understanding

the sacrifice
sacrifice your way to success

Angus Dunnington

EVERYMAN CHESS
Everyman Publishers pie www.everymanbooks.com
First published in 2002 by Everyman Publishers pk, formerly Cadogan Books pk,
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 CONTENTS I

Preface 7

Introduction 9

1 The Importance of Structure 20

2 The Colour Complex 51

3 Pieces for Pawns 65

4 Rampant Knights 15

5 Bishops at Work 86

6 Exploiting Key Squares 99

7 The Exchange Sacrifice 109

8 The Vulnerable King 121

9 The Restrictive Sacrifice 128

10 The Queen Sacrifice 137

I PREFACE I

There are numerous 'puzzle' books available that feature spectacular combinations
involving one sacrifice after another, the victim obligingly accepting an army of
pieces on the way to finding his king being caught in the heart of enemy territory.
These examples are indeed entertaining and can be quite instructive, but they also
take us a step further from an area of the game about which many players are al­
ready rather apprehensive - positional chess. In fact if weighing up the implications
of isolated or doubled pawns (or - even more complex - weak squares) can be in­
timidating, then the subject of the positional sacrifice might seem alien to some
players.
In order to maximise our chances it is important to study the positional aspects
of the game to such an extent that we are able to develop an internal alarm system
designed to alert us to weak squares, pawns and structures as soon as they are cre­
ated. In this way we are open to (our own) sacrificial suggestions when the oppor­
tunity arises, material investment sometimes being the only way forward.
Many players are handicapped by a lack of confidence in their ability to accurately
assess the positional characteristics of a sacrificial variation, and/ or (equally impor­
tant) their ability to conduct such situations properly if and when they happen. The
result is, of course, countless missed opportunities.
This book is aimed at helping those players who rarely contemplate a positional
sacrifice, with sixty examples providing a reasonably detailed, practical guide to the
pros and cons of investing material for positional gain.

Angus Dunnington,
Castleford,
June 2002

7
 INTRODUCTION
Because positional sacrifices revolve
around one or more specific aspects of
the game the net result is a new situa­
tion that must be accurately evaluated in
advance - otherwise material has been
given away for nothing. By reminding
ourselves of the fact that the 'points
score' is just one factor in the chess
equation it should become a natural part
of our thinking process to consider this
or that positional motif as standard pro­
cedure, just as strong players do.
Marshall-Ed . Lasker
New York 1924
I
Let's start with a few introductory
examples.
White has an· extra pawn but Black
has a good bishop pair against two
knights in a fairly open position. In fad
1 ttJe3 'i'f4 seems to favour Black,
while 1 ttJc3 'i'cS 2 ttJd2 runs into
2...i.xc3 3 bxc3 .txh3! due to 4 gxh3
'i'gS+, picking up the remaining knight
with a decisive structural advantage.
Instead White used a well-known sacri­
ficial. idea in an effort to convert his
current material lead into an albeit
modest positional advantage.
1 e5! i.xe5
1...'ii'cS 2 b4 would be embarrassing,
while dropping back to b8 or d7 re­
moves Black's compensation.
2 'ifxe5 cxd5
4 c5!
And certainly not 2...'i'xeS? 3 ttJe7+.
3 •xd6 l:lxd6
The point. The game has undergone
quite a transformation, with Black find­
ing himself with an isolated pawn and
without the luxury of the bishop pair
(the surviving bishop is the poorer of
the two). Meanwhile White has control
9
Unders tanding the Sacrifice
of the traditionally desirable d4-square
and the advance of the c-pawn has cre­
ated what is effectively a· 3-2 queenside
pawn majority.
Of course these add up to only a
slight edge for White, but this is never­
aheless considerably more preferable to
the alternatives facing White when we
joined the game. There followed:
4 . ..:as 5 a4! ? i.d7 6 l:lfd1 ! :xa4 7
l:lxa4 i.xa4 8 l:ta 1 (part of the grand
plan) 8 . . . i.c6 9 l:txa7 l:te8 1 0 b4
White has something to bite on here,
although Black managed to hold the
draw.
Perhaps 5 ltJd4 l:ta4 6 l:tfdl is a more
patient continuation, planting the knight
in the centre and reminding Black about
10
the target on d5.
Knights can be difficult creatures at
times and the search for a decent resting
place is a common problem. Strong
players think nothing of parting with a
pawn (or more) in return for an influen­
tial outpost. As the next example dem­
onstrates, such a policy is quite normal
even as the ending approaches.
Gelfand-Markowski
Rubinstein Memorial 1998
Both sides have minor weaknesses on
d6 and e4 but White's main problem is
the prospect of Black's knight coming
to the perfect e5-square. For example
22 :d2 ltJe5 23 l:.edl �f8 24 l:txd6
:xd6 25 :xd6 �e7 is fine for Black.
On the other hand, 22 c5?! dxc5 23 e5
l:lf8 24 e6 addresses ...ltJe5 in aggressive
fashion and seems very good for White,
but Black can ignore the challenge to
his d-pawn with the thematic 22...ltJe5!,
when 23 cxd6 J.g4 24 J.e2 J.xe2 25
l:txe2 l:td8 offers sufficient compensa­
tion thanks to White's broken pawns
and the superior knight on e5. How­
ever, White has another resource avail­
able which effectively turns the tables
 In tro duc tion

on his opponent. the pressure by clamping down on d6

22 e5!1 and making c4 available for the bishop.
Now 22...lbxe5 23 lbe4 l:tf8 24
lbxd6 leaves White clearly better, e.g.
24...lbf7 25 lbxc8 l:taxc8 26 l:td7 Con­
sequently Black's next is forced.
22 . . . dxe5 23 lDe4

