Strategy for

Advanced
Players

by Eric Schiller

Chess Digest
1992
2

Copyright © 1992 by Eric Schiller

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ISBN: 0-87568-202-2
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Author: Eric Schiller
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 3

Contents

Introduction.....................................................................7
Lesson 1
Exchanging pieces • Michell-Leonhardt.. ...................... 10
Lesson 2
Spatial disadvantage • Forgacs-Tartakower .................. 11
Lesson 3
Doubled pawns • Janowski-Capablanca .........................13
Lesson 4
Control of the center • Capablanca-Bogoljubow ..........16
Lesson 5
Infiltration • Wolf-Rubinstein ........................................20
Lesson 6
Coordination • Blechschmidt-Flohr ..............................24
Lesson 7
Kingside attack • Winter-Colle........................................ 27
Lesson 8
Kingside attack • Botvinnik-Vidmar .............................28
Lesson 9
Queenside majority • Keres-Fine ....................................30
Lesson 10
Open file • Alekhine-Book...............................................34
Lesson 11
Quiet move • Alekhine-Capablanca .............................37
4

Lesson 12
Pin • Keres-Euwe ................................................................39
Lesson 13
Discovered check • Botvinnik-Euwe .............................44
Lesson 14
Active position • Smyslov-Reshevsky ......................... .45
Lesson 15
Isolated pawn • Spassky-Aftonov .................................. .48
Lesson 16
Control of the diagonal • Smyslov-Botvinnik ............50
Lesson 17
Flexibility • Spassky-Smyslov ..........................................51
Lesson 18
Control of the Center • Evans-Larsen ............................52
Lesson 19
Cramped position • Nyezhmetdinov-Sakharov .........55
Lesson 20
Pressure • Smyslov-Spassky.............................................58
Lesson 21
Outpost • Smyslov-Simagin ............................................59
Lesson 22
Seventh rank • Reshevsky-Larsen .................................62
Lesson 23
Blockade • Spassky-Petrosian...........................................65
Lesson 24
Zugzwang • Fischer-Petrosian .........................................67
Lesson 25
"Man-on-man" coverage • Gligoric-Portisch ...............70
Lesson 26
Bishop pair • Karpov-Hort ............................................... 75
 5

Lesson 27
Fortress • Najdorf-Huebner .............................................78
Lesson 28
Good knight • Gligoric-Kavalek. ..................................... 82
Lesson 29
Pin • Pavlenko-Furman....................................................85
Lesson 30
Diagonal • Reshevsky-Schiller ........................................87
Lesson 31
Exchange sacrifice • Karpov-Spassky ..............................89
Lesson 32
Bad bishop • Karpov-Uhlmann ......................................92
Lesson 33
Bishops of opposite color • Hort-Kurajica ....................95
Lesson 34
Counterattacks • Reshevsky-Vaganian .........................97
Lesson 35
Open files • Hort-Alburt ................................................. 100
Lesson 36
Space • Ribli-Portisch....................................................... 103
Lesson 37
Exploiting the light squares • Speelman-Larsen........ 106
Lesson 38
Doubled rooks • Kasparov-Hjorth ................................ ll0
Lesson 39
Outpost • Hort-Karpov .................................................... 111
Lesson 40
Weak light squares • Kasparov-Yusupov ................... 114
Lesson 41
Open file • Borik-Hort ..................................................... 117
6

Lesson 42
Rook on the 7th rank • Hort-Miles ..............................120
Lesson 43
Spatial advantage • Timman-Kasparov ...................... 123
Lesson 44
Pressure • Schiller-Shannon..........................................126
Lesson 45
Outpost • Yermolinsky-Fedorowicz ............................. 127
Index of Themes ......................................................... 131
Index of Openings ....................................................... 133
Index of Games ............................................................ 134
 Strategy for Advanced Players 7

Introduction

The art of strategic planning is not easily acquired

from most teaching materials, yet it is one of the most
important aspects of practical play. I think that the reason
for this is primarily because the pedagogical technique
applied in most cases mimics that used in the teaching of
tactics. Tactical skill can be obtained by studying individual
elements of a position using a small set of stock maneuvers.
Positional factors have also been approached in this
way, with examples showing how a certain positional
weakness can be exploited by specific means. This is a fine
introduction to strategic play, and suitable for beginners.
The major difficulty, however, lies in combining the
appropriate methods with a solid positional evaluation and,
importantly, recognizing that one's opponent is likely to
counter any plan that arises. In a real game, therefore, a
player has to be prepared to switch plans frequently, to
constantly re-examine the strategy to see if it is still
appropriate under new circumstances. Often a change of
plan is required every few moves. Sometimes a plan which
was countered at one point in the game is made possible
again later in the game. For this reason the .games are
presented in chronological order, as each contains multiple
themes. To study individual ideas, use the index to find
games containing a particular theme.
This book contains complete games where the
strategic and positional factors that you have already
acquired are seen in the complex interplay of the
middlegame and endgame. There are few quick
knockouts-most of the games feature a fascinating ebb and
8 Strategy tor Advanced Players

flow of strategic plans. In some cases a single motif runs

throughout the game, in others many ideas are required in
order to achieve victory.
A few words of general advice are in order regarding
both studying the games and putting the knowledge gained
into action in tournament play. If tactics are the down-to-
earth business of chess, then strategy is its fine art. As such,
creativity is needed. It is well-known that computers do not
do well at long-term planning in chess. They can crunch
numbers, but they cannot dream. And indeed it is dreaming
that is necessary in order to amalgamate th.e positional
characteristics one sees on the board and to create a concrete
plan.
At the board, and especially when the opponent is on
the move, it is useful to fantasize about the position.
Imagine tactical operations which could be carried out if it
were not for the presence of a certain piece. Forget about the
laws of chess for a moment and think about where you
would like to put your pieces if you could simply pick them
up and move them to any square you wish without any
intervention on the part of your opponent. These mental
exercises help to focus your mind on the strategic goals of
the position. Once you know what you want to do, it is
simply a matter of figuring out some way of getting your
opponent to cooperate. The desired result can often be
achieved by such tactical operations as deflections and
sacrifices.
As you study the games in this book, constantly ask
yourself what each player is trying to accomplish and what
means are available to counter these plans. In some games a
player achieves his goal quickly because his opponent is
caught napping, in others the immediate threats are parried
and others take their place. In your own games, do not get
frustrated when your opponent sees what you are up to and
takes measures to prevent it - that is the normal course of a
 SrrategytorAdvancad~ay~ 9

chess game. Indeed, if you think about the constant

references to chess by sportscasters covering football,
baseball or basketball games it is this aspect of the Royal
Game that they usually have in mind. Instead, simply ask
what price your opponent has paid for his defense, and try
to come up with a plan which will exploit any new
weakness that may have been created. You will see this
concept at work in many of the games in this collection.
10 strategy tor Advanced Players

Lesson 1 ing pieces. But this is an

Exchanging pieces; pressure error since that strategy only
Michell-Leonhardt works when one is elim-
Brighton. 1904 inating an attacking piece,
Spanish Game preferably for a non-
defender. Here the opposite
l.e4 eS
is the case!
2.Nf3 Ne6
12... Qxd1?? would be a
3.BbS a6
blunder because of
4.Ba4 Nf6 13.Nxe7+ KhS 14.Rxdl.
5.0-0 Be7 13.Qe21
6.d4 exd4
The defence of the Bg5
7.eS Ne4 falls partly to the Black
8.Nxd4 0-0 queen, which lacks room to
9.Rel NeS maneuver. Appreciating
this fact, White switches the
10.Bxe6 dxe6 files of his own queen and
n.Ne3 Ne6 rook.
This move not only locks 13... Re8
in the BcS, but also concedes 14.Rdl Bd7
control of e4. With n ... ReS,
Black could have laid claim IS.Qg4
to equality. A very clever move,
indirectly increasing pres-
sure on the d-file, while
making threatening ges-
tures toward the enemy
king.
15... Bxel
16.Raxel g6
17.Ne4
12.NfS BgS
Now there is no defence.
Black hopes to limit
White's attack byexchang- 17 ... NfS
 Strategy for Advanced Players 11

18.Nf6+ Kh8 6.Nxe4 BxgS

White now wants to play 7.NxgS QxgS
his queen to the h-file and This line is no longer
give mate at h7. But he can't seen, since Black has no
do that, because the knight compensation for his bad
defends h7. Fine, but the bishop and spatial disad-
knight is also needed to vantage.
defend d7. This gives rise to 8.g3 cS
a forced win. Nc6
9.c3
19.Qh4 gxfS 10.f4 Qe7
1l.Nf3 Bd7
12.Qd2 0-0
13.Bd3 c4
14.Bc2 bS
15.0-0 as
16.Rael b4
And now the Nf8 is
overworked, so White has a
quick kill.
20.Rxd7! 1-0

Lesson 2
Spatial disadvantage; open
lines
Forgacs-Tartakower Black's attack is pro-
St. Petersburg, 1909 ceeding rapidly, so White
French Defense must open lines quickly.
17.Ng5 is met by 17 ... g6,
l.e4 e6
while 17.g4 runs into 17.. .f5.
2.d4 dS Time for a sacrifice!
3.Nc3 Nf6 17.fS! exfS
4.BgS Be7 Black was in no position
to allow 18.f6. And there
S.eS Ne4
12 Strategy tor Advanced Players
was no other defense. 17.. .f6
1B.fxe6 Bxe6 19.exf6 Rxf6
20.Bxh7+!! Kxh7 21.Ng5+
KgB 22.Rxf6 Qxf6 23.Rxe6.
After Black captured, White
needed to open the f-file
and the b1-h7 diagonal.
Once again, a sacrificial path
is available.
18.g4! ixg4
If Black had not captured,
but played 1B ... f4, White
could have ignored the
pawn and played 19.95!,
further constricting the
Black position and setting
up sacrifices at f6.
19.NgS g6
19 ... h6 20.Nh7! is a pretty
way of swinging the knight
to f6!
20.R£6
White envisions a
mating attack with Qd2-f2-
h4, but first this square
must be occupied so that
Black will not be able to
obtain any breathing room
with f7-f5.
20... Kg7
Now Black will be able to
defend against that plan by
playing RfB-hB. So White
must find a continuation
that will remove that
option. He achieves his goal
by increasing the pressure at
fl.
21.Ref1 Be8
An important conces-
sion, since now the RaB
cannot assist in the defense.
22.Qf4 Nd8
Black has carefully
overprotected f7. But the
solution here is simple
when one realizes that if
the pawn were absent from
f7, then Rf6xfB would be
playable.
23.e61 Ra6
A counter pin, which
White meets by setting up a
deadly discovered check.
23 ... Nxe6 24.Nxe6+
24.QeS! Kh6
Here it is important to
recognize the power of the
pin of the Pg6 by the rook. If
the White knight is re-
moved from g5, and a
White rook is placed at h5,
then mate follows quickly.
 Strategy for Advanced Players 13

2S.RlfSI fxe6
26.Nf7+ Qxf7
27.RhS+
. And the desired position
ISreached.
27... Kg7
28.Rxg6+ 1-0
A classic question con-
fronts White early in the
game-will the doubled
pawns resulting from the
Lesson 3 exchange of queens be weak,
Doubled pawns; weak pawns
or is the open a-file useful?
Janowski-Capobianco
New York (Rice), 1916 6.Qxb6?1 axb6
Slav Defense 7.cxdS NxdS
8.NxdS cxdS
1.d4 Nf6
2.Nf3 dS
3.c4 c6
4.Nc3 DfS
Not a particularly effec-
tive move in this line. The
control of e4 comes at a
high price, if White re-
~ponds correctly by captur-
Already we have an
~g at dS before developing
interesting endgame. Black
his queen at b3. has control of e4 and the a-
file while White has targets
S.Qb3?!
at dS, b6, and b7. But the
. This is not as effective, pawns are hard to get at.
since Black can respond
9.e3 Nc6
symmetrically.
S... Qb61 10.Dd2 Dd71
A tremendously insight-
ful move! Capablanca sees
14 Strategy for Advanced Players

that he must tum his weak As Black increases his

pawns into fighting pressure on the Queenside,
pieces-and the idea is to Janowski correctly decides
play NaS then bS-b4 which to react in the center. But
will constrict the White Capablanca is aware of his
queenside. White should opponent's plans.
prevent this with l1.BbS! 16... fS!
n.Be2?1 e6 This slows down the
12.0-0 advance e3-e4 for some
If White had played time, and makes White
1l.BbS, he would have been waste a few moves in
able to play 12.Ke2, keeping preparation.
the king centralized in the 17.g3 bS
endgame. As it turns out, 18.f3 Ne4
the king becomes a target! 19.Bxe4 bxe4
12... Bd6
20.e4 Kf7!
13.Rfel Ke7
With e4-eS coming,
14.Bc3 Rhe8 Black makes room for his
lS.a3? I bishop to retreat along the
Better was lS.Nd2. Now a3--f8 diagonal.
there is an additional hole 21.eS Be7
on the queenside, and the 22.f4 bS
b4-square belongs to Black The plan all along has
in any event. been to advance this pawn,
IS... NaS but now it takes on a new
16.Nd2 significance. White must
keep an eye on the queen-
side, and his less mobile
pieces are therefore ill-
equipped to defend the king
against a direct assault.
23.Kf2 Ra4
24.Ke3 Rea8
The threat of bS-b4 is
renewed. Keep this position
 strategy for Advanced Players 15

in mind as we continue. It this piece was dedicated to

is in stark contrast to the the protection of the queen-
position we will see in side, guarding against b5-b4.
seven more moves. What is 32... b4!
most important is that the 33.axb4
White pieces can't defend
the kingside! Now Black's fantasies in-
volve Bd7-e4+. Not
2S.Rabl h61 allowed by the rules, but
26.Nf3 gS Black finds away to work
27.Nel Rg81 around the rules. 33.Bxb4
Bxb4 34.axb4 hS 3S.h4 Rg3+
28.Kf3 gxf4
36.Kf2 Rd3 37.Rgdl Rgg3
29.gxf4 Ru8 was an unacceptable alter-
30.Ng2 Rg4 native.
31.Rgl Rag8 33... Ba41
Black's play requires no 34.Ral
comment-Capablanca saw Completely mlssmg the
that White's pieces were out point. 34.Rcl was needed,
of play and simply switched but then after 34... Bb3 Black
sides of the board. His would have been able to
greater mobility enabled invade on the a-file.
him to achieve a winning 34... Be2
position with great ease.
3S.Bg3 Be4+
32.Be1
36.Kf2 hS
37.R a7 Bxg21
38.Rxg2 h4
And the rest is simple:
39.Bxh4 Rxg2+
40.Kf3 Rxh2
41.Bxe7
White tries to get his 41.Rxe7+ KfS 42.Bf6
bishop involved in the RghS! 43.Bxh8 Kxe7
defense. But we recall that 41... Rh3+
16 Strategy tor Advanced Players

42.Kf2 Rb3 Is this a loss of time? Not

43.BgS+ Kg6 really, since the knight will
eventually be forced back
44.Re7 Rxb2+ with b2-b3 and then the
4S.Kf3 Ra8 bishop can be profitably
46.Rxe6+ Kh7 employed at b2.
0-1 13... cS

Lesson 4
Control of the center;
pawnstorm
Capablanca-
Bogoljubow
London (m/6). 1922
Spanish Game
1.e4 eS Classical Spanish play-
2.Nf3 Black will expand on the
Nc6
queenside and White will
3.BbS a6 attempt to keep control of
4.Ba4 Nf6 the center and attack on the
5.0-0 Be7 kingside.
14.b3 NaS
6.Re1 bS
lS.Bb2
7.Bb3 d6
As promised. It would
8.c3 0-0 have been wrong to push
9.d4 exd471 the d-pawn, because then
The release of tension in Black would simply swing
the center is premature. his knight from f6 to d7 and
9... Bg4 is the contemporary stick the bishop on the long
reply. diagonal.
10.cxd4 Bg4 15 ... Nc6
1l.Be3 NaS 16.dS Nb4
12.Bc2 Nc4
13.Bc1
 Strategy tor Advanced Players
Black has lured White
into playing d4-dS, but it
has cost him some time. He
now attempts to eliminate
the Spanish bishop, which
can be dangerous after eS.
17.Nbd2 Nxc2
18.Qxc2
Black now has the bishop
pair, but White controls the
center and has a strong
bishop at b2. Should he play
on the kingside, as usual, or
perhaps undermine the
Black pawn structure with
a2-a4. Or both? And how to
time all of this?
18... Re8
19.Qd3
A very nice move which
increases the pressure on
the queenside while
making it easier for the
queen to get to the kingside
via the third rank. Before
making a concrete plan,
White strives to improve
the position of his pieces.
17
19 ... h6
If Black was worried
about e4-eS, he could have
played Nf6-d7, but White
isn't ready for such action
yet.
19 ... Nd7 20.eS Bxf3
21.Nxf3 dxeS 22.NxeS NxeS
23.BxeS Bd6 24.Bxd6 Qxd6
25.Radl is not likely to be
enough to win, given the
blockade of the pawn.
20.Nf1 Nd7
21.h3 BhS?!
Black is a little too
attached to his bishop pair.
He should have captured
and then played Bf6, to take
control of the eS square
which has been the center
of attention for some time.
22.N3d2! Bf6
23.Bxf6 Qxf6
Black seems to have
secured the central squares,
but now White deflects the
Black knight to the queen-
18 Strategy for Advanced Players

side, and then launches his This is a passive move

attack. which creates further holes
24.a4! c4 in Black's position. Since all
25.bxc4 Nc5
of his chances lay on the
queenside, he should have
26.Qe3 bxa4 continued with his infiltra-
tion of the White position.
32... Rb2 33.Rxb2 Qxb2 34.Rbl
Qc2 35.Kf3 Nb3 36.Ngfl f6
would have been appro-
priate, since in this position
the White pieces cannot
occupy any of the holes on
the kingside. Indeed, Black's
advanced pawn can be
The position has changed
dangerous, and the Bh7
considerably. Black has
might eventually enter the
some valuable assets on the game via a4.
queenside and a seemingly
well-placed knight-but it is 33.Nf3! Rb2+
actually offside. 34.R xb2 Qxb2+
27.f4! 35.Re2
White is prepared to This is a much more
bring a pawnstorm against comfortable position for
the enemy king. The Nc5 White. The hole at e6 will
cannot come to the aid of its be a nice landing site for the
monarch. The attack can be Nf3, and the passed pawn is
repelled, but only by going not important.
into a complicated end- 35... Qb3
game.
36.N d4! Qxe3
27 ... Qe7
36 ... Qxc4 37.Ne6! is good
28.g4 Bg6 for White. Black cannot
29.f5 Bh7 take the knight, because
30.Ng3 Qe5 then the bishop at h7 is
permanently out of the
31.Kg2 Rab8 game. The best continuation
32.Rabl f6?! would be to seize the open
 Strategy for Advanced Players
file. 37... Rb8 38.Nxc5! dxc5
39.Rd2 Rb3 40.Qf2! and
White has a powerful
passed pawn, which cannot
be stopped by the Black king
since 40... Kf8 would be met
by 41.Qf4!
37.Rxe3 RbS
At first sight it seems that
Black has all the chances
with his open file and
passed pawn. But White
sees the potential of a
passed d-pawn!
38.Rc3 Kf7
39.Kf3 Rb2
40.Nge2 Bg8
Now White, keeping in
mind the theme of the
previous variations, sees
that he can achieve his goal
of a passed d-pawn. He
notices that the pawn at e4
is not a material consider-
ation in this position.
41.Ne6! Nb3
19
Of course Black cannot
even think about ex-
changing at e6 and
entombing the bishop.
41 ... Nxe4 42.Kxe4 Rxe2+
43.Kd4 is a winning end-
game for White, since the
bishop is absolutely useless
and the king is close
enough to pick off the a-
pawns even if the rooks
leave the board.
42.c511 dxc5
43.Nxc5 Nd2+
44.Kf2 Ke7?!
Again Black finds him-
self unthinkingly following
conventional wisdom by
moving his king to the
center. But he needed to
invest more thought in his
queenside advantage.
44 ... Nbl! 45.Rc4! a3
46.Ne6! Ke7! (46 ... a2 47.Rc7+
Ke8 48.d6 with a mating
net.) 47.Rc7+ Kd6 48.Rc6+
Ke7 49.Rxa6 (49.Rc7+ Kd6
draws.) Bxe6 50.Rxe6+ Kd7
51.Ra6 a2 52.Kel and the
king gets over in time.
45.Kel Nbl
46.Rd3 a3?!
And here Black should
have stuck to his plan,
instead of belatedly switch-
20 strategy tor Advanced Players

