winning chess brilliancies - seirawan

7/27/2019 Winning Chess Brilliancies - Seirawan

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WmChessBrliacies

Ya SawanItetl Gmse


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The photograph n Game Three of jui ubojevic s courtesy of Cathene Jaeg The phoographn Game ou of Vco Kochno s coutesy of Fts Ageenbos The phoogaph n Ge Sevenof Vassy Smyslov s couesy of neaona Chess Enteprses nc e phoograph n Game ghof D John Nunn s couesy of as BeekhuzenFotograa The photogaph n Game Ten of aTmman s couesy of Vvan echten

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Acknowledgments

It hs een long journe In 1989 the good folks t Microsoft Press hired me to do

series of insuctionl chess ooks. This, the fourth ook iht journe, represents

the finl step Six ers is lot of dediction nddwork It wsnt possilewithout the support of lot of people

he inititive for this series cme om the pulishers nd cquisitions editors tMicrosoft Press Specil thnks to Min Yee, Jim Brown, Den Homes, nd Cse

Dole

For this work, I'd like to thnk Penn Stton, Susnn Broughm, nd Peter

Whitmer t Editoril Services of New Englnd, nd Jenne Reinelt of Reinet

Designs At Microsoft Press, Kim Eggleston for the ooks interior design; GregHickmn for his eutiful cover m secret in-house reviewer, Lrr Powelson nd

most especill, Brend Mtteson who coordinted us ll nd ws right there with

hpp hello when needed

For helping me with the chess side of the mnuscript, I hve to thnk m own

st Ini C especill Yvette Ngel nd Micel Frnett, who were lwson cll

The ide for this ook cme from m co-uthor in the first three works of this

series, Jerem Silmn Jerem told me, Yz, more thn nthing else, students wnt

chess ook tht explins the resons for ech nd ever move of top grndmster

gme You should ite tht ook. I did But I couldnt hve done it without ouThnk ou, one nd ll


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Introduction

Fom the time tht ws itten the chess ug fntsies of enteing pcked

hll nd pling ilinc hve sted with me I'd dem of mking comeck

om hlf-point ehind the lede with one ound to go . . Yz despetel needs

win ginst one of the wold's most solid gndmstes Cn he pull it o nd tke

ce fist? M fnts would cnk up s I nticipted the oohs nd hs of the

udience mzed m illint decisive moves

Yes indeed Just s sketll ples elish tking the finl shot with seconds on

the cock chess ples hunge fo the oppotuni to scifice pieces nd come up

with n ide of such wonde tht it sets the wold ck on its heels nd kes it

tke notice Whie oth chess nd sketll plce get demnds on the emotions

nd the ilities of the ples thee is one ovious dieence etween the gmes

Even the most csul spots fn cn wonde t Michel Jodn soing ove his

defende douleclutching to get n open shot fiing nd,aking swish B const if chess ple scifices fist one piece thenanot)er, then nothe nd thenfinl mtes with lowl pwn onl the initite will udestnd ll the fuss

Such cicumstnces give memes of the chess wod speci ond lmost

kinship. Undestnding gme of chess ped on the highest leve is the ewd

fo hd-won knowledge wested om hous of stud stife nd plen of losses

I cn ec m own fist stugges s I delved into the gmes of the mstes Wh

did the gndmste do tht? Wh didn't he just move ove thee? These questions

totued me eve time ped though the gmes of the eding ples of the

d Answeing such questions is the im of this ook.

A chess mste iend of mine Jmes McComick once told me out the tining

techniques used fo the Jpnese gme of Go When eginnes fist ente the schools

to len Go the e given of the getest gmes of Go eve pled nd e


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NNN CSS BRLLANS

While I don't insist tht ou memorize the gmes in this ook, ou will e wellrewded if ou do eieve our pl will improve nlzing them creull

I've tied to nswer questions out these model gmes efore there sked, nd

I've dissected the moves to identi the most compeling resons wh the were

chosen M notes wil continull recll the principles expounded in the thee com

pnion works to thiQtne ook in the Microsoft Press Winning Chess SeriesThe chess terminolog inoduced in the previous volumes is used freel in this

ook, nd I expect tht ou re lred fmili with it

n m first oo, Py Winning Che, discussed chesss four elements:

Time (depoment of pieces

Force (eing hed or ehind in pieces nd pwns Pwn stucture (for determining pln Spce (how much of the opponents territor pler controsThese four elements e or should e the underpinnings for the principes tht

guide l our movesThe second ook Winning Che ai explined ll the trps, mushes nd

swindles tht cn efll pler Pins, forks, skewers, doule ttcks nd discovered

checks re ut few of the most common tpes of tctics descried in this vole

Winning Ch Sraegie, the third ook explined the importnce of pling

with pln, one tht unfolds like mgic efore the ees if the pler simpl ppliesthe four eements of chess to the position nd focuses on the pwn sucture A pln,

once chosen must e methodicll implemented Even when correct pln hs een

chosen, the per must constntl e on the lookout for the est tctics to reinforce

given position Nothing cn ruin pln more tn n overlooked tctic

Bo thts lot to think out f sketll tem hd to stop nd considercollectivel their ever dive to the sket, full cout press pick nd roll, reound

strteg, nd defensive coverge, perhps even ech plers role in given pl,

the might never score point Thed e plzed! But sketll plers mke

ll these moves ppe to come nturll It looks simpe ecuse the pers e


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ntrion

he sme is true for tody's chess grndmsters hey've nlyzed the openings, tctics vrious types of plns, technicl endings, nd ttcks. hese plyers

pper to flow eortlessly from one dvntge to nother hey hve honed their

skills through thousnds of hours of concentrted work hey mke it look sim

ple the key to gretness s well s to the rillincy. Applying the tools of the

trde sutly nd simply ppers nturl nd yet is stisfying ecuse the resultsre rillint

When two topflight grndmsters sit down nd go for the glory, whos to sy

who will win? Why is it tht plyer might e le to pound his eqully skilled

dversry on one y ut not on the next? here re proly dozens of resons,

ut the one tht Id like to focus upon is inpiraion A plyer sors to level ofunusul cretivity nd plucks out of the imgintion concept so eutiful tht it

ppers to eeze time It is rillint moment.

n this work I will tke look t 12 inspired gmes, or rther 12 rillincies, of

the pst genertion y putting them under my chessic microscope t ws, of

course, enormously diicult to select such smll hndful of gmes. Hundreds ifnot thousnds, of eutiful gmes hve een plyed in only the lst ten ers. How

could I choose om so mny? t wsn't esy First of ll, nerly a the wins om

my creer sprng to mind. (How ws I supposed to keep my ego t y? I couldn't

I humly put forth only two of my gmes, so don't skip them

I will egin ech gme with short introduction descriing the historicl tmosphere of the chess world nd sometimes the world t lrge t the time the

gme ws plyed When I egin discussing the gme itself, I will wx poetic out

the resoning ehind the opening moves As ply moves through its middlegme

nd into the concluding endgme, will continue to exmine the moves in terms of

piece development nd possile tcticl opportunities, ut my comments will growshorter nd ecome more roust s the gme reches its criticl moments

A few comments re necessry t this point to explin the common conventions

hve used throughout these gmes he chessord elow illustrtes the grid upon

which chess nottion is sed The coordinte of ech squre on the ord is


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NNN CSS BLANS

a b c d e f g h

comitio of letter (-h d umer(8 or istce, i the digrm, White

Kight sits o the d4-squre.

I stdrd (lgeric ottio, ech

chess piece is represeted its iitil

(lthough N s used for Kght d o

letter is used for pws A move is rep

reseted the gve peces itl d

the coordite of the squre to which t

s moved (Bh7" s Bishop to h7; Ne2" s

Kight o e2 Other ottios re s

follows:

If wo pieces of the sme kid c go to the sme squre (s show, oth Blckooks c go to the d7 -squre, coordte of the correct peces deprture squre

solves the questio: 7 d7" mes the ook o the seveth rk is eig moved

Addig x" to the ottio idctes cpture g78" sgfies tht theg7-pw ws moved d cptured pece o the f8squre 0-0" desigtes cstg short (Whte Kig d hook i the digrm ove;

000 cootes cstlig log (White Kig d 1ook

A move ottio followed + mes check; +" mes doulecheckAs prt of m commetr, I occsoll puctute the moves The followig keexpls these mrks ! good; !? terestig; !! ver good; ? wek; ?! duious; ??

luder Pretheses roud the smol, like 2 Nc3(!, dcte tht m opiio

diers om other writers or tht of the plers themselves (Give ourself the tsk

of sortg out whose judgmet is rght!

Fill, some of m expltios for gve move revel deepl uried isightsI order tht ou dot get lost i the thicket of vrtios, Ive emploed septe

d distict lsis digrms These digrms hve the sme order s the di

grm ove; regulr gme chessords wll hve solid order.

With th t d k t dl H i j t d 2 f h


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ntrtin

wiers, were happy to shae ther comments. In fact, the seconds, coaches, and aseam of analysts have shaed ther views with me Whenever Ive incorporated

commentay om the players or other authors, Ive edted the source. O this point,a special thanks is ue to the C Inorman a series filled wt the est games

of the prevous four months, with commentares by the players. d also lke to thak

th writers om my own magazne In C, who have sed the elaton andsorrows n its pages. Also oer hanks to the authors o the many books that

scoured in sech of nformaton Wthout them this book wouldn't be as fun or

nteresting.

A inal word of thanks goes to te players of these games. To the vctor go te

spoils, but or a game to be brllant, the opponent has to put up a heroc defense norder to allow the winner to dsplay creative genius Both players o each game have

my respect

Yasser Sawan


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GAME ONE

l.

Making isory

o egin this ook, I'll stt t the eginning of m own chess cee In thesue of 192, m mi eocted om Vgini ch, Vigini, to tte

nd the Get Nothwest Afte settling down, ds of in-induced oedom

cept into m life It ws the pefect moment fo the chess ug to ite I ws looking

fo something to do, nd when neigho Dvid Chpmn, chllenged me to gme

of chess I ws enchnted.I m dept t spots nd phsicl lo, nd it supised me to discove gme

tht I ws genuine d t: chess Soon it ecme cuci tht I et Dvid in gme

of chess But no mtte wht I did, Dvid lws won. He suggested tht I go to

coeehouse ne the Univesit of Wshington to pl chess with the locls

It ws duing these visits tht I ened tht chess Wod Chmpionship mtchws eing wged in Rekvik, Icelnd Ameic's own Bo Fische ws dueing

Bois Spssk fom the Soviet Union. The cold w ws eing cptued on the chess

od. The mtch cught the ttention of the wolds medi. Soon eveod hd

pesonl opinion out the mtch nd whethe Fische could west the title om

Spssk Chess feve swept the United Sttes nd the wold It ws hed time topick up the chess pieces mself When I pled though the following gme fo the

fst time, I ws shocked. These gus wee good. I men reay good

This is gme 6 of tht histoic mtch Fische hd lost the fist gme ging poisoned pwn He fofeited the second in dispute with the ognizes He then

tied Benoni Defense with ding Knight mneuve to en his fist win everginst his ivl Gme 4 ws tough Sicilin tht ended in dw. Fische el

held tht one ecuse he hd lost position. Gme 5 sw Spssk miss simple

tctic nd his position cumled.


