Secrets of Chess Tactics Mark DvoretskyHello everybody !t Hola a todostt "We are « group of chess fans who are producing chess material, We have several projects and ideas. We have members from all around the world, belonging to different cultures and speaking different languages, all of us joined by our ‘common love for chess!.” We hope you will enjoy our work! “Somos un grupo de fandticos del ajedrez, que estamos tratando de producir material de ajedrez, desarrollando iferentes proyectos e ideas. Tenemos miembros de diferentes partes del mundo, provenientes de diferentes culturas, hablando diferentes lenguas, unidos por nuestra pasiin por el ajedrez!." Esperamos que disfruten de esta muestra de nuestro trabajo. Jf you are interested in joining us, or send any comments drop us an email at: thecaissalovers@gmail.com Si alguien estuviese interesado en unirse al grupo nos pueden escribir a: thecaissalovers@gmail.com Best regards! Saludos! * Caissa Lovers"First published 1992 Reprinted 1993, 1994 © Mark Dvoretsky 1992 ISBN 0 7134 7093 3 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, by any means, without prior permission of the publisher. ‘Typeset by Latimer Trend & Gompany Lid, Plymouth and printed in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts, for the publishers, B.T. Batsford Ltd, 4 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 0AH A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK Adviser: R. D. Keene GM, OBE. Technical Editor: Graham BurgessContents Preface 1 Combinations and the Galculation of Variations Combinational Vision Sunspots Twin Combinations Prompting Candidate Moves Paying Attention to the Opponent’s Possi The Method of Exchision The Double Attack The Trapped Piece ‘The Strength of the Passed Pawn Don’t Let your King g You Learn by your Mistakes! Look Out~ It’s a Trap! Logic or Intuition? The Examination of Exercises Does the Problem Have a Solution? How Many Roads Lead to Rome? “Difficult to Teach Easy to Do!” Combinations which are Impossible to Find A Game Played Several Times Over Practice in Playing-Out’ Exercises for Analysis , 2) Attack and Defence Sacrifice or Oversight? “Not all that Glisters is Gold” ‘Ten Years On Twenty Years On Giving Up a Pawn to Prevent Castling Was the Attack Irresistible? Is there such a thing as an ‘Ideal Style’? Science Fiction! tin the way of a Combination! vii i 15 19 22 32 36 2 47 3I 55 58 64 67 73 81 B+ 88 94 100 108 (13 16 120 124 127 131 134 138 147vi Contents Winning in Romantic Style Two Attacking Games by Rainer Knaak Dzhin Attacks! The Decisive Game The Spectators went wild with Delight A Chink in the Armour The Psychology of Defence Into the Eye of the Storm! Bluff! On the Edge of a Prec Positional Exchange S Two ‘French’ End It’s Better to Give Up a Pawn Form your Own Opinion Exercises for Analysis, Solutions to Analytical Exercises Index to Questions and ExercisesPreface Friends of mine have on many aceasions convinced me of the nced te set down in a book at least some of the rather voluminous material shat T have accumulated an the course of my training activities | agiced with them in principle, but the most appropriate form that this idew could take was not too clear wo me, 1 resolved that certainty had no intention of compihng « logical expesition of all iny ideas on waining, of formulating something like a new version of the famous My System by Nimaowitsch, But neither did T wish to confine myself to the description of same tiny province in the vast and rich kingdom of chess. Ehnally hit upon a concept for the sort of chess book L wanted to write, But when sat down at my desk I quickly realised that this concept could not be acconimodated within the framework of a single book. In 1991 my first work, Secrets of Chess Tramng ‘the Russian title is Iskuwtee Analiza “The Art of Analysis’). was published by Batsford, Le was very sureesstul and was even acclaimed is Book of the Year’ by the British Chess Federati ‘The present hook continues ina similar vein to the previous one; though speeitic knowledge of Secrets of Chess Training is not required But, before I discuss the contents of this ney book, I should like to explain the overall concept, which, strictly speaking, contains not one but several udeas, 1. Fresh material. Phave mainly made use of the games of my pupils primarily of Artur Yusupov and Sergei Dobnatoy, whe both began their chess careers some years ago in jrmor tonrnaments~-and my own games, Examples from the games of others have heen quoted only in cases when we (that is, Lor one of my pupils) have managed to sec something new, to formulate their analysis more dearly or to add to it 1 invite the reader into our creative and analytical laboratory by offering here material which is original and unfamiliar, not Hable from other books 2. The art of analysis. 11 is clear that, given such an approach to the selection of material, rather a lot of attentian must be devoted 1 the process of chess analysis, to the technique of cargying it out, to typical errors in analysis ete. I do not wish to enlarge here on the importance to any chessplayer of analytical skill; 1 shall merely quote the opinion of World Champion Gary Kasparov: “I consider that the analytical approach, the analytical n.cthod of studying chess, must give any chessplayer a colossal advantage over those who only have experience of practical play, all other things being equal, and that self improvement in chess is impossible without analysis” 3 Exercises for training purposes: 1 is simply not enough just 16 play chess you need to tram constantly, 10 develop qualiues and ssills which will help you to make decisions over the board With this aun in mind, it is useful to work through exerenes casy and difficult, positional and tactical. ‘Training may take many forms solving exer ises in your head, analysing, moving pieces on the hoard, playing out specially selected positons, ete, AIL dese forms of waining areviii Preface discussed in this book, and vanous examples to be worked out on your own are also given. ‘These have been divided into ‘Exercises’ (designated by the leer “EY, the solutions to which are given at the end af the hook, and “Questions! (letter *Q’}, the answers to which follow in the text 4, Ways to approach the taking of decisions in the most diverse situations, i.e the ‘pure’ chess approach, but also the approach based on the psychological aspects of chess, This, of course, is what my basic concept is really all about, My ideas, the viability of which has been confirmed by the achievements of my pupils, at times do uot coincide entirely with the traditional point of yew. Fwish to acquaint the reader with these ideas: When investigating one ar other of the concrete positions examined in the text, you will discover the hidden springs governing the contest, ways of scarching for the right move, the reasons for errors and also procedures for avoiding them in future, Te was a pleasure t read the following wards in a review of my book Sevres of Chess Training by Grandmaster Murray Chandler, *.. Reading the text, and just attempting the analysis, will start you thinking ina new way", ‘This os precisely what | was aiming for In order to solve the task at hand suiliciently fully, it is necessary to consider the broadest posible range of situations. But in my above-mentioned first book only positions with a limited amount of material were considered — practical endings and studies, ‘This new book continues the theme, but taking as examples middicgame positions involving combinations and sacrifices in hoth attack and defence. ‘The first half of the book is devoted to combinational ‘technique’ if this word may be considered appropriate. -that is, the skill to be able to find a tactical idea and calculate it accurately. [ have examined yvanous types of combination, methods which facilitate the calculation of variations, and ways develop the calculating abiliues every chessplayer needs. The examples analysed in the second half of the book are mainly of a problematic, irrational nature. They involve sacrifices which dety accurate calcul: with a constructive tisk in both attack and defence In order to realise my conception fully, F still have one or two more buoks to write: to investigate the problems of positional p and of opening preparation, and also mes containing many of the to analyse some most interesting and valuable ideas already studied But all this lies in the futures let us now move on to the study of tacties1 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations A trainer ] once knew liked to say, half joking but half serious “Chess 1s just a simple boardgame played by moving the pic around”, With this ‘aphorism’ he wished to stress the role of tactics in chess, to express the idea that no science, no profound posi- tional considerations or strategic subtleties, can help a player if he is unable to find strong moves or to see and accurately calculate con- crete possibilities for himself and his opponent Some people are of the opinion that tactical abilities are innate -- either you have them or you don’t, and if you don’t there is nothing you can do about it. My experience as a trainer has con- vinced me that this is not the case. With targeted training methods it is possible to develop one’s abil- ities considerably in the sphere of tactical play (as, incidentally, in any other sphere). 1 remember a lecture which = Grandmaster (Senior Master) Ostap Bender, hero of the immortal novel The Twelve Chairs by Hf and Petrov, gave to chess-lovers in the town of Vasyuka. “We see that the fair- haired man plays well, but the dark-haired man plays badly. And no lectures will ever change this state of affairs, unless cach individual constantly trains at playing draug. . .- -that is, T meant to say—chess. Bender, admit- tedly, did not explain how exactly one should train. T have tried to rectify his omission in the third chapter of Secrets of Chess Train- ing, which was devoted to studies, and in this book we shall continue our discussion of this theme: A. chessplayer's tactical skill comprises two components— combinational vision and the technique of calculating varia- tions. These in turn may also be broken down into constituent cle- ments --various ways of searching for and deliberating over moves, typical schemes and situations. Even if a player is, on the whole, an excellent tactician, it is always possible to reveal aspects of his2) Combinations and the Calculation of Variations tactical play which could be improved still further Combinational Vision A game conducted logically and finished off with a beautiful com- bination—that is my chess ideal. Viadimir Simagin The term ‘combinational vision’ should be taken to mean the abi- lity to rapidly discover ‘disguised’ tactical ideas—- the sort of moves which do not immediately strike the eye and which usually involve sacrifices. In order to develop your chess imagination — combinational vision—you should solve exer- cises (studies and examples from practical play), the main difficulty of which consists in finding the right tactical idea. Note that I do mean actually finding it and not just, say, calculating or evaluating, it. For this purpose you may make use of any of the numerous. books of problems which are pub- lished, it seems, in every country of the world. On the whole, such problems contain relatively sim- ple combinations, which a well- drilled player notices very quickly, even when playing blitz. Here are a couple of examples from my own five-minute games which serve to illustrate precisely this point. Dyoretsky-Zilberstein Moscow 1966 Q. 1.1 What should White play? White has an overwhelming lead in development and all his pieces are placed as actively as possible. There must be a combination here. 20 cxd7! 21 #aT7!! Another winning move was 21 2d. Black resigned. exd7 Dyoretsky-Bogomoloy Moscow 1967 1 e4 5 2 4 exd4 3 63 dxc3 4 3xc3 6 5S acd 6, 6 aps a6 7 0-0 bs 8 2b3 DeT 9 Des! Deo 10 f4 eT £5 exgsCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 3 12 txp6 hxg6 13 xeS — wxg5 14 wxd6 eT Q. 1.2 What should White play? Although he is a pawn down, it is possible for White to agree to exchange queens, but only because of a specific combina- tional idea. 1S) wyxe7+ = XET 16 AdS+! = wd6 16... exdS 17 &xd5 2a7 18 Axf7+ and 19 4 xa7. 17 cSt! It would be a mistake to play 17 Mxf7? because of 17... exd5 18 Axd5 32e61; also unconvincing is 17 2b62! wa’. IT... exeS 18 Dc7 wal 19 saxf7 t* White has obtained a clear ad- vantage, and he soon‘ won Even if such examples do not cause you the least trouble, it still makes sense to become well- versed in their solution from time to time. Such problems are rather like the scales played by musicians at rehearsal—they are extremely useful for improving your form just before a competition. By rapidly finding the answers to a series of combinational exercises, you not only sharpen your per- ception of positions, you also sense a growing confidence in your own powers. T have already had occasion to mention five-minute games, tak- ing the opportunity to show off two of my own beautiful victories (and over strong opponents at that). Both of those games were played during a training session for the Moscow team prior to a USSR People’s Spartakiad. 1 came to this session immediately after taking part in another train- ing session, in which I assisted Valery Chekhov in his prepara- tion for the World Junior Cham- pionship. Our work together was extremely productive. Chekhov became World Junior Champion, and in the Spartakiad I performed rather well, Petrosian—Dyoretsky Liepaja 1975 Lcd ate 2 acd 26 3 3 ‘eg? 4 hg? 0-0 5 AaB 46 6 0-0 eS 7 3 Dcé4 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 8 «bl aS 9 a3 &f5 10 d27! Stronger is 10 b4. True to his prophylactic style, Petrosian wards off the threat of 10... ¢4, but this was not really a threat, since after 10 b4 axb4 11 axb4 e47! 12 Dh4t exd3 13 BxfS dxe2 14 Dxe2 gxf5 15 bS White gets an advantage 10... wd7 i sel Rh3 12 ght Ded! If the white knight were on 3, Black would have had to waste a tempo in playing ... h7-h6. But now Black immediately begins a typical and very dangerous at- tack. The knight on g4 is very menacing. as will become clear after the thematic advance .. . £7 - f5-f4. Much weaker is 12 ... 2hS? 13 b4 £5 14 bS BdB 15 cS! with advantage to White, as in the game Chernin: Levitt, Rome 1989. 13. b4 axb4 14 axb4 5 15 bs ads 16 2d5 fT 17 4b2 Deb 18 al safs 19 jga7 acd 20° Abs 4 2 DxcdS —fxg3 22 hxg3 axe 23 3 Both players have carried out their attacks in consistent fashion, each on his own side of the board, but it seems to me that Black has made more progress. The position of the white king gives some cause for concern, and combinations are simply hanging in the air— Black has only to choose the best one. I found a beautiful idea, but was of course unable to examine it fully, given the limitations of blitz play. 23... ed 24 xg? wid6 25 f4 ax 26 gxf4 ue xf The former World Champion resigned. finding no defenceCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 5 against the threat 27... i4xfl pyh2 mate. fl + 28 S. 1.1 Was. ified? Petrosian’s decision Dyoretsky-Gulko Liepaja 1975 1 ed Ss 2 ap 6 3. 3 d5 4 exdS exdS 5 d4 Ach 6 203 wbo?! Better is 6... cxd4. 7 Bast A very strong response. Much worse is 7 dxcS wyxb2, or 7 wb3 e4. Now on 7... ##xb2 White s 8 AbS, and on 7... a6--8 !, forcing the transition to a better ending. If, however, 7... 4, then 8 Axc4! dxc4 9 d5 wxb2 10 dxo6 with advantage to White. Therefore Gulko’s reply is prac- tically forced. Toe exd4 8 2xd4 Axad 9 Dxc6!? . Also possible, of course, was the simple 9 bxa3. But White wants more. On 9 wxc6 he plans to play 10 ¥¥b3! (with the threat 11 g.b5) 10 wd6 11 RbS+ 44712 Zxd7+ wxd7 13 wexa3. 9. byxb2! 10 Ada! bxc6 Probably Black should have preferred 10 Bm il «bl wxa2 12 2b50-013 sal wb2 14 c4 Zgd!. This at any rate had seemed to Chekhov and myself to be the main line when we analysed this variation during our training session. 11 xbl! Not immediately 11 3xg7? in view of 11... f6. Wo. wxa2 12 Axg7 ed This is where our preliminary analysis came to an end—we had only considered 12 acs 13 welt. 13. £3 ed7 The threat is 14... %e8+. 14 Mb7+ dé On 14... dec8 there follows 15 ha6. Here I noticed a spectacular combination and could not resist the temptation. IS geS+2 &xe5 16 wdd+ = -ed6? This is what White had been counting on 17 what eS Or 17... e618 Wxf7+ with a very dangerous attack.‘ an . : 6 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 18 bS+! 