Co-operation between pieces and pawns

The co-operation between pieces (and pawns) can take many different forms, can be
evident or hidden, positional or tactical. Therefore, it is possible to make various
categorizations of the co-operation but this would be merely unpractical.

In chess, even the smallest difference between a XABCDEFGHY

position and another may change a lot the
evaluation. 8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
For example, in this position from the game Tal – 6-+-+nzp-+&
Averkin, 1973, Black is threatening to capture the
h4-pawn creating a dangerous marginal free pawn, 5+-+-zpk+p%
but White wins instantly by 1.Nd5!! This could be 4RsNr+-+-zP$
labeled as a “tactical co-operation” between the
white knight, Ke3 and the f3- and h4- pawns. 3zP-+-mKP+-#
However, almost every piece and pawn, both white 2-zP-+-+-+"
and black, takes part to create this possibility. If the
black knight was not on e6, for example, the general
1+-+-+-+-!
evaluation of the position would have been totally xabcdefghy
different. White is to move

In fact, the only criterion to tell if there is a good harmony between pieces is the concrete
situation on the board.

The co-operation between pieces leads to even XABCDEFGHY

paradoxical situations.
Look at this position where Black has the material 8-+-+-+-mk(
advantage of a queen for a bishop but he cannot win. 7+-+-+-snp'
The co-operation of white pieces is extremely 6-+-vL-+-sN&
efficient and, in the same time, the black king,
knight and pawn create a negative situation. 5+-+-+-zP-%
4-+-+-+-+$
In practice, there are rare situations when the co-
operation between pieces is perfect. More or less, 3+-+-+-+-#
some pieces will obstruct others, some of them 2K+-+-+-+"
cannot take part to the battle and so on.
The 2 players continuously try to reach the best
1+-+-+q+-!
possible harmony against one or more weaknesses xabcdefghy
in opponent’s camp or for defending the own Black is to move
position.

We talked in several circumstances about the co-operation between pieces. In this lesson
we will examine the co-operation between pieces and pawns.

1
Morrison – Capablanca, 1918 XHGFEDCBAY
The kings are castled oppositely, the development of
forces is finished and White has space advantage in 1-+-tRRmK-+!
the center. By now, we can say that White is slightly 2zPPzP-wQPzPP"
better but the assessment is not complete… 3-+N+-sN-+#
After a concrete analyze of the position, we can tell
that white bishops have no purpose. They are as 4vL-+P+-+-$
from another movie… 5-+-+-+L+%
12…g5!!
…especially after this move. The h4-bishop was 6zppsn-zpn+-&
helping White in the fight for the important d5- 7-vlp+lzppzp'
square. Now, the bishop is chased away on g3 from
where it will “attack” the stonewall c7-d6 formation.
8+k+rwq-+r(
In the same time, Black’s move is weakening his xhgfedcbay
king’s protection a lot. In Capablanca’s times, when Black is to move
the kings were castled on different flanks, the only
commonly accepted strategy of play was the direct attack. However, Capablanca
evaluates that the vulnerability of his king will be less important than the obstructed
position of the g3-bishop.
13.Bg3 Nh5 14.Nd5 a6!
The second bishop is chased away. On b5, the white bishop was doing almost nothing,
but on d3 the bishop will do something “important”: will obstruct his major pieces
closing the open d-file.
15.Bd3 Be6!
Black puts pressure on d5 – a strong point for …White! This can be a way to determine
the moment when a player seizes the initiative: when he succeeds to exert real pressure
against the strong squares of his opponent.
16.c3
White cannot move toward f5 because the a2-pawn is hanging: 16.Ne3 Bxa2 17.b3 a5
16...f5!!
This was too much for that time. Even the modern masters of nowadays dynamic chess
would have serious reserves about such a move, even they would ever consider it.
Doesn’t this still demonstrate the greatness of Capablanca?
Instead of trying to attack on the queenside, Black puts his kingside pawns into motion
against the white g3-bishop.
17.h4 f4 18.hxg5 hxg5!
Black doesn’t take the bishop by 18...fxg3 because the future is uncertain after 19.gxh6
Be5 20.Rh1 Bxd5 21.Rxh5. Capablanca keeps playing following the initial plan without
changing the character of the position without a serious reason.
19.Rh1 Bf7 20.Kb1 Ne5!
The fight is opened on the kingside so the reserves enter the fight. Besides, the d5-
knight’s position becomes insecure as Black creates the possibility of playing c7-c6
anytime.
21.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.Bh2 Nf6!
A symphony of perfect strategy. The marginal knight did his job freeing the f-pawn, not
it’s time to come back and trade the best white piece.

