Alexander Kotov - Train Like a Grandmaster.PDF

THECLUBPLAYER'SLIBRARY Trainlikea Grandmaster ALEXANDERKOTOV Translatedby BernardCafferty B.T. BatsfordLtd, London

Firstpubtished1981 Reprinted1984,1986,1990 @AlexanderKotov,1981 ISBN0 713436093 (limp) Typesetby W.Turner& SonLimited, Halifax andPrintedinGreatBritainby Billing& SonsLtd,Worcester forthepublishers B.T.BatsfordLimited 4 FitzhardingeStreet,LondonW1HOAH A BATSFORDCHESSBOOK Adviser:GMR.D.KeeneOBE TechnicalEditor:lanKingston Contents SymbolsandAcknowledgements Preface 1 A littlehistory 2 HowtheOpeningisStudied 3 ObjectivityintheEnding 4 Competitiveor CreativeElement? 5 StudyingtheMiddleGame 6 AnnotatingGames 7 A Philosophyof Chess 8 Schoolsof Chess 9 Botvinnik'sChessSchool 10 Kart'sChessSchool 11 Karseladze'sChessSchool 12 Withouta School 6 7 9 1' ] 24 z a 4 1 63 68 70 84 102 1 1 2 1 1 7

_=!l-F'-F_ Preface + t l ; ?? B Symbols Check Goodmove Verystrongmove Doubtfulmove Blunder Whiteto move Blackto move Acknowledgements NOTE:Someminor correctionsweremadeto the text at editonat sf€ge- R.G.W. 'Whata strangestateof aifairsyou havein chessnowadays; remarkedafriendof mine.Hedoesnotknowthefinerpointsofthe KingsIndianDefence,but he takesnote of all the resultsof tournamentsandmatches. 'Whatdoyouhavein mind?' 'AlmosteveryVeartherearereportsabouttheemergenceoTa newoutstandingchesstalent.In Moscow,Britain,Yugoslavia,the USAl'lt'sthenaturalprogressionof thegenerationsl 'Progression!YetintheCandidates'Matchesfor overa decade theeig6tchallengersfortheworldtitlehavealmostalwaysbeenthe selfsame 'oldmen" 'WhataboutKarpov?' 'Karpovhasbeenchampionforfiveyearsalready.Wherearethe otheryoungtalents?Comparedto theCandidates'seriesof 1965 theaverageageof thechallengersinthe 1980serieshasgoneup byalmosttwoyears.Thereisnochallengeryoungerthanthirty,yet o; theotherhandTigranPetrosianisalreadyfifty-one,andsomeof theothersaregettingcloseto theirhalfcentury.. . ' 'lt sometimeshaPPensthatway 'sometimeslThenagainYefimGellerat the age of fifty-four outplaysalltheyoungmenandtakesthegoldmedalinthe 1979 SovietChamoionship- anotherexampleto youthi We discussedthistopic.andlaterIreflecteda greatdealtryingto answera questionwhichtroublesthechessorganisationsof many countries.AecentlyinMoscowtherewasa gatheringof experienced grandmastersand young talentedplayers.Therewere notesof alarmsoundedin the speechesof famouschessexpertssucfias grandmastersSmyslov,Polugayevsky,Taimanovand-othersEven 5arlier,seriousclaimswereexpressedinanarticleby PetrosianWe shallgetto knowhisinterestingthoughtslater,but herewe can givea resum6:'lt iseasyto playagainsttheyoungplayers;lor me theyareanopenbooki What arethe reasonsfor theslowingdown in thedevelopment

-.-....-tr- I Preface of younggrandmastersbothin our countryand in others?The authorcameto theconclusionthatan answercanonlvbe oiven aftera carefulanalysisofthepresentstateofchesstheory.Ho-wdo we play?Whatisthefoundationof modernchess?Whatplavsthe leadingroleinourcreativeefforts?Whatarethechiefprinciplesof modernchesstheory? My latefriendandtrainer,grandmasterSimagin,usedto stress theneedto discussthephilosophyof presentdavchess,howfor example\^€regardtheadvantageof Whjtemovingfirst,whatare themainguidelinesforourresearchwork. Theauthorhastoovercomesomediffidenceintacklinothismost difficulttopic,in tryingto filla gapleftby theoreticians:I console myselfwiththethoughtthatthetravellerwho penetratesthethick forestmayhavea sadfate,butnoworsethanthatoftheirresolute whohesitateatthefirstclearing Inexaminingthecurrentstateof chesstheauthorhasnochoice butto copewithanothertask- to talkaboutmodernmethodsof chesscoaching,and naturallyof the modernSovietSchoolof Chess.lt canhardlybedeniedthatmodernchessistoaconsiderable extentSovietchess.Bya carefulexaminationof chesscoachinqin theUSSRtheWesternplayercanlearna lot,anduseit inhisoiwn attemptsto improve.For examplehow usefulit is to become famlliarwiththeorganisationandteachingmethodsof Botvinnik's famousschool,theSovietTVschoolandothers. Thuswe getthemainaimof thisbook: To describethe featuresof the modernattitudeto chess,as largelyworked out by the SovietSchool,to try and revealtne philosophyof modernchess,andto indicatehowchessisstudiedrn thestrongestof theSchoolsof Chess- theSovietSchool. lnthelightofthistheauthorhasdividedthebookintotwo basrc parts: 1 How chesstheory is studied. 2 Chessschoolsin the Soviet Union. 1 A littlehistory Chessplayerswhodevotetheirtimeto thegreatandancientgame can be dividedintotwo basiccategories.Thefirstsimplyplayin tournamentsappropnateto theirstrength.Thesecondtry to find somephilosophicalsenseinchess,to createchesstheory,whichin our dayshasbecomea genuinescience.Thefirstbecomeworld championsand leadinggrandmasters,the winnersof top tour- naments.Thesecondwritebooksonthetheoryofthethreestages ofthegame.Sometimesleadirigfigurescombinebothactivitiesand thenwe getanoutstandingpersonintheworldof chess. Thefirstguidingprinciplesof chesstheorywerediscoveredby the inventorsof openingsandgambits.Amongsttheseprinciples the bestestablishedis the simplestone: bringout your pieces quickly,seizefie centreand go for theenemykingwithallyour forces.Such'blitzkrieg'aimsareservedby the EvansGambit,the DanishGambit,theKingsGambitandothers.Evennowadaysthe seizureof thecentreandspeedypiecedevelopmentarea corner- stoneof modernstrategy. And16Philidordrewattentionto yetanotherimportantpostulate 'Thepawnisthesoulofchess'hestated,andeverybodyconcurred indevotingcarefulstudyto pawnchains,theisolatedcentrepawn andtheweaknessof a groupof pawns. A significantevent in the developmentof theorywas the teachingof WilhelmSteinitzwith his stresson avoidingweak squares,the accumulationof temporary.slightadvantagesand their transformationinto permanentones.With the arrivalof Steinitztheorybecamea realforce;hewastheonewhooriginated thescientrficaooroachto chesswhichisnowsowelldeveloped. The proponentsof Steinitz'stheory - Tarraschand his supporters- triedto expressSteinitz'steachingin the form of laconicrules,andasoftenhappensinsuchcases,theywenttoofar. Thelaconictendedto becomedogmatic,andchessbeganto lose itsfreshness,originalityandcharm. Theyoungof thattimeroseupagainstthis.Intheearlypartof the20thcenturyNimzowitschandR6tiintheirpolemicbooksand

10 A littlehistory articlesandAlekhinein hispracticalplaystartedpropagandising moreandmorethecreativeprinciplesto befoundevenearlierin thegamesof Chigorin.Theirmainpostulateswere:Getawayfrom dogma,playinventively,evenoriginally,andasBlackdo notgofor equality,astheTarraschschooltaught,butfromthefirstmovestry to createyourownplanof counterplay.Theseaims,animmediate counterattackby piecesona seeminglyimpregnablepawncentre, wereservedby the inventionof theiropenings- the Alekhine Defence,theGr0nfeldDefence,the NimzowitschDefenceandso on. Morethanhalfa centuryhasgoneby sincetheappearanceof R6ti'sModernldeasin Chessand Nimzowitsch'sMy Systemin whichtheprinciplesof theseinnovatorsarelaiddown(theycalled themselvesthehypermoderns).Sincethenchesshasgrownintoa massively-popularartandthenumberofchessbooksandmagazines inthevariouslanguagesof theworldcannotbecounted.Yetyou will lookin vainon the bookshelvesfor a work devotedto qeneral questionsof chessdevelopment.for an accountof thd main postulatesof modernchessthought.The bookshelvesare piled highinsteadwith bookson the openings,tournamentbooksand biographiesof thegreatplayers. Inthisbookwe try to dealwitha numberof importantpointsof modernchesstheory.What is chessnowadays?How is theory studiedbya leadingschool?Howaremodernviewsonthisancient gameformed?Thereaderwillalsolearnhowa generaltheoryof chessdevelopsandhowthetheoryof thethreestagesof thegame isstudiedintheSovietUnion. 2 Howthe Openingis Studied Howdo presentdaygrandmastersplaythefirststageof thegame? What principlesdo theyfollow?lf we cananswerthesequestlons we shallmakerealprogressin understandingallmoderntheory. Firstof alltheadvantageof thefirstmove-Chessexpertswho seemtoallegethatWhitehasnoadvanbgeintheinitialpositionare wrong.Eveninquick-movingsportsthestartingsidenearlyalwavs hass6meadvantage,evenif veryslight- forexampletherightto serveat tennis,or to bullyoff in hockey.In chesslt ls always preferableto be White.The questionthen ariseswhat sort.of strategicplanBlackshouldchoosein anattemptto neutrallsethe rightto movefirstandto seizetheinitiative."lt standsto reasonthatthemethodsof playforWhiteandBlack in the initialoositionare different,so we shallconsiderthem separately. White Threemaincurrentsofthoughtmaybedistinguishedinthemlnd of a moderngrandmasterplayingWhiteina tournament-.game: 1)Themethodof quietmaintenanceoftheadvantageol lrrstmove 2) Themethodof theswiftstrike. 3) Themethodof the'coiledspring: 1) Incaseswhena grandmasterdoesnothaveto winatallcostshe tendsto avoidsharalinesintheopeningandsticksio clearsensible lines.Thismethodisalsoadoptedwhentheopponentisa definite protagonistof sharpplayand it is advantageousto'keephim in check: Thecharacteristicsof quletplayareobvious- pawnexcnanges' theformationof rigidpawnstructures.White'saimissimple- the maintenanceof th-oseadmittedlysllghtbenefitsconferredby the natureof chessin beingWhite.lam notaimingfortoomuch,but whatI haveI holdisWhite'smottoast were Examplesof suchplaywith Whitearemanyformationsof the CarlsbadvariationofiheOueen'sGambitDeclined(Diagram1),the

