Aron Nimzowitsch - Blockade - New Perspectives.pdf

B L O C K A D E NewPerspectives by Aron Ninrzowitsclr TransI ated by Dr. JosephPlatz USCFMasterEmeritus 1980 CHESSENTTRPRISES,1NC. CORAOPOLIS,PENNSYLVANIA

Copyright1980,1983bv ChessEnterprises,lnc' Editor: B.G. Dudley t s B N 0 - 93 ' 14 6 2 ' 0 7 - X CoverDesign:E-F.Witalis,Jr. WitlalisBurkeAssociates,lnc' Pittsburgh,PA Thisisan Engtishtranslationof the 1925B' Kagan' Berlin,eclition, This 1983revisionis the third pflnttng, Publisher'sForeword ThisisNimzowitsch'sfirstpublishedbook,appearingin BerlinandLenin- gradeditionsin1925.Hischiefwork,lvlySystem,appearedthesameyear andquicklyovershadowedthissmallerwork. Copiesof the originaledition havebecomeveryscarceandthe book hadneverbeentranslatedinto English. I wasveryfortunatethat my goodfriend,Dr. JosephPlatz,readilyagreedto handlethe translationfrom hisnativetongueinto English.Nimzowitschis well knownaswritingwith considerableverveandcomplexidiomaticcon- structionswhichmaketranslationsevenmoredifficultthanordinarily.Dr. Platzhashandledhischailengingtaskadmirably. Nimzowitschmakesreferencein "Blockade"to threeof hiscontemporary magazinearticlesto furtherelucidatehispoints.Wehaveincludedtransla' tionsfrom thesearticlesto permittoday'sreaderto havereadyaccessto these suoplementalmaterials. SinceNimzowitschhadcompletedwritingMy Systempriorto this book thereisnaturallysignificantcongruityin concepts.However,I amcertain that today'schessstudentswill welcomethe opportunityof furtherstudyof thewritingsof the chessmasterwho hasbeenproperlynamed"The Fatherof ModernChess". With referenceto the variedspellingsof the author'sname,the useadopted intheoriginal"Blockade"hasbeencontinuedin thisedition.

By blockadeI referto the mechanicalobstructionof anenernypawnby a piece.Thismechanicalrestrictionof forwardprogressisaccomplishedb, placingone'sown pieceon the squareimmediatelyjn front of the pawnto be blockaded.For example,in thediag.am,the Blackpawnon d5 is beinqorocK_ adedby a Whiteknighton d4. A : Diagram1 White: A. Nimzowitsch It iscustomary- at leastamongmasters_ to blockadean enemvpasseo pawn;but to my knowledgeno attempthasbeenmadeto justifythe necessity of thismeasureon a theoreticalbasis.To find sucha justificationwould meanthe solutionof the problemt,,Blockade,,. Onegetsa little closerto an understandingof the problemto which I have justreferredwhenonedelvesinto the essentialbehaviorof the pawn. Un- doubtedlyoneof itsspecificcharacteristicsis itstremendouslustto expand, thedesireto stormforward. Thefreecenterclearlydemonstrateshowthts tendencyof the pawnto gainin importanceby advancingworks. Forexample,let usexaminethe followinggameplayedat odds,whichin- cidentallywaspreviouslyunpublished. I .7- . Black:Amateur Playedat Rigain 1910 (RemoveWhite'sRa1,andplacethepawnat a3) 1 e 2 - e 4 e7-e5 2 Ns1.f3 Nb8_c6 3 Bf1-c4 Bf8-c5 4 c2-c3 Ng8_f6 - Aswe shallsee,Blackiswillingto giveup hise-pawn.ButthentheWhitecenterbecomesmobilized.Thereforeit would havebeenmoreprudenttoshout."stop!"to theWhitepawn-avalancheby playing4...02_aO.ifrere rof_lowed: 5 d2-d4 6 c3xd4 e5xd4 Bc5-b6 ",^1,!," .l:"* on b4 isnor possibtedueto the pawnon a3. Thisfactweakens!,quKs.oerense.tt the pawnhadbeenon a2,thischeckon b4 wouldgiveoracktimeto captureWhite'spawnon e4. And thatwouldbeanexcJllent'"irnceto hinderthe pawnmovementbecause_ asI usedto sayjokingly wnllein pain- yearsof experiencehasproventhat a deadparn _ "r*o,

advanceanymore.Butnow,afterthemove6...Bb6,theWhitepawnrolrcr setsitselfinto motion. 7 d+d5 NcGeT In showingthislittlegame,we not onlyelucidateon thepawn'slustto ex. pandbut we alsohavethe opportunityof seeingwhat ismeantby itspossible advance.Hadthe knightretreatedto b8 or movedto a5,it wouldhavebeen thrownback.or elsehavebeendisplaced.Thuswe note: (a) thetendencyto advanceoriginatespartiallyfromthewishto demobr- lizetheenemy. (b) the intentionof stormingforwardwith the pawns,in order- to get ridof them. Almosta suicidialtendency.don'tyouthink? No,noraI all,becausethe pawnin itsessenceisalsoa blockingunit, it standsin theway of itsown pieces.lt robsthe piecesof theirroutesjnto enemv territory,andthereforeby itsadvance,itstendencytowardself-destruc. tion isaccomplishedthroughstrengthandself-assertiveness.To summa- rize(b): it isthewishto gainlinesfor the pieces(rooks!)whichwere postedin hometerritoryby advancingfor a breakthrough.And finally (c) it isalsopossibleto form a wedgeby advancingthe pawns. Nowto continuewith the game: 8 e4-e5 Thepawns'lustto expand.especiallythe centerpawns,issostrongthat it completelysurpassesanothervery importantprinciple,that of development (for instance,by Nc3). Nc3wouldof coursebeweakbecauseof theanswer d7-d6andthe centerisrestrained,sincethe mostthatcouldbe initiatedisa ljneclearance,mentjonedunder(b). 8ut thiswouldbetoo littlesinceWhite isentitledto playfor a wedge(c)whichmightleadto a breakthrough.There followed: 8 . . . . N f 6 e 4 Blackplaysfor materialgainwhileWhitefollowsan idealisticcourse,he wantsto hinderthe developmentof hisopponentby d5-d6,andthusvirtually kill the b;shopon c8. In the ensueingstrugglebetweentwo vitalforcesof the world,the latterconceptwinsout, remarkableenoughbut,asI usedto say jokingly.yet explanatorybecausethegamehadbeenplayed- beforethe w a r ! " N o wl p l a y e d : I dsd6 10 e5xd6 andthecriticalpositionhasarisen. Positionafter Black's 11thmove: Diagram2 1t od1.b3! 12 Bc4xlTt Nf2xhl Ke8-f8 13 Bc1-95 Resigns. The pawnwhich imprisonsthe opponentwasthe mainactorin thissmatl drama.But it wasnothingelsethanthe wedgeresultingfrom the pawnmarch e4e5.d4-d5d6.etc. To summarizethe fundamentalmotivesof the pawnadvancein the center: (a) demobilizationof the oooonent (b) openingof lines {c) restraintthroughwedge-formation Now let uslook at a differentkind of pawn,anextremelymobileone.the passedpawn, Whileit seemsdifficultto hampera freecenterin the longrun, it ismucheasierto restrainthe marchof a passedpawn. In anvcaseit ii mucheasierto setrulesfor the lattercasethanfor thefirst one. Whv? Wetl thefree(mobile)centerisonly a singlecaseof a ,,pawnmajority". iheoreti- callywe maytalk abouta pawnmajorityjn the center,therebeingno reason whywe canonly speakof a playerhavinga pawnmajoritvon oneof the wrngs,lf, however.our definitionof the freecenteristrulv equivalentto a pawnmajorityin the center.thentherewouldbe- for purposeof instruc- tlon- theway to "restrain a freecenter,,,a verycomplicatedprocessinvolv- I n g : (1) How doesa pawnmajoritywork? {2) How doesa passedpawnariseout of sucha majority? {3) How doesonedefendagainsta majority? {4) Whatisthe reasonfor thegreaterstrengthof a centermajority? (5) Speciatmeasuresagainsta centermajority. ^,.B.efore we answerthesequestionslet'sput the passedpawnunderthe mag- "rrylngglassa bit becausethe passedpawnisthe crystallizedproductof apawnmajorityandassuchit canbeunderstoodmoreeasilythanthe more elasticandcomplicatedpawnmajority. c7xd6 Ne4xf2 {Seethe diagramat thetop of the nextpage) Nimzowitschis makingan analogybetweenthe waron the chessboard and WorldWarI betweenthe twa confederations,and noting that thegame wasplayedin 7910 before World Warl, and thesenoteswercbeins written after the war. tTzt.N '&'4.t 72A7, % tt'& % tt4t + t"/Z.z % ,x

As I mentionedat thebeginningof thisdiscussion,it isfairlywellknown that passedpawnshaveto bestoppedalthoughtheoreticallytherehasbeenno reasonfor it. I havesucceededin findingone,andalthoughI hadoriginarry plannednot to publishthisdiscoveryuntil it appearedin my bookMy Syste4 I shallnow revealit in the interestof thistreatise.Therearethreereasons: (1) Let'slookat thefollowingtypicaJpassedpawnposition: isalsothisoptimismwhichgivesusthe strengthto discovereventhefaintest ravof hopein everybadsituation,regardlessof how badit may be. In our 66sefor instancewe canstatethat anenemypassedpawnis undoubtedlya qreatevilforus. Buteventhisevilcontainsa faintrayof light.Thesituation issuchthat whenwe blockadethispawnwe postthe blockadingpieceat the backof the pawn- asseen{romthe enemyside* in otherwords,the block- sderissafefrom frontalattack. ForexamPle: % 7 2 7 2 7"7<7,% 'x 7.2 Diagram3 Blackhasa passedpawn. Thispassedpawnishispride,andthereforeit ap- pearsnaturalthat the Blackpiecesprotectthis pawn(Nf6, Bb7)andsupport it (Rdg). Now the questionarises:ls it sufficientto hamperthe pu*n nVNOg andBf2 or isthe blockadeby the knighton d4 necessary?Answei:Against the passedpawn'sstronglustto expandmildermeasuressuchashamp"ering by piecesfrom a djstanceareinsufficnetbecausetypically,n" pr*n "un r,ilf advanceundersuchcircumstances,in whichcasetne pawnwiff'pavfoi,n,, ua- tion with its life.thusd4-d5,B or Nxd4,andnowthe glackpiecesin the back. groundsuddenlycometo life:the gb7 getsanopendiagonaldirectedagarnsr theenemyking,the rook obtainsanopenfile,and,i,. tinigl,,grr, " n"* ".* tral square.Wehadfocusedon thjsforcefuladvance(for tin"Jp"ning;t fin.rt before{underb), For the pawn,slustto expandthis isan especiallyiharacter- isticgoal. Thuswe maysay,the firstreasonwhichforcesthe blockadeby logicis this: the passedpawn- asI usedto sayjokingly_ issuch, Oung"roi,"r,rni- nalthat it is by no meanssufficientto haveit *.t"n.a OVtn" pofi"" tfrffrsu"O Bf2);.no,this manshouldb€ in jail,thereforecomptetetydeprivedot'ir, ir".- domby theblockadingknighton d4. (2) Thesecondreason,to beexplainednow, isstrategicallyaswell asrn, structionallyof greatimportance;in chess,that whicfrOe-ciOesin tfrsfinat measureisoptimism. I meanthat it ispsychologicallyimportantto trairr yourselfin the attitudeof feelinghappyaboursmalladvantages.The begrn. nerenjoyshimselfonly whenhecallsout mateto hisoooon"-nro, o"rnuu.Lletterstillwhenhecancapturehisqueen(becausein theeyesof thebeginner this ispossiblythegreatersuccessof the two); the .a.tu|, how"uerisalr"aoypleasedandhighlysatisfiedif hesucceedsin findingevena shadeof anenemypawnweaknessin a nook of the left halfof the loaiO! Theoptimis., h"re described,formsthe indispensablepsychologicalOasis+orpositionatpiay. tt 8 Diagram4 Black'spassedpawnison e4;theWhiteblockader,Ne3,ii not exposeoro a rookattack{e8-e3)andis- soto speak- safe. It is jmportantto notethatthe blockadingpiece,in additionto itsobliga- tionto blockade,usuallystandsverywell. lf thiswerenot the case,it would bedifficultto refutethe objectionthat it would bewastefulto put a pieceon ice,justto guarda pawn. ln realitythe blockadesquaresareactuallyexcel- lentposts,first - aswasshownbefore- enemyfrontalattackis impossiore, secondthe blockadesquareisoftenat the gametime an outposton a rook file,andthird the blockadingpiecekeepsenoughelasticityto speedto an, otherpartof the battlefieldif necessaryDiagram '12 demonstratesthiselas- tlcrtyandits furtherdevelopment;herewe wantto besatisfiedat demonstrat- ingthe secondcase,that the blockadesquareandoutpostscoincide,In rne Queen'sGambitBlackoftengetsan isolatedqueenpawnon d5,andalthouqh it seemsto besomewhatrestrainedby a Whitepawnon e3,we couldcalrtr halfof a passedpawn,its lustto expanciisthat great;this isfoundedpartially inthefact that the pawnon d5 isalsoa centerpawn. d4 isthe blockade square.Now,Whitealsohasthed file andon it a fortifiedsquare.Whichone isit? Well,alsod4 becauseaccordingto my defin;tiona squareon a filecan onlybecalled"fortified" whenit haspawnprotection,herethe pawnat e3. A fortifiedpoint on a file shouldbeoccupiedby an outpostiseemy articleon openfilesin theWienerSchachzeitung1913"1.In thisfashiond4 becomes strategicallyimportanttwo ways. (3) Onewouldthinkthattheblockadingof a pawnrepresentsonlya tocat - llmitedspace- measure;onestoppeda pawnwhichwantedto advance,and=- * A translationisincludedin thisvoiumein AppendixOne. E a ' . a t a a :

