Creating problems
Winning a game of chess is all about creating problems for our opponent. A wolf is a stronger chess player than a rabbit, and so is the fox. The problems you create can be completely diverse in nature. Fierce attacks and brave sacrifices put your opponent under extreme pressure and even if a sacrifice turns out to be incorrect in the light of analysis, it might be too much to take for your opponent in the heat of the battle. The many incorrect but highly successful sacrifices of Mikhail Tal provide ample evidence for this. However, problems and pressure can also come along in the shape of subtle positional play, capitalizing on structural flaws, such as weak pawns or weak squares. But that’s not all. The perfect fox also incorporates psychological warfare in his overall strategy. Let’s say you have a superior position, in which your opponent cannot do very much. On the other hand, his position is too solid to be taken by storm. Normally, the best thing to do is to engage in maneuvering. Top priority is not to lose control and to preserve the favorable status quo. Next on the agenda is looking for ways to improve your pieces or to create further weaknesses in his structure. If all your pieces are located in good positions and there is no easy (risk free) way to create more weaknesses in his camp, the next thing to do is – to do nothing. What I mean is the smart way of doing nothing, of course. Playing Kh1-g1-h1-g1…. might infuse him the idea of just copying you with Kh8-g8-h8-g8….Your doing nothing must look like some kind of constructive plan. It can also incorporate simple to meet threats, like little pin pricks. The whole process will be tiring for your opponent. He will also have a lot of time to think about his past mistakes, which brought him into such a passive situation. This mixture of boredom, tiredness and self-conflict could finally prove too much tension or dis-ease for him to endure. He might want to leave all of this behind and then it happens, this weakening pawn move which will finally trigger his demise.

 

e3ddd
Freedom

Freedom is universally regarded as something positive, as it is a basic requirement of human nature. However, there is also a downside to it, as having more freedom also means having more options to harm yourself. The concept of negative flexibility is based on this simple truth. Self-harming is normally related to either a wrong or unclear perception of reality (for instance a situation or a system like chess) or a wrong perception of oneself. This second point has a lot to do with being unaware of self-sabotaging programs which constantly run in the background. According to experts, the brain is operating 95% of the time in this often destructive auto-pilot mode and only 5% in the state of full consciousness. It is possible that all vices originate in some way from ignorance or bad perception. Professionals in all areas of life are trying to take advantage of these human shortcomings. In the capital markets laymen are punished for being too greedy, too fearful, too impatient or for being overconfident. Smart business men exploit the vanity of other protagonists in order to get hold of valuable information. Chess is another area, where sinning (disrespecting reality) means asking for trouble. The above example was featuring lack of patience. Let’s move on to laziness.

Laziness
Playing 1.e4 is high maintenance and hence comes with obligations. If you are not willing to honor them by putting in the necessary amount of hours, all you get is equal positions with White and most likely inferior positions with Black (given that you display the same behavior pattern with both colors). That way, chess becomes an uphill fight. If you wonder why you are getting outperformed by less talented peers… Well, the perma-handicap you are playing with could be the answer.

By capitalizing on negative flexibility, the Four Knights concedes a lot of room for white players to sin in the context of laziness. The most popular line for the lazyman is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3? (correct is 7.e5)

6.Nxc6 - 7.Bd3 d5 8.0-0 Be7 - 9.e5 Nd7 10.Qg4 (7.Bd3)

The motivation is clear. By releasing the tension in the center with 6.Nxc6 White is permitted to finish his development undisturbed with 7.Bd3, 8.0-0 and then, for example 9.Qe2, 10.b3, 11.Bb2. Evidently, you don’t need to know any theory when deciding to play such a chain of nondescript routine moves. In post 57 I presented the statistics of the tabiya of 6.Nxc6, which arises after 6..bxc6 7.e5 (not 7.Bd3?) Nd5 8.Ne4 Qc7 9.f4 Qb6 10.c4 Bb4 11.Ke2 f5. The game count is 570.

12 move

Now, let’s have a look at the statistics of 7.Bd3?

Bd3

More than 115o games have continued with inferior moves, of which 7.Bd3 is the biggest part with 923 games. The conclusion is that you meet doubtful moves twice as much as the critical main lines. Obviously, this puts the apparent menace coming from 6.Nxc6 in a somewhat different perspective.

After 7.Bd3 d5 your engines indicates instant equality. No wonder, if you consider Black’s superiority in the center. As a matter of fact, this majority gives Black already a slight positional initiative. It is White who has a smaller margin of error and who has to try a bit harder to maintain the balance. A minimalist approach would have been to cover this topic very briefly, as equality means “mission accomplished” within the context of a black repertoire. I could have indicated some basic plans and then moved on to my work on other, more critical lines. Instead, I covered this variation in great detail:

7.Bd33

As you can see, it stretches over 12 single analyses. This explicit treatment is in line with my overall philosophy of providing my clients with the biggest possible degree of orientation. Of course, nobody is forced to study the entire material. Everyone can decide for himself, what he regards as necessary, critical or interesting. In any case, it is good to have the material in its entirety for reference purposes. If you play a blitz game on a server, you can look up afterwards whether your way of playing was in line with my theory. If you are a friend of active learning (see post 50) you will insert your blitz game in the material and analyze it with an engine, thus enriching my original work.

