Lyev Polugayevsky

& akov Damsky

 Lyev Polugayevsky
& lakov Damsky

The
Art of Defence
in Chess

EVERYMAN CHESS
Gloucester Publishers pic www.everymanchess.com
First published in 1988 by Gloucester Publishers pic, (formerly Everyman Publj,
,
pic), Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London, EC1V OAT

Reprinted (with corrections) 1990

This edition (with corrections) published 1996 by Gloucester Publisher pic.

English translation copyright© 1988 Ken Neat

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contents

Introduction vii
Cha pter 1. Prevention is better than cure 1
Chapter 2. Disarmament - the road to peace 12
Chapter 3. Trenc h warfare 26
Cha pter 4. Turnin g the tide 34
Chapter 5. Block ade 66
Chapter 6. The versatile king 75
Chapter 7. Mines on the road 89
Chapter 8. Escaping from custody 1 03
Chapter 9. Returning to the Middle Ages . . . 111
Chapter 1 0. Look out: a trap! 1 21
Chapter 1 1 . I n search of stalemate 1 34
Chapter 1 2. It is never too late to resign! 1 44
Chapter 1 3. Counterattack 1 53
Chapter 1 4 Counterblow in the centre 1 58
Chapter 1 5. Whoever is qu icker,
whoever is the more generous . .
. 1 71
Chapter 1 6. Forward - through sacrifices! 1 77
Chapter 1 7. When the hu nter becomes the victim 203
Chapte r 1 8. 1 80 deg ree turn 212
C hapter 1 9. Attack is the best form o f defence 227
Appendix - Answers to the questions:
"What wou ld you have played?" 233
Index of P layers 264

v
Symbols

+ check
x a capture
! a very good move
!! a brill iant move
? an error
?? a blunder
!? a move deserving attention
?! a d ubious or risky move

vi
I nt rod uction
Remem ber how sword fig hts
are arran ged in films . In
the course of battle eve ry
noble hero - whe ther he
be D'Artagn an, Cira no de
Bergerac or someone else -
inevitably stumb les, falls and
. . . after avoiding a fatal sword
blow, swiftly leaps up in order
to display his skill in a pro­
longed fenci ng exchange.
Exactly the same can happen
in chess. Yes, on encountering
a prepared variation you have
lost the opening battle or have
simply not managed to equal­
ize with Black. Yes, you have
been outplayed by your
ex perienced opponent i n
positional manoeu vring, or
committed a vexing trans­
position of moves, or have not
guessed in time the oppo n­
ent's plan, or have simply
been careless - and now
Your positio n, as the com­
me� tators politel y say, g ives
senous cause for alarm I n a
.
�ord, by analogy with the
� l nem a you are lying on you
r Ljubojevic, Vaganian, and
�ck and you are about t o b e
P le rced b y the sha rp steel
bl ade . .
. defence alone the present-day
Do not despair: you have
vii
one last chance. And not such
a slight one as might be
imagined. This chance is
d efe n c e . Passive, active,
combi national . . . It is an
essential and highly import­
ant component in the game of
any player, and it is no
accident that even some
h ighly talented players, who
have idolized only attack to
the detriment of defensive
mastery, have failed to achieve
that which they could well
have expected, given their
level of talent a nd degree of
true love for chess. Therefore
masters and g randmasters,
notable in their youth for their
sharp attacking style, but, as
Botvinnik puts it, capable of
self-reprogramming, in matur­
ity have demonstrated, even if
perhaps not through choice,
examples of tenacious and
reliable defence. Evidence of
this is provided by the game
extracts g iven below by such
devotees of attack as Tal,
others.
It stands to reason that by
chess throne cannot be won.
viii The Art of Defence in Chess
The time has long since
passed when Steinitz, for the
sake of the triumph of his
theory of positional play,
deliberately avoided positive
action and in voluntarily
chosen defence exploited the
strategic incompetence of his
attacking opponents. In our
day the basis of success is
nevertheless offensive play.
But aiming for it contrary to
the demands of the position,
neglecting defence for the
sake of illusory activity, is just
as punishable as any other
mistake, even the most
serious. An example is pro­
vided by the 11th game of the
Karpov- Spassky Candidates
Semi-Final Match, Leningrad,
1974.
White stands slightly better.
He controls more space, and
after a4-a5 and the invasion of
his knight at cS, the weakness
of the a6 pawn may cause
Black some trouble. Never-
theless, according to Bot­
vinnik, "after 17 ... Nc4! 18
Nc5 Rab8 Black could have
put up a successful defence".
But the ex-World Champ­
ion decided to obtain counter­
play against the white king,
for which he transferred his
bishop to c7. There followed
17 • • • Bd8? We will again
hand over to Botvinnik, who
annotated this game:
"The primary cause of
Black's defeat. It turns out
that Spassky is unfamiliar
with the basic subtleties of
such positions. Black's main
problem is to prevent e3-e4.
Therefore, as long as his
bishop is attacking the d4
pawn. he can feel secure.
Now, however, Karpov makes
a breakthrough in the centre
and begins a decisive offens-
ive".
18 Nc5 Bc8 19 aS Bc7 20 g3
Nc4 21 e4 Bh3 22 Re 1 and ,
White's initiative, especiallY
after the incautious 22
dxe 4,
. . ·
quickly b e came
decisive.
Thus the neglect of defenc e
and an unfounded aim to
transform a 'passive' bishoP
into an 'active' one led to the
defeat of a highly experienced
and versatile player . . .
The number of such ex·
amples is e n d l ess. AS·
 Introduction
are those wher e, by
however,
y arran ged defence, one
timel
n eutra lize s an advantage
side
gain ed by the opponent. It
was no accid ent that Alekh ine
once remarked that to defeat
him you had to win a game
against him three times: first
in the opening, then in the
midalegame, and finally in
the endgame.
Disregarding the somewhat
controversial nature of this
assertion we must neverthe­
less agree with the opinion of
the combinational genius
that there is a defence in many
positions w h i c h a p p e a r
hopeless. Even where games
have concluded in a crushing
win for one player, in a good
half of the cases the analysts
have later found adequate
defensive resources.
This position arose in a
famous game Bronstein -
keres, which was awarded
l
the first bri liancy prize in the
ix
Goteborg Interzonal Tourna­
ment, 1955. White has boldly
sacrificed two pawns followed
by a bishop at h6, and after
15 ... Nh7? 16 Qxh6 fS 17
NxfS RxfS 18 BxfS he practi­
cally restored the material
balance while retaining a very
strong attack. After soon
picking up two more pawns,
he won the game on move 39.
Meanwhile, Black could
have put up a successful
defence.To do this he should
have brought up his queen­
side pieces to the decisive
part of the battlefield - the
centre! After 15 ... Nc5! 16
Rae1 (in the event of 16 Qxh6
Be4 17 NfS NeB the attack can
be regarded as parried) 16 ...
Nd3 17 Bxd3 (forced, since
17 Qxh6 NeB 18 ReS fS is
worse) 17 .. .· cxd3 18 Nf5
Be4 19 Nbd4 ReS 20 Nxh6+
(after 20 Qxh6 BfB 21 Qg5+
KhB 22 ·Re3 Nh7 the attack
peters out) 20 ... Kf8 21 Qg5
Bg6! (the apJ2arently natural
21 ... dS? loses to 22 Rxe4!
dxe4 23 Ne6+I fxe6 24 Qg6)
2 2 Rxe7! Rxet (22... Qxe7 is
bad because of 23 NhfS) 23
Qxf6 Re4 24 Qh8+ Ke7 25
Nhf5+ Bxf5 26 Nxf5+ Ke6
27 Qh3 Qh8! 28 Qxd3 Qe5
his chances would have been
preferable.
Defences have also been
X The Art of Defence in Chess
f ound a g a i n s t s o m e of
Alekhine's brilliant combi­
nations, and against many of
Tal's intuitive sacrifices, and
in Anderssen's famous 'im­
mortal' and 'evergreen'
games. And althougn this in
no way belittles the genuine
unsurpassed beauty of
these works of chess art, it
must inspire faith in
devotees of def ence:
principle a saving manoeuvre,
move or plan may be found
not a day, a week or a year
later, but directly at the board,
during the game.
Undoubtedly, this is not
easy. And besides, ·while a
mistake by the offensive side
will not necessarily lead to·
defeat - perhaps only to a
slowing in the tempo of the
attack or the loss of the
initiative, an error in defence
is normally fatal."Experience
shows that errors occur more
often in defence than in
attack, especially where the
defence demands extreme
care", Rudolf Spielmann
rightly remarked nearly half
a century ago in his classic
The Art of Sacrifice in Chess.
But firstly, this lends added
satisfaction to a well organized
and implemented defence,
and secondly, for whom is
chess an easy game?! ... In
that same Bronstein - Keres
game� we saw how on several
occasions White had the
possibility of inopportunely
capturing the h6 pawn, and
how much ingenuity would
have been demanded of him
to maintain his attack against
all c o r r e c t defence b y t he
opponent . ..
the With a further example of
in resourceful defence, which
saved a game and, in our
opinion, won a match, we will
continue this introduction,
which has perhaps become a
little prolonged, but which is
absolutely essential ...
This is fromsame
the
Spassky - match
Karpov
referred to above. It was the
eighth game, with the score
standing at 2-1 in favour of the
young challenger (the winner
was the first to score 4 wins) ,
but in this position he stood
so badly that in the press
 Introduction xi

a 'consultation' of
centre
World Champions,
two ex-
and Tal, 'active ly
Euw e
d ' by grandmasters
s upp orte
son dar e v s k y , Taimanov,
and Kotov , predicted
Tim m an
'.
tor Black a 'swift end
Indeed, had White prosa­
ically captured the pawn- 23
Qxb5 Rab8 24 Qe2 Rb4 25
Rd2 Rfb8 26 Rc 1 Qf4 27 d5!
Nb6 28 d6, he would have had
What is Black to do? He
every chance of winning. But
seems bound to defend the
an attack is -.lways more
h6 pawn, since the opening of
attractive, and there followed:
the h-file looks fatal. But on
23 d5 a6! 25 ...Kg7 White had prepared
Amazing coolness: the a blow of terrible strength -
pawn is defended, and 'all' 26 f4!!. when no satisfactory
that White has left is his defence is apparent. After 26
attack. . .. gxf4 27 Qh2 Rh8 28 Ng2
24 h6 e5 29 Nh4 the knight decis­
It was this move that ively joins the attack, while in
formed the basis of the afore­ the event of 26 . .. Qxf4 27
mentioned 'diagnosis' in the dxe6 the undefended state of
press centre ... the black knight again allows
24 its white opponent to break
· · . gxh6
through to f5 (27 ... Qe4+ 28
Practically forced, since
Black's king cannot 'sit it out' Ka 1 Qxe6 29 Nf5+). Finally,
undef the cover of the white after 26 ... Nf6 27 dxe6 fxe6
pawn: 24 .. g6 28 f5 White succeeds in seiz­
25 dxe6 fxe6
ing the most important
·

�6 NfS!, when he
loses after
oth 26 squares in the vicinity of the
. exf5 27 Qe6+ Rf7
black king - in particular,
· ·

28 Oxg6+ Kf8
29 h7, and 26
.Raea 27 h7+! Kxh7 28
once again f5 . ..
R
·

;d7+ Oxd7 29 Rh1+ Kg8 25 . .. Nf6!!

3
Oes. With the effect of an explod­
ing bomb! Black prophy­
25 Rh1 lactically removes the knight
xii The Art of Defence in Chess

from a possible attack, at the Black".

ni
sa e time bringing it into the 30 f3 Kf7
front defensive line. And the 31 a3 eS!
h6 pawn? . . . Black has
Beginning to eliminate his
calculated that for it h e will
pawn weaknesses.
gain a highly important tempo
32 Nb4 e4
Rxd1 +
in the battle for the h-file­
33 fxe4
the file of attack.
34 Rxd1 ReS!
26 Rxh6
That's it! The defence is
White also has nothing
s u c c e s s f u l l y c o m p l ete d,
forcing after the alternative whereas, the nasty 34 ...
26 d6 Qc6! (not allowing the Qxg4?! 35 Qxg4 Nxg4 36
white queen to go to.f3) 27 f3 Rf1 + Kg7 37 Rg1 would still
Kg7 28 Qh2 Rh8 29 Qe5 have given Black some un­
Qxf3!, with the threat of 30 pleasant moments in the
.. . Qe4+. endgame. The game con­
26 . . . Kg7 cluded:
This tempo allows Black to 35 Nxa6 Qxe4+
meet 27 Rdh1 with 27 . . .
36 Qxe4 Rxe4
Rh8, with saving exchanges. 37 Nc7 b4
27 Rhh1 Rad8 38 axb4
28 dxe6 fxe6 Or 38 a!J b3 39 aS Rxg4 40_
29 Nc2 a6 Ra4 41 Rd3 Ne4!
T h r e a te n i n g b o t h t h e 38 •Rxb4 39 Rf1 Rf4
• .

capture on e6, and the deadly Draw agreed.

Black's defence had such a
30 Nd4. Black still appears to
stand badly, but .. . strong psychological effect
29 . • • Qf4! on his opponent that the
match lasted only another
Y e t a n o t h er e xc e l l e n t
three games .. .
defensive reply. The advance
of the white knight is pre­
vented, and for the moment There are many convincing
the loss of the pawn can be examples of how, even in
disregarded: 30 Rxd8 Rxd8 games opponents of
with
31 Qxe6 Qe4! leads to the equal s t re n g t h , l e a d i n g
rapid restoration of equilib­ players have achieved their
rium. In Botvinnik's opinion: aim by tenacious defen ce.
"The wors.t is now over for They will be given in the
 Introduction xiii

to the handed to the controller.

n s rela ting
s ectio .
d
.
fens1ve
ate typ1ca I e Shortly before the resumption
a ropri
�� cedure. Her
e we should
anoth er
he even enquired as to

� ke to
mention
mple, cha racter­
whether I might not be intend­
ing to resign without playing
actical exa
� ed by th
� fact that t e � on. And on arriving at the
play was m tournament hall he demonst­
weaker side s
with all the rules ratively ordered a coffee,
accordance _
of ch ess warfare: takmg asked for a spoon, and began

account of all conceivable stirring in some sugar.

nuances, clinging to literally Meanwhile, in our adjourn­
every 'entrenchment' in the ment analysis Yuri Averbakh
defending position ... Yes, and I had found as many as
the story of the adjourned three ideas which gave Black
game Reshevsky - Geller, hopes of saving the game.
Candidat es T o u r n a m e n t , The first was to try and obtain
Zurich 1953, is very instructive. an ending with f- and h-pawns
for White, in which, as is
known, there are a number of
drawn positions. The second
was to search for a position
where White's two extra
pawns would be blockaded.
The third -a fantastic one­
was to play for stalemate! The
resumption s h o wed t h a t,
while Reshevsky had some­
how reckoned with the first
two possibilities, he had not
It will be sensible for us to even considered the third.
read the acco
unt by Geller, 41 . . . Re1
Who tenaciously defe
nded at 42 f4 Re3
each of the
possible lines. 43 Rg4 Kh7
"It stands to reas
on that the 44 Rg3 Re2
outcome
of the gam e is 45 h4?
dec1"ded.
Therefore Reshevsky An imperceptable but
lo oked
especially pleased serious mistake. Reshevsky
aft r the h
� envelope with t e thought that he could win as
adJourne
d position ha d been he pleased, and did not even
xiv The Art of Defence in Chess
imagine how difficult his task
would become after such a
careless weakening of the
g4 square. He should have
freed his king by moving his
ro"ok from g3.
45 ... Re4
46 Rf3 f6
This exchange is possible
only thanks to White's mistake
on the previous move. Black
aims to establish control over
g4, not allowing White to set
up a pawn phalanx.
47 exf6 gxf6
48 Kg3
On 48 g4 Black had pre­
pared 48 ... f5, leaving White
with a choice: either ari ending
with f- and h-pawns, or -
after 49 g5 Kg6 - passed
g- and h-pawns blockaded,
and the win more than
problematic.
48 . . . Kg6
49 Ra3 f5
Black has achieved a great
deal: his pieces are active,
and the white pawns are
immobilized. Now the only
way for Reshevsky to win
was by 50 Ra8!, aiming for the
following deployment of his
forces: the white rook goes to
g5, then the pawn advances
to h5 and the king to h4.
During this Black is obliged to
keep his king at h6 and his
rook on the 5th rank. Then
comes g2(g3.)-g4, when Bla ck
cannot interpose a saving
check in order to go into an
ending with f- and h-pawns.
Reshevsky evidently de.
cided that he could arrive at
the· same position by a
different, more forcing way.
But it was here that a surprise
awaited him.
50 Ra6+ Kh5
51 Rf6
Black seems doomed, but
his king is too restricted!
51 .. . Re3+
52 Kf2 Ra3
53 g3
White knows that after 53
Rxf5+ Kxh4 one of the drawn
positions with blocked pawns
is reached, but he is quit e
happy with the proximity of
his planned set-up after 53 ...
Ra5 54 Kg2 Rb5 55 Kh3 Ra5
56 Rf8 Rb5 57 Rg8 Kh6 58 Rg5
Ra5 59 h5, then 60 Kh4 and
61 g4.
53 . . . Rf3+!
The bomb explodes. If he
takes the rook immediately or
after 54 Kg2 Rxg3+, Black
announces ... stalemate! I
have to admit that here I
allowed myself a little bit of
revenge, which was so pictu r·
e
esquely descibed in th
newspapers and maga zin es
 Introduction XV

time. While Reshevsky It is simply .not possible for

of that pe d,
at the board, stu fie them all to occur within a
stared
1 ordered a
gla ss of tea and, single game. Here, neverthe­
·ust as pain sta kingly as he less, is a game in which, as if

� ad done
so
earl
me
ier,
sugar
beg
...
an to order, Black demonstrates
a large number of purely
stirring in
2· Rxg3 defensive ideas. Here we will
54 Ke
55 Rxf5 + Kxh4 merely designate them, in
order to examine them in
Now everything is clear.
off from more detail later.
B oth kings are cut
the pawn, and its unsupported
advance leads to full material
equality."
56 Kf2 Ra3 57 Rg5 Rb3 58
Rg1 Kh5 59 Ke2 Ra3 60 f5
Ra5 Draw agreed.
But tenacity in defence is a
purely competitive feature,
and the chess content of
defence can be highly diverse.
Time-approve d defensive
procedures are considered in
the corresponding sections
of the book. Of course, they A position by no means new
are almost always inter­ to theory arose from the
con ected: for e xample , Nimzo-lndian Defence in the
�
passave defence gives way game Kasparov - Andersson,
to
the elimination of the opp Mosco w 'Tournament of
on­
ent. s attacking pote Stars', 1981. It was simply
ntial, or
through simpli
fication one Black' s plan that was not
can arrive at altogether usual: to voluntarily
the creation of a
� rtress or at sta
lemate.
spend the entire game
herefore defending.
an acquaint ance
� .
•th defensive
'themes' will 13 . . . Rxe31?
elp a Play
er during a game By sacrificing the exchange
�
t ·rec
ognize the conditions (the first defensive procedure)
ta�r
�
emp loyi ng par ticu
lar for White's (future) central
•cs or a parti
cular proced- striker, Black at the same time
ure
guarantees himself perma-
xvi The Art of Defence in Chess

nent control of e5, which 23 NbS a6

enables him to blockade (the 24 Nd4 Bd7
second defensive procedure!) It would have been a bad
the centre and White's king­ mistake to exchange on d4
side. The doubling of White· �
14 fxe3 g6 pawns would have bee n an
15 0-0 Qe7 insignificant price to pay for
16 Qd4 Bg7 the lifting of the blockade and
17 Qf4 Ne8 the -increased activity of his

Passive defence, allowing pieces.

Black to commence block­ 25 Rc2 Bg7

ading action. After the Black continues to maint ain
outwardly more active 1 7 ... the status quo.
Ne5, the d6 pawn would have 26 Qg3 Rb8
been inadequately supported In anticipation of an attack
and the knight at f6 not too on the b7 pawn - which will
secure. Now, in addition, the
happen sooner or later -
invasion square c7 is prop,hy­ Black prophylactically de­
lactically defended ... fends it.
18 Rac1 BeS
27 Re2 Nf6
19 Qf2 Ndf6
28 Nf3 Be8!
20 Bd3 hS
By overprOtecting his g6,
Of course, this is not an
Black forestalls a possible
attacking move, but simply
sacrifice here with a strong
. .. prophylaxis. The possible
attack.
advance of the white g-pawn
to g5 with control over f6 29 e4
is now nipped in the bud.And, Convinced that there is no
given the opportunity, Black prospect of an attack on g6,
intends to strengthen the White switches to the ide a of
blockade on the dark squares, the e4-e5 breakthrough.
by placing his pawn at h4 and 29 . . . N6d7
hence controlling g3. It too is forestalled!
21 Nge2 Nh7 30 Rc2 NeS
Preparing a prophylactic Exploiting an opportunitY

0�
d e f e nc e o f t h e s li g h t l y to simplify the position s orn
weakened g 6 pawn. what. With the exchange
22 Nf4 Nf8 all the knights Black's block·
 Introduction xvii

k squares will is given at the end of the game.

n tne dar
ade o h absolute.
e as thoug 39 h4
becom
• • •

Bxe5 40 Bg4 Kh6

31 Nxe5
2 N d7 In this position the game
32 Qf
b4 QdS was adjourne d . On the
33
invasion of the resumption there followed:
Dela ying the
a nd preve nting the
rook at c7
41 Kh1 b6
f the quee n at b6,
invasion o 42 Ra7 Bg3
w of the weak­
which, in vie 43 Qd2 Bf4
d6 paw n, wo �ld
ness of the 44 Qd4 Be5
ed the reg rou pmg
have hinder 45 Qg1 aS
.
of the black pieces The time has come to
34 Be2 Bg7 switch to more active defence.
35 Nd3 Ne5 If White accepts the pawn
36 Nxes Bxe5 sacrifice (46 bxa5 bxa5 47
For the third time, but by Rxa5), he opens a way for the
no means the last, the bishop black rook into his position.
appears at e5. Its blockading Therefore:
strength has grown to the 46 Qc1 Bf4
maximum, even though White 47 Qa1 Be5
now penetrates onto the 48 Qg1 axb4
seventh rank. 49 axb4 Bf4
37 Rtc f 50 Qa1 BeS
Kg7

�
38 Rc1 51 Qa3 Kg7
QgS
39 R1p2 Black again sticks to wait­
Now th threat.of a counte ing tactics.
r­
attac k o the dar 52 Rf2 Bf6
. k squares
restrrcts he wh Breaking the combined
ite queen, and
does not allo 'glances' of the white pieces
6 ueenside. Fo
w it to go to the
r example, 39 at f7 (in reserve White still has
a7 Og3, and Be6 in combination with Rcl
White cannot
take eith
er the rook or the b7 and Qa7).
�� wn because
of 40 ... Bd4+ 53 Qd3 Qe5
Khl Be5
42 Kgl Bd4+ 54 Be$ Kg8
he 1ess Kaspar
Ne vert
r lf ca IIed
ov h1m 55 Qf3 Kg7
• ·

Se '
-

39 R1c2 a 'sound 56 Qf4 Qd4

lrne-tro
ubl
. e move, and an
�
alter
..
•

atlve su
ggestion of his
57 Rf1
58 Bg4
b5
Rd8
xviii The Art of Defence in Chess

Of course, not 58 ...Qxa7 70 BfS 71 Be2 Raa 7

bS Ra2 73 Bf3 Rb2 74 Rba
2
. . •

59 Qxf6+, breaking through

the defensive barriers with Bd4 75 Rd1 BcS 76 Kh2 Be3
an easy win. 77 Re1 Bf2 78 Rf1 Bcs 79
ReS Bd4 80 Rd1 Bf2 81 Be
.
59 Rc7 Qb2 2
60 Rc2 Qd4 Bd7 82 Re4 BfS 83 Rea Bd?
61 Rd2 QeS Draw agreed.
62 QxeS Although later analysis
showed that White did no
In principle, a major t
achievement for White. He exploit all his chances (thus

has forced the exchange of stronger was 39 h4! Qh 6 -if

queens and rid himself of the
spectre of a counterattack,
but ...The blockaded nature
of the position is retained, and
39 .. . Qd2 40 R1c2- 40 g3,
while in Kasparov's opinion
64 Bxd7 would also have
given a win 64 . . . Rxdl 65
-

will the exchange advantage ReB Rb7 66 Rfc1 Kf6 67 R1c7

suffice for a win? Rb6 68 RaB or 65 . . . Ral 66
RbB Ra2 67 Rb 1 Kf6 68 Rxb5,
62 . . . BxeS
and the b-pawn cannot be
63 Rc2 Bd7!
stopped) Black was neverthe·
64 Be2
less awarded a special prize
At this pomt White evidently
for his defensive skill: such
decided that after the ex­
was the diversity of defensive
change of bishops Black
ideas that he displayed in this
would tie up his opponent's
game.
forces by a counterattack on
And in concluding this
'speech for the defence ' in
the b4 pawn.

64 . fS 65 Rc7 Kh6 66 favour of defence, we would

remind the reader that the
• •

Bd3 fxe4 67 Bxe4 KgS 68 Bd3

Bd4 69 Rb7 Bc3 70 BxbS defending side also has
Winning also a pawn, but as another serious weapon -
compensation both black counterattack. But about that
bishops become threatening. in the second part of the book.
1
prevention
is better than cure

medical say­ strongest and most dangerous,

This well known
app lica ble to chess. to restrict the opponent in
ing is fully
ugh prop hylactic carrying out this plan- this is
And altho
s aga ins t an embryo a touchstone on which true
measure
the opp one nt may at mastery is tested. Achieving
attack by
seem tedio us and un­ the ideal here is evidently not
time s
nec essar y, their bene fit can­ possible for anyone, just as
not be overestimated. Grand­ no one can in general play
master Aron Nimzowitsch, chess faultlessly. But not to
who first introduced into chess learn this means to come to a
theory the concept of prophyl­ halt in one' s chess develop­
axis, considered such actions ment.
to be not only a guarantee of
success, but also an essential
component of any 'compet­
ently' organized chess battle.
Nimzowitsch deemed the
main tasks of prophylaxis to
be, firstly, the restriction of
the opponent's possibilities,
�nd secondly, the ove rprotec-
110� of strategically important
POints.
Here we will deal with the
.
fir st of these task
s one which
�
r main s
t
topical to his day. To
In the game Lanka-Kharit­
onov, Leningrad 1 977, Black
ace an impenet
fh
.
e path
rable dam in
of the opponent's
has no difficulties, but never­
theless he has to reckon with
Ideas is
certamly not possible:
·

the opponent's mobile pawn

1" the maJont
·

y of positions
· ·

pair in the centre.On the other

rn:;�
th
are several plan
s, several hand, for White the possible
�
o s of pla
y. Bu
Y Single out the
recti t to cor- march of the black knight to
objectively g4 is unpleasant. Therefore,
2 The Art of Defence in Chess

from the viewpoint of prophyl­ Bxc6 Nxc6 27 Rxe6 Rxh2 28

axis - in its first sense - he Rf6 he would have had goo d
should have continued 28 Qf2 drawing chances.
(removing the queen from its But in the game there
position opposite the black followed:
rooks), and if 28 ... Nf6, then
23 Bh1? Rf8 24 f4 gxf4 25
29 h3.
gxf4 Ng6 26 exfS RxfS, and the
In fact the hasty 28 eS? Nf6! c5 pawn, which had been lett
29 Qd3 (both 29 .. . Ng4 and without prophylactic defence,
29 .. . Nd5 were threatened) caused White's downfall: 27
29 dxeS 30 fxeS Ng4 32 Nf1
• . o
b4 Nxf4, with a straightforward
RxeS quickly led to his defeat, win.
since 33 AxeS Qf2+ leads to
An excellent example of
mate.
restricting the opponent's
possibilities was given back in
1894 by Emanuel Lasker, in
the 3rd game of his World
Championship Match with
Steinitz (Black).

In the game Gik-Dvoretsky,

Moscow, 1972, Black has
merely a slight initiative,
associated with . . . Rf8 and
pressure on the f2 pawn.But if
White, after correctly assessing
the position, had prophylacti­ White is a bishop and a
cally strengthened his queen­ pawn up, the black rook !s
side defences and simul­ attacked, and yet the gam e 15
taneously moved his pawns not yet decided.
out of danger by 23 b4! Rf8 27 0 . 0 Qc2
24 a3, then in variations such 28 Bd2 Re7
as 24 ...fxe4 25 Bxe4 Rxf2 26 The immediate 28 . .. Rd8
 Prevention is better than cure 3

29 Ne 6 Ra8 did not work -

the position, and after 35 b51

30 Qxg7+.
c5 (otherwise the white knight
will take up an ideal post at
29 Ne6 d4) 36 Nxg7 d5 37 Kc1 Black
The action of the rook on himself offered the exchange
the e-file
�
mu t be blocke , ? of queens: 37 . . . Qd3 ("on 37
Wh1te w111 be m
_
other wis e . .. c4 there would have fol­
tr ouble . lowed 38 bxc4, or 37 ...
29 . . . Qxe4 + Nd3+ 38 Kb1 with exchanges
30 Qe3 Qxg2 to follow"- Lasker) 38 Qxd3
"Now comes a very import­ Nxd3 + 39 Kb1 Rb2 + 40 Ka1
ant manoeuvre, the key to Rxb3 41 Rf3, and White con­
White 's defence" - this and verted his advantage into a
the following comments are win, by a timely sacrifice of
by Lasker. the exchange: 41 . . . c4 42
31 b3 Ne8 Nb4 (alas, this is insuffic­
ient) 43 Rg3 Ra3 + 44 Kb1
"If instead 31 Qe2, then
Black replies 31 ... Qd5, when
Rb3+ 45 Kc1 Nd3+ 46 Rxd31
the entire queenside will be
cxd3 47 Nxf6 Rxb5 48 Ne8,
and the white pawn promoted
at his disposal".
to a queen.
31 . . . ReS
32 Qe2 Qh3
"The first sign that Black's
attack is gradually petering
out. The queen would have
sto od better somewhere on
the queenside, but 32 ...Qd5
cannot be played, however,
for then 33 c4 forc
es the ex­
change of
queens".
33 Kd1 Ra8
34 Rf2 Ra2
"Black's pieces are well
Placed, but
they are no longer In the 13th game of the
t hreate
ning anything".
�arpov - Kasparov Return
8 We would agree with this. Match, London I Leningrad
Y restric ting the bla
ck queen 1986, White has just prophy­
on rno
ve 31, White stabilized lactically reinforced his d4
4 The Art of Defence in Cl'less
pawn by Bc1-e3-f2, and plans
sooner or later to
active play in the centre by
advancing e2-e4. In principle
Black could have 'disregarded'
this threat, since in the compli-
cations after 13 ... Nc4 14 e4
(if 14 b3, then 14 . . Nd6, and
.
the planned break is
favourable for White) 14 ...
Nxb2 15 Qc2 Nc4 16 exd5
exd5 17 Nxd5! N6a5 he has
his trumps. But he preferred
to narrow sharply the battle
region, by prophylactically
closing the centre.
13 . . . fS!?
In conceding the e5 square
to his opponent, Black has
also secured for himself an
analogous outpost in the
centre. But the main point is
that now pawn tension is pos­
sible only after the double­
edged g3-g4, which would
expose the white king. The
subsequent manoeuvring bat­
tle confirmed the correctness
of this strategy, and the game
ended in a draw. True, we
cannot avoid mentioning that
the decision taken by Black
on his 13th move also made it
extremely difficult for him to
begin an open piece battle,
but nevertheless an objective
assessment of the position
demanded precisely this pro­
phylaxis.
initiate
less
In the game Mortensen -
Karpov, European Tea m
Championship, Plovdiv, 1983,
White holds the initiative and
threatens to intensify his
queenside pressure by Ra4-
b4.
In addition, how should the
d6 pawn be defended? The
active defence 26 ... Nd7 27
Rxd6 ( 27 Rxbl? NcS) 27 ...
Nc5 28 Qc4 Ne4 29 Qxc8
Rxc8 30 Re6 does not give
Black anything for the pawn,
and the passive regrouping 26
... Rd8 27 Ra4 Kg? (27 . ..
Rddl? 28 Bxa6) 28 Rab4 Rdd7
deprives him of any counter­
play. Therefore Black adopts
more flexible tactics- some­
thing in between active and
passive defence: he as tar as
possible restrains the oppo­
nent's initiative, if only tor t he
time being.
26 . .
. Nf7
27 Ra4 Qd7!?
 Prevention is better than cure 5

more pleasant, but that is all.

The defence of the d6 pawn
orarily entrusted to the Now he should have continued
is mp
te
qu e e n, �
in order to fr e the 34 c4, although even after this
the advance of the b-pawn is
knight. 27 ... Rd7, w1th the
not at all easy to prepare.The
sam e aim, does not work
because of a familiar blow, but exchange of the bishop which
is preventing this deprives
in a m ore elegant form - 28
White of his control of the dark
Rc4! Q a8 29 Rcb4 Nd8 30
sxa6! bxa6 31 Rb8, and the squares and hands the initia­

que en is caught. tive to his opponent.

28 Rab4 Nd8 34 Bd4? Bxd4

29 Qa4 35 Rxd4
With the exchange
of Paradoxically, in the interests
queens the advance of White's of defence 35 cxd4!? followed
queenside pawns will become by Rc3 came into consider­
possible. ation.
29 . . . Bd2! 35 . . . Re1
A strange looking move, 36 Rdb4 Nd8
which nevertheless has a lot With the threat of 37
sense. After 29 ... Qxa4 30 Ra1.
Rxa4 Rd7 31 b4 the threat of 37 Ra3 Rde7
32 b5 would have arisen.Now 38 c4 Rc1
the b2-b4 advance is delayed, And without particular diffi­
if only temporarily. culty, by including his knight
30 Qxd7 Rxd7 in the attack, Black went on
31 Rd4 Bg5! to win.
Again indirectly hindering
White's plan: 32 b4?! Nf7 33
bS Bd8 34 bxa6 Bxb6 35 axb6
bxa6 3 6 Bxa6 Rb8 37
Rc4 Ne5
38 R c7
Kf7, and White has no
� ore than a draw in
the varia­
tion 3 9 B
b5 Rxc7 40 bxc7 ReS
41 B b6 Ke7
42 Ba6 Kd7 43
Bb5 + .
32 Rd1 Nf7
33 R b3 Bf6
W hite's
position is slightly
6 The Art of Defence in Chess
In the 11th game of the
Sokolov-Yusupov Candidates
Match, Riga, 1986, for the
moment the main battle is
taking place on the queen­
side. Here White's 'heavy arti­
llery' is concentrated,
now Black increases his pres­
sure on the half-open c-file.
18 . . . Rfc8?!
But meanwhile he should
not have forgotten about the
thematic White attack on the
kingside, which is
possible in the French De­
fence: thus the advance of
one of the white pieces tq g5
suggests itself. Therefore the
most serious consideration
should have been given to the
prophylactic 18 ... Nxe3 19
fxe3 ( 1 9 Qxe3? Nf5) 19 ...h6,
after which it is practically
impossible to approach the
black king: the g5 square is
covered, and there is nothing
that can be sacrificed on h6
... White would only have
been left with the activity
associated with c2-c4,
then Black would have obtain­
ed- even if only temporarily
- the d5 square and the a8-h1
diagonal for his bishop, which
would have given him certain
counterchances.
After the move
White's offensive, which Black
has failed to restrict in time,
now commences.
1 9 BgS Ng6
20 h4 NaS?
And this is a serious mis.
take, again on the theme of
prophylaxis. A direct 'bayonet'
and
attack was threatened, and
the advance of the white pawn
needed to be halted by 20 ...
h6, when after 21 h5 Black
could have chosen between
passive defence by 21 .. .Nf8,
and an active search for com­
always plicationssuch as 21 .. .
Ngxe5 22 dxe5 hxg5 23 Nxgs
Nxe5 24 Qh7+ Kf8 25 Qh8+
Ke7 26 Oxg7 Rxc2.
21 Rb4 Qc6
22 hS Nf8
23 Qe3
The hasty 23 h6 would have
allowed Black. by 23 . . . Qc3
to avoid the direct threats: the
exchange of queens favours
him, and after.24 Qd1 White
has nothing with which to
attack.But on the agenda now
are both 24 h6, and the co n·
tinuation which occurs in the
but game.
23 . . . Be8
Preparing a defensive line
in the event of 24 h6 g6 25
Qf4 Nd7, but .. .
24 Bf6!
A pseudo sacrifice, since
its acceptance leads to mate.
played,
24 . . . h6
 Prevention is better than cure 7

no other defence of achieving this woUld have

There is
25 Og5 . been by 22 .. . Nd6. Then after
agains t
23 Qxc6 Bd5 24 Qa4 as the
25 Qf4 Qc3 26 Qg4 Ng6 27 white queen is driven to the
hxg 6 fxg6 28 Bh4 edge of the board, the white
a ial
White h as gained mater
later return­ bishops have little mobility,
age, and he
advant the centre is blockaded, and
e for an attack and
ed the piec Black has at least equal pos­
won on m ove 41.
sibilities, while after 23 Qxg6
the exchange of queens
reduces White's attacking
chances to nought.
Black, however, chose a
different way.
22 . . . BfS?
23 Qxc6 Nd6
24 dS!
The situation has immedi­
ately changed: the dark-square
bishop has gained scope.
24 . . . as
This position from the game
25 Bxc4 a4
Gheorg hiu-Ljubojevic, Riga
26 a3
Interzonal, 1979, is not easy to
Timely prophylaxis: the
assess. All Black's pawns are
king must keep under cover.
�eak, but for the moment he
IS a pawn up. White also has
26 . . . Nxc4
Plenty of pawn islands, and, 27 Qxc4 Rfb8
�hat is especially significant,
28 Bd4!
his two bishops are not very The opposite-colour bishops
.
act1v e. merely increase the active
r Had Black made this par­ side's attacking potential.
ICula r fact Against the advance of the
or the basis of his
�sse s smen t, in the firs t h-pawn there is no satisfac­
lnstan ce tory defence.
he would have taken
Prophyl a ct1c
the acti.
·
measures against 28 . . . ReS
vation of the bishops 29 h4 Re4
and th
at means against the' 30 f3 Re7
d4-d5
breakthrough. One way
Alas, on 30 ... Rxh4 there
8 The Art of Defence in Chess

would have followed 31 Bxg7+. pieces being strongly directed

31 hS Kh7 at the enemy king position.In
32 Qc6 particular 34 Rdf1 is threaten­
ed, and Black has to decide
Threatening both the pro­
on the basic aim of his actions.
saic 33 Qxa8, and the little
Should this be a counter­
combination 33 hxg6+ Bxg6
attack against b2, passive
34 Rxg6 Qxg6 35 Rh1 +. Black
defence of f7, or . . .
therefore resigned.
He chose 33 . . . Rfc8?!, and
* * * quickly lost: 34 Rxf7 Bd4 35
Oa3! BcS (parrying the threat
In present-day chess the of 36 Rxh7+) 36 Qf3! Rf8 37
concept of overprotection Rf1 Kg8 38 Rg7 Kh8 39
+ Of7!
has slightly changed - masters Rxf7 40 Rfxf7, and Black
and grandmasters prefer to resigned: if 40 ... Qg8 41 Nf6.
economise on their forces Meanwhile, White's task
and at times to leave this or would have been seriously
that weakness altogether complicated by overprotection
undefended - for the sake of of the e5 pawn, but not by the
activity on another part of the 'active' 33 .. . Bd4? (34 Rxd4!
board. But nevertheless, this exd4 35 Rxf7! RfcB 36 Nell
principle of Nimzowitsch can Qb5 37 Qf3 Qc4 38 Rf8+
in no way be considered RxfB 39 QxfB + QgB 40 Qe7!
completely obsolete. and White wins), but by the
defensive 33 . .. Re6. This
would have freed Black's
hands, and in the event of, tor
example, 34 Rdf1 Bd4 35 b4
axb3 36 Rxb3 Qa7 he wo uld
have gained definite counter­
play.

Inthe last game of the

Karpov - Kasparov Wo rld
Championship Match, Mos·
cow, 1985, only a win would
In the game Glek - ltkis, do for White and, while en·
Borzhomi, 1984, White's ad­ gaging in play over the entire
vantage is mainly due to his board, he was neverthele ss
 Prevention is better than cure 9

In the heat of the battle the

primarily threatening an attack white knight has gone too far,
on the kingside. But it only
and in Kr.Georglev-Dolmatov,
required a single prophylactic Sofia, 1985, the correct con­
move, one which, it is true,
tinuation was the prophylactic
Kasparov called "the most 18 ... Be8, defending the
difficult move in the game ", to
knight at h5, and if 19 Nc3
neutralize all White's ambitious
Rf5!, blocking White's only
aspirations.
attacking diagonal.And since
23 • • • Re7!! 20 g4 does not work because
By 'encaging' itself in this of 20 ... Rf4 21 gxh5 Nxd4
original way, the rook securely with the decisive threat of ...
covers f7, which was not Nf3+ followed by . .. Bxh5
threatened for the moment, and ... Rh4, in the end Black
but which was nevertheless would have obtained two
insufficiently defended. pieces for a rook.
In
this way the bayonet atta
ck But Black incorrectly open­
f4-fS is ruled out.
At the same ed up the position with 18 . . .
time t he roo
k avoids being e5?, and after 1 9 Rxc6! bxc6
Passively pla
ced at f8 and in 20 dxe5 QxeS 21 Nd4 Rf7 22
Prin ciple pre '
pares a cou nter­ Re1 he had to find the only
oftensive
in the attacked sect­
or (this saving reply 22 . . . Bg4 23 f3
theme is examined in
�� second pa
rt of the book).
Qd6, which, however, would
not have promised him any
t hat w e
should mention
25 IS that after
here· advantage after the correct
24 Kg 1 RceS! 24 Qd3 Bd7 25 Ng5 Nf6 26
Rd 1 f5 Black gained fully
equal Nxf7 Kxf7 27 Qg6+ Kf8 28
chances.
Kg2.
10 The Art of Defence in Chess

An elegant system of de­ ferring the knight to a different

fence, comprising a whole more favourable positi on :
series of operations, was Now Black has everything
demonstrated in the rast game prepared for a counterblow in
of his life by Paul Keres, play­ the centre, when W hite's
ing Black against Browne at king's rook will be misplaced.
Vancouver, 1975. 21 Rh3 d5 22 Qe2 Qd7 23
Nh4 dxe4 24 dxe4 Rad8 25
Nf5 Qd2 26 Qf3 Re6
The threat of 27 Nxh6 + is
parried, and White's position
has been invaded. Black's
prophylaxis and active de­
fence have borne fruit: his
position is already better.
27 Rg3 g6
28 Rf1 Qf4!
White cannot save his e·
pawn, and his tactical threats
White's initiative is threat­ are easily parried.
ening to develop into a direct 29 Rd1 Ree8
attack, and in the first instance
The most accurate: the
d-file remains in Black's pos·
Black overprotects his most
vulnerable point - the ad­
session, although he could
also have played 29 ...Rxd + 1
vanced h6 pawn.
16 . . . Kh7 30 Qxd1 Nxe4 31 Rf3 Qd2 32
17 Rg3 Ng8 Qxd2 Nxd2 33 Nxh6+ Kg7
18 Nf3 34 Rd3 Nc4 35 b3 Kxh6 36
An enforced retreat: after bxc4 Rc6, with an extra pawn
strengthening his h6 pawn, in the rook ending.
Black was ready to meet 18 30 Ne7 + Kg7
Nf5 With 18 ... g6, and if 19 31 Nd5 Qxf3
Nfe3 h5, winning a piece. 32 Rxf3
18 . ... Bxg4! In the event of 32 gxf3 Nh5
19 Rxg4 Nf6 and 33 . .. c6 White's rook
20 Rh4 Kg8 would have been a help less
Prophylaxis against the witness to the destruction of
possibility of Ng5+, trans- his queenside.
 Prevention is better than cure 11

32 . •c6 33 Ne3 Rxd1 + 34

•
age: 36 h3 NgS 37 Rg3 fS 38
Nxd1 R 35 Ne3 Nxe4
d8 NxfS + gxfS 39 h4 Kg6 40 hxgS
won a pawn, and hxgS, and within a few moves
Black has
reali sed his advant- White resigned.
he easily

What would you have pl�yed?

No. 1 No. 2

The white bishop is attacked,

Black has a weak pawn at
and on many occasions fam­
c6, difficultie s over the de­
ous players have exchanged
velo pment of his light-sq are
u it without loss of time - 11
bish o p, and, most impor
tant, Bxf6 Bxf6, then given the
an insecurely pla
ced king.But opponent a weakness at c6 by
as c o mpensa
tion for all this
h e is prepa 12 Nxc6 bxc6, followed by
ring an attack on
th e kings pressure on the c-file with 13
ide (in particular
�
a ong th e
g-file and the b8-h2
Qc2 and Rac1. True, in this
diagonal); case Black gains control of
in addition it can
b e stren the a1-h8 diagonal and obtains
gthened by the trans­
�
h rence
of the queen's rook
counter-play.
VIa b S What other plan does White
to fS or hS.
What sho have? On what variation is it
uld White play?
based?
2
Disarmament - the road to peace
The strength of an attack lies
in the dynamic potential of the
pieces, and very often a de­
fence can be based on a mass
exchange of fighting units,
transposing into one of the .
types of ending which are
famous for their drawing
tendencies - rook endings,
those with opposite-colour
bishops, and so on.Moreover,
the defending side even plans
a certain loss of material -
again taking account of the
fact that an extra pawn, say,
does not always guarantee a
win in the endgame. Here the
15th game of the Capablanca­
AiekhineWorld Championship
Match, Buenos Aires, 1927,
serves as a model example.
12
The outward simplicity of
the position is deceptive:
there is no doubt about White's
advantage. He is ready to
seize the open d-file, which in
combination with the weak­
ness of the queenside pawns
may cause Black a mass of
trouble. Forexample, 17 ...
Be7 18 Rfd1 Rfd8 19 Na4 bS
20 Rxd8+ Rxd8 21 Rxd8+
Bxd8 22 NcS Bc8 23 Bf3 Be7
24 b4, and Black is cramped.
It is with this in mind that
Alekhine draws up a clear-cut
plan of simplification.
1 7 . . . Ne4! 18 Nxe4 Bxh4
19 Nd6 Bd5 20 e4 Rfd8!
By this pawn sacrifice an
ending with opposite-colour
bishops is forced.
21 Nxf7
Otherwise a pawn cannot
be won .
21 . . . Kxf7 22 exd5 Rxd5 23
Rxd5 exdS 24 Rd1 Bf6!
This is stronger tha n the
'greedy' 24 .. . Ke6 25 B gM
KeS 26 g3 Bf6 27 f4+, whe.�
peace for the black king 1
only a dream.
25 Bf3 ReS
 Disarmament - the road to peace 13

modest position, but on the

26 Bxd5 + Ke7
27 b3 Bb2
n,
Now, in defending his paw
ed to all ow the
Wh ite is forc
ge of rooks.
exc h an
28 a4 Rc1 29 Rxc 1 Bxc 1 30
Bc4 D raw agreed.
The diagram position was
tested on several ocasions at
the time when the game was
played. The verdict of theory
was that both after 1 1 . . . Be6
12 h5, and after 1 1 . . . h6 1 2
Bd3, White's initiative becomes
threatening. Therefore i n the
game Sanakoyev - Damsky,
Rostov-on-Don, 1 961 , Black
decid.
ed to base his defence
on mass, and as far as possible
ra pi d, exchanges. ' merely to force a rook ending
11 . . . 016
1 2 Oxf6 Bxf6
1 3 NdS Bd8
The b1Sh· op has been d rive
fro m th 1
e ong dark-squ are
d iag o n al
to a much more
other hand Black no longer
has to fear a d i rect attack . . .
1 4 Bh6
Driving the black rook into
a fork.
14 . . . Rea
15 BgS
Otherwise Black transfers
his knight via e4 to f6 with
gain of tem po, ridding himself
of the most annoying enemy
piece - the knight at dS.
15 . . . Ne4!
Conti nuing the same 'ex­
changing policy'.
16 Bxd8 Rxd8
17 BbS
White threatens to capture
on c6 followed by g ivi ng
check with his kn ight, but as
compensation Black is the
fi rst to begin . . .
17 . . . Nxf2 18 Bxc6 Nxd1
19 Rxd1 bxc6 20 Nf6 + Kg7
21 NhS + Kh6 22 Rxd8 KxhS
23 Rf8 IS 24 Rf7 h6 25 Rxc7
Be6 26 Rxc6 BdS 27 Rd6
Bxf3 28 gxf3 Rg8
White's initiative has sufficed
with an extra pawn, which is
of little significance in view of
the activity of the black king.
The game ended in a d raw
n after 29 Rd4 Rf8! 30 Kd2 14 31
Rd6 Rg8 32 Rf6 Kxh4 33
Rxf4 + Kg3 etc.
14 The Art o f Defence in Chess
The defensive strength of
exchanges is demonstrated
even more strikingly (i nci­
dentally, in the same openi ng
- Petroff's Defence) by the
30th game of the 1 984/5
Kasparov - Karpov World
Championship Match.
In Tai-Suetin, Sochi, 1 977,
Black eq ualized i n this posi­
tion by 1 2 . . . Na51 3 Bd3 ReS
14 h3 Bh5 14 a3 a6 etc. It
t urns out t hat there is also a
sounder cont i n uation, one
which in addition is forci ng.
12 . . . Bxf3
13 Qxf3
The avalanche of exchanges
which has been set in motion
can be interrupted only by
1 3 gxf3, but then the only
'decent' w h ite pawns left are
those at a2 and b2 . . .
13 . . . Nxd4
14 Bxd4
After 1 4 Oxb7? Nc2 1 5Rad 1
Bd6 Black seizes the i n itiative
and is ready to assail the
w hite king.
14 . . . Qxd4
15 Rxe7 Qxc4
1 6 Qxb7 c6
Thus on every move pieces
have disappeared from the
board and there are very few
left. W h ite's invasion of the
7th rank can hardly be con­
sidered an achievement, sin ce
the black queen is active and
1 7 . . . Rab8 is threaten ed,
w ith a counter-invasion.
17 Qb3 Qxb3 18 axb3 Rab8
19 Ra3 Rfe8 20 AxeS + Axes
Draw ag reed .
White's two active bishops
and the poss i bi l ity of creati ng
pressure on the half-open
b-file give him the better
chances i n the 26th game of
the 1 984/5 Kasparov-Karpov
World Championsh i p Mat ch.
Thus, f or exam ple, the tra ns·
fer of the kni ght to a more
active posi t i on - 1 7 . Na5
encounters the refutati on 18
. .
Qb4 Nc4 19 Bxb7!, when after
 Disarmament - the road to peace 15

19
1 983, Black is doomed to
Rxd1 + 20 Rxd1 Rb8 21
. .

passive defence, if, of course,

.

kness of the
B a? the wea
x
b ck rank tells . Whi te also has she does not resort to a pawn
�
t e adv anta
of 1
ge
7 .
after
. .
the inter­
h6,
.
w1th the
sacrifice for the sake of greatly
simplifying the position.
posit ion
oss ible seq uel 18 Rab 1 Na5 23 h5!?
9 Rxd8+ Qxd 8 ( 1 9 . . RxdB
. • •

� .
24 Nxc5
20 Bxa7) 20 Bb Nc
4 6 21 Ob 5 Without mass exchanges
Nxb 4 22 R xb4. the pawn cannot be won: 24
Therefore the exchangi ng Nxh5? Nxe4.
operation which occurs in the 24 . Qxc5 25 Qxc5 dxc5
. •

game, where Black sacrifices 26 Rxd8+ Bxd8 27 h4 c4! 28

a pawn to go i nto an end i ng Rh1 Rh6 29 Bxh5 Bb6!
with opposite-colour bishops, It would have been a bad
must be considered the most mistake to play 29 . . . Bxe4 30
sensible. Nxe4 Rxh5 31 g4 with good
17 Rxd1 + 18 Rxd1 Rd8
. . •
winning chances. By activat­
19 Rxd8+ Qxd8 20 Bxa7 ing the bishops to the maxi­
QaB! 21 Bxc6 bxc6 22 Kh2 h5 mum, Black gains counterplay
23 Qa5 f6 in the endgame.
After the obvious 24 a4 Qc8 30 Rf1 (or 30 Bf3 Bf2 31
25 h4 Bc4 the a6 square is Nh5 Bxe4) 30 . . . Be3 (with
securely controlled and there­ the threat of 31 . . . Bf4) 31
fore a draw was agreed. Bxf7 Rxh4 32 Bxc4 Bxe4 33
Nxe4 Rxe4 34 Re1 Rh4 35 a3
Bc5 36 Bd5 bxa3 37 bxa3
Draw agreed.

I n the 6th
Shilan - losgam e of the Liu
eliani Women's
Ca n didate
s Ma tch , Ve lden ,
··o\Dc--<
16 The Art of Defence in Chess
In the game Gavrikov -
Yakovich, 53rd USSR Champ­
ionship, Kiev, 1 986, Black
defended his attacked pawn
with a natu ral move.
54 . .
• Rf6?
55 Rf1 ! Kg8
The threat of a back rank
mate forces Black to go into a
lost pawn ending.
56 Rxf6 gxf6 57 Kf2 Kf7 58
Ke3 Ke6 59 Kd4 Kf5 60 Kd5
In the diagram position,
meanwhile, by a pawn sacri­
fice - 54 . . . Rb8! 55 c4 ReS
56 Rxb6 h6 57 Rb5 Rxc4 58
Rxa5 Rc1 + 59 Kg2 Rc2 +
Black could have gained
excellent d rawing chances.
In the 6th game of the
Smyslov-HUbner Candidates
Match, Velden, 1 983, White
has lost the openi n g battle:
his two bishops do not com­
pensate for the n umerous
weaknesses in his pawn form­
ation, and if Black should
succeed in playing . . Re7 .
and . . . Nf6 with contro l ove r
e4, White will be i n tro u ble
He defe nds by sim plifyi ng,
.
not stoppmg short of 'ex p ia­
tory sacrifices'.
20 e4! fxe4
21 Nxe4 0-0
22 f5! b6
The pawn is taboo: 22 . . .
Rxf5? 23 Bh3.
23 Bg5 Ne5
24 f6!
Simplification at a strictl y
measu red cost.
24 . . . Nxf6 25 Nxf6 + gxf6
26 Rxd7 Nxd7 27 Bh6 Rea
28 a4
Little material is left on the
board, and now the white
bishops compensate to a
certain extent for the missing
pawn.
28 . . . Kf7 29 aS b5 30 Rd1
Nc5 31 Bf4 a6 32 Bf3 Kg6 33
Rd6 Kf5 34 Bg3 Re3
This merely hastens the
i nevitible ( in view of the th reat
of Bf2) d raw.
35 Bf2 Rxf3
36 Bxc5 Rxc3
37 Rxf6 +
The simplest. The en d ing
with opposite-colour bish ops
after 37 . . . Kxf6 38 Bd4 + Kf5
39 Bxc3 Ke4 40 Kf2 Kd3 41
Bb4 need not have bee n ad·
journed , or resumed . . .
 Disarmament - the road to peace 17

her own excellent plan, and

resigned on move 88.
A system of simplification
can be especially effective if,
in the process of attacking,
the active side has made
sacrifices. In such cases the
correct defensive principle
can be considered the return
of the material 'on condition'
that the attack is parried and
. . . that future advantages are
After getting into a d ifficult possi ble.
position in the 1 0th game of
the 1983 Women's Candidates
Match against Semenova, by
a sacrifice of two pawns
loseliani takes play into an
ending with opposite-colour
bishops.
41 . . . Nc6!
42 Nxg7+ Kd7
43 Rxa2
The only way of retaining
and increasi ng the material
advantage. 20 . . . BfS
43 . . . Bxa2 44 Kc2 BdS 45 In the game Nezhmetdinov­
93 Bg2 46 h4 Bf3 47 NfS hS Damsky, Kazan, 1 955, after
48 Nxd4 Nxd4 + 49 Bxd4 Ke6 the 'normal' 21 Qd2 Bxc2 22
Even for this move there Qxc2 Qxd5 23 exd6 (23 Rad1
was already no nee Rxe5!) 23 . . . Rxe1 + 24 Rxe1
d. By
Plac� ng her king at c6 and
.
Nd7 (but not 24 . . . Qxg5? 25
playmg her bishop ReB+ Kg7 26 d7) Black in­
between
e2 - �3- g 4-e6 , tends to restore the material
B l a c k co u l d
easi ly have· balance (25 Ne4 f5), with a
: parri ed all Whit e's
� biti o ns, even if the whit
e possibly somewhat inferior,
8��9 had penetrated onto the b u t pe rfect l y d e fe n s i b l e
ra nk . But Black made position.
several
m ista kes , thu s rui ning Instead of this, White sacri-
18 The Art of Defence in Chess

fices a piece to begin a lengthy White intends to exploit his

positional (if one can cal l it lead in development and make
thus) attack. it extremely difficult for the
21 Qf3!? Bxc2 black king to be evacuated
22 exd6 Od7 from the centre. In additi on
Black's defensive plan is as the two black bishops h ave
follows: not to concede the little mobil ity.
open e-file, to drive away the
agg ressive white knight, and
at the cost of his extra material
to eliminate the pair of white
d-pawns.
23 Qf6 Ra7
Preventing the i nvasion at
e7. The knight at b8 is now
undefended , but Black would
not be sorry to give it up.
24 h4 h6 25 Nf3 Be4 26 Nh2
Bxd5 27 h5 Re61
The best defence in this
situation was to return the
Black consistently carries
out his plan. Other moves (for
pawn - 1 4 . . . h5! 1 5 Bxg4 (or
example, 27 . . . gxh5), would
1 5 h3 Nf6 1 6 Bg5 c4!) 1 5 . . .
merely lead to u nnecessary
hxg4 1 6 Oxg4 c4 with counter·
complications. The su bse­
play.
q uent part of the game was
practical ly forced : 28 Rxe6 Black, however, was tempt·
Qxe6 29 Qd8+ Kg7 30 Qxb8 ed by the exchange of queens
Rb7 31 Qd8 Rd7 32 Qh4 g5 33 - 14 . . . Qh4 + 1 5 Qg3 ( 1 5 Kf 1
Qg3 Qxd6 34 Qxd6 Rxd6 35 Q h3+) 1 5 . •Qxg3+ 16 hxg3,
.

Rd1 Rd7 36 Ng4 Be6 37 Rxd7 but after 1 6 . . . Nf6 1 7 g4 Be7

Bxd7, and with material level
Black obtained a won end ing
with bishop against kn ight,
and pawns on opposite wings.
After sacrificing a pawn, i n
the game Kirpichnikov -
Tukmakov, Moscow, 1 974,
1 8 g5 Nd7 19 NdS Bd8 20 Be3
b6 21 0-0-0 he carne
under strong pressure, and
despite tenacious defenc e he
was unable to save the garne:
21 . . . Bb7 22 g6 fxg6 23 fxg6
h6 24 Bg4 Nf6 25 Be6 Nxd5
26 exdS Bf6 27 c4 Ke7 28 b4!
Kd6 29 Kd2 Bc8 30 bxc5+
 Disarmament - the road to peace
bx c5 3 1
Rb1 Bd8 3 2 Bxc8
Ax eS 33
Kd3 BaS 34 Rb7 Rc7
35 R x c7
Bxc7 36 Rf1 Bd8 37
A f7 Bf6 38 Ra7 hS 39 Rxa6+
l(d7 and after the
40 BxcS,
adjourn ment White won easily.
But more often the defend­
ing side does not aim for
universal exchanges - they
are not often possible - but
merely to get rid of the oppo­
nent's most dangerous piece.
Instructive in this respect are
the comments by Bent Larsen
on his game with lvanovic
(White), Niksic, 1 983.
Black could have d riven the
White queen from its advanced
Post by 1 2 . . . Nf6 or 1 2 . . .
Oas, bu t the Danish grand­
master chose a d ifferent path.
"I was interested in trying
12 Nxd4. Usual ly such an
· · ·
exchang e
is i nco rrect, since
th e White
bis hop at d4 is very
stro n g. B
ut in the given inst­
ance Bla
ck has an exce llent
19
defence prepared in . . . Bf6 or
. . . Nf6. I f White's knight is
exchanged, he will no longer
be able to sacrifice it at f5 or
e6 . . .
"
Larsen correctly appreciated
the main features of the posi­
tion, and by this timely ex­
change he sharply reduced
White's attacking potential.
12 . . . Nxd4
1 3 Bxd4 bS
14 g4
Too slow. However, on 1 4
Rd3 Black i s not obliged to
allow mate by 1 4 . . . g6?? 1 5
Qxh7 +!, but can simply play
1 4 . . . Nf6.
14 . . . Nf6!
1S Qh4
The exchange on f6 is
obviously not good, while
after 1 5 Qh3 b4 16 g5 Ne8!
White simply loses a piece: 1 7
Na4 e5 1 8 B b6 Bxh3.
1S . . . Nxe4
1 6 gS Nxc3
17 Bxc3
Alas, the highly elegant 1 7
Bf6 Nxd 1 1 8 Qh6!! i s refuted
by the simple 1 7 . . . Ne2+ and
if 1 8 Kb1 Nxg 1 1 9 Rxg1 Rd8.
17 . . . eSI
In o peni n g the d iagonal for
one white bishop, Black
restricts the other, whose
pressure could have become
unpleasant - see the previous
20 The Art of Defence in Chess

note. I n addition a black suggest that a draw is l ikely.

bishop will n ow appear at f5 But nevertheless the pawn at
- both for defence, and for b6 seems doomed, and the
attack. white bishop is stronger than
18 f4 BfS Black's . . . Does this mean
19 Rdf1 QcS! that all is not c lear?
Control is taken of the
squares d4 (19 . . exf4 ?? 20
.

Qxf4 Bg6 2 1 Qd4) and b4, and

the attack on the g 1 rook
indirectly defends the bishop
at f5.
20 fxeS dxeS
21 Qe1 e4
Nothing has come of White's
attack, and the ending after
22 Bb4 promises him a gruel­
l i n g defence, despite the
opposite-colour bishops. But 19 . . . Qh6!
after the move in the game Realizing that, after the
Black laun ches a successful exchange of queens, White's
cou nteroffensive: attacking chances will dis­
22 h4 aS! 23 BxaS e3! 24 appear and it wi l l be more
Bb4 (24 a3 e2! 25 Rf2 Rxa5 difficult for him to exploit his
26 Rxf5 Qxf5 27 Qxa5 Bc5 superior pawn formation,
28 Re1 b4! 29 axb4 Be3+ 30 Black voluntarily ag rees to a
fu rther d isruption of his
pawns. In spite of this, the
Kb1 Qf1 ) 24 . . . Rxa2! 25
Kb1 Bxc2+ 26 Bxc2 (26 Kxa2
Bxb3+) 26 . . . Qa7 27 Bxh7 + draw now becomes obvious.
(27 Ba3 Bxa3 28 Kxa2 B b4+) 20 Qxh6 gxh6 21 Rfe1 Bc4
27 • Kxh7 28 Qc3 Bxb4 29
. .
22 a3 bS 23 Rad1 RfS 24 Bb2
g6+ fxg6 30 Qc6 Rxf1 + White RdS Draw agreed.
resigns.
For the pawn White haS
developed a certain acti vity in
In the 1 3th game of the 1 985 the game Lobron Karpo�.
-

Kasparov - Karpov World Hannover, 1983. In particu la_r,

Championship Match, the 1 5 Rxe7 Qxe7 1 6 Nd5 tS
o p p o s i te - c o l o u r b i s h o ps threatened, and the p rophY·
 Disarmament - the road to peace 21

. c6 leaves Black 20 Ne4 Be7

1 ctiC 14 · · ·

p�in ned aft
er 1 5 R ad 1 .
14 • . • Bd6!
An unexpected defensive
manoeuvre, which in combi­
nation with the following
move enables White's initiative
to be neutralized.
15 Qh4 h6!
After the exchange of
queens the d isru ption of the
king's pawn screen is of no
particular significance, where­
as the extra pawn will tel l . . .
1 6 Bxf6 Qxf6 17 Qxf6 gxf6
1 8 Re4 c5 1 9 Rh4
Attempting somehow at
least to continue playi ng
actively. The unequi vocal
attempt to save the game by
op posite-colour bishops
19 N bs Nxbs 20 BxbS a6 2 1
-
fS!
21 Ng3
The simplest way of parry­
ing the threatened 22 Rxd4
and 23 Nf5 +. On a light sq uare
the pawn seems bound to be
lost, but Black is prepared for
this: he is pinning his hopes
on his pawn majority on the
opposite wing.
22 Rh3 Bd6 23 f4 bS! 24 Bd3
c4 2S BxfS Rfe8 26 Be4 Rad8
27 Rf1 b4 28 Kh1 c3 29 bxc3
bxc3 30 NfS+ NxfS 31 BxfS
Bb4 32 a3 BaS
It is clear that the c3 pawn
will cost White a piece. The
rest was not difficult: 33 g4
Re2 34 gS hS (it is technically
more precise to give up a
pawn than to open the f-file
for White) 35 Rxh5 c2 36
Bxc2 Rxc2 37 fS Bc7 38 g6 f6
39 Rh7 + Kg8 40 Re1 as.
Here the time control was
reached, and White resigned.

