se 2nd EditionLovers’ Halo rego! Hol atic ‘Wo a0 a pup cf cho fine who am odsitg sow shag matral Wotan fm el sud ‘won bleugng tb deat cobwesund yang éffomad nguges, lofts jared by ou conmeon lve 5. chest We hog you wll euprron ot Sanes un goo de fndions del eeter, que ecomos taterdo de poduck russe meyer ete Gostretande droves erovodasc Ise: Terence membrasco dines eas da mundo, Morenehias Se dra: ats aon Smeis noi, ieopo oea aan pre aon eseeetee oe yous iderstdinjoning or medanyeoninents dcp is anemailst ecakrabversgmalcen Si diguen estnsce inert 2 nse apa noscusten ecco s Ceealenloeers@grra.com estaegusbll Sahil Pica “Cases Lavon”Copyright © 1993 Andrew Soltis This is a revised edition of The Stonewall Attack by Andrew Soltis (1987 Chess Digest, Inc). All rights reserved under Pan American and International Copyright conventions. ISBN: 0-87568-165-4 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means: electronic, electro- static, magnetic tape, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior and current permission from the publisher. Author: Andrew Soltis Computer Typesetting: Elaine Smith Cover: Elaine Smith Editor: Ken Smith (FL.D.E. 2365) Proofreaders: John Hall, David Leinback & Ken Smith Final Preparation & Diagrams: Ken Smith Publisher: Chess Digest Inc. ®, 1601 Tantor, Dallas, TX 75229 Send the publisher $2.00 for the New Chess Guide that catalogs every book and chess item for general sale in the United States. You are given publishers, page counts, notation, and a review of the book. Also included is a free Chess Improvement Course for beginners up through Master level players.Stonewall Attack: Index INDEX INTRODUCTION ‘Azzien Mohammed-GM Amold Denker, U.S. Open 1992 With the Complete Games: Trenchard-Walbrodt, Vienna 1898 Kujoth-Crittenden, Milwaukee 1949 Gunsberg-Tchigorin, Match 1890 Klinger-Kallai, Lenk 1990 CHAPTER ONE: The Matter Of Move Order With the Complete Games: Parr-Baxter, British Champ. 1962 Yusupov-Anand, Linares 1991 CHAPTER TWO: Stonewall Strategies (1) Simple Kingside Auack With the Complete Game: Capablanca-Ila, Exhibition 1911 Q) Bad Bi With the Complete Game: Ware-Weiss, Vienna 1882 Ufimtsev-Vaiser, Kyakhstan Team Ch. 1965 (3) Queenside Play: The Open and Half-Open c-file With the Complete Games: Maroczy-Janowski, Vienna 1902 Christensen-Becker, Olympiade 1939 PAGE aa 10 at 164 Stonewall Attack: Index (4) The Pawn ReCaptured on d3 With the Complete Games: Sultan Khan-Mattison, Prague 1931 Marshall-Suchting, Vienna 1908 Trenchard-Schlechter, Vienna 1898 (S) The Double Stonewall With the Complete Games: ‘Chajes-Rotlervi, Karlsbad 1911 ‘Lee-Mason, London 1899 © With the Complete Game: Fogolevich-Lapin, Moscow 1928 CHAPTER THREE: The "Theoretically Best" Defense 144, 45 263,Nf6.. 2...Nc6 3Bd3,No6 3...Bg4 4f4 403, 4d 4.,Nbd4 —— 4...Bg4 5NB With the Complete Game: Yates-Schlechter, Pistyan 1902 CHAPTER FOUR: The Traditional Defense 144,45 2€3,Nf6 2.06 2...06 3 Bd3, c5 3...c3 3...Nbd7 Page 52 55 58 18 81 81 83Stonewall Attack: Index SECTION (A) Black Plays ...6 144, 45 263, NO 3 Bd3, c5 403, 06 5{4,Nc6 5..Nbd7 5...Qc7 6N2 6NB 6Q8 6...Bd6 708 7Nb3 7...Bd7 7..0-0 7.5 8Nh3 SECTION (B) Black Develops His QB 1 d4, d5 2.€3, Nf6 3 Bd3, cS 4.3, NG 4...Qc7 514 5 dxcS in note SND 5..Bg4 6NI6 6 Qc2 6.06 6..Ne4 7 Nbd2 Summary & Editor's Note CHAPTER FIVE: Black Fianchettoes 144, Nf6 263, 96 2.06 2...06 J. Jonsson-T. Herrstrom, U.S. Open 1985 Variation A 314, Bg7 4NB 4 Bd3, d5 5.Nd2, cS 63,Qc7 —_6...Nbd7 40-0 4.45 5 Bd3 5 Be2, 0-0 60-0, 5 6...b6 Page 87 87 89 1 93 93 94 94 95 101 102 103 104 104 104 106 106 1066 Stonewall Attack: Index 5.45 5...d6 5.5 60-0 6 Nbd2 6c3 6.05 6...Ne8 703 ‘7 Nbd2 1...06, 7...cxd4, ic6, 7...Nbd7 8Nbd2 8 Bd2 8 Qe2 8...Bb7 Variation B Form of The Colle 144, NIG 263, 26 3.ND3, Bg7 4 Be2 ILLUSTRATIVE GAME SECTION ‘The Complete Games of: 1, Sultan Khan-Rubinstein, Prague 1931 2, Marshall-Rubinstein, ‘Vienna 1908 3. Horowitz-Amateur, New York 1950 4. Kmoch-Nagy, Budapest 1926 5. Santasiere-Adams, U.S. 1940 6. Lipke-Zink, Leipzig 1894 7. Lipke-Schiffers, Leipzig 1894 8. Pilisbury-Hanham, New York 1893 108 108 108 109 109 1 il 114 117 117 124 130 137 142 149 153Introduction: Stonewall Attack 7 INTRODUCTION How often do you see something like this happen in the first round of a major open tournament? In those first rounds, there are mismatches of several hundred ratings points, and the better players usually finish their ‘opponents in an hour or two. But then there are games like this, between a grandmaster and a 1700-player. Azziem Mohammed-GM Arnold Denker U.S. Open 1992 144 NIG 263 a5 3Bd3 6 4Nd2 Nbd7 5 fat Ss 603 b6 7Q8 Bb7 We would prefer to develop the Knight at h3, from where it can g0 togS. But White still has an excellent - and advantageous - position. 8Ne2 9 Be2 100-0 Be7 ReB Re7Stonewall Attack: Introduction U1 gét Qas 12.Ng3 0-0 1385 Ne8 Things like this should not occur: White, vastly outrated, has the makings of a powerful attack, With a few preparatory moves such as 14 Khi be will command a dangerous attack force with little direct counter- play by Black. A more direct assault results from 14 QhS! and if 14.26, then 15 Qg4 followed by 16 h4 and 17 hS. White can also try 15 Qh3, with ideas such as Nd2-f3-e5 or 15 {5!, exfS 16 NxfS (since 16...gx/5? 17 Bx/3 is too dangerous). But White lost this game and the reason may be that he was over- confident (!). His position is so promising that White played 14 Bxh7ch?!, Kxh7 15 QhSch, Kg8. Now 16 RP looks powerful, because of the threat of 17 NES!, exf5 18 Rh3. But 16...g6! 