Middlegame Strategy-With The Carlsbad Structure - Leininger - Robert Leininger 1997 PDF
Middlegame Strategy-With The Carlsbad Structure - Leininger - Robert Leininger 1997 PDF
Middlegame Strategy-With The Carlsbad Structure - Leininger - Robert Leininger 1997 PDF
Middlegame Strategy
§
With the Carlsbad Pawn Structure
Introduction 9
Chapter One:
The Minority Attack 15
Pawn Structures 21
Material Situations 22
W hite Plays b5 22
Spassky's ... aS Idea 24
The c5 Squa re 26
Weak c6 Pawn 30
The Initiative 32
Black Plays ... b5 33
a) The c4 Outpost 33
b) Prophylaxis 37
c) Exchanges on c4 38
d) Exchanges on c5 39
Kingside Attack 41
Chapter Two:
Botvinnik's Pawn Center 43
Hanging Pawns 45
Center Control 47
Blockade 51
Passed Pawn 55
Attack the Hanging Pawns with Pawns 59
The Advanced Center 62
Space Advantage- The Bind 63
Kingside Attack 64
The ... c5 Break 66
The d5/f5 Formation 67
The e3, d4, e5 Pawn Triangle 72
The e3, f4, e5 Pawn Triangle 74
Contents
Chapter Three:
The Isolated d-Pawn 77
The Center 78
"Lust to Expand" 80
Blockading the Pawn 84
Kingside Attack 89
The Initiative 92
Endgame Weakness of the Isolani 96
Model Positions 98
Summing Up the Isolani 105
Chapter Four:
The Balanced Pawn Structure 107
Attack and Defense 107
Changing the Pawn Structure 1 09
Chapter Five:
The Kingside Attack 115
The Pawn Storm 118
a) 0-0-0 vs. 0-0 118
b) 0-0-0 vs. 0-0-0 121
c) 0-0 vs. 0-0 125
Chapter Six:
Supplemental Games 1 30
But how to choose a plan? We know Our single pawn structure is a forma
that a player's course of action during a tion known in Russia as the "Carlsbad."
game depends greatly on the pawn This structure is famous in the Queen's
structure. That is why the positional Gambit, resulting from the Exchange
elements of chess (like hanging pawns, Variation. However, it is also common
the isolani, backward and doubled in the Nimzo-Indian and Grunfeld de
pawns, etc.) are cataloged and studied fenses, and variations of this pawn for
in most middlegame books. mation show up in several openings.
The positional themes learned from the
Indeed, many good books have been Carlsbad, therefore, are not limited to
written on positional chess. Some are use within that formation.
classics, some are recent additions to
the wealth of available chess literature.
Only after the positional elements that
Generally, these books will devote a come from this pawn structure (such as
chapter to one positional theme, in "hanging pawns") are understood and
which the characteristic ideas of that absor:bed, is it possible to speak of mak
topic are explained in detail. A few ing a plan. Without this kind of knowl
games will be included to show the ideas
edge, a player is forced to "figure it out
in action. Then the author will move onover the board." Here the common
to another positional theme, explainingpatterns arising from the Carlsbad
it the same way. formation are repeatedly seen, to im
print their principles into the reader's
However, this s t andard teaching mind.
method does not seem to follow the
adVice given by the greatest Master of The annotations of this book will con
positional chess, Aron Nimzowitsch. centrate on the battle of ideas, and not
lU J.TIIUUI ..... C,QII.I ..... >JLJ. QL""'f5J
the way we will take note of the embed minority attack, and the logical coun
ded Kingside attack possibilities. The termeasures to this attack, let's look
last chapter will directly take up the at a re l e ven r miniature from yester
Kingside attack, examining the pawn year.
storm as we complete our study of the
Carlsbad formation. (005) Mason,J-Teichmann,R
Monte Carlo 1903
As seen from this brief discussion, the t.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3 .e3 e6 4.l0f3 Ad6
Carlsbad is a rich and beautiful example 5.l0c3 f5 We will see that the Carlsbad
of the practical struggle in chess. Each can evolve from many openings, and
side has equal, yet different, strong and here we have a position from the Dutch
weak positional features in the position, defense. 6.Jld2 l0d7 7.cd5 ed5 Now
and each strives to overpower or out we have the Carlsbad. 8.Ad3 l0h6
maneuver the other. The battle of ideas 9.g3 ffe7 IO.'i!Ve2 l0f6 ll .l0g5
within the Carlsbad mirrors the evolu l0e4 1 2.fih5 g6 13.fth6 l0g5
tion of chess theory, which is a never 14.jle2
ending struggle. As we come to under
stand the positional possibilities within
Carlsbad, we ourselves participate in
the advancement of chess knowledge.
chess players in history were expanding the only Black piece developed is the EU
on the ideas of Steinitz, developing on f7!
what soon became known as the
"hypermodern" school. New opening
systems were discovered and debated at
the highest levels of play. The Carlsbad
was (and still is !) at the center of posi
tional debates between the world's top
players.
set up the situations needed to create a 33.hg4 l:lb7 34.l:(cl 'itb5 35.iff3
winning advantage. f6 36.g5 lLlf5 36 . . .fe5 37.fif6 �g8
38.l:thl wins. 37.gf6 c;Yf6 38.!lc6
The next example, which again demon c;Ye7 39. Ylf4, 1-0
s trates the basic properties of this
theme, is taken from the same round We have already touched upon the sub
of the same tournament. Petrosian ject of the initiative; in the above exam
uses the weak c-pawn, created by the ples the minority attack established a
minority attack, to distract his oppo condition (weak pawn) which could be
nent's pieces while he prepares to used to maintain the initiative. In these
assault the Kingside. two games Black allowed the minority
attack to strike with b5, and after the
(007) Petros ian, T-Rossetto, H exchange on c6 there resulted a weak
Portoroz 1 958 pawn. Both games illustrate the choices
l.d4 d 5 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 lt)f6 4.cd5 Black must make in response to the
ed5 5.ltlf3 il.e7 6.Af4 c6 7. \'fc2 minority attack. Would it be better to
lt)a6 8.a3 0-0 9.e3 lt)c7 lO.il.d3 have an isolated d-pawn by exchanging
lt)e6 ll.Ae5 g6 12.0-0 lt)g7 13.b4 . . .cxb5, or a backward c-pawn by letting
a6 t4.Af6 Af6 t5.a4 Af5 t6.Af5 White exchange on c6? Which of these
lt)f5 1 7 . b 5 a b 5 1 8 . ab 5 1t d 6 disadvantages can be defended, while
19.bc6 bc6 maintaining active pieces? Also, should
White's advance to b5 be allowed, or
prevented by Black's own ... b5 push?
These questions and more we will seeek
to answer as we break down the minor
ity attack into its basic elements.
Another problem with the exchange of 15.Ad6 1Wd6 16.a5 Aa6 17.0 0 -
13.0-0 a5 Larsen considers this natu- J::(d 7 48.J::(c 1 Ji.gS 49.l:lc5 Ji.e6
r a l looking move a mistake, a nd 50.f3 Ji.gS 51.e4 Ji.e6 52.e5 fe5
White's position slightly better. 14.b4 53.c;Ye5 Ji.f5 54.gf5 J::(e7 55.c;Yd5
ab4 15.ab4 lfd6 16.J::(fc1 Ji.g4 .tle3 5 6 .f4 l:lh3 5 7 . c;Ye6 c;Yb6
17.h3 Ah5?! B e t t e r is 17 ... �[3 . 58.c;Yf7 :ld3 59.Wg7 .ttd4 60.l:lc1,
18.b5 :la1 19. 1ta1! .tlc8 20. \'fa7 1-0
Db8 ??
In the next game, Taimanov halts the
minority attack, preventing counter
play so he can attack on the Kingside.
Instructive is his use of the Carlsbad
formation's natural strengths.
(012) Troianescu-Taimanov,M
Szcawno Zdroj 1 950
l.d4 /l)f6 2.c4 e6 3./l)f3 d5 4.e3
/l)bd7 5./l)c3 c6 6.Ad3 Ab4 7.a3
Aa5 S.,i.d2 0-0 9.0-0 .i.c7 10.tifc2
a 6 l l . c d 5 e d 5 1 2 . /l) e 2 l:(eS
13./l)g3 /l)fS 14.Af5?! lt)e4 One of
21.�e5U The result of the following
the strong points of this pawn structure
complications is that White wins a
(from Black's view) is its control of the
pawn and control of the seventh rank
e4 square. 15 ..i.cS Not 1 5 .te4 de4
giving him an overwhelming position :
.
(01 3) Kasparov,G-Khalifman,A
Paris 1 991
1.c4 lQf'6 2.lQf3 e6 3.l0c3 d5 4.d4
�e7 5.�g5 h6 6.�f6 �f6 7.e3
0-0 8.�c1 c6 9.�d3 lQd7 10.cd5
ed5 ll.b4 a6 1 2.a4 �e7 13.b5
ab5 14.ab5l0!6 15.bc6 bc6 16.0-0
c5 Otherwise the maneuver ltJa4-cS
would force Black into a defensive pos
ture, to nurse his weak c-pawn. 17.dc5
�c5 18.lQb5 �b6 19.1Vb3 �d7
20.lQbd4l!b8 21. YWa3 Ila8 22.1fb2 The continuation of the attack is nec
l:[b8 23. YWa3 l:[a8 24. 1Vb4 J:[b8 essary. Otherwise, Black could hold his
25.1Vd6 �d4 26.lQd4 1Vb6 27. 1Vf4 outpost on c4 and shield the backward
J:[bc8 28.h3 1Vb8 29. 1Vb8 J:[b8 pawn on c6. The object of the text
30.nc7 Wc8 31.l:la7 �a8 32.Wa1 move is to leave Black's a-pawn back
I:lc 1 33.�c1 Ila7 34.g4 W f8 ward. 13... a6 14.ab5 cb5 As normal
35.]abl !la3 36.�f5 g6 37.�d7 in the minority attack a backward en
l0d7 3s.nbs lQr6 39.nbs wg7 emy pawn has been formed. 15.lQce2
40.�b7 lQe4 41.lQe6 Wg8 42.tQd8 l0c4 Black occupies the strong c4 out
post, essentially forcing White to make
I IIC JVIIIIUIUY ftlli:t\,;1\. ..(;J
Pawn Structures
33.l:ta7 l:Ua7 34.l:U b7) 33.l:U b7 l:U c8 could continue to advance the center
3 4.l:Udc5, planning l:U c5-b3. 32 ... .i,d6 pawns and win the game without too
33.nb7 nas 34.g3 h5 35.h3 g5 many problems. Whites resorts to a
26 Midd legame Strategy
idea, removing the a4 square from the These observations apply mainly to the
l:LJ's reach. Instead, 1 7.�fS!? was possi minority attack. The complicated
ble. 17 �d6 18.Wc1 1i'f6 19.l0fl
.•.
theme of the isolated d-pawn will be
Jlac8 2U.l:labl l0g6 2l.llb6 �a3 discussed later in the book. However,
22.J:lcbl l0h4 the concept of weak squares should
especially be noted. Now, let's look at
(see next diagram) some games which illustrate the . . . c5
thrust as a defense to the minority
attack.
I lit; lVJHIUIILY J-\.ll(:U.;J\. L.l
serious student should study. 17 ... 1l'ff8 Not 17 ... de4? 18.li:Je4 li:Je4
1 9.�c5 li:Jc5 20 . .l:te8 and with the
Exchange up White has a won game.
No better is 17 . . . d4? 18.li:Jd5 winning a
piece and the game. 18.1l'fd2 Now the
28 M 1001egame �rraregy
game simplifies into a draw. 18 ... Ae6 19 ..J:lal?! The minority attack would
19.a4 .J:lad8 20.1Vg5 de4 2t.Ae4 be better served with 1 9 . l::tfc l , applying
l0bd5 22.ll:\d5 l0e4 23.De4 Dd5 pressure along the c-file. 19 ....J:la5
24. fie3 1Wc5 25.l:lc1 tffe3 26.fe3 20.l0d2 l:la1 21.l:la1 c5 22.dc5
wrs 27.ll:\d4, 112-112 d4 23.l0ce4 de3 24.tf(d8 l:ld8
25.l0f6 Wg7 26.ll:\fe4 ed2 27.l:ld1
Generally, if Black manages to play ... c5 l0d4 28.l:ld2 f5 29. l0d6 l0e6
it is due to an error in White's handling 30.g3 wrs 31.l:lc2 l0c5 32.l0f5
of the minority attack, and the position .J:ld1 3 3 . Wg 2 b 6 3 4 . l0e3 l:lb1
equalizes. Keeping in mind, however, 35.Da2 Db5 36.l:(a7 h5 37.h4
the isolani that usually results from ... c5, l0e4 3 8 . l0c4 Df5 3 9 . f4 Df7
and the dynamics of each position, no 4o..=as wg7 41.wf3 ltlf6 42.tQb6
general rule can be correct every time. Db7 43.Da6 Dc7 44.Da3 Dc6
45.l:lb3 Dc2 46.l0a4 tl)g4 47.l0c3
(022) Dreev,A-Beliavsky,A l:ld2 4s.we4 l0f6 49.we3 Dd7
Reggio Emilia 1996 50.l0e2 ltlg4 51.we4 .tte7 52.wf3
1.d4 l0!6 2.c4 e6 3.l0f3 d5 4.ll:\c3 l0h2 53.Wf2 tl)g4 54.we1 l0e3
Ae7 5.cd5 ed5 6.Ag5 c6 7.1fc2 ss.ltlg1 ltlg4 s6.wd2 Dd7 s7..ttd3
ll:\bd7 8 . e 3 tl)f8 9 . A d 3 tl) e 6 Dd3 58.Wd3 l0h6, 1/2-1/2
10.Ah4 g 6 With the solid plan of
exchanging light- squared �s a ft e r We will now look at more examples in
...tiJg7 and . . .�. u.o-o o-o l l . . . 'Llg7?! which White mistakenly allows ... c5. In
12.b4! i.b4? 13.'Lld5 cd5 1 4.fia4 and the next two games White missed his
White has a strong position after recov opportunity to play b4, resulting in an
ering his piece. 12.Dab1 a5 13.a3 effective . . . c5 break. In both cases,
ll:\g7 14.b4 ab4 15.ab4 Af5 16.b5 Black equalized with little trouble.
�d3 1 7. 1fd3 l0f5 B l a c k t r i e d
1 7 . . 'Lld7 18.bc6 bc6 1 9 . �e7 �e7
. (023) Capablanca,J-Euwe,M
20 . ..Wc2 with the better position for 1 931
White in Szabo-Stahlberg, Zurich 1 .d4 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.tQc3 �b4
1 953. 18.Af6 �f6 4.Oc2 d5 5.cd5 ed5 6.�g5 1rd6
7.Af6 1ff6 8.a3 �c3 9.1rc3 0-0
10.e3 c6 ll.l0f3 �f5 12.�e2 l0d7
13.0-0?1 Missing his chance to play
13.b4 and prevent Black's next move.
13 ...c5 14.b3 ,tlac8 15.Dfc1 tlb6
16.l0d2 cd4 17.ed4 1fd4 18.ed4
ti)f6 1 9 .f3 A c 2 2 0 . .t:la2 �f5
21.l:(aa1 �c2, 1/2-1/2
next game will show how much has 14...Ji.f5?1 The opportunity to play
already been learned. . .. cS is now, converting this pawn struc
ture into an isolani formation. For ex
(024) Byme,D-Reshevsky,S ample, 1 4 . . . c5!? l S.dcS 'iVcS 16.llfdl
New York 1 954 (16.lL:la4 'iVd6 17.lL:lb6?! ab6 when his
1.d4 li)f6 2.c4 e6 3./t)c3 iLb4 4.e3 pressure along the a-file gives Black the
0 -0 5./t)ge2 d5 6.a3 ile7 7.cd5 advantage) 16 . . . �e6 1 7.lL:ld4 ( 17.lL:la4
lt)d5 8./t)d5 ed5 9.t0!4 c6 10.ild3 'iVe7 18.lLlc5 .l:tac8 19.lLle6 'iVe6 with
lt)d7 1 1 . 0 - 0 a 5 1 2 . il, d 2 li)f6 the idea of 20 . . . lL:lc4) 17 . . . �d4 18 . .l:td4
13.f3 c5 14./t)e2 ffb6 1 5 . �c3 l:tac8 and the position is slightly in
cd4 16.li)d4 iLd7 17.ffe1 l:[fe8 Black's favor, based on his control of the
1s.84 h6 19.wg2 l0h7 2o.h4 tOts c-file. However, play against the isolani
21. 1!fg3 Ac5 22.f4 li)e6 23. fff2 offers White dynamic posibilities also.
lt)d4 2 4 . ed4 �f8 2 5 .f 5 � b 5 15.a4 /t)d7 16.a5 !Iab8 17.1\Va2
26.Ab5 tfb5 27.I!fe1 �e4 28.l::[e4 l:[fc8 1 8.a61 li)f6 1 9 . ab7 l:lb7
de4 29.f6 g6 30.:e1 l:[e8 31.fff4 20.bc6 l::[c6 21./t)e5 The demon of
.d5 3 2 . h 5 e 3 3 3 . fff3 l::[ e4 two weaknesses rears its head. The
34.wh1 l:td4 35.trd5 xtd5 36.hg6 weak pawns on d5 and a 7 give White
fg6 37 . l:[ e 3 'iYf7 3 8 . l:( e 4 b 5 targets for attack, and the advantage.
39.Aa5 wf6 40.W4 c;Yg7, 1/2-1/2 21...l::[cb6 22./t)a4 �b4 23./t)c6 a5
24./t)b4 ab4 25./t)c5 �b6 26.1\Vb3
The following game provides an example h5 27.l:la1 iLg4 28.l:la8 'iYh7
in which Black discards the ... c5 plan. 29.Jlg4 ll)g4 30.g3 h4 31.,Jla7 h3
32.:d7 1\Vf6 33. 1\Vd5, 1-0
(025) Manor,I-Polgar,S
Rishon le Zion 1 996 Next is a case in which the . . . c5 thrust
l.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.l0f3 li)f6 4./t)c3 is used to continue the initiative, after
e6 5.Ag5 h6 6.Jlf6 fff6 7 .e3 shutting down the possibility ofWhite's
pawn play on the Queenside and in the
tld7 8.�e2 g6 9.0-0 Jig7 9 . . . dc4!?
center.
10.cd5 ed5 11 .b4 ffd6 1 2.1\Vb3
0-0 13.b5 /t)b6 14..t:lac1
(026) Rudakovsky,I-Botvinnik,M
USSR 1 945
t.d4 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 �b4
4. 1\Vc2 d5 5.a3 iLc3 6.1\Vc3 l0c6
7./t)f3 lLle4 8.1\Vb3 l0a5 9.1\Va4 c6
10.cd5 ed5 1 1 .e3 iLf5 1 2.Jid3
1\Vb6 13.1\Vc2 lLlb3 14.l::(b 1 c5 By
controlling the Queenside with his out
post on b3, Black maintains the initia
tive. 15.lQh4?1 Jie6 16.0-0 �c8!
Adding pressure on the c-file. 17.�e4
cd4 18.1\Vd3 de4 19. 1\Ve4 0-0 Black
has managed to gain some time in his
30 JVI JOO iegamt: ;:nnuegy
position by precise play. Once again the tenable. Sometimes, e ven losing this
awkward placement of White's 'ti' al pawn might not lose the game.
lows Black to maintain the initiative.
20.ed4 We8 21.d5 Ad7 22. fid3 The following game was an interesting
1fb5 23.1fd1 23.'Wb5 �bS 24 . .Udl discovery for me. Many times I have
.ie2 25.l:tel ..td3. 23...'ftc4 24.Ae3 recommended the book Pawn Power by
!te5 Hans Kmoch, and still do. So naturally,
while researching the minority attack, I
looked up what I had read many years
before, expecting to see a wealth of
material. Imagine my shock when I
discovered that the following game is
the book's only example of a minority
attack . Grandmaster Robert Byrne
plays a nice game, although it isn't a
perfect example of the theme and fails
to show any of Black's countermea
sures. More than anything else, it dem
onstrates how inexact defense can be
punished.
Black uses the clumsy placement of
White's pieces to regain the pawn and (027) Byme,R-Eliskases
infiltrate White's position. The text
Helsinki 1952
highlights the dubious n a t u re of
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 �f6 4.cd5
1 5.lLlh4; had the lL\ been on f3 the text
ed5 5.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 c6 7. lrc2
would not have been possible. 25.g3
�bd7 8.Ad3 �h5 9.Ae7 ffe7
Ag4 26.f3 Ah3 27.l:le1 g5 28.f4
10.�ge2 �b6 11.0-0 g6 12.�a4
Jl d 5 2 9 . 'ftf3 gh4 30.g4 � d 2
�a4 13.lta4 0-0 14.b4 a6 15.ffb3
31.Ad2 !Id2 32.1fh3 fif4 33. ffh4
White avoids lS.bS? cbS 16.-tbS .tfS
�cc2 34.ffg3 ffd4, 0-1
winning the ..t. 15 ... R,e6 16.a4 l:[fc8
17. tlb2 �g7 18.b5 ab5 19.ab5
Af5?! 19 . . . c5! equalizes for Black .
Weak c6 Pawn
20.�f4 Ad3 21.�d3 �f5 22.!la8
}'laS 23.bc6 bc6 24.1:1c1 �h4 Black
Our next couple of games contain an
is desperately trying to avoid a passive
important lesson. The backward c
defense of his c-pawn, but he is doomed
pawn in itself is not a losing disadvan
to failure. His disadvantage here is seri
tage, but White can use it to maintain
ous but not necessarily decisive. How
the initiative while creating further
ever, this rash attempt to avoid a passive
weaknesses in Black's position. True, we
defense is actually an error, leading to
have already seen games where losing
even more difficulties - and eventually
this pawn does in fact lose the game. Yet the dreaded passive defense. 25.1fe2
if Black does not lose this pawn (and
25.llc6 lLlg2 26.<;t>g2 �e4. 25 ... Ita3
with very careful defense ! ) the game is
26.g3 't:fe4 27.�e1 �f5 28.1fc2!
1 l i t: IY1 1 1 1U1 1 LY ft llill.,;ll. J 1
Forcing the exchange of 'ti's and reduc g6. But there is not enough time to
ing Black's ability to create counterplay carry out this plan. 35.l:(b8 Wf7
and defend his position. A pass1ve de 36.l:[h8 wg7 If 36 . . . �g6 37.h3 llc7
fense with 'tWs on the board would offer 38.'ltd2 .7:k8 39.1:l:c8 EiJc8 40.c;;.c 3 �f7
.
Black better chances to defend h1s mul 4 1 .�b4 c;;.e6 42.'ltc5 �d7 43.f3 EiJe7
tiple weaknesses. Ergo, Byrne highlights 44.e4 h6 45. EiJb4 de4 46.fe4 c;;. c7
the error of Black's last maneuver. 47.d5 cd5 48.EiJd5 EiJd5 49.ed5 �d7
28 ... 1lc2 29.l:lc2 l;)e7 30.wfl 50.d6 the pawn ending is easily won for
White. 37.l:td8 lac7 38.li)c5 Wf7
39.'ft7f3 l;)g6 4o.wg3 .t::la7 4t.�d6
Dc7 4 1 . . . EiJe7?! 42.EiJd7 EiJg8 43.EiJb8
wins a pawn and the game easily.
42.li)a6 acs 43.�d7 li)e7 44.li)c5
:as 45 .l:[d6 l;tal 46. l;)d7 f5
47.li)e5 CiYg7 48.h3 fg4 49.hg4
k[cl 50.l:e6 l;)g6 51.J::(c6, 1-0. The
concluding moves are not available, but
it seems clear that with the extra pawn
White should win the ending without
too much trouble.
30 f6 To take the e5 square from The following game also shows that,
.•.
White's EiJ, and open a path for the with careful defense, Black's game is
Black cofi>. Yet both of these ideas could tenable in spite of the backward c6
have waited a move. Better was pawn. Korchnoi's defense of this weak
30 h5!, with Kmoch's "exclam" signi pawn is superb. However, without coun
...
fying that the game is not lost yet, only terplay even Korchnoi cannot hope to
difficult to defend. Black now loses not win this type of position.
because of the weak c-pawn, but be
cause he ends up with two weaknesses: (028) Lutz,C-Korchnoi,V
his c-pawn and h-pawn. Not recogniz
Ptuj 1 995
ing this basic concept, Black fails to see
t.d4 l;)f6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlf3 d5 4.ltlc3
that he can still draw with correct play.
c6 5.Ag5 h6 6.Af6 '@f6 7.e3 ltld7
31.¢'e2 'ft7f7 32.li)d3 we6 33.l:lh2
lla7 Since Black will not be able to sll.b4 . .a,d3 g6 9.0-0 .a,g7 10.cd5 ed5
l;)b6 The EiJ is in an awkward
maintain control of his second rank,
position here. Where is it going to go?
33 h5 should be played, which would
Also the dark-squared A would be
...
22. 1!fa6! 1!fe6 23. .Q.g2 hg3 24.hg3 on the chessboard. The minority attack
.Q.fS 25./0a4 Preventing . . . c5, which introduces laws into play governing the
would ease Black's position. 25 ...l:ldbS Queenside pawns, and is the introduc
2 6 . !1 d b 1 .Q. d 6 27 . /O c 5 VieS tory step to inflicting a pawn weakness
2S. 'ffcS l:[cS 29./0b7 iLe7 30./0a5 on the opponent. And the minority
l:[c7 31.l:[c1 c5 32.dc5 !Ic5 33.1:lc5 attack is certainly enterprising!
iLc5 34./0c6 DeS 35./0a7 liaS
36.l:[b5 l:[a7 37.lac5 !Ia2 3S.l:[b5 Extremely instructive is Reshevsky's
l:Ia1 39.wh2 l:ta6 40.l:[b1 wg7 preparation for the delayed minority
41.Afl /Oc4 42.Ac4, 1/2-1/2 attack in the following game.
what does it mean? Webster defines it move is to use the strong e4 square as
as 1 ) an introductory step, 2) self-reli an outpost. With his next few moves,
ant enterprise and 3) a process by which however, Black is simply responding
laws may be introduced. All three defi to the minority attac k . 15 ...Ji.d7
nitions work well as a term for activity 16.lQe5 Using the minority attack as
a slight diversion, White prepares to
answer Black's occupation of the e4 tion was already beginning to deterio
square (with f3) and keeps the initia rate before this tactical error. After the
tive. t6... IDc8 17.'ifb3 g6 18.)lc2 forced reply 30 . . .l:!.e7, White's infiltra
.
,Ae8 Black's problem is playing with tion with the � would increase the
out a plan. White has responded to bind on Black's pieces, e.g. 30 . . . .l:!.e7
Black's possible pawn structure changes 31.'ti'b6 �g7 32.g3 and White is on
by preparing for the positions that top. 3 t .Afl 'ifbS 32.'ifb8 wrs
might result. For example, Black's .. .f4 33.g3 �dl 34.1tb4, 1-0
plan would still weaken e3, but White
has already established a shield for
the weak pawn. Reshevsky is defend Black Plays . b5 . .
