Typical IQP tactical breakthrough from Lichess game

Here is a rapid game example I could have included into my IQP ebook/paperback:

Find the best move for White after Black made a typical mistake.

 

Kosintseva plays Isolated Pawn to beat the French

Here are a couple of games that illustrate how White can opt into standard IQP structure against the French defence – this method was used effectively by Nadezhda Kosintseva to beat a couple of strong players:

Kosintseva, Nadezhda - Vysochin, Spartak
   2004 , C07

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. c3 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Ngf3 dxe4 7. Nxe4 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 Nf6 9. Bd3 O-O 10. O-O Be7 11. a3 b6 12. Re1 Bb7 13. Bc2 Rc8 14. Qd3 Qd6

( 14. ... g6!? 15. Bh6 Re8 16. Rad1 )

15. d5 exd5 16. Bg5 g6 17. Rxe7! Nxe7 18. Nb5 Qe6 19. Nfd4 Qe5 20. f4

20. ... Qe4 21. Bxf6 Qxd3 22. Bxd3 Nc6 23. Nxc6 Rxc6 24. Bd4 a6 25. Nc3 Re6 26. Na4 Rfe8 27. Kf2 Bc6 28. Nxb6 Bb5 29. Bxb5 axb5 30. Nxd5 Re2+ 31. Kf3 R8e6 32. Rc1 f6 33. Rc8+ Kf7 34. Rc7+ Kf8 35. Nxf6 Rd2 36. Be5 h6 37. h4 Rd8 38. h5 gxh5 39. Ke4 b4 40. axb4 Rb6 41. Kf5 Rd2 42. g3 Rxb4 43. Kg6 1-0

---

Kosintseva, Nadezhda - Xu Yuhua
   2009 , C07

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Ngf3 dxe4 6. Nxe4 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 Nf6 9. Bd3 h6 10. O-O O-O 11. a3 Be7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Bf4 a6 14. Qd3 Bf8 15. Rad1 Ne7 16. Ne5 Bd7 17. Rfe1 Bc6 18. Qh3

18. ... Bd5 19. Re3 Qb6 20. b4 Rec8

21. Rg3

Kingside threats are now impossible to defend against without material losses.

21. ... Rxc3

( 21. ... Kh8 22. Nxf7+ )

22. Rxc3 Nc6 23. Bxh6 Nxd4 24. Be3 Ne2+ 25. Kf1 Qd6 26. Ng4 Ne4 27. Bxe4 1-0

How to attack with Isolated pawn – games by Pavasovic

Here are three games from Alapin Sicilian that illustrate the typical ideas in IQP positions – d4-d5 break and piece sacrifices around the Black king.

Pavasovic, Dusko - Podkriznik, Gregor
   1999 , B22

1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Be3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Be7 8. Nc3 Qd6 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. a3 b6 11. O-O O-O 12. Qe2 Bb7 13. Rad1 Rac8 14. Rfe1 Rfd8 15. Bg5 Qb8 16. Bb1 Rd7

17. d5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 exd5 19. Bf5 +/-

19. ... Rcd8 20. Bxd7 Rxd7 21. Bxe7 Nxe7 22. Ne5 Rc7 23. Qf3 f6 24. Ng4 Qd8 25. Rd4 Rd7 26. Ne3 Nc6 27. Rd2 Ne5 28. Qg3 d4 29. Nf5 d3 30. f4 Ng6 31. Qe3 Kf8 32. h4 Nh8 33. h5 g6 34. hxg6 hxg6 35. Qh3 Kg8 36. Nh6+ Kg7 37. Ng4 Nf7 38. Nf2 Ba6 39. Red1 Qc7 40. Nxd3 Bxd3 41. Rxd3 Rxd3 42. Qxd3 Qxf4 43. Qd4 Qc7 44. Rd3 Qc1+ 45. Kh2 Qc7+ 46. Kg1 Qc1+ 47. Rd1 Qc7 48. a4 Qc6 49. b3 Qc2 50. Rd3 Qc1+ 51. Kh2 Qc7+ 52. Kh1 Qc1+ 53. Rd1 Qc2 54. Qd3 Qc5 55. Qd5 Qc2 56. Rf1 Qc7 57. Qe6 Qd8 58. Rc1 Qh8+ 59. Kg1 Qd8 60. Kh1 Qh8+ 61. Qh3 Qd8 62. Qc8 Qd2 63. Qc3 Qd8 64. Qc7 Qd2 65. Rc3 Qd4 66. Rf3 Qh4+ 67. Kg1 Qe1+ 68. Kh2 Qh4+ 69. Rh3 Qd4 70. Qc3 Qf4+ 71. Kg1 Qd6 72. Rd3 Qe6 73. Re3 Qd6 74. Re8 Qd1+ 75. Kf2 Qd7 76. Rc8 Qf5+ 77. Kg1 Qd5 78. Rc7 a6 79. Qc4 Qd1+ 80. Kf2 Qd2+ 81. Kf3 Qd1+ 82. Kg3 Qe1+ 83. Kh2 Qe5+ 84. g3 Qh5+ 85. Kg2 g5 86. g4 Qg6 87. Qc2 Qh6 88. Qf5 Qh8 89. Qe6 Qa8+ 90. Kg3 Qf8 91. Qe7 Qg8 92. Rb7 1-0