ing to the queenside ad- l.e4 e5

vance. 2.Nf3 Ne6
46 ... Kd6! 47.Nxa4 Rb4
48.Nac3 Nxc3 49.Nxc3 Bf7 3.Nc3 Nf6
SO.Kd2 g6 51.Ke3 gxf5 52.gxf5 4.Bb5 Bb4
Be8 with drawing chances, 5.0-0 0-0
although the kingside
pawns remain very weak. 6.d3 d6
47.d6+ KdS 7.Bg5 Bxc3
S.bxc3 Qe7
9.Rel NdS
10.d4 Bg4
1l.h3 Bh5
12.g4 Bg6
13.Nh4
At the time, 13.d5 was
At this point White is considered the best move,
concentrating on mate but all of this was still
rather than a longwinded within well-known theory
endgame. The idea is that a at the time.
knight at c6 would force the 13... h6
king off the queening
14.Nxg6
square.
An innovation, and a
4S.Nd4! Rb6
poor one. Black's light-
49.Nde6+ Bxe6 squared bishop had no effect
50.fxe6 RbS on the game and it was silly
51.e7+ KeS to give up a useful knight
for it. Rubinstein failed to
52.Nxa6 1-0 achieve equality against
Drewitt at Hastings 1922
Lesson 5 after 14.Bc4!.
In/iltration; passed pawns 14 ... fxg6
Wolf-Rubinstein 15.Bc4+ Kh7
Teplin Schonau, 1922
Spanish Four Knights 16.Bh4 g5
 Strategy for Advanced Players
17.Bg3
Black, his dark-squared
bishop gone from the board,
can be delighted with his
position, since the knights
operate effectively in the
garden of pawns.
17... N£'1
18.Qf3 Rae8
19.Qe3 b6
Does Black's strategy in-
volve giving up the light
square? Hardly. Rubinstein
understands that the bishop
can do no harm if it has no
targets, and now White can
gain time by moving a rook
to the b-file. The kingside is
what counts.
20.Bb5 Rd8
21.a4
Time to start planning!
The obvious post for a Black
knight is f4, since if White
captures it the safety of the
Black king is guaranteed.
And let's face it, the knights
21
are the only Black pieces
which can do anything in
the position.
21... Nh81
22.a5 Ng6
Is Black ignoring the
queenside? No, Rubinstein
appreciates that an open
line on the queens ide is a
double-edged sword, and
later he may be able to turn
it to his own advantage.
23.f3 Nf4
24.B£1 Kh8
Just to free up h7 for the
knight, should it prove
useful. Black is in no rush.
25.Bxf4 gxf4
26.Qf2 g5
Black is preparing some
tactical shots if White gets
ambitious and tries to open
up the kingside.
27.d5
27.h4 Qe6! 28.Qg2 (28.Be2
d5! 29.exd5 Qxd5 30.dxe5
Qxe5 and Black can starting
22 Strategy for Advanced Players

munching on his oppo-

nent's pawns.) gxh4 29.Qh3
RgB 3O.Qxh4 Nxg4! 3Uxg4
Rxg4+
27... hS
Thanks to his tactical
diversions, Black has taken
over the initiative on the
kingside. White's bishop White seems to be coping
moves to an even more with the threats, but here
pathetic post. Rubinstein looks deep into
2S.Bg2 Kg7 the endgame and recognizes
29.Qe2 RhS the value of a passed h-
30.Kf2 pawn.
34... Rh4!
Here Rubinstein demon-
strates his strategic mastery 3S.Rxh4
of the game. Just as all of White would have liked
the attention is focused on to resolve matters on the
the Kingside, he prepares to queenside with axb6 but this
act on the queenside as well, was not possible because the
posting his "extra piece" at opening of the c-fiIe would
O. expose the weakness of the
30... RaS! doubled pawns.
31.Rebl Nd7 3S... gxh4
32.QbS hxg4! 36.Bh3 bxaS!
With White's heavy 37.QxaS QdS
artillery forced to defend the Now Black has estab-
queenside, thanks to the lished dear superiority with
impotence of the bishop, passed pawns on both sides
Black switches to the king- of the board. But he still
side again to open an must find a way to convert
important line for this advantage into victory.
infiltration. 3S.Rbl RbS
33.hxg4 NcS 39.Rb4
34.Rhl
 strategy for Advanced Players
39.Rxb8 Qxb8 followed by
Qb6 would have been much
easier for Black.
39... a6
40.Ke2 Rb6
41.Qal Kg6!
The king will pull his
own weight by defending
the pawn at h4.
42.Kd2 KgS
43.Rbl Qb8
The b-file is secured.
White regroups his forces,
using the rook on the h-file
which both frees his bishop
for action on the queenside
and also creates the threat of
Qel.
44.Rhl
Black must now find a
way to keep White occupied
on the queenside. He sees
the potential of a fork at b3,
but that won't work until
there is a pin at c2.
44... as!
23
The more prosaic Rb2
was playable, but Rubinstein
appreciated the superior
possibilities offered by this
pseudo-sacrifice.
4S.Bg2
Sticking with the original
plan. Taking the pawn
would have proved fatal.
45.Qxa5 Rb2 46.Qa3 Nb3+
47.Ke2 (47.Kd3 Qb5+ 48.c4
Qb6 and the queen mates on
the dark squares.) Qb5+
48.Kf2 Rxc2+ 49.Kgl Qe2.
45... a4
46.Qel QhB
47.Qcl Ra6
4B.B£1 RaB
49.Bc4
Finally the bishop is back
in the game, doing some-
thing useful. Blockading the
pawn with the queen would
have been disastrous. 49.Qa3
Qb8 50.Bc4 (50.Be2 Qb6 51.c4
Rb8 52.Ral Nb3+! 53.cxb3
Qe3+ 54.Kdl axb3 55.Qb2 h3)
Qb6! 51.Qcl Nxe4+!! 52.fxe4
Qe3+ 53.Kdl Qxe4.
49... a3
SO.Ba2 Qh7!
Sl.Rh3 Nd7
51...Nxe4+ 52.fxe4 Qxe4
53.Qgl! stops the attack.
24 strategy for Advanced Players

52.Qfl QhS Lesson 6

53.Rhl Nc5 Coordination; flight sqllares;
press lire
54.Qc1
Blechschmldt-Flohr
Zwlckau, 1930
English Opening
l.c4 Nf6
2.g3 c5
3.Bg2 g6
4.Nc3 Bg7
5.Nf3 Nc6
This is the critical 6.0-0 d6
position. Black must find a
way to get at the White 7.h3 Bd7
king, since the pawns are S.e3
blockaded. The solution is The immediate 8.d4 was
to sacrifice both of them! called for, opening up the
54... RbSl game. The quiet 8.d3 would
55.Qxa3 RaS also have been reasonable,
but the text simply creates
56.Qb2 h31
weaknesses on the light
With the White queen squares.
tied to the defense of the S... QcS
bishop, Black carves a path
to the enemy king via the 9.Kh2
h4-i!1 diagonal.
57.Bc4 Qh4
5S.Be2 Qf2!
59.Rxh3 Qe3+
60.Kel Na4
And White resigned. A
brilliant strategic game from
the famous tactician. 0-1 Many players would
automatically castle here,
 Strategy tor Advanced Players 25

but if so, then how would a

kingside attack be carried
out? Instead, Flohr counts
on safety in the center.
9... hS!
10.d4 h4!
11.gxh4
White must try to keep Black seems to have an
the h-file blocked in order unstoppable attack, but
to protect the king. because his own king is
I1.Nxh4? g5 I2.Nf3 Bxh3 stuck in the center his
I3.KgI Bxg2 I4.Kxg2 Qh3+ pieces do not coordinate
I5.KgI QhI+ well. White must stop
11... gS! I5 ...0..{H).
And Black must strive to lS.dS! NeS
open up the h-file! The 16.Qa4+ Nfd7
pawn cannot be captured.
17.NxeS BxeS
12.Rhl
18.e4 Qg6
I2.Nxg5 Rxh4 threatens
the d-pawn as well as Bh6. 19.Kfl
I2.hxg5 Bxh3 13.gxf6
(13.Bxh3 Qxh3+ I4.KgI
QhI+) Bxg2+ 14.Kxg2 Qh3+
I5.KgI Qhl+.
12... g4
13.h xg4 Bxg4
14.Kg1 QfS

White has lost the

initiative, as the threat of
Bf3 had to be met. Now
Black needs a plan. He can
force the win of the e-pawn,
a good first step.
26 strategy for Advanced Players
19 ... Bxc31
20.bxc3 Be2+
21.Kxe2
21.Kgl is met by Bf3 .
21... Qxg2
22.Be3 Qxe4
23.Rab1
A deceptive position.
White seems to be making
real progress on the queen-
side. But if Black can open a
line on the queenside then
the king is vulnerable.
23... b51
Exploiting the pin at c4
and the pressure at hI.
There is no need to go after
the h-pawn when the
enemy monarch is a much
more attractive target.
24.Qxb5 RbS
25.Qc6
25.QxbB+ NxbB 26.RxbB+
Kd7 27.RxhB Qxhl 2B.hS Qe4
29.h6 Qxc4+ 30.Kel QxdS
31.h7 Qhl+ 32.Ke2 fS and
the Black king emerges at
e6, after which his pawns
decide.
25... Qxc4+
26.Kf3
Black needs to find a way
to continue the attack with-
out the participation of his
rooks. He will require the
services of the pinned
knight. 26.Kd2 O-O! 27.Qxd7
Qxa2+ 2B.Kd3 QxdS+ 29.Kc2
Qe4+.
26... f51
The point of this move is
not merely the threatened
mate at g4, but more
significantly, a flight square
for the king, so that the pin
can be broken.
27.Rxb8+
27.Rbgl Qe4+ 2B.Ke2
Rb2+.
27... Kf'7
Now White must attend
to the threatened mate at g4.
28.Bd4 Ne5+!
 strategy for Advanced Players 27

The knight finally joins

the attack-with decisive
results.
29.Bxe5 Qe4+
And White resigned
because of 30.Kg3 Qg4+
31.Kh2 Rxh4 mate.
Clearly in this position
Lesson 7 Black is going to want to
Kingside attack attack on the kingside. But
Wlnter-Colle first he takes time out to put
Scarborough, 1930 some pressure on the c-file.
Nlmzoindlan 13... Re8!
This rook could not be
1.d4 Nf6 expected to take part in the
attack. Therefore it lines up
2.e4 e6 on the c-file, in order to
3.Ne3 Bb4 keep some of White's
4.Qb3 e5 potential defenders tied
down. This makes the
5.dxe5 Ne6 attack easier to achieve.
6.Nf3 Ne4 14.Rfd1 Qe7
7.Bd2 Nxe5 15.b4 N e4
8.Qe2 f5 16.Be1
9.e3 0-0 White preserves the
10.a3 Bxe3 bishop because his plan is to
advance his b-pawn and
1l.Bxe3 b6
then play Bb4, creating
12.Be2 Bb7 tremendous pressure on the
13.0-0 dark squares. His king
seems safe enough, since
there are no attacking pieces
in sight.
16... Rf6!
28 Strategy for Advanced Players

Simultaneously lessen- 18.f3QgS!

ing the effect of Bb4 and 18.Bf3 NeS!
sta rting the offensive. 18.g3 NeS19.Qb3 Qh4
17.Nd4? 18... Ng5!
White is oblivious to the 19.Kh1
danger-though in reality In order to avoid the
he has but a few moments check at f3. But Black
left to live. 17.B£1 would doesn't need a check!
have defended the g2- 19... Nxd4
square, and the defense of f3
could have been entrusted 20.exd4 Nf3!!
to a queen at e2. This is the position
17... Rg6! envisioned back at move 18.
The threat is simply Qh4:
21.dS Qh4 22 h3 (22.gxf3
QgS) 22 ... Qxh3+! 23.hxg3
Rgl#.O-1

Lesson 8
Kingside attack;
interdependence
Botvinnik-Vldmar
This position is winning Nottingham, 1936
for Black because his minor Queen's Gambit Declined
pieces can strike quickly and l.c4 e6
White is not able to defend
in time. 2.Nf3 d5
18.B£1 3.d4 Nf6
Given that the Black 4.Bg5 Be7
queen can get to the 5.Nc3 0-0
kings ide via h4, the pre-
sence of a Black knight at f3 6.e3 Nbd7
should be decisive. Al- 7.Bd3 c5
though the Pg2 is pinned, 8.0-0 cxd4
White can use his Nd4 to
9.exd4 dxc4
defend the square. But the
Nd4 can be eliminated. 10.Bxc4 Nb6
 Strategy for Advanced Players
11.Bb3
White already enjoys a
comfortable position, and
Black should have taken
some measures to reduce
the pressure. 11...NfdS is
called for.
11... Bd7
12.Qd3 Nbd5
Black blockades the
pawn, which is the correct
positional reaction, but
some commentators sug-
gested that the other knight
would have been the correct
one. After I2... NfdS I3.Bc2
g6 White would still have
enjoyed a small advantage.
13.Ne5 Bc6
14.Rad1
29
The interdependence of
Black's forces is both an
asset and a liability. White
is going to attack on the
kings ide, so Black must
strive for activity.
14... Nb4?1
Continued development
was called for, with either
I4... QaS or I4 ... Rc8. The
knight will not accomplish
anything more than
encouraging White's queen
to move to a more effective
post on the kingside.
15.Qh3 Bd5
Black spends more time
jousting with the Bb3, but
this problem is easily
solved. On the other hand,
IS ... NfdS I6.Bc1! would also
have been very strong for
White.
16.Nxd5 Nbxd5
Now it is time for White
to create a concrete plan
based on his positional
advantages. The target is fl.
30 Strategy for Advanced Players

One would like to have a 21.Bxf6 Bxf6

semi-open f-file, and also 21...Nxf6 22.Rxf6! Qxf6
eliminate the pawn at e6. 23.Qxc8+ Bf8 24.Bxf7+ Qxf7
Two concepts equal one 25.Rfl Qe7 26.Rxf8+ Qxf8
plan! 27.Qxf8+ Kxf8 28.Kf2 is an
17.f4! Re8 easy win.
17... g6 is not playable 22.Rxd5 Qc6
because of 18.Bh6 Re8 22... Bxd4+ 23.Kh1!
19.Ba4 and the bishops com- 23.Rd6
bine from a great distance to
win the exchange. Avoiding the final trap of
23.Rc5?? Bxd4+!
18.f5 exfS
23... Qe8
Forced, since 18.Qd6
19.fxe6 fxe6 leaves the pawn 24.Rd7 1-0
at e6 much too weak.
19.Rxf5 Qd6?!
This allows White to Lesson 9
achieve his strategic goal by Qlleenside majority; kingside
tactical means, but 19... Rc7 attack
20.Rdfl and 21.Qh4 would Keres-Fine
have left Black in despair. Ostend. 1937
Seml-Tarrasch Defense
1.Nf3 d5
2.d4 Nf6
3.c4 e6
4.Nc3 c5
5.cxd5 Nxd5
6.e4 Nxc3
20.Nxf7!! 7.hxe3 cxd4
The combination of pins
8.cxd4 Bb4+
on the file and on the
diagonals reap rewards. 9.Bd2 Bxd2+
20... Rxf7 10.Qxd2
20... Kxf7 21.Bxd5+.
 Strategy for Advanced Players
A common position in
the Semi-Tarrasch. Black
aims for an endgame,
where he can take advan-
tage of the queenside
majority. White controls
the center.
10... 0-0
11.Be4
Part of White's strategy
lies in advancing his d-
pawn at the appropriate
time. The other component
is a kingside attack. The two
plans can be joined if the a2-
g8 diagonal is part of the
attack.
11... Nd7
This is the more flexible
move, which allows the
knight to participate in the
defense. 11...Nc6 places pres-
sure on the center, but
eventually the knight will
be attacked by an advance of
the d-pawn. Both moves are
played these days.
12.0-0 b6
31
13.Radl Bb7
14.Rfel Re8
15.Bb3 Nf6
This is the active con-
tinuation, which targets the
e4-square and keeps an eye
on dS, thus directly aimed at
countering White's strategy.
This knight could also have
been posted at f8 (after Rf8-
e8), adopting a purely de-
fensive plan.
16.Qf4 Qe7
Black would be delighted
to see the queens leave the
board, but White is still
interested in a kingside
attack.
17.Qh4 Rfd8
The developmental
phase of the game is
concluded, and it is time for
decisions with regard to
long-term strategy.
18.Re3?!
White has a difficult time
planning here. The im-
32 Strategy for Advanced Players
mediate advance of the d-
pawn fails, but White sees
that it can be made to work
once the Rdl is removed
from the d-file. Yet the
correct plan is a kings ide
attack, so he should kick the
knight.
a) IB.d5? exd5 19.e5
would be a reasonable plan,
coupled with an exchange
sacrifice. But it doesn't
work. 19... Ne4 20.Rxe4 dxe4
leaves the Rdlloose. 21.Ng5
Rxdl+ 22.Bxdl h6 and
White has no compensation
for the exchange.
b) IB.Ne5 Qc3! 19.Re3?
Qxd4! 20.Rxd4 Rc1+.
c) IB.e5! is correct, de-
priving the kingside of its
only defender. Keres dem-
onstrated the effectiveness
of this plan with the follow-
ing concrete variations: Nd7
(lB... Nd5 19.Ng5 h6 20.Ne4
Nc3 21.Nf6+!) (lB ... Bxf3
19.exf6! Bxdl 20.Qg5 KfB
21.Qxg7+ KeB 22.Rxe6+!)
19.Ng5 NfB 20.Ne4 Bxe4
21.Qxe4 and White has a
positional advantage thanks
to his bishop and the ready
availability of d4-d5.
18... bS!
Black correctly anticipates
White's strategy and pre-
pares b6 for the queen, so
that immediate pressure
can be placed at d4 if White
advances e4-e5.
19.Rde1 as?!
But this is overambitious.
All Black has to do is
eliminate the kingside
attack and he can enjoy his
queenside superiority at his
leisure.
20.a4! b4?
A critical strategic error.
Here or at the last turn
Black should have played
h7-h6, so that White would
not be able to use the g5-
square. Of course at this
point 20... bxa4 would have
to be interpolated, but after
20.Bxa4 h6 it is better for
Black.
21.dS!
The same theme returns.
After Black captures, White
will push the e-pawn and
then play Ng5 with a strong
attack.
 Strategy for Advanced Players
21... exd5
21...eS 22.NgS Rd6 23.f4
with a strong attack.
22.e5 Nd7
22 ... Ne4 is helpful to
White in that it allows him,
via an exchange sacrifice, to
open the diagonal for the
Bb3. This has no immediate
effect, but with a prelim-
inary pawn sacrifice White
adds considerable force to
the attack. 23.e6! fxe6
24.Rxe4! dxe4 Now Bxe6+
fails to recover the material,
but the kingside, deprived
of its principal defender, is
now vulnerable to a
powerful zWischenzug.
2S.NgS! Qc3! This move
almost turns the tables, by
attacking both the Bb3 and
ReI while simultaneously
defending g7. But the
bishop escapes with check.
26.Bxe6+ KfS 27.Rfl! Here
White will at least recover
his exchange, or can aim for
f7 via f4.
23.Ng5 Nf8?
This was Black's last
chance to defend with h7-
h6, though this is already
too late to achieve equality:
23 ... h6 24.e6! hxgS
25.exf7+ Kxf7 26.Re7+ KgS
33
27.QxgS Qc3 2S.h3! Qf6
29.BxdS+ BxdS 30.QxdS+
KhS 31.Rxd7 Rxd7 32.Qxd7
RfS with an advantage to
White, although it will not
be easy to win the position.
24.Nxh7!
White single-mindedly
carries out his attack. The
material is not important
because neither the Bb7 nor
the RcS can participate in
the defense, but the Bb3 can
playa role. In any event, the
material is recouped
quickly.
24... Nxh7
25.Rh3 Qct
Obviously the knight
cannot move because of
mate at hS.
26.Qxh7+ Kf8
27.Rhe3 d4
28.Qh8+ Ke7
29.Qxg7 Rf8
29 ... BdS 30.Qf6+ KeS
(30 ... Kd7 31.BxdS) 31.e6!
34 strategy tor Advanced Players

Bxe6 32.Rxe6+ fxe6 33.Qxe6+ 8.a4 would lead to more

Kf834.Qe7+
30.Qf6+ Ke8
31.e61
And Black resigned
because of 31 ... dxe3 32.exf7+
Rxf7 33.Bxf7+ Kd7 34.Qe6+.
The combination of d4-dS
and a kingside attack was
played to perfection. 1-0
common lines.
8... bS
9.Bb3
Alekhine correctly keeps
the bishop on the queen-
side, as the lack of a rook at
d1 means that 9.Bd3 leaved
d4 without sufficient protec-
tion.
9... b4
This came as a surprise to
Alekhine, who expected
Black to play 9... Be7, as in an
encounter with Euwe.