12 How the Openingis Studied SlavDefence,theCaro-Kannandsoon. It ispeacefulinthecentre,comparatjvelypeacefulon theflanks. Thesmoothnessof thepawnchains,thelimitedavailabiliwof open lines.theabsenceof a directclashisevident: Sucha methodof playcomesfromthe previouscentury,and onemightmakethemusicalcomparisonthatsuchpositionsarenot theshakeandthetwist,butratherthemonotonouswaltz,or even theminuetof chess. 2) A sharpcomparisonis providedby the methodof the swift strike,of brisk'cavalryraidslThismethodtoowaswidelvadopted in the olddays,andkeepsitsplacenowadays.Who willexpress surprisenowadaysatthesharppawnadvanceg2-94-g5andeven onto 96?lt occursintheSicilianDefence1e4 c5 2 lf3 d6 3 d4 cd 4 axd4lf6 5 lc3 e66 s4!? White 13 hereisapparentsiucejustotreincautiouspawnadvanceby Black atrdWhite'spieceswilluncoilwithgreatforceandinflictdamageon theerremy. Examinethegamesof recelttyears.Youwillfindapparentslow playby White in a Kingslrldianopenlrlg. 3 Yet this slownessis deceptive,sinceWhite'sbunchedpieces oftenunrollanddeveloparlactivitythatcanbringWhitearrearly win.Orrecanoulyadvisethereaderto beparticularlycarefulwhen hisopponentdevelopshisforcesalongthelirresofacoiledspring.' Black Theadvantageof thefirstmoveby hisopponentforcesBlackto adoptratherdifferentapproachesto theopening.Onedistrllguishes in modernpraxisthreemethodsfor Black. 1)Playforequality. 2) Themethodof carryingoutanirldeper]derltplarr' 3) Thecoiledspringmethod. '1 ) We havealreadynoted that ill the oldendaysWhite often proceededquietlystrivirrgto maitrtainthe advantageof the move Blackinthosedaysusedto matroeuvrejustascalmlytryingto keep it level.Thisancientmethodisappliedtodaytooatthehighestlevel. ThisiseasilyunderstandablesinceBlackdoesnothaveto gofor a win ineverygame,oftenbeirrgsatisfiedwith a draw.lrlsuchcases one hastheOGOwitn Capablallca'ssimplifyingmanoeuwe( . ' d5Xc4and Af6-d5)or Lasker'sDefenceinthesameopenrtrg The samepurposetendsto be servedby the Oueensh.ldian Havewe notseensuchearlystrikesIngamesby Botvinnikinthe Carlsbadvariationof theOGDandintheCaro-Kann?Othertvpical attemptsto breachthedefensiverampartsatanearlystagearethe bishopsacrificeAflXb5 in theSicilianandvariousintuitivekniqht sacrificesin thesameopeningsuchasAc3-d5or {d4J5 (witha blackpawnate6). 3) Sometimesgrandmasterswilldecideto avoidthedeeplv-studied booklinesby usinga methodthatremindsoneof a coiledsprrng. Theymakejust one pawnadvanceto the centrefianchettothe bishopsandallowthe opponentto occupythe centre.Thecalm ' TranslatorsNate; PetrosEnPachman,Bled 1961 is a partcularly slnKrnaelar|ple I ff 3 c5 2 93 - c6 3 Jg2 96 a O O-gq7 5d3e6 6e4 Aqe77 Ee I GO8e5d6 9ed gra6 to )boz{9cl'1rrb3rld4?12-U1&bq tg , e5 lo3 la lc4l gb5 15dba5 6 Ad6 5ft17 t!43 &a7 lseedtaaam/ 18 He4 t18 s1'6+ r' gxt6-r9 ae5- €)g5 20 Ag/ lorces ;atc) 18 :ldg '9 gt '{6+r g'f6 20 Aes+ gss 21As71o. "'/z.xg,E t2 ',.& 2t"'../1,'.:L2.,7i/Z t ''&. t "ilat& % "&t ^&a%i.,x % '"&t% 2"'.2'ut'//h 7 %t%6ru t'&ft' /&a i"/&, 2 7 t z tui 2 ?) Jl //al t7:.,'1,11 ',:1.:aa. 2,)."<( 2) A A

14 How the Openingis Studied Defencetoo. Suchopeninglinesarealsousedfor psychologicalreasons.lf our opponentisa confirmedsupporterof combinationalattacksartdis easilyinducedto go irrfordubioussacrificesit paysto givehimthe opportunityto attackformationssosoundthathewillstubhistoe againstthem.Sucha methodhasalwaysbeenadvisableandwill continueto beso. 2) Thismethodwasfirstadoptedby Chigorin,developedby the hypermodernsandhaslostitsairof noveltysowidelyisit practiced nowadays.Blacksimplypays no attentiollto the advantage conferredby themoveanddoesnotstriveto equalise. Hisobjectiveisto carryout hisown planof activeplayby his piecesand force hisopponentto adoptmeasuresto repulsethe threatssogenerated.Thisin itselfshouldtakecareof theproblem ofequalising.Thepopularityof themethodamor'rgstcontemporary grandmastersis explainedby psychologicalconsiderations:Black getsout of beirrgunderconstraint,actsindependentlyand can partlyigrrorewhat hisopponentis doing.Suchindependenceis highlyvaluedinmodernchess. Moderrrtheorynotestwo typesof independentplan.Thefirstis to counter-attackWhite'spawncentreasinthe GrunfeldDeferrce, theAlekhineDeferrce.theNimzo-lrrdianandsoor'r.Thesecondisto work indeoerrdentlvorrthe flankand is bestseenirrthe Siciliarr Defence,especiallywhenBlackgoes. . . a6arrd. . . b5,andinthe ModernBenorriDefencewherethe samemovesirrvolvea pawn sacrificeby Blackirrthe BenkoGambitarrdthe Benoni.Such featuresareseenin Diagrams5 and6. 3) lf the coiledspringmethodbringsbenefitto Whitethenthis ratherequivocalmethodcan buildup poterrtialenergyfor Black too.lt canbesuccessful,buttherisksinvolvedhaveto beclearly bonreinmind. By goinginfor volunbrypassiVtyin thehopeof a subsequent counter-strokeBlackmayexceedthe boundsof the feasibleand firrishupirra crampedpositionwithnoremedyfor thecramp.One Black 15 shouldnotethatthismethodis mosttrequerrtlyadoptedby the playersof theoldergerreratiorr.Theyareexperiencedarrdcareful and do not go beyondthe linebety/eenvoluntaryand forced passivity.Alsothismethodisoftencausedbytheirlackoffamiliarity with 'theverylatestword intheoryl Openingsof thissortarethevariousformsof thePircDefence, arrdthe KingsIndianDeferrceinvolvingthewingplay. . a6, c 6 , . . . E a b S a n d .. b 5 . Thenexttwo diagramsshowtypicalsituationswhichthenarise. Letusmoveonto openingquestionsfromanotherpointof view andin particularhowopeningsarestudiedintheSovietUnion. Thisworkinvolvesexperiencedplayers,andthroughthenetwork of magazinesbringsintheordinaryplayertoointhesearchfor new moves,newsystems,newideas. Thesearchfor rrewmoveshasalwaysbeengoingon, when preparingfor games,at the board,in mutualar.lalysiswith the opponentafterthegamearrdirrsubsequerrtanalysisat home.lt is oftenthecasethata movelongheldto bestrongestislaterrelected infavourofanother.Thisisa processthathasnoerrd,anirrevitable processirrtheongoingdevelopmentof chesstheory. Theory.however,contair'lsmanyvariationsin whichthe initial moveshavebeencheckedthroughso frequentlythatit hasbeen shown that deviationsat the earlierstagesare definitelynot advar.rtageous.Asa resulttheywillbeplayedoutwithmachinegun -likespeedin grandmastergames.Forexamplesomevariationsof &t % % 'w % i t % &,4 ^ & % % % t,t<. ru I '/l:,,t t 7 :,/.1,, + "'/l:z;"'//./lt i , 6"..&,ft& ta./:fr"'//// q l t "/l /.N. ",iy. .././Z /../,i, + i 7t 7 &t-I 7t * 7 /,&, zt t 7 7 tt<. ffifr 7.4t /lz & t7#. q.xi %, 2 fr% vzt %iry t % %^ru,

- 16 How theOpning is Studied theChigorinsystemfor Blackin the RuyLopez,andof theooen systemof defence(5 AXe4) havebeerrworkedout almost twentvmovesdeeo. Therearesimilarlonglinesinthe8 . . . gXb2 PoisonedPawn lineof the NajdorfdefenceirrtheSicilian(seediagram14),andin thePanov-BotvinnikAtbckagainsttheCaro-Kann. Letustakeauexampleof thedevelopmentof a longfoicingline intheSiciliarrDefence. After1e4c52lf3d63d4cxd44lxd4 lf6 5 Nc3 a66 AS5 e6 7 f4, Polugayevskysuggestedthe move7 ... b5. The ramificationsof thelinehavebeenworkedout irrdepthandhave Iedto theadoptionof thenamethePolugayevskyVariation.Infact thereisan immenseamountof literatureon thesubjectcoveritrg variousbooksandmanymagazirrearticles Themainline,ofcourse,arisesfromtheenerqeticcorrtinuatlong e5 de 9 fe arrdrrowtheflextblecourrter9 . 8c7 Variousattemptshavebeenmadeat the hiqhestlevelto refute Black'srisky-lookingplay.10 lf3 was triedlwhen Btackoets sat,sfactoryplay by 10 . . . b4. After that most attentionivas devotedto Simagin'smove1O$e2 andfora lor.lgtimeitwasheto thatthiswasWhite'sstrongestcolttinuatiot.r. lr'rvariouseventsWhitetendedto scorequickwirrswrththisand otherlitlesinvolving10ef,butfromtimeto timethesupportersof the variationas Blackshowedthatthe suggestedimprovements werenot too formidablefor White.Theprocessof r*assessment carried.or'twithitremainingur.tclearwhatwasWhite,sbest. _rnetaresrdevetopmentscamein 1979.IntheUSSRSpartakiad of thatyearthe questionof firstplacewasdecidedin the match betweenthe Ukraineandthe RSFSR.polugayevskyadoptedhis lrneexpectinghis opponentBelyavskyto adopt 10 $e2, but insteadthegrandmasterfromLvovcontirrued1Oef *eS 1I Ae2 5tXgS 12 O-OEe5 andrrow13 Af3. ., 'Thismoveandthesubsequentplanwasspeciallypreparedfor lhegamewith Polugayevsky'writesBelyavsky.Theqamewenton 13.. . ..i"9.1 14 €h1 E,xf6 1s )e4 E/e7 t6 -AfsS O-O17 ?_)xtl! and Whttereafisedhis positiorraladvantagewithouttoo muchtrouble. leter_thatyearPolugayevskyot]ceagainadoptedhisvariation againstGrL.infeldintheRigalnterzonal.Hewasexpecting€ newline lromnrsopponer'tt,butgotinfirstwithhisowninuovationinvolvino a remarkabletacticalstrokefoundbythelvloscowgrandmasterii thequietof hisstudy. The gamewent 10 8e2 6fd7 11 O-GO4\c6 12 4txc6 ts_x":919E{g h614Ah4 Ab7 151f,e2s'c716trhef)cs17 €rh3 b4 18 Ab5!7 Thismovemeetswith a refutationof thesortthatcanbefound Black | 7 onlvaftermarryhoursof studyStrikingplaynowfollows: 18 . . . ab! 19 Axbs+ A-cG20 9f3 20 ... ab3+l! A phetromenalblow.21 cbAxbs withcheck leavesBlac[apieceupsoGr0rrfeldpreferredto movehiskingwith thesequel21 &b1 6a5 22 Ed4 trc823 [ed1 9524$xc5+ gxc6 25 gd3 Ae7 26 Qel O-OandBlack'sextrapiecesoonled to a win. Thegrandeurof Polugayevsky'scotlceptbecomesappaTerltr11 theline;hich hepointedoutstraightawayafterthegame:2 1 ab Ha1+ 22 €d2 g'd7+ 23 Se3 ScS+ 2a @14g5+ 25 €g3 I xat tl tne ontyhove,every'thingellelosing.asth-e!e1*)r.can 8'n""itor"himseli26 Axco Ex;1 27 AxdT+ €i8 28 gf6 He3+29&12E xe5t3o €743[e3+ 31€f2 trea+ 32€g3 Ad6+ 33€h3 Er.ha T9]9- /o Youmustconcedethatthisisa fineexampleof themethodof studyingan openingby mearrsof everdeeperpetletration-irrto forcino"lines.ihis exampleshowsthe greatpracticalbeneiitof prepa;ngbeforea tournamerrt,or justbeforea gameTherearea nrmb"t 6f casesitrchesshistoryof a gamebeitrgwotrwithoutany realplay.Theresearcheramazedhisoppoller]twlth a newmove ai',a*oi withit.Thisiseasilyurrderstoodpsychologicallysirrcethe effectof arrurrexpectedir]r'lovatiorrintheopeningiswellknown' io*"u"r suchatrapproachto theopeninghasitsnegativeside too. Thefrequerttuseof forcinglir'lesbecomeskrlowrrto vour oDDoner]ts.Thev remember yoLl' favourite lilles alld rll tnelT ttlrr'l prepare convincing rejortrders.As a result the hunter ot today may 'rlztlft t %'r& 7 7:r.. 7)87../lz' 2 t 7/,; ',,:& .//,1 n 7/:AA5 ;/L; 7//.::, 7r,/:,' t7/t i "'/..ttt '',.1t 7,2,,1 ...& * './.N