---

Pavasovic, Dusko - Horvath, Csaba
   2000 , B22

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6 6. Be3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nc6 8. Nc3 Qd6 9. a3 Be7 10. Bd3 b6 11. O-O Bb7 12. Qe2 O-O 13. Rad1 Rad8 14. Bg5 Qb8 15. Bb1 Rfe8 16. Rfe1 g6 17. Ba2 Nh5

18. d5 exd5 19. Rxd5 Bf8 20. Ne4 Rxd5 21. Bxd5 Nd4 22. Bxf7+ Kxf7 23. Nxd4 Qe5 24. Nc3 Qxe2 25. Rxe2 Rxe2 26. Ndxe2 Nf6 27. Be3 Nd7 28. Bd4 Nb8 29. f3 Nc6 30. Kf2 Nxd4 31. Nxd4 Kf6 32. Ke3 Bh6+ 33. Kd3 Bc1 34. Kc2 Bf4 35. g3 Be3 36. Kd3 Bc1 37. Kc2 Be3 38. Kd3 Bg1 39. Ne4+ Ke7 40. Ne2 Bxh2 41. Ke3 h5 42. Kf2 h4 43. gxh4 Be5 44. N2c3 1/2-1/2

---

Pavasovic, Dusko - Groetz, Harald
   2002 , B22

1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 e6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Be3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nc6 8. Nc3 Qd6 9. a3 Be7 10. Bd3 b6 11. O-O O-O 12. Qe2 Bb7 13. Rad1 Rfd8 14. Rfe1 h6 15. Bb1 Bf8 16. Bc1 g6 17. Ba2 Ne7 18. Ne5 Nf5 19. Bf4 Qe7

20. Nxf7 Kxf7 21. Bxe6+ Kg7 22. d5 Kh7 23. Qf3

It turns out that Black can't hold on to his material advantage.

23. ... Ng7 24. Bg8+ Nxg8 25. Rxe7 Bxe7 26. Be5 Rf8 27. Qd3 Bc5 28. Ne4 Rad8 29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. Nxc5 bxc5 31. Qc3+ Nf6 32. Qxc5 Rxd5 33. Rxd5 Bxd5 34. Qxa7+ Rf7 35. Qc5 Bb7 36. b4 g5 37. a4 Rd7 38. h3 g4 39. Kh2 gxh3 40. Kxh3 Rd3+ 41. f3 Kg6 42. a5 Rd5 43. Qc4 Rd2 44. b5 Bd5 45. Qb4 Rc2 46. Qb1 Be6+ 47. g4 1-0

d4-d5 pawn break as a theme from various openings

I wrote a couple of books on this subject – one about pawn breaks in general, and one about positions with isolated queen pawns (where pawn breaks are common) specifically, and these topics still come up in games that I study.

 

Here are a few more examples with some instructive positions and ideas highlighted:

Zvjaginsev, Vadim - Popov, Valerij
Moscow-ch blitz   2004.09.05 , D42

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 h6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. O-O cxd4 8. cxd4 Be7 9. Re1 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Bb4 11. Nc3 O-O 12. a3 Be7 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Qd3

The early h6 move seems entirely out of place in the current structure.

14. ... Kf8 15. Bf4 b6 16. Rad1

( 16. d5 exd5 17. Nb5 Ba6 )

16. ... Bb7 17. Qd2

Setting up the not so subtle threat against h6.

17. ... Ng8

( 17. ... Rc8 18. Bxh6 gxh6 19. Qxh6+ Kg8 20. Ng5 Nxd4 21. Bh7+ Kh8 ( 21. ... Nxh7 22. Qxh7+ Kf8 23. Qxf7# ) 22. Nxf7# )

18. d5!

Taking advantage of Black's last move which defended h6 but gave up control over d5.

