The Tarrasch Formula

258 Pages·2004·30.33 MB·English

by  Sam Palatnik

he
arrasc
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}ne badly
placedp iece
makesy our
wholep osition
bad.
TheT arraschFormula
by
GMS amP alatnlk
and
NM Markl shee
r
Contents
vll
Ch:rpterO e: The Knishl
I lnlantryA gainstC avalry( Marshall-Ragozin. ). . I
2 Openingo l'OncK nighl (l\rrman-Polugacvsky) 2
I Virtuall ixlraM alcria(l Kcres-tjnzickct). . ... 5
4 A (;rx)dM an is I lardb Irind( Rosenbcrg-Palalnik). '7
5 l'hrowingO il on lhe l;ire( A l,clrosian-l'alalnik). I I
(r (iordianK not( Palatnik-Klingcr)..... l7
7 l hc tlgly l,ocation(M urthy-Palatnik) 20
8 Shadowo l'a Knight( KasparovP alatnik) 24
L Knilihls 'li)Lrr( Karpov-'lairnanov. ) .. .2ll
Ilxcrcisos l,l
(lh{pter 'l wo: 'l'hc Bishop
l0 Opcnl lighway( llalashovl lornanishin) .l lt
ll One-WavI ickct to Nowhcre( Sprechich-l'alatnik. ). . .1o
l2 ( r'irninaBl roughlt o Justicc( Palatnik-Aristorcnas) 44
l.l Movingl he lrclloc( Palatnik-Gul'eld)
l4 A I'air,'l'ts,r'ts(G rrlil J l'alatnik) 48
l5 Prisonewr ith a Lifc Scntcnce(P alatnik-Dandridge) 5:]
l6 InevitablBe reakthroug(hP alalnik-Schneider) 57
l7 l)eadW ood( lshec-Rovdl
lll l)rematurAet tack( Vaganian-l,alatni.k ) . . 66
l9 Strugglinwg ith Ciod( Kasparov-Ponomariov) '12
20.F romB adt o Worse( Palatink -S hus terman.) . . . . ........... ......71
21.T he( ireatW all ofl'awns (Palatnik-Vasjukov. ). .. . . . . ..... 80
22.S urvivaIln stincl( Reshevsky-Vagani.rn) 87
Exercises .... ... .... 92
Chapter 'l'hree: Onposite Color Bishops
2:l 'Q.ED .' (DurischH, an& Hisler-Tarrasch.) .. .. . . . . . . ...96
24 lnlillrarion{R ubinslein-Sprelma.n . r. '''',,',','',102
25 Morel nfiltration( Palatnik-David) . ... ...... . . .. 104
26 DiflerentC olor, Different Power (Kaidanov-Palatnik.) . . . . 107
27 Echoeos l'Sleinitz(P latonov-Geller) ...........1 10
28 l-imitingM obility (Boleslavsky-Sterner) ......... I l4
ltl
TheT arraschF onnula
29 BaneryP owe(rL arsen-Gligoric.h..)... ...... I l8
l0 MindO verM arte(rP latonov-Tal) t20
3l. A GatheringS torm( Gurevich-Palatnik).. 122
Chaoter Four: Eeavy Pieccs
l2 DebtR epaymen(Sr myslov-Tolush.) t25
ll. BuriedA live{Sakharov-Palatnik.)........ t21
34. QueensidBel ockade( AnandJvanchuk..) t32
.15 SmothereQd ueen( Hofl-Alburt). 134
3b.M isplaceQdu een(l shee-Mayna.r .d.).. ........... 138
37. UnbalanceMd aterial( Diaz-Palatnik..). l4l
38.P reventivMea intenanc(Ae rdaman-Palatnik).............. .......t.4.6.
Exercises. t54
ChaoterF ive: Zuezwane
39.T hel mmortaZl ugzwanGg ame( Saemisch-Nimzovich)..1..5.7....
40.E ncircleme(nNt imzowitsch-Capabla.n..c..a..). ...............1..6.2....
4l.FollowingPrecedent(Tseshkovsky-Palatnik)......1..6.6................
42. Chemotherap(Cy apablanca-Treybal)... t73
43.S paceA dvantag(eA lekhine-Nimzowitsch)......................1..7..7.