17 Qh6, Ng7 kills the attack. White actually continued 16 Nf3, g6 17 Qh6, Ng7, but after 18 NeS, Nxe5 19 fxe5, Qd8 20 RI6!?, Re8! 21 Bd2, BIB he was already lost. The 1700-player resigned on the 32 move. But once again the point had been made: The Stonewall, once a mighty weapon in the hands of a Frank Marshall or a Jose Capablanca, is very much alive. And it is an opening well worth adopting. The Stonewall is unique in the realm of chess openings. It is one of the simplest to play and yet it's one of the rarest to be found in tournaments- -at least on the master level. It was once very popular but its time of promi- nence was exceptionally brief. No strong master used the Stonewall beforeIntroduction: Stonewall Attack 9 the 1880s--and no strong master has used it consistently since the 1920s. Yet it has been used by amateurs of all strengths since its heyday. In that heyday, it was adopted by altacking starts such as Frank Marshall and Edgar Colle--but it was also adopted by positional masters such as Geza Maroczy and Jose Capablanca. It was used by people, such as Gyula Breyer and Harry Bird, who broke new, theoretical paths, and also by those, such as Sultan Khan, who just wanted to get into the middlegame without having to team a lot of book moves. The Stonewall’s bold features and simple strategies attracted bold planners such as Harry Pillsbury. And while its positional disadvantages have been regularly cited in opening books they did little to dissuade such a dogmatician as Siegbert Tarrasch from using it. But eventually the Stonewall lost favor. Some of today's opening books suggest this occurred because of the discovery of an easy "equalizing" system for Black. But the equalizer doesn't necessarily equal- ize, as our Chapter Three suggests. The real reason the Stonewall lost its position in the family of openings was the emergence of the rival Queenside strategy, Pillsbury's altack in the Queen's Gambit Deglined, which offered White attacKing potemtial with few positional demerits, Today the Stonewall has a poor reputation. A reputation based largely on the mediocre results it produced around the tum of the century. But those results are deceptive. As the stronger masters gave it up for the Queen's Gambit, the Stonewall appeared primarily in the games of lesser- known masters. And when the lesser masters got clobbered by the super- stats, it was explained by the annotators that it was all due to the Stonewall. (Of course, when occasionally a superstar adopted the Stonewall and won, it was explained that he won because he was a superstar.) An illustration of why the Stonewall’s reputation suffered was what happened at the Vienna Toummament of 1898: The Stonewall was played only seven times, six of them by the unheralded Englishman H.W. Trenchard, who managed only two draws with the opening, But Trenchard's problem wasn't the Stonewall, it was Trenchard. He was simply outclassed as a player. A look at some of Trenchard's positions after 20 moves, how- ever, is encouraging:10 Stonewall Attack: Introduction VIENNA 1898 TRENCHARD-WALBRODT 1d4 d5 203 NIG 3Bd3 6 4a cS 5c3 Nc6 6Nd2 Bd7 7Nb3!? Black's maneuvering is questionable, but it is difficult to suggest a clearcut plan for him, He is afraid of a Kingside attack if he castles King- side, So he prepares to block White's active Bishop by occupying e4. 1 Nf! 12 Niet 13 Nxe6 14 Bred ISN 16 dxc5t 17b4 18 cA! 19 bS! 20 Bb2 Be6 Ne4 bxe6 dxe4 15 BxeS Bb6 cS 0-0Introduction: Stonewall Attack i White has an excellent game. His terrible Queen Bishop has seized a fine diagonal while its opposite number has been reduced to the status of a big pawn. Only a mistaken plan of exchanging Queens on move 24 de- prived White of a tremendous middlegame position. ‘What the Stonewall does is to build a fortress of dark-squared pawns for a simple attacking machine. The machine consists of only a few pieces--the White Queen, King Bishop and King Knight and perhaps a Rook or the other Knight. But it only takes a few pieces to deliver mate: R. KUJOTH-R. CRITTENDEN MILWAUKEE 1949 1d4 dS 23 NIG For the weak 2...Bf5 see Illustrated Game #4, 3Bd3 6 4f4 Nbd7 SNd2!+7 Stonewall Attack: Introduction es RHRD © RS ‘a Awe a8 So far Black has made one minor error of omission. He missed his chance to organize a counter-Stonewall with 4..Ne4! and S...5. But he soon makes two serious errors of ommission, after which White's advantage just grows and grows. Sas 5 603 exdd? Texd4! Be7 8 Ngf3 b6 9 Nest Nxe5? 10 fxe5! Black was understandably concerned after 9 NeS about White's clear plan of Ndf3-g5, attacKing £7 and h7 in coordination with a Queen and Bishop. The White King Rook could also get into action by way of RE3-g3 or h3.Introduction: Stonewall Attack 13 However, the exchange of pawns and Knights has only eased White's task. His dormant Queen Bishop, which was locked in by pawns at e3 and 4 only a few moves ago, can now join the other forces in ag- gression: 10... Nd7 110-0 a5 12 Qg4 26 13 Be2 Bgs 14.Ne4 On 14...Bxcl White wins with 15 Nd6ch. After the text, White has a forced win, as all his pieces take part in the attack. 