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    (Jeremy Silman) The Amateur's Mind Turning Chess

    Uploaded by

    Kaumudibikash Goswami

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    wee AMATEUR’'S MIND ‘TURNING CHESS MISCONCEPTIONS INTO CHESS MASTERY —.2ND EDITION/EXPANDED ___by-IM Jetemy(Silman THE AMATEUR’S MIND ‘TURNING CHESS MISCONCEPTIONS INTO CHESS MASTERY 2ND_EDITION/EXPANDED by IM Jeremy Silman SLES PRESS = Los ANGELES ‘copyright © 1959 by Jeremy Sinan Allg reserved No par of tis book may be wed fo seduced any manner whatsoever without writen permistion {hoes the publisher, except in the cate of brit quotaions embodied ia ‘real anles and reviews, 10987 brary of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Silman, Jeremy. ‘The Amateurs mind’ waning chess misconception ino chess mastery ‘by Jeremy Sian. ~ 2nd ed pcm 1 Chess, 2 chess problems. 1 Tite evido5ss2 1999 79412—aea 9.32901 ISBN: 890085.02-2 ‘Cover design by Hel Feder Pte and boul in the United Sates of Americ Siles Press 3624 Shannon Road os Angeles, CA 90027 To Takako Abe, whose kindness allowed me to see shades of Tokyo that would normally have remained bidden, and to Arrow and Deborab Chan, who turned a quick vist 10 Singapore into something very special CONTENTS Preface ts lewsoduction xi ‘The imbalances 1 ‘The Bate Between Bishops and Knights 9 Acquistion of the Center, Tertory, and Space 6 ‘The Confusing Subject of Pawn Structure 107 Material 145 Development and Intiative 167 Many Imbalances, One Board 203 How 10 Ply the Opening 229 Using the Rooks 245 Cure ofthe Mindless King Huncer 259 Which Sie ofthe Board Should You Play On? 277 Developing Mental Toughness 299 Tests 315 ‘Test Solutions 329 Glossary 427 PREFACE My esi in wing his ew eatin of The Amateurs Aud 'sto supply soot ote veo player that wil enable i o hero improve daratcly. Taugh te ene base of te niga book sil exis, Te spied te language when deemed tnecenaty. The books ays ha bec seigned— tow is eer to pick ev the Ke} poins tnd ase the ated presented ‘Noscmponanty, Tv cd wens stat the en oft bole The sane hese tess dep andinscon eh sore tan one ane page hig ue nomaton The ‘con of plomary aloms te purl set qk and etsy acceso chess em saps sd concep Ten convinced th tigi! rer ombicd with he provements caine bore wl um sy Serious suet of he same ong ooraner player Jeremy Silman ‘Apa 1999 INTRODUCTION Every ces set deaf fling the poe ther snes who age ows whats pyc assets min and sl sgl sno fo cone re Unlominty, hry happens ely: Ta ween maser, moe bei moe acer or ppc tks tice loa ste stent rns aston nd patanowen th prebiene tn appar oto hs jes hlctis is gotechgue, en wondered oh wad happen a techr col ely eh sn fed To ‘Lop lt played gues sth ny Stents sing theme wiha pod pon hades bee y ‘te owes er T made mie and ot Sows thou To my amaze Im son sting ple ht ering ny pemered Toads hn (ake hatem anno sees of Granda tegen Ta tapoms othe Canines moves bs Showed me which concep hy woes undetnd nd Sith ots were sno fom elem. enters rl hes ces. a apa pa nn er ta a ot be eons Jonrown iouphsas michathey sete thagscl be pope ‘tony shore em wh ne ‘hn hese ge you Wl id much oF recy cncertand issn cnmendton, reste se ing imighe™al cesgned ep you ene the herae ous tl ens tha id we Jo, Say ts oman Sift andspnd oe tine sng sbowt te Hopeiy ok Deyo spin range ths concepts hare nae or longi che matey tt os hres eed ana IMBALANCES Theres ny stenting basco a udernng st ch damian en ites noose tate incre pation yong ire intact stot plea uae ca nde hts ‘sprite ont Potion we coe ee at nd he nod wombs sper condo anything te was tod or cli you oe otc yo Sint aferthe ene King anya al shat ast Youve tat ld he oa ond obey dates he Soa nuns yt tak te Rg. hen ac Be srt youto pay ina pst ve, then you man eo made ker Tote his int, ke a ok the pston a diag One é x kakoWad a 48 & B24 BBA BAA a w se Drindzichashvili-Yermolinsky, US. Championship 1993 ‘White to play “Wat is going on here? Most players would eter lok atthe postion