18. ... exd5 19. Nxd5

Black gave up because there is no good way to meet Nc7. If Rc8 then Bf5 adds fuel to the fire.

1-0

---

Spassky, Boris V - Mnatsakanian, Eduard A
   1959 , D15

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Ng5 h6 8. Nge4 e6 9. a4 b4 10. Nb1 Ba6 11. Qg4 b3 12. Bd2 Nb4 13. Na3 h5 14. Qf4 Be7 15. Be2 Nd3+ 16. Bxd3 cxd3 17. Rc1 O-O 18. O-O f5 19. Nd6 Qd7 20. Rfe1 Rd8 21. Bb4 Bxd6 22. exd6 Qb7

White to move

Solution:

23. d5 1-0

---

Pia Cramling - Nana Dzagnidze
FIDE Women's Grand Prix Tehran   2016.02.21 , D44

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 dxc4 5. e3 a6 6. a4 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Be7 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Qd2 Qa5 12. Rfd1 Rd8 13. Rac1 Bd7 14. Qe2 Be8 15. Bxf6 Bxf6

16. d5! +/- exd5 17. Nxd5 Rd6 18. b3 h6 19. h3 Rad8 20. Nxf6+ Rxf6 21. Rxd8 Qxd8 22. Rd1 Qc8 23. Ne5 Nxe5 24. Qxe5 Kf8 25. Re1 Qd8 26. Qe4 g6 27. Qxb7 Kg7 28. Qe7 Qxe7 29. Rxe7 Kf8 30. Ra7 Rd6 31. Rxa6 Rd1+ 32. Kh2 h5 33. Ra7 h4 34. a5 Rd2 35. f3 f5 36. Rc7 g5 37. a6 Bh5 38. Kg1 1-0

---

Vladimir Kramnik - Anish Giri
Zurich Chess Challenge   2016.02.14 , A07

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 c6 5. O-O Nf6 6. b3 O-O 7. Bb2 Bf5 8. c4 a5 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. cxd5 Nxc3 11. Bxc3 cxd5 12. Ne5 Nc6 13. Qd2 a4 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. b4 Bc8 16. e4 Ba6 17. Rfe1 dxe4 18. Bxe4 Bb5 19. Rac1 e6 20. a3 Qd6 21. Bb2 Rfd8 22. Red1 Rac8 23. Rc5 Qb8 24. Rdc1 Qb7 25. Qg5 h6 26. Qf4 Qd7 27. Bf3 g5 28. Qe3 Rc7 29. Qc3 Rdc8 30. Be4 Qd6 31. Bb1 Kf8 32. Qc2 Ke7 33. Re1 Kf8

White to move

Solution:

34. d5! e5

( 34. ... cxd5 35. Bxg7+ Kxg7 36. Qh7+ Kf8 37. Qxh6+ Ke7 38. Rxb5 +- )

35. Rc1 Bf6 36. Qf5 Bg7 37. dxc6 Bxc6 38. Qc2 Qe6 39. Qf5 Qd6 40. Ba2 Be8

41. Qxc8!? Rxc8 42. Rxc8 Qd2 43. R1c7 Qxb2 44. Rxf7+ Kg8 45. Rxe8+ Kh7 46. Bd5 1-0

Basic Tactics in the opening

Here is a simple combination that I overlooked in one of my blitz games, but a computer was quick to point out when I ran the game through lichess blundercheck:

DDT-Michael-player, ICC 2015

 White to move (Black just weakened f7 square, so there should be a way to take advantage of that!)
Solution is here: http://en.lichess.org/CgQFr5pf#24

Typical Idea in position with Isolated Pawn

Jiganchine – Baunok, 2000
 White to move

Watch the video for the solution:

Chess Strategy Video - Panov Attack - Two bishops as compensation for a pawn

Here is an older video I made but not shared on the blog yet. The opening is the Panov attack, where Black plays a sideline. I get nice pressure in the opening with an isolated pawn structure but miss some nice opportunities. In the endgame White ends up with active rook on the 7th rank, supported by two bishops as compensation for a pawn. When Black's 'a'  pawn falls, the fate of the game is sealed.

Kasparov Defeats Grandmaster in a simul

Kasparov - Spangenberg, 1997. A good example of White's play in Queen's Gambit Accepted with an isolated pawn. This is one of the games that made 7.Bb3 the most popular line against QGA.

