g6, reaching a po
sition that occurs -- with colors reversed -- in the dutch De
fense. The Stonewall Dutch had an undeservedly poor reputa
tion for more than half a century but made a comeback in the
late 1980s and early 1990s.
White should then continue 6 Nf3, Bg7 7 0-0, 0-0 8

Nbd2 and then continue with the tried and true attacking plan
of Qe1-h4 and Ne5. If B lack exchanges pawns on d4, White
retakes with his e-pawn. His Queen Bishop can be developed at
b2 or a3.
Such positions in the Dutch Defense were once thought

to f8.v or Black because he can eliminate the enemy's good
Bishop at what was considered slight cost by way of 8 .. Bf5!?
.
9 Bxf5, gxf5. This judgment now appears suspect, since White

can then force the opening of the g-file with 10 Kh 1, 1 1 Rg1,
12 Ne5 and eventually g2-g4. White should then stand well.
5 ... e6
The other modem approach to the Stonewall is to de

velop Black's Queen Bishop before locking it in with the e
pawn. Here, for example, Black can play S Bg4 and if, 6 Nf3,
..•
then 6 e6. An analysis by Ludek Pachman in the 1 960s rec

•..
ommended 7 0-0, Bd6 8 Qe1, 0-0 9 NeS, BfS! as favorable to

Black, reasoning that 10 BxfS?, exfS only strengthens Black's
hold on the center.
White can do better with 10 Be2, preserving his Bishop

and preparing to gain Kingside space with 11 g4.
6 Nd2!
Carefully played. By overprotecting e4, White does not

allow Black to establish a double-Stonewall as he would after 6
Nf3, Ne4! 7 0-0, fS.
There is a second benefit to avoiding 6 Nf3: A general

rule of opening strategy is to keep your development flexible.
Here White sees that his Queen Knight has no better square
than d2, so why not put it there immediately? On the other
hand, he does not know yet where his other Knight -- or Queen
-- belong. Perhaps he will develop the King Knight at h3 and
reserve f3 for his Queen or other Knight, as Frank Marshall did
so effectively in tournaments before World War I. See the
main line below.
6... Bd6
This move has a specific positional threat in mind. Af

ter 7... cxd4 White would not be able to play the desirable 8
exd4 because of 8. . Bxf4. But after 8 cxd4 Black will have suc
.
ceeded in opening an entire file - not just half of one, as would

occur after 8 exd4 - for his heavy pieces. And it is Black who
most needs an open Queenside file. -White will have enough
play as it is on the Kingside thanks to his eS outpost.
The same idea arises after 6... Qc7, as Jose Capablanca

played on occasion. Then 7 Ndf3 would open up White's
Queen Bishop's diagonal (thereby allowing 7. . . cxd4 8 exd4!).
However, that Knight move has the drawback of permitting
7 ... Ne4! and 8 ... f5, with a safe and solid double-Stonewall
position. Better for White is 7 Qf3 or 7 Nh3 as in our main
line.
In Capa's day it was sometimes thought that 6 Be7 ...
was superior to 6 . Bd6, because the latter exposes Black to the

..
danger of e3-e4-e5. White can then proceed as in our main line

or vary his plans with 7 Ngf3, 0-0 8 0-0, e.g. 8... b6 9 NeS, Bb7
10 Qf3 followed perhaps by g2-g4-g5 or Qh3.
7 Qf3!
This has been regarded as strong ever since Marshall's

impressive victory over Akiba Rubinstein at Vienna 1 908 (see
Illustrative Game 5). Now 7 ... cxd4 8 exd4 only helps White
out, as he will be able to use the half-open-e-file to a greater
extent than Black will be able use the half-open c-file.
7 ... Bd7
The natural move here is 7. .0-0 but that is risky be

.
cause it creates an immediate target for White's pieces. He can

then play either 8 g4 or 8 Nh3. For example, 7 . 0-0 8 Nh3, b6
..
9 NgS and now 9 ... h6 10 h4, hxgS? only plays into White's
hands (11 hxg5, N-moves 12 Qh5 finito). Better is a develop-
ment move such as 10 Bb7, although White's attack can con

...
tinue with 1 1 g4.
8 Nh3
From h3 the Knight can go to gS, to take part in the as

sault on h7 and f7, or to f2, where it watches the key e4
squares. White is virtually certain to castle Kingside. but where
will Black castle? On the Queenside it may be just as vulnera
ble to a pawn storm as on the Kingside (see Marshall-Rubin
stein below).
And the other question of pertinence is this: Who will

open lines and how? If Black castles Kingside, White need not
change the pawn structure, but can continue with normal at
tacking ideas (g2-g4-g5 followed by Qh5). If Black remains in
the center or castles Queenside, White will push his e-pawn.
Black's counterplay, however, is not at all apparent. See Game
5 for an illustration of competing strategies.
Illustrative Games
�) CHAJE�CAPABLANCA
New York 191 1
1 d4 d5
2 e3 Nf6
3 Bd3 c5
4 c3 Qc7
::
5 f4 4
6 Nf3
7 Qa4ch! Nbd7
8 Ne5 c4
9 Nxg4 Nxg4
10 Be2 Nh6
11 b3!
It's important for White to challenge Black's impending

Queenside expansion (from . . . a7-a6 and then . b7-b5) and also
. .
to provide a means of opening lines. Within five moves it is

White - not Black - who has expanded on the Queenside and
owns more terrain there. Notice that without his light-squared
Bishop, Black cannot easily maintain pawns on squares such as
c4.
11 ... cxb3
12 axb3 a6
13 0-0 Bd6
14 c4 0-0
15 c5!
White avoids the complications of 15 Nc3, b5 (1 6

cxb5 ?, Qxc3) and also prepares a Queen side pawn storm with
b3-b4-b5. To avoid that, Black must advance his own b-pawn.
thereby creating a game-long weakness at a6. In short, White is
in control.
t5 ... Be7
t6 b4 b5
t7 Qb3 f5!
t8 Bd3 Nf6
t9 Rf2 Ne4
20 Rfa2! Qb7
2t Nd2 Nxd2
22 Bxd2 Ra7
23 Ra5?
White dreams of having time for 23 ... Rfa8 24 Rla3

followed by 25 Qa2 and 26 BxbS! . But his Rooks are now
pushed back and it was time for White to realize that he needs
a second enemy weakness in order to win this game. Therefore,
it was time to begin looking at preparations for g2-g4!. As the
game goes, Black gets the g-pawn idea first.
23 ... Rfa8
24 h3 Bd8
f!hs
25 R5a3
26 g3
27 Kh2 Qg7
28 Rgt Bf6
29 Qdt Rg8
30 Be2 Qe7
Black has done his best to seal off the Queenside and
direct both players' attention to the g-file.
3t Qat Qb7
32 Ret gxf4
33 gxf4 Raa8
34 Rgt Rxgt
35 Qxgt Ng8
36 Bh5 Ne7
37 Ra2 Rg8
38 Qfl Nc6
39 Bel ! Ra8
40 Bdl Qe7
41 Rg2
Inevitably, with only one file open, the rematn1ng

heavy pieces will be traded off - since neither player can allow
the other uncontested control of the file for very long. That
means an endgame will be reached in which White has two
Bishops versus a Bishop-and- Knight, and also has the advan
tage of a passed c-pawn. Despite his bad dark-squared Bishop,
he has good, perhaps excellent, winning chances.
41 ... Bh4
42 Bd2!? Qfi
43 Qr3 Rg8
44 Be2 Rxg2ch
45 Qxg2 Qg6
�fl
46 Br3 Kg7
47 Bh5 2ch
48 Kxg2
49 Kfl Ne7
50 Ke2 Ng8
5 1 Br3 Ke8
52 Kfl Kd7
53 Ke2 Kc6
54 Bh5 Nf6
55 Bfi! ? Kd7
White's problem is that his King has no means of pene

tration, since g3, g4 and h5 are sealed off by Black's minor
pieces and f-pawn. That means he will have to distract Black's
King and pieces in some way. He has two resources to accom
plish that - attacking e6 and advancing the c-pawn. Right now
Black's King covers both c6 and e6 - and also threatens to trap
a Bishop with 56... Ke7 ! .
56 c6ch! Kxc6
57 Bxe6 Ne4
58 Bel Bxel
59 Kxel Nc3
60 Bxf5 h6
White has won a pawn temporarily but his b-pawn is

doomed. Chajes forces a draw now.
61 Be6 Na2
62 e4 Nxb4
63 Bxd5ch
Not 63 e5, Nd3ch ! and Black calls the tune.
63 ... Nxd5
64 exd5ch Kxd5
65 f5! b4
66 Kd2 a5
67 Kc2 a4
68 h4 hS
Draw.
Neither side can make progress. White's King cannot

leave the vicinity of c2, or the a-pawn will Queen. And 69
Kb2, Kd6 70 Kc2, Ke7 (which threatens 71 .. . Kf6 and
72 Kxf5) only allows White to advance with 71 d5, Kf6 72
...
d6! . White should have gotten in g4 first as pointed out at

move 23.
(5) MARSHALL-RUBINSTEIN
Vienna 1908
Black carefully avoids committing his King and begins

preparations for 0-0-0. Note how useful White's next move
...
is. From f2 the Knight (a) protects a Bishop, (b) helps keep en
emy Knights off e4, (c) prepares to push the e-pawn, and (d)
watches g4, a key square in case Black castles short.
9 Nf2! 0-0-0
10 0-0 Kb8
1 1 e4
Because of the threat of 12 e5, forking two pieces.

Black must liquidate the center in White 's favor and lose time
with his Bishop.
1 1... dxe4
12 Nfxe4 Nxe4
13 Nxe4 Be7
Black cannot win a pawn because of the attack on the

d6-Bishop.
14 dxc5! Bxc5ch
15 Nxc5 Qxc5ch
16 Be3 Qa5
17 a4!
This signals the beginning of a general Queenside ad

vance. The ultimate goal is the opening of a Queenside file for
White's heavy pieces. The interim method of achieving that
goal will be harassing Black's Queen with pieces and pawns.
17... Ne7
18 b4 Qc7
19 Bd4 f6
20 Qf2 Nc8
21 Rfe 1 !
An important move. B lack had to play his 1 9th move to

avert 20 Be5. However, the pawn move had a secondary pur
pose. He hoped to drive White back with a well-timed e6-e5.
...
Now that chance is halted.
21 ... Rhe8
22 Qg3 Bc6
23 b5 Bd5
24 a5! Bc4
25 b6!
Black cannot control the Queenside files any longer.