There is yet another, more specific reason for the extensive coverage of 7.Bd3, which has to do with being street wise. We have to be aware of what has relevance not only in academia but also in real life. As the above statistics indicate, 7.Bd3 is more popular than anything else. This is particularly true for the subjective reality of my clients, which plays out mostly on the level between 1900 and 2300. Here, dubious moves such as 7.Bd3 are even more frequent than suggested by the general statistics above, which are mainly based on master games.

Equalizing with Black is the predominant aim in opening theory. However, what about being flexible and shifting your aim according to the actual position? As I mentioned before, with his mobile pawn center Black can already start thinking in terms of playing for an advantage, in case White is acting carelessly. Hence, my intention was to highlight the big amount of =+-potential which is hiding in the position.

My decision for the example line presented below derived from the notion that it might be of highest interest to see what happens, if White plays in the most aggressive manner. As it is line 3 (65) of the above list, the analysis just jumps right into the topic. Introductory words are only given in the first line (63).

Together with post 57 I have provided you now with a good idea of what to expect from my material. If you happen to be interested in the 143 analyses, please have a look at my Four Knights sub-page, which has been updated recently.

 

 

 

 

 

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.01.19"] [Round "?"] [White "6.Nxc6 - 7.Bd3 d5 8.0-0 Be7"] [Black "9.e5 Nd7 10.Qg4"] [Result "*"] [ECO "B40"] [Annotator "Wahls"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2016.09.24"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SVK"] [SourceVersionDate "2002.05.06"]