19 we7 mate A so-called ‘epaulette mate’. Instead of 16... #d6? it was essential to reply 16... de6!. not fearing the capture of the bishop with check: 17 wixg4+ f5. After 17 fxg4!?, intending 18 243, White would have retained quite good attacking chances, but there was, of course, very little point in going in for such complications. In fact, the crude 15 fxg4 Ke8 + 16 2e2 would have won without any difficulty. Of course, considering the regu- lations for blitz games, it is ridicu- lous to reproach oneself for such a decision. But playing for a bril- liancy like this in a serious tourna- ment game would be totally unac- ceptable—the simplest route should always be preferred. As a child I once showed a similar combination to Grand- master Simagin, who gave lessons to young chessplayers in the Mos- cow Palace of Pioneers. Knowing Vladimir Pavlovich to be a player with a sharp, distinctive style, I hoped he would look upon my own ‘creative endeavours’ with approval, but I had miscalculated. “Combinations for their own sake”, he concluded, “‘are not jus- tifiable from either a sporting or a creative point of view.” Later I came to realise that such games look attractive only until one has considered the position carefully exbS and begun to find fault with the underlying variations. Combinations look — much better, even if they are comparat- ively straightforward, if they are correct and represent the shortest (or even the only) way to achieve one’s aim. This is especially true when they are the logical conclu- sion of the preceding strategy. 1 shall now give two very nice ex- amples. Mukhin-Dolmatoyv Pushkinskiye Gory 1977 1 ed 05 2 ap af 3 Axes d6 4 ap Axed S d4 d5 6 Hd3 fie7 7 0-0 Deée 8 Hel Some time later 8 c4 became the main line for White. 8... aed 9 3 {5 10 Abd2 At the Wijk aan Zee tourna- ment in 1975 Enklaar tried 10 h3 against me. I sacrificed a pawn: 10 +. £xf3 (quieter is 10... 45) 11 gxf3!? Af (IT... Qd6? 12 wb3) 12 Qxf5 0-0 13 wd3 & 14 285 2e7. Clearly mistaken now is 15 2xf6? #xf6 16 &xh7+ wf, as the bishop is trapped (or 16... #h8 with a strong attack).Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 7 After 15 2d2! 2xfS 16 wxfS i717 ¥xd7 2xd7 the ending would be roughly equal. By giving the careless check 15 %e6+? Enklaar conceded the square g6 to my knight and he consequently lost control over the most import- ant square 4. The reprisal was swift: 15... #eh8 16 Ad2 Dg6 17 BIS (17 &xd5 4! 17 WES c6) 17... Bf4 18 Bxf6 wxf6 19 Axg6 Axd2 20 e2? 414 21 AXxh7 weS+ 22 &hl wh5 White resigned. The rather old continuation 10 c4!? has also been encountered, but the strongest move, according to theory, is 10 wb3. 100... yid6!? Dolmatov wishes to castle long. If White had played 10 wb3 he would now have had the riposte 11 2fd2!, which is known to be strong. Al wb3 Or I ed Axd4 12 Hadt+ Ach with unclear play. Wo... 0-0-0 120 Abs nf6 12... Axd2!?. 13° wad * Axd2 140 Axd2 The game Mestel-Wolff, Lon- don 1985, continued: 14 2xd2 whe8 15 fl #e216 Hxe2 & xe2 17 b4 -Axd4! with complications not unfavourable to Black io. xB 15 gxf3_—_ (sce diagram) 5... 26 Sounder was 15 ... @&b8, not giving White anything to latch onto for a queenside pawn offen- sive. But Dolmatov wishes to im- prove his situation in the end- game—after a double exchange on c6 he will be able to move his king immediately to d7—and so he takes a risk in the middlegame. 16 4.03?! If White is not going to play 16 xxc6 then it would be better to retreat the bishop to fl. 16... webs 17) &xf5? Consistent, but bad. From the game Enklaar-Dvoretsky we know that the pawn on f5 in such positions is of no particular signi- ficance. It was urgently necessary to begin play on the queenside: 17 4, 7... ahd! 18 ih3 w16 19 92 2e7 The same knight manoeuvre as in my game against Enklaar. 20 xed Des 21 [48 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 21 Kael!?. 21... 2xf4 220 Axfd wxt4 23° dhl Khe 24 wf Hf6 25 He8 Hh6 260 wd7 Q. 1.3 What should Black play? White was counting on 26 ... Axe8 27) wxe8t da7 28 #e5(c3) with approximate equal- ity, or 26... a7 27 Hxd8 Qxd8 28 h3, attacking with the queen both the bishop and the pawn on ds, 26... al! 27) Mxd8 Rem 28 3 Rd6 29 wyxd6 Forced, 29 we Rxd6 Dolmatov has converted his positional advantage into extra material, and he proceeded con- fidently to turn this into a win. 30) Kxd6 wxd6 31 Hel More stubborn was 31 f4. Eo... 6 32 Hed wis 33° afl wel 34° gr 25 35 eel wl! 36 ad wel 37 3 wid 38 wef2 nS 39 degz ha 40 wf? west 41 aed wis + 42 wf? wel 43 2g? web6 Now the point behind Black's 35th move is clear—his king now has access to the queenside. 44 aft was 45 wel wad 46 HR &b3 Black’s plan is clear; having first brought up his queenside pawns, he will shortly sacrifice his queen at b2. White resigned. A, Sokoloy-Yusupoy 3rd game, Candidates match, Riga 1986 1 e4 06 2 d4 5 3 acd Abd 4 65 5 5 a3 Axe3+ 6 bxe3 DeT 7 2B b6 Black wishes to exchange his ‘bad’ bishop. This system, which is not too highly regarded by theory (and perhaps rightly), hadCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 9 been specially prepared by Yusu- pov for this duel with Sokolov, and he employed it with success. In the first game of the match his opponent chose 8 &bS+ 2d7 9 2d3, but for the thirteenth he prepared a completely new idea: 8 Bg5!. 8 ad Ha6 9 Rxab Another possibility was 9 2bS+ Hxb5 10 axb5. 9. 2yxa6 10 0-0 Dbs WL dxe5 bxe5 12 4 0-0 13 exdS 2Axd5 In the fifth game of the Candi- dates match Geller-Spassky (Suk- humi 1968), Black captured on d5 with the queen. Yusupov takes advantage of the first convenient opportunity to diverge from theory, in order to compel his opponent to think for himself. 140 wd3 ho 15 cd?! Stronger was 15 dl or IS wed, : 15... Del It was tempting to play 15... b4, but there is nothing for the knight to do on this square. The square e7 is far superior~-from here the knight controls the c6- square, and it may come to f5 or 26. 16 wed Qa Where is the queen’s knight best placed, on c6 or d7? Yusupov again finds the correct solution. It is important that the pawn on c5 be securely defended. 17 bi? White should not have weak- ened the pawn on a4. After 17 41 ¥ic7 the position would be roughly equal. 7 ow. was! 18 M17 It would have been better for White to acknowledge his mis- take: 18 Hal followed by 342. 18... vad8! Weaker was 18... #¥xa4?!, in view of 19 s.xh6! (but not 19 A.25 Wo6!) 19... gxh6 20 shal wre6 21 Wxc6 Axco 22 equal ending. 19 We? wxd7 with an Q. 1.4 What now? Black could have played the sim- ple 19... 2b6!?, but Yusupov found a_ different solution, stronger and more beautiful. 19... Dxed!! would you play10 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 20° Axe5 we3! 21 we? wrxeS Exemplary exploitation of the weakness of the back rank, Black has won a pawn—and with it the game. 220 23 ats 230 we f3 igxdl + 24 xd add 25 gxdat More stubborn was 25 #b7. 25... exd4d 26 wd3 Hd’ 27 3 wes 28 «fd wba! 29° Hal 29 we2 d3! 30 %xd3 wel +. 2... aS 30 hd hs 31 wbl wxad 32 b5 26 330 wf2 waz + 34 wf ad 35 Kb6 eeg7 36 &bI wes 37 Ab6 wal 38 we? White should have set a final trap: 38 xe6, and if 38... vc3? then 39 }e3!. But Yusupov had intended to reply 38... b8! 39 Kxg6+ ff8, winning. 38... a3 39 a6 ab2+ 40 wd? d3+ White resigned, In conclusion, I offec'a few sim- ple exercises for the reader to solve: White to moveCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 11 White to move Sunspots Only a strong chessplayer knows how weak he really is, Saviely Tartakower “The sun also has spots” is an old Russian proverb. Even at the highest level of competition— matches for the World Cham- pionship — players sometimes totally overlook favourable com- binational possibilities. This is hardly surprising, since finding a concealed combination under nerve-racking match conditions, with the clock ticking away, is not easy even for a World Champion or a pretender to this title. Chiburdanidze—Levitina | 4th game, World Ch. match, Volgograd 1984 Q. 1.5 Evaluate 26 4 b4. White has a healthy extra pawn. The Women's World Champion played simply: 26 xe2_&xe2 (26 +s. Hxe2 27 2d3) 27 g3 Bed 28 Bel 2577 29 uc8+ wg7 3012. Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 4f8+ Black resigned. Also after a more normal turn of events, 28 . e429 ¥c2. White would have had every reason to reckon on victory, but the process of turning the extra pawn into a win might have been somewhat pro- tracted A forced win could have been achieved with the following beau- tiful combination. 26 Abd! Hxa2d Nothing is changed by 26... &xel+ 27 xel 4xa2. 270 &xad Mxa2 28 ASE The theme of the combination is the weakness of the back rank. No good were either 28 £13? 4.06 or 28 AbI? «02 2B... ne2! 29° Abi! An essential intermediate move. Mistaken would be 29 4.84? i:b5, while on the immedi- ate 29 443? Black replies 29... a5! with the spectacular idea 30 4c} Zes!!. On 30 g3 there also follows 30... Ze5!, and if 30 4 cS then 30... 4d2!. That only leaves 30 A xaS xxaS 31 Xxe2, but of course it is not worth play- ing a combination just for the sake of an extra pawn in an end- ing with bishops of opposite col- ours 29... wo b2 29... wal 30 Axh74+ or 30 Ro, 300 xd Now it is no use playing 30... a5 31 gxa5; and 30... xb3 31 wxe2 g5 32 Ke8+ we7 33 X84 also loses. Thus we have convinced our- selves that the move 26 % b4! was objectively the strongest. Nevertheless, from a practical point of view the continuation chosen by Chiburdanidze does not merit criticism. Indeed, when calculating combinations it is usually not long before you make a mistake, whereas the quiet route preserves the advantage without any worries. Kasparov—Karpov Ist game, World Ch. match, Moscow 1985 Q. 1.6 What should Black play? Watching this game from the tournament hall, I of course first thought about 18 bxc5. But this hardly seems possible-~ White has two refutations: 19 Axck+ xdxc8 20 Xb7; and 19 &xb& Dxb8 20 dxcS (intending 21 ~b1)Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 13 20... DaG 21 AxcB+ x xcB 22 b7. “If it is not possible, then I should very much like... to make it possible!” (an aphorism from the back page of Literaturnaya Gazeta). It is clear that if events develop quietly it will be difficult for Black to save the game: -he 1s far too cramped. If he cannot succeed in solving the problems of his position by normal means, then it is necessary to think about more forceful methods, and so I continued examining the move 18 ... bxe5. T at once noticed that after 19 axc8+ sdxc8 20 2b7 xxb7 21 4 xb7 cxd4 22 yxa7 Dc5 23 Xb eS Black gets excel- lent compensation for the sacri- fice of the exchange. If White ad- vances his a-pawn immediately then his rook will never excape from a7. In the second variation Black has to give up a piece: 18 ... bxc5! 19 42 xb8 Dxb8 20 dxcS Dao! 21 DxcB+ xc8 22 Rb7 caxcd (hopeless is 22... 06? 23 xxc6 dxc6 24 ~zbl) 23 axab a5 24 4c8! (more accurate than 24 &b7) 24... uxa2d+ 25 Hed wd8 (25... 2? 26 xdl) 26 Ab7 we2 27 xal (27 Rab wa2 28 &bS? a6) 27 wxcd 28 wxa7. After 24 2572! the black king would be on e7 and the pawn on a7 would be invulnerable in view of the pin... c7. But now the ending is rather drawish A good example of a com- bination coming to the rescue. | don‘t doubt that in his best years. Karpov would have discovered it without any difficully—he is of course deservedly renowned for his ability to defend difficult posi- tions. But nearly every chess- player's reserves of energy dimin- ish with age, and there is a tendency to abstain from the cal- culation of compheated variations as one’s combinational vision becomes blurred. Apparently these sad changes have already begun to affect even Karpov, in so, far as he played the passive move 18... De7?, with the idea of exchanging the dangerous knight on d6. I recall that this seemed to me to be a bad omen for the World Champion, and indeed at the end of the match the supreme title passed to Kasparov. 19 bat Des 20° 2xe8? As Kasparov has pointed out, White could have obtained a de- cisive advantage with 20 Axc8 +! abxc8 (20... dxc& 21 4 hb! and 22 dd3) 21 cxb6 axb6 22 3 2.d6 23 cl ~b8 24 ~cbl. But after the move in the game Karpov could again have obtained quite good chances of saving the game by playing 20... sxe8! 21 &hbl 2b7 22 d5 exdS 23 cxd5 @f8+ (this check is the point of the combination) 24 &d2 Kas!14 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 20... a xe8? 21) yhbl ae 22 wed d5 23° exd6 Kbc8 23. xd6 24 c5 3.dd8 25 c6 sbe8 26 «ad. Be Q. 1.7 Evaluate 24 4 a4, For the second time while still sitting in the spectator hall 1 suc- ceeded in finding a combination which was not noticed by the players on the stage. Clearly, the attempt to force events with 24 Mad Zxc4 25 2b7 will be met by 25... b5!, But the counter-punch. 26 d7+!! then leads to an immedi- ate win. Kasparov played less energet- ically, and the struggle was some- what drawn out. 24 ed?! Bxd6 25° wad bs 26 exb5 Mb8 27 abd Rb7 28° xb7 %&Xxb7 29° ad weT 300 hd h6 31 3 wd5 32 Kel ibd7 33 aS 25 34 hxg5 sxgs 35 od S 36 b6 axb6 37 axb6 ab7 38 cS 5 39 gxhS we xhS 40 acd uw h8 41 wbs nad 42 bed Black resigned. Turning the next morning to the papers in order to read the reports of the first game of the match, I found no word of the combinational possibilities over- looked by both players. So I attempted to establish my prior claim by publishing in the next edition of 64—Shakhmainoye Obozrenie (‘64—Chess Review’) a short paragraph on this topic. Alas, nothing really came of it— authors of books devoted to this match have quoted both com- binations without any reference to their originator. White to moveCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 15 Twin Combinations Men play better than women because they know far more chess combinations of the type that may be repeated ad infinitum in almost any game, whereas naive women always want to play independ- ently, relying only on their own beauty, imagination and tempera- ment—that is, not trusting in the real life of the chess pieces. David Bronstein Quite some time has passed since Bronstein wrote these lines, and much has changed in the chess world. The impressive successes achieved by the young Polgar sis- ters have been to a considerable extent a consequence of their entirely professional attitude to working at their chess. But the main idea expressed in Bron- stein’s words is of course not in the least outdated. Ideas, tech- niques and combinations repeat themselves, They can and should be studied, Your future success depends on the work you do, on the knowledge you carry around in your head. A chessplayer relies on his own discoveries to no less an extent than on those made by others, His own are nearer to him, stick in his memory better, since they were at a certain time profoundly thought through and keenly felt. One's own games should be carefully preserved and occasionally reviewed. Having returned home after a tournament round, it was my custom to record the game I had just played in a special note- book, noting the variations which I had calculated over the board and the thoughts which had occu- pied me in the course of the game. I would leave space for future additions and corrections. I later made repeated use of the informa- tion kept in this way both in pre- paring for new games and as material for use in teaching young players. And I have recommended the same system to all my pupils. The games which we play, together with the ideas which we put into them, are the main creat- ive results of our chess careers, so they deserve to be treated with care. I shall now bring to your atten- tion two complete games of Dol- matov’s in which he carried out very similar combinations. The second combination certainly came to him without any particu- lar difficulty, as he was helped by the experience he had already gained. Dolmatov—Botto European Junior Ch., Groningen 1977/78 1 e4 06 2 dé d5 3 Qd2 5 4 exdS exd516 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 5 Def Dcé 6 abs Ad6 7 dxcS AxcS 8 00 2ige7 9 ab3 d6 10 Ags 0-0 1 Kel In the second half of the 1970s this was a standard opening posi- tion, encountered in a great number of games. Black has tried various defensive systems, but I could not find the move which Botto played in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings. Woo... eB 12 3 a6 13. Qe2 £61? Black wishes to defend by occu- pying the strongpoint on cS with his knight. This is an interesting idea, probably prompted by the game Gipslis-Korchnoi, Amster- dam 1976. In that encounter Black began to carry out this plan three moves earlier, from the tabiya position: 11... f6 12 Qh4 wb6! 13 Re2 Heb 14 Ag3 Des! with an acceptable game. 14 ghd we? 15 223 Des! Of course, the young Welsh player avoids an unfavourable ex- change of dark-squared bishops. 16 |fd4 It is useful to prevent the transfer of the bishop to f7, where it. would strengthen the weak pawn on d5. 