Bt l bS by n o means guaran­
tees a d raw
with the rooks stili
on the b
oard .
19 . . . Kg7
22 The Art of Defence in Chess
This position from the 2nd
game of the Belyavsky -
Kasparov Candidates Match,
Moscow, 1 983, can be assessed
using the term 'dynamic
eq uili bri um'. Both sides have
weaknesses - at a2 and d5,
and the pieces are harmoni­
ously placed . . . And yet had
White accurately considered
the strength of the knight at
b4, he would have simplified
the game somewhat by 20
Nc2! Nxc2 21 Rxc2 Bc6 22
Rd1 , retaining quite good
chances. In m issing this
possibil ity, he allows the
black pieces to become
d a n gerousl y active, a n d ,
forced into passive defence,
he is unable to solve the
resulting problems.
20 Nb3?! Bc6 21 Bd4 Ne4
22 Nxe4 dxe4 23 Ra1 Bd5!
The pressure on the a2
pawn increases.
24 Qb1 b6!
With the th reat of 25 . . . e3.
In addition, the pawn. is
poisoned: 25 Bxb6? Bxb3.
25 e3 Nd3
26 Rd1
Here the attempt to simplify
wou ld not have met with
'm utual understanding' - 26
Nc1 Ne1 !, with the threat of
exchanging on g2 or givi ng
check at f3.
26 • b5 27 Bf1 b4 28 BXd3
• •
exd3 29 Qxd3 Rxa2 30 Rxa2
Qxa2 31 Nc5 Bf3 32 Ra1 Ods
Black has two bishops a nd
a dangerous passed paw n
whereas White had . . . ti m�
trouble. Within 5 moves he
lost on time in a poor position.
In the 4th game of the
Polugayevsky - A. Zaitsev
USSR Championship play-off
match, Vladimir, 1 969, White
is th reatening a decisive.
attack on the king with his
heavy pieces, and a defen ce
should have been soug ht in
the exchange of queens,
transposing , if necessary with
sacrifices, into a rook end i ng.
51 . . . Qf7! 52 Re7 Qf6! wo uld
have served this aim, when
White would have had to fi n d
the only move 53 Rb7 !, with
the idea of invading the 8th
rank with queen and roo �
si nce after 53 Re6 Qg5
 Disarmament - the road to peace 23

Rxc6 Rd1 it is
Qxg 5 hxg5 55 missed this possibil ity - 12
y fo r him to win. . . . Nfd5?! 1 3 Bb3 Nf4 (there is
not eas
au t afte r 51 . . . Rc3? 52 nothing else) 14 Ne4 Nbd3 15
Qe5! White created the deadly Bxf4 Nxf4 1 6 Qd2 ( 16 exd6
8 7. Bf5 would have given Black
th reats of 53 Qb and 53 Re
There fol low ed 52 . . . 14 (52 counterplay for the pawn)
Qf7 no l onger works 1 6 . . . dxe5 17 dxe5 Ne6 18
b��ause of 53 Qb8 Qxh5 54 Rad1 Be& 19 Nf6 + Bxf6 20
Rh8 + Kg6 55 Qe8+ Kg5 56 Qc3, and in this inferior posi­
f4 + Kg4 57 Oe2 +) 53 Qb8 13+ tion, i nstead of 20 . . . Qe7 21
54 Kh2, and Black resigne d. exf6 Qc5 22 Ne5! with advan­
tage to White, he should have
sought salvation in the q ueen
sacrifice 20 . . . Bg7 21 Rxd8
Raxd8.
But in aiming for simplifica­
tion the defend ing side should
not part with a piece which
bears the main burden of
defence.

In the game Romanis hin -

Klovan, Yurma la, 1 983, there

is no questi on of whole sale
�xchanges: the battle is only
JUst beg inning. I t is obviou s
that the attacke d knight m ust
go �o d5 (at h5 it might be lost,
While e8 would be too passiv
e),
an d, so that
it shoul d feel
com fortable,
it was essential
to exc hang e
on e of the op po­ The apparent simpl icity of
nent's central
�. attacke rs - the
.9 h t - s q u a r e ' S p a n i s h '
the position does not save
Black from serious difficulties
• s hop ( 1 2 . . .
Bxa4! 1 3 Qxa4 in the game Lundin-Yanofsky,
NfdS 14
Ob3 - defe ndin g d3 Groningen, 1 946. He can not
- 14 dxeS) . B ut Black
· · ·
wrest control of the e-file,
24 The Art of Defence in Chess
and there appear to be no
g rounds for active defence.
Nevertheless, it is only his
next simplifying move (and
before this Black had been
sticking to such tactics)
which makes his position
hopeless.
19 . . . Bf6?
Even with his control of the
e-file, White cannot achieve
success without invading the
opponent's position , the most
desirable square for this
being e7. And it is this that
Black leaves undefended! By
exchanging heavy pieces,
but retaining the bishops (for
example, 1 9 . . . Qd7 20 Re1
What would you have played?
No. 3
By 1 2 Nf3-d4 White has just
offered a pawn sacrifice,
preparing in reply to the
natural 1 2 . . . Ncxe5 1 3 f4
Nc4 the devi l ish 1 4 f5! Nxe3
Rae8 21 Qd5+ Kh8 22 Res
Bd8 23 Rae1 Rxe6), Black
would still have stood worse
but nothing real for Whit�
would have been appare nt.
Now, however, an invasion
is unavoidable.
20 Bxf6 Rxf6 21 Re1 Rf7 22
QdS Qf8 23 Re6 ReS 24 Rae1
Rxe6 25 Rxe6 Qd8 26 Oe4
Qd7 27 ReB+ Rf8 28 Re7 QfS
There is nothing else: 28 . . .
Qa4 29 Qd4 Rf7 30 Qd5.
29 QxfS RxfS
30 Rxc7
White has won a pawn with
the superior position, and he
gradually real ized his advan­
tage.
15 fxe6 Nxd 1 16 exf7+ Kf8
1 7 Ne6 mate! The capture on
e5 with the other knight does
not appear to work.
No. 4
 Disarmament - the road to peace 25

Black completely holds the event the overwhelming maj­

· n itiative on the q ueenside, ority of the experts considered
� nd eve n the active 18 f3 Nc4 Black's position to be hope­
1 9 exc4 bxc4 20 e4
Kf7 led less. I n dee d , he c a n not
W h ite first to an inferior regain the pawn - 39 . . .
po siti on, and after 21 e5? (21 Rxg5? 40 Bg4 followed by
exd5 exd S 22 f4 fol lowed by h2-h4, or 39 . . . Bxg5 40 Qf3
the tran sfer of the knight to and against Qg4 with a decis­
e5 was essentia l) 21 . . . Be7 ive invasion there appears to
22 f4 b5 to a strategically lost be no defence . . .
one: passive defence does
not help, and White d oes not No. 6
have even a glimmer of
counte rplay. Could he have
avoided all this?

No. 5

Black's position is about to

become very dangerous: in
particular 20 Rae 1 and 21 h3
is threatened, and in some
In th e press centre of this cases Nh4 . . ;
3
Trench wa rfa re

In principle, no one li kes erament on the board, to go

defending passively. What out into open battle, som e­
pleasure is there in parrying times - and not so rarely! ­
enemy attacks, holdi ng a it pays to soberly assess the
sh ield i n each hand, and not situation and 'dig in' deeper,
even contemplating answer­ and be concerned about a
ing blow with blow? Never­ second and thi rd line of
theless, the necessity for defence.
such defence is sometimes In such situations impati­
dictated to us by time itself. ence can prove costly.
Remember the First World
War, when machine-g u ns had
been i nvented and were bei ng
used, when at first there were
no tanks, but then they began
to appear in small numbers,
and when a new form of war­
fare was created - trench
warfare. And when it became
dangerous for even the most
dash ing cavalry to advance
under the i ntense machine­
gun fire of those who were In spite of its apparent well·
deeply and securely en­ being, Black's position in the
trenched in the earth, and in game Planinc Gere nski,
Varna, 1 970, is difficult. Wea k
-

addition fenced in by barbed

wire.
Why all these analogies?
For the reason that it is not by
accident that chess is cal led
an ideal model of l ife. And
however much we might want
q uickly to d isplay our temp-
26
squares i n the centre and o n
the queenside, vul nera ble
q ueen position - all th iS
demands accurate defence.
and in the first instance the
correct choice of its character.
We should mention i n passing
 Trench warfare 27

ca pt ur e 12 . . . Bx e4 1 982, is inferior: h i s queenside

that the is weak, and the u ndermining
vie w of 1 3 hS QfS 1 4
is ris kY in
4, Qf3 1 5 Nxe4 Qxe4 ( 5 1 ... a3-a4 is threatened. I n severe
�xh 1 16 Qd5!) 1 6 Rg 1 with the time trouble he nevertheless
finds a plan of defence. The
th reat of Bg2.
first stage is to exchange
Having realized the dang er
queens, which will facilitate
of s uch an active course,
the defence of his weak
Blac k neve rthele ss p laced his
pawns.
choice on anot her active
variation.
12 . • • fS?
Instead of this he should
have defended using 'thera­
peutic methods' - 1 2 . . Rc8 .
13 h5 Qe6 1 4 NdS Nf6.
13 Be2 Nf6 1 4 BgS! fxe4 15
0-0 af7 16 Bxf6 axf6 17 a4!
Qe6 18 axbS axbS 1 9 Bg4 at7
20 f4!
Black's active defence has
led to him bei ng hopelessly 32 . . . ag2!
behind in developm ent, and The threat to the d5 pawn
hence to a crushin g defeat. (33 Be4? Nc4) forces White
20 dS 21 fxeS BeS +
• • •
22 to exchange.
Kh 1 ae7 23 NxdS axeS 24 33 ae4 axe4
RfS ag3 2S Ne7 +! axe7 26 34 Rxe4 Kf8
Rxcs ae7 27 ReS! axeS 28 3S a4 ReB!
0d7 + Resigns. Planning the optimal post
I n situatio ns of this type , at c5.
8?-call ed pass ive defe 36 Bd1 ReS 37 Rd4 Ke7 38
nce
a1 m ed for the mom '
ent at only Be2 Kd8 39 Kb3 Ke7
Par ry i n g the o p p e n
o n t's I n the endgame the black
threa ts, proves
mu ch mo re king has gained the oppor­
effective.
tu nity to become the ch ief
defen der . . .
Black's P 40 as Kb7
ka rpo
OSition in the game
·

41 Ke2 Re7
y - Andersson, Tu ri n , 42 b4
28 The Art of Defence in Chess
The black pawns have been
fixed on squares accessible to
the bishop, and c3-c4 cannot
be prevented. Here too Ulf
Andersson takes the only
correct decision: to conduct
a passive defence, even
defence-i n-depth, and on no
account to change the situ­
ation which has arisen on the
board. I ndeed, even the
slightest additional weakening
would have given White good
chances. For example, 42 . . .
f6 43 Bd3 Nxd3 44 Kxd3 Re7
45 Re4 ReS, which looks not
at all bad, is called into quest­
ion by 46 Kd4 Kc7 47 Re3! Kd7
48 c4 bxc4 49 Rc3 Re1 50
Rxc4 Rb1 51 Kd3!, when after
51 . . . Rd1 + 52 Ke4 White
threatens 53 KfS and 53 Rc6
( 1 . Zaitsev).
But after 42 . . . Re7 43 Re4
ReS 44 Bd3 ReS 45 Rl4 ReS
46 Kd2 ReS 47 811 Re7 48
Ke2 ReS 49 Kb3 Re7 50 Be2
ReS 51 e4 bxe4 + 52 Bxe4 g5
(note the flexible change of
tactics at the necessary
moment) 53 Rd4 15 54 gxl5
RIB 55 Bd3 Nxd3 56 Rxd3
Rxl5 57 Ke4 h5 58 Re3 Rl4 +
59 Ke3 Rl7 60 Kd4 Ke7 61
Re3+ Kb7 a draw was agreed.
In the game Maroezy-Reti,
L o n d o n O l y m p i a d , 1 92 7 ,
Black has wasted several
tempi on capturing the b2
pawn with his queen, and W i th
a broken kingside he h as
come under a very stro ng
attack. His tenacious defe nce
therefore deserves all the
more attention.
19 . . . Bg7
The f8 square is needed for
the knight and for the defence
of h7.
20 Rg1 Kh8!?
Agreeing to the loss o f a
tempo, merely to tempt Whi te
into exchangi ng one of his
attacking knights. Alas, he
i ncreases his offensive power.
21 Nh5 Bxl5!
The only way. After 21 · · ·
BxhS 22 gxhS Black wo u ld
have succum bed to the attack
on the b 1 -h7 diagonal. su t
now, i n the event of th e caP �
ture with the pawn, the diagona
wi l l be blocked.
22 Qxl5 NIB
23 Nxg7!
 Trench warfare 29

rook at g4 is u nable to cover

Th e m ost energ etic. By
pawn - 23 its king.
aptu rin g the
� xfS Re6! 24
Nxh7 , White
con ceded the
But Black became carried
would have away by his counterplay, and
ati ve - 24 . . . Rh6. went on to lose 31 fxg6
in iti - • . .

23 . . . Kxg7 32 Qh4 Rf8 33 Rxg6 Rf4 34

24 g51 Ng61 Qh61 (Black could stil l have
d rawn after 34 Rg4 Rxd3! or
Black woul d have lost after
34 Rf1 Re2 +!) 34 Qxh3 +
24 . . . fxg5 25 Qxg5 + Ng6
. . •

26 h4.
35 Qxh3 Rxh3+ 36 Kxh3 hxg6
25 g xf6+ Kh8 37 Re11 Rxd4 38 Re7 Rb4 39
26 Rg4 Re61 a3 Rb1 40 Bxg6 Ra1 41 Rxb7
Rxa3+ 42 Kg4 c5 43 Kg5, and
Opening the way for the Black resigned.
queen to h7.
27 Qh5 Qd8
Parrying the threat of 28
Rh4.
28 f4 Qxf61
Once again resourceful
defence. On 28 . . . Rxf6 there
would have followed 29 f5
Nf8 30 Qg5.
29 f5 Re3
30 fxg6 Qf3+
31 Kh2?
In a long series of excel l ent I n the game Mlles-Portisch,
moves by both sides , Whit e is European Team Champion­
the first to go wro ng. I n the ship, Plovdiv, 1 983, White has
e nd he shou ld have been able
gai ned a slight advantage
to Win the end gam
e after 31 from the opening. By accurate
Kg 1 ! fxg6 32 Bxg6 Qxh3
�Xh3 (after 33 Rh4 ?? Whit33e play Black equalizes the
� th e first to be
mated) 33 . . .
position, without prej udice
g iving up a bishop for the
9
�ach3 34 Bd3 Rg8.
, But now active white knight, and then,
k s reward for his ten acity
��Uid have been perpet ual
exploiting tactical possibili­
ties, launches a counterattack
Bxeck -

e2 Oxe 2 +,
31 . . . Re2+! 32
wh en the pin ned
against the advanced white
pawns on the q ueenside.
30 The A rt of Defence in Chess

1S . . . Bd6!? White's activity has esse nti­

1 6 Bb2 BxeS a l l y b e e n e x t i n g u i s h e d·
17 dxeS whereas he is a pawn down �
Part of White's control over and what a pawn!
c5 has been lifted. 31 Rg4 Ra2! 32 Od4 R a4
17 . . . Nd7 33 Qd8 Rxg4 34 fxg4 Od7!
18 Rc1 aS! 3S Qxd7 Bxd7
By taking the e5 pawn, The remainder was a matter
Black would have i mparted of tech nique, and on m ove
truly armour-piercing strength 60 White resigned .
to the b2 bishop. After 1 8 . . .
c5 1 9 0-0 he would have
been cramped, whereas now
the rook at a8 gains scope.
19 Qc3 axb4
20 axb4 cS
Black's defensive actions
are completed , and after 2 1
Bxb7 Qxb7 2 2 0-0 Ra4 the
game would have been level.
By aiming, without j ustifi­
cation, for a win, White over­
steps the mark. In the game Tal - Sax from
21 Bb1?! Qc6! the 1 982 Moscow I nterzonal
22 f3 QbS Tournament, White has gained
23 Kf2 an appreciable spatial advan­
Practically forced: 23 . . . tage. Black skilfully comb ines
Qxb4 was threatened, and 23 passive defence ( retaining
bxc5 was unpleasant because control of the c-file and man·
of 23 . . . Nxc5, with the oeuvring with his bishop)
theat of 24 . . . Na4. with active sorties.
23 .Rfc8 24 Rhd1 cxb4
. •
29 Re4 Be8 30 Kc1 Rc3 31
2S Qd4 Rxc1 26 Bxc1 Bc6 27 Kd2 R8c7 32 Ke3 aS!
Bb2 NcS 28 Qd6 Kg8! Exploiting the fact that the
Freei ng the rook from king has moved away from the
having to control f8. q ueenside.
33 Kd2
It is unfavourable fo r White
29 Rd4 b3
30 Rf4 Be8
 Trench warfare 31

cede the c5 square: 33 should have maintained the

to con
bxa S R 3c5 34 Rd4 Ra7, and existing status quo. For this
kness at a3 becomes 20 ... Ng4 would have been
th e we a_
pe rce ptt ble. suitable, and if, for example,
33 • . . a4 21 h3 (not 21 Re4 ? Rxc3!,
34 Re3 Bf7 when White even loses in view
35 Be4 R3c4 of the weakness of his back
36 C3 rank) , then 21 ...Ne5 22 Rfe3
(22 Nf6 + KfB!) 22 ... Ng6 23
Now, if White can prepare
Ng5 Nxc3 with the better end­
the manoeuvre Bf3-e2, then ...
game in prospect.21 Ng5 was
36 ... Rxe41
evidently the strongest for
37 Rxe4 BxdS
White, vacating h7 for the
38 Rd4 Bc4
invasion of his queen, but 21
39 Re1 Ba2
...Nf6! practically forces him
Emphasizing that nowhere
to repeat moves (22 Nh7),
ca n his defensive lines be
since the threat of the ex­
broken. Draw agreed.
change on c3 followed by ...
Qd2 is pretty unpleasant.

But Black exchanged his

central defender- his knight
- and came under an un­
hurried but irresistible attack:
20 Nxh7? 22 Qxh7 + KfS 22
• • •

h3 Ke7 (or 22 ... Nxc3 23

Rxe6 f6 24 bxc3 Rxc3 25
Qh8+ Kf7 26 Ba2) 23 Re4
Qd6 24 Rd3 Qb8 25 Qxg7,
and
White won on move 35.

In the game Nikolic

Andersson, Wijk aan Zee,
-

In the game Tal - Najdorf,

1�84, by taking a pawn on h7
'Match of the Century', Bel­
7't h his
knight, White has just grade, 1970, White has good
esto red
the material balance grounds for beginning an
and
Weakened the ene
my attack, and he does so. But
��stled
POsition. Nevertheless
. e Position mu
Black has envisaged in good
8 st be con- time an excellent defensive
tde red
'·"'c-
level, and Black
o
manoeuvre.
32 The Art of Defence in Chess

28 Rg3+
Nothing is ach ieved by 28
Nf6+ Kh8 29 Nxh7 Bxf3 30
Nxf8 Bh5 31 Nh7 Bg6, When
for the pawn Black seizes t he
i n i tiative.
28 . . . Kh8
29 Nd6
Here too after 29 Nf6 N cs
(but not 29 . .Ng6? 30 Nxhl!
.

Kxh7 31 Bxg6+) 30 Nxh7

Rd8 the threats of 31 . . . Rxd3
21 e5 dxe5 and 31 . . . Nxe5 give Black
22 fxe5 Nd5 sufficient cou nterplay.
23 Ne4 Qe3! 29 . . . Nc6 30 Re3 Kg7 31
24 Qh5 Qh6! Rf4 Ne7 32 Bb5 Ng6 33 Rd4
For the sake of exchangi ng Bd5 34 c4 bxc3 35 bxc3 ReS
queens Black is agreeable to 36 Ne8 + Kh8 37 Nf6 Rfc8 38
an ugly spoi ling of his pawn c4 Bxc4
formation. In doing so he has The most radical solution.
also taken account of a weak­ By sacrificing the exchange
ness which has arisen in Black simplifies the position
White's position - the e5 to the utmost and forces a
pawn. draw.
25 Qxh6 gxh6 39 Ne4 Bxb5
26 Rf3 Rc7 40 Nxc5 Rxc5
27 Rdf1 Ne7 41 axb5 Rxb5
The threat of further simpl i­ Draw ag reed. White cannot
fication (28 . . . Bxe4 and 29 hold his e5 pawn - 42 Rde4
. . . Ng6) provokes a crisis. a4.
 Trench warfare 33

What would you have played?

No. 7
Black has not only lost a
pawn - his attack has reached
an impasse: White has u ltra­
securely defended his g2 and
f3 pawns. Black m ust there­
fore decide: should he seek
com plications or switch to
defence? And if he defends,
then against what?

No. 8
With material level, only
Black has chances. In addition
White has to reckon with the
threat of . . . Rg5 + followed
by . . . Rg1 , commencing an
attack on the b3 pawn.
What should White do?

No. 9
I t is obvious that White has
not extracted any advantage
from the opening. Moreover,
on the q ueenside Black holds
the in itiative, and hence White
m ust stick to tactics of . . .
4
Turning the tide
The keynote of modern chess
m ust nevertheless be con­
sidered the ability to defend
actively. I n the overwhelming
majority of cases, modern
opening theory promises
White a certain advantage: it
can be neutralized both by
simplifying the position and
by passive defence, but most
often by active measures.
From time immemorial those
besieged would make sorties
from their fortress in order to
keep their opponents in a
state of tension, and would
fi re arrows from the walls at
the advancing enemy soldiers
- these analogies are also
fully appl icable to chess.
Active defence sometimes
borders on counterattack, to
which the second part of this
book is devoted, and this is
natural: a chess game is a
synthesis of many known
procedures, which sometimes
s i m p l y fo l low f rom o n e
another. Even so, active
defence and counterattack
can be differentiated: the
chief aim of the first is a
struggle for eql.lality. Of
34
course, during this strug gle it
wil l often be possi ble to seize
the i nitiative, win material
and achieve overal l victory:
But in the purely instructional
methodological sense it i�
better to make the acquaint­
ance of these sections in turn.
Our account of i nstances
when there is sense i n choos­
ing passive defence is al ready
complete. But in what way is
active defence more promising,
and why has it assumed a
dominant place i n modern­
day chess? An answer must
be sought in its nature which,
incidentally, has been grasped
by chess players only com­
paratively recently - at any
rate, compared with the
preced i ng centuries of chess
history. It is active defence
which enables one sid e to
disrupt the logical cou rse of
an unfavourable game, whi ch
i ncreases the role of tactics
d
com pared with strategy, an
which, graphically spe ak i n g.
changes the character of the
struggle.· i nstead of a s lOW·
but sure defeat, one ch ooses
a dangerous battle of en·
 Turning the tide 35

where it is easier for What m ight have g iven him

coun ter,
p pon ent too to go wrong. hopes of saving the game?
the o
The exchange of knights,
The Evidence the retention of the queens,
we m ust constantly make and a search for heavy-piece
that an impassable counterplay against the black
the proviso
rift does not exis t between king!
active defe nce and othe r And i ndeed, in the variation
forms of defence. Moreover, 42 AxeS! Qxd2 43 Re7 {part of
it can often be very d ifficu lt the job is already done: the
to make a clear distinction black k i ng is also u nder fire,
between this or that metho d, and for the moment Black
this or that proced ure, with cannot make use of his extra
which the weaker side should pawn) 43 . . . Re2 {gai n i ng a
defend. They may be inter­ tempo to threaten the invasion
connected, and to determi ne . . . Re 1, after which the
the strategy of defence a pawn wi l l advance) 44 Rb7 +!
generalized assessment of the Kxb7 45 Qc6+ Ka6 46 Qc4 +
position is req uired. KaS (46 . . . bS 47 Qc6 + KaS
48 Qc7 + Ka4 49 Qxa7 + Kb3
50 Qf7+) 47 b4+ Ka4 48 Qa6 +!
Kb3 49 Qc4+ Kxa3 50 Qa6+
Kb3 (50 . . . Kxb4?? 51 Rc4 +
Kb3 52 Qa4 mate) 51 Qc4 +
White gives perpetual check.
Paradoxically, in the game it
was precisely on this move
that White resigned.
As we see, the concept of
active defence by no means
rules out both exchanges,
I n the gam e Ma and the prospect of an accept­
Al�khi ne ,
roczy - -

Pn nc lple
Ble d 1 931 ' in able endgame, and m uch
· '
Bla ck 's extra pawn more besides. But the main
and act·
h. g
1ve pieces pro mi se
A.� ood winn ing chan ces.
thing, embodied in the very
name of the method, is activ­
th at is what hap ity, for the sake of which one
after 4 pened
2 Nc4 Nf3 43 Qxg5
95• In the end
Pt4x • . freq uently does not begrudge
Wh ite los t. parting with one's own 'mat-
36 The Art of Defence in Chess
erial well-being'.
In the 5th game of the
Yusupov-Timman Candidates
Match, Tilburg, 1 986, White
has more than sufficient
compensation for the pawn.
His passed pawn in the centre
is very strong, especially after
the withdrawal of the attacked
black rook to the side of the
board.
22 . . . Ra5
22 . . . ReS? loses . im medi­
ately to 23 Oa4 Bb7 24 d7.
23 g4! Qd7 24 Rad1 Rca 25
fxg6 hxg6 26 Qf2 Bb7 27 Nf6 +
Bxf6 28 Bxb7 Qxb7 29 Qxf6
Qd7 30 Qe7! Rd8 31 Rf1 !
And after this White won
the f7 pawn and invaded the
7th rank with his rook.
Meanwhile, in tl')e diagram
position Black had the possi­
bil ity of an exchange sacri­
fice, which would have got rid
of the c ra m p i n g e n e m y
passed pawn a n d main tai n ed
equality - 22 . . . AdS ! 23
fxg6 hxg6 24 Nf6+ Oxf6 25
BxdS Qxd6 26 Rad 1 Oc5 + 27
Kg2 Re7! , and White can not
avert the exchange of his
active bishop.
It was active defence that
could have saved Black in the
game Korchnol - Kurajica,
Hastings, 1 971 -72, after White
in the above position had
sacrificed his bishop 23
-
BxhS?!
After calculatin g that 23
. . . gxh5 would fai l to 24 Oxe?
Qxe7 25 N f5+ Kf6 26 N xe?
.
Kxe7 27 Rc7 +, Black replied
23 . . . Rh8, after wh ich he was
a pawn down and he lost the
game. Meanw hile he co u �
have drawn by 23 . . Q x h ·
he
·
24 Qxe7 Qxd1 + 25 Kh 2. T
th reats of Rc7 and N e6 �
appear to give White a stro�e
attack, and in addi tio n 125
bishop is hanging. B ut -
 Turning the tide 37

idea of queen could have fulfilled

Nd2!, with the
another function - that of
P ��
petu al ch ec k aft er 26 . . .
supporting the active defens­
hile in the event of 26
Nf 1 +, w
t<g3 Ne4+ the
white king is ive move 19 . . . b5! By driving
a gain to h2. the white queen from its ideal
ack
d rive n b position, Black would have
obtained a good game, for
example, 20 Qc3 f6 21 Nd7
Qf7 22 e4 Rfd8 or 20 Qf4 Rd8 '

wresting control of the open

In the game Botvinnik -
Euwe, Groningen, 1946, White
has a clear advantage in the
centre. He has occupied the
d-file and he now intensifies
the pressure.
file.
But in the game, after the
possible and logical 20 g4
Bg6 (here 20 . . . b5 is now too
late in view of 21 RxdB) 21
Rad 1 Rxd5 22 Qxd5 Qc8 23
Nd7 he would have ended up
in a difficult position, since
23 . . . Rd8 runs into the
combination 24 Bxg7! Bc2 (24
. . . Kxgl 25 Qe5+) 25 Bc3
Bxd1 26 Qe5 f6 27 Qe6+,
mating.

17 Bxc6! Qxc6
1 8 Nes Qe8!
The first precise defensive
reply.The d7 square is covered
:
an d Black keeps
an 'X-ray
ey� on the advan
ced white
kn 1ght.

19 RdS
Threatening
a5 20 g4 a
20 Nd7, as well
nd 21 Rad1.
19 Rd8?
Bla ck
· · · ·

SWitches to passive
.

dete nce In the game Falkbeer -

.
�laced i .
h wh ICh c ?�
ld have Anderssen, B erlin, 1851
m m a cnt•cal posi­ d
bo n . M White's downfall was cause
eanwhile, from
e8 his by the weakness of the dark
38 The Art of Defence in Chess
squares around his king - 25
b4 c6 26 ReS Bc7 27 Rxd8 +
Rxd8 28 Kg1 Qh2+ 29 Kf2
Bb6 + 30 Ke1 Qg3+ 31 Ke2
Qe5 + 32 Be4 Qxe4 mate -
and . . . by insufficient de­
termination in defence. By an
active counterattack he could
have saved the game - 25
Re7! Now 25 . . . c6 is not
possible, and 26 Qxg7 is
threatened, driving the black
queen from its main attacking
position. 25 . . . Rf2 can be
met by 26 Rfe1 , mai ntai ning
the threat of capturing on g7
as wel l as the spectacular 27
Qd5!
And in the event of the
natural 25 . . . Rxb2, apart
from 26 Qxg7 with an inferior
endgame, White has a counter­
attack against b7. For example,
26 Qd5! c6 27 Rxb7 + Kxb7
28 Qxc6 + Ka6 29 Qa4 + BaS
30 Qc4 + Rb5 (30 . . . Kb6 31
Qc6 mate) 31 Rb1 (or 31 a4)
and White wins - 31 . . . R b8
32 Bc6 or 31 . . . Qe5 32 Bb7 +
Kxb7 33 Rxb5+.
A n i n c o rrect l y chosen
method of defence con­
demned Black to defeat in the
game Browne - Ftacnik,
Gjovik, 1 983. The audacious
white rook is clearly immune
- 23 . . . Bxe7 24 Bd4 +,
mating, and therefore Black
has two ways of defending.
He passively opened an
escape square for his king -
23 . . . h6?, and after 24 Rf7
Bxe6 25 Rxf6 Bxa2 26 Rxg6
Kh7 27 f5 Bf7 28 Rf6 BdS 29
Be3 h5 30 Rc1 Bc6 31 ReS
Rd7 32 Rh6 + Kg7 33 ReS he
came under a very strong
attack.
Meanwhile, in the diagram
position the opponent's on­
slaught could have been
parried by the active counte r·
attack 23 . . . Rac8!, when
Black would have been quite
satisfied with either 24 Ba3
(24 Bb4 Bxe7 25 Bc3 + Rxc3)
24 . . . e3 +, or 24 Bxc8 B xe7
25 Bd4 + Kg8 26 dxe7 Rxd4 +
27 Kc3 Rd3 + 28 Kc4 Kf7 29
Bxb7 Ra3.
Here in the game Ca ps·
blanca - Molina, · Buenoi�
Aires, 1 91 1 , the future Wor
Champion began an atta�
K
with the already then paten t
 Turning the tide 39

sac rifi ce on h 7 ·
23 Qc7 +, and mate in five
bishOP moves" (Capablanca) .
15 Qg3 Kh6?
"An excessively passive
move", mildly commented
Emanuel Lasker, when he
analyzed this position and
indicated the correct way to
save the game. I ndeed , B lack
betrays h i mself and ceases
to harass the w hite queen.
Correct would have been 1 5
. . . f4! 1 6 exf4 ( i f 1 6 Qg4,
1 6 . . . e5 is now all rig ht) 1 6
12 Bxh7 + Kxh7 . . . Nf5 1 7 Qg4 N h 6 and
13 NgS+ Kg6
1 3 . . . Kh6 1 4 Nxf7 + would
Wh ite must either agree to a
d raw ( 1 8 Qg3 Nf5), or take
have led to the loss of the an excessive risk, since
queen. after 18 Qh4 Qd 2 the in itia­
14 Qg4 tive passes to Black.
This is it - the moment of As it is, the mistake com­
choice. Should the king run mitted by Black in defence
away from the threatened leads to a rapid defeat.
discovered check, or should
the defence be based on a 16 Qh4 + Kg6
different, more active principle 1 7 Qh7 + Kf6
- the pursuit of the wh ite 1 7 Kxg5 18 Qxg7 + would
queen? have led to mate in a few
14 . . . moves.
fS
Th e seco nd alter native is 18 e4 Ng6
�hose n. I n fact, "Th e tempt­ 19 exfS
I ng m ove 1 4 . 1 9 f4 was even stronger,
. . e5 wou ld have
been fata l. Fo and if 1 9 . . . fxe4, then 20
r ex ample: 1 5
Ne6 + Kf6 Rad 1 Qb6 21 Rd6.
1 6 f4! e 4 1 7 Qg5+
Kx es 18 Qe5 19 . . . exfS
+ Kd 7 19 Rf d 1 +
N d3 20
Nxe4 Kc6 (if 20 . . . 20 Rad1 Nd3
2
Kea, 1 N
d6+ win s the qu een ) 21 Qh3
2 1 Rx d3
.
22
(If · ·
0x d3 2 2 Rc1 + Kb6
Kd7 - mate in two)
·
Parrying the threat of 21 . . .
R h8.
40 The Art of Defence in Chess
21 . . . Ndf4
22 Qg3 Qc7
23 Rfe1 Ne2+?
This loses im mediately, but
as Capablanca poi nted out,
the game could not have been
saved in other variations, for
exam ple 23 . . . Be6 24 Rxe6+
Nxe6 25 NdS mate, or 23 . . .
Bd7 24 NdS+ N xdS 25 Nh7+
Kf7 26 Qxc7 Nxc7 27 Rxd7 +
Kg8 28 Nxf8.
24 Rxe2 Qxg3 25 Nh7 + Kf7
26 hxg3 Rh8 27 NgS + Kf6 28
f4 Resigns.
Complications
As a little joke it could be
asserted that, when Pushkin
wrote "horses and men be­
came piled up" ( a l i ne from
his poem Poltav - Trans­
lator's note), he had in mind
. . . com plications on the
chess board, the main form of
active defence. It is here that,
for a time, even the most
correct strategy has to con­
cede its domi nant position to
tactics, as weak squares and
scrupulously weighed material
balances fade into the back­
ground. It is the dynamism of
the pieces which becomes the
most i mportant, as well as . . .
psychological factors, which
do not always allow the side
which has j ust been attacking
to retune suddenly for a
double-edged battle of e
n.
counter.
So that, while defe nce by
exchanges and simplifi cati on
is well j ustified from the vi ew.
poi nt of the basic law s 01
strategy, the search for co m.
pl ications is sometimes i n the
nature of a chess 'bluff' and
stems from a feeling of des­
peration. Here, for exa mp le
is a frank - and i nstructive _:
account by the experienced
trainer Mark Dvoretsky of his
game with Averkin (Black),
Odessa, 1 974.
"Black intends, by playing
30 . . . Nh8, to exchange
knights, which . will force
White constantly to rec kon
with the threat of . . . h4. Then
the exchange of dark -square
bishops is possible (alt houg.h
not essential ), whic h Wl :
emphasize the weak ness 0
the a3 pawn. By creati n9
th reats on both the q uee n si dB
 Turning the tide 41

e king s ide, Blac k will 35 e6 Ba4

and th
ry out one of the two 36 fS
ca r
breaks (. .
. h� �r . . . b5) and Some compensation for the
in a de c1s1ve advantage. piece has after all been ob­
wi ll g a
Th US White has nothin g to tained: Black's bishops and
tion is strategi­ knights are clearly misplaced.
rose. His posi
, and with norma l Nevertheless, with 36 . . . Bf6
callY lost
n s he c a n n ot followed by . . . Nd6, . . . Qc7
c o n t in uatio
nter play . Tak i ng and . . . Bc6 he could have
obta in cou
acco unt of this, and also the g radually restored the har­
opponent's appro achin g time monious working of his
troub le, whic h coul d be ex­ forces. But - he occupies
ploited only in shar p play , this square with the wrong
White decided on a clearly piece!
incorrect piece sacrifice with 36 . . . Qf6?1
the aim of disrupting the 37 Qe4 BgS
normal course of events . . . On 37 . . . Nd6 38 Qd5 NxfS
30
"

Qe2 Nh8 White has the more than

31 Nf4?! exf4 unpleasant 39 Rxb6.
32 gxf4 Bh4! 38 BxgS QxgS
Parrying the threat of 33 eS 39 QeS Rh6?
and 34 e6, which would also
A ti me trouble mistake -
have been maintained in the
after 40 Bb7 Ra7 41 Bxc8
event of 32 . . . Be? by the
Bl ack resigned . But even after
interposition of 33 f6!
other replies the threat of 40
33 f6 Qb8 wou ld seem to compen­
The same tactics of sharp­ sate for the missing piece,
eni ng the strugg le. So that the
since 39 . . . Qd8 is strongly
White pieces should at least met by 40 f6.
have something of breat
a hing­
space, the paw In the above i nstance the
ns m ust sac ri­
fice themse most sign ificant and, for us,
lves .
33
the most im portant thing is
· · . Bxf6? not the 'bluff' aspect of White's
And h ere com es a mis
�
T e cor take.
rec t 33 . . . Qx f6 34
entire plan, but the means to
an end. It can be defined as
e
W �e? w ould have 'pac ified' follows: by means of a sacri­
h 1te.
34
fice to increase g reatly the
es Bh4 dynamism of the pieces, to
42 The Art of Defence in Chess

convert 'material' into 'mind' this offensive, and Black

and to place 'mind' over t� kes the o � ly correct de.
.
'matter'. This and only this is c1s1on: to begm active defe nce
the point of the complications: at the cost of the wea k paw n.
a smaller number of active 25 . . • Nb6!
forces balances or even sur­ 26 RxaS
passes a g reater number of Not 26 Bxa5 Nxa4 27 Bxc7
pieces and pawns which have Nxb2 with material gai n for
lost their aggression, mobility, Black.
harmony or security.
26 . . . c4!
The most varied 'payment' 27 Bf1
The second black pawn is
for activity is possible.
'poisoned': 27 Bxc4? Nxc4
28 Rxa7 Qxa7 29 bxc4 Nf3++
or 27 bxc4? Rxa5 28 Bxa5
Qc5 29 Bxb6 Nf3++ 30 Kf1
Nxe1 31 Bxc5 Nxd3.
27 ... RxaS
28 BxaS QcS
29 Bxb6 Qxb6
30 Kh1 cxb3
31 axb3
This concludes the first
In game Karpov -
the
Taimanov, Leni ngrad , 1 977, stage of active defence. For
the pawn Black's pieces have
White has an undisputed
gained freedom. But it only
advantage. The weak a5 pawn
needs him to reduce the
req uires constant su rveil­
'tempo of the defence', a nd
lance, and Black is faced with
White, after gradua lly re·
a d i lemma: how should he
g rouping, will obtain cha nces
defend? If he passively ties
of realizing his material
his forces to the defence of
advantage. This mea ns that
his rook's pawn, then White
the active play must co nti n ue!
exploiti ng in addition hi �
spatial advantage, wi ll also 31 ... g6!
begin attacking on the king­ 32 fxg6 hxg6
side, with Kh 1 , Bc3, g2-g4, 33 b4 Kg7
Rg2, Bd2, g4-g5 etc. There 34 bS?!
will be no way of countering White underestimate s h iS
 Turning the tide 43

o34PPB0dn3,1. . would have been a

ent's counter-chances.
.

cl usi on.
usetu l in
34 • • •
15
35 exf5 NxfS
The second s.tag �
is con­
cl uded: th e 'fine kn
.
lght �t d4
m e an act 1ve PI ece .
has beco
White ma y stil l ha � e re t
.
ame d
vanta ge, but 1t m ust now
an ad .
b sought under
t h e m lcro-
�
s ope . At any rate, a realistic Rostov-on-Don, 1 957, White's
variatio n would appea r to be pieces are menaci ngly active.
36 Qf2 Qxf2 37 Rxf2 Ra1 38 It is not apparent how they
Kg1 Rb1 39 Re2 Nd4 40 Rd2 can be exchanged, and in
Nxb5 41 Kf2 with an equal search of a defence Black
endgame. But White, aiming pins his hopes on complica­
through inertia for a win, falls tions: after all, in attacking it
into a trap. would seem i nevitable that
36 Rb3 Qd4 White's forces will beg in to
37 b6? 'hang'.
37 Rb1 was essential , al­ 18 . . . Rad8
though here too 37 . . . Ra3 By defending his d-pawn,
creates the threat which Black wishes to switch his
occur red in the game. True,
second knight too to the
i n this case it would have led
kingside.
only to a draw: 38 b6 Ng3+!
39 Oxg3 (39 hxg3? RaB!!) 39 19 Bxh6 Ne5
Rxg3 40 hxg3 Qe4 41 It stands to reason that the
Rbs Oe1 42 Kg 1 Qe3+.
· · .

bishop is immune ( 19 . . .
37 . . . Ra1 gxh6?? 20 Qg3 +, mating),
38 Rb1 Ng3+! but, on the other hand, at the
Whi te resig ned cost of a pawn Black ach ieves
in view of
the afo his aim.
re-me ntio ned rook
retre at - 20 Qg3 Ng6
39 hxg3 Ra8!, with
l'll ate o n th 21 Rxe8+
e h-fi le.
The most accu rate - the
rook at d8, which defends the
In the game
Zhilin-Damsky, queen, is d iverted. 21 Qg5 is
44 The Art of Defence in Chess

un pleasantly met by 21 . . .
Ne4, while after 21 Nxg7
Rxe1 + 22 Rxe1 Kh7 White is
forced to part with a piece.
21 . . . Rxe8
22 QgS ReS
Here 22 . . . Ne4?? loses to
23 Ne7 +, and so Black con­
tinues to sharpen the situation.
23 g4 Qf3
Here too 23 . . . Ne4? sti l l
does not work, for t h e same 17 NxdS! QxdS!
reason. But now this counter­
The fact that White shou ld
attacking move is on the
exch ange the opponent's
agenda.
most active piece, one which,
24 Bxg7 Ne4 it could be said, holds to­
25 Qd8+ Kh7 gether the entire position -
Now the attempt to con­ this is understandable. But in
tinue the st ruggle by 26 Rf1 doing so he has allowed Black
Nxf2 27 BxeS Nxh3+ 28 Kh2 to repair his pawn formation,
Qxf1 would have led to a and for some reason the latter
position i n which it is the has decli ned this invitation.
white king that is more likely The point is that both
to come under attack (29 QeB grandmasters assessed the
Ng5, or 29 Bxd4 Nhf4). position primarily from the
Therefore -26 BxeS, allow­ viewpoint of the dynamics of
ing a d raw by perpetual check the pieces, and not the statics
after 26 . . . Qxf2 +. of weak points. The ideal
place for the black bisho p is at
d6, but after 1 7 . . . cxdS?! 1 8
Black's spoi led pawn
formation i n the 2nd game of Qf3 with the th reat of 19 B14·
Black would have no lo nger
the Timman Yusupov
been able to carry out th iS
-

Candidates Match, Holland,

deployment.
This decision of the detend·
1 985, determines White's
plan: frontal and flank pres­
sure on the c6 pawn. But the ing side proves correc t.
next moves by both players 18 Qc4 Bd6
seem strange at first sight. 1 9 b3 Re6!
 Turning the tide 45

n cou ld have otherw i se the advantage

fh e c6 paw would have passed to the
in directly defen ded , by
bee n opponent.
i ni ng a
tem po with 1 9 .
. .

�5, a nd if 20 Rc2 Re6 21 g3 31 . . .

32 Qe2
Qxd4
Qb2
Ra e8 .
prefers not to try 33 Oxb2 Bxb2
B ut Black
a nd clin g
to mat eria l equ ality, The exchange of queens
mplete his regro upin g practically deprives the play­
but to co
as quic kly as poss ible and ers of any chance of winni ng.
obtai n pos ition al com pens a­ Within 1 1 moves a draw was
tion tor the lost pawn. This ag reed.
woul d seem to be the optim al
decision.
20 g 3 Qf5
21 Qc2!
First driving the queen from
its ideal position.
21 . . . Qh5
22 Qxc6 Rae8
Th reatening 23 . . . Bxg3.
23 Qg 2 Re4
24 Rfe1
Parryi ng t h e p o s s i b l e
march of the black t-paw n With complete material
to f4. equality and the advantage of
the two bishops, in the game
24 . . . Qf5 Korzubov - Lerner, Tal l i n n ,
25 Bd2 h5 1 983, Black is doomed. The
h-l f not the f-pawn, then the opening of l i nes, where his
Pawn ! The threat of its king has taken shelter, can­
advance (in som
; even to h3) forceesvarWhiations
ite to
not be prevented, his bishops
are inactive, and there are no
ISch arg e
th e situation. targets for counterplay.
26 t3 Rxe1 + 27 Rxe1
28 8 Rxe1 + Therefore the sacrifice of
Xe1
kg2 Bc1 0d3! 29 Qf2 Ba3! 30 two pawns in search of com­
31 Qf1! pl ications is probably the
'N
consh1" te returns the pawn but best, and even the only
oli dates
his posi tion, chance.
46 The Art of Defence in Chess
20 . . . f6! 21 exf6 Bxf6 22
Bxh6 g5!? 23 Bxg5 Bxg5 24
Qxg5 Rdg8 25 Qe3 Ng6
In parting with his own
k ingside, Black has never­
theless ach ieved something:
he has been the fi rst to open
files against the enemy king
and i s ready to concentrate
all his forces on the ki ngside.
At any rate, for the moment
White's material advantage
has no significance.
26 Nf4
A du bious decision. Instead
of this active move, it would
have been preferable for a
time to defend passively with
26 Nf1 and 27 Neg3, although
even in this case, by bringing
out his bishop to a6, Black
has a possibility of strength­
ening his counterplay.
26 . . . Qh7
27 Nfh5 Bc8!?
In this very sharp position
Black combines active and
defensive measures.
The immediate 27 . . . Qe7,
with the idea of i nvad ing at
h4, is refuted by the direct
28 Qxe6 followed by the
return of the queen to g4 or
h3.
28 b4 Qe7
29 bxa5 Oh4
30 axb6 Rxh5
31 Nxh5 Qxh5
The further part ot t
game took place in seve r
he
time trouble for Whi te, Wh e
committed some inaccu ra cie �
but for us this is of no sig nifi�
cance: by the skilfu lly P ro.
voked complications B lack
has successfully solved his
defensive problems.
In the 1 Oth game of the
Smyslov - Kasparov Ca nd i·
dates Match, Vilnius, 1 984,
Wh ite's positional achieve·
ments are clearly apparent.
The fire of his heavy pieces
will be concentrated on the
backward pawn on the c-fil�.
But passive defence her� �:
not essential since White
slightly wea kened ki n g side
(the f-pawn has take n a steP
forward ! ) allows Blac k w i�h 8
�
m i nima l sacrifice to i n iti al
counterplay. And this is wha
he does.
22 . . . Rab8!
23 Re1
 Turning the tide 47

re 23 Bxa7 lead s White bri ngs u p rei nforce­

The ca ptu
l elim inati o n of ments.
to a m udtua draw a f ter 23 . . . 34 Rd8 3S Rc2 Kg7 36
torces an a5 Nxc5 25 Bx c5
• • •

Kg2 Kg6 37 g4 Rd4 38 h31?

RaB 24 Nc Qxe3+ 27 Qxe3
exeS 26 AxeS White displays adm irable
Rxe3 28 Rxc6 Rb8, as does
point of
coolness. In the variation 38
23 b4 Nb6 (this isgthe ve) 24 Rh3 Rxg4+ 39 Rg3 Rgxg3+
Black's precedin mo 40 hxg3 Be5 White would
Nx b6 axb6 25 Rf c1 c5 . have relieved the situation
23 . . . aS and . . . incurred a very difficult
24 Bf1 hS end i ng . But now in the event
25 Rec1 NeS of 38 . . . Rdd3 39 Ne2 Be5 40
26 BxeS Rc6 + f6 41 Rc2 the stray white
Without this White canno t rook has the possibility of
win th e c-pawn. coming into play via h8.
26 . . . QxeS Perhaps it was for this
27 Rxc6 Bf6 reason that Black offered a
28 R6cS d raw, although he could stil l
The attempt to retai n the have contin ued the struggle
e3 pawn would have given with 38 . . . Rc4!
Black sufficient counterplay:
28 Rc3 d4! or 28 Re1 h4! A whole series of defensive
28 . . . Qxe3+ procedures was demonstrated
29 Qxe3 Rxe3 by Black in the game Vaganlan
30 RxdS Rxf3 - Petroslan, 50th USSR Cham­
31 Be2 p ionship, Moscow, 1 983.
For since 31 Rxa5?
Bd4 +!ced,
loses for Wh ite.
31 · · •
Re3
32 Bxhs Bxh S
33 Rxhs gS!
f Unex pectedly the rook
f dses itsarelf
�� offside, Wh ite's
e scattered , and it is
�
no he Who has to defend.
34 N
Expl(3oitc" m3!g a tactic al poss i-
11.�--t
bility
4 · · · Rxb 2? 35 Nd5), 41 g41?
48 The Art of Defence in Chess

Beginning an attack, and a

d angerous one, on the seem­
ingly fairly secure black king.
41 . . . hxg4
42 Qxg4 Rd2!
By the threat of an exchange
Black gains time to include
his knight in active defence,
and also . . . his queen!
43 Rc7 Nd4
44 hS
With the threat of nothing
less than 45 Qxg6+, mating.
44 . . . Qb1! exchange. Saving it by 37
Qb6+ would have left the g5
. . .

45 h6+ Kh8!
pawn insufficiently covered,
and instead Black found a
After the capture of the
pawn Black would have been
possibil ity of active defence.
mated, whereas now his king
can shelter behind it. 37 . .
. BeS!
46 Rxf7 Qe4! Driving back - either now
or a little later - one of the
The maximum activation of
opponent's attackers.
all Black 's pieces for defence
forces White, two pawns up, 38 Bf7
to ag ree a d raw. I ndeed, he Cons istent and apparently
cannot avoid perpetual check, log ical. Since 38 Re3? is bad
for example, 47 Rg7 Nf3+ 48 beca use of 38 . . . Qf6, White
Kh3 (he loses after 48 Kg3 reckons on 38 . . . Bxg3 Qxg3
and, whichever bish op Black
gives up his rook tor, he
Rxg2+ 49 Kxg2 Nxe5 +) 48
. . . Ng 1 + 49 Kh2 Nf3+.
stands worse. But Black con·
y.
tinue s defen ding activel
In thegame Tseitlin rif ic ing
even if this means sac
-

Averbakh, 38th USSR Cham­

the exchange.
pionship, Riga, 1 970, (see
diagram above), White con­ 38 . . . Qf6!
ti nued his offensive with 36 39 Bxg8 Qxh6
Bh5, intend ing after 36 . . . 40 Be6 Nf6
Rxe1 + 37 Qxe1 to create the The po sition has rad i ca Y
ll
ce
threat of 38 Bf7, winning the cha nged, i n the first i n stan
 Turning the tide 49

s e of the t:>ishop's piti- defence helped both players

beca U
siti on at e6 . Wh'1te in turn to emerge from a diffi­
tu l po
no w have sough t at cult position.
sh u ld
� t a p proxi mate equa
lity by
:�
sxg3
ou nterattack - 4 Qa
42 Qa8+ Kg7 43
1 1 !?
Ob7 +
44 ,
Qxd7 + Kf6 but he
Nd? !
re fers pas si ve def e n c e ,
� hich very qui ckl y cra cks.
41 Re3 g4
42 Qf2 gxh3
43 gxh3 Bh2 +!
44 Kf1
44 Kxh2 fai l s to 44
Ng4 +. whi le after 44 Qxh2
Qxe3 + the black queen and I n p ri nciple both kings are
knight combination i s much poorly defended, but it is
stronger than White' s queen nevertheless Black's which
and bishop and he faces a feels worse off. Defence by
difficult struggle for a draw. exchanging - 22 . . . Rxf7,
does not work in view of 23
44 . . . Bf4 Qxf7 + Kd8 24 Qg8 + Kc7 25
45 Ke2
Nd5+ Kc6 26 Oea+ mating,
White would be glad to and defence by running away
ret urn the exchange, si nce - 22 . . . Kd8, also fails - 23
after 45 Re2 Qxh3+ the black Rxd6+ Bxd6 24 Rxb7 Rxb7 25
k night joins the attack via g4.
Qd1 Kc7 26 Nd5 + Kc6 (26 . . .

45 . . . Qg5 Kb8 27 d7!) 27 Ne3 with a very

46 Bc8 Bxe3 strong attack. He therefore
Win n ing, at the min imum, a resorts to an e x c h a n g e
Pawn and the ga me. sacrifice.

47
22 . . . Rxc2 +! 23 Kxc2
Oxe3 Qg2 + 48 Ke1
Oxb2 49 Ob6 Qb 1 + 50 Kd2
Qb3+ 24 Kd2 Qb2+ 25 Ke1
���+ 51 Kc1 Qxc3 + 52 Kb1 Qxc3 + 26 Ke2 Qc2+ 27 Kf1
1 + Wh1t . e resig ns. Rxf7 + 28 exf7 + Kf8 29 Bg2
Nxe4 30 Bxe4 Qxe4
v n th e game Le
rn• Zh uravl
vchenkov - With the material balance
ev, Riga 1 971 nominally restored, the decis­
Odel exa ' •

mp les of active ive role here is played by the

50 The Art of Defence in Chess

open position of the white

king; Black has the i nitiative,
and he plans the decisive in­
clusion of his bishop in the
attack.
But White is also saved by
active counterplay.
31 Re1 Qh1 +
32 Kf2 Qh2 +
33 Kf1 dS
34 Qxh7!
Gain i ng a tempo for de­ 17 . . . dxes
fence by the threat to the 1 8 fxeS!
black king.
It turns out that the tem pting
34 • Qh3+ 35 Ke2 Qg4+
. •
1 8 d6 is parried by a p iece
36 Kf1 Qf3 + 37 Kg1 Bc5+ 38 sacrifice - 1 8 . . . e4 (18 . . .
Kh2 Kxf7 Ne6 19 fxe5; 1 8 . . . NaB or
Alas, Black has no time to 1 8 . . Na6 - 19 Nc6) 19 dxc7
Oxc7 20 Be2 c4 , with the
.

capture the rook.

39 g6+! Kf6 th reat of 21 . . . Ra8 and more
40 Qg8!! than sufficient com pensation.
Once again the threat of 18 . . . RxeS
mate prevents Black from 1 9 Nb7! 018!
concludi ng his attack. After 1 9 . . . Rxb7 20 d6
40 Kxg6 41 Qe8+ Kh7 42
• • •
Rb8 21 d xc7 Qxc7 22 814
QxeS Bd6 43 Qxd6 012 + 44 Black stands badly, not
Kh3 Qxe1 45 QxdS Draw because of the loss of the
agreed. exchange, but in view of t�e
th reatened invasion of hiS
pos ition by the opp o nent's
By advancing e4-e5 White heavy pieces.
has begun a painstakingly 20 Bf4 NhS!
prepared offensive i n the 21 BxeS BxeS
game Grechikhin - Kalinin, 22 BxhS gxhS
White has a mate nal a " · g
Kuibyshev, 1 984. But it tran­
·

.d an·
spires that Black has no less tage, but his knigh ts. ha"' r·;
ln
painstakingly stocked up with no strong points, are ".u iS
ve
defensive resources. able, and the init iati
 Turning the tide 51

c han ge hands. 27 Rg3 + Ng6

about toRa7 b4 Mate results from 27
23
d61 Kh8 28 Qh6 Ng6 29 Rh3.
24
o nly way of avoi din g
28 RfS Qe4!
The
material loss : if 24 Ne 4 NbS . The only way of defending
against the mati ng threats.
24 . . .
NbS 25 NxbS BxbS
The queen sets up an 'X-ray'
26 d7 S
d4+ 27 Kh 1 Bx f1 28
defence of h7 and simul­
d8=0
taneously prepares to harass
For 28 Qxf1 White does not the white king.
have ti me - 28 . . . c4. 29 Rh3 Qb1 +
28 . . . Rxd8
29 Nxd8 Bxg2 + 30 Rf1
30 Kxg2 Qxd8 It is clear that running away
The draw agreed in this with the king would not
position was quite in order. enable it to escape the checks.
30 . . . Nf4!
Defence - by counter­
attack . Now on 31 exf4 Black
has 31 . . . Re1 , while 31 Qg4 +
Og6 32 Qxf4 Re4 33 Qxd6 f5
would allow him to hold on
e.g. 34 Qd7 Rg4 35 g3 Qe6 :
31 Rg3+ Kh8
32 Qg4 Ne2 +!
Miracles of bravery! At the
cost of its life the knight
De · apparent sim pli-
city' 5�1IS_te itsposi
diverts the white q ueen from
tion from the its attacking position. Note
ga:e !seshkovsky Ma that 32 . . . Qg6 would have
ch J.th USSR Cha lost to 33 Qxf4 Re4 34 Qf3.
- kary­
Sh ip ' . lnsk, 1 979, mp ion- 33 Qxe2 Qe4
, life Fo r the is ful l of
Certai n 1. � .1tiaptive
. 34 Qf2
awn Wh1te has a
·

hirn wo u d b , bu t delay for On 34 Rxf6 Black has 34

Piece sacn"fe1ce fatal. Hence - a . . . Qxd4.
st
ro n g and a ve yr 34 Re6 35 h3 Rg8 36
attac k .
26 Nf6
• • •

Rxg8+ Kxg8 37 Qg3+ Kf8

+ gxf6 38 Rf3 Qb1 + 39 Kh2 Qxb4
52 The Art of Defence in Chess
40 Oh4 Ob1
Here the game was ad­
journed. Had he sealed 41
Rxf6 White would hardly
have risked losing, but he
played for an attack - 41
Rg3, and by conti n ued ac­
curate defence Black managed
to realize his material ad­
vantage: 41 . . . Qe4 42 Qh6+
Ke7 43 Rg8 Kd7! 44 Ra8 ReS!
45 Ra6 Rg8 46 Ra2 Ke7 47
Oh5 Rg6! 48 g4 h6 49 Ra7 +
Ke6 50 Ra8 Qf3 51 e4 Of2 + 52
Kh1 Of1 + 53 Kh2 Of4 + 54
Kg1 Og5 55 Qxg5 Rxg5 etc.
In the 1 st game of the
Kasparov - Karpov World
Championship Match, Mos­
cow, 1 985, the assessment of
the position is not in doubt.
The only question that remains
open is whether or not White's
advantage is sufficient for a
win. An answer was obtained
after Black's next move.
18 . . . Nc7?
Black tries by 'therape uti
methods' to get rid of th
powerful knight at d6, b ut the
�
road to salvation lay throug h
an expiatory piece �acrifice -
1 8 . . . bxc5! 1 9 Rxb8 (or 79
NxcB + RdxcB 20 Bb7 Rxb7
21 Rxb7 cxd4 22 Rxa7 Nc5
and Black's counterplay -i�
the centre cannot be under­
estimated) 1 9 . . . Nxb8 20
dxc5 Na6!! 21 Nxc8+ Rxc8 22
B b7 Rxc5 23 Bxa6 Ra5 24 Bb7
_Rxa2 + 25 Ke3 Rc2 when, in
Kasparov's opinion, Black has
"splendid d rawing chances".
But this is what happened
in the g ame.
19 Rb4! NeB
20 Nxe8
White could have won more
qu ickly by 20 Nxc8+! RbxcB
21 cxb6 axb6 22 Kd3 Nd6 23
Rc1 Rb8 24 Rcb1 Rbc8 (or
24 . . . RdcB 25 a4!, and there
is no defence against the
threat of a4-a5) 25 Ra4! RbB
26 Ra6 Rdc8 27 Rb4, and
Black can not save the game.
20 . . . Kxe8
Another possibility of ex;
8
ploiting the king's pos iti on
e2 would have been give� ��
20 . . . Rxe8! 21 Rhb 1 Bb 24
d5 exd5 23 cxd5 Kf8 +
Kd2 Ra8! , "with fair chances
of a draw" (Kasparov).
 Turning the tide 53

noticed a slight weakness of

21 Rhb1 Ba6 22 Ke3 d5 23 the back rank, wh ich has
cxd6
Rbc8 24 Kd3 Rxd6 25
b5 26 cxb5 Rb8 27 Rab4 arisen after the advance of
Ra 4
Rxb7 29 a4 the white rook.
Bb7 28 Bxb 7
A nd after lasting out until 15 • • • e5!
m ov e 42, Black resigned 1 6 Nh5! exd4
witho ut resu ming the gam e.
1 7 Rg3
Creati ng a mass of danger­
ous threats. At the board
Black saw, for example, that
1 7 . . . NxhS? allows the
w i n n i n g co m b i n a t i o n 1 8
Bxf7+ ! Kxf7 ( 1 8 . . KhB 19
.

Bxh5 Re5 20 c xd4, and if 20

. . . Nxd4, then simply 2 1
Bb2) 1 9 Qxh5+ Kg8 ( 1 9 . ..

KfB 20 Bxh6!) 20 Rxg7+ !

Kxg7 2 1 Bxh6+ Kf6 22 Bg5+.
And on 17 . . . Ng4 White has
the simple 1 8 h3! But . . .
In the game Panczyk -
17 • • • Bg41
Yusupov, Warsaw, 1 985, the 18 Nxf6 + Qxf6
opening has j�st conclu ded, 1 9 Rxg4 dxc3
but Black already has to make
a fundamental choic e of plan.
The powerful passed pawn
and the d isharmony of the
The opponent's forces are white pieces - despite there
v�ry obvi ously aimed
at his being one more of them -
kmgside. Of cou rse,
have brought
he cou ld forces Black's position to be
up reserves, but
�5 ·
·

ollowed by
Ne7?! 1 6 c4 Nf5 1 7 Rd3
.
preferred. The defence has
succeeded!
B b2 would only 20 Be3 c2
have dela
yed the attack bu t
not e 1 lm 21 Qf1 ?
Wh h ·
'

mated it. Bes ides,

· ·

lte's pieces are

extreme l y As often happens, an en­
arrn o ni ou
sly placed. forced transition from attack
r- Ta ki ng this into acc oun t ' to defence is accompanied
det
o 1 ack Ch ose
a pla n of act ive by m istakes. 21 Qe1 was more
sac 1�� � e i nvolving a piece
I ce . I n
tenac i o u s , w h e reas n o w
doin g so he White loses by force.
54 The Art of Defence in Chess

and in the endga me, th

e
21 . . . Rxe3!
e
22 fxe3 Qxf1 + exchange down, he wi ll hav
23 Rxf1 Ne5 no chance . . .
Even with an extra rook 24 . . . NC4 +!
there is no defence against Black is now a rook dow n
the two threats (24 . . . Nxg4 but the q ueens are kept 0�
and 24 . .. c 1 =Q). and the white king is even
24 Rgf4 further exposed.
Or 24 Bxf7 + Kh8! 25 Rgf4 25 bxc4 Rd7!
c1=0 26 Rxc1 Rxc1 + 27 Kf2 26 Qe8
Nd3+ and wins. "Log ical, si nce on 26 Ob6
24 . . . c1 =0 25 Rxc1 Rxc1 + Black has the dangerou s 26
26 Rf1 Rxf1 + 27 Kxf1 Ng4! . . Rb7, while after 26 Oh4
the q ueen is out of play.
.