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\ /

GAM ON

win he would regin the led nd Fischer who ws the chllenger, would be behindby two gmes In cse of tied mtch the chmpion Boris Spssky would retin

his title ension ws high round the world prticully in the hert of young

boy in Settle.

i !J Quee' Gambi Decl edM Robert James FischeM Bos Spassky

17 World haionshi, Reykjavik(Gae 6)

Opening

1c4

his first move stuns the chess world Is

Fischer tired of tking the fight toSpssky? oes he wnt brether?A dif

ferent kind of gme? Or hs he found n

ide to bust one of Spssky's Queen

Pwn efenses? he tet sends the open

ing theoreticins scrmbling to see ifFischer hs ever plyed this move in his

creer.

In generl, there re two types of

openings hose in which White plys

e4 re known collectively s King PwnOpenings he second type, in which

White plys d4 re known s Queen

Pwn Openings King Pwn Openings

tend to be much shrper single inccu

Queen Pwn Openings tend to be moretme he bttle is postponed until the

opponents hve developed thei pieces

Only then does the siege begin. n those

dys Bobby ws known s superb cl

cultor houghout his creer e4 hdalway been Fishers choice. e reveled

in shrp tcticl positions nd ws ntu

rlly dwn to King Pwn Openings. e

described his ttitude by sying With

e4 I win" Few were ble to chllengethis opinion

he opening tht Fischer chose to use

in this gme is known s the English

Opening nd is bit of fringe opening

Most often gmes tht strt this wyshit bck into mnstrem Queen Pwn

Openings A plyer might choose the

English move rther thn the direct

Queen Pwn Opening (d4 in order to

outfo the opponent Fischer probblywnts to ply ginst the clssicl

Queen's Gmbit eclined but if he plys

.d4 t once he might llow Spssky to

vy his defenses


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Making o

play, the English has a lot of independent which would have been the best responsemerit The c4-pawn conos the crtcald5-center square This oten fits into asrategy in which White fianchettos hisKing's Bishop with g2-g3 and Bf-g2

controling d5 and compements thismove with Nb-c3, also htting the d5sque

Another reason for choosing theEnglish is its flexibiliy. White makes no

major commtments allowing him etherto pay a slow deveopng game or tomove into a classical Queen Pawn game

1 e6

Back to the action ter overcoming hissurprise, Spassky selects hs favoreddefense: a Queen's Gambit Decined Heintends to battle Fischers c4pawn forcontrol over the d5square Given theopportnit he plans to foow up thisfirst move with . d7-d5 and keep this central pawn firmly planted on the d5square. n this way he assures himselfof a solid game while aso remindingWhite that he contros Whtes mportante4squae

Spassky is employing his favoritedefense ather than exploiting the maindrawback of the English Opening it

according to chess principes. Thus theopening moves woud have been those ofa reversed Sicilian (e4 c5) After ...e7-e5 Black could have immediaely fought

for the intiative tough active development of hs peces and the game woudhave been sharpened considerably

Nf3

With this move, Fischer develops a piecewhe observing the center The textooks after the e5-square and the d4square. White still hasnt committedhimself ully to a specfic opening and isexpecting Black to show his intendeddefense

d5

A defining moment Black stakes out the

center with his d5-pawn in order to

deveop hs pieces. Notice that Blackspawn structure has one drawback Thee6pawn blocks the c8Bishop For Blackto achieve a harmonious deployment ofhis pieces he wil have to solve the prob

em of activatng the c8Bishop3d

White now develops a pawn to take control over two more squares c5 and e5


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in iry

te Wite King n m earl ears, was 4Nc3awas eager to attack m opponentsKing Tis sdrome as een mocked generatio ns of masters: "atzer[weak paer] sees a ceck, patzer plas

a ceck. Tat is wen a eginner seeste opportit to ceck, e immediatelgoes for it witout realizing tat e asno folowup. B cecking a King wtout coordinating an attack, te eginner

doesnt raize tat e can actuall is opponent!Here is te sequence tat would follow

suc a move Back After 3 .B4Wite locks te ceck wit 4Bd2 tus

aang Blacks Bisop Seeing anoterceck, Black tinks es on a roll andplas 4 . Bxd2 wit trump Witeresponds wit 5.Qxd2, recapturing teBisop. Black now searces around for

anoter ceck, ut e cant find one!nstead Black as managed to elpWite develop is position!

Go ack to te position efore3 B4 Black is on te move and e

as an opportunit to develop a pieceBlack squanders is move develops aBisop wit ceck and after a susequent excange, all tat as appenedis tat Wite as developed is Queen

Continuing to develop is arm, Wite

locks a possle Bf8-4 More imp ortant, e continues to figt for control overte center Te c3Kngt does a fine joof protecting te e4square and atack

ing te d5-pawn

Te paramount principle of openinga cess game s to concentrate piecesand pawns in te center of te oardBegnner games are marked a falure to control te center and to developall pieces

4Be7

n tis modest ut consequential development, Black prepares to castle tuck


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GAM ON

pawns on th kingsid Bcaus Blackhas dcind to captu th c4pawn (thgambit) th opning now bcomsknown as a Quns Gambit Dclind(QGD) In th QGD, Blacks pincipal aim

is to watch ov his d5pa and to kpit fimy stationd in th middl of thboad Shoud h fail to do this, his gamwi b uind

Not that this mov dfnds against

th possibiity of Bc-g5, which wouldpin th f6-Knight to th d-Qun. Fothat ason, th mo aggssiv 4 .Bd6woud actualy hav mispacd thBishop Aft 4 .Bd6? Back would hav

xposd himslf to th possibl attacks5c5 o 5Nb5 But a bigg pobmwoud b 5Bg5! and Whits continuingdpoymnt of al his pics havoids moving a pic that has aladybn dvopd Aft 5Bg5, Blacks cnt would com und pssu as Whitthatnd to captu th f-Knight andto snap o th d5-pawn

55

This mov activats th c-Bishop andattacks th f6Knight By attacking thf6-Knight, Whit indictly attacksBacks dfnsiv bastion, th d5pawn.A h d5 i d f d d b h

tu, but Whit will look fo ways tocank up th pssu.

Two impotant points should b mntiond gading this mov as wll Fistw know that a cucia pincip in th

opning is to find a nic saf plac foth King. Why thn didnt Whit y toactivat his kingsid pics with 53 sothat h could mov th fBishop and cast? In fact, thats pcisy what Whit

wan to do! Th pobm with 53 at thispoint is that it would block in th cBishop If th c-Bishop is dvlopdoui th pawn chain, it will contolmo spac and pay an ave ol in thmiddl gam

Scond, if Whit plans to dvop thcBishop and thn plays -3 whatswong with Bc-f4? Th answ is absolutly nothing! With 5Bf4, Whit activats th Bishop on th h-b8 diagonawhil contoling th cucial 5-squaThfo w hav a qustion of tasto ath styl. (Lat in th match ingam 14, Fisch would mploy 5f4,which ndd in a daw aft 40 movs)

In th aist phass of th opningth nt any absouty be movsTh a, howv, a gat numb ofgood movs It is up to th pays to


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Mang Hstory

5 -Here Black complete a prmary drecteof the openng make ure you hae aafe Kng! Black Kng hde behnd aold wall of paw and he can top wor

ryng at leat for now! Black nextconcern wll be to deelop h queendepece wth a ew toward conollng thecenter

Alo note the number of pece and

pawn that both player hae moedfrom ther orgnal quare Whte hadeployed fe two Knght two paand a Bhop Black lat moe howeer

ha alowed hm to deelop ix That

why trong player loe to catle It theonly moe n whch a player get to moetwo pece multaneouly ery ueul n the tme count

6e3

ow Whte prepare to deelop the fBhop to be folowed by catng kngde to aeguard the Whte Kng. Thetext a crucal lnk n Whte openngtrategy He renorce the d4-pawn andprotect the c4pawn

6 h6

An excelent moe wth a longterm pur

brought t out not necearly wth thententon of exchangng t for the fKnght Actually he ddnt want to ockt n before playng e2-e3 ow he facethe queton of whether to retreat or

exchange the BhopGrandmater (GM) undertand theueune of hang two Bhop workng de by de Therefore they aodgng up the Bhop too eary; ater

one of ther Bhop ha beenqueionedmot grandater retreat the BhopFrom Back perpecte th a fne

tuaton He get the moe . h-h wthtempo That he ha played . hh to

attack the Bhop; f the Bhop retreatthe Black pawn ha been deeloped tothe hquare The moe .h-h hantcot Black h moe he ha played themoe for free

Swhat the bg deal? Black no longerha to worry about a backrank mate nwhch pawn are exchanged and fe areopened up for the Rook Spendng atempo to preent a back-rank mate known a makng lut Lu the German word for "ar Makng lut meangng your Kng a quare to moe to ncae of a back-rank check ow Black'Kng can breahe In tene mddegame


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GAME OE

7Bh4Fischer retrets the White Bshop consonnt with his creer s plyer wholoves the two Bshops He hs ttined splendid numer of victories ecuse of

this dvntge

7b

Ths definng moment in the openngshows Blcks intenton to fnchetto thec8Bshop tht is, Blck s plnning forBc8-7 This would renforce the d5-pwn, extending Blcks ojective of giv

ing the little fellow protection The finchetto hs further purpose s well The7Bishop wll hve n nfuence over thee4squre once t occupies the long 8h1

gn? In ct, the move does ppertempting Blck could deveop his g5-pwn with tempo, nd fter the forced8Bg3, Blck could look for notherdeveloping move The nswer to the

question les with Blcks King The g7pwn cts s sheld nd y thrustingthe shield frther wy om the ody, itgives less protection The prolem wth g7-g5 s tht the pwn coud never go

ck in cse the Blck King needed itsprotection Although g7-g5 would gin tempo, it woud weken Bcks King

defenses Only some mteri compenstion, like the win o pwn or piece,

shoud nduce plyer to mke moveresuting n such ongterm weknessThe ide for the move . 7-6 elongs

to Svielly Trtkower (18871956)Thus the vrition om the dgrm s

known s the Trtkower System of theQGD At the time gme 6 ws plyed,Spssky ws known s the worlds leding exponent of this vrition