15 Bxgs Qe7 16 Rx?! Kxi7 On 16...Nxe5 White continues 17 Rxc7, Nxg4 18 h3!, h6 19 Bxg6ch, Kf8 20 Rfich, Kg8 21 Bd2 White wins. 17 Rftich Kg 18Bh6ch! —-Kxh6 19 RT Qas 20Rxh7cht! = Kxh7 21 Qxg6 mate In essence, the Stonewall then consists of:Stonewall Attack: Introduction A Bishop at d3 One Knight at e5 and the other at £3 (or h3 so that White's Queen can occupy £3). The points of attack are Black's castled position at h7 and £7. The White Queen Bishop is the problem picce of this opening and sometimes it plays no role in the first 10-15 moves. Often the Bishop has to take the overland route of Bd2-e1-h4 in order to find a good diagonal. But there are instances when that is insufficient and White must give the Bishop a greater role in the middlegame by playing b2-b3 and Bb2. Or, when White plays a different move order and achieves a belated f2-f4, then the g7 square can become the chief target for White. For instance, one of the most famous games of the last century went: 1. GUNSBERG-M. TCHIGORIN MATCH 1890 1d4 a5Introduction: Stonewall Attack 15 White's pieces coordinate quite well. Black is anticipating an at- tack on h7 and that is why he's placed a Knight on £8. But that configura- ion of forces makes it more difficult to protect the g7 square, and this fact influences White's next few moves. 100-0 a6 11 RB! bs 12 dxest BxeS 13 Rg3 Ng6 14hdt Qb6 15Nfi Nxh4 The threat was 16 h5, NxeS 17 BxeS followed by Bxf6 or Rxg7ch!. Black's last move, however, allows the demolition of his King- side. His King is chased westward until it reaches the end of the board. 16 Nxf7!, Kxf7 17 Bxf6, gxf6 18 QhSch, Ke7 19 Qxh4, Bd7 20 Rg7ch, Kd6 21 Qxf6, Bxe3ch 22 Nxe3, Qxe3ch 23 Kf, Rad8 24 Rel, Qd2 25 Re2, Qcich 26 Kf2, Ke6 27 Rxh7, Rf8 28 Rxe6ch!, Ke7 29 Re6ch!, Kb7 30 Rb6ch Black Resign. Another illustration of how strong White's reputedly fecble Queen- side can become with some accurate preparation.16 Stonewall Attack: Introduction Klinger-Kallai Lenk 1990 1d4 d5 263 NIG 3Bd3 26 4t4 Bg? SNES This is a rare, modern example of a "pure" Stonewall move-order in a grandmaster game, Su 0-0 60-0 3s 763 v6 8 Qe2 aS Black has learned the lesson of the good and bad Bishops. Since White's eighth move was designed to stop 8...Ba6, Black's replay is his way of insisting, Now 9...Ba6 cannot be stopped. However, there is a slight positional price to be paid. The squares bS and e6 can become highly vulnerable in the late middlegame. 9ad Baé 10 Bxa6 Nxa6é 11 b3!?Introduction: Stonewall Attack 17 White varies from the standard development plan (Bd2-e1-h4) be- cause an important change has taken place on the Queenside. He intends planting his Queen Knight on bS along with a Bishop on a3 or b2 and a Rook at el. I. Ne4 12 Bb2 6 13Na3 Qe7 14 Riel This a rare case of this Rook swinging (o the opposite wing in a Stonewall. The reason is partly tactical: 14 Racl, Rfc8 15 Re2, exd4 15 exd4 - similar to the game - would allow 15...Nxe3! (16 Bxc3, Qxa3). Of course, in that case, White could recapture at move 15 with the c-pawn. But... 14... Rfc8 15 Re2 exd4? 16 exd4! Far superior to the c-pawn capture, whcih would give b4 to Black's Knight and lead to a symmetrical position in which Black would have the upper hand because of his better Bishop. Now Black finds that he cannot double Rooks smoothly on the c~ file, as he planned (/6...Rc7 17 NBS; 16...Rc6 17 Racl, Rac8?? 18 Qxa6). He has already gone astray since a betier idea was 15..Nd6 and 16.04. Now his game begins to deteriorate. 16... Ne7 17 Racl Ne8 18 NbS N8d6 19 ca!18 Stonewall Attack: Introduction You might (incorrectly) conclude that Black still stands well be- cause the pawn structure is nearly symmetrical and it is White with the infe- rior Bishop. However, the Bishop will be soon exchanged off, leaving the Rooks as the most important pieces. White has the better heavy pieces. 19... NxbS 20 exbS! Rxc2 Not much better was 20...Qb7 21 NeS and Re6. The vulnerability of 6 costs Black the game. 21 Qxe2 Qb4 22. Qd3 Nd6 23 Re6 Re8 24 Rxb6 Ne4 25 bxca! This corrects the Queenside pawn structure. Even at the expense of the a-pawn, White wins easily now as the c-pawn can't be stopped. Bou Qxb2 265 Qatch 27K Quad 28 Rb7 Qb4 * 29:6 ad 30c7 Be Otherwise 31 Rb8, Qf8 32 Rxc8 and 33 b6 must win. 31b6 Bas 32 Kg3t? Qas 33 Qc2 a3 34 Rb8!Introduction: Stonewall Attack 19 This wins because White can even allow Black to promote his a- pawn. 34. Rxb8 35exb8(Q)ch Bxb8 36 Qe8ch Kg7 37 Qxbs a2 38b7 al(Q) 39 QeSch {6 40 Qd6 Leading to a cute finish. 1 Q5e3 41.Qe7ch! — Kh6 42 Khdt Black Resigns. To stop 43 Qf8 mate, Black must play a Queen to a3, after which White exchanges one pair of Queens and promotes again, In short, the Stonewall packs a deceptive punch that many modem players do not know how to dodge.20 Stonewall Attack: Chapter One CHAPTER ONE THE MATTER OF MOVE ORDER The ancient Stonewall with its rigid pawn formation and narrow purpose has one thing in common with flexible, modern systems such as the King's Indian Reversed. Just as the K.LR. is essentially a system of deve!