How to Play the Middle Game in Chess E-Book

John Littlewood

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 352

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

The first edition of this book was widely hailed as one of the most useful guides to the middle game ever written. nRewritten to incorporate new material from contemporary tournaments, this classic work now steps into the 21st century.Along with over 300 instructive and entertaining examples, Littlewood offers a wealth of general advice and specific hints at the end of each chapter. Taking a fresh and original approach, he inspires the reader - club and tournament players - to look at chess in an imaginative and creative way.

Leseprobe

How to Play the Middle Game in Chess

John Littlewood

Foreword

The year 2000 brought with it a welcomed request for me to update my book on the middle game. I was delighted to do so, mainly because in our understandable enthusiasm for all chess matters tied in with the computer, along with the widespread use of international symbols to annotate games on databases, we are in grave danger of neglecting our hard-won heritage of communicating by the printed word. It is vital for chess literature to exist alongside, and come to terms with, the wealth of information that software provides in quantity but not always in quality. May this modest volume be of help in the debate!

Contents

Foreword

Contents

Introduction

Strategy and Tactics

The Pieces

Tactical Ideas

The King

Problem Themes

Combinations

The Pawns

Elements of Strategy

Planning

Solutions

Index of Players and Composers

Introduction

In a praiseworthy attempt to please all their readers, writers on the middle game either avoid difficult concepts altogether or else become too abstract in dealing with them. The former ostensibly cater for beginners but in reality do them a disservice by preaching half-truths only, whereas the latter aim so far above the heads of average players that there is inevitably a partial failure in communication.

If we accept that a perceptive learner seldom wants to buy a book which he can discard after one reading and which contains no challenge or further help for him as his play improves, we must equally acknowledge that he can hardly be expected to grasp every idea in full when it is initially introduced. This is why I offer a series of chess hints at the end of each chapter to remind him of the essential points covered and why I emphasize the need to accept certain advice on trust until he gains more playing experience.

The average-to-good club-player, on the other hand, can use the book as a kind of refresher course, taking from it what he wishes and assimilating material at whatever pace suits him. It is well known that participants in all games eventually reach a learning plateau from which it is difficult to move anywhere but downwards. Resting on his laurels can prove disastrous for the club-player, so it occasionally does him a world of good to reappraise his chess thinking and rekindle that spark of imagination or adventure he may have lost.

For all readers, I have opted for a concrete approach to abstract ideas by underlining the vital importance of tactics within a framework of strategic planning and by offering scores of instructive examples to pinpoint basic elements of both strategy and tactics. At the same time, just in case my chess philosophy fails to emerge from the following pages, may I stress that I have deliberately avoided the methodical textbook approach, apart from the ‘hints’ concession to beginners. This is because, in a relatively small volume such as this, my primary object is to stimulate, not indoctrinate, the reader. He is offered sufficient food for thought, along with a wealth of exciting positions from chess praxis. If in some way this book can enrich his chess experience and encourage him to dip further into the world’s great chess literature, it will have served its purpose.

However, before we launch into our first chapter, a general warning will not be amiss: the reader must not expect too much from a single volume purporting to deal with such a vast subject as the middle game. Like other games, chess demands time and application from its devotees and there is no easy road to mastery nor facile solutions available which a player can learn off by heart and thereby dispense with having to think for himself. The reader can expect general advice, specific hints and over 300 instructive examples, but in the last resort he will obtain from this book, and indeed from playing chess, solely what he is willing to put into it in terms of thought and effort.

1 Strategy and Tactics

As we shall see later, it is difficult to divorce the middle game from other aspects of the struggle which serve to define it as ‘that part of the game between the opening and the ending’. To avoid such philosophical questions as where the opening ends and the ending begins, it seems best for our purposes to view the middle game as beginning the moment a player leaves established theory and starts to think for himself, whether this be on move 3 or 30, and ending where acquired endgame technique takes over. Admittedly, there are standard positions and techniques we need to learn in the middle game too, but matters are rarely as clear-cut as in the opening or ending.

Herein, then, lies our problem. Since we are no longer dealing with easily classifiable material, although brave attempts have been made on these lines, we must seriously consider what we can hope to teach and how we can carry it out. Broadly speaking, our chapter heading provides us with the background against which we shall be working. By strategy we mean the general principles that guide us in our planning and by tactics we mean the specific moves and operations required in order to achieve these aims. Our first example pinpoints the dilemma we face:

Fischer v Benko USA Championship 1963

From a strategic viewpoint, White has weakened Black’s kingside and opened up attacking lines but, from a more urgent tactical viewpoint, both 1 e5 f5! and 1 ♘e2 ♕e5! offer Black adequate defensive resources. So, have Fischer’s efforts been in vain? Not at all. Firstly, a good strategic plan does not necessarily guarantee a win and, secondly, White has in fact calculated a brilliant tactical winning sequence that cuts out the above defences. Play continued: 1♖f6!!♔g8 Or 1...♗xf6 2 e5 followed by mate on h7. 2 e5 h6 3♘e2! when Black resigned because White mates on h7 after both 3...♘b5 4 ♕f5 and 3...♗xf6 4 ♕xh6.