Fischer knew he could count on

Spssky to employ this defense He therefore did gret del of homeworkknown s "preption As prt o higrnster preprton or this mtchFiher hd not only plyed ov the g


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Makg Htory

in this vaiation n short Fischer hopedto ambush his opponent with somehomespun preparation

8cxd5

The fist ade occurs White opens upthe cfile for his Rook That is, by adinghis c-pawn White wi pay Ra-c inorder to put pressure on the c-fle

f this was such a good idea whyddnt White do it earlier? The answercan be aced to the cBishop. s longas the e6-pawn is on the board the c-Bishop wil be bocked Now that Blackhas spent a tempo playing b7 b6 he hasall but solved the problem of how to gethis c-Bishop into play

If White had played cxd5 earler inth e open i n g, Bl ack w oul d h averesponded with e6xd5. The c-Bishopcould then jump out to the f5-square orthe gsquae

8 Nxd5

n important recapture s Black'sstrateg has been built around having a

d5-pawn shouldn't exd5 have beenautomatc? The answer is yes! Recapturing with the e-pa would have been thenatural thing to do in this position ButBl k i l i i i i l

Look at the position following the possible moves exd5 and 9.Bd3, and countthe number of squares that White'speces control versus lack's fter9d3, the White d3-Bishop would con

trol b5 a6 f5 g6 and h7 that's fiveThe dpawn controls two Whie's twoKnights control four, and the hBishopcontrols two, for a total of thiteen Backwoud contro ony eight of Whte's

squares White would control more ofBlack's territory Back should thereforeseek to reduce White's control by tradingpieces

further purpose motvated this

recapture Now that the d5pawn hasbeen removed, the ong a-h diagonal isopen Once Black's c-Bishop is fianchettoed the Bishop's power will roardown the ong diagona

The openng phase s begnning toresove itsef and the middlegame, withits myriad pans, is taking hold.

9.Bxe7

Exchangng of Bshops takes place

White's thrd move with a Bishop in hisfrst nine moves White could have played9Bg3, hitting the c7pawn, but wouldhave spent another tempo ter 9Bg3


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GAME OE

Bishops, it is Blac who wil ave ospend a tempo to recapture

9Qxe7

importan derence exiss beween tetwo The c7 pawn is a far more importanttaret an the e3pawn The e3-pawnhas a ard-worin comrade on f2 o

bac i up. he c7paw has to rely upon

e support of is oicers no a fellowpawnThe srateic ines are furter drawn

Blac maes the correct recaptureSpassy develops his Queen movin i

om its oriinal square and exendinits infuence to ee squares b4 a3 andh4. The other choice was 9 Nxe7 which by he paw sucure Wie has a inwould have removed he d5-Kniht om side majority, and Blac a queensidee action in the cener. Blac is proud of

majorit The way o put a majoriy tothe noble beast on d5 however and wor is to move he pawn n this posileaves it on is perc om which it eyes ion, Whie doesn want o ush isfour White squares

10Nxd5

pas because ha woud lead only othe weaenin of his Kin's future posi

tion Terefore Whie as o put te panKnihts are exchaned riht away anoer importan stratey a wor If of uilizin his majority on hold for a

wh ie Instead, he will have to tameyour opponen's pieces are worin beer than your own, trade em o! In thiscase, the d5-Knih is more vauable han

the c3Knih One controls four squareshe oter only two This move aso fisthe straey hat Whie has been cuivatin ever since playin 8cxd5 whichopened up the cfile. Wit this exchane

White removes te c3Kni whicopens up the cfile for is Roo

1 0. exd5

A forced capture and a ood one Now

Blac's queenside majority; that is hewill mae it as diicut as possible for

Blac o push his maority and wilresrain and bocade Blac's attemptsto do so Fixed or blocaded pawnsbecome stationary arets

he outcome of this openin bale

will be decided on the queenside infact, whoever ains an advantae herewil wn the ame. (Al of his is commonnowede o opraned chess payers)The quesion is what stratey has


20/259

Mng Hsory

11 .Rc1Whit lays a vry natral dvloingmov Rooks crav on ils so Whitbrings his Rook to th ha-on tting rssr on th c7 -awn. This

mov's on drawback concrns WhitsKng H is stil stck n th cntr nothaving castld. Fortnatly or Whit'sKing th Back army on th nsidhasnt yt bn dvlod. I Black's

ics had bn dvlod yo can btthat Whits King wold b makng asdy xit to th kingsd

1 1 . B6!

By this solid mov Black movs towarddvloing hs ics as ickly as ossbl. Black acs a stion concrningth c8-Bishoshold h ianchtto tor bring it ot in th cntr? Considr

ations o sac rovid th answr Onth c8-h3 diagona th Bisho controsth g4sar and th h3-sarFianchttod on b7 th Bisho woldback ony th d5awn Th Bishocan control sac and dnd th d5awn rsolving this stion.

Why is dnding th d5awnimortant? I t is crcia or maintanngBlack's maority. Black rcognizs that

th srs o movs c5? 12dxc5 bxc513.Qxd5 wold cost Black a awn Bydnding th d5-awn Black radis thbg ..c7 -c5 sh

till what abot ..Q7b4? As

bor this chck carris no nch andwold only bnit Wht. Wht woldbock wth 12Qd2 orng a Qnxchang I h chos 12 Qxd213.Kxd2 th nsing nding wold giv

Wht a arg advantag Whit's Kingwold b in no dangr in this ositionbcas no Black ics cold harass itTh critical actor wold b Black's c7-awn Atr th rthr movs 13 c6

14N5 Bb7 154! Black's maoritywod b rstraind and com a liabiliBor laying a Qn chck that

rslts in an xchang o Qns Blackshold irst ask "Whos Qn conols

mor sac? From that rsctv aQn xchang in th crrnt ositionwod b to Whit's bnit

Middlegame

12Qa4!This mov rthr volats th oningrincil o castling arly and gttingyor King ot o dangr bt Fischr


21/259

GAM O

of Whites position is to estain the simply aching to play c-c and to puthis a7-pawn and b6-pan into motion onthe queenside Natually, White cannotallow that to happen

3.Qa3

queenside maoity It seems a bitstange to develop the Queen ely andaway fom the cente. But the static position of the cental pawns makes the

wings, and especially the queenside, themain theate of battle. The tet teat This move is what White had in mind

ens b2b, which would estain the c7- when he made the Queen sally Now thec-pawn cant move foad because ofpawn.

Note that White would not pofit om

2Qc2 because the esponse 2 Rc8!would defend the c7pawn and pepae.c7 -c. The position of Blacks h6-paneplains Whites hesitation to use thismove. Black hadnt put the question to

Wte's Bishop back at move 6 the idea of2.Qc2 Rc8 3Bd3 would temptingWhite could develop his pieces with gainof tempo because of the teatened h7-pawn The fact that Blacks pawn is on

h6 obs Wite of acting on this idea1 c5

Black mustn't allow his maoity to getstuck Now is the time to stike out atWhites cente ailue to make this ee

the pin on Blacks Queen With this move,White theatens to captue twice andmunch the c-pawn

1 3c8

ing move would have given White a nice This is a potective move. Thus fa aadvantage tough his conol ove thec-file

With this move Black limits the c

the games moves can be eplained bystandad open in g theoy manygames in chess have featued the dia


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Ming History

be a strong moe increasing te pressureon te c5-pan. It is interesting to seeo te battle as sifted to te ueenside it bot players concentratingteir armies tere Again, te osition

reoes around te strengt or eakness of Blacks ueenside majority Tatis il Back's major ity become an

'adantage or a disadantage?

14.Bb5

Te game's fst nonstandard teoreticalmoe is a ery good one Te typicalresponse oud ae been 14Be2, fo

loed by a uick casting But Wite isapparenty looking for an opportunity to

ade is b5-Bisop for te b8Knigt Hetis tat te b8-Knigt is far more usefl as a defender of te ueenside pansmore important tan te b5Bisops roleas an atacker

Fiscer's moe is far more subtle tanit appears, oeer If te idea of trading te Bisop for a Knigt is so sensible,y soudn't Black put te uestion tote Bisop it . a7-a6 and force it o

reeat? Wy not indeed Wite's craftpoint is tat it .a7-a6, tis pan illae been lured to a Wite suare,ic gies te Wite Bisop someting

1 4aBlack is falling in line it Wite's plans.(In te future folloing tis matc,games il employ 14.Kf8!? or 14Qf8?,in bot cases protecting te Queen

reeasing te pin on te a3f8 diagonal,and aloing Black to treaten c5-c4 toput is majority to ork)

But Boris Spassky is not to be faultedfo te text because it contains a bit of

poison. Because te a6pan is pinned tote unprotected a8-Rook, te treat to te

b5Bisop doesnt yet exist Once te aRook is protected, te b5Bisop i been prie - Frenc for in capture

and ill be forced to moe Back's littetrick is e teat to protect te a8Rookit Ra8a7, ic in trn ould protect te e7 Queen Black oud ten olda doube teat of . a6xb5 and ...c5c4 a

big adantagedxc

Sidestepping Black's preiously mentioned treat ( Ra8-a7), Wite makes

sure tat te pus c5-c4 caries nopunc In fact, after b6xc5 Back ilno try to aoid ..c5c4 as te d4suarefals into Wites mitt


23/259

GAME OE

5..bxc5Tis is t st rcaptur. Atr15...Rxc5? 16-! woud oow. ackwoud not a to captur th 5-isop wit ithr Rook or pawn caus

o t pins y t a3-un T txt ismuh uperiorcaus t c5-pawn andd5-pawn contro quit a numr osquars Suc pawns ar knwn ashanging pawns caus nithr pawn

is ackd up or supportd y anothrpawn Ty itrayng ogeher.