2
23.g3!
White reacts correctly trying to complicate the position and also to open his closed
bishop. However, Black wins a pawn and succeeds to simplify the position keeping the
material advantage.
23…Nxe4 24.Bxe4 Rxe4 25.gxf4 c6!
As a consequence of the move Nc6-e5, the pawn is free and chases the white knight. The
weakness of the d6-pawn is annihilated by the attack Black starts against the white king.
26.Ne3 Qa5 27.c4 Qxd2 28.Rxd2 gxf4 29.Ng4 Bg6 and White resigned in a couple of
worthless moves.

Black’s co-operation between pieces and pawns was highly evident in this game. Let’s
see again some of the ideas:
- Black used the moves a7-a6 and g6-g5 to send White’s bishops in unfortunate
positions (Bg3 closed by the c7-d6 formation, Bd3 closed by the e4-pawn and
obstructing the major pieces)
- The advance of the kingside pawns was possible due to the excellent positions of
the black bishops on e6 and g7 supervising 2 long diagonals, the center and also
protecting the kingside.
- The moves Nf6-h5 and Nc6-e5 cleared the way for the pawns: f7-f5 and c7-c6
- f7-f5 and c7-c6 demolished White’s space advantage and his control over the d5-
square

Like we said in the beginning of the lesson, the co-operation of pieces is not always so
clear like in our first example.
In this position from the game Fischer – Rubinetti, XABCDEFGHY
1970, White observed something imperceptible for
many chess players. 8r+-wqkvl-tr(
There are 2 motifs in this position that allowed 7+l+-+pzp-'
Fischer to start decisive operations: 6p+-zppsn-zp&
- Black’s king in the center
- the c5-knight has few squares at disposal and can 5+psn-+-+-%
become a target being in an advanced position. 4-+-sNP+-vL$
12.Bd5!
White forces the opening of the e-file with the price 3+LsN-+-+-#
of a bishop. Also, the b-pawn is now free to move. 2PzPP+-zPPzP"
12…exd5 13.exd5+ Kd7
Forced (13...Be7 14.Nf5) but now the black knight
1tR-+QtR-mK-!
cannot go back on d7. xabcdefghy
14.b4! Na4 15.Nxa4 bxa4 16.c4 White is to move
Only now White’s plan became clear. In exchange
for a piece, White got 2 pawns but which create a compact, mobile formation which go
directly toward the black king. In fact, White can create at least a free pawn that Black
cannot stop as he must protect the king. The game continued:
16…Kc8 17.Qxa4 Qd7 18.Qb3 g5 19.Bg3 Nh5 20.c5 dxc5 21.bxc5 Qxd5 [21...Bxd5
22.Qc2 Nxg3 23.hxg3 with big advantage] 22.Re8+ Kd7 23.Qa4+ Bc6 24.Nxc6 1–0