White resigns.
F i n a l l y , a n ou st a n d i n g
example of resourcefulness
i n search of complications
when defending is provided
by the game Timman -
Kasparov, Bugojno, 1 982.
Besides, White has something
else in mind . . . This becomes
clear within a couple of
moves" ( Kasparov).
26 . . . bxc4
27 Nc3 Qc6!!
White was reckoning on 27
. . Qb7 + 28 Ka1 Qa6+ 29
Na2 Rd3 30 Rxh7!! Kxh7 31
.

Qf7, when against mate by

the rook at h1 there is no
defence. If i nstead 30 · · ·

Rxe3, then 31 Rxg7+ Kxg7

Black's only hope of saving
the game, and a not very real
one, can be considered the
relatively 'bare' white king.
But at first sight the exchange
of queens seems unavoidable,
32 Qe7 + Kg8 33 Nh5! gx h5 34
Qg5+ and 35 Qxe3.
But after the move in the
game Wh ite inevitabl y loses
his queen (both 28 . . . Ad2+
and 28 . . Rb7 + are th reate n
.
�
ed ) when Black's c h a nce
' e
are no worse. Therefo re th
players ag reed to a draw.
It also happens, albeit rno;�
ra rely, that active defence c
 Turning the tide 55

rri ed out with out sac ri­ it tu rns out that on 18 . . . Rfb8
b ca
�
fi in g .
In such i nstan ces th� White had prepared the un­
usu ally the purswt expected 1 9 Oe4! , when after
theme is the essential exchange of
f the o on
pp en t's mo st da ng­
queens - mate is threatened
� rous piece, with the m ission
ing via com plica­ - the wh ite bishop ends up
of proceed
to exc han ges and the at e4 and Black loses the
tion s
sim pli fic ation. exchange.
des ired
Therefore - active meas-
u res:
17 . . . Kh8!
18 Qxb7 Nc5
19 Qf3 Nxd3!
The point. With the d is­
appearance of the bishop,
W h i te's a d v a n t a g e a l s o
d isappears.
20 Nc6 Qe6
21 b3
Or 21 Nd4 Qc4.
In the 3rd game of the 21 ... Ne5
Kasparov - Belyavsky Candi­ 22 Nxe5 Qxe5
dates Match, Moscow, 1 983, 23 Rae1 Qc7
Black very accurately made a 24 Rc1 Qe7
choice between obvious, It m ight seem that by seizing
passive defence , and m uch
another open file - 25 Rfe1 -
more camouflaged, active
White will again take the
defe n ce. In the first case after
1 7 . . Oxe7 18 Qxb7 Black
i nitiative. But on this there
.
follows 25 . . . Rac8. Therefore
Qets into diffic ulties due to the
Pin o n the 7th ran k . On 1 8 - draw agreed.
0d6 White has the un­
�
· · ·

easa nt 19 R ad 1 , when 19 . . . In the game Gaprindashvili

cs does not help becau of - Khavsky, Leningra d, 1 977,
se
�0 Oxa s. White also stands
etter in th
Black holds the initiative and
e variation 18 . . . has created a number of
2
��
R e 19
Bb5 Nc5 20 Qf3 RedS th reats on the ki ngside, the
fe1 . And the q uee n can- main one being . . . h4. The
notbe d riven off the 7th rank : Women's World Champio n of
56 The Art of Defence in Chess

fication.

that time chooses an active

form of defence.
21 Qc11 Rf4 22 . . • e21
Otherwise the black queen 23 Bxe2
cannot be maintained on the The first achievement: the
g-file: 21 . . . Qg6 22 ReS!, or battery ai med at h7 has been
21 . . . Qg4 22 Re4! d isrupted, since 23 Rfe1
22 Re7! Qxe7 would have allowed 23 . . Nf4,
while after 23 Rf2 Black would
.

It turns out that 22 . . . h4

can be met by 23 Rxc7 Rb8 24 have struck with 23 . . Qa5! .

Qe3 hxg3 25 hxg3 Rf5, when 23 . • • Nce3

both 26 Qxg5 Rxg5 27 g xf3 24 fxe6
and 26 Qe6+ Kh7 27 g xf3 are White agrees to simplifica­
good for White. tion, since 24 Rfc1 exf5
23 Qxf4 h4 24 Ne4 Rf8 25 seemed insufficient to him:
Qe3 fxg2 26 Re1 bxc4 27 for the exchange Black has a
bxc4 Bc8 28 Ng51 Qf6 29 h3 pawn and active minor pieces.
Bd7 30 Kxg2 Qg6 31 Kh2, and 24 . • . Nxf1
White even stood a little 25 Rxf1 f5
better; on move 43 the game The immediate 25 . Q xc2 . .

ended in a d raw. does not work - 26 Bd3 Q xb2

27 Nc3! Nf6 28 Nd5.
In thegame Klovan - 26 Nc3 Nxc3
Tukmakov, Moscow, 1 975, 27 Qxc3
Practically agreei ng to :
draw although even w i th th
Black's position is critical,
and he seeks saving chances
q uee � s on - 27 bxc3 Q e5
-
i n com plications or . . . simpli-
 Turning the tide 57

hard ly hop e for have been threatening to take

Wh ite cou l d
on e5.
a nyth in g.
. . Qxc3 2S bxc3 g6 29
21
26 . . . Re6
sx bS Kg7
•

, and White was 27 Rf6

u na b le to real ize his extra The attack on f7 does not
pawn s . achieve its ai m - 27 Nd8?
Rxe5 28 Nxf7 Rxe3+! 29 Rxe3
Bxe3, depriving White of
the check at h6.
27 . . . RfeS!
By taki ng on f6 Black would
have condemned himself to
defeat. But here he exp loits
the fact that the f7 pawn is
i m mune (28 Rdxfl? Rxc6).
2S Kf3 Rxf6
29 exf6 Rxe3+
30 Kf4 ReS
In the game Chiburdanidze
31 Ne5 Be3+!
- Garcia, USSR, 1 983, the Again active defence: the
only thing that can save Black timid 31 . . . Rf8? would not
is again an active struggle for have saved the game on
· ·. simplification. With all account of 32 Ng4.
four rooks on the board it is 32 Kxe3 Rxe5 +
diffi cult for him to take care of 33 Kd4 ReS
the f7 pawn, and the k night 34 g4 h6
controls dB. A targe t for 35 h4 g5
c?unte rplay, or more p re­ The black king escapes (36
Cisely, a target around which h5? Re6) and equilibrium is
exchanges can
take plac e is achieved.
prOVI.d ed by the white
'

�n pawns
the e-file, whic h are simu l­
36 hxg5 hxg5
37 Rd5 Re6
an eo usl y
both str ong and
·
3S Rxg5+
Weak .
The su bsequent mistakes
25 Kf2 Raes by both sides have no associ­
26 Ke2
i
he k ing 'go es
At er 2 his rou n ds' .
ation with the clearly sustained
cou rse of active defence. We
6 Af6 Kg7 Bla ck wou ld should add that the correct
58 The Art of Defence in Chess
38 . . . Kf8 or even 38 . . . Kh8
(in time trouble Black 'walked'
into a check - 38 . .Khl?)
.
would have led to an easy
d raw - 39 Rf5 Re2 40 Kc3
Re3+ 41 Kd2 Rg3.
Elimination of
Attacking Potential
When one side is attacking,
it is as though the most active
p i eces a b s or b a d d i t i o n a l
power, borrowing it from their
'fellow team members'. And
if even only a part of this
f i g h t i n g p o w e r c a n be
removed from the board, it
means that the potential of
the attack will be sharply
red uced. Th i s aim, as we have
already seen, can be pursued
by exchanges and simplifica­
tion, but - alas - they are not
always possi ble. Often the
only way of parrying an on­
slaught is by sacrificing, to
neutralize the opponent's
attacking forces, by getting
rid of his most dangerous and
agg ressive pieces. In this
case there is no sharp dis­
ruption of the material balance,
but the customary ratio of
forces is changed, and minor
pieces beg i n battling against
a q ueen or rooks. At the same
time the k inetic energy of the
eliminated pieces is as though
transferred to the other side.
Thi s procedure most ofte
. n
mvolves a counterblow by th
quee n, an d IS freq uen tl
. e
y
overlooked by even great
players.
A classic example is Pro­
vided by the well known ga m e
Capablanca v llyin-Genevsky'
Moscow, 1 925.
30 . . . dxe5
I ntend ing by a queen
sacrifice to elimi nateWhite's
main attacking forces. If the
World Champion of that time
had divi ned his opponent's
idea, he would probably have
found the relatively si p l 3 1
m e
Nxg6! fxg6 32 Rf3 Qe2 33
Raf1 , which after 33 . . Rd1
34 f7 + Bxf7 35 Rxf7 Rxf1 +
.
36 Bxf1 ! Qh5 37 Qxh5 gxh5
38 g6 wou ld have forced
Black to settle for a d raw.
But in the game Wh ite
played 31 Rf3? immediately,
which al lowed Black to carry
out his idea i n full.
31 . . . exf4 32 Rxe3 txe3 33
 Turning the tide 59

0e1 Rb
2 34 Qxe3 Rdd2 35 28 gxh3 KxhS
13 c4 36 a
s
3 Bd6 37 Qa7 c3 29 QxcS
.
White resi
gn s . Nom inally White still has a
material advantage of roughly
'half a pawn', but the position
In the game Lilienthal -
Hezhmetdln
v, � 2 � st USS R has radically changed. White
has nothing with which to
Cham pio n shi p, K1ev, 1 954,
attack, his remaining forces
Black based his defence on a are scattered, and it is his
si milar idea. opponent who now begins
an offensive.
29 • • • Rf3
30 Nd4 Rxh3
31 Ne2 Nf4!
32 Nxf4 Bxf4
33 Kg2 Rc81
An accu rate interposition.
After the i mmediate 33 . . .
Rg8+ 34 Kxh3 Bc8+ White,
by the counter-sacrifice of
his queen 35 Qxc8, would
Assessing this position by h a ve e l i m i n a t e d B l a c k 's
traditi onal criteria is i mpos­
sible, since it is too i rration al.
attacking forces. Therefore
Even so it is most proba ble
first the q ueen is driven from
its 'observance' of c8, and
that White has a certain
adva n tage , whic h amo unts
then after 34 Qe7 (d4, b6) the
not to his extra pawn, but above mate in two moves
rather to his sl ig follows.
active pieces. After
htly mo re White resigns.
25 Re1 all
White's forces
been in
would have
play, but instead he
sacrificed Plrtskhalava - Uflmtsev,
to beg i n a co mbi­
nation al Tbilisi, 1946 saw White build
attack.
25
u p a menacing attacking
Bxg&? Nxg6
26
position, which he could have
NhS + Kh6
27 Rh3 further strengthene d by 1 7
Th is is
Qxh311 Ne51 Howev·e r, the contin­
l o o ke wha t Wh ite over­
d!
uation in the game also seems
very promising.
60 The Art of Defence in Chess

1 7 e5 Black's position in the game

Hoping for the natural 1 7
Gurieli - Matveyeva, Z helez.
novodsk, 1 985, looks very
. . . Nh5 18 Nxd5 Bc6 1 9 e6,
difficult. The c6 bishop cannot
but . . .
be preserved from exchange,
17 . . . Nxe5!! and the prospect seems to be
Ex hausting the opponent's one of passive defence with·
forces in the event of 18 Bxc8 out any targets for counter·
Nxf3 + 1 9 Kf1 Nxe 1 20 Rxe1 play. But perhaps the queen
Rbxc8, after which the armada can be sacrificed?!
of black pawns in the centre 10 ... Qxd4!!
wi ll sooner or later have its 11 Nxf7 Kxf7
say. White tries to maintain 12 Bg6 + hxg6
his attack i n a d ifferent way, 13 Qxd4 Rad8!
but without success . 14 Qe3
18 Rxe5 Qxh3 The only move; o n 1 4 014
19 Ng5 Qg4 Black has the highly un·
20 h3 Qc8 pleasant 1 4 . . . Bd6.
21 Nxd5 14 . . . Rxh2!
21 Rde1 was somewhat Now the attempt by Whit �
better, but here too Black has to retai n the que�n wo.u .
.
�
a defence - 21 . . . Qd7. But have led to g reat d1 ff1 c ullle
1i�
·

now the onslaught is parried 1 5 f3? RhS! 1 6 Rf2 (th e re

with losses for the attacking n oth i ng else) 1 6 . . . B cS et
Qf4 ( 1 7 Qe2 i s deci sivelY rne
e
s ide.
21 . . . Bxd5 22 Rdxd5 h6! b Y 1 7 . . . Rdh8, whe re as h r
this i s parried by ru nn i n g e5
. with
23 Nxf7 Kxf7 24 Rxb5 Rxb5
·

25 Qxc4 + Rd5 White resigns. the king - 18 Kf1 ) 1 7 · · ·

 Turning the tide 61

8 Qg 3 Nxc4 1 9 b3 Nd6 20 exchange the white bishop.

� 5
9 N f5 21 Oxe5, when 21 True, after 24 Rxe5!? (there is
, as is 21 . . . essentially nothing else) 24
axf2 is go od
+
Bd4 or 21 . . . Bd6. . . . Bxe5 White can make the
tinu atio n planned sacrifice, but . . . The
aut the game con disappearance of his rook has
150 led to an
infe rior pos ition:
�5 Kxh2 NNxc
g4+ 16 Kg1 Nxe3 weakened his back rank, and

17 sxe3 4 18 Bf4 eS 19 the second rook cannot now

Bg3 Nxb2 20 BxeS Rd7 21 leave it.

Nd 1 Nc4 22 Bf4 Bf etc

6 . For example, 25 Nxg6 fxg6
26 Oe6 + Kh8! 27 Oxe5 + Rf6,
and if 28 Bxg6, then 28 . . .
Od5 is the simplest. Or 25
Bxg6 fxg6 26 Qe6+ Kg7 27
Oxg6+ Kh8 28 Qh6+ Kg8 29
Oe6+ Kh7!, and 30 Rf3 is not
possible.
But in the game Black
h i mself 'urged' the sacrifice
on g6.
23 ... c4?
24 Bxg6 fxg6
In the game Sznapik -
25 Qe6+ . Kh7
Malmgren, Polan d v Swed en, 26 Qxg6+ Kh8
l�nd. 1972, all the white 27 Ne6
��eces are aimed at the black To crown Black's mis­
ln g. The natural and correct fortunes, his bishop at g7,
defen sive reacti on wo uld which has not managed to
have been to wea move away, is attacked,
ken as mu ch
:� po�sible the opp one n t's whereas in the above varia­
�:
a � g p tions it was defending this
� otential : after all,
96
Bl a 1s una ble to shie ld his square beside its king.
.
POint ag amst the comi 27 . . . Rxf1 + 28 Rxf1 Qg8
ng
·

c
sa rifice . 29 Rf3 Qh7 30 Rh3 Qxh3 31
iherefo the only defensive
reso u ce re Qxg7 mate.
� , but also a sufficient
one ' IS 23 Nxe5!, for a
ITlornen t s upporti
· · ·

ng the g6 In the gameKr.Georgiev­

Pawn and threate nin g to Van der Sterren, Eu ropean
62 The Art of Defence in Chess

Team Championsh ip, Plovdiv,

1 983, with his last move Wh ite
captured a pawn on h_6, weak­
ening the black ki ng's position
and assuming his dark-square
bishop to be i mmune.
Was he right?

After sacrif icing a knight,

White inten ds to give m ate in
the game Espig Kirov,
Timisoar a, 1 972, and Black
-

has only one way of beating

off the attack.
16 .
• • Bxg5+1
1 7 QxgS eS
18 Rg3! exd4
29 . . . gxh6! 1 9 Rhg1! QbS!
30 RxdS BxdS The q ueen hu rries to the
31 Nf6 + Qxf6! help of its king, and simul·
This is the basis of Black's taneously Black tries to tempt
defence. While retaining a his opponent into playi n g 20
material advantage, he has Qe7 with the threat of 21 Rg5,
practically exhausted White's and when the queen leaves
forces and he easily parries the 5th rank 22 Rxg7+
case.
-

the latter's final attempts to Nxg7 23 Qf6. But in t h is

by returning the piece �
play actively.
Bla\
-

32 Qxf6 Rxc2 . . Qe5! 21 Qxd7 Qxe4,

33 Ra3 Be6!
.

would have ce ntral ize d

hi
The f5 square is controlled, q ueen and had every chance
and now White does not even of wi nning.
have a perpetual check. The 20 Qh6 Qe5
remainder was not difficult: 21 f41 Kh8!
34 aS Kh7 35 a6 Rc1 + 36 Kh2 Naturally, 21 Qt6?
.. losees
dS 37 Rg3 e4 White resigns. to 22 Rxg7 +. But ow.
.

n
whil
 Turning the tide 63

Vasyukov, L i epaja, 1 97 5 ,
0tteueerinns.g inthe excha nge of
passing Black sets White played 29 Ra3, a move
q ve ry cu nning trap: 22 Bxf7? !
planned long in advance,
�b5!! (bad is 22 . . . Rxf7 23 i ntending after 29 . . . Qxa3
rxeS g xh6 .24 RgB mate, or 22 30 Bxa3 Rxa3 31 Qb2 to win
Q f6 23 Rxg7! Qxg7 24 Rxg7 a piece and the game. But
N�g7 25 Bg6, mating) 23 B b3 Black found a way of elimina­
Qxb3!, and i n the event of 24 ting the opponent's most
Rxg 7 Blac k is the first to g ive active pieces and of seizing
mate. the initiative.
22 Rxg7! Qxg7 29 . . . Nxd6!
23 Rxg7 Nxg7 30 Rxa4 Rxa4
24 Qxd6 Be6 31 Qb2 Ne4
25 Qxd4 cxb2 + The approxi mate material
26 Kxb2 eq uality and the domination
For all the un usual balance of Black's pieces g ive him
of forces, after the best move very real winning chances.
29 . . . f6 ! the chances would 32 Nf3 Bf8
have been roughly equal. This forces White to create
Black has resourcefully and an escape square and lose a
accu rately eliminated White's tempo, as a result of which
attack ing forces. he can no longer d rive away
the central ized black knight.
33 h4?
After this the game cannot
be saved: the dark squares
around his king are like a
gaping wound. The only way
to continue resisti ng was by
33 g3.
33 . . . Bc5 + 34 Kh2 Bf2
35 Qb7 Ra1 36 Qxd7 Rxf1
37 NgS Bg3+ 38 Kh3 Rh1 +
39 Kg4 Rxh4+ 40 Kf3 Rxf4+
e n f •cm g a paw n and
Afte r sa . . .
41 Ke3 NxgS. White resigns:
in th�g
9 ai ni
co mpensat ion for it, 42 Qd8+ Kg7 43 Qxg5 Re4+
9am e Razborov - A. and 44 . . . Bxe5.
64 The Art of Defence in Chess

What would you have played?

No. 10
T he direct threat o f mate at
f7 can be parried i n two ways.
Which one should Black
choose?

No. 11
Despite being a piece down,
White has built up a strong
attack. He threatens both 28
h6, and 28 hxg6 fxg6 {28 . . .

hxg6 29 Rh3) 29 B h6 with

mate on the 8th or 7th rank.
True, it is Black to move . . ·

No. 12
B lack's attack looks th reat·
ening . 37 Qxd3 fails to 37
Bxf3 + 38 Bg2 Qf2! w i th an
·
· ·

i m med iate win, wh i l e a tte ;

37 Rb1 Nf2 + 38 Kg 2 N e4 3
Qf4 Qf2 + it is very difficult tor
White to escape fro m th e pint
D oes he have a wa Y 0
saving the game?
Turning the tide 65

No. 13
White has a formidable
'queen + bishop' battery, plus
a kingside pawn storm. True,
Black can force the exchange
of q ueens bv 31 . . Qc7,
.

since in view of the variation

32 Qe3? Rxc1 33 Rxc1 Qxf4
White cannot avoid it . . .
5
Blockade

This concept hovered over

the chess board for many
years, unti l Aron Nimzowitsch,
one of the most outstanding
theorists of all time, formu­
lated it, transformed it into a
very i m p o rtant strateg i c
proced ure, and gave some
excellent examples of its
application. In the words of
Ex-World Champion Mikhail
Tal, N imzowitsch was the Of course, in practice such
first to define it, and he was a com p l et e ly paralyzing
the first to show how much blockade is rare, but in the
the strength of a piece can games of even the strongest
grow when it stands on a g randmasters and of World
blockading square, and how Champions, blockade is a
such a piece can compensate procedure of considerable
for a material deficit. Nimzo­ importance.
witsch asserted that a block­
In modern-day chess some
ade can cause paralysis of the
classic examples of blockade
enemy position or of a whole
have been frequent ly dem·
complex of enemy pieces, o n s t r a t e d by e x - W o r ld
and he gave the following Cha m p ion Tigran Pet roslo an.
who considered him �elf
h':
impressive situation.
Indeed , although the ex­ fol lower of Nimz ow1 tsc
change and a pawn up, Black ideas.
has chances only of . . . losing.
And not because he is faced rnple.
0

with irresistible threats, but I n the followi n g exa zsill

from Tal - Petros•?n, iga.
_
R
due to the ideal blockade of
his centre,and as a conse­ USSR Cham pionshi P : n a l
iO
1 95 8 , W h i te' s p o s l t
0

q uence, of his q ueenside.

66
 Blockade
advantage is determined by
several factors. He has a
protected passed pawn i n the
centre, the queenside, where
the opponent might initiate
counterplay, is blocked, and
the black minor pieces are
tied to the defence of the c5
pawn. But the main thing is
that White is preparing an
attack on the enemy king.
Therefore 31 . . . Kh8 suggests
itself, i n order to eliminate the
very rea l threat of 31 Bg5
Rxf 1 + 32 Rxf1 Qc7 (32 . . . f6
33 Qe6+) 33 B h6, winning the
exch ange, but . . .
31 . .
.
Rf4!
Not on ly givi ng up m ater ial,
b �t also
apparently fall i ng in
Wi th Whit
e's plan s.
32 Bxf4
W�Y
accepting the sac ri fice ,
�::� 1 l te l os es
o ac
his advantage.
k ' s Piec
·
ad · es obtain block-
'ng s
ve ry a c .q ua res and become
ti ve. Wh ite should have
67
declined B lack's 'out of the
bl ue' offer of the exchange,
and l i m ited h i mself to the
more modest 32 Rxf4 exf4 33
B xf4, with the possible sequel
33 . . . Ne5 34 Qg3 Nxc4 35 e5
or 33 . . . Qf6 34 Bxd6 Qxd6
35 Rf1 .
32 ... exf4 33 Nd2 Ne5 34
Qxf4 Nxc4 35 e5 Nxe5 36 Ne4
h& 37 Rae1?
White fails to sense that
Black is all ready to launch a
cou nterattack, and that the
d6 bishop will shortly be
worth more than a white rook.
It was not yet too late to main­
tai n the balance, by rejecting
any ideas of a kingside offens­
ive and choosing the simpli­
fying 37 Nxd6 Qxd6 38 Rfe1
f6 39 Rad 1 . Now, however,
B l ack c reates n u merous
threats.
37 . . . Bb8
38 Rd1
A belated admission of his
mistake: 38 . . . Nd3 was
th reatened.
38 . . . c4
39 d6 Nd3
40 Qg4 Ba7 +
41 Kh1
After sealing this move, it
was o n ly with his opponent's
help that White managed to
parry the counterattack, the
material advantage so o n
bei ng on B lack's side:
68 The Art of Defence in Chess

41 . . . fS 42 Nf6 + Kh8 43 obtains good play. H is P as

s;.
Qxc4 Nxb2 44 Qxa6 Nxd1 45 bilities are also imp roved by
Qxa7 Qxd6 46 Qd7 Qxf6 the fact that, without a Wh it
e
47 Qxd1 Rb8 etc. opponent, the black bi sho
p
sharply gai ns i n stre ngth .
26 a4
Reshevsky-Petrosian White sti ll hopes to provoke
Candidates Tournament, 26 . . . b4, i n order to reply
Zurich, 1 953 27 d5 Rxd5 28 Bxe6 fxe6 29
Qxc4, but petrosian sticks to
his plan.
26 . . . Ne7
27 Bxe6 fxe6
28 Qf1
White keeps a watch on the
c4 pawn a n d prudently
prepares to return the ex­
change for a pawn. On 28 012
Black would have had the
unpleasant 28 . . . 29 Rf3
Nd5
Wh i te's m o b i l e pawn b4, when his initiative could
centre, the possibility o f an have become very dangerous.
attack on the king (by h2-h4- 28 ... NdS
h5 and Rg3, for example) , as 29 Rf3 Bd3
well as the two potentially 30 Rxd3! cxd3
powerful bishops (if Black 31 Qxd3 b4
should continue to seek The knight is so much
counterplay by the planned
stronger than the bishop that
. . . b4) cause clear preference
White's extra pawn is not
to be given to White's position.
noticed at all. Since thhe
But it transpires that Black attempt to d rive away t�
has in reserve a plan involv­ knight - 32 c4 Nb6 33 R�5
Nxa4 34 Ba 1 Qc6 or 33 8
ing an exchange sacrifice,
based on a purely defensive
exd5 34 c5 Nxa4 35 Bd4 ed �
_
c
p rocedure - blockade.
36 Qf3 Qe6 - wou ld hav e
25 . . . Re6!! to the wh1te pawn� b
• ell19
This is the idea! By vacating blockad ed, and Black 5 kYb e ing
v s
for his knight the e7 square, a powe rfu l force, R esh e
and hence a path to d5, Black chose:
 Blockade 69

3 2 cx b4 axb4 33 as Ra8 34 forward. But on the ki ngside

�81 Qc6 35 Bc1 Qc7 36 a6 the white f- and h-pawns are
b& 37 Bd2
b3 38 Qc4 h6
Q
39 perfectly capable of shattering
h3 b2 40
Rb1 Kh8 41 Be1 the opponent's defensive
s i t i o n (after l i nes, and before beginning
In th i s p o
nm ent analys is) a d raw counterplay it is high time for
djour
� as ag reed.
wn,
Despite
Black has
being a
a sli �� t
Black to think about neutraliz­
ing the white in itiative.
paw n do
pos i ti ona l adva ntage , but 1t 1s This task would have been
ha rdl y possi ble to realize it. best met by the typical device
But it only required Petrosian 29 . . . h6!, in order to answer
to underestimate the attack­ 30 hS with 30 . . . gS! 31 fxgS
ing potential of Kasparov fxgS, when after 31 Kh1 Rf8
(Wh i te) at the 'Tournament 33 Be2 (with the idea of ex­
of Stars', Moscow, 1 98 1 , and chang i ng the light-square
to neglect the defensive bishops and invad ing at fS
procedure of blockade, for with his rook) there is the
him to find himself on the possibility of · the exchange
verge of defeat. sacrifice 33 . . . Rf4!, com­
pletely blocking the kingside
too.
I nstead of this Black chose
29 . . . Bd7 30 hS Bxa4 31 h6!
Qc7 32 15 (32 fxeS fxeS 33
BgS ReB 34 Bf6 Rac8 3S RfS
Bd6 36 cS! bxcS 37 Bc4! also
came into consideration ,
when Black has no defence
against the threat of 38 AxeS
AxeS 39 BxeS BxeS 40 d6+!
and 41 QxeS) 32 . . . gS 33
For the BxgS fxgS 34 QxgS + Kf8, and
Pos itio n ontime bein g the
the quee ns1de . now, by continuing 3S f6! with
d
an I n the centre
.

the threat of 36 f7, White

The ;eak n is sta bilized .
could have won.
are efend esse s at a4 and b6
fen d e d or can be de­
nor t�:· an d neith er the white ,
the d-� � lack passed pawn on It was blockade that could
lie can tak e a step have eased Black's defence
70 The Art of Defence in Chess
in the 3rd game of theKasparov
- Smyslov Candidates Match,
Vilnius, 1 984.
The white pieces are ideally
placed , it looks foolhardy to
accept the pawn sacrifice ( 1 7
. . . Qxa3 1 8 c4), and s o Black
arranges his p ieces more
'compactly'.
17 . . . 817
In the middlegame after 1 8
Qb2 this move would have
justified itself, but . . . A
conven ient moment for the
blockad ing 1 7 . . . Nb6!? is
missed, after which White no
longer allows the mobility of
his pawn centre to be reduced.
Especially as in the endgame
his long-range bishops will
g ive him excellent prospects.
1 8 c4! Qxd2 1 9 Nxd2 Nb6
20 Nb3, and in the end Black
was unable to parry the
activity of the opponent's
pieces and pawns in this
seemi ngly simple position.
After his original handling
of the open i ng, White has
good prospects of a kingside
attack i n the game Martin -
Dolmatov, Barcelona, 1 983.
True, White's last aggressive
move (1 0 g4) breaks up hi s
pawn phalanx, of which Black
takes subtle advantage.
10 . . . Bd7!
Preparing by an exchange
sacrifice to block the oppon­
ent's play on the kingside.
Incidentally, this solution is
the strongest, si nce after 1 0
. . . b6, with the idea of e x·
chang ing bishops, Wh ite
gains a clear advantage - 1 1
Bg5! Qe8 (bad is 1 1 . . . Qd7
12 gxf5 Rxf5 13 Bd3) 1 2 Qxe8
Rxe8 1 3 gxf5 exf5 1 4 Bg 2.
with the constant th re at of
c3-c4.
1 1 gxf5 Rxf5 12 Q h3 se:
1 3 Bd3 Bg6! 14 Rg 1 Qf8 1
Bxf5 Bxf5 1 6 Qf3 h4
Q
The pretty trap 1 6
 Blockade 71

t<hB? 1 7 Rxg7!! Q �g7 1 8 Bh6! defended by the knight, and

IS P
. arried by the s1mple 16 . . . now it is only White who will
NC6 17 Bh6 Bg 6 . have trouble with his e3 pawn
. . . Nc6 17 Qe2 Kh8 18 and his ki ngside.
16
84 Qf7 1 9 aS b6 20 axb6 cxb6 21 Qc2 ReS
21 g
R 3 NaS 22 f3 Nc4 22 R f3 Bh6
Ablockade of White's entire 23 Qc3
pawn stru c.ture! The black Preparing the defence of
p iece s dommate, and g rad u­ the e3 pawn by tactical means,
ally Dolmatov managed to as well as . . . a fatal mistake.
gain a decisive advantage. 23 Rb1 was more correct,
i mmediately givi ng up the
pawn, but switching the rook
to the e- or f-file.
23 . . . Qe7
24 Rb6??
With the idea after 24 . . .
Bxe3+ 25 Rxe3 Qxe3+ 26
Qxe3 Rxe3 27 Bf3 of picking
up the d6 pawn and lifting the
blockade of his pawn centre.
Alas . . .
24 . . . Na4
In the game Polugayevsky White resigns, since he
- Petrosian, 50th USSR Cham­ emerges a rook down.
P i onsh i p , M oscow, 1 983,
A separate section of the
White is excel lently placed :
hi s two bishops and pressu re
extensive theme 'blockade' is
on th e b-file promise a great the struggle against a protec­
deal . Bu t his pawn structure ted passed pawn. If it can be
lends itself to a bl ockade immobilized and securely
a nd . . . blockaded, this positional
advantage of the opponent
19
Rxe3!
20
· . .
can be largely neutralized.
fxe3 NcS And by its very nature the
a I n one both the bis h op s
nd th e pgoressure ideal blockader is the kn ight
d ne a ay have been - it can support attacks on
�
s e '!"
IS
with. The queen- the passed pawn's defenders
b l o c k a d ed a n d and itself attack them.
72 The Art of Defence in Chess

A successfully impleme ntE!d

�loc �ade ena� les the defe nd.
mg stde to qUickly activate h is
forces. Thus situatio ns Where
with the support of a k nig ht
blockad ing a protected enerny
passed pawn, flank o pera.
tions are carried out , have
l o n g b e c o m e t e x tb o ok
examples.

the game Denker

In -

Smyslov from the U SA-USSR

Match, 1 946, it was with this
aim that Black replaced one
blockading piece (a less
appropriate one - the q ueen)
with another.
28 ... Nc8!
29 h5 Rl8
30 Rl2 Rl7
At first sight White has a
31 h6?
T h i s m e re l y fac i l i tates positional advantage in the
Black's later . . . f5 . But Wh ite game Karasev - Faibisovich,
is still thinking of activity. Len ingrad , 1 977. But -

31 . . . g6
32 Rbl1 Qe7
33 Qg4 Nd6!
The reg rouping is com­
pleted, and the position has
become strategically won.
Wh ite's desperate attempts
to confuse matters can no
longer save the game.
34 Qe6 Nxe4 35 Qxb6 15!
36 Rb2 14! 37 Qe6 lxe3 38
Rxl7 Qxl7 39 Qxe5 Nl6, and
shortly Wh ite resigned.
blockade!
31 . . . 617! 32 RSg3 Ne6
33 Qd2 Qh4 34 R11 gS! 35
lxg5 Qxd4 36 Qxd4 Nxd4 37
Bd3 Bg6
The picture has cha n ged:
Black's pieces have acq Ui. r�d
mobility, and his pa w ns (t�
contrast to the white p asse
pawn ) are ready to adva nc
�
�
And all these ach ie v e m e n
zed
are based on a well o rg ant·
blockade.
 Blockade
38 Re3 f4 39 Bxg6 fxe3! 40
R 41 Nxe3 Kxf8, and
fS + K g7
�
B ack rea
lized his adva ntage.
And to conclude this sec­
ti n we sho
o uld l i ke to remind
th e reader. of a c mmon ?
pract i cal m•stake, wh1ch can
be cal led self-blockad ing.
The inc autious advan�e of
even a single pawn can some­
times lead to the immobilizing
of an entire pawn chain, or of
an entire sector of one's own
position, and one should
beware of such m istakes,
although, of course, no one
is insured against them.
For the mom ent there is no
questio n of a serio us advan
­
tag e for eith
�;tvinnik - er side : the game
Geller, Bu d apest,
52 has just com e out of the
• and he went on to win.
73
opening. Nevertheless, there
is naturally a slight strategic
i n itiative on White's side.
When suddenly . . .
15 a3?
"Self-blocking" was what
Geller later cal led this move.
Indeed, after it the knight at
c5 feels very much at home,
and the b3 sq uare is hope­
lessly weakened. 1 5 Bf4
would have left White with
the better game, as would
1 5 Re2 Nfd7 1 6 Red2 with
pressure on the d6 pawn.
15 . . . Nfd7
1 6 Bf1 Re7
White has made all the
useful moves with his pieces,
and he must begin determined
action. Alas, in this case too
the 'self-blockade' of the
queenside makes itself felt.
17 f4 Nf6
18 Bf2 Bd7
19 e5
Practically forced in view of
the threatened 1 9 . . . Rae8.
19 . . . dxe5 20 fxe5 Ne8 21
Nf3 Bf5 22 Qe2 h5 23 Bd4 Nc7
24 Qf2 N7e6 25 Be3 Rae8
Here we can sum up: Black
has an obvious advantage,
74 The Art of Dolence in Chess

What would you have played?

No. 14
A move earlier Black im­
peded the opponent's pawn
chain by . . . fS. Does this
mean that the blockade has
been i m plemented? Or are
s o m e f u rt h e r measu res
req u i red ?

No. 15
The isolated e-pawn i s no
adornment to White's position.
Perhaps there is some sense
in Black blockading i t by ,

establishing a piece at e4? I f

so, then is 1 9 . Ne4 an
appropriate way of doi g it ?
. .

No. 16
Th is i s a position typi cal of
the N imzo- l ndian Defe nce
and certain other open .lng s.
W hite's streng th l i. es · h iS
.

WO
1n
mobile pawn centre a·n d t
id
bishops. But whe re s hou
Black seek his cha nc es?
6
The versa t1·1 e k.1ng

pawn somewhere
a that k i ngs proved powerless
Wi n
aro u nd mov e 30, and by move in the face of such onslaughts.
60 realize you r adv antage . . . Evidence is provided by,
Ted i ous, yes? Is it not sim pler among others, the famous
to ann ounc e chec kmate to 'immortal' and 'evergreen'
His Maje sty, i.e. to carry out games of Adolf Anderssen,
the basic aim of any chess which we have admired for
gam e, betwe en playe rs of any al most a century and a half,
standard - from begin ners to but in which - alas! - in our
g rand masters? It may not be t i m e a d e q u a te d e f e n ces
sim pler but, you will ag ree, it against the attacks have been
is m uc h more pleasant. This found.
is why for a long time chess "The king is doomed!" - it
battles followed a pattern was under this slogan that
which was accurately de­ chess maestros waged war,
picted by one of the g reatest until it was q uestioned by the
chess thinkers, the second first World Champion Wilhelm
Worl d Champ ion in history , Steinitz. In his theory of posi­
Docto r of Mathematics and tional play, which in time
Doctor of Philosophy Emanuel
�asker: "To place one 's k i ng became the basis of chess
m safety, to prep
strategy, he asserted, in
are an attack particular, that in defence a
by s low
degrees, to decl i ne a king is not only a sickly,
Proterre d sac
r i f i ce we re pampered object of constant
tacrlcs
�� not well unde rstood
d eve n
less esteemed. The
_concern, but also an active

Y
the feve nsh ly dom i nated by
w a s whol
fighting unit. In the highly
popular King's Gambit he
desir e to make a
rus h
.a even proposed the "Steinitz
·

9al � st the host ile k i ng

.

assa· , 0 thi s end fur iou ly to

a nd Variation or Gambit" - 1 e4
less th e obstr
s eS 2 f4 exf4 3 Nc3?! Qh4+ 4
1 ucti ons, regard- Ke2, with the idea of gaining
of the sa
crifices req uired". a tempo by Nf3. And the king
An d
It
· m ust
be adm itted Even without castling it
75
76 The Art of Defence in Chess

will find itself a place and will 7 Kh1 , but, of course mod ern.
day examples a re rn
•

ore
be able to participate, along­
side the other pieces, in its convi nci n g .
own defence.
The defence of the king in
modern-day chess is provided
in the first instance by a pawn
screen, supported by pieces.
There is probably no need to
repeat the rudi ments of chess
theory about the strongest
screening pawn formation -
all on the same rank, or about
the minuses (along with the
plusses) entailed by advanc­
from the
i n g the h-, g- or f-pawn in the
This position
World
event of kingside castling.
Smyslov - Botvlnnlk
Championship Return Match,
T his may allow the attacking
side to break u p the pawns by
Moscow, 1 958, is interpreted
by Professor Mikhail Bot·
a 'bayonet' pawn thrust, or -
as happens m uch more often
- by the sacrifice of a piece. vinnik as fol lows:
And then it becomes u n­ "At any cost Black must
comfortable for the exposed keep the white pawn at h5,
king, but . . . There is stil l one since it will soon be the only
possible way of defending the pawn screen . . . for the black
king - in the absence of his king!"
own pawn screen the player Hence -
can try to hide it . . . behind an 18 . . . gS!
enemy pawn which has broken Black loses ti me, g ives back
through. both of his extra pawns, and
"Sitting" . . . . . i n this way secu res
.
the
safety of his king.
Back i n the period of chess
romance it was on this device 19 BxgS Qd6
that a variation of the King's 20 Rh4 Nf6
Gambit was based (true, for 21 Bxf6 Qxf6
1
22 Rxg4 + Kh8
the sake of an attack) - 1 e4
Oh , wh at cou ld Wh it
e 0�
t to
e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 Be7 4 Bc4
Bh4+ 5 g3 fxg3 6 0-0 gxh2+ gjve for the h5 pawn n o
 The versatile king 77

he . o r for it .
. . � be
�co em a Black resorted to the only
k one. B ut as 1 IS the k mg
t re - _ possibility 25 . . . hS. Now the
c
b1�un a pp roachable, and it is correct 26 gxf5! exf5 (26 . . .
:�rne for White to think about gxf5? 27 Nxf5! exf5 28 Qxf5
ow n m ona rch. would have led to capitulation)
hiS
Kb 1 Rg8 would have retained for White
23
Rb4! a serious positional advantage,
24
although the i mmediate 27
To the defence! Nxf5 also does not work
24 . . . aS
because of 27 . . . Qd7. But
25 Rb6 Bxc3
White decided to deny his
26 bxc3 Rab8
opponent this possibility, and
27 Rxb8 Rxb8 + with the idea of carrying out
28 Ka1 the sacrifice on f5 he chose
The attacking forces of 26 gxh5?
both sides have been ex­
Black's reply came as a
hausted, and the game ended
in a draw.
surprise.
26 . . . g5!
II was the underestimation The white pawn at h5 is
of this defensive device which retained as a shield for the
caused White's downfall in the black king, whereas the eS
game Kayev - Chistyakov' pawn may become weak, for
Kiev, 1 938. example, in variations such as
- 27 fxgS Rxg5 28 Rxg5 Qxg5
29 Rg1 Qxh5 30 Qxh5 Bxh5,
when Wh ite does not have
time to take on e6. Dismayed
by the change of circum­
stances, he chooses a weaker
contin uation.
27 Rce1? g4
28 Qg3?
And here 29 Qg2 would
have been better, for the
moment restricting the black
knight.
28 . . . Nd2
The threats of capturi ng on
78 The Art of Defence in Chess

c3 and transferring the knight after 28 . . . Qxg5+ 29 Kh l th

to e4 are pretty u npleasant. threats along t �� g-file woul:
Now White should have gone have been dec1s1ve. B ut now
totally onto the defensive, for Black plans �ither to play 29
.
exam ple by 29 Bb1 Ne4 30 . . hS, blockmg the k m gsi d
e
.

Bxe4 dxe4 31 Re3, since the or, as occurs in the game, t�

attempt to again seize the sit it out with his king beh ind
initiative does not succeed. the enemy pawn.
29 Bxf5 exf5 30 Nxf5 Qe6 29 gxh6 Kh7
31 Nd6 Ne4 32 Rxe4 dxe4 33 30 Kh1
f5 Qd5 34 e6 e3+ 35 Rg2 Bxe6 Hopes of the h2-h4-h5 are
36 fxe6 Rxc3, and within a few all the same illusory.
moves White resigned . 30 . . . Bc8
The rooks are disconnected,
but the bishop is aiming for
0 f7.
0 0

31 Rg1 Rg8
32 Bg7
With the threat of 33 Qh5
and the sacrifice on g6.
32 . . . f5!
At j ust the right time. The
main striker - the bishop at
b1 - is restricted, and the
I n a radio game between the weakness of g6 can be de·
crews of the ships Cosmonaut fended tactically.
Yury Gagarln and Nikolai 33 Rg3 Bd7
Semashko, 1 982, with his last 34 Rcg1 Be8
move (28 g5) White has 35 Qd2
i m med i ately r a mmed h i s Alas, in chess, in con tr st a
opponent's defences, although to d raug hts (chequers), caP�
the preparation of f2-f4-f5 turing is not oblig ato ry, 6 an
(with the interposition of the elegant variatio n 35 Axf
Qf3) came into consideration. Bxg6 36 Rxg6 Kxg 6 37 Qg
He clearly underestimated Kh7 (37 . . Kf7 38 Qh5
.
rna tej
te
Black's defensive rejoinder.
28 . . . g6!
38 Qxf5+! exfS 39 Bxf5
is interrupted by th e p ros
rn:ic
It goes without saying that 36 . . . Nf4.
 The versatile king 79

35 . . . Bf7 32 Rdh1 Kc8

A pecu l iar demonstration
The co nst ruction of Black's
line is com plete, by Black of the safety of his
defen sive
fice on g6 is easily position. The place for the
the sacri king is at c7, from where it
and after the
mo n itored,
ance . . . aS at a can defend the d 6 pawn;
possib le adv
ent, he will therefore the immediate 32
con ven ient mom
gai n co unterp
lay on the . . . Rcf7 and 33 . . . Kc7 was
queens ide. The gam e soon more accurate.
ended in a d raw. 33 Nd1 Rcf7
"Ru nni ng" . . . 34 Ne3 Rg6
35 NfS Kc7
Self-defence by the king
most often consists of timely White has retained his
running away from the l i ne of spatial advantage, but the
fire. Sometimes this is natural, opponent's king has slipped
but sometimes it demands away and the f2-f4 break has
courage and accurate calcu­ now become double-edged .
lation. In the end the game finished
in a draw.
In two other i nstances, the
running by the king - also
the only means of defence -
took place und er fi re and was
based on tactical n uances.

Sazonov - Khariton
Correspondence, 1 973

1.n
T
the gam e Guf eld
w�':an�v, Mosco w, 1 969, it
-

k. a Journey by the black

��� �hich largely neutralized
•te attack on the king ide.
s s
28 . . .
29 Kg2
Kg8!
Kf7
30 R h 1
Ke7
� 1 R hs
� Kd8
80 The A rt of Defence in Chess

23 • • • Rd6! 28 . . • Rdxd2
Clearing the way for His 29 Qb8 + Ke7
Majesty, and in passing 30 Qxc7 + Kf6!
inviting White . .. to seek The last precise 'step' b
salvation in the event of 24 the king. The plausible 30 . Y
·
cxb7 + Kb8 25 Bb5 c6! Kf8 would have led to �
24 Bxb7 + Kd8 spectacular loss - 31 O xh2!
25 f5 Rxh2 32 c7 Qxe4 33 c8=0 +
The alternative was 25 Kg7 34 Rxg4+! Qxg4 35 f6+
Rg2, but after 25 .. . Bxf4 31 Rxg4 Qe5 32 QxeS +
Black already has compen­ Kxe5 33 c7 Rc2+ Draw
sation for his minimal material agreed.
deficit. By the move played
White not so much attacks
the bishop, as prepares to
close the mating net around
the black king by 26 f6.
25 • • • Bb3!
The diverting of the queen
gains an important tempo.
26 Qxb3 Bxg1
27 Rxg1 Rh2
The resulting p osition
cannot be assessed by normal
criteria: on what scales can With his last move (16
one weigh up differences in Nc3-b5) White has offered a
the activity of the pieces with piece sacrifice in the game
material unbalanced, or in Planinc-Tukmakov, Vrnjacka
Banj a , 1 965, Bl ack
and
the safety of the kings? ...
Nevertheless the initiative is
oe
accepts it, pinning his � p s
probably still with White. on running with his k!n9 ·
28 Ba61? 16 . • • d3!
After 28 Rd1 Qe5! (prevent­ 17 cxd3 QxbS
Rc1 + Kd7
2o
ing 29 f6) 29 Qxf7 g3 Black's 18
19 Rxf7 +! Ke8!
counterplay becomes threat­

28fct6+)
ening, since on 30 f6 Qxf6 31 Weaker is 19
Ke8 �7 witn
· · ·

Qxf6+ Rxf6 32 Nf3+ he has Rc7+ Ke6 (20 .

21 Bd4+! Kd6 2 2
AX
. .

32 ... Rd6.
 The versatile king 81

n u •,..." er
ous threats.
20 Rf3 Qd5
21 Rg3 Kf7!
22 Rc7+ Rd 7
23 Qf2+ Kg8
24 Rc8

In the
game Lobron -
Chiburdanidze, Dortmund,
1983, with his l ast move 1 5
h4 White unequivocally
demonstrated his intentions
of checkmating the black
king, which decided to
The assault has reached defend by . . . m aking a
its peak, and things would jou rney to the queenside. An
seem to be bad for Black. On original decision, but a per­
24 . . . Rf7 White has the fectly possible and instruc­
decisive 25 Rxg7 +. tive one.
24 . . . Kh7! 15 . Kl8 16 e5 dxe5 17
. .

The king's flight concludes, lxe5 Nd7 18 814 Nc5 1 9 Qe3

and the ga me too.
Ke8 20 N e4 Nxe4 21 Qxe4
25 d4 Rl7 8d7 22 Qh 7 8 18 23 8g6!
26 Oxl7 8xl7 With the threat of ·24 Bxh6.
27 R xl8 8g6! 23 . . . 8b5
Whi te's final hope of 27 . . .
�XIS? After 23 . . . fxg6? 24
X!] + 28 Rxg 7 + Kh 8 29
.

1s not rea lized.

Qxg6+ Ke7 25 Rhf1 against
the mate (26 Bg5 + etc.)
28 Rxg6 there is no defence.
Or
Xg6
28 Rx h8+ Kx h8 29 Rxd6
Oe4 .
R 24 Rd6!?
28 The only move; 24
and 29
kxgs Rxh8 Qxa2,
a
v t ack rea liz ed
Sxd6? 25 exd6 and 26 Qg8+
na
B l
•••

his ad ­ (or even 26 Qxg7) is un­

ge.
acceptable.
82 The Art of Defence in Chess

2S exd6 Qc4
26 Bxh6 Qg4!
This defence stifles White's
attack: he has won a pawn,
but his forces are tied up on
the edge of the board.
27 BgS ReS
28 d7 +! Kxd7!
Not 28 . . . Bxd7 29 Bxf7 +
Kxf7 30 Rf1 +.
29 Bxf7 Bc4 dates Match, Vilnius, 1 984
30 BhS Qxg2 Black's position is unenviable:
The pawns, i ncidentally, He is a pawn up, it is true, but
have become level . . . his knig hts lack support (19
31 Rd1 + BdS 32 Od3 Bd6 Rfc 1 is already threatened),
33 Bg6 Qf3 34 Qd4 BeS! 3S and the main thing is that after
Qd2 Kc7 36 Bd3 Kb8 1 9 Bd3 a d irect attack on his
The k i ng , which has king will com mence. And
wandered across the board although it looks suicidal to
from end to end, is now safe, run away with the board full of
and a series o f accurate pieces and the centre open, it
moves by the other pieces was th is plan that Black made
have now given Black per­ the basis of his defence.
haps a slight i n itiative. 18 . . . Qa3!
37 Rf1 Qg4 19 Bd3 Qd6!
38 Be2 Qa4 19 . . Rf5 20 Qe6+ Rf7 21
.

39 b3 Qa3 Bc4 wou ld have lost th e ex·

change, while after 1 9 . . g6
ve
40 Qc1
the wh ite bishop s woul d ha
Qb4 ·

of
It is now White's turn to
torn to pieces the pos i tio n
defend coolly.
the black king - 20 B c4 + K97
41 Bf4!? Qc3 42 BxeS +
QxeS 43 Bd3 Rh8 44 Qa3! 21 d5 Na5 22 Bd4 + KgB
laC
2
;
Qc7 4S Qb4 Ka8 46 a4 aS 47 d6+ · Nxc 4 24 dxe 7, an d B
Qd2 Draw agreed. loses a rook.
20 Qxh7+ Kf7
8
21 RbS
This looks alm ost de AilS
CiSIV ' .

In the 1 1 th game of the

Kasparov - Smyslov Candi- since the tempting 2 1 · · ·
 The versatile king 83

ot work - 22 Bc4 + Kf6 "Standing"

does n
23
. • •

Bg 5 mate. But perhaps However, a king is capable

White sh o uld have preferred
2 1 Bc4 + Ke8 22 Rfe1 Kd 7
23 Qh 3+ Nf5 24 Rb5 with a
g attack.
contin uin
21 ...
22 Qe4
22 Bxd4 Qxd4 23 Rg5 was
also very strong, but here
Blac kwould have resorted to
the planned 23 . . . Ke6! 24
Rxg7 Kd6! (24 . . . Qxgl? 25
Qxg7 RgB 26 Re 1 + and 27
Rxe7, winning a piece) 25
Rxe7 Q
g4 + with a d raw, or
25 Rg 3 Rh8 26 Qe4 Qxe4,
when the worst is over.
22 . . .
22 . . Nxb5 would have lost
to 23 Bc 4 +
.
not only of sitting it out in
hiding or of saving itself by
running away. More often
than we suppose, it can itself
take on certain defensive
Nxd4
functions. Even if we d is­
rega rd the c o n t rovers i a l
exaggerations o f Steinitz,
there s t i l l re m a i n many
examples which demonstrate
the correctness of his theory
regarding the ability of the
king to defend itself. Un­
fortunately, the stereotyped
nature of our chess thinking is
so strong, that we auto­
matically hide our king instead
of g iving h i m a shield to hold.
Rad8! It is only top-class players
who have the courage to do

Kf6 24 0h4 + with th is!

a deci sive attack.
23 Bxd4
The only alternativ e was 23
R d 1 with a furthe
ot the
r sharp ening
pos ition.
23 · · . Qxd4
24R
25 f5 + Nxf5
Oxf5 + Kg8
Th e ki ng l
i5h e a ooks after itself.
2 tte m pt to screen it
a �: Of6? wo uld hav bee
-

�
sta �e: 26
e n
·

Re 1 Bc4 + Ke7 27 In the game Karpov-Savon,

W ith an alm ost
lette· 'epau- 4 1 st USSR Champions hip,
2
m ate.
7 0h7 + Kf7 Draw Moscow, 1 973, White has a
agree d. stable positional advantage,
84 The Art of Defence in Chess

38
determi ned i n particu lar by Even more dism al was
his protected passed pawn . . Bg7 39 Ng5+ K a
g
.

i n the centre. In addition, the

o p po n e nt's l i g ht-squa re
Rxt7 +!, when Black l ose
piece.
s �
bishop is in an u n usual form 39 Qe1 !
What should Black d o n ow·
of imprisonment, and the
dark-square bishop is also
exchang e or al low th e ad�
al most 'encaged'. White has
vance of the e-pawn an d be
only to wrest control of the
mated?
open b-file, and moreover the
exchange of queens or rooks 39 . . . Qc3
will also be in his favour. 40 e6 Oxe1
41 Nxe1
This can be done only by
Naturally , an adjournment
taking the knight to f3. But the
f4 pawn is attacked , and session was not required:
defending it first with the against the threat of 42 e7
queen will mean conceding ReS 43 Bc6 there is no
the b-file to Black. defence.
And so the king itself boldly And all this began with one
takes on the role of defender! single bold move by th e king!
32 Kg3! An example of how th e king
can assume the role of central
Now the invasion at b2 defender is provided by the
loses its point (32 . . . Rb2 game Bronstein - Llsitsyn,
33 Nf3 Rb 1 34 Rb2), and Lening rad , 1 947. Here, in
therefore Black beg ins to addit ion , Black demo nstrated
concern himself over his 7th a who le seri es of defensive
of
rank. means: prec ise measures
32 . . • Rd8
33 Nf3 Rd7
34 Rb2 QaS
35 Qd2 Qc3
36 Bg2 Rd8
Such moves are not made
willingly: Black has neither a
plan, nor the possi bility of
'standing still'.
37 Rb3 Qa1
38 Rb7 + Kh8
 The versatile king 85

e a n. d active defence, Overprotection 'a Ia Nimzo­

pass i v .
, prop h y I ax1s , witsch' in action! The tempting
51· rnpl ifica t,on
thB sac
rifi ce of a paw n, and 22 . . . Rd8 23 Rxd8 Kxd8 24
so on. Nd4 would have led to the
d take � lo � g tim � to
loss of the e6 pawn or of the
11 w oul . so securely defended f5 pawn .
liS1 a ll
of Black s d lff1cult1es:.
.

I d , k mg 23 c5 NaB!
ee n side und eve ope
�� de r fire, mis plac ed k n ight Again the only defence:
23 . . . Nd7 loses to 24 c6! bxc6
13 ... Ke7 25 Nd4.
14 Nc3 24 Nc3 Rd8
With the threat of 1 5 Ne4
25 Nd5 + Kf7
Bd4 1 6 Ba3+. 26 Nb6 Rxd1
27 Rxd1 Nxb6
14 ... f5 28 cxb6
15 Bg5 + Kf7
Each white piece is much
16 Rad1 a6
more active than the oppo­
Considerably restricting nent ' s, except for . . . the ki ng!
White's possib i l ities: now he
does not have the manoeuvre 28 ... Ke7
Nb5-d6. Black's plan of 29 Rc1 Kd6
defence also includes . . . h6, 30 Rc7 h6
. . . Re8-e7 and . . . e5-e4 with 31 b4 e5!
the m obilization of his frozen
Passive defence is replaced
qu ee nside.
by active.
17 Be3 32 Rh7 Bd7
In exchanging the oppo­
nen t's only active piece, White
33 Rxh6 + Be6
a l so renews his pursuit of the
34 a4?!
kin g . From inertia White is still
aiming for a win, but already
17 · · .
Bxe3 there are no objective grounds
18 fxe3 Ke7! for this.
T� e
a9al n
knig ht move to e4 is e4
34 . . .
Par ried.
35 g4?
19 e4
20 exts
g6 A logical finish would have
21 Rfe1
gxl5 been 33 Rh7 ReS 34 Rxb7
Rb8 Rc1 + with perpetual check.
22 Ne2 RfBI 35 . . . Ke5
86 The Art of Defence in Chess

36 gxfS BxfS have been u nable to re tr .

k�111
squange
37 RhS? from applauding. The
By playing 37 Kf2, White itself defends the h5
could sti l l have saved the against i nvasion by the quee�
game. But now Black's i nitia­ ceme n ts together its ow '
tive grows with every move - flank, and i n general "should�
37 . . . Kf4! 38 Kf1 Rd8 39 Bh3 ers its responsibilities" .
Bg6! 40 Rh4 + Ke3 41 Rh6 22 Re3 gxh4! 23 f3 Qgs 24
Be8!, and after the adjourn­ Od2 exf3 25 Bf4 Rd8! 26 Nda
ment Black confidently went Qxg2+ 27 Oxg2 fxg2
on to win : 42 Ke1 Bxa4 43 Bg4 Somehow impercepti bly all
Rd4 44 Rh3 + Kf4 45 Bc8 the wh ite pawns on the king­
Bd1 ! 46 Bxb7 Bf3 Bxe4 (mate side have gone, althoug h the
in two was threaten ed) 47 • • •
battle is not yet decided.
Bxe4 etc. 28 Rae1 as
29 Re2 Ra7
30 Ne5 + BxeS
31 BxeS f4!
Not only ope n i ng a way out
for the king, butalso including
it i n the attack!
33 Rxg2+ KfS
33 Rf2 Rd1 +
34 Kg2 h3+1
And i n view of the variations
35 Kxh3 Kg6+ or 35 Kh2 Rd2

In the game Renet -

with major loss of material,
White resi g n ed.
Chernin, World Team Cham­
p i o n s h i p , L u c e r n e , 1 985,
Black at first sight seems to I n this posit ion (Oautov .­

be i n a critical situation. He Goldin , Kiev, 1 984) a n � �

e peeln­
has a mass of weak nesses enced glan ce will immed •at
. h 11
and his queenside is frozen, notic e, paradoxical thoU9 of
s
and therefore the decision by ma y sou nd ' the .wea k n es
. . . the a2-a8 d tagon a 110
Wh ite to beg i n an attack on I ' The
white bishop, which has, i
·

t,
the king was perfectly justified.
21 h4 Kg6!! opponent, is depl o�ed 0 the
The great Ste i nitz would but the main poin t IS th a t
 The versatile king
17 pawn - the basis of Black's
piece-pawn barricade along
the diagonal - is overloaded,
since it is also defending its
advanced neig hbour at g6. So
that the attack begun by
White looks both tempting
and correct.
30 Nxg6!? fxg6
31 Rxe6 Rxe6
32 BxdS
For the rook White has only
two pawns, but after 32 . . .
Ob6 or 32 . Re7 the capture
. .
with the queen on g6 will g i ve
hi m a th i rd , when he will be
· ·th ree pawns up! Black
. material advantage.
87
saves the situation with self­
defence by the king.
32 Kf71
33 Bxe6+ Kxe6
34 Qxg6+ Kd7
35 Re1 Be71
The black monarch is under
fire, but, firstly, White's three
pawns are ' not for free', and
secondly, access to the e8
square is blocked and Black's
defences are sufficiently solid.
36 dS QcS
37 Qe6+ Kd8
38 Qg8+ Kd7
There is no way of strength­
ening the attack, and perpetual
check would have been fully
in accordance with the de­
mands of the position. But
White overstepped the mark
- 39 Qf7? Kc8 40 Re6 Kb7 41
Kh2 Bf8 42 QfS b4 43 axb4
Qxb4 44 Re4 QcS 45 ReS aS,
which allowed Black gradually
to stabil ize the position, win
the d5 pawn , and realize his
88 The Art of Defence in Chess
What would you have played?
No. 1 7
Having lost the battle i n the
centre and on the queenside,
Black is seeking to save the
game by a cou nterattack on
the king. What device can
White employ?
No. 1 8
Wh ite could have won by
exploiting the p i n on the rook
- 23 Bg2 Bb5 (23 . . . BcB 24
Bc6+, or 23 . . . Ba4 24 Rd3) 24
a4 with the threat of 25 Ra3.
But he chose another way -
23 Rxd7, so as eitherto gai n an
advantage after 23 . . . exds
24 Qxd5 0-0 25 e6, or to
l u re the king into the fire of his
heavy pieces. Wh ich of the
evil s should Black choose?
No. 1 9
"I recommend you the
careful study of this position,
in which White can keep the
balance only by a very in­
genious manoeuvre of de­
fence" wrote Emanuel Lasker
i n his book Common Sense in
Chess. "The questio n co n­
cerns only the next m ove of
White. Black threate n s 1
Qxf3
· · ·
Bxf3 2 Nxf3 Nxf3+ 3
Qe1 +, wi n ni ng. How is W hite
to save his game?
If 1 Rc2 Rxc2 2 Bxc2 QcS ;
Kg2 Nxf3 4 Nxf3 Ne5, Bl ac
will regain the piece a n k d �:�
the pawn plus. 1 Re2 o r 1
is also i nsufficient" .
ite d O·7
What the n sho uld W h
7
M in es on the road

An attack is always mounted

along main li nes of com muni­
cation - whether it be real or
chess warfare. Along open
files the heavy pieces pene­
trate i nto the or-ponent's
reargu ard, and along vacant
ranks reserves are brought up
to the decisive part of the
battlefield. And finally, along
diagonals attacks are mounted
on the king or . . . on weak p i o n s h i p , M oscow, 1 949 ,
pawns. And therefore inter­ White's pawns on the kingside
ference with the main avenues (where he is a pawn up) are
of attack and also the prevent­ far advanced, but it is only
ion of the opening of lines are Black who can be considered
hig hly important defens ive
the attacking side. He is
d evices.
threatening not so m uch . . .
The very conce pt of 'i nter­ Nxh5, as . . . e4 with a direct
ference' contains a h i nt of
attack on the white king. The
sacrifice, and t hat is inde
ed situation is changed by an
the case: to carry
_ out such an exchange sacrifice, 'cutting
�ct 1on 'for free' is pract ically short" the black bishop's
�rnPossible. But in ord er to
I nterru p diagonal.
44
t th e trajectory of an
enerny offe Rd511 Bxd5
� ot beg r u
nsive, one shou ld
dg e maki ng a sacri ­
45 cxd5 Qb6
ICe Fo r 46 Rc6 Qd8
Ofte n
th ·IS a1m It IS most
· · ·

g. .
the exchan ge whic h is Now the initiative is com­
IVe n U p pletely in White's hands, si nce
.
all the opponent's heavy
pieces are shut in.
f:u':'rnathn,e 1 7gthame Ragozin - 47 Qh4! Nxd5
USS R Cha m- 48 Qxd8 Nf4+
89
90 The Art of Defence in Chess
49 Kg3 Rexd8
50 Kg4
White's ki ngside pawns,
which just a few moves ago
were a target for attack, have
been transformed i nto a
powerful force. True, Black
somehow managed to main­
tai n the balance, by returning
the exchange:
50 . . . Ke7 51 Nc7 ReS 52
Nd5 + Nxd5 53 Rxc8 Ne3 +
54 Kh3 Nxf5 55 fla8, but later,
in an i nferior rook end ing, he
failed to find the way to draw.
An analogous device was
employed by Black in the
game Lyublinsky - Botvinnik,
Moscow, 1 943.
With 'normal' play, after
Na4 and Qf2 it is not apparent
how Black can defend his cS
pawn, and with it his entire
q ueenside. Therefore Black's
decision to sacrifice the
exchange, thus preventing
the white pieces from attacki ng
cS, m ust be consid erect
perfectly correct.
25 . . . Rd4!
In this way Botvinnik repai rs
his pawn formation, obtai ns a
protected passed pawn at d4
activates his bishops an d by �
k i n g s i d e pawn offe n sive
seizes the initiative. In Bot­
vinni k's opinion, a significant
role i n its development is
played by the remaining black
rook. Finally, in the practical
sense the psychological
significance of this turn of
events cannot be under­
estimated: from being the
hu nter, White is transfo rmed
into the hunted. It is evidently
this that would explain the
s t ra teg i c m i stake which
Lyublinsky promptly makes.
26 Ne2 Bc8
Of cou rse, not 26 . . . Rxd1
27 Rxd 1 a4 28 Nc3 axb3 29
axb3, when, althoug h he has
rid himself of his weak a·
pawn, Black has 'saved' his
weak c-pawns.
27 Nxd4?
Correct was 27 Bxd4 c xd4
28 Nc 1 followed by N d � ;
blockad ing the passed
.
pawn and attackmg th e
pawns
5.
defending it at cs an d eW ite
SY
_ h
retaining his k � tg ht ,
could have obtat ned a tairiY
 Mines on the road 91

ble pos ition (com pare bishop, White retains his

favo u ra knight, and this together
e follo
win g example) .
th
27 cxd4 28 Bf2 c5 29
• • •
w i t h a t i m e l y c o u n t e r­
sacrifice of the exchange
Af1 fS 30 Bg3 Bd7 31 Ra d1
gives him a sort of counter­
f4 32 Bf2 g5
, counterattack.
Black's initiative is g rowing R b8
oug h the gam e last ed 20 ...
and alth 21 Nf3 f5
more tha n
20 m ore m oves,
22 exf5 gxf5
Wh ite was unable to avoid
Let us hand over the com­
defeat.
I n this case the exchange mentary to Capablanca him­
self:
sac rifice turned out to be a
good practical chance. But it
"The position begi ns to
would be wrong to resort to
this device as a panacea
l ook really dangerous for
aga i nst all ills, as White
White. In real ity Black's attack
is reach ing its m aximu m
demonstrated by his ideal
force. Very soon it will reach
play in the game Capablanca
the apex, and then White, who
- Janowski, Havana, 1 91 3. is wel l prepared, will beg i n his
counter action, and through
his superiority in m aterial
obtain an undoubted ad­
vantage".
23 Nf1 f4
24 Nxd4 cxd4
Lyu b l i n s k y cou l d have
obtained roughly the same
position in the above game
with Botvinnik, had White
taken the rook with his bishop.
The st cture of the position
very m ru 25 Qh5 Bb7
u ch 26 Re1 c5
Previo us one,resemble
and
s the
"He could not play 26 . . .
excha after the
not to� g e o n d4 (White can­ Rea because of 27 Rxd4.
f r �r�te the black knight
o esve � It
Besides, he wants to be ready
90lJ Wil l becom e an alo- to play . . . e4. At present
. Wlth th
that
.
e shght difference White can not with safety play
• nstead of an unw ieldy
.