Trougout css istory gratdats av ragd aout t pros andcons o hanging pawns Th dats ar

nonsns th answr is cut and drid. Ith pawns can attackd and orcd tomov or ward ty ar wak I thy can

dndd and rmain whr ty arthy ar strong

Tus a nw att is ing ormd.T qustion o whthr a pawn majority wi pus od into a pawn stormhas n answrd: Whit wi ightmigtiy to gt eiher o t anging

pawns to mov orward. This woudav crucia squars unprotctd

squars tat Wits pics wi pouncupon Equay dtrmind ack wi digi i h i h i k

6

Casting at ast Whn grandastrswait or such xtndd priods orcasting thy ray driv chss tachrsnuts Its rough on tachrs to s thircrishd princips outd or too ongut th tim has com and Whit tucksis King hind a protctiv wa opawns Now hops to pay R-d putting prssur on ot o th angingpawns to orc on r t othr to movorward.

1 6 Ra7?A controvrsia mov it avs

acks un in an awkwad pin on tha38 dagona. s k on t match


24/259

Mang Hsory

om which Spassky never recoveredReshevsky gives the move two questionmarks an annotation usualy reservedfor moves that blunder and toss awaymaterial Boris Spasskys second (or

coach) GM Efim Geler also considersthe text a mistake oering 16 ..b7 as analternative.

Both Geller and Reshevsky are wrongSpasskys move is actually dubiou i n

merit. Reshevsky supports 16b7 citing that "ater its [b5Bishops] reeatBack woud continue ..b8d7 andWhite coud not post his Knight sronglyon d4 as in the game This anotation

is shortsighted Yugoslav GM SvetozGligoric critiques this move by posing animp orta nt q uestion after 16 . . .b717Ba4 what would Black do with hisc5pawn

Whites goa in Bf-b5 (move 14) wasto capture the b8-Knight should it pokeits head out Therefore 16 .. b7 17Ba4!leaves Black with problems concerninghis c5-pawn. Blacks best move would

have been 16 . a7 which would havereleased him from the a3-f8 pin defendedthe c5-pawn and threatened the b5Bishop White could then consider thewo rereats discussed next 17 Ba4 or

After 17Ba4 keeping an eye on theb8Knight Back would continue with17 .. a5! and threaten to deveop hisposition with b8-a6-b4 blockingout the a3-ueen. Thus through

18Bb5 d7 19.Bxd7 Bxd7 Whitecould accompish his exchange butthe hanging paws sti woudnt havebudged Black would again pay Bd7-e6 planning to play ..d5-d4 to

achieve a passed d4-pawn and anequal game.

The best scenario is 17.Be2 d718Rc3 or 18.Rfd with continuedpressure on the hanging pawns. But

Black wouldnt have many worries inthis line either with 18. ..a5 panned asa counterattack against the b2-pawn

Thus by 16 ... a7 Black coud achieve acoortable position The probem with

Spasskys move is that Blacks ueenremains in an awkward pin on the a3f8diagona

17.Be

ow that the a6-pawn is no ongerpined the b5Bishop is wel and uyen prise. The reeat 17Ba4 also had tobe considered A line such as 17.Ba4 d718 Bxd7 Rxd7 19 xa6 Ra7 would


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GAM OE

preerred the text however, as the e2Bishop greedily eyes the a6-pawn

1 7 Nd7

Back develops the Knight at ast Blackrealizes that his hanging pawns needprotection Ater this move the d5pawncan be protected by Nd7-6 But since

his ailure on move 16, Black has discovered that he has probems His most sensitive points are the a6-pawn and the c5pawn A Knight posted on 6 wont coverthese two pawns

18Nd4

An excelent move We know that Whitemust put pressure on the hanging pawnsyet the 3-Knight was not paying a roe

1 8 Q8?Feeling the growing pressure against hiscenter, Spassky now makes an error Allthe previousy mentioned annotators areunanimous in their criticism o this

move, and they are correct The text costsa tempo and paces the Queen out o payon a bad square

he had chosen 18 N6, Black woudhave had to sue an inerior ending,

with Whites response o 19Nb3 attacking the c5-pawn Black then could eitherdeend the c5pawn or push it Deendingwith 19 Nd7 would alow the pythonlikegrip o 20Rc3 to close in preparing to

doube on the cie with Rd and utimately causing Back to ose either thec5pawn or the a6pawn

Thereore the best alternative wouldhave been 18N6 19Nb3 c4 20Qxe7

Rxe7 2Nd4 White would have successully implemented his strategy one othe hanging pawns orced to budge andWhites d4-Knight situated at a terriicoutpost But this ending would be ar

rom lost or Back he could pay2a5! and then use the hal-open bieor counterpay

19Nxe6


26/259

G O


27/259

GAME O

He can see that White intends to swinghis Queen to h3 pressuring the e6pawnas well as threatening Be2g4 Whatshould he do?

The moves 20 xe4 2Rc4 Nf6

22Rfc Rac7 23Qxa6 would have wonack Whites pawn while attacking thee6-pawn Oering a Queen exchangewith 20 c4 2Qh3 Qe7 22exd5 exd523Bf3 would hit the d5pawn while pin

ning the d7-Knight to the c8Rook Byfurther coninuing with Rfe hitting

Blacks Queen, Whites attack wouldquickly ecome decisive

now White gains the juicy c4oupost forhis e2Bishop he text also means thatWhite has achieved his longterm sategy of bloading Blacks majoriy NowWhite can ry to utilize his ow kingside

majority Watch how with each moveFischer tightens his grip

21.4

White activates his majorit He is planning Be2-c4 and f4-f5 in order to win the

e6pawn In addition to this threat hisf4-pa conrols the e5square limitingthe d7Knight In fact Whites sategywill e to limit the d7 Knights movementand to evenually entom it

Bsides the sudden activation of thekingside Black still has queenside diiculties It shouldnt e overlooked that

The aim of the text is to y to keep

the position closed long enough to coverup the weakness in Blacks pa sucture The final defensive possiility20 Nf6 would have allowed White toput his kingside majority into motion with 2-4 White can underminethe sup

20 Nf6 21e5! Nd7 (after 2Ne4 22f3

port of the d4-pa Black faces pro

Nd2 23Rfd Qf4 24Qc3 White would lems everywhere!

win material) 22f4 now intending to use 21 Qe7the h3-c8 diagonal White would thus Black reraces his eighteenth move thegain a powerful attack analysis y e6paw was calling out for help Black

GM Svetozar Gligoric is rying to do a litle repair work and toWhile pushing the d5pawn might ethe least of the many evils Black facesit does hurt the position The hangingpawns have een forced forward and

cover his weak pawns Now if he canplay e6e5 Black can try to work onlockading Whites majority

M k


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Mkn

22e5This powerfl move nails own the e6-pawn White has a light-square Bishop

by putting his pawns onrksquaes, hegives te e2Bisop a brghter future

Note tat the text opens up te b-h7iagonal. If White can create a batteryon this iagonal Black cul well bemate Nw the 4pawn can only relyupon the support of the c5pawn If

White can play b2-b4xc5 the 4-pawll stick out like a sore tumb.

This current move however oeshave a awback If Black can maneuverhis 7Knight to the 5-square it woul

take up a terrific outpost22 Rb8?

Stopping a potential b2b4, this movefails to aess the problem of Blacks

7Knght Most cmmetators rightfully felt that 22 Nb6 was necessary.Even with that alternative, however thetactics wul still favor White: 22. 623Qb3 N5 245! Rb7 25.Qh3 Rxb2

26Bc4 R8 27fxe6 Ne3 28.Rf7Wtes pieces woul crash tugh ote kingsie

Spassky tought of variations likethose ust mentione an felt that the

postin to become entangle an toopassive. The threats on the a2g8 iagonal migt have mae it more pruent tplay 22 ..Kh8 stepping o the agonalWte woul ten have to ecie wether

to cotue a kngsie attack with Qa3-h3 or to try to break up the center withb2-b4 In either case White woul holthe iniiaive, but Black wul be betterpositione to conont Whites threats

23Bc4

Cracking the whip Fischer is quck totake avantage of Spasskys last naccuracy Black has no time for 23 ..Nb6because 24Qb3 will pin the b6-Knight

while hitting the e6-pawn as wel IfWhite manages to employ the threat f4f5 Black will be force to vacate theagonal

23 Kh8Black has no choice Defening the e6pawn with 23 . Nf8? woul have encourage 245 with f5-6 to follow collapsingthe shiel aroun Blacks King.

24Qh3

Te Quee as one a sple ob nrestraining Blacks queensie Nw is thetime to exhibit its attacking skills as well

GAM O


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GAM O

4. N8Black makes o rade because aer24 Rxb2 25Bxe6 N8 26Bc4 iewould ae a wii posiio e dierece is e paw maoriies Blacks c5

paw ad d4-paw are irmly blockadede mome ie plays Rc-e ad 4-56 i will be curais

.b3

Slammi e door o e b8-Rook emoe empasies ies posiioaldomiaio Blacks Rooks are ieec

ie ad a cursory compariso beweee c4Bisop ad e 8Ki speaksa ousad words Bu ere is a lo disace bewee a eecie moe a

Keep is i mid: o all wiiposiios prese orced ariaios awi maerial ad lead o ecically woposiios Some wo posiios eed o beurured a is a wii posiio ca

ad as o be improved and perectedbeore maerial is wo ad i becomes aecical wi ie as a beauil posiio bu o all is pieces are coordiai well Fiscer eeds o icrease is

spaial corol by urer ulii isRooks. e, orced wis mi preseemseles

.. .a

A sesible moe Black as o aciepla ad ereore wais i order ocouer ie's plas e a6paw is aare or e c4-Bisop Now e a6paw is ou o daer ad wi 5-a4xb3 Black mi be able o ope upe aile ii is Rooks some brea room

6.

ies moe acaes e maor pieces

o e ile Black es o rade o isweak e6paw bu ie es a powerl passed e5paw.

is suble ierplay o ad ad

Makg Hory


30/259

Makg Hory

26a4 or shou he play for he aack? locking he c4-ishop wih 27 . Ne6?Fischers whoe career has feaure a 28e6 Qe6 2Rf8+ Rf8 3Qe6sharp aacking sye of chess Carefu wou cos ack his Queen for a Rookpayers woul have paye 26a4 buFischer goes for he jugular Engae

26 ... ex5 28.1

lack is force o capure Whie can' be Coninuing o buil up he pressureallowe eiher f5e6 or f5-f6 which Whie reinrouces he ea of Rf5-f7

woul give him a win a once.