3
Euwe – Najdorf, 1953 XABCDEFGHY
Probably you already know this position but it is an
excellent example of co-operation pieces-pawns. 8rsnl+-trk+(
9.d6!! 7zpp+p+pvl-'
The white pawn in cut off from the other pawns and 6-+-+-wqpzp&
therefore it becomes a weakness. In the same time,
White clears the d5-square and opens the long 5+-zpPzp-+-%
diagonal for his bishop. However, the most 4-+P+-+-+$
important benefit is not the increased activity of the
white pieces but the obstruction of Black’s play: 3+-sN-+-zP-#
- the c8-bishop and a8-rook will come harder 2PzP-+PzPLzP"
into play;
- Black will have problems in the fight for the
1tR-+QmK-sNR!
center. The advance f7-f5 will weaken his xabcdefghy
light-squares on the kingside. White is to move
9…Nc6 10.e3 b6 11.Bd5!
White disposes his pieces in the best attacking positions. The knight will come on e4 and
a pawn storm on the kingside will begin. Here, you can see that as a consequence of
White’s 9.d6, Black has no good control over the center and consequently the defense of
the kingside becomes critical. Black must play f7-f5 even if this will bring weaknesses in
his position as the light-square bishop is out-of-play.
11…Kh8 12.Ne4 Qd8 13.h4
The center is under White’s total control and the pawn attack has just begun. At the
moment, Black defends his kingside with a bishop… It is very interesting that Black did
not make any real mistake but White took the initiative playing in an aggressive style.
13…f5 14.Ng5!
The h4-pawn supports the knight on the attacking g5-position. Here, the co-operation
piece-pawn has only one direction as the pawn supports the knight, but this immobilizes
the pawn. However, White does have reserves and so another pawn will advance to open
the kingside.
14…Bb7 15.g4
After 15.Nf7+? Rxf7 16.Bxf7 Nb4 followed by Qf6 and e4, Black has the initiative
15…e4
Because White controls the light-squares, Black needs the g7-square to be cleared for his
king. So 15…e4 was forced in order to gain squares for his g7-bishop. As a consequence
the f4-square became free for the second white knight:
16.Ne2 Bxb2 17.Nf4
White forces reached the maximum activity.
17…Qf6
It is interesting that after 17...Bxa1 the winning move is not 18.Qxa1+? but 18.Nxg6+!
Kg7 19.gxf5! with big complications. However, it is far beyond the subject of this lesson
to give hundreds of variations.
The game continued: 18.gxf5 Bxa1 19.Nxg6+ Kg7 20.Nxe4 Bc3+ 21.Kf1 Qxf5 22.Nf4
Kh8 23.Nxc3 Rae8 24.Nce2 Rg8 25.h5 Rg5 26.Ng3 Rxg3 27.fxg3 Rxe3 28.Kf2 Re8
29.Re1 Rxe1 30.Qxe1 Kg7 31.Qe8 Qc2+ 32.Kg1 Qd1+ 33.Kh2 Qc2+ 34.Ng2 Qf5
35.Qg8+ Kf6 36.Qh8+ Kg5 37.Qg7+ 1–0

4
In closed positions (the center is closed), the attacks on flanks must begin with a pawn
assault in order to destroy opponent’s pawn protection, gain space on that side and open
the lines for the own pieces, so the co-operation between pieces and pawns is not optional
but compulsory.

Shamkovich – Nezhmetdinov, 1961 XHGFEDCBAY

A typical King’s Indian position where the attacks
on flanks are more than strong; they are rather 1-mKR+QtR-+!
unstoppable and the first factor is the speed of attack 2zPPvLL+-+P"
19…g4 20.Nxa7 Bd7 21.a4 g3! 3-+P+-+-+#
Without the advance of the pawns, Black pieces
would be hopeless. The g-pawn attacks the critical 4+-zpP+NzP-$
f2- and h2- squares and also creates space for the 5pzp-zpP+N+%
pieces. 22.Bb6 Qe7 23.Kh1 Rh7 24.Nb5 Ng4!
The knight is indirectly defended: 25.fxg4 hxg4 6+nsn-zp-+-&
26.h3 gxh3 27.Kg1 hxg2 28.Kxg2 Rh2+ 7-+r+-+pzp'
25.h3 Qh4 26.Qd2 Ne3
The black pieces penetrated White’s camp and there
8+kvl-wql+r(
is no way to stop Bxh3. xhgfedcbay
27.Bd3 Bxh3 28.gxh3 g2+ Black is to move
The black pawns continue their march!
29.Kg1 gxf1Q+ 30.Bxf1 Qg3+ 31.Bg2 Nh4 32.Qf2 Nexg2 33.Qxg3+ fxg3 0–1

Suetin – Bondarevsky, 1963 XABCDEFGHY

White has the bishop-pair but his actions are limited
by the e4-pawn. Without that pawn, the light-square 8-+r+-trk+(
bishop would gain much more scope and the e-file 7+-+-vlp+p'
could be used by rooks. 6-+-zpn+p+&
So, White invites Black to take that pawn:
1.Bc4! Qxe4 2.Bd5 Qe5 3.Qf3 Rce8 4.Rde1 Qg7 5+-+-wq-zP-%
5.Qg4 Bd8 6.Bg1 4-zp-+P+-zP$
and Black is almost in zugzwang.
However 6.Bd4! would have win on the spot: 3+P+LvL-+-#
6…Qxd4 7.Qxd4 Nxd4 8.Bxf7+ 2-zPP+Q+-+"
The game continued:
6...Re7 7.Ka2 Rfe8 8.Rf6 h5 9.Qc4 Nc7 10.Rxe7
1+K+R+R+-!
Rxe7 11.Rxd6 Qf8 12.Rxg6+ 1-0 xabcdefghy
White is to move

Until now we talked about the co-operation. In the above example you could see how a
pawn obstructed the cooperation of pieces but it was sacrificed. In the end of the lesson
let’s examine a position where there is no-cooperation between pieces and pawns.