·
AxeS, but he will soon prepare
92 The Art of Defence in Chess

the way for it. Then, b y giving with Capa blanca's gam e,
th
up a rook for a bishop and a outcom e of his clash W e
Botvi nnik could wel l hav
ith
pawn, he wil l completely
upset Black's attack and been d ifferent.
e
come out a pawn ahead. It is Here are a few furth
on this basis that White's er
exam ples.
whole defensive manoeuvre
is founded", writes Capablanca.
27 · f3 ReS
28 Rde2 Re6
"Now the black rook enters
i nto the game, but White is
p repared. It is now time to
give back the exchange",
Capablanca continues.
29 AxeS · BxeS
30 AxeS Rh6
31 Oe8
And by subtle play in the
White has a great material
endgame the future World
advantage, but the game is
not yet settled. There is t�e
Champion fina l l y managed to
win. threat of the black a-pawn s
These exam ples, l i ke all further advance, and - most
those in the book as a whole, i mportant - the bishops are
are given so as, on the basis of aimed most unequivocally at
individual and very concrete the white king.
practical exam ples, to con­
In the gam e Petrosian
:
-

vince the reader of the

Radulov, Eu rope an . Te
Cham pions hip, Plovd 1v, 1 9·v�
necessity of making general­
izations and i n typical
Whit e solved his defens•
situations of trying t o solve
problems in a radica l way . b�
his own p roblems, arising one0
usin g a rook to bloc k
during a game. Because it is ls .
the bishop s' diago na
much easier to find a correct
solution, by relying on know­ 2S RbS Oc7
ledge. And after a com parison
of the last two positions, it can
26 RbdS!
The threat of 27 Nd 4 torce�es·
confidently be asserted that, Black to win back ���05es
had Lyu b l i nsky been fam i l iar chan ge, and his attac
 Mines on the road 93

strength. White's
a rked l y in
�0 extra pawns are sufficient
.. .
26 . . . BxdS
21 exdS Qd6
28 Rd2!
pro ph ylax is: now the b2
point (Bla ck has no other
target to attack) is securely
defend ed.
28 . . . a4 In the game Vitolinsh -
•

29 a3 Rb8 Mukhin, Riga, 1 972, Black has

30 Ka2 Qb6 j ust sacrificed the exchange,
31 d6! and here he played 30 . . .
The same principle in Qd8!, including his queen in
action: very well, White's the attack on the enemy king.
material advantage may be After 31 Qf3? Qb6 + 32 BcS
reduced , but Black's activity dxcS White resigned, but he
wi ll be exti nguished. White could have parried the threats,
could have clung to the pawn had he based his defence on
by 31 Ne5, but this wou ld have the secure blocking of the
led to unnecessary com p l ica­ main l i ne of attack - the
tions . a7-g 1 d iagonal.
31 Qb3+ This could have been
32
. . •

Kb1 Qxa3 achieved by 31 Bb2! Qb6+ 32

33 d7 Qf8 Nd4 Nd7 (32 . . . exd4 33
34 NeS! Bxes Qxd4 would have led to the
exchange of queens and an
Oth e rwis e the threat of Nc6
can not be pa endgame, where the rook is
rried . clearly su perior to the two
35 Oxes m i nor pieces) 33 ReB+ Kf7
Wi th Q ai n 34 Qc4- Ne3 35 Qc7, and all
5 1 ·I S now threat
QXb8 of tempo·. 36
3 ened . the wi nning chances are
·

37 • • • Rd8 36 Qd6 Qxd6 with White.

R
�d2 Xd6
Kf8 38 Ka2 Ke7 39 Remem ber how Furman
afte; �ns� With in a few m oves, suffered from the blocking of
resig nedmg hi s a-pawn, Black the long light-square d iagonal
. in his game with Ragozin
94 The Art of Defence in Chess
(p.89)? Here t o o the Leni n­
g rad grand master's d ownfall
was the long diagonal, al­
though this time the dark­
square one . But on this
occasion he was the defending
side . . .
In the game Kuzmin -
Furman, 40th USSR Cham­
pionship, Baku , 1 972, Black
is a pawn up and his defences
are secure enough . But
nevertheless all the play still
l ies ahead: White's pieces are
a i med at the king , and the
o p p o s i t e-c o l o u r b i s h o p s
merely i ntensify the attack.
Therefore it was for the
b locking of the highly import­
ant a 1 -h8 diagonal that Black
should have aimed , since he
has nothing with which to
oppose the d4 bishop. To
this end 26 . . . d6! was suitable,
since 27 RxbS meets with the
tactical refutatio n 27 . . . e5!
(this is more convincing than
27 . . . d5 28 Qg6 cxb5 29
Rxh6) 28 fxe5 (28 B b6 Ocar
,
and both white rook s are en.
prise) 28 . . . dS 29 Og 6 c xbs
and the threat of 30 . . . oc 1 ;
with mate d oes not leave
Wh ite time to captu re o n hS.
Whit e wou ld therefo re hav
e
been forced to reply 27 Rc hs
(after 27 Rc 1 e5! 28 fx es dxes
29 Qxe5 Od7 Black lau n c hes
a cou nterattack), but after the
same 27 . . . e5! 28 fx es dxes
the white king is more exposed
than its black opponent.
In the game, h owever,
Black b l ocked the path of the
white rook to the ki ngside and
simultaneously parried the
threatened capture on b5 by
26 . . . dS? But this did not
help in parrying the attack
the wh ite b ishop was too
strong .
27 Qg6! eS
28 BxeS Qa7
29 Rxh6!
Alas Black had reck o ned
'
o n ly o n 29 Bd4 Oe7 wit ha
counterattack.
29 . . . Qxc5 +
30 Kg2 Bf1 +
r s ults
Forced , since ma t e e KIB
from 30 . . . RdB 31 Oh7 + 34
32 Re6 Re7 33 Bxg7 +
Bf6 Rxe6 35 QgB +. whl the
�f:on
30 . . . Qa7 Wh ite ha Ae6 �
decisi ve 3 1 Qh 7 + Kf8 3
Re7 33 Bd6.
 Mines on the road 95

Kx f1 Qc4 + 32 Kf2 Oe4 There followed 1 1 . . . d4!,

31
33 axe4 dxe4 34 Rxc6 a4 35 after which 1 2 Bxd4? was bad
3 1(h7 36 Ke3 because of 12 . . . Bxe5!, as
a An d Whi te, afte r pick ing up was 1 2 Nd3 h5! (a counter­
e 4 pawn , realized his blow in the attacked sector ­
the this device is examined later
mate ri al advan tage.
in Chapter 1 8) 13 g5 Nf5 with
an obvious advantage, as well
as the game continuation 12
Bc4? fxeS 13 fxeS BxeS 14
0-0 Nh6 when Black was a
piece up. But even after the
best move 12 Nf3 c5 Black's
position would have been
close to winning, i n view of
his dominance in the centre,
m o re h a r m o n i o u s p i e c e
arrangement, a n d the threats
of . . . Bxf4 and . . . h5.
In the game Gonsior -

Nova k, Czechoslovakia, 1 979,

it is apparent that White's
aggressive queen sortie has
provoked a number of weak­
enings of the opponent's
kingside, and he is continuing
to attack. But Black has
already prepared . . . Nf5 and
:· · h 5, co mpletely neutraliz­
In g White's offensive .
. . .h ere.
T
I "'1 1at
fo re, to m ai ntai n his
1ve, Whit e chos e 1 0
�5 + Kg7 (obviously bad is At the fi nish of the 1 3th
fxe5? 1 1 fxe5 Bc5 1 2
+ game of the Karpov-Kasparov
· ·

Rf1 B f5
·

1 3 e6 + Kxe6 1 4 World Championship Return

Bxha Wit h the th reat of 1 5 g4 Match, Lond on/Lenir"'grad ,
an d d e . . .
C1s1ve gam of material) 1 986, which was referred to
rep�4•
11
b� t he overlo oked a earlier in Chapter 1 , Black has
lin Y
W h 1 ch c losed the main seized the initiative and forced
�"Dc
e Of a
-H
ttac k • his opponent to solve a
96 The Art of Defence in Chess

number of problems. There the opening l i nes al ong Wh i c

appears to be no defence of
the attacked f4 pawn other
than 34 Oe3 (34 e3?? loses
qu ickly to 34 . . . Qd3 + 35 Ke 1
Rg 1 + 36 Kf2 Rxc 1 37 Bxc 1
Qc2 +), but in this case, after
the preparatory 34 . . . Bf7,
the threat of . . . O h4 is hig h ly
. -
h
an attackin g wa�e may su rg e.
Here the defendmg side often
manages to get by with out
sacrificing at all, or else he
restricts hi mself to mi nimal
loss of material.
.

u n pleasant. White finds a

d ifferent solution .
34 Bd6!
The black queen cannot
now break in through the
centre, and a pawn is not too
hig h a price to pay for this.
34 . . . Rxf4 +
35 Ke1 Rg4
36 Qe3 QgS
The th reatened i nvasion at In the game Krasnov -
h6 has forced Black to ex­ Damsky, Moscow, 1 966, t e h
change queens, after which,
white pieces are still their
on
with the o p p os i te-c o l o u r own territory, but nevertheless
bishops, h i s extra pawn has an attack on the black king
no significance. Within a few may flare up at any moment.
moves peace was concl uded.
19 fS!
Th us the sacrifice for the
With the simple t r of
h eat
20 fxg6, which
sake of cutting l ines of attack,
for all its double-edged
will eith�r
nature, is a device which
b reak u p the black monarchs
·e
pawn screen, or else 91�
should find a place in the n thiS
White the e6 square. I
repertoi re of any player who
is forced to defend.
case, incidentall y, on th�
central e5 square the blac
* * *
en
knight wou ld ha �e be e
whit
have
nicely placed, b ut ItS
Another, related method of oppo nent at e6 wou ld
defence, consists of prevent­ been more effect i ve.
ing, at the necessary moment, 19 . . . g5
 Mines on the road 97

played, preventing the open­

At th is point Black found an
l defensive resou rce ing of li nes - one of the chief
esse n tia methods of defence! - enables
a nd . . felt reassured about
.
Black to save the game. For
the outc o me of the gam e.
example, 24 Rxf3 Ne5 25
20 e4 f6! Qxh6+ Kg8 26 Rf4 Rf7 27
Th is looks l i ke a bl under in Rh4 Rg7, and White has
vieW of the natural continua­ nothing more than perpetual
tion of the attack by White, check.
but .
On 20 . . . Ne5 White
. .

has the extremely unpleasant

'bayonet thrust' f5-f6 (immedi­
ately or slightly later) , while
after 20 . . . Nf6 the black
knight alone can not cope
with the defence of the ki ng­
side.
In addition, White is offered
a tempting bait: by a piece
sacrifice to create i rresisti ble
threats to the king. And that is
what he does.
21 Nf4 gxf4 In the game Katalymov -
22 Og4 + Kh8 Razuvayev, USSR Cham­
23 Qg6 pionship Elimination Tourna­
ment, 1 976, Black is a pawn
Now the white rook goes to
h4 via 14, or else it lands the down, his knight is out of play
con cl uding blow along the at b7, and yet his attack may
cause the white king some
0Pen g-fi le after gxf4. In a
wo rd, there is no defence, a n x i o u s m o me n t s . Mo re
apart from: precisely, it could have done,
if in reply to 31 . . . fxg3 White
23 . . . f3! had replied 32 fxg3. Then 32
b Black wou ld have l ost after . . . Nf4! 33 gxf4 (33 . . Rh6
ot h 23 . . Oe8 24 Qxh6+
.

K 25 was threatened) 33 . . . Bh5+!

2i 8
·

R xf4 Ne5 26 Rh4, and gives Black chances both

ga xt4. ·d�n v .1ng24bac
es Oxh6+ Kg8 25 after 34 Kh2 Rh6, and after
n d rn a k the knig h t 34 Kf2 Rxf4 + 35 Qxf4 Rf8 36
·

fi l e
s. B u
t ' lng on the g- and h- Qxf8+ Qxf8+ 37 Kg1 Qg7+ 38
t th e interposed move
Kh2 Qxc3. But . . .
98 The A rt of Defence in Chess

32 f3! 1 6 b4 aS
Lines for attack are not 1 7 bxc5
opened , and the black g3 1 7 Nd4 is strongly met by 1 7
p a w n p rov i d es exce l l e n t . . . OdS, and 1 7 N a3 by 1 7
cover for the white k i n g . I n . . . Ne4 1 8 Oe3 Oe8.
add ition, here too Black i s 17 . . . axb5
forced to sacrifice a piece. 18 Be7 d5!
�2 • . • Bxf3 By giving u p the exch ange
33 Nxf3 Nf4 Black prevents the openin g of
Or 33 . . . Rxf3 34 OxhS l i nes, and White's strategy is
Rxc3 35 ReB+ , t ransposing i m m e d i at e l y seen t o be
into an ending with the du bious.
'advantage of the two bishops' 19 Qb4 Bd7
against one black knight. 20 Bxf8 Bxf8
34 Re4! ReS 21 Rfd1 b6!
35 Rae1 Resigns. After 21 . . . Rxa2 22 813
Be6 23 Od4 White would have
m a i n t a i n e d a p p ro x i m ate
equality, whereas now the
avalanche of black pawns is
i rresisti ble.
22 Qb3 bxc5
23 Rxd5 Be6
24 Bf3 Rb8
25 Rd2 Bxb3
26 Bxc6 Be6
White can only dream of the
opposite-colour bis h ops a fter
Having sacrificed a pawn in a variation such as 26 . . . Bh6
the game Uhlmann - Vadasz, 27 axb3 Bxd2 28 Rxc5.
Tal linn, 1 977, White continues 27 Rcd1 c4, and on m ove 4 1
the same tactics; increasing White resig ned.
h is lead in development and
threateni ng to break up I n the game Roman ishil1 �

Black's entire queenside. Dolmatov, Mosco w. 19�

1 3 Bf3 Qxc4 White's passed paw n wo�d·
1 4 Be2 Qc6 appear to give him th e
tul
1 5 Rac1 Nc5 vantage. But a mo re care
 Mines on the road
studY of the position allows a
sufficient mean s of defen ce
to be found. Black merely
need s to prevent the openin g
of lines on the queens ide, and
the importance of the passed
pawn will fall sharply.
This is achieved by a typical
procedure.
19 . . . aS!
Now on a2-a4 there follows
. . .b4, while on b2-b4 the
blac k a-pawn takes a step
forward. And from the rear the
White rooks are unable to urge
on their c5 pawn. The game
1s level.
20 Od3 Rfd8
Prophylaxis in the event of
e2-e4 .
21
b3 b4?
BIA serious strategic mistake.
au��-1 "�conthetradi
cts h i mse lf,
open ing of the
irnrn � lde, and his pos ition
que e n
ed ,ately bec
omes diff icult.
22 83 B
cs 23 axb4 a xb4 24
99
Qd4 Rb8 25 Ra6 Qc7 26 Rb6
Rxb6 27 cxb6 Qd6 28 e4!, and
White gradually converted his
advantage into a win.
Petrosian - Fischer
Buenos Aires, 1 97 1
A t the time this game
appeared in chess publica­
tions throughout the world: it
was Fischer's first defeat in
the series of Candidates
Matches for the World Cham­
pionship. But it turns out that
it too could have been avoided
by the American g randmaster,
had he resorted to the defens­
ive device under discussion.
The d iag ram position is
characterized mainly by the
vul nerable position of the
black king. The opposite­
c o l o u r b i s h o p s m e re l y
intensify the attack, and after
the opening of the f-file the
f7 square will become vul­
nerable.
1 00 The A rt o f Defence in Chess

That is in fact what N ice Olympiad, 1974)

c ou ld
happened. have defended, had he hi rn
s 1
23 . . . QhS? not opened add ition al atta
i ng l ines for the oppo n e
c ��
24 f4! e2 nt.
Black is practical ly forced
to win the exchange, si nce
after 24 . . . Bf6 2S AdS the
opponent's attack intensifies
'for free'.
25 fxeS exd1 =0
26 Rxd1 axes
27 Rf1 f6
Or 27 . . . QxcS+ 28 Kh1 f6
(28 . . b5 29 Qe4!) 29 O b3
.

QhS 30 Oe6 and wins.

28 Qb3 Kg7 For the moment White is a
29 Qf7 + Kh6 piece up. But although Black
30 dxe7 fS cannot take the knight im­
31 RxfS Qd4 + mediately - 23 . . Qxd6? 24
.

32 Kh1 Resigns. Bxf4, he can exploit the pin on

Meanwhile, in the diagram
position Black had the chance
to win the exchange, without
opening the fatal f-file. This
could have been achieved by
23 . . . Bxh2 + 24 Kxh2 OhS+
the white bishop and attac k it
with o ne of his pawns.
In the game Black chose
for this the f-pawn, but after
23 . . . f6? 24 Re1! he immedi­
ately resig ned, since 24 · · ·

2S Kg1 e2, and after 26 dxe7+ RxgS 2S ReS+ Kg7 26 Re7+

Kg7! 27 AdS! (avoiding the
trap 27 Rd3 ? Qh1 +.1.1, when
Black wins) 27 . . . exf 1 =0 +
28 Kxf1 Qg6! 29 Qd4+ f6,
although White retains a n
attacking position, neverthe­
l ess n o th i n g d e c i s i ve i s
apparent.
A n d t o c o n c l u de t h i s
chapter - an example o f h ow
Black (in Porlisch - Radulov,
Kf8 27 Rf7 + leads to mate: the
white rook makes sple ndid
use of the open i ng of the 7 th
rank .
Therefore correct was . 23
. . . h6! , leaving the black � ��
re l a t ivel y s h e l te red . e
tactical basis of thi s ���e
l ies i n the d ivert .• �g
0 rol
white queen from 1ts nt c�J(h6
4
of e2 i n the event of 2
 Mines on the road 1 01

invasion 24 . . .
..- the nivesthe Black
ReZ i ngg chances, forexcellent
example,
wi n n
25 axt4? Rxg2+ 26 Kf1 Bc4+ !
27 Nxc4 (27 Ke 1 Re2 +) 2 7 . . .
Qf3+ and mates, or 25 Ne4
Rfxe4 26 Qxc6 (on 26 816
th r
ee follows 26 . . . Rxg2 + 27
Kh1 Rh 4!) 26 . . . Bxc6 27
Rd6 Re6! 28 Rxe6 Rxg2+ and,
despite the opposite-colour
bishops, Black has excellent
winning chances (variations
by A. Zaitsev).
And 24 Re1 is not to be
feared here in view of 24 . . .
Rxg5 25 ReB + Kg7, when it
is White who loses . . .

What would you have played?

No. 20
Can Black's extra rook save
him from defeat? - after all,
1 . . . Qb1 + is met by 2 Ne1 ,
when he has to give up his
queen. O r is this not obl iga­
tory?

No. 21
It is Black to move. But he
is a piece down, the dis­
covered check 38 Rf6+ is
threatened, and if he acq u ires
a new queen (37 . . . 11=0) it
is i mmed iately lost. The
p rophylactic retreat 37 . . .
Kc8 also loses to 38 Rf6 . . .
1 02 The Art of Defence in Chess

No. 22
By playin g 14 Bf1? White
committed an almost text book
mistake and resigned afte r
.
J USt 5 more moves. What
should he have done?

No. 23
It was l i ne-interference
which saved Black i n this
seemingly hopeless ending.
But how to p repare for it?
8
Escaping from custody

"A pinned piece's defensive d2 . Moreover . the pin is an

powe r is only imaginary . He absolute one - behind the
rook, the king is hiding. In an
only makes a gesture as if he
wou ld defend ; in reality he is attempt to defend, White
cr ipp led and i m m o b i l e " , chose:
wrote Aron Nimzowitsch i n 14 Qc2?!
his chess classic My System. 1 4 Bd3? f5 is not good, but
And he continued : "It is very the interposition of 14 c5!
profitable to play for the win would have helped - 14 . . .
of the pinned piece" . . . Oxc5 1 5 Bd3 f5 1 6 Qc4 with a
Indeed, a countless n u m ber roughly equal game.
of games have been won by 14 . . . eS
the fact that a pinned piece or 15 Bg3 e4!
pawn became fi rst an object 16 Qxe4
of constant concern, and then The paradoxical 1 6 Ng 1 !?
was l ost .
wou ld perhaps have been
more tenacious, intend i ng to
transfer the knight to c3 and
b reak the pin.
16 . . . BfS
17 Qf4 Rxd2
In accordance with Nimzo­
witsch: an exchange on the
pinning square and a new
pin, with Wh ite now having
one less defendi ng piece.
1 8 Nxd2 Rd8
19 e4 Bg4!
I
&kyn th v./� Qame Mlles-Belyav- With the th reats of 20 . . .
has' an extra pawn1 983d, White
IJ
•Jk aan Z ee, Bg5 and 20 . . . Bb4!
20 cS
�'� Pl ea an . .. an
sa
.

nt Pin on his rook at By bloc k i ng the 5th rank

1 03
1 04 The A rt of Defence in Chess
and the a3-f8 diagonal White
delays the end, but that is
all; 20 Oe3 was also inadequate
- 20 . . . Bb4! 21 Bd3 Bxd2+
22 Qxd2 Rxd3 23 Qxa5 Rd1
mate.
20 . . . Nb4!
21 f3
Or 21 axb4 Oa1 +, or 21
Be2 g5!
21 . . . gS!
22 axb4
22 Qxg4 Nc2+ leads to
mate.
22 . . . Qa1 +
23 Ke2 gxf4
Th ree moves later White
resigned .
B u t . . . By no means every
pin is so fatal for the defending
side - this is apparent even
from the above game. Ways
of breaking a pin have long
been known, such as driving
away the pinning piece,
moving out of the pin - with­
drawing the screened piece
or bringing less valuable
fighting units to its aid. There
is no real need to give ex­
amples: every player is familiar
with them .
Here we should like to draw
attention to two other features.
The first: breaking a pin
(apart from by the ways listed
above) may also be possible
i f the defendi ng side creates
a counter-threat agai nst a
vul nerable point of the o p p0_
nent's. Such opportun iti es
should not be overlooked, a s
they occur constantly.
In the game Doroshkevich
- Zilbershtein, Rostov-on­
Don, 1 972, after the fall of the
pinned c-pawn White should
win even in the event of 1 9 . . .
Oxa2, so active are all his
pieces . . .
19 . . B h 3!
By the threat of mate Bla ck
.
withdraws his queen to a
defended position, brea ks t he
pin, and takes play into a
d rawn ending.
20 gxh3 Qg5+ 21 Kf1 cxd4 �
QxgS hxgS 23 exd4 Rad8 2
Rb4 Rfe8! , with the inevita b : �
o
exchange of one pai r of ro
. 9 ca n
(othe rwise the white k 1 n
n
a d
never reach the ce ntre) n
equal ity. With such a b r� s �:
pawn f o r m a t i o n , Wh '
 Escaping from custody 1 05

ex t ra pawn is of no particular
nce.
si gn ifi ca

In the game Durao-Smejkal,

For an i nstant White is a
rook down in the game
Kruusnauk-Kostina, Tiraspol,
1974, but he is intending to
pick up the pinned bishop.
And 32 . . . ReS does not help;
after 33 Qb3+ Kc7 34 R xc6+
Skopje Olympiad, 1 972, White's
play is based on the pin of the
bishop at c6. Black decided to
move the screened piece -
his queen: 21 . . . NxdS 22
QxdS Qe7 23 Qc5 Qf6, and
White, after returning the
pawn 24 BgS QxfS 25 Bd3
-

Qe6 26 Rf1 , established piece

Black's chances of saving the
game are slim.
But he managed to d is­
entang le himself by mounting
a far from obviou s attack on
the white king.
control over the entire board
and very quickly won.
Meanwhile, Black could
have broken the pin by inter­
posing 21 . . . e4! Now 22 Od4

32
Nxd5 23 Qxd5 does not work
... Rxf3!
33
because of 23 . . . Qxg3, and
Bxf3 Rxf3 after the forced 22 Nxc7 exd3
And it transpires that on 23 Bxd3 (23 NxaB dxe2 24
34 0xf3 Black removes his Nb6 RdB 25 Re 1 Rd1 26 Bf2
Quee n fro m the pin with check
Ne4 is dangerous for White)
-01234 . . . Oxd4+, and after 35 23 . . . Rad8! Black has a good
0d1 + 36 Qf1 Qxf + 37
1 game, despite being two
Kxf 1 Bb5+
Pt_ ece up.
he em erges a pawns down. For example,
24 Bb6(g5) Nh5!, with an
. Wh ite
d lif ere preferred to lose in a attack on b2, since if 25 Rh3
n t way - 34 Qd2 . . . Bxg2 +.
1 06 The Art of Defence in Chess
And the second point: the
defending side can some­
times find the most radical
solution to the problem -
s a c r i f i c i n g the screened
piece! Grounds for this occur
much more often than we
i mag ine. We must merely
force ourselves to renounce
the scale, acquired from
childhood, of relative piece
val ues - experience con­
stantly confirms the opposite.
It was no accident that, back
in 1 929, one of the most dis­
ti nguished chess reformers
(from the viewpoint of its
understanding) Richard Reti
justifiably commented:
"During recent years, in
place of the Stein itzian static
assessment of position (weak
poi nts etc.) or, it would be
better to say, in addition to it,
the dynamic assessment of
position has been advancing
more and more persistently.
Seemingly poor, cram ped
positions may prove to be
good, if they contain latent
strength . . ."
Since that time the dynam­
ics of the pieces has acq uired
a still greater role: in modern­
day chess this is one of the
main (if not the main!) factors
in the assessment of a posi­
tion. In such cases a material
deficit can be disregarded .
In the game Bilek-Giigoric
Teesside, 1 972, for all th�
dou ble-edged nature of the
position, Black is faced with
several problems: how to
escape from the pin, how to
give up as dea rly as possible
his doomed pawn at e4 . . For
Nf3 23 Bxf3
.
example, 22 .
(23 Nxe4 ? Nxe4! 24 BxdB
. .
Ng3 mate) 23 . . . exf3 24
Qxf3 Qb6 25 b3 Rae8, al­
though in the distant future
such a turn of events does
not g ive hopes of saving the
game. Black resorted to more
determ ined measures.
22 . .
. Bf8!
23 Nxe4 Nxe4!!
24 Bxd8 Ng3 +
25 Kg1 Rxd8
s
For the q ueen Blac k ha
W
only two pieces, but hO
active they are!
26 Rf3
Th e knigh t at d4 is wo rth a
rook. Besid es, on 26 R f2 there
would have followed 26 · · ·
 Escaping from custody 1 07

d3 Rde8, when White

h 6 27 Q
6 n n ot hold his e3 poin t .
ca
2s . . . Bd6
21 Qd3 Rde8
28 Raf1 ?!
trouble White tries
In ti m eoff"
"bUY the opponent's
�o u ntin g activity, but he
his material advan­
l oses all
tage. Itis true that 28 Rf2
Nde2 + 29 Rxe2 Nxe2+ 30
Kf1 Rxg2 ! would have l ost, but 8 ... gS?!
28 Rd1 Re2 29 Rd2 was more
In princip le, a typical pawn
tenacious.
storm against an already
28 . . . Nxf1 castled position, but at the
29 Rxf1 Ne2 + same time Black consciously
30 Kh1 enters the zone of enhanced
Or 30 Kf2 Bg3 + 31 Kf3 risk. The basis for this is the
Nd4+.
3
rejoi nder prepared on move
0 Ng3 + 31 Kg1 Nxf1 1 4.
32 Kxf1
. • .

Rg3 33 Qd1 RegS, 9 g4 bS

winning the bishop and the 1 0 Bb3 Bg6
game.
1 1 d4 hS!?
In a counterattack, activity
is essential. The passive 1 1
Th e following example . . . h6 1 2 dxe5 fol l owed by
cl osely borders on another the reinforcement of e4 would
sectio n have left the bishop at g6 shut
the sac rifice of the
jueen -

fo r a counte rattack. in for a long time, if not for

01 is natural: 'pure' eleme nts
hi s ever.
ch ess strat
egy and tact ics 1 2 BxgS
occ ur rat
her rarely but the After the game it was
Wh�
I de •

of �scapin g from the p i n ,

established that White could
ch hes
at the basis of
�ea�k
81
l.
.s
enti re plan i n Ciric
have gained an advantage by
12 Nxg5! hxg4 1 3 hxg4 Qd7
e
Do rn tdi nov,
-

Ro sto v-on ­ ( 1 3 . . . Nxe4 d oes not work

ext�� 1 96 1 , is
rn ely cle
expressed because of 14 Bd5) 1 4 f3,
arly. with that same imprisonment
1 08 The Art of Defence in Chess

of the opponent's lig ht-square Ne7, not allowing t he Wh "

te
bishop. In White's defence it kn ight in at f5 and mai ntai ni �
should be said that he simply all the threats. But i n a g
ny
did not anticipate the oppo­ case, h avmg brok en t h
.

nent's radical breaking · of Gordian knot of the pin , Bl ac

.
would have se1zed the initiative
�
the pin . .
12 . . . hxg4 In gen e ral it sho uld be said
1 3 Nh4 Bh5 that , by overcom ing certain
14 Bd5 rules of conservatism in one's
Both black knights are thinking and by comi ng to
pinned, and loss of material, ' believe' in the legitim acy of
major loss, is inevitable. Why this device, one can success­
then did Black readily go in fully solve problem s arisi ng
for this position? at the board. This is what
14 ... Nxd5!! happened , for example, in
15 Bxd8 Nf4 the game Nezhmetdinov -

16 Qe3 Nxh3 + Sokolsky, Kiev, 1 957, where

17 Kg2 Nf4 + Black, by employing a theo­
18 Qxf4 retical innovation, counted on
Fearing a mating attack being the first to begin active
after 18 Kg3 ( 1 8 Kg 1 Bh6 is play in the centre.
worse) 18 . . . Rxd8, White
i m m e d i ate l y re t u r n s t h e
queen and remains a pawn
down. Indeed, in variations
such as 19 Nf5 Bg6 20 Kxg4
(or 20 Qd2 Rh3 + 21 Kxg4
Bh5 + 22 KgS Ne6 + 23 Kf6
Rf3!, with the unavoidable
24 . . . Bel mate) 20 . . . Rg8!
with the th reats of 21 . . .
Bxf5++ 22 Kxf5 Ne7+ 23 Kf6
Rg6 mate and 21 . . . Bh5++
It is White to m ove
Atte;
8 Qxg7 Rg8 he si m p l y
22 Kh4 Rg4 mate there appears
.

10.585 8
· a uon
to be no defence, but after
piece . and in the van a
1 9 Nd2 Black would sti l l have
had to demonstrate his case, Qxd4 Nbc6 9 Qf4 d��Z+
pawn . Final ly, 8 Ne4 riY in
lea
9 Nxd2 Nf5 is also c
either by the di rect 1 9 . . .

Bh6, or by the flexible 1 9 . . .

 Escaping from custody 1 09

Bl ack 'S
favour. 1 4 moves: 9 . . . Nbc6 10 b5
Wh ite nevertheless found a Nxe5 1 1 Qxg7 N7g6 1 2 h4 h5
sol uti on.
1 3 Rh3! Bd7 1 4 Nf3! Nc4 (or
9 axb4! Qxa1 + 14 . . . Nxf3+ 15 Rxf3 0-0-0
9 Nd1 16 Ra3 Qb1 1 7 Bd3 with the
terri ble threat of 18 c4) 15
scorn i ng the pin, White Bxc4 dxc4 16 Ng5 0-0-0
has excl uded the enemy 17 Ra3 Qb1 18 Rxa7 c3 19
queen from the s � here of bxc3 Qxb5 (at last the black
.
acti vity, at a rather h1gh pn ce, queen comes into play, but it
it is true. On the other hand, is too late) 20 Nxf7 Kb8 (after
the qu estion has now been 20 . . Rhg8 White wins by
.

tra nsferred onto a plane to both 21 Qxd4, and 21 Qxg8

which chess is accustomed:
which is more i mportant -
passive material or active
spirit?
The answer was provided
by White winning within just
with the threat of 22 Nd6+)
21 Nxh8 Rxh8 22 Ra1 Be8
23 Qxd4.
Here Black resig ned, and
after this his enti re opening
idea was shelved.

What would you have played?

No. 24
Here White played 28 e4,
for some reason not especially
fearing the forcing variation
28 . . . Nxe4 29 Nxe4 dxe4
30 Rxe4 f6. Was he right?
1 10 The A rt of Defence in Chess

No. 25
In t h is fantastic P OSiti on
both the black and Whit
k n i ghts �re pi � ned . Th :
differen ce 1 n the p ms is n ever­
theless obvious - what
fol l ows from this? It i s White
to mo ve.

No. 26

16 Ng5
In this way White decided
to ac hieve either a positional
advantage - 1 6 . Of5(16 . .
15 1 7 Nxe4 fxe4 18 b3 Rc8 19
. . .

Qb2) 1 7 Nxe4 Bxe4 18 f3 B b7

( 1 8 . . . Ba8) 1 9 Rd 1 , or a
material one -1 6 . . Oxg5 .

1 7 Qxg5 Nxg 5 1 8 Bxb7, when

the threat of trappi ng the
k n igh t by 1 9 h4 does n ot leave
Black time to defend his a6
pawn. Moreover, White's pla n
is based on the pin on the
knight at e4 . . .
9
Ret urn ing to the M iddle Ages . . .

Th.e re is nothing surprising i n The princi ple of an ideal

this: that was the time when a
single lone kn ight with a
han dful of troops :1ad the
chance of surving against an
immesurably greater enemy
force. To do this he had to
lock hi mself in his ancestral
castle, standing on some cliff,
raise the drawbridge, lower
the portcullis and . . . hope
that the besiegers would go
away before hunger set i n
i n the castle.
In the same way the de­
fen der in chess can often find
� refuge. This i s a so-cal led
fortress': an arrangement of
the pieces and pawns in which
the superiority of one side
Proves insufficient for victory.
fortress i s illustrated by this
wel l known composition.
1 Ba4 +! Kxa4 (1 . . . Kc4
does not change things) 2
b3 + Kb5 3 c4 + Kc6 4 d5 + Kd7
5 e6+ Kxd8 6 f5, and Black is
unable to break through this
chess 'Mag i not line'.
. The most i nteresting fact i s
that such barricades arise not
only in artificially created
compositions, but also i n
actual play. Of course, i n the
game A. Petroslan - Hazal,
Be lgium, 1 970, it was a know­
ledge of this defensive pro­
cedure which suggested to
Black a seemi ngly paradoxical
move.

32 • . • Qb6!?
111
1 12 The Art of Defence in Chess ·

The bait proved too attract­

ive, and i nstead of the slow,
but perfectly logical and
consistent manoeuvre 33 Qd2
followed by Kb3, Nb2, Ka4,
and Nd3-c 1 -b3 winning the
a-pawn, White was tempted . . .
33 Nxb6+? cxb6
34 h4
This is what White was
counting on, but . . .
34 . . . gxh4 will beg i n to penetrate into
35 Qd2 h3! enemy territory.
36 gxh3 h4 The savi ng idea is expres­
. and elegant: 1 Kd1 Rh2 2
Sive
The fortress is erected! -
d raw. Ke1 !! Rxg2 3 Kf1 Rh2 4 Kg1
Even so, it is unlikely to
Rh5(h6, h7, h8) 5 f3, and the
gates of the castle slam shut.
happen very often that blocked
This 'one-rook' ending is
pawn chains will be kept
d rawn: as long as the rook
intact until deep i nto the
stays on the h-file, the white
middlegame or especially the
king moves between g l and
endgame. A fortress can more
g2, while if it moves to the
often be constructed because
e-file, then the king moves
ind ividual pawn islands block
between f1 and f2. It is also
the path of the enemy king,
not possi ble to break open the
and control the i nvasion
pawn chains on the queen­
squares into their territory.
side: after . . . aS White replies
This idea is em bodied in, so to . . . a4 with b3-b4, and to · · ·

to speak, purely refined form� b4 with a3-a4.

uld
in a famous study by Chek Usin g this idea , Blac k co
an d
hover, 1 947. have created a fortress
a rn e
Moscow.
White's material advantage d e fe n d ed i n t h e g
is only nominal, since the Khramov - Roshal,
rook is threatening to invade 1 970.
i ci ng
the 2nd rank and wi n the f2 After tempo rarily sacrif d
pawn (1 Bf3 Rh2), after which
t
his queen , Wh ite was i n o
en �
t
the g-pawn will be either lost ing to regain it and g o in J( :ra
)e
or halted and the black king end i ng with two (or one
 Returning to the Middle Ages 1 13

Benes - Hofman
Hungary, 1 981

pawns. And that is what

happ ened after 30 Nh3 +(!!)
• • •

- the exclamation marks are "The fortress is secure!",

given in brackets, because
this savi ng move was not
associated with the correct
defensive idea - 31 Kf1
Nf4(??) 32 Rd8 + Qxd8 33
Bxd8 Nxd5 34 g4 etc.
But Black could have
played 31 . . . Kc8!! 32 Rd8+
Oxd8 33 Bxd8 Kxd8! 34 gxh3
b6 , when White's extra pawns
woul d not have brought h i m
victory . The fortress walls are
unbreachable , and the black
k i ng moves between g8 and
h8, from whic h there is no way
Of dri ving him out . . .
Eve n so, it shoul d be re­
rnembered
that even the
erec ted
wal l s of a fortress
Black evidently thought, and
he carelessly lifted his over­
protection (this is a further
exam ple of its use) of eS.
37 . . . Be7?
38 c5!
The carelessness is im­
mediately pun ished. Now the
fortress collapses both after
38 . . . dxcS 39 BxeS, and after
38 . . . bxcS 39 aS, when by the
advance of his pawn to a6
White ensures the invasion of
his king at c6.
38 . . . Bf6 39 cxb6 cxb6 40
Bc1 Be7 41 Be3 Bd8 42 Bf2
Bc7 43 Bg1 !
Zugzwang i s assured 43
-

sometim . . . Bd8 44 Be3.

es requ ire surveil­
lanc e, Ka7
� at roJ s
an d tak ing away the
from on e of the
43 •

44 Kc&
• •

· lJrrets·
may me an co nde m n­ The position contains a
;�g a s?e min
c ap it u
gly secure citade l dual sol ution: White also wins
latio n. by 44 aS Kb7 4S Bxb6 (but not
1 14 The Art of Defence in Chess

45 axb6?? BdB, when there is sac rific e of the bish op

fo
again a fortress on the board ) . paw n is ins uff icie nt, l e
adi �a
44 . . . Bb8 45 Bxb6 + Ka6 to op posite-c olo ur b is
Draw agreed.
hoPs. g
46 Bc7 Resigns.
Often a fortress arises
because the only path of the
enemy king into one's position
is b locked by one's own king.
This situation also occurs
more often than it might seem.

In the game Polugayevsky­

Zakharov, Leningrad, 1 963,
Black's advantage is quite
sufficient for a win. But he
was tempted into simplifying
the position, overlooking the
u nexpected speed of the
In the game Kobaladze - white king.
Tsereteli, Tbilisi, 1 970, after 54 ... Bxb2?
43 . . . Na8 44 Bh5+ Kf8 Black 55 Kxc7 Kf7
was defenceless against the 56 Kd6 Kf6
king march Kc2-d3-e4-f5-e6 57 Kd5 KgS
with the 'confiscation of the 58 Kc4!
entire black estate'. But in s
Just in time the king reache
adj o u r n m e nt a n a l y s i s he f1 from where it bloc ks the
managed to find a saving idea. '
Path of its b lack oppon ent W
43 . . . Ke8!! the key g2 pawn, and 9 1 v
0
en
0

sl iP
44 Bxb6 Ke7 the opp ortunity it wil l
r 10 �:
thro ugh to h 1 , in o rde
1
The king securely guards
the invasion paths, and there stal e mat ed. The �ate ofli rtle
is no zugzwang - the black e- and f-pawns IS of 11
bishop can move. White's con cern to White : th eY
rn
c�11
e
extra piece is shut i n , and the sim ply be g iven up. Th
 Returning to the Middle Ages 1 15

hat the fortress has by a g reater material ad­

ng is t
·

�· � vitable.
en ere
cted and a draw is vantage.
43 . . .
ne Ke8?
1An other proc
edure whi ch With the threat after 44 . . .
ust be the considered very Kd7 and 45 . . . Re2 of winning
�p when acreation
ic al is of a
rook and a
the knight for the d-pawn
alone. But White is able to
fo rtress
minor piece (or often just a save the game by force.
rook on
its own) oppose a 44 Nxc2! dxc2 45 Rxc6 b3
queen. In isolation even the 46 Kh2 b2 47 Rc8 + Ke7 48
strong est piece i s not able to Rc7 + Kf8 49 Rxc2 b1=0 50
do anything, and in such Rc8 + Ke7 51 e5
cases the aim of the fortress A fortress has arisen, which
is to cut off the enemy k i ng over the cou rse of more than
from the
queen. As, for ex­ 30 m oves Black was u nable to
ample, in the fol lowing case.
take either by storm or siege.
Draw.

R. Byrne - Taimanov
I nterzonal Tournament,
Leni ngrad, 1 973

�n the 6th game of the

kolov - Va
���s Match, gaMniai nskn , Ca1 985
nd i
�
dra�� hgas merely i nsigni ficant
natu rm cha nces after the
a
White's advantage is so
45 l 4 3 . . d2 44 Kf1 Nd4 great that it would seem at
4? �Xb4 Rc 1 +
·

46 Kf2 d 1 = 0 first that the struggle should

enne rXd 1 � X d 1 , wheri Black
s Wi th a piece for two
not last long. And the course
Paw nQes. B ut
of the game confi rmed this
he was tem pted dismal prognosis.
1 16 The Art of Defence in Chess

movi ng from g6 to es
rand
36 . . . Nd3
Oak
37 Qd2 Na3 back again, Blac k's
38 Ra1 Re1 + prevents the white kin g f
. .
rorn
To save the piece, Black is en tenng h 1s territory .
forced to exchange rooks.
39 Rxe1 Nxe1
Or 39 . . . Rxe1 + 40 Bf1 Ne5
41 Kg2, and further l osses for
Black are i nevitable.
40 Qd7 Re2 41 BdS Resigns.
But meanwhile, in the dia­
g ram position a miraculous
saving resource was l urking
very close. Leading to it was a
forcing variation, at the end
of which was a fortress
approved of by theory, but, Here i n the game Vitolinsh
alas, somehow forgotten by - Kozlov, Yalta, 1 975, White
Black: gained a promising position
36 . . . Nxc3! 37 Rxb2 Re1+!
by a tem porary pawn sacri­
fice:
18 cS NxcS 19 Nc4 Qc7
3 8 Bf1 (38 Kf2? Nd1 +, and

20 dxc6 Bxc6 21 Nxd6 Re&

only Black has winning
chances) 38 . . . Ne2+ 39
Rxe2 R8xe2.
There is now the threat of
. . . Rb2 (c2)-b1 (c1 ), winning
the pinned bishop. It is true
that it can be parried by 40
Qc4 ( incidentally, the only
move), but then - 40 . . .
22 BxeS Nfxe4 23 Ne8
o to reaop
Has the time c m e
the dividen ds? Yes, had n t
general
Blac k i n fact forced a
exchange , thereb y obtaining
an impreg nable fo rtress.
QxeS! 24 Nxe5 sxe �
25 Qc4 Raxe8 26 f3 Sxa1 2
23 • . .

fxe4 Bc3 28 Qxc5 Sxe4 29

Rxf1 + !! 41 Kxf1 Rxh2 42 g4
g5! (the tempting 42 . . . h5?
Bxe4 Rxe4 .
would have caused Black
S
The exchan ge of ro ok thB 15
c
unnecessary difficulties after
t
will
43 Qc8+ Kg7 44 Qc3 + Kg8 inevitabl e, after w h" h
45 Qg3 Rh 1 + 46 Kg2 and 47 remain ing black rookd it
gxh5) 43 Oc8+ Kg? 44 Qf5 take u p posit ion at e6 a�ing
Rh6 45 Qxg5+ Rg6, and by to
will be suff icien t the
r
 Returning to the Middle Ages 1 17

to m ove around the f7 pawn. boundaries of which, it is true,

are rather eroded .
3rd game of the
24 h4
I n th e
Petrosian Candi­ The fortress is erected!
tliib ner -

dates Match, Seville, 1 971 , 24 ... Rxd4

the outlin e of the fortress con­ 25 Rxd4 Qxd4
ceived by White was less 26 Bxb7 Kf8
obviou s. 27 Bf3 Qf2
Here the players agreed a
draw: there is nowhere for the
black ki ng to break through.

Black defended in analogous

fashion in the correspond­
ence game Dubinin - Khasin,
1 970-72.

Despite h i s t e m p o rary
material advantage, White
has every reason to fear an
attack on the queenside, for
examp le after 20 Qe3 Ra5 21
a3 Ob3. Therefore he decides
on a queen sacrifice.
20 Qe4! g6
21 Bc411 Bf5 Although material is nom­
22 Bxd5 Bxe4 + inally equal, the advantage is
23 Bxe4 Rd8 nevertheless with White: he
2523B · · · Oe6 24 Bxb 7 R b8 reckons, after safeguarding
f
rr!" 9 h t
3 Qf5+ 26 Ka 1 Qxg5 his king, on commencing
�
c ances
Perh aps have left some active play. Therefore Black
f a r- s i g h te d l y sets a b o u t
strugg le, of cont inuin g the erecti ng a fortress across the
th Pos alth ough even here
lic�:t�ed
i tion m ust be con­ entire board.
si l evel. But now simpli -
lo n l eads to
25 . hSI 26 h3 Nf6 27 Kh2
. •

a for tress , the aS! 28 Rd2 R4c6 29 Qd1 Re6

1 18 The A rt of Defence in Chess
30 Rd8+ Rxd8 31 Qxd8+
Ne8!
Ensuring the set-up . . . g6
and . . . Kg7. There is nowhere
for White to break through.
Draw.
And here is an example
where one of the participants
in ijn el imi nation tournament
for t he Junior Championships
of tl:'le World and Europe failed
to avail himself of this method
of defence.
Andrlanov - Voitkevich
Sochi, 1 980
After 29 QdS Bxf4 30 gxf4
Qc8, with material equal the
initiative is completely i n
Black's hands; in addition the
endgame (31 . . . Qb7 is
th reatened) is in his favour.
Meanwhile, in the diag ram
position White had the possi­
bility of erecting a fortress in
the va,riation 29 Rxf7! Qa8+
30 Rf:\.Bxe5 31 Bxe5 Qe4 32
Bf4! (preventing the immediate
. . . gS) 32 . . . Oxe2 33 a4 Oe.t
34 h3 foll owed by g3-g4, Kg3
and the rel�ase of the ro
ok
from the pm. And if Bl
ack
plays 34 . . . h5, then after 35
BgS and 36 h4 White can ev
en
live with the pin: the bl ack
king is shut in, and moves wit
h
the b,ishop g uarantee him
agai nst zugzwang.
Frequently a fortress is
achieved with the help ofa
trap - this defensive pro­
cedure will be described later.
This occurs when, in the heat
of the battle, the stronger side
forgets about the very exist­
ence of the fortress, but the
weaker remembers and by a
ro u n d a b o u t way ' s tea ls
through' into the fortress.
In the gam e Kholmov
-
Stetsko, Moscow. 1972, p e���
three paw ns wou ld n ot b
e
k on·
equiv alent of such a 1
b"shO
ttac
a
With its sup port th e
and in
f2 seems dangero us.
 Returning to the Middle Ages 1 19

a dd iti on the b2 pawn is 38 Rxd4 Qxc5

'ha n gi ng ' . . . White resorts to 39 Rg4+ Kf6
a t ra p, as his last chance. 40 Rh4
35 b4 ReS?!
Draw agreed. White's task
The overture to a m istake
. . 35 . . Be5 was one way to
. .
is merely to . . . get rid of his
b- and c-pawns. It is not
win sim ply (but not 35 . . .

d ifficult to do this. And then

Qc 1+ 36 Kg2 Qxc4 37 Qg4+
his rook will ply between f4
KhB 38 bxc5, winning back
the piece).
and h4, not allowing the black
king forward and not allowing
36 bxc5 Rf5? the opponent an appropriate
The mistake itself! moment to sacrifice queen
37 Qxf5! Qxf5 for rook and pawn.

What would you have played?

No. 27
Havi ng sealed 43 Rc2 in this
adjourned position, White
was i ntending after 43 . . .
Re6 44 f5! Re3 45 Bxb6 to
obtain good prospects thanks
to the activity of his pieces,
both after 45 . . . Rxb3 and
after 45 . . . Rxh3. Alas, Black
fou nd an antidote . . .
1 20 The A rt of Defence in Chess

No. 28
Black undoubted ly has
winning chances, but even
so White could have offered
a tenacious and not u n­
successful resistance. How?

No. 29
We will say straight away:
White lost this position.
Mainly because he incorrectly
formulated his task. What
should it have been?

No. 30
To all appearances, t �e
passed pawn will cost Wh ite
a piece, and he will be left
with a rook against a queen .

So, should he resign ?

10
Lo o k out: a trap!

Th ere is probably no chess

p laye r who, in a winning
position , has not discovered
to his horror that an i m m i nent
win has suddenly tu rned into
a defeat or at best a d raw. The
cause of this is a trap. It can be
defined as a manoeuvre,
which at first sight gives
definite advantages to th.e
other side, but which in fact
lures the opponent i nto a
situation unfavourable for In the game Schmidt - Pirc,
him. N o rd v i k , 1 938, B l a c k is
A trap normally · reveals cramped, but the calm 29 . . .
itself after an u nexpect ed, Raa7 would have enabled him
unforeseen tactical blow. But to mai ntain the balance both
i n contrast to a combina tion, after 30 Rdd6 NbS! 31 Rb6
a trap does not force the Rxb6 32 Rxb6 Nd7 33 Rc6 aS,
opp onent to make a definite and in other variations. But
reply, but leads to its goal he was tem pted by a trap -
Only when the other side 29 ... Rb&?, after which both
al lo":'s himself the luxury of 30 Rc7 Rd6 31 Rxd6 Kxd6 32
�akl ng a mistake. Hence the Rb7 Kc6 and 30 Rxd7+ Kxd7
�
. llo w in g log ical concl usion: 31 Rxb6 Kc? are bad for
�h t�e defe nding side has a White.
d
01 Ce between a plann ed But in this last variation
fi���nce � �d setting a trap, the
dec1s1 on will alway s be
White found the intermediate
move 31 NeS +, and Black
bee d
th co
r rect one. Let the num ­ resigned .
gi;ean quali ty of the examples
� below deter us, once In the game Capablanca ­
ot
a nd
or all , from temp tations Mikenas, Buenos Aires Olym­
th I·S typ
e. piad, 1 939, White holds the
1 21
1 22 The Art of Defence in Chess

Black's position in th e g a rne

Zagoryansky - Kotov, Le n in­
grad, 1 938, is undo ubtedly
worse, although th ere i s
nothi ng forcing for W h ite
after the normal 24 . . . N xbs
.
Instead of this the future
grandmaster tried to solve his
defensive problems in a tacti­
cal-trappy way.
24 . . . Rf7?
initiative on the ki ngside and 25 bxa7 b6
by 1S ad3! he prepares f4-f5. After winning back the
This could have been pawn Black wi ll equalize, but
prevented by 1 8 . . . g6, but the hunter is the one who is
Black devised a clever trap -
caught.
1 S . . . RdS 19 f5 b5
' - and 26 aa6!
himself became its victim.
Now 26 . . . Rfxa7 loses to
Certainly, on 20 Ba2 he would
27 Rxc8!, and 26 . . Nxa7 to
have won by 20 . . . Qxe5,
.

27 Bxb6. The rest is forced.

but . . .
20 fxe6! bxe4 21 Rxf6 exd3 26 . . . Re7 27 Rxe7 Qxc7 28
22 exf7 + Bxf7 (or 22 . . . Kf8 Re3 ad7 29 b5 BfS 30 Rxc8!
23 Ng 6 mate) 23 Rxf7, and
axeS 31 axeS RxeS 32 Bxb6
White easily realized his
Nd7 33 Bf2 Resigns.
material and positional ad­
vantage.
 Look out: a trap! 1 23

has been slug- 32 . . . Bb2 + and 33 . . . Nc3)

e n ing play
0� h 28 . . . dxc4 29 Qc2 Bf5 30 Kc1
giS a n d althou gh for the
.
'

t he 1s a pawn up, a fter Ng3 31 Bxg3 Bxc2 32 Kxc2

roorn n
e Nd3 Nxe 4 23 exf4 Black easily won the
atu ral 22
the n game and . . . the first brilliancy
R xe4 24 fxe5 dxe5 he
axe4 ha ve incurred a slightly prize. For at least the latter
ou l d
position, but one still success in this game he was
�ferior len ty of resou rces. indebted to White's trappy
wi th p
method of defence.
In stead of this, the ob­
jectively strongest con tin ua­ Nevertheless, such an insult
tion, he resorted to a cunn ing, should not reduce the belief
subtle and pretty tra p. of the defending side in the
22 b3 power of the trap: only, we
In the hope of 22 . . . Rxe4 repeat, it should not become
23 Bxe4 Nxe4 24 Qe3 Nc3 + 25 an end in itself.
Qxc3!! Qxc3 26 Nd5 and wins, As one of the elements of
since on the empty queenside defence, a trap can sometimes
the queen has nowhere to enable Black to solve an
hide. But . . . opening problem. A convinc­
22 . . . axb4! ing exam ple is provided by
23 bxc4 Rb8 the wel l known game Fine -
24 Qd3 Be6 Yudovich, Moscow, 1 937.
25 Be2 Qb7!
After the theoretical moves
Black conducts the attack
very subtly and does not hurry 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4
with the capture . . . bxa3, Nf3 c5 5 Bg5 cxd4 6 Nxd4 e5
Whic h would have allowed the White, at the time one of the
White king to she lter sec leading g randmasters in the
urely world, played 7 Ndb5, assum­
beh ind the ene my paw
n (see ing that 7 . . . a6 was not
Ch apter 6).
possi ble because of 8 Nxd5
26 axb4 Nxe4 axb5 9 Nxf6+, when after the
27 Be1 d5! natural 9 . . . g xf6 1 0 Qxd8 +
9 Black's atta fol lowed by 1 1 Bxf6+ and 12
reatlY In stre ck has grown Bxh8 Black is the exchange
ngth and is now
·

irre� sti ble

.

. After 28 c3 (28 and a couple of pawns down.

C)(d
�
Q)(b7 Xb4 29 Qb3 Bxe1 30 But a surprise awaited him.
d)(es X b7 + 31 Kc1 Bc3 32 9 Qxf6! 10 Bxf6 Bb4 + 1 1
• • •

' a nd Wh ite is mat ed by Qd2 Bxd2+ 1 2 Kxd2 gxf6, and

1 24 The Art of Defence in Chess

it was not necessary for White And it transpired th at the

to play on a piece down.
Nowadays competent play­
ers no longer have the right to
fal l for such variations -
opening traps have been
classified and recorded in
chess primers and m i niature
games collections, and should
be known to everyone. In the
m iddlegame and endgame
there is a countless number of
traps, with some of which
it i s u sef u l to beco m e
acq uainted.
trap set by Black in the g a e
Kneze vic-Tal, Len i ng r �
1 977, had completely g ain '
him the initiative. The kn ig ��
cannot be taken - RxfS?
24
Ke7, and the loss of a temp�
on move 23 proves sig nifi­
cant. After 24 Ba6 Rxc3 25
NxeS Nxe4 26 Rd7 Ke8 27 f3
Rc1 + 28 Bf1 Nc4! White was
unable to solve his defensive
problems.

In the gam e Nimzowitsch­

As far as can be recalled, Euwe, Carls bad, 1 929, Wh i te,
the Yugoslav grandmaster who is a pawn up, can · · ·

n ce
with a clear conscie
an �
Knezevic was very content
resig n: Blac k has too . m
las
with his position in the d ia­
g ram, a fact which he briefly th reats. But he tries hiS
com m unicated to one of the chance.

BI�Ctork'S
authors. I ndeed, after 22 . . . 23 Nc3!?
Na5 23 Nxe5 Nxe4 24 Rd7 The chief enemY
pe
-

Wh ite's p i eces bec o m e passed pawn - is sto p

threateningly active. But . . . the moment.
Rxc 3?
a ction
22 Rc8! 23
A direct an d fata l re
. • . • • •

23 Rd6? NaS
 Look out: a trap! 1 25

a tra P whic h, apart from Kg8 35 Nxh4 Rxh4! 36 Bxe2

:�e one stat�d, also
to
c � nt� ins Kg7 Black can hope to win,
econ d pom t: gam t1me despite the opposite-colour
�osr doubling rooks and for bishops, si nce he can easily
a
ttack. 23 . . . Qxd4 woul
n
d increase his material advan­
�ave w o n easily after 24 Raf1 tage.
QeS+ 25 Kh1 Rc7, or 24 35 BhS+!! KxhS
Rxf7+ Rxf7 25. Qxc8 Qe5+ 26 Alas, forced: if he takes
Kg1 e2 27 Re1 Rf1+! 28 Rxf1 the knig ht, Black ;s king is
Qe3+ . mated by the bishop from
24 Raf1 e2 g6.
25 Rxf7+ Rxf7 36 Ng7+, with a draw by
26 Qxf7+ Kh6 perpetual check.
27 Qf8+ Experience shows that, in
And in view of the variation
general, traps work more
27 . • • Kg5 28 Qf6+ Kh5 29
often when the stronger
g4+ Black resigned. side's advantage is especi­
ally great. Psychologically
this is quite u nderstandable:
the fate of the game seems
decided , and at any moment
the opponent will resig n . For
this reason, in very d ifficult
or hopeless positions, as a
last chance the possibil ity of
setting a trap should never
be disregarded. Here is evi­
dence of this.

n gam e Tarasevich­
Z��.I t n.the
i k , M o s c o w , 1 97 1 ,
cullte s POsition is very
t, a nd diff i­
PiaYs fo
he qui te just ifiably
r a trap.
33 Nd6 Bxe2
34 NfS+
ShAft
Kxg6?
ut erWhthe·ISre the
'
trap snaps
as after 34 . . .
1 26 The Art of Defence in Chess

Here, i n the game Flscher­ In this cheerless P

Os i ti
for Bla ck the game Bou on
M .1 l es, I nterzona l Tou rZIZ-
Euwe, Leipzig Olympiad, a .

1 960, Black played 'accord­

ing to the rules': 32 . . . Kc4, �ent, R .1ga, 1979, was ana­
d.
and after the forced 33 Rb7 JOurned . Indeed, Whi te is
the
Bd4 34 Rc7+ Kd3 35 Rxc3+ exch ang e up, the app roac
he
Kxc3 36 Be5 he resigned,
si nce the white pawn queens.
to his king are secu re ly
fend ed , and with in two mov
de �
es
But . . . the c-pa wn wil l bec ome
a
"After the game Euwe quee n. Are any more grou nds
showed me a cute trap he requir ed for complacency?
might have played for - and Nevertheless the gam e was
almost fainted when I fell into resumed.
it! The l i ne arises after 32 . . . 42 . . . Rc1
Kc6 33 Ra5 Bd4 and he asked, 43 Rc2 Qb1
"What do you do now?" I 44 Rdd2 Rh1
looked a few seconds and A move of desperation?
played 34 Be5? (after 34 a7 After all White was threaten­
Bxa 7 35 Rxa7 Rxf3 36 Rxhl ing 45 Rxc1 Qxc 1 46 Rc2 . . .
Rxf2 the win, if in general No, a trap of astounding
possible, is extremely d ifficult beauty!
the authors) whereupon he
-
45 c7? Rxh3!!
uncorked 34 . . . ReS! which
46 Kxh3?
leads to a d raw. Upon consid­
eration, however, simply 34 Had White seen throu gh his
Ke2 wins. It's these tidbits opp onent's idea . he would
that you remember best" have preferred to at least save
( Fischer). half a point - 46 Qf1 R g3+ 47
Kf2 Rxf3+ 48 Kxf3 Oxf1+ 49
Ke4, and Blac k does not have
mor e than perpetua l c hec k .
46 . . . Qh 1 +
47 Qh2 Qxf3+
48 Kxh4 Be7+
49 g5
Well, what now?
Bxg S+!!
c ol ·
49
Wh ite res ign s. W1th e he
· · ·

a
.

ass ai mat eria l adva n t

g a
 Look out: a trap! 1 27

eve rth eless gets mated : 50 as his last chance.

�xgS f6+ 51 Kh4 g5 mate or 43 . . . Rxf4!?
51 Kg6 Qg4 m ate. 44 Rxf4?
ooe s this mean that after Expecti ng in reply the auto­
Black's 44th move there is no matic 44 . . . Qxg3+ 45 Rf2
wi n to r White? Of course, Qe3+ 46 Kf1 Qd3+ 47 Kg 1
3
there is: 45 Rd8 Rxh ( not Ne2+ 48 Rxe2 Qxe2 49 Qd4
now 45 .. Rc
.
1 because of 46 and wins, White did not even
RxfB+ KxfB 47 Qc5+ and 48 stop to consider the secret
Rxc 1) 46 Kxh3 Oh 1 + 47 Qh2 point of his opponent's des­
Qxf3+ 48 Kxh4 Of6+ 49 g5 perate move. Otherwise he
Qxd8 50 Rd2. would have fi rst given a check
Yes, it has happened on - 44 Qc7+, and only then
many occasions that prem­ taken the rook.
ature relaxation has led even 44 . . . Qg1 +!
experienced masters and Creating an opposition of
grandmasters i nto a snare set the queens which is fatal for
by a resourceful defender. White.
45 Nf1 Nf3+ 46 Rxf3 QxcS
47 Rd3 QfS! 48 Rd2 Oe6+!
The mobi lity of the lone
black q ueen is exactly suffic­
ient for a d raw 49 Kf2 QfS+
-

50 Ke2 Qg4+ 51 Kf2 QfS+ 52

Kg1 QcS+ 53 Kh2 Oh5+ 54
Kg1 QcS+ 55 Kh1 Qc1!
The pattern of this trap has

In the 3rd
game of the
Taimanov-Botvin nik US SR
�at h ,
ham pio
nsh i p Play-off
IS
c Moscow ' 1 952 there
131 no. ne d to exp lai n why
.

anaacl k e
'
s POs ition is lost . But i n
lo n y e
t.
· before
Sis the resu mp-
ge h f�Und a trap, based on
, 01lletnc
·�Dc
-J
mo tifs and use d it
•
1 28 The Art of Defence in Chess

something i n common with 20 . . •

Kh8!
the finish to the game Mako­
i s re.
A bri l l i an t tra p, wh ic h
vea I ed m th e vari ati o
gonov - Chekhover, Tbilisi, .
n 21
1 937 . Bxe6 Qf6 22 Bxd7 Ot
s 11
35 Qg4+ matin g the white kin g Wi . . ,
. • .