7t.g4 nr2 72.�d5 J:td5 73.gf5 10.c4 -'.d3 11 .1fd3 0-0 12.cd5
nd3 74.wh4 .a.r5 75.Hg7 Udf3 ed5 13.a3 a6 14.b4 l0b6 15.�d2
76.Dgl Wl2 77.Wg5 ::thS 78.Hgc1 fid7 16.)lab1 �a4 17.fic2 b5
ngs 79.wf6 Ac2 so.we5 l':leS The positional battle is going in
st.wd6 nr6 s2.wd5 Ah3, o-1 Black's favor. White cannot prevent
the eventual posting of the ttJ on c4, or
The Knight is the piece most often em the opening of the a-file. 18.�3 f6
ployed to occupy the c4 outpost, but it Na turally Black wants to prevent
is not the only piece suited for this 19.tt::le 5. 19.Dfe1 �b6 20.�d2 �c4
assignment. 21.�c4 A difficult move to make
since the resulting pawn structure gives
(034) Nordstrom, F-Hartman,C Black the initiative, especially after
Rilton 1988 . . a 5 and exchanging b-pawns. 21 ...dc4
.
l.d4 f5 2.g3 e6 3.Ag2 �f6 4.�f3 22. 1Vd2 a5 23.e4 ab4 24.ab4 The
d5 5.0-0 Ae7 6.c4 0-0 7 .�c3 c6 weak b - pawn will be a disadvantage
s.Ag5 �bd7 9.e3 h6 10.Af6 :£6 to White for the rest of the game.
ll.cd5 ed5 12.�e2 Ad6 13.�c1 Black offers the exchange of As to
fie7 14.�d3 b6 1 5 .1ta4 Ab7 remove a defender of this weak pawn.
16.b4 a5 17.ba5?! Allowing Black to 24 ... Ad6 25.l:[ed1?? As clear as the
open the a-file and conduct an attack positional struggle may seem, always
on the Queenside. 17...l:[a5 18.1tc2 be on the alert for tactics. Instead of
l:la3 19.Dab1 Aa6 20.k(b3 Ac4 It the text, 25.�d6 'tlfd6 26.l:tal still
is unusual for a i.. to occupy the c4 leaves Black the advantage based on
outpost, but it does the job well in this his strong c4 pawn and White's weak
position. 21.U.a3 Aa3 22 ..J:[b1 Ad6 b-pawn.
23.a4 IDS 24.�fe5 Ae5 25.�e5
�e5 26.de5 b5 27.ab5 cb5 Black's
passed pawn gives him a clear advan
tage. 28. 1tc3 l:[b8 29. 1Vd4 1te6
30.,1!ld1 b4 31.f4 b3 32.):ld2 l:tb5
33.Afl 'ftb6 34.):lb2 1td4 35.ed4
l:la5, 0-1
(040) Nikolic,P--Short,N
Beograd 1 989
1.d4 lDt'6 2.c4 e6 3.�f3 d5 4.�c3 After 18.b4
.i.e7 5 . .i.g5 h6 6 . .i.h4 0-0 7 .e3
b6 8.,i.e2 .i.b7 9 . .i.f6 �f6 10.cd5 J:[a1 23.fi'a1 �a4 24.l:[c1 ffe8
ed5 11.0-0 J:[e8 12.b4 c6 13.1Vb3 25.Dc2 g5 26.Da2 De7 27.�c5
1f d 6 1 4 . a4 �d7 1 5 . a 5 J:[ac8 �c5 28.bc5 J:tb7 29.J:[a8 ft'd7
16.ab6 ab6 17.l:[a7 1fb8 18 ..b[fa1 30.�d2 wh7 31.�b3 b4 32.,i.d6
b5 19.�e1 �b6 20.�d3 �a4 Ar6 33.g4t? Ads 34. 1Wb1 wg7
21.Da5 ,ild4 22.ed4 �c3 23.ffc3 35.�d2 1We6 36.�fl b3 37.�3
l:(e2 24.�e5 f6 2 5 . 1t d 3 l:(b2 b2 38.Wg2, 1-0. Black lost on time.
26.1fc3 l:le2 27.1fd3 Db2, 1/2-1/2
The next game is a fascinating study on
Exchanges on c5 can also enhance the what happens after the exchange on c5,
pawn structure, as seen in the following combined with the weakness of Queen
game. side castling in this formation. It is also
a game which is difficult to classify, as
(041) Gligoric,S-Hort,V i t also illustrates the strength of the
Palma de Mallorca 1970 c4 outpost. Once again we see the
1.d4 lDt'6 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 d5 4.lDf3 intimate relationships between various
,ile7 5 ..i.g5 �bd7 6.e3 h6 7 .,i.h4 positional themes in the Carlsbad.
0-0 8.Dc1 a6 9.cd5 ed5 10. .ild3
l:(e8 1 1 . 0-0 c6 1 2 . .i.g3 ,ilf8!? (042) Miles,A-Portisch, L
1 2 ... lbh5?? 1 3.ltJd5. 13..ilb1 g6 14.h3 Reggio 1 984
.i_g7 15.a3 a5 16.�a4 �e4 17.,ile4 l.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 .ile7 4.cd5
J:(e4 18.b4 ed5 5 . .i.f4 c6 6.e3 .i.f5 7.g4
,i.g6 8.h4 h5 9.g5 ,i.d6 10. 1tf3
(see next diagram) �e7 1 1.�ge2 .ilb4 12.0-0-0 b5
13.a3 .i.a5 14.b4 ,i.b6 1 5 . .i.e5
18 ... ab4 This exchange must be con o-o t6.Ah3 �d7 t7..ild7 1td7
sidered an error, since it leads to White 18.li)g3 .ilc7 19 . .ilc7 ffc7 20.li)h5
controlling the a-fi l e . 19.ab4 b5 a5 2t.wb2 ab4 22.ab4
20.�b2 l:(e6 21.�d3 �b6 22.l:[a11
- --- - - - - - - - - -.; - - ---- - -
(043) Speelman,J-Lputian,S
Kropotkin 1 995
1.d4 d5 2.'0f3 'Of6 3.c4 e6 4.Ag5
Ae7 5.e3 h6 6.Ah4 0-0 7.l0c3
b6 s.Ae2 Ab7 9.Af6 Af6 1o.cd5
ed5 U.b4 c6 12.0-0 a5 13.a3 l0d7
22...c5U An incredible positional
14.1tb3 l:le8 15.Dad1 ab4 16.ab4
pawn sacrifice ! Both of Black's Queen
b5 17.l0e1?! White is aimimg to oc
side pawns are weakened to allow
cupy cS . A better plan is to prepare a
... li)c6, which will support the attack on
break in the center by e4, to weaken the
White's 'it> along the a-file. 23.dc5
c6 pawn even further. So 17.�d3!? im
lt)c6! 24.1tf4 24. lL:Jf4 lL:J b4 2S. lL:Jcd5
proves on the text. 17...l0b6 18.l0d3
l:a2 26.'it>b3 �c2 27.'it>b4 �aS mate.
Ac8! Since White is not trying to take
24...l0e5 25.l0f6 gf6 26.wb3 l0c4
advantage of the weak c6 pawn, Black
Threatening 27 ... l:ta3 mate. 27.l:ta1
repositions his j;_ to the more active fS
The only move . 27 ... 'ef4 28.ef4
square. 19.l0c5 Af5 20.l:la1 Ae7
lt)d2 29.c;Yb2 l0c4 Gaining a little
Now the other .t is headed for d6,
ti�e on the clock before proceeding
where it can pressure the Kingside.
wtth a complicated winning maneuver.
Note that White's lZJ on cS is not caus
3o.wb3 tOd2 3t.c;yb2 1:1fd8 32.l0b5
ing Black any problems. Its only produc
32.l:a8 l:ta8 33.lZ:Jd5 lL:lc4 34.'it>cl l:tal
tive hope is to support an e4 central
mate. 32... l:lab8 Now Portisch dem
break. 21.l:la2 l:[a2 22.1ta2 Ad6
onstrates the quickest road to victory by
23.l:ta1 'eh4! 24.g3 YWg5 25.Ad3?
sacrificing his material advantage to ac
White overlooks the coming combina
tivate his lls. 33.l0a7 �b4 34.wc3
tion. However, his position was already
Ddb8 35.Wd2 .tlb2 36.c;Ye1 l:lb1
becoming difficult owing to the attack
37.c;Yd2 !1Sb2 3B.CiYe3 rlb3 39.we2
brewing against his Kingside. Black was
D1b2 40.c;Ye1 Ae4 4 1 .c6 J:lc3
probably planning to push his h-pawn
42.f3 hte3 43.wfl :lf3 44.we1
to h4, continuing the attack. 25 ... Ad3
De3 45.Wfl Ad3, o-1
26.l0d3
themes that this system of play with Ae7 14.l:[bel �d7 15.Ae7 l::le7
the pawns will create. The first option 16.�g3 �f6 17.'fff2 Ae6 18.�5
; leads to the positional theme of "hang- Af5 19.Af5 "b6 20.e4 de4 21.fe4
l:[d8 22.e5! White now maintains the
44 M IOct iegame :::. trategy
initiative for the rest of the game. An optimal version ofBotvinnik's pawn
22...�d5 23.�e4 ll)f8 24.�d6 \Wc7 center. The pawns are well protected
25.il.e4 �e6 26.YWh4 g6 27.Ad5 and gaining tempi by attacking pieces
cd5 28.1:lc1 Reducing Black's counter as they move. 16... �g7 17.Ag3 Ap
play to nil. 28 ... YWd7 29.Jlc3 W8 plying pressure against the opposing �
30.l0f51 We8 31.�h6 wf8 32. t'ff6 while preparing to highlight the dark
�g7 33 . .l:kf3 !lc8 34.�f71 �e6 squared weaknesses in Black's position.
35.Ylg5 l0f5 36.�6 ffg7 37.g4, 1-0 17 ... ll)ge8 18.Ae5 llf8 19.ll)cl
Heading for b3 to underscore the bad
Bronstein's handling of the next game placement of Black's �- Notice how
shows how overwhelming this system of fe w s q u a res th� � has available.
pawn play is against poor defense. The 19...de4 20.fe4 �d7 21.Ah2 l0b8
coordination of pieces and pawns in the 22.d5 il.,d7 23.t0b3 Ylb6 24.d6,
attack is very instructive. How many 1 -0. On 24 . . �d6 25.'Lld5 wins the �-
.
(046) Kasparov,G-Short,N
London 1993
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.t0c3 ll)f6 4.cd5
ed5 5.il.g5 .i_e7 6.e3 0-0 7.Ad3
ll)bd7 8.ll)ge2 g[e8 9.0-0 l0f8
10.b4! Tactically creating the classical
pawn structure. 10 ... a6 1 1.a3 c6
1 2.'1Vc2 g6 13.f3 ll)e6 14.Ah4
t0h5 15 ..i.e7 l:le7 16. 'lld2 b6 Not
best, if Black cannot later continue with
. . . c5 or . . . aS. 17.1lad1 .i.b7 18..i.b1
�hg7 19.e4 An instructive pattern
to r e c o g nize in this system is the Hanging Pawns
positional theme of "overprotection."
Nimzowitsch wrote, "On the subject of
overprotection . . . . only strong points
which are positionally important, and
no t weak poi n t s , a re to be over
protected." The center pawns not only
need overprotection, they thrive on it.
19...,t:lc8 20.Jla2 J:(d7 21.li)f4 lt)f4
22. 1tf4 lt)e6 23. tfe5 �e7 24. tWg3
flc7 25.1trh4 l0g7 26.1:[c1 ffd8
27.l:tfd1 I:lcc7 28.lt)a4 de4 29.fe4
treB 30.li)c3 b[cd7 31.1trf2 lt)e6
32.e5 c5 33.bc5 bc5 34.d5 lt)d4
35.l0e4 ffd8 36.l0{6 c;Yg7 37.li)d7 Black's first option after White's central
l:td7 38.:c5 l0e6 39.ldcc1, 1-0 push is ... de4, which leads to the forma
tion called "hanging pawns." This now
The next example, left for the reader to common term, however, was not always
annotate, is a very complex form of the commonly used. L. Pachman referred to
Botvinnik pawn center. The delayed e4 them as relatives of the "isolated pawn
push does not work well for Karpov in couple , " while H. Kmoch had two
the following game. names for them, "hanging duo" and
"passer duo," depending on whether
(047) Karpov,A-Kasparov, G they were opposed by an enemy c- or
Moscow 1985 f-pawn. Kmoch also used the term "iso
1.l0f3 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.d4 d5 4.l0c3 lated pawn couple," referring only to
c6 5.Jlg5 l0bd7 6.e3 "9Ja5 7.cd5
Black pawns on c6 and d5 and similar
l0d5 8.'@d2 l07b6 9.l0d5 ffd2 structures. In Nimzowitsch's version
10.lt)d2 ed5 1 1 .Ad3 a5 1 2.a4
the term "hanging pawns" is not so re
Jlb4 13.c;Ye2 Jlg4 14.f3 Jl h 5 stricted, which is probably the best way
15.h4 0-0 16.g4 Jlg6 17.b3 Jld3
to understand them. It is interesting
18.c;Yd3 WeB 19.l:{ac1 c5 20.Jlf4 that Nimzowitsch thought of the hang
l:tac8 2 1 . dc5 lt)d7 2 2 .c6 bc6 ing pawns descendants of the isolani.
23.:hdt l0c5 24.wc2 f6 25.l0f1 Here we will consider the isolated pawn
lt)e6 26.Jlg3 Jaed8 27 .Af2 c5 couple to be defined as Hans Kmoch
28.li)d2 c4 29.bc4 li)c5 30.e4 d4 described them.
31.l0b1 d3 32.wh2 d2, o-1
Before we explore how this positional
theme relates to the Carlsbad, let's
consider the strengths and weaknesses
of t h e h a n g i n g p a w n s . Or, a s
Nimzowitsch wrote, " that curious mix
ture of static weakness and dynamic
strength," (referring actually to the
46 M l dd legame Strategy
Center Control
lt)bd7 8.lt)ge2 lbh5 9.�e7 YWe7 The text loses the a-pawn immedi ately,
10.g4 lt)hf6 l l . lbg3 h6 1 2.h3 but also prepares . . . lLlb6 to support
lt)b6 13.'¥Wd2 �d7 14.b3 g6 15.a4 opening l i n e s on t he Quee nside.
a5 16.f3 h5 17.g5 t:fd6 18.tLige2 32.tLic4 l:[ddS 33.tLia5 tL!c7 34.W"l
tLig8 19.e4 Black's position is becom b5 35.!If3 .t:lhf8 36.I:thfl ba4
ing difficult. True, White has essentially 37.ba4 f6
three pawn islands against two, which
could be problem if he is forced to de
fend them. However, his overprotec
tion of the central squares reduces any
counterplay Black can generate. White
needs to plan on living with these pawn
islands, since it's unlikely that an e5
push will ever be a valid plan. A White
advance to e5 is easily blockaded, and
opens the f5 square to occupation by a
Ci'J or .,t. Therefore Black can leisurely
prepare his . . . c5 bre a k . 19 ... tLie7
20. t:ff41 Forcing the exchange of �s
shows excellent positional j udgment. 38.tLig6! A beautiful conversion to a
The Black � is the only piece which won endgame. 38... tL!g6 39.gf6 cJ7h6
can take advantage of the weak dark 40.tL!c6 �d6 41.d5 l:lc6 42.dc6
squares in White's position. 20 ... t:ff4 l0e6 4 3 . e 5 l0 e 5 44 . .t:le3 l0g6
If 20 . . . �b4 2 1 .�f6 the White �·s 45.f7 l0gf4 46.ilb3 Wg7 47.�e4
infiltration into Black's position only l::lf7 48.Ae6 l0e6 49.:.lf7 Wf7
increases White's positional advantage, 50.l:{h4 cot>e7 51.l:[h8 Aa6 52.h4,
while 20 . . . �e6 is a very awkward place 1-0
ment of the �. 21.tLif4 0-0 22.tLice2
h4? This move fixes the pawn on h3 Here is another example of hanging
as a target for Black's .,t, but this artifi pawns gaining the advantage by simply
cially isolated pawn proves to be a maintaining control over the center.
greater weakness than the White h
pawn. A better plan is 22 . . . .te6, fol (051) Reshevsky, S-Averbakh, Y
lowed by ... Ci'Jd7 and . . c5. 23.tLig2
.
Zurich 1 953
cJ7g7 24.cJ7d2 24.Ci'Jh4? l:th8 25.Ci'Jg2 1.d4 tL!f6 2.c4 e 6 3.tLic3 Ab4 4.e3
l:th3 and the weakness of the pawn at 0-0 5.l0ge2 d5 6.a3 Ae7 7.cd5
h5 is dissolved. 24 ...de4? A poor posi ed5 8 . l0g3 Ae6 9.Ad3 l0bd7
tional choice. Black cannot attack the 1 0.0-0 c6 1 1 .Ad2 l:(eS 1 2.Ylfc2
hanging pawns effectively due to their a5 13.l0ce2 l0b6 14.l0f4 Ad7
overprotection by the White pieces. 15.We1 Af8 16.f3 Ac8 17.l:(ac1
25.fe4 �adS 26.k[afl l::lh8 27.tLie3 g6 18.l0fe2 Ag7 19.h3 a4 20.e4
l:lh5 28.1Ifgl ilcS 29.cot>c3 ,bthh8 de4 21 .fe4 Once again we see over
30.lQf4 lad6 3 1.�c2 tL!aS I t is dif protection of t he hanging pawns .
ficult for Black to find useful moves. White's pieces are ideally posted to
support them. 21 ... Ae6 It may seem /t.) c 7 3 2 . hg 6 h g 6 3 3 . l:lf4 b5
obvious to aim at the weak b3 square, 34.:It4 White's attack will be danger
but this move also responds to posi ous if allowed to penetrate along the
tional factors created by the hanging h-file. 34 ... /tle5 35.c;f;lhl Reshevsky
pawns. On the a2-g8 diagonal the .lt is preparing to attack, not rushing to
helps prevent a d5 break, and could attack. Black answers 3 5 . .lth6? with
serve as blockader if the e -pawn is 35 ... g5. 35 ... \'fd7 Hoping that com
advanced. 22.Ae3 Ah3 23. 1td2 plications will solve the positional
�d7 24.Ag5 f6 25.Ae3 �8 problems of his weak £-pawn, open h
fi le and coming Kingside a t t a c k .
36.Df6 /tlg4 37.Ag5 Ag7 38.Df4
/tle5 39.Af6 Af6 40.l:lf6 wg7
41. fi'g5 Db8 42.ftl!5 fi'f5 43.Df5
l:lh4 44.wgt, 1-o
lbg3 13.hg3 lbf6 14.Wel W!Vd6 hanging pawns the initiative. I n view is
1 5 . a 3 wg7 1 6. b 4 a6 1 7 . lba4 a middlegame with well placed White
h 5 18. ffc5 ffe6 1 9.lbb6 ,ll b 8 minor pieces and no reasonable chance
20.f3 k[d8 21.e4 de4 22.fe4 On the for the opponent to break up his pawns.
surface it appears that White has a Black proceeds with a standard plan
dominating position, but it is about to against the hanging pawns, that of ex
fall apart due to the weak hanging changing minor pieces and forcing the
pawns. pawns to advance. 14 ... ltlg4 15 . .!1Le7
ffe7 1 6 . ffd2 ffh4 17 .h3 ltlf6
18.e5 ltld5 19.ltld5 cd5 What has
Black accomplished, and at what cost?
Two minor pieces have been ex
changed, the e-pawn has advanced and
the d-pawn is weak. It seems as if Black
has executed the basic action plan
against hanging pawns. The cost of this
plan - a change in pawn structure and
in the dynamics of the remaining
pieces. In this position the activity of
White's l:ts outweigh the importance of
the minor pieces, and Black now has
22 ... ltlg41 The point of this move is several pawn weaknesses - on d5, aS
to delay the White � from supporting and f7 . 20.l:[bc1 Ae6 21.l:tc5 b6
the hanging pawns . 23.Ac4 'fWd6 22.l:[c6 l:[abS The key factor here is
24. ffd6 l:[d6 25.b[ad1 25.d5?! cd5 the active White l:l.s vs. their passive
26. t2Jd5 25 ... Ae6 26.l::ld3 .b[bd8 Black counterparts. Hence exchanging
27.�ed1 Ac4 28.ltlc4 �e6 29.ltld2 minor pieces is now to White's advan
29 . .l:te1 29 ... ltle51 30.d5 ltld3 31.de6 tage, and as a bonus he further weakens
ltle5 32.ef7 ltlf7 33.wf2 �d3, 0 - 1 . the Black pawn structure. 23.Ag6
The weak pawns spell the end to hg6 24.ltlf4 g5 25.ltle6 !Ie6 After
White's resistance. 25 . . .fe6 26.'ti'f2 'ti'f2 27. l:tf2 the win
should be simple against Black's various
Let's look at the mechanical use of an weak pawns. 26.k[c7 Two l:ts are better
otherwise good plan against the hang than one . 26 ... l:[f8 27.l:ld7 ,llg6
ing pawns, which rightly fails. 28. 'VWf2 't:ff2 29.�f2 g4 30.hg4
l:[g4 3 1 .l:ld5 l:icS 32.:d7 lac1
(053) Diez del Corral,J-Muco, F 33.�f l ac2 34.l::tf2 �c1 35.wh2
Luzern 1 982 l:ld1 36.d5 l::t e 4 37.l:[ff7 �e5
1.d4 ltlf6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 d5 4.Ag5 3S.l:[g7 whs 39.flh7 wgs 4o.l::tdg7
il,e7 5.cd5 ed5 6.e3 0-0 7.Ad3 wrs 41.blb7 wgs 42.:hd7, 1-o
ltlbd7 8 . ltlg e 2 lieS 9 . 0 - 0 c 6
10.l:[b1 a5 1 1 . 'fWc2 ltlf8 12.f3 ltlg6 Black ignores the hanging pawns in our
13.e4 de4 14.fe4 We now have a next example. Ergo, the pawns advance
typical position which should give the at will.
DULV I I I I I I K :S r<lWII L- C I I LCI .J I
(055) Tarrasch,S-Nimzowitsch,A
Hamburg 1910
l.d4 d5 2.l0f3 e6 3.c4 c5 4.e3 l0f6
5.l0c3 l0c6 6.-'ld3 -'ld6 7.0-0
o-o s.b3 b6 9.-'lb2 -'lb7 to.ee2
dc4 l l . bc 4 cd4 1 2 . e d 4 lieS
13.l:ladl
for his d-pawn (with style ! ) in the fol- 33._ag6 hg6 34.l;Idl �e6 35.�b6
lowing contest. _ac6 3 6 .l::[d 8 �dS 37 .b4 �e6
38.b5, 1-0
(060) Kasparov, G-Andersson, U
Belfort 1 988 Passed pawns are always dangerous, and
l.d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 d5 4.cd5 "pawn grabbing" is always risky. The
ed5 5.Ag5 c6 6.tl\fc2 il.e7 7.e3 next game is a good illustration of both
lt)bd7 s.Ad3 o-o 9.l0ge2 lieS axioms.
10.0-0 iOfS ll.f3 Ae6 12 ..C(ael
.C(cS l3.wht l06d7 t4..i,e7 l:[e7 (061 ) Cvitan, O-Kovacevic, V
15.l0f4 Uc7 t6.tl\ff2 i0f6 17.e4 Sarajevo 1988
de4 18.fe4 Many of the positional l.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.l0c3 i0f6 4.e3 e6
terms used today were coined by 5.l0f3 l0bd7 6.il.d3 a6 7.b3 il.d6
Nimzowitsch. However, this formation 8.0-0 0-0 9 . .i.b2 dc4 10.bc4 c5
was appropriately named by the god 11. 1fc2 cd4 12.ed4 For this pawn
father of positional chess, Wilhelm structure to arise from the Carlsbad the
Steinitz, as "hanging pawns." They are colors would have to be reversed. An
"hanging" in mid-air, requiring protec important part of understanding any
tion by pieces instead of their fellow chess concept is the ability to apply it
pawns. 18 ...l::tcd7 in similar situations. 12 ...b6 Played to
develop the j_ and protect against b6
becoming a strong outpost for White.
13.l0e4 Ae7 14.it)f6 it)f6 15.l0e5
-'lb7 16.aael Threatening to lift the
.: to the third rank, adding its power to
the Kingside attack. t6 ... b5 17.c5
1fd5?1 Wins a worthless pawn while
the passed pawn begins its march.
18.f4 1Va2 19.l::te 3 ]:tadS 20.f5
Preparation is extremely important
when the passed pawn is used in the
middlegame. The pawn on e6 is a sig
nificant defensive force in Black's posi
19.d51 Tactically creating a passed tion, protecting against the White n's
pawn, an important goal of hanging infiltration and the advance of the d
pawns. t9 ...cd5 20.Ab5 nc7 2t.ed5 pawn. The text opens the e-file and
Ad7 2 1 . .. lUd5?! 22J:tdl and the pin increases the white-squared �·s range
will be devastating. 22.Ae2 Simple. of fire. 20 ... ef5 21.Af5 h6 22.c6
White wins a pawn due to the twin il,c8 23.c7 l::[ d eS 24.il,c8 l:lcS
threats of23.d6 and 23.1't'a7. 22 ...,ttc8 25.l0c6 il,d6 26. JV6! Black's pieces
23.1fa7 b6 24.1Va6 it)e4 25.d6 are disorganized, and his � cannot
�d6 26.lt)fd5 �e5 27.fib6 i0f5 survive this rupture of his pawn cover.
28.\VdS J:ldS 29.Ad3 ,Jlel 30.net 26 . . . gf6 27.it)e7 whs 28.�h3
�g6 3 l . a 4 �d4 3 2 . a 5 w fs
:lfeS 29.'itcl Af4 30.fff4 f!Vbl Preventing Black's .. .l:tc8 plan of infil
3l.Acl, 1-0 trating along the c-file, but allowing
another maneuver to advance the
The next game presents a curious situ pawn. A subtle example of two weak
ation in which play against the hanging nesses leading to defeat. 39...Af5
pawns results in a central passed pawn 40.l:[ddl .1\g4 4l.Df'l d3 42.R_g4
for the opposing side. hg4 43. 1fc4 d 2 44.l:[cdl Ah6
45.Df6 Wg7 46.Dffl l:[cS 47.1fe4
(062) Ostergaard,J-Kristensen, B f5 4 S . tf e 5 W h 7 4 9 . h 4 g h 3
Hillerod Politiken 1 995 50.wh2 Des 5 1 .lfc5 J:le2 52.Wh1
t.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.t0c3 t0!6 4.t0f3 b6, 0-1
,1\e7 5 . .1\g5 0-0 6.e3 h6 7 .,1\f6
,1\f6 S.l:[cl a6 9.cd5 ed5 10.Ad3 Reshevsky's use of the center pawns in
c6 U.O-O i0d7 1 2.b4 t0b6 13. fib3 the following game is very instructive.
DeS 14.a4 i1,g4 15.t0d2 .1\e7 16.a5
tOeS 17.t0a4 t0d6 1S.t0c5 .ti.f6 (063) Reshevsky,S-Guimard,C
19.lfb2 1fe7 20.Dfel .ti.f5 21.Afl New York 1951
Dads 22.l:lcdt g6 23.wht .1\g7 1.d4 t0!6 2.c4 e6 3.t0c3 d5 4.cd5
24.f3 Ylh4 25.g3 fig5 26.e4 de4 ed5 5 ..ti.g5 c6 6.ffc2 .ti.e7 7.t0f3
27.t0de4 t0e4 2S.fe4 After a lot t0bd7 S.e3 t0h5 9.h4 f6 10.g4
of maneuvering the hanging pawns iOfS 1 1 .g h 5 fg5 1 2 .hg5 .ti.g5
appear. 13.t0e5 R_f6 14.0-0-0 1fe7 15.f4
,1\e6 16.e4 de4 17.d5 Ae5 1S.fe5
An unusual version of hanging pawns.
