Mastering the Bishop Pair - Srokovsky, Borulia, Braslawski

Mastering the Bishop Pair IM

Jaroslav Srokovsky

GM Ekaterina Borulia Wit Braslawski

International Chess Enterprises Seattle, Washington

Cover Image Copyright © 1998, 1999 by lntelinvest Co. Ltd. Copyright © 1999 by Intelinvest Co. Ltd. Copyright© 1999 by International Chess Enterprises. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy ing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. International Chess Enterprises,' P.O. Box 19457, Seattle, WA 98109 1-800-26-CHESS http://www.insidechess.com/ Editor: Jonathan Berry Series Editor: Jonathan Berry Diagrams: Jonathan Berry's YesWeDoDiagrams Typeset by Jonathan Berry using Ventura Publisher

Srokovsky, Jaroslav, Borulia, Ekaterina, and Braslawski, Wit Mastering the Bishop Pair First printing: September 1999 220 + ii pages 200 game excerprts + 668 chess diagrams ISBN 1-879479-78-8

Editor's Introduction This is the third book in Internation al Chess Enterprises' six-book series on strategic themes.

will restore precise material balance, but careful timing will often yield a bonus, above equality. The opposing side has resources, The fi rst two books, Hanging too. While lots of pieces remain, Pawns and Mastering Rook versus knights are at least the equal of Minor Pieces, were introduced by bishops in close combat. O ther the authors, but as editor I have themes include establishing an out taken on that task for Mastering the post for the knight, blockading, and Bishop Pair. trading off one of the bishops. The bishop pair arises when one This book shows how to take ad side only retains both bishops. One vantage of the bishop pair, and how patrols the light squares, the other to overcome it. runs along the dark. The opposing The carefully-chosen examples, side most commonly has a bishop and a knight, but may have two knights 200 of them, reflect real situations among strong players. The correct against the bishops. course of action does not present it The bishop pair often confers an self readily, and the solution at each advantage upon the side possessing step will challenge the reader, no it. Nominally, a bishop or a knight is matter what her or his strength. worth three pawns. But adding a While the explanations are basic, the bishop to each side, changes some of analysis delves into critical variations. the considerations. First, the bishops The reader will doubt that the cor cannot get in e ach other's way. Second, the presence of the bishops rect path has been taken at many un allows their master more oppor marked junctures, but will have to tunities to open up the position, thus work out the truth. The examples taking advantage of the long range were not chosen to be easily ex powers of those same bishops. In plicable or revealed by a single note. I am a player of about 2300 FIDE that sense, possession of the bishop rating, and have learned a lot from pair is a self-fulfilling prophecy; the bishops are the means and the ends. editing this book. Without spoiling The opposition is fighting the losing the reader's fun, I have played chess battle of chess entropy: pieces once for over 30 years knowing that the bishop pair worked best with reduced exchanged do not reappear. A bishop is more likely to be able material, but never before conscious to capture a knight than the reverse. ly realized that this spoke not just In the Ruy Lopez opening, after l .e4 about pawns, but about all the pieces. Can the player rated 1400 learn e5 2.�f'3 �c6 3.Ab5, the bishop will have many chances to capture the c6 from this book? Yes! In the old knight. The possessor of the bishop Soviet chess literature, the formula pair frequently takes advantage of for success was work + talent = vic such a situation. Tu.king the knight tory. But in North America, there is

2

Mastering the Bishop Pair

an extra element: enviro nment. Talent may be found in any town or school, but it is not going to flourish without the right environment. In particular, a talented player may rise to the top, or nearly so, of the group of players in which she or he regular ly competes. If that group already includes very strong players, the talented player can rise higher before having to find a new group. The present series of books provides an advanced environment for the am bitious and talented player. The notes were written by International Masters as if for each other, not talk ing down to the reader. If the talented player can think in this plane, it will be a long time b e fore he or she has to find a stronger group. The material for the books in this series is the Chess Academy Tutorial computer software. The differences between book and computer deserve some examination. First, a book is better because you don't need the darned computer; a book is portable and flexible. A book is also easier on the eyes. On the other hand, a com puter can show the position at every move, and it can achieve interactivity with the reader. Both the book and the computer have their place. The material in this book is chal lenging. An ordinary presentation w o u l d h ave m aybe o n e or two diagrams for each example, say 300 diagrams in all. Th follow such a story line, most of us, even the Experts and Masters, would have to sit at a table, moving the wooden pieces while trying not to lose place on the page, but that takes away the portability of the book. Except for less eyestrain,

the player might as well be at a com puter. In this series, we include more than twice as many diagrams as is cus tomary. The reader is invited to use the diagrams instead of a board, and to fill in the gaps mentally. This is a book that can be exploited just as readily on the subway, or in a quiet corner of the garden, as in the study. Each diagram represents a point of departure. At each diagram, the reader should pause and consider the future. In general, the result with be a striking move, sometimes even bril liant, or an important strategical mo ment. The letter W or B next to the opening diagram of each example in dicates who has the move. I do not claim any order in the presentation of the material. On the contrary, order has been spurned. The material could have been or ganized into topical chapters with tit les such as "Endgame: Inducing Weaknesses". But I noticed that in the computer tutorial, my eye would flick up to the heading, and I would have a big hint as to the solution. But that is not what happens at the chess b o ard or i n r e a l l i fe. N o b o dy whispers in our ear "you should in d u c e w e a k n e s s e s b e fo r e y o u simplify" or, o n the contrary, "you don't have time to induce weak nesses, he will attack, so simplify right now". So the examples are in a moderately random order. For the benefit of those who like the hints (either before or after), the book begins with a graphical index of themes. In summary, this book is intended for ambitious players who want to learn. The way to do it is to work


through the examples, considering the course of action implicit in each d i a g r a m before c o n s i d e r i n g t h e material which follows it.

3

Jonathan Berry August 1999

Theme Index *indicates a measure taken against the bishop pair. The last three themes are endgame only. The number is the page on which the game starts.

Theme

Middlegame

Endgame

Gain the bishop pair

88, 156, 161 , 167, 173,185

216

Destroy it*

21,23,25, 142, 193,204

20,24,57

Give it away

41,42,43,59,60,61,62, 124, 42, 163,21 1 203

Space Advantage

9,26,36,80

13,75,79,98, 108, 1 1 1 , 120, 191 ,208,209

Blockade*

33,51 ,52, 109, 1 13, 152, 180,205

18, 19,55,58,82,87,214

Knight outpost*

53, 104, 105, 148, 157

34,50,84, 106, 112

Attack the King

1 1 , 15, 16,40,70,89, 125, 134, 135,l43, l44, 153, 166, 170, 171,174, 178, 188, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197

Neutralize counterplay

17,32, 122, 147, 150, 159, 169

Simplify to Endgame

25,29,86, 123, 158, 175, 177,215

Sacrifice for pair

77, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 132, l33,145,217

Crack new diagonals

27,30,37,38,39,44,47,49,63,64,65,66,68,71 ,72,73,75, 137, 141 , 145, 149, 160, 180, 182, 186, 189, 198, l99,200, 201,202

Shift diagonals

69, 1 16, 1 17, 1 18, 1 19, 136, 138, l40, 179, l81

Inducing Weakness

4,7,9, 10,28, 101 , 107, l l5,187,212

Passed Pawn

44,45,47,95,97, 101, 164

Open center

78,84,93,94,96, 1 00, 102, 154, 165,176,l83,l84,212,213


4

Boleslavsky Scherbakov Moscow 1942

Exchanging bishops (one way to combat the bishop pair) by 7 . b5 gave better chances for defense. ..

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

.lb3xc4 .le3-c5t .lc4-g8 .lc5-f2 .lf2-b6 .lg8-b3 g2-g3

15

c2-c4!

b6-b5
White's bishops exert strong pres sure on Black's queenside. It is espe cially difficult for Black to neutralize the dark-square bishop.

1

a2-a4!

Grabs space on the queenside, where White plans to induce weaknesses.

1 2 3

gn-d1 .lc4-a2

3.Ab3 !?.

3 4 5 6 7

7

� d2-c4 gdlxd8 a4-a5 .la2-b3

'&>e8-e7 ghs-ds

t7-f6 b7-b6 � e6xd8 .lc8-e6

.le6xc4?

Induces more weaknesses.

15 16 17 18 19 20

gal-cl c4-c5! .lb3-c4 '&>gl-f2 '&>f2-e3

gas-c8 b5-b4 �b7-d8 gc8-a8 � d8-e6 � e6-d4

f3-f4! Opens a second front. The more of


the board that is under dispute, usually the better for the bishops.

21

Tarrasch

5 Rubinstein San Sebastian 1912

-

�g7-e6

22

�kl-fl

�d4-c2t

23

c&>e3-d3

� c2-d4

24

f4-f5

g6xf5

25

e4xf5

� e6-g7

26

�d3-e4

�g7-e8

27

g3-g4

�d4-c2

28

l!fl-tl

�c2-d4

29

g4-g5!

� d4-b5

B

1

f7-ffi

Black plans to restrict the mobility of the white knight and exposes weak nesses in his opponent's camp.

2

� e5-g4

If f'/�6 13<�.'

2.�d7? Ad6 !::. gad8; ti rsfr 2.4)f'3 Ae3 3.g3 Ac8!. The standard way to activate a bishop is to transfer it to a strong diagonal.

2

30

.lc4xb5

Preventing 30....{)8c7 which liberates the as-g.

30

a6xb5

31

h2-h4

�e7-f7

32

l!t2-d2

rf/f7-e7

33

b2-b3

l!a8-b8

34

a5-a6

l!b8-c8

35

a6-a7

l!c8-a8

36

l!d2-d8

� e8-c7

37

.lb6xc7

l!a8xa7

38

gSxf6t

Black resigned.

h6-h5!

The advance of a flank pawn usually works well when grabbing space against knights. It weakens the fewest squares, which lie near the edge of the board.

3 4 5

�g4-t2 .lb3-dl g2-g3

.lc5-e3 h5-h4

,


6

a7-a5!

5 Intending b4.

6

J,dl-t3

One virtue of the bishop pair is that a bishop may frequently be traded to transform the advantage. White can not reverse that here with 6.�g4 b4 7 ..£)xe3 gxe3 + ( weak square g3, weak square d3). Very bad is 7.
6 7 8 9

�fi-g2 b2xc3 c3-c4

b5-b4 b4xc3 J,b7-a6

king.

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

�£2-g4 h2xg3 gal-cl gcl-c2 �g4-tl gc2xb2 gdl-d2 �tl-h3

h4xg3 J.e3-d4 ge7-b7 �g8-t7 gb7-b2! Ad4xb2 J,b2-d4

1 9.gc2 gd7 (but not 1 9 . . . .£l,xf2? 20.
19 20 21

gd2-c2 f4-f5

�t7-e6 �e6-d6

White has salvaged his pawn, but the position is opening up, the weak nesses remain, and Black's bishops are becoming masters of the situa t i o n . B e t t e r w a s 9 . g h d l g ab 8 10.gab 1 !. Then after 1 0...gxb 1 ? (bet ter is 10 ... a4! � a3) 1 1 .gxb l Axf2 1 2.
9 10 11

c4xd5 ghl-dl

ga8-d8 c6xd5

21

gd8-c8!

After the exchange of rooks, the black king becomes master of the situation.

22

.lt3-dl

22.gxc8 Axc8 23.g4 ,1e3 ! limits the mobility of the white knight.

22 23 24 25

.ldlxc2 g3-g4 �g2-t3

gcsxc2t �d6-e5 J,d4-e3- +

25 ..£)f2 .1xf2 26.
25 26 27 28

J,c2-b3 �t3-e2 J,b3-c2

�e5-d4 .la6-b7 J,b7-a6 .la6-b5!


29

a2-a4

29.a3 a4 6. Act .

29 30 31

<&>e2-f3 <&>t3xe3

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

<&>e3-e2 �h3-f4 �f4-e6 � e6xd4t � d4-b5 <&>e2-e3 �b5xa3 <&>e3-d4

.Qb5-d7 <&>d4-c3

I f:i ,

�&}

7

bishop pair. But Black's position is very solid and has no obvious weak nesses. White needs to weaken his opponent's position.

1

f3-f4!

6

1:!clxc4!

d5-d4t! <&>c3xc2 .Qd7xa4 4a4-b3 <&>c2-b2 a5-a4 a4-a3 <&>b2xa3 <&>a3-b4

White resigned.

Karpov - Kavalek Nice 1974

White's position is better because he e njoys spatial superiority and the

Exchanging a pair o f rooks i s usually favorable for the player with the


8

bishops.

6 7

b3xc4

lk7xc4 � e4-cSt

king and the h7-ft. 10...gas 1 1 .gb1 tllf7 12.gb2 ga3t 13.gb3 gxa2 14.cS! dxc5 15.d6 c4t 16.
10

f5xg4

11

.1f3xg4

c&>g8-t7

12

.1g4-e6t

c&>t7-f6

13

4e6-g8

lk5-c7

13 . . . ,ixh6 1 4.gxh6 ·tllg7 15 .gxh7t
8

4e3xc5!

A surprise, but White's space ad vantage works even in a simplified position with bishops of opposite colour.

8

14

,1g8xh7

e7-e6

15

.1h7-g8

e6xd5

16

h6-h7

lk8xc5

8 ... dxc5 9.h6 Ad4 10.gb1 ± .

9

h5-h6

4g7-f8

9 ... fxg4 to.Axg4 Af8 l l .Ae6t tllh8 12.fS gas 13.gbl ga3t 14. tlle2 gxa2t 15. tllfl Axh6 16.f6 e:xf6 11.gb8t Af8 ( 1 7... tllg7 18.gg8 mate) 18. �t +-.

16

.1f8-g7?

More stubborn is 16...gxc4t 17. tlld3 Ag7 18.Axd5 gc5 19.Ab7 ± .

17

.1g8xd5

,1g7-h8

18

c&>c3-d3

c&>f6-f5

19

c&>d3-e3

20

c&>e3-f3 a2-a4

lk7-e7t a6-a5

21 10

c&>d3-c3

There was the threat 10 ... gas. It was better to play 10.gS ! , shutting the black bishop out of the game and preparing an attack against the black

22 23 24

.1dS-e4t '8hl-h6 c&>f3-g4

Black resigned.

'8e7-c7 c&>f5-f6 '8c7-g7


Stein

Averbakh Riga 1970

13 14 15

Ac6-b7 a2-a4 Ab7-a8

9

{)d3-b4 {)b5-d6

Black resigned. 15 ... aS 16.Axb4 axb4 17.aS +-.

Stein - Smyslov Moscow 1972

1

{) c3-b5!

White invites Black to trade rooks, after which Black's pawns on the q ueenside become objects of attack.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8

ltblxcl Adlxcl {)b5-c3 �-el

g3-g4 4g2-c6

{) c3-d5

ltc7xclt ltc8xcl t a7-a6 {) e6-c5 ralh8-g8 {)fS-d6 Ag7-t'8

h2-h4!

1 2

h4-h5!

3

ite2xt3!

{)b8-d7 Ab7xt3

f7-fS

8 .. . b5

9.Aa3 �cb7 10.�c7 a5 1 1.Axb7 �xb7 12.Axf'St � 13.�xbS +-.

9 g4xf5 10 {) d5xb6 + 11 d3-d4 12 Acl-dl

1

Exploiting Black's lack of a dark sq uare bishop, White intends to weaken the dark squares on the kingside with a bold thrust of his h-ft.

g6xf5 e5-e4 {) c5-d3 {) d6-b5

White sacrifices a pawn, hoping that when the game is opened his bishops will gain still greater force.

3

d6xe5

10


4

g7xh6

hS-h6!

4 ... g6 5.dxe5 �xe5 6.�f6! +-.

S 6 7 8

9 10

4clxh6 4h6-g7 ghlxh7 4g7xd4

eSxd4 gh8-g8 4) e7-G c7-cS

g2-g4! g4xG

cSxd4 e6-eS

10. ..�eS 1 1.'le4 dxc3 12.�a2! +-.

1 1 'lt3-dS! ±

White has a strong attack.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

c3xd4 gal-di .a.n-g2 'ldS-b7 d4xeS Clle l-fi

ggS.f8 gas-c8 'ld8-e7 grs.gs gcsxc4 'le7xeSt 'leS-bS

18

Cllfi-gl !

'ftb5-c6?

better is 18 ... �g2t! ? 19.'i\'xg2 �5.

19 'lb7xc6 20 gh7-h8! + -

gc4xc6

And White won.

Kotov - Katetov Moscow 1946

1

Cllb l-c2

A standard plan is f3 and e4, but White sees no need to hurry, first aiming to induce weaknesses on Black's queenside.

1 2 3 4 s

6

4) d2xe4 ghl-fi gdl-bl £2-t3 Cllc2-d2

4)gS-e4 4)f6xe4 4c8-d7 b7-b6 4) e4-gS t7-G

6...�e6 7.e4.

7

a2-a4!

4)gS-t7

11


8

a4-a5

b6-b5

The first goal is achieved. Now White ne eds to prod the kingside for a weakness.

9 10 11

l!fi-tl h3-h4 Ah2-f4

h7-h5 l!e8-e7

weaknesses on the queenside.

16

c&>g8-h7

17

l!bl-gl

l!e7-e8

18

c&>c2-b3

l!e8-c8

19

c&>b3-b4

c6-c5t

A desperate sacrifice!

20

d4xc5

a7-a6

21

e3-e4!

d5xe4

22

t3xe4

White's bishops dominate the fray.

22

11

g7-g6 ?!

l!c8-c6

23

e4x5

24

l!gl-g6

l!c6-f6

Black resigned.

Unnecessarily weakening.

12 13 14 15

g2-g4! g4xh5 l!tl-g2 l!g2xg8

Cfg8-h7 g6xh5 l!a8-g8

Eingorn - Krasenkow Metz 1993

In the course of realizing the ad vantage of two bishops, a rook trade often neutralizes the opponent's dynamic possibilities.

15

c&>h7xg8

1

e5-e6!

White starts an attack against the king with the powerful support of his bishops.

1 16

c&>d2-c2

White's king goes to exploit the

t7xe6

1 . ..f5 2.�h l !::. g4 with an attack (Krasenkow).


12

Better is 7.gct b,. bxc4.

7

�k8xc4

8

.!b2xg7

'llg8xg7

9

ite3-e5t

'l/g7-f7

10

f4-G

10.gxdS? Ag7 -+.

2 3

.!e2-g4 .!g4-e6t

e6xd5 � c5xe6

3 ... �h8 4.Ab2t Ag7 5.Axg7t �g7 6.*d4t �h6 7.gd3 ! €)xd3 8.�b6 + (Krasenkow).

4

'{te3xb6

d5xc4

10

gd8-d6! =

Black has coordinated his pieces and he aims to build a fortress.

5

'{tb6-e3?!

Stronger was 5 . -&hb7 ( b,. * d 5 ) 5 . . . €)xf4 6.*e4 €)d3 7.*e6t �h8 8.bxc4 ±. White must keep Black's pieces from becoming active.

5 6

.!a3-b2?!

� e6-g7

In forcing the attack, White allows counterplay. He might have kept the edge with the simple 6.bxc4, e.g. : 6 . . . gxc4 7.*b3 d5 s.gxd5 gxd5 9.�c4 e6 10.Axf'8
6 7

b3xc4

d6-d5

11

gdl-fl

12

G-ffi

13

gnxffi

gc4-clt

14

'llg l-fl

gc1-c6

15

Mxd6

gc6xd6

16

'llfl-e2

b7-b6

17

'lle2-d3

d5-d4

18

tl'e5-e8

h7-h5

19

h2-h3

'l/g8-g7

20

g2-g4

h5xg4

21

h3xg4

ll>g7-g8

Draw.

'llf7-g8 e7xffi

13


Kramnik

Ulibin Greece 1992

2 ... iS'f6 3.Axe4 'l#txe5 4.Axb7 'l#txb2 ( 4 ...�fab8? 5.,1c3) s.gb 1 'l#txa2 6.Axa8 fua8 7.iS'b3 iS'a6 8.0-0 ;;!;;. But now White's bishops are much stronger than Black's knights (Kramnik).

3 4 s

� e5xd7 0-0 .1b4-a3

�c5xd7 a7-a5 gm-es

S tr o n g e r is 5 . . . b 6 , /J. f7 - f 5 , strengthening the knight's position on e4. It is crucial to create support points for one's knights when fight ing against bishops.

1

.1c3-b4!

6 7

b2-b3 .1a3-b2

8

'l' dl-d4

b7-b6 ga8-d8

After 1 .0-0 �xc3 2.fuc3 Ad7 /J. Ac6 Black has no difficulties ( Kramnik). White decides to preserve his bishop.

1

.1c8-d7

Useless is l ...iS'f6 2.iS'c2 �6c5 3.0-0 AfS ? ! 4.�h4! when impossible is 4 .. �xg3? in view of 5.ftfxg3 iS'd4t 6.e3 ! iS'xe3t 7.iS'f2 ( Kramnik). Black should have started fighting against the bishops immediately: l...a5 2.,1a3 �4c5 3.0-0 Ad7 4.�d4 �xd4 5 . iS'xd4 A c 6 6.Axc6 bxc6 7.Axc5 dxc5 and, regardless of his trebled pawns, his counterplay is not bad. (Kramnik). .

Inferior is immediate 8.f3 �ec5 9.e4 in view of 9... f5 ! 10.exf5 ( 10.iS'dSt iS'f7 1 1 . iS'xf7t '1Jxf7 12.exf5 ge2) 10... iS'e3t 1 1 . 'l}h l �d3 with counter play (Kramnik).

8

'l' e7-f6

8 ...�ef6 9.gcel ! /J. e2-e4, t'2-f4, g3g4-g5 ±. 9

'l' d4xf6

An exchange of heavy pieces usually favors the player who enjoys the ad vantage of two bishops. 9

2

�t3-e5

� e6-c5?!

Bl ack had to risk the complications:

10

gn.dI

� d7xf6 h7-h6?

It is better to avoid weaknesses when playing against two bishops in the

14


ending especially.

e2-e3 Ciflgl-fi cflfi -e2

11 12 13

• ••

• m,1,•:t •

� "J•�-:t� , �. �

•v�" ·"v� ....... f� �� -�

�-

"0

1.��

.... • • ... 7,m. • • ft ·• •" R,, /""%•-w�• • 0

·� �-- �� I['� �� ·�� -.�rlJ--�� . lA·j�� \!§ �� ... ��l§..��• �.... • . .... <...

a5xb4 .£ic5-a6 4J a6-c5 .£l e4-f6

4Jf6-d7 ge8-e7 gd8-e8

J�

14

7- .

g3-g4!

/,

.

With the idea h2-h4 and g4-g5, seiz ing space and inducing weaknesses on Black's kingside.

14 15 16 17

... h2-h4 Ag2-f3 gdl-dS

ge7-e6 ge6-e7 4J d7-c5 .£l c5-a6

17 .. .£6 18.,1g2! .

18

a2-a3 !

Restricting the knight is an important . element in a fight of bishops agamst knights. Bad was 18.gh5? ( b,. g4-gS) in view of 18 ....£lb4 19.a3 .£lg3t!.

18

...

.£i a6-c5

18 ... �ec5 19.g5 ! .£lxb3 20.ggl with

29

ga7-al!

.£i c5-e6

15


29 . . . f6 30.AdS t .£lf7 3 1 .!!agl c&'f8 32J'!h7 ± .

30

ghl-h4

f7.f6

30 ... �h7 3 1 .!!ahl .£lef8 32.Ae4 g6 33.Ad5 6. t2-f4-f5 ± White's bishops are firing at will, everywhere! (Kram nik).

31 32

gal-gl Ac6-d5

32.f4 �h3 !.

32 33 34

gh4-h8t £2-f4

34 .. . �gh7

35

c&>g8-t7

Black

2 3

Ae3xc5

� c6xb4

3.*"c5 �d3t 4.!!xd3 *"b2t 5.c&'dl Axd3 - + . �

�� J.. -�-

c&>t7-e8 � e6-f8 �g5-e6

��r�

·� , ,JQJ, . ....

��

35.Ag8 +-.

c&>e2-t3

ggl-g6! Ab2xg7 Ag7xf8

a3xb4

L .. �� '·······7,� �-}.

V,��"·� �.

After 35.Axe6 !!xe6 36.!!xg7 the end ing is hopeless for Black.

35 36 37 38

2

2.:!'!d2 Axe2 - + ; 2.'lh2 Axc3 3.�xc3 �e5 with an attack.

f6.f5 � e6-c5 ge7-t7

resigned.

Khenkin - Epishin USSR 1988

B

�

7. �"······'; �"%! .....

��·

_ . . . . /," '" 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

'l'd5-d2 '&>cl-bl ii}'d2xb2 gdl-d6 c&>blxb2 c&>b2-al Ac5-a3 Aa3-cl gd6xd3

'l'b6-h6t! �b4-d3t gb8xb2t �d3xb2 Aa6-d3t gf8.b8t 'l'h6-d2 gb8-b3 itd2-c2

Fo rced i n v i e w o f t h e t h r e a t 12 ...!!bl t.

With c5- and d7-pawns like ripe grapes to be plucked, Black must make the most of his dynamic pluses: concentration of his pieces on the qu eenside; the insecure position of the white king at c l ; semi-open b-file.

1

ga8-b8!!


16

13 14 15 16 17

:!':!b6-a6t :!:!a6xa4t itc2xa4t ita4-b5t itb5-d3t!

:!;!d3-d4 :!;!d4-a4 �c3xa4 <&'al-bl .S.cl-b2

l 7 ... 'l!i'xe2? ! 18 J'!cl h5 19.!!c2 with counterplay.

18 19 20 21 22

itd3xe2 ite2xg2 h7-h6 '{tg2xf3 a7-a5

<&'bl-cl :!;!hl-dl :!;!dlxd7 :!;!d7-d2 e4-e5

White resigned.

Steiner, H

-

Flohr

Hastings 1932-33

· -·· -r. .1% � 1. ·� ·�,, ,,Y,11,_ 11 111 a{'JJ11�'ftvJ "ifr� r� �T :. · "• •" ;,.,,;,.,, •·.4J9l·-•91�··•f�AaJ �•r�· · /,� lf.

5

�

lf.

ii: �

�

· ·

f4-t3 !

Giving Wh ite no res pite, B lack launches a decisive attack.

6 7 8 9

,1g2xt3 itb5-d3 itd3xd4 � a2-c3

itd6-f4 .S.f6xd4! itf4xt3

9.bxa5 Axd5 10.'l!i'xd5 !!el t-+.

9 10

a5xb4

itd4xb4

· m . • ........ mmca>•m II-� • W,'. � •II . . �•i•m

•.t• �� '11 ·•�-••L Y..••r.• • f�·i•.Jf •.•EJ1 LJ1 11 � · . ••.• "; ��-· �7,,,/,� �-·� ,

..

White has striven to exploit the shortcomings of his opponent's posi tion. He is ready to advance his b-ft to start play on the queenside.

1

h7-h5!

U s i n g t h e d e c e n tr a l i z a t i o n o f White's queen and the extra pawn on the kingside, Black commences play against the king.

2 3

b2-b4 At3-g2

3.bxa5? �a3 -+.

3 4 5

h2xg3 g3-g4

h5-h4!

�· • .· 10

·

,1b7xd5!- +

White's pieces are overloaded.

11 12 13

� c3xd5 <&'gl-h2 �d5-e3

13 . .!Llxb6 g5 - + .

h4xg3 f5-f4

%l00

13 14 15 16

'{tb4xd6 � e3-c4 �c4-e5

itt3xdl t :!:!e7-e6

itdl-d6t :!;!e6xd6 :!;!d6-c6 :!;!c6-c3


17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 White

� e5-d7 g4-g5 �d7-f6t �f6-d5 � d5-f4t �f4xg6 4'lh2-g.3 calg.3-t3 �g6-f4 �f4-d3 �d3-b2 4'lt3-f4

lk3-b3 t7-f5 Cf}g8-t7 �-e6 Clle6-d6 gb3-b4 gb4-g4t gg4xg5 gg5-gl ggl-al
resigned.

Flohr - Bannik Kiev 1954

11

17

h2-h4

White seeks to induce weaknesses on Black's kingside.

11 12 13

'lc2-dl 'ldl-d7

At8-e7 4'lg8-t8

Even better is 13.h5, /j, g3-g4 and *d l-hl +-.

13 14 15 16

Ae4-c2 h4-h5 h5xg6

Better is 16.g4.

16 17

White controls a lot of space. The weakness of Black's a4-ft is very im portant. White wants to exchange all the rooks and, h aving tied down Black's queen to the a4-ft, start play in the center or on the kingside.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

gal-dl Ae4-t3 At3-e4 itc5-c2 f2-f4 Cllg l-f2 gelxdl gdl-d7 gd7xd8 Cllf2 -e2

e7-e6 itb8-c7 Ag7-t8 At8-g7 Ag7-t8 gd8xdl 'lc7-b6 ga8-d8 'lb6xd8 'ld8-a8

g.3-g4

'la8-b8 'lb8-a8 Ae7-d8

h7xg6 Ad8-b6

The differing levels of activity of all the pieces enable White to mount a fierce attack against the black king.

18 19

f4-f5 g4xf5

g6xf5 �b5-c7

18


19 ... exfS 20.e6 +-.

25

'ltf6-gSt

�g8-f8

26

'lg5-h6t

�f8-e7

27

'lh6-d6t

Black resigned. 27 . . . \tle8 28.Ad7t \tld8 29.Ae6t \tle8 30.itd7t 1/f8 31.'txf? mate.

Vaitonis - Geller Stockholm 1952

20

Ab2-d4!

B

The strength of the bishop pair often lies in the possibility of exchanging one of them at any appropriate mo ment. In this case White accepts the position with oppos ite-coloured b i s h o p s because the threats to Black's king will be irresistible ( Flohr S.).

20 21

Ac2xf5

e6xf5

22.Axb6? �a6t.

21 22

White has two bishops, but the light square one is restricted by his own pawns. If Black manages to exchange the dark-square bishops, he will have a strong knight against a weak b i s h o p . C o n s i d e r i n g W h i te 's numerous weaknesses, this should be quite enough for a win. But Black begins by strengthening up the posi tions of his pieces.

'ld7xc7

1

t7-f5!

Fixing the weak f4 pawn.

23

'lc7-d6t!

23.e6? ! ite8!.

23

�-g7

23 ...1/g8 24.e6! ite8 25.exf7t +-.

24

'ld6-f6t

�g7-g8

2

c&>gl-fl

�g8-t7

3

�fl-e2

� e8-f6

4

Ag2-f3

Preventing �f6-h5.

4

�f6-d7

19


Smys-:-��='-"==--lov Denker

��

-

Moscow 1946

5

h2-h3

.ld4-b2!

With the idea Ab2-a3-b4

6

�e2-d2

,lb2-a3

7

,la5-c7

�r7-e7

8

a4-a5

White avoided the exch ange of bishops, but now his bishop has fallen into a cage and Black captures the a5 pawn.

�d7-f6

8 9

�d2-c2

�e7-d7

10

,lc7-b6

�d7-c8

11

�c2-d2

�f6-d7

12

.lf3-dl �d7xb6- +

The endgame with bis � ops of op posite colour is an easy wm for Black.

13

a5xb6

.la3-b4t

14

�d2-cl

�c8-b7

15

,ldl-a4

�b7xb6

16

,la4-e8

,lb4-el

17

�cl-c2

�b6-c7

18

.le8-r7

�c7-d8

White resigned in view of 19.Ag8 rfie7 20.Axh7? rfifl.


20

is weaker than his white counterpart; White's pieces are better centralized; and he has the initiative.

10 11 gd6-d7t 12 gd7xt7t 13 gd3-d8 14 'l!l'e5-e8 15 'l!l'e8-h8t 16 gd8-d6t 17 'l!l'h8xh6 + 1 8 gd6-dl 19 �gl-g2 20 gdl-fit 21 'l!l'h6-ffi 22 'l!l'ffi-f5 gn.a 23 24 'l!l'f5-d3 25 ga.e2 26 'l!l'd3:-e4 27 'l!l'e4-d5t 28 ge2-e6

gnxa ga.n grsxn gn-g7 g6-g5 �h7-g6 �g6-t7 'l!l'g4-f5 'l!l'f5-c5t 'l!l'c5-e7 �t7-g8 'l!l'e7-e8 g5-g4 'l!l'e8-e7 gg7-g5 'l!l'e7-f8 gg5-g7 'l!l'f8-t7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

gn.ct .le3-c5! gclxcS gal-cl �gl-fi �-el

0-0

.lc8-b7 .le7xc5 grs-d8 �g8-f8 gd8-d3 ga8-d8

Unfortunately, Black derives no benefit from control of the open d file.

8

�f3-e5

8...gd2 9.g5c2.

9 10 11

tl-f3 gcs-c2 gclxc2

l l ...gd6 12.�c4 6. � a5.

12 13

� e5-d7t �d7-c5

14

e4-e5!

gd3-d4

gd4-d2 gd2xc2 gd8-c8 �-e7 gc8-c7

Black resigned.

Muresan

Savereide Tbilisi 1982

White restricts the black bishop still further by preventing e6-e5 6. Ab7c8-e6. White has significant ad vantage in the endgame. Black can only await events.

1

.lc1-e3

With the idea grc1, Ac5. White strives to exchange dark square bishops, to deprive her op ponent of the bishop pair and seize the weakened dark squares.

14 15 16 17 18 19

b2-b4 gc2-d2 gd2-d6 �el-d2 �d2-c3

.lb7-c8 .lc8-d7 .ld7-e8 gc7-c8 gc8-b8 a7-a5

Now 20. bxa5 gb5 2 1 .�b 3 ! gxe5


22. a6 was winning immediately.

20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27

a2-a3

a3xb4 �c3-b2 t3-f4 g2-g4 �b2-b3 gd6-dl h2-h4

Blackburne

a5xb4t gb8-a8

21

Schwarz Berlin 1881 B

ga8-a7 ga7-a8 ga8-b8

White strives to create an inroad on the kingside.

27 28 29

g4-g5 h4-h5 h5-h6

ga7-a8 ga8-a7 4e8-d7 g7xh6 J,d7-c8

30 31

g5xh6

32 33 34

gdl-gl ggl-g7 �c5-e4

35 36

� e4-f6 �f6xh7

4e2-d3 ga7-a8 ga8-h8

37 38 39

�h7-g5 h6-h7

4d3-g6 "1e7-t'8

�g5xe6t

"1t'8-e7

40 41 42

� e6-g5 gg7-g8t h7xg8itt

"1e7-t'8 gh8xg8

43 44 45 46 47 48

�b3-c4 "1c4-c5 �g5-e4 f4-fS � e4-d6 �d6-c8

Black resigned.

4c8-a6 4a6-e2

Black's best defense lies in exchang ing the dark-square bishop; the most dangerous attacking piece of his op ponent.

1

J,d6-e7!

The moves i n the game were l....£\f4t? 2.\hf4! Axf4 3.�h5, and Black resigned.

2

4f6-e5

After 2.Axe6 fxe6 3.'tg5 Axf6 4.'txf6 follows 4...'td8! and if 5.'txg6t, then 5 ...gg7.

2

4e7-d6 =

Botvinnik

Smyslov Moscow l958 B

�t'8xg8 4g6-c2 4c2-a4 "1g8-g7 J,a4-c2 4c2-a4 White has a passed pawn on the queenside while the black pawn at c4


22

is well blocked. But Black has un tapped power - his bishops. Now White threatens to trade one of them, so prophylaxis is necessary.

1

� d7-b6?!

better is 1 ... gfe8!, � to answer 2.Ah6 with 2...,lh8!, preserving the dark square bishops.

2 3 4 s 6 7

Ae3-h6! iil'd2xh6 a3-a4 gn-b1 'ith6-e3 t3xe4

10

l(bl-fi

'itd8-d7

10...�xd5? 1Ute6t, or 1 0 . . . Axd 5 ? l l .�xd5 �xd5 12.'M'e6t.

11 12

'ite3-d4 d5xe6

e7-e6 � c7xe6

12 ...'M'xe6 13.�f4 *e5 14.gadl ± .

Ag7xh6 17-ffi �b6-a8 ffi-fS f5xe4 � a8-c7

13

'itd4-g4!

13.�c4t d5 with counterplay.

8

13 14 15 16

� e2-d4 gal-dl ttg4-f4

l(f8-e8 'itd7-g7 � e6-c7 ges-eS

17 18 19 20 21 22

�d4-c6! 'itf4xc4t 'itc4xc6 'itc6-b6 'itb6-d4 ltfi-el

Ab7xc6 d6-d5 gb8-d8 'itg7-e7 'ite7-d6 l(d8-e8

d4-d5! ±

White turns his passed pawn into a connected pair.

8 9

e4xd5

c6xd5 Ac8-b7

9 ... gf5 10.'M'd4,lb7 l l .�f4 ± .


23

gelxe5

ge8xe5

24 25

b4-b5 'ltd4-a7!

�c7-e6

25.� e4? gxe4 26.*"e4 'l!tcSt + -

25

23

.

d5-d4

26 � c3-e4-+ Black resigned in view of 26... 'l!tf8 27.b6 �f4 (or 27 ... �d8 28.b7 �c6 29.'M'b6) 28.b7 ges 29.b8'l!t gxb8 30.�gS +-.

Ostojic

�hl-gl

grs-ds

s.gael Axd3 6.*"d3 d5 7.exd6 gxd6 8.'{tc3 gad8 +.

Sue tin Havana 1968

B

1

4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

d7-d5 c4xd5 'l'c6xd5 .ld3xe4 'ltd5xe4 + gn.a ga8-b8 'l'h3-c3 gd8-d4 .lb2-a3 gd4-c4 'l'c3-d2 h7-h5 gal-dl 'lte4-c6 c2-c3 'ltc6-a4 'ltd2-cl

14 15 16 17 18 19

'ltclxc3 M-fi .la3xc5 .lc5-f2 g2-g3

.lb7-e4!

Encourages White to trade light after which Black will have a good knight against the bad bishop. Exchanging the opponent's more active bishop (let him keep the passive one) is one way to fight the pair. sq uare bishops,

2 3

.le2-d3 'ltg3-h3

� e7-fS

3.-{tel Axd3 4.cxd3 d6, weak square d3, d4.

3 4

'ltc7-c6 .lcl-b2

gc4xc3 ! 'lta4xdlt 'ltdl-e2 'lte2xa2 a6-a5 a5-a4


24

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

gn-al galxbl !&>gl-g2 c&>g2-gl At2-el g3xh4 Aelxc3

gb8-blt i!l'a2xblt i!l'bl-b7t i!l'b7-b3 h5-h4 i!l'b3xc3 �f5-e3

White resigned.

Opocensky

5 6 7

Flohr Prague 1929 B

1

Aa6xc4

It was better to decline the sacrifice 2.Af4 Ad6 3.Acl, though even in this case Black is better off. Black would be able to transfer his bishop to b6 and his knight to e6.

2 3 4 5

7.Ae5 c5 8.f4 c4 9.bxc4t l!xc4 10.gbJ Ab4 + b,. a7-a5, gc4-c2-a2 (Flohr).

� d6-c4!!

Sacrificing a pawn, Black seeks to strip White of the bishop pair, vacate the d5 square for his king, and trans fer the rook to b4, whence it will at tack the weakened white pawns.

2

gc4-c3 Af4-e3

.lb4-t8! gb7-b4

Ae3-f4 gc2xc4 b2-b3

d5xc4 gc7-b7 !&>e6-d5

7 8 9

Ae3xf4 ll>t2-g3?!

9.Ag3 was better.

9 10

gc3-c4

f5-f4! gb4xd4 At8-b4!

10.ge3 l!xf4! 1 1 .c&>xr4 Ad6t -+.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

!&>g3-g2 b3xc4t Af4-b8 t3-f4 Ab8-e5 f4-f5

White resigned.

Ab4-elt gd4xc4 ll>d5xc4 Ae1xh4 a7-a6 ll>c4-d5 !&>d5xe5


Szily

Polugaevsky

25

tant is that White lacks counterplay.

Bad Liebenstein 1963

B

6 7 8

ltdl-d3 Cfihl-gl Cfigl-fi

ID'8-c8 Cfig8-t8

=::;;:;;::;;;:==

1

4e7-d8!

With the idea *g4. I n this situation of static ad vantage, an exchange of queens favors Black. Bad is l ...�c3 2.�c3 �xe4 3 J�c7 �f2t 4. Axf2 *xh3 s.gxb7 /j, �e7 ±.

2

4J d4-e2

There was already the threat of 2 . �c3. .

.

8 9

e4-e5

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

4J c3-e4 f4xg5 c2-c3 lth3-h7 4J e4-g5 ltd3-g3 c3-c4 b3xc4

g7-g5!

9.fxg5 hxg5 jj, Ae5, g4 +.

d6xe5 Affi-g7 h6xg5 g5-g4- + ltc6-c7 4b7-d5 t7-ffi b5xc4 ltc7xc4

White resigned.

Simagin

Gusev Moscow l952

2 3

4h4xf6

tl'h5-g4!

3 . �xg4 .£lxg4 4.gh3 Ab6 +.

3 4 5

lte3xh3 ltfi-dl

'l'g4xh3 4d8xf6 ltc8-c6

Black has the bishop pair and pres su re along the c-file. But most impor-


26

Kopylov

Black's bishops are strong; 1...fub2 threatens.

1

Zaitsev, I

Kuibyshev 1970

b2-b3!

B

White sacrifices the exchange for a strong attack on Black's weakened king.

1

.ld4xal

Black accepts the exchange sacrifice, otherwise after 2.gadl /j, � e3 White would have started the attack against the king without any sacrifice.

2

1!flxal

itd8-e7

2 ... 'td6 3.gdl /j, �e3.

3 ite2xa6 4 1!al-cl ±

t7-f6

White has more than sufficient com pensation for the exchange: a pawn and an attack on the black king.

4 5

�g4-e3

1!f8-t7 .ld5-a8

5 ... ga8 6.'te2 /j, �h5.

6 7

.lf5-e6 � e3-f5t

1

t7-f5!

Exchanging the e4 pawn, Black ex tends the scope of his bishops and strips his opponent of control over the important central d5 point.

2

e4xf5

2.f3 deserves attention, and though White gets a weak e4 pawn, he retains the outpost d5, which is very important in a fight against bishops.

2 3 4 5

� c3-b5 itdl-13 1!bl-cl

5 6

itt3-e2

grsxrs + 1!f5-d5 'l'd8-d7

ite7-a7 a �g7-h8

7 ...\t>h7 8.'te2 +-.

8 1!c1-c8t 9 ita6xa7 10 1!c8xb8 + 11 1!b8-f8 Black resigned.

�h8-h7 1!t7xa7 1!a7xa2

1!d5-f5

6.'te4 Ad5 7.'td3 (7.'tc2 gaf8 8.'tc7 'te6) 7 ...Ax:b2 +.


6 7

lkl-c7

Ae6xb3 l'd7-e6

8 9

�bS-c3 4e3-d4

d6-dS- + l'e6xe2

10 11 12

�c3xe2

e7-eS

.ld4-c3 gc7xt7

grs.n �g8xt7

13 14

gn-e1

dS-d4

Ac3-d2

Ab3xa4

15

� e2-g3

Aa4-c6

3 4

-+.

Yunnala 1985

B

4 s

It looks like White's pieces occupy active positions, but he cannot derive any benefit from their placement. Black, on the other hand, can exploit the almost imperceptible weakness of the b3 square and build up pres sure along the semi-open b-file.

� e4-g3

2.g5? �xc4! 3:ltxc4 d5 - + .

2 3

ga8-b8 ltd2-d3

ltdl-bl

5.gtd2 �b3 6.ge2 Af6.

S 6

2

e2-e4

4.b3 Axf3 5.Axf3 �xb3 6.gb l �d4

Inkiov - Gurevich, M

� c6-aS! +

l'c7-b6!

Preventing �f3-d2 and increasing pressure along the b-file.

White resigned.

1

27

l'c2-dl

4b7-a8 � a5-b3

d6-dS!

6

Black has strengthened his position considerably, now he opens the game. The dormant bishops are about to awaken.

7 8

e4xdS l'dl-e2

8.exd5 c4 +.

8

e6xdS

Ae7-f6


28

9 10 11

c4xd5 g<13.dl 4Jg3-e4

c5-c4 .!a8xd5

�

�� · -� t• f"":2 ¥• �� . • a�. . .Y,•m :a: � ·�-. . -.-�.Y,m· ��,, · :lfWfi . - � ;� f"":2 -

.

'"¥;;1 '%!

··-A·�·� _,,.i!i• , . ·w� �� ¥� �WW��

·"�·�· � /,� !%.�" • 11 12

... gdl-el

!\ ¥�

/,�, /, �

itb6-e6!

12.�xf6t 'M'rl6 6. ges, Ae4 +.

12 13

... gbl-dl

ite6xg4

13.�xf6t gxf6 14.gbdl �c5 +.

13

.!d5xe4

The centralized knight at e4 is well worth one of Black's bishops. 1 3. . .'M'g6! ? + also deserved attention.