18 How the Openingis Studied wellbecomethepreyoftomorrow.arrdVoumavfallvictimto such a lightningstrokeasyouhavebeenaccustomedto w ] bv. Sotheplayerwho goesin for forcingvarrationshasto bebotd andconfidentin himself,andmostof allmustconstantlyworkat theory.Therearesuchplayerswho havecontributedmanylinesto the Ruy Lopez,the Slav Defence.the TarraschDefence,tne Oueen'sGambitAccepted,the King'sIndianDefer]ceand other open[]gs. As eachtourrramentgoesby theselinesbecomemorecompli- cated,and likean oil drillborirrgeverdeeperintothe geological stratachessthoughtpenetrateseverdeeperinto the unknowr]. Suchstudy,we r]ote,is|rotrrew.Onceagainwe havetakenit over fromgreatfiguresof thepast,o'tlytheiranalysesdealtwithother openingssuchastheGiuocoPiarroandtheKinq'sGambit. Byanalogywiththelinesjustdescribedthere-aremanvstandard positionsknownwhichdo rrotarisefromforcingvariationsbutinto which the modernplayerwill regularlyentei withoutany real thought.Examplesare the nexttwo diagramsarisingfrom the NimzelndianandKing'slndianDefences. _ Thesepositionsaretakerrasthe startingpointby theoreticians for theirfurtherresearches.Thereare qiriiea numberof such positions(tabiyato usetheArabwordto describethemjr.tat.lcient chess-_'battle array').For example.one may quotevarious positionsfromtheChrgorinSystemintheRuyLopez(13),ot the l-OlSOlledPawr] Variatior]in the Sicrlian/ /4/. Black t9 gc2 d5 variationirrtheNimzo-lndianDeferrce//6/. c5 2 b3 Af6 3 Ab2 g6? 1 7 Oftengrandmastergameswillreachsuchpositionsafterotrlya few mirrulesplayandthenthe playerswillsettledownfor a long think.Sometimesthereisa jokemadeto thejudgethatheshould setupthepositiorrotrtheboardwithoutfurtheradoastheactual startingpointof thegame. lf we concedethatthethreemethodsof playintheopelllllgwere employedas earlyas the 19th centurythe methodof looking forwardfromtheopeningto plansconnectedwithmiddlegameor evenendgamestagesmust be consideredan irrventionof the presenttime. Themoderrrgrar.tdmasterdoesnotconfinehimselfto tryingfora goodbuild-upin theopening,hisfar-seeingglancelooksforward fntothemiddlegameatrdeventheending.Inplantringthelayoutof piecesandpawrisheanticipateshisactionsinthelaterstageso{the oame.- Tolookrightto theendingfromtheoperrirrgmustbecollsidered a rare phenomenon.Thereis Tarrasch'swell klrownaphorlsm 'betweenopeningarrdendingthe godshavemadethe middle game:Yettheenvisagingoftheendirrgatsucharlearlystagemust surelybea methodof thefuturewherltechrriqueascendsto a new levelofachievementarrdthemindofa grandmasterbecomesmore developedandfarreaching.We canalreadyquotesomeexamples of thisforesightlookingtowardstheelrding. ln Karpov-Browne,SanAntonio,1972andafterthemoves1 c4 t o1 5 1 1 14I J ....fr ';l 7 l! 7:.2;.; ,t..,ttt^ t /1,2., a.&'tlV 't;l: 2 t E,AAg. '&,t':e, 7,2. ,'..,/. 7t 7ti"'.&ft':&, "//,,, ' ^t&Wz t*h7zt/,L 7t7l,,t'fi,'a/t 77tz,7. '/tt 7z::t-'/fu,a7t7.''/zl 71.2826''//,.. t',&.t'l& ,&ft'/t"'/t:;l ib\7../.2,?H /2i % i x ,.2 &^./z 7,,.rr& 2 f t # . A ',.& "'.& %t ftl&t7 %t7t a2 /z 7,4&fr waltHrg, t 2 %. /&. - '. -J!-..////./. .zE ,'''/..,/.'g /&t'Lt t;...,,.''L, A ".::.,:.''L, A '.., i.* '1 ./t ""/:/,..&ft/r '/./,12 "." ,& z\7r.tfr ft.fu.A.,:.,:..ftft/:..2: t7z'xt a,l, 72, 7:,, t&. % %2, /,/lt 7L::'/.ft.ft 77,,, /& + 7.:/ or the star]dardmainlineposition r the Caro-Kar'l')(15). or the 4

20 How the Opening is Studied Whiteunexpectedlyplayed4 AXf6 ef. How canoneexplainthe excnangeot what is normallya strong bishopfor a kniqht?The calculationis simpte:White gets totai control *"; Jb %;i; ."" :l?lt1".l use€g-srde pawnsuperiorityin the ending.By accurate l]:y_ T: 9oT'nS. wortd champion managed to expioit these c','t"l'?:i[:3]'8?;l:%i3E::?;,o,'f.*K,g??Aji3 l^9Fd2 sas 14f,fdl EabsG aas sxuzTe n'x-dz-anovvnrTewoft the endgamewjthouttoo muchtrouble. .A srgntftcar]tgame is petrosian-Botvinnikfrom the 1963 world titlematch.After1 c4 962 d4 -_Af63 lc3 aSa-afg Hgi7'!"e3 9^o9 ;.".2 dc 7 [x {4 c5 8 d5 e6,WhitewentE a;gl jr +1O€)Ydl Axe6 t 1 A xe6fe. Black Sincethat timethe keypositrorl,mostoftenarisil'lgfrom the EnglishOperring,hasbeenstudiediniensivelyby Sovietplayers, followingBotvinnik'sadvice,who alsosoughtthebestmethodof playagainstthe pawn'cliff'inthe cerltre.Thebestmethodis to underminethemostformidableofthepawns- theoneate4(eb). KotovFurman,USSRCh 1948went1 c4 6)t6 2 Nc.3c5 3 93 d5 4 cd AxdS 5 Ag2 4lba 6 Af3 6c6 7 O-Oe5 8 d3 Se7 9 Ad2 hd4 10 Ac4 f6 18 2 1 Petrosianrelatesthat in preparrngthts posittorrwjih,, 1"."-,",, ,c,orer urdLrr IJrepaTllgrnts posltror.twlth his trainer tney assessedthe diagrampositiorras 'atmost *on, noi"in" l:ll9:*R:l:"1,lyl*If,. "b.^vr.ishd"d; "6,.;;;irnuij"X'il lrot one practrceWhireexptctedthesptittrrrisot Er"cii;;;;;;;i;"il;"" null y"gf rhlstimeasWhrieagairsittl;ent"arbo) lU-r the board rourrda,rdthe oawn lormatrarr,,Iuoll !h-e_?oardroundard t6epawnto.ry.tat,or.risrder,:rcat.Here rslands. - , On" T.r.l. note that if playingfor a.wirrg pawn superiorityoccurredinthepast- rnoartjcutirEm.Laskei;;; i" J;;;,g"onc6 irrtheBuyLopezInordertogetan"*ti" p.*n i,'lir.r"Eilsiae Il^lT.:']_d]iq - yet ptayingfor rneopponer.rtto have,jstands, rscreaflya productof ourdavs. _-Playingthe,openingwiththemiddlegamein mindisa powerfulweaponin the handsof moderngiandmasters.Tne ieadingrepres€ntativesof thescientificplanniigstyle,.r"i "rr, Loi)ii,.rrand Karpov,havedemonstratedimpr:essiveu"urpf". ?".ranstrategy. ,^-?_o^Y1ll |I ""lu oJten,bothasWhiteandBtack.usedthe oawrrTormatror'tseerrirrhisgamewithLisitsinintheVosco* l,ltenia[i,,raftounramer'rtoI 1935.-(/9) - ,Withmanouevresclearlyplanneol.t advancehe exploitedthis :9y.:ill1g";Jh9fthestratesywasrepeatedintnu.are JuJniJrir.l" arrdrrowl 1 f4! underminirrgthecentre.After11 . . ef 12 gf 0-0 13 a3 Aec6 14 e3 Adfs 15 Ads+ Whitehadfullcontrolofthe cer'rtre. Onecanfindmatrysuchexamplesof theopenirrg/middlegame linkin Botvinnik'sgames,andthesameappliesto KarpovThusin theRuvLooezhehasoftenscoredcomparativelyeasyvictoriesby thesameplanof suffocatingtheoppolrentorrbothflanksandinthe cer'rtre. lam often askedorr my travelsto differentcour'ltrleshow operringsarestudiedintheSovietUtrionatrdwhetherit istruethat compuiersareusedin systematisingresearchor.lopenir.lgsThen againlam oftenposedthequestion,howmatrycard-indexfileson operrirrgsthereareintheUSSR. lcan saystraightawaythat the irrformationon whichthese questior'rsare based is exaggerated.We do not yet have, unfortur]ately,anyopenit'tgcomputers.Thereisa cardirrdexir'lthe CentralChessClubinMoscow,butitsscope,to mymind,isclearly inadequate. a&, xt'"'/t:'.'..,./;rL.Zt ./t .,fr & ,/ Lz) A, .4i + J & .4t t & i ffii'./t ? 2 ,:/,, + + ,/t&lL Hr;.: t../.&, 7 7/2 I \ A N d& glt &a 2 2 t JI'/l/z t tl 't + t A r"/./z/lr:.t,8t 7tfu"..rt7/'//tttt" a r a , t f . t t t't",.//,/,r. "'t/'/t' 7r/,,,' ,r.&. '"'/:a.., .,.,& TI ^ 7:2,, n '/,/r.'t i 2 7 "t'./r.t .,.i :AAx, \ A ,.fu '"'/:.,t', too Botv I trkwon elegar]ly.

- 22 How theOpeningis Studied The study_ofopeningsin the USSBis mainlyan indjviduar undenakrng.Wepublishvariousmonographsolrindividualopenrngs andmaltymagazineartjcles,yetthem-airr 'reservoir ot innovations. rsstrlll(eptsecret- jn [-e homesof the leadjnqqrandmasters. Theseinnovationsarediscoveredin therrhomei"i"ir.f, .nJ "t trajningget-togethers.Sometimestheyarethe discoveiyof one man,sometimesof a orouo. . Corrstderablehelpi"sgivenby the hundredsof thousandsof chesstanswhosendthetrideastoa chessmagazineor stratqhttoagrandmaster.Sometimesthesediscovenesa"reremartaUiS.ifrrs for a.longtimetheknightsacrificemadeUVAfetfrinein nriieturn matchwtthEuwe,1937,wasconsideredto becorrect:_1 d4 ds 2 c4 c6 3 lc3 dc 4 e4 e5 S Axc4 ed S at3. -- Howdo grandmastersandmastersstudyopenings?Howmany ^.ot inotan-dsvstemsdoesoneneedto know?Thisremindsmeof irio.ais"outesoi my studentdayswhen the samequestionwas ooieAiUout our professiotralstudies.Thefinalconclusionis the Ine oorro*eo from the wisdomof old - 'You haveto know Jverythingaboutsomething,anda littleabouteverythinglApplied io tnesst-nisaOvicemeansihatyouhaveto knoweverythingabout if'Jopeningswhichyouaregoingto useregularlv,andalsoknow ii.i"qbnetriioeatbehrndallt6eopeningsOnehasto bearin mtnd inat"praxiscancomeupwithsomestrangethings,andyoucannot ouaranteethatyouwillnotsuddenlycomeupagalnstanopenlng ihatyouhavergnoredandnotstudied. Thatleadingluthority Botvinnikhaswritten'Everygreatmaster willfind it usefulto havehisown theoryon theopenings,which onlyhehimselfknows,a theorywhichiscloselylinkedwith plans forthemiddlegame: Black 23 22 In:].1* untit-theamateuiIrGoiihSi6vldths anatysisshowing llul by9 . dc7AyrT+€e78 gb3cblreb"kt.i,il i"i;iEAteKntnes ldea. Suchexamplescouldbemultipliedandtheyshowthatresearch in the USSBrsconductedby a whotearrv oi-*Lir_quarltiJj1r,,..yerrnemarnresearchersmustbe consideredthe leadinqqrand_ ma_sters,whocanbeclassitiedintovariousgroups. , Firstof all.onemustpointto the greatiheoiistswho kneworKnow everythtng(or more accuratelynearlyeverything)thatappearedin openingarticlesin all the world,schess'magizi;es, followedupeveryinnovrtioningamestneytaw,*J""l"ri"oi, .'iiiioan rmmenseamountof privatestudyon theirown or with a few closefriends. _ ThesetheoristswereVsevolodRauzer,lsaakBojeslavsky.SemvonFurmanandVtadimirSimagin.No,,mdaysourrea-d;idiilr[il;;ih" openingisYefimGeller.All-theseprayersvreredeepthankerswhose significanceis a productof their greai irre"i '"irjiii-""' ,]"r0knowledge. , Thentherearethoseplayerswho havecontributedto proqress oyreTatntngInthetrmemoryeverythingvaluablethathasaooeireo soraT,tnpnntor rnactualgames.Asexamplesof these,comouter mrnoswe may quoteyevgenyVasyukov.yuri Balashov,bavid Bronstein,MarkTaimanova-ndieveratot tneyoun!ge,,eiiii;:' %i'& % % . % t % %a:'./z ,&ft :tz Zt7.z, % 72A1&',*? 2_1',..,&, %