16... RAT 17 RPL A good plan: White places hi bishop on f3 and transfers his knight to e3. By ‘leaning on’ the pawn at d5, Dolmatov hopes te provoke favourable exchanges. Ii should be noted that the strength of the transfer of the knight to e? in such positions was alread) familiar to Sergei. Our opening preparation, needless to say, had not amounted to mere memoris ing of concrete variations—we had analysed some characteristic games and striven to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas behing this opening and to pick out some typical tactical methods. That is to say, we did just the sort of work which Bronstein recommends. Wo... Mad8 18 Ac2 Ac6? A positional error, as this is « rather unfortunate square for the bishop. It was better to play 18. . Re6; for example: 19 Abd4 Kf 20 Ded £6. 19 Abd4 we8Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 17 If 19... Ago then 20 |hS, intending Af5 or f2-f4-f5. 20° De3 aes 20... Dxf3+ 21 wexf3 Ac5 22 gad! with advantage to White, 210 Qhst 26 22° Dgdt Dxgd Forced. 230 xed 4d7 Or 23... £5 24 Qf with a clearly superior position. Dolma- tov has successfully solved his main task—exchanging the knight on eS. Q. 1.8 How should White con- tinue? ‘ There followed a new ‘little com- bination’ (as Capablanca liked to say). 24° Deb! 5 25° Dxd8 fxg 26 Axe7! Axe7 26... &xe7 27 wxd5+ with a quick mate. 27) wxdS+ = e6 27... @f8 28 Bh4 or 28 Af4. 2B Dxe6 wxe6 29 Wxeo+ 300 fl The combination has yielded an extra pawn for White, which with accurate play he quickly converts into victory, wxe6 300... wf 31 Kd ho 32 dS b6 33 cd eto 34 b3 ed 35 a4 web 36 a5 hal 37 ba ised 38 bs Black resigned. The following game was played six months later. Dolmatoy-Mokry World Junior Ch. Graz 1978 1 e4 cS 2 aB 46 3 4 exd4 4 axd4 fe 5 a3 a6 6 4 6 T zed eT 8 00 0-0 9 ad Deb 10 63 we7 1 wht 2d7 12 Db3 Prior to this championship. Dolmatov studied the main varia- tions of the Sicilian Defence at a training session with the assist- ance of a great connoisseur of this opening—Grandmaster Tukmakov.18 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations The present game was the first test of Dolmatoy’s strength in what was for him a new opening sys- tem. Despite his lack of practical experience, Dolmatov confidently grasped the subtleties of the posi- tion. Here, for example, he retreated the knight to b3 only after the black bishop had come out to d7—otherwise Black could have developed his bishop much more actively by playing ... b6 and... 267. Instead of 11... 247, nowa- days players of Black more often play Il... He8. 2... ba If 12... Qad then 13 eSt is unpleasant. 13. a5 Ae6 14 28 as 15 5 247 16 we2 bs?! White has the advantage on the kingside and in the centre; his opponent should have sought counterplay on the queenside by playing 16... b6. 17) ad RbT7 18 3 Deb Black is playing too passively. Rather better was 18 ... we4, to which Dolmatov had intended to reply 19 add. 19 aR AB 20 2ad3 2b8 21 “fel ~— 6 22 exf6 Rxf6 23 £2 ap 24 i b6 wd7 28 Add 46 6 23 ‘b7 27 Mel HS 28 Agd He8 29 Dxc6 Axe 30 Add uf Q. 1.9 What should White play? Up to this point Dolmatov has been consistently strengthening, his position, and now the moment has come to turn his positional gains into a material advantage. Remembering the previous game, itis quite easy to find the solution: 31 ghs! 26 32 eS! we7 33° Dgat Of course, also sufficient was 33 Dxf7, but the move in the game is more accurate. 330. ad7 34. Dho+ wh 350 Bxf7 aexf7 36 ed Turning the advantage of the exchange here into a win is not too difficult. Dolmatov first con- solidates his position as far asCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 19 possible and then ... adjourns, In our home analysis we chose the most appropriate way to break through the enemy's defence. 36. 2 37 ba we7 38 aad Qd7 39 wg? DPB 40 aed = -d7 41 wh3 we8 42 wh6 wey 43 wel The sealed move. 4. wT 45 15! exfS 46 RxeR —— Axe8 47 fxfSt RT 480 xd7 Qxd7 49 wed Black resigned, Prompting We alone are responsible for our own happiness or misfortune. Michel de Montaigne A certain Candidate Master de- cided in a recent tournament to reach the Master norm’ without fail and at any cost. He persuaded a friend of his, a strong Master, to help him not only in preparing for his games but also during play. Together they worked out a sys- tem of conventional signs with the aid of which the Master would be able to prompt strong moves at decisive moments. In one of the first rounds the Master ‘recommended’ a con- tinuation which at first sight looked extremely peculiar. The Candidate was unable to puzzle out the point behind it, and he played something elsc. But he was wrong to do so, as the suggested move was in fact very strong. After this incident it was decided at a ‘council of war’ that all in- structions were to be carried out without question, In the next round the Master suggested giv- ing up a pawn. The Candidate did not understand why, but sacri- ficed the pawn and failed to ob- tain any compensation for it. Hav- ing lost the game, he indignantly asked the Master what the point had been. “Even I can make a mistake,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. I have always considered such unsporting ruses as a pathetic at- tempt to compensate for inad- equacy, and they are in any case a reliable indication of a weak mind. The very high degree of moral authority which Artur Yusupov. Sergei Dolmatov and Nana Alexandria have attained in chess circles is a rightful conse- quence of the fact that they, like their trainer, have always tried to obey the rules of honest sporting competition. However, I can recall an in- cident when someone once tried to suggest a move to me, Bul, as in the story just related, this par-20. Combinations and the Calculation of Variations ticular episode also did not have a happy ending. I was playing a game at the end of a junior team tournament. Having exchanged all the pieces, I went into a favourable pawn end- ing. 1 was sitting at the board, calculating some rather compli- cated variations and trying to find a winning line, when the team’s trainer, Alexander Roshal, came up to me (he was also my trainer) and whispered: “It’s a draw!". [ was astonished —but, having con- sidered that such a result was in the team’s interest, I waited for a couple of minutes and then offered a draw. My opponent, needless to say, agreed. Having stood up from the board I was immediately asked by Roshal, “Why didn’t you play on? You were better, weren't you?”. “But you told me yourself— draw,” I replied in amazement. “Nothing of the sort, I was whispering: ‘We've got four’.” ‘A year and a half passed. For the first time in my life I played in a tournament which was offering a Master norm, and straightaway T exceeded the necessary score by one and a half points, The follow- ing game, in which I had to en- dure quite a few unpleasant ex- periences, was perhaps decisive. But towards the end I was helped by a prompt, albeit an indirect one, which helped to determine the result of the game. Bobolovich—Dyoretsky Semi-Final, Moscow Ch. 1966 1 afs af 2 64 26 3 23 ‘bev 4 5e2 0-0 5 00 5 6 d4 6 7 Bcd Ac6 8 dxc5 dxc5 9 Red Reo 10 wad was? A mistake, which at once give Black a difficult position. Correct according to theory, is 10 .. ads. WL ad2! The threat is 12 9 xc6. how. waxad 12) Bxad 2d7 130 & xed Hac8 14 503 axed Having lost a pawn, I was nov attempting desperately to alter th course of a game that was turnin; out badly. 15 Axed bS 16 HadI? Much stronger was 16 # fd Dcb8 17 Hacl bxc4 18 Axa7. 16... 2cb8 17 33 Bx3 18 bxc3 xed 19 &xa7 x3 Now White no longer has ar extra pawn, but ‘merely’ the aé vantage of the two bishops, al though this should be crushing it an open position.Cambinations and the Calculation of Variations 21 20 Hd2 21° Wb2? Not bad was the simple 21 Mfdl, but serious consideration should also have been given to 21 Axb8!? (there is a well-known truism: “the main advantage of the two bishops is that one of them can always be exchanged”) 21... Qxb& 22 Ab! Hc2 23 Bfdl Bxd2 24 wxd2 Hcl+ 25 she? 2c6 26 U7. MfcB 2... He2d 22° Mf Hxb2 23° xb? wel+ 24° «afl 26 25 403 Mal 26 £4? af 27 dee? b4 28 «Qa? Ded 29° e3 Q. 1.10 What should Black play? At this moment my schoolfriend and fellow Pioneer, Candidate Master Sasha Karasev, came into the tournament hall. We grected each other and I continued think- ing about my next move. It was clear that the worst for Black had passed and that I should not lose. T was looking to see how I could be most sure of guaranteeing the draw. If, say, 29 ++. Qe3, then 30 &c4, and then not 30 ... 2a5? because of 31 uxb4. It was possible simply to exchange on d2, but wouldn't the pawn on b4 then become weak when the white king crosses over to the queenside, especially in the event of an exchange of rooks? At this point I sensed some commotion around me, raised my head from the board and noticed that my friend was in a state of severe agitation. His expression had changed, and he had begun circling around my table. I under- stood immediately: Sasha had seen something. This forced me to take a fresh look at my position, to cease looking for a draw and to muse on what it was he could possibly have discovered. And, finally, the solution came to me in a flash. 2... b3t 30 axb3 dl The bishop is trapped. If 31 ADS then 31... a7. 31 acd 2Dxe3 32 hed 20s And now the awkward position of the other bishop is the telling factor, 33° Axc6 Dxe3+ 340 #2 Dxfl 35 we? Bbl22 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 36 bd White resigned. Why have I told this story? Simply because 1 realised after- wards just how important it can sometimes be to take a fresh look at a position. This is the sort of ‘prompt’ which we can always give ourselves. Petrosian once refiected that, as arule, a chessplayer notice an unexpected combinational idea either at once or not at all. This is explained by the fact that, having been diverted by the examination and precise formulation of varia- tions, he is influenced into form- ing a definite view of the position, and consequently, unable to get out of the rut, he forgets about searching for new ideas. This psy- chological effect can and should be combated. Having in the course of a game come up against a problem which is not easily solved, interrupt your calculations for a time and switch over to searching, asking yourself: “What may still be concealed in this position? What might I not have noticed?”. It doesn’t always work, but quite often such a ‘diver- sion’ will yield good results. 2xh2 Candidate Moves All candidate moves should be identified at once and listed in one’s head. This job cannot be done piecemeal, by first examin- ing one move and then seckin: another. Alexander Kotov It is not enough to be able to fin a combination: once it has bee found, its consequences have t be accurately calculated. In orde to train the ability to calculat variations, you should solve exer cises, the main difficulty of whi consists not in the search for hid den, beautiful ideas, but in th need to consider a large numbe of different lines, sometime requiring analysis many move ahead. Many years ago, Alexande Kotov, then merely a fi egory player, succeeded. sult of targeted training, in deve! oping his calculating abilities ver considerably. The result was ; sudden leap in his standard o play, and he became a grandmas ter. In his books Kotov ha shared the experience of hi labours, identifying — metho¢ which improve the quality of cal culated variations, and giving: lot of useful advice. One sud piece of advice has served as th epigraph for this section. In the first chapter of Secrets é Chess Training the value of thi advice was extensively discusss when applied to the analysis ¢ adjourned positions, But, o course, it is also important fe over-the-board play. | shall nosCombinations and the Cafculation of Variations 23 quote what is for me a memorable example of this theme, Dvoretsky-Schiissler Tbilisi 1980 1 ed 5 2 ap 3f 3 QxeS 6 4 of axed 5 d4 a5 6 £3 kev 7 0-0 Daert Black defends against c2-c4, but in order to do this he moves this knight for the third time. It is not good to waste tempi in the opening, so it is hardly surprising that White can obtain a better position in several ways. Not bad, for example, is 8 Ac3 c6 9 De2 APS 10 Des. 8 Rf Now Black cannot play 8 ... f5 in view of 9 Axd6. Bow. hed 9 Dbd2 An interesting plan was worked out by Makarychev: 9 #el 0-0 10 h3 RhS 11 Ac3!c6 12 wer! Teh Ge, Q. LU What would follow in reply to 12... 4e8? {~ It is bad to play 12... e& because of 13 Rxh7+! Wxh7 14 Dgs+ Arxg5 15 wxhS+ wh6 16 sxe8 Dxe8 17 Axh6 gxh6 18 WI7+ 2g719 Kel or 19 wxbT. Q. 1.12 How can 12... 3c8 be refuted? ‘ <} It is also ao use playing 12 2Bc813 Zxb8 Fxf3 (13 we xb8 14 wreS!) 14 weS!! 216 15 wld gS (1S... AHS 16 Ac7 wd7 17 acf5) 16 wFS! 6 17 wes 2f6 18 #e7!, when the bishop on f3 can only retreat to e4. Finally, on 12... 6 Makary- chev points out the following va iation: 13 we3! Me8 (13... Xxf3 14 wyxf8 Axd4 15 2xd5!) 14 ReS Qd7 15 24 2e6 16 wld with advantage to White. 9... 0-0 10 sel 2dT This position had already oc- curred in one of my games seven years earlier, against Khacha- turov (Moscow 1973). Then I played rather superficially with 11 3, and Black succeeded in equa- lising by means of 11... 8 12 Brb3 Db6 13 Brc2 g6 14 DeS afS 15 Me2 Hg5! 16 &xgS wxes 17 acl f6. This time I chose a more logical plan. At present it would not be helpful to play 11 h3 &hS, as Black gets the opportunity to ex- change light-squared bishops with24 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations the move ... %g6. But if White first transfers his knight to g3 and only then plays h2-h3, Black will have to exchange on 13, after which the white pieces will exert unpleasant pressure — against. Black's kingside. "Wo Df ate Everything is clear: on 12 Ag3 Black intends to reply 12... SS. But there is a serious defect in my opponent's plan Q. 1.13. What is wrong with Black's plan? 12 33 hs 13 AxhS —-AxhS 14 eS! An extremely unpleasant double attack. If Black exchanges. on {3 and then plays 15... c6 (there appears to be no other way to avoid losing a pawn), White can sacrifice his bishop on h7. After the game, my opponent showed me the move which he had been studying ‘out of despe- ration’ —14 g5%—but, of course, such a move could not really be taken seriously. Schiissler sank into deep thought. His reply came a mere one and a half hours later (!). At this time I had some sympathy with his plight: “What can you do, if all moves are bad. You can think as long as you like, but your position is beyond repair.” Exf3 1S wxf3 6 Q. 1.14 What play? ‘ I didn’t doubt that the sacrifice of the bishop was correct. Therefore I first intended to take on h7 without thinking, in order to see should White which defence my opponent would choose after 16 %xh7+ exh7 17 BHS+ desk 18 whI— 18... (6 or 18... fS5—and only then to calculate the variations. But. fortunately, I did not actually commit such a stupid error but began to examine the sacrifice and saw that matters were not so simple as they had at first seemed, The variation 18 f6 19 xxel 2\f7 20 wS suited me fine, in connection with the possibility after 20... Ags (20... Bh8 21 weé6+: 20... Ad6 21 weo+ ysf7 22 wh3) 21 exes fxg5 22 we6+ 34f723 wh3 518 of play- ing 24 xh7!, with the terrible threat of 25 wh5. (Alas, I totally overlooked the better and, appar- ently, entirely adequate defence 20... He8!.)Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 25 But I did not succeed in finding anything in reply to 18... £5 19 mel (19 h7 D7, 19 3hB+ wt7 20 whS+ Web) 19... aed! 20 @h8+ a7 21 wexfS+ 216 or 21... 3f6 (but not 21... &e8? 22 WxPB+ Axf¥ 23 13). Two or three times I was dis- tracted from sacrificing the bishop and weighed up other natural moves; for example, 16 jgae1. But I did not find any advantage after these possibilitics and again returned to the examination of the consequences of the move 16 Axh7+, thereby contravening another principle pointed out by Kotov: “When calculating com- plicated variations, each of the numerous branches of the tree should be gone through one at a time”. Having thought for about an hour, getting more and more tired and almost despairing at ever being able to find a way to get an advantage, I suddenly noticed a possibility which T had not pre- viously considered. I hurriedly ex- amined it and finally made my move, - 16 wg3! The threat is 17 4 xe7. In the event of 16... 2f6 17 Zxh74 wxh7 18 BhS+ #g8 19 xd6 Ke8 20 %c5 Black has no com- pensation for the loss of a pawn. It is significant, however, that I did not see the best defence: 16... 