14 15 16

gdlxd8t ite2xe4 gelxe4

gb8xd8 itg4xe4

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

.!ffixb2 a6-a5 <&>g8-h 7 4Jb3-d2 g7-g6 4Jd2xt3 <&>h7-g8

.!g2-fi ge4xc4 a3-a4 <&>gl-g2 Afi-d3t gc4 -c7 gc7xf7t

Draw.

Magomedov

-

Epishin

Daugavpi/s 1989

� m•m � -.......��-. r.f(fe ��A� - - --�. lpr.fffe lp �,&ft • •.-.�,&ft& ,, ,7,f.& f� ••• .:·• � -· ,, ,7,� � .& � · ··· · · · · ··-41�� · 7, ·�. •w--1'>" },�. � · �.� • g :a:m -- -- - ��• .¥11 "%! ·�� ·�--� },�"%! �� B ��A;� f"'t ,/,•a•i••"' �"·'"' /, !�L a ""'/,��

w

�

�

1

""'

�

.

b2-b4!

It is far from easy for White to realize his advantage of two bishops, be cause Black's knight at d5 is strong and well entrenched. Making the most of the tactical peculiarities of the position ( undeveloped black pieces and a weak eighth rank), White seizes space on the queenside.


� d5xb4?!

1 Better

2 3

Vasiukov

Kochiev Beltzy 1981

was l....l\b7 2.b5 gbc8 3.a5 ;;!;;.

,ld4xb6 galxdl

29

gdSxdl t �b4-d5

Necessary, even though a pawn is Jost.

4

.lb6xa7

gbS-aS

White has the two bishops and an extra pawn, but Black still has some counterplay.

1

5 6 7 s 9

,lg2xd5 gdlxdS gdS-d4 Aa7-b6 gd4-e4

e6xd5 .lcS-e6 t7-ffi ffixeS gas-es

,lg2-fl !

Not only retaining both bishops, but also forcing Black to exchange his active rook. This, limits Black's dynamic possibilities.

1 2 3

gclxel ,lf4-e5

ge2-el 'fte6xel 'ftel-dl

4 5

'ftd4-e3 'fte3-e2

�ffi-eS 'ftdlxe2?!

9 . .Cf;fl 10.aS Cf;f6 1 1 .Ac7 +-. The attempt to draw with opposite bishops has faint hope, but in any case Black will be two pawns down. .

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

ge4xe5 gesxeSt a4-a5 t2-f4 f/gl-tl f/t2-e3 f/e3-d4

Ae6-d7 ,ld7xe8 .leS-bS f/g8-t7 h7-h5 f/t7-e6 g7-g6

16 Cf;d6 17.AcSt <17e6 18.Af'B b,. Cf;c5 ...

+-.

17 lS

f/d4-c5 f/c5-c6

B lack resigned.

.lbS-fl

The exchange of the queens deprives Black of his last hope for counter play. Better was 5 ... \l!tb3 b,. ,lc6, \l!td5.

6 7

Aflxe2 .le5-f4

t7-ffi f/g8-t7


30

8 9 10

h3-h4 c&>gl-fi 4e2-g4t

c&>t7-e6 � e8-d6 ffi-fS

Otherwise 21 .d4 6. Axf5.

21

g3xf4

21.\\?xf4!?.

21 22 23 24 25 26

4c2-b3t f4-f5 c&>e3-f4 d3-d4 d4-d5

� c5-d7 c&>t7-f8 4fi-h3 4h3-fi .an -e2

Black resigned.

Georgiev, Kir. Hilbner Wijk aan Zee 1988

11

4g4-dl

a6-a5

After 1 1 ...g6 it is easier for White to create a remote passed pawn on the kingside: 12.£3, then, after centraliz ing the king, g3-g4, h4-h5.

12 13

4f4-d2 h4-h5

b7-b6

Fixing the pawn weakness at g7.

13 14 15 16 17

c&>fi-e2 c&>e2-e3 c&>e3-d4 4d2-c3

� d6-b7
18 19 20

c&>d4-e3 t2-f3 + 4dl-c2

c&>e6-t7 4g2-fi f5-f4t

17 ... ,1b7 18.Ac2 6. �d4-e3-f4.

1

c2-c4!

Wh ite opens the g a m e for the bishops. 1 . f5 ! ? ftexfS 2.c4 ± ; 1 . . .ftgxf5 2.ftgxf5 ftexf5 3.exd5 g6 4.dxc6 bxc6 5.,1h6 ± (Georgiev Kir.).


1

'l'bS-cS

9

a4-a5

31

4:)b6-c8

Mo re stubborn was 1...dxc4 2.dxc4 �b6 3 . fS (3 :ixd7 gfd8 4.cS ih6 s.�c7 gac8 6.-teS Af6 7.'td6 Ae7 8 .eS Axd6 9 . ft cxd6 ± ) 3 . . . � eS 4.fxg6t+ "1xg6 5.A,f4 gad8 6.'tc2 ± with an attack.

White has significant advantage since his very active bishops have tar gets to attack. Black has no counter play.

3 . fS!? ± .

12 ... "1e7 n.ge4t.

2 3

c4xd5 e4xd5

3

c6xd5

e6xd5

10 11 12

gal-a4 ga4-d4 J,g2xd5t

13 gd4xd5 14 gdS-d7t 15 gd7xb7 + -

J.b4-e7 .!e7-c5 gdSxdS J,c5xe3 '&'t7-g8 J.e3xf4

4 'l'dl-b3?! Better was 4.'tf3 ! �b6 5.Ae3 d4 6.gacl 'td6 7.Agl gab8 8.£5 +-, b. Ah2. (Georgiev Kir.).

4 5 6

a2-a4 4cl-e3

4:)d7-b6 'l'cS-aS a ga8-d8

16

h3-h4

White is ready to sacrifice a pawn to exchange rooks and get a winning position.

16 17

h7-h6 g4-g5!

If Black is allowed to defend his bishop with a pawn, he avoids the exchange of rooks and the result of the game is oo.

17 18 7 8

'l'b3-b5! 'l'b5xb4

'l'a5-b4 4e7xb4

h4xg5

h6xg5 gf8.f5

Now 19.b4 "1h7 20.gf3 +- would have led to a winning position. In stead he played 19.gb4 and Black managed to draw.


32

Donaldson, Elena - Suba New York 1988

7

�f4-e6

� c7xd5

7 . . . �xe6 8. dxe6 'lc7 9.e7t !f/g7 10.'le6 +-.

8

Ad3xf5

itd7-c8

Preventing 9.'lb8t and preparing c5c4.

9 10

itb3-c4 itc4-h4

c&>g8-h8

White switches over to the attack against Black's king, where the two bishops have a very serious task to perform.

10

1

� d5-e7

gal-bl !

White has static advantages : the bishop pair, and Black's pawn struc ture weaknesses. Black's counterplay involves play along the open b-file.

1 2

itd3xbl

gbsxbl itg7-d7

After 2...Axc3 3.,1xc3 'txc3 4.'lb8t !f/g7 5 . 'lxc7t !f/g8 6.'lc8t !f/g7 7.'lb7t !f/g8 8.Axa6 followed by the capture of the d6 pawn, Black's posi tion remains grave.

3 4

Ac4-d3 itbl-b3

4.'lb7!?.

4 5 6

� c3-e2 � e2-f4

�h5-g7 �g7-e8 Ad4-e5 � e8-f6

11

Ad2-g5!

� e7xf5

1 1 ...�eg8 12.Axf6t �xf6 13.'lh6 'lg8 (13 ... 'ld7 14.'lt'St �g8 15.�gS +-) 14.�IB 'lg7 15.�g6t !f/g8 16.Ae6t +-.

12 Ag5xf6t 13 ith4-g5t 14 . � e6-d8t

�h8-g8 c&>g8-t7 �t7-f8

14...!f/e8 15.'lg8t !fld7 16.'lf7t.

15 Af6xe5 16 itg5-f6t 17 � d8-t7 + -

Intending 18.'txfS. 17

18 19 20 21

itf6xf5 itf5-c8t! itc8xc5t itc5-d6t

d6xe5 �f8-e8

itc8-d7 itd7xt7 �e8-e7 �e7-f6


8.�b l ! ? bJ. c3, �d2.

Bl ack resigned.

Frid stein

8 9

Simagin Moscow 1950

b2xc3

33

Ab4xc3

B

1

Ah5xf3 !

Doubling the pawns, Black intends to switch the game into blockade mode, where the bishops can hardly show their best. Later, Black extends the strategy to limiting the mobility of White's bishops.

2

9

t7-fS!

Preventing f3-f4-f5 ! and limiting the white bishops still further. IO

11

t3-f4 c3-c4

g2xt3

c6-c5!

11

�ffi-hS

2 Weak square f4

3 4 s 6 7 8

g7-g6

Ag5-e3 a2-a4 Ac4-d3 'ld2-e2 c&iel-fi e4-e5

c7-c6 d6-d5 Ae7-b4 'ld8-c7 0-0

Motivated by the perception of White's mighty pawn center as a col lection of weaknesses, and bolstered by precise calculation, Black engages battle. The knights are already supe rior to the bishops.

12

c4xd5

12.dxc5 �c5 +.

12 13

Ae3-d2

c5xd4

13.dxe6 �e5 14.Jlxd4 (14.fxe5 dxe3


34

15 .itxe3 gae8 with the initiative) 14 ... �xd3 15.itxd3 '(tc6 with the initiative.

13 14 15

ite2-t3 Ad2-b4?

31

Afi-c4

�g8-g7- +

Black won.

Suba

e6xd5 itc7-c6

Groszpeter Saint John 1988

White had to play 15.AbS, exchang ing the dangerous black knight.

a7-a6!

15

White's extra exchange will not be felt, since there are no open files for the rooks and Black's knights attack t h e m a ny pawn w e a k n e s s e s i n White's camp. In assessing the posi tion, due attention should be paid to the white king's unlucky placement.

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Ab4xf8 ltal-bl a4-a5 ltbl-dl �fi-g2 �g2-h2 Ad3-n ltdlxd4 c2-c4· ltd4xd5 itt3-e2 e5-e6 'l'e2-t3 �h2xhl c4-c5

lfa8xf8 � d7-c5 � c5-e4 + itc6-c5 itc5xa5 ita5-d8! itd8-h4 �h5xf4 �f4-e6 � e6-g5 � e4xtl �g5-e4 �tlxhl 'l'h4-ffi 'l'ffixe6

The advantage of the two bishops and an active rook more than fully compensate for White's missing pawn. Two important facets are that White can play on both flanks and that Black's knights have no strong support points. 1

ltbl-b7!

First stage: strengthening the posi tions of the pieces.

1 2

� c8-a7

Aa3-b2

With the idea Axf6, Ah5.

2 3

h2-h4

�ffi-e8

White seeks to induce weaknesses. Another try was 3.Ah5 g6 4.Adl , weakening the al -h8 diagonal.

3 4 5

h4-h5 tl-f4

� a7-b5 h7-h6

Better was 5.a4 4)bd6 6.gb6 /::,. f4 ±. After the next move Black creates outposts for his knights.

5 6

�gl-tl

lta8-c8


35

( 1 3 .c&>d3!? � d 6 14.gb4 �f5 with counterplay) 13 ...�a5 = .

d5-d4!

6

6 . . . �f6 7.g4 �xg4t 8.Axg4 gc2t

9.c&>g3 gxb2 10.a4 +-.

7

13

Adl-b3?!

7.gb6 meets 7 ...�c3 8.,1b3 �d5 with counterplay; Better is 7.c&>f.3 Li gb7-b6 ±.

7 8

gb7-b6

.£le8-f6

After 8.f5 �d5 it is still possible to defend Black's position because his knights occupy support points in the center.

8 9 10 11 12

12

gb6xa6 ga6-b6 c&>fl-e2 gb6xb5

.£lf6-d5 .£ld5-b4 .£lb4xd3t .£ld3xb2

gcS-c3

B e t t e r w a s 1 2 . . . �c4 ! ? 1 3 J!b 4

gb5-b8t?

1 3 .gb4! �d3 ( 1 3 . . . gxg3 1 4.gxd4 weak square �b2) 14.gxd4 �c5 15.gc4 gxc4 16.Axc4 ±.

'&>g8-h7

13 14

gb8-d8

.£lb2-c4

15

gd8xd4

.£lc4-a5

16

gd4-d3

gc3-c5

17

g.l-g4

.£la5xb3

18

a2xb3

g7-g5!=

19

h5xg6t

c&'h7xg6

20

b3-b4

gc5-c4

21

gd3-b3

gc4xf4

22

b4-b5

gr4-d4

23

b5-b6

gd4-d8

24

b6-b7

gd8-b8

25

'&>e2-e3

'&>g6-g5

26

gb3-b4

t7-f5

Draw.


36

Baranov Konstantinopolsky co". 1935-36

B

The cS and dS pawns ensure Black's advantage in the center and enable him at any appropriate moment, having played dS-d4, to exert strong pressure on the white king with the Ab7 and ffc6 battery.

1

'l!tc7-c6!

Intending dS-d4.

2 3 4

�f3-d2 gn-el £2-f4

4 5

b2-b3

0-0 gas-es

5 6 7 s

9

g7-g5! d5-d4 G-f4 � d7xe5

f4xg5 �c3-a4 Ag3-h4 �d2-f3

Black threatened f4-f.3.

9 10 11 12

g2xf3 �gl-£2 l!el-gl?

� eSxrJt 4e7-dS l!f8-G!

Better was 12.f(e4, but even then, after 12 ... ftd7 13.ffe2 ( 13.f(d3 AaS 14.gez ,1c6 +) 13 ... .6\aS 14.ggl f(c6 Black has a great advantage.

t7-G!

S.exf6 Axf6 6.�f.3 d4 7.�dl (7.�e4 .l\d8 + ) 7... eS! 8.dxeS �es 9.�xeS Axes 10 . .(beS gxeS 1 1 .f(c4t i&>h8 12.ge2 ffxg2t -+ .

12 13 14 15

'l!te2xe5 �£2-el c2-c3

gG-eS! 'l!tc6xf3t 4dS-a5t


37

i'te6 7.Axf6 gel t 8.�h2 \txc4 9.gxc4 g d 7 1 0.,'1.g4! g d 6 1 i . gc8t �f7 12.Ah4! hS 13.Af3 gd7 14.Ac6 ± .

15 16

.lh4-f2

4

.le3-g5

5

gelxeS !

gesxeS

6

'l'b5-c4t

«l/g8-g7

7

ti\'c4-c7t

«l/g7-g8

t7-ffi

Cl

,lb7-e4 d4-d3

White resigned.

Polugaevsky - Bilek Busum 1969

7 ...\txc7 simply loses.

1

d5-d6 ! !

White sacrifices a pawn and opens the h 1 -a8 diagonal for his bishop. 1 .b3 meets with 1....£lb7 b. 4)d6 and White will have difficulties in realiz ing his advantage.

1 2 3

b2-b4 .le2-t3

'ftffixd6 4) a5-b7 'l'd6-b8

After 3 ... ge7, White has a couple of good lines: a: 4.,'1.h6 f6 ( 4 ... Ag7 5.AgS f6 6.Ah4 ± ) s.gcdl i'tb8 6.Axb7 gxb7 7.f4 ± with the initiative; b: 4.AgS!? f6 s.gxes! gxes 6.\tc4t

8

,lgSxffi!

geS-elt

9

«l/gl-h2

gelxcl

9 ... \txc7t rn.gxc7 gd6 1 1 .Ac3 ± .

1 0 .lf3-dSt + Black resigned. 1 0. . .�f8 1 1 .Ag7t c&'e8 12.Af7 mate.


38

Chelushkina

Arakhamia Azov 1990

9...�e5 with counterplay.

7 s 9 10 11 12 13 14

gbl-b2 g4-g5 gb2-e2 ge2xe4 .!e6-g4 gn-el 'l!ta4-c2 .!cl-e3

a7-a6 �ffi-eS c&>g7-hS � eS-g7 �g7-f5 gas-es �t7-dS

White strengthens her position. Black has no counterplay. The position is of a closed nature. White's bishops are passive.

1

e3-e4!

White sacrifices a pawn to open diagonals for the bishops.

1 2 .!e2-g4 ±

f5xe4

14 1s 16 17 lS

.!e3-f2 h2-h4 h4-h5 c&>gl-g2

19

,!g4xf5

'l!tc7-a5 gm.n 'lta5-c7 c&>hS-gS ges-t8

White's bishop seizes the important h3 -c8 diagonal and ensu res her domination over the center and on the kingside.

2 3 4 5

,!g4-e6 'ltdl-a4t 0-0

'ltd7-c7 �gS-ffi c&>eS-t8 c&>t8-g7

The black knight at f5 defends the kingside perfectly. After i ts ex change, White's attack becomes ir resistible.

6

g2-g4!

IDi8-t8

6 ... h6?! 7.f/c2 /::,. g5. Worse is 7.g5 �h5 8.f/c2 hxg5 9.fxg5 (9.f5 �f6)

19 20 21 22 23 24

ge4-e3 h5-h6 'ltc2-e2 .!f2-h4 c&>g2-f2

g6xf5 gn.g7 gg7-t7 gm-eS c&>g8-h8 itc7-d7


25

ge3-e6!

26

g5-g6!

h7xg6

27

ge6xg6

'l!tc7-d7

28

'l!te2-h5

'l!td7-c7

Black resigned.

4

39

.Qt2-h4!

Other continuations lead to an open ing of the position. Now Black has to close ranks for a while.

4 5 6

... .1h4xf6 �c3-bl

d5-d4 .1e7xf6

6.�xb5 Ac6 7.�a3 D Aa4 8.�b4 (8.�a2 Axc2 -+) 8. ..Ae7 9.�d2 Axa3 10.bxa3 gc8 l l .gc1 �c6 -+.

Mariotti - Furman Portorou-Ljubljana 1975

1

d6-d5!

B l ac k o p e n s d i a g o n a l s for h i s b is hops.

2

a4xb5

a6xb5

3

galxaS

gf8xa8

.Qf6-g5 .Qg5-f4! h7xg6 'l!td7xb5 .Qb7-a6


40

12 13

galxa6

Black has transformed his advantage from the bishop pair into a strong rook on the seventh rank.

14

�b5-d6

attack will be dangerous only if Black manages to join his second bishop to the effort.

2

h4xg5

3

.it3xh5

Affixg5

14.b4 .'1.g3 ts.gaU !d2 +.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

ga6-al b2-b4 gal-bl b4-b5 �d6-c4 � c4-d2 �d2-fl !fgl-h2 �fl-g3 gbl-dl �g3-e4 b5-b6 � e4xd2 b6-b7

4f4-g3 ! gc2-d2 gd2xd3 gd3-e3 d4-d3 ge3xe4 ge4-e2 .ig3-f2t .if2-b6! ge2-c2 d3-d2 .ib6-a5 gc2-b2 .ia5xd2 .id2-f4t

3

itd6-h6?!

Better was 3 ...gh8 4.,'1.f3.

4

.ih5-t3

ith6-ffi

White resigned.

Aronin

Romanovsky USSR 1945

B

White wants to create unpleasant threats to the d5 pawn with 2.�f4.

1

g6-g5!

Striving to change the course of events, Black sacrifices a pawn for an attack against White's king. But the

It was necessary to play 5.<&>g2!, refut ing Black's threats 5 . . . gh8 6.gc7 gh2t 7.�h2 'ixf3 8.�gl +-.

5

J.b7-c8!

6

b2-b3

7

tta4-a2

Ac8-d7!


7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

�k3xe3 tlxe3 4) e2-f4 4)f4-g2 gel-cl b3-b4 gcl-dl

,1g5-e3 ! ge7xe3 itffixt3- + gesxe3 itt3xg.l ,1d7-h3 ge3-e4 ge4-g4

White resigned.

Bareev

Lputian Kharkov 1985

4

41

itb2-b4!

Prevents :gcs�c7.

4

geS-c8

Now both rooks get to the seventh. However, good advice for Black is hard to come up with. If 4... :gcl t 5 .
g 2 'l h 6 t h e n 6 .:gxf7! � x f7 7.AxdSt
g6 (7 . . . :ge6 s.:ge3 :gc6 9.:gxe6 :gxe6 10.*e4 +-) 8.Ae4t 'ifi>f7 9.:gd7t �g8 10.*b3t
h8 1 1 .*f7 +-.

5

itb4xa5

gcsxaS

6

gd3-e3

gcs-eS

7

geJ.cJ

g7-g6

Prevents s.:gcc7 :grs 9.Axh5! Axh5 rn.:gxg7t +-.

ges-t'8

8 gc3-c7 + 9

e2-e3

a7-a6

9 ... :gxa3 10.:gxf7 +-.

1

gc3xb3!

White simplifies, losing the bishop p air, but seizing the seventh rank.

1 2 3

,1d4xc5 gb3-b7

4) d7xc5 gc7xc5 ita4-a5

10

gc7-d7

ffi.fS

11

gb7-c7

gaS-bS

12

�gl-g2

gbs-as

13

a3-a4!

Zugzwang

Zugzwang. Black resigned. 13 ...:gxa4

14.:gxf7 :gxf7 15.Axd5 +-.


42

Polugaevsky - Kavalek

Lucerne 1982

8 9

Af6xe5t f5.f6

c&>c7xb7 1-0

Boleslavsky - Tai Moscow 1957

White's pieces are more active, he controls more space and the a6-ft is weak: so he has the advantage. I

Aa4-c6!

White transforms his bishop pair into a passed c-ft.

1

Ad7xc6

t...t&'e7 2.Ab7 +-; t ...Ac8 2.Axe8t &e8 3.�d8t t&'f8 4.f6 'iJc7 D 5.Ah6t t&'e8 6.t7t +-.

2

d5xc6

d6-d5

2 . . . rf}e7 3 . 'iJ g 7 � c7 4 . � h 5 � e8 5.�xf6 �6 6.Axf6t tllxf6 7.c7 +-.

3

c6-c7

4) e8-d6

White is a pawn down, but his strong pair of bishops shoots through the entire board.

1 2 3

Ae4xb7! itg4xdl itdl-d6

gd8xdl t ite7xb7

White s u rrendered h i s p a i r o f bishops, but will regain the pawn, and can count on positional pluses as well: his pieces are placed more ac tively than Black's; the black king has . no pawn shield and is in danger.

3 4

...

Ae3xc5

c&'g8-t7 h7-h5

4 ... *e7 5.*d5t *e6 6.*b7t rf}g8 7.*b8t +-.

4 4) e6-d8t 5 4)d8-b7 6 '&?h8-g7 + 7 .lg5xf6


5

c3-c4!

Smyslov

b3xc4

Reshevsky Moscow 1948

Wh ite's queen and bishop are active. White combines the advance of the c-ft with threats to Black's king. As so often happens, two weaknesses are fatal where either one on its own mi ght be coped with.

5 6

43

b5xc4 i!tb7-blt

Better was 6... e4, joining the bishop

to the defense force. 'l!tbl-b7 7 �gl-h2 7 .. . *xa2 8.*f8t c&ie6 9.'le8t c&if5 10.'tc8t.

s 9 10 11 12 13 14

4c5-e3 c4-c5 + 9d6-b6 c5-c6 g2-g3 c6-c7 �h2-g2

e5-e4 4f6-e7 9b7-d5 !.e7-d6t h5-h4! h4xg3t i!tdS-dl

Black wants to consolidate with �b8d7. How can White use his temporary development advantage while the b8 knight blocks off the a8 rook?

1

.!b3xe6!

2

9g4-h4!

t7xe6

D iv e r t i n g t h e q u e e n fro m t h e defense o f the d 6 pawn.

15 16 17 lS

9b6xd6! c7-cS9 9cS-b7t 9b7xe4t

9dlxd6 g3xtl t7-e6

White gradually transformed his ad vantage to a win.

2 3 4 5 6 7 S 9

9h4-dSt .!b6xdS !.dS-c7 gdlxd6 4c7-b6 gd6xe6 ge6xe5

9e7-d7 9d7xdS �b8-d7 � d7-c5 gas-cs � c5-a4 � a4xb2 �b2-c4

9. . .�c3 10.Ad4 weak square g7

10

geS-e6

+-.

� c4xb6

Mastering tfie Bishop Pair

44

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

ge6xb6 gb6xb7 h2-h4 + �gl-g2 h4-h5 gb7-a7 g3-g4 g2-g3 g3-t3 t3 -e3 tl-t3 e3-f4 e4-e5 �f4-f5 ga7xa2 �f5-g6 ga2-a8t ga8-a7t

gc8xc3 gc3-c2 gc2xa2 a6-a5 a5-a4 �h8-g8 a4-a3 ga2-e2 ge2-a2 g8-t8 ga2-al a3-a2 t8-g8 gal-fl gnxtJ t g8-t8 �t8-e7

6

.lt7-e6

� e4-c5

7

.le6xd7

� c5xd7

8

.lc7-d6

Black resigned.

Black resigned.

Karpov

Polugaevsky

Zagoriansky - Stein

Moscow 1974

Moscow 1956

B

1

itc4xc5!

The best way to realize the ad vantage. The passed c-ft, supported by the two bishops, will bring White an easy win.

1 2 3 4 5

.lc7xb8 b2xc3 c3-c4 .lb8-c7

� d7xc5 .ld2xc3 � c5xe4 �ffi-d7 g7-g6

1

�ffixe4!

The piece s acrifice rele ases the power of the bishops and gives White his choice of unpleasant consequen ces.

2

ge2xe4

3

gelxe4

ge8xe4


45

White's minor pieces cannot get to the queenside in time.

13 14 15 16 17 18

3 4

'l'd3-fl

a6-a5 c4xb3 a5-a4 Ab5xa4 c3-c2

d6-d5!

ge4-el

4.cxd5 !'!xd5 � !'!xdl -+.

4 5

gel-cl 'llh2-gl a2xb3 b3xa4 �t3-e5 Ag2-t3

d5xc4

5.�xc4 Axf3 6.,1xf3 'lihch3t -+.

5 6 7

� dl-e3 'llh l-h2

c4-c3 Ag7-d4 18

b4-b3 !

The first move in a finely-calculated series of hammer-like blows.

19 20 21 22

� e5-c4 At3-e2 �c4-b2 'llg l-tl

Aa4-c6! Ac6-b5! Ab5xe2 !1ld8-dl !

White resigned.

Smyslov - Botvinnik Moscow 1957

7

Ad4xe3 !

A typical decision: one of the bishops

giv es itself up for the sake of a favorable transformation of the ad v a n t age, in this case to mobilize the qu ee nside pawn majority.

8 9 10 11 12

gelxe3 ge3-e5 'l'fl-e2 geSxe2 ge2-el

'l'c8-f5 'l'f5-c2 'l'c2xe2 Ac6-b5 c5-c4

1

�t3-d4!


46

White gets a passed a-ft right away.

1 2 � d4xc6 3 !.c5xa7 ± tl-t3 4

�f6xe4 b7xc6 Ag4-f5

16.gdl <&>e8 17.gd4 cS 18.gb4 +-.

11 12 13

a5xb6 <&>el-d2

gb8xb6 ga8xal t gal-alt

Impossible is 13 ...&hl 14.b7 &h2t 15.Ae2 +-.

.le6-c8 ct/d2-e3 ghl-dl ga2-b2 .ld3-c4! ct/g8-g7 !.c8-e6 gdl-d8 17 . . . Ab7 18.gd 7 gxb6 19.gxe7 bi. 14 15 16 17

20.g,d"?t +-.

18 19 20 21

!.c4xe6 gd8-b8 c3-c4 c4-c5

t7xe6 e6-e5 ct/g7-t7 <&>t7-e6

� e4-d6

4

Dangerous is 4 ... �xc3 5.Ab6 gd7 6.a4 bi. 7.g4 and AaS.

5 6 7 8 9

a2-a4 !.a7-b6 c4-c5 g2-g4 a4-a5

gd8-a8

0-0

� d6-c8 .lf5-e6 � c8xb6

There is no other way to stop the a-ft, which is supported by a pair of bishops.

10

c5xb6

gf8.b8

22 gb8-dS! + Cutting the black king off from the passed pawn.

11

.lfi-d3

Better was 1 1 .<&>f2 &b6 12.axb6 &al 13.b7 gbl 14.Aa6 �b2t 15.<&>e3 <&>f8

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

h2-h3 <&>e3-d2 <&>d2-d3 <&>d3-c4 <&>c4-b4 ct/b4 -a4 <&>a4-b4 <&>b4- a3 <&>a3-b2 gds-d3 <&>b2-b3

g6-g5 gb2-bl gbl-bS gbS-bl gbl-clt gc1-blt gbl-alt gal-blt gbl-alt gal-aS gas-as gas-as


B l ack resigned.

Boleslavsky - Taimanov Moscow 1952

6 7 8 9

g2-g.1 h2-h3 c4-c5 gcl-c3

47

.!d7-g4 .!g4-f3 � d6-e8 g7-g5

9 . . . ,1h5 1 0 . d6 cxd6 1 l .cxd6 gd4 12.gcs f6 13.,1b5 'i\'f8 14.d7 +-.

10 11 12 13

1

.!f4xg5 .a.n-g2 f!>gl-h2 gcJ-e3

.!f3-dl ge4-el t gel-e2 b7-b6

c3-c4!

White enjoys the advantage due to his two strong bishops. In addition, B lack has problems dealing with White's strong d5-ft.

1

ge8xel

l ...b6 2.f3 gxe1t 3.gxel ges 4.gcl ± b, c4-c5.

2

galxel

ga8-e8

14 d5-d6! + 14 c5xd6 15 15 ...gxe3 16.d7! +-.

16 17

ge3-d3 gd3xd6

c7xd6 � e8xd6 .!dl-a4

White won.

Kasparov - Timman Linares 1993

· · · · ··/, m·y�·w� �� . �--�

� . . . . . � . . . . . . /...

��Jll. � .

.. . . . . . . ¥.

3

.... . . .

�

� �

gel-cl !

The bishops in cooperation with a roo k are strong, especially in induc ing weaknesses (or a passed pawn).

3 4 5

.!f4-e3 .!e3-f4

ge8-e4 ge4-e8 ge8-e4


48

1

d4xcS!

White relies on the strength on his two bishops and opens the game.

1

b6xcS

ample, after 7.�xe4 *d4t (7 ...,£\xe4 8.,£\xe4 *d4t 9.*e3 �b2 10.�a7 �xe4 l l .gxe4 gd2 12.gg4 ±) 8.*e3 *xb2 9.�xf6t *xf6 10.*xa7 *c3 1 1 . g c 1 g6 w i t h c o u n te r p l ay (Kasparov).

7 8 9 10 11 12

'l\'g5-e3 l!el xe3 l!e3-e2 4)c3xe2 Ac2xe4

'll' c4-d4t 'l\'d4xe3t l!d8-d2 l!d2xe2 4)ffixe4 Ac6xe4

White has a winning endgame.

e3-e4!

dSxe4?!

With this move Black loses the initia tive because he gives White the chance to activate the queen. Better was 2 ... d4 3.eS dxc3 4.gxd8 gxd8 S.exf6 *c4! (S ...gd2? 6.Axh7t �7 7.*g3 �el t 8.�el cxb2 9.*bl t g6 10.,£\el ge2 l l .,£\c3 +- (Kasparov)) 6.fxg7 �gs oo (6 ... gd2? 7 . .£\xh7t! <&>xh7 8.g8*t <&>xg8 9.*g3t <&>h7 10.,£\f6 +- (Kasparov).

3 l!dlxd8 4 'l\'tlxcS ±

4)h7-gS!

Sacrificing a pawn, Black exchanges his passive knight for White's active bishop. Bad is 4 . . . gd2 in view of S.�xe4 ± (Kasparov).

s 6 7

Ah4xg5 'l\'cSxgS t3xe4

c&igl-tl g2-g3 �-e3 h3-h4 c&ie3-f4 g3-g4

Better is 18.�d4!.

18

c&ig8-t8 �t8-e7 Ae4-c6 Ac6-d7 c&ie7-d6 17-ffi

l!e8xd8

4.�xe4!? Axe4 S.,£\xe4 �xe4 6.Axd8 �xf2 7.gxe6 �xh3 t 8.gxh3 fxe6 9.,£\e7 c4 1 0.<&>f2 �f6 1 1 .,£\cS a6 12.<&>e3 �dSt 13.<&>d4 �f4 14.<&>xc4 ( 1 4.h4 �d3) 14 ... �xh3 1S.b4 �gs 16.f4 �t"3 17.bS axbSt 18.<&>xbS ± .

4

13 14 15 16 17 18

h6xgS 'l\'e6-c4

Denies Black counterplay. For ex-

19

h4-hS? !

1 9 . � d 4 ! g S ! ? + 2 0 . h x g S fxg S t 21 .<&>xgS <&>eS 22.�fS aS 23.b4 axb4 24.axb4 +- (Kasparov).

19 20 21

4) e2-d4 b2-b4

�d6-e7 �e7-t7 Ad7-a4

2 1 . . . g6 22.hxg6t <&>xg6 23.bS + (Kasparov).

22

4)d4-fS

g7-g6


23 24 25

�f5-d6t �d6-c8 � c8-d6

rt/r7-g7 a7-a6

49

4.fxg3 'txg3t 5.Ag2 ± ; 1 . . .� c 6 ? ! 2.Axc6! ( a dvan tage transformation) 2... bxc6 3.Ag5 'f!c7 4.exd6 �xd6 5.'f!e2 ± (Smyslov), after which White has a great posi tional advantage.

2

.!cl-g5

i!l'd8-b6

2 ... 'f!d7 would meet the same reply as in the game .

25

.la4-dl?

More stubborn is 25...c&>h6.

26 � d6-e8t! 27 � e8xf6 28 g4-g5t 29 h5-h6t

rt/g7-r7 rt/r7xf6 rt/f6-g7

Black resigned.

3

Smyslov - Bilek Sochi 1963

White has the bishop pair, but the game is of a semi-closed nature.

1

e4-e5!

St arting a combination to open the cen ter.

1

d6-d5

1 .. .£a.xe5 2 . .Q.xb7 �bh4 3.g3 Axg3 .

� c3xd5!

Opening the h l -a8 diagonal.

3

4 5 6

e6xd5

a4-a5! i!l'dlxd5t e5-e6

i!l'b6-a6 gm.n gnxf3

6..."Bc7 7.'f!d8 'f!b5 8.c4 +-.

7 8

i!l'd5xf3 gn-el

i!l'a6xe6


50

�e6-t7

s

Forced. Losing are 8 ...*c6 9.a6! bxa6 1 0 .gxe8t *xe8 l l .*xa8 + - or 9 ...�d6 1 0.ge6 ,£\f8 1 l .gxd6 ,£\xd6 12.axb7 +-. 8 ...*c8 9.ge7 �c6 10.*f7t 'it>h8 1 1 .gael �xe7 12.E!xe7 *d8 13.,£\h6 *dl t 14.'it>h2 *d6t 15.g3 +- (Smys lov).

9 10 11

�f3xt7t gel-e7t ge7xb7

16 17 lS 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2S 29

b2-b4! h4xg5 .Qf4-g3 b4-b5 .Qg3xf4 gdl-d7 gb7xa7 gd7xd6 ga7-d7 a6-a7 gd7xa7 cai>gl-h2 c3-c4 ga7-c7

g6-g5 h6xg5 4J dS-e6 4J e6-f4 g5xf4 4J eS-d6 gas-es .Qf8xd6 .Qd6-bS .QbSxa7 geS-elt gel-bl gbl-b4

Black resigned.

Kliavins - Ragozin Riga 1952

c&>gSxt7 c&>t7-f8

Two pawns and the active rook on the seventh rank ensure White's win ning advantage.

11 12 13 14 15

c2-c3 a5-a6! gal-dl .Qg5-f4

4JbS-c6 cai>f8-gS .Qg7-f8 h7-h6 4J c6-dS

a m �� ••• a . .. · � · ·· ·fft�· �-·· ·" · " •m" · · ·"m •a •r� • m � ... . . /, •w�, ,,• •w� �il-lil .B. � , �� , . . /.� ·� · -· illil �� r, /,f31 ·� · %Wk

�1.�

/,

.... . . .

'

• •r� •. . . ;•·7, �

The mobility of the white bishops is restricted. White wants to transfer his bishop from b2 to e3. But Black leaves his opponent no chances to activate the bishops.

1

.Qg4xf3!

Ceding the bishop pair, but weaken ing the enemy kingside and getting the important f4 support point for his knight instead. 1 . ..*a2! was also good.

2

g2xf3

Not 2.tnd3 in view of 2...*a2 - + .

2

4Jffi-h5


Azmaiparashvili Yudasin

B lack strives to exploit deficiencies in his opponent's pawn structure and c o m m e n c e p i e c e p l ay o n t h e we akened dark squares.

3 4

Ab2-cl ite2-el

��··� � � ··�� /.m ,,,. ··y,1;'· ·· · · ·/,

� �,

�·

... .

.

. . .

�,

�

. k ?.

...

� �·

,

��

.

.

Ae7-g5!

Black continues to restrain White's bishops.

s 6

Acl-d2 Ad2xel

italxelt .igS-cl- +

Black plans let his king loose on the weak white pawns on the kingside. But with this move he traps White's bishop at el and in effect goes a piece ahead.

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Ac2-dl Adl-c2 'lf!gl-fl Ac2-dl Adl-c2 Ac2-bl Abl-c2 c&>fl-gl Ac2-bl Abl-c2 c&>gl-fl -&1fl-e2 Ac2xd3

White resigned.

/(jev 1986

ita8-al

� �W'� w . , , ., ,,. , . � �

4

51

�hS-f4 t7-ffi c;>g8-t7 'IJ!t7-g6 c&>g6-g5 'IJ!gS-h4 c&>h4-h3 h7-h6 h6-hS �f4-d3 'lf!h3xh2 c&>h2-g2 c4xd3t

White is better developed. Black's bishop pair is not a factor yet because the bishop on c8 has no moves. But if Black manages to play a7-a6 and b7b5, he will get sufficient counterplay.

1

itc3-b4!

Sacrificing a pawn, White tries to prevent the realization of Black's plan.

a7-a6?

1

Black should have declined this sacrifice, but not necessarily all sacrifices: 1 . . . d5 ! ? 2.�xd5 ? ! exd5 3.Axd5t Ae6 4.Axe6t 'lxe6 5.�c7 'l!txc4 6.'l!txc4t �xc4 7.�xa8 gxa8 + ; 1 ...d5 ! ? 2.cxd5? a6! + ; 1...d5 ! ? 2.a4! ;t .

2

itb4-d6

� eSxc4

2 . . . �c6 3.�d5! exd5 4.Axd5t gn 5.Axf7t
3

� e3xc4

itb6xbS


52

4

11

lJfi-cl ±

Black is a pawn up, but White is vir tually a piece up because the bishop on c8 will not join the play soon. Moreover, White has time to exploit the very weak dark squares in Black's camp.

4

gc2-c8!

Black resigned.

Bronstein - Petrosian Amsterdam 1956

B

a6-a5

Avoiding 5.a4 'lb3 6.ga3.

5

.�kl-cl

ga8-a6

6

'l'd6-c7

'l!l'b5-b4

7

a2-a3

'l'b4-b3

8

gal-cl

a5-a4?

He had to play 8 ... d5 at once.

1

.lg7xc3!

White plans g2-g4 to seize the initia tive. Exchanging his King's Indian bishop for the c3 knight, Black's cal culation is precise, the exchange is favorable for him because White will be unable to activate his bishops.

2 3

b2xc3 a3-a4

� d7-f6

In reply to 3.{)f2 follows the un pleasant 3 ... b5! +.

9 '{tc7-b8! + 10

� c4-d2

d7-d5 .lc8-d7

3 4 5 6

�h3-tl c&>gl-hl gel-gl

c&>g8-h8 gm.gs 'l'd8-e8 '{te8-g6


Just in time. With the position blockaded, bishops have no room.

7 8

'l'dl-d2 g2-g3

53

restricted as it is by the e5 pawn.

.!c8-d7 �fa8-e8

With the idea ge8-e7-g7.

9 10 11 12 13

a4-a5 gal-bl ggl-g2 gbl-gl h2-h3

ge8-e7 4d7-c8 ge7-g7 {)ffi-e8 h6-h5

White's bishops have remained use less. Draw.

Yusupov

Gavrikov Yerevan 1982

3

tl-f3 !

White opens up lines for his pieces on the kingside by opening the f-file. Black's knight at c7 is cut off from play there. ·

3 4 5

gnxa 'l!>dl-e2

g4xt3 .a.cs-rs 'td8-d7

Black could not free himself with 5 ... e4 6.�gxe4 �xd5? 7.�xd5 Axal 8.gxf5 ! gxf5 9.'tg4t +-.

6

ga1-n

4f5-g6

6...Ag4? 7.'te4; 6 ... h6 7.�ge4 Ag4 s.gxf8t gxf8 9.gxf8t �f8 10.'tf2t �g8 1 1.�f6t ±. 1

8

{)gS-e4 'te2xt3

gmxt3
8 ...gf8? 9.'txffit ! Axf8 10.�f6t +-.

2

4e2xg4!

f5xg4

Bl ack has two bishops, but a blockad i ng knight at e4 is far superior to B l ac k ' s d a r k - s q u a r e b i s h o p ,


54

9 .!d2-g5! ± Joining the bishop to the attack.

9

4:)c7-e8

26 27

Black resigned.

9 ...gf8 10.\1hf8t! Axf8 1 1 .gnst rt;g7 12.ggst rt;fl 13.gds t-g4 14.h3 toh5 15.gd?t +- and 16.gxc7 (Yusupov).

10 11

h2-h4 h4-h5!

d6-d7 d7-d8tl' Tseshkovsky Romani shin Moscow 1976

h7-h6 .!g6-h7

l l ...,1xe4 12.�xe4 hxg5 13.h6! Axh6 14.t'h5 t'h7 15.�xg5 +-.

12 13 14

.!g5-e3 .!e3xa7 .!a7-b6

lta8-c8 ltc8-a8 lta8xa3

White has the positional advantage. All his pieces are placed actively, while Black's forces are disunited and undeveloped. One of Black's bishops is tied to defense of the fl-ft, while the other's activity is illusory.

1

15 tl't3-t7 + With the transition to the endgame endgame, the unlucky position of Black's bishop at g7 will play a sorry role.

15 16 17 18 19 20

ltflxt7 ltt7xb7 ltb7-b8 4:) c3xe4 ltb8xe8

20... gxb6 2i.gd8 +-.

21 22 23

lte8-d8 ltd8xd6 ltd6-d7!

Better is 23 ... ggs.

24 25

ltd7xg7t d5-d6

tl'd 7xt7 lta3-b3 ltb3xb4 J,h7xe4 c&ih8-h7 ltb4xe4

lte4-h4 lth4xh5 c&ih7-g6? c&ig6xg7 lth5-f5

g2-g3 !

Intending h2-h4, restricting the mobility of the black bishop at g5.

1

Cllc 8-b7

l ...c6 2.�f4 Ad7 3.e6! fxe6 4.Axg7 ± . l ...h5 2.h4 ,1h6 3.{)e7t \\'b7 4.�f5 leaves Black almost in Zugzwang.

2

h2-h4

.!g5-d8


3

e5-e6!

White cashes his positional ad va ntages for the win of kingside p awns.

3 4

� d5-f4

t7xe6 .ld8-e7

55

Leaving Black no counterplay. The game is decided by the connected passed pawns which are supported by White's pieces.

16 17 18 19

�h5-f6 g3-g4 b3xc4

19 �a3 20.hS.

gd8xd7 gd7-g7 cS-c4 c&>b7-c6

...

5

,lb2-e5!

.le7-f6

The crushing 6.�xe6 forces this ab ject reply.

6 .le5xf6 7 �f4xe6 + 8 c&>gl-h2 9 gdl-d7 10 gnxf6 11 gd7-h7 12 c&>h2-g2 13 � e6-f4 14 �f4xh5 15 gf6.fl

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

h4-h5 c&>g2-g3 c&>g3-f4 h5-h6 g4-g5! h6-h7! g5xf6 f6-t7 c&>f4-g4t ga.f6t!

ge3-e7 c&>c6-d6 ge7-e5 gg7-g6 c&>d6-e6 gg6xf6t ge5-h5 c&>e6xt7 c&>t7-g6

White won.

g7xf6 gh8-g8 .le8-h5 ga8-c8 ,lh5-g4 h6-h5 gg8-e8 ge8xe3 gc8-d8 .lg4-d7

Karpov - Kasparov London 1986

1 .lb5xd7!?

16 gh7xd7! + -

White lets his opponent enjoy the advantage of the two bishops, retain ing the strong pawn center which restricts those bishops. The game will be decided by his ability to hold the center. And it is far from easy since he lags in development.

1

.lc8xd7


56

2

e3-e4

Bad is 2.gb1 Af5 3.gxb7 e5 ! 4.Ag3 (4.dxe6 Ae4) 4...,1e4 and Black gets an excellent position (Kasparov).

