Contents

Preface

Foreword

Explanation of Symbols

Introduction

Part I – The Seven Signals

Chapter 1 King position

Chapter 2 Unprotected Pieces

Chapter 3 Alignment

Chapter 4 Knight Fork Distance

Chapter 5 Trapped Pieces

Chapter 6 Crucial Defender/Overloaded Defender

Chapter 7 Impotent Defence/Defence Too Far Away

Part II – Find the Relevant Theme

Introduction

Chapter 8 King Position

Chapter 9 Unprotected Pieces

Chapter 10 Alignment

Chapter 11 Knight Fork Distance

Chapter 12 Trapped Pieces

Chapter 13 Crucial Defender/Overloaded Defender

Chapter 14 Impotent Defence/Defence Too Far Away

Part III – Looking for the Right Move

Introduction

Chapter 15 Candidate Moves

Chapter 16 Accurate Calculation

Chapter 17 Test: Is There A Combination?

Part IV – Final Test

Exercises 1-16

Exercises 17-32

Exercises 33-50

Bibliography

Glossary of Terms

List of Positions

Swipe left for next chapter

Emmanuel Neiman

Tune Your Chess Tactics AntennaKnow when (and where!) to look for winning combinations

New In Chess 2012

© 2012 New In Chess

Published by New In Chess, Alkmaar, The Netherlands

www.newinchess.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

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ISBN: 978-90-5691-404-2

Foreword

In this book, I suggest a thinking method that is intended to help the practical chess player. I am sure that using this technique, the reader will improve his play as a whole, meaning both his tactical abilities (i.e. the ability to foresee combinations) and his positional abilities.

The idea of this work is to provide the reader with a kind of ‘antenna’. This antenna has seven ‘filters’ (what I call signals) that will allow a chess player to detect tactical possibilities.

The two main points are:

- Follow carefully the necessary steps of reflection (see the 5 phases in the Introduction);

- Detect the signals for you and for your opponent (Part I and II).

First look, then analyse, plan, and only then start to look for the right move! See Part III of this book.

A great trainer and champion1 once advised his pupils to calculate like machines. I‘d say: be human ! Do not calculate without ideas.

Good luck to all!

Emmanuel NeimanNovember 2012

1 Alexander Kotov.

Explanation of Symbols

The chess board with its coordinates:

K King

Q Queen

R Rook

B Bishop

N Knight

! good move

!! excellent move

? bad move

?? blunder

!? interesting move

?! dubious move

² White stands slightly better

³ Black stands slightly better

± White stands better

µ Black stands better

+- White has a decisive advantage

-+ Black has a decisive advantage

= balanced position

∞ unclear position

# checkmate

Introduction

Improving the ability to solve chess combinations is the main road to progress for the learning chess player. As soon as he is given the magic formula ‘White to play and win’, the seeker will try to find as quickly as possible the best move in order to provoke events and in so doing, he will improve his capacity to calculate forced lines.

After some practice, in general the improvement is significant and as a trainer I am often surprised by the ability of some people to quickly find the solution to a non-obvious puzzle.

When I congratulate a pupil on good solving, his/her reaction is often: ‘That was not difficult, you told us that there was a combination!’ Most of them add: ‘The real problem is that when we are playing, we don’t know when to look for a tactic’. This started me thinking about the idea of an ‘antenna’ that ‘alarms’ a player when a combination is available.

Once I found in a newspaper the following position, which I gave to grandmaster Anatoly Vaisser to solve:

Lingnau,CarstenOrso,MiklosBudapest 1992 (4)

White to play and win

One, maybe two seconds after I showed him the position, he indicated the right solution by drawing a kind of ‘Z’ with his finger in the air.

Nevertheless, in the actual game White was unable to win, and had to be content with a draw after

65.Kd5 Bg1 66.Ke6 Bf2 67.Kd7 Bg1 68.Kc8 Be3 69.Na5+ Ka7 70.Bb7 g2 ½-½

Here we have a basic illustration of our theme. White was not advised that there was a forced win, so he just continued in the ‘logical’ way, bringing his king toward the enemy monarch.

What did Vaisser immediately detect here ?

We can observe, before doing any calculation, that the black king is already ‘stalemated’ by the knight on c6 and the pawn on a6. This observation should lead us to look for some chance to give check without moving the two guards (knight and pawn). Then we might notice that the light-squared bishop is able to deliver the mate, for it can reach the b7-square via the route h3-c8-b7 and mate.

Did Vaisser follow all these steps?

I doubt it – in one or two seconds. What (as I think) he did instantly was just:

1. Checking the enemy king position.

2. Looking for a mating possibility.

3. Seeing the right route.

Is it the same process?

No, the trained grandmaster (at this time, Vaisser was one of the best rapid players in the world), knowing that there is something to be found, concentrates on the essential. First, the king! Probably, almost immediately after he is given the diagram position, he looks for a mate, because he instantly realizes that the black king is trapped.

If you tried some fancies along the long diagonal, or, like in the actual game, started a long march with the king, then you did not investigate the most crucial problem in the position (and most generally in chess): the king’s position.

I hope that after reading this book, you will go for the real stuff in this kind of position, and that before looking for moves, you will look for ideas.

Here the idea is relative to the poor king’s position. Such an idea is classically called the motif of a combination. The motif is the reason why there’s a combination or a forced win (a combination normally implies a sacrifice, here we look for ‘tactics’ – that is, a forced variation with or without a sacrifice).

Generally, puzzle books are arranged according to theme. This classification: double attack, pin, deflection, decoy, etc., is a useful tool for solving purposes. When we know that there is a combination, the motif provides a valuable answer to the ‘How’. In this book, we deal with the ‘Why’: we want to discover if there is a chance of winning by force.

We are looking for hints, and if we can find some, then we will look at the position with a solver’s eyes – a solver who has already done part of the job. The antenna has been erected, and it involves seven filters. In classical chess literature these filters are called motifs. In this book, in accordance with our ‘antenna’ theme, we will call them signals.

A. What is a signal?A signal is a weakness in the opponent’s position.

When we look for a signal, we look for a reason why we should be winning. Since Steinitz, we know that the combination does not appear randomly, but as a consequence of the positional superiority of one side. This superiority lies in positive factors, let’s say more active pieces. But we can take the opposite approach: looking at the opponent’s position, we can establish that he has passive pieces; or they may be trapped, locked in or lacking coordination. This way of looking gives us hints, and those hints we will call signals, in other words: reasons to believe that there is a possible win.

Take another position:

Black to move

White has no weaknesses for the time being. All his men are well protected, and Black is unable to threaten any of them. Not a single white piece is on a light square, so the bishop is useless for offensive purposes. No file is available for the black rook (Black might dream about ...h7-h5-h4, ...Rh8 and ...h4xg3 with a possible attack on f2, but in the meantime White will have taken all the pawns on the queenside, beginning with Rc7 or Nxe6). In short, there’s no chance of any winning tactics for Black.

When we are winning, or at least in a very advantageous situation like this one, the study of the signals will also help us keep the opponent in the defence, without allowing him any tactical possibilities.

What is the difference between a signal and a theme?

The signal (the motif) is the reason why the combination exists. The theme is the main mechanism which allows us to make it work.

Christiansen,LarryKarpov,AnatolyWijk aan Zee (m/1) 1993

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Nc3 c5 7.e4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nxc6 Bxc6 10.Bf4 Nh5

Chasing the white bishop, but also provisionally misplacing the knight. The move is correct here, but not with Karpov’s follow-up in mind...

11.Be3 Bd6

11...Bc5 or 11...Qb8 are better.

An important signal is the unprotected piece. Here Karpov has placed two unprotected men on open lines: the h5-knight and the d6-bishop.

12.Qd1 1-0

A double attack winning a piece in the opening, quite a rare bird in the practice of World Champions!

Here we can clearly see the distinction: the signal can be found in the unprotected pieces. A single unprotected piece is already a reason to look for a forced continuation – here we have two of them. So there could (should?) be some win. The theme is the realization of the winning tactic. Here the classical way of responding to the signal is to look for a double attack.

If we don’t find the thematic double attack, we won’t win, of course. But the win exists only because of the signal, and here, once we are aware of the motif, the realization is not difficult.

Both are complementaries; for example sometimes the signal is clear, yet the combination is difficult to work out, because we need to use complex calculation. Here the theme is a useful help.

Study position

White to move

The signal is obvious here. Black’s problem lies in the position of his king, stuck in the white camp, while the rest of his army is far away. Note that the king cannot go to e4, because then 2.Qe3 is checkmate. Yet, finding the win is not simple, and White has to act quickly, otherwise Black could force more exchanges with 1...Re2+, and after 2.Kxe2, then 2...Rxg3.

Let’s first calculate the most forced variation: 1.Rxg8 Qxg8 2.g3+ Kg4 (if 2...Ke4 then 3.Qe3 mate)

In this position, White has a draw with 3.Qf3+ Kh3 4.Qg2+ Kg4 5.Qf3+ etc.

After 3.Qf3+ Kh3 White could try 4.g4+, but then 4...Kxh4 (not 4...Kh2 because of 5.Qg2 mate) 5.Qg3+ and Black has an escape with 5...Kg5.

Hence the first move, which is based on the theme of square closing, a typical theme when hunting the enemy king. With the same idea, instead of Rxg8 White plays

1.Rg5! Rxg5 2.g3+ Kg4

2...Ke4 3.Qe3#.

2...Rxg3 3.Qxg3+ Ke4 4.Qe3#.

3.Qf3+ Kh3

4.g4+ Kxh4

4...Kh2 5.Qg2#.

5.Qg3#

Now we will start the study of the different signals.

This book is aimed at various levels of readers. Some basics of tactical play are dealt with further on in this book. If you are a beginner, or you lack experience in this aspect of the game, I strongly advise you to start with the introduction to Part II, where basic tactical themes and classical checkmates are given (page 71).

B. The thinking processWhat shall we do when we examine a position?

There are five important steps1 that we must follow in order to get the right feeling for a position.

1.Global vision

This part is very important in my opinion, but most players omit it.

The first thing to do when you examine a position is: take your time! Take a panoramic view without trying to grasp all the details, try to get a general impression. Look at it as if it were a large painting: don’t come too close at first if you

want to grasp the whole scene.

If you randomly switch on the TV, what do you do when you see the first images? Probably first you will try to guess what kind of a program it is. If it is a movie, what kind? A comedy? A western? And if you keep this program on, then you will try to gather more information and progressively try to know exactly what’s going on.

A chess game is like a movie: if you begin in the middle of it, you have to make some effort to get into it. So when you examine a position, you should begin in exactly the same way. First you take a ‘global’ look to get some general information, and then you will progressively focus more deeply.

What impression does it give you? Do you prefer White? Black? Does it remind you of a similar position you know? It is a general feeling that you look for. Is there something unusual about it? This part of the reflexion is especially important because once you begin to get involved with calculation, you will not be able to retrieve this fresh look anymore – that which some people call ‘intuition’.

2. Analysis of the position

It is time to check the various strategic and tactical points. What about the material? (maybe you have seen this already). Who is better, from various points of view? What are the important strategic and tactical points? Who would be better in an endgame?

This phase is the one we will chiefly consider in our book. It is the right time for detecting the tactical possibilities and looking for signals – we will come back to this point in the next chapters. The analysis will reveal the signals (see Part I), and once you have picked one or two, you can try and look for a combination, with the relevant theme in mind (see Part II). You won’t find a combination every time, but keeping the signals in mind helps you to be alert.

3. Looking for the theme

When we have studied all the elements of a position, we have to choose a general direction. This is also the time for an examination of important strategic choices like exchanges, or decisions concerning the central pawn structure – what we call a ‘plan’. For example, we have noticed that the ending would be winning, so the general direction is to find a way to exchange the queens. You don’t plan at every move, but knowing what is desirable helps you to find one when required.

From a tactical point of view, if we have detected several signals, then we can look for the relevant themes that could help us find the correct idea. For example, we detect that the only defence against an important threat (Qxh7 mate) is by a certain piece – say a knight on f6. The theme will be to eliminate or dislodge this defender in order to give checkmate. Here we must look for the themes of elimination, deflection and decoy. We have found our idea, now we can begin our calculations.

4. Looking for candidate moves

This is the time to make choices. Basically the first three steps can (and should) be made in the opponent’s time. Now it is up to you. You know the position and have registered all the details. Time to get to work! Spassky, when analysing a game and feeling that a forced win was available, used to say: ‘Now is the moment! This is crisis! Now we have to think!’2.

The selection of candidate moves should be made according to the general idea defined in Part III. We will choose the most forcing way to execute our idea first, and then the second most forcing, etc. The correct order for this is: Checks – Mate patterns – Captures – Threats.

5. The calculation of variations

This is the stage were we have to check our ideas. The previous examinations required a good vision of the board. The

final stage is just one of sweating. We have to examine the candidate moves, then try to find the best answer for the opponent, then our second move, the best defence... without forgetting any possible counter to our ideas.

When we deal with forced moves (i.e. only moves), the calculation is easy. Sometimes we can find positions that are more complicated, and in this case, at each step, we have to return to step 4. For example, we want to examine a certain move for White that has many possible answers. Then for the black side we have to go back to the examination of candidate moves, to peruse them before starting to calculate (more on this in Part III).

Phases of reflection in practice (1)

Ganguly, Surya ShekharBasencyan,MarkDubai Open 2012 (1.11)

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.g4 h6 5.g5 hxg5 6.Bxg5 c6 7.Nf3 e5 8.Bc4 Be7 9.a4 a5 10.h4 Qc7 11.Rg1 Nf8 12.Qe2 Ne6 13.0-0-0 exd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Rxd4 Be6 16.Bxe6 fxe6 17.Qc4 e5 18.Bxf6 gxf6

18...exd4 19.Rxg7 dxc3 20.Qe6 with unavoidable checkmate.

18...Bxf6 19.Nb5+–.

19.Nb5 Qb8

What is our first visual impression here? Nearly all the black pieces are on the back rank, the king is unable to castle. White enjoys an active position, with all his men attacking on open lines, while his king is well protected. Without any further examination, we should analyse the position bearing in mind that White looks much superior, and later try to look for a forced win.

The second phase is the analysis. Let’s check the material: equal. King positions: very poor for Black, especially if White’s men can invade immediately (white queen on e6, white rook on g7). Our motif will be: ‘defence too far away’ (see Chapter 7, p. 62). Black’s rooks can do little against a direct attack on his king. Then we have to take into account that Black has a double threat: on the knight and on the rook.

The third phase consists of looking for the theme. We look for a decisive attack, so let’s see what pieces are in the defence. The main defender is the e7-bishop. It is useful for us to deflect this bishop (’deflection’), or eliminate it (’elimination of the defender’). The fourth phase is looking for candidate moves. Here we should examine three that are quite forced: 20.Rg8+, 20.Nxd6+ and 20.Qe6, which threatens to invade with the rook. The fifth phase consists of accurate calculation. Then we can choose the right move.

20.Nxd6+!+–

20.Rg8+ Rxg8 21.Qxg8+ Kd7 and Black is OK; 20.Qe6 cxb5 21.Rg7 Qc7 and Black holds. I’ll just mention a few other moves, which should be taken into consideration only if the first three are all inefficient. The program offers two other winning ideas3:

The move 20.Rg7 is less forcing, and there is a defence that complicates the task of the attacker: 20...d5, when three white pieces are attacked simultaneously, and White has one only move to keep the advantage: 21.Rxd5!! cxd5 22.Nc7+ Kd8 (22...Kf8 23.Ne6+ Ke8 24.Qb5# is a surprising checkmate) 23.Qxd5+ Kxc7 24.Rxe7+ Kb6 25.Qb5+ Ka7 26.Qxa5#.

Another computer suggestion is 20.Rxd6, when after 20...cxb5 21.Rg8+ checkmates. Upon 20...Bxd6 White has to find the cold-blooded 21.Rg7! with unavoidable checkmate.

20...Kf8 is the best defensive try. Again, the best reply is not obvious: 21.Qc5! (with the idea Rxf6+) 21...Bxd6 22.Nxd6 Qa7 23.Qc4 b5 24.Qxc6! Rg8 25.Rxg8+ Kxg8 26.axb5 Rb8 27.Nf5 and White is winning.

20...Kd7

20...Bxd6 21.Qe6+ Be7 22.Rg7 and White will checkmate quickly.

21.Rd3 1-0

21...Bxd6 22.Rg7+ Kd8 23.Qe6 and the game is over.

Phases of reflection in practice (2)

Vallejo Pons,FranciscoPonomariov,RuslanSpain tt 2011 (3)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Be2 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Nxd2 10.Nbxd2 0-0 11.0-0 f6 12.a3 Ba5 13.Bb5 Ne7 14.Qc2 Bf5 15.Bd3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Ng6 17.g3 c5 18.b4 cxb4 19.Nb3 bxa3 20.Nxa5 Qxa5 21.Qb3 fxe5 22.Rxa3 Qd8 23.dxe5 Qd7 24.e6 Qxe6 25.Qxb7 a5 26.Nd4 Qe4 27.Rd1 Rab8 28.Qa6 Rb1 29.Rd3 Rxd1+ 30.Rxd1 Ne5 31.Qxa5 Ng4 32.Nc6

32.Qe1 should hold for White: 32...Qxe1+ 33.Rxe1 Rxf2 34.Re7.

What is our first impression here? White’s pieces are scattered all over the board while Black’s men are coordinated and clearly aimed at the enemy king. The second phase, analysis, shows us that material is equal, and that White is threatening to take on d5 with a quick draw to follow.

Then we look for signals, and we can find several:

- the undefended white rook (Chapter 2, page 34);

- the weakness of White’s fortress, and of his king (Chapter 1, page 27).

The third phase of looking for a theme should convince us that the many weak points on White’s side could be exploited with a double attack.

The fourth phase (examining candidate moves) tells us to first examine checks (33...Qg2+ is not good) and mating patterns. 32...Ne3 creates a mate threat.

Phase 5: So we calculate and select the winning:

32...Ne3! 33.fxe3

33.Ne7+ changes nothing after 33...Kh8–+ as the knight protects d5 from e3.

33...Qxe3+ 34.Kg2

34.Kh1 is no better because of 34...Qf3+.

34...Rf2+

34...Qe2+ 35.Kh3 Qxd1 also wins, as the ending after 36.Qxd5+ Qxd5 37.Ne7+ Kf7 38.Nxd5 is lost for White.

35.Kh3 Qh6+ 36.Kg4 Qg6+ 0-1

C. Principles of calculationThe calculation of variations is the most difficult part of chess, and arguably the most important. If you learn a chimpanzee to play chess and give him abilities in every part of the game but no calculating strength, he will remain a

poor player. If you don’t learn him anything, but give him the calculating ability of, say, a 2600 Elo grandmaster, then he will be around master level (2400). By the way, we don’t use chimpanzees, but machines, who don’t have any intelligence at all. Yet, by mainly using calculation (to make it even more unfair, they are also given huge opening knowledge) they are able to beat the best players, however stupid they may be!

Let’s just look at the basic technics of calculation. When dealing with combinations, we usually don’t need to calculate very deep, but we must be able to consider every plausible move and to calculate it at two or three moves’ depth. How to do this?

Firstly, in calculation, we need to consider the best moves. We don’t deal with mistakes by the opponent. So the method is simple: you are White, you consider an attacking move and then in order to find the best possible answer, you mentally turn the board, and as Black you look for the best defence. Then, again as White, you consider the second move, and so on.

Secondly, now that you already have a good feeling about the position (steps 1, 2 and 3), what do you calculate first?

You calculate the most forcing moves, i.e. those that are the most demanding for the opponent, leaving him with the narrowest number of possible answers. In doing so you are considerably easing your task by restricting the number of lines that you have to calculate.

Checks

The first moves to consider are checks, of course. Let’s try some calculation in practice with an old game:

BarnesNN1876 (place unknown)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3 Nxc3 5.dxc3 d6

5...f6! is the official refutation of this interesting gambit: 6.Nh4 g6 7.f4 Qe7 8.f5 (if 8.0-0 Qc5+ wins the exposed c4-bishop) 8...Qg7 9.fxg6 hxg6 10.Qg4 Kd8 11.Qg3 (11...d5 was threatened) 11...g5 12.Nf5 Qh7 13.0-0 d5! with an advantage for Black (not the slow 13...c6 due to 14.Bd3 with a lot of play for White. Black was crushed after 14...d5 (14...Qf7 or 14...Qh5 were safer) 15.Nd6 e4 (on 15...Qc7 16.Bxg5! wins; or 15...Qe7 16.Rxf6!) 16.Rxf6 exd3 17.Bxg5 Be7 18.Nf7+ 1-0 Rublevsky-Scetinin, Pardubice 1992) 14.Bxd5 Bxf5 and Black eventually won in Krnjovsek-Pavasovic, Slovenia ch-U18, 1993.

6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.Bxf7+ Kd8 8.0-0 Qxe5 9.Re1 Qf6

White to play and give mate. In the actual game, Barnes announced mate in 11, but there are shorter solutions. Our job is to find checks, and, where we have several possibilities, to find the most restricting ones for the opponent.

10.Re8+

This one is not difficult. Nearly the only possible check (Qxd6 is not so attractive), and there is only one answer.

10...Kd7 11.Qg4+ Kc6

This is the only move because the two alternatives lose immediately, so we won’t take them into account. Here, in the book, we have a diagram, but during the game you won’t have one before you! So I advise you to use a ‘step-by-step’ method: after calculating two or three relatively forced moves, try to visualize the position in your head, just as if you had it in front of you, on the board.

This method is used by all strong players and it is based on a photographic memory. Every two or three moves, you ‘take a picture’ and try to fix the new image so that you know where all the pieces are. Only then do you continue with your calculation.

This method explains why the majority of the best players often don’t look at the board. Most of the time they are ‘building’ their own position on the board – the one they are currently analysing.

This method takes time, because you need time to shift and replace many pieces when you go further in your calculation, but in the end it is considerably safer. If you calculate while looking at the actual board, you run the risk of mixing up the actual position on the board with the result of your calculations.

For example, there is the phenomenon of the ‘residual image’ that remains in your calculations: ‘seeing’ a piece on a square that is not there any more because it has been captured, or displaced. You should not calculate 11...Qf5 because it is not a good move, but anyway it also leads to mate: 12.Qxf5+ Kc6. Can you see how, as an exercise4?

Here we have a problem, because if we play the logical sequence the game is more complicated.

12.Bd5+!

This is a very forcing move. 12.Qc4+ Kb6 13.Be3+ is ‘normal’, but now Black can interpose 13...c5 In a ‘real game’, we can stop here because White is winning. He has a small material and a huge positional advantage after the simple 14.Rxc8.

12...Kxd5

Practically forced. After the alternatives, Qb4 and Bc4 will mate immediately.

13.Qe4+ Kc5

Only move.

14.Be3+

A very pleasant move for White, because it introduces a new attacker with tempo. Black’s answer is virtually forced.

14...Kb5

The black king is cornered thanks to the joint forces of the queen along the light-squared diagonal (h1-a8) and the e3-bishop along the dark-squared diagonal (g1-a7), so that he has only few available squares (b5, a5, a6) and no help from the rest of his army. The finish is quick:

15.a4+! Ka6

15...Ka5 16.Qb4+ Ka6 17.Qb5# makes no difference.

16.Qc4+ Ka5 17.Qb5# 1-0

Mate patterns

Andruet,GillesSpassky,BorisGermany Bundesliga 1987/88 (8.2)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Nc3 0-0 7.e3 Qe7 8.Rc1 Rd8 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 Nf8 12.0-0 Ng6 13.Ne2 c6 14.Ng3 Re8 15.Qc5 Qd8 16.Nd2 Nh4 17.b4 a6 18.a4 Bd7 19.Rb1 Ng4 20.Qc2 g6 21.b5 axb5 22.axb5 h5 23.bxc6 bxc6 24.Rfe1 Qf6 25.Ndf1?!

25.Nb3 was preferable, because the knight on f1 hampers the coordination of White’s pieces. It restricts the available space of notably the king, the d3-bishop (which cannot retreat to f1 now) and the rooks (which are cut off from the kingside). We can notice that in order to defend, White had to give some breathing space to his army, and instead of regrouping hedgehog-like, it would have been better to take the knight to the queenside.

25...Ra3!

Intending to overload the queen with the defence of d3 and f2.

26.Re2

White’s pieces are hurting each other, and thanks to some energetic play, Black is now able to seize his chance:

26...c5!

Threatening 27...c4, trapping White’s bishop.

27.dxc5

Not 27.Qxc5 Rxd3.

27...Ne5!

A very nice move, which contains two threats. One is apparent: to take the d3-bishop. Can you see the second threat?

28.Bb5

Anyway there was no defence. What are the candidate moves for Black?

28...Qf3!

Of course it is logical to begin with the examination of possible checks, but as they do not lead to a forced mate (if 28...Nef3+, 29.Kh1!), you should then continue by calculating the threat of giving mate on the next move.

White has simply no defence against the mate on g2. So he resigned. 29.gxf3 is the only try, and then 29...Nexf3+ 30.Kh1 Bh3 renews the threat of mating on g2. As White, lacking coordination, is unable to control this square, checkmate cannot be prevented.

Captures

Material is so important that when a player takes a piece, the recapture is nearly automatic – and if he cannot recapture, then we have gained material. Every possible capture should be checked by a serious player.

Bolbochan,JulioCruz,Walter OswaldoRio de Janeiro 1952 (15)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 0-0 5.d4 d5 6.c4 c5 7.dxc5 dxc4 8.Nc3 Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Nc6 10.h3 h6 11.Be3 Be6 12.Nd4 Bd7 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.Rd4 e6 15.Rxc4 Rfd8 16.Bd4 a5 17.a3 Rd7 18.e3 Re8 19.Be5 Rd2

In this game, steps one (Global vision) and two (Analysis) helped us to determine that the aggressive black rook on d2 is in a somewhat dangerous position as the white knight may attack it at some point.

There are no checks, nor mating threats, so let’s consider the available captures. White can either take the bishop on c6 or the knight on f6.

20.Bxc6

The most logical move, because Black’s answer is forced. If we begin with the capture on f6, we will have to deal with two variations (20...Bxf6 or 20...Bxg2)5.

20...bxc6 21.Bxf6 Bxf6

22.Ne4!

After the two forced exchanges, a knight fork wins on the spot.

22...Bxb2

The only try is a counterattack against White’s undeveloped rook. It also starts with a capture.

23.Rb1

Now, in order to keep the bishop defended, Black has to play 23...Re2. But then the rook is dominated and trapped after 24.Kf1! and White is winning.

Piece attacks

For the same reasons as piece captures, piece attacks are the last category of so-called ‘forced moves’. The defender has to do something concrete against the threat, so it reduces the number of variations that we have to deal with.

Not all attacks are good, but we always have to check them carefully.

Külaots,KaidoChuchelov,VladimirIstanbul Ech 2003 (1)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Qg4 Nf6 9.Qxg7 Rg8 10.Qh6 Ne5 11.Be2 Neg4 12.Bxg4 Rg6 13.Qh3 Nxg4 14.Be3 Bb8 15.f4

Now Black has a straightforward win, thanks to a forced variation based on a capture and direct attacks.

15...Nxe3! 16.Qxe3 Ba7

Attacking the queen with a pin along the a7-g1 diagonal. White’s answer is forced:

17.Nd4

17.Nc5 d6 is basically game over.

17...e5!

An attack on the knight follows. Even if it is easily parried, it again forces White’s answer.

18.fxe5

18...Qg5!

A new attack to follow up with. There is also a mating threat on g2. White’s answer is once more forced if he wants to keep the knight alive.

19.Kf2

19.Qxg5 loses a piece after 19...Bxd4+ 20.Kh1 Rxg5.

19...d6! 0-1

19...Qxg2+ was not so strong, even if it was clearly in Black’s favour.

19...d6 is a beautiful move that threatens to take on e5. There is no defence to this simple threat: 20.Qxg5 (on 20.e6 Rf6+! is the point. Black’s takes everything in the amusing variation 21.Ke2 Qxg2+ 22.Rf2 Rxf2+ 23.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 24.Kxf2 (material is still equal, but not for long...) 24...Bxd4+ 25.Ke2 Bxb2 grabs everything; and if 20.c3 dxe5) 20...Rxg5 21.c3 dxe5.

We saw the different moves that have to be considered first. In practice, when he has enough thinking time, a strong player will, at every move, automatically check all those forced moves.

Of course, in a book about combinations, you will be dealing mainly with this kind of moves, because they present extracts of the crucial part of a game. Therefore, in this book, we will give the moves that lead to the crucial position where possible, to get closer to the actual game situation.

We are now ready to tackle our subject. We will begin by studying the different signals, and to use them as a general tool to identify the tactical chances. If you see one signal, then your antenna should be in alarm mode: at any time, there may be a combinative possibility. For example, your opponent has one unprotected piece. If you can’t exploit this right away, don’t attack it. You have identified one weakness, and as soon as he will concede a second, you will have serious chances to strike! When you see two weaknesses (or more), you should start calculating.

This book is aimed at various levels of readers. Some basics of tactical play are dealt with further on in the book. If you are a beginner, or you lack experience in this aspect of the game, I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction of Part II: A. Standard Combination Themes (page 71) and B. Basic Checkmates (page 75).

Many thanks for their help to Nicolas Devaux, who kindly accepted to read the manuscript, give corrections and advices, Yochanan Afek, who gave me precious help upon a rare topic, and Stéphanie Ménasé, whose help during the ‘finishing days’ of the manuscript proved invaluable.

In order to find fresh examples for this book, I mainly browsed Mr. Baburin’s Chess Today, which was of great help. I warmly recommend this digital newspaper to every reader for the daily training that it offers. I have also used examples from the ChessBase News articles, especially from Oliver Reeh’s chronicles.

Many books have been written on our subject. I have used examples and ideas from several of them, and gave a short list of the (to me) most memorable in the Bibliography in the back of the book.

1 See Valeri Beim’s The Enigma of Chess Intuition for a very similar explanation (he seems to involve more work in the first step, but the rest is nearly the same). The term ‘examining a position’ is also used by Beim.2 Thanks to D.J.t.G. and A.H. for this quotation.3 I give these variations because they are nice and interesting. You should not calculate them in practice, the main thing is to be able to check if 20.Nxd6 is winning.4 13.Qd5+ Kb6 14.Qb3+ Kc6 15.Qc4+ (15.Rd8 is the computer move, enabling the quickest mate. It is of course completely impossible for a human to find such a move: 15...b5 16.Be3. 15.c4 is also quicker, nevertheless I prefer the straightforward way) 15...Kb6 (15...Kd7 16.Rxc8! Na6 17.Be6+ Ke7 18.Bg5#) 16.Qb4+ Kc6 17.Bd5+ Kd7 18.Qg4+ Kxe8 19.Qxc8+ Ke7 20.Bg5#.5 By the way, 20.Bxf6 is just as good.

Chapter 1King position

This first of our signals is obviously the most important, as any attack against the king might immediately end the game. We will see that often, a lone motif is not enough to signal a forced win. But this is not the case as soon as the position of the king is at stake. This factor is in itself, without regard to any other weakness, enough to enable the opponent to force a win. Why? Because the other signals point to ways of gaining material. We cannot sacrifice more than what we hope to get back, while in order to deliver checkmate, we can afford to give anything.

A king on an open line, which, however, is not yet in danger of any mating attack, should be regarded as a signal. In this case, we will regard it as the equivalent of an unprotected piece (see signal 2 in the next chapter). Also here, a double attack may be possible, if we give check and attack the unprotected piece at the same time.

A poor position of the king is the greatest possible defect in a position. How do we know in the opening if the king’s position will be safe or not? Well, at first we don’t. But what we do know are many examples of dangerous attacks: when the king is in the centre of the board, there are risks of intrusion by the enemy pieces along the open files. There is also the traditional weakness of the f7-square – the f2-square in White’s case.

KennedyNN

White to move

The starting position is unusual, but in the nineteenth century, handicap games were almost the rule. Morphy, for example, used to play with the handicap of a pawn, a knight, or a tempo, and when he came back from his glorious trip in Europe, he refused to play on equal terms with any opponent any more, only accepting handicap games. Sometimes, the ‘handicap’ can prove to be an advantage, notably when a knight is missing. The rook can be brought into play more quickly!

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 Nxf2

4...Qh4! 5.0-0 Bc5 was better.

5.0-0!?

5.Kxf2 Qh4+ was what Black had hoped for; 5.Qd5.

5...Nxd1

A good appetite! 5...d5 was safer: 6.Qxd5 Qxd5 7.Bxd5 Ng4 8.Bxf7+ Kd8 and Black is much better – though not as much as at the beginning of the game!

6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Bg5#

Alekhine (see the introduction to his 200 Selected Games) considered castling to be a necessary developing move, which enables one to play with all his men, and particularly with his rooks. From a purely defensive point of view, the king might be safer in the centre than in a corner. Attackers have developed all kinds of techniques to attack it, and there’s always the risk of the famous back-rank mate, the most frequent at all levels of play.

Let’s see a ‘more recent’ game:

SchulderBoden,Samuel StandidgeLondon 1860

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 f5 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.d4 fxe4 6.dxe5 exf3 7.exf6 Qxf6 8.gxf3 Nc6 9.f4 Bd7 10.Be3 0-0-0 11.Nd2 Re8 12.Qf3 Bf5 13.0-0-0 d5! 14.Bxd5

White’s queenside-castled king is quite exposed here, as Black’s light-squared bishop on f5 has an open diagonal and the last available square for the king is occupied by the knight on d2. All of this means that the king has no squares to move to if it gets under attack.

The rest is well-known:

14...Qxc3+ 15.bxc3 Ba3#

This is the famous Boden’s Mate. The reader should know all the classical mating patterns by heart (see the Introduction to Part II on page 71), so that he will be able to spot them by anticipation, before the position might allow their realization. Here’s why you should learn them:

Kudischewitsch,DavidNeiman,EmmanuelTel Aviv 2002 (9)

1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 h6 3.Bh4 c6 4.c3 Bf5 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.Nd2 Nd7 7.f3 Ngf6 8.g4 Bh7 9.Bg3 e6 10.Bg2 Be7 11.h3 c5 12.e3 cxd4 13.Qxb6 Nxb6 14.exd4

After this curious opening sequence by White, Black can win a pawn by force. Can you see how?

14...Na4!

Attacking the b2-pawn.

15.0-0-0 Nxc3! 16.bxc3 Ba3#

‘N la Boden’! In the game White kept his king alive, but after 15.Ne2 Nxb2, the c3- and d4-pawns soon fell as well.

How do we detect such a motif? We must look for possible mating chances.

Mating chances

Gligoric,SvetozarRosenstein,JulisChicago 1963

White to move

Black’s king position is not satisfactory, for several reasons. The king is blocking its own rook, so Black’s piece connection is very poor. Notice also the poor position of the d8-knight, which restricts the other rook.

But the most crucial point is this one: there is a mate if the white rook reaches e8. This is how we have to think: look for a possible mate. Here is the position that the experienced attacker will see in his mind’s eye:

We have received the signal. This is the first and most important point. We can now examine the forced continuations that may allow the mate to come on the board. The mate on e8 is defended by the bishop on e7 and the queen on d7. So the solution is clear. We have to try to remove these two pieces by any means: elimination, deflection, decoy, pin, etc. (see Standard Combination Themes, page 71). We begin by looking at checks.

1.Qxe7+! Qxe7

Now there’s only one obstacle left: the queen. We might take it; this is good enough by the way, but not the strongest, because the black king would get some breathing space on d7.

Another idea is to deflect the black queen from the defence of e8, and we can do so with

2.Bd6!

Making use of the pin.

2...Qxd6

Black would be lost after all other moves, because he cannot defend the queen.

3.Re8#

This final position is the one we looked for at the beginning of our exercise: mate on e8.

This example was quite straightforward, and Black’s position was so bad that we could have chosen it to illustrate another motif, for example ‘lack of coordination’ (Chapter 7, see page 62).

Let us look at a more difficult example:

Rossolimo,NicolasNNParis 1944

White to move

The position is approximately equal from a materialistic point of view (an exchange for White against two pawns for Black). But Black’s king is dangerously surrounded by the white pieces and the strong pawn on e5.

On the other hand, the white pawn centre (c3-d4-e5) is under threat, and it could vanish on the next move after 1...Nxe5 or 1...cxd4. So White should act quickly, in order to benefit from his provisionary space advantage.

This is the general approach. More concretely put: what mating pattern should we look for?

The position of the e4-knight and the g1-rook should immediately make us think about the following situation:

White to move

When an experienced player sees such a position, he immediately spots the following mating pattern with rook and knight, called Arabian or Arabic Mate:

1.Nf6+ Kh8 2.Rg8#

So in our initial position, without the g7-pawn, it would be mate in two. Here we have our signal, and now we must look for a way to respond to it.

An idea would be to play 1.Qxh6+ in order to force 1...gxh6 and so reach the desired pattern. But the knight on f5 also controls the h6-square. So we start by examining:

1.Rxf5!

Eliminating the defender while clearing the diagonal of the queen.

1...exf5 2.Qxh6+!

Trying to deflect the g7-pawn, or to extract the black king, in order to mate him along our open lines.

2...Kxh6 3.Rh1+ Kg6

Now we have only few attackers left, so it is easier to look for mating chances! Here the black king has no squares, but how to give check to it?

Our hero will be the e2-bishop, which would give mate in 2 if it was allowed to go to h5. Here a strong player dreams of the following situation:

White to move

A type of back-rank mate is achieved after two moves:

1.Bh5+ Kh7 2.Bxf7#

Or 1...Kh6 2.Bxf7#.

Let’s move the king forward to threaten our second intended mating pattern:

4.Kf4!

Now Black can only hope for an interception along the h-file, after the king has moved to h7.

4...Qe6

Here the Bh5 check is playable, but unclear, and we must look for another forced variation. The king still being ‘stalemated’ (no available squares), can’t we find a direct mating threat?

5.Rh8!

(5.Bh5+ Kh7 6.Bxf7+ Qh6) and there is no more defence to the mate on h5.

Quite a piece of calculation! I remember that at the beginning of our century, the strongest program (it was probably Fritz 3) was unable to find it on an average computer. Yet a strong grandmaster spots it very quickly, because he will be looking for it. The mating pattern being known, he immediately tries to realize it, and calculates the sacrifice on h6 after the preliminary Rxf5. The rest is accurate calculation, not easy but quite forced.

What are the mating patterns? (1)

Rogers,IanRis,RobertGibraltar Masters 2007

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qd3 Bb7 8.e4 b4 9.Na4 Nbd7 10.e5 Nd5 11.Be2 Be7 12.0-0 Rc8 13.Bd2 c5 14.Rfc1 a6 15.Nxc5 Nxc5 16.dxc5 Bxc5 17.Ng5 Qb6 18.Qg3 Ne7 19.Bd3 Rd8 20.Be1 h6 21.Ne4 Nf5 22.Nd6+ Bxd6 23.Bxf5 0-0 24.exd6 exf5 25.Rd1 Rfe8 26.Qf4 Re4 27.Qxf5 Rxd6 28.Rxd6 Qxd6 29.Rc1

Black to move

In this position we can easily picture a first possible mating pattern for Black: the back-rank mate.

Is there another possible mating pattern? If you look at the bishop on b7, you can hope for a mate with the black queen on g2.

Even if this checkmate looks far away, it is not impossible, if White lets us install the queen on the long diagonal. Why should he? Maybe because he has other problems to deal with, like the back-rank mate.

So the best move here is the charming 1...Qc6!.

Black threatens both to directly take the rook (2...Qxc1), and to give checkmate in two moves on the long diagonal (2...Rxe1+ followed by 3...Qxg2). There is no defence, apart from giving the queen.

What are the mating patterns? (2)

Black to move

Both sides’ pieces seem to be packed in two units – two on the queenside, and four on the kingside. Black’s initiative looks very dangerous, especially thanks to the poor position of the white king, shut up by its own defenders.

What patterns can we look for? The first one is obvious, and nearly winning by itself: a smothered mate with ...Ng3 looks possible to engineer, because the only defender, the queen on f2, might be deflected from its defensive duty.

Yet, instead of looking immediately for a winning tactic, we should delve a little deeper, and look for another mating possibility. Can you see one?

If the queens weren’t on the board, we would have the possibility of a knight sacrifice on g3, and a kind of ‘back-rank mate’ along the h-file with the rook. Have you seen this possibility?

You are approaching the right solution. There is a third possible mate:

1...Ng3+!

Against 1...Qe3 (1...f4 is too slow, as White can defend with 2.h3) the accurate 2.Nd1! defends, because after retaking the queen on f2, the knight is able to reach the h3-square, thus saving the king (however, 2.Qxe3 loses after 2...Ng3+ 3.hxg3 and here not 3...Rh6+? which fails to 4.Qxh6, but 3...f4! enables Black to force the mate).

On 1...Qd2 2.Be2 (2.Qxd2 Ng3+ 3.hxg3 f4! and the mate cannot be averted) 2...Qxb2 Black is better, but the game is still quite unclear after 3.Rc4.

1...Ng3+! 2.Qxg3 f4 3.Qe1

Now the killer is the brutal

3...Qxh2+

4.Kxh2 Rh6+ 5.Qh4 Rxh4#.

Chapter 2Unprotected Pieces

An unprotected piece or square creates the possibility to attack something, like giving check, threatening mate or attacking a piece. This constitutes our second signal.

It must be possible to attack the unprotected piece. For example, at the beginning of the game, the rooks are unprotected, but this does not matter because they are not subject to attack. On the other hand, as soon as we are playing a pawn (b- or g-) in order to fianchetto a bishop, the opening of the diagonal might be dangerous for the rook, and we have to be able to deal with it.

So an unprotected piece is a piece without protection that is placed on a square that the opponent might attack (on an open line, or at a knight’s distance). Here is a basic example.

Filipovic,BrankoDe Filomeno,SimoneBiel 2010 (4)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nd4 6.Nxd4 cxd4 7.Nd5

7.Ne2 was better, with equality.

7...e6 8.Nf4

White now has two unprotected men: the bishop on b5 and the knight on f4. How did Black win one?

8...Qg5!

And Black won.

A double attack is the usual punishment for keeping your pieces unprotected. And the queen is most often the

executioner, thanks to its unique mobility, and its capacity to attack all parts of the board in various directions.

A piece is also unprotected and subject to attack if it is attacked by an enemy piece and protected by one of its own – then a new attack will be a direct threat.

Double Weakness

Savic,MiodragMiljkovic,MiroslavNeum tt 2011 (7.1)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Bd3 d5 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bc2 b6 7.0-0 Ba6 8.Re1 Nc6 9.d4 Rc8 10.a3 Be7 11.Be3 Qc7 12.Ba4 b5 13.Bb3 cxd4 14.cxd4 Na5 15.Nc3 Nxb3 16.Qxb3 Qb7 17.Bg5 Bxg5 18.Nxg5 h6 19.Nh3 Rc4 20.Ne2 b4 21.Nhf4 0-0 22.Nh5 g6 23.Nf6+ Nxf6 24.exf6 bxa3

Another important way to take advantage of an unprotected point is the ‘intermediate’ move, or ‘in-between’ move. Attacking an unprotected point will allow us to provoke some favourable change in the position. Here the bishop on a6 is potentially attacked once by the a1-rook and defended once by the queen. Another undefended point is h6.

25.Qh3!+–

The threat of the queen entering on h6, with unavoidable mate, forces the king to protect the pawn. Hence the final double attack is prepared by an intermediate move that attacks a third object.

25...Kh7

If 25...h5, then the intermediate move 26.Qe3! forces the king to abandon the defence of the f8-rook: 26...Kh7 27.Qxa3+–.

Now we deal with one unprotected piece (the rook on f8) and one insufficiently protected piece (the a6-bishop). The winning double attack is

26.Qxa3+–

There followed a bid for a counterattack:

26...Rb8 27.Qxa6 Qxa6 28.Rxa6 Rxb2

Threatening to take on e2, with a back-rank mate to follow...

29.h4 and White won.

The possibility of a check on a protected square is equivalent to an unprotected piece with the opponent.

Double weakness

Caruana,FabianoVachier-Lagrave,MaximeBiel 2011 (1)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.a3 Nbd7 10.Bc4 g5 11.Bf2 Qc7 12.Qe2 Nb6 13.Bb3 gxf4 14.0-0-0 Be7 15.Rhe1 Rg8 16.g3 fxg3 17.Bxg3 e5 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 Rg7 20.Kb1 0-0-0 21.Bf2 Rd7 22.Bxb6 Qxb6

White to move

How did White win a pawn, using a double attack?

Firstly, we can see that the black king is located on an open file, which makes a check on c4 possible. Secondly, there’s another weakness in Black’s position: the f7-pawn, defended by the rook and attacked by the bishop.

So White can win the pawn with

23.Bxf7! Rxf7? 24.Qc4+

The double attack wins the rook, and White is better. In the actual game, Black did not take the bishop and managed to draw from this bad position.