--tF-- 3 Objectivityin the Ending 'AlmostCertainWins' 25 2) Fourpawnsagainstthreeorl one sideoi the boardin rook endings. Sln |.;ng"of positronswithkrrrghtagairrstbishop A qreatdealol work rn analysingandsyslernatising.engames *rr Suiii"Oout in the multiplevolumeset of booksby Soviet wiitersunde,theeditorshipof AverbakhThisis beingcarTledon ,nJJ *unt to drawparticularattentiontothesignificantcontribution ;;" i; t'h; understandingof opposite-colouredendgamesmade bvworldchampionKarpovinhisremarkablegames'"'One of tf,emainfeatureso{ endgamequestionsintheresearch oi Sovietplayersis the proof that the endgamels not an inO"p""J""iiiageoutisdrrectlvlinkedwiththemrddlegameand ""i,i*im in" "d"ning.Themoderngrand'nasterat somepoirltin theearlierstagesoftenestablishesthatthequlckestwayto vlcrorv isi ierresot eicf'angessoasto gofortheendingHereisacurious examplefromthe '1979SovietSpartakiad' Karpov-Lutikov,CentreCounter 1 e4 d5 2 ea g,ias 3 Aca grd6 4 d4 A16 5 !f3 96-Ae3 aio z eaZ AsZ 8 As5;5 e d5Ab4 1013Ar5 11lge4 *d7 120-o-o= eb.k n1i obviouslvplayedthe openingignoringthe basisof theoiy.notiustfalling'b;hindindevelopmerrtbut,,more, important' hui tjio oui hisforcis badly,wrthoutsystemNow thereis the simplethreat13a3 andBlackhasto letthecentrebecomeoperl whichalwaystavoLlrsthebetterdevelopedside i-C ...-t-s rg dc Exd2- 14 Atd2 '!> e4 15 . xe4 :\ x c6 lt worrldbeevenworseto play15 N >e4 '1 6 fe 'jx 66 fi o Lal andf7 comesL,rlderpressurewhlleBlack'sklngcarlrlot qo f,*av irom the cerltreTherewouldalsobe anotl"er'srmpler' i"u" oi tLtrt,'to15 . . a,re4, namelytheintermediatemove16 cbwhenBlack;s"ormation'wouldcollapse Theconcludingpartof the gameis the moststableof thethree stages.rhemarnmethodsofplaylntheendgamevarylitflewiththe passageof time,so the grandmastersusethe methods,on the whote,ot thepast,andthesamewillapplyInthefuture. Whatdoeschangewith timeis the technicalarmamentof an irrdividual,hisknowtedgeof thewaysto achievevictoryina varjety of elemerrtaryendrngsandplansfor exploitjngad\€ntagetntypical complicatedones.Wedrawattentiontotheaahievemeritsof Soviet researchersinthisfieldwhileincludingtheworkdonebyWestern analysts. 'Computer Endgames' Thisheadingcompris€sthoseendingswherethemeansofforcrng a winorachievinga drawhavebeenestablished'to theveryend'so thattheycouldbeput,if required,intoa computerprogramme.lt is noteworthythatjn somecasescomputershaveactuall-ybeenused in determiningthe outcomeof certainendings,for examplethe endingqueenandNPagainstqueen. Hereisthelist:'l ) Twokniqhtsaqainstoawn. 2) BishopandRP-aoa'nstpa*n 3) P€wnendingsrnvolvrng'conjugate squares: 4, uueenandpawnaqatnslqueen. 5) Rookandpawnaqainstrook. 6) Bishopandpawnlgainstbishop. 7) Knightandpawnagarnstkn,ghi. u) Hookanootshopagatnstrook Of coursethe numberof suchcomputerendingswill keep increasingastimegoeson. Almost CertainWins' Theoreticalanalyseshave establishedpretty accuratelythe out_come(win,sometimesdraw)inthesepositions: 1)RP+BPwithonerookeach. 16Axf6+ sf 17-Sd3! 23 A fineresolutionot-lnepost,onf newhltesquaresin.thecentre una'onir',.g iia" aiewejkandabi'nopestablishesitseligfjl:T- t t r ,l ;./.'.,. //:::t:.,. '/t;:: 'l':..' frt'22..,.',../,,t'""e. , ,r.,./.,/.4 A',,';, '/;, 'L t'/:zal& A H lll':.t^ t../:. .7"....'1"/.t:, z:t:z; + + l 'r'rlt The staticblackPawn massin thecerltreis uselessanddemands

26 Objectivityin theEnding constantdefence.Karpovmakesthe simpleaccurateolan of simplifyingthepositionfurtherintoanendjngwheretheweaknesses oecomemoreaooarent. 17 . . . O-O.O18 trhdl gc7 19 c3 h5 20 AfSt Threateningrookto theseventh.Blackhaslo concedea fresh disadvantage- theretreatof hisknightto theveryedgeof the board. 20 . . . Hxd221 E xd2 Ab8 22 h4 Ah6 23 Axh6 tr xh6 t'Pff "'/Zz.'t"'/' % % " & " ' H ry '&.4%t r y % % " / . & & % ^ % & 'H, "/zft Transpositionto themiddtegamefrom theopening 27 Howdoesonestudysuchconsistency?Theanswermust-again betheexaminationof gameswithgoodnotesandanalysisof one's ownoamesfromthisPointof view.- No-wthetimehascometo dealwiththemiddlegame,thestage wnenthe mostimportantpartof the struggletakesplaceThe theorvof themiddlegameisthetheoryof chessThiswillIncludea i"iiript'o'i of there5earchthathasbeencarriedoutintheUSSR' Firsthoweverwe haveto mentloncertaindeviationsfroma correct understandingo{ chess,of the mistakesmadeby certalnplayers *ho ar" retiss intheirgeneralapproach.Havingindicatedthese errorsrtwill beeasierto-depictthe correctpathwhichwill leadto progressanda freshfloweringof theartof chess' 24 Summingup the resultsachievedby Whitein strivingfor rne endingfrommove13onwardswe noteBlack,sfixedpawi massin thecentreandWhite'sg-sidemajoritywhichheisaboutto exploit. MeanwhileBlack'spiecesare badlyplacedand Karpovforcesa ouackwin. _ 24-a4 flh8 25 b4 bG26 bb trg8 27 @c2 abS28 ab5 fie8 29 c4 1-O. Transpositionto the middlegamefrom the opening ASKanremarkedIn hisbookFrom the Openingto theMiddte Gamea playernormallystrivesto createniiaOte'gamepositions whichsuithispersonaltastesandstyle,but since-the opponent fights.againstthrsit isnotalwayspossibleto getone,swayandirts usetutto havereseTveobjectivesif theopponentavoidswhatone hasinmindor considersthemainline. , Thatiswhytheabilrtytoplaythetransitionalphaseishighlyrated by specialists.Botvinnikcommentedon hisopponentinthe 1951 worldtitlematchthatinthetransitionfromopeningto middlegame Bronsteinhadnoequal. . It isa hopelesssightwhena playerstartsto pressonthe$-srde Intnemtddlegamewherthrswholeconductol theopeninqhas beendtrectedtowardsburldirrguphisforcesontheopposiresideot theboard.Thissoundsexaggerated.butit givesanideaofwhatthe player'staskisatthemomentof transition.ln themiddlegamehe mustfollowup andbuilduponthosefeatureswhichhave"evolved Intheopening,he mustbeabsolutelyconsistentandaccuratein usinghisplussesanddenyinghisopponentthechanceto exploit nrsmtnuses.

7 4 Competitiveor CreativeElement? Competitive or Creative Element? 29 David Bronstetnwrites that he has to state that the sporting a.i,eni in modernchessischoklngthe li{eout of everythingelse - -F\€rv dav I qo down to the grol,ndfloor and collectthe papers ""i 'i-r"q"ii;'l"Jtrommy mailb6x lt is a red letterday when l-find ini" ir,Z:ut".aissueol a chessmagazrneor therrewspaper '64' I reialniorgh tneotherpapersandleawthechessrtemsYordessertl i1"*'f o"i.v chesssetout andlookat the latestgamesin the urilou.1n".r'tources Thosewhichinterestme especiallyorlceI ni"" }e.4 through'themmentallyareworkedthroughindetailon thechessboard" Y;f;hui. sadstateofaffairsappliesnow ln recentyearsferver and {ewerqamesreallycatchmy attentionGamestrom even Iironoiounir."nts arelackirrgindeepstrategvandlogic'andrtis a uer\,,a.e occurrenceto find deeplVcalculatedcombrrratlor'ls oreparedbyaI theprecedlngplay' in" o,uqruntirtihe chesipressdrawthereader'satterrtiolrto mistates-ro a>.s Ah4 +!! 17-32Yh4 fiith energeticexploitationol the open /t^7./t &.t h'',.//.tl&z:./..'.: /.///ti7, ',/:/'2,,, .,&tfu "",/, :,'zl:tA7lD& 7,2,/,D"/./2t.& positionof theenemyking.

-- 30 Competitiveor CreativeElement? 19 1[f4 $e7+ 2O1f,g5ge6l21 Afs E xfs andWhitesoon gaveupthehopelessstruggle. How muchpraisetheplayerfrom Erevanheardfor thisgame, possiblymuch more praisethan for winningan international tournamentof averagestrength.Yes,it ispleasantto playthrough suchacombination,buthowrarelyonecannowadays.Thatiswhy we arehearingmoreandmorethecommentof expertsthatchess nowadaysislosingitscreativecontent,thatfewconsistentgames arebeingplayed,thatdeeplycalculatedimpressivesacrificesand combinationsarerare. As V.Baturinskywrote in Pravdajust beforethe start of the 1979Spartakiad'Theparticipantsof theSpartakiadwilltakenote of thecriticalcomments,addressedin particularat someyounger masters,aboutexcessivepragmatismwhichimpoverisheschess. They will play gameswhich will give aestheticsatisfactionto connoisseurso{theancientgamel An Attempt at Analysis Beforetrying to determinethe reasonfor a certaincreatrve deteriorationin modernchesswe haveto formulatean accurate definitionof chess.lt haslongbeenheldin the chessworldthat chessisa game,a scienceandanart.Chesscontestscanbevery sharpandtheircompetitivenaturecannotbedenied. Inorderto provethescientificaspectsof chessit issufficientto bearin mind how manybookson chesstheoryare publisheo throughouttheworld,how manymagazinestherearein various languages.Art isinextricablylinkedwiththeproductionofworksof artwhichremaininthememoryof mankindfor centurjes.lsit not the casethat Anderssen's'Evergreen Game'againstKiezeritsky contrnuesto enthusethemodernchessfan? Onemustbe fairandadmitthatthe variousaspectsof chess attractvaryingcontingentsof fans,bothin quantityandquality. Comparativelyfew peoplego infor chessscience;asanartchess hasmorerecognition.Yetit is thecompetiti\€sidewhichattracts peoplein theirmillions.lt is sufficientto rememberthe interesr generatedthroughouttheworldbytherecentworldtiflematchin Baguio,evenamongstthosewhodon'tevenknowwhattheKino,a cahbit is. So the threeaspectsof chessdraw supportersin unequal number,but doesit followfrom thisthatwe haveto judgeihe worthof eachaspecton numericalcriteriaalone?Obvi6usl-yfirst pnzewtnnersaTeknownto many,butonemustnotignorethefact thatoutstandinggamesenjoygreatpopularitytoo. - lhustheremustbefewrealfanswhocannotremembera finish suchas that jn Botvinnik-Capablanca,AVRO,'j939. I trustthe readerwillnotjudgemea braggart,butinvariouscountriesof tne An AttemptatAnalYsis 31 worldonbeingintroducedto mepeoplehavesaid'Whatinteresting ;2mesvou plaved:thatqueetlsacrificeagainstAverbakh,queen irtes n3,check.rnthe 1953CandidatesTournament.Orthegame aoainstBarczaatStockholm,19521-"ihe artisticsideisveryrmportantinchess,ishighlyratedbyfans' It hasalwaysbeenrecognisedthat chessis an art, ald jts best practitionershave be-endescribed artists.Thus Rubrnsteinoractrtionershave been describedas artlsts lhus describedit as the fir]est of arts and this grandiescribedit as the finestof arts and this grandmasterwas considereda great artist by contemporaries-Tartakower,was ,Translatar,sNote Thls seems tO gnorF the use of the trtle.b,V^thc ast-Tsar' t'l"i olu. tf. ot tne fLnaistsof the St Petersburgtournamentof 1914 - LasKer' Capablanca.Alekhne,Ta.raschand MarshaI inristened 'the-rebelliousartistiwhilewe alsohavethewordsof Apmine 'l considerchessanart,andacceptallthoseresponsibilities whichartplacesuponitsdevotees: 'Alrioht.chessis ratedasan art,andasa scienceithesceptic miqht;etort'yetit'sthesportlngsidethatdrawsthecrowdslf Iwin firsiprizein a tournamentI amf6ted,the paperswriteabout.me with praise,theiansgreetmewith applause-Sowhy shouldI go chasinqafter'|'',ec.ealiuesidewithriskycomplicationsandcompli- cateOiacritices?| canwininquietfashion,calmly,withthehelpof 'baretechnique': And that is how we got a'tribe'of grandmastersandmasters whonotonlydon'tstriveforfineworksofartinchess,butevenrun them down - 'Why go for unnecessarystress?Accuracy,logic' i".hniqu", thoseaie -the thingswhich will bring successand recognition,andconsequentlywell-being: How This Arose irom aboutthebeginningof the2fth centuryto theendof the Thirtiesthe iop chesstitle 'grandmaster'was neverformally awardedto anyone.' lf some mastertook first prize in a tournamentwith the participationof thestrongestplayersof thetimethepress,would iutomaticallyadd grandriasterto hisname.Alongwrththisthe best qamesof thi eventwould be noted,and the strategic sionifiianceo{theplay.Therewerefewgrandmastersthen,buton in-eotf'erhanddoubtsweTeneverralsedaboutwhethertheholder ofsuchatitlereallydeservedit.Fromabout195Oonwardstheidea aroseof ratingandgradinglistsinorderto assessthetournament performanceiof th-eworld'sbestplaversin numertcalfashton Variousmethodsof calculationwere suggestedin dltterent "oun1ii".,andsuchdifferentsystemslargelystillholdswaytoday' At internationallevelthe so-calledElocoefficientsregularlycalcu- lui"J uy tr''" Americanprofessorbecamethe setnorm Nowadays

