The ChessCafe Puzzle Book 3 - Muller

SAVE OFFLINE

The

ChessCafe Puzzle Book 3 Test and Improve Your Defensive Skill by

Karsten Muller and

Merijn van Delft

2010 Russell Enterprises, Inc. Milford, CT USA

The ChessCafe Puzzle Book 3 Test and Improve Your Defensive Skill by Karsten M tiller Merijn van Delft

ISBN: 978-1-888690-66-8

© Copyright 20 10 Karsten MUller, Merijn van Delft All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any manner or form whatsoever or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Published by: Russell Enterprises, Inc. P.O. Box 5460 Milford, CT 06460 USA http://www.russell-enterprises.com [email protected]

Cover design by Janel Lowrance Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Signs and Symbols

6

Introduction

7

1. Principles and Methods of the Defender la) Chess is not Checkers 1b) Intennediate Moves 1c) Calculate to the End 1d) The Elimination Method 1e) Prophylaxis If) Structural Weaknesses Ig) Do Not Panic Ih) "Being" instead of "Doing"

9 10

12 13 14 16 17

19

2. Defending against an Attack on the King

2a) Counterattack

26

2b) Exchange Attacking Potential

29

2c) Bringing in More Defenders 2d) A Spanner in the Works

33 36

2e) Evacuating the King from the Danger Zone

38

2f) Destroying the Hannony of the Attacking Army

39

2g) Closing Inroads 2h) The King as an Important Defender

42 44

3. Fighting against the Initiative

3a) Counterplay 3b) Tactical Defense 3c) Wresting the Initiative from the Opponent

46 48 51

3d) Neutralizing the Initiative

54

The

ChessC~fe

Puzzle Book 3

4. Perpetual Check

57

5. Stalemate 5a) In the Endgame

60

5al) Second-rank Defense: Rook+Bishop vs. Rook

60

5a2) Bishop versus Rook

61

5a3) Queen versus Rook

63

5b) In the Middlegame

64

6. The Right Exchange 6a) A Very Problematic Rule of Thumb

66

6b) Exchanging Pieces and Changing the Character of the Position

68

6c) An Active Rook Should Be Exchanged

70

6d) A Rook Fighting a Minor Piece Welcomes Exchanges

70

7. Exchange Sacrifices 7a) Russian Exchange Sacrifices

76

7b)B\ockade

79

7c) Opposite-color Bishops

80

7d) A Strong Unopposed Bishop

83

7e) The Initiative

86

7f) Typical Exchange Sacrifices 7fl) The Sicilian Exchange Sacrifice

89

7f2) The French Exchange Sacrifice

91

8. Defense against a Minority Attack 8a) White's Objectives

95

8b) Defensive Motifs against the Minority Attack

97

4

9. Defending Inferior Endgames 9a) Activate the Rook

lO3

9b) The Defender Exchanges Pawns

lO7

9c) The Mighty Passed Pawn

lO9

9d) Fortresses

112

10. The Great Tigran Petrosian

117

11. Easy Exercises

124

12. Tests

131

Solutions Chapter Exercises

164

Easy Exercises

186

Test Solutions

190

Bibliography

216

5

The ChessCafe Puzzle Book 3

Signs and Symbols

1-0

White wins

0-1

Black wins

Y2-Y2

Draw agreed

+

check

""

mate a strong move

!!

a bril1iant or unobvious move a weak move, an error

7)

a grave error

!?

a move worth consideration an equal position

;!;

White stands slightly better

±

White has a clear advantage

+-

White has a winning position

:j:

Black stands slightly better

=+=

Black has a clear advantage

-+

Black has a winning position

00

an unclear position

00

with compensation

01

Olympiad

m

match

ch

championship

wch

world championship

corr

correspondence game

[W]

White to move

[B]

Black to move

(D)

see the next diagram

6

Introduction I just tried not to make my position worse - and. more importantly, not to make it better. World Champion Contender David Bronstein The book is finally ready! What you are holding in your hands is Part 3 of the ChessCafe Puzzle Book series. Originally this book was planned to come out a bit earlier; but since both authors have been involved with a multitude of chess projects, things have been somewhat delayed. In this regard (and at the risk of being viewed as immodest) we would like to take particular note of Karsten's bestseller, Bobby Fischer: The Career and Complete Games ofthe American World Champion, and Merijn's new book (co-authored with his father), Developing Chess Talent. Chess enthusiasts will find both of considerable interest and they should both be available at chess dealers worldwide. Both authors you say? The ChessCafe Puzzle Books I and 2 were written by Karsten Muller alone. But fans of the ChessCafe Puzzle Book series need not be worried: basically nothing has changed - you are still looking at a good old Karsten Muller product, since he was responsible for the selection of at least 90% of the positions and came up with the basic concept. The expected "who did what" question is easy to answer: Karsten focused on the variations and Merijn on the text. This should not be taken too literally, however. We both checked every move and every word in the book, and even switched roles at times, so it really was a coproduction. The underlying concept was that Karsten's mathematical background and Merijn's psychological background would complement each other nicely. While this should not be taken out of perspective either, we think it worked out well. That we both live in Hamburg, Germany was not essential, in view of modern communication options, but it also did not hurt. So what is this book about? As you may know the first book in this series was about tactics, and the second about strategy. This third book is about defense. It is in fact an area in which Karsten himself felt he could use some improvement. One of the best reasons for writing a book is because you would like to read it yourself. Defense is a special subject. Of course, we all like to attack and win. Who wants to be under pressure, defending, suffering and then lose? Nobody, naturally, but the first step is to realize that defending has many faces. If your opponent has played a desperate, incorrect piece sacrifice for instance, you may have no choice but to defend. And the reward is usually fitting: not just a draw, but a win. There are many more scenarios when coldblooded defense is rewarded with a full point. The world's strongest players are, without exception, phenomenal defenders and legendary fighters. That brings us to our next point: it is all about choosing the right mindset. You need to learn to enjoy defense, to take pleasure from putting up the most stubborn resistance possible. Chess is a game of mistakes; don't worry if something goes

