Seven Brutalities 7

My opponent in this game is a rated expert with an aggressive style of play that has victimised a number of masters, myself included. I decided to play the Scandinavian Defence because unless White knows some exact theory he can easily overreach himself. However it soon becomes evident that White is playing for a draw.

P.Burke - D. Scoones
Labour Day Open, Langley 2007
Scandinavian Defence B01

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nxd5 4.Nxd5?!

This ill-considered exchange gives Black's queen a central position from which she cannot be easily dislodged. More common is 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3 when Black must tread very carefully.

4...Qxd5 5.Nf3

If 5.Qf3 the best remedy is 5...Qe6+ 6.Qe2 Nc6 7.Qxe6 Bxe6 8.Bb5 Bd5! 9.Nf3 0–0–0 which favours Black after 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.d3 e5 12.Be3 Bd6.

5...Nc6 6.d4 Bg4 7.Be2 0–0–0 8.Be3

White's best try is 8.0–0 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Bxe2 10.Qxe2 Qxd4 11.Rb1!? with some compensation for the pawn.

8...e5 9.0–0 exd4 10.Nxd4 Bxe2 11.Nxe2 (diagram)

Time for an assessment. Black has an edge in development and before it fades away he must try to turn it into something more concrete.

11...Qc4!?

The alternative 11...Qb5 12.Nc3 Qxb2 13.Nd5 Qe5 wins a pawn but this would give my opponent an open file against my king and some cheapo potential.

12.Bd2

If 12.b3 Rxd1 ( 12...Qh4!?) 13.bxc4 Rxa1 14.Rxa1 Ne5 with continuing problems for White.

12...Bd6 13.b3 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Kh1 Qf5

Also possible was 15...h5 16.Ng1 Qf5.

16.f3 Rhe8 17.a3 Bc5

Here Black can play 17...Bxa3!? with the idea of 18.Rxa3 Qd5 but as before I did not want to give my opponent any open lines against my king unless his queen is exchanged or at least driven to a passive position.

18.Nf4 Ne5

A preventive move directed against 19.Nd3, blocking the d-file.

19.Qc1 g5 20.Ng2 f6

Also possible was 20...Nxf3 21.Bxg5 Re2 22.Qf4 Qxg5 23.Rxf3 Qxf4 24.Nxf4 Rxc2.

21.Be3 Bxe3 22.Qxe3 Nc6 23.Qf2 Nd4 24.Ne3 Qc5

Time for another assessment. In order to meet Black's concrete threats White has had to make a number of pawn moves but that has not relieved the pressure. Black has a definite advantage but notching the full point will not be simple... unless White makes further mistakes...

25.b4?

Stronger was 25.Rad1 Qxa3 26.Rd3 Qc5 27.c4 with some counterplay for White. The text also gives up a pawn but has the added drawback of allowing an effective simplifying combination.

25...Qc3 26.Rfe1 Rxe3!

Black has a winning rook ending after 27.Qxe3 Qxe3 28.Rxe3 Nxc2 29.Rae1 h5 30.R1e2 Nxe3 31.Rxe3 Rd1+ 32.Kg2 Rd2+ 33.Kg1 Kd7. My opponent decided he had seen enough and stopped the clocks.

0–1

A late tactic

Here is rook and pawn ending of a type that occurs frequently in blitz chess. With both sides about to promote a pawn, the general result is a draw. One side will give up his rook for the opponent's pawn, and will then force his opponent to do the same.

I am White in the diagram position and my last move was 57.g7. Black has several ways to force a draw, the simplest of which is 57...Rh4+ 58. Kg8 b2 59.Rb8 Rb4 60.Rxb4 Kxb4 61.Kf8 b1Q g8Q and there is no play left for either side.

However, my opponent apparently believed there was absolutely no danger and that he could play anything he liked. That's how he came up with:

1...Kc4?

A golden opportunity for White!

2.Rf4+! Rxf4

Unfortunately forced.

3.g8Q+

Black is now on the horns of a dilemma. If 3...Kb4 then 4.Qb8+ picks up the rook with an easy win. The same goes for 3...Kc3 4.Qg3+. All other moves (except 3...Rf7) allow 4.Qxb3, and White reaches the winning ending of queen vs rook. There was nothing left for Black but resignation.

The lesson here is that no matter how harmless a position may appear, it is still possible to fall into a trap!

