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About the Author
Cyrus Lakdawala is an International Master, a former National Open and American Open Champion, and
a six-time State Champion. He has been teaching chess for over 30 years, and coaches some of the top
junior players in the U.S.

Also by the Author:

Play the London System
A Ferocious Opening Repertoire
The Slav: Move by Move
1 ... d6: Move by Move
The Caro-Kann: Move by Move
The Four Knights: Move by Move
Capablanca: Move by Move
The Modern Defence: Move by Move
Kramnik: Move by Move
The Colle: Move by Move
The Scandinavian: Move by Move
Botvinnik: Move by Move
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Move by Move
Korchnoi: Move by Move
The Alekhine Defence: Move by Move
The Trompowsky Attack: Move by Move
Carlsen: Move by Move
The Classical French: Move by Move
Larsen: Move by Move
1 ... b6: Move by Move
Bird’s Opening: Move by Move
Petroff Defence: Move by Move
Fischer: Move by Move
Anti-Sicilians: Move by Move
Contents
About the Author
Bibliography
Introduction

1 The Main Line Winawer

2 The Winawer: Fourth Move Alternatives
3 The Classical Variation
4 The Tarrasch Variation
5 The Advance Variation
6 The Exchange Variation
7 Other Lines

Index of Complete Games

Bibliography
A Ferocious Opening Repertoire, Cyrus Lakdawala (Everyman Chess 2010)
Beating the French, Gary Lane (Batsford 1994)
Chess Explained: The French, Viacheslav Eingorn & Valentin Bogdanov (Gambit 2008)
Dangerous Weapons The French, John Watson (Everyman Chess 2007)
French Classical, Byron Jacobs (Everyman Chess 2001)
French Defence, Lev Psakhis, (Batsford 2003)
French Defense New and Forgotten Ideas, Nikolay Minev (Thinker’s Press 1988)
How To Play Against 1 e4, Neil McDonald (Everyman Chess 2008)
Korchnoi: Move by Move, Cyrus Lakdawala (Everyman Chess 2013)
Mastering the French, Neil McDonald & Andrew Harley (Batsford 1997)
My 60 Memorable Games, Bobby Fischer (Batsford 2008)
My Best Games, Vol. 2: Games with Black, Victor Korchnoi (Edition Olms 2001)
New Ideas in the French Defence, Nigel Short (Batsford 1991)
Play the French 4th edition, John Watson (Everyman Chess 2012)
Starting Out: The French, Byron Jacobs (Everyman Chess 2002)
The Classical French, Eduard Gufeld and Oleg Stetsko (Batsford 1999)
The Classical French: Move by Move, Cyrus Lakdawala (Everyman Chess 2014)
The Flexible French, Viktor Moskalenko (New in Chess 2008)
The French Defence, Svetozar Gligoric, Wolfgang Uhlmann & Anatoly Karpov (RHM Press 1975)
The French Defense McCutcheon Variation, W. John Lutes (Chess Enterprises 1991)
The French Tarrasch, John Emms (Batsford 1998)
The French Winawer, Neil McDonald (Everyman Chess 2000)
The Main Line French: 3 Nc3, Steffen Pedersen (Gambit 2001)
The Modern French, Dejan Antic & Branimir Maksimovic (New in Chess 2012)
Winning with the French, Wolfgang Uhlmann (Batsford 1995)
Introduction
What makes a French player?

The French is an opening so vast in scale, that it almost defies classification. If you enter closed games
with the rapt contentment of a positional player, and if you feel agoraphobic in 1 ... e5 or 1 ... c5
situations, then you may qualify as a natural French player.
Fashionable openings go in and out of favour like ageing rock stars, who were huge 40 years ago, but
now have trouble selling tickets at the local swap meet. The French isn’t like this, and from my
perspective, is as much fun to play at age 55 as it was to play at age 8. Now a lack of space is an issue
baked into the opening. So if you love open games, the French from Black’s side is probably the wrong fit
for your needs. When we misplay a French we know it, since it becomes hard for our pieces to breathe,
and the feeling is similar to being buried while still alive in a coffin, in Uma Thurman fashion in Kill Bill
(I forgot if it’s volume one or two!).
The entry of beginning level club players can feel like Gulliver, who gets tied down in Lilliputian
theoretical details. My job in this book is to try and demystify an otherwise intimidating opening and make
clear the various positions we may face. Even if you don’t reach the exact position we cover in the book,
you won’t be adrift, since you will be familiar with simulacrum positions, which always come with a
known antecedent, where at least you move in the right direction.
In most of the positions, the players’ views tend to be irreconcilable, like space versus counterattack
potential, or bishop-pair and dark squares versus superior structure. Our choices tend to exude a quality
of absolutism, with no space for a fuzzy grey middle ground.

Books versus Databases

When we face a booked-up opponent and get slaughtered, not even surviving the opening stage, we leave
the game feeling like the village idiot. The skill levels required to play the French range enormously.
Some lines are just much harder to handle than others.
In this era of databases and books published every week, the days of winging it in the opening are over.
We must grasp our lines just to survive at the club level, but should we study from books or from
databases? My advice: you don’t really need a soulless database until your rating passes the 2000 Expert
level.
Many of my students who are below that level prefer to study from databases which offer no
explanations, rather than study from books. This is a mistake, and a bit like claiming that photography
renders realistic art redundant, since the photo is so much more realistic. Maybe I’m a creature of the
past, but even as an IM, I still find books infinitely more helpful than the dry savannah of databases, which
offer data, but no direction. Beware, though, the difference between reading a chess book and applying the
knowledge over the board is akin to reading a book on Mount Kilimanjaro and actually scaling it.
The Roman statesman and scholar Pliny the Younger once advised the cure for the common cold is to
kiss a mouse on both the snout and lips. Moral: that which constitutes scholarship alters with time. In our
modern database era, to survive at the ruthlessly Darwinian club levels, we must survive the gauntlet of
the opening stage. In this book we aren’t overly concerned with the concrete and the specific.
It isn’t an easy task to travel the road of innocent entry into the chess world, to the road to
sophistication to the upper levels of A-Class, Expert and Master. When we first walk through the
intimidating doors of our chess club, we may feel like a third grade kid, asked by a philosophy professor:
“What is the origin of intelligence?” Our answer would be: “How the hell should I know? I’m just a kid
in the third grade!”.
The minds of many club players I know are dumpsters for partially remembered opening lines. Our
goal in this book is to simply introduce key ideas and positions of the French Defence to the beginning and
intermediate club player, just so you get a feel for the lines, as Black or White. We concentrate on the
universal, rather than fret too much over the local, as we do for instance, in the Move by Move series. The
plan here is to begin with the fuzzy generalities, avoiding a stale recycling clutter of memorized lines, and
then only later get down to the unpleasant work of the study of the details to move up in the chess world.
Eventually, we must further research individual lines to move upward. It was the poet Alexander Pope
who warned us: “A little learning is a dangerous thing: Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring.”

A Snapshot of Our Lines

Below are a few of the critical positions we may reach:

The Winawer is a vast strategic web without centre, beginning or end. Soon we will probably play ...
Bxc3+, where White accepts a slightly dishevelled queenside structure in return for the bishop-pair and
the potential for dark-square control.
 In the diagram above, the opening feels like a bit of a contrivance, since White plays 7 Qg4, bringing
out the queen before the minor pieces. The gendarmes arrive in force, attacking the g7-pawn, and where
we enter a predatory society of kill or be killed. We have a choice: we can castle into the teeth of White’s
attack or respond with 7 ... Qc7.
When I was a kid, and a bully picked a fight, my strategy was to taunt my opponent and get him as
angry as possible (I would imitate him in gross caricature), because I realized that an angry fighter tends
to swing wildly and without accuracy. In this position Black does just that by castling.
If such provocation isn’t your cup of Darjeeling, then Black can also play 7 ... Qc7, entering the wild
Poisoned Pawn Gambit, where we give up a pawn for a development lead and open lines, and in the
ensuing confusion it feels as if random, non-related events tumble and crash into each other in the middle.
Be warned though, the early moves of the Poisoned Pawn Gambit are a stiffly ritualized forcing line, in
many cases with little room for deviation via personal preference or whim, for either side. This line is
probably the most theory dense one of the entire book, so don’t enter it with the excuse: “My dog ate my
homework!”.

In the above diagram, is Black’s introverted plan one of a realist or a defeatist? It’s a scary feeling
when we suspect our sinister opponent of manipulating us in a certain direction, yet we are unable to
comprehend the purpose. Black lures White into an ambiguous world, where nothing is out in the open,
and nothing is as it appears.
Black’s last move 4 ... Qd7 almost looks like a typo. The cunning idea is to meet 5 Qg4, with either 5
... f5, protecting g7 laterally, or play the retro-developing 5 ... Bf8, a move which may have White
questioning our sanity. The point is White’s development lead can be shockingly ineffective, since Black’s
position remains target free. So it can sometimes feel like White fights an invisible enemy.
You may ask: “What about Black’s bad light-squared bishop?”. The answer: we conveniently unload it
for White’s powerful counterpart with the manoeuvre ... b6 and ... Ba6. White’s pieces may soon remind
us of those stern Easter Island statues, who just sit there and glower at Black’s position, without the
ability to inflict actual harm.
In the next position we enter the Classical French, where unlike the Winawer, we are not quick to hand
White dark-square control with ... Bb4 and ... Bxc3+.

In the Winawer, we pit our generalship with our opponent’s in closed positions, with White’s structure
damaged, while we as Black are missing our important dark-squared bishop. In the McCutcheon
Variation, after 4 Bg5 Bb4, we inflict damage on White’s structure and pick up White’s all-important
dark-squared bishop.
 The cost? White’s queen attack on g7 forces a concession of either ... g6, weakening our kingside dark
squares, or ... Kf8, which forces us to renounce castling. Students tend to ask me impossible-to-answer
questions like: “Which line is better: the Winawer or the Classical? This is like asking if Beethoven was
a better musician than John Lennon. The answer, of course, is that the position you favour is the ‘better’
line.

Welcome to the Tarrasch, the safest and most solid of White’s choices against the French. With 3 Nd2,
White denies Black any version of the ... Bb4 pins, as seen in Winawer or McCutcheon lines. Also, White
gives him or herself options to build an imposing pawn centre with ideas like e5, f4 and c3.
Since White passively developed the knight to d2, this emboldens Black into an immediate central
strike with 3 ... c5. When White plays exd5, Black can either recapture with the queen, made more
attractive by the fact that White no longer has a Nc3 tempo-gaining option, or Black can play 4 ... exd5
taking on a future isolani on d5, which some view as a strategic burden to shoulder, while to others it
represents freedom.
 Why do we as Black deliberately take on a pawn weakness? The answer is freedom, which is our
considerable compensation, and an unusual luxury in the French. Now this isn’t simply a case of White
foisting a pawn weakness upon us, since with the isolani comes a degree of central control, coupled with
enhanced freedom and piece activity, the magic spell which compensates strategic deficiencies. Taking on
an isolani is certainly a risk of sorts, but not that much, since we aren’t signing over our mortgage with
this minor structural concession.
In the position below, a sharp gambit situation arises, where the realization of one goal (initiative and
attack) requires the sacrifice of another (a pawn sacrifice). Here, even Nostradamus would be hard
pressed to tell us what happens next.

Suspense is fun if we are reading a mystery or gothic horror novel, and not as much fun when we are
sweating it out over the board with our clocks ticking away mercilessly. This line defies regulation.
Black’s extra pawn is no freebie, since White gets a dangerous development lead for it.
In the diagram below we see the Advance French, where we can’t accurately describe Black’s
position as commodious lodgings. There is no way to invade another country diplomatically. Black is
dispossessed of land early on, when White’s e-pawn crosses the neutral zone into Black’s territory. The
invading e5-pawn is yoked tightly, so Black tends to go after the weak link, d5, with a quick ... c5 break,
and only later on decide if ... f6 is necessary or not.

Unsound attacks, by their nature, are contingent upon the opponent blundering, which is a reasonable
supposition, since we are flawed humans, not computers. The position below is the dubious (yet
dangerous!) Milner-Barry Gambit, an offshoot of the Advance line.

Now why is an unsound line dangerous? The answer is we may show up to the board unprepared and
bungle the defence. When we refuse to keep up with current theory we risk being the small mom and pop
store, being pushed aside by a giant corporation who just moved across the street as our competition.
Education doesn’t equal infallibility over the board, since even professional players go blank (I don’t
understand why I remember with photographic detail every character in the millions of novels I have read
in my life, yet routinely go comatose in opening variations I have played for 40 years!). Our daunting job
is to learn the gambit’s antidote and never forget it.
 Everywhere we turn, we are confronted by dreary uniformity of the two identical structures. The
Exchange French can be like reading a book on the tax code as a source of poetic inspiration. If the
variation were a painting, then the artist’s rendering is exclusively in shades of grey. I have at some points
in my career temporarily shelved the French, mainly due to my deep and abiding hatred of the Exchange
line. It’s a variation generally used by lower-rated players to ‘threaten’ us with a draw, which to outraged
French players is akin to a kind of moral blackmail. My goal in this book is to offer Black options to re-
energize Black’s dynamic potential, from this boring starting position.

The position doesn’t have to be the cake without frosting. By castling long, that which distinguishes the
two sides is suddenly given greater weight than what they originally had in common.

Many thanks to editors John Emms and Richard Palliser, and also to Nancy for proof reading, and for not deleting most of my jokes in the
book.
May our French wall eternally hold firm against all barbarian aggressors.

Cyrus Lakdawala,
San Diego,
July 2016
Chapter One
The Main Line Winawer
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3

This is the main line Winawer, a sanctuary of closely guarded secrets, and one of the most difficult
lines to grasp in all of chess. It’s impossible to declare a concrete assessment in a situation so
strategically indeterminate. Both sides adhere to the nothing-ventured-nothing-gained philosophy, and the
position weirdly feels like both sides pass the point of no return. The following imbalances have taken
place:
1. Black traded the precious dark-squared bishop, which is a bit like a Seinfeld episode without
George Costanza. On top of this, Black’s remaining bishop is hemmed in by a surplus of pawns on its own
colour, leading to an inability to protect the dark squares. Now the reason we swapped away such a
precious piece away is told in number two on the list.
2. White’s queenside pawn structure took on serious damage, with c3 and also White’s a-pawn as
potential chronic pawn weakness, if an ending were to occur. So often in life we are prepared to sacrifice
our present happiness (Black’s weakened dark squares and the imminent threat of attack), to our future
happiness (Black’s potential for a favourable ending), like a student who studies long, gruelling hours and
voluntarily goes into debt, so that one day she graduates and lands a good job.
3. White’s e5-pawn gives his or her side a central/kingside territorial advantage which means two
things:
a) Keeping our king safe operates as our baseline goal in many versions of the French. In this case
Black’s king may come under fire if he castles short, since White’s e5-pawn is a natural launching pad for
an attack.
b) White’s centre may be chipped away with a future ... f6.

Game 1
K.Landa-A.Naiditsch
French Team Championship 2013

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4
Black immediately pressures the sole defender of e4.
4 e5
White is induced into relieving central tension. In doing so, he secures central and kingside space.
4 ... c5

Note: In this line be quick to challenge White’s d4 point.

Later in the chapter we look at 4 ... Ne7, 4 ... b6, and 4 ... Qd7.
5 Bd2
White’s idea is to play Nb5, swap off Black’s good bishop and then invade d6 with his knight.
Otherwise:
a) 5 Qg4 is another side line, where White dispenses with a3 and immediately goes after g7: 5 ... Ne7
6 Qxg7?! (6 dxc5 can be met with 6 ... Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 Ng6 with a sharp game) 6 ... Rg8 7 Qxh7
(M.Carlsen-V.Ivanchuk, Monaco (rapid) 2011) 7 ... cxd4 8 a3 Qa5 is in Black’s favour.
b) 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 gets us into the meat of the Winawer lines, which we look at next.
5 ... Ne7 6 Nb5
After 6 dxc5 Nbc6 7 Qg4 0-0 8 Nf3 f5 9 Qg3 Ng6 I already prefer Black, who can pile up on e5,
R.Polzin-J.Timman, German League 1997.
6 ... Bxd2+ 7 Qxd2

Note: White managed to swap away our good bishop, without damage to his
structure, at the high cost of losing time.

7 ... 0-0 8 dxc5
Following 8 f4 a6 9 Nd6 cxd4 10 Nf3 Nbc6 11 Bd3 f6 Black gets a decent game by consistently
undermining e5, E.Perelshteyn-E.Berg, Southampton 2003.
8 ... Nd7

Tip: Always be on the lookout for such a move, which double attacks both c5 and e5.

9 Nf3
White stands slightly worse now. 9 Qc3 is probably a better move for White: 9 ... f6 10 exf6 Nxf6 11
Bd3 Bd7 with a development lead for Black.
9 ... Nxc5 10 Bd3 Qb6
Targeting both b5 and b2 behind the knight.
11 Rb1 Nxd3+
Eliminating White’s best attacking piece.
12 Qxd3 Bd7 13 Nc3
13 Nbd4 allows Black to pick off a pawn with 13 ... Qa5+ 14 c3 Qxa2.
13 ... Rac8 14 0-0 Rc4
Seemingly without effort, Black already stands better, with pressure down the open c-file.
15 Ne2?!
White’s knight crosses the street the way I do when I see someone passing out religious leaflets. 15
Rfd1 should be played to minimize White’s advantage.
15 ... Ng6 16 Ned4?
Preconceived assumption has a way of blinding true perception. White’s knights proceed as
unhurriedly as grazing cows in the pasture, completely unaware of the farmer sharpening his axe for a
coming slaughter. White, thinking he scored a minor victory with this knight post on d4, inadvertently
allows his opponent a combination.
16 ... Nf4! 17 Qe3

Exercise (combination alert): This deceptive position reminds us of the movie line
cliché: “It’s quiet; too quiet.” How did Black force the win of material here?

Answer: Attraction/knight fork.
17 ... Rxd4!
If we are unable to acquire our object of desire through negotiation, then the next step is to seize it
through force of arms.
18 g3?
Now White loses an entire piece. 18 Nxd4 is met with 18 ... Qxd4! 19 Qxd4 Ne2+ 20 Kh1 Nxd4 when
Black’s two pieces are worth far more than White’s extra rook. It looks as if Black is the beneficiary of
lucky geometry, when in reality he laid out the groundwork for his ‘luck’ through previous strategic
decisions.
18 ... Re4
To the white queen’s utter amazement, a word issues forth from the rook’s lips, one which she has
never heard before: “No!”. Black’s winning idea in this version is of similar configuration to the answer
given above, with only minor details altered.
19 Qxb6 Ne2+ 0-1
Zwischenzug. Black will be up a piece when he recaptures White’s queen next move.

Did You Know? The German word zwischenzug translates to: ‘in-between move’.

Summary
In my opinion White’s plan 5 Bd2 and 6 Nb5 is slow, since Black undermines White’s pawn centre with ... cxd4 and then later ... f6.

Game 2
R.Aeria-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2005

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4

Did You Know? The Winawer French is named after Szymon Winawer, who was the
top German player in the 1880’s, until he was surpassed by Siegbert Tarrasch – for
whom another line of the French was named.

 4 e5 c5 5 a3
At long last, we reach the main lines of the Winawer.
5 ... Bxc3+
The players come to conceptual blows early on. Black hands over the bishop-pair and risks future
weakness on the dark squares to inflict upon White structural damage.
5 ... Ba5!? is probably unable to equalize after 6 b4! cxd4 (6 ... cxb4?! 7 Nb5! bxa3+ 8 c3 gives White
a strong attack for the pawn) 7 Nb5 Bc7 8 f4 Ne7 9 Nf3 Bd7 10 Nxc7+ Qxc7 11 Bd3. This is a theoretical
position where I prefer White’s chances, due to his extra central space, bishop-pair, dark-square control
and attacking chances.
6 bxc3 Ne7 7 a4

When we deliberately play the second best line, we are guilty of nepotism, where we pick our
mediocre, dim-witted nephew for the job, over a better qualified applicant. This is Fischer’s favourite
move, which today is considered rather harmless for Black. Only 7 Qg4! pushes us theoretically. With 7
a4, White prepares Ba3, when the bishop goes unchallenged along the a3-f8 diagonal. 7 a4, along with 7
Nf3, doesn’t require a ravenous study-appetite and is relatively simple to counter for Black.
In the next few games we look at 7 Nf3, and then White’s most challenging option, 7 Qg4!, followed by
7 h4.
7 ... Nbc6 8 Nf3 Qa5

Tip: We play our queen to a5 even though it may later come under fire when White
plays his bishop to d2. The reason: we lure White’s bishop off the superior a3-f8
diagonal to a less influential square.

9 Bd2
9 Qd2 is met with 9 ... b6 intending ... Ba6.
9 ... Bd7 10 Bd3
White is willing to lose a tempo to provoke ... c4, which takes the pressure off his centre and also
devalues Black’s remaining bishop by the placement of so many pawns on the same colour.

Note: Don’t be concerned about White playing c4, with tempo, since White’s c4
undermines the stability of his own centre.

 For example, 10 c4 Qc7 11 cxd5 exd5 (this move frees Black’s game) 12 c3 0-0 13 Be2 Bg4. Black
equalized, and he may later be able to utilize the c4-square with ... Na5.
10 ... c4 11 Be2 f6

Tip: Normally we are taught to chip away at our opponent’s pawn chain from its
lowest link. Yet in many lines of the French Defence Black directly challenges
White’s e5 point at its head. With this move we issue a challenge in territory
in which our opponent normally holds sway.

12 exf6

Warning: I think handing over central dominance like this is similar to the aspiring
actor who ends up as a waiter in a restaurant at Universal Studios – not exactly
what he bargained for in the beginning.

This allows Black to open the g-file and eventually gain greater central influence when he plays ... e5.
White may be better off maintaining the e5 point with 12 0-0 fxe5 13 Nxe5 Nxe5 14 dxe5 0-0. The game
looks dynamically balanced.
12 ... gxf6 13 0-0 0-0-0
A logical decision now that the g-file is open.
14 Re1 Rhg8 15 Bf1 Qc7 16 g3
Preparing Bg2 or Bh3.
16 ... e5 17 Bg2
17 dxe5!? fxe5 opens the game for White’s bishops, but also allows Black free reign in the centre. This
how I would have played it as White.
17 ... Bg4 18 Qb1 e4 19 Nh4 Ng6!
I want to straighten out my pawns.
20 Nxg6 hxg6 21 Re3 Be6 22 Qf1
This move is out of consonance with the position’s ebb and flow. I don’t know what to make of this
ambiguous gesture, since it misplaces his queen. He should go for the immediate 22 f3 f5.
22 ... g5 23 f3 f5 24 fxe4!?
I wouldn’t have taken, and instead would have played 24 Re2.
 24 ... dxe4 25 g4?

Warning: Don’t violate the principle: avoid unnecessary pawn pushes around your king.

This effort to undermine Black’s centre underestimates the danger to White’s king. He should play 25
Re2.
25 ... Rh8
Target: h2.
26 Rh3?
This move courts strategic disaster and White heads inexorably toward one of life’s Battle of Waterloo
knocks, from Napoleon’s perspective. He had to try 26 h3 when White’s position was dying, but not yet
dead. The regaining of a minor victory, even when busted, still provides some measure of solace: 26 ...
f4! 27 Rxe4 Bd5 28 Rae1 (28 Re2 is met by 28 ... f3! 29 Bxf3 Qg3+ 30 Bg2 Rxh3 with a winning attack)
28 ... Rdf8 29 Bf3 Bxe4 30 Rxe4 Qh7 with an inferior but still playable game for White.
26 ... Rxh3 27 Bxh3 f4
Black seems to be the sole beneficiary of the players’ last barter. Now White’s army gets treacly
(American translation: molassesy!), bogged down due to Black’s passed pawns.
28 Qe2 Bd5 29 Bf1 Qe7 30 Bc1 Qe6 31 h3 Ne7 32 Rb1 a6
Preventing Rb5.
33 a5 e3 34 Bg2 Bxg2 35 Qxg2 Nd5
When we fight on in a hopeless cause, we attempt to solve an unanswerable riddle. Just like my game
against Barquin in the next chapter, Black’s knight is overwhelmingly superior to White’s remaining
bishop.
36 Qf3 Rd7 37 Bb2
The taciturn bishop hasn’t had a lot to say this game.
37 ... Nf6 38 Ba3 Qd5
 There is a fine line between a strong negotiating position and outright blackmail. White can’t afford to
swap, but neither can he afford to keep queens on the board.
39 Qxd5 Nxd5 40 Bb4
The bishop multitasks, both able to pray and hate simultaneously. White can’t be everywhere at once,
since he is unable to cover c3 and prevent ... f3.
40 ... f3
Black’s passed pawns feel as ubiquitous as ants emerging from their ant hill.
41 Kh2 Rf7 0-1

Summary
Today, it’s known that 7 a4 or 7 Nf3 (which we look at next game) is too mild to produce a white edge. Only 7 Qg4!, which we look at later in
the chapter, puts pressure on Black’s Winawer.

Game 3
V.Bologan-N.Vitiugov
Russian Team Championship 2010

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 Ne7 7 Nf3

This line, like 7 a4, which we just looked at, is also innocuous and fails to pose Black insurmountable
challenges.
7 ... b6
The idea is to debadify (it would be best if you don’t google this ‘word’) Black’s bad bishop via ...
Ba6. 7 ... Nbc6 8 a4 transposes to our last game.
8 Bb5+!

Tip: In such cases Bb5+ loses time, yet it’s a worthwhile investment, since it
induces Black’s bishop off the a6-f1 track.

8 ... Bd7 9 Bd3 Ba4
A good move, denying White a4.
10 h4

Note: The unforced push of the h-pawn is a common strategy against the French.
White’s idea is to seize valuable kingside space with h5 and then possibly lift the
h1-rook into the game via h3. It also clears the way for Qg4, when Black is
tied down to defence of g7.


10 ... h6 11 h5 c4
Gaining a tempo at the cost of weakening his dark squares further.
12 Be2 Kd7!

Tip: In Blocked positions, we can actually walk our king to the queenside, where it
sits safer, due to Black’s territorial edge.

 A great player may come up with an astounding idea, and then the rest of us have to be content to copy
it. I believe it was Mikhail Botvinnik, a three-time world champion, who first came up with this
manoeuvre. The move looks almost like a mouse slip, but in this instance it is deliberate. Black’s ideas:
1. The kingside grows dangerous for Black’s king, so it strolls its way to queenside safety.
2. By lifting the king, Black makes room for another shocking manoeuvre, ... Qg8! and ... Qh7!.
13 Bf4 Qg8! 14 Nd2 Qh7!
Peek a boo. The queen pokes her head over the fence, increasing Black’s influence on the light squares
and threatening c2. We have reached another important French tabiya position.
15 Ra2
An indignity, but c2 required coverage.
15 ... Na6
Worrying White about future ... Nc7 and ... Nb5 ideas.
16 g4
White goes for a pawn storm plan rather than rely on piece play with a future Rh3.
16 ... Nc7 17 Rh3 Raf8 18 Re3 Kc8 19 Bg3 Nc6 20 Nf3 Rhg8
Black prepares for an eventual ... f6 or ... g6 break.
21 Kd2
Imitation is the sincerest form ... White plays the same idea, transferring his king to the relative safety
of the queenside.
21 ... Kb7 22 Qh1
And now the queen imitates Black’s!
22 ... Nb5
Pressuring a3 and c3.
23 Ne1 Nc7
Black can also try 23 ... g5, intending a future ... f6.
24 Ng2 Re8 25 f4 f6
 At last, a clash of pawns.
26 exf6!?
Just like last game, I would have avoided this swap, which I believe helps Black.
26 ... gxf6 27 Nh4 f5! 28 Ng6 fxg4 29 Bxg4 Qf7 30 Qh3 Ka6 31 Ra1 Ne7! 32 Nxe7?!
After 32 Rxe6! Nxe6 33 Bxe6 Qh7 34 Bxg8 Rxg8 35 f5 Bd7 36 Rf1 Nxf5! 37 Rxf5 Rxg6 38 hxg6 Qxg6
39 Rf6 Qg5+ 40 Bf4 Qxf6 41 Qxd7 Qxf4+ 42 Kd1 I don’t believe Black can convert his extra pawn,
since White will deliver perpetual check.
32 ... Rxe7 33 Rae1 Qf8 34 f5
34 Bxe6?? loses to 34 ... Nxe6 35 Rxe6 Rxe6 36 Rxe6 Bd7.
34 ... Reg7! 35 Bd1 exf5
White has been outplayed. He is down a pawn and his a3-pawn is also under fire.
36 Rf1 Qxa3 37 Bxc7!
Removing a defender of d5.
37 ... Rxc7 38 Qxf5 Rg2+ 39 Re2 Rg5 40 Qf8!
You may wonder why White is so annoyingly reasonable, offering to swap queens when two pawns
down. On the surface it feels as if White’s position, overtaxed by deprivation, is on the verge of collapse.
Yet here he cunningly offers to enter an ending two pawns down, having seen that Black’s alleged win is
by no means as easy as it appears. So White’s last move is the surgeon who commiserates with his once
wheel-chair-bound patient after the surgery, telling him he will be able to walk again, but he may feel a
touch of mild muscle ache from time to time as a result of the surgery. In essence, White’s concession is
no concession at all.

 40 ... Qxf8
We can disagree as to what is Black’s best plan, yet there is no dispute as to who holds the advantage. I
have a feeling that this ending only promises Black false hope. It’s hard to turn down an ending with two
extra pawns, yet the win is by no means easy, since Black is tied down to defence of d5 and his h-pawn.
Perhaps Black should revise his initial thesis and evade the swap, as one would a bothersome fly, with 40
... Qb2! intending ... Rg3.
41 Rxf8 Rxh5 42 Rg2 Rh4 43 Bf3 Bc6
The bishop agrees to his own internment.
44 Rf6 Kb5
In times past, people travelled in groups to ensure mutual protection. The king reinforces his bishop,
while clearing the way for ... a5. Black is two pawns up, yet remains tied down.
45 Rgg6 Rh2+ 46 Kc1 h5
After an interminable delay, the pawn feels motion and all is secure for now. Yet it remains
insufficiently protected. Now White gathers himself for fresh simultaneous assaults on Black’s two weak
pawns.
47 Rh6 h4 48 Kb2 Bb7 49 Rf4 h3
The weak h-pawn is adrift, clutching to flotsam on the open sea.
50 Bg4 Rg7 51 Bxh3
 Defending such technical positions is about as much fun as tracing the genealogy of a royal family of a
minor European duchy. This is a test of endurance for White, and so far he passed, with an A+ grade. The
h-pawn’s existence proves to be a solitary one. Black watches his advantage wither before his eyes. The
weak h-pawn fell, and now White gets excellent chances to hold the game, since all the remaining pawns
are fixed on the same side of the board.
51 ... Re2 52 Rd6 Re1!
Black threatens mate if he can double rooks on White’s first rank.
53 Rf1!
Oh, no you don’t! White avoids 53 Be6?? Rgg1 and his king is suddenly caught in a mating net.
53 ... Rxf1 54 Bxf1
Now White holds the game with ease, since Black is tied down to defence of d5. The remainder is a
game of non-committal shuffling from both sides.
54 ... Bc6 55 Be2 Rd7 56 Re6 Bb7 57 Bh5 Rd8 58 Be8+ Ka5 59 Re7 a6 60 Rxb7 Rxe8 61 Rd7 ½-
½
The rook publicly declares something we suspected all along: the game is drawn.

Summary
White should meet Black’s plan of 7 ... b6 with 8 Bb5+, derailing Black’s intent of ... Ba6. Also,
remember the bizarro manoeuvre ... Kd7! followed by ... Qg8! and ... Qh7!.

Game 4
V.Anand-V.Ivanchuk
Nice (rapid) 2009

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 Ne7 7 Qg4!

This is the chess version of clearing one’s throat to get the opponent’s attention. Heavily theoretical
lines are simultaneously our best friends/hateful overlords. Just to give you an idea of the complexity
level of this line, Swedish GM Emanuel Berg wrote a 300+ page book on this position alone. The hippy-
generated free love 1960’s morphed into the free market, profit-is-the-bottom-line Reganesque 1980’s.
Chess openings experience such swings in philosophy as well. The older 7 a4 and 7 Nf3 have been
virtually replaced with the dynamic and chaotic 7 Qg4! which is today considered White’s best shot at an
advantage against the Winawer.
7 ... Qc7

Ivanchuk obviously doesn’t believe in baby steps. Sometimes we make an opening choice which part
of us applauds for our bravery, and part of us decries for its risk. When we speculate with a sacrifice
over the board, we do so with a hint of shame, as if confessing a vice to a priest. Welcome to the
Poisoned Pawn line of the Winawer, one of the most theoretically dense positions in all of chess. To
absorb the vast scope of its ideas, we must stretch our minds.
8 Qxg7 Rg8 9 Qxh7
The queen must be reminded again and again, that theft is not a ‘hobby’. On the surface, it feels as if
White has just picked off two pawns, but this isn’t the real story.
9 ... cxd4 10 Ne2!
White covers against a queen check on c3, while ensuring that ... Qxe5 won’t come with check.
10 ... Nbc6

11 f4

Warning: It may look like White is just up two pawns if he plays 11 cxd4?.
 In reality, this is a mini-trap. Black has the resource 11 ... Nxd4! when White
is unable to recapture, since ... Qc3+ and ... Qxa1 would follow.

11 ... Bd7 12 Qd3
White’s queen returns to the game and now cxd4 really is a threat.
12 ... dxc3 13 Nxc3
White picks up a pawn and simultaneously threatens Nb5. The trouble is taking c3 offers Black future
counterplay down the c-file. Also played here are the lines 13 Qxc3, 13 Rb1, and 13 h4 Rc8 (it doesn’t
make sense to voluntarily renounce castling) 14 h5 Nf5 15 h6 d4 16 h7 Rh8 17 g4 Nfe7 18 Bg2 b5 19 Ng3
b4 20 Ne4 with a winning game for White, C.Lakdawala-A.Hanson, San Diego (rapid) 2005.
13 ... a6
Covering against White’s threat Nb5, followed by Nd6+.
14 Ne2 0-0-0 15 g3
Easing the pressure down the g-file, while preparing to complete kingside development with Bg2.
15 ... d4

Note: Following the principle: create confrontation when leading in development.

16 Qc4
Black’s offer is untouchable. 16 Nxd4?? Nxd4 17 Qxd4 Bc6 and the double attack picks off White’s
h1-rook.
16 ... Nf5 17 Bg2 Na5!

Tip: In such cases Black can even enter pawn-down endings and be fine, since he or
she relies on active pieces and c-file pressure. In this instance, Ivanchuk does not
violate the poet Browning’s admonition to never allow one’s reach to exceed
one’s grasp.

18 Qxc7+ Kxc7 19 Rb1 Bc6
Eliminating White’s best piece.
20 Bxc6 Kxc6!

 Endgame principle: Use your king in the endgame.

21 Kf2 d3 22 cxd3 Rxd3
Black’s powerful activity makes up for White’s extra pawn, and the game remains balanced.
23 Rg1 Rh8 24 h4 Nc4 25 a4 b6 26 Ra1 Kd5! 27 Ra2 Ke4!
Black’s king is a fighting piece in this ending.
28 Re1 Nh6
Clearing f5 for his king.
29 Kg2 Ng4 30 Ng1+ Kf5 31 Nf3 a5?
When our opponent plays very well for most of the game and then botches it in time pressure, somehow
our joy at our good fortune feels indecent. Now is not the time to be playing tiddlywinks (come to think of
it, I have no idea how to play tiddlywinks!). Move orders matter. Only by accomplishing ‘A’, do we then
get to ‘B’. Black’s last move is an error, after which the advantage swings to White. Black should play 31
... Nce3+ 32 Bxe3 Nxe3+ 33 Kh3 Kg6, after which his position sways and bends, yet fails to crack.
32 Ng5 Kg6 33 Rae2 Rb3 34 f5+!
The art of calculation is to correctly decipher what piece is doing what, to whom. Anand stokes his
initiative with a powerful line-opening sacrifice, and the defence is unable to withstand the battering ram.
34 ... exf5
34 ... Kxf5?? 35 Nxf7 Rh7 36 Nd6+ Nxd6 37 Rf1+ Kg6 38 exd6 e5 39 Kh3 Nh6 40 Rxe5 and Black
collapses.
35 e6! f6 36 e7
The e-pawn turns out to be the disputatious foul-mouthed dummy, who makes life miserable for his
ventriloquist, who happens to be Black’s king.
36 ... Re8

Exercise (combination alert): How did Anand force the win of material from
this position?

Answer: Attraction.
37 h5+! Kxh5 38 Ne6! Kg6
38 ... Rxe7?? hangs a full rook to 39 Rh1+ Kg6 40 Nf4+ Kf7 41 Rh7+.
39 Nc7 Kf7
 The exhausted king walks on feet which no longer have any feeling. He has no choice but to dutifully
follow White’s e-pawn the way a meek squire follows his bossy, unreasonable knight.
40 Nxe8 Kxe8
“I will regain my crown someday,” pouts the king. “Of course you will,” consoles White’s knight, in a
soothing tone he reserves for children or stupid adults. Not only did White win an exchange, but his
passed e-pawn remains alive and well for now.
41 Re6 Rc3 42 Bf4 Rc2+ 43 Kg1
World champions don’t fall for doltish traps like 43 Kh3?? Rh2 mate, or 43 Kf3?? Rf2 mate.
43 ... Nce5 44 Bxe5 Nxe5 45 Re3
This docile move is necessary to cover f3. 45 Rxf6?? Nf3+ allows Black to escape.
45 ... Nd7 46 Rd6!
Threat: Rxd7! and e8=Q.
46 ... Rc7 47 Kg2 1-0
Anand finishes with the soft spoken competence of an undertaker.

Summary
The heavily theoretical Poisoned Pawn line is one where a single new move from either side can render a
long played move obsolete overnight. In many positions it’s not easy to extract even a semi-coherent plan
for either side, so study it well. This game is merely a taste of what is involved if you take up the line.
You will need supplemental material beyond this book. If you don’t have the time or inclination to take
this step, then you are better off playing a more non-theoretical version, with either Black or White.