soonlythepawnsuffered,nothingelse.Thisconceptionlacksdepth.In reat. ity a wholecomplexof enemypiecesismadeto suffer,largerpartsof the boardareremovedfromthepotentialfor freemaneuvering,andsometimes the entirecharacterof the enemypositionisfixed,in otherwordsthe paraly. sisistransferredfrom the blockadedpawnintothe terrainfurtherback_| giveasa singleexamplethe"French"position, Diagram5 The pawnse6andd5 arethoroughlyblockadecj,andnotethat the entrre Blackpositionasa consequencehasan uncomfortablefixedcharacter,tne bishopandthe rookareprisonersin thejrown campl lf Whitehada oassed pawnon h4,hewouldalmosthavewinningchancesdespitehissubstanrial materialdeficit! Wenow askour readerto turn hisattentionto the pawnmajority, Diagram 6 presentssucha pawnmajority.WeseethreeWhitepawnsin conflictwirn Diagram6 Thef-pawnshallbecomepassed,it isthe rightful"candidate".And we giveit thistitle,we givehim an academicdegree:l\4r.Candidate,{Thusthat pawnin a pawnmajoritywhichhasno opponentisthe "candidate".)And from thrs wederivethe briefrule: the candidatehaspreference,a rulewhichisdictated notonly by strategicnecessitybut also,asyou mustadmit,by the duty of po- 1;1eness,(Thusunforgettablefor everybodywho callshimselfa politeman, andwe all do that.) To expressit exactlyscientificallythis presentsitselflike this: the leaderof the advanceisthe candidate,the otherpawnsonly accom- panyit, thusf2-f4f5, then92"94-95andf5-f6. ln casethe Blackpawnsstand on96andhb (seeDiagram7 below)thenf4, 93 (not h3 at oncebecauseof ...h4with symptomsof paralysis),h3,94 andf5. Howsimple! And yet how oftenoneseeshowweakerplayers.facedwith the positlonin thisdiagram, Diagram7 advancethe g-pawnfirst,but thenfollowsg7-g5andthe pawnmajorityhasno value,I haveoftenaskedmyselfwhy the lessexperiencedplayersstartwlth 92-94.Thisfactcanbeexplainedverysimply. Theyareuncertainwhether theyshouldbeginleft (f4) or right(h4)andin thjsdilemmatheydecide- likea goodcitizen- to choosethe goldenruleof the compromise, And now let'slook brieflyat the extremelycomplicateddefensivestruggle againsta majority. A resultof the justdevelopedruleisthat theway to counteractthe har. moniousdevelopmentof a passedpawnisto pushtowardthe candidatesoas ro makeit somewhatimmobile,Oncewe havesucceededin makingthe candi" datebackward(by forcinga companionto advance)thenthe blockadeof the onceproudcandidatecannotbepreventedany longer,andthen it will not be longuntilit finallyfalls.Asanexampleof a fightagainsta majorityI present heremy gameagainstTartakowerfrom the CopenhagenSix N4asterTourna- ment1923. (SeeDiagram8 at thetop of the nextpage) Blackhas2 against1 on thequeenside;Whitehasa passedpavvnin the center,\a/hichhowevercanbestronglyblockadedby Bd6. (Oneshoulddif- rerentiatebetweenstrongandweakblockade.A blockaderwhichcanbe easilyattackedandcanonlyrecievelittleor no supportfrom itscomrades naslitfleeffed.) A pawnmajorityon the kingside A healthypawnmajority,but not an irregularone,mustresultin a passed pawn."Nothing easierthanthatl",ourfriendlyreaderwillsayat thefirsr glanceat Diagram6, Verytrue,but I wantto bepermittedin this instancero formulatea rulewhicha Scandinavianaudienceof minecalled,,unforqettable;, onewhichshouldstickin our mindsiikea Viennesewaltz.Theroadto rnrs ruleleadsby wayof a smalldefinitionrof thethreeWhitepawnson theking srde,at presentnoneis"passed,,, howeveroneof themisundoubtedlyless hamperedthantheothers.I referto the f-pawn;at leastit hasno opponent. 1 0 % 2 t %"il. vlz,ry % '8, 71,, 7Z t',Ft lz t7t zt/lz,,raaz 7 tz t % t % % % % % / L % % %"ffi' %2.,. % ',tu% t'ztltztT"Tzrtv 'D/'".'try%% D*'.27t'r*7K 1 1

':,.1 l r'..t'I White: Nimzowitsch Diagram8 ',t/1Xg * + BlackI Tartakower Therefollowedfromthedlagrammedposition: 23 Nagc2! a6a5 24 a2-a3 Theadvanceof the candidateisbeingthwarted. 24 .... Ne7-f5 25 Rd1.d31 To continuethe pressureagainstthe candidatewith Rd3'b3; the ideal wouldnaturallybeto coaxthe a-pawnto advance(a5'a4)sincethenthe blockadeon b4 wouldbepossible.Howeverhereit would beunrealisticto playfor that. Therealisticprocedureisto "hope" that no passedpawnwill becreatedandat the sametime still bepreparedin the eventthat a passed pawndoescomeabout. ThereforetheWhitepiecesstandreadyin anemer- gencyto blockadeby Rb3the passedpawnb4 if it shouldariseanyway. 25 .... Rb8-c8 Withthe intentof drivingawaytheNc2soasto effectivelyplacehisown knighton d4; but correctwasthe blockadeof theWhitepassedpawnby Nd6. 26 Bflg4! Rc8xc2 27 Bg4xl5 bSb4 The blockadeby Bd6wasnecessary.Therefollowed: . 28 a3xb4 a5xb4 29 d$d6, The passedpawn'slustto expand,whichherehascreateda morefortui- tousbasis,namelythe factthat the Rc2is hanging. '.,//,./,- t,/t T l:z tt- 5 holdsbackthec-pawnandat the sametime preparesanactionwhichuproots theblockadeon d8. With a passedpawnon the b file this possibilitywouto not havebeenavailableto him. Therefollowedl h7"h5 The kingthreatenedto marchto h6r Kg2-f3-94-h5-h6. 36 h3h4 37 Rcel-c8 3€l2-t4l 39 g3g4 40 h4h5 Theuprooting!TheBlackblockaders{K andR)will nowbedecisivelvdi- virtedby the passedpawnon h5. Bd4b6 Ke7-f8 Kf8-s8 43 Rc3c8 Kg8-h8 44 Kg2.s3 Rd8.s8 To makethe blockademoreeffectiveby Bd8, 45 Rc8-eg Slippingbehindthe barrierwhichBlackhadhopedto erectby Bd8. Now mateisthreatenedby hGh7,andthereforeTartakowerresigned. Witha boldleapwe'll turn our attentionnow to the fight againsta major. ity in the centerwithout botheringwith the restof the "majority" problems {otherwisethiswritingwouldextendinto infinity). Heretoo, aswith every othermajority,we seeourselvesthreatenedwith the possibilitvof the forma- tionof a passedpawn. To makethingstougher.newthreatsappear,the be- ginningof anattackagainstthe castledking{thecenterasa weaponof aggres- sion!)introducedthroughwedgeformationor openingof !inesanddemobili. zation.I believethe followingpositionsof the mainactorsarecharacterislc. Diagram9 3 5 . . . . 40 .... 41 h$h6 42 Rc8xc3 Rd8-s8 Rs8-d8 Be5d4 h5x94 29 "" NotBxd6becauseof Rxd6,etc. 30 Rd3xc3 Rc2-c3! b4xc3? Thedecisivemistake;thebishopshouldhavecaptured.Blackshouldhave a passedpawnon the b file andnot on the c file;the furthercourseof the gamewill showwhy, 31 dedT Ks8'f8 32 Rb1-b4! Bd8-a8 It makesno difference;whateverBlackdoeshe is lost. Whitenot onlythreatenstheusualformationof a passedpawnithrougnao- vanceof the candidatee5-e6)but alsothewedgeformationf5-f6. Thiswedge onf6, afterthe reply97.96,wouldhavethe disastrouseffectfor Blackthar Ihecastledpositronwouldbecutoff fromthe mainarmv.thecommunicarton onthe 7th rankwouldbe interrupted(theBlackrookscLrtoff from protection 33 s2-s3 KJ8-e7 34 Rb4-c4 Ra8-d8 35 Ksl-s2 BlackislostbecausetheWhiterookcankill two birdsw;thonestone.lt 7 7 + %g'tzt t7z % 7,2'lfut 7t 72.., % 7,2 %a7z. / H H t % % 7l T '& ',r41 ,ry, t 1 2 1 3

