Chapter 55
Unexpected possibilities. ‘Long’ moves
Many chess players do not see the whole board when calculating variations. This is especially true if the main events are taking place in one particular sector of the board, as their calculation tends to focus on that area too. Because of this lack of ‘peripheral vision’, such players frequently fail to notice the possibility of enemy pieces that are located far away joining in the fight, or they simply miss ‘long’ moves, where pieces traverse a significant section of the board. Such possibilities can often confer a large advantage on a player, and even decide the game in his favour.
341 *
Anton Korobov
2670
Konstantin Sakaev
2607
St Petersburg 2010 (7)
With his last move 25.♗c2-e4, White defended against the obvious threat of …♗d7-c6, but completely overlooked
25…♗a4!
after which he loses a whole rook.
26.♕xc5
Attention to the opponent’s possibilities, relaxing too soon
26…♗xd1!
Care is always needed. After the hasty 26…♖xd1 27.♖xd1 ♗xd1 28.♗xb7, White gives perpetual check.
27.f5 ♗e2 28.♖f4 ♕g3
White resigned.
342 *
Alisa Galliamova
2505
Sergei Rublevsky
2665
St Petersburg ch-RUS 1998 (2)
The rook on the half-open b-file is firing into the air, but Black finds a way to make it useful:
18…♖b5!
From here, the rook can be brought not only to d5, but if necessary also to the kingside, because the white king is insufficiently protected by its pieces.
19.♘c4
Faced with the unexpected, White misses the best defensive resource: 19.♕e4!, getting away from the attack from the black rook, and freeing the diagonal for her bishop. Then, there could follow 19…♘d3 20.♗d4, and here Black could choose between 20…♖d5, 20…♗e5 and 20…♘c5 – admittedly, in each case Black’s initiative is fairly insignificant, and White should hold the balance.
19…♖d5 20.♕e4 ♘d3 21.♘xd6 ♕xd6
A rare case where the knight is stronger than the bishop in an open position. Why is this? Firstly, the knight is entrenched on an outpost deep in White’s camp, whereas the bishop is unstably placed, and secondly, Black’s major pieces are much more active.
22.♗c3 ♕b6 23.♕h4 ♘f4 24.♕g4
More tenacious was 24.♔h1, although with the move 24…h6!, Black ensures himself the square g5 for his rook. Incidentally, b3 hangs.
24…♖f7 25.♖ad1 h5 26.♕f3 ♘h3+
White resigned.
343 *
German Fridstein
Vladimir Simagin
Moscow 1950
The black knights occupy stable positions, thanks to which his position is clearly better. But how can he strengthen it? If he transfers the knight from h5 to e6, White gets counterplay by advancing his h-pawn.
The advance of the queenside pawns also fails to achieve the desired effect: 28…b5 29.♖a1 ♕b6 30.♖hb1, and the passed pawns are stopped.
The pawn on f4 is a clear weakness, but increasing the pressure on it is only possible by exploiting the full scope of the board:
28…♕d8!
There is no defence against …♕d8-h4, with a complete collapse of the white kingside. There followed:
29.♗f1 ♕h4 30.♖xd4 ♘xf4 31.c4 ♘e6 32.♖xd5 ♘6g5 33.♕e2 ♘xf2
White resigned.
344 **
Training position
Konstantin Sakaev
Structurally, Black is doing poorly, as his ♘a5 is out of play and his light squares weak. His main hope is the d-pawn, which can advance to d3. However, it is White’s move, and he has a way to exert additional pressure on e6, with the help of the hard-to-spot retreat…
24.♕a2!
Black is forced to play…
24…♔f7
He loses material after 24…♔h8 25.♗xe6 ♕d8 26.♗a3 ♗e7 27.♗f7.
25.♗a3 ♖h8 26.♖bc1!
The white pieces develop decisive activity, since there is no defence to the double capture on e6, followed by the rook’s entry to c7.
345 **
Vitezslav Rasik
2466
Stellan Brynell
2511
Rethymnon tt 2003 (3)
At first sight, Black is in trouble, because 27.♖xc8 is a threat and the bishop cannot escape this attack. But Black has a surprising way to activate:
26…e5!!
