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ISSUE 6

MODERN CHESS MAGAZINE Fight the Evans in a Modern Way Sicilian Structures - Introduction GM Repertoire Against 1.d4 - Part 2

Methods of Playing with Hanging Pawns - Part 2 Endgame Series - Part 6

In This Issue: GM Viktor Gavrikov GM Grigor Grigorov GM Davorin Kuljasevic GM Boris Chatalbashev GM Vladimir Georgiev

Table of contents 3 3 4 5 6 7 7 7 8 9

11 11 16 20

24 24 26 28 30 33

Endgame Series - Part 6 (GM Davorin Kuljasevic) Defended passed pawn 1 Defended passed pawn 2 Defended passed pawn 3 Carlsen,M (2853) - So,W (2779) Outside passed pawn 1 Outside passed pawn 2 Outside passed pawn 3a Outside passed pawn 3b Outside passed pawn 4

Methods of Playing in Positions with Hanging Pawns - Part 2 (GM Grigor Grigorov) Browne,Walter S (2570) - Alburt,Lev O (2580) Bernstein,Ossip - Capablanca,Jose Raul Dizdar,Goran (2465) - Lobron,Eric (2520)

GM Repertoire against 1.d4 – Part 2 (GM Boris Chatalbashev) Nikolov,Momchil (2450) - Chatalbashev,B(2507) Evdokimov,A (2569) - Volokitin,A(2674) Fier,A (2592) - Vakhidov,J (2502) Jobava,Baadur (2696) - Radjabov,Teimour (2757) Petrosian,Tigran L (2580) - Vovk,Yuri (2523)

36 Fight the Evans in a Modern Way (GM Vladimir Georgiev) 36 39 41 42

Nisipeanu,LD (2654) - Caruana,F (2805) Pridorozhni,Aleksei (2517) - Jakovenko,Dmitrij (2721) Nakamura,Hikaru (2775) - Anand,Viswanathan (2793) Li,Ruifeng (2446) - Caruana,Fabiano (2796)

45 Sicilian Structures – Introduction (GM Viktor Gavrikov) 46 49 52 55

Nanu,Ciprian Costica (2405) - Lakat,Gyula (2120) Nunn,John DM (2620) - Ljubojevic,Ljubomir (2580) Kholmov,Ratmir D (2475) - Gavrikov,Viktor (2485) Svidler,Peter (2749) - Bologan,Viktor (2732)

Endgame Series - Part 6 GM Davorin Kuljasevic

Hello Dear Chess Friends! Before we continue with our discussion of the role of pawns in the endgame, it is important to give a piece of practical advice to chess coaches. Endgame theory is a vast area and it is helpful to break it down into smaller and practically meaningful parts. Especially for beginners and players who have not developed an endgame routine yet, it is important to think in terms of simple guiding principles in the endgame. For example, from my own experience, I believe it is important to teach young chess students to always focus on 3 things in the endgame: 1. Creating a passed pawn, 2. Centralizing their king, and 3. Blocking or defending against opponent's passed pawn. This is useful for young students of the game, both practically and methodically, since even if they are still unable to grasp certain finer points in the endgame, such as schematic thinking, they will at least have in mind the bigger picture (pawns and king are important) and will therefore be less prone to making silly errors in the endgame, such as grabbing useless pawns, leaving their king "at

home", not putting the rook behind the opponent's passed pawn, etc. After this small digression, I would like to proceed to the two final topics pertaining to the importance of pawns in the endgame: 1. The defended passed pawn and 2. The outside passed pawn. Defended passed pawn – The strength of defended pawns in any phase of the game is that they do not have to be defended by other pieces. In that sense, the ideal pawn structure is a pawn chain – a structure where pawns defend each other along a diagonal. The "Achilles heel" of the pawn chain in naturally its base, but attacking the base of the pawn chain is generally much more difficult than attacking an isolated pawn. As the number of pieces in the endgame is very limited, the weakness of isolated pawns increases and, by the same logic, the value of defended pawns increases. Let us look at a typical endgame mistake made by a young inexperienced player who did not understand these ideas. Defended passed pawn 1

In this completely equal position Black finds the only way to lose:   is dead drawn.

3

 Black saw this move before he played



 but he completely misjudged the resulting

pawn endgame. His reasoning, as he explained after the game, was that he entered the pawn endgame because "he usually wins in pawn endgames". It is hard to argue with such a powerful logic:   is lost, too, but at least

would make it more difficult for White to convert the extra pawn. 

Now White gets a defended passed pawn. Sacrificing the passed pawn in order to penetrate with the king. 

 and White picks up

the g7 pawn so Black resigned.

White gets a perfect spot for his king on d4 from which he can attack the now isolated d5 pawn and penetrate through e5 square.  Slightly better was  preventing

White from playing  and now White wins by triangulation:  (Bad is  as  forces the king to back off  and the endgame is drawn after  (unless White goes crazy and plays  with a threefold repetition.)  and Black is in zugzwang) and again Black is in zugzwang thanks to a saved pawn tempo (more on these topics in a chapter on king's role in endgames).

We could see from this example that a lack of knowledge in the endgame can be very costly. We could also feel how debilitating a defended passed pawn can be for the side fighting against it. Granted, in this game White’s king was superior anyway, so to fully illustrate the strength of a defended passed pawn, let us look at a theoretical example where the defending king is demonstrably better positioned than the king of the attacking side. Defended passed pawn 2

 Another poor decision, though

the position is beyond saving.  wins by zugzwang.

4

In most circumstances, it would be difficult for White to win a pawn endgame where Black holds the opposition. However, in this situation, White can kick black king out of the opposition using the square of defended passed pawn on b5.  This move stretches

black king who is unable to hold the opposition due to the square rule.   loses immediately to  as the

king stepped out of the square.

 Black is still putting his hopes into

diagonal opposition.  This move forces

black king to back off as holding the opposition is not possible any more.

 and the rest is simple.

The winning techniques in this example belong to the next chapter – the one on king's role in the endgame, so this is a good preview of things to come. But regardless, the key piece again was the defended passed pawn. We could think of it as the mastermind quietly working in the background, while the king is taking all the glory with its winning march. For none of these king maneuvers would be possible without the presence of that defended passed pawn on b5. An even more striking example of the power of defended passed pawn is the next one, taken from the analysis of game Smyslov – Botvinnik, 1957. Defended passed pawn 3 Smyslov - Botvinik, 1957., analiza,

 



White has a defended passed pawn on b6 which ties down black king. The winning plan should be simple - bringing the king to e4 and taking black pawns one by one. Thus:

White paradoxically avoids the opposition and enters the so-called knight's opposition.

 However, Black has a smart defensive

Since after he can not push the pawn forward  due to the stalemate idea 

 followed by  etc.

 After some

  A beautiful and powerful reply. Instead of

lengthy, but fruitful maneuvering, White finally gets his passed pawn moving.

try:

wins easily as black king can not step out of the square b6–b8–d8–d6. taking the pawn, White gives it and he still wins!

5

would take the only penetration square

from its own king. Black sets up the blockade with changes nothing.; and White can't break through, even if he sacrifices his extra pawn: 

Carlsen,M (2853) - So,W (2779) 3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015 Saint Louis USA (5.4)

 Right on time to reach the square

of both passed pawns.  Nothing is changed by 4

and black pawns are successfully

blocked.  It transpires that White

will easily create another passed pawn on the kingside, while Black is completely helpless against White’s plan. His own passed pawns are blocked and his king is paralyzed by the hero of this story - the defended passed pawn on b6.  

In this 4 against 4 rook endgame, White has a huge qualitative advantage thanks to the defended outside passed pawn on h6. 