1S... R_g4 After 18 ... ,j_d5 1 9.lLldS cdS
20 . .tb5 �f7 2 1 .l:d5 White's position
is very strong. 19.Ae2 .1\e2 20.1!fe2
t0d7 Or 20 .. .'9We5 2 1 .dc6 bc6 22.lLle4
and White's attack is overwhelming.
2 1 . lfe4 0-0 22.e6 cd5 23.t0d5
lrg5 24.wbt t0c5 25.1fc4 l:[acS
26.e7 J:l(eS 27.t0f6, 1-0
(065) Filip,M-Urbanic
Czechoslovakia 1 954
l.d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 Ab4 4.e3
c5 5.Ad3 0-0 6.�f3 d5 7.0-0
�c6 8.a3 cd4 9.ed4 dc4 10.Ac4
Ae7 ll.Ag5 �d5 12.Ae7 �ce7
13.1fd3 �c3 14.bc3 �g6 1 5.l:lfe1
Ad7 16.�e5 J:[c8 17.Aa2 �e5
18.J:[e5 Ac6 19.J:lae1 'ifd6 20.c4
J:[fd8 2 1 .d5 ed5 2 2 . cd 5 Ad7
23.h4 J:[cl?l Giving up control of the
c-file lets White maintain the initiative
after exchanging l:ts. Passive defense 23 ... Ac5?1 Positionally an ugly move.
with 23 . . . l:te8 was required in this posi The dark squares on the Kingside are
tion. 24.J:[c1 Yle5 25. 1Wc4 1We8 weak and need this j_, Also, the new
Black cannot maintain his blockade of pawn structure increases White's space
the passed pawn, e.g. 25 . . . 'i!Vd6 26.'Wc7 advantage and allows him to create a
'Wc7 27.l:tc7 .Jtc8 28.d6 and the pawn passed pawn. 24.bc5 �h7 25.�f4
advances. 26.'ffb4 b6 27.J:le1 ers �g5 26.l:lff1 Ac8? 27.d5 1fe7
2S.l:le7 a5 29. ffe4 Af5 30. ees 2s.aae1 ll)h7 29.Ac4 whs 30.d6
A e 6 3 1 .l:lc7 AcS 3 2 . d 6 .rle8 't'fd7 3 1.Ad4 :gs 32.Yib3 ars
33.Yfe8, 1-0. In view of 33 ... 'fi'e8 33.'t'fc3 DgS 34.�d3 li)g5 35.li)e5
34.�f7 'fi'f7 35.l:tc8 'i!Vf8 36.d7. 1te8 36.�f7' 1-0
&....I V L ¥ 1 1 11 1 1 1'- � & ... • .- a a - - • • •-•
(067) Vaisser,A-Mozny, M
Clichy 1 991
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.lt�c3 /Of6 4.cd5
ed5 s.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 c6 7.ffc2
ll:)bd7 s.Ad3 0-0 9.ltlge2 l:teS
10.0-0 ll:)fs 1 1 .f3 ltlh5 1 2.Ae7
ff e 7 1 3 . e4 d e 4 1 4 . fe 4 A g 4
1 5.l::lf2 ffg5 16.l:(afl l::le7 17.Ac4
ll:)e6 1 8.d5 ll:)dS 1 9.1fd3 1te5
20.ID5 'fld6 21.l::lg 5 Ae2 22.li)e2
ll:) f 6 2 3 . ltlg 3 g6 2 4 . 'fl d 4 h 6
25.e5 A duo on the fifth rank, control
of the center and an attack on the King
22.gh3 1th3 23.ID2 ltlh4 23 ... .:tf8?!
side. What more does White need to
24.:cth2 ..Wg4 25.:ctg2 'iWh3 26.:ctg3 and
win the game? How about a passed
the e6 pawn falls. 24.f::lafl Defending
pawn and more open lines to the Black
against his opponent's threats and
�! 25 ... 1Vb4 26.llg6! fg6 27.d6
creating some of his own. 24... 1rg4
wh7 28.Ags ll:)gs 29.\'fb4 De5
2s.wh2 'ifhs 26.ltlg3 1th6 27.1fb7
30.IDS wg7 3t.d7 ltlf6 32.'ftd6
ltlf5 28.Wg1 28.�g2? lt::le3. 28 ... f::lab8
li)d7 33.W"1, 1-0
28 ... 'Llg3? 29.'iWf7 �h8 30.Wf8 wins.
29. ftc7 f::lbcS 30.ltlf5 ef5 30 .. .'ifg6
Our next example shows that the
3 1 .'iYg3 ef5 32.'i¥g6. 31.1ff4 1Jf4
a track should be considered very care
32.l:1{4 fe4 33.f::le4 f::le4 34.ll:)e4
fully.
f::ld S 3 5 .f::l f4 h 6 3 6 . li)c5 f::ld 6
37.wf2 g5 38.f::le4 wf7 39.we3
(068) Gulko ,B-Bonsch, U h5 40.f::le 5 l::lg6 41.ll:)e4, 1-0
Thessaloniki 1 988
1.d4 ll:)f6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 d5 4.cd5
ed5 s.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 o-o 7.Ad3
Attack the Hanging Pawns
ll:)bd7 8 . li)ge2 �e8 9 . YWc2 c6
with Pawns
10.0-0 ltlfS 1 1 .a3 Ad6 1 2.CiYh1
ll:)g6 13.f3 Ae7 14.e4 de4 15.fe4
An i mpor t a n t method of playing
ll:)g4 16.Ae7 'fle7 17.Ac4 Ae6
against the hanging pawns is to attack
18.Ae6 fe6 19.'ftb3 1Vh4 20.h3
them with adjacent pawns. This tech
li) f 2 2 1 . c;fl g 1 ltl h 3 B l a ck h a s
nique forces one of the pair to advance
achieved his aim of exposing the White
and be blockaded, or to exchange itself
� to attack. However, the only pieces
and leave behind an isolani to be
he has nearby are the 'iV and lt::l , which
blockaded.
will not be able to set up a mating net.
(069) Rechlis;G-Bykhovsky,A
(see next diagram)
Tel Aviv 1 995
l.d4 ll:)f6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 d5 4.cd5
ed5 s.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 c6 7.Ad3
60 M lamegame ;:)lfaregy
34.li:}e41 li:}d5 35.Jlf2 V!lfc7 36. 'ffh 5, 18.li:}h4 li:}h4 19.f3 li:}f51 19 . . . 'tWg5?!
1-0. White won on time in a winning 20.�g3 l:.e3?? 2 l .�h4! wins. 20.Af2
position , e.g. 36 . . . cue3 37.'t!Yg5 cug2 V!lfg5 2 1 .l:lel l:[e6 2 2 . e4 !lbe8
38.cuf6 wms. 23.f:lce2 ltld6 24.e5 Vllf d 8?1 This
leads to an unsound pawn sacrifice ;
better would be 24 . . . 't!Ye7. 25.wfl
The Advanced Center ltlc4 26.V!ffb7 V!lfg5 27.V!ff b4 After
the mistaken 27.'t!Ya7? cud2 28.�gl
cuf3 White should lose. 27...klg6
28.-'ig3 h5 29.b3 ltlb6 Continuing
the attack doesn't work, e.g. 29 . . . h4
30.bc4 hg3 3 l .h3 and White's � can
be defended e asily. 30. Vlff d 2 Vllff5
31.Vlffc2 YWg5 32.1Jd2 vwrs 33.wgt
33.'t!Yf4!? 33 ... ltlc8? Where is the
Black ttJ goin g ? Better would be
33 . . . cua8, heading for e6, a plan that
Black discovers in a couple of moves.
34.V!ffc2 1Jd7 35 ..i!Lh4 ltlb6 36.1Jd3
ltla8 37.f4 A common plan with the
The first game in this section has a advanced center, supporting it with f4
number of mistakes, yet several lessons and threatening to advance further.
can be learned from this struggle be 37 ... ltlc7 38. .i!Lf2 As with all posi
tween two titans of positional play. It is tional plans, watch out for tactics. For
too easy to understate Chigorin's con example, 38.f5? l:tg4 39.g3 (39.�f2
tribution to chess. He never was World .l:!.f4) 39 . . . cub5 and Black is better. He
Champion, and his fame comes from will win back his pawn and White's
early in the game's development. Even center will be weak. 38...1jg4 39 . .i!Le3
though he lost the following game, it is f5 Naturally, Black cannot allow White
clear that he was a fierce fighter with a to play f5, even if it didn't win the
deep understanding of chess strategy. Exchange. Now Black hopes for some
counterplay due to White's bad � and
(074) Steinitz, W -Chigorin, M the excellent blockading square e6 for
Havana 1 889 his cu . 40.l:[f2 lage6 41.Vlffe 2 V!ffg6
l.ltlf3 d5 2.d4 iLg4 3.c4 ltlc6 4.e3 42.W3 V!fff7 43.�3 wh7 44. .i!Lf2
e6 5 . ltlc3 A b4 6 .i!L d 2 ltlge7
• l:[h6 45.l:lcl l:[c8 46.l:lgc3 ltle6
7.Ad3 Af5 Not 7 . . . 0-0?? s . .th7 �h7 47.V!ffa6 �8 4S.,g[c6 Much better
9. cug5 and White is clearly better. than 48.g3?, which would lead to a
8.Af5 ltlf5 9.cd5 ed5 1 0.1Jb3 strong Black attack by either 48 . . . g5
Ac3 l l ..ilc3 l:tb8 1 2 . 0 - 0 0 - 0 or 48 . . . h5. 48 ... ltlf4
13.l:[acl l:te8 14.,1ld2 Better would
be 14 . .l:!.c2!, with the idea of 1 5 . .l:!.fcl (see next diagram)
and 16.�el . 14...ltlce7 15.:c2 1 5 . .ta5!
15 ...c6 16.Wcl ltlg6 17..i!Lel ltlfh4
(07 5) Reshvesky,S-Ginsberg, M
Lone Pine 1980
l.d4 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 �b4 4.e3
0-0 5.l0ge2 d5 6.a3 �e7 7.cd5
ed5 8 . lt:) f 4 c 6 9 . � d 3 lt:) b d 7
10.0-0 l::te8 ll.b4 �d6 1 2.f3 l0f8
13.lt:)fe2 1fc7 14.h3 a5 15.l::tb l
ab4 16.ab4 tfe7 White sacrifices a
pawn to achieve a strong bind with the
e5 advance. 17.e4 �b4 18.e5 l0h5
19.1tel �c3 20. ttfc3 g6 21.f4 A
common continuation of the e5 push
is to follow it by advancing the f-pawn.
4?.Db6? The text helps Black develop
Black's . . .f5 response might lead to
hts attack. Better is 49.�e3! l:tc6
counterplay with a CO on the e6 square,
50J:tc6 ttJg6 5 1 .fi'e2 lLle7 52.lk7 and
applying additional pressure to the
White's pressure is overwhelming.
enemy f- and d-pawn. White's control
49...gh6 50.�g3 r!g6 51.1tfl lt:)e6
over cS, preventing any break there (so
52.fid3 l:lg4? As pointed out by
defending the base of his pawn center)
Hooper, Chigorin had the opportunity
must be frustrating for Black. 21 ... f5
to seize the initiative here with 52 . . . h4
22.l::ta l �:tal 23.1fal tlh4 24.wh2
53.�h4 J:g2 54.c�hl (54.wg2 cof4)
l0e6 25.�d2 ttfd8 26.tla7 lt:)hg7
54 . . . 'iWh5! (54 . . . J:g4? 55.�f6!). 53.h3
27.l::tbl h6 28.1ta3 l0c7 A problem
l:ld4 54.1ta6 )ld2? A waste of time
for Black is his inability to play . . . b5,
and the last error. Black should have
establishing an outpost on c4 to shield
played 54 . . . l:te4!, but now his position
the weak c6 pawn. Unless Black can use
is hopeless. 55.Ael l:{d4 56.l::tc6
his extra pawn, White will retain his
:e4 57.J:::te 6 l:lel 58.Wh2 l::tc l
59.W6 ti'g7 60.tfe6 J:[fl 61.I;lt/,
�old on the position. 29.�b4 g5 Hop
mg that complications will free his
1-0
game. 30.g3 lt:)ce6 3 1 .l::tf l lt:)f8
32. 1fcl �e6 33.g4 gf4 34. 1rf4
1tb6 35.l:tbl lt:)g6 36. 1fh6 l0e5
Space Advantage - The Bind 37.�d2 /0f3 3S.wg3 tlc7 39.wf3
1Jh2 40.�f4 fg4 4 1 .hg4 �g4
Using the space advantage created by
42.wg4 tlg2 43./0g3 �:te6, 1-o
the advanced center, White can estab
lish a strong bind over the position.
The next game also sees the bind lead
Reshevsky gives his opponent a pawn
ing to a better game for White.
for a bind that spreads over the entire
board.
(076) Johner,P-Reti ,R
Dortmund 1928
l.d4 l0{6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 �b4 4.e3
0-0 5.l0ge2 d5 6.a3 �e7 7.l0f4
... .. . · - - · - c -.. .. . _. ._.. ... -.. _.oJ
c6 8.Ad3 1£ibd7 9.cd5 ed5 10. 'Vc2 It is clear that the doubled pawns are an
n e s 1 1 . 0 - 0 l£if8 t 2 . b4 A d 6 improvement in Black's pawn struc
13.Ad2 ffc7 14.g3 g 5 1 5. f£1g2 ture. Opening the a-file adds to the
1Vd7 16.f3 1fh3 17.e4 ltlh5 18.e5 counterplay B l a c k c a n ge nerate .
Ae7 19.fi)d1 fi)g7 20.itlf2 1'fd7 14.Ab2 Af5 15.f3 Ad6 16.,tte 1
21.ltle3 h5 22.Ac3 Ads 23.g4 h4 l:le8 17.g4 Ag6 18.ltlg6 hg6 It very
2 4 . A f 5 ltl f e 6 2 5 . ltl h 3 itl f 5 instructive that Larsen also uses this
26.ltlf5 itlg7 27.ltlh6 c;Yh8 28.f4 semi-open file ro gain the advantage.
ltle6 29.fg5 l:lf8 30. 1'fd2 '¥fle7 19.e4 Af4! 20.e5 ltld7 21 .Afl
31.W6 1fe8 32.ID3 '¥fle7 33.l:[afl 2 L i.cl !? 21 ... '¥flh4 22.,tte 2 ltlf8
itlg5 34.ltlg5 '¥flg5 35. I!f7 l:(e8 23. '¥fle1 fi'e1 24.l:[ee1 ltle6 A per
36.l:(e7 1fe7 37.ltlf7 c;Yg8 38.fi'h6 fect blockade. 25.Ad3 c;Yf8 26.l:(e2
1ff7 39.J:lf7 c;Yf7 40.fi'h7 c;Yf8 c;Ye7 This 'it march has two purposes:
41.Ad2 J:(e6 42.1Vh8 c;Yf7 43. '@'dS opening the h-file for the :, and bring
h 3 4 4 . A g 5 l:l g 6 4 5 . c;Y f 2 b 6 ing the 'it over to protect the Queen
46.we3 Ag4 47.ft'a8 l:lg5 48. Yic6, s i d e . 2 7 . A c 2 .tl h 8 2 8 . a 4 ba4
1-0 29.�a4 .tla4 30.Aa4 b5!, 0 - 1 .
White's position was about r o crumble
The space-grabbing advanced center anyway. The weak pawns on h2, d4 and
can also rebound against White. In the even f3 overstressed White's defenses.
following game Larsen uses the block After 31 .�dl .l:h3 32.l:C2 �d7 33.�h l
ade on e6, "helpful" doubled pawns and j_e3 Black wins.
the semi-open files ro constrict White's
position.
Kingside Attack
(077) Ramayrat,C-Larsen,B
New York 1 986 As with all variations of the Carlsbad
1.d4 ltlf6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 Ab4 4.e3 structure, opportunities exist for attack
0-0 5.ltlge2 d5 6.a3 il,e7 7.cd5 ed5 ing the King.
8.g3 c6 9.Ag2 itla6 10.0-0 itlc7
ll.ltlf4 a6 12.b4 ltlb5 13.ttlb5 ab5 (078) Kasparov, G-Beliavsky,A
Moscow 1 987
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.loc3 ltlf6 4.cd5
ed5 5.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 c6 7.ffc2
0-0 8.Ad3 ltlbd7 9.ltlge2 .tieS
10.0-0 ltlf8 ll.a3 g6 1 2.b4 We
have seen that this move establishes a
"set of rules" for the Queenside pawns.
12 ... ltle6 13.Ah4 a6 14.f3 Prepar
ing the Bomivik pawn center. 14... ltlg7
15.Af2 h5 16.h3 Still planning the
central thrust while preventing the
annoying . .. t0g4. 16...ttlh7 17.e4 Ah4
18.1fd2 _at2 19 . .X:U2 h4 20.Ac2 However, we cannot assume that a
l0h5? Allowing White to exchange Kingside attack is always a good idea.
this piece before it can reach g3. In the next game Black does not have
2l.l0f4 l0f4 22.1Vf4 1Vf6 23.1fd2 the pre-conditions to justify his aggres
I f 23. 'flf6?! lt:\f6 24.e5 lt:\h 5 Black sion.
would be better. 23... Ae6 24.e5 tfg7
25.l0a4 lOfS 26.1Vg5 'Wh8 27.f4 (080) Tal,M-Van Geet,D
f6 Desperation in the face of White's Wijk aan Zee 1 968
impending fS p u s h . 28.ef6 Af7 1 .e4 e5 2 . .!Df3 .!Dc6 3.Ab5 Ac5
29..i.g6! After 29.f5?! �hS 30.'Wh5 4.c3 .!Df6 5.d4 .i.b6 6. t¥e2 ed4
ghS White is still better, but not as over 7.e5 0-0 8.cd4 :leS 9.Ae3 .!Dd5
whelming as in the game. 29 ... Ag6 10 . .!Dc3 .!De3 1 1 .fe3 d5 1 2.0-0
30.f5 wf7 30 . . . 'Wh5!? 3t . .!Dc5 Ah5 Ag4 t3.flf2 .i.h5 t4.Aa4 Aa5
32..!Dh7 .!Dd7 33 ..!Dd6 wts 34. tth4 15.:lac1 Ac3 16.l:lc3 :le6 17.::tfc1
lD{6 35.g4 ,J::le7 36.g5 :ld7 37.gf6 .!Db4 18 . .i.b3 Ag6 1 9 . 1Jd2 c6
:ld6 38.:lel l:[e8 39.r!e8 wes 20.a3 .!Da6 2 1.Ac2 Ae4 22.f!fe2 f6
40..t:(e2 wfs 41."e6 1Vh6 42.:ld6 23.ef6 'tff6 23 . . . gf6!? prevents the llJ
ffe3 43.'fff2 \'fh3 44.@f4, 1-0. from shielding the weak pawn on e3.
There follows 44 . . . �f3 45 . .:td8 'ittf7 24. .!De5
46. l:td7 'itt e B 47. l:te7 'itt dB 48.'Wb8
mate.
(079) Yrjola,J-Hodgson,J
Kecskemet 1988
1.d4 o!Df6 2.c4 e6 3. .!Dc3 d5 4.cd5
ed5 5.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 0-0 7 .Ad3
c6 8. 'trc2 .!Dbd7 9 . .!Dge2 :le8
10.0-0 o!DfS ll.Uab1 a5 1 2.f3 c5
13.r!bd1 c4 14.Af5 .i.f5 15.f!ff5 24 ... ffh4?1 Playing along general prin
g 6 1 6. 1t c 2 .!De6 1 7. A f 6 .i.f6 ciples, initiating a Kingside attack and
1 s.wh1 .!Dc7 19.e4 .i.g5 20.f4 weakening White's pawn structure. But
Ah6 21.f5! b5 22.e5 1fd7 23. .t:lf3 what is there in this position to support
a4 24.a3 :a6 25.l;tdfl gf5 26 . .t:lf5 the idea of a Kingside attack? White
:g6 27 . .!Dg3 .!De6 28.1tf2 :lf8 will be able to exchange the As, and
29. .!Dh5 .i.g7 30.h3 whS 3l.W7 Black's lL\ is completely out of play,
l:tf7 32. @f7 1Vf7 33.l:lf7 .!Dd4 leaving few pieces to conduct an assault
34.J:te7 h6 35. .!Dd5 Jk5 36. .!Dhf6, on White's Kingside. Instead 24 . l:le5!?
. .
continue, but with more possibilities for seems like mere common sense that
Black than after the text. 25.g3 ffh3 pawns in a chain will be weaker when
26.�e4 de4 27.J::[b3 IV'S 27 . . . llb8? t he base is u ndermined . 25.t;)f3
28.lLlc6. 28.�b7 c5 29.�a7 cd4 25.e6? �d6. 25 ... �c8 26.dc5 bc5
30.ed4 1Wh6 31.W1 W'1 32.tffl The hanging pawns appear. It is amaz
tfe3 33.wh1, 1-o ing how often the various themes in
terweave in the Carlsbad structure.
27.�a2 il.e6 28.I[e2 l:td7 29 ..1ib3
The . c5 Break
. . 1ta5 30. YWa4 1Wb6 Black has the bet
ter position, based on pawn structure
One methoJ of dealing with White's and piece placement. 31.l:d5?? White
advanced center is to attack its base. must have been expecting Black to take
Obviously, . . . c5 does this job - when it the ll and lose the Exchange. After
can be played. Black's reply the pin on the White ll is
devastating. 31 ...1:(ed8!, 0-1
(081) Yusupov, A---Short, N
Barcelona 1 989 In the following game the ... cS break
1.t;)f3 d5 2.d4 t;)f6 3.c4 e6 4.t;)c3 caused Black's downf2.ll, instead of giv
�e7 5.�g5 h6 6.Af6 �f6 7.e3 ing him counterplay.
0-0 8.'@b3 c6 9.l:[d1 t;)d7 10.Ad3
b6 1 1 . 0-0 �b7 1 2 .1:(fe l :es (082) Kasparov,G-Nikolic,P
13.�b1 �c8 14.cd5 ed5 1 5.e4 Beograd 1989
t;)f8 16.e5 il.e7 17.1tc2 J:(c7 18.a3 l .d4 t;)f6 2.c4 e6 3.t;)c3 �b4
� c 8 1 9 . h 3 g6 2 0 . 1f d 2 c;Y g 7 4. @c2 d5 5.cd5 ed5 6.il.g5 h6
21.t;)h2 t;)e6 22.t;)e2 il.a6 7.il.h4 g5 8 .il.g3 t;)e4 9.e3 c6
10.il.d3 t;)g3 ll.hg3 Ae6 12.a3
iLfB 13.f4 gf4 14.gf4 Jl.g4 15.Jl.f5
il.f5 1 6 . tff5 t;)d7 1 7 . e4 'YWf6
18. @f6 t;)f6 19.e5 t;)d7 20.t;)ge2
ags 2 1 . wt2 l0h6 2 2 . h3 wd7
23.t;)g3 �cs 24.wf3
In the following game the ... c5 break 35.¢>f2?! 35.1:tebl l:tcb8 36.�f2 c3
results from a tactical oversight. How 37. l:tc2 l:tb4 38. l:tb4 l:t b4 39. l:tc3.
ever, the game is still an interesting 35...e5 Spotting the weak point in
study of the Carlsbad. White's position. 36.dc5 J::lc5 37.We3
l:la5 38.¢>d4 l:lab5 39.l:lal a5
40.l:la4 l:lb4 4l.l:lba2 f:la4 42.f:la4
(083) Mohr, G-Vucicevic, M
f:lb4 43 .l:la3 ¢>f7 4 4 . g 4 hg4
Belgrade 1 988
45.l:lg3 l:lh3 46.l:lg4 l:ld3 47.wc5
l.d4 �f6 2.�(3 d5 3.e3 g6 4.e4
c3, 0-l
.i.g7 5.�e3 0-0 6.1tb3 e6 7.cd5
ed5 S. .i,e2 b6 9.�e5 .i.e6 10.0-0
e6 l l.f!ra4 'ifd6 1 2.b4 b5 13.ffb3
�bd7 14.�d3 �b6 15.�c5 ID"e8
The d5/j5 Formation
16.a4 a6 17.ffdl .i.f5 18.J:la2 h5
This idea of establishing pawns on d5
1 9. a 5 �e4 20 . .i.e4 be4 W h i t e
achieves good posts for his ltJs, yet little and f5 can be found in several vari
counterplay. 2l.f3 This maneuver (the ations of the Carlsbad structure. Let's
Botvinnik pawn center) is used to gain start our discussion with a couple of
more control over the center and to games which do not conform to the
advanced center structure.
activate the dark-squared .i.. 2l ... J:la7
22.:e1 .i.h6 Black was faced with
h aving to defend t h e w e a k d a r k Korchnoi and Karpov have played each
other an incredible number of times. In
squares. Ergo, preparing t o exchange
my opinion the following battle is
the dark-squared As is a good posi
Korchnoi's best win over Karpov.
tional plan. 23.e4 .i,el 24.e5 24. 't!t'cl?
de4 25.fe4 'Wd4. 24... ebs 25. eel
�d7 26.l:[b2 The weak b-pawn is
uo
(084) Karpov,A-Korchnoi, V
Dortmund 1 994
t.d4 /Of6 2.c4 e6 3.�(3 b6 4.a3
.i.b7 5.�c3 d5 6 ..i.g5 .i.e7 In round
5 of this tournament (Lutz-Kortchnoi) ,
Kortchnoi played 6 . . . dc4. 7.ffa4 This
move essentially forces the struggle into
the Carlsbad formation. After either
7 . . . c6 or 7 . . . ltJbd7, White can continue
with 8.�f6 and 9.cd5 to ensure that
Black recaptures with the e -pawn.
7 ...c6 8.Af6 .i.f6 9.cd5 ed5 10.g3
0-0 l l .Ag2 �d7 1 2 . 0 - 0 Ae7
22 ...g51 Korchnoi now turns his atten-
13.1::lfdl?! This is too slow for the
tion to the Kingside. 23.lte2 �8
position (better was 1 3.e4!?� . �la�k's
24.\t>f2 Haf8 25./0f3 h6 26.�fe5
.
57.1Wa7 .Q.b7 58.a5 Af8 59.:£"4 26 ..1lf5 fe3 27..Q.e6 l::[e6 28.l::te3
.Q.h6 60.f7 .Q,f4 l::[e3 29.lQe3 Not 29.fe3?. The back
ward pawn is not necessary and gives
Black additional counterplay. 29...fid4
30.1tg6 Now that White has warded
off the pawn storm, the weaknesses
in Black's position come into play.