2 3

e4-e5

t7-fS

e7-e6

3

3 ... gac8 is well met by 4.c4! (Worse is 4.c6? ! bxc6 5.d6 exd6 6.exd6 gf6 with a good position. Black was successful in destroying Wh ite's center in Schmidt W. Gross S., Nalechov, 1984) 4 ... gxcs 5.,1e3 gas 6.f4. The powerful center ensures White his advantage (Kasparov). -

4 s 6

dark-square bishop: 6 ... g5! 7.Axg5 Axe5 8.c5 Ag7 ( /::,. 9... e5) 9.f4 h6 10.,1e7 gcb8 1 1 .�f3 gb2t 12.gcz gb4 (Kasparov). Black is all right be cause he has solved the problem of the bishops. The bishop at g7 is ac tive, while the bishop at d7 performs an important blocking function and is but a little inferior to White's bishop on e7. For example: 13.�e5 Axe5 14.fxe5 a5.

c3-c4 c5-c6 d5-d6

lU8-c8 b7xc6

7

h2-h4!

White prevents Black from activat ing his g7-,l.

7 8

{)gl-h3 !

h7-h6 a7-a5

N o t h i n g w o u l d be c h anged by 8 . . .gcb8 9.f3 gb2t 1 0.gc2 gxc2t l l .'if}xc2 Aa4t 12.<&>d2 gb8 13.gal gb2t 14.<&>el and Black stands worse (Kasparov).

9 10

t2-t3 ghl-el !

a5-a4

After 10.4)f2 g5 1 l.hxg5 hxg5 12.,lh2 f4 13.4)d3 ,le8 14.g3 Ag6 15.gxf4 a3 16.fxg5 a2 it is still possible to fight (Kasparov).

6

c6-c5?

Black loses his last chance to free his

10 11 12

{)h3-t2 {)t2-d3

a4-a3 a3-a2

White's strategy, commenced by the 1 .Axd7 move, has succeeded. The


57

cen ter is well fortified, Black's dark s q uare bishop takes no part in the g ame.

12

lfa8-a3

13

�kl-al

g6- g5

14

h4xg5

h6xg5

15

Af4xgS

Cfg8-t7

1 5 gbs 16.c;t>e2. ...

16

Ag5-f4

�k8-b8

17

gel-cl

Ad7-c6

18

gcl-c3

ga3-a5

19

gc3-c2

gb8-a8

20

� d3-cl

2 2 3

4

-

Yusupov Riga 1986

Black strives to make up for the static deficiency of his position, the back ward e6-ft, through enhanced activity of his pieces. Control over the key e5-square is crucial.

Ad3-b5!

�g4-ffi Cfg8-g7?!

Ac8-d7

Ab5xc6

If 4.�f.3 then 4...�g4 5.h3 �f6 and White has difficulties with his knight at g3. 4.gfe l gives nothing, because there is no way to consolidate the position further - 5.�f.3 is impossible in view of 5 ... �g4 6.h3 �xf2. With 4.,bc6 White prepares itd3e2 b.. �h4-f.3-e5.

4 5

1

'ltdl-d3

Black defends against 4.�xg6, but, considering the further course of the play, 3 ... gf'7! is stronger.

Black resigned.

Sokolov, A

�f3-h4!

Dr ives Black's k n i g h t from g4, whence it controls the e5 square.

b7xc6

'ltd3-e2


58

grs.n

5

Black should risk 5 ... e5, though after 6.dxe5 Axes 7.4)f3 Ad6 8 . .£ld4 gae8 9.*d2 Ii 10.Ah6 and 10.4)b5 White has the advantage (Vitolins ) , or 7 ...Af4 8.Axf4 (8.*e7t? gn 9.Axf6t �g8) 8...�4 9.*e5! ? ± .

6 7 8

flh4-f3 4g5-d2 h2-h3

8 ...4)xf2? 9..£le5 +-.

9 10

flf3-e5 d4xe5

h7-h6 flffi-g4 flg4-ffi

4d6xe5 flffi-g8

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

c&>gl-h2 b3-b4 b4xcS gc4xc5 'fte4xd4 4d2xcl 'l'd4-d2 h3-h4 g2-g3 'ftd2-d3t 'ftd3-d2 h4xg5 'ftd2-d3t 'litd3-d2 'ftd2-d3t 4cl-e3 4e3-f2 f3-f4 Cfh2-gl 'ftd3-fi 'ftfi-b5 'l'b5-e8

'l'b6-b5 grs.cs gc7xc5 gcsxc5 gc5xcl 'l'b5-b6 g6-g5 'l'b6-c7 Cfg7-g6 c&>g6-g7 c&>g7-g6 h6-h5 c&>g6-g7 Cfg7-g6 c&>g6-g7 a7-a5 'litc7-cl 'ftcl-b2 'l'b2-alt 'ftalxa2 fl d5-e7

Draw.

11

Lasker

b2-b3

Chigorin Hastings 1895

White should play l l .Ab4! ± fol lowed by Ab4-d6, gcl -c3 with the ad vantage due to the superior activity of his bishop.

11

'ftc7-b6

Black prevents the blockade.

12 13

4d2-e3 4e3-d2

d5-d4 c6-c5

Black succeeded in activating his bishop, so the game is even.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

'fte2-g4 gn.el flg3-e4 'l'g4xe4 f.2.f3 gcl-c4 gel-cl

4d7-b5 4b5-d3 4d3xe4 gas-rs flg8-e7 fl e7-d5 gn.c7

The mobility of White's bishops is , restricted by the strong blockade , knight on e5. White has to liberate : the e5 point to advance e4-e5.

1

4f2-h4?

i

1 .Ad4 ! 4)xd4 (or t . . .ge7 2.Axe S 1


�xe5 3.gdd5) 2.gxd4 (2.cxd4? c3) 2. . ge7 3.gdd5 �g6 4.e5.

Kortchnoi - Karpov Moscow 1971

.

1 2

Cf/e2-f2

Prevents 2...gg2t.

2

59

'f!,,c7-g7

B

'f!,,g7-g6!

Else 3.,£l.f6.

3

'f!,, d2-d5

It is too late now to fight the block ade knight on e5. Black's rooks have established proper cooperation and are invading the white camp.

3

'f!,,a4-al

1

Ag7xe5!

Black exchanges the strong bishop for a knight, thus presenting his op ponent with the advantage of the bishop pair. But Black's pieces quick ly seize active positions, restricting the poorly coordinated white pieces.

2 3 4

4 s 6 7 8

Ah4-d8 Ablxd3 'f!,,d5xd3 'f!,,bS-tst Ad8-g5

.£> e5-d3t! c4xd3 'f!,,a l-gl Cf/t'8-e8 'f!,,g6xg5

.lf4xe5 Ae5-f4 l'c2-a4

t7-ffi! 'f!,,a8-c8

4.\¥/d2? g5 5.,£l.xg5 fxg5 6.\¥/xgSt \¥/g6! ; 4.\¥/d3 �b4..

4 5

.lf4-cl

g6-g5

White resigned.

5

.lg4-e2?!

Black has seized the dominant posi tion, but White has no visible weak nesses, so Black should transform his


60

Taimanov - Suetin

activity into something more stable with 5 ... �b4! 6.£3 �c2! 7.!'!bl Ah5 8.Ad2 �e3 +.

6 7 8 9 10

gn-el .lg2-fl gelxfl .lc1-e3 'lta4-d4

/(jev 1954

d4-d3 .le2xfl gc8-c2 + � a6-c5

10.t'a3 !'!fc8 1 1 .!'!acl t'b5! +.

10 11

d5xe6

e7-e5 itb6xe6 1

.lg2xc6t!

White voluntarily exchanges his l ight-squ are b i s h o p fo r B l a c k ' s knight. Black must compensate fo r the static weakness o f the c6 and c5 pawns with activity of his pieces.

12

gal-cl?

12.b4 �xe4 13.t'xd3 !'!c3 + .

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

b2-b4 gc1xc2 gn-cl tl-f3 itd4-d3 a2-a4 itd3-d2 f3-f4 b4-b5 itd2-d7 �gl-tl itd7-f5

White resigned.

gf8.c8 �c5xe4 d3xc2 b7-b6 � e4-d6 gc8-c6 ite6-c4 �d6-t7 g5-g4 gc6-c8 h7-h5 'ltc4-c3 gc8-e8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7

'ltdl-a4 �gl-f3 .lcl-e3 �c3-e4 gal-cl ita4-c2

b7xc6 itd8-d7 t7-ffi e7-e5 � c7-e6 ga8-b8

.lf8-e7?

Black had an excellent opportunity to activate his bishops with a pawn s acrifice: 7 . . . �d4 8.Axd4 ftcxd4 9.t'xc6 J.b7 and Black has good


chances to draw the endgame. After the next move Black loses a pawn and finds himself in a deplorable position.

8 9 10

� e4xc5 .le3xc5 itc2xc5

4e7xc5 � e6xc5 gb8xb2

Exchanging the fianchettoed bishop for a knight is a common technical device in such situations. White presents his opponent with the bishop p air, but their mobility is restricted and they have to defend weak pawns.

1

11

�t3xe5!

l l ...fxe5 12.*"e5t +-.

12 itc5xc6t 13 � e5xc6 + £2-t3 14 15 �el-£2 16 � c6-d4 17 gel-al 18 galxa7

itd7-e6 ite6xc6 4c8-h3 0-0

gf'8.e8 gb2xa2 ga2-b2

White won in due course.

Sokolsky - Arulaid Tallinn 1959

61

b7xc6

2

� d2-c4

t7-f6

3

itdl-a4

4c8-d7

When the bishops are hemmed in by their own pawns a player should al ways consider letting one or two of them go: 3 ... 0-0 4.*"c6 gb8 5.0-0 gb4 ! ? with compensation for the material, /;:;. Ac8-b7 deserved such at tention.

4

� c4-a5·

� c7-d5

5

4cl-d2

itd8-b6

6

� a5-c4

itb6-b7

7

� c3-e4

0-0

8

ita4-a5

itb7-b5

9

gal-cl

� d5-b6

Else 10.a2-a4.

f6-f5

10

b2-b3

11

� e4-d6

�b6xc4

12

� d6xc4

e5-e4

13 ita5-c7! ±

1

,lg2xc6t!

Black was unable to counter White's attack on the queenside. White quickly realized his advantage. After 13 ...gad8 14.dxe4 fxe4 15.Aa5, White threatens to win material and can keep the complications in check, for example 15 ... e3 16.f4.


62

Barlov

Pigusov

Sochi 1985 =��=

B

1

4 s

gdl-bl

6

Ae3-d2?

AeS-a4 gas-cs

4g7xc3 !

Black parts with the bishop pair to induce weaknesses along the c-file. Not only the c3-ft, but the squares c4 and c5 provide useful support points for the knights. White's bishops are blocked by his own pawns.

2 3

g8 feels shut out of the play. 6 ... �b8 ( 6 ...�c5?! 7.a5 bxa5 8.Axc5 ± or 6... '8c7 7.a5 bxa5 8.'8al ) 7.a5 bxa5 ( 7...�xc6 8.axb6 axb6 9.Axb6 �f6 + ) 8.Axa7 �xc6 9 ..Q,b6 a4 10.'Sal �e5 1 1.Ad4.

gclxc3 b2xc3

lk7xc3 b7-b6

3 ...'8c8 4.�xb7 '8xc3 5 ..Q.xa7

=.

Too passive. Better is 6.Ad4 Axb3 7.'8xb3 �f6 8.g5 �d7 + .

6 7 s 9 10 11 12 13 14

Aa4xb3 gblxb3 {)g8-fti g4-g5 {)fti-d7 Ag2-fi {)d7-c5 gb3-b2 {)c5-e4 e2-e3 {) a6-c5 c3-c4 {) e4xd2 gb2xd2 {) c5-e4 gd2-d4 {) e4xg5- +

Black has won a pawn and gradually realizes his advantage.

4

{) a5-b3?

White condemns himself to a passive defense, though he had an excellent opportunity to activate his bishops with a pawn sacrifice: 4.�c6! Axc6 5.dxc6 '8c8 6.a4! and the bishops are reanimated immediately. Moreover, in the complications Black's knight at

15 16 17 lS 19 20 21 22 23

Cl?gl-g2 h3-h4 h4-h5 h5xg6 .a.n-d3 Ad3-c2 t2-f4 Cl?g2-t3 c&?t3-g2

t7-f5 {)g5-e4 "'f8-g7 h7xg6 {) e4-c5 gcS-hS gbS-cS c&?g7-fti {) c5-b7


24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

.ic2-a4 4a4-dl e3-e4 e4xf5 f.5xg6 l!d4-d2 l!d2-b2 l!b2xb6 l!b6-b2 4dl-h5 l!b2-e2 l!e2xe7 l!e7-a7 l!a7-t7t l!t7-a7 l!a7-a6 l!a6-a5 .ih5-e2 l!a5-a3t l!a3-a8

a7-a6 l!c8-c5 l!c5-a5 l!a5xa3 '&'f6xg6 �b7-c5 '&'g6-f.5 cmsxr4 l!a3-al a6-a5 a5-a4 a4-a3 � c5-e4 '&'f4-e5 Cf/e5-d4 � e4-c5 Cf/d4-c3 a3-a2 Cf/c3-b4 � c5-a4

2

63

d5-d4!

Otherwise White would play �d4 and move into an excellent position.

3

�f3xd4

3.exf6 Axf6 +. 3.,lxd4 Axt'3 4.exf6 Axf6! 5.,lxf6 "(hf6 +.

3 4

�f6-g4

.ie3-gl

White resigned.

Sigurjonsson - Stein Reykjavik 1972

B

4 5

1

d6-d5!

Exploiting the unfavorable position of White's minor pieces (the knight at c3 and the bishop at e3), Black se izes the initiative.

2

e4-e5

l!fi-cl

�g4xh2!

s.�h2 Ab4 ! ; 5.�xe6 'lxd3 6.!Ucl 'l!th3 ! -+. After S.gfd l �g4 6.�f3 Black gains the positional advantage due to his strong bishops and the exposed position of White's king.

5 6

�h2-g4

� c3-e4


64

Stein - Kupreichik Sochi 1970

,!e7xb4!- +

6

Black has won a pawn and trans formed his advantage into a win.

'lil'd8-d5

7 8 9 10

� e4-g5 �g5-t3 � d4xb3 �t3-d2

11 12 13

gal-bl a4xb5 � d2-e4

.!d5xe4

14

d3xe4

gcs-c4

15 16

g2-g3 c&>hl-g2

gf8-d8

17 18

gel-cl gc2xc4

,!c3xe5!

19

�b3-a5 calg2-t3

gdS-d2t .!e5-d4 gd2-d3t gd3xd4 c4-c3 gd4-d2t gd2-d3t �g4-e3t � e3-f5

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

.!glxd4 calt3-e2 e4-e5 gbl-cl cale2-t3 c&>t3-g2 c&>g2-£2

White resigned.

'lil'd5xb3 .!b7-d5 .!b4-c3 b6-b5 a6xb5

h7-h5

White has the two bishops and a passed p awn i n the center. But Black's pieces are more active than White's (the g2 bishop is blocked), allowing Black active counterplay. For example, there is already a threat of l ...Ax:c3 and �b5 ( weak square d5).

1

£2-t3 !

Sacrificing a pawn, White opens the position. And in open play, the two bishops constitute a formidable force.

b5xc4

,!g7xc3? !

1

Black falls into the trap. H e has won a pawn, but his king comes under a crushing attack. Better was l...exf'3.

2

gclxc3

gc7xc3


3

Ab4xc3

4) d6-b5

4

Ac3-al

tMSxdS

10

65

gf3.d3!

Black resigned.

5

'ld2-g5!

Stein - Keres

Not so good is 5.'lbb2 .£ic3 6.gc1 '1b d 4 t 7 .� h l .£i ed 5 and Black's knights are very active.

5

Moscow 1967

'ldS-cSt

6

c&'gl-h2

4) e7-d5

7

f3xe4

4)d5-e3

8

gn.a

4) e3xg2

1..:�xe5 is menacing. How should the pawn be defended? The evident 1 .f4 restricts the mobility of the bishop at e3. After 1 .Af4 gad8 Black activates his forces and prepares the d5-d4 breakthrough.

1 9

'lgS-ffi!

Bl ack's attempts to neutralize the bi shop pair have failed.

9

�k8-c7

a2-a4!

Inviting Black to capture the pawn at e5. But after 1 . ..'lbxe5 2.ge 1 'l'd6 3.axb5 axb5 4.gx:a8 gx:a8 5.AxfS the activity of White's bishops is over whelming.

1

4)b7-a5


66

12 AblxfS! + The combination is based o n the centralization of his own pieces and weakness of the opponent's eight rank.

12

'lil'a4-b5

12 ...gxf5 13.'ld8t; 12 ...�e7 13.'lc5.

2

4e3-f2!

Again sacrifices the pawn. White is ready to meet 2 ... �c4 with 3.b3 ! �xe5 4.gel or 4.axb5 axb5 s.gxas gxas 6.ge1 ( b,. f4) 6.. .f4 7.b4! ± .

2 3

gn-el

c&>g8-h8 .

White resolved the defense of his e5ft without compromising the position of his pieces. Now he starts to induce weaknesses on the queenside.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

itdl-e2! c3xb4 Af2xb6 gal-dl 4c2-d3 ! Ad3-bl ite2-d2! itd2xd5

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

'lil'd5-d6 'lil'd6xc6 e5-e6 gdl-d7 gd7-b7 gb7-c7 'lil'c6-d7 f3-f4 f4-f5 f5-f6

itb5-b8 grsxrs ga7-e7 ge7-e8 itb8-c8 itc8-b8 grs-gS ggS-g6 gg6-g5

Black resigned.

Stein - Sokolsky

ga8-a7 b5-b4 c5xb4 ite6xb6 itb6-c5 itc5-b6 itb6-c6 'lil'c6xa4 � a5-c6

Odessa 1960

1

�f3-g5!

Opening the a8-hl diagonal for the white bishop at g2 and creating dangerous tactical threats.

1

M-e8

White threatened 2.Axc5 or 2.b4.

2

b3-b4

� c5-b7


67

Exch anging the only piece that defends the king.

11 12

3

Ag2xd5!

ga7xg7t

.!e5xg7 c&>g8-h8

ga8-d8

3 ..exd5 4.'»xdSt C\t>h8 5.�f7t �g8 6.�h6t + �h8 7.,1g5! wins. .

13 gg7-c7! + -

itf5-e5

In view of 14.,1g7t /:::;. �f6t.

14

.!h6-f4

ite5-f5

Otherwise White would play 15.�f6 and win immediately.

4

.!d5xc6!

This can hardly be called a sacrifice, because White gets for his queen a rook, two strong bishops and two pawns. Moreover, White's king is safe and Black's is not. All of White's pieces occupy active and stable positions, and that is most important when playing without the queen.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

geixdl l!alxa7 Ac6-g2 �g5-e4 l!dl-d7 .!e3xh6 l!d7-g7t!

gd8xdl ge8-b8 �b7-d8 h7-h6 itf6-f5 Ag7-e5 €\ d8-c6

gb8-d8

15

gc7xc6

16

h2-h4

b6-b5

17

gc6-c7 .!f4-g5

e6-e5 gd8-d7

g.l-g4

itf5xg4

20

gc7-c5

21 22

gc5xe5

itg4-e2 ite2xb2 c&>h8-g8 itb2-clt gd7-t7

18 19

23 24

4g5-f6t � e4-g5 4g2-fi

25 26 27 28 29

�g5xt7 .!f6-g5 l!e5xb5 l!b5-b6 l!b6-f6t

Black resigned.

c&>g8xt7 itclxc3 itc3-al ital-d4

68


Wade

-

Smyslov Havana 1965

B

1

� c6-d4!

Black sacrifices a pawn to open the h8-al diagonal for his bishop and remove White's dark-square bishop.

2 3

Ae3xd4 ftdlxd4

e5xd4

8 9 10

Ae2-f3 ftc6xa8 l!fixal

10

ftd8-b6!

White's queen is trapped. Black's ac tive bishops have played an impor tant part in this splendid combina tion.

11 12

e4-e5 g2-g3

12.,lxdS Ae6 - + .

3

Ac3xb2 Ab2xal

12 13 14 15

fta8xf8t Af3xg4 g3xf4

15 16 17 18 19

c&'gl-g2 l!al-el l!el-e3 l!e3xg3

d6-d5

Ac8-g4 c&'g8xf8 h5xg4

c7-c6!

Continuing to open up the center.

4 5 6

d5xc6 0-0

ftd4-c4

b7xc6 �ffi-d5 �d5-f4!

Black's pieces begin to eye the white king. For example: 7.AB gb8 8.gabl ( 8 . b 3 \t a 5 ) 8 . . . gb6 9.gfd l A a 6 10.\ta4 Ae5 11 .g3 \tf6! + and not 12.gxf4 in view of 12 ... \txf4 (Smys lov).

7

itc4xc6?

Ag7xc3

ttb6-b4!- + ftb4xf4 c&'f8-e8 g4-g3 ftf4xh4


20 21 22 23

c2-c3 c&>g2-gl 4)g5-h7 4)h7-ffi

c&>e8-e7 'lh4-f4 a7-a5 'lf4xe5

White resigned.

Smyslov - Filip Vienna 1957

5 6

1

tl-f4!

t7-f5?

If Black accepts the pawn sacrifice, the diagonals will be opened for White's bishops: 1 ...Axc3? ! 2.'lt/xc3 gxe4 3.,ld3 ge3 4.'lt/d2 gbe8 5.b4 /:::,. Agl and f5. In reply to the cool l ...'lt/a5 White prepares an attack on the kingside with 2.�dl , /:::,. �f2.

2

c&>g8-h7

White builds the kingside attack. The h2-A has supported the attack but soon will become a force on its own merits with f4-f5.

6

7 How should White defend the e4-ft against 1...,bc3 /:::,. gxe4 ? U3 is too passive. l .Ad3 m ay be met with 1 ...�e5.

.!g4-e6t h3-h4

69

ge8-g8

g2-g4!

The light-square bishop is superior to a rook in this position.

7 8 9 10 11

g4-g5 f4-f5 f5xg6t .!e6xg4

h6-h5 4)ffi-g4 gg8-f8 c&>h7xg6 h5xg4

12

h4-h5t!

c&>g6xh5

Ae2-f3!

Black expected 2.exf5 Axc3 3.fxg6 �hf6. But White again invites him to accept the sacrificial pawn on e4.

2 3 4

'lc2xc3 .!f3-g4

.!g7xc3 f5xe4

Tra n s fe r r i n g t h e b i s h o p to the strategically i mportant c8-h3 diagonal.

4

4)h7-ffi

12 ... c;flh7 13.'lt/e3 gbe8 14.gxf8 �xffi 1s.gn 'iflg8 t6.g6 +-:

13 14

'lc3-g7 Ah2xlP

g4-IP c&>h5-g4


70

15

l!fl-gl

l!f8-h8t

16

4g3-h2t

!fg4-h4

17

l!cl-fl

l!b8-g8

18

l!fl-f4t

!fh4-h5

19

iil'g7-t7t

l!g8-g6

20

iil't7-f.5

Black resigned.

Krogius - Stein /(jev 1960

B

4 5 6 7

h2xg3 g3-g4 g2-g3

4)h5-g3t! iil'd8-g5 h6-h5

Otherwise 7 . hxg4, � *h6t. ..

7 8 9

!fhl-g2 Acl-d2?

h5xg4 l!a8-f8

Better is 9.ght preventing 9...*h6, � g6-g5.

Black's pieces are mustered on the kingside, and the f4 pawn creates ex cellent preconditions for the attack against White's king, which is rather restricted in his movements.

1

d6-d5!

While not strictly a bishop pair posi tion, here White must struggle with his cl-A, which lacks scope. Black sacrifices a pawn to activate his dark square bishop, which is soon able to take a crucial role in the attack.

2

4)b4xd5

Af8-c5t

3

c&>gl-hl

4)f6-h5

4

il'dl-el

9 10 11 12 13

l!fl-hl g3xf4 l!al-dl e4-e5

iil'g5-h6! 'th6-g7 e5xf4 g6-g5!

Before Black plays 13 ... gxt'3t � g4.

13 14

il'g7xe5

t3xg4


14 15 16 17

'l'elxe2 'l'e2xt3 ghl-fi

9e5xe2t! f4-f3t gnxt3 .le6xg4

Black won.

Stein

2

e3-e4! ±

This pawn thrust is reinforced by the tactical threat 3.gc l .

gc8-a8

2 Parma Moscow l971

71

3

e4xd5!

4

'l'a6-d3

e6xd5

Now the white bishops will show their worth!

'l'c6-e6

4

1

'l'e2-a6!

After White's last move Black's b6 and a5 pawns need protection, while his control over the c-file hardly mat ters.

1

'l'c2-c6

At first sight, l . ..e5 looks good, as 2.Ag3 'lc6 3.gdl e4! ? , or 3.g5 hxg5 4. hxg5 gas 5 .'ld3 e4 both give c ounterplay. However, White has 2. g5 ! hxg5 3.hxg5 exf4 (3 ... �h5 4.g6) 4.gxf6 'lc5? ! 5.'ld3 with a strong at tack.

5

g4-g5!

h6xg5

6

h4xg5

.£lf6 -e4

7

.lg2-h3 !

i>e6-g6

7...'lc6 s.gc1 'lb7 9.gc7! +-.

8

i>d3xd5

ga8-d8


72

Rukavina

-

Larsen Leningrad 1973

B

9

'litd5-e6!

A typical way to realize the ad van tage of the two bishops, To destroy the opponent's dynamics is often accomplished by exchanging queens, a pair of rooks or other dangerous pieces.

9 10

!.h3xe6

11

!.e6-c4!

itg6xe6 c&>g8-f8

With a threat Ac7 or Ae3.

11

Black is better developed and he en j oys the adva n t age of t h e two bishops.

1

e4-e3 !

Black sacrifices a pawn to open up the position and, bringing his heavy pieces into the game, he starts a dangerous attack against the king.

2 3

tlxe3 c&>glxfl

3 4 5

!.cl-b2 c4xd5

grsxn t

gd8-e8

1 l ...�fd6 12.AdS! .

12 !.f4-e3 13 !.e3xb6 + -

� e4xg5

The rest is a purely technical matter.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

a5-a4 !.b6-c5t tl-f4 gn-el a2xb3 !.c4-d5 gelxe8t f4xg5 !.d5xt7

Black resigned.

c&>f8-g8 �g5-e4 a4xb3 g7-g5 � e4-f6 �f6xe8 c&>g8-g7

e7-e6! e6xd5

5.�xd5 Axb2 6.hb2 �xd5 7.cxd5 f!g5 =F .

5 6

gal-dl

itd8-g5

If 6.'it>gl, then 6...,!xg2 7.'it>xg2 ge8


Tseitlin

with the attack, e.g. 8.c&'f.3 Ad4 or 8.\tlt'2 gxe3.

6

73

Kovacs Bmo l991

4g7-e5

7

e3-e4

8

c&'fi-gl

9

�g2-e3

'l!tg5-g4

9.e3 *f.3 or 9 . . �xa2!? 10 ..£\xa2 Axb2 -+. .

'l!tg4-g5

9 9 . . . Ad4?

10.�d4! cxd4 l l .�xg4 dxc3 2 . � h 6 t c&' g 7 1 3 . Axc3 t c&' x h 6 14.Axb4 ± . l

10

� e3-g2

11

gdl-el? !

'l!tgS-hS

1 l..£\a4 Axg2 12.AxeS ( 12.\tlxg2 gt'2t - + ) 1 2 . . . * xe S 1 3 .c&'xg2 *xe4t 14.\tlgl �xa2 15.�a2 *e3t 16.c&'hl !!t'2 -+ .

11 12

4h3xg2 c&'glxg2

gm.at!- +

12 13

c&'g2xtl

'l!th5xh2t

14

'l'tl-fi

'l!th2-h3t

White resigned.

White enjoys- the advantage of the two bishops, so he strives to open the game.

1

f4xe5!

Less good is 1 .f5? ! in view of l ...Ad7 and 2 ... .£\d4.

1 2 3

a2-a4 gal-dl!

Intending d3-d4.

� c6xe5 a6-a5

3 4

'l!tel-c3

�g8-e7 � e7-c6

5 6

d3-d4! � e2xd4

c5xd4 'l!td6-b4

6 ...�xd4 7.gxd4 +-.

7

ttc3-al

7.�c6? .£\xc6 8.�xc6 gxdl +.

7

g7-g5


74

8

ltfi-dl !

14 15 16

ltdl-d8! 'lc3xc6t Ae3xb6

� d4xc6!

It is far more important to weaken the blockade at e5 than to "win" another bishop, so 8.�xe6 fxe6 is not so good.

8 9 10

'lal-f6 ltdlxd8t

11

'lf6-c3 !

� e5xc6 'lb4-e7 'le7xd8

With so many of Black's pieces, not the least of which is the king, in danger, our frequent advice to ex change queens is not appropriate.

11 12

13

e4-e5

<&>c8-b7

'le8xd8 c&>b7-c8

Threatens 1 7.'tb7t '&'d7 1 8.Ac6t '&'e7 19.AcSt +-.

16

Ae6-f5!

Black intends to play 17 ...1lg6, he also vacates the e6 square for his king.

17

'lc6-t3 !

Af5-h7

17. ..Ag6 18.'tb7t '&>d7 19.AxaS ± .

1 8 'lt3-b7t 19 .lb6xa5 20 'lb7-b5t!

<&>c8-d7 ltg8-g6

The second bishop joins the attack.

Drives the king back into the middle.;·

1 2 . . . A d 7 1 3 .e 6 ! fxe 6 1 4 .1ld l b. 1 5 .Axc6 and 1 5 .1lxd7; better is 12...f(d7, and perhaps 13.1lt2 b. 1ld2.

20... c6 21.'ld3t.

12

'ld8-e8

20

21 22

<&>d7-e7

4a5-b4t 'lbSxcSt

c7-c5 <&>e7-d7


23 24 25

'l'cS-bSt 'l'b5-c6t 4g2-e4t

c&>d7-e6 c&>e6-f5

Black resigned, 25 ...CllxeS 26.,'1.c3t.

Tseshkovsky Timoshchenko

6

75

a2-a4!

'l'b5xa4

6...'tb4 7.ge4 +-.

7 8 9

gelxeS 4b2xe5 'l'g4-g5

10

4g2-h3? !

gesxeS g7-g6 'l'a4-a6

USSR 1979

1

c3-c4!

Sacrificing a pawn, White opens up the a 1-h8 diagonal for his bishop.

1 2 3

4cl-a3 4a3 b2 -

4a6xc4 ID'8-e8 e6-e5

Black cannot keep his material ad vantage, e.g. 3 .. .f6 4.'tg4 Aa6 5.c4.

4

'l'dl-g4

4.Axe5! ?.

4 5

gal-bl

itd8-b8 'l'b8-b5

Black will have difficulties defending dark squares on his kingside. The simplest exploitation is 10.h4, b. h4h5.

ga8-f8?

10

Time trouble. After 10 ... cS White would have nothing better than to regroup and realize the same plan, h2-h4-h5.

11

'l' g5-h6

Black resigned.

Miles

Kortch�oi Ti/burg 1985


76

White enjoys a spatial advantage. He also has two bishops, which may be very active in an open position.

1 4cl-e3 ±

19 20 21

a3-a4 c&>b2-c3 b4-b5

22

gd2-a2

41 e7-g6 41 g6-h4 41 d4-e6

White develops a piece and en courages a move that opens useful squares for his other bishop.

1 2 tl-t3 3 0-0-0 4 4fl-e2 41 5 c3-b5!?

b7-b6 ghS-dS 4d7-eS 41 ffi-d7

White intends to exchange his knight for Black's bishop, supposing that the bishop defends Black's position well. But in our opinion he should keep the knight, since exchanges favor the player with less space and the knight may be useful for inducing weak nesses on the queenside.

5 6 7

41 b5-c7 41 c7xeS

t7-ffi gas-cs gdSxe8

7 ...�d4t 8.�bl �xe2 9.�xg7 /:::,. gd2 +-.

S

c&>cl-bl

41 d7-bS

8 . . . � f8 ! ? 9 . A a 6 gc7 1 0 . g c 1 e5 l l.Ac4! �e6 12.Ad5 gec8 13.a3 ±.

9 10 11 12 13

gdl-cl ghl-dl gdlxdS 4e2-b5 a2-a3

e6-e5 geS-dS gcSxdS gdS-d6

White begins the second phase: un m a s k i n g w e a k n e s s e s in t h e opponent's camp. The broader the theatre of actio n, the less well knights are able to cope with all of it This is an important technical ele ment in realizing the advantage of two bishops.

22 23 24 25 26 27

4'/c3-b4 a4-a5 c&>b4xa5 c&>a5-b4 g2-g.l !

2S

4c4xe6!

41 e6-d4 41 h4-g6 b6xa5t 41 g6-f4 c&>c7-b8 41f4-e6

White starts seizing space on the queenside.

13 14 15 16 17 lS

4b5-c4 b2-b4 c&>bl-b2 gcl-dl gdl-d2

c&>e7-dS 41 c6-e7 4)bS-c6 41 c6-d4 c&>dS-c7 g7-g5?!

It was better to defend without weakening.

A profitable exchange is one way of

77


re alizing the advantage o f two bishops. The weakness of the a7-ft allows White the opportunity to simply into a won rook ending.

28 29 Ae3xd4 30 ga2-a6! 31 �b4-c4 + -

gd6xe6 e5xd4 ge6-e7

The rook ending is easily won.

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

�c4xd4 �d4-dS �d5-e6 �e6xf6 f3-f4 e4-e5 ga6-al e5-e6

ge7-r7 h7-h5 grr-b7 gb7xb5 g5-g4 gbS-b2 �b8-b7 gb2xh2

Black resigned.

Ragozin - Noskov Moscow 1930

4

grs-e8

4 . . . t'b6t 5 . .B.d4 c 5 6 . .B.xf6 gxf6 7.Axh7t +-; 4 ... �d5 5 ..B.xh7t <1Jxh7 6.t'h5t calg8 7 ..B.xg7! +-; The best defense was 4 . . . e5 ! giving the extra pawn back, Black joins his bishop at c8 to the defending force and can offer more stubborn resistance. For example: 5 . .B.xe5 �d5 6.t'h5 (6..B.xh7t? <1Jxh7 7.t'h5t calg8 8.!!h4 f6) 6... h6 7.!!f'3 t'g5; 7 ..B.xg7! ? c&1xg7 8.!!f'3 t'd6 9.!!afl t'e6 10.!!g3t
1

e4-e5!

White sacrifices a pawn to activate his pieces in the most important sec tor. He gains the bishop pair and an attack--in which all of White's pieces take part--against the king.

1 2 3 4

4)d2-e4! 4) e4xf6t gnxr4

d6xe5 e5xf4 4) d7xf6

5 6 7 8 9 10

gf4xf6! i!l'dl-g4t Ab2-a3t Ad3xh7 Cligl-hl gal-dl

g7xf6 Clig8-f8 geS-e7 '{!l'd8-b6t Clif8-e8


78

Black resigned.

Se�rawan

-

Kortchnoi Montpellier 1985

plicated Black's task, but his position is advantageous all the same. His king easily slips into the center and thence to the wea k queenside. White's king, stranded by Black's bishops, is quite helpless.

6 7 8 9 10

In open positions with play on both flanks, the bishops are strong. More over, White has an inviting target on each flank: the b5-ft and the king.

1

lk8-c5

Forces the exchange of rooks, but White's weaknesses are more vul nerable with the rooks present: l ...:!':k3 1 2.
2 gn-dl 3 gdl-dS 4 Ab3xd5 5 Ad5-c4 D

h3-h4 c&>h2-h3 c&>h3-g4 �g3-hSt �h5-f4

Ae4-bl c&>h8-g7 c&>g7-ffi c&>ffi-e7 c&>e7-d6

Exchanging bishop for knight to get to the queenside immediately would give White counterplay: 10 ... Axf4? 1 1 .
11 12 13 14 15 16

�f4-d3 c&>g4-h5 c&>hS-gS c&>gS-fS c&>rs-gS c&>gS-fS

16 17

c&>fS-gS

AeS-ffi Affi-g7 Abl-c2 Ag7-c3 Ac3-g7

Ad4-e5 gcsxdS b7-b6

5.
Ag7-f8!

17.
17 18

5

Ag6-e4

The exchange of the rooks has com-

�d3-f2

Ac2-dl

The fortress is broken. There was no s alvation in 1 8 . h 5 A f3 1 1 9 . .£lf4 ( 1 9.Ab3 Ae4 20.Ac4 h6t 2 1 .

22.c&>t7 Aa3 - + .

18 19 20 21

.lc4-d3 .ld3xh7 Ah7-g8

Cl'd6-c5 .ldl-a4 .la4xb5

41 42

�dl-e3t a2xb3

c&>g5-g4

c&>c2-cl a4-a3

White resigned.

Blackburne

Lasker London 1892

21.hS ! ? Ae7t 22.c&>fS Ac4 +.

21 22

79

4f8-e7t 4b5-e2t

B

The two bishops can get the better of the passed p awn e asily. White's knight and bishop are defenseless against Black's passed pawn.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

Cl'g4-f4 c&>c5-d4- + Cl'f4-g3 b6-b5 .le7-d6t 4g8-t7 a7-a5 Cfg3-g2 h4-h5 .ld6-f4 �tl-h3 .lf4-e3 �h3-gl Ae2-dl 'l'd4-c3 �gl-f3t a5-a4 �f3-e5 b5-b4 Cl'g2-fi .ldl-c2 Cl'fi-el � e5-c4 Ae3-f4 c&>c3-b2 � c4-b6 .lf4-e5 �b6-d5 Ae5-c3 c&>el-e2 At7-g6?!

38 39 40

b4-b3 ! Ac2xg6 'l'b2-c2

� d5-e3 � e3-dlt

1

t7-f5!

Grabbing space and restricting piece mobility (especially knights) are together an important method in realizing the bishop pair advantage. Black does not exchange (�xd3), because exchanges are favorable for the player with less space under his control.

2 3 4 5 6 7

� e4-c3 Cl'cl-bl � e2-f4 .ld3-e2 gdlxd8t gbl-dl

.lc8-e6 grs-d8 Ae6-t7 � e5-c6 ga8xd8

80


gd8-e8!

7

The exchange of heavy pieces is, as a rule, favorable for the player with the bishops. But sometimes it is expedient to preserve a rook to incubate weaknesses in the opponent's camp.

8 9 10 11 12 13

4e2-fi �f4-d3 � c3-e2 b2-b3 c2-c3 �bl-c2

b7-b5! Ag7-d4 4d4-b6 �g8-g7 �g7-f6 � c6-e7

24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

� e2-cl �c2-b2

Using the tactical peculiarities of the position, Black wins the game. Black could also realize the advantage by a6-a5 and b5-b4.

16

� d3xb4

16.cxb4 Ad4t 17.Ci\'a3 {)e3 - + .

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

gdl-el Afixc4 4c4xa6 g2-g3 �b2-a3 � cl-e2 �b4-c2

Flohr

� e7-d5

b5-b4!

15

� d5-e3 � e3-c4t geSxel- + gel-gl ggl-g2t gg2xh2 gb2-g2 g6-g5

h7-h5 4b6-tl c7-c5t At7xb3 c5-c4 Ab3xc2 4c2-dl Aflxd4 4dlxt3 4t3-e2 ilg2xe2 ge2-a2

White resigned.

With the idea {)e7-d5-e3.

14 15

4a6-d3 �a3-b4 a2-a4 �b4-b5 a4-a5 Ad3xc4 a5-a6 � e2-d4 c3xd4 d4-d5 Ac4xe2 a6-a7

Simagin Pyamu 1947

1

d4xc5!

White exploits the undefended state of e5 to build up a central wedge. The bishops seize powerful diagonals.

1 2 3 4

e2-e4 e4-e5 ± .an-d3

5

e5xf6!

d6xc5 �b8-c6 �f6-e8 11-rs

If 4 ... h6, then 5.0-0-0 b,. h2-h4, 4::l f3 g5 with the initiative. White's bishops need elbow-room, so he opens the position.

5 6

0-0-0

g7xf6 e6-e5

Black has seized the d4 point, but it


Illescas

does not matter because the attack against his king decides the game first.

7 8

g2-g4 !tdl-el

� e8-d6

With the idea g4-g5.

8 9

h2-h4 + -

h7-h6 .lc8xg4

Black cannot prevent further open ing of the position, so he seeks com p lications.

10 11

!thl-gl �t3-h2

h6-hS f6-f5

1 1 ...\flhS 12.�g4 hxg4 t3.�g4 ggs 14 . .£l,g6 +- (Flohr).

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

1 8 . .. �2

19 20 21 22 23

tl-t3 t3xg4 9c2-e2 Ac3xeS 9e2xeS !tgl-0 !telxeS

9e7-g7 f5xg4 !tt8-f4 � c6xeS !tf4-tl 9g7xeS � d6-t7

t9.ggst <&'hS 20.m6 +-.

!teS-e7 �h2xfi !te7-e3 �O-g3 �g3xhS

Black resigned.

gaxnt �g8-t8 !ta8-d8 !td8-d7

81

Leko Leon 1993

1

b2-b4!

Restricting the opponent's knight is a typical way to realize the advantage of two bishops.

1 2

!tclxc2

!ta2xc2 � cS-a6

2 ... ga1t 3.Afl �b3 4.gcst .am 5.Ae3 ± (Illescas). Black would retain bet ter chances for defense with 2... .£ib3. For example: 3.Afl h5 4.,1e3 ga4 and after s.gc7 (5.b5? .£ic5 ! ) 5 ... �b4 6.gxe7 White still enjoys his ad vantage, but Black has counterplay. 3 All-el ! ± Now Black's knight is shut off from the play for a long time.

3 4

�gl-0

.lg7-d4t h7-hS


82

s

Ab5-d7!

The exchange of heavy pieces usually favors the p l ayer with the two bishops. The b7-ft becomes immedi ately vulnerable.

5 6

Black resigned. 22 .....£\xb4 23.lifi>c3 .£\ a2t 24.lifi>b3 .£\cl t 25.lifi>b2.

8.b5 ! gb l 9.lifi>e2 Aa7 10.b6 gxb6 l l .Ac3t f6 12.Ad4 +- (Illescas).

7 s 9 10 11 12

Ad4-gl t7-f6
• · m · · · �A Y, m •�" ..�·� 4� ·····x� ��ra� . iD iD :t • · iD · , ·" � i •':ik" � �,, "• • • m � m � m ·

Suba - Smyslov Las Pa/mas 1982

��- . . .

..

�� . � �·· � �;, . • . ft . � � � •L � lm m m" � • � �• • • a m . • • m m a � • � · · ···· 'm � � . . ... . 13 Ad2-e3 !

: r

...

/.

Transforming the advantage into a winning endgame.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

20.Ac6? e5t! .

20 21 22

Ab7-c6 Ac6xb5

Aglxe3

The mobility of White's bishops is limited and his pawn structure on the queenside is not resilient enough - so Black has the positional advantage. Black employs a typical plan against the two bishops - he starts by restrict ing one of them and then he exchan ges the other, after which he strives to exploit the weaknesses in his opponent's camp.

1 2

�b7-d8 At3-dl


12 13 14 15 16 17

83

d3-d4 'ftd2-b2 4e3-cl 'ftb2-c2 '&>hl-gl 'ftc2-tl

a7-a5 4) e6-c7 4)c7-b5 Clie7-f6 4d5-e4 Clif6-t7

But not 17 ...�xc3? 18.d5! and White suddenly gets active.

2 3 4

4a3-cl 'fte3-e2

c6-c5! Clig8-f8

Passive defense is h o peless for White. He had to play 4.h3 � g2-g4.

4 5 6 7 8

'fte2-c2 4dl-f3 c4xd5 4f3-e2

18 19

4cl-d2 'fttl-h4

4)b5-d6 h7-h6

With the idea Ad3.

20 21

'fth4-h5t 'fth5-g6

Clit7-g8

'ftd7-c6 d6-d5 'ftc6-d7 4t7xd5 +

After the exchange of bishops, White has nothing to defend his light squares with.

8 9 10 11

11

4cl-e3 'ftc2-d2 4e2-fi

4)d8-e6 C1lf'S-e7 'ftd7-c6

21

4e4-d5!- +

Drops back to expel the queen, while perfecting the order of his battery on the a8-hl diagonal.

c5-c4!

Black's knight and bishop are supe rior to White's two bishops.

22 4d2-el 23 'ftg6-g3 24 'ftg3-h4 25 .lel-tl 26 'fth4-d8 27 'ftd8xb6 28 'ftb6xa5 29 4fixe2??

4d5-t7 'ftc6-e4 Clig8-h7 4t7-d5 4)d6-b5 4)b5xc3 4)c3-e2t

29.c&>hl c3.

29

...

'fte4xg2tmate


84

Smorodsky

10

Romanovsky

c&>gl-h2

Moscow 1927

B

The position is of a closed nature. Black's bishop at e4 is dangerous lo cally, but he sorely needs to open lines for the other.

1 2 3 4

g2-g3 g3xf4 .lc5-b4

4... ,1£3 5.�g2.

5 6 7

h2-h3 Cfgl-h2 gd2-£2

e6-e5! e5xf4 gcs-as h5-h4 gn.g7 g4xh3

The attack against the king is more dangerous than the advance of the passed a-ft.

11 a5-a6 12 a6-a7 13 c&>h2xh3 a 14 ga-h2

gg3xe3! ge3-el .lh6xf4 c&>rT-g6

White resigned. 15.Cit>xh4 meets 1 5 . . . ge3 16 . .Q.e7 Ag3t.