A threat to give mate is also equivalent to an unprotected piece: a double attack might be possible (threatening mate while attacking a piece at the other side), or an intermediate move that allows you to relocate a piece to a favourable position. For example, in the following game:

Rivera,DiegoFischer,Robert JamesVarna ol 1962 (9)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Qc7 9.Bb3 b6 10.Ne2 0-0 11.Bb2 Nc6 12.0-0 Na5 13.Ng3 Bb7 14.Rc1

Let’s look at White’s weaknesses here. First we should notice that both his bishops are located on unpleasant positions, one being unprotected (the b2-bishop) and the other one being attacked by the knight and defended by the queen, which is the equivalent of an unprotected piece.

Apparently, the bishops are safe because they are not positioned on an open file. But Fischer shows that this is not really the case, thanks to an intermediate move that threatens mate. This virtually allows the queen to make two consecutive moves.

The third motif is the weakness on g2, attacked by the bishop and only defended by the king. So a piece is won after

14...Qc6! 15.f3 Qb5

A simple, yet beautiful concept.

16.Ba4 Qxb2 0-1

Chapter 3Alignment

Pin, skewer, discovered attack, line opening – nearly all the basic themes in tactics relate to the fact that several pieces (friendly or enemy) are on the same line (vertical, horizontal or diagonal). So we deal with a crucial signal here, which we should consider carefully during phase 2 of our thinking process (analysis).

Pins

Alexandrov,AlexeyVaisser,AnatolyAix-les-Bains Ech 2011 (2)

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.a3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Bxc7 Nc6 10.e3 Bb7 11.Be2 Rac8 12.Bg3 Na5 13.0-0 Qb3 14.Qb1 Nc4 15.Bxc4 Qxc4 16.Rd1 Qb3 17.Ne1 h6 18.Rd3 Qb5 19.Qd1 Ba6 20.Rb1 Rc4 21.h3 Rfc8 22.Rd2 Qc6 23.f3 Bg5 24.Bf2 Qd6 25.Nd3 Bf6 26.Qe1 Bb5 27.Bg3 Qd8 28.Qf2

Black to move

We can notice one big defect in White’s position: the queen is on the same diagonal (a7-g1) as the king. Once we have established this, the winning combination is not surprising.

28...Rxd4!

Two pins are now on the cards: the possible pin of king and queen, and the pin of the d3-knight against its rook on d2. White has to give up material.

29.exd4 Bxd4

and Black won the game a few moves later. The combination of the two different pins turned out too much for Black.

Giri,AnishSpoelman,Wouter Boxtel ch-NED 2011 (9)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 10.Rd1 b5 11.Bd3 Qc7 12.Bd2 c5 13.Ne4 c4 14.Nxd6 Qxd6 15.Be2 Bb7 16.b3 Rfc8 17.bxc4 Be4 18.Qc3 bxc4 19.Qa5 Rab8 20.Ne5 Bd5 21.Nxd7 Nxd7 22.f3 Rb5 23.Qc3 f5 24.Rdc1 Nb6 25.a4 Rb3 26.Qa5 Nd7 27.Bd1 Rb7 28.Be1 e5 29.Bg3 Qe6 30.dxe5 Nc5 31.Rab1 Rxb1 32.Rxb1 Nb3 33.Qc3 Bc6

Here White just has to acknowledge that Black’s queen and king are located on the same diagonal, in order to find:

34.Rxb3!+– cxb3 35.Bxb3 Bd5 36.Bxd5 Rxc3

If 36...Qxd5, 37.Qxc8+ wins.

37.Bxe6+ Kf8 38.Bxf5 1-0

Alignment/Line Clearance

Aginian,NellyKosintseva,TatianaTbilisi 2011 (1)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Be3 Be7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 e5 9.Nde2 Be6 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 Bf5 12.c4 Nd7 13.Nc3 Bg6 14.Be2 f5 15.0-0 a6 16.Kh1 Rc8 17.Rac1 Nf6 18.b4 Nh5 19.Rfd1 Bh4 20.Bf1 f4 21.Bf2 Ng3+ 22.Bxg3 fxg3 23.Qe2 Bg5 24.Ra1 gxh2 25.Ne4 Bxe4 26.Qxe4 Rf4 27.Qe1 Bh4 28.Qe3 Bg5 29.Qe1 e4 30.fxe4 Qb6 31.Bd3 Rcf8 32.Qe2 Qd4 33.Rab1 Bd8 34.Qh5 Rh4 35.Qe2 Bb6 36.c5 dxc5 37.e5

Black to move

The first alignment is the one of the black rook and the white king on the h-file. As a rule with alignments, we should not consider the ‘obstacles’. Without the h2-pawn, for instance, Black will give a dangerous check with the rook. The second alignment is the battery of the black queen and bishop. They are not connected yet, because of the c5-pawn, but this is a significant factor to look for before starting your calculations.

The mating line is straightforward:

37...Qg1+!

Not the slow 37...c4, because then 38.Bxh7+ Kxh7 39.Rxd4 wins the queen, thanks to another alignment, in White’s favour.

38.Rxg1 hxg1=Q+

Discovery attack number one.

39.Kxg1

39...c4+ 0-1

Discovery attack number two: both lines have been opened, and Black will give mate: 40.Qf2 Rxf2 41.Rf1 Rxa2+ 42.Rf2 Bxf2+ 43.Kf1 Rh1#.

Pin and Counterpin

Howell,DavidSandipan,ChandaGermany Bundesliga 2010/11 (9)

1.c4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.a3 Qd7 8.Be2 Rd8 9.Bxf6 exf6 10.c5 g6 11.Bf3 g5 12.g3 f5 13.Nge2 f4 14.gxf4 g4 15.Bg2 Bg7 16.Nb5 0-0 17.Nd6 Ne7 18.Ng3 Nc8 19.Nxc8 Rxc8 20.Qd3 Qa4 21.Rd1 Bd7 22.0-0 Bb5 23.Qb1 Bxf1 24.Bxf1 Bxd4 25.b4 Bg7 26.Nf5 Rc7 27.Rd3 b6 28.Rg3 bxc5 29.Rxg4 f6 30.Qd3 c4

White, to play, could take on d5, with a complicated game. Instead, he decides to use the alignment on the g-file in order to play for the pin and win the bishop.

31.Qg3

The pin ought to bother Black, but with an alignment we should take all the pieces on the line into account. Looking at the g-file, we notice that the black bishop is pinned by White’s rook and queen, but also – important detail – that White’s king is standing on the same file.

Thus it is Black, not White, who is winning:

31...Qd7! 32.Nxg7

32.Ne3 is better, but 32...f5 33.Rg5 Kh8 gives Black a winning position; 32.Rxg7+ Qxg7! 33.Nxg7 Rxg7 and Black wins.

32...Qxg4! 0-1

33.Qxg4 Rxg7 wins the queen and the game. Note that the immediate 32...Qxg7 would fail to 33.Bg2!.

All alignments have to be carefully examined. Sometimes a combination is the result of many of them:

Reading the lines

Samhouri,AhmadPolgar,JuditKhanty-Mansiysk ol 2010 (1)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.0-0 Bd7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 a6 7.Ba4 b5 8.Bc2 e5 9.d3 Be7 10.Nbd2 0-0 11.Nf1 Re8 12.d4 cxd4 13.cxd4 Bg4 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Ne3 Bh5 16.h3 Rc8 17.g4 Bg6 18.Nd2 Qb6 19.f4

Black to move

This is a complicated position. Let’s try to find all the alignments that are involved:

The first and more important is the pin exerted by the black queen on the e3-knight.

The second and third alignments are leading to c2. Both the c-file and the h7-b1 diagonal see Black’s long-range men looking at the c2-bishop.

The fourth one is well-hidden: it is the pressure on the semi-open e-file by the e8-rook. Can you believe that in the game, this rook will be able to take the e3-knight within four moves?

19...Nd5!

This shot reveals all the alignments. 19...Rxc2!? was also in Black’s favour.

20.exd5 Bxc2 21.Qe2

Black has taken a bishop against a knight, but the worst for White is yet to come.

21...Nd3 22.Rf1 Bh4!

Beautiful! All Black’s men prove active attackers in this game.

23.Rf3 Nxf4 0-1

Even if the king looks secure in an apparently closed position, putting an enemy piece on the same line always makes sense. Here are two similar examples of a combination that I have called:

The Tin Opener (1)

Glek,IgorArkhipov,SergeyTomsk 2001 (2)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0-0 Nge7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bxc6 Nxc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qc7 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.e5 Bb7 11.Nd2 c5 12.Nc4 Bd5

White’s knight is under attack, and if we defend, Black has time to play ...Be7 and castle queenside, thus obtaining full equality. But a surprising combination is possible, thanks to the alignment on the e-file:

13.Nd6+! Bxd6

13...Ke7 loses quickly to 14.Qh5, attacking f7. Now the only defensive try is 14...g6, but then there is a mate in two with 15.Bg5+ (15.Qg5+ is the same) 15...f6 16.Bxf6#.

14.Qxd5

Black resigned. After 14...exd5 15.exd6+ both e-pawns have been removed and the e-file is opened; 15...Kd8 16.dxc7+ wins a piece.

The Tin Opener (2)

Vachier-Lagrave,MaximeDegraeve,Jean-MarcNimes ch-FRA 2009 (2)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Ne2 Nc6 5.c3 g6 6.h4 h5 7.Nf4 e6 8.Bd3 Qb6 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Re1 a6 11.Nd2 cxd4

Black should probably have played this a few moves ago. Now White has an adequate resource:

12.c4! dxc4 13.Nxc4 Qc7

14.Nd5!

Exactly the same combination, in the reversed order. It is a very useful tool to remember: when you have a series of forced moves, it makes sense to try and vary their order (see Part III, page 159).

14...Qb8

The main line was crushing. After 14...exd5 15.Nd6+! Ke7 (15...Kd8 16.Nxf7+ Kc8 17.Nxh8+–) 16.Bg5+ f6 (on 16...Ke6 17.Qf3 is killing, for example 17...Nxe5 18.Rxe5+ Kxd6 19.Qxd5#) 17.exf6+ Kxd6 18.Bf4+.

15.Ndb6 Ra7

Black is still alive, but in a completely passive position, with his king stuck in the centre. White now has the pleasant choice of when and where to execute his opponent. He chooses the positional way, first developing all his men before looking for a forced finish.

16.Bg5 Nh6 17.Qf3 Rh7 18.Rad1

Played in classical style. All White’s pieces are active, whereas Black can hardly make any move without allowing a winning possibility.

18...Ng4

18...Bc5 19.Bxh6 Rxh6 20.Nxd7 Kxd7 21.Qxf7+.

18...Qc7 19.Nd5! Qb8 20.Nf6+.

19.Qf4 Bc5 20.f3 Ne3

And it appears that Black lost on time here. Many variations give White the win, the simplest being 21.Nxd7 Kxd7 22.Nxe3 dxe3 23.Bxg6+ Kc7 24.Bxh7 e2+ 25.Kh2 exd1=Q 26.Rxd1, with an overwhelming advantage.

Chapter 4Knight Fork Distance

A fork is a double attack carried out by a knight or a pawn. We won’t deal with the pawn fork here, because it requires the alignment of two attacked pieces, which we have dealt with under signal no. 3 (previous chapter).

The knight’s distance has to be examined separately, because the knight works in circles instead of lines like the other pieces (see on this subject The King by Donner, New In Chess, 2006). This means that it can attack all the other pieces without being under attack itself. Every time that pieces are at a knight fork’s distance, there is a motif, which implies the possibility of a winning tactic.

Razuvaev,YuryMestrovic,ZvonimirKeszthely 1981 (11)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.h3 Bh5 8.0-0 Be7 9.e4 Nb6 10.Be2 0-0 11.Be3 Bb4 12.Nd2 Bg6 13.Bf3 Qe7 14.a3 Bxc3 15.bxc3 e5 16.d5 Nfd7 17.Qb3 Qd6 18.c4 Nc5 19.Bxc5 Qxc5 20.Qb4 Nd7 21.Nb3 Qb6 22.c5 Qxb4 23.axb4 f5 24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Rfe1 Bc2 26.Nd2 Rf4 27.d6 c6 28.b5 Nxc5 29.bxc6 bxc6 30.Bxc6 Rd8 31.Rec1 Rxd6 32.Rxc2 Rxc6 33.Rxa7 Rd6 34.Nf3 Nd3

34...Rd5 was better: 35.Ra5 e4 and Black should hold.

35.Ng5! h6 36.Rc8+ Rf8 37.Raa8 Rf6

White won thanks to a curious fork:

38.Nh7! Kxh7

After 38...Rxc8 the in-between move 39.Nxf6+ wins the exchange after 39...gxf6 40.Rxc8+.

39.Rxf8 Rb6 40.Ra7 Nf4 41.Kh2 Ne6 42.Rf5 Rb5 43.h4 Kg6 44.g4 Rb2 1-0

The fork is one of the motifs that you have to foresee to enter the combination. If a piece is at ‘knight fork’s distance’, it makes sense to try to decoy another one to a ‘forking square’.

Here are two examples:

Euwe,MaxDavidson,JacquesAmsterdam 1926 (1)

White to move

Here we witness an elegant finish by the future World Champion. The g5-knight attacks the e4-pawn, and from e4 it will attack the queen. White was able to force Black’s monarch to come out at fork distance with:

1.Qd8+ Kg7 2.Qxf6+ Kxf6 3.Nxe4+ Ke5 4.Nxc5

The pawn ending is winning.

Ozsvath,AndrasHonfi,KarolyBudapest 1953

Black to move

In this famous position, White is two pawns up. We can see that the striking factor is the prominent d4-knight, which is at checking distance from the king on e2. A series of sacrifices will prepare the winning fork:

1...Qxc1! 2.Qxc1 Rxc3! 3.Qe1

3.Qxc3 Ne2+.

3...Rc1!

A typical tactical device: a decoy sacrifice in order to lure the queen to the square where the fork is the most effective.

4.Qxc1 Ne2+ 5.Kf1 Nxc1

With advantage to Black.

Giri,AnishMeier,GeorgDortmund 2011 (3)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Bf4 Bb7 11.Ne5 Nh5 12.Bd2 Nhf6 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.Nc6 Bxc6 15.Qxc6 a6 16.e3 b5 17.Qc2 Qc8 18.Qd3 Qc4 19.Bf1 Ne4 20.Be1 Rfc8 21.b3 Qxd3 22.Bxd3 e5 23.a4 exd4 24.exd4 b4 25.a5 Ng5 26.Be2 Rc2 27.Kf1 Rb2 28.Rd2 Rxd2 29.Nxd2 g6 30.h4 Ne6 31.Nf3 Kf8 32.Rc1 Ke8 33.Bd2 Bd8 34.Ra1 Be7 35.Ra4 Nb8 36.Bxb4 Bxb4 37.Rxb4 Nc6 38.Ra4 Ke7 39.Ke1 f6 40.Kd2 Nc7 41.Ne1 Nb5 42.Nc2 Kd6 43.Kd3 Re8 44.Bf3 Rc8 45.Kd2 f5 46.h5 Rc7 47.Be2 Ra7 48.h6 Ra8 49.Bd3 Ra7 50.Bf1 Ra8 51.Be2 Ra7 52.Bd3 Ra8 53.f3 Ra7 54.Bf1 Ra8 55.Be2 Ra7 56.Bd3 Ra8 57.Ke3 Re8+ 58.Kd2 Ra8 59.Ke3 Re8+ 60.Kf2 Ra8 61.Kg2 Ke6 62.f4 Kd6 63.g4 fxg4 64.Kg3 Nc3 65.Ra1 Ne4+ 66.Bxe4 dxe4 67.Kxg4 Rb8 68.Rb1 Nxa5 69.Ra1 Nc6 70.Rxa6 Rxb3

White to move

Can you visualize the future fork?

71.d5!+– Kxd5 72.Rxc6 Kxc6 73.Nd4+ Kd5 74.Nxb3 e3 75.Nc1 1-0

Orlov,AndreyPantaleoni,ClaudioPalau 2007 (4)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.Bg5 c6 11.Ne2 Bd7 12.c4 Bd6 13.Nc3 Be6 14.Rc1 h6 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Bh4 Rb8 17.Nb5 Bf4 18.Rc2 Bd7 19.Nc3 Bg4

20.Qb1 Rb6 21.Re1 Re6 22.h3 Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Re8 24.Qf1 Be6 25.Bb5 Rf8 26.Qd3 Bg5 27.Bxg5 hxg5 28.Qd4 Qc7 29.Bd3 Qd7 30.Nb5 a6 31.Nc7 a5 32.Qe5 g4 33.h4 d4 34.h5 Rc8 35.h6 gxh6

White to move

The best move for White is based on a surprising fork:

36.Nxe6!

White also had a clear advantage in the game, where 36.Qxf6 Rxc7 37.Qxh6± was played.

36...Rxc2

And now comes the crowning combination: the striking

37.Bh7+!! Kxh7

37...Nxh7 38.Qg7#.

37...Kh8 38.Qxf6+ Kxh7 39.Qg7#.

38.Nf8+ Kg8 39.Nxd7 Nxd7 40.Qf5

Attacking four enemy pieces (on c2, d7, g4, a5).

40...Rc1+ 41.Kh2 Nf8 42.Qxg4+

and White is winning.

The strongest players sometimes manage to forget a simple fork, so you must consider all of them. Here’s a theoretical trick that has already made several victims:

Korneev,OlegVan Wely,LoekKrumbach Open 1991 (2)

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Bd3 Qxc5 8.Qe2 Bg4 9.Be3 Qa5 10.0-0 0-0 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Nc6 13.Ne2 Nd7

Can you see Black’s threat?

14.c3?

Also played, for example, in Hübner-Kortchnoi, World Cup Skelleftea 1989.

14...Nde5! 15.fxe5 Nxe5 16.Qg3 Nxd3 17.Bg5 Rae8

17...Nxb2 18.Bxe7 Rfe8 19.Qxd6 Nc4–+.

18.Bxe7 Qb6+ 19.Kh1 Rxe7 20.Qxd3 Qxb2

with advantage to Black, who eventually won the game.

Romanko,MarinaZaiats,ElenaTaganrog 2011 (5)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 c5 8.dxc5 bxc5 9.e3 d6 10.Rd1 Nbd7 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.f3 Qc7 13.Bd3 Rb8 14.Ne2 d5 15.Rb1 Ba6 16.0-0 Rb6 17.Rfc1 Rfb8 18.b3 Qb7 19.Kf2 Qe7 20.Qc2 g6 21.Nc3 dxc4 22.Bxc4 Bxc4 23.bxc4 Nd7 24.g3 Ne5 25.Ne4

Can you see the problem with White’s position? The alignment of the king and the queen, added with the possible knight fork, enables

25...Rb2! 0-1

If 26.Rxb2 Rxb2 27.Qxb2 Nd3+ wins the queen.

Here’s a classical study that illustrates two types of fork.

The reader should not be afraid of such studies; just try to find direct and concrete threats, and look for the defensive possibilities. This is the best calculation training.

Kasparian,Genrikhstudy 1935

White to move

The threat is to give mate in two with 2.Ng7+ and 3.Bf5 mate. If 1.Nf5 Kg4=.

1.Ne8 Kg6 2.h5+ Rxh5

2...Kxh5 3.Ng7+ Kg6 4.Bf5#.

3.f5+ Rxf5

4.g4 Re5

Or wherever.

5.Bf5+ Rxf5

And now the winning fork forces the mate:

6.Ng7

And mate on the next move.

The other defence 1...Rxf4 is no better: 2.Ng7+ Kg6 3.h5+ Rxh5 4.Bf5+ Rxf5 5.g4 leads to the same position.

Let’s round off this theme with a little joke. This is the end of another famous study:

Herbstman and KubbelEnd of a study 1937

Black to move

Black to play could queen, but then the fork on f3 would win the queen, forcing a theoretically drawn position (two knights against bare king). Thus, in order to prevent the fork, Black under promotes:

1...e1=N!?

Three knights should win, if two can’t... but a surprise is awaiting him.

2.Nf3+!

So the knight fork brings a draw in all cases! White reaches a totally unexpected draw.

2...Nxf3+ 3.Kg3

A triple attack, that can only be parried by a triple defence...

3...Ke3

Black should be winning, but it is a draw... stalemate!

Chapter 5Trapped Pieces

This fifth signal is a motif inherent to all board games. Given that the number of squares is limited, the theme of domination (meaning that a piece has no more available squares, and is therefore dominated by the opponent’s pieces) is possibly the most important in chess, checkmate being the supreme form of domination.

We will study two types of trapping. In the first type, the piece has no more squares and is taken. In the second type, the piece cannot be taken, but is just kept in jail, so that it has no more influence on what happens on the rest of the board. The first case results in material gain, the second in positional gain.

A piece may be trapped in the enemy’s camp, but also by its own forces:

Troitzky,Alexeystudy 1924

White to move

Here is a typical case of trapping. First, we should notice that without the black pawn on f5, the position would be an immediate draw. The bishop takes the f-pawn as soon as it advances on its diagonal, and White is unable to win. But we will see that more often than not, the walls of a jail are formed by the prisoner’s own men – in this case, the f5-pawn.

Black would like to be able to play the bishop to g8 at some point, but White won’t let him.

1.Kh6 Kh8

Forced, as are all Black’s following moves.

2.Nh4 Kg8

When the king comes to g8, his next move has to be ...Kh8, so White has a tempo to find the best route for the knight. 2...Bg8 3.Ng6#.

3.Nf3

3.Ng6 Bxg6 4.Kxg6 Kf8 5.Kxf5 Kf7 is a simple theoretical draw.

3...Kh8 4.Ne5 Kg8 5.Nd7 Kh8 6.Nf8!

Attacking the bishop.

6...Bg8 7.Ng6#

Sometimes a piece can voluntarily cage itself in, in the hope of freeing itself some time later. But when the queen is involved, this is a dangerous business:

Lobron,EricHort,VlastimilDortmund 1982 (5)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.d4 d6 8.c3 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 exd4 11.Rd1 Ne5 12.Qg3 Nh5 13.Qh2 d3 14.f4

14...Bh4!

A clever piece sacrifice: Black gives a knight in order to imprison the queen.

15.fxe5 Bg3 16.Qh1 Qh4 17.Rxd3

If 17.Rf1 0-0!

18.Nd2 (if 18.exd6 Bxd6, threatening 19...Bc5+ and 20...Qg3 checkmate. The most solid is 18.Rf3 dxe5 19.Be3 Qxe4 20.Nd2, but then Black retains a good advantage with 20...Qg6, while material is now equal! (three pawns against a piece)) 18...Nf4 (threatening 19...Ne2 checkmate) 19.Rf3 dxe5 with two pawns for the sacrificed piece, and complete domination.

17...Qxe4!

17...Bf2+ 18.Kh2 Bg3+ is only a draw.

18.Rd1 Nf4

19.Bxf7+

An attempt to free the queen, but it is too late: the position of the white king has been weakened. If 19.Bxf4 Qxf4 20.Rf1 Qe3+ and mate.

19...Kxf7 20.Bxf4 Bxf4 21.g3 Qe3+ 22.Kf1 Bxe5 0-1

Black is winning thanks to the attack on the king, and his material superiority. 22...Bxg3 23.Qg2 Rhf8

was even stronger. On 22...Bxe5 the best move would be 23.Qg1, but then the ending is lost after 23...Qxg1+ 24.Kxg1 Bxg3 and Black is two pawns up.

Tactically, we have to notice when a piece has no retreat.

Minor pieces are frequently trapped in the corner.

Study position

White to play loses the bishop if he takes the h7-pawn, by (1.Bxh7) 1...g6,

while Black loses the knight after taking on a2, (1...Nxa2) with 2.c3. In this position, this is not so relevant, because the lost piece can take two pawns, with chances of a draw in both cases. In the latter case the position is still unclear after 2...h5. But we must remember that the corner pawn is often poisoned.

For major pieces, taking the b- and g-pawns is the most dangerous:

1...Rxb2 2.Bb3!

Trapping the rook and rounding it up:

2...Rc8 3.0-0-0

An old trick

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Qb6 8.a3!?

A playable move, setting an old trap:

8...Qxb2 9.Na4

And the queen is already lost.

Let’s try to detect which piece can be trapped, and how, in the following examples:

Queen trapped

Jakobsen,OleVeselsky,JozefArvier Wch Seniors 2006 (4)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 a5 9.Qc2 Qe7 10.Rd1 Rd8 11.Bg5 dxc4 12.Rxd8+ Qxd8 13.Bxc4 Nc6 14.0-0 Be7 15.Rd1 Bd7 16.Ba2 h6 17.Bf4 Rc8 18.Qe2 Qb6 19.h3 Be8 20.e4 Rd8 21.Rxd8 Qxd8 22.e5 Nh7 23.Bb1 Nf8 24.Qe3 b6 25.Qe4 Bc5 26.Be3 Bxe3 27.Qxe3 Ne7 28.Nd4 Nd5 29.Nxd5 Qxd5 30.Be4 Qc5 31.f4 g6 32.Kf2 Bd7 33.Ne2 Qb5 34.Qc3 Qa4 35.Nd4 Qd1 36.Bf3 Qa4 37.Ke3 g5 38.g3 gxf4+ 39.gxf4 Ng6 40.Qc1 Be8

White to move

We can notice that the black queen lacks space, partly because the e8-bishop restricts it. The only available square is d7.

41.Bc6!

Closing the safety exit.

41...Bxc6 42.b3

Winning the queen.

Djuric,StefanNavacchia,AndreaCarnevale Open 1998

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3 dxe5 6.Qh5 e6 7.dxe5 Nc6 8.Nf3 Nd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Qe2 Be7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Rd1 Qc5 13.Nc3 Rd8 14.Rxd8+ Bxd8 15.Bf4 Bd7 16.Ne4 Qf8 17.c4 Bc6 18.Bc2 Be7 19.Rc1 Rd8 20.Be3 Rd7 21.a3 a5 22.h4 Na4 23.Rb1 Nc5

23...Nb6 was preferable, when White is only slightly better.

Black’s pieces are well coordinated, but they lack manoeuvring space. How did White win?

24.Nxc5!

24.Bxc5! amounts to the same.

24...Bxc5 25.Bxc5 Qxc5

26.b4! axb4 27.axb4

And on the queen’s retreat, 28.b5 traps the bishop.

Morphy,PaulDe Rivière,Jules ArnousParis m 1863

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Qe7 5.d4 Bb6 6.0-0 d6 7.h3 Nf6 8.Re1 h6 9.a4 a5 10.Na3 Nd8 11.Nc2 Be6 12.Ne3 Bxc4 13.Nxc4 Nd7 14.Ne3 g6 15.Nd5 Qe6

White has an advantage in development here, but where is Black’s specific problem? The queen is trapped, so if it is attacked, it will perish.

16.Bxh6!

with advantage (White won the game). On 16...Rxh6 17.Ng5 wins the queen.

Queen on the edge

Kravanja,GeorgSakelsek,TadeiGraz Open 2011 (1)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qa4 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.dxc5 bxc5 8.0-0 Be7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Rd1 Qb6 11.Qb5 Qc7 12.Bf4 d6 13.Rd2 h6 14.Rad1 e5 15.Be3 Nc6 16.Nh4 Rab8 17.Nf5 Nd4 18.Nxe7+ Qxe7 19.Qa4 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Rb4 21.Qa6

21...Rb6! 22.Qa4

22.Qa3! was the best defensive try: 22...Qb7+ 23.f3 Ra6 24.Na4, when the white queen is off-side, but not trapped. Of course Black retains an edge after, for example, 24...Re8 intending ...e5-e4, but the game is not over yet.

If 22.Qa5 Qb7+ 23.Nd5 Nxd5 24.cxd5 Ra6 25.Qc3 Qxd5+ 26.f3 Rxa2 loses two pawns, with a miserable game.

22...Qb7+ 23.Kg1 Ra6 0-1

The queen is sometimes trapped in the middle of a crowded board. Here’s a celebrated example:

Fischer,Robert JamesSchweber,Samuel

Buenos Aires 1970 (4)

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Be2 Bd7 9.0-0 Nge7 10.a4 Na5 11.Re1 cxd4 12.cxd4 Nc4 13.Bd3 h6 14.Nd2 Nxd2 15.Bxd2 Nc6 16.Qg4 g6 17.Re3 0-0-0 18.Rg3 Kb8 19.Rf3 f5 20.exf6 e5 21.Qg3 Nxd4 22.Re3 e4

23.Rxe4!

23.Bf1 Nf5=.

23...Qxg3 24.Rxd4!

The queen is dominated – a frequent theme in studies. The point is the alignment between queen and king along the h2-b8 diagonal, which keeps a number of squares off-limit.

24...Qg4

24...Qd6 25.Bf4±.

25.Rxg4 Bxg4 26.Bxg6

The two pawns more than compensate for the lost exchange, and White now has an impressive 4:1 majority on the east side.

26...Rhg8 27.Bh7 Rh8 28.Bd3 Rde8 29.f7

29.Bb4 Bh5 30.Bd6+ Ka8 31.f4 Re6 32.Be5+– was even stronger.

29...Re7 30.f8=Q+ Rxf8 31.Bb4 Rff7 32.Bxe7 Rxe7 33.f3 Bd7 34.a5 Kc7 35.Kf2 Rf7 36.Ke3 Kd6 37.g3 Kc5 38.f4 Bg4 39.Rb1 Re7+ 40.Kd2 b6 41.axb6 axb6 42.h3 Bd7 43.g4 d4 44.f5 Re3 45.f6 Rf3 46.Rf1 Rxf1 47.Bxf1 Be6 1-0

Sometimes a piece is not even taken, but its imprisonment is fatal to its possessor.

The classical example is from Capablanca:

Winter,WilliamCapablanca,Jose RaulHastings 1919 (5)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.0-0 0-0 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Bd6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 c5 10.Nd5 g5 11.Nxf6+ Qxf6 12.Bg3 Bg4 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Qxf3 15.gxf3 f6

Locking White’s bishop in for life.

16.Kg2 a5 17.a4 Kf7 18.Rh1

18.c4!, Kasparov’s move, would also imprison Black’s bishop.

18...Ke6 19.h4 Rfb8 20.hxg5 hxg5 21.b3 c6 22.Ra2 b5

Black opens the game on the other side, where the white bishop cannot interfere.

23.Rha1 c4 24.axb5 cxb3 25.cxb3 Rxb5 26.Ra4 Rxb3 27.d4 Rb5 28.Rc4 Rb4 29.Rxc6 Rxd4 0-1

Here’s an excerpt from an Internet blitz game:

‘Blue Saphire’Neiman,EmmanuelICC (3’/3’) 2009

Black to move

Black wins ‘à la Capablanca’:

19...Nxe2+ 20.Qxe2 Bxf3 21.Qxf3

21.gxf3 is better, though White’s position is unenviable. For the computer, the two moves are more or less of equal strength, while any master, given time to think, would notice that White is helpless without queens on the board, because he is virtually a piece down. The concept of the trapped but not captured piece is very similar. Basically, the white bishop is no better than a pawn in this position, because it has no mobility and can only bite on granite.

21...Qxf3 22.gxf3 a5 23.a4

23.h4 is only slightly worse for Black, according to Houdini 1.5 in 2012, whose rating is considered to be around 3250... of course White is hopelessly lost.

23...f6

24.Kg2 Ng7 25.h4 Ne6 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.Rh1+ Kg7 28.Rh5

It is not a good idea to exchange the rooks, of course, but this was just a quick game on ICC, and at this point the main thing was not to lose on time.

28...Rh8 29.Rdh1

Here at long last, the computer realizes that White’s game is completely lost.

29...Rxh5 30.Rxh5 Rh8 31.Rxh8 Kxh8 32.c3 Nc5 33.b4 Nxa4 0-1

The following amusing game showed an incarceration of both White’s bishops:

Bishops in jail

Short,NigelKramnik,VladimirLondon 2011(2)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nd4 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.e5 dxc3 7.exf6 Qxf6 8.dxc3 Bc5 9.Qe2+ Qe6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Qf3 d6 12.Bg5 Qf5 13.Be7 Qxf3 14.gxf3 a6 15.Ba4

15.Bxf8 axb5 16.Be7 f6; or first 16...Bh3 17.Rfe1 f6

and the dark-squared bishop is locked in. It is also interesting to notice that in this particular structure, there’s no available g4-g5 for White.

15...b5 16.b4

16.Bxf8 bxa4 17.Be7 f6 18.Rfe1 Bd7 and Black is better.

16...Re8 17.Rfe1 Bb6 18.Bb3 Bb7 19.Kg2 d5

White’s light-squared bishop is in jail for ever, like in Winter-Capablanca above. The game is basically over.

20.Re5 c6 21.Rae1 Bc7 22.R5e2 Bc8 23.a4 Bd7 24.Bh4 Rxe2 25.Rxe2 Re8 26.Rxe8+ Bxe8 27.Bg3 Bd8 28.Be5 f6 29.Bb8 Bg6 30.axb5 axb5 31.Kf1 Kf7 32.Ke2 Ke6 33.Ke3 Bb6+ 34.Ke2 Bh5 35.Ba2 g5 36.Bb3 f5 37.Ba2 f4

38.Bb3 Kf5 39.Bd6 g4 40.Kf1 g3 41.fxg3 fxg3 42.Bxg3 Bxf3 43.Ba2 Be3 0-1

Chapter 6Crucial Defender/Overloaded Defender

Sometimes the enemy’s attacks are kept in check by just one piece. When we castle kingside, that piece is the f3-/f6-knight, which most notably keeps the queen from landing on the natural attacking square h4/h5. The classical bishop sacrifice on h7 and the double-bishop sacrifice can only happen when this defending knight is not on f6.

As a rule, it is always important to identify the main defender in the enemy’s camp, and, when identified, to look for a tactical theme in order to get rid of it.

Elimination of the Defender

Damljanovic,BrankoDoric,DarkoParacin 2011 (6.5)

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e3 Nf6 5.a3 Be7 6.Qc2 h6 7.b3 0-0 8.Bb2 d6 9.Be2 Be6 10.0-0 Rc8 11.Rfd1 d5 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Bc4 Nc7 14.Ne2 Bd6 15.d4 cxd4 16.exd4 exd4 17.Nexd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Qe7 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.Qxf5 Rce8 21.g3 Ne6 22.h4 g6 23.Qf3 Ng7

In this game, Black’s main defender is not the useless fianchettoed knight – we should remember that a piece does not defend the square it stands on – but the black bishop, which enables Black to answer Qc3 with ...Be5 (not Qe5 because of Rxd6).

So the winning move is the logical

24.Rxd6! 1-0

24...Qxd6 25.Qc3, and the only defence against checkmate is to give a rook on e5.

Zhao XueKarjakin,SergeyCap d’Agde 2006 (1.2)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.h4 g4 11.Ne5 h5 12.0-0 Nbd7 13.Qc2 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 Bg7 15.Rad1 0-0 16.f3 Nh7 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.g3 Qc7 19.Kh2 f5 20.fxg4 fxg4 21.b3 Rxf1 22.Bxf1 cxb3 23.axb3 a6 24.e5 c5 25.dxc5 Nf8 26.Ne4 Qxe5 27.Ng5 Bd5 28.Bg2 Rc8 29.Bxd5 exd5 30.Rf1 Kg8

White has a beautiful attacking position with his three pieces ideally placed. As the old saying goes, you need three men to give checkmate: one to be sacrificed, the other two to deliver checkmate. This is a very valuable piece of advice, especially when one of the two remaining attackers is the queen.

The knight is protected on the strong g5-square, the rook occupies the open f-file, and the queen is ready to invade along the b1-h7 diagonal. If we examine the defence, we must notice that the powerfully centralized black queen has little influence here, as it mainly controls dark squares while White is threatening to invade on light squares, mainly h7 and g6.

Hence the main defender is the f8-knight, which protects both these light squares, and the win is quickly achieved by

31.Rxf8+ 1-0

If 31...Rxf8 32.Qh7#, and on 31...Kxf8 White can accede to a third light invasion square on f7, beginning with the check 32.Qf2+ Ke7/e8 (or 32...Kg7/g8 33.Qf7+ Kh8 34.Qh7#) 33.Qf7+ Kd8 34.Ne6+ and wins .

Important piece

Tikkanen,HansEriksson,Johan Vasteras ch-SWE 2011 (4)

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Nge2 c5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d3 a6 9.h3 Rb8 10.a4 Ne8 11.Be3 Nd4 12.Rb1 Bd7 13.b4 Nxe2+ 14.Nxe2 cxb4 15.Rxb4 b5 16.Qb3 Nc7 17.Rb1 bxc4 18.Qxc4 Rxb4 19.Rxb4 a5 20.Rb7 Ne6 21.d4 Re8 22.Ra7 Nf8 23.Bf1 Qb6 24.d5 Qb1 25.Nd4 Qxe4 26.Nc6 Qb1 27.Kh2 e6 28.Bg2 exd5 29.Bxd5 Be6 30.Re7 Rxe7 31.Nxe7+ Kh8 32.Bxe6 Qb7 33.Nxg6+ fxg6

White has an attack on the light squares along the diagonal a2-g8, and tries to reverse the position of his queen and bishop, in order to have the queen give mate on g8.

34.Bd5! Qb2

On 34...Qe7 White would simply win by taking the a-pawn with 35.Bb6 and queening on a8.

If 34...Qb8 35.Qb5! Qxb5 36.axb5 Nd7 37.b6 wins a knight.

35.Qc7! Qf6

The queen on f6 is the only defender against the fatal invasion of the White queen on f7.

36.Bd4!

36.Qxa5, for example, would also win.

36...Qxd4 37.Qf7 1-0

A similar, frequent type of combination can occur when a piece has too many defensive functions. We can detect this by looking at the various duties that a defender may fulfill.

Here a theory about defence applies that was notoriously illustrated by the games of Emanuel Lasker: the principle of economy. Basically, this principle implies that one should not use many men to defend the same point, and keep as many men available as possible for counter-attacking purposes.

On the other hand, too much economy leads to a single piece being torn between various tasks. This is the overloaded defender.

Overloaded Queen (1)

The first overloaded defender we look at is the queen.

Study position

White to move

Here’s a case where the black king is both cornered and stalemated by its own men (notably the h8-rook). A single check by White will be decisive.

The black queen defends against White’s attack on f7 (by queen and knight) and d5 (by the lone queen). White is able to exploit this detail by trying to remove the black queen from its post, or interfering with a defensive function it is fulfilling.

The right move here is the bright

1.Re7!

The rook adds a fresh mating threat, so it must be taken.

But Black loses in all variations. Taking with a minor piece leads to a direct mate on f7, as the horizontal range of the black queen has been intercepted by its own pieces so that it does not control f7 anymore:

A) 1...Nxe7 2.Qf7#;

B) 1...Bxe7 2.Qf7#;

C) 1...Qxe7 2.Qxd5+ and White gives checkmate on the next move.

Let’s have a look at a more recent and more complex example: here we need to take some time to examine the starting position.

Overloaded Queen (2)

Van Beek,LucienPel,BonnoNetherlands NED-chT 2007 (3)

1.d4 d6 2.c4 g6 3.e4 Bg7 4.Nc3 e5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bg5 f6 7.Be3 Nh6 8.h3 Nf7 9.d5 Ne7 10.c5 0-0 11.cxd6 cxd6

12.Bd3 f5 13.Rc1 Bd7 14.Qb3 fxe4 15.Bxe4 Nf5 16.Qxb7 Nxe3 17.fxe3 Bh6 18.Nd1 Rb8 19.Qxa7 Rb4 20.Rc7 Be8 21.Bc2 e4 22.Nd4

Black to move

White has several causes of concern here, the main one being the position of its king, still in the centre. Hence the possibility for Black to give a check on h4 with the queen should be carefully kept in mind and calculated, though for the moment the white monarch could go and find a more or less safe hiding place on d2. Please notice that if the white pawn was not on e3, this defence would not exist, and the basic parade with Nf2 would be refuted by ...e4-e3 (though there should also be other refutations, with the open f-file).

Well, this encourages us to examine the possibility of 22...Rxd4, and now we see that the white queen on a7 is overloaded, because it has the duty to protect its rook – while the black queen is still on d8 – and also to take on d4 in case of RxNd4.

22...Rxd4! 23.exd4

If 23.Qxd4, 23...Qxc7.

23...Qh4+ 24.Nf2

24.Ke2 Bb5+ will be mate.

24...e3–+

And Black wins.

Overloaded Rook

Batsiashvili,NinoShen Yang

Shenzhen 2011 (6.2)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Qc2 c5 8.e4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Nc6 10.Qa2 cxd4 11.cxd4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Bb5+ Ke7 14.f3 Rc8

14...Rd8 was safer.

15.Bg5+ f6 16.Rd1 Qc3+ 17.Bd2 Qc2

17...Qe5! leads to an unclear game.

18.Bb4+! Kf7

In this wild game, observe the role of the black rook. It has two important functions. Firstly it must defend the black queen on c2. The second function, slightly hidden, is to prevent the dangerous check on e8. It appears that if the king takes on e8, it is quickly mated after Qxe6+. So here we have our overloaded piece!

19.Be8+!! 1-0

19...Rxe8 (king moves are no better as Black gets mated: 19...Kg8 20.Qxe6#; or 19...Kxe8 20.Qxe6+ Be7 21.Qxe7#) 20.Qxc2.

Creating an Overloaded Queen

Rodshtein,MaximNegi,ParimarjanBiel 2010 (1)

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 c6 6.Ne5 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Be7 8.e3 b5 9.a4 b4 10.Nxc4 0-0 11.0-0 Ba6 12.b3 Nbd7 13.Bxc6 Rc8 14.Bg2 e5 15.Re1 Bxc4 16.bxc4 Rxc4 17.Qb3 Rc8 18.a5 Re8 19.Rd1 exd4 20.exd4 Bd6 21.Be1 Ne4 22.Bxe4 Rxe4 23.Bxb4 Bxb4 24.Qxb4 Ne5 25.Qb7 Nf3+ 26.Kg2 Rxd4 27.Na3 Nd2 28.Ra2 Nf3 29.Rxd4

Nxd4

Black has to deal with the threat of a back-rank mate with the major pieces. At the moment the white queen attacks Black’s rook, which is defended by its own queen. To make this piece overloaded, we have to create a second duty for it, and so did White, with the simple pin:

30.Rd2 1-0

Black now has an overloaded queen, which must defend the rook and the knight, while taking care of the back-rank mate as well.

There is no defence. If Black forestalls the back-rank mate with, for example, 30...h6 then 31.Rxd4! nets a piece. The counterattack 30...Rb8 is inefficient because of the same 31.Rxd4; 30...Rc1 (or 30...Rc7) 31.Rxd4 is the same again.

Chapter 7Impotent Defence/Defence Too Far Away

An important motif lies in the inability of the defender to parry an attack on a particular part of the board. There can be several reasons for this. A very common one is insufficient development.

Rossolimo,NicolasRomanenko,Ivan SimonSalzburg 1948

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5

The Rossolimo Variation.

3...g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Re1 Nd4

6...0-0= was better.

7.e5! Ng8 8.d3 Nxb5 9.Nxb5 a6

Remember the tin opener...

10.Nd6+! exd6 11.Bg5!

This in-between move is the point of the combination.

11...Qa5 12.exd6+ Kf8 13.Re8+!

The trivial 13.Qe2 would also win, for example: 13...Bxb2 (in order to allow the g7 escape square to his king) 14.Qe8+

Kg7 15.Ne5 Bxe5 16.Qxe5+ f6 17.Bxf6+ Nxf6 18.Qe7+ Kh6 19.Qxf6 with a lift of the e1-rook to follow, via the third or fourth rank.

13...Kxe8 14.Qe2+ Kf8 15.Be7+ Ke8

16.Bd8+!

White attacks the black queen.

16...Kxd8

16...Kf8 17.Bxa5+–.

Only one move is winning here. Rossolimo had seen it beforehand, of course. Can you picture which square is the weakest in Black’s defensive set up?

17.Ng5! 1-0

White is two minor pieces and a rook down, but nevertheless he will give mate quickly, because the f7-point cannot be defended. The entire black army is impotent, lacking development and coordination. No piece can come to the rescue of the king. The g8-knight is overloaded, for it cannot defend f7 and e7 at the same time (17...Nh6 18.Qe7#).

It is this inability to defend that allows the attacker to throw in a violent sacrifice followed by a slow build-up, involving the cool arrival of new offensive forces, while the defender is unable to support his weak point.

Defence too far away

Grischuk,AlexanderGenba,VladimirKhanty-Mansiysk 2011 (1.1)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.e4 Be7 7.Bxc4 0-0 8.Qc2 c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.0-0 Ng4 11.Bf4 Qf6 12.Bg3 Nge5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Be2 Nc6 15.e5 Qe7 16.Qe4 Nd4 17.Bh4 Nxe2+ 18.Nxe2 Qd7 19.Rad1 Qb5 20.Qg4 Kh8

White has four attacking men here. The queen, the dark-squared bishop and the e5-pawn are able to participate in an attack on g7. Meanwhile the d1-rook is able to deflect a possible defence along the 8th rank.