30 . . . tfg7 3 1 . ffe6 1ff7 32. 1fh6
l:[e8 3 3 . 1fg5 Wf8 3 4 . h 3 g h 3
35.l0f5 );let 36.c;Yh2 tfc7 37.g3
l:[e6 3S.l0h6 wes 39. 'figS wd7
40.l0f5 );le2 4I.);lb7, 1-0
Dubai 1 986
6 3 . 'tt f 2 .Q.g7 6 4 . a 6 :lf3 S t i l l
1.ltif3 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 d5 4.d4
Korchnoi strives to shut down White's
.Q.e7 s.Ag5 l0bd7 6.e3 o-o 7.Dct
pieces. 65.'ttel Aa6 66. .Q,e2 nt"7
c6 8.cd5 ltid5 9 ..i.e7 ee7 10.l0d5
67.1tc5 c3 68.tlcc3 Ae2 69.1fe2
ed5 1 1 ..i.d3 l0f6 1 2 .ec2 .i.e6
1ff6 70.'ifc1 .Q.h6 71.'ifbl 1tf5
13.a3 h6 14.0-0 )VcS 15.b4 l0e8
72.wg1 J:tc7, o-1
16.l0e5 l0f6 17.f4 a5 1S.ttc5 1fd8
19.h3 l0d7 20.'trc3 tOeS 21.de5
An earlier example of Korchnoi's play
ab4 22.ab4 f5 23.J:la1 1fc7 24.);laS
with the d5/f5 formation is also of
);laS 25.Da1 );lal 26.tWal 1tb6
interest, showing the potential of this
27. 1fd4 f6d4 28.ed4
plan.
l:ld7 63.Jlb2 ttds 64.g4t hg4 26.�d4 �d4 27.1fd4 �e6 Black
65.hg4 ers 66.l:tdct �d8 67.�g3 has played well. He prepares to ad
Wt6 68.�d5 cd5 69. 'fWd3, 1-0 vance the isolani, opening the a8-h 1
diagonal and eventually causing White
In our next game both sides play the problems with the passed pawn. How
positional side of the pawn structure ever, Black misses his opportunity to
well, until Black stops thinking in posi push the pawn and drifts into a lost
tional terms and allows a tactical shot position. 28. 'fJf2 l:tac8 28 . . . d4!?
to end the game. 29.CiJe2 (29 . .1:tg3!?) 29 . . l:ad8 30.Ad3 .
M arshall attack, for which he was fa does not offer either side many winning
mous. It is important to understand, chances. If one side had a ttJ instead of
however, that without his advanced a �. the position would favor the tt:J.
center to reduce Black's counterplay 17... \Yg5 18.yjf3 !Vf 19.1tf4 t'ff4
and to fight for control of f6, the attack 20.ef4 a5 21.Ae2 g6 22.c;Yf2 c;Yf8
would not be as strong. 23. 'f!Vf3 l0g5 23.we3 we7 24.h3 wd7 25.Wc1
24. \Yh5 b6 25.l:lh4 flc8 26.l0e2 l:[ff8 26.}lc5 I:Xfc8 27 . a4 I:Xg8
a5 27.W6! With the threat of28J:th6! 28.c;Yf2 J:[gf8 29.h4 h5 30.l:Uc3
winni ng. 27 . . . \YfS 28. l0f4 ab4 J!Lf7 31.l:lb3 l:ta7 32.l:tb6 wc7,
28 ... gf6 29.ef6 lld7 30.tt:Jg6!. 1/2-1/2
(092) Primavera-Golombek,H
Venice 1950
1 .d4 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.a3 b6 4.l0c3
Ab7 5.t'fc2 d5 6.l0f3 Ae7 7.cd5
ed5 8.Af4 0-0 9.l0b5 l0a6 10.e3
c6 ll.l0c3 c5 1 2.Ad3 l0c7 13.0-0
l0 e 6 14 .Ag3 l:lc8 1 5 . Af5 g6
16.Ad3 l0h5 17.Ae5 f6 18.Ag3
l0g3 1 9 . hg 3 f5 2 0 . \Y e 2 Af6
21.J:(ad1 c4 22.Ab1 VWd6 23.:d2
l0c7 24.l0h2 h5 25.f4 b5 26.l0f3
a5 27.l0e5 Ae5 28.fe5 White has
29.l0g6 ! As Marshall managed to do
nothing to do in this position but wait
many ti m e s , he pl ays a spectacular
u n t i l B l a c k infi l t r a t e s . 28...t'fe7
move - which makes chess exciting.
29. 1\Vd1 f!Vg5 30.!'!f3? ! 30. 'ti'f3 is
29 ...fg6 Or 29 . . J!Yd8 30.lUe7 ffie7
a much better placement. 30...b4
3 1 J:th6! wins. 30.nt"8 WB 31.VWg6
31.ab4 ab4 32.l0e2 }laS 33.l0f4
l0e4 32.�e4 de4 33.l:lh6 Af5
l:ta1 34.l:[df2 Ac6 35.wh2 Aa4
34. flg5 l!e6 35.Ile6 Ae6 36. VWg6
36.1\Ve1 ,t!b8 37.l0g6 \Yg6 38.,W"5
Ad5 If 36 . . . �a2 37.'ti'c6 b3 �8.'ti'b6
Ac2 39.l:lf6 1\Vd3 40.I;[c2 1\Vc2
and it's only a matter of time until
41.ktfl 1\Vb2, 0-1
Whites wins with his passed pawns.
37.e6 J:tcs 38.1¥f7 wh7 39. VWd7
Our last game in this section combines
�a8 40.e7 Af7 41. \Yc6, 1-0
the previous two pawn structures in an
entertaining struggle from yesteryear.
(091 ) Schlechter, C-Maroczy, G
Monte Carlo 1904 (093) Saemisch, F-Bogoljubow, E
l .d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 l0f6 4.Ag5
Moscow 1 925
J!Le7 5.e3 0-0 6.l0f3 l0bd7 7.]:lcl
1 .l0f3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 l0{6 4.l0c3
a6 8.cd5 ed5 9.J!Ld3 c6 10.0-0
l0bd7 5.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 0-0 7.f!c1
l0e4 1 1 . A f4 f5 1 2 . l0e 5 l0 e 5
c6 8.Ad3 a6 9.cd5 ed5 10.t'fc2
13.Ae5 Ad6 14.f4 Ae6 15.a3 l0c3
:Ies n.o-o l0f8 12.h3 g6 13.Ah6
16.l:tc3 Ae5 17.fe5 The material left
1 '-t lVI JUUJCgi:UJJC � � � i1Lc;; gy
( 100) Miles,A-Short,P
Dublin 1 993
1.d4 d5 2.lQf3 lQf6 3.c4 e6 4.lQc3
il.e7 5.Af4 0-0 6.e3 c6 7.1fc2
· lQ bd7 8 . c d 5 e d 5 9.Ad3 )le8
White is planning to launch a pawn 10.h3 lQfS 1 1 .0-0-0 Ae6 1 2.g4
storm with f4, following with g4 even- b5 13.Wh1 a5 14.lLlg5 a4 15.Ae5
tually. White also has the option of g6 16.f4 lQ6d7 17.lQe6 lQe6 18.h4
breaking up Black's center with e4. lQe5 19.de5 As soon as White can
However, these ideas are doomed to open the h-file, the 'if and l:t battery will
failure considering White's lack of time determine the outcome of the game.
and support for such an advance. Black's desperate Queenside attack
15 ...Af8 16.f4 lLlc5 17.tfc2 ffa5 which follows confirms this assessment
The Queenside attack is swiftly gather- of the position. 19 ... b4 20.lQa4 ffa5
ing force. 18.e4 Trying to create coun- 21.b3 lLlc5 22.lQc5 ffc5 23.1fe2
terplay in the center. 18 ... b41 19.ed5 .J:1a3 24.l:td2 ffa7 2 5 .l:tb2 c5
bc3 20.d6 l:teb8 21.h3 ffa3, 0-1. 26.h5 c4 27.hg6 fg6 28.Ag6 hg6
The threat of 22 . . . lLlb3 is unstoppable. 29.1fh2
, 1-0
(099) Hort,V�'Donnell,T
Thessaloniki 1988
l.c4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.cd5 ed5 4.lQc3
c6 5. 1Wc2 lQf6 6.il.g5 g6 7 .e3
of this pawn is a mere matter of tech
The Isolated nique and accuracy. On the contrary, in
practice it is seen that in nine cases out
d-Pawn of ten the isolani holds out. In view of
this, the isolated pawn would not ap
pear to constitute such a serious weak
ness. This conclusion is, however,
equally fallacious; the drawback of the
isolani lies not so much in the danger of
its being lost as in the commitments
which it entails and the constant
thought and attention required. The
units which are necessary for the de
fense of the pawn will not as a rule be
less in number than those concerned in
the attack, but while the attacker can
at any time switch over and concen
trate on some other object, the de
fender has no such discretion; he is
wholly dependent on his opponent's
course of action. Thus, although in
most cases the defense of the isolani will
be successful, it will usually be impossi
ble to avoid damage on other fronts."
The isolated d-pawn is a subject of such In other words, and as further proof of
magni tude that the supplemental the positional depth available in the
games in this book include a few non Carlsbad, consider the following. There
Carlsbad games with isolani structures. are two types of pawn formations called
These are marked (IQP) . The repeti the isolani, mirror images of each other
tion of this theme will benefit the seri yet different. The isolani is either facing
ous student by relating the isolani to a hostile center pawn or flank pawn.
various openings. These differences and similarities will
be discussed as we explore the mysteries
As with many weak pawns, the isolani imbedded in the Carlsbad, which offers
should be defended aggressively while both types of formations.
preparing for its advance. By its nature,
when the isolani advances it strikes into
the very heart of the enemy position. The Center
Played well, isolani positions can be a
catalyst for dynamic attacking possibili When hanging pawns were discussed, it
ties in the center and on the Kingside. became obvious that they exert consid
erable control over the center, being the
While organizing the themes contained only pawns in that sector. The isolani by
in the Carlsbad structure, one of the definition is the only pawn occupying
most difficult topics was the isolani - the four central squares, yet it only ex
and the one with the most material erts control over half of the center.
available. To begin with, both sides can However, if allowed to advance it can
achieve this formation. Two sections or lead to control of the center by pieces,
one? In keeping with the concept of this and disrupt the opposing plans for the
book, learning by studying the theme, center.
one section was considered appropri
ate. This section will discuss the isolani We are going to start with a simple game
theme regardless of color, examining in which the isolani becomes the only
any differences as they seem important concern of both players. Once the
to the subject at hand. "problem" of the isolani is solved there
isn't any fight left in the position.
The isolani must be considered as a
possibility when either side attempts to ( 101 ) Timman,J-Karpov,A
break in the center (e4 for White, . . . c5 Tilburg 1982
for Black) with his pawn on the semi t.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.foc3 iJ..e7 4.f0f!t
open file. Such a pawn break will pro ltlf6 5 .iJ.. g 5 h6 6.iJ.. h 4 0-0 7.e3
duce either an isolani on d4 opposed by b6 S . iJ.. e 2 iJ.. b 7 9 . iJ.. f 6 iJ.. f 6
Black's c6 pawn, or an isolani on d5 1 0.cd5 ed5 1 1 .0-0 iJ.. e 7 1 2.tfb3
opposed by White's e3 pawn. Note that c6 13.Dadl fQd7 14.J:lfel lilf6
the resulting isolani will face either a 15.ltle5 ffd6 t6.f4 c5 17.dc5 ffc5
wing or center pawn, which begins to
highlight the differences.
As simple as that game was, let's think
about it a little more. Even when the
isolani was blockaded play still re
mained in the center, either securing
the blockade or trying to dislodge the
offending piece. Why did the play re
volve around the isolani's effect on the
position? Let's try and answer that with
a philosophical answer - play on the
wings should normally be restricted un
til the center play is resolved.
( 103)
La Bourdonnais-MacDonnell
London 1 834
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dc4 3.e3 e5 4.Ac4
ed4 5.ed4 lQf6 6.lQf3 Ae7 7.0-0
0 - 0 8 . h 3 lQ b d 7 9 . lQ c 3 lQ b 6
10.Ab3 c6 ll.Ae3 lQfd5 12.1fe2
f5 13 ..tlae1 f4 14.Af4 I:lf4 15.'fte7
1fe7 16.Ite7 ¢'f8 1 7.�e4 l:If6
18.lQd5 cd5 19.l'ae3 Af5 20.lQe5
h6 2 1 . .l:[ c 1 r!d8 2 2 .)lc7 Ac8
23.1:lg3 Ad7 24.Ad5 lQd5 25 ..fld7
l:[d7 26.lQd7, 1-0
18...�d8? True, this move is consis
tent with the principles of the isolani.
Yet the resulting pawn structure is lost
for Black. Instead, 18 . . . 4Jf4! gives Black "Lust to Exoand"
more options in the struggle. 19.lQg3
1Wf6 20.lQh5 Now White's position Nimzowitsch's memorable words. A
crumbles under the weight of his pawn thought provoking phrase, yet perfectly
weaknesses. 20...gh5 21.Ite5 lQd7 apt in describing the isolani's nature.
22.W5! If 22.l:h5 then 22 . . . h6 re Let's now look at a complicated exam
moves the option of lOgS. Reshevsky's ple in which the isolated d-pawn is al
method is better since it creates more lowed to gratify its lust to expand.
pawn weaknesses in the position.
22 ... ffd6 23.lQg5 f6 24.lQe4 'fte6 (104) Spielmann,R-Capablanca,J
25.l:lh5 lQf8 Black has no defense Carlsbad 1 929
and cannot afford to weaken his King l .d4 lQf6 2.c4 e6 3.lQc3 d5 4.Ag5
side further with 25 . . . h6, e.g. 26.1Wg3 lQbd7 5.e3 c6 6.cd5 ed5 7.Ad3
r;f;>f7 27.4Jd6 r;f;>e7 28.4Jf5 and the at Ad6 8.lQge2 lQf8 A common move,
tack is overwhelming. 26.lQc5 'fte8 yet in this game the tO becomes mis
27.J:[b7 ¢'g8 28.tflg3 tflg6 29.lQe4 placed and causes Black problems for
lQd7 30.J:[d7 ltd7 3 1 . lQf6 ¢'f7 the entire game. 9. ffc2 h6 10.Ah4
32.l:lh7, 1-0 1te7 ll.a3 .a,d7 1 2.e4 g5 13.Ag3
de4 14.lQe4 lQe4 15.Ae4 Ag3?!
The next game is intended solely as a Allows White to pressure the weak h
look at a very early battle over the iso pawn. 16.hg3 1fd6 17.0-0-0 Aeft
lani. It is interesting to see how far chess 18.lQc3 1tc7 19.lDb5! 1fd7 20.d5!
thought has advanced since this game Without these tactical complications,
was played. Black could consolidate his position by
blockading the isolani with . .. i.dS.
20 . . . cb5 2 1 .de6 ffc8 2 1 . . .1\Ve6?
22.�f5 and White is clearly better.
22.ef7 Wf7 23.l:td6 Adding pressure
ro h6, and restricting the mobility of
Black's CD. 23 ... 1tc2 24.wc2 Now
Spielmann demonstrates that his chess
understanding is not limited ro attack.
White proceeds to convert his active
pieces into a won endgame. 24 ... 1:(e8
25.Ah7 ae2 26.wd3 Df2 27.1:le1
W6 27 . . . l:tb2?? 28.�d5 'itg7 29J:te7
mate. 28.Ad5 wg6 29.l:tf6 wr6
30.l::te8 Restricting the CD in order to
win a pawn and the game. 30 ... h5
31.l:a8 h4 32.gh4 gh4 33.l:ta7
w e 5 34.ii.c6 h3 3 5 .gh3 �h3
After 1 4.�d3
36.cJ]c2 b4 There was no way to save
this pawn either. 37.ab4 �e6 38.Aa4 response to Black's last move. White
ft)f4 39.l:le7 wd6 40.�d7 we5 now threatens to soften the Kingside
41.Ac6 l:lh6 42.b5 ltd6 43.fle7 with 1 6.h5. 15 ... ytd6 16.Ag5 r!ad8
I:[e6 44.l::tc 7 wd6 45.l:';lc8 l:,te2 17.aad1 fibS 18.Ab3 a6?1 Occu
46.wc3 t:le3 47.wc4 ,ble2 4S.l::[ds pying the blockading square with
wc7 49.�d7 wcs so.wc5 llb2 1 8 ... lLid5 was essential. 19.d51 ltla5
51.wb6 J;le2 52.l:tc7 wds 53.l:td7
wcs 54.fid4 ltle6 55.Ab7 wbs
56.I:[c4, 1-0
( 105) Yusupov,A-Lobron, E
Germany 1 996
1.d4 itlf6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 ii.b4 4.e3
o-o s.Ad3 d5 6 . ltlf3 c5 7.0-o
cd4 8.ed4 dc4 9.Ac4 For this type 20.de6!1 And the lust to expand ex
of pawn s tructure to arise in the presses itself in a most spectacular way.
Carlsbad the colors would have to be 20... ltlb3 20... l:td3 21.ef7 'itg7 22.fe8'W
reversed. 9...b6 10.:te1 Ab7 1 1.Ad3 'ii' e 8 2 3 . l:td3 lLi b 3 2 4 . l: d e 3 'it f7
ltlc6 1 2 . a 3 Ae7 1 3 . A c 2 f:(eS 2 5 . Af6 'itf6 2 6 . l:e6 ..t>f7 2 7 . CDg5
14.1td3 'itf8 2 8 . lLi h 7 'it f7 2 9 . lLi g 5 'it f8
30. l:te7 �c6 3 1 . l:t f7 'itg8 32 . CDd5!!
(see next diagram) wins -Kristensen. 21.ef7 wf7 22. 'ifc4
c,tlg7 23.�e51 Now Black's weak ..t>
We will refer to this diagram in the position seals his doom. ·23... ltlg8
next game. 14 ... g6 1 5.h4!? A logical 24.l!ds flds 25.W/f7 whs 26.flh3
'fWd4 27.1:1e3 l:[f8 28._ae7, 1-0. If Sarajevo 1 988. 20..,af6 .i.c5 21.Vg5
28. . . 'Lle7 29.'Llf7 �g7 30.l:te7. wh7 22.,iLc2, 1-0
At the risk of confusing the issue, our We can even approach the same dia
next game reaches the same diagram gram from yet another opening. Clearly,
after 14.'ifd3 in the last game, but from the themes found in the Carlsbad
a totally different opening (and gaining formation s tretch far beyond the
a tempo in the process! ) . boundaries of any one opening.
c5 Black has only a choice between ffd6 32.l:c4 The tactics are used to
"lesser evils," passive play would have accomplish positional goals, here to
been his best decision. 20.dc5 Now pressure the weak Queenside pawns.
Black must finally decide which is 32 ... 1fc7 33.:1c3 1fe7 34.g3 tlf6
the better of two evils, hanging pawns 35.1tf4J Black cannot defend all the
or an isolani. Notice how the weak weak pawns if he exchanges 'it's, so
pawn on aS makes accepting the hang White uses this fact to reposition his
ing pawns the wrong decision (2l..l:t.a 3 pieces against these very weaknesses.
wins the pawn) . That leaves only the 35 ... tfc6 36.:1d4 'll b5 Beginning a
isolani option, but it will immediately desperate countera ttack. 37.:1b4
be pressured and blockaded. 20...l0c5 1te2 38.:Ib6 l0e4 39.:1c7 :15e7
21. 1td4 A subtle positional move 40.:le7 :le7 41.J:(b8 Wh7 42.Ae4,
based on the tactical prevention of 1-0. After 42 . . . de4 43.�f5 g6 44.'i!Yf6
2 1 . . . lt:l e6, which if possible would wins.
j ustify Black's play by supporting the
isolani's advance. As demonstrated by Kasparov in the
following game, the blockade alone
does not constitute a successful re
sponse to the isolani.
( 11 5) Kasparov, G-Huebner,R
Hamburg 1985
l.d4 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0f3 d5 4.l0c3
Ae7 5.Ag5 0-0 6. •c2 l0e4 7 .Ae7
1te7 8.e3 l0c3 9.1fc3 b6 10.cd5
ed5 ll.b4 c6 12.J:(cl Ab7 13.Ad3
l0d7 14.J:(b1 'ffd8 15.0-0 a5 t6.a3
ab4 17.ab4 g() 18.lQd2 'fte7
21 ...J:(d7 Instead 2 1 . . .4Je6 22.4Je6
fe6 23.l:tc7! e5 (23 . . . l::t d7 24.l:td7 'iYd7
25.'i\Vb6) 24.'iYg4 'i\Vf6 25.l::t d l (with
the idea of 26.l:tb7!, winning a pawn)
2 5 . . . e4? 26. �e4 de4 27. l::t d 8 l:td8
28.l::tb7 wins. 22.il,g4 :le7 If 22 . . . lt:le6
23.�e6 fe6 24.lt:lg6, and with a secure
blockade of the center pawns after
25.lt:le5, White will dominate the posi
tion. 23.Af5 J:(d8 24.l:(dt l:le5
25.Ab1 \1fe7 I f 25 . . . 4Je6 26.4Je6
fe6?? 27.g4!, one wonders how Black is
going to save the .J:l on e5. 26.l0e2 Continuing with the common pattern
DeS 27 .a3 Aa6 2 8 . l0g3 Ac4 of fixing the Queenside pawn structure
29.Ac2 a4 30.l0f5 1tf6 31.l0d6U prior to initiating pawn play in the
center. 19.e4 de4 20.Jle4 ,1:1ac8
2t.Wel -erds 22./0c4 /0f6 23.�f3
�d5 24. -erd2 �a6 25./t)e5 iLb5
26.l:[ecl -erd6 Black has set up a
defense for his weak c6 pawn, and
against the advance of the isolani.
However, Kasparov now uses an attack
on the Kingside to. maintain the initia
tive. 27.h4 l::[fd8 Worse is 27 . . . h5?!,
which weakens the Kingside further.
28.h5 [i)e7 29.l:tel l:ic7 30.iLg4
�d5 3l.hg6 hg6 32.�b3 f5?1 An
ugly move and a forlorne attempt at
counterplay. 33.iLdl l:g7 34.�h3 Black does not recognize the danger
ffb4--3 5.ffh6 ffet 36.Wh2 wrs that is brewing. Keres suggests the
37.[j)g6 c;t>gs 38. ffhB wf7 39. ffdB, correct 19 ... lLld5, blockading the pawn.
1-0 Basic Nimzowitsch philosophy, and
there might follow 20.ltJd5 i.d5 with
Kingside Attack security. Incidentally, not 19 ... 'iWd4?
when 20.ltJt7! wins. 20.iLf51 iLf5
The isolani often will set up conditions 21.fff5 g6 22.fff4 Wg7 23.ffh6!
for an attack on the Kingside, as can be wgs 24.iLh4 lilBh7 25.lilg6, 1-o
seen by the play of Paul Keres in the
next example. The isolani does not make its appear
ance until late in the next game. When
it does so, however, it becomes the cata
( 11 6) Keres, P-Kurajica
lyst leading to Black's downfall in an
Kapfenberg 1 970
already difficult position.
l.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.[i)c3 Ae7 4.cd5
ed5 5.iLf4 [i)f6 6.e3 0-0 7.iLd3
( 117) Karpov,A-Spassky,B
�d6 8.iLg5 c6 9.[i)f3 l:[e8 10.ffc2
h6 1 1 . iLh4 a5 1 2 . 0 - 0 [i) b d 7 Leningrad 1 974
lilf6 2.c4 e6 3.lilf3 d5 4.lilc3
13.l:(ae1 iLe7 14.iLg3 [i)f8 15.[i)e5 1.d4
iLe7 5 . .£lg5 h6 6 . .£lh4 0-0 7.e3
This is a fine move, but Keres also liked
b6 8 ..£le2 .£lh7 9 . .£lf6 .£lf6 10.cd5
1 5.h3. 15 ... lilh5 16.e4 de4 17.l:[e4
Now White has the isolani with the ed5 1 1.0-0 '@d6 12 ..r!c1 a6 13.a3
advantage of control along the e-file. It lLld7 14.b4 h5 15.lile1 c6 After
is very instructive to watch Keres use 1 5 moves a mutated Carlsbad structure
this advantage to pressure the weak has arisen. 16.lild3 lilb6 17.a4! Ob
points t7 and e7. 17 ... iLe6 18.l::lfe1 viously Black cannot exchange this
pawn due to his resulting weak Queen
lilf6 19.�4e3 l:lc8?
side pawns. Ergo, White will advance
to aS and increase his a-pawn's worth.
(see next diagram)
Notice that if the pawn had remained
on a3 it would be a target for the ltJ on
� · - · - - ·-o-···- ...... ... -·-cJ
c4. 17 ... Ad8 18.�c5 Ac8 19.a 5 Whenever discussing an attack the
ii,c7 20.g3 �c4 21.e41 Ah3 Black's s ubj ect of defense should also be
only hope for counterplay is to exploit considered. The defender's resouceful
the weak white squares on the enemy ness is always a factor.
Kingside . 22.l:lel de4 2 3 .ltHe4
fig6 24.Ah51 Much better than ( 11 9) Spassky,B-Portisch, L
24 . .tc4 winning a pawn, which would Budapest 1 967
give Black counter chances against the l.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.fl:lc3 ll:lf6 4.Ag5
weak b- and d-pawns, in addition to Ae7 5.ll:lf3 0-0 6.e3 il:lbd7 7.l:lcl
white square play. 24...fih7 25.fif3 a6 8.cd5 ed5 9.Ad3 c6 10.0-0
f5 26.�c3 g6 27.fic6 gh5 28.ll:ld5 .t:le8 1 1 .1tc2 l0f8 1 2 . Af6 Af6
White is now winning because of the 13.b4 Ae7 14.l:[b1 Ad6 15.):1fel
activity of his pieces and the weak l:[e6 16.e4 Wt6 17.h3
pawns on Black's Kingside. 28...f4
29 . .r:1e7 \'ff5 30.l:lc7 l:lae8 3l.fih6
l:lf7 32.l:lf7 wf7 33. fif4 l:(e2
34.fic7 wf8 35.fl:lf4, 1-0
Ac5 8.c3 0-0 9.il.e2 Ad4 10.cd4 l0e6 20.Afll Solid defense is the key
Now we have a familiar pawn structure to winning. 20 ):1f3 2l ..r:1f3 l0d4
.•.
from the Carlsbad. 10 ... l0d5 1 1.0-0 22. ffdt 'lfg5 23.Ag2 l0f3 24. 1Vf3
A e 6 1 2 . a 3 il:ld 7 1 3 . l0 e4 h 6 d4 25.fl:le2 1td2 26.a3 d3 27.fl:ld4
14.Ad3 l07f6 15.fl:lc5 fic8 16. fic2 1tc3 28.l0f5 Afs 29.l:ldl l:[dS
l:le8 17 .Ad2 a5?1 The beginning of a 30.ffg3 \'fb3 31.Af3 d2 32.l:ld2
bad maneuver. Black intends to play DeS 32 . . . l:td2 33.lLlh6 �h8 34.ti'b8
... b6, which would be bad now due to w i n s . 33 . .tld7 g6 34 . .tlb7 fra3
-
18.i.a6. However, this plan is very time 35.wg2, 1-o
consuming, allowing White to set up
and execute a classic attack with the In the following example the attack
two �s. 18.)::lael fl:lc7 19. Oct b6 is repelled, a nd then the counter
20.Ah6 gh6 21.1rh6 bc5 22.Ile5 a ttack begins. Once more the defense
Af5 23.Df5 �e6 24.l:lh5, 1-0 triumphs in difficult circumstances.