Here is another illustration of the same theme, reached after the moves 1 e4 g6 2 d4 ♗g7 3 ♘c3 d6 4 ♘f3 c6 5 ♗g5 ♕b6 6 ♕d2! ♕xb2 7 ♖b1 ♕a3 8 ♗c4 ♕a5 9 0-0 e6(?) 10 ♖fe1! a6 11 ♗f4! e5 12 dxe5 dxe5

Tal v Tringov Amsterdam Interzonal 1964

White’s strategy has been to develop his forces as rapidly as possible, even at the cost of a pawn, and place his pieces effectively. He is now fully mobilized, in stark contrast to Black who has only succeeded in bringing out two pieces, but must take tactical advantage of the situation as quickly as he can before Black castles into safety. Tal produced a startling solution in 13 ♕d6!! leaving two pieces ‘en prise’ but calculating a splendid finish: 13...♕xc3 After 13...exf4 comes 14 ♘d5! winning upon both 14...cxd5 15 exd5+ and 14...♘d7 15 ♘g5 ♗e5 12 ♘c7+ ♕xc7 13 ♗xf7+ ♔d8 14 ♘e6 mate. 14 ♖ed1!♘d7 After 14...♕a5 the neatest of a number of wins is 15 ♗d2! ♕d8 16 ♕xd8+ ♔xd8 17 ♗g5+ followed by mate with rook or bishop on d8. 15 ♗xf7+! ♔xf7 16 ♘g5+ ♔e8 17 ♕e6+ 1-0. Black has the unpleasant choice between 17...♔d8 18 ♘f7+ ♔c7 19 ♕d6 mate or 17...♘e7 18 ♕f7+ ♔d8 19 ♘e6 mate.

Once again, we cannot overstress the importance of Tal’s renowned tactical skill in exploiting a strategic advantage that could rapidly prove ephemeral. Hundreds of similar examples have convinced the author that in a subtle way tactical ability is often underrated in books devoted to the middle game. Or else there is an assumption that, having reached an advantageous position by ‘correct’ opening play, a player can be left to his own devices to furnish the tactics needed to finish the game off. A valid comparison would be to try and teach somebody golf or snooker without practising his club or cue action!

Not that there is a dearth of books dealing with tactics, but the whole subject tends to be divorced from the strategic elements of ideas and plans, as though it were merely the icing on the cake instead of constituting a basic ingredient without which the chess cookie crumbles! At all events, in this book we attempt to redress the balance substantially by including chapters on tactics, problem themes and combinations and by insisting throughout on the importance of regarding strategy and tactics as complementary rather than exclusive.

Let me hasten to add that I am well aware of the folly of going to the opposite extreme and allowing the beginner to indulge his habitual fondness for tactical skirmishing irrelevant to the needs of the position. That is why the chapters on strategic ideas and planning place special emphasis on the need to integrate tactics into the theme of the game as a whole. Tactics must indeed be kept in their place, but this is no excuse for marginalizing them. We must remember that it is very much through tactics that a beginner learns to understand and appreciate the value of strategy. For instance, he has only to try to use a rook effectively to realize the need for open or half-open files, and he would never grasp the important concepts of weak and strong squares or colour complexes without seeing specific examples of their exploitation. Furthermore, although strategy represents the distillation of decades of chess experience, there is always a danger of its guiding ‘rules’ becoming a substitute for thought and ossifying into dogma. It is at such times that a concrete tactical approach can have a salutary counter-balancing effect.

A good example of this, that comes to mind in another of Alekhine’s positions, is reached after the moves: 1 d4 d5 2 ♘f3 c5 3 c4 cxd4 4 cxd5 ♘f6 5 ♘xd4 a6 6 e4! ♘xe4 7 ♕a4+ ♗d7 8 ♕b3 ♘c5 9 ♕e3 g6? 10 ♘f3! ♕c7 11 ♕c3

Alekhine v Wolf Pistyan 1922

Out of 11 moves, White has moved his queen four times and his knight three times, yet he already has the better position. Why can he flout rules of development like this? Here is what he himself says: “The possibility of such manoeuvres in the opening phase is solely attributable to the fact that the opponent has adopted faulty tactics which must immediately be refuted by an energetic demonstration. It is clear, on the contrary, that against correctly developed positions similar anomalous treatment would be disastrous.” As can be seen in the above diagram, White is threatening both ♕xh8 and b4, so Black is compelled to move his king’s rook, thus denying his king a safe haven. After 11...♖g8 12 ♗e3 b6 13 ♘bd2 ♗g7 14 ♗d4 ♗xd4 15 ♕xd4 White won comfortably. Thus, the correct strategy was only found after a searching examination of the tactical elements in an unusual situation demanding unusual measures.

Here is another case where the ‘rules’ (= ‘guidelines’) of positional play are correctly broken by a player who thinks for himself, and then wrongly neglected by a player in trouble. In the game Nunn v Dlugy, London 1986, after the moves 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 ♗f5 4 ♘c3 h5, White exchanged Black’s ‘bad’ bishop by 5 ♗d3 ♗xd3 6 ♕xd3 in the sensible hope of being able to profit from Black’s loss of time and kingside weaknesses. After the further moves 6...e6 7 ♘f3 ♘h6 8 0-0 ♘f5 9 ♘e2 ♘d7 10 ♘g3 ♘h4 11 ♘xh4 ♕xh4 12 ♗e3 ♕d8 13 ♖fd1 ♖c8? 14 b3 c5 Black had wrongly tried to solve his problems by the dubious strategy of indulging in tactical play before completing his development:

Nunn v Dlugy London 1986

The punishment was drastic in the extreme: 15 c4! Logically opening lines against an enemy king stranded in the centre. 15...cxd4 16 cxd5! ♘xe5 Or 16...dxe3 17 dxe6 exf2+ 18 ♔f1 fxe6 19 ♕g6+ ♔e7 20 ♖d6! winning, as given by Nunn in the excellent book of his best games. 17 ♕xd4 ♕xd5 18 ♕a4+ 1-0. White wins at least a piece.