Naturally, 25 ... axb6 26 axb6, Nxb6 will be punished (not by
27 Bxb6, since 27. . . Qxb6 is a check) but by solid attacking
moves such as 27 Rfbl .
25 ... Qc6
26 Bxc4 Qxc4
27 Qxg7 Ne7
28 Qxf6 Nf5
29 a6!
A fine continuing stroke to maintain the attack. Two

pawns up. White could win in a variety of manners, but he
prefers the tactical one (e.g. 29. . . Ntd4 30 Qe5ch, Ka8 21
axb7ch, etc.).
29 ... axb6
30 Qe5ch Ka8
31 axb7ch Kxb7
32 Bf2 Rd5
33 Qf6 Qc6
34 Rebl Rb5
35 Rxb5 Qxb5
36 Qfich!
After this White wins a third pawn and forces an
endgame. Black could safely have resigned without missing
much, but he bets on his advanced King being worth com
pensation.
36... Re7
37 Qg8 Qe8
38 Qxe8 Rxe8
39 Rbl Kc6
40 Rxb6ch Kd5
4 1 g3 Rc8
42 Rb5ch Ke4
43 Kg2 Rc6
44 ReSch Kd3
45 g4 Ne7
46 f5 Nd5
47 Bd4 Kc4
Avoiding the final trap (48 Rxe6 ? ?, Nf4ch).
48... exf5
49 Rxf5 Rg6
50 Rfi h5
5 1 Rg7! Rxg7
52 Bxg7 hxg4
53 Kxg4! Nxc3
54 Bxc3
B lack Resigns.
Even without 53 ... Nxc3 there was no way to stop the h-

pawn.
Chapter Four: The Basic Colle 57
CHAPTER FOUR
The Basic Colle
In this chapter we'll examine the basic choices con

fronting Black in the Colle, leaving the main lines for Chapter
Five.
1 d4 d5
2 e3 Nf6
3 Bd3 c5
4 c3
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Again 4 e6 would block in Black's Queen Bishop and
...
allow White a good choice. He could continue as in the line

that follows with our basic Model Development a la Colle, or
he could convert the position into a Stonewall with 5 f4 and 6
Nf3. A rule of thumb: if Black plays e6, think strongly about
...
the Stonewall Attack.
4 • •. Nc6
There are some slight differences between 4 Nc6 and

...
4 Nbd7, but they should not trouble White much. With the
••.
Knight on d7, Black can control the b7 -e4 diagonal better with
a subsequent fianchetto of his Queen Bishop. He is also better
prepared to meet dxcS since NxcS! will attack White's
•..
Bishop on d3 and blunt any attack. That also means that when
White inevitably breaks in the center with e3-e4, Black will be
able to exchange off his King Knight and replace it on e4 with

his Queen Knight. An illustration of these differences is shown
in Games 6-7 .
One of the advantages of 4... Nc6 over moves such as

4... e6 or 4... Bd7 or 4... b6 is that it tends to discourage White
from converting the position to a Stonewall (4.. . Nc6 5 Nf3, e6 6
Ne5 ?! allows 6. . . Nxe5 before White can advance an f-pawn to
be able to retake on e5). By comparison, 4 e6 encourages
..•
either 5 f4 and 6 Nf3 or the delayed version of 5 Nf3, Be7 6

Ne5 ! , 0-0 7 0-0, b6 8 Qe2 and 9 f4.
Note also that after 4... Nc6 White does not have the
freedom he had in Chapter Three of playing a modest devel
opment move such as 5 Nd2, because then 5 ... e5! virtually re
futes White's opening plan. And we should also recognize that
if Black fails to develop his Queen Knight early in the game,
he is virtually inviting White to create an advantageous
Stonewall position. For example, 4... e6 5 Nf3, b6 6 0-0, Bb7
and now 7 Ne5! , Bd6 8 f4! with a fine game. Damjanovic-Ko
rchnoi, Palma de Mallorca 1969 continued 8 Qc7 9 Bd2, •..
Nc6 10 Bel ! , a6 1 1 Nd2 followed by Bh4.
5 Nf3
Once White has made this move - and Black has devel
oped his Queen Knight - he is somewhat committed to a Colle
position. This is because a subsequent Ne5 and Nxe5/dxe5
.•.
will not be nearly as attractive to White as it would be if he

could recapture fxe5! . Compare 4 ... e6 5 f4, Nc6 6 Nf3, Be7 7
Ne5, Nxe5? 8 fxe5! with 4... Nc6 5 Nf3, e6 6 Ne5, Nxe5 7 dxe5
and you'll appreciate the difference.
5 ... e6
The chief alternative to this is a preparatory move by

Black's Queen Bishop, 5 ... Bg4, before 6... e6. (This is, in fact,
the way White plays in the reversed version of the Colle sys
tem - the Queen's Gambit Declined.) A good way of handling
5 ... Bg4 is 6 Nbd2, e6 7 Qa4 with the idea of exploiting the

Bishop's absence from the Queenside with Bb5 or Ne5.
Now 7... Qa5 8 Qxa5, Nxa5 9 dxc5 creates an unfavor

able endgame (9. . . Bxc5 ? 10 b4) and 7... Be7 8 Ne5 creates a
miserable opening (8.. .Rc8 9 dxc5, Bxc5 ? 10 Nxg4). Note also
that 7 ... Bd6 8 NeS, Bxe5? 9 dxe5 costs Black a piece. Black's
best may, in fact, be 7... Bxf3, surrendering a Bishop for a
Knight to eliminate tactical problems.
In case you're wondering, White is adopting a strategy

that Black often employs - with colors reversed, of course - in
the Queen's Gambit Declined. That strategy is seen in the
Cambridge Springs Defense (1 d4, d5 2 c4, e6 3 Nc3, Nf6 4
Bg5, Nbd7 5 e3, c6 6 Nf3, Qa5! ?, preparing 7. . . . Ne4.)
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6 Nbd2
White's piece placement seems somewhat innocuous,

but it packs a punch. If Black dillydallies, with moves such as
6...a6 7 0-0, Qc7 for example, White continues with his basic
plan of exchanging on c5 followed by ramming the e-pawn
into the Black center, e.g. 9 Qe2, Be7 10 dxc5! , Bxc5 1 1 e4.
6... Bd6
The most common response. Note that 6 ... Be7 7 0-0, 0-

0 8 dxcS, Bxc5 will transpose into our main line. The only dif
ference is that Black's Bishop comes from e7 rather than d6
when it retakes on c5.
7 0-0
He will open the center with two thrusts: a capture on

cS followed the advance of his e-pawn. He could play that idea
immediately (7 dxc5, Bxc5 8 e4) but it only improves with an
additional move of development. If the e-pawn reaches the
fifth rank, it will drive away the best enemy defender, making
h7 vulnerable to heavy pieces (Qh5 or Rf3 -h3) and the d3-
bishop.
However, it is important to realize that 7 e4 is NOT a

good idea. The reason is that by 7... cxd4 8 cxd4, dxe4, Black
sticks White with an isolated d-pawn. Sometimes such a pawn
can provide the anchor for a solid position in the center. But
that most often occurs when each side still has four minor
pieces. In this instance, Black can trade one pair off immedi
ately (9 Nxe4, Nxe4 10 Bxe4) and can disorient other pieces
with 10 .. Bb4ch! . Then White loses the initiative and has
.
nothing to show for his isolani.
This covers our introduction to the Colle. For what

transpires after 7 0-0, see the next chapter.
Illustrative Games
(6) O'KELLY-BOOK
Dubrovnik (Olympiad) 1950
1 d4 d5
2 Nf3
Once more, this is not our move order but it reaches our
basic Colle by move five.
2 •.• Nf6
3 e3 e6
4 Bd3 c5
5 c3 Nbd7
6 Nbd2 Bd6
7 Qe2 Qc7
8 0-0 0-0
9 e4
Without this move White lacks an effective mid

dlegame plan. This is a significant difference between the
Colle and the Stonewall: If White had already established his f
pawn on the fourth rank, he could now continue 9 Ne5 and
continue a Kingside attack (Rfl -f3-h3, for example) without
needing to change the pawn structure. The presence of the f
pawn on the fourth rank would have created its own route for
White's heavy pieces. In the Colle, however, White has to cre
ate a new route.
9... cxd4
10 cxd4 dxe4
11 Nxe4 Nd5
Black avoids 1 1 ... Nxe4 because it ends up helping

White after 12 Qxe4! and then 12 ...Nf6 13 Qh4! , with the
Queen excellently placed. Note how White achieves the same
transfer at move 1 3- 1 4 as the game goes.
12 Nxd6 Qxd6
13 Qe4! N7f6
14 Qh4 Bd7
15 Ret Rfc8
16 ReS!
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A nice way of activating the Rook now that the e3

square has been denied him . White will continue 17 Bg5 or 17
Bd2 and 18 Rae1 with all his pieces in play against the enemy
King. Note that 17 Bg5 would threaten 18 Bxf6, Nxf6 19
Bxh7ch, Nxh7 20 Rh5.
16... g6
17 Bd2 a6
18 Rae1 Ba4
19 b3 Bb5
20 Bb1
Black tried to trade the attacking Bishop off with

18 ... Ba4 and 19 ... Bc2, and when that was stopped, he tried
again with 19 ... Bb5. Even though the b1-h7 diagonal was
blunted by 16 ... g6, White keeps the Bishop because later he

can trade it for one of the pesky Knights. Black's lack of coun
terplay is revealed by his next move.
20... aS? !
21 Ng5 ReS
22 Be4 ! Bc6
23 Bxd5!
This is a useful exchange: 23 ... exd5 24 Bf4, Qd8 25

Rxe8ch, Bxe8 26 Be5! threatens 27 Bxf6 and 28 Qxh7ch and
forces something such as 26 ... h5 27 Ne6!, fxe6 28 Bxf6. As the
game goes, B lack makes it easy.
23... Bxd5?
24 Nxe6!
Based on 24 ... Rxe6 25 Rxe6, fxe6 26 Qxf6 and White

should win, despite the bishops of opposite color.
24... Nd7
25 Ng5! Nxe5
26 Qxh7ch Kf8
27 dxe5 Qb6
28 e6!
and Black resigned.
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In view of 28... Bxe6 29 Rxe6 and 30 Qxt7 mate or

28... Qxe6 29 Nxe6ch, Rxe6 30 Qh8ch when White has a huge
preponderance of material.
(7) KOLTANOWSKI-CATALA
Spain 1934
1 d4 d5
2 Nf3 Nf6
3 e3 c5
4 c3 e6
5 Bd3 Nbd7
6 Nbd2 Bd6
7 0-0 b6
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Combining a Queenside fianchetto with ... Bd6 makes
sense - if B lack has enough time. The problem for him is the
immediate 8 e4! , after which 8 ... dxe4 9 Nxe4 attacks the d6-
bishop. (If the Bishop were on e7, Black could simply continue
9. . . Bb7.) And if B lack has to play 9... Nxe4 then 10 Bxe4 gives
White control of the e4-a8 diagonal - with a tempo - before
Black gets a chance to post his Bishop along it.
8 e4! dxe4
9 Nxe4 Nxe4
10 Bxe4 Rb8
1 1 dxc5!
Well timed. Now 1 1. .. Bxc5 allows the Rook to be

trapped by 12 Bf4. Black would like to recapture on c5 with a
pawn - thereby keeping a White Knight off d4 - but 1 1 .. . bxc5?
12 Qxd6 costs a piece, as does 1 1 ... Nxc5 12 Bc6ch, Bd7? 13
Qxd6.
1 1 ... Nxc5
12 Bc6ch Ke7
13 b4! Nb7
t4 Nd4 Qc7
t5 Qh5
White has a huge lead in development and it is no sur

prise that it takes only one more Black slip to end the game
quickly. Among his potential threats are a Knight fork on c6 or
bS (after a Bishop move) .
t5... Nd8
t6 b5 f6?
t7 Ret e5
t8 Rxe5ch!
Excellent ! Now 18 fxe5 19 Bg5ch and mate next.