Questions of Modern Chess Theory - Book Review

I heard about the book Questions of Modern Chess Theory a long time ago – back in the nineties, when I was still studying chess in Russia. Reading it today, I realize that this classic work, although it is very old – still reflects well on modern approach to chess strategy and opening theory. It covers the connection between calculation and assessment, explains how to strike balance between following rules and looking into the specifics of the positions, and gives examples of opening variations that to me – appear still relevant today – Botvinnik variation of the Slav, IQP positions and so on.
The chapter on modern approach to gambit play is also quite instructive. It echoes what books by John Watson and Kasparov talk about, except for it was written half a century before them, and should be given proper credit. No wonder that the young Bobby Fischer had lots to learn from this book by Lipnitsky!

As a quick example, I was particularly impressed by Lipnitsky’s explanation of this famous game, that appeared from a common IQP structure:
Botvinnik – Alekhine, 1938
  Black to  move. His position is strategically very difficult. He ended up losing the game.
I remembered that Black lost because he had troubles preventing White’s invasion on two open files, and that c6 square being weakened was part of the problem. But Lipnitsky explains this connection very clearly: with the pawn back on b7, Black would have been able to play Nb8-c6 and contain most of White’s initiative. As it is, White threatens to invade both to c7 and to e7, and that is too much for him to handle. From my experience, such strategic insights into details of each position are precious, especially if they shed a new light on a well known game.
Recommended: 9/10.

Brilliant attack by Vassily Smyslov

This is an older video from my YouTube Channel; in case you have not seen it - hope you enjoy! In this game Smylsov shows two typical ideas for this type of positions:

1. The Queen + Bishop Battery when Black played h7-h6
2. A well-timed pawn break with d4-d5 that decided the game in this case

Attacking with An Isolated Pawn – Botvinnik’s trademark

Botvinnik – Batuev, 1931

 White to move

Mikhail Botvinnik was well known for his handling of positions with Isolated Queen’s Pawn. Here as well, he slowly built up the pressure and opponent faltered. Black had just played 17 …Ra8-c8?, exposing himself to an unexpected sacrifice. Botvinnik fully took advantage of his pieces being very active. Replay through the game here.

Mikhail Botvinnik in 1933

An overlooked counter attack from a Botvinnik game

In a classic, but underestimated training game Botvinnik – Ragozin, the following position arose after White’s 28. Re1-e3.

 Black to move. Can Black capture on c3?

The threat is to attack on the ‘h’ file, and in particular – to trap Black’s queen with Re3-h3-h7. In his notes, Botvinnik did not dwell too much on this position, but the capture on ‘c3’ is very thematic throughout this game, so I felt curious to check what happens if Black bravely ignores White’s idea, and carries on with his counter attack! Let me share some analysis.

Yes he can!! Yes he can take on c3. In fact, it would have led to a forced draw, and given that in the game Black went down after 28… Ng8 pretty fast, making a draw against the strongest player in the world was probably a great option (1947 was the only year in the twentieth century without a world chess champion). Play would continue:
29 . Rh3 Rxd4

Black carried out his plan of destroying the White center. Just two moves ago there were two White pawns on c3 and d4, now there are two Black rooks
30. Rh7 Rg4!!

When your opponent attacks your queen, you should hang your rook as well!! This is what you get when you analyse a game with a computer, but in reality this is a very harmonious development of Black’s ideas – he destroyed White's center so that his pieces could get some freedom, and now they have it - big time. White’s queen is guarding the knight, which is guarding the White rook, so if either one of them gets distracted, White’s whole plot falls through. He does have enough resources to get a draw though.
31. Nd7+ Ke8
32. Qxg4  Rc1+  (Bad was 32... Qxh7?? 33. Nf6+)
33. Bf1 Qa1!
34. Qe2 Nd5!
 Black is down a full rook for only a couple of pawns!!
35. Ne5 Nc3
36. Rh8+ Ke7
 now White has to scramble for a draw:
37. Nxg6+! fxg6
38. Rh7+ Kf8
39. Rh8+ Ke7
40. Rh7+
 draw by perpetual check

In the game Botvinnik won with a nice sacrifice, but I think this draw would have been a much more exciting finish to this game. This is probably one of the more interesting discoveries I ever made while analysing a grandmaster game from a book. Perhaps that’s because I had rarely analysed games from printed books with the help of a computer…

Spoiled Sacrifice in a Blitz Game

DDT3000 – pirulo, 2010, ICC, 3 minutes per game

 White to move 

This is a typical IQP position, with one pair of minor pieces gone off the board, but White (myself) still having enough resources for the attack. Books have been written about this structure, Winning Pawn Structures by Baburin being my favourite one. Black has pressure on b2, and White does not want to play b2-b4 as that would weaken the c3 square. Running down to the last minute on the clock, I realized that my main idea is to exploit the pressure on the a2-g8 diagonal, and that this was as good moment as it would ever be. So …

23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Nxe6! A typical idea, all of White’s pieces have lined up for this sacrifice, so if it does not work now, it is not likely to work later either. I already once blogged about a similar sacrifice on e6, where the placement of the White pieces was quite alike.