We could clearly see that defended passed pawn is among the most dangerous types of passed pawns, but no less dangerous is its cousin – the outside passed pawn. As opposed to defended passed pawn, outside passed pawn doesn't necessarily have to be defended. If it were, that would be a deadly combination for the defending side, as in the following recent example: 1–0

Defended outside passed pawn is like a very spoiled kid you need to pay it constant attention. Unfortunately for Black, this takes away the attacking power of his pieces, so White wins with ease: 

 Preventing   and Black resigned in

view of



1–0

6

However, an outside passed pawn can be just as powerful by itself. Just to clarify, the word "outside" in the context of passed pawns is used for pawns that are several files apart from other pawns or pieces, thus being a big distraction for the defender. In fact, it is one of the best starting points in explaining the important principle of two weaknesses. Let us do that in the next basic example from a pawn endgame.

of endgames - the a-(h-) pawn. For a serious student of chess, it is essential to be acquainted with the following position and endgame rule: Outside passed pawn 2

Outside passed pawn 1

Generally speaking, White’s winning strategy is promoting a pawn to queen. Would White win if b-pawns were not on the board? Absolutely not. So White will use the outside passed pawn (f-) as a distraction for black king (the first weakness) while he picks up the b-pawn with his king (the second weakness). Beginners sometimes get blinded by the promise of pawn promotion and forget about the other pawn: 

 and here White still wins with  (just not

A very important rule exists for this kind of position: If the outside passed pawn has not crossed the line a5–c7–h2 White wins by the familiar method. If, however, it has crossed that line, the game is drawn as black king reaches the c8 square in time. In this particular position, White is therefore winning.  It would be a huge mistake to

push the pawn even a step further:  still wins

 and Black draws  

 If then works as Black needs

to

waste

time

taking

the

g-pawn

  and White is just in time.

   and White wins trivially.

There is, however, one exception from the supremacy of outside passed pawn in pawn endgames and that is, as usual, the black sheep

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

 White takes the opposition and is able to

win the a-pawn

  

  Shouldering  and black king is denied the access

to the corner, so White can safely promote his apawn to queen. Outside passed pawn 3a Outside passed pawn can have a decisive role in many types of endgames. For example, in this knight endgame, White is not able to win despite his extra knight due to the large distance between the pawns.

In the endgame, it is common knowledge that apawn is the enemy of the short-legged knight. This can be seen very well in the following example:

However, despite the passed pawn and the extra piece, he can't win. Black's outside passed pawn is too far out for the knight to reach the other side of the board. This is a case of positional draw. Outside passed pawn 3b

We have just moved the pawn from h- to g-file, unlike in the previous example, and the result of the game changes. White is able to win by force in the following manner:

8

  

knight. But in fact, the resulting pawn endgame is easily winning as White has the outside passed pawn.  gives Black drawing chances.;  is just bad for White.  White wins with the

familiar method of exploiting two weaknesses.   and by the time black king reaches the

queenside, all black pawns will be gone.

The knight is close enough now.   

Knowledge of the strength of outside passed pawn decided the following game. Outside passed pawn 4

We will now take a turn in the Endgame series by switching to king's role in the endgame. Despite humble appearances, king is a fascinating piece in the endgame. Very often, its role is decisive to the final outcome. As the general methodology demands, one must learn how to play with king in pure pawn endgames first, for this is where the beauty and strength of his movement is best exemplified. While most chess players know and broadly understand terms like opposition, square rule, and triangulation, I am not entirely sure all of them are aware of the special feature of the king's movement on the chess board that enables these fascinating maneuvers. For this reason, I would like to devote the next passage to the "science" behind it. "The space bender"

White is obviously better because black knight is in a bad position, but there is even a forced win here:  Paradoxically exchanging Black’s bad

When I was a school boy, I used two routes coming back from school. The first one was straightforward - I would have to go straight down the street to reach the tram station. This would take only about 3 minutes. The other route was cutting across a side street diagonally, which was a route a friend of mine

9

was using to go home on foot so I would keep him company. We would part ways on the next tram station, where I would be waiting for my tram. This longer route took about 5 minutes. It is also important to note that the distance between two tram stations was about 2 minutes, so these routes basically formed a triangle, as can be seen in the picture below:

How do we explain this phenomenon? Simply put, the distance on the chess board is not equivalent to the distance in the "real" world. It takes chess king the same time - 7 moves - to reach squares a8 from h1 (diagonally) and h8 from h1 (straight), which is not possible in reality (the diagonal or hypotenuse way always takes longer). In that sense, chess king is able to bend space! And it is precisely this "anomaly" of the chess board that gives rise to many endgame principles involving king's movement, such as the square rule or triangulation. We will see many applications of these principles in the following issues of Endgame Series!

By now I am sure that you are wondering how that story applies to chess at all? Well, let's create a small mathematical problem by translating these routes onto a chess board. Let us imagine that my school is on square h1 and I am a chess king (no pun intended!). Let us also imagine that each minute of walking towards a tram station corresponds to one square on the chess board. According to the distance of the shorter route (3 minutes), the first tram station would then be on square h4 (h2-h3-h4). On which chess square do you expect the next tram station to be? Using the same logic, as we take the diagonal route (5 minutes), we would move diagonally to g2-f3-e4-d5 and finally c6. But wait a minute; that does not make any sense! The tram stations h4 and c6 are too far apart. Visually, it would make more sense that the second tram station is on the f4 square. However, f4 is only 3 squares away from h1, which does not correspond to the 5 minutes it takes to complete the longer route.

10

Methods of Playing in Positions with Hanging Pawns - Part 2 GM Grigor Grigorov

Dear Chess Friends, I have the pleasure to bring to your attention the second (and final) part of my series on hanging pawns. In my previous article on that topic, I examined three of the most typical ideas we can use when playing against hanging pawns - piece pressure and attack against the hanging pawns by means of either "b2–b4" or "e3–e4“. This time we are going to focus on some ideas which allow us to make use of the dynamic potential of the hanging pawns. There are three main ideas we should keep in mind when playing with hanging pawns: - Create threats along "e"-file and on the kingside- Execute c4–c5 (c5–c4) break- Execute d4–d5 (d5–d4) break. Within the framework of the present material, I am going to provide you with concrete examples concerning each one of

these three ideas. In addition, at the end of the article, you will find a practice section related to the material we are going to cover. 1) Create threats along "e"- file and on the kingside. As I already mentioned in my previous article on the topic, hanging pawns secure a spatial advantage and a firm control over the "e" - file. Quite often we can make use of this file for the purposes of our attack on the kingside. For example, we have at our disposal typical ideas like  respectively  or   followed by a rook lift towards the kingside. Please note, that in some positions, we can strengthen our kingside threats by means of  This pawn break works extremely well when we have full control over the "e" - file. Normally such an advance is often connected with a pawn sacrifice. Nevertheless, if we take into consideration the fact that in general our bishops are placed on "b2" and "d3" respectively "b7" and "d6", we can make the conclusion that this pawn sacrifice allow us to use the attacking potential of every single piece. White's ideas are perfectly illustrated by the American grandmaster Walter Browne is his game against Lev Alburt played in 1981. Browne,Walter S (2570) - Alburt,Lev O (2580) USA-ch/zt South Bend (9), 1981