{[%evp 0,70,18,11,43,33,42,47,47,27,27,29,52,19,19,5,8,-14,41,7,12,-32,4,-11,
14,11,14,-55,-40,-49,-46,-22,-1,-35,-35,-104,-69,-73,16,-14,-6,-6,-6,-15,30,-1,
-73,-89,-78,-72,-37,-37,2,-13,11,-12,12,33,65,61,-62,-123,-123,-124,-123,-123,
-124,-117,-163,-181,-176,-203,-189]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. O-O Be7 9. e5 Nd7 10. Qg4 {[#] White
transfers his queen in the vicinity of Black's king and provokes dark-squared
weaknesses, which enhances the efficacy of his dark-squared bishop.} g6 (10...
Nxe5 $6 11. Qxg7 Bf6 {has also been played, but there is no need for Black to
steer the game into muddy waters, coming from a promising structural situation.
}) 11. Re1 ({After} 11. Qg3 $2 {Black will play} h5 $1 $146 {as he does in the
main line.}) (11. f4 $2 {This weakens a lot of squares and blunts the
dark-squared bishop. There are at least two promising plans:} Nc5 (11... a5 {
Gaining space. Simple and effective.} 12. Be3 (12. Na4 $6 Nb6 13. Nxb6 Qxb6+
14. Kh1 a4 15. Bd2 c5 16. Rab1 O-O {with a dominating queenside position for
Black.}) 12... a4 $15 {followed up by moves such as Nc5 or c6-c5 or Qa5 (idea
a3) or Ba6.}) 12. Be2 {Otherwise Black accomplishes a decent advantage by
taking in d3.} Qb6 13. Kh1 O-O 14. Rb1 (14. b3 $6 f5 $1 15. exf6 {activating
Black's bishop is unsatisfactory for White, but so is conceding the outpost e4
for Black's knight.} (15. Qf3 Ne4 $17) 15... Bxf6 16. Bb2 Ne4 (16... Bd7 {
[%cal Gf8f7,Ga8f8] looks good as well.}) 17. Nxe4 Bxb2 18. Rab1 Bg7 19. Ng5 e5
20. Qg3 e4 21. Bg4 Bxg4 22. Qxg4 {[%cal Rg4e6,Rg5f7]} Qb7 23. Qh3 h6 24. Ne6
Rf6 25. Nxg7 Kxg7 26. Qc3 Raf8 27. g3 Kh7 $17 {[%cal Rg6g5,Gb7b6,Gd5d4]}) 14...
d4 15. Nd1 Ba6 16. b3 (16. Nf2 Rfd8 $15) 16... Qa5 17. a4 Rfb8 $15 {[%cal
Rc5a4]}) (11. Bf4 $4 g5 {[%cal Gh7h5]} 12. Bd2 (12. Bg3 $2 h5 13. Qe2 h4 $19)
12... Nxe5 $17) (11. Qe2 {leads to the same position as 10.Qh5 g6 11.Qe2 and
is covered in 10.Alt}) 11... Qc7 {[#] Directly attacking White's weakness is
the most logical approach. The sooner you do so, the earlier your opponent has
to commit himself to a specific way of defense and you can adjust your game
accordingly. The underlying principle is the reduction of your opponent's
flexibility.} 12. Qg3 $2 {This looks like the most natural move and hence was
played most frequently in this position (in 6 out of 10 games). However, it
runs into a nice positional refutation.} (12. Qf4 $6 Rb8 $1 13. b3 Rb4 $1 14.
Qh6 (14. Qg3 h5 15. h3 h4 16. Qh2 Rh5 $15) 14... Bf8 15. Qg5 h5 {[%cal Gh4h3,
Rf8h6,Gh5h3] Black threatens 16..Bh6 and also intents 16..h5 with 17..h3 or 17.
.Rh5 to follow.} 16. h3 (16. Na4 Bh6 17. Qg3 h4 18. Qh3 Bxc1 19. Raxc1 Nxe5 20.
c4 d4 $15) 16... Bh6 17. Qg3 h4 18. Qh2 Bg7 19. a3 Rb7 20. f4 O-O $15 {leaves
White's queen in a pitiful location.}) (12. Qe2 {This square is much better
for the queen than g3, since here she isn't exposed to the pawn thrust h5-h4.
However, Black still has the positional initiative due to his superior
structure. The only plan I see for White to equalize is playing Na4 and c2-c4,
maybe after Bd2 or Bh6. What can Black do to interfere with this ambition? He
might provoke the double weakness b3 and a3, so that the weak pawn b3 would