The white queen is lured to e5, where she comes under attack, and the bishop gets the f5-square. In the game, Black did not find this resource, and after 26…♔h8 27.♕e5+ (he also wins with 27.♖c7 ♗d6 28.♕f3 ♗xc7 29.♖xc7, or 27.♕c2) 27…♗g7 28.♕c7 ♕g8 29.♕xc8 ♖xc8 30.♖xc8 ♗f8 31.♗f1 b5 32.♖1c7 e5 33.g3 e4 34.♗h3, resigned, because of the threats 35.♗e6.
27.♕xe5 ♗f5 28.♗d3 ♗g7
The position has completely equalised.
346 **
Dimitri Reinderman
2540
Viswanathan Anand
2780
Wijk aan Zee 1999 (1)
The game developed in such a way that Black had to give up on castling. It seems that his king needs to go to h7, freeing the path for his rook. However, Vishy Anand noticed that the white king is located a long way from his pieces, and the ♖h8, without having moves at all, can become a great strength in conjunction with the h-pawn!
24…h5! 25.♘b6
White shuts off the ♗c6, but uses two tempi for this, which suffices for Black to include his bishop in the attack as well, with decisive effect.
25…h4 26.♗d5 ♗g5
As well as 27…h3, there is also a threat of 27…♘g3+, and White cannot meet both threats at once.
27.♖f3
He also had no chances of saving the game after 27.♗xe4 ♕xe4 28.♕xe4 ♗xe4 29.h3 ♗xc2.
27…h3 28.♗xc6 ♕xc6 29.♕e2 ♗f4!
The most precise and effective.
30.♔g1
On 30.♖xf4, there follows 30…♘g3+.
30…♗e3+ 31.♔h1 ♖e8 32.♕c4 ♘f2+ 33.♖xf2 ♕xc4 34.♘xc4 ♗xf2 35.♘xd6 ♖e2 36.b4 ♗g3! 37.gxh3 ♗xd6
White resigned.
347 **
Konstantin Landa
2639
Zbynek Hracek
2624
Germany Bundesliga 2011/12 (9)
Of course, White should try to keep the ♘e6 on the board.
23.dxe5!
In the game, there followed 23.♘xd8?. This natural move, made with time trouble approaching, proved to be a mistake, and misses the win. This is how the game then continued: 23…♖xd8 24.dxe5 ♘c6! (Black begins to defend in the strongest way; 24…d4 25.exd4! ♖xd4 26.♕xe8+ ♔h7 27.♖c5+–; 24…♘f5 25.♕b3
), 25.♖d2? (losing the remains of his advantage; nor is anything yielded by 25.f4 b5 26.♕b3 ♘a5 27.♕b4 d4 28.exd4 ♖xd4 29.♕c5 ♖d1+ 30.♔f2 ♕f7! 31.♖f3 ♘c4∞, or 25.♕h4 d4! 26.♖d3 g5! (26…dxe3 27.♖xd8 e2+ 28.♔h1+–) 27.♕xg5? dxe3
; White can fight for an advantage only by 25.♕b3! g5 26.♖d2 ♘c7 27.♔h1 ♖e8 28.f4
), 25…♘xe5 26.♖xd5 (26.♕b3 ♘f6 27.♖c7 ♖d7 28.♖xd7 ♘exd7 29.♖c2 ♕b8 30.♕b4 ♕e8 31.♕d4 ♕e6 32.♖c7 b5 33.h4∞) 26…♖xd5 27.♕xe8+ ♔h7 28.♕e6 ♖c5 (28…♖d1+ 29.♔f2 ♘c6 30.♕h3+ ♔g8 31.♕e6+ ♔h7=) 29.♕h3+ ♔g8 30.♕e6+ ♔h7. Draw.
23…♘c6
More tenacious was 23…d4, but here too, White wins: 24.exd4 ♖d5 25.♕b4! (25.♖c8 ♖xc8 26.♖xc8 b5! 27.♕b3 ♕d7 28.♘c7 ♕xc8 29.♘xd5 ♕c1+ 30.♔f2 ♕d2+ 31.♔f1=) 25…♖xe5 (25…b5 26.♖c7+–) 26.♕xe7 ♕xd4+ 27.♘xd4 ♖xe7 28.♖c8+–.
And now, the queen transfer wins.
24.♕f4!
This is the key idea – a long move that White had missed in his calculations. In general, a narrow vision and a desire for safety are often what drive a player in time-trouble. When there are too many possibilities, and it is impossible to calculate everything, one often chooses the most ‘solid’ continuation. The rest of the variations are no longer difficult to calculate:
24…♘c7 25.♘g5
He could also win with the prosaic 25.♘xc7 d4 26.♖c5 d3 27.♕c4+ ♔h8 28.♖d2+–.