On the diagram, we see a typical position for our

11

structure which can arise via a huge variety of opening lines. That's why it's important to understand the basic ideas for both sides. As you can see, White enjoys a considerable spatial advantage and has already occupied the key "e" file. After protecting the "d4" pawn, he is ready to make use of the "e" file in order to generate a king-side pressure. In such positions, Black must know exactly what he is doing. Otherwise White manages to develop a tremendous initiative. Browne's next move is quite obvious - he must protect his central pawn by means of  White has an extra tempo  unlike

the

position

which

arises

after

   Nevertheless, Black's position remains

playable if he manages to place his pieces in an optimal way. In the game, he has gone for the dubious  Black queen is badly placed here as

opponent's minor pieces can easily attack it. Nevertheless, this is by far not the only drawback of Black's last move. As I already pointed out in my first article on the current topic, when playing against hanging pawns, we try to exercise a frontal pressure against the opponent's centre. In order to achieve this, we should place our rooks on "c8" and "d8" squares. It's not difficult to understand, however, that from "d6" Black queen stands in the way of the rook and obstructs its activity. Let's look deeper into this position and try to figure out what is Black's optimal set-up. First of all, we should keep an eye on white queen. If White wants to generate a considerable pressure along the "e" file, we would place his queen on "e2". If the queen goes to "c2", then we should create an opposition along the "" file by playing Rac8. In this case, White doesn't exercise pressure along "" file the central break  is not particularly threatening. That's why after playing  we can proceed with the normal Rfd8. What happens if White places his queen on ""? By playing in this way, White creates a

pressure along the "e" file and at the same time, he prepares the manoeuvre  after which he has various options, such as or a knight sacrifice on "" or "". In order to neutralize possible central breaks and knight sacrifices, Black should play  followed by . But how can we deal with White's threatening bishop pair? In some cases, these bishops could be activated even at the price of a pawn sacrifice (). The bishop on "" could be easily restricted by means of . In this case, however, white light-squared bishop would become a monster. In order to neutralize it, Black should go for the manoeuvre . Remember that our bishop is ideally placed on the long diagonal when we play against hanging pawns. After neutralizing White's attacking ideas, Black could play  and gradually start creating pressure against " ". Please have in mind that in such positions, Black can increase the pressure against White's centre by making the manoeuvre  ("" is a key square in positions with hanging pawns). I think that Black should have started with  and only after  he plays  followed by the above mentioned plan.  Black completely ignores White's

pressure along the "e" file. Even here the move  was to be preferred.  

This move looks quite reasonable. Black's plan is

12

to make as much exchanges as possible. As we already know, in the endgame, hanging pawns become a weakness. At the same time, black knight exercises a considerable pressure against the pawn on "c4". Nevertheless, White can proceed with his attack on the kingside.

It's already too late to go for White pieces are situated in an optimal way while black queen is rather misplaced. White can make use of his active pieces by means of the powerful 

Black could have tried to reduce the tension in a slightly different way:  It looks like White's immediate activity is neutralized but he has a powerful resource at his disposal: 

In such positions, White's central passed pawn is incredibly strong. As black pieces are tied to the passer, White has a free hand on the kingside. Black's position is already very difficult.  As we have already pointed out, by

playing  White creates three main threats - d4–d5, as well as knight sacrifices on "f7" and "e6". Now it becomes clear why Black should have played fe8 earlier.  A sad necessity. In order to slow down

White's attack, Black is obliged to part with his strong light-squared bishop. Now White's bishop pair will become extremely dangerous. In every single moment, Black must reckon with d4–d5 pawn break.

On the diagram, we have a typical position. In the middle game, White's central passed pawn is a huge advantage. Being tied up to this pawn, black pieces couldn't fight against the opponent's threats on the kingside. Later in the present article, our reader will find instructive insights on the basic methods of playing in positions with such a pawn. For now, I will limit myself to showing some variations that illustrate White attacking ideas. If Black takes the pawn immediately, he will be confronted with a loss of material. Let's take a look at the following variation: (Black's attempt to exploit the pin along the "e" file by doesn't work. White queen escapes the opposition with a tempo. After  The invasion of white queen is decisive: Black is helpless

against

the

threats  and ) (White rook is still untouchable. If Black dares to grab it, White queen invades his camp again. For instance: Now is coming. Black is in trouble.) movelosesto

13



 The pin along the "e" file turns

out to be decisive again. 

pieces are well-developed and opponent's lightsquared bishop is missing, these ideas work in almost every case. After opening the centre, black pieces are rather vulnerable.  After this move White is winning on the spot, but this is all. (Black is losing a piece after 

 Even after the correct  Black's

position remains very difficult due to the lack of coordination between his pieces. His main problem is the stacked position of the queen. 

 Black has managed to parry the threats connected with a knight sacrifice on "f7" or "e6". Nevertheless, now his problems are even bigger. First of all, due to the unprotected position of the bishop on "e7", White is threatening to play d4–d5. Another very important idea is to close black queen by means of  It's already very difficult to find a reliable continuation for Black.  Alburt removes his bishop from the

vulnerable "e7" square but doesn't manage to stop White's knight jump in the centre. Also bad was ? in view of 

White is threatening  and at the same time the mobility of black queen is restricted. At this point, the reader can see how dangerous the pressure along the "e" file is. Black's position is already critical.  Black missed White`s reply.

Despite the fact that the idea to protect "f7" by  looks quite appealing, White has a powerful resource at his disposal:  (The move  loses on the spot after  

 Suddenly black queen is in danger. White

is threatening to take it by means of . Black's next move is forced. Always watch out for this sacrifice. When your

 With a threat of

c1 followed by

g4–g5.

14

 The attempt to block the kingside by

 simply doesn't work. White is just in time to break through by playing the energetic  renewing the threat of  (The natural  loses to  With  to follow.)  

g4–g5 break anyway. Black has run out of defensive resources. Seemingly the more precise  runs into (The attempt to eliminate White's strong knight by  loses quickly. White should go for   There is no good square for the black knight.  (The move  just loses a piece. For instance:  Black should resign.)  White is winning as the move  is coming.) 

Despite the fact that Black has managed to avoid the immediate crush, White is technically winning. He has a pair of bishops, an extra pawn and chances to organize an attack on the kingside.  This mistake will cost Black a piece.

Nevertheless, other options don’t seem to work either. It seems logical to prevent the move g4–g5 by 

It transpires that White is going to carry out the

White opens up the position as his bishop pair decides the outcome of the battle. With the king on "f7", Black's resistance wouldn't last long; Maybe Black's best try is  Even in this case, however, White is winning after making a few accurate moves.   

An interesting situation has occurred on the

15

board. White is temporary a piece down but in return, he has overtaken the initiative. In order to win, he shouldn't be in a hurry to win back the piece. Instead he should focus on the black queen.  A precise move. White is preparing a trap for his opponent's queen. (Worse is  because now Black can seize the chance to bring his pieces into play:  Followed by ) White's can be seen in the following line: 



1–0 Bernstein,Ossip - Capablanca,Jose Raul Moscow game Moscow, 1914

 

“Chess is something more than a game. It is an intellectual diversion which has certain artistic qualities and many scientific elements. “ Jose Raul Capablanca

Black queen is finally trapped.  

 Gives Black a

chance to prolong the resistance. Better was 

and realized his material advantage after 

White

       

2) Execute c4–c5 (c5–c4) pawn advance Despite the fact that this idea is extremely risky from a positional point of view, in a number of positions, masters handle their hanging pawns by using this approach. Where exactly lies the positional risk of such a concept? Firstly, we should mention that the advance of the c-pawn weakens "d4" (respectively "d5") squares. At the same time, this advance creates a backward pawn on d-file. As I pointed out in my first article on hanging pawns (see Issue 5), in this kind of structures, the side which plays against the hanging pawns places his knight in front of the more advanced c-pawn and then uses his major pieces to create a pressure against the d4 (d5) - pawn. Also, we should take into

16

consideration the fact that when we play with hanging pawns, normally, we place our bishop on the long diagonal. Very often, after developing our pieces in an optimal way, we then try to use their potential by means of the central break d4–d5 (respectively d5–d4). In this line of thought, it turns out that the advance of the c-pawn decreases the dynamic potential of the hanging pawns. I suppose that now our reader is asking himself the following question: "How can an idea with so many drawbacks be so popular?" Let's try to understand what is the reasoning behind this seemingly strange approach. Let's suppose that in a position with hanging pawns, Black goes for the advance c5– c4. Indeed, by doing so, he weakens the central "d4" square - but what about "d3"? In positions where White has parted with his light-squared bishop, Black can install his knight on "d3". Nevertheless, the control over d3–square is far from being the most important idea of the move c5–c4. If our opponent has a pawn on "b2", the advance of our c-pawn will allow us to fix it. That's way, the idea to move forward the cpawn can be very advantageous in positions where we have already managed to create a considerable pressure along b-file. Also, it is important to mention that after playing c5–c4, it's almost always profitable to exchange the c3– knight. For example, in a number of positions, this can be achieved by means of  - . In summary, we can say that there are two main conditions we should consider before going for c5–c4: Pressure along the "b" file & Possibility to exchange the c3–knight. All of the above mentioned ideas are perfectly illustrated in the classical game Bernstein,O - Capablanca,J played in Moskow in 1914.