become soft and pose a potential problem for White.} Rb8 $5 13. b3 Bb4 $5 {
If White wants to get rid of this annoying bishop, he has to play a3.} 14. Bd2
(14. Bb2 O-O 15. a3 Be7 {[%cal Rd7c5,Rc5d3]} 16. Qe3 Re8 17. Rad1 Bf8 18. Qg3
Bg7 19. f4 a6 {Preparing c5.} 20. Nb1 {[%cal Gb1d2,Gc2c4] The knight wants to
go to d2, in order to prepare c4.} a5 (20... c5 $5 21. Bf1 Bb7 22. Nd2 Bc6 {
[%cal Ra6a4]}) 21. Nc3 {At the moment, c5 isn't possible, but there are other
options.} (21. Nd2 $2 c5 22. c4 $2 a4 $17) 21... f6 $5 22. exf6 Nxf6 $15 {
[%cal Rf6h5]}) 14... O-O 15. h3 $1 {Now, White is doing everything right:
preventing 15..f6 and not weakening himself by a3 or f4.} (15. a3 Be7 {Now,
Black has accomplished the double weakness he had in mind.} 16. Na4 (16. Bf4
Nc5 {[%cal Gc5d3]}) 16... c5 $36 17. Rad1 Bb7 (17... c4 $5 18. bxc4 dxc4 19.
Bxc4 Bb7 20. Nc3 Rfc8 21. Bd3 Nc5 {with good compensation}) 18. Nc3 a6 19. f4 (
19. Bxa6 $6 Bxa6 20. Qxa6 Nxe5 $15) 19... Qc6 {and Black has excellent
prospects with his mobile center pawns. A good plan (but not the only one)
would be 20.Rbe8 and 21...f6, in order to activate his pieces.}) (15. f4 $6 Qa5
16. Nb1 Nc5 $36 {[%cal Gc5d3,Gc8a6]}) (15. Rad1 $6 {White is preparing 16.Na4,
as he can now recapture on d2 with the rook. So, Black is acting instantly.} f6
$1 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Na4 Bd6 18. h3 e5 $15) 15... Re8 (15... Qa5 $2 16. a3 Bxc3
$2 17. b4 $1 $14) (15... f6 $2 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Na4 Bd6 18. Bc3 c5 19. Be5 $14
) (15... a5 $5) 16. Rad1 {Overprotecting the knight.} Bf8 {As the Bd2 is now
secured, the bishop retreats voluntarily.} 17. Na4 c5 18. c4 {White gets his
idea finalized. Here is a possible continuation:} d4 19. Nb2 Bb7 20. Bc2 a5 21.
Nd3 Bc6 {[%cal Ga5a4]} 22. a4 f5 23. exf6 e5 24. f7+ Kxf7 25. f3 Kg8 26. Nf2
Be7 $1 {[%cal Ge7h4] with a balanced position.}) (12. Bf4 $2 {Now, Black has
to decide whether to grab material, or conversely to offer some. Generally,
your game is easier if you play with the initiative and not against it.} Rb8 (
12... g5 {Grabbing material.} 13. Bd2 (13. Bg3 $4 h5 14. Qe2 h4 $19) (13. Bxg5
$4 Rg8 $19) 13... Nxe5 14. Qh5 h6 $15) 13. b3 (13. Bc1 $5 {Preserving material.
} O-O $15 (13... Nxe5 $4 14. Rxe5 Qxe5 15. Bf4 Qd4 16. Qg3 $16 {[%cal Rf4b8,
Rf4e5,Re5h8]})) 13... Rb4 $1 {[#] Giving material. This is actually a good
example for an exchange sacrifice, which would go by completely unnoticed in
the majority of games.} (13... g5 14. Be3 $2 (14. Bd2 Nxe5 15. Qh5 h6 $15)
14... Nxe5 $2 {Black should have deprived the queen of the important square h5.
} (14... h5 15. Qe2 Nxe5 $19) 15. Qh5 $17 {1-0 (37) Ochsner,B (2165)-Gislason,
G (2351) Copenhagen 2010}) 14. a3 h5 15. Qf3 Rxf4 16. Qxf4 Bf6 $1 17. Qa4 (17.
h3 Bxe5 18. Qd2 g5 19. Rad1 g4 20. Ne2 gxh3 21. gxh3 Qd8 22. Qe3 Qf6 $17) 17...
Nxe5 (17... Bxe5 $2 18. Rxe5 $1 Nxe5 19. Qf4 $15) 18. Qf4 Nf3+ 19. Qxf3 Bxc3
20. Rad1 Bxe1 21. Rxe1 O-O 22. Qf6 Re8 23. Re3 Qe7 $17) (12. Bh6 $5 {might be
the most dangerous move, as White is willing to sacrifice a pawn to keep Black
from castling.} Rb8 (12... Nxe5 $146 13. Qh3 Nxd3 ({If Black doesn't like to
concede the initiative, he might opt for} 13... Nd7 $5 14. Bg7 Rf8 15. Qxh7 (