- opment that can come about from 1 g3 or 1 Nf3 or 1 e4 or 1 d3, the Stonewall is a system of development that can come about from several dif- ferent move orders. In this book we'll consider the most common sequence: 1 dé fol- lowed by 2 e3 and then 3 Bd3 and 4 4 (or 3 f# and 4 Bd3) But the ‘Stonewall has materialized in quite a variety of sequences, including 1 £4 in the hands of Bent Larsen, Gideon Stahlberg and Harry Bird, or even 1 Nf3. Knowing the features of the Stonewall allows White the flexibility to adapt to his opponent's plans. For example, suppose White plays his first few moves as if he intends a Colle System. The opening popularized by the Belgian master in the 1920s. PARR-BAXTER BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP 1962 1Nf3 d5 2d4 NI6 33 6 4Bd3 cS S5c3 Bd6‘Chapter One: The Matter of Move Order a Black has played the position in the way often thought to equalize against the Colle System, an opening similar to the Stonewall but different because of pawn intentions. In the Colle, White strives for e3-e4 to liberate his pieces, On 6 Nbd2 Black might continue with ...Nbd7 followed by wb7-b6, «.Bb7 and ...Qe7 with all of his pieces cooperating with one an- other. After White breaks in the center with e3-e4; there will follow a series of exchanges that blunt White's attacKing potential and grant Black active counterplay. But White crosses him up: 6NeS Nbd7 That Now Black should realize that the anti-Colle development he in- tended will fail miserably against the quite different Stonewall White has established. For this reason Black should counter his opponent's shift in strategy with a shift of his own--7...Ne4! followed by 8...0-0 and 9...f5. Toe 0-07 8Nd2 b6 90.0 Bb7 10083 Qe7 11 gat22 Stonewall Attack: Chapter One Charge! Black has developed his pieces logically but has done nothing that will allow him to answer the simple attacking plan of 12 gS and 13 QhS. For example, 11..Rac8 12 g8, Ne8 13 Bxh7ch, Kxh7 14 QhSch, Kg8 15 Rf3 and 16 Rh3 (15.,f5 16 g6/) or 11..REd8 12 gS, Ne 13 Bxh7ch!, Kxh7 14 QhSch, Kg8 15 Qxf7ch and 16 RI3. Black tries instead to exchange off an attacker and then clear his second rank. 11...BxeS 12 fxe5, Ne8 13 Qh3, g6 14 NI3, 16 15 Bd2, fxe5S? 16 NgS, Rxflch 17 Rxfl, Nef6 18 Qh6, Re8 19 Nxh7! Black resigns. (It's mate after 19...Nxh7 20 Oxg6ch.) The traditional order of moves is 1 d4, d5 2 €3 so that White gets his Bishop to d3 before Black can challenge the diagonal with ...BfS. (If Black plays the immediate 2...Bf5 the Bishop's absence from the Queenside is felt afier 3 c4/ and 4 Qb3). There is a great deal of sublety in the order of moves chosen by each side. For example, after 1 44, d5 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3 Black can eliminate the White attacking Bishop with 3..Ne6 because he threatens 4...eS as well as 4..Nb4 5 Be2, BfS!. White may choose, therefore, to play an early Nd2 in place of Bd3, as Capablanca used to do with 1 d4, d5 2 3, Nf6 3 Nd2. But then 3...Bf5 is an obvious response for Black since the wans- position to a Queen's gambit now with 4 e4 has much less strength (4...c6 5 0b3, 066). And on 4 Ngf3, e6 5 NeS continuing the Stonewall plan, Black can play 5..Nfd7! 6 Ndf3, Nxe5 7 NxeS, Nd7! 8 Nxd7, Qxd7 (Marshall-Chapter One: The Matter of Move Order 23 Euwe, Karlsbad 1929), Without Knights the Stonewall becomes a wall that only serves to entrap Bishops. During the 1870s and '80s there was an American master named Preston Ware who used the sequence of 1 d4 and 2 (4?!, regardless of what Black did. But this is inferior because it concedes the e4 square too early and allows Black to seize the weakened light squares with ...Bf5! for exam- ple: 1 d4, d5 2 £4, BES 3 NI3, e6 with an easy game for Black: 4 e3, NI6 5 Bd3, Bg6 6 0-0, c5 7 c3, Nc6 8 a3, Bxd3 9 Qxd3, c4! 10 Qe2, Bd6 LL Nbd2, 0-0 12 NeS, Ne7 (Ware-Mason, Vienna 1882) or 4..5 5 BbSch, Nc6 6 0-0, Qb6 7 Bxc6ch, bxe6 8 c3, Nf6 9 Qa4, Bd3 10 Rel, Bd6 11 dxe5, BxcS 12 b4, Bd6 13 Nd4, Re8 (Ware-Englisch, Vienna 1882). In the 20th century the Stonewall became more sophisticated. Sul- tan Khan chose a delayed form of Stonewall which allowed him to play the Queen's Gambit depending on what Black did: 1 d4, d5 2 Nf3, 5 3 e3 and now on 3...e6 he would continue 4 NeSt, Nf6 5 Nd2, and f2-£4, The Indian master’s game with Akiba Rubinstein from Prague 1931 saw Black play 5..Nbd7 6 £4, Bd6 7 ¢3, b6 8 Bd3, Bb7 9 QF3, hS to restrain g2-94. But Black was soon in trouble (/0 Qg3!, Kf8 11 0-0, h4 12 Qh3, Rc8 13 Ndf3, Ned 14 Bd2, Nxd2 15 Nxd2, Nf 16 Ndf3, Ke7 17 Ng5). See Mlustrative Game #1. These finesses became more important in the 1920s when Black began to adopt Indian systems with 1...NI6 and 2...e6, Since it is not en- tirely desirable for Black to lock in his QB with ..e7-e6 in the Stonewall, many a good player has been tricked into an inferior game while thinking hhe was getting a superior version of the Queen's Indian Defense. For example after 1 d4, Nf6 2 Nf3, e6 the Hungarian master Gyula Breyer liked to play 3 Nbd2 with the apparent "threat" of 4 e4!. His oppu- nents would often continue 3...d5 to stop the e-pawn’s advance and then discover after 4 €3, 5 5 ¢3, Nbd7 6 Bd3, Be7 7 0-0, 0-0 8 NeS! that they were headed into a Stonewall with 9 £4!, So after 8 NeS! we have this posi- tion:Stonewall Attack: Chapter One Note that Black has been denied the opportunity of creating a counter-Stonewall with ...Ne4 because of Breyer's move order. In Breyer Maroczy, Berlin 1920 Black saw f2-f4 coming and he hurried to capture on eS before White could retake with his f-pawn. 8... NxeS 9dxeS Nd7 104 £5 Designed to stop 11 e4 but now White can achieve a superior pawn structure by capturing en passant and then advancing the e-pawn: Mexf6 Rxf6 edt NB 13 NES Ngo 1405 Re 15 Qe2! Qe8 16 c4 a4 17h4! Having secured a solid position in the center, White can casually roll up his Kingside pawns. Black is soon in a quandary over h4-h5 and Ng5. 17. Kh8 18 g3 RgB 19hs NOB 20 e4 26 21 hxgé NxgoChapter One: The Matter of Move Order 25 Target: h7. Black is helpless against the threat of bringing heavy pieces to the h-file and Nh2-g4-f6. 