of the points97andh7). To avoidthiswedgeformation,Blackplaysf7-f6, afterwhichWhitecreatesa passedpawnon e6 andtherebyobtainsa powerfLr positionaladvantage.As I saidat thebeginning,I onlymarkedthepositionof the mostimportantactors.Thus,if therehadbeenmorepieceson the board, the Blackpawnon f6 couldbeusedasa targetin orderto forceopenthe g file(g2-g4-q5).Thereforeweeasilyconcludethatit isnot desirablefor Black to oermitthe two pawnsto advanceto the sth tank; theyshouldhavebeen stoppedon the 4th rank. Diagram10 In thepositionof Diagram10,whichagainonlyshowsthemainactors, Blackhasmoreor lessfixedthe candidateon e4. Withouthopeof everbeing ableto forcee4-e5,Whitedecidesto "sacrifice"hismajority. Hemovesf4-f5, andnowthe respectiveknightsentrenchthemselveson e5 ande6. With many pieceson the boardthe knighton e6couldinitiatea strongattack.but posi- tionailytheBlackgameisgood,andtheblockadingknighton e5 isverypow' erful(seemy explanationin (2)above)sinceit preventsthe approachof the Whiteattackingforces,for instancepreventingthequeenfrom goingto 94or a rookto f3, etc. Wehaveseenin everyfight againsta pawnmajoritythe firststepishamper- ing, Finallytheidealconsistsof a blockade. Thedesireto stopa mobilepawnmassisin itselfunderstandable;however, the factthat it seemsoccasionallynecessaryto blockadepawnswhichareal- mostimmobileispuzzling.Thishappensparticularlywhenonewantsto makesucha pawnthetarget.lseeDiagram1l), And nowI will givefourexamplesto illustratewhatI havesaidin thismon- ograph.Allfour examplesarederivedfrom my latestpraxis,the Nordicl\4as- terTournamentin August1924(Copenhagen).Althoughit wasvervstrong- Johner,whoonlyrecentlywonaheadof RubinsteinandTeichmannin Berlin, wasthere,furtherAllanNilesson,thegenialtheoreticianDr. Krause,thesolicl youngmastersKinch,Kier,etc.- | succeededin winningwith 9%pointsout of 10! | believein allsinceretythatthisgreatvictorvhasto becreditedto mV deeperunderstandingof theessenceof theblockadelInevitablyit happened thatin thedifficultblockadeproblemsencounteredI too occasionallyfaile.i, but thathappenedveryrarely,actuallyonlyin thefollowingendgame. In thesecondroundtheexcellentmasterGiersiflg(oneonly hasto thinkoi 1 4 thebrilliancyGiersing- Kmochpublishedin Kagan'sNeuesteSchachnach- ichten!) andI reachedthefollowingposition: g r t , t t t . t *u ... 7/.,% 7,t Black: Giersing Diagram '11 Whitei Nimzowitsch Whiteto moveandwin Whitedoesnot havecompletematerialcompensationfor the missingpiece, but hispositionalsuperiorityissogreatthat oneisdefinitelyinclinedto pru- ferWhite. Besidesthe protectedpassedpawnon e5andthe strongpositionof theWhitekingin the center,the positionaladvantageliesprimarilyin the sad positionof the Blackrook. Thisrook ischainedto a pawnandthereforesen- tencedto completepassivity.I applieda procedureinvolvingcombinations whichdoesnot representthe strongestcontinuation.To judgethe text con- tinuationfrom the point of viewof our bookwe will analyzeit verybriefly beforewe showthe positionalwayto victory. Thegamecontinued: 58 f4f5 s6xfst 59 Ke4xf5 Rh8-f8t 60 Kfs.e4 Rf8.f7 TheBlackrookhascomebackto "life". Butit isjustthisnewrookposi- tronwhichmakespossiblethecombinationwhjchnow begins. 61 b+b6' Againthe proof of the pawn'slustto expand! Ba7"b8 lf heacceptsthepawn61...8xb6then62 e6t Kxe6 63 Rh61. 62 Ke4d5 63 e5-e61! Comparethe noteto White's61stmove, 63 .... 64 Rh2-t2 o t . . - . 65 Rr2.I7 66 Kd5"c6 67 b6b7t Rf7-e7 Kd7-c8 Re7-e8? Re8-dgt Rd8-e8 Kc8'd8 Thisattemptto separatekingandpawnfrom eachotherendsfataily,jusr asin a moviebecausetheretoo the attemptto separatethe two loversis narsh- ly punished.Thisisnaturallya necessityasotherwisetheaudiencewouloasx Tortheirmoneyback. 'tta 7; .L :.2.:t. , ''::/../z/2 lt '../zt t'/& , t ,/./l ',///zt//.. "t/.2"//.,,/./.2.:t: L.-

Andwinseasily. The nextexampleshowshow muchthe blockaderisableto keepitselastic- ity. Theentry. (OriginallyWhirehadplannedhSh6. HadBlackplaved39... h7-h6,therewould havefollowedKh4with g2"g4-g5.) 68 Rf7-d7mate. Insteadof 64...Re8?,toughresistancewouldhavebeenpossiblewith64... Kd8;howeverWhitewouldhavehada clearwin (seeDiagram11) if hehad blockadedwith 58 Rh2-h6.Therecouldhavefollowedl Kdl-e7 g6xf51 60 Kert-f4!! And Blackishelplessagainstthethreatg6t, for example: Ke7-t7 Kt7-97 Rh8xh7 K97xh7 Kh7-s7 Ba7-b8! Ks7"{8 Bb8xe5 33 Ra2-a5 34 Kt2-s3 35 Ra1-fl 36 Rf1-f5 FirstWhitebroughttherookto f5 andhiskingintoanattackingpositoin. Asfar asthe otherrook isconcerned,it isveryhappyon a5 becauseit has keptitselasticityandmayverywell marchoverto thef file at the rightmo- ment.But it won'tevencometo that. TheRa5andtheBlacka-rookhold eachotherin balance;thereforetheWhitef-rookonly hasto deajwith one counterpart(with onerook)andhereit provesitselfto bethe strongerone, partiallybecauseit alreadyoccupiesthe f file andpartiallybecauseit issup- portedby the king, But what I wantto especiallypoint out isthe readiness of theWhitea"rookto leaveits blockadingpositionandgoonto the f file as soonasit isnecessary.Thefightfor the f file revolvesaroundtheconquestof a pointof entryon f6, f7 or fg for the rooK. Therefollowed: 5 8 . . . . 59 f4-f5 6 0 . . . . 61 s5-s6t 62 Rh6xhTt 63 g6xh7 U Kt4xls 65 Kf5-e6 66 b5.b6 67 KeGdT 68 bebT 3 6 . . . . 37 h2-h4 38 h4h5 39 Rf5"f8 3 9 . . . . 40 h$h6 41 Rt8.b8 42 Rb8xb5 43 Ra5a4 44 Rb5-a5 45 Ks3s4 46 Ra4-a2 Kb7-c6 Ns&fG Nb8-co Ra1-e7 Ra8-a7 Re7-eo s7-s6 sosS KcdcT Re6xh6 Rhef6 Kc7-c8 h7.h6 Ra7-t7 BlackI AllanNilsson Diagram12 White: Nimzowitsch Whitehasthe betterpositionasa5andd5 arevulnerablepawnweaknesses; the firstoneparalyzesthe mobilityof the Blackrooks,the latterthe mobility of theBlackking(theWhiterookpositionf5 forcesthedefensiveposition Kc6,not Ke6whichwouldbewreckedby Re5t). Thuswe mustmakeuseof thecorrespondinglygreatermobilityof our own forces.lt isclearto every endgameplayerthattheWhitekingwill findrewardingactivityon thekjng wing,but what happenswith theWhiterooks?Shouldtheyoccupythef file? Well,thenthebackwarda-pawnwilladvance,andinthiswayBlackwill rid himselfof hisweakpawnandwillevengeta passedpawn. lf howeverone wantsto useonerookto blockadeon a5,thenthe otherrook couldhardly win anylaurelson thef filecouldit? Howevertherefollowed: 47 Ra5xa6andwon in b4 moves. In the followingveryinstructiveexamplethe failureto establisha blockade ispunishedby freeplayof the pieces. white: Kinch Black:Nimzowrtscn Playedin the NordiclVasterTournament1924 1 2 ? d2-d4 t7-t5 e2-e4 I4xe4 Nb1-c3 Bc1-95 ^ And now Kinch olayedan interestingnew movej hetook the knight og5xf6 e7xf6 and made a regLllargdmbit out of the game, 5 Bg5xf6 6 Bfl-c4 7 Ns1-e2 PreferableisNh3. e7xf6 f&f5 Kd7-c6 KcGbT 7 .... Ncdas! 8 Bc4-b3 Nasxb3 9 a2xb3 Od8-s5 I t %e 7t /tut ltu lz 7'. '/z % % t"/2,'r& .Fr '/L 7z 71,, n , t % t'rfu. % 1 6 1 7

9...d5wouldberefutedbYNt4. BlackI Nimzowitsch Diagram13 Whitel S. Kinch Kinchto move In the diagrammedpositionWhiteculdplayto blockadethe Blackpawn majorityon the king'swing,perhapsthrough1093togetherwith establishing a k n i g h to nf 4 ,f o r e x a m p l e1 0 9 3 B e 71 1 N f 4 G 0 1 2 A d 2 d O1 3 G 0 - 0 a n d h2-h4;thenwherewould Black'swinningchancesbein spiteo{ the extra pawn? Perhapsin anattemptto breakthe blockadeby 97-95?(After 1093 Be7 1'1Nf4Oh6 12 Ad2 s'.l Hardly,becauseit wouldloosenup Elack'spo- sitiontoo much. Thereforethe blockadewhichwe havesuggestedwasthe rightwayto equalize. Theflankingmaneuverwhichtakesplacein the gameis likewisegoodand fine. 10 0-0 Bf8-e7 11 t2]131 0-0! 12 f3xe4 f5xe4 13 Rflxfgt k7xl8 14 Nc3xe4 Winningbackthegambitpawnbut leavingtheopponentwiththebishop pairandthefreergame. Therefollowed: Og5-e3t d7.d6! 16 Ne2-93 Bc8-d7 17 Ks1'f1 ProbablybetterwasOd3althoughthentoothebishopsassertthemselves. Ra8-e8! 23 b3xc4 Ba6xc4 24 Nd3-c1 Bf&b4! Not only strongerthanBa6but alsoin conformitywith the requirements of thepositionwhich"callsfor mobility." 25 Ra7xb7 Re&f8t HereBlackstumbles,thoughhewinsa piece,hewill beput in chainsby force,whichmakesit a sinagainstthe spiritof the blockade,(Aswaspointed out,WhitelogicallyshouldperishthroughBlack'sfreeplaywith the pieces whichWhitepermittedthroughhisfailureto blockade.)In thespiritof this unrestrictedplaywith the piecesBlackshouldplay(insteadof 25...RfSt) 25 ...9b4-d2l26 Kf2 (Theonly move,asRfgt threatenedmate.)26...RfSt with adecisivekinghunt,27 Kg3Bell 38 Kh3 BeOt 29 94 h5 30 Rb5 (30 RxcT? hxqt 31 Ks2 Bdst 32 Ksl Bf2t 33 Kfl Bq3t) 30..,Bxs4i 3'l K92Bxe2 32 Nxe2Rf2t 33 Kgl Rxe2,etc. Wereturnto Diagraml4 afterWhite's25th move, Diagraml4 1 4 . . . . 15 Ne4-t2 Notd7-d5whichwouldweakene5. 1 7 . . . . Asstatedbefore,Blackplayed: 25 .... 26 Kfl-sl Andnow,justa littlelate: 26.... Therefollowed: 27 h2-h3 28 Ne2xcl 29 Ks1-h2 30 RblxcT Blackhardlyhasaforcedwin, 30 .... 31 Kh2's3 32 Rc1xc2 33 Ks3-f4 34 Kf'l-es 35 d4-d5? Re8-f8t Bb+d2 Bd2xcl RfS"flt RfIxcl Rc1-c2 Bc4d3 Bd3xc2 Ks8-f7 Bc2-b3 BecauseearlierWhitefailedto blockadetheopponentheisbeingjustly punishedin sotarastheopponent'spieceshavegreatmobility, 18 Ra1xa7 Bd7-bst 19 c2-c4 Bd$a6 20 Ng3-e2 dGds 21 Dd1-d3 Qe3xd3 22 N{2xd3 d4xc4 1 8 The methodical further advanceKd6 wouid probably have led to a draw. After the text move White will be starvedto death. .?. E /2..;, /.a.a.15]!L r':/t'.,/t 2'//r.t .fl,,t2 lt l.:.zEsl,fu tL /rrrrrrrrrrrrt. a t , L .7,:z 7,,, t t ;tu E.L '% % 7,, 7 z %'"/.H.N& t4, "'/r. ",/&,7Za 1 9