Game 5
S.Karjakin-F.Vallejo Pons
Bilbao 2012

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 Ne7 7 Qg4

Such lines are part of some player’s genetic code, like snoring and sugar addiction.
7 ... 0-0

Chess is that strange place where opposing evaluations of a single position may both be correct. I
happen to believe that Black’s resources are fully adequate here. Now we get a true taste of the phrase
‘castling into it’, where the ‘it’ part of the equation, should it come to pass, will be checkmate, if we don’t
know what we are doing in this line as Black.
8 Bd3 Nbc6
8 ... f5 is also played here.
9 Qh5!
White is in full interrogative mode, threatening mate. This may be White’s most dangerous line:
a) 9 Nf3 f5 10 exf6 Rxf6 11 Bg5 Rf7 with mutual chances and Black scores over 50% from this point.
b) 9 Bg5 (strategic threat: Bf6) 9 ... Qa5 (unpinning with tempo) 10 Ne2 Ng6 11 0-0 Qa4!. Black
menaces ... c4 and also ... Nxce5!, and chances are about even here.
9 ... Ng6
A pawn move would suicidally weaken Black’s king. Black is perfectly aware of his opponent’s
machinations, yet has faith in his inherent defensive resources.
10 Nf3
Threat: Ng5, and if ... h6, then Nxf7! undermining the g6-knight.
10 ... Qc7!

Tip: Remember this trick, which tactically covers against White’s Ng5 and Nxf7 idea.

11 Be3
11 Ng5 isn’t all that effective. Black can play 11 ... h6! walking into White’s trap, which is no trap at
all: 12 Nxf7 Qxf7 13 Qxg6 Qxg6! (13 ... Qxf2+?? loses to 14 Kd1 Rf7 15 Bxh6) 14 Bxg6 cxd4 15 cxd4
Nxd4 when Black’s superior structure counterbalances White’s bishops.
11 ... c4
This move represents a kind of nullity, in that it freezes the queenside structure for both sides.
12 Bxg6!
The meek 12 Be2?! f6 scores well for Black.
12 ... fxg6 13 Qg4 Qf7
Such positions confound those who seek assured truths. We reach another important Winawer tabiya,
where the bishops of opposite colours play a key role in the players’ destinies.
14 Ng5
The knight’s romance with Black’s queen, like Heathcliff’s and Cathy’s in Wuthering Heights, meets
barriers through a finely defined class system of social taboos.
14 ... Qe8!

Warning: 14 ... Qf5?! loses time to 15 Qe2 Re8 16 h4 h6 17 g4. In my database
Black scores 0% from this position, which I’m guessing is a tad below the norm.

15 h4
Preparing to pry open the h-file.
15 ... Ne7
Instead, 15 ... h6 16 Nh3 Bd7 17 Nf4 Ne7 18 Rh3 Qf7 19 Kd2 Kh7 20 Qe2 b5 21 g4 a5 22 Rb1 Rab8
23 Rg3 Kg8 24 Rf3 Qe8 25 h5?! was M.Khachian-C.Lakdawala, Internet (blitz) 2006. Here Black looks
better after 25 ... g5! 26 Nh3 Nc6 27 Rxf8+ Qxf8 28 Ra1 b4.
16 a4!?
I think this pawn sacrifice is an inadvisable waste of generosity, even though it is Komodo’s top
choice. White gives up a pawn to transfer his bishop to the powerful a3-square. That said, 16 h5 is met
with the clogging idea 16 ... h6 17 Nf3 g5 when Black stands better.
16 ... a5
Fixing a4 as a target.
17 Qe2 Bd7 18 g4 Ra6 19 Bc1 Bxa4 20 Ba3 h6 21 Nh3 b5 22 Bc5 Rc6 23 Bd6 Rf7 24 h5! gxh5 25
g5!

Tip: The line opening, puncturing pawn sacrifice h5! gxh5; g5! is thematic of this line.

25 ... Nf5 26 gxh6 Nxh6
26 ... g6 would be my defensive choice.
27 Kd2?
An incoherency, after which White no longer has compensation for the pawn. He should enter an even
ending with 27 Qxh5 Rf8 28 Qxe8 Rxe8 29 Kd2.
27 ... Rf5 28 Rhg1 Rb6 29 f3 b4 30 Qe3 Nf7 31 Bc5 Rb7 32 Rg2 Qb5?!
The lovesick queen chases White’s king like a mare in heat. The correct plan’s whereabouts is a
mystery for Black, who may be in time pressure. 32 ... b3! gives Black a winning position.
33 Rag1 bxc3+?
 Failure and achievement can be a hair’s breadth from the other. When it comes to our near-misses, we
would all love a bout of amnesia, since it’s hard to blame ourselves for past sins when we are unable to
remember their existence. In our cases where we do remember them, we rationalize our losses (i.e. ‘I
wasn’t feeling well that day’) with a dialectical genius which even Plato and Aristotle would deeply
envy.
Black gets a winning position with the sacrifice 33 ... Nxe5! 34 dxe5 bxc3+ 35 Ke2 Qb2 36 Kf2
Qxc2+ 37 Kg3 Qd3 38 Nf4 Qxe3 39 Bxe3 Rbf7 with too many pawns for the piece.
34 Ke2 Nxe5!
Now Black’s rook protects g7.
35 Qh6!
35 dxe5? Qb2 is a winning attack for Black.
35 ... Rff7 36 Qxe6 Ng4 37 Ng5! Qb2??
It’s a dangerous luxury to deal with the trivial when an issue of much larger scale looms.

Exercise (combination alert): The black queen’s last move isn’t exactly a
warm expression fealty to her king. White to play and force mate.

Answer: Weak back rank.
38 Qc8+! 1-0

Summary
I think the position after 7 ... 0-0 is every bit as tricky as the Poisoned Pawn line, which we looked at last game. Look for supplementary
material on the line and familiarize yourself with its themes.

Game 6
G.Kasparov-V.Ivanchuk
Horgen 1995

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 b6
 The more strategic route. Black avoids the heavy theory stemming from the sharper 4 ... c5, and the
now familiar idea is to play ... Ba6, swapping away White’s powerful light-squared bishop. Instead:
a) 4 ... Ne7 (this line is a cousin to 4 ... b6) 5 a3 (5 Qg4 0-0 6 Bd3 f5 is okay for Black) 5 ... Bxc3+ 6
bxc3 b6 7 Qg4 Ng6 8 h4 h5 9 Qg3 Ba6 10 Bxa6 Nxa6 11 Ne2 Qd7 12 a4 with a sharp and unbalanced
position where White probably holds a slight edge due to his central space.
b) Next game we look at 4 ... Qd7.
5 a3

Tip: After 5 Qg4 Bf8 don’t be afraid of the loss of time to play ... Bf8, preserving
your valuable dark-squared bishop, while covering g7.

For example, 6 a4!? (6 Bb5+ c6 7 Ba4 a5 8 Bb3 is the main theoretical line) 6 ... Nc6! (taking
advantage of the weakness on b4, as well as halting a5) 7 Bb5 Bb7 8 Nf3 a6 9 Be2 Qd7 (with the idea of
... f5!) 10 0-0, E.Sevilliano-C.Lakdawala, 2007. Chances were roughly balanced after Black castled long.
5 ... Bf8
This bizarre move arrests the eye. On the surface, this may look like an insane loss of time for Black.
Not all ideas need to be as unarguable as a maths theorem, and it is possible for a thing to be itself, while
simultaneously something else. Black violates the principle of moving the same piece twice in the opening
and undeveloping it to its square of origin. Yet despite appearances, the move is perfectly playable, based
on the principle: in closed positions, quality of development (or in this case undevelopment!) trumps
quantity. Also playable is 5 ... Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 Qd7 7 Qg4 f5.
6 Nf3
6 Bd3 is a tempo loss which plays into Black’s hands after 6 ... Ba6.
6 ... Ne7 7 h4
We talked about the push of the h-pawn in an earlier game in the chapter as a typical way for White to
increase a kingside space advantage.
7 ... h6 8 h5 a5 9 Bb5+

Tip: White often dodges Black’s ... Ba6 idea with Bb5+, followed by Ba4.
However, the move does lose time for White.

9 ... c6 10 Ba4 Nd7 11 Ne2
Multipurpose:
1. White prepares to swing the knight over to the kingside in preparation for an attack.
2. White plans to play c3 and Bc2 to bring his light-squared bishop back into play.
11 ... b5 12 Bb3 c5 13 c3 Nc6 14 0-0 Qc7 15 Re1 c4
Black’s queenside initiative and space counters White’s ambitions on the other side of the board.
16 Bc2 Nb6 17 Bf4
Overprotecting e5, but Black has no intention of activating White by playing the suicidal ... f6.
17 ... Be7 18 Bg3 Rb8
In preparation of a ... b4 break.
19 Nh2 Qd8
Ivanchuk removes his queen off the g3-bishop’s diagonal, perhaps worried about future Nf6+
sacrifices.
20 Ng4 b4
The cold war finally turns a touch hotter.
21 axb4 axb4 22 cxb4?!
Kasparov, hoping to eliminate all his potentially weak queenside pawns, violates the principle: avoid
confrontation on the opponent’s strong wing. Chances look balanced after 22 f4.
22 ... Nxb4 23 Bb1 Bd7 24 b3?!
The same principle is violated.
24 ... Ra8 25 Rxa8 Qxa8 26 bxc4 Nxc4 27 Nc1?

Exercise (planning): White’s last move allows Black a way to win the d4-pawn. How?

Answer: 27 ... Ba4!
Step 1: Drive away White’s queen from coverage of d4. Ivanchuk sidles to his intent in an indirect manner, rather than with head-on
confrontation.
28 Qe2
When we have but one forced move, we eliminate the ‘ ... on the other hand’ argument. 28 Nb3? walks
into a decisive pin.
28 ... Qa7!
Step 2: Attack d4, which can no longer be protected. It’s that simple, and the planning required for Ivanchuk’s idea isn’t equivalent to that
of the D-day invasion.
29 Ne3 Qxd4
“The rich get richer and the poor dine on macaroni and cheese,” comments the queen to her
impoverished e2 sister.
30 Nxc4 dxc4 31 Qf1
The queen gets demoted and resigns herself to her new post as junior chamber pot-emptier maid.
31 ... 0-0 0-1
I believe it was George Bernard Shaw who theorized that lack of money is the root of all evil. White is
down a pawn and his pieces driven to uncharacteristic passivity, so Kasparov, feeling it a waste of energy
to pursue alteration of an unchangeable future, resigned.

Did You Know? This was the only game Kasparov lost with the white pieces in a
ten year period.
Summary
This line, although optically bizarre, after 5 ... Bf8, is very playable for Black. The move is in open transgression of the principle: thou shalt not
dilly-dally in the opening; yet White’s huge development lead is often frustrated by a lack of viable targets.

Game 7
N.Arutyunov-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2015

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 Qd7


Note: This move is a touch different to its cousin 4 ... b6, since it allows Black an
... f5 option on White’s 5 Qg4.

I have an unspoken agreement with ultra-sharp lines: I won’t play them very often, and they in turn have
agreed not to checkmate me! As with 4 ... b6, this line isn’t one of those theoretically straitjacketing ones,
where if we garble the chronology of the move order, we face immediate and terrible retribution.
5 a3
5 Qg4 is met with 5 ... f5.
5 ... Bxc3+
5 ... Bf8 is similar to what we looked at last game, and may well transpose later on: 6 f4!? b6 7 b4!?
c6 8 b5 a6! 9 bxc6 Nxc6 10 Nf3 Nge7 11 Bd3 h5 12 0-0 g6 13 Be3 Na5 14 a4 Qc7 15 Ne2 Nc4 when
Black’s control over c4 makes up for White’s kingside and central space, A.Costello-C.Lakdawala, San
Diego (rapid) 2016.
6 bxc3 b6
Once again we observe a battle between the unstoppable force and the immovable object. This is a
position conducive to divergent interpretations, depending on the reader’s style. From my perspective, I
feel comfortable from Black’s side.
7 Nf3
This move is too mild to worry Black. 7 Qg4 is White’s only shot at an edge: 7 ... f5 8 Qg3 (8 exf6?!
Nxf6 is a bad deal for White, since Black’s development lead outweighs the ill-effects of the backward
e6-pawn) 8 ... Ba6 9 Bxa6 Nxa6 10 Ne2 Nb8 (the knight is to be re-routed to c4) 11 Nf4 Kf7! 12 Qf3 Ne7
13 Qh5+ Kg8 14 h4 Nbc6 15 Rh3 Rf8 16 Rg3 Rf7 17 Nh3 Na5. Kingside and queenside chances look
balanced, M.Khachiyan-C.Lakdawala, Century City 2002.
7 ... Ba6 8 Bxa6 Nxa6 9 Qd3
Alternatively, 9 a4 Ne7 10 0-0 Nb8 (heading for c4) 11 Qd3 Nbc6 12 c4 (White undoubles his pawns
before Black blockades them) 12 ... dxc4 13 Qxc4 Na5 14 Qd3 Rd8 15 Ba3 h6 16 Rfd1 0-0 17 Qb5 Rfe8
18 Bb4 Nec6 19 c3 Qd5 20 Bxa5 Nxa5 21 h3 Re7 22 Qb4 Red7 23 Rab1 Nc4. Advantage Black, who
had a grip on the dark squares, D.Aldama-C.Lakdawala, San Diego (rapid) 2013.
9 ... Qa4!
 As always in this line, Black’s influence on the light squares counterbalances White’s power on dark.
10 0-0 Ne7 11 Bg5 c5!?
Is it possible to be simultaneously thirsty and drowning? I allow my opponent to disrupt my castling if
he hands over his influential bishop.
12 Bxe7
The bishop writes out the bull of excommunication for Black’s king, who doesn’t care, since he is an
atheist.
12 ... Kxe7
White and Black’s intents pulsate to different rhythms:
1. My king runs off to who-knows-where, which, as we all understand, is an indeterminate location.
Still, I feel like my king is relatively safe, since White’s once copious supply of attackers dwindled with
three sets of minor piece exchanges. Also, for now, the centre remains relatively closed.
2. My structure is without weakness, while White’s damaged one virtually ensures a painful ending,
should queens come off the board.
3. I removed his bishop from the board, so a dark square pandemic has been averted.
Conclusion: I’m happy with the transaction.
13 Nh4
Clearing the way for f4 and f5, as well as Qg3.
13 ... Rac8
Pressure builds for White down the c-file and he must do something quickly to counteract it.
14 f4 cxd4 15 cxd4
I expected 15 f5. Black looks better after 15 ... Nc5! 16 Qf3 Rcf8 17 fxe6 fxe6 18 Qg4 g6 19 cxd4 Ne4
when his king is safe for now, while White’s structure remains vulnerable.
15 ... Qc4
Of course, Black would love a queen swap, which would remove all the pressure off my king.
16 Qg3!?
 The nuclear option. This kind of sacrifice is catnip for a natural attacker.
16 ... Qxd4+
I am intent on disproving the theory of less is more. Wrong! More is more!
17 Kh1 g6 18 Qg5+?!
White looks better off going for 18 Nf3! Qa4 19 Qg5+ Kd7 20 Qf6 Rhe8 21 Ng5 with better attacking
chances than in the game continuation.
18 ... Kd7 19 Qf6 Qc5!
In such a position, the system is rigged to favour the wealthy. The imperative of survival overwhelms
all other petty concerns, so I offer the extra pawn back to get a better ending.
20 Nf3
I expected him to open lines with 20 c4 Qe7! 21 cxd5 Qxf6 22 exf6 exd5 23 Rad1 Kd6 with a winning
ending for Black. Instead, 20 Qxf7+ allows Black to force queens off the board with 20 ... Qe7 21 Qxe7+
Kxe7 when White’s structure remains vulnerable in the ending.
20 ... Qe7 21 Qg7 h6!

Preventing Ng5 and worrying White about a forced trade after ... Rcg8, when Black’s rooks tisk tisk in
unison at White’s out-of-play queen, who roosts on g7 like a senile owl.
 22 f5?
This is contributing evidence of White’s decline. His move is made with the philosophy: when
confronted with an unpleasant task, it’s better done sooner than later. 22 c4 was his best shot.
22 ... gxf5 23 Qg3 Rhg8 24 Qf2 Rc4 0-1
White is down two pawns and his attack is no more.

Summary
The only difference between 4 ... Qd7 and 4 ... b6 is that 4 ... Qd7 allows Black to meet 5 Qg4 with 5 ...
f5, when g7 is protected laterally.

Game 8
M.Khachian-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2009

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 Nc6!?

I picked this oddball line to try and throw the GM out of his opening comfort zone. Black’s other
sidelines:
a) 6 ... Ne7 7 Qg4 Kf8!? 8 h4 Qc7 9 Qd1 cxd4 10 cxd4 Qc3+ 11 Bd2 Qxd4 12 Nf3 Qe4+ 13 Be2 b6
14 0-0 Ba6 15 c4, G.Kasparov-P.Nikolic, Horgen 1994. White’s development lead fully compensates for
his two missing pawns after 15 ... Bxc4 16 Bxc4 dxc4 17 Rc1.
b) 6 ... Qc7 7 Qg4 f5 8 Qg3 cxd4 9 cxd4 Ne7 10 Bd2 0-0 11 Bd3 b6 12 Ne2 Ba6 13 Nf4 Qd7 14 h4
Bxd3 15 Qxd3. Most annotators feel that White’s kingside chances slightly outweigh Black’s on the
queenside, but I am not one who shares this opinion, and feel like Black is dynamically even,
G.Kasparov-N.Short, Novgorod 1997.
c) 6 ... Qa5 7 Bd2 Qa4 8 Qg4 g6 is very close to what we got in my game against Khachian, and may
well transpose.
7 Qg4 g6
This move creates a huge potential liability on the weakened dark squares later on.
8 Nf3
Playing it safe. White may get an edge with 8 h4! Qa5 9 Bd2 Qa4 10 h5!, and if 10 ... Nxe5? Black
should decline both e5 and c2 offers.
 8 ... Qa5 9 Bd2 Qa4

Note: On a4, the queen pressures d4 and c2.

10 Ra2 c4
Black has a horrible bishop and is punctured on the dark squares. On the other hand, White takes on
serious queenside weaknesses and an offside rook.
11 h4!?
The statement ‘once upon a time’ asks the reader not to ask embarrassing questions like: “Is your story
based in reality?” Although not a calamitous lapse in judgement, my feeling is that White’s sacrifice is
slightly dubious, although the comp backs him up with a slightly favourable evaluation. 11 Be2 is the safer
route.
11 ... Qb5!
I experienced a quickening of expectations, threatening to win his a2-rook with ... Qb1+.
12 Ra1 Qb2 13 Rc1
My opponent considered his a3-pawn the drossiest of all the dross available, while I thought: “Hey,
groovy, a free pawn!”
13 ... h6!
The idea is to meet h5 with ... g5. I parry and feint, rather than sink my threat home into tender flesh
with the greedy line 13 ... Qxa3!?, a move made with the warning: Oliver Twist would have spared
himself a lot of anguish had he not asked Mr. Bumble for “some more”.
14 h5 g5 15 Nh2!
Clearing the way for f4. Black must act, or face dissolution of his kingside.
15 ... f5!
In each game both sides should expect a few mild slaps in the face, when our opponent makes an
unexpected move below our mental radar. Melik said he overlooked this idea, where Black either closes
the kingside, or develops with tempo.
16 exf6
He is forced to lose more time to clear the e5-square for his pieces. 16 Qd1? Qxa3 is hopeless for
White since the kingside is pretty much sealed.
16 ... Nxf6 17 Qe2 Ne4 18 Qe3 Bd7 19 Ng4 0-0-0 20 f3 Ng3 21 Rh3

Exercise (combination alert): My position’s mood is one of euphoric opportunity,
as if something wonderful is around the corner. How can Black gain a winning attack?

21 ... Nf5?!
Moves like this are one of the reasons that the name Lakdawala is not one which is feared in chess
tournaments around the world. It isn’t easy to pluck a handful of order from chaos. When we miss a
combination, it’s as if a character in a play burns a letter, whose contents are never to be revealed to the
audience.
Answer: I missed a great chance with 21 ... e5!!. Principle: open the game and create confrontation when leading in development. After
22 dxe5 (or 22 Rxg3?? exd4 23 Qf2 dxc3 24 Be3 d4 and Black wins) 22 ... Bxg4 23 Rxg3 Rhe8 24 f4 Bxh5 White is busted.
22 Qe2 Qxa3 23 f4! Qe7?
23 ... gxf4 24 Bxf4 Rdf8 maintains Black’s edge.
24 fxg5 hxg5 25 Ne5 Nxe5 26 Qxe5 g4 27 Bf4
Threatening mate on two different squares.
27 ... Bc6?
Losing my equilibrium. Now White’s attack grows potent.
28 Rh1 Kd7 ½-½
“Another fine mess you’ve gotten me into,” I thought to myself, channelling Oliver Hardy. When I bungle a game, I always ask: “Why does
cruel Caissa the chess goddess always favour the undeserving?”, who in every instance is my opponent! White stands better and I took my
opponent’s draw offer, which gave him clear first place in the tournament (a concession I took solely for medicinal purposes). Normally
tenacity is your writer’s middle name (in truth, my middle name, to my abiding shame, is Freddy). I felt the position would be almost impossible
to win for Black, but very easy to lose.

Summary
6 ... Nc6!?, along with lines ‘a’, ‘b’, and ‘c’ below it, are quirky side lines which can be used as surprise weapons.
Chapter Two
The Winawer: Fourth Move Alternatives
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4

In this chapter we examine White’s fourth move dodges of the main line Winawer, where there is no
single generically universal one plan fits all. The difficulty level of the lines may vary from plucking a
daisy, to uprooting a stump of a 100-year-old oak tree. I dream of living in a mannerly world, but of
course this is a fantasy when facing a tactician, who lives for gratuitous violence on the chess board. Be
especially careful in lines ‘b’, ‘c’, and ‘e’, which can get very tactical, and are the pit bull on
amphetamines route for White.
From this position White can play:
a) 4 exd5, which leads to a toothless line akin to the Exchange Variation, where the landscape alters as
much as your computer’s screen saver. We can later try and play for a win with the unbalancing ... Bxc3,
where we give up the bishop-pair to inflict damage upon White’s pawn structure.
b) With 4 Nge2 White prevents a doubling of pawns on c3, at the cost of clogging his or her
development. We take White’s pawn offer on e4 and hang on to it like grim death.
c) 4 a3 sees White encourage ... Bxc3+, at the cost of a tempo. We take the knight and then White’s e-
pawn. White follows with Qg4 with a double attack on e4 and g7.
d) 4 Bd3. The trouble with this move is that Black gains a tempo on the bishop with ... dxe4, followed
by ... Nf6.
e) 4 Bd2 is a dangerous pawn sacrifice, which I recommend that we decline.

Game 9
B.Barquin-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2006
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 exd5
This move is too milquetoast for any hope of a white advantage and basically hands Black an even
game at the outset. When a natural tactician/attacker like my opponent Ben plays a line this opposite to his
natural inclination; it’s a little like Mike Tyson applying for a teaching job for an anger management
course. White’s move turns it into a harmless variant of the Exchange French, with the added moves Nc3
and ... Bb4. White often picks up the bishop-pair with a future a3 and ... Bxc3+, which we don’t mind,
since we gain time and inflict damage upon White’s structure as compensation. Last chapter we looked at
4 e5, the main line.
4 ... exd5
A more principled move than recapturing with the queen. We stake out our fair share of the centre.
5 h3!?
Not exactly intimidating if you have black pieces here. White wants to play Nf3 without allowing ...
Bg4. White’s main line runs 5 Bd3 c6 and Black can set up in any number of ways. This is a solid
version: 6 Nge2 (White covers his c3-knight, while leaving his f-pawn free to move forward later on in
pursuit of a kingside attack) 6 ... Ne7.

Tip: Black can take the sting out of White’s future attack with the idea of ... Ne7
and ... Bf5, which swaps away White’s light-squared bishop, the most
dangerous potential attacker.

7 0-0 Bf5 comes as a warning to the opponent to limit his attacking ambitions. Black equalized,
H.Stefansson-N.Vitiugov, Gibraltar 2015.
5 ... Bf5
Pre-empting Bd3.
6 Nf3 Ne7
This supports Black’s control over f5, while avoiding a potential pin.
7 Bd3 Nbc6 8 0-0 0-0
I also considered sharpening the game with 8 ... Qd7 and then castling long.
9 Bf4
 9 ... Bxc3!?

Note: We weigh the considerations and chop on c3. This is an attempt to play for a
win against a lower-rated player by creating an imbalance of bishop for a knight,
in exchange for damage to White’s structure. Also, my move is a way to veer
away from the hyper-sedate state of being one is threatened with when entering
virtually any version of the Exchange French.

10 bxc3
When an object breaks, it will either heal into a stronger version of itself, or it just can’t be patched
together again. It’s too early to tell which way it will go for White’s queenside pawns.
10 ... Na5
The idea is to blockade c4, preventing White from undoubling his c-pawns with c4.
11 Rb1 f6
Seizing control over e5.
12 Re1 Bg6
I would indeed like to trade the bishops, but on my terms, not his. Chopping on d3 allows 12 ... Bxd3
13 cxd3, after which White seizes control over c4.
13 Bb5?

Warning: One moment of planlessness and our otherwise well thought-out idea
can easily lapse into banality.

This is an inexplicable waste of two tempi. White should play more vigorously with something like 13
Nh2! intending h4 and h5.
13 ... c6 14 Bd3 Re8 15 Qd2 Qd7 16 Re2?!
The window of intervention narrows for White. 16 Nh4 is better.
16 ... Nc4 17 Bxc4?
The bargain struck is one sided. White should back down and retain some degree of control over his
light squares with 17 Qd1.
17 ... dxc4
Not only does Black own the more potent bishop, but now Black’s knight can roost on d5. White is
guaranteed a miserable ending, since his queenside pawn structure is vulnerable to attack.
18 Rbe1 Nd5 19 Nh4

19 ... Bf7!?
I saw a small tactic, yet rejected it, since I mistakenly thought my advantage was greater in not playing
the combination. The computer admonishes me, however, and insists on playing 19 ... Bxc2 which I
dismissively tossed aside. Black overloads White’s queen and wins a pawn, since 20 Rxe8+ Rxe8 21
Rxe8+ Qxe8 22 Qxc2 Nxf4 leaves Black up a clean pawn. Yet I far prefer the position I reached in the
game to this one.
20 Nf3 Rxe2 21 Rxe2 Bh5! 22 Kh2
22 g4?? is met with 22 ... Bxg4! winning.
22 ... Bxf3 23 gxf3
More pockmarks to White’s already cratered structure.
23 ... Re8 24 Re4 b5 25 Bg3 Kf7 26 Kg2 Re6 27 Qe1 Qe7 28 h4
This creates another pawn target for Black.
28 ... f5!
Now ... f4 is a serious threat for White.
29 Rxe6 Qxe6 30 Qd2
White must keep queens on the board, or else Black’s knight will pick off the c3-pawn.
30 ... Qh6! 31 f4

Warning: This kind of move violates the principle: don’t fix your pawns on the
same colour as your remaining bishop.

Now White’s bishop is no more than a glorified pawn, whose guilty look is one of a school boy who
smokes in a crouch on the toilet seat in the boy’s bathroom. 31 Qxh6? gxh6 is hopeless for White too
though, since c3 falls.
31 ... Qe6 32 a3 Qe4+ 33 Kg1 h5 34 Kf1 a5
I was low on the clock and was determined to avoid that awful realm of meaninglessness, where we
cease to worry about the chess aspect of our move, in a desperate attempt to outrun our clock. We
essentially turn into a hybrid of blind Oedipus and insane King Lear. In such cases it’s best to keep the
game completely under our control. In this case the winning process isn’t exactly a conundrum which only
a master logician can unravel. I prefer to go incremental rather than exponential with 34 ... Qh1+! 35 Ke2
Qa1, which with hindsight looks like an easier win.
35 Kg1 a4 36 Kf1 g6 37 Kg1 Ke7 38 Kf1 Kd8

Tip: Procrastination is the entity who whispers into our ear, providing convenient
excuses to why we should get around to doing a task which needs doing – someday.
When your opponent has no way to improve his position, then take your sweet
time, which adds a further psychological burden to ‘do’ something.

39 Kg1 Kd7 40 Kf1 Qf3
The moment of reckoning draws near and c3 falls.
41 Ke1
I read that some long incarcerated inmates actually grow fearful as their release date approaches, since
then they are forced to make decisions without someone ordering them about. Instead, if 41 Qe1 Nxc3 and
now White is unable to make a run at a perpetual check with 42 Qe5? since 42 ... Qh1 is mate. White’s
king finds it deeply offensive that his sister only speaks to him through the excrement infested dungeon
cell’s bars with a perfumed handkerchief pressed firmly to her nose.
41 ... Nxc3 0-1

Summary
4 ... exd5 leads to an equal line of the Exchange French.
Game 10
F.Braga-V.Korchnoi
Sao Paulo 1979

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nge2

White protects his c3-knight from the potential damage to his structure, but at a high cost:
1. White’s e4-pawn is sacrificed and there is no guarantee he regains it.
2. Nge2 clogs White’s kingside development.
4 ... dxe4
The most natural move. Black grabs e4 and dares his opponent to either regain the pawn, or prove
compensation. I often play 4 ... Nc6!? 5 a3 Ba5 6 b4 Bb6 7 e5 f6 8 f4 fxe5 9 dxe5 a6 (to preserve the
bishop) 10 Qd3 Nh6. White found himself behind in development and struggling, R.Bruno-C.Lakdawala,
San Diego (rapid) 2007.
5 a3 Bxc3+
The more adventurous path. 5 ... Be7 6 Nxe4 Nf6 is a safer path to equality for Black.
6 Nxc3 Nc6
Counterattacking d4.
7 Bb5
After 7 d5 exd5 8 Qxd5 Be6 9 Qxe4 Nf6 Black’s development lead makes up for White’s bishop-pair.
7 ... Nge7 8 Bg5
White regards Black’s e4-pawn as superfluous clutter and is happy to give it away. 8 Nxe4 is met with
8 ... Qd5! and I’m not so confident White gets full compensation for the pawn.
8 ... f6 9 Be3 0-0
 10 Qd2

Note: It isn’t so easy for White to regain his sacrificed pawn in this line. If
10 Nxe4? f5 11 Ng5 f4 12 Bd2 Qd5! 13 Bxc6 Nxc6 14 Nf3 Nxd4 and
Black picks up a clean pawn.

10 ... f5

Did You Know? Many players believe that art is the opposite of utility.
Viktor Korchnoi didn’t. He, along with Emanuel Lasker and Bobby Fischer,
turned pawn grabbing into an art form.

Black manages to hold on to his extra pawn. For it White gets some degree of dark-square control and
the bishop-pair. My personal preference is for Black’s side.
11 Bg5?!
This proves to be a waste of time. The main line runs 11 0-0-0 a6 12 Bxc6 Nxc6 13 f3. Even here
White’s attack for the pawn is by no means a richly endowed charity with endless resources, although
there is compensation for the pawn, W.Giblin-C.Holland, London 1994.
11 ... h6 12 Bxe7
12 Bxc6 bxc6 gives Black an open b-file to attack.
12 ... Nxe7 13 0-0-0
Opposite wings castling is a world where you say “East!” and your opponent says “West!”.
13 ... Nd5 14 Bc4 c6 15 f3 exf3 16 gxf3 Qh4 17 Ne2 f4!
 Prolonged defence tends to offend a proud spirit, and Korchnoi seizes the initiative on the kingside,
which is normally White’s province in this line.
18 Rdg1 Qf2! 19 Rg6
White’s attempts to attack at this stage feel like the poor man with a toothache, who powers up his drill
to perform his own root canal to save money by circumventing the dentist’s bill.
19 ... Qxf3 20 Rhg1 Rf7 21 Kb1?!
The new arrangement is unworkable for White to reach his goals. He had to be consistent and try 21
Rxh6.
21 ... Qe3 22 Qd1 Ne7!
When we set up a trap, we in essence want to be given a fortune, without the indignity of having to
actually work for it.
23 R6g4
23 Rxh6?? is met with 23 ... f3! with a double threat of ... fxe2 and ... Qxh6.
23 ... f3 24 R4g3?
Now White’s attacking lane is a clogged drain.
24 ... Nf5! 0-1
White loses heavy material.

Summary
Respond to 4 Nge2 with 4 ... dxe4 and make White fight to regain the lost pawn.

Game 11
J.Balares-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2007

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3
White is willing to expend a tempo, damage his pawn structure and temporarily offer e4, just to pick up
the bishop-pair.
4 ... Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 dxe4

Warning: This move doesn’t actually win a pawn, since White regains it on the
next move with a double attack.

6 Qg4
White regains his pseudo-sacrificed pawn, at the cost of time and allowing Black an open g-file.
6 ... Nf6 7 Qxg7 Rg8 8 Qh6 Nbd7
Black leaves ... Rg6 in reserve.
9 Ne2
The idea is to play to g3 to dampen Black’s power along the open g-file.
9 ... c5
9 ... b6 is played more often: 10 Ng3 Bb7 11 Be2 c5 is considered to be a position where Black
achieves dynamic equality.
10 Ng3
Don’t you hate it when you drive on a single lane road and the car ahead obstructs your progress with a
contemptible law-abiding driver who has the colossal gall to observe the speed limit? White’s blocks
Black’s pressure down the g-file.
10 ... Qa5 11 Bd2 Qa4?!

Warning: Don’t fall behind in development in an open position.

This move is based on the philosophy: those who dictate laws may also dispense with them. For many
of us the opening stage has degenerated into a Pavlovian reflex, without actual thought. Its opposite
problem is displayed by my last move, which represents misguided creativity in forcing a position which
doesn’t allow for it. This line is not one where we can afford to not live by the book. Black can’t afford
the waste of time involved. 11 ... b6 is correct.
12 dxc5
12 Qe3! Qxc2 13 Rc1 Qa4 14 Nxe4 is in White’s favour.
12 ... Qxc2
With an air of self-destruction, I grab a pawn and waste time as calmly as inquiring about a slight shift
in the weather. For a positional player like your writer to be here is similar to a scientist asking a poet
about the geological properties of the California coastline.
13 Bb5?!
A key element in the art of knife throwing is that the knife should enter the target’s body blade first. 13
Be2! Rg6 14 Qe3 Ne5 15 0-0 when White’s development lead and bishop-pair in the open position give
him a clear advantage.
13 ... Qb2! 14 Bxd7+
White’s miscalculation grounds to its painful conclusion, as he is forced to return the bishop-pair.
14 ... Bxd7 15 0-0 Rg6 16 Qe3 Bc6 17 c4?! 0-0-0?!
After 17 ... Ng4! 18 Qc3 Qxc3 19 Bxc3 0-0-0 Black has the better ending, due to White’s isolated and
crippled queenside pawns.
18 Bc3 Qc2 19 Rac1 Qd3 20 Be5 Ng4! 21 Qf4 Nxe5
At long last, I put my dark-square deficiency to rights.
22 Qxe5 f5 23 Rc3?
To walk along this path is to invite defeat. 23 Rcd1 Qxd1 24 Rxd1 Rxd1+ 25 Nf1 had to be tried.
23 ... Qd2 24 Re3 Qd4!
 “Hi!” says Black’s queen, in a bold conversational-opening gambit. Black removes White’s only active
piece, and the ending is lost for White.
25 Qxd4 Rxd4
Threat: ... f4.
26 Rc3 Rd2 27 Re1 e3! 28 Rcxe3 f4 29 R3e2 Rxe2 30 Nxe2 Rxg2+ 31 Kf1 e5
I should play 31 ... Rxh2! 32 Nxf4 Bf3! 33 Ne2 Bg2+! 34 Kg1 Rh1+ which wins.
32 Nc3 Rg5 33 h4 Rh5 34 Nd5 Rxh4! 35 f3 Rh1+ 36 Ke2 Rxe1+ 37 Kxe1 Kd7 38 Nf6+ Ke7!
Avoiding the trap 38 ... Ke6? 39 Nxh7 Bxf3?? 40 Ng5+.
39 Nxh7 Bxf3 40 Ng5 Bc6 41 Ke2 Kf6 0-1

Summary
I have always found 4 a3 to be a dangerous and lip-bitingly tense line, since White forces open the game with the bishop-pair. Black must rely
on a development lead to counterbalance White’s bishops.

Game 12
M.Tal-A.Lein
USSR Championship, Leningrad 1971

Did You Know? Tal, despite a style bordering on madness, holds the two longest
non-losing streaks in chess history.

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Bd3
 To me this line is illogical since White’s bishop loses a tempo to the coming ... Nf6.
4 Qd3 is a close cousin to the line Tal played. Our strategy remains the same: 4 ... dxe4 5 Qxe4 Nf6 6
Qh4, E.Sevillano-C.Lakdawala, San Diego 2006. Black can equalize any number of ways, the most
dynamic of which may be 6 ... c5 7 dxc5 Bxc3+ 8 bxc3 Qa5 9 Qb4 Qc7. I doubt that White’s bishop-pair
means all that much when you look at those homely triplets on the c-file.
4 ... dxe4
The most logical move. Black soon gains a tempo.
5 Bxe4 Nf6 6 Bg5
If 6 Bf3 c5 7 Nge2 Nc6 8 a3 Bxc3+ 9 bxc3 e5! and Black stands no worse.
6 ... Nbd7 7 Bf3 c5
Lein chips away at Tal’s central control.
8 dxc5!?
When we come up with a new move, we leave the comfort of scholarly citations and precedents, to a
lonely place which only you have visited. Tal’s move is no improvement, since it loses more time. Better
was 8 Nge2.
8 ... Qa5
 9 Qd3?!
It’s odd to see a player who fails to conform to his own beliefs. It almost feels as if Tal deliberately
courts disaster this game, by insisting on falling behind in development. There is a certain type of player
who when he or she spots a norm, is immediately compelled to transgress it. Tal, who like Oscar Wilde,
was able to resist anything but temptation itself, always held a deep aversion to the middle ground and is
lured into a time-wasting idea. Correct was the rather un-Tal like concession 9 Bd2.
9 ... Nxc5
Thanks for the tempo!
10 Qc4?!
Placing the queen on the open c-file leads to more time lost when Black later plays ... Rc8. 10 Qd4
makes White’s game slightly less miserable, which is really just backhanded praise, like saying: “You are
the finest musician in your family,” to a person who is the only musician in the family.
10 ... Na4
Black determines the availability of two plans and goes for the less effective one. Lein, on the verge of
a big upset, misses the slick idea 10 ... Nfe4! when White is losing.
11 Bd2 Nd5?!
Black reaps satisfying strategic profit from 11 ... Nxc3 12 bxc3 Bd6 when White’s open b-file
provides scant consolation when juxtaposed with his ugly queenside pawns.
12 Nge2 0-0 13 a3?!
More time lost. White should try 13 0-0-0.
13 ... Naxc3 14 Nxc3 Bxc3 15 bxc3 Bd7

Black stands clearly better and Tal’s victory can be attributed to the fact that he was Tal, rather than his
good position.
16 Qd4 Rac8 17 0-0 Qa4 18 Rfc1 Bc6 19 Rab1 b6 20 c4 Ne7 21 Be2 Rfd8 22 Qf4 Ng6 23 Qe3
Bb7 24 Bc3 Qc6
Threatening mate.
25 Bf1 Ba6
The c4 outlier is under heavy pressure.
26 Rb4 Rd7
White’s game remains quite miserable after 26 ... e5! seizing control over the centre.
27 Be2 Bb7 28 f3 Qc5 29 Qxc5 Rxc5 30 Rbb1 f6 31 Rd1 Rcc7
 Black’s edge has slipped away. Correct was 31 ... Rxd1+ 32 Rxd1 Rc8! 33 Rd7 Ba6 when Black is the
one with all the winning chances.
32 Rxd7 Rxd7 33 a4!