-I - 32 Competitiveor CreativeElement? allthe world'sstrongestplayersare ratedin theirorderby Elo, everybodyknowshis place,who ts aheadof him,who behind. Naturallyeveryonestrivesto moveuptheladderandcertainlynot to fallback.Topeventsaremadeupontheseratings- ifyouhave a highEloyouarein,if youdon'tthenwaityourturninthequeuel Asineveryaspectof ourcomplicatedpresent-dayworldtheElo ratingsystemhasitsprosandcons.Theprosareclear- some orderhasbeenbroughtinto being,and at any momentpeople knowwheretheystand.Theplayersgetorientedfor a tournament knowingin advancehow manypointstheyhaveto maketo raise theirrating,or in theeventof theabsenceof successwhatthey needto keeoit at oar. Yet,inourview,thedrawbackto this'overallspiritof arithmetic' cancelsout alltheseadvantages.Thepeople'waitingtheirturn in the queue'try to improvetheirstandingby the most practical methods.Thereislittleplacehereforthebeautyandnobilityof the game.Getasmanypointsaspossible,goupthelist,thatisthemain concernof the majorityof modernplayersandthequalityot the gamestakesecondplaceor isevenforgottencompletely. Yetwhowillcriticisea grandmasterfor hisexcessivepragmatism sincehispointsscore,hisrating,determineshisstandardof living, his invibtionto the nexttournamentdependson it, as do the simultaneousexhibitionengagements. Nowadaysin the Westtherearesometalentedgrandmasters whowanderfromcountrytocountryenroutefromonetournament to another.Theyplay'athalfthrottle'withoutgivingtheirall.lf they do badlyinonetournamenttheywillgooffto thenextonehoping to do betterthere.TheyplayinSwissSystemeventsandallsortsof weekendtournaments.Thereis no timeleftfor analysisof their games,sinceit isalreadytimeto beoffto thenextevent. As a resultthe top titleof grandmasterhasbeensignificantly devalued.OnceI introducedto MaxEuwea grandmasterwhohad heldthetitlefor overa decade.'Who was that?'askedthe then Presidentof FIDEwhenthe grandmasterhadleftus.lAn internationalgrandmaster';was my reply,"youyourselfawardedhimthetitle: RealHarm Onecouldbecomereconciledto all thisif the arithmeticthat drivesoutcreativitydidnotdo realharmto chess.Alekhinewrote thattoachievesuccessinchessyouhadto makea thoroughstudy of yourselfandyouropponent,butmostimportantofallyouhadto'havea higherpurposethanthesatisfactionof the moment.This purposelsee in scientificandcreativeachievementswhichplace chessona parwithotherartsl The path to the highestachievementsis the path of creative RealHarm 33 achievementAlekhineis saying.Onlythe playerwho setshimself thetaskof creatinggameswith realcontentcanreachthetop The Dlaverwho makeschessa gameof arithmetic'a gamethatglves irim a reasonableliving,will neverreachthe peakof Mount Olympus.Lookaroundandyou wlll seethatthe top echelonof cfrbssistitteOby thoseplayerswho scoresuccessesby combining thecompetitiveelementwith thecreative.Followtheimprovement achieveCbythepresentworldtitleholderAnatolyKarpovHehasa naturalgiftof accuracyandan abilityto thinkclearlyandlogically andinhisyouthoftenbeatopponentsby purelytechnicalmethods' No\Madaysthoughan elementof romanticismand combinative 'fillino-oui'makeihisqamesmorestrikingandfullof contentThe trend of a masteroi positionalmethodsto go for tacticsand combinativestrikesisbecomingeveTmoremarkedThisisshown by hisincreasingfriendshipwitnthe'chessmagician'-MikhailT€1,it ii'shownbv thi pawnsacrificesandexchangesacrificesmadeby Karpovinthegamesof hisBaguiomatch ihere is an6thersideto all this,perhapsthe mostimportant Onceduringthe 1972SkopjeOlympiadthetopofficialsofacertain ChessFede-rationaskedBotvinnikto giveadvicethatwouldhelp alonqtheimprovementof onecertainlytalentedplayer' B6winnitaskedtheplayerif hewrotenotesto hisgamesThe answerwas no. 'Perhapsnot for a magazine,but for y-ourown nenetitZ'persistedBowinnikleadingon his collocutor'Thenthe answercamemoredecisively,no I don'twritenotesto my games 'ln thatcaseit istooearlyfor usto talkaboutimprovementLet usreturnto thatina fewYearstime: The misfortuneof young peoplein chess,including.many qrandmastersisthattheycohpletelyneglectanaly'trcalwork This ;;;k ili il pioperlyunderstood.we do notmeantheanalvsisof thL or thatvai'iatbn,we aretalkingabouta deeppenetrationInto il;;"tt Jis"nceoi the chessstruggle,aboutthe{ormationof plans,aboutseekingthe mostdeeplyhiddencombinativepossl- bilities.Such 'homework'whichallthe kingsot chessnaveoone qivesonethe chanceto discoverthe faultsin one'splay'to go ieeoerintothesecretsof thegameandto widenone'seruditionin cheis.- inln eartierperiodthebasisof successwasresearchability'but nowadaysthereisnoapproachtoa gameasa wholeWe.must'as . -matt"l ot urgency,bringbacktheanalyticalapproachto chess: {M.Botvinnik). And hereis anotherquotefrom Botvinnik 'l personallynever stoodout amongstmy contemporaries,becauseI alwayshadto ;;;;;";. by haro"wort.Tal,ontheotherhand,thereisanexample ot someonewhodidnothave10workat it:- iperionaltycannotagreewiththesecondhalfof thatstatemeni'

34 Competitiveor CreativeElement? sinceI haveoftenhadoccasionto seehowhardTaldoeswork.You onlyhaveto lookat hisnotesto gamesto seehowmuchefforthe putsin.Thesevariations,fullofawebofcomplicatedcombinations, couldonlybeproducedby manyhoursof studyat home. Let us sum up our reflections.Our belovedart is becoming unfortunatelya more'arithmetical'game,notjustinthereckoning up of the full and halfpoints,but in its veryessence- in the processof thinkingaboutmoves.Thisarithmeticis clearlykilling creativityandthai leadsto sadresults.Onlya few grandmasters havebeenableto avoidthisriskytrend,andtheyfindtheirreward in the achievementof the highes.tresults,in becomingwortd championsandchallengersforthistitle.Themajority,alas,including manyyounggrandmasters,havecompletelyrejectedtheanalytical approach.Forthisiheyarebeingpunishedbychess,thepunishment beingtheirgradualtransformationinto hacks,destroyingall the brightprospectsdueto theirnaturaltalent. Thisfailingis intensifiedby the Elosystemin theform it now takessinceit supressesthecreativesideof talentandforcesthe playerto chaseafterpointsinordernotto havehisratingfall. We haveto answerthisquestionhere:isit alwayspossiblefor a playerto restricthischoiceof movesto safeones,andplavwithout rask,restrictinghimselfto purelytechnicalmanoeuvring? lf you studythe gamesof the greatclassicplayersyou must concludethatthe combinativemethod,the searchfor beauWin chess,theriskypath,notonlyenhancechessbutalsogivechances of victoryin positionswherethetechnicalapproachwouldmost likelyleadto a colourlessdraw. WhatShouldBe Done? 35 Dd4 41 Hf2 axf3 42 trXf3 Adsland Blackremainsapieceup. What Should be Done? Howcanweputrightthedangeroustrendwehavedescribedso as to preventthe furtherdeteriorationof the gameintooneof arithmetic.Some peoplesuggestextrememeasuTes,such as gettingridof theElosystem.Thisis no solution,sincetheratings havea part to playin determiningcomparativestrengthwhen arrangingthattournamentsarefilledwith playersof aboutequal strength.IntheSovietpresswherethequestionhasreceiveda lot of attentiontherehaveevenbeensuggestionsof somenewsystem of ratingsfor creativity.Thiswouldonlyleadto moreconfusion, wth eachplayerhavingtwo numbersto his name.Yet if we generalisefrom the viewsalreadyexpressedwe can suggest variousmeasures. Firstof all the liquidationof the 'arithmetical'deviationis the socialdutyof theplayersthemselves,a dutytheyowethemselves aswellasus.Everyonewishesto getthebestresults,andafterall 'Thecriterionof realstrengthisa deeppenetrationintothesecrets ofa positionl(T.Petrosian). 'Howis it thatyourKarpovcameto lose?'wasthequestionor commentaddressedto meduringthe '1979 Spartakiad.My reply wasthatno-oneisinsuredagainstlosseventhenormallyunbeatable, andthatafterthisfirst lossthe champronwenton to playsome first-classgames.Thiswasmyshortanswerto notveryknowledge- ablespectators,andit wasonlyto a fewof thepeopletherethatI wentintogreaterdetailovermy reflectionson theveryinteresting lossby theworldchampionto thetalentedmasterl.lvanovinthe Uzbekistan-Leningradmatch. It is well knownthat Capablancadid not alwaysanalysethe gameshewon,buthealwaysdevoteda lotofattentionto thosehe lost.Thisisproofof thefactthatthegreatestplayersalwayshada criticalattitudeto theirolavandtriedto rootouterrorsandmake theirolavmoreuniversal.Alekhine'shardworkon hisnotesiswell known and everyannotatedgameby Fischergivesthe same impression.WhenBotvinnikfirstplayedintournamenthisplaywas ratherdry.Then,whenin the 1933SovietChampionshiphebeat RauzerwithBlack,thedemandingBotvinnikwhowasalwai-shard on himselfgavehimselfpraisefor hiscombinativeplay,statlng, 'FinallyI haveplayedthesortof gameI havebeenwantrngto play fora longtime: In tellingthe patientfansof allthisI thenclaimedthat in the lvanov-Karpovgamewe hadseenin a cedtalnsensea newand specialsortof Karpov.I feelI am notmistakeninallegingthatthe worldchampiontriedto playthisgamein a mannerhe hadnot adoptedbeforeagainsttopclassopposttion. 26 - In hiswell-knowngameagainstR6ti,Alekhinecouldhaveplayed 26 .. Ea3 restrictinghrmselfto purelytechnicalplay.lt is not clearwhetherhe would havewon in thiscase.Yetwhat a meteor, like progressthe beautifulgame made throughout the world of chessafterthe moves26 . . . fie3! 27 g1l3cb 28 gXbE lc3! 29 g',xb7gxbT 30 AxbT axe2+ 31 gh2 Ae4! 92 trc4l aXf2 331!g2andnowthesbrtlingtenmo\€deepcombinaton 99 . . . -4"01A flc2 fls4+ 35 €h3 6e5+ 36 €)h2 E xf3t 37 flxe2 ls4+ 39 €h3 Ae3+ 39 €/h2 Axc2 40Axf3 tu 7t7t ft'il4 zWn /7:.,, 2 & r7:r,.t' ,^ 'tt t/:,,. ,/:/i 4 A A A

