Winning control of one key square can be a license to go straight for mate.
Vladimir Litvinov White
Gavriil Veresov Black
Minsk 1958
Dutch Defense A85
1 c4 f5 2 d4 ♘f6 3 ♘c3 e6 4 ♘f3 ♗b4!
Black is willing to trade this bishop, ...♗xc3(+), to win control of e4. No other center square looms as important.
5 ♕c2 0-0 6 e3 b6 7 ♗e2
This bishop enables White to castle kingside without risking ...♗xf3/gxf3. But unlike 7 ♗d3 it abandons the fight for e4.
7...♗b7 8 0-0 ♗xc3 9 ♕xc3 ♘e4 10 ♕c2 ♖f6!
Having achieved his strategic goal, Black can attack with 11...♖h6 followed by ...g5-g4. 11 ♘d2? ♖h6
12 g3??
Black threatened 12...♘xd2 followed by 13...♗xg2! (14 ♔xg2 ♕g5+ 15 ♔h1 ♕h4).
White can’t meet it with 12 ♗f3 ♕h4! 14 h3 ♘g5! followed by 15...♘xh3+!. But he would be alive after 12 f3 ♕h4 13 h3.
12...♕h4!
Anyway. Now 13 gxh4 ♖g6+ 14 ♔h1 ♘xf2 is double check and mate.
13 ♘f3 ♘g5!! White resigns.
The magic of chess tactics. Now 14 ♘xh4 ♘h3 is mate. So is 14 gxh4 ♘xf3+ 15 ♗xf3 ♖g6+.
Question 168: Is White lost after 14 ♖d1 ?
Compare that with these versions:
Jan Plachetka White
Lothar Zinn Black
Decin 1974
1 ♘f3 c5 2 b3 ♘c6 3 ♗b2 ♘f6 4 e3 d5 5 ♗b5 e6 6 ♘e5 ♕c7 7 0-0 ♗d6 8 ♗xc6+ bxc6 9 f4 0-0 10 ♖f3 ♘d7 11 ♖h3 g6 12 ♕h5! ♘f6 13 ♘g4!! resigns.
Defosse White
Franck Black
Belgium 1977
1 d4 ♘f6 2 c4 e6 3 ♘f3 b6 4 ♘c3 ♗b4 5 a3 ♗xc3+ 6 bxc3 ♘e4 7 e3 ♗b7 8 ♗d3 f5 9 ♕c2 0-0 10 0-0 ♖f6 11 ♘d2 ♖h6 12 g3 ♕h4! 13 ♘f3 ♘g5! 14 gxh4 ♘xf3+ 15 ♔g2 ♘e1+! 16 ♔g3 ♖g6+ 17 ♔f4 ♖g4+ 18 ♔e5 ♘c6 mate.