Intending a5. Suddenly it isn’t so clear if White’s queenside pawns represent a deficiency or a virtue.
Even in his youth, Tal wasn’t your everyday prodigy/brat. He had a habit of swindling world champions
(just ask Smyslov and Botvinnik!) from inferior positions, so it’s no surprise that he steals a game he
should have lost or drawn at best, versus a GM. Yet this time he does it in an uncharacteristically honest
way, with excellent endgame technique.
33 ... Kf7 34 Kf2 Nf4?!
This plan-less move infringes upon Black’s prime directive, which is to pressure c4. Suddenly I prefer
White. Black should target c4 with 34 ... Ne5!.
35 Bf1 e5 36 a5 bxa5 37 Ra1 Rc7 38 Rxa5 Bc8 39 Bb4! Bf5?!
39 ... Rd7! prevents Tal’s coming plan.
40 Bd6 Rb7 41 Rb5 Rb6 42 Bc5 Rc6 43 Bxa7 Ra6 44 Be3 Bxc2 45 Bxf4! exf4
White’s progress comes as softly as a priest’s blessing. Black’s kingside majority is crippled, while
White’s once sickly c4-pawn is dangerously passed.
46 c5 Rc6 47 Bc4+ Ke7 48 Ke2

Endgame principle: Don’t hide your king in an ending. Use it.

48 ... Rc7 49 Kd2 Ba4 50 Ra5 Bc6 51 Kc3 g5 52 Ra2 h5 53 Re2+! Kf8?
You may not actually commit the crime, yet still be guilty of being criminally complicit. Black saves
his useless f6-pawn at the cost of decentralizing his king. He had to try 53 ... Kd8 54 Re6 Bd7 55 Rxf6
Rxc5 56 Kd4 Ra5.
54 Re6 Kg7 55 Kd4 Rd7+ 56 Rd6 Rc7 57 Bd5
Breaking down the blockade.
57 ... Bxd5 58 Kxd5 Re7 59 c6 Re5+ 60 Kc4 Re1 61 Rd3! 1-0
White meets a rook check on c1 with a block on c3.

Summary
Both 4 Bd3 and 4 Qd3 fly in the face of historic trends, and can be effectively met with 4 ... dxe4 and 5 ...
Nf6, gaining a tempo for Black.

Game 13
J.Timman-R.Vaganian
Amsterdam 1986

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Bd2


Tip: This dangerous line is a pawn sacrifice from White, which I would advise dodging.

4 ... Ne7
Black continues cautiously as if a distant threat is now imminent. 4 ... dxe4 5 Qg4 Qxd4 6 0-0-0 may
actually favour Black, if you ask the comps. For us humans, White’s development lead looks rather
dangerous.
5 Bd3!?
Just because a move defies reason, doesn’t automatically qualify it as an error. White offers a rather
speculative pawn sacrifice, and then follows it with a second one. Otherwise:
a) 5 Qg4 is safely met with 5 ... 0-0.
b) 5 e5 c5 transposes to a position we looked at in the previous chapter.
5 ... dxe4 6 Nxe4 Qxd4
Well, Bobby Fischer did say that a pawn is worth a bit of trouble. In this case Black is only one move
from castling, so the grab is quite justified.
7 Nf3!?
Timman continues with unremitting hostility, offering a second pawn, rather than backing down with 7
Nc3 which to an attacker is a bit like turning a five star hotel into a monastery. Cavier/champagne and
austerity measures don’t mix well.
7 ... Bxd2+ 8 Qxd2
 8 ... Qd5?!
Excess apprehension has a way of hampering our otherwise sound plan. Black’s last move is made
with the thought: if you don’t start a fight, you can’t lose one either. Yet, I argue: if you are going to be
greedy, then be consistent about it. Black digests the choices before him and incorrectly declines White’s
second gift. He should accept with 8 ... Qxb2!. White’s attack has all the spurious markings of a slightly
unsound attack, for two reasons:
1. The move deprives White of queenside castling.
2. Black is now up two pawns, and although I never was very good in maths, I’m almost certain that
two is a higher (and therefore better!) number than one. I don’t believe in White’s full compensation for
two pawns after 9 0-0 Nbc6 10 Qg5 Ng6.
9 0-0-0
Now White gets a scary looking development lead for the pawn.
9 ... Nbc6
Wise, as a2 is poisoned: 9 ... Qxa2?? allows 10 Bb5+ and the problem is 10 ... Nbc6 11 Qd8 mate!
10 Qc3 f6
Blunting the white queen’s influence, while preparing ... e5.
11 a3
White finally covers the hanging a2-pawn.
11 ... e5?
Premature. This move gravely weakens the light squares. Black looks okay after 11 ... Qa5 when we
feel an easing of tension in Black’s position, similar to the release of pent up breath.
12 Nc5!
Black’s queen is in danger of discovered checks from White’s bishop.
12 ... Qf7 13 Bc4
Suddenly White’s forces hum with menace. Black’s king is now stuck in the centre and Vaganian’s
position is overtaxed on the weak light squares.
13 ... Qg6 14 Rd2
 14 ... Qxg2!?

Warning: Don’t create confrontation or open the position when lagging in
development.

Correct was 14 ... Rb8.
15 Rg1 Qh3 16 Rxg7 Qh6 17 Rg1 b6 18 Ne4 Bd7?!
18 ... Rf8 was necessary.
19 Qe3! Qf8
White’s last move forced this stilted response. After 19 ... Qxe3?? 20 Nxf6+ Kd8 21 fxe3 Black’s
pinned bishop is lost.
20 Rgd1 Nf5 21 Qe2 Ncd4
21 ... 0-0-0 is met with 22 Ba6+ Kb8 23 Rxd7 winning a piece.
22 Nxd4 Nxd4

Exercise (combination alert): How does White continue his attack?

Answer: Clearance/annihilation of defensive barrier. This sacrifice enables a deadly discovered check next move.
23 Rxd4!
The phrase “There’s more where that came from” is inapplicable in a sacrificial attack since on the
chess board our resources are finite. Yet to Black, it surely must have felt the opposite.
23 ... exd4 24 Nd6+ Kd8
The silence in the room gets awkward when Black’s terrified king unburdens the contents of his
bladder and bowels on the floor.
25 Nf7+ Kc8 26 Qf3! Kb8 27 Rxd4 Qc5 28 Rxd7 Rg8 29 Ba6 1-0

Summary
4 Bd2 is a dangerous sacrificial line, which I would meet with the cautious 4 ... Ne7.
Chapter Three
The Classical Variation
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6

The strategic challenges of the Classical Variation can feel like looking into the cavernous mouth of a
pitch black cave. In the above diagram Black’s knight taunts White into 4 e5, resolving the central tension,
allowing White a significant space advantage after an f4 follow up. At first it can feel like the black
pieces walk under water, but the Classical isn’t a one way conversation, with White doing all the talking,
so don’t underestimate Black’s counterattacking resources.
As always, we hit back at White’s giant centre with ... c5, ... Nc6 and possibly ... Qb6 in some cases.
When ... cxd4 occurs, the fight begins in earnest for the d4-square, when Black can even play ... Bc5.
Black’s developmental issues: how to activate the c8-bishop and the d7-knight? The bishop can be
activated in two ways:
1. By playing ... a6, ... b5, ... b4, ... a5, and then the bishop, suddenly infused with significance,
emerges on a6 to swap itself away for White’s dangerous light-squared bishop.
2. Black can play ... f6 and if exf6, then ... Nxf6, when we take on a backward e6-pawn. In this case the
undeveloped c8-bishop slithers to relevance via d7, e8 and then finally on to an active diagonal with ...
Bg6 or ... Bh5, where it issues an imperious challenge to the white pieces.
Black’s d7-knight may later go back to f6 after ... f6; exf6 Nxf6, or, if the players castle on opposite
wings, Black’s knight can lunge directly at White’s king after ... cxd4 and ... Nc5.
White’s alternative strategy to Black’s 3 ... Nf6 is to maintain pawn tension, for at least one more move
with 4 Bg5, which leads to the unbalanced McCutcheon Variation, 4 ... Bb4, where Black ignores White’s
‘threat’ of e5. Here we walk a narrow line, where with even a single step off the theoretical path, our
grand narrative can be unceremoniously dismantled by a single idea. 4 Bg5 can also lead to several other
lines like 4 ... dxe4, a Rubinstein hybrid, and 4 ... Be7, which allows White 5 e5 and Bxe7, leaving Black
with the issue of a remaining bad bishop.
Our goals as Black in the Classical are well defined:
 1. Fight for the d4-square.
2. Counterattack White’s giant centre with ... c5 and sometimes ... f6.
3. Find a way to activate the bad light-squared c8-bishop.
4. Keep our king safe.
If we succeed in these goals, we can be certain to emerge with a healthy middlegame position, with
dynamically balanced chances.

Game 14
W.Steinitz-A.Sellman
Baltimore 1885

“Please do not be disappointed by the relative weakness of Black’s play – to some extent it helped
Steinitz to demonstrate the essence of his plan in the purest form,” writes Garry Kasparov. A copy is
rarely clearer than the original. This game is one of the earliest of this variation in the database. When I
first played this game over at the age of nine, I swooned in an epiphanic moment when I discovered the
secret of weak squares of a single colour.

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6
Black develops his knight, while seeking to create a central resolution with either 4 exd5, or 4 e5.
4 e5

Did You Know? Thus spake Steinitz. This game, a strategic masterpiece, left such
a deep impression on the chess world, that the line is to this day called the Steinitz
Variation. White seizes useful central space, while gaining a tempo on Black’s knight.

4 ... Nfd7 5 f4
White continues to expand on the kingside.
5 ... c5

6 dxc5?!

Note: Avoid making non-developing moves which help your opponent’s development.

 I love annotating games from the Great Romantics, since the jokes write themselves. Even the greats
bungle it from time to time. I read that the Irish poet William Butler Yeats once blew an academic job
application when he misspelled the word “professor”, the job for which he applied! This unnecessary
concession benefits Black’s development. Next game we look at White’s modern interpretation 6 Nf3 Nc6
7 Be3.
6 ... Bxc5
Black’s bishop cuts through the central dark squares and makes it difficult for White to castling
kingside.
7 Nf3 a6
Black misplaces priorities. After 7 ... Nc6 8 Bd3 f6! the immediate central counter gives Black an
excellent position.

Warning: Be careful to avoid the Greek Gift sacrificial theme, which goes like this
8 ... 0-0?? 9 Bxh7+! Kxh7 10 Ng5+ Kg6 (unfortunately for Black, playing the king
to g8 is even worse, since it allows the deadly Qh5) 11 Qd3+ f5 12 Qg3 with a
nasty attack for White.)

8 Bd3 Nc6 9 Qe2 Nb4?!

Warning: Avoid early adventures like this where you are tempted to move an
already developed piece.

This move is dubious for the following reasons:
1. Black wastes time.
2. Black weakens his control over the key d4-square – a factor for which he later dearly pays.
10 Bd2 b5 11 Nd1 Nxd3+ 12 cxd3!
This move opens the c-file, while ensuring that Black’s knight won’t be able to roost one day on e4 or
c4.
12 ... Qb6?!
Black can prevent Steinitz’s coming plan with 12 ... b4!, intending to activate his bad bishop with ... a5
and ... Ba6.
13 b4!

Note: In the Classical French, both sides should fight to seize control over the
d4-square.

13 ... Be7 14 a3
Securing b4, in preparation for Be3.
14 ... f5?

Warning: Be careful about playing ... f5, since then Black renounces all ... f6-based
kingside play, the repercussions of which prove catastrophic.

Black should play 14 ... d4! 15 Nf2 0-0 16 Ne4 Bb7, not worrying if his d4-pawn falls later on.
15 Rc1 Bb7
When we feed an incorrect plan, we subsidize a fiction. Black is still oblivious to the importance of
the d4-square. 15 ... d4 is met with 16 Qf2 winning d4 without compensation, which I think is still better
for Black than what happened in the game.
16 Be3
White takes ownership of d4. White’s idea finally reaches the point of articulation, and there is no way
for Black to extricate himself from strategic poverty.
16 ... Qd8 17 Nd4
Just look at the difference between White’s knight and Black’s awful light-squared bishop.
17 ... Nf8
The knight is forced into indenture in service of e6.
18 0-0 h5?!

Warning: To have a deviation, one must first begin with a norm, which many
players in this era lacked.

Black’s plan has a future, the way a mass murderer with ten consecutive life sentences has one as well.
Black’s move is in violation of Steinitz’ principle: avoid unnecessary or weakening pawn moves. Black’s
idea is to prevent g4. What he failed to grasp was that Steinitz had no intention of attacking on the
kingside.
 19 Nc3 Kf7 20 Nb1!
Intending Nd2 and Nb3, when White increases his grip on the queenside dark squares.
20 ... g6 21 Nd2 Nd7 22 N2b3 Rc8
Notice that Black doesn’t have ... Nb6 and ... Nc4, due to Steinitz’ farsighted move 12 cxd3.
23 Na5 Ba8 24 Rxc8 Qxc8 25 Rc1 Qb8 26 Qc2
White seizes control over the only open file.
26 ... Bd8 27 Nac6! Qb7
Black can’t rid himself of his bad bishop with 27 ... Bxc6?, since doing so enables decisive infiltration
after 28 Qxc6 Nf8 29 Qxa6 and b5 falls as well.
28 Nxd8+
Clearing the path to c7.
28 ... Rxd8 29 Qc7 Qb8 30 Bf2!

Tip: Use all your pieces.

Steinitz methodically brings into play his only ineffective piece, threatening Bh4.
30 ... Qb6 31 Nf3
Order and obedience are the driving principles of the totalitarian state. White can actually play the
paradoxical 31 Bh4! Qxd4+ (the white knight’s Jimmy Hoffa-like disappearance baffles the authorities,
but not White’s king) 32 Kh1 Qb6 33 Bxd8, winning.
31 ... Qxc7 32 Rxc7 Ke8
Come all ye faithful. One by one, Black’s pieces have been ceremoniously ushered to the first rank.
33 Ng5 Nf8 34 Bc5
 Threatening mate on the move. “Don’t hate me. I am merely obeying the law of natural selection,” the
bishop tells Black’s king. White threatens mate and Black’s position bursts asunder.
34 ... Nd7 35 Bd6 1-0

Summary
Remember to fight for the crucial d4-square, while fighting too for the dark squares in the Steinitz Variation.

Game 15
F.Caruana-H.Nakamura
Saint Louis (rapid) 2015

Did You Know? American super-GMs Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura are
both considered potential challengers for Magnus Carlsen’s world championship crown.

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 f4 c5 6 Nf3
Caruana improves upon Steinitz’ lame capture on c5.
6 ... Nc6 7 Be3

The fight is on for control over d4.

 7 ... Be7
Black chooses to develop rapidly. Also played here are the lines 7 ... a6, 7 ... cxd4, and 7 ... Qb6.
8 Qd2 a6
Black prepares queenside expansion with ... b5, which discourages White from castling on that side. 8
... 0-0 is also played, but Nakamura doesn’t want to commit to early kingside castling, which may allow
White an early attack.
9 Bd3 b5 10 0-0 Qb6
Why not gain a tempo with 10 ... c4?

Warning: It’s a dangerous business for Black to play ... c4 in many French lines,
since this takes pressure off White’s centre and enables a kingside attack.

11 dxc5
Clearing the d4-square.
11 ... Bxc5 12 Bxc5 Nxc5 13 Qf2
Just like last game, the fight for d4 begins.
13 ... Nd7
It’s not easy to get the timing right of when to be cautious and when to be daring. In positions of crisis,
all which concerns us is the immediate and the tangible (Black’s king safety). Abstract notions of future
suffering in the ending to come, don’t seem to matter as much. Nakamura is understandably anxious to
remove queens from the board to safeguard his king. Riskier is 13 ... b4 14 Ne2 a5 15 Ned4. The fact that
queens remain on the board is of some concern for Black’s insecure king.
14 a3 Ke7!
Queens are coming off the board, so Nakamura plays on the Steinitz principle: use your king as a
fighting piece in the ending – don’t hide it in a corner.

15 Qxb6 Nxb6 16 Ne2

Now d4 is firmly in White’s grip and he holds a minimal endgame edge.
16 ... Bd7 17 b3
Denying Black’s knight use of a4 and c4.
17 ... f6!?
This attempt at confrontation looks a tad premature to me.
 18 Ned4
White’s knights seize control over d4 and signal that they are the new lords of the manor.
18 ... Nxd4 19 Nxd4 fxe5 20 fxe5 h6 21 Kf2!
Caruana also makes use of his king in the ending to bolster control over the dark squares.
21 ... Rhf8+ 22 Ke3 Rxf1 23 Rxf1 Be8
White has all the winning chances in the line 23 ... Rf8 24 Rxf8 Kxf8 25 Kd2! when White’s king
travels the queenside dark squares, via c3 and b4.
24 Bh7
Intending Bg8.
24 ... Bf7 25 Nc6+! Ke8 26 Bd3 Rc8 27 Nb4 Nd7
Black challenges e5.
28 Kd4
Now that is what I call a king!
28 ... Nb8

Exercise (combination alert): It appears as if making progress for White is

like chewing a cheap, undercooked, tough cut of meat. However, White has
access to a hidden tactic which wins a pawn. How?

Answer: Undermining/attraction/double attack.
29 Nxa6! Nc6+
After 29 ... Nxa6 30 Bxb5+ Ke7 31 Bxa6 Rxc2 32 Rg1 White’s two queenside passers should be
decisive, despite Black’s active rook.
30 Kc5!

Tip: Don’t be afraid of ghosts. Black’s discovered check on e5 isn’t so scary for White.

30 ... Ke7 31 Kxb5 Nxe5
The ending becomes a battle between White’s queenside passers versus Black’s central passed pawn.
32 Kb6 Be8 33 a4 Kd6 34 Rf2
Covering his second rank.
34 ... Nxd3 35 cxd3 Bg6

 Note: The much maligned ‘bad’ light-squared bishop often later turns out to be
an excellent piece when it escapes the confines of its structure, and is promoted
to the level of a first tier minor piece, as in this case.

36 d4 e5!
Nobody wants to wait in a long line at the DMV, just for the fun of it. Nakamura generates dangerous
counterplay via his soon to be passed d-pawn.
37 dxe5+ Kxe5 38 b4 d4 39 b5
The queenside passers trail their king like baby geese with their mother.
39 ... d3 40 Nb4 Kd4!
Both sides are clearly advocates of Steinitz’s principle of utilizing the king in the ending.
41 Nc6+ Ke3 42 Rf3+ Ke2 43 Nd4+

43 ... Ke1?

Warning: Don’t overpress for the win, when the position says otherwise.

Dr. Sigmund Lakdawala offers some advice: that which we can’t have is so much more alluring than
that which we can easily attain, and temptation is that disembodied voice which whispers sweet
promissory lies into our ear. Perhaps this is a misguided attempt to play for a win. The ancient Greek
scholar Ptolemy theorized that the earth was round, and also the centre of the universe, so he only got it
half right. In chess, getting a plan half right generally leads to painful results. Black’s best chance of
holding the game lay in 43 ... Kd2! 44 a5 Be4.
44 Rg3 Be4
44 ... d2?? 45 Nf3+ Ke2 46 Nxd2 is hopeless for Black.
45 Re3+ Kf1
Black’s king continues to shuttlecock in a desperate bid to promote his d-pawn.
46 Rxe4!
Caruana correctly accepts the bribe.
46 ... d2

Exercise (combination alert): It appears as if Black’s d-pawn has slipped away
from the white defender’s orbit, but this just isn’t the case. It’s one of Caissa the
chess goddess’ cruelties that she sometimes allows us to resist bravely, come close,
and then lose anyway. How did White prevent Black’s promotion to a new queen?

Answer: Knight fork. This is the point where the reporter from the 1930’s movie rushes into the editor’s office and breathlessly declares:
“Stop the presses!”.
47 Nf5! Rc3
The heir-apparent d-pawn isn’t going to inherit a damn thing. 47 ... d1Q is met with 48 Ne3+ Ke2 49
Nxd1+ when Black only got to keep his new queen for two moves.
48 Rd4 Ke1 49 a5 g6
If 49 ... d1Q (such moves are played more for cathartic release, than actual benefit to our position) 50
Rxd1+ Kxd1 51 a6 and Black’s rook is incapable of halting White’s queenside passers.
50 Nd6 1-0

Summary
If White swaps off the dark-squared bishops and queens, he or she often emerges with a slight edge in the ending, due to extra central territory
and use of the d4-square.

Game 16
I.Smirin-F.Vallejo Pons
Nakhchivan 2011

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Nce2

 This move – which almost feels outside the context of the French Defence – is made with the
philosophy: it’s a mistake to allow ourselves to be imprisoned by the conventional. This odd move
appears as the person who eats an apple with a knife and fork; it’s just easier if you pick it up and take a
bite.

Note: With this convoluted move, it appears as if White violates the principle: don’t
move the same piece twice in the opening without reason. However, he does indeed
have a good reason: White clears the c3-square, enabling him to meet ... c5 with c3.

This means that if Black plays ... cxd4, White can then recapture with a pawn, which reinforces e5,
while denying Black’s pieces use of c5. The obvious issue with White’s move is that it loses time.
5 ... c5 6 f4
Normally the move order is 6 c3 Nc6 which allows White recapture on d4 with a pawn.
6 ... Nc6
Vallejo prefers to remain within the main lines rather than veer with 6 ... cxd4. The trouble with this
move is that it helps White untangle: 7 Nxd4 Nc6 8 Ngf3.
7 c3

Note: In this version, White intends to back up his d4-square with pawns, not pieces.
This means he will probably respond to a future ... cxd4 with cxd4.

7 ... b5

Tip: Undermine the opponent’s pawn chain at its base, not its head. Black takes
advantage of the fact that White’s bishop no longer controls b5. Black intends
to undermine White’s pawn chain at its lowest link with a coming ... b4.

7 ... Qb6 is Black’s main move here.
8 Nf3 b4 9 f5!?
White does his own undermining, offering a pawn to destabilize Black’s centre, while clearing f4 for
his pieces. The slow 9 g3?! is White’s main move, but it doesn’t do very well after 9 ... bxc3 10 bxc3.
9 ... exf5 10 Nf4
Pressuring d5. White’s once hemmed in pieces finally achieve autonomy of their structural hindrances.
10 ... bxc3 11 bxc3 Rb8
Black offers to return the pawn to gain time.
12 Qa4!?
White refuses to settle for dynamic equality with 12 Nxd5 cxd4 and only then play 13 Qa4 Bb7 14
Bb5.
12 ... Nb6!
 A shocker. White’s queen is trapped if he takes c6.
13 Qxc6+!?
Hey, I just said: “White’s queen is trapped if he takes c6”. One senses that teamwork isn’t the queen’s
strongest trait. Disreputable motives are rarely approached with a forethought of decorum, and the
devious rogue is a more attractive literary character than the honest citizen.
13 ... Bd7 14 Bb5 Be7
When a rival places an offer on the bargaining table, our first reaction is to doubt his sincerity. Vallejo
cautiously declines the immediate acceptance and attempts to inject a dose of normalcy into an otherwise
confused situation. This is one of those multi-tiered situations of an actor who plays the role of an actor,
within a play. Immediate acceptance is risky. 14 ... Bxc6!? 15 Bxc6+ Ke7 16 dxc5 leaves Black’s king
dangerously exposed in the middle.
15 dxc5 0-0
Understandable caution. The line 15 ... Bxc6!? 16 Bxc6+ Nd7 17 e6 looks awfully scary for Black.
16 cxb6 Bxc6 17 Bxc6 Rxb6 18 Ba4!
18 Bxd5? loses a piece to 18 ... g5!.
18 ... d4!
 Following the principle: create confrontation when leading in development.
19 0-0!
Wisely running for cover:
a) 19 Nxd4? Rb4!! 20 Bc2 Rxd4 21 cxd4 Qxd4 22 Rb1 Qc3+ and Black wins, since White’s king can’t
afford to help his bishop out with Kd1, due to a rook check on the d-file.
b) 19 cxd4? Bb4+ 20 Kf2 Bc3 sees Black win material.
19 ... dxc3 20 Rd1 Bc5+ 21 Kh1 Qc8
Black removes his queen from attack along the d-file, while covering e6 ideas from White.
22 Nd5 h6!?
This game is full of contradictory features. Vallejo is willing to widen the material inequality by
handing over an exchange to rid himself of White’s most active piece.
23 Nxc3!?
Which White declines! 23 Nxb6 axb6 24 h4 f4!, and if 25 Bxf4?? Qg4! when Black wins a piece back.
23 ... Rd8 24 Rxd8+ Qxd8 25 Bb3 Qd3 26 Bb2 Rxb3!
Removing White’s most effective piece. In this game both sides play with an almost spiritual contempt
for material, while openly flouting conventional conduct.
27 axb3 Qc2
Defence of b2 and c3 grow awkward for White.
28 Na4 Be3 29 b4 g5!
Black’s territorial acquisition gives him elevated rank on the kingside. On paper White has plenty for
the queen, yet his pieces are clumsy and lack targets, while Black can prepare a kingside attack. So
White’s extra material turns out to be oddly inconsequential.
30 Bd4 f4 31 h3 h5 32 Nc5 g4 33 Ne1 Qf5 34 Bxe3 fxe3 35 Ned3 gxh3 36 Rg1 hxg2+ 37 Rxg2+
Kf8 38 Rg3?
White may hold a draw if he plays 38 Kh2! and then just waits.
38 ... e2 39 Re3 h4 40 Kh2
40 Rxe2?? hangs the rook to 40 ... Qf1+.
40 ... Qg5! 41 Nd7+!
Playing for a geometric aberration is our best chance if we are losing anyway. With his last move
White sets up a devilish trap. He correctly avoids 41 Rxe2?? Qg3+ 42 Kh1 Qf3+ 43 Rg2 h3 and the rook
is lost.
41 ... Kg7 42 Rxe2 Qg3+ 43 Kh1

Exercise (critical decision): Black’s queen can win either knight. Should Black
play 43 ... Qxd3, or should he first give check with 43 ... Qh3+ and then play 44 ... Qxd7?

Answer: 43 ... Qh3+!
Black avoids a devious trap and correctly takes the d7-knight.

Warning: When we are winning, the most dangerous state of mind to arise is one
of self-congratulation. It’s a huge mistake to avoid looking at a position from our
opponent’s perspective, and an illusion to believe that we are the sole agents in
our destiny, since Caissa had the poor taste to invent anomalies, which play havoc
on our intended geometry.

The blunder 43 ... Qxd3?? allows White to escape with a draw after 44 Rg2+ Kh6 45 Nf6!. Some
combinations have the feel of a lucky accident, when in reality they are a wilful construct of mind, as in
this case: 45 ... Qf1+ 46 Kh2 Qf4+ 47 Kh3 Qxb4 (47 ... Qxe5?? 48 Ng4+ forks king and queen) 48 Ng8+
Kh5 49 Nf6+ Kh6 50 Ng8+ with perpetual check, since Black is unable to play 50 ... Kh7 51 Nf6+ Kh8??
52 Rg8 mate.
44 Kg1 Qxd7 45 Nf2 Qf5 46 Re4 Qf3 47 Kf1
47 Rxh4?? hangs the rook to 47 ... Qg3+.
47 ... h3
The h-pawn eventually costs White a piece.
48 Rg4+ Kf8 49 Rh4 Qg2+ 50 Ke2 h2 51 Rh5 Kg7! 52 Rh4

Exercise (combination alert): How does Black win more material?

Answer: Removal of the guard.
52 ... Qg3! 53 Re4
Instead, 53 Rh3 is met with 53 ... Qxh3! 54 Nxh3 h1Q, while if 53 Rh5 Kg6 and White’s rook runs out
of squares since 54 Rh8 Qxe5+ picks up the rook.
53 ... Qxf2+! 0-1
Black removes the only defender of the promotion square, winning another piece.

Summary
The French word ‘volu’, which translates to ‘overly contrived’, is my impression of the 5 Nce2 plan.
White contorts and loses time to back up his d4 point with c3. In my opinion Black’s gain of time easily
equals White’s potentially powerful pawn centre.

Game 17
V.Gashimov-M.Carlsen
Monaco (rapid) 2011

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5

 In this version White retains the pawn tension, while developing with a pin.
4 ... dxe4

Note: With Black’s last move, the position transposed to a line of the Rubinstein,
but I think one more favourable for Black than in the Rubinstein proper, since the
inclusion of Bg5 helps Black. Why? Because after Black plays ... Be7, White will
either be forced to swap pieces, or back down and lose time. And since Black is
cramped, each swap is helpful.

In the next few games we look at 4 ... Bb4 and 4 ... Be7.
5 Nxe4 Be7
5 ... Nbd7 is played less often: 6 Nf3 Be7 7 Nxf6+ Bxf6 8 h4 0-0 9 Bd3 c5 10 Qe2 cxd4 11 Qe4 g6 12
0-0-0. The comp calls the game even, while I like White’s development lead and attacking chances,
G.Kasparov-V.Anand, Kopavogur (rapid) 2000.
6 Bxf6
This is White’s only shot at an edge. 6 Nxf6+ Bxf6 7 Bxf6 Qxf6 is too tame to produce an advantage
for White.
6 ... gxf6

Note: Don’t be afraid to recapture on f6 with a pawn, which is Black’s most dynamic
move, where he agrees to structural damage, for the bishop-pair, an open g-file and
increased central influence. In my opinion, not such a bad deal for Black. 6 ... Bxf6
7 Nf3 0-0 8 Qd2 Nd7 9 0-0-0 also leads to a sharp position with opposite castling.

7 Nf3 f5
7 ... b6 and 7 ... a6 are also played here.
8 Ng3
The alternative is to play 8 Nc3 hoping to achieve a future d5 break: 8 ... a6 9 g3 b5 10 Bg2 Bb7 11 0-
0 0-0 and I would be happy to take on Black’s position.

Tip: Black often castles kingside in this line, despite the broken structure. The reason:
he has an unopposed dark-squared bishop which keeps his king safer than it appears.

8 ... c5!?
Such moves usually lead to glory or oblivion, but rarely anything in between. This move follows the
principle: open the position when you have the bishop-pair; yet violates the principle: avoid confrontation
when lagging in development.
9 Bb5+ Bd7 10 Bxd7+ Qxd7 11 d5!?
It’s impossible to be cordial with an opponent who lives in a constant state of resentment. A sacrifice
like this doesn’t require empirical verification. It just feels right to the GM, who relies on his
development lead, coupled with Black’s weakened structure.
11 ... exd5 12 Ne5 Qe6
Black’s queen begins to dance the flamenco, while White attempts duplicitous nitpickings in the
middle.
13 f4 Nd7 14 0-0
 14 ... 0-0-0
Black would be unwise to open lines with 14 ... Nxe5!? 15 fxe5 and now suicidal would be 15 ...
Qxe5??.

Warning: Fight the temptation to grab pawns in an open position, at the cost of
your development.

After 16 Nxf5 (threat: Nxe7 and Re1) 16 ... Kf8 17 Qh5 White has a winning attack. Possible, though,
is 14 ... Nf6 15 Qd3 c4 16 Qxf5 h5 17 Rae1 h4 18 Ng6! Qb6+ 19 Kh1 fxg6 20 Qxg6+ Kd8 21 Nf5 Bc5,
which is nightmarishly complicated and unhelpfully rated even by the comp.
15 Qh5 Nxe5 16 fxe5 Qxe5 17 Rae1 Qd4+ 18 Kh1
White is down two pawns, yet understands he will win them back, since Black’s f-pawns are
chronically weak.
18 ... Qh4!
Carlsen’s annoying queen is the person who starts to talk to you when you are waiting for the bus, just
when you want to be left alone.
19 Rxf5
19 Qxf7? Bd6 is in Black’s favour.
19 ... Qxh5 20 Nxh5 Rd7 21 Rxf7 Bd8 22 Rf5 b6 23 Nf4 d4
 In this ending:
1. We have opposing wing pawn majorities.
2. White pieces are more aggressively placed.
3. Black’s bishop has the potential to be the superior minor piece, especially with opposite wing
majorities.
24 b3
Restraining Black’s majority.
24 ... Bc7 25 Nd3 Rg8 26 g3 Rg6 27 Kg2 Rc6!
Playing for ... c4.
28 Re2!?
Sometimes we take a predictably risky course if the alternative is death via passivity. Most strong
players don’t consider passive defence with concessions like 28 Nb2.
28 ... c4 29 bxc4 Rxc4
Now White’s queenside pawns are vulnerable.
30 Rh5 Ra4 31 Nc1 Kb7 32 Rd2 a6 33 Rh4 Bd8 34 Rh5 b5 35 Nb3?!
This does little to abate White’s anxiety. 35 Re2 is White’s best shot to hold the game, when Black’s
progress is by no means inevitable.
35 ... Bb6 36 c3?!
This idea contains a glaring inconsistency, in that it speeds Black’s pawn promotion efforts. He
probably should forego this embellishment and drop his knight back to c1.
36 ... d3 37 Nc1 Ba5! 38 Rxd3 Rxd3 39 Nxd3 Rxa2+ 40 Kf3 Bxc3 41 Rxh7+
So material is even, but the game isn’t. The tangible fruits of Carlsen’s labours:
1. Black’s pawns look slightly faster.
2. Black’s bishop works defensively and offensively, while White’s short range knight can only
achieve one or the other.
41 ... Kc6 42 g4 b4 43 g5 b3 44 g6

Exercise (planning): We must navigate this position as carefully as a person
crossing a forceful stream, by stepping on stones until reaching the other side.
Should Black win a piece with 44 ... b2, or does he have something better,
which rules White’s argument invalid?

Answer: Attraction/removal of a key defender.
44 ... Rd2!
The most untrustworthy person in the world is the one who declines your honest bribe. Carlsen rejects
winning the piece and lures White’s king away from g2, after which Black places his rook behind White’s
passed g-pawn. He correctly rejected 44 ... b2?, reasoning that the question isn’t even worth raising: 45
Nxb2 Rxb2 46 h4 isn’t so clear.
45 Ke3 Rg2 46 Rh6
When desperate, we note to our chagrin, a histrionic quality to our moves. This plan leaves nothing but
a void at its heart, but everything else lost as well.
46 ... Bd2+!
The bishop greets White’s king like our tail-wagging dog when we return home.
47 Kf3 Bxh6 48 Kxg2 a5
White’s passers are halted, while Black’s roll.
49 Nb2 Kb5 0-1

Summary
4 ... dxe4 leads to a type of Rubinstein, but I think a superior one for Black when compared to the main line version.

Game 18
R.Rabiega-N.Vitiugov
German League 2009

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Bb4

 This leads to the unbalanced McCutcheon Variation, where Black ignores White’s ‘threat’ to play e5 on
the pinned f6-knight. It’s a hair-trigger line which risks calamitous consequences for both sides if
mishandled.
5 e5 h6
Black counterattacks.
6 Bd2
Alternatively:
a) 6 Be3 is also gaining in popularity: 6 ... Ne4 7 Qg4 g6 (7 ... Kf8 is also played here; Black refuses
to weaken, at the cost of hemming in the h8-rook) 8 a3 Bxc3+ 9 bxc3 c5 10 Bd3 h5 11 Qf4 g5! 12 Qf3
Nxc3 13 dxc5. White’s bishop-pair and dark-square potential compensate for the tattered structure.
b) 6 exf6 hxg5 7 fxg7 Rg8 and Black will regain the pawn, while picking up the bishop-pair.
c) 6 Bc1!? (the idea behind this eccentric looking move is that White’s bishop may later emerge on a3)
6 ... Ne4 7 Qg4 Kf8 8 Nge2 c5 9 a3 Ba5 10 dxc5 Nxc3 11 Nxc3 Bxc3+ 12 bxc3 Qc7. Once again White’s
bishop-pair and dark-square potential make up for the god-awful structure.
d) 6 Bh4 g5 7 Bg3 Ne4 8 Nge2 f5! and Black stands no worse.
6 ... Bxc3
In this way Black gets his knight to e4, its best post.
7 bxc3!

Note: Don’t be afraid to self-damage your structure. It’s known that recapturing
on c3 with the bishop gives White nothing after 7 Bxc3 Ne4 8 Bb4 c5! 9 Bxc5
Nxc5 10 dxc5 Qa5+ 11 c3 Qxc5 with approximate equality.

7 ... Ne4 8 Qg4 Kf8

Note: This voluntary king move displays a mischief-making quality; Black refuses to
weaken his kingside dark squares. The cost? His h8-rook languishes out of play.

