Dynamic in Chess

You surely heard many times about the dynamic of the pieces, a concept which is not
easy to be defined, but it is a factor of first importance in chess.
We can call that the pieces have a good dynamic when:
- All or most of the pieces are placed in active positions;
- Critical squares and lines are controlled;
- The pieces cooperate well in reaching a certain objective.

A good dynamic of the pieces is not like “a rook is good on an open file”, “a knight is
good in the center…” but something more complex and not always very clear. Also, it is
not easy to be trained but it keeps more by the player’s natural talent; of course, the
experience can complement this positional feeling in some extent.

In this position from the game Larsen - Radulov, XABCDEFGHY

1973, White has much better pieces than Black: the
rooks create pressure in the center, the bishops see 8-+-wq-trk+(
both flanks and the Black’s kingside is weak. But 7zpltrnvlp+p'
this is not enough for Black to resign; White must 6-+-+-+p+&
seek concrete attacking ideas. It is important to
visualize where you would like to have the pieces 5+-zpp+-+-%
attacking a certain target. 4-+-+-+-+$
White starts a specific attack against the “hanging
pawns”, but also preparing an important 3+PvLLzPN+-#
improvement of the position of the pieces: 2P+Q+-zPPzP"
17.e4! Qa8
17...d4 is not good because of 18.Bxd4
1+-tRR+-mK-!
18.Qd2!! xabcdefghy
White is threatening to play 19.Qh6 Bf6 20.Ng5. White is to move
Larsen improves the position of the queen which
comes on the kingside and will act extremely active in perfect harmony with the other
pieces. NOW we can say that White has a good dynamic.
18…Bf6 19.Qf4
Already the white pieces create problems in Black’s camp. The double attack against c7
and f6 forces Black to play hazardous moves.
19…Qd8 20.Ba5
Not the best move. White could get more by 20.exd5! Bxc3 (20...Bxd5 21.Ba5 Nb6
22.Bc4) 21.d6 Rc8 22.Rxc3.
20...Nb6 21.b4?
Again 21.exd5 Rd7 22.Bb5 Rxd5 23.Rxd5 Bxd5 24.Rxc5 was better. Black could
complicate matters now by: 21...Bb2! 22.Rxc5 (22.Rb1 Bc3 23.exd5 cxb4) 22...Rxc5
23.bxc5 dxe4 24.Be2 Nd5 25.Qd2 Qf6
21...Be7? Now, White is winning: 22.exd5 Bd6 23.Qh6 cxb4 [23...f6 24.bxc5 Bxc5
25.h4] 24.Ng5 f5 25.Ne6 Qd7 26.Rxc7 If 26…Bxc7 27.Qxf8#. Black resigned. 1–0

1
Zita - Bronstein, 1946 XHGFEDCBAY
Another position where we can say that Black has a
dynamic position and should find a way to seize the 1-mK-tR-+R+!
initiative. Qb6 and Bg7 exert X-ray action on d4, 2zPLzP-wQ-vLP"
and all the other black pieces are active. However, it 3-zP-+-sNP+#
is not so obvious where Black can attack.
Like we said, it is essential to formulate a plan 4+-+PsNP+-$
according to the objectives you can attack in the 5-+-+-sn-zp%
opponent’s position. Try to find the best place for
each piece taking into consideration the general plan 6+psn-zppwq-&
of action. 7pvlp+-+p+'
After Nf6-g4, the long diagonal is opened, with
increased pressure on d4, and the couple Qb6 with
8+k+r+l+r(
Ng4 exerting X-ray attack on f2. So Nf6-g4 is a xhgfedcbay
move that increases the dynamic of black pieces. Black is to move
Black needs to find something useful for the c5-
knight which blocks Qb6 diagonal. First of all, we observe that Nc5-d3 would attack f2,
b2 and e1 – so this is a resource that Black can use in some variations.
Nc5 also attacks b3 – a square that is now well defended by white pieces but can be
undermined by a5-a4xb3.
Nd4 and Qd2 play too many roles (are overloaded). The queen alone defends f2, d4 and
d3 – squares. Nd4 in the interaction of 2 diagonals and also defends b3.
All these characteristics of the position can be observed by a grandmaster in a couple of
seconds.
Before starting the attack with Ng6-g4, Black needs to create another weakness in
White’s camp: the b3-square – which will be attacked by the b3-knight. Only this way,
ALL his pieces will participate to the attack with maximum their potency.
14...a4! 15.Ba1
White defends the b3-pawn with the rook.
15…axb3!
After this exchange, the a8-rook is active as well. After a2xb3, the b1-rook will be
overloaded by the defense of Ba1 and b3-pawn.
16.axb3 Ng4!
Black’s piece collaboration reached the maximum level. The targets are clear: f2, d4, d3,
b3. Try to find a good move for White and you will feel the tension to which his pieces
are exposed.
17.h3
After 17.b4, Black wins with 17…Nd3!! 18.Qxd3 Bxd4
Maybe the best move for White was 17.Red1 defending the d4-square.
17...Rxa1!
This sacrifice of an exchange is the preparation of the next strike: Nxf2. Black wants to
have the possibility of Nxb3
18.Rxa1 Nxf2 19.Re3 There was no defense: 19.Kxf2 Nxb3 or 19.Qxf2 Nd3
Black is winning:
19...Nxh3+ 20.Kh2 Nf2 21.Rf3 Ncxe4 22.Qf4 Ng4+ 23.Kh1 f5 24.Nxe4 Rxe4 25.Qxd6
Rxd4 26.Qb8 Rd8 27.Ra8 Be5 28.Qa7 Qb4 29.Qa2 Qf8 30.Bh3 Qh6 0–1