15. Bxf8 Nxf8 16. Qe3 Bd6 $44) 15... Nf6 16. Qh6 Ng4 (16... Rg8 $5 17. h3 e5
18. Na4 e4 19. c4 Nh5 20. cxd5 Nxg7 21. Bxe4 Kf8 $13) 17. Qh7 Nf6 $11 {with a
repetition of moves.}) 14. cxd3 (14. Qxd3 $2 f6 $19 {[%cal Ge8f7]}) 14... Rg8 (
14... Bf6 15. Rac1 $44) 15. Bd2 (15. Rac1 $2 g5 $17) (15. Be3 h5 16. Rac1 $44 {
[%cal Gd3d4,Gc3a4]}) 15... h5 16. Rac1 f6 (16... e5 17. Qg3 h4 18. Qxe5 Qxe5
19. Rxe5 f6 20. Ree1 Kf7 21. Na4 Bd7 22. Be3 $11) 17. Rxe6 (17. d4 Kf7 18. b3
$44) 17... Qb7 $8 (17... Bxe6 $2 18. Qxe6 Rf8 19. Nxd5 $16) 18. Rce1 Bxe6 19.
Qxe6 Rf8 20. Na4 Qd7 21. Nc5 Qxe6 22. Nxe6 Rg8 23. Nc7+ Kd7 24. Nxa8 Rxa8 {
[%cal Ga7a4,Ga8b8] leaves Black with a slight initiative, but the position is
drawish, of course.}) 13. Qh3 (13. b3 {is also possible, but White has to find
the right moves.} Nxe5 14. Qh3 Bf6 (14... Nxd3 15. cxd3 Rg8 16. Bd2 h5 $13) 15.
Qg3 $1 (15. Rac1 $2 Rb4 $15) 15... Rb4 16. Bc4 $1 {Not easy to see over the
board.} Qe7 (16... dxc4 $4 17. Ne4) 17. a3 $1 {Now, the position is balanced.}
Rb6 (17... Rxc4 18. bxc4 Nxc4 19. Rab1 Qd6 20. Qd3 Ne5 21. Qg3 Nc4 $11) 18. Na4
Nxc4 (18... Nd7 19. Nxb6 Nxb6 20. Be2 Bxa1 21. Rxa1 f6 $11) 19. bxc4 Bxa1 20.
Nxb6 axb6 21. Rxa1 f6 22. Rb1 dxc4 23. Rxb6 Qd8 24. Rb1 Kf7 25. h4 e5 $11)
13... Rg8 $13 {0-1 (50) Van Assendelft,F (2227)-Rohde,U (2213) Germany 2009} ({
Black can force a draw with} 13... Rxb2 $146 14. Bg7 Rg8 15. Qxh7 Rxg7 16. Qxg7
Bb4 17. Bxg6 fxg6 18. a3 (18. Na4 Bxe1 19. Qxg6+ $11) 18... Bxc3 19. Qxg6+ $11
Kd8 20. Qg8+ Ke7 21. Qg7+ Kd8)) (12. f4 $2 {This leads to a pawn structure,
which is favorable for Black, as was discussed in the line 10.f4.} a5 (12...
Nc5 $5 $146 13. Bf1 a5 14. g3 O-O 15. Be3 a4 $15) 13. Be3 Ba6 (13... a4 $15)
14. Rac1 Nc5 $6 {This move is stronger, when the white bishop cannot escape
via exchange.} (14... a4 $146) 15. Bxa6 Rxa6 16. Qe2 Ra8 17. Qf2 Nd7 18. Na4 $6
{½-½ (18) Bernasconi,R (1935)-Tomasetto,M Ceriano Laghetto 2007 Black should
have played on, as} c5 {gives him a slight advantage.}) 12... h5 $1 $15 {
[#] The intention is multifold: 1) Depriving White's bishop of the square h6 2)
Harassing a defender 3) Disrupting White's pawn shelter by pushing the pawn
all the way to h3 4) Developing the rook to h5, thus intensifying the pressure
against White's e5 pawn.} (12... O-O $2 {helped White to find a good square
for his bishop and presented the king as a target.} 13. Bh6 Re8 14. h4 $14 {
1/2-1/2 (50) Perenyi,B (2370)-Tischbierek,R (2500) Leipzig 1988}) 13. b3 $2 {
White paves the way for a potential development of the bishop to b2 and also
secures his b-pawn, so that Rb8 won't gain a tempo. The problem with that move,
however, is that it doesn't prevent the pawn push to h3.} (13. h3 {Creating a
barrier for Black's battering ram and also providing a square for the queen.}
h4 14. Qh2 {The queen can keep on protecting the e-pawn, but it does so from
an offside location.} (14. Qf4 Rh5 $17) 14... Rb8 15. Rb1 (15. b3 $2 Rh5 16.
Bf4 $2 Bb4 $19) 15... Bc5 $5 {[%cal Rc5d4,Rd4e5] This puts pressure on the
e-pawn.} 16. Bf4 (16. Bg5 Bd4 17. Qf4 Bxe5 18. Qd2 Kf8 $15 {White managed to
activate his queen, but lacks sufficient compensation.}) 16... Qb6 $1 17. Rf1 (
17. Re2 {[%cal Rc3a4]} Be7 18. Ree1 Ba6 $17) 17... Qa5 18. Bd2 (18. Rfe1 Ba6
