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Boris Gelfand Dynamic Decision Making in Chess Compress
Boris Gelfand Dynamic Decision Making in Chess Compress
Making in Chess
by
Boris Gelfand
with invaluable help from Jacob Aagaard
Quality Chess
www.q ualitychess.co. uk
First edition 20 1 6 by Quality Chess UK Ltd
1 Minsk 1979 19
2 Petrosian 33
3 Tactics at the Top Level 47
4 The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 79
5 Compensation 121
6 T ime 151
7 Dynamic Masterpieces 197
8 Dynamic Defence 241
a weak move
?? a blunder
a good move
!! an excellent move
!? a move worth considering
?! a move of doubtful value
# mate
Publisher's Foreword
The last few years have been everything I could ever dream of as a chess writer. My books are
selling enough for me to buy new soles for my second-hand shoes, readers from all over the world
are telling me that they enjoyed the books, and strong players are even pretending that they were
useful for them in their tournament preparation.
But the biggest joy has been working with Boris Gelfand on this project. Boris loves chess
immensely and it is impossible not to fall in love with the game all over again when discussing it
with him. Our analysis sessions have been spirited and enjoyable, and I have been able to learn a
lot about the game from them, all of which is hopefully included in this book!
Writing a book is a difficult job, even when it is co-writing. You still have to choose the right
words, structure, restructure and then restructure some more. A point made in August might be
easier to understand if added to a game analysed in February. You get the idea. When the ideas
are not in your head, but in someone else's, this does not become an easier process.
What has made writing these two books amazing is the time spent with Boris. His warmth and
wit dominate our conversations. I laugh more in our sessions than at any other time during a
normal week. I will leave you with one extract from one of our conversations in 20 1 4 :
Then our conversation was interrupted. A siren rang out weakly somewhere outside Boris's house.
He stood up immediately.
6 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
Being a part of this project is an ongoing joy. I hope some of this joy has spilled over into the
pag es and makes this not only an instructional book, but also a pleasure to read.
Chess is all about time. Each player makes a move, choosing to move only one piece, hoping
that all his pieces will be in time to reach the necessary squares. If you are late, the opponent will
checkmate you, queen his pawn , take your knight, skewer your rook or maybe j ust run away with
half the kingdom and all three princesses.
Chess is also about handling the clock. Before each game you are entrusted with a certain
amount of time, and you have to do your best to spend it wisely.
This book is about dynamics. The things that easily fall victim to time, have an unstable
foundation, and erode quickly.
This is not an academic textbook about dynamics; it is a deeply personal book, with dynamics
as the central theme. Other recurring themes I shall discuss include the influence of engines
on modern chess, and the clash between the millennials and my generation, both in chess style
and in the public imagination. But if I think one of my experiences or opinions will interest the
reader, then I shall mention it, even if it is 'off-topic'. If you can survive these digressions, you will
be less shocked later in the book when a recipe for strawberry j am appears...
Early investigations
I worked with Eduard Zelkind until I was 1 1 years old. At this time, he moved to the US and
asked his friend Albert Kapengut to look after his best student. Ilya Smirin arrived later on, when
he moved to Minsk to study at the university in the second part of the 1 980s.
I was maybe six or seven when Zelkind gave me tactical exercises to solve at home, sacrifices on
h7 and other such basic stuff. I had not learned to read and write yet, so my father would write
down the positions and the solutions for me, so I could bring them to the next training session.
This continued until I learned to read and write myself. Zelkind had his own system for writing
down positions in the most effective way, which others might look at as an unbreakable code.
At this time there was no access to such luxuries as a photocopying machine. All exercises would
have to be written down by hand at the end of the lesson.
8 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g i n Chess
Lacer, when I went co Moscow and visited everything , so you need a system of some sort
the Central Chess Club, they did have a co decide which candidate moves you want co
photocopying machine. le required a good deal focus on. There are some strong grandmasters
of pushing, but Kapenguc always managed co who attempt co calculate everything, and do
gee chem co copy the games from the latest so with moderate success, with the key word
cop tournaments for me. To explain this co being moderate.
the young er generation: he was downloading I am chinking of one player in particular.
TWIC by hand . . . OK, it required quite a bit He certainly has his own philosophy about
more work than chat, which we will talk more chess, which he chinks serves him best, but as
about in the volume on the opening . he is not able co defend his point of view here
Incidentally, one of the explanations for the (should he even wane co!) I do not want to
collapse of the Soviet Union is the arrival of mention any names. In pose-mortem analysis,
the g enerally available photocopier and other he will sugg est all the moves. Almost like a
forms of technical prog ress in the 1980s . . . computer does.
Bue as I see it, the human brain does not
I n che first volume we discussed m y favourite work like a computer. Our thought processes
book when I was young, Rubinstein with game are not linear; although we should cry co
annotations by Razuvaev. From this I learned structure chem, we cannot be completely
about space and other positional factors. The systematic in our chinking. This is why we
big hero in my study of dynamics was Efim use techniques such as candidate moves,
Geller. More about him in Chapter 1 on the why we recheck variations, why we look for
Soviet Championship in Minsk 1 979. intermediate moves, why we try to insert some
However, I should immediately nullify the moves. Calculation has co be done smarcly, or
dichotomy I have just sec up: obviously I it will not be effective. le is easy co waste a lot
was learning dynamics from Rubinstein and of energy.
Pecrosian as well, and positional thing s from AI; I talked about in Positional Decision
Geller, Tai and Spassky. Chess is a complex Making in Chess, in some positions there is not
game and the cop players have always been really anything co calculate, and we need to
able co do a bit of everything. This is natural, make a decision based on other criteria. This
as positional play and tactical opportunities are book deals with some situations where we have
so closely interwoven chat it can at times be co make intuitive decisions and some where we
hard co see the difference. have co calculate. In dynamics, both skills are
essential.
Sort of defining dynamics
The initiative is a somewhat different topic. You
To me, dynamics is the potential of the pieces. have better piece development or something
Many players are good at calculation, but like this. You need co use the momentum
this does not mean chat they have any feeling to transform it into something valuable, an
for the potential of the pieces. AI; we are not attack, a positional advantage, or whatever,
computers, calculation is not enough, we need before it goes away. Essentially it is Steinicz's
direction in our calculation and a strong sense idea chat you have co use your advantag e
of dynamics, so a feeling for the potential of before it disappears. Obviously, this is all about
the pieces is important. Technically, a lot of dynamic advantag es. With static advantages,
moves are possible and you cannot calculate the urg ency is often much less.
Introduction 9
Every player tries to find their own balance Hort and Jansa. I worked on it when I was
between intuition and calculation. The method young, but luckily my memory is not perfect
that works well for one player might not work and the book is still very useful for me now.
well for another. In a way I am quite intuitive, For those who know my games, it will be
but this does not mean that I think this is the no surprise that I was heavily influenced
'right' way to be. All I can say is that it works by Polugaevsky's books. Especially the long
for me. But ignoring the influence of intuition analysis of the Najdorf variations and of
in our thought process would be a mistake. various endgames, most memorably against
Geller and Gligoric.
Not exactly calculation and tactics
To me, tactics is mainly about patterns and
Dynamics is not exactly the same as calculation about calculation. I have dealt to some extent
and tactics, just like a chair is not just wood with tactics and calculation in this book,
and bolts. But imagine a chair without the raw but I do not want to offer a big theory of
materials and you will most likely imagine an calculation. You can find this in the writings of
empty space on your living room floor. Mark Dvoretsky and Jacob Aagaard. Aagaard
This book is about dynamic thinking, but follows Dvoretsky's way of thinki ng, so you
will constantly deal indirectly with calculation will not find any noticeable difference between
and tactics. I hope this distinction will not the advice given by them.
confuse anyone.
I want to re-emphasize that each player has
Although many references are made to their own approach. What is good for one
calculation, this book does not deal directly player might not work for another. There
with the technique of calculation, so I think I is even an argument to be made for the idea
should briefly recommend a few other sources that some approaches work well against some
for this. I like Jacob Aagaard's Grandmaster players, while they are ineffective against
Preparation series of books, where the first others. We all have some opponents we score
volume, Calculation, even has a foreword by a well against, who again have their favourite
clever Israeli guy. . . I had to mention this book, customers, who again are delighted whenever
not only because it is very useful, but also since they have to play us. Alexander Beliavsky told
Jacob is my assistant in writing these books, me that he once witnessed Tal, Korchnoi and
and getting him to type this will embarrass Stein playing 'winner stays on' blitz . Tal would
him no end. lose to Korchnoi, who would lose to Stein,
I also greatly appreciate Perfect Your Chess, who would lose to Tal. There were almost no
a book by V ladimir Grabinsky, a highly exceptions to this, he said.
successful Ukrainian trainer, written together Korchnoi had a great score against Tai
with his student, the strong Grandmaster in tournament games as well. Tal was
Andrei Volokitin. Grabinsky is a world-class very intuitive and saw long variations as
trainer who has worked with close to ten inspirations more than as knuckle-down-hard
players from their early years until 2650 level. calculation. Korchnoi, on the other hand,
The exercises in this book are very difficult, did not have as great intuition as Tal , but he
but they will benefit the diligent student worked systematically through the variations,
immensely. While writing this book, I am finding flaws that brought down Tal's great
going through an old book, The Best Move by ideas. This approach also worked very well for
10 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g i n Chess
Polug aevsky in his Candidates match against going on, but he will still be limited, and miss
Tal. As Kapengut was Polugaevsky's second at things from time to time. There was a survey
that time, I heard a lot of inside stories about on ChessBase.com about the top players and
this match as a child. their correlation with the engines . On the low
end, you found Magnus Carlsen and myself,
Calculate without a board for different reasons. Clearly this has nothing
to do with the actual strength of the players.
When I was a young player, a lot of people
paid a lot of attention to the fact that I often One of the reasons I have only a vague idea
do not look at the board while I am playing, how much my colleagues see during the game
while now they have gotten used to it. From an is that few books (if any) are written from the
early age I was able to keep the board easily in perspective of decision-making, as the books
my head. It is an important quality that should in this series are. There are some players who
be developed. When I play in tournaments, I like to pretend they saw everything when they
will discuss the day's games with teammates, annotate the games afterwards, while some of
seconds or friends over dinner or while going my more intellig ent and devious colleagues
for an evening walk. We hardly ever use a deliberately cry co obscure what they saw and
board, but analyse the games blindfold. I will did not see, to avoid g iving anything away.
say more about this in Chapter 2, page 39. In recent years we have been given a window
I have noticed that some young players are into the workings of a grandmaster's mind
not great at this, which I am sure will damage with online transmissions and commentary.
their results. We see strong grandmasters commenting on
their colleague's games, and some of them
What does a Grandmaster seem to see a lot, while others seem to see very
see during the game? little. Certainly this cannot be used as a valid
way co predict anyone's playing strength! We
Honestly, I have no idea if amateurs watching also have videos of the players' pose-mortems,
the games live overestimate or underestimate or it's done live at press conferences. It is a
how much a grandmaster actually sees during different format, but still it gives us an insight
the game. One of the problems is chat most into how difficult chess is, which is one of the
people watch live games with the engine reasons people tend to enjoy watching this
running, or on a website that has the engine form of commentary more than those who
turned on by default. I never get tired of simply read aloud from the first line of the
pointing out chat looking at the engine makes computer. I love watching the post-mortems
you blind. It is a rare person who sees past the of big tournaments, although I would still
engine, and can see the board as it is. I cannot prefer to play in chem (please send me more
do it well, but in my experience, I do it better invitations!) .
than most. It is of course worth using computers for
A big difference between engines and many things, but not during the game.
grandmasters is chat an engine looks at every Chess is a beautiful game where
move, while a grandmaster can only look at commentators see one thing, computers
some of the moves. Obviously he will have something else, and the players something
a good intuitive understanding of what is different again.
I ntroductio n 11
the cycle that ended with Spassky's victory In the same way in chess, the highest-ranked
in 1 969. Botvinnik once did not make the player can at times win the most important
USSR Olympiad team, despite being World tournaments and at times not. It is a sport; the
Champion. result is decided over the board, not by a public
And so on. . . But this will of course not vote.
change anybody's mind. In the 2 l st century At the time of writing , Vladimir Kramnik
the importance of public opinion has increased is Number 2 in the world rankings. He is a
tremendously, and nothing seems to be able to classically-trained player who aimed to be the
compete with it. It makes a greater impression "future of chess" , when he won Gold with
to have moral support from the media than to Russia in the 1 992 Manila Olympiad, as well as
win qualification events . . . I can understand Gold on Board 6. Since then he has changed his
the attraction people had from roug hly 20 1 3- style many times and continues to impress. This
1 4 to a match between Aronian and Carlsen, demands the highest possible praise. Sadly, he
who was rated Number 2 in the world pretty did not manage to qualify for the Candidates in
consistently around that time. But chess is a 20 1 6, but as he is 40, the media has not made
sport and the rating system reflects current a meal of this . . .
form and all results evenly; it does not win I n 20 1 4 a lot o f chess fans were unhappy
championships, and neither does public that Nakamura was not in the Candidates in
opinion. But it does not win championships Khanty-Mansiysk. He had failed to qualify, and
and neither does public opinion. also had not had a great 20 1 3 . I, on the other
A lot of people who follow both chess and hand, had won and tied for first in many big
football, as I do, will care tremendously about events in 20 1 3, but only my wife said I should
the FIDE rating system, but know nothing have gone! All credit to Hikaru: he did not
about the current FIFA rankings (or maybe complain, but went to work, played excellently
even that such a list exists) . I gave a friend ten in the following Grand Prix and convincing ly
guesses to come up with the Number 1 on that qualified for the 20 1 6 Candidates.
FIFA list in January 20 1 6. He tried the usual At the end of the day, the question is if chess
suspects, Germany, Argentina (who not long is a sport or showbiz. For me it is clearly a sport.
after were indeed Number 1 ) , Brazil, Spain,
Italy, Netherlands and so on. The correct answer
is Belgium. Based on their average results and
current form, this was the best team in the
world. Belgium has never won any titles, but I
am reluctant to downg rade them too much, as
it is really a strong team and Euro 20 1 6 might
be their moment!
Introduction 13
11.J.d3?
This j ust loses a tempo.
We looked at a few different options: this, but things have changed. If you have a
classical upbringing (which I recommend) ,
1 3 .. . lll xb4? l 4.axb4 ixb4 t l 5 .<j;Je2 could very you will know the games of the great players
well be the critical line; this is perhaps what and their annotations. But if you have
Rubinstein had intended. As we shall see later learned to play chess by playing online blitz
in the game, he was very aggressively minded and tournaments, you will not have learned
this day. 1 5 . . . id7 1 6.We5 ib5t 1 7.<j;Jd l to think in this way. Also, when you analyse
1Mi'd7t 1 8 .lll d4 Elfe8 1 9 .Wh5 The position with the engines, they will constantly show
looks dangerous for White, but once you dig a you the most amazing defensive resources.
bit deeper, you realize that the knight on d4 is You cannot help but be influenced by this,
a fantastic shield and that Black does not really no matter what your general approach to the
have an attack. game is.
j; �,...,,.
not provide adequate compensation, as Wc3 is
s
an important tempo-gainer in many lines.
: T.la1'
� ,,,,,�� �
/,,,,,�'�
For Black, it might be worth trying l 3 . . . Eld8! ?
1 4.Wb3 lll e5, although White looks a bit �
��,.�.��
better after l 5 .lll d4. 5
4
This is by no means meant to be exhaustive
3 �Pi£
analysis, but just shows that the onus to prove �� ��fr:'\�
,,,,,,%'."''" / ,,,, � ,0
compensation would be on Black, rather than (3,%-m. ,w��' ;:(3,% "'2.J���,�
2
��.�=�[j[j�fj
-�
,,,,,
1
on White to come up with accurate defensive
""'� , , ,% _ %
moves. If the readers want to investigate the , , , ,,
7
6
�1--
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,
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uncomfortable for White, but he is hang ing on
in a bad position, without losing immediately.
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a b c d e f g h
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22 Jhc3!!
A thunderbolt. Black sacrifices the queen for
••
23. gxh 4
18 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
Geller - Yusupov
Diagram Preview
On this page you will find a few
i. �i. �')) �·%§
diagrams with critical moments 8
�iS.i.lfi� i
from the coming chapter. If you
: !�';,lit.!.
want to compare your thinking
with the games, you have the s
43•r.•
� n�
�.r.{'j•
possibility. Take as much time
as you need or want. This is not
�m�"' �
�
� � �m'0
iL �
a test, but a chance to 'think
along' with the grandmasters in
the games. b d f g h
2 rJ,tJ�1� ���:�fj 6
b d f g h
CZJ
a c e a c e
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Can you find Negi's novelty? How did White start an Do you know this famous
(see page 22) attack? combination?
(see page 27) (see page 30)
8
1 .�" .
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,;,••"• �·•�a �illto ��-J•
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1
i.
5 s �•.. %. �.L
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.
6 6
z
5 � • �• r!l
4 •. • � n m 4�• S8a�• �
3� �"·fil
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3��fil •CLi•
2/ /��- �.r:r! 2 ¥8f�• . ff
I� �i� �� ·� •• m@6
···
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
I was incredible lucky that I had the chance to Vitaly Tseshkovsky-Viktor Kupreichik
Minsk 1979
be present at the 1979 Soviet Championship,
which was played in Minsk. I would go to the
playing hall and watch the games; every day,
Tseshkovsky is an amazing attacking player,
every minute. Some of the games made a big
but in this game he got totally mated!
impression on me and we shall look at them
briefly in this chapter.
l.e4 c5 2.lll f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.�xd4 �f6
Alexander Nikitin and Boris Postovsky gave
5.ltlc3 �c6 6.i.g5 e6 7.°fYd2 /J.e7 8.0-0-0
me the tip to write down what I was thinking
0-0 9.f4 h 6 l0.i.h 4 i.d7
during the game, in order to analyse the games
afterwards and of course to compare it with
what the players chose during the game. I did
this and it helped my development immensely.
As with Positional Decision Making in Chess, I
want to show not only what I have been able to
do in the field of dynamics, but also where my
understanding of dynamics comes from.
a b c d e f g h
I remember a game from a Soviet j unior This was young lvanchuk's novelty. Other
tournament that made a big impression on players had played 1 5 .tll e 2 against Smirin,
me. I think this can be deduced already from and young Vassily came up with this idea.
the fact that I remember it 30+ years on . . . 1 5 . . . �ab8
1 2.iib l �fc8 Smirin g oes all in, but is soon left without
1 2 . . . �fd8 is the main move, when White is any clothes on. (If chess ever gets bored with
supposed to be doing well. me, I can always get a job commentating on
1 3 .g4 b5 poker events on late-night TV with all these
g reat metaphors . . . )
a) The direct break in the centre is dubious:
1 5 . . . d5 1 6.ixf6 ixf6 1 7.g5! hxg5 1 8 .fxg5
ie7 1 9.g6! White's attack arrives early.
b) 1 5 . . . e5 also looks bad. We analysed a bit
and came up with: 1 6.f5!N a6 This is not
forced, but without it, Black would have to
admit his position is bad.
1 4 .id3
There is nothing wrong with this move at all;
it scores very well.
But we should still mention that the Indian
opening specialist Parimarjan Negi in his
book l.e4 vs 1he Sicilian II recommends
b d f g h
1 4.ixf6! ixf6 1 5 .e5 dxe5 1 6.g5! when
a c e
White has a very strong attack. Negi's idea
relies on a powerful novelty: 1 6 . . . hxg5 1 7.lll xd6! ixd6 1 8 .ixf6 gxf6 l 9 .Wi'xh6
Chapter 1 - Minsk 1979 23
� i: �
if fl �
�� ��-"'� ���r�� �:--·-
6
6 ,- . �� �
5
5 ' -�� ,;,,. : .r� .... �� '>.... 4
4 ,....;,� ��-, �� 3
3 -�!�li�i
....J�f% �� �� ��-0
2
�� ,� �� �
b d f g h
a b c d e f g h
a c e
The engine wants us to play l 6.E:d4 E:c6
22.lLig5! A nice intermediate move. White is 17.� e5 E:c5 18. � d6 E:c6 with a repetition.
planning E:xd3-h3. Black is busted. Solve the draw death: take a sledgehammer to
c) 15 ... a6 is also possible and what the engine your laptop...
suggests. Black is threatening to take on b 5 ,
which would open the a-file, s o White has 1 3.. J:UcS 1 4..ic4?!
to play 16.lLibd4, when after 16...lLixd4 White should probably vary earlier, on move
17.lLixd4 White is still much better. The 12, but if you do reach this position, then a
engine says that Black is more or less OK, move to investigate is 14.e5.
but I have analysed a lot of positions like
this, and believe that it will take between 1 4...�b4 1 5.ti°e2
half an hour and an hour with a computer White might have had better saving chances
to prove that White has a winning attack. in the following line:
16..ixf6 .ixf6 15 ..ib3 E:xc3! 16.�xc3 E:c8
16... gxf6 17.lLibd4 gives White a solid edge.
8
The black knight is exchanged before it gets
7
a chance to get into battle, and Black is left
6
without an attack, but facing one on the
kingside all the same.
5
17.lLixd6 .ic3 18.�e2 b3 19.cxb3 llJb4
20.bxc3 E:xc3 2 1.lLid4 4
8
White should avoid 1 7.ixf6 ixf6 1 8.We3
ia4 1 9.l'l:d2 ixb3 20.Wxb3 lll xa2t 2 1 .<;t>dI
ll'lc3t 22.bxc3 Wa l t 23.<;t>e2 Wxh l 24.<;t>f2 7
6
ixc3 when his situation is grim.
1 5 J�xc4!
•. 1
a b c d e f g h
Black's attack flows; if the bishop had reached
b3, it might have been a useful defender.
A very energetic sacrifice, continuing Black's
16.flYxc4 gc8 17.flYb 3 c-file rampag e.
19.flYxc2
White is running out of options.
I 7 tllxe4!!
•••
18.a3
This does not help, but neither would any
other move.
21...Aa4 22.i.xc3 .ixc2 23.J.xa5 .ixdl t There were some young players in the
24.©xdl dxe5 25.fxe5 .ixe5 26.b4 l:k3 tournament. For example, 1 9-year-old Artur
27.a4 ga3 28.© c2 Ad4 29.gdl e5 Yusupov took second place in his first-ever
0-1 championship. Artur kindly shared his
memories of Geller from this tournament:
When you are watching this live in the
tournament hall as a child, you cannot help but When I first arrived at the tournament,
be overwhelmed. This is one of the reasons why my impression of Geller was that Grandad
I think young players should be encouraged to had decided to play. I liked that, but at
watch top tournament games. If they cannot first his results did not impress. In the first
make it to the tournament hall, then at least seven rounds he made all draws, before
follow the games online. Be entirely focused winning a fine strategic game against
on the games, without online commentary or a Romanishin. But it was in Rounds 1 0
mind-numbing engine, trying to find ideas of and 1 1 that everything changed. First,
your own, calculating the various possibilities Razuvaev made a horrific blunder in the
as the players think about them. opening, and lost to Geller in 2 1 moves.
Then the next day, Tseshkovsky, in an
Efim Geller equal position, blundered his queen right
after exiting his adjournment analysis.
One player in this tournament fascinated me Geller was an experienced card player,
more than the others... so he immediately realized his luck was
in. He transformed completely and played
Efim Geller's golden years were 1 949 to with such energy - beautiful attacking
1 980. Born in 1 92 5 , he won the USSR chess. It was truly fascinating.
Championship qualifier in Tbilisi in 1 949,
and subsequently took j oint 3-4th place at the I was able to use this experience much
main championship. He became a grandmaster later in my career, in the German
in 1952 and also played for the first time in the Championship, when Alexander Graf
Soviet team that year. He was a strong force blundered his queen against me in an equal
for these three decades, scoring +6 in almost position. I remembered Geller, and knew
200 games against the six World Champions I j ust had to show up and play, and luck
he faced, suffering a majority of his defeats would be on my side. In the last round,
against Spassky, but achieving a plus score the next day, I misplayed my position a
against Bocvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian and little, and my opponent offered a draw. I
Fischer. rejected it, because of Geller. I had to play!
He was one of the most respected players And immediately my opponent made
in the Soviet Union, and acted as second for mistakes. You have to use the luck! This
Karpov for many years. Before Kasparov's is what I learned from Geller at the 1 979
1 993 match against Nigel Short, he asked championship.
Geller what he should do against the Marshall
Attack, which Short employed at the time. Actually, Geller had already made an
Geller suggested a system with h3, d3 & llibd2 impression on me in the first round against
and slow play, which worked well for Kasparov Dolmatov. Sergey had played quickly and
and stayed popular for the next 1 5 years. confidently in making a draw with Black,
26 Boris G elfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
which was a decent result. Geller, on the I think he meant that I might have needed a
other hand, had been thinking a lot, and few years to recover, but as no one had told me
was low on time when the game ended, as about this earlier, I simply played well and won
was his habit. the tournament.
When they analysed the game
afterwards, Dolmatov would say: "Here Boris the Attacker - 1979
I can play this, this or this, but I chose
To understand how exciting the following
that." Geller said: " Really, you think
Geller game was to me at the time, it is
you can play this?" and then he showed
necessary first to see a game I played j ust before
the most beautiful refutations of Sergey's
the tournament.
suggestions, one after the other. None of
this happened in the game, which was not
so interesting. But it seemed that Sergey
Boris Gdfand Eduard Raisky
-
1
matter what. I have been declared 'finished' for
decades. In 1 998 there were a lot of articles
where they announced the end of me. a b c d e f g h
After I lost the candidates match to Short
14...tli eS!?
in 1 99 1 , I defied the expectations of some
1 4... lll d5 is more natural, but the move in
people. I went on to win in Belgrade, tying
the game is not bad if Black plays accurately
for second with Kasparov in Reggio Emilia
afterwards.
1 99 1 /92 and, shortly thereafter, won in Wij k
aan Zee 1 992. After the last of these events,
1 5.�e4 b6?
a journalist confided in me, saying that after
Luckily he does not.
the match with Short, "I thought you were
l 5 ... d5 would allow White to keep a
finished." I was 24 years old...
I want to point out that this was a very
stable advantage with his massive lead in
pleasant person, who spoke from the heart.
development. A quick shift to the queenside
Chapter 1 - Min sk 1979 27
20.�xe5 �c5
The last try.
16.£5!
White should not waste any time.
16... dxe5
This is the critical test, but as it does not
work, Black had to accept chat his position is
a disaster.
Minsk 1 979
even winning at this point with an amazing
sequence.
10.a4 J.d7
1 0...Wc? is the big main move.
ll ..if'3
1 1 .llib3! is known to give White a good
game.
l 1.
tlia5 1 2.°1We2 '!Wc7 1 3.g4 �Uc8 14.g5
b d f g h
••
8
Black looks OK, but the knight on e8 is so
poorly placed that White can crash through
6
1 9.Wf2! llic7
1 9...Wxg5 20.Wf7t 'it>h8 2 1 .Wfst J.xf8
5 22.E:xf8#
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
1 6.J.h 5!?
An amazing idea from Geller, though not
the only way to continue.
Chapter 1 - Minsk 1979 29
With the idea of doubling rooks on the f-file. 1 9 . . . c;!.ihs 20 .Wxe? Wd8!
23 . . . lll d 5 ! ? Not an easy move to find in your defensive
Black needs t o try something! calculations, bur it is necessary.
24.Wxd6! l'!d8 20 . . . l'!e8 2 1 .lll xe6! leads to an endgame
where White has an extra pawn.
2 I .l'!f7 Wxe7 22.l'!xe? lll xe3 23.l'!xd? e5
24.lll de2 lll xh 5 2 5 .l'! c l
25.exd5 !
White wins.
a b c d e f g h
It is quite easy to forgive Geller for not seeing White is about to win a pawn and will have
all of this. We have no idea if he saw the first decent chances in the endgame, although
seven moves of this line, and felt that he would Black still has some active counterplay.
be able to achieve more with what he did, or
if he was focusing more on going deep in the I am sitting there in the front row, following
direction he went. the game, thinking the attack is over. The
bishop will retreat, after which Black will play
One thing we do know is that Geller's idea in . . . lll g7 and . . . l=!f8 with a better position. White
the game was at least as beautiful and instructive simply played too primitively.
as this variation. The existence of computers
today does not reduce the achievements of the
heroes of the past, in my opinion.
16...g6
This is forced. 1 6 . . . lll e5 1 7.ixf7t! is a good
example of the dangers Black is facing.
5 � � �r 4
4 !� �!�r- >-�
�- 1 �� �- �
3
3 �
2,,-� ��-� 2
2 ��ri � � �
JtJ�j .�:rJfj a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
Here I thought: the knight is trapped on f7 ,
20.�xg6! hxg6 2 l . tli h4 tli e 5 22.tlixg6! Black's
White i s in danger.
defence of the f7-square did not last. 22 . . . tli xg6
But again Geller played a move I had not
23 .Wf7t �h8 24.Wxg6 White is winning. The
considered at all.
threats are too many to count, but we can
mention �f7 in passing.
22.llJ d5!! exd5 23.llJh 6t © g7
This allows a beautiful finish, but Black
20.llJxe5 gm 21.llJf7! lll xh 5
was not getting out of it anyway: 23 . . . �h8
2 l . . . gxh5 was possible, but it would not save
24.�d4t �f6 2 5 .Wxf6t! Obviously Geller
Black: 22.�b6! Wc6 23 .�d4 Wc8 24.tli h6t
would have taken with the queen. 25 . . . �xf6
<;t>h8 2 5 .Wd2 gives White a winning attack.
26.�xf6 And we have returned to the game.
� i: fe11�.;r 8
6 !��--,��,, � 7
: ���" � �. :.�, �f:;ii''
'- -��� 6
5
3 ' ,, �� �
�f:;l'ef� �f:;/-� 4
- /�� j�
2i � ���,,f!J 3
� :=
2
B
a b c d e f g h
b d f g h
penetrating on the 7th rank, as well as meeting
a c e
25 . . . e5 with 26.tli d 5 ! , leading to further
suffering for Black. For example: 26 . . . exd4 24.'!Wf7t!! l3xf7 2s.l3xf7t ©h s 26 ..id4t .if6
27.tlixe7 We8 28.�xf8t Wxf8 29.tlid5 and 27.l3xf6!
Chapter 1 - Minsk 1 979 31
Black resigned. He is getting mated: When I arrived home that evening, I was in a
27 . . . lll g7 28.Ei:f7 Ei:g8 state of shock. I had seen something special , a
miracle at the chessboard. It is not impossible
that it determined the course of my life.
It is for this reason that I want to underscore
the importance of following top games live.
Preferably at the tournament hall, if you
have the chance. But if you do not, then use
all this wonderful technology we have, with
transmissions from all of the top events. If you
want to make progress, I think it is important
to focus on no more than three games (or less!)
and forget all about multitasking.
a b c d e f g h
And of course you should watch the games
29.�xg7t Ei:xg7 30.Ei:f8t Ei:g8 3 l .Ei:xg8# without the engine on. Anyone who has
1-0 read the first volume of this series, Positional
Decision Making in Chess, should be able to say
This game might not seem so complicated to this in their sleep! It can be difficult to work
us now, but imagine being a small boy in the out where you switch off the engine on the
tournament hall, trying to guess the moves of website, and it can be tempting to turn it on
the grandmasters. when the game becomes complicated. But life
has always been full of shortcuts to nowhere -
I know I used a lot of diagrams in this game, and it has always been clear that this is exactly
but I am trying to reproduce the experience where they lead.
I had during the game, which was not
just an emotional one, one of surprise and To me the 1 979 Soviet Championship in
turnarounds, but also a visual one. I was Minsk was a rare chance to see the best players
watching the games live, watching the players. in the country in action. It was won by Efim
Back in that time, smoking was still allowed in Geller, of course. He won six games and drew
the tournament hall. Geller was smoking, and eleven, scoring 1 1 V2 from 1 7. By round 1 4 it
Tai was smoking one cigarette after another. was already clear that things were heading his
This helped to form the atmosphere of the way, and his masterpiece against Anikaev only
tournament into a 'grown-up area' , where I as solidified the deserved nature of his victory.
a child had been allowed to visit. And didn't Yusupov was second with 1 OY2 and Kasparov
they play grown-up chess there! (One more shared third with Balashov on 1 0 points.
thing about smoking: Back then many sports
stars were smokers, not j ust chess players, also At the closing banquet of the 1 992 Alekhine
tennis stars, runners and footballers. Recently Memorial in Moscow, where I had tied for first
football lost one of its biggest stars, Johan with Anand, I was sitting next to Geller. At
Cruyff, my biggest sporting hero, who died some point he raised a toast for me to become
aged 66 from a smoking-related illness. I am World Champion.
glad that smoking is gone from chess, as well as
from other sports. Especially I am glad that my I remember Efim Geller and the 1 979 Soviet
opponents are not smoking in my face!) Championship fondly.
Chapter 2
Petrosian
if� � ;·r
a test, but a chance to 'think 2
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
The Soviet School of Chess Players from Lviv were influenced by Stein.
Players from Odessa were influenced by Geller.
Many people think there is a Soviet Chess In Armenia and Georgia, Petrosian's influence
School, which is not really the case. This was strong, with a liking for play with knights
concept originated after the Soviet players against bishops.
showed great strength in the post-WW2
period, and was supported by a book by Kotov But this was of course not j ust a Soviet
and Yudovich in the late 1 950s. It is very phenomenon. In the US, Fischer had a big
hard for people to understand that this was a influence, which is still strong to this day. In
metaphor, and not a real thing. Denmark they had Larsen and Nimzowitsch.
The Netherlands had Euwe and later Timman.