( 1 20) Timrnan,J--Short, N 13.ffc2 a6 14.ltle5 g6 15.e4 de4
Amsterdam 1 988 16.ltle4 c5 This break is a common
t.c4 e6 2.ltlc3 d5 3.d4 ltlf6 4.cd5 maneuver, and the reasoning behind it
ed5 5 . .iLg5 .iLe7 6.e3 0-0 7.tlc2 is worth understanding. If pawns are
c6 8.Ad3 ltlbd7 9.ltlf3 lle8 10.0-0 exchanged on d4 (or c5) and retaken
ltlf8 ll.tlael ltle4 12 . .i.e7 tle7 with a piece, the pawn structure will be
13.Ae4 de4 14.ltld2 f5 15.f3 ef3 balanced and the isolani's influence
t6.ltlf3 .i,e6 17.e4 fe4 18.:le4 h6 over the center will be neutralized.
t 9 . .J:lfel �adS 2 0 . :l l e 3 '@f7 17.l0f6 A two move combination lets
2l.ltle5 '@f5 22.�3 .f!d4 23.ltlg4 Kasparov accomplishes his positional
White's attack and impending sacrifice goal, preventing a piece from recap
will rob the Black � of his pawn protec turing on c5. Now a weak pawn is cre
tion, and so looks quite dangerous. Yet ated on c5. 17 ... ltlf6 18.Ac4 l:te7
Grandmaster Short defends the com 1 8 . . . ..td5 1 9.dc5 �c5 20J:tfdl and
-
plex position actively to turn back the W h i t e m a i n t a i ns a n a d v a n t age .
invaders. 1 9 .dc5 bc5 2 0 . tlcd l '@b6 I f
20 . . . �c8 2 1 . �b3 the pawn on f7 falls.
21.ltlg6 Another two move combina
tion to increase White's advantage.
21 ...hg6 22.l:[d6 1fb4 23.l:tf6 With
two simple combinations White has
achieved a technically won game.
Kasparov's conversion of his advan
tages into a full point is worthy of seri
ous study. 23 ... Ag7 23 . . . �e4 24.'iYb3.
24.W4 24.l:!.g6?? �e4 wins. 24... '@b6
25.:1g4 Simple threats (26.'iYg6) to
better position his pieces for the attack.
25 ... Wh7 26.b3 The one weak point
23...whs 24.l0h6?! 24.lZle3 24 ...gh6 in White's position was the pawn on b2.
25.Y!'fcl ttf6 26.llee3 W"4! 27.ltle2 The text strengths the post at c4 and
l:lf5 28.kief3 .i_d7 29.ltlf4 '@d4 eliminates this weakness. 26 ... l:(ae8
30.wfl wh7 3t.tlh3 l:lc5, o-t 27.Af4! Repos itioning the dark
squared � accomplishes two objec
Let's continue our study of the Kingside tives. First, the new placement brings
attack with an early example of World another piece into the Kingside attack.
Champion Kasparov's play. Second, by bringing the � into battle
White can threaten to exchange more
( 1 21 ) Kasparov, G-Eolian p i e c e s , b r i n gi n g a b o u t t h e won
Tbilisi 1 976 endgame White envisions. 27...'iVc6
l.ltlf3 ltlf6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 d5 4.d4 28.Acl 1:(e4 29.J:(e4 l:le4 30.f3
.i_e7 5.Af4 0-0 6.e3 b6 7.tlcl Ad4 3t.c;yhl :!e7 32.'@d2 \Tid7
.i,b7 8.cd5 ed5 9..i.d3 c6 10.h3 After 32 . . . �g7 33.l:td 1 infiltration into
lt)bd7 1 1.0-0 �e8 12.,ah2 .i,f8 the Black position is eminent. 33.1rh6
':IL tvi J o o t e g ame ;:,rra1e gy
wgs 34.1t'g6 whs 35. tWh6 wgs by playing against a weak pawn on c6.
36.Ag5 Ag7 37.tWh4 lle5 38.ffg3 Further, this initiative can provoke
whs 39. ffh4 wgs 4o. ,ar6 ars weaknesses or create other advantages
41.'ifg4, 1-0 to win the game. How does this idea
relate to the isolani, which is in itself a
Next is another example of the ... c5 weak pawn? The answer is dynamic
maneuver we saw in the previous game, strength, which in the isolani is based
which again doesn't survive the tactics on the initiative.
in the position.
When the opposing side has the initia
( 1 22) Tal , M-Baillo , G tive based on blockade, or threats
Termas de Rio Hondo 1 987 against the weak isolani, the relation
1 .c4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.lLlc3 ltlf6 4.e3 ship is clear. Yet an obvious motive in
g6 5.lLlf3 Ag7 6. Ylh3 o-o 7 .�d2 playing with the isolani is to seize the
e6 8.Ad3 b6 9.0-0 lLlbd7 10.cd5 initiative. The initiative generated by
ed5 ll.e4 de4 1 2.lQe4 c5 the isolani is based on piece activity,
the threat to advance and the possibili
ties for attack. Elements not as concrete
as found in the initiative which the
minority attack produces, but just as
deadly. However, the side facing the
isolani can also hope for the initiative,
and has the added option of the block
ade strategy.
The White pawn formation on c3 ing of the Kingside. 15. -'f4 ):tc8 Ca
and d4 is known as the Isolated Pawn pablanca intends to counter White's
Couple. 1 1.Ad3 0-0 12.0-0 '1Vd6! Kingside attack with play on the
Alekhine praised this move because it Queenside. However, he appears to
makes d5 available for the liJ and pre expect that White will castle Queen
vents �f4. 13.\Wc2 lQg6 14.f4 iQce7 side before initiating an attack. 16.g4!
15.g3 l:lfdS 16.):td1 b6 17.a4 Very iQfe4 1 6. . . l?Jg4? 17.jLd6 'fld6 18 . .i.f5
typical of Alekhine. He uses the entire wins the Exchange. 17.g5 Alekhine
board, in this case initiating play on
responds to the attack on the h-pawn
by continuing his Kingside assault. White � to join in supporting the cen
17... h5 18.Ae4 l0e4 19.l0e4 de4 tral pawns. 48.Wg2!1 g6 48 . . J::!.e4??
20.1fe4 By maintaining the initiative 49.�f3 :C:c4 50J::!. e 5. 49.l:le5 Wd7
Alekhine has won a pawn, although 50.h5 gh5 5t.wf3 h4 52.1lb5 f1c3
the position still requires delicate 53.wg4 nc4 54.wf5! Aa5 55.bth7
technique to force Black's resignation. 55 . ..ta5? l:tc5 56.�g4?? .l::!. h 5 57.�h5
20 1fa5 21.Wfl 1fd5 Capablanca h3 and Black wins ! 55 wc6 56.Aa5
.•. •..
offers to exchange 'ifs because the cen l:lc5 57.we6 laa5 58.f5 l:la3 59.f6
tralized White 'if only adds to White's :t'3 60.f7 b5 61.�h5 h3 62.l':lf5
initiative. 22.1fd5 cd5 23.c;Yg2 Jlc2 W5 63.ef5, 1-0. Now 63 . . . h2 64.f8'i!\V
24.�hcl �fc8 24 . . ..l::!. b 2 25 . .l::!. c bl ! h l 'if 65.�a8 wins.
with the advantage . 25.l:lc2 Ilc2
26.�bt wh7 27.Wg3 Wg6 28.f3 ( 1 26) Alekhine,A-Brunner
f6 29.gf6 Af6 30.a4 Pushing the Mexico City 1 932
a-pawn is meant to release the l:t from 1.d4 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.li)c3 d5 4.Ag5
supporting the Queenside pawns. li)bd7 5.cd5 ed5 6.e3 c6 7.Ad3
30 c;Yf5 31.a5 l:le2 32.l:lcl nh2 il.e7 8.t'fc2 0-0 9.li)ge2 h6 10.h4
•••
( 1 27) Flohr,S-Vidmar,M
Nottingham 1 936
1.c4 e6 2.�c3 d5 3.d4 �f6 4.Ag5
Ae7 5.e3 0-0 6.�f3 �bd7 7.'ffc2
c5 8.cd5 �d5 9.Ae7 1te7 10.�d5
ed5 ll.Ad3 g6 12.dc5 �c5 13.0-0
,ilg4 14.�d4 Based on the positional
After 1 3 .g4!! factors of an isolani structure, White
has the advantage. The isolani here
dictate Black's response before a move offers Black only the possibility of weak
is even played. 20.hg6 fg6 21.1Ig3 ening White's e3, if it can advance.
�8 22.�hg1 1tb6 23.�d5! tffd4 14 ... ,tlac8 15.1td2 White begins set
24.llg6 ffc5 25.l:lg7 wh6 26.Wt7 ting up to exchange as many pieces as
mate, 1-0 possible. The weakness of the isolani
increases as material comes off the
Again we observe that handling the board. 15 ... a6 16.,ilc2 'ffg5 Black is
initiative relates to one's personal style playing along general principles, and so
of play. Why? Because in every decisive forces a weakening of e3. 17.f3 ,ild7
game one side has the initiative, and 1 8. Dfe 1 I:lfd8 1 9.J:lad 1 fff6
properly using this intangible element 20.Ab3 Aa4 21.,ila4 �a4 22.J:lc1
will often determine the game's out �c5 23 ..1:(ed1 'ffb6 24.�e2 �d7
come. This statement holds true at all 24 . . . lbe6!? 25. 1td4 White continues
levels of play! Therefore, learning the with the strategy of weakening the iso
games of a great player who under lani through exchanges . 25 ... 1Jd4
stands this ephemeral element will help 26.�d4 �e5 27.b3 Removing c4 as
our own comprehension of the initia an option for the Black lb. 27 ...Wf8
tive. The student should pick a top level 2s.wfl 28.'it>f2?? lkl 29.l:tcl lbd3.
player whose style he wishes to emulate, 28...Dc1 29.J:lc1 �c6 An error in
and discover that player's characteristic j udgment. Black is attempting to rid
approach to the initiative. himself of the weak isolani with this
offer to change the pawn structure, but
now he is left with two weak pawns
Endgame Weakness o.fthe /so/ani instead of one. 30.�c6 I:lc8 31.J:lc5
bc6 3 1 . . . .!:[c6 32 . .!:[d5 l:tc1 33.'it>e2 l:tc2
Without a doubt, an isolated pawn is a 34.l:td2. 32.'it>e2 we7 33.wd3 wd6
disadvantage in the endgame. In the 34.J:la5 J:la8 35.'it>d4 f5
following struggle, Grandmaster Flohr
uses the positional plan of exchanging (see next diagram)
1 ne t sOiaiea a-rawn 7/
22. lle4 �e4 23. lLld4 l:ta8 24.'t!k3 lld8 noticed. 22.f!Vc4 22.lLlf6 't\ff6 23. l:!e6
25.lLle2 'Wg5 and Black had a slight fe6 24. 'i!t'c4 c5 25 .dc5 lLlc5 26.h3 with
edge partly due to the activity of his .It White holding a slight edge. 22 ...l0f8
in Karpov,A-Short,N Monaco 1 993.) 23.l0f6 Jlf6 23 .. .'iWf6? 24J:te6 tt'Je6
17 . . . .ltg7 18 . .tfl �a6 19.�a6 l:.a6 25.'f!Vc6 wins. 24.1:le8 trfd6 25.1i'b31
20.l:tecl �f8 2 1 .ttJel il.d6 22.ttJd3 wh7?1 25 ... c5!? 26.h41 l0e6 27. 1i'b1
tt'Jf6 23.h3 was Epishin,V-Lutz,C Dort g6 28. tJb6 l0d4 29.l0e5 l0c2
mund 1994, which is a model position 3 0 . 1Wa71 it) e l ? l 3 1 . l0f7 1td7
with the e4 break prevented. 17.Aa6 32.l0g5 hg5 33..tle7, 1-0
17.l:!.acl .te2 18.l:!.e2 c5! is similiar to
Karpov-Short quoted above, but with Continuing our investigation, we will
out the white-squared il.s on the board. dig deeper into a position from the
After 19.ttJd5 cd4 20.tt'Jf6 'Wf6 2 1 . ttJd4 previous game and expand the possi
tt'Jc5 22.�dl llea8 the game was equal bilities of our model.
in Lutz, C-Lobron , E Munich 1 993.
1 7 ... l:[a6 18.e4!? 1 8 . l:!.ad l !? lla5 (1 33) Mitenkov,A-Akhmadeev, V
19.l:.e2 (19.e4 de4 20.tt'Je4 l:te6 Our Moscow 1 994
model features the common deploy 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 iJ..e7 4.l0f3
ment of Black's l:!. to e6. Such observa l0f6 5 . .fJ.. g 5 h6 6 .fJ.. h 4 0-0 7.e3
•
tions allow us to expand our model and b6 S.iJ..e 2 iJ..b7 9 . .fJ..f6 Jif6 10.cd5
continue the investigation. We see now ed5 ll.b4 c6 12.0-0 J:(eS 13. 1tb3
that models can be developed which a5 14.ba5 .J:Ia5 1 5.a4 l0d7 16.l:tfe1
will direct our plans in specific posi JJ.. e 7 1 7.1:1abl iJ.. d 6 1 8.e4 de4
tions. 2 1 .l:!.e3 lld5 We have already 19.JJ..c4 l:tf8 20.l0e4
seen one game in which this move was
an error. It is clear that we should be
careful in our j udgments when consid
ering model positions or specific moves.
Under slightly different conditions, for
example, the move . . . l:td5 i s w e l l
played. 2 2 . tt'Jf6 'iWf6 2 3 . l:1e6 'i'Ve6
24.l:tel l:te5! 25.'it'e6 l:!.e6 was equal in
Gurevich,M-Van Der Sterren,P Wijk
aan Zee 1993) 1 9 . . . l:te6 20.l:!.c2 'f!Va8
with balanced chances. Epishin,V
Goldin,A Novosibirsk 1 993. 18... de4
19.l0e4 l:le61? Here is the "novelty" in
this game, arriving at a piece placement In our analysis of the Lputian-Petrosian
already observed in our model. If game above, we reached this position
19 . . .:ta8 20.l:!.adl 'it'c7 2 1 .'i'Vc4 White
. and judged it to be in White's favor.
held a slight edge in Brenninkmeijer,J N ow l e t ' s gather more evidence.
Hedke,F Groningen 1 994. 20.l:la2! 20...JJ..c7 2l.l:lbdl A logical move,
20.l:te3?! bS!. 20...1:la5 21 ..J::[ae2 .J:Id5 placing the l:t behind the isolani.
A common placement we have already 2 1 . lle2 (Planning to double l:.s on the
J he Isolated d-t'awn IUJ
( 1 34) Karpov,A-Bonsch, U
Baden-Baden 1 992
1.d4 ltlf6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlf3 d5 4.ltlc3
Ae7 5.Ag5 h6 6.Ah4 o-o 7.e3
b6 s.Ae2 Jlb7 9.Af6 Af6 10.cd5
ed5 11.0-0 l:le8 12.b4 c6 13. 'ifh3
'ifd6 14 ..a,fe1 ltld7 15.Afl Ae7
1 6.f!ab1 a5 1 7.ba5 .J:[a5 18.a4
A a 6 1 9. A a 6 J:(a6 2 0 . e 4 de4
35 ... Va4?? 35 . . . .td7 36. l:tb4 'i!Ya7
21.ltle4 At this point the data leads us
(36. . . g6) 37.'i!Yb2 l:tc8 38. l:td4 is equal.
to add more features to our model.
36.ffa4?? After 36. l:tb6!! it becomes
Common charactoristics have been a
clear that White will call the shots fol
lZl on e4 and the 'it' along the a2-g8
lowing 36 . . . l:tc4 (36. . . 'l!Wd4?? 37. l:tb8
diagonal. Looking closer at the a2-g8
.teB 38. l:te8 m a t e} 3 7 . l:t b 8 .t e 8
diagonal, we notice how the weak f7
38.�c4 dc4 39.'i!Yd8 wins. 36. . . Jta4
square has been uniformly unpleasant
37.l::tb6 llc8 38.�d6 Ab3 39.Ab5 for Black.
1 02 Middlegame Strategy
After 27 . Wic7
. .
( 1 43) Spielmann,R-Kmoch,H
The Balanced Pawn San Remo 1 930
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.lt�c3 �f6 4..i.g5
Structure
�bd7 5.e3 c6 6.cd5 ed5 7 . .i.d3
.i.e7 8. 1ic2 h6 9..i.h4 0-0 10.�3
l:le8 ll.�d2 �f8 12.h3 c5 13.0-0
cd4 14.ed4 �h5 1 5 .Ag3 �g3
16.fg3 A player of Spielmann's style
welcomes the opportunity to open a file.
1 6 . . . Af6 17.�f3 Ae6 1 8.c;Yh2
l:lc8 19.tfb3 J:le7 20.J:lae1 1Va5
21.�e5 �d7?! The Black ltJ was the
best defender of the weak Kingside
white squares. 22.�d7 l:ld7 23.Ah1
tfh6 24.tfc2 J:le8 25.�e2 Wf8
26.VId3 r!d6 27.�f4 we7 28.tfa3
Ad4 29.�d5, t-o
Here the positional themes and dynam
ics of the Carlsbad are simplified, The next game is a wonderful example
making it difficult to create the tension of endgame technique, in addition to
and complexity normally needed to illustrating our arrack and defense
win. However, since both sides have a theme.
weak d-pawn, chances go to the player
whose d-pawn is healthiest. Also, the ( 1 44) Meulders,R-Larsen,B
use of strong outposts could shift the Brussels 1 987
position's balance. 1.d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 Ah4 4.e3
0-0 5.Ad3 d5 6.�ge2 c5 7.cd5
ed5 8.0-0 b6 9.a3 Ac3 10.�c3
Attack and Defense Ag4 ll.f3 Ae6 1 2.b4 cd4 13.ed4
�c6 14.�e2 h 6 1 5.Ad2 �e7
Spielmann makes progress in the fol t6.1Wb1 tld7 17.b5 Af5 18.l:lc1
lowing game by posting his pieces better :fc8 19.'tth3 Ad3 20.ffd3 �f5
than his opponent, whose weaker d 2l.Ab4 l:(e8 22.�g3 �g3 23.hg3
pawn ties him down to defense. Spiel J:lac8 24.g4 h5 25.g5 �h7 26.g6
mann is able to combine arrack with the �g5 27 .gf7 �f7 28.J:lc8 1Vc8
defense of his own weak pawn. As al 29.c;Yf2 .l;te6 30.:h1 g6 31.l:le1
ways, the best defense is a good offense. c;Yg7 32.l:(e6 tfe6 33. 1Vc3 fff6
However, in a balanced pawn structure 34.1fe3 �h6 35.c;Yf1 �5 36. 't'fe5
the best piece placements contribute to ffe5 37.de5
both arrack and defense.
(see next diagram)
! OK M l d dlegame :Strategy
37 ... c;t>f7 38.c;t>f2 c;t>e6 39.f4 d4 Combining defense of his weak pawns
40.c;t>f3 c;t>d5 41.g4 'tle3 42.gh5 with an attack on Black's position.
gh5 43.a4 'tlf5 44.�e1 d3 45.a5 30 . . . ffd1 3 1 .Afl l:ic7 3 2 . �c7
'tld4 46.c;t>f2 h4 47.ab6 ab6, 0-1 � f7 3 3 . �ds f5 3 4 . Jlf6 c;t>gs
35.Jle5, 1-0. White has the unbeat
Here is another example of attack and able threat of 36.�f6, and if 35 . . . .tg7
defense revolving around the mutually 36.�d8 kf8 37.�f6 wins.
fixed d-pawns.
Now let's look at an example where the
( 1 45) attack and defense of the d-pawn is a
Speelrnan,J-Maksirnenko, A minor element in the position.
Copenhagen 1 996
1.c4 e6 2.'tlf3 d5 3.d4 c6 4. ffc2 ( 1 46) Trikaliotis, G-Barry, C
'tlf6 5 . �g 5 'tl b d 7 6 . e3 ff a 5 Luzem 1 982
7. 'tlbd2 'tle4 8.�f4 �e7 9.h4 1.d4 'tlf6 2.c4 e6 3.Gtlf3 d5 4.'tlc3
'tld2 1 0 . 'tld 2 dc4 1 1 . �c4 e5 Jle7 5.Jlf4 0-0 6.e3 c6 7.cd5
1 2 . �g3 ed4 13.0-0 0-0 1 4.ed4 ed5 8.�d3 'tlbd7 9.ffc2 l:[e8
As mentioned in the isolani chapter, 10.h3 'tlf8 1 1.g4 Jle6 12.'tle5 l:tc8
this pawn structure could arise out of 13.Ag3 c5 14.0-0 a6 15.a4 'tl6d7
t h e C a rlsba d . 14 . . . 'tlb6 15.�d3 16.:lad1 cd4 17.ed4 In terms of
ffh5 1 6.�ae1 'tld5 17. 'tlf3 f6 attacking and defending the d-pawn,
18.a3 WI 19.�c4 Ag4 20.'tld2 White seems to be achieving a posi
.b[d8 21.'tlb11 Preparing to challenge tional plus. However, as with all princi
the blockading ttJ on d5. 21 ... iU8 ples in chess, this"fu.ctor does not stand
22.'tlc3 c;t>h8 23.'tld5 cd5 Now we alone on the chessboard. In the present
have the balanced pawn structure, the position White's Kingside pawn struc
t,ubject of this chapter. 24.Ad3 g6 ture is weakened.
25. 'tta41 a6 26. ffa5 l:lc8 27.l:lc1
.b!c1 28.l:[c1 c;t>g7 29.�c7 Ae6 (see next diagram)
30.1fb6
1 ne tlaiancea rawn �tructure I U'J
maintained, and she must retreat to Now the Botvinnik maneuver is initi
sustain any winning chances in the ated in the center, and so begins the
position. 24 . . . wg7 25.l:Icl 1fc7 clash of ideas within the Carlsbad.
26.1td2 1td6 27.h3 ltldB 28.Ad3 Black has decided to build a fortress for
,btc7 29.l:tc7 Vc7 30.1fte3 Vd6 his � in the center, which adds more
3l.ltlh2 .i,c8 32.ltlfl ltle6 33.ltlg3 spice to the position - for both sides.
'trf4 34.ltle2 ffe3 35.fe3 Another 15 ... b5 With his own � barracaded
pawn structure change to catalog. in the center, Black can freely attack
35...ltlc7 3 6 .c,Yf2 A a 6 3 7 . A a 6 the White monarch. 16.c;Ybt ffb6
�a6 3 8 . ltlf4 ltlc7 3 9 .g4 wf7 17 ..t:lcl a5 18.e4 Focusing on his
40.wf3 g5 41 .ltle2 ltle8 42.ltlc3 pawn structure transformation. Which
we6 43.b3 ltld6 44.a4 a6 45.e4 pawn structure has Reshevsky pre
de4 46.ltle4 Finally a passed pawn is pared for with his preceding moves ?
created, but the specifics of this ending 18 ... /Qg6 19.ed5 The answer is the
lead to a draw. 46 ... ltle8 47.we3 ltlc7 balanced formation. Had Black ex
4s.wd3 ltld5 49.wc4 ltle3 so.wd3 changed with 18 .. de4, White would
.
ro now play l O.llJeS, according to his game's novelty is really less than radi
own notes, but the "hostile reply" of cal) 1 2 . . a5 13 . .l:tbl ab4 14.ab4 �e6
.
10 . . . �h4 prevented him from doing so. 1 5 . �c2 �d7 16.g4 as in Christian
He criticizes his inconsistent and vacil sen,L-Kavalek , L Los Angeles 1 98 7 .
lating play in this game. 10.g3 0-0 Finally, l l .'Llf4 a6!? 1 2.b4 ( 1 2 . .td2!?
11.0-0 l:te8 12.'t'fc2 �f8 13.�dl -Larsen) 12 . . . 'Llb5 13.'Llb5?! Ths pawn
13.llfel !? 13 . . . f6 1 4 . �e 3 A e 6 structure change only benefits Black.
15.�h4?! Alekhine's comment here is 13 . . . ab5 14 . .tb2 .tfS 1 5 .f3 Again this
interesting in view of his strong attack maneuver! 1 5 . . . �d6 16.l:tel l:te8 was
ing style: "Loss of time ! From now on Ramayrat,C-Larsen,B New York 1 986.
White loses quickly because at any cost ll ... c5 Responding to the Botvinnik
he strives for an attack in utter disre manuever's threat of 1 2.e4, followed by
gard of his inferior development." eS and f4 1 2.Ad2 After 1 2.dc5!? .tcS
.
t5...Ac7 t6.b4 Ab6 t7.�f3 Af7 1 3 . b4 the battle over the isolani offers
18.b5 Alekhine considered this move better chances to White. 12 ... b6
the decisive mistake. 18 ... Ah5 19.g4 13.Ael !te8 14.1fd2 Aa6 15.Af2
Af7 20.bc6 l:tc8 21. 1Wb2 bc6 22.f5 cd4 16.ed4
ftd6 23.�g2 Ac7 24.l:lfel h5
25.h3 �h7 26.l:[e8 �e8 27.net
�b8 28. tiel �g5 29.�e5 fe5
30.1:fg5 e4 3 1.f6 g6 32.f4 hg4
33.Ae2 gh3 34.Ah5 nb2 35.�h4
1Wf4 36.1ff4 Af4, o-t
? . . . aS. 10. 0-0 �c7 l l .f3!.� �he text 1 8. 'Lld l d4! 1 9.e4 l:tad8 and Black
.
9"1'4' 1 h6"!
.
r ThIS move serves no
.
a new openmg move. Instead, l l .h3 a6
purpose, wea k ens t he K'mgs1-d e alld
1 1 11: o<uau �..; o:; u r a w u �tru �..; ture
J Jj
( 1 55) Taimanov,M-Persitz
Hastings 1955
1.c4 e6 2.d4 �f6 3.�c3 d5 4.cd5
ed5 s.Ags c6 6.e3 .i.e7 7 . .i,d3
�bd7 8.'fWc2 �f8 9. �f3 �e6
10.Ah4 g6 u.h3 �g7 1 2.g4 o-o
1 3 . 0 - 0 - 0 �fe8 1 4 . A e 7 \'We7
15.:ldg1 �d6
,t:tc8 13.g4 c5 14.g5 �h5 15.�h2 Carlsbad structure. Our study is divided
cd4 16.ed4 Wa5 17.wb1 �b4 according to the location of the Kings.
18.l:(cl Wb6 19. -evd2 g6 20.�e2
!tc3 21 .l:!c3 �c3 22.'ifc3 �f5
23.wa1 l:lc8 24. 'ife3 �c2 25.!lb1 a) 0-0-0 VS. 0-0
l:le2 26.-eve2 �b1 27.�b1 -evd4
28.�g4 lDf4, 1/2-1/2. I f 29.�f4 In any pawn formation where the Kings
'iWf4 30.lLlf6 �g7 3 1 . lLldS?? 'iWfS.
have castled on opposite sides, both
players must look after defense while
( 1 62) Mason,J-Chigorin,M preparing their own attack. In many
Monte Carlo 1 902 cases the first to attack will maintain
1.c4 lDf6 2.lDc3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.lDf3 the initiative, because the other must
c6 5.e3 lDbd7 6.�d2 �d6 7.'ifc2 spend valuable time responding in
0-0 8.cd5 ed5 9.�d3 l::l,e8 10.h3 stead of attacking. In the following
lDfS 1 1.g4 'ife7 1 2.0-0-0 �d7 game Reshevsky uses a pawn sacrifice
13.Wb1 b5 14.lDh4 lDe4 1 5.�e4 to speed up his attack.