$17 {with queenside domination.}) 18... Qc7 19. Na4 (19. Rfe1 Bd4 20. Na4 Rh5 {
winning the e-pawn.}) 19... Bd4 20. Rbe1 c5 (20... Bxe5 $2 21. Rxe5 Nxe5 22.
Re1 f6 23. Bxg6+ Kd8 24. Bc3 Rg8 25. Rxe5 Rxg6 26. Qf4 $13) 21. b3 Rh5 22. Bc3
Bxc3 23. Nxc3 c4 24. bxc4 dxc4 25. Be2 (25. Be4 $2 Qxe5 $17) 25... Rxe5 26. Qf4
(26. Nd1 Rc5 $17) 26... g5 27. Qd2 Bb7 28. a4 (28. Bh5 $2 Ke7 29. Rxe5 Qxe5 30.
Bxf7 Qf4 31. Qxf4 gxf4 32. Bg6 Bc6 $17 {Black's pieces are very active.}) 28...
Ke7 29. Rd1 Rd8 30. Nb5 Qc5 $17 {and White has not enough compensation for the
pawn.}) (13. Bg5 $2 h4 14. Qf4 Bxg5 15. Qxg5 Rh5 16. Qf4 h3 $146 ({Taking the
pawn prematurely with} 16... Nxe5 $2 {led to an unclear position, as apart
from the annoying pin, Black has potential problems on the dark squares. 0-1
(44) Messinger,K (2028)-Poulet,P (1937) France 2011}) 17. g3 Bb7 $1 {[%cal
Rh5e5,Ge8c8] Preparing 18..Rxe5 19.Qh6 0-0-0.} (17... Rxe5 $2 18. Qh6 Rh5 19.
Qg7 Nf8 20. Na4 e5 21. Nc5 {with fighting chances}) 18. b4 {Dissuading Black
from queenside castling.} a5 19. b5 Rxe5 20. Bf1 Rc8 $17) (13. h4 $146 {
might be White's best option, but it won't bring about equality either:} Rb8 $1
{[%cal Rb8b4,Re7h4,Rb4h4,Gc7d8,Gd8h4]} 14. Nd1 {Protecting b2, so 14..Qd8
could bet met by 15.Bg5.} (14. Ne2 Rb4 (14... Nxe5 $2 15. Bf4 Bd6 16. b3 O-O
17. c4 $44 {[%cal Rc4c5]}) 15. Nf4 Nxe5 16. Nxg6 fxg6 17. Qxe5 (17. Rxe5 $2 Rg4
18. Rxh5 Rxg3 19. Rxh8+ Kd7 20. fxg3 Qxg3 21. Rh7 Kd6 22. Bd2 Bf6 23. Rf1 Bd4+
24. Kh1 Be5 25. Kg1 Qh2+ 26. Kf2 c5 27. b3 Bd7 $17) 17... Qxe5 18. Bxg6+ Kd7
19. Rxe5 Rxh4 20. Bd3 Kd6 21. Re3 Rg8 $15 {Black enjoys active pieces and
mobile centre pawns.}) 14... Ba6 $1 {Tactics at the service of strategy.} 15.
Bxa6 Qa5 16. Nc3 Qxa6 17. b3 {More solid is} Qa5 (17... Rb4 $6 18. Bf4 (18. f4
$6 {weakens a lot of squares.}) 18... Qa5 {[%cal Rb4f4,Ra5c3]} 19. Ne2 Qd8 20.
c4 Bxh4 21. Qc3 Rb7 22. Nd4 {when White might have enough compensation for the
pawn.}) 18. Bd2 Qd8 $1 19. Bg5 Bxg5 20. hxg5 O-O 21. Qe3 Qc7 22. Rad1 (22. Nb1
$6 a5 23. Nd2 (23. a4 Rb4 $15) 23... a4 $15) 22... c5 $15 {Black's advantage
isn't as big as after other 13th moves of White, but his queenside play gives
him a nice initiative.}) (13. f4 h4 {Now, the queen has to blockade Black's
wild pawn, as after} {After} 14. Qh3 (14. Qf3 $2 h3 15. g3 Bb7 16. Nd1 c5 {
the combination of a weak white kingsside and mobile black centre pawns leads
to a dangerous initiative for Black.} 17. c4 (17. b3 c4 18. bxc4 Nc5 $1 {
A nice strategic device, fighting for the control of the important e4-square.}
(18... dxc4 19. Be4 $15) 19. cxd5 Qa5 20. c3 Bxd5 21. Qe2 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 O-O $17
{[%csl Yg1]}) 17... Nb6 18. cxd5 (18. b3 dxc4 19. Be4 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 cxb3 21.
axb3 Rd8 $17) 18... c4 19. Bc2 Nxd5 (19... exd5 20. Nf2 O-O-O 21. Bd2 Kb8 22.
Ba5 Qc5 23. b4) 20. Be4 Rd8 21. Kh1 Bb4 22. Rf1 Kf8 $17 {Now, White can't
simply bring about liquidations as after} 23. Ne3 $2 Nxe3 24. Bxe3 Bxe4 25.
Qxe4 Bc5 26. Bxc5+ Qxc5 27. Rad1 (27. Rac1 Rd4 28. Qf3 Rd2 $19) 27... Rxd1 28.
Rxd1 Qf2 {he ends up being completely paralyzed.}) 14... Kf8 $15 {Black will
place his king on g7 and then embark on queenside actions based on his mobile
