C) 13…Ne8 14.Bxg7+−.
12. … Nf6xh5
13. Qd1xh5 Bc6xb5
14. Qh5-h6! g7-g6
15. d4-d5 e6-e5
15…f6 16.Rxg6+! hxg6 17.Qxg6+ Kh8 18.0-0-0+− Bd3!? (Black tries to slow down White’s attack) 19.Rxd3 Qe7 20.Qh6+ Kg8 21.e4! (the rook joins the attack on the g-file) 21…Rf7 22.Rg3+ Rg7 23.Bxf6, winning.
16. Bc3xe5 f7-f6
17. Rg1xg6+! h7xg6
18. Qh6xg6+ Kg8-h8
How do you win with white?
19. Ke1-d2?
Now Black has a splendid resource.
A) The preliminary 19.Qh6+! was the only winning move, because of a strange defensive resource that White had not taken into account: 19…Kg8 and now the winning 20.Kd2 Or 20.0-0-0+−. 20…Kf7 20…fxe5 21.Rg1+ Kf7 22.Rg7+ Ke8 23.Qg6+ Rf7 24.Qxf7#. 21.Rg1+− Rg8 22.Qh7+ and mate;
B) Not the immediate 19.0-0-0 because of the same ‘disrupting’ move 19…Bd3! Only move. 20.Rxd3 fxe5 21.Qh6+= 21.e4? Qh4−+. 21…Kg8 22.Qg6+ etc. 22.e4? Qf6−+.
19. … Bb5-d3!!
Black manages to parry the mate threat by counterattacking with his seemingly useless bishop.
20. Kd2xd3 Qd8-e7
If White continues logically with 21.Qh6+ Black replies with 21…Qh7+!. Forcing the exchange of queens is the point of the defensive sacrifice of the bishop: the white king had to be brought to d3!
In the game, Black won after 21.e4 Qg7 22.Qh5+ Kg8 23.Bd4 c5 24.Bxc5 Rc8 25.f4 Na6 26.Bf2 Nb4+ 27.Ke2 Rxa2 0-1.
Ivanchuk,Vasily
Seirawan,Yasser
Tilburg 1992 (1)
What to do with the attacked rook on a8?
1. … Ra8-a5!
A brilliant move. Black now attacks the c5 pawn horizontally and the rook enters the game as an active piece.
2. Re1-d1
A) 2.Qxa5? allows a winning strike on the other wing by 2…Nf3+!:
A1) 3.Kh1 Qh4 4.h3 Qf4!−+ 5.g3 Nxe1+ 6.f3 Qxg3 7.Qxe1 is winning, for example 7.Qd2 Nxf3 or 7…Bxf3+;
A2) 3.gxf3 Qg5+ 4.Kh1 Bxf3#;
B) If 2.Re5 Nb3 3.Qc3 Rxc5!.
2. … Ra5xc5
And Black was much better, though he had to be content with a draw in the end.
Srinivas
Ravikumar,Vaidyanathan
India 1984
White’ queen is under attack. What is the optimal solution?
Of course, the counter-attack
1. Bf1-d3!!
1.Qxb7?, taking a pawn, is a kind of attacking move, but it loses by force: 1…Rab8 2.Qxa7 and now the decisive 2…Qxb1+!.
1. … Qg6xd3
On 1…Qg5, 2.Qxb7 is now better for White: 2…Rab8 3.Qxa7 Bxg3
Analysis diagram
and now:
A) 4.hxg3 Rxe3+! 5.Kd2 Rxd3+!:
A1) 6.Kc2 Rd2+ 7.Nxd2 Rxb2+ 8.Kxb2 Qxd2+ leads to mate: 9.Kb3 Be6+ 10.Ka4 Qc2+ 11.Kb4 Qc4+ 12.Ka5 Qc3+ 13.Ka6 Bc8+ 13.Kb5 Bd7+ 14.Ka6 Qc6+ 15.Ka5 Qb5;
A2) 6.Kxd3 Qb5+ 7.Ke3 Re8+ 8.Kf4 Qf5.
B) 4.Bxh7+! Kxh7 5.hxg3+ Kg8 6.0-0+−.
2. Qf3xg4 Bd6-b4+
3. Nb1-c3 Bb4xc3+
4. b2xc3 Qd3xc3+
5. Ke1-e2 Qc3-c4+
6. Ke2-d2 Qc4-b4+
7. Kd2-d1!+−
when White is a piece up.
D – Backward attacking moves
We already know the move Qb2-a1! from Kramnik-Leko. Here are some other examples:
Filguth,Rubens
De la Garza,Arturo
Mexico tt 1980
White has a clear advantage, with his domination of the centre and better piece activity. White’s minor pieces look as if they are magnetically attracted to the black king, and only two more moves are needed to ensure the win.