25…d4
25…♖d7 26.e6 ♖e7 27.♕h4 ♖xe6 28.♕h7+ ♔f8 29.♕h8+ ♔e7 30.♕xg7++–.
26.♕f7+ ♔h8 27.♕xg6 ♔g8 28.♕h7+ ♔f8 29.♕h8+ ♔e7 30.♕xg7+ ♔e8 31.♕f7#
348 **
Kiril Georgiev
2663
Konstantin Sakaev
2625
Ohrid tt 2009 (2)
We have a double-edged position, with roughly equal chances. Both kings are weak, and so it is essential to combine attacking moves with prophylaxis. For Black, it is particularly important to retain control of the long diagonal, which ensures relative peace for his king. Now, he has to decide where to retreat his bishop:
41…♗a1!
From here, the bishop controls the diagonal and does not come under attack.
He loses after 41…♗g7? 42.♖xg7 ♔xg7 43.♕e7+.
Also bad was 41…♗f6 42.♖e6 – the bishop and pawn are under attack, and there is a threat of ♗a3-d6.
41…♗c3 is perfectly possible, but Black prefers not to make this move, because it blocks the c-file, which can be a useful artery for Black, as the ♗a3 is tied to defending c1.
42.♖e6
In the game, the players exchanged mistakes – 42.♗c5? ♖d8? (Black trusted White, when in fact the bishop could have been taken: 42…♖xc5 43.♖e8+ ♔g7 44.♕e7+ ♔h6, and there are no threats against the black king) 43.♗b6 ♖d1+ 44.♔e2 ♕d6, and after a tough battle, White managed to hold.
42…♕c7 43.♗d6 ♕d7
The position remains very complicated with roughly equal chances.
349 ***
Konstantin Sakaev
2635
Alexander Lastin
2639
Novokuznetsk ch-RUS 2008 (10)
Both players believed that the capture…
22…♕xb2
was impossible. In the game, Black retreated with 22…♕b4, and after 23.♘d3 ♕e7 24.♗c1!, White retained the advantage of the two bishops, which he confidently realised.
It seems that after…
23.♕xc4 ♕xa1 24.♕b3
the threat of ♘c1-a2 is irresistible, but there is the unexpected…
24…♖a6!!
The slumbering rook bursts into the game with great effect. Now, after any jump by the knight, Black wins with …♖a6-b6. White has to play 25.d5, but Black has a clear advantage, as the exchange is the exchange.
350 ***
Robert Hübner
2635
Vladimir Kramnik
2775
Frankfurt rapid 1996 (2)
Preparing the advance of the a-pawn is problematic, as the black queen stands in the way. Suddenly, Black instead activates his most passive piece, which seemed to have no particular prospects:
23…♖b5! 24.♕d2?
Shocked, White chooses the path of least resistance and loses quickly. It was essential to give the king some air with 24.♖cd1. In reply, it makes sense for the black rook to continue its hunt: 24…♖g5 (24…♖a5 25.♘xa5 ♕xa2+ 26.♔c1 ♕xa5 27.b3 ♘d7 – Black has excellent compensation for the exchange, but White is not so badly off and can defend; 24…♘g4 25.♗xb5 axb5 26.♘c1 ♗g5 27.♕g3 ♗xc1 28.b3 ♕a3 29.♖xc1 ♖a8 30.♖cd1 ♕xa2+ 31.♔c1 ♖c8 32.♖e2 – White is defending successfully, and can even count on seizing the initiative) 25.g3 ♘d7. The rook on d5 is excellently placed, exerting pressure from all sides, whilst after 26.h4, strong is 26…♖g4 – from here, the rook cannot be driven away.
Incidentally, it is bad to play 24.♗xb5 axb5 25.♖cd1 ♖a8 – Black’s attack develops of its own accord.
24…♘g4 25.c4 bxc3 26.bxc3 ♖xb3+ 27.axb3 ♗xb3
There is no defence to the rook’s transfer to the b-file. White resigned.
351 ***
Training position
Konstantin Landa
White has built a mating net around the black king, but there is no obvious finishing blow. The solution is quite paradoxical, and is the only one:
1.♖xf7+
The tempting 1.h5 is refuted by the only move (all others lose) 1…♗e4!! – Black is even a touch better then.
1…♔xf7 2.♕h5+!
So as to understand the point of the check on h5, one has to see the follow-up idea.