7

The ChessCafe Puzzle Book 3 wrong, just keep on fighting. A positive attitude is essential. Throughout this book, you will encounter positions that appear difficult to solve unless you have an optimistic approach. And that difficulty gets turned up a notch in a real game situation, as there is nobody tapping on your shoulder during the game motivating you to find an unexpected brilliant defensive move! There are two types of defenses - (a) "Heroic," i.e., saving lost positions; and (b) "Casual," i.e., basic defensive technique. Both are of vital importance. For the former you should have enough energy and mental strength to fight hard at the board to make the conversion of the winning advantage as difficult as possible for your opponent, while still enjoying yourself. We hope to give you reasons for this in the present volume by showing how tenacious defense is often rewarded. To be able to master this difficult art fully, you should know the basic defensive techniques and themes, and that is where we start. Principles like "Do not panic" and "unforced thinking" (sometimes also described by the phrase "Chess is not Checkers") playa significant role. If you violate them, then you may pay the price. Instead, you should keep a clear head, try to put the pressure on your opponent and try to enjoy the defensive task at hand. This does not mean, for example, trying to draw by making mass exchanges just for the sake of exchanging. This is not the way the game works. You end up assisting your opponent, and your opponent may sense that you are scared. The art of defense is connected more to concepts like prophylaxis, calm calculation, maintaining confidence and a clear head, as well as elimination (or removal) methods, counterattacking at the right moment and the exchange of attacking or winning potential. Because of the strong influence of computers, chess has become much more concrete and now players are willing to take higher risks when grabbing material. You should participate in this trend and improve your defensive skills and your confidence when playing passive positions. Of course, we all want to win attractive attacking games, but when this approach does not work or is not available, then adjust to the circumstances and defend. The best way to train your defensive skills is to play inferior positions against strong opponents and to analyze the games later. The next best is probably to study the concepts of defense and to solve a lot of exercises. And that is what this book is all about. A final word about the difficulty of the exercises: different readers will experience different degrees of difficulty for the same problems. Not to worry. Do not be concerned if you cannot solve an exercise, if you make mistakes or generally suffer through the solving process. It is not the test results but the training effort that counts and that will help you to become a stronger player. Good luck! Karsten Muller Merijn van Delft Hamburg, April 20 10 8

Chapter 1 Principles and Methods of the Defender 28.~e3

.llf4! and after 29.Axf4 ~xc5 a5 31..lld6 ~c3 32.~xa5 and the opposite-color bishops give White excellent chances for a draw. 25 ... ~xh2+ 26. 'it'fl Ac6! The bishop switches diagonals with deadly effect.

la) Chess is not Checkers

30.~a4

The first important principle of the defender is that you are not forced to take pieces as in checkers. Always have a fresh look at the position and consider your options. In the example below the legendary Garry Kasparov found himself in the unusual role of defender, as he is of course known for his irresistible attacks. He either miscalculated something, or maybe forgot about the "chess is not checkers" principle? 01.01 GKasparov (2775)V.Kramnik (2775) Dos Hermanas 1996 [BI

27.Ag5 The most stubborn defense would have been 27.~a5! forcing Black to find 27 ... Ac7!. 27 ... Ab5+ 28.~d3 ~e8! While Black brings his last piece into play, White is completely helpless although a rook up. 29.~a2 ~hl + There was even a forced mate available: 29 ... ~xd3+! 30.~xd3 (30:i!fxd3 '{;;1hl + 31.~e2 'liYel#) 30 ... '{;;1hl+ 31.~e2 '{;;1g2+ 32.'i&e3 ~xe4#. 30.~e2 Etxe4+ 31.~d2 ~g2+ 32.~cl ~xa2

33.Etxg3 ~al+ 34.~c2 ~c3+ 35.~bl ~d4 0-1 White resigned because of 36.Af6 Axd3+ 37.~a2 Abl +! and mate follows.

