Table Of ContentThe Giants of Strategy
Neil McDonald
EVERYMAN CHESS
Gloucester Publishers pic www.everymanchess.com
First published in 2007 by Gloucester Publishers pIc (formerly Everyman Publishers
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Copyright © 2007 Neil McDonald
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I
Contents
Introduction 5
1 The Seventh Rank 16
2 The Outpost and the Open File 36
3 Planning on a Grand Scale 53
4 Understanding Pawn Majorities 89
5 The Power of Pawn Breaks 108
6 How to Use the Pawn Ram 139
7 Restraint 172
8 Blockade 191
9 Provocation and Prophylaxis 235
I
Introduction
Have you ever heard someone use the make in Chapter One to get their rook
terms 'blockade' or 'prophylaxis' and to its dream square.
nodded wisely while wondering what
they really meant? (Don't worry: the Introducing the
person using these words probably Giants of Strategy
doesn't understand their true meaning The strategic ideas will be discussed
either.) Or have you always associated using the games of five superb chess
the ideas of prevention and restraint masters: four World Champions and
with defensive play? If so, you are one crown prince.
missing out on a whole area of chess In an interview on his website,
strategy. Vladimir Kramnik states:
The aim of this book is to reveal If you want to reach the heights, you
genuine secrets of strategy; for despite should study the entire history of chess. I
the huge rise in chess knowledge over can't give any clear logical explanation for
the last decades, there are areas of it, but I think it is absolutely essential to
technique which are still at best only soak up the whole of chess history.
vaguely understood by the chess pub Although Kramnik offers no defini
lic. tive reason why we should study the
We will have to be patient and start players of the past his games provide a
with more familiar concepts such as a compelling answer. Here is just one
rook on the seventh rank. Although, example which shows how he has bor
even here, many players who are aware rowed various techniques from the
of the excellence of a rook on the sev four other strategists considered in this
enth rank would fail to make the sacri book, and then shaped them according
fices that Capablanca and Petrosian to his own unique creativity.
5
Chess Secrets: The Giants
on but there is an eVt'l1 beth'r squdre
wniting for it 011 c5- and so the knight
M.Apicella-V.Kramnik
spends three moves getting ther~'. Kar
Moscow Olympiad 1994
pov is king of the short manOCUVrl'.
12 12jdS C\xdS 13 exdS ~~fS 14 (4 0-0 15
1 e4 cS 2 0lf3 t;)c6 3 d4 cxd4 4 lj'lxd4 ~a4 as!
lLlf6 SlLlC3 d6 6 eS Bbck begins a plan to seize control
Petrosian was also fond of this of a complex of dark squares Oil the
variation of the Sicilian. It blocks the queenside. A light square/dark square
centre, after which Black can indulge in strategy involving restraint occurred
manoeuvres on the wings: and there frequently in Nimzowitsch's games,
was no greater expert at outflanking an but it rL'ceived greatest expression in
opponent than iron Tigran. the games of Petrosian.
7 lLlf3 h6! 16 a3 ild7 17 ~d1 a4!
Depriving the c4-pawn of the
chance to be solidified by b2-b3. Phili
dor was doing this in the 18th century!
18 b4 axb3 19 'iYxb3 4\a6! 20 cw~e3 'iiC7
21 a4 lLlcS!
Your eye 011 the willgs, your //liud 011
the CClltre, that is the decpest II/Cllllillg
positiollal play. Nimzowitsch.
White is prevented from increasing
his grip on the dS-square by exchang
ing bishop for knight with and Blockade! Was this pawn sacrifice
iLxf6. borrowed directly from the game Sul
8 h3 iLe6 9 0-0 ile7 10 ge1 .l:tc8 11 tan Khan-:\Iimzowitsch or via Tai-
li.lb8! manov-Karpov Chapter Eight)?
A Karpovian retreat. :\10 other 22 ~iLxcS ¥WxcS 23 ~xb7 MC7 24 ~b3
player has ever been more skilled at :ia8
using the back rank to increase the en The frontal pressure exerted by the
ergy of his pieces than the 12th World black queen and rooks against tlw a4-
Champion. The knight is well placed and c4-pawns, which l'ulmin<ltes in an
6
Introduction
invasion of the enemy camp, is remi lanca called une petite combinaison a
niscent of the classical play of Capab little combination of the kind that fills
lanca. his games. With the help of a
25 ~d2 f5! zwischenzug (an in-between move)
An essential advance, or else 26 ~e4 Black win.'> a pawn.
will break the blockade. 40 .. JIel 41 lta2 ltxe2 42 ltxal ltxf2+!
