35 street fighting chess

An attacking guide

STRII£TF'I6HTIN6 CHE~vs

Streetfighting Chess is a practical guide to attacking chess for club-strength players. Its primary aim is to show how an aggressive approach to all aspects of the game can and will gain points. Moreover, it is designed to instil in the reader a new sense of adventure and, importantly, increased enjoyment of the game.

Andrew Burnett is a 3-time East of Scotland champion and winner of numerous weekend congress Opens. His most recent success was a 1st equal finish at the Bardejov Open in Slovakia. With a degree in journalism and a background in travel writing, Streetfighting Chess is his first foray into writing chess books.

www.streetfightingchess.com

Published in the UK by Trinity Knights Publishing

UK EUR US/CAN

£15.99 €19.99 $30.99

WilliamHulme

Stamp

BIBU06 PHY Books Dearing, E., Play the Sicilian Dragon, 2004, Gambit Publications, London. Informator 1-90, Sahovski Informator, Belgrade. Kasparov, G., My Great Predecessors Volume2, Everyman Chess, London. Larsen, B ., Larsen's Selected Games of Chess 1948-69, 1976, G. Bell & Sons Ltd, London. Pachman, L., Complete Chess Strategy 1, 1975, Batsford, London. Pachman, L., Decisive Games in Chess History, 1975, Dover Publications, New York. Rowson, J., The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, 2000, Gambit Publications, London. Speelman, J. Tisdall, J. & Wade, R., Batsford Chess Endings, 1993, Batsford, London. Tal, M., The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, 1976, RHM Press, New York. Tal, M., Tal Botvinnik 1960. Russell Enterprises Inc., 2003, Milford, CT, USA. Ward, C., Winning With the Dragon, 1994, Batsford, London.

Magazines Chess Monthly New in Chess Scottish Chess Weekend Chess

Newspapers and Periodicals Bryson, D.M., Scotland on Sunday Henderson, J.B., Scotsman Motwani, P ., Scotsman Pritchett, C., Herald

R£CO DING Emms, J. , The Survival Guide to Competitive Chess, 2007, Everyman Chess, London. Webb, S., Chess for Tigers, 2005, Batsford, London. LeMoir, D., How to be Lucky in Chess, 2001, Gambit Publications, London. Golz, W & Keres, P ., Chess Combination as a Fine Art, 1989, Crowood Press, Wiltshire, UK. Bosch, J. (editor), Secrets of Opening Surprises (S.O.S.), New in Chess, Alkmaar.

AC LE £NT'S The publisher gratefully acknowledges the following for aUowing them to reproduce extracts of their work.

Helen Milligan- photo ofPaul Motwani, p142 Thorbjorn Rosenlund- photo of Bent Larsen, p28 Richard Shorman- photo of Mikhail Tal, p92 Hanon W. Russell Inc.- Tal extract on p114-115 Everyman Chess - quotes from Sosonko and Tal , pp94-97 Dover Publications - quotes from Pachman, pp94-97 Batsford - quotes from Pachman, pp 106-107

As the author I am personally indebted to a great many people, without whom this book would never have seen the light of day.

First and foremost my good friend, physics teacher and chess coach Walter Pearson. His advice on chess and life have been invaluable over the years, and his ability to infuse long journeys with interesting tales on any subject imaginable is unparalleled.

To my brother Walter Burnett, who at every stage of this book was my unwavering advocate, and who showed me how chess really ought to be played.

To Aaron Straub, Geoff Chandler and John B. Henderson whose initial enthusiasm, support and advice helped turn my scribblings into what you are about to read.

Special thanks to Paul Motwani, whose help (both witting and unwitting) has made this book, and my chess, infinitely richer.

Sam Collins, formerly of Chess Suppliers Scotland, deserves a serious round of applause for much-needed technical assistance, and for championing my cause at every turn.

To John B Henderson, Kerry Lawless and Eric Hicks for helping me to track down photographs (listed above).

To Kevin 'Sarge' Ross for all the graphics used in this book, and to Vlado Novak for the back cover photograph.

In the time-honoured tradition of Scottish chess players/writers, a mention and thanks also to my girlfriend, Jaroslava Pentekova, for spending (too) many weeks staring at a computer screen filled with 'chess nonsense' , and never once hitting me or leaving me for a non-chessplayer (or both).

co

Introduction

1. The King Must Die!

2. In a Material World

3. Streetfighting Heroes #1

4. In the Beginning ...

5. Middle-game Matters

6. Mind Games


8. Something New, Something Old ...

9. Losing it and Using it

10. Mind Games Re-visited

11. More Middle-game Matters


13. The End is Nigh!

14. Walking the Walk

Test your Streetfighting

• VI

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17

28

33

51

67

92

99

113

121

133

142

149

161

171

INTRODUCTION Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

-Albert Einstein (attrib.)

elcome to Streetfighting

Chess, and what, for many of

you out there, will be a

journey into uncharted territory - a non

theoretical chess book written by someone

who is neither a Grandmaster, nor an

International Master, nor even a FIDE

Master. Fret not, for these titles are not so

important as one might think.

To begin at the beginning, the basic

premise behind this book arises out of a

confession I will now share with you: I will

never become World Champion!

Sad, but true, this realisation has no doubt

been shared by 99 .9°/o of chess-players the

world over. And yet still we battle on;

turning up for club matches on cold,

winter nights; spending endless weekends

sampling the delights of non-descript

towns to play congresses, and shelling out

small fortunes on books, magazines and

computer software - all in the hope of one

day playing our very own 'immortal

game' or raising aloft that sought after

league or championship trophy.

As a firm believer in the adage 'Every dog

has his day', I want to share with you the

secrets of the Streetfighting approach to

chess, a rigorous practical guide which

will transform you from the chess-playing

journeyman happy to simply push wood,

into an aggressive (in the chess sense only)

fighter at the board; a never-say-die risk

taker whose name on the pairings will

make even the strongest of opponents

nervous - in short, a Streetfighter!

Although primarily aimed at raising the

game and results of players rated roughly

between 1500-2000, I think that players of

all standards will find something positive

in this book, be it an interesting opening

idea, a novel approach to the psychology

of practical chess or simply the enjoyment

of playing through the many exciting

games it contains. If nothing else, the

quote attributed to Einstein above should

motivate many of you to read on!

Of the games themselves, I should mention

that the vast majority come from my own

experience. This isn't a case of self

aggrandisement (I have tried very hard to

be objective and honest in my annotations)

but rather it makes eminent sense to me

that sharing my approach to the game can

only be sensibly achieved by using my own

examples.

That being said, I have included games by

some of the world's most interesting

masters from whom I have borrowed

ideas or been influenced by in their

creative approach to chess. Indeed, any or

all of these inspirational players could

write their own 'Streetfighting Guide for

Grandmasters' but that is, as they say,

another story.

'Our' story begins with a primitive notion,

but one which is all too readily forgotten

by the average player. So read on and,

most importantly, enjoy!

Andrew Burnett, Scotland, 2007

Streetfighting Chess

STEERING

Burnett, A- Nolan, G French Defence .

Marymass Open 1998

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.~c3 ~f6 4.e5 llJe4!?

The first decision awaits-how to respond to

this unusual knight move? Having never

encountered 4 ... lt:J e4 previously in practice,

and quickly realising that my theoretical

knowledge of the move was also non

existent, my immediate thoughts were that

5. ltJ xe4 ought to be the critical line (captures

so often are), while 5.Jid3 looked like the

most natural response (as developing moves

so often do) .

I had to assume, though, that 4 ... ttJ e4 was

my opponents speciality, and that he'd

therefore be likely to know these lines

'inside- out'. So, we need to look elsewhere

if we're going to engineer a position which

suits us while wrong-footing our opponent.

ask a question of the advanced black steed

which has no safe retreat square, while the

white knight can later be re- routed towards

the kingside via f4 or g3 .

5 ... f6 6.f3 ~g5 7.~xg5!? fxg5 8.h4!

With the last 2 moves White has taken the

initiative, intending, at the cost of a pawn, to

build a classical pawn centre ( d4/e5/f4)

which Black can no longer undermine with

the ... f6 break.

It may have looked natural to simply chase

the knight on g5 further with 7 .h4, but from

it's retreat square on f7 the knight would be

performing two useful functions; namely

defending the future castled king's position

and helping to put pressure on the white

centre.

In countering this, White has given up a

bishop which may have proved useful in the

future (e.g. on e3 to strengthen the white

centre) but not necessarily so.

8 ... gxh4 9.f4 ~e7 10.~13 0-0!

Black is playing sensibly, but this move is

5.lt:Jce2!? also making a very loud statement; "I have

faith in my solid position and extra pawn, so

This strange- looking move is designed to come and have a go if you think you're hard

2

The King Must Die!

enough!" This is exactly the kind of 12.~d3 g6 13.0-0-0 c5 14.~d2 response that we, the Streetfighters, want to etJc6?! provoke in our opponent.

We haven't played some messy gambit on

move 2 or 3 - hacking and slashing so early

that our opponents guard is up from the

outset.

What we have done is inveigled our way

into a position which offers very good

attacking prospects, and in which the lack of

immediate threats is actually a bonus for us

as we will soon see.

ll.g3 hxg3

Black knows he will come under some kind

of pressure down the h- fil.e regardless, so

decides that he should have an extra pawn

for his troubles-a perfectly legitimate and

logical reaction as White must now prove he

has at least a pawn's worth of compensation.

Also, as we shall see many times in this

book, having an excess of material can often

allow for some of it to be returned to break

or disrupt an attack. In chapter 2 we will

look more closely at material considerations

as they are hugely important, not only in

chess as a whole, but more specifically to

the Streetfighting approach I am advocating.

3

This entirely natural- looking move is quite

possibly an error and it is here, combined

with the next move, that Black loses the

game because he allows White to realise his

ideal attacking formation.

It's not that it is a bad move from Black's

own point of view with regard to

development and attacking the centre, but

simply that it doesn't hinder White's

strategy in any way. Black has to realise that

if he doesn't react not only quickly, but also

accurately, to thwart White's ambitions on

the kings ide, then he will be squashed flat by

the entire white army.

As Black I would almost certainly have

thrown in 14 ... g2 here, blocking the queen's

route to h2, clogging up the g- file with an

extra piece and deflecting the bishop from

it's t1ue attacking home on d3. After all, it's

the extra pawn that he'd be returning- a

small price to pay for the tempii gained.

15.l2Jxg3

Why is it that defence seems to be so much

more difficult than attack? Well, in this case


(and it is a fairly representative example) we we be restricting our opponents

can answer this logically. development where at all possible?

White has set out his stall; he will play his

queen to the h-file, develop the bishop to

d3, put the d- rook on gl , and then look to

infiltrate or breakthrough depending on

Black's chosen defensive set- up. Very

straightforward, but also very difficult to

counter!

The question as to whether there is a forced

win or not at this point for White isn't

strictly relevant. Black, on the other hand,

has committed himself to defence first and

foremost, with the intention of sneaking in a

counter-attacking move whenever the

opportunity arises . Herein lies the

quandary:-

J5 ••. l/!j7 is a useful prophylactic move, but

then again it could just as easily be left until

White forces his hand couldn't it?

15 ••• Vffa5 is a counter- attacking move (and

aren't we always being told that attack is the

best form of defence?) but maybe the queen

will be required for defensive duties on the

kingside?

15 ... c4 prepares not only for a pawn- storm

(with .. . b5- b4 and a5- a4) but also prevents

~d3 which would be the best attacking

square for the white bishop - and shouldn't

4

15 ... t£Jxd4 is also a dual-purpose move as

after exchanges on d4 the c-file is opened

towards the white king and White has one

less piece for his attack - and doesn't it

make sense to reduce the number of

attackers?

The answer to all these questions is yes, and

so we have (at least partly) the answer to the

conundrum. The defender will often have

too much choice, but too little concrete

evidence to base that choice on!

Which move is best? Which plan the most

accurate? The nitty- gritty hand- to-hand

combat hasn't begun yet, so it's impossible to

calculate far enough ahead to be definite.

15 ... ttJxd4?! 16.VNh2 ~f7 17.ttJxd4 cxd4 18.~d3 ~g7

White was threatening to blast though with

~xg6 (following which the queen and rook

would deliver a swift mate) so this was

forced, but after White's next move we can

see that all his forces are massed in

preparation for the final attack.

19J~dgl ~e8 20.VNh6 Wff7

The King Must Die!

Here, with the pieces optimally placed, is The problem is that, after 21. Cbh5 gxh5

White's decision- time. In contrast to Blacks 22.~xh7+, Black can play 22 ... f8

dilemma a few moves ago, this decision can

be reached mathematically-that is, when

everything is in place, then pure calculation

takes over. Of course, accurate calculation is

by no means an easy task, but is nevertheless more palatable than the judgement call faced

by Black earlier. Importantly, it is a facet of

the game which we can work on in a logical

and methodical way.

21.gh2?!

Here I calculated the immediate 21. Cbh5

gxh5 22 . .ih7+ h8 23 .~g6+ gh7 24.!xh7

~xh7 25.~xh7+ xh7 26. gxh5#,

Analysis diagram

and in this line I also found a neat mating

combination after 24 ... ~f8, with 25 .~g8+

~xh6 26.~xn h7 27.gxh5 ~d7 28J~g6

~f8 29 .~hxh6#

Analysis diagram

5

Analysis diagram

when I couldn't see a clear win. This was my

reason for playing 21.~h2 - in this position

I would now have ~hg2 exploiting the pin

on the black rook on g7.

Away from the heat of the battle, of course,

it is fairly clear that I have time to double

the rooks in this fashion after the knight

sacrifice, since the black king cannot escape

the deadly pin. Naturally, Fritz (and other

engines) now come into their own and throw

up 21. Cbh5 immediately as being good for

White, but this shouldn't overly concern us:

we are humans with human foibles, and

although it may seem unfair that the attacker

should be able to get away with the odd

inaccuracy whereas the defender can't, in my

experience fortune almost always favours

the brave!

21 ... !d7?!

Last- chance-saloon here was the incredible

21 ... h8!

It looks completely ridiculous to put the king

back on the open h-file, and I have to say

that it is a pure computer move - no human

would be likely to even consider it while the


queen-side pieces are still languishing at

home.

It doesn't tum the tables exactly, but it would

have forced a rethink of White's attack and

is important because it highlights the need to

be vigilant to the last, and try to exploit each

and every loose move from your opponent.

After the text move 21 ... ~d7, the white

attack cr.ashes through as intended.

win. Far safer to play the one you've seen

originally - after all you still only get the 1

point.

25 ... ~xh6 26.~xh6+ i>g8 27.~xf7+ i>xf7 28J~~h7+ i>e8 29.~g8+ ~f8 30.gxf8+ i>xf8 31.gh8+

and here Black threw in the towel, perhaps a

little prematurely, although there is little

22.lbh5! gxh5 hope of saving the game- the d4- pawn will

fall, the bishop is horrible and White's rook

Ignoring the knight would involve giving up can easily defend f4 if required.

the exchange and still facing a strong attack.

It's a tough call, but when faced with such a

horrible choice of moves you have to decide

whether to face the mating attack and hope

your opponent gets it wrong, or struggle on

with virtually no hope of escape.

1-0

GEARING

If the previous example highlighted an 'over

23.~xh7+ i>h8 25.gxh5!?

24.~g6+ ~h7 the board' solution showing how to steer

25.ixh7 wins as given in a previous note,

but the text move was the first winning line I

had calculated.

I've seen many a game blown by players

(including myself, naturally, though I hope

I've rid myself of this bad habit for good)

searching for a quicker, or more spectacular,

6

positions into our preferred style of play,

then the following encounter witnesses a

'home- grown' set- up where once again the

king is targeted from early on.

If you are a l.e4 player, the Sicilian Defence

in one or other of its various guises is almost

certainly the most popular response you will

meet. In many ways this is good news for us

because it generally involves a sharper game

than many other openings.

The downside though is that there is just so

much theory surrounding it, which is rapidly

expanding every day. Learning this amount

of theory - by which I mean understanding, -

memorising and constantly updating it - is a

thankless task for all but the top players in

my opinion. For the average player it's

simply not a viable option, limited as we are

in the amount of time we can devote to

playing the game itself, let alone studying

and preparing for it.

One way around this, and a very common

one at that, is to play an Anti- Sicilian:- the

A lapin with 2.c3 , the Closed Variation with

2.ltJc3 and 3.g3 or the Grand Prix Attack

with 2.ltJ c3 and 3.f4 amongst others.

This is all very well, but opponents soon get

wise to these dangerous but limiting side

lines. As mentioned in the first game we

don't want to raise our opponent's suspicions

too early, far better to let them think they

know what they're doing and then blind-side

them. Let's see how this approach can work

in practice.

Burnett, A- Roberts, P Sicilian Defence

National League 1997

l.e4 c5 2.~c3 e6 3.~f3 Cbc6 4.ib5 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.'2Jxd4 id7 7.0-0 'lJf6 8.ig5 YNb6 9.ie3 V!ic7 10.f4 ie7 ll.~b3 a6 12.id3

The move order employed to reach this

position isn't hugely important. The black

position is a generic set-up which can arise

from the Scheveningen, Classical and Kan/

7

The King Must Die!

Paulsen variations, as well as the modish

early .. . Wb6 systems and the hybrid ~b5 idea

seen in the game.

Now, I'm almost sure that there is a perfectly

valid reason why the bishop doesn't come to

this square more often. However, none of

my opponents have (as yet!) shown me what

the defects of this approach to the opening

are. Nor does established theory shed any

real light on the matter; my various

databases find only 6 examples of this

position from 4 million plus games!

Imagine the bishop having just come to d3

from e2 (rather than b5). We then have an

almost direct transposition into the mainline

Scheveningen system, where ltJb3 and i d3

together are rarely played, White usually

preferring a slower approach involving a4,

~hl and Wel-g3, or ~f3 with Wd2.

This is the realm of established theory at the

very highest level with the Karpov

Kasparov and Anand- Kasparov world title

matches debating the relative merits for

Black and White.

What we have to remember is that we're not

sitting opposite Gary Kasparov and trying to

pick a fight! There's absolutely no point in

allowing our opponent to play Kasparov's

game by proxy either - it's far more sensible

to set the opposition some independent

problems.

This is why I think it is better to approach

the opening from what I call a 'semi

theoretical' perspective. That is, we enter (or

in this case transpose) into a mainline

version of the Sicilian, but at the earliest

sensible opportunity we diverge from the

established approach and find an aggressive

alternative, which may not have the GM seal


of approval (in this instance) or perhaps has

been forgotten as theory moves on

(examp les of which we will encounter

throughout this book), but which once again

will allow us to focus our thoughts on attack.

What benefits will this bring us? Firstly, we

will be playing a position we have either

studied at home or played before - one

which we have tailored to our style. This

should mean that we have a decent idea of

the strategy we have to follow and some of

the tactical and positional themes the

position contains.

Our opponent will more often than not be

facing it for the first time and have to work

everything out over the board - very hard to

do accurately with the clock ticking.

Secondly, we are not playing dubious lines

(merely less- well- investigated ones) but

our opponents may not be aware of this.

Watching your opponent sink into thought

the rules' is possible and when it's not.

At club level, not castling kingside here, or

not castling at all, is simply not a viable

option (as we will see all too clearly in a

later chapter). Nevertheless, the point has to

b e made that 1 2 . .. b 5 renders th e s e

alternative considerations moot as the

queen-side is now an unsuitable safe haven.

13.a3!

This exclamation is not given for any

inherent strength in the move, but mostly for

psychological considerations. Black's ... b5 is

an aggressive thrust and White's response

seems somewhat timid - is Black therefore

attacking? No! White would like Black to

castle so he can launch the attack, w bile

Black now wants to castle so he can exploit

White's 'slow' play with a3.

looking for the 'refutation' of what is no 13 ... 0-0 14.g4!? more nor less than a perfectly valid

alternative is often worth the entry fee alone!

12 ... b5!?

Why should this perfectly normal move in

the Sicilian receive any attention at all? No

reason at all I would have said, until I started

to investigate similar positions, and found

that Black would often delay or omit

kingside castling altogether, preferring

instead sometimes to send the king

westward after White launches his attack on

the kingside . Of course, these games I

discovered were played by strong

grandmasters who know a thing or two

about the game, particularly when 'breaking

8

.!. ~

I • ____ .. ~ 1..1.. i . l~ i ..

i I~ l!i)i ·~ i

. I ~-

-· ...,_

1- ' ~ ~ ~ : -~-

~~ tiJ~li,.tJ "' ~~ - :!J

It ~ liV - .: ~i

With White's knight having retreated earlier

to b3 , it is now not so simple for Black to

clear the log- jam of minor pieces.

Moves such as 14.g4 are often labelled

'crude, attacking rubbish' , generally by those

players who have forgotten that checkmate

ends the game! Looked at objectively, this

approach is again just one of a number of

ways to play the position - just as dicey for

the attacker (who has weakened his king's

protection) as the intended victim. On a subjective, practical level though it can

prove nightmarish to face such an attack,

requiring strong nerves and achieving an

accurate balance between what you have to

play to defend, and what you want to play.

14 ... h6!?

At first sight this appears to be a basic error

which merely provides a target for the

further advance g5 exposing the black

kingside.

Well, yes, in a way it is, but it should always

The King Must Die!

somehow strange or unexpected, we will

improve our overall chess ability

considerably.

15.g5 hxg5 16.e5!

This is a crucial move for White to get in. It

not only unleashes the white bishop sitting

on d3 (hopefully justifying the lengthy spiel

I subjected you all to on move 12 !) but also

prevents Black from using the e5 square to

blockade with his knight (a very common

strategic theme for Black in the Sicilian) and

furthermore allows the white knight on c3 to

find a quick and effective route towards the

kings ide.

be remembered that our opponents will 16 ... ~h7 doubtless have ideas behind their choice of

moves too! I have a good friend who quite

regularly fails to appreciate that his

opponent also has plans and ambitions for

his forces, consequently often overlooking

tactical ripostes and positional frailties

because they didn't fit into his grand scheme

for domination!

Of course, I'm probably guilty of this just as

much as you the reader, or anyone else, but

if we can learn to question more closely any

move of our opponent which seems to be

9

It should be noted that 16 .. . dxe5 most

definitely does not help Black's cause. After

17 .fxg5 Black will have no time to access

the e5 square and White will, as mentioned

previously, readily use the e4 square as a

springboard for the knight to reach f6 with

unstoppable threats.

Don't forget, we should continually be

searching for ways to bring reserves up for

the attack. General ideas - what lines will be

open for the bishops; how do the knights


participate; is there a way to include the

rooks? - are just as relevant as the specific

calculations which follow.

17.exd6

At first I thought this move was simply a

good way to drag one or other of the black

pieces to a more vulnerable square (and to

avoid losing the pawn after fxg5) but it also

paves the way for a cute tactical shot which

never even entered my head.

20 ... Cbe7!?

Black had a difficult choice to make here

and, as you've discovered yourself I'm sure,

defensive tasks such as these are no fun at

all - far more enjoyable to be the aggressor

in these situations.

Should the knight go to e5? Perhaps the

black bishop needs this square to defend h8

after ... g6? The bishop could go to e5

immediately, but then c5 becomes available

to the white bishop or knight, e.g. 20 .. . ~e5

17 ... ~xd6 19.~h5+ !?

18.~xh7+ 21 .~f3 g6 22.~h4 ~g7 23.~h3 ~fe8 24 .~c5

i>xh7 liJ e7 25 .liJe4 when 26.liJ f6 is a killer.

As with the previous game, the practicalities

of defence are troublesome and time-

This is the natural attacking choice and most consuming, with no clear guidelines to

definitely the square which was envisioned follow .

for the white queen from several moves

back, but the computer choice here is 21.~e4 ~c6 19.~d3 + , followed by 20 J~ ad 1, not

bothering with the king at all but exploiting Grabbing the c2 pawn would be met by the

the bishops doubled on the d- file! This kind same measured response as in the game.

of thinking outside the loop doesn't come

naturally to human chess-players, but would 22.ctJ bd2! be priceless if we could master it. In any

event, it's the king we're after.

19 ... i>g8 20.fxg5

10

This very strong move preserves all of

White's threats . It is imperative not to snatch

at moves when you're sure you are winning.

Rely on your own judgement and check if

your opponents move changes the reason

why you're winning.

In this instance it's the rook lift to f3 then h3

which will finally overpower Black -

reinforcing the knight on e4 ensures that

these threats are still valid and there's no

need to dive in prematurely with 22.4Jf6+,

for example, which throws the win away

after 22 ... gxf6 23 .gxf6 ~xh2+ .

22 ... ~g6 23J;f3 ~xe4 24.~xe4 ~c6 25.~xd6!?

I refuse to give this a question mark even

though there is a much quicker win since

this time around 25 .l2J f6+ does win. As I

stated in the previous game, if you see a win

and you're sure about it, then play it - don't

waste time looking for the crowd- pleasing

version, you'll only end up with egg on your

face if it backfires!

25 .. JMfxd6 26.~h3 ~fd8 27.~fl

Forcing Black's reply by threatening Vlih7+

The King Must Die!

This is the killer blow, utilising the pin on

the g- pawn (29 ... gxh6 allows 30.Vlixf7#)

and planned well in advance.

These kind of tactics are really only

difficult if you haven't encountered them

before - it's often merely a case of pattern

recognition. If you solve enough problems

and puzzles at bedtime, you'll quickly start

seeing these possibilities during your games!

Karpov was once asked by some club

players how best they might improve their

chess. On hearing that they concentrated

their time on studying openings, sometimes

middle- games, he told them, "Endgames,

study endgames instead"!

Needless to say (but say it I will) I couldn't

disagree more. Club players should

concentrate most of their efforts on

improving their tactical awareness by

assimilating mating patterns and

combinations into their chess memory, so

that they can eventually recognise

opportunities and possibilities just as readily

as they do their own face in the mirror!

followed by Vlixg6 exploiting the pin on the 29 ... ~e8 30.VNxg7 VMe6 f- file.

With the king-side pawn cover finally

27 ... e5 28.~h7+ ~f8 29J~h6! breached the end is nigh for the black king.

11

31.%Vg8+ ~e7 32.~c5+ ~d7 33J~~~xf7+ and here Black resigned as

34.gc7+ will pick up at least the knight on

g6.

1-0

This aggressive, semi-theoretical system has

brought me numerous victories and I can't

emphasise enough just how useful it is to


build up even a small arsenal of such ideas.

Don't be suckered into thinking that only the

most up-to- date theory is valid , or

conversely, the complete avoidance of

theory.There is a huge untapped or simply

forgotten body of chess ideas out there and

over the course of this book I'm going to

introduce you to as many of them as

possible (or at the very least point you in

their general direction).

INTERFERING

Anyway, back to the here- and- now, and

before delving into the next game, I'd like

you to consider the following fairly well

worn variation which occurs in the Sicilian

Dragon.

l.e4 c5 2.1:fV3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.1!iJxd4 l!iJf6 5. 4:Jc3 g6 6.~e3 ~7 7.j3 0-0 8. WI d2 l!iJc6 9.g4 ~e6 I 0. 0-0-0 I:£Jxd4 II.hd4 Wfa5 12.a3 '8fc8 13.h4 gab8 14.ltiJd5!?

Just when it seemed as though the game

would come down to whoever could get

their attack going first, White defuses

matters by offering this queen swap which

Black can hardly refuse ( e7 is attacked and

White also threatens to destroy the black

pawn- structure by a double exchange on

12

f6). Naturally there is still plenty of play left

in the resulting queen- less position, but after

being teased by White, Black's aggressive

intentions would have to take a back seat

and the 'antenna' would need re- tuning to

deal with the new situation.

This kind of frustration can be overcome,

but it does require a special brand of

speculative play as the following exciting

encounter shows.

Burnett, A - McGowan, D French Defence

Hamilton Open 2005

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.1:£Jc3 dxe4 4.1!iJxe4 tLJd7 5.1!iJf3 I:£Jgf6 6.1!iJxf6+ l!iJxf6 7.~d3 ~e7 8.Wfe2 0-0 9.c3 b6 10.~g5 ~b7 11.0-0-0 aS 12.h4 a4

As with the Dragon snippet, it appears that

the game will be decided by a direct attack

on the king in favour of one side or the

other.

The more I analysed this position though,

the more it seemed to me that Black wasn't

'attacking' my king with a view to mating me

(his a- pawn, rook and perhaps the bishop on

e7 won't be enough to trouble me alone).

Rather, he is trying to provoke a slight

The King Must Die!

weakening of my queenside, so that if my 13.~xf6 ~xf6 attack (which can possibly include the 2

bishops, knight, queen and h 1-rook and h

pawn) appears too threatening, he can play

perhaps ... !xf3 followed by ... ~d5 (hitting

a2 and thereby forcing the queens off), or

possibly .. . a3 , when the natural reply b3

allows ... ttJ d5 (hitting c3 and again offering

to exchange pieces).

Since this game was the second of the day,

w ith a further round to fo llow almost

immediately afterwards, I had no real desire

for a protracted struggle, and although the

English players among you might laugh at

the description of this '3- quicker- games-a

day format' as tiring, the stamina levels of

we Scot's was discussed almost as much as

the actual chess being played over the

weekend!

Anyway, I had no intention of allowing my

opponent to tease me a la the earlier Dragon

position, and began to see the germs of a

forcing continuation which , though not

100% clear, would interfere with my

opponents intentions and at the very least

assure me of a game more in the spirit of my

aggressive mood.

You might well ask if this is really a valid

approach to the game of chess? I had similar

reservations many years ago, but then I

came across the fantastic game between Tal

and Larsen (lOth match game, Candidates

1965) and never felt the urge to ask the

question again! This incredible fight is

featured in the second of the Streetfighting

Heroes chapters on page 93 .

Meanwhile, back to the main game, where I

have decided I want to attack, therefore I

shall!

13

14.~xh7+!?

This 'Greek Gift' sacrifice has been seen

countless times and has had entire articles

written about it. Sometimes winning,

sometimes not depending on the specific

details, it is an option which should never be

dismissed out of hand.

However, I would personally be loathe to

allow even the possibility of a sacrifice like

this next to my king, since the resulting

positions are almost always easier for the

attacking side to play in practice- an

important consideration for the Streetfighter.

This is the first critical position, as Black

must now choose whether to slip his king

back with 15 .. . @g8, or venture out into the

unknown with 15 ... h6. In the game Black

chose the latter option, but let's see what

might have happened had he tried to hide

with 15 ... g8 .

White now continues with 16.Wh5

threatening mate on h7. When I spoke to

Daniel briefly after the game it transpired

that he had only considered 16 ... ~xg5+

17.hxg5 (intending ~h8 mate) 17 ... f6 18.g6

leading to this position:-

Analysis diagram

... which does indeed lose (and is a basic

mating pattern that everyone MUST learn),

but the move I was more concerned about

was 16 ... ~e8!?

Analysis diagram

This kind of move tends to fall off the radar

as, although it avoids the immediate mate on

h7 (the king can now run to f8 and e7), it

gives up f7 with check and so ceases to be

an option in normal thinking!

14

I felt this might be Black's best chance when

considering the bishop sacrifice back at

move 13. However, I was also aware that

there might be more than a draw available.

This is because Black can never challenge

the white W on f7 by playing vt1 or ~ to e7,

since then he has blocked his king's escape

route and the sequence ~h5+, Wh7+ and

Wh8 would mate.

In view of this factor, White has several

moves he can make before settling for a

perpetual, and it would be a brave player

indeed who would want to enter such a

position as Black.

Back to the game continuation and Black

preferred instead to introduce his king to the

world.

15 ... @h6!?

Now, as is the case with many sacrifices,

this position was also unclear to me, but I

found it difficult to believe that the black

king could survive on the open road.

Nevertheless , it requires consistently

aggressive play to prove such general

assessments and I now spent a good 10

minutes deciding on the best move order

before finally settling on the most forcing

move.

16.We3!

This threatens a deadly discovered check

which, even if it doesn't win the black

queen, will at the very least decimate the

protection around the black king.

I was under the impression that Black's reply was therefore forced, but it may just be

possible to play 16 ... ~d5!? here (a move

mentioned in Weekend Chess magazine) -

in effect asking White to do his worst - but

it would require nerves of steel to leave the

knight on g5 .

16 ... ixg5 17.hxg5+ ~g6

~

' ' • t!J 8

8 8

1!

18.d5!!

This was the move I was pinning my hopes

on, but as one of my friends pointed out he

might well have seen the idea of the

sacrifice but it's this kind of follow-up

which he can't find - particularly from the

initial position.

So let's look at the position logically and from a more general standpoint.

Firstly, we know that we are playing to mate

the black king (that much I hope is obvious!)

and to do this we must expose it to the white .

p1eces.

15

The King Must Die!

Secondly, how can this be achieved? By

sacrificing all the kingside pawns which

are blocking the rooks from the attack!

However, the advance f4- f5 is hard to

achieve because of Black's pawn on e6, and

the immediate thrust g4 would drop the rook

on hl which we will need for the mate.

Now 18.d5 becomes much clearer - the

bishop is blocked off allowing for g4, and

should he capture with 18 ... .ixd5 then 19. c4

pins and wins it, after which the g4 idea

wins. Also, should Black capture with

18 .. . exd5 then of course f5 is unprotected

allowing for perhaps f4- f5 exposing the

black king, and any hope it had of fleeing

the scene is now prevented because of the

open e-file. It's not so terribly important for

us to see every detail in advance, but it is

essential that we see the general strategies

which underpin them.

Does Black have alternative defences

available here? Well, it should be noted that

18 .. .'~Vxg5 19.f4 ~f5 20.g4! again shows the

thematic idea in action since now 20 ... ~xg4

loses the queen to 21 .g dg 1.

After some considerable thought my

opponent, clearly fazed, played ...

18 ... e5?!

This is based on the hope that White will

allow the exchange of queens, after the weak

reply 19.~xe5 ~xg5+. However, the bishop

is now to all intents and purposes out of the

game and with the rook on a8 also playing

no part White has essentially a material

advantage.

This is a very important concept for the

prospective Streetfighter and will be

examined in detail in the next chapter, but if

you think back to the first game we have

already seen the damage that can be inflicted

if all the remaining pieces work together.

19.Wfe4+ f5 20.gxf6ep+ ~xf6

.i. ·,w, .i. 1-~

f-

' i. l~ 1- [:' '

I~ ~>:r • "' .. tt ~ ~-

-~~.~ ~ i . 1;:~~< I :,._ ; ~ ,,, .. ·.•.

' 5·C?-'~.1~ -;:- '

h~;::•,;,.

fj -

' ~"''

~~ :-"

'~ ~ ~' -

'

~: ~ , . ,:

21.f4!

Now it's clear that the king will be brutally

exposed since 2l .. . ~e7 22.fxe5 ~xe5

23 .~hfl + wins the queen. The possibility of

running with 21 .. . ~f7 was also mooted

(again in Weekend Chess) but I don't believe

this saves Black since after the simple

22 .fxe5 his king is still too vulnerable.

21 ... exf4 22.Wfxf4+ ~g6

And here there is a useful pattern to

remember after 22 ... ~e7 23.~e5+

Analysis diagram

16

when either king move gets mated by

24.~e6.

23.¥Me4+ grs 24.g4 and here Black

resigned.

He should try 24 ... ~g5+ 25.~bl ~c8

(although it is still losing) but as you'll no

doubt discover yourself soon enough, the

Streetfighting style has a way of

disheartening even the best of opponents!

1-0

So what have we learned from this opening

chapter?

Hopefully two major concepts of

Streetfighting chess: Attacking is effective

and fun - defence is difficult and, unless you

are a sado- masochist, no fun at all!

Adopting this mind-set is only the first step,

but it is a crucial one. Once you have

donned the garb of the swashbuckling hero

with the devil-may- care approach to chess,

it becomes much easier to play the more

aggressive opening, the active- but- unclear

plan, or the speculative sacrifice.

You will soon discover that any fear you

may have of entering sharp positions is

nothing compared to that which your

opponent will be feeling as your pieces

swarm around their king!

But enough sabre-rattling, it's time to move

on and challenge that most limiting feature

of amateur play - the love of all things

material!


In this respect, one of the best pieces of

chess advice I was ever given came from my

former High School physics teacher, chess

coach and friend, Walter Pearson, and went

along the lines of, "Don't count the pieces

off the board, concentrate on those left on

it!"

Quite often during the lunch- time chess

club Walter could be seen blatantly

pocketing various pieces belonging to his

opponents (most often rooks still

languishing on their original squares long

into the game) , and answering their

protestations with the classic line, "What are

you complaining about? You weren't using it

anyway!"

These daily occurrences sparked within me a

healthy disregard for material considerations

and a desire to use all of my remaining

pieces lest they be swiped by Walter!

Note the phrase 'healthy disregard', which is

completely different from the 'mad hackers'

school of chess where half- crazed sacrificial

assaults often result in an attempt to deliver

mate with little more than a knight, a pawn

and some cleverly disguised belly- button

fluff!

Seriously though, we should not shy away

from investing a pawn, the exchange, even a

full piece (or more!) if the resulting position

sees the rest of our army combining in the

attack.

Let's take a look first at an extreme example,

played at 30 minutes per player, where

holding the initiative counts for a great deal,

and where the normal rules regarding

material considerations can therefore be bent

more readily.

18

Rattray, G - Burnett, A Czech Benoni

Stewarton Allegro 1994

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.~c3 d6 5.e4 g6

This position will appear quite a few times

in this book and will be looked at in more

detail later. What we can quickly see is that

the central pawns are blocked and that most

of the action will have to take place on the

wings; White can attempt to play b4 or f4 to

undermine Black's pawn structure, whereas

Black obviously has the mirror moves ... b5

and ... f5 in mind for his middle-game

strategies - so there is already a distinct

imbalance in the position.