24 ... ~xf3! 25.~xf3? This automatic recapture is surprisingly a mistake. Kasparov had to think in an unforcing way and bring new forces to the defense: 25.~a2!! would have been a fantastic second rank defense. The prototype of this defense is a black queen on c7 in the Sicilian, taking care of defending the soft spots on g7 and h7. Black now has nothing better than 25 ... ~xfl + 26.~xfl 'liYxfl + 27.~xfl ~c8

In line with the "chess is not checkers" principle, you have to free yourself from stereotypical thinking. In the following example White was in a somewhat dogmatic positional thinking mode, whereas the position was asking for highly dynamic solutions. 9

The ChessCaje Puzzle Book 3 33.Axc5!! dxc5 34.d6 and the strong dpawn combined with threats against the black king provide White with nice compensation for the piece, for example:

01.02 V.Shishkio (2463) A.Areshcheoko (2575) 73. UKR-ch Kharkov 2004 [W]

34 ... 4Je6 (34 ... 4Je8 35.d7 §a8 36.E:xe4! 4Jd6 37.§e6 §d3 38.4Jf6) 35.E:xe4 4Jf8 36.§e8 §f7 37AJf6. 29 ..• axb3 30.axb3 E!a3 3Vi~jlg2

29.E!ael? This is too slow. It seems that the knight must go to the beautiful blockading square e4. But there are no such forced automatisms in chess. Instead there is a big battle for the initiative going on. 29A~g4! would have been strong and only after 29 ... e4 is there is time for 30.§ael. The calm 30.E:abl also comes into consideration. Now after neutral moves, White can continue with the disturbing 4Jf6. If Black continues to attack on the queenside, a nasty surprise awaits:

31 ..• 8:xe3! Now it's Black who lands the first tactical blow. 32.E!xe3 bxc4 33.E!dl cxb3 34.4Je4 lclb5 The knight does an excellent job in defending both d6 and a3. 35.lcld2? The last chance for counterplay was 35.4Jxc5! dxc5 36.d6 4Jxd6 37.§xd6 since the direct 37 ... b2?! 38.E: xa3 bl'l!!f 39.E:a8+ ~f8 40.E:xf8+ ~g7 41.§ff6! only leads to a draw. 35 ... b2 36.Wf2 36.E:xa3 4Jxa3 37.4Jbl 4Jxbl 38.E:xbl e4 and Black is winning. 36 ... lclc3 37.Wel e4 38.lclb1lclxb1 0-1

30 ... axb3 31.axb3 bxc4 (31...lh3 32.Axc5!! dxc5 33.d6 is similar) 32.bxc4 §a4.

Ib) Intermediate Moves This principle logically follows from the previous one: always be on the lookout for intennediate moves. Both sides can at any point decide to interrupt a seemingly forced variation with an intermediate move (a/k/a a zwischenzug).

10

Principles and Methods of the Defender 01.03 J.Speelman (2597)P.Ricardi (2474) FIDE-weh k.o. Las Vegas 1999 (B]

01.04 S.Bromberger (2505) J.Timman (2565) Gennan Bundesliga 2006 [B)

28 ... Axh2+? Black couldn't resist the temptation to execute the classical double bishop sacrifice. Instead he should have settled for the modest 28 ... 'lil'e7 29.~xh2 -'ixg2 The standard procedure 29 ... 'lil'h4+ 30.~gl .llxg2 doesn't work because the rook is hanging. 30.E!dl! A strong zwischenzug. White refuses to be victim of Black's brilliant attacking play. 30.~xg2? only leads to a draw after 30... 'lil'g5+ 31.~f3 'lil'h5+ 32.~g3 while Black should stay clear of 32 ... .§e5? since after 33.~xf7+! all tactics neatly work in White's favor. 30 ... ~h4+ 31.~xg2 'l11Ig4+ 32.~f1 ~xc4+ 33.~el ~c3+ 34.E!d2 b5 Perhaps Black missed that 34 ... .§d8 is refuted by the strong 35.'lil'c21, 35.~b3 Now White simply is a piece lip. 35 ... ~al + 36.E!dl ~e537.Ab2'l111h238.~d5

30..•Axb2!? The intermediate move 30 ... iic3!? is met by 31..§e7! and now after 31...~xb2 White can take back with 32.~xb2! (In this case 32 ..llb5?? allows 32 ... 'lil'c1 #) 32 ....§xb7+ 33.'§xb7 and as Oliver Reeh has pointed out, Black can't win because of his imprisoned king. 31.Ab5! An intermediate move in both a timely and spatial sense. It not only interrupts the nice tactical flow of moves Black initiated, but also physically blocks the b-file. 31.'lil'xb2? loses to 31. .. .§xb2+ 32.~xb2 'lil'b4+. 31...Ad4 32. ~xb8+! The point ofWhite's previous move: an emergency exit into the ending. 32..•~xb8 33.E!e8+ ~xe8 34.Axe8 Axf2 35.h5 The endgame is easily drawn because of the presence of opposite-color bishops. 35 ••. -'ie3 36.c3 f2 37.Ab5 ~g8

~gl+ 39.~e2 ~g4+ 40.~f1 ~h3+

41. ~g2 ~f5 42. ~c6 ~h3+ 43.~e1 1-0

Ac5 41.Ac6 ~d6 42.Ab7 ~e5 43.Ac6 a5 44.a4 Ae3 45.Ab7 d4 46.cxd4+ Axd447.~f1 Y2""'ll

In the following fascinating example both sides have intermediate moves at their disposal.

A special kind of intermediate move is the desperado: a piece that will be lost anyway grabs some material along the way.