in a misty stupor or calculate move afer move without realy knowing what the espective plansare. However, an acqualn- tance with the lst of imbalances would make things much ease ist of Imbalances > Minor Pieces — the interplay between Bishops and Knights (ying fo make one superior tothe od) > Pawn Structure — a broad subject that encompasses doubled pawns, slated pawns, backward pawns passed pawns, cic > Space — the annexation of tertory on 2 chessboard > Material — owning piece of grester vale than he opponents > Pics and squares — fie, od gona ac as atone fr your lees, whe sare at as homes {tot pans ean comer avon tne dominion oe, or he creation of wenn inthe enemy can > Development — 1 lead in development gives you tre fore in specie aes che ard Ths hs. {enponry imbalance because the opponent wl even wualy och op > Inidative — dictating the empo of a game. This s also a temporary imbalance, complete explanation ofthese factors (andl detailed system ff planning) can be found in my book, How to Reasses: Your (Chess—Third Edition. However, a "planning shorteut” can be created by leaming o recognize the imbalances for both sides ‘Once you can do this, simply lst the imbalances you're hoping to Uutlize and strive to make them beter than the ialances yout ‘opponent will be using. This brings us back to the eatier ‘discussion of “reading the hoard,” Can you “read? the postion ia sdagram 1? ‘Before you get cared away, let me remind you: DONT look atindividual moves! Infact, never calculate until you understand the basic components (balances) of the postion. With this in ‘ind, i’ time for you to is allthe imbalances you ean find, Wite Wis information down and then compare your work with the positional explanation that follows. Imbalances diagram 1 > Minor Pieces: Black owns two Bishops. The postion is fairy open, andl this makes us believe tht the Bishops ill prove superior to the White Knights > Pawn Structure: Black has no weaknesses in bis pasin structure. The only pawn that can be looked upon as Potentially weak isthe unit on 5, > Space: White has 2 spatial plas inthe center thanks to Dis advanced e5-pawn, > Materia Mazeril is even, > Files and squares: The dfileis open, but nether side has managed to occupy it wi a Rook. The T6-square s potentially weak, > Development: White has lead in development, > Initiative: e's not clear who, sFanyone, has the nave Did you find the imbalances? you were «bit off, dont le i bother you. Like anything ese, takes practice. Keep searching for imbalances in every postion you see and, ina very short time, youll be adept a picking out every imbalance in any situation, [Now let's combine the imbalances from diagram 1 and sce ia plan sugges itself Black owns two Bishops and is also exerting some pressure against White's pawn on e5, Black would love to snerease this pressure and make use of the face that he owns a rkesquared Bishop while White doesn. ‘White would like to make his Knights active (Knights need advanced poss if they are going to win a batle against Bishops) ‘Two squares tat call ott the horses are e4 and f6, White Would like place a Knight on ef and then (Somehow) bash i inc the hole on {6 The problem for White isthat using e asa post blocks the efileand makes e5 harder to defend. ‘White's extra central space, given to him by the e5-pawn, won prove very useful beciuse he will betoo busy defending eS. ‘That leaves us contemplating White's lead in development (lit sve im an initiative. Inthe present situation Black wil beable to caste quickly and the absence of any weakness wil make it impossible for Whit t profit from ths temporary plus. ‘The goals of both sides should now be dear: White must defend his eS-pavsn and find a way to advance his Knights and make them active. Black will play to keep the enemy Knight a bay (Seika said thatthe way 1o beat Knight sto tke away all ‘heie advanced suppor pois) and 10 te White's pieces down to the defense of e5. Since Black threatens to place his pieces on ‘deal squares by ..Bo6 (eyeing f3, one of the defender of €5) followed by... NA7 (tacking e5), White lashes out in an effort co prevent Black from carrying out his ideas. LNs, “Ths places the Knighton an active square and stacks c7, Now 1...Na6 would show that Black has lost sight of his goal (puting pressure on e5)—1 Knighton a6 would no longer be abe © #0 afer the White pawn. Not wanting tobe distracted fom his desies| ‘agains 6, Black simply takes the Knight (sling his two Bishops {ors gain in me) and ends White's threats once and forall 1x5! 