From the defensive point of view, we can observe that the black rooks are not connected (as the light-squared bishop is not developed yet) and the dark-squared bishop and the queen – the two ‘natural’ defenders of g7 – are erring on the queenside. Additionally, the rook on f8 prevents Black using this square for his bishop to defend g7. All these factors allow for a swift finish:

21.Bf6! gxf6

On 21...Rg8, quickest is 22.Qxg7+ Rxg7 23.Rd8+ and mates.

22.exf6 1-0

After 22...Rg8

the rook is overloaded (see Chapter 13, page 124): 23.Rd8 Bf8 24.Rxf8.

Pieces too far away

Srebrnic,AnaGalojan,LilitPorto Carras Ech-tt 2011 (5)

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Bb4 5.Nd5 0-0 6.e3 Nxd5 7.cxd5 Ne7 8.a3 Bd6 9.Ne2 c6 10.Nc3 b6 11.0-0 Ba6 12.d3 Qc7 13.dxc6 dxc6 14.b4 Rad8 15.Qc2 Qc8 16.Bb2 Bb8 17.Rfd1 Qf5 18.Bf1 Rd6 19.e4 Qh5 20.Be2 Qh3 21.Bf1 Qh5 22.Be2 Qh3 23.Bf1 Qd7 24.a4 Rd8 25.b5 Bb7 26.Qb3 c5 27.Rac1 Rh6

The game is more or less equal according to the computer, though from an human point of view, Black has more perspectives. Now White blundered:

28.f3

28...Qd4+ 29.Kg2 Rxh2+!

A classical rook sacrifice that drives the white king to the fatal h-file, and allows the queen to imprison it with tempo from f2.

30.Kxh2 Qf2+ 31.Bg2

Black has only one attacking piece in action, but as White’s forces are all useless on the queenside, he has all the time to bring on another, decisive one with the cool

31...Rd6 0-1

With the unstoppable threat of 32...Rh6 and mates.

Baramidze,DavidKalinitschew,SergeyGermany Bundesliga 2006/07 (4.4)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.Re1 0-0 8.a4 Rb8 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.c3 Bxb3 12.Qxb3 Na5 13.Qc2 b4 14.d4 exd4 15.cxd4 c5 16.dxc5 dxc5 17.b3 Nd7 18.Bb2 Re8 19.Rad1 Qc8 20.e5 Nb6 21.e6 fxe6 22.Ne4 c4 23.Neg5 Bxg5 24.Nxg5 g6

In this game, Black’s chances lie on the queenside, thanks to his 3/2 pawn majority there. Black’s king is completely isolated from the rest of its army, which allows White to win on the spot with a destructive sacrifice, in spite of the fact that only two of his men (one will be shut off on the next move) are looking at the enemy monarch.

It is the impossibility for Black to bring on defenders that makes a quick win possible for White. Look at both knights on the queenside, or at the queen on c8: they are simply witnesses to the execution.

25.Nxh7!! Kxh7 26.Re5 c3

At least keeping the bishop away from the lone king.

27.Rh5+!

An accurate intermezzo, in order to force the king to block the g-file.

27...Kg7 28.Rg5 1-0

Now, White will take on g6 with the queen, and mate is inevitable.

Defence too far away

Ivanchuk,VassilyBu XiangzhiNanjing 2008 (10)

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bb4 4.Nf3 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.Nd5 Be6 7.d4 Bxd5 8.exd5 e4

This is a rather strange position, if we compare it with the normal lines after 1.e4 e5. An experienced grandmaster like Ivanchuk will immediately grasp the differences with a standard set-up. The dark-squared bishop, which might be on e7, has apparently ‘jumped over’ its pawns, so that it cannot defend the kingside. The light-squared bishop – which should be on c8 – has disappeared, thus leaving the light squares along the diagonal c8-h3 unprotected.

So, two natural defenders of Black’s castle are out of office.

Now White has a crucial problem to solve: where to go with the knight?

9.Nh4!

Towards the beautiful f5-square! The plan is quite straightforward: White will eliminate the knight on f6, the main defender of Black’s fortress, and bring on his own men to surround the enemy king. We can imagine the following steps:

- play Bg5 in order to pin the f6-knight;

- add pressure on f6 by opening the f-file with f2-f3;

- create a mating attack with the knight on f5, the queen and possibly the f1-rook.

Simple. Yet, the great Vassily had to foresee those ideas before he moved his attacked knight! As a rule, any move by the knight should be linked with an idea, or even a plan. Had it moved to the natural g5-square, for example, all those attacking ideas would have been unavailable.

9...c6 10.c3 Ba5 11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Nf5

An accurate move order, which allows the white bishop to maintain the pin on h4, in case Black plays ...h7-h6.

12...Nb6

Black attacks the bishop, but at the same time removes a useful defensive knight from the kingside. Anyway, the position is already very advantageous for White.

13.f3!!

The white bishop is not needed in order to checkmate the black king, so Ivanchuk wastes no time and follows his plan.

13...h6

On 13...Nxc4 the cool move 14.fxe4 is crushing.

Black is a piece up, but he is unable to rearrange his minor pieces on the queenside for the defence of his king. So White has many more attackers than Black has defenders. Here, 15.Nxg7 is threatened, with a winning position. There is no defence. If 14...Nxb2, for example, 15.Qf3 wins after 15...Nc4 16.Nxg7 and game over.

14.Bh4 e3

His only chance is to keep the f-file closed.

15.Qd3 Nxc4 16.Qxc4 Qd7!

Bu sets up a clever defence after his faulty opening. But he has to give up a pawn, which leads to bad endgame prospects.

17.Nxe3 Nh5 18.Rae1

Central Park Station!

18...Bd8 19.Bxd8 Rfxd8 20.Qd3 Rab8!?

A prophylactic move, anticipating dxc6 and the opening of the b-file.

21.b3!?

Same idea!

21...Nf6 22.dxc6 bxc6 23.Re2 a5 24.Rfe1 g6 25.d5 Nxd5 26.Nxd5 cxd5 27.Qxd5 Qa7+ 28.Kh1 Qc5 29.Qd2 d5 30.Re5 a4! 31.bxa4

The direct 31.h4! was more energetic.

Here’s a variation that illustrates the attacking power of White’s major pieces – and the importance of cutting the queen off from the defence, by keeping

the white rook on e5: 31...h5 32.f4! axb3 33.axb3 Rxb3 34.f5 Qxc3

35.Qg5! Rd6 (defending g6) 36.Qh6 with decisive mating threats.

31...h5

31...Kg7 was necessary.

32.f4 Rbc8 33.f5 Qxc3 34.Qh6 1-0

Show in Quiz Mode

IntroductionFind the Relevant Theme(How to Respond to the Signal)

Here we reach the third phase of the reflexion. This phase consists of what we sometimes call a ‘plan’. We have analysed the different elements, now we must concentrate on the important point. Strategically, this may mean that we must look for a desirable exchange, or a change in the central structure, for example.

Tactically, we have noticed a signal, or two, that allow us to assume that a tactic is available. Now we have to look for the way to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses, but before the exam of the candidate moves (phase 4) and the calculation (phase 5) we must find the main idea. This idea will be the consequence of the signal that we have just noticed. It means that we must look for a tactical theme (a tactical theme is a mechanism) that is suited to the previous examination of the signals. So we will try for each signal to point at the relevant themes that will help us to find the right combination.

But first I will present a number of standard combination themes and mates for less experienced readers.

A. Standard Combination ThemesWe distinguish ten different themes:

Double Attack

White to move

A double attack consists in attacking two different weak points of the opponent simultaneously.

1.Rc5!

wins a bishop.

Pin

White to move

A pin is the exploitation of an alignment. We attack a piece that cannot move because a stronger piece is standing behind it. The idea is either to win the pinned piece, or to prevent it from defending.

1.Rc8!

wins the d8-bishop.

Skewer

White to move

A skewer is the exploitation of an alignment: we attack two different pieces on the same line.

1.Rc8+

wins the h8-bishop.

Discovered Attack

White to move

We speak of a discovered attack when one of our pieces is masking the action of a long-range one (rook, bishop or queen). By moving the piece in front, we can attack with the piece behind it.

1.Ke7+

Wins the dark-squared bishop – and also the light-squared after the following forced sequence.

1...Bf8+ 2.Rxf8+ Kg7 3.Rxf7+ Kh6 4.Rxf3

Line or Square Clearance

White to move

Line or square clearance is when one of our pieces makes way for another piece. It can be linked with the opening of an important line, like a discovered attack, or of an important square.

1.Qxg7+!

The queen is sacrificed just to allow the knight to occupy the h6-square.

1...Nxg7 2.Nh6#

Line or Square Closing

White to move

Line/square closing consists in sacrificing material in order to force our opponent to close off an important line in his own defence.

1.Rb5! axb5

Closing the b-file. If 1...Rd2 2.b7 wins.

2.b7

White will promote to a queen, take the b-pawn, and the win is easy.

Elimination of the Defender

White to move

Elimination of the defender consists in capturing an important defender, so that it can no longer fulfill its task.

1.Qxa8+

The rook was the only defender against a back-rank mate.

1...Nxa8 2.Re8#

Deflection

White to move

Deflection consists in diverting a defending piece or pawn from its main duty.

1.Re8+!

wins the queen because after

1...Rxe8

The queen on a3 is not protected anymore. 1...Qf8 2.Rxf8+ is no better.

2.Qxa3

Decoy

White to move

A decoy consists in forcing a defensive piece to occupy a specific square that favours the attacker.

1.Qa8+!

forces the king to go on an unfavourable square because the forced

1...Kxa8

allows

2.Nxc7+ Kb7 3.Nxe6

with a winning position for White.

Extraction

Extraction is the action of attracting the enemy king toward our forces by giving material, so that we are able to checkmate him.

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 Nd7

5.Bxf7+!

White forces Black’s king to march on its own toward the enemy forces.

5...Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Kf6

6...Kf8 7.Ne6+ wins the queen thanks to a fork; 6...Ke8 7.Ne6 traps the queen on her original square.

7.Qf3#

Swing Door

To my knowledge this theme has never been described before. A ‘Swing Door’ indicates a double movement: first, our queen is attacked by the enemy queen and in order to protect it we deliberately auto-pin one of our men. Second, the pinned piece springs out of the pin, in order to execute a discovered attack. This combination is possible only if the enemy queen is protected by an attacked piece, so that when we uncover our queen, there will be a double attack.

We will illustrate this with three exercises.

Swing Door 1Salomon,EduardoBernstein,Osip SamuelMontevideo 1954 (4)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.d3 Na5 6.a3 Nxc4 7.dxc4 Be6 8.Qd3 Ne7 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Ng6 11.b3 0-0 12.0-0-0 Qe7 13.Nd5 Qd7 14.h4 c6 15.h5 Nh8 16.Nc3 Rfd8 17.Rd2 f6 18.Nh4 Nf7 19.Nf5 a6 20.h6 Bxf5 21.exf5 Nxh6 22.e4 Nf7 23.c5 Qe7 24.Qc4 dxc5 25.Rxd8+ Rxd8 26.Na4

Black to move

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Solution Swing Door 1

26...b5!

enables Black to enter the ‘swing door’ mechanism. Both the knight and the queen are attacked, so White has to try a counterattack:

27.Qxc5

Here, Black’s queen is attacked, but so is White’s knight, which defends the queen.

27.Qe6 is better, but the ending is lost after 27...Qxe6 (27...Qf8 also wins, threatening 28...Rd6) 28.fxe6 bxa4 29.exf7+ Kxf7 30.Rxh7 axb3 31.cxb3 Rd3–+ with an easy win.

This is the right moment to set up the discovered attack:

27...Rd6!

Auto-pinning the rook. Now the White knight has to move but after

28.Nc3

28...Rd1+!

wins the queen.

Swing Door 2Movsesian,SergeyKortchnoi,ViktorCarlsbad 2007 (2)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f3 Be7 8.Qd2 0-0 9.g4 d5 10.g5 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 Nh5 12.Rg1 b6 13.0-0-0 Bc5 14.Qd2 Bxe3 15.Qxe3 Bb7 16.exd5 exd5 17.f4 Qc7 18.Rd4 g6 19.Bg2 Ng7 20.Rxd5 Rae8 21.Re5 Nf5 22.Qe1 Rxe5 23.fxe5 Bxg2 24.Rxg2 Re8 25.Re2 Kg7 26.a3 Qc5 27.Re4 Re6 28.Kb1 a6 29.h4 b5 30.Na2 Nd4 31.Qf2 Nb3

White to move

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Solution Swing Door 2

The winning move is again the auto-pin

32.Re3

The answer

32...Nd4

is forced. If 32...Na5 33.b4 wins a piece.

33.Rd3!

The pinned piece is now the attacker. The only try is

33...Nb3

The situation looks similar to the one at the beginning, but there is a huge difference: the white rook is on an open file, which allows a striking finish.

34.Qf6+! Rxf6 35.exf6+ Kg8 36.Rd8+ Qf8 37.Rxf8+ Kxf8 38.cxb3 1-0

Swing Door 3Morozevich,AlexanderPapaioannou,IoannisBursa Wch-tt 2010 (2)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g4 0-0 5.g5 Ne8 6.Rg1 d5 7.Qb3 c5 8.cxd5 Nd6 9.Bh3 Na6 10.g6 c4 11.gxh7+ Kh8 12.Qc2 exd5 13.Bxc8 Rxc8 14.Nxd5 Re8 15.Kf1 Ne4 16.Ne3 Qd7 17.Ng5 Nac5 18.Qxc4 Nxg5 19.Rxg5 Ne4 20.Qb5

Black to move

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Solution Swing Door 3

The adventurous Russian champion (with white) plays an acrobatic game, taking pawns (three!) without being able to get his queenside pieces into play. For the moment White’s queen attacks Black’s, so the second player resorts to our known mechanism:

20...Rc6!

The white rook is attacked, and it must keep the queen protected because of the threatened discovered check ...Rxc1+. All the same, the ‘pinned’ rook has chances to join an attack on the white king via the sixth rank.

21.Rh5!

The only chance. In the game, White played 21.Rf5 Nd6 22.Qd3 Rxe3 23.dxe3 Qxf5 24.a3 Qh3+ 25.Kg1 Nf5 and White resigned, because checkmate cannot be avoided.

21...g6 22.Re5!

In order to take on e8 with check, so Black plays

22...Kxh7 23.Kg1

Avoiding some checks. But now Black wins back material.

23...Nd6 24.Qxb4

On 24.Qd5 Rc5 wins.

24...Rxe5

with a large advantage to Black, thanks to the good coordination of his forces.

B. The Basic Checkmates

The Shepherd’s Mate

1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6

3...g6 is better. After 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2 Bg7 Black is OK.

4.Qxf7#

Legal’s Mate

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 h6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.Nxe5! Bxd1

5...dxe5 6.Qxg4+–.

6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#

Fool’s Mate

1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#

Back-rank Mate

White to move

1.Re8#

This is by far the most frequent checkmate. In most of the games, both players castle. Don’t forget to allow your king a little luft to escape (by respectively h2-h3/...h7-h6, for example), just in case.

Arabic Mate

This checkmate is so called because the required material (rook and knight for White, king for Black) and the rules of the checkmate are the same as at the epoch of the Arabic invasion, which popularized the game in Europe (8th century).

Black to move

1...Ra4 2.Rxh7#

Smothered Mate

White to move

1.Qd5+ Kh8

1...Kf8 2.Qf7#.

2.Nf7+ Kg8 3.Nh6+ Kh8

4.Qg8+ Rxg8 5.Nf7#

Epaulette Mate

White to move

1.Qe6#

Gueridon Mate

Damiano’s Mate

Boden’s Mate

White to move

1.Qxc6+ bxc6 2.Ba6#

Morphy’s Opera Mate

This checkmate concluded the most famous game ever, Morphy-Duke of Brunswick and Carl (Count) Isouard, played in the Opera de Paris in 1858.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3 c6 9.Bg5 b5 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.0-0-0 Rd8 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7

16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8#

Anastasia’s Mate

White to move

1.Ne7+ Kh8 2.Qxh7+ Kxh7 3.Rh5#

Pillsbury’s Checkmate

Bishop and Knight Mate

White to move

1.Nh6#/1.Ne7#

Bishop and Rook Mate

Two Bishops Mate

Looking for a Checkmate

Exercise 1Schneider,Lars-AkeTal,MikhailLucerne ol 1982 (13)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f4 Qc7 7.Bd3 g6 8.0-0 Bg7 9.Nf3 Nbd7 10.Kh1 e5 11.Qe1 b5 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.Qh4 h6 14.a4 b4 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bb7 17.Bd2 Bxd5 18.Bxb4 Nc5 19.Rad1 Be6 20.Be4 Rc8 21.Bd5 0-0 22.Bxe6 fxe6 23.Bxc5 Qxc5 24.Qg4 Kh7 25.Qxe6 Rc6 26.Qh3 Qxc2 27.Rd7 e4 28.Ng5+ Kh8 29.Nf7+ Kg8

White to move

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Solution Checkmates 1

Practice is necessary in this field. Even if we know all classical mating patterns, it is not easy to spot them in a complicated game. Here White missed a surprising checkmate:

30.Qxh6!!

30.g3 was played in the game, after which Black won.

30...Qxb2

If 30...Bxh6 31.Nxh6+ Kh8 32.Rxf8#.

If 30...Rxf7 31.Rd8+ Bf8 32.Rxf8+ Rxf8 33.Rxf8#.

After the text move, a well-known pattern appears:

31.Qh8+! Bxh8 32.Nh6#

An ‘Epaulette Mate’.

Exercise 2Giri,AnishLaznicka,ViktorFrance tt 2010 (7)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Nc3 cxd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Rc1 Nb4 12.Bb1 b5 13.a3 Nbd5 14.Nxd5

Exchanging a knight, just like Grischuk in his game with Gelfand (page 134): not the traditional way to handle positions with the isolated pawn, when the player with the isolani is supposed to keep his minor pieces, if he can.

14...Nxd5 15.Qd3 g6 16.Bh6 Re8 17.Ne5 Bb7 18.Qf3 Bf6 19.Be4 Qe7

20.Bxd5!?

Another minor piece exchange, in order to get rid of a defender of the dark squares, against a piece that will never be able to attain them.

20...Bxd5 21.Qf4 Bh8 22.Ng4 f6 23.Rc7 e5 24.Qc1 Qe6 25.h3 exd4

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Solution Checkmates 2

This game was played some weeks after Grischuk-Gelfand (see page 134). It seems that Giri had seen the game,

because he played exactly like Grischuk, eliminating the enemy pieces that were controlling the dark squares, in order to attack precisely on this colour.

I was playing in the same hall and I remember that the young Dutchman was playing extremely quickly. He actually spent more time in the analysis room, looking at and commenting on a short draw between Nataf and Van Wely, than at his board. Now I can see why: he had done his homework!

26.Bf8!! Rxf8

In the game there followed 26...Rec8 27.Qc5 and Black resigned.

The best defence was 26...Qb6. After 27.Rd7 Be6 White has the winner 28.Bc5!, which threatens mate on h6 while tackling the queen.

26...Kxf8 27.Qh6+ also leads to a quick checkmate.

27.Nh6# 1-0

Show in Quiz Mode

Chapter 8King Position

The king’s position is the most important factor in the evaluation of a position, both from a tactical and a positional point of view. This is the consequence of the modern rules, which state that the game is usually won thanks to a checkmate (certain earlier rules stated that stalemate or taking all the opponent’s men were also ways to win). Chess is ‘Shah’, the king!

There are two possible defects in the king’s position: either it is too tightly covered, or it is too exposed. In both cases, the king may catch a bad cold.

Usually the king castles. After that it is standing in the corner, which eases the task for the attacker. However, usually the king is well protected by a shelter of three pawns. The basic method of attacking the king is extraction, which means that you pull the king out of his castle with some sacrifice in order to drive him towards your men.

Lasker,EdwardThomas,George Alan London 1912 (casual game)

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Bxf6 Bxf6 6.e4 fxe4 7.Nxe4 b6 8.Ne5 0-0 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.Qh5 Qe7

Black’s idea is that in case of the discovered attack 11.Nxf6+, attacking h7 twice, he has the ‘uncovering defence’ 11...gxf6, when the protection of h7 is taken care of.

10...g6 or 10...Bxe5 was better.

11.Qxh7+!! Kxh7 12.Nxf6+ Kh6

12...Kh8 leads to a nice mate picture: 13.Ng6#.

13.Neg4+ Kg5 14.h4+

14.f4+ is just as strong: 14...Kxf4 (14...Kh4 15.g3+ Kh3 16.0-0! and mates next move with 17.Nf2) 15.g3+ Kf3 16.0-0#.

14...Kf4 15.g3+ Kf3

16.Be2+

This is the most stylish solution. 16.Kf1, with the double threat of 17.Nh2 and 17.Be2, would have mated one move earlier; and so would the simple 16.0-0, with the single but completely undefendable threat of 17.Nh2+ with checkmate on the next move.

16...Kg2 17.Rh2+ Kg1 18.Kd2#!

18.0-0-0 mate was a less elegant, but valid alternative.

The following example demonstrates once again that when our short-range king is driven far inside the enemy camp, we should calculate the variations carefully, because the way back is long and arduous.

Kasparian & Manlevian1936

White to move

However costly it is, here we must consider the sacrifice of the queen, which drives the black king into unknown territory. The signal is the alignment between the g2-bishop and the king, but above all the poor position of the king after the queen has been sacrificed on c6.

The general technique of attracting the king is, from the attacker’s point of view, firstly to make sure that the monarch can’t get back, secondly to lure him as close as possible to our pawns, and then thirdly to accurately calculate the checkmate line.

1.Qxc6+ Kxc6

If 1...Kb8, 2.Nd4 Qa6 3.Qd7 is completely crushing.

2.Ne5+

This check prevents the monarch from returning home via d7. The calculation is not so difficult here, because Black has nothing but only moves.

2...Kc5 3.Nd3+

Nice geometry: while the knight takes care of the dark squares, the bishop and pawns look after the white ones.

3...Kd4

Now the third rank (the squares e3, d3 and c3) needs control. This job is done by the white king:

4.Kd2 Qf5

Or any other move, since there are no checks available...

5.c3#

Another important tip for the attacker is to learn by heart the classical mating patterns (see in the bibliography, L’Art de faire mat, or Improve your Chess Now). We will give an example in order to demonstrate how far in advance a strong player can anticipate a basic pattern.

Damiano’s Mate

Take Damiano’s Mate – a typical position which requires two elements: a pawn fixed on g6 (or g3 for Black), and the queen. Most checkmates involve two pieces, one of them being the queen.

Damiano’s Six-Mover

White to move

Black has castled kingside, while White has been able to plant a pawn on g6, thus covering the h7-square and preventing the black king’s escape via f7. With the help of its precious assistant, the lone queen will able able to deliver the final blow on h7. Black also has undefendable mating threats on b2 and a2, but White is to move first here.

When you see such a possibility, you must immediately visualize the previous diagram (Damiano’s Mate). Then you

will find the mate in six moves easily.

1.Rh1+ Kg8 2.Rh8+ Kxh8 3.Rh1+ Kg8 4.Rh8+ Kxh8 5.Qh1+ Kg8 6.Qh7#

The tactical theme is line clearance. Both white rooks are sacrificed to allow the queen to go to h1.

Looking for Damiano

Benjamin,JoelCarter,HLondon Lloyds Bank Open 1982

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nxe5 d5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.d4 0-0 8.Bg5 c6 9.Qd3 Nfd7

When he played his next move Benjamin had already calculated the final checkmate:

10.h4!? f6

10...Nxe5 was better (not 10...Bxg5 because after 11.hxg5 the h-file gives White too much attack). Benjamin already saw that Damiano’s Mate was almost forced after

11.Nxd5!! cxd5 12.Bxd5+ Kh8 13.Ng6+ hxg6 14.h5

This is where the g5-bishop comes in handy; it keeps Black from preventing the opening of the h-file, as ...g6-g5 is impossible.

14...Qa5+ 15.c3 Qxd5

That’s all, folks!

16.hxg6+ Kg8 17.Rh8+ Kxh8 18.Qh3+ Kg8 19.Qh7#

Building on Damiano’s Mate

Kwapinski,LeszekBlomqvist,ErikStockholm 2011/12 (6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Qc7 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Nxc6 dxc6 9.0-0 Bc5 10.Kh1 h5 11.Qe2 e5 12.Be3 Bg4 13.f3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Be6 15.c5 h4 16.b4 Nh5 17.Ne2 0-0-0 18.b5 cxb5 19.a4

Black to move

We can see that Damiano’s Mate would be possible if the black knight could come to g3, and White’s h-pawn had to take it. This is not yet the case, because the knight on e2 also controls g3. Thanks to other tactical motifs (the alignment of white men along the a6-f1 diagonal, the possibility of a knight fork on g3 – at checking distance from h1), Black is able to bring about the desired pattern by force:

19...Rxd3! 20.Qxd3 Bc4 21.Qe3 Bxe2 22.Qxe2

This is the first step. 22.Rfc1–+ Bc4 23.axb5 Bxb5 24.Rcb1 Rh6 25.Rd1 Nf4 26.Rd6 Rxd6 27.cxd6 Qxd6 28.Qa7 Qd2 29.Qc5+ Kd7 was the game finish.

Step two:

22...Ng3+ 23.hxg3 hxg3+ 24.Kg1

24...Rh1+

The flashy way! First 24...Qd8 or 24...Qe7 amounts to the same. 24...Qxc5+ is also easily winning: after the sequence 25.Rf2 gxf2+ 26.Qxf2 Rh1+ 27.Kxh1 Qxf2 the game is over.

25.Kxh1 Qd8 26.Rfd1 Qh4+ 27.Kg1 Qh2+ 28.Kf1 Qh1#

The basic attacking patterns deal with the destruction of the enemy king’s shelter. Various classical destructive sacrifices are well-known, such as the sacrifice on h7 (the Greek gift, or Greco’s mate) and the sacrifice on h6.

We will mention here the beautiful double bishop sacrifice, which was played for the first time in the following game:

Lasker,EmanuelBauer,Johann HermannAmsterdam 1889 (1)

1.f4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.b3 e6 4.Bb2 Be7 5.Bd3 b6 6.Nf3 Bb7 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Ne2 c5 10.Ng3 Qc7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Qc6 13.Qe2 a6

14.Nh5! Nxh5

14...Rfd8 is more resilient, but still losing after 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.Bxf6 gxf6.

White wins easily if he manages to spot the technical move here. Can you?1

15.Bxh7+

The first bishop is sacrificed in order to get rid of the h7-pawn, and to enable the queen to come to h5 with tempo.

15...Kxh7 16.Qxh5+ Kg8

Now the second bishop is sacrificed, eliminating the g-pawn, so that a quick checkmate will be possible after the arrival of the rook on g3 or h3.

17.Bxg7 Kxg7

There is another possibility to parry the threatened mate on h8: by moving the f-pawn. On 17...f6, 18.Bh6 is a typical method (18.Rf3 is also good). White wants to play Qg6 and Qg7 mate, so Black has to give up the rook: 18...Rf7 19.Qg6+ Kh8 20.Qxf7 Rg8 21.Rf3 and mate by Bg7+ and Rh3 is unavoidable.

On 17...f5 the best move is 18.Be5 Bf6 (after 18...Rf6 19.Rf3 Kf8 20.Rg3 Black will be mated all the same) 19.Qg6+ Kh8 and now the arrival of the rook is decisive: 20.Rf3, and mate.

18.Qg4+ Kh7 19.Rf3 e5!

A clever defensive try.

20.Rh3+ Qh6 21.Rxh6+ Kxh6

22.Qd7!

Winning a bishop, and the game.

22...Bf6 23.Qxb7 Kg7 24.Rf1 Rab8 25.Qd7 Rfd8 26.Qg4+ Kf8 27.fxe5 Bg7 28.e6 Rb7 29.Qg6 f6 30.Rxf6+ Bxf6 31.Qxf6+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.Qg7+ Kxe6 34.Qxb7 Rd6 35.Qxa6 d4 36.exd4 cxd4 37.h4 d3 38.Qxd3 1-0

The technique is quite simple, yet let’s look at a similar example. When Tarrasch was congratulated after the following game, he declared that he had no merit, because the winning method had been already discovered by Lasker, back in 1889!

Nimzowitsch,AaronTarrasch,Siegbert St Petersburg 1914 (5)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.c4 e6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.0-0 Bd6 7.b3 0-0 8.Bb2 b6 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Rc1 Qe7 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Nh4 g6 13.Nhf3 Rad8 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.Bb5 Ne4 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Qc2 Nxd2 18.Nxd2

The basic requirements for the double bishop sacrifice to work are :

- a chance to bring in the queen with tempo;

- the possibility to quickly bring a rook into action, so that one major piece controls the g-file and the other one the h-file, thus allowing the checkmate.

Here all the conditions are fulfilled thanks to Black’s next move, giving the d5-square to the rook while opening the long diagonal (a8-h1).

18...d4! 19.exd4

Losing by force. 19.Rfe1 was a better chance.

19...Bxh2+ 20.Kxh2 Qh4+

The first major piece has been brought in with tempo.

21.Kg1 Bxg2 22.f3

The main line is 22.Kxg2 Qg4+ 23.Kh2 Rd5.

Here comes the second major piece. White has a surprising defence, but it does not save the game: 24.Qxc5! Rh5+ 25.Qxh5 Qxh5+.

The material balance is not so clear here, but just as in Lasker’s game, Black wins another piece thanks to a double attack: 26.Kg2 Qg5+ 27.Kf3 Qxd2–+.

22...Rfe8!

Tarrasch continues coolly, aiming all his men on the white king.

23.Ne4

On 23.Kxg2 Re2+ mates quickly.

23...Qh1+ 24.Kf2 Bxf1 25.d5

On 25.Rxf1 Qh2+ nets Black a queen.

25...f5 26.Qc3

White takes his chance and now also has undefendable mating threats.

26...Qg2+ 27.Ke3

27...Rxe4+! 28.fxe4 f4+

There was a mate in three available, beginning with 28...Qg3+ 29.Kd2 Qf2+ 30.Kd1 Qe2#.

29.Kxf4 Rf8+ 30.Ke5 Qh2+ 31.Ke6 Re8+ 32.Kd7 Bb5#

A final position that deserves a diagram.

Kuzmin,GennadySveshnikov,EvgenyMoscow ch-URS 1973 (14)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Be3 Bb4 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Na4 0-0 11.c4 Bd6 12.f4 Nxe4 13.Bd3 Nf6 14.c5 Be7 15.Bd4 Nd5

You know the method. Of course, you will need to calculate – one cannot give up two precious bishops speculatively! Okay, take your time, calculate and find the winning move White played.

16.Nb6!!

Before the ritual sacrifice, White has to deflect the central black knight. The ‘normal’ 16.Bxh7+ fails, for a reason that is hard to spot: 16...Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Qg4+ Kh7 20.Rf3? (20.Qh5+ is a draw)

White brings on his rook to give mate on h3, as usual, but there is a defence here: the surprising 20...Nxf4!, controlling the h3-square: 21.Rxf4 f5 and Black holds. If 22.Qh3+ Kg6 23.Qg3+ Bg5 shielding against discovered checks.

The same motif works after 19...Kh6, but 19...Kh8? 20.Rf3 Nxf4 (or 20...Nf6 21.Rh3 Nh7 22.Qh5+–) is different: 21.Rxf4 f5 22.Qh3+ Kg7 23.Qg3+ Kh7 24.Rh4+ Bxh4 25.Qxc7, netting the queen.

Or 21...Qe5 22.Qh3+ Kg8 23.Rg4+ Bg5 24.Qh5! f6 25.Qg6+ Kh8 26.Rg3 Qf5 27.Rh3 Qxh3 28.gxh3, with a winning material advantage.

16...Nxb6

If 16...Rb8 17.Nxd5, followed by the double sacrifice. Now it’s a piece of cake...

17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh5+ Kg8

19.Bxg7 Kxg7

On 19...f6 20.Qg6 Rf7 21.Bh6+ Kh8 22.Qxf7 wins.

19...f5 20.Qg6 is the same.

20.Qg4+ Kh7 21.Rf3

White wins.

Exercises

Exercise 1 Signal 1 *2

Czempiel,HenrykNowak,KamilGora Swietej Anny 2012 (8.13)

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.e5 Ng4 8.exd6 exd6 9.0-0 Be7 10.Bf4 0-0 11.Re1 Nge5 12.Bxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 dxe5 14.Qh5 Qd4 15.Re4 Qd2 16.Re2 Qf4 17.Nd5 Qxc4 18.Nxe7+ Kh8 19.Rxe5 Bg4 20.Qh4 Be6

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 1 signal 1

White has to identify the typical mating pattern (see ‘The Basic Checkmates, page 76) called ‘Anastasia’s Mate’:

21.Qxh7+! Kxh7 22.Rh5#

Exercise 2 Signal 1 **Richter,MichaelBerg,EmanuelGothenburg 2011 (4)

1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.c3 c5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6 9.Nf4 Nxd4 10.Qh5+ Ke7 11.exf6+ Nxf6 12.Ng6+ hxg6 13.Qxh8 Kf7 14.0-0 e5 15.Nb3 Nxb3 16.axb3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 gxf5 18.Bg5 Bc5 19.Qh3 g6 20.b4 Bb6 21.Qb3 Qd6 22.Be3 Rd8 23.Bc5 Qe6 24.Bxb6 Qxb6 25.Rfc1 a6 26.b5 axb5 27.Qc3 Qe6 28.Ra7 Rd7 29.Qc5 d4 30.Qxb5 Qe7 31.Rd1 e4 32.Qc4+ Qe6 33.Qb5 Qe7 34.Qc4+ Kg7 35.Rxd4 Rc7 36.Qb3

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 2 signal 1

The mating threat is obvious: a back-rank checkmate with ...Rc1+. White needs two pieces to defend against this check: the queen and the rook. Against this double defence, Black uses a double deflection and wins instantly:

36...Qb4!! 0-1

Both the queen and the rook are under attack. There is no defence, because if 37.Qd1 (or 37.Qe3) 37...Qxd4! wins the rook due to 38.Qxd4 Rc1+ and checkmate follows.

Exercise 3 Signal 1 **Mamedov,RaufAdhiban,BaskaranMoscow 2012 (4.29)

1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 Nf6 3.d3 g6 4.Nd2 Bg7 5.e4 dxe4 6.dxe4 0-0 7.Ngf3 a5 8.0-0 a4 9.c3 a3 10.Qc2 axb2 11.Bxb2 Nc6 12.h3 h6 13.a4 Be6 14.Nd4 Bd7 15.Nc4 Qc8 16.Kh2 Na5 17.Ne3 e5 18.Nf3 Re8 19.c4 Nc6 20.Rfd1 Nh7 21.Nd5 Nf8 22.Bc3 Be6 23.Qb2 Nd7 24.a5 Kh7 25.Rdb1 Nc5 26.Ne1 Ra7 27.f4 f5 28.exf5 Bxf5 29.Rd1 Ne4 30.Bxe4 Bxe4 31.Qf2 Ra6 32.Ng2 Nd4 33.Nh4 Rc6 34.fxe5 Bxd5 35.Rxd4 Bxc4 36.Re1 Rf8 37.Qc2 Qe6 38.Rg4 Bb3 39.Qd3 Qd5 40.Rd4 Qc5 41.Bd2 Bxe5 42.Rd7+ Rf7 43.Ng2 Bg7 44.Bf4 Qc2 45.Re3 Rxd7 46.Qxd7

Black to move

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Solution 3 signal 1

46...Rd6! 0-1

White’s queen was defending against the threat of ...Bd5, attacking the pinned knight on g2. After the interception by the black rook, White loses at least the knight: 47.Bxd6 Bd5 or 47.Qe8 Rd2 48.Qe4 Bd5 49.Qxc2 Rxc2.

Exercise 4 Signal 1 **Tiviakov,SergeyTukmakov,VladimirRostov-on-Don 1993

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 9.Bf4 Bd7 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.f3 d5 12.Qe1 Bb4 13.a3 Ba5 14.Bd2 d4 15.e5 Qc7 16.Ne2 Bxd2+ 17.Qxd2 Qxe5 18.Nxd4 Bd7 19.Bc4 0-0 20.Bb3 Qc7 21.h4 Rad8 22.Qe3 Rfe8 23.Ne2 Bc6 24.g4 Nd5 25.Bxd5 Rxd5 26.Rxd5 Bxd5 27.g5 hxg5 28.hxg5 e5 29.Nc3 Bc6 30.Ne4 Re6 31.Rd1 Qe7 32.Nc5 Rd6 33.Re1 Qd8 34.Nd3 Rg6 35.Nxe5 Rxg5

White to move

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Solution 4 signal 1

White is able to reach the opponent’s monarch thanks to the sacrificial

36.Nxf7!

Black has to take because the knight is forking his heavy pieces.

36...Kxf7 37.Qe6+ Kf8

And now the scattered black men are unable to defend against the simple

38.Rh1

Threatening mate in one. Black could give a rook back by Rg1+, but the resulting position would be hopeless, so he resigned.

Exercise 5 Signal 1 ***Petrosian,TigranPachman,LudekBled 1961 (6)

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.e4 Nge7 7.Re1 0-0 8.e5 d6 9.exd6 Qxd6 10.Nbd2 Qc7 11.Nb3 Nd4 12.Bf4 Qb6 13.Ne5 Nxb3 14.Nc4 Qb5 15.axb3 a5 16.Bd6 Bf6 17.Qf3 Kg7 18.Re4 Rd8

White to move

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Solution 5 signal 1

19.Qxf6+! Kxf6 20.Be5+ Kg5 21.Bg7! 1-0

Checkmate by h2-h4+ and Bf3/h3 follows inevitably.

Exercise 6 Signal 1 ***

Brkic,AnteNestorovic,DejanSarajevo Open 2012 (6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Qf3 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.0-0-0 d6 9.Qg3 0-0 10.f4 Nc6 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Nh5 13.Nxc6 Nxg3 14.Nxe7+ Kh8 15.hxg3 Qxe5

White to move

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Solution 6 signal 1

16.Rxh7+!+– Kxh7 17.Bd3+

Bringing on a new attacker while liberating the first rank for the other rook.

17...g6

Not 17...f5 18.Rh1#.

18.Rh1+ Kg7 19.Bh6+ Kf6 20.Bxf8

The threat is 21.Ne4, so the black queen has to move in order to provide some room for the king.

20...Qe3+

20...Bd7 allows the elegant finish 21.Ng8+! Kg5 22.Ne4+ Kg4 (22...Kf5 23.Nh6#) 23.Nh6#.

21.Kb1 Ke5

Or 21...Bd7 22.Ne4+ Ke5 23.Bg7+ f6 24.Bxf6#.

22.Ne4

Now the threat is 23.Bg7 with checkmate. There is no other defence than to give the queen. Black preferred to resign.

1 19.Qh6! is the move, shutting in the king first – with Rf3-g3 to follow.2 The number of stars refers to increasing difficulty, from * to *****

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Chapter 9Unprotected Pieces

This signal points to the most natural tactical theme: the double attack. In his book Tactics for the Advanced Player, Yury Averbakh states that most of the combinations are based on a double attack, meaning attack on two different sectors. From a strategic point of view, this theme is also known as the double weakness principle: if a player has only one weakness, and his opponent is able to attack it, say, four times, he should be able to defend it four times. But if in the same position there is another weakness, then the attacker should win by alternating threats on both weaknesses.

Tactically, the double attack is simpler: it simply means to simultaneously attack two unprotected (or insufficiently protected) points. The study of the motif is very important, and it should give a serious clue to the searcher. Additionally, we can spot possible weaknesses, which we will turn into undefended points by sacrifices.

Most of the time, the second theme that is linked with the double attack is the decoy, which means luring a piece to a specific square on which, in our chapter, we will be able to deliver a double attack.

Let’s begin with a light trap:

Neiman,EmmanuelVelikov,PetarEvry 2002 (7)

1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 c6 3.e3 h6 4.Bh4 Qb6 5.b3 e5

The last move ‘sacrifices’ a central pawn. Knowing the cautious style of my opponent, I suspected some trick and did not dare to take the pawn.

After

6.dxe5

(6.Nf3 was played in the game) the double attack is possible thanks to the opening of the fourth rank. The two weak points are:

one bishop on an unprotected square;

the possibility to give check to the white king.

6...Qb4+

Followed by 7...Qxh4.

Double threat

Biriukov,NikolayYilmaz,Mustafa EnesKharkov 2011 (5)

The queen is the classical executioner of a double attack.

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.d3 Nd4 7.Nce2 Ne6 8.Nf3 Ne7 9.d4 0-0 10.0-0 f5 11.exf5 gxf5 12.d5 Nc5 13.Ne1 f4 14.gxf4 Ng6 15.fxe5 Nxe5 16.Ng3 Nxc4 17.Rb1 Bd7 18.Nh5 Bh8 19.b4 Bf5 20.bxc5 Bxb1 21.Nf4 Bf5 22.Ne6 Qh4 23.Nf3 Qg4 24.h3 Qh5 25.Nf4 Qe8 26.Nh4 Qf7 27.Ne6 dxc5 28.Bh6 Rfd8 29.Nxd8 Rxd8

Once you have spotted the two weaknesses, the double attack is not hard to find. Of course, the rook on d8 and the knight on c4 are both unprotected and located on open lines. This is a case for her majesty.

30.Qc1! Rd6 31.Qxc4 1-0

31...Rxh6 32.Nxf5 Qxf5 33.d6++– and 34.dxc7 is winning.

Le Roux,Jean PierreHamdouchi,HichamCaen ch-FRA 2011 (1)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 c6 6.Nc3 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Ne5 e6 9.0-0 Nfd7 10.Nf3 Nc6 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 h6 13.Be3 Nb6 14.Rc1 Nd5 15.Nc3 Nce7 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Bd2 Qb6 18.Qa4 Rd8 19.Ne5 Qxb2 20.Bxd5 exd5 21.Rc2 Qb6 22.Rfc1 Bh3 23.Rc7 Rf8 24.Bf4 g5 25.Be3 Rad8 26.Nd7

White has created a kind of double attack here, with the knight fork on d7. The main point in this position is the weakness of the light squares around the white king. Black was able to elegantly apply our theme:

26...Rxd7

First the rook is lured to d7.

27.Rxd7 Qe6!

Attacking the rook, and also threatening mate after 28...Qe4. There’s no escape. If 28.Rdc7, 28...Qe4 wins.

Bartel,MateuszNikolaidis,IoannisEretria 2011 (1.4)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.e4 e5 5.Nge2 c6 6.f3 a6 7.Be3 Be7 8.d5 cxd5 9.cxd5 Nh5 10.Qd2 g6 11.0-0-0 b5 12.Ng3 Ndf6 13.Kb1 Bd7 14.Nce2 a5 15.Nxh5 Nxh5 16.g4 Ng7 17.h4 h5 18.g5 0-0 19.f4 Bg4 20.fxe5 Bf3 21.Rh3 Bxe4+ 22.Ka1 Bf5 23.Rh1 Bg4 24.Bh3 Bxh3 25.Rxh3 Qd7 26.exd6 Bxd6 27.Rhh1 Nf5 28.Bf4 Rfe8 29.Bxd6 Qxd6 30.Nc3 b4 31.Nb5 Qd7 32.Nd4 Ne3 33.Nc6 Nxd1 34.Rxd1 Re4 35.Qd3 Rae8 36.Nxa5 R8e5 37.d6 Re3 38.Qd2

Black had a very simple win available here. Can you spot the two weaknesses (two undefended points) that allow Black to win, thanks to a double attack? 38...R3e4 was played in the game, which was ultimately won by White.

38...Rxa5

was easily winning as after the normal

39.Qxe3

a double attack is available: 39...Qa4!, threatening mate in one while attacking the rook on d1. The game would have immediately ended in Black’s favour.

Double Attack

White to move

Do you see how White can realize a double attack here?

27.e6!

This pawn push reveals the possibility to attack Black’s two unprotected rooks simultaneously.

27...fxe6

Black has to take, because f7 was attacked.

28.Qe5

winning a rook.

Thanks to the poor king’s position, 28.Rfe1, for example, would also win, but we prefer the double attack!

Sometimes, the attacker notices one possible attack on an unprotected point. In this case you should not attack this weakness right away, but wait until you can create a second one, which will allow you to create a double attack.

Once you notice the chance to make a double attack, the typical device is to lure the second unprotected piece to the losing square with a decoy.

Two classic examples:

Spassky,BorisAverkin,OrestMoscow ch-URS 1973 (2)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 Be7 9.Be2 0-0 10.0-0 Bd7 11.Be3 Rb8 12.Rc1 Qa5 13.f4 Rfd8 14.Qd2 Be8 15.Rfd1 Nb4 16.Qe1 b5 17.Kh1 Rdc8 18.cxb5 axb5 19.e5 dxe5 20.fxe5 Nd7 21.Naxb5 Nxe5 22.Bf4 Ned3 23.Bxd3 Nxd3 24.Rxd3 Bxb5 25.Rg3 Rb6

If you look at possible weak points in Black’s position, you will notice the g7-square, attacked once by the rook on g3, and defended only once by the king. The obvious attack with 26.Qe5, threatening mate in one, would easily be repelled, of course. So White has to create a second weakness, which will allow him to attack two objects at the same time.