8 ... g6 is the main line: 9 Bd3 Nxd2 10 Kxd2 c5 11 Nf3 Nc6 12 Qf4 Qa5 13 dxc5 Qxc5 when White’s
space and attacking chances are tempered by his inferior queenside structure.
9 Qf4!?
The main line runs 9 Bd3 Nxd2 10 Kxd2 c5 11 h4 Nc6 12 Rh3 c4 13 Be2. Black will play for a break
on b4, with ... b5, ... a5, ... Rb8 and ... b4, while White plays directly for mate on the kingside.
9 ... c5 10 Bd3 Nxd2 11 Qxd2?!
One digression stumbles upon another, as White willingly deconstructs his own intent. The
McCutcheon is no place to get spooked when duty calls. This is a waste of resources, like the farmer who
attempts to seed the ocean for crops. White didn’t lose castling rights in this version, but he played too
passively to claim an edge. Now the attack loses some of its gusto from its previous enriched form. To
pick one path implies exclusion of the other. It’s often a mistake to mix the two, in the hopes of getting a
little bit of the best from each one.
I don’t like this overly cautious version, after which White’s kingside attack remains an embryonic
work in progress rather than an actuality, since his queen is removed from the kingside, which lessens
Black’s defensive burden. White should keep his queen where she stands and risk 11 Kxd2 c4 12 Be2
Nc6 13 h4 with chances for both sides.
11 ... Qa5 12 Nf3 c4
Black closes the queenside, fixing White’s pawns as targets.
13 Be2 Nd7

Note: Why play the knight to d7 when the more central square c6 is available?
The answer: Black’s plan is to invade the queenside and pick off pawns with ... Nb6,
... Qb2 and ... Na4, when the a2- and c3-pawns are under heavy assault. Of course
this is all under the assumption that Black’s king won’t be mated in the meanwhile!

14 h4 Qa3 15 Rh3
White lifts his rook into a potential kingside attack, while indirectly reinforcing c3.
15 ... Qb2 16 Rc1
Just as in my game against Khachian from Chapter One, White offers his a-pawn.
16 ... Nb6 17 h5 Bd7 18 Nh4
Now c3 is secure.
18 ... Na4 19 f4
White intends to pry open the kingside with f5 at some point.
19 ... b5 20 Bg4 Ke8!

 Tip: A common strategy for Black in the ... Kf8 McCutcheon is to later walk the king
over to the safety of the queenside.

21 f5 Kd8 22 Rf3 a5
The coming ... b4 is a serious issue for White.
23 fxe6 fxe6 24 Ng6 Re8 25 Nf4?!
Now White’s kingside play is the computer on sleep mode. White should try 25 Rf7 Qxc3 26 Qxc3
Nxc3 27 Ra1 b4 28 Rxg7 and now Black can either risk playing for a win with ... a4, or force a repetition
draw with 28 ... Nb5 29 Rd1 Nc3 30 Ra1 Nb5.
25 ... Kc7 26 Kf1
This looks awfully slow.
26 ... b4 27 Ne2 Rf8 28 Nf4?!
White’s doctrine contains only a single defect: it doesn’t work. He had to try 28 cxb4 axb4 29 Rxf8
Rxf8+ 30 Kg1 Nc3 31 Nxc3 bxc3 32 Qd1, although even here Black has excellent chances to pick off the
a2-pawn and win.
28 ... Rfe8
Rather than this cautious move, Black had 28 ... Nxc3! 29 Nxe6+ Bxe6 30 Bxe6 Ne4 31 Qe3 c3!
(threat: ... Nd2+ and ... Qxc1) 32 Qe1 Qxa2 and White is busted.
29 Ne2 Nxc3 30 Nxc3 bxc3 31 Rxc3 Qxa2
So Black finally got around to chopping a2.
32 Qe3 a4 33 Ra3 Qb2 34 Ke2 Reb8! 35 Kd1

Exercise (combination alert): Black has at his disposal a disruptive sleight of
hand which demolishes White’s game. How?

Answer: Interference.
35 ... Rb3! 36 Rxb3
Need overlaps contradiction. White was faced with a Hobson’s choice, with this forced move. After
36 cxb3 Qxa3 37 Qd2 axb3 White can resign.
36 ... axb3 37 cxb3 Ra3 38 Qc3
If 38 Rc3 Ra1+ 39 Rc1 c3 (threat: ... c2+ and ... Qxc1) 40 Rxa1 c2+! (zwischenzug) 41 Ke1 Qxa1+
and Black promotes.
 38 ... Qxg2 39 Be2 Ra2 40 Rc2 Qg1+ 41 Kd2 Qg5+
The queen gives White’s king a look similar to my wife Nancy, when I dare to correct her grammar.
42 Kd1

Exercise (combination alert): How did Black force resignation?

Answer: Attraction.
42 ... Ra1+! 0-1
43 Rc1 (43 Qxa1 Qg1+ sees White hang his queen) 43 ... Rxc1+ 44 Qxc1 Qg1+ 45 Kc2 Qxd4 46 bxc4
Ba4+ 47 Kb1 Qe4+ and White’s bishop falls.

Summary
The unbalanced McCutcheon Variation becomes a battle of kingside versus queenside.

Game 19
A.Shirov-A.Morozevich
Frankfurt (rapid) 2000

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Be7

 In this version Black breaks the pin immediately, at the cost of taking on a potentially bad remaining
bishop.
5 e5 Nfd7 6 Bxe7
6 h4 is the Alekhine-Chatard gambit, which we look at next game.
6 ... Qxe7 7 f4
White gained kingside and central space, while dumping his bad bishop for Black’s good model.
Black, in exchange, gets some measure of relief of his cramped situation from the swap, as well as the
opportunity to chip away at White’s centre from the sides, with ... c5 and eventually ... f6.

Note: Should Black be worried about his bad bishop? The answer: my wife Nancy
conveniently takes full credit for all our son Tim’s good qualities, while blaming
me for his annoying habits. Black’s bad bishop is similar, in that it appears bad, yet
also possesses the potential for good, since it nearly always wiggles into play
later on, via g6 or a6 or b5.

7 ... a6!

Tip: Play ... a6 before ... c5, which prevents White’s knight from slipping in with Nb5.

7 ... c5? is unsound: 8 Nb5! 0-0 (forced; 8 ... Na6? 9 Nd6+ Kf8 is awful for Black) 9 Nc7 Nxe5 10
Nxa8 cxd4!? (losing, but Black is busted anyway after 10 ... Ng6 11 Qd2 cxd4 12 Nf3 b6 13 0-0-0 Bb7
14 h4! Bxa8 15 h5 Nh8 16 Nxd4) 11 fxe5 Qh4+ 12 g3 Qe4+ 13 Qe2 Qxh1 14 Nf3 d3 15 cxd3 Bd7 16 0-
0-0 Rc8+ 17 Kd2!. Black’s queen is trapped after a coming Bg2 or Bh3, C.Lakdawala-A.Morshedi, San
Diego (rapid) 2010.
8 Nf3 c5 9 Qd2 Nc6 10 0-0-0!?
The anarchic is the sworn enemy of the orderly. Such positions are open to a broad range of stylistic
interpretation. White risks castling into the teeth of Black’s attack. The rationale behind such a high-risk
venture requires Jungian more than chess analysis. The mercurial Shirov isn’t content with a safe and tiny
edge after 10 dxc5 Nxc5 11 Bd3, but of course asking a player with Shirov’s confrontational style to
accept such a mild course is a bit like requesting King Kong to abide by the court’s restraining order to
stay 100 yards away from Fay Wray.
10 ... c4!
Normally, such a move helps White if Black relieves central tension, but not here, since White’s king is
in danger of a pawn storm later on.
11 f5 Nb6 12 fxe6 fxe6 13 h4 Bd7 14 h5 0-0-0

What a dirty trick. Morozevich dodges White’s intended kingside attack by castling long.
15 h6 gxh6!
This move allows Black’s bad bishop a potential future with ... Be8 and ... Bg6 later on.
16 Rxh6 Rdg8 17 Qf4 Be8! 18 Qf6 Bg6 19 g4 Qe8!
Nyet can do. The French player learns to wait and listen, only striking when the moment is right.
Morozevich correctly judges that he will later get attacking chances against White’s king, so he keeps
queens on the board.
20 Bg2?
White fails to sense danger lurking for his king on the margins. We can begin the game with dynamic
play, in the belief that we are about to create a Homeric epic, and then blow it all in a single lapse of
concentration. White’s last move is a blunder of omission. He should get rid of Black’s now powerful
(formally) bad bishop with 20 Nh4, with an approximately even game.
 20 ... Rf8 21 Qh4 Nb4! 22 Rd2?
22 Ne1 was forced.
22 ... Na4!
Black’s sudden attack is akin to when a branch breaks in the forest, sending a flock of birds fluttering
from the tree.
23 a3 Nxc3 24 bxc3
24 axb4?? is met with the crushing 24 ... Qa4!.

Exercise (combination alert): How should Black continue his attack?

Answer: Annihilation of defensive barrier.
24 ... Qa4!
Black attackers form a perfect isosceles triangle around White’s king.
25 cxb4
Avoiding 25 axb4?? Qa1 mate. The queen’s sorrow at her brother’s mysterious death is an Oscar-
worthy performance of her acting skills.
25 ... Qxa3+ 26 Kd1
Once you get the eviction notice from the garden of Eden, there is no key which allows us back into its
front gate. 26 Kb1?? c3 forces mate.
26 ... Rxf3 27 Qe7
After 27 Bxf3 Qxf3+ 28 Ke1 (or 28 Re2 Bxc2+! 29 Ke1 Bd3 with a winning attack) 28 ... Qe3+ 29
Kd1 Rf8 White’s king is unable to deal with all of Black’s attackers.
27 ... Re3!
Cutting off the white king’s access to the e-file and threatening mate on a1.
28 Qxe6+ Kb8 29 Qd6+ Ka8 30 Re2 Qa1+ 31 Kd2 Qc3+ 0-1
32 Kd1 Bxc2+! forces mate.

Summary
Don’t fear the bad bishop in the Classical 4 ... Be7 line, since it inevitably redeems itself from its
calamitous fall from grace by emerging into play later in the game.

Game 20
J.Hector-W.So
Malmo 2011

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Be7

In this version Black immediately breaks the pin, at the cost of a potential swap of his good dark-
squared bishop.
5 e5
White can no longer maintain the central tension.
5 ... Nfd7
Black also has the sidelines:
a) 5 ... Ne4 6 Bxe7 Qxe7 7 Nxe4 dxe4 8 Qe2 b6 9 0-0-0! (9 Qxe4 is met with 9 ... Qb4+ 10 Kd1 Qxb2
11 Rc1 c6 when Black is fine) 9 ... Bb7 10 g3 Nd7 11 Bg2 f5 12 f3! exf3 13 Bxf3 with both space and
activity advantage for White, B.Spassky-J.Sloth, Denmark 1983.
b) 5 ... Ng8!? (I have experimented with this bizarre side line) 6 Be3 b6 7 Qg4 g6 with a position
weirdly similar to ones we considered at the end of Chapter One.
6 h4
The Alekhine-Chatard Gambit (I don’t understand why the official name is Alekhine-Chatard Attack,
since it’s clearly a gambit!).

 6 ... 0-0
So wisely declines and I think this is Black’s best version of the decline.

Note: Black can win a pawn with 6 ... Bxg5 yet it is by no means free. White gets a
lasting initiative/attack after 7 hxg5 Qxg5 8 Nh3 Qe7 9 Nf4. For the pawn,
White obtains a development lead, an open h-file and central space.

7 Qg4
Threat: Bh6. Another line runs 7 Bd3 c5 8 Qh5 g6 9 Qh6 cxd4 10 Nf3 Nxe5 11 Nxe5 dxc3 12 Nxg6
fxg6 13 Bxg6 hxg6 14 Qxg6+ and White should probably accept the perpetual check.
7 ... f6!

Tip: In such situations the French player must rely on the principle: counter a
wing attack with central confrontation.

8 Nf3
 8 Qxe6+!? Kh8 9 exf6 Nxf6 10 Qe2 Bb4 11 0-0-0 Bxc3 12 bxc3 Qd6 offers Black plenty of
compensation for the pawn, with a development lead and the safer king.
8 ... Rf7
8 ... fxg5 9 Bd3! gives White a strong attack after 9 ... Rf5! 10 Nxd5!.
9 exf6 Nxf6 10 Qg3 Nc6?!
Now White looks better. My choice would be 10 ... c5 chipping away at White’s centre.
11 0-0-0 Qf8 12 h5 Bb4 13 Bxf6?!
White’s chances are clearly better after 13 Bd3! Bxc3 14 bxc3 Bd7 15 h6.
13 ... Rxf6 14 Bd3 Bd6 15 Ne5!
15 Qh4? Rf4 16 Qg3 Re4! wins material, since 17 Qh3 is met with 17 ... e5.
15 ... Rxf2 16 Rdf1 Bxe5! 17 dxe5!
Not 17 Qxf2? Qxf2 18 Rxf2 Bxd4 when Black stands better with two pawns for the exchange, a strong
centre and the bishop-pair.
17 ... Rxf1+ 18 Rxf1 Qe7
Black is up a pawn, but still behind in development.
19 Bg6!
The bishop is the politician who hogs the microphone in the debate. Hector offers a piece to infiltrate,
turning the game into one of those Heart of Darkness/Lord of the Flies situations, where civilization is
discarded on its descent to barbarism. Yet the all-knowing comp still rates it at dead even here.
19 ... hxg6 20 hxg6 Nd4! 21 Rf7 Qd8

22 Qf4?

Warning: We can love our attack so much, that we unduly idealize it past its
intrinsic worth.

Believe it or not, the position was actually even before this mistake, but conditionally on White finding
the correct continuation. Now opportunity vanishes beyond the horizon for White: Correct was 22 Qg4!
Nf5 23 Qh5 Nh6 24 g4 Qe8 25 Rxc7 Qd8 26 Nb5 Qf8 27 g5 Qf4+ 28 Kd1 Qf1+ 29 Kd2 Qf2+ and White
must take perpetual check, since 30 Kc3?? loses to 30 ... Qe3+ 31 Kb4 a5+ 32 Ka4 Bd7! with a deadly
attack.
22 ... Nf5! 23 g4 Nh4 24 Rxg7+
 When we lack the resources, yet take the path anyway, we refute the statement: ‘Where there’s a will,
there’s a way’. It was Freud who claimed that all fantasy was the human psyche attempting to correct an
“unsatisfying reality”. This is a question of raw need. Delivery of checkmate is White’s grand narrative,
yet the reality fails to back it up.
24 ... Kxg7 25 Qf7+ Kh6 26 Qh7+ Kg5 27 Qh5+ Kf4
Toto, I have a terrible feeling we aren’t in Kansas anymore. Scary as the attack looks, White lacks the
raw materials to make it count. How distressing when Fate shovels crap our way. It feels like a mate or
perpetual check should be there somewhere for White, but the ‘somewhere’ never materializes.
28 Ne2+ Ke3 29 g5 Nf3 30 Kd1 Qxg5 31 Qh7

Exercise (combination alert): It is White’s king who gets mated, not Black’s. How?

Answer: Clearance. There is no solution to Black’s threat of ... Qd2 mate.
31 ... Kf2! 0-1
“I am a man of peace, reluctant to take life. My wife, on the other hand, has no such compunctions,” says the king, as he steps aside to allow
his wife to do the dirty work.

Summary
I think the Alekhine-Chatard Gambit is best declined by Black.
Chapter Four
The Tarrasch Variation
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2

The question arises: why would White voluntarily go with a passive piece placement of the knight on
d2 when the more aggressive c3-square is available? The answer is that sometimes less is more. White’s
modest posting of the knight serves a dual function:
1. Black is denied any version of the plan ... Bb4 – which can feel as harassing as a kindergartner
tugging the teacher’s skirt to get her attention – as in the Winawer or the McCutcheon Variation of the
Classical French.
2. By placing the knight on d2, White can back up a big pawn centre with ideas like e5 and f4, and then
meet ... c5 with c3. If Black exchanges, then White can recapture with a pawn, maintaining an imposing
centre.
In the diagrammed position Black’s responses vary: 3 ... c5, of which there are two subsets, 3 ... Nf6,
and 3 ... Nc6, the Guimard, as well as sidelines like 3 ... Be7. Each line is quite distinctive from the other,
but all have one thing in common: the Tarrasch lines tend to be the safest ones for White versus the
French.
Privacy is a quaintly antiquated concept in the chess world. If a sharp new move is played at Wijk aan
Zee by some top GM, which alters theory, everyone at the club level can play the same move on his or her
opponent the following day. The Tarrasch (with a few exception lines) tends to be immune from such
sharp shifts in theory, since the positions reached tend to be less confrontational than ones from Winawer
or Classical lines, so we don’t require a current of theoretical information to constantly keep us afloat.

Game 21
A.Karpov-V.Korchnoi
12th matchgame, Moscow 1974
Tip: If you dream of understanding the secrets of the isolani line of the Tarrasch,
then the place to start your study is the Karpov-Korchnoi Candidates’ final match
of 1974, where the virtuosos clashed, like clapping hands, in this line again and again.

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2
The Tarrasch Variation.

Note: White voluntarily place his knight on a passive square, rather than play to c3,
as in the previous chapters.

Indeed, d2 is a passive square, but also embedded within are the following benefits for White:
1. White is granted the option of meeting ... c5 with c3. This means that White, in many lines of the
Tarrasch, may retain an ominously large pawn centre, by recapturing d4 with a pawn, rather than a piece.
2. By playing the knight to d2, this means that Black is denied ... Bb4 pins, as seen in the Winawer and
McCutcheon variations.
3 ... c5
Black’s most principled response, immediately challenging White for the inferior knight’s development
on d2. Later in the chapter we look at 3 ... Nf6 and 3 ... Nc6. Instead:
a) The odd hybrid 3 ... Be7 is favoured by GM Morozevich: 4 Ngf3 (4 e5 is met with 4 ... c5 5 Qg4
Kf8 6 dxc5 Nc6 7 Ngf3 h5 8 Qg3; both ... Nb4 and ... Nh6/ ... Nf5 are in the air and Black’s chances feel
adequate) 4 ... Nf6 5 e5 Nfd7 6 Bd3 c5 7 c3 Nc6 8 0-0 g5!?. This move undermines d4, at the cost of
weakening Black’s kingside.
b) 3 ... dxe4 Is the Rubinstein, which we examine in the final chapter of the book.
c) 3 ... a6 is another entry way into the isolani positions after 4 Ngf3 c5 5 exd5 exd5.
4 exd5
4 Ngf3 Nc6 5 Bb5 (5 exd5 transposes to our game after 5 ... exd5) 5 ... cxd4 6 Nxd4 Bd7 7 Nxc6 Bxc6
8 Bxc6+ bxc6 9 c4 Nf6 is known to give Black a dynamically even game.
4 ... exd5
 Taking on the (future) isolani is the door to Black’s freedom in this line. In exchange for his structural
weakness, Korchnoi gets immediate breathing space for his pieces – a rarity on the Black side of a
French. Next game we look at 4 ... Qxd5.
5 Ngf3 Nc6 6 Bb5 Bd6 7 0-0 cxd4
It’s official now. Black accepts an isolani. Also played is 7 ... Nge7 8 dxc5 Bxc5 9 Nb3 and now I
suggest that you avoid 9 ... Bb6.

Warning: From my experience, Black should avoid playing ... Bb6.

I think Black is better off posting the bishop on d6, since White soon challenges the b6 post after 10
Re1 0-0 11 Be3 and Black either makes an unwanted swap on e3, or loses time sliding the bishop to c7.
8 Nb3 Nge7 9 Nbxd4

Note: In some cases Black’s lone isolani is welded back together if White chops on c6,
reaching a hanging pawns position, so be prepared for this shift, which can happen at
any time in the middlegame.

9 ... 0-0 10 c3 Bg4 11 Qa4
More aggressive than the meek 11 Be2.
11 ... Bh5!?
Korchnoi offers a pawn, which Karpov dare not accept. 11 ... Qd7 is the safer course.
12 Be3
After 12 Nxc6?! bxc6 13 Bxc6? Nxc6 14 Qxc6 Rc8 15 Qa6 Bxf3 16 gxf3 Qd7 17 Rd1 Rc4! (the rook
attempts to swing into the kingside to attack White’s king) 18 Rd4 Rxd4 19 cxd4 Re8 20 Be3 Re6!
threatens ... Bxh2+ and ... Rxa6. Black has a strong attack.

Warning: Here 15 Qxd5?? would fall for a beginner’s discovered attack trap:
15 ... Bxh2+ and White loses a queen.

12 ... Qc7
Covering c6 and taking aim at h2.
13 h3 Na5
Worrying White about a coming ... Nc4. 13 ... a6 is the calmer and safer choice.
14 Bd3
Strategic threat: Nb5.
14 ... Nc4!?
... which Korchnoi ignores! He is sick and tired of waiting around for the apocalypse to happen, so he
decides to jump start it himself. This disturbance of the delicate equilibrium is an open display of
contempt for White’s coming pin along the d-file. It takes a mind-boggling degree of self-confidence to
enter such peril willingly. Why is it that sometimes at the board we are haunted by mad thoughts, yet
outside the realm of chess, we are far from insane? The sensible yet boring 14 ... a6 avoids the
complications which arise in the game’s continuation.
15 Nb5 Qd7!

Once we launch a complex idea, it has a way of becoming detached from us, as a new-born infant from
its mother after the umbilical cord is cut. This turns into a hair-pulling cat fight between the two queens.
Korchnoi’s last move allows the following factors to arise:
1. He pins the b5-knight.
 2. He cunningly takes aim at h3, which becomes deeply significant as the game goes on.
3. He places his queen perilously on the d-file, which appears to allow a winning pin, which just isn’t
the case when we examine the position to a deeper degree.
16 Bxc4 dxc4 17 Rfd1
It may appear that this is the realization of Korchnoi’s most terrible nightmare. In positions of such high
complexity levels, our understanding can’t be fragmentary, without a glimpse of the whole. On the surface
it appears as if White’s position is infused with fearful portent and that Black’s chances range from
anorexic to dead. After all, the d6-bishop is pinned, with no apparent way out. But Korchnoi, one of the
greatest pure calculators of all time, worked everything out with perfect, comp-like accuracy. Karpov
correctly avoided 17 Qxc4?! Rac8 18 Qb3 Bxf3 19 Nxd6 Rc6! and White’s king soon comes under fire.
17 ... Nf5!

Each keeps the other in sight, circling warily. What a joy when our critical idea pokes its head up from
the complications. Korchnoi rises to the challenge of meeting his position’s heavy calculation demands.
His move – the snare which steals White’s initiative – is inseparable from the larger context of delivery
of checkmate or perpetual check on White’s king.
18 Qxc4!
Karpov correctly avoids the tempting 18 g4?. The exclusion of a single detail can either make it worse
or improve. My proof? Imagine if The Sound of Music had focused on the harried Von Trapp family’s
plight to outrun the Nazis, without the characters annoyingly belting out a song every three minutes (I
blame you most, Julie Andrews!). Then it would have been an excellent movie, rather than painful one in
its current state, which my wife forces me to watch from time to time (and sing along to!). After 18 ...
Bxg4 19 hxg4 Nxe3 20 Ne5 (20 fxe3?? Qxg4+ 21 Kf2 Qg3+ forces mate) 20 ... Qe7 21 Nxd6 Nxd1 22
Rxd1 Qxe5 White has no compensation for losing the exchange.
18 ... Bxf3
At last, Black’s attackers are granted an audience with White’s king.
19 gxf3 Nxe3 20 fxe3
20 Rxd6?? loses material to the kamikaze 20 ... Qxd6! 21 Nxd6 Nxc4 22 Nxc4 and Black wins.
20 ... Qxh3
White’s worries spill over to this king. This move allows the Black’s queen to escape the suffocating
pin on the d-file and deliver perpetual check.
21 Nxd6 Qg3+ 22 Kf1 Qxf3+ 23 Ke1 Qg3+! ½-½
 The queen punishes her younger brother with a ‘time out’, which admittedly is a little awkward now
that he is an adult. White’s king can never cross over the d-file, since his knight would hang.

Summary
If we as Black desire activity, we must be willing to get our hands a bit dirty with the structural
concession of taking on an isolani.

Game 22
J.Peters-C.Lakdawala
Southern California State Championship, Los Angeles 2001

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2
I always view it as strange when a natural tactician like Jack plays the Tarrasch, perhaps the most
strategic of all the lines to meet French. It reminds me of the gruff Marine drill sergeant, who happens to
be a closet ballet and opera lover.
3 ... c5 4 exd5 Qxd5

Note: In this version Black goes for a kind of Scandinavian, but one where White
lacks the normal Nc3 tempo gain.

5 Ngf3 cxd4
This isn’t a real extra pawn, since Black isn’t safely able to hold on to it for long.
6 Bc4
White may be denied the Nc3 tempo gain, but he can improvise with a bishop tempo on Black’s queen.
6 ... Qd8
6 ... Qd6 is also played: 7 Qe2 (7 0-0 will probably transpose to the game continuation) 7 ... Nf6 8
Nb3 Nc6 9 Bg5 Be7 10 0-0-0 with a sharp opposite wings castling position.
7 0-0 Nc6 8 Nb3 Nf6

Warning: Don’t try and hang on to your ‘extra’ pawn.

 For example, 8 ... e5?? is completely out of whack with Black’s needs. After 9 Re1 f6 10 Nfxd4 White
regained the lost pawn with a massive development lead.
9 Nbxd4 Nxd4 10 Nxd4 a6 11 Re1 Qc7

12 Qe2
The most critical line for both sides runs 12 Bb3 Bd6 13 Nf5! Bxh2+ 14 Kh1 0-0 15 Nxg7! Rd8! (15 ...
Kxg7? loses to 16 Qd4! Now if 16 ... Bd6 17 Bh6+! Kg6 18 Re3 Rg8 19 Rh3 Qc5 20 Rg3+! White wins).
This line has its idiosyncratic rules and conventions. It’s easy to lose our way in the theoretical
labyrinthine alleyways of this variations, so study this one well if you enter this line as Black. 16 Qf3
Kxg7 17 Bh6+ Kg6 18 c3 (threat: Bc2+) 18 ... Nh5 was R.Bruno-C.Lakdawa, San Diego (rapid) 2007.
Believe it or not, this is the starting position of theory in this line!
12 ... Bd6 13 Nf3
Black equalizes easily after this passive retreat. More dynamic is 13 Bg5! 0-0! (13 ... Bxh2+?! 14 Kh1
Bd6 15 Nf5 gives White a scary looking development lead and attack) 14 Bd3 Bxh2+ (14 ... Nd5 is also
possible) 15 Kf1 Bf4 16 Bxf6 gxf6 17 g3 Rd8 18 Qe4 f5 19 Nxf5 exf5 20 Qxf4 Qxf4 21 gxf4 Be6. Maybe
White has a microbe of an edge in the coming ending, since Black’s doubled pawns are easier to attack
than White’s.
13 ... b5
Preparing to fianchetto, taking aim at White’s king.
14 Bd3 Bb7 15 Ne5 0-0 16 Bf4 Nd5 17 Bg3 Nb4! 18 Rad1
White was probably better off with 18 Be4.
18 ... Rad8 19 c3 Nxd3
Black picked up the bishop-pair and stands a shade better.
20 Rxd3 f6?

Exercise (combination alert): Black’s last move was premature. How can
White exploit this lapse?

21 Ng4?
Answer: Both sides missed 21 Nd7! (clearance/double attack) 21 ... Qxd7 (21 ... Bxg3 22 Qxe6+ Rf7 23 hxg3 Bc8 is met with 24 Qe8+!
Rf8 25 Nxf8 Rxe8 26 Rxe8 Kf7 27 Red8 with a clear advantage for White) 22 Rxd6 Qf7 23 Rxe6 when Black is down a pawn and struggling.
21 ... e5
Now Black stands clearly better, with the bishop-pair, central dominance and the superior queenside
majority, versus White’s lethargic queenside version.
22 Red1 Be7 23 f3 Rxd3 24 Rxd3 Rd8 25 Ne3 Rxd3 26 Qxd3 Qd6
White must either swap down into a pure two bishops versus bishop and knight ending, or cede the d-
file.
27 Qxd6 Bxd6 28 Bf2 Kf7 29 Nf5 Bf8 30 Bb6 Ke6
A new advantage emerges for Black, in the form of a fine king position.
31 Ne3 f5
 I begin to roll forward my majority.
32 Kf2 Bd6 33 Nf1 e4 34 Nd2 Bxh2 35 fxe4 Be5?!
35 ... Bd6 is more accurate, but 35 ... fxe4? is also a mistake since White can play 36 g3! threatening
Nf1, and if 36 ... h5 37 Nf1 Bxg3+ 38 Nxg3 when White has all the winning chances.
36 exf5+?!
36 Nf3! is a better try.
36 ... Kxf5 37 Nb3 Bd5 38 Nc5 Bxa2 39 Nxa6
Each pawn swap brings White closer to his goal of a draw.
39 ... Bd5 40 Nb4 Be4 41 Be3 h5 42 Na6 h4 43 Nc5 Bd5 44 Kg1 g5 45 Bf2 Bf6
In this way Black can play ... g4 without hanging h4.
46 Nd7 Bg7 47 Kh2 Bc6 48 Nb6 Be5+ 49 Kg1 Ke4
Black’s powerful king almost represents an extra piece, and White is busted.
50 c4!?
With each concession we give away something which we are unlikely to get back. This desperate move
only weakens White’s b-pawn. The problem is if White does nothing, then Black’s king simply walks
over and attacks White’s queenside pawns.
50 ... b4

Tip: The side attempting to win the ending should retain as many pawns as possible
on the board.

51 b3 Kd3 52 Nd5 Bxd5 53 cxd5 Bd6 54 Bb6 g4 55 Bd8

Exercise (critical decision): This position must be obeyed exactly, like when our
prescription drug bottle label commands us: ‘One tablet, to be taken with meals,
three times a day.’ My opponent continues in a guise of genial cooperation,
when in reality he plots a final desperate trap. Black can play 55 ... h3, followed
by ... Kc3, or he can play the immediate 55 ... Kc3. Be warned though: a trap is
treacherously embedded within one of the variations, which allows White to
escape with a draw. Which line would you play?

55 ... h3??
 One recalls the warning: ‘For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.’ This blunder allows my
devious buddy IM Jack Peters to rig the position to his defensive needs. Before you accuse me of
professional incompetence, let me explain: the game was played in the final round of the first weekend of
the State Championship and that fifth cup of coffee I downed didn’t have much effect eradicating the
fatigue factor, coupled with that dreaded ‘Any-move-will-win’ overconfidence.
Answer: Black wins (barely!) with 55 ... Kc3! (the b3-pawn is laid out like ritual human sacrifice for the high priest) 56 Bxh4 Kxb3 57
Kf2 Kc4 58 Ke3 Be5 59 Kd2 b3 60 Kc1 Kxd5 61 Kb1 Ke4 62 Be1 Ke3 63 Bh4 Ke2 64 Kc1 Kf1 65 g3 Kg2 66 Kb1 Bxg3 67 Bf6 Bf4 68
Kb2 Kh3 69 Bd4 g3 70 Kxb3 g2 71 Kc2 Kh2 72 Kd1 Kh1 73 Ke2 Bh2 74 Kf3 Bg1! 75 Bf6 Bc5 and Black promotes.
56 gxh3 gxh3 57 Ba5! ½-½
Aaargh! Oh filthy cheapo, where is thy sting? I had to fight the urge to immediately drive to Home
Depot to purchase rope for a noose! I completely forgot about this drawing idea. I find it an astonishingly
tactless affront when one of my impudent opponents has the nerve to swindle me out of my otherwise
honest win. Black ends up with bishop and wrong-coloured rook pawn, which is drawn after 57 Ba5!
Kc3 58 Bxb4+! Kxb4 (Black’s stock doubles in value, but only the day after he sells all of it!) 59 Kh1
Kxb3 60 Kg1 Kc4 61 Kh1 Kxd5.

Warning: If you are Black, this position is like biting into a ripe pear, only to
discover the rot in the middle. The bishop must be of the same colour of the
h-pawn’s queening square, or else the game is drawn, as is the case here.

62 Kg1 Ke4 63 Kh1 Kf3 64 Kg1 Bf4 65 Kh1 and the trouble is Black is unable to make progress, since
he can never eject White’s king from the corner. If 65 ... Kf2 then White is stalemated.

Summary
4 ... Qxd5 is a solid line, with similarities to the Scandinavian Defence, which is 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5. In
the French version, White is denied Nc3, since the knight has been committed to d2.

Game 23
D.Navara-M.Harshkou
European Rapid Championship, Minsk 2015

1 d4 e6 2 e4 d5 3 Nd2 Nf6
 Two groups can look at the same position and interpret it with completely different eyes, the way one
person reads Moby Dick as a tale of obsession and revenge, while another sees it as a Bernie Sanders-
like critique of the terrible living conditions of the 19th Century American whaling industry. This move,
which induces central resolution, is a constant source of argument between my San Diego IM buddies,
John Watson and Keaton Kiewra. John thinks Black’s resources are fully adequate in the 3 ... Nf6 line,
while Keaton and I feel like White generates a nagging edge, due to Black’s coming backward e6-pawn,
and White’s space.
4 e5
Recently White experimented with 4 Bd3, the idea of which is to retain central pawn tension for as
long as possible. Following 4 ... c5 5 c3 Nc6 6 Ngf3 cxd4 7 cxd4 dxe4 8 Nxe4 White takes on an isolani
in the hopes of initiative and attacking chances.
4 ... Nfd7 5 c3 c5 6 Bd3 Nc6 7 Ne2

Note: We develop the knight on e2, reserving f3 for the other knight.

If White plays an immediate 7 Ngf3 then he should be ready to gambit a pawn after 7 ... Qb6 8 0-0
cxd4 9 cxd4 Nxd4 which is a position we examine next game.
7 ... cxd4 8 cxd4 Qb6
Alternatives:
a) 8 ... Nb6 (this set-up is called the Leningrad system) 9 0-0 Bd7 10 b3 Nb4 11 Bb1 a5 (Black needs
to provoke White into weakening pawn moves on the queenside) 12 a3 Nc6 13 Bd3 a4 14 b4 Na7 15 Nc3
g6 16 Bb2 Bg7 17 Rc1 0-0 18 Qe2 Rc8 and White’s kingside space is probably worth more than Black’s
attempt to usurp the queenside light squares, B.Baker-C.Lakdawala, San Diego (rapid) 2009.
b) 8 ... f6 9 Nf4 Nxd4 10 Qh5+ Ke7 11 exf6+ Nxf6 12 Ng6+ hxg6 13 Qxh8 Kf7 when White’s edge in
material may be slightly worth more than Black’s central control.
9 Nf3 f6
Black logically chips away at both e5 and d5.
10 exf6 Nxf6
Black takes on a backward e6-pawn, while getting an open f-file for his rooks.
11 0-0 Bd6 12 Nc3

12 ... 0-0

Warning: 12 ... Nxd4?? is an elementary error after 13 Nxd4 Qxd4?? (otherwise
Black just remains down a piece) 14 Bb5+ and Black’s queen falls.

13 a3 Bd7 14 Be3 Rae8!?

Warning: White’s b2-pawn is safe from the black queen’s felonious clutches.
It isn’t free!

Black’s queen is trapped after 14 ... Qxb2?? 15 Na4. However, 14 ... Be8! prevents White’s coming
idea. Then 15 Ng5 Nd8 16 Qc2 h6 looks okay for Black, who stands only a microbe worse.
15 Ne5!
A promising pawn sacrifice.
15 ... Bxe5
It’s a huge concession for Black to hand over his dark-squared bishop, but 15 ... Re7?! 16 b4 Be8 17
Rc1 a6 18 Na4 looks clearly better for White, who begins to dominate the dark squares.
16 dxe5 d4??
A variation-specific line can’t be interpreted solely through a process of abstraction, with vague,
general ideas. This is the start of an inherently unsound plan, which is orphaned at birth, and which takes
the leap from reality to illusion. When there is scant evidence to support our claim, this doesn’t always
mean that we will refrain from our original intent. It’s a mistake to push ahead boldly in a position which
imposes stringent limits. This move loses instantly. If we can’t attain our desires, then the next best thing
is the edited version.
Black had to try 16 ... Qxb2 17 exf6 Qxc3 18 Rb1 b6 19 fxg7 Qxg7 20 Qd2 Rf6 21 Bg5, although
White has more than enough compensation for his pawn, with the bishop-pair, dark-square control and a
slightly aired out black king.
17 exf6 dxe3

Exercise (combination alert): This exercise doesn’t require the talents of
Sherlock Holmes, or even Nancy Drew. How did White force the win?

Answer: Discovered attack/double attack.
 18 Bxh7+!
The bishop just can’t wait to die and go to heaven. Now Black’s position devolves into incoherence.
18 ... Kxh7 19 Qxd7
A direct mate threat can’t be constrained by a variety of interpretations. Black is curiously helpless.
White threatens mate on g7, and the only way to avert it is to give up a full rook.
19 ... exf2+ 20 Kh1 Kh6
The black king’s defenders are forced to lay still as wax figures. This move avoids the loss of the rook,
at the cost of his king. When you have two paths to choose from, and they both lose, it’s similar to the
condemned prisoner given the choice of a firing squad or hanging – it doesn’t really matter, since the end
result is the same:
20 ... Rg8 21 f7 skewers Black’s rooks. The dreaded geometric anomaly is the joker in the deck.
21 Qxg7+
The queen hacks away at Black’s king, like an absentminded butcher, at a side of beef.
21 ... Kh5 22 f7 Rd8 23 Ne4 1-0
Threatening mate on g5, and if 23 ... Qb5 24 Nf6+ Kh4 25 Qg4 mate. The king and queen come to an
amicable and fair settlement: 100% for her, and 0% for him.

Summary
If you enter the 3 ... Nf6 line, then be prepared to take on a backward e6-pawn, banking on counterplay
with your rooks down the open f-file.

Game 24
D.Navara-R.Vaganian
Mainz (rapid) 2009

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 c5
A more common move order runs 3 ... Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Bd3 c5 6 c3 Nc6 7 Ngf3. Multiple assumptions
are embedded in this move:
1. White’s last move involves the future sacrifice of his or her d4-pawn.
2. White hopes that by doing so, the development lead leads to a powerful initiative/attack.
4 Ngf3 Nf6 5 e5
5 exd5 Qxd5 6 Bc4 Qd8 7 0-0 cxd4 reaches a line we already examined earlier in the chapter.
5 ... Nfd7 6 c3 Nc6 7 Bd3 Qb6

Note: It may appear that White mishandled the opening and Black’s pressure on d4
forces White to play dxc5, leaving Black in control over the centre. In reality White
has no intention of playing dxc5. Instead he castles, offering to sacrifice d4 for a
development lead.