2eB!. If my opponent had played this T am not sure that I would have had enough strength left to find the correct way to continue the attack: 17 Rael 416 18 sh5 26 19 srh3! A xd4 20 xh7. Ob- jectively this position favours White; for example: 20... #7f6 21 g3 &xb2 22 wh6 (threatening 23 %Q5) 22... 24 23 Ae2 or even 23 ¢3. 1 was lucky: Schiissler was no less tired than I and he made White’s task easier. 16... ha? 17 &xh7+ — exh7 18 ehS+ gd 19 wh3t Of course, not 19 4% xh4? ass, and not 19 #xh4? wxh4 20 4 xh4 Des 9... 25 20 g3 Also strong was 20 4¢5, but the move in the game is simpler. 0... eB QL wxCB—AxcB 22 xd2 De? 23. gxhd gxha 24 ahi! And Black resigned, as 24... Dg6 25 f4 is decisive. I do not blame myself that [ had been immediately diverted by calculation of the bishop sacri- fice—it seemed too tempting. Bur as soon as it became clear that the sacrifice did not lead to a forced win, it was essential to pause and compile a full list of candidate moves. If 1 had concentrated on26 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations this task, T would most certainly have seen 16 wg3 quickly and after a brief examination I would have realised that this was the move I had to play, As a result it would have been possible to save quite a lot of time and effort. Grandmaster Yusupov al- taches exceptional importance to the identification of all candidate moves. This routine has helped him on numerous occasions to find and exploit the hidden re- sources of his position. A good illustration is the following game. Yusupov-Nogueiras Candidates Tournament, Montpellier 1985 1 d4 d5 2 4 6 3 3c3 6 4 ap D6 5 gs Qbd7 6 exdS exd5 7 3 6 8 2d3 DB Black wishes to accomplish the same manoeuvre which I employed to my advantage in the previous game: ... g6 followed by... h7-h6. For the sake of this, he makes, as did Schiissler, several moves in the opening with the same piece. This dubious plan had been adopted previously by Nogueiras, so Artur and I had had an opportunity to prepare, and we foresaw the subsequent course of events. 9 DcS? wb6 In the event of 9... 3g6 White reinforces his knight in the centre with the move 10 f4. The game Chernin Cvetkovic, Belgrade 1988, continued: 10 ... 0-0 II wac2 we8 120-0 &b4 13 whl Axc3 14 bxc3 h6 15 FS AxfS 16 Rx06 gxd3 17 wxd3 exf 18 De4 with a decisive attack for White. 10 0-0 axes Highly dangerous for Black would be 10 wyxb2 TH igcl. M1 dxeS Ded? Better was 11... 36d7, after which Yusupov had the following variation in mind; 12 £4 wyxb? 13 Kel Age 14 Axgo! hxge 15 e4, which would have secured him an advantage. Instead of captur- ing the pawn it is better for Black to play 12... cS, as in the game Gulko-Smagin, Moscow Ch. Ch. 1984.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 27 .15 How should White con- tinue? We had given this position a cur- sory glance in our preparation for this game, and we decided that it favoured White, in view of the variation 12 2f4 Ag6 13 Axg6 hixg6 14h3 Bh6 15 e4!, But Yusu- pov usually verifies any prelim- inary analysis over the board, es- pecially if it was done in a hurry. He began to wonder whether there were any other possibilities besides 12 &f4, and he saw an extremely tempting idea. Coming, to the conclusion that in the varia- tion planned at home Black can still defend by means of 15 ... wxb2 16 Xcel 0-0!, Artur pre- ferred the continuation he found during the game. 12 Wad! wyexb2?! Now White's lead in develop- ment becomes overwhelming, but itis hard to advise anything better for Black. In the event of the obvious 12... %d7 White could have chosen between 13 wWa3!? [6 14 exf6 gxf6 15 4h4, and 13 e6!? Axe6 14 DxdS Axd5 15 wied— in both cases with a clear-advan- tage to White. 13 Racl RAT On 13... Dxes, White wins with either 14 i¢c2 wrb6 15 Axd5, or 14 Dxd5 Dxd3 15 Mxcbl. (see following diagram) s Q. 1.16 How can White most (quickly(profit from his advantage? Neove White's first thought was to bring all his pieces into play with 14 Ke2 wh6 15 Mb1. But after 15 « We7 16 AxdS wrxe5, or 16 Af4 Deo Black somehow holds on. Again Yusupov asked himself which were his candidate moves. As a result he found a deadly solution. 14 wyda!! White has created five (!) threats: 15 Dxd5, 15 |b5, 15 Ded, 15 &bI and 15 e6 Axe6 16 wixg7. It is, of course, impossible to defend against all of them. If, for example, 14 ... ¥¥b6 then 15 e6!, winning a piece. 4... {6 15 exf6 gxf6 16 2x6 eB 16... Dxf6 17 wrxf6 Hg8 18 17) Abst wyxbS: 18 &xbS Dee 19 bz exb5 20 Rh4 Black resigned.28 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations Nunt-Miles Baden 1980 1 e4 5 2 ap 6 3 d4 exd4 4 axdd 2M 5 ac3 26 6 g3 Dcé 7 Qde2 = 87 8 Age RDBI? 9 a4 a6 10 0-0 bs 11 axbS axbS 12 Qd5 0-0 An exchange on d5 is unfavour- able for Black in view of the weakness of the c6-square (12... Axd5 13 exd5 Bes 14 |d4). In the event of 12... e6 13 Axfo+ xf6 White obtains nothing from or 14 2f4 DeS, rifice a pawn in order to deprive the enemy king of the right to castle: 14 &h6! xb2, Q. 1.17 How should White con- tinue his offensive? In the book by Nunn and Grif- fiths, Secrets of Grandmaster Play, the following variation is suggested: 15 e5! (the exclama- tion mark is the authors’) 15... Dxe5 16 a2 Ded (16... Acd? 17 Mxb2 Dxb2 18 wed4) 17 ad4 Dxh6 (17... Axd4 18 wrd4 5 19 Zc6+) 18 Ach We7 19 Axb8 4g? 20 Dc6, and the position arising is assessed as favouring White. Dolmatov did not agree with this evaluation and suggested continuing the variation: 20 . d5! (weak is 20... DPS 21 a7 wrb6 22 gd! Ad4 23 Ha8 Axc6 24 wyxd6, or 22...d523 Rxd5! exds 24 Mel+ @f8 25 wrxd5) 21 AixdS exd5 22 Mel+ wf8 23 wxd5 4f6, when it is not clear how White can strengthen his at- tack. Apparently Sergei is right, but Yusupov found a more convine- ing objection to the move recom- mended by Nunn (here and later on T give the name of only one of the co-authors, since in the pre- face to the book Nunn states that “In general, the moves are mine and the words Peter's”). Artur’s habit of identifying all the can- didate moves helped him to notice after 15 e5? (this time the punc- tuation is mine) the excellent reply 15... d5!, which makes further complicated calculations unneces- sary. In Yusupov's opinion it is necessary to play simply 15 bl!Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 29 216 16 b3! (worse is 16 [4 2e7!? with the threat 17... Dg8) 16...e5 (16... wre7 17 f4; 16... DeS 17 h3 or 17 Add) 17 wd} we7 18 Dc3! 2e619 Dds Axd5 20 4xd5, when White maintains unpleasant pressure against his opponent's position. 13 gg5 2d7 14 wel acd 15 bd The simple 15 4dI would have guaranteed White the better chances. Instead of this, Nunn decided on an exchange sacrifice, the consequences of which are far from easy to assess. Miles did not risk taking the rook, preferring to win a pawn with 15... De6 16 Rh6 Ded4 17 Axd4 |xd4 18 whi 2xh6 19 wxh6 Axc2. But after 20 acl Dd4 21 47 White obtained more than adequate positional compensation. The game ended in a win for White. Let’s try to sort out what could have happened if Miles had chosen the most testing continua- tion. 1S... xal! 16 wrxal eb 17 gh6 Not 17 2xe7? Axe7 18 Alot Bh 19 Ad7 + £6 20 |xb8 wd6. Wo... eB 18 f4 £6 19 f5 (see following diagram) Q. 1.18 Where is it best to re- treat the knight, to c7 or g7? Try first to guess the answer. and only then immerse yourself in the variations, It is very hard to make the right choice. since there are plausible arguments in favour of each of the possibilities. In the event of 19... 2g7. White may continue a pawn storm on the kingside by means of 20 g4 followed by 4-25, but after 19... 2,c7 there is simply no time to do thi Black can immedi- ately exchange off the strong knight on dS. After 19... 327 20 wa2 Black can repel his opponent's threats with the move 20 ... ##h8, not fearing 21 fxg6 hxg6 22 adf4 in view of Des! 23 ]xg6+ Hh7! (23... DAxgo? 24 WIT ~ gB 25 wxg6 Ad7 26 &¢3) 24 DxeS e6! when the attack is beaten off, leaving Black the exchange ahead. In the event of 19... 2c7 20 wa2 the move 20 ‘&h8 docs actually lose: 21 xc7 wxe7 22 fxg6 hxy6 23 wi «e824 fal g5 25 Axes! fxys 26 whS +.30 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations So is this sufficient reason for Black to prefer to retreat the knight to g7? No, it is not: instead of 20 ... dh8? Black has avail- able the—at first sight—risky move 20... e6!, pointed out by Nunn. After 21 Qxc7 wrxe7 22 fxg6 hxg6 23 Kxf6 dh7, followed by... eS, the strong position of the knight in the centre of the board insures Black against at- tack, Neither 21 fxe6 i xe6 22 Def4 Af7, nor 21 Adf4 whos! (worse is 21... BeS 22 Ad4) 22 fxg6 hxg6 23 Dxe6+ @h7, pre- sent any danger. Finally, on 21 cS Nunn gives the following interesting varia- tion: 21... Bxd5 (bad is 21 .. exd5? 22 Rxd5+ Axd5 23 wWxdS+ @h8 24 wh7 Beg8 25 exf6, but, apparently, 21... Axes is entirely possible) 22 Axd5 |xb4 23 fxe6 (23 exf6 wyxf6!, but not 23... 2)xa2? 2417+ @h8 25 f6!, or 24... @xf7 25 fxe6+ vgs 26 e7+) 23... Dxd5! (23 wb6+? 24 KI2 Axa2 25 e7+ Wh8 26 exf6) 24 exf6 Zxe6 25 {7+ xf? 26 xf? wxf7 27 wxdS+ He6 28 afd wf6, and the attacking resources dry up. The only other try to be invest- igated is the sacrifice of the rook at 6. Nunn considers this idea to be incorrect and gives the varia- tion 19... 2c7 (he doesn’t con- sider the move 19... g7 at all) 20 fxg6 hxg6 21 wxf6 exf 22 Dxi6+ WT 23 AxeB AxeB “wins for Black” This position might arise after either retreat of the knight on move 19, but Black is by no means winning here, After 24 ‘wh8! he has, despite being a rook up, no secure way to parry the threats 25 wf8+ and 25 wh7+. Totally bad is 24 ... wxf6? 25 w+. On 24... &e4 there fol- lows 25 wh7+ #6 (25... af6 26 Kg5+!) 26 Al4+ eS 27 w7!?, And after 24... Sf6 25 wag7+ @c8 White plays not 26 2.25? 7! but 26 wyxg6+! ded7 27 &g5, remaining with two or three pawns for the exchange and maintaining his attack. Let us now try to find where Black can deviate from this un- favourable variation. After 19... Dg7 20 fxg6 hxg6 (20... Acs!? 21 gxh7?+ @xh7 22 wicl. and White has good positional com- pensation for the sacrificed ex- change) 21 4 xf6! exf6 22 >xfo+ W723 Axe8 (23 Axg7? wed!) he should examine 23 . Bhs? (worse is 23... De6 because ofCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 31 the same move- 24 wh8!). But then 24 }g7 Des (24... wf 25 e5!?) 25 wa2+ gives White a good game. If this is not enough he may try 24 wh8!? wxe8 25 wh7+ #16 26 Da! (worse is 26 h4 2e4, or 26 Ac3 Axb4) with the threats 27 3d5+ and 27 DxhSt+. After 26... Kb7 (26... Qxf4 27 dig7+ deeb 28 gxf4) 27 2AdS+ me6! (27 wes 28 RM4+ ddd 29 92!) 28 DcT+ (28 Qh3+ deS 29 Hf4+ axed) 28... s8xc7 29 Wexe7 De7 30 g5 White maintains a danger- ous initiative, which entirely com- pensates for the loss of a piece. So, after 19... De7 20 fxg6 bxg6 21 i xf6 exf6 22 Axfo+ {7 23 Dxe8 Black repels the attack with 23... #xe8!—for ex- ample: 24 wh8+ @d7 25 %h3 + web. Therefore we are entitled, finally, to state our conclusion: the move 19... 2)c7! is consider- ably stronger than 19 2g7, which tells above all in the event of White’s sacrificing the rook at 6. It would have been practically impossible to be able to foresee this on the basis of ‘general con- siderations’ alone, It was essential to calculate accurate variations several moves deep, each time- without — exception--- identifying all the candidate moves both for oneself and one’s opponent. Re- member how easy it was to come to a mistaken conclusion when examining, at least, the variation with 20 wa2—one had only to overlook Black's hidden defence. Perhaps the only purely posi- tional reason which could have helped in coming down in favour of the move 19 2c7! was the threat thereby created of exchang- ing knights, which compels White to force events and so excludes quiet moves like 20 g4. But this is just a little prompt -in other, similar cases it is just not possible to do without careful and con- crete examination of variations. Tvanchuk—Dolmatoy Manila IZ 1990 1 ed 6 2 44 a5 3 Qad2 5 4 exd5 exd5 5S xb5+ Deb 6 gis — exdd 7 we2+ — we7 This variation was played three times by Korchnoi in a Can- didates match against Hiibner (Merano 1980/81). On all three occasions after 8 Axd4 wxe2+ an endgame arose which slightly favoured White. Ivanchuk had prepared a sharper continuation. cS! -4d7 9 4xc6 —_—bxe6 rs) hw E. 1.9 How should Black defend?32 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations One's opponent also has a right to exist. Saviely Tartakower World Junior Ch., Skien 1979 1 d4 6 2 DPB afte 3) zed cc 4 23 b6? An opening inaccuracy, known from the game Petrosian-Kozma, Munich OJ. 1958. In that game White obtained a clear advantage with 5 d5! exdS 6 Ac3 Rb7 7 QxdS Hxd5 8 Axfo wxfo 9 wrxdS 3c6 (9... wxb2 10 wdl wb4+ [1 c3! wxc3+ 12 3d2 veel + 13 @pe2, winning) 10 4. The very same mistake, how- ever surprising it may seem, was committed by Karpov against Yusupov in the fifth game of their Candidates Semi-Final (London 1989). Instead of 6... 4 b7 Kar- pov played 6... %e7, but after 7 ZBxd5 A678 Axl %xf69c3 0-0 10 2.c4 was also left with an inter- ior position. Yusupov achieved a spectacular victory, and the game was voted the best from the Can- didates Semi-Finals and also one of the best in the 48th volume of Informator. 5 d5! 6 6 dxe6 Exe 6... fxe6 7 el. 7 Rb5+ = Dbd7 8 acd a6 Artur thought for a long time and then forced a series of ex- changes: 9 .xd7+ A xd7 10 Bd5 eT IL Axf6 Xxf6 12 Dxfor+ wxf6 13 wd5 dye7 (forced: after 13...0-0 14 0-0-0 the pawn on d6 is lost) 14 0-0-0. Having left the enemy king stranded in the centre, White has obtained some advant- age, although it is not too great. Soon afterwards his opponent played inaccurately and Yusupov won.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 33 “Why did you think for so long over your ninth move?" I asked Artur after the game. “T was looking to see whether J could obtain more than I did with 9 &xd7+, and was examining the move 9 £6", he explained, and he showed me the following beau- tiful variation. 9 26 a7 9... 08? 10 2b7. 10) Ded Q. 1.19 What should Black play? The pawn on d6 is en prise. The passive 10... we7 11 0-0 Icads to a position in which Black has no prospects at all. He has té give up a pawn. 0... wre7! I 2xf6+ — gxfo 12 Axf6 498 Sacrificing the exchange is unsound: 12... wexe6 13 s.xh8 £6 14 wd3, or 13... Hed 14 b3. 130 Qxd7+ — wexd7 14 0-0 Mistaken is 14 ghd 3 xg2 15 1g3 #wc6, as White cannot get at the enemy rook. Worthy of con- sideration is 14 Ah4, but it is clear that with a white knight on the edge of the board Black has definite compensation for the sac- rificed pawn. But after castling White intends to consolidate his position by transferring his bishop to g3. Black cannot play 14... h3 15 Del Hxg2? 16 Sxg2 wh3 because of 17 dS! 4a.. axgat!! 1S aexg2 AB + 16 whl axfl 17 wexfl ae fS Black regains the pawn and a roughly equal position arises. Quite magnificent calculation! In order to find such subtle moves over the board it is important not merely to retreat into your own ideas and to examine them care- fully; just as much attention should be devoted to seeking your opponent's concealed resources as to seeking your own. Candidate moves should be identified not only for yourself but also for your ‘opponent. The following example, in which the evaluation of the posi- tion changed more than once, convincingly demonstrates the fatal consequences of not paying attention to one’s opponent's counter-chances.34 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations Sax-Kovacevic Sarajevo 1982 Q. 1.20 Where should the rook retreat? White’s pawns are weak. Black should have played simply 32... AbI!. intending 33... AxcS with a big advantage. Kovacevic chose the tempting 32... Abd, setting a little trap: if 33 {xc6? then 33... Rh4+!34 #23 ¥g4+ 35 wh3 bxc6. But he overlooked the counter-punch: 33 ga! With the idea 33... fxg4 34 xc6, which leads to a much sharper struggle. 330... we7! 34 gxfS Dxed Sounder, as Kovacevic pointed out, was 34... Hxa4 35 b3 Hb4 36 fxe6 Axe6 37 xXe3 Ddxc5 38 |xcS |xc5 39 wg3 h6 with advantage to Black. 35 we2! Q. 1.21 How should Black con- tinue? In Kovacevie's opinion he should now have contented himself with the equal position arsing after 35 .. 636 Dxc6 = xa4. In fact. the move in the game, 35... 2xad4?, allowed Sax to seize the initiative with tactical play. Also mistaken would have been 35... Afd7? 36 Kxc6!? (also possible is 36 fxcé Dxeb 37 Axc6, but not 37 _Hxc6? 24) 36... bxc6 37 fxe6 4 xa4? 38 c7!. But Kovacevic had not con- sidered all his candidate moves. There was one other possibility: 35... Qed!. By blocking the line of action of his opponent's dan- gerous bishop, Black defends against tactical tricks on the squares b7 and c6. Apparently it is best for White to play 36 he! exh6 37 £6 34xa4 38 Ac4. but then there follows 38 ... 