22..Bd7 23 Qh2, Rg? 24 Qh3, Bo6 25 Nh2, NxeS 26 fxe5, BxgS 27 Ngd, hS 28 REBch!, Qxf8 29 QxhSch, Kg8 30 Bxg5, Qf3 31 Nféch, KIB 32 Qxf3 Black resigns. Another common method of "Stonewalling" occurs in quiet varia- tions of the Queen's Indian Defense. A recent illustration of this occured in a super-tournament, Yusupov-Anand Linares 1991 1d4 2Nf3 3e3 4Bd3 50-0 Nf6 6 6 Bb7 ds6 Stonewall Attack: Chapter One Black's last move was awarded a "?!" for its dubious nature by Black. Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, presumably because it al- lows the conversion to the Stonewall: 6 Nest Nbd7 114 26 83 This last move by White is not part of our system because we will be developing White's Bishop via d2. However, many of the basic themes of the opening remain the same when the Bishop is fianchettoed. The one principal difference is that here White is not opposed to the exchange of his -pawn, 8. Bg? 9Nd2 5 10 Bb2 0-0 11983 NeB 12. Qh3t Nd6 13 Naf3 Re8 14.Ng5Chapter One: The Matter of Move Order 27 These are the almost mechanical White attacking moves of the Stonewall. By using the key dark squares such as g5 and the d3-h7 attack- ing diagonal, White has built a fine assault force. He does not feat the po- tential pawn fork with ..7-£6 because of: 14. NBs 15 dxeS bxeS 16 Radi! {6 17 Nxh7! Nxh7 18 Nxg6 Qe7 19 RES Ned! Black must act precisely, as 19...c4 allows 20 Ne7ch!, Rxe7 21 Bxh7ch, Kf8 22 Rg3 after which the attack has gained too much steam. As often happens, the defender must do something to close the key d3-h7 di- agonal 20 Bret dxe4 24 Rg3 Rad 22 Rxd8 Quads 23 Qed Qast 24h4 ts 25Qdl Qas 26 Qed ats 27Q¢1 Qas 28 Qe2! Correctly playing for a win and avoiding the third repetition of the position. 2B. Bc8 29hS Kf7 30 Qed NgS!Stonewall Attack: Chapter One 31 fxg5? Winning quickly was 31 NeSch!, fxeS 32 Qxg5. The text allows Black to retum a piece to close the Kingside a bit. Bde 3! 32 Qe2 Bxb2 33.04 Qas 34 Qxb2 &s 35 Rh3? 4! 36 Rh4 fxe3 37 Kh2? Tt usually takes several errors to lose such a favorable position. At move 35 White should have played 35 Qel, and here, 37 Rxe4 or 37 Qe2 were to be preferred. Bon BIS! 38 Qed Qd2 39 Qf Keet 40Rxe4?! Bed White resigns. It took two blunders by White to lose this game (3/ NeSch! would have won). In this book we'll concentrate on the move order of 1 d4 and 2 e3.Chapter One: The Matter of Move Order 29 In the next chapter we will consider the strategic themes of the Stonewall--the plans and ploys for both sides. In Chapter Three we'll consider the "equalizing" variation, 1 d4, d5 2.3, NI6 3 Bd3, Nest?. Chapter Four is an examination of Black's traditional defenses, with an early ..c7-5. And in the final chapter, we will examine the most difficult line for White, the fianchetto of Black's King Bishop.x Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two CHAPTER TWO STONEWALL STRATEGIES ‘There are a variety of themes that occur in all Stonewall pawn formations, regardless of opening sequence. Before we get to specific varia tions, it's important to get to know what White is playing for. (1) SIMPLE KINGSIDE ATTACK The idea behind the Stonewall is elementary: White keeps the center closed by denying Black ...e6-e5, secures the eS square for his Knight, and creates a protective housing for his Bishop at d3. All of this en- ables him to carry aggression to the Kingside. This is possible because when the cemter is closed, Black has great difficulty bringing Queenside forces to the defense of such key squares as h7 and g7. The White Knight on e5, in addition, observes £7 and, if the Knight is captured on eS, the attack on £7 can be carried out by Rooks fol- lowing fxe5, The Bishop on d3 coordinates with heavy pieces to attack h7 (QA-R5 or Rf3-h3). If need be, White can drive away Black's best defensive piece with g2-g4-g5. In other words, White's most primitive thoughts when playing the Stonewall are "I play Bd3, Ne5, move out my Queen--and deliver mate.” Even the greatest players have been tempted by the simplicity of this naive- -but often effective--strategy. JOSE CAPABLANCA-ROLANDO ILLA EXHIBITION GAME, BUENOS AIRES 1911 1d4 a5 2e3 NIG 3Nd2 6?! A little explanation is in order here. Why, if Black so often gets into trouble by closing in his QB, does he do it so often in Master Games?Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 31 One answer has to do with the widespread assumption that Black's counterplay comes from ...c7-c5 in this and comparable Stonewall posi- tions, But if Black plays 3...c5 White may complicate his life with 4 dxe5, threatening to keep the pawn with b2-b4 or Nb3. Black could, of course, make certain of getting the pawn back with 4..Qa5 and 5..Qxe5, But the Queen loses time in this way and that is enough to dissuade some good players from 3..e5, and to push them to- wards ..e7-06. 