Broadly speaking, strategy is concerned with plans, and tactics with details of the execution of these, so it is clear that only a fusion of the two will produce a top-class player. Do not be misled when people refer to Bronstein, Tal and Shirov as tacticians and to Capablanca, Botvinnik and Petrosian as strategists. Their styles are of course different (even within each group!) but they reveal all-round chess ability in which strategy and tactics blend to a remarkable degree. Capablanca, for example, had a wealth of tactical ability concealed behind that clarity of style for which he was noted. Indeed, how else could he have controlled games in the way he did.

Here is one of many examples of such skill:

Capablanca v Steiner Budapest 1928

After 1 ♖xa8! ♘xe5 2 ♖xd8 ♖xd8 3 ♗e2! ♕d2 4 ♕xd2 ♖xd2 5 ♖c8+ ♔g7 6 ♔f1! Black must allow his knight to be pinned and is lost after 6...♘d7 7 ♖d8! ♔f6 8 ♗b5 ♖d5 9 a4! when all the pieces come off, giving White a won pawn ending.

Tal, on the other hand, has been branded as a risky tactician, when in reality this is purely a deliberate element in his style, disguising at times his fine conception of strategy. Take this example from the match that won him the World Championship in 1960:

Tal v Botvinnik World Championship Match 1960

By 1 ♗h3! he plans to answer a later advance of Black’s e-pawn by exchanging bishops and weakening the light squares, and, as will be seen, he is willing to sacrifice a pawn to maintain the bind on Black’s position. Play continued: 1...♕f6 2 ♗d2 d5 The alternative 2...e5 3 ♗xc8 ♖axc8 4 ♗c3 exd4 5 ♗xd4 ♘e5 6 ♘xe5 dxe5 7 ♗e3 gives the positional plus Tal initially had in mind. 3 ♕e2 dxc4 4 ♗f4 ♘d6 5 ♘g5! ♖e8 6 ♗g2 ♖a6 7 ♘e4 ♘xe4 8 ♗xe4 b5 9 b3! cxb3 10 ♕xb5 ♖f8 11 ♕xb3 and White had a strategically won game.

The above tactics were, then, dictated by the demands of the position; in other words, the strategic ideas guided Tal’s play throughout. This is the correct balance, for we cannot assert too often that tactics should spring logically from the given elements of a position. If this were not so, a top chess-player would be the one who could exactly calculate the longest and most difficult variations, which is palpably not the case. Consider, for example, the 1972 World Champion, Bobby Fischer, whose style displayed such a splendid fusion of strategy and tactics that it is practically impossible, if indeed it were sensible, to separate the two. A good illustration of this is seen in the sixth game of the Fischer v Spassky match, Reykjavik 1972.

Although Black’s pieces are passively placed, White must create points of attack to exploit this fact. With a few powerful strokes he lays bare the potential weakness of Black’s central pawns, gains more space for his pieces, establishes his bishop as far stronger than the knight and, finally, opens the ‘f’-file as a basis for an attack on the enemy king. Play continued: 1 e4!! d4 2 f4 ♕e7 3 e5! ♖b8 4 ♗c4 ♔h8 5 ♕h3! ♘f8 Even worse is 5...♖xb2 6 ♗xe6 ♘f8 7 ♗c4 and White advances his ‘f’ pawn to f6 with devastating effect. 6 b3 a5 7 f5! exf5 8 ♖xf5 ♘h7 9 ♖cf1 and White had achieved his aims completely:

Fischer v Spassky (cont.)

The tactical execution of Fischer’s strategic plan was so completely successful because it was based on a sound assessment of the demands of the position. Black’s central pawns are blockaded and the ‘e’ pawn will help to tie down his pieces to such an extent that he can offer no real defence to the coming attack on his king. The game went: 9...♕d8 10 ♕g3 ♖e7 11 h4 ♖bb7 12 e6! ♖bc7 13 ♕e5 ♕e8 14 a4 ♕d8 15 ♖1f2 ♕e8 16 ♖2f3 ♕d8 17 ♗d3! ♕e8 18 ♕e4! Threatening 19 ♖f8+ mating. 18...♘f6 19 ♖xf6! gxf6 20 ♖xf6 ♔g8 21 ♗c4 Threatening 22 ♖f7. 21...♔h8 22 ♕f4 1-0 If 22...♔g8 23 ♕xh6 ♖g7 24 e7+ followed by mate next move. Undoubtedly, one of the finest games of the match and reminiscent of Capablanca at his peak.