Petrosian vs Spassky, Leningrad 1960

The tenth world champion Boris Spassky has written very little about chess. No game collection -- just some contributions to the Santa Monica 1966 tournament book, a contribution to a book on the Sicilian Najdorf, a few articles in obscure Soviet magazines, and that's about it. In this context he once described himself as a “lazy Russian bear.”

While browsing through the 1960 Soviet Yearbook the other day, I came across a rare set of annotations by Spassky, these to his game with Tigran Petrosian from the 27th USSR Championship in Leningrad. The lazy Russian bear had come out of hibernation!

Curiously, this is one of only three decisive games between Spassky and Petrosian from tournament play. Petrosian won again at the 1971 Alekhine Memorial in Moscow, and Spassky took a measure of revenge at the 1975 USSR Team Championship in Riga.

From now on the comments are by Boris Spassky.

Petrosian,T - Spassky,B
27th USSR Championship
Leningrad 1960

Before this game the two opponents had met eight times and even though most of the games had featured a sharp struggle, each one had ended in a draw. This time both players again went for a win and finally managed to break out of the “vicious circle” of draws.

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 0–0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0

This was a bit of a surprise for me. In this position Petrosian usually plays 7.d5.

7...Nbd7 8.Re1 c6 9.d5

With this move White closes the centre and also significantly reduces the activity of his opponent's dark-squared bishop. This advance is usually connected with a pawn storm on the queenside. At the same time one should also note the negative aspects of the move. Because Black now obtains a comfortable post for his knight – the square c5 – and because the pawn tension around the square e5 has been released, Black can now advantageously prepare the advance f7-f5.

9...Nc5 10.Bf1 a5 11.Bg5

The beginning of a definite plan. By pinning the Black knight, White prevents his opponent from preparing the advance f7-f5. At the same time he intends to transfer his own knight from f3 to d2 and later to b3. And if Black drives the enemy bishop to g3 by playing h7-h6 and g6-g5, then White will be able to bring it back into play after f2-f3. However, in the present situation this plan does not turn out successfully because of Black's 13th move.

11...h6 12.Bh4 g5 13.Bg3 Bg4! 14.Re3

White prepares to move his queen out of the pin. If he does this immediately by playing, say, 14.Qc2, then 14...Bxf3 15.gxf3 is very unpleasant for White because the bishop on g3 is left out of play. However, the move in the game involves a loss of time and with his 14th move Black begins an active plan of attack against e4, the stronghold of White's position.

14...b5! 15.dxc6

The strongest continuation. After 15.cxb5 cxd5 16.Nxd5 (if 16.exd5 then 16...e4, etc.) 16...Nfxe4 Black obtains good play.

15...b4 16.Nb5

16.Nd5 is also not dangerous for Black because of 16...Nfxe4 17.c7 Qe8 with good play.

16...Nfxe4 (diagram)

A very complicated position has arisen, one that is not easy to assess. White has a passed c-pawn and a strong knight on b5 threatening the backward pawn on d6. Black for his part has compensation in the form of a pawn majority in the centre and the strong position of his minor pieces. In addition White has to reckon with the advance of the enemy f-pawn.

17.c7

It was better to play 17.Bd3 immediately, and if 17...f5 then to sacrifice the exchange with 18.Bxe4 fxe4 19.Rxe4 Nxe4 20.Qd5 followed by 21.Qxe4 with approximately equal chances due the strong position of the knight on b5 and the dangerous passed c-pawn.

17...Qe7?

A mistake, relinquishing Black's advantage. Correct was 17...Qd7! If White replies 18.Bd3 then there follows 18...f5. In this situation the exchange sacrifice is not good for White; for example 19.Bxe4 19...fxe4 20.Rxe4 Nxe4 21.Qd5+ Be6 22.Qxe4 d5! with advantage. Instead of 20.Rxe4 White can play 20.h3 but even then 20...Be6 (20...Bh5 21.Nxe5!) 21.Nd2 d5 would give Black the better game.

If White does not take on e4 but plays 19.Bc2, then 19...Nf6 is possible. In view of the threat of f5-f4 White would have to sacrifice a piece with 20.Qxd6 Qxd6 21.Nxd6. However, after 21...e4 and 22…f4 Black would get the advantage.

18.Bd3 Nxg3

The exchange of an active knight for a bishop that has no prospects appears to be illogical. On the other hand it is not clear how Black can fight for an advantage. For example, if 18...f5 then 19.Bxe4 fxe4 20.Rxe4 Nxe4 21.Qd5+ gives White satisfactory play. Or 18...Nf6 19.Nxd6! and the queen cannot take the knight because of 20.Bh7+.