8 0-0!
White hasn’t shifted into anything-goes mode. Faith in his coming initiative/attack has already been
invested and it’s too late to turn back. White’s move is made with the thought: it’s not a good idea to
launch an attack, adopting the stance of provisionality. So White takes a chance and gambits his d-pawn.
8 ... cxd4
If the thought of long defence for a pawn doesn’t appeal to you, then consider declining with a line like
8 ... g6 9 dxc5! Qc7 (9 ... Nxc5 10 Nb3 Nxd3 11 Qxd3 Bg7 12 Re1 also offers White an edge, due to the
extra space, kingside attacking chances, and control over d4) 10 Nb3 Ndxe5 11 Nxe5 Nxe5 12 Bf4 Bg7
13 Re1. Black’s central pawns are negated by White’s development lead and nagging pin of the e5-knight.
I slightly prefer White here.
9 cxd4 Nxd4 10 Nxd4 Qxd4
When an evil genie grants our wish, it often manifests as the opposite of how we originally envisioned
it.

Warning: This is no ‘free’ pawn for Black, who must undergo defensive pain for it.

This position has similarities with Milner-Barry Gambit, which we look at next chapter. Black’s extra
d-pawn is the horse Black puts money on, praying he doesn’t finish 13 lengths behind the winner, due to
White’s imposing development lead.
11 Nf3 Qb6
 For the sacrificed pawn, White gets:
1. A dangerous development lead.
2. Black’s run-down development, in serious disrepair, automatically means White may generate an
attack on Black’s king.
3. White controls d4, and may later plant a piece on the square.
12 Qc2
Taking aim at h7. 12 Qa4 is played more often. The idea is to swing the queen over to g4 to generate a
kingside attack: 12 ... Qb4 (this move blocks White’s intent) 13 Qc2 Nc5 14 Bd2 Qa4 15 b3 Qd7 16 Be2
and White’s development lead compensates for Black’s extra pawn.
12 ... h6
This way Black removes worries like Bxh7 and Bg5.
13 Bd2
Connecting his rooks.
13 ... Nc5 14 Be3 Qb4?
When we introduce a new idea, our concept is in direct conflict with the powerful force of precedence.
This is clearly no improvement and may be the starting point of Black’s troubles, where his queen loses
yet more time. Black’s development lag is still a treatable ailment, yet with his last move it lays dying of
medical neglect. He should play 14 ... Bd7! 15 Rac1 Rc8 16 Qd2 (threat: b4) 16 ... Qd8 17 Bb1 Be7. We
reach a position where defence and offence remain in uneasy balance. White still retains attacking
chances, compensated by Black’s extra pawn.
15 Be2
White seeks to retain as many attackers as possible on the board, so he avoids ... Nxd3.
15 ... Bd7 16 Rfc1

Note: As unnatural as it looks, this is the correct rook to play to c1. The reason is
that for now, the fight is on the queenside. The other one may later back up the
b-pawn, after future a3 and b4 pawn pushes.

16 ... Rc8 17 Nd4 Qa5 18 a3
Threatening b4.
18 ... Qd8
18 ... Qa4?? 19 b3 costs Black a piece.
19 Bb5!
This move undermines Black’s support of the c8-rook. White threatens Bxd7+, followed by b4, which
fatally displaces Black’s king.
19 ... Ra8!
The only move. After 19 ... a6?? 20 Bxd7+ Kxd7 21 b4 Ne4 22 Qa4+ Ke7 23 Rxc8 Qxc8 24 Rc1 Qb8
(24 ... Qd7 25 Qa5 threatening Rc7, is deadly) 25 b5! Black’s king won’t survive for long in the middle.
20 b4 Na6?
Black had to return the pawn and pray for survival after 20 ... Bxb5! 21 Nxb5 Qd7 22 Nxa7 Rxa7 23
Bxc5 Ra8 24 Bxf8 Rxf8. White owns the only open file and retains excellent chances to win.

Exercise (combination alert): We sense that something is terribly amiss in Black’s
position. His last move allowed White a devastating shot. Hidden combinations present
us with a series of blanks we must correctly fill in. Do you see White’s coming idea?

Answer: Annihilation of defensive barrier. White’s queen is granted entry to g6, after which Black’s king is hunted.
21 Nxe6!
The g6-square is the bomb with the lit fuse.
21 ... fxe6
When we inadvertently walk into our opponent’s sudden shot, we become the wounded wild animal,
clipped by the hunter’s bullet.
22 Bxa6?!
Mistimed. 22 Qg6+! is a more accurate move order: 22 ... Ke7 23 Bxa6 b6 24 Rc3 transposes to the
game continuation.
22 ... b6?!
Covering the c5-square against a potentially fatal bishop check there. Yet Black had better. How best
defensive hope lies in the line 22 ... Qb8! 23 Be2 Qxe5 24 g3! Be7 25 Bf4 Qf6 26 Bh5+ Kf8 27 Qc7 Be8
28 Qxb7 Rd8. Even here though, it is highly unlikely Black survives.
23 Qg6+ Ke7
Now Black’s king enters the fiery pit of his own damnation.
24 Rc3!
Dual purpose:
1. White prepares to double rooks on the c-file, infiltrating c7.
2. White’s rook may swing over to the kingside in pursuit of Black’s king.
24 ... Qe8 25 Qg4 Kf7 26 Bd3
Taking aim at g6.
26 ... Kg8
The chilling implication of Black’s last move: how will he ever bring into play his h8-rook? Without
use of this rook, Black’s game is depleted by internecine strife, as if one nation at war with itself.
27 Bg6 Qd8 28 Rac1 a5
Black’s position, the tattered fringe of a poor woman’s dress, nears zugzwang. 28 ... Rc8?? 29 Qf4!
threatening mate on f7 is fatal for Black: 29 ... Rh7 30 Qf7+ Kh8 31 Qxd7! Qxd7 32 Rxc8 Kg8 33 R1c7
Qxc7 34 Rxc7. Black plays the ending without an army and can resign.
29 b5
Black’s bishop is unable to touch b5, since its services are required in protection of e6.
29 ... Bc5
Complete desperation.
30 Bxc5 bxc5 31 Rxc5 Qe7 32 b6
The b-pawn’s push is fatal for Black, who is essentially down a rook.
32 ... Rb8

Exercise (combination alert): White’s b-pawn is under attack, or is it?
How does White force mate?

Answer: Weak back rank. The b-pawn is untouchable, and White now threatens Rc8+.
33 b7!
White hungers for closure.
33 ... Qf8
33 ... Rxb7 allows White to force mate with 34 Rc8+.
34 Rc7 1-0
34 ... Qd8 35 Qf3 (threatening mate on f7) 35 ... Be8 36 Bf7+! Kh7 37 Qd3+ g6 38 Qxg6 is mate.

Summary
When White develops the g1-knight to f3, he essentially offers to gambit a pawn, for which full
compensation is attained.

Game 25
L.Portisch-M.Tal
European Team Championship, Oberhausen 1961

1 d4 e6 2 e4 d5 3 Nd2 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 f4


Note: With this move White makes his intent clear: he intends to erect a gigantic
pawn centre and hold it, at the cost of time.

5 ... c5 6 c3 Nc6 7 Ndf3
This unnatural looking move is White’s main line: d4 is given adequate protection, since now the g1-
knight develops to e2. The cost of protecting White’s gigantic centre is his piece tangle and looming
development lag. Black’s goal is to create early confrontation, when White isn’t ready for it. Black gets
decent counterplay if White goes for the more natural 7 Ngf3 Qb6 8 Nb3 a5! (intending to undermine with
... a4 next) 9 a4 cxd4 10 cxd4 Bb4+ 11 Kf2 f6 12 Be3 0-0 with a good position for Black, who is
seriously ahead in development, and threatens tricks on e5.
7 ... Qb6
7 ... cxd4 8 cxd4 Nb6 is the Leningrad Variation. Black doesn’t worry about White’s centre and hopes
to achieve gains on the queenside via the light squares: 9 Bd3 Bd7 10 Ne2 h5 11 0-0 g6 12 a3 a5 13 b3
a4 14 b4 Na7 15 Nc3. In my opinion, this position is a tough sell for Black, since there is imminent
danger of getting squeezed on both wings.
8 g3
White’s light-squared bishop will be developed on h3, where it hinders Black’s ... f6 ideas.
8 ... cxd4 9 cxd4 f6
Also seen is 9 ... Bb4+ 10 Kf2 g5!? 11 fxg5 Ndxe5.

Tip: Be on the lookout for tactics and sacrifices on e5, which are a recurring theme
in this variation.

After 12 Nxe5 Nxe5 13 Kg2 Nc6 14 Nf3 White continues to lag in development, while Black may later
experience vulnerability along the open f-file and kingside dark squares.
10 Bh3
Worrying Black about the e6-square.
10 ... fxe5 11 fxe5 Bb4+
Forcing White’s king to move on to the newly opened f-file, since a bishop block hangs d4.
12 Kf1
The careless 12 Kf2?? walks into Black’s standard pin tactic 12 ... Ndxe5!, winning an important
pawn.
12 ... Nf8
I would avoid this contortion. 12 ... 0-0 is more natural when White should just slide his king to g2 and
avoid the greedy 13 Bxe6+?! Kh8 14 Kg2 Ndxe5! (that e5 tactic again!) 15 Bxc8 Nxf3 16 Nxf3 Raxc8 17
Rf1 Be7. Now ... Bf6 is coming when White’s d4-pawn is under pressure, and he remains behind in
development.
13 Ne2 Ng6 14 Kg2 0-0 15 Bg4!
A strong positional move, shoring up support of f3, while preparing to gain yet more territory with h4
and h5.
15 ... Bd7 16 h4 Ba5!
The idea is to move the queen and then transfer the bishop to b6.
17 Rb1
Threat: b4, winning a piece.
17 ... Qb5 18 h5 Nge7 19 h6
Creating a puncture on the kingside dark squares in Black’s camp.
19 ... g6 20 Bg5 Nf5 21 Bxf5! Rxf5 22 g4! Rxf3!?

Note: Exchange sacrifices on f3 are thematic in this line, but Black also needs
something else for it, like White’s d4-pawn – which Tal didn’t get in this instance.

Some philosophers claim that virtue can only be nurtured when it is isolated from contaminating
temptations. Technically this move is unsound. Feeling squeezed, Tal husbands his forces into a desperate
lunge at White’s semi-exposed king. I suppose our vows of temperance and moderation turn into dim
memories when we feel temptation’s caress. Such a dubious sacrifice is too great a temptation for a
reprobate benefactor of material like Tal.
Now you may be asking: Tal’s sacrifice looks like a guilt offering from a bad position, and a
guaranteed pathway to penury. Then why not give the move a question mark, rather than a euphemistic
‘interesting’ mark? My answer: because the guy playing Black is Mikhail Tal, who made a career of
confusing opponents with unsound but dangerous sacrifices!
In my book Tal: Move by Move, I don’t recall a single game where Tal – a master of transitioning from
the orderly to the cluttered – didn’t sacrifice, sound, or otherwise! In it, there are multiple examples of
him swindling world champions, where again and again, he escaped justice from surreally improbable
odds. Tal had no interest in getting slowly squeezed by playing it safe with a line like 22 ... Rf7 23 b4
Bd8 24 a4 Qc4 25 Bxd8 Nxd8. Black’s game feels the painful tug of territorial regression.
23 Kxf3 Bb6
Another route could be 23 ... Nxe5+!? 24 dxe5 d4 25 Kg3 Rf8 26 Bf4 g5! 27 Rh5! gxf4+ 28 Nxf4,
although Black doesn’t have enough compensation for the exchange.
24 Kg3 Rf8 25 Qd2 Bc7!? 26 Bf4
White has cause to be simultaneously reassured and unsettled, much like watching a scary movie,
which we realize is unable to physically harm us (unless it induces a heart attack!).
26 ... Be8
Maybe Tal dreams of ... g5, followed by ... Bg6, activating his light-squared bishop.
27 Rhf1 Bb6 28 Rf2 Nb4
Seeking entry into the weakened white light squares, via d3.
29 Rbf1 Nd3 30 Rf3 Qxb2 31 Qxd3! Bb5

Exercise (combination alert): We sometimes eagerly attempt to exploit weakness
in the opponent’s camp, while simultaneously failing to recognize his or her strengths.
It appears as if White is in danger. After all, his queen and knight are both loose.
Portisch had seen deeper into the position and exploited a weakness in Black’s
camp. How did White completely rebuff Black’s intention?

Answer: Weak back rank/queen sacrifice.
32 Bg5!
Threat: Rxf8 mate.
Answer no.2: Even stronger was 32 Bc1! which is an immediate game-ender.
32 ... Rf5
Suddenly, the presumed dispenser of pain, is now the unfortunate recipient of it. This is a desperate
attempt to block the f-file. Black just doesn’t have time for 32 ... Rxf3+ 33 Qxf3 Qxe2 34 Qf8 mate.
33 Qc3! Bxd4 34 Qc8+ Kf7
The king wearily faces his interrogator.
35 Qc7+ 1-0
Black is mated.

Summary
When White goes for the f4 bind line, Black must find a way to disrupt and confront early, or risk
suffering a squeeze, like the one seen in this game.

Game 26
B.Baker-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2007

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 Nc6
The Guimard Variation is a speciality product, which we are unlikely to find stocked on the shelves of
Walmart.

Note: Black’s last move makes difficult the natural ... c5 counterplay. In the Guimard
Black’s main source of play is to go for the ... f6 break, as seen here and the next game.

4 Ngf3
Covering d4, while developing.
4 ... Nf6 5 e5 Nd7 6 c3
At a club level, I find this is the most commonly played move. Next game we look at White’s
alternatives 6 Be2, 6 Nb3 and 6 Bb5.
Instead, 6 Bd3 f6 7 Ng5! (threat: Qh5+) 7 ... Ndxe5! (this counter sacrifice clears d7 for Black’s king)
8 dxe5 fxg5 9 Qh5+ g6! (this makes White waste time with his bishop) 10 Bxg6+ Kd7 leads to a chaotic
position, K.Kiewra-C.Lakdawala, Internet (blitz) 2016. Note that 11 Nf3?? is unplayable, since Black can
play 11 ... hxg6!, and if 12 Qxh8?? Bb4+ wins White’s queen.
6 ... f6
Black targets e5, when White has trouble defending it.
7 exf6?!

Tip: Hang on to your pawn centre if you can.

White’s centre soon begins to evaporate after this concession. He should fight for control over e5 with
7 Bb5! fxe5!? 8 dxe5 g6?! (8 ... Be7 is correct) 9 Nd4?! (9 Nb3 gives White an advantage) 9 ... Nxd4 (9
... Ndxe5 looks rather scary for Black, who lags in development) 10 cxd4 c5 11 dxc5 Bxc5 12 0-0 0-0 13
Nf3 Be7 and White stood slightly better, D.Hart-C.Lakdawala, San Diego (rapid) 2002.
7 ... Qxf6 8 Bb5
After 8 Bd3 Bd6 9 0-0 0-0 10 Nb3 e5 Black already stands slightly better.
8 ... Bd6 9 0-0 0-0 10 Nb3
This move is designed to prevent ... e5 because then d5 hangs.
10 ... e5!

Tip: The goal in the Guimard is to play ... f6 and then later break with ... e5.
When we fight for the initiative, we shouldn’t do it half in and half out.

This pawn sacrifice is an improvement over the last time my opponent and I met in this position, where
I tried 10 ... a6 11 Bxc6 bxc6 12 Bg5 Qg6 13 Bh4 c5 14 dxc5 Nxc5 15 Nxc5 Bxc5 16 Bg3. White’s grip
on e5 probably outweighs Black’s bishop-pair, centre and open f-file, B.Baker-C.Lakdawala, San Diego
(rapid) 2006.
11 Bxc6
White enters a plan where the rewards are few and the aggravations many. He hands Black the bishop-
pair and weakens his light squares. If you are going to be miserable, then it’s at least some consolation to
be paid for it. White may as well grab a pawn by chopping e5, and then enduring Black’s initiative.

Note: As Black, don’t be afraid to gambit the d-pawn for a dangerous development
lead after 11 dxe5 Ndxe5 12 Nxe5 Nxe5 13 Qxd5+ Be6.

For example, 14 Qe4 c6 15 Bd3?! (White should preserve his bishop by playing it to e2) 15 ... Nxd3
16 Qxd3 Rad8 17 Qe3? (17 Qe2 was necessary) 17 ... Bc4 18 Re1 Rde8 19 Qd2, J.Arnold-C.Lakdawala,
San Diego (rapid) 2010. Black has a winning attack after 19 ... Qh4 20 h3 Rxe1+ 21 Qxe1 Rxf2!, and if
22 Qxf2 Bh2+ 23 Kxh2 Qxf2 when ... Bf1 follows.
11 ... bxc6 12 dxe5 Nxe5 13 Nxe5 Qxe5
 Threatening mate.
14 f4 Qe7!
Preventing Be3. It may appear as if my last move was careless, since it loses a tempo to a coming Re1.
My move is a deliberate attempt to lure White’s rook to e1, which leaves his f4-pawn weak. 14 ... Qf6 is
met with 15 Be3 when White seizes control over the key d4- and c5-squares.
15 Re1 Qh4
Menacing f4.
16 Nd4
16 Rf1?! Ba6 17 Rf2 Rae8 18 Bd2 Re4 leaves White tangled up.
16 ... Bg4 17 g3
This forced weakening of the light squares becomes a parasitic drain on White’s resources:
a) 17 Qd2?? is met with 17 ... Bxf4.
b) 17 Ne2?? Bc5+ 18 Kh1 Rae8 19 Bd2 Qf2 and White loses a piece.
c) 17 Nf3?? Bxf3 demolishes White’s structure and leaves his king fatally exposed after 18 gxf3.
17 ... Qh5
I’m playing for mate and didn’t want to swap queens with 17 ... Bxd1 18 gxh4 c5 19 Nb5 Bc2 20 Nxd6
cxd6 21 Re6 Rad8. Black stands better in the ending, due to the fact that White’s structure and weak light
squares gape like missing teeth.
18 Qd3
 Advantage Black, for the following reasons:
1. The position resembles a Ruy Lopez Marshall Gambit, with the difference that Black isn’t down a
pawn in this version.
2. Black leads in development.
3. Black owns the bishop-pair in an open position.
4. White’s light squares weaknesses – much like sympathetic orphans in a Dickens novel – are
everywhere.
5. The presence of number four on the list automatically means that White’s king lives in an insecure,
comfortless environment.
18 ... c5 19 Nb5 Rae8 20 Be3 Rb8?!
Threat: ... c4, winning White’s knight. I missed a tactical idea which wins a pawn after 20 ... Bxf4!! 21
Bxf4 (21 gxf4 Rf6 gives Black a winning attack) 21 ... Be2 22 Qd2 (22 Rxe2?? Rxe2 23 h4 c4 24 Qd1
Rxf4! and White can resign) 22 ... Bxb5.
21 Nxd6??

Warning: A sin of omission can be as harmful as taking inappropriate action.
There is a Latin phrase which translates to: “Our nightmares come softly.”

This blunder – made with the incorrect assumption that Black would automatically recapture the knight
– estranges White from hope. I can tell you from painful experience that in G/45 rapid battles, our
treacherous hand sometimes grabs and moves our piece before our brain even has time to voice
complaint. Forced was 21 b3 when White’s position, although full of burden, remains salvageable.
21 ... Rxb2
A criminal finds anonymity within the crowded metropolis, rather than out in the countryside. White
forgot about this zwischenzug, which wins a pawn and fatally threatens h2.
22 h4
White’s bishop and h-pawn overlap functions, rendering one of them redundant:
a) 22 Bf2? is met with 22 ... Rxf2! 23 Kxf2 Qxh2+ 24 Ke3 Qxg3+ 25 Kd2 Qf2+ 26 Re2 Qxf4+ when
White can resign.
b) 22 Bd2 (possibly White’s best, in a miserable situation) 22 ... cxd6 leaves White down a pawn,
with leaking light squares.
 22 ... cxd6 23 Bc1
Awkward circumstances force our pieces into awkward angles.
23 ... Be2! 24 Qe3 Re8! 25 Qf2!
Accurate defence. 25 Qxe8+? Qxe8 26 Bxb2 Qe3+ 27 Kg2 Bf3+ 28 Kh3 Qf2 29 Rg1 (covering the
mate threat on g2) 29 ... h5! forces mate.
25 ... Rc2 26 f5

Exercise (combination alert): Black has many ways to win.
Do you see the flashiest way?

Answer: Overloaded defender.
26 ... Bf3!
By now White is wearily aware that his light squares leak. Despite what everyone says, I feel this
move presents compelling evidence to support the claim that your writer is a genius, on par with
Alekhine, Tal and Fischer.
Black can also win in mundane, non-genius ways with 26 ... Rxc3 or 26 ... Rf8.
27 Rxe8+ Qxe8
Black’s pieces hang, yet White can’t touch any of them.
28 Bd2
Instead, 28 Qxc2?? walks into mate after 28 ... Qe1+ 29 Kh2 Qh1 mate, and nor can the bishop be
taken: 28 Qxf3?? Qe1+ 29 Qf1 Qxg3+ 30 Kh1 Rh2 mate.
28 ... Be4 29 Re1 Qf8 30 g4 h5
Undermining.
31 Rxe4 dxe4 32 g5 Qf7 33 g6 Qd5 0-1

Summary
The Guimard is an odd version of the French, where Black discards the usual ... c5, in favour of an ... f6 central pawn break.

Game 27
B.Baker-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2015

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 Nc6 4 Ngf3 Nf6 5 e5 Nd7 6 Be2!

 Note: In my opinion this innocuous-looking move is White’s most dangerous option.

White’s other options:
a) 6 Nb3 a5 7 a4 Be7 8 Bb5 Na7 9 Bd3 (Black gets huge play for the pawn after 9 Bxd7+ Bxd7 10
Nxa5 b6 11 Nb3 c5) 9 ... b6 10 0-0 c5 (threat: ... c4) 11 c4 Bb7 with a satisfactory opening outcome for
Black, who looks dynamically even.
b) 6 Bb5 a6 7 Bxc6 bxc6 8 Nb3 c5 9 Bg5 Be7 10 Na5 (threatening to trap Black’s queen) 10 ... Nxe5!
11 dxe5 Bxg5 12 Nc6 Qd7 13 Nxg5 h6 (White gets enough for the pawn after 13 ... Qxc6 14 Qh5) 14
Nxf7 Qxf7 when I like Black, who owns a greater share of the centre and also may generate play on the
open b- and f-files.
6 ... f6!?
Safer and probably more sound is the line 6 ... Be7 7 Nf1 0-0 8 Ne3 f6 9 exf6 Nxf6 10 0-0 Bd6 11 c4
b6 with a slight pull for White.
7 exf6 Qxf6 8 Nf1!

Tip: White’s Nf1! and Ne3 manoeuvre is surprisingly effective against Black’s
... e5 freeing idea in this line, since Black experiences difficulty in defending d5.

8 ... e5?!
In a flash, the game goes from rigidly structured to completely unplanned. When we wilfully push
creativity’s level up a notch, we risk eccentricity. Entry into this line strips both sides of civilization’s
trappings, only to establish solidarity with chaos and change. I decided that this is no time to be my
normal weak-kneed craven self and play it safe. I knew this line is dubious, but was desperate for a win,
praying that my opponent would be unfamiliar with the idea. A far wiser course would have been 8 ...
Bd6 9 Ne3 0-0 10 0-0 Qg6 11 c4 Nf6 with a tiny yet nagging edge for White.
9 dxe5?!
When we go for the wrong plan, we misread the novel’s plot, while misinterpreting the character’s true
motivations. The complications of 9 Ne3! favour White after 9 ... e4 10 Nxd5 Qd6:
a) 11 Bc4! exf3 12 Bf4!? (the unruffled 12 0-0! favours White) 12 ... Qg6 13 Nxc7+ Kd8 14 gxf3?! (14
Qxf3! is tough for Black) 14 ... Nb6 15 Bd3 Qf7 16 Bg3 Na4! 17 Rb1 and I took the GM’s draw offer in
this messy position, S.Kudrin-C.Lakdawala, National Open 1990.
b) 11 c4!? exf3 12 Bf4 fxg2!? (objectively better is to chop e2, followed by ... Nde5) 13 Rg1 Qxf4 14
Bh5+! (if White’s knight takes the queen immediately, then Black plays ... Bb4+, winning White’s queen)
14 ... g6 15 Nxf4 Bb4+ 16 Ke2, D.Hart-C.Lakdawala, San Diego 1981. The computer claims White
stands clearly better, but against a human, White’s defensive task isn’t so easy.
9 ... Ndxe5 10 Qxd5!?

Warning: Pawn grabbing at the neglect of our development in the opening phase
is the original sin, of which we are all occasionally guilty.

Is this pawn grab enterprising or greedy? I suspect it’s a little bit of both, although I sense that it is
weighted toward the latter! Now it’s going to be a fight as close as the one between Luke Skywalker and
his dad, Darth Vader, with the forces of light and darkness in their primes. More circumspect is 10 Ne3.
10 ... Be6 11 Qb5 a6!
Here I was tempted to feign shock (your writer is a GM-level feigner) at my ‘blunder’.
12 Qa4

Warning: When you bring your queen out early, be careful not to get it trapped.

12 Qxb7?? walks into Black’s trap after 12 ... Ra7! when White’s queen is lost. When we reflect back
upon our mega-blunders, it turns our faces ruddy with shame.
12 ... 0-0-0
Slightly more accurate is 12 ... Nxf3+! 13 Bxf3 0-0-0!, and if 14 Bxc6?? Rd4! unexpectedly traps
White’s queen (please see the above warning!).
13 Nxe5 Qxe5
Black got a big development lead for the pawn, enhanced by the fact that the position is wide open.
14 c3 Bc5
Theoretical novelties come as a shock, since the scrawny singular has the nerve to push aside weighty
precedent. This move is new. I considered too:
a) 14 ... Nd4!? 15 cxd4 Rxd4 16 Qe8+ Rd8 17 Qa4 Rd4 is a draw, which I didn’t want.
b) 14 ... Bb4!? 15 cxb4 Bc4 16 Ne3 Bxe2 17 Kxe2 Nd4+ 18 Ke1 Rhe8 and Black got full attacking
compensation for the invested piece, since White’s king is relegated to an eternity in mid-board,
S.Makarichev-R.Vaganian, Tbilisi 1973.
15 Be3 Nb4!?
 Change, by its nature tends to only take two directions: progress or degeneration. Rarely do things
remain the same after a radical shift in our lives.

Tip: When leading in development, you must create confrontation, or your
opponent will catch up in development. I would be lying through my molars
if I told you I was confident of victory here. This sacrifice, which hovers
uneasily between viable and unviable, is the dry run to the attack which follows.

16 cxb4
White decides to revive the custom of killing the messenger of ill tidings. 16 Bxc5?? Nd3+ 17 Kd2
Nf4+! 18 Kc2 Qxe2+ forces mate in three moves.
16 ... Qxb2 17 bxc5!?
My opponent may be playing for the full point. Safer is 17 Rd1.
17 ... Qxa1+ 18 Bd1 Bd7
Preventing White’s disruptive c6 ideas.
19 Qc2 Rhe8 20 Nd2 Bb5
Oh, no you don’t. White’s king is denied safety via castling. White is up material, with two pieces for
Black’s lone rook, yet Black gets full compensation from the fact that White’s harassed king is caught in
the middle. Such positions also take a toll on the defending side’s clock, especially in a G/45 rapid battle.
21 Nb3 Qe5?!
I bumblingly managed to turn my position into one of those perilous on again, off again initiatives.
Technically this is an inaccuracy, since the best course is to take a draw. I considered 21 ... Rxd1+!? 22
Qxd1 Qxa2 23 Nd4 Qa5+ 24 Qd2 Qa1+ 25 Qd1 Qc3+, but I somewhat irrationally rejected this line
because my tournament situation demanded that I go for the full point.
22 Be2 Bxe2 23 Kxe2?!
Correct was 23 Qxe2! Qc3+ 24 Kf1. All the entry squares are covered in White’s camp and his king
will soon be released after g3 and Kg2, with a clear advantage for White.
23 ... Qh5+ 24 Ke1
24 f3?? loses instantly to 24 ... Qg5 with a double attack on e3 and g2.
24 ... Qd5 25 Rg1 Qh5 26 c6!?

Note: True and false can only be demonstrated in variations which assert
mathematical reality. The argument becomes blurred when stylistic preferences
come into play. I think it was Oscar Wilde who quipped that Truth is synonymous
with one’s current mood.

My opponent takes a jaundiced view to going on the defensive, refusing to sentimentalize, and allowing
his h-pawn to fall. Two players can be handed the same problem, and tackle it in opposing directions. To
me this initiative-at-all-cost move looks like misplaced generosity. I would have played the calmer 26 h3.
26 ... Qxh2 27 cxb7+ Kb8

Tip: In situations like this, don’t capture the enemy pawn, which serves as a
human shield for your king, since it clogs White’s attacking lanes.

28 Rf1
28 Kf1?? allows 28 ... Rxe3 29 fxe3 Rf8+ and Black wins.
28 ... Qxg2 29 Qc5!
A multipurpose move, threatening mate, forcing Black’s king to take the b7-pawn to open lines, and
also covering e3.
29 ... Qxb7 30 Rg1 Rd6 31 Qc2?!
It’s inaccurate to allow Black’s queen to activate. He was better off shifting the queen to c4, but 31
Rxg7?? walks into the trap 31 ... Qh1+ 32 Ke2 Qd1 mate.
31 ... Qb4+ 32 Kf1?
32 Nd2 was forced.
32 ... Qb5+?
I mislay the correct move in some hard-to-find nook. 32 ... Rxe3! 33 fxe3 Qh4! gives Black a winning
attack.
33 Ke1 Red8?!
When we attempt to lead our nebulous attack on, it can feel like one of Hannibal’s elephants crossing
the snowy Alps, praying to make it to sunny Italy without freezing to death first. I should simply protect
my g-pawn with 33 ... g6! with an edge.
34 f3?!
 A low clock distorts our critical faculties. There was nothing wrong with grabbing with 34 Rxg7!.
34 ... Qe5 35 Kf2 Qh2+ 36 Rg2 Qh4+ 37 Ke2 g6?!
37 ... Rd1! 38 Rf2 Qh1 39 Bd2 Qg1 leaves White under tremendous strain. He is unable to take the
rook: 40 Qxd1?? walks into 40 ... Re8+ 41 Be3 Rxe3+, overloading White’s king after 42 Kd2 Rd3+.
38 Qc5 Kc8 39 Nd2 Qh1 40 Rg4??
40 Rf2 was forced.
40 ... Qh2+ 0-1
The queen, convulsed in laughter and doubled over, begs her e2 brother to stop with his joke, which was: “Will you grant me a pardon?”. 41
Kf1 Rxd2 42 Bxd2 Rxd2 threatens ... Rd1 mate and leaves White helpless.

Summary
In my opinion Black isn’t able to fully equalize after the innocuous looking, yet strong 6 Be2! line.
Chapter Five
The Advance Variation
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5

In this chapter we examine the Advance line in its many permutations. After 3 e5, White’s pawns move
south, like migrating fowl. Unlike the Classical line, which gains a tempo on Black’s f6-knight, and unlike
the Winawer, where White is induced into e5 since Black’s b4-bishop pin threatens e4, White in the
Advance line plays e5 voluntarily, fixing the structure and seizing central/kingside space.
A good haggler begins the negotiation at the lowest possible price, allowing the price to rise only to
the level of what he or she wanted all along. In compensation for White’s territorial advantage, our source
of counterplay is White’s d4-pawn, the lowest attackable base of our opponent’s chain, which we
pressure with ideas like ... c5, ... Nc6, ... cxd4, ... Qb6, ... Nh6, and ... Nf5, where our goal is to tie White
down to defence of d4. If we accomplish this, our opponent experiences difficulty in generating the hoped
for kingside attack. A warning: if we fail to tie our opponent down to defence of d4, we get oppressed by
White’s space and begin to feel like the galley slave, forced to row 12 hours a day, seven days a week,
while being arbitrarily lashed every half hour.

Game 28
A.Nimzowitsch-A.Hakansson
1st matchgame, Kristianstad 1922

Some of my students mistakenly look down on the study of our chess forefathers, interpreting old games as
a modern day cardiologist who continues to prescribe eye of newt and toe of frog for the patient’s heart
condition. There is a lot we can still learn from the old lions. Black’s play this game is a blueprint of how
not to play this line. We are reminded of those awful singers in the early episodes of American Idol,
where the real charm lies in the fact that these atrocious singers believe they all warble like songbirds.

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5
The Advance Variation, where White’s open intention is to grab territory and squeeze Black into
submission.
3 ... c5
As always, we hit back against White’s centre on the wings.
4 Qg4!?

Did You Know? This line, which has fallen into disrepute, is the original copy,
while our modern more accurate interpretations are in reality simulacrums of
our forefathers’ labours.

What quality makes a chess idea poor, powerful or indifferent? The answer may be contained within
two variables: originality and accuracy. I get the feeling White’s move contains an abundance of the
former, while not so much with the latter! When we take such an unnatural route, we feel the creeping
allusion to Dr. Frankenstein and his creature, which he was unable to control, and who in the end turned
wrathfully upon its owner.
I don’t think this is all that great a line for White, but if you are unfamiliar with it as Black, you can turn
blue from lack of air, as was demonstrated in this game. White violates the opening’s prime directive,
which is to develop rapidly, and jumps his queen out to an aggressive post on g4, which restricts Black
since it ties the dark-squared bishop to defence of g7. White’s cost, however, feels prohibitive, since he
allows Black ... cxd4, diminishing his centre, while wasting time on a non-developing move.
Instead, 4 dxc5 should be met with 4 ... Nc6 (I would avoid 4 ... Bxc5 5 Qg4) 5 Nf3 Bxc5 6 Bd3 Nge7
7 0-0 Ng6 8 Re1 Qc7 9 Qe2.

Tip: Remember the following manoeuvre which secures Black the bishop-pair and
rids White of a promising attacking piece.

After 9 ... Nd4! 10 Nxd4 Bxd4 the e5-pawn is attacked three times, while defended only once. On top
of this, White is denied both Bf4, since it hangs a piece, and f4, since it is an illegal move! Following 11
Bxg6 (a painful yet forced concession from White) 11 ... hxg6 I already prefer Black’s game, since White
was forced to part with his potent light-squared bishop.
In the remaining games of the chapter we look at White’s main line, 4 c3.
4 ... cxd4
4 ... Nc6 5 Nf3 cxd4 transposes to the game.
5 Nf3 Nc6 6 Bd3

Note: White’s intention is to at least temporarily sacrifice d4, while using e5 as
a vehicle to squeeze Black.

 6 ... f5!?

Warning: Just remember: if you play an early ... f5, this means that ... f6 – one of
Black’s most important breaks in the French – is eliminated for good.

This move is played quite often, yet I’m convinced it’s inaccurate. My recipe against Nimzo’s line goes
6 ... Qc7 7 Qg3 Nge7 8 0-0 Ng6 9 Re1 Nb4! (I give up the rather worthless d4-pawn to pick off White’s
light-squared bishop, the most potent attacker) 10 Nxd4 Nxd3 11 cxd3 Bd7. I slightly prefer Black here,
since White’s attacking chances have been greatly reduced through the exchange of his d3-bishop.
Moreover, in this instance White’s h4 isn’t all that effective since 12 h4 is comfortably met with 12 ... h5.
7 Qg3 Nge7 8 0-0 Ng6?!

Warning: If you mistime an early placement of Black’s knight on g6, Black walks
into White’s h4-h5 tempo/space gaining manoeuvre.

Black should go for a set-up like 8 ... Bd7 9 a3 a5 (suppressing b4) 10 Nbd2 Qb6 11 Re1 h6 12 h4
Kf7, although even here I slightly prefer White.
9 h4 Qc7 10 Re1 Bd7?!
Better is 10 ... Bb4! 11 c3! (Black looks better after 11 Nbd2?! 0-0) 11 ... dxc3 12 bxc3 Ba5 13 h5 Nf8
14 Rd1 Rg8 15 Na3 a6 16 c4 g5! with a messy game where White probably gets enough compensation for
the invested pawn.

11 a3

Warning: Just because you see a combination, doesn’t mean you should always play it.

Correct assessment of the aftermath is every bit as important as the actual calculation. 11 Bxf5? is
overly clever: 11 ... exf5 12 e6 Qxg3 13 exd7+ Kxd7 14 fxg3 Bd6 with a clear advantage for Black in the
ending.
11 ... 0-0-0 12 b4 a6?!
A violation of the principle: avoid unnecessary pawn weakness around your king. Black was better off
with 12 ... Kb8.
13 h5 Nge7 14 Bd2!
 With this move Nimzo sets his narrative in motion. The move appears unnatural, since it blocks d2 as a
development square for the b1-knight, yet White has two subtle ideas embedded within it:
1. White plans a4 and b5, prying open the queenside. To accomplish this, he must reinforce b4.
2. White contemplates a line opening sacrifice c2-c3.
14 ... h6 15 a4! g5
This move essentially closes the kingside, which favours White. He should probably try 15 ... Be8 16
Qh2 g6.

16 b5

Tip: Avoid moves which violate the principle of not allowing lines to open around
your king.

After 16 hxg6?! Rg8 Black is still in trouble, but perhaps better off than in the game’s continuation.
16 ... f4 17 Qg4 Nb8?
He should have played his knight to a5.
18 c3!
A powerful line opening.
18 ... Re8
Not 18 ... dxc3?? 19 Nxc3 and Black has no good response to a coming white rook to c1.
19 cxd4 Kd8 20 Rc1 Qb6 21 a5 Qa7 22 b6 Qa8
Boy, talk about dereliction of duty.
23 Rc7 Nf5 24 Nc3 Be7
A mistake in an already hopeless situation.
25 Nxd5!
Undermining f5. Now the defence’s muscle tone resembles overcooked angel hair pasta.
25 ... Nxd4
This isn’t exactly a punishing counterblow. On our evening walks, an irascible Chihuahua with a death
wish barks her head off at my 90-pound behemoth Akita Emma, who refuses to dignify her runty rival with
even a mild ‘woof’ as a response. Moral: it’s unwise to provoke a showdown with an enemy who is
capable of killing you in a single bite.
26 Nxd4 exd5

Exercise (combination alert): A conspiracy theorist tends to uncover plots which
have no existence outside of the paranoid mind. In this instance, however, Black has
good reason for paranoia. How did Nimzowitsch put Herr. Hakansson out of his misery?