4Bd3 cS 53 Ne6 6 fa! Bd6 7Nh3 HE AWe at t White has a choice of reasonable developing moves at this point and only one~the most natural of all--deserves criticism, That move is 7 Ngf3, which allows Black to open the c-file with 7.u.cxd4! (since 8 exd4 hangs the f-pawn). The opening of the c-file generally favors Black, so we will focus on the altematives at move seven. White could, of course, develop his KN at e2. But the Knight bas lite future there, or, for that matter, on g3. So, h3 is the natural point of entrance, because this allows the Knight to go to g5 (in coordination with Bd3 to attack h7 or with Ndf3-e5 to altack 7), or to go to £2. On £2 the Knight promotes the advance of the ¢-pawn, a plan that succeeded spectac- ularly in the game Marshall-Rubinstein, Vienna 1908: 7 Qf3, Bd7 8 Nh3, Qb6 9 Nf2, 0-0-0 10 0-0, Kb8, 11 e4!, dxe4 12 Nfxe4, Nxe4 13 Nxe4, Be7 14 dxc5, BxcSch 15 Nxc5, QxcSch 16 Be3,%, ‘Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two 1Qa5 17 adt, Ne7 18 b4, Qc7 19 Bd4, £6 20 Qf2, Nc8 21 Rfel, Rhe8 22 .Qg3, Be6 23 bS, BdS 24 25, Bes 25 b6!, _with a decisive attack. Toe 0-0 80.0 Ne? , This Knight may be heading for £5 and then d6, while Black tries to exchange off his QB with ..Bd7-bS, 9Kh1 Bd? 10 NEB White is considering the attacKing plans of g2-p4-e5 or NeS/NgS and R&3-h3 but meanwhile he has to make sure Black does not blunt his at- tacking potential by establishing a double Stonewall with ...Ne4 and ..f7-f5. ‘With his last move Capa prepares to meet 10...Ne4 with 11 Bxed, dxe4 12 NeS with an excellent game, e.g. 12...Bxe5 13 fxe5 and Nf4 (or QhS/Ng5) and 12...Be6 13 Nxc6, Nxc 6 14 NgS. 10... Be6 11 NeS Qe8 Preparing to exchange off his bad Bishop for White's good one, with 12...BbS. 12adt A very fine move which preserves his good Bishop and also per- mits a Queenside expansion, such as with 12...Ne4 13 dxc5, BxcS 14 b4Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 33 and 15 bS. In response to this, Black now begins a Queenside push of his own which, however only tums out to be weakening. 12. a6 13b3 bs 14 axbS axbS 15 Rxa8 Qxa8 16 dxcS! ‘The most common attacking plans of the Stonewall see White keeping the center closed while he uses a few Kingside pieces to deliver mate. A typical example of this theme was Pillsbury-Hanham, New York 1893: 1 d4, d5 2 €3, e6 3 Bd3, NI6 4 [4, Bd6 5 Nf3, b6 6 0-0, 0-0 7 c3, 5 8 Ne5, Qc7 9 Nd2, Nc6 10 Rf3!, Bb7 11 Rh3, cxd4? 12 Bxh7ch!. See Illustrative Game #8. In the current game, however, we see White voluntarily dissolving the strong point he's built at d4 in the center. Capa's method has a deeper point: he will open up the diagonal that leads to g7 with his next series of moves. 16... Bxc5S 17 Qe2t bd If he defends the b-pawn with 17...Rb8 he also has trouble from 18 Ng5, Be8 19 Ng4. 18 exb4 Bxb4 19 Bb2 Qas This was Black's last chance for ...Ne4! The move played allows White to win a pawn, at the cost of permitting Bishops-of-opposite color, with 20 Nxc6, Nxe6 21 Qe2 followed by Bxf6 and Bxh7ch. But Capa- blanca’s procedure works much better. White plays for mate and itis hard to find a superior defense from this point on,4 Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two 20 Ngst Ba8 Or 20...h6 21 Nxc6, Nxc6 22 Bxf6 which wins: 22...Qxf6 23 Nh7 or 22...gxf6 23 Nh7, Re8 24 Qg4ch, Kh8 25 Qh5, Kg7 26 RES and Rg3ch, 21 Ng@t Ng6 Black was probably hoping to play 21...Ne4 but this fails to 22 Bes, dxe4 23 Bxg7!!, Kxg7 24 Qb2ch and wins (24...Kg8 25 Nh6 mate; 24...Kg6 25 Of6ch; 24..,f6 25 Nxe6ch). 22. Bxf6 exf6 23Nh6ch Kg 24Nbxf7! QB The threat was 25 Nxe6ch. Now, however, White's Queen makes its presence felt. 25 Qhst fxg5 26Qh6ch ——-KgB Or 26...Kxf7 27 Qxh7ch, Kf6é 28 Bxg6 followed by fxgSch or Bxe8 winning, ¢.g. 28..Qxg6 29 fxgSch, KeS (29..Kxg5 30 héch) 30 Qe7ch, Ke4 31 Rxf8, Qh5 32 Of4ch, Kd3 33 Qd4ch, Ke2 34 Rxa8. 27 NxgS Black resignsChapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 35 The threat of Qxh7 mate leads to a winning liquidation to the ending. For example 27...Qe7 28 Bxg6, hxg6 29 Qxgéch, Qg7 30 Oxg7ch and 31 Nxe6ch.36 Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two (2) GOOD VS. BAD BISHOPS In Stonewall formations White, and sometimes Black as well, is plagued with a problem Bishop, hemmed in by the wall of pawns. Some- times this is compensated by the joys of his other Bishop, which has consid- erable range. The task then is to maximize the effect of your "good" Bishop and minimize, perhaps through exchange, the problem of the "bad" one. When Black has also played ..f5 (see double Stonewall below), we have a clear- cut case in an exchange of one, and only one set of Bishops, often means an advantage. If White, for instance, can trade his pawn-bound QB for Black's excellent KB, that will leave him with a superior light-squared B against Black's limited B. But how to trade Bishops without weakening the center pawn wedge that makes the Stonewall a wall of stone? One of the basic themes is illustrated by the games of Preston Ware, a late-19th century American am- ateur who pursued a simple plan with the White pieces. He established the Stonewall early, then played Bd2-e1-h4. And even when it didn't lead to mate, it often led to a positionally solid middlegame: PRESTON WARE (U.S.) - MAX WEISS VIENNA (AUSTRIA) 1882 1d4 a5 af 6 Not a good plan, as Black will be unable to exploit with his QB the light-squares on the Kingside and in the center (g4, e4, f5) that White has just weakened. 3Nf NI6 This denies Black the opportunity to set up a counter-Stonewall with ...7-£5. Another of Preston Ware's games from his tournament vs. Meitner, saw Black delay the KN's development but then create the double wall when White's attack got rolling: 3..b6 4 e3, Bb7 5 Bd3, Bd6 6 0-0,Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 7 Nd7 7 Bd2, Ngf6 8 Bel, c5 9 c3, 262! 10 Bh4!, Qc7 11 Nbd2, 4 12 Be2, Nag 13 Qe2, £5 14 h3, Ngf6 15 NeS, 0-0. The natural consequences of ...