6.f3 a6 7.~e3 ~g7 8.~d2 h6

A useful little move which prevents any

rapid attacks with Bh6 and h4- h5. It's

important not to castle too soon here as

Black (otherwise White might launch a

quick kingside pawn storm), and with the

centre so firmly blocked this is not a

problem.

9.~ge2 ~bd7 10.g4 h5!

Refusing to be cowed by White's seemingly

aggressive play on the kingside. The loss of

tempo playing .. . h6 , followed so soon

by ... h5, is again a luxury afforded by the

locked pawn chains in the middle of the

board.

11.gxh5 ~xh5 12.0-0-0 b5 13.<j{b1 b4 14.~a4 ~a5 15.b3 ~b6 16.~b2 id717.ig2 ~a3

Out of the opening we can see that neither

side has too much scope for their pieces

owing to the blocked pawn chains. Black's

last move, though, indicates his intention to

In a Material World

initiative to White, Black embarks on a very

speculative idea, but one which is far more

in keeping with the original strategy of

attacking on the queen- side.

18 ... ~f4!?

This prelude is necessary to activate the g7-

bishop, otherwise Black will never have

enough fire-power to trouble the White

king.

19.~xf4 exf4 20.ic1 a5! 21.etJd3 a4!

play ... a5, .. . a4 with a direct attack on the These exclamation marks are not for any

White king down the a-file. inherent strength in the moves, merely for

consistency of purpose. If you commit to

18. ~ el! such an idea, you have to see it through to

the end.

White is the first to realise that the Black

queen will be seriously short of squares once

the pawn reaches a4, and so retreats his

queen to allow the bishop to come to c I .

Black now faces a bit of a dilemma; does he

retreat the queen from a3 to a5, then the

knight from b6 to c8, then the queen again,

so that he can finally push the a-pawn?

In view of this unattractive and time

consuming plan which hands over the

19

22.ixa3 bxa3 23.~cl 0-0 24.h4?!

Although this move isn't completely

irrelevant to the position (it does allow the

rook to defend along the 2nd rank via h2, as

well as perhaps pushing further with h5 to

deflect Black into defending his own

kingside ), it is a sign that White doesn't

sense the dangers facing him.


The immediate 24.~fl was superior, lending 27 ... c4! 28.ifl ~fb8 29.~hh2 ic3! additional support to the pawn on c4.

24 ... axb3 25.axb3 'LJxc4!

More material is offered in order that the

remaining pieces have open lines towards

the white king. The knight, however, is

immune to capture in view of the following

variation 26.bxc4 ~fb8+ 27.~c2 a2 28.ttJ d3

i a4+ 29.@d2 i xdl 30 .~xdl al =\W 31.\Wxal

~xal .

26.si>a2 ttJe3 27.~d2?!

The only advantage in having an excess of

material in such situations (as mentioned

briefly in our opening game) is that you can

afford to return some of it to break the

attack.

Here White reasons that he can save the

rook and defend g2 simultaneously, but the

resulting lack of co- ordination (how bad is

his queen now?) is a heavy price to pay.

Perhaps he hoped that Black would rush to

play ... i c3 and grab the rook this way, but

the bishop is unopposed on the long

diagonal and shouldn't be traded for a rook

with little or no scope without a very good

reason.

20

White is tied in knots and soon every Black

piece will be contributing to the cause.

30.Wff2?!

Last chance was again by returning material

with 30.i xc4 ttJ xc4 31 .Wdl when White

might be able to hold, but by now he was

very short of time. Players often argue that

lack of time is no excuse for losing a game

(meaning that they ought to have played

more quickly earlier) but the aggressive and

practical Streetfighting approach rarely

allows for quick responses- your opponents

will be in time- trouble more frequently .

30 ... cxb3+ 3l.ttJxb3 ia4! 32.~d4 B!b2+ 33.~xb2 axb2 34.si>bl

34 .~xb2 would limit the damage to a piece

but the text move allows for a beautiful

fmale to the game.

34 ... ~c2+!! 35.ctJxc2 ~al +

And now White resigned as he realised that

36.lt:J xa 1 bxal =~ is actually mate!

0-1

The black pieces left on the board more than

made up for the queen's early departure, and

again this game highlights just how difficult

it is to defend against such attacks, even

with a huge material plus.

Quite recently I showed this game to one of

my friends , rated about 1600 strength, and

his view was that, yes, he could understand

why I played what I did, he could even see

many of the moves and ideas himself, but

that he couldn't imagine himself actually

playing such a game because the results of

the attacking ideas were not immediately

clear enough to him. He claimed that he

wouldn't 'trust' such positions because they

couldn't be calculated to a definitive end.

This is a very common reason why many

players shy away from playing more

aggressively, and it is a valid point, but I

21

In a Material World

would counter it by saying that whatever

style of play you prefer you won't have

complete control. Put another way, trying to

play like Karpov or Kramnik is MUCH

more difficult than attempting to emulate

Tal or Shirov!

Anyway, I think the following game will

help to allay these reservations somewhat; a

delve into the real- time mind of the

Streetfighter!

Burnett,A- MacDonald,C French Defence

Edinburgh Premier 2005

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Cl:Jc3 dxe4 4.C2Jxe4 ~d7

This move heralds in the 'Fort Knox'

variation of the French Defence, so- called

as it is designed to give Black a super- solid

defensive position.

I had never faced this variation before, but

many years ago I had played through a

wonderful game played by Alexei Shirov as

White in this same opening.

Since we obviously can't prepare ourselves

in any great depth for every possible

variation and opponent, it is extremely

useful to choose a game which really


appeals to you, and tuck it away in the

memory banks.

When eventually faced with the opening (in

this case 12 years after the Shirov game)

simply follow the general ideas of the game

which so appealed to you.

The specifics will doubtless be lost in the

mists of time, but they are not as important

as you might think in the majority of games.

Here then is Shirov's creation, without notes,

which will serve as an appetiser for the main

game.

Shirov,A- Chernin,A French Defence

Groningen PCA 1993

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.CiJc3 dxe4 4.CiJxe4 ~d7

5.CiJf3 ic6 6.~3 CiJd7 7.0-0 CiJgf6 8.CiJg3

ie7 9.h3 0-0 10.~2 hf3 11.Wlxf3 c612.c4

E!e8 13.E!fe1 if8 14.f!ad1 f!a5 15.~1 g6

16.h4 ~g7 17.~c3 Wlc7 18.h5 h5 19.h6

ixh6 20.d5

20 ... cxd5 21.ixf6 bxc4 22.~2 cxb3

23.CiJh5 f5 24.&d5 gxh5 25.&f5 CiJf8

26.&h5 bxa2 27.ixa2 ~7 28.f!g4 @h8

29.ixg7+ f!xg7 30.E!g5 CiJg6 31.~1 Wlc3

32.f!d1 Vlif6 33.'Bd7 CSe7 34.&e7 ffxe7

35.ixg6 f!g8 36. ffd4+ E!g7 37.f!h5 e5

1-0

22

A cracking game played at a very high level

and well-worthy of an hour or two of

anyone's study time.

5.~f3 ~c6 6.~d3 ~d7 7.0-0 ~gf6 8.~g3!

It is this simple knight retreat which caught

my eye, rather than a more obviously

aggressive move such as 8.ttJ eg5, which has

just a bit too much in the way of theory

behind it. It is in White's interests to keep

the knights on the board as Black is the one

with a space disadvantage.

8 ... ~e7 9.c4

As I re-discovered afterwards , Shirov

played here the immediate 9.b3 intending to

put the bishop on the long diagonal, later

following up with c4, but as I mentioned, the

specifics are not too important here, it's the

general strategy which is the key.

9 ... b6?!

This curious move goes against Black's

normal strategy in this opening, which as we

have seen is to exchange the bishop for the

knight on f3 and then to play c6.

With my logical head on, I reasoned that

Black was instead intending to slip the

bishop back to b7 but the 'laws' of chess

state that taking 4 moves to play what could

have been achieved in 2 moves (simply ... b6

and ... i.b7 immediately) is , generally

speaking, bad.

I immediately set about looking for a sharp

way to take advantage of what has to be a

mistaken strategy from Black, but eventually

decided that simple development in the

Shirov mode was strongest.

10.b3! ~b7 ll.~b2 c5!?

This move irked me somewhat. My

intentions were to develop the V!f to e2, play

the ~'s to d 1 and e 1 and then prepare the

pawn push d5 as in the Shirov game. Now,

however, I won't have a d-pawn to thrust

into the black position as he intends to

exchange it off!

But something started to bug me about this

whole position. I have developed my pieces

quickly onto good, active, well coordinated

squares . I've castled, and attempted to

control the centre by playing pawns to c4

and d4.

Black, on the other hand, has developed

more passively, wasted time with his light-

23

In a Material World

squared bishop and hasn't bothered to castle

before challenging the centre with his last

move.

Hmmm. Surely White has some way to take

advantage of this failure to follow the

normal rules of opening play?

And then it hit me - Shirov's middle- game

idea is playable immediately! Of course,

playing 12.d5 will involve giving up a pawn

so it requires some thought and analysis in

case this is one of those infuriating positions

where the 'exception to the rules' applies, so

let's take a look at what I had to consider.

OK, if I play d5 immediately I am

threatening to take on e6 creating a serious

weakness in black's pawn structure for

which he will have no compensation. The

only way to avoid this disruption is by

playing 12 ... ltJ f8, but that's just too horrible

to contemplate as he'll never get castled.

So, he must take on d5. Fine. Now the e- file

is opened for the white rook and the f5 -

square is available to the ltJ on g3, which

combined will attack e7. Black must

therefore get his king out of the way by

castling and either defend or move the i on

e7.

The natural way to defend it is by

developing the ~ from f8 to e8. But look at

the relative worth of these moves: White

develops his ~ and ltJ aggressively into

attacking positions eyeing up pieces and

squares close to the black king, while Black

develops his ~ passively in defence and puts

his king to where it really ought to have

gone anyway!

In addition the i on b2 will have a huge

diagonal to exert pressure on towards the

black king. There are also some very


specific details which I will clarify over the ~xd5 1 7. ~h 5 lLJ xh5 1 8 .ltJ h 6+ gx h 6

next few moves, but suffice to say I was 19 .~xh 7#

soon won over by the potential contained in

the white forces.

And remember, all this is for the price of

one pawn. I always console myself with the

thought that if a pawn sacrifice doesn't work,

at least I know how to defend @+~ vs @!!

12.d5! exd5 13.ctJf5 0-0 14.E:el E:e8 15.cxd5

This is the frrst critical position. Black must

decide whether he really wants to take the

pawn or not?

If he doesn't, then the pawn could easily

become a serious thorn in his side as it is

passed and advanced in the heart of his

position.

Taking it, on the other hand, is the

equivalent of calling your opponent in poker

- in effect 'show me what you've got!'

In his Scotland on Sunday newspaper

column, International Master Douglas

Bryson states, "Black must try 15 ... ~f8" .

Well, that's fair comment if you've seen the

rest of the game, but Black doesn't have that

luxury as of yet! Let me just show you one

variation I had calculated - totally unforced,

but beautiful nonetheless. 15 ... ~f8 16 .lLJ g5

24

Analysis diagram

As I said, totally unforced, but the fact there

are such wonderful tactical possibilities in

the position is often a good guide as to how

healthy the position is and where your pieces

might prove most effective.

I will discuss this idea of fantasy variations

again later, but for now let's get back to the

game where Black faces a major decision,

not the least of which is how to avoid

horrors like the previous diagram. As we

have seen in previous games, defensive

choices may be plentiful in number but in

practice it will be incredibly difficult (not to

mention tiring and time- consuming) to find

what is often a single path to safety through

a very scary forest!

15 ... ~xd5!? 16.~b5!

This move was unexpected, I think, since the

~ appeared to have a useful eye on the black

king as we have just seen. It is a very strong

move though as it sets up yet another pin on

the black pieces which are now very loose

indeed.

The ttJ f6 is pinned to the g7 pawn and to

defence of both the ~ on d5 and the ltJ on

d7; the ttJ d7 is now pinned to the ~ on e8 (as

is the ~ on e7) and he is faced with the

immediate threat of ~xf6 winning material.

I have been rather fortunate in that this game

has been analysed and annotated not only by

the afore- mentioed Dougie Bryson, but also

by International Master Craig Pritchett in his

Herald chess column (and subsequently in

Weekend Chess). Both mention the

possibility here of 16 ... a6!?, forcing White

to carry out his threats.

Bryson (with his trusty Fritz 8 running

alongside) found the long forcing win

beginning 1 7 .~xf6 ~xf6 1 8. ~xd5 ~xa 1

19.~xe8+ ~xe8+ 20 .~xd7 ~f8 21. ttJ e7+,

with the further 2l .. . ~h8 22 .ttJ g5 g6

In a Material World

In any event, I was fairly sure Chris would

try the text move, which looks like it solves

most of these problems, but Black is in for a

shock.

16 ... ~e6

23 .ctJ xf7+ ~g7 24.ttJg5! ~xe7 25 .ttJ e6+ h6 17.Ct:Jxg7!! 26 .~xa8 xd7 27 .~f8+ mating soon.

Craig Pritchett, working without Fritz,

missed 24.4Jg5 and wondered how much of

this the players saw over-the- board?

I don't know about my opponent Chris, but I

stopped at 20 .~xd7

Analysis diagram

and figured my active pieces and initiative

should be too strong to withstand. Again it is

the initial calculation and assessment which

is important-not an unrealistic definitive

analysis of every eventuality. That way

madness lies!

25

I had the impression that Black's position

was hanging by a thread (or 2 threads rather)

and this logical knight sacrifice is the first

cut.

Why is it logical? Well, it exposes the black

king to the full power of the ~ on b2 (much

as in the earlier Shirov game) and

undermines the knight on f6 which as

already mentioned had a shaky defensive

role guarding d7 and d5.

This was not a difficult move to play as I

had to justify my previous play. If I can't

break through in this or a similar way, then

it calls into question the entire concept of the

pawn sacrifice - and my sense of natural

justice on the chessboard was telling me the

pawn sac was correct!

With reference to the introduction to this

game, the problem my friend faces with

such assaults is lack of faith.

Faith in the logic of chess and faith in his

own ability to fmd the key moves to unlock

the secrets of the position. Having seen

some of his games he shows good

judgement in most other areas of the game,

but somehow, as with most other club

players, this judgement falters or self

destructs when the stakes are immediately

higher; as here, a tactical battle involving

material investment for an attack.

But, again, the bare bones of my contention

is that it's still only one point if you get it

wrong occasionally, just as it's only one

point if your protracted positional struggle

doesn't pan out as intended.

In addition, how much more enjoyable does

this present game seem compared to the

dour riskless brand of chess we often see? I

would much rather lose a game such as this

having created something interesting, than

win some 4- hour siege of a weak pawn

followed by an endgame grind which has

sent even the proverbial one man and his

dog off in search of drying paint to watch!

17 .. /tlxg7 18.~xe6!

There goes the other 'thread' and now the

18 ... fxe6 19.~g5

This threatens the obvious fork on e6

winning the black queen, but also allows the

white queen access to the white squares on

the kingside (g4 and h5) which the l2J f6

would cover were it not for the pin on the

long diagonal.

Black could consider 19 .. . ~g8 here, but

20 .l2J xe6 attacks the queen and changes the

focus of attack onto the dark squares by

threatening 2l .~d2 followed by 22.~g5 or

22.~h6 mating.

19 ... ~f8 20.\WhS!

The f7 square cannot be defended now

(except by 20 ... l2J g6, when 21.Wxh7 mates

next move) and I have to admit that the

possible weakness of this square was a

factor when weighing up the respective ~

moves at move 14.

Again, it's not so important to see the exact

details of an attack, but what is hugely

important is to find the themes and general

options available to the pieces.

black king finds himself subjected to a brutal 20 ... e5 21.Wff7+ <;t>b8?! assault. His remaining forces are in no real

position to cover the necessary squares. It's not really fair to criticise this move as

26

Black has been run ragged over the last 8 or

9 moves, but nevertheless 21 ... ~h6 would

have forced White to find some accurate

moves to end the game.

I was considering both 22.ttJ f3 and 22. l2Jh3

(the latter being best) but rather amusingly

had condemned 22.i cl as losing in view of

22 ... \Wdl mate (!), not realising that I could

block with 23 .i fl !).

After the text move Black has no defence.

22.~xe5 h6 23.~c4!

and here Black resigned as 24.\Wg8 mate is

threatened utilising the eternal pin on the

itJ f6 , while 23 ... ttJ8d7 allows 24.\Wh7 mate,

again exploiting the pin.

1-0

How easy is it to play a game such as this

one? Well, I would be lying if I said it was

simple! Its obviously not.

However, if we can see past the

conventional piece- counting approach to

chess we all learned when we started playing

chess, then it becomes much easier.

The knight on f5 wasn't merely a lump of

wood or plastic worth 3 points - it was a

warrior able and willing to sacrifice itself to

27

In a Material World

expose the black king! The rook on el was

likewise a brave soldier destined to remove

the enemy's best defender.

Thinking in abstract ways such as this may

seem a little unorthodox, even downright

cheesy, but can be a useful mechanism to

break free from the ingrained attitudes and

misconceptions towards materialism we

have built up over the years .

In his excellent book, The Seven Deadly

Chess Sins, Scotland's top player and 3-time

British Champion GM Jonathan Rowson

describes the pieces as not only having mass

(the material value we are accustomed to

giving to each piece), but also energy. I can't

do justice to Jonathan's idea here (it would

take us too far afield, so read it yourself!),

but sacrificing one bundle of energy (and

therefore relative mass) in order to increase

the energy (mass) in 2 or 3 other bundles is

exactly what we are doing when we give up

material for an attack, or to gain the

initiative allowing our attack to progress

fust or faster - nothing more - but it is so,

so important to our Streetfighting approach

to chess.

The next game is a real treat, and introduces

one of my all- time favourite players. His

approach to not only materialism and the

initiative, but the entire game of chess, puts

him firmly in the top echelons of

Streetfighting Masters. Enjoy!

3f)STR££TF16HTIN6 H£RO I 1

BENT' II pieces are attacking pieces!" If

ever there was a single motto

required for Streetfighters, these

words of the 'Great Dane' Bent Larsen

would be perfect.

His aggressive, uncompromising style

proved to be a major headache for the

world's strongest players and, until the

rise of Fischer, it was left to Larsen alone

to provide the western world's challenge

to Eastern Bloc dominance. His desire to

win every game, regardless of how good,

bad or indifferent his position or form or

tournament situation, should serve as a

stellar example to each and every one of

us.

Flohr, Salo - Larsen, Bent Czech Benoni Copenhagen.J966

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5!? 4.~c3 d6 5.e4

Larsen's most famous book, 'Selected

Games of Chess 1948-1969', is a

wonderful read, a collection of his most

memorable battles which affords not only

an insight into the development of a great

master, but also inspires the average

chess-player in ways that so many

modern books fail to do.

The following game shows Larsen at his

best, experimenting with a non

theoretical opening which forces his

illustrious opponent to deal with difficult

problems early on, and thereby realising

his goal of, as the great man himself puts

it, "providing the public with what it

wants - sharp play!"

The Czech Benoni, which the observant

reader will notice is a firm favourite of my

own, wholly owing to this very game!

As Larsen states, "This solid Black system

often leads to exciting games. Maybe the

greatest danger for Black is really of a

p sychological nature . If he becomes so

fascinated by his fire- proof construction that

he forgets to do something active, then he

will probably be slowly strangled. As I see

it, playing this system means that I force

myself to play aggressively!"

Just what the doctor ordered as far as we are

concerned, and, importantly, this unusual

system avoids the well- trodden theoretical

pathways at an early stage.


5 ... g6!?

It looks strange to play the bishop to a

square with such a prospect-less view, so

more common here is 5 ... ile7 intending in

due course to play the fl to g5 with a view to

exchanging it off, but in choosing g7 Black

is intending to force a route along the

diagonal as soon as possible.

6.~d3 ~g7 7.li.Jge2 li.Jbd7 8.h3 a6 9 .~e3 liJ h5!

The timing of this move demonstrates an

excellent understanding of the system.

Larsen has avoided castling in order to

answer the aggressive push g4 with the

counter- blow .. . h5 , and has waited for the

w bite bishop to come to e3 before playing

ttJh5 so that when the knight jumps to f4

White will have to use an extra tempo with

the bishop as we will see in the game

continuation.

The practical value of playing non

theoretical openings becomes apparent in

such situations : Larsen knows these move

order tricks inside- out (it's 'his' system)

whereas Flohr will have to expend time and

energy to suss out Black's intentions.

Now if White castles short then so will

30

Black, who can then follow up with ... f5 ,

whilst castling queen- side is unappealing in

view of the .. . b5 pawn sacrifice which 8 ... a6

allowed for.

Flohr eventually settles on the most

principled continuation which wins a pawn,

but hands Black the initiative and releases

the g7-bishop.

Larsen forces himself to play aggressively,

and forces his opponent to allow him to!

10.1Wd2 0-0 ll.g4!? li.Jf4 12.'tJxf4 exf4 13.~xf4 li.Je5 14.~e2

White could hardly contemplate 14.ilxe5

giving black's bishop free- reign over the

dark-squares, so he retreats to cover f3 and

hopes eventually to chase the dominant

knight on e5.

14 ... b5! 15.cxb5 axb5 16.li.Jxb5 ~a4!

Sheer impudence! Black has given up two

pawns for the initiative and since 'necessity

is the mother of invention', Larsen finds a

novel role for his rook.

It's impossible to know what Flohr was

thinking at this stage, but at the very least he

would probably be hoping he'd soon get a

chance to make a move 'of his own accord'.

Larsen's energetic follow-up soon dispels

that idea.

17.ttJc3 ~d4 18JWe3 ~e8

18 .. . f5 looks like the natural way to include

the second rook in the game, but after

19.gxf5 gxf5 20 .~gl !, White would provide

Black with a timely (and important)

reminder that there are two players at the

board and two kings on it!

19.~g3?!

Well-intentioned as it removes the queen

from its awkward position on the e- file and

further dissuades Black's ... f5- break, but as

Larsen says, "my answer was an unpleasant

surprise!"

19 ... g5!

Streetfighting Hero #I

Flohr evidently didn't much fancy 21 .~xd4

cxd4 22.'tJb5 :§:xe4 23 .ltJxd6, since Black

has the 'trick' 23 ... :§:xe2+ 24. ~xe2 ltJ f4+

followed by ~xd6 available.

Even less appealing was 21 .0-0 because

after 2l .. . ~e5 22 .~f3 ltJh4 23 .~hl the white

queen is less than impressive!

What I love most about this game is Larsen's

relentless quest for activity. In seizing the

initiative (and ensuring that he doesn't lose it

again) he has played two separate pawn sacs

and offered two successive exchange sacs.

He has given Flohr no time to implement a

coherent strategy of his own, and the one

'free' move Flohr managed, 19.~g3 , turned

out to be a mistake!

So far Larsen has opened the queen-side

and the centre to his advantage, and the next

phase will bring the kingside into play - a

A move which only a very strong - or very remarkable full-court press which cannot

weak - player would make! Larsen steps fail to impress.

outside the loop here and swaps his plans

for ... f5 with one designed to dominate the 22.~xe4 ~xe4 23.0-0!? dark-squares, even if that plan involves

further material investment.

31

"Psychologically easy to understand. In such

a position everybody wants to get the King

out of danger". So says Larsen here, but his

idea of what constitutes White's best defence This is forced since now that ~d4 has been

would be unlikely to appeal to many players, prevented, the rook really is hanging on b4.

viz. 23 .~d3 ~a5+ 24. <j{fl lt:J f4 25.~xe4

ia6+ 26.~gl lt:J e2+ 27.<j{h2 lt:Jxg3 28.i>xg3 36 ... ~xf3 37.~d3 ~e5 38.~g4 h6! ~xb2.

Flohr's deci s ion to castle seems

understandable in light of this variation and

he was no doubt hoping to weather the storm

without giving up his queen.

23 ... ~b4 24.~d3 ~e5 25.~f3 Cbh4 26.~dl ~f6!

See how quickly the kingside has turned

into a minefield for White? 27 ... ~xg4 is

threatened but the obvious shoring- up move

27 .f3 is unplayable because, after 27 ... ~xb2 ,

the new vista of the 7th rank leads to ruin as

any move to block it drops the rook on al.

27.a3 C2Jf3+ 28.<;t>g2 ~xg4!

No respite! White must after all part with his

queen to avert the mating threats and the

following forcing line favours Black.

29.axb4 ~h4+ 30.<;t>gt 3l.~fxdl cxb4 32.~e4 33J3a8+ 33 ... <;t>g7 34J~~b8 35.~xb4 Cbf3+ 36.~xf3

~xdl ~xb2 ~c3

32

Now ... f5 will call up the reserve infantry -

a tad ironic that the middle- game break

which never came threatens to destroy

White in the ending.

Instead Flohr chooses a different sword to

fall upon.

39.~d2 ~xh3 40.~g2 f6 and here

White called it a day as there is no defence

to the manouevre ... ~f3 followed by the

other pawn advance ... h5 ... h4, ... h3 .

0-1

A perfect example of controlled aggression

by Larsen and one of my all-time favourite

games which taught me so much about the

relative value of the pieces, and the art of

gaining and sustaining the initiative for

attacking purposes.

A close study of Larsen's ideas, particularly

in the opening phase of the game, could

prove extremely useful to players as an

antidote to the 'new-age' approach of theory

and databases.


It is very important to realise that preparing

for specific opponents need not be the

preserve of the IM or GM plying their trade

around the globe, Fritz-powered laptops

constantly searching for specific tactical

weaknesses in the opening repertoire of their

next opponent.

While the likes of Fritz and CbessBase are a

fact of chess life nowadays - and extremely

useful tools to have on occasion - at the

less- exalted level of the weekend congress,

club championship or local league match

there is still plenty of scope for the

Streetfighter in us to hatch devious plans!

To this end one of my favourite 'hobbies'

during tournaments is to take a quick-but

close look around the other boards about 2 0-

30 minutes into a session. It is usually

around this time that the opening is coming

to an end and the players sink into thought,

planning their middle- game strategies, quite

unaware that beady Streetfighting eyes are

watching them, scanning score- sheets for

move- orders and taking (mental!) notes for

future reference.

It may seem of little importance that Joe

Bloggs plays 2.4Jc3 against the Sicilian and

enters the Closed Variation, whereas Jane

Bloggs plays 2.ltJc3 followed by 3. lb f3

hoping to trick you with her move- order and

enter one of the mainlines, but little nuggets

of information such as these are incredibly

usefuL Given that most of us play our chess

within a limited pool of opponents, there is a

distinct possibility that we will meet the

same players time and again in congresses,

local leagues, national club competitions,

etc. and knowing where to begin our

preparation is half the battle. To wit:-

34

Burnett, A- Buchanan,W French Defence

Grangemouth Premier 1992

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.~c3 ~b4 4.e5 ~d7!?

Petrosian's patent I believe, which has

enjoyed sporadic bouts of popularity but has

never gained widespread acceptance ,

probably because of the good- standing of

the mainline alternatives 4 .. . c5 and 4 ... ltJe7.

However, we know already that uncommon

or unpopular cannot be readily equated with

bad or dubious, so it won't do to play just

anything against it.

Nor do we really wish to delve into the most

popular response to this system, namely

5 .Vfi g4, because that would be fighting on

our opponent's territory where they will

doubtless be well-versed in whatever theory

there is and likely have a good few (or even

a few good!) ideas up their sleeves.

Remember, they will probably be playing

4 ... Vfid7 almost every time they meet 3.ltJc3,

whereas we will normally meet with .. . c5

or ... ltJe7 as mentioned, so they will also

have experience on their side.

Instead, having noted Walter's predeliction

for this side- line on one of my walks a few

In the Beginning

months previously, I had prepared an 6.i.e2 he won't really want to play the

unusual reply which I hoped would throw further ... g6 (since his dark-squares on the

him out of his usual stride. king-side would be very weak) and

otherwise he must sacrifice the h- pawn.

5.h4!

If Black can take a few liberties with his

development ( 4 .. . Wd7 hardly follows the

natural rules of opening a chess game) then

surely White can also?

The idea behind the thrust of the h- pawn so

early is two- fold; a general attempt to gain

some extra space on the king-side being the

first idea, and the second more specific aim

will soon be revealed. Where do such ideas

come from in the opening? Well, this one I

noted from a game of Nigel Davies which I

happened upon in an old magazine and

decided to borrow. I prefer to fill my chess

memory with odd snippets from newspapers,

magazines, etc. rather than cram it with vast

reams of theory which are often out-dated

as soon as they are played.

Such is the speed of travel in the information

age that, for example, a novelty employed

by Judit Polgar, can be analysed and

transmitted automatically to your home

computer before her opponent has had time

to consider a reply!

In any event, 5.h4 may not be brand new,

but it is definitely aggressive, less- well

investigated, and by no means inconsistent

with the general aims of White in many lines

of the French Defence.

6.h5

Now Black must ponder whether he should

get on with his own plan of exchanging the

light-squared bishops immediately with

6 ... i.a6, but in doing so allow the disruptive

7.h6, or take a move out to prevent this

audacious advance?

6 ... h6

Opting for the safer response since 6 .. . i.a6

7 .h6 would present Black with yet another

decision; to play 7 ... g6 leaving a serious

hole on f6, or to try 7 ... gxh6 or. .. lt:Jxh6 when

both the h- pawns might well fall in the long

run .

7.'1Ng4!

If the advance of the h-pawn seemed

5 ... b6 slightly extravagant early on, then this

delayed version of the W g4 idea shows its

Black could consider the response 5 ... h5 merits more clearly.

here, but it is unappealing because after Now the reply 7 ... f5 (which is how Black

35


regularly answers 5.\Mfg4) would leave a

glaring weakness on g6 which the white

knight's natural routes e2-f4 or h3-f4 would

seek to exploit.

It is practical problems such as these which

are so difficult to meet over the board, and

which we should be aiming to set our

adversaries in every game.

Already we have asked questions of Black

on tnoves 5, 6 and 7, rather than allow him

to follow the theoretical recommendations

under- pinning Petrosian's system.

So the bishop has been forced to declare its

intentions without White having spent a

tempo on the usual a3 - the first small

victory in the game.

And with this move White aims to prove

that Black will run out of constructive ideas

first, and will be forced at some point to re

develop White's knight towards the king

side for him by exchanging on e2.

9 ... /JfJe7 10.b4 c6 11./JfJf3 ~f5 12J~bl!

Envisaging the opening of the b- file (as

Black will probably have to play ... c5

eventually in an attempt to relieve his

cramped position), when the rook will be

well-positioned.

Never forget how important it is to seek out

your opponent's possible plans for counter

play, no matter how difficult their position

36

may appear at first sight, and see if you can

find a way to increase the activity of your . .

own pteces 1n response.

12 ... ~xe2

What else? If 12 ... i e7 then 13.a4 (intending

b5) , or 13 .\Mfh3 (threatening to win the

knight with g4) puts the ball firmly back in

Black's court.

13.~xe2 ~b7?

This is a serious misjudgement, but Walter

had already used an hour on the clock to this

point dealing with White's opening plan.

He had to try the immediate 13 ... c5 here, but

the following game shows that even with an

extra tempo in this position Black is

struggling:

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.1ltJc3 1UJ4 4.e5 V!id7 5.h4

b6 6.h5 h6 7. V!Jg4 ij8 8.ild2 ila6 9.ile2

/fjje7 JO.b4 lltJf5 ll.l!lbl he2 12.1ltJcxe2 c5

13.bxc5 bxc5 14.1ltJf3 lltJc6 15.0-0 ile7

16.1ltJg 3 t'iJcxd4 17. t'iJxd4 t'iJxd4 18. Vfixg 7 0-

0-0 19.Vfixj7 ih4 20.Vfig6 l!lhg8 21.Vfid3 Vfic6

22.c3 hg3 23.cxd4 Slh4 24. Wfh 7 Vfid7

25.Vfic2 c4 26.Vfib2 V!ic6 27.i.a5 @d7

28.Vfib7+ V!ixb7 29.r!!:xb7+ @c6 30.l!lfbll!ldj8

3J.rgc7# 1-0

Burnett,A - Farrell,N

(Edinburgh 1994)

Back to the main game, where Black

threatens to go a- hunting for pawns on the

queen-side. With the majority of his forces

still undeveloped this is tantamount to

suicide, however facing pressure both on the

board and the clock often leads to the

adoption of dubious plans - a key idea

behind the Streetfighting ethos.

14.0-0 VNa6 15.'bg3 l2Jxg3

15 ... ltJe7 presents White with a simple plan

of 16.ltJ h4 with the intention of f4-f5

cracking open the black king's cover, while

the text move obviously hands White the

open f-file.

It is already hard to offer Black any advice

as 15 ... \W c8 would be a rather ignominious

retreat in light of his previous 2 moves.

16.fxg3 c5

The alternatives are less challenging;

16 .. . ltJ d7 puts the knight on the wrong

circuit as it must attempt to reach d8 to be

37

In the Beginning

useful in defence, while 16 .. . \Wxa2 17 .tt:Jh4

Wxc2 18.~f4 shows exactly why 'pawn

grabbing with a queen' gets such bad press.

17.bxc5 bxc5 18.~h4 ~c6 19.~g6!

With Black planning the afore

mentioned ... ltJd8 manouevre defending the

vulnerable e6 and f7 squares, it is imperative

that White strikes while the iron is hot.

As I have said before (and doubtless will

again in the future!) there is no need to be

scared of giving up material in positions

where your opponent's pieces are

languishing at home and contributing

nothing to the cause.

White could even consider an immediate

19 .~xfl here, such is the relative superiority

in activity his pieces hold over Black's, but a

sacrifice of lesser value is often safer if both

alternatives look equally promising in other

respects .

19 ... fxg6

Black may as well accept the proffered

knight as the alternatives (after 19 ... ~g8

20.lLJxf8) of 20 .. J~~xf8 21.\Wxg7 or 20 ... <J?x£8

21.Wxe6 are in any event extremely

unappealing.

Stree(fighting Chess

20.~xe6+ ie7

If Black tries 20 .. . ~d8 , then 21 .i a5+! either

wins the queen or mates .

We should learn to always consider such

moves (despite the bishop being en- prise to

leading the black queen on a merry dance

away from her protection of the king.

25.:gb5 ~d7 26.e6 ~d6 27.if4 ~a3 28.:gb7

two pieces) when we are attacking. Taking on d5 was also possible, as was the

Almost all manuals on tactical chess state computer-inspired mating sacrifice 28 .~ g5!

that 'checks and captures' should top the list

of candidate moves in any given position

and it is important that we incorporate this

into our way of thinking at the board.

21J~~f7 ~c8 22.~xg6 i>d8 23.~xg7 :ges 24.~xh6

White has gained several pawns for the

sacrificed knight, a useful safety net should

things go awry. It should, though, only take

a few prods and pokes in the right places to

expose the black king and finish the game

with a mating attack.

24 ... cxd4

24 ... lZJ xd4 is inadvisable because of 25.i a5+

and 26.~d6 mating, while 24 .. J~~b8 allows

25 J~xb8 lZJ xb8 [25 ... ~xb8 26.~xc6 also

wins] 26.i a5+ again with mate on d6.

Now the b 1 rook enters the fray , intent on

38

28 ... ~c5 29.:gd7+ i>c8 30.:gc7+ i>d8 31J~!fxe7

and now Black resigned since 31 ... ~xe 7 is

mated by 32.1Wf8 + ~e8 33 . ~ d7+ ~c8

34.~xe8+ and 35 .\Wxd8, so he must give up

his queen after which the white queen,

bishop and h- pawn are an unstoppable

force.

1-0

Of course, this type of prepared surprise in

the opening isn't immediately winning (as

opposed, for example, to a computer

inspired refutation of a sharp line in the

Sicilian or Benoni) but its advantages are

clear: firstly, the opponent has to deal with

immediate problems at the board, with the

clock ticking and an opponent (us!) who has

already discovered some or many of the

tactical and positional threats .

Secondly, these ideas can be re- used several

times before anyone cottons on to their

worth (the 5 .h4 systetn has so far brought

me 6 wins and 2 draws against very decent

opposition).

We obviously won't necessarily re- use the

same idea next time we meet the same

opponent, which brings me on to the

important concept of 're- cycling'.

Using the game just shown to highlight this

idea, imagine that a few tournaments later

we are paired again as White against the

same opponent. Now, what do we play

against his French Defence?

We have to assume he has in the meantime

found an interesting counter to the 5 .h4 plan .

and is looking forward to playing it and

gaining revenge, sow~ switch from 3.Nc3 to

3.Nd2 and use the sharp 6.c4 idea we will

encounter on page 52.

A couple of months later we meet again and

our opponent is ready to meet both these

ideas, but in the meantime we have prepared

4.Qd3 in the Winawer (featured on page 57).

This constant wrong- footing of an opponent

in the opening works excellently in practice

- think about it, 3 pieces of preparation

recycled against 3 different players of the

French can cover 9 games, and is the chess

equivalent of 'hit and run'.

And whatever we may lose, with respect to

playing and knowing a system inside out, we

more than make up for in the experience

gained playing these variations on a theme.

And of course this idea is not exclusive to

the French Defence - these sharp sidelines

exist in all openings, and for both colours.

How much more effective and practical does

this approach sound compared to trying to

39

In the Beginning

learn, remember and update all the mainline

theory?

Time to move on to some even more

specific preparation now.

At some point in their chess career everyone

will have been caught out by an unusual or

quirky opening (that is, even more quirky or

unusual than the ones the Streetfighter will

be employing!).