Sakharov - Simagin Leningrad 1960

7

c&>g8-rT

Black's bishops, supported by the rooks, have acquired tremendous power.

8 9

gn.g1 Cl>h2xgl

The position is equal. Though White has the two bishops, the one on g2 is placed passively and it will take much time to activate it; White lags in development already.


f2-f4?

1

White neeeded to to transfer the knight from c3 to a more active posi tion: 1 .�dl �cs 2.�e3 g6 3.�c4 ;;!;; .

1 2 3

f4-f5 <&>gl-h2

�� ..

�

� ? .. .� . /. .

.

�f6-d7 gf8.d8

�-�

�- �

�� . . . . . . :

..

�� ft �

�{ �R� �a�

?'"''] '· · · · · · "-� ·-�

•

. . . . . . . v.

� :,, ....... ;

3

b7-b5!

White has deprived Black of the e6 square, a springboard for the occupa tion of the d4 outpost. So Black begins to fight for the c4-square.

4 5 6 7

h3-h4 b2-b3 .lcl-e3 gal-fl

15 16 17

gd3xd4 ge2-el .lcl-g5

17 ... �xa3 ! ?.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

f5xg6 .lt3-e2 ,lg5xf6 4e2-d3 gel-dl gdl-fl c2xd3 g3-g4 <&>h3xg4 h4-h5 <&>g4xh5 gn.dt <&>h5-g4 c;g4-f3 <&>t3-g4 c;g4-h5

85

c5xd4 gb8-c8 g7-g6 t7xg6 <&>g8-t7 .le7xf6 <&>t7-e7 � c4-b2 �b2xd3 .lf6-g7 h5xg4t ,lg7-h6 g6xh5t 4h6-f4 gc8-d8 gd8-c8 <&>e7-f6 gc8-c2

�d7-b6 � a6-c5 a7-a5 � c5-d7

Preventing the shot f5-f6.

8 9

.le3-cl b3-b4

a5-a4 �b6-c4

Protected squares for the knights are im portant in the battle against bishops. Black's position is better.

10 11

gn.a <&>h2-h3

Preventing 12.g3-g4.

12

g13.<13

�d7-f6 h7-h5! ga8-b8

1 2 . gd4?! 13.gxd4 exd4 14.eS! . ..

13 14

J.g2-f3 gd8-d4! + � c3-bl

14.gxd4 exd4 15.eS �g4!.

14

c6-c5

gel-cl !- +

33 Weak square b 1.

34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

gdlxcl <&>h5-g4 g4-h4 c;h4-g4 <&>g4-g3 c;g3-f3 <&>t3-e2 �bl-d2

White resigned.

4f4xcl <&>f6-g6 .lcl-e3 .le3-g5 g6-h5 .lg5-f4! c&>h5-g4 .lf4xd2


86

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

'ftd4-a4 'fta4-b3 e4xt3 <&>gl-fi 'ftb3-a3 .lb2xa3 Aa3-c5 � e5-c6

t7-f5 'ftc7-c8 'ftc8-cSt .la8-d5 'ftc5xa3 e6xt3 ± � d6-c8

Kasparov - Gligoric Lucerne ol 1982

15

<&>g8-t7

After 1 5 . . . Axc6 16.bxc6 Black's knights are helpless against the passed pawn supported by the two bishops.

1 2 3 4

gn.ct galxcl gclxc8t �t3-e5

gc8xclt ga8-c8 �b6xc8 � c8-d6

Better is 4 ...�b6, which not only oc cupies a supported point, but also shields the a7 pawn.

5

t2-t3

White seizes space and restricts Black's pieces.

5 6 7

e3-e4 b4-b5

"J/e7-c7 .ld5-a8 �f6-e8? !

With the idea f5. Not a brilliant idea. Black only creates additional weaknesses in his camp. Regrouping with �d6-c8-b6 was worthwhile.

16 �c6xa7 + 1 7 .lc5xa7 18 .la7-d4 19 <&>fl-fl 20 <&>t2-e3 21 g2-g.1 22 <&>e3-d3 23 <&>d3-c3 24 <&>c3-b4 25 h2xg.1 26 .ld4-t2 27 t3-f4 g.1xf4 28 29 <&>b4-c5 30 At2-d4 31 Ad4xg7 32 Ae2-g4t 33 Ag4xh3

� c8xa7 <&>t7-e6 g7-g6 � e8-d6 g6-g5 � d6-c4t � c4-d6 fS-f4 f4xg.1 h7-h5 � d6-f5 g5xf4 �f5-g7 Ad5-g2 h5-h4 h4-h3 <&>e6-e7 .lg2xh3


34

4 5

B lack resigned.

Kasparian - Botvinnik Moscow 1931

White's two bishops are restricted and present no real danger. Black plans to exploit White's pawn weak nesses on the queenside, combining it with prophylaxis to prevent play in the center. After l...f6 bad is 2.c5 in view of 2 ... Ab3! 3.!!d2 a5 +, b. a5-a4, ga8-a5. The actual moves were:

1

c6-c5? !

• • m,,,, · •,.,/. �Bi� 11 :.t v� :.t� ._ • r�_ �a#.�-� � -� :.t �� L �-:t-"· • � �� • • � • � �v� � �m"ifm:fm "m ��-·��-·a·ft m ft"f.� A

'"

.

.,./. . . . . . � .

L

/.

L

/.

x

f4xe5 J1e3-g5t

87

ffixe5
5 . . . � f6 6.!!d5
6

h2-h3?!

Better is 6.!!d6! , preventing Ae6 and �f6. Later it would be possible to play 7.,1d3 b. Ac2-a4.

6 7

... gd2-d6

J1g4-e6
Now Black has time to consolidate his position.

8 9

J1fl-e2 J1g5xffi ? !

9.,1d3 !!ad8

9

=.

� d7-ffi g7xffi

9 ...
10

J1e2-g4

.....

- �� - A-� 2

f3-f4!

White activates his bishops.

2

J1e6-g4

2 ...f6 3.fxe5 fxe5 4.Ag5t oo .

3

l!dl-d2

f7.ffi

10

ga8-e8!


88

1 0 . . . Axg4? 1 1 . hxg4 'l;e7 gds b6 13.gS ! .

11

lthl-dl

Employing an ingenious defense, Black succeeds in making the posi tion level. White overestimates his position. He should play 1 1.Axe6 = .

11 12

h3xg4

4e6xg4 lth8-g8! +

It has turned out that White has more weaknesses than Black.

13 14 15 16

ltdl-fi ltd6-d7t ltd7-d6 gnxmt 16.gdxf6t 'l;g7 + . 16

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Tai - Shabalov

lte8-e6 lte6-e7 ltg8xg4!

Yunna/a 1985

Cllt7-e8

1

ltd6-d5?

ltffi-5 4'>cl-c2 lt5xe5 4'>c2-d3 4'>d3-d2 l!d5xe5t lte5-d5 ltd5-d7 ltd7xa7

h2-h3

White strives to gain the bishop pair. Black cannot prevent e4-e5, after which the two bishops gain tremen dous strength.

He h a d to p l ay 1 7 . g de 6 gxg2 18.gxe7t 'l;xe7 19.gh6 with counter play.

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

h4-h3 4&>g6-g5 4&>g5-g4 h3-h2 4&>g4-h3 l!g3-gl 4'>h3xh2 ltgl-el

White resigned.

1

17

lta7-b7 ltb7xb6t ltb6-bl 4'>d2-c2 ltbl-hl a3-a4 lthlxhlt '&'c2-d3

b7-b6 l!g4xe4 lte4-g4! ltg4xg2t ltg2-g3t lte7xe5 Clle8-t7 4&>t7-g6! h7-h5 h5-h4

4g4-h5

t...Axf.3 2.Axf.3 es 3.Ag5 ± !:::. .£id5.

2 3 4 5

g3-g4 4)t3-e5 4c1-e3 4) e5xg6

Ah5-g6 l!f8-d8 --b6-b4

5.a3 'l!tb3 6.h4 �a4! ! 7.�xa4 (7.h5 �xc3 8.bxc3 Axe4 9.g5 Axg2 10.gxf6 Axf6) 7 ... 'l!txa4 8.f.3 Ad6 9.gxd6 gxd6 10.hS gc2 with compensation for the material.

5 6

e4-e5 ±

h7xg6 4)ffi-e8

6 ... .£ifd7 7.gd4 !:::. gadl ± .


16 17 18 19 20 21 22

b2-b4 Ae3-c5t f2-f4! .!c5-f2 l!dl-d4 l!d4-d6 l!d6xe6

22.Ac6?! *c2.

7

22 23 24 25

� c3-b5!

In realizing the advantage of the two

bishops, the exchange of queens (7.*b5) is usually helpful, but in this p osition the black queen is misplaced and may be attacked.

7 8

�b5-d4

.!f2xb6! l!e6xe8 .!g2-d5t

89

tl'a5-a4 �f8-g8 b7-b6 l!c7-f7 �c4xa3 l!f7xf4 l!f4-f8 � a3-c4 l!f8xe8

Black resigned. 25 . . . \flh7 26.*h4 mate.

Tseshkovsky - Grigorian Yerevan 1980

a7-a6

With the idea a3, b4.

8 9

� c5-a4 l!c8-c7 9 .. �d7 10.a3 *a5 ll .�c6 ± . 10 a2-a3 tl'b4-a5 l!dl-d2

.

White enjoys the advantage. His p i eces are better c o o r d i n a t e d : Black's queen i s misplaced, Black's rooks are underdeveloped; White's b i s h o p s , acting a l o n g adj a c e n t diagonals, are clearly superior to their black counterparts. The e5 pawn suggests a white attack on the kingside.

11 tl'e2-dl + With the idea b4.

11 12 13 14 15

� d4xe6 l!d2xd8 tl'dlxd8 l!al-dl

� a4-b6 a f7xe6 .!e7xd8 ciig8-f8 �b6-c4

1

� a4-b6!

White brings the last misplaced piece into play.

1 2

�gl-hl

l!a8-d8 �d5xb6

Gives White the opportunity to gain


90

the bishop pair. And the bishops will be strong, controlling all the board. 2 ...,1c5 is better, though after 3.�c4 'f!c7 4.Ae4 Axd4 (4 ... g6 5.4)d6! Axd6 6.exd6 hd6 7.Af6 !::. 'f!h4 ± ) 5.fu:d4 g6 (there was a threat of Axh7t) 6.�d6 White has pressure on the kingside.

3 4 5 6

,1f3xb7 'Itel-el .1b7-e4 'lte2-f2

22 23 24 25

gnxnt .1b6-e3t 4e3xg5t 'lte6-f6t

Black resigned.

Englisch - Steinitz London 1883

�b6-d5 � d5-c7 g7-g6 'lta5-b5

B

1

7

gdl-d3

White's attack is irresistible. Black cannot defend the fl point.

7

� c7-e8

�g7-h6 4e7-g5 �h6xg5

b7-b6!

Played to restrict the opponent's pieces (the knight especially) after c7-c5. Seizing space is essential in realizing the advantage of the two bishops.

2

h2-h3

7...'8d7 8.'8f3 Ag5 9.Ac5 !::. Ad3, 'Bxfl.

8 gdJ.f3 9 .1e4-d3 10 ,1d4-b6 1 1 g13xn + 12 gnxrst 13 'ltf2-e2 14 gn-dl 15 b2-b3 16 .1d3-c4 17 g2-g4 18 'lte2-e4 19 gdl-fi 20 'lte4-c6 21 'ltc6xe6

� e8-g7 'ltb5-d5 gd8-b8 �g7-f5 gb8xm �g8-g7 'ltd5xa2 4e7-g5 grs-es �f5-h6 �h6-t7 4gS-e7 ge8.f8 'lta2xc2

,1g4-e6?!

2

Better is 2 ...Ac8 and if 3.�d4 then 3 ... a6 4.'8fdl Ab7 !::. c5.

3

gn-d1

Better is 3.4)d4!, fighting for support


points for �e knight, a typi� al way to fi ght the bishops. Then if 3 ..Ad5 then 4.4)b5; or 3 .Ac4 4.gfdl � 4)c6; or 3 ... Ad7 4.a4! � 4)b5. .

..

3 4 5 6

Ae3-g5 4g5-f4 tl-t3

c7-c5 t7-f6 c&>g8-t7 g6-g5!

With the idea h7-h6 and f6-f5. Black seizes space also on the kingside.

7 8 9 10 11

gdlxd8 Af4-e3 gal-el t3-f4 g2-g3

11 12 13 14 15

4)b3-cl a2-a3 c&>gl-tl Ae3xf4

ge8xd8 h7-h6 f6.fS 4g7-f6

a7-a5! a5-a4 4e6-c4 g5xf4

15

91

Af6-g5!

Exchanging one of the bishops, Black transposes to an advantageous end ing where his pieces are far the more active. The difference in activity be tween the bishop and the knight is especially great. Transforming the advantage of the two bishops is an important way to realize it.

16

Af4xg5

h6xg5

17

c&>tl-e3

c&>t7-f6

18

h3-h4

After this move Black forces his way into a winning endgame. ( weak square h4)

18

g5xh4

19

g3xh4

gd8-e8t

20

c&>e3-tl

ge8xel

21

c&>tlxel

<&'f6-e5

22

4)cl-e2

Ac4xe2

23

c&>elxe2

c&>e5-f4

24

c3-c4

c&>f4-g4

25

c&>e2-e3

fS-f4t

26

c&>e3-e4

f4-t3

27

c&>e4-e3

c&>g4-g3

White resigned.

92


Miles - Li Zunian

11

Lucerne 1985

White's plan is standard for such situations: to excha nge major pieces, seize space (f3, e4), transfer the king to the center and induce weaknesses on the kingside. The advanced bS-ft facilitates the plan's last stage. So it is better to avoid pawn weaknesses in a fight against the two bishops.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

gdlxdSt gn-c1 �f3-d2 gclxcSt � d2-b3 f2-f3 �b3xc5 e3-e4 !.f4-e3 Ae2-dl

gasxd8 gds-cs � c5-e4 !.b7xc8 �f6-d7 � e4-c5 � d7xc5 ti-f6 � c5-b3 �b3-a5

• • ·• • .1. a • a • •m • � • m •� , • • • • • i� • :t :t m m :a: �- ·"• m • .• •• •• •• ..� •. •�r�•. •

�r. •.� , .J �

ft '�� r��• �� . �� · � .8. ��

. .

• m .�f. . . m m .L · }.• . • . ·� �

}.

b2-b3 !

Knights must be denied squares sup ported by pawns. That is another reason to regard each pawn advance with trepidation.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Ae3-b6 c&>gl-f2 c&>f2-e3 c&>e3-d3 Ab6-c5t c&>d3-c3 h2-h4 a3-a4

e645 � a5-c6 Ac8-e6 c&>g8-ti c&>ti-e7 c&>e7-d7 g7-g6 Ae6-ti Ati-e6

19 ... bxa4 20.bxa4 rf;c7 2l.Ae2 rf;b7 22.Ac4 ± and the white king breaks into the enemy camp.

- - - •:t ·· ·¥.;j . .�·� · · .• ra . ·� " ··� . i� �"' � • � J.i� :t � mra. j ��· � � ·"- . ;m � :lf m %.r� � ... m m m m, ,,

�·:

mf

'

··� .: ··JiJ!J' · • - mA• 20

Adl-c2!

20.axbS axbS 21 .Ae2 b4! + 22.Axb4 Axb3! = ; 20.Ae2 .!Li a5.

20

f6-f5

20... rf;c7 21.axbS axbS 22.Ad3 .!Li aS 23.Ae7 fS 24.exfS exfS 25.Ac2 ± 6. h4-h5-h6.

a4xb5 21 22 Ac2-d3 + f3xe4 23 24 .1c5xb4 25 .1d3-c4 26 .1b4-e7

a6xb5 f5xe4 b5-b4t � c6-d4 c&>d7-c6 !.e6xc4


27 28 29 30 31

�c3xc4 b3-b4 b4-b5t 4e7-b4 �c4-d5

93

4J d4-e2 4J e2-g3 �c6-d7 4Jg3xe4 4J e4-ffit

3 1 ...�£2 32.b6 e4 33.Ad6 e3 34.b7 e2 35.b8'M' el'M' 36.'M'c7t ctfe8 37.'M'c8t �f7 38.'M'f8 mate.

32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

�d5xe5 �e5-f4 �f4-g5 .G.b4-el .G.el-tl �g5-ffi �ffi-f7 �f7-g8 �g8-h7 h4-h5 g2-g3 �h7xh6

4Jffi-g4t 4Jg4-h6 4Jh6-f5 �d7-d6 �d6-d5 �d5-d6 �d6-d7 h7-h6 g6-g5 g5-g4 4Jf5-d6

Black resigned.

Sosonko - Karpov The Netherlands 1979

4

f7-f5!

Tactics induce White to trade the e5ft, whose disappearance leaves more elbow room for Black's bishops.

5

e5xffi

6

g3-g4

g7xffi

White's a2 pawn is hopelessly weak. Black's task is to reach this pawn with his light-square bishop. For this pur pose he has to demolish White's �d3 Ae4 fortress. But he has no reason to hurry, because the advantage of the two bishops is enduring. So Black strengthens his position gradually, preparing f6-f5.

6

�g8-f8

7

b2-b3

�f8-e7

8

�g2-g3

�e7-d6

9

�g3-f4

The attempt to transfer the knight to e3 was doomed: 9.� e l f5 10.gxf5 gxf5 l l .Ad3 Ac5 12.�c2 �e5 -+ .

.G.b7-c8!

1

Battle rages on both flanks, the cen ter is open. Consequently, Black decides to retain the bishops.

2 3 4

4g2-e4 4Jcl-d3 �gl-g2

4b6-d4 a6-a5

9

4c8-d7

Black is waiting for White to exhaust his useful moves; when this happens, White must withdraw his king.

10 11

h2-h3 t2-t3

4d7-b5


94

important way to realize the ad vantage of the two bishops.

2

11 12 13 14

!il>f4-� g4xf5 Ae4-b7

Ab5-d7 f6.f.5 e6xf5 Ad7-bS

The Black bishops are triumphant.

15 16

{)d3-el Ad4-c3 {) el-c2 Ab5-d3- +

Black won in a few moves.

Miles - Portisch Buenos Aires 1978

g2-�

t7-f6!

2

3

{) e4-d6

4

{)d6-c4

Ad3-g6

4.�xb7 gbs s.gd7 .a.es 6.ge7 gxb7 -+

4 s

Ae3-d4 !il>hl-g2

Ag6-e8

The bishop transfers to the strong diagonal.

6

eS:xf6

7

gal-cl

Ae8-c6t

8

Clig2-fi

Ad4-cS

9

!il>fi-e2

g7xf6

9.�as Af.3 + . Black enjoys the advantage because of his strong bishops which control all the board. White's knights lack sup port points (the d6 point is easily liq uidated after f7-f6), so they are help less against Black's bishops.

1

{)�-e4

Ac5-e3

Weakening White's position consid erably after g2-g3 in response. The inducement of new weaknesses is an

9 10

a7-a6 {)c.'4-d2

10.� a5 .1g2.

10 11

{) c3-e4

12 13 14

{) e4-c3 €} d2-f3 €}f3-el

!il>g8-t7 AcS-d4 !&>t7-e7 Ad4-a7


20 21

� c3-e4 � e4-c5

95

.lf4-b8 gg8-c8

White res i g n e d . 22.�xb7 gxc2 23.�xc2 Ag6 24.� aS Axc2 25.�c6t �d6 26.�xb8 Ae4t 27.�t'2 Ab7 - + .

Larsen - Chandler Naestved 1985

14

gdsxdl

This is a typical way - the exchange of major pieces usually enables the p l ayer who has the b i s h o p s to eliminate counterplay (dynamics). But for the time being Black pres�r ves his second rook, 6. to create weaknesses in the enemy camp.

15 16

gclxdl 'fe2-t3

4c6-e8 grs.gs

White has the advantage of the two bishops, but his dark-square bishop is restricted by Black's pawn wedge.

1

ghl-fl !

Intending t'2-f4, opening the center and activating the bishops.

1

� c7-e6

Preventing the opening of the cen ter, Black is forced to leave his weak a6 pawn without protection.

2

W h i te tries to d e fe n d w i t h o u t weakening his position, but h e loses a p aw n . The s ame fat e b efal ls 17.gd3? Ag6 18.gd2 ( 18.�e4 gc8! 1 9 . b 3 g c 1 2 0 . � g 2 f5 6. A h 5 ) 1 8... AhSt 6. Ae3.

17 18 19

.le8-h5t 4a7-e3 4e3xf4- +

4g2-b7


96

This enables White to get a passed pawn which is very dangerous with the two bishops present. More stub born was 2 . . . a5, which might be replied with 3.c3, restricting the knight (an important method of fighting the knights) and preparing the 'i\?c2-b3-c4 maneuver.

3

J,b7xa6

4 .

b2-b3 14 15 16 17 18

b4xc5! l!fl-bl l!bl-b7 Ae3xf4 l!al-el

d6xc5 l!f6-f8 l!f8-a8 e5xf4

Black resigned. 1 8 . . . Af8 19.gxa7 �a7 20.ges +-.

Balashov

Kortchnoi USSR 1969

s

B

Aa6-b7!

5.Ac4? �c4! 6.bxc4 gfa8 oo . White does not try to defend the g5 pawn. The passed h7 pawn is not dangerous, but the passed a-ft, sup ported by the two bishops (the second bishop comes into play after c3, b4), rapidly gains strength . .

5

l!h4-b4

6

Ab7-d5

.ri e6xg5

7

c2-c3

l!b4-b6

8 �cl-c2 + 9

l!dl-al

l!f8-f6 l!b6-a6

10

a4-a5

.rig5-h3

11

Ad5-c4

l!a6-a8

12

a5-a6

l!a8-a7

13

b3-b4

.rih3-f4

The only way for Black to activate the bishop pair is to break up the center by t7-f6. If the g7 pawn were at g6, the position would be equal.

1 2

.ri e4-d2

l!b8-f8!

White cannot prevent Black from im plementing his plan.

2 3

l!dl-fl

t7-f6


12 13 14

3

c&>fi-g2 l!d2-e2 .lc3-e5

97

e5-e4- + d6-d5

4e7-d8!

Transfer to a useful diagonal is one of the ways to activate the bishops.

4 5 6 7 8 9

l!fi-tl � d2-fi l!tl-d2 4c3xe5 Cf/e3-e2 4e5-c3

4d8-c7 4c7-b6 ffixeS l!t8-t7 d7-d6

9.Axd6 Ac4t 10.c&>el Axfl 1 1 .c;xfl gd7.

9 10

Cf/el-el

4d5-c4t

14

.1b6-c7!

The bishop trade accentuates the weakness of White's queenside.

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

4e5xc7 <&>g2-fi c2-c3 l!e2-c2 Cf/fi-e2 Cf/e2-e3 Cf/e3xe4 b2xc3 g3-g4 l!c2-g2

l!t7xc7 l!c7-b7 Cf/c6-b5 Cf/b5-c4 l!b7-b3 d5-d4t d4xc3 l!b3xa3 h5xg4 l!a3-b3 !

White resigned.

Gelfand - Kharitonov USSR 1989

B

4c4xfi !

10

Transformation into an advantage of a different kind is one of the ways to realize the advantage of the two bishops. Now Black's pawn center gets into motion.

11

c&ielxfi

e6-e5


98

The main threat to Black is the b5 pawn, so he should attack it as soon as possible.

.flb4-d3?

1

After this move White has enough time to consolidate his pieces and defend all his weaknesses. Better is 1 . ..a5 ! 2.bxa6 �xa6 3.Ae3 (3.gd l �c5) 3 ... �c5 4.gxas gxas 5.�d2 gb8 =

2

.!c1-e3!

.fl d3xb2

3

ga4-a2

.flb2-c4

4 !.e3xa7 5 !.a7xb8 ±

ID'8-b8

The passed b5 pawn and the two bishops ensure White's great ad vantage.

gasxa2 .flc4-b6

5 6

14

c&>g7-ffi?

Loses quickly, but also after 14 ... fxe6 1 5 .gc?t <;g8 ( 1 5 . . . <;f6 16.£4 + -; 15 ... �h6 16.�f7t
15 16 17 18 19

.fl e5-g4t gcS-e8t 4)g4-e3t ge8-d8t gdS-dSt

4f«;xe6 <&'e6-d5 <&'d5-d4 c&>d4-c5

Black resigned.

Granda

Miles Zagreb

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

!.b8-c7! !,c7xd6 gc1-c8t !.d6xf8 !,g2-fi .flt3xe5 !.fi-c4 !.c4xe6

1987

.flb6-d7 .flffixe4 !.g7-f8 .fl d7xf8 <&'g8-g7 .flf8-e6 ga2-b2

W h i t e enj oys the b i s h o p p a i r . Though the bishops are restricted, Black cannot prevent a pawn storm on the kingside, opening lines for the bishops and unveiling attackable targets.


1

99

a2-a3!

Restricting the knights is an impor tant way to realize the advantage of the two bishops.

1 2

3

f2-f4 <&>gl-f2

<&>g8-f8 <&>f8-e8

11

e7-e6

We a k e n s t h e f7 - ft , b u t W h i te threatened 12.e6! fxe6 13.fxg6 hxg6 14.hS +-.

3

gd8xdl ? !

Not the best decision. Th e rook ex change usually favors the player with the bishops, because it decreases his opponent's dynamic possibilities. Black ought to try to organize his counterplay with the rooks present: 3 . . .gdc8! ? 4.gac 1 (4.Afl �c7) 4... �c7 6. a5-a4. I f White himself plays a3-a4 then �c7-a6-b4.

4 5 6

galxdl gdlxd8t g3-g4

ga8-d8 c&>e8xd8

White follows the principle: "Play where you have an advantage." He starts playing on the kingside, where he has pawn superiority.

6 7 8

9 10 11

h2-h4 c&>f2-e3 ,1g2-t3 b3xa4 f4-fS

� a6-c7 a7-a5 Ab7-c6 a5-a4 Ac6xa4

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

c&>e3-f4 c&>f4-g5 c&>g5-h6 h4-h5 g4xh5 At3-e2 c&>h6-g5 h5-h6 Ab2-c1 Ae2-h5 c&>g5-f6 e4xfS Ac1-f4

c&>d8-e7 c&>e7-f8 c&>f8-g8 g6xh5 c5-c4 Aa4-b3 � c7-b5 c4-c3 �b5-d4 Ab3- c4 e6xfS � d4-b3 �b3-c5

24 ... c2 would meet the same reply as in the game.


1 00

26 27

The bishops are triumphant. Black resigned.

Byrne, R

-

Keres

Deprives the bishop of the important e5 square. If 5 ...Jla5 then 6.Ae5 es tablishes cooperation between the pieces.

6 7

Moscow 1955

B

Black is a pawn up. The first order of business is to neutralize counterplay on the queenside by blocking the passed a- and b- pawns, and then realize the pawn superiority on the kingside.

1

t7-ffi!

s

.lhS-t7t
.lf4-d6 .ld6-f4

.lb6-aS .lf3-e4!

Black transfers his bishop to d3, then when White's bishop sits on f4, plays Aa5-b4. White falls into Zugzwang. As it turns out, nothing can prevent the implementation of this plan. The bishop has to watch over the g3 point, and if White's king moves to the queenside, then the transfer of the bishop to c7 and advance of the h-ft decide the game (Keres).

8 9

.lf4-d6 .ld6-f4

.le4-d3

.lffi-d8!

Keeps an eye on the pawns and threatens to pin the knight.

2 3

� c3-dS � dS-c3

3 ... Aa5 4.�e3.

4

s

.ld3-e4 .le4-f3

.ld8-b6t

9

Aa5-b4!

Zugzwang

White's bishop has to abandon the h2-b8 diagonal and Black realizes his pawn superiority by setting up a passed pawn.

10 11 12 13 14

.lf4-e3 g3xh4 h4-hS hS-h6 .le3-tl

14.h7 f4 - + .

14 IS

.ltl-gl

hS-h4!- + g4-g3 g3-g2 ffi-f5 f5-f4 .lb4-aS


16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

.lgl-h2 h6-h7 c2-b3
.la5-b6 .ld3xh7 g2-gl'lt .lb6xgl ,lgl-d4 c4-c3 .lh7xd3t a5xa4

White resigned.

Kotov - Florian Moscow 1949

5

1 01

.lb3-d5

Mission accomplished. The knight must retreat, and it has no support points.

5 6

�f5-d4!

� d3-c5 � e6xd4

White threatened 7 . .£lc6 or 7.�xe6.

7 ltd2xd4 8 gdl-bl 9 ltbl-b3 + -

ltd8-b8 � c5-d3

Black's position is lost, although his next move hastens the process.

9 10 11

ltb3xd3 .le3-f4!

ltd7-c7 .la6xd3

Black resigned.

Gheorghiu Black's defense is founded on the ac tive d3-�, which has the c5 support point.

1

Olafsson, F Athens 1969

.lb3-a4!

Knocking out the support o f the c5 point - the b6 pawn.

b6-b5

1

i . ..gc7 meets with the unpleasant 2.gd2 b. gad 1 .

2 3 4

.la4-b3 ltdl-d2 ltal-dl

�h5-f4 4)f4-e6 b5-b4

The closed nature of the position and


1 02

Flohr

the black knight's support point at c4 enable Black to present stubborn resistance, White's mobile pawn cen ter and the two strong bishops not withstanding.

1

Veltmander Tartu 1950

g2-g4!

l .e4? was bad because of 1...£5 ! and Black gets a strong central outpost at d5 for his knight.

1

t7-f5?!

A serious weakening. It is better to avoid weakening in the fight against two bishops. Better was 1...f6 b,. 2.e4 �c4!, moving the king towards the center, and playing e6-e5 later on. In the game White exploits the weaken ing of Black's kingside.

2 3 4 5 6

h2-h3 c&>gl-tl 4e2-d3 4c3-el ! c&>tl-g2

Better was 6... g6!?.

7

4d3-c2

c&>g8-t7 4b7 -d5 4d5 -b7 4b7 -d5 .ld5-c4?! 4c4-d5

1 2

{)d4-f5! �dlxdS

e6xf5 � d7-c5

2 ... '{tc2 3.'(txd7 '(txb2 4.'ltxe7 'ltxe2 5.'(txa7 ± .

3 4e2-c4 ±

White has the bishop pair. The cen ter is open, so the bishops are espe cially active .

3 4

._d5xe6 4.'{tf3 ! ? ± . 4 5 !lfi-dl 6 !Idlxd8t

-.c8-e6

{) c5xe6 !lt8-d8 4e7xd8

White has willingly transposed to the endgame, where his advantage is c l e a r . The two b i s h o ps e n s u re centralization of the king, which is a decisive factor in such situations.

8 9 10

g4xf5! 4el-g3 c&>g2-tl 10 ... g6 1 1 .e4 ± . 11 4c2xf5 12 .lf5-c8 White won.

e6xf5 � d6-c4 � c4-d2 4d5xt3

7 8 9 10

c&>gl-fi g2-g3 c&>fi-e2 c&>e2-d3

4d8-c7 g7-g6 4c7-d6 {) e6-c7

It seems that B l ack h a s built a fortress, White's king cannot break through the d5 and b5 squares. How ever, White can advance the queen side pawns, and after Black reacts, the bishops make inroads. (Flohr) .


1 03

28...�dS 29..£1,d7 +-.

29

11 12

a2-a4 .!b2-f6

�g8-f8 a7-a6

At a6 the pawn is attacked by the light-square bishop, and the knight is tied to its defense. If the pawn had not been moved, White would play �c3, and after b3-b4-b5 then a4-a5 Black must give way (Flohr).

13 14 15

�d3-c2 .!c4-fi .a.n-g2

�f8-e8 �e8-d7 h7-h5

In such positions it is better to avoid pawn movement and weakening of the pawn chain. Now it is easier for White to destroy the chain, creating targets for the light-square bishop on the kingside as well. (Flohr.)

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

�c2-d3 .!f6-d4 .!g2-b7 b3xa4 e3-e4 c;d3xe4 .!d4-b6 c;e4-d5

.!d6-b4 b6-b5 b5xa4 .!b4-el f5xe4t .!el-b4 � c7-e6

23 ..£1,xa6? �c5t 24..£1,xcS Axc5

23 24 25 26 27 28

c;d5-e5 h2-h4 c;e5-e4 �e4-t3 .!b7-c8t

.!b6-a5

=.

� e6-c7t .!b4-e7 t7-f6t .!e7-d6 c;d7-e6 c;e6-t7

g6-g5

29

This hastens defeat. Against passive defense, the winning plan is to put the king at c4 and exchange dark square bishops. As a result the light square bishop would be far superior to the black knight, especially con sidering the weakness of the a6 pawn and the placement of B lack's kingside pawns o n light squares. This puts in relief the main advantage of the bishop pair: at a critical moment one of them may be exchanged, leav ing only the more useful one (Flohr)

30 31

�t3-e4 g3xh4 + -

g5xh4

Now Black has to defend his two pawn weaknesses at h5 and a6.

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

.!a5-b6 .!b6-d4 .!c8-d7 .!d4-b6 .!b6-a5 .!d7-c8 f2-f4 .!c8-h3 f4-f5t .!h3-fi .!a5-el

�t7-g6 � c7-a8 � a8-c7 .!d6-b4 .!b4-d6 �g6-g7 �g7-g6 �g6-g7 �g7-g6 c;g6-t7 �t7-e7 .!d6-e5


1 04

43 44 45 46 47

.an-e2 4el·b4t c&>e4-d5 4b4·a3 4e2xh5

47 ...�xfS 48.Ag4 +-.

48 49 50 51

4h5-e2 c&>d5-e4 .la3-c5 c&>e4-d5

.tlc7-e8 .tl e8-d6t a6-a5 c&>e7-d7 .tl d6-c8

If 6.�e2 then 6 ... �xc5 7:*c2 gxd4 8.�xd4 Axd4t 9.c&1h l c&1 h 7 with counterplay.

.tlc8-b6t c&>d7-e8 .tlb6-c8

Black resigned.

Portisch - Smyslov Portorou 1971

B

b7-b5!

6

Black defends his outpost at c4. 7.cxb6 meets 7... �dxb6, weak square d5.

At first glance, White's position is more pleasant. If pawns are ex changed at e4, the bishops will be a formidable force; 1...e6 meets with 2.e5 �h5 3.f4 when White has a clear spatial superiority.

1 2

b3xc4

d5xc4! .tl d7-b6

Penetrating with his knight to c4, Black gets sufficient counterplay.

3

c4-c5

If 3.d5 then 3 ... �fd7 and Black's second knight gets a post in the cen ter!

3 4 5 6

4b2-cl lfal-bl d4-d5

.tlb6-c4 ga8-d8 .tlffi-d7

7

d5xc6

8

'ld3-c2

.tl d7xc5 a7-a6

White's pawn center is broken up, the c6 pawn is weak and his bishops are not dangerous, while Black's knights have active positions in the center. Black has won the battle of knights against bishops, gaining positional advantage.

9

t3-f4

4g7xc3

10

'lc2xc3

.tlc5xe4

11

4g2xe4

f5xe4

12

a2-a4

'lt7-d5

13

a4xb5

a6xb5

14

.!cl-b2

grs.a;

15

.!b2-al

'ld5-c5t

16

c&>gl-hl

'lc5xc6

17

gbl-dl

e4-e3t

18

c&>hl-gl


1 05

4.�b5 Ac6 5.f3 Axb5 6.Axb5 �d6 7.Axd6 'lhd6 Black stands better.

Ad7-c6

4

Black's pieces have occupied strong central positions.

s

Ac4-d3

With 6.� e5, White threatens to regain the e4-square.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

gdlxd2 i!tc3-b3 i!tb3-c3 gn.d1 c&>gl-hl f4xe5

gd8-d2 e3xd2 gfl).d6 e7-e5 i!tc6-cSt i!tc5-e3 gd6-d3

White resigned.

Gligori6 - Smyslov Amsterdam 1971

B

s 6 7 8 9 10

gn.d1 Ad3-e2 gdlxd8 gal-cl 4e2-d3

t7-f5! ga8-d8 i!te7-ffi gf8xd8 h7-h6 �g8-h8

Black's advantage is clear, his pieces are more active.

11

�t3-el

Intending f3. ��

Ab4xc3! ?

1

Black willingly lets his opponent enjoy the bishop pair. He gets instead t he e4 central point, whence his knight will put most unpleasant pres s ure on White's position.

2 3 4

b2xc3 4g3-h2 � d4-t3

�ffi-e4 c6-c5

11 12

Ad3xe4

c5-c4!


106

Forced, otherwise 12 ...gd2.

12 13

�c2-e2

f5xe4 b7-b5

Black has transformed the dynamic advantage of active pieces into a static positional advantage. Black controls much space, including the d-file. He can work against the weak ness of the c3 pawn and has an out post at d3. Gradually Smyslov trans formed his advantage into a win.

3 4 s 6

Af3-e2 'il>g.l-f3 Atl-d4 Ae2-b5

Ac3-d2 c&'h6-h7 �f7-h6 Ad2-el

7 8 9 10 11

h4-h5! Ab5-e8 Ae8-d7 Ad7-e6 Ad4-b6

g6xh5 h5-h4 '&>h7-g6 �h6-f7 Ael-b4

Shereshevsky - Yuferov Minsk 1971

If Black marks time with �f6-g6-f6, White wins by shifting his king to c6.

12

Despite the reduced n umber of pawns, Black's position is not safe. White has an interesting plan: to weaken f5 with the pawn sacrifice h4h5, then tie down Black's pieces to the defense of the pawn and transfer the king to c6 ( weak square d6). Black's only defense was to trans fer the knight to the support point c5: l...�t7-d8, b. �d8-b7-c5, whence the knight can control important central points and play an active part in the defense. In the game he preferred:

1 2

.lg2-f3

With the idea h4-h5.

2

'l>h7-g7? '&>g7-h6

Ab6-tl

13 Ae6-c8! 14 Atlxh4 + 15 Ah4-tl 16 '&>f3-e2 17 Ac8-e6 18 Ail-el 19 Ael-c3

�t7-d8

Ab4-c3 Ac3-ffi � d8-f7 �f7-h6 'l>g6-h5 Affi-e7 'l>h5-g6


20 21 22 23 24 25 26

4&>e2-d3 .lc3-b4 4&>d3-c4 .lb4-c3 'li>c4-b5 .lc3-d2 'li>b5-c6

.le7-h4 ,lh4-e7 4&>g6-h5 ,le7-h4 .lh4-g3 4&>h5-h4

10

.le2-fi

11

h2-h4!

1 07

�c7-b5

Black resigned.

Flohr

Botvinnik Moscow 1933

B Starting to induce weaknesses on the kingside.

11 12 13

.lfi-h3 f3-f4

�b5-c7 � c7-e8

With the idea 14.Axd7 and 15.fxe5. Now Black should play 1 ...� a4 !::,. 2... b7-b5 and then � a4-b6-c4, setting up a support point for his knight. However, what actually happened was:

1 2

g2-g3?!

� c5-d7? !

White failed to exploit Black's error. Better was 2.a4, preventing b7-b5.

2 3

4&>d2-c2

� d7-b6 �b6-d7?

Again he had to play 3 .. � a4 !::,. b5. .

4 5

a3-a4! a4-a5

� d7-b6

Seizing space is a typical way to realize the advantage of the two bishops.

5 6 7 8 9

.le3-cl .lc1-b2 4&>c2-d2 c&>d2-e3

�b6-d7 4&>c7-d8 �f6-e8 � e8-c7 4&>d8-e7

13 14

t7-f6 .lh3-f5

Inducing one more weakness.

14 15

.lf5-h3

g7-g6 h7-h6!

To meet 16.fS with 16... g5.

16 17

.lb2-cl f4xe5

� e8-g7 d6xe5

17...�xe5 18.,lc8 +-; or 17 ... ftfxe5 18.<&'f'3 h5 19.Ag5t +-.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

4&>e3-f3 .lc1-e3 .le3-h6 g3-g4 ,lh3xg4 ,lh6-e3 c&>f3-e2

h6-h5 4&>e7-d6 �g7-e8 h5xg4t � e8-c7 � c7-b5 �b5-c7


1 08

25

c&>e2-d3 !

ffi-fS

Janowski - Caro Vienna 1898

25 ...�bS 26.Ae6 '1/e7 27.AcSt �xc5 28.bxcS 6. Ac8 +-. Now the bishops spring into ac tion.

26 e4xf5 27 4g4xf5 + -

g6xf5

The passed h 4 pawn and Black's weak queenside ensure White's win.

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

4e3-d2 c&>d3-c4 4f5-g6 c&>c4-d3 Ag6-e4t 4d2-g5 4e4-t3 4g5-d2!

� c7xd5 � d7-ffi c&>d6-c6 b7-b5t � d5-e7 � e7-d5 �ffi-h5 �h5-g3

35.hS? �xh5 ! 6. 36 . . . �xb4t with counterplay.

35 36 37 38

4t3-g4 4g4-c8 4d2-el !

No hurry!

38 39 40 41

c&>d3-d4 4c8-f5 4el-d2

Black resigned.

c&>c6-d6 � d5-ffi c&>d6-c6

e5-e4t �g3-h5 c&>c6-d6

White plans to seize space and restrict Black's knights. But this plan has to be implemented accurately, without haste, to prevent Black's knights from creating support points.

1

4e3-d4

l .Ac2 ! ? f5 ( 1 . . .gfe8 2.S,xa7 gxa7 3.gxe4 ± ).

1 2

4a4-c2

� e4-c5

2.S,xc5! ? dxc5 3.g3 6. h3-h4-h5.

2 3 4

b2-b4 4c2-a4

M-e8 � c5-d7

4.'1/fl allows 4...gxel t s.gxe1 a5 6.a3 axb4 7.axb4 �de5 8.c5 ga2 with counterplay.

4

�e8xelt


S 6

galxel .la4-c2

�d7-e5

6 . c5 allows the unpleasant 6... a5.

20

�e2-d3

1 09

�e7-d6

And White could have won easily with

21 f2-f4 22 f4xeSt 23 .lc8-b7 24 .lb7-c6 + -

t7-ffi ffixeS �d6-c5

Instead he played 21.g2-g4 but still eventually won.

Nimzowitsch - Levenfish Karlsbad 1911

6 6 . . . �xc4

7

a7-a5!

7.Axg6 fxg6 8.ge7 ± .

b4-b5

ga8-e8?

Better is 7 . . . b6, securing the c5 square for the knights.

8

�gl-fi

geS-c8?!

8 . . . b6? !

9.Axg6 fxg6 10.Axe5 (10.f4 gf8) 10 ... dxe5 1 1 .';t>e2 ± .

9

c4-c5!

White grabs space and eliminates a weakness.

9 c5-c6 10 11 .lc2-f5 12 .ld4xe5! + -

�g8-f8 b7-b6 gc8-b8

A typical way to realize the ad vantage of the two bishops is to ex change one of them in order to trans form the advantage favorably.

�g6xe5

12

12 ... dxe5 13.d6!.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

gelxeS! .lf5-d7 d5-d6 c6-c7 c7-c8'ltt ,ld7xc8 �-e2

g7-g6 d6xe5 c7xd6 gb8-a8 gasxc8 �f8-e7 d6-d5

Black strives to break up White's pawn center, but the attack is prema ture since his pieces are not ready to support the effort.

1

.lb5xc6!

White gives away his bishop, but he dilutes Black's piece pressure in the center. Knights are not inferior to bishops in closed positions, some times they are even stronger.

1 2

b7xc6 eSxffi

White plays to occupy the central e5 square with his knight.

2 3 4 s

�t3-e5 d4xc5 .lcl-gS

�g8xffi .lf8-d6 .ld6xc5 'ltb6-d8


110

square e5).

14

c4xd5

White wins a pawn. The strong centralized knight on e5 plays the main role in this combination .

.11d7-c8

14 14 ... exd5 15 ..£ixd7! +-.

6

J1g5xffi

The knight may have fought for the e5 point later. White exchanges at once so that Black cannot arrange to recapture with the g7-ft.

6 7 itdl-h5t!

itd8xffi

It is useful to provoke g7-g6.

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

ith5-e2 �bl-d2 J:fal-el Cf/gl-hl tl-f4 c3-c4

g7-g6 J:fa8-d8

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

� d2-e4 d5xe6 ite2-a6 1;lel-dl b2-b3 ± 1;'tdlxd4 ita6-a5 1;'tfi-dl h2-h3 1;'tdlxd4

itffi-g7 .11c8xe6 c&>g8-h8 .11e6-g8 1;'td8-d4 c5xd4 1;le8-c8 1;'tc8-c2 itg7-b7 .11f8-c5

25

ita5-d8

.11c5-e7

0-0

ID'8-e8 .11c5-d6 c6-c5

25 ...Axd4 26.'l!txd4 *g7 27 . .£id6! b,. .£le8 +-.

13

.11 d 6-f8?

A t a c t i c a l overs i g h t . B e s t was 13 ...,lxe5, but White keeps his advantage: 1 4.fxe5 *e7 15.gf6 !'!f8 16.!'!efl ( b.. 16...gxf6 17.exf6 weak

26 27 28 29 30

itd8-d7 1;ld4-d3 � e5-t7t itd7xt7 lld3-d7

Black resigned.

itb7-a6 .11 e7-f8 .11g8xt7 llc2-c8


111

Richter - Tarrasch Nuremberg 1896

f6-fS? !