Our main aim, then, is to develop the reader’s skill in planning (= strategy) and in carrying out efficiently the plans conceived (= tactics), both essential requisites of a sound chess style. However, as we stated earlier, a beginner cannot appreciate the niceties of strategy to the full until he has a fair grasp of tactics. For this reason, we have left until later in the book specific consideration of positional ideas and planning, in the hope that by then he will be able to see the wood despite the trees. Nevertheless, by dealing with each piece separately in the early chapters, we have tried to present the common meeting ground of strategy and tactics to allow the reader to acquire a number of basic concepts before he arrives at the later chapters.

This preliminary investigation of the pros and cons of the individual pieces forms such an important part of my approach to understanding the middle game that another comparison with snooker may be appropriate. Beginners in that game lose no time in setting up the starting position to begin play but learn very little in the process. The late Joe Davis recommended practising for hours, just trying to pot the black whilst controlling the cue ball. Boring? Perhaps, but essential if one wishes to become a good player. In the same way, it is futile for a chess beginner to grasp what is happening on a board full of pieces, when he cannot even manipulate a few effectively. Let him, for example, try to mate a lone king with bishop and knight, before we can realistically discuss such an abstract concept as the coordination of pieces!

It is noteworthy that all great players have been particularly adept at handling their pieces in the most effective manner, but for the purposes of illustration we shall single out Capablanca, Lasker, Petrosian and Kasparov, all World Champions with an uncanny understanding of piece coordination.

Consider, for example, the following position:

Capablanca v Alekhine World Championship Match 1927

Although a rook is weaker than a knight plus bishop, it is astonishing to see how rapidly White takes complete control of the game, with Black’s queenside pawns remaining mere onlookers. Play proceeded: 1 ♕c6! ♖f8 2 ♘d4 Centralization. 2...♔h8 3 ♗e5! Threatening 4 ♗xg7+ ♔xg7 5 ♘f5+ ♔g8 6 ♕f6 mating or winning the queen. 3...f6 4 ♘e6 ♖g8 5 ♗d4! Transferring the bishop to a dominating central position and threatening 6 ♘xg7 ♖xg7 7 ♕xf6 ♕g8 8 h4! and the pawn advances to h6 because 8...h5 fails to 9 ♕h6+ ♕h7 10 ♗xg7+ etc. 5...h6 In order to counter the above threat by 7...♕d5+ and 8...♕g5. 6 h4! ♕b1 7 ♘xg7! ♕g6 Or 7...♖xg7 8 ♕xf6 ♕h7 8 ♕f8+ ♕g8 9 ♗xg7+ or here 8...♕e4+ 9 ♔f1! ♕b7 10 ♕xh6+ ♔g8 11 ♕xg7+ exchanging into a won pawn ending. 8 h5! ♕f7 9 ♘f5 and Black resigned 8 moves later.

In case the reader does not appreciate the skill required in such coordination of pieces, let him consider the following complicated example:

Steinitz v Lasker World Championship Match 1896

At first glance, one might say that there is little in it. In fact, it is almost magical to see the way in which Lasker exploits the facts that the kings have castled on opposite wings and that the bishops are of opposite colours. Although in the following play White is not blameless, Lasker’s use of pawns and pieces gives this game lasting instructional value.

Play continued: 1...♖g8!! Avoiding the oversimplifying exchange of rooks and threatening to advance his ‘g’ pawn to g4 followed by ...♗d5. 2 ♖e5 b6 3 ♗c1 g5! By no means a simple pawn sacrifice, as it involves a long-range plan full of subtle points, but White should decline the offer by 4 f3. 4 ♖xg5 ♖xg5 5 ♗xg5 ♖g8 Note that Black is now happy to exchange rooks, as long as he has another key file to work on. 6 f4 ♗d5! 7 g3 ♔b7 8 h3 ♕b5! giving us our next position:

Steinitz v Lasker (cont.)

Black is now aiming to place his bishop on c6 and queen on d5 with tremendous pressure down the long diagonal. White cannot prevent this by 9 ♕e5 in view of 9...f6! 10 ♕xf6 ♕b2 winning. The game ended: 9 ♔h2 ♖g6 Threatening 10...♖e6 11 ♕d2 ♖xe1 12 ♕xe1 ♕b2+ mating. 10 ♕c2 f6 11 ♗h4 ♗c6 12 g4 More weakening, but he is desperate to prevent the threat of ...♕d5 followed by ...f5 and ...♖e6. 12...♕d5 13 ♕f2 h5! 14 g5 Or 14 ♕g3 hxg4 15 hxg4 ♖h6! 16 ♖g1 ♕e4! tying White up completely. 14...fxg5 15 ♗xg5 Or 15 fxg5 ♖g7! 16 ♖e5 ♕h1+ 17 ♔g3 ♖f7! 18 ♖f5 ♖xf5 19 ♕xf5 ♕e1+ 20 ♕f2 ♕xc3+ 21 ♔h2 ♕d3 wins. 15...h4! 16 ♖f1 ♖g8 17 ♕d2 a5! 18 a4 ♖e8 19 f5 Or 19 ♗xh4 ♖e3 20 ♗g3 ♖xc3 21 f5 ♖d3 22 ♕e2 c3! wins. 19...♖g8! 0-1. The final position is worth another diagram, as it represents the culmination of Lasker’s fine strategy and tactics:

Steinitz v Lasker (final position)

White has no good moves at his disposal. If his queen, bishop, pawn or king move, material is lost, which leaves him 20 ♖g1 20 ♖e1 ♕f3! 21 ♖g1 ♖e8! 22 ♖g2 ♕xg2+ 23 ♕xg2 ♗xg2 24 ♔xg2 ♖g8 etc. 20...♖xg5! 21 ♕xg5 ♕d6+ 22 ♖g3 hxg3+ 23 ♕xg3 ♗e8! 24 h4 ♕xg3+ 25 ♔xg3 b5 26 axb5 a4 and Black queens first.