...
t8... Bxe5
t9 Ba3ch Bd6
20 Retch Ne6
21 Nf5ch
B lack Resigns.
It's mate (21 .. . Kf8 22 Qe8) or the Queen (2l . . Kd8 22

.
Bxd6).
66 White Ope�ing System
CHAPTER FIVE
Main Line Colle
In this chapter we'll be able to consider the main line of

the Colle in some greater depth because there has been so
much experience with these variations in master chess. Some
variations have been worked out to the 1 2th or 1 5th move. But
it is more important to remember the basic plans and strategies
than to memorize variations.
1 d4 d5
2 e3 Nf6
3 Bd3- c5
4 c3 Nc6
5 Nf3 e6
6 Nbd2 Bd6
7 0-0
With 7... Qc7 or 7 ... Qb6 White responds 8 dxcS and 9

e4, reaching a position we'll consider in greater depth after 9 e4
in our main line below.
More intriguing is what happens after Black tries to

seize the initiative in the center with 7 e5! ? . Then White
..•
should reply 8 dxcS, BxcS 9 e4 and now:

Chapter Five: Main Line Colle 67
(a) 9 ... d4? misunderstands the nature of the center

since it eliminates much of Black's counterplay there. After 10
Nb3!, Bb6 1 1 cxd4, exd4 White has a free hand to act with 12
eS! , Nd7 13 BgS. with excellent chances. See Game 8.
(b) 9 ... 0-0 and now 10 exdS poses a new problem for
Black. After 10 ... Nxd5 White begins to exploit outpost squares
with 1 1 Ne4, Be7 12 Ng3!. heading for fS with a piece and
preparing to attack the e-pawn. If Black occupies fS, 12 ... f5
then 13 Bc4, Be6 14 Re1 ! (Colle-Euwe, Match 1928) favors
White following 14 ... e4 1 5 BgS!, Kh8 16 Bxe7, Ncxe7 17
Nd4.
Nevertheless, 10 ... Nxd5 is better than 10 ... Qxd5 (is

better than 1 0. . . Qxd5) which leaves Black vulnerable to 1 1
Qe2 followed by a strong 1 2 Ne4!. For example, 1 1 Qe2, Bg4
12 Ne4, Nxe4 13 Bxe4, Q-moves 14 Bxc6 wins a pawn, and
13 ... Rfd8 13 Nxf6ch, gxf6 14 Be4 favors White, as in Colle
Thomas, Ghent 1928.
8 dxc5!
Again avoiding the isolated d-pawn that results from 8

e4, cxd4 9 cxd4� dxe4.
8... Bxc5
9 e4
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Now 9... d4? would be even worse than in the note to
move seven because of 10 Nb3!, attacking both the d-pawn and
Bishop. Black would have to play 10 ... Qb6 and suffer the con-
sequences of 1 1 e5, N-moves 12 Nxc5, Qxc5 3 cxd4, winning

a pawn because 12 ... Nxd4? 13 Nxd4, Qxd4 14 Bxh7ch would
cost a Queen.
Since 9...e5 would transpose into positions we exam

ined at move seven, we must considered some unlikely possi
bilities. One is 9 ... Qb6 which allows 10 e5! , Nd7 1 1 Bxh7ch !,
Kxh7 12 Ng5ch, Kg8 13 Qh5 or 12... Kg6 13 Ndf3.
9 ... Qc7
How bad is it if B lack plays 9... dxe4 10 Nxe4 one

might ask? Back can then trade into an endgame with
10 ... Nxe4 1 1 Bxe4, Qxd1 12 Rxd1 and think he's avoided the
worst of it.
Actually, all he's done is avoid a dangerous mid

dlegame. The endgame also holds some terrors, considering
White's Rook and e4-bishop have tremendous scope. Equally
important is his maj ority of Queenside pawns, which can be
advanced with tempo. For example, 12 .. .f6 was once tried by
the great endgame played Akiba Rubinstein against Colle
himself (Berlin 1926). White replied 13 b4! , Be7 14 a3,
threatening 15 c4 and 16 c5 with a great wedge of pawns.
Rubinstein anticipated that with 14 ... a5, but after 15 b5! his
Queenside development was a mess.
Better for Black after 9...dxe4 10 Nxe4 is 10 ... Be7 so

that B lack's Queen can leave d8 without allowing the doubling
of his Kingside pawns. The position after 1 1 Qe2, Qc7 12
Nxf6ch, Bxf6 13 Bg5! requires the Queen to move again or
allow 13... Bxg5 14 Nxg5, h6 15 Ne4.
Therefore 13 ... Qe7 is likely, after which 14 Qe4, g6 15

h4! gives White excellent attacking chances (Colle-Maroczy,
San Remo 1930).
10 Qe2
Not just aiming at eS, but also creating an important

tactical resource when the Queen can later go to e4, hitting at
h7. See next note.
10... Bd6
Black anticipates 1 1 e5, Ng4 12 Nb3, Bb6 13 Bf4,

which would give White dangerous attacking chances. He
could also have stopped the e-pawn's advance with 10 ... e5 but
that fails to a typical tactical device in this variation : 1 1 exd5,
Nxd5 12 Bxh7ch ! , Kxh7 13 Qe4ch, Kg8 14 Qxd5.
Similar to this last line is 10 ...dxe4 1 1 Nxe4, Nxe4 12

Qxe4 when 12 ... g6 13 Bh6 or 12 ...f5 13 Qh4 only helps White.
No better is 11 ...Be7 (instead of ll Nxe4) because then 12
...
NfgS! threatens to capture first on f6, then on h7.
11 Ret
White threatens 12 eS and this time it will fork two

pieces. Black's choice now includes 1 1. .. Ne5? ! 12 NxeS, BxeS
13 exd5, Bxh2ch (else 14 Qxe5) 14 Kh l , when White
threatens to trap the Bishop with 15 g3.
An improved version of that line is:
1 1.... Ng4
12 h3 Nge5
This is an order of moves made famous in the game

Gilg-Aiekhine, Kescemet 1927 and hardly considered seri-
-
ously in the 65-plus years since. White has little choice in his
next two moves if he hopes for an advantage.
13 Nxe5 Nxe5
14 exd5! exd5
15 Nf3
The opening has essentially ended and it is now time to

consider. . .
There is plenty of open lines, so he need not change the

pawn structure by advancing a pawn. He will occupy d4 with a
minor piece, preferable a Knight, and post his other Rook at
d1. Black's developmental problems are not entirely solved
since his Queen Bishop has no better square now than e6. Max
Euwe - virtually to the exclusion of the world's opening experts
- has rated White's chances superior. Let's see why.
Typical of the trappy play from 15 Nf3 on would be

15 ... Nxd3 16 Qxd3 and now 16 ... Be6? 17 Ng5! or 16 ... Rd8?
17 QxdS, Bh2ch 18 Kh 1 , RxdS? ? 19 ReS mate. Black, of
course, can do better with plans such as 16 ... Qc4, seeking an
endgame. But 17 Rd1, Qxd3 18 Rxd3, Rd8 19 Be3 and 20
Rad1 must favor White, at least slightly.
Instead of that, let us examine one of the more common

responses, 15 ... Nxf3ch in further depth.
15 ... Nxf3ch
16 Qxf3 Be6
17 Qh5!
Recently this has replaced the older 17 Be3 as White's

best chance of obtaining an edge. The maneuver of the Queen
is useful because it softens up the dark squares so that his
Queen Bishop can be developed at h6 or g5 more effectively
than at e3.
Now Persitz-Gaufe, World Correspondence

Championship Semifinals 1975-79, went 17 ... g6 18 Qh4,
Rfe8 19 Bg5, Be7 20 Bxe7, Qxe7 21 Qd4 and White was able
to exploit the d4, e5 and f6 squares after 21 ... a6 22 Bc2, Qd7
23 Rad1, Rad8 24 Bb3 and ReS.
White may do better with 18 Qh6 and Bg5, e.g.

18 ... Be5 (to oust the Queen with . . . Bg7) 19 Qh4, Rad8 20
Bh6, Rfe8 21 Bg5! and 22 Bf6.
Illustrative Games
(8) CHAROUSEK-SUCHTING
Berlin 1897
1 d4 d5
2 e3 Nf6
3 Nf3 c5
4 c3 e6
5 Bd3 Nc6
6 0-0 Bd6
7 Nbd2 eS
8 dxc5 Bxc5
9 e4 d4?
10 Nb3! Bb6
1 1 cxd4 exd4
12 eS Nd7
13 BgS Qc7
14 Ret !
This ensures that Black will continue to have difficul

ties completing his development. White has a simple attacking
plan directed at h7, where Black will inevitably castle.
He can execute this in a variety of ways (a) retreating

the d3-bishop to bl followed by Qd3; (b) lifting a Rook to the
Kingside via el-e4-h4, and, most natural of all, (c) playing
Bg5-f4 followed by Ng5 and Qh5. This latter plan may involve
sacrificing the e-pawn - but it's worth it.
14 ... 0-0
15 Ret Re8
16 Bf4! Qd8
17 NgS! NdxeS
The alternative was 17 ... Nf8 18 Qh5, g6 19 Qh6 fol

lowed by Ng5-e4-f6ch! .
The threat was 22 Bxc6, separating Black's minor

pieces. White's temporary sacrifice now wins at least a pawn.
22 Qh8ch Ke7
23 Bxg5ch Kd7!
24 Qxg7 Rg8
25 Bxc6ch bxc6!
26 Bxd8 Rxg7
27 Bf6!
This leads to a favorable - but not winning - endgame,

and is, of course, much better than 27 Bxb6?, Nf3ch! 28 gxf3,
Bxf3ch and wins.
27... Nd3
28 Bxg7 Nxel
29 Rxel c5
30 Bf6 ReS
31 Rxe8 Kxe8
32 f3 Bf5
33 Nd2 Kd7
34 Nc4 Ke6
35 Nxb6 axb6
36 Bd8 bS
37 a3 c4?
38 BaS Bc2
39 Bd2 f5?
Black should now lose because of his poor pawn play

in the bishops-of-opposite-color endgame. White now has an
easier time creating two passed pawns on the King's wing with
g2-g4.
40 Kf2 Bd3
41 g4 Kf6
42 Kg3 Kg6
43 h4 fxg4
44 fxg4 Be2
45 hSch Kh7
46 Kh4 Bdl
47 gS Kg7?
49 Bg5ch Kg7
50 Be7!
Black Resigns
The path is cleared for the pawns after 51 KgS and

Black's Bishop can only be sacrificed for one of them now.
(9) KOLTANOWSKI-O'HANLON
Dublin 1937
This clears f8 for a Knight, thereby trying to solve the

long-term problem of defending h7.
11 e5 Nd7
12 Nb3!
This gain of time allows White the opportunity to over

protect his eS with a Bishop. Compare with 12 Ret when
12.. f6! is strong (13 Ng5 ?, Qxe5!).
.
12... Bb6
13 Bf4 f6
Black reasons that he cannot leave his opponent with a

free hand on the Kingside and this is the moment when he can
exploit the pin on the e-pawn (14 exf6, Qxf4). There is one
tactical problem with this though.
14 Rae1 Ndxe5?
15 Nxe5 Nxe5
16 Bxh7ch!
And this is it: 16 ... Kxh7 17 QhSch picks up the unpro

tected Rook at e8. Now 16... Kh8 17 QhS leads to a fatal dis
covered check, so :
16... Kf8
17 Bg6 Rd8
18 Qh5 Ke7
19 Nd4!
The game now takes on a similarity to Game 7, with a

Knight on d4 cooperating with a Queen at h5 - and that sacrifi
cial Rook at e 1 .
19... Bd7
20 Rxe5! fxe5
21 Bxe5
B lack Resigns.
Mate follows. For example : 21 ... Qc6 22 Qg5ch, Kf8 23

Qf4ch.
CHAPTER SIX
Black Fianchettoes
( ... g6 with ... dS Gruenfeld setup)
We turn our attention in this and the next chapter to de

fenses in which Black fianchettoes his King Bishop at g7. This
development takes much of the sting out of the Colle setup.
White's Bishop at d3 will be blunted by the enemy Kingside
pawn fonnation. Moreover, White will be at greater risk in ac
cepting an isolated d-pawn -- as he sometimes must in Colle
positions -- when his opponent has a Bishop trained on it from
g7.
But, as noted in our Introduction, White can vary his

strategy accordingly. If Black is not going to put his dark
squared Bishop at d6 or e7, White's dark-squared Bishop be
longs at gS.
1 d4 Nf6
When Black moves his Knight out before any pawn, he

announces his intention to play one of the Indian Defenses, that
is, a system in which he holds his center pawns on the second
or third rank for several moves while he attacks the enemy
center with minor pieces ( ..Bj8-g7 or ...Bc8-b7) or wing pawns
(...c7-c5).
2 Nf3
We recommend this move (after l. Nf6) because it