2ixbs+ «6 Tis cee eo but We Kaigh wl bes detening eat twit never be ate o mineore eee, ened ie Sic Ne ‘White hasn't been able to mae a dentin the Black postion hie the second player sil cami following hs cnt en (taking aim at e5), ee A.gts gest ‘Many people don't like ro rade Queens too eal; they fee i 'sa wimpy ching i do, However, Black weaizes that his goal iss to attack the enemy King. Nor does t have anything to Jo with ‘other things that might requite the retention of the Queens, By ‘swapping the ladies, Black insures the safety of his own King and {eI rid of a White piece that cull defend es, 5.Qxe5 Nxes 6Rad1 Ras TRxds+ Kade BRAI+ Ke7 Shs Ray Another point of Black's 1..BxbS can now be seen. By ‘reating Bishops of opposite colors, Black isable to attacke5 with his dakesquared Bishop while White is unable o use hs light, squared Bishop for defense, 1oRer “ang on 8 woud ae Whe pls to prevent Cate 10. Kx NE Falowed by ie win of aces a8 iis retney Bie Preparing 1 use the King a a defender ofe5 13..ND6 14K 93 White sould be happy to see Black trade off his Knight ‘which can attack 5) for White's Bishop (which can't play a part in the defense), 14a 15.Nd2 axb3. 16.5xb3 RAB A7NEB NAT SKF Ras 19.Re2 RaS and Whke was completely ded down to the defense of his e-pawa, Black went on to score a long, tough victory. 1 would like to end this chapter by discussing a letter 1 eceived in the April 1993 issue of Ches [ie magazine. An irate Subscriber accused me of offering inappropriate information tO the readership. le complained that “weak” players in the “E" to "B" categories are not able to understand subtle things about minor pieces and weak pawns, adding that they can hardly see a ‘mate in one! T think this is completely untrue. After giving a student the basic mating puters and sates, you mast begin feeding him advanced concepts. At fist these deas will not make sense; many players will have a vague idea of what you are talking about but ‘othing more. However, even a fragmented understanding of these concept wil prove useful, and eventualy they will experi- ‘ence muted increase in strengh as these lessons are assimilated by repetsion and example “To prove this statement, ets allow a six-year old gi to open. four eyes. When she was taking lessons fom me her rating was in the 900 range. I would go through her toursament games, offer advice, and occasionally throw her concepts that would seem +0 be for much older and more sophisicated players. One day we ‘vere looking ata game she had played when {noticed that she had reached 4 complicated Rook and pawn endgame. To my ‘light, she moved her Rook othe seventh ank and began taking her opponent’ pawns “Rooks are strong onthe seventh sak she said. 7 7 Ail wie later she moved it away rom th seventh, “Why di you reext your Rook” asked Looking at elke I wis an cy, she answeze,* . "Tm pting ‘behind my opponents passed pewn before kbcsone donee us, Roos shoud aay be placed behind passed para tie gem who wee at rte tea yest ld ican make use a ich advanced concep ten ‘can't adults with much higher ratings do the same? : THE BATTLE BETWEEN BISHOPS AND KNIGHTS three points (as far as polat count ls concerned), 1s up to you to manipulate the postion and make ‘rhatever plece you own more valuable. 