This is only to be expected since we can't

possibly learn everything, but it's not enough

to simply write- off openings such as the

Sicilian Wing Gambit (l .e4 c5 2.b4?!) or the

Grob (l .g4?!) - we have to prepare an

answer for when we next meet these dodgy

variations .

The amount of time we can spend studying

chess at home may well be limited, but its

preferable to invest a comfortable hour or

two there, rather than a nervy 15 minutes or

so over the board if we get caught unawares

in the opening! The following game

highlights the practical value of this

approach to less- well- charted openings.

Burnett, A- Minnican, A Sicilian Defence

Glenrothes Premier 1998

l.e4 c5 2.~f3 ~f6?!


This is the Nimzowitsch Variation of the

Sicilian Defence, Alan's pet line with which

he had surprised me a few year's previously,

winning quickly and cleanly after the

unambitious 3. tt:Jc3, when 3 ... d5! is already

pleasant for Black.

Since that game, however, I had managed to

dig up a very interesting and highly

energetic idea buried deep in the bowels of

an old copy of Informator (being the

archetypal 'stingy' Scotsman, I tend not to

buy Inforrnators until they are several years

old and going for a fiver in the bargain bin

of the bookstall!).

That being said, the theory of 10 or 15 years

ago is the ideal searching ground for us,

while our opponents are 'booking-up' on

Shirov's latest novelty or one of Topalov's

ground-breaking innovations. Not likely,

granted, in this particular variation, but the

premise still holds.

3.e5 etJd5 4.etJc3 e6!?

Black's other option here is 4 ... ltJxc3, but

that allows White simple and speedy

development after 5 .dxc3 .

Alan's choice of 4 ... e6 is a specialty of

players at his former club Glasgow

Polytechnic (he's now a team-mate and

friend of mine at Wandering Dragons Chess

Club in Edinburgh, so I'd best be careful

how I annotate this game!).

The idea is 5.ltJxd5 exd5 6.d4 tt:Jc6 7.dxc5

ixc5 8.'Mixd5 d6 9.exd6 ~b6, a very

dangerous double- pawn sacrifice which

White would have to be either very brave or

very well- prepared to accept.

It's not the kind of position we should really

40

be aiming for as it concedes the initiative

very early on, but fortunately I had been

fore-warned of this idea by one of Douglas

Bryson's Scotland on Sunday columns, in

which Douglas mentioned a 20-move defeat

he himself suffered at the hands of

Polytechnic player lain Swan in this line.

Fore- warned is fore- armed as they say, and

so my next move avoids these 'tricks' and

instead sensibly targets the dark squares at

d6 and f6 .

5.tiJe4 etJc6 6.c4 ~b6 7.b4!?

White gets in his own pawn sacrifice

designed to aid quick development and

deflect black from his central control. If he

takes on b4 with the pawn, then 8.d4 gives

White a massive centre and the push d5 is

already a threat. The text move is safer but

the knight will take time to reposition, time

which White hopes to use for quick

development, though probably not in the

manner you might expect!

This is a very important position in this line

as Black must now choose how to continue

his development. The game which had so

attracted me to this line appeared in

Infomator 27 (1979!) and continued: 8 ... Wfc7 9.a4 aS 10. ga3 flc6 11. fibl h6

12.~e2 ~e7 13.0-0 0-0 14.~f6+ hf6

15.exf6 d6 16.fxg7 ges 17.11Jg5 f5 18.gh3

e5 19.fixh6 @xg7 20.gh7+ @g6 21.f4 ~d7

22.~h5+ @j6 23.r;Jj7# 1-0 Jekabsson

Shabalov (USSR 1978)

A very attractive game, and although Black

should surely have a better defence available

somewhere, specific improvements are hard

to come by.

Douglas Bryson suggested 8 .. .'Wffc7 9.a4 'Wc6

10. lt:Jg3 d5! as being in Black's favour.

Entirely true, but the knight doesn't belong

on g3 . Far superior is 10.4Jc3! when 10 ... d5

is unplayable immediately because of

11.cxd5 followed by 12.Bb5 winning the

queen, while White threatens to win the b6

knight with 11.a5 . If Black prevents this

with ll. .. a5 , then White simply plays 'lNb 1,

d4 and 'Ll b5 with an excellent position.

1 O ... d6! is better, but Black would still have

to play extremely accurately to achieve a

playable position. In conclusion, Black

clearly has enough to think about here and

the text move can hardly be the losing error.

8 ... cie7 9.a4

41

In the Beginning

Forcing Black's reply since allowing the further pawn thrust 1 O.a5 is obviously

unpalatable. However, the inclusion of these

seemingly innocent rook- pawn moves will

prove beneficial to White only.

9 ... a5 10.h4! h6

This is absolutely necessary in order to

prevent ct:J fg5 followed by 'lNh5, but again

the respective rook pawn moves are in

White's favour. Why? Well, we shall see

soon enough!

11J~;a3! V!fc7 12J~~h3!

Both rooks are developed in beginners

fashion! Although at first sight it looks

somewhat amusing (if not downright

ridiculous), it is also completely logical as

the 3rd rank is the only route available for

the rooks to reach useful open lines.

Of course, these exclamation marks are not

given for any genius on my part -they

belong rightfully to Jekabsson or

Gurgenidze or whoever it was who first

devised this development plan.

Knowing that I was to play Alan the

following morning, however, I had this

position set up at home the previous evening


(and not, as John Henderson claimed in his 13JWbl! daily Scotsman column, the position after

White's 26th move!)

The clock times alone tell the story:-White

had used 5 minutes while Black had

consumed 40, with another 12 minutes

lapsing before his reply.

12 .. J~g8

This doesn't work out too well, although

perhaps the follow-up is the real culprit.

Personally I would rather not defend Black's

side of this particular argument at all since

his pieces lack any of the vitality and scope

that I hope you have come to appreciate as a

necessary part of aggressive and attacking

chess.

Relatively best was 12 .. . Wc6 when Black

can indeed win the a4 pawn, but as we saw

in the previous game, pawn hunting on the

queen- side is not a viable game- plan when

the storm clouds are beginning to gather on

the opposite wing, as the following game

continuation shows:-

12 .•. Wfc6 13. Wfb1 CfJxa4 14.1l.a1 CfJb6 15.ile2

a4 16.@fl E:a5 17.E:g3 @j8 18.CfJd6 !la8

19. CiJxf7 !lg8 1-0 Gurgen idze} B

Mnatsakanian)E (Tbilisi 1977)

42

This sly little queen move came as a surprise

to Alan, but we have already seen the idea

twice!

It shows quite clearly that preparation

doesn't have to work out move-perfect to be

successful. An understanding of where the

pieces work best and why - exerting the

most influence on the game - is where the

real skill lies when 'doing homework'.

13 ... l2Jc6 14.E!g3 ~d4?!

Suffering on both the board and the clock,

Black decides to offload some material to

ease his constricted position.

It may have been more dogged to shuffle the

king over with 14 .. . ~f8 to lend extra

protection to g7 , but I doubt if it changes the

assessment of the position. White has a

simple plan then of playing ttJ d6 followed

by Wh7.

15.'i.Jxd4 cxd4 16.~xd4 E!a6

It hardly seems fair to criticise this move; as

Kasparov once said, "In a bad position all

moves are bad!"

Probably Alan should have chanced his arm

here with 17 .... ixa3, and although there is a

'mathematical' win here for White, it is

entirely possible that Black's best hope is

that White will mess up the calculations. As

played, White can develop a very strong

attack without investing material.

17.c5 ltJd5 18.ltJd6+ i>f8 19.~af3 f5 20.~xa6 bxa6 21.~xf5+!

I•' .t ·~ I' c

• <.

ii'it ' ' ~i'ti~; ~ · I'& ~'f\2f-

' ~·, '.il l~ : ....

[j ~ ~ 1

,J! ' .. ""

--~-

[j ~ [j ~ -

VJ/1 . ~ I

2l.ttJxf5 wins also, but generally speaking a

knight as dominant as the one on d6 will be

at least as useful as a rook for the final

attack. Black's king is now brutally exposed

and with a complete lack of co-ordination

between his forces there is no defence.

21 ... exf5 22.~xf5+ ~f6 23.exf6 ~xd6 24.fxg7+ i>e8 25.~g6+ i>d8 26.~f6+

j.tl• · ~ ,, • '

I' ~'

' I . .tl ~~VJ/1' ·0

' ,.8 ~ , I ,-

fl'".O

[j , 8 -·-- ~: :

Fi~;i-~ ~: ~ ~ ~~{~;,,, ,

~ '',

43

In the Beginning

and here Black resigned since 26 ... ie7

27 .i xe7+ (j;jxe7 28 .g e3+ ~d8 29.\Mff6 is

mate.

1-0

Well, that piece of preparation went

swimmingly, but this will obviously not be

the case all of the time.

As Scotland's much- loved poet Rabbie

Burns once wrote, 11 The best laid plans of

mice and men gang aft agley! 11 (For those of

you not conversant with Burns and the old

Scots tongue, perhaps the ancient Hebrew

proverb - Man plans, God laughs - will

clarify matters)

Before the main game, which shows the

truth of Burns' statement and will hopefully

provide us with a few ideas of how to

overcome unexpected adversity at the board,

we will have a quick look at an amazing

game - a savage encounter between two

Grandmaster 'Streetfighters' , Dragoljub

V elimirovic and Mihai Sub a.

Velimirovic is a fearless attacking player, no

respecter of reputation and a man who is

never happier than when he is blasting his

way through to the opposition's king. His

opponent, the Romanian GM Suba, is

considered by many to be one of the most

original thinkers that chess has seen and an

unsung expert on practical chess

psychology.

Since I was looking for an interesting line to

play as White against the Sicilian Najdorf

the game stuck in my mind.


Velimirovic, D- Suba, M Sicilian Najdorf

Pinerolo 1987

l.e4 c5 2. l!iJj3 d6 3.d4 &iJf6 4.1:i.Jc3 cxd4 5.1!i.Jxd4 e6 6.ibe3 a6 7.ibc4 b5 8.1lb3 1lb 7 9.f4 l:i.Jbd7

~ - .t _____ _

'

Somewhat amusingly, this move was given

as 9 .. . ttJ fd 7 (or rather KN- Q2 in the old

fashioned parlance of the pre-Maxwell

CHESS magazine) which I thought to be

very strange even for the likes of Mihai

Suba. Only many years later (last year to be

exact) did I notice this game in Informator

with the more likely - and as it turns out

correct - 9 ... tt:J bd7 given as the game

continuation.

This notational error rather bizarrely (though

also in a way fortunately) worked out in my

favour as we will see later in the main game.

10.0-0 b4!?

An extremely risky decision and Black will

now have to play very accurately. White's

lead in development could quickly turn into

a strong attack.

JJ.I:iJa4 ixe4 12.f5 e5 13.&iJe6!?

44

Perhaps not fully correct, but it is the logical

and consistent continuation with the black

king stuck in the centre of the board.

13 .•• fxe6 14.fxe6 l:i.Jb8?!

Well, I said Black would have to be very

accurate - but it appears he wasn't listening!

Probably he was afraid of playing 14 .. . ttJc5

in view of something like 15 J~xf6, but the

tactics seem to favour Black after 15 .. . ttJxb3

(according to Deep Fritz 8 that is, who tends

to get it right when the pieces are flying all

over the shop!).

I don't find it too surprising that a human

player gets it wrong in such situations ,

particularly when defending - whenever it

happens to me it seems that every second

variation I calculate ends with me being

check-mated, and every other one contains

something much worse!

15.1:tJb6 ibe7 16.1Ml4+!

This is a key move which prevents Black's

king from fleeing to anything resembhng

safety.

In his notes to this game V elimirovic gives

Black's next move the thumbs down, but if

16 ... ~f8 (given as best) has to be played

In the Beginning

then I wouldn't be remotely happy playing ~e7 23.CLJc7+ ~j8 24.lif2+ Black here.

16 ... ~c617.Ci:Jxa8 ha418.~6 VNc8 19.l!lxf6!

We wi 11 be seeing this move again very

soon! Note how White strikes from both

sides of the board simultaneously.

19 ... hc2

A last desperate lunge by the look of things

since 19 .. . gxf6 gets mated by 20 .~h5+, and

19 ... i xf6 loses quickly to 20.~xd6 with the

intention of 21. lLJ c7+ .

20.E!cl!

Velimirovic's play is very impressive in this

game. Suba was undoubtedly aware of his

Yugoslav opponent's reputation as a skillful

attacker, so why he even contemplated

entering such a hairy position is beyond me

- very bad chess psychology (especially

from someone I've just labelled an expert),

1-0

Not a bad little starter before the main

course I think you will agree!

If you see a game such as this one, which

really appeals to you, then save it. Within a

few months you'll have a neat collection of

fantastic combinations, interesting opening

ideas and various other weapons which you

can turn to every now and again for

inspiration.

We saw earlier how useful even the basic

ideas of the Shirov - Chernin game turned

out to be, and it was by no means an isolated

case as we are about to see.

Burnett, A- Willetts, S Sicilian Defence Dundee Major 1988

l.e4 c5 2.Ci:Jf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.ltJxd4 ~f6 5.ct:Jc3 a6 6.~e3 e6 7.~c4

.I .t if • .i. ~

' ' '' i i r~~~----.

but we all have to learn our lessons from This move is relatively unusual in

somewhere! conjunction with 6.i e3 when played against

the Najdorf move order. The development

20 ... hf6 21. l!lxc2 VNb7 22.Vf!xd6 planappealedtomeatthetimeas it avoided

45


the large, and rapidly expanding, body of

theory surrounding the 'English Attack' with

7.D and 8.g4 which was being popularised

at the time by the likes of N unn, Short and

Chandler - hence the English tag.

7 ... b5 8.ib3 ib7 9.f4 ie7 10.0-0 ~xe4!?

Just as in the Velimirovic- Suba game, Black

decides to grab the pawn and hopes to

weather whatever storm is coming his way.

Dangerous tactics, but with ll.e5 on its way

otherwise, there are no easy 'outs' for Black

in this line and he is faced with some tricky

decisions at every move.

ll.~xe4 ixe4 12.f5 e5 13.llJe6!?

As we have seen before also, but White

himself with his previous play. You have to

be consistent when you are playing super

sharp openings - suddenly getting cold feet

halfway into a line is a sure-fire way to lose

a game. Be bold, be brave, and should things

get a little sticky, well, we'll find a way to

deal with that when it happens!

13 ... fxe6

Naturally Black can't decline the offer since

the pawn on g7 is hanging. He has to grab

whatever material he can in order to be able

to throw some of it back at White at some

point during the ensuing attack.

14.fxe6 ltJc6 15.Wfg4 ig6 16.id5

Unbelievably I had reached this exact

position when analysing the Velimirovic

Suba game!

As I hardly expected anyone to follow

Suba's play with 9 ... ltJ fd7 (which I now

know was a typo!), the moves to this point

had seemed eminently plausible given the

forcing nature of the play. However. ..

16 ... ~c7!

obviously forced this continuation on ... unfortunately I had only reckoned on the

46

pin-breaking 16 ... ~c8 at this point, upon

which 17 .i e4 is devastating in view of

17 .. . il.xe4 18.~g7 ~f8 19.~xf8+ followed by

20 .~f7# .

----.-- X

Analysis diagram

You can therefore imagine my horror when I

suddenly realised that my opponent's move

16 . .. ~c7 would, after 17 .il.e4 i xe4

18.~xg7 allow the completely winning

18 ... 0-0-0!

Analysis diagram

As stated in the introduction, "the best laid

plans of mice and men ... " indeed!

Now, when faced with this kind of nasty

surprise several things can happen:- firstly,

we can completely overlook the extra

possibilities available to our opponent and

quickly play 17 .il.e4? anyway, only realising

too late the disastrous consequences.

The best way to avoid such embarrassing

and wasteful debacles (remember, we will

47

In the Beginning

have spent at least a little time and effort

preparing our 'weapons') is to take some

time over every move - prepared or not.

Secondly, we can panic at such a tum of

events and snatch at the first threatening

move we see (e.g. 17.~f3) and then fall to pieces (after e.g. 17 ... ~c8) when we fail to

find a decent follow- up.

Sometimes bluffing your way through such

problems will actually work, but in general,

playing quickly or angrily will only help us

to overlook whatever redeeming chances

there might be hidden in the position.

Which brings us on, finally, to the best way

of dealing with such problems.

That is, we can look at the new position

objectively, see it as a challenge, and then

us e logic or imagination (often a combination of the two) to help us find the

most effective solution.

Of course, in the heat of the battle, a reverse

such as 16 ... ~c7 will lead to many different emotions running riot within us . We can

curse our bad luck or kick ourselves for

having overlooked such a simple move, but

these negative reactions won't help one iota.

What we have to learn to do is to develop a

more philosophical attitude to our chess! We have to accept that chess is such a

difficult game that we will never be able to

see or predict everything - we are always

going to miss tactics, mis- evaluate plans

and come up against weird and wonderful

opponents whose thoughts run along

completely different tracks to our own.

This in part is why we all love the game, is it

not? If we can learn to accept this from the

outset, we are part of the way to solving the

problem. It may well transpire that there is


no saving clause in the given position, but if

there is one, then a cool, clear head is far

more likely to find it.

In this specific instance the logical approach

proved to be the most effective. I asked

myself what was preventing my intended

17 .ie4 from working, and the simple

answer is that Black can castle queen- side.

So, can I prevent this resource? Well, not

directly, but there is a mini-plan which will

certainly make Black think twice about

castling long, so .. .

17.a4!

17 ... b4

Attempting to keep the queen-side closed

and planning, should White try the further

18 .c3, to push again with 18 ... b3 not

worrying about returning a mere pawn.

However, White has a more powerful move

at his disposal.

18.a5!

A very annoying move to meet since Black

must now worry about White's pieces

streaming in on both sides of the board.

If now 18 ... 0-0-0, White plays 19 .i b6 and

48

after the forced 19 .. . ~b7, White doesn't grab

the passive rook on d8 , but rather targets the

king (as usual!) with 20.~c4 and has all the

fun e.g.,: 20 ... ~e8 21 .g f7! ~f8 (21 .. . ~xf7

22.~xc6!) 22J~af1 ~xf7 23.~xt7 tying black

in knots, e.g. 23 .. . i xf7 24.i xc6 ~b8 25.i.d7

~b7 26.~c6# .

Analysis diagram

18 .. J:!c8?!

And so it turns out that Black hadn't fully

understood White's predicament in the first

place! He ought to have challenged White's

dominance of the f- file before White could

introduce specific threats . It must be said,

though, that moving the rook out of the pin

seems like a very natural move (hence the

trouble I found myself in at move 16 with

my preparation!).

19.ib6 ~b8 20.ie4!

In the Beginning

The plan to prevent queen-side castling has 23 J~xf6! worked better than could have been hoped

for and now, with the crisis over, the

'prepared' move works as initially intended.

20 ... ~f6?!

Of course we have seen already that

20 .. . ! xe4 21.~xg7 wins since ... 0-0-0 is

unavailable, but 20 ... !!c7 is better, although

it's just about the ugliest move imaginable

and unlikely to enter into too many human

heads as a defensive try (it is of course a

computer suggestion). It doesn't particularly

do anything - or threaten to do anything -

constructive anyway. White could simply

take on g6 and then play !!D and !!afl with

an overwhelming position.

21.~xg6+ ~e7

Unfortunately Black can't recapture on g6

since 22.Wg6+ mates next move.

Winning the pawn isn't impotiant in itself,

but gaining the g6 square is the quickest way

into the black king-side. The bishop is

immune to capture as ~g6 attacks both the

rook and threatens mate on n, a recurring

thetne throughout the tactical play.

22 ... tlJd8

The knight retreat looks natural as it

defends f7 , attacks the pawn on e6 and

releases the black rook to take on c2, but

White has a pretty break-through available.

49

This kind of move should eventually

become second nature to the Streetfighter -

the bishop was the only thing holding

Black's position together and must be

removed.

23 .. J~xh7

23 ... @xf6 loses quickly to 24J~fl + and mate

in two, while 23 ... gxf6 loses the rook to

24.Wxg7+ .

24.~xd8+ ~xd8

Nor was 24 ... !!xd8 any better since 25 .~f7+

e8 26.Wg6 will mate in short order.

27 Y!lg6 mates very quickly, but I played the

first clear win that I saw.

and because the vulnerable rook on h7 is lost

Black called it a day.

1-0


An attractive and exciting game to be sure, 17 ... i xf7 18 .exf7+ ~f8 19 .i h6 gxh6??

but most important to us is its value from the 20 .~g8+ ! leading to mate next move!

viewpoint of practical play.

If we go back for a moment to the critical

position at move 17, we can look at what

might have happened had there not been

such a logical strategy available to White .

Then the imaginative approach to problem

solving might well have thrown up the move

1 7 .~f7!? here.

Analysis diagram

Analysis diagram

Though this is not forced, the fact that there

is such a possibility in the position at all

should give us hope and inspiration. 1 have

great faith in the power of fantasy variations

to lead us out of difficult situations, and in a

later chapter we will investigate this concept

more thoroughly (as well as various other

methods of retrieving lost positions). After

If we indulge White for a few moves we all, 1 got you into this mess, so I guess Ill

might get the following continuation, have to help you to get out of it too!

50


In this chapter, for example, one of the ideas

we will look at is the relationship between

exchanges and the initiative - which you

might have expected to find along with the

materialism and initiative section.

However, it was important to keep that

concept separate within the learning process

so as not to confuse one of the most

important Streetfighting tools.

Anyway, with that little explanation out of

the way, we can get on with the study of the

various methods available to help us deal

with that huge expanse known as the

middle-game. Some of the ideas will be

familiar to you, others not so familiar; some

will relate to tactics, some to positional ideas

and some to the purely practical aspect of

chess. All, however, are extremely

important, so pay attention!

LOW-LEVEL TACTICS

The Streetfighting approach to chess, as we

have seen, places a fairly heavy

responsibility on tactical awareness.

For the majority of players, the mere

mention of tactics evokes visions of high

level game- winning combinations; pawns

and pieces are won and lost through forks

and skewers, while rooks and queens are

sacrificed to mate the enemy king or

promote a passed pawn.

What is often over-looked is that low-level tactics exist too - threats and nuances

designed to simply 'sort out' your position,

allowing your pieces to reach their desired

squares for example.

We have to adopt the mind-set that all these

different tactics are there to serve us, not

52

intimidate us - and if we can master them

then we can support our strategic aims with

extra weaponry.

The next game shows how utilising the little

tactics can lead to big gains.

Burnett, A- Norris, A French Defence

Richardson Cup Final 1998

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.li:Jd2 ~f6 4.e5 ~fd7 5.li:Jgf3 c5 6.c4!?

A curious move which is designed to

unsettle the opponent early on.

It rather goes against the recommended

strategy in this type of position, which

involves playing c3 to support the pawn

chain in the centre.

White's spearhead pawn on e5 is normally

the basis for his middle- game strategy;

White will hope that it cuts the black

position in two, controlling key defensive

and developtnent squares and separating the

queen- side pieces from the soon to be

castled king - the idea being to launch a

middle- game attack around this positional

factor.

However, there are two sides to every story,

and players of the French Defence are well

Middle-game Matters

aware that they must attack this pawn chain 9.0-0 ~c5 10.~b3 ~g4 ll.~b5!? at every opportunity. Playing ... c5 , ... ltJ c6

and often .. . ~b6 to attack the foundations of

it, and ... f6 to put the head of it under

pressure.

So, if Black has such an easy strategy to

follow (though I'm not saying it's easy to

play), why should we indulge him? The

move 6.c4!? asks Black comp1etely different

questions, namely, "Do you know how to

handle this early assault on the centre?" and

furthermore, "If not, can you come up with

a decent answer over the board with the

clock ticking?"

6 ... ctJc6

A perfectly sensible move but one which

cost Black 12 minutes on the clock, no doubt

wondering if he should capture on c4.

7.cxd5 exd5 8.~d3 cxd4!?

Black follows the strategy outlined above

and undermines the white central pawns.

What sparse theory there is on this line

recommends 8 ... g6 here. It is indeed a very

logical move, since White hasn't built a c3 /

d4/e5 chain which would nullify the effect

of a bishop on g7. In addition, a pawn on g6

would restrict the action of White's bishop

on d3 . However, Black wants to play the

French , not some strange, unfamiliar

position!

This wrong-footing of opponents is an

important factor in our style of play, gaining

time on the clock, forcing the opposition to

fight on our ten·itory and generally hassling

them at each and every tum.

53

Moving a piece twice in the opening is often

frowned upon, particularly w·hen there are

other developing options available (here for

instance ll .El:e 1 or ll .~f4). Nonetheless,

since Black has made it clear that he's not

p lanning to capture on d3 (thereby

deve l oping the white queen and

rendering ... ~g4 nonsensical) it is in White's

interests to use the bishop more effectively

in the fight for the central squares.

What is White's overall strategy here? Well,

it's clear that if he can win back the pawn on

d4 while defending his own on e5, then the

black one on d5 will be weak. Hopefully

White can tie his opponent to defending this

weakness, and then switch his attention to

greener pastures, as ever the black king!

ll ... ~e6 12.VNc2!


Here then is the frrst 'low- level' tactic of the

game. If there is something annoying you in

a given position (here the pin from the

bishop on g4, which prevents the immediate

recapture on d4 (e.g. 12. ctJ bxd4 ltJ exd4

13 .Wxd4 i.xf3 disrupting the kings ide

pawns , or 12 ... i.xf3 13 .ttJ xf3 i.c5 with

strong pressure on the centre) then look for a

tactical resolution. Here the double attack on

c6 prevents 12 ... i.xf3 (since 13 .i.xc6+

would win) so White escapes from the pin.

12 ... ~b6 13.~fxd4 ~exd4 14.~xd4

very strong. Entering such positions with the

king stuck in the centre is an invitation to

disaster.

15 ... ~c5 16.~xc6 bxc6

Recapturing with the bishop instead would

have led to an even worse version of the

game continuation. With White having

contra 1 of the d4- square the bishop on c6

would be little more than a 'big pawn', only

with fewer prospects.

~d7 17J;adl!

Again the pressure on c6 meant that taking a..:X==-,~J--"'"'~....~,...:~L____.,_.,t=ii:4 on d4 was not an option. .-•-~~~- ._ -!,;;;;;;;-...,a.==--,..;;.~

And yet another tactical nuance comes into

play allowing White to develop quickly. If

Black plays 15 ... ttJxd4, then 16.! xd7+ drags

the black king into open play with 16 ... @xd7,

whereupon 17.~a4+ recovers the knight

since it is pinned to the queen.

A further point is that the pawn snatch

15 ... ltJxe5 fails to either 16.~f5! exploiting

the pin on the i.d7 to attack the loose knight,

or again 16.! xd7+ tt:Jxd7, when 17 J~fel is

54

This is probably the best and most important

move of the game.

This may seem to be an excessive

description of a simple rook-to-the- centre

tnove to defend a knight, but let's look at

what White needs to do in this position.

Ideally he wants to have rooks on fl (to

support the f4- pawn push), on dl (to bolster

the d4-square), and also on cl (to pressure

the backward c- pawn and bishop at c5)!

As this triple- rook play is unfortunately

impossible, White must play patiently and

re-organise his position - with Black

lagging in development there is time for

such an approach.

17 ... 0-0 18.a3 aS 19.l1Mc3! ~fe8

Note that by playing 19 .. J~ab8 Black doesn't

actually threaten to take the b2- pawn as the

bishop on c5 would be hanging, and if he

first exchanges on d4 then the white bishop

would be indirectly defending b2 anyway.

These are small but significant tactical

details to pay attention to since many

positions are blown by excessive caution

and fear of 'ghosts'.

The immediate 20.f4 is now playable, but

with the black rook eyeing up the ! e3 along

the e - file it would involve some

unnecessary mental arithmetic after, e.g.

20 ... f6.

Working back from the game continuation

might suggest that Black ought to have

played the unwieldy 19 ... ~ae8 here, but then

the rook on f8 would be lost after 20J~~cl

i xd4 21.i xd4, followed by i c5.

20.~cl ~xd4 21.~xd4 ~d8 22.f4

Finally the time is ripe to advance the f

pawn.

It is common knowledge that opposite

colour-bishops can often lead to drawn

positions even when the defending side has a

serious material disadvantage, but what is

55

Middle-game Matters

not so well- known amongst club- strength

players is that when the major pieces are still

on the board the side with the initiative has a

massive advantage.

The reason for this is that the defending side

finds it incredibly difficult to challenge for

the opposite- coloured squares to his bishop.

Here, for example, Black would dearly love

to prevent the further advance of the f- pawn

by 22 ... g6, but the dark- squared weaknesses

it would create around his king are too

horrible to contemplate, hi s own bishop

helpless in their defence.

Black needs to realise just how much trouble

he is in here, bite the bullet, and play

22 ... i f5 leaving the sickly c- pawn to its

fate.

After 23 .Wixc6 ~e4 , he would at least have a

strong, invulnerable bishop to console

himself with, and if White were to continue

as in the game with 24.f5 ? then 24 ... Wig5

would create real counter- play.

22 ... VNh4 23.f5 VNg5 24.e6!

24 ... fxe6 25.f6

This simple but highly effective pawn

sacrifice exposes the frailties in Black's

kingside. The threat of advancing on with


f7 forces the game reply since 25 ... ~f8 potential of each and every piece which will

26.fxg7 would win even more quickly. set the prospective Streetfighter apart from

25 ... gxf6 26.ixf6 ~h5 27J~~~f3

Yet another rook- lift, an extremely common

device when the opponent's king is so

exposed.

27 ... e5 28J~g3+ ~f7 29J~fl ~e6 30.!9:g5

and here Black resigned as either mate or

loss of his queen is imminent.

1-0

This was a deceptively simple game. From

move 12 onwards White utilised a series of

'low - level' tactics - threats and

combinations rarely more than a couple of

moves deep - to put his pieces on their most

effective squares, thereby forcing

concessions and eventually leading to a

vicious attack on the black king. In the final

position the relative activity of the opposing

forces paints a very clear picture.

Along with effective, practical opening

preparation and tactical nous, it is this

constant striving to unleash the full attacking

56

the rest. Virtually all the ideas and concepts

we will explore in this book are designed

with this express intention in mind

EXCHANGES AND THE INITIATIVE

Knowing which pieces to exchange, and

when, is one of the most troublesome

problems faced by club- players on a regular

basis.

Often exchanges are demanded by a

particular pawn structure (the most easily

recognisable example of this is leaving your

opponent with a bad bishop stuck behind

pawns on the same colour), or the necessity

to defend the king's position from attack, or

simply to ease a constricted position where

you haven't enough space to manouevre all .

your pieces.

However, a very common occurrence at

club- level is exchanging just to get rid of

some pieces (I didn't know what else to do

with it?), and the opposite extreme of

keeping pieces on the board just for the sake

of it (it might carne in useful sometime!)

In a logical game such as chess, though,

there has to be rhyme and reason behind

every such decision, otherwise your

opponent may be given a clear initiative for

free .

As we will be constantly striving to call the

shots in each and every game, it is important

to understand exactly when exchanging

pieces will be to our advantage, and also to

recognize if and when an opponent has

erred in their choice of exchanges.

Burnett, A- MacKintosh, I French Defence

TAFCA League 1992

l.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Cbc3 ~b4 4.W'd3!?

This move is designed simply to avoid well

trodden paths.

4 ... dxe4

This exchange is fine since Black will be

able to develop the g8-knight with tempo

against the white queen. White also has no

problems with it as it allows the queen to

take up an active post on the kingside, not

unusual in many lines of the French

Defence.

5.Wlxe4 ~xc3+?!

Middle-game Matters

White (he might prefer to use that square for

the dark-squared bishop).

More common, and better, for Black is to

play 5 ... ttJf6 followed by challenging the

centre with 6 .. . c5 or 6 ... ctJ c6. Again, though,

we see the practical value of playing a lesser

known idea (4.~d3) to set awkward early

problems.

6.bxc3 ~f6 7.W'h4 l!Nd5

' --..t-... "-- Wi ~- 10"'1~~ ...... ~

Now Black is looking to exchange the

queens off as well, but in doing so he falls

behind in developrnent. Chess is not such a

simple game that we can consider one

component (White's pawn disruption with

queens off the board) as being definitively

more important than another (getting all

your pieces into active and useful positions) .

Another misconception among club-players

But this exchange is ill-advised at this is that swapping- queens guarantees a safe

juncture. Black probably wanted to disrupt game- it ain't necessarily so!

the white pawn structure while he had the

opportunity. However, as White's only 8.c4! Wle4+ 9.V9xe4 ltJxe4 10.~d3 sensible way to avoid this disruption is by CtJ f6 the solid but uninspiring ~d2, there was no

need to rush matters.

It is normal for Black to wait for a3 before

exchanging, thereby gaining a useful tempo,

since having a pawn on a3 is no gain for

57

Black has to lose time with the knight

because 1 O ... f5 is unpalatable owing to the

weakness it leaves on e6, which White could

seek to exploit along the semi- open e-file.

ll.~f3 ~bd7 12.0-0 b6 13.if4 c5 15J~~fel ~g6 16.ixg6! 14.d5!

X l

~ 11

Now we can see the first problem arising out

of Black's desire to exchange pieces at the

earliest opportunity. White's subsequent

quick development (both bishop moves

gained a tempo against the knight and the c

pawn respectively) allows for this pawn

offer designed to open lines against the un

castled king.

If now 14 ... exd5?, then White gains another

tempo with 15 .~e 1 +, and the lack of queens

doesn't prevent him from launching a strong

attack, e.g.l5 ... @f8 16.cxd5 and the pawn is

taboo since i d6+ and ~e8 is mate, or

alternatively 15 ... d8 16.ttJ g5 ~f8 17.i d6

picking up the exchange.

14 ... ~f8?!

This move is well-intentioned since it avoids disruption to his own pawn structure,

but of course it loses more time. He had to

bite the bullet here with 14 ... 0-0, when after

15.dxe6 fxe6 there is no real reason why the

e6- pawn should be weaker than the trio on

a2 , c2 and c4. Black's failure to get to grips with the different exchanges on offer here

will cost him dearly.

58

' ~ ~ ttJ ~ ~8

11

The knight on g6 was not only threatening to

take the bishop on f4 , but also curtailing the

view of the other bishop on d3, so this

exchange is necessary. However, it is also

strong as it allows the d- fi1e to be used

effectively by the rook and, once again,

gains a tempo.

We have to see past the 'little rules' such as

bishops are worth more than knights ; what is

important is what a particular piece can do

in a given situation.

16 ... hxg6 17.~e5 0-0 18.gadl!

Simple development bringing the final piece

into the game.

The exchange on e6 was tempting, e.g. 18 .dxe6 i xe6 19 .ltJ xg6 looks good, but

Black can simply play 19 ... ~fe8 and

suddenly it is the weak white pawns on the

queen- side which become the centre of

attention.

It is important to remember the theme of our

play (quick development and using our

initiative to cause the opponent problems)

and not to get distracted from this unless

there is a decisive gain in sight.

18 ... ~h5 19.,ict

This is the best square for the bishop as it

doesn't interfere with the action of the other

pieces and can always venture out again

later if or when required.

19 ... exd5

Black is finally forced into this exchange as

he has few, if any, sensible alternatives

available, but now the passed d- pawn is

very strong supported by 2 rooks and the

active knight.

20.cxd5 ,ia6 2l.ctJc6 ,ic4 22.g4!

This aggressive lunge appears very strange

Middle-game Matters

combination wins as in the game, but Black

spots the opportunity to ease his suffering

somewhat by exchanges. There is, though, a

rather nasty (though far frorn obvious) sting

in the tail.

23 ... l2Jxd5 24.~xd5 ,ixd5 25.~e7+ c±>h8

Now the obvious 26.tt:Jxd5 would give

White a small material advantage (~ & ttJ v

~ & LS) but after 26 ... ~fe8 the ugly white

pawns would leave matters very unclear.

However, stepping outside of the simple and

thematic course the game has taken so far..

26.~e3! ,ie6

but contains an insidious little trap which Covering the mate threatened on h3 .

Black fails to appreciate. White's general

plan is to force through the d-pawn and it 27.~e4!

would be useful to side- line the knight 'in

perpetuity' so that it won't be able to aid the

defence in any way.

22 ... Cbf6 23.g5!

Of course, if the knight hops back to h5 it

won't have a single square available to it. If

instead it retreats to d7, then the same

59

Street.fighting Chess

Now that the bishop has left it's defence of

e4, the mate simply moves up the board to

h4 against which there is no defence, so

Black resigned.

1-0

Of course, if your intention - or rather desire

- is to play like Karpov or Kramnik, then

study their games as they are probably the

best in the world at deciding which pieces

are best to exchange and which are best kept

on the board. But realistically, and certainly

from the Streetfighting perspective, we can

set ourselves simple rules governing

exchanges.

Firstly, don't be scared to exchange pieces if

in doing so it either a) gives you, or

increases, a lead in development, b) brings

your remaining pieces to active and

aggressive squares, or c) gains you tempi to

develop the initiative or attack.

Secondly, avoid exchanges if they a) swap

off necessary attacking units, b) cost you

time in development or for progressing the

attack, or c) ease an opponent's constricted

position.

Not all- encompassing rules, but certainly

enough to be getting on with as you bring

your all- new aggressive style to the board!

SIGNALS AND FATAL FLAWS: PART 1

One of the most important facets of chess is

being able to spot when our opponent has

made a serious error, and then capitalising

on it.

60

Our intuition will develop through practical

experience and the assimilation of more and

more patterns over the course of time, but

there are more obvious tell- tale signs we

should constantly watch out for.

The most easily recognisable of these occur

in positions we know or understand quite

well (our favourite openings or those we

have most recently studied) whereupon our

opponent uncorks a move which just doesn't

ring true, doesn't follow the logic of the

position as we know it.