27x5Now he Rooks emerge omnipresenThe immeiae hea is Rf5-f7 forcing

lack can sop his hea by playing28 Rf8 o cones he ffile because

2.f8 Nf8 3.Qc8 wou pin he f8-Knigh winning i on he ne move

he win of maerial because of he 2...Qd

skewer of he a7Rook The f-Rook su ack avois he hea Rf5f7 skewer

eny conrols si sques in he space ing he a7Rookcoun

27.. Nh7

lack uses acics o sop he hrea of

Rf5-f7 ack hopes o ick Whie ino28R? hus allowing a Knigh fork by28 . Ng5 an hen 2Re7 Nh3(check!) 30gh3 Re7 lack woul

win he echange

In icu posiions he efenerofen ries o jeison some maerial oreieve he pressure u in aemping27 . Ng6 28Rf7 Qf7 2f7 Rf7,ack wou come up shor 3 Qe6

29.Q3

In his simple bu highly eecive moveWhie coninues o improve he posiion

of his pieces before launching he ecisive aack The Queen is now reposiione o inouce he hrea of Rf5-f7an Qg3g7 mae Anoher possibe ieawoul be o ry Qg3g6 in orer o play

c43 an mae lack on he h7square.Now a of Whies pieces e poise forhe aack an he can ry o concuemaers iecy.

GAM O


31/259

GAM O

will rush his attack and stble in theprcess While this culd happen, thebest way t usettle the ppnent is tive him smethin t wrry abut. Iwuld have pted fr 29 a4 hpin that

this wud use White sme disactins30.h4!

A real blw, this mve takes away the 5-square fr either the h7Kniht r the dQueen Nw the h7-Kniht is stuck Thestrenth f this mve is best revealed bythinkin abut 30.Rf7? Rxf7 31Rxf7

Q5 which ives Black the pprtunity fr tradin a pair f Rks

mre space than its Black cunterpartThe nly White piece that culd beimprved is the 3Queen.

31e6!

The passed epawn leefully mves frward Aarn Nimvitch (886935)described this mve by sayin, "Thepassed pawn lusts t expand The e6pa is like a bne in Blacks thrat Ifhe desnt et rid f it, he will chke. Buthw? With this mve White pens up thepssibility f centraliin his Queen He

als teatens the c5-pawnThe nly drawback f the text is tha

it allws the h7Knit t crawl ut byway f Nh7f6 But as we shall see,Bbby is prepared t er a decisiveexchane sacrifice

31 Rbc7

This mve prtects the c5-pawn Blackcan't play 31d3 32.Qxd3 Qxd3 33Bxd3Rxe6 because 34Rf8+ Nxf8 35.Rxf8results in mate In this case, Black's airhle the h7-square hasnt helped

3.Qe5!

Overwhelmin cenaiatin nw all30.. Rbb7

f Whites pieces radiate thei maximumBlack is din his best The text uards influence Black is cmpletely htied

Mag o


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Mag o

out of its hole: 3 ...Nf6 33Rxf6 gxf634.f6 (teatening Rf6xh6 and Rh6h8 mate) 34 .Kg8 35.Rxh6 Rg7 36e7+wng

32 Qe8

Black is marking time wth nothing to dohe moves 3 d3 33.R5f3 d 34.Rd3

would cause only the loss of the dpa.

33.a4

34 Qe8Black still waits for events to oer him achance to improve his position Note thatat no time could Black have played .Kh8-g8 because 5f7 would have been im

mediately decisive3R23

White further improves the backupRook Now the d4pawn is under lock and

key. ll the pieces are operating at theirmaximum and White will start to lookBrutal White is emphasizing his complete dominance by taking away all ofBlacks possibilities. By no means is for the decisive blow.

Fischer rushing the attack 3 Qd8

33 . Qd8

Black continues his waiting policy Currently he has all his weak points coveredso he leaves it up to White to find a wayto crack his defenses

34.R12

Fischer strives to place his pieces on themost eective squares before embarkingon his decisive maneuver. Black has butone trump in the position his passed d4-

pawn. The text keeps a watchfl eye onthe d4pawn If Black were to try3 d335Rd followed by Rdxd3 would gobbleup the pawn

Black sticks to his policy of waiting forWhite to prove the win.

GAM O


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GAM O

36Bd3 38Rx6At last White begins the ina manever White has been preparing this exchangeHe antcpates creating a baery on theb-h7 diagonal, ttig upanh7-chte

36 Qe8

Back attacks the e6pawn and preventsR57 The move 36 . Qg8, covering theh7-night, would ai 37R7! Rx7 (or37 6 38Rx6 to win) 38ex7 7

(becase 38Qd8 39Bxh7 wod aowthe 7 pawn to be promoted) 39.Bc4woud win an exchange ater 39N640Qxc5 and Bc4x7, with a techncaw

37Qe4

Ths is the ollowp o Whites previosmove White is ready to deiver a earlmate on h7 ater these moves: 37 Rxe638R8 Nx8 39Rx8+ Qx8 40Qh7

checkmate Thereore Backs Kght sorced o move. This allows an exchangesaciice and a qick end to the strggle

37. .N6

Black moves in order to stop Whteshreat o R5-8

sacriice or many moves now. he pawnsheld is rpped away, nmasking theBlack King

38 x

Black has no choice bt to accept theoered Rook

39Rx6

White snaps o the 6-pawn and teatens to chop o the h6pawn with check,rther dending the Back King

39 K8

There is no way to protect the h6-pawnWhite wold wn in either o these scenaros: 39Kg7 40Rg6 K8 4Q4 or39 . Qh5 40g 4! Qh4 (not 40 .. R g7

becase 41R8+ Rg8 42Rxg8 and

g4xh5 wod wn the Back Qeen)48 g 42Q8 chatanysisbyGM Samel Reshevsky.

Spassky hopes to se his Rooks tobock any onta checks on the ge

Fischer is qick to prevent this deense

Making His


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Making His

40Bc4Very ice! e e7Rook is oze If itmoves, e6e7+ would wi immeditelyBlcks Rooks re uble to come to terescue of teir beleguered morc

e text so sets up te wiig 6f7.40 Kh8

I oter uppy move Blck s tostep o te cg8 digol He opes tt

te 6-pw wi tempt Wite itoRx6+ 7 2e5+ Rcg7 proogig te fig

41.4

e fi dedy move e tret of

Rf6-f8 wi force Kg8 d te2x6 will leve Blck elpless. Hemigt try 2 d3, but 3Rg6+ Rg7

4e7+ wil result i ceckmte o teext move

Back ess.

is victory mked te fst time ttBobby Fiscer d goe up i te mtc

e score ow becme 32 i fvorof te cleger d e ever ookedbck A stued Boris Spssky joiedwit te udiece fter te gme toppud Fiscers victory. It ws fter

l extrordiry tecic cievemet Fiscer plyed perfectly tougout toppig te gme o t te ed wit prosic excge scrifice oud tecess word grdmsters were wed t

te simplicity d precisio of Fiscerspy He becme cess leged

GAME O


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GAME O

ll.

Saying the Dragon

Fllowing Bobby Fishers dramati World Championship vitory in 1972 thehess world was abuzz The new Amerian hampion aptured worldwideinterest he enjoyed a New York City street parade, made a few appearanes

on TV shows, turned down a host of endorsement oers, and then . disappeared.The hess world was hopping up and down for another Fisher vitory, but he was

nowhere to be found First one year, then a seond year and finally a third year wentby without Fishers pushing a pawn in publi As FIDE hampion he was obligedby the rules of hesss governing body to defend his title in 1975 against the newhallenger

But where was Fisher? Was he in deep preparation for his math? How was his

training going? Why wasnt he ompeting? And finally the ruial question wasBobby going to defend or forfeit his FIDE rown?

In 197 4 FE held an emergeny meeting of its general ongress. Fisher had sentFIDE his demands for the rules governing the 1975 FE hampionship Sine 1951FEs rules for its hampionship were quite simple The first player to sore 12

points was the winner If at the end of 24 games the math was tied 1212 thehampion retained the title and the prize money was divided equally

Fisher demanded that the rules for the 1975 math be the same as those used in1886 for the math between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Hermann ZukertortThose rules too, were eloquently simple The first to win ten games would be ham

pion. Draws didnt ount If the math was tied 99 it would be stopped and delareddrawn, the monies would be split, and the hampion would retain his title For eitherhampion or hallenger to win the math, the minimum sore neessary was 1

At the 1974 FIDE ongress debates raged Fishers ritis felt the ten-win systemt b f i Th t th t th h i i h ld t l hi

GAM W


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GAM W

ten-wn system prior to the 1972 match with Boris Spassky The 972 match convinced Fischer o the correctness o hs posiionIn 1972, once Fischer had gotten the lead, he new that al he had to do was draw

some games and claim the title With each drawn game, he would be one step closer,and Spassy would have one less opportunity to ight bac. That's precsey what

happened Games 14 tough 20 were al awn! Seven games in a row Fscherchanged his style to sit the rules He was no longer the warrior playing allout inevery game he was a chess proessional coasting to the tite Ths ype o chessoended Fscher

A parallel can be drawn between a boxing match and ths type o chess One

ighter decisively wins the elier ronds Knowing that he is well ahead on points,he reuses to get into an exchange o blows that might get him nocked out and costhim the igh Instead he ighter who is leading on points runs around the ring,avoiding any riss and wins a decision which is booed by the ans

Fscher's supporters pointed out that a tenwin system orced the player who was

in the lead to continue to play or the win. I draws didn't count, boh players wouldhave to play to win toughout the matchWhie the intellectual debate between the two systems raged, a practica issue

emerged The organizers would have to consider he possible nancial burden oan unlimited match Wha would happen i nether player could prove his supe

riority? Suppose there was an endless series o draws? The costs coud becomestaggeringIn 1974 the cold war was in ull bloom FIDE was composed o the national ed

eratons o the world, and as it did in the United Nations, he Soviet Union exercsedenormous iuence in FIDEs general assembly I the Soviets were intent on block

ing reorm the Western nations had little chance o securing Fischers demands.Much like a committee tasked with creating a horse, FDE created a camel Theyoered Fischer a mustwin-six-games alternative I a score was reached, henext game would be decisive Both players would have to reach six wins, draws notcountng FIDE hoped that Fischer would accept this compromise

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Slayg the Dago

the opportunity to win milions o doars, coud he? ischer coud and did Heresed to pay, oreiting his E crown in 95 It wasnt until 20 years later in992, that ischer ound a sponsor wiling to support the tenwin system

An Eastern Star

So, who would e the challenger or the 95 IDE match? The Soviet school ochess had nurtred a rising star, Anatoly Karpo Karpov qualied or the IDEcandidates matches in the 93 Leningrad Interzonal tournament He then eat teeSoviet players in succession: Lev Pougaevsky 52) Moscow, 9) BorisSpassky Leningrad, 9), and Victor Korchnoi 2 Moscow, 9) The

E inals match in 9 determined Boys chalenger Since there was no 95championship match, the IDE candidates ina match turned into a IDEchampionship

Anatoly Karpovs critics woud point out that Karpov ecame the champion without eaving the osom o Mother Russia Many chess payers reused to recognize

Karpov as champion ecause he had never deeated ischer a monkey Karpov cried on his ack throughout his career

What Anatoly Karpov did to silence his critics was very simpe he won He payedall phases o the game opening, middlegame, and endgame superly He wasexquisitely ained in the opening and rarely emerged with a ad game His technical

prowess was extraordinary On top o this he calculated well and won an enormousnumer o rlliant games Gradually he won grudging admirers

Karpovs year to shine was 9 In the 9 match oth he and his rival, VictorKorchnoi, knew they would e playing or the IDE crown It was a itter, hardought duel A ew years later Korchnoi would deect to the West.) The match had

just started with a draw when Karpov drew st lood with this scorching victory,which would ring him to his goal o ecoming E champion

GAM


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Sci l ia Dago

M Anatoly KarpovM Vcto ochno

94 FIDE anddates Fna Game

Opening

e4

Eary in his career Karpov employed e4 a King Pawn Opening exclusively.