26 ~blJ.h4 43 <Ji>xf2 J.xal 44 We3 Wg8
A probing move that forces a slight Black now has a winning endgame.
loosening of the white pawn structure, It still requires some work, but none of
followed by a retreat: a hit-and-run Kramnik's four 'advisors' were lacking
technique perfected by Karpov. a fabulous technique in so-called sim
27 g3 J.f6 28 ~c3 e4 29 lta2 ~a5 30 ple positions.
Itcl J.e5 31ltcc2 ltC5 45~e6 g6
Black only plays ... J.xe6 when he is
assured of creating connected passed
pawns, as opposite-coloured bishop
endgames are notoriously drawish,
even when one player has a substantial
advantage in pawns.
46 c5 J.e5 47 g4 J.xe6 48 dxe6 d5 49
gxf5 gxf5 50 J.b5 <Ji>f8 51 J.c6 d4+ 52
<Ji>d2 J.f4+ 53 <Ji>c2 d3+ 54 WC3 J.e3 55
<Ji>C4 <Ji>e 7 56 <Ji>d 5
First restrain, then blockade, and lastly
destroy! - Nimzowitsch.
Black methodically cements his
hold on the dark squares.
32 ~b5 Wh8 33 ~e3 ~b4 34 ~d4ltcc8
35 ~e6 ltxa4 36 ltxa4 ~xa4 37 ltd2
'iral!
Now begins the 'Capablanca' phase,
with the black queen and rook pene
trating via the open files onto the op
ponent's back rank. Step by step the 56 ... J.xC5!
white pieces are ousted from the Another little combination: if 57
squares they need to defend. <Ji>xc5, 57. .. e3 and 58 ... e2 will queen.
38 <Ji>g2 ltb8 39 ~f4ltbl 40 ~e2 57 J.b5 J.d6 58 J.C4 iLC7 59 J.b5 Wf6
There now follows what Capab- 60 h4 J.g3 61 h5 J.C7 0-1
7
Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy
So what is uniquely 'Kramnikian' that books on Petrosian were among
about the above gamel the few available to him. Every creative
First of all, it should be said that this player eventually finds their own style
isn't a typical Kramnik game. If you of play, but the influence of other great
want to see an archetypal Kramnik minds seems a vital part of the process.
game, give him the white pieces and
watch as he dismantles his opponent's A Hundred Years of
queenside pawn structure with moves Chess Strategy
like a2-a4, or else arranges a break What is the difference between chess as
through in the centre with d4-d5 or e4- played in 1907 (the year of the oldest
e5. He rarely plays a 'blockade' game. game in this book) and as played in
Even so, there are some trademark 2007 (the year of the newest game)?
Kramnik features: above all, the dy The old masters prior to 1907 cer
namic twist he gave to the theme of tainly knew how to attack the king.
blockade. Kramnik is perhaps the great They could make long and wide
est exponent of the two bishops who ranging combinations, and find the
has ever lived; and because the pawn most surprising tactical resources. In
structure in the centre retained flexibil fact they knew how to handle the
ity, he was able to put them to good use. queen, rook, bishop, knight, and king
Whereas in a Nimzowitsch or Petrosian as well as modern players.
blockade game, with its locked centre, But what about the humble pawn?
the emphasis is on the knights. Yes, here is a big difference!
At a more specific level, the creation Capablanca won game after game
of a passed pawn or passed pawns as against the best players in the world
the reward for a well thought out strat because he was far more sensitive to
egy is a regular occurrence in Kram the needs of the pawn structure. He
nik's games, far more so than in the made chess look easy, and it probably
games of the other four masters. Any was pretty effortless for him most of
one who wants to learn about the han the time; but it took genius to have an
dling of passed pawns should study understanding that was so superior to
his games deeply. that of his contemporaries.
Like all knowledge, it seems that Nimzowitsch developed and classi
the necessary information to allow a fied the science of restraining a pawn
talent for strategic chess to unfold is front. He made chess much more col
handed down from one generation to ourful by showing that pawn struc
the next. The first chess book that Kar tures besides the 'classical' 1 e4 e5 and
pov read as a young boy was by Ca 1 d4 d5 were fully playable for Black.
pablanca; Petrosian is said to have slept As with Capablanca, he must have left
for a time with a book by Nirnzowitsch many opponents bewildered as well as
under his pillow; and Kramnik relates beaten.