Although taken out of context, whenever my

opponent plays such a move I am reminded

of my friend and club- mate Tommy

Thomson's classic rejoinder when faced with

an illegal move in the National League some

years ago.

He jumped straight out of his chair and

bellowed, "You can't f* * * * * * do that!" I

think his opponent (and the rest of the hall)

got the message!

Getting back to the point, let's look at a few

examples, the first arising from the deadly

Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence -

my opponent none other than the no

nonsense Tommy Thomson.

Thomson, T - Burnett, A Sicilian Defence Khan Trophy 1992

l.e4 c5 2.~f3 d6 3.d4 ~f6 4.~c3 cxd4 5.~xd4 g6 6.i,e3 i,g7 7.f3 l2Jc6 8.Wfd2 0-0 9.i,c4 i,d7 10.0-0-0 ~e5 ll.i,b3 ~c8 12.h4 h5 13.i,g5 !!c5 14.bl b5 15.g4 a5 16.gxh5 a4 17.hxg6 axb3 18.gxf7+ gxf7

So far so theory, as they say. Actually I was

on my own now since Tommy had twice

previously played 17 .h6 against me with

honours being shared. The text move

17 .hxg6 is a known piece sacrifice with

White hoping to exploit the absence of pawn

cover around the black king.

With the natural recapture 19 .lt:Jxb3 looking

very bad on account of 19 ... ttJxf3 20.~g2

~xc3! (intending 2l ... ttJxe4) I fully expected

Tommy to play instead 19.cxb3 when

White's queen- side will be a tough nut to

crack. However. ..

19.axb3?

Middle-game Matters

19 ... Wfa5 20.Wfg2

A logical move which combines possible

threats along the g- file with defence of the

weak f3-pawn. However, White fails to

realise just how dangerous this position is

for him. Had he done so he would have

opted for 20 .~xf6 i xf6 2l .ttJ d5! forcing the

exchange of queens when, although he

would stand worse, he would at least be safe

from immediate mating threats .

20 ... b4 21.lLJce2

21 ... ~a8!!

And I instantly thought, "You can't A move I was very pleased to have found

f* * * * * * ... " during my long think on move 19, the more

Well, exactly! Usually Black has to sell his

soul to Satan to get a completely open a- file

like this . Dragon expert Chris Ward often

mentions the adrenaline rush he experiences

when an opponent takes him on in the

sharpest lines of the Yugoslav Attack, and

this rush is doubled after a move such as

19.axb3.

Settling down after the surprise I sank into

thought and looked for ways to tum the a

file into the 'Highway from Hell' for White.

The first move is simple enough.

61

so since it would be more usual to look for a

way to put a rook on the a8 square. The text

move, however, has spotted a fatal flaw in

the white ranks.

22.h5?!

This move actually adds an extra dimension

to Black's idea, but remarkably enough the

white position is already bust.

22 ... ~a5 23. c;t>cl


Had White recaptured earlier with the c-

. pawn then he could now play lLJ cl defending I

The minor consequence of White's 22.h5 is

revealed as now the knight is pinned to the

queen and the rook on a5 prevents 26.'Wxg5. a pawn on a2 which is a fairly common idea

for White in many variations of the Sicilian

where he has castled queenside.

Unfortunately the a- pawn has already left

the building, and it is little factors such as

these - variations from what we know or

26.h6 ~al+

and now White resigned since a combination

of .. . l2Jxf3+, ... ! f5 + or. .. 'We4+ will mate in

have seen - that we must use to guide us in very short order.

our play. 0-1

23 ... ~xf3!

This is a standard kind of sacrifice in these

positions but is striking nonetheless. Now if

White plays 24.'Wxf3, then the point of

2l. .. 'Wa8 (rather than ... 'Wa7 or .. . 'Wa6) is

revealed - in order to continue with

24 ... lt:Jxe4 the knight had to be protected on

this square.

24.tlJxf3 ~xe4

As the knight now covers the d2 escape

square White is forced into irreparably

weakening his king's position to avoid the

threatened mate on a 1, after which there will

be no hope of saving the game.

25.c4 tlJxgS

62

As a quick recap, we know in general that

White cannot play as he did with axb3 , so

when he does just that we must find the

correct solution - 'Black to play and win' is

flashing in bright purple neon and we must

learn to pay attention to these signs!

The next example doesn't follow quite such

a well-defined path and it is only a

combination of curious moves which signal

the thematic weak point in Black's game.

Burnett, A - Reid, G Ruy Lopez

Greenwood Major 1989

l.e4 e5 2.~f3 ~c6 3.~b5 ~d4 4.C!Jxd4 exd4 5.0-0 ~c5 6.d3 c6 7.~c4 dS 8.exd5 cxdS 9.~b5+ ~f8?!

"Oooooh!" I thought in my best Kenneth

Williams voice, "that looks very peculiar,

very peculiar indeed?!" It's just a thought at

the moment, but is Black's king going to be

safe? And what does his h8 rook have to say

about matters?

10.~el/!jje7 ll.ia4

Well , if Black isn't going to exchange the

light- squared bishops, then I'm going to find

another role for mine, although it was also

possible just to develop normally.

ll ... h5!?

Ok, it looks a bit loose but it does

'threaten' ... ! g4 so ...

12.b3 a5?!

Now I was completely mystified! Isn't Black

taking just a few too many liberties here?

Sceptical as I was about black's

'development' plan, I was reminded of the

time I played Boris Spassky (!)on TV (!!)to

publicise a blitz tournament being held in

my home town of Glenrothes (This doesn't

give an indication of my playing strength,

merely that 1 was a) a local player and b) the

63

Middle-game Matters

proud possessor of a seriously dodgy

'Mohican' hairstyle - hence good TV

fodder) .

I opened l .e4 and Spassky (bless his cotton

socks) replied with the child- like 1 ... a5

("Oooooh!" I thought in my best Charles

Haughtrey voice, and continued .. . ) 2.d4,

upon which my buddy Boris tried the

theoretically interesting 2 .. . a4 after which I

played like a wet fish and lost miserably.

Of course, I blame it on the pressure of

playing in front of the cameras with an

elaborate lead- and-glass 'fancy-pants'

chess set, and to be perfectly honest Herr

Spassky played the entire game while

simultaneously conducting a conversation in

rapid Russian with my other pal Mickey Tal!

Not sure whether they were suggesting

moves to each other or simply wondering

who my hairdresser was and why I hadn't

shot him!

To conclude this little as ide I should

mention that a few years later I won £7 ( £1

per game) from a Latvian guy called Sergei

in a caravan in an Irish apple orchard! Sergei

claimed to have studied at Tal's academy in

Riga, but I seriously questioned this when he

replied to my l.e4 with, yes, you've guessed

it, 1 ... a5! Obviously it was Spas sky's

Academy he had been attending!

Anyway, back to the game where

Black's ... h5 and ... a5 make a str~nge

impression, so let's just develop the white

pieces on their natural squares for the time

being and see what else Black turns up.

13.ig5 f6?!

Sid James anyone?

'


If it wasn't obvious beforehand, then the

black knight's abandonment of the defence

of d5 signals the time for action. It's the

white squares, with the black king exposed

to attack, which will prove to be the fatal

flaw.

16.ib3! fxg5

16 ... ~e6 fails simply to 17 J~xe6 followed by

E!:e 1 +, i xd5 and Wxf5 - a sure sign that all

is well in the white camp.

17 .g4 hxg4 18.hxg4 i>g6 19.gxf5+ ixf5 20.ixd5 W!c7?!

A mistake which falls prey to a very

attractive combination, but Black's position

was beyond repair by this point anyway.

64

21J~e6+!! ixe6 22.ie4+! i>h6 23.¥Nh1+!

The exclamation marks are for the unusual

backward mating pattern and serve to

highlight the thematic white-squared

weakness which caused Black's downfall.

Now my opponent graciously allowed the

rnate to appear on the board which doesn't

often happen!

23 ... ~h2+ 24J~Nxh2+ ih3 25.~xh3#

1-0

A whole series of moves by Black, each

eliciting an ever- increasing chorus of

disbelief, pointed White towards the correct

strategy.

After the game I asked my opponent Gordon

why he played 9 ... <;t> f8, rather than the more

obvious 9 ... i d7, and his answer was that he

didn't want to weaken his light squares too

much! Fair play to him though for having

the guts to experiment in the last round

when half-a-point clear of the field, and

apologies for the Carry On ... style

commentary.

The third and final example on this theme of

signals takes us back into the realms of the

Sicilian Dragon. Many players are put off

playing either side of this super- sharp

opening because of the vast amount of

theory it has accumulated, but an

understanding of the positional themes is

just as important to work your way through

the minefield it often resembles.

Saxton, G - Burnett, A Siclian Defence

Kirkcaldy Club Championship 1997

l.e4 c5 2.~f3 d6 3.d4 lbf6 4.!iJc3 cxd4 5.~xd4 g6 6.ie3 ig7 7.f3 ~c6 8.\Wd2 0-0 9.ic4 id7 10.0-0-0 lLJe5 ll.ib3 gcs 12.ih6 tlJc4 13.ixc4 gxc4 14.lLJde2 b5

15.h4?!

This move, to the uninitiated, may look like

a perfectly normal attacking move in the

spirit of the Yugoslav Attack. Well, yes, it

is, but White has already decided in part to

play the 'Yugoslav Defence' with 14. ltJde2!

What we have here is a case of White

wanting to have his cake and eat it - the

knight retreat shores up the other knight to

prevent Black's disruptive exchange

sac .. . ~xc3, while pushing the rook pawn

65

Middle-game Matters

declares his intention to blast through on the -side.

Admittedly there are variations where this

combination of ideas is playable. A famous

encounter between Karpov and Korchnoi

showed this strategy working perfectly

(although perhaps Korchnoi's play could be

considered a bit limp) but this isn't one of

those variations since Black has already

made some headway on the queen-side,

having exchanged off the defensive light

squared bishop and advanced . . . b5

unchallenged.

Now, 12.~h6!? as a theoretical move was

new to me, but my general understanding is

that White is playing positionally here, and

should be chasing the active rook on c4 with

pawn to b3 followed by g4 to harass the

black knight on f6 .

One possible continuation highlighting this

strategy might be 15 .b3 ~c5 16 .~xg7 iixg7

17.g4 b418. ctJ d5 ttJ xd519.exd5 'Mia5 20.iib l

~fc8 2l .~d4+ g8 22 .~d2

Analysis diagram

and only now is White ready to play h4 with aggressive intentions (although Black too

can attack with ... 'Mic7, ... a5, ... a4, so the

position here is finely balanced).

In this instance it wasn't necessary for me to

know all of the theory to realise 15 .h4 was

inexact - it was enough to understand the to play h4 instead of g4 and increasing the

respective strategies involved. pressure on the white king.

15 ... b4 16.~d5 tLJxd5 17.exd5 23.al b3!

17 •.. Wfa5!?

Probably Black could strive for more here

with 17 ... i f5 (immediately exploiting the

omission of g4 from White), but if you have

seen one way of clearly and safely punishing

a lapse then it can be difficult (and often

counter-productive) to search for quicker or

more spectacular wins.

18.ixg7 xg7 19.bl

Now White has no time for 19.b3 hitting the

rook. as Black can ignore it and play

19 ... Wxa2 threatening mate on al .

19 ... i!fc8 20.h5

Still with the plan of delivering mate on the

kingside but it is clear that Black already has

a huge head-start on the opposite flank.

20 ... ~xc2 2l.Wfd4+ f6 22.hxg6 if5!

Finally taking advantage of White's decision

66

As ever, there has to be a tactical solution

which exploits the positional errors White

has made. Hopefully by now the reader has

learned this and will constantly be on the

lookout for such hammer- blows.

If now 24.a4 then 24 ... ~8c4 wins as a4 falls

with mate, but the real beauty comes after

24.a3 when 24 ... Wxa3+ 25.bxa3 fg,a2# is

mate!

Analysis diagram

24.i!xh7+ xg6

With no way to get at the black king, and

unavoidable mate on the cards, White

resigned.

0-1

So the signs are all there, from the word go,

and as long as we have suspicious minds

and question everything then there's a good

chance we can learn to exploit opportunities

we might otherwise be oblivious to.


' ..

TEMPTATION: ACT 1

Lang, H - Burnett, A Sicilian Defence

Perth Championship 1993

. l.e4 c5 2.lbc3 lbc6 3.g3 g6 4.ig2 ig7 5.d3 d6 6.ie3

The last decade or so has seen this early

bishop development in the Closed Sicilian

superceding the old-fashioned 6.f4, which

was popularised by Spassky during his rise

to the chess Olympus in the 1960's.

One idea behind 6.~e3 is to threaten an early

Wd2, followed by ~h6 to remove Black's

'Dragon' bishop, while White reserves the

option of castling queen-side.

However, as stated several times already, we

don't want our opponents calling the shots so

early on, so we immediately take the fight to

White.

6 ... b5!

Having played this move many, many times

in the past, the usual reaction is one of initial

bemusement, occasionally amusement, then

at least 5 minutes thought followed by

68

playing 7 .W d2 transposing into more

traditional channels- but with Black already

ahead on the clock.

Even in these more traditional lines ,

however, we can fmd ways to surprise or

out- fox our opponents viz:

l.e4 c5 2.Ci:Jc3 C2Jc6 3.g3 g6 4.ig2 ig7 5.d3

d6 6.ie3 b5 7. Wld2 b4 8./fjjdJ rab8 9. C2Je2

id7 10.0-0 e6 ll.f4 C2Jge7 12.g4 f5 13.gxf5

exf5 14.e5 dxe5 15.hc5 0-0 16.fxe5 /fjjxe5

17.d4 Ci:Jg4 18.h3 ih6 19.fid3 l2Jf6 20.Ci:Jj2

ibS 2J.W!b3+ ~.17 22.Ci:Jd3 Ci:Jed5 23.~ael aS

24.Ci:Je5? ie3+ 25.~hl a4

26.C2Jxj7 ~xf7 27.c4 axb3 28.axb3 ic6

29.cxd5 Ci:Jxd5 30./fjjg3 Wld7 31. Ci:Je4 ~g7

32.CfJd6 /fjjf4 33.flxf4 hg2+ 34.~xg2 h/4

35.CfJc4 ~e8 36.~al 0-1 (Neave,G -

Bumett,A. Glenrothes Premier 2003)

Occasionally though, the more principled (or

sometimes simply more curious) players will

decide that since 6 ... b5 is 'never' seen, then

there must be a way to exploit it. Having

played Heather previously it came as no

surprise that she took this principled/ curious

path.

7.e5!?

This is the most sensible way to attempt to

punish Black for his audacity. Grabbing the

pawn on b5 here merely allows the rook on

a8 to enter the game with tempo after ... ~b8

and also increases the power of the g7

bishop aiming at b2.

7 ... ib7 8.exd6 exd6 9J&d2

My original inspiration for this game had

come from the late Tony Miles, a

wonderfully creative grandmaster who

firmly believed in taking the battle to the

opponent as early as possible and regardless

of what colour he was playing. His most

famous single victory came in 1980 against

Anatoly Karpov (who was then at the height

of his powers) when Miles introduced l.e4

a6!? - an excellent ploy since Karpov was

noted for 'playing it safe' when confronted

with new ideas over the board.

The scope for psychological choices in chess

- presenting the opponent with what for

them are uncomfortable decisions - should

never be underestimated.

Witness the rapid debacle Yugoslav super

GM Ljubojevic suffered at Miles' hands with

this same Closed Sicilian variation .

. Instead of the 9.~d2 we see in the main

game, Ljubojevic decides to grab the pawn

now that Black's bishop on b 7 blocks the b

file somewhat: 9. Ci:Jxb5 Ci:Jge7 10. CfJc3 Wib6

JJ.rgbJ CfJe5 12.CfJj3?

69

Mind-Games

A serious blunder as White will find his

defences on both sides of the board stretched

too far. However, Ljubojevic was noted for

his so mew hat reckless approach to the

opening , and Miles' choice of the

provocative 6 ... b5 reaped its just rewards.

12 ... Ci:Jxj3+ 13.hj3 hc3+ 14.bxc3 hj3

15. 'Wixj3 'Wixbl+

And suddenly a whole rook has gone west,

although White staggered on for a few more

moves before calling it a day.

16.~d2 Wib8 17.'gbJ Wid8 18.~g5 f6

19.hf6 0-0 20.'Bb7 'Bc8 2J.fu:a7 'Bc7

22.rga6 'Wid7 23.g4 W!e6 0-1 (Ljubojevic,L

Miles,A, London 1982).

Back to the main game where White has just

played 9JWd2.

9 ... b4 lO.~dl ~e7!

i

i ----

At this point White plunged deep into

thought. It soon became apparent to Heather

that the opening of the e - file was

advantageous to Black only.

Also, the unopposed g7 bishop is a monster,

and the temptation to punish Black's 'cheeky'

opening by exploiting the other long

diagonal backfires badly after the natural

ll. l2J e2 viz: 'De5! 12.0-0 (12.~xb7 ~xb7 is

also a horror story on f3 for White.)


12 .. . ~xg2 13 .~xg2 tbf3!!

Analysis diagram

This incredible move is actually supremely

logical! Black wants to exploit the weakness

of the long diagonal a8-h 1, but since

13 ... Wb7+ meets with 14.f3 we have to find

a way to prevent this defence.

Finding these sort of tactical opportunities is

made much easier by the fact that the stem

game involved Miles' exploitation of a

tactical weakness on f3. Therefore at every

move we should be looking at the possibility

of a knockout blow.

In this instance the knight is invulnerable on

f3 since 14.@xf3 Wb7+ drags the white king

out of hiding and 15 ... Wg2 will prevent it

from sneaking back in again via h3 !

It is almost unnecessary to calculate the

follow - up in advance. With the king

roaming the board and with Black

difficulties, but in so doing creates some

new ones.

ll.f4 ~d4 12.c3?!

This only chases the knight to another

excellent square, but in fairness the white

position has already become very difficult

and unpleasant to play.

In a 'normal' Closed Sicilian at move 12

things would usually be moving a little more

sedately, but the ambitious Black pawn

thrust at move 6 has put White firmly on the

back foot - both psychologically and on the

board. It is also worth noting that by now

Black was 15 minutes ahead on the clock.

12 ... ltJf5 13.~xb7 ~xb7 14.~f2 bxc3 15.bxc3

having ... f5 , ... h5, ... l2J h6, ... tt:J f6 and also 15 ... ~xe3?! various bishop and queen checks at his

disposal, there is no way White can survive.

Additionally, should White ignore the initial

knight offer by playing 14 .~cl, then Black

has 14 . . . Wb7 threatening a deadly

discovered check which can only be avoided

by sticking the king out on h3 (with the

same problems outlined above).

The text move attempts to avoid all these

70

This is really a rather silly move as, although

the idea behind it is correct, there was

obviously no need to rush the exchange of

such a fine knight for the prospectless White

bishop.

The immediate 15 ... @f8! intending to stick

the rook on e8 would have been a far more

efficient route to victory as White would

Mind-Games

then have to find a defence to not only the 23.g4 llJxg4 24.l2Jxg4 fxg4 25J~!fl generic e-file problems, but also the specific ~f6! tactics aimed against the i on e3 .

Again, though, we see the attacker getting

away with slight inaccuracies - a luxury not

often afforded the defender. Life has a way

of being cruel with little justification - the

best we can do is aim to be on the right side

of it!

16.~xe3+ ~f8 17.~d2 ~e8+ 18.l2Je2 ~f3 19.~cl C2Jh6 20.~c2

20 ... llJf5!?

Perhaps this is not the most accurate either

since 20 ... ltJg4 is very strong, exploiting the

f2- knight being tied to the rook on h 1, but

since both moves are winning it doesn't do

any real harm. In any event, it is impossible

to play an entire game without making some

kind of error or inaccuracy-a fact of life for

players of all levels.

21J~;glliJe3 22.~cl f5!

This strong move clamps down on White's

Now the bishop will come to h4 with

decisive effect. With the white king stuck in

the centre it's not too surprising that Black

still has tactical shots up his sleeve, so if you

feel you have played an inaccurate move or

two then don't despair -there will often be a

plan B (or even C!) available.

26J~!xf3 gxf3 27.~fl

After 27 . @d 1 :gxe2 the white queen is

actually trapped, although it happens in such

a strange way that it takes a bit of seeing.

27 ... fxe2+ 28.~g2 ~h4 29.f5 g5

Not strictly necessary, but it's useful to keep

as many lines closed as possible near the

black king since White's only hope will be to

land a perpetual.

Now 30. :gel is hopeless since after

30 ... i xel 31.~xe l , the eventual entry of the

h8- rook will prove decisive.

only sensible claim for space with g4, and 30.d4 el=~ 31.~xel ~xel 32.Wffd3 her next is a desperate attempt to break the

bind created by the monstrous knight on e3. White struggles valiantly over the next few

71

moves but it's really a case of Black

mopping- up and taking care not to fall into

the aforementioned perpetual.

32 ... ci>g7 33.dxc5 dxc5 34.Y;Vd7+ i> f6 35.Y;Vxa7 ~e2+ 36.fl ~he8 37.~xc5 ~f2+ 38.gl ~xf5 39.~d6+ E!e6 40.Y;Vd8+ ~e7 41.Y;Vf8+ ~f7 42.Y;Vd6+ ci>g7 43JWd4+ h6

Finally Black's king is secure and so White,

either by accident or design, commits hara

kiri.

44.c4 ~f2+

0-1

A clear example of how easy it is to come

unstuck early through 'falling into

temptation'.

In this instance White might have been

well- advised to play 7.V9d2 , heading into

more familiar territory, and having a closer

look at 6 ... b5!? in the comfort of her home,

but her principled nature wouldn't allow it.

In practice, though, things are never so

simple and clear- cut; the surprising ... b5

thrust may not apply huge pressure on the

board, it's intrinsic value being no more or

less than other moves. However, most

importantly, in the mind of our opponent

weird and wonderful things will likely be

taking place!

The next example shows how this idea can

have almost the opposite effect - but the

same result!

72

TEMPTATION: ACT 2

Lawson, G- Burnett, A Sicilian Dragon Paisley Open 1995

l.e4 c5 2.~f3 d6 3.d4 ~f6 4.~c3 cxd4 5.~xd4 g6 6.~e3 ~g7 7 .f3 ~c6 8.Y;Vd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 tLlxd4 10.~xd4 ~e6 ll.bl flc7 12.g4 E!fc8 13.h4 Wfa5 14.Wfg5 b5 15.Wfxb5 Wfc7

Before delving into the why's and

wherefore's of the present game, a slight

digression seems appropriate since a

previous game of mine had reached the same

highly theoretical position.

The setting is crucial to the play which

followed as it was the final round of the

1995 Scottish Championships and my

opponent as White was IM Steve Mannion

who required a win to have an excellent

chance of tying for the title .

For my part, it was my first assault on

Scotland's highest chess accolade. This

'assault' had taken the form of 4 gruesome

defeats from the first 4 games!

Despite pulling myself together to reach 3/8,

I desperately needed a win here too, to avoid

the (admittedly relative) ignominy of the

wooden spoon.

In the diagram position above, Steve now

played 16.g5?! (a move which he had tried

successfully against my younger brother

Walter some months previously), to which I

replied with the perfectly reasonable

16 ... ~ab8 hitting the queen and taking aim at

b2 (this is the positional justification for

the ... b5 pawn sacrifice).

However, by the by, GM Chris Ward

suggests here 16 ... ltJxe4! (which is just plain

good for Black since 17.fxe4 ~ab8 18.~a4

! xd4 19 .~xd4 ~xc3 leads to an extremely

good endgame for Black as white's pawns

on the kingside are weak), but somehow

this standard Dragon move managed to

escape the attentions of both Steve and

myself, IM John Shaw who annotated this

game for Scottish Chess magazine, John

Henderson who did the same for Chess

magazine, whoever wrote the New in Chess

Yearbook survey on the Dragon, and both

Schneider and Gufeld in their respective

works on this line!

Not a bad Who's Who - and we all missed

the same thematic idea of ... ltJxe4!

Meanwhile, getting back to the point, my

game with Steve continued with us both

blissfully unaware of this possibility, and

after 16.g5?! ~ab8?! 17.~d3 l2Jd7! (Strangely given a ?! by Schneider in his

Experts Guide to the Dragon CD, since it

seems a perfectly sensible idea to me to re

route the knight) 18 . .ixg7 @xg7 19JWd4+ @g8 20.@al \WaS 21.\Wa4

73

Mind-Games

This is a critical position. Facing a strong

attack, White offers to return the pawn (on

c2) to get the queens off the board. Here is

where 'psychology' took over (the clock

times should be noted also; White had used

1 hour 15 minutes , Black merely 7

minutes!).

In a 'normal' game I would have probably

played something like 21 ... ~b6 followed

by ... ~f2 and .. . ltJ c5 continuing the attack.

Instead I decided to exchange queens and

regain the pawn since after 21 ... ~xa4 22.l2Jxa4 ~xc2 23 . .id3

I either win another pawn or White must

repeat moves - which he can't do can he?

Steve has to find a way to play on and win,

even at the cost of a pawn, because

otherwise he can't become Scottish

Champion!

So, I happily played 23 .. J;f2 and there then

followed 24J~hfl ~h2 25.~hl gf2 26J~~~hfl

~h2 27.ghl


Now the only way for me to avoid the draw is by playing 27 ... E!xh 1, which I eventually

did, but the clocks now showed White

having used 1 hour 25 minutes and Black 1

hour 30 minutes! So, naturally, after all

these shenanigans I went on to lose an

instructive but very painful ending and Steve

shared the title after all!

But the question arises, did Steve play a

dicey game of bluff (knowing that the

'nature of the beast' - my dislike of

premature draws - would prevail) , or was it

my mistake in projecting my own win-at

all- costs philosophy onto an opponent who

approaches chess differently (if the position

is drawn with best play then so be it)?

Whatever the answer, it becomes clear that

there is far more to the game of chess than

simply 'pushing wood'! Anyway, time to get

back to the main gan1e Lawson- Burnett.

16.~a4!

74

Instead of the dubious 16 .g5?~ Graeme plays •

the critical theoretical move.

16 ... ~d7?!

In contrast to the Mannion- Burnett game,

this knight manouevre is decidedly dodgy

here. However, although I was well aware of

its shortcomings in this specific position, I

wanted to at least test its practical value

before consigning it to the dustbin.

Black has several other options at this point,

but I don't really want to enter any deeper

into the theory of this position (it's not the

reason for including this game), suffice to

say that recent opinion favours either the

little move 16 ... a6 or the more immediately

combative 16 ... 8!ab8.

17 .CL\d5?!

The most obvious response here would be

17 .txg7 which allows White to reposition

his queen with tempo after 17 ... ~xg7

18.Wd4+. This is a far superior version of

the previous game since the inclusion of the

moves g5 and E!ab8 was beneficial only to

Black whose rook was now well- positioned.

The problem White faced here was mainly

psychological in nature. Having played the

opening moves quickly and confidently, it

was reasonable to assume that I was either

following the most recent theoretical

developments or that I had invested

countless hours 'cooking-up' the novelty

16 .. .lL3d7 at home.

Graeme is a strong player and knew fine

well that 17 .t xg7 was critical, but wouldn't

it be better to try something a little different

here to take me out of my preparation? This

is a tempting approach, and truth be told it's

often a very sensible idea, but nevertheless a

strong move is a strong move and in the

Dragon especially there will be very little

room for error.

So, whereas in the previous game we saw an

opponent who was tempted to exploit an

error which didn't really exist, here we have

an opponent refusing to exploit a move he

was fairly sure was an erroi:!

Hopefully by now it is becoming apparent

that posing awkward problems and

questions, as often as we can, reaps

dividends in practical play.

17 ... ~xd5 18.exd5 ct:Jb6 19.1Wb3?!

Now White's queen will soon be awkwardly

placed opposite a black rook and he will

have to recapture on d4 with his own rook.

This is not a problem if the queens are off,

but it proves to be a serious problem when

they are still on owing to the attacking

possibilities at Black's disposal.

White had to bite the bullet here and play

19.Wc6 offering to return the extra pawn and

admitting he is a bit worse in this position

(the black knight is superior to the white

bishop because of the pawn structure) .

75

Mind-Games

Worrying about the protection of c2 and the

rook's loose position on d4, White overlooks

a very pretty combination. The curious

looking 2l .~b4 is perhaps the best way to

put obstacles in Black's way, but the simple

plan of ... a5 , ... a4 looks good in any event.

All Black's pieces have taken up strong

posts aimed at the white king, while White's

only developed pieces are on vulnerable

squares - this should serve as a 'signal' to

Black that the time is ripe for a tactical

execution. We have already touched upon

this idea in the previous chapter, and will

return to it later in the book.

21 ... ttJa4!!

22.1Wxa4

There was little else to be done since 22 .~b5

lt:J c5 23.~c4 ~a5! (hitting both the ~b5 and

the ~d2) shows just how exposed the white

forces are to attack.

22 ... Wfc3 23.cj{ct ~xb2!

The true point of the combination as now the

twin threats of ... ~cb8 with mate on b 1,

and ... g b4 with mate on al, cannot be

adequately met.

24J~~d3?!

It seems a little harsh to criticise this move,

but it highlights just how torrid a time the

poor white rook has had, and all because

White allowed the exchange of bishops on

d4 rather than doing so himself on g7 back

at move 1 7. Now it is simply mate.

24 ... ~xc2+ 25.d11Mfa1#

0-1

Time for an amusing anecdote before

moving on to the next game

Both these Dragon games were played in

1995, but moving swiftly through the next

decade, we find ourselves at Christmas

2004, where Santa Claus (my brother Walter

again in fact) presented me with Gambit

author, and Scottish internationalist, Eddie

Dearing's new offering 'Play the Sicilian

Dragon'.

Ignoring the family (as you do when you get

a new chess book) I quickly checked out

what he had to say on my favourite lines.

76

Lo and behold, dear little Eddie had seen fit

to name a variation after me! Fame at last,

the 14 ... b5 line we have just seen was

christened the Burnett Variation! Of course

my brother Walter should share the

accolades, since he lost with it to Steve

Mannion some months before I lost with it

to Steve Mannion!

Anyway, not long after (March 2005) I was

playing at my local congress in Glenrothes

and sharing a laugh or two about my

description in Eddie's book (apparently I am

a "mild- mannered, eccentric Scot") with

Sam and Laura Collins who at the time ran

the Chess Suppliers shop and bookstall.

The very next evening I received a call from

Walter who had been playing the final match

of the Edinburgh League season against

Oliver Penrose.

As Black, Walter had played the Dragon and

reached the position after 14 .~g5 ,

and to quote him, ''I couldn't for the life of

me remember what I was supposed to play

next?!".

So Walter tried 14 ... \Mlxg5 and somehow

held a draw in a horrible endgame.

On returning home he immediately reached

for the Eddie Dearing book (which I had

loaned back to him) and discovered that he

might have considered playing 14 ... b5, the,

er, Burnett Variation!

SCARY MONSTERS!

"A monster with 100 eyes; all-seeing and impossible to play against".

This was Tony Miles' description of

Kasparov after he had been royally thumped

5- l in a match in Basel in 1986.

I'm sure Miles didn't have this feeling

before the match (he was far too strong a

player for this), but I have lost count of the

number of times I have heard club- players

groan in resignation as soon as the pairing

list sets them against a much- higher rated

player, the top seed or their bete noir.

One specific example of this occun·ed at my

own club not long after I had reached 2000

level. When the draw for the first round of

the club championship went up , my

prospective opponent (rated about 1650)

muttered, in all seriousness, "I might as well

go home now" .

I simply couldn't believe this defeatist

attitude!

When I first joined the club I would have

killed for the opportunity to play against the

top dogs, and several years later relished

every minute of my games against them,

learning so much in the process whether I

won, lost or drew.

My game with 'Mr. Defeatist', who shall

remain nameless as he is actually a very

decent guy, opened l.d4 ttJ f6 2.c4 e6 3.ttJ c3

! b4 4.! d2?!

When I asked him afterwards why he chose

such a passive development for the bishop,

he answered, "I usually play 4.! g5 but didn't

want to lose too quickly" .

77

Mind-Games

This negativity left me speechless and to this

very day I can't even begin to comprehend

such a way of thinking. It is without a doubt

the single most self-destructive mind- set

one could have; to imagine that your

opponent can see, will see, or already has

seen everything.

Of course it can seem this way at times,

when each and every threat or idea you

come up with is foiled, often before you

yourself have even worked out what you

were truly threatening!

What we need to bear in mind, however, is

that no-one is infallible. Even the strongest

players , the best tacticians and opening

experts make mistakes, drop their guard or

lose concentration from time to time.

What the prospective Streetfighter must

lea1n to do is to utilise each and every

opportunity we are given to cause problems

for our adversaries.

Stubborn resistance in difficult positions,

tactical awareness allowing us to pounce on

mistakes (it doesn't matter how big a

mistake we have made earlier in the game if

our opponent produces a bigger one later

on!) and the use of hollow threats,

randomising moves and other such

'swindling' tactics may not be pretty, but

they will definitely allow us to draw some '1 I • h ' T . ost games, or ... even win t em. o w1t. ..

Burnett, A- McNab, C Modem Defence .

I


l.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.'lJc3 ~g7 4.~e3 CiJf6 5.h3 c6 6.Wfd2


This game was reasonably easy to prepare

for as Colin almost never varies from his

beloved Modem Defence (although since I

started writing this book he has changed the

habits of a lifetime and now throws in the

occasional Sicilian for variety). The

downside for his opponents being that he

knows these systems extremely well, besides

which he is a very, very strong player!

The only real problem in preparation

occurred at this point - would he play

6 ... ~a5 now, or the less-active 6 ... ~c7

which he sometimes favours?

The system I had decided to try (perhaps not

fully correct but aggressive and dangerous)

idea in mind and White is generally allowed

a little more leeway in the opening than

Black.

7.· .. 0-0 8.a4 CLJbd7 9.g4!? e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 ll.g5 l2Je8 12.h4

The intention is now clear. White will open

the h-file and mate Black very quickly.

Extremely crude, of course, but that's not

our problem! Anyway, even the great

Bobby Fischer advocated this approach on

occasion against a kingside fianchetto:

.. . pry open the h- file, sac, sac ... mate!

works well against the latter, but less so 12 ... l2Jc7! against the former.

Drats! But not yet Double Drats, since we

can't expect our opponents to fall in line

with our wishes all the time.

The bishop would probab 1y be better placed

on d3 in this position as it would lend extra

support to the e4 pawn, but I had a specific

78

Here is the reason why 6 ... ~a5 is better than

6 .. . ~c7, as the knight can quickly re

position itself on the useful e6-square

exerting a strong central presence.

13.h5 !!e8 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.~c4

The bishop's usefulness on e2 is over

(blocking the h- file with ... ttJ h5 was

prevented) and now White plans to clear the

2nd rank at some point in order to play ~h2

with threats against the black king.

15 ... ~b4 16.~b3 lbe6

Mind-Games

you have shown an opponent a variation and

they have replied, "Oh, I never saw that!", or

conversely they propose an idea which never

occurred to you? It happens in every game!

Recognising and accepting this aspect of

chess should allow us to keep our emotions

on a more or less even keel throughout a

game - a feature far more likely to aid our

play than nervous, panicky reactions like,

"Oh no, I missed that one! What can I do?

Aaaaargh! ", followed by some horrible

Around here I was feeling a bit pessimistic. adrenaline- induced blunder!

Black has played very sensibly whilst my

'attack' has still to materialise. Nevertheless I 19.lbge2 ge8 20.gh4 lbc5 21J~dhl! figured that I was some way off panic -

button time, and resolved to stick to my

original plan regardless.

17.~xe6

The knight cannot be allowed to reach the

beautiful d4-square, and although I have to

give up the better of my 2 bishops for it, at

least the black rook will now be on a square

perhaps better occupied by a minor piece.

17 .. J~xe6 18.0-0-0 aS!?

I was a bit more concerned about the

immediate 18 ... b5, but maybe Colin was

worried about 19 .aS being thrown in by

White. Although this would give up a pawn,

it would reduce significantly the speed of

any Black attack on the queen-side and gain

time for White to forge ahead with his own

plans on the kingside.

In relation to what I said earlier about

people's minds working in different ways,

think about how many times after a game

79

X i.~_,..;;;;.;;.;;.;X~---.....;:·;;::...,·~ ... 11---1 .t. ----... _ ___, ""'"'•<~<l~~·~b!!!!!!!~-·

Rightly ignoring the problem of the a- pawn

for a move after a calm (see above!)

appraisal of the position. Although I could

have chopped on c5 immediately, the text

move gives Black a chance to go wrong

immediately. After 21 .. . 4J xa4 22. 4J xa4

~xa4 23. 4J c3 ~a1 + 24 .ltJ bl, White

threatens f3 followed by ~h2 with a mating

attack, viz : 24 ... i e6 25 .f3 i a2 26.1Mfh2

lMfxb1 + 27 .@d2 E: ed8 + 28. @c3 when

although Black can give up his queen on h 1,

he will still struggle fo defend the sensitive

h- file in the longer term.

It is an important part of practical play that

we give our opponents the chance to err


whenever possible and that we don't begin to

play passively, falling into line with our

opponents wishes just because they are

stronger or higher-rated or have beaten you

previous! y.

21 ... ~e6!

Naturally, the better the player the more

obstacles we will have to place in their way

before they trip over one, but just because

they see the first three or four hurdles

doesn't mean they will always see them!

Had Colin played 21 ... b5 , for exatnple, then

White would have had time to throw in f3

when the queen is one move quicker in

reaching the important h-file.

22.~xc5

Necessary now since 22 ... lt:Jxa4 really was

threatened. Here I most definitely was

searching around for the panic button since

it's difficult to introduce the white queen into

the affray, without which the h-file attack is

impotent.