38.~c2 ~f8 39.~dl ~e7 40.~e2

11

The ChessCaje Puzzle Book 3 01.05 A.MilesComputer Deep Thought Long Beach 1989 (B)

01.06 F.Va II ej0 Pons (2686)-

1 ... ~xe4 2 •.Q.xd8?! The stunning desperado 2.'li¥xh6!? would have been more tenacious: 2 ... gxh6 3.~xdB ~xf2 4.§hgl + ~h7 5 ..1.1.£6 (5.§xd6!? cxd6 6.Jlh4 is an interesting try to confuse the issue) even when 5 ... .§.gB! (5 ... M4+? 6.~c2 .\lg5 7.l£ld5I£lxdlB.Ad3+ f4 ~h8 Black holds on, for example, 77.§f6+ ~g7 78.c1 e3!. Without this little guy White would survive, but now it's all over. S.~e1 Ac3, winning.) 2... Axd4 Here another major effort is needed for White to stay in the game; the key move is 3.i.H5! (3.~c2? e3 leaves Black dominating) and after 3 ... c2+! 4.~xc2 ~a2+ 5.~dl ~b1 + 6.'it>d2 ~d3+ 7.~c1 ~c3+ S.~dl 'l!1xb3+ 9.~e1 ~b1 + 10.'~d2 White is still hanging in there and the following attempt doesn't change that: 10 ... e3+ l1.~e2 i£yb5+ 12.~d3 ~xd5 13.Eif4! 'l!1g2+ 14.~dl =. 1 ... e3! A truly elegant introduction to what is about to follow. 2. tlYxe3l3.f4!! 0-1 A hammer blow of the most powerful sort. 2... Eif4!! 3.~xa7 Eixf1+ 4.'~a2 Eial#. What a picture! E02.23: 21.gxh3? Now Black's attack becomes really serious. The white king should have defended f3 itself with 21.~f2! which allows Black to give a perpetual with 21...Axg2 22.'it>xg2 'l!1h2+ but nothing more. 21 ... tlYxf3+ 22.'iflgl tlYxh3 22 ... f8! since after 27.~xd7 (27.exd5 EieS is now clearly better for Black) it enables the strong centralizing 27 ... EieS! when it's White who has to start thinking about damage 172

Solutions control with something like 28.~f5 Jtc6 29.~xc5 dxc5 30Jk4 f5 31.Elxc5 fxe4 32j~e2 and Black is slightly better. 27.exd5!? Understandably, White tries his luck in the attack. Objectively stronger might be 27. ~xd7 ~c6 2s.~xc6 ~xc6 29.Eld4 with a clear advantage in the ending. 27 ....(~'e3! The only move to stay in the game. Here 27 ... EleS 28.~h4!just loses as the white queen combines attack (h7) with defense (el). 28.§.a1 §.dd8 29 ..~h5 ~g7 30.'l!\'xh7+ ~f8 31.§.f1 So far Black has done well in a difficult position, but now he cracks under the enduring pressure. 31 ... ~e7? After the cool 31...~e5 it's not clear whether White has more thanjust compensation for the exchange. 32. ~h4 §.h8? Now White wins by force. 32 ... ~g5 still gives chances for survival. 33.'{11{xf6+ ~d7 34. 'l!\'xf7+ ~d8 35.J1.f51-0 E02.25: 22 ... ~f7! The black king is not afraid and clears a square for the queen on g8. 23.!3.h3 'l!\'g8 24.§.h8? This tactic just does not work. The natural alternative 24.fxg6+? ~xg6 25.~xg6+ ~xg6 26.Elh6+ 'it'f7 27.Elh7+ 'it'xf6 2S.Elfl + also fails to 2S ... .f'lf4 29.~xf4 exf4 30.Elxf4+ and here any legal king move wins. It turns out that only the modest retreat 24.~g2! keeps White in the game. 24 ...gxf5! And suddenly it becomes clear that White isn't winning the queen, which leaves Black simply a piece up. 25. 'l!\'g7+ 'l!\'xg7+ 26.fxg7 Ad7 0-1 Chapter 3 E03.01: 36... ~h7?! Not a bad move in itself, after which the repetition of moves is a natural outcome of the game. Because of some deeply hidden tactical

details though, Black had even better at his disposal: 36 ... h3+!! would have been the introduction to a fantastic winning sequence. 37.'it'fl (taking the pawn with 37.~xh3 allows the brilliant 37 ... E!.xd7!! 38.~xd7 [3S.E!.xd7 ~xf3 is the same] 3S ... ~xf3 with the deadly threat of Elh6. Now after 39. ~cS+ ~h7 40.~f5 the undefended position of the white rook decides the issue: 40 ... ~xdl with a technically winning position.) 37 ... ~xf3!! Here Black can even allow his rook to be taken with check, because of the powerful little guy on h3. 3S.~xdS+ ~h7 39.~gS+ (39.~h4+

E!.h6 40.dS~ h2! also wins) 39 ... ~xgS 40.d8~+ ~h7 41.~d3 ~g2+ 42.~e2

And now this position only wins because of 42 ... Elf6! (the immediate 42 ... h2 doesn't work because of 43.~f3) 43.~e3 h2 and White is helpless. A remarkable set ofvariations! 37.§.h1 Preventing the nasty little pawn move. 37 ... 'l!\'e7 The right decision as well, keeping the dangerous d7 under control. 38.§.d1 'l!\'f6 39.§.h1 t}fe7 4O.§.d1 t}ff6 Y~Y:z E03.02: 25 ...fxg6?? This blunders a piece. With 25 ... E!.c6! Black could have created a so-called "swinging rook," taking advantage of the exposed white king position. After White's strongest reply, 26.Ah5!, (instead, 26.gxt7+ E!.xt7 27.Jlxe4 dxe4 28.~xe4?? allows 2S ... ~g5+ 29.~g2 E!.g6! 30.~xg5 Elxg5+ 31.'itlh2 E!.f6! mating) Black can give up the exchange with 26 ... Elf6! 27.gxf7+ ElSxf7! 2S.Axf7+ 'it'xf7 29.E!.c7+ ~gS and White won't be able to prevent the perpetual with E!.g6-h6. 26.a4! An unpleasant surprise. 26 ... !3.c4 26 .. .'~d7 27 ..!txe4 ~g4+ 2S.Ag2 doesn't work either. 27.§'xc4 t}fxc4 28.t}fxc4dxc4 29.J1.xe41-0