Lesson 10
Open file; light squares
Alekhine-Book
Margate, 1938 9... Be7 1O.dxcS 0-0 11.e4
Queen's Gambit Declined and White stands better
1.d4 d5 9... Bb7?! 10.Rd1 Qc711.dS!
2.c4 dxc4 exdS 12.NxdS NxdS 13.BxdS
followed by e3-e4 and the
3.Nf3 Nf6 eventual placement of the
4.e3 e6 Ra1 at c1 would provide
5.Bxc4 c5 lasting pressure.
10.d5!
6.0-0 Nc6
Alekhine's judgement is
7.Qe2 a6 probably correct, though
8.Nc3 Taimanov's preferred
 strategy for Advanced Players 35

IO.Na4 is a worthy alterna-

tive. White's goal is to
advance the e-pawn, and to
do this he must somehow
release the pressure at d4.
10... Na5
lO ... exdS 11.NxdS NxdS
12.Rdl followed by e3-e4
gives a clear advantage to 13 ... Be7 14.Bxd7+ Nxd7
White. IS.NeS Ra7 16.QhS+ g6
17.Nxg6 is a line given by
1l.Ba4+ Bd7
Brinckmann.
White has achieved quite
14.Rxd7!!
a lot, but wouldn't it be
great if he also had a rook Alekhine describes this as
on an open d-file? With the highpoint of the
this idea in mind, we can combination. The main
easily see how Alekhine reason why the White
creates one of his impres- attack is consequential is the
sive combinations. position of the NaS which
cannot participate in the
12.dxe6 fxe6
play.
12... Bxa4 13.exf7+ Kxf7
14... Nxd7
14.Nxa4.
13.Rdl 15.Ne5 Ra7
And here we are! The 16.bxc3
advance d4-dS has borne
delicious fruit! 13.Bxd7+
Qxd7 14.Rdl Qc6! IS.Nbl
Be7=.
13... bxc3

Taking stock of the

position, it is clear that if
the Bel can get into play
36 Strategy tor Advanced Players
then Black will be in serious
difficulty.
16... Ke7
A strange looking move,
but the alternatives are not
pleasant. 16... Be7 17.Qh5+ g6
lS.Nxg6 hxg6 19.QxhS+ BfS
20.Bc2 (20.e4 Nc4 21.Bh6 Qe7
22.Rbl!?) Qf6 21.Qxf6 Nxf6
22.Bxg6+ KdS 23.Bd2 Nc4
24.Bel and it is not clear
that the three pawns and
bishop pair will be enough
to win though White is not
likely to lose this position,
which follows analysis by
Brinckmann.
16 ... Bd6 17.Qh5+! g6
lS.Nxg6 hxg6 19.QxhS+ BfS
2O.e4 Qe7 21.Bh6 Nc4 22.Rbl
with two pawns and
enormous pressure for the
piece. Note that 22 ... Kf7
loses to 23.Qh7+ KeS
24.RbS+!'
17.e4!
This sets up tricks with
Bg5+.
17... Nf6
18.BgS
And now Qh5+ is in the
air.
18 ... Qc7
19.B£4 Qb6
a) 19 ... KdS 20.Nc6+ Qxc6
(20 ... Nxc6 21.Bxc7+ Kxc7
22.e5 Nd7 23.f4) 21.Bxc6
Nxc6 22.Rdl+ Nd7 23.e5 and
the queen will pillage on
the light squares.
b) 19 ... Qb7 20.Qe3! KdS
(20 ... Nxe4 21.Bg5+ Kd6
22.Rdl+ Qd5 23.Rxd5+ exd5
24.Qf4+-) 21.Qd3+ KcS
22.Rbl Qxe4 23.Nf7 Rxf7
24.RbS+#.
20.Rd1 g6
a) 2O ... Nb7 21.Nc4.
b) 20 ... RaS 21.Bg5 RdS
22.Nd7 Qc7 23.e5+-.
c) 20 ... RgS 21.Bg5 h6
22.Qh5 g6 23.Nxg6+ Rxg6
24.Qxg6 hxg5 25.e5! Nd5
26.QeS+# was pointed out
by Brinckmann.
21.BgS Bg7
22.Nd7!
The decisive, thematic
thrust that brings the game
to a swift conclusion.
22... Rxd7
 Strategy for Advanced Players 37

23.Rxd7+ KfS 11.a3 NfS

24.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.b4 Bd7
25.e5 13.Be3 NdS?!
And Black resigned, Black does have a plan-
rather than walk into the to play BbS and exchange
obvious line: 2S ... Qb1+ the light-squared bishops.
26.Rd1 QfS 27.exf6 Qxf6 But this is easily parried,
28.Qxa6 Qxc3 29.Qxe6 to and turns out to be just a
which there is simply no waste of time.
defense. 1-0 14.Nc3! as

Lesson 11
Qlliet move
AlekhlnEK:apablanca
AVRO.1938
French Defense
Black challenges White's
1.e4 e6 queenside formation and
forces White to determine
2.d4 d5 his short-term plans.
3.Nd2 Nf6 Alekhine decides to plant a
4.e5 Nfd7 pawnatbS.
15.Na4 Qa7
5.Bd3 c5
16.b5
6.c3 N c6
Now the scope of the Bd7
7.Ne2 Qb6 is severely limited, a~d
S.Nf3 cxd4 Black's plan, beginning with
9.cxd4 Bb4+ 13 ... Nd8?!, is exposed as
faulty.
10.Kfl Be7?!
16... b6
In this sharp line of the
French, opening lines with
10.. .£6 is a wiser move.
38 strategy tor AdvO'lced Players
The picture is quite
different from that of the
previous diagram. With the
queenside secured, White
now turns his attention to
the kingside.
17.g3!
In order to achieve
results on the kings ide,
White may need to use both
rooks, so he takes time out
to prepare a nice safe hole
for his king. Alekhine
always prepared his attacks
well. That's why he was able
to play so many combina-
tions.
17... fS
18.Kg2 Nfl
19.Qd2!
Alekhine is not so
captivated by his own plan
that he forgets to keep an
eye on his opponent.
Capablanca was preparing
g7-g5 and Nf8-g6. This
must be stopped!
19... h6
20.h4 Nh7
21.h5!
Excellent judgement.
Alekhine sees that the
enemy knight will get to e4,
but reasons that the hole at
g6 will be more important.
21... NEg5
22.Nh4 Ne4
23.Qb2 Kfl
23... Bxh4 24.gxh4! keeps
control of critical squares on
the kingside, and now 25.f3
will prove fatal to the Ne4.
24.f3 NegS
Looking at the position,
we can see that if the Pf5
were out of the way White
could launch a powerful
attack. Alekhine wastes no
time in achieving this goal.
25.g41 fxg4
26.Bg6+1
A useful interpolation,
which cuts off the com-
 strategy for Advanced PIoyers 39

munication of the enemy 32 ... Ng5 33.fxg5 Qf5+

rooks. 34.Kg3 and the king is
26... KgS perfectly safe, while the
27.f4 Nf3?! White rooks eye the f-file
lustily.
More resistant was
27... Nf7, but after 28.Bd3 33.Nxh4 Qxh5+
Black would still have been 34.Kg3 Qf7
in deep trouble. 35.Nf3 h5
Capablanca exceeded the
time limit here, but his
position was hopeless in
any event. 1-0

Lesson 12
Pin; ovaprotection
2S.Bxh7+! Rxh7 Keres-Euwe
Holland (6th match
29.Ng6 BdS game). 1939
30.Racl! Nlmzoindlan
Such a quiet move is easy
to miss. But if White had 1.d4 Nf6
left the c-file unguarded, 2.c4 e6
Black might have been able
to establish some counter- 3.Nc3 Bb4
play by swinging his heavy 4.Qc2 Nc6
artillery there. 5.Nf3 0-0
30... BeS h6
6.Bg5!
31.Kg3! 7.Bh4 d6
His majesty attends to the The pin may be
invasive knight personally! annoying, but it cannot
The threat is simply Kxg4 easily be broken, as
and Kxf3.
Botvinnik pointed out:
31... Qf7 7... g5? 8.Bg3 g4 9.Nh4 Nxd4
32.Kxg4 Nh4
40 strategy tor Advanced Players
10.Qd2! Nf5 11.Nxf5 exf5
12.Qxh6
8.e3 Qe7
9.Be2 eS
Black has treated the
center with classical respect,
and White must decide
whether he should capture,
advance, or maintain the
status quo.
10.dS! NbS
The correct move. Now
that White has conceded
control of c5, that square
will be the natural outpost
for the knight. From b8 it
only takes two moves to
reach c5.
1l.Nd2!
This move serves many
purposes. It breaks the pin
on the Nc3, and over-
protects e4. Now if an
eventual g7-g5, Black can-
not gain more time with
g5-g4. White will also be
able to attack with a
pawnstorm on the kingside.
11... Nbd7
12.0-0 as
13.Rael!
The Rfl should remain
in place because it supports
the advance of the f-pawn.
There is no need to worry
about action on the
queenside, because White's
pieces enjoy such freedom
of movement that they can
switch sides quickly.
13... ReS
This is aimed at pre-
venting White from going
after the weak square c7
with Nc3-b5. 13 ... Nc5
would have been consistent
with Black's plans and
might have been better than
the text.
14.f4
14.Nb5 Bxd2 15.Qxd2 Ne4
16.Qc2 Qxh4 17.Nxc7 QdS
18.NxaS Ndc5 and the
knight is trapped.
14... Bxe3
IS.Qxe3 Ne4
16.Nxe4 Qxh4
17.g3 Qe7
 strategy for Advalced Plavers
Now White must think
of a long term plan. Clearly
his bishop is not a long-
term asset, and if Black
plays f5-f5, it will be
difficult to exchange.
18.Bg4!
This assures that the
bishops will come off the
board, and then the pawn
structure will favor White.
The threat of 19.Bxd7 Bxd7
20.f5! is quite strong and
therefore Black must
exchange both sets of minor
pieces.
18... Nf6
18... Nf8? 19.Bxc8 Raxc8
20.f5 secures a significant
spatial advantage
19.Nxf6+ Qx£6
20.Bxe8 Raxe8
41
After aVOiding 21.Qxa5?
exf4! (intending Qxb2),
White must reconfigure his
position so that his rooks
will be effective on an open
line. Which file?
21.Rf2!
This exploits the pin on
e5, since the double-rook
endgames favor White.
Now Keres will gain more
space on the kingside by
playing f4-f5, after which he
can concentrate on the
queenside.
21... b6
22.Refl Qg6
23.£51 Qf6
24.e4!
Given the fact that
White's pieces enjoy
superior mobility, it is
possible for him to preserve
chances on both sides of the
board by locking the center.
The threat of a kingside
pawn storm will trouble
Black for some time.
42 Strategy for Advanced Players

24... c671 30.h4 Kc1

This approach to the 31.Kfll
problem is too radical. or at The king crawls out of
least premature. since the way. so that the rooks
White has not yet can do their job.
weakened his queenside by 31... Kb1
advancing the pawns there.
25.dxc6 Rxc6 32.Ke2 RSc1
33.Rh2 OdS
34.g4 f6
35.Rgl ReS

White has opened some

lines and useful light
squares. and Black now has
to defend the weaknesses at
b6 and d6. But Black
threatens 26... b5!
26.a41 Kf8
21.Rdl Red
2S.b3 Ke1
Black has now secured
his queenside. but the
kingside is defended only by
the queen. Before under-
taking action there. White
will have to bring his own
queen into play and ensure
that his rooks can move
freely on the f- and g-files.
29.013 Kd1
It is easy to see that the
only way White can win is
by a properly timed g4-g5
but at the same time he
must make sure that Black
is tied to the defense of d6.
36.Rg3 Od1
31.Qd3! 0f'7
3S.Rhl RhS
39.Rhh3 RccSI
Black now offers the d6-
pawn as a sacrifice. since he
will receive more than
enough compensation if
control of the d-file is
 Strategy tor Advanced Players
granted to him. But White
correctly keeps the position
closed in the center, and
breaks on the kingside.
40.gS! hxgS
41.hxgS Qc7
41...Rxh3 42.Rxh3 fxg5
would allow White to
capture at d6, since the d-file
could not be contested.
42.QdS+ Ka7
43.Rd3 Rxh3
The sealed move. The
alternative was to go into a
rook endgame. 43 ... fxg5
44.RxhS RxhS 4S.Qxd6 Qxd6
46.Rxd6 Rh4 47.Kf3 Rh3+
4S.Kg4 Rxb3 49.Rd7+ Ka6
SO.Rxg7 and the f-pawn
decides.
44.Rxh3 fxgS
4S.Rh7!
The threat of f5-f6 forces
Black to adopt a passive
defense, and that allows the
White king to take an active
part in the game.
45... Qe7
46.Kf3 Rf8
47.Kg4 Rf'1
43
White has achieved a lot,
but he must now find a way
to exploit his spatial
advantage. He needs open
lines against the Black king!
48.b4! Ixb4
Both 4S...Qc7 49.bxaS bxa5
SO.RhS and4S ...Qb7 49.Qxb7+
Kxb7 SO.bS Rc7 Sl.Kxg5 Rxc4
S2.Rxg7+ KcS 53.f6 Rxe4
54.17 Rf4 5S.RgS+ Kd7 56.fSQ
RxfS 57.RxfS are hopeless
for Black.
49.IS!
White relentlessly forces
open lines, knowing that
the rook on h7 only appears
to be out of play. In fact, it
can get to the queenside in
two moves, via hS or hl.
49... Qb7
SO.axb6+ Kxb6
Sl.Qxd6+ KI7
S2.QxeS b3
S3.Rh3!
A fine move, which
prevents the advance of the
44 strategy tor AcJvcnced Players

b-pawn because of Ra3+. 17.NeS BxeS

Now Black cannot afford to 18.dxeS QxeS
exchange queens, because
when the b-pawn falls the 19.Bc3 Qe7
endgame is an easy win for 20.£3 NdS
White. 21.Qxe7 Nxe7
53... Rf6
22.fxe4 b6
S4.Qd4+ Rb6
SS.Rxb31 1-0

Lesson 13
Discovered check; pressllre
Botvinnlk-Euwe
World Ch. 1948
Semi-Slav
l.d4 dS Despite the doubled
2.c4 e6 White pawns, Black is in a
difficult position because of
3.N£3 Nf6
the activity of White's
4.Nc3 c6 pieces. To exploit this,
S.e3 Nbd7 White first grabs the d-fiJe.
6.Bd3 Bb4 23.Rdl
7.a3 BaS Now we examine the
position, but mentally
8.Qc2 Qe7 remove the RfS from the
9.Bd2 dxc4 board. That gives us a
10.Bxc4 eS simple mate in one with
RdS. Given this, it is easy to
11.0-0 0-0 understand White's main
12.Rael Bc7 threat: Rxf7!, using the
13.Ne4 Nxe4 power of the &2.
14.Qxe4 as 23... Ng6
Okc'y, the first plan must
IS.Ba2 Nf6 be abandoned. But now
16.Qh4 e4
 Strategy for Advanced Players
White can infiltrate the
enemy position with tempo.
24.Rd6 Ba6!
A good reply. Black will
reposition the bishop at b5,
where it more actively
defends the Pc6.
2S.Rf2 BbS
TIle pressure on the f-file
is more important than
doubling rooks on the d-
file.
26.e5
White's plan is to
advance the e-pawns, using
one to eliminate the
opposing pawn at f7, and
allowing its brother to
become a passed pawn.
26... Ne7
Now that White has
temporarily conceded con-
trol of dS, the Black knight
hopes to find a new home
there.
26 ... RaeB would permit
White to carry out his plan:
27.e6 fxe6 2B.Rd7 Re7
29.Bxe6+ KhB 30.RxfB+ NxfB
31.Rxe7
27.e4!
This regains control of
dS.
27... cS
28.e6 f6
45
28... fxe6? 29.Rxe6!
29.Rxb6 Bc6
Here is another simple
example of our technique.
We imagine the position
with the knight gone from
e7, and see that the
discovered check with e6-e7
is good.
30.R xc6! N xc6
31.e7+ Rf7
32.BdS
The most effective move.
The pin on the Nc6 is even
stronger than the one at f7,
and if 32 ... Rc8, then on
33.Bxc6 the bishop cannot be
recaptured because the
pawn would queen. So
Black resigned. 1.Q
Lesson 14
Active position;
Smyslov-Reshevsky
World Ch. 1948
Spanish Game
1.e4 e5
46 strategy tor Advanced Players

2.Nf3 Nc6 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 IS.fxeS fxeS

3.BbS 19.Bxh6
a6
14.NxeS dxeS
4.Ba4 d6
Not only has White
S.c3 Nge7 secured the bishop pair, but
6.d4 Bd7 he has reduced the Black
7.Bb3 h6 knights to passive functions
while his own steed oc-
8.Nbd2 Ng6 cupies a magnificent post at
9.Nc4 Be7 d5. The d-file is where the
10.0-0 0-0 action is, so White transfers
a rook there.
1l.Ne3 Bf6
IS.QB! Be6
16.Rdl BxdS
Black's play has been
pretty much forced, but now
White has both the central
file and kingside pressure.
17.RxdS Qe7

Both sides have de-

veloped comfortably and
Black is putting pressure on
the center. White deals with
that matter quickly and
decisively.
12.NdS! Re8
13.dxeS! BxeS The d7-square would be a
nice home for the rook, and
a) 13...dxeS 14.Nxf6+ wins
material. White uses the threat of
b) 13 ... NgxeS 14.NxeS infiltration to secure a more
Nxe5 IS.f4 Nc6 16.e5! gives active position for his
Black a lot to worry about. queen.
For example: 16 ... dxe5 18.Q£SI Nf8
 strategy for Advanced Players
IB ... Rad8 looks logical,
but White can obtain an
advantage by exploiting the
indirect pin at fl. 19.Bxh6!
gxh6 (19 ... RxdS 2O.BxdS gxh6
21.Qxg6+) 20.RxdB RxdB
21.Qxg6+ KfB 22.Qxh6+ KeB
23.BdS
19.Be3 Ne6
20.Rad1 Red8
White's position is very
strong, and now he makes a
quiet move which deprives
Black of the use of f4, and
puts him in near zugzwang.
21.g3 Rd6
A commital move which
leaves Black with a back-
ward pawn but there was
little else available. If the
backward pawn were the
only drawback, it wouldn't
be too bad, but the resulting
weakness at b6 will tum out
to be important.
22.R xd6 ex d6
23.Qg41
47
The cheap trick at h6 is
not the real point of the
move, which has the far
more subtle goal of enabling
the queen to get to the h4-
dB diagonal. Already
Smyslov sees the potential
power of a bishop at b6!
23... Kh8
24.Bb6! NbS
Black also appreciates
White's last move and
hastens to drive the
offending cleric from its
new post. Reshevsky would
no doubt have preferred to
play RcB first, but that was
not possible. 24... RcB 2S.Rd2
NbB 26.Qdl! Rc6 27.Ba7 Nd7
2B.BdS! Rc7 29.Bxe6 fxe6
3O.Rxd6
2S.Bxe6 fxe6
26.Qh41
Taking advantage of the
fact that Black cannot
exchange at h4 without
dropping the d-pawn. But as
48 Strategy for Advanced Players

it turns out White forces 42.Kg3 Re2

the exchange at dS, and still 43.Kf3 Ra2
gets his prize.
26... Qd7 44.Ke3 KfS
27.QdS+ QxdS 4s.f3 Ral
2S.BxdS Nd7 46.Kf4 a2
2S ... Nc6 29.Bb6 and Black 47.esl
cannot defend d6 An important move
29.Be7 Ncs because it secures the f6-
square, so that when Black
30.Rxd6 ReS
trades the a-pawn for the f-
30... Nxe4 31.Rxe6 and the pawn White will be able to
e-pawn falls. place his king at g6.
31.Bb6 Na4 47... KgS
32.Rxe6 Nxb2 4S.Kfs Rfl
33.Rxes Ne4 49.Rxa2 Rxf3+
34.Re6 Nxb6 50.Kg6 KfS
3s.Rxb6 Rxe3 sl.RaS+ Ke7
36.Rxb7 s2.Ra7+ 1-0
And the endgame is
reltively straightforward. Lesson 15
36 ... Re2 Isolated pawn; blockade
37.h4 Rxa2 Spassky-Aftonov
3S.Kg2 as lenlngrad,1949
Queen's Gambit Declined
39.hs a4
I.d4 ds
40.Ra7
2.e4 dxe4
The rook is properly
behind the pawn and also 3.Nf3 Nf6
controls the 7th rank, so the 4.e3 c5
kingside pawns can advance 5.Bxc4 e6
easily.
6.0-0 a6
40... KgS
7.Qe2 b5
41.g4 a3
 strategy fOl Advanced Play8l$ 49

8.Bb3 Nc6 14.Bxf6 gxf6

9.Nc3 ad4?1
This is a positional mis-
take, because the isolated
pawn which it creates will
be able to quickly satisfy its
lust to expand. Better was
9...c4.
10.Rd1 Bb7
1l.exd4 Nb4
Black is obeying a
classical principle of estab-
lishing a blockade in front
of the isolated pawn. But
thanks to the pin on the e-
file, White has a resource.
14... Bxf6 lS.NxdS BxdS
16.BxdS QxdS17.RxdS
15.Nxd5 Bxd5
lS... exdS 16.Nd4 would
have also led to a crushing
position for White.
16.Bxd5 exd5
17.Nd4
This position can already
be considered winning be-
cause of the weakness of
Black's pawn structure and
the strong position of the
Nd4. The simple threat is
Rdl-el and Nd4-c6.
17... KfS
18.Nf5 h5

12.d5! Nbxd5
13.Bg51
Black's position is a vir- 19.Rxd51
tual pin-cushion (BgS on The overworked Black
Nf6, Qe2 on Pe6, and Rdl queen is deftly exploited to
on NdS). The simple threat bring a rapid conclusion to
is 14.NxdS BxdS lS.BxdS, the game.
since lS...QxdS loses to 16. 19... Qxd5
RxdS.
13 ... Be7 20.Qxe7+ Kg8
21.Qxf6 1-0
50 strategy for Advanced Players

Lesson 16 This knight belongs on

Control of the diagonal c6. Now White will execute
Smyslov-Botvinnlk a very simple plan: advance
Moscow (9th Match the h-pawn until it becomes
Game),1954 a queen! Of course he will
French Defense have to be careful in the
1.e4 e6 execution of the strategy.
1l.Nf3 NfS
2.d4 dS
Botvinnik proposed
3.Ne3 Bb4 11...Qc7 as an improvement,
4.eS eS but Smyslov correctly
S.a3 BaS points out that White has a
strong reply: 11 ... Qc712.Bb5!
Normally Black captures
Rxg2?! 13.Kfl RgB 14.Rgl
at c3, but this retreat leads to
complications with a very Rxgl+ 15.Kxgl and the pin
makes it very hard for Black
unbalanced pawn structure.
to develop.
6.b4 cxd4
12.Qd3 QxaS
7.Qg4 Ne7
13.h4
S.bxaS dxe3 Here we go! It turns out
that Black's pawn at c3 just
gets in the way.
13... Bd7
14.BgS!
Black is prevented from
castling, and the control of
the h4-dB diagonal keeps
Black pinned down.
White's queenside pawns Smyslov uses this fact and
are very weak, and the his h-pawn to win the game
pawn at c3 is an annoyance, in fine style.
but White will pick up g7 14... ReS
and h7 and have an outside
passed pawn. lS.N d4!
9.Qxg7 RgS Black was going to try
and wiggle out with a
10.Qxh7 Nd7?!
 strategy for Advanced Ployers 51

combination of RcS-<4-e4+ If White is to move in

and the placement of a
knight at f5. This stops both
plans.
15... NfS
Now White does not
want to capture imme-
diately, because the NfS
would occupy the new hole
at e6. But how to answer the
threat of Nf5xd4 and Bb5?
16.Rbll Rc4?1
Smyslov considers 16...b6
best, but it is hard to blame
Botvinnik, for what follows
is truly inspired.
17.NxfS exES
18.Rxb7 Re4+
this position then RcS+ is
fatal. That's really all one
needs to know in order to
finish the game brilliantly.
19.Qxe411 dxe4
20.Rb8+ Bc8
21.BbS+ QxbS
21...Nd722.RxcS+
22.RxbS
Now the game is over,
not because of the exchange,
but rather because of the
flying h-pawn which was
the cornerstone of White's
strategy.
22 ... Ne6
23.Bf6 Rxg2
24.hS Ba6
2S.h61
It is only fitting that the
pawn has the final say.
After the bishop captures
the rook there is no way to
stop the pawn from
queening. 1-0