Helpfrom ChessFederations 37 36 Competitiveor CreativeElement) Canyoucreditit thatthispositionwasreachedas Blackby the normallyrestrainedand technicallyperfectKarpov?Ratherdoes the positionremindme of openingsplayedby Tolushwith his famouswar-cry'Forward,Kazimirovichl'orby Tal.I wouldhave easilyunderstoodif Blackhadtakena draw by perpetualcheck after15 Sd2, butKarpovmixedthingsevenmoreby 15 . . . 96 16 traf1ge7 17a3t5. A weirdpositionlBlack'skingisstuckin thecentre,hehasno saferefugeon the flank.Blackplayedstubbornlyto defendthis positionin whatfollowedandit tookallof White'sheroicfighting spiritto overcomeBlack'sdefence. Theworldchampion'sattemptto tryoutsharptacticalmethods. with someslightinfringementof strategicprinciplescanonlybe welcomed.We seeherea clearstrivingto adopta moreuniversal style,an obviousdesireto bringinelementsof riskandsharpness ro nrsgame. Thisshouldnotbetakenas meaningthatKarpovformerlywas slowin spottingtacticalchances.Ouitethe reverse.Histeamof helpershaveoftenbeensurprisedby the way he can hit upon unexpectedmoves,oftenmuchmorequicklythanit tooka player of sharDcombinativestvleto find them.I havefoundthisswift grasptoowhenI haveshownhimcomplicatedpositions. The pointto noteis this:when playersof a sharpstylespot combinationsor tacticalstrokesthevflareuoatonce.anddescribe theminjoy'fulemotionaltones.'l'vefoundit!' Karpovwouldreact differently,speakingof such possibilitieswithout any great enthusiasm.Onegainstheimpressionthatfor himthesearchfor tacticallinesisa Derfectlvnormalstateofaffairs.Thismeansthathe worksthroughsuchlines,butthenactsonthewell-knownprinciple whv shouldonewin bv a ten-movecombinationwhenthereisa winbva ouietlineandina shorternumberof moves. Soletnotthereaderthinkthatweareappealingjustforrollicking complications.Thebeautyof chessis not exhaustedby suchan approach,butisto befoundtoointheconsistent,logical,technical thingssuchaswetendto associatewithKarpov. 27 Helpfrom ChessFederations'-biet tany yearsI havenotedthesamepatternina numberof countries.A y6ungmanof talentprogressesqulcklyto thefront iink in niscountry,winsthenationaltitleandgoeson to further .r"cess".at internationallevelHeiswrittenaboutenthusiastically in the pap"tt,andthe mostradianthopesareexpressedin the worasusdOtodescribehim- ourFischer,ora newKarpovfhese "ornt"nt, are not to be condemnedoutrightas thevreflectthe hrddendesiresof thechessplayersof thatcountry. Vettheyearsgoby,thetalentedplayerisan lM andthen-aGM, butthen . . stop!Hedoesnotturnintoa newFischeror Karpov Hedoesn'tevenmakethelasteightwhoqualifyfortheCandldates M"t.n".. Insteadhe merelyfiguiesinthemiddleechelonof GM's andsoonbecomes'oneof thealso'rans'ofchess. Whatarethereasonsforthis?Firstof alla failureto measureup to hisresponsibilitiestowardshisnativeChessFederationThe'star' iiarts to'have a carelessattitudetowardsthe interestsof his nationalteam,and also stopsplaylngin internaltournaments, carryingthisasfarasnon-participationinthenatlonalchamplonshlp' Why s6ouldhe?Theprizesarenotveryhigh,thegoingistough Farmoreprofitableandfarmorepleasantto playinaninternational eventof averageor evenmediocrestrength.Thishabitof avotdtng the reallytoughencountersandlookingforeasymeatleads.toa drop in thelemands made upon oneself,and therebyto a worsenedstandardof PlaY. Thatiswhy intheSovietUnionit hasbecomea ruleto applya certainamountof disciplinarypressureon allourgrandmaslersto takepartin the.USSRChampionshipirrespectiveof theirtitlesor recentachievements. WhenI haveraisedthistopictheofficialsof foreignfederations declare 'lt'sallverywellfor you.Yourplayersget helpfrom the SovietChessFederationandaresubordinateto it. Nothingworks likethatonourplayers: Nothingof thesortlThisisonlyan excuse.lf youexaminethe positions6riouslyyouwillfindthatinanycountryanygrandmaster dependsto someextenton hisfederation.Henotonlyplayschess, he writes books,runs a chesscolumn,and is keen to get simultaneousexhibitionsforwhichheispaid.Thechessrulingbody of a countrycan certainlyhavea sayin decidingsuchmatters What is neededisa firm handin thismatter,i{ onlybecausetne outcomewillbeintheinterestsof thegrandmasterhimselfOutof characterweaknesstheplayermayavoidthenationalchampionshlp' butit shouldnotbedifficultto proveto himthatsuchparticipation isessentialfortheencouragementof youngtalent DonotthinkthatI amonlypointingthefingerattorergnplaye's Therearequitea few exampleslikethisin theSovietUnron'even %tryitu % t 2'",& % % %t'''&^'^a%H% ^%8?Z,i % t % & E % t z Vlz +

- 38 Competitiveor CreativeElement? thoughwe try and makeour grandmastersplayin the Soviet Champronshrp.Usrngvarrolrsexcusessomeof our playersqeiout oTlnlsoDttgatton,andthisgoeson untiJthe .star, findsthat -he can no,tongergetrntotheSuperLeagueof theUSSBChampionship, andhasto startintheFirstDivisionor atanevenlowerstaqe. _Thereisnodoubtthatsuchtalentedgrandmasteisis Suutn"nO KuzminhavenotrealisedtheirpotentraiBoleslavskye"ptain"Otne lrregularpatternof successof the latterOv pointinirouiinat II:TIl-YT :eadvlo plav chessat anv trmeano "rnoli uny condfttons,butconsideredthatsittingattheboardbyoneselfwasa boringbusiness.Thisisa seriousm'istakeas prlvateitujv covers not onlythe mechanicalmemorisationof openingvariations,Out alsoconsrderarionot mrddlegameproblemswhi6hhelpsoneto Trnonewapproachesinactualplay. borvlnntknas hts commentson this too: ,Along with my retirementfromchessanalytrcalworkseemsto haveqo;eto;: *as nrssadcommentat one lecture.We do not aqretentirelvwith thesepessimisticwords,buttherersanelement; truthinihem.ltis the duty of playersof the older generationto follow the developmentoftheirsuccessorsandto eicou.agJtf,emto 6"cornu erudite.justasthistaskalsofallsuponthegame:srulinqbodies. I often haveoccasionto hear from ,i, cofflaqrei il;;;"", comptaintthattheyoungergenerationaretotallyiqnoraniJ tn"gamesoTtormertimes.po,ugayevskyonce enthisedover rnepleasurehegotfromanalysing'somegamesof theHastinqs-ig95 tournament.you don'thearcommentslikethatfromthe "voun.,.. generation.Ratherdoesonetendto hearthissortoi tnro fi-t tX"iI quoteit from a senseof beingoffended.uut ii .f.,uiX.i"iuii"f,Oneplayeronceaddressedme."clearly*inting io ;r; ;;;;fi "gpleasantto me,thus:- ,Alexander Alexandrovich,i,joi io r.no*yesterdaythatyoutooarea grandmaster'. __ r-1,r,. quryof theyoungptayerto knowthehistoryof chessand 9^:!:9l-thgbesrgarnesotthepast.justasrtrstnedutyo;tne-oiOer Se:9!91'9nto encouragesuchstudyof thegtoriouspast. rossrbtythereadercancomeupwith betterideas,buthereisa :ummgryoflhe proposalsland mycoileaguesHar"in rninO.lurn :yi,. Jh"t FIDE.now led by the grearcnessconnorsseurFridnK y'u-trlonlwr gr.vedue,weighttothecommentsofthosewhoaspareto seea betterfuturefor chess,a morecreativeaporoach. 'i ) Wemustchangeattitudes.gothoffjcialaccountsoftournaments andreportsinthepressshoulddealmorewiththeleadingioleofcreatrvttyandshouldcrjticise,thoseunfortunatepeopte*tio iiit tonoticetheharmdonebythepurelycompetitive[oini of view 2) We mustputon a regularfoot,ngtheawardof recognitiontor Helpfrom ChessFederations 39 l5ebesteamej:l*1"".'"'l"T::l"tT"?"J:*'.%."1Jiil.".*: S?iit'i.:;;;yl*,"::":":l'-ff[:,ftf:';i3,*.",."["'JJ^hassL/sud, - ,,a oua"a with the most aftractiv€ liiiii'ng,"o,no'n"t':#fi: r'3#;rB"i'binq';rr;.0"ustart,nthiscrrikrnqcurIrur''' ''Y''" :.' " ,':-; Fl6E Corrqress.nadea startInthis-*^in rntheirplanlllng l ne IY/ r, 'iY^^+;,",l Gold medalswould oe awardehannuallyfor,the-best iiection Gold 3[::f:"#;,Fi;;:;.*:,t'.:,9::"i::,?:*?::.;:f?"""""1i for the best mainPrlzes nni5i35:{iirq+illh+rsFq#i+111"*;iriffit';lqualifyingevents.WhYnot.lay li[:.:"#1i,trigx**.'ii::':r:T"';::&",1#;: *o"ufJO"insignificantcomparedto thebenefitsarising fliJ*?ff:iT:i;3:'f::!i::"13:s:fi.li:J[,t::::liij,iti Hm""Hhli:*ru::g..::::x.:J:3';:l',fJ :lJ,[X]:]",::::"J,ir'3;:fi "i?':"l}3$""'!"JJ:L"""lE: n*l*i"*,lkT;glul""iT:ilsi::*ffiTIilxl:,S""3i"." B##*:#:,E"u**';:m:i';19{'}{A:::"* i::"r",i'#q.#i:i'=!li*g:*'*"'"iffiil:[Ti,l?"',*i:I5:i:s:tril#fr#fl*t+'fiJ"'tJof the scientificapproacnro tx*:,yi$tH.l$:19:':tiu*;:"3':rl','.$: i:'ffi;;:'il;";!;giiis:l'::::"P::if.'^":'f:[T;i:fl:n::#iffiff.::,:il"r#"iiil:''*'-i::iJ,fl,o:Ti:::"3:":ll 3?"[l,1;,i,i"?;i,."qli,;lqsllT^q';^?":.:*:u",:t;Tjlj."":! :h,il13ff?;;,?:;i;i:;i9i1..,i:":!:"^::!:"**:#fhT::i.'::H"':ilil,;;i;;;"b"'1s';"-g:,::,':.d-:n:fii':;"':il:l 3Hffi11 iJ"#"ri,:"tt'."iv"ai.itnotrirstprize'thentheother currentchamPion ii"ii]."'i',."'5"Y'"oproachto.samei"1:'l:-::?::?i:1"*?: o"il"illJii'ifi"L'iffJl"s; puni"'tiontinmakinstheircontents moreattractiveandinteresting''#"'IJfn:HiJ':'i'',jE[il"Yi"*ti-swliehlgY:,!-eTi=:: f"'.'ff# l):,:J'.:'fiif;:;ffi;";;i-"G::glll.::*::;.:9J?il3J li',i'iil! 6?,1,".i'r.j"[i.riii,-.iu' n"pedthatwecancarrythese

