A White pawn’s advance to e5 is often a declaration of kingside war.
Friedrich Samisch White
Schaelicke Black
Berlin 1936
Queen’s Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch Variation D41
1 d4 ♘f6 2 c4 e6 3 ♘c3 d5 4 ♘f3 c5 5 cxd5 ♘xd5!
Black can ease his game by trading a pair of knights. In contrast, 5...exd5? 6 ♗g5! threatens 7 ♗xf6 ♕xf6? 8 ♘xd5 and favors White.
6 e4 ♘xc3 7 bxc3 ♗e7 8 ♗d3 ♘d7 9 0-0 ♕c7 10 ♕e2 0-0 11 e5!
White can target h7 now that ...♘f6 is ruled out and the b1-h7 diagonal is open. For example, 11...b6?? 12 ♕e4! threatens mate and the a8-rook.
On 11...♖b8 White can continue 12 ♘g5 h6 13 ♘e4 followed favorably by ♕g4.
Question 111: Is 12...g6 better?
11...♖d8 12 ♘g5 ♘f8 13 ♕h5!
If 13...♗xg5 14 ♗xg5, Black is somewhat weak on dark squares (14...♖e8 15 ♕g4).
13...g6 14 ♕h6 ♗d7 15 ♘e4!
Now ♘f6+ or ♗g5 will expose another weakness, at g7, e.g. 15...cxd4 16 cxd4 ♔h8 17 ♘f6.
A pretty finish is 17...♕c3 18 ♗g5 ♕xd3 19 ♘e8! ♖xe8 20 ♗f6+! and mates.
15...♗c6 16 ♘f6+ ♔h8 17 ♗g5
White threatens 18 ♘h5! followed by 19 ♕g7 mate or 19 ♗f6+
17...cxd4 18 ♖ae1 resigns.
By stopping ...♕xe5 White will have his choice of mates, including 19 ♘e8! (18 ♘e8 ♕xe5 19 ♗f4! would also win).
Question 112: Both players erred at move 14. How?
Peter Nielsen White
Carsten Hoi Black
Roskilde 1998
1 d4 ♘f6 2 ♘f3 e6 3 c4 c5 4 ♘c3 d5 5 cxd5 ♘xd5! 6 e4 ♘xc3 7 bxc3 ♗e7 8 ♗d3 0-0 9 0-0 b6 10 ♕e2 ♗b7 11 ♗b2 ♘d7 12 ♖ad1 ♕c7 13 e5 ♖ac8 14 ♗c1 cxd4 15 cxd4 ♖fd8! 16 ♘g5 ♘f8 17 ♕g4 ♕d7 18 ♗e3 ♕a4 19 h4 ♗a6! 20 ♗xa6 ♕xa6 21 h5 ♖c2 22 ♘e4 ♕e2 23 ♕h3 ♕c4 24 ♕g3 ♕e2 25 ♕h3 ♕c4 26 ♖fe1 ♖xa2 27 h6 g6 28 ♕f3 ♘d7 29 ♗g5 ♖a3?? 30 ♕f4 resigns.