. .
provides extra options -- in particular the Torre plan of Bc1-g5

- in comparison with 2 e3. If White continues with 2 e3 Black
-
can continue with typical King's Indian play -- 2 ... g6 3 Nf3,

Bg7 4 Bd3, 0-0 5 0-0, d6 6 Qe2, Nc6! and the threat of ... e7-
e5-e4 leads to positions such as 7 Rd1, eS 8 dxeS, dxeS 9 BbS,
Qe7 10 Bxc6, bxc6 1 1 e4, NhS! and 12... Nf4, with advantage
to Black in Denker- Kavalek, National Chess League 1976.
Chapter Six: Black Fianchettoes 79
Note, however, that after 2 Nf3 Black can return the

game to more familiar positions with 2... d5. Then to remain in
our repertoire White should continue a la Colle with 3 e3 and 4
Bd3, probably reaching a position from Chapter Four (or, after
3 e 3, Bf5 4 c4!, a position approximating Chapter One).
Black is clearly heading for an Indian position now. He

could also have played the cagey 2... c5, hoping to trap White
in a position in which B lack has made no commitments in the
center (see the Colle-Capablanca game from the Introduction
for a comparable case.) But White will usually meet ... c7-c5
with c2-c3 in these positions. For example, 2 ... c5 3 c3 and now
3 ...g6 4 Bg5 will reach one of our main line positions below.
Also note the similar line of 2... b6 3 Bg5, Bb7 4 Nbd2,

and now 4 ... c5 5 e3 is fine for White compared to positions in
which his Bishop is still on cl. Also, after 4... d5 (instead of
4. . . c5) 5 e3, Nbd7 6 Bd3 and now 6...e6 leads to a reasonable
Stonewall for White after 7 Ne5 and 8 f4. For 6 ... g6? ! , see our
first Illustrative .Game below.
3 Bg5!
This is the distinctive Torre move. Black must make a

decision soon on whether to play the middlegame like a King's
Indian Defense (with . . .d7-d6) or as a Gruenfeld Defense (with
.. d7-d5). In the former case, Black usually needs to push an-
.
other pawn in the center to liberate his game and find open
files for his Rooks. This often means ...e7-eS, supported by the
pawn at d6. However, with our Bishop on gS, White is well
placed to exploit the newly-created pinning diagonal, g5-d8.
3 •.• Bg7
Yes, Black can attack the newly-placed Bishop with

3 . Ne4. But after it retreats, the Knight will be driven back or
. .
exchanged off quickly. For example, 4 Bh4, Bg7 5 Nbd2, dS 6

c3 and to avoid 7 Nxe4, which somewhat confuses Black's
pawn structure, he may have to play 6 ... Nxd2 7 Qxd2. Then
White has slightly the better of a symmetrical position, e.g.
7...Nd7 8 e3, 0-0 9 Bd3, Nf6 10 0-0, c6 11 Qc2 with a small
advantage to White (Malanyuk-Leko, Kecskemet 1992).
4 Nbd2 0-0
With 4 d6 we will likely transpose into the next chap

...
ter, which also examines 4 .c5! ? .

..
5 e3 d5
With this move Black declares his intention to prevent

White from occupying both d4 and e4 with pawns. He could
equally have played d7-d5 at move three or four, reaching
••.
the same king of Gruenfeld Defense-like position. (Once again,

for the distinctly different King's Indian's 5. . . d6, see the
following chapter.)
Note that if White now wants to delay a decision about

his King Bishop, the waiting move 6 c3! ? has merit. It also
contains a small trap since then 6 c3, cS? would be an error
punishable by 7 dxcS! . Normally in such Queenside openings
Black can temporarily sacrifice the c-pawn in this manner be
cause he is virtually certain to regain it.
This position, however, is an exception. After 7 dxcS,

Qc7 8 b4! White has a clean pawn up.
The Bishop no longer enjoys a clear line to h7 in the

Gruenfeld-King's Indian positions, but d3 is still the best
square on the board for it right now.
Former world champion Tigran Petrosian favored a dif

ferent play: He put the B ishop at e2, where it cannot be forked
by a Black pawn after ... e7-e5-e4. For example, 6 Be2, Nbd7 7
c3, ReS 8 b4 would reach a 197 4 Candidates Match Game with
Viktor Korchnoi. Even though Black achieved his central push
with 8... c6 9 0-0, e5, he found his center was somewhat
overextended after 10 Nb3 ! , Qb6 1 1 Bxf6, Bxf6 12 a3, e.g.
12... e4 13 Nfd2, Bg5 14 c4! or, as the game went, 12 ... Qc7 13
Ret , e4 14 Nfd2, b5 (to stop 15 c4) 15 a4! , a6 16 Ra1
followed by Nc5 and Bg4.
Another strategy for Black is to try to exploit White's

Queenside expansion with 8 c6 9 0-0 and now 9...a5 (instead
••.
of 9... e5). B ut this only encourages White to push his pawns

further, e.g. 10 a4! , e5 1 1 b5! and now ll. .c5 allows White to
.
put the Queenside under pressure with 12 dxe5, Nxe5 13 Rc1,

h6 14 Bh4, Nxf3ch 15 Bxf3 a s in Torre-Ftacnik, Novi Sad
1984. White B ishops and Queen Rook will grow in scope after
c3-c4, making b7 and c5 highly vulnerable.
(This, by the way, was one of many instructive games

of Eugenio Torre of the Philippines, NOT Carlos Torre, the
Mexican star of the 1 920s.) See also Illustrative Game 1 0 for

another illustration of the b2-b4 strategy.
By putting the Bishop at e2 White also allows the Black

Knight into e4. For example, 6 ... c5 7 0-0, Ne4 8 Bh4, Nc6 9
c3, Qb6 with B lack somewhat more actively placed than in our
main line. The difference is underlined by tO Nxe4!?, dxe4 t t
Nd2, after which White's Queenside is sacrificed for Black's
center:
The game Timman-Koautly, Cannes t992 went

t t ... Be6 t2 Nxe4, cxd4 t3 cxd4, Qxb2 but after t4 NcS ! , Bc8
tS Bf3, Qb6 t6 Ret , ReS t7 Qa4 and t8 Rbt Black was reel
ing. He lost in 30 m oves.
6... c5
The problem for Black is simple. If he waits for White

to complete his development, with moves such as 7 0-0, S c3, 9
Ret and tO Qc2 (or 9 Qe2), his opponent will be the first to
open files with an eventual e3-e4. Then an exchange of White's
e-pawn for Black's d-pawn will leave Black's heavy pieces,
particularly his Rooks, with limited scope compared to White's.
Therefore, B lack considers opening his own lines. He

can also try to engineer an advance of his e-pawn with 6 ... Nc6
or 6 ... Nbd7 followed by 7 ... ReS or 7... QeS and S... eS. But if
Black fails to make the break at eS, then his pieces are indeed
poorly placed. This can also happen if White manages the
break at e4 first.
For example, 6... Nbd7 7 0-0, ReS would fall perfectly

into Black's plan after S c3?, eS! . However, White can beat
Black to the punch with S e4! and then S ... dxe4 9 Nxe4, Nxe4
tO Bxe4. For tO ... cS see Illustrative Game 1 2.
A similar strategy in which Black avoids ... c7-c5 can be

seen in 6 ... b6. The 7 Qe2, Bb7 S e4 leads into Game 1 1 below.
A more conservative approach is shown in Game 1 4.
7 c3 Nc6
Black gets little immediate benefit from 7 ... cxd4 be

cause White will retake 8 exd4! . The result of the exchange of
pawns only helps White here since he has a nice file for his
Rooks from e1 to e7, whereas Black's file " bites on granite " -
that is, it extends to c3 which is strongly protected by another
pawn.
An illustration of what can happen then is Schussler

Vaganian, Tallinn ' 1983, which went 7 ... cxd4 8 exd4!, Nc6 9
0-0, h6 10 Bh4, NhS 1 1 Re1 !, Qd6 and now 12 BbS! placed
Black's center under assault. (The threat is 13 Bxc6 and 14
Bxe7) Black tried 12...g5, but then White could have obtained a
clear advantage with 13 Bxc6!, bxc6 14 NeS! , attacking the
hS-knight.
8 0-0 Qb6
Here, or on the previous move, this Queen move threat

ens the White b-pawn and also gets the Black Queen off the
g5-d8 diagonal that he hopes to open with ... e7-e5.
We should also take note of the direct 8 ... Nd7, which

also prepares for an advance of the e-pawn. Then 9 Rb1 ! still
makes sense, since Black cannot play 9 ... e5 yet (1 0 Bxd8!) and
therefore White takes pains to anticipate 9 ... Qb6, which would
now be met by 10 b4! (e .g. 1 O. . . cxb4 11 cxb4, e5 ? 12 b5! or
1 O . . c4 11 Be2, e5 12 b5, Na5 13 dxe5, Nxe5 14 Nxe5, Bxe5 15
.
Nf3 . )
Therefore, 8... Nd7 9 Rb1 might lead Black to break the

pin on his e-pawn with 9... h6! ? 10 Bh4, gS 1 1 Bg3 and now
11 ... e5 12 dxeS, NdxeS 13 NxeS, NxeS 14 b4 or 14 f4! ? are
complex. Perhaps better for Black is avoiding a major decision
in the center by way of 1 1 ...f5 12 Qc2, e6 as in Plachetka-W.
Schmidt, Trnava 1985, which went 13 Bd6, c4! 14 Be2, Rfi
with a difficult game for both sides.
9 Rb1
Now there are several possibilities. One idea is 9 ... Re8

and then 10 b4, cxb4 1 1 cxb4.
Black is reluctant at this point to isolated his d-pawn -

and grant White a terrific outpost at d4 for his Knights - by
playing 1 1 ... e5. He should avoid 1 1 ... Nxb4?? 12 a3! and try
something like 1 1. .. a5, after which 1 2 bS?, Nb4! wins a pawn
for Black (but 12 Qa4 is unclear).
Another reasonable try for B lack is 1 1. .. Bg4, to under

mine White's control of eS. But as the game Tseitlin-Kurz,
Budapest 1989 showed, Black can quickly get into trouble: 12
h3, Bxf3 13 Qxf3, aS? (too late) 14 Bxf6, Bxf6 15 QxdS, axb4
16 Ne4! and White had a terrific game.
Another method for Black after 9 Rb1 is the immediate

9... e5! ? with the continuation 10 NxeS, Nxe5 1 1 dxe5, Ng4.
Black regains his sacrificed pawn, but after 12 Nf3, Nxe5 13
Nxe5, Bxe5 14 f4 he surrenders the initiative. Following
14 ... Bg7 15 f5! White has an excellent game. Better, in fact, is
14... Bf6 with complications after 15 Bxf6, Qxf6 16 f5.
See also Illustrative Game 1 3 , in which White defended

the b2-pawn with his Queen.
This depends largely on what Black does in the center.