9

Imprecise. He missed the prophylac tic move 9... gg6. Black enjoys the advantage in the endgame because of his two bishops and spatial superiority. White must create protected squares for his knights. The best move to reach this goal is 1 . a4 ! , taking over the c4 square.

1

h7-hS!

� el-g.l?!

10

gel-eS

4t8-d6

Here White had an opportunity to get the outpost at e4 for his knight with 1 1 .gdS ! gg6 ( 1 t . . .gc6? 1 2 .�xcS ! ) 1 2 . g 4 ! Fo r exa m p l e : 12...gf6 (12 ...fthxg4 13.fxg4) 13.gxfS ,1c6 14. gxd6 gxd6 1 5 .�xcS and White gets good compensation for the exchange. 15 ..,1xf3 is no good because of 16.�xf'3 gxcs 17.�gSt �g8 18.�e4 ges 19.�f6t +-. .

Seizing space is one way to realize the advantage of the two bishops.

2

tl-t3

3

gel-el

.lg4-d7

Again, stronger was 3.a4.

b7-bS!

3

Black strives to seize space and restrict his opponent's knights .

4

gal-el

.le7-f8

s

�g.l-e4

gh8-g8

6

� d2-b3

gd8-c8

7

� e4-d2

.lt8-d6

8

�d2-e4

4d6-f8

9

� e4-d2

11

ges-el

White leaves himself without counterplay. Black gradually advan ces his pawns on both flanks, and his space advantage magnifies the weak nesses in White's position.


112

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

�kS-aS gaS-bS h5-h4 ggs-g6 .Qd7-e6 gbS-aS

.£ib3-a5 .£i a5-b3 ctlgl-hl ctlhl-gl ge2-t2 ga.e2?

He had to play 17.4J a5.

17 lS 19 20 21 22 23

.£id2-bl .£ib3-d2 .£id2-fl ctlgl-hl b2xc3 .£ifl-e3

The two bishops cannot be con quered through passivity. He should have sought dyn a m i c defensive resources immediately with 3.Af5.

a7-a5! a5-a4 c5-c4 gas-cs c4-c3 d4xc3 b5-b4

After a few moves White resigned.

Michel - Tartakower Marienbad 1925

3 4 5 6 7 s 9

.Qe2-d3 ctlfl-e2 h3xg4 .£if3-h2 .£ih2-f3 gdl-fl

geS-e4! ge4.f4 g5-g4 h5xg4 g4-g3 d5-d4 b5-b4

Black has achieved quite a lot. He has seized space and his pieces are active. If he transfers his bishop to e3, his rook to the h-file and his king to the center, White's situation will be grave.

· . ··- '·· W'Mtl 10

B l ack has the two bishops, but White's pawns are placed better, and there are no weaknesses in his posi tion. Moreover, Black's light-square bishop is restricted. The simplest way to draw the game lay in the creation of a support point for the knight l .c3 b,. 4Jd4. But White chose to play l .4J e2-gl -f3, though the knight's position at f3 is unstable.

1 2 3

.£! e2-gl

.£igl-f3 .ld3-e2

g6-g5!? h7-h5

.£if3-d2 !

gf4-h4

• · · · · · · ·, · · �• • �..... . � �.

-�, . � �, , , : iD,�-�iD:-� · �;-wB • . � ·"if•" ·� · � '•'ft'• ,

- 11

/,

,_

-

-, , , , , , ,

"

.£i d2-f3?

The last drawing chance was to sur-


Karpov

r e n d e r the exc h a n·g e : 1 1 . F! f3 1 l . . .Axf3 t ( l l . . .Ae5 12.ms Ab8 t3.�f3 F!h2 14.c&1fl White is O.K.) 1 2 .c&1xf3 A e 5 1 3 .A e 4 ! F! f4 t ( o r 13 . . .�f6 14.c&1e2 Af4 15.�f3) 14.c&1e2 F!f2t 15.�d3 and White's position is tough to crack. Having missed this opportunity, White loses quickly:

11 12

c&>e2-d2?!

113

Taimanov Moscow 1983

gh4-h8

1

J,d3xf5!

Exchanging bishop for knight, White gains reliable control over the central dark squares.

1 2

� d2-t3

e6xf5 gc8xc2

2 ... d4 3.Axd4 'l'b5 4.�g5 h6 5.c4! 'l'c6 6.e6! ± . (Karpov)

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

�t3xh2 gn-h1 Ad3-n c&>d2-dl c&>dl-d2 c&>d2-dl

gh8-h2!- + g3xh2 J,f6-e5 J,c6-e4 c&>g7-f6 c&>f6-g5 c&>g5-g4

3

J,b2-d4

Blocking the pawn on d5, White cuts the bishop on b7 out of the game for a long time.

3

'itb6-c6

3 ...,1c5 4.�g5! .

4

'ith3-h4

5

e5-e6!

gd8-e8

White resigned.

White sacrifices another pawn, to free the strong central square e5 for


114

the knight.

5

f7xe6

6

.[\f3-e5

'l!tc6-c7

7

.[\ e5xg6

4f8-g7

7 ... hxg6? 8.'lh8t +-.

8

.[\g6-e5

9

'l!th4-g3

'l!tc7-e7

9.t'el ! ? b. gfl -f3-g3.

ge8-c8

9 10

gn-el

gc8-c7 The l a s t c h a nce was the pawn s a crifice 16 . . . d4 ! For exam p l e : 17.�xd4 Ae4 18.g4 ggs 19.gS h6 20.gh 1 gg6 21 .�gl gg3 22.gh2 gg4 with counterplay.

17

.[\ e6-d4

Now White realizes his advantage without much trouble.

17

11

.[\ e5-f3 !

Exchanging the dark-square bishops leaves White with a strong knight a g a i n s t a p as s ive b i s h o p , s t i l l restricted by its own pawns.

11

c&>g8-h8

12

Ad4xg7t

13

.[\f3-d4

'l!te7xg7

White has been constantly watchful to prevent Black from activating his bishop at b7 by the sacrifice d5-d4.

13

'l!tg7xg3

gb3-b6

18 .[\d4xf5 + -

gc8-f8

19

.[\f5-d4

grs-g8

20

gel-e7

gg8-g7

21

gdl-el

gb6-h6t

22

c&>h2-gl

gh6-g6

23

f4-f5

gg6-b6

24

ge7-e6!

gb6xe6

25

f5xe6

gg7-g8

26

e6-e7

gg8-e8

27

.[\ d4-f5

Ab7-c6

28

.[\f5-d6

ge8-g8

29

e7-e8'l!t

4c6xe8 gg8xg3

14

h2xg3

30

.[\ d6xe8

15

.[\ d4xe6

31

.[\ e8-f6

16

c&>hl-h2

Black resigned.


Stein

115

Averbakh Riga 1970

9 White's bishops exert strong pres sure on Black's queenside. White plans to induce then attack weaknesses on the queenside. Black lacks an active plan of counterplay (playing on the kingside can only produce new weaknesses i n his camp). Black's only stronghold is the d4 point. If White drives the knight out of there (e2-e3), Black will get counterplay against the weakened pawn on d3.

1 2 3 4 s 6

gn..c1
7

4e3-d2

7

ctl e7-

f5\

It is not too late to play 7 ... Af8.

8

e2-e3

After the rook exchange Black is hard pressed to defend the queen side pawns.

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

gblxcl .ld2xcl ctlb5-c3 c&>fl -e2 g3-g4 .lg2-c6

gc7xclt gcsxclt a7-a6 ctl e6-c5 c&>h8-g8 ctlf5-d6 .lg7-t8

ctl c6-d4 c7-c5 b7-b6 c5xb4 gb8-c8 gd7-c7?

This rook is best kept at d7 for d e fe n s e of the q u e e n side and, maybe, for an attack on the d3 pawn later on. Better was 6...Af8 /::,. �ef5, Aa3. With the idea e3.

ctlc3-b5!

� d4-e6

White's pieces dominate the light squares. Black's queenside is impos sible to defend.

16

t7-f5

16 ... bS 17.Ab2 Ag7 18.Aa3 �db7 19.4)c7 +-.

17 g4xf5 18 ctl d5xb6 + -

g6xf5 e5-e4


116

19 20 21 22 23

d3-d4 Acl-d2 .lc6-b7 a2-a4 .lb7-a8

4J c5-d3 4J d6-b5 4J d3-b4 4Jb5-d6 time

Black resigned. 23 ... aS 24.Ab4 axb4 25.aS.

Stein

Petrosian Moscow 1961

6

itd2-d l !

Intending 7.l!xt/! l!xf7 8.l!xt/ � 9.\'tf3t e8 1 0.Axe6 \'tc7 1 1 .Ad6 \'tb7 12 ..'1,xdS +- (Stein).

gb8-h6?!

6

He had to play 6... b4, bringing the b i s h o p into the defense. After 7.Axb4 White no longer threatens l!xt/.

7

,la3-cl

8

,lg4xe6!

gh6-h7

Black resigned.

Chigorin - Falk Moscow 1899

1

a3-a4!

With a pawn sacrifice White transfers his dark-square bishop to the impor tant a3-f8 diagonal.

1

,ld7xa4

It was better for Black to decline the sacrifice by moving his king out of the center. After 1 ...0-0 2.ga 1 grcs 3.Aa3 'ld8 /:::,. Ae8 and 'ld7 Black offer sames resistance.

2

gbl-al

b7-b5?

Cuts the bishop out of the game. Bet .ter is 2....'1,b5 3.,1a3 (3.l!xa7? Aa6) 3 ...'ld7 4.gt'3 /:::,. gan ± .

3

.lcl-a3

ite7-d7

Better is 3 .. :{td8 4.gt'2 gb7 S.gafl a5 /:::,. 6.\'tdl b4!.

4 s

go.a ga1-n

gb8-b7 '{td7-d8

5 ... \'tc8 6.\'tg5! +-; 5 ...�f8 6.l!xf7 \'txf7 7.l!xf7 l!xf7 8.Axf8 +- (Stein).

White controls the open h-file, so he has the advantage. But his bishops are rather passive.

1

c2-c3 !

Intending Adl -b3.

1 2

c&>f8-e8 .lt3-dl

4J d7-f8

2 ... d8 3.Ab3 \'tg7 4.Ae3 c6 5.,1e6 with the attack.

3

,ldl-b3

itg8-g7


Golombek

117

Steiner, H Stockholm 1952

B

4

J,d2-cl

Intending ghs, *h2.

4 s 6 7 8

ghl-hS 'lb2-t2 J,cl-e3 'lt2-h2

c7-c6 ga8-d8 {) e7-c8 b6-b5 b7-b6?

With this weakening Black simplifies White's task.

9 10 11

J,b3-e6! J,e3xb6 f5xe6

{)c8-e7 {)f8xe6 {) e7-g6

Black enjoys great advantage be cause his pieces are far more active than White's.

1

J,e8-b5 !- +

White's position is hopeless because of the passive bishop at b2.

2

a2-a3

J,b5-d3

3

'lc2-d2

J,c7-d6

4

a3xb4

a5xb4

s

'ld2-g2

'le6-h6

6

'lg2-t2

gb7-h8!

With the idea gf8.

12

ghS-h7!

White's bishop is superior to Black's rook.

12 13

ith2-h5

'lg7-g8

�

\

There is no defense against l h8 *xh8 15.�g6t
7

gel-el

gb8-f8

8

'lt2-g2

b4-b3

9

J,b2-cl

grs-cs

10

'lg2-t2

gc8-c2

White resigned.


118

Suetin

Bondarevsky Kharkov 1963

10 11 t

Ad3-c4!

The bishop is passive at d3, being locked in by its own pawn at e4. White sacrifices the pawn and trans fers the bishop to the crucial a2-g8 diagonal.

Ac4-d5

ge8xe7 ll'g7-f'8

l l . ..ge8 12.Axf7t! 'txf7 13.gxg6t '&>f8 14.Ac5t Ae7 15.gf6 +-.

12

gd6xg6t

Black resigned.

Stein

Filip Moscow 1967

t\'e5xe4

1 2

gelxe7 gf6xd6

ll'e4-e5

2...'txh4! ? 3.gxf?! gxf7 4.Ax:e6 gcf8 5.'{tg2 /:). gh1 +-.

3 t\'e2-t3 ± White's bishops dominate the board. Black has no counterplay. He hud dles in passive defense along the first three ranks.

3

gc8-e8

3 ... 'ltg7 4.Agl D. gdel , 'tg4.

4 s

gdl-el iil't3-g4

9e5-g7 Ae7-d8

5 ...�c7 6.,tc6 D. Ad4 +-.

6 7 s 9

Ae3-gl c&>bl-a2 gn.f6 ll'g4-c4

ge8-e7 gf'8.e8 h7-h5 � e6-c7?

More stubborn is 9 ...'\t>h7.

Black's king is in an insecure posi tion, which enables White to exert strong pressure on it. t

Ag2-e4!

Transferring the light-square bishop onto the strong diagonal.

1 2 3 4

Ae4-bt iil'g4-e4 Acl-b2

t\'d8-e8 �c4-e5 gf'8-h8 gat-a8


Smyslov

119

Reshevsky Zurich 1953

S

Ab2xeS!

A typical method. White cedes the

advantage of the two bishops, but he gets another advantage instead. Black's knight at e5 was a staunch d e fe nder of his king, and now White's attack in the presence of op posite coloured bishops is impossible to resist.

s 6 7 8

Affixes gas-al AeS-f6 gb8-h6?

gn-cl gcl-c7 gb3-t3

White has the advantage of the two bishops, but they are restricted by their own, and enemy, pawns.

1

Ab2-cl !

Tr a ns ferring t h e b i s h o p to e 3 , whence i t will support White's ac tions on the queenside (a3, b4).

1 2 3 4

gn..dl 'f!e3-f2 Acl-e3

S

ge2-c2!

'f!e7-c7 c&>g8-h7 �hS-f6 �f6-hS

More stubborn is 8 . . gf8 or 8. :{!tf7. .

9 10 11 12

gaxf6! '{te4xbl '{tbl-e4 'l'e4-d4t

Black resigned.

.

galxblt c&>g7xf6 '{te8-t7

With the idea a2-a3, b3-b4.

S

t7-G

Black complicates matters, forcing White to play with utmost accuracy. However, the freeing attempt back fires, because Black's king is weak


120

and opening the position favors the bishops.

6

e4xf5

g6xf5

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

d5xe6 e6-e7t J,g2-d5t .1d5-c6t e7-e8tl't J,c6xe8t J.e8-g6

{)b7-d6 c&>f8-t7 c&>t7-e8 c&>e8-t7 {)d6xe8 c&>t7-ffi

Black resigned.

Anand

Karpov Brussels 1991

7

g3-g4!

7 ... fxg4 8.'M'h4 +-.

8 9 10 11 12

J.e3xf4 tl'f2-h4t g4:xf5 c4xd5 gc2-d2

{)h5-f4 e5xf4 c&>h7-g8 d6-d5 tl'c7-e5 gd8-d6 White threatens to activate his pieces with c4!.

1

{)g6-e5

Preventing c2-c4.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

gd2-d4 c&>gl-hl tl'h4xf4 gd4xf4 gf4-g4 gg4-g6 gg6-e6 t3-f4 gdl-el

'l'e5-e3t ge8-e5 tl'e3xf4 ge5-e2 c&>g8-f8 {)c5-b7 ge2xa2 ga2-b2 gd6xe6

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

{)d3xe5t {)d4-e2 {) e2-c3 gcl-dl h3xg4 J.f2-e3 J.e3-cl 4c1-b2

ffixe5 h7-h5! J.d7-e6 h5xg4 gh8-d8 c&>t7-g6 gd8-d7

Black has the advantage because of his two bishops and the weakness of the f3 pawn. 9.gh l allows 9... gf7 10.gh3 e4 l l .fxe4 gn 12.exd5 Axg4 13.gd3 Af4 14.� a2 .U5 + and the g5 pawn becomes very dangerous.


d5-d4

9

The consolidation of Black's position is complete. Now he can start to at tack weaknesses. The knight will not long stay at e4.

10

� c3-e4

gd7-t7

11

.lb2-cl

.lc7-d8

12

gdl-hl

12.c3 � 13.cxd4 Axg4 b. gb3t; 12.m1 Ad5 13.{)d2 Ae7 b. Ab4.

gnx13

12

18 19

4cl-b2

121

e5-e4! 'llt7-g6

Black also wins with 19 ....£l,g6 20.gds e3 21 .Axd4 e2 or 20.ght gd6 2t .gd1 e3 ! 22.gxd4 e2 23.gf4t �e6! 24. .£l,c3 gdtt.

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

gh5-hl ghl-dl c2xd3 4b2-e5 .le5-d4 gdl-el "1bl-b2

gf6.d6 d4-d3 e4-e3 ! gd6-e6 e3-e2 .!Gxd3t

Now the e5 pawn is set in motion and

it ought to decide the game . 13

ghl-h8

14

� e4xf6

.ld8-f6

14.gbs Ad5 t5.{)d2 gt2 t6.gxb6 e4 17.gd6 e3 18.gxd5 e2 -+.

14 15

goxf6 gh8-d8 26

1 s.gbs Axg4.

.le6xg4

15 16

gd8-g8t

'llg6-t7

17

ggSxg5

.lg4-G

18

gg5-h5

.ld3-G?

Black throws the advantage away. He could win with the simple 26... �fS 27.�c3 �e4 28.gh t gh6! 29.ggt gd6 ! 30.gg4t �f3 3 1 .ggt Axb5 ! 32.axbS gxd4 33. �d4 \f;f'2 etc. or 28.Af'2 �f'3 29.Axb6 gxb6 30.�d3


122

gd6t 3 1 .c;l;>c4 gd l 32.gxe2 c;l;>xe2 33.b6 gbl 34.c;l;>c5 gb4 or 28.Agl gd6 29.Ah2 gd4 30.Agl fua4 31 .,1xb6 Axb5 etc.

27

.ld4xb6!

28

gelxe2

29

c&'b2-c3

30

c&'c3-c4

31

c&'c4-c5

32

b5-b6

33 ge2-a2

2

�b3-c5!

Exchanging Black's active knight.

=

Stein - Portisch Moscow 1967

2 3 4

� a4xc5 �b5-c7 � c7-e6

gesxcS gcs-es

4 ... -€)d5 s.gd 1 ! .

5 6

J,f4-h6 'ftfi-e2

'{td7-d6

White has successfully neutralized Black's counterplay. With the follow ing moves he continues to strengthen the position of his pieces.

6 7 gal-el 8 'fte2-g4 9 itg4-c4 ±

White has the advantage in statics: the two bishops in the open position and the weak e7 pawn. Assessment of the position depends on whether or not White will be able to attenuate his opponent's dynamics.

1

·�

White sacrifices a pawn. The hope of holding on to the pawn is illusory: 1...-€)xb2 2.-€)c5! 'l!tc8 3.'l!te2 b6 4.'l!txb2 bxc5 5.fuc5 ± .

�-� "��-8.-.. B� ,, 2 ,,, r/. '· · ·· · /, ,� �,,.. . . .�..-.·· ·· · · /,m �

.lcl-f4!

1

� e6-g7 J.G-d3 ,ld3-G

�

......

9

�

,,

; : �. . . . . �

itd6xe5?!

Black cannot hold on, he has no counterplay. White can strengthen his position still further.


10 l!elxeS 11 Ag2-n 12 l!e5xe7! + Th e rest is technique:

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

'ltc4xfi l!e7xt7 c&>glxfi Ah6-e3 c&>fi-e2 c&>e2-d3 c&>d3-e4 h2-h3 Ae3-c5. Ac5-f8

l!d8-dlt Af5-h3

123

seizes the g-file, thus transforming the advantage of the two bishops.

5 6 7

l!dlxfit Ah3xfi c&>g8xt7 �g7-f5 a7-a6 h7-h5 b7-b5 c&>f7-e6 a6-a5 a5-a4

�b3-d2 l!hl-fi

e7-e6 f7-f5

With the idea g4. Black resigned.

7

Bondarevsky Boleslavsky Moscow 1945

l!a8-a6? !

Black fai ls to use the main ad vantages of his position. After 7 .. b6! 8.�c4 .ll. g5 9.�g2 .ll, a6 10.b3 gac8 l l . h4 Af6 the bishop pair exerts strong pressure. .

B

8 9 10 11

�h4-g2 h3-h4 � d2-c4 b2-b3

c&>h8-g8 l!a6-b6 l!b6-c6

White intends 2.�xh4, b. 0-0, �f5.

1

'{tb6-g6!

Black forces an ending; he destroys his opponent's dynamics while enjoy ing the static advantage: two bishops in t h e o p e n p o s i t i o n p l u s the protected passed pawn in the center.

2 3 4 5

�t3xh4 'ltd3xe4 g2-g4 h2-h3

'{tg6xe4t d5xe4 c&>g8-h8

After 5.�fS .ll.xf5 6.gxf5 gg8 Black

11

b7-b6

Despite the loss of tempo, Black adopts the indicated plan of play.

12

gn.a

12.gxfS exf5 13.�f4 .ll, a6 14.dS .ll.xc4!


124

1s.gg 1 t 'f;f7 16.dxc6 Axf4 17.bxc4 gcs + .

12 13 14 15 16

J,c8-a6 lk6-d6 J,h6-g7 l!f8-c8

�c4-e5 g4-g5 c2-c3 � e5-c4

1 6 . g c l i s m i s t a ke n in view of 16... gxd4.

16 17

4a6xc4 l!c8xc4

b3xc4

And Black realized his material ad vantage.

Smyslov

-

Tai

Yugoslavia 1959

e5-e4!

6

The only counterplay. Otherwise 1.gb1 /J. �d2, g4, h4, g5, ,lg4. Seizing space is typical in the battle of bishops against knights.

7 8 9 10 11

d3xe4 �b3-d2 J,f3-dl c&>gl-fi J,e3-d4

12

J,d4xc5

l!c8xc4 l!c4-c2 l!c2-c3 �d7-c5 l!c3-d3

White has a static advantage - the two bishops and the possibility to play on the queenside. But Black's active queen makes counterplay pos sible (dynamics). For example, l ...e4 threatens.

1

'ltdl-d3 !

Exchanging the most active Black piece, White destroys his dynamics.

1 2 3

gn.c1 c2xd3

l!f8-c8 'ltb5xd3 g7-g6

3 ... �c5 4.�xc5 dxc5 5.d6!.

4 5 6

l!cl-c3 b2xc3 c3-c4

l!c8xc3 l!a8-c8

Exchanging a bishop for a knight is one way to realize the advantage of the bishop pair.

12

d6xc5

If 12 ...gxd2 13.,le3 gb2 14.gcl , then not 14... �xe4 in view of 15.gcst 'l;g7 16.,ld4t +-.

13

Clltl - e2

l!d3xd2t

13 ...gd4 14.f'3 and White's pawns are


very dangerous.

14 15

r&>e2xd2 r&>c12-c2

�ffixe4t � e4-d6

Reich er

125

Boleslavsky Bucharest 1953

t 5 . �xf2 16..!0 f5 17.gbl . .le7-ffi 1 6 .ldl-e2 ± ..

17 gal-bl lS r&>c2-b3 19 .le2-d3 20 f2-f4 21 gbl-fl 22 f4-f5 23 f5xg6 24 gn.al 25 gal-a2 h2-h4 26 27 g2-g4 2S h4-h5 29 ga2-al 30 gal-bl 31 g4xh5 . 32 .ld3xc4 33 ghl-fl + 34 gn.ffi 35 .lc4-e2t 36 gfl)xt7 37 gn-e7 3S ,le2-d3 39 '&'b3-b4 a5xb6 40 41 ,ld3xa6 42 ge7-e6 43 r&>b4-c5 44 .la6-d3 45 .ld3-g6 46 ge6-eS 47 r&>c5-c6 4S geS-e4t 49 .lg6-h7 50 .lh7-f5 51 .lf5-g4 Bl ack resigned.

r&>gS-f8 r&>t8-e7 r&>e7-d7 .lffi-d4 .ld4-e3 .le3-d2 h7xg6 r&>d7-e7 .ld2-b4 r&>e7-ffi .lb4-el r&>ffi-g5 .lel-d2 g6xh5 c5-c4t r&>g5-h6 r&>h6xh5 � d6-e4 r&>h5-g5 .ld2-e3 r&>g5-f4 � e4-d6 b7-b6 ,le3xb6 .lb6-d4 .ld4-e5 � d6-rT .le5-b2 �rT-gS ,lb2-a3t �g5-t3 r&>f4-g5 r&>g5-h6 r&>h6-g5

1

.le2-c4? !

1.0-0 ! ?.

1 2

h2-h4

,lc8-e6

White refuses to castle and leaves his king in the center. But the fight against the bishop pair is no joke!

2 3

g2-g4? !

.lg5-h6 .lh6-f4

White hopes to get the upper hand using the splendid position of his knight at d5�. Black strives to set up counterplay on the kingside.

4 5

'ldl-e2 c2-c3

gas-cs

The exchange of the d5� for the f4-.! is bad for White because it gives Black a superb post at e5 for his �.


126

4)c6-e7!

5

Boleslavsky - Tai Moscow 1957

The knight intensifies the pressure against White's blockading knight at d5.

6

gal-dl

Also after 6.�xe7t f/xe7 7.Axe6 fxe6 Black has the advantage.

6 7

4) e7-g6! h4-h5

7.g5 allows the strong 7 ... h5! ( 6. Ag4) 8.gxh6 Axh6 6. 4)xh4 or 4)f4.

7 8

Ac4-d3

4)g6-h4 tl'd8-g5 +

Black's pieces have mounted strong pressure on the kingside.

9

10 11

t:z-f3 ;>el-0

Af4-g3t

1

4) e3-d5!

A pawn sacrifice which opens up a battery for White's bishops. The pressure is difficult to withstand be cause of the offs ide position of Black's knight on a5.

1 2 3 4

e4xd5 gSxffi Acl-h6

s 6 7 8

Ac2-e4! tl'g3-f3 gal-dl Ah6-e3 !

Ae6xd5 tl'c6xd5 Ae7xffi grs.es

ti-fS! gbl-gl

1 l .ftgxf5 Axd5 12.exd5 4)xf5 13.Axf5 gxf5 14.gd3 e4 15.f/xe4 gem 6. ge5 !

+.

11 12 13 14 15 16

gglxg3 r&>O-g2 gdlxd3 gd3xd5 gg3xf3

White resigned.

4)h4xf3 f5xe4 e4xd3 Ae6xd5 tl'g5-h4! tl'h4xg4t

tl'd5-e6 tl'e6-e7 Af6-g7

The bishops at e4 and e3 are occupy the best possible position, attacking both flanks and the center simul taneously. Of course, if the black


Szabo - Boleslavsky

knight were active, such a position could never have arisen!

8

127

Budapest 1950

ges-f8

9

i!l'f3-h3

�h8-g8

10

i!l'h3-g4

,lg7-f6

11

gdlxd8

gf8xd8

12

gel-dl

� a5-b7

With his last move White has drawn b a c k h i s k n i g h t to g l a n d h e threatens now to win a pawn. Black is developed somewhat better and he tries to use this advantage to estab lish counterplay.

�b8-d7!

1

l ...4:)f4? 2 ..a,f3 ( /:,. g2-g3) 2 ... g5 3.g3 4:)g6 4.Ag4! ± .

13

Ae4xb7!

Once again, a common way to realize the advantage of two bishops is ex changing one of them for a favorable transformation of the position.

13

2 3 4

,le2xh5 i!l'dlxhS �gl-f3

g6xh5 �d7-c5

gdsxdlt

14

i!l'g4xdl

i!l'e7xb7

15

i!l'dl-d6!

�g8-t7

16

Ae3xc5

The precarious position of Black's king, White's active pieces and the chance to create a strong passed c-ft ensure White 's great advantage. Boleslavsky gradually transformed it to a win.

4

t7-f5!

Striving to activate the pieces. Worse is 4... 4:)d3t 5.�e2 4:)xcl t 6.!!axcl f5 in view of 7.4:)g5! h6 8.4:)e6! ± . A typical way of fighting the two bishops is to exchange one of them.


128

5

0-0

f5-f4

If 5 ... f:xe4 then 6.�g5 .US 7:*e2 /:,. �gxe4 and White's position is defen sible. In this variation we see one more way to fight the two bishops: the creation of s u p p o r t poi nts (squares protected by pawns and not attackable by the opponent's pawns; the central ones are especially impor tant) for the knights. With his move B l ac k has s e ized sp ace o n the kingside and prepares an attack against the white king. The semi o p e n g-file and the absence of White's light-square bishop make this attack more dangerous.

6

b2-b4

7

4cl-b2?!

� c5-d7

8

"tt d8-e7 �f3-g5?

9

� d7-ffi "tt h 5-h4

9.f/d l
£2.tJ gn.ct � c3-dl

�g4-e3 c&>g8-h7 4g7-ffi

1s 16 17

'l'th4-£2 �dlxe3 'tt £2xe3

grs-gs! f4xe3 4ffi-g5

The second pawn sacrifice allows the dark-square bishop to join the fray.

"tt e3-e2

,1g5xd2

A typical way to realize the ad vantage of the two bishops is to ex change one of them to transform the position favorably.

19

'le2xd2

h7-h6

9 10

12 13 14

18

Better is 8.�d2 /:,. f/e2.

8

�ffi-g4!?

The second bishop joins the attack.

Better is 7.�g5 �f6 8.*h4 h6 9.�e6! ,b:e6 10.dxe6 f/e7 1 1 .f/h3.

7

11

Still better was 1 1 ...�h7! 12.£3 �h5 13.f/f2 Af6 14.�e2 gg8 15.�hl f/e7 /:,. Ah4 and
�g5-f3

10.
10 11

"tt e7-f7 �f3-d2

Black threatened 1 1 ...
19

Ac8-h3 !


20

g2-g3

'ltt7xt3

>:kl-c3 c4-c5 'ltd2-c2

'ltf3xe4 gg8-g7 'lte4xc2

+ with the initiative

21 22 23

4

129

b5xa6

The ending is won for Black because h i s pieces are more active and White's d5 pawn is weak.

24 25 26 27 28 29

>:k3xc2 gel.fl gnxt7t c5xd6 gal-el Ab2-cl

ga8-f8 gg7-t7 gf8xt7 c7xd6 g17.f3 ga.d3

4

Black won in a few moves.

Stein

-

Karpov Riga 1970

B

gasxa6?!

I t would be bette r to bring the bishops into action: 4 ...,lc5 5.�f3 ( 5 .gft ,lb5 6.� e2 ,lxe2; 5 . � h l �b2; 5_ge2 .lb5) 5. . .*g6! ( /J. *g3) 6.�e2 ( /J. 6 ... ,lxh3 7.�f4) 6 ... dxe4 +. After the text move Black's advantage becomes minimal.

5 6 7 8

galxa6 Ac2-bl �g3-e2 � e2-f4!

'{tf6xa6 d5-d4! d4-d3

� a5-c6!

1

Black sacrifices a pawn for the two bisho ps, which are very strong in an o pen position. Black's activity in creases rapidly.

2 3

.id4xf6 a4xb5

'ltd8xf6

The strength of the bishop pair shows in the variation 3.exd5 �b4 4. :gxe8 gxe8 5 . axb5 ,lxb5 6.gb t li'lxd5 7.,lb3 *xf2t 8.<&>xf2 ,lc5t 9.g4 ,ld7t 1 1 .'&'h4 .i\e7t 12.'&>h5 �f4 mate.

3

� c6-b4!

At8-d6?

8

After 8 ... ,lb5 the passed d-ft, sup ported by the two bishops, ensures Black's advantage because the extra b-ft cannot influence the course of events.

9

�f4xd3 !

�b4xd3


130

10 11

Ablxd3 .tld2-t3 !

1 1 ..:�a6 12.e5 ! .

12 13

'ldlxd3 l!el-dl

'la6xd3 Ad7-bS AbSxd3

The game was later drawn.

Khasin - Stein Tallinn 1965

B 6 7 8

l!dl-el l!fl-tl

Else 8 ... b4 9.�dl �d2.

8 9 10

1

c&>g8-h8!

As a compensation for the exchange Black gets an extra pawn, the ad vantage of the two bishops, the strong knight at e5 and the weakened position of White's king. If 1 . . .gfe8 ? , then 2 . A h 5 'fte7 3.�6! 'f!xf6 4.gg1 t <;ih8 5.Ag5 'ftg7 6.Ah4 'fth6 7.'f!e3 ! +-.

2 3 4

Ah6xf8 l!al-dl At3-g2

With the idea �c4.

s 6

'ld4-tl 'ltl-h4

.tl c3-e2 .tl e2-g3

t7-fS! + .tl eS-c4 .tl c4xb2 .tlb2-c4 Ag7-d4

The dark-square bishop, having lain in ambush for so long, enters the play.

11 12

ga.e2 .tlg3xe4

fSxe4

12.Axe4 �e5! /J. �f.3 and gg4.

12 13

.tl e4-gS

'lc7-g7

More stubborn was 13.�g3 ! . =�=.ii

l!a8xf8 gt8-d8 Af6-g7

l!d8-g8

White overestimates his position. He ought to prevent Black from activat ing his pieces. He must, in particular, control the f7 point, tieing down the black knight. For example: 6.gd2 ( /J. gfdl or �dl in case of b5-b4). If that were not bad enough, 6.'f!h4 is a tac tical inaccuracy.

13 14 15 16

4g2xb7 'lh4-e4 'le4xe6

Ad4-e3! Ae3xgS d6-dS 'lg7xb7

131


Black won.

move, 6.�fl ,1d7, White's position remains difficult.

Eliskases - Stein Mar del Plata 1966

B

B l a c k h a s a clear advantage i n development a n d White's king i s stuck i n the center. Black must act resolutely because his advantage is temporary.

1 2 3

.le3xd4 � c3-e2

� c6-d4! c5xd4

5 6 7

'l'd3-fi �gl-e2

.le6-f5! .lf5xe4!

7.fxe4 �xe4 6. �g3t and 6. 'la5t.

7 8 9

�f4-d5 c4xd5

.le4-b7 .lb7xd5 �f6xd5

White soon gave up.

Polugaevsky Boleslavsky

3.'l,txd4? �xe4!.

Riga 1958

B

3 4 5

it d2xd3 � e2-f4?!

d4-d3 ! b6-b5

After 5.�d4 'la5t Black's bishops enter the game energetically: 6.'ld2 'lxd2t 7.\11xd2 �xe4 +. Or 6.'lc3 '16'xc3 7.gxc3 �xe4. After the best

1

.lg7-e5 !

Black sacrifices the exchange or a piece (in the event of 2.h4 6. h4-h5) to keep the advantage of the two bishops, the dark square one being especially strong. If White accepts


132

Akopian, Gaguik Boleslavsky

the exchange s a crifice, Black's queenside attack becomes irresis tible: 2.Axf8 �xf8 3.'th6t �g8 4.h4 .ib7 5.h5 gc8 6.Ad3 d5 ! 7.gdfl Ag7 8.'te3 dxe4 9.hxg6 fthxg6 10.Axe4 'te5 ! -+ (Boleslavsky).

2

h2-h4

!.c8-b7

3

h4-h5

grs.cs

4·

h5xg6

h7xg6

Moscow 1965

B

Thus White's attack comes to an end.

5

9d2-e2

Black threatened 5 ...Axe4 or 5 ... �a4.

�b6-a4

5 6

�b3-d4

� a4-c5

6... 'tc5 ! ? 7.j\e3 Axe4.

7

!.fl-g2

8

�e2-c4

9c7-a5

Black is a pawn up, but White's pieces aim squarely at Black's king fortress.

1 2

9e5-f4 !.d4-e3

2 � c5-a4? !

8

Black wins with 8... Ac6! ( /j. Ab5), for example: 9.a3 bxa3 10.�xa3 gab8 1 l .Ad2 'tb6 12.j\c3 � a4 1 3 . 'tb3 �xc3 14.�c3 Aa4.

9

9c4-d3

� a4-c5

10

9d3-c4

�c5-a4

Draw.

9f4-c7!

Black declines the repetition, having decided to surrender the exchange.

3 4

!.e3-h6 !.h6xf8

g7-g6 !.e7xf8

For the exchange, Black has a pawn, the bishop pair, and potential con nected passed pawns in the center. And it is far from easy for White's rooks to find something to do.


133

With the support of the bishops Black's pawns have become for midable. They will soon demolish the pawn cover of White's king.

5

.ld3-e2

White's defensive plan is not the best. The top priority was to prevent the advance of Black's pawns: 5.�e2 6. get , and then <£)c3-e4-g5 is pos sible, having in mind counterplay on the kingside.

5 6 7 8 9

'ldl-fi !'tal-el ,le2-dl !'tg3-e3

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

!'tel-dl !'tdlxd8 'lfi-el !'te2-d2 � a2-cl !'td2-e2 !'te2-d2 ,lc2-dl !'td2-d8

'ld6-c7 'l'c7xd8 'ld8-d4 'ld4-e5 f5-f4 � e8-d6 �d6-f5 �g8-h7

e6-e5 .lf8-g7 !'ta8-d8 h7-h5

f4-f3!

25 White resigned.

Evseev

Flohr Moscow 1949

B

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

a2-a4 b2-b3 �c3-a2 h2-h3 !'te3-e2 c2-c4 .ldl-c2

e5-e4! 'l'c7-b6 'lb6-b4 'l'b4-d2 �ffi-e8 'l'd2-d6 a6-a5 t7-f5! +

1

�d7xe5!

i...ge8?! 2.Ae3 a6 3.fS ± (Panov -


134

9

Flohr, USSR,1934).

2

d4xe5

2 3 4 S

,1d3xh7t ite2xg4 c&'gl-hl

�f6-g4! c&'g8xh7 itd8-d4t �fa8-c8

Black has the bishop pair; the b7-A is especially active. Black dominates the center, White has difficulties developing the cl-A. Compensation for the gambit is plain to see.

9 10 10 11 12

�

Biel 1985

�g3-h5?

itg4-h3

g7-g6

7.�f6t Axf6 8.exf6 gc2 - + .

7 8

itd4-d3! lk2xg2 !Ig2xh2t

Van der Wiel Polugaevsky

..

B l ack easily parries White's un prepared attack. Better was 6.'l!te2 'l!tc4! 7.'l!tf2 'l!td3 + .

6 7

itg3xd3 �f6-g4

�k8-c2!

White resigned.

,,,.� :t �� ...

ite3-g3

10.'litxd4 gxg2 - + .

� �•

� L �w.:

6

ith3-e3

9.'l!tb3 gb4 10.,1e3 gch8 1 1 .,1gl Ac5! -+.

�hS-f6t

lU'8-h8 ct/h7-g7

White holds the center and uses it as cover for an attack against the king. First he needs to regroup: to free the third rank for the rook and transfer the bishop to c2.

1

Ae3-t2

!Id8-b8


2 3

b2-b3 a2-a4!

a6-a5

It's important to strip the opponent on the queenside.

of counterplay

3

3 . . . *b7

�f6-e8

4.ge1 ga6 5.gce3 gb6 6.Adl

bi itd3, Ah4, Ac2.

4 5

,.c2-d3 !Ifl-el

!Ia8-a6 !Ia6-b6

13 14

135

d6xe5 � e8-f6

f4-f5! •d2-h6

14 ... f6 15.fxg6 *g7 16.*h5 +-.

15 J.tl-h4 + 16 f5xg6 17 •h6-g5 18 gh3-IP 19 •g5xe7 20 h2xlP

!Ic8-c7 t7xg6 !Ic7-d7 �f6-e4 � e4x1Pt

Black resigned.

Martinovic - Timman Amsterdam 1985

B

6 7 8

4f3-dl ! 4dl-c2 ,.d3-e2

,.c7-b7 � e8-f6 �f6-e8?!

9.Axe4 Axe4 10.he4 he4 1 1 .gxe4 gxb3 12.gxb3 gxb3 13.f5 e5 1 4.ge l ! Cll f8 ( 1 4 . . . gb4 15.gd l ± ) 15.ga l ! bi Ael ± .

8 . . . �xe4

9 10 11 12

!Ic3-IP

.. e2-d2

e4-e5 !IIP-h3

•h7-e7 !Ib6-a6 !Ib8-c8 g7-g6

The position is open, which favors the player with two bishops. The main drawback of White's position is the placement of his king.

1

•d8-d6! +

Preventing White's castling. Now the white king has to remain in the cen ter where it comes under attack.

2

caiel-e2

2.g3 gds 6. t/c6 -+.

2 3

!Ihl-dl

!If8-d8 .d6-c6

With the idea 4... gxd2t.

4

4c4-b3

4.Ad3 hg2 5.Ae4 t/h3 + (5 ... hb2? 6.ghl ).

4 5

�d2-e4

b7-b6

White has huge difficulties defend-


136

Simagin

ing his kingside. Bad is 5."1fl because of 5 ... Axh2.

5 6

c&>e2-el

Petrosian Moscow l956

.lc8-a6t �g8-g7

Intending f5.

7

f2-f4

There is no other defense agaii:ist f7f5, but the position opens still fur ther, to Black's advantage.

7 8

g4xt3 g2xt3 Black is in danger because the light squares near the king are difficult to protect. How can White take ad vantage of this situation? The actual moves in the game were:

1

1 ..Q,e4!

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

t7-f5! c&>g7-h8 'tc2-g2t gasxd8 gdlxd8t gcl-dl gd8-e8 'tc6-b5 .lb3-d5 c3-c4 'lb5-b4t {) e4-d2 ,le5-g7- + e3-e4

15."1f2 *c3 + -

1 2 3

,ld2-a5?!

bxa6 2.*d3 *b6 3 ..Q.g2 +-.

White has wasted time and now Black gets dangerous counterplay because of his extra pawn at d3.

4

!.c2-a4

.

15

iil'b4-d6

With the idea c6.

16 17 18 19 20

b7-b6 {)g4-e5 d4-d3

,la5-d2 'lt3-g2

'tg2-g3 'tg3-h4 ,ld5-t7 c&>el-f2 ,lt7-h5

White lost on time.

f5-f4 c7-c6 geS-d8 gd8-f8 'td6-d3

-�

�·

� � ..... . . ;�R�?

"

. . ..

�� .. . . . . . . ¥.

4

...

. .

':&m·��· �. ?

.

- �I'.

4d6-c5?

j

1 Black had a good opportunity to l

seize the initiative: 4 ... b5! 5 . .Q,xb5 'l!tb6 and if now 6. .Q,a5 then 6 ...'h:b5

J ]


137

7.,!xd8 itxa6 with compensation for th e material, or 5.Aa5 *c6 6.*xc6 ( 6 Axd8 � f3 t b,. bxa4) 6 . . . 4:)xc6 7 .,!xd8 bxa4 +. .

5 6 7 s 9 10

gel-cl b2-b4 Aa4-b3 Ad2-f4 'f/g2-c6 tl'c6-e4

'f/c7-f'1 Ac5-d4 'f/f'1-e7 b6-b5 'f/e7-d7 Ad4-b6

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

tl'g8-a8! gc2-d2t Af4-e3 tl'a8-e8t g3-g4t tl'e8-a8t gd2xd4t

�c7-d6 Ac5-d4 'l>d6-e6 'l>e6-f5 'l>t'S-e4 gd7-d5

Black resigned.

Kasparov

Hjartarson Belfort 1988

1 1 gcl-dl ± Winning the passed d3 pawn. White aims to deprive his opponent of counterplay. There are a lot of weak nesses in Black's position, so the realization of the advantage of the two bishops will be simple.

11 12 13 14 15

gdlxd3 Ab3-f'1 Af'1xh5 tl'e4-h7!

gd8-e8 tl'd7-c8 geS-e7 'f/c8-c4

1 5 . .�J3 ! ?.

15 16 17 18

gd3-d2 tl'h7-g8 gd2-c2t

'l>b8-c7 tl'c4xb4 ge7-d7 Ab6-c5

1

e2-e4!

The decision to liquidate an isolated d-ft is not commonplace, but White opens an important diagonal for the light-square bishop. The two bishops will exert strong pressure on Black's queenside.

1 2

4) c3xe4

d5xe4 4)f6xe4


138

2 . . . �d5 3.\\td6 ! . A queen trade is usually good in realizing the bishop pair, e.g. : 3 ... gxc l (else 4.gxc8 b. \\txe7 and �d6) 4.gxcl \\txd6 5 . .£ixd6 gbs 6.£4 g6 7.g4 ± .

�k8xcl i!te7-d6 b7-b6 5 ... \\tb8 6.\\tf3 b5 7.b4 b. \\tc6 ± . i!td6-b8 6 gc1-c6 t7-ffi 7 i!te3-c3 Ae6-f5 b2-b4 8 <&>g8-h7 9 h2-h3 'l'b8-d8 10 Ad4-e3 11 'l'c3-d4 4J d7-e5 3 4 5

i!tf4xe4 gdlxcl i!te4-e3

The two white bishops, acting along adjacent diagonals, are very strong. Black's position is grave.