Lesson 17
Flexibility
Spassky-Smyslov
Bucharest. 1953
Nlmzolndlan
l.d4 Nf6
2.c4 e6
52 strategy tor Advanced Players

3.Ne3 BW 19.Qa4! BeS

4.BgS h6 20.e4 Qg4
S.Bh4 eS 21.Qe2 hS
6.dS 22.R£3 bS
23.eS h4
24.Nfl BfS
2S.Qd2 dxeS?
26.fxeS Bg6
27.Re1 h3
2S.d6 Be4
29.Ne3 Qe67
This reduces the flexi-
bility of White's center and 30.R£4 Bxg2
should not lead to any 31.NfS RfeS
advantage for White.
6... d6
7.e3 exdS
S.cxdS Nbd7
9.BbS 0-0
9 ... Bxc3+ lO.bxc3 a6
1l.Bxd7+ Bxd7 would have
equalized quickly.
32.Re3! RadS
10.Nge2 NeS
33.Nxg7 Rxd6
11.0-0 Ng6
34.Nxe6 1-0
12.Bg3 NhS
13.Bd3 Nxg3 Lesson 18
14.Nxg3 NeS Control of the Center; isolated
IS.Be2 Bxe3
pawns
Evans-Larsen
16.bxe3 Qh4 Dallas. 1957
17.f4 Ng4! Tarrasch Defense
18.Bxg4 Bxg4 l.d4 dS
 Strategy for Adllanced Players 53

2.e4 e6
3.Ne3 e5
4.e3 Nf6
5.Nf3 Ne6
6.cxd5 exd5
7.Bb5 a6
8.Bxe6+ bxe6 14... Qxe5
9.0-0 Bd6 15.Nxe6 Qxg5
10.dxe5 Bxe5 16.Nxe7+ Kh8
11.e4!
Creating the famous
isolated d-pawn.
11... 0-0
11...Nxe4? 12.Nxe4 dxe4
13.Qxd8+ Kxd8 I4.Ng5 is a
trick only a beginner would
fall for.
12.8g5 Be7 Perhaps Evans was
13.Nd4 Qd6 counting on capturing at d5,
but then 17... Rd8 would
14.e5? cause trouble, so instead he
This is a much too clever eliminates Black's bishop.
method of isolating the 17.Nxc8 Raxe8
pawn. The straightforward
I4.exd5 cxd5 I5.Re1 would 18.Qd3
have brought White a This position is not easy
significant advantage. to evaluate objectively. If
Black plays passively then
White will dominate the e-
file and go to work on the
weak isolated pawn. But
Larsen realizes that by
giving up some material, he
can get the e and c files.
54 strategy for Advanced Ploy....
18... REd81?
So Black's plan is c1ear-
give up the a-pawn and let
White enjoy two connected
passed pawns, but in return
Black is going to take all of
the files in the center and
advance his own pawn.
19.Qxa6 d4
20.Ne2 Rc21
21.Rad1
White is of course
prepared to give up his b-
pawn for the powerful Pd4,
but Larsen does not oblige.
21... Qe51
A powerful centralizing
move which brings Black
full compensation for his
pawn since he now has
kingside attacking chances
in addition to the open
lines.
22.Ng3
22.Nc1 Ng4! 23.g3 Qh5
24.M Nxf2!! 25.Rxd4 Nh3+
26.I<hl Rdc8 was demon-
strated by Brondum, in
response to a published
note that 22.Ncl would
have improved White's
chances!
22... h51
Black has achieved
complete control of the
center of the board, and the
laws of chess say that when
you have the center, and
the enemy forces (in this
case the queen) are offside, a
flank attack is in order.
23.Rfe1 Qd5
24.Re2 d31
25.Re3
And now we must look
at the potential fork of f2
and e3 via Ng4. When we
see this tactical idea, then
Black's next move is
obvious! Inferior was
25.Rxc2 dxc2 26.Rxd5 clQ+
27.Nfl Rxd5
25 •.. Rxf21
26.Ne4
 Strategy for Advanced Players 55

Of course not 26.Kxf2 Qgl+ 33.Rxgl Nf2 mate and

because then 26... Ng4+ picks the knowledge of the
up the stray rook with familiar motif pays off.
multiple threats. 28... Qc5+
26... Nxe4 And Evans reSigned,
27.Rexd3 because 29.Khl is met by
Nf2+ and either the
smothered mate or a back-
rank mate follows. 0-1

Lesson 19
Cramped POSitiOIl; spatial
advalltage
Nyezhmetdlnov-
Sakharov
Now if the rook weren't Leningrad. 1957
in the way Qc5 check would Sicilian Defense
be effective. And if the Rf2 1.e4 c5
were a knight we would
have a fork. Put it all 2.Nf3 Nc6
together ... 27.Rdxd3 might 3.d4 cxd4
have maintained equality- 4.Nxd4 e5
for example: Qg5 (27... Rxb2
2S.Rxd5 Rbl+ 29.Qfl Rxf1+ 5.Nb5 a6
3O.Kxfl Rxd5 31.Rxe4 Ra5=) 6.Nd6+ Bxd6
2S.RxdS+ Kh7 29.RhS+!! 7.Qxd6 Qf6
KxhS 3O.QaS+ Kh7 31.Qxe4+
8.Qc7
f5 32.M! Rxg2+ 33.Qxg2
Qxe3+=. The retreat to dl is the
current reCipe here, but in
27... Rf1+!1
the 1950s the entire
28.Rxfl variation was in vogue and
2S.Kxfl Qf5+ 29.Kgl many replies were being
(29.Rf3 Rxdl+ 3O.Ke2 Nc3+!) tested.
Qc5+. This is what Larsen 8... Nge7
had in his mind. 30.Khl
9.Nc3
Nf2+ 31.Kg1 Nh3+ 32.Kh1
56 Strategy for Adl/ooced Players
The location of the queen
at c7 is useful in that it
provides support for an
infiltration at b6 and also
can sometimes threaten the
pawn at eS, though that
remains well-defended for
the moment.
9... Nb4
Generally considered
best, since it attacks c2 and
supports the advance d7-dS
which is typical of the
Sicilian.
10.Bd3 dS
11.0-0 d4
12.Ne2
Theory prefers 12.Na4
with a small initiative for
White.
12... Nxd371
Black fails to appreciate
the danger of an open c-fiIe.
Two dozen years later the
plan of exchanging queens
with 12... Qc6! was establ-
ished as best, as after
13... Nexc6 14.Nb6 Rb8
lS.Nxc8 Rxc8 there is no
way for White to make
progress.
13.cxd3 gSI7
Nyezhmetdinov awards
an exclamation point for
sharpness, but notes that
13... Nc6 was better, because
the kingside weakness is too
great. Yet a decade later
White found an easy path
to the advantage: 13... Nc6
14.f4! Qe7 1S.Qxe7+ Kxe7
16.fxeS NxeS 17.b3! and in
Lukin-Ghizdavu, Bucharest
1968, White delayed the
capture of the pawn to great
effect, since 17... Nxd3 would
have been met by 18.Ba3+
Ke8 19.Rad1 and White
would trap the knight!
14.Bd2 Nc6
lS.Rac1 0-0
16.Ng3
Now we see the effect of
the weakening move g7-gS.
White will sink the knight
into fS, and when it is
captured, will establish
strong pawns at g4 and fS,
which will eliminate any
counterplay.
16... h6
17.h4!
 Strategy for Advanced Players 57

White must delay Ng3--fS the Black rook, knight, and

until the Black queen has queen.
been displaced. Meanwhile, 19 ... Qg7
he expands on the queen-
20.RdS Bg4
side and kicks the Nc6 back,
after which the Rc1 can 21.Rc1 Kh7
become active on the c-file. This strange looking
17... Re8 move was inspired by the
If Black tries to exchange failure of the obvious
queens with 17... QdS, then transfer of the RaS to the c-
lS.Rxc6! is a promising file, which meets with a
exchange sacrifice. After strong sacrifice. 21 ... RcS
lS ... bxc6 19.QxeS! White has 22.QxcS BxcS 23.RxcS Qf8
plenty of compensation. (23 ... Qf6 24.NhS Qe7
25.Rd7!!) 24.NhS f6 2S.Rd7
18.a4 Nd8?!
and as Nyezhmetdinov
This deprives the PeS of a notes, Black is almost in
defender, and a queen zugzwang.
retreat to dS was called for 22.NfS!
since the exchange sacrifice
would have less effect with With the queen displaced
the PeS guarded by the ReS. from f6 White's original
strategy can be carried out.
22... BxfS
23.exf5 Qf6
24.g4 Re7
2S.Rd7 Rxd7
26.Qxd7 Kg7

19.RcS!
The point of this move is
not merely to double rooks.
It is also designed to transfer
the rook to dS, a plan based
on the interdependence of
58 Strategy tor Advanced Playen

White's spatial advan- 2.Nf3 e6

tage is obvious. With Black 3.d4 cxd4
tied down, White prepares
to attack the PeS which was 4.Nxd4 a6
left without sufficient pro- S.c:4 Nc6
tection when the knight Spassky leaves the well-
retreated to dB. known paths of S... Nf6.
27.Rc:SI b6 6.Nc:3 Bc:S
Otherwise 28.Qc7 would 7.Nb3 Bb4
have been strong. But now
a path has been cleared to 8.Bd3 Nge7
the a-file. Again, this is the 9.0-0 0-0
sort of factor which cannot Both sides have been
be exploited soon but the developing, but now Black
Black position is so cramped adopts a typical plan for this
that a zugzwang will clear type of formation. He
the a7-square. captures on c3, and then
28.Rc:7 bS advances his d-pawn. But
29.aSI his artificial position (Ne7)
By keeping lines closed, helps White.
Black will soon run out of 10.Q«:2 Bxc3
moves. 1l.Qxc:3 dS
29 ... Kg8 12.Be3 dxc:4
30.QdSI RbS 13.Bxc:4 Qc:7
31.Bel Qg7 14.Rac:l Rd8
32.Qc:S Qf8 IS.f4 Bd7
33.Qa7 1-0

Lesson 20
Pressllre; diagonal
Smyslov-Spossky
Moscow v Leningrad. 1959
Sicilian Defense
l.e4 cS
 Strategy tor Advanced Players 59

Black seems ready to the target. They prove to be

claim equality, after Ra8-c8. the last moves!
But the weakness of the 19.Nd41 Nxd4
dark squares on the a) 19 ...eS opens a line, but
queenside give White an more importantly allows
inviting target for the Be3. White to advance the f-
16.Qell pawn further. 20.Nxc6 Nxc6
White transfers his 21.BdS.
queen to f2, where it will b) 19... exfS 20.exfS bS
not only support the gl-a7 21.f6!.
diagonal, but also gives 20.Bxd4 Nc6
more impetus to an ad- 21.fxe6 Bxe6
vance of the f-pawn, since f7
is no longer guarded by the 22.Bxe6
Black rook.
16... b6
16...bS 17.Be2 Be8 18.Qf2
Rab8 19.NcS exploits the
dark squares in a different
way.
17.QfZ Rab8
18.f51 Qc8
And Black reSigned,
because mate is inevitable
after 22...Qxe6 23.Rxc6 Qxc6
24.Qxf7+. 1~

Lesson 21
Olltpost; central cormterattack
Smyslov-Slmogln
USSR,1967
Examining this diagram Modern Defense
we see that the pressure I.Nf3 g6
point is e6, and the next few
moves are aimed directly at 2.d4 Bg7
3.e4 a6
60 strategy for AdvCJ'lced Players

An unusual plan, playing

on both wings. The normal
move is 3... d6, while the
move 3 ... c5!? is also
popular.
4.Bd3
4.Nc3 b5!? gives Black an
early initiative, Savage-
Schiller, electronic mail Both sides have com-
1990. pleted their development,
and White's pieces are
4... d6
better placed. But now Black
5.0-0 weakens his kingside,
Now Black could trans- allowing a central counter-
pose to a Pirc with 5... Nf6 attack.
but Simagin prefers a more 12 ... h6
original plan of develop-
13.Bf4 gS
ment.
5... Bg4 14.Bgl Ng6
6.c3 Nd7 lS.eSt
I have played these sorts
7.Nbd2 e6
of formations for Black and
8.Qb3 Bxf3 always find the advance of
9.Nxf3 RbS the e-pawn an effective
Simagin seems inspired method of undermining
by Chigorin, who often my position. In the present
moved his rook to bS in game Black suffers even
support of the pawn. more because he has not
10.BgS Ne7 gained space on the
queenside.
1l.Radl 0-0 15... dS
12.Rfel 16.Qc2 Nf4
16 ...QeS 17.h4 g4 lS.Nh2
h5 19.f3 gxf3 20.Nxf3 would
allow White to build a
strong attack on the f-fiIe,
 Strategy tor Advanced Players 61

using g5 as an outpost for

the knight.
17.Bxf4 pM

White's attack cannot

achieve much-since it
involves only two pieces.
But the Black pieces are so
White must now tied down that White has
develop a plan. Smyslov time to extricate the queen.
anticipates that Black will 27.h41 Re6
have to advance his f-pawn
2S.h5
in order defend the pawn at
f4. That will weaken the The point of the last two
pawn at e6, so doubling moves becomes clear if one
rooks on the e-fiIe is called mentally removes the pawn
for. at e6. If White had not done
this, Black could have
18.Re21 e5
complicated matters with
19.Qd2 f6 e6-e5!
The only way to avoid 28... Re4
dropping the pawn at £4. 29.Bd3
20.e xf6 Qxf6
White tries to get the
21.Rdel Rbe8 rook to leave the c-file, so
Now there is a weak that it can be used as an
diagonal to be exploited. expressway to the 8th rank.
22.Bbl! cxd4 29... Re6
23.exd4 Rf7 30.Bg6 Re4
24.Qe2 Rfe7 Obviously Smyslov has
25.Qh7+ K£8
to come up with a better
plan. He does so with a very
26.Bg6 ReS clever and unexpected
62 Strategy for Advanoed Players

move. Since the bishop is Lesson 22

not effective in attacking Seventh rank; kingside al/ack
the rook from d3, Smyslov Reshevsky-Larsen
creates another possibility- Lugano Olympiad, 1968
ata2! Nlmzolndlan
31.a31 Rc6 l.d4 Nf6
32.Bbl Bh8 2.c4 e6
32 ... Rc4?! 33.Ba2 Rc6 3.Nc3 BM
34.Bxd5! exd5 35.Rxe7 Qxe7
36.Rxe7 Kxe7 37.Qxg7+ 4.e3 0-0
33.Qd3 5.Bd3 c5
Finally! Now Black has to 6.Nf3 d5
keep an eye on h4, other- 7.0-0 dxc4
wise White will play Nh4--
g6. S.Bxc4 Nc6
33... Rg7 9.a3 BaS
34.Qb31 Rb6 10.Qd3 a6
n.Rdl b5
12.Ba2 c4
13.Qe2 QeSI
14.h3

White has finally suc-

ceeded in driving the rook
from the c-file, and now the
queen rushes in to end the
game.
35.Qc3 Rg8 Black has succesfully
35 ... Rc6 36.Qb4+ Kg8 navigated the opening and
37.Qxb7 now must try to open a line
36.Qc8+ 1-0 in the center so that his
 Strategy for Advanced Players 63

pieces can maneuver to

White's queenside.
14... eSI
Up to this point Larsen
had been in familiar waters,
but now he was playing in
unknown territory. Reshev-
sky, with a fine feel for such
positions, keeps the center A critical position. Black
dosed. is preparing to advance his
queenside pawns, and so far
lS.dS Nd8
White has shown little
Although this may seem counterplay. Thus Reshev-
artificial, it is quite logical, sky acts definitively.
since the knight will find a 22.MI? cxb3
home at d6, blockading the
advanced pawn. 23.Nxb3 Nxb3
16.e4 Nb7 24.Bxb3 Qe7!7
17.Bb1 Nd7 An interesting choice.
Most players would opt for
18.Be2 Nd6
24.. .f5, but Larsen decides to
Black's position is very invest in the future. The
solid, and Reshevsky comes basic motivation for the
up with a pretty feeble move is the ability to
plan-the exchange of dark- transfer the queen to g5.
squared bishops. While he This gives rise to a standard
is engaged in this, Larsen motif involving Bxh3.
improves the position of
2S.Rac1?1
his pieces.
Prosaic, and probably a
19.Na2 NeS
result of time pressure.
20.Bd2 Bxd2 25.Nb4! Rfc8 is given by
21.Nxd2 Bd7 Brondum, though his
follow-up with 26.Nc6
strikes me as dubious.
25... Ric8
26.Nb4
64 strategv lor Advanced Players

handle any aspirations on

the queenside, and the
center is locked.
30.Rc3 h4
31.Rdel gS
32.Na7 Rxe3
33.Rxc3
A simple oversight.
Perhaps Reshevsky simply
never appreciated the point
of 24... Qe7. In any event. the
c1 square is underprotected.
26... Bxh31
27.Qe3
27.gxh3? Rxc1 28.Rxcl
Qg5+ The Na7 is defended by
27.Rxc8+ Bxc8! the Qe3, and White threat-
27... Bd7 ens to infiltrate on the
28.Ne6 Qf6 seventh rank.
Black has emerged with 33... Ne8!
an extra pawn, but more 34.Ne6 Re8
importantly, the kingside 3S.Rc2 Kg7
has been deprived of an
Black wants to play his
important defender, so
rook to c7, to guard the
Black can go on the attack.
seventh rank. But he wants
Notice that White's pieces
to make sure that there will
are not well placed for
be no problems along the
defense.
back rank, and also wishes
28 ...Bxc6 29.dxc6 would
to avoid any future tricks
have given White some
with Ne7+.
counterplay.
36.Qc3 Rc7!
29.f3 hS!
The kingside attack is the 37.Khl
only correct plan. White's Avoiding 37.Qxe571
forces are well posted to Rxc6! The h-file seems safe
 Strategy lor Advanced Players 65

enough, for the moment, And Black resigned, since

but in fact this move seals QxeS+ followed by Nxg4+
White's fate. was threatened. 0-1
37... Kh7!
3S.Qe3
With the pawn removed
from f3, Black can simply
play Qf1+ followed by Nf6- Lesson 23
g4. Blockade
3S ... g41 Spassky-Petroslan
39.fxg4 Qf1+ World Championship (5th
40.Kh2 match game). 1969
Semi-Tarrasch Defense
4O.QgIQd3
40 ... Nf6
1.c4 Nf6
And Black realizes his
plan! 2.Nc3 e6
41.Nxe5 Rxe2 3.Nf3 d5
42.Bxc2 4.d4 c5
5.cxd5 Nxd5
6.e4 Nxe3
7.bxe3 cxd4
S.cxd4 Bb4+
9.Bd2 Bxd2+
10.Qxd2 0-0
11.Be4 Ne6
A final application of the
procedure. If there were no 12.0-0 b6
NfS, then Nxg4+ wins. And 13.Rad1 Bb7
if the NeS were the White This is a very typical
queen, then Nxg4+ still Semi-Tarrasch position.
wins. 14.Rfe1 ReS
42... Qa1!!
66 strategy for Advanced PlOyers
A simple glance at the
a2-g8 diagonal is sufficient
to encourage White to build
a plan based on
undermining the pawn
chain f7~6.
lS.dS
But this may be pre-
mature. If Black plays
IS ... NaS!, then the bishop
will have to retreat, since
the sacrificial attempt
16.dxe6 does not work. But
Petrosian missed this
chance.
15... exdS?!
16.BxdS!
This is the correct
capture. 16.exdS would have
created a passed pawn, but it
would be easily blockaded.
And, more important, the
light squared bishop now
has room to maneuver
without having to worry
about Nc6-aS.
16... NaS
17.Qf4 Qc7
18.QfS BxdS
The pressure was
building at f7, so Black
trades a piece which is not
involved in the defense for
an attacking piece-almost
always a good idea.
19.exdS
With the bishops gone,
the passed pawn is some-
what harder to blockade,
and Black's knight is
definitely offside. 19... Nb7
might have been best here.
19... Qc2?!
Black simply has no right
to play so ambitiously when
his position is inferior and
White can afford to ignore
the threat at a2. On the
other hand, White has no
desire to see the queens off
the board, as the lady plays
escort to the PdS.
20.Qf4! Qxa2
21.d6 Red8
22.d7
 Strategy tor AdvcrlCed Players 67