2c5! (weaker is 38... Bg5 39 Ze? and 40 £4) 39 #23 2g6 with the threat 40 bS, or 39 Rg2 Ad3 40 HlCombinations and the Caleuiation of Variations 35 axed! 41% xed 2)xe5 when Black retains an advantage. 35. Dxad? 36 © Axb72! Kovacevic wrongly gave this move two exclamation marks in the 33rd volume of Informator. After 36... ¢xb7! 37 x6 (37 fxe6 @d8 38 2 xc6 3g b4) it is not good to play 37... 366? 38 fxe6! Dxe6 39 4d5+, but the simple reply 37... exf5! would secure equality for Black. A different combination would have maintained some winning chances for White: 36 4 xc6! bxc6 37 fxe6 Axeb (37...c5 38 e7 KLE 39 Bed!) 38 Kxc6+ ded7 39 Hd6+ Wc8 40 xe h4t 41 g3 mxhS 42 Me7. 36... wWxb7? 37) xc6 wf 38 fxe6! Dxeb 39 -ag2 axf 39... Rh4+ 40 we3 KB xhS 41 &xe6 + dyc7 42 f4 and Black has a lost position 40 xe6+ = wc8B 41 ee wed, Bad is 41... 77 42 a6. 42 dé Des 43° 06 we7 44 eT Ker 45 cb + wed7 46 axed wexe7 Thus White has won a piece and now has a right to reckon on victory. But the adventures in this game are by no means over. AT Rf3 wel 48 wid fl 49 Ac8 wi7 50 Bh8 an 51 we3 wb2 52 wd 52 dS+ Wf6 53 x xh7? & DB! with a draw. 52. M2 53 wed nd2 54 xed xd4 55 etd xdl Q. 1.22 Is it not time to take the pawn on h7? White has a winning position, The simplest is 56 #g3 followed by xh7; also strong is 56 @eS wel 57 cB e258 MCT+ HIB 59 wd5 Of course, 56 : xc8; b) 24 ~ b8, and then 3 xbS or a8. The main variation is: 23... 24 xed But not 24 & b8 mfS 25 mak e5 when play is unclear. 24... On 24... we7 Ad6 #h8 strong is 25 Eb8 #6 26 = fl. but not 26 i3d2? because of the double at- tack 26... ##g5!. 25 igb8 25 &xd6? wel + 25... mi6 26 fi And White has a winning posi- tion. Besides purely tactical double attacks, also highly effective are moves with two purposes, each of which may be of a strategic nature and not associated with a direct attack on encmy pieces. This next example illustrates how powerful a double attack based purely on positional factors can be.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 45 Dyoretsky-Shamkovich USSR Ch. Semi-Final, Voronezh 1973 Q. 1.30 What should White play? Black wishes to occupy the centre with the moves ... e7-5, 2a5-c6 ete. In order not to fall into a positional bind, it was es- sential that I find some plan of my own. I should really like to play d3-d4, but how is this to be achieved? On 17 2ed2 there fol- lows 17...e5 18 Ae4 2c6, and in the event of 17 wif4 my opponent has the excellent reply 17, .. f6!. 17 wbl! With this modest move White creates two positional threats at once: 18 d4 (the knight on c4 is now defended) and 18 b4. 17... 05 If 17 Ac6 then 18 d4, but worth considering was 17 wexed!?, 18 b4 exb4 19 wxb4 2b7 20 2Ad6! aS 210 mad AdeS 21... DbeS 22 d4!. By now continuing 22 d4! exd4 23 2xb7 Axb7 24 2 xd4, White could have obtained a positional advantage in connection with the possibil- ities of an attack on the kingside (24... mf625 = f4:24 mc7 25 2€3). Regrettably 1 played less forcefully and the game ended ina draw, For a long time a game stuck in my memory in which, having achieved a truly overwhelming position, I played carelessly and allowed my opponent to create two serious threats literally out of nothing. Dvoretsky—Anikaev USSR Young Masters Ch., Batumi 1969 27 axeel! «= axdd In the event of 27... gxh3 White would have a pleasant choice between 28 ~xc8 ~ xc8 2946 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations wxd5, and 28 gxh3 fxg6 29 exdS + 28 2xd4 wxd4 29° abt b6?! 30° wic2 i fd8 Only here did Anikaev notice that 30 ... yg? loses immedi- ately, in view of 31 4xc8 4 xc8 32 us xe6! 31 wh7+ wfB 320 Kxe8 BxcB 33 wxh6+ —wg7 34 wild? Of course, White must play for an attack. In the event of an exchange of queens the passed d-pawn and the open file for the rook would ensure definite counter-chances for my opponent despite the fact that he is a pawn. down. But I should have preferred the simple 34 wh4!, intending &h2 and 33. I supposed that the exchange of my pawn on h3 for the pawn on d5 would deprive my opponent of any hopes of counterplay, but I underestimated how much my king's pawn cover would be weakened. 34 . AXxh3 35 wid6 + egB 36 wixdd ne 37 wi d6! Q. 1.31 What should Black play? Black's position looks utterly hopeless, but Anikaev had not Jost his composure and he found a brilliant reply. 37 west! Two dangerous threats have been created at once: 38... «cl and 38... d5, and it is not at all easy to parry them. It was prob- ably best to reply passively: 38 wid] 345 39 £3, but, then too, the weakening of the dark squares around my king would have given my opponent quite good counter- chances, 38 ed? 39) Rd sel Q. 1.32 What did Anikaev play now? There followed a spectacular move on the theme of interfer- ence: 39 dst! peeCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 47 I was lucky to be able to find a drawing line: 40) wb8+! — a&g7 41 uxel excel + 42 wh? wm h6 + 42... 4xe4? 43 wes +. 43° wel wel + 440 wh? who + 45 #egl welt And here we signed a peace treaty. Gutman-Razuvaey USSR Cup. Thilisi 1976 1 d4 d5 2 4 e6 3) Bcd afte 4 exd5 exd5 Ses ney 6 ¢3 0-0 7 443 bd7 8 Dge2 e8 Black has not played . . . e7-c6, as he 1s waiting to see where the white king & going to castle. If White castles long, Black’s usual plan is +. DPB... Re6 and cS (perhaps after first playing ... a6 and ... \c8). In this case the move ... c7-c6 turns out to be a loss of a tempo. 9 00 DB White has castled short, so it was now time to play 9... c6. 10 bal? E, 1.18 Does it make sense to take the pawn on b4? The Trapped Piece Recent games played with one’s ‘own’ openings constitute an im- portant source of opening infor- mation. In publications such as Informator or New in Chess games are provided with annotations, usually brief but at times highly detailed. Such notes can make work on an opening substantially easier, elucidating some import- ant details. But, on the other hand, they can also lead one astray —indeed these games are as a rule annotated in some haste und almost inevitably contain mistakes. One should act accord- ing to the ancient Russian prin- ciple: “Trust, but verify!”, by test- ing the soundness of the ‘book’ recommendations for oneself. Grandmaster Yusupov once investigated via Jnformator the following game.48 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations Taimanov—Borkoysky Wroclaw 1979 1 af a5 2 b3 ag 3 e3 eS 4 3 Rx 5 wxf8 D6 6 xb2 Dbd7 7 cd 3s @ iw ys} a Black chose 7...e4, and after 8 wd] cS?! (stronger was 8 ... dxc4) 9 b4! Dd3+ 10 Hxd3 exd3 11 exd5 Qxd5 12 a3 found him- self in a somewhat inferior posi- tion. Was it not possible, by playing 7... 6, for Black to strengthen his centre? In his notes to the game Taimanov answers this question in the negative and quotes the following variation: Tow. 62 8 cxd5 exd5 9 gb! Ado 10 Ac3 e4 IL wiS Taimanoy, whose exclamation and question marks are given above, assessed this position as clearly better for White. wat Q. 1.33 Find the mistake in the Grandmaster’s analysis. Yusupov saw that the final posi- tion in this variation—-in which in Taimanov's opinion White has the advantage—does, on the con- trary, actually favour Black Wi 26! 12) Qxd7+ Playing 12 @xdS gxfS 13 Qxfo+ We7, or 13 aAxfo was, would also not help. Wm... wet 13 we5 h6 14 wha 25 A superb combination on the theme of trapping the enemy queen. It is very important not to fall under the spell of one’s own dis- coveries. Having considered the position soberly, Artur concluded that after 7... c6 8 cxd5 cxdS White is still entitled to claim some advantage, by choosing in- stead of 9 Qb5?! the more re- strained 9 3c3. Of course, a critical approach is necessary not only towards analy- sis done by others, but also to one’s own. Here is an experience from my own games in which I allowed my imagination to run away from me, with predictable results.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 49 Alterman-Dvoretsky USSR Ch. Semi-Final, Voronezh 1973 Tempting is the positional pawn sacrifice 25... 914, as a result of which Black would get the excellent square e5 for his knight. Anyway, there was nothing better for me, so it was possible to play this without any calculation. | Nevertheless, — 1 looked a little more deeply and saw a tactical possibility to trans- pose into a winning—as it appeared to me ~minor-piece ending. 25... afar 26 2 xf4 exf4d | 27 axia 2xf4 28 axfd eS 29° wg3 xf 300 ax Q. 1.34 What should Black play? Now was the right time to pause and quietly examine my prelim- inary calculations. It is clear that after 30... x f8!? Black does not stand worse. However, neither is he better: he has full compensa- tion for the sacrificed pawn, but no more than that. Realising this, I was unable to contain my excite- ment and almost without pausing continued my intended forced variation. lam not the first and, [ fear, not the last player who has made such a mistake. This is what Bot- vinnik wrote about one episode in his game against Smyslov from the tournament in Groningen in 1946; “Here, in calculating the varia- tion that followed, I came to the conclusion that it led to a winning ending with an extra pawn, and so, not bothering to examine the variation any further (after each move by Black)—quite unforgiv- able carelessness—I—_ quickly played the moves f had planned.” 30 wxhd? 3st sxhd wxhd 32 wxhd >as+ 330 wil \xh4 34 w&g3 2s 35 e5 dxe5 36 «a6 who50 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations I had expected only 37 we4 2\g2. The next move, incidentally, with a knight on the edge of the board, is entirely standard, but for some reason it fell outside my field of vision. 37 ed! Ttis all over! The knight cannot now free itself from the trap. 37. web 38 wed x6 39 exes And Black soon resigned. Tukmakov—Dolmatov USSR Ch. Premier League, Odessa 1989 Q. 1.35 How should Black con- tinue? The threat of h4-hS-h6 looks very dangerous. In order to parry it, Dolmatov retreated the knight from g6 in advance, but in so doing he gave the enemy knight the important square eS. After 27 DEB? 28 DeS we? 29 wd2 Dg6 30 wh4 wd8 (30... aS 31 wrd6) 31 wad a5 32 b4 fa! 33 gat axb4 34 wxb4 Axhd 35 Rh3! gS 36 we7, Tukmakov obtained a big advantage (although he was subsequently unable to convert it into victory). White's threat could have been very effectively repelled with the spectacular move 27... h6!. Not playable then is 28 wxg6? 2.c6 followed by 29... &e8, when White loses his queen for just two minor pieces. On 28 wc3 there would follow 28 .. . #f7 (or 28 ‘hc8!? and 29... £47), intending 29... we7, and possibly ... BhS. Apparently, Black could have maintained the equilibrium in this way. Having found the idea ... h7-- h6!! it is natural to consider in what situation it is best to play it--it was indeed possible to wait until White played h4-h5. But I think there would have been no point in postponing it, as can be seen from the following possible variations: 27 ... %c6? 28 h5 hé 29 #e3 winning (but not 29 wel? DxhS 30 wxe6 wxg3+ 31 afl Df); 27... we89! (reckoning on 28 hS? h6!) 28 De5! with a clear advantage; 27... 2c87! 28 wre3 (28 h5? h6) 28 ... ¥e7? (now it is essential to play 28... h6!) 29 DeS Axed 30 dxe5 Ad7 31 Ad6 we2 32 we5. Regrettably, this is not the only time Dolmatov has not noticed that he could have trapped an enemy piece. You will find two more examples in the Exercises.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 51 E. 1.19 White to move FE. 1.21 Black to move The Strength of the Passed Pawn When a game reaches an ending with a limited number of pieces, there is virtually no chance of mating one’s opponent. The main theme of the endgame is the pro- cess of promoting pawns into queens, Pawns in the endgame gain in strength considerably, especially if they are passed. Dvoretsky-Rusakov Moscow 1964 Q. 1.36 What should White play? Is the pawn onc7 strong or weak? This depends on whether the black king can manage to ap- proach it. For example, in the variation 31 g3? #e7 32 4h3 4.d7 the pawn will definitely be lost. It is essential to support it with tactics. 31 ad! a6 If31... A xa4 then 32 d4 (with52 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations the threat of 33 a6) 32... b5S 33 g3, intending 2h3 or £g2-b7. On31... &d7 then a decisive line is32d4 Ba8 (32... Ke8 33 QbS5) 33 Rab Re8 34 Hb5 a6 35 Heb Ha7 36 Mel! 32 g3 KS In the event of 32... £533 @h3 g6 34 g4 He8 35 gxfS Ac8 36 fl! there is no square for the black king to retreat to (36 ... 28 37 (61). 33° dd! RB 34 gbS Now it is clear that White has a firm grip on the initiative. tee Hed 35 wd3 15 36 Ac6 He7 37 dS! “But why did you give up such a pawn?", exclaimed Grandmas- ter Simagin in amazement when I showed him this ending. Of course, only a moment later he understood everything. The pawn. which now perishes is replaced by a new passed pawn on d6, which together with the bishop takes away all the surrounding squares from the enemy pieces. Perhaps giving two exclamation marks to the move White played is a litle excessive, particularly since there are certainly other ways to win. But in fact the author was then merely a first-category player, and for someone with such a lowly rating it is not easy to decide to sacrifice—on the basis of purely positional — considerations—the ‘pride and joy’ of one’s position— the pawn on c7. 37, HxeT 38 «dé MAT 39 edd Also strong was 39 4d5. 39. Rd7 40 dS wes 41 Qxd7+ MK xd7 2 wBt HdB 43° c7 The position which has now arisen is an excellent illustration of Nimzowitsch’s thesis (although at that time I had not been able to read his books, as one rarely came across them in libraries): “The ab- solute possession of the seventh rank, combined with distant passed pawns, leads as a rule to a win”. 43... a6 43... 4d7 44 we6, 44 eo ig bB 45 Mxg7 eS 46 &xh7 Black resigned.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 53 Combinations based on the strength of passed pawns are not encountered only in the endgame. Panczyk—Yusupov Warsaw 1985 18 wxg4 Axgd wins. ae xf6 dxc3 e2 Q. 1.37 What should Black play? White has launched a desperate attack on the king. On 17 ®xh5S? he had planned 18 AQxf7+! aexf7 (or 18... wh8 19 RxhS BeS 20 cxd4 Axd4 21 Rb2) 19 wxhS+ des (19... weh8 20 Xxh6!) 20 Mxg7+! @xg7 21 AxhO+ i622 Ae5+ winning. No use either is 17... Dyg4? because of the simple 18 h3t. Yusupoy refutes his opponent's onslaught by sacrificing a piece for two pawns, one of which will be a most dangerous passed pawn 7... Red! 18 Axf6+ Q. 1.38 What should Black play in reply to the move in the game, and to 21 wel? In the event of 21 wel the tempt- ing 21... 2)e5% is unconvincing. White has two possible rejoinders: 22 14 wxf4 23 axf4 Ad3 24 wexeB+ 2xc8 25 g3!, and 22 icd4 D2B+ (22... Bd3 23 Kxd3 wrxal 24 wyxal cl(sy)+ 25 Kdl) 23 gxf3 wexd4 24 Axd4 yxel + 25 Hxel cl(w) 26 Hxcl xxl + 27 @g2--the consequences of all these variations are totally unclear, The winning line is 21 xX cd8! (threatening 22... #xal!! 23 weal Hdl+) 22 Ab3 (2254 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations &cl wb2 wins) 22... wb2 23 ad bS 24 Qxc2 wxe2 25 Kel wb3 or 25... wf5 But Artur had already foreseen the spectacular refutation of the move in the game when he began his combination. 2... axe3it 22 fxe3 aexfl + 230 &xfl Des The threats are 24... cl(#) and 24... 3xg4. Despite his extra rook White is defenceless. If, for example, 24 Axf7+ then 24... @h8! 25 Mela cl(s) 26 wxcl Bxcl+ 27 wf2 Qd3+. 24 aegis l(a) 2 yxel = axel + 26 HfL Exfl + 27 wxfl ga White resigned, as he loses a second pawn. The following classical com- bination has graced many chess books. Teichmann—Anonymous Ziirich 1921 Q. 1.39 What should White play? No use is | #5? (with the threat of 2 wxf7+) because of |... 1.a6(b7)!, Being two pieces down, Teichmann is obliged to barge ahead. 1 axh6l — Dxh6 Also no use was |... xh6? 2 AX{7+, or 1... bxc4?2 4 h8+!. 2 wed an 3 wdB+! x8 4 h6 In view of the threat 5h7+, it looks like Black has to resign (and. according to some sources, this is what he did). Q. 1.40 Is Black’s position really lost? In fact it is a bit too early to resign. True, it is unsatisfactory to play 4. 18 because of 5 h7 + HET (5... dexh7 6 gxfB(ni)) 6 gxf8(ve) + ayxfB 7 h8(v)+ dye7 8 Rxe6 Adxeb 9 ByxeS. On the other hand, entirely possible is: 4. add! Vacating the d6-square for the king. 5 oh7+ ef 6 g8(i)+ we 7 h8(s) ded! How should one assess this position? In the event of 8 #xe6 Kdxe6, or 8 wIB+ ac7 9 wxd8+ 0 deb7, the advantage evidently passes to Black. After 1 had published my analysis in one of my articles, the chess trainerCombinations and the Calcuiation of Variations 55 and Candidate Master Yuri Niko- nov from Barnaul sent me his analysis showing that this shar- pest of skirmishes should objec- tively end peacefully after 8 ag?! wixd2! 8... Bb7? 9 AxeG Dxe6 10 wxedt!! 