In 1 98 5 a delegation of Indian chess players England did not have a guru in the same
visited the Soviet Union. Playing against their way, as their players all appeared at the same
delegation was my first game against a foreign time. But still you can see a lot of common
player, A. Mittei. traits in their style, their originality and thirst
At one point on their trip they were in for fighting chess. You will find similarities
Moscow, and one Indian guy kept insisting between the players in many countries. When
that they show him the Soviet Chess School. you think about it, it is very obvious why. We
The guides tried to explain that it was a learn from each other and try to emulate our
metaphor, but the guy was not biting. Anand heroes.
told me that eventually they had had it
with this guy, and j ust pointed at a random Real Soviet chess schools
building, assuring him that this was indeed the
Soviet Chess School, but sadly it was closed on Botvinnik's school is famous all over the world,
that day. with students such as Kasparov, Kramnik and
so on. Tigran Petrosian also had his own chess
I don't think it makes sense to talk about a school, but with a more limited range - he could
Soviet School of Chess. We can talk about only select his pupils from the members of the
regional tradition, where many players Spartak club, a sports organization, making the
developed in a certain direction, influenced choice narrower. Still, a number of kids who
by a star player in their city. A clear case is later became famous grandmasters took part,
Riga, where Tai influenced players such as such as Igor Novikov, Yury Dokhoian, Svetlana
Alvis Vitolins, Alexander Shabalov and Alexei Matveeva and Ilya Smirin. I was invited after
Shirov, who play exactly the same brilliant I won the U 1 8 Spartak Championship, half
attacking style. a point ahead of Giorgi Giorgadze, who later
I grew up in Minsk, and in my chess you can became a strong grandmaster. I had to join
clearly see the style of Boleslavsky, with serious Spartak in order to train with Kapengut, who
opening preparation, Sicilian and King's worked there.
Indian with Black, and main lines in other
openings. I did not work with Boleslavsky, but The Petrosian school was for players under
he influenced Kapengut, who influenced other 1 8 , and usually met twice a year for training
players such as Ilya Smirin, Yuri Shulman and sessions. Petrosian was assisted by Alexander
myself. Razuvaev called me Boleslavsky's chess Niki tin, who was the trainer of Garry Kasparov
grandson. then and for many years of his career.
36 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
1 a c e
which was a great honour.
a b c d e f g h
38 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
6.dxe5 dxe5 7.�xd8t ©xd8 8.f4 exf4 9.J.xf4 After this game, I was asked to work on this
.ie6 IO.O-O-Ot tlibd7 1 1 .tlif3 tll g4 12J:thfl type of position before the next session, which
©c8 13.tlig5 tlige5 14.tll xe6 fxe6 1 5 ..ig3 I duly forgot about until the very last minute.
c5 16.tlib5 ©d8 17 ..ih4t ©c8 18 ..ig3 gg8 I quickly scribbled down a few notes taken
19.©bl a6 20.tll d6t ©b8 from a Geller book, all very obvious. Nikitin
suggested that they should send me back, that
there was no purpose in keeping me, when I
was unwilling to do my homework.
But Petrosian said: "The boy has talent, he
enjoys chess, so who cares if he forgot to do
his homework." So Petrosian sort of liked me.
I was really amazed that such a great player
would spend so much time with us.
21 ... ©a7 22.tlic7 gac8 23.tlixe6 .ih8 In 1 980 the sessions coincided with the
24.tll g5 h6 25.tlif7 .ig7 26J�d5 �ke8 Chigorin Memorial. In the morning we would
27.tll xe5 tlixe5 28,gxc5 tlic6 29 ..if3 ggf'8 have our training sessions with Petrosian and
30.gd5 tll e 5 31 .he5 .ixe5 32.h3 g17 Nikitin, and in the evening we would go and
33J�fdl gc7 34.b3 g17 35.a4 .ig3 36.a5 watch the games. I have autographs from, for
gc7 37.©b2 gce7 38.b4 gc7 39.©b3 gec8 example, Eugenio Torre and John van der Wiel.
40.c5 ge7 41 .gd7 gc7 42.gds At times, Petrosian would ask me: "Boris,
what do you think of this position?" Very
naively, I said something obvious. He replied:
"Even my wife can count the pieces. But
what do you think, what will the result be?"
I predicted that White was going to win the
game, but the player {let's not name names) let
me down and even lost the game.
I tell this story j ust to illustrate the way
Petrosian engaged with us all, and made us feel
respected and valuable. It was true mentoring.
It was an amazing experience and I am sure it
gave me a big push. This is part of the reason
why I like spending time with young players.
a b c d e f g h
Everyone can analyse a variation deeply and
1-0
Chapter 2 - Petrosian 39
find a new idea, but to meet a great player is Galina Strutinskaia -Alexander Huzman
not always possible, to get a tip or two from
Halkidiki 2016
him. This is something that can make a big
difference.
t.d4 �f6 2.�a g6 3.g3 .tg7 4.Ag2 0-0
I still remember some of Petrosian's tips:
5.0-0 d6 6.c4 tll bd7 7.9c2 e5 s.gdl ges
You should think about each move, even in blitz. 9.b3 e4 10.�gS e3
Do not make senseless moves. This had a big
impact on me, both in a good and a bad way.
It definitely cost time as well. As with most
things, it can be a plus and a minus; it is all
about the application. Maybe it is a plus when
you are in good form, but when you are in bad
form, it can lead to time trouble. This is also
a reason why I believe that the introduction
of the increment, especially in rapid, was very
good for my career.
1 5 . . . tll f2!N 1 6.l:!fl ih3 would have given 1 l . fxe3 tll g4 1 2.e4 c5 1 3.tll f3
Black a crushing attack.
a b c d e f g h
8
7
65
4
3
21 a b c d e f g
� � �,lifl,
that I found how White should play.
. �-. �. !�
1 4.h3!
..... �
6
� �� �. . �� �; ,. '
: , ,� � , � �·
;
3
��. �8• . . ·"m � 8
2
1
��-1����1:
. .�tt:J�· :t
� ��� �
a b c d e f g h
8 ,,.\�£��
20.bxc4 tll c5t 2 1 .�c3 Wxg3t 22.if3 f5
· --·� .."• ., �a
'))J! , .- , gives Black the initiative, although White's
�� · �
7
�
position is defensible.
..
fm,f .. � :-
3 �!-'l
�- - �• 1 •
. :. �8
8•t
� � �
..
�t'.{J��� ��-0�
�; � �
2
1 � �
a b c d e f g h
This looks OK for Black; we are playing However, the notes in that book felt somewhat
for all three results. White has a piece, but below the great standard of the series (I am
Black has one pawn (and will most certainly a big fan of Kasparov's books, and have been
get another one soon) and the white king will for more than 30 years; I cannot recommend
be in need of perpetual babysitting. I do not them enough) .
think this is a position where the king will be The best annotations of the game, in terms
able to protect itself (as in the game below) . of accuracy of the analysis, are probably those
White has more pieces, but they also have by Jacob Aagaard in Python Strategy, a recently
more work to do! published collection of Petrosian's annotations
and articles. Aagaard was able to combine
Both 1 3 . . . b5! and I 5 . . . lDf2! are difficult moves Petrosian's and Kasparov's annotations, and
to find, making it imperative that we train our check them carefully with a strong engine,
ability to find them. getting us a bit closer to the truth.
a c e
Tilburg 1981
b d f g h
This game has been annotated quite a number We can see that White has sacrificed a pawn
of times in various places, most notably in My for clear long-term compensation. All his pieces
Great Predecessors, Part III by Garry Kasparov. are active on the open files. So, normally, the
Chapter 2 - Petrosian 43
30.a4 b5!
An amazing move that sends us back to
Steinitz's maxim, that the king should be able
to protect himself.
4 �-£!!�,,��
t.z.J �C§ �(_§�
5 control dark squares only.
�
3 �: �v;�-- -� �8
� Petrosian was a fantastic defender and must
21 r ���'�'
have felt that White would not be able to break
��-0�
through without sacrifices. And if White did
q � �
,;,,J
� -
take such risks on, Petrosian was confident in
�
his incredible calculating abilities. I think in
a c e
b d f g h
general that Petrosian is underestimated as a
calculator by the general public. As I said, even
32 ... ©b7! I had this impression before I met him. But he
32 . . . id6 may be objectively better but I like really amazed all of us at the training camp.
the game move, as it keeps alive the possibiliry
of Black winning the game. I am sure there was 34.J.d6
a psychological dimension to Petrosian's play. Kasparov plays according to his beliefs;
With such a big attack, it is very easy to believe moving only forwards.
that it is possible to win immediately with
White, and as we have reached move 32, there It is not easy to find a move like 34.lll b2!,
is little doubt that both players were running with the idea of lll d3 later, in the heat of the
low on time. moment. It can easily feel as if White is losing
44 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
6
4 � �
,.���."--".,.,%� - �� 8
5 3
4 2 �.,.
..
3 i� � '
a b c d e f g h
2
38.E:xa6t! E:xa6 39.�b5t @d6 40.�xa6t @e7
1
4 1 .J.xd5 White wins back his piece, but after
a b c d e f g h 4 1 . . .E:xb? 42.J.xb? �b8 followed by . . . �c7,
35 ... ©c6!! Black has nothing to fear.
This is the move, completely changing
the nature of the game, and again following 36 ...bxc4 37J�xa6t gxa6 38J�xa6t i.b6
Sceinitz's maxim. The main point of the move 39.i.c5 �d8
is a simple double attack on the bishop on
d6 and the knight on c4 {now the b-pawn is
no longer pinned) . The king also defends the
b5-pawn, but the sacrifices were not working
at this moment anyway, so this is not the main
point.
The annotations of this game in Predecessors which will most likely be included in Volume
and Python Strategy were both computer 4 of this series.
assisted, but I cannot help wondering if This was the last time I saw him.
Garry's annotations from 1 98 1 exist in a box
in Nikitin's archive. It would be amazing to Influenced
see his original analysis. (I should say that
Kasparov was already known then as a great It is difficult to overestimate the value of time
analyst, and one of his early books, The Test of spent with a great player. Even if there are not
nme, was based partly on notes he published so many things you can use immediately, their
in chess magazines on the advice of Botvinnik.) approach, attitude and reasoning will influence
you for years to come. It's hard to explain in
This was the second time in a row where words how you benefit, but to me it was really
Kasparov did not manage to bring an invaluable.
overwhelming attack to its conclusion against
Petrosian (the first being in Moscow 1 98 1 , Petrosian was very kind to us. He was the
where he also lost) . Kasparov wrote that first person who showed me a portable tape
Spassky gave him a piece of advice after this recorder. He had bought it on a trip abroad,
game: against Perrosian you have to play and lent it to us with some music tapes. This
patiently, you should not try to mate him. was not the first time I saw a tape recorder. At
With this advice, Kasparov was able to home we had the old style with big reels . . .
beat Petrosian very convincingly twice the
following year. This book i s about dynamics, s o I should admit
that the main things I learned from Petrosian
In this game, the position suggested that White were probably not dynamics. But some people
had a winning attack and computer-assisted say that they can see a lot of his approach
analysis confirmed this. But it also showed that to dynamics in my games. The approach to
White had to make more than one accurate counterplay, the way we both sacrifice the
move, including a not at all intuitive knight exchange. Unhurried compensation. What
manoeuvre. Petrosian showed great defensive can I say? I was definitely influenced a lot by
skills, and managed to gain one last victory Petrosian, but I do not see myself from the
against Kasparov - a game that is more famous outside, so I cannot say for sure to what extent
than all of Kasparov's subsequent wins against this is so. I will allow the reader to decide for
Petrosian. himself.
1983 Postscript
In 1 983 the training sessions were very In 2004 I was invited (on the proposal of
brief. It was at the same time as the Soviet Kasparov) to represent Team Petrosian in a
Championship, so Petrosian did not have a match against "The Rest of the World". Our
lot of time for us, but we were taken each day team consisted of players with some form of
to watch the games. I do not know if he was connection to Petrosian. This was mainly
already ill at this time - it is hard to say, as he Armenians, but also included Peter Leko,
played well in the tournament. For example, who married Petrosian's daughter - although
he won a nice game against Polugaevsky, we should make it clear that this is Arshak
46 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
Petrosian's daughter we are talking about! At this point I was tempted to sacrifice
In the first game, against Peter Svidler, I made the exchange with 20.d5 ! ? for long-term
an exchange sacrifice on c3 in the Sicilian. Peter compensation. Black would soon have to take
played a beautiful game and totally refuted my on f3 as well, giving me the bishop pair against
concept. As any serious chess fan will know, knight and rook, one of the most favourable
Svidler at his best is a really tough opponent! types of exchange sacrifices.
The following day this position arose:
Potential variations could be as follows:
Boris Gelfand - Loek van Wely
20 . . . tll f4 is not likely to be a great inclusion.
Moscow 2004
After 2 1 .iW i.xa l 22.�xa l i.xf3 23.Wfxf3,
Black is under a bit of pressure. For example,
Ltll f3 �f6 2.c4 c5 3.tll c3 d5 4.cxd5 tll xd5
23 . . . e5 24.Wfe3 b6 2 5 .g3, when the black pieces
5.e3 �xc3 6.bxc3 g6 7 ..ib5t �d7 8.a4 i.g7
are not harmoniously placed. Or 23 . . . Wfe5
9.a5 0-0 10.0-0 tll f6 1 1 .d4 J.5 12.Wfb3
24.�b l , when White will take control of the
�k8 13.i.b2 �e4 14 ..ie2 Wfc7 1 5.c4 cxd4
long diagonal.
16.exd4 gfd8 17.Wfe3 tll c5 18.i.a3 tll e6
19.gfdl .ig4
More sensible is 20 . . . i.xa l 2 1 .�xa l tLl c5
22.i.b2 f6, but after 23.h3 i.xf3 24.i.xf3 I
think White has good prospects.
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
In this chapter I will use a few combinations Boris Gelfand - Michael Adams
(of sorts) from my career to think aloud about
London (rapid) 2013
various aspects of tactics, and the thought
process surrounding them. This is meant to be
inspirational and not prescriptive.
6
5
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
In this position I have a simple idea:
I won this game after another 2 5 moves. sacrificing the knight on g2. The real question
Both players made a few inaccuracies later on, for me was which way to get there, via e3 or f4?
but I do not think this ending is so interesting,
so I will not dwell on it. I promise we will look 27 ... c!lif4!
at truly interesting endings in the next volume. I decided on this move after careful
calculation, but it is not possible for us to
29 ....id5 30Jk3 i>g6 31 .h4 i>f6 32.a3 consider every move, so we cannot rely solely on
i>e5 33.ghs g6 34.g4 h.xg4 35.fxg4 i>d4 brute force. We also have to use our intuition.
36.ge3 f5 37.gxfS gxf5 38.h5 f4 39.gh3 And in this position the knight simply feels
gb7t 40.i>cl .ie4 41 .gdst i>e5 42.h6 c4 better placed on f4. It is better supported and,
43.i>d2 gb2t 44.i>el gb lt 45.gdl gb7 compared to the e3-square, it has additional
Chapter 3 - Tactics at the Top Level 51
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
Black has nothing more than perpetual
check.
a b c d e f g h
52 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
Stavanger 2015
0-1
Different approaches
with the idea E:g3 was still very dangerous 41.�xe5! dxe5 42.'ilYf5t <i>e7 43.E:xe5t ©d6
for Black) 39 . . . dxe5 40.E:g3 And here Giri 44.YlYxf4
managed to find 40 . . . E:xd5!!, when White's Black is behind in material, as well as being
attack may look dangerous, but in fact there mated.
is no advantage left . . . Carlsen still managed to
create a lot of problems for his opponent, who 38.if7t!! is one of those moves which you
(it turned out) was only halfway through a either see or you don't. If the idea does not
long defensive task in this game. He eventually come to you, there is little you can do.
held a draw in an ending with a knight against
three connected passed pawns. Everyone has to find a way for himself. There
are those who say that because of what we
38 ... @xf7 have learned from computers, there is no
Black would not be better off after declining longer such a thing as style. But every player
to take the bishop. We could give more still has his own attitude to the game, his own
variations, but it wouldn't necessarily show strengths and weaknesses. One player will try
anything other than that we know how to tap his best to make the best move to maximize
the spacebar while the engine is running. the advantage, while another will make a
practical decision to save time. We all have our
39.'ilYe4 own ambitions. Before each game I fantasize
Black cannot get his pieces back in time for that the game will be a masterpiece. Other
the defence. White has a number of concepts, players only think about the full point on the
including Wf5t <tie? Wxf4 or lll g5t or Wh?t scoreboard.
or lll xe5 t . It is simply too much.
Often I spend a lot of time at the end of the
39 'ilYdS
••• opening, trying to get a feel for the position
39 . . . E:g8 40.Wf5t ilg7 4 1 .lll g5 and E:g3 is and notice the various plans, patterns and
on the way as well, if needed. themes. Obviously seeing these ideas will be
useful later on, when I will hopefully spot
39 . . . i.xd5 40.°1Wf5t and the rook hangs on c8, them very quickly.
if nothing else. My thinking is that what happens next will
decide the course of the rest of the game. If
40.'ilYh7t ©f'8 you get it wrong here, there might not be a
"later on", where you can spend all your saved
up time.
8
a b c d e f g h
54 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
I use my feelings quite a lot. Other players I wanted to play 28.W/c6 but after 28 . . . ixf5
are 'move, move, move' - and they would no it turned out that he had some real counterplay.
doubt calculate both lines accurately. My feeling was that the position should offer
me more than I was able to find.
Discovering a surprising idea
Then I found a prophylactic combination.
There are many books that include the subject exchanged my fantastic knight for his worst
of how to see far-from-obvious moves. The piece, but after this I would be able to win a
joy of finding a tactic "out of the blue" is piece.
considerable, so you can see why this topic After I had this idea, everything was easy.
has attracted many writers. I do not want to I am certain that the reader will have found
recommend any particular book, but I instead this position quite trivial, but you have the
suggest that you study a lot of them, if you are profound advantage of knowing that a tactic
especially interested in this subject. Invisible exists.
Chess Moves by Afek and Neiman, Imagination
in Chess by Gaprindashvili, Perfect Your Chess 28.lll xg7! ©xg7 29.Wlc6
by Volokitin and Grabinsky, Grandmaster The rook is trapped.
Preparation - Calculation by Jacob Aagaard
and of course, the books by Mark Dvoretsky 29 ... i.xg4 30.fxg4 l£ih6 3 1 .©d2 �fac8
could be a place to start. The key point is 32.Wld?t ©gs 33J�b7 Wfg6
that spending a lot of time solving different
positions will develop the 'sensor' you need to
8
know when to look for something surprising.
7
Boris Gelfand - Leinier Dominguez Perez
6
Moscow (2.2) 2001
5
a b c d e f g h
34 ..bf4 gxf4 35.gS lll f7 36.Wle6 ©g7
37.gxflt W/xf7 3S.Wlh6t ©gs 39 . .th3
1-0
I d o not want to give the misleading position seems somewhat better for White due
impression that it is all brilliant tactics or to the misplaced knight on h5, but it is not
blunders at the top level. There is a middle clear if it is anything special.
ground of minor tactics, as in these games. Just days before this book was sent to the
printer, I played a blitz game where instead
Boris Gelfand - Levon Aronian of l 4 . . . g6, my opponent chose l 4 . . . a6. After
1 5 .tll bd4 '1Wd7 1 6.'1Wd2 g6 I tried 1 7.:gc2 but
Monte Carlo (blindfold) 2007
1 7 . . . :gfc8 1 8 .:gfc l j ust led to exchanges and
1 .d4 �f6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.i.g2 i.b4t rough equality in Gelfand - Gunina, Almaty
s.i.d2 !J.e7 6.�a 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8 ..if4 b6 (blitz) 20 1 6. More promising was 1 7.\Wh6!?
9.�c3 i.b7 :gfc8 1 8 .tll g 5 ixg5 1 9.'1Wxg5;t as in Stefanova
- Chiburdanidze, Istanbul 2009.
8 13.e4 f6?
7 This is, to be blunt, a blunder. But his
position was already unpleasant.
6
2
1 3 . . . dxe4 1 4.tll xe4 looks even worse.
a b c d e f g h
IOJkl
At the Tai Memorial event, I played 1 0.tll d2
against Lev in a situation where I had to beat
him to overtake him. After a few more moves,
he was already better.
I also wanted to play 1 0.:gc l in that game,
but after 1 O . . . tll bd7 I was not sure what to do.
There are some games where White has tried
l l .cxd5 cxd5 1 2.tll b5 tll e8.
a b c d e f g h
10 ... �hS
I really could not imagine that he would go 14.exdS c:xd5
for this line! 14 . . . fxe5 is also bad. After 1 5 .tll x e5 it is
almost time to resign. The way to play on is
1 1 ..leS �d7 12.c:xdS exd5?! of course l 5 . . . tll x e5 1 6.dxe5 '1We8 l 7.dxc6 .ia6
After this he is already in trouble. 1 8 .:ge 1 , but it is j ust a winning position for
White. For the bishop, White has three pawns,
It was better to play 1 2 . . . cxd5 1 3 .tll b5 tll x e5 two of them well advanced, while Black's
1 4.dxe5. Then after 14 . . . g6 1 5 .\Wd2 the knight is rather flaky.
56 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
� .t. ·
White gives up the bishop to win an
London 2013
important tempo. This is not an original tactic,
:.� �Ta�
.
'
..
7
..
.
4 ��r� ��rJ···Jf�
f�[}Jf� �r���
5 �
2 L I!�%�s �ll
} .,�� �� lllli
�
1 6.lll xd5 'Wd8 1 7.lll h4 is similar, but is
�� -.:=
somehow less natural. I want to keep my . ... .
.
a b c d e f g h
24.�e3!?
Both players are playing for a win. I always
play for a win with White, and Aronian always
plays for a win with both colours. Especially
against me! Aronian is one of those people
who wants to beat you more, the more he likes
you . . .
Besides, h e had serious chances o f winning
the tournament and qualifying for a World
Championship match.
This cannot be called an option; it is simply one point or another, as this is simply a very
a blunder. bad game from his point of view.
I was expecting Lev to play 2 5 . . . �e8, when I 27 .txf5! .tc4 28.e6! Yl?d6 29J:Uel ge8
•
intended to play 26.d5 ! ? exd5 27 . .td3, with 29 . . . �xf5 is met with 30.�xc4! �xc4 3 1 .e?
compensation for the pawn. Although Black �f8 32.WfeS and White wins.
must be OK after 27 . . . d4 28.Wff2 �d5 .
30.e7 .tf7
a b c d e f g h
It would be possible to analyse this quite
deeply, but let's keep it short - White has full
compensation for the pawn, but not more. a b c d e f g h
3 1 .gcs g6 32 ..tg4 hS 33.£5 ©g7 34.fxg6
26 .ixe6�
•
i.xg6 35 ..ixhS gd3
E - ii
At this point I was running low on time,
"
• and I wanted to control the position. For this
!
7
6 "�
�� �i• �l'Jil'0 ·� 8
� .�� � Ll
�
,,,,, ,_,,
�
6
% '""�
�� �
5
�D ��-
:w.
��
�
4
i
3
a b c d e f g h
2
26 .tf7?!
•.•
1
This was what Aronian had planned, and he
played it immediately. But even if White were a b c d e f g h
to take on f7, Black's plan would be a worse 36.YlfeSt?!
choice than 25 . . . �e8. It makes little sense to 36.Wfg5 �g3 37.Wfh4 is hopeless for Black,
try to work out what Aronian was thinking at but I missed 37.Wfh4.
58 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
l 7.tll e4! ? .ixb4 l 8 .tll e g5 g6 32.tll xe6t! fxe6 33.1'%xd7 Wxd7 34.tll f5t tt:lxf5
1 8 . . . tll 7f6!? was probably a bit better. There 3 5 .Wxd?t @h6 36.hxg6 hxg6 37.'11Bxe6 @h7
are a lot of complications we will j ust skip. 38 . .id3
1 9.e4 .ixd2 20.'11Bxd2 'D e? 2 1 .e5 1 -0 Gelfand - Piket, Monte Carlo
(blindfold) 1 999.
s .i � L.� ••
•. .. ru r�
1 � .t.••• 1. • 1.
�.,
12 ... a5 l 3.1'%ac l 1'%ac8
�w;��
6
5 � ... �
;
_j ;y, . . , .�
4 �� % · � �� � ··
� � �
3 �z �- ,. , �!4 �� -�
•� · · --i���P
gg�
2
1 � �
a b c d e f g h
White has been successful in creating
problems for Black. It is not surprising that
a b c d e f g h
my opponent found the position difficult to
play. White has a lot of interesting strategic 1 4.tt:le4 tt:lxe4 1 5 .Wxe4 c5 1 6.Wh4 b4 1 7.e4
options that Black will have to be careful gave White a little pressure in Gelfand -
about. A computer could no doubt defend Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 20 1 2.
better than Piker did, but that is not so
relevant for a blindfold game . . . 13J�acl a6 14.b4
2 1 . . .tll d 5 22.tll e4 1'%a3 23.h4 We? 24.h5 @g7
2 5 .tll d6 .ia8 26.1'%a l b4 27.1'%xa3 bxa3 28.1'%al
White has managed to take over the
initiative.
28 . . . c5 29.1'%xa3 cxd4 30.1'%a7 '11B d 8 3 1 .'Dxd4
'De?
7
6
4
3
2
1
a b d g
c e f h 14 .. JUeS
With this move, Black shows his strategic
White can win in many ways; I found the objective. He wants to play . . . e4 and deprive
most natural combination. the knight on f3 of squares. If the h2-pawn is
Chapter 3 - Tactics at the Top Level 61
not hanging, Black will probably prepare this With 1 4.b4 White gets a structural advantage,
with . . . h6. and now he has to play creatively to keep it.
This is how I see it. Also, the situation is rather
If Black plays 14 . . . i.xb4? White has 1 5.lll xb5 optimal for White here, as the critical path is
winning back the pawn and gaining everything going down one narrow line, which works well
strategically. with the tournament situation.
8 i:�a9i �t
: ,,%@ ,�a�,-� @
� ,,,,,�� � ,,,,,
45 �A•�-
� �� ��i. tL)� �
��
%•�•�
3 ;< , , , , %
2 '•!w�· 3w�'wM
7;, , , , %
, . 'BiR . Z= - -
a b d g
a c e
c e f h
b d f g h
This could have led to a situation where
This is the main idea in this line. I want to
put the knight on e4, when Black will have to my initial thinking was wrong. But I would
no doubt have anticipated this, and instead
play accurately in order to equalize. It is not so
played l 8.i.xc6 with a lot of exchanges, which
important if the knight is on c5 or if White has
managed to prevent Black from playing . . . c5. would be a bad option for Black, taking the
tournament situation into account.
In both cases, White is better. What he will do
I believed I should play l 8.exd4 lll f6 l 9.i.d3?!.
once he has managed to get such a structural
But looking a bit closer, it is clear that this plays
advantage is a matter to be solved during the
into Black's hands, as after 1 9 . . . c5! 20.dxc5
course of the game.
At the moment the absolute priority is to i.xf3 the position becomes complicated and
coordinate the pieces, and not allow Black not at all unfavourable for Black.
to get out of the squeeze. Small tactical ideas Instead White needs to find 1 9.ixc6 �ac8
20.d5 lll xd5 2 1 .i.xb? \Wxb7 22.°1Wb3 and
support the positional ideas, as they always
White j ust about holds the balance.
do in chess. In my opinion, they are so
closely connected that it can be hard to truly
differentiate between them. 16.lll g5
This was my idea.
62 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
16 ... h6?
Again Karjakin plays the critical move. He
probably felt that he had no choice, because of
the tournament standing.
White. I saw 1 8 .i.xb4 Wi'xb4 1 9.lll c7 hxg5 I had not seen this move when I calculated
20.lll xe8 1:!xe8 2 l .1:!b 1 and wins. deeply at move 1 5 . Luckily it turns out that I
have a simple solution.
18.J.h7t
This intermediate check is essential. Jacob Aagaard is an experienced chess coach,
who helps me write these books. I asked for his
18 ... ©� view on this and he said:
Evidently forced.
"There are critical points that my students
19.hb4t c5 20.dxc5 J.c6 will have to see in order for me to 'give
them a tick' - moves that they have to
Chapter 3 - Tactics at the Top Level 63
63.@d5?
Chapter 3 - Tactics at the Top Level 65
a b c d e f g h
66 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
� � fJI
We2 2 5 .ixh7t @h8 26.ie4 l'!d8
� �
-�. � �� . �... �� �... J<�
6
....
5
...... � �� ��
4 �� �� - .. ,,��
�
�-. �� � ��
�
3
2 8�
� -,0 �� ��n� ��-�
0. � -�
:r� .. :� i
8 � 1�
· · '"'
a b c d e f g h
But here the computer gives a fine move.
24.Wd2!
A difficult tactic to spot. The black bishop
does not have a good square to go to.
24.Wd3 Wh4 is less critical.
2 1..ixhn1 @hs The position is unpleasant for Black. It is
2 I . . .@xh7 22.Wc2t and White wins. quite possible for Black to make a mistake.
24 . . . Wf6
22.gxcS gxc8 The following moves do not work:
Here I spotted a nice tactical idea. 24 . . .if6? 2 5 .Wd3 and the double threat on
h3 and h7 decides. This is the point of first
putting the queen on d2 - the black queen
can no longer make it to h4.
24 . . . ic3? 25 .Wd3 Wh4 26.E:c l and White
wins.
2 5 .E:d l g6
a b c d e f g h
23."d3!
Even ifl had seen everything, this would still
be my main choice.
White will play e2-e3 and has managed to get winning. It seems that the main question is
his pieces out. His prospects are encouraging. whether Black has managed to get his pawn
to f5 . If he has, he draws; if he has not, he will
23 ... g6 lose.
23 . . . ixb2? 24.°Wh3 and White wins.
29Jlbl i.c3
23 . . . E:c5 24.ie4 g6 2 5 .b3 is also very Black is faced with a decision: would he be
favourable for White. better off exchanging the rooks? It is a difficult
choice to make in practice.
24.'ffh3 If Black keeps the rook on, as he did in the
24.ixg6?? E:g8 loses a piece on account of game, it is not too hard to make a general
25 .°Wh3t ih4. evaluation. It is a position that needs to be
played, where White has an extra pawn. His
24...Yfe6 25.f5! chances are high of course, but nothing is
The point. Not 2 5 .°Wxe6?? fxe6 26.ixg6 guaranteed. The chances are probably 50-50,
E:g8 and the bishop is lost. between winning and drawing.
25 ...Yfxf5 26.Vfxf5 gxf5 27.J.xfS �k5 When we look at the exchange of rooks, it is
28 ..id3 .ixb2 possible to go a bit deeper, and say things with
a greater level of authority.
8
29 . . . E:c l t 30.E:xc l Axe l 3 1 .@g2 @g7 32.@g3
7 @f6
6
a b c d e f g h
a b d g
The forced sequence has come to an end, c e f h
and White has achieved a real advantage. The
exchange of his b- and f-pawns for Black's g 33.@g4
and h-pawns has given him a passed pawn and Taking control of the f5-square.
the chance to create another passed pawn in 33.f4! also looks good. It seems the most
the centre. practical choice, because it does not allow
the same amount of counterplay.
We have analysed the position seriously, but 33 . . . @e5
not come to any definite conclusions. Once Black seemingly has to play actively.
you remove the rooks, you can work out Waiting moves would allow White to exploit
that some positions are drawn and others are his advantage. For example: 33 . . . id2 34.f4
68 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
� . -�. �� �� ,�
6 ��� ����-�0������
� a b c d e g h
...
�� -� ��r
f
s: ����,� �-�
White will slowly improve his position. Put
his bishop on b3, play e4-e5 , @f5, h4-h5 and
2 ,� ��� ,�
- . . . % �� beyond. White wins.
� ��� � 8
a b c d e f g h
7
This attempt at active counterplay seems
6
very sensible.
3 5 .e3! 5
White needs to keep things calm.
4
3 5 .ixb 5 ? would allow Black to play the one
pawn move he really desires. 35 . . . f5t 36.@f3 3
If the king goes to h5, he will not be able 2
to move after the black king returns to f6.
36 . . . ih6 1
a b c d e f g h
� -���� �� �� 30.h3
. J �� �0�� ��,;,. ,
� ��- ��
30.!!b5!? deserves attention. Black will have
6
�.. .
to decide if he wants to exchange on b5 or c5,
�� �� '" "
more difficult to achieve.
2
8
1
7
a b c d e f g h
6
5
36 .id3!
.
1
33.@B gxai 34.J.xfs gb2
This allows White to exchange into a a b c d e f g h
winning ending, but it is hard to suggest 40 ... @g6
anything better for Black. Black is preventing White from playing
4 1 .h5 and 42.e5t, when Black could no
34 . . . a5 3 5 .!!xb6 a4 36.h4 a3 37.!!a6 !!a l longer sacrifice the bishop, as White has @g4-
38.h5 and White wins. g5 blocking the black king's route back to h8;
White would queen the h-pawn and win.
35.gxb2 hb2
70 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
%.{&ll'%��·
including Grischuk and Radjabov, co mention
. . %���. . .%���%.
8 1.
7 l•if•
'& "\ml � '&'y,�� &
-�r�
just cwo.
� - �m� � � - � •
6
• •
5 �%%, �Z!�W/, �%
'' · · � 8.lll cb5
4 �8� u
. %�
A strange move, inviting Black to take the
32 ��m- . - - . �n:r
pawn.
:.». . . :n"-. - �
� . % 8 ...Wfxc4
�I= � :
. .
�.i.
% � ��·
1 0.i.b2 EI:ds 1 1 .Wc l e6
8 i.
�
l 1 . . . lll c6!?+
·.,.; ""{&l·ef"",v,ii,i:f"'
:5 �.,.�"�
1 2.i.f3 a6 1 3 .lll c2?!
1 3.We3 was better, although that is very
4 � � - �
hard to understand in a rapid game.