7 posts foe the Ccasonally 4 book wil assign a valu of 3 plas for the bishop and only 3 for te Knight. Don’ bay ito ts Ether piece eaeaeble of beating the other—it all spends on what you ve tnunem and svat you do withthe ther Factors in the position {hat wil influence them. ‘white © play A book can claim that a Bishop is superior to + Knight und the cows come home, bu glance at the diagram will convince one of the Blac Knights vast superiority. Though White fun up and has the move, he might as well ese 1.Ke1 Kat Raid Kz and Black wins the epawn and quickly turns his cwn e-pavin into a Queen, ‘ace again: Bishops and Knights tart out as equals. You are the one who will ukimately prove their tue value where {ULE 2— Bishops are best in open postons owns don't block their diagonals. So get aed, the ponon opens up ee ese ANT eee grey at Bop wil be valved mre am tag, For example, he ope of cea siaion that comes about ater Let e§ 2:44 exdd 3.c3 dxe3 4.Be4 exb2 5.Bxb2 graphically ilustrates the board-sweeping power that Bishops can possess. Those wide open diagonals allow the [Bishops to reach tet Full potential [RULE 3— Bishops are very strong in endgames ‘where both sides have passed pawns that are dash ng to their respective queening squares. Ia such situations, the long ange capabilites ofa Bishop. ‘make it far superior w the slow, short-range Knight. o ba) ‘White to play This positon is way over the top but i illustrates Rule 3 extremely well. White § four pawns up, his h-pawn is more advanced than Black's 2-pawn and, 0 top i off, White also gets to make the fist move. Nevertheless, White is dead lost Black's Bishop on b2, though far from the vicinity of White's pawns, shows its long-range mastery by stopping all of the enemy passes in their tacks In the meantime, the lone Black pawa on 3 cannot be stopped because the ponderous Knight is unable 19 {be overt the queenside in time, [RULE 4— The term “bad Bishop” means that your Bishop is situated on the same color as your center pawns (which block it and Init it activity). If you have such a Bishop you usually want to do one of three things: > ‘rade Ir fora piece of equal valve. > Ger the pawns off the color of your Bishop, > Get the Bishop outside the pawa chain. Iwill Sil be bad by definition, bu i will also be ive. A bad Bishop can bea strona piece! @ White's Bishop on cf is “bad” but “active” since it resides ‘ouvide the pawn chain, Even though it has the stigma of “bad oeigned to tH i tl a very strong piece It stood on €2 it Mould be very inacive and fully deserving of the name “bad” i Black Bishop on c6 is considered 10 be a “good!” Bishop but re pot nearly at -active” a its White counterpart. This example views us thatthe tems “good” and “bad” are useful for basic cretion, bat dont take them too Lteralyt ta general if yout fatop ie serang 2 usefl Function you can happy toss the "joe? and “bad tesminology out the Window RULE 5 —A Bishop's weakness is that itis stuck on. ne color for the whole game; anything resting on the other color is safe from its attention. TWO [Bishops work together very well because they aenrol both colored diagonals, thereby negating {his"one color” weakness. © ¢ & baad White to ply white two pawns ahead i diagram 5 bit he cit win beste Bg ns Http of Chang he sig oy fo er nat ape Wh os ‘ance Gn Wiser Bip one ak nt on cen Bop rao sn an will see a different result. Now both colors fed and Ihas ig? es cate poonsln lon tan White to play, bu Black's Knight dominates the game RULE 6 — Knights love closed rene oh positions with locked ms. Theis ability to Jump over other pieces ‘makes them very viable in wach situations, In diagram 6, Black's Knight is strongly posted on cS where is safe from avack Ialso eyes the enemy pawns on b3 and e4 white’ Bishop is hampered by al the center pawns which block ftand make ia passive piece RULE 7 —Knights ustally stand better in the center Of the board. One old chess adage goes: “A Knight on the rim is dim.” There are two reasons for this: ‘The first is that « Knight on one side's rim must take several moves to reach an endangered area Gn the other wing, A Knight in the middie can jump to either side at will The other reason for this (Gistrust ofthe rim is