Here an examination of the motifs can help us. There’s another interesting piece arrangement that has to be spotted: the alignment on the d8-a5 diagonal of Black’s queen and rook.

This should be a strong enough hint for you to find the clinical solution:

26.Bc7! Rxc7 27.Qe5 g6

The best defensive try was 27...Kf8! 28.Qxc7 Bd6 29.Qd8+ Be8² and Black has a defendable position.

28.Qxc7 Bh4 29.Rf3 Be8 30.Rxf7 Bxf7 31.Rf1 Be8 32.Qc8 Kg7 33.Qxe8 Bf6 34.Ne4 e5 35.Nxf6 1-0

Another decoy enables White to win material by creating a second weakness in the following game:

Kasparov,GarryLigterink,GertMalta ol 1980 (6)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 Ne4 7.Bd2 Bf6 8.0-0 0-0 9.Rc1 c5 10.d5 exd5 11.cxd5 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 d6 13.Nde4 Re8 14.Qd2 a6 15.b4 Be7 16.bxc5 bxc5 17.Qf4 Qc7 18.Na4 Qa5 19.Rb1 Bxd5 20.Nb6 Bxe4 21.Bxe4 Ra7

Again we can notice a weak point on the kingside: h7 is attacked once and defended once. A direct and brutal attack would be a loss of time, but taking into account this possibility, we can try to create a second weakness. Once again a study of the signals helps us: the forking distance between a rook on c8 and square h7 for the white queen. Hence, logically, the first move is the clever

22.Nc8!

Attacking the rook on a7 and the knight on b8.

22...Rxc8

In the game there followed 22...Nc6 23.Nxa7 Nxa7 24.Bd5 and Black resigned.

23.Qf5

A double attack that wins easily.

Exercises

Exercise 1 Signal 2 *Novikov,IgorRhodin,ChristianBern 1993 (2)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.b3 c5 8.Nc3 Ne4 9.Bb2 Bf6 10.Qd3 d5 11.cxd5 Nxc3 12.Bxc3 cxd4 13.Bb4 Ba6 14.Qd2 Re8 15.Nxd4 Bxd4 16.Qxd4 Nc6 17.Qg4 Nxb4 18.dxe6 Rxe6 19.Rfd1 Qf8 20.Bxa8 Bxe2 21.Bf3 Bxd1 22.Rxd1 Qe7 23.a3 Nc6

White to move

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Solution 1 signal 2

24.Bxc6 Rxc6 25.Qe4!

After this double attack, 25...Re6 is the best try, but White wins the queen with 26.Qa8+ Qe8 27.Rd8.

Exercise 2 Signal 2 *Bacrot,EtienneVachier-Lagrave,MaximeBastia rapid 2012 (3)

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.g3 e5 6.Nb5 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 a6 8.Bxb4 axb5 9.Bd6 Ne4 10.Bg2 Qa5+ 11.b4 Nxb4 12.Bxe4 Nc2+ 13.Kf1 Nxa1 14.Bxe5 Qxa2 15.Bxg7 Rg8 16.Bf6 Ra6 17.Bxa1 Qxa1 18.cxb5 Rh6

White to move

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Solution 2 signal 2

In this wild rapid game, Black has just defended the h pawn. In doing so, he offers a neat finish to his opponent. 18...Ra8 would have been unclear.

19.Qc1!

Attacking two unprotected men and winning a piece. Black resigned.

Exercise 3 Signal 2 *San Segundo Carrillo,PabloRodriguez Vargas,OrestesSalamanca 1991 (2)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Nb3 e6 8.Qd2 a6 9.0-0-0 b5 10.a3 b4 11.axb4 Nxb4 12.f4 Be7 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Nfd5 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.h4 0-0 18.Qg5 Qe8 19.h5 h6 20.Qf4 Rb8 21.Bd3 Be6 22.g4 f6 23.exf6 Rxf6 24.Qd4 Qf8 25.g5 hxg5 26.Rde1 Rf4 27.Qe3 Nxd3+ 28.Qxd3 Re4 29.Nc5 Qf4+ 30.Kb1

Black to move

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Solution 3 signal 2

In this open position, three white men lack protection: the e1-rook, the b2-pawn (both attacked once and defended once) and the c5-knight. Unsurprisingly, Black is able to strike and win:

30...Qe5!

A double attack. White has to part with the e1-rook because checkmate is threatened on b2.

Also, 30...Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 Qb4!, attacking three unprotected points.

Exercise 4 Signal 2 **Lasker,EmanuelEuwe,MaxNottingham 1936 (13)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Bd3 e6 6.cxd5 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 exd5 8.Nc3 Bd6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Re1 Nbd7 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Qxe4 Re8 14.Qxe8+ Qxe8 15.Rxe8+ Rxe8 16.Kf1 Nb6 17.Bd2 f6 18.Re1 Rxe1+ 19.Nxe1 Kf7 20.Ke2 Ke6 21.h3 Nc4 22.Bc1 Bc7 23.Kd3 Ba5

White to move

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Solution 4 signal 2

24.b4!

This in-between move had escaped the attention of the Dutchman.

24...Bxb4 25.Nc2

And now the two pieces are simultaneously under attack. One is lost.

25...Bd2 26.Bxd2 Nb2+ 27.Ke2 Kd5 28.Bc1 Nc4 29.Kd3 Nb6 30.Ne3+ Ke6 31.Nc4 Nc8 32.Na5 Nd6 33.Bf4 1-0

Exercise 5 Signal 2 **Ivanov,SergeyWesterberg,JonathanStockholm 2011/12 (3)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.0-0 Be7 10.Rd1 Nf6 11.Nc3 d5 12.e4 0-0 13.e5 Ne8

White to move

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Solution 5 signal 2

14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Ng5

Threatening mate in one (16.Qxh7) while opening the long diagonal for the g2-bishop. 15.Rxd5 is also good.

15...Bxg5 16.Bxd5

16...Qe7 17.Bxg5 Qxg5 18.f4 Qh5 19.Bxa8 1-0

Exercise 6 Signal 2 ***Tikkanen,HansGoudriaan,EtienneWijk aan Zee C 2012 (4)

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 b4 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.dxe5 Rb8 13.Rd1 Qe8 14.Qxc4 Bb7

14...Bd7 15.b3.

White to move

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Solution 6 signal 2

15.Bxb7 Rxb7

The rook on b7 is en prise (step one).

16.Qg4+!

We must reposition the queen for several reasons, the key one being that we must gain access to the f3-square.

16...Kh8 17.exf6 Bxf6 18.Qf3!

The final move, a clear double attack on the two unprotected pieces, on f6 and b7.

18...Bxb2 19.Ra2 Rb6 20.Rxb2 f6 21.Rbd2 e5 22.a5 Ra6 23.Rd7 Rxa5 24.Rd8 1-0

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Chapter 10Alignment

Alignment is a very common motif, which will enable you to realize many tactical themes: the pin, the skewer, the discovered attack and line clearance being the main ones. Some examples:

Pin

Meier,GeorgKramnik,VladimirDortmund 2011 (2)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 0-0 8.Nc3 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.0-0 Re8 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.Ne5 Na6 13.Bf4 h6 14.Nb5 Bf8 15.Bh3 c5 16.a3 Ne4 17.Rc2 g6 18.Qc1 g5 19.Be3 Bg7 20.Nf3 Qe7 21.Rd1 Rad8 22.Nxa7 Nd6 23.a4 Nb4 24.dxc5 bxc5 25.Rxc5 Na2 26.Qc2 Nb4 27.Qc1 Nc4 28.bxc4 d4 29.Bxg5 Qxc5 30.Bxd8 d3 31.Ne1 Rxe2 32.Qf4

In this hot game, Black now wins thanks to a possible pin. Black provokes an alignment of White’s king and queen, and uses it in order to pin them.

32...Rxf2! 0-1

On 33.Qxf2 (33.Qb8 Rf4#) 33...Bd4 is easily winning.

Pin

Lombardy,WilliamPolugaevsky,LevReykjavik 1978

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 0-0 8.0-0 Qe7 9.d3 h6 10.e3 d6 11.b3 Bd7 12.Bb2 Rab8 13.d4 cxd4 14.exd4 Rfc8 15.b4 Bd8 16.Rfe1 Qf8 17.Qd3 Ne7 18.Nd2 b6 19.Nb3 a5 20.d5 e5 21.Nb5 Ne8 22.Rac1 axb4 23.axb4 Rb7 24.Nd2 Ng6 25.h4 f5 26.Ra1 e4 27.Qb3 Bf6 28.Na7 Bxb2 29.Qxb2 Rcc7

30.Nc6!

The beginning of a deep combination, which is based on various alignments and pins.

30...Bxc6 31.dxc6 Rxc6

32.Nxe4! fxe4 33.Bxe4 Ne7 34.Ra8!

A terrible pin. White is threatening to take on c6 and then on e8.

34...Rcc7 35.Bg6!?

It was also possible to strengthen the pin along the eighth rank with 35.Qa2, controlling a7: 35...Kh8 36.Bxb7 Rxb7 37.Rd8 Kh7 38.Qa8 and wins.

35...Nxg6 36.Rexe8 1-0

Pins

Arjun,BharatLeer-Salvesen,BjarteStockholm 2011/12 (4)

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 c5 7.e3 Nc6 8.Nc3 d4 9.exd4 cxd4 10.Ne2 e5 11.d3 h6 12.a3 a5 13.Rb1 Bf5 14.Nh4 Bh7 15.f4 exf4 16.gxf4 Ng4 17.Nf3 Ne3 18.Bxe3 dxe3 19.d4 Bxb1 20.Qxb1 Bxa3 21.d5 Nb8 22.Nfd4 Re8 23.Rf3 Ra6 24.Nf5 Bf8 25.Rg3 Rg6 26.Rxg6 fxg6 27.Nfd4 Qf6 28.Ne6 Nd7 29.Qc1 Kh8 30.Bh3 Qh4 31.Qxe3

The white queen and king are aligned. So are White’s knight and queen. Thanks to those pins, Black wins by force:

31...Bc5!

This pin is fatal; it wins the exchange and the game.

32.N2d4 Qf6

32...Nf8 was even stronger: 33.Qg3 (on 33.Kg2, 33...Nxe6 and Qf6 wins.) 33...Qxg3+ 34.hxg3 Nxe6 35.Bxe6 Bxd4+.

33.Kg2 Bxd4 34.Qxd4 Rxe6! 35.Qxf6 Rxf6 36.Bxd7–+ Kg8

Black wins easily in the ending.

37.Be6+ Kf8 38.Kf3 Ke7 39.c5 Rf8 40.Ke4 b6 41.Ke5 bxc5 42.d6+ Kd8 43.h4 Rf6 44.Bh3 Rf7 45.Be6 Rb7 46.Bc4 Rb4 47.Kd5 a4 48.bxa4 Rxa4 49.Kxc5 Ra3 50.Bf7 Ra5+ 51.Kc6 Rh5 52.Bxg6 Rxh4 53.f5 Rh1 54.Kd5 Kd7 55.f6 Rd1+ 56.Ke5 Re1+ 57.Be4 gxf6+ 58.Kf5 Rxe4 0-1

Discovered attack

Yu RuiyuanOleksienko,MikhailChennai Open 2012 (7)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 a6 5.Bxd7+ Bxd7 6.0-0 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Bg4 8.Qd3 Nf6 9.Bg5 e6 10.c4 Be7 11.Nc3 0-0 12.Nd4 h6 13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 Bh5 15.Nde2 Qb6 16.Kh1 Rfd8 17.f4 Qxb2 18.Rab1 Qa3 19.Rb3 Qc5 20.Rxb7 Rd7 21.Bf2 Qa5 22.Rb2 Rc8 23.Bd4 Bxe2 24.Nxe2 gxf4 25.Nxf4 e5 26.Bb6 Qa4 27.Nd5 Nxd5 28.cxd5 Bg5 29.Qf3 Rb8 30.Qg4 Kh8 31.h4 Bf4

Here we can notice that the undefended rook on b8 is aligned with the white rook on b2.

We can exploit this with a preparatory sacrifice:

32.Rxf4! 1-0

If Black accepts with 32...exf4 (32...Rg8 33.Qh5 exf4 34.Qxh6#) now comes the discovered attack: 33.Bd4+ Qxd4 34.Rxb8+ Kh7 35.Qg8#.

Decoy/Discovered Attack

Schindler,ChristianWagner,DennisOsterburg ch-GER 2012 (1)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.exd4 Bd6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Qe2+ Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 Bb4 10.Nc3 Nc6 11.a3 Ba5 12.b4 Bb6 13.d5 Re8 14.Qd1 Rxe1+ 15.Qxe1 Nd4 16.Nxd4 Bxd4 17.Be3 Bxc3 18.Qxc3 Nxd5 19.Bxd5 Qxd5 20.Qxc7 b6 21.Rc1 Bb7 22.Qg3 Rd8 23.Re1 h5 24.h4 Rd6 25.Qg5 Qc6 26.f3 Qc3 27.Re2 Bxf3 28.Rf2 Bc6 29.Qe7 Rd7 30.Qg5 Rd3 31.Bf4 f6 32.Qxh5 Qd4 33.Qe2 Be4 34.Kh2 Rxa3 35.Bg3 Re3 36.Qg4 Re1 37.h5

Here the alignment is between the white and the black queen, only separated by the black bishop; hence the idea of a discovered attack prepared with

37...Rh1+!

A decoy that forces White ‘s king to go to a light square.

38.Kxh1 Bxg2+ 0-1

The white queen is lost.

Line Clearance/Discovered Attack

Izeta Txabarri,FelixPeric,SlavisaSuances Open 1997

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 Nf6 6.Qe2 cxd4 7.exd4 Be7 8.0-0 a6 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Bg5 Nc6 11.Rad1 Re8 12.Ne5 Nb4 13.f4 Nbd5 14.f5 Rf8 15.Nxf7 Rxf7 16.fxe6 Rf8 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.Bxe7 Nxe7 19.Rxf8+ Qxf8 20.d5 b5 21.Bb3 Bb7 22.d6 Rd8 23.dxe7 Rxd1+ 24.Qxd1 Qxe7

A very simple and classical example of a fatal alignment. The white bishop and the black king are aligned, only separated by the pawn on e6, which is kept at bay by the black queen.

In such a situation, the greatest sacrifice can be made in order to open the diagonal, and that is what Izeta did – he gave the queen:

25.Qd8+! 1-0

Mate cannot be avoided, for example: 25...Qxd8 (25...Qf8 26.e7+ Kh8 27.exf8=Q#) 26.e7+ Qd5 (26...Bd5 27.Bxd5+ Qxd5 28.e8=Q#) 27.e8=Q#.

Skewer/Discovered Attack

Karpov,AnatolyTopalov,VeselinDos Hermanas 1994 (9)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 Nxd5 5.Nxd5 exd5 6.Qxd5 Be7 7.e4 0-0 8.Be2 d6 9.0-0 Nc6 10.c3 Be6 11.Qh5 h6 12.Rd1 Re8 13.Bf4 Bf8 14.Nd2 g6 15.Qf3 d5 16.Qg3 Qe7 17.exd5 Bxd5 18.Bf1 Qf6 19.Nb3 Rad8 20.Rd2 Be6 21.Bc7 Rxd2 22.Nxd2 Bf5 23.Nc4 Re4 24.Ne3 Bc8 25.Rd1 Re8 26.h3 Qg5 27.Qf3 Kg7 28.Bf4 Qe7 29.Nd5 Qe4

30.Nf6!

A fork intended to decoy the king onto the f-file.

30...Kxf6

30...Qxf3 31.Nxe8+ Kg8 32.gxf3 nets White a rook.

31.Be5+!

This is the point. The discovered check involves the sacrifice of a second minor piece, but very soon White will be an exchange up.

31...Kxe5

Black is two pieces up at the moment, but he will soon be forced to give up a rook and a bishop due to several alignments.

32.Qxe4+

A clear-cut solution, entering a winning endgame. The typical computer move 32.Qxf7!? also wins, because next, 33.f4+ will win the queen or mate within a few moves.

32...Kxe4 33.Re1+ Kf5 34.Rxe8

With a double attack on both bishops. The game is over because such a rook is too strong compared to a minor piece in endgames.

34...Be6 35.Rxf8 Bxa2 36.Rc8

With 37.Rc7 to come, for example 36...Bd5 37.Rc7 b6 38.c4, winning a piece. Black resigned.

Discovered Attack

Cetkovic,MomciloMolerovic,MilivojeYugoslavia 1951

White to move

This position contains many favourable motifs for White:

- Black’s queen is cornered, and situated on the same rank as White’s;

- the black king is not well placed either; it stands in the middle of the board, with open lines leading to it. The beautiful discovered attack

1.Bh7!!

threatening mate in one, and to take the queen, wins on the spot.

Another win was 1.Ra1 Qb2 2.Rfb1 Qc3 and now a very technical move: 3.Bd3! and the queen will be caught on the next move with Bd2 (the immediate 3.Bd2 allows 3...d3! with some chances of survival – not 3...Qxc2 because of the discovered attack 4.Bxh6+).

Exercises

Exercise 1 Signal 3 *Dolzhikova,OlgaSpirin,OlegOslo 2011 (9)

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Na3 Nc6 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Nb5 Nxe3 9.fxe3 Qd8 10.a4 Be7 11.Bc4 0-0 12.0-0 b6 13.Nd2 Na5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Be4 Bb7 16.Bxb7 Nxb7 17.Qf3 Nd6 18.Nxd6 Bxd6 19.Rad1 cxd4 20.exd4 Qc7 21.Qh3 f5 22.Nf3 Rae8 23.Rfe1 e5 24.dxe5 Bxe5 25.Nxe5 Rxe5 26.Rxe5 Qxe5 27.Qd3 Qc5+ 28.Qd4

28.Kh1 or 28.Kf1 was better.

Black to move

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Solution 1 signal 3

28...Rd8 0-1

After 29.Qxc5 Black wins a rook with 29...Rxd1+ 30.Kf2 bxc5.

Exercise 2 Signal 3 *Thesing,MatthiasGasthofer,AlexanderGermany Bundesliga 2011/12 (5)

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Nf6 7.0-0 0-0 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.h3 h6 10.Be3 Bf5 11.Nh4 Bh7 12.Qf3 Be7 13.Rad1 Ne8 14.Nf5 Bxf5 15.Qxf5 Nd6 16.Qd3 Nxc4 17.Qxc4 Qd7 18.Ne4 Rfd8 19.d5 Na5 20.Qc3 b6 21.Rd3 Kh7 22.Rc1 Rac8 23.Qe5 f5 24.Rdc3 c5 25.dxc6 Nxc6 26.Qf4 g5 27.Nxg5+ hxg5 28.Qa4 f4 29.Qe4+ Kg7 30.Rxc6 Rxc6 31.Rxc6 Bf6 32.Bc1 Re8 33.Qc2 Re7 34.b4 Qd4

White to move

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Solution 2 signal 3

Here, with all the black pieces aligned on the diagonal, White’s dark-squared bishop is stronger than a rook.

35.Rxf6! Qxf6 36.Bb2 Re5

37.Qc7+ 1-0

Exercise 3 Signal 3 *Lahno,KaterynaGaponenko,InnaKharkov ch-UKR W 2012 (3)

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.c4 Nb6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.Be3 d5 10.c5 Bxf3 11.gxf3 Nc8 12.b4 c6 13.f4 f5 14.Kh1 b6 15.Rg1 g6 16.a4 a5 17.b5 bxc5 18.dxc5 Nd7 19.bxc6 Nxc5 20.Nb5 Kf7 21.Rc1 Na6 22.c7 Qd7 23.Qb3 Nb4 24.Rgd1 Rg8 25.Rd2 Rh8 26.Qc3 Rg8 27.Nd4 Na7 28.Nxe6 Kxe6 29.Bxa7 Rxa7 30.c8=Q Rxc8 31.Qxc8 Qxc8 32.Rxc8 g5 33.fxg5 Bxg5 34.Rd1 Kxe5 35.Kg2 Be7 36.Kf3 d4 37.Bc4 Nd5 38.Re1+ Kd6 39.Rd1 Ke5 40.Bxd5 Kxd5 41.Rb8 Bb4 42.Rd8+ Kc4 43.R8xd4+ Kb3 44.Rb1+ Kxa4

White to move

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Solution 3 signal 3

Black looks stable enough with the bishop on b4 protected twice. This is just an illusion because what really counts here is the alignment on the a-file between Black’s king and rook. So

45.Rdxb4+! 1-0

On 45...axb4 46.Ra1+ Kb5 47.Rxa7 wins.

Exercise 4 Signal 3 **Zubarev,AlexanderVachier-Lagrave,MaximePort Marly 2012 (7.3)

1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 d6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 Nc6 6.c3 e5 7.Na3 Nge7 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Bf4 0-0 12.Nb5 Qb6 13.Bxd6 Qxb5 14.Bxe7 Re8 15.Ba3 Be6 16.f4 d3 17.e5 Rac8 18.Rf2 Bf8 19.Bxf8 Rxf8 20.a4 Qd7 21.Be4 Rfd8 22.Ra3 d2 23.Rd3 Rc1 24.Rfxd2

Black to move

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Solution 4 signal 3

This is a slightly unusual position, with all the major pieces on the d-file. This game is an illustration of the ‘X-ray’ power of the long-range pieces; this power is the capacity to attack ‘through’ another piece on the same file. For example, the d8-rook attacks d1 in some variations, as strange as it may seem.

24...Qxd3!

After 24...Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 White wins the d8-rook.

25.Bxd3

25.Rxd3 Rxd1+ 26.Rxd1 Rxd1+.

25...Rxd1+ 26.Rxd1 Bg4! 0-1

26...Bb3 was also good. Black finishes accurately with a classical use of a pin. First an in-between move to misplace the rook, and then the attack on the pinned piece, winning material: 27.Rd2 Bf5–+.

Exercise 5 Signal 3 ***Karpov,AlexanderOvetchkin,RomanSmolensk tt 2000 (11)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.Bd3 Ba5 10.a3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Bb5+ Bd7 14.0-0 Qd5 15.c4 Qf5 16.Bxd7+ Kxd7 17.Qb2 b6 18.a4 f6 19.Rd1+ Kc6 20.c5 Rad8 21.Qb5+ Kc7 22.Be3 Kb8 23.Qc6 Qh5 24.Rd6 Rc8 25.Qd7 Rhd8 26.Qxg7 Qe5

White to move

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Solution 5 signal 3

27.Bf4!! Qxf4

On 27...Qxa1+, 28.Rd1+ is the point – a winning countercheck.

28.c6 1-0

White is winning here. For example, after 28...Rxc6 29.Rxd8+ Rc8 30.Rxc8+ Kxc8 31.Rd1 Black is helpless against White’s attack with the queens on the board, and will lose in the ending if he is able to exchange them.

Exercise 6 Signal 3 ***Atalik,SuatPeek,MarcelVienna 2012 (5)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.e4 b5 5.a4 b4 6.Nb1 Nf6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Bxc4 e6 9.Nf3 Nd7 10.Nbd2 a5 11.Ne4 h6 12.0-0 Qb6 13.Be3 Ba6 14.Nfd2 Qb7 15.Qg4 N7b6 16.Rfc1 Nxc4 17.Nxc4 Bxc4 18.Rxc4 g6 19.Nf6+ Kd8 20.Rac1 Ra6 21.Nxd5 cxd5 22.Qf3 Be7 23.R4c2 Rh7 24.g3 Ra8 25.h4 Qd7 26.b3 Ke8 27.Rc7 Qd8 28.Qe2 Kf8 29.Qb5 Qe8 30.Qb7 Rb8 31.Qa6 Ra8 32.Ra7 Rxa7 33.Qxa7 Bd8 34.Rc8 Rh8

White to move

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Solution 6 signal 3

Here is a very subtle example. All the black men are on the back rank, the white rook on c8 pins the bishop on the queen and the king – a very unpleasant situation. Nevertheless, most (if not all) of Black’s problems would be solved if he was allowed to play his king to g7. So White first sacrificed the useless bishop:

35.Bxh6+!

In order to remove the protecting rook from the eighth rank. After

35...Rxh6

White was able to make good use of the pin thanks to the accurate

36.Qb8!+–

The point is that on 36...Ke7 (after 36...Kg7 37.Rxd8 Black has to give the queen in order to avoid checkmate) there follows 37.Qd6#.

On 36.Qa8 Ke7 would still hold.

Show in Quiz Mode

Chapter 11Knight Fork Distance

The main thing is to drive two enemy pieces, preferably king and queen, into forking distance. The main trick to achieve this is the decoy: once we notice that one piece is at forking distance, we must force the other one to go to the mined square.

Decoy

Marentek,HannyTirto,TirtoJakarta 2011 (4.27)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.b3 Bg4 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Be2 e6 9.0-0 Be7 10.Bb2 0-0 11.h3 Bh5 12.Ne5 Bxe2 13.Nxe2 Nfd7 14.Qd2 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Nc6 16.Rac1 Qb6 17.Bd4 Qb7 18.Nf4 Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Ba3 20.Rcd1 Rfc8 21.Nh5 Rc2 22.Qg4 Bf8 23.e4 dxe4

White has a possible check on f6. He can use this opportunity to bring another piece into the attack:

24.Rd7!

24.Nf6+ was an alternative move order.

24...Qc6

24...Rc7 25.Nf6+ Kh8 26.Rxc7 Qxc7 27.Qxe4+– attacking h7 and a8; 24...Qxd7 leads to the simple fork 25.Nf6+ and White wins.

25.Nf6+ Kh8 26.Qh4 gxf6 27.Rxf7 Bg7 28.exf6 1-0

Followed by 29.Rxg7 and mate.

Knight Distance + Alignment

Stoffregen,GünterMonsch,Jean PierreSwitzerland 1987

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nd2 e3 6.Nc4 Nxd5 7.Qf3 Bb4+ 8.Kd1 0-0 9.Nxe3 Re8 10.c3

Black is at checking distance of the white king. The time has come now to lure another major piece to the desired square, thanks to the following little combination:

10...Rxe3 11.Bxe3 Bg4

And after 12.Qxg4 Nxe3+ the ‘family check’ does the trick.

Decoy + Fork

Luther,ThomasObodchuk,AndreyDresden 2011 (4)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 h6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Be2 Qa5 10.Nb3 Qg5 11.f4 Qxg2 12.0-0-0 h5 13.Nc5 Bh6 14.Nxd7 Kxd7 15.Kb1 Qh3 16.Nd5 Rad8 17.Bb5 Ke8 18.Rhg1 Kf8 19.Rg3 Qc8 20.Rdg1 h4 21.Rg4 Ne5

Very classical stuff here:

the queen is already at knight fork’s distance;

we need to force the king to go to a square at fork distance, and we can realize this thanks to the forcing

22.Rg8+ Rxg8 23.Rxg8+ Kxg8 24.Nxe7+

followed by 25.Nxc8, with a winning advantage.

Super Knight

Kelleher,WilliamKovacevic,VlatkoOpatija 2011 (9.4)

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Ne7 5.Nf3 Nec6 6.a3 a5 7.Bd3 b6 8.0-0 Ba6 9.Bxa6 Nxa6 10.Qe2 Be7 11.b4 cxb4 12.axb4 Nc7 13.bxa5 bxa5 14.Ba3 0-0 15.c4 dxc4 16.Qxc4 Nb4 17.Nc3 Ncd5 18.Ne4 Qb6 19.Rfc1 h6 20.g3 Rfb8 21.Nc5 Qb5 22.Nd2 g5 23.Nde4 Qxc4 24.Rxc4 Nb6 25.Rcc1 Rd8 26.Bxb4 axb4 27.Nb3 Ra3 28.Rab1 Nd5 29.Rc6 Kg7 30.Nd6 Bxd6 31.exd6

A very nice job by the knight at the end of this game. White’s game is ruined in just two moves after

31...Nc3 32.Rb2 Rxb3!

Black resigned.

If 33.Rxb3 Ne2+ 34.Kg2 Nxd4, winning back a whole rook, and the game.

Building up a forking combination

Johansson,LinusKarlsson,LarsStockholm 2011/12 (9)

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.c4 g6 4.Qb3 Qc8 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Bg7 7.e3 Nc6 8.Nc3 f5 9.g4 e5 10.gxf5 exd4 11.exd4 Nxd4 12.Qe4+ Kf8 13.Be3 Qe8 14.Qd3 Nf3+ 15.Kd1 Ne5 16.Qc2 Ne7 17.Bg2 Nxf5 18.Qe2

Black to move

The e3-bishop is at a knight’s distance from his king, and attacked by the knight on f5. Black uses this conjuncture to initiate an original tactic based on a royal fork:

18...Nxc4!

Luring the queen to knight’s distance.

19.Qxc4 Qxe3! 20.fxe3

20.Qxc7 Qd3+ 21.Kc1 (21.Ke1 Bxc3+ 22.bxc3 Re8+ and mate) 21...Bh6+ leads to mate.

20...Nxe3+ 21.Ke2 Nxc4

With a great advantage in the ensuing endgame.

22.Rhf1+

22.Raf1+ was stronger, but Black is much better in all cases.

22...Ke8 23.Nd5 c6 24.Nc7+ Ke7 25.Nxa8 Rxa8 0-1

Alignment + Fork

GolubevKotov,AlexanderSoviet Union 1928

Black to move

A well-known story was told by Kotov in his book Think like a Grandmaster. He was Black, who is completely winning here, and was to move. While he was thinking, his opponent wrote ‘resigns’ on his scoresheet, and to finish the game, Kotov decided to grab the bishop.

1...Rxf7?

1...Qf5, for example, would have won very quickly. Now the queen is at a knight fork’s distance. We have to force the king to move to a forking square, and this we manage with

2.Bd8+!+– (alignment)

Now Black, not White, had to resign, because after 2...Kxd8 3.Nxf7+ White is winning.

Knight Fork, and various tactics

Kopaev,NikolayNovopashin,ArkadyRiga tt 1954 (8)

In this game, we can see how tactical themes can flourish once a signal has been detected. Here, after White has wrongly retreated his rook at forking distance from the enemy knight, Black makes use of many themes: line and square clearance (with ...d4-d3 and ...f5-f4), the pin (on g2 and e1), and the double attack (with ...Qg4). The game is also interesting from White’s point of view: giving our opponent just one chance to enter favourable tactics can be enough to lose the game!

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Ndb5 Bb4 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 9.exd5 exd5 10.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 h6 12.Bf4 d4 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Qf6 15.Bg3 Bf5 16.Re1 Rfe8 17.Qd3 Rxe4 18.Rxe4 Qg6 19.Rae1 Kh7 20.Qf3 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 f5 22.Re2

This is an awkward placement for the rook, which gives the black knight forking chances. 22.Re1 was wiser. The game should be equal after, say, 22...f4 23.Bxf4 Qxc2 24.Qe4+ with a balanced ending.

22...d3!

Vacating the d4-square in order to fork with the knight.

23.Qxd3 Rd8!

Now another problem for White to solve is the back-rank mate.

24.Qc3

24...f4!

Another beautiful line clearance. The g-file is cleared, and as the g2-pawn will be pinned, a check with the knight on f3 will be available in some situations.

25.Bxf4 Qg4

Attacking e2 and f4.

If 25...Rd1+! 26.Re1 and now:

26...Nd4 would be the most aesthetic way to finish the game:

A) 27.Rxd1 Ne2+–+;

B) 27.Kf1 Qa6+ 28.Kg1 Ne2+–+;

C) 27.h3 Ne2+–+;

D) 27.Qb4 Rxe1+ (27...Nf3+ also wins) 28.Qxe1 Nf3+–+.

26.Bxh6

26.Re1 Qxf4 should win easily for Black.

26...Rd1+ 27.Re1 Nd4 28.h3 Nf3+ 29.Kf1

29.Qxf3 Rxe1+–+.

Now comes a glorious finish:

29...Qc4+!! 0-1

If 30.Qxc4 Rxe1 mate.

Though our chapter is dedicated to knight forks, let’s take a look at two other short-ranged attackers:

Pawn Fork

Reshevsky,SamuelLasker,EdwardNew York 1922

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.Qb3 c5 7.e3 Qa5 8.Bxf6 Nxf6 9.Bd3

9.dxc5 Ne4 10.Rc1 Nxc5 11.Qc2 should have been preferred, with an unclear game.

Black noticed that queen and bishop are placed at pawn-fork distance, and played the unexpected

9...b5!

with a decisive advantage.

10.Qc2

10.cxb5 (on 10.a3, 10...bxc4 wins) 10...c4, winning a piece, is the point.

10...bxc4

And Black logically went on to win.

A King Fork

NNMannheimer

Black to move

The black monarch is particularly active in the centre. Experts have estimated the power of the king in such an endgame position to be the equivalent of four pawns, that is, between the values of a bishop and a rook.

The king is effective thanks to its capacity of attacking every square around it – the only other piece that has such power is the queen. This gives him some opportunities to realize multiple attacks, like in this old game:

1...Re4!!

A decisive interpolation. White can take this rook in three ways, but in all cases, after Black takes back, the two remaining pieces will be simultaneously attacked, and one will be lost.

2.Bxe4

2.Rdxe4+ dxe4 or 2.Rfxe4+ dxe4 and in either case, a bishop and a rook are both ‘en prise’.

2...dxe4

The king attacks both rooks, and one of them will be lost.

Exercises

Exercise 1 Signal 4 *Elsness,FrodeErnst,SipkeOslo 2011 (3)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.Nc3 0-0 7.g3 Re8 8.Bg2 Bc7 9.d6 Ba5 10.0-0 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nc6 12.Bf4 Ne4 13.Qd3 Qf6 14.Rac1 b6 15.Nh4 c4 16.Qxc4 Nc5 17.Be3 Ba6 18.Qg4 Ne5 19.Qd4 Rac8 20.Rfe1 Bb7 21.Nf3 Bxf3 22.Bxf3

Black to move

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Solution 1 signal 4

22...Ncd3!

The e2-pawn is overloaded.

23.Bb7

23.exd3 Nxf3+.

23...Nxe1 24.Rxe1 Rxc3! 25.Kg2

25.Qxc3 Nf3+ 26.exf3 Qxc3.

25...Nc4 26.Qxf6 Nxe3+ 27.fxe3 gxf6 28.e4 Rc2 29.a4 Kg7 30.Kf3 Rd2 31.Bd5 f5 0-1

Exercise 2 Signal 4 *RodfloresNeiman,EmmanuelICC 2012

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0-0 6.h3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 Na6 9.Be2 Qe8 10.g4 Nd7 11.Rg1 Kh8 12.Qd2 Ndc5 13.Bh6 f6 14.h4 Nb4 15.0-0-0

Black to move

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Solution 2 signal 4

When – with white – you move the queen on dark squares, and specifically on d2, knight fork chances will appear for the opponent. In case of a king in the centre, there is a possible fork on f3 (also an alignment on the a5-e1 diagonal). In case of kingside castling, there is a possible fork on f3. In case of queenside castling, there is the alignment on the c1-h6 diagonal, and the fork on b3, like in this example.

This means that tactically, it is dangerous to move the queen on the other colour. ‘Keep your queen on its original colour’ could be handy as a general piece of advice for the beginner.

15...Nxa2+ 16.Nxa2 Nb3+ 0-1

Exercise 3 Signal 4 *Erturan,YakupMintenko,HeorhiyGolden Sands 2012 (3)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 d6 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bc6 12.f3 Nd7 13.Bd3 a5 14.b3 Qc7 15.Rab1 Rab8 16.Rfc1 Rfc8 17.a3 Nc5 18.b4 axb4 19.axb4 Ne6 20.Nd5 Qd8 21.Nb6 Rc7 22.Rc2 Be8 23.Nd5 Rcc8 24.Ba7 b5 25.Bxb8 Rxb8 26.cxb5 Bxb5 27.Bxb5 Rxb5

White to move

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Solution 3 signal 4

White is already winning here, of course. A typical combination ends the game. The d5-knight attacks e7 with check. The standard idea is to attract the queen to a forking square, and this is done with

28.Rc8! 1-0

On 28...Qxc8 29.Nxe7+ Kf8 30.Nxc8 wins.

Exercise 4 Signal 4 **Hamann,SvendBrinck Claussen,BjörnHastings B 1962/63 (1)

1.g3 g6 2.Bg2 Bg7 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.0-0 0-0 5.c4 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.d4 c5 8.dxc5 Na6 9.Ne1 Nf4 10.Qc2 Nxg2 11.Nxg2 Qd4 12.Nc3 Qxc5 13.e4 Bh3 14.Be3 Qc4 15.f3 Nb4 16.Qa4 Bxg2 17.Kxg2

Black to move

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Solution 4 signal 4

Here the motifs that should serve as a signal are:

the unprotected bishop on e3;

the alignment between the two queens;

the knight fork distance, when the knight comes to e3.

Here is how Black exploits White’s weaknesses:

17...Bxc3!

Giving up his strong bishop to eliminate the queen’s defender.

18.bxc3 Nd5! 0-1

19.Qxc4 Nxe3+ 20.Kf2 Nxc4 and Black is a piece up.

Exercise 5 Signal 4 **Dalo,HermesNeiman,EmmanuelBarcelona Sanz 2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2 c5 10.a3 Ne8 11.b4 b6 12.Rb1 f5 13.bxc5 bxc5 14.a4 Nf6 15.f3 Rf7 16.Nb3 f4 17.Bd2 h5 18.Be1 g5 19.Bf2 Bf8 20.h3 Rg7 21.a5 Ng6 22.Kh2 Nh8 23.Rg1 g4 24.g3

Black to move

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Solution 5 signal 4

White has engineered a counterattack against Black’s standard push ...g5-g4 with g2-g3. The position of the bishop on f2 and the king on h2 allow Black to win a piece thanks to a forking threat:

24...h4! 25.gxf4

If the king or the bishop moves, to avoid the pawn fork, for example 25.Kh1, completely crushing is 25...hxg3 26.Be1 gxh3. 25.fxg4 was White’s best option, but Black has a great advantage after 25...hxg3+ 26.Bxg3 fxg3+.

25...g3+ 26.Kh1 gxf2–+

Simplest. 26...exf4, as played in the game, is also advantageous for Black.

Exercise 6 Signal 4 ***Hausrath,DanielGasthofer,AlexanderGermany Bundesliga 2011/12 (4.7)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.d4 0-0 6.Be3 Be6 7.Qc1 Qc8 8.Bh6 Bh3 9.Bxg7 Kxg7 10.Qe3 Bxg2 11.Kxg2 Re8 12.Nbd2 Nbd7 13.c4 dxc4 14.Nxc4 c5 15.Rac1 cxd4 16.Qxd4 Qc5 17.Qf4 Qb4 18.Rfd1 Rec8 19.Nd4 Qc5 20.e4 Qh5 21.Nf3 b5 22.Na5 e5 23.Qe3 Qh6 24.Qxh6+ Kxh6 25.Rxc8 Rxc8

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 6 signal 4

Black’s position seems slightly loose, especially the d7-knight which is attacked by the white rook on the d-file. But it appears to be safely protected by the other knight, and Black’s game looks solid, unless you notice the fork distance between the king and the f- knight, which enables White to win on the spot:

26.g4!+– Kg7

26...g5 27.h4.

27.g5 Nxe4 28.Rxd7 Rc2 29.Nxe5 Rxf2+ 30.Kg1 Rf5 31.Nac6 Rxg5+ 32.Kf1 Rf5+ 33.Ke2 a6 34.Re7 Nc5 35.Nd4 Rg5 36.b4 Na4 37.Rxf7+ Kg8 38.Re7 Nc3+ 39.Kd3 1-0

Show in Quiz Mode

Chapter 12Trapped Pieces

The main thing is to identify the signal. The domination has to be spotted.

Once the motif of a ‘trapped piece’ has been noticed, the main themes in order to use it efficiently are:

- Line/square closing (in order to keep the prisoner from escaping);

- Line clearance (in order to open the line for attacking the piece);

- Elimination of the defender (of the trapped piece).

Knight trapped/on the rim

Khairullin,IldarMamedyarov,ShakhriyarJurmala 2012 (3)

1.d4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Bg4 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.Nc3 dxc4 6.d5 Na5 7.Ne5 c6 8.Nxg4 Nxg4 9.e4 e5 10.Bd2 Nf6 11.Qa4 Qb6

The a5-knight is trapped on the edge of the board. No defender can protect it after the simple line opener

12.Nd1!

Attacking the knight twice, and protecting b2 at the same time.White wins a piece.

12...Nxe4 13.Bxa5 Qa6

After this move, the queen is also in danger of being trapped. 13...Nc5± was better.

14.Bxc4 b5 15.dxc6! 1-0

After 15...bxc4 (15...bxa4 16.Bxa6+–) 16.c7+ Ke7 17.Bb4+ wins the queen and the game. The simple 15.Be2 was also sufficient for a decisive advantage.

Trapped Queen

Goloschapov,AlexanderMainka,RomualdGermany Bundesliga 2011/12 (8.4)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 0-0 7.c3 Bd7 8.Nbd2 h6 9.Nf1 Re8 10.a4 Bf8 11.h3 a6 12.Bc4 Be6 13.Bxe6 Rxe6 14.c4 a5 15.Bd2 Nd7 16.Bc3 Nc5 17.Ng3 Re8 18.d4 exd4 19.Nxd4 Nxd4 20.Bxd4 Qg5 21.Ra3 Re6 22.Rae3 Rae8 23.Qc2 Rg6 24.Rf3 Ne6 25.Be3 Qd8 26.Rf5 b6 27.Rd5 Ng5 28.Kh2 Rge6 29.Bc1 c6 30.Rdd1 Nh7 31.f4 g6 32.b3 Qh4 33.Qf2 Nf6 34.Qf3 h5 35.Kg1 Nd7 36.Be3 Rf6

Noticing that the queen is trapped here is equivalent to solving the combination. White has to open the diagonal for the bishop:

37.Nf5! gxf5 38.Bf2

The domination theme is arguably the most important theme in chess tactics. As a matter of fact, it is the most normal way to end a game; here if the queen were a king, it would be checkmate!

38...fxe4 39.Bxh4 exf3 40.Rxe8 1-0

Trapped Queen

Furman,BorisMartinsen,StigHastings 2011/12 (5)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 Nc6 6.d5 Na5 7.Nd2 b6 8.Bg2 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Rb8 10.e4 d6 11.0-0 0-0 12.Re1 Ba6 13.Bf1 Nd7 14.f4 Qf6 15.Qf3 Rfe8 16.Rb1 Qe7 17.Bb2 Qf8 18.h4 Rbd8 19.g4 g6 20.Bd3 e5 21.f5 Qh6 22.Re2 Qxh4 23.Rf1 Qf6 24.Rh2 g5 25.Kg2 Kg7 26.Rfh1 Rh8 27.Rh5 h6 28.Bc1 Rh7 29.Qh3 Rdh8 30.Nf3 Nf8

White to move

The white pawns secure the first player a great space advantage, which means that the black pieces lack space to move. In this game, the first piece that appears trapped is the h7-rook; thus it looks natural to attack it with

31.Nxg5!

But after

31...hxg5 32.Bxg5!

it is the queen who is trapped.

32...Qxg5 33.Rxg5+ Kf6 34.Rh5 Rxh5 35.gxh5 Rg8+

After playing this move, Black resigned.

Elimination of the Defender

Laznicka,ViktorMoiseenko,AlexanderSan Sebastian 2012 (6.1)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5 3.c3 Bb7 4.a4 a6 5.Bg2 e6 6.b4 c5 7.bxc5 Bxc5 8.Ba3 Qb6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Qb3 Nc6 11.Bxc5 Qxc5 12.Qa3 b4 13.cxb4 Qxb4 14.Ne5 Qd4 15.Nf3 Qa7 16.Nc3 Nd4 17.Nxd4 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Qxd4 19.d3 Rfc8 20.Rfc1 h5 21.h4 Rab8 22.a5 d5 23.Nd1 Qe5 24.e3 Qf5 25.Rc3 Ng4 26.Qd6 Kh7 27.Qf4 Qg6 28.Rac1 Rxc3 29.Rxc3 Rb1 30.Qf3

When a piece is dominated by the opponent’s pieces, one should first ask: how can I take it? Here the d1-knight is completely trapped, but it is not obvious how Black could attack it twice.

But the solution is much simpler, thanks to the theme of defence elimination. If the white queen weren’t there, the knight would be lost. So Black coolly offered a queen exchange with

30...Qf6!

31.Qxf6 (31.Qe2 is not better, because another defence elimination wins immediately: 31...Rxd1 32.Qxd1 Qxf2+ 33.Kh3 Qh2#) 31...Nxf6 wins the knight, and the game, with careful play.