1 3 . . . lt:l c6+ 1 4.Wf4 lll e5 1 5 .Ei:cl h6! 1 6.lt:la4 ��-% "//,·%.%. ·'
32 � u u �
lll fd7
'ii' �% � 8 ��
- - % �·:
� 1. !tsll� !I �1'v� �
6 !•·
� -�.,.�,� �� � L. a b d g
5 �
� ��
c e f h
4 �- '·'; � �
I would love to sacrifice my queen if I was
3 � :u
also able to get the b2-pawn, but sadly after
2 l�
�u�nI
. ... . ���- :�- -- %� 1 1 .Ei:al Wxb2 1 2.ic3 Wxc3t 1 3.lll xc3 lll xd4
� �:
White is close co winning.
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 3 - Tactics at the Top Level 73
14.@fl 1 7 . . . tll a6
Clearly this is what Carlsen was planning. This was my plan, trapping the knight.
White would be winning if I did not have my l 7 . . . tll c6! ? is more complicated. Black has a
next move. Some play would remain, but the big advantage after 1 8 .ixe4 'll xd4 1 9.ixb?
result would almost without doubt be a win Ei:b8, but the position is also very confusing.
for White. White is now forced to play:
1 8.ixe4 Ei:xe4 1 9.tll b 5 Ei:xc8 20.tll d6 Ei:ee8
� .i � .i � ·
Obviously Carlsen was committed to his idea
when going down this line, so he did not
8
6 �• m • • �
seriously consider the legal alternative here.
But we should j ust mention it briefly anyway:
1 1••···�·
1 4.Wd2?! Wxd2t 1 5 .'if;>xd2 lll e4t!
�� /, , , � �-
�;·i �Z ' ' �� � , �B�B �B��
8 �� �� ��
: �,%��,%%�Brf�
3
2 ,� �� ,� , , %�
%% �� rm , , %•�
�3 �-� m t n •� a b d g
:� ', , � ��
c e f h
2 '-�=,���
2 1 .tll xe8 Ei:xe8 22.Ei:xd? tll c5 23.Ei:c? if8
a b c d e f g h 8
a b c d e f g h
14... Ei:e4!!
This is what he missed.
move 9 was an important decision, and this This is the first real choice I had since move
was the only line where it felt as if White was 9. I think I made this decision rather quickly,
trying to refute Black's play. Add to this that it without truly calculating the variations. The
was a blindfold game. Keeping the position in main difference if the queen went to c5 seemed
your head does require mental energy, which to be that the knight would take with a gain of
is not available to do other things, such as tempo on b7, which I did not want.
calculate variations. At least, this is how it is On the other hand, the queen is more active
for me. on c5, which could also be an advantage. With
limited time controls, you have to guess some
The time invested in making the ri ght decision of the time, and reserve your time for critical
at move 9 was quickly recuperated, as there was decisions.
little choice for Black on subsequent moves.
On the other hand, I had to see 1 4 . . . i:!e4! on The serious alternative was:
move 9, as the variation otherwise would lead 1 5 . . . Wi'c5 1 6.lll d6 i:!e6 1 7.lll x b7 Wi'b6 1 8 .lll c5
by force to a bi g advantage for White. This also
makes the move easier to find. Especially, as I 8
said, if you believe that the position is fine, and
that there should be something! 7
6
15.tll c2! 5
This is the lesser evil. 4
3
1 5 .e3 lll c6 is simply good for Black.
2
Even worse is 1 5 ..ixe4 lll xe4 1 6.e3 ( 1 6.lll c2
Wi'c5 wins the knight) 1 6 . . . lll c6 1 7.lll xc6 bxc6 a b c d e f g h
1 8 .i:!c l i:!xc8 1 9.Wi'xd7 Wi'b8 when Black is This is the line I considered.
much better. The computer insists that there 1 8 . . . Wfxc5
are ways for White to resist, but then, this Black can keep the game alive with 1 8 . . . i:!d6!?
seems to be its primary function! 1 9.Wf cl lll c600•
Chapter 3 - Tactics at the Top Level 75
l 9.ixa8 16.�d6?!
At this point I did not see how I could White is under pressure, and needed to
continue my attack. It turns out that after: defend well. Here he makes the wrong choice.
1 9 . . . llig4 20.e3 ixa l 2 1 .llixal
I saw that after: 1 6.ixe4 llixe4 l 7.Wd5
7
6
5
4
3
2
a b c d e f g h
could play 1 7 . . . lli c6 1 8.Wxe4 ixa l
·i
1 9.llixa l E:xc8 and I am well coordinated. But
8 �-
7 %'l... : . �. �.
after 20.llic2 it is not clear that White is really
: :
.... . �. �.r.r�
..
worse. The knight is heading for e3.
.
�� ��
: �.���.���.�?*���r��
It turns out that I had a stronger option in
17 ... Wxc8 1 8 .Wxe4 ha l 1 9.llixa l d5!, as
shown by the computer. After 20.Wxd5 Wh3t
� . %.��
3 ��-
2 - � .
8 , . ��g 2 1 .Wg2 Wd7 22.Wf3 lli c6 23.'itig2 Wd2 White
1 � ��1� �� -11
can still find equality with an accurate defence,
but the position is uncomfortable. Black keeps
some pressure.
a b c d e f g h
23 . . . E:d6!! 24.Wxd6 We2t
Black gives perpetual check. I would not
have wanted to go for this anyway, had I seen
it. Starting from a better position, why would I
want to fight for a draw with a long line?
l 7.ttJb5
lli c6 is also better for Black. A small
point is that Black should not fear l 8.ttJc7?! on
account of l 8 . . . l'!d6.
17 ... lll c6
s i, m � �-
•�m lm�£%W§i '
, , J� i�l!l ,.,���
7
: l!l·l!l·l!l·l!I· ,,
3 l��l!l��!!10�,
!!11!1 *'
2 � �� ��1���� '0 ""
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
A small sideline. White wins. Time for a deep think. What Real-life tactical problems.
(see page 83) should White play? How to take on c3?
(see page 87) (see page I 06)
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Almost there. How can Which subtle idea had I What a mess! White to play
White win the game? missed in this line? and win.
(see page 84) (see page 9 I ) (see page 1 1 9)
Chapter 4 - The Nature ofTactical Mistakes at the Top Level 81
In the feedback I received from readers about It shows me at my best and at my worst at the
Positional Decision Making in Chess, one same time. After a good opening, I saw a nice
repeated comment was an appreciation for combination that led to a big advantage. Then
my honesty, especially when it came to the at a certain moment, I blundered . . .
mistakes I made, and make, in many of my
games. And of course the backbone of the I.lLlf3 �f6 2.c4 c5 3.�c3 e6 4.e4 d6 5.d4
book was some of my best games! cxd4 6.tLlxd4 J.e7 7.i.e2 0-0 8.0-0 a6 9.i.e3
So for this book I wanted to see if those tLlc6?!
readers were content with just a little bit of 9 . . . b6 was maybe better, leading to a
honesty, or if they have the stomach for some standard Hedgehog position.
of my less impressive and underwhelming
achievements. I have collected a few games IOJ�cl i.d7 1 1 .tLlb3 b6 12.£4 i.c8N
where I made some serious errors. Not in 1 2 . . . °Wb8 1 3 .g4! was dangerous for Black, as
order to show humility, but to give the reader shown in some games.
an insight into how you can make a mistake in
an otherwise well-played game. 13.i.f3 J.b7 14.ee2 �d7 1 5J�fdl ebs
1 5 .. �e8 is probably better. The rook almost
.
Let's start by explaining the unexplainable always belongs on e8 in the Hedgehog (and
Scheveningen) , as can be seen from the games
When we are analysing our own games to of Polugaevsky and Kasparov. It is difficult to
work out where we have failed, we have to explain why, but the practice of these great
accept that at times there are decisions that players helps the rest of us to do it too.
are beyond reason. We should of course try to
work out why we make them - and if we have
the opportunity to analyse them with a trainer,
then listen to his opinion. Understanding why
we play inferior moves is an important part of
improvement in chess, and many players have
advanced solely by analysing their own games
and reducing the amount of errors they were
making as a result.
But we should also not get obsessive about it.
At times we make bad moves that are not easily
explained. And at other times we make moves
so bad that all explanations will hurt our ears
and rot our brains. The following game is one
such incident.
l 8 .lll xb6!! Wxb6 l 9.e5! and Black is example, both I 9.lll d5 and l 9.lll xd7 �xd7
undermined on the dark squares. 20.ib6 °Wc8 2 l .cxb5 axb5 22.ie2 are
overwhelming for White.
� ''-- �-''· .
r•••-, '.-.�. - 3�
. . ... , . %� "•
I 9 ..ixb6 Y;Ybs
6
2 -;, .,��-�!�
- -%=. .
a b
�r c d e f g h
24 ... £6
8
7
a b c d e f g h 6
18 ... tlixb6 5
Black has to play this. 4
25.gd5?! 8
2 S .i.b6! was stronger, taking full control of
the cl-line. The text move gives Black a chance 7
to free himself slightly. 6
5
Black has to do something, so he gives up a 4
pawn. 3
25 ... �d4! 2
Something like 2S .. J'k8 is hopeless, as
26.!!d? !'!d8 27.id6 would win the queen. a b c d e f g h
8 33 ...'9xd3?!
This should have lost rather quickly.
7
6 r� �� ... . .. . . . %�
'0
� � . . .. �
2
v.
: �"-'�
1
a c e
�
� � i�
b d f g h
� �� �� �m!�
White has won a pawn and cannot be totally
�� �� ��� �. .
unhappy with how things have gone, although
it would have been even cleaner to have kept
things under control. Sometimes it is hard to
a b c d e f g h
evaluate at what point your opponent should
be allowed to give up a pawn, and at what time 37 . .ihSt! g6 3 8 . fxg6t hxg6 39 . .ixg6t and
a pawn sacrifice would increase his chances, White wins the bishop ending. But Black
and so be prevented. could have played 33 . . . 'Wc?, when I would still
have to show some technique in order to win
31. .. '9c7 32.b4 '9c2 33.'9d3 the game.
I am happy with this move, but I j ust want
to show the alternative because of a nice tactic. 34.gxd3 .be4
This ought to lose by force, so I should
33.!'!d2!?± would have forced the queen back quickly mention that Black was not forced to
because 33 . . . °Wb l t?! 34.@f2 ixe4?! is wrong: play like this, but things were looking grim
whatever he played.
84 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
39.Wf c?! and White wins a pawn. I have had my share of difficult positions to
evaluate at the end of long lines. In most of my
I should mention that a 'pass' move such as games! Obviously you sometimes get it wrong.
38.�fl was also possible (or maybe even more This is one of those moments:
accurate, if you think like a computer) , as
Black cannot avoid the tactic. For example, Boris Gelfand -Wang Hao
38 . . . h6 39.Wi'b8 .ic5 40.Wc?! and White London 2012
wins. But if you see a winning combination,
you rarely look for a way to get to play it later,
rather than sooner. . .
38 @f7 39.©fl
•..
There are other moves; essentially White wrong conclusion at the end of the line, which
improves his position to the maximum. can happen . . .
42 . . .f5
3 5 .. J�xh5 36.�d3 gb5 37.h3 gxh3t
38.©xh3 ©es 39J�a7
We were both short of time at this point, so
we missed that Black has a chance to simplify
the position.
6
Black cannot wait forever; White's position
is getting stronger and stronger. 5
43.exf5 exf5 44.d5 <it> f6 45 .ig3 f4 46.!!c6t 4
<it> f7 47.!!xg6 fxg3 48.fxg3 ifB 49.g4 !!d8
50.g5 3
7
8
1
a b c d e f g h
6
5 40 ... �xg3
4
This is very natural, as the resulting rook
ending seems defensible.
3
2 40 . . . id6! 4 1 .tDxe6 ixg3 42.fxg3 !!xe3;l; Black
should hold, although I would of course
a b c d e f g h try to create some problems for him before
relinquishing the half point.
White wins.
The end of this variation is a bit random
The old rule of thumb is that in an ending
of course, but the point is to show the way
where one player has more material, the
White improves his position in general. We
'attacker' will want to exchange pieces, in order
can finish the line with:
to simplify the task (the pawn ending being
50 . . . !!xd5 5 l .!!f6t <it> e7 52. <it> g6 !!d4 53.h5
the ideal of course) , while the defender wants
And it is all over.
to exchange pawns, hoping to get to one of
the many drawn endings with few pawns; or
I am happy that I saw this option, and
even give up a piece for the opponent's final
managed to calculate it accurately. But in the
pawn(s) .
end I decided not to go for it, because I did
not believe in the position. I simply made the
41.©xg3 j,d6 42.@a i.xf4 43.©xf4
Chapter 4 - The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 89
I am not sure what my opponent thought I spent 1 2 minutes on this move. Not so
about this ending, but my thinking is that much because I was considering alternatives,
Black has to be quite accurate in his defence. but more because I had the feeling that I was
I want to put my rook on the 5th rank, play getting real winning chances, and thus wanted
e4 and d5, and make it possible for the king to familiarize myself with the finesses.
to advance.
50 .. J::lxe3t 5 1 . ©f6 ©gs
I analysed this type of endgame years ago,
before tablebases and computers. It did not
seem that simple to me without these tools.
Back in 1 986, Smirin had the same ending,
more or less, against Darius Ruzele in a team
championship in Minsk. I helped analyse the
ending all through the night, but little did it
help. Smirin forgot the most accurate defence
and lost.
As you will know by now, or at least be able
to read between the lines, I might be interested
in the objective evaluation of the position,
but what really interests me are the chances
over the board. Basically, I felt there were still a b c d e f g h
challenges for Black.
At this point I spent a lot of time, trying to
find the win. I saw the idea of checkmating
43.. J�b2 44.6 gh2 45.©e4 gh3 46.gb7
him on the h-file, but I could not find a way
©fB 47J::ld7 ©es 48Jk7 ©fB 49.f4
to make it work. This does not mean that it is
not there . . .
8
7 52.gg7t
The win comes about after 52.1'l:c8t �h7
6
53.�f7! and there is no defence against
5 swinging the rook to the h-file that does not
lose the e-pawn, and with it the game.
4
55 . . . 'tt> f8 defends easily. For example: 56.d5 I do not really have an advantage here. Black
exd5 57.E:xd5 'tti g8 is a theoretical draw. has active play and I will have to spend some
time to unpin the knight on e3. Meanwhile
8 Black should be able to activate his pieces and
create enough counterplay.
7
6 17J�d2
Beginning the unpinning manoeuvre.
5
4 17 Vfe6??
.••
3
A blunder, leaving the rook and knight in
danger.
2
6
18 ... tll f5
5 The first point is that White can answer
4 1 8 . . . lll xe2t 1 9.E:xe2 E:xe2 with 20 . .ixg? with
the idea 20 . . . 'tti xg? 2 1 .lll f4, winning a piece.
3 Black would have to play 20 .. .'�e4, when
2 White will have two minor pieces for the rook,
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 4 - The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 91
1 8 . . . ge8 i s never going t o work, as after 1 9.f3 would have seen the combination available to
lll xe2t 20. 'it>h 1 Black loses the exchange. me here, if I had not had another promising
option.
1 8 . . . c5!? is probably the best try. Yes, it is ugly,
but things have already gone wrong for Black. White was winning after 1 9.ixg? 'it>xg7 20.f3
The question is exactly how bad it is, and the gd4 (20 . . . ge5 2 1 .e4 and the d6-pawn falls)
nature of the disadvantage. l 9 .tll f4 Wff5 2 1 .°Wc3 Wfe5
� .\r � �� rr
6
5
. J.�..�-. . ?.��-f� :�
"- '"//, ��
�� �8. .3,,•, , ,/, �.I. � "��
,
4 •
2 �
3
��- �--�'
0 �� . . . � �,.r, .ef, ;�. .
8 �� �
�� . . .v.�8 �·:mt�. . 7.m·0
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
White has a choice between 20.ixd4 cxd4 22.gc2!! An amazing move, trapping the rook
2 1 .tll d 5 with a good position, and winning in the centre. 22 . . . ges 23.f4 '!We4 24.e3! lll xe3
the exchange with 20.f3 gxf4 2 1 .gxf4 'Wxd3 2 5 .ge l and White wins a piece. There are a
22.exd3, even though it will not be trivial to few other ways to do it at the end, but this is
win after 22 . . . ges. This is all rather unpleasant fairly clear-cut, so let's stick with this.
for Black, but under the circumstances, it was
the best option available for Black. 19 ...i.d4t 20J�fl
Not a greatly surprising move, as 20. 'kt> h l ?
lll xg3t 2 1 .hxg3 '!Wh3# would be unfortunate.
20 ...ixf2t
20 . . . ge3 was also interesting, when I would
have had to think a good deal to find a clear
path to an advantage. After the fact, I have
found that out of the many promising lines,
2 1 .tll xe3 ixe3 22.g4! is the simple one.
After 22 . . .ixd2 23.Wf xd2 tll e3 24.Wfd4 Black
will have to give up a pawn. Some technical
challenges would remain, but that's chess.
a b c d e f g h
2 I .@xf2 ge5
Black plays his only chance, to go into a bad
19.f'3? ending.
The main reason for making this mistake
is probably that it leads to a big advantage. It 22.e4 �g7 23.he5 dxe5 24.YlYd7 YlYxd7
is hard to tell, of course, but it is possible I 24 . . . gbs 2 5 .Wf c? and White wins a pawn.
92 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
27 ... tl:!e6!
a b c d e f g h
At this point, I made quite a bad mistake. I
a c e
simply missed his 27th move, which gives him b d f g h
a lot of counterplay.
After this, White has nothing. The ending is
26.�e3? maybe another way co illustrate poor play, but
26.tt'l e l ! tt'l e6 27.tt'ld3 f6 28 .E:e? E:d8 we will skip through it this time around, as it
29.\t>e3 tt'ld4 30.tt'lc5 tt'l c2t 3 1 .\t>e2 tt'ld4t feels far from our topic.
32.\t>f2 gives White a winning position, on
account of 32 . . . b6 33.tt'ld? and it is all over. 28.fxe5 tl:!c5 29.gd4 a5 30.g4 hxg4 3 1 .tl:!xg4
@£8 32.�f6?! c.i? e7 33,gd6 gh8 34. c.i? g3
26 ... h5 27.f4 gd8 35.gxd8 c.i?xd8 36.@6 tl:! d3 37.e6
A funny line is 27.g4! ?, when Black has to Accurate, but not difficult.
find the following defence: 27 . . . \t>IB! 28.gxh5
37 ... fxe6 38. c.i? g4 c.i? e7 39. c.i? g5 @f7 40.tl:!d7
©e8 and realize chat White has 29.E:xb7!?.
b5 4I. c.i? h6 bxc4 42.bxc4 c.i? e7 43.�b6 @f6
44.tl:!d7t c.i? e7 45.tl:!b6
1/2-1/2
Budapest 2003
Black might still be ever so slightly better, 3 1 .'1Wxb2t '1We5 32.'1Wxe5t dxe5
�� �
but I had had enough, and offered a draw,
which was unceremoniously accepted.
8
� �
: �.-.,�.
l/i-1/i
m� m ·�
��m;����r:.�·J�%���
Act 2 Where I thought
-
5
4
I had missed my chance
� � �� �
that my real mistake was not taking on f4. But
a slightly deeper look reveals that things were
not so simple.
a b c d e f g h
28.gabl!
a b c d e f g h
This is stronger than what I played in the
game, but it is important to remember that
when you are at the board, you do not play
one move at a time, but quite often play in
sequences. When I took on b2, I knew what
my next move would be, as I should.
After the game, it is natural to analyse the
moves as if they were made without any special
connection, and we should certainly do this.
Bur it is important to remember that this is not
how it happened. For this reason, I started this
section by giving the previous move, as this is
where I could have made a different decision.
Yes, this move again.
Analysing this in 2003, my main line went:
28 .i.xe6 E:xa l 29.'!Wxa l i.xc3 30.'!Wc l i.xb2 28 .L.:a2 29.gxa2 gxa2 30.lt:lxa2 'l&c4
•.•
Chapter 4 - The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 95
3 1 .�b4! �xc3 32.�d.3 White can cake with the queen on f3, leading
White has managed to create a fortress-like to an ending with decent drawing chances, or
position. In many lines, the f4-pawn is under play:
attack and in others, Black feels the lack of a
hiding place for his king. We moved the pieces 37.gxe4!? gblt 38.gel gxelt 39.�xel f2
around a bit to get a feeling for the position; it 40.�e3! fl=�t 41 .�gl
did not fill me with great confidence. Black is White is probably still within the drawing
obviously much better, but White is certainly margin.
not without defensive resources.
Act 3
8
7 As expected, it is in the third ace that all is
revealed, and a way forward is found. At lease
6
this is our aim. It turns out chat I should have
gone for the most aggressive solution, trying
5 to put my opponent under as much pressure
4 as possible.
3 26 ...�c5!
�� -
2
1 � -�
� ... 3.,,
8
7
��-�
"� - � ·�
a c e
.:
b d f g h
�iur/--- - %�-� ��
· -%�
For example: 6
� �,� � . , , %�f�
- - - %�
.. . ... :� ���----%�
5
32 ... Ae5 33.�f3 �d4 34JUI gbs
White has counterplay with: 4
----·\3rd----%� �c -- · ��r�
�f� - - %� � �� 8 f�
3
35.�h3!
2
1 � -- ,.. . , . . Y,-�
Black's only winning cry is:
27.�d.3
This is the critical move. When you are
calculating during a game, you may notice that
other moves are possible, but their importance
is often very different. With limited time, you
96 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
27.E:d2
It is possible this is the better move, once
you analyse for some hours, as we have done
- though I want to underline that we have
not come to a final conclusion on this. There
is an important point to be made on this
question. First of all, Black has improved his
position, meaning that the inclusion of the
queen step to the side is an improvement. So 29 . . . dS!?
who would actually play 27.E:d2 in a game? I In general, it seems preferable to keep
am pretty sure that Judit would have moved more pieces on the board. Especially as the
the knight rather quickly, as would almost bishop on a2 is a likely target. But this does
any player. White is already under a lot of not mean that Black's position is not very
pressure; I doubt she would have allowed promising after 29 . . . i.xa2 30.lLixa2 d5. It is.
things to get even worse. 30.E:d2 E:d8
27 . . . axb2 28.E:xb2
8 ��-�. - -�� ��%il-J� :�
: ,,]� �� ,�-�
,,. % .
_ �- �� ���
�
: � ;;,,, , . , -����,�
, , , %� �
, �����
�.,3D
..
2 f�� ��,�if ,�
,; .
�@
/" "'Y.� ...
a b c d e f g h
',. .. . :� �Wief�
The best chance is 37.We2, although
8
�� � � � :� 37 . . . .ixg2t (not the only try) 38.Wxg2
Wxd3 39.llJf3 �h7 is very close to
� �� �i �.-� winning.
4 �� 1� �� ��
5
3 � ��r�
�
. . . z g �-
� -
. . ef.z · · ·.
�
�� � � ��-�
2 ��1� �1�
a b c d e f g h
first is easily dismissed, but the second requires to make a decision, not to out-calculate the
greater attention. computer or any other such nonsense.
30.lll d3 E:b8!
In 2003 I had analysed 30 ... e4, which also
leads to a very pleasant position for Black.
But looking at the position now, it seems
more natural to defend the passer.
3 1 .lll b4
3 1 .�dl 32.l!Jd3
From here the knight both defends the first 32.l::1 x b2 l::1 a l t 33.lt>h2 (33 . l!J d l J.e5 and
rank and attacks the b2-pawn, making it a very . . . i.f7-h5 is coming) 33 . . . i.e5 34.l!Jd3
logical move. Alternatives are:
3 1 .h3
�� �� ���4--·
8 � � , ·
� �� ��,--�
.....
�- - - - �.� r.��
5
�
�� ��
4 �� �� - - - "� 8
��-J�- - �ilm
3
2 .1 • ���� f"'
�-�"���8 �
' "----� >,,.,.,; �
<it>
a b c d e f g h
Simple prophylaxis. White cannot untangle 32.h4 Af7 33.lll xb2 ie5 34.E:e l f3 3 5 .gxf3
himself. E:b8 and Black wins. It is certainly possible to
36 . . . i.e5 37.E:b2! and White survives. With explain the moves, if you are a strong player and
the rook on e2, the knight would hang. used to working with computers. But the moves
37.Wfb5 E:d2 are exceptionally artificial and have nothing to
Black is threatening . . . i.e5 , which will win do with decision-making in a game of chess.
the game.
38.E:b2 E:d l 39.Wfe2 Axf3t! 32 .. J�al 33. ©gl i.f7!
Black wins.
� � � ��� �.
, �
8 �
7
�� �
� � �-
-
�� ��
'"" - ----
: �� �� �,-% ��
6
� ,
�
�� -� � �--- � � -
- � 34.l:k2
i•"" -� �- rt�
3 �
Again the only move we need to calculate. All
2
� � r,7,� �
others lead to lost endings in uncomplicated
1 -� !E ways.
a b c d e f g h
34 ... i.h5 35.gcl gxcl 36.YlYxcl gel t
31 ... ges!!
We will see below why this move is so
8
fantastic.
After the game, in 2003, I had only analysed 7
3 1 . . .Ae5 32.E:xb2 E:a l , which gives White 6
many problems, but does not offer Black
a forced win. My main mistake was in the 5
following line: 33.©gl f3 34.gxf3 E:g8t, 4
where I correctly predicted that 35.©f2 f4! was
winning for Black, but did not discover that 3
3 5 .©h l !?+ was a better defensive try. 2
1
32.gxb2
This is the main move a human needs to a b c d e
think about. The engine gives the following Black wins a piece and later the game.
line as best play for both players:
Chapter 4 - The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 101
19.�ed2?
After a long think, I found nothing.
18 ... tlieS?
6
a b c d e f g h
5
Black strengthens the defence of the light
4
squares. But it is only the pawns that defend
3 the light squares, so it is natural to go for a
direct attack.
2
- � w
� -0 � �
-
',., ., %�
other moves that offer him strong attacking
3
�� - - 3� ��
chances instead of this directly winning move.
But during the game, none of them looked 2 !�z�-
� �'ft""z="'�,
convincing to me, and there is not really a lot
more to say about that.
.,,..
� ,.,.. ...
a b c d e f g h
Having failed to make the first variation work, White crashes through on the light squares.
I did not seriously look at the alternative: For example: 2 1 . . . fxg6 22.Wxe6t 'it>h8
23 .Wh3t 'it>g8 24.Wh?t 'it>f8 2 5 .Whst 'it>e7
1 04 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
26.%Yg8!!
7
6
5
4
3
2
a b c d e f g h
23.J.xf5! exf5
a b c d e f g h
23 . . . J.xg3 is better according co the
Black is lost. 26 . . . %Yc8 ! ? 27.%Yf7t 'it>d8 computer, as it gets a pawn for the bishop.
28.lLie6t And so on .. . White is still winning, but there is another
20 . . . 'it>h8 point as well: who would actually find this
move?
24.%Yxf5 lL! f6 2 5 .%Yh3t 'it>g8 26.%Ye6t 'it>h8
7 27.lLif7t 'it>h7 28.lL!xd6
6
5
4
3
2
a b c d e f g h
I will add that l 9.tt:lfg5 h6 20.\Wh5!± also leads always good to go back to Moscow, where I
to an advantage. But as I did not consider it, it have been coming since my teenage years, and
is not so relevant. win this nice event in the final days of the year.
It is possible that I would have failed to find Grigoriy Oparin - Boris Gelfand
anything after l 9 . . . h6 as well. I played really
Moscow (rapid) 2015
poorly that day.
l .e4 c5 2.c!LJf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.lL!xd4 c!LJf6
19 ...\Wds 5.c!LJc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.llJde2 h5 8 ..ig5 .ie6
The rest of the game became rather placid.
9 ..ixf6 Wfxf6 10.tlJd5 Wfd8 l l .Wfd3 tlJc6
12.0-0-0 g6 13.'itibl ig7 14.h4 gc8 15.g3
20.ie4 gc8 21 .Wffl gxcl 22.'IWxcl Wfc8 b5 16.ih3 0-0 17.c3 tlJa5 18.f4 ixh3
23.'1Wc3 c!LJf6 24.hb7 Wfxb7 25.llJe5 tlJd5 19.gxh3 exf4 20.gxf4 tlJc4
26.Wf c6 Wfxc6 27.tlJxc6 'itif8 28.llJc4 ic7
29.c!LJe3 lLixe3 30.fxe3 id6 3 1 .tlJe5 ixe5
32.dxe5 'itie7 33. 'itif2 'itid7 34.e4 'itic6 8
35. 'itie3 'itic5 36. 'itid3 7
1/z-1/2
6
Missing the opponent's defensive resources 5
4
The next game was played in a very interesting
tournament, which was held during the 3
Western holiday of Christmas. In Russia
2
the seasonal celebrations are at the start of
January, while Middle Eastern countries have 1
a c e
their important celebrations at other times b d f g h
of the year. For example, at the same time as
this tournament was going on, there was an The opening has not gone well for Black.
important open tournament in Qatar, with If White now played 2 I .tt:ld4, then he would
participation from Magnus Carlsen and have a big advantage after something like
Vladimir Kramnik, the two top-rated players 2 1 . . .Ei:eS 22.Ei:g3 with f4-f5 coming. Instead
in the world at that moment in time. Oparin went for a speculative and highly
committal knight sacrifice.
The Nutcracker tournament was a mix of
games with a classical time control and rapid
21 .liJg3?
The downside to this move is not so much
games, played in the Scheveningen format,
that it sacrifices a piece, but more that it costs
where all the players of one team play against
quite some time and that it allows Black to
all the players of another team. As so often is
act freely on the dark squares along the g7-b2
the case with these things, one team consisted
diagonal.
of promising young players and one team
consisted of experienced players. I liked this
21. b4!
•.
22 . . . bxc3 23.bxc3 gxh 5 , when after 24.i'!g l In the game, I thought for a few minutes,
I would have to find 24 . . . f6, which appears to maybe five, and made a move I thought was
be necessary, and then hope chat White will quite convincing. It worked wonders in the
not be able to find more than a perpetual. . . game, being evidently strong enough to pose
Oparin more problems than he was able to
23.'i!?xb2 deal with in the limited time he had left.
23 ... bxc3t?!
It turns out that the correct continuation
was to upgrade the knight sacrifice to a rook
sacrifice:
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 4 - The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 1 07
a b c d e f g h
25.<.!.ia l ! ?
2 5 .<.!.ic2 Wfb6 i s winning, as the checks on
both b2 and f2 are too much to handle.
2 5.<.!.ic l gives Black a big advantage after
25 . . . Wf a5 26.Wfxd6 Wfxh 5 , when it is not
apparent to me that the bishop is any
b d g
worse than a rook. It is quite common for a a c e f h
Najdorf player to sacrifice the exchange, so I
am not shy about doing it, but I have to say 29 . . . Wfh8!!
that it rarely happens under such favourable After this, Black will enter a '4th phase'
circumstances as here. ending with a significant advantage. Both
25 . . . c2t 26.tlJxg? cxd l =Wft 27.Wfxd l Wff6t sides will have three pawns, but White's king
is seriously exposed. Is Black winning? It is a
54 ��•���'9�8- - ��'�M�w-
" - - - ��
�� ��o '°lr£'.3- - �� , , 0,�
�� w0� �� 1� �� 1
� �� �� �
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
24 YHa5 25.�hf6t
•••
This move has many facets. The first idea There are many ways to conclude the game,
is to play . . . :!:!d4 °%lfxc3 . . . l:!c4 and win the but this is both the strongest and the most
queen. Another idea comes to light in this appealing.
very entertaining line:
3 1 .e5 '%lfa4t 32.©b l l:!b8t 33.©al 29.©cl c2
0-1
9.J.d2
This was not quite a novelty, but it was rare
at the time, even though a few important
games had been played earlier in the same
tournament.
l l.�e2 8
This is the moment to stare talking more
7
concretely. White's idea is not obscure. He
wants to castle long, give up the g-pawn, and 6
mate Black along the g-file. But being simple 5
does not mean chat it is easy co stop. 4
3
8 2
7
a b c d e f g h
6
1 6.0-0-0!±
5
A strong move. In principle, White has
4 sacrificed a piece, but Black cannot cake it.
1 6 . . . lll f2
3
Trying co cake an exchange, but all Black
2 gees co see is Shirov in his element.
1 1 6 . . . �xg? 1 7.lll e4 and it's over.
1 7.lll e4 lll xd l 1 8.E:xd l .ie7 1 9.f5 �b6 20.f6
a b c d e f g h .ib4 2 1 ..ixb4t �xb4 22.a3 �a5 23.lll c5 h6
l l ... tll fxg4 24.lll 5 lll g6 2 5 .lll d?t 'it>g8 26.lll e?t �h7
This was a new move at the time. Black 27.lll xg6 fxg6 28.lll e5
could cake with all three minor pieces on g4, 1 -0 Shirov - Fressinec, Calvia (ol} 2004.
though che lease attractive option was probably
co cake with the bishop, as had happened a few 12.tll e4 �e7?!
days earlier. A very natural move, but lacer, when
computers became stronger, it was discovered
l I . . . .ixg4 1 2.f4 lll g6 1 3 . .ixg4 lll xg4 1 4.lll f5 chat Black should not worry coo much about
le is fair co say chat White has achieved his bishop, and instead rush co complete his
everything he wanted at this point. The development:
opening is certainly not a success for Black.