In his won position White qu een sac rifi ce . Tru e, Wh a

t �
't
:
'

did not see this as anything did not fall i nto it, but he w
a
other than a 'spite' check, and t� �pte d by a different Po
ssi­
he carelessly replied: bility - that of begi n ning
an
36 Kf2?? (36 Kf1 is of attack along the b1-h7 diag­
course correct) 36 Rf8
• . .
onal (after the correct 21
37 Rd8 Qh4+! Rd6!, with the threats of 22
Geometric motifs are put Rhd1 and 22 Rxe6, he would
into effect, and White re­ sti ll have been winning ) .
sig ned . 21 Qe4 Qc7!
22 Nh4 NeS!
On 22 . . . Nf6 White would
have won by 23 Ng6+ Kg8 24
Bxe6+. But now his bishop
is attacked, and in addition
23 . . . Bb 7 is threatened.
23 Bd3 Nxd3
24 Ng6+ Kg8
25 Rxd3
25 Nxf8 did not work be­
cause of 25 . . . Nc5! 26 Of3
Bb7, when Black wins. But
here too, after establ ishi ng
Of course, i n the 6th game
nomin al materi al equal ity, he
of the Timman-Y:Jsupov Can­
gains a decisive advan tage.
didates Match, Holland , 1 985,
Black is objectively lost. He is
25 . . . Rxf2
the exchange down, the pin
26 Rf2 Rxf3
Qd6!
on the d-file looks fatal, and it
would appear that his pieces
27 gxf3
By preventing 28 Rd 1
an �
B b
threate ning mate - 28
on the back ran k are unable · · ·

to exploit the fact that the
white king is i nsufficiently
defended. Nevertheless . . .
s.
29 Qx b7 Qd 3, Black win
28 Qc2 e5 29 Nh4 se& �
Rd1 Bd4 31 Qa4 Qd8 32 O
 Look out: a trap! 1 29

sdS 33 Rxd4 exd4 34 Qb5

aas
Fo ur moves later White
ed.
resig n

losing. He tries his last

chance:
38 . h5!
• •

39 Rd4 e3!
40 Rxb4?
"Beware of G reeks, bearing
In the game Platonov - I. gifts". The less mercenary 40
Zaitsev, 38th U SSR Champ­ fxe3 would have won, where­
ionship, Riga, 1 970, White has as now . . .
achieved a great positional 40 • • • e2
advantage for a pawn, but, 41 Re4 Bxf5
failing to grasp certai n geo­ 42 gxf5 h4!
metric motifs, he set about
The wh ite king is shut in its
winni ng material, thereby
own residence, and the rook
fallin g into a trap.
is tied to the e-file. Draw.
25 Nxd5? cxd5 Even so, to be fair it should
26 Qxd5+ Kh8 be said that it is not always
27 Rxh5 Bc6!
28 possible to catch the oppon­
Oe5 Bxf3
�irt ually all Whi te's heavy
ent in even a well camou­
artill ery is flaged net. Sometimes this is
attacked , and he the fault of the 'hunter' him­
soon ca
pitu lated. self .

. A ra re typ The 5th game of the Karpov

e of trap was seen
� th e game tov, -Kasparov
�vosibirsk,lvanov-Dolma
1 976.
World Champion­
ship Return Match, London/
t is cle Len ingrad, 1 986, is strateg-
ar that Black is
1 30 The Art of Defence in Chess
ically decided: both of the
World Champi on's bishops
are condemned to inactivity,
his a2 and c5 pawns provide
targets for attack , and it is
i mpossible to maintain mat­
erial equality. There are prac­
tically no chances in tactical
complications, unless they
contain . . . a trap.
Kasparov's next move is
therefore q uite justified.
25 . . . gS!?
26 hxgS hxgS
27 BxgS Kf7?
Equivalent to resignation.
Having made the first step,
Black stops half way, whereas
he should have tried setting
an unusual ly pretty and wel l
camouflaged trap - 27 . . .
Rb8, and if 28 Bf4, then 28 . .
Rbb3 29 Nxc5 R b2+ 30 Kc l
.
Rxg2. Now the i mmediate 31
Nxd7? gives Black perpetual
check - 31 . . . Rc3+ 32 Kd 1
Rd3+, while on the natural 31
Bd2 he has the tot ally u n­
expected 31 . . . Bh6! ! 32
Bxh6 Rc3+ 33 Kd1 Rd 3+!! 34
Nxd3 Ba4+, when desp ite his
e n o r m o u s s u perio rity i n
force, White's king ca n n ot
avoid perpetual ch eck .
I t stands to reason that
such a develop ment of events
is not obligatory, and Karpov
might wel l have found th e re­
futation - 28 Ke2! Rbb3 29
Nxc5 Rb2+ 30 Kf1 and wins.
But it stil l should have been
tried, si nce after the move in
the game Black loses essent­
ially without a struggle.
28 Bf4 Bc6
29 Rec1 Rb8
30 Rc3 RaS
31 Rc2 Rba8
32 Nc1 Resigns.
Somet i mes a trap does n��
wor k bec aus e the ga me g · · · 1h
u
adJ· o urn ed and thoro e
•
" de a b l
analy sis with a con _sl
outla y of time enables
�
It o b
e
 Look out: a trap!
vered. This is what
d·sco
�
h p pe
n ed, for example, in the
arne Geller-Simagin, 28th
�ssA Championship, Mos­
cow. 19
61 .
. 44 . . . a4!
idea - 45 c7
Wi th a devilish
a3 46 e5 (to answ er 46 . .
axeS with 47 Qa6+ weak
; er
is46 Qa B Qa 1 + 47 Kh 2 Qe 5+
48 Kh3 Qe6 + 49 Kxh Qxe
4 4+
50 Kh3 Qf5+ etc.) 46 . . . a2!
47 exf6 a1 =0+ 48 Kh2 Qe5+
49 Kh3 Qf5+ 50 Qxf5 - stale­
mate!
White saw through the trap
and avoided it - 4S eSI axeS
46 c7,
when in view of the
threat of 47 Qa6+ the white
pawn promoted to a q ueen .
Does this mean that the
effort spent on constructing
traps is pointless? Judge for
yourself.
ihe pOSition
Cha ra
.
bears the
cte n.�tic featu res of
White havin g been attacking:
1 31
his bishop has penetrated to
h6, and one of his pawns has
crossed the demarcation l i ne.
But it has now become a
target for a counteroffensive,
and White defended it in a
rather unexpected way - 22
.
ae4. It is clear that after 22
. . . Nxe5 23 Rc7 White has
q u i te s u f f i c i e n t c o m pen­
sation (i ncidentally, Black's
move entails an interesting
trap; on 23 f4 ? he replies not
with 23 . . . Rd1+24 Kf2 Ng4+
25 hxg4!, when after taking
the q ueen he is mated, but
with the i mmediate 23 . . .
Ng4!, winning), but why not
take the pawn with the q ueen
- 22 . . . Qxe5? After all, in
view of the mate threat, isn't
the knight immune ? . .
Because, in the game Keres
-Tal, Parnu, 1 971 , White had
prepared the pretty and cun­
ing 23 Rd2!! Now 23 . . . Nxd2
leaves the quee[l en prise, 23
. . . Qxe4· allows mate, and 23
. . . ReS or 23 . . . Qc7 loses the
knight to 24 Qxc4, diverting
the defender of the 8th rank.
Black avoided the trap - 22
. . . bS, but it nevertheless
allowed White to maintain
material equal ity - 23 b3 axes
(now this is possible - on 24
Rd2?? Black can interpose
24 . . . Qa1+) 24 axeS NxeS
1 32 The Art of·Defence in Chess
25 Rc7 f6 26 Rxe7 Rd7 and
even to obtain slightly the
better end ing, which, how­
ever, was insufficient for a
win.
Geller-Tal
Moscow, 1 975
Black has j ust lost a pawn,
but his difficulties lie more in
the open position of h is king
(mate i n a few moves is
threatened - 31 QeB+ Kg7 32
N�6+ etc.). But suddenly the
off-side black k n ight comes
into play.
30 . . . Ne7!
Why note take it - 31 Oxe7?
After all, the maximum that
Black can achieve wou
ld
appe ar to be a se ries 01
checks - 31 . . . Og1 + 3 2 Kga
Of2+ 33 Kg4 Oxg2+ 34 Bga
h5+ 35 Kh4.
There would appe ar to be
no more checks, but it tu rns
out that there is the h igh ly
cunning 35 . . . O e4+!! 36
Oxe4 Bf6 mate! A trap , into
·
which it would not be s h ame­
ful to fall.
Nevertheless White saw
through it, replied �1 NbS,
and now after 31 , . . Qgl+ 32
Kg3 Nf5+ the struggle wou ld
have flared up with the new
strength. The series of time
trouble mistakes - 31 . . .
Bg1 +? 32 Kg3 Nh4+? 34 Kg4
NfS etc. - wh ich led to Black's
defeat, do not relate to our
theme.
The theme of a trap can
also be the transition into a
drawn ending, the fortress ·
we have already discussed
this - and one more very s.ig
·
nificant possibility, for w h iCh
see the fol lowing chapter.
 Look out: a trap! 1 33

What would you have played?

No. 31 and after the withdrawal of

the knight it will be immed­
iately attacked by the king. It
would be good to bri ng the
white k i ng i nto play, but on 46
Kh2 - as in fact occurred in
the game - Black had pre­
pared a trap, based (let this
be a slight prompt) on geo­
metric motifs . . .

No. 33
White's defeat seems in­
evitable, but by 37 Qe2 he set
up a trap. What was it?

No. 32

With his last move White

has prepared to win back his
pawn, by tak i ng on fS or aS.
But si nce the variation 28 . . .

Qxc3 with the seemingly

forced 29 Qxc3 Rxc3 30
Wh lt· e 1s· a piece up but
the
Bc4+ Rxc4 31 Rxd8+ Kh7
9 a rn e · leaves Black with two bishops
IS far from decid
'
si
nce h ed, for a rook, he happily went in
e r bish op is shu t in for it. And yet? . . .
11
In search of stalemate

Let us immediately begin desired excha nge can m er

ely
with an example. be delayed by Black , but not
averted .
Here we come to another
t r u s t w o r t h y a n d eter n al
weapo n of the defendi ng
side. An extensive and truly
inexhaust ible theme for traps
is provided by the somewhat
paradoxical chess rule of
stalemate. In l ife and in other
l o g i c a l games it has no anal­
ogy: if a m i litary commande r
is su rrounded, he dies or
The win for White lies surrenders , if on the draughts
through the exchange of board the opponent's man is
q ueens, and if need be, even shut in - this means victory.
with the sacrifice of one of his But i n ches s . . . The a bsence
queenside pawns. And when of a ny move for the weaker
i n C h i g or i n - S c h l e c h te r , side gives him life - and how
Ostende, 1 905, Black gave a ma ny pitf alls and mined
squares have been c ns truc ­
o .t
10
so-called spite check - 44 . . .
Qc7+, White did not see any­ ed by the def end ing sid e
thing tricky in it. He offered search of stalemate. NormallY
the exchange - 45 Qb6+??, the pla y is of a pu rely traPPY
but after 45 . . . Ka8! he was nature.
forced to agree to a draw in
view of either stalemate (46
Qxc7) or perpetual attack (46 Schlechter-Wolf
Ka6 Qc8+ 47 Ka5 Qc7). The
Nure mberg , 1 906
simple 45 b6 Qe7 46 Qc4
revi oi.JS
The au tho r of th e P are·
would have i mmediately won,
si nce the check on c7 with the trap him sel f fal ls into
a sn
1 34
 In search of stalemate 1 35

54 . . • Re3!? Had Black's rook gone to

Fro m the viewpoint of the b2 or c2 on move 46, i nstead
battle against the ch ief enemy of capturing the new-born
- the passed b-pawn - this q ueen he could have given
move is pointless, and White mate on the 1 st rank. But as
should have stopped to it is, the a1 square is con­
think. . . trolled, and therefore: 50
55 b6�? Re1+! • Rxh8 - stalemate!
. •

This leads to stalemate,

whereas the interposition of Kargoi-Rickers
55 R 1 + would have i mmed­
f West Germany, 1 974
i ately decided the game.

And now - an even worse

exa mpl e: in the game Znosko
·Borovsky v Salwe, Ostende,
• 1 907, t e stronger side h im­
h
Self broug ht into ex i stence a
stalemating possibility.

See next diagram

46 Ra2?
th Mec hanically Bla ck places
• • •

By 44 Rbe8 Black set a

i b� trap ba��d on the restriction
• • •

roo k as far away as pos s­

:· and this is what results. of his o Jn king, and White fell
Fl.'t.:ah7 f2+ 48 Kf1 Kf3 49 Ra8! into it.
s o h8:Q! 45 b8=0? Rxb8!
1 36 The Art of Defence in Chess

In order to achieve stale­

mate after 46 Rxb8 Re1 + !
46 Ra1+ Kxa1
47 Rxb8 a2
Again stalemating his own
king.
48 f4!
The black rook is 'innocul­
ated' against being a 'desper­
ado': 48 . . . Re1 + 49 Kf2 Re2+
50 Kf3! Re3+ 51 Kg4, and 51
. . . Rg3+ fails to 52 hxg3 h2
53 Rh8 Kb1 54 Rxh2 a 1 =0 55
Rh 1 +.
48 . . . Rf7!
If not from one side, then
from the other.
49 Ke2 Rxf4 50 g7 Re4+ 51
Kd3 Rd4+1
The rook cannot be avoid­
ed . After its capture it is stale­
mate.
18
the que ens on, somethin .
still possible? 9
32 Qa8 Rxg3
33 Rxg3 Oxg3?
Such carelessn ess! Aft
33 . . . Rxf 1 + it is easy to s . :;
that Black could have e x­
change d rooks and with
che cks picked up the last
white pawn . . .
34 Qa1+!!
A bolt from the blue. On 34
. . . Rxa1 there fol lows 35 h6+
with stalemate, but in the
game after 34 . . . Kf8 35 Oxbl
Oh4+ Black was unable to
demonstrate that in the given
case three pawns are strong­
er than a bishop.

·
the gam e Portisch
Lengyel, Malaga, 1 964 , it was
In

suff icien t for Whi te mer

ely to
m ate rule
rem em ber the stale
and give som e min i mu m
;;
tre
I n t h e g a m e Polyak­ (e . Q·
dom to the black kin g
Kogan, Rostov-on-Don , 1 937, .) . aut. · ·
White should long since have Qf6+ KgB 38 Kf4 etc
resig ned, but perhaps, with 37 f4? Qg4+!
 In search of stalemate 1 37

And the 'desperado' black Evans-Reshevsky

q uee n
overtakes the white USA Championship, 1 964
e very where. On 38 Kf6
k i ng
th e re fo l lows 38 . . . Qe6+! ,
and 38 Kh6 allows the espec­
iallY p ret ty 38 . . . Qg 5+!
It is a fact that even the
stronges t grandmasters in
the world keep on overlook­
ing this paradoxical situ­
ation - stalemate. But even
among them the record
holder is Samuel Reshevsky.
We have already seen one of
The black knight cannot be
his 'stalemating variations'
taken because of mate i n two
in his game with Geller (p.xv).
But in chess l iterature it has moves, and White resorts to
his last chance.
already been pointed out that
every 1 1 years (!!) the Ameri­ 47 h4 Re2+
can grandmaster falls into 48 Kh1 Qxg3??
such a trap. Need it be said that after 48
. . . Qg6 49 Rf8 Qe6 White
would have been left with
Pilnik-Reshevsky only one spite check? But
USA Championship, 1 942 now he has any n umber of
checks!
49 Qg8+!! Kxg8
50 Rxg7+!
Draw ag reed - stalemate,
since in the event of 50 . . . Kf8
White, naturally, does not
take the q ueen , but continues
checking with his rook along
the 7th rank.
And so, 1 942, 1 953, 1 964 . . .
True, neither i n 1 975 nor in
1 986 did Reshevsky increase
49 Of2!! this col lection of stalemate
D ra w
ag reed - stalema te ! cu riosities. . .
1 38 The A rt of Defence in Chess
Llsitsyn-Bondarevsky
Leningrad, 1 950
Black has agreatadvantage,
and the win would have been
not faroff, had it notbeenfor . .
43 Bxe4+!1 fxe4
44 ReS+!!
After the capture of the rook,
on an empty board the white
king has no moves, while in
the event of 44 . . . Kd6 45
Rxe4 Black's advantage is
insufficient for a win.
Something similar occurr­
ed in the followi ng, even
simpler position.
Bernstein-Smyslov
G roni ngen , 1 946
Black can win 'as he
pleases' (for example, 58 . . .
Re3+ and, depending on
which way the white king
moves, he can take his own
king either to f3, or to c2),
only not in the way chosen in
the game.
58 . . . b2?
59 Rxb2! Rh2+
60 Kf3
.
Because of stalemate the
rook is immune, and with only
one extra pawn the ending
cannot be won .
To some, these stalemating
motifs in defence may seem
accidental, but . . Great
.
masters of chess, on noticing
the possibility of a stalemate
.
situation in perhaps one van­
ation, wil l sometimes base on
this an entire system of
defence. This is what happen­
ed, for example, i n the 20�h
game of the Tai-Bo tvinnlk
World Championship Retu rn
Match, Moscow, 1 961 .
"The gene ral optn iO n was
�n
. ·
. .
that the adjourn ed p os lll ..
was hop eless for B lac "A
Botvi nn ik later recal led.
second success 1ve . s leep Jess
nig ht and by mornt n9 1
. the
main � nd most obvi ou s t h
rea
 In search of stalemate
��� hPen neutralized by a n
_ White sees through the
unexpected stalemate possi­
bility". . .
White's main threat is to win
the f5 pawn at the cost of his
a-pawn, which will di vert the
_ _
black king to the kmgs1de,
and then to break through
with his own king on the
queenside.
The entire plan would have
been feasible, had it not been
for. . . However, let us see.
89 Ka2 Rb5
90 a7 Ra5+
Necessary, otherwise the
Paw nen ding will be lost after
90 . Kb7? 91 Rb8+.
91 Kb3
. .
Kb7
92 Rf8 Rb5+!
A brilliant overture! The
Poi nt of Black's entire idea
become
s clear within four
moves.
93 Ka4
W h ite doe
s not yet suspect
anythi ng , otherwise he would
1 39
have rejected the second part
of his plan and reconci led
himself · to 93 Kc3. However,
this would have been an
achievement for Black: "less
active play on the part of
White would have left Black
with hopes of a draw" Bot­
vinn ik).
93 . . . Kxa7
94 Rxf5 Rb1
95 Rf6
trap: the apparently winning
95 Rf7+ Ka6 96 Rc7 runs into
96 . . . Rb4+!!, when he can
avoid stalemate only at the
cost of his pawns. But now his
basic plan is unrealizable,
since the black rook manages
to expel the enemy k i ng from
the queenside, and it is un­
able to break through.
95 . Kb7 96 f5 Ra1 + 97
. •
Kb4 Rb1 + 98 Kc3 Rc1 + 99 Kd2
Rf1 100 Ke3 Kc7 101 Rf7+ Kd8
102 Ke2 Rf4 103 Kd3 Rf3+ 104
Kd2 Kc8 1 05 Ke2 Rf4
For a further 1 6 moves
White attempted to realize his
extra pawn, but in vain. Draw.
But some years later fate
gained its revenge . . .
I n the third-round game
Matulovic-Botvinnik from the
'Match of the Century, Bel­
grade, 1 970, after lengthy
m a n o e u v r i n g B l a c k has
 1 40 The Art of Defence in Chess

Whit e has a great m at .

en
ad van tag e, but the battle a. 1
not yet over.
IS
33 . . . h6
34 Bxh6?
White shou ld not have be
en
tempted by the paw n. 34 Kg2
was much more logical, co n­
sol i d ati n g som ewh at h is
forces � n the kingsi de and
threatemng to activate the
broken through with his king queen after 35 Ob4.
into the opponent's territory
and now after 92 . . . Ke3 he
34 . .
• Nf4!!
woul d have had a straight­
35 Bxf4
forward win (93 Qc3+ Qd3 94 Otherwise White will have
Qc5+ Kf3, picking u p the g4 to seek perpetual check (both
pawn in return for the f6 pawn 35 . . . Qe1 + and 35 . . . Qe4
and exchang i ng q ueens) . But were 'on the agenda').
as a result of 92 . . . Kf3?, as 35 .• • Qe 1+
played, it was White who had 36 Kg2 Qh1+!!
a straightforward d raw with Here too - a 'desperado'
· 93 Qd3+1, and afterthe capture queen!
of the queen - stalemate! 37 Kg3 Qh3+!
Stalemate is inevitable.
Bannik-lvkov
USSR v Yugoslavia,
R ijeka, 1 963
 In search of stalemate 1 41

• 11 Wo rld Champio nship d e m o n s t ra t i n g t r u l y i n ­

1 969, d u ring the ad­ exhaustible stalemate motifs.
��tc h, e nt sessio n Black was
o u rn m
151rn piY
·

obli ged to try for stale- Kaminer, 1 931

m t he d'1agram
·

rT1ate '
sin ce •

n he lost With out a•

ositio
�ght afte r the u nd istin guish­
ed 49
BxaS 50 RxaS Rxb3
51 Ra8:
. . .

one white pawn

adva nces to a7, the other to
h6, and in the result ing zugz­
wang situa tion White picks up
both black pawn s on the f-file
and adva n ces h is t h i rd
passed pawn to the queen ing
squa re.
The white king is as free as
Black 's chance lay i n the
a bird , so what is the point?
variation 49 . . . Bd6+ 50 Kg4 The 'normal' 1 Bh5+ Ke3 2
15+! (but not 50 . . . Bxh2 5 1
Bxd1 would be ruinous for
Rg5+ Kf6 52 Rf5+ and 53 Rxf3)
White because of the pin 2 . . .
51 Kh3 Bc7 52 Nc4 Bf4 53
Rf1 , when the rook easily
Ne5+ (this is tem pting, but
it probably throws away the eliminates all three of the
win; stronger is 53 Ne3! Bxe3
o p p o nent's men.
Therefore -
54 fxe3 Rxe3 55 Kg3 etc.) 53
Bxes 54 AxeS Rxb3 55 Re3
· · .
1 b6! Ba4
Rb4 56 Re6+ (no better is 56 If 1 . . . Rb4, then 2 f6! Rxb6
Ra3 Rg4 ! 57 a5 Kg5 58 Rxf3 and only now 3 Bh5+ with a
Ra 4 with a draw ) 56 . . . Kg5 theoretical d raw.
57 a5 Rg4! 58 a6 Kf4! 59 a7 2 b7 Rb4 3 f6! Bxe8 4 f7
Rh 4+! 60 Kxh4 - stalemate.
Bxf7 5 b8=0 RxbB
An any rate it was worth
try,. n g fo r such '

an outcome.
And amazingly, the white
king does not have a si ngle
An d in concl usion - a study squa re . . .
1 42 The Art of Defence in Chess

What would you have played?

No. 34
Wh ite's paw n has
been
stop ped one step fro m
th
finis h, and he is a rook d own
e
Are all his chan ces
hausted ?
e��

No. 35
The white pawn is ready to
become a queen, but how
nevertheless should Black
not play?

No. 36
eria l
Black ' s eno rmo us m at
advantage and the p � rfe� ��
sec ure pos itio n of hiS to
k 1
force White not so m w
uch

hope , as to dream 0f a
d ra ·
In search of stalemate 1 43

No. 37
Even with an enormous
mate r i a l advantage it i s
tempting t o give mate along
the 8th rank. And this is what
White set about doing -40
Ra8. . .

No. 38
Even if it is White's move, is
it really worth him continuing
to resist in such a hopeless
position?
12
It is never too late to resign !

No, this i s by n o means a to bel i eve, but facts are in­

call for the breaking of sport­ disputable.
ing eth ics, when one chess Vukovic-lovcic
player in an absol utely hope­
Yugoslavia, 1956
less position continues a
pointless resistance, showing
a clear lack of respect both
for himself and his opponent.
A player should also be able
to lose - with dign ity and at
the right time, but. . . It is to
Napoleon that the words "No
battle was ever won by cap­
itulation" are attributed, but
even if the g reat commander
did not utter them, even so
such a thought is j ustified. I n a game resembl ing the
And therefore before you cavalry battles of the times
stop the clocks and hold out of that same Napole on, when
your hand to you r opponent, one side's forces got m ixed
look round the board once u p with the enemy and bloW
more again , and ponder over answe red blow , White won
a

the position. Because dozens pawn and. . . conducte d the

and even hundreds of times - endg ame rather ca �
rel ssly .
who can m ake an accurate But Black's defence is still
up

count?! - even wel l known to the mark . . .

masters and g randmasters 35 . . . hS!
have resigned at a point when 36 g5+
ea
uar·
it was time to conclude peace, 36 gxhS wo uld have .9
or even to chalk up a point i n anteed the weaker Sl� of
their co lum n i n t h e tourna­ d raw: the whit e bishO P 1:
ment table. the 'wrong' colo u r for
th h8
We realize that this is hard corner square.
1 44
 It is never too late to resign! 1 45

36 KfS 37 Ke3 Kg4 38 g6 ation 32 . . . Bb3? 33 c6 bxc6

f6 39 g7 Kxh4 40 g8=Q Nxg8
. . •

N
34 Bxa6 Ke7 (34 . .. Bd5 35
41 s xgS
Bb7 Ke7 36 a6) 35 Be2 Kd6 36
B x h 5 , w h e n t h e passed
The gamde, could b u t
have been
Black . . . pawns on both wings ensure
rne
aedsijoguned . I n a d rawn position! White a win .
�atu rally, the d i rect 4 1 . . . Meanwh ile 3 2 . . . axb5! 33
Kg4? loses to 42 Be6+ Kg3 43 c6 bxc6 34 a6 b4 35 a7 b3 36
15 h 4 44 f6 h3 45 f7 h2 46 f8=0 a8=Q (36 Kd2 Be4 37 aB=Q
h1=0 47 Qf4+ Kg2 48 Qf2 b2) 36 . . . b2 37 Qf8+ Kg6 38
mate, but the elementary 41 Qe8+ Kh6 39 Qxe6+ Bg6
. t<g3! would have put White wou ld have forced capitul­
in
. .

an unusual zugzwang ation by . . . White.

position - 42 f5 Kg4 43 f6 Kg5 But the u ltimate record
44 17 a2, or 42 Bd5 h4 43 f5 h3 would appear to have been
44 16 h2 45 f7 h 1 =0!, and after establ ished in the game
46 Bxh1 a2 47 f8=0 a1 =0 a Krejcik-Schwa rz, A u s t r i a ,
mating net cannot be woven. 1 906.
Alatortsev-Leikin
Moscow Championship, 1 937

1 Nxc6+ Kc7
Des pite be� ng two pawns
2 Qe7+ Kb6
1 � .
do n Wh1. Now White could have won
ry1 09 to
te 1s the only side
by the simple 3 Qxb7+ Kxb7 4
win.
Bf3, and since for the moment
31 bS? cxb5
32 Bxbs the c4 pawn is 'poisoned' (4
. . . Nxc4 5 Ne5+), he picks up
att��d B l �ck. . . resigned, the d4 pawn , which ensures a
Wo rk mg out the vari- win even in the event of the
1 46 The Art of Defence in Chess

exchange of knights and the tha t a flue nt and fun d a me

nt
mastery of all the defens al
.
retention of opposite-colour
ive
bishops! proce d ures exam med a bov
e
But White carried out a would have saved ma
ny
combination, which was re­ players from an unti mely an
d
warded with a brilliancy prize. (the mai n poi nt) unm erite
capitulation. For examp l e:
d
3 c5+ Ka6 Fleeing with the king
4 Bc8(??)
It was not yet too late to
exchange q ueens and win the
ending.
4 Qxc8 5 Qa7+ Kb5 6
• • •

Ob6+ Kc4 7 Qb4+ Kd5 8 Ne7+,

and Black resigned, since he
loses his q ueen.

Alas, 50 years(! !) l ater

Krejcik himself established
that it was for anti-bri lliance
that the prize was awarded.
At the moment of capitulation
there was a forced win for . . .
Black; 8 . . . Ke4 9 Nxc8 f3+ 10
Kf2 (the only square, other­
wise the white queen is lost)
10 . . . Bh4+ 1 1 Kg1 f2+ 12
Kh2 f1 =0 1 3 Nd6+ Ke5 1 4
Nf7 + Kf5 1 5 Nd6+ Kg6 and
White has a choice: to resign,
a piece down, or to be mated
in 3 moves - 16 Ob7 Qf2+ 1 7
Kh1 Oe1 + 18 Kh2 Bg3 mate.
In the g iven instance Black
could have been saved by
In the game Yudovich·
Bebchuk, Moscow Champ·
ionship, 1 964, the black king
is restricted. Mate is threat·
ened - 48 Nf6+ Kh8 (48 . . . KIB
49 Rf7 mate) 49 Rxh7 mate,
and defending h7 (47 . . . Rh3)
merely delays the end for one
move - 49 Kf7 with the un­
avoidable 50 Ra8 mate.
Black therefore res igned.
forgetting that apart from
defending h7 there was ai�O
the possibil ity of fleeing w��
the king. After 47 K t6·

�
·

o
·

counterattack. And in general the white knight go s t

it can be said that these prac­
tical examples, as well as
many others, demonstrate
without check, an d '" re Y
I �
the black rook can . i mrTI
iately begin attac k 109 th �
 It is never too late to resign! 1 47

king. Or if 48 Rf 7+ (48 In the game Strekalovsky­

en e mY
Rxh7 Rg 1 )
48 . . . Ke8 49 Nf6+ Rudenko, Moscow, 1 961 ,
d
l( 8 th e black king finds White played 31 Rb1 (there is
treed om . an obvious draw i n the vari­
ation 31 Nxd5 Rxf2 32 Qe1
Breaking the pin Re2!, but not 32 . . . Rxg2+ 33
Popiel-Marco Kf1 and White wi ns) and . . .
Monte Carlo, 1 902 accepted the capitulation of
his opponent. Instead Black
could have achieved saving
simpl ification by 31 . . . Bxa2!
32 Rxb2 Rxb2, since there is
no defence against 33 . . . Rb1 .

Fridshtein-Lutikov
Riga, 1 954

Instead of getting into a

pan ic and resigning, Black
could have. . . won: 37 . . .
Bg 1 ! ! would have broken the
pin a n d thanks to the mate
,

th reat at h2, enabled him to

wi n the white queen!

Simplification White's problem is to give

up his rook for both the far­
advanced pawns. The direct
60 Rxb3 does not succeed -
60 . . . c2 61 Rb4+ Kd5 62 Rb5+
Kd6 63 Rb6+ Kc7, and there
are no more checks, nor is
there any defence against the
queening of the pawn .
And Wh ite . . . resigned,
instead of interposing 60
Rb4+ and immediately fore-
1 48 The Art of Defence in Chess

ing a d raw: 60 . . . Kd3 (60 . . . the n the kni ght agai

n retur
Kd5 61 Rxb3 c2?? 62 Rc3) 62 to h2. . . ns
Rxb 3. White is una ble to avo
id t
set- up, for examp le, 5 h is
9K
Nd3+ 60 Kf1 (60 Kg3 84
Kxg4 e3 62 Kf3 Ne1+ 63 K
��
Returning to the Middle Ages
e2 64 �f2 Nxg2) 60 . . .
Kca
g3 (th1 � advance is fo rc
��
ed
otherw1se the g4 paw n ca n n
_

ot
be attacked ) 61 . . . Kd7
62
Ke2 e4 63 Ke3 Ne1 etc.

In search of stalemate

In this position the game

Keres-Lengyel, Lu hacovice,
1 969, was adjourned( ! ) , and
on the basis of the variation
58 . . . Nf4 59 g3 Nd5+ 60 Ke4
Nf6+ 61 Kf5! (61 Kxe5? NeB
with a draw) Black resigned
without resuming. I n the gam e Kovalev-Khab·
Meanwhile, as was later kaev, Gork y, 1 982, it is not
shown by Dvoretsky, the clear what White was hoping
for by giving check - 49 Qc4+.
Perhaps that Black w ld . :
position is completely drawn,
s i n c e w i t h o u t p a rt i c u l a r ou ·

resign in view of zugzwang.e

d ifficulty Black can construct
49 . . . Ka3 would seem to �
15
an unusual type of fortress.
met by 50 Qb5. And that.
Mea nwah•lte�
This is achieved by 58 . . . Ne1
59 g3 Nf3 60 Ke4 Kc8 61 Bxe5 wh at hap pen ed!
Black sho uld have calcul
Kd7 62 Kf4 N h2, when the
o
defender of the last black
pawn can be d riven away only
the varia tion o ne m
fur ther , wh en he wo ul d ha�:
by Bg1 , but then comes . . . found . . . stale m ate : 51 ···
Nf3 attacking the bishop, and b 1 =0+ 52 Qxb 1 .
 It is never too late to resign! 1 49

usker-Janowski Eliminating the opponent's

7th game of the World attacking potential
Cha mpionship Match Zefirov-Voloshin
Par is, 1 909 Gorky, 1 938

White should undoubtedly

win. And yet we cannot help White began a seem ingly
agreeing with Dr Tarrasch, spectacular com bination.
who made the following
comment on this situation:
20 Bxe6? g6
21 Bxf5?
"Janows k i , e m ot i o na l l y
Black became confused,
depressed, resigned too early
instead of trying a last and by worked out a lengthy vari­
no means bad chance. By ation - 21 . . . gxh5 22 Nf6+
contin uing 63 . . . c5 64 Nd5 Bxf6 23 exf6+ Kf8 24 Bh6+
(an obvi ous move with a Kg8 25 Bxc8, when against
seem ingly unavoidab le th reat ReS with mate at g5 or e8
of mate ) 64 there is no defence - and . . .
. . . Rxf3+ !! 65 Kxf3
(on 65 Kg4 Black has the resigned.
defen ce 65 . . . Rf7 But a defence could have
�uthors J 65 . . Bxe4+ 66 Kxe4
.
- the
been found, and an extremely
e could have laconic one, without any
�� achieved a
etty sta lemate positi
on. Of lengthy variations. It was
h u rse, the opp onent cou ld sufficient for Black to think
64ave aVOided. about the fact that the oppon­
R ?7· But
this by playin g
ent's central attacker was his
that ln the heat of battle he
it was possi ble
knight, and after 21 . . . Bxe4!
tnig h t
sta l
n ot have notice d this
e rn ate" .
White would simply have lost
a piece. . .
1 50 The Art of Defence in Chess
In search of complications
Capablanca-Thomas
Hastings, 1 91 9
The position bears every
indication that White has
been attacking over the entire
board , and B l ack has been
defending. After 29 Qa8 he
p robably considered all his
reserves to be exhausted and
he resigned at the very instant
when, for the first and last
time, he coul d have gai ned . . .
the advantage. The counter­
blow 29 . . . Rxa2! would have
won a pawn (30 Qb7 Ra4!,
followed by captu ring on e4) .
To b e fair, i t should be
mentioned that the diag ram
position is i ndeed hopeless.
It was simply that the future
World Champion should have
contin ued 29 Rxe8 Qxe8 30
Qa4!, after which even 30 . . .
Rc1 + does not save Black
because of 31 Kf2!
Black's counter-arguments
look less con vm ci ng 1
n tne
ut even
fol lowing exa mp le b
bee n
•
th ey s h ou ld not have
d isregar ded.
Mieses-Fo rgac
St Petersbu rg, 1 909
Wh ite played 13 a3, and
Black added to the collection
of min iature games by resign­
ing in view of the variation 1 3
. . . Bd6(e7) 1 4 Bd2, winning
the rook at d5.
The alternative to ca pit­
ulatio n was active coun ter­
play again st the white kin g -
1 3 . . . Bd6 1 4 Bd2 Bxf3! 1 S
Bxa 5 (on 1 5 Bxf3 Blac k can
repl y 15 . . . Rb5) 15 . . Nxd4·
and White would have had
.
to
find the only mo ve 16 Bxf 3 i
which after 1 6 . . . Nx b3 11d
ou
Bxd5 Nxa5 1 8 Bxf7 w ge
a
have left him th e exc n h
up.
!O h iS
The attempt to reta
·
 It is never too late to resign! 1 S1

queen - 16 Qe3? Nxe2+ 1 7 the mating of his own king.

t<h 1 R h5 woul d have led t o . . . So it was worth playing on!.

What would you have played?

No. 39
This instructional example
by the chess classic Dr
Tarrasch has gone, without
exaggeration, round the en­
tire world in dozens of
primers and hundreds of
articles on the theme of
zugzwang. The author g ives
the variation 1 AxeS AxeS 2 g3
and Black loses, since after
both 2 . . . g4 3 Kg2 and 2 . .
.

f4 3 g4 he loses his rook . . .

No. 40
Had Black known the
answer to the previous test,
he would also have found the
saving idea here . . .
1 52 The Art of Defence in Chess

No. 41
Black resigned, on observ­
ing that he would lose in the
variation 60 Ra4 61 Ra8+
Kf7 62 a7 Ra1 63 h6 gxh6 64
. . .

Rh8 Rxa7 65 Rh7+. . .

13
countera ttack
A hu ndred years ago, d uring
the times of chess romanti­
cism, such a concept i n chess
esse ntially did not exist. Poor
defe nsive technique was the
reason why the side which
first gained an attack would
normally carry it through
(provided, of course, that he
had at least the minimum of
pieces remaining in order to
mate the opponent's king). At
any rate, up to the middle of
the last century the examples
in chess literatu re of a count­
eroffensive can be cou nted
on the fingers of one hand.
I n our day, counterattack,
a lo n g w i t h a t t a c k a n d
defe n ce, is a fully accepted
meth od of conducti ng the
strug gle. At times entire
op. enm g systems and
. '
vari-
��
�o �s are based preci sely on
e t dea of cou nterattack
.
With
erat i onouttt part icul ar exagg­
lod co can be said that
m/' '1W unterattack is the
·
the �a eapon of Black, whom
in thews of chess have p laced
Position of the defen d-
1 53
ing side. Not the methodical
play for equality, which dom­
inated in the first q uarter of
our century, but counter­
attack! And, essential ly as a
c o n se q u e n c e , t h e o n c e
popular Orthodox Defence
to the Queen's Gambit has
died away, Philidor's Defence
in reply to 1 e4 has become a
rarity, but alive and rapidly
developing are the Nimzo­
lndian, G ru nfeld and Sicilian
Defences. However, strange­
ly enough, even in the as yet
i ns u f f i c i e n t l y d e v e l o p e d
theory o f the middlegame,
counterattack sti l l occupies a
very modest place. Probably
because even acknowledged
masters of counterattack (as
is also the case, however, with
masters of comb ination) are
unable to define with any
precision that single moment
when a counterattack is ripe
and not yet too late, but
explain examples from their
own games by intuition.
Supported , it is true, by
accurate calculation and rich
i magination.
1 54 The A rt of Defence in Chess

21 b3
Prep aring 22 Ke2 (
wh·
does not work .Im medi ICh
ately
because of 21 . . . ac 4+} d
an
23 Rh1 .
21 . . . dS
22 Qg3
22 0-0-0 is unp leasant­
ly met by 22 . . . d4, and 22
exd5? Bxd 5 23 Qxd5 Oxf2+
24 Kd1 Rd8 is com pletely
bad. This mean s that Black 's
In the 1 4th game of the
active cou nterpla y has been
K a rpov- K a s p a ro v World
j ustified.
Championsh ip Match, Mos­
cow, 1 985, after the 'normal ' 22 . . . Qxg3
1 7 . . . N d 7 1 8 Q h 5 Black 23 fxg3
would have been left only The endgame is level, and
with passive defence. He on move 32 peace was
p referred a more risky, but concluded .
active path, on which i n
addition h e had chances not
only of a d raw.
17 . . . Ng4!?
18 Bd2
Now 19 f3 is threatened,
winning the audacious knight
But . . .
18 . . . Qf8!
This manoeuvre is the basis
of Black's entire plan. On 1 9
f 3 or 1 9 Bf3 h e has 1 9 . . . Qh8,
adY
when the knight is indirectly Th is posit ion ha d alre d
a n
occ urred i n pract1 ce. at·
·

r1 9
defended. 19 Qe2 Qh8 20
0-0-0 Qh4 21 f3 also d oes after the seem in gly ob
. n t he
not succeed - 21 . . . Bc4 22 ory retreat 1 5 . . . Bh 8 , 1 te r·
In
Qg2 Nf2 23 Rg1 Nd3+. gam e Tal-Sax Mosc o w tte r
�
•

p le
zonal , 1 982, for e xam . dS
19 Qf3 Qh8
1 6 Nd5 Qxd2+ 1 7 R
xd2 x
20 Bg2 Qh4
 Counterattack 1 55

xd5 Bxd4 1 9 Rx
d4 Bd 7 20 26 Kxc2 Qxe2+ 27 Kc3 Qxf3+
�8d 3e f6 2 1 b4theRc7mo22reKb2 Whi te
pleasant
28 Kc4 Qb3 mate.
d Even so, after the analysis
obtaine
gam e . of an extensive amount of
au t it turns out - and this practical material one can
the game
was co nfirmed by draw certain quite definite
ptaskett-Wa t son, Brig hton, conclusions, as to when a
1g84 -that Black can pin his counterattack is both poss­
hopes on coun terat tack. ible and necessary.
15 . b4! 16 hxg7 bxa31 1 7 The launching of a counter­
+ 18 Kd2
. .

Qh6 axb2 attack is generally obvious

What now? Resign? After and relatively straightforward
all the capture on f6 followed when the opponent's offen­
by rnate is unavoidable? . . . sive has reached an impasse,
or has completely exhaust-
18 . Bxg41!
ed itself. True, for this
• •

19 Bxf6
extreme accuracy i n defence
If 18 fxg4 e5! , and it is Black
is normally demanded of the
who begins a mating attack.
defending side.
19 ... BhS
The line of White's attack
has been blocked, and it is
unlik ely that the extra p ieces An excellent example of
can save his king. such a counterattack is
20 Bd4 eS provided by the conclusion
For to the 25th game of the Euwe­
the moment Black
keeps in reserve the final step Aiekhine World Champion­
of his pawn to b1 . ship Match, Holland, 1 937.
21 RxhS
This looks l i ke desperation,
b ut how else can he get at
the en emy king?

8 21 gxhs 22 QgS Qb4 23

d3
• •
·

0xd4 24 NdS
k �hreatening m ates with the
�1 9ht at e7
9 a ck and f6, but it is
to move . . .
24 · ·
· Qf2+ 25 Be2 Rxc2+!
1 56 The Art of Defence in Chess

Black's exchange advan­ al low Blac k to aim n

ot f
tage promises him victory, exch an ge s, bu t to dev
elop h�
r
cou n teroffen sive in th e
but the struggle is not yet
over, mainly because of the wh ere not lon g befor
Pla d:
e h
attacking position of the h i mself was bei ng attacked e
.
white knight. It is natural that, 35 Od2 hxg4+
i n d efen d i n g , A l e k h i n e 36 Kxg4 Qf7
should aim for the exchange 37 hS RxfS!
of q ueens. T h e m os t q u i c k
and
30 . . • Qc7 effi � ient , a � d, i nciden tally
,a
31 Rd6 ReS typ1 cal dev 1ce. By giving up
32 g3! part of his material advantage
A clever idea (and at the Blac k gets rid of the mai�
same time the last chance) ! If enemy.
Black now carries out his 38 KxfS Oxh5+
threat of 32 . . . Rxf5, then 39 Kf4 0h4+
after 33 Re6!! he is obliged to
g ive up his queen - 33 . . .
Now the exchange of
queen s by 39 . . . Qh5+ does
fxe6 34 Qxc7 Rxf2+ 35 Kh3, not satisfy Black: he is
when the game will d rag out counterattacking.
for a long time.
40 Kf3
32 . . . Rf8! Or mate in four moves after
Euwe's idea is seen, the 40 Kf5 g6+ 41 Ke6 (4 1 Kxg6
defence is completed, and Qhl mate) 41 . . . Qe4+ 42
preparations for a counter­ Kd7 Qb7+ 43 Ke6 Qf7 mate.
offensive begin.
40 • . • Qh3+
33 g4 41 Ke4
Forced, si nce in the vari­ The king cannot retu rn to
ation 33 Nxg7 Kxg7 34 Qf6+ f4 because of 41 . Re�.
IS
· ·

KgB 35 Rd4 White does not when mate by 42 gS · · ·

have a single square on the unavoidable.

g-file after 35 . . . h5. 41 •Re8+ 42 Kd5 Qb3+ 43
. .

33 . . . f6 Kd4 Qxa3 White resigns.

34 Kh3 hS
The weaknesses which
have arisen in White's position
on the k ingside (far-advanced
pawns, poorly defended king)
But i n the chapters to corn�
we will be talki n g ab��­
som eth i ng else . The
amp les g iven sho uld d m b6r
e on·
e reade r a n um
strat to the
 Counterattack 1 57

f ty pical situati ons in wh ich actions. Grouped according

. . .
sense m beg m mng
�ere iserattack, to themes, these exam ples
co unt and should will suggest in which cases
:s though reorientate the and i n which way a counter­
of a
th i nk ing chess p layer attack may prove successful.
to w a rds c o u n te rattack i n g
14
Counterblow i n the centre

The player who holds the Witkowski-Fuderer

centre also holds the i nitiative. Lyons, 1 9 55
This stems from the very
nature of chess: from the
centre a piece can, qu ickly
move to any part of the board,
and can take part in both
defence and attack. And it is
natural therefore that there
should be a struggle for piece
domination in the centre, in
which the counterblow has
long been a basic device of
chess strategy. And it was
this that gave rise to a strat­
9 g4?
A clear breaking of the
egic rule: an attack on one of
the flanks prom ises success afore-me ntioned rule: White
is not stronge r in the centre,
if the player has domination
of the centre, or if the centre and the pawn skeleton has
i s c l o s e d , w i t h b l oc ked not yet been fixed.
pawns. 9 ... Nbd7
If these conditions do not 10 h4 eS!
apply, then against a flank At j u st the righ t time. Now
in the event of the stubborn
attack a counter-blow in the
1 1 h 5 exd4 1 2 Nxd 4 d 5!
the
centre can be very effective.
The counterattack beg un initiativ e passes co mp le
elyt
with a pawn advance in the to Black.
1 1 dS cxdS
centre is rightly regarded as
If Black wanted to f
ll a in
classical, and its principles
int�n;
.

nt's
h ave b e e n t h o ro u g h l y with his oppo ne
tion s, it wou ld be hard to
thina
studied. But our examples
should rem i nd the reader of of a better possibilitY the
th n
g
those factors by which he 11 . . . c5? ?, closin
should be guided. centre.
1 58
 Counterblow in the centre
13 Nxd5 Nxd5
h6
1 3 Qxd5
Nc5
1 4 Bd2
Th re atenin g 1 5 . . . Be6,
the q ueen.
tra p p ing
15Qc4 d5!
16 xd5
e e4:
An d W h i t e ' s p o s i t i o n
c o l la p s es . A n e x c e l l e n t
ill ustration of our theme !
17 Bg2 Bd7 1 8 Qb4 exf3
19 Bxf3 Bb5 20 a4 Bxe2 21
Bxe2 Qd6 22 Kd1 Qxd5 23
Rf1 Rad8 24 Bc4 Qg2 25 Rxf7
Qxg 4+ 26 Rf3+ Kh8 Wh ite
resigns.
Experienced players in­
variably p refer a possible
counterattack in the centre
to any other form of counter­
play. In this sense, in the
game Averbakh-Botvinnik,
Moscow, 1 957, Black's move
16 . . b5 was accompanied
.
by a n instructive comment
by the ex-World Champion.
1 59
It might be thought tha�. in
reply to White's offensive on
the ki ngside, Black is beg in­
ning a stormi ng of the queen­
side castled position. But
this is not so, and here is what
Botvinnik writes: "Were it not
for the . . . b5-b4 advance,
Black would merely be a
spectator to the development
of his opponent's attack on
the ki ngside. But while the
white knight is making the
jou rney from c3 to g3, Black
will succeed in intensifying
the pressure along the a8-h1
diagonal, and in particular
i n securing control of the d5
square".
Take note: Black is thi nking
not about the rapid advance
of his a- and b- pawns for the
opening of li nes, but about
the d5 square! And this is
j ustified: the centre is mobile,
and a counterattack here
promises good chances.
17 g4 b4
18 Ne2
Of course, not 1 8 Qxb4 in
view of 18 . . . d5.
18 . • . Qb7!
1 9 Ng3 d5!
Botvinni k , who has always
p r o fe s s e d h i s f a i t h i n
classical chess, strikes a truly
classical counterblow in the
centre! Of White's attack not
even a trace remains, and the
1 60 The Art of Defence in Chess

variation 20 g5 dxe4! 21 gxf6 16 b3(?) dS!!

Bxf6 is clearly unfavourable Is the number of
for him. Pawn
imp ortant, when it is a
After 20 e5 Ne4 21 Bxe4 tion of a cou nte rattack
ques �
o
dxe4 22 Qe3 Rfd8 the init­ the most importa nt Pa n
rt of
iative completely passed to the board!?
Black. 17 exdS e4!
It is worth noting this
The high cost which a typica l breakt hrou gh.
player may not begrudge
18 bxc4
payi ng for a timely break­
Both 1 8 Bxe4 Nxe4 19 Nxe4
th rough in the centre is de­
Bxd5 20 Qd3 Qc6 21 Bf2 Rea
monstrated by the game
followed by 22 . . . Bxg2, and
Rauzer-Botvinnik, 8th USSR
Championship, Leningrad, 1 8 Nxe4 Nxd5 1 9 Kh 1 Nxe3 20
Qxe3 Bd4 21 Qd2 Bb2 (21 . .
1 933. .

Be6 22 c4 BeS 23 Qc2 Bxf4 is

Had White realized the idea
a s s o c i ated w i t h B l a c k 's
previous move 1 5 . . . e5, he
would have removed the
tension in the centre by 1 6
fxe5, which would have led
to a roughly eq ual position.
But he decided to seize the
centre, wishing to continue
his pawn storm on the king­
side.
also possible) favour Black.
Therefore White's decision
is perfectly reasonable.
18 . . . exf3
19 cS QaS
20 Red1
The white pawns on the 5th
rank look threatening , but
are in fact weak. 20 d6 is bad -
20 . . . Ng4 21 Ne4 Qxd2 �2
Bxd2 f2+ 23 Nxf2 Bd4, as 15
20 gxf3 Nxd5 21 Nxd5 Qxd2
22 Bxd 2 Rxd 5. White wo_uld
have had bette r sav l n �
u
Chan ces after 20 Od3! , b r
u nte ­
even then Black's co_ r
de e d
attack must be con sl
a comp lete success.
e u ded
The gam e itself co n l
as follows.
20 . . . N g4!
21 Bd4 12+
 Counterblow in the centre 161

22 Kf1 1 6 Qe2
I f 22 Kh 1 ,
then 22 . . . Rxd5! Practically forced, si nce
23 Nxd 5 f 1 =0+!, and White after 1 6 0-0 ReB the white
is queen. queen comes u nder fire.
lose s h
22 Qa6+ 23 Oe2 Bxd4 24
. . .
16 • • • ReS
d Q f6! 2S Red1 Oh4 26 17 Be3
Rx 4
d ReS 27 Re4 IS! 28 Re6 This leads to a d ifficult
Q 3
2+ 29 Ke2 Qxf4 position, but even after the
Nxh
relatively best 1 7 Qd1 !? Qb6
In view of the loss of the
with the th reat of 18 . . . Bb3
exch ange - 30 Rf1 Nxf1 31
Black's initiative would have
Kxf1 Rxe6 32 dxe6 Qe5 -

White resig ned and 'pre­ more than compensated for

sented' his opponent with the pawn.
the brilliancy prize. 17 Nd4! 18 exd4 exd4
19 o-o dxe3 20 b4 aS! 21
• • •

Rab1
The lesser evil was 21 bxa5,
although even then White's
position was p robably lost.
21 . . • a4!
22 Oxa4 Ra8
23 Qe2 Rxa3
The powerful passed pawn
is securely defended, Black's
pieces are active, and soon
the game concluded in his
In theg a m e B a b rls­ favour.
E�absons, Riga, 1 984, with
h is last move 1 2 h2-h4 Wh ite Chernin-Gordeyev
has beg un a flank diversion ,
w� 1 o u t having the slig htest
Vil nius, 1 983

gthrounds White is threatening to

e 'SCientifically approved'
for it. In reply came
. strengthen his attack with 28
u
co nterb
low in the cen tre.
Bxf6+ Rxf6 29 Rg6 followed
12 by Rbg 1 . In accordance with
� dS! 14
�S BxdS 1S1 3QxeS
exdS NxdS the laws of chess strategy,
· · •

Kg8!? Black answers a flank attack

irn Oo lly ave rting Ng5+, either with a cou nterblow in the
l'lled iately or after 16 Qxd5 . centre, since only this will
1 62 The Art of Defence in Chess

allow him to bring up re­ 1 984, White is attacking over

serves ( in this case - his the entire front He only
knight) to the decisive part needs to complete his devel­
of the board. opment, and the break­
through by d4-d5 or even
27 d5! 28 cxd5 Nxd5 29
f4-f5 will decide the game.
• • •

Rbc1 Nf4! 30 Bxf6+ Rxf6 31

Qg5 This makes all the more
effective Black's counterblow
It would appear that Black
in the centre.
is lost, but. . .
31 Rg6!! 15 • • • e5!
• • •

1 6 fxe5 NxeS
And White is forced to g ive 1 7 Bb3
up his q ueen , since he 17 dxe5 Qc5+ is totally bad.
0-0-0
obviously cannot contem­ 17 . . .

plate 32 fxg6?? Qh3 mate. 18 Be3 fS

F o l l o w i ng the same
32 Qxf4 exf4 33 fxg6 hxg6
strategy of attacks o n _ t�e
34 Rxg6 Qh7 35 Rg4 Qh5 36
C·
cen tre. I ts tactical justlfi
Rcg1 c4!
White's bishop l oses its atio n l ies i n the variation
19
support, and for the black exf5 Nc4 20 Bc1 Nxb2 21
094
rook a file is opened. (21 Bxb2 Bxc3 22 Bxc3 O
e3·•)
37 bxc4 bxc4 38 dxc4 Rea 21 . . . Rxd 4, when 22 Qxd:
e
15
39 Bf3 Qc5, and a draw was bad bec ause of 22 ·B · ·
·

ag reed. 1 9 gxf6 Nxf6

20 Qe2 Neg4
Here, in the game Polugay­ N ow White is obl ige
d. ��
ri fi c e.
evsky-Portisch, Amsterdam, an exchange sac
 Counterblow in the centre 1 63

.d hi m self of
n
the th reats 17 g4
h2 , e4 etc.
agai n st It is qu ite apparent that
21 R x f6! Nxf6 22 eS NhS 23 Black is mobilized no worse
Qg4+ Kb8 24 Ne4 than his opponent, and in fact
his minor pieces are more
Alas. 24 Bg5 does not work
. . . Rx d4! harmoniously and actively
because of 24
24 Rdf8 25 NgS Nf6 26
• . •
placed. For the moment there

Qe6 Nd7 27 Oxe7 Bxe7 28

N f7 Rh4 29 as
Wh ite prevents the black
knight from going to dS and
evidently has some compen­
sation for the exchange. In
the subsequent play he
managed to mai ntain the
balance, and on move 55 the
game ended in a draw.
The great i mportance of
active counterplay in the
centre i s c o n v i n c i n g l y
emphasized by two examples
where the positions are very
different, but the principles
of p l ay h a v e m u c h i n
com mon.
Smyslov-Kotov
Moscow, 1 943
is approximate balance in the
centre, and this factor did not
give White g rounds for such
a risky flank sortie.
17 . • • Rad8!
Preparing a counterblow
in the centre, after which
W h i te' s wea k n esses w i l l
become very percepti ble.
18 Kh1 Ne6
19 Bd2 dSI
20 Nf3 d4??
Having worked out a temp­
ting variation. Black makes
a fundamental m istake. He
would have gained excellent
counterplay after opening
the centre - 20 . . . dxe4 21
Nxe4 Nd5, or after a further
undermi n ing of the white
pawn chain - 20 . . . c4. But
now, by closing the centre,
Black frees his opponent's
hands for the continuation of
his flank attack.
21 Ne2 Nc6
22 Qh3 Kh7
23 Ng3 f6
This was the position for
which Black was aiming
when he closed the centre.
1 64 The Art o f Defence in Chess

He was planning to follow up bxc5+ Resigns.

with . . . Ne5, with the idea
either of himself exchanging
on f3, or after Nxe5 of seizing
A d ifferent, fundamentally
the f4 square. But his erron­
correct decision was taken
eous strategy encounters a
i n t h e g a m e Korchnoi­
q uite logical refutation.
Karpov, 41 st USSR Ch amp­
24 Nf511 gxf5 ionship, Moscow, 1 973, by
24 . . . g5 was perhaps the the future World Cham pion .
lesser evi l, but then after 25
Qg3 with the threat of h2-h4
White's advantage is un­
d i sputed.
25 gxf5 Nc7
On the decisive part of the
battlefield Wh ite has acquired
an advantage in force, and he
easi ly builds up his attack.
26 Rg1
With the intention of 27
Rxg7+ Kxg7 28 Rg1+ Kf7 29
Qh5+ Ke7 30 Rg7+. The white pieces and
26 . . . pawns have occupied the
Ne8 centre, but Black is keeping
27 Rg6 Rf7 the d4 squa re unde r tension.
28 Rbg1 In his notes to the game
Threatening mate i n two Karpov writes that 13 . . c4, .

moves: 29 Rxh6+ Bxh6 30 as reco mme nded in Inform·

Qxh6 mate. ator, did not appeal to � hi ,
28 . . . Kg8 29 Rxh6 Kf8 30 for the very reason that It
Rh7 Ke7 31 Qh5 Kd6 32 Bf4+ relieved the tensio n in the
Ne5 33 Bxe5+ fxe5 34 f6! cent re and "wou ld have freed
Whit e's hand s for the devel·
An elegant conclusion to
the attack. Black cannot now �.�
opm ent of his initiat i ve i �
centre and on the k m sl g d
_
It was this that resu lted 1 0
avoid major loss of material.
. ·

34 . . . Nxf6 35 Qxe5+ Kc6

·
hiS
36 Rhxg7 Kb5 37 Nxd4+ Kb6 decision - that it was better
38 b4 ReS 39 Rxf7 Qxf7 40 to sacrifice a paw n.
Qd6+ Rc6 41 Nxc6 Nxe4 42 13 . . . N c6
 Counterblow in the centre
I n the variation 1 4 axbS
a x b5 1
5 BxbS cxd4 1 6 cxd4
Qb6 1 7 Qe2 Rxa1 1 8 Bxa1
Bla ck int ends to continue 1 8
Nb4 with the threat o f 1 9
· · · Nxe4 20 Nxe4 Bxe4 21
o�e4 QxbS, and after 19 Bc4
Re S to obtai n for the pawn
the poss ibil ity of "constantly
th rea te n i n g t h e r a t h e r
aw kward placing o f the
opponent's minor pieces"
(Karpov).
The continuation chosen
by White concedes the dS
sq uare to Black, the position
in the centre is stabilized,
and for the pawn Black gains
more than sufficient com pen­
sation in the form of his
active pieces.
14 eS NdS 15 axbS axb5 16
Ob1 cxd4 17 cxd4 h6 18 Bxb5
Qb6
Th e further course of the
9�me does not bear any
direct relation to the theme
of counterattacking in the
centre. We will merel y remar k
that, at the momen t when he
cap itu lated on move
Wh lt· e was sti ll a pawn up. '
41
. More rarely a coun terattack
In th e centre begi ns not with a
f�wn �ounterblow, but with
s e1zu re of the central
��.ua res by pieces. However,
1
rn 8 m e ans of active defence
ust al so be kept i n view.
1 65
Tai-Smyslov
45th USSR Championship,
Leni ngrad, 1 977
After employing a new
c o n t i n u a t i o n , Wh i t e h a s
gained a menacing attacking
position. With an introd uctory
move he drives back the black
knight, since the direct 1 1
Bh6 does not achieve its aim,
if only because of 1 1 . . . BgS.
1 1 f3 Ng5
Bad is 1 1 . . . Bc5 + 1 2 Kh1
Nf2+ 13 Rxf2 Bxf2 14 BgS,
when the black king cannot
be saved.
1 2 f4?
A significant i naccuracy. In
continu ing his offensive on
the flank, White allows the
black knight to return to its
active position in the centre.
The interposition of 1 2 Nc3,
and if 1 2 . . . Kh8 13 f4, would
have retained for White all the
advantages of his position.
12 . . . Ne4
1 66 The Art of Defence in Chess

1 3 f5 Kh8 te? his great adva ntage in

to a
14 Rf3? wm.
Carried away by his attack ,
Wh ite forgets about the pos­
sible piece counterattack i n
the centre, and fail s t o make
the now essential move 1 4
Be3.
14 . . . Bc5 +
Now all Black's minor
pieces are exerting pressure
on the centre.
15 Kf1
If 1 5 Be3, then 1 5 . . . Qe7!
In the game Mestel - Flear,
is very strong, and White does
not have the thematic 16 f6 in London, 1 986, Black is not
only a pawn down, but also
view of 1 6 . . . Bxe3+ 1 7 Rxe3
his king is about to come
Nxf6.
under attack. The deadly
15 . . . d6! transfer of the rook to g3 is
After the piec�s . a counter­ threatened, and therefore the
blow in the centre is struck by white knight is immune. Black
a pawn. The inititiative now is saved only by the domina­
completely belongs to Black. tion of his pieces - i n par­
16 f6 g6 ticular his heavy pieces - on
17 Qh4 dxe5 the central fi les: this enables
The threats of Black, who him, simultaneou sly with
holds all the communications defence, to seek a co unter·
in the centre, are m uch more attack.
dangerous than the attack on 27 . . . Rfe8!
the h-file. There followed: 28 Reb1
18 Ke2 Qd4! It is obv ious th at, in
th �
19 Rh3 event of the exch an g e 0k
Otherwise it is difficult to rook s the threa t of a .baC
ran k i nva sion Wi l l be deCI Y
' . S ive.
cu eI
parry the prepared 19 . . .
Nc3 +. Th is co uld have been se �
t t en
19 Qf2+ 20 Qxf2 Nxf2 prevented by 28 Rf1 . bu . 9
9s
• • .

k
21 Rh4 Ne4 22 Bh6 Nxf6 23 co m es 28 . . . Bc 3!, blo c '"
to
the wh ite rook's path
'

Bxf8 Rxf8, and B lack conver-

 Counterblow in the centre 1 67

d also preparing the terri ble . . . gxf5 White had prepared

�n .
. . Qxf1 + with mate next 1 5 Bxf5, and if 1 5 .-. . exf5 1 6
Such is the power of Nxd5 Qd8 1 7 Bg5.
10 0ve.
ala ck piece domin ation in
's White's plan would have
the c ent
re.
been irreproachable, had he
28 . • • Qc5! been dominating the centre.
Again preventing the rook But this is not the case, and
move to g3 - because of 29 Black beg i ns a piece counter­
. . . Bxf2 + . attack against White's main
29 Nd3 Qxc2 outpost - his e5 pawn. There­
30 Bd1 Re1 +l fore White should have been
This concludes the game, content with the more modest
since 31 Nxe1 fails to 31 . . . 1 4 Ne2 followed by Bd2.
Qxf2+ 32 Kh2 Be5+, mating. 14 . . . Bb8!!
31 Kh2 Rxd1 32 Rb8 Qc7 + Now 1 5 Bg5 is parried by
Whi te resigns. 1 5 . . . Ndxe5 with the threat
of 1 6 . . . Nxd3+. At the same
Spielmann-Keres time Black defends the d6
Nordvik, 1 938 square and on 15 Bf4 he now
has 1 5 . . . d4 16 Ne4 exf5.
Therefore White is practically
forced to continue his policy
of d i rect attack.
15 fxg6 Ndxe51
1 6 gxf7+ Qxf7
17 Ng5
White has no other way of
parrying the attack on d3. But
now, with gain of tempo,
Bl�ck creates pressure along

d ' By 14 f5 White has begu n a

the a1 -h8 diagonal.
1rect stormin g of the king­ 17 Qf6
Si. d e S'
• • •

e
·
1 mul taneously he has 1 8 Rf1?
�abled his last u ndevelop ed
n·uno r Piece
This loses immediately, but
- his dark-squa re
·
even the better 18 Bd2 would
bisho
and p - to come into play , not have saved White against
IJ(gs he threatens not only 1 5 the mounting counterattack.
' but als o 1 5 Bg5. O n 1 4 For example, 18 . . . Nxd3+ 1 9
1 68 The Art of Defence in Chess
Qxd3 Ne5 20 Qg3 Ng4 21 Qf3
Qe5 +, and material loss for
White becomes i nevitable.
However, even without con­
crete variations it is apparent
how the counterattack on e5
has i ncreased the power of
the black pieces.
18 . • • Ng41
19 Qf3
Or 1 9 Rxf6 Bxg3+, when
20 Ke2 is decisively met by
20 . . . Be5, and 20 Kd2 by 20
. . . Bxh4.
19 .Qxc3 + 20 Kd1 Qg7
• •
21 Qe2 Rf8 22 Rxf8+ Kxf8
23 Nxe6+ Bxe6 24 Qxe6 Nf2+
25 Ke1 Nxd3+ 26 cxd3
And, without waiting for
Black's reply, White resigned.
We will concl ude this
chapter by referring to two
exam p l es from open i n g
theory.
After 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3
Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Be2 0-0 6 Bg5
c5 7 d5 a6 8 a4 Qa5 9 Bd2 a
well known position is reached
from the Averbakh Variation
of the Ki ng's Indian Defence.
In the first game, Averbakh­
Panno. Buenos Aires, 1 954,
with which this variation
beg an , B l ac k i ncorrectly
closed the centre.
9 ... e5?
This allowed White to begin
an attack on the kingside.
10 g4! Ne8 1 1 h4 f5 12 h5 f4
1 3 g51 Rf7 14 Bg4 Qd8 15 Bxc8
Qxc8 1 6 Nf3 Bf8 17 Ke21 Rg7
1 8 Rh4 Nd7 19 hxg6 hxg6 20
Qh1 Be7 21 Rh8+, and White
soon won.
Meanwh ile, in the game
Ciocaltea - Gligoric, Moscow
Olym piad , 1 956, the correct
cou nterattac k in the c entre
led to the white king begin ning
'
to feel no hap pier than B lack s.
9 . . . e6 10 g4? exd5 1 1
exd5 Qd8 12 h4 Re8 13 Kf1
Nbd7 14 h5 Ne4 15 N xe4 3
Rxe4 1 6 hxg6 fxg6 17 Aa
Nf6, with counterplay .
 Counterblow in the centre 1 69

What would you have played?