The logicalconnectionsof the blockadingeventsmanifestthemselvesextra- ordlnarilyimpressivelyinthisgame.(Togiveit a name,"Crime andPunish- ment".) Beforewe getto the nextexamplewe will firstgivean explanationwhich shouldclarifythe meaningof the qualitativemajority. A majority,suchas threepawnsagainsttwo, must,of course,be impeded;in thissensetoo we mustcalla majorityof thosepositionsin whichthe pawnmajorityon one wingisof a subjectivenature, ln my gameagainstBernsteinat Karlsbad1923{l hadtheWhitepieces), afterthe moves: ly gooverto the attackwith f5, 95,f4 which ismuchlessforcefulthananat- tackwith a realmajority. Therethenthreatensa wedgeformation(through t+f3l andopeningof lines{by f4xf3) with possibleconquestof the "laterally" (notfrontally)denudedPe3, Howeverto recognizea majorityassuchmeans to undertakesomethingagainstit. Therethereforefollowed: 12 Nf3.h4! Nd7-b8 To preventNf5. 13 q2-s3! Nfde8 14 Nh3s2! f7.f5 15 h2.h4 And Black'skingside,which isseeminglyreadyto march,isparalyzed.Af- tera few moremovesthe impedimenthadbeenconsolidatedinto a blockade {bv Nf4} I Similar,althoughmoredifficult,wasthe casein the gameNimzowitsch- Olsonfrom the NordicMasterTournament.After 1 f4 c5 2 e4 Nc6 3 d3 q6 a positionwasreached,which,includinge7-e6andd7-d5,wascalledby Schmidt "the battleof the king'swingversusthe queen'swing". Whitehas in d3,e4,14a kindof side-center,the opponenthasa correspondingposition onthe leftwing. Therenow camemy entirelyrrnprecedentedattemptto im- mediatelyhamperthe mobileenemyqueenwing(thrcugh4 c2.c4)becauseI recognizethiswingasa majority(of the subjectivetypc). For a detailedex- planationof this surprisingmoveI maybepermittedto referto the January issueol Kagan'sNeuesteSchachnachrichten." Thefollowingexample.whichby the way actuallyhappened,showshow difficultproblemsofrestrictioncanbe. In hisnewbooklet,lndisch,Dr.far- takowerpresentsa gamewhichwasplayedbetweenusin the Copenhagen l,ilastersTournamentin '1923.(WhiterTartakower,Black:Nimzowitsch) I d4 Nf6 2 Nc3d5 3 Bg5Nc6,andhe makesthe followingremarkr"Typica! ly Nimzowitsch!Seeminglyanti-positionalbecausein the Oueen'sPawnopen- Ingthe importantc-pawnisblocked,but thisstrategyin the spiritof lively playwith the piecescannotbesimplybrushedaside." To this I would liketo saythefollowingrNc6wasnot at all playedper- tainingto "play with the pieces".The movewassolelyto counteractthe advancee2.e4whichwouldopenlinesandthusfreeWhite'sqame.HadI 36 s2-94 37 hlh4 38 g4g5 39 h4-h5 40 h5h6 41 g5xh6 42 Resigns. 1 N s 1 - f 3 2 d2.d4 3 c2-c4 4 Nb1-c3 5 e2-e3 6 a2-a3 7 c+c5 I b2-b4 9 Bc1-b2 10 Od1-c2 11 G0.0 KIl-e7 Ke7-d7 Kd7-e7 Ke7-d7 Kd7-e7 g7xh6 Ke7-d7 Ns8-f6 d7.d5 e7-e6 Bf8-e7 o0 a7-a6 c7-c6 Nb8-d7 Od&c7 eGe5 e$e4 Diagram '15 A positionhasbeenreachedin whichWhitehasa subjectivemaiorityon the queenside,BJackon the kingside.Why? Becausethe pawnon e4 is "more" thanthepawnon e3andon theotherhandthepawnon cSis,,more thanthepawnon c6, lf onewereto giveBlacka freehand,hewouldqraouar- 20 'A translationof that note follows: 4 c2.c4 ^-As thismoveis not inspircdby the hope of preventingd7-cl, or only of'"dKtngit difficult, it needsa specialexplanation. Black wantsto force theoutldup e7.e5d7-d5. After suchwork is donehe will havethoughtsof im-proving hisattack-formationon the qLteen'swingby an eventualNd4 in order':,usepressurelin the c filel on thepawn on c2 after Nxd4 c,xd4 havebeenp6yed. The te^t movepreventsthispossibleextensionof theplay on the'lueen's wing. Thehole on d4 seemsto benonessential. Ilflt x, 2 .a 6lZ ttufr.& ',,& //z tlH rga 72t7z /,fl.t + + / f,Y aq* 21

played4...e7-e6at once,e2-e4couldbethe response.Thus,the strategyof obstructionI How interestingthat this motivecouldhaveescapedTartakowerwho plav\ with somuchroutineandbattleexperience.Or couldit bejustthe faultot the "routine" that hemissedthe "finer" pointsin this instance? After the nextmoves,4 e3e6 5 Nf3 Be7 6 Bd3h6! 7 Bh4b6! the trencl whichwasdirectedagainste2-e4wasfurtherstrengthened.8 O0 Bb7,and now I threatenthe combinationalmoveNe4with interestingpell-mellcombi- nations. Wehavenowarrivedat the endof our explanations.Welookedat the problemof obstructionfrom differentsidesandwe becameconvincedhow muchstrategyisrepresentedby a fight betweenmobilityon onesideandthe tendencyto obstructon the other, Thephjlosophyheredevelopedisentirelynovelandit istheresultof man! yearsof research,thisappliesespeciallyto the justificationof the duty to blockade.FinallyI wishto givethisguidingprincipleto thealertchessplayeri Stopeverypawnwhichwantsto advanceunderthesl;ghtestpretext,every passedpawn,everypartof the center,everyquantitativeor qualitativemajor- ity, stopthem! Firsttry it goodnaturedly.with mild measures(as3...Nc6for instancein my CopenhagengameagainstTartakower).afterthat let your rightouschess-furyswellto a mightycrescendo!Theclimax,the idealof everyactionto obstructisandremains- - - - - - the Blockade! Dresden 'i924 A. Nimzowitsch SuPPlement Followingthewishof my esteemedpublisherMr-B. Kagan,who issowell knownin the entirechessworld, l'll addsomegamesrelatingto the blockade andalsosomenewexamplesof my procedures. I beginwith an oldergame,playedin the mastertournamentat Ostende 1907,;hich I considerto beoneof the mostpronouncedexamplesof the successfullyaccomplishedimpedimentof a qualitativemajority' No. .l White:vanVliet Black:Nimzowitsch 1 d2-d4 d7'd5 2 Ngl't3 c7'c5 3 e2'e3 e7'e6 4 b2'bg Ng&J6 5 Bf1'd3 Nb8-c6 6 a2'a3 B{8-d6 7 Bc1'h2 TheWhitedevelopmentisdirectedagalnstan intendedfreeingadvance e6e5. Thusobstruction.No wonderthat this latercrystallizesinto a block- ade.(A Whiteknightlaterpostedon e5) Becausein the spiritof our essay lightobstructionisonly an introductorystep,but the climaxisthe blockade' 7 . . . . G 0 8 0-0 9 Nfle5! 10 Nbl-d2 11 12-14 b7.b6 Bc8-b7 a7-a6l b&b5! Blackestablishescounterplavon the queen'swingby recognizinghispawns thereasa qualitativemajority. 12 d4xc5! An excellentmovewhichhadonly the oneiault that vanVliet didn't un' derstandit. But the annotatorof the Ostendtournamentbookalsosuffered aslmilarfate. Teichmanngavethetext movea ? ApparentlyTeichmanncon' sidersthe incriminatingmoveasa surrenderof the center.But that isnot the case,only Whiteshouldhavecontinuedcorrectly. 12 .. Bd6xc5 13 0d1-f3 NfGdT A betterandmoreconsistentmoveis not apparentto me. Blackwantsto getrid of the blockaderNe5in orderto mobilizehisown centerpawns 14 Ne5xc6 Bb7xc6 (SeeDiagrami6 at thetoo of thenextpage) 15 Of3g3 Thisandthe nextmovearemistakes. WhiteshouldhamoertheBlackcenter,whichcouldbeaccomplished through15b3-b4!Bb6 16Nd2-b3andBd4or Nd4 Theblockadeposition 2322

c.9, .Lt 7 /, lt 7//. t'/,tu 'A 7,zt 1.7.,/.. /,t'/..,t /t*'t ,f,w t 7/tA ltall,, t,,,gt /t llz t",za .Hfr.8 Diagram16 After 14,..Bxc6 with a pieceon d4, thusachieved,wouldnot beeasilyshakenoff by f7-f6 ancl e6-e5becauseafterf7"f6,Ohs,or Oh3wouldbecomeunpleasant.On the otherhandthe Blackb-pawn,whichwasfixed by b3-b4,couldbecomea tar- getfor anattack. For instance15 b3-b4Bc5-b6 16 Nd2-b3Od8-e7't7 Nb3-d4BcGbT 18a3-a4(annow 18...8xd419Bxd4Oxb4isnot possible becauseof thedoublebishopsacrificeon h7and97,thus:20 BxhTt KxhT 21 Oh5t Kg8 22 BxgTKxgT 23 Og51Kh8 24 Rt3l ot l7...Bb6xd4instead of BcGbT 18e3xd4. ln the positionthusreachedthe pawnon c2 isback- wardandnot worth much,the sameappliesto Bb2but theseweaknesses couldonly beuncoveredby the maneuverof the knightd7 overb6 to a4or c4,andBlack- dueto hisown unsafeking'sposition(White'se fileandmo- bilityon theking'swingiwouldhardlyhavetimefor that. Thereremainsthe postingof the knighton e4whichhoweverafterBd3xe4would leadto orroo- sitecoloredbishops. ThereforeWhitecouldhaveequalizedby d4xc5in connectionwith thear- temptto impedetheenemycenter.After his 16thmoveWhiteisat a disad, vantage,althoughonehasto admitthat Black'splayhasto beextremelyrisky In orderto exposethedisadvantage, Nd7.f6 With stillbetteraccessthanon the previousmoveWhitecouldhaveqone throughwiththeabovementionedobstructjon,Thusi6 b3-b4Bcb-b617 Nd2-b3andBlackmustbecarefulin orderto equalize. 16 .... a6a5! Now pawna3 isa weakness,andWhitedoesnot reachthe abovemention- edobstruction. 17 Os3h3 h7-h6 TheBlackpositioncantoleratethisweakeningl 1g g2-s4 d5-d4 A deeplyconceivedmove.whichalreadyshowsthe intentionof blockad- ingtheWhiteadvancingmassandtheflightof theBlackking.Accordingto my teachingsanyothermoveisout of the questionbecausethe obstructton of theWhitepawnmassisthe mosturgentorderof the hour. Thefacttnar Teichmanncallsd5-d4a moveof "dubiousvalue,,showshor,vwidelvdiver- 24 NfFhT The plavwhich nowfollows,i.e.to Jorcea delayof 94-95(afterh2-h4) untilthe kinghasfled isanadmirableexampleof the fightagainsta qualita tivepawnmajority. 22 Nd2-t3 23 Oh3-93 24 h2.h4 25 Re1-a1 Thisweaknesson a3forcesWhiteto makea defensivemove. Ae7-b7 Ks8-f7 Re8-h8 Nh7-f8 h6x95 Nf8.d7 Now Black'splanof defensein all itsdepthbecomesevident:afterg5xf6 theanswercanalwaysbeg7xf6. f6 iswell defendedandthe kingfindssatety ond6. 31 g5xf6 Whitebeginsthe battlebeforethe kinghasreachedsafety. 31 .... g7xf6 32 N{3-h4 Not a badidea.Whitewantsto establisha strongoutposton the g file. Diagram17 Whitehasa qualitativemajorjtyon the king'swing Threat:94-95aftera oueenmoveandh2-h4. *61areopinionsin chessll '- 19 ele4 ln orderto answer94-95with e6-e5l 20 Rd1-el 21 l4-ts 21 .... 25 .... 26 Rt-e1 27 Re1-e2 2A Ks1-92 29s+ss 30 h4xg5 od8-d7 e&e5! Od7-e7 R{&e8 t7.t6 I I . . . - 1 6 R a l - d 1 ? 32 .... 33 Nh+s6 34 Ks2-t2 Rag-98 Rh8-h5 Nd7,f8 Now a terrificbattlewill ragefor the outpost96. Onthe wholethe out' postappearsto be{airlystrong.lf despitethat strengthit cannotbeheld, t x t z "lt - 2*71,t"4.Allt i"..& 'L % ''/Lt t%a% 7Nt,.X, 25