Let us finish this important chapter with positions played by Petrosian and Kasparov in which all the vital preliminary work has been done and it is up to the reader simply to work out the final combination!

Petrosian v Spassky World Championship Match 1966

Black’s queen knight is completely out of play on a5 but it seems as if White loses after 1 ♖f2 ♖xf4! 2 ♖xf4 ♕g5+ etc. However, by splendid coordination of his centralized pieces, Petrosian demonstrates the weaknesses of Black’s position. 1 ♘e3! ♗xf1 If now 1...♖xf4 2 ♖xf4 ♕g5+ 3 ♖g4! ♗xg4 4 ♘xg4 ♘xg4 5 ♗xg4 ♕xg4+ 6 ♔h1 and Black’s king is fatally exposed. 2 ♖xf1 ♘g6 3 ♗g4! ♘xf4 Or 3...♕f6 4 ♗e6+ ♔h8 5 ♕xf6+ ♖xf6 6 f5 ♘e5 7 ♘e4 winning. 4 ♖xf4! A second sacrifice of the exchange. 4...♖xf4 5 ♗e6+ ♖f7 Or 5...♔f8 6 ♕h8+ ♔e7 7 ♕xh7+ ♔e8 8 ♕g6+ ♔e7 9 ♕g5+ ♖f6 10 ♘f5+ ♔e8 11 ♕h5+ ♔f8 12 ♕h8 mate. 6 ♘e4! ♕h4 7 ♘xd6! So that if 7...♕e1+ 8 ♔g2 ♕xe3 White forces the win of the queen by 9 ♗xf7+ ♔f8 10 ♕h8+ ♔e7 11 ♘f5+ ♔xf7 12 ♕xh7+. 7...♕g5+ 8 ♔h1 ♖a7

TEST 1.1Petrosian v Spassky (cont.)How does White now force a win?

Our final example in this chapter comes from perhaps the best game in the 1986 World Championship Rematch won by Kasparov who went on to hold the world title into the new millennium!

Kasparov v Karpov World Championship Rematch 1986

It seems as if White must protect his ‘d’ pawn, after which Black can drive away the knight by ...f6 with excellent drawing chances. However, Kasparov sees a winning line that illustrates to perfection the concept of piece coordination: 1 ♘d7!! ♖xd4 2 ♘f8+ ♔h6 Or 2...♔g8 3 ♖b8 winning. 3 ♖b4!! The whole point of his previous play, since now 3...♖xb4 fails to 4 axb4 d4 5 b5 d3 6 b6 d2 7 b7 d1=♕ 8 b8=♕ and even though it is Black to move with four queens on the board, he cannot prevent mate e.g. 8...♕d2 9 ♘xg6 ♕xg6 10 ♕h8+ ♕h7 11 ♕gxg7 mate! 3...♖c4

TEST 1.2Kasparov v Karpov (cont.)

Once again, show us how you would finish the game off.

How to use this book

* It would be wise for any beginner to read this book at various levels. He should initially concentrate on the general hints given in the chapter summaries, without getting bogged down in details. By applying this advice to his own games, he will be better prepared to deepen his understanding of the examples later.

* A good method of learning is to think about the positions before studying the subsequent play. He is not expected to understand fully what is going on, but it will help develop his chess instinct by guiding his thoughts away from illusory side issues and towards the real demands of the positions.

* He should concentrate at first on the main play, given in heavy type, ignoring sub-variations, in order to grasp the point the author is trying to make. Notes and variations can be examined at a later stage, when we hope they may provide additional pleasure and instruction.

* Despite all these precautions, there will obviously be a number of ideas and tactics that are beyond the beginner’s chess experience. He should not worry too much about these, but let them lie fallow for a while, to be reviewed at a later date.

* For the club player, this book must be treated as a jumping-off point for further play and more intensive reading. It will have succeeded only if its advice and examples encourage him to learn more about this wonderful game from other books and magazines (not forgetting computers!), and especially from his own chess thought and practice.

2 The Pieces

Before we can combat enemy pieces or coordinate our own pieces effectively, it seems sensible to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of each piece. By understanding their idiosyncrasies, we can surely hope to manage them wisely and exploit their potential to the full. I would go even further and suggest that our judgement of a position may depend entirely on the correct assessment of the value of a piece, whether we are making a strategic decision about exchanging material or visualizing the result of a sequence of moves or planning a transposition to an ending. Hence the importance of this chapter in which we examine in turn the major pieces (queen and rook) and minor pieces (knight and bishop). However, let us first consider the relative values of the pieces.

Relative Values

A beginner is helped by having an initial rough guide to the relative strength of the pieces. One accepted evaluation takes the pawn as the basic unit, with the queen given as 9 points, the rook 5 points and the knight and bishop 3 points each. Using this scale, we can see that two rooks (=10) are worth slightly more than a queen (=9), bishop + knight (=6) worth more than a rook, whilst rook + bishop + pawn (=9) or three minor pieces (=9) are equal to a queen.