.No. 42
White began an offensive
with 14 g4. Assess the posi­
tion. What plan should Black
choose?

No. 43
Here the pawn structure in
the centre is more fixed than
in the previous example. How
should Black react to the 14
g 4 attack?

No. 44
Despite the exchanges, the
position is still a middlegame
one, and Wh ite continued his
ki ngside pawn storm with
22 g4. Find the strongest plan
of counterplay.
1 70 The Art of Defence in Chess

No. 45
By the manoeuvre N b 1 -d2-
c4-e3-f5 White has dem on­
strated her intention of
attacking. Her last move was
1 3 h3. Is this plan justifi ed?
Could White have p layed
differently? What should Black
do?
15
W ho ever i s q uicker, whoever i s the more
ge nerous . . .

It is roughly under this motto Nimzowitsch-N.N.

that the play proceeds when Riga, 1 9 1 0
an attack on one flank is met
by a counterattack on the
other.
Such a 'battle of encounter'
normally inflames to the limit
the situation on the board:
delay and pursuit of material
gai n, or, on the contrary,
sti nginess, are all eq u ivalent
to defeat The value of every
.

tempo grows sharply. And

therefore experienced and
gen u i nely strong players
resort to a counterattack on
�he opposite flank, only if they
ave no prospect of counter­
Play in the centr
e.
B ut if there is such a pros­
Pect, then we cannot help but
�ree With the outstanding
w�o r�s. t,
Aron N imzowitsch ,
9 . 0 In h i s
book My System
lves the
following exampl e.
10 . . . bS
N imzowitsch com ments:
"The attack seems hardly in
place here, so that my oppo­
nent's expression, 'Now we're
in for it', charged as it was with
the l ust of battle, struck one
as all the prettier. I u nderstood
him at once; he clearly ex­
pected the answer 1 1 g4 with
a consequent race between

1 71
1 72 The Art of Defence in Chess

the pawns on both sides

accord ing to the motto 'who
gets in first wins'. What did
happen however was
1 1 NdS
With this move, by which an
outpost station in the d-file is
occupied, White obeys an­
other principle of position
play, namely that premature
f l a n k attac ks s h o u l d be
punished by play in the centre.
There followed 17
• . • a4!
11 .
• . NxdS The most swift and deter­
12 exdS Nxd4 m i ned. It becomes obvious
13 Bxd4 that Black's counterattack
o u t s t r i ps h i s opponent's
And White has very much
offensive on the opposite
the better · game . . . And the
moral of the story is: Do not flank. If White accepts the
sacrifice - 1 8 fxe6, then 1 8
be always thinking of attack !".
. . . fxe6 1 9 Qg3 Bh4 20 Q h2
Rf2 21 Rhe1 Bg5+ allows
Black to cause complete
d i s h a r m o n y i n the co­
Although this monologue ord i nation of the opponent's
by N imzowitsch relates more .
pieces and to assail the wh Jte
in its subject matter to the .
king with clearly supenor
previous chapter, it also as it forces.
were establishes a bridge axb3
18 h4
with our d iscussion of attacks Ra2!
19 axb3
on opposite sides. If there is a
I ntendin g also to offer
a
choice, then, instead of a
rook i n the vana ' n
· t 1o Qa5
flank counterattack, it is more an
· · · ·

d
effective to stri ke i n the . . . Rxb2, . . . Qa3+
. . . Ra8.
20 fxe6 fxe6 21 O e3 Qa5 2224
centre. But if there is no

c4 Rxb 2! 23 Kxb2 Oa3: 26

choice, the counterattack

Kb1 Ra8 25 Nc1 Qa1

m ust be conducted with the
utmost energy. An example is
provided by the game Gereben
- Geller, Budapest, 1 952.
Kc2
One mo re mo ve, a
nd tne
 Whoever is quicker, whoever is the more generous . . . 1 73

wh i te k ing wi l l slip out , but . . . the opposite flank. Tal him­

26 ... Ra2+ self considered the g rounds
21 Nxa2 Qxa2+ for it to be, fi rstly, the weak­
28 Kc1 Nxb3+ ness of the light squares
29 Qxb3 Qxb3 around the white king, and
secondly, the remoteness of
All is now clear. Black's
the white queen from the
swift c ounterattack has given
him a material advantage, and ki ngside (as we will see a little
when he brought his dark­ later, often a whole system of
square bishop into play, counterattack is based on
White resigned. such a diversion).
25 . . . f4!
26 Rb8
A sacrifice also enabled On 26 exf4 Tal had prepared
Black to carry out a counter­ 26 . . . e3! 27 fxe3 Bxc3 28
attack in the game Benko -
Bxc3 Qxe3 +, and on 26 gxf4
Tal, Candidates Tournament, - the same move as in the
Yugoslavia, 1 959. game.
26 . . . Bh3!
27 Rxf8+
One ill ustration of the
counterattack's strength is a
variation with the sacrifice of
the queen - 27 Qb7 fxe3!
27 . . . Qxf8
28 exf4 Qb8!
The th reats to the white
king render Benko's position
hopeless, and after 29 Ne2
With the kings castled on
Qb1 + his overstepping of the
the same side, Whit time limit merely substituted
��nd uctin g an offe
e has been
nsive on
one form of defeat for
another.
e queenside and has suc­
�e e d ed
in i n v a d i n g h i s
PPo nent'
defen s po sit ion. An y In the game Velimirovic -
81Ve measures by Black
·

Gaprindashvili, Bela Crkva,

beg�•n med to fai lure, and he
are oo
1 984, for the piece White does
s a counterattack on
not have just four pawns - he
1 74 The Art of Defence in Chess

23 . • • Rg8+
Wh ich king is 'worse'?
24 Kh4 Nc6
25 Rd5 Ob4
26 Rf4 Rxg2
27 e5 Qe1 +
28 Kh3 Rg3 +1
The only way! I n the va ria­
tion 28 . . . Qg1 White gets
there first: 29 Qf8+ Kc7 30
exd6+ Kb6 31 Rb4+! Nxb4
also has a very strong attack: 32 Qb8+ Ka6 33 dxe7 and
i n particular 1 9 Rf8 is threat­ wins.
ened, after which the black 29 hxg3 Qh1 + 30 Kg4 QxdS
king will be left completely
31 exd6 Ne5 + 32 Kh5 Nd7 +
'bare'. 33 Qg5 Qh1 + 34 Kg4 h5+1 35
Black is saved by finding a Kf5
f o rt u n a te p o s s i b i l i t y of The pawn is taboo because
cou nterplay against the white of the threat of 36 . . . Rg7 +.
king.
35 . . . Qd5 + 36 Kg6 Qxd&
18 . . . b3!! 37 Qa5 + Nb6 38 Rf8 + Kc7
19 cxb3 39 Qc3+ Kb7 40 Rf7 Qxe&+
Evidently best. After the 41 Qf6 Qg4 + 42 Kh6 Rxf7 43
exchange of queens - 1 9 Qxf7 + Nd7 44 Qd5+, and
Qf6+ Kc7 20 Qc3+ Nc6 21 soon the players agreed a
Qxb3 Qxb3 22 cxb3 Rxe6 the d raw.
attack comes to a halt and
the endgame is roughly eq ual.
19 . . . Qb4 +
This was the reason for the
sacrifice of a further pawn.
20 Kf2 Qc5+
21 Kg3 Ra71
22 Qf6 + Rae7
23 Rad1
Or 23 h3 Nc6 24 Kh2 Qe5 +
25 Qxe5 Nxe5, and the e6
pawn is lost.
 Whoever is quicker, whoever is the more generous . . . 1 75

In t his game, Sakhatova 29 d5! Bd7

1.. Moscow, � 985, it
-

zaitseva, After 29 . . . exd5 30 exd5

. 5 not ju st the matenal bal­ Bd7 White has the decisive
�nce w hich
also
has been
many
d isturb­
of the
31 Rxg6.
ed b
ut 30 Ne3
cu�to m ary signs by which a
With the threat of 31 Ng4.
pos iti on is assessed . The
white king is in the centre, but 30 • • • f6
an attack is threatened against 31 Bxf6! Qxf6
its black opponent sheltering
32 eS Nxc3+
behind a pawn chain: a break­ A diverti ng sacrifice, which
through in the centre is . . . does not have to be
possi ble, a sacrifice on g6 . . . accepted.
A natural and perfectly 33 Kf1 ! Nxd5
adeq uate defence for Black 34 Nxd5 exd5
would have been provided 33 exf6 Bf5
by a strong counterblow on 36 Qxf51
the opposite flank - 27 ... b4!! The simplest, quickest and
Now in the event of 28 Bxb4 most elegant.
Oxf4 White's dark-square 36 gxf5
bh is op would have been
•

37 Rg7+
• •

unable to participate in the

Black resigns: after 37 . . .
attack, while after 28 Be5 b3!
Kh8 38 R 1 g6 there is no way
29 Qd2 (29 Qc 1 b2 30 Qc2
of avoid i ng mate.
Oxe5 3 1 fxe5 b 1 =Q 32 Qxb 1
Nxc3+) the pressure on the
In general, the counter­
96 pawn is markedly weaken­
attack on the opposite flank
ed, a nd all the time the pawn is in every way subject to the
at b3 restricts Wh ite's forces. principles of conducting an
attack, which, strictly speak­
A more passive defence by ing, is not a theme of the
Bl ack le d to her defeat. given book. Therefore we will
27 • • • Nb7? restrict ourselves to these few
28 Bes Qe7 energetic examples.
1 76 The Art of Defence in Chess

What would you have played?

No. 46
White has already begun an
attack on the kingside with 1 6
f2-f4. H e now threatens, in
particu lar, 1 7 f5 Bd7 18 g4
followed by a pawn storm ,
plus pressure on the d5 pawn
after Bg2. What should Black
do?

No. 47
White has seized space on
the quee nside and is con­
trolling important points in
the centre, such as dS . His
bishop control s the h 1 -aS
diag onal . Is there a weak ness
in White's posit ion and does
a
Blac k have grou nd s fo r
u l d
cou nterattac k? Where sho
it be soug ht?
16
Fo rward - through sacrifices!
A m o re typical proced u re
than the one exami ned i n the
previo us c h a p t e r is t h e
launc hing of a counterattack
with the help of sacrifices.
Moreover, the amount of
mate rial sacrificed can often
be very substantial. Especially
in cases where the resulti ng
complications are subject to
more or less precise calcula­
tion. But, of course, this
factor does not bel ittle the
merit of a player who finds the
idea of counterplay and has
the courage to carry it out.
Fi�n the g ame Uhlmann
, 9��er, Seig - is sacrificed, and White can­
en Olympiad,
' th� accumulation of
Blac�-,s P ieces on the kingside
a11d
1 8 ad vanced
pawns there
1 77
are by no means an indication
of the strength of his position.
On the contrary, the co­
ordination of the black pieces
is far from ideal, the pin on the
e-file is very unpleasant, and
with his next move White sets
his opponent serious prob­
lems.
25 NbS
The two threats - 26 Nxd6
and 26 Nxa7 - can be parried
only passively, by returning
the rook to aS, but then White
has both the transfer of his
knight to e6 with gain of
tempo (after which Black has
to reckon with a possi ble
Nxc5 ) , as wel l as the simple
26 Bc3, which may lead to an
i nvasion along the e-file or to
the creation of a powerful
passed d-pawn. Black finds a
way to save the game by sharp
counterplay.
25 . . . a6!
26 Nxd6 Bd4!!
Following the pawn a rook
not refuse the gift. On 27 Be3
Black wins by 27 . . . Rxe3!
28 Rxe3 Bxe3 29 fxe3 Qe1 + ,
30 . . . Qg3+ an d 31 . . . Qxd6.
1 78 The Art of Defence in Chess

27 N.xe8 Qxf2 + is aimed directly agai n

. st the
28 Kh2 ene m y km g. So that
if I. t IS
.
expo sed or mse curely i
·

Avoiding the 'possibil ity' of P aced,

bei ng mated i n the variation this often acts as a kin
d of
28 Kh 1 ?? Ng3+ 29 Kh2 Nf1 + gu "d
1 e to t he cou nterattac
k r.
30 Rxf1 Be5+ 3 1 Kh1 Qxf1 "If it i s a matter of the ki :
mat e. there is no place for mis
ness !" This sloga n of th
er 1� �
28 Nf4
�
• • •

29 Bxf4! ' masters of attack' is als

perfectly applicable for the
White does not begrudge
mou nting of a counterattack
his queen: on 29 . . . Qxc2
and it was by this that Black
there follows 30 d6!, and the
was g u ided in the game
pawn cannot be stopped.
Alekhine - Botvinnik, Notti ng­
29 . . . Qxe1 ham, 1 936.
30 Qc1 Qxe8
31 Bxh6
Black's counterattack has
been beaten off and White is a
pawn up. But each of the
remaining black pieces is
much more active than i ts
white opponent, and this
proves sufficient to maintain
the balance.
31 . . • Qe4
32 Bf4 Kg8
33 Qf1 Kf7 If Blac k avo ids material loss
34 h4 by 1 4 . . . Qxd 1 + 15 Rxd1 Nc6
n
( 1 5 . . Nxc2+ 16 Kd2), the
34 a4 is better, although
even then the win for White is
.

after 1 6 gS Nd7 1 7 f6 8� 8 18
bl�.
problematic. NdS his pos ition is une nvla
th iS
34 b51 35 Bg3 bxc4 36 But he bold ly went i n tor
• . •

bxc4 Bf6 37 Qf4 Qxf4 38 Bxf4 posi tion, i nten din g to

09
n:'0u�!
Bxh4 Draw agreed. an attack on the white kl
the cost of two piec es .
Incidentally, the defend i ng
side can permit h imself such 14 . . •
Qf41
considerable material sacrifi­ 15 Rf1 Qxh2
ces, only if the counterattack 1 6 Bxb4 Nxg41
 Forward - through sacrifices!
rhe o nly way! After 1 6 . . .
3+ 1 7 Rf2 Nxg4 White
��uldtemhave gained the neces­
po for defence - 1 8
sarY
Ne4!
17 Sxg4 Qg3 + 18 Rf2 Qg1 +
1 9 Rf 1 Draw agreed .
Only a counterattack en­
abled Black to save this game
between two acknowledged
masters of tactical play,
Ragozin - Tolush, Moscow,
1938. This example is given
so as once again to emphasize
that in a counterattack one
can not limit oneself to half­
measu res. It is this type of
Play that demands the maxi­
�u m dete rm i n a t i o n a n d
9ene ro s ity .
'
Wh ite is not only a piece u p
- he also has the possi bility,
� XPioiti ng the fact that it is his
a�;n to move, of launchi n g an
ac k o n the king. For Black
th On ly hope is associated
Wi�h the relatively shaky
1 79
position of the white king,
which, it is true, is securely
defended by the knights.
26 e7
Seemingly decisive: on 26
. . . Rdg8 it stands to reason
that White will choose not 27
Bxd6 because of mate in one
move, and not 27 Re2 because
of mate in two moves, but the
diverting 27 e8=0+ Rxe8 28
Bxd6, when it is the black king
that is mated at c7.
26 • • • Bxf4!
Black is now left a rook
down, but on the other hand
the dark squares around the
white king are significantly
weakened, and in addition
the black bishop is trans­
formed from a defender into
an attacker.
27 exd8=0+ Rxd8 28 Re7
White can no longer par­
ticularly delay: for example,
the p rophylactic 28 Re2
would have been met by either
28 . . . Rg8, or 28 . . . Bg3, or
28 . . . Be3.
28 Qh1 +
• • •
29 Kf2 Be3+!
30 Nxe3 Qh4+!
Black has also given up his
attacking bishop, in order that
the knight should abandon its
excellent defensive post at g2.
If now 31 Kg2 or 3 1 Ke2, then
31 . . . Qxe7!
1 80 The Art of Defence in Chess

arrICI-
31 Kf1 Qh1 + king also inten ds to P
32 Kf2 pate.
.

32 Ke2 does not help in view 40 Qd3

of 32 . . . d3+. 40 Qx b4 Kf 4 41 Oe1 Bd 4 2
!4
32 . . . 0 h4 + Ra6 Qg 1 + 43 Ke2 Qe3+
als0
Drawn by perpetual check. leads to a d raw.
It is possi ble that a know­ 40 . .• Kf4
ledge of this game or at least 41 Qd1
of this motif enabled Black to If Whi te persists with 4 1
find a way to save the follow­ Ra6, then after 41 . . . Qg 1 +
ing position . 42 Ke2 Qxg 2+ 43 Kd 1 Kxf3 it
is only Black who can think
Andreyev-Lutikov of wi nning.
Moscow, 1 949 41 ... Qg1 +
42 Ke2 Qxg2+
43 Kd3 Qb2
44 Ra6 Qc3+
Drawn by perpetual check.
Sacrifices of less frighten­
ing d i mensions occur much
more frequently (and they
must be considered the most
typical and the most success­
fu l ways of launching a
counte rattack). However, it is
they that enable the defender
to seize the initiative and ,
37 Qb6 ! witho ut espec ially a imi ng tor
The game seems to be y
forcin g contin uatio ns, to p la
decided, since there is no way ng h a s
' as t h o u g h noth i
of defending the knight, and dl ega m e
hap pene d': i n the mid
s.
it cannot move i n view of to d isre gard the material los
38 Qxd6+ . . . · t he
whic h cou ld tell only • n. ·
37 . . . KgS! end g ame , and , by exp lo �tl n9
38 QxbS Rxc4!! the pos ition al plusses 9� 1 �ed
n flce.
39 Qxc4 Be3 in return for the sa c
ess ry:
At the cost of a rook Black ca l mly, wit ho ut un nec he
l d
has beg un a counterattack on nervousness to ho c i. n g.
l n l t IatIVe. After sac
. · · · ' ri fi
the dark squares, in which h is
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 81

ook or a mi nor piece, facing Black. Defending the

saY. a r
c o unt erattacker does not pawn by 37 . . Rbc8 allows
th e
.

ve a 'lon g-term future', and White to intensify the pressure

ha
h e is obl iged to stake every­ over literally the entire board.
th i n g . But if he g ives up only Therefore Black's decision to
th e e xc hange, he can think activate his rooks atthe cost of
a ls o of positional factors, a pawn must be considered
wh ich may fully compensate . the best practical chance.
tor h is material deficit. 37 . . . Rcb7
11 sho uld be mentioned that 38 Rb1 Rd7!
the sacrifice of a pawn for 39 Rxc6 Rbd8
launching a cou nterattack Th us the d-file has been
can be carried out only wrested from White.
comparatively rarely: after all, 40 Rb6 fS
the opponent is by no means Rd4
41 Bf3
always obliged to accept this 42 Qa6 Qh4!
modest gift. Nevertheless,
One of the p rinciples of
examples of the defender
counterattack is the same as
forcing the opponent to
in attack: the point of it is not
a ccept t h e s a c r i f i ce are
to reg a i n the s a c r i f i ced
instructive.
material. Thus here on 42 . . .
Rxf4 there would have fol­
Burn-Chigorin lowed 43 Rb7 Rd7 44 c6, when
Ostende, 1 907 Black stands badly.
43 Rb7 + Kg8
44 g3 Qf6
45 Qe2
In order to answer 45 . . .
Rd2 with 46 Qe5.
45 ... Rd3
46 c6 Qd4 +
47 Kh1 Re3
48 Qf1 Qc3
49 Bg2
Evidently somewhat u n­
settled by the fact that the
struggle has flared up anew,
White m isses the chance of
1 82 The Art of Defence in Chess

playing 49 Rc1 ! 22 Kg2

49 . . . Rd2 Perhaps it wou ld have b
. . een
50 c7 Rc2 worth- g 1vmg up the e xch a
n
Of course, the white passed for this 'centr al attac ker' _
Rf2.
��
pawns are formidable, but the
invasion of Black's rooks into 22 . . . Nxg3!
the enemy position has also 23 Nxc8
created real counter-threats. 23 hxg3 obviously allows
51 Rd1 Ree2 mate i n one move - 23
52 Qf3 Rxg2! Qh3, while after 23 N�g3
53 Qxc3 Rxh2 + Qxd6 Black has more than
Drawn by perpetual check. sufficient counterplay for the
pawn.
Gligoric-Fischer 23 . . . Nxf1
Bled, 1 961 24 Nb6 Qc7!
The threat of mate in two
moves does not allow White
time for 25 NxaB.
25 Rxf1 Qxb6
26 b4!
The roles have been re­
versed . Black is the exchange
up, but it is now White who
r tt
lau nches a counte a ac k by
means of sacrifices.
26 . . . Qxb4 27 R b1 Qa5
28 NxcS! QxcS 29 Qxg6+ Bg7
30 Rxb7 Qd4 31 Bd3 R f4 32
It ap pears that Black can­
not avoid loss of material,
without an y com pensation. Qe6 + Kh8 33 Qg6
But he nevertheless finds Draw agreed.
counterplay, offeri ng a pawn
sacrifice and forcing White
In the game Razuvayev
-
to accept it.
Hubner, USS R v Rest t
of :�
19 . . . a6! World, Londo n, 1 984 • In
20 Nbxd6 d3!! ak . 1
Black's pawns are we
Acti vati n g h i s 'King's addition his king does �ott!�ea
Ind ian' bishop.
21 Qxd3 Bd4 +
secur e: the endga me
lon g way away. In thi
S 1.5 5diffi·
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 83

cu lt position he seeks counter­ Therefore he decides to win a

pla y. having i n mind a pawn pawn.
sa c ri fice. 29 BxhS gxhS
30 fS Ra1 !
3 1 fxe6 + Ke8
White has an extra pawn,
but there is no win!
32 ReS RdS 33 Re4 Rdd1 34
RfS Rxe1 3S Rxe1 Rxe1 36
RxcS Rxe6 37 RxhS Rg6 38
ReS + Kd7 39 Re3 aS 40 Rd3 +
Kc7 41 Kb3
Here the game was ad­
journed and was not resumed.
Draw agreed.
24 ... Nf6!
25 Bf3 hxg3 Olafsson-Tal
26 hxg3 Rd31
27 Rf1 Candidates Tournament,
In order to win 'without any Yugoslavia, 1 9S9
trouble'. Playing for an attack
would appear to have prom­
ised White more - 27 Bxc6
Rxg3 28 Rb1 Bb6 29 aS BxaS
30 Rb7+, but here one half of
the pawn material would have
disappeared from the board.
27 . • • NhS!!
Agreeing to 28 BxhS gxhS
29 ts es 30 BgS R8dS with
co unterchances (31 c4 Rd7
32 Axes Bb4) .

28 Be1 Rd1 ! Here too Black is in a

Acti vity on every move !
� ow after the forcing 29 ReS
critical position. Mate is
threatened, and after 21 . . . h6
xg3 30 Bxd1 N xf1 22 BeS the threat of 23 Qg6 is
31 RxcS
N e 32
�+ Kb3 Rxd1 33 Bf2 extremely unpleasant. But by
b h J te retains the advan tage,
W the sacrifice of a pawn he
u t the
position is simpl ified. succeeds in seizing the
1 84 The A rt of Defence in Chess

initiative. Apart, of course, adv ance an ent ire pla

n f
ack . 0
from concrete variations, Tal lau nchi ng a cou nteratt
considered there to be three
factors providing motifs for
c o u n t e r p l a y . F i rstl y , 'the Hort-Petroslan
pieces must be able to European Team
breathe' (and in the diagram Championship,
position they are obviously Kapfenberg, 1 970
cramped) . Secondly, on the
captu re of the pawn and the
withdrawal of his pieces
White will lose several tempi.
Th ird ly, a line is opened for a
counterattack on the white
king - the g-file. And, of
course, the general pri nciple
of the unprom ising nature of
passive defence also remains
val id i n the given situation.
21 . . . g6!
22 Bxg6 After origi nal play against
There is nothing else: if the French Defence, White is
22 Qe2, then 22 . . . Bxb2 and ' ready for a determined attack
23 . . . N xf4. on the k i ng. Passive defence
22 . . . Qe71 23 Bxf6 Nxf6 s•Jch as 1 8 . . . Kh8 would have
24 Qf3 Rb8 25 Bd3 Bb7 26 left White with a serious
Qe2 Kh8, and after 27 Rce1 initiative: h4-h5 Kd2, Rh1 ,
Rbe8 28 NfS Qb4 29 Qb2 ReS! with the theat of Ng6+ etc.
30 Ng3 Qc3 31 Qe2 Rg8 Black T h e ref o r e t h e Ex-Wo rld
developed a decisive offens­ Champ ion a
l a u n c h es .
ive along the g-file. cou nteroffensive, a con� r �u­
And yet the 'patent' way of ent part of which is a sacrrfrce
launching a counterattack of the exchange.
m ust be considered not the 18 . . . Nd8!
the
sacrifice of a pawn, but of the Clearing the way tor
exchange or of . . . the queen. bla ck rook to c4, so as � t
t e �
nrg
with the sup port of the k
g UP
In the fol lowi ng example,
on the idea of sacrificing the from c6 to beg in break r n n k
·

White's bases on th e 4th

r a
exchange Black created in
·
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 85

1 9 h5 Rc4 play brings him victory.

20 h6 Nec6 30 • Nc5 31 Qd1 Rc4 32
• •

21 Nh5 Bb2 b5 33 Qe2 Qd6 34 Kg1

B ot h sides consistently, Ne4 35 Rd3 QcS 36 Rc1 e5 37
with out losin g time, have
Qe3 d4 38 Qe2 Nxf6 39 Rdd1
.
carri ed out their plans Now
Nd5 40 Qd2 e4 41 Qg5 Nc7
Wh ite has created an i nterest- 42 Rd2 Ne6 43 Qh4 aS 44
. Rcd1 Rxc2 45 Rxc2 Qxc2 46
ing . althou gh transparent
trap : on 21 . . . Rxd4 there Rc1 Qxb2 47 Rxc6 d3 48 Ra6
fol lows 22 Rxg7 + Rxg7 (22 . . . Qd4 White resigns.
KhB 23 Qg3) 23 Nf6+ Kh8 24
Nxd7, and after 24 . . . Rxd3
White interposes the capture
of the rook on g7 with check.
21 . . . g6
22 Nf6+ Rxf6
The entire plan of cou nter­
attack was based on this:
Black's pawns in the centre
acq uire mobility (. e5!), and
. .

the opponent's king proves to

be in danger.
23 exf6 Nf7 Given a quiet development
The natural 23 . . . Nxd4 was of events, Black's position in
possible , of course, but now the game Nikolic - Ribli,
in the event of 24 c3 e5! Porto roz/ Lj u b l j a n a , 1 985,
B lack 's attack flares up like a gives cause for alarm: on 25
forest fire. . . . Rc7 White gains an attack
by 26 h5. Therefore the Hun­
24 Qd2 Rxd4 25 Rd3 Rh4 26 garian g randmaster resorts
Rh3 Rg4 27 Kf1 Nd6 28 Re1 to an exchange sacrifice for
kf7 29 Bc3 Ne4 30 Qd3 creating a counterattack. In
I f 30 Oe2, then 30 . . . Rf4! his words, this was done
Stri c tly spea king , further under the impression of the
co mmen tary is simply un­ best games of this type,
nece ssa played by ex-World Cham­
ry. It is readi ly
ap pa ren t pion Tig ran Petrosian.
j ust how much
Bl a c k
has gain ed for the 25 . . . Rxc1!
exch ange
, and even unhurried 26 Rxc1 Nf4
1 86 The Art of Defence in Chess

The first dividends from the The game Vaganian _

'invested capital': earl ier the Belyavsky, 43rd USSR Cham­

black knight could not even pionship, Yerevan , 1 975, has
d ream of this square. only just emerged from the
27 Qg4 Nxg2 opening, and the position can
28 Red1 Nh6 be assessed by the term
In the alternative variation 'dynamic eq uilibrium'. Every­
28 . . . Nfxh4 29 d5 Bxd5 Black thing depends on the plans of
would also seem to have the two sides, and Black's
sufficient compensation for decision to go onto the
the exchange. defensive must be conside red
29 Qe2 Nf4 incorrect. After 1 1 Rb8? 1 2
. . •

Nfd2 Bb7 1 3 Bxb7 Rxb7 1 4 bS!

a6 15 a4 Ra7 1 6 0-0 Qe7 17
30 Qd2
After 30 Qe3 Nh3+ 31 Kf1
Qe2 Rea8 1 8 aS! axbS 19
Ng4 Black wins, but 30 Qf1
QxbS bxaS 20 RxaS Rxa5 21
came into consideration. Now NxaS cS 22 Nc6 Qf8 23 Nb3
the king is assailed by almost c4 24 NcS NxcS 25 dxc5
all the black pieces.
White gai ned a decisive ad­
30 .. . eS vantage, and on move 39 even
31 dS Qh3 announced mate!
32 Be4 Ng4 Meanwh ile in the diag ram
33 Nf1 Qx h4 position Black has the possi­
34 Bg2 bil ity of beginning a counter­
The prosaic 34 . . . Nh3+ 35 attack by an exchange
Kg 2 Nhxf2 was threatened. sacrifice. After 1 1 . . . exf3 1 2
34 . . . Ba6 35 Re1 Bxf1 Bxa8 fxg2 1 3 Rg1 h6! 14 Bxf6
White resigns. (or 1 4 Bh4 gS 15 Bg3 NfB 16
Bc6 Bg4 17 Qd2 Re6 18 Bb5
Bf3 1 9 Be2 g4 with more tha n
sufficient compensa tion) 1 4
.. .Nxf6 1 5 Rxg2 Bg4 16 Rxg4
Nxg4 1 7 Qxg4 Qxa8 he wo��
have restored the maten
balance and obtain ed a good
game.

Wh ite's th reats in t�e g ��;

Tal - Portisch, NiksiC, 1
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 87

26 R&f2 Be&
27 QhS
Virtually the only move in
view of the threat of 27 . . .
Qa5.
27 ... bS
28 Qd1 Qa5
�9 b3 Rc3
30 Rxf7
White is obliged to return
t h e e x c h an g e , otherwise
look extremely dangerous. after 30 . . . b4 and 31 . . .
The main one is 24 Rxh6+ Qa3 the a-pawn advances.
gxh6 25 Rf6 with i nevitable 30 ... Bxf7
mate in a few moves. And
31 Rxf7 Qa3
counterplay against the white 32 Qf1 ReS
king appears to be too slow. 33 RfS Rc7
For example, on 23 . . . Qc7+
The position is roughly
24 Kb1 Be2 White has the
equal, and on move 37 a d raw
decisive 25 Nf5!!, while the
was ag reed.
more cu nning 23 . . . Be2
loses after 24 Rxh6+ gxh6 25
Rf6
·

Oc7+ 26 Nc6!! (on 26 Kd2

Black has the saving man-
oeuvre 26 . . . Qa5 + and 27 . . .
Og5) 26 . . . Qxc6+ 27 Kd2 d5
28 Oxh6+ Kg8 29 Rxc6 bxc6
30 Kxe2.
Th e H u n g a r i a n g r a n d ­
maste r finds a third way to
Obtai n counterp lay.
23 . . . Rc8 +1
24 Nxca Qc7 +II
25 Kb1 Rxc8 In game Dieks
the
An d it transpires that,
-

with Marjanovic, World Junior

a Paw n for the excha nge, the
Championship, Manila, 1 974,
0Pen
c-file, a threa t of mate an exchange sacrifice lies at
and " o
h•s
81ack
wn king safeguarded, the basis of Black's counter­
a lready stands better. attack, but it beg ins with a
1 88 The Art of Defence in Chess

classic counterblow i n the Of course, 25 Rxd 2 w as

ba
centre. because of 25 . . . oe3+ , d
. but
17 . . . dS! W h 1te s h outd perha ps h
. ave
18 cxdS exdS soug ht sa I vat1on in the co
_
19 eS plications after 25 Nbx
Passiv� defen ce allows Bla
:S
White fails to sense the ck
da nger, otherwise he would to bu1l d up an i rresistibl
e
have reconciled himself to attack.
full eq uality after the simplify­ 25 ... Be3 +
ing exchanges 1 9 exd5 Nfxd5 26 Kh1 Bb6
20 Nxd5 Rxd5 21 Rxd5 Bxd5. 27 Qxa6 Bc7
The move in the game is made 28 g3 d4
with the hope of gaining an 29 Be2
advantage. 29 Ne4 Bxe4 30 fxe4 Rxb4
19 . . . QxeS 31 Qc8+ Nf8 would have led
20 Bxb6 to the loss of a piece, but now
too mate r i a l tosses are
Intending after 20 . . . Rd7 inevitable.
to continue 21 Bd4, blockad­
ing the black pawn in the
29 . . . Nf8! 30 Qc4 dxc3 31
centre and beg i n ning a seige.
bxc3 ReS 32 Rd2 Bxf3+ White
resigns.
But . . .
20 . . . Rxb6!
21 Qxb6 Nd7 These exam ples strikin gly
22 QaS Rb8! demo nstrate the effec tive­
The defence of the knight ness of the exchange sacrifice
at b4 is reassigned to the rook, whe n laun chin g a counter­
and 23 . . . Bd8 24 Oa4 Nc5, attac k. Such a procedu re has
t ra p p i n g t h e q u e e n , i s been systematic ally empl oyed
threatened. by many gran dm asters.
act
23 Nc2 BgS! The fol lowin g game extr
udg e
teaches one not to begr
Now in the above variation
White would have given up the exc hange, if i t is sac ri ! iced
ce.
his queen for rook and knight for a centra l ized enemy p1e
(24 Qxb4), retaining a mat­
erial advantage and simpli­ Maroczy-Rubinstein
fying the position somewhat. Carls bad, 1 907
ai med
24 Nxb4 Bxd2 Wh ite' s pieces are
an d
25 Bf1 at the blac k king pos1·t·10 n •
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 89

27 •Qe3+ 28 Kh1 exdS 29

• •

QxfS Rd8 31 RxdS, and the

game soon ended in a d ra w .

In general it should be
borne in mind that, if by an
exchange sacrifice one
succeeds in obtaining the
advantage of the two bishops,
this very often leads to the
sei zure of the initiative. It is no
accident that one chess
afte r f4-f5 the attack may saying runs: "Knights were
prove decisive. Therefore . . . made for d efence, a n d
21 . .. Rxd3! bishops for attack".
22 Rxd3 Be4
23 Rd2 Qxc4
As we see, it is all very
simple, provided only that the
very idea of sacrificing the
exchange ceases to seem
somehow exceptional to a
player. Now not a trace of
White's attack remains, and
the black bishops, especi ally
the light-square one, are
about to begi n controll ing the
en tire board. For example, in the game
24 Rfd1 BdS Bog oljubow - G ru n feld,
25 h3 fS Baden Baden, 1 925, Black's
26 Qg6 Qxf4 position g ives serious cause
27 RxdS! for alarm.
Bl ack's plans i nclude the White's bishops and queen
Pre paration of . . . Bd6, and are ready to assail the oppo­
retu r n i n g the exchang e is
nent's king. If the attacked
Wh i te' s only chance of fore­ knight moves to d5, which
st all i n g the g
rowing counte r­
� ttack . In passing he sets a
suggests itself, then after
Ne4 White will bring his rook
2
II ti e tra p: 27
8 O e6 + and
. . . exd5 loses to from a1 into the attack along
29 Qxc8. the 3rd rank. Black's only (and
1 90 The A rt o f Defence in Chess

sufficient) counterplay in­ 27 Be4 Bxe4

volves an exchange sacrifice. 28 Qxe4 Nxf6
Note that it is Black's com­ 29 Qxb4 Qxes
mand of this procedure which For the exch ang e Bla
allows him to base on it his ck
now has two pawns, and
entire system of defence and the
kni g ht at d5 is worth not les
counterattack. s
than a rook. Grun feld soo
n
17 . . . Ne8! converted his advantage int
o
18 Ne4 ReS! a win.
1 9 Ra3 g6
Black is engaged in parry­ In this con nection a mis­
ing concrete th reats (in take made in the game
particular, Nf6 + followed by Kostantinopolsky Levenfish,
-

B x h 7+ etc . ) , a n d s i m u l­ Kui byshev, 1 943, was highly

t a n eo u s l y h e g ra d u a l l y instructive.
prepares to carry out his plan.
20 Rg3 Ng7
21 Nf6+
This seems very strong,
since 21 . . . Bxf6 22 gxf6
Qxf6 fails to 23 Bg5, wh ile in
the event of 22 . . . Nf5 23
Bxf5 exf5 White by 24 Qd2
gains an i mportant tempo by
attacking the b4 knight, and
after 24 . . . Nd5 25 Qh6 Qxf6
26 Nd7 he wlns the exchange.
But the ti �"' t or the counter­ After losin g the open ing
offensive l � 'ri ow ri pe. battle (back ward c-pawn,
weak square at c4, and 1 0 the
. g
event of his f1 bishop be�n
21 . . . Bxf6 22 gxf6 Qd5! 23
·

f3 Rxc1 ! 24 Rxc1 Qxd4 + 25

exch ange d - the yawn•
Q�
Kf1 Nh5 26 Rg4 Qd6
al), Wh ite m a :
h
a8-h 1 dia gon
mi�­
.

a move wh ich pro�oked

Although on the board
there are still many pieces, the
outcome of the game is oppo nent i nto mak mg a
decided: the initiative is with take.
1 6 Rc1 (!) Bh&??
. orrect
Black, the white king is 'bare',
A fund ame ntal ly me
h ange
and White has no visi ble
trumps. dec ision. For the exc
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 91

W h ite obtains the two bishops

(a bo ut which we have already
ta l ked) and at a single stroke
he eli minates all the defects

of h is position. I ncidentally, it
is n ow Black's a1 -h8 diagonal
wh ich 'cracks'. The consistent
16 . . . Nc4 was essential.
1 7 c4! Bxc1
18 Qxc1 Kg7
Already the active 1 9 Qh6
was threatened. two bishops and a counter­
19 Ne5 Nf6 attack, he would hardly have
20 d5 gone in for the diagram
It is time to take stock. position. True, at fi rst sight it
White's dark-square bishop, seems to promise him a
which has no opponent, is healthy extra pawn (20
playing a significantly more ReB 21 Bxe5 ), but . . .
important role than either of 20 . .
• Bxd5!
the black rooks. 21 Ng4 is
By an exchange sacrifice
threate ned with dec i s ive
Black seizes the initiative.
pressure on the f6 and h6
squares. I n a word. White's 21 Bxf8 Bxe4
counterplay is worth much
22 Qa3 Bb6
more than the exchange. 23 Be7 Nh5
20
The character of the play
h5 21 Qf4 Kh7 22
has very obviously changed.
. . •

N xf6 + exf6 23 Nd7! Oxd7 24

0xf6 Rg8 25 Re7, and with i n a Al most all Black's pieces are
few moves White won. ai med at the position of the
white king; what more com­
And now another example pensation could the counter­
on th e same theme. attacking side want for the
exchange?!
Hort-Polugayevsky 24 Rd6!
Vinkovci, 1 976 Blocking the path of the
black queen to g6, White
Had White all the time mobilizes his forces for
�ern e m bered about the possi­
l e excha nge sacrifice for the
defence.
Oc7
'-"tlc-N
24 . . .
1 92 The A rt of Defence in Chess

25 Rad1 Bd4 ficien t to say that nowad

aYs
26 c3 the exch ange sacrifice on
. C3
1s very com mon ; 1t occur
·

Of course, it was essential s in

to return the exchange - 26 the Drago n Variat ion, a nd .
. 1.mes o f the Sch ene
1n
Rxd4 exd4 27 Rxd4, getting cer t am
�
_

rid of one of the black bishops. i ngen Variation, th e S oz

Now the attack becomes
decisive.
26 ... Bxe3
27 Rd8 + Kh7!
28 fxe3 Qb6
29 Kf2
The rook is obviously
i mmune because of mate i n
th ree moves.
29 . . . Rxd8 30 Bxd8 Qg6 31
g4 Nf6 32 Rg1 Bc6 33 Bxf6
Qc2+ 34 Kg3 Oe2
Even White's extra rook
cannot save him. A curious
mate follows after 35 Bh4
Qxe3+ 36 Kh2 Qf4+, and if
37 Bg3 Qd2+ , or 37 Rg3 Qf2+.
35 Bxg7 Oxe3+ 36 Kh4
Kxg7 37 Oe7 Oxg1 38 Oxe5+
f6 White resigns.
And, of course, it is neces­
ary to k now those typical
o p e n i ng pattern s , wh ere
Black's counterplay is based
entirely on an exchange
sacrifice. In particular the
Sicilian Defence, where a
black rook is sacrificed for the
k n ight at c3 which supports
White's pawn centre and
controls the important central
squares e4 and d5. It is suf-
Attack and other lines . Here
are a few exam ples, the first
of which can be consi dered
a classic.
Padevsky- Botvinnik
Moscow Olym piad, 1956
12 . . . ReS!
I ntending by an exchan ge
sacrifice to parry the oppo­
nent's flank offensive.
1 3 g5 Rxc3!
15
14 bxc3
Better was 1 4 gxf6 Rxe3
16
Qxe3 (after 15 fxe 7 Rxf3
p ly
exdB=Q Rxf1 + White is sim
bu t
a paw n dow n) 1 5 . . . Bxf6.
even here 1 6 Rad 1 � x b
3 1�
a 0
axb3 a6 ' with the 1de the
placing the quee n at c7.
g the
roo k at e8, and pre pari n
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 93

op e ni ng of the position by Spassky-Polugayevsky

e5, led to an advantage 27th USSR Championship
��; Black in the game Rubezov­ Leningrad, 1 960
so risenko , correspondence,
1 96o-61 . I ndeed, the weak­
ness of White's kingside and
the op ponent's two excellent
bish ops make his task of
reali zing his exchange ad­
van tage rather difficult.
14 ... Nxe4
15 Qg4 QcB
16 Rf3 Nxb3
17 axb3 f5
Lau n c h i n g a d ec i s i v e After his last move 13
counteroffensive: on 1 8 gxf6 0-0-0 White i s all prepared
Black replies 18 . . . Rxf6 for the standard advance of
with the threat of 19 . . . Rg6. his g-pawn, and if Black
18 Qh4 e5 succum bs to the natural
19 Rh3 h6 desire to take his king to
20 Qh5 Qxc3! safety as quickly as possi ble
21 Rd1 exd4 - 13 . . . 0-0, he immedi­
ately loses the battle for the
The possible 22 gxh6 is d5 square ( 1 4 g4!, fol lowed by
parried by 22 . . . dxe3, when
Bxf6, g4-g5 and Ncd5), and
97 is defended by the queen.
then also the game. Therefore
22 Bd2 Qc6! he pins his hopes on counter­
23 gxh6 Ng5 attack .
' Merely' threatening mate at 13 . . . ReB!
92.
This move deserves an
24 Rg3 Qh1 + 25 Kf2 Ne4 + exclamation mark, for the
Wh ite resi gns.
reason that Black also had
Inth e next example the another quite acceptable
exch ange sacrifice on c3
continuati o n : 13 . . . as 1 4
�nabl es Black to carry out a Be3, and now either 1 4 . . .
reak thro
ugh at a point
:here . with
out the sacrifice,
Qd8 1 5 N bd5 Bxd5 1 6 Nxd5
Nxd5 17 exd5 b4, or else the
was •. mpossi ble. very sharp 1 4 . . . axb4 1 5
1 94 The Art o f Defence in Chess
Bxb6 bxc3 1 6 Bxb5 Rxa2 1 7
bxc3 0-0. But Black plans
an exchange sacrifice, i ntend­
i ng to further strengthen his
counterattack with a break­
through in the centre.
14 Bxf6 Nxf6
15 g4
Evidently White should
have reconciled himself to
having no advantage and
played 15 Nbd5. But perhaps
he simply underestimated the
sacrifice and the opponent's
subsequent counterattack.
15 . . . Qa5
16 a3 Rxc3
17 bxc3 d5!
Also including both black
bishops in the attack. With the
capture on a3 B l ack need not
h urry.
18 exd5 0-0!
It turns out that 1 9 K b2 does
not defend anything because
of 1 9 . . . Nxd5, when the
th reat of 20 . . . Nxc3 is ex­
tremely unpleasant.
19 Qxe5 Qxa3 +
20 Kb1
20 Kd2 would have fai led to
20 . . . Bxb4 21 cxb4 Qxb4 +
22 c3 Qb2 + 23 Bc2 AdS, when
White has no defence.
20 . . . Bxb4
21 cxb4 Nxd5?
Throwi ng away the good
winning chances which Black
wo uld have had aft
er
corr ect 21 . . . Oxb4 + 22 th
Qc5, when even after
Ob �
th
stro ngest 23 c4! bxc4! e
24
Qxb7 Qd6!! 25 Bxc4 ( W
h ite
l oses after 25 Ka2 RbB
26
Oc6 Ob4) 25 . . . Rba 26
Qxb 8 + Qxb 8 + 27 Ka2 Qb4
28
Bb3 Ne4 the wh ite d5 pawn
is
sec urely blockaded, whereas
the blac k pawn is ready to
advance.
Thes e varia tions confirm
the correctness of the sacri­
fice for the sake of a counter­
attack, and it is in no way
comprom ised by the drawn
outcome after 22 Qb2 Nc3+
23 Kc1 Na2 +.
Despite its paradoxical
nature, the sacrifice of the
queen for the launching of a
counterattack can also be
called typica l. Oppor tunities
for carryi ng it out occur fairly
often in practice, and there­
fore it is very importa nt to
instil i n onese lf the ve ry idea
of suc h a sac rifice. And if in
add ition a player becom�
s
d w i t h c e rt a• n
a c q u a i n te
featu res , wh ich enable
a
un
cou nterattack to be beg
th n
with a que en sacri fice. �
m•d­
he wil l add an oth er for ss
ch e
ab le we ap on to h is
arsenal .
However, the quee
n sacn­ .
oun ter-
fice for the sake of a c
 Forward - through sacrifices!
attack should not be confused
ith the queen sacrifice
: h iC h simply enables the
opponent's �ttack to �e
eli m inated , w1th the matenal
balance being retained or
eve n a material advantage
gained , as was examined
earlier in chapter 4. Here we
are tal k ing about a q ueen
sac rifice in the full sense of
the word, i.e. with a clear
disruption of the material
balance on the board.
Here is virtually the simplest
example of this.
Sokolsky-Vasiliev
Leningrad, 1 947
15 NxdS BxdS
16 Bc4
R ec kon ing on wi nning a
Pawn , bu
t overlooking the
0P Po ne
nt's counterattacking
Possi b ili
ty .
16 ... Bxc4!
1 95
17 Rxd8 Raxd8!
Had he interposed 1 7 . . .
Bxa2+?, Black would have
reduced his material deficit,
but it was not for this that he
parted with his q ueen. A rook
on the 2nd ran k plus the
attacking bishop at f6 are of
more significance than a
pawn!
18 Qxc4 Rd2
19 b4
On finding himself in the
position of defender, White
loses his head. After 1 9 Re1
Rxb2+ 20 Kc1 Rxf2 21 Re2 he
could still have resisted.
19 . . . Rfd8 20 Re1 bS! 21
QxbS Rca White resigns.
Thus an i m portant motif for
a q ueen sacrifice is a counter­
attack on the enemy king,
which is often conducted with
the help of a long-range
bishop and a rook operating ;
along open lines (the Sokol­
sky - Vasil iev game given
above can serve as a proto­
type) .
Counterattacks of this type
are fairly complicated and are
not restricted by forcing vari­
ations. Even so, a knowledge
of the motifs and typical
positions can facilitate the
fi nding of a queen sacrifice as
a means of switching from
defence to attack.
1 96 The Art of Defence in Chess
Zamikhovsky-Nezhmetdinov
Kharkov, 1 956
I n playing 1 2 N d5 White
was naturally reckoning on 1 2
. . . Qd8, but there fol lowed
the unexpected 12 • Nxd5!!
. .
1 3 Qxa5
By declining the sacrifice -
1 3 exd5 or 1 3 cxd5, White
would have lost his open ing
advantage, and Black would
have obtained at least an
equal game.
13 . . . Nxe3
Only two pieces for the
queen! But the rook is
attacked, and if it moves (for
example, 14 Rd3 ) , then after
1 4 . . . Nxc4 1 5 Qe1 (c7)
Nxb2 Black adds two pawns
to his two pieces and gains a
very strong attack.
When he began the com­
bination, Black also calculated
the variation 1 4 Rxd7 Bxd7
15 Qd2 with an attack on two
pieces. But firstly, the simple
15 . . . Nxf1 16 Rxf1
B
reta ins the i nitia tive for 81 e6
. ac k
w1'th a matenal balan ce
rook and bish op for qu 0f
een .
And secon dly, by 15
Nxc4! h � can force his opp���
ent to fmd a series of best
moves leading to perpetual
check, namely: 1 6 Oxd7 RadS
1 7Qxe7 Rd 1 + 1 8 Nc1 (18 Kc2
fails to 18 . . Rd2+ 19 Kb1
.
RfdB with a winning attack)
18 . . . Bh6 19 Bxc4! Rxh1 20
Bxf7 + ! Rxf7 21 Oe8+ Kg7 22
Oe5+.
It was for this reason,
evidently, that White decided
to give up the exchange
immediately, thus getting rid
of the excessively active black
knight.
14 Rc1 Nxc4 15 Rxc4 bxc4
1 6 Nc3 Rb8 17 Bxc4 Ne5 18
Be2 Be6 19 Rd1
Though still slightly behind
i n materia l , nevert heless
Black completely holds the
initiative. He could now have
strengt hened his cou nter­
attack by playing 1 9 . . . NeG.
and if 20 Qa3 (20 Qx c5 or
20
Qxa6 is fatal, since the second
black rook too obta ins an
open file) 20 . . . Nb4.
ead
But Black lost the th r 2
19 . . . Bc4? .C0h
an d pla yed
wh i
Rd2! Nc6 21 Qa3, after
a draw was agreed.
a r d s.
N ot l o n g aft e r w
 Forward - through sacrifices!
fa m il iarity with this idea
e n a bled the young Mikhail
Ta l to carry out a similar
co u nterattack i n the game
sob otsov - Tal, W o r l d
stud ent Team Championship,
varna. 1 958.
Here too White's last move
was 1 1 Nd5, on which there
followed:
11 . . . NxdSI?
12 Qxas Nxe3
13 Rc1
Nxc4
Tal himself assessed this
Position as double-edged, but
nevertheless fai rl y promising
for Black. I n his opinion,
Wh ite should have tried to
hol d the d4 point by any
rneans possi ble, to prevent
�he opp onent from including
In the attack his g7 bishop
Wh i ch now has no opponent.
�ut Bobotsov, after getting
nd of the annoying knight by
� correct exchange sacrifice,
en chose an i ncorrect plan.
1 97
14 Rxc4 bxc4
15 Nc1
The immediate 15 Qd2
came i nto consideration,
followed by g2-g3 and the
development of the bishop at
g2 (or in some cases at h3),
15 . . . Rb8 16 Bxc4 Nb6 17
Bb3 Bxd4 18 Qd2 Bg7 19
Ne2 c4 20 Bc2 c3
The remainder does not
req uire any commentary.
B l a c k ' s c o u nterattac k i s
rapidly gathering pace, and
the outcome of the game is
already clear.
21 Qd3 cxb2 22 Nd4 Bd7 23
Rd1 Rfc8 24 Bb3 Na4 25 Bxa4
Bxa4 26 Nb3 Rc3 27 Qxa6
Bxb3 28 axb3 Rbc8 29 Qa3
Rc1 + 30 Rxc1 Rxc1 + White
resigns.
Portisch-Forintos
Budapest, 1 971
With two pawns for the
exchange, Black is very
actively placed. But his king
1 98 The Art of Defence in Chess

is not too secure, and with a Qe4 with a very strong att
ack
bri l liant q ueen sacrifice White (27 . . . b6 28 Bd6+ Nxd6
29
begins a counterattack. exd6, and no defence agai
nst
39 Qxd3!1 Bxd3 the mate is apparent) .
40 Ne6+ Kh6 26 . . . Qxc4!!
41 g4!! Hav i n g d i scover ed
the
The point. Now the rook at moti f for a coun terattack
b1 remains alive. Black sacrifices his queen :
41 .
• • gS I n return he obta ins dom ina­
42 Rf6+ Bg6 tion of the long l ight-square
43 Nxc5 dxc5 d iagonal and a mass of
44 Rxb5 th reats, incl uding mating
White now has the advan­ ones.
tage, although against 27 Bf1 Bc6!
accurate play by the opponent 28 Bxc4 dxc4
he woul d not have managed 29 f3 NgS
to realize it. But on move 61 30 Bxa7+?
Black blundered and two It was time for White by 30
moves later he resig ned. The Bd6+ (not for attacking
technical struggle in the end­ pu rposes, but for defending
game does not bear any d i rect the e5 pawn) 30 . . . Ka8 3 1
relation to our theme . . . Rf1 to switch to a difficult
defence. By sti l l thinking in
terms of attacking he quickly
loses.
30 . . . Ka8
31 dS BxdS
32 Qb6
In the hope of going to as.
32 . .
• Nxf3+
33 Kf2 Rh2 +
34 Ke3
Or 34 Kf1 Nd 2+ 35 Ke 1
Bf3 36 Qe3 Reh8.
I n the game Bjerrlng -
Marszalek, Primorsko, 1 974, 34 . . . Ngxe5
White was tempted by the 35 g4
was
combination 26 Nxc4, intend­ Mate i n three moves 36
4+
ing on 26 . . . dxc4 to reply 27 threatened: 35 . . Ng
·
 Forward - through sacrifices! 1 99

Kf4 g5 + 37 Kxg4 f5. Nd5. Delay will b e fatal , and

35 . . . gS 36 Rg1 Nxg1 so Black strives for a counter­
W h ite resigns. attack. His aim is to chase the
Nevertheless, a counter­ dark-sq uare bishop.
attac k on the k i ng is not the 18 ... gS!
only motif for a q ueen sacri­ 19 Bg3 fS
fice for the sake of counter­ 20 Be5 Rae8
play. 21 Rfe1 Rxe5!
Bronstein-Schnizel By returning the exchange,
Sandomierz, 1 976 Black gets rid of the d6 pawn
a n d of t h e o p p o n e n t's
pressure on the dark squares.
Moreover, his slight material
advantage retain s fo r him the
better chances.
22 Rxe5 Qxd6
23 Rd5 Qb4?!
Black should have ai med
for the exchange of rooks by
23 . . . Qf6! 24 h3 (24 Rd7 does
not work in view of 24 . . . f4 )
24 . . . Rd8! 25 hxg4 Rxd5 26
For the pawn Black has
Bxd5 Qxd4 27 Ne7 + Kf7 with
more than sufficient com pen­
sation, and he is now threat­
a /favourable end ing. In the
middlegame, by contrast,
ening to assai l the opponent's
kingsi de. For example, after White's pieces are of equiva­
lent worth to the black queen.
1 7 Nd5 Bxf3! 18 gxf3 Qh3 1 9
Bg3 Qh5 20 Kg2 Rad8 21 24 Nb3 BhS
Nf4 (or 2 1 Ne7 + KhB, with the 25 Re1 Bf7
threat of . . . f5-f4) 21 . . . Qf5 26 Rd4!
�lack has a serious i nitiative. This is stronger than 26
herefo re with a q ueen sacri­ Rxf5 Bxb3 27 Rxg5+ Kh8 28
.
fi c e W h i t e l a u n c h e s a
axb3 Qxb3, when with mat­
counteratta
ck. erial level Black has the
17 Qxd4! Bxd4 prospect of creating a passed
18 Nxd4 pawn on the queenside.
Prepa ring dangerous play 26 . . . Qb6
011 th e dark squ ares after 1 9 27 NdS BxdS
200 The Art of Defence in Chess

28 RxdS Qc6 R 1 d 2 (bu t not 30 Nd4 ? R

d8 3 1
29 Red1 Qf6 Rxt5 ?? Rxd4 ) .
30 R5d2 30 . . . b6 31 Nc1 f4 32 1
A somewhat demonstrative ReS 33 Ne2 bS 34 Nc3 ObS+3
em phasizi ng of the resulti n g 35 Kf1 b4 36 Ne4 Re7 37 h3
eq uality. Also possi ble was 30 Kg7 38 b3 h6 Draw agreed.

What would you have played?

No. 48
I n principl e Black has
successful ly solved his open­
i n g problem s: he has al most
completed the mobilization
of his forces and has no
obvious weak nesses. Even
so, White intends to advance
c3-c4, after which he will
control the g reater part of the
centre and with an active
bishop wil l have a slight
advanta ge. Does Black have a
possib ility of seizing the
i n i tiative?

No. 49
Blac k's pieces are u�­
h iS
har mo n iou sly placed, and
no
rooks have practically e
h
m o v e s . H o w sho u l d
continue?
Forward - through sacrifices! 201

No. 50
Black's pieces are clearly
aimed at the white king's
position. With his last move
1 7 . . . e5 he has simultan­
eously sup ported his bishop
at d4 and, 'by defending his
knight, prepared . . . h4.
Assess the position. What can
be recom mended for White?

No. 51
The position is full of life
and abounding i n possibilities
for both sides. Black plans a
c o u n t e r o f fe n s i ve o n t h e
queenside with . . . b5, where­
as White is conducting an
attack on the king. To intensify
the onslaught he chose 15 g5
hxg5 1 6 e5, reckoning on 1 6
. . dxe5 1 7 fxgS Nh7 1 8 Ne4
.

with very strong pressure for

the pawn . Is this idea correct,
and how can Black counter it?

No. 52
It stands to reason that i n
this position i t i s Black to
move . . .
202 The A rt of Defence in Chess

No. 53
By 35 Bb3 White h
as
attac ked the blac k queen an
d
created - after it m o ves _

the terri ble threat of cap turi ng

on g6 with a rap i d mate . On
what fact or can Black's
defence be based?

No. 54
White has g i ven up a pawn,
but has created an unpleasant
p i n on the kn ight, which she
intends to rei nforce by Oc1-f4.
B u t B l a c k u n ex pected l y
changed the course o f events.
How?