With the move in the game I marked out a plan that was based on an incorrect assessment of the position.

19.hxg3 f5

Black overestimates the strength of his centre pawns. After the game Petrosian suggested 19...Rac8 followed by 20...Rxc7. In that case Black would have a pawn and two active bishops for the exchange.

20.Bc2!

Consolidating White's advantage. The attack on the d6-pawn is very unpleasant. What should Black do now? If 20...e4 then 21.Qd5+ Kh8 22.Nfd4 with the threat of 23.f3 and White stands better. Or 20...Ra6 21.Qd5+ Kh8 22.Nh2 f4 (22...Bh5 23.Bxf5!) 23.Nxg4 fxe3 24.Nxe3 with an excellent position for the sacrificed exchange.

20...f4 21.gxf4 gxf4 22.Re1 Ra6 23.Be4 h5?

This “active” move only worsens Black's position. It was time to think about how to get rid of the enemy pawn on c7. Deserving attention was 23...Bd7 with the threat of Bxb5 25.cxb5 Rb6. In that case Black could successfully carry on the struggle.

24.Qc2 Qf6 25.Nd2 h4

The advance of this pawn holds absolutely no danger for White.

26.f3 Bc8 27.Bd5+ Kh8 28.Ne4

White has established a blockade on the central squares, and as a result Black's forces are completely paralysed.

28...Qh6

Still laying some hopes on the h-pawn.

29.Re2 h3 30.gxh3 Rf5 31.Rh2 a4 32.h4 b3 33.axb3 axb3 34.Qd1 Rxa1 35.Qxa1 Black resigns (1-0)

White threatens 36.Nexd6. Black can only parry this threat with 35...Nxe4. Then 36.Bxe4 Rf8 37.Qd1 puts him in a completely helpless position.

J.Yoos vs L.Davies, Vancouver 2009

Today we will analyse an interesting ending from the game J.Yoos-L.Davies, played in the sixth round of this year's B.C. Championship tournament in Vancouver.

In the first diagram White is about to make his 39th move. Although White has the nominal advantage of bishop vs knight, Black's position does not present any cause for alarm. He is well-centralized and has the entry points under control. Indeed, White's bishop is somewhat short of targets, and will have to content itself with restricting Black's movements in the hope that his colleague the king can make something happen. But at the moment that does not look too likely.

39.Bf5 Ne8 40.Be4+ Kd6 41.Bg2 Nc7 42.Bb7 Ne8 43.Be4 Nf6 44.Bg6 Kc6

After some minor sparring we are back where we started. White tries a different tack.

45.Bf7 Kd6!?

After 45...a6 46.b5+ axb5+ 47.axb5+ Kd6 the draw could be agreed fairly soon.

46.Kb5 Ne4!?

This aggressive move suggests that Black is playing for a win, or at least keeping that possibility open. Otherwise he might have dug in with 46...Kc7 and if 47.Ka6 then 47...Kb8 48.Bg6 Nd5 49.Kb5 Kc7 50.Kc4 Kd6 51.Bf7 Nf6, when things are looking familiar.

It should be noted that at this point both players were running short of time. This largely accounts for the reversals of fortune that occur over the next few moves.

47.Ka6

White's only chance for active play is an attack on his opponent's queenside pawns. He could have prefaced this move with the interesting 47.g3!?, trying to prevent Black from creating a passed pawn, but then 47...Nc3+! 48.Ka6 Nxa4 49.Kxa7 Kc7 leads to yet another drawish position.

47...Nxf2 48.Kxa7 Kc7?

A serious error that should have cost Black the game. Correct was 48...Nd3! when there are two main variations:

A) 49.Kxb6 Nxb4 50.a5 e4 51.Bc4! (not 51.a6? Nxa6 52.Kxa6 e3 53.Bc4 Kc5 and Black wins) 51...e3 52.a6 Nxa6 53.Bxa6 Kd5 54.Ka5 h5 55.Kb4 Ke4 56.Be2 h4 57.g4 (or 57.gxh4 gxh4 58.Kc3 Kf4 59.Kd3 Kg3 60.Bg4 Kf2 and draws) 57...Kf4 58.Kc3 Kg3 59.Kd3 Kxh3 60.Kxe3 Kg3 61.Bf3 h3 62.Ke4 h2 63.Ke3 h1Q 64.Bxh1 Kxg4 with an immediate draw;

B) 49.b5 e4 50.Bg6! (other moves lose) 50...Nc5 51.Bxe4 Nxe4 52.Kxb6 Kd5 (not 52...Nxg3 53.a5 and White wins) 53.a5 Nd6 54.a6 Nc4+ 55.Kb7 Kc5 56.a7 Nb6 57.Ka6 Na8 and the draw is obvious.