44.E xtremMe easure(sU bilava-Timoschenko)...............l8l
45.D o NotH urryl( Palatnik-Popov) r84
46 ToT radeo r Not?( Karpov-Ribli). t89
4T.Decisivelmprovement(lshee-Guests89)...........1..9.2.................
Exercises. . t94
ChaoterS ix: Philidor's DefenseR evisited
Philidor'Cs oncepr.... 199
Philidor'Os riginaDl efense...... 201
TheN eo-PhilidoDre fens.e.. ..... 201
TheP alarniCk ambit. 201
IllustrativeG ames:

Foreword
"Oneh adt!p tdcedp iccem dkeslo M whotet \i1t:li:li^*^
All chcssp laycrsa rc cngagcidn a scarchfo r truth.T hcys cokt ho choss
cquivalcnot f thc Philosophcr'Ss tono.a mcthodo f play that will cnabl0
thcm to rvritc thcir ncxt movc on tho scorc shcot in "goldcn lcttcrs
Winningm orc gamcsr oquircsm aling morc good choicosw hon sclocting
$'hichm ovct o play.T hus.a phyor's dccision-makinmgo thodis criticalt o
his rcsults.T his volumcs howsh ow a singlo.v cry poworfulp rinciplc
whichw c rofcr to as "Tho TarraschF ormula"- can both strongthcann d
facilitatcc vcryc hcssp laycr'sd ocision-making.
h is amazingto notc thc diffcijnt mothodsb chindt hc choicosm adcb y
chcssp lavorsd uringa gamc.F or oxamplot.h crc arc manys trongp laycrs
who can calculatclo ng variationsw ith fcvcrishs pcod.A ftcr tho gamci s
ovcr. thoy arc ablc to domonstratmo any rnind_bogglinvga riationsi hoy
cnvisioncdd uring thc battlc. This kind of playcr rcprcscntst hc
"accountings"c hoool fchcss.E vcrythingto thcmi s vcry concrcteT. hoyd o
not trust gcnoral principlcs. No chcss oxiom is accoptcd$ ithout
accompanyingp roof from specific variations that confirm or rofutc its
corrcctncssC.r cativcg cniuscsin this stylc of play includcA lckhinca nd
Tal. Howcvcr,t hcro aro manyo ther playcrso f thc sameh igh class\ r'ho
spcndc ompdrativclyli ttlo timc in calculatingv ariations.F ormidablc
cxponontso f this stylo includc Botvinnik. Sm)slov and Karpov. Tho
studenwt ho aspircst o improvch is lcvcl of play must rcfinc his thought
procostso includeb otha pproachesH owevcri.t can sometimobsc difficult
to kno$'w hcn is thc right momcntt o calculatev ariationso. r when it is
morci mportantto thinka bstractly
GrandmxsStcarm P alalnirkc liteslh ef ollo$itrsgt on
''When I was a young master( twcnty poundsy oungdl), I scwed as traincr
duringt ho 1972 USSR Championshipin laningrad for my fricnd. GM
PlatonovI.n his gamea gainstf ormerW orld ChampionS myslovP. latonov
hadt hc bctter position throughoutt he first forty moves.a nd at adjournment
sccmedto be on the verge of a winning breakthrough I was proud to b{}
entrustedw ith the adjournment a-nalysiso f his game against such a
formidablocp ponenNt. ecdlcssto say.i t wasv cry desirablfeo r met o 6nd a
\,!innincgo ntinuatlon
The Ta rrasch Form la
"With grcat cnthusiasma nd inspiration, I bcga.na ralysis of his adjoumed
game. I spent th€ entirc night analyzing ono promising variation after
anothcr. ln the moming I was able to give many long variations to my
friend, as well as a generalc onclusionS: myslovw ill lose! With a full
night's sleepa ad the cncouragemenot f my night of work, Platonovs et ofr
for breakfast, whcrc he encountercdS myslov. Spendingf ivc hours the
prcvious day as antagonistsa cross the board did not preventt hem from
having a pleasant brealfast together. Before even opening thc moming
newspaper,S myslov offcrcd a draw in the adjoumed game. Platonov
promiscdt o considert he offcr andt o malc a dccisions oon.