{7- £5 is to give White a sure-fire method of opening up the Kingside, with g2- g4. He continued 16 a3, bS 17 Ndf3, Nb6 18 g4!, Ned 19 gxfS, exfS 20 Kh2, Be7 21 Bxe7, Qxe7 22 Rgl, Be8 23 Rg2, Of6 24 Ragl. Having ex- changed off his bad Bishop and maximized his strength on the board's only ‘open line, itis not surprising Ware won, Later in the tournament A. Schwarz varied with 9...Qe7 against Ware, but also got in a difficult position after 10 Bh4, h6 11 NeS, 0-0 12 Nd2, Rfe8 13 Rel, a6 14 Qe2, bS 15 g4, Ne4 16 Qg2, £5 17 Ndf3, NEB 18 gxf5, exfS 19 Khi, c4 20 Bb1, Be7 21 Rgl, Bxh4 22 Nxhd, Bc8 23 Refi, Qe7 24 RE. In yet a later round Johannes Zukertort. then a World Champi- onship caliber player, continued 4..c5 5 ¢3, Be7 which avoids forks on eS after White plays NeS and Black captures it with his QN. The Bishop on e7 also avoids pins on the h4-d8 diagonal when White's QB completes its la- dorious, overland trek. The Ware-Zukertort game went 6 Bd3, Nc6 7 0-0, 0- 0 8 Bd2 and Black began a Queenside attack that was aided by White's ea- ‘gemess to open lines there: 8...c4 9 Bc2, bS 10 Bel, a5 11 b32, b4! 12 NeS, Qc7 13 bxe4, dxc4, And now 14 Nxe4 runs into 14...Ba6, so White continued his er- fant ways and ran into further trouble with 14 Qe2, Ba6 15 Nd2 (better 15 Ba4) bxc3 16 Ndf3, Nd5 17 Bed, Ncb4 18 a3, £6 19 Ng5?, fxg5 20 axb4,38 Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two axbé with an avalanche of Black pawns gathering speed on the Queenside. White could, however, have played 19 axb4, fxe5 20 bS!, BxbS 21 Nxe5 with quite a reasonable game. In a later game (Ware-Hruby) Black delayed castling but this only got him into a different kind of trouble on the Kingside: 7...c4 (instead of 7...0-0) 8 Bc2, b5 9 Ne5, Qc7 10 Bd2, a5 11 Bel, Bd7 12 Bh4, b4 13 Nd2, Rb8 14 Rb1, NxeS? 15 fxe5, Ng8 16 Qg4, BIS 17 Qf3, Be6 18 e4, Nh6 19 gt, g5! 20 Bg3. SBd3 cS 63 Nc6 70-0 a6 Black doesn't need this move at all if he plans to expand on the Queenside. In another round, the World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, played the aggressive 7...0-0 8 Bd2, c4 9 Be2, bS 10 Bel, a5 11 Bhd, b4. However, White exploited the Kingside pin with enough energy to distract Black from the Queenside: 12 Nbd2, Rb8 13 NeS, Na7 14 e4!, Be7 15 exd5, exd5 16 £5, Rb6 17 QL3, NbS 18 Rael, bxc3 19 bxe3. White eventu- ally won by pushing his Kingside pawns. £R Rt ROQW AS 8Ba2 Beginning the circuitous Bishop shift to h4. White decides against trying to use the Bishop on another diagonal, such as after b2-b3 and Ba3, because of the weakening of the central pawn barrier that White has labored so long to build,Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies » ‘The next stage of the game was characterized by White's applica- tion of his tried-and-true formula compared with Black’s vacillation: 8. 0-0 b6 10h3 Bb7 11Bel Ned 12. Nbd2 Nxd2? 13 Qxd2 NaS 14Radl Ne4 15 Qe2 NaS 16 Bhat Qe7? Black's failure to play the thematic 12...f5! and his stumbling at- tempts to find the right mixture of Queenside moves have left White with a free hand on the Kingside. Notice how few are Black's defensive pieces near the King, 17 Ngst White could already have played for the brilliancy prize with that old combinational idea, 17 Bxh7ch!, Kxh7 18 NgSch, for example: (A) 18...Kg8 19 QhS, Rfc8 20 Qh7ch, Kf8 21 f5! and the f-file is decisively opened, (B) 18...Kg6 19 f5ch, exf5 20 Rxf5! (20...Kx/5 21 Qg4ch and 22 Ne6ch), or (C) 18...Kh6! 19 £5, exf5 20 Rxf5, g6 21 Rf6 with a powerful attack, The text, with its threat of capture on h7, insures some penetration of White pieces. Steinitz examined the defense of 17...g6 and considered White to be winning after 18 Nxh7!, Kxh7 19 BI6, e.g. 19...Kg8 20 R&3, Be7 21 BeS, Bd6 22 Rg3, BxeS 23 dxe5 followed by Qg4 and Rfi. Even stronger for white is 20 Qg4 (rather than 20 R/3) because of the forcing line 20..Be7 21 BeS, Bd6 22 Bxg6!, BxeS 23 Bxf7ch, Kxf7 24 fxeSch, Ke8 25 RxfBch, Kxf8 26 Rfich, QF7 27 Qxe6!. The Queen beats the uncoordinated pieces in this endgame, 17. h6 18. Qh40 Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two There was no defense because of the impending Nh7! The Tour- ‘nament book gives: (A) 18...Bc8 19 Nh7!, Re8 20 Nf6ch!, gxf6 21 Bxf6 and a Queen check, or 19...Rd8 20 Bxd8, Qxd8 21 Ng5!, hxg5 22 fxg5, Ra7 23 Qh7ch, KE8 24 Qh8ch, Ke7 25 Rxf7ch! and wins; B) 18..Rfe8 19 Nxf7!, Qx£7 20 Bh7ch, K{8 21 Bg6, Qd7 22 £54; (© 18..Rae8 19 Nh7 winning the exchange; (D) 18..Be7 19 £5, Bxg5 20 Bxg5, £6 21 fxe6 (21...fxg5 22 0g6). Back to the game, 19 Nxe6! fxe6 20 Qg6 And the threat of 21 Qh7ch, Kf7 22 Bg6 mate leads to a massacre, Notice how both the White Bishops have secured diagonals. The game ended with: 20.0 RES 2Qxeéch RET 22. Og6 Kis 23.Qh7 Ke8 24 Bg6 BBChapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 4 2565 Kd7 (Desperation-but 26 f6 would have won in any event) 26 Bxf7, Nxe3 27 Be6ch, Ke6 28 Qg6, Bd6 29 Rfel, Nxd1 30 Rxdl, c4 31 BxdSch!, Kxd5 32 Qe6ch, Ke6 33 Qxc4ch, Kd7 34 Qe6ch, Ke6 35 dSch, KbS5 36 Qe2ch, Kad 37 Qc2ch, Kb5 38 adch. Black resigns. ‘And what about the other Bishop? It almost goes without saying that Black will try to exchange off the light-colored Bishops as soon as White play Bd3. A common method for Black to try for this trade is shown in the following: UFIMTSEV-VAISER KAZAKHSTAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 1965 1d4 N‘6 2NB 6 3Nbd2 a5 4e3 cs SNeS Bd6 64 As mentioned earlier, this is the Breyer move order leading to a delayed Stonewall. Black needs to develop his Queen Bishop and so he chooses to play: 6... 