thereasonIiesin theweaknessof theWhiteposition,namelyin thefacttn,, thepawnon e4 isnotonlythreatenedby Bc6andOb7,butalsoby thcS"i' whichisburningto givea discoveredcheck. 35 Ra1-gl 36 Og3h4 37 Kt2xs1 38 0h4.h5 39 f5xg6 ApparentlyWhiteholds96. . . 'lo 4O Re2-92 41 Ah5-e2 rha lollowinggamemutL al5obc consrderYddsa 1'ghtagain\1d qudlitiitiv{ " ,,., lt wrs plavedat Karlstlao1923and crowncdw'lh the 2nd b' 11;ancv fial9ttt't" - Rh5-s5 Rg5xg1 Nf8x96 Kt7-t8 ab7-s7 Rs8-h8 /ize' White: Nimzowitsch N o . 2 1 N g 1 - f 3 2 d2-d4 3 c2'c4 4 Nb1-c3 5 e2-e3 6 a2-a3 Black:Bernstein{Amerlca) Nq8-i6 d7-d5 Bf8-e7 0-0 a7-a6 e5-e4 41 .... Rh8_h4! Startsa diversionagainstPe4,andthisisdecisive,namelyfor thefateot Pg6andthereforealsofor theresultof thegame. 42 Bb2-c1 At lastthe bishop,whichwascut off for 24 moves,daresto comeout intc thedaylight,but hearrivesjustin timeto witnessthecollapseof hisforces. Attet 42 Rg4,whichTeichmannrecommendedhere,wouldhavefollowecl Rxg443 Oxg4Bc6,d7!andBd7-eBandBlackmustwin. I C4'Ct Formsa pawn chainwhich will be completeoncethe Blackpawn hasoeen ,aii.i "O'f"l "Of The Wh;te links;n the chainarelhe pawnsd4 and c5 rheBlack onesare db and cb. I ne !vhite plan for attack in the realm of the lll'l ili, o""""1i n2'oq,* "q'.b4-b5'b5xc6afterwhichb7xc6isforced' in o,t'rr *orOr, thepawnon c6' which{ormsthe baseot theBlackpawn -h"in \ ill heexoosedto an altacKTromthe sideandanenvelopingmovement ill'il ";;;i;1'L (tnesioeattackwouldbebvRb6'whiletheenverop' i"" ",i"it i.rla consistof Rb1-b7-c7xc6l Wehavealreadvd;scussedthein- iti"almovesin thetheoret:calpartof lhisbook 7 .,' c7"c6 a h2'b4 Nb8-d7 9 Bc1'b2 Od8'c7 10 od1'c2 e&e5 11 0-0'0! Up until now the pushin the centerhasbeenconsideredasa refutati'onof rtt.-"l"ir"iu.""t tromtheflank An entirelVunfoundedperceptionleGe5is ""r" ii" -n"trinu r.."ctionto c4-c5which- iJtheWhitecenterhassomeabil- Diagram'18 ityto resist- equalizes,but not more' 1 1 " ' 44 Ad2xa5 ag7-d7 Theblockadingqueenleavesherpost.Whenoneconsjdersthatblockading isusuallythetaskof theminorpieces,onemustadmitthatthequeen,which isnot usedto thistvpeof work,hasdonea terrificjob. 45 gdgTl K8-s8 Nowhismajestyhastakenovertheb ockadehimsef. 46 ad3c4t 47 Oa5xc5 To sweeptheblockadeawaywith Ofgt. 47 "" Resigns. Theothertheoret]callyconceivabIeattempttostrengthentheattacKIngpo. ,ition.gri",t la *ouid consistof theexchangee5xd4'andplayon thee file ii'""ni"n"ii*o estootirn.""tora1oJtoost'-\14H?Ylll : i".':li: :: temptisnoi pracricallVleasblebecaLrsethee filP\'!ouldbelongto vvnLre ;;;kr;" ;it;;;|. deveiopmentTherefemainsnothinselseto do exceptto n,tart O+t, untoucnaOteandtransfertheattackfromd4 ontothenewbase "g *iin .s .+. Whitethenhasthetaskof hamperingthemovementf7-{5'{4x 4 2 . . . . 43 Ae2-d2 Rh4xe4! Re4-h4 Thisgarne(agajnstvan Vliet),which remainedreiat;velyrnnoticecl,is one of my bestacccmpllshments. 26 e3,whichwouldexposee3fronrthesrde' Nd7,b8 NfGeS t7-r5 To preventNf5. Theobstruclionvv6562r'riedout by thesimplestmeansin classicalslvle' Ot clurs" fZ Nh4couidappear "baroque"ot bjza(te'but thernoveconsists on,i'Jt u n.""r,0r, parroi theclassicaloperatlonof obstruciionTherefore 2,7 b5xc4 Rh4-h1t! 12 Nf3-h4! 13 s2-93 14 Nh4'g2 15 h2-h4 //.2 g 11fr/,, tt /::/ tlt lz /lz t wtHta '/: 7:/ /t:: 7.zzA.l/, t,g'/t L fr72a Nfr,/.

my esteemedreaderwillfind it understandablewhen I haveonlV a pitiful smilefor a similarcriticismby somecn|cs. 16 aga4 MorecautiouswasBe2then Kd2. After thisdevelopmentiscomoleted Whitewouldbeableto bringtheartacka2-a4andb4-b5to a ,rccerrful"on- clusionwithout anygreatereffort. t o . . . . Be7-d8 b7.b6! WellplayedlUsuallythecountermovementof theminorityonlygivesan advantageto the attackingside(in thiscase.White). However,the prJsenceo1 theWhitemonarchmakesthe Whitemajorityin a certainsensea comprornis- edone,andthereforethe pushb6 issufficientlymotivated. 17 h4b5 Diagra.r'20 27 Nc3-a4 An exceedinglyelegantcombination.Otherwiseonly the simple27 Ra3 hadto beconsidered,i.e.27 Ra3Rxb6 28Rh1-a1Na5-c4t27Bxc4Rxa3 30Rxa3(Bxd5wouldsimplifytoo muchandresultin a drawdueto the op' oositecolorbishops)30...d5xc431 Ra3-a8tandafter31...8e832 Ba3Rb3 Whitehaslessthannothing, Besidesthe specificcombinationalreasonfor the textmove,thereisalsothe intentionof makingit asdifficultaspossiblefor theopponentto win backthe sacrificedmaterialwithout howeverinsisting toostronglyon holdingon to that materialto the end. Diagram19 27 .... 2g Ralxa4 29 Bb2-c3l Bd7xa4 Rb8xb6 Na5-b3t The blockader! 20 Bt1-e2 Bd8-c7 21 c5xb6 Bc7xl4 After 21...Bxb6Blackwouldsoonhavehadmarkedweaknesses,for in_ stance21...8xb622 Kc1.d2andWhitewilloccupythea fileandmaintain threatsagainstthe baseof the chain,d5 (afterdisappearanceo+tte proiecrrng c6). zz gJxf4 Now the obstructionof the Blackpawnmasson the kingsideisabsolute. 22 -... Bc8-d7 23 Kc1-d2 c6xb5 24 Rdl-a,t! Whiteforcespositionaladvantageson the queen,swing, WhatI hadwishedfor! Alsoafterthe morecorrectmove29...Na5-c4t 30Bxc4Rxa4 31 Oxa4dxc 32 Oa4-a8lOf7-e833 OxeSNxeS 34 Rh1-a1 Whitewouldstandbetteralthoughin thiscaseBlackcoulderecta firm block- ade-wallond5. Diagram2l 30 Oc2xb3! , Thissacrifice,preparedby 27 Na4,isentirelyin themodernspiritinthe oestmeaningof the word. (Comparethe noteto Black's31stmove.) 30 .... Rb6xb3 31 Ra4xaSl NfGeS . And now oneexpectsthe quickparticipationof the otherrook. All of the heavypieqqsagainstthefrailandpinnedknight.At thattimeonecalledthat: 29 1 7 . . . . 18 Ns2-f4 1 8 . . . . 19 a4xb5 Ne8-f6 a6xb5 Ac7-17 2 4 . . . . 25 Be2xb5 Nb&c6 NcGa5! 26 BbS"eZ Rfg_b8 ElackhasdefendedexcellentlyanoisnowaDoutto equalize. 28 a g t T A % t z t %"/z''.rfur'./,fu. , 'N. z.& t2, /,NWWA1&. '/a /,r.7:./Lt t t t . / , t t t t t t r t ^ '& /&.'&8/lz, 'rfua &,trltgt Z .%t8/fr} ' H . % 6 7 /Z.zt"%t'% % '/&'t1.f,. AlH ',l.f, 7"ZW'&,har.ft'. \-