12 gc6xb6 + -

'l'd8-c8

12 . . . \\txd4 13 .Axd4 Axh3 1 4.AxeS Axg2 15.
13

<&>gl-h2

geS-d8

14 15

4g2-e4t

Af5xh3 !

15.Axh3 �f3t 16.!f/g2 .£!el t =

15 16 17

i!tc5xc8 Ae3-c5

18

Ae4-bl?

.

<&>h7-g8 Ah3xc8 ffi-f5

It i s wrong to l e av e the h 1 - a8 diagonal. Better is 18.AaB ± .

18 19 Abl-a2t 20 gb6-d6 = 2 1 <&>h2-g2 22 £2.f3 23 Aa2-e6 24 <&>g2-gl

gd8-dl 'l>g8-h7 4J e5-g4t Ac8-b7t gdl-cl gcl-c2t

Draw.

Campora - Popovic Bor 1985

14

i!td4-c5?

Strong was 1 4.gd6 gxd6 1 5.\\txd6 \\tc2 16.Ad4 ( 16.\\txa6 is dangerous because of 16. . . Ae4 with counter play) 16 ... \\te2 ( 16 ... .£id3 17.\\te7 +-) 17.\\tdS! Ac2 18.a4 ± and then not 18 ...Axa4 in view of 19.Ae4t g6 o 20 .\\tb7t !f/h8 2 1 .\\tbBt + - !f/g7 22.\\tc7t !flh8 (22 . . . .£if7 23 .\\te7) 23.\\tdSt b. \\te7 +-.


1

Ae7-d8!

Black enjoys significant static ad vantage because of his two bishops and pawn center. B lack's central pawns significantly restrict White's minor pieces. By playing 1 . . .Ad8, Black tries to improve the position of his dark-square bishop by moving it to the strategically important gl -a7 d i a go n a l . B l a c k a l s o p re p a re s 2 ..ga8-a5, driving White's queen out of the kingside.

139

9 'le2-c4 10 �bl-al a 11 gdl-bl

'la8-b7 ltg8-b8

11

'lb7-a7

.

2 3 4 s

c2-c4 lklxc3 'lhS-e2 ghl-dl

b4xc3 gas-as Ad8-b6

Now Black activates his pieces and creates targets to attack in the enemy camp.

s

Ab6-cS

With the i�ea 'l'e8-b8-b6 and gg8-b8.

6

14.Afl oo .

12 13 14 15 16 17

'lc4-d3 � c2-a3 � a3-c2 {) c2-a3 {) a3-c2 'ld3-d2

ltaS-bS ltbS-b4 ltb4-bS ltbS-b4 ltb4-b7

f4-5?!

This en ables Black to drive the knight at d4 out of the important central point, while the weakness of the d5 square is difficult to exploit.

6 7 8

ll ... gb5?! 12.b4! axb3 13.gcxb3 'l;g7

�d4-c2 Ah3-g2

e6-eS Ad7-c6 'le8-a8 +

Black has increased his pressure in the center significantly, as a result of e rroneous 6.f5?!.

17 18

ltc3-d3

18.'l'h6? gxb2! -+.

18 19 20 21

'la7-aS! 'l'aSxd2 �h8-g7 ltb7-a7! �g7-f8 +


140

Utasi - Sax

21 ...hS!?.

22

Shirak 1985

b2-b4

Better is 22.!!d3.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

!k3xb3 !!blxb3 � c2-e3 .Qg2xe4 � e3-d5 h2-h3 �d5-c7

a4xb3 l!b8xb3 !!a7-a4- + Ac6xe4 !!a4xe4 <&>f8-g7 !!e4-d4 White has seized space in the center and on the kingside, he is preparing an attack against Black's king.

1 Ag2-fl ! ±

White prepares to transfer his bishop to the b l -h7 diagonal, whence it will exert pressure on the kingside and support the pawn advance e3-e4 as well.

29 h3-h4 30 31 <&>al-bl D � c7-e8 32 33 � e8xffit 34 �ffixh7 35 �h7-g5 36 �g5-f7 37 �f7-h6t 38 �h6-g4 39 �g4-h2 h4-h5 40 41 �h2-fl White resigned.

<&>g7-h6! e5-e4! <&>h6-h5 <&>h5-g4 <&>g4xf5 d6-d5 f7-ffi !!d4-c4 <&>f5-e6 ffi-f5 d5-d4 d4-d3 !!c4-c2!

1 2 3 4

Afl-d3 Ad3-bl Ab2-cl

5

a3-a4!

�b5-d6 b6-b5 �d6-c4 b5-b4

It is better to abstain from opening the position on the queenside be cause White is weaker there.

5

!!a8-a7


16 17 18 19

�g3-h5! �h5-f4 gh2-b2 gb2-b8

141

g7-g6 �dl-e3 g6-g5

19 ... gxf4 20.h5 +-. Black resigned.

Kupreichik

Gurgenidze Belgrade 1988

6

h2-h4!

6.e4?! dxe4 7.�xe4 �d5 +.

6

'td8-d6

6 ... �h7 1.gh2 �f8 8.g5 ! hxg5 9.hxg5 'lbxg5 10.«l}f2 g6 l l .e4 b. gel-bl with an attack.

ga.g2 7 ... �h7 8.�f5 ± . 8 g4-g5! 9 Aclxb2 1

b4-b3

b3-b2 ge8xe3

1

�t3-h4!

2

tl-f4!

g7-g6

9 . .. �xb2

10.'lc2 +-; 9...�h7 10.'ld3 �f8 1 1 .,'1.cl b. e4.

10

g5xf6

1 1 gelxe3 + 12 ge3-e8t 13 .lbl-h7t 14 ge8xf8 15 gg2-h2

� c4xb2

�b2xdl 'td6-f8 c&>g8xh7 4c8-h3 4h3-e6

The true reason for the previous move. White plays to open diagonals for the bishops. Not 2.,'1.xe4? fxe4 3.'/bxe4 g5 b. �d4 + , of course.

2 3 4 5

�h4-t3 gal-cl d2-d3

ga8-c8 gc8-c7 � e4-ffi h7-h6?!

This only weakens the pawn struc-


142

ture near the king. Unlucky is 5 ... e4? ! in an attempt to create the outpost for the knight at e4, as 6.�d2 exd3 7.'txd3 � a5 (otherwise e3-e4) 8:(!td4 ( /::,. gfel, e3-e4) and White keeps his advantage. M o r e s tubborn was 5 ... ges.

Uhlmann

Botvinnik Munich 1958

B

1

b6xa5!

Black gets the supported b6-square, whence the knight blocks the b-file and attacks the weak c4-ft.

6 7

4)t3-h4! e3-e4

Cfg8-h7 f5xe4

2

gn.al?

White feels no danger. Better was 2.e4! ? f4 3.e5 dxe5 4.Axh7t �h8 5.Ae4 with counterplay.

2 3

galxaS

4) d7-b6

3.f3 Aa6 + .

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

f4-f5! 4)h4xf5 'l'c2-d2 4g2xe4 d3-d4! d4-d5 4)f5xh6 gc1xn

Black resigned.

g6xf5 'l'e7-e6 4)ffi-g8 Cfh7-h8 4)c6-e7 'l'e6-d7 gmxnt

3

.1b7-e4! !

Black employs a n important method of fighting the two bishops: exchanging the more active one, which here also plays an important role in the defense of the weak c4 pawn. B ad is 3 . . . .£ixc4 ? 4.Axc4 "l!txa5


5. Axe6t /J. gxb7 ± .

4 5

.ld3xe4 'ltc2-b3

f5xe4

143

6 ... ,1xe2 7.gxcs Axfl 8.Axg7 mate.

5.�e4 4)xc4 6.�e6t 'l!'/t/ - + .

5 6 7 8 9

4)b6xc4 'ftb3xc4 'ltc7xa5- + 'ftc4xe6t !fg8-h8 gb2-a2 'lta5-c7 'lte6xe4 'ltc7-r7

White resigned.

Simagin - Zagoriansky Lvov 1951

7

gclxc4!

7.Axc4 gxc4 8.Axe5 gxcl 9.'l!'/xct dxe5 /J. 4)b7 oo .

7 8

.le2xc4

4) a5xc4 gc8xc4

8 ...4)xc4 9.gt/ �gs 10.Axg7t gxg7 1 1.�xg7 +-.

9 .ld4xe5 10 'ltfixc4 + 11 4)h5-f6 1

d4-d5!

White's pawn structure is very weak, but he counts on the dynamic chan ces of attacking Black's king. The last move prepares a transfer of the bishop onto the important a1 -h8 diagonal. At the same time the bishop b7 and knight a5 are excluded from the game.

1 2

.la3-b2!

d6xe5 g7-g6 gg8-f8

1 1 ...gxfS 12.4)xg8 'l;xg8 13.d6t 'l!'ft/ 14.'l!'/c8t +-.

4) e4-g5 .lb7-a6

2 . . . �xe3t 3.'l;h t ( /J. 'l!'lh4, 4)h5) 3 . . . 4) f7 4 . 4) e 6 4) e5 s . g c 3 � h 6

( 5. . .'l!'/e4 6.gf4 +-) 6.gh3 'l!'lg6 7.gg3 ±. .la6xc4 3 .lb2-d4 ge8-g8 4 4)f4-h5 €)g5-r7 gnxrs s 4)rT-e5 6 itel-fi !

12

d5-d6!

ite7-d8

12 ... �d6 13.4)e4 'l!'/dl t 14.gft +-.

13 14

'ltc4-h4 grs.n

Black resigned.

grs.n


1 44

Simagin

-

Gusev Moscow l952

4

White's pieces a re very active. White's bishops, supported by the queen, exert tremendous pressure on the position of the black king. White starts a tactical melee.

I

Ad3-c4

2

gbI-dl

b3-b4

4.*c3 ! ? *e4t 5.r&1al *e7 6.h4 /j. h4h5-h6 ± .

Ac5xb4

4

4 . . . ,1b6 s.gn *xe3 6.*xe3 Axe3 1.gd1 /j. gd7 ± .

ith5-t3

s itd3-d4! + White's pressure on g7 decides the game.

2

Ab6-c5

2 ... ge7 3.,1f6! ,1c7 (3 ... gxf6 4.gxf6 ± with the initiative) 4.*d4 *e4t 5.�e4 fue4 6.gd7 ±.

3

itd6-d3

3 ... ge7 4.,1xg8
s

itt3-e4t

6

itd4xe4

Gxe4

7

gdI-d7

4)g8-e7

8

4c4-e6

b7-b5

9

h3-h4!

There is no defense against the h4h5-h6 advance, so Black resigned.


146

White is a pawn up and his passed b5 p awn is d a n g e r o u s . S o B l a c k 's bishops need to be very active.

t7-f5!

1

It's natural that Black wants to open the game. Trading queens gives noth ing l ...'tb6 2.ga 1 ! .

10

c&>gl-fi !

10.rf/h2? 'te3 1 1 .�dS 'tg3t /:::,. f3 - + ; 10.rf/hl f3 1 1 .�d5 'tf'2 12.'tfl 'tc2! (12 .. :�a2 13.gd l fxg2t 14.'txg2 'tb3 1 5 .'tfl with counterplay) 13.gxf3 ,! e 5 1 4 . 't g l ( 1 4 . f4 't e 4 t - + ) 14...,!d7 with the initiative /:::,. gas.

2

10

e4-e5!

White cannot prevent the opening of the game, but he tries to derive max imum benefit from it. Bad is 2.exf5 Axf5 3.f)g3 Ad3 4.ge1 rflf7 + ( t::,. �xb2). Black's bishops are strong.

h7-h6

2 3

Ag5-h4

d6xe5

3 . . . 'tb6 4.ga l ! '1]f8 5.'txb6 f)xb6 6.exd6 exd6 7.ga7 ;;!;; .

f4-f3

10... 'te3 1 1 .�dS.

11

g2-g3?

After 1 1 .f)dS ! fxg2t 12.rf/xg2 ,!b7 1 3 . rf/ f l ! W h i te h a s s u ffi c i e n t counterplay.

11 12

'lb6-e3- + �c3-dl

12.�dS 'td2 13.f)f4 g5 -+.

4

'ta7xc5

� c4xb2

12

5

l!fi-bl

�b2-d3

13

c&>fi-tl

4c8-e6

6

'tc5-c4

� d3xf4

14

'tc4-d3

l!e8-a8

7

� e2xf4

e5xf4

15

d6-d7

2Ja8-a2t

8

d5-d6t

c&>g8-h7

16

2Jbl-b2

lta2xb2t

9

4h4xe7

'ld8-b6t

17

� dlxb2

'le3-e5


147

3.exd6 'tgSt 4.'i\?bl 'txf"S + ; 3.f6 gxf6 4.'tg4t AgSt 5.'i\?bl f5 6.'tg3 C\\' h7 7.h4 (7.gxd6 'tc7 8.Ae2 Ae7 /1 gg8 +) 7 ...Ae7 8.exd6 Af6 + .

'ld8-gSt

3 4

17 18 19 20 21

'lgSxeS

Black wants to exchange queens be cause with �he reduced material his static advantage of the bishop pair will dwarf whatever dynamic pos sibilities White's pieces have.

.le6xd7! ,ld7xb5 'le5-c7 .lg7-d4t 'lc7-aSt

.le7-a3 'ld3xt3 �b2-dl Cftl-el

'llc l-bl

S

'lil'e2-g4

White resigned.

Horvath, T

-

Dorfman Lvov 1984

B

'leS-gS

s

5 ... Af6? 6.exf7t gxt7 7.Ad3 ;t . White's threats appear irresistible. For example : l . . .d5 2.'tg3 AgSt 3.1\\'b l /1 h4 ± ; 1 ...'tc7 2.fx:e6 fx:e6 3.exd6 +-; 1 . . .0-0 2.f6 gxf6 3 .'tg3 t 'i\?h8 4.exd6 +-. But Black's bishops tackle the matter easily:

1 2 3

'lel-e2 f5xe6

�

.le7-h

0-0

\

6

.lfl-e2

6.exf7t gxt7 7.'te6 'te5 8.'lxd6 'txd6 9.gxd6 gaf8 + .

'lg5xg4

6 7

.le2xg4

.lb7xg2

8

ghl-gl

.lg2-b7

9

gdlxd6


148

20

.ld7xa4? 20.<1Jxa4 gn + . 20

gel-h l !

White cannot salvage his h-ft.

9 10

.lh4-tl! e6xt7t

10.gfl fxe6 1 1.Axe6t �h8 b. Ac5 + .

10 11 12

ggl-dl gd6-d7

lU'8xt7 Atl-c5 gas-es +

The ending is in Black's favor be cause the position is open, and when play is carried on both flanks, the two bishops are superior to a knight and a bishop. Now Black plans to ex change rooks and create a passed pawn on the kingside.

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

a2-a3 b2-b4 gdl-d3 .lg4xd7 c&>bl-b2 c&>b2-b3 a3-a4

g7-g6 .lc5-f8 !U7xd7 geS-elt h6-h5 g6-g5 b5xa4t

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

h2-h3 gd3-g3 c&>b3-b2 gg3xg5t gg5-c5 .la4-c6 Ac6-b7

.lb7-c8 Ac8-e6t ghlxh3 .lf8-g7- + h5-h4 Ag7-d4 gh3xc3

28.gxc3 h3 29.Axa6 Ad5. White resigned.

Kasparov - Ivanchuk Moscow 1988

One way to combat the bishop pair is to established a protected square for a knight. The knight at e4 restricts White's bishops effectively. White aims right at it.

1

g3-g4! ±

'l'd8-e7

1 . ..fxg4 2 . .£le5! �xe5 3.Axe4 <£lg6 4.Axg6 hxg6 5.'lxg6 Ae6 (5 ... gf8 6.Ah6 gxft t 7.gxft 'f!e7 8.Axg7 'lxg7 9.'le8t +-) 6.gbs! ( b. ghS) Ad5 7.Ah6 ge7 8.Ag5 +-.

2

g4xfS


149

Andersson - Marovic Banja Luka 1978

2

.fl e4-d6

2 . . . ,1xf5 3.4Jg5 ! g6 4.4Jxe4 Axe4 s ..a.xe4 �e4 6.'M'xe4 gxe4 7.fub7 4Je7 8.fuc7 4Jf5 9.fuc4 fue2 10.a4 ±.

3 4 5

.flt3-g5! Ag2-d5t 'ltc2xe2

'lte7xe2 �g8-h8 gesxe2

1

b2-b4

�bite delays gaining the bishop pair, first prying open the queenside.

1

.fl c5-d7

• t� • • , • a •-� i(W,,,, ,,, /.�1 • • • • • · ��J, � i f�, � y�

... ...

,.,.f � i· :. � £JfJ � • 7�� •

• ·¥� !��

£. ""' '�--�� "· w � L ,?,� ,-¥� � . ,, . . . . /,. �� . ..�;�¥� � ��JN� � .'¥�'�/. • -_ ,'@. '� .!.!.· " f.��f.� • • •� •!!� .e.

.e.

.!.!.

2

6 Acl-f4 + -

.fl c6-d8

6 ... ,a.xf5 7.,1xd6 Axb l 8.4Jf7t 'it1g8 9 .4Jd8t \tlh8 10.ms mate.

7 8 9 10 11

Af4xd6 gbl-el gnxel geI-e7 fS.ffi

Black resigned.

c7xd6 ge2xel Ac8-d7 ,1d7-C6

e2-e3 !

White wants to pin the bishop at e6 along the e-file. Opening the game favors the p l ayer with the two bishops.

2 3

... gn.e1

d4xe3 h7-h6

3 ... exf2t 4.'M'xf2 gf6 5.b5 ± (5.Ad5 ! ? ± ).

4 .flg5xe6 5 gelxe3 b4-b5 6 b5xc6 7 8 ge3-d3 ±

'lte7xe6 'lte6-f7 gas-cs b7xc6


150

With such an open position Black's queenside pawns make ready targets.

8 9

gd3-d6

4Jd7-e5 grs-es

Black resigned.

Benjamin - Razuvaev Dortmund 1985

9...�c4 10.�c4 4Jxc4 1 1 .fug6 +-.

� . •.. • •.... • ••• ' "• �. -1 -� .•. �. ." l� .•

:�� "VJJ ifm' , · · : ·- -�f;; •

· • ·�" • '0 ' • �·••!1.�� • •• 10

";% ''11

•

•

:iWb,

.!f4xe5

Transforming the advantage of the two bishops. Now White wins a pawn and gets fine chances to attack Black's king with the bishops of op posite colours.

10 1 1 gd6xc6 12 gc6xc8 13 .!g2-d5 ± 14 gdl-el 15 'l!l'c2-a4

15.J�c7 16.�e8; 15 ... a6 16.Ab7.

16 gel-e6 17 'l!l'a4-a6 18 i!l'a6-a3 19 i!l'a3-b2t 20 'l!l'b2-e5 + 2 1 i!l'e5xh8t 22 ge6xg6 23 gg6xh6t 24 gb6-e6 25 ,!d5xe6 26 ,1e6-d7 27
,!g7xe5
i!l'd6-d8 .!d4-b6 gc8-c7
White is better developed and looks forward to an attack against Black's king. However, in parrying White's threats, Black will open the center for his bishop pair.

1

e6xd5

1 . . .ftcxd5 2 .A b 5 t 1;e7 3 . e5 fxe5 4.4Jxe5 f6 5.�b4t �d6 6.�d6t 1;xd6 7.4Jf7t 1;e7 8.4Jxh8 Ah6 with com p e n s a t i o n for t h e m a t e r i a l (Razuvaev).

2 3 4 5 6

i!l'd8-d6

0-0-0

e4xd5 .!fl-b5
0-0-0

c6-c5 gh8-g8 .!b7xd5

··�-

•. • � 11� --" . i-"%!,. "' "%!, ';c-;� - - � �1 � � � � � ; � � � �•lf�''"" .• . .• ' � �·

�

�

//,

r

,..

�

�

· =" },·�'� · · = • ;; � �-- �. ��fti },� 11'.!!f

�'@2

� 11'80

•'f• �- "•".Er


7

151

c&ibl-al?

Better is 7.Ac4! Ae4t 8.Cifla2 't}Jc7 (8 . ..'l!txd l ? 9.fudl fudl 10.'l!txf6 Ag7 1 t .'l!txf7 Abl t 12.c&?b3 gf8 13.'t}Je6t \flb8 14.�e5 +-) 9.'[hf6 (9.gxd8t �xd8 10.Axf7 gg7 1 1 .Ae6t Ciflc7 1 2.ge1 f5 +) 9 ...fudl 10.fudl Ag7 t 1 .'t}Jxf7 'l!txf7 12.Axf7 Axt'3 13.gd3 D A e 4 1 4 . g e 3 g f8 1 5 . A e 6 t Ciflc7 16.fue4 :!'.!xf2 +.

7 8

.lf8-g7 itc3-c2

11 12

.lg7-h6

D

'ltf4-f5

1 2. 't}J a 4 Axf3 1 3 .'t}Jxa7 gxd 3 - + (Razuvaev).

12

f6-f5! +

8

Sacrificing a pawn, Black opens the important h8-al diagonal.

9

itc2xf5t

10

'ltf5-f4

itd6-e6

1 0.Aa6t
.ld5-b7

10 11

.lb5-d3

'lte6xf5

13

.ld3xf5t

c&ic8-c7

14

gdlxd8

gg8xd8

15

.lf5-g4

t7-f5

16

.lg4-h5

gd8-d3

17

�f3-e5

gd3xa3t

18

b2xa3

.lb7xhl- +

19

� e5-f3

.lh6-g7t

20

c&ial-bl

4g7-f6

21

c&ibl-cl

b6-b5

22

h2-h4

h7-h6

23

c&>c2-d3

a7-a5

24

c&>d3-e2

a5-a4

25

4h5-g6

4f6-b2

26

,lg6xf5

.lb2xa3

White resigned .


1 52

Ilyin-Zhenevsky Ragozin Leningrad 1929-30

B

5

4b7xf3 !

5 ... gac8 6.�g5.

6

White enjoys the advantage of the two bishops. He need only complete his development for the bishops to show their strength. But Black is first to use his dynamic advantage, supe rior development.

1

b7-b5!

With a pawn sacrifice, Black ac celerates the development of his queenside.

2

f3xe4

4c8-b7

3

e4-e5

4

4)gl-f3

41 f6-d5

4 . * d 2 f6 5 . exf6 � 7x f6 6 . � f3 (6.0-0-0 �e4 � �f2) 6...�e4 7.*d l ( 7 .*e2 �f4; 7.*c l �f4) 7 . . . *f4 8.*e2 *g4 + with the initiative.

4) d5xc3

4 5

'{te2-d3

ga8-c8

7 8 9

0-0

gal-el 'lf3-h5

4)d7-b6 a7-a5

9.*g4 �bd5 10.gf3 a4 1 l .,'1.xd5 �xd5 12.gg3 g6 13.c3 *e7 - + .

9 10 11 12

gn.f4 gf4-h4 gel-e3

'l'c7-d7! a5-a4 h7-h6

12.gg4 axb3 13.�6 *"d4t - + .

2.*"b5 a5 3.*c4 *b6 with compensa tion for the material.

2

'l'd3xf3

Black has regained the pawn and c r e a ted exce l l e n t c o u n te r p l ay . White's bishops are harmless and he has chronic weaknesses in his camp.

12 13 14

ge3-g3 Ab2xc3

a4xb3 t7-f5


�k8xc3?

14

Furman

gg3xc3

16

'lh5-dl?

Kha sin Moscow 1958

14 ... cflh8! 15.cxb3 f4 16.gd3 gxc3 - + .

15

1 53

b3-b2

16.gb3 �c4 b. gf8-a8-a3 + .

16

�b6-c4

1 6 . . . b 4 ! 1 7 . axb4 ( 1 7 . g b 3 b x a 3 18.gxa3 �c4 - + ) 17...gas - + .

17

gc3-b3

'ld7-e7

White has a strong setup in the cen ter, therefore he can start advancing on the kingside.

18

1

g2-g4!

2

d4xe5

� d7xe5

gh4-h3?

1 8.gf4 ! gas 1 9.*b l �d2 = ; o r 18. . .ih:a3 19.gxa3 �xa3 20.gfl b l * 21 .�bl �xbl 22.gxb1 gcs = .

18

'le7-g5 !

19

gh3-t3

20

h2-h4

�c4-d2

20.gg3 �xb3 ! 21 .gxgs �cl - + .

�d2xt3t

20 21

gb3xt3

'lg5-cl

22

go.n

'l'c1-e3t

23

gn.a

b5-b4

24

a3-a4

grs-d8

25

'ldl-bl

gd8xd4

White resigned.

d5-d4!

2

A counter in the center is the right response to a flank attack. 2 ...*d7 3.gxf5 ,1xf5 4.,!xf5 gxf5 5.e4 +-; 2 ... g6 3.gxf5 gxf5 4.gg2t with the initiative.

3

ga2-g2


154

d4xc3

3

Better was 3 ... dxe3. Then 4.gxf5 Axf5 5.Axf5 gxf5 6.'lg4 'IIB. 7.,1xe3 is im possible due to 7 ... �c4 8.Acl �xe5 - + . Worthless is 6.gxg7t ? c&>xg7 7.'lg4t c&>h8 8.'lxf5 'lg8! + 9.'lg5 (9.c&>hl 'ld5t - + ) 9 ... 'lf7 10.'lf6t �f6 1 1 .exf6 �c4 + . But White retains some advantage after 3 ... dxe3 4.,1xe3 'ld7 (4...�c4 5.Acl ± b. gxf5) 5.gxf5 Axf5 6.Axf5 �5 7.'ld5t c&>h8 s.gdl � -

4 5 6

7

g4xf5 J.d3xf5 itdl-g4!

f4-f5 ±

e5-e6

e3-e4 M-dl

� a5-c4 itd8-f8

11

J.c1-g5

12

e4-e5

�c4xa3 c3-c2

13

ltdl-fi

h7-h6

14

f5-f6

c2-clit

15

J,g5xcl

� a3-b5

16

e6-e7

ltb7xe7

17

f6xe7

itf8xe7

18

e5-e6

lta8-f8

19

ltfixf8t

ite7xf8

20

J,clxh6

Black resigned.

Timoshchenko Khalifman USSR 1987

B

.!e6xf5 �U8xf5 ltf5-t7

The central pawn roller destroys everything in its way.

7 8

9 10

-&'g8-h8 M-b7

White is a pawn up, but that is insig nificant in the evaluation of the posi tion. Black's bishops and king exploit the unfortunate positions of White's king, and knight at f3. By pinning this knight, Black can even try to win.

1 2 3

c&'tl-g2 J.b3-dl

J,d6-c5t J,d7-c6


a5-a4!

3

Black nails down a second weakness far away from the n knight: the a2 pawn. Erroneous is 3 ... �g4? 4.a4! when the d 1 bishop can defend the a4 pawn and the knight at f.3 simul taneously, allowing White to escape from danger, e.g. 4 ... Ae3 5.h5 ! ? cflxh5 (5 ...Axg5 6.�f2 = ) 6.�g3 = .

4

h4-h5

White cannot just watch the events passively, for example 4.Ae2 a3 -+ weak square a2 and there is no defense against Ac6-d5.

4 s

g5-g6

a4-a3

An attempt to get counterplay.

6

1 55

.lc6-d5!

6 . . . Ad4 7.calfl ! ! Axf.3 8.Axf.3 �xn 9.�el �e4 10.�d2 �f5 1 1 .�c2 cflxg6 12.�bl = It is impossible to drive the white king out of b 1 . .

7

c&>g2-fi

More stubborn is 7.�h2 Axa2 8.�d2 ,le6 9.Ab3 a2 10.Axa2 Axa2 - + . The resulting position is theoretically won.

7 8 9 10 11 12

41 t3-el .ldl-e2 41 el-c2 41 c2-al .le2-dl

12 13 14 15

.ldl-b3 41 alxb3 c&'fi-e2

,ld5xa2 .la2-c4t a3-a2 .lc4-b3 .lb3-d5

h7xg6

S

5 ... h6? 6.g7 Ad5 7.Ab3 Axb3 8.axb3 a2 9.g8f/ alf/ 10.f/g3t �e4 1 1 .f/g6t �ds 12.f/d3t Ad4 13.f/xd4t f/xd4 14.�xd4 cflxd4 15.calf.3 +-.

6

h5xg6

.lc5-d4- + .ld5xb3 c&>f4-e4 c&>e4-d5


156

16 17

c&'e2-d3 c&'d3-c2

.ld4-g7 c&'d5-c4

Wh ite has no useful move. 18.� aSt <&> b 4 19.�b3 <&>a3 Zugzwang.

Polugaevsky - Ivkov Yugoslavia 1972

6

fJa3-d3 !

Preparing e3-e4.

.lc8-b7

6 7 White's bishop at g2 and queen at b3 exert strong pressure on Black's queenside, so it is difficult to develop the bishop at c8. White needs to transform his temporary activity (dynamics) into a stable material or positional advantage (statics).

1

4) eS-d3 !

Now Black cannot save his important dark-square bishop.

1

ga8-b8

1...Aa7 2.Ad2 gbs 3.gacl ± .

2

.lcl-d2

b7-b6

2 . . b 5 3 .A a5 bxc4 4. Axc7 gxb3 5. �xc5 ± .

e3-e4

f/a7-a8

7 . . . �d4 8.b4 ± or 8.Ac7 ! gbc8 (8 ... Axe4 9.Axb8 +-) 9.Ab6 *b8 10.b4 +-.

8

gn-e t

9 .la5-c7 + -

4)f5-d4 .lb7-c6

10

.4,c7xb8

ge8xb8

11

gal-cl

.lc6xa4

12

e4-e5

4)ffi-d5

13

�c4-d6

'l'a8-a7

14

'l'd3-c4

f/a7-d7

15

fJc4xcS

�d4-b3

16

fJc5-c8t

fJd7-d8

17

'l'c8xb8

fJd8xb8

18

gct-c8t

f/b8xc8

19

�d6xc8

.

3 4) d3xc5 4 fJb3-a3 ±

b6xc5

White has the advantage of the two bishops and targets to attack on the queenside. Black has no compensa tion for his positional concessions.

4 5

.ld2-a5

fJc7-a7 gd8-e8

Black resigned.


Furman - Bannik Leningrad 1957

White enjoys the advantage because he has the two bishops in an open p o s i ti o n . He also h a s a strong centralized knight on d5 and Black's pawn on c7 is weak. The pride of Black's defense is the knight on d4, but its centralized position is un stable.

1

*dl-d2

a7-a5

i ...ges 2.gfel '/hd6 3.b4 �f5 4.c5 ± .

2

gn-el

�d4-f5

Black has no useful moves. 2 .. '/hd7 fa i l s to 3 . g e 4 ± . W h i te c a n strengthen his position with gad l , '/hf4. .

3 4

2:1al-dl .£lg2-h3

*d8-c8 t7-ffi

White threatened 5.axg7 6. '/hf4 ± .

157

5

gei-e7!

grs.n

6

ge7xt7

�g8xt7

7

*d2-f4

�c6-e5

g

4h3xf5

A typical method of realizing the advantage of the two bishops is to transform the advantage.

g6xf5

8 9

.£lb2xe5

10 *f4-h4 ± 11

*h4-h5t

ffixe5 *c8-d7 �t7-f8

12 �d5-b6 + - *d7xdlt 13

*h5xdl

c7xb6

14

*dl-d6t

�f8-g8

15

*d6xb6

lfa8-e8

16

*b6xb7

f5-f4

17

c4-c5

e5-e4

18

g3xf4

e4-e3

19

tlxe3

ge8xe3

20

c5-c6

.£lg7-d4

21

�gl-g2

geJ.e2t

22

c&>g2-f3

ge2-e3t

23

�f3-g4

Black resigned.


158

Cebalo - Hort San Bernardino 1987

s.gdt �c4 6.Axc4 gxc4

5

=.

� d2-c4

5 ... .rib3 6.gcz � a l 1.gd2 Axc3 8.bxc3 gxc3 9.Axa5 ± weak square b7.

6

4b6-d4!

6.,1xc4 gxc4

1

=.

Ad4-f2! !

U !tc2? ! gxd4 2.gxd4 �b3 3.Axb3 lbd4 =F .

1

�c5xb3

Avoiding the queen trade would only worsen the position: l ...*c7 2.*c2 b. .riaz.

2 3 4

4f2xb6 gdlxd2 4c4-b5

gd8-d2t �b3xd2 grs-cs

The skirmish resulted in a position which may be favorable for White because of the two bishops and weakness of the a5 pawn. But Black also has his strong point - counter play along the c-file. How can White neutralize Black's counterplay?

6

� c4-d6

6 ... �xb2 7.�e2 gxcl s . .rixc l .rid t 9.� a2 ± .

7 8

4b5-e2 e4-e5

8 ... �c4 9.�a2 ± .

9

10

4e2-b5

�ffi-d7 � d6-e8

� d7-b8

f3-f4

White seizes space in the center and continues his strategy of restricting Black's knights. White's attention finally comes round to the weak a5 pawn.

10

c&>g8-f8


1 1 Ad4-b6 12 c&'g2-t3 13 4Jc3-a2 14 4J a2xcl 15 4J cl-b3 16 Ab6xa5 17 4Jb3xa5 + 18 4J a5xb7 19 c&'t3xf4 20 c&'f4-g5 21 Ab5xe8 22 4Jb7-c5 a4-a5 23 24 a5-a6 25 b2-b4

4 5 6 7 8

t7-f6 c&'f8-t7 2:k8xcl c&'t7-e7 4Jb8-d7 Ab4xa5 f6xe5 e5xf4 e6-e5t 4J d7-f6 c&'e7xe8 c&'e8-e7 c&'e7-d6 4Jf6-e8 c&'d6-d5

Ac4-n gclxc7 gal-cl gclxc7 4J d2-c4

159

Ab7-d5 gcsxc7 4J d7-t8 1ite7xc7 4Jt8-e6

Black resigned.

Botvinnik - Furman

.am m m

.1d5xc4

USSR 1961

• �•• m •�· -,,ri ·-- -"� ;�-� • i i�.l� · �"1Mrr • ' ,/,� -�·- - ��f /,-

� -� •·

Black must part with his bishop due to the weakness of the d6 pawn. w

--�{:�},� �· � . > % � � � � & • � 7, "% -}, � � �� J� .& ..

f��r�-0.,l , ��t� --%'111 · �6··%'11 f � �� 6 -!> �B-'1 t � ·!t..J 8

�� - ·- la �¥� m � �"�m /, y,

1

"-

�

b4-b5

Preparing to transfer the bishop from b2 to the more active a3-f8 diagonal.

1 2

1itdl-a4

2:fa8-c8

White strives to use the strategic power of his bishops, so he is going to eliminate Black's counterplay by ex changing major pieces.

2 3

3.'1f1xa7?? ga8 + -

3

!k8-c7

gn-c1 .

gm-cs

10

1itb4xc4

After the exchange of queens Black loses his last hope of counterplay. Less good is 10..bc4 d5 1 1 .Ae2 �c2 with counterplay.

10 11 12

Aflxc4 .1c4-a2

1itc7xc4 d6-d5

Now White has the position he wanted. His bishops are much more active than Black's knights, which have to protect the weaknesses in their camp. It is very important that White's bishops make the activation of his king possible.

12

c&'g8-t8

The attempt to exchange queenside pawns j ust makes matters worse: 12 . . . .£) c 7 ? ! 1 3 . a4 a6 1 4 . a5 ! .£)d7 14.bxa6 bxa5 15.,1c3 +-.

13 14

a3-a4 Ab2-a3t

c&'t8-e7

The bishop transfers to the more ac tive diagonal.


1 60

rf/e7-d7

14

23

J,f4xd6!

The right moment to transform the advantage.

23 24 25 26 27

'l;>h4-g5 h2-h3 'll>g5-h6 J,a2-b3

rf/e6xd6 'l;>d6-e6 � d7-ffi �ffi-h5

27.1Jxb.7 4:)f4 with counterplay.

15 16

tl-t3 Aa3-f8

. 27 28

rf/h6xh7

28 29 30 31 32

J,b3xd5 'l!>h7-g7 h3xg4t J,d5-e6t

�h5-g3

� e6-c7 g7-g6?

The defense should not create weak nesses, e.g. 16... 4:) e6. Now White's king can get to the kingside via the dark squares.

17 18 19

rf/gl-tl 'l!>tl-g3 J.f8-h6

rf/d7-e6 �ffi-d7

Intending A h6-f4 to exploit the weakness of the a7 pawn.

19

f7.f5

19 ... a6 20.Af4 +-.

20 J.h6-f4 21 'l;>g3-h4 +

� c7-e8

The white king's march decides the game.

21 22

t3xe4

� e8-d6 f5xe4

rf/e6-f5 g6-g5 g5-g4 rflf5xg4

Black resigned.

Portisch - Timman Montpellier 1985


1

t3-f4!

S a crificing a pawn, White opens the most important al -h8 diagonal.

�ffi-e4 If Black closes the position ( l ...e4), 1

will lose counterplay and White will be able to consolidate his position on both flanks: f)d2-bl -c3, 'if2d2, h3, ctl f2, ggl etc. he

2 3 4

4 . .. .flxf4

�d2xe4 itf2-g3 e3xf4

5.'ic3 'ie5 7 . Axe5 ± .

5

.lb2-cl

5 .. . m7 6.Axe4 ± .

16 17 18 19

ith4-f4 ID7-f8t itf4xf8t .lc4-g8t

1 61

g6-g5 ge8xf8 f/h8-h7

Black resigned.

Petrosian

Botvinnik Voronovo 1952

B

fSxe4 e5xf4 grsxr4

D

6.'ixe5 dxe5

gf4-h4

Black goes after the bishop pair.

1 2

a2-a3

2 ...'ixb2? 3.�a4 +-.

3 4 5

6

gdl-dS!

e4-e3

6 ... ,1xd5 7.cxd5 !J. Acl -g5 +-.

7 8

.lclxe3 .le3-g5!

gh4xc4 ite7-d7

9.gd2 �xg5 1 0.'ixg5 /:J. 1 1 .'ixdS and l l .Ab3 +-.

8 . . . 'i g 7

9 gds-d2 10 .lc2-b3 11 .lb3xc4t 12 itg3-h4 + 13 gd2-f2

1 3 .. . dS

� e6xg5 �g5-e4 f/g8-h8 gd8-e8 itd7-g7

14.gxe4 dxe4 15.'if6t 'ig7

1 6.�xg7t
14 15

gf2.f7 f/gl-hl

itg7-d4t h7-h5

.lg5-h4 .lh4-g3 h2xg3

itd8-b6 h7-h6

g7-g5 �h5xg3 .lf8-g7

Black has the advantage of the two bishops. In compensation, White has the semi-open h-file, but it is almost useless because the h5 square is hardly accessible to his knight.


1 62

6

.lfl-d3

Letelier - Botvinnik, Tel Aviv 1964 went 6.gc1 'll f8 ! (Surprisingly, this is the best position for the black king. The rook at h8 must be kept on the h-file.) 7.b4 (This is too sharp, the queenside is weakened) 7... g4 8.flgl ( 6 �g1 -e2-f4) 8 ... a5 (Black strives to open the position to use the strength of his bishops) 9.� a4 f/d8 10.b5 .£ie7 1 1 .Ad3 ( 1 1 .f/xg4! ? e5 + ) 11 ...e5 ! (Continuing the strategy o f opening play and activating the bishops) 12.dxe5 Axe5 (Black continues the dark-square strategy that he started by capturing White's dark-square bishop.) 1 3 . � e 2 f/d6 14.'ll f l h5 · 15.f/b3 b6 16.gd1 Ab7 17. .£if4 gh6! (Bringing the rooks into the game) 18.'l/gl ( 18.�xh5 ( 18.gxhs? Axf4 + ) 18 . . . d4 1 9.exd4 Axd4 20.'ll g l ? AxfZt 21.'llxf2 f/d4t 22.'llfl f)d5 -+) 1 8 . . . gcs 1 9 . A e 2 ( 1 9 . .£ixh5 d 4 ! 20.exd4 Axd4 21.�f4 gxhl t 22.'l/xhl Axf2 - + ) 19 ... d4! (Opening the posi tion and improving the mobilty of his pieces) 20.exd4 Axf4 21.gxf4 f/xf4 -+ 22.f/e3 f/xe3 23.fxe3 gc2 24.Afl .£if5 2s.ge1 �g3 26.gh2 �xfl 27.'llxf l gf6t White resigned.

6

c&>e8-f8!

10

ii)h2-fl

g5-g4

Restricting White's pieces and block ing his pawns. The weakening of the f4 square is unimportant

11

ii)fi-d.2

itb6-d8

Preventing �c3-a4-c5 and preparing h6-h5. The loss of time does not mat ter because the position is closed, though it is possible to open it with e6-e5 at any appropriate moment.

7

9

It is difficult to find a better place for Black's king. The main drawback of such moves in general is that the rook on the h-file has difficulty entering the game, but in this position the rook at h8 is very active.

ii)f3-h2

h6-h5

Preventing 8.f/h5 and at the same time restricting the white knight to h2.

8

.lla l-cl

9

ii) c3-b5

.lc8-d7

11

e6-e5!

A crucial move. It activates Black's ; bishops.

12 13 14 15 16

t\'dl-b3 ii)b5xd4 e3xd4 c&>el-dl .llc l-c7

e5xd4 ii)c6xd4 tl'd8-e7t .lg7xd4


t6.t'xb7? Aa4t - + .

16 17 18

1!hl-el 1!c7xb7

163

seems his chances are better .

.!d4-b6 i!l'e7-d6

1 2 3

c5xb6 b6-b7

b7-b6!! 1!c8xcl

Perhaps Black has miscalculated, how can he stop the b7 pawn?

18 19

.!d3-b5

1!h8-h6! .!d7-e6

Keeping his very useful defender of the light squares.

20 21 22 23

24

25 26

tl-f4 g4xt3 1!a8-c8 4) d2xf3 4)f3-e5 i!l'd6-c5- + 1!b7xt7t c&>f8-g8 1!t7-t3 i!l'cS-cl t 1!c8-c2t c&>dl-e2 i!l'cl-d2 c&>e2-fi

3 4 5 6 7

b7-b8'1' .!b5xc6 c&>b4-a5 .!c6xd5

4) e6-d8! 4)d8-c6t 1!cl-blt 1!blxb8

The combination resulted in dynamic equilibrium. Black won the exchange for his pawn, but the activity of White's bishops more than fully m a k e s up fo r h i s i n s i g n i fi c a n t material loss.

White resigned. 27.Ae2 i!td4 -+.

Alekhine - Keres Bad Nauheim 1936

B

White's position is more active and it

7 8 9

,!d5-c4 g2-g4

c&>e7-d6 c&>d6-c7 .!e8-c6


1 64

10 11 12 13 14

g4-g5 f2-f4 h4xg5 f4-f5 Ac4-e6

'8'/c7-b7 f6xg5 gbs-es .Qc6-e4

14.f6 gxf6 15. gxf6 gf8 16.f7 Ag6 17 ..Q.c5 l!xf7 =

pawn, which is supported by his king and two bishops. Black's a5 and b4 pawns are weak, it is hard to defend them.

1

d5-d6t

2

.!c4-b5t!

'8'/e7-d7

.

2.Axf7?! .£)f6 and Black's pieces are actjve again.

2

ge8-f8!

14

Simplifying to bishops of opposite colour is the easiest way to equalize the game. 14 ... g6? 15.f6! l!xe6 16.f7 +-.

15

'8'/d7-d8

.Qd4xg7

grsxrs = t

Draw.

3

'8'/c5-b6!

With the idea 4.,ll.xe8 Ci\?xe8 5.1;c7 +-

Smyslov - Evans Helsinki 1952

3 4

.£i e8-f6 .Qf4-g5!

A good example of the advantageous transformation. When the bishop is exc h a nged fo r t h e k n i g h t , t h e kingside pawns will b e worthless.

4

For the time being Black is two pawns up, but White has the ad vantage because of his passed d5

.Qt3-d5

5

'8'/b6xa5

b4-b3

6

'8'/a5-b4

.!d5-e6

7

.Qb5-a4!

'8'/d8-c8

8

.Qg5xf6!

g7xf6


27 28 29 30

1 65

g3xf4 f/b6-c6 f/c6-d6 f/d6-e6

ffi-f5 t7-ffi ct/b8xb7

Black resigned.

Sloka

Nikolaevsky Bojarka 1986

B 9

d6-d7t!

9.Axb3 would throw the advantage away 9...\tld7 10.Axe6t fxe6 1 1 .\tlcS e5 12.b4 e4 13.bS e3 14.b6 e2 15.b7 el'li!' 16.b8'li!' = .

9

f/c8-d8

9 ...Axd7 10.Axd7t \tlxd7 l l .\tlxb3 +-

10

4a4-b5

f/d8-c7

10 ... AdS 1 1 .\tlcS Af3 12.\tld6 Ag4 13.Ac4 Adl 14.Axf7 h6 15.,1e6 Ac2 16.AdS Adl 17.\tle6 Ac2 18.Ac6 +-.

11 Ab5-c6 12 4c6-a4 13 c&>b4-c5 14 4a4xb3 15 4b3-d5 + -

f/c7-d8 f/d8-c7 Ae6xd7 4d7-e6

The passed b-ft ensures an easy win for White.