"When he reportedt he draw offcr to me, I \ras sha.kenS! ur€ly Smyslov
would not offer a draw in a lost position?! This mea.ntt hat his position
could be defendedIl t was ncccssaryt o reconsideer verlthing, and to look at
thc adjoumcdp ositiont hrough Smyslov'sc ycs: not going deep into a
jungle of variations, but instead thinking abstractly, following general
principlesA. nd ... in fivc minutcst he drawingi deaw as discoveredT.h c
opponsntsa grccdt o a dmw on the telephonea few minutesl ater.
"What about thc night I spenta nalyzingt hc adjoumedp osition?I was very
cxcitcd to analysea gamea gainsta groat player, and the position had mary
chancesto win. My dcsirct o win the gameb lockedm y objcctivity.T his
ca.no asily happenw hen you calculetcs o many variationsf ar from thc initial
position.ln scarchingfo r thc happye ndingto this fairy talc,I lost my way
in a Junglco fvariations."
Thc point of this story is that cslculrting lots of vsrif,tions does not
alwaysy ield th€ right move. lt is oftcn simplora nd morc cffcicnt to
narrow tho rangco f cardidatc movosb y first considoringh ow a fcw gcncral
principlcsm ighta pplys pccificallyto thop ositiona t hand.
Considoringo nly gcncral principlcs,h owevor,w ith no calculationsfo r
support,w ill also incvitablyl ead to mistal@sT. hcre has not yet bcena
chcssp layerw ho hasf ounda pcrfcctb alanceb etweenca lculatinvga riations
and applyingg cncral principles.E nthlsiasmf or onc of thosea spects
withoutt he otherl eadsi n practicct o sadr esultsS. ucccssfuplc rfoma.ncien
toumamenct ompetitionr equir€s the ability to ma.ker apid a.ndp recise
calculationsb,u t this "wcapon"m ustb e usede conomicallyK.n owingw len
b calculate is Justa s i\portant as knowing, ol, to calculate-l t is ofcourse
vcry dcsirabloto be able to idcntib' thosc" critical momcnts"d uringt ho
aa.rnoa s it unfolds.
t
viii
'Ih! lLtftlt.h l.om la
Roadcrso f this book wlll nolicc thut thc ulDolxtions ol-ganrcs usurlh do
not contirinl ong. dazzling rariatrons. Frcqucntl) thc ruthors d'spcnscw rth
such anrlr-srsr n livor ol lookrng al thc posit'(m wilh "conlnron sonsc '
Thcrc aro sovcnl rcasons lb this npprcxch F'irst. to a grcal dogrcc lhc
thors rcpnjsoDllh o'.positronrl' schoolo fchcss. us lhc roadcrc arr rcadilv
obsonc allcr pcnrsrnltt his book Sccond.o nc ol thc basic tasks of lhjs
vohunci s to holp thc sludcnl know ho$ lo xppl! gcocral pfi'rcr cs tn lhc
corrcct profo(iorr- rc to rccognrTot \hcn it rs Inlporlilnt to crlculalc
lari.rlidr\ or grc.rt dclril. or $hcn rnolhcr kind ol thinking nxrrc
's
appropflitc lhfld. b\ adoplrrgx strcrmlincda pproachto chcss llvs's.