Let's take a look at the position on the diagram. Given the fact that some minor pieces are already exchanged, White has chances to build a piece pressure against his opponent's hanging pawns. Note that he is ready to proceed with . After placing his rooks on "c1" and "d1", Bernstein is planning to bring his f3–knight into the attack. This task could be easily completed by means of the manoeuvre If White is allowed to realize these ideas, Black will be doomed to passivity. He must generate counterplay as soon as possible. In the game, Capablanca went for  Despite the fact that this game was

played more than 100 years ago, Capablanca demonstrates a modern understanding of positions with hanging pawns. In this position, the advance c5–c4 is completely justified. Let's go through our checklist. Firstly, as Black had already placed his queen on "b6", by fixing the b2–pawn, he has considerable chances to create a pressure along the "b" file. Secondly, considering the fact that, currently, the d5–pawn is not under attack, Black is in time to play followed by the exchange of White's mighty knight. Finally, we should pay attention to the fact that in favourable circumstances, Black could consider transferring his knight to "d3", because light-squared bishops are not on the board.

17

 

this concrete position, however, White's d4– knight stands beautifully but doesn't do much work. Moreover, this knight decreases the scope of action of the d1–rook. At the same time, Black can simply proceed with his typical plan. It's still possible to play the correct  with equality.  

White's last move is very instructive from a psychological point of view. I am sure that at this point, Bernstein was under the impression that Black's last move is a serious positional mistake. The reader should take into consideration the fact that at the beginning of 20th century, almost every strong player was strongly influenced by the classical positional principles imposed by the first World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz. In spite of being valid even nowadays, these principles are mostly focused on the static nature of the game. That's the reason why a number of old masters tended to neglect the dynamic resources in chess. There are is still nothing wrong with the move  but it shows that White doesn't understand this position in detail. The d5–pawn could be easily protected by means of  Later, Black will focus on his queenside play, which is why it's preferable to immediately destroy Black's spatial advantage. The most reasonable for White was to accept the draw after   White is going into the wrong

direction. Inspired by the classical chess education, Bernstein seizes the opportunity to install his knight on the weakened d4–square. In

The way in which Capablanca handles this structure is simply awesome. After exchanging the c3-knight, Black’s pieces will not be tied up to the backward pawn on "d5". For example, Black could now consider knight manoeuvres like  Also, we shouldn't forget about the pressure along the b-file. I think that White's position is already slightly worse.  Bernstein feels the pressure and tries to

free himself by this pawn break. However, he starts to play actively at the most inappropriate moment. His last move leads to the formation of an advanced passed pawn on "c4". White should have accepted the passive but completely defendable position which arises

18

after 

A key resource! Without this knight jump, White is simply winning a pawn. I am sure that Bernstein missed this little tactical trick when he played   The rook retreat is a sad necessity.

The c4–pawn is untouchable. The move  runs into the elegant  In spite of their simplicity, sometimes, it's not easy to foresee moves like these. Because of the optical illusion, one can fail to understand that the c8–rook actually protects the knight.  

Black is planning to proceed with  followed by  Although, Black's advantage is out of question, White's position remains fairly solid.  Of course! We should always place our

rooks behind the passed pawns. After the elimination of c3–knight, Black rook will support the advance of the c-pawn. White's position is already very difficult.  As we have pointed

out, this exchange allows the further advance of c-pawn. Now Bernstein is forced to blockade his opponent's passer with a rook. Everybody knows that in order to blockade a pawn in a safe way, we need a knight!  

This obvious move is very instructive. Sometimes, players just forget to push their passers. They always think that there are urgent tasks to do. As a result, they start pushing the pawn when it's too late or they don't push it at all. This is a very typical mistake. Your passed pawns should always go forward when they are allowed to do so. The more advanced is our pawn, the larger is the number of opponent pieces which are tied up to it. 

Black is preparing the move

 In this way, the c3–pawn will be

supported at a maximum.

 Wrong is  (The

weakness of the back-rank decides the game after    

19

 Inviting White to win the c3–pawn.  Overlooking the masked

refutation.



Exploiting the weakness of back rank in White`s position. 



0–1 Dizdar,Goran (2465) - Lobron,Eric (2520) Sarajevo Sarajevo, 1984 3) Execute d4–d5 (d5–d4) pawn break This is one of the most popular ways to handle positions with hanging pawns. This dynamic possibility exists in almost every position. That's the reason why it's difficult to treat it independently. As we have already seen, the central pawn advance is one of the main ways allowing to exploit the pressure along the e-file. As a rule, this pawn advance is always good when we are ahead in the development and our pieces are more active. At this point, I would like to provide you with a piece of valuable practical advice: In general, when you reach a point where you cannot imagine further improvement of the position of your pieces, it is time to go for a central break. You know that in this kind of situations, such a break is often connected with a pawn sacrifice. The game Browne - Alburt is a perfect illustration of the above mentioned principles. Now I am going to focus on another case where it's highly advantageous to push the central pawn - creation of a central passed pawn. Despite the fact that positions with central passed pawns arise very often in practice, the vast majority of players face difficulties in handling them. Let's look at the main advantages and drawbacks of playing with such a pawn. Firstly, I would like to point out that in

the majority of middlegames, when our pieces are active and well-developed, such a pawn is a valuable asset. When we have a central passed pawn in the middlegame, our main goal is to advance it as far as possible. In positions where the pawn is on the 7th rank, the opponent's pieces are completely tied up to it. Most often, it must be blocked by a major piece. Moreover, the side which plays against such a pawn, can't fight for the open "c" and "e" files, because the central passer controls the squares "c8" and "e8" ("c1" and "e1", respectively). The side which plays with the central passer makes use of the lack of coordination in the opponent's camp to organize an attack on the kingside. In order to avoid this scenario, the central passed pawn must be blocked as soon as possible. You should never allow such a pawn to move further. The main drawback of the central passed pawn is its weakness in the endgame. In this stage of the game, the side playing with it has no chances to launch a kingside attack and must always take care of the pawn. Please note that in a number of endgames, the opposite side has the opportunity to create an outside passed pawn on the queenside. That's why you should avoid piece exchanges when playing with a central passer. In order to illustrate the practical application of the above mentioned considerations, I provide you with a very instructive example.