Answer: Queen sacrifice/removal of the guard/smothered mate.
27 Qxd7+! 1-0
When we are lucky enough to enter that realm called ‘the zone’, we magically transform into Michael
Jordan in the NBA finals. 27 ... Nxd7 28 Ne6 is a pretty smothered mate.

Summary
Don’t underestimate the ancient 4 Qg4 line. My preference against the set-up is the plan ... Qc7, ... Nge7,
... Ng6, ... Nb4! and ... Nxd3, removing White’s most potent attacker.

Game 29
E.Sevillano-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2006

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Nc6 5 Nf3 Qb6 6 a3


Note: How can White indulge in a non-developing move like this? The reason is
the position is blocked for now, so quality tends to outweigh quantity in such cases.
White wants to play b4 to resolve central tension.

6 ... Nh6
Black allows White to play b4, while increasing his development lead and intending ... cxd4 and ...
Nf5, which pressures d4. Alternatively:
a) 6 ... c4 is Black’s main line, which we look at next game.
b) After 6 ... a5!? I think White gets a favourable version of the Milner-Barry Gambit, which we look
at later in the chapter: 7 Bd3!. Now if 7 ... cxd4?! 8 cxd4 Bd7 9 Bc2! White gets all the benefits of the
Milner-Barry Gambit, except without being down a pawn.
7 b4

Warning: 7 Bxh6? is a blunder, which is met with the zwischenzug 7 ... Qxb2
8 Bxg7 Bxg7 9 Nbd2 f6! and White’s centre collapses.

Also seen is 7 Bd3 cxd4 8 cxd4 Nf5 9 Bxf5 exf5 10 Nc3 Be6 when Black stands no worse.

Warning: White pays a high price to ease the pressure on d4, by handing over
the precious light-squared bishop.

7 ... cxd4 8 cxd4
8 Bxh6 is playable, now that b2 isn’t loose, although after 8 ... gxh6 9 cxd4 Bd7 10 Be2 Rc8 11 0-0
Bg7 12 Qd2 0-0 13 Ra2 f6 Black achieves good play against White’s centre.
8 ... Nf5 9 Bb2
9 Be3 f6!? 10 exf6 gxf6 11 Bd3 Nxe3 12 fxe3 Bh6 13 Qe2 0-0 and my preference is for Black, who
owns the bishop-pair and dark-square control. I don’t believe White’s slight attacking chances fully make
up for it.
9 ... Bd7 10 Bc3?!
A dubious idea, after which White’s prospects become as thin as Audrey Hepburn. Sevillano wants to
kill Black’s ... Na5 tactic, but in doing so he clogs his queenside development. The funny thing is in the
database, this move has been played five time so far with White wining all five games! Yet I still declare
to you that White’s move is weak. Better is 10 g4 Nfe7 11 Nc3.

Tip: In such positions Black has access to a little tactic which allows the c6-knight
entry to c4, with 11 ... Na5!.

Here White should probably avoid 12 Na4?! Qc6! 13 Nc5 Nc4 14 Bc3 h5 when I prefer Black’s game.
10 ... h5
Preventing g4. Now White is unable to develop with Nd2.
11 h4 Rc8 12 Qd2!
Oh you sneaky so and so! White sets up a trap. When we recognize our opponent attempting to set us up
in a vulgar swindle, we are reminded of The Shadow, who wisely stated: “Who knows what evil lurks in
the heart of men?”.
12 ... a6
This move prevents the trap 12 ... Be7??, which is what my opponent was praying for: 13 b5 Nb8 14
Ba5 and now Black is obliged to hand over material to extricate his queen, with 14 ... Rc1+ 15 Qxc1
Qxa5+ 16 Qd2 with an extra exchange for White.
13 Qb2
Or if 13 Bd3 Be7! (not 13 ... Nfxd4? 14 Nxd4 Nxd4 15 Qe3! and White wins material) 14 g3 Na7! 15
0-0 Bb5 with a clear strategic advantage for Black.
13 ... Na7!
Black’s idea slowly unfurls. When a player lacks skills with initiative or attack (i.e. your unfortunate
writer), he or she tends to develop compensating skills (strategic understanding and recognition of weak
squares), the way a blind person may develop enhanced auditory and tactile skills. I intend to grab the
queenside light squares with ... Ba4 and ... Nb5.
14 Bd3
Enrico’s hand hovered over his a-pawn but then jerked back with a shock, when he registered my trap:
14 a4?? Rxc3! 15 Nxc3 Nxd4 and White’s position is collapsing on the dark squares.
14 ... Ba4
The not-so-bad, bad bishop finds gainful employment on a4.
15 0-0 Be7 16 g3 Nb5

Pile up a lot of little issues and we end up with a big problem:

1. Note the pied piper quality to Black’s pieces, who all follow the light squares.
 2. White’s klutzy, tied-down pieces are centreless entities, made up of random parts which don’t seem
to fit.
3. d4 is under heavy pressure, as is c3.
4. White must watch out for a future ... Bb5, swapping away the light-squared bishops, which leaves
White with a remaining bad bishop.
5. Black has a simple plan of doubling or even tripling major pieces on the c-file.
17 Qd2!
Making room for his bishop on b2.
17 ... 0-0
17 ... Nbxd4?? walks into the elementary trap 18 Nxd4 Nxd4 19 Bxd4 Qxd4 20 Bb5+.
18 Bb2 Rc6
Preparing to triple on the c-file.
19 Nc3!
He must try and shake the light-squared bind.
19 ... Nxc3
19 ... Nfxd4?! allows White to escape the bind after 20 Nxd4 Nxd4 21 Qe3 Bb3 22 Nxd5 Bxd5 23
Bxd4.
20 Bxc3 Bb5!

Tip: In many French lines where White’s central pawns are fixed on d4 and e5,
the exchange of light-squared bishops ensures that White remains with his
miserable dark-square model.

21 Rfc1 Bxd3 22 Qxd3
Now White’s strategic expenses on the vulnerable light squares balloon like a tuba player’s cheeks.
22 ... Rfc8 23 Bb2 Qb5?
A well intentioned idea backfires if we get the move order wrong. When we believe we have the game
wrapped up we would be wise to recall Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. 23 ... Rc4! leaves White in a
bad way, since he is unable to challenge the rook with 24 Nd2? Rxc1+ 25 Bxc1 Qxd4 26 Qxd4 Nxd4 with
a clean pawn up for Black in the ending, and with White’s pieces remaining in a tangle.
24 Qxb5 axb5 25 Rxc6 Rxc6 26 Rc1 Rc4
 Black can’t make progress since White just brings his king to d3.
27 Kf1 Kf8 28 Ke2 Ke8 29 Kd3 Kd7 30 Nd2
The spectre of inferiority has passed, as White’s once overwhelming strategic maladies subside to
tolerable levels.
30 ... Rc6 31 Rxc6 bxc6 ½-½

Summary
When White plays 6 a3, I respond with 6 ... Nh6, allowing White b4. Black gets adequate counterplay by hammering away at d4.

Game 30
A.Grischuk-N.Vitiugov
Russian Championship, Moscow 2010

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Qb6 5 Nf3 Nc6 6 a3 c4

Note: Black suppresses White’s b4 idea, while gaining space on the queenside.

7 Nbd2 Na5
Black zeroes in on the b3 hole.
8 g3 Bd7 9 Bg2

Note: Sometimes White plays 9 h4 to post the bishop on h3, in an attempt to
suppress Black’s f6 ideas.

After 9 ... 0-0-0 10 Bh3 f5 11 exf6 (otherwise White’s bishop makes no sense on h3) 11 ... gxf6 12 0-0
a sharp position arises with mutual chances. As yet it is undetermined if Black’s central pawns represent
a strength or a weakness.
9 ... 0-0-0
With this move the two camps take paths which are mutually contradictory. So we reach opposite
wings castling, with issues for both sides:
1. Black can play for a kingside attack, but this isn’t so easy, since any kingside pawn moves tend to
create weakness in Black’s camp.
2. If White tries to attack Black’s king, playing for the b3 break, this comes with a high risk, since
Black’s c-pawn will take it. This leads to an open b-file for White’s attack, but it also means c3 is a
potentially weak backward pawn on the open c-file. Also, Black may be able to utilize the vacancy on c4
with something like ... Rc8 and ... Nc4.
10 0-0 f5
This move is book, but I think it’s a tad early. I would play it more cautiously, keeping the centre
closed with a line like 10 ... h6 11 Rb1 Ne7 12 Re1 Kb8.
11 exf6
This move opens the g-file for Black and also enhances Black’s central control. Yet it also allows
White to create a target of e6 and opens the e-file to enhance pressure on Black’s centre.
11 ... gxf6 12 Re1 Bd6
I suspect this natural move may be the start of Black’s troubles. He was better off playing 12 ... Nh6 13
Rb1 Nf5 14 b4! cxb3 15 Nxb3 Ba4 16 Nfd2 when Black reaches a superior version of what he got in the
game.
13 Bh3
Increasing the pressure on e6.
13 ... Bc7?!
Black doesn’t yet sense the danger on his e6-pawn. He should try 13 ... Re8.
14 Rb1!
White toys with b3 ideas, which are surprisingly potent here.
14 ... Kb8 15 b4!

There is but a thin partition between desire and doing.

Note: When White plays the weakening/attacking move b4 in this line, the
conflict tends to escalate to a point past feasible resolution, and one of the
parties tends to be proven the loser in the exchange.

This move opens lines against Black’s king, at the cost of weakening the c3-pawn and the c4-square,
which in some cases resemble people who are left stunted by a childhood illness. In this particular case,
the benefits for White outweigh costs.
15 ... cxb3
Not much choice since 15 ... Nc6?? hangs a key pawn after 16 Bxe6.
16 Nxb3 Ne7
 I’m not sure if White’s last move should be celebrated, or fretted over. The question is: can Black give
up e6 to tie White down in a pin with 16 ... Ba4? The idea is tempting, yet analysis proves that the
resulting complications favour White after 17 Rxe6! Bxb3 (17 ... Qb5 18 Nfd2 leaves White up a pawn,
with Black unable to exploit the b3 pin) 18 Qd3! (this queen is no obedient hand maiden, as she cuts off ...
Qb5 for Black’s queen.)18 ... Rd6 19 Re8+ Rd8 20 Rxd8+ Bxd8 21 Nd2 Bc4? (correct is the rather
defeatist line 21 ... Ne7 22 Nxb3 Nxb3 23 Qd1; White regains the lost piece with interest, remaining a
pawn up, with the bishop-pair) 22 Nxc4 dxc4 23 Qe4 Qc6 24 Bf4+ Ka8 25 d5 Qc5 (25 ... Qa4 26 Qe6
Ne7 27 d6 is decisive) 26 Qe8 Qxd5 27 Bg2 Qd3 28 Be4. Black loses heavy material, since his queen is
out of safe squares and can no longer protect the d8-bishop.
17 Nfd2 Qc6
17 ... Nxb3 18 Nxb3 Bc8 19 Bd2 Qc6 20 Nc5 Nf5 21 Qf3! leaves Black without a good response to
the coming undermining Nxe6! trick.
18 Nc5
Black is in a bad way, under pressure on e6 and b7.
18 ... Nf5 19 Ndb3 Nxb3
Avoiding 19 ... Nc4?? 20 Nxd7+ Rxd7 21 Nc5 with simultaneous attacks on b7, d7 and e6.
20 Qxb3 b6
If we must turn the other cheek, then do it to minimize the coming blow. Better was to avoid weakening
his king’s pawn front with 20 ... Bb6.
21 a4!
Intending to strip Black’s king with a5.
21 ... Bc8 22 a5 e5
Principle: meet a wing attack with a central counter. In this case Black’s play comes too late.
23 axb6 axb6 24 Ba3?
White remains in full control after 24 Bg2!.

Exercise (combination alert): White’s last move allowed Black a shot which
gets him back into the game. How?

Answer: Discovered attack/knight fork.
24 ... Nh4!
How wonderful when the messiah swoops down from the heavens to save us. This shot dismantles the
apparatus of White’s attack.
25 Bg2
Covering the f3 fork square at the high cost of handing to Black control over the light squares, but if:
a) 25 gxh4? Bxh3 26 Re3 Bf5 leaves Black better.
b) 25 Bxc8? Nf3+ 26 Kh1 Kxc8! 27 Na6 Nxe1 28 Rxe1 and White lacks compensation for the
exchange.
25 ... Nxg2 26 Kxg2
Deprived of his light-squared bishop, White’s attack is suddenly naked of its former magic.
26 ... Rde8?!
There was no reason to move the already well posted rook.
27 Na4!
Targeting b6.
27 ... exd4 28 Rxe8?!
28 Rec1! d3 29 Nxb6 is clearly in White’s favour.
28 ... Rxe8 29 cxd4

Black looks fine here, until his next move.

29 ... Re6?
White’s probing serves its purpose in provoking a meek response. Now Black’s game ages before our
eyes, the way a U.S. president’s hair greys after an eight-year term. Black should avoid defending b6 and
step around the problem with the counterattacking 29 ... Bf5! 30 Rc1 30 ... Qe6. Black’s light-square
counterplay makes up for his weak king.
30 Bc5!
White’s pieces view the weak b-pawn, as if it were a bug under a microscope.
30 ... b5 31 Nc3
Black must allow his b-pawn to go with regrettable finality.
31 ... Ba6 32 Nxb5 Bxb5 33 Qxb5+ Qxb5 34 Rxb5+
The ending is lost for Black, who is down a pawn and nurses an all-isolani hospital ward.
34 ... Kc8 35 Bf8
The profit-hungry white pieces pick up a second pawn.
35 ... Bb6 36 Rxd5 1-0

Summary
6 ... c4 divides the board and leads to a sharp opposite wings castling position.

Game 31
A.Shirov-V.Ivanchuk
Monaco (blindfold) 2005

Believe it or not, the cleanest example I found for Black’s thematic strategy in this next line was from a blindfold/rapid game!

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Qb6 5 Nf3 Nc6 6 Be2

This is the modest approach. White develops the bishop to a square which doesn’t hinder control over
d4, and prepares to castle.
6 ... cxd4!
Why resolve the central tension? It prepares ... Nh6, which doesn’t work as well if Black refuses to
toss in 6 ... cxd4: for example, 6 ... Nh6 7 Bxh6!. This time White can chop the knight. Now Black should
simply recapture on h6, as if 7 ... Qxb2 8 Be3! White sacrifices an exchange and pawn to try and trap
Black’s queen: 8 ... Qxa1 9 Qc2! cxd4 10 Nxd4 (threat: Nb3) 10 ... Ba3 (or 10 ... Nxd4 11 Bxd4 Ba3 12
Bb5+ Kf8 13 0-0 Qb2 14 Bc5+! Kg8 15 Nxa3 and Black is busted) 11 Nb5! Bb2 12 Bc5! (this is stronger
than the c7 fork) 12 ... Qxa2 13 0-0 and White had a winning attack, H.Sorensen-Juoma, correspondence
1973.
7 cxd4 Nh6
 Intending ... Nf5, increasing the pressure on d4.
8 Nc3
Alternatively:
a) 8 Bxh6 and this time Black can play the zwischenzug and take b2: 8 ... Qxb2! 9 Nbd2 (9 Bd2? Qxa1
10 0-0 Qb2 11 Nc3 Qb6 12 Qa4 Be7 13 Rb1 Qd8 left White with insufficient compensation for the
sacrificed material, C.Milton-C.Lakdawala, San Diego (rapid) 2008) 9 ... gxh6 10 0-0 Nxd4 11 Nxd4
Qxd4 12 Bb5+ Kd8 13 Qe2 Rg8. My preference is for Black, who is up a pawn, with a relatively safe
king, E.Bajaramov-A.Alavkin, St Petersburg 2009.
b) 8 b3 has the intention of defending d4, via a b2 fianchetto: 8 ... Nf5 9 Bb2 Bb4+! (this move forces
White to move the king, since any block hangs the d4-pawn) 10 Kf1 0-0 11 g4 Nh6 12 Rg1 f6 13 exf6
Rxf6! (you can recapture with the g-pawn, but I prefer this exchange sacrifice, for which Black gets
promising compensation) 14 g5 Rxf3 15 Bxf3 Nf5 16 Rg4 Bd7 and to my mind Black has huge
compensation for the exchange:
1. d4 is under pressure and White’s pieces are tied down in defence of the pawn.
2. White’s king is insecure.
3. White’s game has an overextended feel, since he remains weak on virtually every square along the f-
file.
8 ... Nf5
Adding a third attacker on d4.
9 Na4
This deflects some of the pressure on d4, at the cost of time for White.
9 ... Qa5+ 10 Bd2 Bb4 11 Bc3
White must continue to cover d4.
11 ... b5! 12 a3
Forced as after 12 Bxb4? Qxb4+ 13 Nc3 Ncxd4 Black wins a key pawn.
12 ... Bxc3+ 13 Nxc3 b4 14 axb4 Qxb4
 Attacks are renewed on d4 and b2.
15 Bb5
The idea is to chop the c6-knight to relieve the pressure to d4. White’s alternative is to hang on to his
bishop with the line 15 Qa4 Bd7 16 Qxb4 Nxb4. I slightly prefer Black even here.
15 ... Bd7 16 Bxc6 Bxc6
Theory considers this position even, while I feel that Black holds a slight yet nagging edge, since
White’s pawn weaknesses, much like an alcoholic’s liver, enlarge with time.

Note: I know what you are thinking: ‘No honest person can describe Black’s bad
bishop as handsome.’ Don’t be afraid to take on a bad bishop as Black here.

First of all, it’s not such a bad piece, since White tends to be weak on the light squares. Secondly,
White is tied down to defence of d4 and b2, which tends to hinder kingside attacking ambitions.
17 Qd2 0-0 18 0-0 Rfb8
Black utilizes the open b-file to apply pressure to b2.
19 Rab1 Rb6 20 Rfc1 Rab8 21 Rc2 h6 22 g3
The conservative approach. 22 g4!? is double-edged, and a move made with the thought: to attack
effectively, we must renounce allegiance with the strategic. White is perhaps more likely to overextend
than he is to deliver checkmate to Black.
22 ... a5 23 Kg2 a4 24 Ra1 Be8 25 h3 Bd7 26 Rac1 Rc6 27 g4!?
 One of beatitudes tells us that if we expect no reward in life, we will never be disappointed. White
tires of passive defence and goes for it against Black’s king. In this game, however, White got the worst of
both worlds, with a lousy pawn structure, and a non-attack left with the feel of something unfinished.
27 ... Ne7 28 Ra1 Rc4
Covering a4, while continuing to chip away at d4.
29 Ra2 Qb6 30 Rc1 Rb4 31 Rca1 Ng6
31 ... Rxb2?! falls into White’s mini-trap after 32 Rxb2 Qxb2 33 Rb1! Qxb1 34 Nxb1 Rxb1. I think
only White has the winning chances here.
32 Nd1 Bb5!
The much maligned bad bishop emerges. Now White must factor in ... Bc4 ideas.
33 Nc3 Qd8 34 Kg3
Preventing ... Nh4+ ideas.
34 ... Bc4 35 Rxa4 Rxb2 36 Qe3 R2b3

White may have rid himself of his weak b-pawn, yet hasn’t equalized, for the following factors.
1. Defence of d4 remains an anxiety.
2 White’s king remains insecure.
 3. White’s c3-knight is unpleasantly pinned.
37 R1a3 Qe7
Stronger was 37 ... f5! (threat: ... f4+) 38 gxf5 Rxa3 39 Rxa3 Qf8! 40 Na4 Qxf5 and White’s king is in
serious trouble.
38 Rxb3 Rxb3 39 Ra1?
A remediable disease, when left untreated, may turn fatal. This move allows Black’s queen access to
b4. Correct was 39 Kh2.
39 ... Qb4 40 Rc1
White’s pieces are steadily shoved to the margins.
40 ... Ne7 41 Nd2 Ra3 42 f3 Nc6 43 Nxc4 dxc4
Add a passed c-pawn to Black’s strategic plusses.
44 Qd2 Qa5 45 h4 Rb3 46 h5
White will never get a chance to play g5 going after Black’s king, since White is too tied down to
defence of his knight.
46 ... Qd8 47 Rd1 Nb4 48 Ra1 Nd3
Attacking d4.
49 Ne2

Exercise (combination alert): White’s forces have a look of hopeless
fragmentation. How did Black win material?

Answer: Pin.
49 ... Nxe5! 50 Qa5
There is an old saying which goes: if you and your friends get run out of town, then your best bet is to
get in front and make it appear that you lead a parade. This move allows f3 to fall as well.
50 ... Qxa5 51 Rxa5 Nxf3
Black’s position exudes a feel of moneyed ease, as a second pawn falls.
52 Nc1 Rb1 0-1

Summary
Against 6 Be2, our plan is to hammer away at d4, with 6 ... cxd4 and 7 ... Nh6, intending 8 ... Nf5.

Game 32
D.Bastijanic-G.Dizdar
Pula 1993

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Nc6 5 Nf3 Bd7

The 5 ... Qb6 move order runs 5 ... Qb6 6 Bd3 cxd4 7 cxd4 Bd7 8 0-0 Nxd4, transposing to the game.

Warning: Don’t, however, fall for 7 ... Nxd4?? 8 Nxd4 and if Black attempts to regain
the lost piece with 8 ... Qxd4?? the queen hangs after the discovered check 9 Bb5+.

6 Bd3?!

Note: Noble intentions don’t always translate into effective solutions. White’s
coming gambit, like desire, is founded in lack.

The d3 placement of the bishop leads to the Milner-Barry Gambit, where White issues an imperious
challenge, offering the d4-pawn for a development lead. In my opinion, and with the help of comps, the
gambit is borderline, if not outright unsound, since White labours under an industrial lack: Black’s
defenders are manufactured and replaced faster than White’s coming threats.
6 ... cxd4 7 cxd4 Qb6 8 0-0
A move made with the philosophy: transformation isn’t possible by only minor adjustments. All
material concerns are remorselessly ignored in pursuit of initiative/attack.

Warning: You may ask: why give away an important central pawn, when White can
simply shift the bishop to c2, which protects d4? The problem with this plan is that
White loses the initiative after 8 Bc2?! Nb4! going after White’s powerful
light-squared bishop.

Now the trouble is if White attempts to hang on to it with 9 Bb3? then 9 ... Qa6! is a huge problem for
White, who loses control over the central light squares.
8 ... Nxd4
I suggest we chop the d-pawn, since computer analysis puts White’s compensation in the ‘iffy’
category.
9 Nxd4 Qxd4
The queen acts autonomously, picking off d4 at the cost of time.
 10 Nc3

Our starting position of the gambit. The players’ itineraries push them in opposite directions. White
offers a second pawn, increasing his development lead, while toying with Nb5 ideas.
10 ... a6!

Tip: Our secret to overcoming the Milner-Barry gambit is to accept the first pawn,
and then decline the second.

Dangerous is 10 ... Qxe5!? 11 Re1 with open lines and an alarming development lead for the two
sacrificed pawns. Objectively, this position is still fine for Black according to the computers. From a
human perspective, it’s not such an easy job to defend.
11 Qe2
White defends e5, while clearing the way for Rd1.
11 ... Ne7
The idea is to play to c6, which pressures e5, while unclogging Black’s kingside development.
12 Kh1
Unpinning, in preparation for f4. Alternatively, 12 Rd1 (threat: Bxa6) 12 ... Nc6! (ignoring it) 13 Bxa6
Qxe5 14 Bxb7 Qxe2 15 Nxe2 Rb8 16 Bxc6 (16 Ba6 Nb4 forces White to part with the light-squared
bishop in any case) 16 ... Bxc6 with a clear advantage for Black, who owns the bishop-pair, a superior
central pawn majority, and an already centralized king.
12 ... Nc6 13 f4 Nb4!
This disruptive idea gains time for Black.
14 Bb1
In a position where time is White’s most precious resource, he seems to be squandering a lot of it
away. Attack/initiative is often the flip side of being down material, but not here. White is deprived of
even the small consolation of a temporary initiative. The bishop is sent away in disgrace, since handing it
over greatly reduces White’s attacking chances. After 14 Rd1 Nxd3 15 Rxd3 Qb6 16 Be3 Bc5 17 Bxc5
Qxc5 18 f5 Bc6 White lacks full compensation for the pawn, although this may be marginally better than
the game’s continuation.
14 ... Qc4!

Tip: The material-up side can sometimes bully the opponent into backing down,
by continually threatening to swap pieces – especially queens.

15 Qd1
It’s a bad sign when the gambiting side steadily retreats. 15 Qf3 is also met with 15 ... d4!.
15 ... d4!
Multipurpose:
1. Black’s d-pawn has a choking influence on White’s game.
2. Black’s light-squared bishop is activated via c6.
16 Ne4 d3
Cutting off the connection to White’s knight.
17 Nc3
17 Nd6+ Bxd6 18 exd6 Rc8 19 Bd2 Nc2 20 Bxc2 dxc2 21 Qe1 Bc6 leaves White a pawn down, with
Black holding the initiative.
17 ... Bc6 18 Be3 Rd8
 So far the gambit gets only failing marks:
1. White remains down a pawn.
2. Black owns the initiative.
3. Black’s d-pawn ties White’s pieces down to defence, while clogging queenside development.
Conclusion: White is busted.
19 a3 Nd5 20 Nxd5 Qxd5 21 Qd2
Covering the mate on g2, while blockading Black’s d-pawn.
21 ... Bc5 22 Bxc5 Qxc5 23 Ba2
23 Bxd3?? walks into a decisive pin after 23 ... Be4.
23 ... 0-0 24 Rac1 Qb6 25 b4 Be4
Eliminating White’s f5 ideas.
26 Rce1 Rd4 27 Re3 Rc8
Threat: ... Rc2.
28 Bb1 Qc6 29 Rg3 g6 30 h3
30 Bxd3?? Bxd3 31 Rxd3 Qc4! 32 Rd1 Rxd3 33 Qxd3 Qxd3 34 Rxd3 Rc1+ forces mate next move.
30 ... Qc3!
Unhinging White’s blockade of d2.
31 Qe3 d2! 32 Qf2
32 Bxe4 Qxe3 33 Rxe3 Rc1 is a game ender.

Exercise (combination alert): The steady haemorrhaging continues.
How did Black convert his overwhelming advantage?

Answer: Queen sacrifice/pawn promotion.
32 ... Qxg3!
“I didn’t lie to you, since I was acting, and an actress doesn’t have to mean what she recites in her
lines,” reasons Black’s queen, to her sister.
33 Qxg3 Rc1! 0-1
Promotion is the hub of Black’s intent. Black regains a new queen, remaining with an overwhelming
material advantage.

Summary
Our secret to overcoming the Milner-Barry Gambit is to accept the first pawn, and then decline the
second. The gambit reminds me of the 1960’s hippy, sticking a daisy down the barrel of a soldier’s gun: it
sends a message, yet no physical harm is inflicted. Chess is more complicated than a set of fixed rules
which tells us which openings are allowed and which are forbidden.
The Milner-Barry isn’t such a great line for White, yet it contains practical chances. Only in the movies
are evil doers punished and the virtuous rewarded. Be careful. In real life, club players tend to forget
Black’s defensive ideas, after which White may indeed generate a powerful attack, which can take on the
aspect of a surly hibernating bear, who is awakened by loudmouthed passing hikers. So study this one
well as Black.

Game 33
L.Van Wely-V.Topalov
Dortmund 2005

1 d4 e6 2 e4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Nc6 5 Nf3 Bd7

Black replaces ... Qb6 with ... Bd7.

Note: The two lines don’t necessarily transpose. If White plays 6 Bd3, only then do
we transpose back into the Milner-Barry.

6 a3
On 6 Be2 Black usually responds with 6 ... Nge7 7 0-0 (7 dxc5 is well met with 7 ... Ng6 when Black
gets White’s valuable e5-pawn) 7 ... Ng6 8 g3 (intending h4 and h5) 8 ... Be7 9 h4 cxd4 10 cxd4 0-0 11
h5 Nh8 (Black’s knight is only temporarily disconnected and will emerge on f7) 12 h6 g6 13 Nc3 f6 with
a satisfactory position for Black. White’s h6-pawn may turn into a liability in an ending.
Instead, after 6 Bd3 we transpose to the normal Milner-Barry lines with 6 ... cxd4 7 cxd4 Qb6 8 0-0
Nxd4.
6 ... f6

Tip: Black immediately challenges e5, profiting from the fact that his queen isn’t
on b6, which tends to be a poor square in these a3 lines.

7 Bd3
After 7 b4 fxe5 8 b5 Nxd4!? 9 cxd4 exd4 Black gets three central pawns for the piece, a fair deal.
7 ... Qc7
Continuing to apply pressure on e5.
8 Bf4
White can also gambit the e-pawn. 8 0-0. I suggest declining with 8 ... 0-0-0.
8 ... 0-0-0
I would be more inclined to play 8 ... c4 9 Bc2 0-0-0.
9 0-0
Alternatively, 9 b4 c4 10 Bc2 h6 11 h4 fxe5, and if 12 Bxe5 Nxe5 13 Nxe5 Bd6! 14 Nf7 Nf6 15 Nxh8
Rxh8 when ... e5 is coming and it feels to me like Black gets full compensation for the exchange.
9 ... c4 10 Bc2 Qb6

Attacking b2 and provoking White into his next move.

11 b3!?
As we saw earlier in the chapter, this move opens lines for White’s potential attack, at the cost of
creating holes and pawn weaknesses.
11 ... cxb3 12 Bxb3 g5 13 Be3!
13 Bg3?! g4 14 Nfd2 fxe5 15 dxe5 h5 favours Black.
13 ... g4 14 Ne1 Na5
Gaining a tempo, while seizing control over c4.
15 Bc2 f5 16 Nd3 Kb8 17 a4
Preventing ... Bb5, while leaving open Na3 possibilities.
17 ... Rc8
White can attack along the open b-file, while Black works over White’s backward c3-pawn and c4-
square.
18 Qe2 Qa6 19 Qe1 b6
Covering against Nc5.
20 Na3 Bxa3!?
Topalov hands over his valuable dark-squared bishop to secure control over c4.
21 Rxa3 Ne7 22 Nb4 Qb7 23 Bd3
 Threat: Ba6.
23 ... Nc4 24 Bxc4 dxc4
Clearing d5 for Black’s pieces.
25 a5
This move prevents ... a5 and allows White’s knight to roost on b4.
25 ... b5
Of course it is in Black’s best interest to keep queenside lines closed.
26 a6 Qa8! 27 Qe2
White drifts. After 27 Bh6! Nd5 28 Qb1 Nxb4 29 Qxb4, and if 29 ... Qd5?! (29 ... Qe4! looks
approximately even) 30 Qd6+! Qxd6 31 exd6 White stands a bit better in the ending.
27 ... Nd5 28 Nxd5 Qxd5

Note: Opposite-coloured bishops favour the attacking side, which in this case is Black.

White is in deep trouble. An object can be elusive in two ways:
1. It is hidden and far away.
2. It is so commonplace, that we miss it because it is too close.
This is a case of the latter. White may look fine, but upon closer examination, the presence of opposite-
coloured bishops is devastating for him. Although it doesn’t appear so, Black’s king is quite safe. Black’s
winning plan:
1. White’s light squares are slowly eroded with ... h5, ... h4 and ... h3.
2. Also, White’s bishop is hemmed in by its own dark-squared pawns, while Black is free to apply
pressure down the h1-a8 diagonal with a queen and bishop battery.
3. Black can play ... Ka8 and then transfer rooks to b6 and c6, and pick off White’s a6 straggler, which
allows a black rook decisive infiltration.
29 f4?

Warning: Avoid fixing your pawns on the same colour as your remaining bishop,
since this weakens the opposite colour.

This move, which is at odds with White’s interests, makes his bishop even worse, chronically weakens
his light squares, and his king’s very existence becomes problematic. White had to try 29 f3! Rcg8 30 fxg4
Rxg4 31 Qf3 (the runty little kid breathes relief when she discovers the school bully is home sick today)
31 ... Re4! (it’s in Black’s best interest to keep queens on the board) 32 Qg3 Bc6 33 Bf4 and he is better
off than what he got in the game.
29 ... h5
Intending to push all the way to h3.
30 Rb1 h4 31 Kf1 Bc6 32 Bg1 Ka8 33 Rb4 Rb8 34 Ra2 Rb6
Reminding White that his a-pawn requires baby-sitting and may fall if an ending should arise.
35 Ke1 h3

The weak light squares prove to be a valuable commodity for Black.

36 g3 Rc8 37 Be3 Bd7!
Worrying White about ... Rcc6 and ... Rxa6.
38 Ra5 Qh1+ 39 Kd2 Bc6 40 Qf2
White’s responses are constrained by his dependency. When we lose a long, miserable game, we feel
like the serf who is born, lives life in fruitless toil, grows old and dies, without anyone noticing or caring.
40 ... Bd5!
Eliminating all d5 desperadoes from White.
41 Qg1
41 Rbxb5?? fatally exposes White’s king after 41 ... Rcb8! 42 Rxb6 Rxb6.
41 ... Qe4 42 Kc1 Rcc6!
Black’s intent slowly swims into view.
43 Qf2 Rxa6
White’s infrastructure begins to crumble.
44 Raxb5 Ra1+ 45 Rb1 Rxb1+ 46 Rxb1 Ra6!
Rook infiltration is a key component of the mating plan.
47 Qd2 Qh1+ 0-1
48 Qd1 Qxh2 is curtains for White.

Summary
The ... Nc6/ ... Bd7 development scheme is an attempt to reach a favourable version for Black, when
White goes for the a3 and b4 plan.
Game 34
B.Baker-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2011

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Bd7
This is the Wade Variation.

Note: Black’s intent is to dump his bad bishop by playing ... Qb6 and ... Bb5.

5 Nf3 Qb6 6 Na3
This move prevents Black’s intended ... Bb5 plan. He can also allow it:
a) 6 Be2 Bb5 7 c4!?.

Note: White’s common strategy is to meet ... Bb5 with the disruptive c4.

After 7 ... Bxc4 8 Bxc4 dxc4 9 d5 exd5 10 Qxd5 Ne7 11 Qxc4 Qb4+ 12 Qxb4 cxb4 the ending is close
to even. White’s superior majority is offset by the slightly weak central light squares, due to the e5-pawn.
b) 6 a3 Bb5 7 c4!? (the same idea as in variation ‘a’) 7 ... Bxc4 8 Bxc4 dxc4 9 d5 exd5 10 Qxd5 Ne7
11 Qxc4 Qa6!.

Tip: In this line we can offer a gambit of our c-pawn.

If White goes for it with 12 Qxc5!? we get full light-square compensation with 12 ... Nd7 13 Qe3 Ng6
14 Nc3 Nc5 15 Qe2 Nd3+ 16 Kf1 0-0-0. Black’s development lead and aggressive piece placement offer
full compensation for the pawn.
6 ... cxd4 7 cxd4 Ne7
Also possible is 7 ... Nc6 8 Nc2 Nb4 9 Ne3 Bb5 when Black achieves his aim of swapping light-
squared bishops.

Warning: I would avoid the tempting 7 ... Bxa3 8 bxa3.

I actually prefer White here, for the following reasons:
1. Black just gave away his dark squares.
2. Black is unable to swap away his bad bishop via b5, since it is fatally pinned with Rb1.
3. Black may have damaged White’s queenside structure, but in return, White got an open b-file to
apply pressure with a rook on b1.
8 Be2 Nbc6 9 0-0 Rc8 10 b3?
White, preparing Bb2, is obsessed with preventing ... Bb5 and allows his a3-knight to get frozen out of
play. Correct was 10 Nc2! Ng6 11 h4 Be7 12 h5 Nh4 13 Nxh4 Bxh4. It isn’t clear yet if White’s space
represents a plus or a burden of future overextension.
10 ... Nb4!
Now we see a leakage in White’s intent. This move disenfranchises the a3-knight, placing it in limbo,
by preventing the intended Nc2.
11 Bb2 Ng6
This is the only way to unravel the kingside.
12 g3!
Preparing h4 and h5, while cutting off ... Nf4 ideas.
12 ... Be7 13 h4 0-0!

Tip: Don’t be afraid of getting your knight chased to h8!

It emerges soon enough on f7, after an ... f6 break.
14 h5 Nh8
One of my old handles on an online server in the 1990’s was ‘Lakofdawalapment’, and now you know
why. Black’s last move may contain the look of unintentionality to it, yet it’s quite deliberate. IM Jeremy
Silman once wrote an article on chess.com, about players’ favourite moves, featuring this game. My
favourite is any knight retreat. Only a qualified psychologist can tell me why. Outwardly, the knight
placement on h8 may elicit a snicker or two, but when examined deeper we see that the idea contains
hidden virtues, since the knight pops out again on f7, where it’s well placed to cover key squares like e5
and g5.
15 Qd2 f6
Dual purpose:
1. Black challenges White’s central dominance.
2. Black makes room for ... Nf7.
16 Rfe1?!
Believe it or not, this natural move weakens f2, which becomes noticeable in the moves ahead. On 16
exf6 I intended 16 ... gxf6!.

Tip: Don’t hesitate to play such a move, which seizes control over e5 and prepares
a future ... e5. This outweighs the slight weakening of Black’s king, who is for now,
amply defended.

Instead, 16 h6! looks like White’s best. I intended 16 ... gxh6! 17 exf6 Rxf6 18 Ne5 Be8 19 Ng4 Rg6
20 Nxh6+?! Kg7 21 Ng4 Nf7 with a truly messy position typical of the French.
16 ... Nf7
Hi, I’m back again.
17 Bd1
White is forced into contortions to get his stranded a3-knight back into play.
17 ... fxe5 18 Nxe5
18 dxe5? is strongly met with 18 ... Ng5! (the knight is immune due to the hidden counterattack on f2)
19 Re3 Ne4, and if 20 Qe2 Bc5 White is crushed.
18 ... Nxe5 19 Rxe5!
When we set up a trap, we become Pinocchio, except that our nose remains the same size in our chess
lie. My opponent avoids 19 dxe5?? Rxf2! 20 Qxf2 Bc5, winning White’s queen.
19 ... Bd6 20 Re3

Exercise (planning): For now, Black’s position is stranded somewhere between
efficiency and dormancy. If you find Black’s correct plan (which is hidden from
view, like Batman, Robin the boy wonder, and Alfred, working out a plan to
nab the Penguin in the Bat Cave), you seize the initiative.