22 ... ~xc5 23.~g3 ~ed8 24.~e2 b5

Finally White threatens something tangible

as the knight prepares to leap into f5. If the

~ on g7 can be removed then the black king

will be devoid of defenders, and should he

capture with ... !xf5 or ... gxf5, then the

further threat of f6 or g6 will probably mate

before Black can get through on the V!i-side.

We must always be on the lookout for ways

to snatch the initiative from our opponents in

such double-edged situations - giving up a

piece is not such a problem if it allows us to

have first crack at the enemy king.

The next 11 minutes were as an eternity

waiting for Colin's reply, because White has

an even more deadly threat than the knight

sacrifice. I tried to keep my best poker-face

in place to avoid giving the game away,

since after a couple of minutes it was clear

that my opponent - a very strong player, a

Grandmaster no less - may well have '1 00

eyes' most of the time, but they were all

looking the wrong way in this position!

25 ... b4 ??

A complete howler which sends a message

of hope to all us lesser mortals.

25.~f3 26.~f6!

& .,_____,.

~&

80

Colin, ever the professional, didn't even

twitch as I played this. He just stared at the

position for a moment or two before

graciously resigning since ~h8 will mate if

he ignores the queen, and taking it allows for

the same E!:h8 mate after the pawn recaptures

on f6.

1-0

So what have we learned from this episode?

Obviously, even the best players can

emulate our worst blunders - we are all

capable of committing heinous acts on the

chessboard.

There is absolutely no telling what is going

on in our opponents minds. Being afraid of

that which we don't know, or things we have

no control over, is a completely natural

human reaction. However, we have to force

these fears from our minds at the chessboard

and play our own game - if it's not good

enough then so be it; just reset the pieces

and try again!

SWINDLING #1

If in the previous example it wasn't

completely clear that I was struggling, then

the next 2 games show how it is possible to

recover from the brink of real disaster.

I will be the first one to admit that I brought

this trouble on myself, the plus side of this

being that I can claim full glory for

extricating myself!

Taking responsibility for your own actions is

hugely important in chess, and accepting the

rough and the smooth with the same

equanimity is essential if we are to make life

81

Mind-Games

tough for our opponents regardless of the

situation we find ourselves in.

If the number of errors we will soon witness

disturbs you, then you are obviously far too

strong a player to be reading this book!

In which case, just enjoy the games as jolly

good romps - after all, chess is meant to be

fun isn't it? Well it certainly is for

Streetfighters!

Burnett, A- Natarajan, M Alekhines Defence National League 2004

l.e4 Cbf6 2.Cbc3

Since I discovered how theoretically

inclined most Alekhine players tend to be, I

started playing this inoffensive move just to

annoy them!

Cutting great swathes of an opponent's

knowledge out of the equation at move 2

can't be a bad idea (particularly if it is done

with a very sensible developing move and

not something bizarre like 2.f3?), and if

Black now replies with 2 ... e5 then we have

transposed to a Vienna Game which I play

as White any\Yay.

2 ... d5 3.e5 Cbfd7 4.d4 c5

Streetfighting Chess ,

And had Black now tried 4 .. . e6, then after

5. lLJ f3 we would be in a French Defence

(l.e4 e6 2 .d4 d5 3 .tt:J c3 lt:J f6 4 .e5 4J fd7

5.tLJ f3) which is a side-line I know quite

well also . Little move-order tricks and

transpositions such as these can be used to

our advantage, and it is well- worth taking a

little time to learn them instead of long,

forcing theoretical lines which we will be

White was threatening 7 .~h5+ when 7 ... g6

is mated by 8.~xg6+ ! (the pretty version)

8 ... hxg6 9.! xg6#, however the game move

surprised me somewhat as I was expecting

6 ... tt:Jf6 to cover h5 . I have to admit this

weakening move close to his king was like a

red rag to a bull and it didn't take me long to

charge ahead with ...

lucky to spring more than once in a season - 7 .h4!? cxd4! or even a lifetime! Having said this, you

may well then be raising your eyebrows at Black carries on as though White were

the number of theoretical Sicilian Dragon making sand- castles at the beach rather than

games peppered throughout this book, but going for the jugular! The justification here

surely a person is allowed at least one vice is that White is now committed to giving up

in their life, aren't they?! a whole piece for the attack - so if it fails

then Black will surely mop up on material

5.e6!?

This type of move is known as a 'retardation'

sacrifice and is designed to clog up Black's

development (his 2 bishops will take some

time to reach active squares through normal

means) . In order to justify it though, White

will have to show aggression and pursue the

initiative else the black central pawns will

eventually prove to be very strong.

5 ... fxe6 6.~d3 g6!?

82

alone.

8.~b5

Probably necessary as it gains an extra

tempo if Black really wants the piece.

8 ... e5!

Which he does!

9.h5 e4

A critical position has arisen already with

the game only 9 moves old! White could

now simply retreat the bishop to e2, but it

seemed to me to be very inconsistent and

would call into question the entire plan

beginning with 5.e6. Instead I played the

most direct move, only noticing too late a

serious flaw in my calculations.

10.hxg6 exd3 ll.~xh7

After the game I was wondering if ll.Wh5

would have been better, although my

opponent thought that resigning was my

strongest option! In essence he may have

been right because it transpires that the

position is 'lost' for White, but I was still

unaware of any real problems at this stage!

Strange how two minds can be seeing two

completely different games, but an

extremely common occurrence at most

levels of chess.

ll ... ~g8 12.g7

In the post- mortem my opponent Manos

was di smissive of most of my ideas

throughout this game (though he worded

them extremely politely!) and here he

wondered why I gave up my "strong pawn"?

As I saw it, the pawn was getting in the way

of my pieces and therefore had to go!

12 ... ~xg7

And most defnitiely not 12 ... :gxg7 when

13 .Wh5+ mates next move.

13.~h5+ @f8 14.~h6

83

Mind-Games

If it wasn't so amusing it would be

embarrassing, but I actually thought I was

completely winning here!

Since the bishop is tied to the defence of the

mate on f7, I honestly couldn't see how

Black was going to defend? If he tries

14 ... We8 then 15.! xg7+ :gxg7 16.:gh8+ :gg8

17.:gxg8+ wins the queen and the game. His

only possible defence is the text move,

either immediately or after the

inconsequential14 ... Wa5+, so ...

14 ... 'LJf6

And just as I was about to reach out and play

the 'winning' move 15 .Wg6, I suddenly

realised that his knight was attacking both

of my major pieces!

I was completely dumbstruck! How could I

possibly have missed such a thing? And I

wasn't the only one as 2 of my team- mates

had also missed it! Unfortunately, not being

a 'relay' chess game, I couldn't pass the

baton to them, and instead had to fmd a way

out of this predicament all on my own!

The obvious option was to simply resign,

but on move 14 (and in a team- match of all

things) it was unthinkable.

So, I gathered my thoughts and decided to

make life as difficult as possible for my


opponent-though at the same time wishing 23.VNxd3 that I had a summer tan to hide my red face!

The first ray of hope appeared as blocking

with the knight only draws since 16 ... lt:J g8

17 .Wf3 + ~n 18.W g3 forces a repetition, as

does 17 ... @e8 18.Wh5+ (18 ... @d7 19.Wxd5+

forcing the same draw).

___ ttJ

'

A clever way of introducing the knight into

the game and thereby setting Black a few

problems. Getting your opponent to think a

bit is the first step to recovering from lost

positions - if he doesn't have to calculate

possibilities he can't make mistakes , so

always look for the sharpest or otherwise

most unexpected continuation.

Remember that you have already blown it so

to speak, and you cant be hung twice for the

same offence, so you are playing the rest of

the game free from any pressure. Always err

on the side of optimism and let your

opponent do the stressing!

18 ... ~xh8 19.~g5+ i>e8 20.'Wxh8+ i>d7 21.'Wh3+ i>c6 22.~xd4+ i>b6

84

The black king has been dragged across the

board, but ultimately White would require

an extra tempo (or an extra piece!) to cause

serious problems.

23 ... a6 24.a4!

White is still losing, but at least this move

will make Black wonder about dropping his

king back with 24 ... @a7 in view of the

annoying 25. lt:Jb5+ when 25 ... axb5 26.axb5+

introduc es the white rook onto the

battlefield.

These small hassles may not contain real

threats but again they force the opponent to

sift through a tangle of variations rather than

allow him to sit back and enjoy his winning

position.

24 ... V!fd6!

Black decides it's high time he developed

some of his pieces and this queen move

really ought to seal the deal as White's king

is now looking just as vulnerable as the

black monarch.

25.a5+ i>c7 26.f4!

' __ __... __

Again a distraction aimed at confusing the

opponent. If the pawn wasn't on f4 then

Black would never have considered the

possibility of taking it (obviously!) but now

that it is, he realises he can't, since one or

other ttJe6+ would win the queen. Sowing

the seeds of problems where none actually

exist is a handy psychological tool.

26 ... t2Jc6 27.~xc6 bxc6?!

Not a mistake as such, but slightly

weakening the pawn cover close to his king

was unnecessary and 27 ... Vfixc6 was safer.

28.g3 ~g4 29.ct:Jf7 ~e6+?!

And here my opponent had a little blackout

thinking he was simply picking up the

knight (of course judging by my earlier play

who could blame him?) .

Tempting the black knight forward in the

hope he might forget about the defence of

the .ig4 at some point. Desperate, perhaps,

but we have to at least give our opponent the

chance to blunder.

85

Mind-Games

31 ... ~e4+ 32.s!;{cl ~h8 33.b4!

Black has been playing natural, sensible

moves but suddenly finds the position a little

more awkward. If he now plays 33 ... c4 then

the white Vfi goes to d4 aiming to land a

troublesome check on a 7. In the meantime,

White threatens 34.ttJ xg4 1Wxg4 35 .1Wxd5

causing problems, or perhaps 34.bxc5 with

the intention of Vfid4 and c6.

Perhaps the most relevant factor now in play

is that Black has been a piece up and

'winning' for over 20 moves, yet he still

hasn't netted the full point. Psychologically

this is an extremely difficult position to be

in, all the more so when it is a team match

with beady, expectant eyes all around!

33 ... ~hl + 34.s!;{b2 ~xal 35.s!;{xal ~f5 36.bxc5 ~xeS?!

And amazingly White now has a draw!

Black might still have had enough advantage

to win after 36 ... ct:J f6, but it would have

taken a clearer mind than my opponent's at

the time to see that 37 .~b3 ttJ d7 38 .c6 lt:Jxe5

was safe.

37.\Wc3 \Wd6 38.ttJf7 V!:Vf6 39.ttJe5 d6?

And since Black has been winning for

almost the entire game, he has no intention

of allowing a draw by repetition. Instead he

unintentionally commits hara- kiri!

40.%Vb4 ~d7?

And this further blunder seals his fate since

it is now mate, although Black actually

resigned before 4l .~b6+ could be played.

A wonderful, 'blunderful' game for sure, but

also a very instructive one in its own way I

think you will agree.

1-0

86

SWINDLING #2

The entire concept of swindling, essentially

'being done out of something which is

rightfully yours', is a troubling one for me.

I always have serious reservations when I

hear a chess- player say, 'I've just been

swindled', or describing the 'outrageous

swindle' which just occutTed against them.

More often than not it simply means that

their opponent was more resourceful or

concentrated or tactically aware in the given

instance.

To me, as the previous game show s,

swindling is simply playing chess in a way

that causes your opponent the most

problems - so my entire chess career has

been one long swindle!

To label swindling as some kind of negative

concept is a misnomer - it merely serves to

relieve us of our responsibility at the

chessboard when things go wrong, and this

is surely a bad way to view matters.

Here is the positive version of events ...

MacDonald,C -Burnett,A Czech Benoni

Hamilton Open 2005

l.d4 l!Jf6 2.l!Jf3 c5 3.d5 d6 4.g3 e5 5.~g2 ttJ bd7 6.0-0 g6 7 .c4 ~g7 8.ttJc3 a6 9.e4 0-0 lO.ttJel ltJe8 ll.~d3 f5 12.h3 C2Jef6 13.h2 b5 14.cxb5 CLJxe4?!

As soon as I played this capture I realised I

had made a serious mistake.

We have all been in this situation- we reject

a certain move quite quickly to begin with

and move on to look at the alternatives. Five

minutes later we play the move we initially

rejected, having completely forgotten the

original problems or reservations we had

with the 1nove!

In this instance I had quite quickly seen that

after the text move my opponent could

capture with 15 .i xe4 when the forced

15 ... fxe4 16 .lt:Jxe4 leaves white threatening

both 17.ltJxd6 and 17.bxa6, thereby winning

a pawn.

Losing the a- pawn, however, is not in itself

disastrous - there would be some kind of

Vfff-side counterplay akin to that seen in the

Benko Gambit, but the d- pawn is a crucial

part of Black's structure and must be kept

intact. The real problem is White's control of

the e4- square, which entirely negates the

g7- bishop.

So if we consider for example 16 ... ttJ f6, then

White doesn't exchange knights and grab the

a-pawn, but instead plays 1 7 .~g5 ! pinning

the knight and securing complete control of

e4. He can then follow-up with f3 and

ttJ df2, re-inforcing this square.

So, option 1 is to be positionally much

worse (against a strong opponent who

87

Mind-Games

thrives on such advantages) with very little

prospect of active counter-play. The best I

could probably hope for here is to hold the

position for a draw.

Now, I don't know about you, but the

prospect of shuffling my pieces defensively

for the next couple of hours was about as

appealing as, well, something really, really

unappealing (you can think of your own

worst thing here!).

Option 2 (and believe me there is always a

2nd option) was simply to admit to myself

that I'd made a mistake, and to henceforth

make life as trouble-some for my opponent

as humanly possible.

15.~xe4!

So White quickly picks up on the error, and

I now sank into deep thought looking for the

second option.

What if I were to simply ignore the bishop

on e4 and re-capture on b5 instead? Let him

save the extra piece, after which I advance

my phalanx of pawns with tempo, develop

my pieces as aggressively as possible and

pretend to the world that I'm not a piece

down?

Hmmm, a long slow (probable) death, or a

care-free active game with all the

psychological pressure on my opponent to

justify his extra material? No contest in my

mind, so .. .

15 ... axb5! 16.~g2 b4 17.~e2 g5!

A good move which denies White f4 for his

pieces and threatens to gain more space and

time with .. . e4.


18.f4!

White is wise to Black's game and prevents

a pawn avalanche, but this move, though

strong and necessary, also has a downside. It

creates some space around his king, allows

the g- file to be opened (to whose advantage

this will be is not yet clear) and allows Black

a reasonably well- advanced supported

passed- pawn.

Not that I'm for a moment saying that these

factors outweigh the piece deficit, but I can't

say either that I was displeased with my

position (although judging by the grimaces

and questioning stares of the onlookers this

view was shared by precious few people

around me at the time!)

18 ... gxf4 19.gxf4 e4 20.C!Jel C/Jf6 21.C!Jc2 i>h8!

'

88

Intending to put the rook on g8 where it

could prove to be very useful.

White would like to follow suit, and perhaps

he can, but there will always be a nagging

fear that his king might need this retreat

square in the event of some future ... lt:J g4+

from Black, when ~h 1 would drop the

queen to ... lt:J £2+.

These are not immediate possibilities or

specific threats, but they do influence the

play and the players' thinking. If, for

instance, White has these doubts about

playing g g 1 just now, it may affect his

'ability' to play it if, or when, it becomes the

'only' move.

22.a3!

This move is indicative of Chris' approach to

chess. It is positionally well- motivated since

White would like to gain access to the

squares c3 and, in particular, d4. To do so he

must challenge the black pawn chain, and

this move also solves the slight problem of

the gal /~a2 duo.

For my part, although the plan is challenging

to face, I was pleased to note that his focus

was at least partly on the Vff-side - all it

takes is to forget for one move that there are

other, more deadly, areas of the board and

disaster can strike.

22 .. J~g8!

The only real compensation Black now has

for the piece is the possibility to launch an

attack with ... 4J g4 +, (intending

perhaps ... Wh4 or something nasty on the e3

square) when White might be forced to

Mind-Games

return the booty. With such a simple, linear 2 7 .~d2 strategy, Black must use every available

tempo to introduce his pieces into

threatening positions, making moves

elsewhere only when strictly necessary.

23.axb4 ~xal 24.~xal ia6

Activating the bishop in this way is essential

as it creates a certain disharmony among the

white forces. The rook would like to move

so that the knight is no longer pinned, but

with g 1 being the only useful square it

would encounter the same problems outlined

back at move 22.

Instead White continues his policy of

dismantling the black pawn structure and

thereby gaining useful squares for his other .

pieces.

25.bxc5 dxcS

This recapture is forced since giving away

control of d4 is not a good idea - White's tt:J, ib and Wi could all find uses for it.

Defending c5 (and thereby also d4) while

'opening the rooks eyes' to the g- file .

89

White's plan has borne fruit as the bishop

can now come to the useful c3 square to

control the long diagonal which Black has

just vacated. However. ..

27 ... h6! 28.~c3 ~h7!

These ! 's are for consistency of purpose.

Black must never allow a situation where his

pieces are pinned and therefore impotent.

White now has control of the long diagonal,

but the knight has been unpinned. Should

White now exchange on f6 he helps the

black queen to an active post and he might

easily find himself unable to defend the b2

pawn, and the dark squares in general

after ... id6.

Faced with this tricky decision White

decides to opt out for a move and instead

activate his side- lined steed on b3.

29.CiJa5?

Aiming for the c6-square attacking the

queen and thereafter to the excellent e5

square, but unfortunately taking his eye off

the ball for a split second which proves fatal.

However, I don't find this too surprising and

nor should you. Black's next has been

available for the last 8 moves but simply

didn't work, so White has been gradually

improving other aspects of his position - the

problem as I mentioned earlier is that it only

takes a small change in the details to change

the entire course of the game.

This position was highlighted in John

Henderson's daily Scotsman newspaper

column with the sub- title 'How does Black White had thought that 32.;gf2 was a simple

complete the swindle?' defence, but overlooked that 32 ... e3 wins

Hopefully after playing through this game since the bishop has left its defence of this

the reader will at least re-define what their critical square - in his 'mind's eye' it was no

idea of a swindle is - and you too, John! doubt on its original square as well as c3!

32 ... ~h4+!

The White king will run for the cover of the

queen- side, so it is better if Black can

capture on g2 with the rook and keep the

queen for other duties .

If White now tries 3 3. <±>g 1 hoping for a

repetition after 33 ... ~g4, then he is denied

by the move 33 ... ~h3 when he is unable to

29 ... 'lJg4+! 30.hxg4 defend.

White has no option but to take since the 33.~e3 ~xg2 34.~el further ... ltJe3 will hit the ~' ;g and the ~g2 .

30 ... ~h4+ 31.~gl

3l.~h3 is also playable but ultimately losing

after 31 ... fxg4 32.lt:Jgl gxh3 e.g.33.~e1 ~g4

34.1!9xe4+ ;gg6! when White must part with

his queen to prevent mate 35 .'Wxg6+ ~xg6

36.;gf2 Wf5 37.~e5 Wd3.

90

Forced to defend e2, but now the king hunt

is on!

34 ... ~f2+ 35.~d2 ~xf4+ 36.~c2 Jld3+ 37.~b3 ~b8+!

This shows the advantages of keeping your

attacking pieces as flexible as possible -

now the white king will feel just as unsafe

on the W-side as he proved to be on the ~

side.

38.~a2 ~b5!

Quiet moves such as this one are not only

hard to find but also difficult to judge in

advance. Black has won back one piece and

now threatens to win the other by capturing

the knight on e2 . White's best defence would be 39.Wb3,

although after the queen exchange and

taking on e2, the passed e- and f-pawns

would storm through.

The final point behind Black's last few

moves. Should White now save his queen

then 40 ... \Wa4 is mate!

or 41 ... E!:xb2+, since the knight is now

hanging on a5 .

42.ctJxf8+ ~g8 and here a shell-shocked

White resigned since all his pieces are

dropping off.

0-1

91

Mind-Games

I trust that it will not escape the reader's

notice that this has been one of the longest

chapters in the book-and there is more to

come on the subject of practical chess

psychology a little later!

It really is one of the least thought- about

aspects of chess with regards to your

average club-player, and in my opinion this

is a huge mistake.

Of course its not difficult to see why it is

overlooked when we are bombarded with

over- hyped books on opening theory and

computer- driven assessments at every turn.

But hopefully, having read this introduction

to the subject, many of you will now see

things in a different light and next time you

reach out at the bookstall your hands will

automatically steer away from the latest

'opening sensation' and drift instead towards

a different kind of literature!

7 ~STRRETF16HTIN6 HERO #2 MIKHAil~, TAL

ever was a chess-player's style

so celebrated, and at the same

time so berated, as that of the

'Magician from Riga' Mikhail Tal.

In blasting his way to the world title, Tal's

enigmatic play won him the adoration of

the chess- playing public who were daz

zled by his sacrificial assaults.

Less-enamoured, though, were the rela

tively staid generation of masters he top

pled along the way, who felt that Tal's

play - though full of imagination - was

often simply incorrect, his 'trickery' an

affront to the logic of positional play!

More than this, however, was Tal's un-

Tal, Mikhail ----Larsen, Bent Sicilian Defence

Candidates S/F Game 10

Bled 1965

l.e4 c5 2.CiJf3 lLJc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.lLJxd4 e6 5.lLJc3 d6 6.~e3 lLJf6 7.f4 ~e7 8J~~'f3 0-0 9.0-0-0

canny ability to wrong-foot opponents;

dragging primarily positional players into

tactical melees or forcing aggressive play

ers to accept material but go on the de

fensive.

His bewitching qualities were so ingrained

in other players' minds that the American

master Pal Benko once turned up to play

Tal wearing sunglasses to avoid his

'hypnotic' stare!

The following encounter, one of the all

time classics in chess, shows Tal at his

majestic best in a game which provoked

years of analysis amongst amateurs and

masters alike the world over.

Absolutely typical of both players! Despite

the match being tied at 412-412, with the

winner of this deciding game going through

to the Candidates Final, Tal and Larsen

happily head for one of the sharpest

positions that 1960's theory had to offer!

The opposite-sides castling is a pre- cursor

to rapid pawn advances on the flanks,

usually leading to the kind of vicious hand

to-hand combat Tal and Larsen both

excelled at, and revelled in.

9 ... ~c7!?

Considered inaccurate by Tal, but only

because of a subtle difference in a sharp

tactical line, viz :if now 1 O.g4 then Black


replies 1 0 ... 4Jxd4 ll .~xd4 e5 12.g5 i g4 13 ... b5!? 13.~g3 i,xd1 14.gxf6 ixf6 15.4Jd5 ~xc2#

Analysis diagram

Tal's next move appears to eventually lose a

tempo, but in forcing Black's queen to a less

active square he avoids this mating idea on

c2 and therefore gains time to play the g4

advance.

Such tactical subtleties were second- nature

to Tal - springing to mind almost

immediately - whereas his opponents would

have to sift methodically through the tactical

mire to spot such points, consequently using

more time and energy, and all the while with

the knowledge that the world's most

fearsome tactician was sitting opposite with

a glint in his eye!

10.~db5 ~b8 ll.g4 a6 12.~d4 ~xd4 13.~xd4

94

"Larsen does nothing to stop the typical

pawn advance (14.g5) - a testament to his

exaggerated optimism". So says Ludek

Pachman in his classic book 'Pachman's

Decisive Games' (which despite its

eponymous-sounding title actually

investigates the most important decisive

games in chess history from Anderssen

Paulsen in 1872 through to Fischer-Spassky

a century later).

Tal himself . states "A very important

moment. After the move made by Larsen it

is obvious that White's attack will develop

more quickly, which in such positions is

very often the decisive factor".

Far be it for me to disagree with such

illustrious writers, but I'm going to anyway!

Firstly, Pachman's comments could equally

well be laid at Tal's door! His "exaggerated

optimism" was the foundation stone of the

flights-of- fancy chess he was famous for,

as he himself admitted many times over.

Secondly, Tal's idea of what is "obvious" is

unlike that of any other player the chess

world has seen before or since! Both give

similar 'improvements' here for Larsen,

name I y 13 .. . e 5 14. g 5 i g 4 15 . ~ g3 ex d 4

16.gxf6 dxc3 17.fxe7 cxb2+ 18.@bl i,xdl

Analysis diagram

" ... which more or less leads to equality" -

Pachman, and "Black keeps quite good

defensive chances, since the position has

become considerably simplified" - Tal.

Personally speaking, I don't believe a word

of it! Larsen, in the heat of battle , is

expected to find his way to this position in

his head and consider it "more or less equal"

against the world's foremost tactical wizard?

I don't think so!

Look at the following line - not completely

forced but stunning nonetheless; 19 .~d3 ~e8

20.~gl g6 2l.f5 ~h5 22.f6 @h8 23.~g5 ~c7

24.~h6 ~g8 25.e5 dxe5 26.~g5 ~c3

27.~xh7+ mxh7 28J~xh5#

Analysis diagram

It is horrific possibilities such as these that

would have been occupying Larsen's mind -

allowing Tal to go on the rampage is not a

pleasant thought, and it is no surprise to me

that Larsen instead chooses to 'fight fire with

fire' with the text move.

Although these variations are difficult to

Streetfighting Heroes #2

14.g5 ~d7 15.~d3

At first Tal wanted to play the prophylactic

move 15.a3 which would have allowed the

ltJ to remain on c3, but realised that after

15 ... b4 Larsen would have obtained serious

counter-play down the b-file.

Instead Tal's devious mind settled on the

up-coming piece sacrifice which he justified

by finding "an amusing variation" (!) and by

the thought, "If in the end, Misha, you are

destined to lose this match, there is no need

for the reason for this to be cowardice".

For this thought alone we really ought to

welcome Mikhail Tal to our Streetfighting

ranks as Honorary President (sadly a

posthumous honour), and I cant emphasise

enough just how inspirational playing

through his games can be for the average

player.

15 ... b4 16.~d5!!

follow, and may seem to you unnecessary or 16 ... exd5 too complicated, it is important to

understand the psychology behind attacking Black is forced to capture the kamikaze

chess. Instilling doubt and fear in your knight as otherwise it will give its life even

opponent, forcing them to avoid what is more expensively on f6 next move.

perhaps the critical move, is an essential

weapon in the Streetfighter's armoury.

95

17.exd5

Stree~fighting Chess

attempted defence 17 ... g6, again blocking

the diagonal to h7 , but also severely

weakening the other long diagonal to h8 .

For our purposes, the practical chances of

holding any of these positions is extremely

slim. White has played aggressively,

ingeniously and bravely- as we have learned

by now, the fact that Black goes quickly

astray is hardly surprising.

Simply too much pressure on the board, in

This then is the critical pos1t1on which the mind and on the nervous system - a

occupied the minds of thousands upon natural chain reaction.

thousands of chess- players for rnany years.

Tal's knight sacrifice is partly based on

positional grounds - Larsen's queen- side

pieces will find it extremely difficult to cross

the board to aid his king's defence. There are

also immediate tactical threats to be dealt

with. If it were White to move he could play

~e4, threatening mate on h7 as well as the

bishop on e7.

Unfortunately this cannot be parried by the

simple 17 ... ~d8 because Tal could play what

he terms "the standard combination"

17 ... ~d8 18 .~xh7+ ~xh7 19 .~h5+ ~g8

20.~xg7 ~xg7 21.~h6+ ~g8 22.g6 fxg6

23.~xg6+ ~h8 24.E!hgl mating.

Analysis diagram

The debate focused not on the move Larsen

actually chose here, 17 ... f5, but on the other

96

17 ... f5!? 18.~del ~f7

Again 18 ... ~d8 is insufficient after 19.~h5

ttJ c5 20.~xg7 ltJxd3+ 21 .~bl ltJxel 22.g6

~xg7 23.~xh7+ ~f6 24.g7 E!f7 25.g8ltJ#

Analysis diagram

This is the variation which Tal found

irTesistible back at move 14!! A testament to

his genius and the main reason why Tal,

although perhaps overall less strong than

some other World Champions, remains my

all- time favourite.

19.h4 ~b7 20.~xf5

Incredibly Tal says that he wanted to play

even more sharply here with 20.g6, but

decided to play it safe! - "the experience of

previous games warned me against wasting

time on the calculation of long, complicated

variations - that is how to get into time

trouble" - Tal.

20 .. J~~xf5 2tJ;xe7 tlJeS!

The best practical chance in a lost position.

Besides, Larsen was doubtless sick and tired

of White calling all the shots .

22.W'e4 W'f8! 23.fxe5!

And not falling for 23.~xb7 ~xf4 24.'®e3

:§:fl + when Black's desperate counter- attack

even wins!

23 ... gf4 24.W'e3 gf3?

Last chance saloon was 24 ... ~xd5 keeping

the tactical slugfest going. Tal considers

25 .exd6 :gxd4 26 .~xd4 ~xhl 27 .b3!!

Analysis diagram

An extraordinarily cool move, the idea of

Streetfighting Heroes #2

25.W'e2 W'xe7 26JWxf3 dxeS 27J;et gd8 28.gxe5 ~d6 29JWf4!

Simple tactics save the d- pawn since

29 .. . .txd5 3 0. :9:e8+ wins the queen.

29 ... gf8 30.W'e4 b3 31.axb3 gn + 32.d2 ~b4+ 33.c3 W'd6 34.ic5!

"A not altogether necessary (there were

many ways to win) but an1using concluding

combination", Tal states .

34 ... W'xc5 35.ge8+ grs 36J~Ne6+ h8 37.W'f7!

which would occur to few players! The and here Larsen resigned as the back- rank

threat of pushing h5, h6 will force Black to mate cannot be averted.

return the extra piece albeit with " ... some

chances of saving the game", according to

Tal.

97

1-0


A magnificent tour-de-force from 'the

Magician', worthy of the highest sporting,

and Streetfighting, accolades!

Here is how Sosonko described Tal's

approach to the game of chess . "The

important thing for him .. . was to create a

situation on the board such that his pieces

came alive... to create tension and to seize

98

the initiative, to create a position such that

the spiritual factor - that of giving mate -

would prevail over and even laugh at

material values" .

Even though it is unlikely that we will ever

get anywhere near Tal's level of chess, this

philosophy should underpin our own play at

all times.


THE AGATHA CHRISTIE APPROACH TO THEORY

While problem-solving at the chessboard

must normally be faced several times in

every game, encountering chess problems

away from the board are a somewhat rarer

occurrence.

Nevertheless, the following game involves

just such a puzzle, the solution of which was

inadvettently to lead to more than a single

point.

Burnett, A- Thomson, T Ruy Lopez

Grayson Cup 1997

l.e4 e5 2.~f3 ~c6 3.i,b5 a6 4.i,xc6 dxc6 5.0-0 VNd6!?

I had recently turned to this Exchange

Variation of the Ruy Lopez to complement

my other vicious weapon against l ... e5 - the

Vienna! This may sound a bit like the classic

Leslie Nielsen line in Police Story, "Watch

out, he has a broken milk carton!", but I'm

sure if used 'properly' even a milk carton

could take someone's eye out!

Anyway, in this position Black has a wide

range of choices as to how to continue his

development:- 5 ... i g4 and 5 ... f6 are among

the most popular while 5 ... i d6 and even

5 .. .11J e7 are occasionally played.

However, it was apparent to me that 5 ... W'd6

had taken up the mantle of Black's best

move at the time, both on a global level and

on the equally important Scottish weekend

congress circuit!

6.'2Ja3 i,e6 7.¥Ne2 f6 8.E!dl 0-0-0 9.d4 i,g4 10.i,e3 exd4 ll.E!xd4 VNe7 12.~xd8+ VNxd8 13.~dl VNe8

Here is the critical position which so

intrigued me.

It could have arisen in the gan1e Timman

Almasi, but appeared only in Timman's

notes to another of his games (against

Onischuk) which I happened upon in a

friend's copy of New in Chess magazine en

route to a tournament.

Of this position Timman remarks that White

would have "a huge advantage" .

Fair enough I thought and continued

scanning the rest of the magazine while

relishing the upcoming delights of whatever

draughty school dining room we were soon

to be doing battle in.

100

A few hours later I was similarly leafrng through the most recent Informator at the

Congress bookstall (after my game had

fmished I should add) when, lo and behold,

the Timman-Almasi game jumped out at me

- with notes by Almasi in typically cryptic

Informator form - the line ending +, which

means 'with a slight advantage to Black'.

Now, I'm no Hercule Poirot at the best of

times, but even to me this seemed a bit

strange, a little mysterious even.

"Huge advantage to White" or "slightly

better for Black"? And in a line which I had

so recently decided to adopt?

Well, if ever there were a time to don the

pince-nez, wax up the old handlebar

moustache and enlist the aid of my most

trusted companion Hastings, this was surely

it! Before I push the Agatha Christie theme

too far, suffice to say when I got home I

dusted off the old chess set and did some

sleuthing of my own.

It quickly became apparent that Timman's

assessment of a "huge advantage" for White

had to be based on the fact that he has a

massive lead in development.

Taking Almasi's side for a moment, we see

that not only is he attacking the e-pawn with

the queen on e8, he is also threatening to

play the disruptive .. . ~xa3, reducing at the

same time some of his deficit in

development.

One obvious way for White to deal with

these dual threats is by 14. V1i d3 since then

14 .. . ~xa3 15.Wxa3 Vlixe4 16.1Wf8+ leads to

mate. After 14.Wd3 however, Black could

p 1 a y instead 1 4 .. . ~ x f3 1 5 . g x f3 ~ x a 3

16.1Mfxa3 ltJe7 ! when he has at least equal

chances.

101

Something New, Something Old ...

I'm sure if I had the likes of Fritz or Rybka

sitting next to me, our little silicon friends

would have spotted the refutation of Black's

set-up almost instantly. It took me a little

longer, but finally I spied what Timman had

obviously noticed and what Almasi had

evidently over-looked.

14.CLJc4!

And here it is. As so often when one side has

a marked lead in development, the material

aspects of chess look after themselves.

White avoids the Vii-side disruption and his

active pieces render the e-pawn immune,

since if now 14 ... 1Mfxe4?, Black is rather

rudely slapped-down by 15 . ttJ b6+!! when

either 15 ... b8 16.gd8+ @a7 17 J~~~a8 or

15 ... cxb6 16.~xb6+ Wxe2 17 .gd8 would be

mate.

Because of these small but important tactical

points, the relevant factor here is that

White's army is ready to do battle while the

majority of Black's- as Tal so sweetly put it

-"occupy the squares God gave them!"

14 ... Wfh5

Black changes tack but now his king is

looking somewhat bereft of defenders, a


factor White must immediately attempt to queen after 18 .~f4+ since 18 ... @c8 19.ttJ b6

exploit before the black @-side forces can is mate again.

enter the game.

15.%Yd2 ~e7

Since 15 ... i xD 16JMfd8+ is an immediate

mate, Black can't even disrupt the white

kingside as compensation.

Black's bishops are for the moment covering

the d7 and d8 squares, so White takes aim at

the next weakest spot on c7.

16 ... C2Jb6

Again 16 ... ! xD fails, this time to 16 .~d7+

followed by 17 .~xc7+ and 18 .~b8# .

White must strike while the iron is hot and

before Black plays .. J~d8. We have already

seen how weak the dark squares can become

(back at move 14), so it should come as no

real surprise that this blow exploits the same

motif. Now if Black should capture the

bishop with 17 ... @xc7 he must give up his

102

17 ... W/c5 18.Wif4?!

The right idea but the wrong execution!

Having seen that the reply 18 ... Wxc4 loses

almost immediately because of 19 .i b6 i d8

20 .~xd8+ ~xd8 21.Wic7#, I failed to realise

that of course 18 .! b6! ~xc4 19 .\fNf4 is a

direct transposition to this line and infinitely

more forcing than the game move.

Fortunately there is no serious damage done

to the White cause, although it does allow

Black to struggle on a little longer than he

ought to have done.

18 ... g5 19.W/g3 f5!

A good try since now 20.i b6 is met by

20 ... f4! when both queens would perish,

obviously beneficial to Black.

20.exf5 ~xf5 21JWxg4 ~xc7

Unfortunately for Black his king is just too

exposed to survive, especially when the rook

on h8 can't find a tempo to enter the game.

22.ttJfe5! ~h4 23.b4!

Since only one of White's major pieces can

use the d7 square, another file must be

opened towards the black monarch.

23 ••• '1Nxb4 24.c3 %Vc5

The queen must retain her defence of the

bishop on e7 but now the white pieces can

flood in.

25.%Vd7+ b8 26J~!bl b5 27.ttJa5 and in this hopeless position Black's flag

fell .

1-0

So what useful lessons can be learned from

this game? Well, the most obvious one is

that we should never trust implicitly what

we read! My opponent Tommy Thomson is

a strong correspondence player and was

undoubtedly using the Informator analysis

by Almasi - but there was a huge flaw in

Almasi's assessment of the position after

move 13 . Had we been playing a postal

game Tommy would more than likely have

spotted this error, but playing a variation for

the first time over-the-board doesn't often

allow for this kind of homework.

103


On the other hand, had I just followed

Timman's advice without checking it, I

might have come a cropper in much the

same way had the Dutchman been wrong.

Fortunately, and this doesn't happen too

often with club-players, I had two sources -

at odds with each other - and decided to

take a closer look.

The best we can do is to take on board the

variations and assessments of grandmaster

players, and then ask ourselves if we

understand why they have come to these

conclusions? If the answer is no, we must

either abandon such an illogical way of

learning or ask a stronger player to clarify

matters .

In this instance I was rather pleased to have

found such a refutation, but such self

gratification was deflated somewhat a few

years later when I noticed the following

game ...