(second diagram)

49.a5?

A serious error in return. White is perfectly placed to queen his b-pawn, needing only to lever Black's b-pawn out of the way. But he has to do it accurately. He should prevent Black's next move with 49.b5! when the likely continuation is 49...Nd3 50.a5 (only now!) 50...Nc5 (or 50...bxa5 51.b6+ etc.) 51.axb6+ Kd6 52.b7 Nxb7 53.Kxb7 and wins.

49...b5!

Correctly blockading the dangerous White b-pawn. Completely wrong would be 49...bxa5? 50.b5! as in the previous note.

50.Ka6 e4 51.Kxb5 e3 52.Bc4 Ne4 53.Bd3?

This is no time for waiting moves. White can still save the game with 53.Ka6! Kb8 (if 53...Nxg3 54.b5 e2 55.Bxe2 Nxe2 56.Ka7 Nd4 57.b6+ Kc6 58.b7 Nb5+ 59.Ka8 and Black must give perpetual with 59...Nc7+, etc.) 54.Kb6 Nc3 55.a6 e2 56.Bxe2 Nxe2 57.a7+ Ka8 58.g4 Nc3 59.b5 Na4+ 60.Ka6 Nc5+ 61.Kb6 Na4+ and again Black has nothing better than a draw.

53...Nxg3 54.Kc5 e2 55.Bxe2 Nxe2 56.b5 Nf4 57.b6+ Kb7 58.Kb5 (third diagram)

White's connected passed pawns give him a semblance of counterplay, but that's about it.

58...h5!?

Black wins cleanly after 58...Nxh3! 59.a6+ Kb8 60.Kc6 Nf4 61.a7+ Ka8 62.b7+ Kxa7 63.Kc7 Nd5+ 64.Kc8 Nb6+ 65.Kc7 Nd7! But the text move does not spoil anything.

59.a6+ Kb8 60.Kc6 Ne6?!

Black is afraid of the advancing White pawns and does not notice the winning knight manoeuvre. After 60...g4 61.hxg4 hxg4 62.a7+ Ka8 63.b7+ (if 63.Kc7 then 63...Nd5+ 64.Kc6 Nxb6, etc.) 63...Kxa7 64.Kc7 Nd5+ 65.Kc8 Nb6+ 66.Kc7 Nd7 Black wins easily.

61.Kd5 g4?

The final error, after which Black cannot no longer win. He can still transpose to the previous note with 61...Nf4+ 62.Kc6 Nxh3.

62.hxg4 hxg4 63.Ke4!

White's king correctly heads east in order to deal with Black's pawn.

63...Nc5+

Neither side can make progress and the draw was agreed here.

½–½

Relative values

Anyone who studies a beginner's book on chess quickly learns that not all pieces have the same value. In my day the most common table of values went as follows: Pawn = 1 point; Knight = 3 points; Bishop = 3 points; Rook = 5 points; Queen = 9 points. Other tables have slightly different values for the bishop and the queen, but the overall ratios are very similar.

Based on this table, exchanging a rook for two minor pieces is considered advantageous because 6 points is more than 5 points. When such an opportunity arises it is a good idea to take a hard look at the resulting position and see if it is actually favourable. In chess it is not just the presence of pieces on the board that counts. Their location and relevant capabilities can be far more important.

I am playing Black in the diagram position and my opponent's last move was the weakening 20.g3-g4. I saw an opportunity to exploit this move by bringing one of my knights into an attacking position. There was an apparent drawback in that my opponent could give up one of his rooks for both of my knights, which according to the table would mean a net loss of 1 point. However in the resulting position there would be a strong manoeuvre available, one that my opponent had not foreseen.

20...Nge5! 21.Rxe5 Nxe5 22.Qxe5

So far, so good, thinks White; he has won two pieces for a rook.

22...a6!

This forces the White knight on b5 to an offside position and prepares to exchange off his colleague on d4. The preliminary pawn move is important because otherwise my opponent would maintain a knight on d4, giving him much better defensive chances.

23.Na3 Bxd4! 24.Qxd4

White could also play 24.cxd4 but then Black carries on with 24...Qxg4+ 25.Kf1 Qh3+ 26.Ke2 Re6, winning White's queen.

24...Qxg4+ 25.Kf1 Re8!