Answer: Clear c5 to target f2, the square which is Black’s ground of hope.
20 ... e5!

Tip: Initiative is the opiate of the masses. In situations where you take on the
backward e6-pawn, be on a constant lookout for opportunities to break out with ... e5.

21 dxe5
After 21 h6 e4 (intending ... Nd3) 22 hxg7 Rf7 23 Be2 Rxg7 (threat: ... Bf4) 24 Rc3?? is not possible
due to 24 ... Rxc3 25 Qxc3 Bxg3! 26 fxg3 Qd6 and White is curiously helpless to protect g3. If 27 Kf2,
the interference shot 27 ... Nd3+! wins.
21 ... Bc5 22 Rf3 Bf5?
It’s no good if you get things right, but the wrong way around! This is a move order mix up. Dang. Your
humble scribe got a bit confused here. I obviously suffer from some kind of chromosomal deficiency
where I can’t seem to convert winning positions, without at least a few stumbles. This mistake, which
bleaches Black’s attack of its own significance, invalidates my previous argument. I chose a plan so
elaborate, that even Liberace would condemn it as overly ornate.
Correct was the simple path, which I inexplicably saw and rejected, 22 ... Rxf3! 23 Bxf3 Rf8 24 Qe2
Bf5!. Now is the correct timing, preventing Nc2, while menacing both ... Nd3 and ... Bd3, and if 25 e6
Qd6 (threat: ... Qxg3+) 26 Be5 Qxe6 27 Bf4 Nd3 28 Qxe6+ Bxe6 29 Nb5 Nxf4 30 gxf4 Rxf4 with a
winning position for Black.
23 h6?
 This is the house of cards path. White may yet save himself with 23 Rc1! Be4 24 Rxc5! (a good
investment, which depletes Black of dark-square power in the attack) 24 ... Qxc5 25 Rc3 Qb6 26 Rxc8
Rxc8 27 Bg4 Rc7 28 Nc4! when Black must return the exchange and is unable to play 28 ... dxc4?? 29
Qd8+ Kf7 and the simplest way to win is 30 e6+.
23 ... Be4

Now White is unable to defend f2.

24 Qg5
This utilitarian decision saves White from mate, but only leads to a lost ending.
24 ... Qxh6 25 Qxh6 gxh6 26 Rf6 Nd3
We sense a winding down of White’s vitality, since he is unable to defend a3, b2 and f2 all at once.
27 Bg4 Rce8 28 Rc1
Desperation.
28 ... Nxc1 29 Bxc1 Rxe5 30 Rxf8+ Bxf8 0-1

Summary
The idea behind the Wade Variation is to dump the bad bishop for White’s good model, with ... Bd7, ... Qb6, and ... Bb5.
Chapter Six
The Exchange Variation
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 exd5

Something boring this way comes. White’s exchange on d5 – where little is said, yet much is implied –
isn’t exactly laden with ominous overtones, but equalizing isn’t the issue for us. This chapter we cover the
Exchange French, a line sometimes used by lower-rated players to blackmail us into a draw.
In the above diagram, our dynamism appears in danger of dissolution as White’s exchange of pawns on
d5 inflicts a deflationary effect upon our future fun. We are not going to respond like grieving players.
Have you ever had an obnoxious friend call you two hours after your normal bedtime, and then coyly ask:
“I hope I didn’t call too late. Did I wake you up?” Well, in this chapter we take on the role of this
obnoxious friend, and force our opponents out of bed and into action.
My goal this chapter is to show you that the Exchange line isn’t synonymous with an arid game, and no
charm exists for our opponent to ward off our mischief-making magic. Our secret? Asymmetry. If our
opponent castles kingside, we go the opposite way with our king; if our opponent sets up knights on f3 and
d2, we develop ours on the asymmetrical c6- and e7-squares, respectively. With this strategy we force a
fight on our peace-loving opponents.

Game 35
V.Iyer-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2014

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5
My student, Professor Joel Sneed (If Joel’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he co-authored three
Everyman books with GM Boris Gulko) wrote me in an email just yesterday: “Why does everyone play
the Exchange French against me? It is a curse. It makes it unplayable.”
 I will let you in on a little secret: we French players loath the Exchange line. Most books only give the
Exchange a cursory glance, dismissing the line as harmless, which is true if you are fine with a draw as
Black. If you are playing for a win, however, it becomes a giant pain for Black. My goal in this chapter is
to ease your fears that the Exchange French will lead to an automatic draw.
3 ... exd5 4 Bd3 Nc6

Tip: Our secret to beating down the Exchange French is twofold:

1. Create an imbalance in the piece placement – even a slight one, and then be on a constant lookout for
further imbalances, i.e. play two knights versus the opponent’s bishop-pair, but in a blocked position; or
castle on opposite wings, as seen in this game.
2. Our job is to understand the structure deeper than our opponent. If you are a consistent French player
with many years of experience, your understanding of the subtleties of the structure will be greater than
your lower-rated opponent, who is just playing the Exchange as a one-time weapon to try and draw.
5 c3
Alternatives:
a) 5 Ne2 Nb4 6 Bb5+ c6 7 Ba4 when White’s bishop is slightly out of play, and our knight can re-route
with ... Na6, ... Nc7 and a future ... Ne6.
b) 5 Nf3 allows the annoying pin 5 ... Bg4.
5 ... Bd6 6 Nf3

Tip: If White continues in grovel mode with 6 Ne2 intending Bf4, then reply with
the aggressive 6 ... Qf6! denying White’s intent.

6 ... Bg4 7 h3?!

Warning: Don’t push pawns on the wing you intend to castle.

The h3 push, a self-thwarting exercise, provides future attacking and sacrificial targets to the opponent.
White, itching not to ‘waste’ an opportunity to gain a tempo, plays a self-harming move. The decision is
similar to eyeing your two-week-old sushi in the fridge, and thinking: “It smells a little funny, but it would
be a waste of good money to throw it out.” Such decisions are a quick way of getting us connected to a
stomach pump in a hospital bed. He should probably continue with a line like 7 0-0 Nge7 8 Re1 Qd7 9
Nbd2 0-0-0 10 b4 Ng6 11 Qa4 Kb8 12 b5 Nce7 13 Ne5 Bxe5 (remember to create imbalances!) 14 dxe5
d4. Nobody can say the game is drawish anymore, B.Petersson-G.Meier, Vaxjo 2015.
7 ... Bh5 8 Nbd2 Nge7

Note: Black develops the knight asymmetrically to e7, not f6. This way the path
is cleared for a potential future pawn storm with ... f6 and ... g5.

9 0-0 f6
We begin to see the rudimentary outline of Black’s agenda, which is to seize control over e5, while
considering ... g5 in the future.
10 Re1 Qd7 11 b3?!

Warning: Don’t dilly dally in situations of a potential opposite wing attack,
where every tempo counts.

White’s move is suspension, rather than motion. In the absence of visibility, a prudent ‘I-will-wait-for-
a-plan-to-make-itself-evident’ strategy can be our worst choice. I’m not sure what motivated my student
Venkat into playing this move. Either he intended Bb2 and a future c4, or he was hoping that I would be
lulled into castling long (which I intended all along), and only then would he play b4.

Note: When White begins the ‘attack’ early with 11 b4 our opponent forgets that
we haven’t signed a contract to castle long. Don’t presuppose that we must
attack in every situation.

 Instead, be flexible and go short with 11 ... 0-0!, after which White’s b4 thrust may later prove to be a
weakening of the queenside light squares for no compensation.
White’s most accurate continuation is 11 Qc2! 0-0-0 and now that Black commits to queenside castling,
war has begun with 12 b4 Rde8! (clearing d8 for the knight in case of b5, and leaving the h8-rook free to
attack White’s king) 13 a4 g5 and it’s anybody’s game.
11 ... 0-0-0

Carpe diem – seize the day!

Tip: Against the Exchange French, if you can, castle on opposite wings and declare
war on your peace-loving opponent!

12 a4 g5
The Beatles would agree: “You say you want a revolution?”
13 b4

Note: To play b3 and then b4 is a tail-chasing waste of time, which happens to be
a favourite pastime of my dogs.

Not only did White lose a move by taking two moves to achieve b4, but White also suffers for tossing
in his earlier h3, since it’s easy for Black to pry open White’s king.
13 ... Ng6
Eyeing both h4- and f4-squares.
14 Qc2 Nce7 15 Ba3 Nf4 16 Bb5!
He wants to provoke ... c6 to later open queenside lines with b5.
16 ... c6 17 Bf1
This bishop isn’t quite a slave, and certainly doesn’t qualify as a citizen. Maybe he falls somewhere in
between, in serf-like fashion.
17 ... g4 18 hxg4?!

Warning: Don’t help your opponent open lines against your king.

There is no reason to agree to this grim-lipped concession. White shouldn’t open the g-file without a
fight, although even after 18 Nh2 Rhg8 (18 ... gxh3?! is met with the clogging 19 g3) 19 b5 Bxa3 20 Rxa3
g3! 21 fxg3 Rxg3 22 Kh1 Black’s attack still looks faster than White’s.
18 ... Qxg4
Black attackers veer right in unison, in imitation of a squadron of synchronized fighter jets at an air
show.
19 b5

Exercise (combination alert): White’s game teeters on the brink of dissolution.
Black has access to two promising continuations for his attack. You only need to
find one of them.

Answer: Annihilation of defensive barrier. The knight sacrifice throws the white king’s plight into unflattering relief.
19 ... Nxg2!
Answer no.2: Less spectacular, but also winning is 19 ... Bg6!, and if 20 Qb2 Bd3! (removal of the
guard, in this case the only defender of g2) 21 bxc6 Nxc6 22 Rab1 b6 23 Bxd6 Bxf1 24 Nh4 Rxd6 25
Nxf1 Qxh4. Black is up a piece and attacking.
20 Bxd6
White’s last move is similar to the doctor who tells the nurse: “The patient may be in excruciating pain,
but don’t waste good morphine on him, since he will die in a few hours anyway.”
The text loses without a fight, but there was no saving White. For instance, 20 Bxg2 Rhg8 21 Nh4
(when material up and under attack, our extra loot is a vital commodity, to be doled out in a stingy manner
as a bribe which offers: “Take this money in exchange for my life”; we experience a terrible sense of
being double crossed when our dishonest opponent takes our bribe and our life!) 21 ... Qxh4 22 Bxd6
Rxd6 23 Re3 (23 Rxe7?? Qh3 is curtains for White) 23 ... f5! (threat: ... Rdg6) 24 Rg3 Rdg6 25 bxc6
bxc6 26 Nf1 f4 27 Rxg6 Rxg6 with overwhelming threats to White’s king, who is only kept alive via
intravenous feeding tubes.
20 ... Nxe1+ 21 Bg3 Nxc2 0-1

Summary
Dreary uniformity is not necessarily our fate when our opponent plays the Exchange French. The secret to beating the non-confrontational
Exchange line is to create imbalances, such as castling on opposite sides of the board, or trading bishop for a knight. However White sets up
his or her opening development, you should do the opposite!

Game 36
D.Kishnevsky-C.Lakdawala
San Diego (rapid) 2009

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5
I lamented in my notes in 2009: “Not again! This is the third straight opponent who played the
Exchange against my French!”
3 ... exd5 4 Bd3 Nc6 5 c3 Bd6 6 Nf3 Nge7

Note: This is a minor alteration from last game, where Black avoids an early ... Bg4,
and instead hopes to challenge White’s good bishop with ... Bf5.

7 Qc2
An alert reaction which prevents ... Bf5.
7 ... Bg4 8 Nbd2
Covering f3 against potential structural damage.
8 ... Qd7
Once again renewing the fight for f5, while preparing to castle long.
9 0-0 0-0-0
Black’s most dynamic option. 9 ... Bf5 10 Re1 Bxd3 11 Qxd3 0-0 is dull and even, which is not the
kind of game I was looking for.
10 b4
White begins his pawn storm immediately.
10 ... Bf5!

Tip: Trade away White’s light-squared bishop in the Exchange French, which
he soon finds to be an intolerable deprivation when attempting to cover his
weakened light squares.

11 a4
11 b5 Bxd3 12 Qxd3 Na5 13 Nb3 Nc4 14 a4 Qf5! allows Black either a pleasant ending, or forces
White’s queen to back off.
11 ... Bxd3 12 Qxd3 Qf5!

Tip: Just because the players castle on opposite sides of the board, doesn’t
guarantee wild mutual attacks.

In this case Black’s strategy is to eliminate both White’s good bishop, and also his queen, after which
his queenside pawn pushes may later become a liability in the ending.
13 Qxf5+
Note much choice since 13 Qe2?! loses time and gets White’s pieces tangled after 13 ... Qc2! 14 Ra3
Nf5. Black will gain another tempo with a coming ... Re8.
13 ... Nxf5 14 Nb3 h5
Securing the position of the f5-knight by preventing g4.
15 Bd2 f6 16 a5?!

Warning: Principle: avoid fixing pawns on the same colour as your remaining bishop.

Now White’s defensive issues begin to grow intractable. When we violate principle, we reach the
moment in the Sci-fi movie where the aliens, disguised as humans, betray themselves and begin to arouse
suspicion, since everything they do and say appears unnatural.
16 ... a6
This freezes the white queenside pawns on dark squares, while weakening White’s light squares.
17 Nc5?!
The concept of a team falls apart if one of its members considers him or herself a rugged individualist.
It’s important not to engage in a plan which is outside the capability of our position. This move further
weakens White’s structure.
17 ... Bxc5 18 bxc5
Chronically weakening his a-pawn. If 18 dxc5 Black undermines b4 with 18 ... d4! 19 Rfd1 Rhe8 20
Kf1 dxc3 21 Bxc3 Nfe7! (intending ... Nd5 and ... Ndxb4) 22 Be1 Rxd1 23 Rxd1 Rd8 24 Rb1 Rd3. White
is tied down and weak on the light squares, and must also deal with a bad bishop.
18 ... Na7
Eyeing the b5 hole.
19 Ne1 c6?!
 A superficial move. I wanted to stabilize the queenside, but with hindsight, the move is inaccurate,
since:
1. The glitch leads to disruption of services, depriving Black of a ... Nc6 option later on.
2. Black deprives himself of an option to infiltrate the queenside with his king, via d7, c6 and b5.
The correct plan is to leave c6 open and post knights on the light squares b5 and c6.
20 Nd3 g5
Cutting off both Nf4 and Bf4, while gaining kingside territory.
21 Rfe1 Rde8
The correct rook, since Black’s d8-rook had nothing to do on the closed d-file.
22 Kf1 Nb5
Meaning White must babysit c3.
23 Rxe8+ Rxe8 24 Re1?!
Now White’s path to a draw is about as secure as an unfertilized egg, en route to becoming a future
chicken.

Warning: We can’t rely on generalities in a position of absolutes, and trading isn’t
always synonymous with drawing.

Now White experiences difficulty in protecting his a5-pawn and his difficulties pass the level of a trial
and move seamlessly into an inquisition.
24 ... Rxe1+ 25 Nxe1?
Correct was 25 Bxe1 Na3 26 Nb2! (preventing ... Nc4, followed by ... Nxa5; White must fashion his
defence brick by brick, like a determined Inuit, desperate to construct an igloo before the coming snow
storm) 26 ... Nc4 27 Nxc4 dxc4 28 h3 Ne7 29 g4 hxg4 30 hxg4 Nd5 with a good knight versus bad bishop
ending. Even here White’s survival is far from an unimpeachable truth. His only chance to draw would be
to try for a fortress by sealing the position against Black’s king entry.

Exercise (planning): How did Black force the win of a pawn?

Answer: Transfer the knight to c4, after which a5 falls.
25 ... Na3! 26 Ke2 Nc4 27 Nd3 Nxa5 28 f4?
Made with the live-free-or-die motivation, but allowing more corrosion on the light squares.

Warning: This move, demonstrative of White’s frustration, is yet another violation
of the principle stating that we shouldn’t allow our pawns to get fixed on the
same colour as our remaining bishop.

28 ... g4 29 h3
White is desperate for some kind of kingside counterplay.
29 ... gxh3 30 gxh3 Nc4
The black knights dominate the light squares, while White must now continually watch out for the
promotion attempts of Black’s passed a-pawn.
31 Nf2

Exercise (planning): How did Black force a pawn-up king and pawn ending?

Answer: Simplification.
31 ... Ng3+! 32 Kd3 Nxd2 33 Kxd2 Ne4+! 34 Nxe4
After 34 Ke3 Nxf2 35 Kxf2 b6! 36 cxb6 Kb7 37 Ke3 Kxb6 38 Kd2 Kb5 39 Kd3 a5 40 h4 a4 41 f5 a3
42 Kc2 Kc4 Black wins easily.
34 ... dxe4 0-1
The king and pawn ending is lost and my opponent resigned here. 35 f5 a5 36 Ke3 a4 37 Kxe4 (White
won his pawn back, but his king is too late in halting Black’s a-pawn) 37 ... a3 38 Kd3 and ‘almost’ is the
most discouraging qualifier in the English language. White loses by one tempo after 38 ... a2.

Summary
Sometimes we castle long with the following strategy:
1. Swap away White’s good bishop with ... Bf5.
2. Trade away queens with ... Qf5.
3. Play to overextend White on the queenside if our opponent has played b4 and a4.

Game 37
G.Kasparov-C.Lakdawala
Internet (blitz) 1998

Normally a five minute blitz game isn’t considered worthy of annotation in a chess book. The exception is
when one of the players is the world champion. Each generation produces a Nietzchean ‘ubermensch’, or
metahuman, who plays with god-like abilities. In this game the ubermensch is playing little me!

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5
The lines of the French vary in degree of difficulty from Plato’s writings, to the script of Abbot and
Costello Meet The Mummy. Of course Kasparov was just goofing around and let me off the hook
theoretically in the opening. Had he played his normal 3 Nc3 then the odds were heavy that your writer
would have been clobbered a lot worse than what happened in the game.
 3 ... exd5 4 Nf3

Note: This is one of the few Exchange French lines where White actually plays
dynamically for the win.

The idea behind this move order is twofold:
1. White wants to play an isolani position with c4 next.
2. White allows Black to commit to ... Bd6, and only then plays c4, with an isolani position. This way
Black lacks both ... Bb4+ and ... Be7 options later on. Thereby White hopes to reach a slightly favourable
version of an isolani position, as can arise too after 4 c4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Be7.

Note: In this version Black’s bishop is better posted on e7, rather than the
awkward d6-square in my game with Kasparov.

An example: 6 Bd3 dxc4 (now is the correct time to capture c4, once White’s bishop wastes a move) 7
Bxc4 0-0 8 Nge2!? (White wants to play it in Tarrasch French fashion, but with colours reversed) 8 ...
Nbd7 9 0-0 Nb6 10 Bb3 c6 11 Re1 Bf5 12 Ng3 Bg6 13 f4!? (White risks overextension with this move)
13 ... Bd6! 14 Qf3 (14 f5? is well met with 14 ... Bxg3) 14 ... Qd7 15 Rf1 Bf5! 16 Nxf5 Qxf5 17 h3 h5
(g4 must be prevented) 18 Qf2 Rad8 19 Bc2 Qd7 20 Ne4?! Nxe4 21 Bxe4 Rfe8 22 Bc2 Bc7 23 Rd1 Nd5
24 Qf3 Nf6 25 Kh1 Qd5, R.Bruno-C.Lakdawala, San Diego (rapid) 2006. Black has a strategically won
game for the following reasons:
1. White’s position is riddled with weak squares, like e4, e3 and e2 and d5.
2. White nurses a weak d4 isolani, which may later fall.
3. White lags in development on the queenside.
4 ... Bd6
I think a more accurate move order is 4 ... Nf6!, after which White gets a reduced scale copy of what
he got in the game: 5 c4 and now Black can either play 5 ... Be7, or 5 ... Bb4+, both of which are superior
to what I got in the game’s continuation. The reason I avoid 4 ... Nf6 is the line 5 Bd3 Bd6 6 0-0 0-0 7
Bg5 Nbd7 8 Nbd2 c6 9 c3 Re8 10 Re1 when the position is a bit of a snoozer, Wei Yi-Y.Vovk, Baku
2015.
Instead, 4 ... Bg4!? is aggressive, but possibly slightly inaccurate, since White extracts an edge after 5
h3 Bh5 6 Qe2+! Qe7 (I have grave doubts about Black’s compensation for the pawn after 6 ... Be7?! 7
Qb5+ Nd7 8 Be2 Ngf6 9 Qxb7; I just don’t think Black’s development lead is enough for the pawn) 7
Be3! Nc6 8 Nc3 0-0-0 9 g4 Bg6 10 0-0-0 f6 11 a3 Qd7 12 Nd2 f5 13 Nb3 Nf6 14 f3. Black’s position is
acceptable, but still slightly inferior, since White controls e4 and has a queenside build-up, G.Kasparov-
N.Short, Tilburg 1991.
5 c4

This variation falls between boundaries. Just because it’s an Exchange French, doesn’t mean that White
took a vow of non-violence. So Kasparov goes for a potential isolani position, which comes with long-
term risks, like a potential bad ending, if White isn’t able to extract anything from his middlegame
initiative. Of course Kasparov avoiding the risky/dynamic option would be the same as a mayor of a city,
who in a desire to pursue austerity measures, fires all the city’s paramedics, replacing them with Uber
drivers, equipped with band aids and aspirin.
5 ... Nf6

Warning: In isolani positions, avoid moves like 5 ... dxc4?! which allow White a
free development jump to c4. Only capture on c4 after White plays either
 Be2 or Bd3. This way Black gains a tempo.

6 Nc3 0-0 7 cxd5
Kasparov wants to play an isolani position.

Tip: Don’t fear being down a pawn in such situations. White isn’t able to hang on to
d5 forever.

Note: Playing the isolani position isn’t obligatory here. White can also go for a
tempo-gain with 7 c5!? Be7 8 Bd3 b6.

Tip: When White plays c5, chip away at it as early as possible with ... b6.

9 cxb6 (9 b4? a5 overextends White since a3 isn’t possible due to ... axb4, when White’s a-pawn is
pinned) 9 ... axb6 10 h3 c5 with an acceptable position for Black, E.Sutovsky-B.Socko, Rijeka 2010.
7 ... Re8+ 8 Be2 Nbd7
The idea is to transfer to b6 and then later play either knight takes d5.
9 0-0
More enterprising is 9 Bg5 h6 10 Bh4 a6 11 0-0 b5 12 a3 Bb7 13 Re1 and now Black can risk 13 ...
g5!? 14 Bg3 Nxd5. Black regained the lost pawn with a sharp position. Of course once a committal move
like ... g5 has been played, Black must take precautions for the safety of his king, which looks adequately
defended for now.
9 ... h6
Preventing Bg5.
10 Bc4!?
 Kasparov makes it as difficult as possible for Black to regain the lost pawn. Yet his move is
exceedingly risky, since it allows Black ... Nb6 and ... Bg4, after which it isn’t so easy for White to break
the f3 pin.
10 ... Nb6
Another plan is 10 ... a6 intending ... b5, ... Bb7, ... Nb6 and ... Nbxd5. The trouble is White can deny
Black his intent by tossing in 11 a4! with an edge.
11 Bb3 Bg4 12 h3 Bh5 13 Be3?!
This move loses the initiative. White should go for 13 g4 Bg6 14 Ne5!. White offers the pawn back. If
Black accepts with 14 ... Bxe5!? 15 dxe5 Rxe5 16 f4 Re7 17 f5 Bh7 18 Bf4 Rd7 19 d6! cxd6 20 Qd4
White gets more than enough compensation for the pawn, with the bishop-pair, aggressive piece
placement and a dangerous kingside space advantage.
13 ... Qd7!
Intending ... Qf5.
14 a4!?
Risky, since it creates a hole on b4. I’m convinced that players like Kasparov are propelled by an
unconscious belief that they are immune from mortality – at least on the chess board.
14 ... a5 15 Rc1 Qf5

Note: If your opponent has the isolani, then a queen swap is generally in your favour.

This forces an ending, after which White’s happiness is destined to be a fleeting thing, while his future
misery is of enduring quality. Maybe I should have proceeded in a calmer manner with 15 ... Re7 16 Re1
Rae8 when White has no constructive plan and is caught in a nasty pin on f3.
16 Bc2
White gets demolished if he gets greedy with 16 g4??.

Warning: Avoid impulsive pawn pushes which weaken your king’s safety.

Here 16 ... Bxg4 17 hxg4 Qxg4+ 18 Kh1 Qh3+ 19 Kg1 Ng4 20 Qe2 Bh2+ 21 Kh1 Bf4+ 22 Kg1 Rxe3!
23 fxe3 Bxe3+ wins.
16 ... Bxf3 17 Bxf5 Bxd1 18 Rfxd1 Nfxd5
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, and to this beholder, White’s game appears rather homely:
1. Black regained the lost pawn.
2. Black stuck White with an isolani, which isn’t conducive for an ending. In fact White’s structure
rests in a state of perpetual dilapidation.
3. White now probably regretted his rash a4 move earlier, since it created a hole on b4.
4. White’s bishop-pair is anything but an advantage here, since Black’s knights more than hold their
own.
Conclusion: Black stands slightly better in the ending and White’s game requires lengthy strategic
convalescence. Still, it’s a derailment, rather than a full-fledged train wreck.

 19 Bd2 c6 20 Nxd5 Nxd5 21 Kf1 Re7
Worth a thought was 21 ... Bf4 which follows the principle: when your opponent has the bishop-pair,
eliminate one of the bishops if possible.
22 g3
Halting ... Bf4.
22 ... Bb4
So I look for the swap from the other angle.
23 Bxb4?!
We, the ordinary, love it when a great player veers off course, since then he is yanked down to our day-
to-day human level. This is an unnecessary concession, after which White stands clearly worse. Correct
was 23 Bc3 into a holding pattern.
23 ... Nxb4 24 Bg4 Rd8 25 Rc5!
Provoking queenside pawn weaknesses in Black’s camp on c6.
25 ... b6 26 Rc3 Rd6
Covering c6.
27 Re3 Kf8 28 Rd2
28 Rde1 is met with 28 ... Nd5.

Exercise (critical decision): Is 28 ... c5 a good move for Black?

Answer: It’s weak! White’s d2-rook isn’t pinned at all.
28 ... c5?
A herbivore is unwise to pick a fight with a moody T-Rex.
29 Rxe7! Kxe7 30 Re2+!
Oops, I forgot he could play this.
30 ... Kf6 31 dxc5 bxc5
Crap. I unnecessarily allowed him to damage my queenside structure, while allowing him to eliminate
his d4 isolani. I threw away my advantage, but Black should still be just fine here. To fix such structural
defects, Black’s pieces must cooperate and call to mind monkeys who carefully groom each other for lice
removal.
32 Re3 c4?!
Making matters worse. After 32 ... Rd3 33 Ke2 Rxe3+ 34 Kxe3 Ke5 Black draws easily.
33 Be2 Nd3?!
Black has better chances to hold the game with 33 ... Rd4 34 Rc3 Nd3 35 b3! Ke5 36 bxc4 Nc5 37
Rc2 Kd6 38 Rb2 Nxa4 39 Rb5 Nc3 40 c5+ Kc6 41 Rxa5 Nxe2 42 Kxe2 Rd7. White experiences great
difficulties in making progress in the rook and pawn ending.
34 b3!
Undermining my knight and winning a pawn. White’s counterplay, once dead, is jolted to life in
Frankenstein fashion.
34 ... Ne5 35 bxc4 Rc6 36 Re4

Tip: Principle: place your rook behind your passed pawn. Correct was 36 Rc3!.

36 ... Rc5 37 Rd4 Ke7 38 h4 Nd7!
The b6-square is the ideal posting for the knight, where it simultaneously attacks c4 and a4.
39 Re4+
The greedy comp likes 39 Bd1! intending to hang on to both queenside pawns with Bb3.
39 ... Kd6 40 Rf4
Not best. 40 Bd1! was to be preferred.
 40 ... f6 41 h5
Fixing g7 as a potential target.
41 ... Nb6 42 Rg4 Rg5 43 Rd4+ Kc5 44 Rd8 Nxa4

At last, I regained the lost pawn and now own a passed a-pawn. I misassessed here, thinking that Black
had a won game, due to this passer. Kasparov’s next move shows this just isn’t the case.
45 f4! Rxg3
45 ... Rf5?? self-traps the rook after 46 Bg4.
46 Rd5+! Kb4
Simpler was 46 ... Kb6 47 Rb5+ Ka6 48 Kf2 Rh3 49 Bg4! Rd3 50 Bc8+ Ka7 51 Rxa5+. The game
should end in a draw.
47 Rb5+!
Incrementally, it felt like I was losing ground every few moves. There goes my precious a-pawn!
47 ... Kc3 48 Kf2 Rh3 49 Rxa5 Rh2+ 50 Kf3 Nb6 51 c5 Nd5 52 c6
The c-pawn gets awfully dangerous, yet Black has resources to hold the draw.
52 ... Kd4 53 Ra7
Going after g7, while menacing c7.
53 ... Rh3+! 54 Kf2 Rc3
Just in the nick of time.
55 Rxg7 Rxc6 56 Bf3 Rc2+ 57 Kg3 Rc3
57 ... Ne3 is more accurate.
58 Rd7

Exercise (critical decision): Black can cover d5 with 58 ... Rc5, or he can side step
the pin with 58 ... Kc4, relying on tactics. Only one of the moves works. Which one
would you play?

58 ... Rc5??
Black’s king sighs sadly, upon the realization that the c5-rook, his son and heir, is a complete dunce. To
a beaten down man like your writer, who has taken more blows to the head than I can count on the chess
board, what is one more? There are three times in a person’s life when our life flashes before our eyes:
1. Just before we die.
2. Just before we get married.
3. Just before we lose a chess game.
My last move was an example of number three on the list.
Answer: 58 ... Kc4! holds the draw, after which Black’s king feels the happy release of the third-grader who hears the final bell, allowing
escape from maths class. After 59 Rh7 (59 Rxd5 is met with the undermining trick 59 ... Rxf3+! 60 Kxf3 Kxd5 when White must play
carefully to draw; the only move to hold the game is 61 Ke3! f5 62 Kd3 which is a drawn king and pawn ending) 59 ... Ne3! 60 Kf2 Nf5 61
Be4 Ne3 62 Rc7+ Kd4 63 Rxc3 Nd1+! 64 Kf3 Nxc3 65 Bg6 Nd5 66 Kg4 Ne3+ White’s king is denied entry to f5 and the game is drawn.
59 Kg4 Ke3
The disgraced king submits his resignation letter. If I play normally and allow the natural permutation
with 59 ... Kc4 60 Rxd5 Rxd5 61 Bxd5+ Kxd5 62 Kf5, White wins the king and pawn ending.
60 Rxd5
Of course I should resign here, but this was a blitz game and Kasparov didn’t have time on his clock. I
offered a draw, but world champions don’t tend to accept when a piece up against a schmuck, so he
played and went on to flag!
60 ... Rc8 61 Bd1 Rf8 62 Kf5 Rf7 63 Rd6 Kf2 64 Rxf6 Rd7 65 Rxh6 Rxd1 66 Rg6 Rd5+ 0-1
Here I ‘won’ on time, in a completely hopeless position! ‘Winning’ under such circumstances is similar to the person awarded an ‘honorary’
PhD. I’m not fooling anyone calling myself Dr. Lakdawala. Everyone knows I didn’t earn a real PhD!

Summary
4 Nf3 is usually a precursor to an isolani position when White plays c4 next.
Chapter Seven
Other Lines
We finish the book with the loose ends chapter of various lesser lines, the most important of which may be
the King’s Indian Attack. In fact, pretty much every line covered is slightly offbeat, so this means our
opponent isn’t eager to challenge us theoretically, and in fact may consider any memorization battle
offensive.

The idealist dreams, while the realist consolidates. With the KIA, White – who is firmly in the latter
philosophical category – pretty much concedes his or her first move advantage. As compensation they
force a structure into which they are undoubtedly familiar and comfortable. Our suggested counter set-up
may yet yank our opponent into unfamiliar territory. For now the clogged centre resembles the freeway
during 5.00 p.m. rush hour, and it becomes very difficult to foresee how the structure gels 10 moves from
now. We remain flexible, keeping the centre fluid, while slowly preparing queenside expansion, with fully
even chances.
The other lines covered in the chapter are not a threat to us in a theoretical sense. Our only danger is
that we neglect to study them (a study trap many chess players fall for is to work obsessively on our main
lines, like the Winawer, Tarrasch and Advance, while neglecting the less scary lines), so keep these minor
lines in your study rotation, and you won’t get ambushed.

Game 38
H.Hamdouchi-R.Edouard
French Championship, Pau 2012

1 e4 e6 2 d3
 The King’s Indian Attack versus the French. This is a closed system where White can either play for a
slow direct attack on the kingside, or try for a central/queenside build up with plans like c3, a3, b4 and
d4.
2 ... d5
2 ... c5 is also played, but can transpose to the immediate ... d5 lines.
3 Nd2

Note: Like in the Tarrasch line, White plays the knight to d2. In this case the idea is
to avoid a swap of queens.

3 ... c5 4 Ngf3 Bd6
The normal move order is 4 ... Nc6 5 g3 Bd6. Ultra-sharp is the line 4 ... Nf6 5 g3 Nc6 6 Bg2 Be7 7 0-
0 0-0 8 Re1 b5 9 e5 Nd7 10 Nf1 a5 11 h4 b4. It becomes a battle of Black’s queenside attack versus
White’s kingside build-up.
5 g3

Warning: 5 e5?! just gives Black a target to work over after 5 ... Bc7 6 g3 Nc6
7 Nb3 b6. White is tied down to defence of e5 and already stands slightly worse.

5 ... Ne7 6 Bg2 Nbc6
This is the set-up for Black I advocate in my book Anti-Sicilians: Move by Move.
7 0-0 0-0 8 Re1
Instead, 8 Nh4 Bd7 9 f4 f6 10 c3 Be8 11 f5 dxe4 12 Nxe4 was seen in V.Saulespurens-C.Lakdawala,
Los Angeles 1998. Black equalizes with 12 ... Nxf5 13 Nxf5 exf5 14 Rxf5 Ne5.
8 ... Bc7 9 c3 b6 10 a3

Tip: With a3 and c3, White keeps options open for both a b4 and a d4 pawn break.

10 ... a5 11 a4
This slows Black’s queenside expansion and creates a hole on b5 for Black to worry about.
11 ... Ba6

Tip: Black can apply pressure to d3 by transferring a bishop to a6.

12 exd5
White goes for central play.
12 ... Nxd5
12 ... exd5 is an option, which keeps White’s knight out of c4. White can continue with 13 Nb1!?
intending to transfer to a3, where it watches over the b5 hole.
13 Nc4
Black is unable to boot the knight with ... b5, due to White’s earlier a4.
13 ... Qd7

Warning: Avoid moves like 13 ... Bxc4?! 14 dxc4 Nde7 15 Qe2. Black gets a healthy
4 vs 3 kingside majority, while handing White a crippled 4 vs 3 queenside model.
Yet, Black’s decision to chop on c4 is incorrect, since his loss of light squares,
coupled with the fact that his remaining bishop is bad, means that White got the
better of the bargain.

14 Qe2 h6 15 Bd2 Rad8 16 Rad1
 White’s backward d3-pawn is adequately defended and the game looks approximately balanced.
16 ... Nce7
Uncovering an attack on a4, which forces White to weaken on his next move.
17 b3 Nc6 18 Nfe5
White initiates central swaps.
18 ... Nxe5 19 Nxe5 Bxe5
Black rids himself of his bad bishop.
20 Qxe5 Ne7
Once again Black applies pressure to d3.
21 d4!? c4!
Undermining the queenside pawns. 21 ... cxd4?! is met with 22 Be3! with an edge for White.
22 Bf1
Pinning the c4-pawn.
22 ... Qc6 23 Bg2 Qd7 24 Bf1 Rc8
Black refuses the repetition draw offer.
25 Rb1 Nd5 26 Re4
Getting Black nervous about a swing of the rook to g4 or h4.
26 ... Rfe8 27 Rg4!?
White itches to take vigorous countermeasures. His move is made with the urgency of the thought: ‘If
not now, then when?’. White’s rook may be out of play on the kingside.
27 ... f5! 28 Rh4 Ne7
 Threatening to fork the white queen and rook with ... Ng6 next.
29 Rh3?!

Warning: Rooks are clumsy pieces in a middlegame, so lift them with great caution.

When we deliberately violate principle, we do so looking over our shoulders, expecting a punishing
blow from the vengeful chess goddess. White sees his potential attack as half full, rather than half empty,
when in reality the rook is out of play on h3 and this path is unlikely to be fruitful. This becomes a
question of competing truths: is White’s rook an attacking piece? Or is it simply out of play? My belief is
in the latter version. White should offer another repetition draw with 29 Qe3 Nd5 (Black can also play
for a win with 29 ... Ng6! 30 Rh5 b5!? 31 axb5 Bxb5 32 b4 a4 when I still prefer Black’s game slightly)
30 Qe5 Ne7.
29 ... Ng6 30 Qe2 e5!
Black seizes the initiative with this central counter.
31 Qh5 Qe6?!
More accurate is 31 ... Re6!, and if 32 Qxf5? exd4 favours Black.
32 Be3?!
White should just go for it with 32 Bxh6! gxh6 33 Qxh6 exd4 34 cxd4 Re7 35 d5 when his chances
don’t look worse.
32 ... Bb7 33 bxc4
Now White ends up with an inferior game. He should still try 33 Bxh6!.
33 ... exd4 34 Bxd4
34 cxd4?? is met with 34 ... Qe4 (threatening both mate and the b1-rook) 35 d5 f4! (this way g6 is
covered) 36 gxf4 Qxb1 37 Rg3 Ne7 38 Qxh6 Nf5. Black defends and wins.
34 ... Ne5
Threatening a big check on f3.
35 Bg2?
White had to try 35 Bxe5.
35 ... Bxg2 36 Kxg2 Ng4!
The knight roams about in the form of free agent. Now ... g6 is a big worry for White.
37 Rb2 Rxc4?!
 Black missed 37 ... g6! 38 Qh4 Rxc4, and if 39 Rxb6 Qd5+ Black forces mate in three moves.
38 Rh4!
Nothing unites a nation as efficiently as the existential threat of annihilation.
38 ... g6 39 Rxg4
White extricates his queen, at the cost of the exchange.
39 ... fxg4
To rid ourselves of an authoritarian enemy piece generates in us a malicious bliss similar to seeing
your pushy boss slip on a banana peel.
40 Qb5

Exercise (combination alert): What is Black’s best continuation?