centre pawns, b-file play etc.}) 13... h4 $17 14. Qf4 {[#] One of the results
of White's previous move is that the queen now has to occupy a square, where
she is exposed to further attacks (g5, Rb8-b4).} Rb8 $2 {Superior was the
preparation of queenside castling, either with or without the preliminary push
h4-h3.} (14... h3 $146 15. g3 {Now, White has to worry about both weaknesses,
g2 and f3.} Bb7 16. Bb2 (16. Rb1 {[%cal Gb3b4]} g5 17. Qe3 Rg8 {[%cal Re7c5,
Rc5d4,Rd4e5] Overprotecting the g-pawn.} 18. Qe2 d4 19. Na4 Bb4 20. Bd2 Bxd2
21. Qxd2 c5 (21... Nxe5 $2 22. Qe2 Nd7 23. b4 $44) 22. Qe2 (22. Bb5 O-O-O 23.
Qe2 g4 24. b4 Rg5 25. Bxd7+ Qxd7 26. Nxc5 Qd5 27. Qe4 Rxe5 28. Qxd5 Rxe1+ 29.
Rxe1 Bxd5 30. a3 Kc7 $17) 22... g4 {[%cal Rg8g5]} 23. Nb2 Ke7 24. Nc4 Bd5 $17 {
[%cal Ga8b8,Rd5c4,Rg8g5]} 25. Nd2 (25. c3 Bxc4 26. Bxc4 Qb7 27. Qf1 dxc3 28.
Re3 Rg5 {and the e-pawn falls.} 29. Rbe1 $2 c2 {[%cal Rd7e5]}) 25... Rg5 26. f4
{In order to safe his pawn, White has to open up.} gxf3 27. Nxf3 Rg4 28. Rf1
Rag8 29. Rbe1 f5 $1 30. exf6+ Kd8 31. f7 (31. Kh1 Rf8 32. Bc4 Re4 $19) 31...
Rxg3+ 32. hxg3 Qxg3+ 33. Kh1 Rg7 34. Bc4 Qg2+ 35. Qxg2 hxg2+ 36. Kh2 gxf1=Q 37.
Rxf1 Rxf7 $19) 16... g5 17. Qe3 O-O-O 18. Qe2 Kb8 19. Na4 (19. Rab1 Rhg8 20.
Nd1 Bb4 21. c3 Be7 22. f3 g4 23. f4 Qb6+ 24. Qf2 c5 $17) 19... c5 20. Ba6 Bxa6
21. Qxa6 g4 22. Qb5+ Qb7 23. Qxb7+ Kxb7 $17 {[%cal Rh8h5,Rd8g8,Rg8g5,Rh5e5,
Rg5e5,Ge7f8,Gf8g7,Gg7e5] Obviously, the weak e-pawn is a major concern for
White.}) (14... Bb7 $146 15. h3 (15. Rb1 {Apart from poking with h4-h3, Black
can also push his g-pawn.} g5 16. Qe3 g4 17. Qe2 g3 18. Na4 gxh2+ 19. Kh1 c5
20. f3 O-O-O $17) 15... g5 16. Qe3 (16. Qd4 O-O-O 17. b4 (17. Qxa7 Bc5 18. Qa4
Nxe5 $19) 17... Qb6 {The safest play.} (17... Rdg8 $5 18. Na4 g4 19. hxg4 f6
20. Qxa7 Rxg4 $17) 18. Qxb6 axb6 {Now, Black has a super-compact structure and
rules across the entire board, e.g.} 19. Rb1 Kc7 20. a3 Ra8 21. Bb2 Rhg8 22. f3
Nf8 {[%cal Gf8g6,Gg6f4]} 23. Ne2 c5 $17) 16... g4 $1 {Playing for the beauty
price!} 17. hxg4 h3 18. gxh3 (18. Qg3 hxg2 19. Kxg2 O-O-O 20. Bf4 Qa5 21. Na4 (
21. Bd2 Rdg8 22. Rh1 Bb4 $17) 21... c5 22. Rh1 c4 23. Be2 Rdg8 24. Rag1 Nf8 $17
) 18... d4 $1 19. Qxd4 Rxh3 {[%cal Rc6c5,Rh3h1]} 20. Qf4 c5 21. Ne4 (21. Be4
Rxc3 22. f3 Nxe5 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. Qxe5 Rxf3 25. Qe4 O-O-O $19) 21... O-O-O 22.
Bb2 (22. Kg2 Rdh8 23. Bd2 Nxe5 24. Rh1 Rxh1 25. Rxh1 Rxh1 26. Kxh1 f5 $1 27.
gxf5 Nxd3 28. cxd3 Qxf4 29. Bxf4 exf5 $19) 22... f5 $1 23. gxf5 Nf6 {That's
the beauty price variation.} 24. fxe6 c4 $1 25. bxc4 (25. Re3 Rhh8 $19) 25...
Nxe4 26. Rxe4 Qb6 27. Bc3 Rf8 28. Qd2 Bc5 $19) 15. a3 $2 ({Instead of
preventing the weakening of his king's position, he induces a weakness on his
queenside, fearing Rb4. Now, it is difficult for White to play c4 and Black's
pawn thrust c5-c4 might become a topic.} 15. h3 Rb4 (15... Rh5 {leads to s
slight advantage, but is rather difficult to play over the board:} 16. Bb2 Rb4
17. Qd2 Nxe5 18. Be2 Rf5 (18... Rh7 $2 19. Nb5 $1 cxb5 20. Bxe5 $18) 19. Qh6
Kd7 $1 20. Bc1 g5 21. Be3 Qd8 $1 {[%cal Rd8g8]} 22. Qh7 (22. a3 Rbf4 $15) 22...
Qf8 23. a3 Rbf4 $1 $15) (15... a6) 16. Qh2 Rh5 17. a3 Rb8 18. Bf4 Kf8 19. Na4