20

The position on the diagram arose in the game Dizdar,G - Lobron, E played in Sarajevo in 1984. As two pairs of minor pieces are already exchanged, White's chances to organize an attack on the kingside are by no means great. At the same time, Black is ready to start exercising pressure against the hanging pawns by means of . Later on, he is going to proceed with  followed by  White must make use of his temporarily more active pieces and go for a position with central passed pawn, which is precisely what happens in the game:  

 

 This is quite a typical mistake for this kind of positions. A lot of players (including grandmasters) are inclined to underestimate the strength of the central passed pawn. Probably, at this point, Black was considering the blockade to be sufficient, as White has no dark-squared bishop which could attack the d8–rook. Nevertheless, we know that our advantage becomes decisive if we have a pawn on 7th rank. It was necessary to prevent d6–d7 by  ! Even so, however, White retains a considerable edge after  followed by 

Black is more or less forced to exchange the dark-squared bishops. Otherwise, the b2–bishop will create dangerous threats along the long diagonal. Of course, Black's last move is far from being a flawless solution. Now White has a free hand to advance his pawn one square further:  Of course! White pushes his

pawn at the right moment. It's not advisable to wait any longer because Black is ready to block the pawn by means of 

 Dizdar misses a golden opportunity to

obtain a huge advantage. White could play  and now defend his passed pawn by  Black's position is very difficult due to the weakness of his back-rank.  (The move  loses on the spot because of the intermediate  

 Wrong is  because of the

simple  White is losing the pawn due to the hanging position of his a1–rook.

21

 

We have reached a very typical position. When looking at it, it's not difficult to understand that Black is practically a rook down. His d8–rook couldn't go anywhere. In such positions, the strong side should above all protect his pawn in a safe way. Later on, he is ready to proceed with his attack on the kingside. At this point, I would like to bring to your attention an important detail. Generally, it's difficult to create serious threats on the kingside when you rely only on your major pieces. Before starting concrete actions, it's highly advisable to further weaken the opponent's kingside structure by h2–h4–h5 (in some cases even h5–h6 must be considered). Note that the attack on the kingside is very well combined with threats connected with the weak back-rank. Maybe Black's position is objectively lost.

Simple and strong. The d7–pawn must be protected at any price. Remember that in this kind of positions, the b3–pawn has no value Black needs a lot of time to promote a queen on the queenside. Meanwhile, he will be mated on the opposite side of the board! Of course not   And Black is the one who is playing for a win.  

 Again missing   White finally finds the right way of

handling the position. Now he can go for the above mentioned plan.

22

This move perfectly fits into White's plan. Now he not only wants to weaken the position of black king by playing h4–h5, but at the same time, he is ready to make use of the e-file by means of  followed by  Now  runs into  

and

Black is winning.  Was

winning

instead

  

  

 The final

mistake in mutual time-trouble. 

 

1–0

23

GM Repertoire Against 1.d4 – Part 2 Boris Chatalbashev

Chapter II: System with , Averbakh, Four Pawns' Attack, Fianchetto, Saemisch, System with and . Apart from the main line, White has several other options for development. Most often these variations are connected with the theory of King's Indian or Modern Benoni. Of course, I can not cover in this article every line from the other openings. But as I have quite a lot of practice here, I shall offer my opinion on the best options for Black. And there are also some interesting independent possibilities. Nikolov,Momchil (2450) Chatalbashev,Boris (2507) BUL-chT 56th Sunny Beach (7), 11.10.2006

This variation is second best in popularity.  The difference between 

and the text is that the subtle rook move discourages  compared to   Without the exchange on d5, white knight cannot jump on c4 - an excellent square in all kinds of Modern Benoni positions. So after  Black can continue with  saving exd5 for later. Though White's play is far from perfect, the following game is a good example - Black manages to implement all the typical ideas in positions with this pawn structure. 



 

With this move order Black allows 

24

  0–1 (47) Zilka,S (2525)-Kislinsky,A

(2574)

Ledec

nad

Sazavou

2013)

  White has just

a tiny edge...1–0 (47) Cori,J (2596)-Hernandez Guerrero,G (2517) Buenos Aires ARG 2015)     0–1 (40) Franic,M (2392)-

Chatalbashev,B (2561) Zagreb 2010 

  but it is hardly something to be

afraid of. We have already seen similar positions in the main line, d4 square is enough compensation for the weak pawn on d6. For example,  

  1/2 (26)

Hulak,K (2505)-Gheorghiu,F (2525) New York 1986)   More challenging is 



     1–0

(49) Farago,I (2477)-Ivanisevic,I (2638) Hungary 2013) 

where I like Cebalo's approach. I barely survived in the following game.   As we know, the exchange of this bishop for a knight is always good in Benoni.   White must be always careful with

future b6–b5, but the decision to prevent it in a

25

radical

way

does

not

help

much.

   

Evdokimov,Alexander A (2569) Volokitin,Andrei (2674) Moscow Aeroflot op-A1 Moscow (5), 18.02.2008

1/2 (37) Chatalbashev,B (2561)-Cebalo,M (2500) Zagreb 2010 CBM 145   

      0–1 (68) Petkov,V

(2450)-Chatalbashev,B (2490) Plovdiv 2007     

Finally I want to show you the other possible plan - with It is more risky, but sometimes it works nicely for Black - as in the following beautiful game!   In all these lines  is met by  Of course Black weakens his kingside, but

manages to secure his strong knight on e5.  The other option 

Correct play from both sides and a logical result. 1/2

26

     1–0 (45) Kozul,Z (2617)-Chatalbashev,B

     

(2561)/Zagreb 2010/CBM 145  

      1–0



(44) Markus,R (2617)-Dvirnyy,D (2480)/Nova Gorica SLO 2011/The Week in Chess 848   

 

 

0–1

 

27

Fier,A (2592) - Vakhidov,J (2502) 90th Hastings Masters 2014–15 Hastings ENG (4.4), 01.01.2015

 

  

 I like this move - now the knight on f6 is not pinned and we prepare the standard  which will put pressure on b2 pawn. In my opinion, Averbakh variation against King's Indian is somewhat underestimated these days. Though not very popular, we have to be ready to face it with our system also, via a different move order.

 The only way to fight for an

advantage, although the complications are not so dangerous for Black.  

White's idea is after  to discourage  though it is still the main move, connected with a pawn sacrifice on d6. But it is not what I consider best. 

 Now White prevents h7–h6 in the future

and the pin is a little bit unpleasant.  is not logical - after  this

version of Benoni is good for Black, for example     

0–1 (37) Donner,J (2470)-Portisch,L (2640) Lugano 1968 

28

 

  The position after 

White is better after immediate  as Carlsen once proved against Van Wely.  If the bishop retreats, Black will take on

b2 and play  next.

 

  is approximately equal, but easier to

play with Black. He is safe from trouble with such a nice knight on e5.    



1–0

29

Jobava,Baadur (2696) - Radjabov,Teimour (2757) EU-chT (Men) 17th Novi Sad (5), 26.10.2009 Four pawns' attack is not as dangerous here, especially compared to Modern Benoni, where White has the possibility of early . There are several decent options for Black, but I like Radjabov's choice best. In many lines it is Black that may end on top after the opening!

       

 

0–1 (26) Christiansen,L (2675) Moscow 1982

(2575)-Kasparov,G

 

Most common move order is  Now  is no secret that White gains nothing -after the following famous game by Kasparov.   

A rare move, which will most probably surprise your opponent. And it is a good one too!  The development with  is not better    

 

30

     

A standard tactical resource in Modern Benoni, exploiting both the diagonal g1–a7 and the vulnerability of e4 pawn. An important nuance is that the last move is better to be played immediately, without including Note that this position might also happen with a different move order - when White goes for the classical line with  (see EvdokimovVolokitin above) and later tries to stop black knight from jumping on e5 -   Taking the pawn now gives Black better chances -      is playing with

fire, Black gets enormous activity, threatening to win the game in just a few moves 0–1 (45) Banikas,H (2608)-Radjabov,T (2733) Bursa 2010;  is obviously premature 

 

  

 

With 

 White should be able to hold, but not more. 

(42) Hage,H-De Smet,K (2260)/corr 1995/Corr 2011

31

 

is some computer tactics, practically impossible to come across over the board.  

    Somehow White

is still not lost after but again, this would be rather difficult for a human player to predict.        

An over-optimistic move which creates a lot more problems for White than for Black. The most natural moves in chess are often the best. Here also -  though it was tough to calculate at this point that the complications will eventually end in a draw.      