173

The ChessCafe Puzzle Book 3 E03.03: 17 ... Ae7! A very strong tactical defense. After other moves, White gains the upper hand: 17 ... exf5?? l8.~xe8+ ~c7 19 ..\ld8+ is the tactical defense White based his play on. 17 ... Ab4? l8:l~txf7 bxc4 (18 ... Axel 19 ..\lxe6! ~b8 20.~xd7 gives White a winning attack) 19. ~xd7+ 'it'b8 20.Af4+ 'it'a8 21.c3 and now the sacrifice on c3 doesn't give Black full compensation. lS.Axe6?! This just isn't enough. The most stubborn defense would have been the queen sacrifice 18.Axb5!? exf5 19.Axd7+ 'itJb8 20.Axe7 ~xe7 21.§xe7 and Black still has to show some good technique after 21...~xa2 22.c3 ~d8 and Black is clearly better. 18 ..\lxe7?? doesn't work because of the simple l8 ... exf5 lS ...fxe619. ~g4 .Q.xg5+ 20. ~xg5 ~bS There is nothing wrong with 20 ... ~xa2. 21.~xg7 .£lb6 22.Etxe6 Etxe6 23.~xhS+ .£le8 24.a3 ~e7 25.l3.d3 ~f4+ 26.~b1 l3.el + 27.~a2 ~e4+ 2S.l3.b3 a5 29.~e3 ~f1

by Becerra Rivero and Moreno. This leaves us with the only move to keep hope alive: l...~ xf2!! The rook that was hanging on f7 anyway, gives itself up for the greater good. 2.'it'xf2 ,llxd3 3.§xd3 Axd6 and Black has done a great deal of damage control. 2.~xe5! Now it's all over. 2 ... l3.fd7 After 2... ~ff6 3.§xd6 §xd6 4.~h8+ W the worst is yet to come for Black: 5.Ae5! winning. 3.~hS+ ~fi 4.ru3+ ~e7 5.~gSl-0

30.~g3+~a731.l3.d3.£lb632.~b3 Ete4 33.~a2 Ete1 34.~b3 .£ld5 35.a4 l3.e4 36.e3 bxa4+ 37. ~e2 l3.e1

E03.06: 16. ~e3 This one can be found by means ofelimination. 16...Ae517.b4! The key move, throwing the Black pieces off balance. The twin variations l7.~xe5?? .\lxf2+ and l7.~g5?? ~f3+! l8 ..\lxf3 Axf2+ show White is walking a tightrope. Additionally 17. ~c3 .\lb4 18. ~e3 Ac5 only leads to a draw. 17...Axb4After17 ...~xb4l8.~xe5the aforementioned variations are no longer available. lS.0-0! Now white is simply an exchange up. lS....Q.e319.l3.b1 Ae2 20.Etb7 4Jg4 21. ~xa7 ~e5 2l....\lxd2 22.~xa5 Axa5 23.§b5 regains the piece. 22 ..£lf3 ~xe2 23.l3.bS.Q.b4 24.l3.x b4 1-0

3S.~g4 ~xf2+

39.l3.d2 .£le3+

40.~d3~f1+0-1

E03.04: 1 ... l3.xd6? This loses immediately. 1...Ae7? 2.~g3 .\lxd6 (2 ... §xd6 3.~xe5! is the same) 3.~xd6! ~xd6 4.~xe5! ~ff6 5.§xd6 ~xd6 6.~xf6 ~xf6 7 ..\lxf6 with a winning ending according to Becerra Rivero and Moreno in Informant 62. 1.. ..\lxd3? 2.~xf7 Axe4 3.~d8 with a winning attack. 1...~d7? 2.~c4 ~xd3 3.§xd3 .\lxc4 4.~d8 ~b4 5.'itfc1!! 'it'f7 (5 ... Aa6 6.Aa3 wins) 6.~xc4 ~xc4 7.bxc4 with a technically winning position. A pretty finish would be 7 ... §d6 8.~xf8+! ~xf8 9.Aa3 ~e7 10.f4! as again pointed out

E03.05: 20 ... Ab1!! A very elegant tactical defense. The bishop moves with gain of tempo, disconnecting the white rooks and thereby creating back rank problems. 20 .. .f5? also saves the piece since the white f-pawn is pinned, but it does leave the initiative with White after something like 21.§ad1 ~c4 22.h3!? 21.'l\?tel 21.§xe8+ ~xe8 doesn't change anything. 21. .. .Q.f5 Black is perfectly fine. 22.~d1 'l\?txd1 23.l3.exd1 l3.adS 24.f3 ~g7 YI-YI