Locked-in Piece/Square Clearance

Botvinnik,MikhailStepanov,GLeningrad ch-city 1930

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 c6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Be7 7.Bd3 h6 8.Bh4 0-0 9.0-0 a6 10.a4 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Nd5 12.Bg3 N7f6 13.Qc2 Bd7 14.e4 Nb4 15.Qe2 Qa5 16.Ne5 Rad8 17.f4 Bc8 18.f5 exf5

The simple act of noticing that an important piece could be trapped is enough to induce us to imagine any tactical idea. Here, Black’s queen has no retreat to d8 because of the rook, and b6 or c7 are not always available. The game was virtually over after just one move, the electric

19.Bxf7+!

This is a combination on the theme of square clearance. White simply thought, ‘if my knight was on c4, the queen would be lost’. And lost it was.

19...Rxf7 20.Nc4

Everything is clear, though Black played on a little. Most of the players who continue such a hopeless game have a secret motivation: to avoid the doubtful ‘honour’ of being part, on the receiving end, of a miniature (that is, a game of less than 22 moves).

20...b6 21.Nxa5 bxa5 22.exf5 Rxd4 23.Be5 Rd3 24.Rad1 Bc5+ 25.Kh1 Rxd1 26.Qxd1 Nfd5 27.Nxd5 Nxd5 28.Qc1 Bf8 29.Bd4 c5 30.Bxc5 Rc7 31.Bxf8 Rxc1 32.Rxc1 Bxf5 33.Bd6 Be4 34.Bc7 1-0

Sometimes it is not even necessary to take the imprisoned piece:

Piece out of play

Efimenko,ZaharSebenik,MatejPorto Carras Ech-tt 2011 (1.4)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.Bf1 Bf8 6.Bc4 Be7 7.d3 d6 8.h3 Nf6 9.0-0 0-0 10.a3 a6 11.Ba2 Be6 12.Nd5 Nd4 13.Ne3 Nd7 14.c3 Nxf3+ 15.Qxf3 Bxa2 16.Rxa2 Bg5 17.Ra1 Nf6 18.a4 Re8 19.a5 Bxe3 20.Bxe3 Qd7 21.c4 Qc7 22.b4 Nd7 23.Rfb1 Nf8 24.Qd1 Rad8 25.Qb3 Rd7 26.Rb2 Ne6 27.Rab1 Qc8 28.Qa4 Ree7 29.b5 Nc7 30.f4 f6 31.f5 g5 32.Qd1

Black has a very difficult game, perhaps impossible to save in the long term. Basically, his pieces have no space, and it is difficult to imagine how they could obtain an attacking role for the moment; for instance, the knight is particularly difficult to activate.

Nevertheless, he chose a very strange way to play the position, by allowing his opponent to lock up the beast forever.

32...Qe8 33.b6! Na8

Now White is virtually a piece up, and in the old Capablancan fashion, he decides to attack on the side where the locked piece is not:

34.h4! h6 35.g4 Rh7 36.Qa4 Qd8 37.Rh2 Rdg7 38.Kf2 Qe7 39.Rbh1 Kf8 40.Kf3 Kg8

And now for the Alekhine touch: the Russian champion had demonstrated that in the case of an open file, the attacker should place his rooks in front, and behind them the queen, for maximum efficiency.

41.Rh3 Qd8 42.R1h2 Qe7 43.Qd1 Qd7 44.Qh1 1-0

Very elegant, and that was enough for Black.

White would have won as follows: 44...Rf7 45.hxg5 hxg5 46.Rxh7 Rxh7 47.Rxh7 Qxh7 48.Qxh7+ Kxh7.

White to play and win:

49.d4! exd4 (49...cxd4 50.Bd2 – 51.Bb4 – 52.Bxd6) 50.Bf2 – 51.Bg3 – 52.Bxd6 etc.

Trapped Piece

Carlsen,MagnusVallejo Pons,FranciscoSao Paulo/Bilbao 2011 (8)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bd2 Bd6 11.h3 Nbd7 12.0-0-0 Qxb3 13.axb3 a6 14.Kc2 Nh5 15.Bd3 Ng3 16.Rhe1 0-0-0 17.e4 dxe4 18.fxe4 c5 19.d5 Rde8 20.Na2 exd5 21.exd5 Nf5 22.b4 Nd4+ 23.Kb1 Nb3 24.Bc3 cxb4 25.Nxb4 Be5 26.Na2 Bxc3 27.Nxc3 Ndc5 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Bc2 Re3 30.Ka2 Na5 31.Rd4 Rg3 32.Ne4 Rxg2

32...Nxe4 33.Bxe4 Nb3 would have given Black an equal ending, for example 34.Rd1 Re3 35.Bc2 Nc5 36.b4 Ne4 37.Bxe4 Rxe4 should be a draw.

Here White noticed the unfortunate position of both black knights, and demonstrated with his next move a very neat way of taking advantage of this.

33.Rd2! Rxd2 34.Nxd2

And we can witness how one of the knights is lost. The threat of the fork on b4 wins the a5-knight, because this piece is trapped.

34...b5 35.b4 Nab7 36.bxc5 Nxc5 37.Ne4 Nb7 38.c5 f5 39.c6 fxe4 40.cxb7+ Kxb7 41.Bxe4 Kc7 42.Kb3 a5 43.Kc3 a4 44.Bc2 g5 45.Kd4 Kd6 46.Bd1 1-0

Trapped Queen

Kurnosov,IgorVarga,ZoltanAustria Bundesliga 2010/11 (8.1)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 Bg4 8.cxd5 cxd5 9.Qb3 b6 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 e6

12.Bd2 Nc6 13.Qa4 Na5 14.b3 a6 15.Ne2 Nb7 16.Rfc1 Re8 17.Nf4 Bf8 18.Bb4 Nd6 19.Nd3 a5 20.Bxd6 Bxd6 21.Rc6 Re7 22.Qb5 Rb8 23.Rac1 Rc7 24.Rxc7 Bxc7 25.a4 Bd6 26.g3 Kg7 27.Kg2 Ne8 28.Be2

Black noticed that the white queen lacked breathing space, only c6 being available at the moment, and the knight might attack her from d6 or c7. He found a brilliant shot:

28...Ba3! 29.Ra1

On 29.Rc6 Nc7 forces 30.Rxc7 Qxc7 with a simple win for Black, who will invade on the c-file with the rook.

On 29.Rc2 Nd6 30.Qc6 Rc8 the skewer wins the rook, which means game over.

29...Nd6 30.Qa6 Ra8

The queen is finally trapped.

31.Qxa8 Qxa8 32.Rxa3 Qc6 33.Ra2 Qc3 34.Rb2 Nc4 35.bxc4 dxc4 36.Rxb6 cxd3 37.Bf3 Qc2 38.d5 d2 39.dxe6 d1=Q 40.Bxd1 Qxd1 41.e7 Qxa4 42.Ra6 Qe4+ 43.Kh2 a4 44.Ra7 g5 45.Rd7 Qe6 46.Ra7 Qc6 47.f4 gxf4 48.exf4 Qe8 49.g4 f6 50.Kg3 Kf7 51.Kh4 Qb5 52.f5 Qb3 0-1

Let’s finish our chapter with a curious study.

It is not difficult, as long as the reader is able to grasp the saving idea, which is closely related to our theme.

Self-stalemate

Nordlohne,Gstudy 1911

In order to save himself, White has to find an original idea. The white king is unable to catch Black’s a-pawn, while his pawns cannot promote before Black’s passed pawn. Nevertheless, White has an amazing way to draw the game. Can you imagine what it is?

1.f4

1.h4? gxh4 2.f4 (2.g5 Kc7 3.f4 Kd7) 2...Kc7 3.f5 gxf5 4.g5 Kd7;

1.f4 Kc7

Black has to approach the enemy pawns, because if 1...a5 2.h4!. Now White threatens h4-h5, so Black has to push on in order to queen first. 2...a4 3.h5 gxh5

4.fxg5! a3 5.g6 a2 6.g7 a1=Q 7.g8=Q+ with two pawns up and a winning queen ending.

1...Kc8 is the same.

2.fxg5 a5

3.Kg3!

White ‘traps’ himself in this strange-looking cocoon, and thanks to this self-domination achieves a draw.

3...a4 4.Kh4 a3 5.g3 a2

Stalemate!

Exercises

Exercise 1 Signal 5 *Romanov,EvgenyClery,NicolasCappelle la Grande 2012 (1)

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 dxc4 4.Qa4+ c6 5.Qxc4 b5 6.Qc2 Bb7 7.Nc3 a6 8.a4 Nd7 9.d3 Ngf6 10.Nf3 Be7 11.0-0 0-0 12.e4 Qb6 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Be3 Bc5 16.a5 Qa7 17.d4 Be7 18.Ng5 g6 19.Qd3 Rfc8 20.h4 Nf8 21.h5 Bc6 22.Qd1 Be8 23.Qg4 Qd7 24.Nf3 Rc2 25.Bg5 Qd8 26.Bh6 Rac8 27.hxg6 hxg6 28.Rfb1 b4 29.Bf1 Bb5 30.Bxb5 axb5 31.Kg2 Re2

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 1 signal 5

Black’s rook is far advanced and aggressively posted on the second rank, but at the moment it lacks connection with its own army.

32.Nd2!

and the rook cannot escape. White won an exchange, and a bit later the game.

Exercise 2 Signal 5 *Safarli,Eltaj

Korobov,AntonBaku 2012 (5)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0-0 Nge7 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bxc6 Nxc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 d6 9.Re1 Be7 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Qg4 Kf8 12.b3 Qa5 13.Bb2 e5 14.Qe2 Be6 15.Na4 f6 16.c4 Kf7 17.Bc3 Qc7 18.Qh5+ g6 19.Qh6 g5 20.Rad1

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 2 signal 5

The white queen has infiltrated deeply into the enemy lines, without assistance of her army. Black, not White, is able to benefit from this advanced position, by trapping the queen.

20...Bg4!–+

Closing the emergency exit.

21.c5 Bf8

Now both the queen and the game are lost.

22.cxd6 Qa7 23.Qxf8+ Rhxf8 24.Rd2 c5 25.Ba5 Rab8 26.Rc1 Rb5 27.Bc7 Be6 28.Rdc2 c4 29.bxc4 Rb4 30.Nb2 Qd4 31.Nd1 Rxc4 32.Rxc4 Bxc4 33.Ne3 Bxa2 34.Rd1 Qc3 0-1

Exercise 3 Signal 5 **Onischuk,VladimirDvoirys,Semen St Petersburg 2011 (5)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Qd3 Nc6 11.0-0-0 Nd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 0-0 15.Qf3 Re8 16.Bd3 Re5 17.Kb1 Qa5 18.g4 Qxd5 19.Qxd5 Rxd5 20.f4 g6

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 3 signal 5

21.b4!

The rook is trapped along the 5th rank.

21...Rc8

Defending against 22.Bc4, but there is another way of catching the rook.

22.a4!

22.Be4? Rb5 and Black is fine.

22...Rc3 23.Ka2!

Now Be4 cannot be prevented. Not 23.Be4? d3! 24.Bxd3 (24.Bxd5 dxc2+; 24.Rxd3 Rdxd3 25.Bxd3 Ra3) 24...Rd4 and Black is much better.

23...Rxd3

So Black decides to ‘sacrifice’ the exchange. White is winning.

24.cxd3 a5 25.Rb1 g5 26.Rhf1 b6 27.fxg5 Bxg5 28.Rf5 Rxf5 29.gxf5 Kg7 30.bxa5 bxa5 31.Rb5 Bd2 32.Kb3 Kf6

33.Kc4 Bc3 34.h3 Kg5 35.Rb7 Kxf5 36.Rxf7+ Kg6 37.Rf4 h5 38.Kd5 Kg5 39.Re4 Bb4 40.Rxd4 Ba3 41.Ke6 Bc5 42.h4+ Kg6 43.Rf4 Bb4 44.d4 1-0

Exercise 4 Signal 5 **Szabo,KrisztianLysyj,IgorCappelle la Grande 2012 (5)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.Rxe5+ Be7 8.Bf1 0-0 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Qe8 13.Qxe8+ Nxe8 14.Bf4 d5 15.Bd3 c6 16.Nd2 g6 17.Re1 Ng7 18.Be5 Bxe5 19.Rxe5 Kf8 20.f3 Bf5 21.Bf1 f6 22.Re1 g5 23.Kf2 h6 24.g3 Kf7 25.Be2 Ne6 26.Nf1 Bg6 27.Rd1 f5 28.Bd3 f4 29.Bxg6+ Kxg6 30.g4 Kf6 31.Nd2 b6 32.Nb3 Rd8 33.Nc1 c5 34.Ne2 c4 35.Rh1 h5 36.gxh5 Rh8 37.h4 Rxh5 38.hxg5+ Kg6 39.Rxh5 Kxh5 40.g6 Kxg6 41.Ng1 Ng5 42.Kg2 Kf5 43.Nh3 Nf7 44.Kf2 b5 45.a3 a5 46.Ke2 Nd8 47.Ke1 Ne6 48.Ke2 b4 49.axb4 axb4 50.Ke1 b3 51.Ng1 Kg5 52.Kf2 Nc7 53.Ke1 Nb5 54.Kd2 Nd6 55.Nh3+ Kf5 56.Ke1 Nf7 57.Ng1 Ng5 58.Kf2 Ne6 59.Ke1 Kg6 60.Kf1 Kh5 61.Kg2 Kh4 62.Ne2 Kg5 63.Kf2 Nf8 64.Ng1 Ng6 65.Ne2 Ne7 66.Ng1 Kg6 67.Nh3 Kf5 68.Ng1 Nc6 69.Ke1 Na7 70.Kd2 Nb5 71.Nh3 Nd6 72.Ke1 Ne8 73.Ng1 Nf6 74.Nh3 Nh5 75.Kf2 Ng7 76.Ke1 Ne6 77.Ng1 Kg6 78.Kf1 Kf6 79.Ke1 Kf5 80.Kf1 Nf8 81.Ke1 Nd7 82.Nh3 Nf6 83.Ke2 Ne8 84.Ke1 Nd6 85.Ng1 Nb5 86.Kd2 Nc7 87.Ke1 Kg5 88.Nh3+ Kh4 89.Nxf4 Kg3 90.Nh5+ Kxf3 91.Nf6 Ke3 92.Kd1 Kd3 93.Ng4 Ne6 94.Nf2+ Ke3 95.Ng4+ Kf3 96.Ne5+ Ke4 97.Ke2 Nf4+ 98.Kd1 Ke3 99.Ng4+ Kf3 100.Ne5+ Ke4 101.Ke1 Ke3 102.Ng4+ Kd3 103.Kd1 Ne6 104.Nf2+ Ke3 105.Ng4+ Kf3 106.Ne5+ Kf4 107.Kd2 Nc7 108.Ng6+ Ke4 109.Ne5 Na8 110.Nd7 Kf4 111.Ke2 Nc7 112.Kd2 Ne8 113.Ke2 Kf5 114.Ke3 Nd6 115.Nb6 Ke6 116.Kd2 Ne4+ 117.Kc1 Nf6 118.Na4

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 4 signal 5

118...Nd7!

Black dominates the enemy knight, and will attack it with a king march (...Kd6-c6-b5) that cannot be averted. White’s knight has to go to c5, but this loses a pawn, and the game.

119.Kd2

The immediate 119.Nc5+ is no help: 119...Nxc5 120.dxc5 Kd7 121.Kd2 Kc6 122.Ke3 Kxc5.

119...Kd6 120.Ke2 Kc6 121.Ke3 Kb5 122.Nc5 Nxc5 123.dxc5 Kxc5 124.Ke2 Kd6 125.Kd2 Ke6 126.Kd1 Kf5 127.Kd2 Kf4 128.Kd1 Ke3 129.Kc1 Ke2 130.Kb1 Kd2 131.Ka1 d4 132.cxd4 Kc2 0-1

Exercise 5 Signal 5 **Onischuk,AlexanderMorozevich,AlexanderSochi tt 2008 (6)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c5 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 Qa5 9.Qc2 c4 10.Bf5 0-0 11.0-0 Re8 12.Nd2 g6 13.Bh3 Kg7 14.Bh4 Nb6 15.Bxc8 Raxc8 16.Bxf6+ Kxf6 17.a3 Bxc3 18.bxc3 Na4 19.Rac1 Kg7 20.e4 dxe4 21.Nxe4 Rc6 22.f3 Nb6 23.Qb2 Re7 24.Nc5 Nd5 25.Nxb7

Black to move

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Solution 5 signal 5

The fianchettoed knight apparently has an escape square on c5. But Black has a trick here:

25...Qb6!

Attacking queen and knight. White has to take, but after 26.Qxb6 axb6 the knight is dominated, and lost after 27.Nd8 Rc8, or 27...Rd6.

Exercise 6 Signal 5 ***Fressinet,LaurentBrunner,NicolasFrance tt 2011 (4.4)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.Bd2 Bb7 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.Ng5 a5 12.Qf3 Ba8 13.0-0 Be7 14.Qh3 b4 15.Na4 c5

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 6 signal 5

16.Bg6!! 0-0

On 16...fxg6 17.Nxe6 wins the queen. This surprising trapping of the queen is the point of the combination.

After 16...hxg6 17.Qxh8+ wins the exchange.

17.Bxh7+ Kh8

And Black resigned.

Show in Quiz Mode

Chapter 13Crucial Defender/Overloaded Defender

This motif is perhaps the most important source of combinations. One player is attacked, he has to defend urgently against some danger, so he uses one of his pieces as a defender, whose duty will be to prevent certain threats.

This important defensive piece can become subject to various combinational themes:

- elimination of the defence;

- deflection

These are the two basic themes, but nearly every theme can be used: decoy, line/square clearance and line/square closing, pin, skewer, domination, double attack...

Deflection

Romanishin,OlegWerner,ClemensVlissingen HZ Open 2001 (8)

1.d4 d6 2.g3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nbd7 4.Bg2 e5 5.c4 c6 6.Nc3 e4 7.Nh4 d5 8.0-0 Nb6 9.c5 Nc4 10.b3 Na5 11.f3 exf3 12.exf3 Be7 13.Re1 0-0 14.Qd3 g6 15.Bg5 b6 16.Na4 Rb8 17.Re2 Qd7 18.Rae1 Bd8 19.Bh6 Re8 20.Rxe8+ Nxe8

This is a very basic example, though the tactical sequence may not seem so easy. The queen on d7 has the important

duty to defend the knight on e8 – without this protection, if the rook takes the knight it is checkmate. So White can sacrifice anything in order to deflect the queen from her defensive duty. The first move is not difficult:

21.Bh3! f5

Clearly forced.

Now White does well to insist on the trick with

22.Nxf5! 1-0

22...gxf5 23.Bxf5 Qf7 (23...Qxf5 loses the queen after 24.Rxe8+ Kf7 25.Rf8+)

In this position, another deflection wins on the spot. White must finish the game with 24.Bxh7+! Kh8 25.Bg6+–,

winning the queen because 26.Rxe8 on the next move will be checkmate.

Black can’t resist with 24...Qxh7 because he loses both queen and king after the forced sequence 25.Rxe8+ Kf7 26.Rf8+ Ke6 27.Qxh7 with unavoidable checkmate, for example 27...bxc5 28.Qf7+ Kd6 29.Bf4#.

Deflection

Bauer,ChristianKortchnoi,ViktorEnghien les Bains 2003 (8)

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.Rd1 b6 10.Bf4 Bb7 11.Nc3 dxc4 12.Nd2 Nd5 13.Nxc4 Nxf4 14.gxf4 g6 15.Rac1 Rc8 16.e3 Nf6 17.a3 Nd5 18.b4 a5 19.bxa5 bxa5 20.Qb3 Ba6 21.Ne5 Qd6 22.Ra1 Rb8 23.Qc2 Rfc8 24.Ne4 Qc7 25.Rdc1 Bb5 26.Nc5 Bxc5 27.Qxc5 a4 28.f5 gxf5 29.Bxd5 exd5 30.Kh1 f6 31.Rg1+ Kh8

Here again, the black queen fulfills a crucial function: to prevent checkmate on f7 by the white knight. White has an elementary win thanks to a deflective move, which pours oil into the fire by adding another mating threat. With

32.Qd6!

White wins on the spot, because the queen is taboo, and mate on f6 is threatened.

32...Rf8

This loses the queen. After 32...Rb7 33.Qxf6+ Black loses everything: 33...Qg7 34.Rxg7 Rxg7 35.Rg1 Rc7 36.Qf8+.

32...Qd8 is even worse because of the one-move checkmate 33.Nf7#.

33.Qxc7 1-0

Elimination/Mate

Hübner,RobertKulovana,EvaPrague 2011 (8)

1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Ne5 Be6 6.cxd5 Bxd5 7.Nf3 c5 8.Nc3 Bc6 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.d3 e6 11.e4 e5 12.Nh4 g6 13.f4 Bg7 14.Be3 0-0 15.f5 Qe7 16.g4 Qd6 17.g5 Nh5 18.f6 Bh8

Black has allowed White to weave a mating net around his king, as well as one around the fianchettoed bishop, which is trapped permanently. Should a white piece give check, it would be mate right away.

Who better than the knight can achieve the desired attack in such a closed position? Immediately, we imagine the h4-knight going to f5, attacking the queen with a double mating threat on e7 and h6. At the moment, there is a defender: the g6-pawn. So naturally, we will go for the deflective – and definitive! –

19.Qxh5! 1-0

If Black takes with 19...gxh5, 20.Nf5 creates the double threat of checkmate on h6, and taking the queen. There is no satisfactory defence.

Deflection

Ernst,SipkeKlein,DavidOslo 2011 (6.6)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Bxf6 Qxc3+ 11.Kf1 gxf6 12.Rc1 Qa5 13.g3 Bd7 14.Kg2 Nc6 15.Nb5 Ne5 16.Qd6 Bxb5 17.Bxb5+ Qxb5 18.Rc7 Nd7

18...Ng6 was playable, when the position would be unclear.

White has to deflect Black’s queen. That’s an easy task:

19.Rb1 1-0

Resignation was not premature here, because if Black tries to keep an eye on the d7-knight with 19...Qa4 (19...Qxb1 allows 20.Qxd7+ and 21.Qxf7 checkmate) White has the complementary deflection with 20.Rb4, when either Black’s queen or his king is lost.

Deflection

Ni HuaPolajzer,DaniloRogaska Slatina tt 2011 (3.3)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.0-0-0 Bb4 9.f3 Ne7 10.Nde2 d5 11.Bg5 dxe4 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Qd4 exf3 14.Qxb4 fxe2 15.Bxe2 f5 16.Rd6 Nc6 17.Qf4 Qe7 18.Bf3 0-0 19.Rhd1 e5 20.Qh6 Be6

White has a large advantage here, thanks to his powerful attack against the damaged black fortress. Several moves are advantageous, but there is one that wins by force.

White’s most dangerous threat is to bring a knight to d5, attacking the black queen while threatening the decisive Nf6+ and Qxh7 mate. The defender of the d5-square is the e6-bishop, which also has the function of controlling a rook invasion on d7.

That is why the first player decided to play the deflecting move

21.Rd7!+– Qb4

After 21...Bxd7, 22.Nd5 wins queen or king: 22...Qe6 23.Nf6+ Kh8 24.Qxh7#.

22.Nd5+–

22...Bxd5

This is now forced.

23.Qg5+ Kh8 24.Qf6+ Kg8 25.Bxd5

Now a possible defensive try was

25...Nd8

In the game Black resigned after 25...Qf4+ 26.Kb1. Now, 26...Nd8 is useless because of the forced 27.Rxd8 Raxd8 28.Bxf7+ Rxf7 29.Rxd8+ Rf8 30.Rxf8#.

After the text, the best way to win is the brutal

26.Rxd8! Raxd8 27.Bxf7+ Rxf7 28.Rxd8+ Rf8

And now follows a very fine triangulation manoeuvre:

29.Qe6+ Kh8

29...Kg7 30.Rd7+ and mate.

30.Qxe5+

Now White controls the e1-square.

30...Kg8

31.Rd3! f4 32.Rd7! Rf7 33.Qg5+ Kh8

Also, 33...Kf8 34.Rd8#.

34.Rd8++– 1-0

Deflecting the Main Defender

Bojkov,DejanVan Riemsdijk,HermanQueenstown 2012 (7.5)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.Bb3 h6 7.Re1 Re8 8.Nbd2 Bf8 9.Nc4 b5 10.Ne3 Na5 11.Bd2 Nxb3 12.axb3 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 15.Bc3 f6 16.Nh4 b4 17.Bd2 g5 18.Qh5 Bb7 19.Qg6+ Bg7 20.Ra5 Qc6

White has infiltrated the weakened light squares in the black king’s position. 21.Nf5 would be strong, if Black did not have checkmate on g2! So the queen should be challenged before we play the knight.

21.Rc5! Qxc5

On 21...Qd7, the reply 22.Nf5 is crushing. The simple threat is to take twice on g7, then on c7 and b7, for example 22...Rac8 23.Nxh6+ Kh8 24.Nf5 with 25.Re3 and 26.Rh3+ to follow.

22.Nf5 Re7

An important line is 22...Qf8 23.Bxb4! – another deflection. Now, on 23...Qf7 (if 23...c5 24.Bxc5) 24.Nxh6+ forks the king and the queen.

23.d4!

and White wins.

23...Qd6

On 23...Qb6 24.Nxe7+ Kh8 25.Nf5 wins.

24.Nxd6 cxd6 25.Bxb4 Rd8 26.dxe5 Rxe5 27.Bc3 Rxe1+ 28.Bxe1 Bd5 29.Bc3 Bf7 30.Qf5 Re8 31.h3 1-0

Prominent Defender

Gashimov,VugarNavara,DavidWijk aan Zee 2012 (9)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.Nbd2 d6 7.h3 a6 8.Ba4 Ba7 9.Nf1 d5 10.Qe2 b5 11.Bb3 d4 12.Ng3 a5 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bd5 hxg5 15.Bxc6 Rb8 16.cxd4 Bxd4 17.Rc1 Rb6 18.Qc2 g4 19.Nxd4 Qxd4 20.hxg4 Nxg4 21.Qd2 Qd6 22.Bd5 a4 23.Nh5 Qe7 24.f3 Nh6

White has a beautiful attacking position. Nearly all his men are aimed at the enemy king. He benefits from various open lines: the h-file and the a2-g8 diagonal, and he enjoys a well-placed knight. If only the white queen could help her army, and finish the job! g5 is a very attractive square, the only obstacle being the black queen controlling it. So

25.Rxc7!

25.g4 was played in the game, after which White was unable to win: 25...Rg6 26.Ng3 Qd8 27.Rh5 Be6 28.g5 Bxd5 29.gxh6 Rxg3 30.Qh2 Rg5 31.hxg7 Kxg7 32.Rh7+ Kf6 33.exd5 Qxd5 34.Rh6+ Ke7 35.Rxc7+ Kd8 36.Rhc6 Qxf3 37.Rc8+ Ke7 38.R8c7+ Kd8 39.Rc8+ Ke7 40.R8c7+ and draw.

25...Qxc7

If 25...Qd6 White finishes with 26.Qc1 Ba6 27.Kf2 followed by 28.g4 and 29.g5, winning the knight.

26.Qg5+–

26...Nf5

If 26...Rg6 27.Qxg6. Against 26...g6 27.Qxh6 gxh5 28.Qg5+ mates in two: 28...Kh8 29.Rxh5+.

27.exf5 g6 28.fxg6+–

And mate by 29.gxf7+ will follow soon.

Elimination and Deflection

Van Kampen,RobinVedder,RichardAmsterdam 2012 (5)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Bc5 10.Qd3 0-0 11.Nbd2 f5 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.a4 Rb8 14.axb5 axb5 15.Ra6 Bb6 16.Ng5 Bf7 17.Nxf7 Rxf7 18.Nf3 Qd6 19.Be3 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Qc5 21.Ng5 Rd7

Many weaknesses can be seen on Black’s part of the board. Two motifs are clear enough:

- the alignment of White’s bishop on b3 with the black king on g8;

- the lack of protection for the c6-knight, which is attacked once, and protected once – by the queen on c5.

The idea would be to deflect the queen from the defence of the c6-knight, which can be achieved thanks to the preparatory

22.Rxf6!

Eliminating the defender of the e4- and d5-squares.

22...gxf6 23.Ne4

Deflecting the queen from the defence of the c6-knight.

23...Qe7

23...Ne5 was played in the game, and Black resigned after 24.Nxc5.

24.Rxc6

Attacking f6. 24.Bxd5+ is also possible, but why enter a pin?

24...Kh8

After 24...Rf8, 25.Qd4! wins easily, for example: 25...Kg7 26.Nxf6! Rxf6 27.Rxf6 Qxf6 28.Qg4+ Kf8 29.Qxd7.

25.Nxf6 Rd6 26.Nxd5 Qg7 27.Rxd6+–

Attraction and Deflection

Savchenko,Stanislav

Riazantsev,AlexanderChisinau 2012 (1.2)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.a3 c5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Be2 Qb6 12.Be5 Nb3 13.Rb1 Bf5 14.Bd3 Be4 15.0-0 Qg6 16.Bxe4 dxe4 17.Qxb3 exf3 18.Bg3 Qe4 19.Rfd1 Rad8 20.gxf3 Qxf3 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Qc4 h5 23.Rc1

Here Black has an undisputed advantage, thanks to the better pawn structure (two islands instead of three) and the very strong position of his queen. From f3 the queen keeps control over d1, thus insuring Black’s domination on the d-file. More importantly, the queen could give checkmate on g2 with the help of a pawn on h3. Of course, White controls h4 twice (queen and bishop), against Black one (bishop). But here we encounter our theme:

23...h4!

A classical opportunity for a deflection. On 24.Qf4 Rd1+ 25.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 26.Kg2 hxg3 wins the bishop; 24.Bf4 Qg4+ 25.Kf1 g5! is a fork against the queen on c4, because if 26.Bc7...

... here we can see another case of an overloaded defence: the white rook has to protect the queen while guarding the back rank against checkmate: 26...Rd1+ 27.Rxd1 Qxc4+.

After 24.Bxh4 the bishop has been lured to a square where it is attacked once, and defended once by the queen. 24...b5 (the queen is dominated along the fourth rank, and is not able to defend the bishop any more) 25.Bxe7 bxc4 26.Bxd8.

The queen is much stronger than the bishop and rook here, because White cannot achieve any good coordination, and some pawns (b2) are exposed, for example: 26...Qg4+–+ 27.Kh1 Qe4+ 28.Kg1 Qg6+ 29.Kh1 Qd3 30.Bc7 Qd2 and after taking on b2 Black will have a dangerous passed c-pawn, with an easy win.

Overworked Piece

Renet,OlivierRelange,EloiToulouse ch-FRA 1995 (5)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Bb3 0-0 9.0-0 Na5 10.f4 b6 11.e5 Ne8 12.f5 dxe5 13.fxe6 exd4 14.exf7+ Kh8 15.fxe8=Q Qxe8 16.Bxd4 Nxb3 17.axb3 Rxf1+ 18.Qxf1 Bb7 19.Re1 Qd7 20.Rd1 Qc6 21.Qe2 Qg6 22.Rd3 Bd6 23.Re3 Rd8 24.Re6 Qf7 25.Bf2 Bc6 26.Bg3 Bc5+ 27.Kh1

Here the queen is the necessary guard of the e6-rook, and against the back-rank mate. A classic case of an overloaded piece. The deflection is decisive:

27...Rd2! 28.Rxc6

28.Re8+ Bxe8.

28.Qc4 allows 28...Bxg2#.

28...Rxe2 0-1

After 29.Rc8+ Black has the simple backward move 29...Re8 and wins.

Exercises

Exercise 1 Signal 6 *Le Roux,Jean PierreMocquard,Yves Guingamp 2012 (1)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 0-0 9.Qh4 Qc7 10.Rd1 Na6 11.Bh6 Rfe8 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.cxd5 Bxb2 14.d6 Qc3 15.Rab1 Rac8 16.Nd4 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Ba3 18.Rd3 Qc5 19.dxe7 Qxe7

White to move

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Solution 1 signal 6

20.Rxa3!

And Black resigned.

After 20.Rxa3 Qxa3 21.Qf6 he has to give up the queen to prevent checkmate.

Exercise 2 Signal 6 *Hounie Fleurquin,CarlosCastillo Larenas,MarianoBuenos Aires 1935 (15)

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4 Nxc3 5.bxc3 Nd7 6.Nf3 e6 7.d4 Be7 8.Qe2 c5 9.0-0 0-0 10.Re1 Bf6 11.Rb1 g6 12.Bh6 Re8 13.Qe3 Nb6 14.Bb5 Bd7 15.Bxd7 Nd5 16.Qe4 Qxd7 17.c4 Nc3 18.Rxb7 Qd8 19.Qf4 cxd4

White to move

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Solution 2 signal 6

The queen is protecting the bishop. If the white queen were able to take the bishop on f6, it would threaten checkmate on g7. That is what White can enforce with

20.Rd7! 1-0

Exercise 3 Signal 6 *Milov,VadimErismann,PeterNeuchatel 2012 (2)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.exd4 Nf6 6.Nf3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.Re1 Nb6 10.Bb3 c6 11.h3 Nbd5 12.Bg5 Be6 13.Ne5 h6 14.Bh4 Nf4 15.Bc2 Bd5 16.Bg3 Ne6 17.Qd3 Qb6

White to move

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Solution 3 signal 6

The only defender against the checkmate on h7 is the crucial f6-knight. Unfortunately for Black, White is able to either deviate or eliminate it with a fork:

18.Nd7!

18...Nxd7 19.Qh7#.

18...Qc7 19.Nxf6+ Bxf6 20.Qh7 is also checkmate.

Exercise 4 Signal 6 **Bricard,EmmanuelVanheirzeele,DanielFrance tt 2011 (4)

1.g3 c5 2.Bg2 Nc6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Qd2 e5 7.b3 Nge7 8.Bb2 0-0 9.e3 Be6 10.Nd5 Qd7 11.Ne2 h6 12.h4 Rab8 13.h5 g5 14.f4 g4 15.0-0 f5 16.e4 Nd4 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Nxe7+ Qxe7 19.Rae1 Qd7 20.Rf2 Rfe8 21.Rfe2 b6 22.b4 a6 23.Bc1 b5 24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Bd5+ Kf8 26.Ba3 Re3 27.bxc5 Rxg3+ 28.Rg2 Rxd3 29.c6 Qc7

White to move

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Solution 4 signal 6

The queen is the only protection against checkmate on d6. That is why no sacrifice is too expensive in order to remove it:

30.Qa5!! Qxa5

On 30...Qd8 31.c7 wins.

31.Bxd6#

Exercise 5 Signal 6 ***Radjabov,TeimourKarjakin,SergeyWijk aan Zee 2012 (6)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Nbd2 d5 6.Bg2 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.b3 c5 9.dxc5 bxc5 10.Ne5 Bb7 11.Bb2 Nbd7 12.e3 Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Nd7 14.Bb2 Bf6 15.Qc2 Qb6 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Rac1 Rac8 18.Rfd1 Rfd8 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 20.Qf5 g6 21.Qf4 Kg7 22.h4 a5 23.e4 dxe4 24.Nc4 Qe6 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Qc7 Qd5 27.Ne3 Qd2 28.Rc2 Rd7 29.Qxc5 Qe1+ 30.Kh2 h5 31.Qe5 Qb4 32.Rc5 Qd2 33.Rc2 Qb4 34.Qg5 Nh7 35.Qf4 Qd4 36.Bh3 Re7 37.Rc7 Qf6 38.Rc5 Qb6 39.Rc2 Qa6 40.Rd2 Qf6 41.Qb8 Nf8 42.Qd8 Ne6 43.Bxe6 Rxe6 44.Qxa5 Ba6 45.Nd5 Qe5 46.Qc7 Bd3 47.Qxe5+ Rxe5 48.Nf4 Ba6 49.Nd5 Bd3 50.Nb4 Bf1 51.Nc2 Rb5 52.Ne3 Bd3 53.Rb2 Kf6 54.a4 Ra5 55.Ra2 Ke5 56.b4 Ra7 57.Ra3 Kd4 58.b5 Kc5 59.Rc3+ Kd4

White to move

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Solution 5 signal 6

60.b6! Rxa4

60...Rb7 61.Rc6 is an easy win.

61.b7

61.Rc4+ first is also possible.

61...Rb4 62.Rc4+!! 1-0

A beautiful deflection, of both the rook (which keeps the b-pawn under control) and the bishop (which guards against Nc2+, forking rook and king). There could follow 62....Bxc4 63.Nc2+ Kc3 64.Nxb4 and the b-pawn will be crowned, or 62...Rxc4 63.Nxc4 followed by 64.b8=Q.

Exercise 6 Signal 6 ***Marcelin,CyrilAbergel,ThalEvry 2002 (7)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Nc3 g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 9.Nde2 Rc8 10.0-0 Na5 11.b3 Nf6 12.Bg5 0-0 13.Qd2 b6 14.Bh6 Nb7 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.f4 Nc5 17.Ng3 a6 18.Rad1 Qc6 19.Nd5 Nxd5 20.exd5 Qc7 21.Rf3 Nd7 22.Re1 Rfe8 23.f5 Ne5

White to move

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Solution 6 signal 6

White’s four pieces are looking toward the king, while the knight on e5 holds the black defence. This is a typical case of a crucial defender, and White now played the logical

24.Rxe5! dxe5 25.fxg6 fxg6

If 25...hxg6 26.Nh5+ gxh5 (26...Kg8 27.Qh6+–) 27.Qg5+ and mate. Now comes another sacrifice, in order to destroy the last guards of the king.

26.Nh5+! Kh8

If 26...gxh5 27.Qg5+ Kh8 28.Rf7 Rg8 29.Qh6 and mate.

27.Qh6 e6 28.d6

Or 28.dxe6 with Rf7 to come.

28...Qa7 29.Nf6 Red8

On 29...Qg7 White wins with 30.Qxg7+ Kxg7 31.d7.

30.d7 1-0

Show in Quiz Mode

Chapter 14Impotent Defence/Defence Too Far Away

A strong motif is the absence of defensive forces. For example, if the players have opposite-coloured bishops, the dark-squared bishop is unable to defend against attacks on light squares, and vice versa.

Grischuk,AlexanderGelfand,BorisLinares 2010 (2)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nbd7 9.Qe2 a6 10.a4 cxd4 11.exd4 Nb6 12.Bd3 Nbd5

13.Nxd5!?

Eliminating a potential defender of the king’s castle.

13...Nxd5 14.Qe4 g6

After this move, White focuses on attacking the dark squares. In order to do so, he will eliminate the main defenders of these squares.

15.Bh6 Re8 16.Ne5 Bd7 17.Qf3 Qe7 18.Be4 Bc6

19.Bxd5! Bxd5 20.Qf4 f5 21.h4 Rac8 22.Rac1 Bd6 23.Rfe1 Qf6 24.Rc3 Rxc3 25.bxc3 Rc8 26.Qg3 Be4 27.h5

27...Bxe5

The e5-knight is so strong that it must be exchanged. In doing so, Black has given his dark-squared bishop, so the attack on the dark squares will now be very difficult to stop.

28.dxe5 Qf7 29.Re3 Kh8

29...Rc7 was a better defence. After 30.a5‚ White has a clear advantage, and good chances of building up a successful attack, for example Qg5 (or maybe first hxg6), Rg3 etc.

30.Qh4+– gxh5 31.Rg3

White is winning: too many attackers of the dark squares against too few defenders.

31...Bd5 32.a5 f4 33.Rg7 Qf5 34.Qe7 Qe4 35.Qf6 1-0

35.Rg8+ was even quicker: 35...Rxg8 36.Qf6+ Rg7 37.Qxg7#.

Another form of impotent defence is a lack of coordination between one’s forces, particularly at the opening stage. The following game is typical:

JuniorPandixPamplona 2009 (2)

In order to be able to defend, the defender needs mobility. On principle, one obtains good mobility when all the pieces are connected, and able to move quickly from one point to another. The problem of a good connection between one’s forces is one of the main objectives in the opening.

Classical play assumes that the opening is over when the rooks are connected. Yet, if a player loses time, for example with pawn grabbing, he risks to be left with a position where connection between the rooks is made impossible for ever. Computer programs are particularly apt at evaluating such factors – Time against Material, especially the evaluation of ‘how much a tempo is worth’. That is why as a model game, I give this one, from the world computer chess championship:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nb5! Qc6

5...Qe5 has also been tried: 6.Be3 a6 7.f4 Qxe4 8.Nc7+ Kd8 9.Qe2 Bc5 10.Nxe6+ dxe6 11.Bxc5 Qxe2+ 12.Bxe2 Nd7 13.Bd4 Ngf6 14.Nc3 (14.Nd2± was probably more accurate.

Now if Black plays 14...b6 like in the game, 15.Nc4 is very unpleasant: 15...Rb8 16.0-0-0 Ke7 17.g4!? with a clear advantage) 14...b6 15.Bf3 Rb8 16.0-0 Bb7 17.Be5 Nxe5 18.fxe5 Ne8 19.Rad1+ Ke7 20.Rd4 Bxf3 21.Rxf3 Nc7 22.Rg4. In this position, a draw was agreed, though White retains a small edge, Perez Candelario-Khamrakulov, Navalmoral 2011.

6.Bf4! Qxe4+ 7.Be3 Qb4+

Another possibility is 7...Na6 8.N1c3 Qg6 9.Nd6+ Bxd6 10.Qxd6 Ne7 11.0-0-0+–. Black’s king is stuck in the centre, and both his kingside and queenside are undeveloped.

If 11...Nf5 12.Qa3.

8.Nd2

White looks for the c4-square. Also good was 8.N1c3.

8...Qa5

9.b4!

The computer plays a gambit ‘coffee-house style’.

9...Qd8

After 9...Bxb4 10.c3 Bxc3 (on 10...Be7 11.Nc4 is crushing) 11.Nxc3 Qxc3 12.Rc1 is the trick.

10.Bf4 Na6 11.Nd6+ Bxd6 12.Bxd6

This bishop, fixed on the outpost d6, completely ties Black up, preventing him from castling, and on the other side, dominating the a6-knight while making it difficult for the c8-bishop to find a way out.

12...Ne7

The alternative 12...b6 13.Bd3 Bb7 14.Qe2 gives White a large advantage.

13.Qf3 Qb6 14.Nc4 Qc6

15.b5!

Here Black could have exchanged queens, which looks more logical with the king in the centre.

15...Qxf3

The game continued 15...Qxb5 16.Ba3 Kf8 17.Rd1!+– Nc7 18.Qf4! Na6 19.Qd6 Qg5 20.h4 Qf6

21.Rh3! (the same ‘beginner’s move’ with the rook is the most efficient here) 21...e5 22.Rf3 Qxd6 23.Nxd6 f6

24.Nxc8! (the simplest way is to take the apparently useless bishop. ‘Bad bishops defend good pawns’ – Suba) 24...Rxc8 25.Rxd7 Nc5 26.Bxc5 Rxc5 27.Rd8+ Kf7 28.Rxh8 and Black resigned.

16.gxf3 Nb8

Black is a pawn up in the ending. Nevertheless, he is hopelessly lost, because he will not be able to coordinate his forces.

17.Rg1 Rg8 18.f4

The opening of the long diagonal discourages ...b7-b6.

18...f6

Vacating the f7-square for the king.

19.0-0-0

The black queenside is completely frozen. Neither the b8-knight, nor the c8-bishop can move.

19...g6

What is the most efficient way to win for White?

20.Rg3!!

This beautiful geometrical resource is winning by force. The threat is 21.Ra3 followed by 22.Nb6.

20...Nf5 21.Ra3 Nxd6 22.Nxd6+ Kd8

is no defence because of 23.Rc3!.

Sometimes we have to provoke such a coordination problem by blocking a few defensive lines, thus leaving the defence without prospects of bringing his forces toward the crucial zone.

Blockade

Carvallo,HenriPicard,ClementNationale 1 2010

1.d4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bf4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Qb6 6.Qc2 Nc6 7.e3 Be7 8.Nc3 a6 9.Be2 0-0 10.0-0 d5 11.a3 Bd7 12.Bd3 Rac8 13.Qe2 Na7 14.Ne5 Be8 15.Rac1 Nd7 16.Rc2 Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Bd6

In this game, White’s queen and two bishops are looking dangerously at the black king. Black’s position is solid, though. His castle might be defended by a classical pawn move like ...f7-f5 or ...g7-g6, and everything would be in order. That is why White must prevent Black’s forces from coordinating immediately.

The blockading move

18.Bf6!

leaves Black in dire straits, because now he is no longer able to assist his king, while White will be attacking.

18.Bxd6 Qxd6 19.Qh5 (19.Rfc1) 19...g6 was played in the game, where Black was able to equalize.

18...gxf6

18...g6 19.e4± dxe4 (19...Nc6 20.exd5±) 20.Qe3+– (20.Qd2+–); 18...h6?! 19.Qg4 g6 20.Qh3 (20.Qh4+–) 20...Kh7 (20...h5 21.g4) 21.f4!+– Bd7 22.Rf3 followed by 23.Qxh6+ Kxh6 24.Rh3#.