1 4 . . . lll h4? 12 . . . 0-0! 1 3.0-0-0 lll f6
I am not sure what Laurene missed, but this
gives Shirov exactly the kind of position he 8
wanes, as well as an advantage. 7
Necessary was 1 4 . . . 0-0 1 5 .E:g l lll f6, 6
although it is safe co say chat White has
5
enough compensation after 1 6.0-0-0, and
the type of position he excels at. 4
1 5 .lll xg?t 'it>f8 3
2
a b c d e f g h
1 12 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 4 - The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 1 13
with gain of tempo, whenever possible. This Having said this, I would also be better after
sounds rational, but at depth 27 my computer putting the other rook on g l , but maybe not
strongly prefers 1 4.ic3 over 1 4.f4, which as much.
is not proof of anything, but maybe it's a Often we will read in textbooks that people
stronger argument than a philosophical point think deeply about where to put the rooks - d 1
that could have been thought up while herding and e l , or c l and d l , and so on. Some people will
cattle. In short, chess is very complicated and criticize delving so deeply into such decisions,
interesting, and we continue to understand requesting a more entertaining approach.
it more and more, but never perfectly. All And sometimes it is not humanly possible to
types of considerations are interesting, but at tell which option is best; the variations reveal
the end of the day, you need to analyse the beautiful finesses that cannot be found during
game in the best possible way to improve a normal game. From a practical point of view,
your intuition. (No, I did not check what the I agree: it is rarely a good investment of time
engine says at depth 3 5 . Maybe it reverses to ponder over such details for very long. But
everything!) in this case, it is a conceptual question. By
taking the rook from d l , I am focusing all my
14 �c?
... physical resources towards the black king. This
It is hard to criticize this move; it could be was not the only path I considered: I took 1 9
played by everyone. minutes to choose 1 4 .ic3 and 1 6 to choose
1 5 .�dg l . I think what happened here is that
I also thought he could play the strange I had a general feeling that this looked right,
1 4 . . . Wi'e8, when after 1 5 .�hg l it is clear that and then a random line probably convinced
White has compensation. me to play like this. I would like to say that
everything was very scientific and organized,
but the human brain is not a computer.
8
7 15 5
...
1
a b c d e f g h
1 5J�dgl !±
I like this aggressive move a lot. The idea
b d g
is to meet 1 5 . . . ll'i f6 with 1 6.ll'ig5!? h6 1 7.h4, a c e f h
when White has a very strong attack. But there
are other lines where having the rook on the 1 6. ll'i f3!! ll'ixf3 1 7.ll'i xf6t ixf6 1 8.ixf6 ll'i xg l
h-file is useful. There are no targets on the 1 9.�xg l g6 20.ic4! and Black cannot defend
cl-file anymore. the g6-square. If he puts the bishop on e6, we
Chapter 4 - The Nature of Tactical Mistakes at the Top Level 1 15
take there, and then on g6. And after 20 . . . :B:d8 1 6 ... fXe4 is obviously poor. For example
White has: 2 l .:B:xg6t! hxg6 22.°Wxg6t iif8 1 7.�xc8 Wxc8 1 8.Wxe4 and a single look
23.'Wg?t iie8 24.'Wg8t iid7 2 5 .°Wxf7t iid6 at the position cells you Black will not be
26.�e5t iixe5 27.Wf4# able to withstand the attack. And taking on
e4 might not even be the strongest option!
But during a game, you j ust need to know
if a position is playable or not; and Black's
position here is not playable.
1 7.h3 c5
l 7 . . . lll e5 is refuted by a neat combination:
1 8 .°Wb3t iih8
8 � �����
7 ,,,�
, , % · >;�g�% �..� ��
,;, ,,�
-�·· %
6
·��· ��., r� �
,,.,,
4 �� ��� � �
5
a b c d e f g h
3
��-�- - · 'w��-0 �•
if� �8
16.h3? � , %
I spent 1 6 minutes on this move, and I have
to admit that it was my plan all along to play
2 80';
�
����---- ��.,,,%����
, , . .. %w·,,0�'.�
� ��
!Ff
b d g
like this. a c e f h
l 9.:B:xg7!! iixg7 20.lll f3 and Black is
1 6.�xg4! lll xg4
1 6 . . . fXg4 1 7 .h3 gxh3 ( 1 7 . . . g3 is objectively annihilated.
better, but hardly anyone would choose to This was the critical position and I was
take on the position after l 8.f4 lll g6 l 9.h4±) unable to find anything convincing when
l 8 . f4 lll g6 l 9.f5 �xf5 (l 9 . . . lll h4 20.:B:xg7t)
thinking about it on move 1 6 (we should
20.°Wb3t iih8 2 1 .lll xf5 :B:xf5 also not forget that I was spending a lot
of time on what I actually played, so with
the time spent, it does not seem entirely
talentless of me) .
a b c d e f g h
22.°We6! The simplest. White will take on g6
b d g
on the next move, leaving Black defenceless. a c e f h
(22.:B:xg6 also wins in a long variation.)
1 16 B oris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
19J�xg7!
At this point it is necessary to sacrifice, as
Black is just about to get his pieces coordinated,
with some sort of advantage to show for it.
a b c d e f g h
20 ... ©h8?
I was pleased when he made this move;
maybe too pleased, and thus I relaxed. Basically
I thought that White was totally winning.
the board. Most of White's tries are refuted The engine suggests a different route to the
by . . . V!Je7, so White has to find: goal, which is as unrealistic as it is beautiful.
24 . .ie6!! .ixe6 Actually it looks photoshopped.
24 . . . V/Jh2!? 2 5 . lLi f3 forces Black to give up the
queen under entirely unclear circumstances. 22.hxg4!? .if6 23.g5 lLi xc4 24.gxf6 l'!g8
25.lLixe6 l'!ae8
25 . . . V/Je7 26.l'!g7! also leads to a draw; queen
versus two rooks.
26 . .ixf6 l'!xf6 27.V/Jg4!
a b c d e f g h
�. �, .
-,, �-� �� -k:�·..
21.fig2 .ig4
8
7
... J. :. �. �
.
: �.���.��-,%.����
6
.
3 � �-���· 7,��-�
2 :�7,��·0� ��· ���
....•
a b c d e f g h
s z� � � .
�% ·� �� - - - Y-�
7
6
.,.!. ��.�
.
: ������-� ���ll�����-�
. ...
a b c d e f g h
� � � � �
23.�xf'S?
With little time on my clock, I made a rather 3 � � .i. � .
2 ln�. %.1�
.....
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Cebalo found the strongest What did Shomoev play? A surprising move led to a
move. Can you? (see page 1 43) completely winning position.
(see page 1 30) (see page 1 49)
Chapter 5 - Compensation 1 23
One of the most fascinating aspects of chess 14.g4 .ie4 1 5.tlig3 hg2 16.@xg2 �am
is when you give up material in order to gain 17.g5 tli6d7 1 8.h4 �e5 19.h5 f6 20.�ce4
something else. It can be an open line, a better fxg5 2 l ..ixg5 Y!Yb6
pawn structure, or a sudden boost to your
initiative. The possibilities are wide and wild.
In this chapter I will scratch the surface ever so
slightly, showing a few scenarios, and relating
to them on their own terms.
Kasparov
Baku 1980
5
Th e following game could b e very interesting to
4 analyse in depth, say over 60 pages. This would
take this book in an entirely different direction,
3
which I guess would be a disappointment for
2 many.
1
a b c d e f g h
1 24 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
Moscow 1981
s .i � .i.. & .i M • z
,,.,.�% lu'iu-
� � •Y.-
---- % •
7
6 -
� -,, ,, � � a c e
% �
b d f g h
� �
: :-:-:-�
The engine says that White is completely
winning, but in practice it was not possible
.; .... z���L
-
for Kasparov, who was already one of the best
players in the world, to break through the
� Inti ;�
, .
cf "ml� ,,• �
2 blockade.
57JU1 b5 58 ..ig4 gds 59.gc7 %Vb2 60.gc2 The Petrosian-like exchange sacrifice was a
%Vd4 hugely successful strategy for Andersson in
this game. Not only did he manage to secure
a draw against a fierce attacker {Kasparov
8
won one of his most famous attacking games
7 against Andersson half a year later) , he did not
6 even have to suffer the inconvenience of being
in check!
5
3
2
With the knowledge above in the back of
our minds, we can progress to the next game,
1 where I sacrificed a pawn in the opening.
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
The Rubinstein System. As I was playing for 10.d6!
San Sebastian in San Sebastian, it was attractive I feel certain this is the critical move. Black
to pay tribute to my childhood hero. will certainly win the pawn, but it will take
him a few moves and will be awkward, giving
s ... cxd4 6.exd4 0-0 7.a3 i.e7 White time to develop an initiative. Also, my
White has a choice. d-pawn is no longer diminishing my light
squared bishop's power. Once it arrives on g2,
Chapter 5 - Compensation 1 27
10 ...i.f'8 1 1.g3
-,�- '
- i i. • •
8 i. -jJ
7 �'�· -���,,%��- '� .
6
�� � - , ,
a b d g
: �� �� ��� � c e f h
3 �% "-�
� "'" �-� �r�r�
White can keep his advantage in several ways,
% � �w-ef ----"w-�
'0 and today people would maybe be misguided
by computer evaluations, thinking that
�r
2
, , f���ii
1 -�
-----
-0 ��J�JlJ
� �- �
------
a b c d e f g h
pieces around was quite thrilling: 25 . . . i.c8 1 4 .Wfc2 has been played more, but somehow I
26.l':!g3 The most natural move. 26 . . . l':!d6 feel the queen belongs on b3. Some decisions
27.lll c?! l':!f8 28 .i.e4 g6 29.Wfc5 l':!fd8 are made on feeling only. Tiviakov played, and
30.i.c2! b6 3 l .Wf c3 and White wins. won, against this move in an Armageddon game
26.lll c? l':!e7 27.Wc5! l':!e2 against Sargissian in the World Championship
in Libya.
14 .. �c6 1 5 ..ig2
.
a b c d e f g h
28.l':!xd?
1-0 Korchnoi - Miles, Wijk aan Zee 1 984.
12 ..if4
It is important to include this move. White a b c d e f g h
wins a move or two, because Black has to put So we started out in the Nimzo-Indian, but
the knight on a stupid square in order to win somehow we managed to end up in a Catalan
the d6-pawn.
style position after all, where White has his
main advantages because of the strong bishop
12 ... �hS 13 . .ie3 gxd6 on g2, providing pressure on the long diagonal.
was able to find moves as good as, or on rare in top tournaments. The whole attitude to
occasions better than, his computer program. chess is different in opens compared to top
To me it is amazing they are able to create a tournaments (although I should say that
program that can compete with the wealth of there are a few very strong opens now, in
human knowledge and understanding that has Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Moscow, Qatar and
been created over a hundred and fifty years of the Continental Championships where the
chess history. top players play} . In opens you need to win
Another time Shay told me that he had a lot of games to get a prize, while in a strong
followed my game, and he said I had managed round-robin, +2 is often enough to take first
to find all the best moves and at one moment prize. And in a team event such as this one, it is
even a better one. Better than the best move? customary to look to those playing White for
Talk about a different perspective! the wins that will secure the match.
The reason I say this is not only to tease my
friend, but to reach out to the young players It would be possible for Tiviakov to have
who are growing up with the same perspective. a second repertoire, only geared for top
By default they think that the computer move tournaments, but this would require a lot of
is the right one. To them you have to prove work, and might not pay off that well anyway.
that the suggestion from the engine is not
the strongest, while a player's experience and 1 5 �£6?!
...
intuition is held in much lower regard. But This is a very natural move and not one I
chess is a big game, and it is possible to be suspected of being dubious during the game.
successful with many different attitudes and
philosophies. But looking at how the game progressed, it is
logical to wonder if Black would have been
Speaking in general terms, White has all his better off playing 1 5 . b6 to fight for the long
..
pieces in the game. He controls the most diagonal. I still believe in White's chances, but
important squares and his pieces are very probably this would have been a better try.
naturally placed.
I think it is worth speculating about why
Tiviakov would allow himself to get into such
a position right out of the opening. In general,
8
7
I think it appeals to his style, as already stated,
but we should also take into account that he
is a travelling chess professional who plays in
opens all over the world. In maybe 80% of his
6
games he is facing players who are considerably 5
lower rated than he is. For a game against a 4
local player, this variation makes a lot of sense.
3
2
Long term, Black has an extra pawn, and
Tiviakov is excellent at converting material
advantages, should his opponent not be able
to keep up the pressure. But the attitude of
1
always playing the same openings in order to a c e g
save energy is difficult to convert into playing 17 d6?!
...
1 30 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
This is also a natural move, but it does not llixd6 25 .'\Wb4 l':!:b8 26.E!:xd6 l':!:xd6 27.l':!:xd6
work out well in the game. It is actually quite '\We7 28.E!:d4! '\Wxb4 29.axb4 if5 30.ixb7
hard to come up with a reasonable-looking White has won a pawn. Converting it would
move for Black. not be easy, but I would have been happy to try.
l 7 . . . E!:e8 l 8.llid4 is quite unpleasant, for Of course this 1 7 . . . E!:eS move was suggested
example. It is hard for Black to get his by an engine. The machine has the great
queenside into the game. advantage over humans that it does not realize
when the position is ugly. But if we discuss
The best move is not an obvious move at all, it from a human perspective, it is clear that
but it does contain a good deal of logic: White should not be unhappy after 1 7 . . . E!:eS .
1 7 . . . E!:eS! 1 8 .if4 H e has plenty of options and all of them are
This is the most direct move and it is quite unpleasant for Black. White can then choose
attractive to cash in in this way, though how to try to exploit his advantage.
something could also be said for giving
Black the chance to show that he is able to 18.llid4 llixd4
get his pieces into the game by himself. Compared to Kasparov - Andersson, the
1 8 .llif4± is also an option. exchange sacrifice does not work. The main
The first point of Black's play is that l 8.llid4 difference is of course that there is no pawn
on d5. With the queen on b3 and an open
can be met by 1 8 . . . dS!.
l 8 ... l':!:e8 f-line, the pressure on b7 and f7 would be very
Black has not lost a tempo, but rather lured unpleasant.
the bishop to a different diagonal. In the Still, it was tried in one game:
game the bishop is a monster on d4, while
1 8 . . . E!:eS l 9.ixc6! l':!:xe3 20.fxe3 bxc6
here on f4 it is less strong.
l 9.llid4
The most natural move.
l 9 . . . llixd4 20.l':!:xd4 d6
8
7
6
5
4
3 a b c d e f g h
2 Black would have compensation for the
exchange here, if White did not have an
a b c d e f g h immediate attack:
2 1 .llie4!±
2 1 .ixd6!?
A common theme in chess: Black is one
By no means forced, but it is natural to look
tempo short of solving his problems.
seriously at this move.
21 . . . cS?! 22.E!:xf6! gxf6 23.llic6 '\Wb6 24.llixf6t
2 1 . . .ixd6 22.llibS E!:e6 23.l':!:fd l llie8 24.llixd6
'tt> g7 25 .'\Wd5 h6 26.E!:fl
Chapter 5 - Compensation 131
!I•'• 5
7
6 "!I
!l '!I 4
!I '!I ' !I 3
: !l!I�%'!1,,,,1 !l ��p!l!I
"/�'1:�·0 !I
2
3 . %�, . , , .� ���
�"ilm r��
'0
b d g
. ...
_ ,,,,. Y, a c e f h
2
I �
a b
'!I
c
'!l�f«;L
d e f g h
1 7.lll d3! lll xd3 1 8.Wxd3 We? 1 9.WxdS! ixe2
20.!!e l
20.ig5 ! ? was also very strong, but Vaisser
had been bewitched by a beautiful idea.
19.hd4 20 . . . ic4 2 1 .!!xe? ixd5 22.ixdS! Axe?
During the game I also thought chat
l 9.!!xd4± was interesting, but I was dissuaded 8
by something. I remember noticing chat 7
l 9 . . . !!b8 was possible, as White does not win a
6
pawn with 20.!!a4 a6 2 l .!!xa6? on account of
21 . . . !!xe3! 22.fXe3 ie6 and Black wins a piece. 5
I was not desperate co win back the pawn, but 4
I did not wane co allow Black co play . . . !!b8 3
and untangle his position. 2
In shore, it makes no sense co cake with the
rook when I can cake with the bishop.
a b c d e f g h
1 32 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
23 . .ie3!!
This is the idea.
After the natural 23.ixb?? Black plays
23 . . . �ab8 24.a6 .ic5 and White does
not have sufficient compensation for the
exchange. He needs both bishops to be able
to dominate his opponent.
23 . . . �ab8
23 . . . �fb8 24.a6 bxa6 2 5 .�xa6 also leads to
an endgame where White has an extra pawn.
24.ixa7 �fd8
Vaisser gave the following line back in 1 986: White has a technically winning ending, but
24 . . . �a8 things can still go wrong of course. The rest
of the game is not directly connected to our
8 theme, but it is quite interesting, so I have
7 taken the liberty of including it. This is a
6 chess book after all. . .
5 2 6 . . .g 6 27.�c7 if6 28.�xb7 �xa5 29.b4
�a l t 30.<ii g2 .id4 3 1 .�d7 ic3 32.�d3! if6
4 33.�b3?!
3 33 ..id6! was stronger, as pointed out by
2 Vaisser.
33 . . . �a2?!
33 ... .id4! is the correct move order. The text
a b c d e f g h
move gives White a tactical chance.
2 5 . .ie3! (25 . .ib6 �ab8 is less clear) 2 5 . . . .ib4
(He does not say, but one can presume that
Vaisser was planning to meet 25 . . . �ab8
with 26.if4, when 26 . . . �fd8 27.ixb8
�xb8 does not work - there is no salvation
in the opposite-coloured bishop ending.
White plays 28.�a4! and pushes the pawns
up the board. Black is completely lost.)
26.ib6 The bishop is forced here, but with
the black bishop having moved to a worse
position. 26 . . . �ab8 27.�a4 id6 28 . .ia7
�a8 29.ie3 �ab8 30.b4 �fd8 3 1 ..if3 White
is close to winning. As far as I can see, this 34.g4?!
all holds up to computer scrutiny. It might The engine (not Vaisser, for the only time)
seem hard to believe for the youngsters, points out that White had 34.b5! .id4
but we were able to analyse our games 3 5 . b6! ixf2 36.<ii h 3 when Black will soon
decently even before the invention of the have to give up the bishop. I think White's
engine . . . technical task will not be too difficult.
25 . .ixb8 �xd5 26.�c l ! 34 . . ..id4 35 ..ig3 <ii f8 36.b5 .ib6 37.<ii f3 <ii e7
Chapter 5 - Compensation 1 33
8
7
6
5
4
3
47 . . . i.xf2 2
Vaisser gives the following variation:
47 . . . gxb5 48.gd2 gb4 49.'tt> g3 'tt> e4
a b c d e f g h
50.i.xd4! gxd4 5 1 ,ge2t ©d5 52.ge5t 'tt> d6
53.gxf5 'tt> e6 54.gxh5 @f6 where Black This is where Muller stops his line, but I
reaches a drawn rook ending. Of course he found chat this is only the beginning! There
would have to do some defending, but first are two continuations which I really liked:
of all, Alex knows his stuff, and secondly, we a) 57.f5 'tt> f4 5 8 .'tt> c2 gb5 59.'tt> d 3 E!b3t
played with adjournments back in the day, 60.'tt> c4 gb2 6 1 .gh6 'tt> g 5! 62.'tt> c3 gb l
which would have allowed him to refresh his 63.gd6 gb5! (63 . . . 'tt> x f5 64.'tt> c4) 64.f6 'tt> g6
memory about the finesses of this ending. and Black draws.
So Vaisser is right in his analysis again, both b) 57.'tt> c2 gb5 5 8 .'tt> d3 and Black has to
objectively and from a practical point of view. find a very counter-intuitive move.
But Black is doing better in the game than
Vaisser believed.
48.'tt> x f2 'tt> d4 49.ge5 h4 50.'tt> g2 h3t 5 1 .'tt> f2
ga3 52.b6 gb3
1 34 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
65J'hh2 E!:xb6 66.E!:h6! Instead Black has to Anyway, it is easy to explain why I felt
find 58 . . . @g4!, which is really surprising. optimistic at this point: I had Vaisser's bishops,
Whenever you start to analyse chess, you squeezing Black hard down the two diagonals,
always end up finding amazing stuff! but I had not given up the exchange!
53 . . . E!:xb7 54.@g3 E!:g7t 5 5 .@xh3
19 ... c!bes
I was planning to meet l 9 . . . E!:e8 with 20.E!:c l
lt'i d7 (this is what I expected) 2 1 .E!:fd l (2 l .id5
is premature because of 2 l . . . E!:e7) . And if now
2 1 . . .lt'ie5 White has 22.id5 with excellent
compensation. For example: 22 . . . E!:e7 23.ixe5
E!:xe5 24.ixf7t with an overwhelming
advantage.
7 a b c d e f g h
6 20.c!bdS!?
I decided that my position was very strong
5 and that it was time to cash in. I do find it
4 very tempting to calculate a long line to a clear
advantage when I have such an overwhelming
3
position as I have here. I guess it is a question
2 of attitude.
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 5 - Compensation 1 35
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
23.:Sfel
I also considered 23.'1Wf3 ih3 24.E:fe l 28 .ixe6 (28 .E:xe6? allows Black to survive
E:xe l t 25 .E:xe l '1Wd7 26.E:c l , taking o n b 7 on because of 28 . . . E:xe6!, which is easy to miss)
the next move. Naturally White is better, but I 28 . . . fxe6 29.E:xe6 And now both 29 . . . E:f7
was looking for more. 30.'1Wd4 and 29 . . . E:xe6 30.'1Wxe6t <i>g7 3 1 .h4
are awfully close to lost for Black, if not just
23 ... :Sxelt simply lost.
During the game, I thought 23 . . . g 6 was
the best defensive chance. But analysing the My plan during the game was to play 24.E:e4,
position now, White looks quite a bit better. forcing 24 . . . ifS, as White otherwise brings
the other rook to the e-file. 25.E:xe7 '1Wxe7
26.'1Wxb7 '1Wxb7 27.ixb7 E:e8 28.idS!
1 36 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
a b c d e
24.Ei:xel Wfc7
Black's position is very unpleasant. We can I think he missed something around here.
add a few moves: 28 . . . a5 (28 . . . Ei:e7 29 ..if6 is
also nasty) 29.Ei:c7 .ie6 30 . .ixe6 fXe6 3 I .Ei:a7 8
White seems to be winning, although there
will be plenty of technical difficulties. So my 7
chances in this line were probably better than 6
I expected.
5
23 . . JWe8 24.Ei:xe7 Wixe7 allows a simple tactic: 4
8 3
7 2
6 1
5
4
25.Ei:e8!
3 The human move, which he clearly hoped
2 was not very strong.
78
�i �� -�-J-:, ,
comes up with a beautiful and instructive
���
, , -%, %����.I�.\
suggestion:
26.!!xe6!! fxe6 27 . .ixe6t ©h8
6 �� - {@� � �-� ---
White has huge compensation.
5 �� �� �� �� � �
; \ �� �� ��
28.h4!
White is rolling his pawns up the board.
�- �� =�
There is no way for Black to bring his pieces
into the game without losing them, making 2 '"""�
, , ,,Z� �� - - 3�
his position untenable.
An alternative could be: 28.Vf!h5 The direct
a b c d e f g h
threat is .if5 . Black has only one move.
28 . . . Vf!c l t 29.©g2 Vf!c6t Black is in time to Black is paralysed. There is no defence
bring the queen back to e8 without allowing against ic6-e8, or anything else White would
Vff f7 -g8 on the way. 30 . .id5 Vf!e8 3 I .Vff f5 ± want to do. Stalemate is not even a possibility
2 8 . . . !!e8 (should White decide to win slowly) , as Black
This is an illustrative line, showing that always has . . . .ie7.
Black cannot j ust wait.
28 . . . d5 29.Vff h 5! is immediately over. There 25 ....ih3
is no check on c6! I think he was planning 25 . . . Wc l t 26.©g2
29 . .!d5 Vf!d7 30.©g2 a5 3 1 .h5 a4 32.h6 !!d8 .ih3t, but the following line is very concrete:
33.g4! !!b8 34.g5 !!c8 3 5 .Wf4 b5 36.g6 27.©xh3 !!xe8 28 . .!xflt ©h8 29 . .ixe8 Wfl t
(29 . . . Vf!c8t is not a challenge, since after
78
�i �� -�-J•
30.©g2 Wxe8 3 1 .Wxb7 White simply wins)
6 �� �!�� -�
�� -� �j�
54 �4·1.r
,-�."� �
��Uffi,·�
""' "� �
, , , -� ��
2 -----��r% •�-�r%
3
��
%,i8%, ,J<� ��@�
- - %���
a b c d e f g h
36 . . . We7
36 . . . hxg6 37.hxg7t .ixg7 38 .Vf!h6#
37.Wfl! During the game I saw that 30.©h4! was
Everything wins, but I like this. a clean win. After 30 . . . .ie7t 3 1 .©g4 Vffe 2t
37 . . . Vffxfl 32.f3 Black has nothing.
37 . . . Wg5t 38.©fl !!cl t 39.©e2 !!c2t
40.'itid3 VNd2t 4 I .©e4 We l t 42.©f3 Wh i t This is a long variation, and you have to be
43.©g3 Wg l t 44 . .ig2 and the meaningful sure that it is correct before you allow it, so I
checks have come to an end. checked it a few times before I played 2 5 .!!e8.
1 38 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
Thematic sacrifices
a b c d e f g h
30.i.hS!
30.�e6?? 'Wxe6! would be a disaster. White
escapes with a draw after 3 l .'Wxf8t, but
certainly this was not the idea. 30 .. Jk4!
1 40 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
41 .d5?!
A tactical mistake in a difficult position.
40 ... dxc4
Chapter 5 - Compensation 141
44.:B:xdS '1Bh2t 45.'it>fl Wh l t and wins. The In this tournament, things were not going
rest is simple. well for me, so I was lacking a little in
confidence with my play. Especially I did not
44 \Wg4! 45.'it>g2 \Wf3t 46.©h2 \Wxe3 47.6
•.. feel comfortable at the prospect of defending
\Wc5 48Jffl b4 49.f6 b3 50Jkfl c2 5 1 .YlYcl a technical ending against Vladimir Kramnik,
e3 52.f7t ©f'8 53J�f5 b2 54.\Wxb2 cl=YlY who is famous for extracting the utmost from
55.\Wxg?t ©xg7 56.gg5t every piece he has in this type of position.
a b c d e f g h
Spassky resigned, not having the audacity
to believe that Petrosian would play 56 . . . 'it>h6,
although this is the move given in my database. a b c d e f g h
0-1 29Jkl
The position might look innocent, but I
As I said, this made a big impression on me,
knew I had to be careful. If I exchanged on
and we shall see below that I managed to use
c l , it should be fine with the knight on e4,
this idea with success. But this does not mean
but when you play against a guy who has great
that it was new when Perrosian played it.
technique, you try not to give him even an
Looking in the database, we find Saint-Amant
inch.
- Staunton, Paris (2 1 ) 1 843. Not the greatest
game in history, but it is possible that Petrosian 29 Jk4 30 .ifl
•• •
knew this example and was, consciously or Of course I could exchange rooks here, but
subconsciously, inspired by it. I did not want to exchange before I knew I
could put the knight on c4. When you analyse
Let's move on to my example. As we shall see, this position, you will find that I did not play
simply copying the idea is a simplification the only move, but as I said, I did not want to
of what is happening. Every position is relax prematurely.
different and has its own challenges, despite
the immense help knowing a lot of thematic 30 tld6!?
••.
a b c d e f g h
31 .Wfa3
This is not challenging.
3 U!d l !
This was the only try. One o f the core ideas
is co take on c4 and play d4-d5. This would
have forced me to play accurately.
3 1 . . .Wfe4
3 1 . . .l:!xa4? is inadvisable. White has a very
There is a final dimension to the exchange
strong continuation: 32.°Wb3 l:!c4 33.i.b4!
sacrifice that I will j ust briefly mention: it is
and Black loses material. 33 . . . l:!c8 34.Wfa3
aesthetically pleasing.
l:!d8 3 5 .l:!e l followed by exchanges on d6,
l:!e8t and l:!xa8.
For this reason Black should probably play
3 1 . Wfe4 32 .lfl :Sxcl 33.Wfxcl c!Lic4
•• •
a b c d e f g h
34.Yfdl .ib7 35 ..id3 Yfe6 36.Yfh5 tll d6 This wonderful idea was introduced the
37.Yfe2 Yfxe2 38.i.xe2 ©f7 39 ..iel .icS year before by Shomoev, and immediately
40.©fl tll c4 4I ..ib4 g6 42.©el a6 43.bxa6 made the line untenable for Black. Amonatov
ha6 44..ic3 .ib7 45.©fl .ic6 46 ..idl tll d6 was not very active at the time of this game,
47.©e3 ©e6 48 . .ib3 and he might simply have missed this latest
l/2-1h development.
The following game is our last on this theme, 13 ... gxf5 14.gxf5 d5
and I would not have included it in this book The stem game went like this:
if my editor had not stressed the need for it. I 14 . . . tll bd7 1 5 .!!g l @h8 1 6.%Ye l tll e5 1 7.%Yh4
do not consider it much of an achievement, as tll h 7 1 8 .%Yxh5 Yf e7 l 9.!!g3 tll d 7 20.!!agl
all that happened in it was that I : tll d f6 2 1 .Yfh4 tll xe4
6
eliminate my opponent's defence on the
54 �� �� �� �. � ----7. � �
� � -�
Olympiad.
a b c d e f g h
Boris Gelfand - Farrukh Amonatov 22.%Yxh7t! @xh7 23.!!xg7t @h8 24.fxe4 ixf5
2 5 .exf5 !!g8 26.!!7g3 ?!
Tromso Olympiad 20 1 4
26.ig5! %Ye5 27.!!xf7, with if6t coming,
was lethal .
I .d4 tll f6 2.c4 g6 3.tll c3 .ig7 4.e4 d6 5.tll a 26 . . . !!xg3 27.!!xg3 !!g8
0-0 6 ..ie2 e5 7.0-0 exd4 8.tll xd4 ge8 9.6 27 . . . !!e8 offered more resistance, but White
c6 10.©hl lll h 5 l l .g4 tll f6 12 ..if4 h5 is close to winning all the same.
13.tll f5 ! 28 .!!h3t @g7 29.ih6t @f6 30.!!e3 Yfc7
1 44 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
5 ...J.b7
The critical move.
1 3.id6!? 14.id6!;!;
This was suggested by the engine, and looks But she is not in time.
mindboggling at first, but the tactical point
behind it is really nice. 14...i.xd6
1 3 . . . ixb2?! 1 4 . . . if6 1 5 .°Wa3 does not make things easier
1 3 . . . E:e8;!; for Black.
.�
·rP'- - -����.,%���,v,.. . . %�,
8 ta' ;?•'
& � •• 1 5.gxd6 �c5!?
6 ..... i:�•
�
�
�
7
. . , �,;, ,� · -� �
.
I think Black's position is very unpleasant
%� � ��
here, and Judit made a decent decision by
trying to change the nature of the game. It
: 1�� !�� ,��� -r � was one of her strong features: she was very
�� �
inventive, even in inferior positions.
� ,.· .,,��
· ·r· . � :� . . .. %=· · ·
The computer might say that White is only
. slightly better here, but if Black does not
manage to get out of her passive position,
a b c d e f g h
she would definitely lose, so this computer
1 4.E:ab l !! ixb l 1 5 .E:xb l if6 1 6.ixf8 'Wxf8 assessment is extremely misleading.
1 7.tll e5! ixe5 1 8.ixa8±
Black does not have any compensation for Note that Black is not in time for 1 5 . . . tlia6, as
the exchange as the a7-pawn is hanging. after 1 6.b4 White is simply better.
13.gacl 16.�dl
I could also have played 1 3.id6, which was A natural move; the queen has nothing to
very strong, but I like to make useful moves do on a4.
first in order not to take premature action.
The computer points out that 1 6.E:cd l was
13 ... gds
also good enough. 1 6 . . . id5 ? does not work
Judit is still trying to reroute the knight.
here, as 1 7.cxd5 'Wxd6 1 8 .dxe6 and 1 9.tll d4
1 3 . . . tli a6 still does not work on account of wins a piece.
1 4.'Wxd7.
a b c d e f g h
1 48 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
� -illl �
l , , , %W �rn�
. -.�
,�%.; �n".,m�, , %� �
up a pawn. Of course it is difficulc to beat
8
•tt:�
�i
the engine, but White has no weaknesses, so
61
� � �
against a human I would be very optimistic
,,
: �.,
�---�m m m
17Jixd5
3 ��r � .·
�
��z..,,z�,?. 'i[ ""
2 !���!�1�
Because Black has changed the course of
the game, White now has co make some good
,,,,. z
decisions in order to exploit the advantage.
Unfortunately for Judie, I was in excellent form
a b c d e f g h
in this tournament. This exchange sacrifice was
however forced upon me. 23.llJxf8! �xd5 24.cxd5 llJ d8
This does not hold. White has:
17 ... exdS 25.llJe6! llJxe6 26.dxe6 Wfxe6 27 . .id5! Wf d7
28.e4
With a technically winning position.
18 .. J�fB
I also considered 1 8 . . . llJ c6 1 9.cxd5 Wfe7,
but I realized I could play 20.llJ h3 followed
by d5-d6 and .ixa8, with a huge advantage.
White might not keep the extra pawn, but he
is dominating his opponent.
a b c d e f g h
18.llJgS!?
It turns out I had a choice between two good
moves, although I was not so sure during the
game.
l 8.llJe5! Wf e7 l 9.llJxf7
During the game I could not make this work
on account of:
1 9 . . . �fg
It is only with the help of a computer chat
we can see the following:
20.W/xd5 llJ c6 2 I .llJe5t
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 5 - Compensation 1 49
6 �
too. Also, the bishop attacks the weakness on
f7, as well as pins the knight down the d5-a8
..... % u. -� ·�
diagonal. What's not to like?
� � �� � �-
Still, it was not unreasonable to play l 9.cxd5!?
with obvious compensation. This is all based : .,-�.
3 ��',,,,,,;� ��
on an amazing computer tactic: l 9 . . . Wd6
�m
� ��c- - �
% �m·ef · 'm"-'
� ��wJtJ
1 � �� �� �
2
a b c d e f g h
23J�dl!