that a Kaight simply controls fewer squares there. ” tn dingram 7, the Knight on a2 only controls chree squares (oi. ed, edd and must make three moves 10 reach the kingside Thee central Knight on 6 controls eight squares and can reach ether winggin one bop. RULE 8 — Since Knights are not long-range pieces, they aced to have secure, advanced homes to be tffoctive. These homes are called support points In dlagram 6, the Blac Knight rested on the 5 support point other possible suppor points Gf the Knight could reach them ‘Mould be c3 and di Note that a square like fis not a support Dont since White could eaiy chase an intruding Knight away by £8283. In general, a Knight would like to find itself as far up the board as possible The following points covld prove useful > ngs are not fective on the fist ink Here they atin purely deenive vole > Angi suk onthe second a als defer the and is conde ob nfs w 2 Shop. > -AKnight onthe third rank serves many defen sive fancons and ready tp fre thetendara nomen naices nn? > A Knight securely plc onthe fon an considered o be fly esa. Bahop. > Axnight onthe ths a power acking ut ands sal atonger than 2 shop. > Axaight reaches the enh ofits potential on dhe stank Hee ents mos cer pces alive and the defenders often hap to serie 2 Hook forthe offending howe andthe pon tha protected > Aaigr onthe lst wo rank fer imi ing ree snc dons nt cone ay sahara it does on he sath ® > a’ oak eOF [Knighton the Gis beter than a Knight on the 7% In diagram 8, the Knight on c3 attacks eight squares deep in the enemy camp. The Knighton 2 only coatols sx squares. This shows how 4 Koigh oes ome of ts powers nce panes the Sean ULE 9— Knights are supesior to Bishops nan adganc alte pawn ron one se ofthe fenrdsThiss because te bios ogeange power na lnger have mening wie tc eights Ihiy tego weer colorequte mea tha there feo talc haven fre camnyKlag or pw is i itrned in agra * & & a as sa 2 [Le | ‘white to play, Black wins tract with the Blace ‘The White Bishop cannot come into con King, Knight or pawns In the meantime, the White pawns on ef and h3 ate vulnerable to the combined atack ofthe enemy King snd right RULE 10 —The frst official World Chess Cham- pion, Wilhelm Steinitz, pioneered work on the minor pieces. He stated thatthe way to beat ‘Knights was to deprive them of any advanced ‘support points, Then they would be inactive and, as ‘result, Inferior to Bishops. The reverse, of course, fs that if you possess Knights, you must strive 2s hard as you can to create support polnts for them. Now that we've examined the correct rules for a Bishop versus Knight bate, is time to see how an amateur pus these bits of ‘wisdom into actual practice. as will quickly become apparent, having access to this knowledge is one thing, actualy wing Kin an over the board struggle is quite another! ‘The fist postion tha we will consider in-depth caine about after the moves 14 N16 es e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 duct 5Quis B47 6.Quct Be6 7.NES BAS 8.Qd3 Bed 9.Q41 c5 10.Ne3 BS 11.0-0 Nb 12.Qe2 cx 13.8 Beg? 14.Kxg? Bes 15.RAL 0-0 16.04 Qe7 17.Qe2 Buds 18.Rxd4 5 19.Rd1 NBG Ths led to the postion in dagram 10. ao Silman-Gross, American Open 1992. White to play ‘Whats going on inthis seemingly boring postion? The pawn structure is mre oss symmetrical, nobody can lay aim to any space advantage, all the pieces are welldefended and nether King sin any toubl. Aside from the fact that White's pieces are more aggressively posted since they are uying to tke contol of 45 Gutile Black's Knighs are passively tying to defend that square), the one major imbalance is 4 minor piece difference White has a Bishop and Kaight while Black & suck with two aight, Due tothe stated imbalances, White wil use Stents rule to make Knights ineffective by king away ther advanced suppomt Points. He will do this by resvicting the b6-Knight by b2-b3 Gt recess) followed by a2-ad-a5 (licking it from its perch on bi), Hemi ako place the Bishop on the leible 3-square and move his