8... ADT? 9 txd8! wxd8 10 #xd8; 8 ... bxed? 9 ws. 9 wf8+ we7 100 wxd8+ = &bT White can do nothing but give perpetual check E. 1.22 White to move Don’t Let your King get in the way of a Combination! Grandmaster Yusupov once noted at a lesson he gave at our chess school for gifted young players that, when studying Kas- parov's games, his attention was attracted by a particular motif which is quite often adopted by the World Champion. Just as an attack is coming to its climax he suddenly makes a very quiet move with his king, and it later turns out that this move was decisive in strengthening the attack. On its previous square the king had been a hindrance, since in certain vari- ations it could have been checked. An excellent illustration is given at least by the sixteenth game of his third match against Karpov (Leningrad 1986). But Artur cculd easily choose ex- amples of this theme from his own games. Yusupov-Magerramov World Junior Ch. qualifring tournament, Leningrad 197756 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations White’s passed pawns in the centre are solidly blockaded, but Black's queenside pawns are free to advance. Objectively, White should probably have taken ad- vantage of a convenient oppor- tunity to force a draw with 30 Be3!? Hxe3 (doubtful is 30... 2b4 at least because of 31 wh5) 31 DI7+ Megs 32 Dho+. But Yusupov was out for a win and decided to seek his fortune in a kingside attack. 30 h4!? b4 310 wh2!? Q. 1.41 Why did White play these moves? Tempting was the piece sacrifice 30 Dxf6 gxf6 31 we4. But how could the attack have been con- tinued after 31 2d7? The ag- gressive 32 4¢] would pose Black insoluble problems if the rook could not be taken with check. Incidentally, with the king on h2 Black also has to reckon with the immediate el (without the sac- rifice on [6), as the rook cannot be captured in view of the mate in two. Bo... as? Amazing carelessness! Mager- ramov does not even attempt to puzzle out White’s conception, but quietly advances his pawns. On the basis of this episode one may suppose with a considerable degree of probability that Black was suffering from an extremely serious complaint—continual underestimation of his opponent's resources. It was necessary to parry the threats by means of 31 ... h6 (freeing the h7-square for the knight) or 31... 347. 32 Axil —agxf6 33 Bred 286 Black loses at once after 33... 2d7 34 well, 34 fxg6 wd7 35 wf web 36 AIT+? A typical mistake in such situa- tions (correct was 36 3f5! with very dangerous threats), When an attack on the king becomes menac- ing, the defending side usually attempts to buy himself out of trouble by giving up material. it is important here not to get a bud bargain. Winning material is fre- quently a natural result of your attack, but it can happen that by being too greedy you grant your opponent the initiative. The attack comes to an end, and your pieces, which had taken up excellent at- tacking positions, prove to be excluded from the ensuing posi- tional struggle. 36. wxf7 37 gxf7 wxt7 38 =hS White has to continue his storm, otherwise he will not be able to cope with the menacing passed pawns on the queenside. But now that the formidable knight has been removed from theCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 57 board the success of the attack is problematic. 38 38... a 39 h6 Further confirmation of the ‘diagnosis’ which | described in the note to Black’s 3Ist move— Magerramov is again not paying the least attention to his oppon- ent’s threats. He should have cho- sen between 39... #we6 40 97 £5 and the immediate 39... £5. 40 eT web 41 wg3 The threat is 42 &xh7+;0n 41 s+ Mp8 decisive is 42 el ack 43 Kxght wxgs 44 ek Black resigned. This position could have arisen in the game Khalifman-Oll, Kiev 1984. White has a clear positional advantage, but it could evaporate after the quiet 1 f42! dl. On 2 we it is a mistake to play 2 Af+? because of 3 x xf3! exf3 + 4 h3 who (4... wd2 5 aed! wid7+ 6 Zeb! wxe64+ 7P5+)5 24266 95+ fxgS 7 ixgS+ ahs 8 wd4, But possible is 2... bS 3 WxXbS wWrxe3, or 2... ah6 fol- lowed by 3... 26. Q. 1.42 What would happen in the event of 1 #3? The answer to this question re- quires deep and careful calcula- tion of variations. 1 Be3!? exf3 + 2 #h3 Unconvincing is 2 4 xf3 wdl. 2... afs+ 3 g4 wal! Hopeless are both 3 exg4+ 4 dexgd wight 5 dxf. and 3... wxc3 4 gxfS+ &xfS 5 bxe3 wed 6 &b3 or 6 Ac6 fol- lowed by 7 ag3 (less accurate is 6 eh e3! 8). 4 pxfS+ wehS!? A double attack -~ Black threa- tens both 5 wwaf2 and 5 wed mate. Quite bad would have been 4... &h6 5 %xf3, and on4... 25a decisive line would be 5 wd4! wyxf2 6 wif4+ ghS 7 RfT+ g6 8 Axgo+! hxgo 9 mig4+ @h6 10 wxg6 mate. 5 af7t+! Not 5 wd4? wxf2 6 Af7+ 6 migd+ &hO7 wits £5!) 6... ehO! 7 we I44 gS 8 FxgS+ aeg?. 5. 26 6 wd waxf2 7 &xg6+! aeho 8 wft+ de 9 wWeTt! And mate is inevitable. Therefore the move | leads to a forced win. So why is it58 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations not adorned with two exclama- tion marks but with the much more modest exclamation mark followed by a question mark, expressing doubt? The point is that there 1s a much simpler solu- tion. By removing his king from any checks in advance with 1 wh3!, White would have immedi- ately placed his opponent in a hopeless position. Bad is 1 exf3 because of 2 Kxc2!; on 1... wh6 decisive is 2 ¥c3, and on 1] .+. Rd1—2 wet. E. 1.23 White to move E. 1.24 White to m You Learn by your Mistakes! Why with the time do I not glance aside To new-found methods and to compounds strange? William Shakespeare (Sonnet 76) Alterman-Dvoretsky USSR Ch, Semi-Final, Voronezh 1973 When this position arose | sunk into deep thought for some time. Black clearly stands well, but it is not clear that he has any easy way to scize the initiative. Q. 1.43 What should White play in reply to 21... 24? At first, sacrificing a pawn seemed tempting, in connection with the variation 22 2xf4 exf4 23 x xfa axl! 24 pexfd wresS+ 25 xed Dxed 26 wixed wre} + and 27... DeS. But I rejected it because of aCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 59 counter sacrifice of the exchange: 22 xf4! exf4 23 2xf4. From a positional point of view it would be useful to transfer the knight from d7 to hS, in order to. reinforce the threat of invading on 4, But in the event of 21... af61 would have to reckon with 22 h4. Is it not possible to solve this problem by means of a com- bination? Wow. ate 22 hd Dns 23 hxgS 1 also weighed up 23 »xf& Dxe3 24 wel a xfR25 vexg? aft 26 #h3—Black does not stand badly, although for the time being he cannot apparently achieve any- thing in particular. But there is some point in going deeper into this line if it turns out that an advantage for Black can be found in the main variation with 23 hxgs. 2... 2xg3 Now White would lose after 24 exh6-+? xh6, but very strong is 24 #c3!. Both knights are an prise at once; 24 Axfl 25 gxh6+ 22 xh6 26 & xfl gives Black only a rook and a pawn for wo minor pieces. I very much wanted to play 21 . 2f6, so I studied the position arising after 24 #e3 for a long time. but still found nothing. [ was obliged to play the passive move 21 2l7 (vacating the square h6 for the bishop), which led only :o an equal game. After 22h4 %h6 23 #12 (23 h5!?) 23. Df 24 zafl DhS 25 wed! we arrived at a position analysed carlicr mm the section ‘The Trapped Piece’. One of the most inventive ana- lysts, Igor Zaitsev, who was play- ing in the same tournament, became interested in this position. He found an amazing possibility to prepare the transfer of the knight to hS: 21... c4!! 22 Axcd £6 23 h4 DhS 24 hugs Dxg3 25 we3 Dhf5! 26 exfS whl+ 27 2 DxfS 28 wWd2. With the bishop on d3 White would have had the simple reply 28 xfs. 28 ve. edt! 29 wxe3 wixg5+ 30 Wd3e4+ 31 We} LAI + 32 Ad3 sc8+, and White loses his queen. Zaitsev's discovery made a strong impression on me. The connection between a com- bination on the kingside and a Zwwischenzug on the qucenside was completely unexpected. The mo- tivation behind the pawn sacrifice was very subtle—deflection of the bishop from the square f5, a square which was in any case con- trolled by a white pawn. Further analysis of this posi- tion allowed me to draw another useful conclusion: the effects of good moves can be felt not only in those variations for the sake of which they were made: 21... c4!! 22 Axed 2f6 23 h4 DHS 24 yw xfB60 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 2Dxg3 25 wel UxfB 26 wrxg3 AL 27 wh3, We have already scen a similar position (but with a pawn on cS) and were doubtful about how to evaluate it. It turns out that the pawn sacrifice helps here, too: after 27... wyc7! the queen bursts into the opponent's posi- tion on the dark squares. It is best for White to decline to play 23 h4, but also after 23 h2! QhS 24 Mx MxfB 25 ME! Ala! Black has excellent compensation for the sacrificed pawn The main conclusion to be drawn from this game is: many tempting but imperfect ideas can be realised in practice if a way can be found to prepare them. It is constantly necessary to seck inter- mediate moves which would make the planned idea stronger. I very much wanted to rehabil- itate myself after my failure in the game with Alterman, having in a manner of speaking missed my chance. For a long time no con- venient opportunity presented itself, but in the end fortune did smile on me, and, what's more, twice within a short space of time. Dorfman-Dvoretsky Vilnius 1978 (see following diagram) 16... Db 17 a3 exd4 18 axb4 18 wxd4 is bad because of 18 se QC2, WW... 19 wWxe3 axbd 20 wxb4 He7! Black prepares two regroupings of his forces at once: 21... Ae& followed by ... Ka8, or 21 Ac8 and... Hdes. dxc3 UW eS dxeS 220 Mxd8+ — wxd8 230 Mxe5 eT mf Heb 23 2B h6 26 add 8 27 we Hd8! 28 abs ws! 28... wd77! 29 HaT7!; 28 .. wa5S?! 29 b4 wa2 30 Adé. 29 a3 29 wrb6? 206 30 Add d7. Wo. Keb 30 wed 4-4 Outwardly, everything that oc- curred in this game seems straightforward and uninterest- ing. But beauty in chess is actually determined not so much by theCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 61 moves themselves as by the ideas behind them. Moves which at first sight seem quiet may conceal sub- tle and profound ideas. Let us try to understand why Dorfman, annotating this game in Informa- tor, gave the move 16... Ab4 two exclamation marks. The position in the diagram is quite promising for White. His main positional threat is 17 f4!. In search of an antidote I turned my attention to the curious move 16 ... Hh5%!, with the idea of coun- tering 17 f4 with a central thrust: 17... exf4 18 gxf4.d5. Black does not fear 17 £13 Sf6, since the bishop would not be well placed on 3, and after other continua- tions it will be possible for Black to consolidate his position, for example with ... 27-6 and ... f7-f6. Reasoning in this way, I came to the conclusion that I needed to examine the most testing varia- tion once more: 16... HhS 17 4 exf4 18 gxf4 dS 19 e5!, White threatens to play 20 4f3 and on 19... we7 there follows 20 wt2, intending f4-f5-f6. White here has a clear advantage. It was a pity to give up this tempting idea, and eventually 1 found a way of strengthening it by means of an intermediate thrust on the other side of the board (as in the previous example). After 16... 2b4!! the threat is 17... exd4 18 wrxd4 2yc2, It is clear that Dorfman does not wish to close the centre with 17 dS. The move in the game, 17 a3, led to simplification, which in theory favours Black, who has a cramped position. I was reckoning mainly with the replies 17 “fl and 17 e2. In the event of 17 3 f1 Black could have got an excellent game by breaking through in the centre: 7...exd4 18 wxd4 d5!. But after 17 ise2 this would not be pos- sible, as after a series of exchanges on d5 the rook on e8 would be hanging. On 17 jse2 Black had intended to accomplish his main idea with 17... BhS!. Now in the event of 18 f4 exf4 19 gxf4 d5 20 5 wre7!, the rook covers the second rank and White no longer has the very important move 21 wf2. Glyanets-Dvoretsky Tbilisi 1979 1 d4 5 2 4 6 3) Qed Df6 4 exd5S exd5 5 an Deb 6 af4 aS 7 3 6 8 Ebs ad7 9 wad wb6 9... i c8 is an interesting al- ternative. 10) ahd After the ‘normal’ retreat of the bishop White seizes the initiative62 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations by breaking through in the centre: 10... R86 11 Dxgs hxg6 12 e4 (and if 12... dxe4 then 13.d5 cS 14 dxc6 bxc6 15 Rxc6+ we7 16 0-0-0! Qxad 17 Rd7+ He’ 18 &xad4 with a decisive attack, as in the game Andrianov- Imanaliev, Sochi 1980; or 10... Ag4 II hI RhS 12 4, Black cannot play the tactical trick 10... 943? in view of 11 Bxd5! (11 Qxd3? wxb2) Il... exd5 (11 RxbS 12 Axb6 xa4 13 2xa8, and Black has no compensation for the loss of the exchange) 12 %xd3 with a clear advantage to White. 10... edt It 13? On 11 0-0 or 11 Xel Black replies 1]... Qe7. The strongest continuation, according to theory, is 11 0-0-0 Mc8 (II... Re7 12 13) 12 3 Age 13 Axg6 hxg6 14 dbl, which was first encountered in the game Yusu- pov-Belyavsky, USSR Ch., Premier League, Minsk 1979. io... 4d3! 12 DxdS —xbS 13 axb6 —gxad 14 2xaB In comparison with the varta- tion with an immediate 10 . 4.43?, the situation has changed radically. With the intermediate move 10... 24! 1 provoked my opponent to put his pawn on f3. As a result of this, the knight on h4 now has nowhere to retreat to. 14... Dbl 18 g4 After 15 #d2 xe7 16 Dc7+ ed8 17 hel g5! (Magerramov Kosikov, Daugavpils 1978), Black obtained a decisive advant- age. 15... 2Qd3+! 16 we2 Axfa+ 17 exf4 Q. 1.44 Explain the point of the move played in the game. Of course, I began my calculationCombinations and the Calculation of Variations of variations with the obvious 17 . 246, which robs the enemy knight of the square ¢7. White replies 18 & cl. We shall examine the various attempts to trap the piece, Not good is 18... ae7? 19 AcT ¥c8 20 DdS+, or 19. Rc6 20 d5 exd5 21 |MS+. On 18... 0-0, there follows 19 DcT Ac6O (19... Ke8 20 b3 Ac6 21 dS exdS 22 Axd5) 20 x xc6! bxc6 21 Aa6 H xf4 22 |g2, when Black has nothing special. In the event of 18... &c6 19 d5! exdS 20 ALS the game gets sharper. We are now able to assess the merits of the intermediate move played in the game. White has two replies: 18 Sg? and 18 g5 (bad is 18 Hacl 0-0). On 18 gS I had planned 18... &d6 19 Kacl 0-0! 20 Ac? Keb 21 Kxc6 (21 ab AbS +; 21 dS exd5) 21... bxe6 22 a6 Axf4 and the pawn, which Black tempted onto g5 with his 17th move, is lost (23 gl &xh2) . 18 2g2 d6 19 Macl Acé! 20° Bes Now d4-d5 comes too late, since the white knight has been chased away from the square f5. After 20... 0-0 remained with a lead in material, which he later successfully converted into. vice tory. E. 1.25 Black to move 6364 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations White to move Look Out—It’s a Trap! Traps should be forbidden by the position. Saviely Tartakower According to Botvinnik’s defini- tion, a combination is a forced variation with a sacrifice. As a result of a combination we are sure to obtain (if, of course, we have not made a mistake in calcu- lation) the position which we were aiming for from the very begin- ning. Things are somewhat different when we set a trap for our oppon- ent. He is by no means obliged to. fall into our net. In order that he might indeed fall in, some sort of bait is necessary. The opponent has to be tempted with what seems to be an easy opportunity to achieve material or positional gains, in response to which we have prepared a hidden refuta- tion. How does one think up a trap? While considering some move or an unpleasant reply from our op- ponent. But we continue to think the variation through, not taking fright at his reply, and suddenly notice that it can be refuted. Quite outstanding imagination is some- times required in order to devise such a refutation. It is precisely in cases like this that a trap has real chances of success—indeed, if the refutation is rather straightfor- ward then our opponent will most probably see it as well, In the first chapter of Secrets of Chess Training. | acquainted the reader with several traps which I would call ‘traps of last resort’. We shall now consider another example of a game which was miraculously saved thanks to a trap. A. Ivanov—Dolmatoy Novosibirsk 1976Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 65 Black should lose of course, since he is inevitably going to lose the pawn on e4. Dolmatov tries his last chance. 38... hd! 39 add e3! 