Also possible was 25...Qh3+ 26.Ke2 Re8+ 27.Kd1 Qf1+ 28.Kc2 Qxa1, but I preferred the text move, slamming the door on the opposing king. White has nothing better than 26.Qxd5+ Kh7 27.Qg3, but then follows 27...Qe2+ 28.Kg1 Rg6, a pleasing echo of the line in the previous note.

After a few minutes my opponent agreed he had no defence and resigned the game (0-1).

Defensive tactics

Here is a late middlegame position of a type that arises so often in mixed tournaments. One side clearly has the initiative because of greater piece activity, but a decisive tactic has not quite materialised. In this particular case both players have pawn weaknesses but Black is on move and should be thinking about putting White to the test. But what's the best way forward?

This was the challenge facing Efim Geller (Black) in his game with Yuri Balashov from the 1969 Soviet Championship in Moscow. If it were White's turn to play, he would oppose rooks with 1.Re1 and take a large step towards neutralising Black's initiative. Geller understood this very well and was ready with an active idea:

1...Re2

The attack on the g-pawn makes things difficult for White, as the following variations show:

a) 2.Be1 Rxc2+ 3.Kxc2 Rxa2+ followed by 4...Rxg2 and Black wins easily;

b) 2.Rg1 Bd4 3.Re1 Rxg2, etc.;

c) 2.g3 Rf2 3.f4 (3.Re1 Rxf3) 3...b5 4.Re1 h5! 5.Re7 Rf1+! 6.Re1 Rxe1+ 7.Bxe1 h4 8.Kb1 ( 8.Rc5 Rxa2 9.Rxf5 Ra1+ 10.Kd2 b4–+) 8...Re4 9.Bd2 h3 and White is in continuing difficulties.

But there is a hidden resource that saves the game for White, and Balashov finds it:

2.Re1!! Rxg2 3.Rc8+ Kf7 4.Rc7+ Kf8

Unfortunately for Geller, Black can no longer play for a win. If 4...Kg6 5.Re6+ Kh5 and now White has the surprise shot 6.Rxg7!, which wins immediately because 6...Rxg7 runs into 7.Rh6#.

After the further moves

5.Rc8+ Kf7 6.Rc7+

the players agreed to a draw.

In the starting position Black has two other tries:

a) 1....Kf7 2.Re1 Rxe1+ 3.Bxe1 Be5 4.g3 f4, but White can defend with 5.gxf4 Bxf4+ 6.Kb2 Be5+ 7.Bc3 Rb4+ 8.Kc1 Bf4+ 9.Bd2 Ke6 10.Bxf4 Rxf4 11.Rc3;

b) 1...b5 2.Re1 Rxe1+ 3.Bxe1 Rc4 4.Rxc4 bxc4 5.Kc2 Kf7 6.g3 and a draw is the correct outcome.

The conclusion is that Black has a temporary initiative but no real advantage.

Despite his reputation as the scourge of world champions, Efim Geller had his hands full with Yuri Balashov, losing four games, drawing ten, and scoring just a single win against the Moscow grandmaster.

Magnus goes astray

Judging from his current position near the top of the chess world, the Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen doesn't make too many unforced errors. But an instructive counterexample occurred in his game with the Russian GM Peter Svidler from an international tournament in the Athens suburb of Kallithea in 2008.

In the first diagram, Magnus is playing White and is on move. Objectively, the most reasonable plan is to attack Black's g-pawn with 19.dxe6 fxe6 20.h4, bringing White's kingside pieces into action with the minimum of delay. But Magnus tries a different idea.

19.g3?

The idea behind this move is clear enough. White intends to mobilize his pawn majority with gain of time by attacking Black's bishop with f3-f4. But there is a flaw – a forcing variation that interrupts the smooth flow of White's game:

19...exd5 20.exd5 Bc2! 21.Rc1 Bg6

Things have obvously gone wrong for White, and no easy remedy is available. There are only two moves to keep White in the game. One is 22.g4, which is met simply by 22...Bxh5, and the other is the text move:

22.f4

Now if Black's bishop retreats from e5, White can protect his knight with 23.Be2.

22...Bxh5! 23.fxe5 Nd7! (second diagram)

As a result of the adventure inaugurated by 19.g3, White's pawn centre is now lifeless and exposed. At the grandmaster level one could regard Black's remaining task as a matter of technique.

The conclusion is that Magnus did not seek out Black's strongest reply when he decided on the move 19.g3? This represents a psychological failing that is far more common below the master level.