2
In the 2 positions before, the center was not closed and therefore the pieces navigated
easily on the board. In closed positions, the pieces are somehow restricted by the blocked
pawn structure and consequently the “dynamism” is not so much felt. Even if it is not the
same thing, there is a connection between “dynamic pawn structure” (not closed
structures) and “dynamic piece play”.

However, the dynamism still plays an important role XABCDEFGHY

even in closed position.
In this position from the game Reshevsky – 8-+-+-tr-mk(
Botvinnik, 1948, the center is closed and White has 7zp-+qsn-+p'
a clear advantage on the kingside because of the 6-zpn+p+pzP&
weaknesses on dark-squares.
All white pieces are active and the attacking idea 5+-+pzPp+-%
found by Reshevsky combines the attack on dark- 4-+rzP-+-+$
squares (Bd2-g5-f6), the pressure against the e6-
pawn (Rc1-e1, Ne2-f4), and mating attacks that start 3zP-+Q+-tR-#
with Nxg6+. 2-+PvLNzPP+"
25.Bg5! Ng8 26.Re1!
White prepares Bf6+ and if Black takes the bishop,
1+-tR-+-mK-!
the e6-pawn cannot be defended against Nf4 and xabcdefghy
Rg3-e3. White is to move
26…Qf7 27.c3 Na5 28.Nf4!
White is threatening already 29.Nxg6+ hxg6 30.h7 Kxh7 31.Rh3+ Kg7 32.Qg3 followed
by Qh2 and Rh7.
28…Rc6 29.Bf6+?
An impulsive move that messes everything. The position on the board will be changed
and White is not ready. He wanted to force Black to take the bishop and after the
exchange e5xf6 to attack the weakness from e6. The problem is that Black is able to keep
away White’s Rg3 from entering the battle with the simple Na5-c4.

White could continue the attack with the idea Ng6+ (which directly doesn’t work because
of 29…Qxg6! 30.Bf6+ Rxf6), bringing the e1-rook on the h-file: 29.Kh2, Rh1, Kg1, Bh4
and Nxg6+ with the idea h7xg6 h6-h7
Other possibility was to play 29.Rge3 Nc4 30.R3e2 after which Bf6+ is possible.

After:
29...Nxf6 30.exf6 Nc4 31.Qb1 Qxf6 32.a4 g5 33.Nd3 f4 34.Rh3 g4 Black completely
turned the situation in his favor. White resigned some moves later.

We can learn a lot from White’s mistake. When pieces start to cooperate, the attacking
target is well fixed, and the opponent has no counter-play, the player in advantage feels
the taste of victory and wants to demonstrate his “greatness” upon the opponent in a
quick manner. This “impulsive thinking” is one of the greatest psychological mistakes in
chess. The active position and initiative should be followed by concrete calculation of
variations and a thoroughly examination of opponent’s resources.

3
The dynamic of pieces in complex endgames is by no means less important than during
middlegame. In fact, because the smaller number of pieces or the missing of queens, the
activity of each piece increases in importance.

In the game Tal – Keres, 1963, both White and XABCDEFGHY

Black have a strong and a weak square in the center.
But because of the weak black pawn structure on the 8-+-trk+-tr(
kingside, White can get active positions for his 7+p+lvlp+-'
pieces: 6p+n+-+-zp&
1.Nd5 Nd4 2.Bd1
The bishop is transferred to the kingside on h5 with 5+-zp-zp-+p%
pressure against f7. 4-+P+P+-+$
2…h4 3.f4!
Opens the file for the rook and creates collaboration 3+PsN-+-+-#
between Rf1 and Bh5 against f7. 2P+L+-zPPzP"
Also, by this move, White fights to get active
squares for his dark-square bishop. The dynamism
1tR-vL-+RmK-!
of white pieces will compensate Black’s control xabcdefghy
over the central e5-square. White is to move
3…Bd6 4.Bh5 Be6 5.fxe5 Bxe5 6.Bf4!
White wants to trade the good black bishop which also defends the weak f6-square.
6…Bg7?!
Better would have been 6…Nc6 keeping the e5-square under control. In fact, the strong
d4-knight is just an illusion as it doesn’t attack anything. On e5, the knight could have a
strong outpost with defensive role.
7.Nc7+ Kd7 8.Rad1 Rhg8
All white pieces are active but what do they attack? Do they cooperate for that objective?
Tal will spot the weaknesses in Black’s camp: the h4- and f7- pawns, by an excellent
maneuver: Bf4-e3-f2.
9.h3!
The weakness is fixed and the regrouping starts:
9…Kc6 10.Nd5 Rgf8 11.Be3 Rd7 12.Bf2 f5 13.Bxh4 fxe4 14.Rxf8 Bxf8 15.Be8 and
Black resigned in a few moves.