  

and after playing an excellent game and missing a win twice, Black even managed to lose... 1–0

32

Petrosian,Tigran L (2580) - Vovk,Yuri (2523) Lake Sevan Martuni (2), 07.07.2007

 

  

Aimed against e7–e6 or e7–e5, but allowing strong, typical Benko counterplay. In that case the bishop on f4 is doing nothing, the pawn on b2 is often hanging.  Fianchetto System is a positional one, the games here are rarely decided in the opening, but rather in late middlegame.

 1/2 (50) Urban,K (2489)-Heberla,B (2502) Legnica 2007; 



 

White better be cautious about b7–b5, as in some lines Black can even sacrifice a pawn and get an excellent version of Benko Gambit. For example: 

Again the same motive; here again White will enjoy the extra pawn only temporarily, his longterm prospect is just a fight for equality. 

is the same (But not   and White is better, as Nikolic proved in an old game against Torre.)  

33

  0–1

Liptay,L (2410)-Chatalbashev,B Balatonlelle 2002

(41) (2537)



nothing is simple and for both sides there are numerous possibilities.        1/2 (48) Malaniuk,V (2610)-Fedorov,A (2555) St Petersburg 1996

White decides to open up the position

and attack on d6, but again, Black has nothing to be afraid of.  

After provoking a2–a4, my first choice would be to play like in the main line - going into King's Indian type of position. Other plans are also possible - with , , ; with e6 or a6,  allowing a4–a5 from White. But my feeling is that in all these cases White's play is easier.  

Better was 

was played with the same idea in the following game. It is a good example of how these positions should be played, though, of course,

34



enjoying

some

pressure, although after   Black is very active)  Black should gradually equalize. After 

it

is

White

who

risks

more

seems too brave  complications might favor White.

but

the

     

0–1



  



35

Fight The Evans in a Modern Way GM Vladimir Georgiev

Nowadays, romantic gambits are rare birds in super tournaments. Evans gambit still has some fans like Nisipeanu, Short, Nakamura. Back in the day, this was one of the most dangerous weapons after . Players like Paul Morphy, Robert J. Fisher and Gary Kasparov had a lot of wins. White's idea is simple - to sacrifice material in order to win some tempos for development and for attack in the center. Black should play very carefully because the value of each move is extremely high in gambits. I will now provide you with a solid repertoire based on the games of J. Timman, V. Anand and F. Caruana. White had a hard time in the Evans gambit recently, because of that line

 

  

Nisipeanu,LD (2654) - Caruana,F (2805) 43rd GM 2015 Dortmund GER (7.1), 05.07.2015 The easiest way to equality. Recent games showed that White is the one who should be careful to maintain the balance.   This move leads to a

comfortable equality.   1/2 (37) Petrosian,T (2645)Iordachescu,V (2582) Legnica 2013

 

36

 

The key move in our repertoire. Black defends the f7–pawn and covers the important diagonal a4–e8. Regardless of White's next move, we will play   with the idea   I chose this example in order to show you

how the genius Paul Morphy crushed his opponents 160 years ago using Evans Gambit.

    

1–0 (26) Morphy,P-Ayers,T Alabama 1855;  It is obvious that giving the f7–pawn is not a good idea.  Open lines and diagonals!  1–0 (39) Vavra,P (2327)-Zolnierowicz,K (2340) Prague 2000;  This looks tricky, but leads by force to a hard position for Black.   1–0 (42) Bruedigam,M (2371)-Silies,M (1880) Berlin 2015   Now this is too slow and

Black completes the development without any problems.  The most aggressive reply. ( is a bit risky  With at least enough compensation for the sacrificed material.) 

Chess is eminently and emphatically the philosopher’s game.

Material is even, but with such a king on e2 it is obvious that White is in trouble.0–1 (23) Zeller,F (2445)-Parligras,M (2589) Trier GER 2015; For 8.0–0 see the game PridororzhniJakovenko

37

 

Trying to improve Nakamura-Anand game, but I can't see the point of this move. Black can simply complete the development.  Is analyzed in Nakamura-Anand

   Black is better

due to his pair of bishops and better pawn structure.

  White manages to win a pawn, The key move in the line. The idea is  to exchange the powerful bishop on c4. Essentially, Black will play Bb6 regardless of White's reply to the 8th move!

however, Black's active pieces give him more than enough compensation.  

 Absolutely illogical move from my point of

view, but the first choice of the engines. This was first played by Hikaru Nakamura himself (see next game). 0–1

(44) Ivanovic,B (2515)-Timman,J (2650) Reggio Emilia 1984 with two bishops and better pawn structure it is hard to believe that Black can have any problems.;  is examined in LiCaruana game  Executing his main plan, Black has

already equalized. White should think of a way to hold the balance here.  

This position is a wonderful example of the strength of the pair of bishops.  White decides to return the

pawn.

White's bishop on b4 starts feeling uncomfortable. 

 White missed

Black's wonderful idea.

38

Pridorozhni,Aleksei (2517) Jakovenko,Dmitrij (2721) RUS Cup final Khanty-Mansiysk (1.2), 13.12.2013

 

  

  The point of Black's idea.  

This move is not so dangerous, because it gives us an important tempo.  As always, we play here this move with

idea   This move saves the

day for Black.  Black is clearly better.

Fantastic end of unstoppable now.

the

game,

b-pawn

is

0–1

39

  Black has

the pair of bishops.



It is time to activate the knight, f5–idea is also on the agenda.    The king comes to help his army.





The safest square.  

 The triple pawns are very useful,

they give us a chance to operate with our rooks on the semi-open "c" and "a" files.

The position is technically winning for Black. Jakovenko easily converts his advantage. 

 It is interesting how naturally all of

Black's pieces are placed.



Untriple

the

pawns.  

Jakovenko is extremely strong in endgames with two pawns up:  The rest is very easy and does not

need comments.     

0–1 (59) Pridorozhni,A (2517)-Jakovenko,D (2721) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2013 0–1

40

Nakamura,Hikaru (2775) Anand,Viswanathan (2793) London Classic 6th London (3), 12.12.2014

optimistic, you can try to organize some active counter play and even sacrifice d-pawn for the initiative.   Comes into mind, but Black is pretty OK after: 

   

with an idea of Be6 and  that gives Black excellent chances.   Is a bit inaccurate now, because

  Here we should stop for a second and

evaluate Nakamura's idea. What can we say about the position? Black has already finished the development and has the pair of bishops. On the other side, d6–pawn is an achievement for White. If Black manages to play d6–d5, the position will be roughly equal. If you are more

of the:  The only move.  is a mistake, because of: ( White has an initiative.)  With objectively equal position where White definitely has some practical chances thanks to the d-pawn.)  And Black is winning.  This route of the knight is also possible.  setting a nice trap: It’s time to resign.) 

 exchange the defender of d6–

pawn.

41

  

Li,Ruifeng (2446) - Caruana,Fabiano (2796) Las Vegas Millionaire op Las Vegas (2), 08.10.2015   

to avoid the exchange with better chances! The bishop comes to c6 and I would choose to play with Black here. It

seems that White has a little pressure, but the former World Champion defends his position without much effort. White

is more active, but has too many weaknesses to claim an advantage.

The most logical try.  



 

   

1/2

42

 

This

 

move

looks

attractive,

but

after:

Black is clearly better. Practice

proves that White hasn't got enough compensation for the pawn.   Without light-squared bishop, weakening the light squares is not so dangerous for Black.  Black comfortably develops his pieces and keeps the pawn up.) 

The most recent try for White.  Now Black will remove all of White's active pieces. 