I had to see this in advance, as 23 . .ixa8?
would be a blunder due to 23 . . . ll'ixe2t. All
of these tactics came easily to me during the
game. The only time I spent more than 1 0
minutes o n any move was o n move 1 1 .
a b c d e f g h
23 ... l0c6 24.t0f6t rlJg7 25.l0xd7 �Uc8
20.ll'ie6!! fxe6 2 1 .dxe6 Wxd l t 22.E:xd l tl'i a6
I have to admit that I cannot remember if I
23.e? E:fe8 24 . .id5t @h8 25 . .ixa8 E:xa8
had seen the next move at move 1 9, or if l had
26.E:xd? E:e8 27.E:xa? tl'i b4 28.a4 @g8 29.E:b?
just relied on something showing up. Both are
and White has very good winning chances in
entirely possible; we are at the natural end of
the ending, with four pawns for the knight.
standard human calculation.
I never looked seriously at this; I was happy
with having a strong bishop on d5. It felt
right. This is a clear difference between human
intelligence and brute-force chess, which you
have to be an electron to come up with.
After this move, there is little left to say; it is 38.©f3 �c5 39 ..ic2 gc7 40J�d2 c!ll d7 41 .e4
a matter of time before White wins. �£8 42.e5 �d7 43. ©g4 b5 44.h4 gxf4
45.gxf4 a5 46.©hs a4
The idea of the move is that the b2-pawn
is supported. White then wins back the
exchange, keeps an extra pawn, repels the little
counterplay Black has, and then advances. It is
all fairly simple and there really is nothing left
to analyse after this move.
White is much better without it as well, but
once you understand the strength of placing
the rook on b l , the decision is easy.
26 .. J3c7
Black has to play this, as after 26 . . . f6 27.b4
the game is over immediately.
a b c d e f g h
27.c!ll e5 c!ll xe5 28.ha8 gxc4 29 . .id5 47.gg2t @£8 48.©xh6 gc4 49.©g5 �c5
The engine wants to play 29.f4, which is j ust 50 ..i.5 gel 5 1 .h5 ©e7 52.h6 ghl 53.h7
wrong. The right attitude is to keep everything c!ll e6t 54.©g4 �£8 55.gc2 �xh7 56.gc7t
under control, remove all counterplay, and ©e8 57.gb7 c!ll f8 58.gb8t ©e7 59.gb7t
then advance slowly. Which is what I did in ©e8 60.gxb5 ggl t 6 I . ©f3 gfl t 62. ©e3
the game. 1-0
29 ... gc2 30.©fl g5 3 1 ..ib3 gd2 32.©el One of my best games in this tournament. The
gd7 33.h3 h6 34.£4 �g6 35.e3 c!ll f8 36J3dl only thing I feel is open to criticism is whether
ge7 37.©fl c!ll d7 I should have played l 8.c!ll e 5 instead. But sadly
you cannot win the same game twice. The
8 following day Judie beat me to take the match
into tiebreaks. That game can be found in her
7
book A Game of Queens and was, according to
6 Judie, the reason why she decided to write this
wonderful trilogy about her career.
5
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 6
Time
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
A more difficulc question: Time for a deep chink. I did not see this idea; can
How co deal with the How should White you see the refutation?
threat co f2? build up the attack? (see pages 1 8 1 -2)
(see page 1 60) (see page 1 66)
Chapter 6 - Time 1 53
5 .e3 would be safer, but this was not the Pretty natural.
intention.
He could also have played 1 0 . . . c5, but I would
5 ... h6 6.i.h4 g5 reply l l .dxc5 dxc5 when the g7 -bishop is not
1 54 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
•.
8 .1�.-; 1.t, , , j,·
%� � �
·------
very strong, as it is blocked in a typical way
�� ·�
by the b2- and c3-pawns. It would result in a
,,�
.
complicated game. Maybe I would again play 7
f2-f4 and lll f3.
� � %� ��-d-1- -
5 � .,t- - f�
6
So instead he went for a more standard � ....
4 u �- �------%-
King's Indian approach.
8 3 � �� �- t[Jwr
2 8ri %m�wti8%�
, %·- � - - %� �
....
d
. .
6 1
5 a b c d e f g h
4
3
This intermediate check is really important.
White manages to use his slight lead in
1 5 �e7?
•.•
Chapter 6 - Time 1 55
This leads to serious problems, but Black is develop all of his pieces, and White can create
also worse after l 5 . . . d5 1 6.exd5 cxd5 l 7.tt:le3 threats against the weak h6-pawn.
i.e6 1 8 .tt:ld4, when he has to take on d4 to
stay in the game: 18 ...1Wxa2?!
This is too risky; now Black gets killed.
6
improved more, and it is necessary to commit
5
in one way or another. Certainly there is no
point in retreating the bishop.
4
It requires care and attention. We should
3
never forget that it is quite easy to go wrong,
even when the position is as overwhelming as
2
it is here.
22.:Sxh6!
1
Once again, a move in the style of Mikhail
Tai. Black is unable to take all ofWhite's pieces. a b c d e f g h
25.:Sxe6! fxe6 26.�c7
Another solution was 22.tll d4 bxc4 23.tll ef5 , Black resigned. For example: 26 . . . Ei:fS
when there i s n o defence against t"Llxh6t and 27.We7
mate to follow. 1-0
22 ... bxc4 23.:Sdhl :Se8 I think I played this game pretty well, bearing
23 . . . Wa5 would require a small tactic. in mind that it was a blindfold rapid game.
he beat many good players, Svidler, Anand and The main move, but lately 6 . . . d6 has come
yours truly included, and finished 5th. There into fashion after Radjabov played it against
are many players who are little known outside me in the 20 1 3 Candidates tournament in
Russia, but who can play really good chess; London. It is a way to get a complicated game
Bocharov is one of them. without having to study a lot of theory. Black
wants to play . . . e5 or . . . c5 at some point. It
I .d4 c!£if6 2.c4 e6 3.c!£if3 .ib4t seems playable. I won two games against it
recently, against Antipov in Moscow 20 1 5 ,
and Morozevich in Zurich 20 1 6.
a b c d e f g h
4.cl£ibd2
4.id2 is more popular, but I have always
blocked with the knight, with the hope of 7.V!ic2
having a two-bishop advantage. It sometimes 7.e5 is the main continuation. After 7 . . . lll fd7
works, as you can see in My Most Memorable there is a lot of theory. For years I have
Games, where I have included games with this experimented with different continuations,
variation. mainly 7.id3 and the game move.
4... 0-0 5.a3 fi.e7 I had two interesting games back in 1 988
But nowadays it is popular to retreat the against two Bulgarian players, which we will
bishop in this fashion. Black loses a tempo, but look at below.
on the other hand White has placed his knight But in this game Bocharov reacted correctly,
on the less harmonious square of d2, and I think, making it undesirable ever to repeat
you can debate how useful a2-a3 is. If Black this variation with White.
manages to play . . . d7-d5 on the next move, his
position will be good. 7 c5! 8.dxc5 dxe4 9.c!Lixe4 c!Lixe4 IO.V!ixe4
..•
cl£ic6!
6.e4 Black fights for the initiative.
So for this reason, White probably has
to play this move if he wants to fight for an After something like 1 0 . . . ixc5 l I .b4 ie7
advantage. 1 2.ib2 White has a slight advantage. It would
be possible for me to add a long analysis, but
6... d5 it would be pretty pointless. White has space
1 58 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
4
l 4.ic3
3
1 4.b4 f5! 1 5 .Wd5 t Wxd5 1 6.cxd5 llJ d4
1 7.llJxd4 exd4 1 8 .ic4 is better for White,
2
but not as convincing.
1 4 . . . ie6!?
The following sequence is not necessarily
1
very strong for Black, but if he has to play
a c e g placidly, White is better. So I checked the
1 1 .. hc5?
.
most active line.
This move looks very natural and innocent, If Black has to play 14 . . . if6, White has an
but it loses the momentum and allows White edge; the black pieces are misplaced.
to fight for the initiative with active play, 1 5 .b4 f5!? 1 6.We2 Wb6 1 7.c5 We? 1 8.ixe5
making Black's task much harder. White snatches the pawn.
1 8 . . . llJxe5 l 9.Wxe5 Wxe5t 20.llJxe5
The strategic view of the position is that White
has the better pawn structure, so Black will
have to fight for activity. Or in other words,
White is playing for long-term advantages
{structure) and Black should play for short
term advantages (time) . The instructive thing
is that this can change in an instant, as we shall
see later.
1 1 . . . e5?!
I did not feel that this was working, but I
knew I had to look at it.
Chapter 6 - Time 1 59
The right move was 1 1 . . . f5! immediately. 1 3.id2 Wc7 1 4.b4 e5 again looks as if
�/ � �;. J� .J��
White is trying to lose.
8
,
1 3 . . . Wxd2t 1 4.ixd2 e5!
%� %� ·� �
: �,1.,.�
5 �-/,�%·'� ��
3 :/j%�':;��� ���-ltJ':;���-�
4
2 fH:l�� �J�ii
a b c d e f g h
8 � m .i.� �i.%•�
powerful and White's long-term problems
with his king are a great obstacle. Very few
.
,,_, . . ,/,_ .,v,.,
grandmasters would choose to be White
7
: .11t-.1. ��
�
in particular, and it is certainly not meant
to be derogatory. And knowing a bit about
. . . %�/%�
3 � � ltj�
2 �t!J - �t!J% �
� �- t3J �-
lflj�
psychology, I would guess that a person crazy
enough to choose White here, would only be
flattered to be told he was crazy! Still, 'original'
%
� �
is a better word . . .
1 �- - - %- �mi•�
S o the main line runs: a b c d e f g h
1 2.Wc2 Wa5 t 12.:adl!
This i s simple enough if we are trying to I d o not know if m y opponent somehow
prove that Black is perfectly fine, but I am discounted this move as a blunder. It's possible,
not convinced that my opponent would not but I j ust don't know.
have gone for the more aggressive l 2 . . . if6,
seeking the initiative. I did not seriously consider 1 2.b4, when
1 3.Wd2 Black could fight for the initiative with either
1 60 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
15.�c2
8
7
8
6
7
5
6
4
5
3
4
2
3
1
2
a b c d e f g h
1
14 . £5
a c e
..
b d f g h
1 4 . . . e5 is met with 1 5 .c5.
1 5 ... e5?!
Black is not putting up the toughest
resistance. When the game is not going your
way, you have to fight hard to change the flow
of the game, or your opponent will face too
easy a task.
But although this line was Black's only try, 22.W/d4 ig4t 23.©f2 ixd l 24.ic4!
White is still better here. There are two ways Followed by 2 5 .E:xd l with an overwhelming
for White to prove an advantage, which he can position.
choose from accordin g to his taste:
17.©xfl exf4 18 .lc4t ©hs
•
2 1 .gd6!! hxg5 (2 1 . . .gf6 22.'Li f7t @h7 with other tempting options available, I played
23.gxf6 gxf6 24.Wfc3 also wins) 22.Wf c3 White something strong and simple. Noe because I
is winning because of gh6# or Wfh3#. During wanted to keep it simple necessarily, but
the game I looked for such possibilities all the because I saw that it worked.
time, but I could not make it work.
In the line above, 22 . . . 'Lie5 is the best defensive
19 ...i.d7 cry, after which I doubt chat White has a bigger
The reason I chose the move order I did advantage than in the game, so my intuition
was che following neat trap: 1 9 . . . gds 20.'Lie5! did not lee me down, even if my calculation
gxd l did.
8 2 1 ...gxel
7 Again, one of the reasons I played as I did,
was chat I saw a crap. After 2 1 . . .i.c8 22.'Lig5
6 gxe l White wins in one move with 23.gh6!.
5 Black is mated.
4
3 22.°!Wxel gf6
Maybe the way co keep the game going
2 was 22 . . . ges 23.Wf d2 i.c8 , but after 24.Wfxf4
White should win. With equal pawns and a
a b c d e f g h much beccer placement of the pieces, White's
2 1 .'Lig6t hxg6 22.Wfh3# Sadly I was not given advantage is overwhelming.
the chance.
23.�g5 h6?!
A final inaccuracy. Black could have resisted
20J�hel gae8 21.gd6
more, but probably not saved the game.
Again I cried to gee 2 1 .'Lig5!? co work.
During the game, I could not find a way
23 . . . gxd6 was the lase cry. I was planning to
against 2 1 . . .gxe l 22.Wfxe l h6, but again:
play 24.'Lif7t @g8 25.'Lixd6t @f8
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
23.gd6!! hxg5 24.Wf c3 works.
26.Wf d2, when Black's position is simply bad.
If this had been the only way co win the
game, I believe I would have found it. Bue
24.�f7t � h7 25.gxf6 gxf6 26.°!Wdl !
1 64 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
What I calculated durin g the game was Today, it seems to me chat Black has an
26 . . . llJe5, but after 27.llJxe5 fxe5 28 .Wi'd5 attractive option in 1 3 . . . b5!?.
Black has to play 28 . . . Wi'd8 to avoid mace,
when 29.Wi'xb7 is simply winning.
8
7
5
a b c d e f g h
4
The main idea is chat after l 4.cxb5 c6! Black
3
gets a lot of compensation with the open files.
2
1
Also l 4.c5 i.xf3 l 5 . gxf3 c6 looks reasonable
for Black. It is harder for White to create an
a b c d e g h attack without knights. I think this is the way
1-0 chat Petrosian would play.
Chapter 6 - Time 1 65
14.l3hel c5
8
Another game saw Black playing even more
passively; and being punished for it. 7
14 ... Ele8 ?! 1 5 .tll e 5 c5 1 6.g4! 6
Taking on c5 first is also strong, but the
general idea is to attack before it is too late. 5
1 6 . . . cxd4 1 7.ixd4 h6 1 8.h4 i':!:d8 4
a b c d e f g h
The task for White now is to properly
organize his pieces, which is a lot harder than
it looks. It is only now, 28 years later, that I
know how to do this.
a b c d e f g h
The first time I had this position was in the
1 9.g5! 1 988 World Junior Championship in Australia.
I 9.ic3!? was less direct, but in some ways
At that point I played a natural-looking move,
simpler; I do not see any black counterplay.
which did not get the most out of the position:
Still, I like Gurevich's energetic play. One
1 8 .i':!:gl 'Wb7 l 9.f3
of the more difficult aspects of handling
Necessary, otherwise Black plays . . . ie4.
the initiative is: when should you play as
l 9 . . . ixf3 20.i':!:dfl
energetically as possible and when would
a simple retreat make all of your threats
stronger? But in this case, both moves win.
19 ... i':!:xd4 20.gxf6 i':!:xd3 2 1 .fxe7 Elxd l t
22.i':!:xd l 'We8 23 .i':!:d7
Gurevich had to see this move on move 1 9,
but he did, so all is OK.
23 . . .ic6 24.i':!:c7 'Wb8 25.i':!:xc6 'Wxe5 26.°Wd3
1 -0 M. Gurevich - J. Horvath, Budapest
1 987.
mention that 20 . . .ie4 was also possible, When we were analysing the game afterwards,
when 2 l .E:xf6 E:xd3 22.E:xf7 at first looks a trainer from the Qatar delegation suggested a
absolutely decisive: more dynamic regroupin g of the white rooks.
18J�e3!
Instead of being left with a static rook on the
cl-file that was unable to do any good, White is
aiming to double the rooks on a file where real
damage may be caused.
18 Y!fb7
...
a b c d e f g h
24.@bl b5
s � m � � �-�
6
�-Im %m_,�,
" 1a �. r••'�
1
a b c d e f g h
Bermuda 2004
These days it is less popular, as it is difficult why it was possible for a computer to do it.
to play such a risky variation against computer 1 0 . . . llJh5 l I .i.e3 0-0 1 2.0-0-0 was played in
preparation. Still, Nakamura won a game Kasparov - Deep Junior, New York ( I ) 2003.
earlier this year in Gibraltar against Mariya The computer has played badly, but the rest of
Muzychuk. But it remains risky, although not the game was even worse, so bad that it cannot
refuted. I think it has most value as a surprise be included in a quality book like this. Let's
weapon these days. just say that Garry won very convincingly.
a b c d e f g h
10.e5
I had looked at this idea at home. The
game was played at a point when the level of
preparation was already quite high, although
8 ..ixc4 b6? not as high as today. So I had looked at the
This is a very rare move. As we shall see, it variation till a certain point.
does not really work, but in 2004 this was not
obvious. But I think it is important to make a distinction
when we talk about preparation. Top players
9.e4 do prepare very deeply, but there are so many
The most natural move. Black sometimes possibilities that you just cannot prepare for
plays 8 . . llJd5, so 9.g5 would make little sense,
. everything. And everyone is using the same
forcing Black to play 9 . . . llJd5 under what are computer programs. Everyone knows the
preferable circumstances. main games and has analysed them already. So
when 1 5 moves land on the board instantly,
9 ...i.b7 the players are following known paths, which
This is the point of 8 . . . b6, and it makes they have both analysed and formed their own
no sense to consider anything else, as no one opinions on. The cases where a player manages
would play it. to catch another player in preparation to a very
deep point are rare. In most games, something
9 . . . e5 would be a considerable concession, as slightly different than expected happens, and
after 1 O.g5 the knight is kicked to a bad square. the players are following basic ideas just as much
It makes no sense to play like this, which is as long lines of memorized preparation.
1 70 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g i n Chess
In the present case the line was pretty forcing, 16 ...ixhl 17.ixf4 �xd4 18.�g3
so I knew it a few moves ahead. After this game When I looked at this variation as far as this
some commentators claimed that the game point in my preparation, I felt I had a good
had been analysed by me all the way to the position, so I moved on to other things.
end, because it followed the first line of their
2004 computers all the way to the end. But 18 ... c!lJe4
correlation is not causation. If you look at the A curious line goes 1 8 . . . i'!xg7 1 9.i'!d l i'!xg4
moves after 8 . . . b6, you will not find many and White has to play very accurately to prove
chances to play anything else before move an advantage:
1 8, which is the point I had prepared to, and
probably also the point Shabalov had prepared 8
to. Such exaggerations about my preparation 7
have happened many times. See for example 6
my game with Amonatov on page 1 43. 5
10 ...c5 l 1 .exf6 .ixf3
4
l l . . . Wxf6 does not work on account of 3
l 2.i.e2 i.xf3 l 3.g5 and White wins a piece. 2
b d g
12.fxg7 �g8 13.�xh7 tlif6 14.ib5t ©e7 a c e f h
15.ig5 if4
Without this move Black is lost. After 20.i'!xd4 i'!xg3 2 l .i.d6t c;t>dg 22.i.xcSt i.d5
1 5 . . .cxd4 White wins with either 1 6.lll e4 or 23.i.xb6t axb6 24.hxg3 and White has an
l 6.Wh6! i.e5 l 7.lll e4! i.xe4 l 8.f4 and Black's extra pawn.
position falls apart on the dark squares. 20.i.d6t c;t>dg 2 I .Wh3! ? is also possible.
8 19.�h4t?!
This is pretty decent, even strong, but today
7 we can see that I had a stronger option.
6
l 9.lll xe4 Wxe4t
5
4 8
3 7
2
6
5
4
a b c d e f g h 3
16.�h3! 2
As I said, I am still in preparation.
a b c d e f g h
After 1 6.i.xf6t 'ktixf6 1 7.lll e4t i.xe4 1 8.Wxe4
'<Wxd4 Black has no problems. When I annotated the game in 2004, I only
Chapter 6 - Time 171
considered 20.�fl . However, after 20.ie2! logical, you cannot take anything for granted
Black is essentially lost. White will play f2-f3 in tactics.
and the bishop on h 1 is lost. One line I felt was very tempting started with
2 1 .lLixe4 .ixe4 22.g6t f6 23.id6t ©xd6
19 ...'1Vf6 24.'Wxe4, but after 24 . . . E:ad8! White has to
We should also mention that l 9 . . . lLi f6 loses play 2 5 .E:d l t with a decent position, as after
to 20.E:d l °Wxf4 2 1 .E:d?t. 2 5 .°Wc6t? ©e5 there is no mate and Black
just wins. This is where I put my main focus,
20.g5 while thinking on my opponent's time.
2 1 . . .E:ad8
This is the only move, which is not at all
obvious when you are at the board.
A line that delighted me when I saw it goes
as follows: 2 l . . . E:h8?
8 \ �� ����.
.
7 E. %.•%.�
.
�
,
· ��
5 ���:r-
6
... ,%. ,..--%�
�. �
... . . ?.� ��;�···.?.; ,.
��� �a��L.
3 ��r�"'.?J
,,
2 8 �!Jg
. . ?.�•
�. .
:�!·�N��
� ···· �� �
" ��
1.
·�
a b c d e f g h
20 ...'1Yf5?
I really do not know why Alexander chose 22.lLixe4! E:xh4 (22 . . . E:ad8 23.E:xd8 E:xh4
this move. It is possible that he got lost in the 24.E:e8#) 23.id6t �d8 24.ie5t ©e7
complications, saw some things he did not like 2 5 .ixg? ixe4 26.E:d7t �e8 27.g6! fxg6
in some lines, and then went for this move that 28.E:xa?t �d8 29.if6t �c8 30.E:xa8t
loses easily in quite a few different ways. ixa8 3 l .ixh4 and White has an extra piece.
I think an important difference between
strong grandmasters and those at the very top At this point White has two serious options:
is that the top players make far fewer of this
type of irrational mistake. In our age, it seems
to me that the quality of defence increases
almost day by day. Actually, strike the word
"almost"!
a) The main line I was calculating was: this, as I did not really look in this direction
22.g6t f6 23.:B:xh l :B:h8 24.Wg4 llixf2 2 5 .Wi'f3 (22.g6t was my main focus) . 23 . . . Wxe5
lli xh I 26.id6t!? This was my idea, but I 24.Wxe4 Wxg5t 2 5 . f4
worked out that it is only enough for a draw.
�� ��/M� �!
: I;. �.,,���
(Of course it is possible to play 26.Wxh l with �
a complicated position. The engines have a 8 - '
.,f- �. ��
tendency to favour the rooks in such positions,
5 . . . ,,.,�- - "�
but to me it is not so obvious that Black is
�m � • . . %
� � .
better. I think it is more accurate just to call
the position complicated.)
3
4
2 � -- � ��
8 '" �� ��y,;-0,, � \ID'/. rwtt·
"--· %m �� �•:
��
6 .. .,f.Y}-· .... . ��
·'-· ·�"�
7 � � - ��
. . . %� b d g
5 � "- - . . � ��
%
a c e f h
% � �
� �
This is a position where it is a matter of taste.
�
3 ��-- � ��
4
1
Those who like to play with the rooks would
� �- -- � � �m·"
2 �m·
probably be happy to take the black side. The
� ��
rooks are well placed, but both sides have their
��m
a b c d e f g
�
h
chances. The player finding the best moves
would win the game. Having said all of this, I
would take White!
26 . . . Wxd6! (26 . . . :B:xd6? loses, as is easy to see
when you are here, but far in advance, it is 21 .0-0-0 gad8 22.gxd8 @xd8
a good deal harder. 27.Wb?t @ fg 28.Wb8t On 22 . . . :B:xd8 I had planned: 23.llixe4 ixe4
We? 29.Wc?t @fg 30.Wxd6t We? 3 1 .g?t!) 24.g6t f6
27.Wc6t @e5 28.We4t Wd6 with a draw by
perpetual check.
8 � � . .. . Y.· ·- -
�
� ��
6 . . .. %. mB i"B" ""B
7
- ---·"�.r'0 �� �m-r
: �:... 1J��
3 �� �� -�---�� �- - -
2 �m �· - - ·'� �m..'0�m
. - % •�"�[g % �·00.
�:
�"
� '!�[g
m� 23.i.d3
A direct win. Also 23.g6t f6 24.Wh8 is just
a b c d e f g h
over.
It would be essential to see that White has
23.ie5 !, as otherwise he is lost. I did not see
Chapter 6 - Time 1 73
Elancourt 20 1 3
6.e3
1
8 ..ig5
a b c d e f g h
I had this idea when I played against Carlsen,
6... a6 and decided that this was the time to cry it out.
A few alternatives exist.
8.ixd6 cxd6 9.ixc4 was what I played then.
After 6 . . . tt'ld5 7.ixc4 lll xf4 8.exf4 we have a
common structure that I have had a number of At the same time as Domin guez played 7 . . . id6
times over the last few years. We will no doubt against me, it was played by Ponomariov
revisit this in Volume Four of the series. This against Grischuk on another board. Grischuk
is something Alekhine and Rubinstein often (who is not afraid of being in time trouble)
allowed, and is what Adams played against me. waited to see what I did before he decided to
do something else, which was probably his
Grachev played 6 . . . b5 against me, which is the main idea behind 8.ig3. He did not get a lot
most fashionable reply at the time of writing. out of the openin g, but was still pressing for
Mamedyarov, Anand and others have played it. the most of the game, before it ended in a draw
on move 86.
Against 6 . . . tt'l b6 White plays 7.ixc4 tt'lxc4
8.Wa4t and although Black has two bishops, 8 ... h6
White has a significant space advantage. Mihail A normal useful move.
Marin plays this a lot with Black. There are
many games. It is a classical trade-off, which 9 ..ih4 c5N
could be debated, but it is outside the topic of There have also been some games with 9 . . . b6
this book. 1 0.ixc4 ib7 with a normal-looking position.
Chapter 6 - Time 1 75
a b c d e f g h
13.i.b3?!
a b c d e f g h
I spent 10 minutes on this move, which
At this point I thought for a while, as it is should be enough. But as we shall see below,
also possible to take with a piece. The way I this was a more difficult choice than I
approached the potential of 1 2.%Vxd4 is that anticipated.
if Black is in time to play . . . b6 and . . . i.b 7, he
will be fine. I made some brief calculations, After this move Dominguez started thinking,
found nothing convincing for White, and took signalling that he was no longer in preparation.
with the pawn.
I think his idea was to play 1 3.We2 b6. In this
Still, as it is my normal approach to really get position 1 4.d5 is no threat, as after 14 . . . exd5
into the position, I spent 20 minutes on this 1 5 .tlJxd5 tlJxd5 1 6.i.xd5 i.b7 Black is just in
move to work out in which direction I wanted time, and has achieved complete equality. And
the game to go. without this push, I doubt White can hope for
much.
12.exd4
This position is very interesting. It looks like But placing the queen on e2 makes little sense.
a normal Isolated Queen Pawn position, but Black will soon play . . . ib7 and threaten ... ixf3,
the bishop is on d6. In some systems it would when White will have to retreat the bishop
be on e7, while in other lines of the Queen's anyway. This is something it is quite possible for
Gambit, and in the Nimzo-Indian, it would anyone to miss when preparing with an engine.
be on b4; otherwise exactly the same position.
The real question is where the bishop should
12 ...Wc7 go. It was only after the game that I understood
He played this pretty quickly. I believe he that in a few variations the bishop is better
was still in his opening preparation. placed on a2, as we shall see below.
for one move being better than the other (or b) Against 1 6.g3 he has 1 6 . . . 'Wb4, which is the
not, if they are actually both fine!) , which first reason why the bishop would have been
you will have to find. You can always reverse better on a2.
engineer reasons, when the computer has told
you what is important, but what interests me c) And finally, against 1 6.d5 Black would
are methods to find the best move, not to have 1 6 . . . lll c5 1 7.ixf6 lll x b3 and be OK. We
understand it when you know it is the right can of course continue to analyse and many
choice. interesting lines would appear, but it has little
At this moment, I did not understand that to do with the game, where neither player
there was a critical difference, and I chose the noticed the importance of the bishop being on
wrong square. b3 instead of a2.
This was probably Black's only chance to get
13 ... b6 a decent game out of the opening. I have to
This is pretty natural. admit that it was hard for me to imagine that
the bishop would be hanging on b3 when I
14Jkl
had to choose where to put it on move 1 3.
And so is this.
It is almost overly instructive that the bishop
is hanging in more than one line!
14 ...�bS?!
Dominguez is trying to get the same set-up
With the bishop on a2, Black would probably
as Kramnik had against me in the London
have had to put the queen on b8, and White
Candidates tournament (see page 1 0 1 ) , with
would have an initiative.
the queen on b8, bishop on b7 and rook on c8 .
If he was in time, his position would certainly
Now it is time for White to do something.
be absolutely fine.
If Black is allowed to play . . . ib7, he will be
However, this is not the case, so Black had to
developed, and I do not see that he has any
do something active:
problems.
14 . . . if4 1 5 .Ei:c2 'Wd6! This would disrupt
15.d5!
White's coordination somewhat. Black turns
At this point Dominguez had an easy choice,
out to be OK in various lines:
using the method of elimination. Even if we
cannot see that one option is better than the
8 other, we may see that one option makes life
7 easier for our opponent than the other; and
6 this is often enough in a practical game.
5
4 1 5 ... eS
3 The other option was:
l 5 . . . exd5
2 But this is easy to reject. The variation is
quite simple and conclusive.
a b c d e f g h 1 6.lll xd5 lll x d5 1 7.ixd5 Ei:a7
a) After 1 6.lll e2 Black would simply play
1 6 . . . ib7.
Chapter 6 - Time 1 77
8
At this stage it was possible to bring the rook
7 into the game with 1 6.E:e I , before deciding on
what to do next. Bue what would be the point
6 of doing chat? We do not know at this point
5 where the rook will be better placed, and at
4
32
the board it is impossible to guess. Just see how
difficult it was for two grandmasters to work
out the differences between putting the bishop
on b3 and a2.
16.tll d2!
8 d�--��
7 ��-�. - 1� This is the most logical move. It creates a
: ·�i �� �-·
� �
�-% � � ': , , , , %�,,,, small threat of putting a knight on e4. Black
4 !.�.�-��
will have to cake this seriously.
�
My opponent thought for a while here, and I
���,� �-=
starred going deep into the position too.
� a b c d e f g h
Please understand chat it did not cake a lot
of time to decide on l 5.d5. What else was I
23.E:cxd l ! supposed to do? If Black is allowed to play
23.E:fxd 1 ? if4 would allow Black to escape . . . ib7 and finish his development, getting a
on account of 24.E:c4 E:c8! and everything firm grip of the central squares, I would not
just works out for him. be fighting for an advantage. I am White and
23 . . . E:c8 24.tlid8! have played only natural moves, so I am not
The last acrobatic move. White wins the ready to give up this ambition yet.
exchange and has excellent chances in the
endgame. For this reason, I had not delved too much
into the deeper aspects of the position yet.
1 78 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
The most logical move was 16 . . . ib?. I spent 20 . . . gxf6 2 1 .'Wg4t White is immediately
all of my time on it. winning.
There were other moves, 1 6 . . . 'kt> h8 and 20 . . . 'kt> h8
1 6 . . . Ela?, which did not necessarily look bad, And after this, White has:
but the move I had to have under control was 2 1 .'Wd3 e4
the most obvious one. 2 1 . . .g6 fails to 22.'We3 'kt> g7 23.tll g4 and
White wins.
Then the most obvious reply to 16 . . . ib? to 22.'Wxe4
consider is: I saw this far, and believed that White's
a) 1 7.tll de4 lll xe4 1 8.tll xe4 attack should be winning. After:
22 . . . g6 23.ig3
a b c d e f g h
1 8 . . . f5? does not work. White plays 1 9.tll xd6 This is indeed the case. 23 . . . 'kt> g7 is 'best'
'Wxd6 and either 20.Elc6 or 20.ie?, winning. when 24.tll d? leaves Black a pawn down for
no compensation whatsoever.
a2) A more critical line would be: And after:
l 8 . . . tll c5?! 23 . . . ixg3 24.fxg3!
Against this, it was my intention to sacrifice The knight is lodged on f6 and Black has no
the exchange: reasonable defence against 'We3, when . . . 'kt> g7
l 9.Elxc5! bxc5 is met by 'Wc3 with death and destruction.
20.tll f6t!
Black cannot accept the sacrifice. After
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 6 - Time 1 79
g5!? 27.ig3 f6 The engine says the position is Black looks well placed. But it turns out that
close to equal, but White's position looks ugly I had a very strong move in this position that
to me.) changes this assessment:
23.f4!
8 I did not consider this move. Analysing with
7 the computer, it is easy to find and easy to
6 understand, but during the game it was not
5 so, I can promise you.
I was worried about this position. If I did
4 not find a move like 23.f4, it would be
3 easy to lose my way, and have no advantage
2 whatsoever.
23 . . . ¥Mc7 24.ixfB E:xf8 2 5 . fxe5 llJ xc6 26.¥Mc2!?
Threatening !!c l .
a b c d e f g h
26 . . . ¥Md7 27.llJxf7t E:xf7 28.E:xf7 ¥Mxf7
23 . . . g5!! A surprising move, even when you 29.¥Mxc6 VMf4 30.e6
are up close. 24 . .ixg5 E:g8 2 5 .E:d l .id4 The
complications continue and do not become
any less confusing. But the feeling, and the
computer evaluation, is that White's attack is
running out of steam and, at best, the attack
will be enough to counter Black's material
advantage.
8 17.ltlcxe4
I spent nine minutes on this move. The
thing about 1 6 . . . e4 is chat if it works, Black
is absolutely fine, so I had co make sure chat I
reacted in the most accurate way. I was sure chat
I had co take with a knight on e4, but I wanted
co work out if there was a difference between
2 taking with the c3-knight or the d2-knighc.
If he had played 1 6 . . . t.b?, I would have By the way, I should say that I never considered
had co make a big choice between l 7.lDde4 playing 1 7 .h3 or something like chat. I started
and l 7.a5 . It seems likely chat I would have considering the critical move and it worked.
sacrificed the pawn. What is certain is chat I Why then would I wane to spend time on a
would have thought for a long time, before time-wasting move? If you can take, you should
making chat choice. Even now I am not sure cake. It also feels very natural chat it works:
which move offers White the better chances. White is better developed and the pawn on d5
is limiting my opponent's freedom somewhat.