Queen to bS where i eyes ihe pawns on b7 and e5. All these things may seem smal in themselves, but together they add up 0 tanpleasant pressure on the Blak: postion 20.863 REGS ‘On 2..Qo4 White sould have played the boshersome 2B. 21.Qbst Making each of his pieces beter than their Black counter parts White's Queen is obviously superior to Black’ Tady on 7, fis cdKnight ready to leap into oat any moment is more ltgperiely posted than ether Black jumper, and his Bishop ‘Gefends d4 and is constant dreatening to chop on 6 21.006 223 Simply keeping the Knight out of ef 2.86 Diack should have tied the more aggressive 22,5, intend sng to advance to hd with some kingside threats, 23.04 Ret 24 Rudd RB 25.Rd3 Qc6? Int Jack Peters (chess columnist for the Los Angeles Times) recommended 25. RET 265 NeB. This holds on to his material for the ume being, but Black’ poston sill remains quite as- pleasant 26,.Qxe5 Res 27.Qd6 Nxet Now Black loses by force. A QxCG xc 29.951 Naxc3 Black would also lose a pawn after 29..Nd5 30.NxdS. Even ‘worse is 29..NoB 30.Nxed Rxed 31 RaB picking up a plece. 30.axb6 NAS 3Lbxa’, 1-0, Black's case is hopeless. For example, 31.Ra8 32.Rxd! oxd 233.4 followed by bS-bS-7 How would an amateur handle White's position from diagram 102 Would a student of min, uained to recognize the balances that exist in any postion, see and make use of them, or Would he miss everthing and just loo at random moves? This question Interested me, 50 [asked some of my students to take the White pieces and do thet best fo “show thei tll” They were told to think out loud, which enabled me to wlte down their thoughts and see just what, if anything, was wrong with their methods of thinking ‘Of course, I didnt expect my students to play as 1 did in the Siiman-Grost game. White's play was rther subtle and is not something that a cass player Would ordinarlly come up with However, I did hope that they would notice the Bishop versus Knight imbalance and uy to make something of i. tnstead, 1 found that my sudents (with one exception), after noting that this imbalance was present, refused to try to tm it into some- ‘hing sgniicant. Why? Does the average tournament player think ‘hata simple Bishop versus Knight cifferenceis very litle to work ‘with? Do they think that such things are unumporant (even though I constantly tell them that Bishop versus Knight is ex- tuemely important? Lets see ifthe following games can shed some light on dhese questions. 1000-Siman. ‘white to play sce king isa bt open pres Black’ poston Hee nity wes ugh the man BOSE CP Mang vcr Rp an at he moment Cee et weld row tke dnl my Maco ny Kato 0B ese a ps Home, sb a to ol ‘idole Tey nto ge op wy Seu ip tape a eles by and 2 od Seria ace pemresaat oS. tn our nex two game, bth White players wil nt question gv op ie Boop forthe enemy Kaighe 1000 deserves Se for hing tat is Basho shuld be rene. Unfors cy, the pan he dws come up with bad beease fas 0 eee Seater cake square away fom Kaige, eyes the inacive Dong «wonderful pos on eho ot is es concesing the positon ofthe White King in fh ear wa so prone ht he sede pe ted his opponents poston Amateurs tend o pani he fe Sgy nv ngs tien nd bis comments show that he Sues rom the sume "Kngsafery”disease ‘ng aey every portant But only ory the enemy has sont eces med in Your Kings crecon. Inthe presen nto te ony pieces Black has on the Kings ares Tough she 7 Queen this can hardy be construed horde cf atackest Ait less worry about his King and alot more interest in the Bishop versus Knight batle (in other words: pay attention to ‘those imbalances) would have served him much beter. a3 ‘Though this was move 20 ia the Silman-Gross game, 1000 ‘yas given this position cold turkey; for hi, was move one, ads 1000, “tim not eibly wowed about he trade so Fl keep ‘eng wits my plan” 2d Rad 000%“ dont want to move my Kg backwards so my next move i forced” 3.Qudi Res 1000: “With ¢3 1 advance and defend both ef and 3" He hasnt noticed that Black i jumping on the chsquare. A player should always avoid creating holes in his own position. If hhe put energy into the Bishop versus Knight bate (which be clearly didnt do) he would have, in theory, been awate of the potential ofthe enemy Knight, By thinking of other (ess impor {and things, he failed to get the most out of bis Bishop and he failed to restrain the enemy hoses. 