our goal rs to highlighlo nlv lhc nrostI nportiul pllfts ol rl. so that thc
slrdonct ltnd l]nkl lonrr rrvrl-\1n\g\c llspfrngo l chssicc hcssg antcs
Stri'ri1z'slh tofy ol l'osilirxr:rIl' lrty
lho scronlillcc hcsst hcorr dc\'cft)pebrlr thc lirsl ollkirl cl,css( hrnrtroD
ol thcW odd.W illirD Stcrni(zh. ts v:rlrrcb $rrnd its usc ir chcss Slcrntzs
thcor\ h.rs rpplrcxlnnrs li)f ovcnonc rs r law ol thc strugglu jar lilij. ol'
r,,hicll he grnrc ol chcssr s siDrpl\ a nnrdcl l'urlhcr dcvoloPnrcnxln d
0l.b orirrrono l Stornrtsz lhoor\ trelorrdl rrs orrgrnrlc onccplxmc ould bc
goncrrlI r scopec. orsrsturgo l r ')hilosol)h\ ol strugglc \lhrch coukl br
its 0pphcr(ionrn chcsso. f irs tl spccilicr ppl'crlxnr( 'sclirlo nl\ in chcss.t o
crhLrncLch cu ndorslrndrlgo l chcs\ lin lls oulr sr*c
'1hc
pirkrsophrcrlr pplic.rlioDo l Steirrtzs thoor1 wirs onrbrrccd l)\
Stciuitr'ss ucccssoorf i lhc chossth roDcl.i mnucl l;rsker lhorti is no dorrbl
thatl .rskor'\t r\jrncr)doussu cccssa s r plil\er \!ls loru)dodo n hrs.rdopliolr
ol Stcrnitzs thoor\ h0 crcollcd lt urlonsilrirrgt hc strugglc b) conslirnth
posingd rlllcull practicol problorn\ lbf h's opponcnts Cons,:qucntlr
L$kors nros(c nduring.rndin rportiu)cto ntfibutroDtos chcssr rc hrsg amcs-
spccillc.rlht hc nirnncr ir) $l)ich he l'on llowcvcr. his css,jntiall!
phrlosophrcaLl rndcrsl.rndingo l tLc Storni(zrar chcss slrtrgglc $as t(X)
pcrsonrlr Dd roo lhr rcnr(xcd tioln thc chcssboardio providot he lb ndruon
lbf .r chcsss chool Il is nol un.rccidenll h:rt l.rskcr coutnbulcd1 rtlloo t'
\ahc to clrcssl ilcr^L r0
Dr Srcgbcnl arrrsch- also a drsciplco f Slexritz.c Dlnrcod r dilllrcot
iDpfoach I lc dcrolopods pocitic chossr pplicxhons of Stcinitz s th0on ll\
cxprcssnrgs cicntiflc trulhs in thc lbn)r ol pith! chcssa xioms. I)r. Tarrasch
bcc nc thc terchor of thc gcncrxtionst hal fblhwcd Stcinitz 'I:rrrasch s
grcltostc ontributronsa re in chessl rtcr:rturo His most valuablo$ ork is J00
Ma\to (;Ltn(\ t)/ ('ha$. n Nhrch ho stdcd nttm) (imclcssc hcssp rinciplcs
in lln intorcstinga nd mctlor$lc Nir1.
f
The TarraschF ormula
The TarraschF ormula
Tarraschw as the first to formulatea nd cxpresst he leth^t ,,If onep iece is
badly placed, your whole game is bod.. Tllc geniuso fthis phraseU ;s in ils
simplicity as well as its corr€ctness. Properly applied, it is a significant
addition to Steinitz's thcory. On the ba^siso f this single axiom. various
tlpes of posrtroncsa n be studted\ herct he dtffcrcncern -f orceb enveetnh e
two sidcs is defined only by the difference in location between
corespondingp iecesA. pplyingt he TarraschF ormulain this wav develoDs
and builds chcssr heoryb ) emphasizindgc Inrenelatronshbipc nreent i,c
locahono f a piecea nd its real polrer. Examrnea ny modemr extbooko f
chcsss trat€gya nd you will seei ts lasting value. Thc TarraschF ormt|la is a
fundamentala nd unifiing principle that embracesf amiliar core conceots
sucha s "good/ bad bishop,"" advantagoef oppositc-colorebdis hopsin an
attack. supcnorityo fkntghro \er btshop"( andv icer crsa),a nds oi onh
For conturiest hc basic valuc of the chcssp ieccsh as becn well kno$n. As
part of cvcryone'sb asicc hessc ducationt.h c averagev alueo f thc pieccsis
not debatableH. owcvor,t he real "market pric€,' of this or that piccc
fluctuatcsu p or down dependingo n thc spccificb oarda rrangcment.
Assumcf.o r exarnplct,h at the Bishop( initiallyq uotcda t an averagcv alue
of threep awns),u nder" advorscm orkctc onditionsa" ppcarsin a aituation
uhlyc tt ts blockcdr n b1 pawns.S uchr blshopb ccomlsn o morc\ aluablc
tha.na singlcp awn,a nd its valucd iminishctso tho pointw hcrci t carriosa
"rcd tag" discounst alcp ricc. If thc rosultingd oficioncy(t wo pawns.worth
of matcrial)is not covcrcdb y tho incomc( activity)o f thc othcrp iocesi.t is
logrcatl o assumcth at it can rosulti n thc bankruptcoy ftho entircc ompany.