Without e7-e5, he is somewhat restricted in space and vul
...
nerable to White's evolving plan to push his b-pawn. Time is

on White's side. White must be alert to exploit whatever Black
does and must be prepared to attack on the Queenside (Games
1 0 and 1 3) , Center (Game 1 1 ) or Kingside.
Illustrative Games
(10) MALANIUK-DORFMAN
Lvov 1988
1 d4 Nf6
�0-0�7
2 Nf3
3 c3
4 Bg5
5 Nbd2 dS
6 e3 Nbd7
7 b4 aS
8 Be2 Re8
9 0-0 eS
10 Nb3
White follows the Petrosian recipe mentioned in the

note to White's sixth move in our analysis above. He does not
fear the coming advance of the Black e-pawn . Nor would
White lose any sleep over 10 .a4 1 1 NcS ! , NxcS 12 bxcS when
..
Black's center has to give way (12 .. .e4 13 Ne 5 followed by

Bb5, j2-f3 or c3-c4).
10... axb4
11 cxb4 e4
12 Nfd2 Nf8
13 Bh4!
White anticipates the attack on his Bishop with ... Ne6

and also prepares to seize the excellent g3 c7 diagonal.
-
13... h5
14 Qc2- Bf5
15 Rfc1 Re7
16 a4
The obvious target is c7. If Black protects it by ad

vancing it to c6, White can open the file with a timely b4-b5,
or play as he does in the game with a4-a5 and NcS.
16 ... Ne6
17 Bg3 Ne8
18 Qd1 Rd7
19 h3 h4
20 Bh2 c6
21 a5!
White has a clear Queenside advantage and he should

have been able to exploit it in the middlegame. However, a
shortage of time led to a quick end.
21... N8c7
22 Nc5! Nxc5
23 bxc5 Ne6
24 Nb3
Draw agreed.
With more time on his clock White surely would have

played on. His winning plan would be 25 Ra4 followed by R
b4-b6! or by doubling Rooks on the a-file in preparation for
pushing the a-pawn.
( 1 1) MARIOTTI-TATAI
Rome 1977
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 b6
3 Bg5 Bb7
4 Nbd2 d5
5 e3 Nbd7
6 Bd3 g6? !
7 Qe2! Bg7
8 e4 dxe4
9 Nxe4 0-0
10 0-0-0!
An excellent decision. Inevitably there will be an ex

change of minor pieces on e4. White figures he can then ex
ploit his advantage in space in the center and Kingside - and he
does that best with this rapid mobilization of his Rooks.
10... h6
1 1 Bd2 Nxe4
12 Bxe4 Bxe4
·13 Qxe4 Nf6
14 Qe2 Qd5
15 c4 Qe4
Chapter Six : Black Fianchettoes 89
Black tries to overcome White's substantial edge in

central space by trading down into a slightly inferior endgame.
However, with no King attacks on either wing, White's spatial
edge turns out to be more important with Queens off the board.
Note that c6 in particular will be a problem .
16 Rhe1 Qxe2
17 Rxe2 e6
18 Ne5 Rfd8
1 9 Bc3 Ne8
20 a4! Nd6
21 b3 Nb7
22 Kc2 Rd6
23 f4 Rad8
24 Red2 c6
25 b4!
White's Queenside advances, with 26 cS and 27 Nxc6

in mind, have been well-executed. Black now gets tied down to
the defense of c6.
25 ... ReS
26 Kb3 Rc7
27 g4! Rd8
28 Rd3 Nd6
29 Bb2 Ne4
30 Re1 Nf6?
31 b5!
Now White can invade at c6, which will virtually doom

a Black Queenside pawn or allow the favorable exchange on eS
that now follows.
31... cxb5
32 axb5 Nd7
33 Ba3 Nxe5
34 fxe5 Bf8
35 Bb2 Rcd7
36 Red1 Be7
37 d5! exd5
38 Rxd5 Rxd5
39 cxd5 ReS
There was no defense, since 39 ... Bc5 would allow 40

d6! followed by a King invasion - Kb3-c4-d5-c6!
40 d6 Bf8
41 e6!
Black Resigns
White threatens to win a Rook with 42 d7 and 43 Bf6.
( 12) MUSE-GROSZPETER
Kecskemet 1990
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 g6
3 Bg5 Bg7
4 Nbd2 d5
You will find that opponents are most likely to play

... d7 -d5 at the moment they fear that White will advance his e
pawn two squares, as in this case, after 4 Nbd2 protects e4.
5 e3 0-0
6 Bd3 Nbd7
7 0-0 ReS
8 e4! dxe4
9 Nxe4 Nxe4
10 Bxe4 c5
1 1 dxc5! Qc7
Black must be careful since 1 1 ... Nxc5? loses material

to the forking trick of 12 Qxd8, Rxd8 13 Bxe7. Now the c5
pawn is doomed - but it can sacrifice itself to mess up Black's
pawns.
Note also that 11 ... Bxb2? is bad because of 12 Rb1

followed by 13 c6, once the Bishop retreats.
12 c6! bxc6
13 c3 NcS
14 Bc2 Ba6
15 Ret Rab8
16 Qcl e5
This last move was B lack's strategic goal since move

1 1 . Because of this toe-hold in the center and the initiative he
has enjoyed for the past four moves, it appears Black has
equalized. However, White now places the e-pawn under re
straint and even makes it a target.
17 b4! Nd3?!
18 Bxd3 Bxd3
1 9 Bh6 Bh8
20 Qe3 Qd7
21 Racl ! e4
22 Nd2!
The Knight heads to c5 by way of b3 now. Black be

lieves he has enough counterplay in the fonn of his mobile e
and f-pawns, but he gets a rude surprise at move 26.
22... BeS
23 Nb3 Qd6
24 g3 fS
25 Nc5 Rb5?
A blunder, but White still has a pull after 25 . . . Bc4 26

Red1 , Qf6 27 Rd2 followed by putting his Bishop at gS or f4
and doubling Rooks on the d-file .
26 f4!
Black Resigns
Since 27 Nxd3 will cost Black a piece.
(13) SMYSLOV-VAGANIAN
Soviet Championship 1988
1 d4 Nf6
!�
2 Nf3
3 Bg5 7
4 Nbd2
5 e3 0-0
6 Bd3 c5
7 c3 Nbd7
8 0-0 Qb6
9 Qc2 Re8
10 c4!
With the Black Knight at d7, rather than c6, White can
afford to make this preemptive strike at the center - before
Black plays 10 ... e5 - since there is no annoying ... Nb4 move by
Black. Now 10 .. . dxc4? 1 1 Nxc4 is excellent for White.
10... cxd4
1 1 exd4 Qc7
12 Rac1 a6
13 Rfe1 e6
14 Bh4!
The Bishop heads for the splendid g3-b8 diagonal. This

repositioning is a common maneuver in the Torre Treatment.
14... b6
15 Bg3 Qc6
16 b4
Played with the idea of securing a passed c-pawn, e.g.

16... Bb7 17 c5! , with advantage. However, White could have
played 16 c5! immediately, since 16... bxc5 17 dxc5 would be
followed strongly by 18 Nd4. Now the game becomes unnec
essarily complicated and Black finds a nice Queen sacrifice to
reduce the White pressure .
16... dxc4
17 Nxc4 Bf8
18 Qb2 Qb5!
19 Nd6 Qxd3
20 Rcdl Qxdl
21 Rxdl Bxd6
22 Bxd6 Bb7
23 Ne5 Rec8
24 h3 Bc6
25 Ret Bb7
26 a3 Nxe5
27 dxe5 Nd5
28 Rxc8ch Rxc8
29 Qd2 K�g7
30 a4 h6
31 aS
The dust has cleared and, although ahead in material,

White has problems in breaking through the enemy defenses.
His greatest problem is activating his King, without which he
has few winning chances. The remainder of the game shows
how hard it is to win a blocked position, even after winning
your opponent's Queen.
31... bxa5
32 bxa5 Bc6
33 Qd4 Bb5
34 Qa7 g5
35 Kh2 Rc2
36 Bc5 Rc4
37 Bb6 Rf4
38 Qb8 Rc4
39 Qd6 Rc6!
40 Qd8 Rc4!
Black has delayed two key winning ideas (40 Bc5 and
41 h4) and White can only try Bishop maneuvers now and
hope he can break through with his h-pawn at some point.
41 Ba7 Rc7!
42 Bb8 Re7
43 h4 Re8
44 Qd6 gxh4
45 Bc7 Rc8
46 Bd8 Rc4
47 Bb6 Rg4
48 Bc5 Kh7
49 Qf8
Draw
A hopelessly fortified Black position. It took a Grand

master to find Black's drawing moves. White missed 16 c5! .
(14) TORRE-KASPAROV
S.W.I.F.T. 1987
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3
3 c3
4 Bg5
it,
d5
5 Nbd2 Nbd7
Of course, S ... cS? ! invites White to take -- and keep

-
an excellent extra pawn. With his next move White passes up

the routine developing moves of his King Bishop and strives
instead to gain Queenside space, while slowing ... c7-c5.
6 b4! ? b6
7 e3 0-0
8 b5
This indicates that he is willing to exchange pawns on

c6 (after a later . . . c7-c6) and probably then play c3-c4xd5 in
order to leave himself with more pawns in the center than
Black. The world champion decides instead to exploit White's
Queenside advance.
8... Qe8!
9 Be2 e5
10 0-0 Bb7
1 1 a4 Ne4
12 Ret a6
13 Bh4 axb5
14 axb5
Black has some prospects of breaking through on the

dark squares of the Kingside. However, 25 Be2 allows White
to meet 25 ... h4 with 26 Nf3. The two men agree to a draw
when there is still life in the position.
25 Be2 Ra3
26 Ret Ra8
27 Rd t Ra3
28 Ret Ra8
29 Rdt Ra3
Draw
White should have played 6 e3, 7 Bd3, and 8 0-0, then

looked at Queenside advances.
Chapter Seven: King's Indian by Black 97
CHAPTER SEVEN
King's Indian by Black
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 g6
We should not ignore the clever trick in move-order

that Black can play here with 2 ... d5. Then he has reached a po
sition usually realized after 1 d4, d5 2 Nf3, Nf6 - while avoid
ing our recommended 2 e3.
If Black does play 2 ... d5 after 1 ... Nf6, White should

continue 3 e3. On most replies (e.g. 3. . . c5, 3 . . . e6) we will reach
a Colle position previously considered in Chapters Four and
Five. But what if Black varies with 3... Bf5?
Then White must choose between reaching a Queen's

Gambit Declined that is similar to - but not exactly the same as
- the one from Chapter One, with 4 c4 (e.g. 4 . e6 5 Qb3). He
. .
can also proceed with 4 Bd3, even though it means the elimi
nation of the so-valued f1-bishop. After 4 Bd3, Bxd3 5 cxd3!
White can proceed with the usual plan of pushing his e-pawn.
For example, 5 ...c6 6 Nbd2, e6 would transpose into

Colle-Bogolyubov, San Remo 1930, which continued 7 o..o,
Be7 8 Re1, 0-0 9 e4, Na6. Now logic suggests that White
should leave his center pawns where they are, hoping Black
will undouble them with ...dxe4.
However, he gets a better game by taking more space in

the center and Kingside with 10 e5! , Nd7 1 1 Nfi after which
Black will eventually need counterplay from the advance of the
c-pawn. The cited game actually went 1 1 ...c5 12 dxc5! , Ndxc5
13 a3, Qd7 14 b4! , Na4 15 Nd4! when it turned out that
White's use of the d4 square by his Knight gave him the only
good Knight-outpost on the board. White stood better.
3 Bg5
In the last chapter we mentioned the Bishop-killing

strategy Black can employ with ... h7-h6 followed by ... g7-g5
and ... Nf6-h5. There is something similar here with 3 ... Ne4.
White should retreat the Bishop to h4, where it turns out to be
safe. The presence of the Knight on e4 will force Black into
some decision after White develops his Knight at d2.
3 ... Bg7
4 Nbd2
There is no urgency to playing this move here, and 4 e3

may be preferable. See Illustrative Game 1 5 .
4 ... d6
With this move Black announces his intention to play

the position as if it was a King's Indian and thereby attack the
center with his e-pawn or c-pawn, while leaving his d-pawn at
d6, for support. One of the more controversial King's Indian
variations that can arise here is the immediate 4 ... c5, after
which 5 Bxf6, Bxf6 6 Ne4! forks the cS-pawn and the f6-
bishop.
Then 6...Bxd4 7 Nxd4, cxd4 8 Qxd4, 0-0 9 Qd2

creates a situation in which White has greater piece control of
the center, thanks his partial opening of the d-file, while Black
has the potential to advance more pawns in the center. After
Chapter Seven : King's Indian by Black 99
9 ... Nc6 10 0-0-0! , QaS 1 1 Nc3, d6 White has a free hand to do

as he pleases and in Yusupov-Gorelov, U.S.S.R. 1981 he was
pleased to take the initiative with 12 h4, Be6 13 Kb1, Rac8 14
e4.
Gary Kasparov has recommended 6 ... Qb6, with the

idea of 7 Nxf6ch, Qxf6 8 e3, b6 and approximate equality.
White can try to get something out of the position with 9 Be2,
Bb7 10 a4 intending 1 1 aS, or with 9 g3.
5 e3
Now Black can play S ... cS without fear of the Bxf6/Ne4

trick as at move four. Play might continue, after S e3, with
S ... cS 6 c3, 0-0 7 Be2, b6 8 0-0, Bb7 and now White can
choose between trying to exploit the Queenside with 9 b4! ? or
9 a4 or 9 Qa4.
After 9 Qa4, Nbd7 10 b4 we have transposed into V.