Competitiveor CreativeElement? ideasthroughandtherebyincreasethenumbersof thoseinterested inthecreativeaooroachto chess.lf it succeedsthismovementwill turnthetalentedyounggrandmasterswhoarewastingtheirgiftsin endlessSwissSystemtournamentsinto outstandingsportsmen andpassionatesupportersof thecreativeartof chess. 5 Studyingthe MiddleGame We nowturn to thequestionot howthemiddlegameistly!]:-q.i" in"usbi.rniJ't9I._*i,h$ gilil'i:'.".'J:T "J "3i;'&5',I:ltif;i;especiallyas laiddown bYsleln iii-u" tb""o in otherbooks,we merelysummarise-th,eelements i.it,i"n.giuno.rstertakesintoaccountinanalysingandassessrng a posltlon.'ti'"''"t"u important positionaI elements' 9putt,,1!oi -Tu^t:']:l b.il;""": ';."J ;#fi;;";-;;;ri point''op"nrines'the-centreand liiii.iZoili,,iii"'uiin...noniou,pi'""?g-".i-s:.r:1,^1Pi*s""^?:l:sDatialadvantageano natlrlerrruu5r' rw' Prov"'v il:il;;l;;; ti" pointof.view,orthese1"""1"j:.::9-"ljT,::T:9 [o""ni*"r]n. queitionwhichtormentsthe playerat everymove: wH"'jllt"::Tfl;UTir"!r?'"*l-erarrivedatapranisrormed for futureattackanddefence ri$i;"fi;"": ;i: ".iv'i',"aassessment-have9:'l 9:"-l"Y:: f"r";"*T";";;;t"iv"o*-r" o" oavthemostItp?ry:l-f:.1Yj: sl# :1o;""i;# iii.Jig'"*;l importance)lhPf TlTi^"jy:tYll ilil:;;;i tvticalmid"dlegariepositions'andtheirclassificatron iccordingto variousidentifyingfactors' n".v"Yi"ni!-*"* nasnoi beenpoperlv..ct1l::d^,i rit#tule. uJ it'i. po.tiut"thatmyattemptwillhaveerrors omissions,inevitableinsucha case" 'W;ft i;;inl ptetis" thaiallmiddlegamepositionscanbe dividedintotwo basicgrouPs:- a)PositionsWhichcannotoeresolvedbyanalysisbutbyintuitive decisions. iiiostiont resolvableby meansof variationsor logic Positionsrequiring intuitive decisions Thereare caseswhen a posii'oncannotbe.workedout' bV *ri"'t*.lt"Jif'e massof poisibilitiesbafflesthehumanmind, We ;;.-|ff;;inJr;en an advancedchesscomputer(of thesortwe ii ""i u"i nu"ui"uilable)couldcopewithsucha task, ""i;;;;i" ieasonforthistendsto bethatthereisa sharpcnange chess s and

- 42 StudyingtheMiddleGame ' in the materialbalanceasthe attackingsidesacrificesa pieceor pawn,afterwhichthe normalmethodsof assessmentrecedeinto thebackground. A decisiveroleisplayedinsuchcasesbythe'iaste'ofa player,by hislikingor antipathyfor 'unclear'positions.Insuchpositionsthe movesaremadenoton the basisof calculatingvariationsbuton Lnturtron. Therecognisedvirtuosoof intuitivepositionsTalwrites'Calculation is only one sideof it. In chessno lesslmportantis intuition, inspiration,or if you prefer,mood.lfor examplecannotalways explainwhy inonepositionthismoveisgood,andinanotherbad. ln my gamesI havesometimesfounda combinationintuitively simplyfeelingthatit mustbethere.YetI wasnotableto translate mythoughtprocessesintonormalhumanlanguage: Hereisanexampleof hisfantasyinTal-Filip,Moscow,1967: Seeingthatslowmethodswouldleadto thepeteringoutof his initiativeWhitewentfor the intuitivesacrifice19 Axf/!? €)Xf7 20 gXh7. ObviouslyTalhadcalculatedthefirstfew movesand weighedupthechancesof bringinguphisreserves. 2O ... e5 21 EXdB EXdS (21 gxdg isbad,22 ghS) 22ghs g€6. WhathasWhite nroccrrro hr, ?? initiative. 23 h3! Simpleandconvincing.Whitepreventsthequeenexchangeand giveshiskinga flightsquare. 2 3 . . . A c S It is not possiblefor the finestchessmindto calculateallthe possibilitiesin thisposition.Blackfindsit difficultto 'unwind'his piecesand get his king into safety.The possibilitiesmay be illustratedbythefollowingvariation23 HdO24 fie 1$fB 25 tre3 6fa 26 $xes SxeS 27 pxeS fld1+ 28 €)h2 AdO 29 AXd6 EXd6 30 trf3+ trf6 31 Ec3 andWhitegetsa material aovanrage. 24 €)h1 Positionsrequiringintuitivedecisions 43 Whitecarriesonasiftherewasnothingspecialintheqosilrof''9: r n"nia "otiiCri.riceoapiece'.lt istheneed!9I19l .",."]T.: t^*l i.irivlii r"ti"",tharcreatesthepsvcholosicalgllylll":i:: P-"ll sides.Not[..'lf oi "t".von" *ill voluntarilyagreeto iakeon suchdiificulties' 24 ... lLd4?! TigranPetrosian. 29 i-aufioilto*. 24 Hd6l wouldleavebetterdefensive .n"n"es Wh'tu couldcontinue25 14,but aIler25 eI 26 ;"""!-gxe+ 27 Etxd6 Axh3l the pos;tronis far from clear' froweveianotherattackinglinewouldbr;ngWhitedetlnltegalns- 25 Ee 1Ada 26 c3 fic5 27 c4 25 H.d1Ed6 Not"zs ..- Ab6 26 E x dg AXdB 27 I4l wirh dangerous threatsfor White. 26 Aa3 Ea6 in"-8""isG error,vetthe alternative26 ' trd8 27 c3 Ab6 29 qxdS AxdB 29 f4 alsoleavesBrackintrouble'-"fr n*Tq to Q7 . ed 28 Ad5 trxa3 29 g'fs+ finishesit). OnecanfindmanvexampleslikethisinTal'splay'especiallYinhts uounq"|.;"rioO ltwasthisieaturethatledhistrainer'A Koblenz'to iJilri"ni-oi ir"h positions,'Nevermind about Mishabeing rut"iiir oo*n. lrthere isiustoneopenlineon the boardhewill forcemate!'- riiscui,ousto notethatnearlyeverygrandmastersooneror later hasto olavintuitiveposltions.Themostdifficultot allto Judgeare if.ror""if',i6ni"torvJihesacrificeofjusta pawn As,thesawruns:if voucanweiqhJp thechancesaflera piecesacrlllceon orolnary ieles voundd themost.sensitvescalesto measuretheconsequences of a oawnsacriftce.- iniuitiueoos,tionsaTeso Interestlngthattheysometimesattract theattentronof evensuchratiorlalplayersas AnatolyKarpovor 2B achieved?Blackthreatensto liquidateallthe $94, but Tal hadseena way to keepthe ThrsrsKarpovDorfnan, SovretCh Top Leagle'.1-9-76- lcaasj69lsa*92.F99,il6",""1,nJI"tl#l?.t"30* ^* ..il'iiil353H:"'XAlXl:"il'':?Y;;;;;;;; ;;'rtendedtomeet & 1b % Vzt + V;: '/&.t %r.% 7 ' f f i 7A% 2 2 ft7/t '& %zH% w ry* "N1 h A i t t r g t t r , "..XNfr///./. ::1 6 /.'t 'l.l:". tKt?8''&' .:."1i$,E,.'a"'r.,.A'/a'

44 StudyingtheMiddleGame l-7 : Ab6 by 18fle1 AxdS 19pg2, and17 . lc5 by 18 fie1 fla7 19llh3 withthepossibteamusinqfinishtt. . . gf8 20 SxcS Axf6 21ge8+ Ss7 22sf+-@ha23gxsE+ flxg8 24 fle8 mate. - 1.8Qxe5 de 19 f4 Afs 20 Ah3 Axh3 21 flxh3 pc8 22 fe $c4! Whitehastwo centralpawnsfor thepieceandanextraoneon theflank.So,materialequality,butthepositionis hardto assess. Black'spiecesarefairlyactive,therearenowhitemjnorpiecesleft, andit ishardto forcea penetrationwithmaiorpiecesalone. 23 E1d3 srf4+ 24 Sb1 ftc4l Blackmakesa confidentcounter-attack,puttinghispieceson excellentsquares.yet Karpovmanagesto provethesuperiorityof ntsposEon. 25d6 8e426 trhe3 Exe32z flxe3gxh428gf3! Resolvableposttions 45 Loqicalpositions Leadinqplayershavelearnedhowto resolvemanypositionsby carryingthrougha logicalplan basedon exactanalysisand assessment.Afterworkingoutthemainpositionalfactorina given positrontheplayercarriesoutoperatlor'tsdesignedtoenhancethis iactoruntilthegrowingadvantageletshim'crush'hisopponentor playa combinativeblow that leadsto mateor greatmaterlal advantage. The greatspecialistin workingout such logacalplans was Botvinnik.Hereis hispositionagainstLilrenthalafter15 movesin theMoscow,1936,tournament.(seediagram20) Whitehascontrolofthecentre,harmoniouslyplacedpiecesand occupiesmorespace.Thesefactorsareusedto followthrougha planof 'sutfocating'theopponent. 16 trfd1 Axd4 17 Axd4 d5 18 a4l PreGntingto themaximumdegreethefreeingadvance b6- b5, whichis Black'sonlyway of gettinganysortof activeplay Botvinnikcontinuesto preventthis,andonly permitsit when it leadsto a quickwinforWhite. 18 . .. fe8 19 Ads Hc6 20 pxsT Qlxg721 h4 Anotherlinkintheplan.Blackisgiventhechoiceof playing h7-h5witha weakeningof his€-sideanda laterpossibilityof line openingbyWhitethere,orof movinghisdecentralisedknightaway from97 andso permittingh4-h5.Blackdecidesto temporlse,but thisisnoimprovement. 21 . . . Ee8 22 Ec3 ahs 23 gfd4 bs Thislookslikesomefreedomatlast,butit hasallbeentakencare of by Botvinnik.Therewasthealternative23 . . AJ6 when24 flxf6 exf6 25 gxf6 is badbecauseof 25 .. d5! butWhite couldinsteadlustkeepthepressureon by nottakingon f6. After 24 . . . Axdb 25 exdS followedby h4-h5Whitewouldstarta winningattackonthe€-side. 24Cbab 25 Edcl ! trxc3 26 flxc3 ba 27 HcTl 30 Forcingpenetrationby the queen,so concretethreats. 29 . . . ts' 95 29 [e1 u,g2 30 E1fs de€xe7 Nowthematerialislevel,butWhite'sinitiativeforcesawin. ""39gf4l a534gh4+ €eB35gxhT gf3 36gh8+ Se737 ghl+ g€ 38 gc4t glb7 3s b3 tre6 40 Esl trxe5 41 fl98- $e7 42 g"n4+&d7 43 gf6t fie7 44 gr5+*d6 45 #!9-tr.gs 46gdsr €e6 47€b2! f648 flf8 gs7 49&c8+ BdS50*c4+ 1-O Resolvablepositions Thisisalargesectionwhichinciudesalmostallchesspositjons.lr canbedividedfurtherinto:- 1)Positionsresolvablebylogrcalplansandprecedents_ logical pos/t|ons 2) P_ositionsresolvablebycalculation- calculablepositions 3) Positionsresolvableby'tackingto and fro, - manoeuvring posltrons. Thecrowningof the planwith penetratlonto the7th rankand dlrectthreatsio the enemyking.lt 27 gx b3? then 28 f XeT+ flxe7 29 flc8+ mating. that White now gets Es631 Efl g'ds32 J I @"'/l"tH"'..&t//Lt t'''.fu,''/r& 2'H,47 2 /.,.4./,-a /&, ..rt ,t t t/t 'L//' 21. ...e, vH ''&, ',/z/&'/t6/z 7t wfr t 7 7 2 7:.,, t',/t /t *