This is thcc sscncocf !h( TarraschF ormula
PracticrlA pplicstion,o r
How to Find a Sick Buffrlo
Thorcv ct remainsth o qucstiono f roconcilingth c theorcticailm portancoef
thc TarraschR ulow ith its practicaal pplicationdsu ringc ompctitionI.n this
contcxt.lo t us considchr ow thc chosss trugglcis a modclo f reall ife, sot hat
makingt hc transitionf rom chcssp roblcmsto rcal-lifes ituations(a ndv ice
vcrsa)w ill nots eemu nnatural.
lmaginea situationi n the Afircan savannai.w hcrea lion,s familv has
bcgunt h( hunt for food. A ncarb)h urdo f buffaloi s an Invtringla rg(.1fo r
such prcdatorsb ccausei t carries litcrally tons of meat. Howevcr.t he
l-
'Ih c litttls(h lbrnltuI
groupcdb ullalo hcrd also has hundrcdso f sharp. strong hornsa nd hoovcs.
and is colloctivolva s poworfi'l rs tons of dYncmitc.s o thit cnl prcdator
muslD c\ r4,,1
So what is thc sccrct of thc fovul huntl l,ions $'ork according to thc
TarrAschR ulcl Evcn tho KinS of Bcasts canrot succocdw ilh ir liontal
assxultr grirst lhc untirc hcrd Instcad.t hc l|(nl takcss dvantrgoo forrc woak
or sicka nrmxll hrt bocorncsb ndly placcd.s op:rrulcdfr on tho hord.
For f:Inso ftho royal gtrnc. thc situxtim ast hc saDlc Whcn \"o look at thc
groupcd hcrd ol cttcnl),p ioocs| tnd prr\ns. thcir collcctivc lbrco is lcrriblo
to bcholdtl lul vrctoryr s possibloif lou paticnll]s cokt hc sick bullirlo in
tho cncnlvc iulp. thmks b thc lbnrulil lionr Dr l'trraschl Pltyrng stcadill
to r0ducct hc powcr of iI siDglc cnolllv piccc. 1o turn dowD thc volumo"
until its norfixl voicc bccomcs onl,v c \lhispor. ctn providc cno gh
advantagc1 ()\ \'ur thu g.rrDc Wh,v'l Bocausci t is ltrnctrorralll tho saorc as
winnrng ! prcco. Ilvcry chcss pltrcr lovcs to h:rv0 m cxtra pioco Tho
Tnrrnschl bmrul.r pointst hc \"a-vQ ward hxv0)ga vllrr., oxtra prccc
Thinknrg of stratogy iD thrs way is r vurt usct'ul pa( ol your choss
plannrng lt ollirs a strlighlfb$ird irnd oftcctivc mothod for lmproving
lour dccisior-nrakrngil nd movo solcction. is dcnxnrstr:rtcdiD lhc galnos
collcclcdlb r this vohmc thitl arc now prcsontodlb r ,Yours tudy
lrcqucnlh thc sLrcccsslulr oalizutiort ol_ il plan bdscd on thc Txrrasch
Irornnrlai ncludcsn ot onl) rn a condifion:rli rdvantagoi n lbrco. but also il
restriction in mobility of thc opposirrga rmy (prophr-laxrs)t.b llowod bv its
blockadc ard pcrhaps finatty b! complete paralysis (zrrgzwazg) In
m:*ing uso ol thosc pnnciplcs thc authors cannot lail to rknor"lcdgo
lnothef groat chess thinkcr. Aron Ninrzovich. whosu tcachrngs about
prcphllaxis irnd btockadc arc a corncrstonco f tnodom choss Although
Tanascha nd Nimzolich did Dof lovo cach othcr in lil_c.t hcir contributions
10c hesst hoor\ iuc conrplolncntarya. nd thc intcrrolationshipo f thcir idcas
hasc nrichr:dg cncrationso l plavcrs.
No\\ lcl us considcr spccific oxxmplcs of thc 'farrasch Fonnula rn
oPeration.
xl