40 xb4?? The ‘bait’ has worked. The simple 40 fxe3 would have led to a win, but Ivanov was in severe time-trouble and was simply unable to realise what was going on. 40... e2 The time-trouble is over and the players now agreed to a draw, since after 41 xed 4 xf5 42 gxfS h4! Black manages to build a for- tress: the white rook is tied down to the e-file, and the king cannot get out of the corner. In a desperate situation there is nothing terribly wrong in risking any trap, even one which objec tively loses more quickly, as long as it promises at least some practical chance of success. But in normal positions, playing to set a trap at the cost of making your position inferior is quite unjustified. The best type of trap is oné associated with a move which enters into the plan already being carried out. Yusupoy-Lputyan USSR Young Masters Ch. Baku 1979 Q. 1.45 What should White play? Artur chose 14 2. His oppon- ent could have replied 14 ... 2b4!?. when aller 15 gxb4 & xb4 White's advantage is insignificant. But there followed 14... b5?! 15 axbS axbS 16 fd) mcS 17 e4 2Db4 18 &xb4 Wxbd 19 &5! (now White has a serious advantage) 19 +620 4a8 wcS (20... fxeS 21 5ce4) 21 exf6 x6 22 wed we, leading to the position which we considered in the section on double attacks. But why did Yusupov not play 14 d1—was it really not good to chase the enemy queen away from the centre? Most probably he feared the counter-thrust 14 Ab4. But he needn't have—this would have been an excellent trap to sez: 14 adil! Abs? 15 wexh7+!! dxh7 16 xd4 and White wins a pawn (not 16... 2c2? in view of 17 Re4+). It sometimes happens that a trap arises by itself, simply as a consequence of the careful calcu- lation of variations. Having weighed up all the possibilities, we66 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations choose the continuation that offers the best chance for our op- ponent to make a mistake. Dvoretsky—Khachaturov Moscow 1973 Q. 1.46 How should White pro- ceed? Having realised that this position is drawn, I started to look for an opportunity to set my opponent some problems. 36 AdT+ we7 36... dee6? 37 AB+. 37 abe! we6 38 asl Black's task is simpler after 38 h4 h6 39 Da’ (otherwise 39... Af? and 40... g5+) 39... des! 38... wd7? The white knight, having gone tight into the corner of the board, has successfully played the role of bait—Khachaturov was unable to resist the temptation to trap it. This is what I had been counting on. Essential was 38... DI! 1 still cherished the hope that after 39 Ac7 +! (39 h4? wd6, and the knight is indeed trapped) 39 ... wd6 40 |bS+ dc6 41 h4 my opponent might hurry to chase the white king away from the centre and play 41... h6?, as then it would have been possible to break through with 42 Ac7+ d6 43 HS! g5+ (43... gxhs 44 DeS+ and 45 Dgy) 44 wxls HxcT 45 wg6 Dd6 46 w&xho DS+ 47 we6 Axd4 48 ho Ac6 49 #7. But the waiting move 41 .-. d7(e7) or 41... 3d8 would have led to a draw. But what of it? In that case T would have been able to tell my- self with a clear conscience: “I did everything I could!™. 39) hed 40 abo! Now Black is in a bad way. If 40... SI7+ then 41 web. 40... f4 41 hd But not 41 2xd5? AM+ 42 Wf6 x5, or 41 deb? ALS. 41... nS More stubborn was 41... Als 42 Axdd Axhd. He6 42 axds fs 43 Dxf4 — DAxhd 44 web 25 45 d5+ eT 46 Dxhs And Black soon resigned. In the next game I succeeded in setting perhaps my best-ever trap.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 67 Lukin-Dvoretsky World Junior Ch. qualifying tournament, Moscow 1967 Q. 1.47 Evaluate 14... De4, White has the freer position, and so it would be useful for me to exchange knights, at the same time opening the diagonal for my dark-squared bishop. But by playing the knight to e4 Black would allow the enemy knight to. come to d5. This is, at first glance, quite sufficient reason to discard immediately the idea of playing 14 ... Qe4. I can take pride in the fact that I did not give-in to the obvious, but looked at the posi- tion a little more deeply. 14... Det! 15 Ads axdS 16 exd5 exd4 17 xd47 Probably better was 17 i xc7 dxc3 18 #xc3, with complicated play, but my opponent still can- not see the point 1 what The idea of setting a trap finally becomes intelligible: it is difficult for White to defend the f2-square. 18 Afi axd4 19 exd4d 2ad2z 20 x fel Now the simple 20... wexd4 would have guaranteed Black the advantage. Bad in reply are both 21 sedt ye xe2! 22 uxe2 D+, and 21 5¢xc7 cS with the irre- sistible threat 22... Ad3. Even now it annoys me that | ‘blotted my copybook’ by playing 20... 2)f6? almost instantaneously. After 2] & xc7 the position again. became unclear. Black to move Logic or Intuition? Young players take pride in being able to calculate deep variations accurately and quickly. Tal was famous for this ability in his youth, but I did not wish to step aside. Lev Polugavevsky68 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations Chessplayers with a universal style of play, able to handle posi- tions of any type equally well, are very rarely encountered. Fischer was such a player, and also—in his better years—Spassky. Asa tule, all players, including top grandmasters, have particular deficiencies in their playing style, so that in certain situations they do not feel too confident. I have always striven to help the players I have trained to develop their “backward” sides, to get rid of their own weaknesses (without, of course, discarding their own char- acteristic creative style). Traditionally, chessplayers can be divided into the combinational and the positional. At one time it was comparatively easy to distin- guish players by this criterion, but now the situation is quite dif- ferent—there are hardly any pure positional or pure combinational players any more. Besides, such a classification relates only to the manner of play and not to any particular way of thinking. It is not very informative from the point of view of choosing which direction to take and what to con- centrate upon as regards the train- ing the player requires. If, for example, you need to make pro- gress in the field of tactics, the skills whch need to be developed are too numerous and diverse (you will, I hope, have already gathered this). The situation is rather similar if you wish to im- prove your positional skills. Ht seems to me more productive to consider differences in the way chessplayers think, to see which approach dominates. when they take decisions— the intuitive or the logical. Grandmasters of the intuitive type—Capablanca, Tal, Petrosian, Karpov—can sense the subtlest nuances of a position and have very sharp combinational vision. They are weaker in organ- ising the game, in strategy, they do not particularly like to calcu- late variations, and they commit errors in calculation. At the op- posite extreme we would find, for example, Rubinstein, Botvinnik and Kasparov. They find pro- found plans in the opening and also at subsequent stages of the game, they think in a disciplined way, and they can calculate varia- tions clearly. But at times they overlook unexpected tactical ideas, they are sometimes excess- ively direct in their approach, and they do not sense the crisis-points of the battle keenly enough. Of course, all this is only a very rough scheme, Usually the ‘dia- gnosis’ which I offer the player I am dealing with (whether it be a young Candidate Master or a Grandmaster) includes consider- ably more parameters of different kinds. Nevertheless, the classifica- tion I have indicated seems to me extremely important and usefulCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 69 from the point of view of meth- odology. It is clear, for example, that for the chessplayer of the intuitive type of thinking it is worthwhile to work through exercises involy- ing complex calculation of varia- tions, requiring perseverance and concentration (training of this sort helped Chernin to make con- siderable and rapid progress: from ordinary Master to Grand- master and participant in the World Championship Candidates Tournament), But for logical chessplayers such as, for ex- ample, Yusupov—-one may recommend the solving of ex- amples which require the tactical or positional features of a posi- tion to be quickly grasped. Tam not sure that you, dear reader, will be immediately pre- pared to agree with all the con- siderations and —_ assessments expressed above, And in any case you must have been amazed that I numbered Mikhail Tal among the grandmasters who have problems in calculating variatigns. Recall at least the epithet which frequently accompanied the Rigan Grand- master in his youth: “Tal the clec- tronic calculator”. Here I must explain myself. Tal is a player of genius who, I believe, surpasses all others in his utterly unbridled imagination and inventiveness, and also in his co- lossal courage, his total inhibition and his inner freedom in the de- ons he takes, Of course. he was capable of noticing instantly not only hidden possibilities but also the variations underlying them. However, when rapidly calculat- ing these variations many moves ahead, he was not always accur- ate. Trusting in his intuitive impression, Tal usually did not bother to examine carefully the combinational complications that he was initiating. Knowing this, players such as, say, Korchnoi or Polugayevsky did not trust Tal’s calculations—they looked for the vulnerable points and frequently found a successful refutation. The following game is quite a good illustration of what I have just described. Polugayevsky—Tal USSR Ch. Semi-Final, Tbilisi 1956 1 d4 ds 2 4 06 3) acd cS 4 03 Ao § AB Deb 6 a3 exd4d 6... a6 is an interesting alter- native. eT 8 2d3 Stronger, according to theory, is 8c5 Ded 9 EbS 8 9 Rxed dxc4 0-070 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 10 0-0 ‘b6?! 10... a6! and I... bS. WU wd3 Ab7 12) Mdl Hc8 13° Rar weT 14 Ag5 Hfd8 15 we2 later Tal Ten reached this position, but this years again time playing White against Brinck-Claussen at the XVII Olympiad (Havana 1966). His op- ponent replied passively: 15 ... 2d5%!, and after 16 Axd5 exd5 17 wd3! wd6 18 Zxe7 2xe7 19 el Dg6 20 g3 He8 21 h4! White obtained a perceptible positional advantage. IS... Ded! True to his style, Tal takes ad- vantage of the very first oppor- tunity to rush into combinational complications. He creates the concrete threat of 16... Axd4 17 #xd4 4x, which would be played in reply to 16 A.xe6? or 16 h3?. In the event of 16 Qxe7? Black has a pleasant choice between 16... Sxd4 and 16... Dxe7. Q. 1.48 What promising continua- tions does White have? From the notes given by Tal and Polugayevsky it would appear that the move played in the game, 16 b5!, was the only real possi- bility. In fact there was one other interesting idea: 16 d5!? Axg5 17 h3!. In reply Black cannot play either 17... AceS? 18 DAxgs. or 17... Qxf2? 18 @yxf2. The only correct move is the calm and com- posed 17... exd5! 18 xd5 wrb8! (18... dd? 19 axd4 Axds 20 AxdS Df 21 Axf7+) 19 hxed He8. White will not succeed in deriving any concrete benefit from the active placement of his pieces and the game becomes level (for example, 20 wd3 Dest). 16 bs! Bad now for Black would be 16 -. 48717 &xe6. Black has twoCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 71 tactical possibilities: 16 and 16... 2y)xd4. - #06 Q. 1.49 Try to calculate or ana- lyse both these continuations. First, let's see how the game con- tinued. 16... a6?! 17 exe6t =: xbS Aed ixeT 20 el Weaker was 20 4427! 2x13 21 axf3 (21 #xf32 Axdd 22 wl AR+! 21... ns 2. 2x8 20... Qxd4 21 wrda!. 21 wxf8 | wdT 22 ads 23 Ded 24 2xel 25 wixh7+ whB 26 4f5 wd Up until now events have been forced. Tal writes that when he went in for this whole variation he thought he could refute his op- ponent’s attack by means of 26 pe8 27 wh8t ae7 28 4xel+ ad6, when White loses because of the weakness of the back rank. An extremely ingeni- ous conception. which, however. is easily refuted by the prosaic 27 4exc8!. In studying Tal’s games, I have noticed that a similar picture very often occurs. He calculates a long variation, finds in it a brik. liant ‘point’, is inspired by it and without hesitating makes the move. Alas, the insufticiently-ex- amined variation usually contains a ‘hole’, and sometimes a rather primitive one. 27) wxel 6 28 Axc8 kxe8 29° h4 As a result of these lovely com- plications White has emerged with an extra pawn and has excel- lent winning chances. But in his delight’ Polugayevsky makes a mistake on his very next move and lets slip a well-deserved vic- tory. 29... sd8 30 h5? 30 43! 300... wd3 Black forces the exchange of queens. Tarrasch once made a poignant observation: “All rook endings are drawn”. The game finished: 31 wxd3 4 xd3 32 Scl Hb3 33 ic2 dyg8 34 g4 wh7 35 We2 #wh6 36 £3 a5 37 g3 a4 38 Mc4 caxb2 39 wxad xb3 40 Ha8 wh7 41 df4 b5 42 wed 43 43 a5 b44daxb4 Rc4+ 45 wlS iixb4 46 a7 4b3 47 f4 RbS+ 48 Wee6 Kb4 I+} But now let us see what could have happened if Tal had played differently on his 16th move. Let us first acquaint ourselves with his own notes: “Here there was the interesting variation 16... >xd4 17 xxd4t Axf3 18 Mxd8+ Hxd8 19 xc?72 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations Rxe2 20 Axe AxgsS 21 Dxgs De 22 f4 h6 23 fxe5 hxgs 24 6 xc4 25 ¢7 &xa2 26 Mdi (in our youth we didn’t calculate badly, and we both saw this variation).” Undoubtedly a long and beau- tiful variation. But T suggest we examine it move by move to see how correct it is. Only to begin with is play forced. 16... 17) Bxd4! 17 Qbxd4? Xxd4 or 17... Axg5 18 Axe6 HeB. 7... AxB 18 &xd8+ A mistake would be 18 wxf3? wexh2+ 19 dfl #2. Playing 18 xc? Bxe2 19 wxd8+ (19 Dxe6? Kxg5! 20 Axds Wxd8! 21 Hxd8+ {xd8 22 Kel &b5) 19 .-. 2xd8 amounts to transposi- tion. But now comes the first oppor- tunity to deviate from the varia- tion pointed out by Tal: 18... Hxd8!2 19 Qxc7 Axe2 20 Qxe7 (20 Dxe6 Hd7) 20... Hd7 and Black wins the piece back. 18... RxdB 19 Axe7 RXOZ 20 2xe6! (see diagram) From this point on let us ex- amine all the candidate moves a little more closely. Of course, it is bad to play 20 ... fxe6? 21 Hxe6+ Wf8 22 Axc8 Axgs 23 Mel. But besides 20 ... Axg5, Black may still play 20... 96. Qxd4t Not dangerous is 21 &xf6 Axf6 22 Des Ah5, or 21 Kel Ac4. At first sight 21 h3 is a strong move, having in mind 21 ... Bes? 22 Axf6 gxf6 23 Dd4 with advant- age to White. But Black is saved by the intermediate 21 ... hé6!, after which White has nothing. The defence found is entirely sufficient to allow us to draw a conclusion about whether Black's position is defensible after 16 ... &xd4!, But, even so, for the sake of interest let us continue our analysis and see whether Black's game is actually bad after 20... Rxg5. 20... xgs 2 Axes Now Tal suggests 21 ... e5, but Black has several alternatives. In the event of the passive 21 +.» &h6? 22 Bel White's advan- tage is clear, But worth consider- ing is 21... Bc4!? 22 cl bS 23 b3! Reb 24 RxcB+ AxcB 25 b4 DeS (but not 25... Ah6? 26 3 and 27 gef2) 26 £4 2)c4 (26... h6?Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 73 27 Ded, intending Dd6) 27 Axc4 (weaker is 27 a4 2d6!) 27... bxc4. White’s position is to be preferred, but I consider that Black can rightly hope to save the game. But was it necessary to defend the pawn on f7? It looks extremely tempting to play 21... i<¢2!?. 22 «f4 hé 22... 3e4? 23 wel. 23° fxeS hxg5 24 06 Even here the situation is still not quite clear. But Black should not fall into a combination pointed out by Tal: 24... 4? 25¢7 &xa2 26 Xdl. Also mis- taken is 24... [62 257+ @h7 26 we6! e827 wel, or 26 ie b8 27 ALT %b5 28 dl and 29 dB. Correct is 24 PB! 25 exf7 (25 e7+ e8) 25... 2, intending 26... Kxb2 or 26... Hc4. Also possible is 25... RhS 26 FI xc7. Now recall the question of how Tal calculates variations. Can we say it is bad? No. of course we could never say that..Do you know many chessplayers who are capable of seeing so many moves ahead? But neither can you say that it is good—the fact is that his long and beautiful variations turn out to be just too unreliable. But we shall not hasten to draw conclusions. In order to judge ob- jectively the play of a great chess- player, which Mikhail Tal undoubtedly is, a single example is clearly not enough. I hope to be able to return to the examination of examples of his games in a later work, which will be devoted to attacks, risk and problematic sac- rifices of material. The Examination of Exercises If you show a chessplayer a move which looks heroic but actually turns out to be a bluff, and if, succumbing to his first impres- sion, he seriously believes this move, then after the bluff is dis- covered he will feel deeply offended, and it will take a long time before this fecling subsides. Emanuel Lasker I have for many years been col- lecting a ‘card index’ of exercises intended for the development of thinking skills and for mastering the techniques of combat which are essential to the practical chess- player. The examples included in this card index have to conform to certain rather demanding aes- thetic and methodological re- quirements. When looking through chess literature: newspapers, books, Informators (primarily well-anno- tated games and fragments), I linger over interesting and in- structive episodes which occurred in the games or which are given in the notes. I consider for what pur-74 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations pose a particular episode could be useful to me and in which section of my card index it should be included. Then I begin a careful examination, which in at least half of the cases forces me for some reason or other to reject what I have found. If, however, everything is in order, the example enters the card index and within a short time is used in my lessons. There it undergoes a new examination, and a much stricter one. There have been numerous occasions when my pupils, in solving an exercise, have discovered in it facets which I had not even sus- pected. As a result I have had to either remove the example from my card index or substantially re- work it. Bartrina—Ghitescu Olot 1974 Q. 1.50 How should the game end? Mistaken would be 1 448? KM2+! 