1th4 16.�f5 'iff2 17.�d7 lDd7
18.lDb5 cb5 19.'ifc6 lDb6 20.'ltd6 ( 1 63) Reshevsky, S-Monticelli ,M
lDc4 21. 'ifh2 lDd2 22.l:(d2 1te3 Syracuse 1 934
23.W1 l:lac8 24. 'iff2 f6 25.b3?1 b4 1.d4 lDf6 2.c4 e6 3.lDc3 d5 4.�g5
26.'ife3 �e3 27.W"5 k[e1 28.Wb2 lDbd7 5.cd5 ed5 6.lDf3 Ae7 7.e3
J:(cc1 29.a4 l:[b1 30.Wa2 l:(a1 c6 8. 'ltc2 0-0 9.�d3 l:[e8 10.h3
31.Wb2 k[a3 32.l:(d5 .ble3 33.�a5 lDfs 1 t.�f4 lDg6 1 2.�h2 Ad6
.t:[eb3 34.wc2 Wt3, 0-1 13.�d6 'ifd6 14.0-0-0 Typical of
this formation is a Kingside pawn storm
after castling long. 14 ... Ad7 15.g4
The Pawn Storm �ec8 A natural response to action on
the Kingside is counteraction on the
Queenside. 16.Wb1 b6 17.�hg1
lDe8 18.h41 'ltf6?! Black has fallen
for a deep trap. He wins a pawn, but the
resulting open lines give White more
than compensation. Instead, 1 8 . . . cS!?
was better. 19 ..tlg3 �g4 20.l:ig4
'ltf3 21 . .i.f5 b[d8 22.h5 The attack
continues with more force due to the
open g-file. 22 ... lDd6 23.hg6 Y§'f5
24.gh7 Wh7 Opening files will help
White's attack survive the dwindling
n u mber of p ieces o n t he b o a r d .
This pawn assault upon the opposing 25.1:1h4 Wg8 26.e41 lDe4 27.lDe4
monarch is a subset of the Kingside de4 28.b:tdh 1 f6 29.l:le4 'ifd5
attack, and is frequently seen in the 30.l:[eh4 f5 31."@'e2 kte8 32.'lth5
1fe6 33.Df4 1th6 To stop the attack, a valuable piece; it protected the pawn
Black is forced to return the extra pawn on d5, prepared . . . c5 and prevented the
- and more. 34. Vh6 gh6 35.l:Ih6 advance of White's h-pawn. 25 ...1ff7
lle4 36.11e4 fe4 37.llc6 Reshevsky 26.h4 lieS 27 .l:th3 lle4 2S.h5 gh5
displays excellent endgame technique 29.Ah5 l0h5 30.I:ldh1!! White's
to finish the game. 37...11dS 3S.l:lc4 control of the only open file is devastat
b 5 3 9 . 11b4 c.t1f7 40 .IIb5 �d4 ing for Black. 30 ...IIc4 31. 1fd3 Af4
41.llb7 we6 42.wc2 a5 43.1:[b6 32.Db5 .s!Le5 33.Wt7 Ag7 34.t0d4!
c;P d 7 44 . .1:( b 5 a4 4 5 . a 3 w c 6 lld4 34 . . . l:tf8 35.l0e6!! 'iVe6 36Jlg7
46.1:(bS wc7 47.l:lfS c;Pd7 4S.I:If4 <iti>g7 37."ifh7 m a t e . 35.ed4 l:lfS
llc4 4 9 . c;P d 2 c;Pd6 5 0. f3 J::t d 4 36.c;Pa1 Avoiding the exchange of "ifs ,
5 1.we3 lld3 52.we4 llb3 53.wf5 which would reduce White's advan
llb2 54.11a4, 1-0 tage. 36...1tf5 37.1rd1 Ad4 37 . . . �g5?
38.l:g7, followed by 39.l:gl. 3S.I:lb7
The next game is a powerful display of c5 39.a3 a5 40. 1re2 1fe4 41.ffh5
the Kingside pawn roller in action. 'tlfd3 42.ffh7 Now the exchange of
'i!Vs allows White to control the seventh
(164) Miles,A-Hartston and maintain a winning advantage.
Great Britain 1 985 42 ... 'tlfh7 43.Wth7 c4 44.J:Ihc7 a4
1.d4 ti)f6 2.c4 e6 3./0f3 d5 4./0c3 45.c;Pa2 lieS 46.11b4 Ag7 47.11a4,
t0bd7 5.cd5 ed5 6.Af4 c6 7.t;fc2 1-0
Ae7 S.e3 t0h5 9.Ae5 /Oe5 10.de5
g6 1 1 .0-0-0 tlfa5 1 2./0d4 Ae6 In the following game Black defended
13.Ae2 t0g7 14.g4 Ab4 1 5./0b3 with little effort, generating counter
1tb6 1 6 . 4)a4 1fc7 1 7. f4 Ae7 play in the center and on the Kingside
1S.c.t1b1 f6 19./0ac5 Af7 20.ef6 to thwart White's efforts.
Af6 2 t .g 5 A e 7 2 2 . A g4 o - o
23.t0d7 ( 1 65) Tukmakov-Duric
Vmjacka Banja 1 979
1.d4 ti)f6 2.c4 e6 3.t0f3 d5 4.t0c3
t0bd7 5.cd5 ed5 6.Af4 c6 7.tfc2
Ae7 s.h3 tOtS 9.e3 ti)g6 10.Ah2
Ad6 u.Ad6 1rd6 1 2. Ad3 Ae6
13.0-o-o o-o 14./0g5 Ad7 15.h4
IDeS 16.h5 tOtS 17.h6 g6 At first
glance it appears that White has
achieved a favorable result from the
advance of the h-pawn. However,
Black's Kingside is solid, leaving few
chances for the attack to develop .
1S.c;Pb1 lQg41 19.e4 ffe7 20.lt:)f3
Miles in his notes suggests that 23.l0d4 de4 21.Ae4 lt:)e6 22. 1fd2 DadS
is better. 23 ...r!fdS 24.l0e5 .s!Ld6 23.d5 l0c5 24. '«fd4 'tWf8 25.Ac2
25.l0f7 Black's white-squared � was b6 2 6 . l0g 5 A c 8 2 7 . d 6 l:(e5
1 20 M iddlegame Strategy
lQfS 1 t .g4 Ad6 1 2.Ad6 ttd6 SO. tUd8. 50.]:tb6 l:td6 51.lQe7 we6
1 3 . 0 - 0 - 0 Ae6 1 4 . w b 1 JlacS 52.1:[b5 /0e4 53.ll)g6 c;Pf6 54.lQf4
15.l::tc1 1fb8 16.g5 lQ6d7 17.1fd2 a4 55.a3 Dd2 56.ll)d5 We6 57.lQb6
J:(c7 18.h4 White has established a !ld4 58.J:(a5 lQd2 59.wa2 wd6
space advantage on the Kingside, but 60.}la4, 1-0
no weak points appear in the protection
of Black's �. White therefore decides Following is a classical elample of the
to maneuver for other advantages in Kingside attack by Botvinnik.
s t e a d of c o n t i n u i n g t h e a t t a c k .
1 8 . . . lQb6 19.ttc2 lQc4 20.lQd2 ( 1 67) Botvinnik, M-Alatortsev, V
lQd6 21.lQe2 b6 Leningrad 1 934
1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.lQf3 iJ..e7 4.lQc3
lQf6 5.Ag5 0-0 6.e3 a6 7 .cd5
ed5 s.Ad3 c6 9.1fc2 lQbd7 10.g4
ll)g4?! Opening the Kingside is dubi
ous when White can secure his 'it> on
the Queenside. ll.iJ..h7 c;Ph8 12.iJ..f4
l0df6 13.Ad3 ltlh5 14.h3 i0gf6
15.Ae5 White is regrouping his pieces
for the final offensive. He must only
round up the strays and secure his own
'it>. It is instructive how Botvinnik
carries out this attack, bringing every
piece into the fray. 15 ...ll)g8 16.0-0-0
22.e4! Black cannot allow 23.e5, as his
ltlh6 17.!ldgl Ae6 18.fie2 Af5
spacial deficiency would be overwhelm-
t9.Af5 l0f5 20.ll)h4, 1-o
1 ne l'l.. m gs•u�;; rt Uil\.:1\.
( 1 71 ) Piket,J-Timman,J
Amsterdam 1 �95
1.d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0f3 d5 4.�c3
l3 ... �f3 After 1 3 . . . de4 14.ltJe4 ltJe4 �bd7 5.cd5 ed5 6.�g5 c6 7.e3
1 5 . �e4 ltJf6 16.l:tde l White's attack Ae7 s . Ad3 �h5 9 . �d2 Ag5
should at least win back the sacrificed 10.tfh5 Ae7 1 1 .h3 g6 1 2.t¥e2
pawn, and maintain the initiative. �b6 13.a3 Ae6 14.g4 Ad6 15.f4
14.gf3 �b6 15.wb1 Avoiding a pos 1fe7 16.�f3 f6 17.0-0-0 0-0-0
sible check on gS. 15 ...Ae6 16.e5 18.wb1 whs 19.tfg2 �c4 20.Ac4
Now White has the standard plan in dc4 21.�he1 Ac7 22.'ltc2 Af7
advanced center positions of continu 23.wa1 g5?! This move gives White
ing his attack with f4-f5. 16 ... tid7 control over the center. 24.fg5 fg5
17.f4 g6 18.Jlh6 Otherwise Black 25.e4 Ag6 26.d5! J:Dtfs 27.�d4 A
could play 18 . . . h5, improving his King typical pattern from our study of hang
side pawn structure. 18 ... 0-0-0 Finally ing pawns. A pawn is first pushed to
Black's 'it;> is out of danger, but the clear its square for a piece. 27...cd5
White attack continues full force 28.�f5 Af5 29.ef5 'ltc5 Now the
against his weak pawns. 19.l:tdh1 battle over the center seems to have
wbS Preparing the only counterplay shifted in Black's favor. However, this
Black has in the position, hoping . . . cS is an illusion as the sequel reveals.
will break up White's center. 20.Db7 30.!le6 Af4 After 30 . . . d4 3 1 . ltJe4
�h7 21.,Wl7 f!Vc8 22.f5 gf5 23.f4 the passed Kingside pawns give White
a winning advantage. 3l.b41 Forcing move's spacial grab is nullified by his
Black to break up his center. 31 ... cb3 lack of pieces. For example, another
32.1tb3 J:(d7 33.l0e2 d4 34.!1d3 ttJ posted on e5 or f6 would be good,
J::lcS 35.h4 Ae3? Black's position was or a dark-squared ..t working on the
already difficult before this blunder, color weaknesses in Black's position.
which loses a piece. He should have 44 ... wa7 45.wb3 Dce7 46.Dcl
tried 35 . .. 'it'c7!?. 36.l:lee3 de3 37.Dd7 l0c4 47.wc3 l0d6
flc6 3S.l:Id3 gh4 39.l:le3 tlg2
40.'f!rd3 1fg4 41.f6 a6 42..t:lf3 h3
43.l:th3 1fe6 44.ID3 �S 45.l0c3
tfe5, 1-0
( 1 72) Saidy,A-Campora
New York 1 987
l.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3./.0c3 /.Of6 4.cd5
4S.Dchl? The losing move. White
ed5 5.Ag5 c6 6.e3 l0bd7 7.Ad3
does not see that his c;1;> is in danger. It
Ae7 S. 1fc2 /.O h 5 9 . Ae7 1re7
was necessary to defend the· a-pawn
1 0 . l0ge2 l0b6 1 1 . 0 - 0 - 0 A e 6
(overprotection) with 48.l:al, so that
1 2.h3 0-0-0 13.g4 /.Of6 14.l0f4
the b-pawn can retake on c5 if Black
wbs t 5 .w b t g6 t 6 .Dct Acs
attempts to exchange ttJs . 48. . . 4Je4
17./.0ce2 /.OeS 1S.I.Og3 I.Od6 19.b3
4 9 . 'i1;>c2 .J:c7 5 0 . f4 .J:ce7 5 1 . l:a3.
l::lhfS 20.1fc5 :deS 21 .a4 I.Od7
4S ... f.Oe4 49.l0e4 Following 49.'i1;>b3
22. 1Vb4 WaS 23.g5 �dS 24.h4
4Jc5 50.dc5 d4 Black wins by acquiring
�fe8 25.�c2 /.OfS 26.a5?1 After
control ove r the seventh rank.
Black's reply this pawn remains weak,
49 ...de4 50.Dal White is forced to
and requires a further weakening (b4)
defend against the threat of 50 . . . c5!,
to maintain the advanced post. 26...a6
which allows the infiltration of Black's
27.wa2 Saidy is unsure of where to put
'tW. 50 ... Dd7 Black begins to set up a
h i s c;t>, ergo i t wanders aimlessly.
tactical breach of White's defense.
27...f.Oe6 2S./.Oe6 Or 28.4Jfe2!?, plan-
5l.l:lh4 tfe7 52.D.g4 l:ld5 53.hg6
ning 4Jc3-a4-b6. 2S... jle6 29.'fNb6
hg6 5 4 . 1:l b l c 5 1 5 5 . bc5 Dc51
t.Ocs 30.ffc5 ffd7 3t.wb2 Ag4
s6.dc5 'lt'c5 57.wb3 'ftb5 58.wa2
32. trb4 Af3 33.Wt2 'itc7 34.'Wet
ffa4 59.wb2 De5 6o.Wfl eb4,
f.Od6 35.:h3 ffd7 36.'fj'fl 1lc8
0-1
37.f.Oe2 Ae4 3S.Jle4 l0e4 39.t.Of4
tOd6 40./.0d3 1'ff5 41.f.Oc5 Dc7
In all themes we see maneuvers em-
42. 't'fg2 "ltcS 43.h5 ffdS 44.b4 The
played to convert one kind of advan
overextended pawns in White's posi·
rage into another. Here Petrosion uses
tion make defense difficult, and the text
1 24 M iddlegame Strategy
the pawn storm to swap his extra pawn 1 0 . tLle4 V/ll e 7 1 1 .0-0-0 �f4 Black
for a passed pawn. clearly has the advantage. 9... �d7
10.i!d3 1fe7 An excellent positional
( 173) Petros ian, T-Radulesen move with several purposes. It allows
Bucharest 1 95 3 the transfer of the CiJ to f6, where it
1.d4 d 5 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 �f6 4.cd5 guards the e4 square, and it prepares to
ed5 5.�(3 Ae7 6.Af4 c6 7.'ttc 2 develop the white-squared � by pro
�bd7 8 . e3 �f8 9 . A d 3 � e 6 tecting b7. 1 1.0-0-0 �f6 12.�e1
10.Ae5 Ad6 U.o-o-o Ae5 12.�e5 il,e6 13. tfc2 0-0-0
ffe7 1 3.g4 �c5 14.Ae2 �ce4
14 . ..l2Jcd7!? 15.�e4 �e4 16.Ad3
Ae6 16 .. .f6!? 17.f3 �d6 18.Ah7
Now Petrosian uses this material
a d va ntage to grind o u t the w i n .
1s ... o-o-o 19.Ad3 whs 2o.wh1
J::lc8 21.l:[c1 'ttc7 22.h4 The pawn
storm begins, and with it the threat
of creating a passed pawn. 22 ... f6
23.�g6 J::lhe8 24.g5 tfd7 25.gf6
gf6 2 6 . h 5 Af5 27 .!led 1 Ad3
28.'ttd3 tfh7 29.e4! To win White
c reate s additional p a s s e d p a w n s .
14.�e5?! Botvinnik puts it succinctly:
29... tfh6 30.e5 fe5 3 1.de5 �c4
"An inviting, but completely unsound
32.f4 l:lc7 33.e6 �d6 34.a3 Wl7
plan." 14 ... wbs 15.f4 I f 1 5.CiJa4?!
35.wa2 ttg7 36.f5 tff6 37.tff3
�e5 16.de5 CiJg4 17.fli CiJh2 Black
w c 7 3 8 . J::l d f1 c5 3 9 . h 6 1fd4
wins a pawn. 15 . . . c5 16.wb1 c4
40.,Wt4 1Jf6 41. tff4 wc6 42.�e5,
17.Af5 The alternate move, 17.�e2,
1-0
is not much better than the text. For
example, 17.!Ji..e 2 g6 (played against
In our next game the pawn storm never
the threat of 18.f5, hoping to slow down
gets started. Botvinnik's strategic play is
the pawn storm) 18.g4 h5 19.h3?! hg4
brilliant, and leaves· us wondering
20.hg4 l:th2 and White's game is very
which move actually lost the game for
difficult. 17 . . . Af5 1 8 . tff5 Ab4
White.
19. fic2 lld6 20.!le2 Ac3 Strategi
cally, Black now has a won game.
( 1 74) Lilienthal-Botvinnik,M
21.bc3 �e4 22.c;t>a1 Jla6 23. fict
USSR 1 945 l::tdS 24.Hc2 �dd6 25.�g4 �6
t.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 �f6 4.cd5 26.h3 h5 27.�e5 l:lgb6 28.�3
ed5 5.Ag5 c6 6.�(3 h6 7.il,f6 tfa3 29.�g5 �c3 30. tfa3 !1a3
Botvinnik criticized this exchange in 31.l::tdc1 �b5 32.� l:le3 33.�e5
his collection of best games, because
wc7 34.g4 �d4 3 5 .!ld2 �e2
it gives Black the two �s. 7 ... tff6 36.He1 �c3, 0-1
8.1tb3 .i,d6 9.e3 After 9.e4 de4
C) 0-0 VS. 0-0 ( 1 76) Chekhover, V-Botvinnik,M
Leningrad 1 932
Logically, a pawn storm advances on 1.d4 lL!f6 2.c4 e6 3.lLlf3 b6 4.g3
the wing opposite it's own castled King. �b7 s.�g2 �e7 6.0-0 0-0 7.lL!c3
However, the true beauty of chess lies dS S.cdS edS 9.�f4 lLlbd7 10.lL!bS
in the exceptions. lL!eS 1 1 . l:l c 1 c6 1 2 . /0c3 /Od6
13.1\Vc2 fS 14.�h3 g6 1S.Dfd1
( 1 75) Schlechter, C-Marco, G lLlf7 16.�g2 gS 17.�d2 The dark
Stockholm 1 906 squared j_ leaves the field of battle,
1.d4 dS 2.c4 e6 3.lLlc3 lL!f6 4.�gS never to return. 17 ... lL!d6 18.lL!e1
�e7 s.e3 lLlbd7 6.lL!f3 0-0 7.\1'c2 � f6 1 9.e3 fi'e7 20. lLld3 lL!e4
a6 S.cdS edS 9.�d3 h6 10.�f4 2 1 . A e 1 D a c 8 2 2 . 1t b 3 DfeS
c6 ll.h3 lLle8 12.0-0 �d6 13.�g3 23.Ah3 g4 24.Ag2 lL!fS 2S./Of4
�g3 14.fg3 lL!d6 1S.g4 bS 16.nae1 lL!e6 26.lL!e6 1\Ve6 27.lL!e2 AgS
�b7 28. \1'a3 aS 29. 1tb3 Aa6 30.lL!c3
l:lbS 31.\1'c2 l:(bcS 32./0e2 1i'f7
33./0f4 iU4 34.gf4 1\VhS, 0 - 1 .
Black won o n time before h e could win
on the board.
( 1 77) Leonov-Tal ,M
Latvia 1 950
1.lLlf3 lL!f6 2.d4 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3
iLb7 s.Ag2 �e7 6.o-o o-o 7.ft:lc3
lL!e4 S.lL!e4 �e4 9.b3 fS 10.Ab2
,ilf6 1 1 . /t:} e 1 Ag2 1 2 .'tYg2 d6
13.lLlf3 lLld7 14.1fc2 fieS 1S.e4
1rhS 16.Dae1 gS 17.lLlg1 f4 18.f3
17.e4 Opening lines in preparation for
eS 19.deS AeS 20.AeS ft:leS 21.g4
the Kingside attack. 17 ...de4 18.lL!e4
1rh4 2 2.Dd1 h S 23.ghS 1thS
lL!e4 19.�e4 tWaS 20.gS 1Wa2 Or
24.h3 wg7 2S.DdS wf6 26.1i'c3
20 . . . hg5 2 l . �h7 �h8 22.l2Jg5 with
we6 27.Wd1 DbS 28.1td4 l:[ad8
many threats. 21.gh6 gh6 22.�fS
29.b4 1th4 30.1\Vc3 1Wg3 31.wfl
1tdS 23.De7 lL!f6 24.�e6 1thS
g4 3 2 . hg4 J:(h 1 3 3 . l:l e S d e S
2S.g4, 1-0. If 25 .. .'t\Vh3 then 26.'ifg6
34.Dds 1tg1, o-1
wins.
Next we find Marshall using tactics to
Another exception occurs when Black
achieve small positional goals, whi ch
launches a pawn storm on the Kingside.
accumulate into victory. Only the un
The next couple of examples demon
initiated think of tactics as a "knockout
strate this interesting possibilty. punch. " Grandmasters see tactics as a
sheathed sword, a weapon available if
needed to win the encounter.
1 :2 6 M 10 0 1 egame �Irarc gy
( 1 79) Lasker,Em-Janowski ,D
London 1 899
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 a6 4.cd5
ed5 5.'Wb3 c6 6.ltlf3 Jid6 7.�g5
.i. e 7 8 . � f4 ltlf6 9 . e 3 ltlbd 7
10.Ad3 0-0 11.0-0 ltlh5 12.'�c2
ltlf4 1 3 . A h 7 c;Y h 8 1 4 .ef4 g6
15.�g6 fg6 16.flg6 A classic tab
leau for a piece versus pawns. If Black
This position ought to be studied care can organize his pieces into an attack
fully before looking at Marshall's execu on the White �. he can attain the
tion. Remember, the following series of upper hand. Also, the two �s are a
tactical threats is made to accomplish powerful force against the pawns -
positional goals. 15.f4 Threatening to whichever color weak�ess develops as
w i n a p i e ce by 1 6.h3 a n d 17.g4. the pawns advance can be exploited by
15 ... ltle4 1 5 . . . �g6?? 16.f5. 16.Jie4 one of the �s . 16 ... W6 16 . . . l:tf4??
de4 17.g4 1 7.'iYe4?? f6. 17 ... Jtg6 17.1Wh6; 1 6 . . . 'Llf6? 17.'Llg5. t7.YWh5
18.f5 f6 Black has escaped losing his c;Yg7 18.ltlg5 ltlf8 It is clear that
� at the cost of a pawn, but the game White's attack has reached its limit.
is decided because White's major pieces The pawns cannot advance, and bring
coordinate in their attack on the Black ing more pieces to the attack is difficult.
�. 19.ltlg6 hg6 20.fg6 Threatening
White's next move eliminates the
1Wg2-h3-h7. Once again, simple tactics only clear chance to do so, e.g. the
keep the initiative. 20 ... f5 The only
.l:tel-e3-g3 lift. 19.g3 19.'Wh4?! .l::th 6
move which gives Black any chances.
20.'il!Vg3 :tg6. 19...iU5 20.Wet �6?!
2t.gf5 ttg5 22.flg2 JV5 23.W5 20 . . �d6 21.ltlf7! By exchanging iLl
.
"Wf5 Marshall now delivers a good for �. White speeds the launching of
pounding with his maj o r p i e c e s . his pawn storm. 2l ... c;Yf7 22. 'Wf5
24.l:[c5 YWf6 25.�h5 .tle8 26. YWg4 �f6 23.§adl White's pieces are very
l:le6 27.r!g5 ad6 28.h4 �e6 29.h5 well placed, while Black's are still disor
.tieS 30.§f5 1We6 31.§f4 1fd5 g a n i z e d . 23 . . . 1W d 6 24.g4 c;Yg8
32. 1tf5, 1-0. Reti might have lost on
25.f!e3 lld8 26.ltle2 �d7 27.h3
ILl
:lf7 28. 1Jd3 i!,h4 29.!le8 Jlgg7 or, in the case of an exchange on e4,
30. Wg2 1Wd7 31.1We3 l:te7 32.l::[e7 a strong advanced center after .. .fe4.
l:[e7 33. 1Wf3 �g6 34.c;Yfl l:tf7 13.�d2 �df6 14.f3 �c3 15.bc3
35.f5 iLdB 36.�g3 �h4 37.'fff4 f41 16.g4 1 6.gf4?! �f4 1 7 . e4 de4
YWe7 38.YWe3 On the principle that 18.fe4 tt::lg4 with a very strong attack.
White's advantage increases with each 16 ... b6 Preparing to attack the base
exchange. Lasker now proceeds to win of White's pawn chain at e2, and also
with perfect technique. 38... iLc7 planning the . . . cS break in the center.
39.1%e1 1We3 40.�e3 iLb6 41.�e2 17.l0f1 1Wc7 18.,1ld2 Aa6 19.c;Yf2
R, c 7 4 2 .f3 c;Yf8 4 3 . c;Y f 2 ,hl e 7 c5 20.l:tact �e6 21.g5 White is de
44.l::[e7 c;Ye7 45.f4 .a.a5 46.�cl sparate to give his pieces some scope.
R,b6 47.�b3 c;Yf6 48.c;Yg3 �f5 21 ... l0h5 22.Ah3 !lg6 23.Ag4
49.gf5 c;Yf5 50.c;Yf3 .a.c7 51.�c5 l::[g5 24.h4 lag41 Destroying the White
b6 52.l0a6 Ad6 53.a4 c;Ye6 54.b4 defensive fortress. 25.fg4 l0f6 26.c;Yf3
c;Yf5 55.�c5 Af4 56.l0d7, 1-0 26.it::lh2 f3 27.tt::lf3 tt::lg4 28.�g2 .th2
with the threat of 29 ... 'ii'g3.
Next we see a pawn storm of a different
color.
( 1 80) Mwange,B-Kamuhangire, S
Luzem 1 982
1.l0f3 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 d5 4.cd5
ed5 5.d4 .a.e7 6.g3 0-0 7.Ag2 Why
is this game in our section on the pawn
storm? An enemy .t on g2 (or g7)
normally makes it awkward to launch a
pawn storm, presenting an obstactle to
one's attacking l:ts. Here, however,
Black does have the logical plan of using
26 ... l0g411 27.'ilf5 27.�g4 'ifd7
his pawn storm to attack the g3 square.
28. 'ii' fS (28. �f3 'ii' h 3 29. �f2 l:t£8
7 . . . l:te8 8.0-0 l0bd7 9.1Wc2 c6
and the push 30 .. .f3 will be devastat
10.�e1 Straightforward, and a little
ing) 28 . . . 'ii' f5 29.�f5 .tc8 30.�g5
too mechanical. Instead, 10. �f4!? was
.te7 3 1 .�h5 .tfS with mate in two by
possible. 10 ... ,1ld6 ll.Ad2?1 White
32 ...g6 and 33 ... .tf8. 27...l0f6 28.Af4
is making the unforgivable mistake of
l:[e8 28 ... .l:tf8! 29.l0g3 Ac8 30.Ad6
playing planlessly. His intention was
1Wd6 31. ifd3 l0e4 32.c;Yg2 lfg6
l i k e l y t o c o n t i n u e 12. l:tadl a n d
33.dc5 bc5 34. ifd5 c;Yh8 35. 'lld3
1 3 . .tcl , to better position his pieces for
fig4 36.l:(h1 �g3 37.1Wf3 l:le2,
a central break. In that case l l .�gS
0-1
would have been a better attempt.