  Black returns the pawn in order to complete the development.   Restrict the power of a3– bishop  Black remains with better

chances.Ѕ-Ѕ (54) Tomczak,J (2560)-Erdos,V (2621) Hockenheim GER 2015

Taking control over the very important a2–g8 diagonal. Now it is much easier for Black to finish the development! with idea  Now the position is double-edged. Finally, Howell manages to outplay his low rated opponent.  This square looks much more natural.) 

  Black returns the pawn to keep his bishop alive. 

43

looks better)   Gives Black an advantage.   

 With a winning position for Black.   With an advantage for Black.)  Black is close to winning, the

threat a5 is very unpleasant to meet.   

White missed this nice trick.   and Black is in trouble.)  is the idea.)  (54) Devereaux,M (2359)-Howell,D (2644) Hinckley ENG 2014 The Week in Chess 1012 [Mark Crowther] Now finally the king is safe and Black is still a pawn up.  Caruana chooses the most natural

move. 

White has enough compensation for the pawn to maintain the balance.    1/2 (28) Li,R

(2446)-Caruana,F (2796) Las Vegas 2015 1/2

 

44

Sicilian Structures - Introduction GM Viktor Gavrikov

move e7–e5. More precisely, I focus on the structure arising after the exchange on "d5" where this square is occupied by a white pawn. Such a pawn structure can arise from a number of Sicilian variations. Najdorf, Boleslavsky, Scheveningen, Paulsen and Sveshnikov are only a few of them. In order to explain our featured pawn structure, I provide you with a concrete example. The position on the diagram arose from Boleslavsky Variation after the moves:   .

Dear Reader, In chess, there is no opening which is as popular, complex and rich as the Sicilian defense. Due to the countless possibilities for both sides, a lot of players face difficulties when preparing this opening. According to the Russian Chess School, before starting to explore a given opening, we should first learn to handle the arising pawn structures. While lines and sub-lines change over time, pawn structures remain stable. I am convinced that this structural approach to the opening is the only possible way to study the Sicilian defense. In my first article, I examine one of the most popular Sicilian structures which occurs in variations where, at some point, Black plays the

Starting from this point, I am going to explain all the basic ideas and plans for both sides. Let's first take a look at White's strategy in this kind of structures. To ensure a well-grounded understanding of the material to come, I would like to introduce two classical chess concepts. From a positional point of view, we should always play on the side where we have pawn majority or spatial advantage. It's important to mention that in practice the concepts of pawn majority and spatial advantage are closely interrelated. In most cases, the spatial advantage is defined by the pawn structure. Also, it's important to know that you must exchange pawns on the wing where your opponent has a pawn majority. If we take into consideration the above-mentioned principles, on the diagram position, White is supposed to further advance

45

his queenside pawn majority. Maybe the reader is already asking himself the following question: What exactly is the point of pushing the queenside pawns? The best answer to this question was given in the first half of the 20th century by the great player and author Aaron Nimzowitsch. In his wonderful book My System, he affirms that the advance of our pawn majority should be directed to the base of the opponent’s pawn chain. In our concrete example, black pawn chain is formed by the pawns "d6" and "e5" (d6–pawn being the base). In this line of thought, we reach the conclusion that White should proceed with c2–c4, b2–b4 followed by c4–c5. In case of  White has the chance to create a defended passed pawn by  followed by d5–d6. If Black sticks to the waiting policy, White can weaken the e5–pawn by means of  or create an advanced passer by playing c5–c6. Note that he is not always forced to make an immediate decision. Sometimes it's advisable to strengthen the pressure against "d6" by executing a maneuver like . In practice, however, things never go so smoothly. As we have already pointed out, one should go for pawn exchanges on the wing where the opponent has pawn majority. Following this strategy, Black is advised to place his queenside pawns on "b6" and "a5" squares. In this case, White is forced to waste a considerable amount of time in order to execute his plan. For instance, he will play a2–a3, b2–b4 and only then c4–c5. Nevertheless, after the pawn exchanges ( and ), there will be no pawns left on the queenside. Additionally, in some cases, white central d5–pawn will become a weakness. In order to avoid this scenario, before starting to prepare the typical c4–c5 break, White is advised to gain some additional space on the queenside by means of a2–a4–a5. As you are going to see later, in a number of positions, the a5–pawn plays an important role in the queenside battle. In order to support the advance of his queenside pawns, White usually develops his pieces in the following way: ,  and possibly . Note that all of these

moves are designed to support the critical c4–c5 break. After getting acquainted with White's ideas in this structure, it's easier to figure out what works for Black in such positions. When looking at the position, we could immediately spot Black's pawn majority on the kingside. That's why his main strategy consists in launching an attack on the kingside. Just like White does on the opposite side, Black should make use of the dynamic potential of his pawns in order to gain space on the kingside. Normally he achieves it by executing the advance f7–f5 followed by e5–e4 (in positions where his lightsquared bishop is on the board, even f5–f4 is possible). After playing e5–e4, Black tries to put a minor piece on e5 and transfer some major pieces to the kingside - moves like Qh4 and Rf6 are always in the air. On the diagram position, however, the above mentioned plan hardly works, because after playing f7–f5 and e5–e4, Black weakens the e6–square (White can make use of it by ). That's why, in this structure, Black should keep his light-squared bishop. On the other hand, he aims to exchange the darksquared bishops. This idea could be explained by the fact that the e7–bishop is restricted by the pawn chain d6 - e5, while the e3 - bishop actively supports white pawn majority on the queenside. 

Nanu,Ciprian Costica (2405) - Lakat,Gyula (2120) Szeged TT07 IM Szeged (3), 18.07.1998 Now that we know all the typical ideas for both sides, it's time to look at some games. The first two games I have selected feature the application of White's strategy in practice. Later, I analyze my game against the legendary Ratmir Kholmov which illustrates how dangerous Black's counter play could be. On the diagram, we can see a typical Najdorf position. Black has a weakness on "d5" but currently, this square is very well protected. On the other hand, White

46

had already played a2–a4–a5 which is a huge positional achievement. Given the fact that the pawn is on "a5", White will be trying to enter the structure with a pawn on "d5". Nevertheless, now it's not possible to play  because the e4 - pawn is hanging. However, Black's last move is a huge positional mistake:

play along the "c" file or execute d6–d5 break at a suitable moment. White's main strategic idea is to execute the maneuver . Nevertheless, this plan seems to be rather timeconsuming. Meanwhile, Black would play  followed by  with the idea to push d6–d5 as soon as possible.  Now Black is forced to take on "d5".  

 A known inaccuracy which allows

White to obtain the favorable pawn structure as the move could be played with a tempo. The main move in the position is 

This position is considered to be rather balanced. Generally, White is fighting for the d5– square, while Black is trying to generate counter

Black's last move is designed to make the advance c4–c5 more difficult. Later, depending on the circumstances, Black can start playing on the kingside by means of  followed by –. In his game against Efim Geller played in Curacao 1962, Robert Fischer played  immediately. In this game, Geller played very well and his win was completely deserved. The way in which he obtains a huge advantage is very instructive.  White is making normal moves designed to support the c4–c5 advance. For instance, now he is planning to play moves like  (protecting ""), ,   followed by .  This is a typical idea for the given pawn structure. Black tries to provoke an exchange on "c5" after which he will block the d5–pawn by playing . If that happens, the queenside will be blocked and Black will have a free hand to attack on the

47

kingside. However, when pawn is on "a5" this approach almost never works. White has at his disposal a powerful refutation.  This is the point! Now Black couldn't play .  (In response to  White will play  followed by c4–c5.)  White's advantage is undisputable. 1–0 Geller,EFischer,R/Curacao 1962/Candidates (41)

 

 Too slow is  In this case, Black can

slow down White's play on the queenside and further advance his kingside pawns. For instance:   Strong move. Black tries to take an indirect control over the d5–pawn. At the same time, he is ready to transfer his queen to the kingside by playing f5–f4 followed by  at a suitable moment. 