Spassky has achieved the 2S.Nc6

goal of advancing his pawn And the knight reaches
to the seventh rank, where the desired square, after
it severely restricts the which Spassky finishes the
mobility of the Black forces. game beautifully.
He now needs a new plan to 2S... Nd6
exploit his advantage, and it
will involve infiltration via
the c-file.
22... Qc4
23.QfS h6
24.Rc11 Qa6
2S.Rc1
The next phase has been
accomplished. Now the 29.NxdSII NxfS
knight has to get into the 30.Nc6 1-0
act. Again, it is important to
consider a seemingly
impossible goal. The knight Lesson 24
belongs at c6. Although that ZlIgzrunng
seems difficult to achieve, it Flscher-Petroslan
is not. Buenos Aires (7th match
game). 1971
25... bS Sicilian Defense
26.Nd4 Qb6
1.e4 cS
26... b4 27.Qe5! (with the
threat of Nf5) 27... Nc4 2.Nf3 e6
2S.Qc5 3.d4 cxd4
21.RcS! Nb1 4.Nxd4 a6
Black had to do this, as S.Bd3 Nc6
the alternatives fail:
6.Nxc6 bxc6
a) 27... Qxd4 28.Rxd8 RxdS
29.ReS+ 1.0-0 dS
b) 27... b4 28.Re8! Qxd4 S.c4 Nf6
29.RxfS+ Rxf8 30.RxfS+ KxfS 9.cxdS cxdS
31.Qc5+!! Qxc5 32.d8Q+
68 Strotegy tor Advanced Players
10.exdS exdS
Clearly the isolated queen
pawn is going to play a
significant role in the game.
Part of White's strategy will
be to dominate the adjacent
files.
11.Nc3 Be7
12.Qa4+ Qd7
13.Re1!
Fischer doesn't engage in
cheap theatrics: 13.Bb5?!
axb5! 14.Qxa8 00{) and the
follow up with Bb7 and an
eventual advance of the d-
pawn will give Black an
excellent game.
13... Qxa4
14.Nu4
The isolated pawn is
even weaker in the
endgame, and White is
halfway toward achieving
his goal of dominating the
c- and e-files. The pawn at
a6, defended doubly for the
moment, is also a potential
weakness.
14... Be6
ls.Be3 0-0
16.Bcsl
This is the key move.
With the dark-squared
bishops off the board, the
rooks can attack the isolated
pawn from the side. In
addition, the c5-square will
be more easily secured for
occupation by the knight.
16... Rfe8
17.Bxe7 Rxe7
18.b41
Now we can observe the
weakness of the pawn at a6,
which will come under the
watchful eye of the knight
from its new outpost at c5.
This, combined with the
power of the Bd2, will tie
down Black's forces.
18... Kf8
19.Nes Be8
Mission accomplished.
Now White must find a
way to increase the pressure
on dS but how can he do
this?
20.f31
Fischer's plan is almost
brutal in its simplicity-he
threatens to exchange rooks,
 Strategy for Advanced Players 69

march his king up the 24.Rc7

diagonal to d4, chase the The sixth is protected-
knight from f6 and grab the but the seventh rank is now
weak pawn at dS. available. Black quickly
20... Rea7 runs out of moves.
21.ReS 24... Nd7
Just as planned back at 2S.Re2 g6
move 13!
26.Kf2 hS
21... Bd7
27.f4!
22.Nxd7+1
A precise move which
There comes a time in further limits Black's
every plan when the options.
immediate goal is achieved,
27... h4
and it is time to capitalize.
The knight, though well 28.Kf3 fS
placed, has done its job and 29.Ke3
now the domination of the
remaining open file is the
primary objective.
22... Rxd7
23.Rc1

Black is virtually in zug-

zwang, so he advances his
prized pawn, and opens up
more lines for White.
29... d4+
The weakness of the 30.Kd2 Nb6
pawns continues to plague 31.Ree7 NdS
Black, who must now worry
about the threat of Rc1-c6. 32.Rf7+ Ke8
23... Rd6 33.Rb7
 Strategy for Advanced Players

This appears to drop a Black switches strategy to

pawn, but in fact it take aim at the center, since
guarantees victory. his queenside ambitions
33... Nxb4 have been stopped for the
34.8c41
moment.
And Petrosian resigned,
7... Nc6
because after 34... Nc6 3S.Rh7 8.Qe2 cxd4
Rf6 36.Rh8+ RfS 37.Bf7+. 1-0 9.Rdl
A typical theme in the
Lesson 25 opening. White transfers
NMan-on'lrIlln" coverage; the rook to a file where it
pressure will have "man-on-man"
Gligorlc-Portisch coverage of the enemy
Pula, 1971 queen. But eventually
Queen's Gambit Accepted White will recapture with
1.d4 d5 the pawn, reducing the rook
2.c4 dxc4 to a supporting role.
9... Be7
3.Nf3 Nf6
10.exd4 0-0
4.e3 e6
11.Nc3
5.Bxc4 c5
6.0-0 a6
The Queen's Gambit
Accepted is an opening rich
in strategic themes, but the
most important one is
queens ide expansion by
Black against centra) occu-
pation by White, who can
take time out to delay b7-bS White will use his
if he chooses. control of the center to
7.a4 attack the kingside, and the
move d4-dS may be useful,
This move slows down
so Black acts quickly to
Black's plans, but it costs blockade the pawn.
time and weakens b4. Now
11... Nd5
 Strategy for Advanced Players
12.Bd31
This bishop will find a
haven at bl, where it can
pressure the kingside from
a safe distance.
12 .•• Ncb4
13.Bbl b61
In general, the player
with the isolated pawn will
station rooks on the files
immediately adjacent to the
pawn. Then minor pieces
can be stationed on the
squares diagonally in front
of the pawn. Black's move
takes control of c5.
14.0151
With the preceding posi-
tional considerations in
mind, White decides to try
to place his knights at e5
and c5. His rook will use the
a-file instead of the c-file. To
do this he must divert the
b-pawn from b6. Once the
outposts are established,
White will have the basis
for an attack.
14... Bd7
Robbing White of an
access pOint to c5 (with
Na4).
15.Ne5
71
White restores the threat
by attacking the Bd7,
guardian of a4.
15... bu5
15... b5 16.Ne4 takes the
other road to c5.
16.Ra31
White's short term plan
involves the knights, but in
the long run it is the enemy
king which is the target.
Since there is no good
discovered attack from the
Be7, Black decides to cut off
the powerful Bbl.
16... £5
17.Nxd5 Nxd5
17... exd5 18.Nxd7 Qxd7
19.Bf4 gets the bishop to a
wonderful outpost at d5,
and the weak Black pawns
are also juicy targets for
White's bishop.
18.Nxd7 Qxd7
19.Rxa5
The knight was well
placed at e5 but that was a
 Strategy tor Advanced Players
temporary condition and
Black could have eventually
attacked it with a minor
piece. But after the exchange
at d7 White can now attack
pawns that have no clerical
support.
19... Nc7
20.Ba21
One of the themes we see
in this game collection is
that of shifting plans. It is to
be expected that the
opponent will counter a
strategy most of the time, so
one must be prepared to
develop new plans in new
situations.
20... Bd6
Or else ReS. White has
given up on the idea of a
kingside attack and now
concentrates his efforts on
the weak pawns. Black has
just defended the Pe6, so
now the pawn at a6
becomes the target.
21.Bc41 Kh8
A defensive move with a
tactical point.
22.Q£31
22.Bxa6? Bxh2+! 23.Kxh2
Qd6+ 24.Kgl Nxa6
22... Bb4
23.Ra1 as
Black has taken care of
the problem on the a-file,
but the bishop has given up
control of the b8-h2
diagonal, allowing White to
realize an earlier goal.
24.Bf41 Nd5
25.Be5
We saw this idea in the
note to move 17. This
bishop will dominate the
dark squares for the rest of
the game. The pressure at g7
cannot be exploited
immediately, but it will play
a role later.
25 ... Rfc8
26.Qe2 Qb7
27.h31
White has no immediate
breakthrough and may need
to worry about back-rank
mate in the future, so he
takes time out to create a
flight-square. Thinking
about potential threats from
the opponent is an
important part of planning!
 Strategy tor Advanced Player.

27... Re6 undertake alone. We return

2S.Rac1 Rac8
to the fulfillment of
White's strategy in the
Decision time. How im- game.
portant is the NdS relative
32.Rg3 BfS
to the Bc4? Clearly the Be5
is stronger than the Bb4. 33.b3!
Gligoric plots his strategy This not only prevents
well-aim for positions a5-a4, but it also places the
with each side holding Q,R pawn in a position where it
and B, and attack the is defended by the rook,
kingslde. which is more likely to
29.BxdS! exd5 remain in place than the
30.Rxe6 Qxe6
queen.
33... RaS
31.Rd3!
Black's plan is obvious-
eliminate the queenside
pawns and concentrate on
defense.
34.Qe2
Threatens Rf3.
34... ReS
35.Qd2 RaS
31... Qd7 36.Qg5 KgS
If this were a book about 37.RB!
sacrificial attacks we would White exploits the same
allow ourselves to be theme. It will not win a
diverted by the fireworks pawn this time, but it does
which would have been force Black to critically
seen had Black offered to weaken his defensive for-
exchange queens instead mation.
with 31...Qc2 32.Bxg7+!! 37 •.. g6
Kxg7 33.Qe5+ KI7 34.Qxd5+ 3S.Re3
with complications which
favor White-an analytical
task which the reader can
74 strategy tor Advooced Players

Here Black must try to Black is going to recover

exchange pieces. White one of the pawns. White
must retain as much retains the b-pawn, a better
attacking force as possible. long-term asset, even
3S... QdS though it means his rook is
38... Rc8? 39.Rxc8 Qxc8 temporarily passive.
4O.Qf6 46.Ra3 Rb4
39.Qc1f 47.dS Kg7
This takes control of the 4S.Kfl Kf6
c-file. Black succeeds in 49.Ke2 KeS
removing the bishops from
the board but White retains SO.Kd3 KxdS
both a spatial advantage and S1.Kc3 Re4
attacking chances. This is a classical rook
39... Bd6 endgame. White will
40.Qf4 BxeS maneuver his rook to d2, in
order to defend the pawns
41.QxeS Ra7
along the second rank.
42.RcS Re7 Then he will use his king to
Black could not avoid gain additional space.
losing a pawn. 42 ... Rd7 S2.Ra4! Re2
43.Rb5 Qe7 44.Rb8+ Kf7 S3.Rd4+ KcS
45.Qh8
43.RxdSI Qe7 S4.b4+ KbS
44.Qxc7 Rxe7 SS.RdS+ Kc6
4S.RxaS Rb7 S6.Rd2 ReI
S7.f3 KgI
 Strategy ror Advanced Players 75

58.Kd41 Lesson 26
White realizes that he Bishop pair; open lines in the
cannot make progress on center
the queenside without Karpov-Hort
giving up his kingside Moscow. 1971
pawns, but with the Black Slclallan Defense
king tied down keeping an 1.e4 c5
eye on the b-pawn, 2.Nf3 d6
White sends his own
monarch after the Black 3.d4 cxd4
pawns. 4.Nxd4 Nf6
58... Re1 5.Nc3 e6
59.Rc2+ Kb6 6.g4 Nc6
59... Kb5 60.Rc7 7.g5 Nd7
60.Kd51 Re3
S.Be3 a6
61.Rc6+ Kb5
9.f4 Be7
62.Rc7 h5
10.Rg1 Nxd4
62 ... Re2 63.g4 would also
Hort played this reluc-
have won for White.
tantly, since it concedes the
63.Rb7+ Ka4?1 center to White, who now
63 ... Ka6 64.Rg7 would has better control of e5.
have lasted longer. Therefore Black will have
64.Kc41 to occupy that square while
And now the b-pawn will he can.
be able to advance. 1l.Qxd4 e51
64... Ka3 12.Qd2 exf4
65.Ra7+ 13.Bxf4 Ne5
And Black resigned, since Black has executed his
his king can no longer keep plan to take over the e5-
pace with the pawn. 1-0 square, but has had to accept
a weak pawn at d6 in
return.
76 Strategy for Advanced Players
14.Be2 Be6
1S.NdSI
White correctly estab-
lishes a blockade at d5. If he
had castled first, then Black
would have been able to
thwart this plan with
I5 ... Qa5!
15... BxdS
16.exd5
A difficult choice.
Generally, one uses a piece
to blockade a pawn, but here
the weakness at d6 would
have a counterpart at e4.
Karpov's choice also gives
more scope to his Iight-
squared bishop.
16... Ng6
Hort, recognizing the
passivity of his position,
strives to create counterplay
by tactical means. The threat
is the capture at f4 followed
by Qa5+.
17.Be3 h6?!
This is an error of
judgement. Black reasoned
that White would not
capture, because that would
result in a displacement of
his king. But with the d-file
sealed, the White king will
rest comfortably at dl.
18.gxh 6 Bh4+
19.Kd1 gxh6
20.Bxh6
Black now had to recon-
sider the situation. White's
extra pawn at c2 is not the
most important factor. The
question is, where should
the BM be posted?
20... Bf6
21.c3 BeS
This is clearly a good
square for the bishop, and
there is a serious threat here
of kingside infiltration with
22 ... Qh4, e.g., 23.Bg5 Qb6
24.Be3 Qc7. But Karpov,
recognizing the danger, puts
a stop to Black's plans.
 Strategy for Advooced PIOY8IJ 77

22.Rg4! Qf6?!
Despite White's advan-
tages (bishop pair, open
lines in the center) Hort
should have taken the
opportunity to restore the
material balance with
22... Bxh2. Instead, he chose
to play for complications. Black is almost out of the
23.h41 woods. All he has to do is
castle. But the central files
A strong positional can still cause him pro-
move, saving and advanc- blems.
ing the h-pawn. It is based
27.RB! NxdS
on the tactical point that
23 ... Nxh4? would be 28.Rd3 Rxh6
countered by 24.Bg7. No better was 28 ... Ne7
23... QfS 29.Bf4!
24.Rb4 29.RxdSI
This rook performs the White had to avoid the
double duty of protecting tactical trick 29.Qxh6 BgS
the fourth rank and attack- when 30... Ne3+ would have
ing on the queenside. been very powerful.
24... Bf6 29... Qe4
2S.hS Ne7
Not 2S ... NeS?, which
drops a piece to 27.Rf4!.
26.Rf4
26.Rxb7?? Rxh6! 27.Qxh6
QxdS+ picks up the Rb7.
26... QeS
Material equilibrium has
been resored, but Black's
pieces are not well placed.
White's roaming rook now
78 Strategy tor Advanced Ployen

redeploys to a most S.Bd3 Nc6

menacing position.
30.Rd31 Qhl+
The threat of Re3,
combined with pressure at
h6, force Black to take this
desperate measure. He was
in time pressure as well.
31.Kc2 Qxal
32.Qxh6 BeS
33.QgS
Here Hort's flag fell, but it
didn't really matter. to{)
Lesson 27
Fortress; pressllre
Najdert-Huebner
Wljk aan Zee, 1971
Nlmzelndlan
1.d4 Nf6
2.c4 e6
3.Nc3 Bb4
The Nimzoindian is one
of the most deeply strategic
of all chess openings, in
keeping with the spirit of
Aron Nimzowitsch, who
was one of the best planners
in chess history.
4.e3 cS
Robert Huebner's patent
-and it is only fitting that
the strategy of this opening
is exhibited in one of his
finest games.
6.Nf3 Bxc3+
7.bxc3 d6
Black gives up the bishop
pair without provocation,
in order to double the
pawns. Then, instead of d7-
dS which allows lines to
open, d7-d6 is played.
8.e4
This is the logical reply,
since Black has refrained
from d7-dS. This gives
Black the opportunity to
create a totally blocked
center, and that will favor
the knights. That is why
8.0-0 is a more common
move.
S... eS
9.dS Ne7!
In the near term, this
knight has work to do on
the kingside. Eventually, it
may return to the queenside
(a5) to pressure the pawn at
c4, but the kingside balance
 Strategy tor Advooced Players
is of greater significance in
the early stages of the
middlegame.
10.g311
An experiment. 10.Nh4 is
the normal move, leading
to a complicated game
which favors the better
player! Huebner reacts
calmly, as if 10.NM had
been played, and the game
transposes to more typical
play.
10... h6
11.Nh4 g5
Black is not going to
castle to the kingside, and
this move takes over the
initiative.
12.Ng2
12.Qf3 NfgS! 13.NfS NxfS
14.exfS Nf6 would be very
comfortable for Black.
12... Qa5
Black could also have
achieved equality with
12... Bh3 13.Ne3 Qd7, as in
Huebner-Timman, played a
decade later
13.Qb3
This seems like a sensible
reply, but the more prosaic
13.Bd2 would have been
better, as the White queen
has somewhat more of a
future at f3. Now Black can
complete his development
quickly and secure his king
on the queenside.
13... Bh3
14.0-0 0-0-0
15.Rbl Qe7
Black has nothing to fear
on the b-file, as the best
White can do is to play Rn
and Rf2-b2. But with KbS
and BeS Black will have an
impenetrable fortress.
16.f3 KbS
17.Rf2
17.g4 hS is bad for White
17... Rhg8
IS.Ne3 BeS
80 Strategy for Advanced Players

White's position is Now Black must shift

strategically bankrupt and plans. His pawn structure is
he can do little but return superior in all areas, but his
his king to a safer position best chances lie on the
in the center. kingside-for the moment.
19.Kfl 22... f6
Black needs to carve a 23.g4 RhBI
path into the White 24.Be3 hS
position. The best candidate
for this is the f-fiIe, which 2S.Bfl Rf1!
can be opened with 0-f5. In order to be able to
White can prevent this, but double rooks at the appro-
that will only create oppor- priate time, and also to be
tunities on the e-file and h- able to use the rooks any-
file. where on the 7th rank.
19... RdfBI 26.h3 Qd7
20.Ke1 NeB 27.Kd2 Nc7
21.Nf5 2B.a4?1
Forced, unless White is White was tired of wait-
willing to allow O-fS. ing around doing nothing,
21... NxfS but this move simply
creates a weakness which
22.exf5
will prove embarassing
later.
2B... Re7
29.Re1
 strategy tor Advooced Players 81

endgame by exchanging
major pieces.
36.Kc2 hxg4
37.hxg4 Bd7
38.Qa2 Rh2
39.Kd2 Rxf2+
40.Bxf2 Qh2
Now Black, recogmzlng
the weakness at a4, comes 41.Ke2
up with a wonderful win- White's monarch has
ning strategy. He will attack been in agitated motion
the pawn, lure it forward throughout the game!
and exchange it for the Pb7. 41... Na4
29... Na8! 42.Qd2 Be8
The threat is Nb6. So the 43.Rb1 Rxb1
pawn marches forward.
44.Bxb1 Qf4!
30.aS Qd8!
4S.Bd3
31.Qa3 Rhh7
45.Qd3Nb2
To be able to bring both
rooks to the queenside, if 45... Qxd2+
needed. There is no rush, 46.Kxd2 Nb6
because White has no 47.Kc1 Ba4
counterplay.
48.Be2 Bd7!
32.Rb1 b6!
A small trick-the
33.Bd3 Rb7 tempting exchange of
34.axb6 bishops would not turn out
34.a6 Rbd7 and NaS-c7 well.
will pick up the pawn. 4S ... Bxc2 49.Kxc2 Nxc4
34... Nxb6 SO.Kd3 Nb6 51.c4 a5 52.Bel
a4 53.Ba5 a3 54.Be3 Ka7
Now Black has a passed 55.Bal Ka6 56.Kc3 Ka5
pawn and the rest is simple. 57.Kb3 Ka6 5S.Be3 draws!
3S.Ral Qh8! 49.Bd3 Ke7
And the h-file will be
used to set up a winning SO.Kb2 Be8
82 Strategy for Advooced Players

51.Kb3 Ba6 This position had already

appeared in the widely
52.Be3
discussed 3rd game of the
52.Kb2 Nxc4+ 53.Kb3 Fischer-Spassky match and
Nd2+ 54.Kc2 Bxd3+ 55.Kxd2 Gligoric was ready to im-
Bc4 56.Ke3 Bxd5 57. Bel Kb6 prove on 11.Qc2.
and Black wins easily.
1l.a41 Ne5
52... Nxd51
Better is 11 ...a6. Kavalek
0-1 is trying to emulate Fischer
and will post his knight at
Lesson 28 h5.
Good knight; scope 12.Qc2 Nh5?1
Gligorlc-Kavalek 12... g5!? intending g4 is a
Skopje Olympiad. 1972 proper preliminary to this
Modern Benoni maneuver. Tatai-Povah,
1.d4 Nf6 London 1978 continued
2.c4 c5 13.Ra3 g4 14.b3 and here
14... Nfd7 would have been
3.d5 e6 interesting.
4.Nc3 exd5 Gligoric-Fischer, Palma
5.cxd5 d6 de Mallorca Interzonal 1970
saw 13.Nd3 Nxf3+ 14.Bxf3
6.e4 g6 h6? 15.Bd2 a6 16.Be2 Qe7
7.Nf3 Bg7 17.Rae1 Qe5 18.Kh1 Qd4
S.Be2 0-0 19.f3 and GIigoric had a
clear advantage, though
9.0-0 ReS
Fischer pulled out the
10.Nd2 Nbd7 victory a mere 16 moves
later. Still, 14 ... Nd7 is a
major improvement as the
knight can be transferred to
e5. This is a more effective
strategy than the queen
journey Fischer used, an
opinion which was con-
firmed in Ogaard-Engklaar,
Oslo 1974.
 Strategy tor Advanced Players
13.BxhS gxhS
Although Black has
weakened his kingside his
king is not easily attacked,
and he counts on the com-
bination of NeS, a powerful
bishop at g7, and a strong
PcS to provide sufficient
counterplay.
14.Ndll
This is the key idea
behind 11.a4. White will
simply challenge the NeS
with Nd2-c4. If White
didn't place the pawn at a4,
this could have been
stopped by 14...bS.
14... Qh4
Later attempts were made
to improve here for Black
by playing an immediate
14... b6, since this move will
have to be played even-
tually. But even so White
retains the better game.
14... b6 15.Ra3 fS 16.exfS
Ba6 17.Ne4! sacrifices the
exchange for a strong attack
against the Black king. The
Ba6 is probably stronger
than the Rf1 here, since at
least it deprives the White
queen of some transfer
squares to the kingside.
17... Bxfl 18.Kxfl Nf7 19.Rg3
Kh8 was played in Gligoric-
83
Taimanov, Leningrad Inter-
zonal 1973. Here, according
to Jon Speelman, White can
return the material with
interest! 20.Rxg7! Kxg7
21.Qc3+ Kg8 (21...Kf8
22.Bh6+ Nxh6 23.Qh8+ Ng8
24.f6 Qd7 25.Ng5) 22.Nf6+
Kf8 23.Nxh7+ Kg8 24.Qg3+!
Kxh7 25.Qg6+ KhB 26.f6
Rel+ 27.Kxel QgB 2B.Qxh5+
Qh7 29.Qxh7+ Kxh7 30.g4
and White has too many
pawns.
IS.Ne3 Ng4
16.Nxg4 hxg4
17.Nc:4
Black has no real attack
on the kingside and the BcB
has no scope at all. White's
basic plan is ReI and Bf4,
increasing the pressure at
d6.
17... Qf6?1
Relatively best was 17... g3
IB.fxg3 Qxe4 19.Qxe4 Rxe4
20.Nxd6 Re5. Now White
 Strategy for Advalced Players

can force the dark-squared cannot afford to weaken e6

bishops off the board, after by playing f7-f6.
which his good knight is 24 ... RhS
better than the enemy Qf6
2S.Qf2
bishop.
18.Bd2 Qg6 26.Re3 ReS
19.Bc3 Bxc3 27.Rael Qf4
20.bxc3 b6 28.eSI dxeS
20 ... Qxe4 21.Qxe4 Rxe4
22.Nxd6 gives White a
powerful passed pawn.
21.Rfel
We have entered a new
stage of the game. White
will aim for the advance
e4-eS and Black will do
everything in his power to Now White wants to
stop it. capture with the knight, but
21... Ba6 does not want to allow
Black to exchange queens,
22.Nd2 ReS
so first the enemy queen is
23.f41 gxf3 driven back.
24.Nxf3 29.Re4! Qf6
30.Qg3+ Kh8
31.NxeS Rg8
32.Rg4 Rxg4
33.Nxg4 086
34.c41
The tactical trick
34 ... Bxc4?? 3S.Qc3+ gives
Now White will bring this move exceptional re-
his strategy to a successful sults, since now the bishop
conclusion, since Black is completely out of play.
This, combined with the
 Strategy for Advanced Players 8S

weakness of the back rank, 7... f5 is the main line, but

brings the game to a swift 7... Bf6, putting pressure on
conclusion. d4, is probably the best
34... R£S move here.
3S.Nh6! 8.cxdS exdS
9.B£4 0-0
10.Qc2 Nxc3
11.Qxc3