Rowson,J- Ehlvest,J

World Open Play-off

Philadelphia 2002

l.e4 e5 2.Ci:Jf3 Ci:Jc6 3.1ib5 a6 4.hc6 dxc6

5. 0-0 ff d 6 6. Ci:Ja3 ~e6 7. ff e2 j'6 8.1/jdJ c 5

9.c3 0-0-0 10.d4 cxd4 ll.cxd4 ~g4 12.~e3

exd4 13.l!ixd4 ffe7 14.fixd8+ Wfxd8 15.Ci:Jc4

Ci:Je7 16.1/jdJ fle8 17.h3 ih5 18.1if4 Ci:Jc6

19.ffe3 ie7 20.hc7!


20 ••• ifxc7 21. V!Jf4+ lliJe5 22.g4 g5 23. V:*lg3

ifb8 24.1JiJfxe5 fxe5 25. V:*lxe5+ ifa8 26.gxh5

'Bf8 27.'Bd7!

27 ••• Jld8 28. V:*fd5

1-0

Not identical, but close enough to show who

had been doing their homework and who

hadn't! The galling point for me was that

Jonathan Rowson obviously has such an

armoury of strong novelties and refutations

at his disposal that he could afford to use

this one in a .... 5- minute game!

Anyway, back down to earth and on to the

next game, a natural corollary to the

previous example. Although my specific

'investigation' had focussed on the Timman

Almasi encounter, I had also got around to

playing through the main game in the New

in Chess article between Timman and

Onischuk.

Evidently an interesting idea had planted

itself in my memory and I combined it with

another previously learned concept of

attacking chess - one which we should all

be aware of if we want to maximise our

attacking chances in the middle- game.

104

Burnett,A- Mannion,S Ruy Lopez


l.e4 e5 2.~f3 ~c6 3.~b5 a6 4.~xc6 dxc6 5.0-0 '!Nd6 6.~a3 ~e6 7.'!Ne2 f6 8.~dl ~g4 9.c3

In this position, against Onischuk, Timman

played the immediate 9.d4 (when 9 .. . 0-0-0

would transpose to the games we have just

seen) and only after 9 .. . exd4 did he play

1 O.c3. Black then replied with the dubious

10 ... We6?! whereupon Timman uncorked

11. ct:Jxd4! Going on to win a fme game after

11. .. txe2 12.lt:Jxe6 ~c8 .

9 ... c5 10.d4 cxd4 ll.cxd4 exd4

And here 11 ... 0-0-0 would have transposed

into the Rowson-Ehlvest game. I don't

know about you, the reader, but such

transpositions give me a real headache.

Who played what and when and why? It's

very easy to get confused, and is one of the

reasons I have absolutely refused to learn

anything about the extremely popular

Sicilian Najdorf English Attack mainlines

which everyone seems to play these days!

If you have a good memory for detail then

fine, indulge yourself - if, like me, you 14.tlJxe6 ~c8 struggle in this department then feel free to

borrow some of the less-well-charted lines An awkward move to have to play, but the

this book is primarily based on. only one which doesn't immediately lose

material.

12.ttJc4!? ~e6?!

As in the game Timman-Onischuk, Black

puts his queen on a sensitive square .

12 ... ~c5 looks risky, but may be best. I had

intended 13 . ~f4 followed by gac 1 and

pushing e5, but 13 ... ~xf3 14. gxf3 (the

knight on c4 must be protected) b5 may be

poss ible. Nevertheless , from a purely

practical perspective I think White's game is

to be preferred - quick and easy

development, with the simple strategy of

opening up the black king with e5 .

13.C2Jxd4!

A strong move, but the exclamation mark

belongs to Timman.

13 ... ~xe2

Black could simply retreat the queen here to

d7 or c8, but after 14.f3 chasing the bishop

White would again have a frightening lead

in development.

15J~~d4

15 ... ~g4

The aggressive lunge 15 ... c5 allows

16.ct:J d6+ ixd6 17.g xd6 c:J;;e7 when 18J%b6

is good for White, while 15 ... ~xc4 16.gxc4

c6 17 .tt:Jxf8 <j{xf8 leaves White with an

excellent bishop and 2 active rooks . The text

move forces the active 'LJ on e6 off the

board, but doesn't solve the longer- term

problems in the black position.

16.C2Jxf8 @xf8 17.~f4 l:iJe7

105


18J~cl!

It is often tempting to play tactics just for the

sake of them, but the forcing line 18.~xc7

~xc7 19.~d8+ @IJ 20.lt:J d6+ @e6 21.~xh8

@xd6 22 . ~xh7 doesn 't achieve much.

Nominally material is even, but there is a

fair prospect of the black forces becoming

very active after 22 ... lt:J c6 or 22 ... lt:J g6.

We should only embark on such tactical

adventures if we either have to, or if there

are clear gains in sight. Otherwise it is far

21.~xe5+ tt.Jxe5 22.~xe5 c6

Perhaps 22 ... c5 is a better move here,

although it's entirely understandable that

Black doesn't want his rook tied down to the

defence of a mere pawn for any longer than

is strictly necessary.

Nonetheless, playing the pawn to c5 would

have avoided some of the forthcoming

problems - though these problems are by no

means obvious at this stage.

more sensible to finish our development, as 23.~d4!

in the actual game, and look for a more

timely opportunity to force matters.

20.e5!

White has the better developed and more

active pieces , but since Black has no structural weaknesses White must strive for

the initiative and use the slightly misplaced

black king to his advantage.

20 ... fxe5

And not 20 ... lt:J xe5? 21.i xe5 fxe5 22.ttJ xe5+

picking up the loose bishop on g4.

This strong move follows the middle-game

concept alluded to in the introduction to this

game - with rooks and opposite- coloured

bishops the side with the initiative should

play for the attack!

I had probably been aware of this idea on a

sub- conscious level for some time, but

sometimes it takes more than a passing

comment in some game or other for the

concept to become ingrained on a more

useful conscious level.

In this respect, an old series of books by the

Czech Grandmaster Ludek Pachman entitled

'Complete Chess Strategy' did the trick for

me.

His first volume, 'Planning the Pieces', is

106

particularly instructive wherein he examines,

amongst other topics, several positions

where the opposite- bishops proved to be the

decisive factor in the middle- game.

"This drawing tendency (so often desired by

the weaker side!) is significantly reduced or

even disappears completely when other

pieces are on the board as well", states

Pachman.

He adds, "In many middle- game positions

the presence of opposite- coloured bishops

even has the reverse effect and favours the

Something New> Something Old ...

it is evident that the g7- pawn will be the

target, which as Pachman's 'rules' state,

cannot be defended by the §2. on e6. Black's

next move looks natural, but perhaps the

uninspiring prophylactic move 26 ... ;ghg8

was necessary?

It should be noted that White has little

interest in holding onto his a2 pawn - the

action will be taking place elsewhere and

there is no need (or time!) to be distracted by

such irrelevant matters.

side with the initiative. This stems from the 26 ... h4 27 .gd3 fact that the defending bishop cannot protect

points attacked by the opponent's bishop". Intending to invade on d6 and if now

This book dates from a time when strategy 27 ... ;gcd8 28 J~xd8 ~xd8 29.~xh4 ~xa2

was not obscured so heavily by reams of 30.~g4+ ~f5 3l .~xg7 wins a crucial pawn.

theory and computer assessments, and such

books are therefore much more useful for 27 ... gh5 28.i,c3 Jtxa2?! learning the basics of chess (especially the

more advanced basics).

Back to the game, and Black eventually

settles for a move which affords his king a

little more breathing room whilst protecting

his bishop.

23 ... h5 24.E!f4+ g6 25.h3 ie6 26.gc3!

Black snatches the pawn, hoping his queen

side pawn majority will save the day.

However, now both white rooks can take up

even more active and threatening posts.

29J~~d7 ~g8 30.gxb7

White's activity will finally pay off in

material terms, since now 30 ... ~e6 (to

The second rook swings into action and now prevent 31 .~g4+) allows 31.~b6 when the

107


black queen- side disintegrates, while the 3 7.g4+ proble1ns remain on the other side of the

board. The most efficient way , securing 2

connected passed pawns.

30 ... cid5 31J~g4+ ~g5

32.~xg7+!

Simplifying into a winning ending. Often it

37 ... hxg3 38.fxg3 ~g6 39.g4 ~f7 40.cib4 ~e6 41.~f2 ~e5 42.~e3 cie6 43.cic3+ ~d5 44.~f4 ~c4

can be difficult to know when to do this, but 45.cif6 here it is clear that White will soon have 2 clear passed pawns on the kingside while And not falling for any tricks with ... a3

Black cannot even exchange his queen- side when the bishop hangs and Black even wins!

ones off, let alone force one through.

32 ... ~xg7 33.~xg5+ ~xg5 34.cixg7 aS 35.cif8 a4 36.cie7+ ~h5

45 ... ~d5

Unfortunately for Black he can never give

up his bishop for both the king-side pawns

and get in ... a3 in such a position that White

must capture bxa3. If he could then running

the king to a8 would draw as the white

bishop controls the wrong- coloured squares

to queen his a-pawn. Now the win is

straightforward.

46.h4 c5 47.h5 cif7 48.~g5 c4 49.h6 cig8 50.~g6 ~e6 51.~g7

The pawn on h4 must be protected, but now cih7 52.~xh7 ~xf6 53.~g8 the black king loses so much time that any

drawing chances he had are disappearing.

108

1-0

"What" I hear you ask "about the 'vicious' ' '

Vienna?" OK, to finish this chapter let's take

a quick look at how an old-fashioned and

innocuous-looking opening can be injected

with some real venom!

Burnett, A - Jenkins, B Vienna Opening

TAFCA League 1993

l.e4 e5 2.etJc3 ctJf6 3.g3

This is known as Sn1yslov's variation, where

White initially plays to contest the centre

from afar rather than challenge it directly

with the more commonly seen 3.f4.

Black has many ways to respond to 3.g3 ,

e.g. 3 ... i b4, 3 .. . c6 or the more immediately

combative 3 ... d5 , but my opponent (now

team- mate) Ben chooses another popular

set- up.

3 ... tlJc6 4.~g2 ~c5 5.tlJge2 d6 6.0-0 ~g4!?

This seemingly natural developing move

allows White to play with tempo a move he

intends to play anyway.

6 ... h5 is the most aggressive response to

White's set- up while 6 ... a6 is the safest, but

109


Black, faced \Vith a disreputable opening

(theoretically at least) was already on his

own - first blood to the Streetfighter!

7.h3 ~h5

Directed against the rather obvious f4-break

which White's last move prepared, but

potentially very weakening for Black.

9.d3 h6 10.~e3 ~d7

Black doesn't want to give White an 'instant

soup' attack down the f- file after 10 ... i xe3,

but now White can use the unprotected

knight on f6 to force some favourable

exchanges.

ll.Cbd5! '2Jxd5 12.exd5 tlJe7

The alternative is to jump the knight into d4,

but this doesn't promise Black an easy game

either since 13 .i xd4 leaves him with the

unpleasant choice between 13 ... exd4 (when

his i c5 is redundant) or 13 .. . i xd4 when

14 .tt:J xd4 exd4 15.g4 i g6 16 . ~el + !

followed by 17 .~4 picks up the loose pawn

on d4.


13.g4 cig6 14.d4!

This strong central thrust aims to crack open

the centre while the black king is still on e8 .

Should Black now capture with 14 ... exd4,

then White not only has access to the d4

square, but also the a-rook can quickly gain

the resulting open e-file and a quick f4 will

activate the other rook.

14 ... cib6 15.c4 f5!?

With White threatening to push on with c5,

Black feels obliged to make a desperate bid

for some counter-play.

16.dxe5 dxe5 17 .c5 f4!?

Again Black tries to mix it. The alternative

was the more obvious 17 ... i a5, but this

would give White a pleasant choice of plans,

though my intention was to play the

aggressive 18. b4!? opening lines on the

queen-side and meeting 18 ... i xb4 with

19.~b3.

To my mind it is extremely important to

keep the initiative going and keep the

opponent under pressure on both board and

clock, rather than clarify matters too early

and accept a safe, but lesser, advantage.

18.cxb6 fxe3 19.bxc7

Now Black would like to play 19 ... ttJ c8

intending to blockade the d - pawn

with ... ttJ d6, but White doesn't have to allow

this and instead can play the strong 20.d6!

activating the i g2.

After 20 ... ttJ xd6 (otherwise b7 falls) White

simply plays 21.fxe3 when the plan of ~f6 ,

~d5 and the other rook to cl /dl or fl would

unleash an unstoppable attack.

19 .. J~ld6 20JWa4+ i>f8

And here 20 ... ~d7 21.~xd7+ ! ~xd7 22.fxe3

ctJxc7 23 .~f6 (intending d6+) ~ad8 24.~cl +,

again with d6 in mind, exposes the frailty of

Black's position even without queens on the

board.

It is a common misconception at club- level

that queens are always required for attacking

purposes, and without them there is relative

safety in any given position!

It's simply not true and I've specifically

included several examples in this book to

show how effectively the other pieces can

combine in the attack without their queen's

help.

21.fxe3+ i>g7 22.Wfa3!

110

This non-standard way of attacking the

blockade leaves Black in serious trouble.

The passive 22 .. . l2J c8 maintains the blockade

but then 23 .~c3 is good, e.g. 23 ... l2J e7 24.e4

~ac8 25J~c 1 when the threat of 26 .tl9a3

(again!) is deadly.

The alternative to the text move is

22 ... tl9xa3, but after 23 .bxa3 l2J c8 24.d6!

ltJ xd6 25.~adl Black is simply lost. Instead

he bravely enters a forcing tactical sequence,

but this is duty- bound to fail while his rooks

still languish on their original squares.

22 ... W!xc7 23.d6 VNc2 24.dxe7 ~xe2

111


25.Wfd6!

With a decisive infiltration on f6.

25 ... Wfxb2 26.VNf6+ ~h7 27J;abl VNxa2 28.e8=VN!

and here Black resigned as any capture of

the newly-promoted queen will see him

mated in short order after 29 .~b7+.

1-0


112


McKay, R - Burnett, A Nimzo-Indian Defence Grangemouth Premier 1992

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 e6 3.~c3 ~b4 4.a3

This move heralds in the Samisch Variation

of the Nimzo-Indian Defence, which I had

never faced before and at the time had very

little know ledge of. Despite being graded

over 2000, I still thought of most l.d4

openings as being somewhat staid, leading

only to 'positional chess', as opposed to the

fireworks that 1. e4 often produced. This

game quickly dissuaded me from such

narrow beliefs!

4 ... ~xc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 0-0 7.~d3 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.~e2 ~c6 10.0-0 ~e8 ll.f3 b6 12.~g3 ~b7 13J~~a2!

I remember being quite shocked by this little

rook move! Where is it going and why?

Well, I soon realized that it was swinging its

way over to e2 or f2, after which e4 was

coming and my kingside would be targeted.

Not a pleasant thought at the best of times,

and even less so against an IM opponent

with a reputation as a strong attacker (who, I

must admit, I was already a little intimidated

by, having read somewhere that Karpov had

named him as one of the most serious threats

to his winning the World Junior

championships in the late 60's!)

So, I did what many, many players have

done before me (and since) - I panicked! I

envisioned horrible things happening to my

kingside and decided to re-inforce it as

quickly as possible.

13 ... ttJe7?!

Not a good move, and not a good plan. The

combination of an inaccurate, panicked

response and a lack of knowledge of the

position at hand against a very good player

is more than enough to lose a game of chess

as we will see.

What, though, should Black be doing here?

Well, had I taken more of an interest in the

games of Tal (which is something I was very

soon to do) I might have come across the

following instructive comments from his

match with Botvinnik in 1960.

"White's plan is obvious :harmonious

development of his pieces, placing the

bishop on d3, the knight on e2, and then

after suitable preparation (in which the white

knight participates, transferring to g3, and

even the queen Rook, which goes along the

114

second rank to the e-file) advancing e4. As

a rule, if White succeeds in carrying out his

plan and, while he is doing this, his

opponent is not able to create sufficient

counter-play, the struggle ends in a direct

assault on the black king. How many games

have been decided like this!"

Hmmm, looks like my opponent might have

read this bit.

Tal continues: "How can Black counter this?

The attempt to prevent the move e4 with

pressure on this square does not succeed

White has too many resources at his

disposal. However, it must be considered

that the move e4 weakens White's other

central square, d4, and Black aims his forces

in that direction. Besides this, after the

exchange of the c- pawn, Black has at his

disposal an open file which will help support

his developing counter-play. So Black's

goal is clear: to create counter-play along

the c- file , utilizing the possibilities of

opening it while neutralizing White's e4,

strengthening the kingside". (pp38/39, Tal

Botvinnik 1960.

Hmmm, looks very much like I haven't read

this bit! It transpires that my .. . b6 and ... i b7

isn't the most effective development, but

most importantly that I must play ... cxd4,

followed by ... ~c8 and ... ltJa5- c4.

Without dwelling on things too much here

(after all, I have to get on with the game and

show you all how I was slaughtered!) it

becomes clear that I am playing an opening

and resulting position which a) doesn't suit

my style, and in which b) I don't know the

basic strategies. Ok, back to the game.

14.e4! dxe4 15.fxe4 tlJg6 16.d5!

115

Losing it and Using it

This is clearly better than 16.e5 as it renders

both the i b7 and the g a8 (no c- file

counter-play !) redundant. Giving up the e5-

square is not so serious since White can still

challenge for it or, alternatively, play around

it. Black's position is, to all intents and

purposes, lost at this stage.

16 ... Wfc7 17.gaf2 c4 18.~bl WfeS

This sacrifice of the exchange is the

beginning of a series of excellent, energetic

moves from White. We have seen quite a

few of these sacrifices already, the principle

idea of which is to weaken the king and

afford the other pieces squares to use and

targets to aim at.


19 ... gxf6 20.~e3!

:i :i • l.i. .t. .t. .t. , •

[jjq .t. [j ~ ~ lQ --

[j[j · ~ :~

Moves like this are the most difficult to find

for the average player, as the urge to recoup

the material investment or deliver an

immediate mate is at the forefront of their

thoughts. However, it should by now be

becoming clearer to the reader that positions

where the defender has so many pieces out

of play allows for this kind of slow build

up. White simply improves the scope of all

his pieces before moving in for the kill.

Desperately trying to plug the holes.

23.etJxf6+ ~g7

:i

'

116

Depressingly accurate! I wouldn't usually

advocate enjoying your losses, but I have to

admit that I was very impressed here by my

opponent's play. Running short of time and

unable to find a defence, I decided just to go

with the flow and see how Roddy would

finish me off.

24 ... etJh4 25.ttJe8+ ~h6 26.~f6+!

This is the most clinical, and further proof

that queens are not always required to force

mate . Now the black king is forced out into

the open

26 ... ~xf6+ 27.gxf6+ ~g5 28.~e3+ ~h5 29.gh6+ ~g4 30.tlJf6#

i: .t .t. ' ' .t. CD M

[j~

' [j [j ~

[j[j

~ ~

1-0

The final position paints a very pretty

picture, and if ever I lose to a well- played

attack I often allow the mate to appear on

the board. This is just a personal thing, but I

honestly believe some other players would

do well to pay heed to it. Magnanimity in

defeat is, at most levels, a more productive

response than a sullen, grunted resignation

followed by muttered curses and

despondency . Accept your beating

graciously, clear your head of it and prepare

for the next battle with renewed enthusiasm!

That's exactly what I did after this game, and

in the very next round went on to win the

exciting attacking game we saw on page 34.

What else can we take from such a loss?

Wel l , from a personal perspective, I

remember I had only recently been

introduced to the games of Mikhail Tal and

my own attacking abilities were still very

limited. This defeat, more specifically the

manner of my defeat, spurred on my own

desire to play attractive and aggressive

chess.

It also made clear the fact that certain

openings were clearly tailored towards

attacking play in the middle-game, and that

I would have to develop an opening

repertoire to suit. Playing the King's Indian

as Black instead of the Nimzo-Indian would

be more appropriate, for example. Or indeed

borrowing this Samisch approach as White

in the N imzo-Indian instead of 4. Wi c2 .

Paying attention to small factors such as

these really will lead to a clear improvement

in our results.

Ok, on to the next loss . This is one that we

will all have suffered in some shape or form,

but is the one we will probably be least

likely to admit to-the ego loss!

Cornes, B - Burnett, A Sicilian Defence

National League 1994

l.e4 c5 2.li.Jf3 d6 3.~b5+ ~d7 4.~xd7+ Wfxd7 5.0- 0 ~c6 6J~~~el ~f6 7.c3 e6 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 d5 10.exd5 &ilxd5 ll.a3 ~e7 12.CLJbd2

117


Not exactly the most testing of variations for

Black to face in the Sicilian, particularly

when I had been warned before the game

that my opponent plays the Grand Prix

Attack. A bit of lateral thinking here might

have come in useful though: he might not

have played the aggressive opening I

expected (with the white- squared bishops

off this position shouldn't be dangerous for

Black) but if he usually plays aggressively

then he's probably a bit handy in the tactical

department, so be careful!

Unfortunately, I was incapable of logical

thinking in this game, owing entirely to my

ego. I had recently had some excellent

results, had defeated my first IM a few

weeks previous! y and didn't consider a

opponent graded some 300 points below as

being capable of troubling me in the

slightest! Such thoughts are emban·assing to

recall now, of course, but a rude wake-up

call is almost always a necessary component

of improvement. Hopefully my honesty here

will save some of you from suffering a

similar fate in the future!

Anyway, back to the game, where I had

decided that any tactics would obviously

favour me, so let's forego castling and

immediately target the d4 pawn.


12 .. J3d8?!

After a normal move (such as castling short)

Black is absolutely fine here, as evidenced

by the ChessBase statistic of a 71% strike

rate from this position. The text move would

also be ok if my intentions had been more

honourable.

13.CLJe5 CLJxe5 14.dxe5 CLJf4 ?!

Going for the quick kill. Since White has rid

himself of the weak d- pawn, he has to be

punished in a different way! The idea is to

win material by playing ... lt:J d3 when

something is bound to fall .

The move which allows White to unravel

and keep a slight edge, or a desperate

attempt to confuse matters in a lost position?

In my mind it was the latter obviously and,

blissfully unaware of any possibility that

White might be perfectly OK here, I

ploughed on regardless.

15 ... ctJd3?

game (my score-sheet notes that I'd used 48

minutes after this move-half the allotted

time for 30 moves) but I wasn't using the

time in any way productively, instead I was

calculating and re- calculating lines which

are winning only for Black!

Shortly after this game I devised a far more

useful method of using my time, one which

some of you might find beneficial also .

When it is my opponents tum to move I look

at the overall picture- what are the respective

strategies? Are both sides following these?

Am I assessing the position as objectively as

possible? What general possibilities are

available for both sides' pieces?

Only when it is my own tum to move do I

try to turn these broad estimations into more

concrete calculations with specific move

orders and evaluations.

In the given instance, had I tried to look at

things more objectively and from a wider

perspective, I might have realised that my

chosen line of play would leave my own

king seriously short of squares (of course I

knew this, but not on a useful, conscious

level). Then I could have looked at White's

possibilities- even if they had been only

swindling possibilities- and most probably I

would have cottoned on to White's plan.

In any event, this move was my last chance

to avoid the brutal loss I suffered: 15 .. . g5!

had to be played, followed by ... h5, when it's

all still to be played for. Instead .. .

16J~Mxg7 ~f8 17.CLJe4!

Of course my blinkered thoughts had only

I wasn't playing particularly quickly in this considered moves such as 17 .~e2 here, after

118

which Black wins with the simple 17 ... ~c6

when the bishop on cl cannot be saved. The

text move came as quite a shock to me, but I

still didn't see the problem, so ...

17 ... lZJxel

8 -.----.'

And suddenly the threat of ttJ f6+ is horribly

real! The Black king is so entombed that all

the ill- gotten gains must be returned to stave

off an immediate mate, after which the king

will be hounded to an early grave.

18 ... ~d5 19.~f6+ ~xf6 20.~xf8+ i>d7 21.~xf7+ <±>c6


been desperately hoping for White to

include 22J~cl + when it seems that he has a

better version of the game after 22 ... ~b5

23.~xel, since 23 ... ~xe5 allows 24.~xb7+,

but 22 ... 4Jc2! throws a spanner in the works,

since now 23.~xc2+ ~b5 leaves White's

back rank vulnerable and he must find

24.~d2 \We4! 25.g3! in order to win, which is

not so clear and easy to do.

With this last swindling attempt gone, it

only took a few more accurate moves to

expose the Black king and secure a well

deserved victory.

22 ... ~xe5 24.~e3 ~xb2 24.Wfxe6+ ~d6 25.Wfc8+ i>d5 26.~dl + i>e5 2 7. Vlf c5+ and here I resigned since the

rook at least is dropping off.

1-0

An excellent game from my opponent which

won the Best Game prize for the whole

season by a player graded under 2000. As

for myself, I learned quite a few lessons

here, not the least of which is that no-one

ever goes into a game with 'no chance', and

(as with every walk of life) there will always

be someone who is better at certain things

than one's self. The unchecked ego is a

dangerous thing!

Fortunately I took this defeat on the chin,

and rather than ignore my obvious failings, I

decided to work on my objectivity during a

game, my use of thinking time and my

recognition of tactical patterns. This last one

22J~~xel! is obviously a never- ending battle, but all

are necessary areas of work if we are serious

Very simple but necessary accuracy. I had about improving our game.

119


120


BARKING UP THE RIGHT TREE!

It was my umpteenth attempt to cause Colin

problems with the black pieces. Previously I

had always shot myself in the foot by

playing some ill-conceived pseudo

aggressive Dutch or King's Indian system,

losing quickly in my over- eagerness to take

the fight to my opponent. However,

although it may be difficult to 'teach old

dogs new tricks', there is another saying that

'every dog has his day'!

McNab, C - Burnett, A Reti Opening

Richardson Cup 1995

l.~f3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.~g2 ~g4 4.d3 tlJd7 5.h3 ~h5 6.0-0 e6 7.b3 ltJgf6 8.~b2 f!c7 9.ltJbd2 ~d6 lO.f!el

I was under the impression that my

development plan was either new or very

unusual. Most of the games in this line seem

to feature Black playing more circumspectly

with ... ~e7 followed by castling short.

However, this game was played in the days

before I had access to ChessBase, and a little

lack of knowledge can be a good thing, as I

122

have since discovered Colin had reached an

almost identical position previously against

the super- strong Russian GM Vladimir

Tukmakov! OK, Colin lost that game, but he

would certainly have learned something

from the experience - so I doubt if I would

have played into this line so readily had I

known about the game. Anyway, I didn't

know, and carried on happily with what I

considered to be a logical divergence from

the accepted strategy of kings ide castling.

10 ... 0-0-0 ll.e4 dxe4 12.dxe4 ~xf3 13.~xf3 lLle5!

Very simple play. I had finally realised that

Colin's choice of slightly anaen1ic opening

system's as White shouldn't give him any

real advantage against straightforward,

natural development. As he is the higher

rated player by almost 400 points, it should

be up to him to unbalance the position to

avoid drawish lines.

14.ttJd4?!

White reacts badly to the first piece of

goading. The simplified position after

14. ttJxe5 i.xe5 15 .i.xe5 'Wxe5 doesn't appeal

since the symmetrical pawn structure,

Mind-Games Revisited

Black's hold over the dark squares and the Although it is not yet possible to speak of

slightly weakened Vli-s ide pawns do not any tangible advantage for Black here, its

augur well for White's attempts to stir up difficult to believe in White's position after

winning chances. 14.'We3 looks better than the text move.

the text move, though, because the knight

has little or no future on d4. 18 ... ltJg6 19.h4 ?!

14 ... ~c5 15.~dl ~d7! I'm not convinced this is relevant to the

Again simple but effective play planning to

double the rooks on the only open file -

something White will find hard to counter as

his queen is in the way of his own rooks.

15 ... h5!? was the more obviously aggressive

alternative here, but the text move is more in

keeping with the game plan.

16.b4 ~b6 17.~e2 ghd8 18.c3?!

Once more avoiding exchanges, but butying

the bishop on b2 in such a way is horrific.

123

position at all. It does allow White to find a

role of sorts for his g2 bishop, but surely the

opposite wing is where White's counter

play lies, hence 19.a4!

Perhaps Colin was just having an off day,

but I like to think that my strategy helped a

little to make him feel this way.

19 ... h5 20.~h3 ~b8 21J~~del

21 ... e5!

As mentioned previously, when all your

pieces are actively developed and well

positioned in the middle-game, then the

tactics will take care of themselves.

Black wants to play this move to get rid of

the centralised knight so he can infiltrate

with the rooks on the d-file. The only

concern would be giving up the exchange on

d7, but we can quickly see that 22Jixd7

exd4 is good for Black.


The loose .i on d7 would have to move

again, whereupon 23 ... d3 (attacking the

queen), or 23 .. . dxc3 (hitting the ib whilst

also threatening .. . Wxg3+) would spell

disaster for White. Small but crucial tactical

points like these are the bread and butter of

Streetfighting players.

All the black pieces are slowly- but-surely

gravitating towards the kingside and

White's lack of cohesion means that the

defence will be extremely onerous.

Colin's next move attempts to shore up the

kings ide a little, in particular the g4 square,

but the downside is that it opens up new

vistas for the .t on b6 which now eyes the

weakened dark squares.

24.f3?!

24 ... CiJg4!!

At some point Black had to crack open the

pawn cover around the white king.

Outplaying a much stronger opponent is one

thing; fmishing the job off is an entirely

different matter. It requires, amongst other

things, bravery and consistency of mind.

We know the position is ripe for exploiting

and we might play a move such as 24 ... ltJg4

relatively quickly and confidently against an

opponent 400 points lower graded than

ourselves - the main thing we have to

overcome is fear of the stronger player.

25.~xg4!

Colin took half an hour over this capture.

This highlights an important practical aspect

of chess; weaker players have a tendency to

trust their opponents too much- or not at all!

In this position they might snatch at 23 . .ixg4

in the belief that since Black has placed the

knight en prise to the f- pawn, he must have

calculated it was safe to do so , or

conversely, accept the material offered as a

blunder.

The stronger player, on the other hand, will

almost always check thing s out for

themselves, and rightly so. It is much more

important to believe in yourself and your

own abilities than in others. In this instance

the piece offer is completely sound as the

following lines show.

25.fxg4 ttJ f4+ 26.gxf4 Wxh4 27 J~~f3 ~xf3

28 .Wxf3 (here 28. ~hi allows f1xh3+ 29. ~

g2 Wg3 + 30. ~fl f1 hl# and 28. ltJ d4 loses to

Wxh3+ 29. ~gl ~g3+ 30. ~f2 Wig2#)

Analysis diagram

124


~xel 29.~fl ~xe4+ 3Q.cjjh2 hxg4 31.i xg4 goodresult)provetobetootempting?

~h8+ 3 2 . .ih3 i e3 . Some of these lines I had

seen, others I hadn't, but the general gist 28 ... ~h3+ 29.~f2 exd4 30.~e2 seemed to be that White was in trouble.

25 ... hxg4 26.llJd4!

This is a good attempt to muddy the waters,

but we must remember as always the

thematic reasons why we instigated the

Unfortunately for White 30.cxd4 ~h2+

31.@e3 ~xb2 32 .~d 1 :gxd4 33 .~xd4 ~c3+

wins also.

30 ... dxc3

attack- if we can obliterate the white king's 31.~xd8+ protection his pieces are in no position to

defend, so. .. And here White couldn't play 31.~xc3 since

31 ... W'g2+ mates next move on f2 . After the

26 ... ~xh4+! 27.gxh4 ~xh4 28.VMxd3 text move material is nominally even, but

With this move Colin offered a draw- a bit

cheeky perhaps, but often a good ploy in

such situations against weaker players. Do

they have the 'bottle' to see it through to the

end, or will the lure of a guaranteed draw (a

125

the black forces can exploit the roaming

white king and uncoordinated white pieces.

31 ... ~xd8 32.~xc3 gxf3+ 33.E!xf3 ~g2+ 34.:gf2 \Wxe4+ 35.~dl ~bl+

Everything is going with check! Knowing

full well how tricky Colin can be I was

taking no chances here.

36.@e2 ~xa2+ 37.@f3 ~d5+ 38.@ g3 ~c7+ 39.@g4 ~c4+ 40.@h5 g6+ 41.@g5 ~d8+ 42.~f6 ~xf6+

Now one of the loose rooks must fall e.g.

43 .i>xf6 ~c3+

43J~xf6 \Wd5+ 44.@f4 ~d4+

and now White resigned since 45 .g5 ~d2+

again picks up the rook on e 1.

0-1

MIRROR, MIRROR ...

One of the most awkward problems faced in

chess (and one which occurs frequently) is

what to do when faced with your own

favourite opening? Everyone has one, be it

the King's Gambit as White or the Caro

Kann as Black or the Grob with either

colour (shame on you!)

For many years now I have placed my faith

in the sharp Dragon Variation of the Sicilian

126

Defence, and revelled in the razor-edged

complications which often ensue. However,

being a confirmed l.e4 player myself, it's

only to be expected that from time- to- time

some cheeky opponent will punt the self

same Dragon straight back at me! What to

do in such a situation?

Well, following the sharp theoretical lines

can be a mistake for several reasons: firstly,

we don't want to have to refute our own

trusty weapon - after all, that's what our

opponents are supposed to do when we're

sitting back on the 'right' side of the board!

Secondly, there is the psychological

dilemma whereby we 'know' that 'our'

opening should be winning! It has been the

setting for some of our finest victories (or at

least I hope so, otherwise we might have

trouble explaining why it's our favourite?!) ,

and we love it dearly regardless of what

current theory or GM practice or anyone

says!

And finally there is a third point which

combines the first two and produces a rather

flawed logic which dictates that should an

opponent then duck what we consider to be

the critical lines , then we have already

scored a victory of sorts!?

So, again the question, what to do? The

following example provides an answer of

sorts and also reinforces some of the points

made in the previous game regarding how to

cause problems for much stronger players.

To set the scene, when I saw the team lists I

knew that I'd be facing the Dragon. To

further complicate my task my opponent

was a Grandmaster, the previous year's

British Champion no less, and ... the author of

the most popular book on the Dragon!

Burnett, A - Ward, C Sicilian Defence

British Club Championship 1998

l.e4 c5 2.~f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.~xd4 ~f6 5.~c3 g6 6.~c4 ~g7 7.h3

OK, so this isn't exactly the scariest system

in the world, but it's not entirely toothless

and is one which I had nevertheless scored

well with as White.

Obviously I could have avoided many of the

problems outlined in the introduction by

playing l .d4 , but to quote an old

Zimbabwean proverb (as you do) 'A bull

does not enjoy fame in 2 herds!'

It is almost always a good idea to play

something you are familiar and comfortable

with regardless of the opponent, and in this

case it has the added bonus of avoiding

some horrible tactical disaster early on for

which the Dragon and tny opponent are both

famed.

7 ... 0-0 8.~b3

If White castles immediately then Black has

the option of playing 8 ... Ct:J xe4!? with the

idea of 9. CZJxe4 d5 regaining the piece. It's

not completely clear if this continuation


does Black any great favours, but the text

move simply reduces Black's possibilities

and avoids early tactical confrontations,

once again as per the game plan

8 ... ~c6 9.~e3 ~d7 10.0-0 a6 ll.f4 b5

So far we have been following Ward's

recommended line of play (for Black only)

in his aforementioned 'Winning with the

Dragon' book. Some months previously I

had devised what I thought to be a strong

improvement on White's play in this line,

never for one 1noment expecting that I'd get

the opportunity to play it against 'The Man'

himself!

Fortunately my next move wasn't it! In order

to explain this strange statement we have to

diverge a little from the main game here.

In Winning with the Dragon (and also ,

incidentally, in his later revision Winning

with the Dragon II), Ward's illustrative game

in this line (between Hector and Tiviakov,

Haninge 1992)) continues 12.a3 g c8 13.~f3

tt'J a5 14J~adl .

While playing through this at home,

however, my devious little mind latched

onto the sharp 14 .e5!? which is not

mentioned at all by Ward.

127


Analysis diagram

Most of the variations seem to favour White

here, so when I managed to find a 'clear win'

in what I considered to be the most critical

of these variations I did what most people do

- I stopped analysing, patted myself on the

head for being such a clever fellow and went

off to bed to drea1n of a stunning victory in some critical game against the world

champion using this wonderful move!

Here, then, is the main line I convinced

myself of starting from the analysi s

diagram :-

14 ... lt:J e8 15.i xn+ @xf7 16.e6+ i xe6 17.f5

leading to this sharp position:

Analysis diagram

Now 17 .. . i d7 loses to 18.W/d5+, (as does

17 ... i xf5 18.W/d5+ e6 19.'Wxe6#!), while

17 ... gxf5 18.Wfh5+ ~g8 (18 ... $ [6 19. F1xf5 + h j5 20. V1ixf5#) 19.ttJ xe6 is winning also.

Perfect!

Except, as I was to discover much later, the

rather obvious 17 .. . i c4 refutes the entire

concept, as 18.fxg6+ is met by the simple

retreat 18 .. . @g8, when 19.W/h5 is tricky but

ultimately insufficient.

Now, it doesn't often happen that getting

blind-drunk in Newcastle the night before a

5- hour drive to an extremely important

match can be considered good preparation

(and I'm not recommending it even though it

wasn't myself doing the driving), but on this

occasion my hangover was sufficiently

severe to shut down my memory just long

enough for me to forget about my

'brilliancy', and I played instead ...

12.~f3!? b4

At this point my blurry thinking had me

wondering if I ought to have prevented this

with 12.a3?