There is no doubt that, in the early stages of learning, such a guide is important in steering the beginner through the complexities of the game. It is similar to the point count used in bridge to assess the value of a hand, but in both games we must throw away this ‘crutch’ as soon as experience will allow us. We might in fact view it as a STATIC evaluation which becomes fairly accurate when we reach the endgame, rather than the DYNAMIC evaluation which is a vital and exciting aspect of middle game play. Just as in a battle two similar heavy guns may be very different in the effectiveness of their fire-power, depending on their location, their link with other weapons and the skill of their operators, so can chess pieces drastically change in value as a result of external circumstances. Consider the following startling example:

Gusev v Averbach, USSR 1946

Despite being the exchange down, White has excellent prospects, but he has planned an amazing finish which exploits the peculiarities of the position by using a dynamic 11 point piece-count against a helplessly static 19 point count. Indeed, after 1 ♕xe5!! fxe5 2 ♖f1 (threatening ♗b5) we suddenly realize how ineffective Black’s major pieces are, with one rook completely out of play and the other unable to take the e6 pawn because of 3 ♗c4. Play continued 2...♖c8 3 ♗d1! ♖c4 Or 3...♕e7 4 ♗b3 ♖e8 5 ♖f7! and after Black has run out of pawn moves he must move his queen, when both e7! and ♖f8+! lead to mate. 4 ♗b3 b5 5 ♗xc4 bxc4 6 b3! a5 7 bxc4 ♕e7 8 ♔g2 ♕a3 9 ♖f2 ♕e7 10 ♖f1 g5 Or 10...♕a3 11 ♖f7! ♕b2+ 12 ♔g3 ♕xc3+ 13 ♔g4 ♕a3 14 c5! winning. 11 ♖f5 g4 12 c5 ♕d8 13 c6 ♕e714 c7 1-0.

The reader may rightly argue that the above position is exceptional, so let us now take a ‘bread and butter’ situation:

Jansa v Sydor Bucharest 1971

After 1 ♘xa4 ♕xa4 2 bxa5 the game would be even, so Jansa goes in for a sequence of moves which ends with Black obtaining bishop and knight for rook. Usually, this is a profitable transaction but Jansa has correctly calculated that he can retain a vital pawn and use his powerful rooks down the open files as follows: 1 ♘d5! ♘c4 2 ♘xc7 ♕b8 3 ♘xa8 ♕xa8 4 ♕f4! ♘xe3 5 ♕xe3 ♕b7 Not of course 5...♗xb4 6 ♕b3 winning a piece. 6 a3 ♘b6 7 ♖ac1 h6 8 h3 ♖e8 9 f4 ♗d8 10 ♔h1 ♘d7 11 ♕f3! 1-0. If 11...♕xf3 12 gxf3 ♘b6 13 ♖c6! wins material. Jansa had realized that Black’s knight and bishop could not cooperate to withstand White’s pressure. Easy to see, afterwards!

I remember the same player, this time as Black against Adamski, Poland 1971, producing another unconventional idea after the opening moves 1 d4 ♘f6 2 c4 g6 3 ♘c3 d5 4 ♘f3 ♗g7 5 cxd5 ♘xd5 6 ♕b3 ♘b6 7 ♗f4 0-0 8 e4 ♗g4 9 ♘e5 when he surprisingly exchanged his beautiful dark-squared bishop for a weak-looking knight by playing 9...♗xe5! with the idea 10 dxe5 ♘c6 11 ♖c1 ♕d4! already giving White problems and eventually winning nicely. How many of us would have considered this exchange?

Jiminez v Larsen Mallorca 1967

Here is Larsen with a similar idea in a different context:

Once more out of the blue came: 1...♗xe5! 2 dxe5 d4! 3 ♗h6 ♖fd8 4 ♗xe6 fxe6 5 ♖fe1 ♖d5 6 ♗f4 ♖f8 7 g3 ♖f5 8 ♖ad1 ♕b3 when he won a pawn and, later, the game. Seeing the follow-up was not difficult, but the ability to overcome the initial mental block and think dynamic rather than static is that of a true chess-player. At times, we all suffer from mental laziness and find it much easier to compartmentalize ideas rather than rethink them. Before we examine each piece in turn, here is a final example of excellent judgement in assessing the relative strength of pieces:

Toran v Tal Oberhausen 1961

Black opts for a position in which he has only two minor pieces and a pawn for a queen, but his pieces are so well coordinated in their attack on White’s king that they seem to be imbued with magical powers! Such situations abounded in the games of Tal who, in his prime, astounded the chess world with his insight into the dynamic possibilities of piece play. The game continued: 1...♖xe3!! 2 ♗d5+ ♔h8 3 ♘f7+ ♕xf7 4 ♗xf7 ♖d3! 5 ♕e2 ♗xd4+ 6 ♔g2 ♘e5! In order to answer 7 ♗d5 with 7...c6 8 ♗e4 ♖e3 winning the bishop. 7 ♖d1 ♖e3 8 ♕f1 ♗e4+ 9 ♔h3 ♖f3! This lateral movement of the rook lends the combination its charm. 10 ♕e2 ♗f5+ 0-1.