From the viewpoint o space and piecedepoyment e2-e4 has to be consideredhe best opening move. The e4pawn controls the -square and d5square the dQueen the h-square and the Bishop

the b5suare and a6square or a spacecount o ive. The Bishop and dQueen are given diagonals on which todevelop In Fischers words e2-e4 "is bestby test

Especially in the eighteenth and nineeenh centuries King Pawn Openingswere considered the only way to open achess game They eature sharp, attacing games that are highly prized by chess

lovers Indeed an extraordinary numbero beauti games begin with this irstmove

grandmasters now that King PawnOpenings are incrediby sharp. A singlemisstep in the attac or the deense canlead to disaster. earning the openingsand deenses are a lietimes wor I you

arent up-todate on the atest wrine ina horriyingly complicated variationyou may slip and lose

The main eature o King Pawn Openings is a rapid development o the pieces

in order to launch quic attacs Thisight or the initiative the abiity tomae treats is the decisive actor inthe outcome o the opening

1 ..c

Because King Pawn Openings have Blac responds with the Sicilian DeenseTh i th Si ili D i t i ht


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trad his d4-cntr pawn r a qunsid captur th d4-pawn wuld alw hitc-pa That lavs Black with tw cn- th chic d4xc, r vn d4d,tr pawns t hit's ln 4-pawn. Black clamping dwn th cntr.hps t vntually utiliz his exra cn 4Nxd4tr pawn t giv him an advantag in th

cntr. Black allws hit th shrttrm activatin his pics in xchangr th lng-trm advantag having aprpndranc pawns in th cntr

Th xchang th d4-pawn r th

c-paw als pns up th ils r thRks Black gts th hal-pn ci,and hit gts th hal-pn d-il hbnits mr? t is impssibl t say atthis mmnt Each playr wil hav t us

his umps as bst h canFinally, what abut th mv 3Bb,dvlping th Bishp with chck? Actually, this is a wllknwn pning variatin. I dnt rcmmnd it biving it

alls int th catgry "Patzr ss achck, patzr plays a chckShuld th gam cntinu with 3 Bd7

4Bxd7 + Qxd7 hit wuld dvlpBlack's Qun with tmp It wuld bnit Black mr than hit, thugh thistnpl ayd variatin shuldn't bjudgd ntirly n this shrttrm disadvantag t hit

d

hit mvs th sam pic twic in thpning Opning principls gnralydictat that mving th sam pic arly

in th pning shuld b avidd, but inthis cas, hit has th right t d sBlack t has mvd his c-pawn twic,s hit dsn't ls a tmp by mvinghis Knight twic

Still th rcaptur 4Qxd4 lksawully tmpting, giving hit thrwarrirs in play t Blacks ln d6-pawnBut th prblm with 4Qxd4 is that it

ld d l th Q t l k

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the advantages o 4Qxd4 are obvousand many grandmasters have ed thsrecapture nstead o N3xd4 Though ts argey a matter o taste Karpovsrecapture 4Nxd4 s the better choce.

Whte brngs hs Knght to a more nluental post controllng squares b5 c6 and 5 Whte has developed two memberso hs army to Blacs one Blac must usehs move to tch up n development

4 N6

weaen the ght squares n the centermost notceaby 5 and d5Ater 4 e5 Whte woud want to

exchange lghtsquared Bshops becauseths would mae t easer or hm to con

trol the 5square and the d5-square.Thus 4 . e5? 5Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxd7Qxd7 7N5 Blac would orce thed4-Knght onto a more dangeroussquare Contnung wth 7 .g6woudur

ther boot the Knght and nduce 8Ne3preparng a jump to the wonderu d5-Blac develops a pece whle attacng outpost. The move g7 g6 s panly badWhtes e4-pawn The text s consdered Lets contnue n ths lne and noducethe best move or two reasons Blac some tactcs:doesnt want to allow c2-c4 whch woud

enable Whte to strengthen hs controlover the d5-square Second Bac wantsto nduce -c3 whch would put thec3Knght on the hal-open c-le Thswould alow a potental exchange sacr

ce Ra8-c8xc3 ollowed up wth..N6xe4 Such exchange are acoon tactl emethe Open Scl

From the pont o vew o developngwth tempo why not play 4 e5 attac

ng the powerul d4-Knght? For theshort term ths woud be a good deaWhte would have to move hs d4-Knghtand Blac would have played the move

4 e5? 5Bb5 ! Bd7 6Bxd7 Qxd77N5 N6 (attacng the e4-pawnwhch woud support the 5-Knght)8Nc3 Nxe4 9.Nxg7 Bxg7 10.Nxe4 d5Bh6 0-0 12Bxg7 Kxg7 3Ng3

would produce an unclear postonBacs ngsde deense would becompromsed but he woud have ane center pawn duo.

Whte should be a bt more modest

4 .. e5? 5Bb5 Bd7 6Bxd7 Qxd77.Nb3! Ths smple retreat wouldcause Bac the most problems Bacwould have a bacward d6-pawn andWh d h h

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5Nc3

Karpov choice i the main move in theOpen Sicilian He protect the e4-pawn

and continue to control the dquareWhite thu all in line with Back'

trategy a outlined in the previou noteWhy? The quetion i how to deend thee4-pawn With Qd3 or Q3 White

woud develop hi Queen too earyexpoing it to poible attack In theirt cae Nbd7 would prepare Nd7-c orking the d3-Queen and e4-pa; inthe econd cae Black could then play

. Bg4 devloping the Bihop withtempo

Two other poibe deene coudhave been choen

ha already moved Black no longerear Bd3b By continuing withBd3? ! e ! 6 Nb3 (6 Bb+? Bd77.Bxd7 Qxd7 would eave the e4-pawn en prie) 6 .. d! Black would win

the ight or the center White could try 3!? to prop up thee4pawn while preparing c2c4 anygrandmater have tried thi reaonable idea again it i largey a mat

ter o tate The only drawback o23 are a weakening o the gb6diagonal and a lo o the option 2-4

5 . g6

The diagram poition i probaby themot complex in mode che openingtheor Black ha a hot o poibilitie . (the Scheveningen Deene . .a6(the Najdor) .Nc6 (the aer) or theone Korchnoi chooe the Dragon

The Dragon' name derive rom twoactor the g8-Bihop ianchetto itelon the long h8a diagonal breathing iredown the board and Black pawn tructure h7 g6 7 e7 and d6 reembe

an outine o a dragonThere i a lot to be aid in avor o the

Dragon variation The ianchetto allowBack to buid a home or hi King on the

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robust ole the game by keepg a eye tected The text sets up the dea of Qdo the ceter e5-square ad d4-square d2 fo lo we d by Be3 h6, tr y g toThe rago s typcal of the resa exchage the fachettoed Bshop Ths

g ceter strategy troduced the sategy wll lead to eormous complcaScla Whte coos more space, yet tos wth both payers castled o oppo

o outposts the ceter are cearly vsble. The d6-paw prevets the move e4e5, the f6-Kght hts the d5-square ade4-square, ad the g6-paw lmts the d4Kght by cotrollg the f5-square

the log term, Black wl y to utze hsextra ceter paw Whte must thereforelook for some dect pla of acto

6Be3

The player wth more actve peces ca

easly create a pla of acto actve postos usually oer a umber of optosad Whte could have cosdered 6.4,playg for e4e5 or 6Be2 ad 6h3 playg for g2-g4g5 He coul have played

slowly, wth 6g3, fachettog hs owBshop, ad cotued wth hs pa ofwatchg the d5-square stead, Karpovchooses the Yugoslav Attack agast therago the most dagerous at

rago weapo to be foudThe move 6Be3 develops a pece whle

preparg to castle queesde The move. g7 -g6 has weakeed the h6-square, ad

ste sdes6 B7

Black completes the fahetto He woudhave made a bad mstake by playg6 g4?? to attack the e3-Bshop adope up the log ah8 dagoal. Whtecould make the tactcal shot 7Bb5+ fo

lowed by 7 Bd7 8Qxg4! to take advatage of the p to grab the g4-Kght

73

Prevetg Nf6-g4 the text aso re

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7

Nc6

As naturay as can be, Back continueshis deveopment The d4-Knight is apoweru beast, so Back sets up anopportunity to exchange Knights

8Qd

White too is impementing his pan Heprepares to case queenside whie seting up a battery or Be3h6

8 . Batte ines are being drawn Back hasbuit a home or his King and wi nowturn his attention oward he center andqueenside Now that Back has commit

ed hs Kng, Whte knows where he haso atack

9.Bc4

A deining moment This move initiatesthe Yugosav Attack.Practice has shown that ater 900-0

d5!, Back can strike out in the center andearn strong counterpay against Whites

King. The text is a harmonious moveWhite is panning to caste queensideand wants to make sure there are pentyo guards around or protection AterBc4-b3 White cements the pawns

around his KingAso, Bc4 its nicey with the sategy o protecting the d5square Thiswi rue out the countermove .d6d5which woud attack the e4-pawn What

treasure ies on the a2g8 diagona? Yesindeed, the c4Bishop ooks directy uponthe g8King

9...Bd7

Both payers continue within the main

ine thry o the Dragon The text itsin with one o Backs tups the haopen c-ie The c8-Bishop makes roomor the aRook to pay Ra8c8 Backwoud then be set up to take the initiative

on the queenside

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10h4

This crcial lik i Whites scheme ofdevelopmet shows hat he is commitedto alot w agaist Backs Kig Withths move, White bs his bridges addeclares his itet ce White castlesqeeside the ge will be decided by theplayer who gets to the opposig Kig firstUfortately for White Black has a sable lead i the race The halfope c-lemeas that Back already has a highwayto Whites Kig White therefore mstope p a road for his pieces, especially the