13.~ce2 Wlc7 14.g4 e5 15.fxe5 lLlxe5

I was expecting 15 ... dxe5 , (when 16.lt:Jxc6

i xc6 17 .ltJg3 Wlb7 18.i c5 looked critical

though unclear) but Ward sticks to a

traditional Sicilian recipe of securing e5 for

a knight.

16.Wfg2 ~c6 17.~g3 E!ae8 18.tbxc6 Wlxc6 19.~d4 ~fd7 20J;adl

A normal move, but also necessary as Black

was threatening to play 20 ... lt:J f3+ winning

the i on d4 with check, after which the b

pawn falls .

20 ... 'Llc5 2l.~d5 flc7 22.b3!

128

I was quite happy at this stage. Not only is

White's pressure on the d- and f- files more

useful than Black's on the c- and e- files, but

my hangover had vanished and Chris had

been using up oceans of time since move 12.

22 ... ~e6 23.~e3 ~c3 24.~d2 ~c5+

If Black plays 24 ... Wxc2 instead then

25 .ixb4 strongly favours White, whose

bishops are now looking very good.

White doesn't mind the exchange on d5 as

long as he can recapture with a piece,

thereby keeping up the pressure on the d6

pawn. Black's best move now is probably to

return with the knight to e6, However, if he

tries instead to play more actively with

129


26 ... CiJ b5 , threatening to jump the knight into

c3, then he gets a rude shock after 27.tbf5!

Analysis diagram

This move isn't immediately winning

(although Black would be well- advised to

leave the knight alone as 27 .. . gxf5 30.gxf5

threatens f6, i h6 and i f6), but it changes

play from a manouevering positional game

to a sharper tactical battle. Black's king is

under frre and his pieces not particularly

well-co-ordinated for defence (the Wc5 and

ttJ b5 are offside while the 2 ~'s hem in their

own king).

It is always useful to keep in mind such

attacking possibilities, even if they are not

the main theme of play, and we will look

more closely at this idea in the later section

on 'Combining'.

26 ... ~xd5 27.~xd5 V!f.c7 28.V!f.d2 ~e6 29.~f4


29 ... a5?!

This little pawn move looks innocuous

enough but is in fact a serious positional

error.

White's main focus of attack is the sickly d

pawn, and Black's abandonment of the

defence of b5 hands White an obvious way

sac should work. Of course there will always

be anomalies in chess, exceptions to the rule,

but in these cases we just have to accept it as

bad luck! Usually though, it's simply a

matter of spotting the fatal tactical flaw

which a 'logically bad' position must

contain.

to re-route his knight which is no longer 32.~xe6 fxe6 33J~xd6 required on the king-side.

30.~e2! %Vb7 31.~d4 tlJxg4!

With Black's position cracking at the seams,

this knight offer constitutes his best practical

chance. Very rarely will a much stronger

player allow you to walk all over them -

they will fight back using all the trickery

they can muster and this is a vitally

important skill we can borrow from them.

Rather than meekly lose his d- pawn and

suffer a slow death, Ward randomises the

position and forces White to sift through the

tangle of variations.

However, remaining calm and looking at the

position logically is the best advice I can

offer should you find yourself in such a

situation. Here I reckoned that all my pieces

were working well together and therefore

there was no logical reason why the knight

130

Not fearing ghosts. If now 33 ... \Mfxe4+

34.\Mfg2 :gxf4 35 .\Mfxe4 :gxe4 36.:gd8+ wins

the bishop, and here is the flaw which

eventually decides the game-Black's back

rank weakness.

33 ... tt:J f6 would have kept the damage to a

minimum although White is still the

exchange up and should win eventually.

Naturally Ward continues to mix it instead.

34.~xe6 g5 35JWg2!

This multi- purpose move not only defends

the pawn on e4, but also restricts Black's

activity because of the pin on the g- file.

35 ... gxf4 36.~xe5 f3 37.~g4 ~h8

38J~!xf3!

Now it is safe to take.

38 .. J~xf3 39.~xf3

And the thematic flaw once again comes

into play, since now 39 ... ixe5 allows

another back- ranker with 40.1Wf8+.

39 ... ~d7 40.gd5 ~e7 41.~g4

Having reached the time control Black now

resigned in view of White's threats of ~d7

or \Wc8+.

1-0

131


As with the previous game, it shows that

there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Not allowing your stronger opponent to

show their superior abilities (here by

ducking the sharpest theoretical lines and

instead playing a quieter system which I

knew), being aware of the tactical

possibilities and themes which were

available, and reacting calmly and logically

to any threats (real or perceived), I was able to frustrate a much stronger opponent in

both cases- and now you can too!


132


Rutherford, W- Burnett, A Pirc Defence

East of Scotland Championships, 1997

1.d4 ~f6 2.~f3 g6 3.~f4 ~g7 4.~c3 d6 5.e4 0-0 6.h3 c5 7.d5 ~a6 8.~e2 l!iJc7 9.a4 b6 10.0-0 a6 11.~e1 ~b7 12.~c4 ~d7 13.~d2 b5 14.axb5 axb5 15.~xa8 ~xa8 16.~fl b4 17 .~d1 ~a1 18.~c4 ~a619.~xa6 ~xa6 20.c4 bxc3 21.1!iJxc3 ttJh5 22.~h6 e5 23.ttJh2 ~xh6 24.~xh6 f6 25.ttJg4 Wig7 26.~d2 ttJf4 27.~h2 h5 28.ctJe3

28 ... ~d7!

This allows the queen to eye both sides of

the board and importantly cements the

knight on f4 for the time being as g3 would

allow ... ~xh3.

With reference to the positional outline

given above, White aims to activate his rook

and rid himself of the b2- weakness in one

fell swoop by pushing b4.

29 ... ~b5!

Aiming for the invulnerable d4 square.

Should White exchange knights here with

30.ltJxb5 , then 30 ... ~xb5 allows the other

black knight to come to d3, thus preventing

White's main positional idea, viz. 3l.b4?

ttJ d3 and the pawn is pinned and lost.

Simple, but effective, low-level tactics.

Looked at objectively the position seems to 30.ttJc4! offer equal chances.

Both kings have adequate pawn cover; the

white pawn on b2 looks a little vulnerable

but Black's pawn on d6 is a potential target

also; Black's knight on f4 is handily placed,

as will a white one be on c4; the other knight

pair have equal prospects, although if Black

could embed his on d4 it would be useful;

Black's rook is more active but has little to

aim at, while the queens will be limited in

their actions by the knights . All in all a fairly

balanced position materially and

positionally.

Black begins by relocating the queen.

134

Placing the knight on its most active square

and eyeing up the d6 pawn.

30 ... ~d4 31.b4??

More Middle-game Matters

Unfortunately for White he has been From the Streetfighter's perspective, such

hoodwinked! Because play has seemingly tactical possibilities should always be

revolved around White's plans to play this lurking in our thoughts . If we can learn to

pawn break, and Black's efforts to delay or disguise our 'evil' intent so much the better!

prevent it, he has forgotten that there are 2

sides to the chessboard.

31 ... CLJf3+!

and White resigned immediately as saving

the queen with 33 .gxf3 'loses' the king to

33 ... ~xh3+ and 34 ... ~g2 mate.

0-1

There are a few reasons why White missed

this idea completely : to begin with, earlier in

the game it was Black who had to repel

kingside threats with ... ~ g7, ... f6 and ... h5 -

the safety of the w bite king was never an . ISSUe.

Then the blow came quickly from the

'blind- side' since play appeared to revolve

around the positionally desirable b4- push by

White. However, there were signals from the

very outset.

Remember, 28 ... ~d7 not only allowed

for ... ltJb5, but also prevented White from

chasing the other knight away from f4.

The very idea that Black's queen could even

threaten to come to h3 should have started

little alarm bells ringing in White's head

about his king's safety.

Additionally, the fact that geometrically the

white queen and king were a knight fork

away from disaster (regardless of whether it

was a viable fork or not) should have

increased White's vigilance.

135

The following position, which arose from

the Centre Counter (or Scandinavian

Defence as it is sometimes referred to), is a

natural partner to the previous example - not

least because it was played against the

daughter of my opponent in that game!

Burnett, A - Rutherford, E Centre Counter

Edinburgh League 1999

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 YMxd5 3.~c3 Wfa5 4.~f3 ~f6 5.~c4 c6 6.d4 ~g4 7.h3 ~h5 8.g4 ~g6 9.~d2 ffc7 10.Wfe2 CLJbd7 11.0-0-0 0-0-0 12.ctJe5 lbxe5 13.dxe5 lbd5 14.f4 e6

Here White has a clear lead in development,

and would like to force matters before Black

catches up.

15.!!dfl!

White wants to force through f5 trapping the

bishop, but why use this rook rather than the


h 1 rook? Well, it is a practical decision as

much as anything else, since White doesn't

want Black to throw in ... ~xd 1 + in the

middle of some forthcoming combination

which would cost a tempo for recapturing

and misplace either the king, rook or queen.

Now Black must deal with the threatened

pawn push f5 .

15 ... ~d7?!

Had Black foreseen White's idea she might

have tried 15 ... ttJ e7, but no- one likes to play

such an ugly retreat.

16.f5!

The pawn thrust comes regardless . If Black

now throws in 16 ... ttJxc3 then 17 .i xc3 exf5

18.e6 wins immediately.

16 ... exf5 17 .tlJxd5

Weakening the black king's position at just

the right time.

17 ... cxd518.~b5 \We6

19.gxf5 ~xf5 20.YMf2!

--------., ••

Now we see the point behind White's

forcing play - both the bishop on f5 and the

pawn on a7 are under attack. In my view it is

not completely necessary, nor possible, to

calculate every possibility in such a position.

For instance, Black could now save her

bishop by retreating to g6, or by taking on

h3 (which also attacks the rook on fl) but

after 21.Wfxa7 she must be getting mated! It

is enough to see that the i b5 and the ~e5

hem in the black king, while the Vff and i d2

will combine to deliver the coup de grace.

Faced with these horrors, Black is forced to

destroy her own pawn structure.

20 ... a6 21.~a4!

Forcing a further weakening as the same

mating net holds as in the last note.

Remember not to lunge in too quickly;

check to see if the reason you are winning

has changed or not.

21 ... b5 22.~xf5 bxa4 23.~xf7

So Black avoids all the nasty mating threats,

And this move is forced as White is still but her position is shot to pieces and White

threatening to win the bishop. can mop up the pawns at will.

136

23 ... ¥Nxf7 24J;xf7 ~e8 25.~hfl ~c5 26.~xg7 gxe5 27.gff7

Doubled rooks on the 7th spell the end.

27 ... ~b6 28.~xh7 ~g8 29.~hg7 ~h8 30.c3


SIGNALS AND FATAL FLAWS: PART 2

In an earlier chapter we looked at the idea of

having suspicious minds, and this is an

extension of that idea. In the following

examples, however, the solutions do not

arise from our ability to identify flawed or

misguided opening strategies, but rather

those random opportunities which arise later

in the gatne where there are precious few

recognized guidelines to follow .

As I have mentioned several times before,

solving tactical problems and puzzles from

magazines and books (and more recently

DVD's and online) will undoubtedly

improve your calculating skills and help you

Never get so carried away that you forget to to assimilate more and more patterns into

defend against back- rankers! your chess armoury, but during an actual

game there is no- one on hand (or at least

30 .. J~~eh5 31J;b7 ~f2 32.~f4 there shouldn't be!) to say "White to mate in

4" or "Black to play and win material" .

The threat of ~b8 mate is terminal. What we do have though, is an opponent

whose moves can often indicate to us when

32 ... ~e3+ 33.~xe3 ~xh3 34.~f4 and the position may be ripe for a tactical shot,

Black resigned. and it is these which we must always be on

the lookout for.

1-0

In the initial position the black king didn't

appear to be in any danger, but looked at

logically the undefended pawn so close to

the king had to be considered a legitimate

target.

Again we see how action on one side of the

board is suddenly combined with threats to

the king on the other flank. Remember, one

eye on the opponent's king at all times!

137

Evans, J- Burnett, A Kings Indian Defence

TAFCA League 1998

l.d4 &i1f6 2.c4 g6 3.&i1c3 ~g7 4.e4 0-0 5.f3 d6 6.~e3 &i1c6 7.~d3 a6 8.&i1ge2 ~b8 9.~g3 e5 10.d5 ~d4 ll.&i1ge2 c5 12.¥Nd2 ~d7 13.~h6 b5 14.~xg7 i>xg7 15.tbxd4 cxd4 16.'be2 bxc4 17.~xc4 VNb6 18.b3


18 ... ib5 19.ixb5 axbS 20.C2Jg3 h6 21.@e2 b4 22J~acl ~fc8 23J;c4 ~a6 24.~hcl ct.Jd7 2S.@el ct.Jcs

Consider the position at hand; Black has a

large advantage for several reasons ·- firstly

the protected passed pawn on d4 is a major

asset as it controls squares in the heart of the

white position.

Added to this is the fact that, whereas the

black king is perfectly safe, his white

threatening to take on b4. However, this plan

has taken the knight, temporarily, as far

from the field of battle as is possible, and is

exactly the kind of 'signal' we should be

watching out for.

If there is a tactical solution to the position,

it is likely to be available now, and only

now, before the knight rejoins play.

Attacking the a- pawn and again utilising the

fork on d3 to defend b4.

Other ways of defending the pawn lose

instantly, e.g. 27 J~4c2 ttJ d3+ or 27.~al

ttJxb3.

counterpart is extremely vulnerable in the 27 ... d3 centre of the board; well-positioned for an endgame perhaps, but not recommended Forcing the rook to either abandon its

when queens, rooks and knights abound. defence of a2, or move to a very awkward

The third factor is that the advanced black square - remember that pieces on awkward

pawn on b4 has made a possible target of the or unusual squares have a tendency to be white a2 pawn - the b4 pawn itself is vulnerable, and we must be ready to pounce.

immune because of the 'family fork' on d3

should White grab it. 28.~b2

Nevertheless, despite all these advantages in

Black's favour, it is unclear exactly how Black can break into the white position? At

the moment though it is White to move .. .

26.ctJhl ?!

A well- intentioned move aiming to bring

the knight to f2 from where it covers the

sensitive d3 square. White would then be

138

28 ... ~xb3!

In the initial position White's rooks appeared

to be perfectly well- coordinated along the

c- file, but now that they are separated they

come under fire.

Now both 29 J~xb3 and 29 .'Mlxd3 lose

to ... Wxc4, so the reply is forced.

29.axb3 ~al+ 30.i>f2 ~xc4 3l.bxc4

31 ... b3!!

This deadly n1ove is the point of Black's

entire combination . It threatens

simply ... Wxb2, followed by ... ~a2 , pinning

and regaining the queen, followed b y

queening the pawn.

Moves such as .. . b3 are the hardest to frnd,

particularly in advance, as it is neither a

check nor a capture nor a forcing move in

the usual sense of the word. What we have

to think of here is the thematic reason we

commenced on the combination in the first

place.

The white knight removed itself far from the

action and is still several moves from being

useful, so Black is in effect material up (the

pawns on b3 and d3) and therefore has time

to prepare the final onslaught.

139


Even if the original intention here had been

simply to play 3l .. . Wxhl, it is important to

stop and think a little on each move and see

if there is something more decisive

available. (Of course, if taking the knight

was clearly decisive, then as before I would

advise against wasting time on looking for a

flashier alternative). White's next move

removes the king from a possible pin on the

2nd rank, but falls prey to a worse fate .

32.i>e3 ~a2 33J;xa2

Bringing the knight back with 33.ttJ f2 would

only stave off defeat for a few moves after

33 .. . ~xb2 34 .Wc3 :ge2 + followed by

exchanging queens and gaining a new one

on the b- file .

33 ... ~d4#

0-1

A delightful - though admittedly difficult -

combination, but extremely logical based on

vulnerable squares and pieces, coupled with

the 'signal' 26.ttJh 1.

Increased awareness of such factors coupled

with vigilance on our part will reap

dividends

The next example is similar in many ways to

the previous one, but in addition it highlights

how necessary assimilating patterns is to the whole process.

Stalker, A - Burnett, A Czech Benoni

Oban Premier 1995

l.d4 c5 2.d5 e5 3.e4 d6 4.~c3 a6 5.a4 CfJe7 6.g3 CfJd7 7 .CfJf3 g6 8.CfJd2 /ig7 9.a5 b5 10.axb6 CfJxb6 ll.~a4 ~xa4 12.~xa4 0-0 13./ig2 f5 14.exf5 gxf5 15.0-0 e4 16.CiJc4 /id7 17 .~a2 /ib5 18.b3 CiJg6 19./ib2 /ixb2 20.~xb2 ~f6 21.~a1 ~fb8 22.:Ba2 <j{f7 23.~xf6+ <j{xf6 24.~xd6 /ixfl 25./ixfl CfJe5 26.~a5 ~f3+ 27.<j;>b1

In this position we can see that Black has a

slight material advantage with rook versus bishop and pawn. On the down-side,

however, both a6 and c5 are weak and

'normal' continuations may prove insufficient to win (e.g. activating the king

by 27 ... cJle5 28. lLJ c4+ cJlxd5 29.lt:Je3+ is

simply unclear as either c5 or f5 will fall and no real inroads have been made).

The obvious 27 .. J~d8 appears to fall foul of

a nasty knight fork after 28.lLJc4 ~xd5 ttJb6,

but the precarious position of the white king

and bishop (signal!) suggest it is worth

looking further into this variation, so ...

30.ltJxa8

The alternative 30.cJlg2 doesn't help White,

as after 30 .. . ~ad8 Black threatens .. J~~xfl

with play similar to the game. In the event of

the further 3 l.i e2 or 31 . .ic4 then 31 .. J%g 1 +

32.h3 ~d2 wins easily.

30 .. J;xn + 3t.<j{g2 :Bg1 + 32.<j;>b3 :Bh1 33.<j{g2

Forced to avoid immediate mate on h2. Now

play seems to go around in circles for a few

moves. Black has a forced draw, but is there

more?

33 ... ~xh2+ 34. <j{fl ~hl + 35. <j{g2

An important pattern is seen after 3 5. cJle2

~e 1 # with rook, knight and pawn combining

perfectly.

140

36 ... i>g5!!

This is the extremely important point which

had to be seen when deciding to give up the

exchange back at move 27 . The black king

will close down his counterpart's use of the

h3 square.

It might have been natural enough to

calculate up to here and think it's only

enough for a perpetual, but looking that little

bit further (in effect mentally placing the

pieces in the mating position and then

working backwards to see if there is a

move- by- move way to get the pieces in

position) is a very useful way of thinking.

37.~xc5 ~hl+ 38.i>g2 ~h2+ 39.i>fl

39 ... i>g4!

141


Now h3 has been denied to the white king so

he tries to run ...

... but he can't hide!

0-1

This combination was 14 moves deep, which

may sound impressive, but in reality the

only difficult part was visualising the black

king's march up the board.

36 .. . @g5 is similar to the 3l ... b3 move we

saw in the game Evans-Burnett, in that the

offside knight (this time on a8) cannot

quickly participate in the defence with the

result that there is time to close the mating

net with a quiet move.

The mating net itself is one that I am sure I

have seen countless times in puzzle books

and the 'Winning Combination' colunms of

magazines and newspapers, and is firmly

ensconced in the old memory banks.

I am convinced that if average players spent

more of their time with this kind of literature

and less with weighty opening and endgame

tomes their results would improve

markedly-and quickly too!

12fJSTRE£TF16

PAUI.MO

]N6HER0#3

I

hess-player's will always have

their heroes and favourites

among the world's elite with

Karpov, Kasparov and Kramnik being

the chess equivalent of the pop worlds

Kylie, Kurt and, er ... K.T? Well anyway,

all these characters attract huge

followings, and set fashions and trends

which we try to imitate and emulate.

But of course these figures are

'untouchables', idols to be viewed only

from afar. Closer to home there are other,

more realistic, role models to whom we

can look to for inspiration.

When I started playing chess tournaments

in Scotland in the late-80's, Paul

Motwani was 'The Man'! From the

distant boards of the lower tournaments I

could just about make out the leading

players doing battle in the Open section.

Whenever I could drag myself away from

my own version of chess and visit the

stage, as often as not Paul would be on top

board relentlessly pursuing his

opponent's king with his entire army -

often short of time but seemingly always

in control!

Paul's creative approach to chess treats

opening theory with respect but not as

dogma, and his love of the initiative in the

middlegame is an over-riding theme in

his games - both traits which are very

important at our own level of play.

The following game, played during Paul's

successful quest for the GrandMaster

title, illustrates this approach perfectly.

Spacek, Petr-Motwani, Paul Dutch Defence

Luxembourg Open 1990

l.d4 f5!? The Dutch Defence, still popular at club

level, but nowadays a relatively rare bird at

master level. At the time, however, it was

undergoing something of a renaissance and

it is fully in keeping with Paul's aggressive

style, with plenty of scope for creativity

2.~f3 ~f6 3.g3 g6 4.~g2 ~g7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 d6 7.ltJc3 ltJc6 8.b3 e5 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.~a3


A fairly standard- looking position from this

opening has arisen in which Black had

previously done quite well with the

automatic I 3 ... ~e8, taking it off-prise.

However, Paul had devised a powerful

novelty here which gives him a huge

practical advantage in the game.

10 ... e4!!

A wonderful idea which offers a whole

exchange, in return for which Black gets to

develop all his pieces where he wants them.

Psychologically this move would have come

as a blow to White. He knows if he

exchanges queens here he has lost a tempo

on the 13 ... ~e8 continuation (and a very

useful tempo it is since often Black can only

dream of playing ... e4 in these positions) but

accepting the offer of material is akin to

walking into the Lion's Den.

ll.~xf8

White decides to see how sharp the lion's

teeth are. I am quite sure, though, that the

Czech IM did so with a certain amount of

trepidation. It is never a nice feeling to walk

into an opponent's preparation.

144

ll ... ~xf8 12.C2Jd4 C2Jxd4 13.~xd4 ~e6!

The first specific point of Black's sacrifice

appears as he now threatens to play ... ttJ d5

exploiting the white queen's awkward

positioning on the long diagonal.

And now the rook also joins the game with

tempo. The point is not so much to control

the d- file (White will oppose rooks) but

rather to force the queen to an unwieldy

square where her power is greatly reduced.

15J~:Ycl

White would prefer to play 15 .\Mfc2 keeping

the rooks linked, but was obviously worried

about the pawn thrust . .. e3! (either

immediately or in the near future) when

accepting the pawn would allow ... ttJ g4

threatening a big fork on e3, and declining it

would leave a huge thorn in his k-side. It is

already apparent that giving up his dark

squared bishop (albeit for a rook) has some

very serious down-sides.

15 ... c6!

I love this move! Having given up material,

Paul plays a simple pawn move denying

White the chance of ever using d5 . Black is

actually making a huge statement here, in

effect saying "my lesser forces (on the

'points' system we all learn as beginners)

will prove themselves to be more powerful

than your greater forces, and I don't have to

hurry things along!" As we have seen several times in previous

chapters, it's not that White is lost here, but

rather that he has no clearly effective plan to

follow to improve his position. Being

relatively short of space he'd like to

exchange some pieces, but how? Or he

might quite like to remove, or at the very

least challenge, the aggressively placed

black pawn chain, but playing f3 simply

weakens all the afore-mentioned dark

squares which Black can quickly seize

with ... ~h6 and .. . Wfc5 .

Conversely, Black does have a clear plan -

he will use the spearhead pawn on e4, and

the subsequent space it affords him, to build

up an attack on the black king. After all,

that's what he declared on move 1 with .. . f5!

Simply avoiding the exchanges which would

145


give White the breathing space he

desperately wants and again this highlights

the fact that Black sees no need to rush

things along.

18.~d2 h4 19.gxh4!?

This looks horrendous, but allowing ... hxg3

would also be bad, since the recapture hxg3

means that a subsequent ... tt:Jg4 could never

be shifted without playing f3, which as we

already know is an undesirable weakening

of the dark squares. White is now in the

unenviable position of having to choose

between 2 evils and, as we have witnessed

many times over in this book, facing such

choices is an onerous and tiring task.

19 ... ~h5 20J~bcl ~e5!

This natural all-purpose move is a sure sign

that Black is doing well. It attacks h2 and

allows for the queen to take up an active

post behind the bishop on the long diagonal,

as well as preventing any WI d6 ideas White

may have had. White is now forced into

playing the move he has been resisting for

so long.

21.f3 \Wf6 22.e3 Wfxh4 23.f4


White probably realised what was about to

hit him, but the only other sensible way to

defend h2 was by the sorry retreat 23 .i h 1

when Black would force the destruction of

surpriSing queen move threatens not

only ... i xc 1 but also the white queen by way

of ... ie3, and so forcing it to a much more .

passive square.

26.~el ~xh2+ 27.~fl ixcl 28J;xcl e3!

And here Paul uses an elementary tactical

trick to advance the soon-to-be-huge

passed pawns , since 29 . ~xe3 loses

immediately to the discovered attack after

29 ... i xc4+.

the white king-side anyway with 23 ... f4! - 29.ctJe2 f4 30.ctJgl ig4 one pretty line running 23 .i hl f4 24. tt:Jxe4

fxe3 25 .~e2 tt:J f4 26 .~xe3 ~h6! when the

obvious way to defend the loose queen

against ... tt:J h3+ is 27 .~d2, but here Black

has the devastating 27 ... i d4+ winning the

queen or mating.

23 ... 'tJxf4! 24.exf4 ixf4 25.~f2 Wlb6!!

This is the type of powerful move which is

Black's pieces combine perfectly with his

pawns, creating threats at every turn, while

White's are stumbling over each other in a

desperate defence . Relatively best now

would be 31 . tt:J £3, but after 31 ... ixf3

32.ixf3 e2+! 33.ixe2 f3 he would be forced

to give up his queen, leaving her black

counterpart to run riot.

hardly ever found by players at lower levels 31.~c2 e2+ 32.~xe2 - most players being content with grabbing

on h2 and then on cl. Paul, though, is in his Now 32.tt:J xe2 fails to 32 ... f3 when 33.ixf3

element when handling the initiative and this i h3 mates next move.

146

32 ... :gxe2! 33.lt:Jxe2 f3

And since 3 4 .!xf3 fails to the same ... !h3 + mating idea, White must return the piece.

Spacek makes one last valiant attempt to

unsettle Black with hopes of a perpetual

check, but Paul will not be denied.

34.~f4 ~xf4 35.~e8+ ~g7 36.~e7+ rff7 37.rfe5+ rff6 38.rfc7+ ~h6 39.~h2+ ~g5 and now since the checks

are at an end, so is the game and therefore

White resigned.

0-1

147


A wonderfully creative game from Paul who

extracted the utmost energy from every

single piece throughout.

It is chess like this to which we should all

aspire, and even if it were only to happen

once in our life we could be happy chess

players indeed!

Since Paul is now happily esconced in

Belgium with his wife and family, playing

only rarely in Scotland, I have had to look

elsewhere for my 'real-life' inspiration, but

it shouldn't prove too difficult for all of us to

find a player (and it doesn't have to be

someone as strong as Paul) to look up to and

learn from.

It's just a pity Ky lie doesn't play chess!


148


As with openings, there are reams and reams

of theory dedicated to the endgame - but

most of this is of no real use to us . We may

have neither the time nor the inclination nor

the ability to master this theory. To illustrate

this point, I have in front of me a copy of

Batsford Chess Endings by Speelman,

Tisdall and Wade - an excellent book in it's

own right - but one in which the chapter on

~&~ endings alone extends to 1 00 pages!

Add to this W&~, ltJvi, ~&~, and myriad

other combinations, and you will be lucky if

you can digest even a small portion of the

material, let alone find a use for it over the

board. The main purpose of such books, and

I include opening tomes such as BCO and

NCO here, are as reference guides to check

after a game how you 'ought' to have played

a particular position.

For our purposes the only real theory we

need to learn and memorise is how to win or

draw the main ~&~ endings A good

working know ledge of these recurring

positions will allow us to play confidently

and quickly - assessing complex endings

with reference to the basic positions they

eventually lead to .

For everything else we encounter we will

rely on more general principles and, as ever,

tactical resolutions!

And here is the second important practical

point which reinforces this solution. Chess

is being played at a much faster rate now

than ever before.

Time- controls are being slashed to the bare

minimum at weekend congresses, quick

play or allegro finishes predominate in

league chess, and rapid-play events are the

norm rather than the exception nowadays.

150

Moan about it all you want, but this is the

reality of chess and we must learn to adapt

or suffer the consequences. Faster play

almost certainly precludes the pinpoint

accuracy necessary to play 'technically

perfect endings' (if it were at all possible in

any event?!) but it creates the perfect

conditions for the inventive approach we

will be bringing to all aspects of the game as

S treetfighters - and the endgame is no

exception.

Let's begin the examples with another look

at one of the most creative chess- player's

ever - Mikhail Tal.

Tal, M- Averkin, 0 USSR Championships

Moscow 1973

Material is level, but Black's a- pawn is

weak, as is White's h-pawn. Black to move

decides to reposition his knight.

67 ... C!Je6! 68.~a8

And White naturally attacks the weak pawn.

Black could now play 68 .. . ttJ f4 with the

threat of .. . ltJg2+, picking up the h-pawn,

but instead sees a way to activate his rook

with the same result.

68 .. J~!c5 69.~xa4 ~c4?

The End is Nigh!

PRACTICAL

TACTICAL!

There is a typical misconception that

endgames are somehow safe from tactics,

combinations and mating threats. However,

if you watch the last 10 minutes of play at

any level in any congress you will witness

countless examples of mi ssed tactical

opportunities in almost every type of

White's pieces appear to be awkwardly endgame imaginable, simply because the placed as the knight is pinned. focus of the players has moved into

A wonderfully simple solution which Tal

would doubtless have seen was possible

from the initial diagram. Now 70 .. . :gxa4

walks into 71 .li:Je7#

' 8

Since Black's only defence to the mate threat

is 70 .. . :gc7, which is completely lost, he

resigned, probably in complete shock at

what had just occurred!

1-0

151

'traditional' endgame mode where only the

obvious moves exist! .

This misconception is one that we have to

get rid of if we want to improve our results.

Taking on board examples such as the Tal

one above simply provide us with extra

ammunition, allowing us to extract every

last resource from a position before giving it

up as lost or drawn.

Burnett, A- Brown, S Glenrothes Premier2003

Take a look at this position which was

reached after 28 ... e6.

White appears to be struggling here since the

pawns on a4, a2, d3 and h3 are all extremely


weak, and although White's rook is actively

placed, the king and knight make for a sorry

looking pair huddled together on the back

rank.

Nevertheless, there are some hidden

possibilities for White here (as there will be

in most positions we reach). What we have

to do is be positive, delve into the position

and find the best practical chance of saving

the game (as opposed to finding the way

which drags the game out the longest but

still loses!)

29.h4!

White is probably still lost here, but 29 .h4 is

a very good practical attempt to save the

day. It does after all threaten mate! Sounds

ridiculous doesn't it, but let's see ...

29 ... gxa4 30.~e3 gxa2!

Black smelled a rat and took some time over

31.gxh7!

Why did White not play 31.c4 anyway?

Because with the black knight still on f4 the

pattern doesn't work, e.g. 3l.c4 :ge2 32.l2J d5

cxd5 33 .cxd5 l2J xd5 34.exd5 ~xd5 and

Black wins quite easily.

31 ... ~e2

Black has avoided the nasty threats given in

the previous note, and White has to look for .

a new sav1ng resource.

this move. Had he played the natural looking 32.~f5! 30 ... lt:J xd3 first, then after 31.c4 he wouldn't

be able to take on a2 with the rook, because Continually posing Black difficult problems.

after 32.l2J d5! White threatens mate on e7, Of course, Black wants to play a simple

and if 32 ... cxd5 then 33.cxd5+ ~f6 34.g5# ending, picking up the weak pawns and

Analysis diagram

Hence 29.h4! threatened mate!

152

forcing through the inevitable extra centre

pawn. But if 'playing normally' loses for

White, what is there to lose by stirring things

up a bit? If Black now accepts the knight he

has to find a way to stop the three connected

passed pawns. In any event it makes sense to

give the check on g2 first.

32 .. J;g2+ 33.i>fl ~xg4!?

A practical decision, but this allows White

to draw. Black may well be winning after

33 ... gxf5, but it's no longer simply a matter

of 'technique' - look at the following

variation (by no means forced, but that is

beside the point). 33 ... gxf5 34.exf5+ @d5

35.g5 ~g4 36.f6 lt:J g6 37.~h6 lt:Jxh4 38.f7 ~f4+ 39.@e2 ltJ f5 40.f8=1Mf ltJg3+ 41.@d2

E!xf8 42.c4+ @d4 43.E!xd6#

Analysis diagram

Now a draw was agreed. Since the obvious

35 ... @f7 36. ltJ h5+ @g8 37.ttJ f6+ wins for

White, Black must settle for 35 .. . @f6 lt:Je8+

with perpetual.

If instead 35 ... @d7, then after 36. ltJh5+ @c8

37. ltJ f6 and the black king is too passive to

entertain winning chances.

It is imperative that even in the most

unlikely of positions we constantly strive for

imaginative solutions to our problems and

cause our opponents as much difficulty as

possible. We don't resign until the very last

drop of hope has been squeezed from the

game.

Here is another example of the practical/

tactical approach to playing endgames.

153

The End is Nigh!

Burnett, A- Mayo, K Edinburgh League 2004

This time matters look a bit more

favourable. White is a clear pawn to the

good and probably has a simple plan to hand

- @e3 to d4 and then advancing the passed

c-pawn. However, in a 15 minute allegro

finish matters would not be so clear. At

some point Black might be forced to

surrender his bishop for the pawn, but in the

meantime he can use his active king to

harass the white kingside pawns. How often have we seen this kind of

situation? Winning a piece by pushing a

passed pawn and then frantically counting

moves over- and-over in your head to see if

your pieces can scuttle back in time to stop

your opponent's pawns?

Personally I hate this kind of scenario and

have never yet reached the same number of

moves in my head twice in a row! Surely

there are less- stressful and more enjoyable

ways to win?

Well, there are! Here Black's pieces may be

more active than their white counterparts,

but they are also more vulnerable to attack,

so ...

35J~~dl!

Activating the rook by using the simple 40.h5! tactic that 3 5 .. . ~xc4 fails to 3 6 .~c 1 ! when

the c-file pin is now in White's favour. But the black king isn't! It certainly wasn't

easy to spot this move from the initial

35 ... ~f7 36.gd6! position, but if we think back to the section

on 'signals', then it becomes easier. What on

earth is the black king doing so deep in

enemy territory with no support?

Of course, now the threat of 4l.~h4# can

only be delayed with horrific material losses.

40 ... f4 41J;xr4

and here Black resigned as it is mate in 4

moves at most. Once again a tactical

Cutting off the retreat of the black king and resolution to a seemingly technical problem.

setting a cunning trap.

36 ... ~xc4?

Black thinks he has seen through the white

plan, but there is a sting in the tail.

37.h4+ h5

Obviously 3 7 ... g4 drops the bishop to

38.~d4+, but after White's reply it is safe.

38.~e8+ <±>g4 39.gd4+ h3

154

1-0

Burnett, A- Noden, N Glenrothes Premier 1993

Again a position has arisen which apparently

cries out for that mythical technique we

always hear about but rarely discover! (Ok, I

admit it exists - I saw it once on the

Discovery Channel - but I'm trying to make

your life easy here, and infinitely more

interesting, so indulge me!)

Anyway, White is a clear pawn up with the

added bonus of a healthy active bishop pair.

The technical solution would be to advance

the queen- side pawns, force the active black

king back, penetrate with the white king and

force through the resulting passed pawn on

the queen-side.

A reasonably simple and straightforward

plan in theory, but again somewhat long

winded for a 15 minute allegro finish.

Instead I spotted a beautiful trap which I was

almost certain my opponent would fall for.

White's next move might seem surprising to

some of you (who know a fair bit about

endgames), and not so surprising to others

(who may not be so well versed), but is the

simplest way to victory.

30.~xd8! ~xd8 aS 32.~c8+ Wf4?!

A step in the wrong direction. It looks as

though White has given up one of his

trump-cards (the strong bishop pair) simply

to win another pawn, which might still prove

insufficient for the full point owing to the

presence of the opposite-coloured bishops.

However, the extra weakness Black has on

e5, in conjunction with the 2 passed queen

side pawns White will soon possess, means

155

The End is Nigh!

the position is easily winning (much easier

than the technical plan from the initial

position) - unless, that is, Black's king can

stay very active. However, there is a very

cute trick in this position which prevents

such activity.

33.g3+ We4 ??

Black can do nothing about the threat of

35.D#, and so resigned.

1-0

From the initial position White probably had

several ways to win slowly, but as we have

seen throughout this book a keen tactical eye

will make up for that which we have perhaps

neither the time, nor the inclination to learn!

If this sounds like a lazy approach to chess,

then consider it instead as being akin to the

avoidance of theory in the opening which

many players strive for-usually for the

same reasons as above. This tendency

towards a tactical resolution cannot simply

be considered a flashy or tricky way to play

-often it is the only way to play!


In this next ending Black has staked

everything on the mating abilities of rook

and knights combined.

Penrose, 0- Burnett, A Edinburgh Open 1999

White to move would dearly love to simply

push the a-pawn to promotion, against

which Black has no obvious defence.

However, Black's last move .. . Ei:d2 has set

up some very nasty threats against the white

king, and so 3 5 .a5, for example, gets mated

by 35 ... ltJg4 when 36J~bl or 36.:gd7 both

lose to 36 .. J~g2+ 37.~fl (37.~hl tiJf2#) ltJe3+ followed by 38 .. .. :ge2#.

Seeing this, White tried to exchange a pair

of knights to ease the defence of his king.

and now there is no sensible way to prevent

the threat of ... 4Je3#.