I am sure that Black underestimated this move. Now Black can do nothing against the advance b2–b4.  Of course  is well met

by  With a huge advantage.

 White could win a pawn by

   but the game move is also

sufficient for clear advantage.  

Now Black has free hand to advance his pawns on the kingside, while White has difficulties in executing his c4–c5 advance. 1–0 Ianovsky,M (2071)-Goldwasser,C/Buenos Aires 2002/(41)  As we have already pointed out, when

white pawn is on "a5", this move is dubious. Maybe, again, Black should have opted for the natural  White's play is very instructive. 

White is dominating the board. Black can't defend his multiple weaknesses on the queenside.

48

 The c5–pawn is under attack. At

the same time, White is planning to bring another rook into play by means of  and possibly   When you have a

spatial advantage, you are not advised to exchange pieces.  Preparing e3–f4.

Was possible to play immediately  

 

Nunn,John DM (2620) - Ljubojevic,Ljubomir (2580) World Cup Rotterdam, 1989 Despite the fact that in the previous game White’s win was flawless, Black is by no means forced to put his knight on "c5". In most of the cases, instead of fighting with white queenside pawns, Black starts pushing his kingside majority. In such cases, the play is extremely double-edged and every single move matters. I would say that White's queenside expansion is developing faster but as Black plays against the king, his attack is potentially more dangerous. After spending quite a number of hours analyzing this structure, I reached the conclusion that, objectively speaking, White's chances are preferable, but he should be very precise. The following game features a typical case of pawn race. The English grandmaster John Nunn demonstrates an excellent structural understanding of the position. Despite the energetic play of his opponent GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic, he manages to win in wonderful style.

White has a winning position. The rest of the game is simple.     Black resigns.

1–0

At fifteen years of age, John Nunn proceeded to Oriel College, Oxford, to study mathematics. At the time, he was Oxford's youngest undergraduate since Cardinal Wolsey in 1520.    Nowadays this positional

49

continuation is very popular. By deviating from the main line with , White is relying on a small but lasting positional advantage. Later on, he is planning to strengthen his control over the weak d5–square by playing . As a rule, in such kind of structures, white bishop is very well placed on the "a2 - g8" diagonal. In order to prevent White's idea, Black is forced to play

 

 Note that runs into After

taking the e6 - bishop, White will enjoy a strong pair of bishops. 

Important positional decision. By placing his dark-squared bishop on the long-diagonal, Ljubojevic enters a King's Indian type of position. In this case, however, he loses a valuable time, while, after castling, White is ready to proceed with his expansion on the queenside.

Very beautiful positional idea! White intends to enter the structure which arises after an exchange on "d5". However, firstly, he wants to put a pawn on "a5".

Perhaps better was  This is an interesting way to make use of the move On the next move, Black will follow with . Moreover, if white knight parts from –square, he can exchange dark-squared bishops by playing  As the reader already knows, in this structure, the exchange of darksquared bishops favors Black.  

 This move is designed to prevent the

move  with the idea to further weaken the "d5" square. Nevertheless, by doing so, Black is wasting a valuable time. Note that in case of  he is ready to support the knight by means of .

More logical is 9.a5 – with a playable position.  Just in time! Now Black is

forced to enter in our preferred pawn structure.  

50

This move is almost always useful in this pawn structure. White is playing in a very flexible way. The d2–knight not only controls "e4", but at the same time White is ready to meet the move – by means of the typical – (you know that we exchange pawns on the side where our opponent is stronger).

Now the reader could see the point of the move . White is ready to go for  In order to create some counter chances, Black should exchange the central pawns. Nevertheless, by doing so, he loses his spatial advantage on the kingside. 

 Black is still not prepared to play What can simply follow with І Black’s construction would be

ideal if his pawn is on f5 square. In this position, his possibilities are restricted as the f6–knight is tied to the weak e4–pawn. On the other hand, White's play on the queenside simply develops by itself.  In case of  the continuation (White

develops his initiative in exceptionally beautifully after  It seems that White's position is critical, but he brings his rook into play just in time.  The last subtlety.  White's position is overwhelming. Black has no attack, while White's pieces are extremely active and the d6–pawn is highly dangerous.)   gives White more than sufficient compensation for the pawn

Interesting resource. In this position, Black has two main ways of playing for a counter play. He can either try to exchange white dark-squared bishop by  or try to activate his passive d7– knight by means of  followed by White is still much better, but he shouldn't lose any time.  Of course! Now c5–c6 is a threat.  Strong intermediate



move. Now d5–square is free for white queen.  

 51

Black is desperately late on the kingside, while White is almost winning on the other side of the board. On the diagram position, he has a beautiful combination at his disposal:  Clears the way for White`s c-pawn.  

Simpler

was



More tenacious was   

1–0

As the reader could see, a2–a4 is an important move in Sicilian type of positions. White not only prevents Black from gaining space on the queenside by means of b7–b5, but at the same time he could play the typical a4–a5 move at a suitable moment. However, I would like to point out that this move makes much more sense when Black had already developed his knight on "d7". Otherwise, he can make use of the weakened b4–square by playing . That's what I did in the game.  White usually gives preference to   Planning 

Kholmov,Ratmir D (2475) - Gavrikov,Viktor (2485) URS-ch FL51 Tallinn (9), 13.12.1983

More common move is 

So far, we have been looking at examples where Black was suffering. However, as I pointed out in the introduction, Black's attacking ideas on the kingside shouldn't be underestimated. In order to show you what happens when White wastes time on prophylactic moves, I provide you with my game against the legendary GM Ratmir Kholmov played at the Soviet Chess Championship in 1983.

move is almost forced.

 From a positional point of view, this

After  Black should deploy his forces in the following way. 

  An alternative is 

 

With the idea  Once black rook reaches the c8–square, White can't play  because the knight is tied up to the c2–pawn. Note that the move  is very well met by  White is in trouble. In case of Black plays  With an advantage.

52

 

his knight from d7. This plan was suggested in 1977 by Chebanenko in a similar pawn structure after moves     followed by and

 

After  was possible  Followed by  White's play on the queenside is practically blocked, while Black is ready to follow with 

 The bishop on  is restricted by  and –pawns, therefore Black wants to exchange it.

 After  we reach a

position similar to the game.  

Not immediately  because then in order to develop the bishop Black will be forced to move

In the event of  Black could play  With a strong counterplay.  

Critical position. By playing the prophylactic , White is wasting time. As we have seen on many occasions, in such kind of structures,

53

every single move could play a decisive role. More consistent was  Here I analyzed a forced long line which leads to a draw:  As always, Black should bring his queen into play as soon as possible. 

 



 This exchange activates black knight. Only after the game, Kholmov suggested the correct reply though it seems to me that Black is not worse after    followed by and 

This is the critical position. Now Black has a powerful resource at his disposal.      

 White should play instead  

 The final mistake in time-

trouble.

   here my resigned because of however White could prolong the resistance by 



opponent

a)  b)  With 

mate to follow. When Black has to find the way to the decisive advantage  The draw is obvious.  At the price of a pawn Black obtains the

h4–square for his queen. But probably stronger was  

    

 0–1

54

Svidler,Peter (2749) - Bologan,Viktor (2732)  Wch Blitz Astana (9), 09.07.2012

    

As we have already examined all the typical ideas for both sides, now I bring to your attention an exercise which will allow you to test your knowledge of the covered material. The position on the diagram has arisen in the game Svidler - Bologan played in 2012. You are asked to find White's best continuation. It's enough to guess the move and define the correct plan. Good luck!

More tenacious was  when White continues with   and his advantage seems to be decisive. Much stronger was     

  

 At the price of exchange White completely eliminates Black`s possibilities for counter play on the kingside, while on the queenside White`s pawns can be effectively advanced.

1–0

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