Rooks White aticipates playig h4-h5ad h5xg6, weakeig the paw coverarod Blacks Kig This idea of opeigthe hle wold cost White wo tempi

1 0

Rc8

What cod be sweeter? Black developsa Rook to his half-ope c-fie ad itodces the teat of Nc6xd4, exposigthe c4-Bishop

1 Bb3

view of the previosy metioedthreat, White is forced to reeat the c4-Bishop Althogh the retreat costs a

tempo Whit is't completely happyhe b3Bishop offers cosiderableqeeside protectio ad is xrayingBlack's Kig

1 Ne5

A importat decisio Black decidest t d th d4 K i ht Thi

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the d7-Bishop also covers these squaresIn Backs view he b3Bishop is a fargreater threat to his position. His idea isto play e5c4 bkng the b3Bishopsdiagonal and aacking Whites Queen

Practice has shown that this Knightmaneuver is he best idea in the position.With the alternative xd4 2Bxd4b5 13h5! a5 14hxg6 hxg6 15a4 b46.d5 Whites attack on the kingside

would come first

2.--

The players have now castled to opposite

sides of the board Such a position givesboth players a ee hand to go berserkagainst each others Kings Indeed bothsides arefored to go for broke in eect

In such positions fighting for the initiative will decide the winner. Dcingthe opponent by creating hreats helpsan atack gain momentum

Whites plan is to play h4-h5 and thento utilize the halfop

n or open hfile to

go afer Blacks King. For this reason heneeds to bring the aRook into play tmay have a role on the h-file

Blacks plan is equally to the pointThe half-open c-file is a natural gaeway

to Whites King Black will shift as manypieces as he can to the queenside He willuse his Rooks on the cfile as a bateringram against Whites King (The pros andcons of this position have been played

out in huneds of grandmaster games)

1 2... Nc4

Black attacks the d2Queen and the e3-Bishop

In some scenarios this move couldmake the b2pawn vulnerable it iseasy to imagine a sequence in whichBlack sacrifices a Knight for the b2pawnand then plays Rc8xc3 luring the

White King onto the long diagonal. Theg7Bishop waits in its lairThis game has gon far in changing

the theory of the Drag on Todaysgrandmasters consider 12 h5 to be the


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Saying the Dragon


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1 6 Qa5Coiuig o igh or h iiiaiv

Black prvs h acical sho 4-5bcaus Qa5x5 could sap a pawBlack gs ou o h way ordr o dou

bl Rooks wih R8c8 gog arWhi's Kig Th posiio is razorsharp h gam hags i h balac avry mov

17Bh6

Whi compls h qus ad is oxchag dragos so ha h ca play

Qd2-h6, sdlig up o Blacks Kig Nowha h h- is op hs opraioposs a grav dagr o Black's Kg

1 7.Bxh6

br or Whi i h opiio o ormrWorld Champio Mikhail Boviik agr wih his assssm ad wouldadd ha sacriicig h xchag ora h drago h8-Bshop is a good

way o mimizig Whi's kgsidaack

18Qxh6

Whi iroducs h lady ad hrasa sadard vicory wih Nc3d5, rmov

ig h lo h7paw ddr.

Miegame

1 8 Rc8

Boh playrs hav ollowd hr sragis wl. Whi is agr o do damag

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stands better? Up to now the payershave foowed standard hess theory

19Rd3!

Karpov unorks a massve theoretanovety an extremey strong move.

Whte woud have ked to pay ether19Nd or 19g but sn't propery prepared After 19.Nd, Whte woud beready for ether 20Nxf6+ to munh theh7-pawn, or the smpe 20Nxe7 to grab

the 8Rook The probem s that Bak'sounterpay woud be too swf: 19Nd?Rx2+ 20 Kb Qb! 2 b Qxe2 Bak's major pees on the seond rankwoud mate frst In a typa varaton,

2Nxf6+ exf6 22Qxh7 + Kf8 2Qh8+Ke7 Baks Kng woud skp away omthe kngsde

The seond attakng hoe 19gaso woud mss the mark the moves

19.g Nh 20Nf Rx woud ead totwo osng varatons for Whte:

Moves 2.bx Qx 22Rh2 Qe2Kb Qxf woud wn matera forBak and stop Whtes attak od

The sequene 2.Nxh Rx2 22Kbgxh 2.h Bf (overng the h7pawn) 2exf Qxf 2g6 R woudead to hekmate

the -Knght, Whte stops Bak's tats e ntends to pursue hs attak wthg-g and Ne2-f wthout dstratons

Reognzng that the move 19Rd s anovety what had been prevousy ana

yzed as the best hoe for ths stuaton?GM Mkha Botvnnk suggested 19RdQd8 (of ourse 19 Nxd?? 20Qxh7+Kf8 2Qh8 woud be a quk hekmate)20g Nh 2Nf Qf8 22Qxf8+ Kxf8

2.Nxh gxh 2.Rxh, wnnng bakthe pawn wth a sghty better endngfor Whte

Karpov aso thnks that ths endng sbetter for Whte and he ams for thesame endng but prefers that the dRook go to d and not to the dsquareAn mportant nuane as we sha see.

1 9.R4c?

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Blac loses briliantl This single misstep is the only mistae of the game! t

demonstrates the intense eenedged

natre of the position and that of ing

Pawn Openings in general

Blac had to accept the disagreeableending 19 Qd8 20g5 Nh5 21Nf Qf8

22Qxf8+ Kxf8 23Nxh5 gxh5 2Rxh5

g7 wold have allowed White to con

tine with 25Rh2 defending the c2

pawn and following with Nc3d5

Besides this the Roo on d3 wod allow

White to move Rd3b3 swinging over to

the qeenside.

Blac had to mae the retreat .Qa5-d8

and Qd8f8 becase of White's theat

of 20g5 Nh5 21Nf thereby crashing

togh on the h-file Besides secring

this ending White also wold have a

chance to se the dfie to win material

GM Mihail Botvinni cites two vari

ations both of them satisfactory for

Blac, to folow 19 . Qd8 20e5 dxe5:

The seqence 2Ng3 Qf8 22.Qxf8Rxf8 23g5 Bc6 2gxf6 ex wod

wor well Blac wold have theepawns and a whopping ingside

maority for his piece Botvinni con

siders Blac to have the edge in this

two pawns and a Roo for twonights Botvinni thins this varia

tion to be eqal bt prefer Blacs

position.

This tactical ploy of ee5 opening p

the dfie often occrs in the Dragonvariation

orchnois mistae 19 Rc5

was completey nderstandable. White's

threat of gg5 is hanging over his position

lie the sword of Damles By preventingthis move it appears that Bac has

obtained a completely tisfactory game

Given te he needs only to play Bd7to recharge his own qeenside attac.

20.g5

i ti

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Blac's c5-Roo o the c-file and onto the

vulneable g5-squae White would

dealy love to play 20Nd5 but as we've

seen 20 . . Rxc2+ would be good fo

Blac

21 .. Rx5

Blac has to accept the second pawn sac

ifice The altenative move would have

been doomed 2Nh5 22Nf Rxg5

(the pawn is captued anyway) 23Ncd5

Rxd5 .Rxd5 Qxa2 25 .Rhxh5 Qa +

26d2 gxh5 27Rg5+ with mate at the

next move

22.Rd5

A mavelous followthough The Roo

can now be captued in thee dieent

22 . .. Rxd5

Blac chooses the least of the thee evils

The othe two would have been moe

costly: 22 Nxd5? 23Qxh7 + and mate

would be next 22 Qxd5? 23Nxd5 would

cost the Queen and Whites atac wouldcontinue

All othe moves such as 22 . .Rc5

23Qxg5 Nxd5 2exd5 would cost

Blac a piece White woud then eset with

Qg5h6 poducing a mate on the hleThis tactical explosion on the d-file

ecalls a coent made by Swedish GM

Ulf Andesson who is extaodinaily

insightful concening defense When

ased hs opinion about the Dagon hecommented Blacs d5-squae is too

wea." His wods ae pophetic

23.Nxd5

At last White has been itching to play

this move Now that Blac's pessue onthe c2pawn has been neutalized the cnight spings into action Blacs sen

sitive f6 and e7 points need help

23 ... Re8

This move potects the e7 pa Now the

question of who has the initiative is no

longe in doubt Blac has given up on

hi tt hil Whit i till i

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Blac wold have deary oved to pay23 Qxa2 mnching a pawn while going

ater Whtes ing Bt 2Nxe7 + h8

25 Nxc8 Bxc8 26Nc3! Qa + 27 d2 !

Qxb2 28Qf8+ Ng8 29Qxc8 wold cost

Blac a whole RooThe other defensive reaction 23 Qd8

doesnt help either: 2Nef Rc5 (trying

to eliminate the d5-night) 25Nxf6+

exf6 26Qxh7+ f8 27Nxg6+! (a tre

mendos blow Blacs ing wold no

longer have a pawn shield) 27 fxg6

28Qh8+ e7 29Rh7 + (separatng ing

from Qeen). After winning Blacs

Qeen Whites attac wold contne

4.Ne4

away eed by the syndrome of Patzersees chec patzer plays chec." Blacs

ing is gong nowhere so Whte neednt

rsh matters

Also note that the text rles ot the

defense 2Nxf6+? exf6 25Qxh7+ f826Nf intending Nf-d5 in anticipation

of 26 . .Qg5! pinning the f-night White

now intends to contine with a trade on

f6 and then to play Nf-d5 setting p all

inds of beati mates

4 . Bc6

Bac desperately tries to prevent thepreviosly mentioned threat The other

possibility wold be neaty ndone:

2 Be6 25Nxe6! (threatening Qh6g7

Fi l d Wht ld h b ) 25 6 26 N f6+ f6 27 Q h7+

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Engame25e5

arpov ncors a tactcal shot to wrap

p the game another marvelos pawn

sacrce Ths tme Whte closes o the

th ran preventng a Qa5g5deense As beore 25Nx6 ex6

(threatenng .Qa5-g5) 26Qxh7 8

allows Blacs ng an e7-sqare ext

Whte cold wn an exchange wth

25Nxf6 ex 26Nh5 threatenng Qh6g7 mate Bt Blac cold play 26 Qg5!