4.08 Qe7 1000: wl guard the Knight and re ay Rook." Something subtle and deadly has occured. Did you notice i? Poor 1000 has ceased to think of his own ideas and i instead reacting this opponents. Ar fst he noted the basic imbalances, and he even came up with a plan (nce a good one, but a plan nonetheless). But he fled to ask what Black should try to do, and by falling to pose that important question he failed 10 see the ‘weaknesses in his own ideas Thus his plan of placing the Bishop ‘on b2 via a2-23 and b2-bé led to a hole on e4 Simultaneously, after he followed his plan fora move or wo he suddenly began (not consciously) to bow to the wishes of his ‘opponent. Black makes 2 thet, White reic, Black makes another threat, and once again White reacts. Soon, before be knows if Black's ideas come to futon while White's are ao- where 1 be seen sspd2 Net 100m; “can let you tke on 2 He wed 6 Qd3 but I pointed out that it loses a piece afer 6. G.net Ras 1000: can ply 7.N&S to pur pressure on his Queen and “vance the Knight W's dumb, though e's mach father Forman hun me spell dot hike hie knight ean go%o el {inde ead Sora ork or 4 skemer Unfonunatey that Swoukt ang my abv play hand hope chase his Knight of soay wih alter gig. Then dhe dquare Imig become sabe” ‘Unable to finda solution to his problems on the queenside, he lashes out on the other side ofthe board. Emotional decisions ike this must be avoided, since they usually have very inlet do with ‘what’ eeally happening in the position Td Qe 1000; “What she up 2 My pn wel defended. He's protecting faa, ish ean tat he night be tending {eas cant move ty Rook due tomy apawa 501 play foe more time” Note how White Is coming up with all kinds of esoteric rubbish to explain his opponent's moves. He should be able to ‘gure out their eve significance by working out their felationship 1 the positive imbalances i Blacks position, Here Black is simply defending the bS and 5 squares and putting more pressure on the f-pavin. F'n aso giving my Queen the option of going to 6 in some cumstances. Amateurs often think that a good move must involve a direct threat. However, this is way off the mark. A move that tightens some Key points ‘whe placing pressure on aa enemy pawn deserves a lot more respect than White gave i ss, exh on more aac ha mp ses the Queen © 2 good 006 1000- Fl get mya pawa to sfery by advancing it a4 9a nad 1000- “Guarding hi Knight play Ned snd tack his 1000 1 ig 1 pay 1ONez?, and Isiopped the game since White hunghise-pawn, T hope the seader wont think me overly harsh for my ‘comments in this game. 1 am not crticzing the man, just the player and his entoneous thinking processes, He does some things extremely well, Bit if he wants to advance in the rating Sm he wl fave 1 acept my ery hn and on at these problems, = (Our next example features a player several hundred points higher rated than the previous one. Stangely enough, his break down of the imbalances turns out to be worse than his lower rated predecessor, but hls moves turn out to be betes! How can ‘his be? The main reason centers around the nature of White's ‘moves: though he hasn't bothered to completely understand the position (by breaking down the imbalances), he sll plays dy ‘namic moves that always ty to achieve some positive goa. ka the previous example, White was aware ofthe Bishop versus Knight imbalance, but he never really made use of it Simply put ynamic moves based on ignorance tend to be better than passive moves based on fear, 1600, “ike 1G, Ihe takes, I gta song passed pain, have t get my Bishop into play So fs a possby tndif he abet go BX However, ny King woul then be pen. Ful an pay Qbs to suppos the dSsquare