E03.07: 26 ... ~a4? This allows a nasty tactic. 26 ... d3! would have been a good start. After the forced sequence 174

Solutions 27.§xd5+ (27.cxd3? c2 and 27.§)(d3? don't work) 27 ... exd5 28.§xd3 ~c1+ 29.'it'g2 ~xc2 it is White who should start looking for a perpetual with 30.~d4. 27.§.xe6! Crashing through. 27 ... §.xg3+ This is good damage control, but White still gets a technically winning position. 27 ... Axe6 28.§xd4+ wins the queen. 27 ... 'it'xe6 28.§el + 'it'd7 29.~xe7+ ~c6 30.~d6+ wins the house. 28.hxg3 4)f5 29.i:/h7+ 'it'xe6 30.i:/g6+ 'it'd7 31. i:/ xf5+ 'it'c6 32. i:/f6+ 'it'c5 33.i:/e7+ 'it'c4 34.i:/e5 'it'c5 35.f4 b5 36.f5 'it'c6 37.i:/f6+ 'it'c5 38.i:/e5 'it'c6 39.§'xd4 i:/al + 40.'it'f2 i:/hl 4l.§'xd5 i:/xd5 42.i:/xc3+ 'it'd6 43.i:/d3 a5 44.'it'e3 a445.i:/xd5+ 'it'xd5 46.'it'd2 b4 47. 'it'c1l-0 ~c1 +

E03.08: 24 ... g5! A moment ago it looked like White was in possession of the initiative, but now he has to worry about keeping his kingside together. 24 ... §hc8?! 25.§xc8 §xc8 26.1='!.xb7 4:Jd8 27.1='!.b6 is still unpleasant for Black. 25.g3 h5! Again very much to the point. 26.§.bx b7 §. xb7 27.E!. xb7 h4 28.'it'g2 hxg3 29.hxg3 gxf4 30.gxf4 E!.h4 3l.'it'g3 E!.hl! The black rook and knight are a surprisingly effective duo in this position, as will be illustrated by the following variations. 32.'it'g2 White sensibly decided to repeat moves. 32.Ab5? 4:Jd4 33J1.e8 is refuted by the cool 33 .. .'M8! and now 34.lixf7?? blunders apiece to 34...§h7. 32.§b64:Jd4 33.§a6?? also blunders a piece, since after 33 ... §dl the bishop is trapped in the middle of the board! 32... E!.h4 33.'it'g3 §.hl34.'it'g2 %-Yz E03.09: 29 ... E!.h5! Black kept a cool head and found a creative rook maneuver to neutralize the pressure.

30.c6 §.d5! Returning the piece, but also forcing the exchange of one pair of rooks. 31.§.xd5 exd5 32.E!.xd5? Faced with such stubborn resistance, White goes too far! A perfect example of how good defense can win you games. The normal course of the game would have been 32.cxd7+ §xd7 33.~xa5 §c7+ 34.~bl ~e4+ 35.~al 'ffi'c4 with an equal position. 32 •.• 4)f8! An unpleasant surprise. 33.§.xd8+ 33.§e5 4:Je6! leads nowhere. 33 ... i:/xd8 34. i:/e5+ 4)e6 0-1 E03.10: 22 ... §.fc8!! A very dynamic solution, sacrificing the pawn to get counterplay along the b-file. After 22 ... b5? 23.4:Jc5 as 24.~d2 White enjoys the superior minor piece. 23.'it'd2 White realizes that he should keep the files closed. 23.g2 fide8 35.fie3 ~e7 36.~xe2 dxe2 37.~xe2 fid8 38.fie5± fid4 39. ~e3 ~d7 40.fie3?! f6 41.fie7 ~e8 42.h4 'it>h7 43. ~c5 fie4 44.~a7 fixe7 45.~xe7 fic846.~d6 fid8 47. ~c5 fie8 48. ~d6 Yz--~ E06.05: 20.'it>hl?? This runs into a direct attack. 20 ..llxg6? is also wrong as Black gains control after 20 ... hxg6 21.~xg6+ 4Jg7 22.~hl ileS 23.~g4 ~f6. The attacking potential must be reduced by 20 ..£\e2! .£\xe2+ (20 ... .£\c6? 21.c£Jg3±) 21.Axe2 ~c7 22.ild3 and Black has enough compensation for the exchange but not more. 20 ... ~h41 21.'it>gl fif8 22.~e2 Now it is too late for this because of 22 ... ~ xf3+ 23.fixf3 fixf3 24.~g3 fixf2l? 25.'it>xf2 ~xh2+ 26.'it>e3 ~xg3+ 27.'it>d2 e5 28.fifl ~f4 29.fihl Ah3 30.'it>el e4 31.Axe4 dxe4 32.fidl ~e6 33.'it>bl ~f8 34.fid8

~el+ 35.'it>a2 Ae6+ 36.b3 ~f2 37.fid2 ~f3 38.~g5 ~c3 39.fie2 M5 40.'it>bl h5 41.fig2 ~f3 42..§g3 ~e60-1

E06.06: 22 ... 'it>f7? This allows White to keep all the rooks on the board, with his rooks active and Black's passive. The tactical trick 22 ... §eS! almost equalizes as 23 ..§ xf6+?! runs into 23 ...'!:le7 24 ..§c6 ~d7 25 ..§f6 ~e7=. So White must try something like 23 ..§c6, but after 23 ... .§adS he is only very slightly better. 23 . .§e6 .§d7 24•.§el ~e7 25.Eke6 ~d5 26.a5