5
Beliavsky - Tarjan, 1979 XABCDEFGHY
The black pawns advanced on the fifth rank give
Black some space advantage and therefore his 8r+-+-trk+(
position looks very well. However, this is not true. 7+-+-vl-zpp'
In fact, the black pawns do not have the necessary 6p+-+q+-+&
support from their pieces to have such advanced
positions. Especially the d5-pawn is weak (Black 5+pzppzPpsn-%
has no light-square bishop) and cannot be advanced. 4-+-+-+-+$
17.a4!
White undermines Black’s pawn structure and gains 3+-zP-+P+-#
control over the a-file. The threat is to gain a pawn 2PzPL+-+PzP"
by: 18.axb5 axb5 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Bxg5 (or
20.Qd3) 20...Bxg5 21.f4 Be7 22.Bxf5 Qxf5
1tR-vLQ+RmK-!
23.Qxd5+, so Black is forced to leave the file: xabcdefghy
17…Rad8 18.axb5 axb5 19.Qe2 White is to move
Forcing black pawns to advance, White gains the
control over important central squares.
19…c4
After 19...Qc6 20.Ra7, White’s threats are very unpleasant.
20.Be3 b4
This was not necessary but Black has nothing else to do. He is in a strategical zugzwang
(theoretically there is not such a thing). We can say that White has the initiative: he can
improve his position move by move (we will see how) and Black has no useful moves.
21.Qd2 b3 22.Bd1 h6 23.h4! Nf7 24.f4!
Finesse of grandmaster! By his last 2 moves, White put his pawns on dark-squares
limiting his own bishop but also Black’s only bishop. In the same time, the importance of
light-squares was drastically increased (so as White’s light-square bishop).
The question is: does White want to block the kingside? Moves like h4 and f4 give the
feeling that this is White’s intention but this is far from true. Because of his control over
light-squares (including g4 and h5), White started in fact a pawn assault on the kingside.
The threat is 25.g4 which attacks what else than the …light-squares.
Also look at the f7-knight which is highly obstructed. In fact, this knight will do
absolutely nothing in the next fight.
24…g5
Black cannot take the pawn: 24...Bxh4 because White gains the d5-pawn after 25.Bf3 and
Rfd1 and then the e5-pawn is unblocked. By 24…g5 he tries to complicate the struggle in
hope for some luck in tactical complications.
25.Bd4 Kh7
Black has no chance to block the kingside: 25...g4 because of 26.Bxg4 fxg4 27.f5 and e6.
26.g4!
The kingside is under tension but only White can take benefit of that because the quality
of his light-square bishop versus the black knight. The game continued:
26…gxh4 27.Kh1 Rg8 28.Qe3 Rd7 29.Be2 Nd8 30.Ra8 h5 31.g5 Nb7 32.Ra7 Nd8
33.Rxd7 Qxd7 34.Qf3 Qe6 35.Ra1 Kg7 36.Ra5 Nc6 37.Rxd5 Rc8 38.Bc5 Nd8 39.Bxe7
Qxe7 40.Qxh5 Ne6 41.Qh6+ Kg8 42.Bf3 Nxf4 43.Rd6 Rd8 44.Bd5+ Nxd5 45.Rg6+ Kf7
46.e6+ 1–0

6
Like we said in the beginning of the lesson, the co-operation between pieces and pawns is
rarely perfect. It is rather relative in the conjuncture of the fight.

However, from the examined positions, you could observe something important: while
one of the players succeeds to increase the harmony between his pieces, the second
player’s pieces are starting to lose in vitality.
In the games: Morrison – Capablanca, Euwe – Najdorf and even Beliavsky - Tarjan, the
advantage was brought by fighting against the opponent’s co-operation. This technique of
play (“anti-play”) will be examined in detail in a next lesson.