18. Qe2-e4 Qf6-f5
On 18…g6 19.h5+−;
On 18…Ba3, to provide an escape square for the king, White plays 19.Qh7+ Kf8 20.Ng4! Qd8 21.Qh8+ Ke7 22.Qxg with an unstoppable attack, including threats like Rxe6.
Now comes a very surprising finish.
19. Qe4-h1!!
A brilliant retreat that wins the queen, see:
A) 19…Bc6!? 20.d5+− or 20.Qh2+−;
B) Another justification is shown after the attempt 19…Qh5: White replies 20.g4! and the queen is trapped again, pawn h4 being protected;
C) After 19…Qf6 the delicate 20.Bg5! forces the reply 20…hxg5 21.hxg5 with a double threat: on the queen, and of giving checkmate on h7.
Leko,Peter
Carlsen,Magnus
Monaco rapid 2007 (5)
In this strange position, Black has the choice between exchanging queens, with an unclear situation, or continuing in gambit style with
13. … Rd8xd5+!
A ‘retro’ move with two threats: queen takes knight, winning the h1 rook, and 15…Bb4, winning the queen. There is no defence:
A) 15.Ke2 Bg4+ 17.Kf2 Qh4+ and wins;
B) If 15.Kc3 Qxd5 16.Bc4 Qa5+ 17.Kb3 Qb6+ 18.Ka4 Bc2+ 19.b3 Qc5 and Black will mate with 20…b5+.
C) 15.Bg2 Bb4+;
D) The best move for White might be 15.Qg3, but Black wins anyway after 15 …Qxd5+ 16.Ke2 Qxh1 with a positional and a material advantage and good attacking chances as well.
In the game, after 14…Qe4, White could have equalized with 15.Ke2! with an unclear game.
Inarkiev,Ernesto
Bakre,Tejas
Gibraltar 2004 (7)
Can you find how White could have gained a winning advantage?
1. Bg5-h4!!
A brilliant quiet move that keeps the pressure on the diagonal while still attacking the enemy knight.
1.Nxe7+ Nxe7 2.Bc1 b3∞ was played in the game, which was won by Black.
1. … Nd5-f6
1…Bxh4 2.Qxh4 f6 3.exd5+−; the computerish 3.g5 is even stronger.
2. h5-h6! g7-g6
Now the pin is winning after the methodical
3. Nf5xe7+ Qc7xe7
4. Rh1-f1 Rd8-d6
5. Qe1-f2 Rc8-c6
6. Bd3-e2+−
The move is also an example of an invisible retreat by the bishop, as well as a move along a diagonal controlled by the opponent.
Sitnikov,Dimitry
Kornev,Alexey
Tomsk 2006 (1)
Black threatens mate on g2. What is the optimal solution for White?
Sitnikov decided to make a draw with the elegant 41.Qf6+ Kh6 42.Qg5+.
Black cannot play 41…Nxf6 42.exf6+ Kh6 (if 42…Kg8 43.Rc8#) as now the discovered check wins the queen with advantage after 43.Bg5+ Kh5 44.Be3+− White is a piece up.
But White had a splendid win here, beginning with
41. Bh4-f6+! Kg7-h6
42. Bf6-g5+ Kh6-h5
42…Kg7 is losing after 43.Qf6+ Nxf6 44.exf6+ because the h6-square is no longer available: 44…Kf8 45.Rc8#.
Now White is losing in all lines if he doesn’t find the invisible move:
43. Bg5-d2!!
A diabolical retreat that threatens mate in one (on g5 or h4) while parrying the black attack and all the checks.
43. … f7-f6
44. Qd8-h8+−
Rrhioua,Tarik
Bernard,J
France tt 2005
Black chose to draw by perpetual check. Can you see a win for him?
1. … Kh8-h7!
2. d6-d7!
The best defensive try consists in controlling the e8-square. The natural 2.Re2 fails to 2…Bf2+! 3.Rxf2 (3.g3 Qf6+ 4.Kh5 g6+ 5.Qxg6+ Qxg6+ 6.Kh4 Qg5+) 3…g5+ 4.Kh5 Qe8+ with mate in two.
What is the checkmating idea here?
2. … Bg1-b6!
The bishop goes to d8, with inevitable checkmate. The bishop retreat is a hard-to-see move. It retreats from its attacking diagonal that allows it a crucial check on f2 in the other variation, to the other side of the board.