Kovacevic-Larsen, Bugojno 1984, which turned out well for
White following 10 ... Qc7 1 1 bxcS, bxcS 12 Rab1, Rfc8 12
Qa3.
5 ••• 0-0
Because Black's d-pawn now controls eS, he can try to

exploit White's opening system by "winning the minor ex
change " , that is, a Bishop for a Knight. With S ... h6 6 Bh4, gS 7
Bg3, NbS the Torre Bishop finds itself with no retreat.
However, this mini-success comes with some cost to

Black. He has weakened his Kingside pawn structure substan
tially. After the inevitable ... Nxg3 and hxg3 there will be po
tentially severe weaknesses on squares such as fS, g6, and hS.
Both players often end up castling Queenside, but then

it usually turns out that Black has more to defend on that wing.
For example, 8 c3, e6 9 Bd3, Qe7 10 Qc2, Nc6 1 1 Nb3, Bd7
and now White takes aim at b7 with 12 Nfd2!, Nxg3 13 hxg3,
0-0-0 14 Nc4!, Kb8 1S 0-0-0, fS 16 NcaS, BxaS 17 NxaS, Bc8
18 e4! as in V. Kovacevic-Ree, Plovdiv 1983. Black's Bishops

lack scope .
See Illustrative Games 1 6 and 1 7 for model methods of

exploiting the Kingside weaknesses.
6 Be2
This modest placement of the Bishop is explained by

these two factors: (a) White no longer needs a Bishop to keep a
Black Knight off e4, because that square lacks support from a
Black pawn at dS: and (b) White is trying to avoid a pawn fork
of his minor pieces after ... e7 -e5-e4! .
6... Nbd7
Black has often fianchettoed his Queen Bishop in such

positions, e.g. 6 ... b6, before committing his undeveloped
Knight. One good strategy against this is a4-a4-a5 and a timely
axb6. See Games 17 and 1 8 for an unusual treatment of this.
7 0-0 e5
8 c3
Black cannot advance his e-pawn yet (8. . .e4 ? 9 Nxe4,

Nxe4 ? ? 1 0 Bxd8) but he needs some sort of pawn tension in the
center to enable himself to open lines later. Here a typical plan
for him is 8 ... h6 9 Bh4, Qe8 after which the e-pawn cannot be
held back any further.
Then 10 dxeS? ! , dxeS allows White to meet a subse

quent advance of the e-pawn with Nd4. However, the Knight
would not be able to remain there long since it can be attacked
later by the c-pawn. The exchange on eS only frees Black's
game.
A better plan is 10 Qc2, and if 10...e4 1 1 Net, dS 12 c4

and perhaps Bg3. Then White's Bishop emerges on a fine new
diagonal.
White 's Middlegame Strategy
Accept the fact that Black can close the center with
...e5-e4, but be prepared to re-open it with f2-f3 or c3-c4 de
pending on circumstances. Pawn advances on the Queenside,
particularly a2-a4-a5 are profitable.
Illustrative Games
( 15) KERES-TAIMANOV
U.S.S.R. Championship 1973
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3 g6
3 Bg5 Bg7
4 e3 0-0
5 Be2 d6
6 0-0 Nbd7
7 h3 b6
8 c4! -
Now we see one reason for delaying both the pawn

move c2-c3 and the Knight development Nb1-d2 that so often
characterizes White's play in the Torre Treatment. Those
moves can be dispensed with profitably if White takes advan
tage of Black's decision to enter a full King's Indian formation
(with 5. . . d6). Then White can adopt a different center attitude
with c2-c4 and Nb1-c3! . Black now hurries to occupy e4.
8... Ne4
9 Bh4 Bb7
10 Nfd2! Ndf6
1 1 Nxe4 Nxe4
12 f3 Nf6
13 Nc3 d5
Chapter Seven : King's Indian by Black 103
Black has changed his mind about the center because it

is time to open lines for his Rooks. If he attacks the center with
13 ... c5 White can choose between building up along the d-file
with 14 Qd2 and 15 Radl, or closing matters with 14 d5 and
15 e4.
Also if he plays 13 ... e5, White can try 14 d5 and 15 f4

or simply 14 Qd2.
14 Rc1 c6
15 Qb3 Qd7
16 f4 e6
17 Rfd 1 Ba6
18 Rc2
White sees through the apparent win of two pawns with

18 cxd5, Bxe2 19 dxc6? which fails to 19 ... Bxd1, attacking the
Queen at b3.
18... Bxc4
19 Bxc4 dxc4
20 Qxc4 Rac8
21 Rdc1 b5
22 Qb3!
And here he avoids 22 Nxb5, which works after

22 cxb5 23 Qxc8, Rxc8 24 Rxc8ch, Ne8 25 Rd8! but fails
•.. -
if Black finds the superior 22 Nd5! .

...
Now White maintains his edge in space, but needs an

open file to demonstrate his advantage.
22... Nd5
23 Ne4 h6
24 Bf2 a5
25 a3? a4!
26 Qd3 f5
27 NcS Qd6
28 Qd2 Rfi
29 Nd3
White has played a bit too passively (25 a4 or 25 Qa3

were simpler and better) and the position soon peters out to a
draw. White's bad Bishop discourages him from trying to enter
an endgame.
29... Kh7
30 Ne5 Rfc7
31 Qe2 Bxe5!
32 fxe5 Qe7
33 e4 fxe4
34 Qxe4 Qg5
35 Khl Qf5
Draw
As noted, White's play is too passive on his 25th move.

( 16) LA RSEN-HAIK
Lanzarote 1976
1 d4 Nf6
!f
2 Nf3
3 Bg5
4 e3
5 Nbd2 h6
6 Bh4
7 Bg3 � h5
8 Be2 0-0
9 c3 Bf5
10 0-0 Bg6
1 1 Ne1 ! Nxg3
1 2 hxg3 Nd7
13 Bd3!
Black's ninth and l Oth moves were designed to make

up for the lost pawn support of h5 and fS. However, White's
last move ensures that Black's vital light-squared Bishop will
now be the next piece exchanged. White already stands better.
13... Bxd3
14 Nxd3 c5
15 Qb3 Qc7
16 a4 Rac8
17 dxc5 Nxc5
18 Nxc5 dxc5
19 Nc4 Rfd8
20 Rfd 1 e6
21 e4!
A deceptively simple middlegame is reached. Black has

a Bishop against a Knight but the Knight is well-placed, while
the Bishop's diagonal stops at d4.
To determine who stands better one might ask: What

will the endgame look like? Inevitably most of the heavy
pieces (at least both pairs of Rooks and perhaps Queens as
well) will be traded off along the d-file.
If Queens remain on the board, White will be better be

cause a Queen and a Knight coordinate better than a Queen and
Bishop. And if Queens are traded off leaving just minor pieces
and pawns, White would have a winning plan of bringing his
King to the Queenside, where he can penetrate against the
weakened enemy pawn structure with Kc4. What can Black do
to prevent that? This becomes the issue for the next dozen or so
moves.
21 ... Rxdlch
22 Rxdl Rd8
23 Kh2 Rxdl
24 Qxdl Qc6
25 Qd8ch Bf8?
A blunder. Better was 25 ... Kh7 so that White's edge

could be held to a minimum after 26 Nd6, Qxa4 27 Qe7, Qdl
28 f3. Now, however, Black is lost because White's 27th move
paralyzes.
26 NeS Qd6
27 Nd7! fS
28 eS Qe7
29 Qc8 Kfi
30 Qxb7 Bg7
31 aS Ke8
32 Qc8ch Qd8
33 Qxd8ch Kxd8
34 Nxc5 BxeS
35 Nxe6ch Kd7
36 Nd4 Bxd4
The King-and pawn endgame, of course, is lost, even

though Black's King is much closer to the Queenside.
37 cxd4 Kc6
38 b4 a6
39 Kh3 Kd5
40 bS! axbS
41 a6
Black Resigns.
The King cannot dance at two weddings (41 . . . Kc6 42

d5ch, Kb6 43 d6, etc.)
(17) WIRTHENSOHN-JANSA
Timisoara 1977
1 d4
2 Nf3
3 Bg5
4 Nbd2
5 c3
6 a4! ?
A n odd idea. White intends to gain space o n the Queen

side by pushing the pawn at least to the fifth rank. If Black
plays 6...a5 he will be reluctant to attack the center with a sub-
sequent . .c7-c5 because that would surrender pawn control of
.
b5 to White's minor pieces.
Instead, Black now reverts to the Bishop-trapping plan.
6... h6
�h5
7 Bh4
8 Bg3
9 e3 0-0
10 a5 Nxg3?
A better, although odd-looking idea is 10 ... e6 followed

by 1 1 ..f5, with a threat to push the pawn to f4. Then if White
.
creates an escape square for his Bishop with 12 h3, he allows

12 ... Nxg3, severely disrupting his Kingside pawns.
1 1 hxg3 e6
12 a6 b6
13 Bd3 f5
14 e4!
Of course, Black did not want to exchange pawns on a6

at move 1 2 because that would leave his a-pawn isolated and
vulnerable. Now, however, he avoids 14 ... fxe4 because he's
afraid of 15 Nxe4 with a possible capture on g5, e.g. 15 ... e5?
16 Bc4ch, Kh8 17 Nfxg5 or 15 ...d5 16 Nexg5 ! ?, hxg5 17
Bh7ch.
14 ... f4
15 gxf4 Rxf4
16 Qe2 c5
17 g3 Rti
18 e5!
Black has been unable to develop his Queenside pieces

or make much of an impact on the center. With matters closed,
this has not been a maj or problem for him. But now White
threatens to invade along the weakened light-square diagonals,
e.g. 19 Qe4.
18... Nf8
19 Nc4 d5
1 10 White Opening System
20 Ne3!
Stronger than 20 Nd6 because now it will be impossible

to avoid Ng4xh6ch.
20... c4
21 Bb1 b5
22 Ng4 b4
23 Nxh6ch Bxh6
24 Rxh6 g4
25 Nh2 Rg7
26 Rf6? !
Getting unnecessarily fancy with a temporary sacrifice

of the Exchange to prevent the Black King's escape via f7. The
win would have been relatively routine after 26 Nxg4, e.g.
26... Qg5 27 Nf6ch, Kfi 28 Qd2! .
26... Nd7
27 Nxg4 Nxf6
28 exf6 Rg5
29 f4 Rf5
30 Bxf5 exf5
31 Qe7! Qxe7
32 fxe7 Kf7
33 Nf6 Kxe7
34 Nxd5ch Kd6
35 Nxb4 Bd7
36 0-0-0
Three pawns up White should win once his Rook pene

trates. How often do you see someone castle at move thirty
six?
36... Rh8
37 Nc2 Rh3
38 Ne3! Rxg3
39 Nxc4ch Kd5
40 Nd2 Bb5
41 c4ch! Bxc4
42 Nxc4 Kxc4
43 d5 Rg8
44 d6 Kb5
45 Kc2 ReSch
46 Kb3 Kxa6
47 d7
Black Resigns.
Black loses the King and pawn ending if he plays