2 dxf2 —xb2+4 mate. White played a com- bination which has found its way into many books on tactics. 1 ag! aflt 2 wf! White cannot play cither 2 xf2?, xxb2+. or 2 &hl? “kxe2+! 3 @xe2 mg3+ 4 fl wagl+ 5 de2 2xb2+ with 20... a bS+ 2... Axg2+ 3 wxf2! a xb2+ 4 agi. 3 axf2 med + 4 &e3 inxdl 5 xhs! md6+ 6 #2 Black resigned But Black could have avoided defeat if he had found the cool- headed defence | ... f6!. Now 2 Kh8 leads to perpetual check after2... 2f2+ 3 fl &bS+ 4 @xf2 we2+ 5 mgd meS+, as White has nothing better. Also possible, by the way. isa different move-order: |... 2f2+ 2 a&fl f6!. A refutation does not neces- sarily have to be of a concrete. tactical nature—at times it is suf- ficient simply to look at the pos tion sensibly and formulate an accurate assessment. Stein—Bronstein Moscow 1971 Q. 1.51 How should White con- tinue?Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 75 Leonid Stein played a com- bination based on the weakness of the back rank. 220 Axes Grandmaster Raymond Keene, in his book devoted to Stein, gives this move two exclamation marks. I would rather replace the first one with a question mark. 22 dxc5 22... wyXcS 23 Wxe8. 23° wxe8 Kedl After 23... 4xe8? 24 RxcB + 2f& 25 gh6 Black would be mated. Black's game is hopeless after 23... 5724 &xgs (24 wed? f5) 24... Mxe8 25 BxeB+ QL 26 ixxc8 dg] 27 Hel! The intermediate move 23 ... ued, which removes the bishop from attack, changes the situa- tion. After the rook retreats there will follow 24 25 25 axes wxe8 If 24 f3 then 24 Rd4+ 25 @hl x xe8 26 XxcB+ weg? 27 fxg4 h6 or 27... a4. Therefore Stein was forced to transpose into a complicated ending. 24° wh5! wexbS 25 exbS axdl 260 zxdl The threat is 27 66. 26... AbT! Although White has only one pawn for the exchange. he has the initiative, thanks in no small measure to his two strong bishops. The enemy rooks are tied down by the need to keep an eye on White's passed pawns. Stein won the ensuing struggle. Our assessments of a game are frequently strongly influenced by the end result, and therefore it is not surprising that on giving the endgame a cursory glance it seemed to be won for White. But this was a great exaggeration. Grandmaster Dolmatov has given a fairer assessment of the posi- tion: the combination did not in fact give Stein any advantage— Black lost only because of his subsequent errors. 27° aed 28 aed nds AB76 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 29° wfl weg? 300 a3 bxa3 A disputable although entirely plausible decision. Simpler was 30 - Kd6 31) dal Kd6 32 Rd? Rel Worth considering was 32... db8 33 Axa3 Bxb5. 330 Axa wal 34 ke3 bo?! Stronger was 34... {.d6, not fearing, needless to say, 35 b4? in view of 35... exb4. 38 me? wf 36 &d3 weS? In such positions it is essential to play ... h7-h5, in order not to allow White to clamp down on the kingside. 37° Hal #16 38 gd! we7 39 gs! wad7 40 h4 #18 41 hs! Now that White has active pos- sibilities on both wings, defending has become extraordinarily diffi- cult. The game finished: 41 ... 4d642 Khl 46d743 Kh4! Rad 44 hxg6 fxg6 45 RES+ ET 46 wxf7+ dxf? 47 d6+ de8 48 KAS Kc8 49 2c6+ wi7 50 wed e651 Axc5 Axc5 52 xcs HP 53 RdS+ ged7 54 13 Bh8 55 Re6+ w#e6 56 b6 Hd8 57 b7 4 b8 58 [4 Black resigned. Now let us return once more to the position from which we started. It is quite obvious that White has a considerable posi- tional advantage. He could have continued 22 #yg3! (the attack on the pawn at d6 prevents the move 22... 215 and forces the enemy rook to take up an awkward posi- tien on d7) 22... d7 23 ha, Having initiated complications, Stein threw away a substantial part of his advantage. He carried out a typical “combination for its own sake” (Simagin’s expression, already mentioned in the first sec- tion of this chapter). Incidentally, it may be that the Grandmaster from Lvov simply underestimated the strength of Bronstein’s reply 23... Red, Please do not think that, when confronted with someone else's analysis, I am at once seized by the thrill of the hunt, the wish to refute it come what may. It is simply that for an exercise to be ‘pure’ and leave a strong impres- sion on its solver it must first be tested for its durability. And I am only too pleased if the example stands up to the test Keres—Benko Candidates Tournament, Yugoslavia 1959 Q. 1.52 What should White play in diagram 93? Keres found a quiet move of awe- some power: 20 Q¢2!!. How can Black defend against the threat 21 £5? In all variations Black losesCombinations and the Calculation of Variations 77 at least a pawn. For example: 20 ... hS 21 KF5 (also good is 21 2xf6+ Dxf6 22 QfS)21 hxg4 22 &xd7 4d8 23 Bxgd, or 20... KAS 21 HPS Re6 22 Kxe6!. In the game there followed: 20... 26 21 xd1 and Black resigned. A very convincing finish, wasn’t it? However, it is necessary to examine whether White had a dif- ferent, equally effective way to achieve a decisive advantage. The existence of a second solution would of course considerably re- duce the aesthetic impression made by the exercise. After 20 2xf6+? Dxfo 21 ive7 2d5 the game is level, since the combination 22 4d7 Axf4 23 24x17 leads only to a‘draw: 23... De2+ 24 wil Acl 25 Ach Hed 26 eT + IB. It looks stronger to play 20 dl. On 20... 2c6, possible is at least 21 c2 hS 22 Dxfor+ &x{6 23 % £5. Black must reply 20 DeS 2 Ae2 Red 22 Dxfo+ gxf6 23 xed Axed. Of course, the position favours White, but it is not easy for him to derive any tangible advantage. For example: 24 xd7 Dc5 25 4xc7 wxc7 26 Exc? Dad, or 24 &h6 Ddé6 25 gt (preventing the move 25... 2f5) 25... £5 followed by... {7--f6, wW7 ete. The analysis quoted shows that the move played by Keres was indeed the strongest, and this means that the exercise is entirely correct, Browne-Ljubojevic Tilburg 1978 Q. 1.53 Find and calculate the strongest continuation for White. Tempting is 14 d3, but Ljubojevic had prepared the strong reply 14 . wcS!, After 15 dxeo (15 Aad wea 16dxe6 Axel 17 exd7 Dxd7 White’s pieces are *hanging’) 15 . wxed 16 exd7 2xd7 Black's position is to be preferred In the event of another stan- dard move, 14 eS, the continua- tion 14... Axe 15 dxeS wes looks dubious, but entirely pos-78 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations sible is the simple 14... #xc3 and 1S... wd6. Browne found an_ excellent solution. 140 dStt Rao Rather bad would be 14 xd5 15 Axd5, but we shall be coming back to the move 14 Exc3!? 1S) wad KX Roughly the same position would be reached after 15 ... a5 16.a3 Hxc3 17 bxc3 DbB 18 ‘had wd7 19 wed. 16 bxe3 17 &b3 White has obtained a clear ad- vantage. His pieces are consider- ably more active, and the bishop on a6 cannot easily be brought back into play in view of the weakness of the pawn on a7 Dabs 7... bs 17... wd7 18 wa3. 18 waS wh7? Better was 18... #7C7 19 axfo —_gxf6 20 dS! The time has now come for the thematic breakthrough in the centre. 0. exd5 21 wb4 wd7 22 wh4 e7 23 add The threat is 24 %c2. Black resigned. Judging from the notes in Infor- mator, Ljubojevic rejected 14 ixc3 (in reply to 14 Qd5!!) because of 15 xxb7 Axcl 16 Kxc8 aS 17 Axd7 wxd7 18 ‘xf6, when White has the ad- vantage. But he had an interesting tactical possibility available: 16 Qxf2 417 17 afl! (17 ae xf2? Dedt+) 17... Axddt 18 |xdd Des. Black wins back the piece but loses it again: 19 yf is xc8 20 b4 wed? 21 2 xf6 gxf6 22 wed+ ah (or 22 1B) 23 bxeS. This position, 1t would appear, has arisen by force. After 23 ... xc5 White has a choice between 24 “xeS bxcS 25 ab3, and 24 Mdl Md5 25 Md3. Although theoretically the material on each side is equivalent (three pawns for a knight), it seems to me that White has the better chances. This means that we have not succeeded in refuting Browne's conception. Considering that in the initial position ‘normal’ paths did not promise White any advantage, the operation he carried out can be acknowledged to have been totally justified.Combinations and the Calculation of Variations 79 An extremely unusual and beautiful exchange of blows oc- curred in the following game. Novikoy—Nikolacy Kharkov 1968 1 a4 45 2 4 xed 3 3B ate 4 03 ied 5 Axed 6 303 7 ad? 8 h3 9 4% hg6 10 Dh4 nbd 11 Dxg6 —hxg6 2 wh Q. 1.54 Evaluate 12... 5. White has played the opening inaccurately, and his position is rather ragged. It was possible for Black to underline this by playing simply 12... aS 13 4a2c5. But Black's attention was drawn to- wards the more energetic. albeit double-edged, plan 12... ¢5!?. By immediately attacking the enemy centre, Black at the same time increases the scope of the bishop on c4 and weakens the f7-square. Accurate calculation is required. The cautious 13 dS? leads after ed! 14 we2 eS to a clear tage for Black. In the event of 13 dxe5?! DxeS 14 wxb7 Kb8 (of course, not 14... Axc3+ 15 bxc3_ Axc4? 16 vec6+ and 17 wxc4), White cannot play 15 Wixa6? Kb6 16 2b5+ cb, but after 15 ¥vg2 his compensation for the sacrificed pawn is more than adequate. For example: 15 . Hb6 (also strong is 15... 0-0) 16 Re2 Ad3+ 17 WEL (LT Bxd3 wxd3 18 wa8Bt+ dc7 19 wxh8 d6) 17... e618 gS Hxc3 19 bxc3. Ded with advantage to Black. 13. g5! 14° gxf6 On 14 exd4, good are both 14 -.. Sxd4and 14... waxd4. Id... dxe3 15 fxg7 exb2+ exdd!80 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations The situation has become irra- tional: Black is threatened with mate in one, and both sides have pawns on the threshold of pro- motion. 16 we2 {It seems that things are bad for Black: how can he repel the threats 17 wyxf? mate and 17 gh(w) +? It does not help to play 16... Ad4+ 17 exd4 we7+, in view of 18 Qe3, 16... wd3+t Black had to see this wonderful resource well in advance—when he played his 12th move. When examining Black’s idea, I turned my attention to the fact that in the event of 16 @fl (in- stead of 16 ge2) the counter- thrust 16... wd3+ would not be so strong: 17 wg2! bxal (a) 18 wexf7+ dd8 19 g8(w)+ Hxgd 20 wxg8+ ad7 21 we6+ wd 22 &xd3 with advantage to White. But Black would have had a different deflection sacrifice of the queen: 16... wdl+!! 17 wxdl bxal(wy) 18 gxh8(sy) + wxh8 and Black emerges a pawn up. A unique case: two queen sacrifices on two different squares almost straight out of the open- ing. 17) axd3 Worse is 17 @xd3 0-0-0+ and 18... bxal (gy). Wo... bxal(w) 18 gxh8(wy)+ wxh8 Black has emerged from the complications with a pawn more, but his opponent has retained some positional compensation for it. 19 ged wes 20) Rxc6+ — BXCO 21) wixc6+ — bxc6 Now, by continuing 22 h4! in order to exchange his isolated h- pawn, White could have obtained real drawing chances. Black’s brilliant combination was entirely correct, but | am not sure that it was the strongest con- tinuation objectively. Therefore, in offering this position by way of an exercise for training the imagina- tion and the ability to calculate variations, it is expedient to make use of a question which defines the matter more precisely, namely the one which was set before the start of the combination. CE. 1.30 Com d White to move. What would you have played?Combinations and the Calculation of Variations Black to move. Having calculated the variations, give an assessment of the position. A In the game there followed: 31... HR? 32 dxc6+ dea8-33 cxd7 MA2+ 34 db3 wxb24+ 35 Wad Black resigned. Much stronger was 31 . cS}, after which 32 dxc6+? wed would be bad for White. late 32 wxe6+ and 32 ¥ Does the Problem Have a Solution? The following ending of an bl ancient game is quoted in many chess manuals, Dark clouds have gathered over the black king's position. The move Black played, t ... ¥xb2!, looks like a gesture of desperation—-what _ significance can the pawn on b2 possibly have in this situation? But matters are not quite as simple as they scem. From the square b2 the queen interacts quite well with the other black picces and assists in repelling the immediate threats on the back rank and the weakened dark squares on the kingside. For ex- ample, the direct 2 «xe5? i xe5 3 ¥16 docs not achieve anything, in view of 3... wbl+ 4 a&g2 we4+ with perpetual check (after the forced 5 dg). In the event of 2 4? the bishop on eS is defended by the queen, and so Black has the reply 2... 4d8 (threatening 3... %.g7)3 we4(e3) f6 when Black’s position is quite in order.82 Combinations and the Calculation of Variations Q. 1.55 Does 2 wf6 win? This was the tempting continua- tion which White chose in the game, and after 2 wf6?! wxc3? 3 we7t! &xg7? 4 He8+ he announced mate. But later a bril- liant defence was found: 2 .. well! 3: wexeS! wexh6! 4 wb8 + #27 5 wWxb7 wd2 with roughly equal chances, as it is not good for White to play 6 &e7? ¥fS 7 wyxa7 CSI. Having become acquainted with this ending, I started to con- sider what exercises could pos- sibly be created from it. One of them—associated with the de- velopment of the imagination and paying attention to the oppon- ent’s counter-chances—you have just solved. The introductory question in this exercise, the aim of which is the search for Black's defensive resources, alleviates the solver's task So, if we were to succeed after 1 .. Wxb2 in finding for White a clear (and the only!) way to win. it would be possible to do without the leading question and simply suggest that the reader take a de- cision for White. In this case an extremely difficult problem would arise on the theme of taking the opponent's resources into ac- count. To discover an effective refutation of the move 2 wf6! without any special hint that it exists, lo refute this move and choose another, stronger move, is a task which not every grandmas- ter would be capable of solving. Q. 1.56 Find the strongest con- tinuation for White. This exercise is not for solving in your head for but serious analy- sis—therefore [ recommend that you move the pieces on the board. Concentrate your attention on identifying candidate moves for both sides. Recalling the section ‘Don't let your king get in the way of a combination!", we shall begin our examination with the move 2 2, which renews the threats of wf6 and 4xe5. Bad is 2... £673 4% xe5. The only defence is 2... f5!. The following variations are then possible: A. 3 c4 a5! (weaker is 3 Kd7 or 3... Kd8 because of 4 we3) 4 Hdl (4 wd3 wd4: 4 2 f4 wed4, but not 4... @f7? 5 we3 16 6c5 winning) 4. 2! with the threat of ... wed. If Black were to be greedy with 4... xa2Combinations and the he would lose: 5 sxa2 wixa2 7 dd. B.3 2f4 Exfal 3... wxcd? 4 xxe5;0n3... Axchor3... Af6 decisive is 4 08+ aI7 5 we3) 4 wxt4 wd2!S 208+ (5 x03 i dB followed by... #77) 5... f7 6 wb8 j.d7! and if 7 sh8 then 7 wf or 7... wdS+ 8 ghd w6. «d2 wbl 6 To be honest, the conclusion that the move 2 g27! is insuf- ficient to win only pleased me, since I had seen one more, so it seemed, very strong possibility: 2 we, White creates three threats at once: 3 {4, 3.c4 and 3 pyxa7. After 2... f6 itis a mistake to play 3 £4? wd2! 4 fxeS xh? 5 wf Mxh6. But the simple 3 ¥xa7! maintains an advantage for White. For at least a year I thought that a solution had been found, and I made repeated use of this exercise in my training lessons. But, one day, one of the students specialising in chess at the Insti- Culculation of Variations 83 tute of Physical Culture (where I then taught), who had solved the exercise, turned his attention to the subtle defence 2... wya3!!, which parries all of White’s im- mediate threats: 3 f4 x27 4 wre8+ Bf8, or 34 wixe3 4 a xe3 gaS 5 £42 4d4. More dangerous is the preparatory move 3 #g2!, having in mind the variations 3 bS? 4. c4! wre3 S$ 4xe3 bxc4 6 f4 winning, or 3... &g7?4 wrxa7! WBS Bxg7 dexe7 6 wexb7 with an extra pawn for White. But after 3... f6! Black can defend successfully by sacrificing a pawn: 4 [4 {7 (also worth considering is the immediate 4 wrxa2+) 5 fxeS

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