If 11 ♔h4 ♖e3! Again! 12 ♕xe3 ♘f3+! 13 ♕xf3 ♗f6 mate, a finish which triumphantly underlines the theme of quality versus quantity, a theme that must be borne in mind as we now look at the individual pieces.

The Queen

It must be admitted that, at its best, the queen is a most powerful piece which can sweep the board with its horizontal, vertical and diagonal action. It revels in long-range double attacks and can switch fronts with alarming rapidity. Composed endgames, which we term studies, are excellent at illustrating the pros and cons of each piece, so we will use them from time to time in this volume, beginning with an impressive creation (1970) by Dobrescu and Halberstadt:

If White can capture the bishop, he wins against the rook. Note the awesome power of the queen here: 1 ♕f7! Threatening both 2 ♕h5+ and 2 ♕f8+ ♖g8? 3 ♕h6 mate. If now 1...♖g8 then 2 ♔f1! puts Black into zugzwang, a German term by which we mean he cannot move without weakening his position; the rook cannot leave the back rank and moves by the bishop to g5, h4 or a5 are answered by ♕h5+, whilst moving to b6 allows ♕f6+. 1...♗h4+ (TEST 2.1: the reader can work out what White does against 1...♖d4.) 2 ♔e2! ♖g2+ Or 2...♖g7 3 ♕e8+ followed by 4 ♕h5+. 3 ♔e3 ♖g3+ 4 ♔e4! ♖g4+ 5 ♔f5 ♖g5+ 6 ♔f4 Putting Black into zugzwang, since any move of the rook along the file loses material. 6...♖a5 The only move along the rank which does not lose immediately. 7 ♕f8+ ♔h7 8 ♔g4 ♖a4+ 9 ♔h5 ♖d4 10 ♕f7+ ♔h8 11 ♕c7 ♖e4 (TEST 2.2: find out what happens after 11...♗f6.) 12 ♕b8+ ♔g7 13 ♕b7+ ♖e7 14 ♕g2+ and the bishop finally falls.

Here is a game position in which White uses his queen in exemplary fashion:

Hecht v Ghitescu Amsterdam 1971

At first sight White’s queen looks somewhat restricted, but upon closer examination we can see that Black’s pieces are tied down to the task of preventing it penetrating into the centre (Black’s queen guards the rook, his king’s bishop the e5 pawn, his queen’s bishop the e8 square and his king the f8, g8 and h8 squares). In fact, now is the ideal time to start a second front. It is most instructive in the following play to contrast the mobility of each side, noting in particular the giant strides taken by White’s queen as it attacks various weaknesses. Play went: 1 g4! fxg3 Or 1...♗g6 2 g5 ♗e7 3 ♘xe5 ♖b8 4 ♖a7 ♕xe5 5 ♖xe7+ ♕xe7 6 ♕xb8; or here 2...♗d8 3 ♘xe5 ♖b8 4 ♕xc6! ♕xe5 5 ♖a7+ ♗e7 6 ♕f6+! ♕xf6 7 gxf6+ ♔xf6 8 ♗h4+ winning. This is just the sort of penetration Black fears. 2 ♖g1 ♖b8 3 ♖xg3+ ♔f7 4 ♕a2! ♔e7 5 ♖h3 ♗f7 6 ♕a1! ♖g8 7 ♗g3 ♔e6 Or 7...♕d7 8 ♖h6! ♖xg3 9 ♖xf6! wins. 8 ♕f1! ♗g6 9 ♗h4 ♕g7 10 ♗g5 ♖h8? Missing the final point, but his position was already difficult. 11 ♗xf6! ♔xf6 Or 11...♕xf6 12 ♘d4+! etc. 12 ♘xe5+! 1-0. 12...♔xe5 13 ♕a1+ wins the queen and anything else loses at least a piece.

A queen, then, thrives on open lines and points of attack, especially welcoming a weakened king’s position where its checking and mating powers can come into their own. For these reasons, the plan of the defending side is clear: the queen must not be offered weaknesses to attack and must be restricted in its movements or, if possible, tied down itself to defence, as in the Toran-Tal game already quoted, a task for which it is eminently unsuited. Our next example pinpoints the rôles of the attacker and defender in such cases:

Euwe v Grünfeld Zandvoort 1936

White has won the enemy queen for rook and bishop but must not imagine that the game can win itself; his own light squares are weak and the queen desperately needs points of attack. Euwe’s notes to the following play, given in inverted commas, reveal how much he appreciates these problems:

1 ♘g5! ♗xg5! “This is forced, for as soon as Black weakens his king’s position White’s material superiority will prove decisive.” Indeed, after 1...g6 2 ♕h3 h5 3 e6! the queen has a field day e.g. 3...♘xe6 4 ♘xe6 fxe6 5 ♕xe6+ ♔g7 6 ♕d7+ ♖f7 7 ♗h6+!. Or 3...♗xg5 4 exf7+ ♖xf7 5 ♗xg5 followed by ♗e3 and ♕e6. Or, finally, 3...f5 4 ♗e3! ♗xg5 5 ♗xc5 ♖fe8 6 ♕g3! etc. 2 ♗xg5 ♖fe8! Already there are cunning queen attacks in the air e.g. 2...h6? 3 ♗e7 ♖fc8 4 ♗xc5 ♖xc5 5 ♕d7! when 5...♗e4 loses to 6 ♕d4 and 5...♖b8 allows 6 e6!, creating an entry on the sixth and seventh ranks for his rook and queen to operate, when play might go 6...fxe6 7 ♕xe6+ ♔h7 8 ♖d1 with full control. 3 ♖e1 ♖e6 4 ♖e3 ♖ae8 “As soon becomes apparent, this is a decisive mistake, for Black can no longer keep his king’s side intact.” 5 h4! h6 6 ♗f6! “Winning quickly, the threat being 7 ♖g3 g6 8 ♖xg6+ followed by mate in three; or if 6...gxf6 7 exf6 threatening both mate and the knight.” 6...g6 7 ♕f4! ♔h7 8 ♗g5! White has achieved his aim of opening up Black’s king’s position, for now 8...hxg5 9 ♕xf7+ ♔h8 10 hxg5 leads to mate and 8...♔g8 9 ♗xh6 is hopeless. 8...f5 9 exf6 1-0, “For it is impossible to guard against the numerous threats, above all 10 ♕c7+.”

However, despite these examples, we must not have an exaggerated idea of the queen’s strength. The Gusev-Averbach position showed us the abject rôle a queen can play when tied to defence and serves as a warning to those who idolize this piece. There is also the player who feels that the game loses its interest once queens are off the board, a silly attitude to say the least. I cannot resist quoting a queenless middle game that has all the excitement anyone could wish for:

Adorjan v Androvitsky Hungary 1971

Black has foolishly weakened his king’s side in the mistaken belief that he has little to fear with the queens off. His illusions are soon shattered after 1 h4! ♘d6 2 hxg5 hxg5 Or 2...♘f7 3 ♘e7+ ♗xe7 4 ♖xe7 hxg5 5 ♗c3! c6 6 ♖h8+! ♘xh8 7 ♖g7 mate. 3 ♗c3! ♖e8 Or 3...♘b5 4 ♘e7+ ♔g7 5 ♖e6+! ♘xc3 6 ♖g6+ ♔f7 7 ♖h7+ ♔e8 8 ♘xc3 winning; or here 4...♗xe7 5 ♖xe7 ♘xc3 6 ♖hh7! winning. 4 ♖h8+! ♔f7 5 ♖h7+ ♔g8 6 ♖g7+! ♔f8 7 ♘xc7 ♗xc7 8 ♖xc7 ♘b5 9 ♖h7 ♖xe5 10 ♗xe5 b6 10...a6 11 ♘d7+! ♔e8 12 ♘f6+ ♔d8 13 a4 ♘a7 14 ♗c7 mate. 11 ♘d7+! ♗xd7 12 ♖h8+ ♔e7 13 ♖xa8 ♔e6 14 a4 ♗c6 15 ♖g8 ♔xe5 16 axb5 ♗xb5 17 ♖xb7 ♗f1 18 ♖g7 1-0.

Here is another example of a middle game without queens, played when Kasparov won the World Junior Championship at the tender age of 17. I quote the whole game: Danailov v Kasparov: 1 c4 g6 2 ♘f3 ♗g7 3 ♘c3 d6 4 d4 ♘f6 5 e4 0-0 6 ♗e2 e5 7 dxe5 dxe5 8 ♕xd8 ♖xd8 9 ♗g5 ♘bd7 10 ♘d5 c6 11 ♘e7+ ♔f8 12 ♘xc8 ♖dxc8 13 0-0-0 ♘c5 14 ♗xf6 ♗xf6 15 ♗d3

Danailov v Kasparov World Junior Championship 1980

White has exchanged his queen and two minor pieces, without a great deal of thought, in the mistaken belief that this is the way to achieve a comfortable draw. In reality, his position contains dark square weaknesses which Kasparov exploits in splendid fashion, despite (or because of?) the reduced material. 15...a5! 16 ♖he1 ♖e8 17 ♗f1 ♗d8! 18 g3 a4! 19 ♔c2 ♗a5 20 ♖e3 ♖ad8! In contrast to White’s exchanges, this exchange of one rook to gain control of the ‘d’ file is positionally justified. 21 ♖xd8 ♖xd8 22 ♗h3 22 ♘xe5? loses a pawn after 22...♖d2+ 25 ♔c1 ♖xf2 24 ♖f3 ♖xf3 25 ♘xf3 ♘xe4. 22...f6 23 ♖e2 ♔e7 24 ♗g2 ♘d3! A cunning move that forces the weakening 25 a3 in view of the threatened 25...♘b4+ 26 ♔b1?? ♖d1 mate; if now 25 ♔b1 ♘b4 26 ♖d2 ♖xd2 27 ♘xd2 then 27...♘xa2 wins a pawn, whilst in this line 26 ♖e1 also loses a pawn to 26...♖d3! 27 ♗g2 ♘xa2 28 ♔xa2 ♖xf3! 29 ♖e2 ♖d3. 25 a3 ♘c5 26 h4 h5 27 ♖e3

Danailov v Kasparov (cont.)

White’s position is being held together by his knight which guards the important d4 and d2 squares, so after 27...g5! 28 hxg5 fxg5 he dare not capture the e5 pawn because of 29...♖d2+ 30 ♔b1 ♖xf2 31 ♗f3 g4 32 ♗