Answer: Deflection/mating net.
40 ... Rxa4!
What joy when we are given the gift of serendipitous geometry. When we find a hidden combination,
we become the biblical prophet who alone is privileged to hear a secret message from God.
41 Rb1
The rook is immune. If 41 Qxa4?? Qd5+ 42 f3 (or 42 Kf1 Qh1 mate) 42 ... Qxf3+ 43 Kg1 Re1 mate.
41 ... Qe4+ 42 Kg1 Rb4!
A sweet interference shot which removes White’s rook and weakens his king’s defences.
43 Rxb4 axb4 44 Qxb4 Qe1+ 45 Kg2 Qe6
Threatening a mate in three moves, starting with either ... Qc6+ or ... Qd5+.
46 Qb5
Covering the mating threat.
46 ... Ra8
Threat: ... Qe4+.
47 h3
White’s game continues to deplete as steadily as sand trickling down the hourglass. Black’s only fear
in such a position is that he gets careless and allows White’s lone queen and bishop to deliver either
perpetual check or mate on Black’s exposed king. 47 Qxb6?? Qe4+ forces mate.
47 ... gxh3+ 48 Kh2 Ra1 49 Qd3 Qc6
Threatening mate on h1 and g2. This is the part of the movie when the killer enters the house and the
soundtrack begins to play sinisterly dissonant music.
50 f3
White’s king is slowly eroded of cover.
50 ... Qe6 51 Bf2 Ra8 52 g4 Rf8 53 Kxh3 h5! 54 Bg3 Kh7

Silence can be an ominous sign in a war setting, since it can mean the enemy is building for a final
assault. Black’s move anticipates a future need of king shelter from White’s perpetual check attempts.
55 c4 Rc8
White must either lose his c-pawn or swap queens, both of which lose.
56 Qd5
The arthritic dowager limps to d5, begging for a swap. 56 Bh2 Rxc4 is equally hopeless for White.
56 ... Qxd5
Why not? Black’s passed b-pawn ensures the victory.
57 cxd5 b5 58 d6 Rd8 0-1

Summary
The system involving ... Nc6, ... Bd6, ... Nge7 and ... 0-0 is a reliable equalizer versus the King’s Indian Attack.

Game 39
A.Morozevich-S.Lputian
Wijk aan Zee 2000

1 e4 e6 2 d3

Note: When White plays 2 Qe2 on the second move, the idea is to discourage ... d5
since after exd5, Black must recapture with the queen.

 We can try and cross White with 2 ... e5, where we get a double king’s pawn opening, but with White
having the less-than-useless Qe2, clogging development. For example, 3 Nf3 Nc6 4 g3 Bc5 5 Bg2 d6 6 c3
a6 7 h3 Nge7 8 0-0 0-0 9 d3 f5 10 b4 Ba7 11 Be3 Bxe3 12 Qxe3 f4 when Black’s kingside attacking
chances are easily equivalent to White’s queenside space, D.Aldama-C.Lakdawala, San Diego (rapid)
2016.
2 ... d5 3 Qe2!?

Note: This move order prevents our plan from last game, which is the set-up: ... c5,
... Nc6, ... Bd6 and ... Nge7.

3 ... dxe4
This move dodges the main line which runs 3 ... Nf6 4 Nf3 Be7 5 g3 c5 6 Bg2 Nc6 7 0-0 0-0 8 e5 Nd7
with sharp mutual wing attacks.
4 dxe4 b6

Black intends to harass White’s queen with ... Ba6 next. Also good enough for equality is 4 ... e5 which
is the route I would take: 5 Nf3 Nd7 6 Nbd2 Bc5 7 Nc4 Qe7 when White’s queen is misplaced on e2.
 5 Nd2!?
A new move at the time, and more enterprising than 5 Nf3 Ba6 6 Qd2 Qxd2+ 7 Bxd2, M.Buckley-
S.Lalic, British League 2000. Black equalizes after 7 ... Bxf1 8 Kxf1 Nf6 9 Nc3 Nc6.
5 ... Ba6 6 Nc4!?
This is Morozevich’s idea. He self-pins to avoid a bishop swap.
6 ... Nf6 7 Nf3 Nc6 8 c3 Be7
8 ... Na5 is met with 9 Qc2! Bxc4 10 Bxc4 Nxc4 11 Qa4+ Nd7 12 Qxc4. White looks a shade better
since he leads in development and Black created a hole on c6.
9 e5 Nd7!?
There is no reason to go passive like this. I would be more inclined to play the knight to d5 with 9 ...
Nd5! 10 Qe4 Qd7 11 Be2 (after 11 Qg4 the threat to g7 can be ignored with 11 ... Bb7! 12 Qxg7 0-0-0
with a dangerous development lead for the pawn) 11 ... Bb7 12 0-0 0-0-0 with a sharp position.
10 Qe4
White breaks the pin, attacking c6 and intending to swing the queen to g4.
10 ... Bb7 11 Qg4

11 ... g6

Warning: Beware of pins.

11 ... 0-0?? walks into 12 Bh6 g6 13 0-0-0! (stronger than capturing on f8) 13 ... Re8 14 Qf4 Qc8 15
Ne3 when Black’s pieces are horribly tangled and White has a winning attack. However, I would
consider forgoing castling in favour of a zero weakening plan with 11 ... Kf8!?.
12 Bh6 b5!?
This move swaps the b5-pawn for White’s e5-pawn. 12 ... Bf8 was a safer alternative.
13 Ne3 Ndxe5 14 Nxe5 Nxe5 15 Bxb5+ c6 16 Qe4
16 Qg3! was more accurate.
16 ... Qc7 17 Be2 f5! 18 Qa4?
After this move White loses the material. I have a friend who is a smoker, who claims that tobacco
isn’t harmful, since his father smoked two packs a day and made it to age 80. Morozevich’s similarly
cavalier attitude toward material loss is the same, where it has cost him, and won him countless games.
Correct was 18 Qf4! (the general must eventually be subsumed by detail) 18 ... 0-0-0 19 Nc4 Nd3+ 20
Bxd3 Qxf4 21 Bxf4 Rxd3 22 0-0 g5 23 Be5 Rhd8 and chances look balanced in the ending.
18 ... Nf7!
Suddenly, White’s bishop is in deep trouble.
19 Bf4
White offers a piece to muck it up. After 19 Bg7 Rg8 20 Bd4 Kf8! (20 ... e5? is met with the tricky 21
Nd5!) 21 Nc4 c5 22 Be3 Bxg2 23 Rg1 Qxh2 24 0-0-0 Kg7 White doesn’t get full compensation for his
two missing pawns.
19 ... e5 20 Bg3 f4

The bishop is trapped, but this isn’t the end of the story. Morozevich still gets fishing chances for the
piece after his next move. Still, White’s position has the look and feel of a San Diego State University
student (I live a mile from the college, so I speak from experience) brought low by a Saturday night of
excess.
21 Nd5!
Exploiting the pin of the c6-pawn.
21 ... Qd6 22 0-0-0!?
White’s investment threatens to grow prohibitively expensive, but if:
a) 22 Nxe7? is met with 22 ... fxg3! when White’s knight is trapped.
b) 22 Nxf4 exf4 23 Bxf4 Qe6 24 Be3 0-0 and White lacks full compensation for the piece.
22 ... fxg3 23 Nf4
A discovered attack on Black’s queen.
23 ... Qf6 24 Nd5
Threatening Black’s queen, as well as a fork on c7.
24 ... Qd6 25 Nf4 Qb8!?
My lifelong motto: if at first you don’t succeed, then just give up immediately. Your chicken-hearted
writer would be inclined to take the repetition draw here. Lputian bravely goes for the full point.
26 Ne6 Ng5!
Challenging White’s knight.
27 Bc4
After 27 Nxg5 Bxg5+ 28 Kb1 gxh2 29 Bg4 Kf8 30 Rxh2 Bc8 White still gets some practical chances,
but objectively Black is winning.
27 ... Nxe6 28 Bxe6 gxh2?!
 The wrong pawn. 28 ... gxf2! 29 Rhf1 Rf8 30 Bd7+ Kf7 31 Rxf2+ Kg7 sees White’s attack shudder to a
halt and Black consolidates.
29 Rxh2

29 ... Bd6?
It’s easy to drift in such positions. There are certain fixed laws in the universe, like the one where all
restaurants have ketchup, salt, sugar and cream canisters at every table – except at the one we are sitting
at. In terrible complications, under pressure and with our clocks running low, it’s a near certainty that we
will pick an inferior line. Black should play 29 ... Qc7!, after which White’s counterplay grows tepid: 30
Rd7 Qxd7 31 Bxd7+ Kxd7. Normally when we lose our queen, we become the resentful serf who just had
his new bride deflowered on his wedding night by his liege lord. In this case though, Black’s chances are
clearly superior, with two bishops and a rook for White’s queen.
30 f4!

Tip: Open lines and create confrontation when leading in development.

30 ... e4?
Now he can no longer hold off the deluge of threats. Black had to try 30 ... Qc7.
31 g3 Qc7 32 Qd4! Rf8
The question is: should White regain his lost piece with 33 Qxd6, or should he spurn the material and
keep attacking with 33 Qxe4? Instead, 32 ... Ke7 is met with 33 Bc4 Rae8 34 Rhd2 Rhf8 35 Qg7+ Kd8 36
Rxd6+ winning.
33 Qxe4!
In this instance, dynamic factors outweigh material considerations. White has a winning attack by
chopping the e4-pawn.
33 ... Qe7?
He had to try 33 ... Rf6.

Exercise (combination alert): Ignorance may or may not be bliss. Cows live
their lives in bovine contentment, because they are unable to grasp the concept
of a slaughterhouse. Black just blundered in an already lost position. How should
White continue his attack?

Answer: Deflection/removal of the guard/annihilation of defensive barrier.
34 Rxh7!!
Moro doles out further largesse. This is the preliminary tremor in the earthquake to come.
34 ... Qxh7 35 Rxd6
Black’s king is helplessly caught in the middle.
35 ... Qc7
35 ... Rf6 is met with 36 Bf7+! Kxf7 37 Rd7+ Kg8 38 Rxh7 Kxh7 39 Qe7+ Kh6 40 Qxf6 and White
wins.

Exercise (combination alert): White to play and force mate in three moves!

Answer: Attraction.
36 Bf7+!
A lie is simply the truth, wearing a disguise.
36 ... Kxf7 37 Qxg6+ 1-0
37 ... Ke7 38 Qe6 is mate!

Summary
When White plays an early Qe2 in the King’s Indian Attack, we essentially turn the game into a double
king’s pawn game with ... dxe4 and ... e5, when White gets the useless ‘extra’ move Qe2, clogging his
kingside development.

Game 40
J.Gunnarsson-A.Riazantsev
European Cup, Rogaska Slatina 2011

1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 Nc3

The Two Knights line. White holds back his d-pawn and simply develops.
3 ... Nf6
I think this simple move is Black’s best. He can agree to White’s provocation with 3 ... d4 4 Ne2 c5 5
c3 (also played is the line 5 Ng3 Nc6 6 Bb5 Bd7 7 0-0 Bd6 8 d3 Nge7 with level chances) 5 ... Nc6 6
cxd4 cxd4 7 Qa4, but suddenly Black’s extended d-pawn is in danger. After 7 ... Bc5 8 b4! (deflection) 8
... Bxb4 9 Nexd4 White looks slightly better, having traded a wing pawn for Black’s more valuable d-
pawn.
4 e5 Nfd7 5 d4 c5 6 dxc5

Note: In this line White is unable to back up the d4-pawn with c3. This means
Black inflicts real damage to White’s centre by swapping away a c-pawn for
White’s more valuable d-pawn. White relies on piece play to compensate.

6 ... Nc6
 Pressuring e5.
7 Bf4

7 ... Nxc5

Note: Black can capture c5 with either knight or bishop. The difference? The bishop
capture helps speed Black’s development, while ... Nxc5 discourages White from
posting his light-squared bishop on d3, its best square.

After 7 ... Bxc5 8 Bd3 f6 9 exf6 Nxf6 10 0-0 0-0 11 Ne5 Bd7 12 Qe2 Nxe5 13 Bxe5 Qb6 Black’s
central control, open f-file and active pieces compensate for White’s blockade of the e5-square.
However, I favour the tricky waiting move 7 ... Be7, and if 8 Be2 a6 9 0-0 g5!?.

Warning: Now White must be on the lookout for sudden ... g5, ... g4 undermining ideas.

For example, 10 Bg3?! (correct was 10 Be3) 10 ... h5! (threat: ... h4 winning a piece) 11 h3 g4 12 hxg4
hxg4 13 Nd4 Bxc5 14 Nxc6 bxc6 15 Bxg4 Qg5. Black has a strong attack with two open files on the
kingside, B.Baker-C.Lakdawala, San Diego (rapid) 2013.
8 Be2
This is a passive square, which also interferes with White’s control over e5. The problem with 8 Bb5
is that Black usually induces White to hand over the bishop after 8 ... Be7 9 0-0 a6 10 Bxc6+ bxc6. White
picked up the bishop-pair, strengthened his centre and pried open the b-file for his rook.
8 ... Be7 9 a3 0-0 10 0-0 f5
 This move gives White a choice: he can take on f6, en passant, handing Black control over the centre,
or he can ignore it and allow Black an annoying ... Ne4 post.
11 exf6!
The correct decision. 11 Re1?! allows 11 ... Ne4! with a clear advantage for Black.
11 ... Bxf6
Black more than equalized. Not only does he enjoy greater central control, but he also controls the
crucial e5-square.
12 Bg3 a6
A precaution against Bb5.
13 Re1 Ne4! 14 Bd3!?
A tricky idea, which Black sees through. White can also risk 14 Nxe4!? dxe4 15 Nd2 Bxb2 16 Rb1
Bc3 17 Nxe4 Bxe1 18 Qxe1 e5 when I don’t believe in White’s full compensation.
14 ... Nxg3!
Black picks off the bishop-pair and eliminates a key defender of e5, avoiding the tempting but flawed
line 14 ... Nxc3?! 15 bxc3 Bxc3? 16 Bxh7+! Kh8 (16 ... Kxh7? is met with 17 Qd3+ Kg8 18 Qxc3 when
White favourably regains the piece) 17 Nh4! when White has a dangerous attack.
15 hxg3

Tip: In general, structurally you are better off capturing towards the centre,
rather than away from it.

15 ... g6
Making room for his bishop on g7.
16 Bf1 Bg7 17 Qd2 b5 18 Rad1 Qf6 19 Qd3 Ra7!
Planning to swing the rook over to f7.
20 Rd2 Raf7
The question arises for White: amplify or diminish?
21 a4?!

Warning: Avoid creating confrontation from an inferior position.

White was better off remaining passive, stiff-upper-lipping it with 21 Nd1, although I do admit that
White’s pieces have the look of strolling around aimlessly, like dandies in a Jane Austen novel.
21 ... b4 22 Nd1 Qd8
Intending ... Qa5.
23 Qe3 Qa5 24 b3
This move is inaccurate, since it allows Black an easy ... e5. White should play 24 Qb3.
24 ... e5
Black dominates, with a strong centre, the bishop-pair, open f-file and the more active pieces.
25 Ng5?
A move made with the philosophy: when our dream is small and cautious, then it isn’t much of a
dream. Self-confidence without our position’s ability to correspond to reality doesn’t equal a self-
fulfilling prophecy. White’s plan falls under the unfortunate labour-in-vain category. This unjustified lunge
is the bar patron who has had one too many, blaming the ground for swaying when he walks home at
closing time. White’s last move allows a nasty pin. After this mistake White’s position reaches a
saturation point, where it collapses if it gets even an iota worse.
25 ... Bh6!
 Threat: ... d4! disconnecting White’s queen from the g5-knight.
26 f4
In such situations we are assailed with hurtful regrets of our own past folly. Also hopeless for White is
the line 26 Rxd5 Qxd5 27 Bc4 Bxg5 28 Qxg5 Qd4 and White is down too much material.
26 ... exf4 27 gxf4 Rxf4 28 Nf3 Kg7
This move avoids Rxd5 and Bc4 pin tricks from White.
29 Qd3 Rxf3
Less flashy, but stronger was the line 29 ... Qc5+ 30 Nf2 R4f5 31 Rdd1 Bf4 with total domination.
30 gxf3 Bxd2
Black immediately regains the lost exchange.
31 Qxd2 Rxf3
Another pawn falls. Money keeps pouring into Black’s position, the way a billionaire heir may not
have even the vaguest notion of how his bank balance and holdings continue to rise each day.
32 Bg2 Qc5+ 33 Nf2 Rf8 34 Re3
34 Bxd5?? walks into a deadly pin after 34 ... Rd8 35 Rd1 Be6.
34 ... Bf5 35 Bxd5

Exercise (critical decision): Black has two tempting moves. He can pin the bishop
with 35 ... Rd8, or he can activate his knight with 35 ... Nd4, which simultaneously
threatens ... Qxd5 and ... Nxc2. One line is stronger than the other. Which one
would you play?

Answer: 35 ... Nd4!
Bringing in another attacker is the most efficient route to Black’s goal. 35 ... Rd8 is met with the tricky
36 c4! bxc3 37 Qxc3+ Qxc3 38 Rxc3 Rxd5 39 Rxc6 when White can still fight on.
36 Bc4
After 36 Be4 Bxe4 37 Nxe4 Nf3+ 38 Kg2 Qh5 39 Qd7+ Rf7 40 Qd6 Qg4+ 41 Qg3 Nh4+ 42 Kh2 Qh5
Black’s queen approaches White’s king with the air of a person just about to disclose dreadful news.
Black has a winning attack.
36 ... Nxc2 37 Rf3 a5 38 Qg5 Qe5 0-1
White is down two pawns with the more exposed king.

Summary
White is lucky to equalize in the Two Knights line. The pre-existing worry: Black can strip White of his
or her central pawns with the ... c5 and ... f6 breaks.

Game 41
I.Papaioannou-M.Gurevich
Corinth 1998

1 e4 e6 2 b3

This is an attempt to take Black out of the main lines, and basically weird it up.
2 ... d5 3 Bb2
With this move White disowns all ambiguity, offering to gambit his e-pawn for a development lead.
3 ... dxe4
A move made with the philosophy: a full belly is worth the sin of theft. White’s challenge demands a
degree of abrasiveness from our side and I suggest we accept the offer.

Note: If you don’t care for the position Black got in the game’s continuation, then
Black can also obtain a perfectly acceptable French-like position with 3 ... Nf6.

This is the sanitized version, which looks more like a real French position: for example, 4 e5 Nfd7 5
f4 c5 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 Bb5 Qc7 with approximately even play.
4 Nc3 f5!?
Gurevich intends to hang on to his booty, for now, avoiding 4 ... Nf6 5 Qe2 Be7 6 Nxe4 0-0 7 Nf3 Nc6
8 0-0-0 a5. Black’s chances don’t appear worse in the coming opposite wings attacks.
5 f3
White can gambit the pawn another way with 5 d3 exd3 6 Bxd3 Nf6 7 Qe2 Bb4 8 0-0-0 Qe7 9 Nf3
Nc6 10 Rhe1 0-0. Maybe I speak with a French player’s bias, but it doesn’t feel like full compensation
for the pawn here, since Black developed harmoniously.
5 ... Bd6!

Tip: Return the extra pawn to threaten ... Qh4+ and seize the initiative.

Our message to White: power, when exercised too haughtily, generates resentment, and therefore a
potential backlash. This is a direct attempt to punish the punisher. Black strikes back without preamble,
with his bishop taking a threatening step in the white king’s direction. I can never remember if it’s the
kettle who calls the pot black, or if the pot is the one making the accusation. In any case, this is an attempt
for Black to turn the tables, suddenly switching from defence to attack. Gurevich’s move is stronger than
allowing White his intent with 5 ... exf3 6 Nxf3 Nf6 7 Bc4 Bd6 8 Qe2 Qe7 9 Ng5! when White gets more
than enough compensation for the pawn due to his development lead and pressure on e6.
6 fxe4?!
Entering the wrong line is similar to dialling a wrong number. Ego has an insidious way of shaping its
analytical conclusions to its own stylistic needs. White agrees to enter head-spinning complications,
which favour Black. He was better off going into damage control mode with 6 Nxe4!? (this move serves
as a foghorn warning to sailors, of treacherous underwater rocks ahead) 6 ... fxe4 7 Bxg7 Qh4+ 8 Ke2
Ne7 9 Bxh8 Ng6! and White must hand over a second piece for the rook, since ... Nf4+ is a devastating
threat. White must play 10 Qe1! Qxe1+ 11 Rxe1 Nxh8 12 fxe4 Nf7. I still prefer Black’s chances in the
ending, with two pieces for a rook and two pawns.
 6 ... Qh4+ 7 g3
Not much choice since if 7 Ke2?? fxe4. White is busted with his king stuck in the centre.
7 ... Bxg3+!
Black utilizes a small pin tactic to win the exchange.
8 hxg3 Qxh1 9 Nb5!

White’s best chance. He threatens both Nxc7+ and also Bxg7.

9 ... Nf6 10 Nxc7+ Kd8
Our brains are in danger of becoming addled with information overload. In such scary complex
positions I tend to resemble Richard Nixon in his debate with John F Kennedy, where I sweat and if I
wore make up, it would run under the glare of the television lights. The comp points out that more
accurate was the counterintuitive 10 ... Kd7! 11 Nxa8 Qxg1 12 Qf3 Nxe4 13 0-0-0 Qxg3 with advantage
to Black in the coming ending.
11 Nxa8 Qxg1 12 Qf3 Nxe4 13 Bxg7?
White can’t afford this loss of time. Chances are confusingly even after 13 0-0-0!.
13 ... Rg8 14 Be5 Nc6
Black keeps developing with tempo gains.
15 Bc7+ Ke7 16 0-0-0 Qc5!
Threatening both ... Nd4, and also ... Qa3+, followed by ... Nb4. White’s pieces are tangled in the
corner, while Black’s develop harmoniously.
17 Qh1 Qa3+ 18 Kb1

Exercise (critical decision): Should Black play for mate with 18 ... Nb4, which
allows White 19 Qxh7+, or should Black take time for a defensive move with
18 ... Nf6? One line leads to a draw, while the other should win. What is your pick?

18 ... Nb4?
This lunge is hasty and should allow White perpetual check.
Answer: Correct was the calm 18 ... Nf6!, securing h7. After 19 c3 (White must prevent ... Nb4) 19 ... Bd7 (White’s problem: his a8-
knight is trapped) 20 Bf4 Rxa8 21 Bg5 Rf8 White lacks full compensation for the piece.
19 Qxh7+ Kf8 20 Qh6+ Kf7 21 Qh7+ Rg7 22 Qh5+ Rg6
22 ... Kg8 23 Qe8+ Kh7 24 Qh5+ is perpetual check.
23 Qh7+ Rg7 24 Qh5+ Ke7 25 Bd8+??
Wild guesses are not the best method of establishing the truth. I think it was the press of despair which
burdened White’s last move. White can hold the game with 25 Qh4+!. If you have one remaining bullet in
the chamber, your best bet is to wait for a clean shot: 25 ... Nf6 26 Bd8+! Ke8 27 Bb5+ Bd7 28 Bxd7+
Kxd7 29 Qd4+ Ke8 30 Qa1! Kxd8 31 Qxf6+ Re7 32 Qd4+ Rd7 33 Qf6+ Kc8 34 Qf8+ Rd8 35 Qc5+ Kd7
36 Qd4+ with perpetual check.

Exercise (critical decision): Pitfalls lay in wait for both sides. Should Black accept
the bishop, or should he side step with 25 ... Kd6? Checkmate, like death, is a place
from which there is no return. Black forces mate if you make the correct decision,
while Black’s own king gets mated if he plays the wrong move. Find the pocket of
light within the confusion.

Answer: Black should decline the gift.
25 ... Kd6! 0-1
This move brings to mind Steve Job’s final words: “Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!”. Now White’s
position, the armless man who continues to threaten his rival with his stumps, festers in absence and need.
White runs out of checks and is mated after 26 Be7+ Rxe7 27 Bd3 Qxa2+ 28 Kc1 Qa1. “Good night;
sleep tight; don’t let the bedbugs bite,” recites the queen, as she orders her brother to the dungeon.
However, 25 ... Kxd8?? turns a win into a loss after 26 Qh8+ Ke7 27 Qxg7+ Kd6 28 Qc7+ Kd5 29
Bc4+ Kd4 30 c3+ Nxc3+ 31 dxc3+ Kxc3 32 Qe5 mate.

Summary
When White plays 2 b3 we first accept the offer and then return it a few moves later with 5 ... Bd6!,
seizing the initiative.

Game 42
G.Kasparov-R.Ponomariov
Linares 2002

1 e4 e6
Strangely, the position which arose in the game can also come about from the 2 c3 Sicilian, after the
move order: 1 ... c5 2 c3 d5 3 exd5 Qxd5 4 d4 e6 5 Nf3 Nf6 6 Na3 Qd8 7 Nc4 Nc6 8 Nce5 Nxe5 9 Nxe5
when we transpose to the game continuation, but with one extra move played for each side.
2 d4 d5 3 Nc3

Note: The Rubinstein is also reached after the Tarrasch French move order
3 Nd2 dxe4 4 Nxe4 which transposes to the game.

3 ... dxe4

The Rubinstein French is kind of a default setting, to be played against both 3 Nc3 and 3 Nd2.

Tip: The line is considered one of Black’s most safe solid (and unenterprising!)
choices in the French, and may be a good pick when facing a very aggressive opponent.

Note: The Rubinstein line is similar to the Burn variation of the Classical
(which we covered earlier in the book) after 3 ... Nf6 4 Bg5 dxe4 5 Nxe4 Nbd7.

The difference is that in the Burn, White commits to an early Bg5, which helps Black, since it becomes
easier to swap pieces from a cramped position.
4 Nxe4 Nd7
Black’s idea is to challenge White’s well placed e4-knight with ... Ngf6. Instead, 4 ... Bd7 is the Fort
Knox line, which runs 5 Nf3 Bc6 6 Bd3 Nd7 7 0-0 Ngf6. Black’s idea is to hand over the bishop-pair
with either ... Bxe4, or ... Bxf3, followed by ... c6, with an ultra-solid yet slightly inferior Caro-Kann-like
position.
5 Nf3 Ngf6 6 Nxf6+
Kasparov doesn’t want to lose time with his knight and so exchanges it off. 6 Bg5 transposes to a line
of the Burn variation of the Classical French.
6 ... Nxf6 7 c3
White bolsters his centre in anticipation of Black’s coming ... c5. Instead, after 7 Bd3 c5 8 dxc5 Bxc5
9 Qe2 0-0 10 Bg5 h6 11 Bh4 Qa5+! (this move discourages White from castling long) 12 c3 Nd5
(strategic threat: ... Nf4) 13 Qd2 Be7 14 Bxe7 Nxe7 15 0-0 Bd7 Black connects the rooks and achieves a
reasonable outcome from the opening.
7 ... c5

Warning: Be careful about your timing of ... c5, which fights back against White’s
extra central space, but at the same time violates the principles: avoid opening
the game or creating confrontation when lagging in development.

In this case, though, 7 ... c5 is still Black’s main move and is considered a necessary evil. Black can
also delay ... c5 for much later with the line 7 ... Be7 8 Bd3 0-0 9 Qe2 b6 10 Bg5 Bb7 11 0-0-0. White
enjoys an edge in the opposite wings attacks, since Black has yet to engineer a successful ... c5, and
suffers from a slight lack of central space.
8 Ne5!

Note: Principles aren’t written by a deity, never to be violated. This move is in
direct violation of the edict: don’t move the same piece twice in the opening.
In this case, it is a well-applied exception.

This was a shocking new move at the time of this game and one which is now considered White’s best
shot at an edge. Black must now watch out for sudden Bb5+ and Qa4 ideas. 8 Be3 is also played here: 8
... Qc7 9 Ne5! (this is merely a delayed version of Kasparov’s idea; instead, after 9 Bd3 Bd6 10 0-0 0-0
Black can be satisfied with his or her position) 9 ... a6! (once again, measures must be taken against the
coming Bb5+) 10 Qa4+ Nd7 11 0-0-0 cxd4 12 Nxd7 Bxd7 13 Qxd4 Bc6 14 Be2 Rd8 15 Qg4 h5 16 Qg5
Rd5 17 Rxd5 Bxd5 18 Rd1 g6 19 Qf6 Rh7 when Black’s game remains solid yet passive,
R.Kasimdzhanov-G.Meier, Spanish Team Championship 2010.
8 ... Nd7?
The illusion of safety is far more dangerous than if we are aware of danger, since our guard is down.
Ponomariov shows up at the OK Corral at high noon, but forgets to load his gun. He takes measures
against the coming Bb5+, but in the wrong way. Later, the correct antidote was found with 8 ... a6!. This
key defensive idea cuts out White’s intended Bb5+. After 9 Qa4+ (or 9 Be3 which transposes to the note
above) 9 ... Bd7 (Black is willing to hand over the bishop-pair to unravel) 10 Nxd7 Qxd7 11 Qxd7+
Kxd7 12 dxc5 Bxc5 13 Be2 Rhd8 White’s bishop-pair offers a tiny edge in the ending, R.Kasimdzhanov-
J.Dorfman, German League 2002.
9 Bb5!
This is not just roughhousing; it is actual conflict. Life can be so beautiful when our innocent opponent
walks straight into our opening preparation. Now Black experiences a shattering transition, finding
himself dangerously behind in development.
9 ... Bd6
9 ... a6? is met with the deadly shot 10 Qf3! threatening mate, and if 10 ... Qf6 11 Bxd7+! (deflecting
Black’s bishop from coverage of b7) 11 ... Bxd7 12 Qxb7. White won a pawn, while retaining the
initiative.
10 Qg4! Kf8
In the aftermath of an incorrect plan, we become the incompetent murderer, who does his or her futile
best to eradicate all forensic evidence of our past crime. This ugly move is forced. Add another problem
to Black’s growing list: now the h8-rook will be out of play for some time to come. However, if:
a) 10 ... 0-0?? hangs material to 11 Bxd7 Bxd7 12 Bh6 g6 13 Bxf8.
b) 10 ... g6? creates a fatal dark-square puncture on the kingside after 11 Bh6 a6 12 Bxd7+ Bxd7 13 0-
0-0 with a winning attack for White.
11 0-0!

Tip: Open lines when leading in development.

Kasparov, as is his trademark, fights with zeal more than caution. He is happy to open Pandora’s box
with the offer of a pawn to enhance attacking chances. A more safety minded player would have gone for
a line like 11 Qh5 Nxe5 12 dxe5 Be7 13 0-0 with a risk-free initiative for White.
11 ... Nxe5
Not every problem has a solution. Some of them, we just have to learn to live with. Black may as well
accept, since his position remains miserable if he declines.
12 dxe5 Bxe5 13 Bg5 Bf6 14 Rad1
The position feels oddly orderly/complex, as White continues to develop with tempo.
14 ... Qc7
After 14 ... Qb6 15 Bxf6 gxf6 16 Qh4! Ke7 17 Ba4 Black can’t develop. If 17 ... Qxb2? 18 Rd3 Qb6
19 Rf3 e5 20 Re1 Qd6 21 Rd1 Qb6 22 Rd5! (threat: Rxe5+) 22 ... Qb1+ 23 Bd1 Qg6 24 Rxc5 White’s
attack is decisive.
15 Qh4 Bxg5 16 Qxg5
 One look at Black’s completely undeveloped army tells us the story without need of words.
16 ... f6
Black is left in anguished indecision over how to unravel. Every pawn move on the kingside weakens
his king, yet he needs the move.
17 Qh5 g6
Another loosening move is induced, as if 17 ... Ke7 18 Bc4 Bd7 19 Rfe1 Rae8 20 f4! and Black’s king
won’t survive.
18 Qh6+ Kf7 19 Rd3?!
White may be ready and willing, but is he able? This is yet another example of the universal truth that
no good deed goes unpunished. It’s amazing to me that this natural move is incorrect, yet the hateful comps
demonstrate just that. Kasparov lifts in another attacker in the most natural way, yet the move is
inaccurate, since it cuts off Be2 for White. Stronger was the paradoxically more passive move 19 Rd2!.
White refurbishes his attack with new recruits, but in a more modest way. This accurate move allows
White’s bishop access to e2: 19 ... a6 20 Be2! Bd7 21 Rfd1 Bc6 22 Bf3! Be8 23 Rd6 and Black is
paralyzed.
19 ... a6 20 Rh3!
Threat: Qxh7+!. Black can successfully defend after 20 Ba4?! b5 21 Bc2 Bb7 22 Rfd1 Bd5.
20 ... Qe7?!
20 ... Bd7! may save Black after 21 Bd3 Rad8 22 Rg3 c4 23 Bc2 (23 Bxg6+? is unsound) 23 ... Qc5. I
don’t see a way for White to successfully pursue his attack, and Black looks okay.
21 Bd3
 All force is aimed at g6 and h7, which continue to fester in Black’s camp.
21 ... f5
21 ... Bd7 is met with the familiar trick 22 Qxh7+! Rxh7 23 Rxh7+ Kf8 24 Rxe7 Kxe7 25 Bxg6. White
is up a clean pawn in the ending.
22 g4!
Kasparov wrings every ounce of energy from his pieces.
22 ... Qf6 23 Rd1 b5 24 Be2 e5!?
What we get isn’t always what we choose. Black’s dilemma: if he acts, he risks a blow-out, but if he
does nothing, he risks stagnation. This is a risky unravelling attempt, which further opens the game. Black
can also take his chances with the admittedly scary line 24 ... g5!? 25 Qh5+ Qg6 26 gxf5 exf5 27 Rd6
Qxh5 28 Bxh5+ Ke7 29 Rc6 c4 30 Re3+ Kd7 31 Rf6 Kd8 when Black remains under pressure, but at
least he has an extra pawn in the ending to comfort him.
25 Rhd3 Ra7?
Black had to try 25 ... fxg4! 26 Rd6 Qf4 27 Rxg6 Qxh6 28 Rxh6 Bf5 29 Rd5 Kg7 30 Rc6 Rhc8 with
chances to hold the draw.
26 Rd6 Qg7 27 Qe3 Rc7
Covering c5.
28 a4
More confrontation.
28 ... e4
28 ... Rf8 was Black’s best chance to resist.
29 axb5 axb5 30 Bxb5 Qe5 31 Qg5 Qe7 32 Qh6 Be6 33 Qf4
Kasparov missed an immediate win with 33 gxf5! Bxf5 34 Bc4+ Ke8 (the king flees with the skittering
footsteps of a rabbit evading a forest predator) 35 Qf4 Rf8 36 Rd8+! Qxd8 37 Rxd8+ Kxd8 38 Qd6+ and
White wins.
33 ... Bc8 34 Qh6 Be6 35 gxf5!
The endless probing begins to etch deep fissures of discontent in Black’s structure. Kasparov
discovers the winning idea.
35 ... gxf5 36 Be2!
Heading for h5.
36 ... Qf6 37 Bh5+ Ke7
 Exercise (combination alert): White to play and force the win.

Answer: Attraction/double attack.
38 Rxe6+! 1-0
38 ... Kxe6 (or 38 ... Qxe6 39 Qg7+ Qf7 40 Qxf7 mate; is it just me, or does Black’s king remind you of the bear attack on Leonardo DiCaprio
in The Revenant?) 39 Rd6+ Kxd6 40 Qxf6+ Kd7 41 Qxh8 wins.

Summary
The Rubinstein is a solid but passive line, suitable against aggressive opponents.
Index of Complete Games
Aeria.R-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2005
Anand.V-Ivanchuk.V, Nice (rapid) 2009
Arutyunov.N-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2015
Baker.B-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2007
Baker.B-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2011
Baker.B-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2015
Balares.J-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2007
Barquin.B-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2006
Bastijanic.D-Dizdar.G, Pula 1993
Bologan.V-Vitiugov.N, Russian Team Championship 2010
Braga.F-Korchnoi.V, Sao Paulo 1979
Caruana.F-Nakamura.H, Saint Louis (rapid) 2015
Gashimov.V-Carlsen.M, Monaco (rapid) 2011
Grischuk.A-Vitiugov.N, Russian Championship, Moscow 2010
Gunnarsson.J-Riazantsev.A, European Cup, Rogaska Slatina 2011
Hamdouchi.H-Edouard.R, French Championship, Pau 2012
Hector.J-So.W, Malmo 2011
Iyer.V-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2014
Karjakin.S-Vallejo Pons.F, Bilbao 2012
Karpov.A-Korchnoi.V, 12th matchgame, Moscow 1974
Kasparov.G-Ivanchuk.V, Horgen 1995
Kasparov.G-Lakdawala.C, Internet (blitz) 1998
Kasparov.G-Ponomariov.R, Linares 2002
Khachian.M-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2009
Kishnevsky.D-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2009
Landa.K-Naiditsch.A, French Team Championship 2013
Morozevich.A-Lputian.S, Wijk aan Zee 2000
Navara.D-Harshkou.M, European Rapid Championship, Minsk 2015
Navara.D-Vaganian.R, Mainz (rapid) 2009
Nimzowitsch.A-Hakansson.A, 1st matchgame, Kristianstad 1922
Papaioannou.I-Gurevich.M, Corinth 1998
Peters.J-Lakdawala.C, Southern California State Championship, Los Angeles 2001
Portisch.L-Tal.M, European Team Championship, Oberhausen 1961
Rabiega.R-Vitiugov.N, German League 2009
Sevillano.E-Lakdawala.C, San Diego (rapid) 2006
Shirov.A-Ivanchuk.V, Monaco (blindfold) 2005
Shirov.A-Morozevich.A, Frankfurt (rapid) 2000
Smirin.I-Vallejo Pons.F, Nakhchivan 2011
Steinitz.W-Sellman.A, Baltimore 1885
Tal.M-Lein.A, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1971
Timman.J-Vaganian.R, Amsterdam 1986
Van Wely.L-Topalov.V, Dortmund 2005