and "hen NAS. cul aie pen by Bg w consol d5 ore” 1 told him that he was not breaking the postion down into Jmbalances. Instead he is jst looking at a busch of moves. L.bes 1600: “This also connec my Rocks and develops sy shop." He never recognized his Bishop for Knight advantage so its rot possible for him to try and make use of X However, he noticed the dSaquare and he's eying to do everthing ia is power to grab ie 1 nas, 2itxdie Rude 1600: “Now Ral to tide Rooks allows me to cotinge my Fight forthe dare “Though he hasnt followed the bes plan, he's still sicking to 1 clear ices (domination of dS or the creation of a passed pawn) ‘wih energy and admirable determination. White deserves alot of| credit for the way he's plying 3d h6 ‘rds Qua 600“ wi exchange so can have dan the center” SBx6 Qt 1600 "Now 1 wy to ge a pated pawn” 6Nds gas 1600: Now Iwill supp my Knight and eye ef 7.9051 Kee BNxb6 1600: “This ves him doubled paw.” At the moment his Knight is superior to Black's, so why should he swap it without geting the passed pawn tht he 30 desperately wanted? One must avoid dumping a plan fr baubles lying on the side ofthe road, Sab 160 “Now I will ade Queens since he has a doubled pawn and my King closer to the emer * {don't know why he though tha his King was closer tothe ‘center, I's clear thatthe opposite i true sQasr ‘White has played a reasonable game and the comet result ‘would have been a draw: Instead he rshes into a lst King sod pawn endgame. He didn't realize that a passed pawn can be a target if doesnt have suppor. 9..Qxas BW.exd5 Ke7 LKB IS 12.84 86, and White los the dS-pawn and the game oo i aa a 1200-Siiman. ‘White play. 1200, "At ist glance se that Blzk’s Queen is under fended. White fas Bestop and Keight versus two Knight. >My Bishop bas to move to complete development. So that ‘neu be one of my irs consgerates aso contol d3 30 ould move ay Knight to 8 ataching hs Queen. Tis ‘nou also alow me to ocpy bath open fs tf we compare 1200 with the previous player (1600), we ean see that 1600 ignored the main imbalance but played purposeful moves towards a secondary goal (which isa so bad), while 1200 saw the main imbalance very clearly, bot refused 10 make vse of Les, 1200“ aly ie this move" Why did he lke #8 True, does pin the Knight, bt wading the Bishop instantly gets id of your Bishop versus Knight sdvaniage, Dont hike a move just becuse it appears to be aggressive dh 1200:-Puing the question toy Bistop eae hs oie na play fac, ould gb bs es, eink a 8 ioe sea afr ln be wont wat ke wl the pan Boos dedeon at” He should have decided on capering the Knight before he played Bg5. Don' stick your Bishops on b5 oF g5 and act, shocked ifthe opponent "tickles" swith. oF 86. Only play ‘Bishop to those squares ifthe exchange i good for you oF ithe ‘Opponent cant break the pin. Inthe present cate, Black can easly breathe pin. Also, the exchange makes Black happy because he gets rd of White's Bishop versus Knight advantage 2.Bxf6 Qt 1200: Now I advance 1o 5 and ack his Queen Notice the word “atc.” He's not too concemed with the ‘state of the postion afer Black captures on d5. Instead, all he ‘ates. about is the obvious threat 1 Black's Queen, which pparenly gives him an edd sense of power 3.NdS Nexds 1200: "Now IIL ake with the Rook and double up onthe open die Notice how he is mping back and forh between a few {deas. One moment he's trying t contro both the e- and dies. ‘Then he's hoping to conto dS. Finally he is going to double on the dle and try to dominate that His thoughts are scattered and things only work out because he sated with a solid positon tuading a bunch of pieces can hut his game. 4.Rxd5 Qe6 1200 “lac pling up on my Roo Now I can pce all ‘tree of my pieces on that die." Black intentionally plays a planless, passive game (a suicidal actin a serious game, of course) s0 he can see how White will ssRadi £6 1200 "Now he's ined vp his Queen and King on the 2-98 diagonal, which alaming. If G

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