The idea is that against a move like 18...Bd7, White plays 19.Bxh7+ (19.Qh5+–) 19...Kxh7 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Qg5 g6 22.Qh6.

19.Nxd5

Or 19.Qg4+ Kh8 20.Qh4 f5 21.Nxd5! exd5 22.Bxf5 Kg7 23.Qg5+ Kh8 24.Qh6 Bxh2+ 25.Qxh2+–.

19...Qd8

If 19...exd5 20.Qg4+ Kh8 21.Qf5 mates.

20.Rxc8 Nxc8

If 20...Qxc8 21.Qh5 f5 22.Nf6+ Kg7 23.Qg5+ Kh8 24.Qh6 and mates.

21.Qg4+ Kh8 22.Qh4

And White wins: 22....f5 23.Qxd8+–.

A third possibility that leads to impotent defence is when the defensive pieces are too far away from the main action; in this case the attacker has enough time to build up his attack, and to round it off before the defensive men are able to come back.

Defence too far away

Naer,EvgenyYuferov,SergeySt Petersburg 2000 (3)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Rb1 0-0 9.Be2 b6 10.0-0 Bb7 11.Qd3 Ba6 12.Qe3 Qd7 13.Bxa6 Nxa6 14.Qe2 Qa4 15.d5 Bxc3

Very courageous. Now White will be able to develop a quick attack thanks to a tempo-winning move, which allows him to quickly obtain perfect coordination between his forces:

16.Rb3

The threat is to take the bishop, and in case it retreats, say to g7, to play 17.Ra3, thus winning the a6-knight.

16...Bb4

This move was forced, in order not to lose the knight on a6. We should be very wary of entering such messy piece positions with black. Queen, knight and bishop are stuck on the queenside, and unable to assist their king ‘in case of emergency’.

17.Ne5!

Simple, yet brilliant: the knight vacates the third rank in order to let its own rook have its say on the kingside. Also, the knight may reach the interesting c6-square, while controlling f7 and g6 around the black king’s defences.

17...Rac8

After 17...f6 several moves give White an advantage, the funniest being 18.Nxg6! (18.Nc6±) 18...hxg6 19.Rg3 Kf7 (19...Qe8 20.Qh5!+–; not 20.Qxa6±, which would allow Black some hope to save the game)

20.Rxg6!! Kxg6 (20...Rg8! 21.Rh6 Ke8 (only move) 22.e5± Bc3 23.exf6 Bxf6 24.g3! (24.Rxf6 Qg4! 25.Qxg4 Rxg4) 24...Qd4 25.d6!± or 25.Qxa6±) 21.Qg4+ Kf7 22.Qh5+ Kg8 23.Bh6+–

18.Rh3+– 1-0

The game is over. Black will not get his pieces back to protect his king: 18...c4 19.Qe3! followed inevitably by Qh6.

Exercises

Exercise 1 Signal 7 *Bondarevsky,IgorBotvinnik,MikhailMoscow ch-URS 1941 (19)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.e3 Bg4 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Nd7 6.Bd3 Ngf6 7.0-0 Be7 8.b3 0-0 9.Bb2 e5 10.Be2 e4 11.Nd2 Bxe2 12.Qxe2 Bb4 13.a3 Bxc3 14.Bxc3 Re8 15.f3 Nf8 16.Rf2 Qd7 17.Raf1 exf3 18.Rxf3 Re6 19.Qd3 Rae8 20.Nb1 Ng6 21.Be1 dxc4 22.Qxc4 Rxe3 23.Rxe3 Rxe3 24.Bf2 Nd5 25.Nd2 Ngf4 26.h3 Rc3 27.Qa4 Ne2+ 28.Kh2

Black to move

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Solution 1 signal 7

White’s queen might appear trapped, but this is not the right signal here. The problem is that no piece can defend the light squares around White’s king.

28...Rxh3+! 0-1

If 29.gxh3 Ndf4, followed by mate.

Exercise 2 Signal 7 *Hawkins,JonathanMackle,DominicNorth Shields ch-GBR 2012 (6)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qa4 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Bf4 Bb7 9.0-0 d5 10.Ne5 a6 11.Qc2 b5 12.b3 Nbd7 13.Rfd1 Rc8 14.e4 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Nd7 16.exd5 cxd5 17.cxd5 b4 18.dxe6 Rxc3 19.Qf5 Bxg2 20.Rxd7 Qa8 21.Rxe7 fxe6 22.Qxe6+ Kh8

White to move

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Solution 2 signal 7

Black’s king faces three enemy pieces: the bishop, the rook and the queen, and is quite isolated here. Only the f8-rook is able to assist immediately in the defence. White can win by force:

23.Bh6! 1-0

If 23...gxh6 24.Qxh6 and mate is unavoidable; or 23...Rg8 24.Bxg7+ Rxg7 25.Re8+, winning the queen.

23...Rg8 24.Qf7

Exercise 3 Signal 7 **Mamedyarov,ShakhriyarHuschenbeth,NiclasGibraltar 2012 (5.8)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bd2 Be7 8.Qc2 0-0 9.e4 Nxc3 10.Bxc3 c5 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.Rd1 Qc7 13.Bd3 Nc6 14.e5 h6 15.0-0 Rfd8 16.Bh7+ Kh8 17.Be4 Qb6 18.Qa4 Rac8 19.Bb1 Rxd1 20.Rxd1 Rd8 21.h4 h5 22.Re1 g6 23.Qf4 Kg8 24.Ng5 Bxg5 25.Qxg5 Nd4 26.Re3 Qc7 27.Kh2 Bd5

White to move

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Solution 3 signal 7

The black queen is the main defender here, against three white pieces that are aimed at the black king’s castle.

28.Bxg6! fxg6

After this sacrifice to destroy the fortress, White is able to deflect the enemy queen thanks to the alignment on the a5-d8 diagonal:

29.Ba5! Qxa5 30.Qxg6+ Kf8

On 30...Kh8 31.Qh6+ Kg8 32.Rg3+ and checkmate follows.

31.Rg3! 1-0

There is no defence against a quick checkmate: 31...Ke7 32.Qh7+ Ke8 33.Rg8#, or 31...Nf5 32.Qg8+ Ke7 33.Qh7+ etc.

Exercise 4 Signal 7 **O’Connell,GerardBrady,StephenDublin 2012 (7)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.Bd3 0-0 6.Nf3 b6 7.0-0 Bb7 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qc2 a6 10.Bd2 Bd6 11.Ne5 c5 12.f4 cxd4 13.exd4 Nc6 14.Ne2 Rc8 15.Qd1 Ne4 16.Rc1 Ne7 17.Ng3 b5 18.Qe2 Nxd2 19.Qxd2 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 Ng6 21.Nf5 Bb8 22.g3 Nxe5 23.fxe5 Ba7 24.Kg2 Kh8 25.Qf4 Bc8 26.Rc6 Bxf5 27.Bxf5 Qa5

White to move

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Solution 4 signal 7

Black’s queen and bishop are far away. White wins by combining the forces of his bishop, rook, queen and e5-pawn.

28.Rh6! Rd8

After 28...gxh6 29.Qxh6 is crushing. On 28...g6 29.Bxg6 wins.

29.Rxh7+ Kg8 30.Qg5 g6 31.Bxg6 f6 32.Qxf6 1-0

Exercise 5 Signal 7 ***Gonzalez Garcia,JoséTeran Alvarez,IsmaelSeville 2011 (5)

1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 Rc8 8.Nxc6 Bxc6 9.f3 a6 10.0-0-0 e6 11.Kb1 Be7 12.h4 0-0 13.Ne2 b5 14.Nd4 Qb6 15.g4 b4 16.Be3 Qb7 17.g5 Nd7 18.g6 Nc5 19.h5 Bf6 20.Bg5 Be5 21.gxh7+ Kxh7 22.Nxc6 Rxc6 23.f4 Bc3 24.Qg2 Na4

White to move

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Solution 5 signal 7

25.e5!

A typical move, opening the diagonal for the white bishop and closing the line of defence of the black bishop.

25...dxe5

On 25...Rb6 the queen exchange 26.Qxb7 Rxb7 followed by the sequence 27.Bxa6 Rbb8 28.Bd3+ Kh8 29.bxc3 is winning for White. Now comes a typical obstruction move:

26.Bf6!+– Rg8

If 26...gxf6 then 27.Rg1 with mate.

27.Bd3+ Kh8 28.Qe4 1-0

Or 28.Qg6.

Exercise 6 Signal 7 ***Fedorchuk,SergeyPonomariov,RuslanSpain tt 2011 (5)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.Qd3 h6 9.Nd2 Rc8 10.Nc4 Qc7 11.Ne3 Nf6 12.0-0 Be7 13.a4 Qc5 14.Rd1 Be6 15.Qe2 0-0 16.Rd3 Bd8 17.Qf3 Kh7 18.Nf5 Rc6 19.b3 Ba5

White to move

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Solution 6 signal 7

It is clear that Black’s pieces are too far away from the main action, that is: the dark squares around the black king!

20.Nxg7! Kxg7

If 20...Bg4, 21.Qxf6 wins a piece.

21.Bxh6+!

‘Play it again, Sam !’

21...Kg6

Black keeps defending the f6-knight. If 21...Kxh6 White forces mate with 22.Qxf6+ Kh5 23.Rg3.

22.Nd5 Nh7

After the retreat 22...Bd8, 23.Bxf8 wins.

23.Qg3+ Kh5 24.Nf6+ Nxf6 25.Qg5# 1-0

Introduction

We now enter the fourth and fifth phases of our thinking process.

After we have examined the position (’Global vision’, page 13), analysed it (see Part I, p. 25) and chosen a general course of action (Part II, p. 69), we have to make a concrete decision, i.e. choose a specific move. This topic can be divided into two parts:

- one (phase 4) consists of making a selection of moves (so called ‘candidate moves’) that we need to investigate further, in order to select the best among them;

- the other (phase 5) consists in calculating the variations.

Schematically, it is easier to consider that part one is ‘selecting the candidates’ and part 2 is ‘calculating them’, but in practice it is difficult to separate the two operations. Specifically, when we pick up a few candidate moves, the calculating process may suggest a new candidate that originally wasn’t taken in account. This can be explained with a classical example (from the remarkable Imagination in Chess, see the bibliography):

Calculation

White to move

White must first calculate the forced variation

49.Rxe6 Bxe6 50.Rxe6

This looks like a win for White because of the terrible mate threat 51.Rg6+ hxg6 52.Qh8#.

Refutation

Then we see the refutation of the idea:

50...Qxc2!

50...Bf8 51.Rg6+ is checkmate all the same. But after the text the black queen controls g6. This position can be assessed as unclear.

The Masked Candidate

Now we can look for a new candidate move, which was completely out of consideration at the first examination of the position.

Since the threat of Rxe6 is so strong, and can only be parried by ...Qxc2, it is logical to try and find a way to prevent this defence:

49.c4!! bxc3

50.Rxe6 Bxe6 51.Rxe6

and White wins (Sax-Partos, Biel Interzonal 1985).

For this reason, I won’t give a specific order for these two phases. We have to perform both tasks correctly.

In the next two chapters we will see some important points regarding both the selection of candidate moves and the calculation.

Chapter 15Candidate Moves

Seeing unexpected possibilities

Oren,MenachemDyner,Boruch IsraelTel Aviv 1952

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c5 5.d5 0-0 6.e4 d6 7.Ne2 Nfd7 8.0-0 b5 9.cxb5 a6 10.bxa6 Nxa6 11.Nbc3 Rb8 12.b3 Nb4 13.Bb2 Ne5 14.Na4 Nbd3 15.Bc3 Ba6 16.f4 Ng4 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Rf3 c4 19.bxc4 Rb4 20.Rxd3 Bxc4 21.Ra3 Qa5 22.Bf3 Bb3?

22...Bxe2! 23.Qxe2 Rxa4 would have held because after 24.Rxa4 (24.Qb2+ Nf6) 24...Qxa4, 25.Bxg4 is a mistake, due to the double attack 25...Qd4+.

23.Rxb3 Qa7+

Here there are eight legal moves for White. Most people would not spot the winning one. Yet, once you have calculated that the king moves lose quickly (losing the queen or getting checkmated), and eliminated1 as useless the parades with the queen (on d4) or the rook (on e3), you are left with knight jumps. Two of them are useless, but one wins on the spot: the extraordinary

24.Nb6!!

which lures the black queen to the same file as her rook, thus creating an alignment. 24...Qxb6+.

The b4-rook is now pinned, which allows White to escape and win: 25.Qd4+ (25.Nd4 also wins) 25...Qxd4+ 26.Nxd4 Rxd4 27.Bxg4 with an easy win for White.

There are also situations where you have to consider every possible move. Most often this will happen in the endgame. Sometimes, when the stakes are very high, and when every move can mean the difference between winning and losing, you will have to consider improbable alternatives.

Taking every move into account

Romanko,MarinaZhukova,NataliaAntakya Wch 2010 (1.1)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Bg5 c5 8.dxc5 d4 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.e3

10.b4 (½-½, 40) Morozevich-Shirov, Biel 2011 (6).

10...h6 11.Bh4 e5 12.exd4 exd4 13.0-0-0 Nxc5 14.Nf3 Qb6 15.Nxd4 Rd8 16.f3

Black, a strong player, could have won by force here. Can you calculate the winning continuation?

16...Rxd4!

16...Bd7 was seen in the actual game, which ended in a draw.

17.Rxd4 Nb3+ 18.Qxb3!

Of course, you have to consider this move first, because a capture is the simplest way to parry a check. Did you? Very well, let’s continue the line then!

18...Qxb3 19.Rd8+

How do you like this position? It looks as if White is winning, yet there’s a surprising winning move for Black. What are the possible moves here?

19...Ne8!!

The purpose of this sacrifice is to deviate the rook, so that the normal follow-up 20.Bd3+ will not be possible anymore, because the d3-square won’t be controlled by the white rook.

After 19...Kh7 20.Bd3+ g6 loses (yet another surprising interpolation was available with 20...Bf5! and the position after 21.Bxf5+ g6 22.Rxa8 Qxc4+ 23.Bc2 Qxh4 is still playable for Black) 21.Bxf6 and mate: 21...Bf5 22.Rxa8 and so on.

20.Rxe8+ Kh7

With a big advantage for Black.

Here’s another example:

Taimanov,MarkLarsen,BentVinkovci 1970 (13)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 0-0 6.Bf4 Bxc5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.e3 d5 9.a3 Qa5 10.Rc1 Be7 11.Be2 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Nd5 13.Bxd5 exd5 14.Qb3

Here the imaginative Dane uncorked

14...g5! 15.Bg3

If 15.Bxg5 Bxg5 16.Nxg5, 16...d4! wins a knight thanks to a double threat.

15...g4 16.Nd4 Nxd4 17.exd4

17...Bg5!

Threatening the rook on c1 and also threatening to give a nasty check on e8, while the white king is still in the centre.

18.0-0!

Probably the best decision: White sacrifices an exchange in order to keep his king safe, while Black’s castle has been damaged by his adventurous play.

18...Bxc1 19.Rxc1 Be6 20.h3!?

After 20.Qxb7 Qb6 21.Qxb6 axb6 22.Bc7, White should hold the ending.

20...gxh3 21.Be5

White mounts a very dangerous attacking set-up; if the queen join the attack on g3, it will be checkmate.

21...f6! 22.Ne4 fxe5 23.Qg3+

This looks like a winning attack for White. Should the king go to h8, Qxe5 would be possible, taking the bishop with check on the next move. But the square f7 is not ideal either, because of the nasty check on g5 with the knight. Larsen had seen the paradoxical solution from afar:

23...Bg4!!

A crucial deviation, in order to force White to take on g4 with the queen, thus losing his ideal coordination. The key point is that the queen on e5 would enable the rook to join the party on c7. Instead, Black would lose after both 23...Kh8 24.Qxe5+ Kg8 25.Qxe6+ Rf7 (25...Kg7 26.Qe5+ Kg8

27.Rc3! with a fatal check on g3 to come) 26.Nd6 Rf8 27.Nxf7 Rxf7 28.Rc8+ White wins; and 23...Kf7 24.Ng5+ Ke7 25.Qxe5 Rf6 (25...Qb6 is also losing after 26.Rc7+): 26.Rc7+ with a crushing attack for White.

Now the queen has been attracted on g4, the attack is over.

24.Qxg4+ Kh8!

Now the coordination of White’s pieces has been spoiled: from g4, the queen does not have access to the crucial e5-square, where it attacks the king while enabling the rook to land on c7.

25.Ng5 Qd2 26.Rc7 Qxf2+ 27.Kh2 Qxg2+ 28.Qxg2 hxg2 29.dxe5 Rac8 30.Rxb7 Rc2 31.Nf7+ Kg7 32.e6 Kf6 33.e7 g1=Q+ 34.Kxg1 Rg8+ 0-1

1 We call this method of elimination. The frequent use of this method explains why strong grandmasters fall victim to simple tactics: if in a position where they have two possibilities, the ‘normal’ one loses, they play the second one, without even calculating it, because they know that it is the only chance.

Chapter 16Accurate Calculation

Pawn ending

Berry,NeilRendle,ThomasBunratty 2012 (3)

1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.b4 d6 6.Bb2 e5 7.dxe5 Nfd7 8.Bg2 dxe5 9.Qb3 0-0 10.c5+ Kh8 11.0-0 Qe7 12.Nc3 c6 13.Nd2 Nf6 14.Rfd1 e4 15.e3 Be6 16.Qa3 Nbd7 17.Ne2 Bg8 18.h4 Ne5 19.Nf4 Rfd8 20.Bd4 Nd5 21.Nxd5 Rxd5 22.Bf1 a6 23.Qc3 Rad8 24.Be2 Nd3 25.Nb3 Ne5 26.Nd2 R5d7 27.Nb3 Bxb3 28.Qxb3 Nf3+ 29.Bxf3 exf3 30.Qc3 Kg8 31.Rd2 f4 32.Qc4+ Qf7 33.Qxf7+ Kxf7 34.gxf4 Ke6 35.Rad1 Rd5 36.Kh2 Kf5 37.Kg3 Ke4 38.a3 R8d7 39.Kg4 h6 40.Rc1 h5+ 41.Kg3 Bh6 42.Rc4 Bxf4+ 43.exf4 Rxd4 44.Rcxd4+ Rxd4 45.Rxd4+ Kxd4 46.Kxf3 Kc3 47.f5 gxf5 48.Kf4 Kb3

Calculation is of paramount importance in pawn endings. When both players have chances to promote (in backgammon they call this a ‘race’, and the term is appropriate in chess too), we can count the separate moves, for White and for Black, and then assess the result of the race.

Here, Black will queen in seven moves: the king takes on a3, then b4, and the a-pawn goes a5, a4, a3, a2, a1. What should White do?

49.Kg5!

49.Kxf5 was played in the game: 49...Kxa3 50.f4 Kxb4 51.Kg6 a5 52.f5 a4 53.f6 a3 54.f7 a2 55.f8=Q a1=Q 56.Kxh5 Qd1+ ½-½.

The text move is winning because while White will also need seven moves to queen (king to g5, take on h5, back to g5, and h5-h6-h7-h8 = queen), the newly-born queen will be able to control the promotion square of the opponent just in time.

49...Kxa3 50.Kxh5 Kxb4 51.Kg5 a5 52.h5 a4 53.h6 a3 54.h7 a2 55.h8=Q 1-0

Is there a threat?

Nielsen,Peter HeineVolokitin,AndreyRogaska Slatina tt 2011 (7.1)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Rc1 dxc4 8.Bxc4 0-0 9.Nf3 Qxc5 10.Bb3 Nc6 11.0-0 Qa5 12.h3 Qa6 13.e4 Rd8 14.Qe1 Nb4 15.Ng5 e6 16.Rd1 Rxd1 17.Qxd1

White is better, with an advantage in space and better coordination. Nevertheless, Black is quite solid here, and beginning a regrouping with 17...Nc6 or 17...Qa5 will allow him to keep fighting.

He decided to attack instead:

17...Nd3

Black’s last move is a calculation mistake. Why?

18.Bc2!

Winning. After 18...Nxf4 19.Qd8+ Bf8 20.Qxf6 White will give checkmate on f7. Thus the threat of 18...Nxf4 after 17...Nd3 was not a real one, and after 18.Bc2 Black loses a piece.

Changing the move order

When you are calculating variations and you are not satisfied with the resulting position, it makes sense to try to change

the order of your moves.

Cebalo,MisoCampora,DanielBern 1988 (1)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nh4 Nbd7 10.f3 Bg6 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.e4 e5 13.Be3 Qb6 14.Kh1 a5 15.f4 exd4 16.Bxd4 Bc5 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.e5 Qxb2 19.Rc1 Rad8 20.Qf3 Nd5 21.Nxd5 cxd5 22.Bxd5 Qd4 23.Rcd1 Qe3 24.Qxe3 Bxe3

Here White would like to play e5-e6, and if Black takes, Bxe6+, with mate threats. The problem with this variation is that after Bxe6 White has no rook lift, because he is himself threatened with a back-rank mate. Hence the idea of preparing the mate by a preliminary rook lift:

25.Rf3! Bc5 26.e6

And in order to survive, Black has to give up material.

26...Rxd5

26...g5!? was another defensive try. After 27.exf7+ Kh7 28.Rh3+ (28.f5 g4!) 28...Kg6 29.Rg3 White has a winning advantage.

27.Rxd5

And White duly won.

Zugzwang

Zugwang is a classical case where we have to change the ‘normal’ move order.

Ilyin-Zhenevsky,AlexanderBotvinnik,MikhailLeningrad ch-city 1938

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.d3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.Nf1 Bf8 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 Nc6 15.Ne3 Be7 16.d4 cxd4 17.cxd4 Nh7 18.Bg3 Ng5 19.dxe5 Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 dxe5 21.Bb3 Be6 22.Bxe6 fxe6 23.Red1 Qb6 24.Qh5 Bg5 25.Ng4 Qc7 26.Rd3 Kh7 27.Rad1 Red8 28.Nxe5 Nxe5 29.Bxe5 Qb7 30.Qg4 Rxd3 31.Rxd3 Rd8 32.Rxd8 Bxd8 33.h4 Qf7 34.f4 Bf6 35.Bxf6 Qxf6 36.e5 Qd8 37.Kh2 Qd5 38.a3 Kg8 39.h5 a5 40.Kh3 Qb3+ 41.Kh4 Kf8 42.Qe2 b4 43.axb4 Qxb4 44.Kg4 Qb3 45.Qd2 Qb7 46.Kg3 Qb3+ 47.Kh2 Qc4 48.Kg3 Qb3+ 49.Kh2 Qc4 50.Kh3 Qb3+ 51.Kh2 Qc4 52.Kg1 Ke8 53.Kh2 a4 54.Qf2 Qc1 55.Qd4 Qc2 56.Kg3 Qb3+ 57.Kh2 a3 58.bxa3 Qxa3 59.Qc4 Qe7 60.Kh3 Qd7 61.f5 Ke7 62.Qg4 Qd3+ 63.Kh2 Qxf5 64.Qxf5 exf5 65.Kg3 Kf7

The best square for the king is f4, where it attacks the f5-pawn and defends its own pawn on e5. But before moving to the ‘right’ square, we have to calculate and find the opponent’s next move.

66.Kf4

This was played in the game. 66.Kf3! was the winning move, in order to come to f4 just when Black’s king goes to e6 or g6, so that he will be in zugzwang: 66...g5 (or 66...Ke7 67.Kf4 Ke6:

For Black, the good square is e6, from where the king fulfills the same duties as White’s king on f4 – attacking and defending, which is why f4 and e6 are called ‘mined’ squares. But here White has the key waiting move 68.g3!) 67.hxg6+ Kxg6 68.Kf4 h5 69.g3+– (69.e6+– is also winning).

66...g6! ½-½

If 67.hxg6+ Kxg6=.

Leko,PeterKasparov,GarryBled ol 2002 (9.1)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Nbd7 9.g4 b5 10.g5 b4 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Bf5 13.Bd3 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Be7 15.h4 0-0 16.0-0-0 a5 17.Nd2 a4 18.Kb1 f5 19.f4 Qc7 20.Nc4 exf4 21.Bd4 Nc5 22.Bxc5 Qxc5 23.Rhf1 Rfe8 24.Rxf4 g6 25.Qd4 Qxd4 26.Rfxd4 h6 27.Rg1 a3 28.bxa3 bxa3 29.c3 hxg5 30.hxg5 Bf8 31.Kc2 Bg7 32.Rd3 Re4 33.Nxd6 Re2+ 34.Rd2 Rxd2+ 35.Kxd2 Rd8 36.Nc4 Rxd5+ 37.Kc2 Rc5 38.Kd3 Rd5+ 39.Kc2 Bf8 40.Re1 f4 41.Re5 Rd7 42.Re4 Rf7 43.Ne5 Rf5 44.Nf3 Rb5 45.Kd3 Rb2 46.Re2 Bg7 47.c4 Kf7? 48.c5 Rxe2 49.Kxe2 Ke6 50.Nh4 Bf8? 51.c6 Be7 52.Nxg6 Bxg5

In this position, we must notice that Black is very close to drawing: he just needs to take the c6-pawn. There are two motifs here that are based on unprotected pieces:

- the bishop is unprotected on g5, and can be attacked from e6 or f7;

- the king has to stop the c-pawn at some point, and is a possible subject to a double attack if it goes to d6 (fork on f7) or c7 (fork on e6).

How do you exploit this situation?

53.c7

is the first obvious try.

53...Kd7 54.Nf8+

54...Kxc7 55.Ne6+ 1-0

This is the obvious calculation, but now we have to check the moves, in order to see if each of them is really forced. And now we see that on the knight check on f8, Black can draw with 54...Kc8!.

Second try

Leko saw this, and in order to threaten 54.c7, he played

53.Ne5

Now 53...Kd6 is impossible because of the fork on f7, and taking the knight is out of the question because of c6-c7.

White’s control of the d7-square keeps the black king from catching the passed pawn.

Alas for White, Black has another resource:

53...Bd8!

And this enabled him to achieve a draw in the game.

The right move order

53.Nf8+! Kd6

Forced. Now White has control of the d7-square, so that on

54.c7 Kxc7

is forced, but it allows a decisive fork:

55.Ne6+

And after collecting the bishop, and the black pawns, White wins easily.

Don’t stop calculating too soon!

This tip is explained in various works by Mark Dvoretsky (see Bibliography).

When we are calculating a variation, we must continue to calculate – even if the verdict seems obvious – as far as there is still an active possibility for either player. Only when there are no more active moves can we stop, and assess the result of our calculation. Most of the time, this will force us to go half a move deeper than we originally intended to calculate – but this half-move can save us many full points !

Hou QiangYang Kaiqi

Pattaya 2011 (6.7)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Be7 7.c4 d6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.Be3 0-0 11.a4 Qc7 12.a5 Re8 13.Na4 Nc5 14.e5 Nxa4 15.exf6 Nxb2 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.fxg7 Kxg7 19.Bh6+ Kh7 20.Bc1+ Kg7 21.Qh6+ Kg8 22.Bxb2 e5 23.f4 Bf8 24.Qg5+ Bg7 25.f5 f6 26.Qg4 Bd7 27.Rf3 Rac8 28.Rg3 Re7 29.Rc1 b6 30.h4 bxa5 31.h5 a4 32.h6 axb3 33.Qh4 Bc6 34.Qxf6 Rf8 35.Qg6 Kh8 36.hxg7+ Rxg7 37.Qh6+ Kg8 38.Rcc3 Rxf5 39.Qe6+ Qf7 40.Rxg7+ Kxg7 41.Rg3+ Kh7 42.Qxd6

42...Rf1+

This was rejected by Black because of the variation given below. The game went 42...Bxg2 43.Qd3 e4 44.Qd2 (44.Qd4+–) 44...Bf3 45.Qd8 Qf8 46.Qd7+ Rf7 47.Qh3+? (47.Rh3+!+–) 47...Qh6–+ 48.Qxh6+ Kxh6 49.Kf2 Rc7 50.Ke3 Rxc4 51.Kf4 Rc6 52.Kf5 Rc5+ 53.Kf6 Kh5 54.Bd4 Rb5 55.Bf2 Bg4 56.Rg2 Rf5+ 57.Kg7 Bh3 58.Rh2 Kg4 59.Bd4 Rd5 60.Bc3 Rc5 61.Bd4 Rd5 62.Bc3 Rd3 63.Be1 e3 64.Kf6 Rd1 65.Bc3 Bf1 66.Rb2 Bc4 0-1.

43.Kh2 Qh5+ 44.Rh3

Winning the queen – or so it seems. Here Black has to calculate one move deeper, because he has an active possibility: a check! Even when they look fancy, you have to check all the checks.

44...Rh1+! 45.Kxh1

Or 45.Kg3 Rxh3+ 46.gxh3 Qf3+ 47.Kh4 (47.Kh2 Qg2#) 47...Qf4+ 48.Kh5 Be8+.

45...Qxh3+ 46.Kg1 Qxg2# 0-1

Romanko,MarinaDworakowska,JoannaGaziantep Ech 2012 (11)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 c5 6.0-0 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nc6 8.Nc3 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d6 10.Qd3 Rb8 11.e4 Ng4 12.Bd2 Bd7 13.Rab1 a6 14.a4 f5 15.b3 Ne5 16.Qe2 e6 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Bf4 Ng6

Black attacks the c3-knight. The first move that we should calculate here is:

19.Bxd6

Black replies

19...Bxc3

and after

20.Bxb8 Qxb8

she has won some material (bishop and knight against rook and pawn).

Do we stop the calculation here? White has neither checks (except for 21.Qxe6+, which we don’t have to consider for long) nor captures. Does she have active moves?

If we are able to visualize the position – that means that we see where the pieces actually are after the two moves that we played since our diagram – we will be able to spot that White has a very active move, one that wins a piece by simultaneously attacking the two unprotected bishops:

21.Qd3!+–

and White won the bishop back, and later on the game.

Show in Quiz Mode

Chapter 17Test: Is There A Combination?

This test will challenge your intuition and your ability to calculate. You are given six positions to solve. In some of them, there is a possible combination. In others, there is no combination to be found. There are 12 points to be gained, the time allowed is one hour.

First you look at the diagrams for a maximum time of two minutes each, and you have to decide which of them allow a combinative solution. every diagram is worth one point (6 points maximum). Then (for 6 points) you have to find the best moves, and every solution is also worth one point if there is a combination, or a best move. When there is nothing special to be found, you get one point if you play a ‘normal’ (i.e. correct) move.

ITAC 1NNNN1949

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 1

A half-move earlier, White had faced the following choice.

White to move

What is the best way to achieve a win? White can exchange queens, with a rook ending two pawns up, or play the rook to c7, in order to win the queen or give a quick checkmate beginning with Rxg7+. What is your choice?

1.Rc7?

This move was played in the game, in which Black, not White, achieved a win!

1.Qxd7 Rxd7 2.Kf1 was an easy win, there are neither tricks nor drawing chances here.

The two weaknesses in White’s position are the alignment between the white queen and the white rook, and the possibility of a back-rank mate. So yes, there is a forced win, if the second player uses the elegant theme of a crosspin:

1...Rc5!!

If White takes the rook, he is mated or loses his queen; if he does not, he loses the rook.

ITAC 2Nunn,JohnCsom,IstvanMoscow Ech-tt 1977 (3)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.0-0 a6 9.a4 Be7 10.a5 Qc7 11.Be2 Bd7 12.Be3 Nb4 13.f4 0-0 14.Bf3 e5 15.Rf2 exf4 16.Bxf4 Rad8 17.Rd2 Bc8 18.g4 Be6 19.g5 Nd7 20.Ra4 Nc6 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.exd5 Nce5 23.Be4 Rfe8

White to move

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Solution 2

Here Nunn, a renowned attacking player, delivered what he thought was a crushing blow:

24.Bxh7+

There was no combination, so a cool regrouping move like 24.Qf1 should have been preferred, when the position is unclear. Mark one point if you have chosen a quiet (and not losing!) move here. White’s more active piece position is compensated for by the weaknesses of the pawn structure and his ‘airy’ king.

24...Kxh7 25.Qh5+ Kg8 26.Bxe5

‘I was all ready to finish my brilliancy with such lines as 26...dxe5 27.Rh4 Bc5+ 28.Nxc5 Qxc5+ 29.Kf1 Kf8 30.d6 f5 31.Qg6 Kg8 32.Qh7+ Kf7 33.Qxf5+ Kg8 34.Qh7+ Kf7 35.Rf2+ Ke6 36.Qg6+ Kd5 37.Rd2+ Kc6 38.Qe4+ Kb5 39.Qa4#’, Nunn writes in his Chess Puzzle Book, ‘but...’

26...Nxe5 27.Rh4

27...Nf3+

This spoils the whole concept. We call such moves ‘spoilers’; they are very difficult to detect, especially if you are an optimistic player. This kind of move is also a useful tool for trainers, in order to force young and gifted talents to check their calculation, before claiming after 15 seconds’ thought ‘Oh yes, of course, Bxh7 is completely winning!’.

On 27...f6, 28.g6 wins for White.

28.Qxf3 Bxg5

‘Black wins the exchange for nothing’ – Nunn.

29.Rg4 Bxd2 30.Qf6 Bh6 31.Qxh6 Re1+ 0-1

32.Kf2 Qxc2+! and now 33.Kxe1 Re8+ 34.Kf1 Qe2+ or 33.Nd2 Qf5+.

ITAC 3Wang HaoManik,MikulasSarajevo 2010 (4)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 d5 11.d4 dxe4 12.Nxe5 c5 13.Bf4 cxd4 14.cxd4 Bb7 15.Nc3 Rc8 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Rxe4 Qd5 19.Qf3 Rc2

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 3

Black’s last move, 19...Rc2?!, is a clear mistake, exposing the rook without necessity. Black has no chance to build an attack with this lone rook. White is better in any case, thanks to his nice piece concentration in the centre, but 19...Bd6 or 19...f6 was more cautious and would have allowed Black some hopes of holding the game.

Many weaknesses are visible in Black’s position:

- the c2-rook is unprotected, and deeply penetrated in the white camp on a sensitive square.

- two alignments look interesting for White: the rook on e4 virtually attacks the e7-bishop through the white knight on e5. And the same e4-rook, the pivotal piece in the position, is the only defence for the unprotected black queen against White’s queen on f3.

Obviously White is much better and all these ‘hints’ give him so many chances that a winning move is available.

This is a significant example of a little-known principle: there’s no correlation between the fact that a position is ‘completely winning’ and the degree of difficulty to solve it. True, the position is completely winning for White, and the reader can quite easily see why. White’s forces are more active, more secure, more harmonious, and Black has several weaknesses. Nevertheless the winning combination is quite hard to spot, in spite of the numerous existing motifs.

White won in style with

20.Bh6!!

A slow but very purposeful move that prepares a discovered attack. The threat is 21.Bxg7, and if 21...Kxg7, then 22.Rg4+ wins the queen. There are many tries, but there is no defence.

On 20.Ng4, 20...f5! more or less holds.

20...Rd8

This move was played in the game, with the simple idea of protecting the queen. This is not enough to stop White’s fury.

A) On 20...gxh6? 21.Rg4+ wins immediately;

B) 20...Qd8 fails to the wild 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Rg4+ Kh8 (22...Kh6 23.h4! (the best move, threatening Qf4 and mate. 23.Nxf7+ Rxf7 24.Qxf7 also wins, of course) 23...Bxh4 24.Qh3 winning the bishop, the queen and the game) and now:

23.Qxf7! Rg8 24.Qf6+!;

C) 20...Qe6 is strongly met by 21.Ng4 and now:

C1) 21...Qc6!? with the clever idea 22.Rxe7 Qxf3 23.gxf3 gxh6; instead 22.d5! is a winner: 22...Qxd5 23.Ne3! or 22...Qd7 23.Bxg7 Kxg7 24.Ne3+–;

C2) After 21...Qd7 simplest is 22.Bxg7 (22.Rae1 is completely crushing, of course, and even superior) 22...Kxg7 23.Ne3! (this in-between move replaces the knight with tempo, in the direction of f5) 23...Rc6 (or 23...f5 24.Rxe7+ Qxe7 25.Nxc2+–) 24.Rxe7! Qxe7 25.Nf5+.

21.Bxg7! Kxg7 22.Rg4+ Kf8

Not 22...Kh8 because of 23.Qxd5 Rxd5 24.Nxf7#.

Now White is able to exploit the first motif, the lack of protection of the c2-rook, with a double attack:

23.Qd3!

Attacking the rook and the h7-pawn, while keeping an eye on the e2-square. 23.Qf5, which was played in the game, is slightly less accurate.

At this point Black resigned, though there was still a defensive try in 23...Re2!. We will understand the importance of this defence later: 24.Qxh7 Bf6 and now:

A) 25.Rg8+ Ke7 26.Ng6+ Kd6.

Here the win is achieved thanks to another motif, the forking distance between queen and rook: 27.Rxd8+ (27.Nf4 Qe4 28.Qxf7 Rxg8 29.Qxf6+ Kc7 30.Qf7+ Kc6 is not so clear, even after 31.d5+ Kb6 32.d6) 27...Bxd8 28.Nf4 Qe4

29.Qh6+ Kd7 30.Nxe2 Qxe2 31.Qxa6 Qxb2 32.Re1+– and the rook and three pawns are much stronger than the bishop and knight;

B) 25.Rc1!. This cool computer move, intending to penetrate via c7, is the strongest. Black has no defence. 25...Nc4 is the obvious try, trying to block the c-file while centralizing the awkward a5-knight. Nevertheless, the combination of these two moves is in White’s favour, in one variation only... Here a computerish solution is available, thanks to a kind of domination/ deflection of the black queen: 26.Rg8+! Ke7 27.Ng6+ Kd6 28.Nf4!. Now f7 cannot be protected. Of course, this is very difficult to spot from a human point of view, which is why I prefer the more logical main variation (line A).

28...Qe4 29.Qxf7 and now:

B1) 29...Re1+ 30.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 31.Kh2 Rxg8 32.Qxf6+ Kd7 33.Qf7+ Qe7 34.Qxg8 and wins;

B2) Here is the variation in question: 29...Rxg8 30.Qxf6+ Kc7 31.Qf7+ Kc6 (31...Kb6 is worse: 32.Nd5+ Kc6 33.Qc7+ Kxd5

34.Qd7+ Nd6 35.Rc5+ Kxd4 36.Qxd6+ Qd5 37.Qxd5#) 32.Qxg8 Qxf4

33.Rxc4++–.

23...Rcc8

The best possible defence is 23...Re2, but even here, the concrete 24.Qxe2 is overwhelming.

24.Qxh7 Bf6

Now the e-file is available, so:

25.Re1! 1-0

ITAC 4AndreevDolukhanovLeningrad 1935

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 4

Here the best move is a quiet one.

1...Qc5!

A famous, but wrong combination starts with 1...Rxh2!? (who could resist the temptation?) 2.Rxh2 Qxa3 3.bxa3 Bxa3+ 4.Kb1 Nc3+ 5.Ka1

5...Bb2+ 6.Kxb2 Nxd1+. The combination usually stops here. You get one consolation point if you spotted this sequence, but 2 points if you played 1...Qc5. Nunn, in his puzzle book, claimed that the position is not clear after 7.Ka2 Nxe3 8.fxg5 and White should hold the draw with best play.

1...Qc5! 2.Qxc5 Bxc5 3.Bxe4™

3.fxg5 Be3+ 4.Kb1 Nf2–+.

3...Be3+ 4.Kb1 Rxd1+ 5.Rxd1 fxe4 6.Bg1 Bxg1 7.Rxg1 gxf4–+

ITAC 5Sokolov,AndreyKarpov,AnatolyLinares (m/11) 1987

1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.cxd5 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nxd5 6.Nf3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 g6 8.h4 Bg7 9.h5 Nc6 10.Rb1 Qc7 11.Ba3 Bf5 12.Rb5 a6 13.Rc5

Black to move

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Solution 5

The situation looks awkward for White: The c5-rook could easily be trapped, the a3-bishop is unprotected, and his king is still in the centre, which means that Black will have a check available.

Nevertheless, there is no forced win here (at least according to my 2012 computer, assisted by Houdini 1.5), partly because Black also needs a developing move, like castling, in order to have everything in order. Still, as the rest of the game shows, White has a long-term problem with his advanced rook, which he was not able to solve in the game.

13...Qd7 14.Qb3 0-0 15.hxg6 hxg6 16.Bc4

16.Be2∞.

16...Bf6 17.d4 b5 18.Bd5 Na5 19.Qd1 Nb7 20.Ne5 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Nxc5 22.Qd4 Nd3+ 23.Kf1 Qa7 24.Bxe7 Qxd4 25.cxd4 Nf4 0-1

Mark one point if you have spotted that there was no combination, and one more point if you decided to play a quiet move, like Karpov.

ITAC 6Matlakov,MaximKhismatullin,DenisSochi tt 2012 (4)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 Nc6 6.Nc3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 8.Rc1 0-0 9.Bg2 d6 10.d5 Nxc3 11.Rxc3 Nd8 12.0-0 e5 13.Nd2 b6 14.f4 exf4 15.gxf4 Nb7 16.f5 Nc5 17.f6 gxf6 18.b4 Nd7 19.Ne4 f5 20.Rxf5 f6 21.Qf1 a5 22.c5 axb4 23.cxd6 cxd6 24.Re3 Kg7 25.Qf4 Ne5 26.Rg3+ Ng6 27.Rh5 Kg8

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 6

28.Qh4!

This wins by force, at least threatening Rxg6+ followed by Rh8+ and Rh7+, winning the queen. The right motif here is that the defence (i.e. Black’s other pieces) is too far away, and the relevant theme is elimination of the defender (i.e. the knight on g6).

28.Nxd6 was the game continuation, which led to an unclear position (according to the same computer!): 28...Rxa2 29.Be4 f5 30.Nxf5 Bxf5 31.Bxf5 Qxe2 32.Rxg6+ hxg6 33.Rh8+ Kg7 34.Qh6+ Kf6 35.Rxf8+ Ke7 36.Qg7+ Kd6 37.Rf6+ Kc5 38.Qc7+ Kd4 39.Qf4+ Kc5 40.Qc7+ Kd4 41.Qf4+ Kc3 42.Qg3+ Kd4 43.Bh3 Rd2 44.d6 Qe3+ 45.Qxe3+ Kxe3 46.d7 b5 47.Rf8 b3 48.Re8+ Kf3 49.d8=Q.

28...Qg7

The only defensive try. But now White has the devastating

29.Rxh7! Qxh7 30.Nxf6+ Rxf6 31.Qxf6+– Bf5 32.Qxf5 Kg7 33.Be4+– 1-0

Show in Quiz Mode

Part IV – Final Test

1. Alignment *Djurhuus,RuneKvisvik,BredeOslo 2011 (2)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 c6 10.a4 a5 11.bxa5 Qxa5 12.Ra3 Ne8 13.Be3 f5 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.c5 fxe4 16.cxd6 Nd5 17.Bc4 Nxd6 18.Ba2 exf3 19.Nxd5 cxd5 20.Bxd5+ Kh8 21.Bxa8 Nc4 22.Bxf3 Nxa3 23.Qb3 Ba6 24.Qxa3 Bxf1 25.Kxf1 Rb8 26.g3 Rb4 27.Qc1 Qa6+ 28.Be2 Qb7 29.Bb5

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 1

29...Rb1! 0-1

SIGNAL: Alignment. The king and the queen are on the same file

THEME: Skewer. First we attract (decoy) the queen to an unprotected square by sacrificing the rook (and thanks to the same alignment, the queen has to take), then the skewer wins the queen. On 30.Qxb1 Qh1+ 31.Ke2 Qxb1 wins.

2. Epaulettes *Guseinov,KadirRijnaarts,StefRogaska Slatina tt 2011 (2)

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 d6 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.0-0 Be7 9.Nb3 a6 10.f4 h5 11.h3 Rc8 12.Qe2 Qc7 13.Be3 Na5 14.Rae1 Nc4 15.Bc1 e5 16.Kh1 Qb6 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Bg4 19.Qd3 h4 20.Be3 Nxe3 21.Rxe3 hxg3 22.Rxg3 Bd7 23.fxe5 dxe5 24.Rxg7 f5 25.Rxf5 Bxf5 26.Qxf5 Rc7 27.Qxe5 Rf8 28.Nd4 Qh6 29.Ne6 Qc1+ 30.Kh2 Rd7 31.Qb8+ Bd8

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 2

32.Qxd8+! Rxd8 33.Nc7# 0-1

SIGNAL: King position. Black’s king is surrounded by enemy pieces, but also blocked by its own men.

THEME: Decoy. We also have to foresee the ‘epaulettes mate’. The two rooks are the epaulettes – shoulder-straps – that keep the king from escaping.