11 ... l0e4 Again we see this pattern of
As with each theme we have examined,
using the e4 square to attain the initia
these ideas are still actively discussed
tive. 12.Ac1?1 1 2 . l:tadl 12 ... f51 Giv
at the top levels of chess.
ing Black the option of a pawn storm
1 :2 6 M 10 0 1 egame �Irarc gy
( 1 79) Lasker,Em-Janowski ,D
London 1 899
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 a6 4.cd5
ed5 5.'Wb3 c6 6.ltlf3 Jid6 7.�g5
.i. e 7 8 . � f4 ltlf6 9 . e 3 ltlbd 7
10.Ad3 0-0 11.0-0 ltlh5 12.'�c2
ltlf4 1 3 . A h 7 c;Y h 8 1 4 .ef4 g6
15.�g6 fg6 16.flg6 A classic tab
leau for a piece versus pawns. If Black
This position ought to be studied care can organize his pieces into an attack
fully before looking at Marshall's execu on the White �. he can attain the
tion. Remember, the following series of upper hand. Also, the two �s are a
tactical threats is made to accomplish powerful force against the pawns -
positional goals. 15.f4 Threatening to whichever color weak�ess develops as
w i n a p i e ce by 1 6.h3 a n d 17.g4. the pawns advance can be exploited by
15 ... ltle4 1 5 . . . �g6?? 16.f5. 16.Jie4 one of the �s . 16 ... W6 16 . . . l:tf4??
de4 17.g4 1 7.'iYe4?? f6. 17 ... Jtg6 17.1Wh6; 1 6 . . . 'Llf6? 17.'Llg5. t7.YWh5
18.f5 f6 Black has escaped losing his c;Yg7 18.ltlg5 ltlf8 It is clear that
� at the cost of a pawn, but the game White's attack has reached its limit.
is decided because White's major pieces The pawns cannot advance, and bring
coordinate in their attack on the Black ing more pieces to the attack is difficult.
�. 19.ltlg6 hg6 20.fg6 Threatening
White's next move eliminates the
1Wg2-h3-h7. Once again, simple tactics only clear chance to do so, e.g. the
keep the initiative. 20 ... f5 The only
.l:tel-e3-g3 lift. 19.g3 19.'Wh4?! .l::th 6
move which gives Black any chances.
20.'il!Vg3 :tg6. 19...iU5 20.Wet �6?!
2t.gf5 ttg5 22.flg2 JV5 23.W5 20 . . �d6 21.ltlf7! By exchanging iLl
.
"Wf5 Marshall now delivers a good for �. White speeds the launching of
pounding with his maj o r p i e c e s . his pawn storm. 2l ... c;Yf7 22. 'Wf5
24.l:[c5 YWf6 25.�h5 .tle8 26. YWg4 �f6 23.§adl White's pieces are very
l:le6 27.r!g5 ad6 28.h4 �e6 29.h5 well placed, while Black's are still disor
.tieS 30.§f5 1We6 31.§f4 1fd5 g a n i z e d . 23 . . . 1W d 6 24.g4 c;Yg8
32. 1tf5, 1-0. Reti might have lost on
25.f!e3 lld8 26.ltle2 �d7 27.h3
ILl
:lf7 28. 1Jd3 i!,h4 29.!le8 Jlgg7 or, in the case of an exchange on e4,
30. Wg2 1Wd7 31.1We3 l:te7 32.l::[e7 a strong advanced center after .. .fe4.
l:[e7 33. 1Wf3 �g6 34.c;Yfl l:tf7 13.�d2 �df6 14.f3 �c3 15.bc3
35.f5 iLdB 36.�g3 �h4 37.'fff4 f41 16.g4 1 6.gf4?! �f4 1 7 . e4 de4
YWe7 38.YWe3 On the principle that 18.fe4 tt::lg4 with a very strong attack.
White's advantage increases with each 16 ... b6 Preparing to attack the base
exchange. Lasker now proceeds to win of White's pawn chain at e2, and also
with perfect technique. 38... iLc7 planning the . . . cS break in the center.
39.1%e1 1We3 40.�e3 iLb6 41.�e2 17.l0f1 1Wc7 18.,1ld2 Aa6 19.c;Yf2
R, c 7 4 2 .f3 c;Yf8 4 3 . c;Y f 2 ,hl e 7 c5 20.l:tact �e6 21.g5 White is de
44.l::[e7 c;Ye7 45.f4 .a.a5 46.�cl sparate to give his pieces some scope.
R,b6 47.�b3 c;Yf6 48.c;Yg3 �f5 21 ... l0h5 22.Ah3 !lg6 23.Ag4
49.gf5 c;Yf5 50.c;Yf3 .a.c7 51.�c5 l::[g5 24.h4 lag41 Destroying the White
b6 52.l0a6 Ad6 53.a4 c;Ye6 54.b4 defensive fortress. 25.fg4 l0f6 26.c;Yf3
c;Yf5 55.�c5 Af4 56.l0d7, 1-0 26.it::lh2 f3 27.tt::lf3 tt::lg4 28.�g2 .th2
with the threat of 29 ... 'ii'g3.
Next we see a pawn storm of a different
color.
( 1 80) Mwange,B-Kamuhangire, S
Luzem 1 982
1.l0f3 l0f6 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 d5 4.cd5
ed5 5.d4 .a.e7 6.g3 0-0 7.Ag2 Why
is this game in our section on the pawn
storm? An enemy .t on g2 (or g7)
normally makes it awkward to launch a
pawn storm, presenting an obstactle to
one's attacking l:ts. Here, however,
Black does have the logical plan of using
26 ... l0g411 27.'ilf5 27.�g4 'ifd7
his pawn storm to attack the g3 square.
28. 'ii' fS (28. �f3 'ii' h 3 29. �f2 l:t£8
7 . . . l:te8 8.0-0 l0bd7 9.1Wc2 c6
and the push 30 .. .f3 will be devastat
10.�e1 Straightforward, and a little
ing) 28 . . . 'ii' f5 29.�f5 .tc8 30.�g5
too mechanical. Instead, 10. �f4!? was
.te7 3 1 .�h5 .tfS with mate in two by
possible. 10 ... ,1ld6 ll.Ad2?1 White
32 ...g6 and 33 ... .tf8. 27...l0f6 28.Af4
is making the unforgivable mistake of
l:[e8 28 ... .l:tf8! 29.l0g3 Ac8 30.Ad6
playing planlessly. His intention was
1Wd6 31. ifd3 l0e4 32.c;Yg2 lfg6
l i k e l y t o c o n t i n u e 12. l:tadl a n d
33.dc5 bc5 34. ifd5 c;Yh8 35. 'lld3
1 3 . .tcl , to better position his pieces for
fig4 36.l:(h1 �g3 37.1Wf3 l:le2,
a central break. In that case l l .�gS
0-1
would have been a better attempt.
11 ... l0e4 Again we see this pattern of
As with each theme we have examined,
using the e4 square to attain the initia
these ideas are still actively discussed
tive. 12.Ac1?1 1 2 . l:tadl 12 ... f51 Giv
at the top levels of chess.
ing Black the option of a pawn storm
1 2K M l d d legame �trategy
f5 I t seems obvious that Black has 15..i.d3 lbf6 16.Wcl l:tac8 17. .i_a6
better placed pieces, a strong center By forcing this exchange of �s White
and a space advantage on the Kingside. weakens the Black Queenside pawns.
But how can he increase his advantage? 17 ... Aa6 18.'fla6 Uc7 19.lbe5 c5
15.1ta4 1 S . 'i¥c2!? 15 ... g5 16.lifdl This pawn was lost anyway, but Black is
g4 17.lbd2 lbdf6 18.lbf4 attempting to gain some counterplay by
giving it up this way, rather than let
White take on c6 at will. 20.l:[c5 l:lc5
21.l:[c5 lbd7 22 ..J:,c6 Pillsbury proves
he is up to the technical task at hand.
22 ... lbb8 23.�d6 lba6 24.lbc6 g6
25.lba7 I:la8 26.lbc6 wg7 27.a3
l:(c8 28.g4 lbc7 2 9 . lbe7 l:(b8
30.J;Id7 lbe6 31.lbd5 :lc8 32.lbb6
Ilc2 33.b4 lbg5 34.a4 lbe4 35.a5,
1-0
I:lee7 50.Jle2 ffc6 51.1Wd2 1'tb7 43.ltle2 I:le4 44.ltlc3 f5 45.gf5 gf5
52.wf2 I:lb6 53.Wt6 't'fb7 54.fle3 46.ltle4 fe4 47.ltlf2 c5 48.bc5 bc5
I:lbg6 55.Jlg6 l:[g6 56.f6h3 ffa7 49.we3 we5 50.Ae4 de4 51.ltle4
57.fld1 ffg7 58.fff3 Jle6 59.I:Ih1, c4 52.h4 h6 53.ltlg3 Af5 54.ltle2
1/2-1/2 il.h7 5 5 . ltlg3 Ag6 56.ltlhl c3
57.ltlg3 wd5 58.h5 Ah7 59.ltle2
( 1 87) Charousek, R-Steinitz, W wc4 6 0 . wf4 c2 6 t .we3 wb3
Nuremberg 1 896 (CBD) 62.wd4 wh2 63.we3 Af5 64.wf4
1.d4 d5 2.ltlf3 ltlf6 3.c4 e6 4.Ag5 Ad3, o-1
Ae7 5.ltlc3 ltlbd7 6.e3 0-0 7.l:tc1
c6 8.cd5 ed5 9.il.d3 ltle4 10.Ae4 ( 1 88) Charousek, R-Alapin,S
Ag5 1 1 .il,b1 �e8 1 2.0-0 Ae7 Berlin 1 897 (CBD)
13.ltle2 Ad6 14.ltlg3 ltlf6 15.ltld2 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 b6 4.ltlf3
Ac7 1 6 .l:le1 1fd6 1 7. f4 Ad7 Ah7 5.e3 ltlf6 6.cd5 ed5 7.il.h5
18.ltlb3?1 18.tt::l f3 18... ltlg4 19.1ff3 c6 8.il.d3 Ae7 9.0-0 0-0 10.ltle5
trh6 20.h3 ltlbd7 ll.f4 c5 12. 'itf3 ltle8? Loses
a pawn. 13.Ah7 wh7 14.1th3 wgs
1 5 . fl d 7 ltl d 6 1 6 . fi h 3 ltle4
17.l::ld 1 c4 18.l0e4 de4 19.il.d2
1fc8 20.f5 Af6 2 1 . ffh5 jLe5
22.de5 f6 23.e6 1fe8 24. 1Vg4 't!fa4
25.Ah4 1Ud8 Not 25 ... 't!\fb4?? 26.lld7
and threats to the � cannot be stopped.
26.r!d8 JldS 27.Ae7 :ts 28.Afs
wfS 29. 'ith5 'Cte8 30. tfeS, 1-0
( 1 89)
Rubinstein,A-ZnJsko Borovsky
20 . . . ltle31 2l .�e3 bte3 22. fie3
St. Petersburg 1 909 (HP)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 l0f6 4.jLg5
Af4 23. 'itc3 jLc1 24. fic1 fic1
Ae7 5.e3 l0bd7 6.l0f3 0-0 7.f6c2
25.ltlc1 g6 Black wants to restrict the
h6 8.cd5 ed5 9.Ad3 Ah7 10.0-0-0
scope of White's pieces, and the text
l0e4 ll.h4 f5 12.wb1 c5 Instead,
removes f5 from White's control.
1 2 . . . h6 1 3 . �f4 �d6 1 4 . �d6 cd6
26.ltld3 b6 27.ltle5 jLeS 28.c;Yf2
leaves the position unclear. 13.dc5
a5 29.ltle2 f6 30.ltld3 wf7 The next
hc5 1 4 . l0e4 fe4 1 5 . il.e4 de4
step in Black's plan is to centralize his
16.1tb3 wh8 17.ffh7 ef3 18.Itd7
� to support the advance of his pawns.
't!fe8 19.Ile7 1tg6 20.c;f]a1 �ab8
31.ltlc3 we7 32.ltla4 1:1bs 33.Ac2
Wd6 34.a3 Ad7 35.b4 Otherwise 21.1te4 2 l .'ti'd5 fg2 22.�g2 'ti'c2
Black would play . . . c5 after 35 . . . �f5. 23.�f6! wins. 21 ... ffe4 22.l::le4 fg2
35 ...ab4 36.ab4 Af5 37.we3 l:les 23.l::lg 1 Jlf2 24.ID4 :c2 24 . . J::t bb2
38.wd2 l:le4 39.g4 il,e6 40.ltlc3 25.llf8 wins. 25.b3 h6 26.Ae7 }leS
lld4 4I .ltle2 �e4 42. ltlc3 l::ld4
�upptementat uames 1 33
( 1 90) Jaffe--Suchting
Carlsbad 1 911 (IQP)
t.d4 d5 2.l0f3 l0t6 3.l0bd2 iH5
4.c4 e6 5. 1fb3 tOc6 6.a3 J:(bS 7 .e3
A e 7 8 . Ad 3 0 - 0 9 . c d 5 l0 a 5
10.\lc2 Ad3 1 1.\ld3 ed5 12.l0e5
\ld6 13.b4 l0c6 1 4.Ab2 l0d7
t5.f4 f6 t6.l0ef3 We8 t7.o-o Afs
ts.tOh4 1te6 t9.W3 Ad6 20.l0fl
l0e7 21 .l0g3 lOfS 22.J:(el \lf7 After 14 . . . 0-0
23.l0gf5 l0f5 24.l0f5 'ifd7 25.h4
l0e6 26.c;Yf2 c;YhS 27.h5 jl fS 22.Ae4 1te4 23.l0d6 tje2 24.l0c8
28.J:(hl c6 29.l:tg3 J:(bdS 30.l0h4 J:[cS 2 5 . 1td5 1te6 2 6 . 1!ff3 h 6
w g s 3 t . h 6 g 5 3 2 . l0 f 3 A d 6 27.Ad2 l0e5 28.J:(c8 tjcS 29.tJe4
33.l0e5 tfe7 34.l:tg4 whs 35.f5 l0d7 30.J:(cl 'trf8 30 . . .'Y!Wd8 3 1 .'i¥d5
l0f8 36.l0f3 l0d7 37.l0d2 l0b6 gives White a very strong position,
38.g3 f!ff7 39.e4 de4 40.J:(e4 \ld5 e.g. 3 l . . . l0f6?? 32.'ti'd8 �d8 33.lk8
4t.l:lfl tlf5 42.wgt \'tg6 43.I:les wins. 3l.Ah61 l0c5 3 1 . . .gh6 32.'tWg4.
\'te8 44.J:(f6 l0d5 45.J:(f2 \'tel 32. 'ffg4 f5 33.'ffg6 11f7 34. ef7
46.wg2 l0e3 47.wh3 g4 4s.wh4 wf7 35.Ag5 l0d3 36.J:tbt 36.l:tc2??
Ae7, 0-1 lOel wins , according to Tarrasch .
36 . . . we6 37.b3 wd5 38.f3 a5
( 1 91 ) Lasker, Em-Tarrasch, S 39.h4 l0c5 40.h5 d3 41.¢>fl a4
St. Petersburg 1 91 4 (IQP) 42.ba4 l0a4 43.Af6 we6 44.Ag7
l .d4 d5 2.l0f3 c5 3.c4 e6 4.cd5 wf7 45.Ae5 l0c5 46.J:tdt, t-o
ed5 5.g3 l0c6 6.Ag2 l0{6 7.0-0
Ae7 8.dc5 Ac5 9.l0bd2 d4 It is ( 1 92) Rubinstein,A-Lasker,Em
instructive to observe the changing Moscow 1 925 (IQP)
dynamics of the isolani when allowed l .d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 l0f6 4.l0c3
to advance. 10.l0b3 Ab6 11. \'td3 e6 5.l0f3 l0bd7 6.Ad3 dc4 7.Ac4
Ae6 12.J:(dl Ah3 13.1th3 \'te7 b5 8.Ae2 a6 9.0-0 Ab7 10.b3
t4.Ad2 o-o Ae7 l t . A b 2 0 - 0 1 2 . l0 e 5 c 5
13.Af3 'trc7 14.l0d7 l0d7 15. �e4
(see next diagram) l:tadS 16.J:(ct 1tb8 17. 'tre2 cd4
18.ed4 J:(cS t9.g3 tras 20.«jpg2
15.a4!! l0e4 1 5 .. .'fi'e2? 1 6J1el �a6 J:(fdS 21.J:(c8 J:(cS 22.1:lcl l:lcl
17.�fl t r a p s t h e 'if; 1 5 . . . �c5!?. 23.Acl h6 24.Ab2 �b6 To carry
t6.Ael J:(ad8 17.a5 Ac5 18.a6 out basic blockading policy on the d5
b a 6 19.l:tacl J:(c8 20.l0h4 Ab6 square. 25.h3 tfcS 26. 0d3 l0d5
20 . . . l0b8!? -Teschner. 2l .l0f5 1te5 27.a3 Allowing Black to infiltrate via
1 34 M iddlegame Strategy
( 1 94) Capablanca,J-Alekhine,A
Buenos Aires 1 927 (CBD)
1.d4 dS 2.c4 e6 3.l0c3 lt)f6 4.Ag5
l0bd7 S.e3 Ae7 6.l0f3 0-0 7.:c1
a6 S.cdS edS 9.Ad3 c6 10. 1Jc2
aes 1 1 .0-o lOfS 1 2.afe1 Ae6
1 3 . lt) a 4 l0 6 d 7 1 4 . A e 7 'ff e 7
1S.l0c5 lOcS 16.1fc5 fic7 17.b4
Now the weak Queenside pawns spell l0 d 7 1 S . tf c 2 h 6 1 9 . a4 fi d 6
out White 's doom. 34.ba4 34.b4? 2 o . a b 1 a e c s 2 t . l:l e c 1 A g 4
ltJc4. 34 ...ba4 3S.c;t>fl The a-pawn is 22.l0d2 ac7 23.l0b3 Ahs 24.l0c5
lost in any case by the maneuver l0 c 5 2 5 . 1t c 5 1tf6 2 6 . b S a b S
... ltJc4-a3. 35 ...Aa3 36.c;t>e2 c;t>fS 27.ab5 Ag6 2S.Ag6 1fg6 29.aa1
37.c;t>d3 l0d5 3S.R,e1 Ad6 39.c;t>c4 nacS 30.b6 ad7 3 t.aa7 ¢'b7
we7 40.l0e5 Aes 4t .deS c;t>d7 32.aca1 f5 33. 1tc2 ae7 34.g3
42.Ad2 Or 42.�b4 when 42 . . . ltJb4 aceS 3S.,JlaS �4 36.aes l:(eS
43.<;tb4 'itc6 44.'ita4 'itd5 45.f4 'ite4 37.l:la7 nbs 3S.b4 hS 39.c;t>g2
wins. 42 ... bS Setting up the Kingside 1fe6 40.lrd3 c;t>g6, 1/2-1/2
pawns so that White doesn't have any
targets. 43.Ac1 c;t>c6 44.Aa3 lt)b6 Before accepting a hanging pawn posi
4S.c;t>d4 wb5 46.AfS lOc4 47.¢'c3 tion, it is important to consider which
47. i.. g7?? a3. 47 ... g6 4S.f4 l0e3 pieces are on the board. Minor pieces
49.wd3 lOdS so.Aa3 h4 S1.gb4 are generally preferred when in posses
l0f4 52.we4 lObS 53.wf3 wc4 sion of the hanging pawns. Our next
54.R.b2 wb3 ss.Aa1 a3 s6.c;t>g4 game is an example with only major
wc2 S7.¢'g5 wd3, 0-1 pieces on the board.
27.f3 The Botvinnik pawn maneuver, After the reign of Alekhine, there
played late in the game. 27... 'fWf5 came two positional giants. Presented
28.e4 de4 29.fe4 Without minor next are a few games from these
pieces it is difficult to exploit the cen grea t players. Each is an interesting
tral control conferred by the hanging contest, fea turing many themes of
p a wns . 29 . . . ft f 1 3 0 . c;t>f 1 �g4 concern to us here. The first player,
3 1.l:[ce2 �f4 32.¢>g1 f5 B l a c k S a mu e l Reshevsky, never became
strikes a t the hanging pawns with his world champion - though he perhaps
adjacent pawns. 33.ef5 l:1e2 34.b[e2 should have been.
k[d4 3 5 . g3 hg3 3 6 . h g 3 c;t>f7
37.¢>g2 kid5 38.g4 l:ld3 39.¢>f2 ( 1 97) Reshevsky,S-Treystman, G
� b 3 4 0 . �d 2 a 5 4 t . c;t> e 1 a4
New York 1 936
42.c;t>d1 c;t>f6 43.l:ld6 we7 44.�e6
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 �f6 4.cd5
wf7 45.¢>c2 i!g3 46.!1g6 �f3 ed5 5.Ag5 �bd7 6.e3 il.e7 7.1tc2
47. .tld6 l:[f4 4B.I!d7 c;t>f6 49.g5 c6 8.il.d3 0-0 9.�f3 D,e8 10.h3
¢>f5 50.�g7 l:lc4 5 1 . ¢> d3 b 5
�f8 1 1.il.f4 il.d6 12.il.d6 1td6
52.�8 c;t>g4 53.Ilg7 c;t>f5 54 ..tlg8 13.0-0 il.e6 14 ..b[fb1 .b[e7 15.b4
wg4 55.�7 wf5, 112-112
l:lc7 16.ffd2 1Je7 17.'1rc2 �e8
1 36 M iddlegame Strategy
21.Wct l:tc6 22.Ae1 Jlds 23.1::td 1 24.ed4 fif6 25.fif2 h6 26.g5 hg5
Ab5 24.ab5 l::ld 6 25.aa7 �e5 27.f5! Dest roys the protection of
26.de5 fid1 27.ed6 fie1 28.Afl Black's w. 27 ... �f8 27 . . .gf5 28.�g5,
whs 29.ttf7 trd1 30.d7 fid6 planning ·29.llg1 and wins. 28.1tg3
3 1 .g3 h6 32.Ac4 c;Yh7 33.fie8 1fd4 29.fg6 fg6 29 . . . 'Wa1?? 30.gf7
Ae7 34.Ags whs 35.Ad5, 1-o c;;.g7 3l .�c3. 30.tfc7 1td3 31.1tf7
c;Yh8 32.ID3 1Jf3 Forced in view of
When studying the games of any player, White's 33. l:th3 threat. 33.ft'f3 d4
it is instructive to look at his previous 34. fff6 ¢'h7 35.Da6 Da6 36. 1ta6
encounters with the same opponent. l::(e 2 37.fta7 c;t>h6 38.'ffd4 �e6
Included in the notes to our next game 39. 'fth8 mate, 1-0
are two previous contests between
these two American Grandmasters. Moving on to Reshevsky's arch-rival,
we next spotlight Mikhail Botvinnik,
(202) Reshevsky,S-Evans,L an incredibly strategic player. A thor
USA 1958 (IQP) ough study of his games would benefit
1.d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 Ab4 4.e3 any student . Below are a handful of
0-0 5.�ge2 d5 6.a3 Ae7 7 .cd5 his games relating to our study. Many
ed5 7 . . . 'Lld5 8 . 'Wc2 'Llf6 9 .g3 c 5 beautiful games from this world cham
10.�g2 'Llc6 1 l .dc5 �cS 1 2.0-0 �d7 pion are left for the reader to discover
1 3.b4 �e7 14.�b2 lk8 1 5 .l:tfd 1 a6 for himself.
16.'ti'b3, 1/2-1/2. Evans,L-Reshevsky,S
US 1 95 1 . 8.�f4 a5 8 . . . c6 9. �d3 l:te8 (203) Botvinnik,M-Vidmar,M
10.0-0 �d6 1 l .'Wc2 'Llbd7 1 2.b4 a6 Nottingham 1 936 (IQP)
13.f3 �f4 14.ef4 'Llf8 1 5 .f5 bS 1 6.a4 l.c4 e6 2.�f3 d5 3.d4 �6 4.Ag5
�b7 17.a5 'Wd6 18.'Lle2 l:te7 19.�f4 .a.e7 5.�c3 0-0 6.e3 t0bd7 7.Ad3
'li'd7 20.g4 'Lle8 21 .'li'c5 l:td8 22.'Llg3 c5 8.0-0 cd4 9.ed4 dc4 10.Ac4
f6 23.l:l.ae 1 l2Jd6 24.g5 l:te1 25J:te1 �b6 u.Ab3 Ad7 12.'ffd3 �bd5
l:l.e8 26.l:le8 l2Je8 27.h4 'Wd8 28.c;;.f2 13.f0e5 Ac6 14.Dadl t0b4 15.'fth3
l2Jd7 2 9 . 'Wa7 'li' a 8 3 0 . 'W a 8 � a 8 Ads 16.f0d5 t0bd5 17.f4!
3 1 . l2Jh5 �b7 32.g6 �c8 33.�g3 h6
34.l2Jf4 c;;.f8 35.l2Je6 c;;.e 7 36.�f4 l2Jf8
37.l2Jc5 l2Jd7 38. l2Je6 l2Jf8 39. l2Jc5
l2Jd7 40.'it>e3 l2Jc5 4l .dc5 �d7 42.c;;.f2
�c8, 1/2- 1/2. Reshevsky,S-Evans,L
New York 1 955. 9.Ad3 l:te8 10.0-0
c6 1 1 .f3 �a6 12. ffc2 g6 13.g4
�c7 14.1Jg2 b5 1 5 .Ad2 �e6
16.�e2 Aa6 17.�d1 c5 18.dc5
Ac5 19.b4 Making the pawn on bS
we a k . 1 9 . . . A b 6 2 0 . w h 1 ab4
21.ab4 �c7 22.�d4 A classic block
ade with the additional advantage of an
attack on bS. 22 ... �d7 23.f4 .,a.d4
138 Middlegame Strategy
Pachman's note to this position is worth 21.Ac3 l:la7 22.e4 �c4 23.I(al
repeating: "This move deserves special � c 5 2 4 . d c 5 Ild7 2 5 . 1Wd4 f6
attention. In many positions with an 26.f4 de4 27.1We4 !ld3 28.1:[acl
isolani it is a weakening move; here it is .t::lc 3 29.J:lc3 Af7 30.Ild3 1!fb8
combined with the irresistible threat of 3l.J:ledl l:[e4 32.Ae4 1Vf8 33.!ld8
18.f5." 17 ... !lc8 18.f5 ef5 19.W5 Ae8 34.l:(el Wf7 35.Ah7 �e5
1Wd6 20.�f7 !lf7 2 t .Af6 J1Lf6 36.fe5 1!fhs 37.Ac2 we7 38.Itcs
22.l:ld5 ffc6 23.I:td6 1!fe8 24.J::[d7, f5 39.Af5 1Vh5 40.g4 1Vg5 41 ..1::lc7
1-0 wds 42.l:tc8 we7 43.e6 g6 44.Ilc7
W d 8 4 5 .!l d 7 W c 8 4 6 . e 7 gf5
(204) Lasker,Em-Botvinnik, M 47.l:[d8 Wc7 48.l::le8 1Vg4 49.Whl
Nottingham 1 936 1Vf3 50.Wg1 ffg4, t/2-1/2
l.d4 �f6 2.c4 g6 3.�c3 d5 4.�f3
Ag7 5.Ag5 �e4 6.cd5 �g5 7.�g5 (206) Botvinnik,M-Flohr,S
e6 8.�{3 ed5 9.e3 0-0 1 0.Ae2 Groningen 1 946 (IQP)
c6 11.0-0 ffe7 1 2.a3 Ae6 13.l::tc l l.d4 d5 2.�f3 �f6 3.c4 e6 4.�c3
�d7 14.�el �b6 15.�d3 .t:lad8 c5 5.cd5 �d5 6.e3 �c6 7 .Ad3
16.�c5 Ac8 17.b4 �c4 18.�b1 cd4 8.ed4 Ae7 9.0-0 0-0 10.l:[e1
b6 19. �b3 Aa6 20.l:[e1 l:lfe8 �cb4 1 1 .Ae4 �f6 1 2.Ab1 b6
21.�1d2 b5 22.I[a1 Ac8 23.Afl 13.�e5 Ab7 14.1:le3 Initiating a
lfd6 24.�c5 lte7 25.�db3 l:tde8 Kingside attack. 14 ... �bd5 15.l:th3
26.ffcl f5 27.�d3 g5 28.'irc3 f4 g6 1 6. A h 6 l:[e8 1 7 . 1td 2 lieS
29.ef4 gf4 30..t:le7 l::le7 31.a4 a6 1 8.Ad3 a6 1 9 .l:[e 1 b5 20.l:tg3
32.ab5 ab5 33 ..J:la8 )le8 34. 1Vcl �h5 After 20 . . . f!Vb6? 2 l . ltJg6 hg6
:rs 35.1!fdt Af5 36.l:If8 Afs 22.Ag6 t h e attack is overwhelming.