3S... R16
35 ... Qxg3 36.Re8+ Kg7
37.Nxf5+ Kf6 38.Nxg3
36.Re8+ Kg7 White hopes to use the
37.Rg8+ Kxh6 open file to put pressure on
38.Qh4+ 1-0
the queenside, but Black has
a simple plan of advancing
the c-pawn to c4.
Lesson 29 11... cst
Pin; pressure
Pavlenko-Furman 12.0-0
Moscow, 1972 12.dxc5 d4! gains space for
Queen's Indian Black, thanks to the pin at
1.d4 N16 f3.
12... Nd7
2.c4 e6
13.Rfdl
3.N£3 b6
Given that the Nd7 sup-
4.g3 Bb7 ports the c5-square, and that
S.Bg2 Be7 the power of the Bg2 is
6.Nc3 Ne4 limited by the Nf3, White
should have played 13.Ne5!,
7.Bd2 dS which would have led to an
86 Strategy tor Advcnced Players

equal position after memory. The e- and f-files

13...Nxe514.Bxe5 c4. are the loci of future action
13... c4 and the f4 and e2 squares
Now the Rdl looks will play especially impor-
rather silly. tant roles.
14.NeS bSI 20.Kh2
IS.Qc2 Nb61

White has no more

defense at f2. This means
Black has now organized that Black has the oppor-
his pieces optimally. His tunity to advance his f-
plan now is to chase the pawn.
Ne5 and then try to
20... fSl
exchange dark-squared
bishops. 21.B£3
16.h471 Covering up the critical
White must aim for e2- square. 21.NxfS? Qf6 22.Bh3
e4 here. Was he really con- (22.g4 g6 23.Nh6+ Kh8 24.g5
cerned about the possibility Qxf2 and h4 falls anyway.)
of 16...g5?! ? Be8 23.g4 BxfS 24.QxfS Qxh4
16... f6 21... 141
17.Ng4 Bd6 22.Ng4 Nd71
White has a plan here-
IS.Bxd6 Qxd6
to plant the knight at eS and
19.Ne3 RaeSI interrupt the attack. Black
Between White's mis- must continue to concen-
guided play and Black's trate on the key squares,
solid response the option of which are now f2 and e2 ,
e2-e4 is now but a distant even though White can
 strategy tor Advanced Players 87

"remove" his d-pawn and

attack the weakness at dS.
23.b3 h5
24.Ne5 Nxe5
25.dxe5

Does the bishop defend

the e-pawn? No, it is
pinned. Does the rook? No,
since if it slides to the left
then Bxf3+ is strong.
Combine ingredients and
win!
Now if Black captures the
pawn it will be hard for him 30... Rxe211
to make progress, but 31.Qxe2 Qxe2
Furman has not forgotten 32.Rxe2 Bxf3+
about his principal targets at Bg4+
33.Kfl
e2andf2.
25 ... Qb6[ 34.Kel Bxe2
26.Kg2 Exg3 35.Kxe2 bxc4 0-1
27.fxg3 Rxe5
Lesson 30
Although the pawn is Diagonal; pin
gone, the vacant square at f2
Reshevsky-Schlller
remains an inviting target. Simut 1972
White now transfers a rook Queen's Gambit Accepted
to guard the weak squares
on the f-file and also at e2, l.d4 d5
while Black opens lines and 2.c4 dxc4
increases the pressure. 3.Nf3 Nf6
28.Rfl d4
4.e3 g6
29.bxc4 Qe6[
5.Bxc4 Bg7
30.Rfl 6.0-0 0-0
90 Strategy tOf Advanced Plav-

10 ... Bb7 20.Radl

11.Nbd2 Nbd7 Karpov carefully com-
12.Nfl ReS pletes his mobilization
before launching his attack.
13.Ng3 NeS More importantly, he recog-
14.Be2 BfS nized the potential useful-
ness of this rook on the d-
file, despite the fact that the
file is almost filled with
pieces!
20... Bg7

This is the main starting

position for the lO.d3
variation. White will now
spend some time attending
to the queenside before
attacking the enemy king.
lS.b4 Ned7
16.d4 h6
17.Bd2 Nb6
lS.Bd3 g671
Too passive. Black
should stake a claim on the
queenside before it is too
late and the best way of
doing so would be to aim
for c7-cS with a preparatory
ReS. That plan is not
without risk, but it is better
than treading water.
19.Qc2 Nfd7
Now Karpov must create
his plan. The center is still
filled with tension. The Rdl
has distant "man-on-man"
coverage against the Black
queen.
21.dxeSI
A well-timed exchange.
Black should now recapture
with the knight, even
though after 22.NxeS BxeS
23.f4 White will have a
strong central positon.
21... dxeS?!
22.c41
 Strategy tor Advonc:ed Play81S 91

This forces the weak-

ening of Black's queenside
pawn structure.
22... bxc4
23.Bxc4 Qe77!
Spassky wants to play c7-
c5 as soon as possible,
eliminating his weak pawn.
27.a51 Ba4
But he should have taken
the opportunity to exchange 28.Qcl Nc8
his knight for White's 29.Bxh6!
powerful light-squared The superior activity of
bishop. White's forces which results
24.Bhl! c5 from the sacrifice of the
25.a4! exchange will enable him to
Karpov already has the attack on the kingside.
idea of a plan in which he 29... Bxdl
will sacrifice the exchange 30.Rxdl Nd671
by allowing Black to play Understandably, Black
Bb7-c6-a4 after the Bb3 is wants to get this knight into
chased back to a2. This plan a position to help with the
is based on an evaluation of defense of the king. Best
the ReI as relatively useless. was 30 ... Ra7, though that
25... c4 would have parted with the
25...cxb4 26.a5 RacS 27.Qa2 c-pawn after 31.Bxg7 Kxg7
Na8 28.Bxb4! is a decisive 32.Qxc4.
blow. 31.Bxg7 Kxg7
26.Ba2 Bc6
92 Strategy for Advanced Players

White now observes that 2.d4 d5

the horses are guarded only c:5
3.Nd2
by the queen, which can be
deflected. 4.exdS exd5
32.Qg51 5.Ngf3 Nc:6
With the amusing point 6.Bb5 Bd6
that 32 ... Qxg5 33.Nxg5 7.dxc:5 Bxc:5
leaves Black with no way to
stop the loss of one of the 8.0-0 Nge7
knights, while 32... Nf6?? 9.Nb3 Bd6
drops the queen to 33.Rxd6
Qxd634.Nf5+.
32... f6
33.Qg4
Maintaining the threat of
Nf5+.
33... Kh7
34.Nh4
And Black resigned In isolated d-pawn posi-
rather than invite 34... Rg8 tions like these White has
35.Bxc4! or 34... NfB 35.Nxg6! two main objectives-the
Nxg6 36.Qh5+ Kg7 37.Rxd6! blockade of the isolated
pawn and the elimination
and the thematic Nf5+
of Black's dark-squared
follows. The entire plan was
based on play along the d- bishop.
file which Karpov antici- 10.Bg5!
pated with 20.Radl! 1-0 This move directly im-
plements White's plan by
transferring the bishop to a
Lesson 32 post from which it can
Bad bishop; isolated pail/lis reach the h2-b8 diagonal
Karpov-Uhlmann (via h4 to g3).
Madrid. 1973 10... 0-0
French Defense 11.Bh4 Bg4
1.e4 e6 12.Be2
 strategy for Adllatced Players
The immediate 12.Bg3 is
also playable, although
Black can equalize with 12...
Bxg3 13.hxg3 Qb6!. 12.Rel is
a reasonable alternative to
the text.
12... BhS7!
The superior 12... Re8!
had already been introduced
by Uhlmann, but he was
probably afraid of a prepared
innovation.
13.Rel Qb6
14.Nfd41
Not only does White
achieve half of his goal, but
he also places Black in a
position where he faces a
difficult decision concerning
the fate of the BhS.
14... Bg6
If Black had exchanged
bishops the isolated pawn
would have less protection.
Uhlmann decides that the
bishop may be of use at e4,
since any eventual f2-0
will weaken the a7-g1
diagonal.
lS.c3 Rfe8
16.Bfll
Karpov realizes that this
is the best square for the
bishop, since on f3 it could
be attacked by Nc6-eS. As
93
we will see, the control of
the e-file plays an important
role in the remainder of the
game.
16... Be4
17.Bg3!
Now that all of White's
pieces have been properly
positioned, the exchange of
bishops is appropriate.
17... Bxg3
18.hxg3
White need not worry
about the doubled g-
pawns-they are actually
strong from both offensive
and defensive perspectives.
18... as!?
The weakening of bS is
probably more Significant
than Black's mild initiative,
but perhaps the move was
played without taking into
consideration White's po-
tential sacrifice of the b-
pawn.
19.a4 Nxd4
94 Strategy for Advanced Players

20.Nxd41 This is a major positional

Karpov correctly main- concession, since it leads to
tains the blockade with the an endgame where black
piece, since if 20...Qxb2 then has a bad bishop and White
21.Nb5! threatens both controls the e-file.
22.Nc7 and 22.Re2. 23.Qxd4 Qxd4
20... Nc6 24.cxd4 Rad
24... KfS would not have
prevented infiltration by
the White rooks: 25.Re2
RacS 26.f3 Bg6 27.Rael Rc7??
28.ReS+ RxeS 29.Rxe8+
25.f3 Bg6
26.Re7
The immediate objective
The position remains has now been achieved, and
rather closed, and the e-file after the doubling of rooks
is the only line which can on the e-file Karpov
be exploited. To do this, illustrates his famous
White must drive the ReS endgame technique to
away. secure the point.
21.Bb5! 26... b6
The pin encourages 27.Rael h6
Black's rook to leave the e- 28.Rb7 Rd6
file. Probably 21...Bg6 would
have been best here. 29.Ree7 h5
21... Red8?1 30.gxh5 Bxh5
22.g41 31.g4 Bg6
A very clever move, the 32.f4 Rc1+
point of which is to create 33.Kf2 Rc2+
threats of trapping the
enemy bishop should it 34.Ke3 Be4
retreat to g6 (with f2-f4-f5). 35.Rxf7 Rg6
22... Nxd4 36.g5 Kh7
37.Rfe7 Rxb2
 Strategy for Advanced Players 95

38.Be81 Rb3+ and Hort has no desire to

39.Ke2 Rb2+ part with his gem.
8.a4 as
40.Ke1 Rd6
9.Na3 Ne7
41.Rxg7+ Kh8
This must be played right
42.Rge7 1-0 away, or else White will
station his knight at c4 and
Lesson 33 thereby make it very
Bishops of opposile color; difficult for the kn ight to
overproleclioll enter the game.
Hort-KuraJlca 10.Nc4 Nd5
Vinkovcl. 1976
SiCilian Defense
1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bb5 e6
4.0-0 a6
5.Bxc6 dxc6
6.d3 Qc7 11.Re1
7.e5 Typical overprotection.
Already the outline of This is clearly the appro-
White's strategy is c1ear- priate position for the rook,
the d6 square is mine and I since nothing is going to
will occupy it with a piece! happen on the f-file. Now
Of course nothing can come one can dream of positions
of this immediately. but this where, after Nc4-d6+, Bxd6
is the central notion out of and exd6, the "man-on-
which plans are built. man" coverage Ret/Ke8 can
7... f5 be explOited.
Inviting White to capture 11... Nb67!
at £6, after which Black's Kurajica is playing
forecourt will be a bit weak. without much of a plan,
But this would mean giving and should have left the
up the valuable d6 pOint,
96 Strategy for Advanced Players
knight alone, as it was well
placed.
11...b5 12.axb5 cxb5
13.Nd6+ Bxd6 14.exd6 Qxd6
15.c4 Nb4 16.Ne5! gives
White the strong threat of
Qh5+.
12.Nxb6 Qxb6
Black is clearly worse,
with a very bad Bc8. But
how can White take advan-
tage of d6? Somehow, the
Bel has to get into the act.
13.b31
Although the path from
a3 to d6 is currently blocked,
that can be changed by a
timely d3-d4. In addition,
the Bel is now free to
develop at e3, since the 1>-
pawn will no longer be
hanging.
13... Qc7
14.d41
14.Ba3 b5! 15.d4 b4!
demonstrates the point
behind the retreat of the
Black queen.
14 ... cxd4
lS.Qxd4 b6
Black has succeeded in
taking control of c5, so that
Bel-a3 will no longer be
effective. Still, the queen-
side pawns are now loose,
so serious consideration
should have been given to
15... Be7, as suggested by
Unzicker.
16.Qc41
A clever move, recog-
nizing that Black was
getting ready for Be8-a6,
which now would lose the
e-pawn.
16... Qd7
17.Be3 Ba6
18.Qh4 c5
Black's queenside posi-
tion is now solid, but his
pieces have limited scope.
White has not forgotten
about the weakness at d6,
however.
19.Rad1 Qf1
 Strategy for Advanced Players 97

counterpart on the dark

squares.
22... Qb7
22...Qf623.BgS
23.Bg5 Qd5
24.Be1 Bb7
25.f3
19 ... Qb7 20.QhS+ g6 Here Black is completely
(20 ... Qf7 21.Qxf7+ Kxf7 busted, with no way of
22.NgS+ Ke7 23.Rd6 is a contesting the d7-square.
deadly infiltration.) 21.Qh4 25... Qd2
and the dark squares are
very weak, e.g., 21...Be7 26.d1 RfbS
22.BgS Rd8 23.Bxe7 Qxe7 21.c4 Qc3
24.Rxd8+ Qxd8 25.Qxd8+ 2S.Kfl Qd2
Kxd8 26.Rdl+ Ke7 27.Rd6
Rb8 28.NgS and White wins 29.Qg5
material. And Black resigned,
20.Rd61 because of 29...QxgS 30.BxgS
Ki8 31.Rdl Rd8 32.Rd6 and
Finally Hort realizes his 29... Qc3 3O.Bf6 g6 31.Qh6. 10{)
dream-the occupation of
d6. Black has nothing better
than accepting the material.
Lesson 34
COllnterattacks; pressllre
20... Bxd6 Reshevsky-Vaganian
21.exd6 0-0 Skopje. 1976
22.Ne5! French Defense
The combination of the 1.e4 e6
powerful knight outpost 2.d4 d5
and the advanced pawn
3.Nd2 Nf6
provides more than enough
compensation for the ex- 4.e5 Nfd1
change. Here the bishops of 5.£4
opposite color help White In this system White
too, since the BgS has no gains a lot of space, but his
formation can be under-
98 strategy for Advanced Players
mined by counterattacks
involving c7-<5 and 17-f6.
5... cS
6.c3 ~c6
7.~df3 QaS?I
This system is no longer
considered playable, as it
can be met by the strong
reply 8.dxc5! Qxc5 9.Bd3 and
then White will occupy d4
with a knight, and there
will be no source of
counterplay for Black.
8.Kf2?1
This radical method of
breaking the pin is not
needed.
8... Be7
Black can also play
expansively with b7-b5, but
the text is safe and good.
9.Bd3
Speelman suggests that
9.g3 is more logical, making
room for the king.
9... Qb61
Black returns to the main
theme of the opening-
pressure at d4 combined
with 17-f6, which he will
play on the next move.
10.~e2 £61
11.exf6
When Black sees a move
like that, he can sit back and
plan his victory speech.
Now the pressure at d4 will
become unbearable, and
Vaganian gives a textbook
lesson on how to com-
pletely fulfill the strategic
goal. 11.Rf1 cxd4 12.cxd4 fxe5
13.fxe5 NdxeS 14.NxeS?
Nxe5. 11.Kg3 is a wild alter-
native, and it may be the
best White can do in the
position. Vaganian defeated
Adorjan when the latter
tried the plan against him
in 1974, but the game was
very complicated. Still, it
hardly seems safe for
White!
11... Bxf6!
When one understands
the strategic goal, the choice
of recapture is simple.
12.Kg3
Perhaps Reshevsky had
prepared this as an im-
provement on the afore-
mentioned Adorjan game,
 strategy tor Advanced Play9l1 99

which saw Black pry open

the kingside with g7-gS. But
with the f-pawn gone, this
is no longer a reasonable
plan. So all eyes on d4!
12... cxd4
13.cxd4 0-0
14.Rel? Imagine, if you will, both
the Nf3 and Bf6 removed
from the board. Then Qf2 is
mate. Consider, as well, that
the Nf3 is the only defender
the king has.
16... Bh4+11
17.Kxh4
17.Nxh4 Qf2+
White should have 17 ... Rxf3!1
attended to his king safety
18.R£1
by advancing the h-pawn.
Now Black sees that with 18.gxf3? Qf2+ 19.KgS h6+
the d-pawn gone, the king 20.Kg6 Nxe5+ 21.KhS Qxh2+
cannot retreat. 14.M Nxd4? is a pretty mate. Notice how
lS.Nexd4 Bxd4 16.Nxd4 the Be8 plays an important
Qxd4?? 17.Bxh7+ role without ever leaving
14... eS!! home!
18 ... Qb4+
IS.fxeS NdxeS
19.Bf4 Qe7+
16.dxeS
20.BgS Qe61
100 Strategy tor Advanced Players

Lesson 35
Open files; pin; O/ltpost
Hoo-Alburt
Decln, 1977
Benko Gambit

1.d4 Nf6
The attack has not led to 2.c4 cS
mate, but since 21.h3? is 3.dS bS
met by 21...Qxh3+! 22.gxh3 4.cxbS a6
Rxh3 mate, White must
return the piece, and then it S.bxa6 g6
is just mopping up time. 6.Nc3 Bxa6
21.BfS RxfS 1.Nf3 d6
22.Nf4 8.g3 Bg1
22.RxfS QxfS 23.QxdS+ 9.Bg2 Nbd1
Be6 24.Qf3 QxeS 25.Bf4 gS+!
26.BxgS Qxh2+- Speelman. 10.0-0
22... QxeS The Benko Gambit is a
deeply strategical opening,
23.Qg4 Rf7 with Black simply putting
24.QhS Ne1! as much pressure as
The addition of the possible on the queens ide,
knight to the attack is more using the two open files and
than White can bear. the power of his
2S.g4 Ng6+ fianchettoed bishop on the
diagonal. He can also target
26.Kg3 Bd7 the pawn at dS.
27.Rae1 Qd6 10 ... Nb6 n.Rd
28.Bh6 Raf8
And with the entry of the
last of Black's forces, White
resigned. 0-1
 Strategy for AdVoooed Plavers 101

11... 0-0 Black has eliminated the

12.Nd2
White needs to
reorganize his pieces in
order to protect the weak
PdS. But it is likely the
straightforward 12 e4, sug-
gested by Jon Speelman, is
the most logical move.
Schwarz's 12.Bf4 NhS leads
to untested complications.
12... Qe7
13.Rbl Qb71
This leads to a profound
queen sacrifice based en-
tirely on positional factors
which allow him to carry
out his strategy effectively.
14.b3 NfxdSI
IS.NxdS NxdS
16.Nfl
d-pawn and can go after the
queenside bits. Naturally
Black would like to play
Nc3, and even· though the
queen hangs, he does!
16.Ne4 Rad8 17.Bb2 Bxb2
18.Rxb2 Qb4! is relatively
best, and leads to unclear
complications, according to
Kasparov.
16... Ne311
17.Bxb7 Bxb7
Black does not have full
material compensation, but
he has enough pieces to
eliminate the queens ide
pawns, while White's forces
sit idly on the back rank.
18.Qd3?1
102 Strategy for Advanced Players

I8.Qd2 might have been 29.Bxd4 Nc2 3O.Rdl Nxd4

better, because it would 3I.Rxd4 Bxfl 32.Kxfl Rd8)
have forced Black to capture 26 ... Rxd2 27.Nxd2 (27.Bxd2
at bI because otherwise exd4 28.Bxc3 dxc3 29.Rc1
19.Bb2 would threaten the Bxfl 30.Kxfl Rb8 3I.Rxc3
supremacy of the Bg7. Now Rxb4) 27 ... Bd3 28.dxeS dxe5
Black keeps the knight in its 29.Bb2 Ne2+ 3O.Kg2 e4.
outpost at c3, using the Bb7 22... REb8
instead. 23.b4 cxb4
18 ••. Be41
24.axb4 Rxb4
19.Qe3 Bd41
25.Nf3 Bg7
20.Qh6 Bxb1
26.Qh3 Be6
27.Qf1 Bc41

Almost all of Black's

pieces are aimed at the
White pawns, and the other After demolishing the
rook will soon get into the queenside and kicking the
act. White tries to preserve White forces back to the
his pawns, but fails. home rank, Black pins the
21.a3 Ba2 e-pawn, completely
paralyzing his opponent.
22.Nd2
28.Kg2 RaIl
22.b4 cxb4 23.axb4 Bc4
24.Qd2 eS and the Pe2 is An additional pin to
gone: 2S.e3 Ra2 26.exd4 cause White trouble.
(26.Bb2 Rxb2 27.Qxb2 Ne2+ 29.Ng1 Rbb1
28.Qxe2 Bxe2 29.Rxe2 &3 30.Kh3
30.bS Rb8) (26.Qxa2 Nxa2
27.exd4 exd4 28.Bb2 Nxb4
 strategy for AdvQ'lCed Players 103

White is almost In 5... bS

zugzwang, so Black reduces 6.a4 b4
his options.
30... hS 7.Nbl
31.£4
Now the pin at c1 means
that the Black knight can
head fore3.
31... Be6+!
32.Kg2 NdS
33.Kf3 Bell
If 33 ... Bb2 immediately, White's general strategy
then White could escape is clear-go after the
with 34.Bd2. overextended pawns.
34.Rd1 Bbl 7... Ba6
0-1 8.Qc2 b3?1
A surprisingly poor inno-
Lesson 36 vation from Portisch. The
Space normal continuation is
Rlbll-Portisch 8...e6 9.Bxc4 Bxc4 lO.Qxc4
Hungary. 1978 Qd5 where the pawn at b4
Slav Defense hinders the development of
1.« c6 White's forces.
9.Qd1 e6
2.d4 dS
10.Nbd2 Bb4
3.Nf3 Nf6
n.Be2 Ne4
4.Nc3 dxc4
Black's pressure is only
S.e3 temporary and once White
5.a4 and S.e4 are more castles Black is forced to
common here, since the text choose between capturing at
allows Black to expand on d2 and retreating. Perhaps
the queens ide without 11 ... Qd5, keeping the e4
White obtaining central square under control and
territory in return.
104 Strategy for Advanced Players

defending c4, would have would be the one laughing,

been wiser. as 19 ...cxb2 20.Rbl wins both
12.0-0 Bxd2 of the advanced pawns, and
13.Bxd2 0-0
Black cannot use his Rf8 to
go after the Pc5 because of
14.Bb4! the back rank mate.
Now if the rook moves, 18 ... cxb2 19.Rabl Bb7
then 15.Ne5 and 16.Bf3 20.Rxb2 Bd5 21.Nd2 and the
would have placed tremen- Pb3 falls.
dous pressure on Black's 18...c2 19.Rd3 Rc820.Rxb3
underdeveloped position. Rxc5 21.Rc3! Rxc3 22.bxc3
So Portisch sacrifices a pawn Bb7 23.Nd4 a6 24.Bd3 Nd7
to loosen things up. 25.Bxc2 Rc8 26.Rbl Bd527.e4
14... eS with a comfortable extra
lS.BxeS N xeS pawn.
19.bxe3 Be4
16.dxeS Qxd1
20.Rd2 Nc6
17.Rfxd1 e3
There is no point in
posting the bishop at c2
since White can always
move his Ral away
(avoiding b3-b2) and then
play Nd4.