17 ... �xe4
I had worked out pretty quickly chat
Dominguez planned co play as he did in the
game, with l 9 . . . W'f4. You do not play a move
like 1 6 . . . e4 with the intention of defending a
lousy position. The purpose is co counteratcack.
I did not spend any real time on it, buc lee's have
a look at the only plausible alcernative anyway:
1 7 . . . t.xh2t 1 8 .�h l t.e5 1 9.�e l would give
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 6 - Time 181
White a strong initiative. Something horrible fine. For a start, he threatens to play . . . 'Wh4t
could happen. For example: l 9 . . . ixb2 20.ig3! followed by . . . lli g4 with mating threats. No
and Black is losing something. thank you!
7
s
. . %;..t
I>".
�, �� �-,Y,-· 20 ti'xe4
�%1"
i f.I' �� • �"•
•••
,,,J . . %�.i"'
He has to take. Nothing else works.
6 fi.
: !.•i!.a'�
a) 20 . . . l:!e8 2 l .d6 is depressing for Black. The
bishop is stuck on h2 and White dominates
the position.
3
2 ��-�j_���if
��;����)"r�[�8'"���
�""" �
"'"� The combination 2 l . . . l:!xe7! ? had co be
��
anticipated, of course. It looks highly
speculative, but this is almost always the case
a b c d e f g h
with fantastic combinations. 22.dxe7 'Wh4
We can look at 20 . . . ie5 , when after
2 1 .llixf6t gxf6 22.'Wg4t @h8 23.'Wh5 @g7
24J'k4! Black is quickly mated. For example:
24 . . . llic5 2 5 .!!xe5!
20 .le7!
•
23.g3! Wff5 24.ixb? Wi'h3 2 5 . lLi f6t!! lLi xf6 24.Wi'h5! I like this line. Maybe it is not the
26.ig2 and the only piece Black is not about only way to refute the attack, but it is simple
to lose is the knight. I saved a bit of time by not and pleasant to look at.
considering the combination in this version.
b3) Finally, the simple version: 22 . . . g5 23.Wi'h5!
b) Another line I saw was 20 . . . lLie5 2 1 .ixffi
(this is not necessarily forced) 2 1 . . .Wi'h4, which 2 U�e1
looked dangerous. I have to play this move. Athough two of
Black's pieces are hanging, I cannot take either
of them.
2 1 . ..�f4
22 ...�xfl
Chapter 6 - Time 1 83
I expected this move as well, as there was no technical challenge ahead. But the white pieces
plausible alternative. are so good, and the black pieces so bad, that I
thought it was possible to find more.
The only other way to play I considered (and
eliminated) was 22 . . . Wfb8, when after 23.d6 I kept thinking and thinking. Tomashevsky
White is obviously winning. We can see the told me that he was really surprised, positively
line to the end. 23 . . . ie5 24.ixf8 @xf8 2 5 .l:!c7 so, that I was not satisfied with having an
I wondered if we let the engine run for a while, advantage, but was ambitiously looking for
would it tell us how many moves it is till the best move. And I found it, but spent too
checkmate? But Black can give up his queen, much time. I had to pay dearly for it later
and run with the king, hiding from the horizon (incidentally, the game had no increments
of the engine, but not from inevitability. before move 6 1 ) .
2
1
a b c d e g h
I saw this far from move 1 7. The variation
was quite forcing up till this point, where my
conclusion in advance was that White is doing
really well. It is also a good moment to stop
b d g
and think. White has a wide range of choices, a c e f h
one of them being the back-up move 24.ixf8,
winning the exchange. But he is still ahead in White has won a piece for three pawns, with
development, and it is possible that more can good winning chances. But to go into such
be squeezed from the position. After the game complications, I would have to have a greater
I had an interesting discussion with Alex, and incentive than getting a technical advantage,
also Evgeny Tomashevsky, who played in the which I would be able to get after taking on f8.
tournament and had followed the game out of It turns out that after 24.l:!e2 Wf5 White
the corner of his eye. has an "invisible move", as my countryman
Yochanan Afek likes to call them: 25.@g l !
So, White already has the advantage, though Black i s unable to take o n d5, as there is no
after taking on f8 he is only better, with a big check on h5 anymore.
1 84 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g i n Chess
�6 Z f� ��:Jfl
,� ���� ,�
5 � �,f."''-� �� , , ,
32 '·'-""'
4
� � '•�'�
�� ��• �8 �-�0
��-�'0. ..t•
a b c d e f g h a
' " "�� �� �� �-- -
b c d e f g h
After 25 . . . lll c5 26 . .ic2 Wxd5 27.gd4 Wc6 29.Wg3 lll d3 and it is time to transpose into
28.b4 lll e6 29.Wd3 g6 30.gd6 White's attack an easily winning ending with: 30 . .ixffi gxffi
crashes through. Honestly, I don't chink there 3 I ..ixd3 There are other lines, but they are not
is any chance I would see a move like this much different. White has a technical win; too
unless I really needed to. many potential passed pawns.
26.a5!
I am very proud of this move. White gives
a b c d e f g h up a pawn, but forces the black queen further
25.gfl ! Wxb2 26.gxf7! with a winning attack. away from the battleground.
3 1 . J.d5
••
The only move. It is not a defence, but at 34.Yfd3 gh5t 35.@gl E:e5 36.E:e2
least the game goes on, and White gets the 36.E:c? ie6 37.Wg3 E:f5 38 .Wg6 was a
chance to make more mistakes. possible win. It would be time to resign. The
quality of the game is heavily influenced by
30.d6 Yfc4 31 .Vfe3 the few seconds we both had for the remaining
The technical choice was to play 3 1 JM7 moves.
Wxd3 32.E:xg?t @xg7 33.ixd3 and White
1 86 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
36 .. Jlh5 37.tfg6 i.fi 38.tfg4 �e5 39.tfe4? order to combine this with threats of pushing
At this point 39.l'!xe5 wins immediately. the pawn. It is the basic principle of two
weaknesses, although I did not consciously
I regret more that I did not play 39.VBg3! tll d 7 think of it like that at the time.
40.VBg4 tll e 5 repeating the position. With one
hour on the clock, it is easy to see 4 1 .l'!xe5 l'!xe5 A good question is if I should have played
42 . .if6, but with ten seconds it is possible to b3-b4 somewhere, but I wanted to regroup
miss it. my pieces first. The feeling now is that Black
cannot really improve his position much, so I
39 .. Jks should have played b3-b4. But these things are
very difficult to say with any certainty.
42.tfe4
This is a natural move, centralizing the
queen.
42 ... ©fi
42 . . .ixb3 loses to 43.g4.
43.i.h4
a b c d e f g h
40J::l c2?
This is also a bad move, but my flag was
almost falling. The last few moves have been
made truly randomly.
was 50-50. So I thought I had a good chance @g8 48.°%Ve8t @h7 49.ig3!? is also
of winning, but I was not certain that the interesting) 47 . . . !!e4 (47 . . . if5 48.°%Va8
position was winning against the best defence. ie6 49.b4 !!d5 50.Wxa6 tLl f6 5 I .id4 and
And probably this determined my attitude. White has made progress) 48.°%Ve7t @g6
If you believe that the position is winning (48 . . . @g8? 49.id4) 49.We8t @h7
no matter what, you will probably be calmer.
But I was not that sure, and thought that if he 8
coordinated his pieces better, it would be more 7
difficult to break through. So I thought I had
6
to set some goals and aim for them quickly.
5
43.b4 was worth considering. 4
..
43 �d7 44.Wf3t i>g6?!
I think this is not the best.
2
a b c d e f g h
During the game I was more concerned about:
44 . . . !!f5 50.id4! !!xd4 5 1 .°%Vxe6 tLl f6 52.°%Vf5t @g8
I feel I should warn the readers that the 53.°%Vc8f @h7 (53 . . . @f7 also allows 54.Wxa6
analysis that follows is long and involved; it's and after 54 . . . !!d l t 5 5 .@h2 l:!d3 Black's
a difficult position, and giving j ust a couple mating dreams are foiled by 56.g3) 54.'%Vxa6
of moves would not get close to telling the !!d5 5 5 .Wc6 The b-pawn is dropping.
truth about it. c) 45 . . . !!c5 46.Wd8! At last separating
Black's king from his other pieces. 46 . . . if5
� �� �n��r�
f �!w. .-� i (46 . . . !!e5 transposes to line b) 47.°%Ve7t @g8
48.°%Ve8t @h7 49.Wf7 l:!e5 50.if2 ie6
5 I .We8 with good winning chances.
�t.�,,. �
3�.r�
: �,.
� �
� ��;'
�� �� �� ,;, ,
3 � � �-
4
2 �� �� �1 !
�� �� �; �;.�
a b c d e f g h
I intended to play:
45 .°%Va8
The idea is to come to e7 via d8.
a b c d e f g h
45 . . . !!e5!
This is the only move. Black has to keep his At this point I looked for a long time, and
eye on the e7-square. The alternatives are not had a few friends look at the positions as well,
so good. but no one has been able to come up with
a) 45 . . . ixb3?? 46.Wd8 and White wins. a way to break the fortress. I will give my
b) 45 . . . !!d5 46.Wd8 !!e5 47.if2 (47.We7t variations below and offer it as a challenge to
1 88 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
the readers. Please see if you can find a way 47.Wf d8 l:!e5!
for White to overcome the resistance. 47 ... .ifS? fails to a nice little lever: 48.Wfe?t
46.b4 'it>g8
I do not see a way to avoid this move.
Actually, it appears that the other lines are
less challenging.
46.Wfxa6 .ixb3 47 . .ig3 !!f5 48.Wfc8 .ie6
49.Wfd8 lll f8 50 . .ie l 'it>g8 and I think Black
is holding.
46 . .if2 !!d5 47.Wfxa6 lll f6 48 ..id4 id?
49.ixf6 gxf6 50.Wfb6 'it>e6 looks like a dead
draw to me too.
46.Wf d8 if5 47 . .if2 !!d5 48 .Wfe?t 'it>g8
49.Wfe8t �h7
8
a b c d e f g h
7
6
Black is ready for . . . lll f6, when he is very
well coordinated and has counterplay 5
against the white king with . . . lll g4 and 4
. . . !!d l . My idea was to get the bishop to g3,
but it is not happening. If we get to such 2
a position as this, Black might have . . . !!d l t
and . . . lll e4t, winning the bishop. It is not
a b c d e f g h
even about breaking down a fortress; White
has to careful. The following line is rather forcing in nature
46 . . . !!d5 (but not necessarily forced!) . It is an attempt
Accurate again. to push White's advantage to the maximum.
46 . . . 'it>g6 47.Wfxa6 !!d5 48.Wfc6 'it>h7 49.Wfe?t 'it>g6 50.Wfe8t 'it>h7 5 l .id4 !!xd4
49.Wfb? 'it>g6 50 . .ie l and White has made 52.Wfxe6 lll f6 53.Wff5 t 'it>g8 54.Wf c8t @f7
serious progress. 5 5 .Wfxa6 l:!xb4 56.Wfa?t 'it>g6 57.Wfa l !!g4
Or after 46 . . . .ifS 47.if2 'it>g6 48.Wfxa6 !!d5 58.Wfb l t @f7 59.Wfd l !!g5 60.d? lll xd7
49 . .ic5 lll f6 50.Wfxb5 Black's position has 6 1 .Wfxd?t 'it>g8
collapsed.
Chapter 6 - Time 1 89
45 ..lel !
I was o f course happy that I gained the
necessary time to regroup. White's position has
improved a lot.
45 .. J:�d5 46.Ac3
�� �� �l}j.,.
� �%�,'Al% �%� r�
8
A � r�.i. � •rt
7 ,, . . , 7,�p� a b c d e f g h
���.'l.
,�� .,. �� IW-
5 1 . . .i:!d4
3 There are no other squares.
2 � � �� 5 2.Wfe3! l:!d l t 53.�h2
1 � �
a b c d e f g h
Black has lost his coordination. The black
king cannot go to the f-file because of the
check on f3. And after 53 . . . ig4 White has
54.Wf e8t �g7 5 5 .Wfxb5, when we can clearly
46 ... h5? see that it was a mistake to move the a-pawn.
We will see below the problems with this
move.
I was expecting 46 . . . i:!g5 , when my intention
was to play 47.Wfa8 �f7 48.Wfd8 and continue
Note that Black is not in time to play: 46 . . . a5?
to attack the king and support the d-pawn.
(48.b4!? on this move or the previous one is
a) I could play 47.Wfg3t l:!g5 48.Wfe3 � f7
a possible improvement. Black could quickly
49 .ixa5.
end up in zugzwang.) 48 . . . tlJ fS 49.ib4 id7
1 90 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
a b c d e f g h
Black has been pushed back a lot. It is not
clear if the fortress holds, but Black had to try
it.
47.Ve4t
Black's previous move is bad not only
because of what happened in the game, but
also because of:
47.b4! 48 ... �f6!
Alex pointed out chat this is a real zugzwang. I had missed this defensive idea. I don't know
if he had anticipated this and I had fallen into
� �� 1� �-
a clever trap.
6 ��
, � ��'·� ·
�
I had only looked at:
5 , �, �� ..�, 48 . . . 'itixg? 49.Wxe6 :!! d i t
4
3
���
� .... 3w.� �---
� 49 . . . tt:\ f6 50.Wxd5 is j ust over.
50. 'itif2! tt:\ f6 5 1 . 'itie2!
���� � � �
� ���-�
The rook is running out of squares on the
2 d-file.
a b c d
;-0;.
e f g h
5 I . . .:!! d4
49.hf6 ©xf6
The idea of the trap is clear: White loses the
d6-pawn.
50.Yff4t J.5
50 . . . c;t>g6 would allow White to keep the
d-pawn.
create a fortress. The white king makes it to 66. VM d2! Black is in zugzwang, with 66 . . . @a4
b7 and the b5-pawn eventually falls.) 67.YMa2# a likely possibility.
6 1 .VMd4t @b7 62.YMd5 @b6 63.@e3 �c4 65.VMd4t @b7 66.YMd5t @b6 67.YMd6t @b7
White now has the chance to cross the 4th
8
�� �� �� rank with his king. I cannot see how Black
· � � %�� ���
: �-�
can avoid this.
� �
68.@d4 �c4t 69.@d5 @a7 70.@e6 @b7
: ��11 · ·�
7 1 .@d7 @a7
. . . �� �·0��
32 �� -�������� 8
�� =� ��
: -,,�.�
�� �� �� ii ��� ��
5
�� r� �- · 7,��� ���
a b c d e f g h
4 . . . %�r �� ��
My understanding of this position was that
� �-�.�--�
�� �� ��
if Black makes it to a7 with the king, we
have an unbreakable fortress, as described
above. But it is White to move, and Black is
a b c d e f g h
unable to gain the necessary tempo.
64.YMd7 And here it is important to get the black
The engine wants 64.VMa8 �xb4 65 .Wd8t king away from a7.
©c5 66.YMfBt @c4 67.YMc8t @d5 68.YMxa6, 72.We5
but this is not a human solution. At this This is a simple way to do it. White wins
point I would have preferred to avoid a after 72 . . . @b7 73.YMc5! as well as:
queen versus rook and pawn ending. It is a 72 . . . @b6 73.Wb8#!
win, but in a game it is easy to do something
wrong. More about this later. 59.�eSt rtlc7 60.�e7t gd7
64 . . . �c7
There are other moves, but they are not very
8
different.
64 . . .�xb4 is a fun line: 65 .Wd6t @a5 7
6
5
4
2
1
a b c d e f g h
b d g
a c e f h We have passed the second batch of time
trouble, but here I went wrong again.
Chapter 6 - Time 1 93
��7, �� �lm'%%
of the game, plus half a minute a move.
·
8
�������� ������
6 1 .11Nc5t Wb7 62.g5 was better. We get the 7 - --
�j ��� �� ��
same position as in the game, but he does not 6
have the . . . a5-break.
5
61. .. ©b7 62.gS a5! 4
.! �, �� ��
�s �a ��
����,,�
Of course he grabbed this chance co improve
3
� ��
his king and eliminate one of my pawns.
2
63.bxaS ©a6 1
a b c d e f g h
8
70 ... ©b6
7 The reason for the previous move being
inaccurate is chat Black had 70 . . . i.a2!? here.
6
8
7
6
5
4
a b c d e f g h 3
The fortress falls due to one little detail: 2
8 1 .Wi'd8t @a6 82.Wi'a8t @b6 83.Wi'xa4!
1
to check the white king away if it comes to 82.©xb5 gd6 83.©c5 :Sa6 84.lYe7 ©b8
c5, but White can play for a different plan: 85.©b5 ga7 86.Wf:Bt
75 .Wd6t @b7 76.Wi'fB! The simple win is 86.Wi'd8t @b7 87.Wd4
and we get the game continuation.
a b c d e f g h
95 .. J�b7
He should have played 95 . . . l:!h7, which is a
theme we know from the tablebases. The rook
has to go far away from the king on a different
coloured square.
In the late 1 980s Artur Yusupov showed me
the first ever tablebase, which contained queen
against rook, and he told me to go away and
practise winning this ending. It was not easy
at all. A few years ago Alex failed to win it in
rapid, and I managed to hold with the rook
against Svidler in the knock-out championship
in 200 1 . Morozevich failed to win it against
Jakovenko. It is by no means easy to win. The
fortunate thing is that it is not easy to defend
either.
96.'!Wd4t
But now it is easy.
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Time for a deep think: what Can you find the forced win ? A lovely tactic.
i s White's best move? (see page 22 1 ) (see page 234)
(see page 207-8)
8 8 8
� � �
7 � %,,Ii,;�-�• �i 7 7
� -
6 � �
�• ��� � ,,,,,%�.t. .,,,, 6 6
5 5
� '""� � � ��-0
4 �� ��
�� 8 �-� z� 4
.1 ��� �
,r , ,
3
� • �� --;-�"'-8'"
·
,, , , , ----
2 � � � --
;�� 2
' � � � 6. 1
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Has White messed up? This is one of my nicest What is the correct way for
(see page 2 1 5) combinations. Can you see Black to strengthen
all the details? his attack?
(see page 224) {see page 237)
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 1 99
In this chapter I want to go over three games World Championship match with Anand only
I am immensely proud of. Two of chem were a year before, but I never miss the chance to
played in games where the stakes could hardly learn from other people's mistakes, and I was
have been higher. In the first, the prize was a aware chat what I needed co do was play my
World Championship match, as it was played own game.
in the lase game with a standard time control My general attitude co chess is chat it is not
in the Candidates final. I am very proud decided by statistics. The player who shows the
chat I was able to show my best chess on this best chess on the day will prevail, no matter
occasion. what the pundits make of previous resulcs. And
if you have no belief in your abilities, you really
Boris Gelfand -Alexander Grischuk have no place in the Candidates tournament. I
already gave my view of Grischuk in Positional
Kazan (6) 2011
Decision Making in Chess (page 1 53) .
This was the most important game in Kazan,
which is often the case for che lase game of a
l .d4 ltlf6 2.c4 g6 3.lll f3 Ag7 4.g3
i. • -*-� i•� �
match or, as in this case, a series of consecutive
matches. This match was very hard on me. 8
The first five games were drawn, but I was
definitely worse in three of them. We will see
7 ,lfi"
, , , %�·
- - - %� ----- %.-,��·
'·%�·--
some of these moments elsewhere in this book. 6
� �� z , , �
If this game had been drawn as well, the
5 �W,ia �% �Y/. �-�
match would have gone co a tiebreak, starting
�8� � -�
�-
W,ia�- - 3���- %
4
��
with rapid games and maybe continuing with
blitz. Public opinion was that I should do
8 - 8�-- �
3
anything to avoid a ciebreak, as Grischuk had
�lE�lm:f•j
eliminated Aronian and Kramnik in tiebreaks. 2
Some even believed that he had consciously I
aimed for the tiebreaks, though I chink he
a b c d e f g h
j ust struggled in the matches against very
strong opposition. I also think he was overly This variation of the Griinfeld was
intimidated by Kramnik's opening preparation, popularized by my friend Boris Avrukh in
thinking he had no chance co get a game with his two volumes on l .d4 in the Grandmaster
White against him. I was fully aware that this Repertoire series, published in 2008 and
was not his usual strategy, and chat against 20 1 0; it was very trendy at the time. le will be
me he would play very ambitiously, as indeed interesting to see if Boris is bringing it back for
happened in our match. his second trip down 1 .d4, which started in
My attitude cowards the ciebreaks was far 20 1 5 and will be four volumes this time, if I
from desperate. I was White and I wanted co understood him correctly.
play a normal game; to try to see if I could
get an advantage and apply some pressure. So My reason for choosing this variation in this
I was not planning co do anything desperate in game was that I had found a new idea chat I
order to avoid a tiebreak. wanted co cry out.
I am not sure if I was consciously influenced
by the way Topalov had lost Game 1 2 of the 4 ... d5
200 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
� � .tS �� ·
i:�if, , ,, %��,,
iA% & y,W�
b d
s a c e
(� A Y-A%
· ��
a
A%
%·'i)- %�f
7 A :W: A When we have a lot of theory, bur as I said,
6
•
, ,, ,
%% %%%% %%
�
,,,,, nothing convincing.
a b c d e f g h
.
9 . . i;es
9 . . . e5 is the most natural move, bur after
1 0.d5, as Boris explains in his book, Black
has some difficulties. I do nor want co go
into detail here; it can all be found in Boris's
book, and not much has changed since it was
published.
a b c d e f g h
Without goin g into excessive derail, 9 . . . E!:e8
is intended to prepare . . . e5 under better This makes it possible to play f2-f4, stopping
circumstances. . . . e5 altogether (as actually happened in our
main game) . Another idea is chat the d5-pawn
10.i;el is protected a bit more than usual, meaning
A simple and useful move, which was very that Black cannot gain tempos by attacking
popular around the time when this game was it. The knight might look stupid on h4, bur it
played. The key problem is chat both sides find cannot be exploited in any way.
it hard to prepare for . . . e5 in a useful way. So This subtle idea was invented by Aronian for
this type of micro-improvement feels natural. his game against Ragger, and was subsequently
copied by just about everyone, basically
1 O.d5 is possible, but not too convincin g. immediately. I mean, Sargissian played it in the
Black plays: 1 O . . . lt:l a5 l 1 .l2l d4 i.d7 same match between Armenia and Austria on
Board 3! Aronian and Sargissian work closely
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 20 1
together, so it is equally possible the Aronian But the most fashionable at the time of our
was copying Sargissian and not the other way game was:
around. l l . . . ie6
This had received a bright start at the Khancy
10 ... a5 Mansiysk Olympiad half a year earlier. The
This was also popular at the time. Black is first person to be hit by this brutal idea was
making another useful move, avoiding 1 O e5 . • . Scottish Grandmaster Colin McNab, who
l l .d5, where he is worse. Again, this is covered after proofreading Avrukh's book decided
in Boris's book. Little has changed since it was for once not to play some ancient line of the
published. English . . .
1 2.l:!d l ic4 1 3.Wfc2 lll b4 1 4.Wfb l e5!!
1 1 .Yfe2
Again there are not so many useful moves in 8
this position, though this is not the only one 7
of course. I am still following Avrukh's book,
6
forcing my opponent to fight against this
5
thorough preparation.
4
Incidentally, I chink I blundered a pawn with 3
something like l l .d5 ixc3 1 2.bxc3 Wfxd5 2
against Grischuk in a blitz game at the Tai
Memorial . White has compensation for the
a b c d e f g h
pawn and the game ended in a draw, but it was
certainly not an attempt to rewrite the opening This is the big surprise. (The most obvious
books! tactical point of Black's play is l 5.dxe5 ?
Wfxd l t 1 6.lll xd l id3 and Black wins.) I t is
not often chat it is possible to come up with
8
such brilliant moves in the opening, so lee's
7 have a quick look at how the first two games
6
played in this variation went:
5 a) 1 5 .b3
4 This is not very energetic, but probably quite
sensible nonetheless.
3 1 5 . . . exd4 l 6.exd4?!
2 Probably the way to keep the balance for
White after 14 ... e5 is in this line, when after
1
1 6.bxc4 dxc3 1 7.l:!xd8 l:!axd8 1 8 .Wfb3 c2
a c d e f g 1 9.lll d4 l:!xd4 20.exd4 l:!e l t 2 1 .ifl ixd4
1 1 ...lg4
.
22.a3 .ixa l 23.ih6 ig7 24.axb4 ixh6
Black has a few moves here. 25 .Wfxc2 axb4 26.c5 lll d5 27.c6 active play
keeps White alive.
l l . . .e5 is the most popular, and is still played 1 6 . . . .ie6 1 7.if4 if5 1 8 .Wfb2 lll d3 1 9.Wfd2
a lot. lll xf4 20.Wfxf4 a4
202 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
.I ��- �. ,. ,
l:!xa8
8 � ;
7 �� · · �� �
6 .. . . . • .,'.
.
?.
,. . . .� �� �� ��
: �- ,� ��
�:. . .. ?.. � �
� �
�m.·.. .ef'. · . . . �w�.i.�
3
b d g
a c e f h
Black is simply better. Now White collapsed.
.....z
� . z · ·...
12.h3
This is forced in order to prevent . . . e5.
a b c d e f g h 12 ....le6
1 8 .Wc2
1 8 .bxc3 l:!d l t 1 9.ifl l:!xfl t 20.@g2 axb4 8
2 1 .Wxb4 l:!d l 22.tll d 2 id5 t 23.e4 ic6 7
24.f3 tt:la4 25.l:!xa4 l:!xc l 26.l:!a2 l:!xc3 has
been played in a number of correspondence 6
games. Black is better, but not surprisingly 5
White was able to hold most of the time. It
4
is strange there are so many correspondence
games, as you would expect people to 3
be aware of the dangers here by simply
2
consulting their databases during the game.
1
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 203
6
unprovoked in this variation. Basically, Black
5
is giving White a tempo on account of one
tactical idea. I felt that it was too much, but it
was not so easy to prove it.
3
4
13.b3
2
I developed this idea together with Maxim
Rodshtein, with whom I was working closely
at the time. The idea is to dominate the light
squared bishop in both directions. If you want
to know more about my general approach a b c d e f g h
to such positions, you could check out two It is important to note that I would not have
chapters in Positional Decision Making in Chess, played in the same way if Black had played
the Squeeze and Space Advantage. Actually, l l . . .ie6 and not given me that extra tempo.
this game was for a brief moment to be found The difference is most apparent here, where
in the file for the latter of these two, but only Black could greatly inconvenience White with
long enough for me to come to my senses and . . . if5 ! and after e3-e4?! he would have . . . ig4
defer it to this volume. with a better game.
So against l l . . .ie6, I would have played. . .
The variation mentioned above is this one: something else!
1 3.lll d2 lll b4 1 4.l:!d l °1Wc8!
It would of course be nice to have a unifying
idea; to be able to play in the same way against
all move orders. But fortunately chess is not
such a simple game. There will be a price to
pay for such a blunt approach. I want to point
out that at this point White has succeeded in
his first ambition in the opening: to prevent
Black from playing . . . c5 or . . . e5.
15 ..Wfc8 16.©h2
.
Grischuk told me the following story at the game, although I am not sure it would solve
closing ceremony: Peter Svidler was Grischuk's all of his problems. I am not claiming it is
second during the Candidates tournament and anything special , but I like my position.
following the game, with the engine running,
while it was played. After the game he told But instead Grischuk went for the most critical
Alexander that he had had a great position move. And I have to say that I found 1 6 . . . �a5
and it was a pity he had not made more of posed real challenges for me. He wants to play
it. Grischuk rejected this claim, stating that . . . �h5, obviously.
I understood the position on a deeper level This is not a surprising idea at all. We see
and outplayed him. Svidler referred to the it often in the g3-system of the King's Indian
computer assessments, so was forced by Defence, though there the rook comes via e8.
Grischuk to take on the black pieces. Despite It was introduced by Yurtaev, a very inventive
repeated attempts, he did not manage to get a player, and I tried it myself a few times in the
satisfactory position even once. late 1 980s.
8
feeling on the day. Another example was move
7
1 2 of Gelfand - Anand, Moscow (7) 20 1 2,
6
which can be found on page 1 92 of Positional
Decision Making in Chess.
5
After the game I told Grischuk that I
4
thought I had the idea as played over the next
few moves in my files, but when I returned
3
to the hotel and checked, there was nothing
there. Later Rodshtein confirmed that we had
never looked at this idea at all. Maybe this is
2
something for a psychologist to explain?
1
l 7.g4 is possible. Even though I did not see
a b c d e f g h
anything wrong with it, I did not seriously
16 J�a5!?
..
consider it. It is a classical way of chinking,
Grischuk thought for a long time here. The chat I do not want to weaken my position
previous moves were all natural, but here he unless it is absolutely necessary. Whether there
had to decide what to do. is a concrete reason is less important; long
term factors have a tendency to only matter
He could have played quieter moves, such long term . . . So the choice was either to allow
as 1 6 . . . �d8 or 1 6 . . . ltJa5, when l 7.ltJd2 f5!? Black to play . . . �h5, as I did in the game, or to
would have led to a more positional type of prevent it with l 7.ltJ b5.
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 205
a b c d e f g h
20.i.f3!
Here this is necessary. 20.f4 does not work
in these lines, as White no longer has d4-d5 .
20 . . . l"i:h6?!
This appears to be the critical line. The game
is very forcing (obviously I had no feeling
for this during the game; we are on the very
outskirts of what I saw then) .
Black's best chance is to give up the exchange
for a pawn and some compensation: a b c d e f g h
20 ... l"i:xh4! 2 l .gxh4 i.xh3t It is a game, but
1 8.lii h4!
White's chances are slightly better.
I spent a lot of time on 1 7.l"i:d l - 47 minutes
2 1 .d5 i.xc3 22.dxe6 Wxe6 23.l"i:xd8t lll xd8
- during which I also decided how to meet
24.Wd3 Wa2
Black's last move. So, when it came up, I
played it quickly.
White does not want to weaken his position
with l 8.h4 of course.
1 8 ...i.f6 19.f4!
This is a rather elaborate positional concept,
but the strategic concept is clear. White keeps
control over the centre and gets control over
the dark squares.
19 .. J!! d S!
What I found most difficult during the game
25.c;t>g2!
was to deal with the concrete aspects of my
This is a very difficult move to find. Even
plan. To be specific, I was spending a lot of
with the assistance of an engine, it took me
time calculating:
some time to realize that this was the best
way forward.
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 207
8
7 �,-�i�a
�'1:J�,,�
8
7
6
, ,,� �� �� 6
5
�.=,.:��� 5
� �'�'
4 4
3 I& �.i. 3
2 zg,· · uwu-
� - -Z� 2
l�l� �
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
208 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
25.'it>xf4
2 5 .@h2 .ig4 26.cxb7 Wf5 and Black is OK.
For example: 27.Wfd3 Wh5t 28.@gl i.8
29.e4 Wfg4t 30.@fl f5! and it is White who
has to play accurately to hold the draw:
8
��-% �i �a
. .. : � �� ,�
7 ��
� �� ��
6 ',
: �� !,,�
�� a b c d e f g h
� �� '/. :� �� ��
i.g4 2 5 .Wf e3 e6 26.i.b2
r�;� r�=�
I guess that White's position is preferable due
to the potentially strong bishop on the long
b d g
a c e f h
diagonal. However White will need to open
up the game with d4-d5. It can be difficult to
3 1 .Wfb5! �b8 32.lll d5 Wfh3t 33.@f2 .ixd l do this under favourable circumstances, as it
34.i.xf4 Black has to give perpetual check would most likely also weaken the safety of his
with 34 . . . WBt 3 5 .@gl Wg4t 36.@f2 WBt own king, and provide Black with plenty of
and so on. chances for active counterplay.
25 . . . Wfe6 26.@g3
26.cxb7 Wi'e5 t is also OK for Black. Chess is an inexhaustible game as far as I am
26 . . .if5 27.cxb7 We5t 28.@f2 Wxc3 29.i.b2 concerned, at least in practical terms. This is
Wfc6 illustrated by a discovery by Jacob Aagaard,
who went back over these lines and came up
8
��-%��i �a with the cool 2 1 .Wffl !!.
. . . :: �� �,�
7 �r i �i �a
� �� � �
6 ',
8
: �� ���W�� % �� . � �� ·�
� , . t� • � ·
67 �-·
�'l . :. -�-
�� �� - 5
�% �z�
� �i �-��. ��
..
·« @w·« �z--- - z
1� 1---. %� : �! J [j,J tj� �"ti
b d g � .� �',. . : . . . z �w�
2 r�;/� r� ,,�
a c e f h
ahead, you will see that the centre pawns will 20 . . . .id7 2 1 . b4
start to roll forward, and Black has no good
pieces at all. His counterplay has entirely
dissipated and White has a powerful initiative.
It is always hard to estimate the size of White's
advantage in such a position, but both from a
practical and an objective perspective, it can be
said to be large.
a b c d e f g h
a c e 8 -'i¥��
��
b d f g h ·
0 (,� ;;;
J�iT�
�f!;:.f';{ �
: �f:
20.'?;lff2
5 � � • m.t.. •
The idea of this move is to keep the tension
• �
and to support the d4-pawn. Black has to keep
3 �.,,,m
,;, ,.]� �
pressure on it in order to prevent e3-e4.
4
,�,- �.�- --
20.f5 ! 2
I did n o t consider this a t all during the game,
as it was far from the strategy I was pursuing. a b c d e f g h
Maybe if you play with no memory of what
23 . . . ti:'ixd4! ?
happened on the previous move, you could
This seems the best chance.
consider this, but it did not seem relevant
23 . . . .ixb 1 ?! 24.bxc6 .if5 25.cxb7 'W'b8
to me. The idea is simple. If Black takes
26.<±>h l I don't like Black's position. His
with the bishop on f5 , his counterplay on
pieces have no purpose.
the kingside is immediately in the past, and
23 . . . ti:'ia5 24.e4 also gives White a strong
White can start to put pressure on him in
initiative.
the centre and on the queenside. Besides,
24.exd4 .ixb 1 2 5 .ti:'ixb 1 .ixh4 26.ti:'ic3
the rook on f5 is going to be trapped, and
White has the advantage. I can easily see him
White will have an extra exchange: 20 . . . .ixf5
starting a mating attack in the near future.