There is another win after 2…Qf6+ 3.Kg3 Qd6+! (4.Qf4 Bh2+) 4.Kf3 Qd3+ 5.Kf4 g5+ 6.Ke5 Bh2+ 7.Ke6 Qd6+ 8.Kf7 Qg6+ 9.Ke7 Bd6+ 10.Kd8 Qg8+.
In the series of exercises that follows, the first four are from famous matches.
The third is not from an official world championship, but it might be considered as such.
EXERCISE 1
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A Winning Liquidation (1)
Alekhine,Alexander
Euwe,Max
Netherlands Wch 1937 (16)
White is a pawn up, but the bishop pair should give Black counterchances. There is a simple way to enter a winning endgame for White. How?
Solution
Solution 1
Alekhine,Alexander
Euwe,Max
Netherlands Wch 1937 (16)
Max Euwe wrote about this game: ‘… for almost a whole hour, during which the players each made two moves, Alekhine could have carried out a winning combination. It was seen by the entire audience, who waited with bated breath, but it was not noticed by either him or me’.
Black had on the previous move played the mistaken
1. Qd5-e5??
1…Qc4 2.Qxc4 bxc4 gives drawing chances.
2. Bc1-b2??
2.Qh8+! Kxh8 3.Nxf7+ and after 3…Kg8 4.Nxe5 Bxb4 5.Nxd7 Nxd7 6.Ne4 with a winning endgame.
2. Bd7-c6??
‘A unique case of mutual blindness’, Kasparov in My Great Predecessors Part I.
3. a2-a3??
And the game ended in a draw a few moves later.
3.Qh8+ would have been winning again.
EXERCISE 2
*
A Winning Liquidation (2)
Kasparov,Garry
Karpov,Anatoly
London Wch m 1986 (2)
White drew this game. How could he have won, using a simple tactic?
Solution
Solution 2
Kasparov,Garry
Karpov,Anatoly
London Wch m 1986 (2)
Here Zeitnot must have been the cause of the mutual blindness of the players. Black made a mistake:
1. … Rf8-f3?
1…Rf6 (Kasparov gave 1…b5, ‘with good chances of a draw’) 2.Rc7 (2.Rc8) 2…Kd8 3.Ra7 b5 4.Ne3 Rc6 5.Nd5 Nf6=.
2. Nc4-e3
A winning pin was 2.Rc7, after which Black can resign.
Analysis diagram
In case of 2…Rc3 (unpinning with 2…Kd8 does not work due to 3.Rxd7+ Kxd7 4.Nxe5+) White plays 3.Kd2 Rb3 4.Nxb6 or 3…Rf3 4.Rxd7+.
2. … Nd7-f6
3. Rc6xb6 Nf6xe4
And in this difficult endgame, Black managed to draw.
Back
EXERCISE 3
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Double Attack
Anderssen,Adolf
Morphy,Paul
Paris 1858 (2 and 4)
This position occurred twice during the 1858 match between Adolf Anderssen and Paul Morphy, and White was not able to find the forced win based on a double attack. Can you spot two weak points in the black position?
Solution
Solution 3
Anderssen,Adolf
Morphy,Paul
Paris 1858 (2 and 4)
Neither during the two games, nor in the first game’s post mortem analysis either of the players spotted the simple idea
1. Qd1-c2!
The queen attacks h7 and c6 at the same time.
1.Ne2 was played once, and 1.Be3 was tried two games later.
1.Qd3 is not as good due to the defence 1…Nf6 2.Ne4 g6 (if the queen were on c2, the c6 knight could now be captured) 3.Bxh6 Bc4.
1. … f7-f5
This antipositional move looks the most resilient. 1…g6 2.Bxh6±; 1…Nf6 2.Ne4 Nxe4 3.Qxe4 winning a piece.
2. Rf1-e1± Rf8-f6
2…Bf7 3.Qxf5±; 2…Qf6 3.Rxe6 Qxe6 4.Nxd5+−; 2…Qd6 3.Rxe6 Qxe6 4.Nxd5 since if 4…Qxd5 5.Ba2.
3. Re1xe6! Rf6xe6
4. Nc3xd5 Qd8xd5
The weakening of the long diagonal is now decisive:
5. Bb1-a2! Qd5-d7
6. d4-d5+−
Back
EXERCISE 4
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Forwards or Backwards?
Nimzowitsch,Aaron
Tarrasch,Siegbert
San Sebastian 1911 (1)
There are two ways to parry the threatened checkmate. Which is the right one?
Solution
Solution 4
Nimzowitsch,Aaron
Tarrasch,Siegbert
San Sebastian 1911 (1)
Nimzowitsch chose the normal move, retreating the king in order to be able to enter the square of the passed pawn.