37.ffh5 1Vg6 38.t;fg6 hg6 39.�f4 2l.J:lh3 �hf6 22.Abl l:tc7 23.l:tg3 '
Ab4 4o.Ad3 �d2 41.�d2 Ad2 �h5 24.l:[h3 �hf6 25. @e2 �c3
42.Af5 gf5 43.�e6 Ac3 44.wf1, 26.bc3 The isolated pawn couple
1/2-1/2 (c3 and d4) appears.
I
Next is another of the battles contested
between the two players we've chosen
to spotlight.
(205) Reshevsky,S-Botvinnik,M
AVRO 1 938 (CBD)
l.d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 Ab4 4.e3
0-0 5.�ge2 d5 6.a3 Ae7 7.cd5
�d5 s.�d5 ed5 9.g3 �d7 1o.Ag2
�f6 11.0-0 Ad6 1 2.�c3 c6 13.b4
a6 1 4 .1:(e1 l:[e8 1 5 . A b 2 Af8
16.frd3 Ae6 17.f3 �d7 18.�a4
26 ...b41 Attacking the foundation of
b6 1 9 .l:(acl b 5 2 0 . �c5 � b 6
White's pawn center. 27.l:[g3 llc3
�upptemental Liames 1 39
17.d51 The lust to expand takes hold 31. 'fl"g1 ffg1 32.wg1 /0d5 33 ..lla 2
aga in. 17... /0d5 17 . . . ed5 18.�bl! g6 J:le5 34.h4 wfs 3 5 . Ad5 Ad5
19. lle7 Ci:Je7 20.�f6. 1S.Ad5 ffdS 36.,JV4 Ae6 37.Wf2 J:lc5 3S.J:ld4
19. tfe4 ed5 20./0d5 Ag5 21./0g5 we7 39.we3 J:lcS 4o.wf4 J:lc5,
g6 2 1 . . .'Wg5?? 22.'iVe8. 22.'ffh4 h5 1/2-1/2
23.ltlf6 1tf6 24.J:ld7 �dS 25.J:leS
'tYg7 26.J:lf7 lilf7 27.�e6, 1 -0 (212) Spassky,B-Aronin
Leningrad 1 957 (IQP)
(210) Stahlberg,G-Eliskases, E 1 .d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3./tlf3 c5 4.cd5
Mar del Plata 1 948 (HP) ed5 5.g3 /tlc6 6.Ag2 /Of6 7.0-0
1.d4 l0!6 2.c4 e6 3.�f3 b6 4.e3 .i.e7 S . d c 5 A c 5 9 . /tl b d 2 0 - 0
Ah7 5.Ad3 c5 6.o-o Ae7 7.b3 10./tlb3 Ab6 1 1./tlbd4 J:leS 1 2.b3
0-0 S . � c 3 d 5 9 . A b 2 � b d 7 Ag4 13.Ah2 �e4 14.'fi'd3 1td7
10. ffe2 �e4 ll.,JVd1 cd4 1 2.ed4 15.a3 h5 16.e3 Ah3 17.,JVd1 Ag2
�c3 13.Ac3 1tc7 14.J:lac1 dc4 1 S.Ciflg2 Ad4 ? 1 1 9 . /tld4 �:lacS
1 5 . bc4 J:lfeS 1 6 . A d 2 �:l a d S 2 0 . /tlf 3 J:ledS 2 1 . 1:l a c 1 1tf5
17.1:le1 Af6 1S.Ae3 e5 Break up 22.ffe2 g5 23.h3
the hanging pawns by attacking them
with adjacent pawns. 19.de5 /tle5
20./tle5 Ae5 21.c5 Ah2 22.Wfl
tfc6 23.f3 Ag3 24.Ae4 24.cb6
'ifdS with the idea of 25 ... 'Wh5 next.
24 ...J:le41 25.fe4 Ae1 26.we1 fle4
27.cb6 ab6 2S.J:lc4 1te6 29.J:ld4
l:ld4 30.Ad4 ffe2 31.Cifle2 .i.g2
32.Ab6 f6 33.a4 wf7 34.a5 Ah7
35.we3 g5 36.Ac7 wg6 37.Ad6
h5 3S.Ae7 f5 39.Ads f4 4o.wf2
wt5, o-1
(214) Gligoric,S-Medina,A
Palma de Mallorca 1 967 (CBD)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 ltlf6 4.cd5
ed5 5.Ag5 Ae7 6.e3 ltlbd7 7.Ad3
ltlf8 8.ltlf3 ltle6 9.Ah4 g6 10.0-0
0-0 1l.b4 ltlg7 12.b5 .i.f5 13.ltle5
Ad3 14.ltld3 c6 15.bc6 bc6 Grand
2 1.d5 White can no longer defend
master Gligoric conducts an attack on
the isolani, so it is pushed to remove
the weak c6 pawn ro maintain the
the w e a k n e s s e n t i re ly. 21 ... Dd6
initiative . 1 6.l:Ic1 ltld7 1 7.Ae7
22.ltle4 l:ld7 22 . . . l:td5? 23.l:td5, fol
ee7 18.ltla4 Wcs 19.ltlac5 ltlc5
l o w e d b y 24.ltJf6. 23 .de6 l:(e6
2 0 . ltl c 5 ltl e 6 2 1 . f!V a 4 fl a b 8
24.ltlf6 \'ff6 25.Dd7 l:le2 26.De2
22.ltle6 f!Ve6 23.J::[c 2 f!Vd7 24.l:Uc1
ftc6 27.l:(dl g5 28.h3 Wg7 29.b4
�b6 2 5 . h 3 't'lb7 26.:c5 l:tb1
wg6 30.g3 h5 3t.De7 f6 32.De3
27.f!Vd1 l:(b2 28.l:l5c2 h5 29.:b2
wg7 3 3 . g 4 hg4 34.hg4 'ftc4
1Wb2 30.l:[c2 tfb4 31 .�c5 wg7
35.Dg3 Wg6 36.Ddd3 \'fct 37.CEflh2
32. \'fc1 1Wa4 33.tfb2 1Wa6 34.:c3
fff4, 1/2-1/2
J::[c 7 35.l:la3 1Wc8 36.J::[b 3 \'fd7
37.a4 a5 The second weakness ap
(21 6) Balasov-Bronstein,D
pears, by which Black loses the game.
But he had to prevent the White a Moscow 1 971 (IQP)
l.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.ltlf3 ltl£6 4.ltlc3
pawn's advance to a6, followed by infil
dc4 5.a4 .i,g4 6.ltle5 Ah5 7.h3
tration via the b7 square. 38. tl'c3
ltlbd7 8.g4 .i,g6 9.ltlg6 hg6 10.e3
l:[a7 39.J:Ib6 �c7 40.1Wa5 wh7
41.ti'c5, 1-0 a 5 l l . A c4 e 6 1 2 . \'f b 3 1f b 6
13.fic2 g5 14.Ae2 ltld5 15.Af3
Ae7 t6.wfl ltlf8 17.ltld5 ed5
1 42 M iddlegame Strategy
gf6 24.Ag2 wg7 25.1Wd1 Ae5 23.Ae5 de4 24.fe4 ttlh5 25.a3
26.b5 .i.g4 27.1Wd2 cb5 28.,blb4 Ac5 26.'tla4 .i.d6 27.Ad6 1Wd6
1We2 29.W2, 1/2-1/2 28.ltlc5 itlg3 29.c,Yg1 ffe7 30.e5
ltlf5 3 1.ffc4 itlg3 32.ltle4 ttle4
(221 ) Browne, W-Fedorowicz,J 33 ..l:le4 1:d5 34.W4 ffg5 35.l:[dfl
USA 1 981 (CBD) ,hte7 3 6 . '¥Wc3 c5 3 7 . 1Vb3 I(d4
1.d4 ltlf6 2.ltlf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.ltlc3 38. ,W/ c4 39.'¥Wb5 Ild2 40.l:I7f2
ltlbd7 5.cd5 ed5 6.Jlf4 c6 7.e3 l:lf2 4t .af2 "¥Wc1 42.c.Yh2 wg7
Jle7 8.Ad3 0-0 9.'¥Wc2 l:Ie8 10.0-0 43.ffc5 '¥Wg5 44.f!e2 '¥Wf4 45.c.Yh1
ltlfB 1 1 .l:[ab1 ltle6 1 2.Ae5 g6 fffl, 1/2-1/2
13.b4 a6 14.a4 itlg7 15.b5 ab5
16.ab5 �a3 17.bc6 bc6 18.l:[a1 (223) Kasparov,G-Andersson, U
l:la1 19.l::la 1 Jlg4 20.ltle2 '¥Wd7 Reykjavik 1 988 (HP)
21.l:[cl Jlf3 22.gf3 · 1.d4 itlf6 2.c4 e6 3.ltlc3 d5 4.cd5
ed5 5.Ag5 c6 6.'¥Wc2 Ji.e7 7.e3
ltlbd7 8.Ad3 ltlh5 9.Ae7 ffe7
10.ltlge2 g6 1 1.0-0-0 ltlb6 1 2.ltlg3
itlg7 13.c,Yb1 ,1i.d7 14.l:(c1 0-0-0
15.ltla4 ltla4 16.1Va4 c,Yb8 17.1:[c3
b6 18.,1i.a6 ltle6 19.fntc1 .IDleS
20. 1Wb3 1Vd6 21.ltlfl was 22.�d2
ltlc7 23 . .1i. f 1 ltl e 6 24.g3 J:(c8
25.Ag2 l:tc7 26.h4 l:ld8 27.ltlf3
Ac8 28. ffa4 c5 29.ltlg5 �g5
30.hg5 Ab7 31.dc5 bc5 32. \'ff4
fff4 33.gf4 d4 Black's problem is the
weakness of his hanging pawns, e.g.
22 ... "¥Wh3? 23.ltlg3 ltld7 24.Jlg7 33 . . . l:tdc8 34.Ah3 and Black still loses
c,Yg7 25. ffc6 itlf6 26.,1i.f1 '¥Wh4 a pawn. 34.J:(c5 .l:lc5 35.Ab7 c,Yb7
27.'¥Wb7 Jla3 28.l:[c7 WB 29."¥Wa6 36.1:[c5 de3 37.fe3 J:[e8 38 ..t:le5
Jlb4 30.1:[b7 Ae1 31.�b1 Jld2 l:te5 39.fe5 c,Yc6 40.c,Yc2 c,Yd5
32.'¥Wa2 Jlc3 33.ltle2 ,bleB 34.l:tc1, 41.b4 we5 42.a4 f6 43.gf6 c,Yf6
1-0 44.b5, 1-0
21."Vrf4 c5 Again the hanging pawns 29.f4 .Clc8 30./t)bl .Clc7 31.f5 .1:1ec8
are attacked with adj acent pawns. 32 . .Clce1 f6 33.ef6 gf6 34. ffh4
22.'tlh4 lOgS 23.'tlhf5 wh7 Mis �e7 35.Ue7 ffe7 36. ffh6 .cleS
taken is 23 . . . gf5? 24.lLlf5 'iii>h7 25.�g4, 37.h3 1re3 38.ffe3 l:.te3 39.�cl
when mate on g7 is unavoidable . �b2 40 . .i.b5 a6 4 t .A e 2 �e4
24.lQd6 cd4 25.J;Ic7 'trc7 26.e5 42.'tlc3 J::[d4 43.'tlh3 J;Ib4 44.Jlf3
1fc5 27 . 'tlf7 'frd5 28.e6 tle6 d4 45.�d5 Jld5 46.�d5 wg7
2 9 . fi h 6 �h6 3 0 . � g 5 c;Y g 8 47..1:lf4 �d3 48.1':Id4 �d4 49.�d4
31.�e6 J'If1 32.�fl d 3 33.\Yg1 wh6 50.g3 �d7 5 1 .\Yg2 �7e5
c;Yf7 34.�d8 \Yf6 35.\Yf2 �c5 5 2 . c;Y f 1 � b4 5 3 . .i. e 6 � b d 3
36.�d2 �g4 37.wf3 �e5 3S.we3 54.we2 h5 55.�h3 �b4 56.�c5
we7 39.wd4 wd6 40.h4 �ed7 wg7 57.wd2 a5 58.�h7 �bc6
41.g4 �e6 42.�e6 we6 43.h5 g5 59-�d6 �d4 6o.we3 �ec6 61.�e8
44.�e4 we7 45.h6 wfs 46.wd3 wfs 62.�f6 we7 63.�d5 wd6
�e5 47.\Yd4 �g4 48.h7 \Yg7 64.�f4 b4 65.�e2 �e2 66.we2
49.�g5, 1-0 a4 67.wd3 we5 68..i.d7 h3 69.a3
�d4 70.�a4 b2 7 1 . .1l c 2 �f5
(225) Vyzmanavin,A-Smagin,S 72.g4, 1-0
Elista 1 995
1.d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.�c3 d5 4.�g5 (226) Piket,J-Dreev,A
�bd7 5.e3 c6 6.cd5 ed5 7.�d3 Wijk aan Zee 1 996
� e 7 8 . 1f c 2 h 6 9 . A h 4 � h 5 1 .d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.�c3 �f6 4.�f3
10.�e7 1re7 1 1.�ge2 �b6 1 2.0-0 e6 5 . .1lg5 h6 6 .,1lf6 tff6 7.e3
0-0 13.I:[ae1 l:(e8 14.�c1 �f6 �d7 8.a3 g6 9.h4 .i.g7 10.cd5
15.�h3 �e6 16.�c5 1rc7 17.b4 ed5 1 1 . � d 3 0 - 0 1 2 . 0 - 0 �b6
�bd7 18.�b3 ltlb6 19.f3 J;'lad8 13.fih3 1td6 14..1:(fcl �e6 15.�d2
20.1iff2 �c4?1 21.�c5 ,i.c8 22.e4 IDbS?I 16.J;Iab1 a5 17.ba5 �d7
b6 23.�h3 1fe7 24.e5 �h7 25.h5 18.a4 .1:la5 19. tfc2 ,1;la7 20.�e2
cb5 26.�b5 �f8 27.�c3 1fh4 �f8 2 1 .h3 �c8 2 2. �c3 �e6
28.,1;lc1 Ah7 23.Wh1 �d7 24..t:Ib6 1ifc7 25.l:lcb1
l:la5 26.f41? �c5? 27.dc5 .t:lc5
28 . .1:(6b3 h5 29.ah5 cb5 30.�d5
.t:(c2 3 1.l0c7 l:[d2 32 . .i.h5 Jlf5
33.�c6 .1:lb3 34.llb3 ,1;lc2 35.�d5
Wh7 36.l0b4 l:[c1 37.c;Yh2 JlfS
38.�d5 ,1;lc5 39.Jlf7 Wg7 40.Jle8
l:lc2?? 41.l0c2, 1-0
thrust in the center. 17 ... l::(d8 18.iLf4! 19.�e6 fe6 20.de6 Ae6 21.Ac6
Threatening to make a passed pawn out Ad7 22.Ad5 �d6 23.Ae5 :rs
of the isolani! 18 ... �b3 19.ab3 iLd7 2 4 . tr e 3 1W b 8 2 5 . Df e t w d s
20.Ac7 J::[dc8 21.d6 1Je8 22.�e5 26.Dadt lte8 27.Af7 ms 28.Ab3
Ae5? D e s p e r a t i o n . 22 lUdS w a s
. . . Db7 29.Ag7 l:le8 30.Ae5 Db6
steadier. 23. 1Je5 Ac6 24.Ab6 ab6 31.Af7 :rs 32.Ad4 �c8 33.Ab6
't'fb6 34.Ae6, 1-0
(232) Strikovic,A-Lima,D
Leon 1 996 (IQ P)
1 .e4 c5 2.�f3 �c6 3.d3 e6 4.g3
d5 5.'fte2 �ge7 6.h4 de4 7.de4
�d4 8 . � d 4 c d 4 9 . A g 2 i0 c 6
10.e5 fic7 1 1 .0-0 �e5 1 2.Af4
Ad6 13.�a3 a6 14.�fd1 �c6
15.Ad6 fid6 16./()c4 1fc7 17.c3
0-0 18.cd4 Dd8 1 9.�ac1 Ad7
20. 1te3 �ac8 21.a3 Ae8 22.b4 h6
23.c;t.h2 wfs 24.d5! ed5 25.Ad5
25.d7! The lust to expand consumes all
�e7 26.1()b6 /()d5 27./()d5, 1-0
before it. 25 ... Ad7 26.):138 l:laS
27.�e4, 1-0
The last games of our supplement are
three discussions on the isolani from
(230) Djurhuus,R-Jelling , E
the recent FIDE World Championship
Copenhagen 1996 (IQP) match. Another example of the theme's
l.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.ed5 cd5 4.c4 timeless appeal to even Grandmasters
�f6 5.�c3 e6 6.�f3 Ae7 7.cd5 of the highest rank.
�d5 8.Ad3 �c6 9.0-0 0-0 10.�e1
1jd6 1 1 . a3 ladS 1 2 . �e4 1tc7
(233) Kamsky,G-Karpov,A
13.g3 Ad7 14.Ab1 Aes 15.1Jd3
Elista 1996 (IQP)
g6 16.Aa2 1tb6 17.b4 a5 18.b5
l.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.ed5 cd5 4.c4
�a7 1 9.a4 �b4 2 0 . 1fd2 �a2
�f6 5./()c3 e6 6./()f3 Ab4 7.cd5
21.�a2 J:ld5 22.Aa3 ttds 23.'t'fh6
�d5 s.Ad2 i0c6 9.Ad3 Ae7
Aa3 24.�eg5 Ab4 25.'t'fh7 wfs
10.0-0 0-0 1 1.t)'e2 l()f6 1 2./()e4
26.l:le6 fe6 27 .�e6, 1-0
Ad7 13.�ad1 �c8 14.�e1 /()d5
15./()c3 l()f6 16.a3 't'fc7 17.Ag5
(231 ) Gofshtein,L-Hodgson,J fi a 5 1 8 . d 5 e d 5 1 9 . Af6 Af6
Ischia 1 996 (IQ P) 20.Ah7 wh7 21.�d5 Ac3 22.�a5
l.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.�f3 �f6 4.�c3 Aa5 23.b4 c;YgS 24.ba5 Ag4 25.a6
a6 5.f0e5 b5 6.cd5 cd5 7.Af4 e6 ba6 26.1Je4 Af3 27.fff3 �fe8
8.e3 i0bd7 9.Ad3 �e5 10.Ae5 28.�a1 �e6 29.h3 l:(d8 30. 'ftc3
/Od7 u.Ag3 �b6 1 2.0-o Ad7 �dd6 3 1 .Db1 Dd7 32.'ftc4 a5
13.e4 b4 14.�e2 de4 15.Ae4 Da7
33.Db5 Ddt 34.wh2 Dd2 35.�5
16. 10f4 Ae7 17.'1rf3 �c4 18.d5 e5
._. .... t"t" " - · · · - · · �.... . '-" .... . . . _. .....
Campora 1 72
Index of Players
Capablanca,J 9, 23, 1 04, 1 2 5 , 1 28, 1 29,
1 53, 1 93, 1 94
Cardoso,R 6
Abreu,} 33 Cekro,E 73
Akesson 1 48 Charousek,R 187, 1 88
Akhmadeev,V 1 33 Chekhover,V 1 76
Alapin,S 1 2 3 , 1 84, 1 88 Chigorin,M 74, 1 62, 1 84
Alatortsev,V 1 67 Christiansen,L 1 4 7
Alekhine,A 3 7 , 1 2 3- 1 2 6, 1 29 , 1 50, Collas,D 1 82
1 93 , 1 94, 1 96 Colle,E 1 24
Andersson,U 56, 58, 60, 1 66, 223 Cramling,P 20
Andresen,S 1 4 1 Cruz,W 30
Aronin 2 1 2 Cvitan,O 6 1
Averbakh, Y 5 1 De Vries,G 1 30
Baay 1 69 Diez del Corral,] 53
Bachmann,K 94 Djurhuus,R 230
Bahram,N 95 Dreev,A 22, 226
Baillo,G 1 22 Dumitrache,D 1 9
Balasov 2 1 6 Durie 1 65
Barcza,G 48 Dzevlan,M 95
Bareev,E 64, 1 60 Eliskases,E 2 7, 2 10
Barry,C 1 46 Emms,J 1 48, 229
Bayer,E 1 47 Eolian 1 2 1
Beliavsky,A 22, 78, 1 59, 222 Epishin,V 1 5 1
Berliner,H 1 02 Eslon,J 1 68
Bisguier,A 1 09, 2 1 3 Euwe,M 1 , 23, 37, 52, 1 69
Blackbume,J 1 52 Evans,L 202
Bogdanovich,G 228 Fairhurst,W 3 1
Bogoljubow,E 93 Faseyitan,F 86
Bonsch,U 68, 1 34 Fedorowicz,J 88, 2 2 1
Borik,O 1 06 Filip,M 65
Botvinnik,M 26, 44, 89, 1 6 7 , 1 74, 1 76, Filippov,V 1 1 3
203-208 Fischer,R 3
Braun,P 29 Flohr,S 1 5 , 1 27, 1 28, 1 53, 206, 2 1 1
Brenninkmeijer,J 136 Foessmeier,U 1 4 1
Bronstein,D 45, 1 3 1 , 207, 208, 2 1 6 Garcia Paolicchi,R 35
Browne,W 2 2 1 Geller,E 54, 2 1 9
Brunner 1 26 Ginsberg,M 75
Brynell,S 22 7 Gligoric,S 1 4, 36, 4 1 , 1 3 7 , 2 1 4
Bykhovsky,A 69 Gofshtein,L 23 1
Byme,D 24 Golombek,H 9, 48, 92
Byme,R 2 7 , 2 1 3 Guimard,C 63
1 50 Middlegame Strategy
Momy,M 19 , 67 Savon,V 1 6
Muco,F 53 Schlechter,C 9 1 , 1 7 5
Mwange,B 1 30, 1 80 Schmidt, W 1 07
Naumann,A 140 Segovia,F 1 3 5
Nikolic,P 39, 40, 82 Seirawan,Y 2 , 1 1 , 38
Nimzowitsch,A 55, 1 42 Short,N 39, 40, 46, 8 1 , 1 20, 158
Nordstrom,F 34 Short,P 100
O'Donnell,T 99 Sidig,H 97
Ostergaard,} 62 Sielecki,C 59
Pachman,L 6, 85 Simonson,A 1 49
Parker,} 1 3 1 Skalli,K 86
Persitz 15 5 Smagin,S 225
Petrosian,A 1 3 2 Smyslov,V 8, 3 1 , 135
Petrosian,T 7 , 1 73, 2 1 7 Sokolov,l 56
Pfleger,H 1 40 Sorensen,B 98
Pigusov,E 70 Sotnikov,l 1 7
Piket,J 2 1 , 1 7 1 , 226 Spassky,B 18, 50, 1 1 7, 1 1 9, 2 1 1 , 2 1 2,
Pillsbury,H 1 5 2 , 185 217
Polgar,S 25 Speelman,} 43 , 1 45, 227
Portisch,L 42 , 1 14, 1 19 , 2 2 2 Spielmann,R 90, 1 04, 1 43
Primavera 92 Stahlberg,G 2 1 0
Pushkov,N 1 7 Stein,L 3
Rabiega,R 7 1 Steinitz,W 74, 1 8 7
Radulesen 1 7 3 Strikovic,A 232
Raicevic,V 64 Suchting 1 90
Ramayrat,C 77 Szabo,L 209
Rechlis,G 69 Taimanov,M 1 2 , 1 55, 1 70, 1 99
Reshevsky,S 4, 14, 24, 30, 32, 5 1 , 63, Tal,M 2 , 80, 1 22 , 1 5 7 , 1 7 7 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 9
75, 1 02 , 109, 1 49, 1 63, 1 9 7-202 , 205 Tarrasch,S 55, 186, 1 9 1
Reti,R 76, 1 78 Teichmann,R 5
Rodriguez,Am 1 37 Tesic,D 1 39
Roeder,F 224 Timman,J 2 1 , 1 0 1 , 1 08, 1 20, 1 7 1
Rolle,P 97 Tischendorf,M 29
Rossetto,H 7 Tisdall,} 20
Rubinstein,A 1 , 1 54, 1 89, 1 92 , 1 95 Toran 1 98
Rudakovsky,l 26 Treystman,G 1 97
Rustemov,A 1 1 3 Trikaliotis,G 1 46
Saeed 1 57 Troeger,P 72
Saemisch,F 9 3 Troianescu 1 2
Saidy,A 1 72 Tukmakov,V 1 65, 229
Sakaev,K 66 Tylor,T 196
Samovojska,D 57 Urbanic 65
Santos,L 33 Vaisser,A 67
l Yl Mtddlegame Mrategy
Van Geet,D 80
Van Seters 209
Vidmar,M 1 2 7, 203
Vidarsson,J 1 38
Vucicevic,M 83
Vyzmanavin 225
Wemer,D 1 06
Wharry 1 0
Wilke,M 224
Yakovich, Y 54
Yrjola,J 79
Yurtaev,L 1 5 6
Yusupov,A 8 1 , 1 05, 1 60
Zamikovsky 1 70
Znosko Borovsky,E 1 89
Index of Open ings 1 53
Tactical Lessons
5, 1 0, 1 1 , 1 9, 26, 35, 39, 40, 43, 48-5 1 ,
57, 59, 60, 63, 65, 67, 7 1 , 78, 80, 8 1 , 90,
97, 1 04, 1 05, 1 08, 1 1 1 , 1 1 5, 1 16, 1 1 8 ,
1 20, 1 22 , 1 3 2 , 1 38, 1 4 1 , 1 45, 1 47, 1 49,
1 5 1 , 1 54- 1 56, 1 58, 1 65, 1 67, 1 80, 1 83,
1 88, 203, 208, 209, 2 1 7, 2 1 8, 23 1 - 234
Two Bishops
4 1 , 43, 66, 1 1 8, 1 2 1 , 1 24, 1 43 , 1 45 , 1 50,
1 60, 1 83, 1 99, 204, 2 1 3, 220, 234
Weak Pawns
1 , 6-9, 1 1 , 1 4- 1 6, 25-27, 29, 32 , 3 7 , 52,
54, 55, 59, 6 1 , 62, 69, 70, 7 7 , 92, 95,
1 02 , 1 08, 1 25, 1 2 7, 1 30, 1 3 1 , 1 37 , 1 56,
1 70, 1 74, 1 85, 1 97, 2 1 4, 2 2 1