2 1 .ti:'ixf5 Ei:xf5 22.b4!
For this reason, Black should retreat the
bishop.
210 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decisio n Making i n Chess
8
�·r,!� �� �p �· -- ·
76 ��---1 �. -,� l�
�
s ���•!B�. M... .•��I
4 �• re3 �
...
a b c d e f g h
3
� l ���-- - �ft.. ..""�ft'""
2 -- � z.��
20 .txh4?
A bad decision. Black will not only feel
pressured on the dark squares; he has also �m�·�., lI WYD.)- � w
lI
...
- -�.
reduced his pressure on d4 considerably. White a b c d e f g h
will be able to support the d4-pawn sufficiently
White is indeed much better if he plays
to push e3-e4, leaving Black in serious trouble.
22.J.b2! l:!b5 23.J.f3, which has some
Actually there is not a single variation in this
similarities to the game, though without
game where this capture on h4 works out well
Black having given away his strong bishop.
for Black.
But during the game I had intended to play
22.J.f3?!, when Black holds the balance with
I think Grischuk was under the belief that he
this unimaginable line: 22 . . . .ixh3! 23.e4
would be able to sacrifice the exchange and
ixd4! 24.We2 l:!xh4 25.gxh4 l:!c5 26.b4 l:!c3
create a blockade on the light squares. He
27.b5
completely underestimated the J.b2 idea.
8
�· i � ....
�-
. 0 �
, ·,
.
76 ��.-.. . ,,..,�
I considered two alternatives during the game:
5 .� -�.!,� ��
20 . . . lll b4?! turns out to be weaker than I %
4 � .. . .. �
believed. 2 1 . lll e2! keeps the pressure up, as
. ... . � �� l.
% %
2 1 . . .c5?!
%
2 "a . %� �
� 1 �
3
for a world-class player like Grischuk. And White has a serious initiative. Black will be
White runs no risk of losing at all, so the fighting for his life.
practical challenges are still overpowering. 27 . . . .ixh3 28 . .if3 l:!h6 29.dS .!Li a? 30.l:!a l ±
At this point I of course did not intend to Black must say goodbye to his knight,
win the exchange. although I do not want to pretend that there is
22 . .tb2! gbS 23.�e2 ghS no resistance left in his position.
23 . . . gas 24 . .ic3 ga6 2S.lll f3 gb6 26 . .!ll d 2
also leaves White with better chances. Black The computer suggests 20 . . . gaS!?, but no one
has no pawn breaks and White keeps his would play it. You j ust moved the rook to hS
space advantage. and after a few moves, you go back?
8
7 �• x•�-
• � �···
0 �;
6 ���a""'"��,-�
�
""'"�-� ��
a b c d e f g h
212 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g i n Chess
a b c d e f g h
32 ...�c7?
Grischuk is collapsing under the combined
pressure of a bad position and no time on the
clock.
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
Here I had only considered 3 5 . . . :B:c8 36.Wfxc7 39 . .if3!!
Wfxc7 37.:B:b7! and White wins. But instead This is an amazing resource. I seriously
he can take on b6 and offer more resistance: doubt that I would have found it.
35 . . . Wfxb6 36.:B:xb6 :B:c8 39 . . . tD b3 40.i.h5t ®f8 4 1 .:B:xe6 lD xa l 42.exf6
White still has to work in order to win. :B:xc7 43.f7 tD c2 44.:B:h6 tD d4 45.:B:xh7 tD e6
46.:B:h8t ®g7 47.:B:g8t ®f6 48.ffi=Wft tDxffi
49.:B:xffit ®g7 50.:B:xf5
8
-·· -� •
� � �
76 ��� • -····!< •
%"'" �-0 �-0
�--- �
� ·� � � � �
�-.., � �
5 ��� .-···-� •�� : •� �
4 � � � � �
� � ��· -·
� �� -� �� -�
a b c d e f g h
�� �� �� --· ·
An extremely beautiful idea is:
a b c d e f g h
37.f5 !
Although I would most likely have taken Without rooks this would of course be a
twice on f6, which should also be good draw, but with the rooks on, White still has
enough. serious winning chances.
37 . . . gxf5
37 . . . .ixf5 38 . .ic3 is the point. 33J�xb3 �xc6
38.c7 During the game I hoped that I would be
This leads to a long, relatively forced, allowed to play the following trick: 33 . . . Wfxf4t
variation: 34.:B:g3 lD xc6 3 5 .Wfxc6 :B:d3 I missed that the
38 . . . @f7 check on e6 would allow the queen to go to g4.
But I saw another nice trick instead: 36.Wfe8t
®g7 37.Wfxe7t ®h6
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 215
� �� �- �� ,
The Imperfect Masterpiece
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Boris Gelfand Evgeny Alekseev
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Dagomys 2008
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This game was played in the Russian league,
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which I wrote about in Positional Decision
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Making in Chess on page 27.
b d g
a c e f h
My opponent in this game is one of many
strong Russian grandmasters. At the time
38 . .ie5 !! and White wins. Amazingly, this is of this game, he was performing really well,
the only winning move in this position! winning the Russian Championship in 2006,
the Aeroflot Open in 2007 and taking 2nd
34.e5 �d4 place in Dortmund, ahead of Anand and
Leko. He was over 2700 for a few years, but
8 more recently he has mainly been just below
this mark. His best result in recent years was
7
sharing first place in the 20 1 3 European
6 Championship, though he lost out on the tide
on tiebreak.
5
His main strengths seem to be in defensive
4 play, with counterattacking intentions and
3 good technique.
a b c d e f g h
216 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
.i �mi:
tournament I had the idea that 9.ll'ie5 was
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7
�%' "//, game) . I asked my seconds at that event, Pavel
6 - · - · ,,, , , , , ; · ""
Eljanov and Alex Huzman, to analyse it and
we continued to do so after the tournament.
:3 ��,!ti!···
This game was one of the first chances I got
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co play it. I played two rapid games with it,
/ ; �
one with either colour. But soon the theory
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 217
5
a b c d e f g h
4
Nevertheless, here are a few variations co
3 demonstrate the above assessment:
2
After 1 6.i.xc4 ixe4 ( 1 6 . . . lll xe4? 1 7.d5!)
1
l 7.i.b5t cJ:;e? Black has a good position.
a b c d e f g h
218 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
The king might look awkwardly placed on more flexible to play 1 5.0-0. White has to
e7 to the uninitiated, but for those with make both moves on the next two moves, so
experience in this opening, it is not a matter in reality there is no big difference. One of the
for special concern. overriding principles of being practical (and
this book discusses practical decision-making,
1 6.d5 exd5 1 7.0-0-0 lt:lxe4 1 8 . .ixc4 Wd7 is not theoretical fantasies) is that during the
unclear but good for Black. White should try game you should not get bogged down in
1 9.1'%xd5! .ixd5 20.1'%d l Wg4 2 1 ..ixd5 Wxf3 small finesses, which you can only determine
22 . .ic6t We7 23.gxf3 lt:lxg3 24 . .ixa8, where after hours of analysis. This analysis might
he would have to fight for a draw. be very useful for understanding chess better
for the future, but not for evaluating how
Thus best is: 1 6.lt:\xc5 .ixc5 1 7.dxc5 lt:lxe4 you should have approached the position at
1 8.Wf4 Wa5 1 9.0-0 Wxc5 20.wh2 the board.
s i, � �•m .1.
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a b c d e f g h
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8 H% _ _ _ _ _ ;_
3 20.Wc7! 1'%xg3 2 1 .fxg3 Wd7 22.Wb6 lt:\d5
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23.Wa5 and Black does not have enough
compensation. For a start .ih5 is a big threat.
1 , ,
16.0-0
I also considered the prophylactic move
1 6.\Wf4, with the idea of not allowing the
queen to come out to play, underlining how
bad Black's position is. It is j ust another way
of playing the position. All in all, I was not too
scared of him castling queenside.
8
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I believed I had excellent chances. There is
really no reason to look any further during
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2 the game. When you have something you
like, and there are no immediate tactics,
1
there is nothing to calculate.
a b c d e f g h Looking further now, it appears that White
is indeed very close to winning. The engine
18 ... cxb3?
considers 22 . . . bxa3 a realistic move, which it
At this point I think he offered me a draw.
certainly is not. And the normal move is met
I did not hear it, but some of my teammates
by a direct attack:
told me so after the game. Maybe I blocked it
22 . . . a5 23.axb4 axb4
out subconsciously. . .
220 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
24.�xd7!! 27.ia6t! �c6
The engines can be useful at times. This 27 . . . �xa6 28.�a l t leads to mate.
move wins in a pleasing way. 28.We2 �d7 29.Wb5t �e7 30.Wb?t �d7
24 . . . <;f;>xd7
24 . . . �xd7 is of course possible. But after:
25.lll b6t �d8 26.lll xd7 �xd7 27.�d l t
<;f;>c8 28.Wd3 We7 29.ie5
a b c d e f g h
White is completely dominating and has This variation is very forcing and long.
sacrificed nothing. We do not need the Although it might seem a bit impractical,
support of an engine to see that this is I still might have tried to work it out had
winning. the position at move 23 arisen at the board.
25.lll xc5t �c8 White's position is very promising and it is
25 . . . ixc5 26.Wxc5 leaves the black king natural that the attack should win, so why not
totally exposed. The threat of ib5 t as well go for it?
as 26 . . . �e8 27.ih5 t simply wins.
26.lll x b7 b) Instead Black should play: 1 9 . . . cxb3 20.axb3
26.ic4 is also strong. The forcing line is (20.e5 �xg3! gives some counterplay) 20 . . . e5!
nice, but not mandatory.
26 . . . <;f;>xb7
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 22 1
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2
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
After which I was planning to either 22.:B:xd7! ixe3 23.:B:c7t �b8 24.:B:xf7t :B:xg3
continue the attack with 2 1 .:B:a 1 or prepare it a 25 .:B:xf6 ixf2 26.liJd l ! and White wins a piece.
little more with 2 1 .�h2. In either case White
is better, but it is certainly a playable position But this is all thinking after the fact. During
for Black. The engine is very much on White's the game I did not consider it as a serious
side, but I think it overestimates the exposure option for Black to open the c-file with . . . cxb3
of the black king. and then play . . . c5.
· · • .1
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8 20 .. �h8
.
4
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a b c d e f g h
counterplay whatsoever. If we have achieved I intended to play 24.dxe5 ll'l xe5 25 . .ixe5
this, we are already doing well. White should Wfxe5 26.Wf a7, when it is not easy for Black
win if he does not blunder badly. to make a move. The direct threat is 27.�xc6t
.ixc6 28.ll'lb6 mate. But after 26 . . . �g6
During the game I also considered 2 1 .ll'lxb5 27.�fd l (threatening 28 . .ig4t! with mate} ,
axb5 22 . .ixb5 , but did not like it after Black plays 27 . . . h5! and although his position
22 . . . �xg3, when the position has become is horrible and no doubt lost, there is still not
unnecessarily messy. a direct punch to end the game. A funny point
is that he would most likely find 27 . . . h5, even
The computer points out that 2 1 .ll'ld5! just without seeing the threat. There are simply no
wins. It is a really beautiful move and I do not other moves.
want to ruin it by attaching long variations;
it is quite clear that the black king's position So for this reason it was actually simpler to play
is falling apart. I think I would have found it 24.Wf c3 'tti b 8 25.ll'lb4 with a winning attack.
if it was the only good move in the position, For example: 25 . . . �c8 26.�a l and Black is
but the availability of other attractive options facing a catastrophic invasion.
means that we sometimes look less hard for
particularly attractive moves like this one.
8
The real disappointment is that I did not
play 2 1 .�fd l , which would be a simple and 7
sound positional move. We cannot rely on the 6
inspiration that finds a move such as 2 1 .ll'ld5,
but in order to play good chess, we need to 5
make sound decisions. And the decision in the 4
game was not good.
3
options and, compared to 24.Wd2, it does So instead I should play 26.tLl d3 f6, when
not allow 24 . . . Wf8 (with the idea of playing White has a big advantage, but the game goes
. . . exd4) because of 2 5 . dxe5 . I also anticipated on. I expected that he would play like this, and
the combinations that became relevant in try to hold.
the game. Not that I saw every detail, but I
discovered that it was very dangerous for I also wondered if he could defend with:
Black and that this theme was decisive in 24 . . . f6 2 5 .Wa5 <;!;1b8
many lines. 25 ... Wf8 loses to:
24 J�de8
..
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h
Here I had originally planned to play 26.!!a l ,
but during the game I became concerned 26.!!xc6!! ixc6 27.Wxa6 l:!c8 28.:i:!c l !
about 26 . . . <;!;1a7!, thinking for a moment about White wins a piece back with a decisive
Kasparov - Petrosian, the game mentioned on attack. For example:
page 42. I did not want to lose the thread the 28 . . . tlJ b6 29.Wxb6t Wb7
same way as Kasparov did.
224 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
25 .. J�e6
Black continues his plan.
a b c d e f g h
This is the glorious moment of the game,
where I am allowed to play a beautiful
combination - and not only that, but also the
most beautiful version of it!
26.gxc6t!!
Black would be able to show his idea if
White played without energy; for example:
26.llJb4? .ic7! 27.Wf a2 E:g6 and Black is fully
a b c d e f g h in the game.
25.YfaS!
This is of course the strongest move and I 26 ... .ixc6 27J:k1 ttlbs
decided to play it after not too long. Both 27 . . . i.b8 28 .Wfxa6t @d8 29.E:xc6
and 27 . . . @b7 28.E:xc6 @xc6 29.Wfxa6t are
During the game I also spent some rime completely winning.
contemplating a very tempting sacrifice:
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 225
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
28.gxc6t 30.fi°b6t!!
It is a pleasure to be able to sacrifice the same This is the great conclusion to the
piece on the same square twice. But it is not combination.
just for show; it is the only way for White to
prove an advantage. After 30.¥Mxc6? f6± the game goes on, but after
the game move Black will not be able to defend
28 ... �xc6 29.fi°xa6t �d8 himself Obviously this is what I intended all
During the game I saw the following line: along.
29 . . . @bB 30.¥Mb6t 'it>a8 3 1 .¥Mxc6t c.tia7
32.¥Mb6t 'it>a8 30 ... �d7
4
5 �
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8 � · · · �.r.· · · ·
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2
a b c d e f g h
33.Vcst dle7
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e f g h
1-0
a b c d e f g h
At this point something horrible happened. The big point I want to make using this game
I wanted to play 34.tll d 5t 'it>f7 3 5 .i.h5t and is that a combination such as 26.:B:xc6t! is
it's over, but somehow I touched the queen. wonderful, but not something you need to
I have no idea how it happened, but you can calculate accurately in advance. Black has so
imagine my horror at the thought of ruining many possible moves that it makes no sense to
such an amazing game because of touch-move. be prepared for all of them.
Luckily, checking with the queen also wins the Calculation is about seeing as much as is
game. needed in order to make a good decision. Not
about seeing everything and having a reply
34.'!Wd7t?! @f'8 35.Vxe6 ready to all of your opponent's moves. Often
I could not believe my luck. White simply it is enough to see the general possibilities and
wins. leave the calculation till the moment when it
will be rewarded.
35 ...Ve7 For example, in the line with 30 . . . 'it>eS
After 35 . . . Wfg6 the simplest is 36.lll d?t 'it>g7 3 I .Wfxc6t I did not look further. There are so
37.Wfxg6t @xg6 38 .exf5t, winning a piece. many possibilities . . .
to the rating system, he should have been used encyclopaedic, so I decided to play something
for target practice by the other participants. simple, and j ust have a game.
But in reality he won the tournament very
convincingly. 3 ... �c6
Anyway, I approached this semi-final like In the previous rounds I had played
any other match. If I played well, I knew I 3 . . . c6, which also includes my only loss in the
would get my chances. tournament, against Judit Polgar in the third
round. I mentioned this game on page 1 50.
1 .e4 e5
During the event, and in those years, I 4.�a i.e7
played the Petroff Defence a lot. It served me 4 . . . ic5 is the more popular move, but would
well, especially in this event. One of the points require more knowledge. So I chose obscurity
of the opening is that if White does not have on purpose.
precise knowledge of the opening, and maybe
a new idea, Black gets an even game. 5.0-0 0-0
2.i.c4 8
7
So in this tournament, especially in the
6
tiebreaks, people resorted to this non
5
threatening system against me. It is important
to have confidence in your openings, especially
4
in knock-out events, so I felt I had already won
3
a little moral victory.
2
2 �f6
•••
a b c d e f g h
I had some experience with this system from
the early 1 980s, when it was a part of my white
repertoire. This was obviously before Karjakin
was born. I had also played it a few times with
Black against Morozevich and with White
against Sutovsky. In both those games 6.1'%e I
d6 7.a4 was played, which was fashionable at
that time.
a b c d e f g h
6.i.b3
3.d3 This is also what was popular in the 1 980s.
I realized that when Karjakin played this,
he intended to improve on my games with 6 d5
..•
Polgar or Vachier-Lagrave. But I was sure I decided to open the game, simply because
that his knowledge of these lines was not I wanted a more open game!
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 229
I had a game in the 1 980s against Viacheslav Another vananon I remember from my
Dydyshko, who managed to become childhood goes like this: 9 . . . i.xf3 1 0.Wxf3
Belorussian Champion many times and played lLi d4 1 1 .Wxd5 If White does not cake here,
in the Olympiad team repeatedly, without Black has equalized. 1 1 . . .Wxd5 1 2.i.xd5
ever being full time in chess. He wrote an lLixc2
interesting book and has trained a number of
promising young players.
He had a very good understanding of chess
and I learned a lot from playing three or four
games with him when I was young. My game
against Dydyshko in this line went 6 . . . d6 7.c3
lLi d7, while a 2006 blitz game against Navara
continued with 7 . . . 'it>h8.
7.exd5 l£ixd5
8
a b c d e f g h
7
This is a very sharp position, leading co an
6
unclear game. Tiviakov played it a few times
with White, but it is not obvious chat White
5
is fighting for an advantage. For example,
4
Tiviakov - Hector, Helsingor 2008,
continued: 1 3.E:xe5 E:ae8 1 4.E:e2 lLixa l
l 5 .i.xb7 and here che game i s still unclear,
3 but essentially Black is fine, I chink.
1 0.g4 i.g6 1 1 .lLixe5 lLi xe5 1 2.E:xe5 c6
8
2
7
1
6
45
played the not-very-dangerous 8.�a4
against Alexander Cherepkov, who was the
23
trainer of Yudasin and many other strong
players. I had cwo amazing endgames against
him that are still vivid in my mind.
8.h3
A non-critical move. a b c d e f g h
As played in Kramnik - Kasparov, Novgorod
The attempt co prove an advantage for White 1 99 5 . I should add chat this is not j ust me
would scare with: looking it up in the database while writing. le
8.E:el was on my mind during the game, although
This can transpose to a kind of Marshall somehow I believed it was a mid- 1 990s rapid
after: game. Spot on, for the year, less so on the game
8 . . .i.g4 9.h3 i.h5 format!
230 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
8 . . a5
. 17 ... !!a6!+ directly was stronger.
I remembered that this move was possible. 1 8.@h l ?
The idea is chat 8 . . . tll d4?! is dubious on 1 8.f4 Wfh5 1 9.id2+ was necessary.
account of 9.tll xe5;!;. 1 8 . . . Wfd5t 1 9.@h2
a b c d e f g h
9.a4
This is of course what Black wanted to
provoke.
4
10 ... exd4
3
2
8
1
7
6
White has a tough choice. At move 1 2 in a
5
two-game match, you already have to decide
4 whether to allow a draw, or to take risks.
3 Time and again, I have seen players being
criticized for forcing or agreeing a draw, in a
2 position where they felt that things had already
1 tipped, and they were in danger of being worse
if they decided to avoid the draw. I had the
a b c d e f g h
same situation in my game in Amsterdam 20 1 0
While Karjakin was thinking, I noticed the against Caruana, where he made a mistake in
idea l 1 .lli d2 E:a6! with attacking prospects. the opening and offered a draw after 13 moves.
So when he moved his rook to e 1 instead, I I declined and won a tough game, which we
was initially disappointed, thinking the . . . E:a6 will see in the next volume in this series. After
move was now impossible, as a piece would the game a journalist asked me if Fabiano had
be hanging. Instead I wondered about playing "chickened out" by offering a draw. I tried to
1 1 . . ..ie6 or something. explain that rather it should be seen as showing
a subtle understanding of the position, where
I I J�el there was no realistic way he could fight for
But once I started to look deeper, I realized the initiative. I believe a lot of the chess public
it actually was possible, and I got really excited. think along the lines of: ''Anything can happen,
It is a rare opportunity to play such a move, a bad position can turn around, so you should
and I did not want to let it go to waste. fight to the end." But in some positions this is
not the case. They are played for two results
l 1 ..J�a6!! only. In such a situation, a classical player will
Played after 14 minutes. The point is simple: try to minimize the damage, and try to make a
if White does not take on d5, the rook will draw. To me this is rational.
232 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
that with White's position being this open, But strategically my move is also rather
I would get my chances. This is all I needed logical. White wants the a l -rook to be on e l ,
to know about this variation. while Black wants to put the a6-rook o n g6.
Analysing 14 . . . WhS after the game, This happens in the game, but in a situation
realized that this is directly winning: where White is able to be a bit better organized,
1 5 .if4 which is the reason I prefer 1 2 . . . ib4 now.
l 5 .�e4 f5 l 6.�f4 Wxh3 is j ust over.
1 5 . . . ixg4! 1 6.hxg4 �xg4t 1 7.@fl �g l t 13.tlia3
Although materially White is not really The most logical alternative is:
behind, his position is devastated. 1 3.llid2
8
7
The tactics here are not difficult to calculate. It
is all about seeing 1 4 . . . WhS, which I probably
would have done once we had reached that
6
45
position. As my position is clearly promising
no matter what, I do not need to see this move
23
in advance.
a b c d e f g h
45
l 5 .�xe6 ixe6 Black has comfortably
developed his pieces, while White is struggling
with the task of getting his knight out. We can
23
say that Black is at least comfortably equal.
a b c d e f g h
certainty, when possible - as well as when it's for the exchange with a serious of good
not possible!) . moves: 2 1 . . .ih4 22.l:%e2 !%f5 23.'fic4 'fid7!
1 5 . . . !%g6t 1 6.@fl !%g5! and Black is OK.
8 l 9.tLlxg5 .ixa7
8
7 7 ''0 ! �• � � ·;:
6 6 .: i w%
...�'.�
�
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..... .....
4
5
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3
5
4 �- "'--- --� � '/,,,,,;�
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a b c d e f g h
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1
. .. }- - - %�.,� �c-z- - -. . %�
�· § � � �
a b c d e f g h
Forcing the queen to a poor square.
1 7.'fia7 If Black had time to play . . . .ic5 or . . . Wd7,
1 7 .!%e5? b6 would lead co material losses. his position would be under control, and he
1 7 . . . Wc8 would have the advantage. But this is not the
The attack is certainly dangerous for White, way things work in a dynamic setting. White
but objectively his position is tenable. plays:
1 8 . tLl f3! 20.tLlxf7! !%xf7 2 1 .l:%e7
1 8 .'fixd4 'fixh3t 1 9.@e2 Wh5t looks Black has to give a perpetual with:
dangerous. 2 1 . . .Wxh3t 22.@g 1 Wg4t
8 �r.
In order not to lose.
� � �·
7 �� -----%���------,�-�-,��-----%-, Again, to be clear, I saw none of this during
the game.
: � � �
�r,/�� lfi'tti� �� . ,
8 ,B'------t� �m� ----- � �
4
13 . . J:�g6
23
·----"� a rm� � The only move that makes sense in the
�i� � �
'"'(D""% 8 �- �
position.
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. - .....
8
a b c d e f g h 7
Somehow the engine can make 20.f3! tLl c6 6
2 1 .'fic4 hold together, although it looks
terrifying to me. (The human 20.@fl ? .ic5 5
2 1 .'fic4 leads co disaster after 2 1 . . . .ixf2!+ 4
with what looks like a deadly attack.)
3
1 8 . . . .ic5 !
After l 8 . . . tLi c6 l 9.tLlxg5 .ixg5 20 . .ie6! fxe6 2
2 l .'fic5 Black has co j ustify his compensation
1
a b c d e f g h
236 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
a b c d e f g h
14... b6i
I spent 1 4 minutes on this decision.
15.Yff3
a b c d e f g h
An easy move to understand. White is
preventing the bishop from going to b7. 1 5 ...J.e6!
During the game there was a moment when This is a nice move to play, but it was really
I believed that I was actually worse here. But not that difficult, and did not take a lot of time
just a moment. to find, as there are not many alternatives.
What I like about this move is that White
White's task is not easy. A natural move has done quite a bit to restrict this bishop. First
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 237
he played h3, preventing it from pinning the 1 6 . . . lll xc2!!+ wins the exchange after the
knight from g4. Then he played 'Wf3 to prevent forced 1 7 . .ixe6 lll x a l , as 1 7 . .ixc2? .id5 leads
it from coming to b7. Finally, it comes to e6 to a winning attack. Again, it can be analysed,
and White's position becomes really difficult. but during the game it is enough to see that
Black has many tempting possibilities.
1 5 . . . .id6 1 6 ..ixd6 l3xd6 1 7.l3e5 feels freeing
for White, who will soon be able to get the 16 ... fxe6 17.Yfe4
8
other rook into the game.
7
16.J.xe6
6
Not a pleasant move to play, but with the
clock ticking away, sometimes all you can find
5
is that you have to play a move in order to be
4
allowed to play another afterwards.
3
The first thing I looked at was of course the
2
positional sacrifice with 1 6.i3xe6 fxe6 1 7.'We4.
a b c d e f g h
17 ....id6!!
I liked this move very much for many reasons.
I looked at 1 7 . . . lll d 5 first, but was not satisfied
with it. Then I got the idea that exchanging the
bishops would give me control of the f4-square,
which is vital for the attack. As Razuvaev taught
a b c d e f g h
me: when all the pieces are attacking and none
But then I found 1 7 . . . lll a6!, which gives Black has to defend anything, the attack is probably
a decisive advantage. Of course I did not know strong enough to be successful. He called it
at the time that this was winning; all I knew was "coefficient of attack"; you calculate the strength
that I did not see a decent move for White. of the attack against the strength of the defence.
Here four pieces are attacking and, after the
1 6.i3e2 also has a serious drawback. Black has f4-bishop goes, only the queen helps with the
a big tactic: defence. Under such circumstances, something
65
defender. The knight on a3 is too far away, and
the rook on al is not going to do much good
4
either.
32 18.hd6?
After the game it is easy to see that it is not
possible to hold the position once the knight
a b c d e f g h
238 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
comes to f4, and that for this reason 1 8 . .ig3 Either 2 1 .Wg2:
was the only way to stay in the game. After
1 8 . . . 'iNg5 it is clear that Black has an attack,
but actually White also has some defensive
resources. It would be possible to include a few
pages of computer analysis here, but I hope
the readers will trust our j udgment, based on
having done the analysis, which is that Black's
chances are extraordinarily excellent!
You may ask why I chose to analyse 1 3.tlid2
in as much detail as I did, especially the
variation with 1 4 . . . .ixh3, and now here I just
a b c d e f g h
give a verbal explanation. The reason is simple:
those lines were too beautiful to ignore! 2 1 . . .l:!h4!! and there is no adequate defence
against the knight landing with great power on
18 ... cxd6 f4, causing widespread destruction.
a b c d e f g h
19.'l'xd4
22 . . . 'iNh4!! 23.Wh2 l:!f3 with a winning attack.
From a human point of view, Black's position
Again, I did not consider any of this during the
is totally winning, even if it would still be quite
game, but the line is lovely all the same.
a headache to prove the same result against a
computer. Still, let me give you a few extracts
19 ...'l'gS
from the Matrix.
It is always fun to play a mating attack
when you have only invested a pawn. If you
1 9.g3 is met strongly with 1 9 . . . tlid5 20.'iNxd4
have sacrificed two pieces, it is easy to become
tlif4 2 1 .@h2 e5! 22.We3 tli e6 when the knight
nervous, and the pressure is really high. In no
is coming to d4 or g5 .
way did I feel like that during this part of the
game.
1 9 .i"ffl is refuted by a series of brilliant moves:
1 9 . . . tlid5 20.g3 l:!f4! and now:
20.g3 '1'5 2 1.g4
Chapter 7 - Dynamic Masterpieces 239
2 1 . <if h2 lt'ixc2! gives Black a technically I was quite comfortable going into a simple
winning endgame. ending with a few extra pawns, but 25 . . . Wf6
also makes sense, where Black keeps the attack
And 2 1 .h4 e5 22.We3 lt'id5 followed by . . . lt'i f4 going.
is immediately decisive. It is logical that White
cannot defend the position with the knight 26.¥Nxf3 gxf3 27J�gl gxf'2t 28.@xh3 gxgl
out of the game on a3 . 29.gxgl c!Lixc2 30 . .!iJbS
a c d e g h
2 1 . .. hS!
2 1 . . .lt'id5!? was also strong - White's life
won't be worth living once the knight comes
to f4. After the game I had an interesting I like this game for a few reasons:
discussion with an attacking player about my
approach here; the attacking player thinks you � It was played in a tense situation. It was
should always look for mate if it is likely to be the semi-final of the World Cup after all,
there. and both players were already tired, but
I saw that I would be able to grab everything still hoped they could achieve more in the
in the game and win easily. It involves no tournament.
decisions. I am sure that there was someone � White ran into trouble very early in
watching the game online who thought I had the game without making any obvious
blundered because the engine's evaluation mistakes, and already at move 1 8 his
went from -6 to -2. 5 , but this is a complete position is lost. To me this is really
misunderstanding. If the position is winning amazing.
and you know how to win, then you are home � I did not make a move that is open to
and dry. serious criticism. It is very rare that you
To win with an attack was equally simple; play a game as flawless as this. I was able
Black does not have to find any 'only move' to use my powers in the best way.
anywhere. � I like Tukmakov's notes on this game in
Risk and Bluffin Chess. I do not agree with
22.ge4 dS 23.@h2 Wf3 24.geel hxg4 them, but the reader should be allowed to
25.¥Ne3 gxh3 form his own opinion.
Chapter 8
Dynamic Defence
: !-.!� ..,�
�d-� ��i ���
from the coming chapter. If you ��P'
: �•!�-�--�- - -��f'-
····-
1
� �� lI 6
the games. a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
3
2
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
An easy start. Black wins, Luck favours the brave. How A deep think is needed.
but how? can White make a draw? Black wins by force with
(see page 245) (see page 2 54) a fantastic sequence.
(see page 266)
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
In this final chapter I want to show two games at the age of 1 8 . Since then he has been a top
where I reached bad positions, and then I had player. Twice he has qualified for the final of
to use the things chat were good about my the World Cup, losing to Aronian in 2005
position, their dynamic potential, to create and myself in 2009. In 20 1 1 he made it to the
counter-chances. I hope that showing some semi-final. This format clearly suits him. Our
ideas about how to approach a worse position match in 2009 was very close. In the classical
will be useful for the readers. games we had four draws. Then I was up 2- 1
in the rapid games with a big advantage in the
Perpetual check final game, but he managed to win, and so
levelled the score. I took the lead twice in blitz,
The first game is a long way from being one but he managed to catch up, before I finally
of my best, but then this book is not about won two blitz games in a row. Winning the
me, but about describing decision-making at World Cup was of course a very memorable
the top level. In the game I went for an attack occasion for me.
on my opponent's king, not with the hope of Ruslan's style is not easy to describe for me,
mating him, but of giving perpetual check. but it is clear that he is a very determined
fighter, always giving his best at the board.
Boris Gelfand - Rosian Ponomariov I have not played a huge number of games
Tsaghkadzor 2015
against Ponomariov, but I did play him a
number of times the year after the World
The World Team Championship started in Cup match, as we were invited to many of
1 98 5 and used to be every four years, but since the same tournaments. In general, defence
2009 it has been biennial, turning into a very prevailed over attack in our games, although I
strong event. The ten qualifiers are the top five did manage to win one game. In the following
finishers from the Olympiad, the continental game he came awfully close to equalizing our
champions, the host country, and a wildcard. overall score.
The 20 1 5 event was held in a mountain resort
in Armenia. The hosts were very friendly, as 1 .d4 tii f6 2.c4 e6 3.�f3 d5 4.g3
usual , and the atmosphere was excellent at the The Catalan, one of my favourite openings.
tournament.
There are no longer any really weak teams 4 ... dxc4 5 ..ig2 a6 6.0-0 �c6 7.e3 gbs
participating. The African champions, Egypt, This is a pretty modern way to play.
had several strong grandmasters in their
team, for example. The 20 1 5 tournament 7 . . . id7 is how Black has traditionally played
was won very convincingly by the Olympiad this position.
Champions, China. There was an open fight
for the remaining places. We were in the top 8.�e2
3 for a long time, but missed our chances, and This line is usually met with 8.�fd2, when
ended 7th. It is the small margins that decide a common try is 8 . . . e5!? (Mamedyarov tried
team matches, where one mistake can make the 8 . . . �d7 9.�xc4 b5 against Pavel Eljanov in
difference between two points and zero points. Reykjavik 20 1 5 . Pavel managed to win, but
for a long time Black's position was perfectly
Ponomariov came to prominence in 200 1 -2002 fine.) 9.ixc6t bxc6 1 0.dxe5 � g4, with
when he won the FIDE World Championship complications.
244 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
I was aware of the above variation, but 1 1 ... 0-0 12Jkl .ib7 13.�el �e8 14.�d3
instead I wanted to follow an idea by Sasikiran. e5!