8
Introduction
Petrosian specialized in blocking a willingness to play a match for the
the centre and outflanking his oppo world title with the Latvian on the
nent with pawn moves on the wings, proviso that the challenger raise the
Fischer has talked about the Petrosian stipulated stake money. Alas, there
'bear hug' that grips a careless oppo was no international chess federation
nent. in those days and finding the necessary
Karpov is brilliant in the 'jockeying' financial backing was beyond
or manoeuvring phase, neither forcing Nimzowitsch.
matters nor blocking things up, but Nimzowitsch's greatest tournament
gently probing his opponent's pawn success was at Carlsbad 1929, where he
structure from a safe distance until it finished half a point ahead of Capab
suddenly falls to pieces, lanca and Spielmann, with players
Kramnik aims for a subtle positional such as Rubinstein, Euwe and Vidmar
attack that put his opponent's pawn trailing further in his wake. It must
structure under unrelenting pressure, have been galling for Nimzowitsch that
Nothing serious seems to be happen Bogoljubow, who came eighth in that
ing, but then the defence unexpectedly tournament, found the means to chal
buckles under, often allowing the crea lenge Alekhine for the World Champi
tion of a passed pawn which proves onship later in the year.
decisive in the endgame. It is quite re Nimzowitsch's own title bid never
markable the number of wins that got further than carrying business
Kramnik has squeezed out of 'equal' cards describing himself as the 'Crown
looking positions: such is the refine Prince of Chess'.
ment of technique these days. Even though as a practical player
Nimzowitsch was never quite the
Brief Biographies match of the 'big three' Emanuel
Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine - he
Aaron Nimzowitsch was an original thinker with an ex
Aaron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935) was tremely interesting personality. His
born in Riga, Latvia, After the up books include Die Blockade (1925), Mein
heaval of the First World War and the System (1925) and Die Praxis meines Sys
Russian Revolution, he went to live tem (1929), with English translations
first in Sweden and then in Denmark, Blockade, My System and Chess Praxis
where he was based in Copenhagen for respectively. My System became one of
the rest of his life. the classics of chess literature and a
In 1926 Nimzowitsch won a tour bestseller in many countries.
nament in Dresden with 8112/9, finish
ing 1112 points ahead of soon-to-be Nimzowitsch's style
World Champion Alexander Alekhine. Nimzowitsch in general played differ
Also in that year Capablanca expressed ent types of position to Capablanca, as
9
Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy
he eschewed the classical 1 d4 d5 or 1 His greatest tournament success
e4 e5 in favour of hypermodern open was at New York 1927, where he fin
ings, including the Nimzo-Indian to ished with eight wins and twelve
which he gave (half!) his name. draws; this was no less than three and
The accent in his games was on re a half points ahead of Alekhine and
straint of the enemy pawn structure, four and a half points ahead of
which made him a particularly dan Nimzowitsch, who came second and
gerous player as Black. Nimzowitsch third respectively.
had a fertile imagination, and knew However, to the astonishment of
how to utilize all the squares on the many in the chess world, later in 1927
board for his pieces. We see moves Capablanca lost his World Champion
like lLlh1! (as White) or ... ~8! (as ship match against Alekhine by six
Black) - which most players wouldn't wins to three with 25 draws. He was
even notice are possible. never to be allowed another shot at the
Nimzowitsch also invented an en title, though he remained a potent
tire vocabulary to describe chess tech force, as demonstrated at Nottingham
nique (see the section on Nimzo 1936, where he came equal first with
witsch's writings below). Mikhail Botvinnik. Besides the two
winners, Euwe, Alekhine and Lasker
Jose Raul Capablanca were also in the field, making a total of
Jose Raul Capablanca (1888-1942) was five present, future or past world
born in Havana, Cuba. With his victory champions.
at San Sebastian in 1911, where he tri Capablanca wrote several books, in
umphed over most of the best players cluding My Chess Career (1920) and
in the world (only Emanuel Lasker was Chess Fundamentals (1921). Botvinnik
absent), he became one of the very few thought that the latter was the greatest
players in the history of chess to win chess book ever written.
the first international tournament in
which they participated. Capablanca's style
Capablanca became World Cham Capablanca was able to win game after
pion in 1921 through beating Lasker in game against top notch opponents be
a match with the score of four wins, ten cause his intuition was a more valuable
draws and no losses. weapon than the imperfect level of
Between 1916, when he lost to Cha technical understanding prevalent in
jes at the Rice Memorial event in New his heyday.
York, and 1924, when he was downed In so-called clear 'classical' posi
by Reti at the great New York Interna tions he could see at a glance where he
tional tournament, Capablanca was needed to undermine the enemy pawn
undefeated in serious play, scoring 40 structure. Capablanca also knew in
wins and 23 draws. stinctively which pieces he had to ex-
10