46 Studying the Middle Game 27 . . . g'bs 28ba$e2+ 29gd2 g/xf2+ 30€xf2 Black has avoided mate but the suoer-activewhite Dieces combinedwith the unstoppablepawnat a4 makesit a simplewin for White. lt must be notedthat the possibilityof suchan ending aroselogicallyin the plan of usinghis spaceadvantage,and rt is possiblethat rtevenwasenvisagedin preparationbeforethe game. 3O. . . e6(Not30 . EaB31EcB+SxcS 32NxeT+) 31Ab6 AfO32a5flb8 33fic8+ PXcB34NxcS le8 35 a6fc7 36a7 tlla837 Axd6 gf8 38e5$e7 39 $e3 f6 40 &44h641 Ac9+ &17a2&e4$97 43Sd4 Nc744$c5 1-0 Thisgamewon first prizefor the bestplayedgame.ldraw attentionto thefactthatin Soviettraditionthebestgameprizeis awardednotjustfora cascadeof bnlliantsacrificesbutalsoforiron logrc. Justsucha fineimpressionof ironconsistencycomesfromthrs effortby a pupilof Botvinnikin thegameKarpov'Unzicker,Nice Olvmoiad.1974. ThegeneralimpressionisthatWhitemerelystandsslightly'freer' withhiscentrepawnontheSthrankgivinghimrathermorespace. YetBlackhasnoweaknessesandisreadyto repelanassaultatany partof theboard. Karpovformsa planof strengtheninghispositionfudherwhich maybesummarisedthus:- Blockti,e a-fileby $a7 to preventrook exchangesand a simplificationof the position.Underthe protectionof thisbishop concentratethemajorpiecesonthea'file,thenatanvmomentthe retreatof the bishopwillthreatento dominatethatfile.However this isnotenoughbyitselfto win.lt willhaveto becombinedwrth threatsonthe€-sideanda generalcrampingof theenemyforces. Thepossibilityofalternatingplayonthe$-sideandonthea-filewill stretchBlack'sdetensiveresources. 24 Aa7! Ae8 NotecarefullythatBlackfailsto forma counterplanhere.lt was obviousthatWhite's$-sidethreatsinvolvedtheadvancef4, since he hadno otherway of makingprogress.So Blackshouldhave plannedtheformationAe8, dd7,,t&e7,whenf4 canbemetbyef Resolvablepositions 47 and Blackwill establisha knight on the fine squaree5. White's possibleestablishmentof a knighton c6 viad4 couldbe neutralised sy Nd7-bB.'ln that caseWhitewould probablyhaveto deferf4 untilhe had preparedit by g3, soasto meetef by gf. EventhenthoughBlack's concentrationof forceson e5 would givehim a chanceto conduct a moststubborndefence,whereasnow hegraduallyslidesdownhill 25 Ac2 t)c7 26 Heal $e7 27 $b1 Ae8 28 Ae2 Ad8 29 6h2 Ag7 30 f4-White getsthisinassoonaspossible,exploitingthefactthatan enemyknrghlcannotcometoe5. 3 0 . . . f 6 A confessionof hisinabilityto undertakeanythingWhitenow pressestheenemyforcesbackto thelasttwo or threeranksand Blackcanonlywait. 31 f5 s5 Thisistotalcapitulation.Blackstillhadsomeslightchancesif he keptupthetensiononthe€-side. 32 33 32 Ac2 With the simpleplanof usingh5 as a transferpointfor first bishopand then queento get closeto the enemyking.These manoeuvreswouldprobablynot be so effectiveif Blackwerenot tied down all the time by White'sthreat to switchbackto the g-side. 32 . . . Af/ 3:] 6g3 4lb7 3a Adl h6 35 q h5l g'e8 36 $d1 Ad8 37 Ea3 €f8 38 E1a2 €g8 39 Aga gf8 ObviouslyBlackcannotbke tvviceon h5 becauseof theknight forkonf6. Sooneror latertheweakenedwhitesquareswilltell. 40 Ae3 €g8 41 Axfl+ Axf/ 42 g'hs ld8 43 $s6!-- Capturinglhequeenisbadasthewhiteknightsonh5 andi5 tn conjunctionwiththepawnat gOwillcreategravethreats 43 . .. €/f8 44 Ahs! 1-0 Theonlychanceof holdingthef6 pawnis44 . . gf 7,butthen 45 Qga 6eB 46 Ab6 wouldleadto theidealsituationenvisaged in Karoov'splan. % i 2 t< %) ',ft ft2',& ',,fu /, t 7 ffit ru "&, ^"r/& % % ry^

48 Studying the Middle Game At timesduringa gamethepositionsuddenlyremindstheplayer thathe hasseensomethinglikethisbefore.Thisisfrequentlythe casewiththemoreeruditeplayer,andoccursparticularlyfrequently whenplaying'logical'positions. Thisisquitelogical;whenwehavetoughcloseconflictswiththe pieces'mixingit'andgivingblowfor blowit ispracticallyimpossible to findanexactprecedentfortheconcretepositionbeforeone.On theotherhandlogicalplansmakea deepimpressionon themind andthemoreanalyticalworkonedoesthemoresuchprecedents arefixedintheconsciousness.Theusefulnessof sucha storageof knowledgecannotbe over-estimatedin itseconomyof timeand mentaleffort. Thisapproachisoftenseenin Botvinnik'sgamesandhisgame notesoftendrawattentionto thefeature.Thusin his 1Othgameof theworldtitlereturnmatchwithTalin 1961hewrites'Obviouslv Blackdoesnot go for the pawnwin by 12 .. ab4 13 €d2 Exa2 14 flxa2 $1xa2,sinqethiswouldhandovertheinitiative to White.Blackhurriesto advancehisb-pawnin imitationof the plandemonstratedin theJanowski-Capablancagame,NewYork, 1 9 1 6 1 Thatgamehadopened1 d4 Af6 2 Af3 dS 3 c4 c6 4 lc3 Afs 5 g/b3 gb6 6 g/xb6 ab 7 cd lxdb I AxdE cd 9 e3 lc6 1O$d2andnowcame10 . . . AdTllwithCapablancaplan- ningtoad\€nce. . . b6-b5andthentransferhisknighttoc4. So with thisgamein mindBotvinniktreatshispositionin the Resolvablepositions 49 Capablancamanner. 12 . . . aa5 13 Ac3 b5 14 Afl b4 ls Abs €d8 16 Af3 irc4-Capablanca's planhasbeenfollowedand hasbroughtBlacka definiteadvantage. 17 Axc4 dc 18 Ad6 AxdG 19exd6 Ac6 20 AeS AXhl 21 axf7+ &ea 22 Axhg Ae4 23 d5 ed 24 Ad4 Af6 2s @d2 &d7 and Blackexploitedthe extrapawnwithoutmuch trouble. Anotherexampleinthe 13thgameof thesamematch. BotvinnikwasWhiteandwrote'ltisnothardto finda planhere. It was successfullyusedin a similarpositiontn a traininggame Boleslavsky-Botvinnik,Voronovo, 1952. and consistsof the underminingof Black'spawnchainby b2-b3and a2'a4. lt is surprisingthat althoughWhite openlywent for this plan my opponent,inessence,didnottryto counterit: 14 Sc2! Ad7 15 6e2 Af8 15 Aca a6 17 b3 HacB 18 Ad3 Ab6 19 Ae2 trd6 20 &b2 f5 21 fldcl fi16 22 a4 ba23 baa524&c2c425 Hcbl pba 26la2ScS27pxcS fixcS 28 lc3. White'sadvantageisobvious.Whitecouldhavewon bV28 f4, but hedecidedto achievevictoryby positionalmethodsandduly didso. Yet anotherexampleof this in Botvinnik'snotesto Spassky- Botvinnik,SovietTeamCh. '1966:- 1e4cG2 d4 d5 3 lc3 de4 Nxe4 SfS 5 Ag3 Ag6 6 h4h6 7 Af3 AbdT 8 h5 Ah7 I Ad3 Axd3 10gxd3 Of6'This welfknownvariationof the Caro-Kannis a favourite weaponof Spassky's. . . . unfortunatelyfor my opponentthe wholevariationwaswellknownto me,sinceaslongagoas 1928| hadoccasiontowritenotestoa gameGrigoriyev-Panov,wherethts sameopeningwasplayed!' Commentissuperfluous. One may find similarexamplesof the exploitationof past precedentsbysuchspecialistsof planningasKarpov,Petrosianand Keresamongstothers.A care{ulexaminationof suchexamples 34 37 35 7 2 & 2 t & t 7 t & 2 2 '.& t*, 7 %i"N % 'zr. ft:/& 2 %ft%t:.,'r,&t.t 2 % t H 2 ' t%a%i"'& ruh'lzi% %ir& 7 % / & v z % "'& r u 7 & d % w

50 StudyingtheMiddleGame shouldconvincethereaderoftheneedto getto knowthegamesof the past.As the proverbputsit'Why inventthe bicycleallover again?'Anotherargumentinfavourof thisistheneedto avoidthe dangersoftimetrouble.lf peoplearegoingtodevotesomuchtime to thestudyandmemorisationof openinglinesletthemdevotejust asgreata zealto thestudyandbuildingupof a memorybankof logjcalplans. Calculablepositions Thishasthreeaspects:combinationalpositions,positionswith forcedvariationsandpositionswithalternatingblows. After quietmanoeuvringor tacticalplaythereoftenarisesa positionin whicha decisioncan be forcedby a sacrifice.The outcomemaybeeitherforcedmateor extensivewinof material. ThisisAgadzhanyan-Farbisovrch,USSBCh 1977,SwissSystem qualifier.Blackexploitstheopenpositionof theking. 1 ... g'h2+ 2&xh2EXfl+ 3 gh3 Ehs+ 4$sa Sf4+ 5 gg3 trffs+ 6 $94 flfgs mate. ThefollowingfinishfromWestin-Karlsson,Stockholm,1973is alsostriking. essentialdifference sacrificeismissing. 40 Resolwbleposilons 5l from combinationsis that the elementof FromAlekhine-Vidmar, NewYork,1924. 12 Deb gXc3 (Capturingon eSwouldleavetheg-sidetoo weakenedin the faceof attackby White'spieces)13 AXdT axdT 14g'b1 Thisthreatensnotjusth7,butalsoA-e7-b4irappingthequeen, soBlackhasto givebackthepawnat once. 14 . . . fle8 15 AxhT+ €h8 16 Ac2! Withihedoublethreatg-d 1-h5and$a4 winninga pawn. 16 . . . lf8 17 Qa4 fle6 18 g/bs andWhitewona pawn. Positionswith alternatingblowscan be illustratedby thisplay fromthe 1gthmatchoame.Alekhine-Euwe,1937. 13 ... ab4 14 Ab5+ Bf8 15 8e2 Ac5 16 Ad1 Afs 17 h3 hs 18 Ag5 8bG 19 Ah4 Ae4 20 hg Ac2 Witheverymovethecomplexitiesgrowinbafflingfashion.. . 21 fc3 ad4 22 r&fi \22 gd2 wouldwtn)22 .. hg! 23 Aa+ 8cZ Zq Hxeq de 25 $c4 flac8 26 Hacl bG2.7f]xcS oi ze gao gxes 29 pxcS gxgS 3o $xcs+ $xcs 31 ExcS EXh432 fic4 le2+ 33€/f1 Af434gg1 g3landthe gamefinallyendedina draw. Heretherewerenocombinations,noforcingmanoeuvres,justa seriesof threats,counters,andcounter-threats,allmovebymove Manoeuvringpositions What do manoeuvTesconsistof? Obviouslynot comblnative hlows nordeep,lonq-termplansWe rarelygetforcinqvariattons 38 +t 39 Blackmadethe shatteringmove 1 SfTl! runningintoa knightfork,butafter2 AXd6+ Se7 3 gxbb camethefresh blow3 Af4+ forcingmatenextmove. Thesecasesarewellcoveredinexistinoliterature.sowedo not needto laboJrthepornt. Winscan oftenbe forcedbv forcinomanoeuvreswherethe t.,/t ./.H ,,& .N ,,/az 7.zt ^ /:., './t ,/a )\ JI '& ../;:,:a '/;2. 7 t i'& 2 '/rX 2'.& '.tt t ".&'lH ft;x 'H "'N ^ 7..., t 7.zA ,&i 7.:.,,; 2 7,,"/t ft',,&t .t1. lHi".ry, 7 7 t tl,fl Vz ?/z'24 A.%d%z, 7t /&n71,.'2 H t u 2 t it6:tt;:tllt;,,.,.:.t.,/l: 7t^ ^,fuzw'