3. Damiano’s pawn *McMorrow,JohnBenson,OisinBunratty 2012 (4)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Nbd7 9.Qd2 b5 10.Be2 Nb6 11.Na5

Qc7 12.Rd1 Nc4 13.Nxc4 bxc4 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Be7 16.Qb4 Rc8 17.Qa4+ Nd7 18.Qxa6 0-0 19.c3 f5 20.0-0 f4 21.Bf2 g5 22.h3 Rf7 23.Rfe1 h5 24.Bf1 Rg7 25.Kh1 Nf6 26.Bb6 Qd7 27.Bxc4 Rxc4 28.Qxc4 g4 29.Qf1 gxh3 30.gxh3 Rg3 31.Kh2 e4 32.Rxe4 Nxe4 33.fxe4 Bh4 34.Bf2 Rf3 35.Qg2+ Bg3+ 36.Bxg3 fxg3+ 37.Kg1 Qa7+ 38.Rd4 Qf7 39.h4 Qf4 40.Qe2 Rf2 41.e5 Qf5 42.Qd3

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 3

42...Rg2+! 0-1

SIGNAL: King position.

THEME: Square clearance – we sacrifice a rook in order to let the queen occupy its square. This is a kind of ‘Damiano’s Mate’. On 43.Kxg2 (43.Kh1 Qh3#) 43...Qf2+ 44.Kh3 (44.Kh1 leads to the same) 44...Qh2#.

4. Defender *Zhao XueDanielian,ElinaShenzhen 2011 (10)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Bg6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.e3 e6 11.Bxc4 Bb4 12.Qf3 Nbd7 13.Bd2 a5 14.g5 Nd5 15.h4 Qe7 16.Bb3 N5b6 17.0-0-0 0-0-0 18.Na2 Bxd2+ 19.Rxd2 Kb8 20.Kb1 Ka8 21.e4 e5 22.Qc3 exd4 23.Rxd4 Nc5 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Qxa5+ Kb8 26.Re1 Nxb3 27.Qxb6

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 4

27...Rd1+! 28.Kc2

28.Rxd1 leads to mate after 28...Qxe4+.

28...Rxe1

Black is winning, and duly won.

SIGNAL: Crucial defender, King position. The knights take away many squares from the king, which makes the diagonal b1-h7 important.

THEME: Deflection. We try to get rid of the defender rook, which prevents checkmate with ...Qxe4.

5. Two weaknesses *Navara,DavidGoodger,MartynReykjavik 2012 (1)

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 d6 7.Bb2 Qe8 8.c4 Na6 9.Qc2 Rb8 10.Nbd2 b5 11.a3 c6 12.Rac1 Bd7 13.Ne1 Qf7 14.Nd3 Rfc8 15.Rfe1 Nc7 16.Nb4 Nce8 17.cxb5 cxb5 18.Qd3 Rb6 19.Rxc8 Bxc8 20.Rc1 Qe6 21.Nc6 Ba6 22.d5 Qd7 23.Bd4 b4 24.Nc4 Bxc4 25.bxc4 Rb7 26.axb4 Bh6 27.Ra1 f4 28.Bxa7 Qg4 29.Bd4 fxg3 30.hxg3 Rd7 31.Ra8 Kf7 32.Nd8+ Kf8 33.Bf3 Qh3 34.Ne6+ Kf7 35.Bxf6 Nxf6

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 5

36.Rf8+! Bxf8 37.Ng5+ 1-0

SIGNAL: Overloaded defender, knight fork distance.

THEME: Deflection. The black bishop is unable to cover the double threat of mate on f8 and a fork on g5. After 37...Kg8 38.Nxh3 White is winning.

6. Stalemated queen **Dukaczewski,PiotrZiska,Helgi DamReykjavik 2012 (6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.Nc3 Rc8 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 e5 10.Qd3 g5 11.Bg3 Nf6 12.Nd2 b5 13.a3 Qb6 14.f3 Be7 15.Bf2 Qb7 16.0-0 0-0 17.Rfe1 Nh5 18.Nd5 Be6 19.Nxe7+ Qxe7 20.Nf1 Rfd8 21.Ne3 Nf4 22.Qf1

Black to move

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Solution 6

22...Rxc2! 23.Nxc2

23.Rab1 Rdc8 gives Black a dominating position, with a pawn up.

23...Bc4 24.Bb6

The best defence.

24...Bxf1 25.Bxd8 Qxd8 26.Kxf1 d5

Black has won a pawn, and is much better because White’s pieces lack coordination.

SIGNAL: Trapped piece, overloaded defender. We have to check when a piece has no available squares. Is there a way to attack it?

THEME: Deflection. The knight has to defend c2 and c4, and it cannot do so simultaneously.

7. An impossible escape **Dunn,AndrewGunnarsson,Jan ViktorReykjavik 2012 (6)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 Nbd7 4.Nc3 e5 5.g3 c6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.e4 0-0 8.0-0 a6 9.a4 a5 10.h3 Re8 11.Be3 exd4 12.Nxd4 Nc5 13.Qc2 Bf8 14.Rad1 Qb6 15.Rfe1 g6 16.Kh2 Bd7 17.f4 Bg7 18.Nf3 Qb4 19.Nd2 Re7 20.Bf2 Rae8 21.Re2 Nh5 22.e5 Bf5 23.Nde4 Nxe4 24.Bxe4 Be6 25.exd6 Rd7 26.Bf3 Nf6

White to move

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Solution 7

27.Rxe6 fxe6 28.Na2 Qxb2 29.Qxb2 Ng4+ 30.Bxg4 Bxb2 1-0

White is a piece up, with a strong passed pawn.

SIGNAL: Crucial defender, Trapped piece. The queen would be trapped if the black bishop on e6 didn’t control c4.

THEME: Elimination of the defender. We take the bishop, and then the queen has no more squares when we attack it.

8. Weak point **Steingrimsson,HedinnPerez,RaulReykjavik 2012 (3)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Nbd7 6.0-0 Bd6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 h6 11.Bc2 b6 12.Qd3 f5 13.Re1 Qf6

White to move

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Solution 8

14.c5! bxc5

14...Bc7 15.Rxe6 Qd8 16.Rxc6 is a disaster.

15.Rxe6! Qxe6

On 15...Qd8 16.Rxd6 wins.

16.Bb3

And White won quickly.

SIGNAL: Alignment and Unprotected piece. The weakness on e6 is positional (a weak pawn), so we should be ready to attack it. But the direct capture on e6 attacks two pieces, and opens a diagonal leading to the king. Once we are able to notice this, we can find the preparatory move, and also the follow-up.

THEME: Line clearance (by c4-c5, with a gain of tempo on the bishop), double attack (on the bishop and the queen), pin (on the queen that takes e6).

9. Legal **Espinosa,JMoreno,JavierBogota 2011 (3)

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4 h6 5.0-0 Qf6 6.Nc3 Bg4 7.Nd5 Qd8 8.c3 Nge7 9.fxe5 Nxe5

White to move

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Solution 9

10.Nxe5! f5

10...Bxd1 11.Nf6+ gxf6 12.Bxf7#.

11.Nf6+ 1-0

Of course, the position is an easy one if you are able to spot the typical mating pattern, from Sire Kermur de Legal, Philidor’s teacher. ‘When the weather is too cold, or too rainy, I take refuge in the Café de la Régence; there I enjoy looking at the chess games. Paris is the place in the world – and the Café de la Regence is the place in Paris – where chess is best played. It’s at Rey’s1 that are fighting Legal the deep, Philidor the subtle, Mayot the solid. There you can see the most surprising moves, and there you can hear the worst talking. Because if one can be clever-minded and a great chess player, like Legal, one can also be a great chess player, and stupid, like Foubert or Mayot alike’ (from Diderot, Le neveu de Rameau, written between 1762 and 1773, my translation).

SIGNAL: King position, Unprotected piece.

THEME: Legal’s Mate, discovered attack.

10. Mini mate **Fedorov,AlexeyCosma,IoanEforie Nord 2011 (5)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nb5 Qb8 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.f4 d6 8.0-0 g6 9.Nd2 Bg7 10.Nf3 0-0 11.Qe1

Bg4 12.Qh4 Bxf3 13.Rxf3 Qc8 14.Bd2 Qg4 15.Qe1 Qd7 16.Kh1 a6 17.Nc3 e6 18.Qh4 Qd8 19.Rh3 Nh5 20.Qf2 Nf6 21.a4 Nb4 22.Rf1 Nxd3 23.cxd3 d5 24.f5 dxe4 25.dxe4 Ng4 26.Qe2 h5 27.Bf4 exf5 28.exf5 Re8 29.Qc2 Qb6 30.Rhf3 Rad8 31.h3 Ne5 32.Re3 Qc6 33.Bg5 Rc8 34.Qf2 gxf5 35.Qxf5 Qg6 36.Nd5 Qxf5 37.Rxf5 Nc6

White to move

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Solution 10

38.Nf6+!+– Bxf6 39.Bxf6 Rxe3

39...Re6 was the only chance for survival. After the forced sequence 40.Rg3+ Kf8 41.Rxh5 Rxf6 Black rescues his king, but not the game. White wins easily after 42.Rh8+ Ke7 43.Rxc8.

40.Rxh5 1-0

Checkmate on h8 cannot be avoided.

SIGNAL: Knight fork distance + King position.

THEME: Mate with rook and bishop.

11. A weak defender **Gordon,StephenAdams,MichaelCanterbury ch-GBR 2010 (7)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bd6 6.Bg2 c6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Rd1 Qe7 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.Nbd2 e5 13.dxe5 Bxe5 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.Nc4 Qf6 17.e4 Nb6 18.Ne3 Be6 19.f4 Rad8 20.f5 Bc8 21.Ng4 Qe7 22.f6 gxf6 23.Nxh6+ Kg7 24.Nf5+ Bxf5 25.exf5 Rfe8 26.Rxd8 Rxd8 27.Rf1 Rd4 28.b3 Nd7

29.Rd1

Black to move

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Solution 11

29...Qc5 0-1

30.Qxc5 (30.Rxd4 Qxc2 31.Rxd7 Qc5+ 32.Kf1 Qxf5+ 33.Ke2 Qxd7) 30...Rxd1+ 31.Bf1 Nxc5.

SIGNAL: Unprotected pieces /Alignment.

THEME: Deflection, Discovered attack.

12. Knightmare **Karlovich,AnastasiaBezkorovaina,MarijaKharkiv 2012 (3)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Bd7 6.0-0 g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bg7 9.e5 dxe5 10.dxe5 Nd5 11.Rd1 Nc7 12.a4 0-0 13.Nc3 Qc8 14.h3 a6 15.Bc4 Be6 16.Bf4 Bxc4 17.Qxc4 Qf5 18.Bg3 Rac8 19.Qc5 Rfd8 20.Qb6 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Nxe5 22.Nd4 Qd7 23.Qxb7 Qe8 24.Bxe5 Bxe5 25.Nc6 Bd6

White to move

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Solution 12

26.Rxd6! exd6 27.Qxc8 1-0

SIGNAL: Knight fork distance. When you see such a diagram, you must imagine a fork on e7.

THEME: Decoy (the queen is lured to the c8-square) + elimination of the defender (sacrifice on d6).

13. Lack of space **Kobese,WatuDronavalli,HarikaEkurhuleni 2011 (8)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 Bb7 6.Bd3 0-0 7.0-0 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.Bf5 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Ne4 12.Ne2 g6 13.f3 Ng5 14.Bc2 a5 15.a3 Bc5 16.Rb1 Qe7 17.Kh1 Ba6 18.Re1 Rfd8 19.Nd4 Bb7 20.Ba4 Bxd4 21.exd4 c5 22.b4 axb4 23.axb4 cxd4 24.Bc2 Rdc8 25.Bd3 Ra2 26.Qb3 Rf2 27.Bf4 Ne4 28.Kg1 Qh4 29.Bxe4 Qxf4 30.Kxf2 dxe4 31.Rb2 Qh4+ 32.Kf1 Qxh2 33.fxe4 Rc3 34.Qd1 Bxe4 35.Qg4 Bf5 36.Qg5 h6 37.Qd8+ Kh7 38.Qxd4

Black to move

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Solution 13

38...Rf3+! 39.Ke2

39.gxf3 loses immediately: 39...Bh3+ 40.Rg2 Qxg2#; or 39.Rf2 Bd3+!.

39...Qxg2+ 40.Kd1 Qg3 0-1

SIGNAL: Crucial defender (here the g2-pawn is the only defence against ...Bh3 checkmate).

THEME: Deflection.

40...Qg3 threatens 41...Rd3+. White has no defence against the three black pieces, coordinated against the enemy king: 41.Rd2 Rb3; or 41.Qc4 Rd3+ 42.Rd2 Qf3+ 43.Re2 Qf1+ 44.Re1 Rxd2+ 45.Kxd2 Qxc4.

14. Hanging pieces **Levitina,IrinaKushnir,AllaDortmund 1977 (9)

1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nd7 5.0-0 e5 6.fxe5 Nxe5 7.Nxe5 Bxe5 8.c4 dxc4 9.Na3 Ne7 10.Kh1 0-0 11.Nxc4 Bg7 12.d3 c6 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bf4 Nd5 15.Bd2 Bg4 16.Ne3 Nxe3 17.Bxe3 Qd7 18.Qd2 Rfe8 19.Rf2

Black to move

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Solution 14

19...Rxe3! 20.Qxe3 Bd4 21.Qf4 g5 0-1

SIGNAL: Alignment.

THEME: Skewer, Deflection.

15. One woman show **Matlakov,MaximShomoev,AntonKhanty-Mansiysk 2011 (8)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 a5 7.a3 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 c6 9.a4 b5 10.Na3 Bd7 11.Ne5 Nd5 12.e4 Nb4 13.0-0 0-0 14.Rad1 Be8 15.d5 Qd6 16.Ng4 Qc5 17.dxc6 Bxc6 18.axb5 Bxb5 19.Nxb5 Qxb5 20.e5 N8c6 21.Qg5 Ra7 22.h4 Nd3 23.Be4 Kh8 24.b3 Qc5 25.bxc4 Ndxe5? 26.Nxe5 Nxe5

White to move

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Solution 15

27.Rd8!+– f6

27...Rc7 28.Rxf8+ Qxf8 29.Qxe5.

28.Qe3! 1-0

SIGNAL: Overloaded defender (the queen simultaneously protects the two rooks and the knight).

THEME: Deflection, Double attack.

16. Attraction **Rozentalis,EduardasLindberg,BengtStockholm 2011/12 (9)

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bc4 d6 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 Nc6 8.0-0 Be7 9.exd6 Qxd6 10.Nc3 0-0 11.Re1 b6 12.Nxd5 exd5 13.Bb5 Bf6 14.Qa4 Bd7 15.Bg5 Bxg5 16.Nxg5 f6 17.Nf3 a6 18.Bxc6 Bxc6 19.Qb3 Bd7 20.Nd2 Be6 21.Re3 Bf7 22.Rc1 Rac8 23.Rec3 Rxc3 24.Qxc3 Re8 25.Nf1 h5 26.Ne3 a5 27.a3 Qf4 28.Qd3 Qe4 29.Qd2 Be6 30.b4 Rc8 31.Re1 Qf4 32.h3 Qc7 33.bxa5 bxa5 34.Qe2 Bf7 35.Nf5 Re8 36.Qd2 Rxe1+ 37.Qxe1 Kf8 38.Ne3 Be6 39.h4 Kf7 40.g3 g6 41.Qd2 Qb6 42.Kg2 g5 43.Qc3 Kg7 44.Kf3 a4 45.Qc5 Qb7 46.Qd6 Kf7 47.Kg2 gxh4 48.gxh4 Qb1 49.Qc7+ Kf8 50.Qc2 Qb8 51.Qxa4 Qf4 52.Qb4+ Kf7 53.a4 Qxh4 54.a5 Bf5

White to move

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Solution 16

55.Qe7+! Kg6 56.Qg7+ 1-0

56...Kxg7 57.Nxf5+ Kf7 58.Nxh4.

SIGNAL: Knight fork distance.

THEME: Decoy.

1 Probably the then owner.

Show in Quiz Mode

17. Undefended knight **Tiviakov,SergeiManolache,MariusEforie Nord 2011 (6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 d6 6.exd6 Bxd6 7.d4 Nc6 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nbd2 a6 11.Nb3 Bd6 12.Re1 h6 13.Bxd5 exd5 14.Be3 Bb8 15.Bc5 Re8 16.Rxe8+ Qxe8 17.Qxd5 Be6 18.Qe4 Bc7 19.Be3 f5 20.Qc2 Qh5 21.Nbd4 Nxd4 22.cxd4 Rc8 23.Qd2 Bd5 24.Ne5 Bd6 25.f3 b5 26.Bf4 Be7 27.Nd3 Qg6 28.Qe2 Bf6 29.Be5 Qe8 30.b3 Be7 31.Re1 Bf8 32.h4 Qd8 33.Qf2 Qa5 34.Kh2 Bf7 35.Nc5 Qd8 36.Qg3 Rc6 37.Nd3 Rc2

White wants to get rid of the annoying rook on c2, and tries to use the fact that the g7-bishop has the duty of protecting against the checkmate on g7. So he deliberately puts the knight en prise:

38.Nb4

A blunder. White forgot just one move for his opponent – a winning one!

38.Nf4².

Black to move

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Solution 17

38...f4!

One of the white attackers of g7 will be deflected, so that Black will be able to take the b4-knight for free.

39.Bxf4

After 39.Qg4 the logical 39...h5! wins, as the white queen is unable to maintain the pressure on g7.

39...Bxb4 40.Bxh6 Qd6 41.Rc1 Qxh6 42.Rxc2 Bd6 0-1

SIGNAL: Unprotected piece.

THEME: Deflection.

18. Disconnection **Uhlmann,WolfgangRodriguez Vargas,OrestesRogaska Slatina tt 2012 (2)

1.c4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Qc2 Nbd7 6.Bd2 b6 7.Nf3 Bb7 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Be7 12.0-0 0-0 13.Ne5 c5 14.Nxd7 Nxd7 15.dxc5 Ne5 16.Nd6 Nxd3 17.Nxb7 Qd5 18.Be3 Ne5 19.Nd6 Qd3 20.Qa4 Qg6 21.Rfd1 bxc5 22.Bxc5 Nd3 23.Qd7 Bf6 24.Nb7 Nxc5 25.Nxc5 Bxb2 26.Rab1 Bf6 27.Qb7 Rfe8 28.Nd7 Be7 29.g3 a5

White to move

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Solution 18

30.Nb8! 1-0

30...Raxb8 31.Qxb8 Rxb8 32.Rxb8+ Bf8 33.Rdd8.

SIGNAL: Piece trapping, King position.

THEME: Line closing.

19. No way out **Rendle,ThomasLuaces Rubio,AlfredoHastings 2011/12 (5)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 a6 8.h3 Nd7 9.Nc3 Nc5 10.Nd5 h6 11.c3 Bd7 12.a5 Ne6 13.d4 Ng5 14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Nxg5 hxg5 16.Qh5 exd4 17.e5 dxe5 18.Bxg5 Qc5 19.Re4 Qxc4

White to move

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Solution 19

20.Bf6!

20.Rh4 f6! wins for Black.

20...gxf6

20...Qd5 21.Qg5 g6 22.Qh6.

21.Rh4 1-0

SIGNAL: Defence too far away (the queen, bishop and knight are no help for their king).

THEME: Line closing (blocking the f-pawn in anticipation of the only defence).

20. Rebounding bishop ***NNNN

Black to move

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Solution 20

1...Bxc4 2.Qxc4 Ne3 3.fxe3 Bxe3+

SIGNAL: Unprotected piece, Knight fork distance.

THEME: Double attack.

Solution 20bGolod,VitaliWerle,JanVlissingen 2000 (3)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.f3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Bd3 c5 13.Ne2 Rc8 14.0-0 Ne4 15.Qe1 Nef6 16.Bf5 Rc7 17.e4 dxe4 18.fxe4 cxd4 19.Nxd4 Rc4

20.Ne6!+– 1-0

20.Rd1 is a good move, preserving White’s edge, but not as decisive as the main line.

20.Ne6! uses two motifs:

the unprotected rook on c4;

the knight fork distance on e6. 20...fxe6 21.Bxe6+ Kh8 22.Bxc4+–.

21. Three weaknesses ***Vooremaa,AndresJustiSoviet Union 1977

White to move

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Solution 21

The unprotected black queen is on the same line as White’s bishop – once again this factor must be considered even if some other men are separating them for the moment. Two points are visibly weak in Black’s camp: the bishop on e6 (protected once, attacked once) and the h7-pawn. Those two points are situated at a knight fork distance. Another, hidden but decisive factor is the lack of protection of the black queen along the semi-open d-file, aligned with the white queen.

1.Bxh7+! Kxh7 2.Ne4 Qb4

The best defence.

3.Ng5+ Kg8 4.Qxb4

4.Qd3 Bf5 5.Qxd5+ Kh8 6.Nf7+ Rxf7 7.Qxf7² is also interesting and gives White chances for a win.

4...Nxb4 5.Nxe6

With advantage to White.

SIGNAL: Unprotected pieces, Knight fork distance.

THEME: Double attack, pin.

22. Back ranks ***Abreu Delgado,AryamPodgaets,MikhailHavana 1999 (3)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.0-0 c5 7.dxc5 Nec6 8.Be3 Nd7 9.c4 dxc4 10.Na3 Bxc5 11.Bxc5 Nxc5 12.Nxc4 0-0 13.Qc1 Nd3 14.Qe3 Ndb4 15.Rad1 Qe7 16.Nd6 Bg6 17.Bc4 Na5 18.b3 Bh5 19.Rd2 a6 20.a3 Nxc4 21.bxc4 Nc6 22.Nd4 Nxd4 23.Qxd4 b5 24.c5 Qc7 25.Rc1 Qc6 26.Qe4 Qxe4 27.Nxe4 Rfc8 28.c6 Rc7 29.Rd7 Rac8

White to move

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Solution 22

30.g4!

30.Rxc7 was played in the game, with a complicated ending, slightly favourable to White, who eventually won.

30...Rxd7

If 30...Bxg4 31.Nd6 Kf8 (31...Rxd7 32.cxd7 Rxc1+ 33.Kg2 and White promotes on d8; 31...Rxc6 32.Rxc6 Rxc6 (allowing the back-rank mate) 33.Rd8#) 32.Nxc8 Rxc8 33.Ra7+–.

31.cxd7 Rxc1+ 32.Kg2 Rd1 33.Nd6! 1-0

SIGNAL: King position (on both sides!).

THEME: Line closing (d-file), Square clearance (g2).

23. Alignments ***Carlsson,PontusIstratescu,AndreiPorto Carras Ech 2011 (1)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nc6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qc2 0-0 10.Nc3 dxe5 11.dxe5 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Qa5 13.Bd2 Bd7 14.Rfe1 Rfd8 15.Rab1 Rab8 16.Qe4 Be8 17.Ng5 g6 18.Qh4 h5 19.Qf4 Rxd2 20.Qxd2 Nxe5 21.Qf4 Bxg5 22.Qxe5 Qxe5 23.Rxe5 Bf4 24.Re4 Bd6 25.Bb5 Kf8 26.Bxe8 Kxe8 27.Kf1 Kd7 28.Rd4 e5 29.Rd5 Ke6 30.Ra5 a6 31.Rb6 Ke7 32.Rd5 Bc7 33.Rb1 Ke6 34.Rbd1 e4 35.a4 Be5 36.Rc5 h4 37.g3 hxg3 38.hxg3 f5 39.Ke2 Bd6 40.Rcd5 Be7 41.Rd7 g5 42.Rc7 Bd6 43.Rh7 Be7 44.a5 b5 45.Rdh1 Bc5 46.R1h6+ Kd5 47.Rd7+ Kc4 48.Rc7 b4

White to move

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Solution 23

49.Rb6 1-0

49...Rg8 50.cxb4+–.

49...Rxb6 50.axb6 Kb5 51.Rxc5+ Kxc5 52.b7.

SIGNAL: Alignment.

THEME: Pin.

24. Double threat ***Cmilyte,VictoriaKosteniuk,AlexandraNalchik 2011 (7)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 0-0 9.g3 c5 10.Bg2 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Nc5 12.Bxb7 Nxb7 13.0-0 Qc7 14.Bf4 d6 15.Nb5 Qc6 16.Rfd1 Rd8 17.Rac1 a6 18.Nd4 Qc7 19.Bg5 Rc8 20.Qe4

Nd7 21.b4 h6 22.Be3 Ne5 23.Bf4 Ng6 24.Be3 Ne5 25.Rc2 Rab8 26.Rdc1 Qe7 27.Bf4 Qf6 28.c5 bxc5 29.bxc5 Ng4 30.Nc6 d5 31.Qa4 Ra8 32.Nb4 a5 33.Nd3 e5 34.Qd7 exf4 35.Qxg4 fxg3 36.hxg3 Rc7 37.Nf4 Qc6 38.Qf5 Rd8 39.Rd2 d4 40.Rb2 g6 41.Qe5 Re8 42.Qxd4 Rd7 43.Qc3 Rc7 44.Nd3 Rec8 45.Qd2 Qd5 46.Rbc2 h5 47.Qe3 Rc6 48.Rc4 Re6 49.Qf3 Qxf3 50.exf3 Rec6 51.Rd4 R6c7 52.Rd5 Kg7 53.f4 Kf6 54.Kg2 Ke6 55.Re5+ Kf6 56.Kf3 Rd8 57.Rc3 Rdc8 58.Ke3 Nd6 59.Kd2 Nb7 60.Rc1 Kg7 61.Rd5 f6 62.Ke3 Kf7 63.Kd4 Nd8 64.Ke3 Rb8 65.Rc3 Nc6 66.Kd2 Ke6 67.Rd6+ Kf5 68.f3 Rb1 69.g4+ hxg4 70.fxg4+ Kxg4 71.Rxf6 Kh5

White to move

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Solution 24

72.Rxc6! Rxc6 73.Ne5 Rb2+

73...Re6 74.Rh3#.

74.Kc1 Rb3 75.Rxb3 Rxc5+ 76.Kd2 Kh6 77.Rb6 Kh7 78.Nxg6 Rc4 79.f5 Ra4 80.Ne5 Rxa3 81.f6 Ra4 82.Rb7+ Kh6 83.Rb8 1-0

SIGNAL: Knight fork distance, King position.

THEME: Double attack.

25. Calculating forced moves ***Galkin,AlexanderAlexeev,EvgenyTaganrog 2011 (7)

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 d4 5.b4 a5 6.Bb2 e5 7.Nxe5 Bxb4 8.Nd3 0-0 9.Nxb4 axb4 10.a3 bxa3 11.Nxa3 c5

12.0-0 Nc6 13.Nb5 Rxa1 14.Qxa1 Bg4 15.Re1 Nb4 16.Qb1 d3 17.exd3 Qxd3 18.Bc3 Qxc4 19.Nd6 Qa6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qe4 Qxd6 22.Qxg4+ Kh8 23.Qf5 Rg8 24.Be4 Rg6

White to move

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Solution 25

25.Qc8+! Rg8 26.Qh3! Rg7

White has an undisputed advantage after 26...Kg7 27.Qxh7+ Kf8 28.Qh6++–.

27.Bxh7! Rxh7

Or 27...Qd8 28.Bf5+ Kg8

29.Bd7!.

28.Re8+ Kg7 29.Qg4+ Kh6 30.Rg8

1-0

Checkmate cannot be avoided.

SIGNAL: Defence too far away.

THEME: Decoy/Deflection.

26. Alternating wings ***Marholev,DimitarRotstein,ArkadijLivigno 2011 (3)

1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Nc3 Nd7 5.Bc4 e6 6.h4 h6 7.a4 Ngf6 8.Qe2 0-0 9.h5 g5 10.Nxg5 d5 11.Bd3 c5 12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.e5 Nfd7 14.Nf3 f6 15.exf6 Qxf6 16.Be3 Nxd3+ 17.Qxd3 Ne5 18.Nxe5 Qxe5 19.0-0-0 Bd7 20.f4 Rxf4 21.Bxf4 Qxf4+ 22.Kb1 Kh8 23.Rdf1 Qg5 24.Rf7 Bc6 25.Rh3 Rg8 26.Rg3 Qxh5 27.Qf1 Qe5 28.Rg6 Be8

White to move

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Solution 26

29.Qh1!

Threatening to take on h6 twice, with checkmate. The direct 29.Qc1 fails to the defence 29...Qh5 or 29...Qh2.

29...h5

On 29...Qe3 White saves the rook with tempo, and is winning. Here are the best (computer) moves: 30.Rf3+– Qd2 31.Rf2 Qe3 32.Re2 Qf4 33.Nxd5! (other moves also win) 33...exd5 34.g3 Qf8 35.Rxe8 Qxe8 36.Rxh6+ Bxh6 37.Qxh6 checkmate.

30.Qc1!! 1-0

SIGNAL: King position.

THEME: Line closing.

27. Pin ***Opl,KlausBodrogi,MihalyBudapest 2012 (6)

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Qa5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 d5 6.e5 dxc3 7.Nxc3 d4 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Nxd4 Ne4

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 27

10.e6!+– fxe6

10...Nxc3 11.exd7+ Nxd7 12.Qd2+–.

10...Bxb5 11.exf7+ Kxf7 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qd5+ Kg7 14.Ne6+ Kf7 15.Ng5+ Ke8 16.Nxe4+–.

11.Qh5+ Kd8

On 11...g6 12.Bxd7+ wins the queen.

12.Nxe6+

If 12.Nb3 Qb4.

12...Bxe6 13.Qe8+ Kc7 14.Bf4+ Nd6 15.Bxd6+ Kxd6

15...exd6 16.Qxe6+–.

16.0-0-0+ Ke5 17.Qh5+ 1-0

SIGNAL: Alignment.

THEME: Line clearance, Pin, Discovered attack.

28. Passed pawns ***Potkin,Vladimir

Grischuk,AlexanderKhanty-Mansiysk 2011 (4)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5 Na6 7.f4 Qe8 8.Nf3 e5 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.d5 Nc5 11.Nd2 Nh5 12.Bxh5 gxh5 13.Qxh5 Nd3+ 14.Ke2 Nf4+ 15.Bxf4 exf4 16.Rhf1 Be5 17.g3 fxg3 18.Nf3 Bg7 19.e5 Bxe5 20.Nxe5 f6 21.Qxe8 Rxe8 22.hxg3 Rxe5+ 23.Kd2 Kf7 24.Rf4 Rf5 25.Raf1 Rxf4 26.Rxf4 Bd7 27.Ne4 f5 28.Nc5 Bc8 29.b4 b6 30.Nd3 Kf6 31.Rh4 Kg7 32.Kc3 Bd7 33.Ne5 Be8 34.Kd4 h5 35.Nd3 Bf7 36.Nf4 Re8 37.Nxh5+ Bxh5 38.Rxh5 Re4+ 39.Kd3 b5 40.c5 Re5

White to move

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Solution 28

26.d6 cxd6

26...Rxc5 27.Bxd4 Bxd6 (the ending after 27...Rc4 28.dxc7 Rxc7 29.Bxb6 Rb7 30.Ra6 is winning: White brings his king to c4, and exchanges rooks by Ra7 if Black’s king goes to the seventh rank: 30...f6 31.Kf1 Kf7 32.Ke2 Ke8 33.Kd3 (33.Ra8+ Kd7 34.Ra7 Rxa7 35.Bxa7) 33...Kd7 34.Kc4 Bd6 35.Ra7+–) 28.Bxc5 Bxc5 29.Ra8+ Kh7 30.Kf1 Kg6 31.Re8 h5 32.Ke2 Kf5 33.g3 g6 34.Kf3 g5 35.g4+ hxg4+ 36.hxg4+ Kf6 37.Rg8 Be7 38.Ke4 Ke6 39.Rh8 Bc5 40.Rh6+ f6 41.f4 gxf4 42.g5 Be7 43.Kxf4 Bd6+ 44.Kg4 Be5 45.Kh5 Bd4 46.g6 f5 47.Rh7 f4 48.Rf7.

If 26...bxc5 27.dxc7 Re8 28.b6+–.

27.c6 Rxb5

27...Re8 28.Bxd4 Rb8 29.c7.

28.c7 Rc5 29.Rc1 1-0

SIGNAL: Defence too far away (the bishop can’t be used to stop the c-pawn).

THEME: Line closing (26.d6 closes the bishop’s diagonal).

Strangely enough, two days later, the same combination won for White in the following game, from the same championship:

Solution 28bPotkin,VladimirGrischuk,AlexanderKhanty-Mansiysk 2011 (4)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5 Na6 7.f4 Qe8 8.Nf3 e5 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.d5 Nc5 11.Nd2 Nh5 12.Bxh5 gxh5 13.Qxh5 Nd3+ 14.Ke2 Nf4+ 15.Bxf4 exf4 16.Rhf1 Be5 17.g3 fxg3 18.Nf3 Bg7 19.e5 Bxe5 20.Nxe5 f6 21.Qxe8 Rxe8 22.hxg3 Rxe5+ 23.Kd2 Kf7 24.Rf4 Rf5 25.Raf1 Rxf4 26.Rxf4 Bd7 27.Ne4 f5 28.Nc5 Bc8 29.b4 b6 30.Nd3 Kf6 31.Rh4 Kg7 32.Kc3 Bd7 33.Ne5 Be8 34.Kd4 h5 35.Nd3 Bf7 36.Nf4 Re8 37.Nxh5+ Bxh5 38.Rxh5 Re4+ 39.Kd3 b5 40.c5 Re5

White to move

41.d6 cxd6

41...Rd5+ 42.Kc3 cxd6 43.c6! Rd1 44.Rh2! Re1 45.c7 Re8 46.Kd4 Rc8 47.Rc2 Kf6 48.Kd5 Ke7 49.Kc6+–.

42.c6 Re4

42...Re1 43.Rxf5 Rc1 44.Rxb5 Rxc6 45.Rb7+ Kf6 46.Rxa7+–.

42...Re7 43.Kd4+–.

43.Rxf5 Rxb4 44.Rf2 1-0

44...Rc4 45.Rc2!+–.

29. An old mating pattern ***Rozentalis,EduardasKantsler,BorisIsrael tt 2012 (7)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.g3 Bb4 7.Ne2 Nf6 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 Be7 10.Nd4 Nc6 11.b3 d6 12.Bb2 Bd7 13.Re1 Rac8 14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.Qe2 b5 16.a3 Bb7 17.Rad1 Rfd8 18.h3 Nd7 19.f4 Bf6 20.e5 dxe5 21.Bxb7 Qxb7 22.fxe5 Nxe5 23.Ne4 Nf3+ 24.Qxf3 Qb6+ 25.Kf1 Bxb2 26.c3 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 f5 28.Rd7 h6

White to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 29

29.Nf6+! Kh8

29...gxf6 30.Qh5.

30.Qf4! Bxc3 31.Qxh6+ 1-0

31...gxh6 32.Rh7#.

SIGNAL: Defence too far away.

THEME: Elimination of the defender, Deflection.

30. Hot square ***Smeets,JanBrandenburg,DaanNetherlands Internet 2011 (2)

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 Nh6 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Be3 Bd7 10.Nc3 Rc8 11.Na4 Qd8 12.Bd3 Nxe3 13.fxe3 Be7 14.0-0 0-0 15.e4 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxa4 17.Qxa4 dxe4 18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.Be2 Qd4+ 20.Kh1 Qxe5 21.Qxa7 Bd6 22.g3 Rc2 23.Qe3

Black to move

Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 30

23...Rf3!! 24.Bxf3

24.Rxf3 exf3 25.Qxe5 Bxe5 26.Bd3 Rd2–+.

24...Rxh2+ 25.Kxh2 Qxg3+ 26.Kh1 Qh2# 0-1

SIGNAL: Unprotected pieces (Qe3, Be2, rook a1).

THEME: Line clearance, Line closing.

31. Who attacks who? ***Neiman,EmmanuelVegaICC 2011

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e3 a6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.d4 exd4 8.exd4 Ba7 9.0-0 Bf5 10.a3 Qd7 11.Be3 0-0 12.Rc1 Rfe8 13.Nd5 Nd8 14.Nxe7+ Rxe7 15.Nc3 c6 16.b4 Bh3 17.Qd3 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Ne6 19.d5 Nf8 20.Bxa7 Rxa7 21.Rfe1 Ra8 22.Rxe7 Qxe7 23.Rd1 Rd8 24.dxc6 bxc6 25.c5 d5 26.Qxa6 d4 27.Qe2

27.Ne2 Qe4+ 28.f3 Qe5².

Black to move

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Solution 31

Did you notice that this is another case of a ‘swing door’ combination? (see Standard Combination Themes, page 74)

27...Ne6!

27...Qd7 was played in the game; after 28.Ne4 Re8 29.Qf3 Ne6 30.Nd6 Ra8 31.h4 f6 32.Qb3 Kf8 33.Re1 Nc7 34.a4 Rb8 35.Qc4 d3 36.Qxd3 Rxb4 37.Qxh7 Black resigned.

28.Ne4 f5!

And White loses his knight.

29.Nd6

After 29.Nc3!? Kf8! Black wins the knight, with a large advantage; not 29...dxc3? 30.Rxd8+ Qxd8 31.Qxe6+.

29...Nf4+–+ 0-1

SIGNAL: Unprotected pieces.

THEME: Line closing and Line clearance, ‘Swing door’.

32. Assessing a variation ***Azarov,SergeiGlek,IgorJurmala 2012 (1)

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 a6 8.a4 b6 9.Ne2 Nh5 10.Ng3 Nxg3 11.hxg3 c6 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Bb3 b5 14.Qe2 Bf6 15.Rad1 Qe7 16.g4 g6 17.Bh6 Rfe8 18.c3 exd4 19.cxd4 d5 20.e5 Bg7 21.Qd2 c5 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.dxc5 Nxc5 24.Bc2 bxa4 25.Qf4 Bc6 26.g5 Ne6 27.Qh4 Rab8 28.Nd4 Bd7 29.Nxe6+ fxe6 30.Re3 Rxb2 31.Rh3 Rh8 32.Rc1 Be8 33.Bd3 Rb8 34.Qh6+ Kg8 35.Rf3 a3 36.Rc7 Bd7 37.Bxg6

Black to move

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Solution 32

37...hxg6!–+

would have been winning. 37...a2 was played in the game, and White won after 38.Bf7+ Qxf7 39.Rxf7 a1=Q+ 40.Kh2 Qxe5+ 41.f4 with checkmate soon.

38.Qxg6+ Qg7 39.Qxg7+ Kxg7 40.Rxd7+ Kg8

Now White cannot play 41.Rxa3 because of 41...Rb1#. But 41.g3 also loses because after 41...a2 42.Ra3 Rb1+ White has to give up a rook to stop the passed a-pawn.

SIGNAL: King position.

THEME: Line clearance/Back-rank mate.

Show in Quiz Mode

33. Absence of defence ****Neiman,EmmanuelTaddei,BenoitAfter a friendly game, 2012

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 h6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e5 Ne4 6.Bd3 Bb4 7.0-0 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bxc3 9.Rb1 Nc6 10.Bb5 Bd7 11.Ba4 b6 12.Qd3 Ba5 13.c3 Ne7 14.Bb3 Qc8 15.Ba3 c5 16.Bc2 Ng6 17.Bc1 0-0 18.h4 Re8 19.h5 Nf8

White to move

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Solution 33

20.Bxh6!± gxh6

20...cxd4 21.Nxd4 Qxc3 (21...gxh6 22.Qg3+ Kh8 23.Qf4 Kg7 24.Qf6+ Kg8 25.Qxh6 Qd8 26.Rbe1+–) 22.Qd1 gxh6 23.Qg4+ Kh8 24.Rb3 Qd2 25.Rg3 Qg5 26.Qf3 Qe7 27.Qf4 Bd2 28.Qxd2 f5 29.Bxf5 exf5 30.e6 Rad8 31.Qxh6+ Nh7 32.Nxf5 Qf8 33.exd7 Rxd7 34.Qg6+–.

21.Nh2!

Toward the dark squares! 21.Qe3 Kg7 22.Qf4 Qd8 23.Qg4+ Kh8 24.Qf4 Kg7=.

21...Qc7

21...Re7 22.Qe3 with a winning attack, for example 22...cxd4 23.Qxh6 Qxc3 24.Qg5+ Kh8 25.Qf6+ Kg8 26.h6.

22.Qe3 f5 23.exf6 Bc6 24.Ng4 Nh7 25.Qxh6 Rf8 26.Rfe1 Rae8 27.Ne5 Rxf6 28.Bxh7+ Qxh7 29.Qxf6+–

SIGNAL: Impotent defence. Here you should sacrifice because there is no available defence, regardless of how long it will take to checkmate the opponent.

THEME: Eliminating the defender (the g7-pawn).

34. Removing the obstacle ****Hagesaether,ArneMarusenko,PetrHastings 2011/12 (9)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Bb4+ 12.Bd2 Bxd2+ 13.Qxd2 Ngf6 14.0-0-0 0-0 15.Nf1 Qb6 16.Ne3 Rfd8 17.Kb1 c5 18.Rh4 Rac8 19.c4 e5 20.d5 e4 21.Nf5 exf3 22.Nxh6+ Kf8 23.Nf5 Ng8 24.d6 f6 25.h6 gxh6 26.Rxh6 Ne5

White to move

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Solution 34

27.Rxf6+! Nxf6 28.Qg5!!

The most important attacking tip is probably to bring the queen into play. The threat is 29.Qg7+ and 30.Qe7 mate. There is no defence, since the d6-pawn keeps Black from defending via c7.

28...Ng8

28...Rd7 29.Qxf6+ Nf7 (29...Ke8 30.Qxe5+) 30.Qg7+ Ke8 31.Qg8#.

28...Ne8 29.Qe7+ Kg8 30.Nh6+ Kh8 31.Qf8+ Kh7 32.Qg8+ Kxh6 33.Rh1#.

29.Qg7+ Ke8 30.d7+ Nxd7 31.Re1+ 1-0

SIGNAL: Defence too far.

THEME: Elimination/Deflection of the defender.

35. Move order ****Li ShilongNi HuaXinghua Jiangsu ch-CHN 2011 (8)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Na6 7.g3 Nxc5 8.Bg2 Nce4 9.Bd2 Nxd2 10.Nxd2 a6 11.0-0 Be7 12.Rfd1 Qc7 13.Rac1 Rb8 14.Qd3 Rd8 15.Nde4 Ng4 16.Qd4 d6

White to move

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Solution 35

17.Qa7!

Changing the move order. Now 18.Nb5 is threatened. A possible idea was 17.Nb5 axb5 18.cxb5 Qd7 19.Qa7, winning the rook, but of course 18...Qa5 is winning here.

Once you have noticed the idea, and the possible defence, you should look for another move order.

The best reply for Black is:

17...Bd7 18.Nb5 Qa5

After 18...axb5 19.cxb5 the queen has no squares.

19.Nexd6± Bg5 20.f4 Bf6 21.Nxb7 Rxb7 22.Bxb7 Bxb2 23.Rb1 Bxb5 24.cxb5 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 g6 26.Bf3 Qa4 27.Rd8+ Kg7 28.Bxg4 Qe4 29.Bf3 1-0

SIGNAL: Unprotected piece (the b8-rook), Impotent defence, Alignment (on the c-file).

THEME: Line clearance (the c-file).

36. Obstructions ****Tarrasch,SiegbertNN

White to move

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Solution 36

1.Bxe8! Rxc7 2.Bd7!

The first obstruction: of the rook.

2...Rc8 3.Bxc8 Qe2 4.Be6!

The second obstruction: of the queen.

4...Qxe6 5.Rb1 Qe5

The queen controls simultaneously the b8 and the e8-squares – a classical case of an overloaded defender.

After 5...Kg8 6.Rb8+ Kf7 7.e8=Q+ Qxe8 8.Rxe8 Kxe8 9.Kg1+– White wins without trouble, as in the vast majority of the pawn endings with a pawn up: 9...Kd7 10.Kf2 Kd6 11.Ke3 Kc5 12.Ke4.

6.d4! 1-0

SIGNAL: Defence too far away.

THEME: Line closing, Deflection.

37. Around the corners ****

White to move

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Solution 37

1.Kb7+!!

To find this first move, you need to grasp the whole concept!

1...Kh7 2.Qh2+ Kg8 3.Qa2+ Kh7 4.Qf7 1-0

SIGNAL: Trapped pieces (queen and king!).

THEME: Domination/Zugzwang.