26 ... fib8? Too passive. Black must try to exchange pawns and to get some prospects for his rooks with 26 ... bxa5 27.c£Jxa5 .§bS 2S.c£Jc4 ~g7 even ifhis queens ide structure is weakened. But activity is much more important here as a rook usually gains a lot in strength if it can be used to create counterplay. White remians for choice after, e.g., 29.h4 of course. 27.axb6 axb6 28.~d6+ 'it>f8 29.e4 ~c7 30 ..§xf6+ 'it>g7 31.~e4 fie7 32.fif3 b5 33.b3 bxc4 34.bxe4 fib4 35 . .§e3 ~e8 36 . .§ee3 .§c7? 36 ... h5 is more tenacious. 37.~g5 fie8 38.h4 Even the mating attack 3S . .§e7+!? ~f6 39.'§xh7 is playable: 39 ...~xg5 40.§f3 .§xc4 41.h4+ ~g4 42 . .§ff7 '§c2 178

Solutions 43.fl,f4"". 3S ... h6 39.4)e6+ ~f6 40.4)f4 ~f7 41.:5£3 :5b7 42.:5ce3 4)d6 42 ... 4Jf6 43.4Jd5 fl,c6 44.fl,e5 +43.4) xg6+ 1-0 E06.07: 36 ... :5bbS? Too passive. White's pressure against fT will be very difficult to deal with. Counterplay with 36... fl,xd2 37.fl,xd2 g5! (Lutz in CBM 92) is the order of the day: 3S.fl,d5 g4 39.4Jd2 fl,bS=. 37.:5xdS+ §.xdS 3S.Ac4 4)fS? This just wastes valuable time. Black's last chance is to try to get some activity with 3S ... b5!? 39.Axb5 g5. 39.:5a7 4)e6 The rook exchange 39 ... fl,d7?! runs into 40.fl,xd7 4Jxd7 41.e6! 4Jf6 42.e7 4JeS 43.il.b5 +(Lutz). 40.:5b7 :5eS 41.:5xb6 4)fS 42.4)g5 :5e7 43.f4 4)d7 44.:5b7 ~fS 45.4) xf7 4) xe5 46.:5bS+ 1-0

~xd7 54.AfT Af2 55.il.xg6 \t'c7 56.g4 fxg4 57.~xh5 il.xh4 5S.~xg4 Jlf2 59.e5 83.h5 67.4Jg2 (67.4Jf5 ~g4=) 67 ... ~g4 68.~d5 (68.~e3 f5=) 68 .. .f5 69.'it>e5 f4 70.~f6 f3 71.4Je3+ ~xh4=. 66.~f5+ Wh5 67.~e2+ 67.4Jd6 was easier: 67 ... ~g7 68.'lt1f3+ ~g6 69.'lt1g4+ ~h7 70.'lt1xg7+ 'it'xg7 71.4Jf5+ ~g6 72.~g4 ~f7 73.'it>h5 +-. 67 ... Wg6 68.t4'd3 ~c7+ 69.4)d6+ Wh6 70.Wg4 Wg7? 70 ... 'lt1g7+ 71.'it>h3 ~gl 72.4Jf5+ 'it>g6 73.'lt1g3+ ~xg3+ 74.4Jxg3 f5 75.4Je2 +71.~e8+ 1-0 I point for 65 ... 'lt1xe4+.

T09.08: 40 ...g5? It was not easy to foresee that Black needs to get rid of

TlO.02: 82 ...h3! 82 ... ~e5? 83.~g4 h3 84.~xh3 'it>f5 85.'it'h4! +- as White has reached a key square for his g-pawn. 83.g4 After 83.gxh3 ~e5 84.~g4 ~f6 85.'it>h5 ~g7= Black reaches the saving comer in time. 83 ... we6 and in view of

204

Solutions ....I!Ig3l!1f685.I!I,h31!1g5l1-l-I.

'il'e5 + 33.g3 'il'e 1-+ 32 ••. *",g6"

draw was agreed.] point for 82 ... h3!.

33. ~f3 jtd4 34.4:)d3 ~gS 3S.~e4. ~e3 36.~xe3 jtxe3 37.~g3g6 38.~f3 Jld4 39.~e2 ~g7 40.~d !it'f6 41.~d3 Af2 42.4:)f3 ~fS· 43.!it'e2 Aa7 0-1 3 points for calculating until 27.dxe6 no matter if you started with 25.'l!#'e8+! or 25 ..£le6!.