Kg7 {Black has secured his king and is ready for queenside action.} 20. b4 (20.
Be2 $6 {permits a nice exchange sacrifice:} Rxe5 $1 (20... Rh8 $15) 21. Bxe5+
Nxe5 {[%cal Re7d6]} 22. Qf4 c5 23. Qd2 (23. Nc3 g5 24. Qd2 Ng6 $17) 23... Bd7
24. Nc3 Bc6 25. a4 Bf6 26. Rad1 Ba8 $17) 20... a5 21. c3 c5 22. Be2 Rh8 $15)
15... a6 {Black wants to play c5 without being molested by Nb5. He could also
have inserted 15..h3 16.g3 before, but this is not as strong anymore without
the option to follow-up with queenside castling.} 16. h3 (16. Bb2 $6 c5 $17 {
[%cal Gh4h3,Gf7f5,Gc8b7]}) (16. Na4 $6 h3 17. g3 c5 18. Bd2 Bb7 $17) {Instead
of going for the attack, Black is swallowing up the pawn.} 16... Rh5 {[#]} 17.
Qd2 $2 ({Better was} 17. Na4 Rxe5 18. Be3 c5 19. Qg4 {[%cal Ge3f4] when Black
has several options:} Nf6 $1 (19... Rxe3 20. Rxe3 e5 $15) (19... Bf6 20. Bf4 g5
21. Bh2 c4 22. Bf1 Qc6 $15) 20. Qxh4 Rh5 21. Qg3 (21. Qf4 e5 22. Qg3 Kf8 23.
Be2 (23. Bg5 Rxg5 24. Qxg5 e4 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. Bf1 Bd6 $17) 23... Ne4 24. Qh2
Rh7 25. Bd3 Nf6 $17) 21... Bd6 22. Qf3 Nd7 {Black has a promising position,
with an advantage somewhere between slight and clear.}) 17... Rxe5 18. Be2 Bb7
19. Qh6 Bf6 20. Bf4 {[#] Black doesn't mind to lose the exchange, as his
remaining dark-squared bishop will have the power of a rook.} Ke7 {[%cal Rb8h8] } 21. Bh2 (21. Bxe5 $2 Qxe5 22. Na4 Bg5 $19) 21... g5 {[%cal Rb8h8] Renewing
the threats against the queen and at the same time vacating the square g6 for
the knight.} 22. Qh7 Nf8 23. Qd3 Ng6 24. Na4 $2 {White's best chance would
have been to let go of the exchange.} (24. Bxe5 $2 Qxe5 25. Na4 Nf4 26. Qd2
Nxe2+ $19 {[%csl Ya1]}) (24. Bg4 Nf4 25. Qd2 Rg8 26. Ne2 Rxe2 27. Bxe2 Bxa1 28.
Rxa1 e5 $17) 24... c5 25. Bxe5 $2 {This means abandoning the dark squares and
leaving the board full of dominant black pieces. Better was} (25. b4 c4 26. Qd2
Nf4 27. Bf3 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 Rd8 29. Nc5 Bc8 30. Bg4 Kf8 {when Black should be
winning with his extra pawn.}) 25... Nxe5 $19 {[%csl Ya1,Ya4,Gb7,Gc7,Ge5,Gf6,
Yg1][%cal Gc7h2,Gb7g2,Rg5g4,Rb8g8,Gf6a1] [#] Black's total dominance,
additionally fueled by the offside white knight, allows him to finish his
opponent off in a direct attack.} 26. Qd1 d4 27. Bd3 (27. Nb2 Rg8 28. f3 (28.
Nd3 g4 29. Bxg4 Qc6 30. f3 Nxg4 31. hxg4 Rxg4 $19) 28... d3 $1 {Using the
energy of the Bf6.} 29. Nxd3 (29. cxd3 Ng4 30. hxg4 Bd4+ 31. Kh1 Qg3 32. Bf1 h3
{with mate in 5.}) 29... Nxd3 30. Qxd3 Bd4+ 31. Kh1 Qg3 $19 {[%cal Gd4e5,Rg5g4] } 32. Bf1 g4 33. hxg4 (33. fxg4 Qf2 $19) 33... h3 $19 {, delivering mate in 9.}
) 27... Rg8 28. Bh7 (28. f3 $2 Nxf3+ $19 {[%cal Gc7g3]}) 28... Rg7 29. Be4 g4
30. Kh1 {[%cal Ra4c5]} c4 31. Nc5 gxh3 32. gxh3 (32. Bxb7 $2 Ng4 $19) (32. Nxb7
$2 Ng4 $19) 32... Qxc5 33. Bxb7 cxb3 34. cxb3 Qc3 $1 {Making full use of
White's weak third rank and forcing the a new weakness on g3.} 35. f3 (35. Bg2
Nd3 36. Rf1 Rxg2 37. Kxg2 Nf4+ 38. Kg1 Qxh3 $19) 35... Qc7 {[#] 0-1 (35)
Warzecha,H (1968)-Ebert,J (2156) GER email 2013} (35... Qc7 36. Be4 Rg3 37. Qc2
Rxh3+ 38. Kg2 Rg3+ 39. Kh1 Qxc2 40. Bxc2 d3 $19 {[%csl Ya1,Ye1,Yf3][%cal Re5f3] }) *

 

 

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