27Qxg5 xg5 28N6 g7 29Nxe8

Bxe8 and Whte wold have won a battle

bt have lost the war. Blacs ngsde

pawn maorty wold oer comortngcompensaton

Wth the text Whte smply threatens

e5x6 n whch Blac's ng wold be

qcy mated

25 . Bxd5

Other captres all wold have allowed

mate

25 dxe5 26.Nx6 ex6 27Nh5!gxh5 28Rg and mate next move

25 Nxd5 26Qxh7 8 27Qh8 mate wold be even qcer

26ex6Once agan Whte threatens Qh6g7

mate.

26.ex6

Ths s the only way to stop mate Wth

Re8-e sbseqently, Blac hmsel

cold now threaten mate! Whte s on the

move and has to mae everhng cont

27.Qx7+

Whte crashes throgh at last Blac's

ng s drven nto the center o the

board Ths s the ong achevemento a sategy nearly twenty moves old

t maes yo wonder how ar ahead

granmasters prepare ther combnatons!

lyi the Do


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. Kf8Wi Back espe the kingside? He stil

has the miace shot Re8e ready

8Qh8

The final position

Back ess

orchnoi now gives p as he realizes28 . e7 29Nxd5 Qxd5 or 29 d8

30Qx and d is an exa night

for White) 30Re1 will force either the

loss of his e8Rook, or after 30 Qe531 Rxe5 the loss of his Qeen

The game proved an impressive exam

ple of how to storm a fianchettoed ings

position; following his loss orchnoi vir

tay gave p paying the Dragon for therest of his career

The tmltos match itself set o a

historical chain of events arpov went

on to win the match 2Y1 andbecame the FIDE challenger After

Bobby Fscher forfeited in 1975 arpov

was proclaimed the new FE champion

Several years later orchnoi wold

defect to the West

Later in 1978 and 1981 Victor orchnoi

again became the FIDE chalenger to

natoly arpo I oined orchnois team

as a coach for his 1981 match in Merano

Italy While drig throgh the Astrian

Aps I asked him how history wold

have changed had he won the 197

match He told me that arpov wold be

in the car

GAM THR


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ll.

Spark ing Origina iy

ADtch steel compan the Hoogoven Grop has sponsore an annal tornament in the Dtch coasta cit of Wi aan Zee for over 50 ears Onl

the Hastings tornament in Englan has a longer peigree.

n 1976 two namical contasting plaers settle own to attle in the Wi

aan Zee event Plaing the White pieces was the fier Ygoslavian attacing maestro

omir oevic Across from him sat the stoic master of efense Sweens UlfAnersson a classic matchp prize chess lovers

n that same ear ha roen into the chess master class an fancie that ha

a goo nerstaning of the game. This game taght me that ha a long wa to

go! reaize that chess isnt st aot expoiting an avantage roght aot

appling chess fnamentals. t is a clash of syles as welln annotating this game ve relie pon the analsis of GM Jan Timman from

his sper oo he Ar of Chess Analysis

Sicil ia Dfs,Schvig aao

M jubo jubojeM U Adesso

Hoogon Touan, Wijk aan Z, 1 96

Opening

14

Althogh o" as oevic is

opening moves e has een his favor

ite nee e is tailor-mae for hisswashcling attacing ste

5

Anersson on the other han chooses

the Siciian This too is perfect for hisste of chess a efensive conter

attacing metho esigne to give the

opponent st enogh rope to hang

hi f

GAM H


57/259

2N3

As in Gme Two of tis boo Wite is

ppy to led te gme into te cnnels

of te Open Sicilin.

2 e6

Also mentioned in Gme Two of tis

boo Blc cn employ wide vriety

of defenses n te Sicilin Te text intro

dces te Timnov System

One of te gret plses of te

Timnov System nmed in recogni

tion of te mny splendid ides intro

dced by te Rssin grndmster Mr

Timnov is ts flexibility. Blc

migt se te Timnov move in order

to trnspose to noter Sicilin Defense

or to ctc te nsspecting in one of te

mny ps of tis vrition

At tis erly stge, it is diiclt to

sy ow e opeg unfold Te im

of te lst move ws to protect te d5

sqre nd tef5sqre ming te ps

d7-d5 possibility Blc lso opens p

te f8-Bisop In n Open Sicilin, were

Wite wold ply Nbc3 defending is

epwn Blc wold ve cnce for

Bf8b ttcing te c3nigt

As we sw in Gme Two Blcs cen

l strctre of te d6-pwn nd te e7-

sme problem nd once gin te ide

of fincetto plying for .Bc8b7

wold be te best wy to ctivte tis

Bisop

3d4

Wite plys for n open ttcng gme.As in Gme Two Wite wnts to develop

is pieces s qicly s possible

3 xd4

Plying te trmp crd of te SiclinDefense, Blc trdes is wing pwn for

center dpwn

4Nxd4

Wite sets p powerl d-nigt At

tis point Qxd wold be cler mis

pr Orlty


58/259

4 c6

Blac deveops s poston wle pt

tng pressre on te d-ngt. Te

openng s stl n a state of A few

more moves are necessary to determne

te openng's name Had Blac played .Nf6 5.Nc3 (5e5 wold be prematre

becase 5 . .Qa5+ wod wn te e5-

pawn) 5 .. d6 te game wod ave devel

oped to a Scevenngen Defense

5c3

Wte moves toward commtment as e

volntary pts a ngt n front of the

c2pawn, denyg mself c2c

Te most common lne of play ere

wold be to bld p pressre n te cen-

ter by erectg te Maroczy wall tat sto ave an epawn and c-pawn center

e most eectve move order wold

begn wt 5Nb5, attacng te d6-

sqare Wte wod move te same

pece for te trd tme, breang te

prncple of not movng te same pece

more tan once n te openng. He wold

do ts for a specfc strategc reaso

to nvade te d6-sqare forcng Blac to

excange te f8-Bsop In te resltng

trade Blac's dar sqares n te center

wold be greatly weaened

Ts 5Nb5 d6 6c wold erect te

Maroczy wall, named for te famos

Hngaran grandaster Geza Maroczy

(1871951) wo ntrodced ts paw

Ljubomir Ljubojevic

Lum Luvc, hs fst m ms

"f f Lv rCrt, s th

f chss s r Tv Uc,

Ysv Fruy 11 195 H cm

r mstr 197 tr

rmsr 9. Ls fryr f chss trs h t f th

uc; h s yr h ys s fr

h s h h hts h mrk hs

chvms rs

GAM TH


59/259

stcte idea He sowed ow Wite

can tiize te spatia advantage tat it

gives im

Afte 5.Nb5 d6 6c Nf6 7Nb3 a6

8Na3, Blac wod case te a3nigt

to a ate disma sqae In excange,

oweve Wite wold gain a solid gip

on te d5sqae and cold ope to

exploit te potentia weaness of te d6

pawn Many games ave been played

om tis position

5 Qc7

Wen grandmasers violate opening

pinciples sc as Dont bing ot yo

Qeen eay" tese violations sddeny

come igly ened mov" Indeed e

text we wit Blacs openng tup

conols te e5-sqae maing te ps

e-e5 less liely Blac can also pepae

Bf8-b wen te c7-Qeen pts added

pesse on te c3-nigt

Te dawbac of developing te

Qeen too eay is tat it can ten be

attaced and ts be foced to move

again and again in wic case as te

Qeen flees its attace te opponent

develops is pieces wit tempo Tee

foe, be waned abot moving te Qeen

ealy in te game

6Be2

Rate tan qiety deveoping is pieces

as e does ee, Wite cold ave tied

to tae advantage of Blacs last movewit 6Ndb5 focing ..Qb8 to ps bac

Bacs Qeen Te poblem is tat

Wite wold ave ad no folow-tog

to is onemove attac If e cod con

tine wit Bc-f ten te attac Nd-b5wold be good Blac wold ave to pay

. a7a6 focing te b5nigt to eeat.

He'd ten play b7b5 in ode to deveop

te c8-Bisop. Blac wold teefoe win

bac te tempo e ost paying Qc7 b8Te line 6Ndb5 Qb8 7g3 (in ode to

foce Bc-f) 7 a6 8Bf e5 wold ave

been disasos placing two of Wites

pl O ty


60/259

6 a6

This extraordinary move is typical of

Open Sicilians Blac spends an entire

tempo in the opening to protect his b5-

sqare This move fits in with the dea

of resrainingWhite's pieces oo at the

center: yo can see that Blac does a

good job of protecting is side of the

board

Blac simply intends to develop the

rest of his pieces while exchanging any

enemy pieces tat might lanch an inva

sion He wil then try to tilize his extra

center pawn Another rationale behind

playing a7a6 is to contine with .b7

b5 and a qic qeenside fianchetto

The qestion is can Blac spend a

White tcs away hs ng. He will see

what Blac intends to do wit his own

ing before lanching an attac

N6

At last Blac begins to develop his ing

side forces It wold be a mistae to try

to develop with tempo by playing

7 Nxd 8.Qxd Bc5 becase 9.Qxg7

wold nip a pawn However Blacs last

move blocs the dg7 diagonal, maing

this scheme now possible

8Be3

Wite develops is postion while

preventing the scenario mentioned inthe prevos paragraph One of the

drawbacs of the earlier move . a7a6

is the weaening of the b6-sqare

With the text, White can envision try

ing to control b6 with a2-a-a5 or evenNc3-ab6

Althogh Bce3 is a nice move White

wold have lied to play someting a bit

more forcefl sch as f2-f and e-e5

taing over the center. Bt the immedi-atemove 8f wold have been a disas

ter, since 8 Nxd 9Qxd Bc5! wold win

White's Qeen The text maes the idea

GAM TH


61/259

. Be7

A defnng moment n the openng After

the text the openng ansposes nto the

Schevenngen Defense

Ths defense s noted for ts cramped

bt sold nare Blac taes a modest

stance n the center and on the ngsde

Hs conterpay wl be on the qeensde

and along the c-fle n partcar

f Blac had played 8 Bb the game

wold have ept the characterstcs of

the Tamanov Defense. By pressrng

the c3nght, Blac cold harry Whtes

e-pawn Bt crrent openng theorymantans that aer 8 . Bb 9Nxc6 bxc6

10Na Whte wold have an advantage

becase of hs cono of the b6sqare

Choosng 8 Bb or 8 Be7 s a matter

of taste Andersson prefers to have hs

peces ncely paced together rather than

a lttle bt dspersed as they wold have

been n the case of .Bf8b

A sategc error for Bac wold have

been 8 Nxd 9Bxd Bc5? snce 10

winning chess brilliancies - seirawan

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