No. 55
r
White stan ds activ el y? Afte
's ro o k
all, even the queen
the
will be able to switch to
oP
kin g sid e after the bis h
. Wh at th en
m oves fro m c2 . .
shoul d Black d o?
17
W h en the h u n ter becomes the victi m

It stands to reason that a success against the most

c o u n teratta c k c a n n ot be stro n g a n d e x p e r i e n c e d
beg un out of nothing and opponents.
without any basis. Its objective One of the most brilliant
may be weak points incurred examples of a counterattack
by the attacking side in the based on the theme of decoy
course of his offensive, or a was g i ven by ex-Wo r l d
change i n t h e d y n a m i c champion Max Euwe in the
strength o f the two sides' game Geller - Euwe, Candi­
pieces as a result of a sacri­ dates Tou rnament, Zurich
fice, or - the most usual - an 1 953.
advantage in force acquired
on a certain part of the board
by the defending side. One of
the best ways of assisting the
latter is by decoying the
attacking pieces into the
depths of the opponent's
position. As though drawing
the enemy fire, in this way the
defending side creates the
P recon ditions for a counter­
attack on the part of the
b?ard which the oppone nt's 1 6 Rf4
P i eces have left. Of course, An obvious and natural
thi s proced ure can be com­ strengthening of the attack.
Pa red with a circus tightrope Now White requi res only two
Walk er, but firstly, in modern­ moves to switch his q ueen
day ch ess and rook to the h-file, after
it is almost im­
�ossi bl e in general to avoid which it appears that nothing
��� k and to win without will be able to save the black

su
00ds hed' and secon dly king.
c h a cou nterattack promises
I I

16 . . . b5!
203
204 The Art of Defence in Chess
It is clear that any defensive
measures on the kingside are
doomed to failure, si nce
Black's queen and rook are
very restricted. But he has a
counterattack! It is not without
basis: his knight at c4, bishop
at b7 and rook at c8 all stand
wel l , and with the move i n
the game h i s queen comes
i nto play. But even so the
cou nterattack might have
been too late, had not Black
already planned a decoy
sacrifice.
17 Rh4 Qb6
18 e5
For the moment White's
queen cannot go to h5
because of the attack on d4,
and so he defends the d4
pawn with his rook, simul­
taneously clearing the way for
h i s l ig ht-square bishop.
18 ... Nxe5
19 fxe6 Nxd3
20 Qxd3 Qxe6
21 Qxh7+ Kf7
22 Bh6
Thus at the cost of only a
pawn White has broken
through and has begun
pursuing the opponent's king.
But . . .
22 . . . Rh8!!
The main tactical blow of
the e n t i re c o u nterattac k ,
beg un o n move 1 6. The white
queen find s itse l f 'of .
f-Sid e'
and lose s con tro l of
th e c2
square.
23 Qxh8 Rc2
Threate ning mate i n a
few
moves: 24 . . . Rxg 2+ 25
0 �4 + et� . Several months
Kfl
o
pa ms tak mg an aly sis , Wh f
ich
a t t r a c t e d t h e str o nge
st
players in the world, enable
d
it t? be esta blished that by
a
senes of very difficu lt moves
Whit e coul d have avoided an
imm �diate debacle. He should
have played 24 d5, and if 24
. . . Qb6 + 25 Kh1 Qf2 26 Rg1
Bxd5 27 Re4!, while if immedi­
ately 24 . . . Bxd5, then not
25 Rd4, but only 25 Rd 1 ! And
here after 25 . . . Rxg2+ 26 Kf1
gxh6 neither 27 Rxh6 nor 27
Rxd5 works, but only 27
Qxh6, after which Black,
with two pawns for the ex­
change, nevertheless retains
the better chances in view of
the white ki ng's open position.
Need it be said that at the
board i t was pract ica lly
imposs ible for Geller to find
all these moves. There now
followed :
24 Rc1 Rxg 2+ 25 Kf1 Qb3
26 Ke1 Qf3 White resi g ns.
t it
It is qu ite po ssi bl e tha
was this bril lian t co
u nt� ;;
v as l
attack whi ch guid ed
 When the hunter becomes the victim 205

srnysiOV, also i n Zurich, i n the After the game it was shown

ga rne Keres - Smyslov. that 1 9 . . . gxh5 20 Qxh5 Rea
21 a4! ! with the th reat of Ba3
would have given White an
i rresistible attack.
19 . . . dxc4!!
20 Rxh7 c3!
The first 'dividend' from the
decoy of the white rook to h7:
the c3 pawn cannot be taken
- 21 Bxc3? Rxc3. And if the
bishop retreats - 21 Bc 1 ,
then 21 . . . Qxd4.
B u t Wh i te c o n t i n ues
17 . . . Bf6 attacki ng.
18 RhS 21 Qc1 !
Co m m e n c i n g a d i rect
"Beware of G reeks, bearing
attack a n d i m m e d i a t e l y
gifts!" If 21 . . . cxb2, then 22
threatening 1 9 Rxh7 Kxh7 20
Qh5+ Kg8 21 Rh3 Bh4 22
Qh6 Qxd4 23 Rh8+ Bxh8 24
Rxh4 f5 23 Qh7 + with a rapid
Qh7 mate.
win. 21 . . . Qxd4!
18 . . . g6 22 Oh6 Rfd8!
19 Rch3 Consistent, in the spirit of
"Ithought for a long time",
cou nterattack. The white
rooks are destined to remain
Smyslov later recounted, "I
very much wanted to take the spectators to the end of the
rook, especially si nce I did game.
not see how White could win 23 Bc1 Bg7 24 Qg5 Qf6 26
here" . Qg4 c2 26 Be2 Rd4 27 f4
An d yet the future World Rd1 + 28 Bxd1 Qd4 + White
Cham pion's intuition did not resigns.
� etra y him, when at this point
t e P l � ned his hopes not on
_
h
e w m ning of material, bu t Miles-Portisch
on a cou
th
Reggio Emilia, 1 985
nterattack, based on
01 e �
.

d 1 ersi on from the centre White has j ust won a pawn

0 W h ite
n th e r
's heavy pieces stuck at h5. But his knight and the
ook 's fife. queen defending it are now
206 The Art of Defence in Chess

diverted to the right flank, and Apart from two pawns,

this provides the basis for a White a lso has quite sufficient
rapid counterattack by Bl ack positional compensation for
on the enemy king. the exchange i n the game
20 ... aS Suetin - Kuzmin, Sochi, 1970,
21 Kb2 axb4 but he failed to take account
22 axb4 cS!! of the fact that his main
23 dxcS forces are as though 'stuck'
On 23 bxc5 Black wins on the queenside. For this
im mediately by 23 . . . Qa5. reason the seemingly strong
move 26 eS was in fact a
23 . . . Nc6! mistake.
It transpires that 24 Kb3 26 . . . QxeS!
Nxb4! and 24 Nxd5 Qe5+ 25 By giving up a piece, Black
Nc3 Ra2+! 26 Kxa2 Qxc3 are creates an advantage in force
eq ually bad. on the decisive part of the
24 Qf4 NeS! battlefield.
2S Nf6+ 27 Rxb7 Rd2
Or 25 NxdS Oa7! 26 QxeS 28 Qb3
Qa2+ 27 Kc3 Ra3+. Alas, the previously intend­
ed 28 NdS Rxc2 (28 Rdt
29 Nde3 Rb1 30 Qe7 RfB 31
· · ·

2S gxf6 26 Kb3 Nc4! 27

. . •

Ra1 Qxf4 28 exf4 Nd2+ 29 Qc7) 29 Ne7+ Kh8 30 NxcB

Kb2 Rfd8 30 NxbS Rab8 Rc1 would have Jed to t�e
Black is ahead on material checkm ating of . the wh ite
. ·

and has retained his attack, king.

and he went on to win. 28 . . . hS
 When the hunter becomes the victim
29 Ne4
29 c5 came into considera­
ti o n , trying at the cost of a
pawn to bring t �e pseudo­
active rook back m to play.
29 . . . Nxe4 30 fxe4 Qf4! 31
Ne3 RedS 32 Qe3 Qf2 33 h3 h4
34 Kh 2 Qf4 + 35 Kg1 R8d3
36 QaS Qxe3+ 37 Kh1 fS
Wh ite resigns.
A counterattack based on
decoy does not always flare
up in reply to an attack on the
king. It does not matter to
where the enemy pieces are
decoyed, provided only that
they lose the possibility of
controlling that part of the
board which is i ntended as
the b r i d g e h e a d f o r t h e
counterattack. We give some
examples of how the strong­
est piece - the queen - can
be decoyed to where it cannot
participate i n parrying a
counte rattack.
Pruun-Simagin
Vilnius, 1 946
207
White's position seems by
no means bad. The breakway
a4 pawn is attacked, and
after 29 . . . Qd7 30 Qxd7 the
initiative will most probably
be with White: 30 . . . Bxd7
31 Rb1 .
B u t B l ac k reso rts t o
decoying.
29 . • • Bd71
30 Qxb7
Falling in with the oppon­
ent's wishes. 30 Qe2 was
better, although 30 . . . Qg5
again gives Black a wealth of
possibilities.
30 . • • Be&
31 Qa6 d3!
Thus the queen is trapped.
And while White is saving it
from the threat of 32 . . . Ra8,
Black's counterattack will
flare up.
32 RfS Qd71
33 RxeS Qd4+
34 Kf1
No better is 34 Kh1 Qxe5
35 Qxc6 Qg5 36 Qe6+ Kh8 37
Qa2 Rf8 38 Bf3 Qe3 39 Kg2
g5 40 h3 h5 41 g4 h4, when
there is no defence against
. . . Qe1 -g3 +.
34 . . . QxeS 35 Qxe6 Qa1 +
36 Kf2 Qd4 + 37 Kf1 Rf8+ 38
Bf3 Qe3 39 QdS + Kh8 40 eS
Qxd2 41 e6 Qe2+
The time control had now
been reached, but White did
208 The Art of Defence in Chess

not bother to adjourn the 24 Kg2 Nd4 25 cxd4 exd4, a

WI'th m
' nd
game . . . a few moves
Wh 1'te
resigned.
Taimanov-Tal A very sim ilar the me
t
24th USSR Championship
Moscow, 1 957
decoy is that of shutting
one or several pieces.
ou �
The
essence of this procedur
e
whic h occu rs mu ch mor
�
rarely, is as follows: on the
part of the board where the
counterattack takes place , a
tem p o ra ry su perior ity in
force is achie ved. A classic
exam ple of such a counter­
attack is p rovided by the
well known game Aronson -
Tal, 24th USSR Champion­
ship, Moscow, 1 957.

The future World Cham­

pion so arranged his defence,
that White could not refrai n
from invading with h i s queen
at d6. The followi ng, highly
unpleasant reply makes it
clear that the white queen will
no longer be able to reach the
ki ngside, where Black is
about to attack.
18 . . . Qc8!
19 b5 By sac rificing a pawn at c? .
1 9 Qd2 is also unattractive the
Black has slig htly draw n
because of 19 . . Bg4. fro m the
whi te que en awa y
.

19 . . . Bh3! ki ng. B ut
defe n ce of its ow n
re to
The counterattack beg i ns, this is me rely the overtu r­
unta
and does not req uire any the bas ic idea of the co
attack which beg 1 ns WI ct-
commentary.
·
' th an
' e tfe
20 Qa3 Rxd1 + 21 Rxd1 Qg4 elegant and unus ua ll Y
22 Ne1 Qxd1 23 gxh3 Qxe1 + ive move.
 When the hunter becomes the victim 209

26 . . . Bb1 !! side does not have the right,

even for a second, to forget
BY sh utti ng out the rook at
81
about the attacking potential
fro m the defence of the 1 st
Black ensures the retai ned by the opponent.
rank. . . Thus here, instead of the
·n vasi on of h1s heavy p1eces
move in the game it only
:nto the opponent's position. needed Black to play the
27 BeS Ne6 'natural' 35 . . . ReB with the
28 Qd6 QfS th reats of . . . Re2 and . . .
29 Bf4 Re1 , when White would have
Wh ite is even ready to give had the winning 36 Rxh6+!!
up material - 29 . . . g5 wins a
36 Bd6 ReS
piece , but Tal prefers to con­
Now, when the bishop has
tinu e his cou nterattack.
ceased 'looking' at the black
29 . . . NgS king, this invasion by Black's
30 Qb4 Be4 third heavy piece decides the
At last the rook can hasten game in his favour. White was
to the help of its king, but it is 'saved ' from c a p i t u latio n
too late: White is deprived of on l y by the fall o f his flag.
his pair of strong bishops, and
all the black pieces have now
The fact that th is device can
bring good d ividends in the
taken up attacking positions.
most diverse situations is
31 Bxe4 Rxe4 demonstrated by another
32 Rf1 Re2 example from one of Tal's
33 Qd6 games.
With the last hope of catch­
ing Black in a trap: 33 . . .
Nh3 + ?? 34 Rxh3 Qxh3 35
0d3 + and 36 Qxe2.
33 . . . Rxa2
Of course, not for the sake
of win ning a pawn, but to
al low the queen onto the 2nd
ran k in front of the rook.
34 Qd5 Qc2
35 cS Rd8!!
A very pretty move, but
�ore i mp ortantly, an i nstruct­ In the game Kudrin Tal,
Ive one . The counterattacking
-

Titograd, 1 984, he found the

210 The Art of Defence in Chess

fol lowing way of parrying the The wh ite que en, dec
oyed
hig hly unpleasant threat of to the 'edg e of the wo rld' ,
. h as
20 f4. no way of tak mg part i n
19 . . . Qf5! � ain b�ttle and the firths �
.'
The d7 square is vacated 1 mpre ss1on 1s that the W
hite
for the knight, and yet Black's king will be mate d!
move looks like an oversight: 24 gxh4 Qf4
after all, the rook at c7 is left 25 Kg2 Nxh4 +
undefended . . . White im­ 26 Kg1 Nf3 +
mediately exploits this. 27 Kg2 Nh4 +
20 Bxa7!? Rxa7! Alas , there i s only perpet ual
21 Qb6 Nf3+ check . But the proble m of
22 Kh1 Rc4 defen ding an i nferio r positi on
23 Qxa7 Rh4!! has been solved!

What wou ld you have played?

No. 56
Things loo k hig hl y ur
attractive for Black : 34
Qg ·�
wit h mate in two mo v � t
e �
threa tened , and th e
�; �l�ke
move to b3 look s m ere eless
a 'spite' chec k. Neverth
When the hunter becomes the victim 21 1

No. 57
White's offensive in the
centre and on the kingside
has come to a halt, and the
initiative has passed to Black,
who i n addition has a material
advantage. With White to
move, what can he hope for?

No. 58
A com p l icated ski rmish in a
very sharp opening variation
has led to this double-edged
position. White is continuing
his offensive against the
black king caught in the
centre. What are the defensive
resources available to Black,
whose turn it is to move?
18
1 80 deg ree turn

Often the defending side m a y be c o m parable i n

succeeds with a tactical pawn strength with the detonation
counterblow on the very part of a bomb. It can be landed
of the board where the attack either by the g-pawn, or the
is bei ng conducted. This is h-pawn.
explained by the fact that, as
a rule, the pursuer does not Gufeld-Polugayevsky
even imag i ne that he may be 28th USSR Championship
transformed i nto the pursued: Moscow, 1 961
after al l, the 'pursuit' appears
to be b e i n g c o n d u c t e d
accord ing to a l l the rules.
Meanwhi le, if only on the
basis of the fol lowing ex­
amples, one can - and
probably should - cast
doubts on the old rule, which
states that the attacker has
more right to a m istake than
the defender. This is correct
only in conditions of a posi­
tional advantage, when there
In this typicall y Sicilian
is a methodical siege, not
position, White began
an
i nvolving rapidly-developing,
attack with a tem p
o ry ra
concrete variations. But a
sacrifice.
swift, combinational attack
(such as can occur in the 1 6 Nd5! exdS
overwhelming majority of 1 7 Nf5?
White sho uld no t h a
ve trl�de
ha d·
.

modern openi ngs like the

u ld
for too much , b ut sh o
Sicilian Defence) demands
·
been satisfi ed W I th
a a
n
5 (or
)
vantag e after 1 1 e6 N 8c7
eq u a l acc u racy of both
players. Otherwise a counter­
d1;
Nf5 B f6
blow in the attacked sector 1 7 . . . Qd8 18
212
 180 degree turn 213

1 8 N xc6 Qxc6 1 9 BxeS f6 20

Bd 4 . when the e6 pawn is
e because of 20 ..
im m u n
.

a xe6 ? 21 Qc7! and 22 Rae 1.

aut White decided fi rst to

ac h ieve also the exchange of
th e op ponent's important
da rk- square bishop, reckon­
ing on 1 7. . . g6 18 Nxe7
Nxe7 1 9 e6. But i nstead of the
obviously defensive 17 . . g6 .

Black found a cou nterblow,

afte r which White could have
imm ediately resigned.
17 ... g5!!
This resem bles the classic
attack from ambush at the
attacker's flank, so bri l liantly
executed by many g reat
commanders. It only needs
the white bishop to be
diverted from its control of
e5 - 18 Bxg5 Bxg5 19 Qxg5,
when the inclusion i n the
The wh ite q ueen/kn ight
battery which is threaten ing
to fire after Bxh7 +, the pin on
the knight at eS, plus the
opponent's weakness on the
a2-g8 d iagonal - all this
suggests that White has more
than sufficient com pensation
for the pawn and that his
activity is very dangerous.
But the assessment of the
position was changed by the
brilliant 21 . . g5!!
.

19
defence of the black queen -
Had Black been guided
. . Oxe5 - does not leave
only by so-cal led 'general
.

eve n a trace of an attack.

conditions', he would never
White chooses another way
have ventured on such an
to cap itulate.
obvious weakening of his
1 8 e6 Qxf4 19 Qxf4 gxf4 20 ki ngside. I n passing we
exd7 Rad8 21 Bxd5 Rxd7 shou ld remark that while, for
'Nhite res igns. exam ple, a counterblow i n the
centre in reply to an attack on
the flan k has l ong become the
t Ex-World Champion Max ABC of counterattacking, as
uwe made excellent use of yet the counterblow in the
t
, t en t
actors in
c o u n te rat ta c k i n g attacked sector has not come
the game Vidmar - into general use.
E
llwe, Nottingha m , 1 936. But let us return to the
214 The A rt o f Defence in Chess

Vidmar - Euwe game. In the ga me Ruch

ev
22 Bxh7 + Qxh7 Matveyeva, Yerevan, 1 98 : ;
23 BxeS is eviden t that the two Pl �
ay :�
opposite fla nks: Black on n
Evidently reckoning on 23 have been attack ing
. . . fxe5 24 Qb3 + and 25
q � ee � side and White o n
t �
Qxb6, when White regains his th :
pawn, and Black is left with kmgs1de. The position
is
terrible weaknesses at e5 and roughly equal, but . . .
g5. But the point is that 29 . . . Kf7!
beforehand Black had asso­ 30 Rg1?
ciated his flank blow with the Had the point of the oppon­
following far-sig hted move. ent's last move been guessed,
23 . . . Ba71 White would have simplified
24 Bc3 bS the game by 30 RxhS. But
It becomes clear that Black now, by a counterblow in the
has redeployed his forces to attacked sector, Black breaks
g reat effect. t h r ou g h , i ntensifying the
25 Raa1 cS threats.
26 Qc1 c4 30 . . . g5!
27 Ne1 Bb7 31 Qf3
31 hxg5 would have failed
to 31 . . . Rh2 32 Rg2 Rh1 + 33
Not a trace of White's
activity remains - the initia­
tive has completely passed to Rg1 R8h2.
Black. 31 . . : Ke8
28 Nf3 g4 29 NgS QfS White The hasty 31 . . . Rxh4?
e
resigns. wou ld have throw n away th
win: 32 Rdxg5.
32 RbS Rxh4
33 QfS Rh2
34 Rb8 + Kf7
QdS + e&
frorn
35
fall 01
Wh1te was saved'
. •

capitulatio n by t he
her flag .

Tim ma n-Che rn8in5

Mont pel lier. 1 9
 180 degree
White's advantage i s deter­
mined primarily by his control
of d4 and the possibility of a
kingside offensive (f4-f5). By
. . . g6 Black can merely
hamper, but not prevent it: the
opponent has available the
preparator}' h2-h3, g3-g4 and
then f4-f5. Therefore the
original plan of counterplay
prepared by Black is of par­
ticular merit.
18 . . . RagS!
Now White must either
reconcile himself to the com­
P lete blockade of the ki ngside
after 1 9 h4 g6, or allow the
counterblow . . . g5 and ag ree
to a double-edged battle.
19 Rhf1 !? g5
20 f5 g4
21 f6+ Kd8
22 Re3 h4
23 b4
B l ack was already threaten-
.
1 119 2 3 . . Rh5 and 24 . . . Ne4,
. a ki ngside attack. He requires
el i rn in ating the e5 pawn.
23 . . . hxg3
turn 215
24 hxg3 Nxd3
25 cxd3 Rh2
White sti l l has the ad­
vantage - a good kn ight
against a bad bishop, but the
activity of Black's rooks and
the space gained on the king­
side enable him to maintain
the balance. Later he even
gained a material superiority,
then lost it, but all this no
longer bears any relation to
our theme.
Now - an advance by the
f-pawn, which occurs more
rarely in practice, but also has
all the typical features of a
counterblow.
After employi ng in the
opening a well known pawn
sacrifice, in the 2nd game of
the 1 984/5 Kasparov-Karpov
World Championship Match,
White has staked his hopes on
only one more tempo, but . . .
21 . . . f6!
216 The A rt o f Defence in Chess

By this timely counter­

blow Black breaks up the
opponent's pawn chain and
prepares a counteroffensive
precisely in the attacked
sector.
22 exf6 gxf6
23 Bh4 fS
The g4 pawn is attacked,
and after 24 g5 Ne4 the out­
come is clear. It is now White
who must think in terms of
saving the game, and he I n this typical position from
e m barks on a sharp compli­ the Ruy Lopez with a blocked
cation of the strugg le. centre, the approved pattern
is for White to attack on the
24 b4! fxg4 kingside and Black on the
25 hxg4 q ueenside. But instead Black
If 25 bxc5, then 25 . . . gxh3 begins counterplay on the
26 Rf2 hxg2 27 Rxg2 Bg4 and side where he is being
28 . . . h5. attacked.
25 ... Nd3 15 • • . hS -
26 Rf3! Nxc1 1 6 gxhS
27 f5 Qg7 White is fo rced to accept
28 Qxc1 Rae8 the challenge, since the
29 Qd2 stabilization of the position on
At the cost of the exchange the kingside after 16 g5 Nh7
White has created a double­ followed by . . . g6 a� d
edged position in which, after possibly . . . f6 is clearly m
na rrowly avoiding defeat, he Black's favour.
managed to draw. 16 . . . Bxh3
The counterblow with the B ut not 1 6 . . . Nxh 5? 17 b3
h-pawn also occurs, and in Nb6 1 8 Nxe5, winnin g a pawn .
the Ruy Lopez it has recently
become quite common .
17 N3h2 g6!
the
The coun terpl ay · n he
1
dema nd � t
Tai-Petrosian atta cked sector
. ne s.
43rd USSR Championship mutual openmg of li
a
Premier League otherwise it would com toe
to g e t
Yerevan, 1 975 halt without man agi ng
 180 degree
started.
p ro p erly
1 8 Ng3 Kg7
Th is is the whole poi nt. The
blac k k i ng allows the rook
o nto the h-file, and itself
moves out of the danger zone.
1 9 Kh1 Rh8 20 Rg1 Kf8 21
a4 Nb6, and White has fai led
to extract anything sign ificant
from the ope ning.
And now a further example
of a counterattack i n the
attacked sector.
Geller-Korchnoi
Candidates Match, 1 971
Black's position is difficult,
�n d Whi te's attack is threaten­
t ng to develop of its own
acc o rd . White has no vulner­
able p oints against which
�o unterplay could be created ,
u t B l a c k c rea t es p re­
�on � itio ns for it by a para­
o xt cal move.
20 . . . hS!
turn 217
This looks l i ke a poi ntless ·
weakening of the castled
position, but in fact Black
fi rstly, deprives his opponen t
of the i m portant g4 square
(White was threatening, in
particular, Rf1 -f4-g4 with
decisive p ressure on g7), and
secondly, he gradually secures
a post at f5 for his 'expelled'
knight, after which it will
become a formidable counter­
attacking force.
21 Rf1 Ob4 22 Ne2 Qc4 23
c3 g6 24 Rgf3 Ng7 25 b3 Qa6
26 Ng3 h4 27 Ne4 NfS 28 Qf4
Qxa2
White has mobilized all his
resources, but Blac k , relying
on his i m preg nable knight,
decides both to take the pawn
and to p repare for counter­
attack . This is clearly seen in
the variation 29 g4 hxg3 30
hxg3 Kg? 31 g4 Rh8+ 32 Kg1
Rh4!, leading to a double­
edged position.
The other attempt, which
occurs in the game, also
demonstrates that Black has
good cou nterplay.
29 BcS Qe2
30 R3f2
30 Nf6+ Bxf6 31 Bxf8 Bxe5
would have led to a material
advantage for Black.
30 . . . Qd3
31 Rf3 Qe2
21 8 The Art of Defence in Chess

32 R3f2 Qd3 Poselnikov-Yaklmenko

33 Rd2 Correspondence, 197S
Unable to reattune psycho­
logically, the attacker rejects
the repet i t i o n of m oves
and . . . comes under a skil­
fully prepared counterattack.

Only 12 moves have been

made, but the position is
a l ready c o m p l i cated and
d i fficult to assess. By b2-b4
White has halted the oppon­
ent's offensive on the queen­
side, and, at any rate for the
present, the opening of the
33 . Qxd2!
a-file d oes not prom ise
• •

34 Nxd2 BxcS
anything. In turn, with the
35 Ne4 Be3
36 Nf6+ a g g res s i ve g2-g4 Wh ite
intends after some preparation
36 Qf3 was better, keeping
to play f4-f5, which will give
the threat of a check at f6 in
him very strong pressure .
reserve.
36 ... Kg7 Black's counteractio n is
37 Qc4 Rdd8 ti mely and energetic.
38 Ng4 Bb6 12 . .
• hS!
39 Nf2? 1 3 gxhS Rxh5
A mistake in an already 14 Bg2 Qa7!
poor position. After delayi ng so mewhat
's
39 . . . Bxf2 40 Rxf2 Ne3, the devel opm ent of Wh i.te
gs •d e .
and in view of the unavert­ initiat ive on the kin
re at o f
able threat of 41 . . . Rd1 +, Blac k creates the th
e
White resigned. 1 5 . . . axb 4 and gai ns tim
 180 degree turn 219

f r the completion o f h i s
0 .
Another counterblow i n the
on.
rnob ili zat• attacked sector. Black rightly
1 5 Rb1 Be7 assumes that his chance l ies
1 6 h4 i n a counterattack.
W ith the idea of cramping 21 Bh3 Rdf8
the o pponent by the further 22 Ke2 Na4
advan ce of the h-pawn and 23 f5
of securing a post for his Now Black is prepared for
bishop at h3. But in this this advance and he com­
connection White's 1 4th move pletely opens up the game.
proves to be a loss of tempo. 23 . . . fxe5
16 Kf2 came i nto considera­ 24 fxe6
tion, with the idea of Ng3 and A very typical situation:
14-fS. White does not yet sense that
16 . • . Nb6 he is now not the only one
17 Kf2 Bd7 attacking. He should have
18 Qc2 0-0-0 preferred 24 dxeS, for the
19 Ng3 Rhh8 moment keepi ng the f-file
20 h5 closed.
Consistent, but too slow. 24 . . . Be8
The immediate 20 fS was 25 dxeS Rxf3!!
possible, or else 20 Bh3,
The idea of a counterattack
since in the event of 20 : . .
in the attacked sector is
Bxh4?! White retains the
strikingly embodied in this
advantage after 21 Nxh4
Rxh4 22 Bxe6 Rxh 1 23 Bxd7 + .
f i n e rook s a c r i f i c e . The
initiative passes to Black.
26 Kxf3
Totally bad is 26 Bxa7 Rxc3
27 Qd2 Rxg3, when White is
unable to parry the numerous
threats: 28 . . . Nc3+, 28
Nxa7, 28 . . . BxhS+ etc.
26 ••. d41
After 26 . . . NxeS+? 27
Ke2 Qc7 28 Rbg1 Black has
no compensation.
27 cxd4 Nxd4+
20 • • • f61 28 Bxd4 Bc6+
220 The Art of Defence in Chess

29 Ne4? plete coo rdi natio n

. of h IS.
White could have continued p1ec es. B ut for the m
om
the struggle only by givi ng
up h is queen - 29 Qe4 Bxe4+
the bis hop has no sui
square, and the fu ture
ta ��
. W o rld
30 Kxe4 Qb7+ 31 Kf4, after Ch a mp ion sec ures one
by a
which a very sharp and counterblo w.
intricate position would have 18 . . . aS!
arisen. After missing this Black rig htl y assumes
that
possibil ity, he ends up in a the ope ning of the b-file
'mortal' pin. aga inst his own king is for the
29 . . . Qxd4 30 BfS Nc3 31 m o m e n t not dan ger o u s
Rbe1 QxeS 32 Kg4 Nxe4 33 whereas c5 wil l be an ideai
Rxe4 Qf6 34 Bg6 QgS + post for his bishop.
And i n view of the variation 19 Rad1 Rxd1
35 Kf3 Rf8 + 36 Bf7 Qf5+ 37 20 Rxd1 Rh4!
Ke3 Bg5 + 38 Kd4 Rd8+, Forcing White to concede
White resigned . the c5 square.
21 bxaS BxcS
22 a6 b !
6
An original assessment of
the position was made by On 23 aS there follows 23
Black in the game Duckstein .. . b5, when the black king
-Petrosian, Varna Olympiad, feels comfortable enough
1 962. behind both his own, and the
enemy pawns.
23 Re1 Ka7
24 BeS Qd7
2S Ne4 Bd4
Th e blac k pieces become
moe and more active.
26 g3 BxeS!
e
And this exchang e sacrific
consolidates Blac k' s ini ti �­
d '"
tive. Now Whit e is obl ige
p a n eye on
par ti cula r to kee
t g
on
To feel completely happy, the flan k where not
.
Black has to develop his before he was attackin g
bishop, in order to connect 27 gxh4 Nd4
his rooks and achieve com- 28 Qd1 QdS!
 180
Th e massive centralization
of all Black's p ieces and the
torrn id able passed c-pawn
alloW his position to be
assessed as won. Especially
si nce White has no counter-
play .
The game concluded :
29 Re3 NfS 30 Re1 Nd4
(g ain ing time on the clock for ·
tho ught) 31 Qd3 fS 32 NgS cS
33 Re3 c4 34 Qd1 Kxa6 35
Ra3 Bf6 36 h3 f4 37 Qg4 KaS!
38 Nf3 Kb4 39 Nxd4 Kxa3 40
Nc2 + Kxa4 White resigns.
It happens much more
rarely that a pawn counter­
blow in the attacked sector is
the start of an entire counter­
attacking plan, and plays a
key part i n the defender's
strategic concept.
In the game Polugayevsky
, ezh metdinov, Sochi , 1 958,
a�
ex � n successful openi ng
Pe n m ent led to White
degree turn 221
having to go onto the defens­
ive at a very early stage.
Black's control of the strong­
point at e5 and the aggressive
position of his queen prom ise
h im an attack on the ki ngside.
Si nce any possible activity
on the queenside will be
clearly too late, and 1 3 f4 is
here unsatisfactory because
of 13 . . . Ng4, when 1 4 h3
simply allows mate - 1 4 . . .
Bd4+ 1 5 Kh 1 Qxg3 1 6 hxg4
Qh4 mate, White conceived a
p lan of defence and counter­
attack p recisely at the place
whe re the opponent is con­
centrating his forces. After all,
behind the attacking ranks
there is also the black king . . .
1 3 f3! Bh6
Black is obliged to weaken
the long dark-square d iag­
onal, si nce without a secure
defence of the future pawn
outpost at f4 he will be unable
to advance his g6 pawn to g4.
14 Qd1 f4
15 Nge2 gS
16 Nd5 g4
17 g3!
A basic l i nk in White's plan.
This 'bayonet' counterblow
e n a b l es the o p pone nt's
offensive t o be halted and
creates all the preconditions
for a counte rattack: the black
p ieces lose their potential
power.
222 The Art of Defence in Chess
17 . . . fxg3
All the same B lack
cannot mai ntain his hold on
f4, and 17 . . . Qh3 18 Nexf4
Bxf4 1 9 Nxf4 Rxf4 20 gxf4
Nxf3 + 21 Rxf3 gxf3 22 Od2
obl iges him to force a draw
by 22 . . . f2 + 23 Kxf2 Qxh2 +
24 Ke1 Qh1 + 25 Ke2 Qh5 + .
1 8 hxg3 Qh3
19 f4
It only requ i res Black to
make two further attacking
moves - 19 . . . Nf3+ 20 Kf2
Qh2+, when White's idea will
be carried out i n a l l its glory.
After 21 Ke3 the white king is
securely screened behind its
barricade of pawns, whereas
Black's comes under a virtually
irresistib le attack along the
h-fi le and the a1 -h8 diagonal:
22 Rh1 and 22 Nf6+ are
th reatened.
19 . . . Be6!
Only in this, al most para­
d o x i c a l , way can B l a c k
ind irectly secure the key
position of his kn ight at e5 (if
20 fxeS, then 20 . . . BxdS and
21 . . . Be3 +) and maintain a
dou ble-edged situation. I n
add ition h e g ives White a n
opportunity to . . . go wrong,
of which he makes use.
20 Bc2?
It stands to reason that the
im mediate 20 Kf2 was not
possib le in view of
20
Bxd S 21 cxdS Nxd3
+ '2
Qxd3 Bxf4, but the corre 2
ct 20
Bb 1 wou l ? have led to
. gre at
com phcat1o ns. White
w ould
have had his chances,
and
thi s me an s that the ent
i re
co unterp lay in the attac
ked
sector woul d have bee
n
j ustif ied. But now Blac k gain
s
the chanc e to carry o ut a
com bination of exceptio nal
beauty.
20 . . . Rf7 21 Kf2 Oh2+ 22
Ke3 Bxd5 23 cxd5 Nb4 24 Rh1
Rxf4!! 25 Rxh2
Had the white bishop been
not at c2, but at b 1 , Black's
combination would have been
impossible because of the
simple 25 gxf4. But now this
wou ld have been met by 25
. . . Bxf4 + 26 Nxf4 (or 26 Kd4
Qf2 + 27 Kc3 QcS mate) 26...
Nxc2+.
The conc l usio n of the game
bears no relation to our theme,
and we therefore give it with­
out any comm entary.
25 . . . Rf3 + + 26 Kd4 Bg7!!
27 a4 c5 + 28 dxc6 bxc6 329
Bd3 Nexd3 + 30 Kc4 d5 +! 331
exd5 cxd5 + 32 Kb5 R bS+
Ka5 Nc6 + White resi gn s.
sec-
And to conc lude thi s
. stra t•. o n of
tion , here is an •llu
ho w important it is to kno.CB
w 11as
· e VI
the variou s defen s• ve d f a
•
1'
and of what ha p p ens
 180 degree turn 223

not have a Qxg4 + 27 Kf2) 25 Bd5!!, and

layer does
�as t e ry o f them. White wi ns.
It remains to add that the
move 24 g4! in the diagram
position was suggested by
ex-World Champion Vasily
Smyslov.

This position arose more

than th ree quarters of a cent­
ury ago in the game Alapin -
Chigorin, Monte Carlo, 1 901 .
Black has sacrificed a piece
and created serious th reats
against the enemy king. The In the game Donchenko -
game continued:
Bitman, Dushan be, 1 974,
Bxb6 Rxh2 + 25 Kg1
24 the situation of the black k i ng
axb626 fxe6 Rh1 + 27 Kf2 gives very serious cause for
Q + 28 Ke3 Rd8! 29 Red1
h4 alarm: an attack from the
Qg5+ 30 Kf2 Qh4 +, with a rear will be i rresisti ble. And
draw by perpetual check. that is what happened after
But if this game had been 41 • .Nd4? (this move was
.

Played i n our day, Semyon sealed by Blac k after 25

Ala pin a well known theorist
, mi nutes' thought) 42 Qd8
of his time (incidentally, in the hxg3 (or 42 . . . Nf5 43 Qh8+
Mo n te Carlo Tournament he Kg5 44 gxh4+ Nxh4 - after
too k 5th 44 . . . Kg4 Black is mated in
prize) would have
fo u n d
without fai l a cou nter­ two moves - 45 Qd8+ Kh5 46
b lo w in the attacked sector: Qd 1 + Kh6 47 Qc1 +, picking
24 94! Oxg4 (it is easy to up the rook) 43 h4 Kg7 44
�heck that Black gains nothing Qf6 + Kh7 45 h5 Rxg2 46
Yan
�Xh2 + ew sacri fice 24 . . .
25 Qxh2 Bxf3 + 26 Kg 1
- hxg6 + Kh6 47 Qh4 +, and
"'c-p
Black resigned.
224 The Art of Defence in Chess
But had Black correctly
assessed the position as
indefensi ble, then by the
method of elim ination he
would have come to the idea
of active defence - counter­
attack. Especially since he
has a way of slightly opening
up the enemy king and of
gaining time to activate his
forces:
41 . . . h3! 42 Bxh3 (the
attempt to retai n control of
the long l ight-sq uare d iag­
onal by 42 Bxb7? allows mate
- 42 . . . Qf2!) 42 . . . Qe3 43
Qxb7 (4 3 Bg2 can be met by
4 3 . . . Rxg2! 44 Kxg2 Qe2 +
with perpetual check) 43 . . .
e4 (again severing the l i n k
between the white queen and
b i s h op a l o n g the a8-h 1
d iagonal) 44 Bg2 Rxg2 45
Kxg2 Qe2+ 46 Rf2 Nf4+ 47
gxf4 Qg4+, with a d raw by
perpetual check.
Gavrikov-Chernin
Moscow, 1 985
hIS
Black is attacki ng an d .
mam target IS the whi te k .
'
· ·
Bu � in the black mo na r 9� ��
residen ce the absence of
pa� n at h7 or h6 is also fel :
Th1s could and � hould hav�
suggested to Wh1te a way of
.
savmg the game _
by
cou nterattack i n the attacke �
sector. I t could have been
carried out by 33 e6! Rc2 r33
. . . f6 34 Qh5 leads to per­
petual check, and 33 . . . fxe6?
34 Qg4 to an advantage for
White) 34 Qa8+ Bf8 35 exf7 +
Kxf7 36 Qe8+ Kg8 37 Oe6+
Kh8 38 Bxg7+! (White already
has a perpetual check by 38
Qh6 + Kg8 39 Qe6+, but in
passing it does no harm to
try one more chance) 38 . . .
Kxg7! (after 38 . . . Bxg7? 39
Qe8 + Kh7 40 Qe4 + White
wins) 39 Qe5+ with perpetual
check.
After miss ing this pos­
sibil ity, Whit e went on to lose:
33 Kxg 3? Rd8 34 Kg2 Rd3 35
Qa8 + (35 Qf1 Rg3 +) 35 . . ·
Bf8 36 Rf2 Qxb3 37 Qc8
Qd5 + 38 Kh2 Rd2, win n ing
a piece.
 180 degree turn
What would you have played?
No. 59
By 25 f6 White continued
his attack. Assess and analyze
the position. Find a means of
counterplay for Black.
No. 60
At fi rst sight it appears that
Whit e has an undisputed
a�van tage. He has com pleted
h is
development, and is
attackin g in the centre and on
th e kin
gside. No secure
225
shelter is apparent for the
black king. Is this assessment
correct? Or can Black, to
move, shake it?
No. 61
This type of position often
occurs in the Yugoslav Varia­
tion of the King's Indian
Defence and i n certain other
lines. The basic defect for
Black is his knight at aS,
which lacks prospects and
sometimes finds itself in
danger. It is natural that
White will normally exploit
his advantage in force to
mount an offensive on the
kingside and in the centre,
and in particular to make the
e4-e5 breakthrough. What
should Black do? Should he
prepare counterplay on the
queenside, or does he have
other possibil ities?
226 The Art of Defence in Chess

No. 62 Wh ite's advantage

co m­
p rom ises his muc h
m ore
active min or pieces,
cra mp i ng pawn ou tpost his
at es
an d his po ssi bility of m ou
nt�
i ng an attack on the weak
ened
pos itio n of the blac k kin
g. In
orde r to cram p his oppon
ent
stil l further, with his last mov
e
1 7 g4 Wh ite decided to drive
back the knig ht to g7. Was he
right ?
19
Atta ck i s the best form of defence

Th is saying, which does not counterplay on the one of the

ap p ly only to chess, is con­ flanks.
sidered un iversal. Without
here going into a discussion Tai-Smyslov
of it, we should l i ke to make Candidates Tournament
the fol lowi ng comment: if Yugoslavia, 1 959
there is a choice between
playing for equality and play­
ing for a counterattack, the
latter will normally bring
greater d ividends. Provided,
of course, that the player
launching the counterattack
is not afraid of double-edged
complications and is ready to
take risks, balancing some­
times on the edge of the abyss.
It is not possible to l ist all the
motifs for such a decision: it It is clear that White is better
may be to attack the oppon­ developed and is dominating .
ent's king, to disrupt the
the centre. But Black has no .
co-ordination of the enemy weaknesses, and from the
Pieces which are ready to viewpoint of playing for
attack, or simply to take the equal ity, many commentators
Qa me along d ifferent lines, in suggested 10 . . N b6 (but not
.

Wh ich the opponent is un­ 10 . . Nd5 1 1 h4! f6 12 Bf4,

.

expectedly forced i nto sharp

Play with chances for both
Sides.
Il l ustrations are provided
by exam ples of how, in reply
to Pressure in the centre, the
defend ing side i n itiates active
227
when the weakness at e6 may
gradually become very real,
and for the knight at d7 and
bishop at e7 it is not easy to
find good posts) , reckoning
that in this case White's lead
in development, being a
228 The Art of Defence in Chess

te m pora ry factor, w o u l d of 1 3 Qe 7, wh en White ha

evaporate t o nothing, since
exchanges and simplification
are inevitable.
But firstly, even here 1 1
Nxc8 followed by Qh4 retains
for White chances of an attack,
and secondly, this would have
signified a deliberate decision
to play only for a draw. By
c o n t ra s t , t h e c o u n t er­
attacking method chosen by
B l a c k , p i ece c o u nterplay
against undefended points in
the opponent's position, does
not deprive him of winning
chances, although it provokes
a storm of complications. And
it stands to reason that in this
case the danger of making a
mistake also increases.
10 . . . QaS!
Th reatening 1 1 . . . Qxa2,
and if 1 1 Kb1 , then 1 1
Bxd6 1 2 Qxd6 Ne4 etc.
11 Bc4 bS!
A perfectly c o n s i stent
development of the counter­
attack. 1 1 . . . Qc5 would have
led to simplification, but then
the qu iet 1 2 Nxc8 Raxc8 1 3
Rhe1 would have retai ned for
sa
attack both after 1 3 . . . Nx
1 4 N xg5 Ne5 1 5 Bb3,
g �
and
after 1 3 . . . N xf2 14 Rx
d?
Bxd7 1 5 Rf1 .
1 2 Bd2!
Vacating g5 for the knig ht
with gain of tempo . 1 2 Bb3 is
not good i n view of 1 2 . . . cs
while on 1 2 Nf5 Black ha�
1 2 . . . Bc5.
12 . . . Qa6
1 3 NfS Bd8
1 4 Qh4
On the one hand this piece
sacrifice for an attack is
j ustified, on the other hand it
is forced! Black would have
seized the in itiative after both
1 4 Bb3 c5 and 1 4 Be2 Qxa2
1 5 Bc3 c5.
14 . . . bxc4
1 5 QgS NhS
For the moment the principle
of activity is maintained. The
attempt to go onto the
defens ive for the sake of
keepin g the material ad­
vantage - 1 5 . . . g6, would
evidently have been refuted
3
by Tal's i ntended 1 6 Bc
Qxa2 1 7 Nh6 + Kg7 (if 17 · · ·

or
White pressure in the centre KhB 18 Rxd7!) 1 8 Rh e1,
and a s l ig ht positional even 1 8 Nh4! Qa1 + (18
g4
ReB 1 9 Rhe 1 ! Re6 20 N
· · ·

advantage.
Oh 6+
xg6!
Qa 1 + 21 Kd2 Qa6 22
KgB 23 Rxe6 fxe6 24 N
It must also be added that
here 1 1 . . . Bxd6 1 2 Qxd6
XC3
Ne4 no longer works because Ne4 + 25 Ke2 Nxc3+ 26 b
 Attack is the best form of defence 229

ht96 2i Qxg6 + Kf8 28 Nh6,

21 Nxf7 + Kg8 22 Rxa1 Kxf7
mating) 19 Kd2 Qa6 20 N4f5+ 23 Ne5 +, and th ree moves
t<h8 21 Ke2! ReS+ 22 Kf1 with later Black resigned.
ve ry strong th reats.
16 Nh6 + Kh8 A. lvanov-Gufeld
1 7 Qxh5 Qxa2? Druskinikai, 1 983
A hasty move, which ruins
a B lack's preceding play. 1 7
ll
. . . Bf6! would have strength­
ened the counterattack. Tal
was intending to contin ue 1 8
Bc3. and i f 1 8 . . . Bxc3 1 9
Ng5 !? g 6 20 Nhxf7 + Rxf7 2 1
Nxf7 + Kg7 22 Qf3 Bf6 23
Nd6, but if this variation is
continued, after 23 . . . Qxa2
24 Ne8+ Kf7 25 Rxd7 + Kxe8!
White has to be satisfied with White is not so m uch
a draw. attacking on the queenside,
Thus the counterattack as i ntend ing after 1 5 cxd5
began with 10 . . . Qa5 and exd5 1 6 c4 to deprive the
11 . . . b5 could have fully centralized black knight at
justified itself (although White e4 of support and to seize all
could still have retai ned a the dark sq uares i n the centre.
slig ht advantage by 18 Nxf7 + Hence Black's decision to
KgB 19 N7g5 h6 - 19 . . . hinder the natural develop­
Bxg5+ is very strongly met by ment of events by a flank
20 Qxg5! - 20 Ne4 Qxa2 21 diversion.
Nxf6+ Nxf6 22 Qa5 ) . But 14 ... Nxg3!
after the mistake in the game 15 hxg3 Rxg3
White wins with a bri l liant 16 Be3 Rxg2 +!
co mbination. 17 Kxg2 d4!
18 Bc3 Nf6 18 Bf4
Now 1 8 . . . Bf6 is too late - 1 8 Bxd4 Nxd4 1 9 Qxd4 fails
19 Nxf7 + Kg8 20 N3g5 h6 to 1 9 . . . Bc6+ .
2 1 Nxh 6+ or 20 . . . Bxg5+ 21
18 . . . e5
Nxg s h6 22 Qg6.
1 9 Bg3 Ne71
1 9 Qxf71 Qa1 + 20 Kd2 Rxf7 20 Qa3
230 The Art of Defence in Chess
Here Black deviated from
the correct path - 20 . .
Qc6 +? 21 f3 NfS, and after
.the possible 22 Qxa7! he
should have lost, whereas the
correct 20 . . . Qh6 21 Rh1
Bc6+ 22 f3 Qe3 would have
g iven him very strong counter­
play, despite bei ng a rook
down (23 Raf1 e4! 24 14
Qe2 +), which would evidently
have been sufficient to main­
tain dynamic eq uilibrium.
However, in a severe time
scramble both sides made
several mistakes and 'justice
trium phed': the game ended
in a draw . . .
But, of course, it is not j ust
the counterattacking side
who may go .wrong. Psycho­
log ical ly there are much more
grounds for the recent 'hunter'
to do this. An i l lustration of
this is provided by the wel l
known game Taimanov -
Larsen, Vinkovci, 1 970.
Objectively Blac k's Pos
. . iti on
. 1s wo �se. The ISo lated dS
pawn IS attac ke d, and it
ca n
be defend ed only by 1 4
Rd8, on whic h there ��Y
follow 1 5 Qb5, and after
the
exch ang e of queens Wh
ite
obtain s the better gam
e.
Therefore, rejectin g pass ive
defence with hopes only of
equ ality, Larsen begins a bold
cou nterattack borderin g on
recklessn ess, such as is not
often seen.
14 . .
. gS!?
Without g reat risk of being
wrong , we can name the
factors by which Larsen was
guided. Firstly, he rightly
assumed that such a turn of
events would be extremely
u n e x p e c t e d f o r Wh ite.
Second ly, from the calm
waters of positional pressure
in the centre, White immedi­
ately has to plunge into a
maelstr om of compli catio ns,
where the proba bility of a
mistake increases ma ny times.
There were also, of cou rse,
some pure ly chess reasons
for such a decisio n. Larsen
t
took accou nt of the fact tha
t
the white king had not ye
castle d, and that i � re�urn _
f�;
of h1s k1ng s1 r
the weakenin g _the 1
Black wo uld obt ain el
_
ten a
good pie ce pla y, or ma
gai n.
 Attack is the best form of defence
15 Bg3
It is clear that after 15 Bxg5
axg 5 16 Nxg5 d4 White loses
a p iece. Also dangerous is
15 Be5 g4 1 6 Oxd5 Bd8 1 7
Qxa5 Bxa5 1 8 Bf6 gxf3 1 9
g xf3 Bxc3+ 20 Rxc3 Rea 21
Rg 1 + Kf8 22 ReS Re6 23
Bg7+ Ke7 24 Rh5 Bd7, and if
25 Rxh7 Ne5!
15 . . . g4
16 Nd4
A natural reply, but not the
best. On 1 6 Ne5 Larsen was
planning 1 6 . . . Bf6 1 7 Nxc6
bxc6 1 8 0-0 Be6 with
unclear play. And only later,
after analysis, it was found
that the weakening of the
black ki ng's position would
have told after 16 Nd2, and if
1 6 . . . d4 17 Nc4 Qf5 18 Ne2
dxe3 1 9 0-0.
16 . . . Nxd4
17 exd4 BgS
This is the point of Black's
counterplay. If White moves
his rook, then his king wi l l be
caught in the centre, e.g. 1 8
Rc2 Re8+ 1 9 Re2 Rxe2+ 20
Kxe2, and Black has a pleasant
choice between 20 . . . Bd7,
20 . . . Bf5 and 20 . . . b6.
18 0-0 Bxc1
19 Rxc1 Be6
20 h3
I t was this position that
W h ite had in mind wben he
231
sacrificed the exchange. He
assumed that after the open­
ing of the g-file the black king
would be left undefended.
But when Black began his
flank cou nterattack on move
1 4, he had anticipated this,
and so White should no
longer have hoped for too
much, but should have tried
to gain a d raw in the endgame
after 20 Oxb7 Qb6 21 Qxb6.
20 . . . gxh3
21 BeS f6!
This allows White to carry
out a com bi nation, the refuta­
tion of which is already
prepared!
22 Ne4 fxeS
But not, of cou rse, 22 . . .
dxe4 because of mate in a few
moves: 23 Oxe6 + Rf7 24 Rc7
Rf8 25 Q g 4 + Kh8 26 Bxf6+
Rxf6 27 Qg7 mate.
23 Qg3 + Bg4!!
Had Black played 23
Kh8, he would have lost: 24
Oxe5 + and 25 Qxe6 +, while
if 23 . . . Kf7, then 24 Ng5+ and
25 Qxe5. But now White's
queen is lured onto a light
square, the coordination of
his pieces is disrupted, and
his play on the dark squares
becomes unrealizable.
24 Qxg4 + Kh8
25 NgS Qd2!
26 Rc7
232 The Art of Defence in Chess
Or 26 � f1 hxg2 27 Kxg2 h6.
26 . . . Qxf2 + 27 Kh2 Qxg2 +
28 Qxg2 hxg2 29 dxeS RacB
30 Rxb7 Rc2 31 Nf7 + Kg7
32 e6 Kf6 33 e7 g1=0 + 34
Kxg1 RgB + White resigns.
* * * enable players to orientate
Th is concludes what we
have to say about counter­
attack. Does this mean that in
other situations, not con­
sidered here, a counter­
offensive is not possi ble? Of
course not. It is im possi ble
to g ive recipes for all eventu­
a l i t i es i n l i f e : c h ess i s
i nexhaustible, and the re i s a
0�
i n e x h a u s t i b l e n u mb e r
n uances whi �� m � ke every
concrete pos1t1on disti ncti ve
And yet an acquai ntan ce with
the factors given here, wh i ch
are more or less typi cal, m ay
themselves better in the en d­
l ess dive rsity of situatio ns
which can arise on the board.
It is no accident that we, the
authors, whose style of play is
largely based on counter­
a t t a c k , c a n assert with
complete certainty: know­
ledge helps us".
May it also help the reader.
 Appendix
Answers to the Questions:
"What would you have played?"
No. 1 (p. 1 1 ) .
In the game Llsitsyn - Petroslan - Spassky World
Klaman, Len ingrad, 1 949, it
co nsisted of the following
manoeuvre:
19 Nd2! RbS
20 f4!
By securely blocking the
diagonal along which the
o p p o n e n t ' s d a r k -s q u a re
bishop was aiming (g2-g3,
with the same idea, is less
suitable, since it weakens a
who l e c o m p l ex of l i g h t
sq uares and creates a new
target for Black to attack at
93), White averted an un­
favourable development of
events, and after then trans­
ferring his knight to e5, he
won the game. An excel lent
example of timely prophylaxis!
No. 2 (p.1 1 ) .
I n the first instance on the
overprotection of the d4
square, which for a long time
r es tri cts t h e o p po n e n t ' s
Counterplay. The strength of
this plan was confirmed in
233
several games from the
Championship Match, Mos­
cow, 1 969.
1 1 Be3!?
Here the bishop blocks the
path of the e-pawn and may
come under attack by the
knight from f6, but the secure
defence of the piece outpost
at d4 fully compensates for
this. After all, at an appropriate
moment the white queen can
become aggressive, now that
it is relieved of the necessity
to look after the knight at d4.
11 ... Bg4
12 Oa4! NaS
13 Rad1 Nc4
14 Bc1
For the moment, control of
the key point is reassigned to
the rook, after which the black
knight will be driven away . . .
In the 1 2th game of the afore­
mentioned match, after 14 . . .
Qc8 15 Oc2 Rd8 1 6 b3 Ne5 1 7
Bb2 Qd7 1 8 f3! BhS 1 9 Qf5!
Nc6 20 Qxd7 Rxd7 21 Nxc6
bxc6 White gai ned a clear
234 The Art of Defence in Chess
advantage, the basis of which
was his total control over that
same d4 square.
No. 3 (p.24) .
Nevertheless, i n the 3rd
game of the Tal - Timman
Match, Montpellier, 1 985, that
i s p rec i s e l y what B l ac k
played!
12 • • • Ndxe51
13 f4 Nc41!
After 1 3 . . . Nxd4 1 4 Bxd4
Black simply stan�s badly,
whereas now he begins mass
simplification, maintaining
the balance.
1 4 Nxc6 Nxe3! 15 Nxd8
Nxd1 16 Nxe6 Ne3 17 Nxc7 +
Kd7 18 Nxa8 Nxc2 19 Nd2
Bc5+ 20 Kh1 Nxa1 21 Rxa1
Rxa8 22 Re1 Kd6 23 g3 ReS
Draw agreed.
No. 4 (p.24).
Yes, in the game Janowski­
Capablanca, New York, 1 9 1 6,
if on move 18 White had
thought not about activity,
but about maximum simplifi­
cation of the position. He
could have maintai ned the
balance by continuing 1 8
Bxa5! Rxc1 + (after 1 8 . . .
Rxa5? 1 9 RxcB BxcB 20 Nb3
the b5 pawn is lost) 1 9 Rxc1
Rxa5 20 N b3 Ra8 21 Nc5!,
when he has no reason to
fear the two black bis h oPs.
No. 5 (p.25) .
And yet, i n a ga me from th
e
Botvlnnlk - Smyslov World
Cham pionship Match Mos-
•
cow , 1 954, with his flag about
to fall Black found an elegant
defence.
39 • • • C4l!
40 bxc4 Oa3
After forcing the exchange
of queens, Black is in no
danger of losing the endgame,
even though two pawns down!
The g uarantee of this is
provided by his active rook
and - most importantly -
the opposite-colour bishops.
41 Qxa3 Bxa3
White now tried sacrificing
a piece, but here too the
defence was accurate.
42 Bf5 gxf5 43 g6 Bf8 44
exf5 Bg71 45 f6 Bxf6 46 g7
Bxg7 '47 Rxg7 f3
By for the moment shutti�g
in the white king, for the pawn
Black obtains sufficient draw­
ing chances.
48 Rg4 Rh3 49 Rg3 Rh4 50
Rxf3 Rxc4, and soon the
players ag reed a draw.
No. 6 (p.25).
For this reason in the game
Tal - Nunn, USSR v Rest of
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 235

the Wcoorld,
st of
London, 1 984, at
a pawn Black
black king.
the tically forced 35 Bc4 Bc8
p rac exchanges, 36 aS Ne6
when the remai n i ng opposite­ 37 a6
col ou r bishops guaranteed White agrees to sacrifice
hirn a d raw. the exchange, since the loss
19 . . . Ne3 of a tempo by 37 Nc2 would
20 Rae1 f4 have allowed the black knight
21 Nd1 to turn 'left' (37 . Ng5) and
. .

Sh arp variations such as 2 1 create a th reat against h3.

Ne4 Rg6 22 N h4 Bd4 do not 37 . • • Nd4
give White anything real . 38 Rxd4 exd4
21 Bg4 22 Nxe3 fxe3 39 BdS Be6!
23
• • •

Rxe3 QhS 24 Be4 Raf8 25 40 a7 Ra8

Qd3 Bxf3 26 Bxf3 QgS 27 41 Qc4 RgS
Kh1 Rf4 28 b3 Rh4 29 Re4 Not leaving White time to
And here in view of the capture on d4.
possible 29 . . . Qf5 30 Rfe1 42 Qc6 BxdS
Be5 31 Rg4+ Rxg4 32 Qxf5 43 exdS Rgg8
Rxf5 33 Bxg4 Rf2 the players 44 Ne2 Rgd8
agreed a d raw. 45 Nxd4?
Black's tenacious defence
No. 7 (p.33). bears its first fruits: the
Defend, only defend! And preparatory 45 Nd3 was much
first of all against the threat­ stronger, and if 45 . . . Qf5
ened forced march of the a3 46 Qc4 followed by Nxd4.
pawn to the q ueen i ng square. 45 . . . Bxb4
This can be done only by 46 Qxc7+?
switch i n g forces to t h e White could sti l l have won
Queenside, a nd in particular by 46 Re2+ Kf8 47 Qf6 Kg8 48
th e slow movi ng knight. Nc6, but that is the nature of
31 • • • R6g7! chess: it is not only the
32 a4 Ng6! defending side that makes
33 h3 Nf8 mistakes. Now his main
34 BbS Be6 advantage has gone.
O f course, the exchange of 46 • Kf8 47 Nc6 QxdSI 48
. •

b ish ops would have weakened Nxb4 Qb5 + 49 Nbd3 Rxd3

th e light squares around the 50 Nxd3 Qxd3+ 51 Kg1 Qb1 +
236 The Art of Defence in Chess

52 Kh2 Qxa2 53 Qb8 + Rxb8 brea kt h roug h. For th is

54 axb8=0 + Kg7 55 Qxf4 both
whi te knig hts and the
dark­
Kg6 squa re bisho p sh ou l d
hav
And after a further twenty remai ned on the ir pre e
sent
moves the game Golmayo - squa res, and 21 Bf3 f oll ow
ed
Alekhlne, Prague O lympiad, by Kg2 can be recommend
ed
1 931 , ended in a draw. preparin g a possibl e g3-g4. '
I nstead of this in the ga m
e
No. 8 (p.33) . Biylasas - Ljubojevic, Petrop­
He should defend against olis I nterzonal, 1 973, White
the stated threat, but without played more aggressi vely:
fail . . . passively. To this end 21 Nf2? b4!
44 Rd1 was the most suitable, 22 cxb4 cxb4
when it is not apparent where 23 Nxb4 Nxb4
Black can break through. 24 Bxb4 Bxb2
But in the game Timman - That is why the knight
Sveshnlkov, Wijk aan Zee, should not have been moved
1 981 , White decided to d isrupt from d 1 .
his opponent's plan and at the
25 Re2 Bd4
same time keep his rook in an
26 e5 d5
active position. This ended
27 Rc1?
d ismally.
44 Rg7? Rh6 45 Rg5 Rd6! 46 Another 'active' move (to an
Rxe5 Rd3 47 Rxf4 Rxb3 48 open fi le), whereas what was .
Rf7 a4 49 Rxh7 req uired was the passive
defence of the bishop block­
Even so, 49 f4 wo uld have
ing the b-fi le. Now Black
given better savi ng chances.
makes an accurately calcu­
49 • Rb2 + 50 Kg3 a3 51
. .
lated excha nge sacrifi ce.
Ra7 Kb4 52 f4 a2 53 Re4 + Rxb4!
27 . . .
Kb3 54 h4 b5 55 Ra8 b4 56 Na7
28 axb4
ReS Kc4 57 Kg4 Rg2 + 58
29 Rc7
Kf3 Rf2 + 59 Kg4 b3 60 Re4 +
Kd3 White resig ns. 29 Rec2 Nb5 30 Rc8+ BxcB
d
31 Rxc 8+ Kd7 32 Rxh8 wou l
a3 3 3
No. 9 (p.33). have failed to 32 · · ·

. . . passive defence. I t Ra8 Na7.

consisted i n maintaining the 29 . . . NbS
status q uo, and in particular 30 Rb7 Ke7
in p reventing the . . . b4 31 Ra2 Nc3
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 237

only not 31 . . . a3 32 Rxb5. the exchange of queens.