.. Kb7-c7 and ... Rxd7, so he can do nothing now while White's
.
King advances.
(18) MALANYUK-KRUPPA
Warsaw 1992
1 d4 Nf6
2 Nf3
3 Bg5
4 Nbd2
ic5�,
5 e3 b6
6 c3 d6
7 a4! Ba6
8 Bb5ch!
White takes advantage of Black's failure to castle. Now

8.. Bxa6 9 bxa6 leaves the a-pawn backward. Worse , of
.
course, is 8 .. Nbd7? 9 Bxa6. Therefore, Black must try to

.
untangle his pieces with retreats.
8... Nfd7
9 0-0 0-0
10 b4! Bb7
1 1 Be2 Na6
12 Qb3 Rb8
13 aS Nc7
14 axb6 axb6
15 Ra7
A graphic illustration of how the plan of Queenside at

tack can pay dividends. Left unchallenged there White will
continue Rfal and Nc4 followed by an invasion by way of
bxcS. B lack's next move is an effort to compete for Queenside
space.
15... b5
16 bxc5 dxc5
17 Bh4 Re8
18 Rb1 Qc8
19 Qa3!
White wins at least a pawn since 19 Ne6 all9ws 20

...
BxbS and 19 cxd4 20 cxd4, e6 21 Ret leaves him vulnerable

...
to the c-file pin.
19 ... c4! ?
20 Bxe7 b4!
21 Rxb4 Bxf3
22 Bxf3 NbS
23 Rxb5 Rxb5
24 g3 Nb6
25 Kg2
Black has, in effect, forced White to play a strong sacri

fice of the Exchange for two pawns. White's last two moves
consolidated his King position and gives him time to break
Chapter Seven: King's Indian by Black 1 13
through Black's defenses with Rb7 and Bc5. Black, semi-des

perate, dies fighting.
25 ... h5
26 Rb7 h4
27 Bxh4 Rf5
28 Rxb6 Rxf3
29 Kxf3 Qf5ch
30 Ke2 Qd3ch
31 Kdl
and White won.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Black Plays The Dutch
Of course, Black has more replies to 1 d4 than 1 d5

...
and l. Nf6. This chapter deals with the chief independent plan
..
for Black, the Dutch Defense characterized by f7-f5 on the

...
first or second move .
1 d4 fS
Note also that Black can disguise his intentions by

playing 1 e6 first, preventing the immediate 2 Bg5. White
..•
should then play 2 Nf3 and 3 Bg5.
And what about other first-m ove alternatives? Most of

them will transpose exactly into one of our previous chapters.
The trick is to find the appropriate second moves. For example.
on 1 d6 or 1 g6, White's best chance to reach one of our pet
... .•.
variations is 2 Bg5, e.g. 1 g6 2 Bg5, Bg7 3 Nf3, Nf6 heading

. •.
for chapters seven and eight, or 3 f5 enters section (a) of this

...
chapter.
Chapter Eight: Black Plays The Dutch 115
The point of this strange-looking move is to stop

Black's normal method of developing in its tracks. Clearly
Black cannot play 2 ... e6? ? now. And if he replies 2 ... Nf6,
White will continue 3 Bxf6! and then 3 ...exf6 4 e3 followed by
exploiting the confused enemy pawn structure.
In such positions White usually continues his own de

velopment with Bd3, Ne2-f4, Qf3 and perhaps h2-h4 or c2-c4,
depending on whether he wants to castle Queenside or not.
For example, after 4 e3, d5 5 Bd3, Bd6 6 Nd2, c6 7

Qf3 Black will have to protect his f-pawn with 7... g6 after
which 8 h4 followed by Queenside castling and the inevitable
h4-h5 should favor White nicely.
He can also play more actively with 5 c4, c6 6 cxd5,

cxd5 7 Nc3 and attack the d-pawn with Nef4 and Be2-f3 or a
normal fianchetto of the Bishop at g2.
After 2 Bg5 B lack's choices are severely limited. For

example 2 ... c6 has the idea of attacking b2 by way of 3 ... Qb6
and thereby freeing B lack's e-pawn to move. But this is very
slow: 2 ... c6 3 c4! and now 3... d6 4 Nc3, Qb6 5 e4 or 4 ... Qc7 5
e4 gives White too much space in the center, and may misplace
the Queen. See Illustrative Game 19.
We'll consider two main lines. (But bear in mind that

many amateur players will play bad moves here, such as
2 . . . Nf6.)
After 1 d4, f5 2 Bg5 we consider:
(a) 2... g6
(b) 2 ... h6 (2 . . . c5 in notes)
(a)
2 •.• g6
This move prepares 3... Bg7 and 4... Nf6 after which
Bxf6 will hold few terrors. The drawback is that it further un
dermines Black's control of dark squares on the Kingside.
Black can also develop in a more straightforward man

ner with 2... d5, but that concedes dark squares in the center.
Then 3 c4 is a reasonable bid for a major advantage, since
Black cannot support his d-pawn with its bliother at e7.
For example, 3 c4, dxc4? 4 e3, Be6 5 Nd2, Nf6 was

played in Whitehead-Kobernet, U.S. Open 1988 and quickly
turned to White's favor after 6 Ngf3, Ne4 7 Nxe4, fxe4 8 Nd2,
Qd5? 9 Bxc4, Qxg5 10 Bxe6!, Qxg2 1 1 Qh5ch ! , g6 12 Qd5
and wins.
And old Tchigorin game from the tum of the century

saw the great Russian master try to untangle his pieces with 3
e3, Qd6?! 4 c4, Qb4ch 5 Qd2, Qxd2ch 6 Nxd2, e6 after
which 7 Ngf3 gives White excellent endgame prospects. But
why not stay in the middlegame with 5 Nc3 instead?
3 Nc3
Chapter Eight: Black Plays The Dutch 1 17
Straightforward development with 4 e4 in mind.
3 ... Bg7
A case can be made for 3 d5 here since White can no

..•
longer attack d5 with a c-pawn. However, 4 h4! , Bg7 5 Nh3!

allows White to dominate the dark squares, e.g. 5 ... h6 6 Bf4,
Be6 7 Qd3, c6 8 Be5, Nf6 9 Nf4 and now Lebredo
Fernandez, Cuban Championship 1983 went 9 ... Bti 10 g4!,
fxg4 11 Nxg6 and 12 h5 with advantage.
See also Illustrative Game 20.
4 e4!
White's lead in development has less value in a closed

position than it does now.
4••• fxe4
5 Nxe4
Now 5 ... Nc6 6 d5, Ne5 permits Black some useful con
trol of the e5 squares, but at a cost in space. After 7 c3, Nf6 8
Nxf6ch, exf6 9 Be3, d6 White proceeds towards an edge with
simple development - 10 Be2, 0-0 11 Nf3, and if 1 1 ... f5 then
12 Qd2, Qf6 13 Nxe5, dxe5 14 f4! , with advantage, as in Ree
Wolff, Palma de Mallorca 1989.
Better for Black is 5 ... d5 first. The 6 Nc3, Nf6 7 Bd3,

Nc6 followed by .. e7-e5 is Black's best bet for equality, White
.
does better to secure control of e5 with 7 h3, and if 7 ... Nc6,

then 8 Bb5.
Win control of e5 and then mine the e-file. The ex

change of pawns on e4 has given you an advantage in space.
Use with by putting a Rook on e 1 and working along the d3-h7
diagonal - or the b3-g8 diagonal - with your Queen and light
squared Bishop.
(b)
(After 1 d4, f5 2 Bg5)
2 ... h6
This by far the most interesting reply to 2 Bg5, since it

threatens to push the Bishop off the side of the board (3 Bh4,
g5 and 4.. .f4). It also begins a subtle competition in which
Blaek thinks he is setting a trap - and so does White.
Note that 2 . c5 is dubious because of 3 dxc5! after

. .
which White will be able to forcefully advance his e-pawn

while Black tries to regain the c-pawn, e.g. 3 ... Na6 4 e4! , fxe4
5 Nc3, Nxc5 6 Be3! and White will dominate the center, or
3 ... Qa5ch 4 Nc3, Qxc5 5 e4, fxe4 6 Qh5ch, g6 7 Qh4, with an
edge in either case .
3 Bh4 g5
Another intriguing possibility is 3 c5, which, it turns

•..
out, is better than 2 . c5 because with the extra 2 . . h6 and 3

.. .
Bh4 moves added B lack threatens to trap the Bishop with g7- ...
g5 after giving his King an escape route ( . . . Qb6 and ... Kd8).
The best answer to 3... c5 is probably 4 e4 (threatening

the mating 5 Qh5ch), Qb6 5 Nc3! . Then 5 ... Qxb2 6 NbS, Na6
7 Rbl ! , Qxa2 8 exf5 is a sound pawn sacrifice for White.
Black's Kingside is then a mess, and that counts more than
White's deserted Queenside, e.g. 8... d6 9 Bd3, c4 10 Be4 or
9 ... Qt7 10 Qe2 (threatening 11 Nxd6ch).
Similarly, 5 ... g5 6 Qh5ch, Kd8 7 Bxg5 and then

7... Qxb2 8 Kd2!, Qxal 9 Qt7 with a winning attack (analysis
by Skembris).
4 Bg3
With 4 e4? White sets a very simple trap (4... gxh4 ? ? 5

Qh5 mate). But after 4... Bg7! it is White who is trapped, since
5 Qh5ch, Kf8 saves Black's King but not White's material (6
Bc4, d5! 7 exd5, Nf6 and 8...gxh4).
4 ••• Bg7
Another old trap is 4 ... f4 5 e3! (threatening mate on h5

once more) h5 6 exf4, h4 and now 7 Bd3 ! , Rh6 8 Qxh5ch!,
Rxh5 9 Bg6 mate, or 7...d6 8 Bg6ch, Kd7 9 Nf3 with a mur
derous attack.
Alternatives to 4... Bg7 are 4... Nf6 and 4... d6, when
White obtains plan on both wings by way of pushing his h- and
c-pawns, e.g. 4 ... d6 5 e3, Nf6 6 h4, Rg8 7 hxg5, hxg5 8 c4! ,
etc.
5 e3 d6
6 h4!
White does not allow Black to consolidate his Kingside.

Now 6 ... Nf6 7 hxgS, hxgS 8 Rxh8ch, Bxh8 9 Nh3! forces
something like 9... g4 10 Nf4, with an obvious penetration of
Black's Kingside holes.
6... g4
7 Nc3
While White proceeds with his development, Black is

still looking for a piece of the center. With 7... e5 he allows a
questionable endgame (8 dxe5 and 9 Qxd8ch as in Illustrative
Game 2 1 ) . But without pushing his e-pawn he has trouble
keeping an obnoxious Knight off of the key f4 square.
Exploit the Kingside holes, particularly f4 and g6.