Other continuations offer nothing:
A) 2.♕g6+ ♔e7 3.♕e6+ ♔f8 4.♕g8+ (4.♕h6+ ♔e7=) 4…♔e7 5.♕e6+=;
B) 2.♗g6+ ♔g8
;
C) 2.♕f5+ ♔e7=.
2…♔e7
Obviously he loses after 2…♔f8? 3.♘e6+.
Objectively, White’s task is harder after 2…♔f6! – Black tries to deflect the white queen off the d1-h5 diagonal.
analysis diagram
3.♗g6!, a quiet, paradoxical move that wins the game. The threat of a check on g5 decides, and Black has no defence: 3…♕d7 (3…♗c8 4.♕g5+ ♔g7 5.♘h5+ ♔f8 6.♕xd8#; 3…♕c8 4.♕g5+ ♔g7 5.♕e7++–; 3…♔e7 4.♕e2+!+–; 3…♗d5 4.♘xd5+ ♔e6 5.♘f4++–) 4.♕g5+ ♔g7 5.♗e8++–.
Now, a long move backwards by the queen decides:
3.♕e2+!!
White’s strongest piece moves further away from the object of its pursuit, the enemy king. This is precisely why the move is so hard to find.
3…♔f7
Now, the saving king retreat is impossible, because by checking on e2, White has freed e6 for his knight and wins: 3…♔f8 4.♘e6++–.
Black also loses after 3…♔f6 4.♕e6+ ♔g7 5.♕g6+ ♔f8 6.♘e6++–.
4.♗g6+! ♔g7 5.♕e5+ ♕f6 6.♕xc7+ ♔g8 7.♕xb8++–
352 ***
Alexei Shirov
2699
Andrei Volokitin
2660
Russia tt 2006 (11)
A battle is raging on both flanks, and every tempo counts.
19.♘e4!
A brilliant resource! 19.♕h3 ♕e8! 20.♕f3 (20.♕h4 ♘xd5) 20…♔g7 leads to unclear play.
19…gxf5 20.♗xf6+
Also interesting was 20.♘xf6+!?.
20…♔f8 21.♗xe7+ ♔xe7 22.♘g3 ♘f6?!
A serious inaccuracy.
Bad was 22…♗xd5? 23.♘xf5+ ♔e6 24.♗c2! ♘f6 25.e4! ♗xe4 26.♘xd6 ♗xc2 27.♔xc2+–.
But stronger was 22…♘e5! 23.♗xf5 (23.♘xf5+ ♔d7 24.♗e4) 23…♖h8 24.♗h3!.
23.♘xf5+ ♔d7 24.e4! ♖g8 25.♘h6! ♖xg1?
Correct was 25…♖g6! 26.♘xf7 c4 27.♗b1 ♘h5 28.♖xg6 hxg6 29.♘g5 ♖f8 30.♖f1 ♖f4 31.♔d2 ♔e7 32.♔e3 ♖g4! 33.♘f3 ♘f4 34.♖g1 ♖xg1 35.♘xg1 g5 36.♘f3 ♔f6 37.♘d4 ♗c8 – White has the advantage, but winning is not easy.
26.♖xg1 ♖f8 27.♖g7 ♔e7 28.♘f5+ ♔d7 29.♔d2 ♗c8 30.b4!?
There were also other promising continuations:
A) 30.♔e3 ♔c7 31.♘h6 ♗d7;
B) 30.f3 h5 31.♔e3 ♘e8 32.♖h7 ♔d8 33.♖xh5 (33.♘g3 ♘f6 34.♖h6 ♔e7) 33…♗xf5 34.♖xf5 ♔e7.
30…c4 31.♗c2 h5 32.h4 ♔c7 33.♘h6 ♘g4 34.♘xf7!
The far from obvious variation 34.♘xg4 hxg4! (34…♗xg4 35.♔e3) 35.♗d1 ♔d8 36.♗xg4 ♗xg4 37.♖xg4 allows Black still to hold the position after 37…♖h8!.
34…♘xf2
King activity
35.♘e5+
The white pieces are superbly placed, but the immediate jump by the knight does not bring any dividends. This means that White must instead bring up his inactive forces. He could win by 35.♔c3! ♗d7 (35…♘h3 36.♔d4 ♖e8 37.e5+–) 36.e5 dxe5 37.♘xe5+–.
35…♔b6 36.a4?