1. Kh6-h5?
The attacking move 1.Kh7! achieves the draw, because the king helps its own pawns to promote: 1…Rb5 2.Rxb5 (1…Rg8 2.Ra5 Rxg2 3.Rxa6=) 2…axb5 3.g4 b4 4.g5=.
1. … Rb8-b5
2. Kh5-g4 Rb5xf5
3. Kg4xf5 a6-a5
4. Kf5-e4
Nimzowitsch had seen all this, but now the Traeceptor Germaniae’ (Tarrasch’s nickname) surprised him with the Zwischenschach
4. … f6-f5+!
This pawn move intends to disconnect the white pawns, before picking them up one by one. White now loses by force:
5. Ke4-d4
On 5.Kxf5 a4 wins for Black.
5. … f5-f4!
Now both white pawns are falling.
6. Kd4-c4 Kf7-g6
7. Kc4-b5 Kg6-h5
8. Kb5xa5 Kh5xh4
9. Ka5-b4 Kh4-g3
10. Kb4-c3 Kg3xg2
Why is 1.Kh7 an invisible move?
- The orthodox way to play is to bring back the king in order to stop the passed pawn; advancing the king towards the edge of the board is unexpected.
- After a forced sequence of moves, a surprising intermediate move changes the evaluation.
Back
EXERCISE 5
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Saving Geometry
Geller,Efim
Gufeld,Eduard
Moscow blitz 1961
How can Black save the game when his major pieces are so far from the main action?
Solution
Solution 5
Geller,Efim
Gufeld,Eduard
Moscow blitz 1961
Two consecutive invisible moves enable Black to hold the position:
1. … Qa2-b1+!
A forward defensive move, with the idea of controlling a diagonal that leads to the queen’s own king, on the other wing.
2. Nf3-e1 Rc8-c4!!
Not 2…Bg5?! since after 3.Qxg5+ Kf8 4.g3 White is much better.
3. Re4-e3 Rc4-g4!
Back
EXERCISE 6
***
A Straightforward Win
Kramnik,Vladimir
Kasparov,Garry
London Wch m 2000 (4)
White drew this game. How could he have forced the advance of the a-pawn?
Solution
Solution 6
Kranmik,Vladimir
Kasparov,Garry
London Wch m 2000 (4)
Black has built a miraculous fortress. If his rook stays on the a-file there’s nothing White can do to make progress.
1. … Ra1-h1?
Now White can force a win.
2. Rg7-g8
2.Kb2? was played in the game. After 2…Rh8 3.Kb3 Rc8 4.a7 Kxa7 5.Kb4 Kb6 the draw was agreed.
2. Rh1-a1
2…Rh7 3.Rb8+ Ka7 (3…Kxc7 4.a7) 4.Rb7# is the variation that Kramnik mentions.
3. Nc7-d5+! Kb6-a7
3…Kc5 4.Rg5! Kb5 (4…Ra3 5.Kb2; 4…Rxa6 5.Nc7+) 5.Kb2;
3…Kxa6 4.Ra8+ Kb5 5.Rxa1.
4. Nd5-b4
And White wins, because the a-pawn is protected by the knight from the back (a useful rule to remember in endings with knight + pawn versus lone king).
‘…after around six hours we started making mistakes, but this was natural – the stress was enormous. He’d already found the “drawing stance” when he suddenly leapt off it (58…Rh1?) giving me the opportunity to win. The worst part was that I saw the possibility of a win after that move, but due to being unused to such intense stress I had one of my crazy ideas. It seemed to me that after 59.Rg8 Kasparov coul
d play 59…Rh7 and after 60.Rb8+ Ka7 I go 61.Rb7 and basically it is mate, but I was under the illusion that Kasparov could play Ka8 (It had slipped my mind that this square was covered by the knight from c7!), after which he’d be saved with the help of the “mad” rook it’s stalemate. The main thing was that there was no time trouble, I still had about nine minutes left (…) Obviously I’d cracked under stress’ – Kramnik in From London to Elista (New In Chess).
Back
Footnotes
1 Mark Dvoretsky, the famous Russian trainer, shows the position to his pupils without the a2 pawn. This involves certain changes of interest. Firstly, the variation 29.Rxe8 is less clear, because White has some difficulties winning as Black has a lot of pawns against the rook. Still, a clear win is offered by 29.Qb5!. Secondly, and interestingly for our topic, the defensive move is more difficult to conceive of without the a2 pawn because captures are easier to see.
2 After the game, Byrne said angrily to his opponent: ‘I had you crushed like a chicken’.
Test
A theoretical draw
1 *
Solution
One step backwards
2 *
Solution
Two diagonals
3 *
Solution