Positional Chess – Exploiting the Open File

This game, played 10 years ago still brings pleasant memories, and recollections of how easy it can be to a win a chess game if your opponent does not have a plan.
Lee – Jiganchine, 1999
 Black to Move

White played very passively in the Exchange Variation of the Slav Defence, and Black is in control. 26… Qc4! 27. Qxc4 dxc4! This transforms the advantage of an open file, into an advantage of a better pawn structure, where Black has a dangerous majority on the queenside. White’s queen was an important defender that was traded off, and White’s pawns on b2 and a3 now can be attacked by both Black bishop and rook.

Black is winning here already – due to the threat of c4-c3. Out of desperation my opponent played 28. Be5, dropping the f2 pawn and White Resigned a few moves later. Otherwise the game could have developed like this:

28. Kg1 c3! 29. bxc3 Rxc3

White can’t save the a3 pawn. 30.a4 bxa4 31. Rb8+ Kh7 32. Rb6 a3 33. Rxa6 Rc2 34. Kh2 a2 35. e4 Bb4 36. d5 Bc3 37. Ra7 exd5 38. exd5 a1=Q 39. Rxa1 Bxa1 -+

The position after 27… dxc4 however, reminds me of the Jurgis-Botvinnik, 1931

Black to move. The future world champion won beautifully by 1... Rc4!! 2. bxc4 Bc5 3. Kg2 Bxf2 4. Kxf2 b3 0-1

What if in my game against Jason Lee, Black also tried to win with 3 pawns and a bishop against the rook after the game move 28. Be5  ? The sac is completely unjustified, insane, but apparently Black might be able to hold a draw!

28... Rxb2 ?!?! 29. Rxb2 Bxa3
Just for fun, could Black sacrifice a rook?

  30. Rc2! a5 31. e4 a4 32. Kg3 f6 33. Bc7 Bf8 34. d5 a3 35. d6 b4 36. d7 Be7
Both sides have advanced their pawns, but Black has 3 of them!! They are so dangerous that White has to bail out with 37. Ba5!? b3
37. Ba5 b3 38. Bb4 bxc2 39. Bxe7 c1=Q 40. d8=Q+ Kh7 41.Qa5 e5 42. f3 c3 43. Bxa3 Qf4+ 44. Kf2 Qd2+ with a draw.

Replay the game in the viewer:

Attacking Chess - seeing the entire board

Jiganchine - Trotchanovich, Fraser Valley Championship, 2008.

White to move.

How can White bring his bishop and knight effectively into the game?

Again, a video is worth a thousand pictures:

See my youtube account for a couple more chess videos.

Attacking Chess - opposite coloured bishops (video)

If you have read a few of Mark Dvoretsky's books (like I have), you'd know that opposite coloured bishops are his specialty both in the middlegame and in the endgame. Positional Play volume has a special chapter about importance of middlegame initiative whenever you have bishops of opposite colours.

Here is a simple position that could have also illustrated his ideas fairly well:

Jiganchine -Trotchanovich, Keres memorial, 2007

White to move.

For a detailed explanation and solution - watch this video I made:

Book Review - Positional Play By Mark Dvoretsky and Arthur Yusupov

My first serious chess book that I read about 10 years ago was "Positional Play" By Mark Dvoretsky and Arthur Yusupov. That was also perhaps the most useful book I ever read - it influenced my perception of the game in more ways that I could imagine. This book is out of print, but there are lots of other books by Dvoretsky that are similar in style, and can have provide you with the same eye-opening experience. What was different about this book? Dvoretsky's books in general don't teach you what to play - they teach you how to think. This book taught me how to

- think of what the opponent plans to do - and how to prevent his intentions

- think in terms of the number of purposes that a single move can serve - which is essential for a practical player choosing between several roughly equivalent moves

- build up longer term positional plans, but at the same time realize that it is nearly impossible to plan 20 moves ahead, so instead you have to think in terms of 2-3 move operations that gradually improve your position.

- look for typical middlegame positions, and understand why it it is useful to learn them



Initially after reading the book my play actually became a bit worse, as my entire thinking changed and it took a while to adjust. In the long term, however it allowed me to go from waiting for the opponents to blunder (which allowed me to get to roughly 1900 ELO) - to being able to play for positional goals myself.

The book consists of several articles written by several Dvoretsky, Yusupov and several other contributors. Dvoretsky sets the key themes, and Yusupov's games are great at illustrating the concepts. Looking at Capablanca's games is good for understanding why an open file is important, Yusupov's games in this book explain why one grandmaster had to give up an open file to another grandmaster (basically because there was a number of factors involved, and at some point he overlooked some tactical subtlety and had to choose between dropping a pawn and giving up a file - but that's because Yusupov was putting pressure on him).