elegantplayl Howeverthisbrutalapproachdoesnotgowithmy nature,and besides,it wouldbea bigmistake,i.e.32 Rh1-a1?QI7.c7!33 Rxe8l Kf7, andWhitehasspenthimselfandshedstearsof repentence.No,the Ral rsnor in a hurry"to takepart", on the contrary.with a tiredgesturelikesomeone bored,it permitsbanishment,in otherwords:it staysin the background. 32 Be2-d1t! Thepoint:Whitedoesnotfeartheanswer32...Rb'1, 32.... Seethe noteto White's41stmove 44 .... ab2-b7 45 Ra2-a7 Ab7'b2 46 Kfl-92 Thekingdeclinesthehelpof hisrooks;hedoesn'tneedthemanymore. 4 6 . . . . 47 Ral-h1t zl8 Be2xh5 Now Blackevenhasa PassedPawn. 49 Rhl-a1! Thethemeo{ thereturnl Blackresigns I giveherea lesserknowngamein whichboth sideshavepassedpawnsasa turtherexample.I playedthisgameagainstthe outstandingDanishmaster Mdrellerat the Copenhagen1923tournament. N o . 3 White:Nimzowitsch Black:lvldeller Ne8-f6 N{6h5 g6xh5Rb3xc3! And againthe talentedAmericanmasterfindsthe strongestmove. After Rb'lwouldfollow33 8a4Rxhi 34 BxeS!(strongerby a wholetempothan RxeSt).andon theotherhandtheretreat32...Rb6wouldbeinsufficientbe. causeof 33 Ba4Re6 34 Rb1 (ontynow the rookappears)096! 35 RbgOqt 36 BxNOxf2t 37 Kc1,thekingissafeandWhitewins. Doesn'tthe lateparticipationof themainactor,Rh1,remindusof how the "hero" of a dramaisusually"jntroduced": firstcomesan old servantwho tellsa story.thentwo other"characters" steponto thestageandmakeuscur_ iousaboutthe "hero", andat last"he" appearsin person- andbecomesthe centerof allhappenings. 't d2-d4 t7-15 Now a positionhasbeenreachedwhichcanonly bewon throughattackin the classicalstyle. The old picture:at first positionaladvantagesarewon by modernplay,thentheseadvantagesareutllizedthroughold-fashioned,ctass. calchess! 2 c2"c4 Ns8-f6 3 Nbl'c3 d7-d6 As wasshownin my articlein the JanuaryissueoI Kagan'sNeuesteSchach' nachrichten,this move,discoveredby Krauseandmyself,is perfectlyplay' able. (Thisarticle appearsin Appendix Two.) 4 Ngl-f3 Nb8'c6 5 Bcl-t4 h7-h6 6 h2-h4 NfGs4 Threateninge7-e5with completeliberation. 7 d+ds NcGeS Preferablewasthe combinationale7'e5. Seethe abovementionedarticle (Appendix Two). 8 Bf4xe5 e2-e4at oncewasmorecorrect. 8 .... d6xe5 9 e2"e4 e7'e6 10 Ni3-h2 Somethinghasto bedoneagainstBc5. 10 .... Od8xh4 11 Nh2xg4l A soundsacrificeof theexchange.AfterOxhl there{ollowsNxe5witha verystrongattack. 11 .... Oh4xg4 12 Od1'b3 Bf&e7 13 c4c5 ThemobilesuperiortVl 13 .... 0'0 14 d5xe6 33 Kd2xc3 34 Kcgd2 3 6 . . . . 37 Bh5-e2 Theresourcesarebeingmobilized. 42 Ras-ao 43 h5xs6 44 Rada2l Qf7-c7t Ke8-f7 35 Be2-hst 36 Rhl-a1! Classicalisthe watchword,the rook becomestouqh. s7's6 Oc7-b6 Kt7-s7 obeb3 Nc7-e8 ob3b2 h7xg6 38 Kd2-e1! Neg-c7 39 Ra8-a5 Kg7-h6 40 Ke1-f1 Whata differencelIn the first- modern- partof thegameWhitewas concernedwitheverythingelsebutthesafetyof hisking,but herethejust mentionedmotifformsthemainincentiveof alltheaction! 40 .... 41 h4h5! Nowtheplanbecomesclear;afterh5xg6h7xg6theBlackkingwill beat- tractivelyembraced- oncefrom the h file andoncefrom the 7th rank. Shouldtherebea distractingattackby thequeen(i.e.,Ob2afterKg2)the doubledrookswill alsohavea wordto sav(Ra5-a2), 3 130

Generallyonehasto thinktwicebeforeonedecidesto changea "mobile majority"into a stoppedpassedpawnbecausethat wouldmeangivingup dreamsof thefuturein favorof anoidagepension.It howeverthemainte. nanceof theblockadeby theopponentshouldrequiremanypieces,andif thereisa possibilityof awakeningto newlifethe "sleepingbeauty"{thepass- edpawn),thenthe heroicattemptmaybejustified.And soit is here. 14 .... f4xe4 15 Nc3d5 Og'1-95 16 Oble3 Betterseemsto be 16NxcTRbg 17Bc4. 31 Rc2'b2 al'as Thesituationhascleared.Whitestill havethe passedpawn,whichhas l,,enstopped,andWhiteapparentlVhasno possibilitywhatsoeverof assailing frJoto.nua.r,whiletheBlackpassedpawn(to speaklikeLasker)istilled .-irh"threatening"mobilitY. 32 Rhlh5 l(98'f7 33 g2-g4 Bdls6 Bc8xe6! An excellentsacrificeof the exchangethroughwhichBlackgetsvaried playingchanceswiththetwo bishops. Diagram23 34 .... 35 Rb2-b5 36 Rbsxes 37 Kt2-13 38 e3e4 39 Re5-b5 Unveilingthe assaulton the "strongrook" blockader,preparedfrom all sides.The "tasks"areassignedasfollows:the Rb5attacksthe "unhappy one"from the rear(throughRb7). Of coursethe Blackkinghurriesto hisaid andcanprotectthe attackedRc7eitherfrom d6 or d8 ln the first case,the checkfrom the pawnon e4 (e4'e5t)isdecisive.but iJthe kingtakesthe more modestpositionon d8, hisWhitecounterpartwill advancethroughf4, e5to d6andthe blockaderisdead. 39 ..'. Kt7'e7 40 Rb5-b7 Ke7-d8 41 Rb7-bgt lG8-e7 42 Kttt4 Rc7xd7 WhitethreatenedKeS,Rb7{...Kd8),Kd6 43 Rb8-b7l Bb3e6 44 c'xdT Be6xd7 45 Kf4-e5 Afterrhesuccesstulattackthebeneficialrest! 45 .... Ke7-e8 46 Ke5'd6 Bd7xg4 17 Oe3xg5 18 Nd5xc7 19 Nc7xa8 20 Btl-b5 21 t 2-b4 1 6 . . . . 2 9 . . . . 30 Ke1-f2 Be7x95 BeefT Rf8xa8 Ra8-c8 34 Rh5xe5! A deepcombination:Whitesacrlficesthe exchangebecausethe Whiteking caninvadethe centerandin connectionwith hise'pawnandhisown rookcan lift the blockade. Diavam22 Whitehasthe majorityon the queen'swing,but difficultiesin developing thekingrookbecausecastlingin anendingwouldbebad. Butnowthingsget livelybecauseBlacktriesto stopthe majorityonceandfor all. 21 .... b7-b6 22 Bds-d7l Rc8-c7 23 c$c6 bAbs 24 Rhl-h3 e4e3! 25 a2-a4 BlackthreatenedBd5,i.e..25 fxe?Bd5 26 Rc1Bxg2. 25 -... b5xa4 26 Ra1xa4 Bf7-c4 27 l2xe3 Bc4b5 28 Ra$a2 Bg5-e7 29 Ra2-c2 Thec-pawnisthe morevaluableof the two, sothe b-pawnmustdie. Bb4-c3 Bc3xe5 a5-a4 Bgec2 Bc2-b3 BeTxb4t Bb5-d3 7 7 t 7.2./.Pr I 7z.t,,. A , t//Z '7' % % 9Lfl /L'rfl zt 7' 7z % 7/, %A , % 2'/&.ft 32 33

47 Rb7xg7 hGhS 48 e+es a4a3 49 ete6 Thethreeassailantshavecometo highhonors,andthe littlepawntoo is aboutto bepromotedto becomea majorpiece.But Blackd;d not wait for theseeventsto unfoldandthereforeresigned. A beautifulgame,andthroughthe harmoniouslyconductedattackagainst the blockaderc7 alsoveryinstructive. Alsoln the CopenhagenMasterTournamentof 1923| playeda game againstSemisch,in whichthefateof my passedpawnoughtto be interesting in the spiritof our subject.As the gameisalsocharacteristicof my style,it maybepresentedherefor the benefitandenjoymentof my friendlyreaders. 12 .... c7-c5 13 d4d5 The birth of the passedpawn, 3 Nsl-f3 b7.b6 Thisopeningpresentsthe ideaof renouncingthe establishmentof a mate. riallytangiblecenterin orderto besatisfiedwitha kindof dominance(thus theideaof influence).I inventedandthoroughlyanalyzedit in 1911and 1912.In thePetersburg1913MasterTournamentI employedmy innovation againstGregoryfor the firsttime. Thisqameof mineagainstGregorymustbe consideredthe archetypeandI asthe inventorof the opening1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6withoutthe follow-upd7-d5. 4 s2-s3 Thisisthe antidoterecommendedby Rubinsteinsometime ago. lt ishow- everfairly innocuousasshownin the gameSamisch- Nimzowitschwhich follows(No.9). 4 .... 5 Bfl-s2 6 0-0 7 Nbl-c3 I ltlfSe5 Od8"c8 Not good, Muchbetterwasmy movec7-c6asin the abovecitedqame. 9 c4xd5 Nf6xd5 10 Nc3xd5 8b7xd5 11 e2-e4 Thismovecannotbebad,howeverpreferableseemsto me 11 Bxdsexd 12 Be3;after12...4e1Ito protectd5 andthusmakepossiblec7.c5)would follow13Nd3Nd7 14 RaclandBlackisweakon thec fileandwill miss thequeenbishoppainfully,whiletheWhitekingcanrathergetalongwithoui thebishopon 92. Howeverafter14...8d6thesituationisn'tclearin anywaV. Bd5.b7 b6b5 whichhoweveristakennoticeof by Blackwithout a signof concern.On thecontrary,he isgettingrough! 14 Oa4-b3 Temptingherewasthe sacrificeof theexchange14OxbSBa6 15Ob3 Bxfl 16 Kxfl butafter16...8f617 Nc4exd 18exdNd7theWhite"advan- tage"doesnot appearquiteconvincing.ls it reallynecessaryto celebrateso wildlythe birth of a passedpawn? 14 "" 15 e4xd5 Theblockaderreportsto hispost. 16 Bc1-f4! Hiscounterpart.who emergeswith the offer of a sacrifice. Diagram24 16 .... Oc8-c7 After 97-95the intendedsequencewouldhavebeen17 NxfT Bxf4 18 Nh6t! Kg7 l9 gxf Kxh6 20fxgSt. IndeedBlackwouldthenbein dire straitsbecauseif afterfxgst hecapturesthe pawnhewill bein a matingnet afterKh1and Rg1. lf however{afterf4xg51)the kingretreatsto 97,White woulddecidethe gamewith 17 Oc31Kg8 18 Bh3andBe6or (insteadof Bh3)positionallyby Re1andf2-f4. The pawnmassin connectionwith the e file {squaree6)would beof decisiveimportance. 17 Ne5-d3 Againa combinationalmove. Thefork c5-c4wouldnot leadto anything after18 Bxd6Oxd6 19Oxb5Ba6 20 Oc5! 1 7 . . . . '18 a2-a4l Oneof the mostdifficult moves!Not only on accountof the basiccombi- natlonc+c4 19Oa3l!whichwasplayedhere,butalsobecausetheopening of the a file servesa positionalpurposewhichisstillverymuchhidden. 18 .... c5-c4 19 Ob3-a3! Bd6xl4 20 Nd3xf4 1 3 . . . . e6xd5 Be7-d6 White: Nimzowitsch N o . 4 1 d2.d4 2 c2-c4 e7-e6 Black:Semisch Ns5-f6 Bc8-b7 Bf8-e7 s0 d7-d5 a7-a6 1 1 . . . . 12 ad1-a4 '72r, AIL t\Y_), 'ry % % 34 Lookssomewhatartificial.l\4anywould havepfeferredBe3here. 35