Black to move. Black’s rook on f8 and knight on d5 are hanging, so he has to accept the ‘gift’.

24 ... fxe6 25. Rxe6 Qd8?!

White to move.

Here I messed up my little ‘creation’, and according to my previous idea (from 5 seconds ago), I continued to build up the pressure on the a2-g8 diagonal with 26. Qf3? That allowed Black to escape and the game later ended in a draw. However, there was a much better and simpler idea, that would have left White up two pawns, with a winning position. What was it? Hint – White uses the fact that Qh3 may later attack Rc8.

PS. I find that these IQP structures are really hard to hold for Black without allowing White his moment glory with a d4-d5 breakthrough or piece sacrifice around the weakened kingside structure like in this example. It is quite rare to see a game (at least in my experience) where a favourable opportunity would never present itself and Black would just exploit the weakness of the d4 pawn.

Game from Canadian Chess Junior Championship 2002 - video

Some losses are just not fun to go back and look at! Some of them are just plain depressing, but there is always a good lesson to be learned from any game, especially if you look critically at your own play. In this case – my brain just was not there at the two very critical junctures of this last round game of the Canadian Junior Championship in 2002 in Winnipeg:
Moskvitch – Jiganchine, 2002

Black to move

Instead of the correct 15… Qd5, I erred with 15 … f6? After 16. Qh5! I had to surrender material, but was fortunate to collect some of it back, so I was still in the game by the time we got to this position:

Black to move. Can he take on f4?

Answer: no! Correct was 35 …Rh8, or 35 ... fxg5. Watch the video for more details and to see what happened

 

In summary: after a bad mistake on my part, White conducts a nice attack in the Panov attack of the Caro-Kann. With a rook and 3 pawns for two pieces, my opponent was cruising to victory, but was a bit imprecise and allowed me to get outposts for my pieces. However I return the favour and make a huge blunder, so White wins.

Typical mistakes in IQP positions – YouTube video

Here is an older video I actually recorded a while ago (but only now had time to go to and do some minimal editing). I go through my blitz games and look at different ways Black can go wrong while trying to complete his development.

Moral of the story:
Memorize an opening variation – you may be lucky to win a single game.
Understand typical tactical ideas in a common pawn structure – you will win multiple games while your opponents play what they think “common sense moves”.
 

PS. Yes, unfortunately the audio is not very loud, my video editing skills are still non-existent.

Bishop Sacrifice in Panov Attack (Caro-Kann)

One of the main points of playing blitz on the internet is to go over finished games, and draw certain conclusions from them. I learned a fair bit from the game I played online today – something that can be useful in tournament games I play later, because the pawn structure and combination ideas are typical for the opening that I play.
This position occurred in this game
White to move
Black just played 11… Nde7, instead of the more standard 11… Nce7. I continued with 12. Be3 and got a position with isolated Queen’s Pawn (IQP) that I like, but putting the bishop on e3 did feel a bit passive.
After the game, I looked up this position in Karpov and Podgaets’ book on the Panov attack since the move Black played took me a bit by surprise. Turns out White has a nice way to exploit the fact that Black reduced his control over g5 square, and play 12.Bg5!? The key point is that if 12…Bxg5, then White can strike with a typical sacrifice on h7 with 13. Bxh7+!?:
White does not win on a spot, but the book shows that his position is better. This is the kind of guidance I would expect from an opening book, so I recommend it for its thoroughness! I took a longer way around, but in the end did create pressure against Black king and won (who said that analysing blitz games is a waste of time?!)
Replay the game in the viewer:

Online tactics: a typical sacrifice I missed

DDT3000-Chanchar, 2009, White to move

White won the exchange in a typical IQP/hanging pawns structure, but Black has broken through on the queenside by just capturing on c3.

I played 21. Nxf7 and later failed to win the game. But another typical sacrifice (which I did not have time to calculate) was much stronger.

21. Bxe6!! was winning. If black takes on e6, he loses the f6 knight and is under attack. If Black takes on h3, White takes on f7 with check, and then recaptures the queen, remaining up an exchange and a pawn. There was not all that much to calculate, but I missed this chance in my 3 0 ICC game.