0-0 7Bd3 b6 8c3 Baé6 9 Be2!?a Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two And White is willing to take extreme measures to avoid the ex- change of light-squared Bishops. Implicit in this decision is the willingness to forego castling. White is saying: “I know where your King lives. With the center closed, I can go all out to attack it and not pay attention to where my King is." Black recognizes this and takes measures of his own: De Nbd7 10 Kf2 BxeS!? 11 dxe5 Ne8 12 Qhs 5 13 NB When Black blocks the key d3-h7 diagonal, White's choice of continuing the attack usually comes down to this: taking en-passant or opening the g-file with g2-g4xf5. Sometimes the en-passant option is superior because then White can attack the weakened e6-square. Here, however, White wants to open the e-file only. 13. Qe7 14Bd2 Ne7 154Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 43 It tums out that the White King is well-placed after all. It would be misplaced on gl even if castling had been legal because White will open the e-file and play Rel. 15.. 26 16 Qh3 Bb7 17 Rhgi Qg7 18 gxf exfS 19 Rg3 BoB 20 Ragi cA Black's last move is a gesture of frustration: He has no counter- play. White can simply retreat the Bishop, but he already is thinking of forcing a win such as the endgame after 21 QhS, gxh5 22 Rxg7ch, Kh8 23 Bxf5! (23...Ry5 24 Rg8 mate). 21. Qhs! RW 22. Rxgé! hxgs 23 Rxgé NOB 24Rxg7ch ——-Rxg7 25 BxfS BxfS 26 QxfS44 Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two Black has finally managed to exchange off the Bishops, but of course, positional niceties no longer matter. The game ended shortly after 26..Nfe6 27 h4, RIB 28 Qh3, Nc5 29 NgS, Nedch 30 Nxed, dxe4 31 Qhi!.Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 45 (3) QUEENSIDE PLAY: THE OPEN ‘AND HALE-OPEN C-file The Stonewall is not monolithic: White is not limited to winning by means of Qh5-Qxh7 mate. In general, he would like to keep the Queen side quiet, but this is not always possible. For example, there are times when the c-file becomes open, full or part way. Black can open it part way with ..c7-¢Sxd4: White must choose between the two pawn recaptures. In most cases, it pays for him to retake with his e-pawn because (A) his bad Bishop then improves in scope on the Kingside, (B) he may be able to use the extra two squares along the e-file that a Rook on el will now control, and (C) he keeps Black from exploiting the board's only open file (as he might after exd4), But these are not the only guidelines for the middlegame, There are times in which White either is forced, or opts from a free choice, to play exd4, Then attention may shift from the King’s wing to the Queen's because of the openess of the position there. White should not assume that the en- emy has the better Queenside prospects, as the following indicates:Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two GEZA MAROCZY (Hungary)-DAVID JANOWSKI (France) VIENNA 1902 1f4 dS 203 cS 344 6 4Ba3 Neb 53 Nf 6Nd2 Bd6 TNgf3 exd4t After this alert capture White must open the c-file since the alter- native, 8 exd4, surrenders the f-pawn without compensation (9...Bx4). 8exd4 Bd7 The battle for the board's only open file begins. Black threatens 9...NbA! followed by penetration on €2 (after 10 Be2, Rc8) or on d3 (after 10 Bl, Bb5!), He cannot seize those square immediately because 8..Nb4 9 Be2, BA7 allows White a breath and he uses it to play 10 a3!, forcing Black backward. 9a3t ReB 10 Qe2 Qb6 110-0 Ne7 Black wants to solve the problem of his QB by way of ...Ba4 or +86 and ...BbS, as well as winning control of 4 with a later ..Nf5-d6-e4. But he achieves these goals more directly--and without allowing White toChapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 47 expand on the Queenside--with the superior 11...a5!, followed by 12...Na7 and 13..Bb5! 12.Ne5 Bc6é 13b4 Bat 14 Bb2. Be2 15 Racl Bxd3 16 Qxd3 Black has achieved his strategic goal: the light-squared Bishops are off the board. But there has been some cost, a good deal of lost time. Moreover, White can use this time to reinforce some of the excellent dark squares of the board beginning with e5 and ¢5, 16. 0-0 17 Nb3. BxeS? Black should begin trading Rooks, not more minor pieces. He ex- pects to reach an endgame in which White's bad Bishop will be a chronic li- ability, but underestimates the initiative he grants the enemy. 18 dxeS! ‘An occasion when White does not benefit much from the half- opened f-file, particularly because if White were to launch a Kingside at- tack there would be plenty of enemy counterplay along the c-file. However, by recapturing with the d-pawn White clears 44 for his other Knight and makes the QB into an expansionist piece from b2. In the next few moves Maroczy establishes control of the c-file and this frees him for action on either wing. 18... Ne4 19 Bd4 Qd8 20 Rxc8. Nxc8 21 NeS! NxeS 22 BxcS ReB 23 £5!Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two White threatens 24 £6 after which Black's g7 will never be secure. Now Black makes concessions on the Queenside, diminishing control of what appears to be an insignificant square at 6, Bae b6 24Bd4 exfS 25 Oxt5 Qe7 26 Of Qa7 27 bs! RB Or 27..Qe6 28 Qg3!, Kh8 29 Rel! with play as in the game. White's next move threatens 29 Qxg7ch!, Kxg7 30 e6ch. 28 Qg3 a8 29 Rel 26 30 Rc6 Re8 31e6! aE @ t w tt 2B 4 2 t t a t a w Rt g A beautiful clearance sacrifice which allows his Rook to penetrate ate in the coming endgame, 31. Rxe6 32.Qe7! ‘There is nothing certain about 33 Re7, Qe8. But the endgame now forced by White finds Black in a remarkable bind. Ben Qxe7 33 RxeT ReB . Saad!