15 16 17

b2-b4 b4-b5

f/c7-d7 f/d7-c7 4e6xd5

l 7...�d7 18.b6 \tlc8 19.\tld6 +-.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

ct/c5xd5 f/d5-c4 ct/c4-c5 b5-b6t f/c5-b5 h2-h4 f/b5-c6 b6-b7t f/c6-b6

f/c7-b6 f/b6-b7 f/b7-c7 f/c7-b7 h7-h5 f/b7-b8 f/b8-c8 f/c8-b8 f5-f4

The bishop on b5 is shut out of the game, so Black can consolidate his position in the center and on the kingside.

1 2

e4xf5?

t7-f5!

He had to keep the position closed with 2.h3 f4 3.ge2 gdl t 4.gel gd3 +.

2

g6xf5 +

Now Black's bishops burst into ac tion.

3

g2-g4


1 66

3 4 5

ge3-el �t3xe5

G-f4! Ae6xg4 Ag4-h3

Nezhmetdinov - Szabo Bucharest 1954

White has problems with his king.

6 7

t2-t3 Ab5-d7

gd6-e6

7.�d3 .ll d4t 8.
7 8 9 10 11

ge6xe5 Ah3xd7 gelxeS Ad7xa4 ges-e4 Aa4-b3 ge4-e6 ge6xb6 Ab3xc4- +

The passed c-ft, supported by the two bishops, decides the game in Black's favor.

White's advantage is evident, but not easy to realize because the position is blocked. White needs to open the game to get at Black's weakened king position.

1

gal-bl!

Before starting the crucial opening of the center, White diverts Black's rook away from e8.

1

gb2-b8

1...gxb 1 ? 2.gxb 1 ± ; t ...geb8 2.gxb2 gxb2 3.£4 ± .

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

gb6-c6 c&>gl-g2 gc6xh6 gh6-d6 gd6-c6 h2-h4 h4-h5 h5-h6 gc6-c7t h6-h7

White resigned.

Ag7-d4 t Ac4-d3 c5-c4 Ad4-e3 c&>g8-t7 c&>t7-e7 Ae3-d2 c4-c3 c&>e7-d6 Ad3xh7

2

gblxbS

gesxb8

3

t2-f4! ±

gb8-d8

3 . . . exf4 ? 4 . e 5 ! dxe5 5 . d 6 ! .ll d 8 6:hg6t +-.

4 5

f4xe5 itd3-g.1

d6xe5 ita5-c7


1 67

With the open center they will en sure a stable advantage.

1

�b6-a4

l ...,1e7 2.�a5! ± .

2 3

�b3xc5 .ld3-c2

� a4xc5 e6-e5

O n 3 . . 0 - 0 4 . e 5 ± f/c7 5 . ,1 f4 White's advantage is clear. After the next move the f5 point is weakened. .

4 5

6

ltfi-dl .lcl-gS

'ld8-e7 �d7-f6

.lgSxffi!

The right moment to transform the advantage.

6 7 8

d5-d6! 'lg3xg6t

.le7xffi ltd8xd6 �g8-f8

8. Ag7 9.Axf7t�f8 10.Ae6 +-. 9 'ltg6xh5 .lf6-g7 ltd6-f6 10 ltel-bl 11 �gl-hl <&>t8-g8 ltf6-h6 12 .lc4-d5 + lth6-f6 13 'lth5-g4 'ltc7-d6 14 ltbl-b7 15 �hl-h2 ..

Black resigned.

Naumkin

Yanovsky Moscow 1986

6 �f3-h4! 7 �h4-f5! ±

.lb7-c8

The weakness of the f5 square forces Black to exchange his light-square bishop for a knight, after which White gets the upper hand in the center.

7 8 9 10 11 12

.lc8xf5

e4xf5 ltdl-dS ltal-dl 'lte2-d2 ltd5-d6

0-0

� c5-d7 ltt8-d8 lta8-a7

White aims to transform his enor mous positional advantage into a material one, so he turns his atten tion to the black queenside pawns.

1

� d2-b3 !

White strives to get the two bishops.

12 13 .lc2-b3 14 .l g5 -e3 + -

'gd8-c8 h7-h6 lta7-c7


1 68

Citron

14 ...�c5? 15.;ad8t +-.

Botvinnik Munich 1958

B

15

gd6xa6

� d7-c5

16

.le3xc5

ite7xc5

17

itd2-e2

e5-e4

18

ga6-aS

itcSxtS

19

gasxbS

gc7-cS

20

gbSxcS

itfSxcS

21

h2-h3

gc8-e8

22

ite2-c4

itc5-a7

23

itc4-d4

ita7-as

24

.lb3-c4

itaS-gS

25

itd4-e3

itgS-hS

26

gdl-d4

geS-eS

27

a3-a4

geS-gS

28

ite3-b3

ith5-g6?

This mistake hastens Black's defeat.

29

4c4xt7t!

29...'ftxf7 30.;ad8t � e8 31.;axest +-. Black resigned.

Black's bishops are more active than White's knights which have no support points. Black plays to restrict the white knights.

1

g6-g5!

Depriving White's knights of the f4 square.

2 3 4

a2-a4 �bl-d2 4) d2-t3

.lbS-e8 .lf8-d6 �g8-f8

Black places his king into the center, planning the exchange of queens.

s

�d3-b2

It is dangerous for the white king to go to the center, he may be attacked there.

s 6 7

�b2-d3 � d3-b2

�-e7 �e7-d8 itb7-c7

8 9

itc3xc7t �gl-fi

�d8xc7 b6-bS

Exchanging queens favors Black be- ; cause his king gets the opportunity to . penetrate the enemy camp on the queenside.

Preparing the passage for the black· king to march to the queenside.

10 11

�t3-el � el-d3

Ad6-a3

·


1 69

position in the center. B lack is threatening to develop his initiative on the kingside.

1

'ftdl-el !

Establishing control over the e1 -h4 diagonal. The subtle point is that 1...g4 2.�h4 Af6 meets 3.f4, eliminat ing Black's activity. That would not work after 1. �e2.

1 11

e6-e5!

Still further play to restrict White's k n ights.

12 13

.£lb2-dl b3xa4

.£i d7-f8

1 ...h4 2.g4 blocks the position, for if 2 ... h3 3.gxh3 gxh3 4.�g2 gh8 s.gh 1 ±.

b5xa4 e5-e4

13 ... .Q.xa4? 14.�c3 Ac6 15.dxe5.

14 15 16

.£l d3-b2 c&ifi-el c&iel-fi

.1e8-h5 .1a3-b4t c&ic7-b6

Black's strategy is proven: White's pieces are completely paralyzed.

17

f2.f3

White resigned.

Psakhis - Zilberstein USSR 1982

4

g3-g4!

Carrying on the strategy to restrict the black bishops.

4

Bl ack has the bishop pair, but the

Position is closed, so it is not easy to use t h em efficiently, especially when

ac cou nt is taken of White's solid

Ac8-d7

4 ... hxg4 5.�h2 g3 6.fxg3 !::.. �g4 ± .

5 6 7

'ftel-e2 .£it3-h2 .£lh2xg4

h5xg4 .1h6-g7


1 70

Weak square d5.

16 17 18 19

l!a8-d8 l!h8-h7 'l/c6-b7

l!al-el i)g4-e3 i) e3xd5

Black resigned.

Botvinnik - Szilagyi Amsterdam 1966

t7-f5 ±

7

Black tries to activate his pieces, but he only creates new weaknesses. Also in vain was 7 ... c5 8.clxc5 '{hc5 9. .{)b3 f/e7 10.�d4 ± .

8 9 10 11

e5xf6 i) d2-b3 i)b3-c5 i)c5xd7

J,g7xf6 a7-a5 b7-b6 c&>e8xd7

The situation has changed. Now the most important factor is the black king's unfortunate position. ��

�

White has the advantage due to his two bishops which have seized space on the queenside. White dominates the light squares, most obviously c4 and d5.

1

J.cl-gS!

t .�d6 'lhd6 2.Ac4 ±. 1 ..{) e3 .{)f6.

1

t7-ffi

Weakens the light squares still fur�( ther, but 1...'{hg5 2.�xd6 c4 3.Cl'g .{)f6 4.�c8 gdz 5.f/ct +- is bad.

2 J.g5-e3 3 J,e2xc4t ±

12

fl-f4!

Tuking advantage of his greater ac tivity.

12 13 f4-f5 14 l!fixfS 15 J,d3xe2 16 J.e2-t3 + -

c&>d7-c6 e6xf5 ite7xe2 J.ffi-g7

i) d6xc4

The bishop gets to the important a2 . g8 diagonal where it exerts stron pressure on Black's position.

3 4 s 6 7

a4-a5 l!fi-dl 'ltc2-a2 l!alxdl

c&>g8-h8 J.b6-c7 i) d7-f8 l!d8xdl t

The exchange of rooks favors Whi


Spas sky

because it weakens the black king further still.

7

1 71

Hilbner Munich 1979

gcS-d8

8

gdlxd8

9

a5-a6

10

Cl1gl-g2

.lc7xd8 b7-b6

1 0.*e2 �e6 1 1 .*g4 �c7 12.*c8 +-.

10 11

ite7-d7 ital-el

�fs-g6 White has a strong pawn center and spatial superiority. The knight at f5 provides him with an excellent op portunity to attack.

1

tl-f4!

Opening the game usually favors the player with two bishops.

1

itd8-c7

l ... d6 2.fxe5 dxe5 3.dxc6 ± ; l ...f6 2.fxe5 fxe5 3.0-0 �f6 4.Ag5 ±.

12 Ac4-b3 + The bishop and the queen combine for a decisive attack against the king along the light squares;

f4xe5

2 3 4 5

Ac1-f4! gal-cl

6

d5-d6!

0-0

itc7xe5 t7-fti 'l' e5xc3 itc3-a3

�g6-e7

12 13

ite2-c4

h7-h6

14

itc4-t7

c&>h8-h7

15

.lb3-c4

itd7-d6

16

h3-h4

itd6-dl

17

itt7-e8

fti-f5

18

e4xf5

� e7xf5

19

Ac4-g8t

�h7-h8

Black resigned.

Shutting the queen out of the game.

6

� a5-b7


1 72

Black's pieces are stuck on the queenside, but nevertheless they are trying to help their king.

7

4Jf5-e7t

8

e4-e5!

�g8-h8

Bringing the bishops into action.

f6xe5

8 9

.Qf4xe5

4J e8-f6

9 ... 'M'cSt 10.'7lhl �exd6 1 1 .'M'hS! +-; 9 . . . � ex d 6 1 0 . A x g 7 t ! l l .'M'g4t "7h8 12.'M'd4t +-.

'7txg7

b: 1 1 . . .gf7 12.Axf6 gxf6 13.gxf6 'M'xc l t 1 4 . g f l 'M' g S 1 S . 'M' f3 'M' f6 16.�g6! + "7g8 17.'M'h3 'M'd4t 18.'7thl �f7 20.'M'h8t �xh8 21 .�e7 mate.

11

4Jf6-g4?

There was salvation in 1 1 ...�xh7! 12.'M'd4 Ml t 13.Ml �e8! 14.gf7 'M'cl t 1 S.'7lf2 'M'c2t 16.'7tg3 � ef6 17.Axf6 �xf6 18.M6 gxf6 19.'M'xf6t "7 h 7 2 0 . 'M' f7 t '7l h 8 2 1 . 'M' f6 t = (21 .�g6? + 'M'xg6 22.'M'xg6 gg8! -+ ).

12

�t2-d4!

�a3-e3t? !

More stubborn is 12 ...gxfl t 13.Ml 'M'cS ! 14.'M'xcS bxcS 1S.,1xd6 "7xh7 16.gf4! �h6 17.gh4! ms 18.AcS! dS 19.�dS! ms 20.�b4 ± gxcs 21 .�xa6 gas 22.�b4 ± .

10

.Qd3xh7!

4Jb7xd6!

10..."7xh7 1 U�c3 'M'cSt 12."7hl +-; 10... �xh7 l l .Axg7t '7txg7 12.'M'g4t + -.

13 14 1s 16

�d4xe3 lklxfl gn.f3 .Qh7-g6!

grsxnt 4Jg4xe3 � d6-c8

16 ... �xe7 17.Af7! .£!3fS 18.gh3t �h6 19.gxh6 mate. Black resigned.

1 73


Botvinnik

Tai Moscow 1961

the static advantage.

6 7 8 9 10

itg4-e2 ite2-g4 itg4-e2 e3-e4

itfS-c2 itc2-fS itfS-c2 itc2-fS

White restricts the black queen, the weakness of the f4 point does not matter.

1 2 3

4)gS-e6! d5xe6 e6xd7

t7xe6 Cfg8-h8 itd8xd7

10 11 12 13 14 15

gal-di ite2-g4 g2-g3 itg4-h5 ith5-e2

16

4)dS-e3 !

itfS-d7 ga8-d8 itd7-e8 4)g8-h6 4)h6-g8 4)g6-e7

White has gained the bishop pair. With no counterpart, White's lightsquare bishop will develop strong pressure. Black's pawn structure has deteriorated; he has three pawn islands.

4 5

0-0

4) c3-d5

itd7-fS

The exchange of knights works into White's plans because it increases his control over the light squares in the center.

4)f6-g8

5

Preparing the transfer of the knight to a strong position at g4.

16 17

4) e3-g4!

4)g8-h6 4)h6xg4? !

better is 17 ...tthS.

18

�· � f.

18 19 20

�··� ······· · � ·······"� �

� ;• • � Y.. 6 itdl-g4 . . .. . . .

•. . . . . . .

h3xg4

With the h-file open, Black's king is in for serious trouble.

±

The ending favors White since he has

Cl/gl-g2 .lc4-d5!

4) e7-c6 ,ld6-e7

Preventing the exchange of rooks, needed to attack the black king.

20

4) c6-d4

An attempt to muddle things.


1 74

21

2

Ab2xd4

The bishops of opposite colour make White's attack still stronger.

21 22 Ad5-c4 + -

eSxd4

f4xeS

2.'td2 ! ? 'tg7 3.Axd6 e4 4.dxe4 fxe4 5.�el Ac3 - + .

2 3

t8/h2-hl

AffixeSt

Intending Ac4-d3, f2-f4, :!;fl -h l , e4e5.

22 23 24 25 26 27 2s 29 30

b4-bS tl-f4 gdlxd3 Ac4xd3 e4-eS gn-h1 'lte2-e4 Ad3-c4

c7-cS Ae7-ffi d4-d3 gd8xd3 Affi-d4 g7-g6 t8/h8-g7 b7-b6

30 ... 'te7 31 .gS ( b. 'tc6) 31...�c8 32.fS gxf5 33.gx:h7t \ti>xh7 34.*h4t 'l;g7 35.'th6 mate. Black resigned.

Ljubojevi�

4

Kasparov Linares 1991

B

Black has a dangerous initiative: his pieces are surely aimed at the white king's position. Opening of the posi tion favors Black because he has the two bishops.

1

e7-e5!

Black brings in his queen and dark square bishop to strengthen the at tack.

i!}' d7-b7? !

3

Better is 3 ...'tg7! ( b. 'th6) 4.'tf2 'th6 5.'tb6 Ab7 6.gx:es dxe5 7.'tc5t \ti>b8 8.�e5t \ti>a8 -+ (Kasparov).

d3-d4

gg6xg2??

This is a miscalculation. It is not too late to play 4 ... 'tg7! 5.'tc3 \ti>b7 6.fxe5 gx:g2 -+.

S 6 7

ge2xg2 t8/hlxg2 t8/g2-hl

gg8xg2 i!}' b7-g7t Ae5-f4

8 'ltel-e6t?! A win might be achieved with 8.'tc3 b. �gl .

8

Ac6-d7

1 75


9 tl'e6-d5 10 '{tdS-aSt?! Better is to.get +-.

10

11

tl'g7-g3

Sveshnikov - Vera

c&>cS-c7

Sochi 1985

gn-el?

l l .*a7t �d8 12.*b8t �e7 13.gett i&'f7 14.*b7 +-.

11 12 13 14 15

White resigned.

c&>hl-gl c&>gl-fi 4&?fi-e2 tl'aS-a7t

'{tg3xh3t tl'h3-g3t tl'g3-h3t ,1d7-c6! '&>c7-c8

White plans to seize space on the queenside after the pawn advan�e c3 -c4-c5 , having transferred his bishop to d6 beforehand.

1 2

Ac4-b3 c3-c4

gas-cs '{tdS-f6

2 ... �b6 3.Aa3 ges 4.,lc5 �d7 5 . .Q.d6 �b6 6.c5 �d7 (6...�d5 7 ..Q.a4) 7.f3 Ac6 (7 ....Q.g6 8.Aa4 ±) 8.f4 ( !::,. f5 ± ) 8 ...Ae4 9.get Ag6 to.*f3 ± .

3 4

J.cl-a3 gn-el !

gm-dS

White forcefully activates his rook and offers Black the withdrawal of his bishop to a less active position.

16

4 5

gel-fi??

An error due to time trouble. It was

necess ary to play 16.�d2 *g4t 17. �d3 *g3t and draw the game.

16 17 lS 19

c&>e2-el c&>el-dl {)f3-el

tl'h3-g2t! Af4-g3t tl'g2xfl t .lg3xel

gal-dl

tl'f6-g6 h7-h6

Exchanging the queens is in White's favor because he has the advantage in statics, e.g. 5 ..."(hg3 6.fthxg3 Af5 7 . .Q.e7 ge8 8 . .Q.d6 �b6 9.c5 �d5 10.ges ± �c3 l t .gde1 �b5 12.d5 ± .

6 7

f2-f3 h2xg3

tl'g6xg3 J.e4-g6


1 76

Balashov - Petrosian USSR 1973

8

d4-d5! ±

Opening the game usually favors the player with two bishops.

e6xd5

8 9

.a.a3-e7

d5xc4

9 . ge8 10.Aa4 "iJ;xe7 l l .gxe7 4Jb6 12.cxd5 4Jxa4 13."iJ;xb7 ± . .

.

10

,a.b3xc4

1 1 .a.e7xd8 + -

Fk8xc4 � d7-c5

12

gdl-cl

b7-b5

13

gclxc4

b5xc4

14

gel-e8t

�g8-h7

15

,a.d8-a5

.a.g6-bl

16

ges-cs

� c5-e6

17

a2-a3

,a.bl-d3

18

.a.as-c3

h6-h5

19

a3-a4

h5-h4

20

g3xh4

� e6-f4

21

.1c3-d2

�f4-d5

22

a4-a5

Black resigned.

1

� d5-b6?

The centralized knight at d5 which restricts White's bishops is Black's main stronghold. With his last move Black decentralizes the knight, com mitting a serious error. Black ought to seek counterplay with L.gb8. But then 2.a5! (2.gc6 a5 3.Axa5 ga8) 2 . . . gb5 (on 2 . . . gb2 3.g4c2 the exchange of rooks is also in White's favor) 3.Axd5 ! (3.gc6 Ab4) 3 ..."iJ;xd5 4.Ael /:,. gc6, weak square a6 White preserves the ad vantage.

2 3

gc4-c7 gc7xc8

.a.e7-a3 grsxc8

3 ...4Jxc8 4.gc6 +-.

4

gclxc8t

�b6xc8

.•a•.'f1lt ··�·,·�· •,•••••••••• ·��· •·�,,·�·ft ��A�� v/· · ·· /,� ·� - g � •m. •. . . ,•. /,�F' T /, m ,,,,, ··

.

%


s .lg2-b7 + N o w the difference between the k nigh ts at d5 and c8 is striking.

S 6 7 8 9 10

a4-a5 .lb7xa6 .la6-b7 a5-a6 .ld2-a5

4) c8-b6 4)b6-d5 .la3-c5 4) dS-c7 �g8-t'8

2 3

4)d4-f5 l(elxeS

1 77

,.d6xe5 .le7-t'8

Of course not 3 ...Af6 4.gxest gxes 5.�d6 = .

4 S 6

ltfi-el l(elxeS .lb3-dl

lte8xe5 c5-c4

Better is 6.Ac2.

The passed p awn with the two hishops is very dangerous.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

.lb7-c6 .lc6-a4 e2-e3 �gl-fi .la5-c3 c&'fi-e2 �e2-d3

4) c7-b5 4)bS-a7 �t'8-e7 �e7-d6 4) a7-c6 g7-g6 �d6-c7 4) c6-b4t

1 7 �b6 18.Axc6 �c6 19. .Q,d4 +-.

6

...

18 �d3-c4 + -

g7-g6!

Driving the knight out of its active position.

Black lost o n time.

7

Klinger - Anand

4)f5-d4

7.� e7t �g7 8.�xd5 (8.Af3 �f6) 8....Q,d6 - + .

Vilnius 1986

B

7 8 9

lte5-e7 l(e7-b7

.lt'8-g7 �g8-t'8

9.ge3 b4, begins to induce weak nesses on the queenside.

Black enjoys the advantage because

of his two bishops in an open posi tion. Additional factors which favor

the bishops are the play and as symetrical pawn structures on both

flanks.

1

c6-c5

9

Ag7xd4!


1 78

Transforming the advantage of the two bishops.

10 11

gas-es

c3xd4
[J

geS-e4- +

12

.ldl-c2

ge4xd4

13

gd4-h4

14

h2-h3

d5-d4

15

f2-t3

gh4-h5

16

gb7-a7

b5-b4

17

ga7xa6

d4-d3

lS

.lc2-a4

ghS-eSt

19

ges-e2

20

ga6-aSt

White resigned.

Speelman - Seirawan Saint John 1988

2

e4-e3?

This mistake hastens defeat. But Black's position would be hardly defendable, even after 2... Ah7 3J!g3 calh8 4.e6 gf6 s.gg6! Axg6 6.*h6t calg8 7.hxg6 �xe6 8.�5! d4 9.Ac4 dxc3 10.gxf6 *"f6 1 l .Axe6t *xe6 12.*h7t calffi 13.g7t +- (Seirawan).

3

itd2xe3

tS-f4

4

gnxr4

.lg6-e4

A desperate attempt to counterat tack, but White has material ad vantage as well as the attack.

5

e5-e6

Opening the game still further. Win ning with s.gf6 +- was straightfqr ward.

5

1

f4-tS!

White's pieces are aimed at Black's kingside. White opens files for his pieces and prevents the blockade possible after careless l .gxh5? Ah7 /:::,. �f5.

1 2

e6xtS g4xh5

�g7-tS

6

gf4xtS

grsxtS

7

ite3-h6

g5.gst

8

gh3-g3

ggSxg3t

9

h2xg3

ite7-h7

10 11

ith6-f6

gas-es

.lc3-e5

geS-e7

12 13

itf6-g5t .le5-d6

c&'g8-f8

Black resigned.


Short

-

Timman Reykjavik 1987

1 79

needed to improve the king's posi tion with 3 ... b6 /::;.
4 5 6

'l'elxh4 4h3-g4 !lbl-el

{)t7-g5 'l'd7-g7

Increasing pressure along the e-file.

6

b7-b6

The attempt to exploit White's king position doesn't work: 6... hS 7.�5 g h 8 8. gxe6 gxe6 9.gxe6 � xe6 10.,1xe6t +-.

7

'l'h4-h5

Else 7 ... hS. White has the advantage due to his pressure on the e6 pawn on the e-file.

1

7 8

t3-f4

'l'g7-d7 {)g5-e4

9 10 11

!le2xe4! d4-d5 + 'l'h5-e5

d5xe4 {) c6-d8 !lf6-f5

12

d5xe6!

4cl-f4!

White transfers his dark-squ are b i s h o p to the i m p o r t a n t h2-b8 diagonal, where it exerts strong pres sure on the king's position and in creases control over the eS point. White threatens gf2-e2, ,1f4-h2, �el -g3, gbl-el.

1

g7-g5

Trying to complicate the game. Mis taken is i...gxf4? in view of 2.,1xe6 + -.

2

lU2-e2!

!ld8-e8

3

4f4-h2

g5xh4?!

2 . . gxf4? 3.gxe6 +-. .

This worsens the pawn structure. He

12.,1xf5? exfS 13.�d4 ggs + .


180

12 13 14 15

'ltd7-d2 grs-ds 'fc8-c7

'f!l'e5xe4 e6-e7t f4-f5t

Black resigned.

2 ....£if5 3.gdel gad8 4. .Q,d5! .£lc4 5 . .Q.xc4 gxd2 6.�e7 gxb2 7 . .£idl ! gc2 8 . .Q,b3 +- (Yusupov) .

3 4

Yusupov - Torre Leningrad 1987

5 1

d5-d6!

Exploiting the disharmony in Black's position, White opens the diagonal fo r his bishop and prevents the blocking of the d-ft. For example, after l .Aa2 .£ld6 2.gdel f6 Black has splendid counterplay.

1

Sorin - Vera Bayamo 1988

B

� e8xd6

1

2 .lc4-a2! + Black cannot avoid material loss.

2

2...gad8?! 3 . .£ld5! +-.

Af4xe5!

5 ...*"e5 6.gfel *f5 7 ..£ie7t +-. Black resigned.

c5-c4

�f6-h5!

White's queen is a poor blockader, though it is not easy to prove. Black accepts pawn weaknesses in his camp, getting instead the advantage of the two bishops. His activity in creases sharply. White faces difficult tasks: to block the passed b-ft with his queen and to parry dangerous threats


along the al -h8 diagonal.

2

Nikoli�

,!e2xh5

181

Sh ort Belgrade 1987

2 .�fa3 �xg3 3.hxg3 �a6 4:ib l b4 5.,1xa6 Axa6 6.gxa6 bxc3 7.�b3 t'c8 -+ (Vera ) .

2 3

g6xh5 4)c3-e2

White sacrifices exchange in the hope of getting a chance to attack. After 3.ga3 �a6 material loss is inevitable, e.g. 4.t'xd6 t'xd6 5.,1xd6 b4 6.,1xb8 bxa3 -+ ( Vera ) .

3 4 5 6 7

4g3-f4 gnxal gal-a3 h2-h3

h5-h4 ,!g7xal 'ld8-f6 4c8-d7 gb8-a8

White has no compensation for the lost exchange. The material advantage decides the game in Black's favor.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

tl-f3 'lb4xa3 c&>gl-h2 4) d2-fi e4-e5 'ta3xc5 'tc5-c7 4)fi-d2 4) e2xf4 'tc7-a7 c&>h2-gl 'la7xf7t 4)d2-fi d5-d6 g2-g4 d6-d7

White resigned.

gasxa3 c&>g8-h7 ge8-g8 gg8-b8 d6xe5 e5xf4 gb8-d8 ,!d7-tS gd8-c8 'tf6-e5 'te5xf4 c&>h7-h8 'l'f4-g5 ,!t5xh3 ,!h3xh gc8-d8

1

,!e3-cl !

The bishop shifts to the strong b2-h8 diagonal, removing the the l ... �xt'3t threat. From b2 the bishop will exert strong pressure on the center, which in combination with the pressure along the d-file ensures White's ad vantage.

1 2 'lc3xf6 3 ,!cl-b2 ±

4) e5-d7 grsxf6 e6-e5

Forced, the d5 point is getting weakened.

4

4)f4-d5

5

f3-f4

gf6-t7

Striving to open the position to the bishops' benefit.

5

e5-e4


182

6

Lobron - Ostoji6

.£1.g2-h3!

Wiesbaden 1987

Intending 7.Axf5.

6 7

� d5-e3

gas-es geS-fS

7 ... g6 8.g4! +-.

s 9

gdl-d6 gn.d1

� a6-c7 � c7-eS

Black has mounted intense pressure on White's queenside, his knight at c4 is especially active, but his bishops are dormant. Assessment of the posi tion depends on whether Black will be able to activate his bishops.

1

10 gd6xc6! + The exchange sacrifice is temporary, but the damage to Black's pawns is permanent.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 lS 19 20 21 22 23

.£1.h3xf5 .Qf5-e6 .£1.b2-e5 gdl-d6 Ae6xt7 gd6xc6 f4xe5 a3-a4 a4-a5 a5-a6 � e3-d5 gc6-b6 � d5xe3

Black resigned.

b7xc6 � eS-f6 gfS.bS gbs-es c&>gS-fS c&>f8xt7 � d7xe5 gesxe5 �f6-d7 ges-es ges-as �d7-e5 e4-e3

f6-f5!

Black chooses the positional but phantom pawn sacrifice. It enables him to activate both bishops and eliminate the important e4-pawn.

2

'»g3-el

2.exf5 Ac6! (Making the most of the rook's unfortunate position, Black rushes to attack the king) 3.gd3 (3.gf2 4Je3 - + ) 3 ... gg8! - + .

2 3

f5xe4

�c3xe4


3

h7-h6

Depriving the knight at e4 of the im p ortant g5 square and restricting White's pieces.

4 5

c2-c3 � e4-d2

17 18

lU3-g3 �b3xd2

7."Bx.g7 �e4! - + .

7 8 9

10

f4xe5 l!bl-dl

� d2-t3

t7-f5 + e6-e5

Balashov

.1h5xe8 l!dl-dS �t3-d4 l!g3-g6 g2xt3

15 16

l!g6-e6

USSR 1991

'fil'b6-d8 d6xe5 'fi}'d8-e7

.1d7-e8!

l!t'8xe8 e5-e4 f5-f4 f4-t3

15.�f5 'tt7! 16.!!gd6 fxg2t 17.'l/xg2

e3 ! - + .

Pigusov

� c4xd2

Black breaks the rule that an ex change of bishops does not favor the p layer with the pair. But every rule has its exceptions! After the trade, White's problem is how difficult it is to resist the advance of Black's pawns in the center.

11 12 13 14 15

l!e8xe6 t3-fl

White resigned.

The pawn center, supported by the black pieces, ensures an enduring p ositional advantage for Black.

6 7

l!d5-d6 � d4xe6

183

e4xt3- + ._e7-r7

White has the positional advantage due to his two active bishops which can shoot through the center and the enemy queenside. Black's knight is misplaced at d6, so he is unable to mount pressure with his rooks along the d-file and attack the weak d3 pawn. Moreover, the knight has no good protected square to operate from.

1

l!bl-cl

1...!!bc8 2.!!c5! ± b. !!fcl .

2

l!cl -cs

Affi-gS

Black prevents White from doubling his rooks on the c-file. He intends to attack the b4 pawn, but the white bishop at t'2 will be dominate the cru cial al -h8 diagonal.

3 4 5

h2-h4 .1f2-d4t l!c5-d5

.1g5-d2 c&>g7-h6 l!t7-d7

5 ... ,1xb4? 6.!!bl Aa3 7.!�b3 +-.


1 84

AI ekh in e

Sultanbieft'

��-=--=---:-:--=--

6

Folkestone 1933

Ag2-t3 !

Black's bishop has left the kingside unprotected; White prepares to sub ject the lonesome king to attack.

6

)lb8-d8

6 . . . Axb4 ? 7.g4! fxg4 8.Axg4 gf7 ( 8 . . . gdd8 9.Ab6 + -) 9.gb 1 Aa3 rn.gb3 +-.

7

4d4-b6!

)ld8-e8

8

4b6-c5

)le8-d8

1

)lfl-cl !

Transposition into the ending favors White. Less good is Uhc6 bxc6 2.mc.l Ad7 /::,. geb8, with counterplay against the b3 pawn.

1 2 3

)lclxc2 )lal-cl

itc6xc2 )le8-c8 b7-b6

White has the positional advantage because his bishops are more active than Black's bishop and knight.

4 5 6

b3-b4 tl-t3 )lclxc2

b6xa5 )lc8xc2 t7-f5!

Ingenious, but not good enough.

9

g3-g4!

f5xg4

10

At3xg4

� d6-f5

11

)ld5xd7

1 1 . . . gxd1 12.Af'8t +-. Black resigned.

7

b4xa5!

7.fxe4 ftfxe4 8.Aa6 axb4 ;;!;; .

7

� e4-g5


8

Ab2-d4!

185

Alekhine - Fine Kemeri 1937

White's bishops exert strong pres su re on Black's queenside, where the a 7 pawn is doomed and Black has no counterplay.

a7-a6

8 9

h2-h4

4)g5-t7

10

�k2-c6

oi)t7-d8

White has the advantage because of the weakness of the d6 square.

1 2 3 4

d4xc5! b2-b4 b4-b5 oi) c4-d6t!

At8xc5 Ac5-e7 oi) c6-b8

Black will have difficulties to neutral ize the pressure of White's pieces on the dark squares.

11

�k6-d6!

White's rook is more active than Black's, so White avoids exchanging rooks.

<&>g8-t7

11 12

Ad3xa6

f5-f4

13

Ad4-c3

.�fa8-a7

14

Ac3-b4

oi)d8-b7

15

gd6-b6

oi)b7-d8

16

Aa6-d3

.!e6-d7

17

a5-a6

Ad7-c6

18

Ad3-f5

ga7-a8

19

e5-e6t

Bl ack resigned.

4 s Af4xd6 6 Ad6-c7 ±

Ae7xd6 4)ffi-e4

White has the advantage because of his two bishops in a position with an open center.

6

7

oi)b8-d7

4)f3-d4!

White envisages f'2-f3 and e2-e4 to


1 86

seize space in the center and restrict Black's bishop.

7 s 9

t2-t3 ,lc7-a5

� d7-b6 �b6-d5 � e4-f6

9 . . . � d 6 1 0 . e 4 � e 3 1 1 . A b 4 e5 12.Axd6 exd4 13.Ad3 ! �xg2t 14.'1;>f2 �e3 15.AeS ± (Alekhine).

10 11 12 13 14 15

�d4-c2 e2-e4 c&>el-d2 ! � c2-e3 a3-a4 .a.n-d3

.lcS-d7 gas-cs � d5-b6 0-0

grs.ds

22 .ld3-f5! 23 c&>d2-c3 ! + 24 a5xb6 25 .lb4xc5!

gcS-dS b7-b6 a7xb6

White transforms the bishop pair into a passed pawn.

25 26 27 2S

b5-b6 .lf5-d7! gal-aSt

b6xc5 � eS-d6 gdsxd7

Black resigned.

Alekhine - Euwe The Netherlands 1938

15

e6-e5?

After this weakening of the d5 and f5 squares, the game is lost for Black. The only chance lay in 15 ... Ae8 fol lowed by �fd7 if possible. White's tactics in this case should be: ex change a pair of bishops, withdraw the bishop from the a5 square and push the knight from b6 out to a pas sive position. (Alekhine).

16 17 lS 19 20 21

gbl-cl gc1xcS .la5-b4 a4-a5 � e3-d5 e4xd5

,ld7-e6 gdsxcS �f6-eS �b6-d7 .le6xd5 � d7-c5

White's pieces are placed far more actively than Black's. In order to ac tivate his bishops White has to open the position.

1

h5-h6!

Forcing capture with the g7 pawn.


N ow White's dark-square bishop will

be the master of the e5-h8 diagonal.

1

g7xh6

i ...gxh6? 2.a4! �a7 3.'lb6 +-.

2

Ag3-e5

!l/g8-g7

B lack will have to pay dearly to get rid of the pin.

13 14 15 16 17 18

r&>g2-fi c&>fi-g2 Ae5-g3 At3xd5 l'a3xa4 h2-h4

187

'ltg6-blt 'ltbl-g6t {)f6xd5 e6xd5 h6-h5

Black resigned.

Verlinsky - Alekhine Petersburg 1909

B

3

a3-a4!

b5xa4

White has ceded the bishop pair to gain a pawn majority on the kingside. On the other side, a passed pawn would enhance the value of Black's bishop pair, but his doubled pawns make that possibility more remote.

1

4

c3-c4!

Opening the center, White activates his pieces to the utmost.

4 {)c8-e7 {) e7xd5 c4xd5 5 gh8-c8 6 r&>gl-hl r&>g7-h7 7 gbl-gl tt gc8-g8 8 'ltc5-a3 + ggsxgl t 9 e3-e4 10 r&>hlxgl 'ltd7-b5 'ltbSxbl t 11 e4xd5 'ltbl-g6t 12 r&>gl-g2

c5-c4!

Clears away the queenside pawns, opens diagonals for the bishops, and establishes a pawn majority after the recapture of the c4 pawn.

2 3 4 5

b3xc4 c2-c3 {)bl-d2 f2-t3

s 6

a2-a4

Ad7-a4 0-0-0

Aa4-c2

5.0-0 �f6 6.�g3 Ad6 + .

At8-c5 {)g8-f6

At insignificant material cost, Black e x e r t s s t r o n g p r e s s u re o n t h e enemy's position.


188

7

12 13

4cl-a3

Better was 7.�d4 .1xd4 8.cxd4 gxd4 9.Ab2 + , returning the extra pawn, but also depriving Black of the ad vantage of the two bishops and get ting some chances to draw the game.

4c5-e3!

7 Ostracizing the knight.

8

� d2-fl

4e3-a7

9

a4-a5

gd8-d3

10

c4-c5

� d7xc5! � e2-d4

1 3 .�xc2 �xe4 t + 1 4 . <&> e l g d l t 15.gxd 1 Af2t 16.<&>fl gxd 1 t -+ .

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

4c2-b3 �f2-e2 gd3xc3 4a3-b2 gc3xe3t!- + �e2xe3 � c5-e6 gal-a3 � e6xd4 �e3-f4 4a7-c5 ghl-al � d4-e2t .!b3-e6t �f4-g4

White resigned.

N ezhmetdinov - Aronin Saratov 1953

Trying to shut the a7 bishop out of the game. But with the poor coor dination of White's pieces this ad venture has slim chances of success.

10 11

gh8-d8 �el-f.2

l t .Ab4 gd 1t 12.gxd1 gxd1t 13.<&>f2 4)d7 14.�fg3 gxh l 15.�xh l 4)xc5 16.Axc5 Axc5t 17.�d4 b6 18.axb6 cxb6 + (Alekhine).

11 12

�ffi-d7 �fl-e3

Black has carelessly weakened his king. Can White exploit that?

1

d3-d4!

c5xd4


2

8

ita6-e2!

White's queen shifts to the kingside make the most of the weakness of Black's king.

to

2

h7-h6

2 . . * e 7 3 . * h 5 dxc3 4.Ae4 cxb2 5.Axg5! +- Axg5 6.�7t �f8 7.*h8 mate. .

3

ite2-hS

gSxf4 gd8-h8 ite7-d7

10 ...Ax�S 1 1 .�eSt �e5 12.AxeSt +-.

11

ges-e2

gh8-h7?

itd7-e7

S

c3xd4

� aS-c4

6

b2-b3

� c4-d6

d4-dS!

.lclxf4 gelxeS

12 ...�d6 13.*g4t �h8 14.�c8t +-. Black resigned.

4 . . . gh8 5.cxd4 gxh4 6.d5 e5 7.ge4

7

8 9 10

This mistake hastens Black's defeat.

12

..

h3-h4

t2-f4! + -

The decisive blow. Black cannot resist the onslaught.

c&>g8-g7

3 .Ag7 4.cxd4 ± .

4

1 89

+-.

e6-eS

Black strives to close the position.

.lf4xd6

N ezhmetdinov - Sakharov USSR 1957

Black's last move is f7-f5. He strives .to block the position and thus restrict the white bishops. White's ambition must be the opening of the game and


1 90

activating his bishops.

1

e4xd5!

e6xd5

9 10 J,d2-c3 ±

f5xe4

Black can barely defend the d5 pawn.

10

n

12

Ac3-e5 gcl-c6

ga8-d8 'ltd7-t7

White's pressure increases with the threat of 13.4)g4 b. 4)g4-h6t + -.

12

� c7-e6

Black sacrifices a pawn to complicate the game.

13

2

c2-c4!

Opens the position, and attacks Black's pawn center.

2 3 4 5

d3xc4 c4xd5 �dl-e3

b5xc4 � e8-f6 c6xd5

The attack produced an isolated d5 pawn which comes under strong pressure.

5 6 7 8

gn.d1 J,cl-d2 gal-cl

9

J,g2xe4!

�f6-e4 'ltd8-d7 J,e7-c5 J.c5-b6

Advantageous transformation, Black cannot play 9 ... ftdxe4? in view of 10.Ab4 + -.

� e3xd5

� e6-d4

Better was 13 ...gxd5 14.gxd5 4)xf4 15.gxf4 'ixd5 16.gd6 'ixa2 ( 16 .. :�c5 17.t'g2 gn 18.ge6! t'c8 19.£5 'ixe6 20.xe6 grz 21 .b4 ± ) 17.'lbg4 gf7 18.Axg7! gxg7 19.'lbcBt
14 15

gdlxd4 gc6-c7

J,b6xd4 J,d4xe5

15 ... 'lbxd5 16.gxg7t �h8 17.gxh7t �7 18.'lbh5t
16 17 18

gc7xt7 'lte2xe4 f4xe5

19

h3-h4 + -

grsxn gn.d7 gd7xd5

The queen together with the passed pawn (soon to be pawns) quietly ex ercises her dominion over the rooks.

19

gdS-d7


20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

'l'e4-c4t c&>h2-h3 c&>h3-g4 'l'c4-c5t h4-h5 'l'cS-dS a2-a4 b2-b4 b4-b5

1 91

c&>g8-t8 gd8-e8 gd7-t7 c&>t8-g8 h7-h6 c&>g8-t8 ge8-e7 ge7-e8

Black resigned.

3

Muhutdinov Nezhmetdinov USSR 1954

B

Black has the advantage of the two bishops. Black has seized space on the queenside and also restricted White's pieces on the kingside.

1 2

a4-a3 ! +

Black extends the influence of his strong bishop at e5. The pawn is bait to get White to open up the game.

4

b2xa3? !

White will have serious trouble defending the king. More reliable is 4.b3, keeping the position closed.

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

gdl-d3 4)dS-e3 gd3xa3 ga3-b3 c2-c4 c&>bl-c2

b4xa3 c7-c6 c&>c8-c7 gd8-b8t 4h5-t7 4e5-d4 ge8-d8

How can White find a useful move?

4t7-h5!

4h2xe5

If 2.f3 �xf3 ! 3.�xf3 Axf3 4.gxf3 ( 4.Axd6 Axd l 5.Axc7 1!xd5 ! - + ) 4. Axh2 + ; 2.1!c1 c4 3.�e3 Ac5 4. Axe5 fxe5 s.�c4 Axt2 6.1!f1 Axgl + . ..

2

4d6xe5

B lack now h as b i s h o p s a ga in s t knights. Black's pieces dominate the center. That, combined with his spa tial superiority on both flanks, gives hi m enduring positional pressure.

3

t2-t3

11 12 13 14

gb3xb8 c&>c2-d3 4) e3-c2 4)gl-e2

gdsxb8 gb8-a8 ,4d4-e5 g7-g5


1 92

15 16 17 18

a2-a4 c&>d3-e3 c&>e3-tl � c2-e3

lta8-d8t !.t7xc4 ltd8·d2 !.e5-d4!

3 ... 4)d7 4.f5! ± .

4 S

�d4-e3 ltal-dl

ltt8-d8

Zugzwang. White resigned.

N ezhmetdinov - Tai Moscow 1957

s

e6-e5?

Black ought to consolidate his posi tion with 5 ...4)e7 6. '{Wc6; but now his cente r is too weak and White's bishops are even more active. Statically, the position favors Black because of White's pawn weaknesses on the queenside. But the dynamic possibilities-due to the activity and fine coordination of his pieces-give White the better chances in the game. White's pressure along the dark squares is especially unpleasant because Black has no dark-square A.

1 2

�t3xe5 ifl'dl-d4

� d7xe5 t7-ffi

6 7

tl-f4!

� e5-c6

ffixeS Ac8-b7

7 . . . d 4 8 . A c 4 t
8 9

�e3-g3 gn.a

ltd8-d7

With the idea 10.Axc6 'txc6 1 1.'txe5 '{Wxc5 12.'{We6t +-.

9

10 3

f4xe5 !.e2-b5

lta8-e8

h2-h3

Stressing Black's helplessness. He has no useful moves.


10

Ab7-a8

1 0 ... d4

l l .,'1.c4t <&>h8 12.gdfl 'l!tc8 n.gf7 !!xf7 14.!!xtl ggs 1s.,a.d2 ± .

11 12 13

Ab5-a4 c&>gl-hl �U'.2-fS

Aa8-b7 .!b7-a8

1 93

The best way to neutralize the ad vantage of the two bishops in this case is to exchange dark-square bishops to get counterplay along the dark squares. Therefore l . . .*d6! 2.e4 ,'1.c5 ! 3.exd5 exd5 = .

1 2 3 4 5 6

gdlxcl c&>gl-g2 b2-b3 gctxc3 ii)'bl-d3

gcsxct gd8-c8 gc8-c4 gc4-c3 .!b4xc3

After exchange of the rooks it is dif ficult for Black to prevent the e2-e4 advance, which leads to the activa tion of White's bishops.

13

e5-e4

13 ... d4 14.,'1.b3t <&>h8 15.gdfl 'ld8 16.gf7 !!xf7 17.!!xf? ggs 18.Ad2 e4 19.,'1.gS 'l!te8 20.gc1 gra 21 .Af6! +-.

14 15 16 17 18 19

'l!tg.1xc7 grsxd5 gd5-d7 ,!a4-b3t .!b3xe6t !.c3xg7t

6 7

e2-e4!