32 Ra3 Ra8 21 . . . f6
Th is is stronger than wi n­ Or 21 . . . Kh7 22 Bg5 Rde8
23 Ne2 Rg8 24 Nf4 Bf8 25 Nh5
ning a piece by 32 . . . Nd 1 .
with dec isive threats.
33 Kf1 Kd8
22 Bxh6 Bxh6
Trapping the white rook,
23 Qxh6 Qg7
alth ough 33 . . . Nb1 34 Ra2
24 Qxg7 + Kxg7
a3 would also have won.
Even so, Black was unable
34 Bf3 Kc8 35 Rxd7 Kxd7
to save the game.
36 Nd1 Nb1 37 Ra2 Kc6, after
wh ich Black picked up the
b4 pawn with his king and No. 1 1 (p.64).
won easily. And in the game Sveshnikov
- Adorjan, Sarajevo, 1 983, he
No. 10 (p.64). made excellent use of it!
Undoubtedly the one involv­ 27 . . • Rd1 !
ing an exchange sacrifice
The way to save the game is
-

1 2 . . . hxg5 1 3 Qxh8 Qxd4,

by activity. 27 . . . Qe4 would
when Black has at least equal
have parried the threat of 28
chances.
h6 - 28 . . . Qd4, but then 28
But in the game Belyavsky ­ hxg6 would have won.
Portisch, Thessaloniki Olymp­ 28 h6
iad, 1 984, after 12 . g6?! 1 3
. •

Nge4! Bg7 (the queen cannot 28 Rxd 1 is decisively met by

be taken because of the 28 . . . Qxd 1 + 29 Kh2 Qd4.
un usual smothered mate by 28 . . . Rxf1 +
the knight from f6) 14 Qg4 Nf5 29 Kh2 Rh1 +!
1 5 Be3 White managed to 30 Kg3
securely reinforce his d4 Capturing the rook would
Pawn and retain prospects of have allowed the queen to
an attack on the k i ngside. give check and then switch to
The game continued: 15 d4.
Nd5 16 Nxd5 Qxd5 1 7
· · . 30 • • • Rxh6
Nc3 Od7 1 8 Rfd1 Rd8 1 9 31 Bd6
Rac1 0-0 20 Bxf5 gxf5 21 There is a new threat of
Qh4 capturi ng on f7, which 31 . . .
Here Black thought it best Nd8 does not parry because
to give up a pawn to provoke of 32 Qe7.
238 The Art of Defence in Chess

31 Qxf3+1 sufficient for a draw."

But now it is all over: White
36
I n dee d, i n the event of
has nothing left with which to B�S B lack act _ivates his bis
hop
attack. w1t h t h e paw n sac rifi ce 36
d4 ! and creates the threat
32 gxf3 RhS 33 b4 Rf5, and ·f
Black soon won. invad ing with his queen at h�
No. 12 (p.64 ) . But i n the game his p ositi o
rapidly deteriorated.
�
White has not on l y a way of
saving the game, but even of 32 Rxc6 Oxe5
winning! I n Uhlmann - Pahtz , 33 Bxe5 Bxcs
Halle, 1 984, he destroyed the 34 Rc1 Bb7
opponent's attacking power 35 hS
in one go, and the weakness Black's k i ngside is block­
of the back rank proved de­ aded , and the white pieces are
cisive. much more active.
37 Qxc8 +!! Bxc8 38 exd3 35 . . . Rf8
Qxf3 + 39 Bg2 Resigns. 36 Rc7 Rf7
No. 13 (p .65) . 37 Rc3!
That is what Black did in the Now 37 . . . Rf8, with the
game Kasparov - Gheorghiu, idea of wresting the c-file, no
Moscow, 1 98 1 , and in doing longer works because of 38
so he made . . . a serious Ra3, and the black rook will
m istake. This is how the World be t ied to the defence of the
Champion h imself comment­ a7 pawn.
ed on this i nc ident: 37 . . . Kh7
"Black aims at any price 38 Kf2 g6
for the exc hange of q ueens, Here, by continu ing 39 Ke3
not taking into account the gxh5 40 gxh5 , White would
d ifficulties of the com ing have retai ned every chance of
endgame. It was here that he w i n n i n g : h e co uld h ave
d
should have played actively advanced his pawns to a4 an
with 31 . . . Qe7, reminding at d4, an d
b4, plac ed his king
into a w o n
Wh ite that his king has by Rc7 trans posed
sit e -col o u r
become too exposed over end ing with oppo
ee n
the last few moves . I n the bisho ps . This coul d have b .
of Black s
variation 32 Rxc6 Bxc6 33 the con seq uence
ive
g5 Rf5 34 Qe3 hxg5 35 hxgS incor rect choice of p ass
Qf7 Black has cou nterplay defe nce instead of act ive.
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions
fiiO 14 (p.74) .
we fi nd a reply, exhaustive
i. n its completeness, in the
o mentary by A ron N"•mzo-
rn
� itsch, playing Black against
Leon hardt, San Sebastian,
1912.
"White' s e-pawn is to be
b cked : it is, however, by no
lo
means indifferent whether
this blockade is effected by
knight or bishop. The latter
woul d be inelastic, and its
range of action small, at best
as far as g4 (should White
play g2-g4 to attack the
opposing pawn majority),
while it would be more attack­
able, e.g. by a knight at c5,
which could not be driven off.
On the other hand a knight at
e6 would be not only an
excellent, because unassail­
able, blockader, but also a
very aggressive one, among
other things preparing the
way for . . . g5. It is often of
,.,, nreatest i mportance to
find t he right blockading
P iece" . . .
Hen ce a decision which is
n ow understandable.
12 . . . g6!
13 Na4! Ng7
14 Qd2 Qd7
In order to play the rook to
d8
as soon as possible.
15 Qa5 Ne6
'·Aoc--q
239
16 Rad1 Rd8
17 Nc5?
"A p o s i t i o n a l m istake.
White should seek to keep
the knight as a potential
blockader, or at any rate only
exchange it for the opponent's
knight . . . 1 7 Bc5 was the
right move" (Ni mzowitsch).
17 . . . Bxc5
18 Bxc5 Bb7
Later Black sacrificed a
pawn at a convenient moment
by . . . c5, activated his lig ht­
square bishop, and after
painstak ing preparation (the
rooks were posted at g7 and
g8) of the thematic advance
. . . g5, he concl uded the
game with a direct attack on
the king. All 40 moves of the
game are given in Nimzo­
witsch's book My System.
No. 15 (p.74) .
There is no doubt that the
pawn should be blockaded,
since then the white pieces,
in particular the rooks, wil l be
restricted to the first two
ranks. But this should have
been done by 1 9 . . . Bf5!
followed by the establ ishment
at e4 of one of the minor
pieces (the exchange 20
Bxf5 Qxf5! does nothing to
ease White's difficulties).
240 The Art of Defence in Chess
But i n the game Utemov ­
Kaidanov, Moscow, 1 980, the
i m mediate 'blockading' move
19 • .Ne4? allowed White to
. could have been achi eved b
lift the blockade by 20 Bxe4!
Qxe4 21 NgS (it will be
remembered that the queen is
the worst blockader, si nce it
is forced to withdraw after an
attack by a less valuable
enemy piece) and completely
seize the initiative.
21 . . . Qe7
22 e4
The picture has immediately
changed. Rephrasing a saying
by grandmaster Tartakower,
it can be said that at e3 the
pawn was p itifu l , at e4 it is
proud, and if it should advance
to e5 it will become aggres­
sive. Moreover it cannot now
be blockaded at e4: the e5
square can be occu pied only
by a heavy piece, which can
always be attacked by the
knight.
22 . . . Be6 23 Qf4 Rad8 24
Rf1 Qd6 25 Qh4 hS 26 Rf2
Rd7 27 Raf1 Kg7 28 Kh1 QeS
29 Rf4 Rf8 30 Nf3
A g raphic illustration of
what was said earlier.
30 . . . Qc3
31 eS
White has a very strong
attack, and he went on to win
the game.
No. 16 (p.74) .
Of course, in a blocke
d
centre. I n the diag ram th
is
y
1 3 . . . fxe4 1 4 fxe4 Rxf 1 +
15
Kxf 1 e5! 1 6 Nf3 Nf7 with
approxi mate equality.
But i n the first game of the
Yusupov - Timman Candi­
dates Match, Tilburg , 1986, 13
. Qe7?! 14 eS Nf7 15 f4 gS
. .
1 6 dS! led to an obvious
advantage for White.
No. 17 (p.88) .
I n the game P olugayevsky ­
Seirawan, Toluca Interzonal
Tournament, 1 982, White
played 40 f3! gxh2 + 41 Kh1 ,
after which his king felt fine
and he was a ble to advance
his d-pawn. The continuation
was 41 . . . Kh8 42 d6 Nf6 43
QfS Qa7 44 QcS! ( it is essen­
tial not to blund er into the
mate at g 1 , and the h2 pawn
has to be preserved!) 44 . . ·
Qa4 45 Rde1 Qa2 46 Rxf6!
Rxf6 47 d7 Rg8 48 Qd4 Kg7 49
Bc4 (49 d8=0? Rxd8 50 Oxd8
Qf2), and Black resig n ed.
No. 1 8 (p.88).
d
It tu rns out that the sec o n
ve
alternative would not ha
ck
been so terrib le for Bla
(Dvo retsky - Mikhail Tseitli �;
M osc ow, 1 972 ) : 23 . K xd
KfS
. ·
24 Bxe6 + + Kxe6 25 Od 6+
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions
2 6 Qd7 + Ke4 27 Re1 + Re3 28
Q b 7+ Kd4 29 Rd1 + Kc4 (29
Kc3 30 Qb3 mate) 30
Q� f7+ Kb5 31 Rb1 + 0b4!, and
thin gs are far from clear . .
I n the game Black chose
a third alternative, which
p roved to be a tactica l bl un­
der: 23 . . . Rxg3+? 24 Bg2!
Resigns.
No. 1 9 ( p.88) .
We c o n t i n u e L a s k e r ' s
co m m e ntary: " T h e m ove
actually made, and the only
one to save the game (which
ended i n a draw) was 33 Kf1 !,
against which Black must
play very cautiously not to be
at a disadvantage - any too
violent attack will fail" . . .
Indeed, i n the 1 8th game
of the Steinitz - Lasker World
Championship Match, USA,
1894, the king took u pon
itself the defence of the
possible i nvasi on square e1 ,
moved out of possible combi­
n ati onal blows, and freed the
queen from its defensive
d u t i es . W h i te ' s p i ec e s
i mm ediately became more
'compact', and he was already
th reatening 34 Qe3 and the
u n equivocal 35 f4.
However, Black too rose to
th e occasion.
24 1
33 . • • ReS!
34 Qe3 RdS
At j ust the right time.
35 RxdS QxdS
.
36 Nc3 Qc6
37 Kf2
The same tactics: White's
king will itself take care of
his defensive weaknesses.
Later, it is true, White
blu ndered away a pawn, but
Black . . . failed to exploit this
gi ft of fate. On the 6 1 st move
the game ended i n a draw.
No. 20 (p.1 01 ) .
The bl itz game Geller -
Gufeld showed that the posi­
tion has another solution. By
2 . . . Rc41! Black took control
of the main avenue of attack
- the 4th rank, and White
resigned . The ro�k is immune
(3 Rxc4 Qxe 1 mate, or 3 dxc4
Qxe4), and after 3 Re3 Rg4
the attack is parried.
No. 21 (p. 1 0 1 ) .
But o n the other hand 37 . . •
fS +!I wins, as i n fact occu rred
i n the game Koblentz -
Moiseyev, Riga, 1 955. It is
obvious that after both 38
Kxf5 and 38 Kxh3 the pawn
q ueens with check, while
the capture en passant by 38
gxf6 blocks the f-file for
White's attack on the new­
born queen, and after 38 . . .
242 The Art of Defence in Chess
f1=0 the discovered check is
no longer to be feared. There­
fore White resigned.
No. 22 ( p. 1 02).
I n the first i nstance he
should have assessed the
position. The pawn outpost at
e4 enables Black to count on
a k i n g s i d e atta c k . T h e
'observation' o f h 2 by his
bishop simply demanded that
its scope be reduced and that
14 g3 be played, so as only
after 1 4 . . . h5 to beg i n the
bishop manoeuvre - 15 Bf1
h4 16 Bg2, when the pressure
on the e4 pawn restricts the
d e ve l o p m e n t of B l a c k 's
i n itiative.
But after the move played
i n Spassov - Panchenko,
S o c h i , 1 980, W h i te was
crushed.
14 . . . Bxh2+ 15 Kxh2
Ng4 + 16 Kg3 Qd6 + 17 f4
exf3 + 1 8 Kxf3 Qf6 + 1 9 Ke2
Rxe3 + White· resigns.
No. 23 ( p . 1 02).
By 41 . . . Kd3! (41 . . . e5,
with the same idea, loses to
42 Ke2 Kxc3 43 Kd1 ! ) , as
occurred in the correspond­
ence game Lopukhin-Latash,
1 98 1 . Now White fails to win
by 42 h5 e5 43 g6 e4 + 44 Kf4
hxg6 45 hxg6 e3 46 g 7 e2 47
g8=Q e 1 =Q, and so he
preve nts the adva nce
of the
central passed pawn .
42 Kf4 Kxc3!
Hav i ng lured the king to
f4
e lf
Blac k can now permi t hi ms
this captu re. The poin t of
his
previ ous move becomes cle
ar
a little later.
43 h5 b4
44 g6 hxg6
45 hxg6
It turns out that the main
th reat of 45 h6, with the idea
of queen i ng with check and
winning, is parried by inter­
ference on the long dark­
square diagonal - 45 . b3 . .
46 h7 e5 +! This was the
reason for Black's 4 1 st move.
The remainder was clear:
45 . . . b3 46 g7 b2 47 g8=0
b1=0 48 Qxe6 Qc1 + 49 Qe3 +
Qxe3+ 50 Kxe3
Draw: only the 'bare' kings
are left on the board!
No. 24 (p. 1 09).
He certa inly was, and �e
was wron gly critic ized forth IS
by Alekhine, playing Blac� .
who overlooked that h iS
,
o p p o n e n t Euwe (Zu rich
nd
1 934) coul d effectively a
he
prett ily escape from t
resulting pin.
31 Nf7! Qe8
It tran spires that Black i;�
no choice : i n the event 0
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 243

Kxf7 32 Qh5+ Ke7 33 The q ueen has been

R·;e6+ Kxe6 34 Re1 + he is regained, Wh ite i s two pawns
111 8 ted in th ree moves - 34 down, and already here he
Kd6 35 Qc5+ Kd7 36 could have resig ned with a
atS+ Kd6 37 Qe6 mate. 'clear conscience'.
32 Rxe6 Qxe6
33 Nd8 Qe4 No. 27 (p. 1 1 9) .
34 Nxc6 It i s not too complicated,
but elegant.
Fo r the lost pawn Black has
n the slightest compensa­
ot 43 . • • Rxc2!
tion , and although the game 44 Kxc2 Ke6!
conti nued for a further twenty 45 Bxb6 Bb4!
moves, White won. By sacrificing a pawn,
Black (Taimanov - Farago,
B u dapest, 1 982) has as
No. 25 (p. 1 1 0). it were encaged the white
What follows is that i n the
bishop, which is u nable to
game Chlgorin - Mason,
break through the barricade.
Hannover, 1 902, White could
On the 60th move the game
have won i mmediately by 35
ended i n a d raw.
NhS!, when after 35 . . . Qxh4
the freed knight su pports
mate by the pawn - 36 g7, No. 28 (p. 1 20).
while 35 . . . Qd7 36 Qg3! also By constructing a fortress
leads to mate. with the natural move 34 f4!
But the game went 35 The black king is deprived of
RfhS??, and after 35 the key square e5 and of the
Oxf& 36 Rxh7 + Bxh7 37
• • •

possibility of penetrating to
Rxh7 + Kg8 White resigned. the kingside, since the white
king will take up a post at f3.
No. 26 (p. 1 1 O). In the 2 1 st game of the
An d wrongly so: i n the Spassky - Fischer World
Qame Monostory - Florian, Championship Match, Rey­
�un gary, 1 950, the kn ight kjavik, 1 972, White missed
ran away'! this chance.
16 Nxg3!! 34 Kf3? Ra1
17
. • .

Bxd5 Nxe2 + With the threat of 35

1 8 Kg2 Bxd5 + Rg 1 and the advance of the
19 f3 Nxc1 h-pawn.
244 The A rt of Defence in 'Chess

35 Kg2 Ke5 the ki ngs ide whi ch

I
COU ld
36 Be6 Kf4 h ave been achi eved a
l mo
37 Bd7 im mediate ly by 34 4 1 st
9 and
then h2-h3.
·

With the idea of 38 b4

Rb1 39 b5 Ra1 40 b6. But in the gam e Kura1. . ,
ca -
37 . . . Rb1 K�rpov, Skopje , 1 976, Whi
te
38 Be6 Rb2 d1d not dare to place
hi s
39 Bc4 Ra2! pawns on the same col o
ur
squares as the enem y bish o
The g reedy 39 . . . Kxf5?
40 aS Ra2 41 a6 would have
and he timidl y played 34
_ he mark
After th1s
9�:
tied the black rook to White's ed time and
allowed his oppone nt to
far-advanced pawn.
advanc e his pawns to f5 and
40 Be6 h5 g5 su pported by his king at
41 Bd7 h5, and in the end, after a
Here the game was ad­ fu rther mistake, he lost the
journed, and White resig ned game.
without resuming. He has no
antidote to the obvious 41 . . .
Kg4 followed by the advance
No. 30 (p.1 20) .
of the h-pawn and the win­
On no account! Since he
ning of the f2 pawn.
can go into a different ending
- with two bishops against
No. 29 (p. 1 20). a queen, where the bishops
I n general, an obvious one. harmonio usly defend the
The board is, so to speak, fortress!
partitioned off by the pawn 62 Rxc7! Qxc7
chains, the doubled white 63 Bxc7 b2
d-pawns (especially the d3 64 Kh2 b1=0
pawn ) serve as excellent 65 BeS
o
g uards and prevent the black It is as tho ugh the tw
half,
king from breaking through, bish ops cut the boa rd in
able
and the white bishop, although and the bla ck kin g is un y
restricted by the enemy to pen etrate into the en
�m
d e.
passed pawn, is able to cover pos iti on via the quee ns1
be
the 'staging' post b4. So that But the path via g4 wil l
by
for White to complete his block ed by the wh ite kin g.
s ry
a
fortress it only remained for mo ving at the . neces n
aw
him to block the position on mom ent to h3. The p
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions
break . . . g5 also fai ls to
ach ieve its aim; White can
exch an ge twice on g5 and
retreat his bishop to f4, or, as
occu rred in the game, after
exchan ging on g5 with the
h -pawn, calmly await the
advance . . . g4.
The game Sveshnikov -
p5akhis, Zonal Tournament,
Yerevan, 1 982, contin ued up
to move 88 and ended in a
draw.
No. 31 (p.1 33) .
It was that, in order to try
and win more q u ickly, Black
might be tempted by a general
exchange - 37 .Qxf3 + 38
• .
Qxf3 Ra3, after which the
b-pawn cannot be prevented
from queening. But 39 Kh4!!
Rxf3 leads to stalemate!
This was i n fact the con­
clusion to the game Horowitz
- Pavey, USA, 1 951 .
No. 32 ( p . 1 33).
It consisted of continuing
to pursue the bishop at h7.
Th e g a m e Semenova -
l evi U n a , W o m e n ' s F i n a l
Can di dates Match, Sochi,
1 984 , continued 46 . . . gxf5
47 gxf5 16!. and after 48 Bg6
817 49 Bxf7 Rxf7 50 e6 Rh7 +
51 Kg1 Rc6 52 Rc2 Rg7 a
Position arose i n which
W h ite's extra pawn was of no
245
essential importance. On
move 69 the players ag reed a
draw.
No. 33 (p. 1 33).
It was only that the trap
prepared by a schoolboy from
Chelyabi nsk in the U rals, now
I n t e r n at i o n a l M as t e r S.
Dvoiris, for the then World
Champion Boris Spassky
proved truly devilish: 29
Bc4 +!! Rxc4 (after 29 . . .
Qxc4 30 Rxd8+ Black either
loses his queen or is mated)
30 Rxd8 + Kf7 31 Qxf5 + 0f6 32
Re7 +!, and without waiting
fo r the tragic fin ish 32 . . .
Kxe7 33 Qd7 mate, Black
resigned.
No. 34 (p. 1 42).
All apart from the last one
- 38 Rh6! Rxh6 39 h8=0 +
Rxh8 40 b5, when in the game
Marshall - Klua, U SA, 1 923,
the players ag reed a d raw,
si nce if Black releases the
white king from stalemate by
40 . . . Rd7 41 cxd7 c5, then
. . . he loses after 42 bxc6 Kb8
43 Kxb6 ReS 44 c7 +.
No. 35 (p.1 42) .
The way that she played in
the game Gotseva - Kur­
banova, Tashkent, 1 974. The
im mediate elimination of the
pawn - 54 •Bxa7? allowed
. .
246 The Art of Defence in Chess
the wh ite queen to become a
'desperado' - 55 Qxf7 +I The
prelimi nary 54 . . . Qc1 +
would have forced immediate
capitulation.
No. 36 (p. 1 42).
The dream came true! In the
game Mlndadze -_ Kalugin,
USSR, 1 978, there fol lowed
37 Bd311 Qxd3 (of course,
Black i mmediately saw the
point, but . . . if he g ives the
white king some freedom by
37 . . . Rh1 + 38 Kxh1 Qxd3,
retaining a material advantage
and threatening mate i n two
moves, it is White who goes
onto the attack: 39 Qe8+ Kg7
40 Qe7+ leads to perpetual
check, and 39 . . . Kf5 40 Qd7 +
Ke4?? to . . . mate - 41 Qxg4)
38 h5 + Kh6 (or 38 . . . Kxh5
39 Qxh7+!) 39 Qg7+1 (ac­
curacy is always necessary:
here 39 Qxh7 + would have
been a te r r i b l e m i stake
because of 39 . . . Kxh7 40 h6
Kg8 41 h7+ Qxh7 mate; the
move played is the quickest)
39 . . . Kxg7 40 h6 +, and
whether or not Black takes
the pawn, all the same it is
stalemate.
No. 37 (p. 1 43).
But in doing so (Grefe -
Biylasas, USA Open Cham­
pionship, 1 97 4) he forgot that
the invasio n of the back
. ra
dep nves the blac k king n k
of its
last freedom.
40 . . . Nf4 + 41 B xt4 R x
t
42 Rd8 Rg 4 +1 43 Qxg4 Qg3+,4
and it is stalemate afte r .,
th
capture of the 'des perad
queen.
�
No. 38 (p. 1 43).
For the time being, at any
rate, it is quite ethical . Since
after 68 Rh1 Kd7 69 Kb6 Kca
70 c6 Kb8 71 c7 + Kc8 White
has the chance 72 Ra1 (if 72
Rd 1 or 72 Rf1 , then 72 .
. .
Rh8) and in reply to the
natural 72 . . . h1=Q - 73
Ra8+!! Qxa8 with stalemate!
True, in the game Kholmov
- Ehlvest, Volgodonsk, 1984,
Black saw through the trap
and played 72 . . . h1=BI, after
which White could now have
resigned with a clear con­
science . . .
No. 39 (p.1 51 ) .
Yes, Blac k loses his rook ,
but not the game after the
variatio n pointed out by the
A.
famo us ches s comp oser
Kg6! 3 exe S
Troit sky: 2 . . .
Kh5 4 Kg2 Kg4, whe n . ·
la
f·
s
�
and the exch ange of the
d.
pawn can not be prevente
' lSO
Paradoxica lly, there I S a
another way to draw, alth oUQh
ne.
a more com plicated o
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions
perha ps . you would l i ke to
fi n d it yourself? . . .
No. 40 (p. 1 5 1 ) .
Alas . h e d i d not know it, and
in the game Najdorf - Kamara,
Mar del Plata, 1 961 , he
resigned, reckoning that the
a-pawn would cost him his
bishop. This is so, but he can
save the game by exchanging
the kingside pawns, which is
achieved by 36 . . . Kf4 37
Be2 Ke3 38 Bd 1 Kd2 39 Ba4
Ke3 40 Bc6 (otherwise a
repetition of moves; defend­
ing the f-pawn from the rear
has not succeeded, and the
advance of the black pawn to
g4 cannot be prevented) 40
. . . Kf4 41 Kc3 g5 42 Kd2
g4 with a draw.
No. 41 (p. 1 52).
The initial moves i n this
position are forced (60 . . .
KgB loses i mmediately to 61
h6! gxh6 62 Rb7 Ra4 63 a7),
b ut in chess, i n contrast to
draughts (chequers), captur­
i ng is not obligatory: 63 . . .
Kg6! would have parried the
th e threat of h6-h7 and led to
a d raw. How Parma ( Black)
could overlook this in his
Qa m e with Polugayevsky,
US SR v. Yugoslavia, Zagreb,
1 965, was incomprehensible!
247
No. 42 (p. 1 69) .
In this position from the
game Vajda - Kotov, Moscow
v. Budapest, 1 949, the centre
is in a state of dynamic equi­
l i brium. The primary task
of each side should have
been concerned with the
centre, and with this in mind
W h i te s h o u l d have fi rst
n e u t ra l i ze d any p o s s i b l e
counterblows here. I n par­
t i c u l a r , he s h o u l d have
prevented his knight from
being driven from c3 by play­
ing 14 a3.
White's premature activity
on the flank allows Black to
gain the advantage in the
centre and to beg in a counter­
attack.
14 . . . b4
15 Ne2
After 1 5 Na4 White cannot
hope to i nvade at b6: 1 5 . . .
Rdb8 1 6 Qf2 Bd8, and the
threat of 1 7 . . . Ne7 is ex­
tremely u n pleasant.
15 . . . e5
Creati ng a typical pawn
formation for fu rther counter­
blows: black pawns at d6 and
e5 against a white pawn at e4
(cf., for example, the Rauzer­
Botvi nnik game g iven earlier,
p . 1 60).
1 6 f5
After 1 6 g5 Ng4 1 7 Bxg4
248 The Art of Defence in Chess

Bxg4 1 8 f5 d5 1 9 f6 Bf8 White's Otherwise the queen m ove

position col lapses. to g4 is decisive.
16 . . . d5! 28 . . . Bxe4 29 Ox14 Bg6
17 g5 White resigns.
White should have gone in
for simplification - 17 exd5 No. 43 (p. 1 69).
e4 18 dxc6 exf3 1 9 cxd7 fxe2 The pawn structure, which
20 Qxe2 Rxd7, although even has a lready been mentioned,
in this case the position of and the basic demands of
his king gives serious cause strategy themselves give an
for alarm . answer to the question.
17 ... Nxe4 T h e re f o r e i n t h e game
18 Bxe4 dxe4 Shabanov - Solovyev, Sverd­
19 16 818 lovsk, 1 969, there foll owed:
20 lxg7 Bxg7 14 . . . d5!
21 Qh4 Ne7 15 exd5 e4!
N ot for defensive purposes, 1 6 Bg2
but with the i ntention of 1 6 Nxe4 Nxe4 1 7 Bxe4 Nf6
strengthening the counter­ would also have given Black
attack by 22 . . . Nf5. excel lent prospects.

Ng6 16 . . . Nxd5
22 Ng3 17 Nxe4 Rae8
23 Qh5 Qc8! 18 g5
Here we can take stock:
White should have already
White's attack is exhausted,
been th inking of defence, by
whereas Black concludes his
playing 1 8 Qf2, but this would
counterattack beg un in the
have meant admitting the
centre with play on the
fai lure of his fla11k attack
weakened light squares.
against the king.
24 Qe2 Bg4 18 . . . Bd6
The white king is being 19 Qh5 Rxe4!
pursued , and so the win of the
The concluding blow in the
exchange by 24 . . . Bb5 can
centre, which conclusively
hands the initiative to Bla � k.
be d isregarded .

25 012 813 + It is n ow the white king whiCh

26 Kg1 N14 is under attack.
27 Bxl4 exl4 20 Bxe4 N516 21 g xf6 Nxf&
28 Nxe4 22 Qh3 Nxe4 23 Nd4 Oc4 24
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 249

Qd3 QdS 25 Nb3 Qc6 26 013 31 Qd4 QbS!

Qxc2 27 Bd2 NcS White
resi gns.
No. 44 (p. 1 69).
In the game Treybal -
Ale khine, Pistyan, 1 922, Black
carried out a counterattack
in the centre:
22 . . . cS
23 h4 dS!
24 gS
On the one hand - a con­
tinuation of his plan, but on
the other hand - an enforced
decision, s i nce both 24 exd5
Bd6+ 25 Bf4 Rea 26 Og2
Bxf4 + 27 Rxf4 Qb8 28 Qf3
Qe5! and 24 e5 Q b8! ( but not
24 . . . fxeS 25 QxeS Bxh4
26 gS! ReB 27 Qf4 Be1 28 f6,
when White has a strong
attack) 25 Bf4 fxe5 26 Bxe5
And with the th reats of 32
. . . Rxf5 and 32 . . . d2!
followed by 33 . . . c3, by very
subtle play Black overcame
his opponent's resourceful
resistance.
No. 45 (p. 1 70) .
White has wasted a con­
siderable amount of time, but
until the last move the
approximate equality on the
board had not yet been
disturbed. However, White
should not have persisted in
carrying out her plan. By
continuing 13 d4, she would
have been the first to strike at
the centre, sim ultaneously
extending the scope of her
l i g ht-s q u a re b i s hop and
t h reate n i n g t h e poss i b le
closure of the centre (d4 d5).
-

Bd6 are clearly to Black's The move in the game allowed

advantage. Black (in Gaprindashvili -
24 ... dxe4 Chiburdanidze, Worid Cham­
25 dxe4 Qc6 pionshi p Match, Pitsunda,
26 Kh3 c4 1 978) to beg i n a counter­
27 eS attack.
In Alekhi ne's words: "White 13 ... dS!
atte mpts the impossible to 14 Qe2 Rea
obtain the semblance of an 15 b3 Qd7
att ack, but in vain, for Black 16 g4 Rad8
gets there first". 17 Rd1 Qc6
27 ... d3 Black is splendidly mobil­
28 Qe1 fxeS ized, stands more actively in
29 QxeS Bb4! the centre, and now begins to
30 bxc4 bxc4 harass White in real earnest.
250 The Art of Defence in Chess
18 Bd2 Nf4
Even stronger was 1 8 . . .
dxe4 1 9 dxe4 Rxd2! 20 Nxd2
(20 Qxd2 loses quickly to
20 . . . Nxe4 2 1 Bxe4 Qxe4
22 N3h4 Bxf5 23 Nxf5 Nf4 24
Ne3· Q f3, w h e n B l a c k 's
counterattack achieves its
aim) 20 . . . Qxc3 21 Qd3!
Qc5 22 Ne3 Nf4 23 Qf1 h5 with
dangerous threats.
19 Qf1
In the event of 19 Bxf4
exf4 Black's pressure on the
e4 pawn and along the e-file
is strengthened decisively.
19 . . . BxfS?
This th rows away Black's
advantage. The logical con­
clusion of the attack in the
centre would have been 1 9
. . . Nxd3! 20 Bxd3 dxe4 21
Nxe5 Qd5! 22 Bf4 exd3 23
Rxd3 Qe4! with a serious
initiative, since White's pieces
are 'hanging', and the position
of her king is markedly
weakened .
The game continued:
20 exfS e4
21 dxe4 dxe4
22 Bxf4 Rxd1
23 Rxd1 exf3
24 Re1 !
By sacrificing a pawn White
p rovokes the exchange of
rooks, after which the game
ended in a d raw on move 42.
No. 46 ( p . 1 76).
I n the g iven posit ion del ay
will prove fatal, and the ga me
Pillsbury - Lasker, St. Pete rs­
burg , 1 896, continued:
16 . . . Rac8
17 fS Rxc3!
18 fxe6
After 1 8 bxc3 Oxc3 White
would have had to agree to
1 9 Of3 Qxf3 20 gxf3 Bxf5+
21 Bd3 Bh3 with a much
inferior ending, since 19 fxe6
Qb4+ 20 Kc2 (or 20 Ka t ReB
21 Qg4 Rc2) 20 . . . Rc8+ 21
Kd3 Qxd4 + loses immediately.
18 . . . Ra3!
"The time which we have is
more precious than the pieces
we give up" - this saying by
Mikhai l Tal is particularly
applicable both to the given
position, and to the way of
c o n d u c t i n g a t t a c k s on
opposite flanks.
19 exf7 + Rxf7
20 bxa3 Qb6+
21 BbS!
The only defen ce, although
against accurate play by
Black even it woul d not have
saved the gam e. White wou ld
have lost q u ickly after 21 Kc2
3
Rc7 + 22 Kd2 Qxd4 + 23 Bd
Rc2 +!! 24 Kxc2 Qb2 wi th a
classic epaulette mate!
21 . . . QxbS +
22 Ka1 Rc7?
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 251

I n t i m e t ro u b l e B l ack successfully continued his

misses the simplest win attack on the light sq uares.
22 . . . Qc4 with an i rresistible
-

17 . . . Nexd3
attack on d4. Later, after a 18 f3
mistake in reply by White, the White should have returned
wo rld Champion nevertheless the pawn by 18 Nxc5 Nxc5 1 9
mated his opponent on move Qd2, although even here
32 . after 1 9 . . . Ne4 Black stands
more actively.
No. 47 (p. 1 76). 18 . . . g4!
There is a vulnerable point 19 fxg4
in White's position at d3. I n Or 19 Bxc5 Bxe4 20 fxe4
addi tion , h e will b e obliged Nxc5, and White, in order to
to spend a tempo on castling, activate his bishop, must
and of necessity on the ki ng­ immediately sacrifice a pawn
side. In the game Ryzhkov - with 21 e5.
Zhelnin, Leningrad, 1 978, this 19 ... Bxe4
allowed Black, at the cost of a 20 Rxf8 + Qxf8
pawn, to open up the game 21 Bxe4 Nb4
precisely on the kingside. 22 Qb1 Nxe4
11 . . . f4! 23 Rf1
12 exf4 exf4 23 Qxe4 is also bad in view
13 Bxf4 of 23 . . . Rea 24 Qf4 Qe7,
Capturi ng on f4 with the winning a piece.
knight would have left White 23 . . . Qe7
fa c i n g d i ffi c u l t p r o b l e m s
24 Qxb4 Nc3!
after 1 3 . . . Re8+.
White resigns. And although
13 . . . BfS the counterattack concluded
14 Rd1 Ng4 on one of the central files, the
15 0-0 gS cause of White's defeat was
Securing e5 for his knight the 'exposure' of his king.
a nd intending in advance to
Underm ine White's outpost No. 48 (p.200).
at e4. He has, and in the game
16 Be3 NeS Taimanov - Karpov, 4 1 st
17 Ne4 USSR Championship, Mos­
After 1 7 Bxc5 dxc5 1 8 Ne4 cow, 1 973, he did so by:
Bg 4 B l a c k w o u l d h a v e 17 . . . Rc4!
252 The Art of Defence in Chess

1 8 Qxa7 Qc6 Wh ite is ready at

a
1 9 Qa3 ReS mo me n t to bu y Bla ck off ny
Wi th
In just three moves the the c3 paw n, and hope
s t
character of the position has dis play some kin d of acti
on the l ig ht-sq uares on
vit �
changed radically. At the cost the
of h is a-pawn Black has built kingsid e.
up very strong pessure on the 26 . . . Nf8
c-fi le, the bishop at d2 is The 'holes' are sealed
condemned to a defensive beforehand, and this is by
role, White's pawn centre is no means going onto the
blocked, and the e4 and d5 defensive.
squares are in Black's pos­ 27 Rb3 Ng6
session. It is instructive to 28 Qb1 Ra8
fol low how cal m ly and 29 Re4 Rca4
methodically the future World 30 Rb2 Nf8
Champion manoeuvres, all 31 Qd3 Rc4
the time keeping his opponent
'on the ropes'. Of course, not 31 . . . Rxa2
20 h3 h6 32 Rxa2 Rxa2 33 c4.
The im med iate 20 . . . Nd5 32 Re1 Ra3
is also possible, but Black has 33 Qb1 Ng6
no reason to hurry. 34 Rc1 Nxc3
Exploiting the fact that
21 Rb1 Ra4 White cannot simplify the
22 Qb3 Nd5 position by exchanges: he
23 Rdc1 Rc4 loses immediately after 35
24 Rb2 f6! Bxc3 Raxc3 , with decis ive
Simply regaining the pawn back ran k threats.
with a m i nimal advantage in 35 Qd3 Ne2+
the endgame does not come 36 Qxe2 Rxc1 +
into Black's plans! Here one 37 Bxc1 Qxc1 +
of the principles of counter­ 38 Kh2 Rxf3!
this
attack (and of attack) is clearly Th is sec ond sac rifice,
o unt er­
seen: do not be in a hu rry to time for the sake of a c
st th e
restore material equality, attack d i rect ly aga in
since this is not the aim of the ed b Y
k i n g was e n v isag
Karpov when he SWI tc
sacrifice. ' · h ed
e to
25 Re1 Kf7 from pos itio nal pressur
26 Qd1 open piece play.
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions
39 gxf3 Nh4
White lost on time, failing
at th e board to find a satis­
factory defence agai nst the
threat of 40 . . . Qg5. Only
later. after many days of
an al ysis, was it established
that White could have gained
sa v i n g c h a n ce s by t h e
counterattack 40 d5!!
No. 49
(p.200) .
In the game Browne -
Mecking, I nterzonal Tourna­
ment, Manila, 1 976, Black
immediately repai red all the
defects in his position by an
exchange sacrifice.
24 . . . Rxc7!
25 dxc7
Oxc7
Black's queen and dark­
s q uare b i s h o p a re n ow
attacking the opponent's king
p osition, his lig ht-square
bishop has acq uired freedom,
his passed c-pawn may be
supported from behind by
the rook, and the white knight
has no strong point in the
centre. All this makes Black's
ch ances preferable.
26 Qc2 ReS
27 14
Against the more 'compact'
27 g 3 Black would have
co nti nued his counterattack
With 27 . . . h5.
27 . . . Bd6
253
28 Qc3 Bb5
29 e5
Th is weakens the a8-h 1
diagonal, but it is hard to
recommend anything else,
si nce Wh ite's knight and rook
are obl iged to defend the f4
pawn, and his queen - the
aS pawn.
29 . . . Bc5
30 Ng3 Bc6
Black can not allow the
knight to go to e4. However,
Wh ite is unable to exploit this
factor to return the exchange,
since 31 Qxc4 is met not by 31
. . . Bb5 with a probable d raw,
but by 31 . . . Be3!, when in
view of the threat of 32 . . .
Bxg2+ the draw for White
remains highly problematic.
After 32 Ne4 Bxc 1 33 Rxc1
Qxa5 he loses a pawn, while
33 Qc5 does not work because
of 33 . . . Bb7!
31 Rfe1 Qb7
32 Qc2 Bb4
33 Re2 Bd5
34 Ne4 Bxe4
35 Qxe4
On 35 Rxe4 Black had
prepared 35 . . . Bd2!, when
after 36 Rxc4 (if 36 Rb 1, then
36 . . . Qd5 followed by . . .
c3, and the roles of the two
sides, compared with the
initial position of our analysis,
are com pletely reversed) 36
254 The Art of Defence in Chess

m 94
. . . Rxc4 37 Qxc4 Bxc1 38 drive back the kni gh t fro
and a part from his extra p
Qxc 1 Qb4 White loses a aw �
pawn . he wil l ga in exc elle nt atta
ck­
35 . . . Qd5 ing chances alon g the g-fil
e.
36 Qc2 Rd8! 20 . . . Od8
37 h3 Qc5 21 e5
White lost on time, but A diffe rent , but less justi­
no satisfactory defence for fied, way of realizi n g his
him is apparent. 38 Qxc4 fails advantage. By the threat of 22
to 38 . . . Ad 1 +. Nf6+ White provokes the ex­
change of queens.
No. 50 (p.201 ) . 21 . . • Qh4
In fact Black's position i n 22 f3 Nh6
the game Knezevic - Roman­ 23 Qf2 Oxf2+
ishin, Kiev, 1 978, is lost. White There is no return to d8, and
has an enormous lead in at h3 the queen would all the
development, and the reckless same have been 'trapped', if
. . . h5 has deprived the black only after 24 Ne7 + Kh8 25
king of any hope of reaching Qg3.
safety.
24 Kxf2 Nf5
However, in order to parry 25 Rb4
Black's temporary i n itiative,
Strictly speaking, the re­
determined, typical ly counter­
mainder is a matter of
attacking measures are
technique.
needed.
25 . aS 26 Rb6 a4 27 Bc2
18 Rxd4!
. .

Be6 28 Bxf5 Bxd5 29 a3 Be&

By eliminating the 'central 30 Ke3 Rfd8 31 Rc1 RaS 32
attacker', White seizes control Be4 Kf8 33 Rc4
in the first instance over the
I ntending by Rd4 to sup­
dark squares.
p ress even any i l l usory
18 . . . exf4 counterplay.
If 1 8 . . . exd4, then 1 9 NdS g5
33
0-0 20 h3 Nf6 (20 . . . d3 34
• • •

Bxc6 bxc6
21 Qd1) 2 1 Ne7 + Kh8 22 eS 35 Rbxc6
with crushing th reats.
And Bla ck sho rtly resi g 4
ne 1
1 9 gxf4 0-0 36 K :S
After 35 . . . gxf4 + +
20 Nd5 _
Rd2 the simp lest rs 37 R
It only remains for White to Kg7 38 Rc2.
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions
NO· 51 (p.201 ) .
I t wo uld have been more
c i rc u mspect to delay Black's
co u nterplay by first playi ng
1 5 a4. In his calculations (in
the game Doroshkevich
Tal, 43rd USSR Champion­
s h ip, Yerevan, 1 975) White
overlooked the fact that Black
is by no means obl iged to
swim with the cu rrent and go
onto the defensive. He has the
basis for a counterattack, and
the ex-Wo r l d C h a m p i o n
brilliantly exploits this.
16 • • • gxf4!
17 exf6 Rxe3
In an endgame Black wou ld
have played 1 7 . . . fxe3, but i n
a cou nterattack it is the
pieces which lead.
18 fxg7 Ne5
19 Bg2 Qg5!
Luring the white knight to
e4, so as then to exploit its
'hanging' position.
20 Ne4 Qh4
21 Qd2 Kxg7
It would not have been
worth spending time on the
capture of the pawn, but the
rook needs to go to h8.
22 Qf2 Qxf2
The simplest. Black regains
the piece, retaining his extra
Paw n and an active position.
23 Rxf2
Or 23 Nxf2 f3 24 Bh3 Rh8
t-ADc-R
255
foll owed by . . . Re2.
23 • f3 24 Nxd6 Rd8 25
. •
Nxb7 fxg2+ 26 Kxg2 Rxd5 27
b3 Nd3 28 Rc2 Re1!
Elegantly winning a 'whole'
-
rook. White resig ns.
No. 52 ( p.201 ) .
Against the deadly check at
h7, Black has no other
defence than the sacrifice of
his queen. But we must g ive
him his due: in the game
Kharlton - Rozenberg, Mos­
cow, 1 957, it was on this
sacrifice that he based in
advance his plan of counter­
attac k, w h e n he b o l d l y
eliminated White's queenside
pawns.
16 . • . Qxg5
17 Qxg5 bxc3
The remainder is under­
standable. White tries to make
a couple more attacking
moves, but the black passed
pawns decide matters.
18 0-0 Nc6 19 h4 f6 20
exf6 Rxf6 21 f4 Ra2 22 Qg3
Nd4 23 Qd3 e5 24 fxe5 Rxf1 +
25 Qxf1 c2 26 Kh2 Nf3 + 27
gxf3 Bf5
And in view of the fact that
28 Qb5 is met by 28 . . . Ra8,
White resigned.
No. 53 (p.202).
White has a weak back rank,
256 The Art of Defence in Chess

and it was on this that the chances. In addi tion ,

Wh ite
shocke d by the s har •
1
cou nterattack was based in
the game Gusev I. Zaitsev,
Kirov, 1 974.
- c h a n g e d s i t u at i o n , n
emb arks on an unfo rtu n
��
. ate
35 . . . Qc1 +! regroupmg.
36 Rxc1 Rxc1 + 23 Ob3 Bc8
37 Bd1 Be4! 24 Rf1
White is still capable: of 24 Kg2 came into con­
attacking, as is seen in the sideration, moving the king
variation 37 . . . Rd8? 38 off the back rank. In this case
Nxe7 + Nxe7 39 Rxg7 + Kxg7 on 24 . . . Rd7 White could
40 Qg5 + and 41 Qxc1 , have replied 25 Qb6, when it
wi nning. is not easy for Black to double
38 Ne3 Rd8 rooks on the e-file, since after
39 h3 25 . . . Rde7 26 Qxd6 Nxc4 27
Other conti nuations also Bxc4 it is not possi ble to take
fai l to save White. on e1 with check.
39 . . . Bc21 40 Nxc2 Rdxd1 + 24 . . . Rd7!
White resigns. 25 Rae1
After 25 Qb6 Rde7! 26 Qxd6
Ng4 27 Bxg4 Bd4+ 28 Kg2
No. 54 (p.202).
Bxg4 the white king cannot
In the game Kushnir - survive.
Chlburdanldze, Womens'
Ca n d i d ates F i n a l , Bad 25 . . . Rde7
Kissingen, 1 978, Black boldly 26 Kg2 Nd7
sacrificed her queen. Both sides have regrouped,
20 . . . Nxe4! and . . . Black's chances are
21 Bxd8 Nxg3 now better. Even so, on the
next move White should not
22 fxg3
have given up a pawn.
The threat of 22 . . . Nxe2+
and 23 . . . Bg4 does not 27 Qd1 Bxb2 28 Bg4 Be5 29
al low White to retain the two Rh1 f5 30 Bf3 Nf6 31 Qd2
bishops. Bd7 32 Rh6 Kf7 33 Qg 5 Rg8
22 . . . Raxd8 34 g4
35
Despite White's enormous I n the hope of 34 . . . fxg4
the
material advantage (queen Be4 Nxe4 36 Rxe4, when
under
for two pieces and a pawn) , bla ck kin g comes
a r-old
Black has sufficient counter- attack. But the 1 7-ye
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 257

future World Champion strictly

41 Qh6+ Rg7
c ar ries out her plan: no This move was sealed by
exc hanges, and no chances Black. O n the resumption
tor White to open up the game. there followed:
34 . . • Rg7 42 Re3 bS 43 Ra3 bxc4 44
Slow but sure: B lack is now
Rxa6 c3 45 Bd1 BbS 46
protected agai nst an attack
RaS Kf7!
alo ng the 7th rank, and 35 . . . The plausible 46 . . . Bd3? is
txg 4 is threatened. a m istake in view of 47 Ra8+
35 Rf1 Kf7 48 Rhxg8! Rxg8 49 Qh7 +
The immediate 35 Rh8 is Rg7 50 Qh8, mating.
better, in order to parry 35 . . . 47 Qh3
fxg 4 with 36 Be4, when 36 . . .
After 47 Rxg8 Rxg8 48
Nxe4 37 Rxe4 Bf5 is not good Rxb5 Rh8! the queen is
in view of 38 Rxe5! trapped.
35 Bd4 47 Bc4
36
• • • • • •

Rh8 Ng8 48 Qf3 Bd4

37 Qh4 The black bishops are in
The opposition of rook at their element. Now 49 . . .
g7, queen and white king Re3 and 50 . . . Bxd5+ is
prevents White from opening threatened.
up the game: 37 gxf5?? gxf5. 49 Ra4 BbSI
37 . . • Bf6 so Rxd4
38 gS BeS Black would have won very
On 38 . . . Bd4 White would elegantly after 50 Ra5 Be2! ! 51
again have answered as i n the Bxe2 c2, wh ich would not
game. Her d ream is to ex­ have worked a move earlier
cha nge rooks. because of Rc4.
39 Re1 so . .. cxd4
White is afraid of taking a The material advantage is
committing decision in time now with Black, and in
tro u ble. The rook at h8 merely addition her passed pawns
looks active, and therefore cannot be stopped without
39 Rh7 would have given further losses. The game is
better chances. practically decided.
39 Kf8 51 Qf4 d3 52 Oxd6 c2 53,
40
• . •

Re2 Rgf7 Bxc2 dxc2 54 Rh1 Bd3 55

258 The A rt of Defence in Chess

Ra1 Rh7 56 Qg3 Re2+ 57 Kf3 No. 57 ( p .21 1 ).

Rhh2 58 a4 Be4 + 59 Kf4 Bxd5 O n l y for a coun terattack
White resigns. based on decoy! White's ide�
in the game Leonhardt _

Tarrasch, Berli n , 1 920, w as

No. 55 (p.202) . very fine.
In the game Ziedinya - 51 Rh1 Rxg3 +
Radchenko, Tal linn, 1 984, 52 Bf3!!
Black launched a counter­
In this way the black rook is
attack with an exchange
prevented from return ing to
sacrifice:
the g-file to the defence of
25 • Rxc51 26 dxc5 Qxc5
• •
its king.
27 Re1 Qc3 28 Kf2 Bxb3 29 52 Rxf3+
Bxb3 Qxb3 30 Ree2 Qc3 31
. . •

53 Kc2 Rf2+
Rec2 Qxc2+ 32 Rxc2 Rxc2+ 54 Kd1
33 Ke1 Rc3 34 Qg2 Rxa3?1
White avoids the repetition,
34 . . . Rc1 + 35 Kd2 Rc2 +!
since he is now d reaming of
would have been i m mediately
winning!
decisive, but even in the game
54 . . Rf1 +I
Black won easily after picking
•

An answering blow on the

up the e3 pawn.
same theme!
55 Rxf1 Qa31 56 Rf2 Qd3+
57 Kc1 Qc3+ Drawn.
No. 56 (p.2 1 0) .
Nevertheless i n the game
lvell - Belyavsky, London, No. 58 (p.21 1 ) .
1 985, there followed: They consist of a counter­
33 . . • Nb3 + attack, in which for 10 decisive
34 Kc2 Na1 +! m oves the white queen is out
Saving the game - by of play. To put his plan into
diverting the white rook. After practice, in the game Balashov
35 Rxa1 Qa4+ it is Black who - Polugayevsky, Interzonal
g ives mate, while otherwise Tou rnament, Manila , 1 976.
he has perpetual check, since Black played
35 Kb1 is bad because of 35 22 . . . Bb71
. . . Rd 1 +. Simultaneously parryi ng
35 Kc1 Nb3+ 36 Kc2 Na1 + the capt ure dxe6 and ai m i ng
Draw ag reed. at the see mingly well defended
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions
wh ite king.
23 Qxh7 BxdS!
24 Qxh6 Rb8
Wh ite is the exchange and
twO pawns up, but without his
q ueen he cannot parry the
cou nterattack!
25 Rd2 Bxa2+
26 Kc1
26 Kxa2 (or 26 Ka 1 ) is
deci sively met by 26 . . . Qa5,
with or without check.
26 Rc8+ 27 Rc2 Rxc2+
28
• • •
Kxc2 Qc4 + 29 Kd2 Qb4 +
30 Ke2 Bc4+ 31 Kd1 Qxb2
Again the threat of mate by
32 . . . Bb3 does not allow the
white q ueen time to escape
from imprisonment.
32 ReS
On any other square the
rook would again have been
lost on the next move.
32
. . . fxe5 33 Qg5 + Kd7
White resigns.
No. 59 (p.225).
F rom the strategic point of
view, this position from the
Qame A. Zaltsev-Shamkovich,
Vo ronezh, 1 959, can be con­
Side red lost for White. His
Quee nside pawns are weak,
he has a perceptible weak­
ness on the back rank, and the
insu fficient coordination of
hi s pi eces is felt. B ut from the
tactical point of view his
259
attack is rather dangerous:
queen , bishop and both rooks
are aimed at Black's kingside,
which lacks piece support.
With the move in the game
White's attack has reached its
culmination, and it appears
that he will win p rettily, e.g.
26 . . . RedS 27 Bh 7 +! KhS 2S
fxg7 + Kxh7 29 Rxh6+! Kxh6
30 Qxf4+ and mate in a few
moves, or 26 . . . Nxh3 27
Rxg7 + KfS 2S Qd6+ and 29
Qxe7 mate, or 26 . . . g6 27
Rxf4 Bxe4 2S Rxh6 RedS 29
RhS+! KxhS 30 Rh4+ KgS 31
RhS+ KxhS 32 Qh6+, again
mating.
But Black was able to dis­
close the defects of Wh ite's
position, in particular the
weakness of his back rank, by
the abrupt
26
gSI
. • •
It trans pi res that on 27 Rxh6
there follows 27 . . . Bxe4 2S
Rxg5+ Bg6, when the attack
comes to a halt. The finish
was:
27 Bh7 + Kxh7 28 RxgS Rg8
29 Qc2 + Rg6 30 Rxg6 fxg6 31
Re3 Rd8 32 Re1 Nxg2 33
Re7+ Kh8 White resigns.
No. 60 (p.225).
It is incorrect, for the
reason that in the game
Kuprelchlk - Tukmakov, Ash-
260 The Art of Defence in Chess
khabad, 1 978, White has a
perceptible weakness at e4,
for the defence of which he
is lacking his light-square
bishop. The e4 pawn is
essentially defended only by
the knight at g3, and it is
against this piece that Tuk­
makov d i rects his counter­
blow in the attacked sector.
15 . . . h5!
1 6 gxh5
White cannot maintain the
pawn tension by 16 h3 because
of 1 6 . . . h4, while 1 6 g5 h4
1 7 gxf6 hxg3 1 8 hxg3 Qxf6
would have clarified the situ­
ation to Black's clear ad­
vantage. His king in the
centre would have felt quite
secure, and a counterattack
against the white king would
have been not far off.
16 . . . Nxh51
A concrete approach to the
position. The tempting 1 6
. . . gxh5, with the threat of
1 7 . . . h4, would have weak­
ened too much the position of
the black king. In this case
Tukmakov g ives a pretty vari­
ation: 1 7 f5 e5 18 Ne6! fxe6
1 9 fxe6 h4 20 Bg5 Bh6 21
Bxh6 Rxh6 22 Nf5 Bxe4 23
Qxe4! Nxe4 24 Ng7 + Ke7 25
Rf7 mate, although 20 Qf5 is
also quite sufficient.
17 f5
Othe rwise after the captu re
on g3 and . . . Of6 Black
obtains the position given
above.
17 . . . exfS
18 Nxf5 gxf5
1 9 Nxf5
I f 1 9 Q xf5, with attacks on f7
and h5, then by interposi ng
1 9 . . . Qc7! Black provokes
favourable simplification -
20 Rc3 Nxg3 21 hxg3 Qd7 22
Qxd7 + Kxd7 23 Rxf7 + Be7,
remaining a piece up.
19 . . .
Rh7
20 Kb1
Prepari ng a blow of terrible
strength - 21 Bh6!!
20 . . . Qc71
21 Rd2
By 21 Rc3 White would
have removed an attack from
d6, and i n addition, after 21
. . . Qd7 he would have been
practically unable to avoid
the exchange of rooks.
21 . . . Qc4
22 Bd4 Qe6
23 Re1 Rc41
Black is obviously intending
to g ive up his rook for the
strong white bisho p, for
example i n reply to 24 b3 -
24 . . . Rxd4 25 Nxd4 Oe5
followed by . . . Nf6.
24 Qg2 Nf6
25 Bxf6 Qxf6
26 Nxd6+
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 261

Nominally restoring the organizing it the absence of

m aterial balance, si nce he the light-square bishop from
can n ot s t r e n g t h e n h is d7 will c learly be felt, in the
game Botvlnnik-Polugayevsky,
posi tion.
26 ... Bxd6 USSR Spartakiad, Moscow,
27 Qg8+ Bf8 1 967, Black quite correctly
28 Qxh7 Qh6 p lans a counterattack on the
29 Qxh6 Bxh6 part of the board where White
intends an offensive. But he
After the complications,
carries out his idea inexactly.
Black's counterattack has led
to an endgame where his 16 . . . hS
b i s h o p s a re p o t e n t i a l l y So as then to play 1 7 . . .
stronger than the rook and Qh4 1 8 Bg3 Qh3 with the
two pawns. In addition, threat of 19 . . . h4, but with
White was in time trouble for the excellent move in the
the remainder of the game. game White forces his own -
30 Rde2 Ke7 and very significant - cor­
31 b3 Rd4 rections to the opponent's
32 Kb2 plan. Therefore the most
serious consideration should
On 32 c3 Black would have
have been g iven to 16 . . . g5!
repl ied 32 . . . Rd2, carrying
out the first part of his plan - 17 Be3 (or 17 Bg3 Ng6 with
the exchange of rooks. control of the dark squares)
1 7 . . . g4! with a double­
32 . . . b4 edged game.
33 c3?
17 Kg211
A time trouble m istake,
wh ich does not change any­ The king defends itself, by
thi ng. Against . . . Bh6-d2-c3+ depriving the black queen of
followed by the win of the e4 the h3 square. Black is forced
Pawn White had no defence. to switcti to the q ueenside.
33 . Rd2 + 34 Rxd2 Bxd2 17 . . . a6
35
. .

Re2 bxc3+, and three 18 Bb1 Rab8

moves later White lost on 19 Qe2
ti m e. The dark-square bishop
could also have been with­
No. 61 (p.225). drawn immediately, to prepare
Since active play on the f2-f4.
Queenside is too slow, and in 19 . . . Qd7
262 The Art of Defence in Chess

20 Bd21 would have been lost after

20
By attacking the knight at Nxc8 Oxc8 21 Ob3.
a5, White gains a tempo for The su bsequ ent eve nts ar
e
carrying out his plan. forced.
20 . . . bS 20 Nxe6 Bxe6 21 Bxe6+ Kh?
21 Nd1 22 exd6 Rxd6 23 Bxg4 Nf6 24
Bad, of cou rse, is 21 Nxb5 Bf3 NdS 25 Bxd5 Rxd5
axb5 22 Bxa5 b4, when the Only the heavy p ieces
white bishop is trapped. remain on the board, but
21 . . . Nb7 this does not make things any
22 f4 easier for the white king. In
particular, 26 . . . Rf3 with a
White then gradually pre­
continuing attack is threat­
pared the thematic e4-e5 and
ened.
c o n verted h i s p o s i t i o n a l
advantage into a wi n. 26 f4 Qd7
27 Qe1 ReS
No. 62 (p.226). 2S e4
It was White's last move This leads to the loss of a
wh ich allowed Black in the pawn , but things are also
game Thomas - Lasker, Not­ difficult for White after the
tingham, 1 936, to land a possible alternative 28 Rf2
cou nterblow on the same part Rd3 29 e4 Qg4+ 30 Kh1
of the board, after which the RedS.
picture changed sharply. 2S . • . Qg4+
17 . • • f51 29 Kh1 Rd4
1 S Nd6 30 e5 Rxf4
White cannot agree to the 31 Qe3
opening of the f-file after 1 8 White appea rs to have
exf6 Nxf6 o r 1 8 gxf5 Rxf5, activated his game and to be
since in both cases the black abou t to seize the initiat ive,
pieces become active and but with a series of accu rate
obtain targets to attack. moves Laske r contin ues to
1S • • • fxg4 attack (or counterattack!)
l
1 9 Nd4 Bxd61 agai nst the king with mini ma
Again a counterattacking forces.
move. Going onto the defens­ 31 • . • RefS!
ive with 1 9 . . . Ng7 is illogical, 32 Rxf4 Rxf4
and all the same the e6 pawn 33 Re1 Qf51
 Appendix - Answers to the Questions 263

34 Kg2 34 Rg4 + 35 Kh1 Qe6

36 Rd1 Rg5 37 Qxa7 Qf71 38
• • •

The plausible 34 e6 would

h ave lost immediately to 34 Oe3 Rxe5! 39 Qxe5 Qf3+ 40
. . . Rf3! 35 Qe2 (or 35 Qd4 Kg1 Qxd1 +41 Kf2 Qd7 and on
,

Rf1 +) 35 . . . Rf2 36 Qe3 the 55th move Black realized

Qd5+ 37 Qe4 Rf1 +. his extra pawn.
I ndex of Players

Adorjan 237 Chernin 86, 1 6 1 , 2 1 4, 224

Alapin 223 Chi burdanidze 57, 8 1 , 249, 256
Alatortsev 1 45 Chigorin 1 34, 1 8 1 , 223, 243
Alekhine 1 2, 35, 1 55, 1 78, 235, Chistyakov 77
242, 249 Ciocaltea 1 68
Anderssen 37 Ciric 1 07
Andersson xv, 27, 31 'Cosmonaut Yury Gagarin' 78
Andreyev 1 80
Andrianov 1 1 8 Damsl<y 13, 1 7, 43, 96
Aronson 208 Dautov 86
Averbakh 48, 1 59, 1 68 Denker 72
Averki n 40 Dieks 1 87
Dolmatov 9, 70, 98, 1 29
Babris 1 6 1 Donchenko 223
Balashov 258 Doroshkevich 1 04, 255
Bannik 1 40 Dubinin 1 1 7
Bebchuk 1 46 Duckstein 220
Belyavsky 22, 55. 1 03, 1 86, 237 Durao 1 05
258 Dvoiris 245
Benes 1 1 3 Dvoretsky 2, 40, 240
Benko 1 73
Bernstein 1 38 E hlvest 246
Bilek 1 06 Ekabsons 161
Bitman 223 Espig 62
Biyiasas 236, 246 Euwe 37, 1 24, 1 26, 1 55, 203,
Bjerring 1 98 2 1 3, 242
Bobotsov 1 97 Evans 1 37
Bogoljubow 1 89
Bondarevsky 1 38 Fai bisovich 72
Botvinnik 37, 73, 76, 90, 1 27, 1 38, Falkbeer 37
1 39, 1 59, 1 60, 1 78, 1 92, 234, 261 Farago 243
Bouaziz 1 26 Fine 1 23
Bronstein ix, 84, 199 Fischer 99, 1 26, 1 77, 1 82, 243
Browne 1 0, 38, 253 Flear 1 66
Burn 1 8 1 Florian 243
Byrne, R. 1 1 5 Forgac 1 50
Forintos 1 97
Capablanca 1 2 , 38, 58, 91 , 1 2 1 , Fridshtein 1 47
1 50, 234 Ftacni k 38
Chekhover 1 1 2, 1 28 Fuderer 1 58

264
Furman 89, 94 Kalugin 246
Kamara 247
Kaminer 1 4 1
Gaprindashvili 55, 1 73, 249
Karasev 72
Garcia 57
Kargol 1 35
Gavriko\r 1 6, 224

42, 52, 83, 95, 129, 154, 1 64,

Karpov viii, x, 3, 4, 8, 14, 20, 27,
Geller xiii, 73, 1 3 1 , 1 32, 172, 203,
217, 241

46.•
215, 244, 251
22.
Georgiev, Kr. 9, 61
Kasparov xv 3, 8, 14, 20,
Gereben 1 72
52, 54, 55, 69, 70, 82, 95, 1 29,
Gerenski 26
154, 215, 238
Gheorghiu 7, 238
Katalymov 97
Gik 2
Kayev 77
Glek 8
Keres ix, 10, 55, 131 , 148
Gligoric 106, 1 68, 1 82
Goldin 86
167, 205
Khabkaev 1 48
Golmayo 235
Khariton 79, 255
Gonsior 95
Kharitonov 1
Gordeyev 161
Khasin 1 1 7
Gotseva 245
Khavsky 55
Grechikhin 50
Kholmov 1 1 8, 246
Grefe 246
Khramov 1 1 2
Grunfeld 1 89
Kirov 62
Gufeld 79, 212, 229, 241
Gurieli 60
Kirpichnikov 1 8

Klovan 23, 56
Klaman 233
Gusev 256

Klua 245
Hazai 1 1 1
Knezevic 1 24, 254
Hofman 1 1 3
Kobaladze 1 1 4
Horowitz 245
Koblentz 241
Hort 184, 191
Kogan 1 36
Hubner 16, 1 1 7, 1 82
Konstantinopolsky 1 90

llyi n-Genevsky 58
Korchnoi 36, 164, 2 1 7
Korzubov 45
loseliani 1 5, 1 7
Kostina 105
lovcic 1 44
Kotov 122, 1 63, 247
ltkis 8
Kovalev 1 48
Ivanov 1 29

Krasnov 96
Kozlov 1 1 6
Ivanov, A. 229
lvanovic 1 9 Krejcik 1 45
lvell 258
Kruusnauk 1 05
lvkov 1 40 Kudrin 209
Kupreichik 259
Janowski 9 1 , 1 49, 234
Kurajica 36, 244
Kurbanova 245
kaidanov 240 Kushnir 256
Kalinin 50 Kuzmin 94, 206

265
Lanka 1 Nezhmetdinov 1 7, 59, 1 07, 1 08,
Larsen 1 9, 230 1 96, 221
Lasker 2, 149, 24 1 , 250, 262 'Nikolai Semashko' 78
Latash 242 Nikolic 3 1 , 1 85
Lei kin 1 45 Nimzowitsch 1 24, 1 7 1 , 239
Lengyel 1 36, 1 48 Novak 95
Leonhardt 239, 258 Nunn 234
Lerner 45
Levchenkov 49 Olafsson 1 83
Levenfish 1 90
Levitina 245 Padevsky 1 92
Lilienthal 59 Piihtz 238
Lisitsyn 84, 1 38, 233 Panchenko 242
Liu Shilan 1 5 Panczyk 53
Ljubojevic 7 , 236 Panno 1 68
Lobron 20, 8 1 Parma 247
Lopukhin 242 Pavey 245
Lundin 23, 1 22 Petrosian 47, 66, 68, 69, 7 1 , 92,
99, 1 1 7, 1 40, 1 84, 220, 233
Lyublinsky 90
Lutikov 1 47, 1 80
Petrosian, A. 1 1 1 , 2 1 6
Pillsbury 250
Pilnik 1 37
Makarychev 51 Pirc 1 2 1
Makogonov 1 28 Pirtskhalava 59
Malmgren 6 1 Planinc 26, 80
Marco 1 47 Plaskett 1 55
Marjanovic 1 87 Platonov 1 29
Maroczy 28, 35, 1 88 Polugayevsky 22, 71 , 1 1 4, 1 62,
Marshall 245 1 9 1 , 1 93, 21 2, 221 , 240, 247,
Marszalek 1 98 258, 261
Martin 70 Polyak 1 36
Mason 243 Popie1 1 47
Matulovic 1 39 Portisch 29, 1 00. 1 36, 1 62, 1 86,
Matveyeva 60, 2 1 4 1 97, 205, 237
Mecking 253 Poselnikov 2 1 8
Mestel 1 66 Pruun 207
M ieses 1 50 Psakhis 245
M ikenas · 1 2 1
Miles 29, 1 03, 1 26, 205
Mindadze 246
Radchenko 258
Moiseyev 241
Radulov 92, 1 00
Molina 38
Ragozin 89, 1 79
Monostory 243
Rauzer 1 60
Mortensen 4
Razborov 63
Mukhin 93
Razuvayev 97, 1 82
Renet 86
Najdorf 3 1 , 247 Reshevsky xiii, 68, 137

266
Aeti 28 Tal 30, 3 1 , 66, 1 24, 1 3 1 , 1 32, 1 38,
Rib li 1 85 1 65, 1 73, 1 83, 1 86, 1 97, 208,
R ickers ' 1 35 209, 2 1 6, 227, 234, 255
Romanishin 23, 98, 254 Tarasevich 1 25
Roshal 1 1 2 Tarrasch 258
Rozenberg 255 Thomas 1 50, 262
Rubi nstein 1 88 Timman 36, 44, 54, 1 28, 2 1 4, 234,
Rucheva 2 1 4 236, 240
Rudenko 1 47 Tolush 1 79
Ryzkhov 251 Treybal 249
Tseitlin 48, 240
Tsereteli 1 1 4

Tukmakov 1 8, 56, 80, 259

Tseshkovsky 51
Sakhatova 1 75
Salwe 1 35
Sanakoyev 1 3
Ufi mtsev 59
Savon 83
Uhlmann 98, 1.77, 238
Sax 30
Utemov 240
Sazonov 79
Schlechter 1 34
Schmidt 1 2 1 Vadasz 98
Schnizel 1 99 Vaganian 47, 1 1 5, 1 86
Schwarz 1 45 Vajda 247
Seirawan 240 Van der Sterren 61
Semenova 1 7, 245 Vasiliev 1 95
Shabanov 248 Vasyukov, A. 63
Shamkovich 259 Velimirovic 1 73
Simagin 1 3 1 , 207 Vidmar 2 1 3
Smejkal 1 05 Vitolinsh 93, 1 1 6
Smyslov 1 6, 46, 70, 72, 76, 82, Voitkevich 1 1 8
1 38, 1 63, 1 65,205,227,234 Voloshin 1 49
Sokolov 6, 1 1 5 Vukovic 1 44
Sokolsky 1 08, 1 95
Solovyev 248
Watson 1 55
Spassov 242
Witkowski 1 58
Spassky viii, x, 1 40, 1 93, 233,
Wolf 1 3 4
243, 245
Spielmann 1 67
Steinitz 2, 241 Yakirnenko 2 1 8
Stetsko 1 1 8 Yakovich 1 6
Strekalovsky 1 47 Yanofsky 23

Yusupov 6, 36, 44, 53, 1 28, 240

Suetin 206 Yudovich 1 23, 1 46
Sveshnikov 236, 237, 245
Szabo 1 22
Sznapik 6 1 Zagoryansky 1 22

Zaitsev, I. 1 29, 256

Zaitsev, A. 22, 259

Zaitseva, L. 1 75
Taimanov 42, 79, 1 1 5, 1 27, 208,
230,243,251
267
Zakharov 1 1 4 Zh uravlev, V. 49
Zamik hovsky 1 96 Ziedinya 258
Zefirov 1 49 Zil bershtein 1 04
Zhelnin 251 Zlotnik 1 25
Zhilin 43 Znosko-Borovsky 1 35

268