39.ttJxg6+ fxg6 40.E!b8+ i>h7 41.f7 ttJe3#

0-1

So, we have looked at 5 endings and every

35.ctJd3 ~f3+ 36.i>fl single one involved mates or mating ideas.

And these aren't isolated incidents - if I

If 36 .~hl :gxh2# wanted to, I could easily write an entire

book on endgan1es revolving around game-

36 ... ~xh2+ winning tactics of this sort.

If endgame theory and technique holds some

The immediate ... ltJg2 wins as in the game, special appeal to you, then by all means

but this move, played to reach the time indulge yourself. However, unless or until

control, doesn't change anything. you approach the IM level, never let anyone

railroad you into thinking it is the most

important part of the game.

156

I PLAYING TO WIN I This is a very important part of the

Streetfighting ethos. Just because a position

is 'equal' certainly does not mean it is drawn.

Even the simplest position contains traps we

can use to ensnare our opponents, who are

just as likely to misplay endgames as they

are openings and middle- games.

Even if we don't win every 'equal' game, the

experience we gain from playing on until the

stone- cold- draw stage will supply us with a

whole host of practical ideas for use in the

future.

My own personal turning point in this

respect came after reading an extremely

interesting endgame article by GM Glenn

Flear who recommended playing an entire

season without offering or accepting any

draws - so I did exactly that and was

shocked at how well it worked.

It requires patience, perseverance, ingenuity

and strong nerves but these are all attributes

we should be trying to improve anyway- so

the extra points this strategy will gain you

along the way are a pleasant bonus!

McLaughlin, D- Burnett, A Holy Cross Open 1993

The End is Nigh!

In the first round of a weekend congress it is

imperative to get off to a good start, but here

n1y young opponent (graded some 300

points below me) was creating serious

obstacles.

In this position my 'winning plan' had been

to round up the pawn on g6 and then push

the passed e- pawn, but here my intended

31 .. . ~h8 is met not by 32. ~f4 (when

32 ... i e8 and 33 .. . ~h6 wins the pawn), but

instead by 32 .~h7+ ! After the forced

32 ... E!xh7 33.gxh7 Black cannot win the

pawn on h7 by 33 ... d5 because of 34.i>c3 e5

35.! g6!

Analysis diagram

... when the bishop and pawn are

unassailable. So, what to do? Agree a draw

here? It doesn't appear that there are too

many options, but, following the age-old

aphorism that 'all rook and pawn endings are

won or lost' , there is still a glimmer of

hope .. .

31 ... ~e8 32.~h7+ <itf6 33J;xa7 ~xg6 34.~xg6

White sees no reason to complicate matters

with 34.! xb5, when Black's ~' ~ and central

pawn duo might cause problems.

34 ... <itxg6

157


35J;d7?!

White goes astray immediately in the rook

and pawn ending.

The idea is to prevent the black pawns from

moving quickly, for example after 35 ... d5

36 .~b7 e5? 3 7. ~xb5, when Black must play

3 7 ... ~d8, but Black doesn't have to co

operate with this plan. Better would be the

immediate 35.~b7.

35 ... d5 36J~b7 ~f5!

As ever, king activity is of paramount

importance in the endgame.

37J~xb5 ~e4!

position. At this point I could see my

opponent's hitherto confident demeanour

visibly wilt as the simple ~ & ~ ending was

suddenly proving very troublesome indeed.

In addition the clock was ticking ever

downward in the allegro finish.

Such situations are, as we all know, horrible!

The best advice I can give (since we will

sure I y be on the receiving side at some

point) is to try to forget about 'solving' such

positions - it's simply not possible on a

practical level over- the-board (as evidenced

by the reams and reams of endgame theory

for much simpler endings than this one) .

Play according to the 'basic rules' of these

endings (active king, active rook and

pushing passed pawns at every

opportunity )- this would have led White to

finding the best practical answer which is

38.a4! Instead he tries to simplify, but this

only helps Black create threats against the

increasingly uneasy white monarch.

38.~b4+?! d4 39.c3 e5 40.cxd4 exd4 41.~e2

This move was accompanied by a draw

offer. Although the position is probably

Penetrating to the heart of White's position drawn with best play, the practical chances

and a striking transformation from the initial are with Black; just take a deep breath and

158

The End is Nigh!

say NO! (Actually, no thank you is much 47 ... st>c3 48.gd6 d2+ 49.st>dl more polite. It's only the purely chess part of

the game that I am advocating an aggressive

approach to - any form of gamesmanship or

bad sportsmanship is strictly a no- no!)

41 ... gh8 42.gb7 gh2+ 43.st>et st>d3 44.gb3+?!

Short of time, White starts to jump at checks

(something you will encounter a lot in

practical play), but now the rook gets itself

in a tangle.

44 ... st>c2 45J~b4 d3 46.gc4+ st>xb2

Finally the pressure pays dividends! White

had to hold his nerve and remember the

simple rule of cutting off the king when

Black's rook and pawn cannot win alone, so

e.g.47 J~~c8 :gc2 48. E&d8! would have held the

draw. This highlights the reason I excluded

E&&~ endgames from the 'no theory'

approach to endings in the introduction to

this chapter. These endgames occur with

such regularity that everyone should have a

decent working knowledge of them.

159

and here White's flag fell. His optimistic

draw claim was rejected because 49 .. . E&hl +

50.@e2 E&e 1 +forces the king away when the

pawn queens.

0-1

Of course, in the initial position I could have

settled for a draw, but remember= does not

mean the same as lh-lh. Unless there is an

over-riding reason for agreeing a premature

peace - too much money at stake, guaranteed

team win or whatever - then it makes little

or no sense to call it a day early.

Think about it. Before the first pawn is

pushed the position is roughly == but the

point of chess is that you intend to outplay

your opponent from that point on, just as it

is possible to outplay your opponent in E&&~,

~&~ or @&~ endings, or ..


•

160


Burnett, A - Cheuk, A Caro-Kann Defence

TAFCA League 1995

l.e4 c6 2.d4 dS 3.e5 ~f5 4.tbf3 e6 5.~e2 cS

This position was all the rage in the early to

mid '90's with the likes of Short, Shirov,

Seirawan, Karpov and Kamsky debating its

relative merits. White tended to play

relatively quietly here with c3 and 0-0,

followed by a manouevring game which was

often wel l beyond my positional

understanding.

However, as always, there are strong players

out there who are constantly on the lookout

for new and aggressive ways to interpret the

latest fashions , and shortly before this game

was played I had spied just such an idea and

was desperate to give it a try.

6.c4!?

This sharp move is an interesting attempt to

wrest the initiative at an early stage of the

game, challenging Black directly in the

centre before he has a chance to develop

naturally, and asking him to come up with a

decent plan over the board.

162

6 ... tbc6?!

Black goes astray immediately . This

normal- looking development of the knight

leads to trouble; a better response would

have been 6 ... dxc4 in order to have d5

available for his pieces in the middle- game,

but as we have seen countless times already,

even slight divergences from the well

trodden paths can pay dividends.

7.cxd5 exdS 8.ct:Jc3

Speedy development is the key as ever. Now

if Black plays 8 ... cxd4, then after 9. l2Jxd4

~g6 10 .0-0, grabbing the e5 pawn is

disastrous in view of ~b5+ and ~el +. Black

would be well-advised at this juncture to

simply close the position with 8 ... c4, but

having seen lines where both the d5 pawn

and the bishop on f5 are vulnerable he

makes a rather panicky retreat instead.

8 ... ~e6?! 9.0-0 tbge7 10.dxc5!

The win of a pawn is only temporary, but

opening the position while the black king is

still some moves from safety is a good idea.

10 ... ~g6 ll.~e3!

.1.

This very strong move gets right to the heart

of the position. It may have seemed more

correct to save the central pawn on e5 ,

perhaps with 11 Jib5 , but such general

considerations are not always correct.

The pawn on e5 doesn't prevent, for

example, a knight going to f6 (the black

knights are on a different circuit), nor does it

aid any middle- game attack on the black

king-side (since the black pawn on d5

effectively prevents ltJe4).

However, the pawn on c5 is important as it

prevents easy development of the i f8 ,

which in turns delays Black's castling. Black

can regain his material by taking on e5, but

this will only serve to open up the centre, for

which he is not ready.

ll ... C2Jgxe5 12.~xe5 'tJxe5 13.f4 l!Jc6 14.f5

See how quickly the black position can be

ripped apart with an interesting opening idea

backed up by a bit of cold logic? Now if the

bishop retreats then White plays ltJxd5 with

an extra pawn and an attack to boot. Instead

Black seeks salvation in tactics but, as we

saw in the earlier Vienna game, this is duty

bound to fail when there is a lack of

development.

163

Walking the Walk!

14 ... d4 15.fxe6 fxe6 16.~e4!

z l.t.

Once more, when presented with a choice of

material to return, we choose the one which

prevents any idea of the opponent getting his

king to safety.

The standard reaction of club- players is to

preserve the bishop rather than the knight in

such situations (having been told umpteen

times how much more effective a bishop is

on an open board), but again we must learn

to follow the logic of the attack. The c5

pawn is important and the newly

centralised knight will be at least as effective

an attacker as the bishop.

16 ... dxe3 17 .~h5+

A strong move provoking a fatal weakening

of the f6 square, but it is exactly this kind of

move which your average club-player

hesitates to play. On seeing the forced

reply ... g6, their initial reaction is that now

the bishop has to move, then the queens

come off and now what can be done? There

is a knight check on f6 but it doesn't seem to

achieve too much by itself - and by this

stage all logical thought disappears into a

mire of confused variations!

The reality is, of course, that the bishop has

done its days work -it doesn't have to move Desperately attempting to plug all the holes .

at all! The weakness it helped create on f6 Again the i h5 is immune to capture, this

now means that the other pieces will pour in time owing to the mate threat on f7 .

to finish off the job.

17 ... g6

18.\Wb3!?

18.~f3 is possibly even stronger, but the text

move is appealing as Black is now being hit

from both sides of the board.

18 ... Cbd4

Grabbing material with 18 ... gxh5 would lose

quickly to either 19.Wxb7 or 19.Wxe6+.

164

20.'1Nc6+?!

Missing the killer move 20.~adl! when

Black could resign immediately, since

20 . .. Wc8 2l. ttJ f6 is mate! Fortunately

White's advantage is so pronounced that this

slight slip is allowable.

20 ... ~f7 21.~adl ~c8 22J~~d7+

And now Black resigned in light of the

following variations: 22 ... ~e8 (If 22 ... ~g8

23 .Wixe6# , or 22 ... !ie7 23 . ~ xf5+ exf5

24.Wf6+ <it>e8 25.~xd8+ ~xd8 26.Wixh8+)

23.~c7+ VBd7 24JMfxd7#

1-0

This game contained a few important

lessons - not least of which is, never be

scared to trade blows with a youngster!

(Obviously only on the chessboard).

There is a definite tendency to believe that

younger players have infallible tactical

abilities- not so. Their brains might reach

an answer more quickly, but are they asking

the right questions? And likewise for any

juniors reading this, don't expect all the

tactics to favour you just because you are

facing a decrepit looking older player. We

may not have many teeth (or even our own),

but they can still be sharp!

The next game was a critical encounter

against a strong opponent who has numerous

GM scalps under his belt. In such situations

it is important not only to stay calm and

focused, but also to stay true to your style of

play. Must-win games are almost always

nervy error-strewn affairs, but never forget

that this applies to your opponent as well.

Burnett, A- Robertson, I Philidor Defence Glasgow Open 1996

Walking the Walk!

bishop, and the f-file for his rook.

Although Black doesn't have to play 8 .. . d5,

allowing him this tempting possibility (and

one, moreover, which is favoured by theory)

is good psychology. Already, at move 8, he

will be wondering if we have simply made a

mistake, or are we laying a trap?

8 ... ges 9.g4 tlJc6 10.0-0-0 a6

l.e4 e5 2.ltJf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.~xd4 Let's take stock here. Black has essayed the

g6 5.~c3 ig7 6.ie3 ~f6 7.~d2 0-0 Larsen Variation of Philidor's Defence, an

8.f3!? opening which in general was under-going

This move has always been considered

inaccurate because of Black's possible reply

8 ... d5, but I disagree! White simply plays

9.0-0-0 and although Black can leave White

with a weak e-pawn by exchanging on e4 I

feel the open lines favour White, who is

better developed and now has c4 for the

165

something of a Renaissance at the time this

game was played, mainly attributable to GM

Tony Kosten's excellent book 'Winning with

the Philidor' which injected life into a

hitherto rather stale defence to 1.e4.

White's normal plan here is to forge ahead

on the king-side with h4- h5, similar to the

Yugoslav Attack ideas we have seen

previously in the Sicilian Dragon games.

Black will probably counter this with a

counter- offensive on the queen-side.

Although these respective plans probably

favour White, they have also been subject to

more scrutiny, so with 9 .g4 I decided to

initiate a more solid positional strategy,

although this is not to say it contains no

venom, as we shall see.


Black's previous move , 9 . . . a6, was

ostensibly a novelty - its purpose apparent

were White now to continue with the

straightforward ll.h4 when 11 ... 4Je5 12.ie2

might be met by either 12 ... c5 (when the

white knight could no longer jump to b5

attacking the d6 pawn) or by the immediate

expansion 12 ... b5 with aggressive intentions

on the queen-side as mentioned.

ll.CiJxc6 bxc6 12.g5

13 ... 1M/e7 14.h5 ~b8 15.hxg6 hxg6

And certainly not 15 ... fxg6 when 16.i c4+

would win quickly, especially after 16 ... @h8

17 .~xh7+ followed by 18.Wh2+ mating next

move.

Almost all the tactical motifs we will see in

this game were known to me beforehand;

this certainly doesn't indicate a deep and

detailed study of chess tactics on my part,

merely that my preferred night- time reading

was of the Winning Combination variety!

The main reason club- players give for

avoiding sharp positions or playing

combinations is either it leads them into

time- trouble or they don't trust their

calculations. Having a wide range of these

tactical patterns already stored away, simply

through regularly solving puzzles, makes the

~ process so much more simple and faster -........... _ ..... __ ......_. ..... _ __. and will allow you to play sharp positions

12 ... llJ d 7?! with increased confidence.

This move was roundly condemned after the 16.1M/h2 ctJf8 17 .f4 ie6 18.id4! game, and probably with justification, but

the 'obvious' move 12 .. . ltJh5 does not solve

all of Black's problems in my view.

White can reply with the accurate 13 . ~e 1!

and has a simple plan of playing f4, i g2- f3

and f5. Is the black knight doing a good job

blocking the h- file, or merely being 'dim on

the rim'?

13.h4

Now, of course, White has an easy strategy

to follow, which we have seen already in

this book . Open the h- file, sacrifice

whatever needs to be, and deliver mate!

166

Now the threat of 19.Wh8+ leading to mate

forces a horrible weakening of the black

pawn shelter on the king-side.

18 ... f6 19.f5!

And this further thrust exposes the frailty of

the entire black set- up. His next move is

forced since playing 19 .. . ~fl denies the

black king an escape square, so 20.gxf6

~xf6 21.Wh8+ is a familiar mating

combination.

19 ... gxf5 20.exf5 ~dS

Taking on f5 allows White to develop his

remaining pieces with tempo and 21 .i c4+

d5 22.gxf6 followed by 23 .:gdgl would be

terminal. After the text move White could

play the simple 2l.gxf6 exposing the black

king, but I had already seen the germs of a

beautiful combination.

21.~xd5 cxd5 22.~g2 c6 23.~f3 fxg5

The text move allows for the prettiest of

finishes, but there was no defence available

to Black in any event, since 23 ... lt:J d7 is

again met by 24.~dgl when Black is once

more faced with the decisive opening of his

kingside.

24.~h8+!

Walking the Walk!

the following forced mate to appear on the

board in front of "the gathering vultures", as

Douglas Bryson described them!

24 ... ~xh8 25.~xh8+ f7 26.~h5+ ttJg6

27.~xg6#

1-0

Of course it might be argued that White had

things pretty much his own way in both of

these games, and that the opposition could

have done more to prevent the attack? Well,

it's a fair enough point, but the real reason

that both these good players came to grief is

that they ended up playing the game on my tenns.

This entire book is founded on the premise

that there are infinite ways and means to

surprise, confuse and bemuse the opposition

- all with the express intention of launching

speedy, well-supported assaults on their

terrified kings!

Before they know it, they are often in

positions they neither wanted nor asked for,

having to deal with serious threats, the clock

ticking loudly and the spectre of a rapid

defeat one false move away!

We, the Streetfighters, on the other hand, are

And here White resigned rather than allow relishing every moment of it dreaming up

167

ever-more- devious designs; plotting and

scheming against the enemy king; throwing

wood on the fire as though it were the most

natural thing in the world; cool, calculating

and carefree!

I trust and hope that you have enjoyed

reading this book as much as I have enjoyed

writing it, and I would welcome any

thoughts, comments or suggestions that you

might have concerning it or any other aspect

of chess.

Just before I go, though, here is a final

game. I have given it without notes because

I don't feel it should require any if you have

come this far! Just enjoy your Streetfighting!

"I, A STRANGER AND AFRAID, IN A WORLD I

NEVER MADE"

Banks, DJ - Burnett, A Sicilian Defence

Edinburgh Open 1996

l.e4 c5 2.~f3 d6 3.d4 ttJf6

4.dxc5 ~xe4 5.cxd6 ~c6 6.i.d3 ~xd6 7.~c3 g6 8.i.e3 i.g7 9.Bd2

168

ig4 10.0-0-0 'Mfa5 ll.ie2 ~e4

12.~xe4 fixa2 13.c3 ~at+ 14.<j;>c2 ~b4+

15.<j;>b3 fYa2+ 16.<j;>xb4 a5+ 17.<j;>c5 0-0

18.~d5 ~xb2 19.ib5 ie6 20.icl gfc8+ 2l.i>b6 ~a6+

Walking the Walk!

22.xb7 ~xd5+ 23J~xd5 Wlb3 26 •.. VNd8 24.xc8 ~a8+ 25.ci>b7 'Mfxd5+ 26.~c6 0-1

169

TE ~YOUR STRR£TF16 IN6t

1

How should White continue the attack?

3

,i. ' d'n J ' ::oe: ., - ' d r - I --, ~~-~=tWJ 'llo.__.At. I ... I - I .... 1 -

~ I L..J I L..J I L..J I~ E3 I f,.......J I ... l8

I . Qi I--, l~ i

How should White deal with the

threat of ... a4?

2

Does White have a forced win here?

4

~ 8 18 -

i F' I nsw • ,~~ '£' - • - 1 rl _ i

• What is Black's most forcing

move in this position?

(Solutions overleaf)


1

How should White continue the attack?

This position takes us back to the very first

game in the book, where instead of

15 ... ttJ xd4, Black has pushed 15 .. . c4

intending a pawn storm on the VIi-side.

16.Wfh2

Well this first move should have been fairly

automatic, as is Black's reply.

16 ... ~f7

ready to strike out on your own. The bishop

could no longer come to the d3 square as it

did in the game and since there is little else

for it to do in an attacking sense, we might

as well sacrifice it!

What do we get in return? Well, for a start it

gains a tempo - and as we've seen in

previous games throughout the book a single

tempo can be worth its weight in gold-here

it allows the dl -rook to immediately move

to g 1. Additionally, and perhaps more

importantly here, it gives us the beautiful e4

square for the knight to use, from where it

eyes up f6, d6 and g5 .

And thirdly, it gains us the initiative ! A

quiet move such as 17 .ie2 would do little to

worry Black. After a reply like 17 ... b5, we

would be constantly worrying, about moves

like ... b4, ... Wia5 and ~b8, instead of putting

all the pressure on our opponent.

17 ... dxc4 18.~e4 ~g7 19.gdgl ~d7

So we have once again reached a position

(as in the original game) where all of

17 .~xc4!! White's pieces are primed and ready for

action. Black's material advantage (a whole

Exactly! If you found this move, and the piece) really can't make itself felt.

ideas behind it, you're already attuned to the

Streetfighting way of play and more than 20.gxg6!!

172

Instantly decisive . You should be constantly

aware by now that tactical finishes arise

naturally from the attacking positions we

will reach. More often than not it just

requires that little bit of extra calculation to

find the 'safe- cracking code', the fatal flaw

in the opponents defence. Here this means

that after ...

20 ... hxg6 21J~~~fh8+ ~f7 22.~fg5+ ~xg5

.. .it is not the natural recapture 23. l2Jxg5+

(which loses to 23 .. . ~xg5), but rather .. .

23.~d6+ .. . which mates after 23 ... @e7 24 .~xg7 so

1-0

When calculating in advance try not to be

too focussed on one single square for one

single piece - remember that after the initial

bishop sacrifice, the knight went to e4

eyeing up the squares g5, f6 and d6 . This

small difference can mean the difference

between seeing and playing the winning

combination, or missing your chance and

spoiling a good game!

173

Test your Streetfighting!

2

Does White have a forced win here?

If you answered yes here, then well done. If

you also managed to back this assessment up

with variations, then even better!

17 .e5!

This not only attacks the ~ on f6, but also

unleashes the power of its white counterpart

against h7. Now the first itnportant variation

which must be calculated is what happens

after 17 .. . lt:Jxd3 , removing the dangerous

prelate and attacking the rook on c 1?

Unfortunately for Black, the cl rook is

irrelevant, and White simply continues with

18.exf6 because now 18 .. . tt:J xcl allows

19.~xg7 @h8

Analysis diagram

This is a very difficult problem, and the

solution is a very important one for

prospective Streetfighters.

Firstly it is a matter of recognising that the

position has become critical- the threat

of ... a4 is very real, and how we deal with it

at this precise moment will probably decide

the game.

So, should White try to prevent .. . a4 by

playing 15 .a3 or 15 .a4 himself? If he does

then he only helps Black to crack open the

queenside with moves such as ... a4, ... b4 and .. . ttJ c5 (this latter move quickly

dispelling notions of 15 .c3 as the d3 pawn

would be so weak). It's basically a case of

not playing moves on the side of the board where you are weakest. It doesn't appear that

saving the bishop in this way is possible.

Ok then, what about a counter- attack on the

opposite wing? But hitting back with the

mirror- image move 15 .h4 doesn't help

either as Black is much quicker on the

opposite wing, since the white king is under

fire in a way that Black's won't be.

So, what to do? Looked at logically, the only

defect in Black's strategy is that he is

attacking before he has dealt with his own

king's safety - it is still stuck in the middle

of the board where White has a fair number

of pieces.

However, following my train of thought

during the actual game, the only way to get

at the black king appeared to be by

sacrificing something, perhaps on f5 or e6.

Instantly my eyes locked onto playing

15. CZJ d4 , as it hits the only completely

obvious weakness at c6, and also those

squares at f5 and e6 .

So far so good - at least now there was a

175


positive train of thought under way and my

mood brightened considerably. This is

important psychologically - we want to

place the burden of negative thoughts onto

our opponents' shoulders whenever possible.

If we add to this the logic that it is too dangerous to save the b3 bishop, we can

perhaps at least choose where we lose it!

15.lLJd4! 1Mfb6

Black would have liked to play 15 ... a4, but

then the sacrifice 16.~xe6 fxe6 17 .ltJxe6 hits

both the queen and the g7 pawn (which

would go with check), and suddenly the

Black king is very uncomfortable. The text move defends c6, attacks the knight on d4

and removes the queen from any danger.

16.CiJxe6!?

White must again find something clever here

to trouble Black, and my first thoughts were

to try to blast my way through to the king by

means of 16.Ct:J ef5.

I calculated the following variation 16 ... exf5

17.Ct:J xf5 ~xf5 18.gxf5 and quickly realised

that 18 ... a4 could be met by 19 .~xf7+ when

acceptance of the bishop with 19 ... @xf7

leads to this position:-

Stree(fighting Chess

Analysis diagram

It didn't take long to find the winning move

here, since very similar attacking positions

arise in the Sicilian Dragon, although in that

case it would be the open h-file and weak

spot at h7 which allow the following

deflection sacrifice: 20J~xg7+ ! and Black is

mated after 20 ... @xg7 21.\Wxe7+ @g8

22.~gl +. Unfortunately Black need not accept the

second sacrifice after 1 9 .i xf7 + , and can

instead play 19 . .. @d8 when White's

dwindling initiative is not enough

compensation for a knight. However, and

this is very important, the fact that my

fantasy mating line existed, and was spotted,

made the game continuation much easier for

me to play - the patterns and tactical themes

were in place if and when required.

16 ... fxe6 17 .Axe6

176

So White has turned the targeted bishop into

the strongest piece on the board, and now

Black is the one under pressure. He has to

contend with ideas such as f4- f5 and g5, the

knight hopping into f5 (when chopping it off

opens up the g- file for the rook), and all the

while there is the knowledge that he has

only a minimal material advantage and can't

really afford to allow White anything more

in return for the piece.

Should he castle long here, then he must

take another move out to release the pin on

the d7 knight and there is no guarantee that

the king would even be safe on the

queenside with such a distended pawn

structure.

In a practical sense we can safely say that

White has overcome his problems of a few

moves ago and the onus is on Black to prove

otherwise.

17 ... ~c5!? 18.liJf5! tlJxe6 19.~xe6 Axf5 20.gxf5

Here we see the usefulness of the fantasy

vanat1on given previously, since if Black

tries to escape from the pin with 20 ... ~f8 ,

then White has the same crushing blow

2l .gxg7! available. The fact that it's

available, and I had seen it, allowed me to

enter this position with plenty of confidence

that the attack would be too strong for Black

to withstand - if he can't remove the e-file

pin or defend g7 then logically he should be

struggling since all White's pieces can enter

into the attack.

20 ... ~d8?

The pressure tells on Black, and though it's

natural to try to exchange off the queens, it

proves impossible without returning the

piece and remaining several pawns down in

the process.

21J;xg7 ~d7 22J~Nf7+

22 . ~e 1 is also sufficient as the e-file pin is

so strong, but it is preferable to keep the

queens on for the attack on the king.

22 ... ~d8 23.~el Now it becomes clear that defending

laterally with 23 .. . ~a7 is impossible in view

of 24.~xe7 Wlxe7 25 .!xa5+! deflecting

either king or rook from the protection of e7 .

Analysis diagram

23 ... ~e8 24.~g5 and here Black resigned.

1-0

177


He might have played a few more moves

first, but there is no real defence in any

event. (Burnett,A- Marks I, Glenrothes

Premier, 2005)

4

What is Black's most forcing

move in this position?

There are 2 equally strong moves here for

Black. If you worked out that 12 ... d4 leads

to a clear advantage then well done. After

the forced 13 .i xc6 bxc6, then something

like 14.4Jbl 4Jg4 15.0-0 ttJxe5 16.fxe5 :gxe5

should see Black win, although the process

may take quite some time.

If, on the other hand, you chose the non

materialistic ...

12 ... ~xe5!

... then even better! This shows that you are

on the right track as now the White king will

be exposed. I hope by now that, given 2

equally promising- looking moves, you will

naturally gravitate towards the one which

lends itself to the attack rather than a

material advantage, even if it seen1s the

slightly less clear option. After the text


move White could recapture with 13 . fxe5, The white knight is the only thing plugging

but 13 .. J~xe5+ gives Black a tnaterial the holes, so there is no need to avoid its

advantage and the white king is still unsafe. exchange. Activating the major pieces, and

using every available tempo to do so, is far

13.~xe8 ~g4! 14.f3

14 ... ltJxf3! 15.gxf3 VNxe8+

White would dearly love to get the queens

off the board, but the obvious 16.~e2 fails

to 16 ... i xf3 17 .~xe8+ ~xe8+, followed by

capturing the rook on hl and leaving Black

several pawns up and easily winning.

16.~f2 ~e6 17.f5 ~f7 18.~d3

It may appear as though Black has been

dtiven back , but it is merely a temporary.

state of affairs .

18 ... d4 19.ltJe4 ~e5!

178

more important.

20.!iJxf6 VNxf6 21.!!hgl ?!

Not a great move, but the pos1t1on was

already extremely difficult for White

21 ... c4 22J~Ne4 E!e8 23.VNxb7 VNh4+ 24.~g3 d3

And please don't fall for something as stupid

as 24 ... ~xh2+ 25.:gg2 g e2+ 26.~xe2 ~xg2+

27 .~el ~gl + 28.~e2 ~xal 29.Wc8+

Analysis diagram

25.~el ~xh2+ 26.~g2 ~h4+ and now White resigned because 27.:gg3

g xel 28.@xel ~xg3 is check.

0-1 (Wilman,C- Bumett,A, TAFCA, 1997)


5 6

What is Black's best move? Black to play and win material

7 8

Can White stop the pawns? White to play and win

9 10

White to play and win Can Black open the ~-side?

179


5

What is Black's best move?

Players of the King's Indian Defence will

have had a head start in solving this one,

since the position is a very generic KID

affair - White breaks through on the Viiside/Black ignores it and hacks away on the

~-side .

White has gone wrong somewhere, however,

because after his previous move (18.bxc5),

Black is not forced to recapture. Instead ...

18 ... ~h4!

... creates unstoppable n1ating threats against

the white king. If White continues blindly

with 19 .cxd6, then after 19 ... g3 20 .h3 ttJ c5!

Analysis diagram

180

Now there is no defence to ... i xh3 . There is

nothing particularly clever about this

combination: variations on it have been seen

in countless KID games in the past, and

these mating possibilities underpin Black's

entire strategy in many of these lines.

This is hugely important when it comes to

learning new openings: memorizing theory

should not be the first concern; assimilating

recurring tactical motifs within the opening

strategies is far more important.

Anyway, in the actual game White realised

too late that 18 ... Vfih4 was deadly and could

find nothing better than ...

19.~xf4 exf4 20.~xf4

... but even now the same tactics work for

Black.

20 ... g3

And here White resigned since both mate on

h2 and the knight on f4 are attacked, and if

21. 4J h3 , then 21 ... 'Ll xc5 followed by

22 .. . i xh3 is terminal.

0-1 (Stalker, A- Burnett, A Glenrothes 1997)

6

Black to play and win material

This puzzle is partly a case of seeing 1 move

further than the opponent, and partly one of

being more open to those hidden tactical

possibilities which abound in almost every

game of chess played.

White's last move was 19 .c3 , which seems

like a sensible attempt to include both the

lt:J dl and the ~c 1 in the game. However,

what a beady tactical eye should see very

quickly is that the advance 19 ... f4 forces the

bishop to capture, after which taking on c3

undermines the ttJd4 which the bishop no

longer protects.

As soon as this possibility is noticed, signs

should be flashing before our eyes that the

game could be won here on the spot, and

that we should immediately calculate very

concretely.

Lets start at the beginning: Black plays

19 ... f4. Does White have any alternatives to

taking the pawn? Well, no, because if he

plays 20. l2J xc6, then 20 ... fxe3 attacks the

queen. Black simply recaptures on c6 next

move and is a piece up. So the first move is

OK; White must play 20 . .ixf4 and Black

181


replies 20 ... bxc3.Now we have this position.

Again the VIi is attacked and there is also the

double attack on d4, so White is forced to

take on c3 with something. It transpires that

recapturing with 2I .ltJxc3 would be best;

Black is still winning after taking on d4, but

White has chances of randomising the

position with 'tJ d5. How ever, this is

unpalatable, especially when White seems to

have a way of saving the piece.

So, White can take on c3 w ith the V9 or ~

(which come to the same thing). In the game

White chose 21.~xc3 and after 21 ... ~xd4

22.~xd4 ltJxd4 23J~~xc7 we reached this

position.

And only now does it become completely

clear what was hidden in the position back at

move 19. Black now wins the piece after all

with the fork 23 ... l2Je2+. White struggled on

gamely, but the a & b pawns were too far

back to compensate for the piece deficit, so


eventually it was 0- 1 (Marks, !-Burnett, A,

Glenrothes Open 2007).

These tactical lines become easier to

calculate with practice, and in our heads we

have to attempt to always look 1 move

beyond the obvious. This is not an easy task,

but it is possible, so don't be scared to try

calculate the line, give it a basic assessment

as usual, then visualize where the pieces

now stand and ask yourself the question, Is there an obvious next move? A check or

capture that is possible now that wasn't

before? Improvement in this area alone is

worth many, many points over the course of

a season.

7

.I

Can White stop the pawns?

The simple answer to this question is no, but hopefully you realized I was expecting a bit

more from you! The pawns can't be stopped,

it's true, but nor do they need to be. The

black king is in such a precarious position

that White has time to launch a counter

attack.

36.e5!

182

If you chose 36 .~hl with the same idea of

penetrating to h 7 then that is just as good.

Now the longest forcing line is 36 ... a2

37.W/h7 e6 38 .exd6 ~xf7 39.W/h5+ ~f8

40 .ie6 ~a7 41.d7 ~xd7 42 .i c5 + ~e7

43.W/f7#

Analysis diagram

However, I wasn't forced to calculate all this

as my opponent varied immediately with ...

36 ... dxe5

... when a similar fmish occurred after. ..

37.1!Mh7 ~xf7 38.1!Mh5+ ~f8 39.ie6

It is the weak white squares around the king

that are the key to the combination, and once

that flaw is spotted then the rest is fairly simple 1-0 (Burnett,A- Jurkiewicz ,K,

Bardejov Open 2007)

8 9

White to play and win White to play and win

Hopefully you didn't have as much trouble This puzzle looks very simple and in many

with this one as I did during the game. If you ways it is, but firstly you have to get past the

noticed, as I did at the time, that the ~d2 false trail. The first move is obvious enough.

isn't really threatened with capture

because .. J~xd2 would fail to ixe6# then 22.~h6+ g8 well spotted. If you then decided to move

the bishop out of the way anyway, then

you're as bad as me! I played 48 .i f4 and the

game was drawn many moves and

adventures later (Y2-Y2 Burnett, A- Pyrich, G,

Kirkcaldy 1989)

The winning move is of course the very

simple 48.~fl! and Black can do nothing

sensible to prevent the bishop delivering

mate next move on h3 .

Why did I miss this, and why are such things

missed regularly? Well, I imagine it is

because the piece required to mate is already

doing a particular job (here threatening e6

and thereby tying the black rook down) and

somehow this prevents us from giving it a

different role to play.

The answer to this kind of problem?

Remember the theme of the play : the black

king is in danger- how else can we get to it?

183

But here we have to be very careful. The

automatic move 23.2:b4 is a terrible blunder.

23 ... ~gl + 24.ltJdl is not as problem. but the

alternative check 23 ... ~e3-! leads to mate

after either 24 .~b 1 ~el +or 24.<i:>d1 ~f2-.

Analysis diagram

Losing from a winning position due to

sloppiness in calculating our opponents last

gasp possibilities is a far worse way to lose

than simply being out-played.

The correct way to finish the game after

22 ... ci>g8 is by the counter- attacking move ...

Attacking the black queen and the e7- square

whilst ignoring the rook hanging on d4.

Now covering e7 by retreating the queen to

d8 allows the ~h4 manouevre as before,

which obviously wins since White's own

king is in no danger this time. Taking the

rook, though, is equally disastrous, viz .

23 ... ~xd4 24.CiJxe7+ \t>h8 25.Vf!xf8#

Analysis diagram

In view of these unstoppable threats, Black

10

Can Black open the ~-side?

With such a blocked position the answer

would ordinarily be no, but White's previous

move, 25 .~h2??, was a serious blunder.

25 ... a3!

This is an obvious move, which White

would like to reply to with 26.b3 keeping

the position closed, but unfortunately his

loose rook move now allows 26 ... ~xf3! (attacking both the rook and the queen) and

if 27.i.xf3, then 27 ... e4+ wins instantly.

actually resigned after 23. l2J d5 1-0 Analysis diagram

(Bumett,A- Campbell, E, Aberdeen Open

1990). So White has to allow his ~-side to be

So beware snatching at the obvious winning opened and the game continued ...

move. Double- check the variations and be

sure your opponent has no tricks left! 26.~fl axb2+ 27.\Wxb2 <±>g7 28.~d2

184

28 .. J~a3 29.~b3 ~baS 30.~bl ~a4 3l.~b2

White has done all he can to keep the

position blockaded, but Black has another

sweet little tactic available to release it.

31 ... ~e2!

Threatening to come to c3 or d4 with

devastating effect, so White is obliged to

capture.

32.~xe2 ~xb3 33.%Vc2 ~c3 34.YNxa4 gxa4 35J3cl

35 ... ~xf3!

The same tactic which prevented White

from blocking the position in the first place

returns to finish the game.

185

Test your Street.fighting!

36.~xc3 bxc3 37.~xf3?!

3 7 J~c2 was more tenacious but Black is

winning in any event. The remaining moves

were as follows .

37 ... e4 38.~c2 exf3 39.~f2 gxc4 40.\t>bl ~d4 41.\t>cl f6 and here

White resigned

0-1 (Norris, A- Burnett, A, Glasgow Open 1996)

What can we take from this little snippet?

Well firstly, always be on the lookout for

even the smallest of errors: seemingly

insignificant moves will lead to extra points

if we can spot the flaws in them.

Finally, tactics, tactics tactics! They are

everywhere, all the time, and are the little

nuts and bolts which hold together all the

grand (and not so grand!) strategies we will

employ and have employed against us.

The Streetfighting approach to chess places

a large emphasis on tactical awareness and

ability, and although I have done my level

best to introduce you to a great number of

recurring themes and motifs, any chess study

you do ought to include an extra element of

tactic solving on a regular basis. Check out

the bibliography section at the beginning of

this book for sources of further study in this

area.

To end this book, I'd just like to say thank

you if you got this far, and to wish all of you

the very best in your chess endeavours!

If you have any queries or comments to

make about this book, then please feel free

to contact me via the website

www .streetfightingchess.com.

35 street fighting chess

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