8

f4-f5! ±

ii)'d7-c6 b5-b4

gd7xc7 e4-e3 e3-e2 ge8-e6 c&>g8-f8

Black resigned.

Spassky

-

Xu Jun Dubai 1986

B

Continuing the strategy to open the diagonals for the bishops.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

f5xe6 e4-e5! + At2xd4 'l!td3xd4 'l!td4-c5 Af3-e4 g.1-g4 c&>g2-f3

d5-d4 'l!tc6-d6 'l!td6xe6 !.c3xd4 � e7-f5 �f5-e7 g7-g6 c&>g8-t7 c&>t7-g7


1 94

17 18 19

'l?t3-e3 '{tc5-d6 e5xd6

a3xb4 c3xb4

.

Gligoric Baden 1980

.

7 1!f2-a2 8 .tle3xd4 9 'i!tdl-al 10 1!a2 a7 + -

'i!td6-c6 e5xd4 1!e8-e7 '{tc6-c2t

11 12 13 14 15

'i!tc2xd3 4)d8-c6 '&?b8-b7 4) c6-b8 mate

-

The pressure along the f-file and the advantage of the two bishops ensure White's stable advantage. But Black has built a reliable defense on the kingside.

1

a2-a3 !

White prepares to open the game on the queenside where Black's king is situated.

1 2 3

4

c2-c3 '{thS-dl

b2-b4!

c5xb4 4) e6-d4

6 . 'hb4 7.�a2 b;. 'tal +-.

Black resigned.

Spassky

5 6

'&?g7-r7 'i!te6xd6

'&?h2-hl I!fi-cl 1!a7-a8t 1!a8xh8 Ah3-c8t

Tai - Grigorian Yerevan 1982

a7-a5 'i!te7-d6 1!f8-e8

a5xb4

Black's minor pieces are significantly restricted by White's d4 and dS pawns. Using his superior activity, White starts an attack against the king.


1

itdl-h5!

.lc8-d7

1 ....fld7?! 2.Ag5 gxe1 t 3.gxel '(itf8 4.Ae7 '(!te8 s.ge3 +-.

2

.lg2-e4!

g7-g6

2... h6 3.Axh6 gxh6 4.�6 with an attack +-.

3

ith5-h6

9 10

gal-cl 'fth4-d8!

11

'&'gl-fi !

J.d2-g5! ith6-h4

itc3-e5 g6x5

1 -0. l l .. . .£ld7 12.'(itxa8 �f8 13.ge l AbSt 14.<&>g2 �el 15.� mate.

Sigurjonsson - Kortchnoi Wijk aan Zee 1980

Now White mounts intense pressure along the weakened dark squares.

3 4 5

1 95

B

itd8-f6 itf6xd4 itd4-g7

5 . . . 'l/g7 6.gad l '(!tb2 7.Ad3 � a6 8.gxe8 Axe8 9.,1xa6 gxa6 10.Ah6t <&>g8 1 1.'(!te7 +-.

6

J.g5-h6

itg7-h8

1 2 3 4

ite4xe5 'fte5-d5t c4xd5

ffi-5 ! ! gm-es 'ftd8xd5 ge8-e2 +

Black has more than enough com pensation for the pawn: a rook on the seventh rank and the strong passed d-ft, all supported by his bishops.

7

J.e4-5 ! !

ith8-c3

7 . . . ,1b5 8.gxe8t Axe8 9.ge l � a6 to.'(!te7 Ab5 1 1 .Ad3! +-.

8

gelxe8t

.ld7xe8

5

.lb2-cl

s .gfd l ,1d7 6. a4 gc8 7.gacl d3t 8.<&>hl gc2 - + .

5

d4-d3t


1 96

6 7 s

!f/gl-hl �d2-t3 gn-dI

b7-b5 .Qc8-b7

3

•

h2-h3

t:r �· � · � �wJw m �L.J �a � ·m·i·al :t m_ "' ·"m :t ·m_1 m. "0 m • • :t ·¥:t m • • m c . 7. ��m � .t�

•• ·· �� • ·" ''%"'• �.%· /,�;;�a ft � m � " %, '"' ' � . /, ft "h - t�- � � � }'�

"

m /,J� *- � � 3

8 9 10 11

gdlxd3 g2xt3 !f/hl-g2

.Qb7xd5- + .1d5xt3 ge2-el t gel-gl t

White resigned. 12.'i?]h3 'i?lfl /::,. ghS mate.

Seirawan - Beliavsky Brnssels 1988

...

g5-g4

+

After opening of the h-file th� attack is irresistible. Not so good is 3 ... h4 4.,1h2 g4 5.4Je5! 4Jxe5 6..Q.xeS g.g8 ?.hxg4 .1xg4 8.f3 Ah3 9.gf2 co (M1k halchishin ).

4 5

h3xg4 �t3-e5

h5xg4

5.4Jh2 4Jf6! 6.4Jc5 ,1xc5 7.dxc5 .£le4 8.4Jxg4 'M'g5 ::;: .

5 6 7

... 4g3xe5 4e5-g3

� d7xe5 t7-ffi !f/e8-t7

�-�-�m •�aa �� m • .... � iw�.f� � -%�� ;� � ww� � ', . , . , 7,� . " :t".• • l·� ,,

f

- m m:tm �

g7-g5! !

1

Black's position i n the center. is very solid so his flank attack is well foun d ed. The attack gains force through the buffeting of White's bishop and knight at f3 by pawn thrusts.

2

.1f4-g3

h7-h5

�� . �� - r• �·· ··�.. " ·/,r?-��¥�,a� ��-· ·�"%,• ft �� t�,4 �

� /.r, � � · �� * · ·�� L

s

gn-eI? !

More stubborn i s 8.f3 gx f3 9.'M'xf3 'M'g8 + .

8 9

gh8-h5- + ... 'ftdl-d2

9.'i?lfl 'M'aS -+.


9 10

AfS-e4 c&>gl-fi

6 10

.!e4-f3! Moulton

7 8

Browne

l!dlxcl .!d3-fi

'l'gSxcl t Ae7-g5

Including the bishop in the attack.

USA 1991

B

9 10

4) e5-c4 ti'g.l-h4

11

ti'h4-tl

Ag5-f4 g7-g5

oi)d5:xf4!

1

With a knight sacrifice B l ack demolishes the white king's pawn cover. Black's queen, supported by two powerfu l bishops, cre ates a strong attack against the white king.

g.l:xf4 ti'e2-d2

Intending a7-a6.

4 5 6

l!c8-cl !

It is helpful to exchange rooks be cause the rook at dl plays an impor tant part in the defense.

White resigned.

2 3

1 97

lklxc8t ti'd2-tl ti'tl-g.l

t)'h6:xf4 'l'f4-h4

lfa8xc8 ti'h4-g5t

l l:�h6? 'te3t 12.�xe3 Axe3 mate.

11 12

oi)b5-a3

.ib7-d5 ti'cl-dl +

White is a piece up, but Black's pieces are dominant.

13 14 15 16

oi) c4-e5 oi) e5-d3 ti'tl-f6 h2-h4

Centralization

ti'dlxa4 Af4-d6 h7-h6 ti'a4-dl !


1 98

17

€) d3-t2

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

,G.d6-h2t! �glxh2 'iil' d lxfl- + 'iil' fl -e2t €)f2-e4 'iil' e2-h5 €) e4-t2 'iil' h5xh4t €) a3-b5 'iil' h4-el €)t2-h3 'iil' e l-hlt 'iil' f6 -t2 f7.f5 �h2-g3 f5-f4t 4Jb5-d6 'iil' h l-dlt �g3-g4

3

e4-e5!

5

d5-d6!

White resigned.

Henley - Seirawan Indonesia 1983

5.'lbc5 � a6 + and Black has time to consolidate his position.

4J c7-e6?!

5

Better was 5 ... Axd6 6.Ag5 ! �xg5 7.Axa8 Ae5 s.gd7 ± .

6 7 8

,lg2xa8 gdl-fl 'tc4-d5

ghSxaS 'tf6-d8 ,le5xd6

8 . . . A d 4 9 . A f4 .:£lxf4 1 0.gxf4 f5 t l .gxd4! ! cxd4 12.get +-.

9

b2-b3

,ld6-t8


10 11

!.cl-b2t 'itd5-b7

<&>g7-g8

More precise is t U :�fel ! +-.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

�fal-dl 'itb7-d7 'itd7xe8 .lb2xd4 !!dlxd4 !!d4-d7 !!d7xf7 !!f7-c7 !!fl -dl !!dl -d8t !!c7-b7 !!b7-b8 !!d8xf8 <&>hl-g2 !!f8-fl

'itd8-e8 �fa8-b8 4:) e6-d4 !!b8xe8 c5xd4 !!e8-e3 !!e3xb3 !.f8-c5 !!b3-c3 a7-a6 !.c5-f8 b4-b3 <&>g8-g7 !!c3-clt b3-b2

Black resigned.

Adorjan - Hulak Toluca 1982

Black's kingside is weakened, but White must act resolutely because his d6 pawn is doomed.

1

e4-e5 ! !

4:)g6xe5

1 ...t£icxe5 2.t£ixd4 '{ffxd6 3.t£ib5 'M'd3 4.t£ic7 gb8 5.,£!.e3 '{ffxdl 6.gfxdl b6 7.h3 ± b,. f4.

2

4:)b3-c5

itd8xd6

1 99


200

6 . . . ,le6 7.gxc5 ! *xc5 8.Ae4 gf7 9.Ah6 +-. 6 . . . gxf6 7.AdSt Ae6 (7 . . . *xd5 8.*e8t 1Jg7 9.Ah6t 1Jxh6 10.gx£6t 1Jg5 1 1 .*f8 +-) 8.gxf6 �d5 9.Ah6 1Jh8 10.*g5 *d7 t t .gxcs ggs 12.gf8 gxf8 13.Axf8 d3 14.*f6t 1Jg8 15.Ah6 *d4t 16.*t"2 +- (Adorjan).

7 8

.ld2-h6 ,lg2-e4

� c5-e6 � e6-t8

'l'hS-gSt

10

'l'g5-g7t

1 2

b7-b5 � c3-dl

2.itl abl b4 3.itla4 Ad7 4.�b6 Axb2 5.�xa8 Axa1 6.itlb6 AbS - + .

2

8 ... Ad7 9.Axh7t gxh7 10.*g6t 1Jh8 1 1 . A g 7 t itl x g 7 1 2 . fx g 7 t gxg7 13.�d6 +-.

9

pawn with the activity of his bishops and his play against the knight at a3, which will not join the game soon.

4'ig8-h8

Ac8-b7

3

tl-13

�b8-d7

4

c2-c3

� d7-c5

5

l!al-cl

It is not easy for White to complete his development, e.g. 5.Ae2 Ag5 6.0-0 gd2! + .

Black resigned.

Morey - Adorjan

5

New York 1987

B

.lffi-h4t

Black wants to weaken and then break down White's pawn center, further liberating his bishops.

6

� dl-tl

6.g3 Ag5 1.gc2 f5 -+.

6 7

t7-f5! g2-g3

.lh4-e7

7 . . . Ag5 8.gcz fxe4 9 . fxe4 �xe4 10.,lg2 itlxt"2 1 1 .1}xt"2 = .

8 Black compensates for the missing

b2-b4

8.Ag2 fxe4 9.fxe4 itl a4 + .


201

13

8 9

b4xc5

f5xe4 ! !

9.fxe4 �xe4 10.Ag2 �xf2 l l .Axb7 �d3t -+.

9 10

� a3-c2

e4xt3

1 0.�d3 f2t 1 l .�xf2 AxcS - + .

10

.le7xc5

The piece sacrifice has activated Black's pieces significantly.

11

.an-h3

e6-e5

14

� c2-e3

lta8-d8

15

c3-c4

,lb7-e4

16

.lh3-f5

,le4xf5

17

� e3xf5

b5xc4

18

�f5-e7t

�g8-t8

19

� e7-c6

1:'td8-d5

20

h2-h4

21

�c6-b4

ltd5-d6

22

1:'thl-h3

e4-e3

23

ltcl-el

1:'td2-dl

24

�b4-c2

t3-f2- +

Black won i n a few moves.

Sokolov, I

1 Cl/elxf2 �-n

.lcSxflt ltd8-d2t

1 3.c&>et ge2t 14.c&>fl eS - + ; 13.c&>e3 ge2t 14.�f4 ge4t lS.c&>gS h6 t 16.c&>hS gc8 - + .

-

Kortchnoi Novi Sad 1990

1 l .�d4 Aa3 12.gd 1 es 13.�c2 Ab2 -+ ; l l .h4 gac8 12.gh2 Ad6 - + .

11 12 13

e5-e4

d4-d5!

Presenting Black with an unpleasant dilemma. Black has either to close the position 1 . ..eS and. sink into hopeless passivity, or to open the game, activating White's bishops.

1

e6xd5


202

creases.

2

1!al-dl!

d5-d4

2 . . . dxc4 3.!!d4 'l!tg5 4.'{!txc4t �h8 5.'l!txc7 +-.

3 4 5 6 7

1!dlxd4 .lfl-e2 gd4-g4 .le2-dl 0-0

'lith4-h5 9h5-g6 9g6-blt �b8-c6 9bl-f5

10 11 h2-h4 12 9d2-e2 13 t2-f4! 14 .lc2xf5 + 15 'lite2xg4 16 .lb2xg7 1 7 'litg4xd7 1 8 ,lg7-c3t 19 f4-f5 20 f5-f6 21 gn.f4 22
� c6-e5 d7-d6 f6-f5 � e5-g4 1!f8xf5 1!f5-f7 9e8-d7 1!f7xd7
Black resigned in view of the varia tion 23 ... AxhS 24.gg7t �e6 25.ge4t �f5 26.gxe8 Axe8 27.gxd7 Axd7 28.f7.

Andersson - Adorjan Wijk aan Zee 1984

B

8

gg4-g3

More logical would be 8.e4 'l!te6 9.f4, seizing space in the center and preparing to open the game. Impos sible is 9 ... 'l!txe4? 10.Ac2 '{!te6 1 1 .'l!th3 g6 1 2 . Axg6 hxg6 1 3 .gxg6t �f7 14.�6t +-.

8 9 9c3-d2 10 .ldl-c2 ±

9f5-e5 9e5-e8

Note that when the bishops act along adjacent diagonals their strength in-

1

0-0 ! !

The other moves give White a clear advantage 1 . . . exd5 2.Ab5t �d 7 (2 ... �c6 3.'l!te2t �f8 4.Axc6 Axc6 5.0-0 ± ) 3.'l!te2t '{!te7 4.Axd7t �d7 5.�e5t ± .

2

d5xe6

f7xe6

For his sacrificed pawn Black leads in development and has two act ive bishops that bear upon the center.


�b8-c6 c&>g8-h8

203

Browne - Benjamin USA 1985

B

5

0-0

S.dS Aa6! 6.*a4 (6.h4 Axc3t 7.bxc3 �as 8.*c2 *d6 9.gh3 gae8 10.�gS g6 1 1.ge3 Ac4! 12.�tlt gxn 13.Axtf gxe3 t 14 . fxe3 *f6 + ) 6 . . . Axc3t 7.bxc3 � as 8.0-0-0 Ae2 9.gd2 Axf3 10.gxf3 b S ! 1 1 .*b4 �c4 + (Andersson).

5 6

�t3xd4

� c6xd4 Af6xd4

White pins his hopes on the attacking team queen + knight.

1

Aa6-e2 ! !

1...fS? 2.b3 �b3 3.exfS with counter play.

2

gdl-d2

2.b3 *a6 3.Afl Axfl 4.gx£1 �a3 + .

2

Ae2xg4 +

The transformation of the advantage is that Black bass exchanged White's most dangerous piece.

3 4

h3xg4 '{tf4-e3

Ag7-e5 c5-c4

The pawn superiority on the queen side and his strong dark-square bishop ensure Black's advantage.

s 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Dr aw.

Ae6-d5! Ad5xb7 Ab7xa8 Aa8-e4 gnxdl a3-a4 gdlxd8t

Ad4xc3 Ac3xb2 Ab2xal 'ftd8xdl Aal-f6 gf8.d8

ge1 -cl gd2-c2

gca.cs


204

6 7 8 9 10

1lc2xc4 flxe3 1lc4xc5 1!cl-bl

ita4-b3 itb3xe3 .le5xb2 b6xc5

10.gc2 .11, e5 l l .�f2 gb8 -+.

10 11 12 13 14 15

1lbl-al 1!alxa7 <&igl-fl .lg2-fi .lfi-d3

.lb2xa3 .la3-b2 .lb2-e5 c5-c4 c4-c3 1!e8-b8- +

The passed c-ft, supported by the rook and the bi s hop , p r o m p tly decides the game in Black's favor.

16 17 18

1!a7-a2 1!a2xb2 g4-g5

1lb8-b2t c3xb2

White ran out of time, but his posi tion is hopeless in any case. 18 ... f6 19.gxf6 �fl -+. Black transfers his king to c3 and then sets up a passed h-ft. White cannot fight the two passed pawns simultaneously.

Karpov

Kortchnoi London 1984

2 2

3 4

1!elxe3 itbl-el !

itb6-c5

White's pieces have perfect coor dination. They threaten both the weak f5 pawn and Black's king (whose weakness becomes apparent after the exchange of the light square bishops).

4

.lg7-d4

4 ....11,xc4 5.bxc4 hc4 6J�e8t gxe8 7.he8 'l'g8 8.'l'd7 ± weak square b7, f5.

1le3-e2 b3xc4

.lg8xc4

.ld3-c4!

Exchanging light-square bishops to increase the pressure over light squares.

1

d4xe3

2....11,xc4 3.bxc4 gxc4 4.�5 ± .

5 6

1

'(tel-bl !

Aiming at the weak f5 pawn.

1lt'8-c8

6

1!c8-g8

6...hc4 7.gest gxes 8.he8t �g7


9.�e6t 'it>f6 10.�xd4 �d4? l l .'lh8t +-.

7 8

-.el-cl •ct-c2

ng8-c8 .£\d4-g7

p r o p e r c o o r d i n a t i o n . W h i te 's bishops have no outposts. Black ex ploits these drawbacks adroitly.

1

8 �c4 9.gest gxes 10.�c4 +-. 9 --c2-d3

205

ffi-fS!

...

The best way to make use of the disharmony of white pieces is to open the center.

With the idea 10.itd7 +-.

9 10 ._d3xf5 + 11 ne2-e7 12 CZ>gl-g2 13 -.rsxg4

14

itc5-d4 ._d4xc4 nc8-d8 --c4-b3 nd8-g8

2

·b3-c2

3

e4xf5

4

4e3-d2

.rig6-e5

s

.£\t3-e2

f4xg3

6

.£\d2-g5

ite7-f7

7

nh1-g1

4c8xf5

8

•c2-dl

gg8-e8 e5xf4- +

.rir4-g6t

Black resigned.

Knaak

Vaganian Sochi l980

B

8

The position is blocked, so it is not for White's bishops to display much activity. White's pieces lack

easy

.£\f5-g4

9

gglxg3

.ri eSxc4

10

4e2xg4

.ri c4xb2

11

.£\g4-e6

itf7-f2

12

•dl-t3

ne8-t8

13

.t3 xtl

nmxa

White resigned.


206

Lerner - Aseev Lvov 1984

4 Clld l-c2 ± White has safeguarded his kingside by advancing his pawns there, leaving Black's bishop restricted by the strong pawns at b5 and e4. White quietly consolidates his position.

4 5 6

1

Cllc2-b3 b5-b6

� e8-c7 a7-a6 �c7-b5

f2-f4!

Driving the knight to a passive posi tion. Less good is l .e4? ! in view of l...gfc8 = and knight at e5 gets an excellent post at c4.

1

� e5-g6

l ...�eg4 2.'i?lel � h3 ± .

2

e3-e4

gm-cs

2 ... a6 3.e5! (3.bxa6?! Ac6 oo ) 3 ... �d5 4.�xd5 exd5 5.bxa6 ± .

3

7 Ae2xb5! ± Favourable transformation of the ad vantage of the two bishops.

7 8 9 10 11

ga1xa8 gbt-dl Acl-e3 g4-g5

a6xb5 gcsxa8 Ad7-c6 �g6-f8

g2-g4!

The more natural 3.,B.e3 would have thrown the advantage away: 3 ... a6 4.bxa6 bxa6 s.gxa6 gxa6 6.Axa6 :!:!a8 7.,B.d3 :!;al t 8.�bl Ac6 = .

3

�f6-e8

3 ... h6 4.,B.e3 a6 5.g5 hxg5 6.fxg5 �e8 7.bxa6 ± .

11

f7-f6

ll ... �d7 12.�d5! 'i?lf'8 13.�b4! +-.

12

g5xf6

g7xf6


13

-&>b3-b4

14

e4-e5

-&>g8-t7

15

.[) c3xb5

.[)f8.g6

16

.[)b5-a7

Ac6-e4

17

gdl-d7t

-&>t7-g8

18

.[) a7-b5

gas-al

19

.[)b5-d6

lfal-el

lO

Ae3-dl

gel-el

ll

-&>b4-c3

.[)g6-h4

ll

.[) d6xb7

l3

.[)b7-c5

207

ffi.fS

.[)h4-t3

3

t3-f4

Better was 3.h3! h5 4.f4 ± .

3 4

Ahl-cl

4.,1d4 ! ? ge4 5.,1d3 !.

Black resigned.

Psakhis - Dvoirys Kharkov 1985

4 s 6

Afl·d3 a2-a4

gb8-e8

.[)g6-e7 g7-g6

White has implemented his plan, he has rather restricted Black, so it is easy to understand Black's desire to get some counterplay.

6

h7-h5?!

This creates weaknesses in Black's camp, but it gives him some hope of counterplay.

7 g4xh5 8 Ad3-e2 9 Acl-bl ± 10 -l>g3-f2

White has some spatial superiority. He wants to restrict Black's knights to the utmost, giving them no for tified support points.

1

b3-b4!

.[)c5-d7

l ...� a4 2.Ad4 ± weak square �a4. l

-&>f2-g3

Intending h7-h5.

geS-h8

g6xh5 ge8-h8 .[) e7-fSt ga8-e8


208

11

gdl-d3?!

White should have exchanged a pair o f r o o k s to ove r c o m e B l a c k ' s counterplay. 1 u;e1 Li A f'3 ± .

11 12

gd3-h3

� d7-f8

h5-h4?

12

Missing an excellent opportunity for salvatio n : 1 2 . . . �g6 1 3 .Ac l �d4 14.Axh5 g,di5 ! 15.gxhs �b3 16.gb l �xcl 17.gh7t ( 17.gxc l ? �xf4 -+) l 7 ...'iftg8 18.gxc7 �xf4 with counter play.

13 .1e2-d3 ± 14 a4-a5 15 .1b2-cl 16 Acl-d2 17 b4xa5 18 gal-bl 19 ,1d3-e2 20 gh3-b3 + -

Weak square b7.

20

27

a5xb6 gb3xb6 gb6-b7 gbl-b3 gb7xb3 gb3-b7 c&?tlxe2

f4-f5! c&?e2-d3 ,1d2-f4 c&?d3-e4 .1f4-h6 c&?e4-f5 gb7-e7 c&?f5-g6

c&?t7-g8 � e7xf5 ge8-d8 �f5-g7 �g7-e8 gd8-c8 � e8-c7

Black resigned.

Polugaevsky - Uhlmann Amsterdam 1980

gh8-h5 �f8-g6 ge8-a8 b6xa5?! �g6-e7 ga8-a7 gb5-h8 b7-b6

20 ... gbs 21 .AhSt 'iftg7 22.Ac3 +-.

21 22 23 24 25 26

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

c7xb6 h4-h3 ga7-a3 ga3xb3 �f5-d4 � d4xe2 gh8-e8

Black's position is solid though cramped. White has more space which he aims to consolidate, choos ing his moment to open the position, when his bishop pair will exploit the newly-weakened pawns.

1

a4-a5!

Seizing space and preventing the


pawn advance a6-a5.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

JU4-d2 g2-g3 c&>gl-g2 tl-f4 � c3-dl c&>g2-t3

h7-h5 �ffi-e8 Ag7-d4 � e8-g7 �g7-G �G-h6

209

21 22 23

h3xg4 �h4xg6 �g6-h4

Gxg4 c&>ffi-g7 c&>g7-f8

24 25 26 27 28

Ac2-ffi Affi-c8 �h4-G Ael-d2 �Gxd4

� d7-ffi �t7-d8 �ffi-h5 Aal-d4

White has consolidated his position on the kingside and now threatens 8.g4.

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

4c2-d3 �dl-e3 � e3-c2 c&>t3-e3 � c2-el c&>e3-t3 � el-g2

t7-G c&>e7-d8 c&>d8-e7 4d4-b2 � d7-ffi Ab2-d4t .4.d4-b2

Black has no counterplay, so White need not hurry.

14 15 16 17 18 19

�g2-h4 c&>t3 -e3 4d3-c2 c&>e3-e2 4d2-el

Black resigned.

�ffi-d7 c&>e7-ffi �h6-t7 4b2-al Aal-b2 Ab2-al

Uhlmann - Gligori6 Hastings 1970-71

This position is similar to that in the Po l u g a evs ky - U h l m a n n g a m e , Amsterdam 1980.

20

1

g3-g4! + -

Demolishing Black's defensive bas tions.

20

h5xg4

a4-a5!

White fixes the queenside, 6. to at tack it later on. Next is to seize space on the kingside and then start induc ing weaknesses in the enemy's camp.


21 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

4f4-d2 Cflgl-fi b2-b3 4dl-c2 �c3-e2 f2-f3 Cflfi-f2 � e2-c3 Cflf2-e2 f3-f4 4c2-d3

�ffi-e8 h7-h5 4g7-d4 � e8-g7 �g7-e8 4d4-b2 � e8-g7 4b2-ffi 4ffi-d4t t7-fS �g7-e8 4d4xc3

Black exchanges his bishop for the knight in hope to build a fortress and draw the game.

13 14 15 16

17

4d2xc3 4c3-el Cfle2-e3 4d3-c2

� e8-ffi Cfle7-t7 Cl/t7-e7 Cfle7-t7

b3-b4!

It is difficult to break Black's defense on the kingside, so White acts to divert his forces to the other wing.

17 18 19

4elxb4 Cfle3-d4

c5xb4 � d7-c5 �ffi-d7

Black has fortified the cS square, but at a cost.

20

4c2-dl !

Cflt7-e7

21

g2-g4!

White opens the second front.

21 22 23

h3xg4 Cfld4-e3

h5xg4 Cfle7-ffi b7-b6

23 ...cflf7 24.gxfS gxf5 25.AhSt cfle7 26.,1g6 'it>f6 27.Ah7 ,£ie4 28.Aa3 +-.

24

g4xfS

25

4b4xcS!

g6xfS

As so often happens, the bishop is able to exchange itself for a knight at a crucial moment. .

25

� d7xc5

25 ...ftbxcS 26.Aa4 ,£ib8 27.cflf'3 cflg6 28.cflg3 cflh5 29.Ae8t cflh6 30.cflh4 +-.

26 27 28 29

a5xb6 4dl-c2 Cfle3-d2! 4c2xfS

a6-a5 Cflffi-e7 c&>e7-d8 � c5-a4


30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

b6-b7 .a.rs-cs f4-fS �d2-c2 �c2-b3 �b3-a4 fS-ffi Cl/a4xa5

211

�d8-c7 � a4-c5 � c5-e4t Cl/c7-b8 � e4-d2t �d2xc4 � c4-e5

Black resigned.

Boleslavsky

Bal en do Minsk 1971

4 5 6 7 8

geJ.bJ gb3xb5 Af4-g5 h2-h4 gg2-gl

b6-b5 gh3xf3 gd8-g8 ga.aJ

With the idea 9.gel .

1

AclxfS! !

8 9 10

gb5-b6 gb6xa6

11 12 13 14 15 16

ggl-fi gnxr4t .lg5-e7 �d2-c3 Ae7xd6 �c3-b3

fS-f4 gaJ.a6 Ac8xa6

g6xfS

White's position is better because: The unlucky position of the black king makes it a target; B i s h o p s o f o p p o s i te c o l o u r strengthen the attack; Weakness of the d6 pawn ties down the rook at d8.

2

gb3-e3

With the idea 3.gge2.

2 3

b7-b6 a5xb6

3.gge2 gd7 4.ges Aa6.

3

a7xb6

Black resigned.

gg8-b8 �-g8 gb8-b4 gb4-bl gbl-clt


212

Uhlmann

Andersson Skopje 1972

6 Black's knights are placed passively. White, exploiting this fact, starts playing on the queenside.

1 2

b3-b4! � c3-a4

c5xb4 �g8-ffi

c4-c5!

�ffi-d7

6 . . . .£lxd5 7.c6! �xb6 8.cxb7 .£ld7 9.,1a4 +-.

7 c5-c6! 8 b6-b7! 9 4c2-a4 + 1 0 4a4xe8 n Ab4xd6

b7xc6 c6xd5 �d7-b8 4&>f8xe8

Black resigned.

Gulko - Vasiukov Moscow 1983

3

� a4-b6!

3.Axb4 .£ld7.

3

4e7-d8?!

Black ought to struggle for the cS point: 3 ... b3 ! 4.,1xb3 �e4 5.,1b4 �cs 6.�c8! ± .

4 5

4d2xb4 a5xb6

4d8xb6 4&>g7-f8

5 . �d7 6.,1a4 � ef6 7.,1xd6 �xb6 ..

8.,1b3 ± .

The center is open, so White's bishops are superior to Black's k n i g h t s , w h i c h lack p r o te c t e d squares. Black also has difficulties defending his a7 pawn.

1

lfal-dl!

The exchange o f a pair o f rooks min i m i z e s B l a c k 's c h a n c e s to g e t counterplay.


1

gd7xdl

2 gnxdl ±

.ri c7-b5

3

J.g2-fl

a7-a6

4

gdl-d5

ge8-b8

5

�gl-g2

.ri e4-f6

6

gd5-dl

.rif6-e4

7

gdl-d5

.ri e4-f6

8

gd5-c5

.rif6-e4

9

gcS-c4

15

213

c4-c5!

15.gxa6? gc8 16.ga7 .£ie5

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

gc6-c8t c5-c6 + Aa5xb6 �g2-t3 �t3-e4 �e4-d5

=.

gb8-b5 �g8-h7 .rid7-b6 gb5xb6 a6-a5 a5-a4

Black resigned.

Ljubojevic - Smyslov London 1984

gb8-e8

9

9 . . .£ibd6? 1 0.gb4! gxb4 l l .Axb4 .£ib5 12.c;>f.3 .flf6 13.Ac4 +-. Black has to avoid an exchange of rooks. .

10

Afl-d3

.ri e4-f6

11

gc4-c5

geS-b8

12

Ad3-c4

.rib5-a3

13

gc5-c6

.ri a3xc4

14

b3xc4

Transformation of the advantage. Now the passed c-ft is unstoppable.

14 1 4 . . . gas

.rif6-d7

1 5.gc7 c;>f8 16.c;>f3 c;>e8 17.�e3 ± .

The center is open, so the two bishops and the better pawn struc ture ensure White's advantage.

1

�gl-fl

White is preparing to centralize his king.

1

At8-g7


214

2

gal-el

gesxelt

3

«;nxel

;>g8-t8

4

"1el-e2

"1t8-e7

5

«1le2-d3

.lg7- d4

6

f2-f4

6.£3 ! ?.

h7-h5

6

17

b5-b6!

� d6-b7

B l ack res i g n e d . 1 8 . ,1xb7 �xb7 19.bxa7 'l;xa7 20.�c4 Ae3 21 .'l;bS Af'2 22.Ab6t 'l;b7 23.AxcS +-.

Gelfand - Seirawan Ti/burg 1990

7

a2-a4!

B

Preparing 8.,1c7 or 8.b4. Bad is 7.,1c7?! �bS 8.,1b8 �c3 = .

7 8

"1e7-d7 b3-b4

Using the unstable position of the black bishop, White achieves pawn superiority on the queenside .

8

.ld4-f2

9

b4-b5 ±

10

.la5-c3

.lf2-g3

11

.lc3xffi

.lg3xf4

12

.1ffi-c3

g6-g5

13

.lc3-el

'1ld7-c7

14

,1el-a5t

"1c7-b8

15

.1a5-d8

g5-g4

16

h3xg4

h5xg4

t7-ffi

There is material equality, but Black has to play carefully to avoid worsening his position .

1

g6-g5 ! !

l . ..,1g3 ? 2.'l;g2 Axh4 3.,1e5 ± /j, Ab8; 1 ...f6? ! 2.,1e4 �f7 3.h5 gxh5 4.gxh5 ±.

2

h4xg5


3

g7-g6! =

2

Now the bishop at f3, being restricted by his own and enemy pawns, can play no active part in the game. With the blockade pawn sacrifice Black has built an impregnable fortress.

3 4

c&'hl-g2 At3-e2

c&'g8-f8 c&'f8-e7

5

c&'g2-t3

� e8-c7

215

e3-e4!

White restricts the bishop at g7 and prevents advance e5-e4.

3 4 5 6

b2-b3 0-0

e4xf5

Ac8-e6
6... {)xf5 7.�e4 �d6 8.�2c3 ± .

Nogueiras - Browne Linares 1993 Z"""il

�-�� .... � .. �;�� &

· ·w��. . . . . . . v. . ......

w

� � J. .....

7

tl-f4!

e5-e4

Blocking the position favors the player without the bishop pair. The passive bishop at e6 is a constant headache for Black.

1

Ag2xc6t!

b7xc6

2

itdlxd8t

c&'e8xd8

Black's pawns are weak, a static weakness, and his pair of bishops have little scope.

s 9 10 11 12 13 14

gn-d1 Acl-e3 h2-h3 c&'gl-tl � e2-d4 � c3-a4 � d4-e2

a7-a6 �h6-g8 h7-h5 Ae6-d7 Ag7-f8 h5-h4


21 6

15

gdl-gl

�g8-f6

28 29 30 31 32 33

Cfel-e2 Cfe2xe3 � c5xe6 � eS-d3 �e3-d4 �d4-c3

�h5xf4t �f4-e6 Cfe7xe6 gbl-h3t gb3-h4t

Black resigned.

Ljubojevic - Karpov Amsterdam 1988

16

Ae3-c5!

Removing the dark-square bishops allows White's knights to gain a foothold on the dark squares.

16

gf7.h7

16....lg7 17.gxh4 ± .

17 18 19

Ac5xf8 � a4-c5 gal-dl

�e8xf8 Ad7-c8 �f8-e7

1

�c4-e3 ! !

This striking move forces a favorable ending.

1 2

,1g2xc6

Ad5xb3 h7-h6

2...gcs 3 ..lb5 h6 4.ga3 .lc2 5.�e4 ± .

3

gal-a3

The bishop is trapped and must give itself up for a knight.

3 4 ga3xb3 ±

20 21 22

g.lxh4! � e2-d4 � d4xc6

�e7-f7 gh7xh4 gb4xh3

22 ... gxf4t 23.e2 gb4 24.�eSt e8 25.gg6 e7 26.gg7t e8 27.�c6 +-.

23 24

25

26 27

� c6-e5t ggl-g7 gg7-g8t gdl-d8 �f2-el

�f7-e8 �f6-h5 �e8-e7 e4-e3t gb3-hl t

h6xg5

The bishop pair is strong in this posi tion with the center open, the knight at d7 is vulnerable, so White has the advantage.

4 5 6

�gl-g2 Ac6-b5

7 ... e4 8.d4 +-.

7 8

h2-h3 ..lb2-c3

,1g7-f8 ge8-e6 �g8-g7 Af8-e7

Defending the b4 pawn frees the


rook for action on the a-file.

8 9 10

gb3-a3 ga3-a8

Ae7-d6 Ad6-b8 ge6-e7

will be even.

1 2 3 4 5

c4-c5! � e4-d6t c5xd6 gn-elt 'ldl-d4

21 7

�b6-d5 Ae7xd6 'ltc7xd6 Clie8-f8 h7-h5

With the pawn sacrifice, White has deprived his opponent of the chance to castle. As a result, the cooperation of Black's pieces is destroyed for a long time; the rook at h8 will not be able to join the game soon. Black pins his hopes of defense on the centralized knight at d5.

6

11

Ac3-d2!

Intending 4")g4.

11 12 13 14 15

d3-d4 + gas-c8 Ad2-c3 Ab5-c6

e5-e4 Ab8-c7 � d7-f8 �f8-h7

a2-a4!

Establishing control over the a3-f8 diagonal with the bishop and prepar ing the b3-b4-b5 advance, which will weaken the knight at d5.

6 7

Ab2-a3

Clif8-g8 iil'd6-d8

7 . . .'�d7 8.ge7 tlc8 9.Axd5 Axd5 10.gael +-.

Black's pieces are bound hand and foot.

15 16

b4-b5

�h7-f8

With the idea Ab4 Black resigned.

Vogt - Bagirov Riga 1981

8

Aa3-c5!

b7-b6?!

Better was 8 ... a6. After Black's move the push b3-b4-b5 gains in strength.

9 10 11 12

If Black gets to castle, the position

Ac5-a3 l!al-dl b3-b4 ± 'ld4-d3

Intending b5; 12.bS?! c5.

12

l!a8-c8 gc8-c7 'ld8-c8 � d5-f4


218

Player I ndex 1 99, 200, 202 Adorjan 1 32 Akopian, Gaguik Alekhine 1 63, 1 84, 1 85, 1 86, 1 87 1 20 , 1 77 Anand

Andersson

1 49, 202, 2 1 2

Arakhamia Aronin Arulaid

38 40 , 1 88

Aseev Averbakh Azmaiparashvili Bagirov Balashov

14

4t3-e4

h5-h4

1 4 . . . � eS 1 5 ."M-d8t Ae8 16.f4 �f7 17.Ag6 +-.

15 16

4a3-cl 4e4-f5

c6-c5 itc8-b7

Balendo Bannik Baranov Bareev Barlov Bel iavsky Benjamin Bilek Blackburne Boleslavsky Bondarevsky Botvinnik B ronstein Browne Byrne, R

17 S.cl -f4! + -

lk7-c6

18

'(td6-d3

c5-c4

19

itd3-e4

4&>g8-h7

20

gdl-d7

ghs-es

21

gd7xb7

ge8xe4

22

,1f5xe4

Black resigned.

gc6-e6

Campora Caro Cebalo Chandler Chelushkina Chigorin Citron Denker Donaldson, E Dorfman Dvoirys Eingorn Eliskases Engl isch Epishin Euwe Evans

61 206 9, 1 1 5 51 21 7 96, 1 76, 1 83 21 1 1 7, 1 57 36 41 62 1 96 1 50, 203 37, 49 2 1 , 79 4, 42, 47, 1 23, 1 25, 1 26, 1 27, 1 3 1 , 1 32, 2 1 1 1 1 8, 1 23 2 1 , 45, 87, 1 07, 1 42,

1 59, 1 61 , 1 68, 1 70 , 1 73 52 1 97, 203, 2 1 5 1 00 1 38 1 08 1 58 95 38 58, 1 1 6 1 68 19 32 1 47 207 11 1 31 90 1 5, 28 1 86 1 64

Mastering the Bishop Pair Evseev

1 33

Fal k Filip Fine Flohr Florian Fridstein Furman

1 16 69, 1 1 8 1 85 1 6, 1 7, 24, 80 , 1 02 , 1 07, 1 33 101 33 39, 1 53, 1 57, 1 59

Gavrikov Gelfand Geller Georgiev, Kir. G heor iu Gl igori Golombek G randa G rigorian Groszpeter Gulko Gurevich, M G u rgenidze Gusev

53 97, 2 1 4 18

t

30 101 86, 1 05, 1 94, 209 117 98 89, 1 94 34 21 2 27 1 41 25, 1 44

Henley Hertneck Hjartarson Hort Horvath, T H u bner H ulak

1 98 1 45 1 37 1 58 1 47 30, 1 45, 1 7 1 1 99

Illescas llyin-Zhenevsky

81 1 52

l n kiov lvanchuk lvkov

1 48 1 56

Janowski Karpov Kasparian Kasparov Katetov Kavalek Ke res Khal ifman Kharitonov Khasin Khenkin Kliavins Klinger Knaak

27

1 08 7, 44, 55, 59, 93, 1 1 3, 1 20, 1 29, 204, 2 1 6 87 47, 55, 86, 1 37, 1 48, 1 74 10 7, 42 65, 1 00, 1 63 1 54 97 1 30, 1 53 15 50 1 77 205

21 9

29 Kochiev 36 Konstantinopolsky 26 Kopylov Kortchnoi 59, 75, 78, 96, 1 95, 20 1 , 204 1 0, 1 0 1 Kotov 73 Kovacs 13 Kramnik 11 Krasenkow 70 Krogius 64, 1 4 1 Kupreichik

Larsen Lasker Leko Lerner Levenfish Li Zunian Ljubojevii Lobron Lputian Magomedov Mariotti Marovii Martinovic M ichel Miles Moulton Muhutdinov M u resan M u rey

72, 95 58, 79 81 206 1 09 92 1 74, 2 1 3, 2 1 6 1 82 41 28 39 1 49 1 35 1 12 75, 92, 94, 98 1 97 1 91 20 200

1 67 Naumkin Nezhmetd inov 1 66, 1 88, 1 89, 1 9 1 , 1 92 1 65 Nikolaevsky 1 81 Nikolii 1 09 N imzowitsch 215 Nogueiras 77 Noskov

Olafsson, F Opocensky Ostojil Parma Petrosian Pigusov Plaskett Pol ugaevsky Popovii . Portisch Psakhis Ragozin

101 24 23, 1 82 71 52, 1 1 6, 1 36, 1 61 , 1 76 62, 1 83 1 45 25, 37, 42, 44, 1 3 1 , 1 34, 1 56, 208 1 38 94, 1 04, 1 22, 1 60 1 69, 207 50, 77, 1 52


220 Razuvaev

1 50

Tseshkovsky

Reicher

1 25

U hl mann

Reshevsky

43, 1 1 9 111

Richter Roman ishin Romanovsky Rubi nstein Rukavina Sakharov Savereide Sax Scherbakov Schwarz Seirawan

54 40, 84 5 72 84, 1 89 20 1 40 4 21 78, 1 78, 1 96, 1 98, 2 1 4

S habalov Shereshevsky Short

88 1 06 1 79, 1 8 1

Sigurjonsson Simagin

63, 1 95

25, 33, 80 , 84, 1 36, 1 43, 1 44

Sloka Smorodsky

1 65 84 9, 1 9, 2 1 , 43, 45, 49, 68,

S myslov 69, 82, 1 04, 1 05, 1 1 9, 1 24, 1 64, 2 1 3

Sokolov, A Sokolov, I

57 20 1

Sokolsky

6 1 , 66 1 00

S�n Sosonko

93 1 71 , 1 93, 1 94

Spassky Speelman Stein

1 78 9, 44, 63, 64, 65, 66, 70, 7 1 ,

1 1 5, 1 1 6, 1 1 8, 1 22 , 1 29, 1 30 , 1 3 1

Steiner, H Steinitz S uba

90 32, 34, 82 23, 60, 1 1 8

Suetin Sultanbieff Sveshnikov Szabo

1 84 1 75 1 27, 1 66

Szilagyi

1 70

Szily

25

Taimanov Tai

1 6, 1 1 7

47, 60 , 1 1 3

42, 88, 1 24, 1 26, 1 73, 1 92, 1 94

Tarrasch Tartakower Timman Timoshchenko Torre Tseitl i n

5, 1 1 1 1 12 47, 1 35, 1 60, 1 79 75 , 1 54 1 80 73

Ulibin U nzicker Utasi Vaganian Vaitonis Van der Wiel Vasiukov Veltmander Vera Verlinsky Vogt Wade

54, 75 , 89 1 42, 208, 209, 2 1 2 13 1 45 1 40 205 18 1 34 29, 2 1 2 1 02 1 75 , 1 00 1 87 21 7 68

Xu Jun

1 93

Yanovsky Yudasin

1 67 51

Yuferov Yusupov Zagoriansky

Zaitsev, I Zilberstein

1 06 53, 57, 1 80 44, 1 43 26 1 69

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The Dragon is named after the star constellation of the same name, since Black 's pawns are arranged in a similar way to the stars. This opening is cut-throat chess at its best : both sides go straight for the enemy King. It was Kasparov 's secret weapon in his 1 995 world title defense. This book contains many spectacular games. The Dragon is one of the most controversial and well-analyzed chess openings. 352 pages, PB .

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$ 1 922 International Chess Enterprises

The Bishop Pair A bishop is worth three pawns, the same as a knight. But what about two bishops versus bishop and knight or versus two knights? The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Frequently the bishop pair is an advantage, sometimes decisive. Discover and master the secrets of the bishop pair, and how to combat it.

The Authors International Master Jaroslav Srokovsky (born 1 96 1 ) has a rating of 2450. Grandmaster Ekaterina Borulia has a FIDE rating of 2362. Expert Wit Braslawski (born 1 964) is the head of Intelivest Co. Ltd and the author of Chess Academy software. www.chessacademy.de

I SBN 1 -8 794 79-78-8

Mastering the Bishop Pair - Srokovsky, Borulia, Braslawski

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