ThroughpecuiaircombinatjonsI havesucceededin eliminatingtheblock. aderfromd6. Thenextblockaderistheknighton d7,andhewill turnoLrtto bea toughguy. 20 .... Nb8-d7 21 a4xb5 a6xb5 22 Qa3'e7 Diagram25 The positionthusreachedpresentstheexplanationasto why Whitesoughl theopeningot the a filer everythingwasdonesolelywith regardto the passed pawn. The situationisthat the queenwould liketo befirmly postedon e7 be. fored5-d6isplayed.Howeverwith a closeda file the queencouldn'tremain therelongbecauseReBwouldchaseherawayat once. Thesituationisentire- ly differentwith anopena file. After 22...Ra-e823 Ob4wouldfollow,and Whiteobtainsby Ra5(afterQb6)playon the a file. And thus Blackmust tal(eothermeasures. 32 Nb5-d6 A verybeautifulsacrifice! Not of materialof coursebut Whitesacrifices h;

lingb8. Nd7-b8 Nb8-d7 Kd8-e8 Resigns BecaLrseNe5isfatal. Thefirstpassedpawnhada careerrichwithdramaticconflicts(hisadvance to d6 wasmadepossibleby variousoffersol sacrificesandalsothroughthe movementof thed pawnto e7). Thiswasaccomplishedby extraordinaryef. forts(theseeminglyunmotivatedopeningof thea file).Thenthispassed pawndiedby the handof an "assassin",but out of itsashesa newpassed pawnemerged- on the b file - whichadvancedwith irresistableenergy. Personallythegameischaracteristicwitha mixtureof imaginationandsvs. tematicplanningtypicalof my style,andit excelsin a knightendingplayed intheclassicalstyle, To closethe"passedpawn"chapterl'll givemy gameagainstSpielmann fromtheStockholml\,4asterTournament1920iResult:l. Bogoljubov121l,; ll. Nimzowitsch12;lll. Olson8; lV. Spielmann6ll,jtherefollowedWendet. Jacobson.NVholm,Svanberg.)Thegamerepresentsa difficultpositional strugglefor minuteadvantages.andthe passedpawnonly appearslater. l-tow. everthemethodof stoppingSpielman'sseeminglyunstoppablepassedpawn makesthisgamea veryinstructiveexamplelnthespiritof our subject. O r 1 1 . . . 8 x c 3 11 2 N x c 3 O b 6 ( O b 4 ?1 3 a 3 ! )1 3 8 b 5 0 - 0 1 4 B x c 6 Q x b 2 lb Na4Ob4t 16Od2andoccupationof c5 (squarec5 isworthat leastas muchasa Pawnhere), 12 a2'a3 Bb4xc3f 13 Na4xc3 h7-h5 14 0'0 Ra8'c8 15 Od1-d2 Oa5'd8 To followup with97'q5. 16 h2-h3! l',lcGas Now97'96failsbecauseof 17g2'g4,i.e.17...h5x9418 h3xg4Nh4 '19 Nxh4Rxh4 20 Kg2with 2'1Rhl andadvantagefor White. 17 Ral'd1 Od8'b6 18 Rfl-e1 OneshouldobservehowWhitesystematicallyoverprotectsthe pointsd4 andevene5accordingto therulewhichI expressedthus:"lmportantstrate- gicalpointsmustbeoverprotected." 18 .... Na5'c4 19 Be7xc4 Rc8xc4 20 Nc3-e2 To exchangethestrongknighton f5 throughN93 51 Kc6do 52 Nd3-b4! 53 Nb4c61 54 KdGcT N o . 5 1 e 2 - e 4 2 d2.d4 3 e4e5 2 0 . . . . 21 Rd1-c'l 22 Rc1xc4 23 Ne2-93 24 h3.h4l Bd7-a4 Ba4-b3 Bb3xc4 Nf+e7 Ne7-s6 White:Nimzowitsch 4 Ns1.l3 Nb8.c6 5 c2-c3 Od8-b6 6 Bfl-e2 c5xd4 lf thisearlyliquidationof theWhitecenter(thepawnc3disappearsagainst the pawnc5) islhe bestmove,thenthe Blackpositionmustbecharacterized asweak.ProbablyBd7isplayable. 7 c3xd4 8 Nb1-c3 9 Nc3a4 Combinational,GoodenoughisBb5. 9 . . . . 1O Bc1-d2 11 Bd2-c3 Characteristicof thiskind of attackisthefactthat evenNc3wouldhave s a f e g u a r d e dt h ep a w n s ,i . e .1 1 N c 3 N x d 41 2N x d 4N x d 4 1 3 a 3 N x e 21 4 a x b Nxc3 15Bxc3or Rxa5anda drawisprobablethroughoppositecolorbisnops andpostinga pieceon d4. 11 .... Bc8-d7 38 25 Ns3-f1 Nowthecavalrywill goagainstthesterilebishop;Ne3isintended. Bc4xl1 NgGeT GO Spielmanndecidesto castleanywaysinceNf5will protecteverything.In themeantime- asa resultof allhismaneuvers- Whitehasconqueredthe c file. Black:Spielmann e7-e6 d7.d5 c7-c5 2 5 . . . . 26 Re1xf1 27 R11-c1 2A b2.b4 29 Rcl-c5 30 Od2-c3 Ne7-f5 ObOa6 Oa&e2N98'h6 NhGfS QbGa5t Bf8.b4 WithgreatskillSpielmannhassucceededin obtainingcounterchances throughhisinvasionintotheWhitecamp,primarilyby takingadvantageof theweaknesson b2 andlateron a3. lSeeDiagram27 at thetop of thenextpage) 31 Oc3-c2!! AfterlongdeliberationWhitedecidedon thisqueensacrifice. 31 .... Nf5xd4 32 Qc2xe2 Wrongwouldbe32 Nxd4Oelt 33 Nh2Oxest 32 .... Nd4xe2t 39

:,/.'I 'E&'," t',/Z 'l/.2:,1L, t',/Z 'l/.2:,1L, '//, ltt2 ',, 'Ht':fl.A/,tt tfu. ,fl 7,/' '..& W /lD7/t 7 ltg"tuA..t Diagram27 After30...Oe2 33 Ks1-f1 Blackisa passedpawnahead. 34 Fc5-c7 Perhapsb7-b6wasmoreprudent. 35 s2-s3 36 Kf1-e2 37 Rc7xa7 Thismoverequireddeepforesight.Blackgetsthe c tile, howevertheWhite kingisso"blockadeefficient"that the seeminglystronglysupportedd.pawn cannotprogressverywell. 37.... Rf&c8 38 Nf3d4 Rc8-c4 39 Nd4xb5 d5-d4 On39...Rc2140 Kf1 Nd3 41 f2-f4wouldfollow. Diagram28 45 Ke2 g5xh4 46 g3xh4 Rg4xh4. 43 .... 44 g3xh4 rts Rcl-bl An elegantbackwardmovementof the rooka7,c7"c1,b1,expeciallywhen oneconsidersthat the obligatorydrop of poisonisn'tmissingat all because the positionof the rook on b'l givesthe pawnthe - lustto wander, rts .... 46 Ketd2 On detours,onecouldsaythat by tiringdetoursthe Whitekinghasreached the blockadeposition. Nb2-a4 Na4-b6 48 a3-a4?Nxa4 49 b6 Nxb6 50 Rxb6 Rf3! etc. 48 .,.. Rh3f3 49 NdGc4 Deathto the blockader! 4 9 . . . . Nb6d7 After 49...Nxc450Rxc4Rxf2t 51 Kxd3 Rf3t 52 Kc2 Rxa3,the b-pawn wouldadvancewithout beingstopped,i.e.53 RcSt Kg7 54 b5-b6Ra2t b5 Kc3 Ra3t 56 Kc4 Ra4 57 KbSandwrns. 50 bsb6 Nd7-c5 51 bAbT Rf3xf2t Pleaseobservewith whatfinesseBlackmakesuseof hisdyingknjghtflgnr up to its lastbreath, Now therecomesanexcitingdancearoundthe pawnd3. Daigram29 95xh4 Rg4xh4 Rh4h3t 40 Aa7"c7 41 Ke2-e3 Not to d2 becauseof Re4. 4 1 . . . . 42 Rc7-c1 Spielmanndoesn'trelax! 43 Nb5_d6 Ne2-f4 b7.b5 Nt4d3 Nd3b2 47 b+bs 48 Rbl.b4 52 Kd2-e3 53 Keld4 54 Kd4xd3! 54 .... 55 Rb4xb7 56 Nc.zl-e3 57 Kd3,d4 d4.d3t Rc+94 s7-s5 The point,but the win becomesdangerous, isstillquitedifficult becausethe h-pawnsuddenly Rf2-e2t Nc5xb7 Re2-92 h5-h4 Rs2-95 h4h3 2 7zt& % 7.zrh a'4 /f,, 7.:,t'','&.ErX 7; lA % 7t i.tu 6 z&,&, t fr t/, t A t l z tr4./ t z g E 40 43 Rb1wouldnot beasgoodbecauseof 43,..Nc4144 Kxd3NxeS 4 1

HerethegamewasadjournedandSpielmannresignedwithoutresuming play.After61...Kf7.9062a4a5f6xe5t 63 Kd4-c5KgGf5 64 a5-a6Rh$h7 65 Kc5-b6Kf$94theknightby Ne3tandNf1willarrivejustin timeto sup_ port the blockaderon h2 effectively. An extremelyvaluablegame. Thenexttwo gameswill illustratea fight againsta majorityin the center. Firsta morerecentgamethat I playedin a matchagainstBrinckmannwhtch l w o n 4 - 0 . N o . 6 Playedat Kolding,Denmark1923 White:Nimzowitsch Black:Brinckmann d7.d5 c7-c5 e7-e6 Ns&f6 Nb8-c6 The normalpositionof the Oueen'sGambit,which I liketo plav. 6 Bt1-e2 Bf&d6 Purists(= straightlinepseudo-classicists)willfeel that Be2leavesthe straightpath(Bd3). But that isn'tthe casebecauseBe2fits betterthanBd3 in somepawnpositjonsarisingout of laterpawnexchanges,i.e.whend5 be- comesisolated. 7 0.o o0 I b2-b3 c5xd4 Heretoo the puristwouldnot beableto concealanylongerhisdiscontent that b7-b6woutdbe better. But afterg...b6 9 Bb2Bb7 10c4xd5exd l l dxc bxc,the hangingpawnsc5 anddb arenot to everybody'staste,although in PetersburgTarraschwon a - let'ssay- spendidvictory. 9 e3xd4 Nf6e4 Not badat all; thiswaythe absenceof the bishopon d3 isbeingexplorred. 10 Bc1"b2 11 Bb2xc3 But hereb7-b6wasbetter. I z ct+c5 13 b3b4 Thequeensidemaiorityto whichBlackwouldliketo counterwiththecen- ter malority. 58 Rb7-b2 59 Rb2.h2 60 Ne3c4 6l aga4 1 d2"d4 2 Ns1-f3 3 c2-c4 4 e2-e3 5 Nb1-c3 Rs5h5 17"t6 Ks8"f7 Ne7-96 Ne4XCJ NcdeT BdGcT 1 3 . . . . 14 Rfl-el Onecallsthisa finerookmove,unassumingandversatile:.1. directeda_ gainsteGe5,2. conservingtheBe2againstNf4 (14...Nf415Bfl ). 42 ThethreatenedeGesisparriedby Od2,i.e.16...e5?17 dxeOxcS 18 Bb4. 16 .... Rf8-c8 17 a2-a4 Kg&h8 After 17...eGeswouldfollow18dxeOxcs 19 Bd4(blockade)with a su- penorgame. 18 azl-as Diagram30 1 4 . . . . 15 b4-b5 16 0d1.d2! 1 8 . . . . Fromhereon e6-e5isa constantthreat, 19 a5-a6 b7-b6 Bc8-d7 Qd8-e7 t7.t6 20 c5-c6 Bd7-e8 Whitehasconvertedhismobilemajorityintoa protectedpassedpawn. Howeverthisonehasbeenstoppedandat presentWhitehasno realtargetin theenemvcamp. Did the conversionof the majorityperhapsproceedtoo quickly? 21 Be2-t1 Be&17 22 h2-h4 Bc7-d6 23 S2-53 Ae7-c7 24 BI'l-h3 Rc&e8 25 Rel-e3! Whitehaspreventedthe breakthroughin a fine,combinationalway;if now 25...e&e5then26 hb Nf8 27 dxelxe 28 Rael d4 29 Nxd4exd 30 Oxd4 andWins. NgefS Re8-e7 Ra8-e8 Withtheintentionof playingOa3andthusforcingBlackto playBxb4, thusgainingdominationof thediagonala3-e7. 28.... Bd6xb4 29 Oc3xb4 Kh8-gB e6-e5wasimpossibledueto the x-rayattackb4-f8.i,e.29...e530 dxefxe 31 Nxe5BxeS32 Rxe5Rxe5 33 OxfSmare. 43 25 .... 26 Rae1 27 Bc?b4! 28 Qd2-c3t, A , +, ',x( z]I 2 7t aH.t/& %t"'ua % %