A recent game saw on the same square a zugzwang that was very similar to the one in the previous study:

Solution 37bLalic,Bogdan

Del Rey,DiegoLa Roda 2012 (9)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 a5 6.e4 Bg4 7.Bxc4 e6 8.Be3 Bb4 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.Be2 0-0 11.0-0 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 e5 13.Na2 Bd6 14.g3 Qe7 15.dxe5 Nxe5 16.Bg2 Rfe8 17.Rac1 Ned7 18.Rfe1 Ng4 19.Bd4 Be5 20.Bxe5 Qxe5 21.h3 Ngf6 22.f4 Qe6 23.b3 Nb6 24.Rcd1 Nfd7 25.Nc1 f6 26.Nd3 Qe7 27.Kh2 Kh8 28.Rd2 Nf8 29.e5 Red8 30.exf6 Qxf6 31.Ne5 Nd5 32.Bxd5 cxd5 33.Qc7 Kg8 34.Qxb7 Rab8 35.Qa7 Rxb3 36.Qxa5 Qb6 37.Qxb6 Rxb6 38.Red1 Ra6 39.a5 d4 40.Rxd4 Rxd4 41.Rxd4 Rxa5 42.Rd8 Ra7 43.g4 g6 44.Re8 Kg7 45.g5 Rc7 46.h4 Rb7 47.Kg3 Rb3+ 48.Kg4 Rb1 49.Re7+ Kg8 50.Nf7 Rg1+ 51.Kf3 Rf1+ 52.Kg3 Rc1 53.Nh6+ Kh8 54.Rf7 Rc8 55.Ng4 Ne6 56.Nf6 Ng7 57.Kf2 Rb8 58.Ke3 Nf5+ 59.Kd2 Rd8+ 60.Kc3 Rc8+ 61.Kb4 Ng7

62.Kb5 Ra8 63.Kb6 Rd8 64.Kb7 1-0

It is a total zugzwang. If the rook moves, it is lost; if the knight moves it is checkmate on h7, if the h-pawn moves, White takes on h6 with a quick checkmate.

38. A draw in hand ****Brady,StephenCollins, SamBrannigan Cup 2012 (2)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.c4 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.b3 0-0 8.Bb2 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.d4 Na6 11.Rc1 Re8 12.Qd2 Ne4 13.Qf4 cxd4 14.Nb5 Nac5 15.Nbxd4 Bd6 16.Qh4 Be7 17.Qf4 Bf6 18.Rc2 a5 19.Rd1 a4 20.b4 a3 21.bxc5 axb2 22.c6 Rxa2 23.Rb1 g5 24.Qe3 Ba6 25.Rbxb2 Rxb2 26.Rxb2 Nxg3 27.c7 Qa8 28.Qxe8+ Qxe8 29.Rxb6 Bxd4 30.Nxd4 Nxe2+ 31.Nxe2 Qxe2 32.Rxa6

Black to move

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Solution 38

32...Qxa6!

Black has calculated a forced win, and rejects the draw after 32...Qd1+ 33.Bf1 Qg4+ 34.Kh1 Qf3+ 35.Kg1.

33.Bh3

Apparently, the c-pawn will promote. But Black has seen further.

33...g4!

In order to open the g-file.

34.Bxg4 f5! 0-1

Opening the seventh rank. After 35.Bxf5 Black can achieve the winning double attack and win the c-pawn thanks to 35...Qa1+ 36.Kg2 Qg7+ 37.Kf3 Qxc7.

SIGNAL: Unprotected piece (the c7-pawn and then the king)

THEME: Double attack, Line clearance.

39. Coordination ****Gaprindashvili,NonaServaty,RudolfDortmund 1974 (3)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Ng4 8.Qxg4 Nxd4 9.Qd1 e5 10.Nb5 0-0 11.Be2 Qh4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Bxd4 Qxe4 14.Bxg7 Qxg2

White to move

Black should have played 14...Kxg7 when after 15.0-0 White is only slightly better..Show/Hide the Solution

Solution 39

15.Qd4!

Sacrificing the two rooks, like in Adolf Anderssen’s Immortal Game.

15...Qxh1+ 16.Kd2 Qxa1

16...Qxh2 17.Bf3 d5 18.Bxf8 Kxf8 19.Rh1 Qd6 20.Rxh7+–.

Interesting variations begin with 16...Qc6 17.Bxf8 Kxf8:

18.Re1! is the winning move, threatening 19.Qh8+ and 20.Bf3+: 18...f6™ 19.c5!+–. Now Bb5 is threatened (19.Bd3± was good enough, but 19.c5 is stronger). There is no defence: 19...b6 (on 19...a6, 20.Bc4, threatening Bd5 or Qe3, is lethal) 20.Bb5 Qf3 21.Qd6+ Kg7 22.Qe7+ Kh6 23.Qf8+ Kg5 (after 23...Kh5 24.Be2 wins) 24.Re5+! (showtime!) 24...f5 25.h4+ Kf4 26.Qd6! when mate is near.

Now comes the beauty:

17.Qf6! 1-0

With the irreparable threat of 18.Bh6 and 19.Qg7 mate. Black’s men are unable to assist the lone king.

SIGNAL: Defence too far, King position.

THEME: Line closing (blocking on f6 with the queen).

40. Horse jumping ****Rozentalis,EduardasSocko,BartoszAustria Bundesliga 2012 (10)

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.a3 Nc6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 Rd8 10.Be3 e5 11.c4 Qd6 12.d5 e4 13.Bxe4 Nxe4 14.Qc2 Qg6 15.dxc6 Bh3 16.g3 Qxc6 17.Ne5

Black to move

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Solution 40

Black’s idea is obvious, but it involves a nice piece of calculation.

17...Nd2! 18.Nxc6

18.f3 Nxf3+ 19.Nxf3 Qxf3 is close to winning for Black.

18...Nf3+ 19.Kh1

19...Bg2+

For a similar combination, see the game Andreev-Dolukhanov in ‘Is There a Combination?’, page 174.

20.Kxg2 Nxe1+ 21.Kh3 Nxc2

Black wins the exchange.

22.Nxe7+

22.Nxd8 Nxa1–+.

22...Kf8 23.Bxc5 Nxa1 24.Nc6+ Ke8 25.Nxd8 Kxd8

The ending should be winning, but White managed to draw.

26.Nd2 Nc2 27.Bf8 g6 28.Ne4 Kd7 29.Bg7 Rc8 30.c5 f5 31.Ng5 Kc6 32.Kh4 Rc7 33.Be5 Rd7 34.Nf3 Rd3 35.Ng5 Nd4 36.Bg7 Kxc5 37.f4 Nf3+ 38.Nxf3 Rxf3 39.Kg5 Rf2 40.h4 Rg2 41.Kh6

41...Rxg3

41...Kd5 was winning: 42.Kxh7 Ke6 43.Kxg6 Rxg3+ 44.Kh7 (44.Kh6 Rg4–+) 44...Rh3 and the rest is easy.

42.Kxh7 Rg4 43.Bf6 Rxf4 44.Kxg6 Rf1 45.h5 f4 46.h6 f3 47.h7 Rh1 48.Bg5 Rxh7 49.Be3+ Kc4 50.Kxh7 a5 51.Kg6 Kb3 52.Bd4 Kc4 53.Bb6 Kb3 54.Bd4 Kc4 55.Bb6 Kb3 ½-½

SIGNAL: Knight fork distance.

THEME: Discovered attack, Decoy.

41. Secret weakness ****Bologan,Viktor Naiditsch,ArkadijChisinau 2012 (3)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Qc7 6.e5 Nd5 7.h3 Bf5 8.Nbd2 g5 9.Ne4 h6 10.Qe2 0-0-0 11.Bd2 Qb6 12.0-0-0 Bg7 13.g4 Be6 14.Kb1 Rd7 15.Ng3 Rhd8 16.Nf5 Bxf5 17.gxf5

Black to move

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Solution 41

17...c4!

Opening the a7-g1 diagonal and the d-file, in case White takes.

18.dxc4

18.Ka1 is more solid. Black is better, but not winning, after 18...cxd3 19.cxd3 Qb5³.

18...Nc3+!

Opening the d-file.

19.Bxc3

Forced.

19...Qxf2!

This deflection is not easy to spot in the first diagram position. Black is winning.

20.Rxd7

20.Qxf2 Rxd1+ leads to a back-rank mate.

20...Qxe2 21.Rxd8+ Kxd8 22.Nd4 Qh5 23.f6 exf6 24.e6 Bf8 25.Re1 c5 26.e7+ Bxe7 27.Nf5 Bf8 28.Bxf6+ Kd7 29.Ne3 Qxh3 30.Nd5 g4 31.a3 g3 32.Rd1 Bd6 33.Be5 g2 34.Nf4 Qh1 0-1

SIGNAL: Alignments, knight fork distance.

THEME: Line clearance, Deflection.

42. Net ****Gurvich,Abramstudy 1959

White to move

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Solution 42

1.Bg8!

1.Ra8? b3! 2.Kb7+ Kb4=.

1.Bg8! Rb2

1...Rxa4 2.Rh5#.

2.Bb3!!

An obstruction, threatening mate on h5.

2...Rxb3 3.Ra8

4.Kb7 mate is threatened.

3...Kxa4 4.Kb6#

SIGNAL: King position.

THEME: Line closing.

43. Counterattack *****Karjakin,SergeyAronian,Levon

Wijk aan Zee 2012 (1)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 b4 9.Nbd2 Bc5 10.h3 d6 11.c3 Rb8 12.Re1 Re8 13.a5 Ba7 14.Nf1 Ne7 15.Ng3 Ng6 16.d4 h6 17.Bc2 c5 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.Bd3 Be6 20.Bxa6 c4 21.Ra4 Qc7 22.cxb4 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Qa7+ 24.Be3 Qxa6 25.Kg1 Red8 26.Qc1 Rd3 27.Rd1 Rb3 28.Qd2 Kh7 29.Kh2 Rb7 30.Qf2 Bd7 31.Ra2 R7xb4

White to move

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Solution 43

In this difficult position, White could have achieved a draw if he had sacrificed material in order to denude the enemy king.

32.Bxh6!!

32.Nh5 Bc8 33.Nxf6+ Qxf6 34.Kg1 Bb7 35.Nd2 Qxf2+ 36.Bxf2 Rd3 37.a6 Bxe4 38.Re1 Ba8 39.Ne4 Nf4 40.a7 f6 41.h4 c3 42.Nc5 c2 and Black won in the actual game.

32...gxh6 33.Rxd7! Nxd7

Two defenders, the g7-pawn and the f6-knight, have been removed from the defence of their king. Now it is time to look for a perpetual:

34.Ng5+! Kh8

On 34...hxg5 35.Qxf7+ Kh8 36.Nh5 even wins for White!

35.Nxf7+ Kg8 36.Nxh6+ Kh7 37.Qf7+ Kxh6 38.Nf5+ Kg5 39.Qxd7 Rd3 40.Qh7 Kf4 41.Nh4 Kg5=

If 41...Nxh4 42.Qxh4+ Ke3 43.Qe1+, winning the b4-rook.

42.Nf5 ½-½

SIGNAL: Unprotected pieces .

THEME: Line clearance, Deflection.

44. Lack of harmony *****Nakamura,HikaruAronian,LevonSao Paulo/Bilbao 2011 (8)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.g4 Be6 8.h4 Nd7 9.h5 Nh6 10.Be2 Nb6 11.Nh3 g5 12.hxg6 hxg6 13.Bg3

Black to move

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Solution 44

The white pieces lack coordination here:

- there is a possible pin on the h-file (the rook on h1 is unprotected, and the h3-knight cannot go to f2;

- in general, White’s pieces lack space because each of them takes ‘breathing space’ from the others; the g3-bishop and the h3-knight restrict each other.

Those factors allow a combination that was left unnoticed by these two elite players.

13.f3 is normal, thus allowing the knight to come into play via the f2-square and in so doing protect the h1-rook.

13...Nxg4!

13...Qd7 was the move played in the actual game, which was later won by White.

14.Bxg4 Qd7!

This slow move is a very difficult one to find, just after you have sacrificed a knight. There is no defence:

15.Bxe6

15.f3 f5!, trapping the bishop, is the point.

15...Qxe6 1-0

White lacks the agility to protect his knight.

SIGNAL: Alignment, Impotent defence.

THEME: Pin, Domination.

Queen and rook are very powerful when they are attacking the king together. Nevertheless, in the following game, you have to be very accurate in the calculations in order to find the forced win that follows.

45. Pursuit *****Sasikiran,KrishnanLaznicka,ViktorNew Delhi 2011 (3)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Qc2 0-0 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Rd1 b6 10.b3 Ba6 11.Bf4 Rc8 12.Nc3 Re8 13.e4 dxc4 14.Nd2 b5 15.bxc4 bxc4 16.Bf1 Nb6 17.a4 Bb4 18.a5 Nbd7 19.Bxc4 Bb5 20.Qb3 Bxc3 21.Qxc3 Nd5 22.Qf3 Nxf4 23.Qxf4 Qe7 24.e5 f6 25.Rac1 Red8 26.Qe3 Nf8 27.exf6 Qxf6 28.Ne4 Qe7 29.Bb3 Kh8 30.Ng5 Re8 31.Rc5 h6 32.Nf3 Nd7 33.Ne5 Nxe5 34.Rxe5 Rcd8 35.Qe4 Qf7 36.Re1 Rf8 37.Qe3 Rd6 38.Bxe6 Qc7 39.Rh5 Rf6 40.Bb3 Rd8 41.Bc2 Bc4 42.d5 Qf7 43.Qe4 g5 44.Qd4 Kg7 45.Qxc4 Qxh5 46.Qd3 Qf3 47.Qh7+ Kf8 48.Qh8+ Kf7 49.Qh7+ Kf8 50.Qe7+ Kg8 51.Rf1 Rxd5 52.Bh7+ Kh8 53.Be4 Rd7 54.Qe5 Rd5 55.Qe7 Rd7 56.Qxd7 Qxe4 57.Qxa7 h5 58.Rd1 Rf8 59.Qc5 Rf5 60.Qc3+ Kg8 61.Ra1 h4 62.Qe3 Qd5 63.Qe8+ Kg7 64.Re1 h3

White to move

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Solution 45

65.Re7+ Kf6

65...Kh6 leads to mate after 66.Qh8+ Kg6 67.Qh7+ Kf6 68.Qg7#.

65...Rf7 is bad, because after a general exchange, the a-pawn promotes.

66.Qf8+ Kg6 67.Rg7+ Kh5 68.Qh8+ Kg4

69.Qh4+ Kf3 70.Qh5+ Ke4

70...g4 71.Qxg4#.

71.Qe2+ Kd4

After this sequence, White has to have foreseen the following move, the only clear winner:

72.Rd7! 1-0

Winning the queen.

SIGNAL: King position, Alignment.

THEME: Pin, Skewer.

46. Diagonal *****Shirov,AlexeyParligras,MirceaPorto Carras Ech-tt 2011 (3)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.g4 Be4 5.f3 Bg6 6.Ne2 e6 7.h4 h5 8.Ng3 Qb6 9.a4 a5 10.c3 c5 11.Na3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Bb4+ 13.Kf2 Nd7 14.Nb5 Rc8 15.Nxh5 Bxh5 16.gxh5 Nxe5 17.Rg1 Kf8 18.Bg5 Nd7 19.Rc1 Rc6 20.f4 Ngf6 21.Bg2 Rxh5 22.Bf3 Rh8 23.h5 Ne4+ 24.Bxe4 dxe4 25.Qg4

Black to move

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Solution 46

25...Nc5!!

The knight wants to land on the strong d3-square. White has to take it.

25...Ke8 was played in the game, which ended in a draw.

26.dxc5

Or 26.Rxc5 Bxc5 27.dxc5 Rxc5! 28.Kg2 Rc2+ 29.Kh3 Qf2 30.Qg3 Rxh5+, winning for Black.

26...Bxc5+ 27.Kg2 Bxg1 28.Rxg1 Rc2+ 29.Kh3

29.Kh1 e3 with ...Qc6+ to come.

29...Qf2 30.Qg3 Rxh5+ 0-1

SIGNAL: Alignment.

THEME: Line clearance.

47. Deflection *****Sutovsky,EmilKozul,ZdenkoPlovdiv Ech 2012 (6)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 Bd7 9.f4 b5 10.a3 Rb8 11.e5 dxe5

12.fxe5 Nxe5 13.Bf4 Ng6 14.Bxb8 Qxb8 15.Nb3 Ne5 16.Qd4 Qc7 17.Be2 Be7 18.Rhe1 Nc6 19.Qe3 b4 20.axb4 Nxb4 21.Qg3 Qb6 22.Rf1 Bc6 23.Bf3 0-0 24.Bxc6 Qxc6 25.Nd4 Qb6 26.Kb1 Rb8 27.Na4 Qb7

White to move

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Solution 47

28.Rxf6!

The beginning of a deep combination. White deflects the bishop from the defence of c5.

28...Bxf6 29.Nc5 Bh4

If 29...Qa7 30.Nd7! Rd8 31.Nxf6+ Kh8 32.Nh5 and White is winning.

30.Qxh4 Qd5 31.Ncb3

31.Ne4!+– was even better: 31...Qa2+ 32.Kc1 Qa1+ 33.Kd2 Qxb2 seems to offer compensation, but 34.Nf6+ gxf6 35.Qg3+ Kf8 36.Qxb8+ wins for White.

31...a5

The best defence is 31...e5! (pin) 32.Qg3 (counterpin) 32...Nc6 (32...f5 33.c3 Nc6 34.Qxg7+ Kxg7 35.Nxf5+ Kf6 36.Rxd5 Kxf5 offers better chances of resistance)

33.Re1! Nxd4 (33...exd4 34.Qxb8+ Nxb8 35.Re8#) 34.Rxe5 Qb7 (34...Qd8 35.Rd5!+–) 35.Re7! Qb5 36.Qf4+– Nf5 37.Re5.

32.Rd2 h6 33.Nf3 Qa8 34.Rd7 Qc6 35.Rd8+ Kh7 36.Nfd4 1-0

SIGNAL: Knight fork, Unprotected piece (the rook on b8).

THEME: Deflection.

48. Attack and Defence *****Fridman,DanielHarikrishna,PentalaFrance tt 2011 (7)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.a3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.e3 Nc6 9.Qc2 Qa5 10.0-0-0 Be7 11.h4 a6 12.Ng5 dxc4 13.Bxc4 b5 14.Bb3 g6 15.h5 b4 16.axb4 Nxb4 17.Qb1 Nbd5 18.Nxd5 exd5 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.Rxd5 Nxd5 21.Be5

Black to move

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Solution 48

21...Bh3!!

Both defending against the checkmate on h8, and attacking along the c-file thanks to the square clearance. After this move, Black’s attack is quicker.

The actual game went 21...Qc5+ 22.Kd2 Qb4+ 23.Bc3 Qxc3+ 24.bxc3 Rd8 25.Nxf7 Nxc3+ 26.Nxd8+ and White won.

22.Rxh3

The best defence according to the programs was 22.Qe4! Qa1+ 23.Kd2 Qxh1 24.Bxd5.

White is threatening checkmate in one with 25.Qxg6. But now comes another deflection: 24...Bb4+!! 25.Qxb4 Rad8 26.Qd4 Bxg2 27.Bxf7+ Rxf7 28.Qxd8+ Rf8 29.Qd3 Rxf2+ 30.Kc3 Qc1+ 31.Kb3 Qc6µ when Black should be winning.

22...Qe1+ 23.Bd1

23.Kc2 Nb4#.

23...Rac8+ 24.Bc3 Nxc3–+ 1-0

SIGNAL: King position.

THEME: Line clearance, Deflection.

49. Breathing space *****Adhiban,BaskaranSadler,MatthewWijk aan Zee C 2012 (5)

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 h6 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nfd7 6.c4 dxc4 7.Nxc4 Nb6 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0-0 Nb4 10.Nxb6 axb6 11.Be4 Be7 12.Re1 Nd5 13.Qd3 Bb4 14.Bd2 Bxd2 15.Qxd2 Bd7 16.Bxd5 exd5 17.a3 0-0 18.Rac1 c6 19.Rc3 Bf5 20.h3 b5 21.Nh2 Kh8 22.Nf1 Qe7 23.b4 Bh7 24.Ng3 Rae8 25.Rce3 Qh4 26.Qd1 Re6 27.Qg4 Qd8 28.f4 f5 29.Qe2 Bg8 30.Kh2 Ree8 31.Nh1 Be6 32.Nf2 Qh4 33.Nd3 b6 34.Qf2 Qe7 35.Rc1 Rc8 36.Rc3 Rc7 37.Re1 Kg8 38.Qf3 Kh8 39.Rec1 Bd7 40.Nf2 Qf7 41.Re3 Be6 42.Rec3 Bd7 43.Qg3 Kh7 44.Qh4 Ra7 45.Re1 c5 46.dxc5 bxc5 47.Nd3 d4 48.Rxc5 Be6 49.Rc6 Rxa3 50.Nc5 Bd5 51.Rd6 Ra2 52.Rg1 Rfa8 53.e6 Bxg2

White to move

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Solution 49

54.Qxh6+!

54.exf7 Bd5+ 55.Qf2 (if 55.Kg3 R8a3+ checkmates on the next move because White does not benefit from the empty h4-square!; if 55.Rg2 Rxg2+ 56.Kh1 Ra1+) 55...Rxf2+ 56.Kg3 Rf3+ 57.Kh4 (57.Kh2 Bxf7 with a winning edge for Black) 57...Raa3 and Black wins.

54.Rxg2 Rxg2+ 55.Kxg2 Ra2+ 56.Kf1 Qg6! and White has no defence.

54...gxh6 55.exf7 Bd5+ 56.Kg3 Bxf7 57.Kh4 Rg8 58.Rxg8 Kxg8 59.Rxd4 ½-½

SIGNAL: King position.

THEME: Square clearance.

50. A spoiler *****Przepiorka,Dawidstudy 1920

White to move

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Solution 50

1.Nf6 Qg1 2.Nh5!

I like this study because it contains a beautiful trick that makes it a great ‘spoiler’: if White confidently plays 2.Re8+ Kg7 3.Rg8+ he only can only draw after 3...Kh6!. This is the move that you have to consider as a solver: if 4.Rxg1 stalemate, or even 4.Ng4+ Kh5 5.Nf6+ Kh6=.

2...Qg8

If 2...h6, now 3.Re8+ Kh7 4.Nf6+ Kg6 5.Rg8+ wins.

3.Ng7!! Qxg7

3...Kxg7 4.Rg2+ Kf8 5.Rxg8+ Kxg8 6.a5+–.

3...h5 4.Re8 Qxe8 5.Nxe8 h4 6.Nf6 h3 7.Ng4 f5 8.Nh2+–;

4.Re8+ Qg8 5.Rxg8+ Kxg8 6.a5+– 1-0

SIGNAL: Alignment.

THEME: Skewer, Pin.

Bibliography

Leonard Barden, Batsford Chess Puzzles, Batsford 2002

Valeri Beim The Enigma of Chess Intuition, New In Chess 2012

Mark Dvoretsky, Secrets of Chess Tactics, Batsford 1996

Paata Gaprindashvili, Imagination in Chess, Batsford 2004

August Livshitz, Test your chess IQ: First Challenge Cadogan 1997

August Livshitz, Test your chess IQ: Master Challenge Cadogan 1997

August Livshitz, Test your chess IQ: Grandmaster Challenge Cadogan 1993

Emmanuel Neiman, L’Œil tactique, Payot 2003, 2nd ed. 2010

Emmanuel Neiman, Yochanan Afek, Invisible Chess Moves, New In Chess 2011

Yakov Neishtadt, Improve Your Chess Tactics, New In Chess 2011

John Nunn, Secrets of Practical Chess, Gambit 1998 (new enlarged edition 2007)

Georges Renaud, Victor Kahn, L’Art de faire mat, Payot 1997

Kurt Richter, Chess combination as a fine art, W. Golz (ed.)/P. Keres, Pitman 1976

John Shaw, Quality Chess Puzzle Book, Quality Chess 2010

Jonathan Tisdall, Improve your chess now, Cadogan 1997

Artur Yusupov, Mark Dvoretsky, Attack and Defence, Batsford 1998

Chess Today

Chess Base

Glossary of Terms

Attack

When a piece is threatened by capture or a king is threatened by checkmate.

Back rank

The first rank (for White) or the eighth rank (for Black).

Blitz game

Quick game in which each player gets five minutes (or less) for all his moves.

Capture

When a piece is removed by an enemy piece, which then takes the place of the captured piece.

Castling

A move by king and rook that serves to bring the former into safety and to activate the latter. The king is moved sideways two squares from its original square. At the same time, a rook moves from its original square to the adjacent square on the other side of the king.

A player may castle to the kingside or the queenside, but only if both the king and rook in question have not moved before in the game, if his king is not in check, and if his king does not pass a square on which it would be in check.

Check

When a king is under direct attack by an opposing piece.

(Check)mate

When a king is under direct attack by an opposing piece and there is no way to deal with the threat.

Combination

A clever and more or less forced sequence of moves which usually results in an advantage for the player who starts the sequence.

Connected pawns

A number of fellow pawns on adjacent files; they can protect each other and are usually less vulnerable than isolated pawns.

Correspondence game

A game between two players who send each other each move in turn by mail or (in recent years) by e-mail.

Diagonal

A line of squares running from top left to bottom right or the other way round (e.g. ‘the a1-h8 diagonal’).

Doubled (tripled) pawns

Two (three) pawns on the same file (the result of a capture by one (two) of these pawns).

Endgame/Ending

The final phase of a chess game, when there are only few pieces left on the board.

En passant

When a pawn which has just moved forward two squares from its original square, is captured by an enemy pawn standing immediately beside it. This capturing pawn then occupies the square behind the captured pawn, as if it had made a normal capture.

En prise

When a piece is under attack and threatened with capture.

Exchange

1) When both sides capture pieces that are of equal value. A synonym is trading or swapping pieces.

2) The surplus in value of a rook above a minor piece (a bishop or a knight).

Fianchetto

The development of a bishop to the second square of the adjacent file of the knight (to b2 or g2 for White, to b7 or g7 for Black).

File

A line of squares from the top to the bottom of the board (e.g. ‘the e-file’).

Fork

When two (or more) pieces are attacked simultaneously by the same opposing piece.

Fortress

A defensive formation designed to prevent the opponent from breaking through.

Fritz

A computer programme with which games can be analysed.

Isolated pawn

A pawn which does not have any fellow pawns on adjacent files. It cannot be protected by another pawn and therefore may be vulnerable.

Kingside

The board half on the right (e-, f-, g- and h-files).

Liquidation

When the next phase of a game is entered by an exchange of a number of pieces.

Major piece

A queen or a rook.

Mating net

A situation where a king is attacked by enemy pieces and eventually cannot escape the mate threat.

Middlegame

The phase of the game that follows immediately after the *opening.

Minor piece

A bishop or a knight.

Open file/rank/diagonal

A file, rank or diagonal whose squares are not occupied by pieces or, especially, pawns.

Opening

The initial phase of the game.

Opposition

A situation where two kings are facing each other with one square in between. The king that is forced to move ‘loses’ the opposition and has to make way for the opponent. When the distance between the two kings is larger, but one of the two cannot avoid ‘losing’ the opposition, the other is said to have the ‘distant opposition’.

Overburdening/Overload

When a piece has to protect more than one fellow piece or square at the same time and is not able to maintain this situation satisfactorily.

Passed pawn

A pawn that has no enemy pawns on the same or an adjacent file. Its promotion can only be prevented by enemy pieces.

Perpetual (check)

An unstoppable series of checks that neither player can avoid without risking a loss. This means that the game ends in a draw.

Piece

All chessmen apart from the pawns. In this book, mostly queen, rook, bishop and knight are meant because many

tactical motifs (sacrifices, for instance) cannot be carried out by a king.

Pin

An attack on a piece that cannot move away without exposing a more valuable piece behind it.

Pins can take place on a rank, file or diagonal.

Promotion

When a pawn reaches the 8th rank, it is turned into a more valuable piece (knight, bishop, rook or queen).

Queenside

The board half on the left (a-, b-, c- and d-files).

Rank

A line of squares running from side to side (e.g. ‘the third rank’).

Rapid game

Quick game in which each player gets fifteen to thirty minutes for all his moves, sometimes added with a number of seconds after each completed move.

Sacrifice

When material is deliberately given up for other gains.

Sealed move

A move which was written down and kept in cover when a game was *adjourned. When the arbiter opened the cover, the game was resumed starting with the sealed move. In the meantime, the players were allowed to analyse the position.

Simultaneous display

An event where a strong player takes on a number of weaker players on a number of boards at the same time.

Square

One of the 64 sections of the chess board that can be occupied by a pawn, piece or king.

Stalemate

When a player who is not in check has no legal move and it is his turn. This means that the game ends in a draw.

Tempo

The duration of one move made by one side. A tempo can be won or deliberately lost by several methods, see e.g. ‘Triangulation’.

Triangulation

A manoeuvre where the king first moves sideways and only then forward, in order to ‘lose’ a tempo, for example to gain

the opposition.

Underpromotion

The promotion of a pawn to a piece of lesser value than the queen. This is quite rare.

Wing

Either the kingside or the queenside.

Zugzwang

When a player is to move and he cannot do anything without making an important concession.

Zwischenschach

An intermediate check, disrupting a logical sequence of moves.

Zwischenzug

An intermediate move with a point that disrupts a logical sequence of moves.

List of Positions

Lingnau,Carsten - Orso,Miklos Budapest 1992

Christiansen,Larry - Karpov,Anatoly Wijk aan Zee 1993

Study position

Ganguly, Surya Shekhar - Basencyan,Mark Dubai Open 2012

Vallejo Pons,Francisco - Ponomariov,Ruslan Spain tt 2011

Barnes - NN 1876

Andruet,Gilles - Spassky,Boris Germany Bundesliga 1987/88

Bolbochan,Julio - Cruz,Walter Oswaldo Rio de Janeiro 1952

Külaots,Kaido - Chuchelov,Vladimir Istanbul Ech 2003

Kennedy - NN

Schulder - Boden,Samuel Standidge London 1860

Kudischewitsch,David - Neiman,Emmanuel Tel Aviv 2002

Gligoric,Svetozar - Rosenstein,Julis Chicago 1963

Rossolimo,Nicolas - NN Paris 1944

Rogers,Ian - Ris,Robert Gibraltar Masters 2007

Filipovic,Branko - De Filomeno,Simone Biel 2010

Savic,Miodrag - Miljkovic,Miroslav Neum tt 2011

Caruana,Fabiano - Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime Biel 2011

Rivera,Diego - Fischer,Robert James Varna ol 1962

Alexandrov,Alexey - Vaisser,Anatoly Aix-les-Bains Ech 2011

Giri,Anish - Spoelman,Wouter Boxtel ch-NED 2011

Aginian,Nelly - Kosintseva,Tatiana Tbilisi 2011

Howell,David - Sandipan,Chanda Germany Bundesliga 2010/11

Samhouri,Ahmad - Polgar,Judit Khanty-Mansiysk ol 2010

Glek,Igor - Arkhipov,Sergey Tomsk 2001

Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime - Degraeve,Jean-Marc Nimes ch-FRA 2009

Razuvaev,Yury - Mestrovic,Zvonimir Keszthely 1981

Euwe,Max - Davidson,Jacques Amsterdam 1926

Ozsvath,Andras - Honfi,Karoly Budapest 1953

Giri,Anish - Meier,Georg Dortmund 2011

Orlov,Andrey - Pantaleoni,Claudio Palau 2007

Korneev,Oleg - Van Wely,Loek Krumbach Open 1991

Romanko,Marina - Zaiats,Elena Taganrog 2011

Kasparian,Genrikh study 1935

Herbstman and Kubbel End of a study 1937

Troitzky,Alexey study 1924

Lobron,Eric - Hort,Vlastimil Dortmund 1982

Study position

Jakobsen,Ole - Veselsky,Jozef Arvier Wch Seniors 2006

Djuric,Stefan - Navacchia,Andrea Carnevale Open 1998

Morphy,Paul - De Rivière,Jules Arnous Paris m 1863

Kravanja,Georg - Sakelsek,Tadei Graz Open 2011

Fischer,Robert James - Schweber,Samuel Buenos Aires 1970

Winter,William - Capablanca,Jose Raul Hastings 1919

‘Blue Saphire’ - Neiman,Emmanuel ICC 2009

Short,Nigel - Kramnik,Vladimir London 2011

Damljanovic,Branko - Doric,Darko Paracin 2011

Zhao Xue - Karjakin,Sergey Cap d’Agde 2006

Tikkanen,Hans - Eriksson,Johan Vasteras ch-SWE 2011

Study position

Van Beek,Lucien - Pel,Bonno Netherlands NED-chT 2007

Batsiashvili,Nino - Shen Yang Shenzhen 2011

Rodshtein,Maxim - Negi,Parimarjan Biel 2010

Rossolimo,Nicolas - Romanenko,Ivan Simon Salzburg 1948

Grischuk,Alexander - Genba,Vladimir Khanty-Mansiysk 2011

Srebrnic,Ana - Galojan,Lilit Porto Carras Ech-tt 2011

Baramidze,David - Kalinitschew,Sergey Germany Bundesliga 2006/07

Ivanchuk,Vassily - Bu Xiangzhi Nanjing 2008

Salomon,Eduardo - Bernstein,Osip Samuel Montevideo 1954

Movsesian,Sergey - Kortchnoi,Viktor Carlsbad 2007

Morozevich,Alexander - Papaioannou,Ioannis Bursa Wch-tt 2010

Schneider,Lars-Ake - Tal,Mikhail Lucerne ol 1982

Giri,Anish - Laznicka,Viktor France tt 2010

Lasker,Edward - Thomas,George Alan London 1912

Kasparian & Manlevian 1936

Damiano’s Mate

Damiano’s Six-Mover

Benjamin,Joel - Carter,H London Lloyds Bank Open 1982

Kwapinski,Leszek - Blomqvist,Erik Stockholm 2011/12

Lasker,Emanuel - Bauer,Johann Hermann Amsterdam 1889

Nimzowitsch,Aaron - Tarrasch,Siegbert St Petersburg 1914

Kuzmin,Gennady - Sveshnikov,Evgeny Moscow ch-URS 1973

Czempiel,Henryk - Nowak,Kamil Gora Swietej Anny 2012

Richter,Michael - Berg,Emanuel Gothenburg 2011

Mamedov,Rauf - Adhiban,Baskaran Moscow 2012

Tiviakov,Sergey - Tukmakov,Vladimir Rostov-on-Don 1993

Petrosian,Tigran - Pachman,Ludek Bled 1961

Brkic,Ante - Nestorovic,Dejan Sarajevo Open 2012

Neiman,Emmanuel - Velikov,Petar Evry 2002

Biriukov,Nikolay - Yilmaz,Mustafa Enes Kharkov 2011

Le Roux,Jean Pierre - Hamdouchi,Hicham Caen ch-FRA 2011

Bartel,Mateusz - Nikolaidis,Ioannis Eretria 2011

Spassky,Boris - Averkin,Orest Moscow ch-URS 1973

Kasparov,Garry - Ligterink,Gert Malta ol 1980

Novikov,Igor - Rhodin,Christian Bern 1993

Bacrot,Etienne - Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime Bastia rapid 2012

San Segundo Carrillo,Pablo - Rodriguez Vargas,Orestes Salamanca 1991

Lasker,Emanuel - Euwe,Max Nottingham 1936

Ivanov,Sergey - Westerberg,Jonathan Stockholm 2011/12

Tikkanen,Hans - Goudriaan,Etienne Wijk aan Zee C 2012

Meier,Georg - Kramnik,Vladimir Dortmund 2011

Lombardy,William - Polugaevsky,Lev Reykjavik 1978

Arjun,Bharat - Leer-Salvesen,Bjarte Stockholm 2011/12

Yu Ruiyuan - Oleksienko,Mikhail Chennai Open 2012

Schindler,Christian - Wagner,Dennis Osterburg ch-GER 2012

Izeta Txabarri,Felix - Peric,Slavisa Suances Open 1997

Karpov,Anatoly - Topalov,Veselin Dos Hermanas 1994

Cetkovic,Momcilo - Molerovic,Milivoje Yugoslavia 1951

Dolzhikova,Olga - Spirin,Oleg Oslo 2011

Thesing,Matthias - Gasthofer,Alexander Germany Bundesliga 2011/12

Lahno,Kateryna - Gaponenko,Inna Kharkov ch-UKR W 2012

Zubarev,Alexander - Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime Port Marly 2012

Karpov,Alexander - Ovetchkin,Roman Smolensk tt 2000

Atalik,Suat - Peek,Marcel Vienna 2012

Marentek,Hanny - Tirto,Tirto Jakarta 2011

Stoffregen,Günter - Monsch,Jean Pierre Switzerland 1987

Luther,Thomas - Obodchuk,Andrey Dresden 2011

Kelleher,William - Kovacevic,Vlatko Opatija 2011

Johansson,Linus - Karlsson,Lars Stockholm 2011/12

Golubev - Kotov,Alexander Soviet Union 1928

Kopaev,Nikolay - Novopashin,Arkady Riga tt 1954

Reshevsky,Samuel - Lasker,Edward New York 1922

NN - Mannheimer

Elsness,Frode - Ernst,Sipke Oslo 2011

Rodflores - Neiman,Emmanuel ICC 2012

Erturan,Yakup - Mintenko,Heorhiy Golden Sands 2012

Hamann,Svend - Brinck Claussen,Björn Hastings B 1962/63

Dalo,Hermes - Neiman,Emmanuel Barcelona Sanz 2012

Hausrath,Daniel - Gasthofer,Alexander Germany Bundesliga 2011/12

Khairullin,Ildar - Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar Jurmala 2012

Goloschapov,Alexander - Mainka,Romuald Germany Bundesliga 2011/12

Furman,Boris - Martinsen,Stig Hastings 2011/12

Laznicka,Viktor - Moiseenko,Alexander San Sebastian 2012

Botvinnik,Mikhail - Stepanov,G Leningrad ch-city 1930

Efimenko,Zahar - Sebenik,Matej Porto Carras Ech-tt 2011

Carlsen,Magnus - Vallejo Pons,Francisco Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011

Kurnosov,Igor - Varga,Zoltan Austria Bundesliga 2010/11

Nordlohne,G study 1911

Romanov,Evgeny - Clery,Nicolas Cappelle la Grande 2012

Safarli,Eltaj - Korobov,Anton Baku 2012

Onischuk,Vladimir - Dvoirys,Semen St Petersburg 2011

Szabo,Krisztian - Lysyj,Igor Cappelle la Grande 2012

Onischuk,Alexander - Morozevich,Alexander Sochi tt 2008

Fressinet,Laurent - Brunner,Nicolas France tt 2011

Romanishin,Oleg - Werner,Clemens Vlissingen HZ Open 2001

Bauer,Christian - Kortchnoi,Viktor Enghien les Bains 2003

Hübner,Robert - Kulovana,Eva Prague 2011

Ernst,Sipke - Klein,David Oslo 2011

Ni Hua - Polajzer,Danilo Rogaska Slatina tt 2011

Bojkov,Dejan - Van Riemsdijk,Herman Queenstown 2012

Gashimov,Vugar - Navara,David Wijk aan Zee 2012

Van Kampen,Robin - Vedder,Richard Amsterdam 2012

Savchenko,Stanislav - Riazantsev,Alexander Chisinau 2012

Renet,Olivier - Relange,Eloi Toulouse ch-FRA 1995

Le Roux,Jean Pierre - Mocquard,Yves Guingamp 2012

Hounie Fleurquin,Carlos - Castillo Larenas,Mariano Buenos Aires 1935

Milov,Vadim - Erismann,Peter Neuchatel 2012

Bricard,Emmanuel - Vanheirzeele,Daniel France tt 2011

Radjabov,Teimour - Karjakin,Sergey Wijk aan Zee 2012

Marcelin,Cyril - Abergel,Thal Evry 2002

Grischuk,Alexander - Gelfand,Boris Linares 2010

Junior - Pandix Pamplona 2009

Carvallo,Henri - Picard,Clement Nationale 1 2010

Naer,Evgeny - Yuferov,Sergey St Petersburg 2000

Bondarevsky,Igor - Botvinnik,Mikhail Moscow ch-URS 1941

Hawkins,Jonathan - Mackle,Dominic North Shields ch-GBR 2012

Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar - Huschenbeth,Niclas Gibraltar 2012

O’Connell,Gerard - Brady,Stephen Dublin 2012

Gonzalez Garcia,José - Teran Alvarez,Ismael Seville 2011

Fedorchuk,Sergey - Ponomariov,Ruslan Spain tt 2011

Oren,Menachem - Dyner,Boruch Israel Tel Aviv 1952

Romanko,Marina - Zhukova,Natalia Antakya Wch 2010

Taimanov,Mark - Larsen,Bent Vinkovci 1970

Berry,Neil - Rendle,Thomas Bunratty 2012

Nielsen,Peter Heine - Volokitin,Andrey Rogaska Slatina tt 2011

Cebalo,Miso - Campora,Daniel Bern 1988

Ilyin-Zhenevsky,Alexander - Botvinnik,Mikhail Leningrad ch-city 1938

Leko,Peter - Kasparov,Garry Bled ol 2002

Hou Qiang - Yang Kaiqi Pattaya 2011

Romanko,Marina - Dworakowska,Joanna Gaziantep Ech 2012

NN - NN 1949

Nunn,John - Csom,Istvan Moscow Ech-tt 1977

Wang Hao - Manik,Mikulas Sarajevo 2010

Andreev - Dolukhanov Leningrad 1935

Sokolov,Andrey - Karpov,Anatoly Linares 1987

Matlakov,Maxim - Khismatullin,Denis Sochi tt 2012

Djurhuus,Rune - Kvisvik,Brede Oslo 2011

Guseinov,Kadir - Rijnaarts,Stef Rogaska Slatina tt 2011

McMorrow,John - Benson,Oisin Bunratty 2012

Zhao Xue - Danielian,Elina Shenzhen 2011

Navara,David - Goodger,Martyn Reykjavik 2012

Dukaczewski,Piotr - Ziska,Helgi Dam Reykjavik 2012

Dunn,Andrew - Gunnarsson,Jan Viktor Reykjavik 2012

Steingrimsson,Hedinn - Perez,Raul Reykjavik 2012

Espinosa,J - Moreno,Javier Bogota 2011

Fedorov,Alexey - Cosma,Ioan Eforie Nord 2011

Gordon,Stephen - Adams,Michael Canterbury ch-GBR 2010

Karlovich,Anastasia - Bezkorovaina,Marija Kharkiv 2012

Kobese,Watu - Dronavalli,Harika Ekurhuleni 2011

Levitina,Irina - Kushnir,Alla Dortmund 1977

Matlakov,Maxim - Shomoev,Anton Khanty-Mansiysk 2011

Rozentalis,Eduardas - Lindberg,Bengt Stockholm 2011/12

Tiviakov,Sergei - Manolache,Marius Eforie Nord 2011

Uhlmann,Wolfgang - Rodriguez Vargas,Orestes Rogaska Slatina tt 2012

Rendle,Thomas - Luaces Rubio,Alfredo Hastings 2011/12

NN - NN

Vooremaa,Andres - Justi Soviet Union 1977

Abreu Delgado,Aryam - Podgaets,Mikhail Havana 1999

Carlsson,Pontus - Istratescu,Andrei Porto Carras Ech 2011

Cmilyte,Victoria - Kosteniuk,Alexandra Nalchik 2011

Galkin,Alexander - Alexeev,Evgeny Taganrog 2011

Marholev,Dimitar - Rotstein,Arkadij Livigno 2011

Opl,Klaus - Bodrogi,Mihaly Budapest 2012

Potkin,Vladimir - Grischuk,Alexander Khanty-Mansiysk 2011

Rozentalis,Eduardas - Kantsler,Boris Israel tt 2012

Smeets,Jan - Brandenburg,Daan Netherlands Internet 2011

Neiman,Emmanuel - Vega ICC 2011

Azarov,Sergei - Glek,Igor Jurmala 2012

Neiman,Emmanuel - Taddei,Benoit After a friendly game, 2012

Hagesaether,Arne - Marusenko,Petr Hastings 2011/12

Li Shilong - Ni Hua Xinghua Jiangsu ch-CHN 2011

Tarrasch,Siegbert - NN

Brady,Stephen - Collins, Sam Brannigan Cup 2012

Gaprindashvili,Nona - Servaty,Rudolf Dortmund 1974

Rozentalis,Eduardas - Socko,Bartosz Austria Bundesliga 2012

Bologan,Viktor - Naiditsch,Arkadij Chisinau 2012

Gurvich,Abram study 1959

Karjakin,Sergey - Aronian,Levon Wijk aan Zee 2012

Nakamura,Hikaru - Aronian,Levon Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011

Sasikiran,Krishnan - Laznicka,Viktor New Delhi 2011

Shirov,Alexey - Parligras,Mircea Porto Carras Ech-tt 2011

Sutovsky,Emil - Kozul,Zdenko Plovdiv Ech 2012

Fridman,Daniel - Harikrishna,Pentala France tt 2011

Adhiban,Baskaran - Sadler,Matthew Wijk aan Zee C 2012

Przepiorka,Dawid study 1920

Golod,Vitali - Werle,Jan Vlissingen 2000

Potkin,Vladimir - Grischuk,Alexander Khanty-Mansiysk 2011

Lalic,Bogdan - Del Rey,Diego La Roda 2012