Black probably reasoned

that White would capture at
a6 here, but the advanced
pawns remain as weak as
they were in the opening,
and Ribli understands this.
21.Nd4! NaS
18.BbSI Bb7
Black could not afford to
18... Bxb5 19.axb5 would exchange knights because
have created a humorous White can always return his
pawn structure, but White
 Ska~forAdvanced~ave~ 105

bishop to the bl-h7 Taking the only other

diagonal. open file.
22.f3 DdS 29... Nb6
23.e4 De4 30.aS Na4
24.Rh21 31.Ne21
Now White will ex- The pseudo-sacrifice of
change his pawn at c5 for the c-pawn would be
the pawn at b2, and Black decisive for White if Black
will have no real compen- were to accept.
sation. Yet there is still a lot 31... a6
of work to do before the 31...Nxc3 32.Nxc3 Rxc3
game can be declared as a 33.Rd7 a6 34.Rbb7 Rf8
win. 35.Ra7 Ra3 36.Rxa6 Rc8
24 ... RfeS 37.Raa7 Ra2+ 38.Kg3 was
2S.Dxe4 Nxe4 given by Ugrinovic as a win
for White, and this seems to
26.Rxb3 RxeS
be the case since his king is
27.RbS ReeS perfectly safe. 38... Rcc2
2S.Kf2 86 39.Rx17 Rxg2+ 40.Kf4 Rxh2
41.Rfd7 and mate follows.
32.Rb3 Re7
33.Rdbl Raa7
34.Ke31
By using his king to
defend the pawn, White
frees the rooks for more
important tasks, the first of
In this position it is which is to drive out the
important to note that enemy knight.
White has positional as 34 ... NeS
well as material advantages,
3S.Ra3 Nd7
and it is important to
exploit them! 36.Ra4 NeS
29.Rdl! 37.Rbb4 ReS
3S.h31
106 Strategy for Advanced Plovers

White is now ready to 46.Nb3 Nxb3

gain more space by advanc- 47.Rxc7 Nal+
ing the f-pawn, and then
the e-pawn, but first he 48.Kb2 Rxc7
covers the g4-square.
38... Rac7
39.f4 Nc4+
40.Kd3 Rd7+
41.Nd4
Now it is clear why it was
important to take control of
e5! Now White should win
41... Nd6 any rook ending by simply
42.Rb6 Nb7 advancing his pawns. Since
43.Rc4
the Nat has no effect on the
game, Ribli ignores it!
49.Rxa61 h4
SO.Ra8+ Kg7
Sl.a6 Rc4
S2.a7 Ra4
S3.c4! 1-0

Lesson 37
Now if Black exchanges Exploiting the light squares
rooks his position is hope- Speelman-Larsen
less, so he tries another Lone Pine. 1978
plan, but it meets with Old Indian
refutation. (by transposition)
43... NcS+
1.e4 c6
43... Rxc4 44.Kxc4 Nxa5+
45.Kb4 2.c4
44.Kc2 Rdc7 This variation has grown
in popularity in the past
45.eSI h5 decade. Pure Caro-Kann
 Strategy tor Advanced Players 107

players usually continue good-I don't think that it

with 2...d5, but Larsen, who is very special." wrote
likes the Old Indian, prefers Speelman, who noted that
to advance the e-pawn. 8... a5 was by no means
2... es necessary.
3.Nf3 d6 8... 0-0
4.d4 Bg4 9.Rel Re8
Black places indirect
pressure at d4. White
should now develop calm-
ly, as rash action in the
center wiD not be effective.
s.Be2
5.dxe5? Bxf3! 6.gxf3 dxe5
7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.f4 f6! is fine
for Black, since White's Now Speelman decides
bishop pair is limited in that an exchange of Iight-
effectiveness by his bad squared bishops would
pawn structure, Seirawan- work to his advantage, so
Nikolic, Tilburg 1990. after developing the Bel he
5... Nd7 extends the standard
6.Nc3 Be7
invitation.
IO.Be3 Bhs
7.0-0 Ngf6
Larsen wants to keep his
The game has now options open.
transposed to a true Old
1l.Nd2 Bg6!
Indian position, but with
the twist that Black has The pin on the pawn at
already developed his Iight- e4 gives rise to possible
squared bishop. Speelman scenarios for a d6-d5 break,
noted that it was difficult to so Speelman wisely closes
come up with a good the center.
strategy here, so he fakes it. 12.ds! a6
8.RbI I3.b4 hs
"I decided to wait whilst Larsen, who hates
kidding Black that b4 is passive play, realizes that
108 Strategy for Advanced Players
his has no chances to
achieve anything on the
queenside, and so he makes
a threatening gesture on the
other wing.
14.a4 h4?1
It turns out that by ceding
g4 to White, Black gets into
serious difficulties later in
the game.
IS.h3 Qc7
16.Rb3 as?1
A quiet waiting move
like shifting a rook to b8
would have been preferable.
17.bS
A critical position. One
might think that it makes
no difference whether the
capture is made at b5 or d5,
but it does.
17... adS?1
18.NxdSI NxdS
19.cxdS
The elimination of a pair
of knights would seem to
help Black, who now has a
little more room to
maneuver. But in addition
to giving White easier
access to the c-file, it allows
White to use the g4-square.
19... Rec8
20.Bg41
And now the advance of
the h-pawn comes back to
haunt Black. The Nd7 can
no longer leap to c5 without
wasting more time, but
Black has no better plan.
20... RfS
21.Qcl
Now moving a rook to c8
loses material after the
exchange of queens and b5-
b6, so Black must allow
White a passed pawn.
21... NcS
22.BxcS dxcS
The plan now is to nail
down the queens ide and
then continue to exploit the
light squares on the h3-c8
diagonal, the theme that
 Strategy for Advanced Players 109

runs throughout the game. The result of White's

White's next move pre- correct decision at move 23.
vents the consolidating b7- 30... Qc8
116. 31.Rxa5 Rf4
23.b61 Qd8
The threat was Ra8!
24.Nc4 32.Qxc8 Rxc8
Black's position is hope-
33.Rxf4 exf4
less, so he introduces some
tactical complications. 34.Ra7
24... Bxe4 The b-pawn falls and the
game ends quickly.
25.Rxe4 f5
34... Re8
26.Bxf5
34 ... Rb8 35.a5 Kf7
In keeping with the 36.Rxb7+!! Rxb7 37.a6 and
general strategy. 26.d6 Bg5 there is no stopping the
27.Qdl fxe4 28.Qd5+ Kh8 pawns.
29.Nxe5 would have been 35.Rxb7 Kh7
more effective, as suggested
by Seirawan. And now White exploits
the theme of the previous
26 ... Rxf5
note to bring the game to a
27.d6 Bf6 brilliant conclusion.
28.Qdl Qd7

36.Re71
29.Q841 Rd8 And Black resigned
29 ... Qxa4 30.Ra3 Qd7 becaus of 36... Bxe7 37.dxe7
31.Ne3 Rxe7 38 as etc. to{)
30.Rb5
ltO Strategy for Advanced Players

Lesson 38 13.Bxe1 Nxc3

Doubled rooks; pin 14.bxc3 Qxe1
Kasparov-HJorth The only strategy avaiJ-
World Junior Ch, 1980
Tarrasch Defense able to White is to try to
eliminate Black's pawn at
l.d4 dS d5 so that the central pawns
2.c4 e6 can advance. Black will try
3.Nf3 cS to thrust the queenside
pawns forward as quickly as
4.cxdS exdS possible.
S.g3 Nc6 IS.e41 Qd1
6.Bg2 N£6 16.a41
1.Nc3 Be1 A very important move,
8.0-0 0-0 restraining Black's queen-
side play. That accomp-
9.BgS c4 lished, White can tum his
10.NeS Be6 attention to the kingside.
11.f4 NxeS 16 ... Rfd8
1'.QhS RacS

12.fxeS
Kasparov introduced this
move in the present game.
The idea is that the i-file
will be a useful asset in the
attack and that a pawn at d4
may be helpful too.
12... Ne4
The battle lines are
drawn. Now White doubles
rooks on the f-file. This will
leave the a-pawn hanging,
but if the attack is fast
enough it won't matter.
18.Rf4 Rc1
 Strategy lor Advanced Players 111

19.Rafl Qxa4? from f7. In fact, however, it

Black should be worrying opens up the d5-square so
about the defense of his that the White pawn can
kingside, so 19 ... QeS was chase the bishop from the
best, although White would key square.
retain a strong initiative. 22... Bxe6
20.exd5! Rxd5 23.d5 Qb5
Forced, since otherwise f7 23... Rc524.Rxf7!
loses its most valuable 23 ... g6 24.Qh4 with the
defender. The f7-square is threat of QdS+
the cornerstone of Black's 24.Rh4!
position, and obviously The simultaneous threats
White would like to play at e6 and h7 force victory.
Rxf7 as soon as feasible. 24... Qc5+
21.Bxd5 Bxd5
25.R£2 Bxd5
26.Rd4!
This breaks the pin at f2
while exploiting the pin
along the 5th rank.
26... Rd7
27.Rf5 1-0

The material is not Lesson 39

important. If White does Outpost; pin on thr long
not break through quickly diagonal
Black will make a new Hort-Karpov
queen on the other flank. Amsterdam, 1981
The goal is achieved Queen's Gambit Declined
effectively. 1.d4 Nf6
22.e6! 2.Nf3 e6
What is surprising about
this move is that it seems to 3.c4 d5
contribute nothing to the 4.Nc3 Be7
task of deflecting the bishop 5.Bg5 h6
112 Strategy for Advooced Players

6.Bh4 0-0 A full question mark for

7.e3 b6 this positional blunder. The
advance b6-b5 has become
B.Rel Bb7 an idee fixe for Karpov,
9.adS exdS notwithstanding Hort's
10.Be2 Nbd7 anticipation. While Black
has eyes only for the
11.0-0 cS queenside, Hort has not
12.Qc2 a6 forgotten about the center!
13.Rfd1 lS.NeSI
White can occupy this
outpost since the base of
Black's pawn chain at d5 is
without sufficient support.
If Black captures at e5, he
loses a pawn. But as things
stand, White threatens to
remove an important
defender.
The Tartakower Varia- 15... Qc7
tion requires good posi-
15...Bb7 keeps the defense
tional sense and an under-
temporarily intact, but after
standing of the dynamics of
16.Bf3 the threat of Ne5xc4
this particular pawn struc-
is quite real, and even after
ture.
16... Rac8, an eventual break
13... c411 with e3-i!4 is inevitable.
Although White did not 16.Nxc6 Qxc6
capture at c5 on move 12, he
is now ready to do so, and 17.Bf3
that is why Karpov ad-
vanced the pawn. His
strategy will prove correct if
he can also play b6-b5, but
Hort puts an end to that
idea.
14.a41 Bc61
 Strategy tor Advanced Players
There is an immediate
threat of lS.Nxd5 Nxd5
19.Bxe7!, exploiting the pin
on the long diagonal.
17... Bb4
This move not only
removes the threat at e7,
but also creates the possi-
bilty of eliminating the Nc3
which is putting pressure
on d5. But Hort realizes that
the pin can be effective
immediately.
18.NxdSII Nxd5
19.Q£51
White regains his
material, since 19... N7f6 is
met by 2O.Bxf6 and the Nd5
falls.
19... Qxa4
20.Bxd5 Rae8
Karpov should have
defended along his second
rank with 20 ... Ra7, but he
must have overlooked
White's next move.
21.b31
113
Hort found this move
because he was examining
pOSitions with the RfS
moved off the f-file. This
move opens the c-file, and
forces the RfS to move.
21... exb3
21...Qb5 22.bxc4 Qa4
23.Ral and the Nd7 is
unable to escape.
22.Rxe8 Rxe8
23.Qx£7+ Kh8
24.Bxb3 Qb5
2S.Be6
And the pin wins!
25... RES
26.Bxd71
And Karpov resigned,
since after 26 ... Rxf7 27.Bxb5
axb5 2S.RbI his endgame is
lost, while 26...Qe2 is met by
27.Qb3. H)
114 Strategy for Adllanced Players

Lesson 40 not be appropriate because

Weak light squares; sacrifice of the position of the White
Kosporov-Yusupov queen, putting pressure on
USSR Ch, 1981 the c-file.
Bogolndion 14.Nfd2
l.d4 Nf6 A strong move which
2.c4 e6 threatens to post the knight
effectively at e4, while
3.Nf3 Bb4+ opening up lines for the Bg2
4.Bd2 as and threatening to disrupt
5.g3 0-0 Black's pawn structure. In
addition, the Pc4 is guarded
6.Bg2 b6 so that the other knight can
7.0-0 Ba6 enter the garne.
8.Bg5 Be7 14... g571
9.Qc2 Nc6 Black overreacts to the
positional strength of
10.a3 h6 White's game. 14... g6 would
1l.Bxf6 Bxf6 have been more solid.
12.Rdl Qe7 15.Nc3 Bg7
13.e3 White should probably
bring Black's extended
fianchetto into question by
playing 16.f4, but he is
concentrating on the queen-
side, and in particular, on
the c-file.
16.Nb5 Qd8
17.f4 Ne71
Black has taken
13... Rae8? I
advantage of White's faulty
In this slow opening, plan by reorganizing his
Black has actually out- pieces so that the Ne7 can
stripped White's develop- take part in the defence.
ment. But White controls Unfortunately, Yusupov
the center, and d7-d5 will
 strategy tOf Advooced Players
soon forgets why he wanted
the knight at e7.
18.Nf3 NfS
19.Qf27!
Kasparov notes that this
was not the correct square
for the queen-it would
have been better placed at
e2, where it could protect
the pawn at c4.
19... c6
20.Nc3 gxf4
21.gxf4 Bxc4
Although White is a
pawn down, he is at the
same time almost a piece
ahead, because Black's Jight-
squared bishop is incapable
of reaching the kingside to
help in the defense. In
addition, White now takes
charge of the center.
22.e4
Now Yusupov makes a
major strategic error. He
must return the knight to
its defensive post at e7.
115
22... Nd67
22 ... Ne7 23.Khl! f5 24.e5
brings White sufficient
compensation for his pawn,
because Black's kings ide is
very weak. The difference
between this position and
the game is that here the
knight participates in the
defense. In the game, it
watches from c8.
23.NeS fS
24.Nxc4 Nxc4
Black does not mind
parting with his bishop, but
the problem is that the Nc4
is far away from the
kingside. Kasparov now
chases it to an utterly
useless position on the back
rank.
2S.b31 Nd6
26.eS Nc8
At this point White must
determine his strategy for
the remainder of the game.
His goal is to infiltrate the
116 strategy for Advanced Players
kingside, and exploit the
weak light squares.
26 ... Ne4 27.Bxe4 fxe4
28.Nxe4 is clearly better for
White, with a SuperKnight
at e4 and threats along the
g-file.
27.B£3!
Clearly the bishop must
get involved in this task.
27... Kh7
Black escapes the g-file,
and hopes to use it to
exchange rooks, lessening
White's attacking force.
28.Bh5 Ke7
29.Kh1 Kg8?!
Although this is consis-
tent with Black's plan, he
chooses the wrong rook.
The correct strategy was
29... Bh8! followed by Re7-
g7.
29 ... Bh8 30.Rgl Kg7
31.Rxg7+ Bxg7 32.Rgl Qe7!
The point. This square is
now available for the
queen, which can hold the
position together until the
other rook reaches gS.
33.Qg3 Rg8 34.Nbl! is given
by Kasparov, with the com-
ment that White stands
better, since he will be able
to swing his knight to h4,
while the Nc8 is still out of
play
30.Kg1 Bh8
If White's queen stood on
f5, and were not attacked,
then mate in two. But how
do we realize this fantasy?
The solution is stunning!
3O...Bf8? 31.Qh4 sets up a
very nasty pin!
31.Ne411
Because of the threat of
Nf6+, the knight must be
captured. But this gives
White access to the f5-
square. The sacrifice of
material is not so important
because Black's knight is so
out of play.
31 ... lxe4
32.f5 Kg57
An error in time pres-
sure. According to Kaspa-
rov, Black should have
brought the queen over to
help with the defense:
 Strategy lor Advanced Plavers 117

32 ...Qf8 33.Rxg8 Kxg8 34.f6! White needs to get his

Rg7! queen and rook into the
33.RxgS hxgS game in order to mate. The
34.f6 best route is via h4, but that
is covered by the Black
queen.
37...dxe5 38.Qe2
38.Bxe611 Qxe6
39.Qh4+ Kg7
And here Black resigned
before Kasparov could play
4O.Rf6.1-O
34... Kh6 Lesson 41
34 ... Qf8 35.fxe7 Qxfl Open file; doubled pawns;
36.e8Q wins because Black pawns/orm
has no checks. Borik-Hort
3S.fxe7 Qxe7 Bundesllgo.1982
35 ... Nxe7 36.Qf7 Bg7 Modern Benoni
37.Rfl Bh8 38.Rf6+ Bxf6 l.d4 Nf6
39.exf6 2.c4 cS
36.8"1 d6
3.dS e6
36 ...g4 37.h4! gxh3 38.Rg1
Bg7 39.Qf4+ Kh7 40.Qxe4+ 4.Nc3 exdS
Kh841.Qg6 S.cxdS d6
37.Rfl g4 6.e4 g6
7.£4 Bg7
8.BbS+ Nfd7
9.Be2 Qh4+
Black spends a tempo in
order to weaken the White
kingside.
10.g3
118 strategy tor Advanced Players
10... Qd81?
An original move by
Hort. The positional basis is
that the usual plan with
Qe7 leaves the queen on the
e-fiIe, which will eventually
be pried open with eHS ,so
her majesty returns home
instead.
lI.Nf3 0-0
12.0-0 Re8
13.Re1 Na6
14.Bfl
A logical move, since
White will be attempting to
advance his e-pawn and
free the e4-square for
occupation by a knight. In
addition, it protects h3,
which will be important if
White wants to launch a
pawnstorm on the kings ide.
14 ... Nb6 lS.h3
White might have
productively inserted a2-a4
here, as suggested by Borik.
15... c:41
This advance is an
important component of
Black's strategy in the
Benoni. It frees the c5-
square for occupation by the
knight, and opens the a7-g1
diagonal which can be
useful for attacks on the
White king.
16.eS71
The timing of this ad-
vance is critical, and here
White acted prematurely.
The big center will soon be
liquidated, and Black's ac-
tivity on the queenside will
proceed unchallenged.
16.Be3!? Nb4 17.a3 Nd3!
takes advantage of the over-
worked Btl, which has the
responsibility of holding
both d3 and h3. 18.Bxd3 cxd3
19.Qxd3 Bxh3 is fine for
Black.
16... Nb4
The ideas are the same as
in the previous note, but
here the simplification will
bring into focus the lack of
support of the advanced
White pawns.
17.g4 dxeS
18.fxeS N6xdS
19.Nxd5 QxdSI
 strategy for Advanced Players 119