A serious mistake. It was still possible to return to the correct plan: 36.♘f7 ♔c7 37.♔c3+–.
36…a5!= 37.bxa5+ ♔xa5 38.♘c6+
A) 38.♖f7 ♖xf7 39.♘xf7 bxa4 40.♘xd6 ♗a6=;
B) Or 38.♘f7 ♘g4 39.axb5 ♔b4!
.
38…♔b6 39.a5+ ♔c5 40.♖c7
40…♘g4??
A time-trouble mistake in a complicated position, something which can happen to anybody. In such situations, one instinctively wants to play more safely, putting the knight on a defended square, and freeing f2 for the rook.
He could save himself with the surprising 40…♗g4 41.♘a7+ ♔b4 42.♘c6+ ♔c5=.
41.♔c3??
A return present by White. After 41.♗d1! b4 42.♘e7+ ♔d4 43.♖xc8, White wins.
41…♖f3+ 42.♔b2 ♖f2 43.♘e5+ ♔b4 44.♘c6+ ♔c5 45.♘e5+ ♔b4
Draw.
353 ***
Training position
Konstantin Sakaev
The pawn on d7 is not threatening to promote, but it stops the black pieces developing normally. Black can attack the pawn only by a rather unobvious manoeuvre:
1…♖ab8!!
Now, he threatens 2…b6 with tempo, and then immediately 3…♖b7. And if the white bishop moves from a5 in anticipation, Black gets d8 for his rook. Because of the activity of his pieces, White has chances to maintain the balance, but no more than that.
354 ***
Ni Hua
2670
Alexander Morozevich
2737
Saratov 2011 (4)
The black minor pieces are hanging, but White’s queen prevents him from taking them. At first glance, the queen has no good retreat squares. If it goes to g3, his own rook is pinned, whilst after 23.♕f2, Black has 23…♗h3!, and on 23.♕g2 ♕e3+, there is the same idea of …♗g4-h3. It did not occur to the Chinese player to retreat the queen away from all attacks by means of 23.♕h1!!, which immediately wins a piece.
In the game, after…
23.♖xg4 ♘xg4 24.♕xg4 ♖bd8
White retained the advantage, although he eventually lost.
355 ***
Alina Kashlinskaya
2389
Aleksandra Goryachkina
2333
Moscow 2012 (8)
For the piece, White has three pawns and a serious initiative, so the advantage is on her side. But it is another matter how to develop this initiative. The black king is vulnerable, and her pieces are poorly placed, with the exception of the queen and the ♘f5, which cover entry squares in her camp. The white ♖h3 does not yet take part in the attack and her king on f1 is also badly placed, being better on a dark square nearer the corner. There is no forcing way to win. Thus, we use the method of exclusion, looking for a way to improve the worst placed piece. The most energetic, strong and tempo-gaining move is
34.♖a3!!
Having seen this, it is impossible not to play it.
If one asks what other candidate moves deserve consideration in so sharp a position, then in the first instance, there is 34.♖f3, creating the threat of 35.♖xf5. But then, one has to see 34…♕d1 35.♖a3!.
Another prophylactic possibility is 34.♔g1, but here too, after the offer of a queen exchange by 34…♕d1, we land a blow on the a-file with 35.♖a3! – there is no way to defend a7.
In the game, there followed 34.a4, which is clearly bad – White prepares to drive the knight from b6, where it is so badly placed. At the same time, there is still a long way to go to create a passed pawn. After 34…♕d1, the game continued in a complicated endgame, but without any advantage for White.
After the text, the pawn can only be defended by…
34…♕c7,
but here the queen is under an X-ray from the white rook. If Black does not defend the pawn, but puts it under attack with 34…a6, the most direct and forcing win is as follows: 35.bxa6 ♕xc6 36.♖xf5 ♔g8 37.♖c5 – the pawn gets to a7, whilst all the pieces are attacking.
35.♖c5!
36.♗d5 is threatened with decisive effect, and in the event of…
35…♕e7 36.♕xe7+ ♘xe7 37.♖xa7 ♔f8
(no better is 37…♔f6 38.♘e4+ ♔e6 39.f4)
38.a4+–
the white pawns easily promote.
Additional material
Geller-Reshevsky, Palma de Mallorca 1970 – White’s 17th move
Polugaevsky-Torre, Toluca 1982 – Black’s 37th move
Tal-Hübner, Montreal 1979
Polugaevsky-Dorfman, Tbilisi 1978 – White’s 22nd move