TIO.03: 48.~c6? This does not work. 48. ~e6! would have been the right direction: 48 ... .Q.g5 49Jhf6 ltxf6 SO.~xf6 (Mikhalevski) and Black can't win, e.g., 50 ... .£lgS 51.h4 {)f3 52.h5 .£lg5 53.~g6~e7 (53 ... 00 54.'~h7=) 54.f6+ ~e6 55.~g7 {)f7 56.~g6.£ld6 57.~g7=; 48.~d4? also just loses:

48...Ag5 49. ~e4 {)e5 50.h4 .£lxg6 Sl.hxg5 .£le5 52.gxh6 {)xg4 53.h7 ~g7 S4.~d5 ~xh7 5S.~c6 {)h6-+. 48... 4:)eS+ 49.~xb6 4:)xg6 50.fxg6 Ae151.h4 Axh4 52.!it'xaS f5! 53.gxfS Af2 54.!it'b5 h5 55.!it'c6 h4 56.f6 h3 57.~d7h2 58.!it'e6 hI ~ 0-12 points for 48. ~e6!. TlO.04: 34•.. .i£le5? 34.. J~a8! 35.Axe8 (35.~g3 E!eb8 36 ..£ld4 h5 37.gxh6 E!xb2 38 ..£lxb2 .I1xb2 39.'l!#'b3 .Ilxd4) 35 ... E!xa3 36.bxa3 {)eS! (Tyomkin) and Black is better in both cases. (36 ... {)el+? 37.~f2=) ; 34 ... .£le1+? 35.~g3 .I1xf3 36.Axe8 .I1xd137.Ab5± 55.Axe8 13.xe8? 35 ... .I1xf3+ 36.~fl Elxe8 37:~a4 E!b8 limits the damage. 36.!it'g3 Axf3 37.~c3 .Q.xdl 37 ... E! xe7 38.d6!! E!e8 39.dxc7 E!c8 40.~xe5 .I1xdl 41.~e7+- 38.~xe5 .Q.a4 39.b4 1-02 points for 34 ... E!a8! and 2 more if you calculated until 36 ... .£le5!. 1 point for 34 ... .£leS? 35.Axe8.Q,xf3+. TIO.OS: 25.4:)f5? This just loses. It was time to create a counterattack: 2S.~e8+! {)f8 26 ..£le6 fxe6 27.dxe6 .£lf2+ 28.~h2 ~xe6 29.~xe6+ .£lxe6 30 ..§el (Wells) is better for White. 25 ..£le6! fxe6 26.~e8+ .£lf8 transposes to 25.~e8+!' 2S ... 4:)f2+ 26.!it'h2 ~e5+ 27.4:)g3 4:)e4 28.~b3 Af2 29.13.d3 h5! 30.Jlxh5 4:)xg3 31.13.xg3 ~xh5! 32.§.xg6 32.E!c3

TIO.06: 64 ••• .i£le4? This allows the exchange of queens, after which the apawn quickly decides. It was time to create counterplay with the typical 64 ... h4! 65.Jlg4 (65.a6 {)f5=) 65 ... .£lfS 66.Axf5 ~e5+ 67.~gl (67.g3 ~e2+ is a perpetual as well) 67 ... ~el + with a perpetual. 65. ~f4+ !it'e7 66 . .Q.c6 ~d6 67.~xd6+ .i£lxd6 68.a6 4:)c8 69.!it'g3 !it'f6 70.!it'f4 g5+ 71.!it'e4 !it'e6 72 •.Q.b7 4:)a7 73.!it'd4 !it'd6 74.!it'c4 h4 75.!it'b4 !it'c7 76.~cS !it'b8 77.!it'd51-0 2 points for 64 ... h4!. TlO.07: 52.13.g1+ !it'h3 53.13.h7+ White can also wait for some time with 53.Elfg7 but after 53 ... a4 54.E!7g6 E!ab3 5S.Elg7 a3 he has to use the drawing mechanism 56.f!h7+ Elh4 57 ..§hg7=. 53 ..• 13.h4 S4.13.hg7 Yl-Yl and because of the threat 55.El7g2 followed by 56.f!h2#, a draw was agreed. One sample line runs 54 ••• 13.h8 55.13.7g2 !it'h4 56.13.g4+ !it'h5 57.13.g5+ ~h6 58.13.g6+ !it'h7 59.13.g7+ !it'h6 60.13.7g6;t I point for spotting the drawing mechanism. TIO.08: 1 ... 13.e8? Exchanging queens with 1. .. ~g7! saves a lot of trouble, since in the remaining ending the dream team king+rook+bishop easily compensates for the pawn minus; 2.~xg7+ ~xg7 3.Ele5 Abl 4.a4 .Q,a2 5.aS bxa5 6 ..£le4 Axd5 7.{)xcS Ac4=;

205

The ChessCafe Puzzle Book 3 1...~xb2? 2.c3 d2 49.'§'xc2 bxc2 50.~xc2) 45 . .Q.b5 4Jb3 46 . .§.fl d2 47 ..:£lxd2 §.xd2 48. §. f4 butlakovenko's move is doubtlessly stronger. 44... Axd3 44 ... .§.xd3+ 45.'it'xe4 .§.c3+ 46.~d4 §.xf3 47.§.xc2 .§.xg3 48.~c5 b3 49.§.f2= (Postny). 45.4)el Aft 45 ... .:£lxg3 46.4Jxd3 4Jf5+ 47.~e4 ~f6 48 ..§.c6+ ~g5 49.4Jc5= (Postny) . 210

Solutions 46.\t'xe4 .§d2 47 •.§bl Ac448.b3 Ae649.'it'e3 .§d850•.§b2.§c8 51.a5 Af5 52.g4 .§eS+ 53.\t'f4 '§xel 54.gxf5 .§al 55 . .§g2+ \t'fS 56..§c2 .§xa5 57.f6 \t'g8 58 •.§g2+ \t'fS 59•.§c2 WeS 60 . .§e2+ WfS liz-liz 3 points for 44.~xd3! ~xd3 4S.