The endgames are clearly sing threat of Bh2+ as well

better for Black, with or as Bxb2.
without the extra pawn. 26... NxeS
20.QxdS NxdS 27.BxeS BxeS
21.Bxc4 28.NxeS RxeS
29.RxeS RxeS
30.Rd7 RbS

Material balance is
restored, but White has a
very weak pawn at eS, the
result of his premature One extra pawn is often
advance at move 16. insufficient for a win in
21... Nb6 single rook endgames, but
despite good play by White,
22.Bb'J Be6 Hort manages to win with
23.Be3 Nd7 good technique.
23 ... Bxb3 24.axb3 only 31.b3 Kg7
works to White's advan- 32.Kf2 Kf6
tage, since the open a-file
ties down the Ra8 and the 33.Kf3 as
doubled pawns are not 34.Rc7 h6
weak. In fact, the Pb3 limits 3S.Kg3 Ke6
the activity of the enemy
knight. 36.Kf3 hSI
24.Bxe6 Rxe6 Black must try to create a
passed pawn.
2S.Bd4 Ru8
37.Kg3 hxg4
26.Rad1
38.hxg4 gSI
26.Bxa7 NxeS 27.NxeS
It is too soon to play f7-
BxeS! creates the embarras-
IS. The pawn at f7 limits the
120 strategy for Advanced Players

mobility of the White rook, 44.Kg2 Ret

while the pawn at g5 hin- Only in this way can
ders the movement of the Black insure that he will be
White king. able to defend both of his
39.Kf3 f6 pawn chains with his rook,
40.Rh7 Rb4 freeing the king. Endgames
Because the Black pawns like this need the support of
are located near the edge of the monarch if one hopes to
the board, White does not achieve victory.
have sufficient maneuver- 4S.Re2+ KdS
ing room for his rook. Now 46.Rf2 Rc6
the Black rook will be able 47.Kg3 Kd4
to infiltrate.
41.Kg3 b61 48.Kf3 Kd3
An essential move, as And White reSigned,
otherwise the Rb4 Is tied since Rc2 will be fatal. 0-1
down to the defense of the
pawn. Lesson 42
42.Rh2 Rf4 Rook on the 7th rank;
interlocking knights
43.Rd2 Hort-Miles
POll 1981-82
Nlmzolndian
l.d4 Nf6
2.c4 e6
3.Nc3 Bb4
4.BgS cS
S.dS d6
This is an instructive 6.e3 Qe7
endgame. Even though
there are no obvious targets 7.Nge2 exdS
in the White pOSition, the 8.•3 Bxc3+
occupation of the back rank 9.Nxc3 dxc4
is critical.
IO.Bxc4
43... Rfll
 Strategy for Advanced Players
10.Nd5 Qd811.Bxc4 Be6 is
unclear.
10... Be6
The theme of this game
will also be the weakness at
d6.
11.NbSI Bxc4
11 ...0-0 would have been
wiser, in retrospect. After
12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Qxd6 Qxd6
14.Nxd6 b6 Black would
have had a structural weak-
ness, and knight versus
bishop in the endgame, but
there would have been
more chances than in the
game.
12.Nxd6+ KfS
13.Nxc4 Nc6
14.0-0 Qe6
Miles, an excellent end-
game player, no doubt saw
that the ensuing endgame
has little joy for Black, but
the alternatives were even
worse.
121
14... b5? 15.Qd6! bxc4
16.Qxc6 and Black has no
compensation for his
shattered pawn structure.
lS.Qd6+ Qxd6
16.Nxd6 b6
White has achieved his
primary plan-the occupat-
ion of d6. His bishop is
more powerful than the
enemy knight. Now he
needs a new plan.
17.Rac11
How did Hort arrive at
this move? He may have
come up with a fantasy
about a rook on the 7th
rank, which would be
devastating. That may have
seemed far-fetched in the
diagrammed position, but
now the threat of b4 makes
it a real possibility.
17... Nd7
17... Nd8 18.b4 Ne6 would
be a possible alternative, but
White emerges on top by
122 Strategy tor AdvalC8d Players

smashing the Idngside Even though the inter-

pawn structure. 19.Bxf6 gxf6 locking knights provide a
20.f4! and the knight will defensive barrier for the
soon be driven from the king, Black still suffers from
coverage of c7: 2O...cxb4 21.f5 lack of space.
Nd8 22.axb4 Ke7 23.Rfd1 23 ... hS
with Rc7+ to follow. 24.h3 gS
18.Rfd1
Black had to do this
With the obvious threat before White played Bh2
of Nxf7. and f4.
18... f6 2S.BxeS NxeS
19.8f4 NeeS 26.f4 gxf4
19 ... g51! 20.Nf5! gxf4 27.exf4 Ng6
21.Rxd7 Ne5 22.Rb7 fxe3
23.fxe3 and Black is 28.NfS
paralyzed. White's contol of the
20.b4! seventh rank is the most
This returns to the theme important feature of the
of Rc7 that has been position, but his freedom of
bouncing around in movement and control of
White's head for the past space help to guarantee the
few moves. win.
20... exb4 28 ... Nxf4
21.axb4 as 29.Rd6 Rg8
22.bxaS buS 30.Rxf6+ Ke8
23.Re7 31.Nd6+ Kd8
32.RU7 Rxg2+
33.Kfl 1-0
 Strategy for Advanced Players 123

Lesson 43 the Spanish Inquisition.

Spatial advantage; White has two options-
symmetrical pawn structure quiet play with 16.Qbl or
Tlmman-Kasparov aggressive queenside action.
Hllversum (lst match 16.c41?
game),1985 Timman has played this
Spanish Game bold line against both
1.e4 eS Karpov and Kasparov.
2.Nf3 Nc6 16... exd4
3.BbS a6 17.cxbS axbS
4.Ba4 Nf6 lS.Nxd4 c6
5.0-0 Be7
6.Re1 bS
7.Bb3 d6
S.c3 0-0
9.h3 Bb7
10.d4 ReS
1l.Nbd2 BfS In this position, White
12.a3 h6 aims at the targets on the
13.Bc2 NbS queenside, and therefore
the best move is probably
14.b4 Nbd7
19.Bd3, but that hadn't been
lS.Bb2 g6 discovered yet.
19.a4 bxa4
20.Bxa4 Qb6
Kasparov's innovation,
prepared for this game.
Black's plan is illustrated
nicely by the present game.
He will aim for the
liberating advance d6-dS
A typical position in the when his pieces will be
Zaitsev /Smyslov hybrid of
124 Strategy tor Advanced Players
better placed than their
White counterparts.
21.bS71
With this move White
hopes to highlight the
weakness at d6, but the plan
fails and in the third game
of the match Timman im-
proved with 21.Nc2 which
became the standard move
in 1986.
21... exbS
22.BxbS dS!
This move eliminates
Black's only weakness and
puts strong pressure on the
center. White already
suffers from a pin on the b-
file and his pieces do not
seem to be doing anything.
23.Rxa8 Bxa8
24.Qa4 NcSI
More pressure on the
center. And in addition,
Black has taken the
initiative.
2S.Qc2 Rb8
Because of the pin, this
move allows the rook to
escape without losing time,
because sooner or later
White will have to waste a
move to break it.
26.exdS NxdS
A strange sight-most of
the pieces remain on the
board but the queenside
pawns have been swept
clear. One would assume
that the position is equal,
but in fact Black still holds a
slight initiative.
27.Nc4?1
Timman fails to appre-
ciate the danger and tries to
regain the initiative. The
best move here would have
been the double retreat
27.Ba1 Nf4 28.Bf1!, with a
solid defensive formation.
Now Black expands his
domination of critical lines.
27... Qc7
28.NeS?1
The final chance for
equality lies in 28.Re8,
exchanging off the dan-
gerous Black rook. But now
Kasparov was able to de-
velop a plan to exploit his
spatial advantage, based on
control of the b-file and the
hS-a1 diagonal.
28... Bg71
29.Nec6
29.Bc61 would have met
with an impressive refuta-
tion: BxeS! 30.QxcS Rxb2
31.QxdS Bxd4 32.Re8+ Kh7
33.Qxd4 Rbl+
 Strategy for Advanced Players 125

29 ... Bxc6 33.f3 QxbS

30.Bxc6 Nf4 And Black has a decisive
material advantage. But
with the symmetrical pawn
structure the win still
requires the creation of an
effective plan. It is easy to
see that a knight planted at
g3 would be nice, but it
needs support.
34.Bxg7 Kxg7
Black's control of the b-
3S.Qc3+ Kg8
and c-files, combined with
the pin on the diagonal and 36.QeS Nfe6
more active knights gives 37.Ral Qb7
him a decisive advantage! First Black organizes his
31.BbS defense. The next step is to
Timman tries to cut off advance the h-pawn so that
the b-file, establish his own the eventual infiltration of
pin on the c-file, and free the knight to g3 can be
his game with ReI. Black accomplished.
would just love to get his 38.Qd6 hS
queen onto the a8-hl 39.Khl Kh7
diagonal with deadly threats
at g2. This is easily done! 40.Rcl Qa7
31.Re8+ Rxe8 32.Bxe8 41.Rbl Ng7
Nce6 explOits the pin at d4, 42.R b8 Nce6
with a little help from the
threatened fork at e2. 43.QeS Nd4
33.Qxc7 Nxc7 34.Bd7 Bxd4 44.Rbl h4
3S.Bxd4 Ne2+ Watching this game
31.QxcS Rxb2 32.NbS QaS remember being impressed
33.Qe3 meets with quiet by the ease with which the
refutation: 33 ... Kh7! World Champion achieved
31... RxbSI his objectives. The maneu-
32.NxbS Qc6 vering of the knights makes
sense only in hindsight.
126 Strategy tor Advanced Players

45.Qb8 Qe7 4.Nxd4 Qh4

46.QW Qf6 5.Nb5 Qxe4+
47.Qf8 Ne2 6.Be2 BW+
48.Rdl Nf5 7.Bd2 Kd8
49.Qb8 Ne3 8.0-0 Bxd2
50.Qd8 Qf4 9.Qxd2 a6
Black has properly
declined all offers to ex-
change queens-it is mate
he is after!
51.Rel

White has emerged from

the opening with a clear
advantage. since he is better
developed and Black has
forfeited his castling
51... Nfll
privilege.
10.B£31
And Timman, seeing
that inevitable Nf1-g~4- Not only does this gain
f2, gave up. 0-1 time, but it creates the
pressure at c6 which will
Lesson 44 eventually prove to be
Pressure; overworked knights decisive.
Schiller-Shannon 10... Qe5
Correspondence 1l.N5c3 Nge7
(electronic). 1990 White must now find a
Scotch Game way to proceed against the
l.e4 e5 well-defended Black king.
2.Nf3 Nc6 Although the e-file beckons,
it is useful to restrain
3.d4 exd4 Black's queenside so that he
 Strategy for
cannot free his game with
b7-bS and Bc8-b7.
l2.a41
Not only does this
achieve that goal, but it also
provides a convenient way
to develop the Nbl.
12... d6
l3.Na3 Be6
l4.Radl Kd7
Black hopes to slide his
Ra8 to a more useful square
and then manually castle
queenside, after which his
position will be no worse.
lS.Rfel Qa5
White now moves to
prevent that plan by
improving his control of
the e-fiJe and making
possible Na3--c4.
l6.Qe2! Rae8
l7.Ne4 Bxe4
l8.Qxe4
Now there is a clear
target at fl, and if the pawn
advances then the light
squares will be very weak.
The interdependece of
Black's pieces is not a plus.
Rather, the knights are
overworked.
18... Rhf8
Advanced Players 127
White has a simple plan
in mind: Pb2-b4-bS. This
does not seem implement-
able, at present, but it does
in fact work.
19.b41 Qxb4
Now the overworked
knights can be exploited in a
most brutal manner.
a) 19 ... Nxb4 20.Bxb7 Rb8
21.Ne4 creates nasty threats
of NcS+ in a variety of
settings
b) 19 ...QgS 20M followed
byb4-bS
20.Rxe7+!!
And Black resigned, since
capturing with knight or
rook drops the queen, and
20... Kxe7 21.NdS+ is equally
effective. ].{)
Lesson 45
Olltpost; Control 0/ the dfile
Yermollnsky-Fedorowlcz
USAch,1991
Klng's Indian
1.d4 N f6
128 strategy for Advanced Players

2.c:4 g6 Typical King's Indian-

3.N c:3 Bg7 White will attack on the
queenside, Black will go
4.e4 d6 king -hunting on the other
S.Be2 0-0 flank. The key move for
6.Nf3 eS Black is a well-timed g5-g4.
13... Be6!
7.Be3 Ng4
As Seirawan astutely
S.BgS f6 notes, the immediate ad-
9.Bh4 gS vance of the g-pawn is
10.Bg3 Nh6 tempting but ill-advised.
13... g4 14.hxg4 Bxg4
11.h3
IS.Nh4 Qxdl 16.Raxdl and
White has an alternative the control of the d-file plus
strategy with 11.dxeS dxeS safe king gives White the
12QdS+ which is also quite advantage.
popular. 14.Qe1 QeS
11... Nc6 14... g4 is still slightly
12.dxeS dxeS premature: IS.hxg4 Bxg4
Given that Black's 16.NdS! and the strong
strategy involves an attack outpost makes Seirawan's
along the f-fiIe, one might evaluation of "chances for
prefer 12.. .fxeS, and that is a both sides" a bit optimistic,
popular alternative. But by perhaps, from Black's point
keeping the f-pawn Black of view.
can use it to cause some 1S.NdS ReS
damage on the kingside. 16.b4
13.0-0
 strategy for Advanced Players
Now that White has
thrown the b-pawn forward
Black can carry out his plan.
16... g41
17.hxg4 Bxg4
lS.bS Bxf3!
The point. With the Nf3
gone the d4-square is
available as an outpost for
the knight.
19.Bxf3 Nd4
20.Qa3
White plays as if there
were no danger whatsoever
on the kingside. Though
the two clerics bravely stand
guard, they are easily
diverted, and the f-pawn
will play a decisive role in
the attack.
20.Bdl c6 21.bxc6 bxc6
22.Ne3 Qg6 was suggested by
Seirawan. Even here Black
seems to have a much more
active game.
20... KhS
One musn't allow Ne7+!
21.Rad1
21.Qxa7 would have been
a most foolhardy move: f5!
22.exfS Nxf3+ 23.gxf3 Nxf5
24.Kg2 e4! with a very short
life-expectancy for White.
21... fSI
129
All along we have been
waiting for this advance,
which is perfectly timed.
22.Rxd4
22.exf5 Nhxf5 23.Bh2 c6
24.bxc6 bxc6 25.Ne3 Nxf3+
26.gxf3 Qg6+ 27.Khl Nh4
2S.Rgl Qf7 was hardly
desirable.
22... exd4
23.exfS
23.Nxc7 Qd7! 24.Nd5 fxe4
25.Bxe4 Rxc4 would have
given Black a very impres-
sive passed pawn.
23... NxfS
24.Bxc7
Though White does not
want to use one of his
palace guard to go pawn-
hunting, he doesn't have
much of a choice.
24.Nxc7 Qd7 25.Nd5 Nxg3
26.fxg3 Rxc4 gains the pawn
and still removes the
bishop. (Analysis by
Seirawan)
24... Qf!
2S.Bg4
130 strategy for Advanced Players

31.B£4
31.Kel Re8+ 32.Kdl Re2
31... d2
32.Ke2 NaSI

Now we just mentally

remove the pawn at f2 and
the knight at fS, and voila!
Of course, to make this
fantasy a reality we must
find the right move.
25.Bh2 Rxc4 26.Qxa7 Nh4 The point of this is to
27.Be4 d3! 28.Bxd3 QxdS and remove the defender of the
NdS after which Black lures
the threatened mate at g2 is
the ~nemy king to the d-file
decisive.
by queening, and then pins
25... Ne31 the knight.
26.BxcS 33.Bc6 Nxc6
26.Nxe3 dxe3 27.Bxc8 e2! 34.bxc6 d1Q+
26... Nxf1
3S.Kxd1 Rd8
27.Qf3
36.Kc2 RxdS
27.Bf4 Rxc8 28.Kxfl Rxc4
-+ 37.c7 RcS+
27... Qxf3 3S.Kd3 Be3
2S.gxf3 Nd2! 39.Bd6 Rc6
The knight, which has 40.Ke4 BaS
already infiltrated the 0-1
White position, is more
valuable than the Bc8,
which remains under
attack.
29.Bxb7 Nxc4
30.Kfl d3
 131

Index of Themes

7th rank 48 exchanging pieces 10

access point 7t expand on the queenside 16
active position 46 exploit the light squares 108
attack on the kingside 27, 29, 16 flexibility 52
backward pawn 47 flight square 26
bad bishop 11, 94 flying h-pawn 51
bishop pair 17, 77 fork 54
bishops of opposite color 97 fortress 79
blockad 23 good knight 84
blockade 17, 24, 49, 66, 70,76,92, 94 greater mobility 15
central counterattack 60 infiltration 22
connected passed pawns 54 interdependence of Black's forces
control 13 29
control of files 124, 128 interlocking knights 122
control of the center 16, 17, 31. 54 isolated pawn 49, 53,92
coordinate 25 kingside attack 31, 32, 34, 64
counterattacks 98 kingside infiltration 76
(Tamped 58 light squares 36
defenders tied down 27 Hman-on-man" coverage 70, 90, 95
diagonal 12, 24, 33, 47, SO, 59, 72,88, mobilization 90
100,118 offside 18
discovered attack 71 open files 12, 13, 18, 19,25,35,56,
discovered check 12, 45 100,119
doubled pawn. 13, 22, 119 open lines 11, 26,37,41, 43, 54, 62,
doubling rooks 61, 94, 110 77
endgame 31 oUlpoSt61,68, 102, 112, 129
exchange of queens 13 overprotection 12, 40,95
exchange sacrifice 33, 91 overworked pieces II, 127
132 Index of 1hemes
passed pawns 218, 19, 2
pawnslOnn 18, 118
pin 12, 26, 30, 39, 41, 49, SO, 85, 89,
102, 111, 113
pressure 10, 12, 14, 26, 27, 29,32,34-
45,46,59,71,72. 711, 83, 85, 88, 98,
100,107,114,126
queenside expansion 70
queenside majority 31
queenside superiority 32
quiet move 39
rook on the 7th rank 121
sacrifice 116
KOpe 76, 83, 96
seventh rank 64
space 106
spatial advantage 41, 43, 58, 74, 124
spatial disadvantage 11
superior mobility 41
symmetrical pawn structure 125
tension in the <enter 16
time pressure 116
weak diagonal 61
weak pawns 14, 72. 75, 121
weak sq...,re 24,40, 116
zugzwang69
 133

Index of Openings
Benko Gambit .......................................................... 100
Bogoindian ............................................................... 114
English Opening ...................................................... 24
French Defense ................................. 11, 37, SO, 92, 97
King's Indian .......................................................... 127
Modern Benoni ................................................ 82, 117
Modem Defense ....................................................... 59
Nimzoindian............................. 27,39,51, 62, 78, 120
Old Indian ................................................................ 106
Queen's Gambit Accepted ................................ 70,87
Queen's Gambit Declined ................... 28,34,48, 111
Queen's Indian ......................................................... 85
Scotch Game ........................................................... 126
Semi-Slav .................................................................. 44
Semi-Tarrasch Defense ...................................... 30, 65
Sicilian Defense ................................ 55, 58, 67, 75, 95
Slav Defense ..................................................... 13, 103
Spanish Four Knights ............................................. 20
Spanish Game ................................. 10, 16,45,89,123
Tarrasch Defense .............................................. 52, 110
134

Index of Games
Alekhine-Book ............................................ 34
Alekhine-Capablanca ................................. 37
Blechschmidt-Flohr .................................... 24
Borik-Hort .................................................117
Botvinnik-Euwe ........................................... 44
Botvinnik-Vidmar....................................... 28
Capablanca-Bogoljubow ............................... 16
Evans-Larsen ........................................... .... 52
Fischer-Petrosian ......................... ............... 67
Forgacs-Tartakower ..................................... ll
Gligoric-Kavalek ........................................ 82
Gligoric-Portisch ......................................... 70
Hort-Alburt. ............................................... 100
Hort-Karpov ..............................................111
Hort-Kurajica .............................................. 95
Hort-Miles ................................................. 120
Janowski-Capablanca .................................. 13
Karpov-Hort ............................................... 75
Karpov-Spassky .......................................... 89
Karpov-Uhlmann ........................................ 92
Kasparov-Hjorth ........................................110
Kasparov-Yusupov ..................................... 114
Keres-Euwe ............................................. .... 39
Keres-Fine ................................................... 30
Michell-Leonhardt...................................... 10
Najdorf-Huebner ............................. ............ 78
Nyezhmetdinov-Sakharov .............. ............ 55
Pavlenko-Furman ........................................ R5
Reshevsky-Larsen ....................................... 62
Reshevsky-Schiller ..................................... 87
Reshevsky-Vaganian .................................. 97
 Index of Gomes

Ribli-Portisch ............................................103
Schiller-Shannon ....................................... 126
Smyslov-Botvinnik ...................................... 50
Smyslov-Reshevsky .. ... .... ....... ..... .. .... ......... 45
Smyslov-Simagin ................... .. ...... .......... .. . 59
Smyslov-Spassky ........................................ 58
Spassky-Aftonov ........ .................... ....... .. .... 48
Spassky-Petrosian .......................... ..... ........ 65
Spassky-Smyslov ............................... .. ....... 51
Speelman-Larsen ................. ... .... ................ l06
Timman-Kasparov .................... .................. 123
Winter-Colle .......................... ..................... 27
Wolf-Rubinstein ............ ...... ......... ... ............ 20
Yermolinsky-Fedorowicz .... ............... ....... .. 127