• ,�
ie7 1 0.b3 cxb3 l l .axb3 ib7 1 2Jk l tll d 5
�� �n- "�
good deal better at this stage. 1 5 . . . ic8 1 6. tll e5
4
5
� !•tllo �n=
l::1 b6 1 7.tll xc6 tll xc6 1 8.l::1 a2 id6 1 9.l::1 ac2 '1We8
20.'11:lf d3 a5 2 1 .f4 f6 22.tll e4 ib7 23.tll c 5 ic8
2 �� v.�iin'lZ�
24.tll e4 ib7 25.tll c 5 Y2-Y2 Sasikiran - Topalov, 3
.!� £ �. V.
Khanty-Mansiysk (ol) 20 1 0.
� � ,.,.
-
---- ----- ----
1 5.hc6?!
I spent a lot of time at this point. I misjudged
the position and picked up the challenge. I am
not exactly sure what I missed, but the right
choice would have been to take on e5 and head
for what looks like an early draw after several
exchanges.
8
10 ...i.d6
A small difference compared to the Sasikiran
game, but an important one, as Black can play
6
for . . . e5. 7
5
1 1 .i.d.2
4
I liked this idea, but maybe I was wrong.
Black develops quite fluently and it seems I am
just a move too late.
2
3
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 245
19.�6!?
I think I might have missed that after
1 9 . .ic3 Black has 1 9 . . . tli e4!, which would be
very uncomfortable. (Black would not play
1 9 . . . '1Wxb3, when I was planning 20.tlic6 l'!b6
2 1 .tlid4 °1Wd5 22 . .ia5 and the white pieces are
coming into the game with gains of tempo,
giving White the initiative.) The engine
recommends: 20.°1Wd3 tlixc3 2 1 .°1Wxc3 l'!fe8
22.tlid3 l'!bd8
b d g
8 ����
- - - - - �-
.i �,.
a c e f h
·' ,
�:.. . . �. �-�-- -��
22 . . . bxc3! 23 .l'!xb2 cxb2 and Black wins.
7
.
20 cS 2 1 .�bd.2 YlYe6 22.e4
5 ���·-·· �� ���.
6 •••
�w�-0 rr§
32 � �8 IDl��lt:Jf
i. .
��
8 , , ,v,� ��� ��·
�� ,_.
.Af%WJ
4 �
,��)J;Z����,
V,
�
.
���� . . ..
7
1-
,, �'11
� if�
----�.
.. . % ....% ..
. %�·x( "" 6
Z
�ltl� � m
��
.
a b c d
. . . 0('�
contention for an advantage, but maybe he is
�
also not yet worse, although it feels like an odd
g • • �
way to play.
2
; ..,, % � · " "
1
I wanted to play in a way that accentuated the
positive aspects of my position, which included a b c d e f g h
the strong bishop on the long diagonal; to play
This is a good moment to stop and look
in a principled way, and not let the dynamics
at the position. The opening is over and we
of my position die. Probably everything I was
can establish that it has been a big success for
thinking is wrong; this is, after all, far from
Black. The two pawns and the rook will be
being one of my best games ever.
more valuable than the two minor pieces in the
long run, especially as Black has three passed
19 YlYxb3 20 .&.aS
••• •
a b c d e f g h
This is a good moment to take stock.
Black's long-term prospects are strong, and his
position looks very harmonious. But things
a b c d e f g h have also begun to look up for White. After
my inaccurate opening play, I have managed
26.'!Wfl ! llid5 27.f4 and although Black is
to make something out of what is good about
better, White has some counterplay; as in the
my position, and create counter-chances on
game.
the kingside, meaning that if Black takes even
23.e5 llid7 24J�el a minor misstep, I will get my chances.
This is a very natural-looking move.
24 h6?
...
24.l:!d l !? was a possible prophylactic try, based And here we have the mistake. After the
on meeting 24 . . . '!Wa2?! with: game, checking with a computer, it is not
difficult to work out how Black should have
played:
24 . . . '!Wa2!
I am not at all sure how easy it is to decide
at the board that this is the best move. The
upsides are obvious: the black pawns move
ahead, pushing the white bishop about. But
there are downsides too: the bishop ends
up on a better square and, with the queen
gone from the kingside, White's attack looks
a b c d e f g h much more menacing.
25 .e6! '!Wxe6 26.'!Wxe6 fxe6 27.llie4, when 2 5 .i.c3 b4
White has a good initiative. For example: This is the most natural move, but it is
27 . . . lli f6 28.llid6 l:!f8 29.llig5 with also possible for Black to stay flexible
counterplay. I did not think about these lines with 25 . . . llifB!?, which leads to other
at all during the game, but instead focused on complications. The idea of these variations is
attacking the king. not so much to exhaust all possible avenues,
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 247
.. ,
�.,•�.
a c e f h
26 . . . tlJ f8 ! s •z
. . , v,.� � :
This move, aiming t o reduce the power of 7
�·�� �� �� . , %�
e5-e6 and protect the kingside in general,
� ��
,,
�
6
:3 �.r.1.
not only feels right, but also looks better
, .... �� �� ��-%�
once we place the position under scrutiny.
�� .% '"//, ·�J��-r,
White's most obvious continuation is to seek
an attack on the kingside, but with accurate
play, Black can repulse it.
26 . . . tlJ b6?! is too careless: 27.%Ve4 %Vd5
2
i!•�Wh0.� fil. . J��-J�
..�
� � �l9'0
� �
� �
�
28 .%Vf4 c4 29.e6 c3 (29 . . . fxe6 30 . .ixg7!
a b c d e f g h
@xg7 3 1 .�e5 is bad news} 30.%Vxf7t @h8
3 1 .�e5 Wa2 32.�h5 %Vxa l t 33.@g2 cxd2 28 . . . tDxe6?
28 . . . c3! is best, cutting off the bishop on
8 a l . In that case Black is clearly better, but
7 it would not be easy to see all this when
deciding on 24 . . . %Va2!.
6
29 . .ixg7!
5
The bishop is sacrificed before it is blocked
3
4 off by . . . c4-c3 .
29 . . . @xg? 30.We5t @g8 3 1 .tlJe4
2 Suddenly White's threats are very real, and
it is Black who has to defend accurately to
survive.
a b c d e f g h
3 1 . . .�b5 32.tlJf6t @h8!
White has a number of ways to continue, 32 ... @f8? 33.tlJxh?t @g8 34.tlJf6t @f8
the most obvious being: 34.�xh?t @xh7 3 5 .%Vd6t @g7 36.�xe6! and White's attack
3 5 .Wh5t with a perpetual. is more or less decisive.
248 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
a b c d e f g h
25 ... �xe5
Black has to take the pawn, otherwise the
knight comes to d6 and White will be fine.
27 ...Yfe6
a b c d e f g h
37.tll x f7t!
White gives perpetual checks on h6 and f7.
��
. . .. �� -
-�
29 . . . h5 did not concern me much. I believed
I would be able to create counterplay after 8
.�Y.� . . .Y.?m. . Y. . . 7.�
� � z �
a b c d e f g h
28 ... gxf6 29.YfB Yfc6 30J�e4 felt it was difficult for him to win with such an
exposed king.
But actually I have a much stronger option
8
in 32.:!'!e7!, when after 32 . . . :!'!f8 33.Wi'h5 White
7 draws.
6
The move I spent most time calculating while
5 he was thinking was:
4 30 . . . @g7
3
8
2
a b c d e f g h
4
Black is faced with a big choice. I did not
really know what to expect; I simply tried
to work out what I wanted to do against the 2
different ideas.
a b c d
30 . . @ffi!
.
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 25 1
5
4
3
2
a b c d e f g h
White's attack does not seem to work.
The black king will be able to run to the
queenside and hide. Or at least this is what
a b c d e f g h
I thought during the game. I tried to make
And at this point White has to play 42 . .ia3+, it work, but could not. But it turns out that
hoping to make his opponent's task difficult, things are a bit more complicated:
which it certainly will be. 3 5 .Wf g7t @e8 36.WfgBt @d7!
He cannot play 42.Wfxf7?, as Black has a This is a new discovery, which came to light
surprising move: 42 . . . l:!g5! 43.ib4 Wfd5t The when working on this book.
endgame is hopeless for White. 44.Wf xd5 l:!xd5 Originally I only considered 36 . . . @e7
45.@f3 l:!d3t 46.@e2 gb3 And so on. 37.gxf7t @d6 38.WffBt @d5 and believed
Black was getting away. But actually, White
is OK here: 39.l:!xb7 Wfxb7 40.Wff3t l:!e4
4 1 .Wfd3t '>fle6 42.f3! and no matter where
the rook moves to, White secures a perpetual
check.
37.l:!xf7t l:!e7 38 . .ia5 b4! 39.WfdBt @e6
40.l:!f4
a b c d e f g h
31..bfG?
Again I had a narrow choice, and I think I
made the wrong one.
31 ..J�e8!
3 l . . . E:b6?? would be a big blunder. White
wins after: 32.Wfg4! Wfxf6 33.Wxc8t 'itig7
34.E:g4t
33.Wg4 does not work because of 33 . . . Wf c8! In order to keep the game going, I would
34.Wg7t 'itie8 3 5 .Wg8t 'itid7 36.Wfxf7t 'itic6 have to play 4 1 .Wh6, but the position after
and Black escapes. something like 4 1 . . .WdSt 42.'itih2 b4 is
virtually hopeless.
33 ... 'flYei t 34.'itig2 gc8
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 253
6
8 5
7 4
6 3
5 2
4 1
a c e
3 b d f g h
2 42 ... i>b7?
1 Black continues with his plan, but at this
point there were still ways to win the game.
a b c d e f g h The computer likes 42 . . . Wf d3, but the most
We have passed the time control, which is to human way to play is as follows:
my detriment; my position is still lost.
42 . . . �dS!
41 ... c4? This is what I was worried about. Black is
Ponomariov did not look at the position planning ... �d3 in order to push the c-pawn.
in the same way as I did, and fell for my one The most critical line goes:
remaining trick. And it is easy to see why: if 43 . .ic3 �d3 44.Wf eSt 'it>b7 4 5 .Wf e?t
White does not have the trick, Black simply 45 .h? could be tried, but Black can simply
retreats the king to b 7 and then pushes the take it: 45 . . . Wfxh?! 46.Wfe?t 'it>c6 47.WfeSt
c-pawn all the way to the end. 'it>c7! A bit of triangulation is necessary.
Looking at the position from another angle: 48 . .ia5 t ®b7 49.Wfe?t 'it>c6 50.Wf eSt ®d5
Black should want to win the game from here Black escapes the checks and wins. One
without giving his opponent any counter point is that ... �d l t is a threat, so White is
chances. Pushing the c-pawn opens up Black's in a desperate state.
king position horribly, and makes the win rely 45 . . . �d?!
more on accurate calculation than it should.
a b c d e f g h
254 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making i n Chess
46.Wxd7t?! 43 ...t;Vbl t
White can retreat the queen to e3 and play 43 . . . a5!? 44.h8=W :B:xh8 45 .�xh8 Wd5 was
on, which is what I would have done. possible, of course, but with queens on the
46 . . .Wxd7 47.h7 Wd8 48.h8=W Wxh8 board, there is no reason to believe that Black
49.�xh8 a5 50.@fl b4 5 1 .@e2 a4 52.©d2 should be better.
©c6 53.g4 c3t 54.@c2 @d5
44.©g2 t;Vxh7 45.t;Vf3t l:k6 46.t;Vxf7t gc7
47.t;Vdst ©cs 48.t;Vast ©d7 49.t;Vdst ©cs
so.t;Vast ©d7
1/2-1/z
8 7 ... d5!
7 This is the most natural move.
6
8.cxd5 �xd5
5
4 8
3 7
2 6
1 5
7.b4 3
There are a lot of subtle finesses in this
2
system. I think Marin suggested 7.0-0 0-0
8.E:b l , with the idea 8 . . . a5 9.lli e l d6 1 0.llic2 1
a c e
i.e6 I 1 .llie3 in order to prevent . . . d5. It b d f g h
seems that a number of top players looked at
Marin's three-volume series on the English at 9.l£ig5 l£ic7
this point. Obviously top players do not go 9 . . . llixc3 was also possible. 1 0.dxc3 Wxd 1 t
1 1 .'it>xd l
256 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
14.cbfl Ylrd4
�� �· %· � �* ���- - -
a b c d e f g h
-� ·
8
I thought this would give me a playable
7
•�
..... � ��.: �
Catalan-style position .
� � � l
10.d3 cxb4 ll .axb4 e4!?
54 �� -�� ��tifi,���ir¥1;���
8 -%���
I��-��tt.J �
The most challenging, but we should not 6
�
ignore that Black has a wide choice on this
� -- - - - % ' "'
move as well. 3
1 1 . . .0-0 was playable, for example. The line 2 �-- --, � 8wdi.wtf � �
was unexplored, so no trends had formed yet. 1 ----� �� � � , � �:
12.�gxe4 f5 13.Ag5 hc3t a b c d e f g h
The best move. 1 5.�xc3!?
We felt that this piece sacrifice was a more
1 3 ... '%Yd4?! tempting possibility.
This was also possible, although dubious. We had also spent some time looking at:
Our idea was to play: l 5 .i.f6 .ixal 1 6.i.xd4 .ixd4 l 7.tDd6t 'it>e7
1 4.e3 °%Yxb4 1 8.lDxcSt �hxc8
6
54 ��-!������-�,���r£����
3 �. . . ��
2 ��
%� � •%
�li · �
�. �
�-ef�· - ��-�
8 ef� j_ef
�
�� ,� �� 7::
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
1 5 . .if6! 0-0 But it was hard to come to any solid
Against 1 5 . . . .ixf6 1 6.ttJxf6t 'it>f7 I had conclusions. The feeling is that Black's position
prepared 1 7.°%Yd2!, with the idea 1 7 . . . 'it>xf6 is adequate.
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 257
8
16.i.f4
7
�6 i!ra �� �
�. 6
"� " � �� � 5
•a�.-��
� �n�.� ,�. 4
3
3 "R %
�R ··n=
2 �--- --- - lwrJJ:f!
2
� �� ·� �•:
1
1
a b c d e f g h
a b c d e f g h This is where my preparation ended, but
16 ... lll b S! to some extent this is also where Grischuk's
The most accurate, giving Black a chance to preparation started. Of course this is an
play for three results. exaggeration, but it felt as if he was more in
control than I. I received the file with this
1 6 . . . ltl e6 gives White a chance to play for variation about an hour before the game, and
an advantage: 1 7.l3c1 'Wxb4 1 8 .l3xc6 bxc6 did not check it especially thoroughly, as I
1 9.i.xc6t Wf7 20.i.xa8 lll xf4 2 1 .gxf4 i.e6 found it very unlikely that it would happen.
(2 1 . . .'Wxf4 22.°Wa l and White is better) Grischuk had not prepared specifically for this
22.i.f3 a5 23 .°Wa l game, but had simply prepared this line for the
�..-
:5 � �� ..�,,,�
Basically I thought the position was
� ,�
complicated, but highly unlikely to appear on
4 3B � ��-�� ��
�
the board. One and a half hours later, there it
was.
"�� �� 1. ��
....
�-
3
2 � ����
, �• �-�- �� 7:
� i� i�
There is an important psychological aspect to
point out here: After playing such a long and
• � -�
for yourself This time I did not handle the
a b c d e f g h
adj ustment well, which was an important
It seems that Black has enough compensation lesson for me. It is a common mistake among
for the pawn, because of the passed pawn. young players to learn some long forced line,
Most likely, the game would end in a draw, but then have no idea of what to do once it
258 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
21 .YlYcl 6
5
This is a natural move, combining pressure
4
down the c-file with options of going up the
3
long diagonal.
2
2 U�xc6? does not work: 2 1 . . .i.b7 22.%Yb3
W/g8! and Black has the advantage.
1
21. ..i.d7
This is very natural as well. a b c d e f g h
22 ..txhS?
2 l . . .l:'!g8 looks risky. White would play: Played after 1 6 minutes, this was a mistake.
22.l:'!xb5 cxb5 23.W/c6t �f7 I should not have released the tension. Of
course I did not want to take on h8, but I did
.I � ... � � i. .I
�� ��� - - -"�
8
not see anything better, and I also did not fully
: r.1. 1r�
appreciate that I was about to be worse already.
r� ���;� :�
: �� ��"" � ""-�� �
I considered 22.l:'!xc6?! for a while, but after
22 . . . ixc6 23.Wxc6t �e7
3 �.8�-8�·
8• �
�, , , , %
2 � - · "�
1 �� �� �-:
a b c d e f g h
White has at least a perpetual with 24.%Yf6t,
although it is more likely he would continue:
24.W/xa8 W/xb4 2 5 .W/d5 t i.e6 26.%Yb7t We7
27.Wxa6, when White is running no risks and
can play for a win with his extra pawn.
The main point of this move is that White is 23.c.t>g2 'Wxb4 And claims Black has slightly
preparing a perpetual on b7 and d5. But it better chances.
is not a move I considered during the game.
OK, if l got to this position during a game, I But the computer also points out a much
would find this move; it is not that difficult. stronger move.
But to go voluntarily in this direction did 22.'Wc4!
not make much sense to me. There are a few lines that are not at all
24 . . . l:!d8 obvious, but make sense once you look
A natural move. at them. The computer suggests a lot of
24 . . . 'Wc8 ? 2 5 .'Wf6t c.t>d? 26.'Wf7t c.t>c6 random-looking moves, and it would be
27.c.t>g2 and suddenly everything works for possible to confuse you endlessly by just
White: 27 . . . c.t>b6 pressing the spacebar repeatedly, and then
printing it. But let's look at one variation
1. �1�� �� �. .
8 that leads to a draw, randomly. . .
:� -0� �� m-��1£��
2 2. . . h 5
5 �·� �W·� � · -�
� �·�, . ,,%� I.
4 ���� li -- � 76 �� �,����. ���
� �
8 I.
. . . , %� !� �� i .A
2 �. �- ��
3
�� � . �m-0 ��
�� � . . . , %� -:
�
: �-��� ��
b d g
. .. . . >. !.. ��
2 �. �.!-� . .. . %�
a c e
3
f h
�� �� �� :
28 . .if4!! A simple move, but not easy to
see. For example: 28 . . . l:!d8 29 . .ie3t tll d4
30 . .ixd4t l:!xd4 3 1 .°Wf6t and White wins.
a b c d e f g h
2 5 .c.t>g2
White is apparently fine. But to play like this 23 . .if6!! with various threats.
is not natural, and I would be reluctant to do 23.l:!xc6 .ixc6 24.'Wxc6t c.t>e? 25.f4! l:!c8
it during a game. 26.'Wb?t c.t>e6 27.'Wxa6t tll d 6 28.'Wa2t c.t>d?
29.'Wa4t l:!c6 30.b5 l:!cl t 3 l .c.t>f2 l:!xh l
However, I should add that the computer
recommends: 22 . . . l:!g8!
260 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
22 ...'i'xhs 8
7
8
6
7
5
6
4
5
3
4
2
3
2
a b c d e f g h
1
24...'i'tlU
a b c d e f g h This seems rather artificial, but in fact it is an
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 26 1
in this match. This was his idea all along; Black forces the
exchange of queens. After this, his king will be
A natural way to play was 24 . . . '1Wf6!? and follow safe and his advantage beyond doubt.
up with something like 2 5 .h4 &i'J c7 26.f4 &i'Jd5
when Black is doing very well. But as we shall 27.®g2
see, in many lines it is advantageous for Black I had no choice; the rook needs to get into
to be able to take the b4-pawn. This might the game.
sound like a simple difference, but to a strong
player it is quite a compromise to put your 27 ci>f6 28.ge4!
•••
pieces on odd squares. He played this part of Sometimes the best move is the lesser evil.
the game very well indeed.
A worse version of the queen exchange would
25.h4 h5 be 28.l:kS '1Wxf4 29.gxf4, when after 29 . . . &i'Jc7
The most natural move, preventing White Black is very well placed and White has lost
from creating any counterplay. some elasticity on the kingside, meaning he
has no counterplay whatsoever.
2 5 . . . '1Wd6? would allow White to create
counter-chances with 26.hS g5 27.f4! g4 28 '1Wxf4 29J�xf4
•••
26.Yff4
I had to play this, as the b-pawn was
hanging.
8
7
a b c d e f g h
6
This is how I saw my defensive task:
4
not lose immediately. This sounds incredibly
3
obvious, but it still has to be done.
2
2) I had to create active counterplay, as
otherwise I would lose slowly. I wanted to
1 open the position, play f3 and e4 and g4 to get
the rooks playing, and to create targets. The
a b c d e f g h exchange of pawns would also favour me.
262 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
a b c d e f g h
37.E:f2!
Not a very human move, but it works.
37.<Jifl ? lD c3 38J::� d 4t <Jle7 39.E:xg6 is a
a b c d e f g h
tactical attempt to hold that fails to 39 . . . g3!
40.E:xg3 lDxe2 4 1 .l:l:g?t <JifB 42.E:dg4 llJ d4 34.E:f6!
43.E:g3 llJ f5 . We should also point out the advantage to
37 . . . llJ d4 38 .e3 E:xf2t 39.<Jixf2 llJ f3 40.E:xg6 this line over 3 1 . . .<Jid? above, which is that
llJ xh4 4 1 .l:l:g?t <Jid6 42.E:g5 llJ f3 43.E:h5 34.E:c5? does not work at all after 34 . . . a5
and the a-pawn wins the game.
8 34 . . . llJ d4
7 This seems co be the most dangerous attempt.
6 34 . . . E:g8 3 5 .E:xe6t <Jlxe6 36.E:xc6t and the
elimination of pawns is enough co make a
5 draw.
4 3 5 .E:xg6 a5
Black cannot be happy to exchange pawns,
2 but he has to do something to activate the
rook quickly, so this has co be played.
a b c d e f g h
264 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
35 . . . 'ii> e7 36.�fl , with the idea �f4, does 34.e5t! 'ii> xe5 3 5 .�e l t c;f;>d5 36.�xd4t 'ii> xd4
not seem to offer Black real winning chances 37.�xe6
either.
36.bxa5 �xa5 37.�c4 c5 38.'ii> f2 8
38.e3? �a2t is winning for Black.
38 . . . �a2
76
�� �� ��
8
5
7 � �pz�..t-
�� rn� �� �� �� 4
3
5 �-��� ��
6
2
4 �� ,. �� r�
� , , ,., � ,. ,. a b c d e f g h
32 .. J�bs
A logical move; Black is aiming to win the
b4-pawn.
33.e4
This was my plan.
44.�f8
33.g4 was also possible here. It is a worse
The draw can arrive in many ways, but it
version than on move 32, so if I had wanted to
should be obvious j ust from looking at the
play it without e4, I would have done it then.
position that White has enough counterplay.
33 ... �c7 34.g4
33 . . . tli d4?
I have no choice but to play this move now.
This would be a blunder. White has a nice
But I really should have played it earlier.
tactic:
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 265
a b c d e f g h
266 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
37 a5?
•••
� �� ��
Black has a big advantage, having been able
�
�� - ', . . ;�·0� �����
to hold on to his pawns.
42.i'!h l
: � r� ' ,
42.h6 i'!d2t 43.@xf3 i'!h2 and Black wins.
� - - - -�
. 42 . . . c5 43.h6 lLi g5 44.i'!a4
4 . . . ?.·
��'-�-� � � :•�· ·
-
�� �� �� ��
counterplay, but Black wins with a fantastic
3
�� �� ��
combination:
2
8
a b c d e f g h
It is hard for Black to advance here. I analysed
quite a bit further, but it seems that White is in 5
time. The king is close enough.
The only move to offer Black a real chance 56.:!'!xe4t @xe4 57.@c4 and we once again
to go wrong. have the elimination of all the pawns.
46.h7 tlixe4t 47.@el f2t 48.@e2 :!'!d2t
49.@f3 fl =Wt 50.:!'!xfl :!'!d3t 5 1 .@e2 :!'!h3 c) 38.@xf3 :!'!xd3t 39.@f4 c5 is dangerous
and Black wins. for White. After 40.:!'!xh5?! Black has a
46 . . . :!'!d2t 47.©e3 :!'!e2t 48.@d3 .ib5 t 49.@c3 remarkable tactic:
a b c d e f g h a b c d e f g h
: --
� � �
�w���-���?•
� � � � � �
.t
�...... ��--. ....:-�.. .
-�7..�
s
- - �
� 7, . �
.
� ��
� � ��
� �
. .
2 b d g
1
� .. a c e f h
� � This was my intention. We will analyse two
a b c d e f g h replies:
Black has a technically winning ending,
but it will take some time to convert it safely, d l ) 38 . . . :!'!b4 39.:!'!xh 5 !
starting with 54 . . . .ib5 . White can also include 39.@e3 tlib5 before
But other moves should win too, as long as going 40.d5 (The following line is not very
he does not fall for 54 . . . tli e4t? 5 5 .:!'!xe4t :!'!xe4 human, but it is highly convincing: 40.:!'!d I
f2! 4 I .:!'!f6 tli c3 42.:!'!d3 :!'!b3 White has no
268 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
a b c d e f g h 38J�xh5 a4
This line is clearly good for Black, but we
went a bit deeper, trying to see if we could
come to a final conclusion. What follows
is clearly a computer line, and has little to
do with decision-making, but it does have
something to do with the objective reality of
the position.
42.�d l t �c4 43.�c l t �b4 44.�eS!
44.�h6?! tlJd4 45 .�f6 .ic4 appears to be
winning for Black, although I have not been
able to analyse it all the way to the point
where White resigns. The bishop is well
placed and the f-pawn is dangerous.
a b c d e f g h
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 269
40 ... �e6
40 . . . a3 4 1 .l:!a5 lll b5 42.h5 l:!b2 43.l:!h l and
White is in no trouble at all.
a b c d e f g h
44 .ie6
•••
7 ������,-0��������
8
6 ��rn�-� ��
: T��T•!= �I ,, , , , , , %
� ����
,,,,,
·1��
·.·�
- - Y-� :
a b c d e f g h
46.©e3! E:f3t 47.'itid2 a3 48.h6 a2 49.h7 E:f8
At this point there is a choice. I had not
fully made up my mind, but I of course
made some preliminary calculations. I was
planning to play:
50.E:h6t
It was only j ust before we went to print that
I noticed that Black can win against 50.E:c3?
with the following beautiful variation:
8 �
��- ��� � - - -Y-� a b c d e f g h
��-� ��
Returning to 50.E:h6t:
5
4 ���- - - ��!� ��
3 ���-,� ��
2 '-��- - ����-���
:
a b c d e f g h
50 . . . E:f2t 5 I .'itie3 E:f3t 52.©d2 E:h3!! There
are many possible lines here, but none that
allow White to make it a real fight. 5 3.E:xh3
This is certainly the critical line. (53.E:cc l
E:xh7 54.E:xh7 lll b3t 5 5 .©c3 lll xc l 56.'itib2 50 . . . ©e7
i.e6 and Black wins) 53 . . . a l =Wi' 54.h8=Wi' After 50 ... 'itie5 White cannot take on c5
Wi'b2t 5 5 .©e3 immediately, as a knight fork would land
Chapter 8 - Dynamic Defence 27 1
on b3. But he can take later, and make a 45 @xe5 46.gxc5t .id5 47.gxd5t @xd5
•..
8
� .�
7 �� �� --
�
� � -
� - - ��- - - " ��8
: : �.�, ��
4 �� -:. !� ��
�� � ��
� ,� �'�-'l80�. : �� ��
�� �� �� a b c d e f g h
49.Q;;> f3! (But not 49.Q;;> f4? l:!f2t 50.Q;;> g4
a b c d e f g h tt:\ xh6t 5 l .l:!xh6 Q;;> c 5! when Black wins. For
It seems that Black is close to winning. example: 52.l:!a6 Q;;> b 5 5 3.l:!a8 l:!f6! and White
However, the engine kindly tells me that is poorly placed with his king too far away
White is j ust in time: from the d-pawn.) 49 . . . tt:\ xh6 50.l:!xh6 a3
52.l:!xa2 i.xc4 53.dxc4 Q;;> d 6 5 1 .l:!a6 And we have transposed to the game.
Getting ready to defend the c-pawn.
54.l:!a6t tt:\ c6 5 5 .l:!b6! l:!h8 56.e5t Q;;> c 7 49.@f4 lll e6t 50.@g3 lll fll
57.l:!b5
White draws, eventually.
8
7
4
3
2
a b c d e f g h
1
This is the last major decision of the game.
a b c d e f g h Of course I could go for the a-pawn and make
45.e5t a draw after facing rook and knight against
This draws by force; so why would I care if rook, but I made a last effort, and ensured that
the engine, for some mysterious reason, thinks I could immediately force a draw in the rook
that taking on a4 is more accurate? In other ending. This was important not only because
words: I had it all under control. it made it impossible to make a mistake later,
272 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Makin g in Chess
She was born before the Great Russian Revolution, in a small Jewish village near the ciry of
Vitebsk. When she was 1 6, she moved to Minsk and started working. Sofia Lvovna was born to
be a well-known singer or a popular actress. But the 20th century determined for her a different
kind of future: Sofia Lvovna first worked as a rypist, and later as a bookkeeper.
Borenka is running in the park, playing ball with other kids. Meanwhile Sofia Lvovna is in
conversation with her pensioner neighbours. Sofia Lvovna may be a grandmother, but she is
not an old crone. She is a lady who still has many admirers. For example, Isaak Pinchasovich: a
vigorous old man who wears old-fashioned round glasses which are similar to pince-nez. He is a
widower and is certainly interested in Sofia Lvovna.
"Could you give your telephone number?" Isaak Pinchasovich inquires delicately.
"Oh no. You had better give me yours." She is trying to get rid of her suitor.
"But you don'c have a pen. How will you write ic down?" Isaak Pinchasovich is not going to give
up easily.
"Borenka will remember."
She calls over her grandson, who quietly repeats the number that Isaak Pinchasovich unwillingly
dictates rwice.
Half an hour later, after he has gone home, Borenka picks up the phone and dials the number
with his small fingers.
"Hello!" The creaky voice of Isaak Pinchasovich is heard from che handset.
"You see, I told you! Borenka will remember!" Sofia Lvovna announces proudly, and hangs up.
Stuffed Fish (Gefilte Fish)
There is no Jewish holiday without Gefilte Fish. And there are no two cooks who cook this meal in an
identical way. Here is my recipe.
2 medium-sized beetroots
3-4 potatoes
2 cucumbers
1 bunch of fresh parsley
1 bunch of fresh leek
2 boiled eggs
1 oz. of sour cream
2 teaspoons of lemon essence
3-4 bay leaves
Salt, sugar and black pepper - according to your taste
Grate the beetroot and put i t i n boiling water. Add lemon essence and cook for approximately 30
minutes till the beetroot becomes soft.
Add salt, sugar, and pepper according to your taste. Add the bay leaves. Stir well .
Leave the soup i n a cold place, meanwhile cooking the potatoes.
When the soup is cold, chop the parsley, leek and the eggs.
Serve the soup cold with hot potatoes, fresh herbs, eggs and sour cream .
Strawberry Jam
Traditional homemade jam
Horvath 1 65 M
Hilbner 64, 6 5 , 69
Maciej a 50, 53
Huzman 39, 63, 1 3 1 , 2 1 6
Magomedov 36
I Mamedyarov 1 46, 1 73 , 1 74, 243
Marin 1 74, 2 5 5
lvanchuk 22, 2 3 , 5 9 , 1 0 1 , 1 46
Matveeva 35
J Miles 1 27, 1 28
Mittei 35
Jakovenko 1 9 5 , 227
Morozevich 1 57, 1 9 5 , 228
Jansa 9
Mozetic 230
K Muller 1 33
Murshed 131
Kapengut 7, 8 , 1 0, 3 5 Muzychuk 1 69
Karj akin 5 8 , 59, 62, 1 46, 227,
228, 23 1 , 232, 233 N
Karpov 2 5 , 49, 64, 1 24
Naj er 217
Kasparov 1 1 , 1 3 , 2 5 , 26, 3 1 , 3 5 , 42,
Nakamura 1 1 , 1 2 , 1 69 , 1 73
43, 44, 4 5 , 49, 8 1 , 86, 9 3 , 1 23 ,
Navara 229
1 24, 1 2 5 , 1 30 , 1 69 , 223, 229, 230
Negi 20, 22, 2 5 5
Khalifman 20 5 , 2 5 5
Neimann 54
Kholmov 37
Nikitin 2 1 , 3 5 , 3 8 , 42, 4 5
Klovans 27
Nimzowitsch 35
Korchnoi 9, 1 1 , 36, 64,
Novikov 35
1 22 , 1 27, 1 28
Kotov 35 0
Kotronias 1 02
Oparin 1 0 5 , 1 06, 1 07
Kramnik 1 2 , 3 5 , 49, 5 8 , 93,
1 0 1 , 1 02 , 1 0 5 , 1 4 1 , 1 42 , p
1 46, 1 76, 1 99 , 229, 230
Papaioannou 81
Kupreichik 2 1 , 24
Parligras 1 13
L Parwicz 40
Perez 54, 1 09 , 1 1 2 , 1 73
Larsen 3 5 , 232
Petrosian, A. 4 5 , 46
Lasker 52
Petrosian 7, 8 , 1 1 , 2 5 , 32, 3 3 ,
Leitao 202
34, 3 5 , 36, 37, 3 8 , 39,
Leko 4 5 , 8 5 , 93, 1 46, 2 1 5 , 2 1 6
42, 43, 4 5 , 46, 49, 1 24,
Lj uboj evic 77
1 39 , 1 4 1 , 1 64 , 223, 232
Logothetis 1 02
Petrukhina 1 44
Lvovna 274
Piket 60
Pinchasovich 274
Pleshkov 121
280 Boris Gelfand - Dynamic Decision Making in Chess
Semi-Tarrasch Defence 1 4
Slav Defence 1 3 1
Griinfeld Defence 1 99
Torre Attack 1 53
Hedgehog System 8 1