Diagram31 3 0 . . . . Bf7-96 Blackhasdefendedwellbut now hehadto playeGebwith probableequal- ItV. 31 Bf5xs6 32 h4h5 33 Nf3-h4! Now e6-e5wouldbeansweredby Nfs. 33 .... Ks8-f7 34 Ks1-92 Suchlittle movescharacterizethe master.Whiteassumestherewill bean eventualopeningof the h file.andin that casehewantsto be readvtor battle ( R e l - h l ) . Nf8xg6 NsGfS 97-96 h7xg6 Oc7-d8 Od&c7 Kf7-98 6e t-n I NfgxhT Nh7.f8 Re&e7 3 4 . . . . Correst;it wasin theair. 35 h5xg6 36 12-14 Only now the Blackpawnmajority(in the center)appearsto beparalized. 36 37 38 39 40 41 Nh4f3 Re'l-h1 ReSel Rh1xh7 Rel-hl Rh1-h6 To jnduceKg7whichwouldmakethe plannedoppositionbV Reg-e7-h7 moredifficult,i.e.42...Kg743 Rh2with eventualdoubtingon theh file,per- hapsafterOd2andg394-95. 4 2 . . . . 43 Ob&a3 (SeeDiagram32 at the top of the next page) Thewayto victory;sveryinteresting.lt climaxeswith a knightsacrifice on...b6! Theprocedureisasfollows:Whiteplaysthequeenthroughc1to h1. But beforethat he brings93to 95forciblycreatinga holeon eb. There- 4A Bh3.f5 & /&trz, t'%ztt 7z '/& % % 7 2 I t)L % /& %a ,l& t7:; 2 t'.&, 7z % .eatl t"lfr %a% %'Eia'r,tu t & : ,t t i.r'4,,gt % Diagram32 After 43 Oa3 aiterWhitecaneitherforcethe exchangeof rooksor the exchangeof queens, i.e.43 Oa3Od8 44 Oc1Oc7 45 g4Od6 46 95f5. The positionthusarrived atcanbeeasilywon without queensbecausetheWhiteknightwill moveto a4, WhitemovesRhl-a1at the lastmoment(theBlackking isheldtied downon thekingwingaslongaspossible),andthe intendedknightsacrificeon b6 de' cides.The planworkseveneasierwith queenswithout rooks(becauseBlack alwayshasthe capabilityof exchangingrooksthroughRh7)andthenat the rightmomentthe queenwill enter. The actualgameproceededthus: Re7-97 AJterthls moveWhitefinishedhim off quicklv. 44 Rh&h8t Kg8xh8 45 Oa3xfSt 46 Of8xf6 47 Nf3g5t After Kg8follows48 Oxe6t Oxe6 49 Nxe6Rg8 50 Nc7. zltl Of&e5 Ae7'c7 49 Oe5xe6 Ac7'e7 50 Oe6h3t Resigns. After KgBa generalexchangefollows:51 OcSt Of8 52 OxfSf Kxf8 53 Ne6t, afterwhichthe c-pawnbecomesa queen. lf we assumethat the procedureoutlinedin the noteto move43 (93'94-95 to forcef6f5) hadactuallyhappened,thenwe candescribethe gradualparaly- sisof eOor of the majorityin the centerasan instructiveexampleof a fight againsta centermajority. The breakthroughcombinationon the paradoxicallyoperativesquareb6 marksthisgameasanextraordinaryaccomplishment Now for a gamefrom anearlierdatewhichhoweverappearsremarkablebe' causeit isthe prototypeof a variationwhichwasbelievedto bedeadbut whichI revivedto a newlife. Not withstandingthe variation,the gamerepre- sentsunchartedterritoryinsofarasherefor thefirsttime it will beshown- andlatercopiedbv the otherl\,4oderns- that it isnot essentialwhetherone haspawnsor no pawnsin thecenter,the primaryobjectisthe dominationof the center,whichmeansthe hamperingof the enemycenterwith a blockade to followasa climax. Kh&h7 Ac7-e7 Kh7-h8 45

White:Nimzowtsch N o .7 KarlsbadTouroament 1 e2-e4 2 d2.d4 3 e4-e5 Black:Salu,,l nowisto makeuseof thesepointseconomically 14 Nd2-f3! PreventsBb5becausethenwouldfollow15Bd4Oa6 16BxbsOxbSand thePe6falls. 14 .... Be7-d6 15 Odl-e2 Whitedidnot makehisdecisionbetweene2andc2anyearlierthanabso' lutelynecessary.Thisiswhatwasmeantby economicaluseof thesesquares.Up untilthen believedto be absotutelyunplayable.I was latertold Salwe saidaftere4e5 that I must havethought I wasplayinga gameat rook oddsll 4 c2-c3 E l\l^ 1-+? 6 Bfr-d3 It wasbetterto exchangefirstbyc5xd4. 7 d4xc5 Bf8xc5 8 0-0 17.r6 Blackisaboutto eliminatehisopponent'scenterpawnsoneaftertheother, but thiscanbeof advantageto him only if hecouldtherebysecurethe mobil. ity of hisown center,but aswe shallsoonseetherewill beplentyof counter. actionagainstthat. I b2-b4 Bc5-e7 10 Bc1-f4 f6xe5 11 Nf3xe5 Nc6xe5 '12 Bl4xe6 Ng&i6 Thepointisthattheattemptto neutralizetheblockadingBesby Bf6 wouldfaildueto thecheckon h5,i.e.12..-Bf613Ohst 96? 14Bxg61hxg 'l5Oxg6t Ke7 16Bxf6t Nxf6 17Og7t. Butafter12...Nf6the"blockade ring" remainsintactsofar. 13 Nbl.d2 Diagram33 Buthoweasilythisringcouldbebrokenat theslightestrelaxationby White;i.e.14Oc2Ng4! 15 BxhTtKh8 16Bd4Oc7 1793e5. To under. standthe positionwe mustrealizethat freedomto maneuverisnecessaryfor theblockadeaswell3sfor everyotherachievement.Freedomto maneuver hereconsistsof the squaresd4 ande5,whichWhitecanoccupVwtth pieces, andof thesquaresc2ande2fromwhichthequeencanoperate.Thetrick 1 9 11 e7-e6 d7d5 c7-c5 Nb8-c6 od8-b6 Bc8-d7 t c _ . . _ 16 Be5-d4 ObGcT Bd7-e8 Bd6xe5 24 Bd3xh7l On 24...Nxh725 096vtins. 25 Bh7'g6 26 Rf1'el 27 Bd4'e3 28 Be3g5 Thefreecenterdoesn'tmeanmuchherebecausethe pau/ndeficitandthe Ra8-c8 0-0 Just;n t;me becausenow Nebwill help to increasethe blockade t o . . . . 17 Nf3e5 18 Ra'l'e1 19 Bd4xe5 Thedarksquarebishopdominates. 19 .... Oc7-cG 20 Be5'd4! To forcethe bishop,whichwaseyeingboth sidesof the board,to makea decision. 20.... Be&d7 2'l Aez'czl A clearingmovefor the Re1andat thesametimeaimingdecisivelyat h7. 21 .... Rf8-f7 22 Re1-e3 b7-b6 23 Re3'93 Kg8'h8 Diagram34 eGe5 Rt7-e7 QcGd6 d5d4 two bishopscannotbecompensatedfor. 'r.f,. 7Z zt tx'taarr& 7z z'fu t7z..A W 7 r % tltfu "/7.2 + d 7t .a'//,:'8 7.2.A'////E"t& t g t a t T A I A E"/t87t tfu.t HCT'XCJ

B93wasthreatened. Theblockade! 29 Rg3xc3 30 Oc2xc3 31 a2-a3 32 Bs5-h4 33 BsGf5 34 Oc3xd4 35 Re1xe7 36 Bf5-d3 3 6 . . . . 37 Bh4x{6 38 Ksl-f1 39 h2-h4 d4xc3 Kh8-98 Ks8-f8 Bd7-e8 od6d4 e5xd4 KfBxeT Ke7-d6 g7xf6 Be8"c6 Resigns. ln thesametournamenta few roundslaterI playeda gamein whichthe sameideawasevenmoresharplyprominent,namelyapparentlygivingup the centeronly to occupyit {blockade)latermorestrongly. White:Nimzowitsch No.8 1 e2-e4 2 d2-d4 3 e4e5 4 c2-c3 5 Ngl-f3 6 Bfl-b5 7 G 0 9 esxfo 10 Nfle5 11 d4xc5! Black:Levenfish e7-e6 d7-d5 c7-c5 Nb8-c6 17.t6 Bc8-d7 od8-b6 Or7...NxeSI NxesBxb5I Ohst 8 Bb5xc6 b7xc6 N98x{6 Bf8-d6 Bd6xc5 After the gameLevenfishtold methat hecouldn'tunderstandwhy I had completelygivenup the center. 12 Bc1'g5l Theexplanation!The nextBlackmoveswereforced 12.... ob6d8 13 Bs5xf6! Od8xf6 14 Od1-hst s7-so 15 Oh5-e2 NowtheWhiteplan- blockadeof the Blackcenter- isclear.Therefollow- ed: 15 ..". Ra8-d8 16 Nb1-d2 00 17 Ra1'el Rf8'e8 18 Kgl"hl Bc5'd6 48 19 f2.f4 with advantageto White. While "Blockade" did not contain the remainingmovesof thegame,they ate added here for the benefit of the reader wishing to play through the game to ttsconcluston. 1 9 20 21 22 25 27 2A 29 30 31 5Z 34 35 36 37 In conclusionI givea gamein whichrestraintoccursonly in the broadest senseof the word. Pawnswill not betouchedat all by restraintin this last example,Everythinggoeson - soto speak- invisibly.Linesandsquares serveasobjectsof the restraint,andonly at the endall of the enemypieces arestalematedin a most"freightening"way. No.9 lnternatlonall\,4asterTournamentCopenhagen'1923 White:Siimisch Black:Nimzowitsch Ns8-f6 e7-e6 b7-b6 Bc&b7 Bf8-e7 o0 d7.d5 c7-cG StrongerthanOc8whichSAm;schhadplayedasBlackin thisposition. 1 d2.d4 2 c2"c4 3 Ng1-f3 4 s2-s3 5 Bf1-s2 6 Nbl-c3 7 0-0 8 Nfles 9 c4xd5 10 Bc1-f4 cgc4l c4xd5 Nd2-e4 d5xe6 Oe2-aG Rel-d1 b2-b3 Rdlxd4 OaGa5 Rf1-d1 h2"h3 Rd1xd4! Oa5-d8! od8.d7 Rd4d3! Ne5'f7t Ad7xl7 RdldT cGc5 BdGf8 Bd7-c8 OfGsT Bc8xe6 Ks8-h8 BeG98 Rd8-d4 c5xd4 Re8-c8 Rc8-c2 As7-b7 Bf8'c5 BcSeT Ob7-ao 6 e l . t 6 &8xf7 Rc2-cg Resigns. c6xd5 a7-a6l In orderto playbGb5andpreparefor the invasionof c4 by the Nb8. The squarec4 constitutesherethe squarefor anoutposton the c'file. 49