White may want to "artificially isolate" the Black g-pawn by
playing his own h-pawn to the fifth rank. Then he can attack g4
with f2-f3 without fear of Black reinforcing g4 with ...h6-h5.
The result of f2-f3 will be a favorable exchange of pawns, ei
ther on f3 or g4 .
Illustrative Games
(19) CEBALO-V. KOVACEVIC

Yugoslav Championship 1984
1 d4 f5
2 Bg5 c6
3 c4 Qb6
4 Qd2 d6
5 Nc3 h6
6 Be3
This looks like Grandmaster-versus-beginner, rather

than a game from a national championship. The Bishop retreat
interferes with White's e-pawn, but this is only temporary, as
his next few moves show. Black simply has no development.
6... Nf6
7 f3! Qa6
8 b3 e5
9 Bf2 Nbd7
10 e3 Qa5
1 1 Bd3 g6
12 Nge2
White's development is so smooth - especially when

compared with Black's tortured attempts to get his pieces off
the first rank - that it is hard to fault his play. However, 12 g4!
is even more effective, since Black cannot maintain his f5
point for long, e.g. 12 ... fxg4 13 Bxg6ch, Kd8 14 fxg4 with ad
vantage, or 12 ...e4? 13 Nxe4.
12 ... Be7
13 0-0 0-0
14 h3 Nh7
15 Rad1 Kg7
16 Qb2 Bf6
17 b4 Qd8
18 Qc2 Qe7
Note how difficult it is -for Black to bring his Queenside

pieces into play. He doesn't want to allow a strong dxe5 but -
he doesn't want to open the e-file for his opponent by way of

... exd4, either.
19 Rfe1 Bh4
20 Ng3! Kh8
21 Kh2 ReS
22 dxe5 Nxe5
23 Bfi Be6
24 f4!
A strong pawn sacrifice. Now 24 ... Nfi 25 e4 allows

White to overwhelm the center without compensation.
24 ... Nxc4
25 e4 Qfi
26 Bxc4 Bxc4
27 exf5 Bxg3ch
28 Bxg3 Qxf5
29 Qxf5! gxf5
30 Rxd6
The endgame is won, despite the B ishops of opposite

color, as the next few moves and the further penetration of
White's Rook demonstrates. Black's Knight is doomed to hug

the edge of the board.
30 ... Rxel
31 Bxel h5
32 Bf2! aS
33 bxaS Rxa5
�r:
34 Bd4ch
35 Rg6ch
36 Rg7 Bg8!?
37 Rxb7 Ke8
38 Rg7 Kf8
39 Rc7 Ra6
40 BeSch Ke8
41 Re7ch
Black Resigns
In view of 41. .. Kf8 42 Ra7ch or 41. .. Kd8 42 Rg7, Nf6

43 Be7ch ! .
(20) V. KOVACEVIC-KRISTIANSEN
Plovdiv 1983
1 d4 f5
2 Bg5 g6
:c'
3 Nc3 d5
4 h4
5 e3
6 Bd3 Be6
That's an odd-looking square for Black's light-square

Bishop, but after ... t7-f5 and ... d7-d5, there weren't any ideal
squares. Now, the Nh3-f4 development, would lock in White's
Bishop on g5 and make it vulnerable to ...h7-h6. Instead,
White sets his sights on a push of his h-pawn to loosen the
Kingside light-squares. He can always bring the other Knight
to f4 via e2.
7 Nf3 Nd7
8 h5 Ngf6
9 hxg6 hxg6
10 Rxh8ch Bxh8
1 1 Ne2 Bt7
12 Nf4 Ne4
13 Ke2!
A nice idea, clearing the way for the Queen to enter the
Kingside at h 1 , e.g. 13 ... Bf6 14 Bxf6 and 15 Qh1 . The King is
perfectly safe on e2 because of the blocked center - even after
he continues the attack with a timely advance of his g-pawn.
13 ... Nf8?
14 Qh1 Bf6
15 Bh6 Ne6
16 g4! fxg4
17 Nd2 Nxf4ch?
Black stands worse - but far from lost - after 17 .. N xd2

.
18 Kxd2, Qa5ch and 19 Kd7 ! , where the King is much safer

...
than on e8. It would even be safer on c8 than in the game.
18 Bxf4 Nxd2
1 9 Kxd2 QaSch
20 Ke2 0-0-0? !
ft�6
21 a4!
22 Bg3
23 Qb1 !
White now hopes to penetrate along the b-file after b2-

b4, and if 23... Qb4, then 24 c3, Qb3 25 Ra3. Notice how
White's Bishops have clean diagonals, but Black's Bishops are
severely restricted. This prompts B lack's semi-desperate bid for
space at move 26.
23... Rf8
24 b4 Qd8
25 Ra3 Bd7
26 Rc3 e5! ?
2 7 dxe5 Bg7
28 b5 Qa5
29 Qb3 Rf3
30 ReS! b6
31 e6!
A decisive sacrifice. Note that White had threatened 31

bxc6, QxcS 32 Qxb7ch before black's 30... b6.
31... bxc5
32 exd7ch Kxd7
33 bxc6ch Ke6
Or 33 ... Kxc6 34 BbSch, Kb6 35 QxdS and a quick

mate.
34 Qb7! Rxg3
35 Qd7ch Kf6
36 Qd6ch
B lack Resigns.
Because of 36... Kfi 37 Bg6ch, Kg8 38 Qe6ch, Kh8 39

Qe8ch and mates.
(21) LPUTUAN-TSEITLIN
Sochi 1985
1 d4 fS
2 BgS h6
3 Bh4 g5
4 Bg3 B,g7
5 e3 d6
6 h4 g4
7 Nc3 e5
8 dxe5 dxe5
9 Qxd8ch Kxd8
10 0-0-0ch
Now White might continue 1 1 hS! cutting off Black's

g-pawn from support from it's brother at h6. He could then
continue 12 f3 to break up Black's Kingside and later occupy
the h4-d8 diagonal with his Bishop.
10... Bd7
1 1 Bc4 c6
12 Rd6 Ne7
13 Nge2 b5
14 Bb3 hS
15 Rhd1 aS
Harassing the B ishop is Black's only counterplay. If he

tries to complete his development with 15 ... Kc7, White replies
16 Be6! after which the attempt to close the dangerous d-file
with 16 ... Nd5 permits 17 NxbSch ! , cxbS 17 R1xd5 with an ob
vious advantage .
White's next move forces an additional concession -
the surrender of control of d4. Black could not reply 16... gxf3
(to 16 f4) because 17 gxf3 followed by 18 e4 and Bf2-c5!
would be too strong.
16 f4! e4
17 Nd4 Bxd4
18 R6xd4 c5
19 Rxd7ch!
Forced (by the threat of 1 9. . . c4) but also quite strong.

White gets a pawn and overwhelming threats in return for the
Exchange.
19 ... Nxd7
20 Be6 Ra7
21 Nxb5! Rh6
Black returns material to break the pin. After 21 ... Rb7

White wins with 22 Nd6 followed by picking off one of the
Rooks (22 Nxb7ch or 22 Nj7ch).
The rest is purely mop-up as White's "bad Bishop" at

g3 turns out to be a pretty good one when it reaches e1 and at
tacks aS.
22 Nxa7 Rxe6
23 a4 Ng6
24 Bel Ra6
25 NbS Ne7
26 Nd6 Kc7
27 Nc4 Nc6
28 b3 Ra8
29 Rd5 Ne7
30 Rd6
B lack Resigns.
Black must shed another pawn or allow the Rook to

penetrate his defenses at h6 and h7.
EDITOR'S NOTE
The author gave you enough analysis to play the system

immediately. After you have mastered this edition and want
more extensive analysis, consider these four books:
Winning With The Colle System-Ken Smith & John Hall

Stonewall Attack- Andrew Soltis
How To Play The Torre Attack-Eric Schiller
Contemporary Anti-Dutch- Andrew Martin
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Andrew Soltis

Chess Digest, I nc.

All rights reserved under Pan American and Inter­

Author: Andrew Soltis

Publisher: Chess Digest, Inc.� 1 60 1 Tantor, (P.O. Box 59029)

CHAPTER EIGHT 114

( 1 ) Aggressive but not foolhardy

After a while the novice player learns that this is an im­

There are, however, some universal systems of de­

White's pieces coordinate beautifully. He controls all

Compared with other typical systems of development,

Typical of how quickly - and effortlessly - White can

White maintains the Bishop on the "mating diagonal" ,

b4xc3. That creates a target on c3 that will be more important

How wrong he was.

Black simply cannot allow 10 eS, which would grant

The difference between the two camps is that there is a

This means that White, after 11 Re 1 in the above se­

A move ago, after 1 1 Qe2, White had threatened 12

Now that B lack has protected the Knight, White has a

turned out in the post-game analysis, Black absolutely had to

There was no other way to block the diagonal. Black

It was vital to prevent the King from escaping to the

Now after the forcing 18 ... Kf6 19 Bh5! B lack is faced

The threat is simply 22 Bg5 mate and there is no longer

escape - but it costs material after 22 dxe5ch and 23 Bxg7.

So simple. At least it seemed so at the time.

But, as noted before, White cannot always plan on, for

An example of what can go wrong is the game Colle­

However, 8 e4 was met b y 8 cxd4! . Colle saw that the

move he usually wanted to play in such positions, 9 cxd4, did

after the attacked Bishop retreated with 1 1 Bc2, there came

impressive system. And the Colle System, which had seemed

There are two maj or modifications for White. One is to

The advance of one insignificant pawn would not seem

And since he will not be pushing his e-pawn without a

PILLSBURY vs MAJOR HANHAM

White's attack proceeds naturally. Black had one ex­

There are no automatic moves in such a position and

White would have to retake on d4 immediately.

The game is largely decided now: White has an extra

24 Rxg7ch. Black's King is therefore forced to f8, behind the

This formation, another version of the Model De­

With his first rank cleared of minor pieces, White is in

Black acts to prevent White from occupying the center

This move is played with the idea of restraining Black

fore turns his attention to the c-pawn. Here, however, 7 c5 is

risky because of 8 bxc5! , bxc5 9 Qa4 after which W hite con­

Black is still having doubts about the wisdom of c7-

c5 or of preparing e7 -e5. The former allows bxc5 and Rb 1

by White. The later (e.g. 9. . . Re8 followed by 1 O.. e5) may

create a problem some pin because of the Bishop at g5.

The text move, however, leads to a dubious change in

A bad plan, as Frank Marshall once said, is better than

It appears B lack has emerged from the opening without

weaknesses on the light squares. And this becomes clear after a

Black saw that 20 ... Re8 21 Qh3 threatening 22 Nxg5

As drastic a defeat as former Champion Walter Browne

All rights reserved under Pan American and Inter

After a while the novice player learns that this is an im

There are, however, some universal systems of de

This means that White, after 11 Re 1 in the above se

An example of what can go wrong is the game Colle

White's attack proceeds naturally. Black had one ex

This formation, another version of the Model De

risky because of 8 bxc5! , bxc5 9 Qa4 after which W hite con

A spectacular illustration o f how vulnerable the Queen

The humble 5 ... Bc8 clearly is a step in the wrong di

In the endgame, Black will have the better Bishop - be

Worse was 44... Bxb4 45 Bxb4, Rxb4 46 Qd6! , attack

White has winning chances in the Bishop-versus

2 e6 does. But there is another problem with 2 c6. Black of

White can, if he prefers, play 5 Nf3 (Colle) as in Chap

This move creates a double-Stonewall with these fea