24 . . . 'itg7 25 .i.c4 l:.e7 26 a4

Far from establishing his knight on
Expanding and ruling out ...b7-b5.
Also possible is 26 l:.d6, e.g. 26._..b5 27
i.b3 i.b7 28 l:.edl 4Jf8 29 l:.d8, when
it is arguable whether Black's bishop �s .
better than before, or 26 ...a5!? 27 b5 b6 ·

e5, Black has had to watch as White 28 cxb6 lbxb6 29 i.fl and White re­
'steals' his plan and achieves exactly the stores material parity with advantage.
same posting! There is no longer a
pawn on d6 but the square itself is still a
concern for Black, and he has yet to
sort out the queenside pieces. Mean­
while the 'extra' e5-pawn is a long-term
weakness that will probably be mopped
up at some stage. It is safe to conclude
that White has more than enough com­
pensation.
23 . .. l:.f7
23...l:tf8 24 4Jd6 liJf6 25 l:txe5 gives
back the pawn without a fight and
White is left with the more active 26 . . . l:teS?
forces. The text prepares to defend the A lesser evil is 26...b6 27 l:.d6 bxc5
pawn from e 7 in order to free the (27 ...i.b7 28 a5) 28 bxc5, when Gelfand
knight and complete the development evaluates the position after 28...4Jf8
of the queenside. (28...i.b7 29 a5) 29 l:.xc6 i.b7 30 l:td6
24 c5 l:tc8 31 i.d5 i.xd5 32 l:.xd5 as clearly
Standard, although 24 b5!? has been better for White.
suggested. However, the text steps up 27 l:.f1 l:.e7

11
Unders tanding the Sacrifice
If 27...l::t f8 then 28 l::t xf8 'iii>xf8 29
l::tf1+.
28 ltd2 b5
An instructive line is 28... aS 29 l::tdf2
axb4 30 l:.£7+ l::txf7 31 :xf7+ 'it>h6
(31...'itih8 32 tbgS) 32 g4 gS 33 .lld3
lha4 34 tbd6
The above diagram represents a
pleasant culmination of White's overall
positional approach!
29 axb5 cxb5 30 �d5 1 -0
It seems that not a great deal has
happened during the last ten moves, but
White's fantastic knight has restricted
Black's forces to such an extent that
there is now no adequate defence to the
threat of an invasion on f7 after
30...l::tb8 31 l::tdf2 etc.
12
lbragimov-Shchekachev
Russian Championship,
Moscow 1999
This time White already has well
posted knights, but he wants more.
Black is behind in development, his
kingside pawns are suspect, he is slightly
cramped and only the rook is keeping
the king company. With thes'e factors in
mind White's opener is rather easy to
appreciate.
23 g4!
The problem with the fixed pawns on
f5 and e4 is their susceptibility to such a
pawn break. White decides to strike
now while Black's queenside pieces are
yet to join in the fun.
23 . . . fxg4 24 f5

Cutting the communication between
the bishop and g4-pawn and adding to
White's already greater control of the
e6-square.
24 . . . h5 25 h3! gxh3 26 �h2
Now White will be able to combine
the idea of �e6 with a build-up on the
g-file.
26 . . . i.d7
After 26...�cS 27 �e6+ i.xe6 28
fxe6 @g7 29 �fS+ 'i1th7 the situation is
not clear, but 27 'i1txh3 presents White
with sufficient compensation in the
form of his more active forces, the e6-
square, the g-file and the 'isolated' h­
pawn.
27 ltJe6 + �f7
27...i.xe6 should benefit White after
either recapture. 28 fxe6 gives White
one impressive pawn island whereas all
of Black's kingside pawns appear vul­
nerable. Perhaps 28 dxe6 is the more
accurate of the two, however, giving
White two connected, protected passed
pawns. Again Black's kingside is in ruins
and White can offer further support to
his own pawns by lodging the king be­
hind on f4.
28 l:lg 1 l:lg8 29 l:.xg8 �xg8 30
l:lg 1 + �h8 3 1 �xh3
In tro duc tion
White is only a pawn down and each
of his pieces - including the king - has
an important role to play in exerting
pressure on the kingside. Black has sit­
ting ducks on e4 and hS, while the c7-
pawn is also under attack. Consequently
Black now seeks some activity of his
own.
3 1 . . . ltJb4 32 �h4 ltJd3 33 �xh5
l:.f7 34 �g5
Unfortunately for Black the knight
on e6 is as much trouble off the board
as it is on, since a replacement pawn will
be even more deadly.
34 . . . ltJf2?
Titls accelerates proceedings, but
with f5-f6 and the introduction of the
other knight to come, Black's days were
anyway numbered (34 ...i.xe6 35
l:th1+).
35 l:lf1 ltJd3 36 l:lh 1 + l:lh7
Or if 36...'i1tg8 then 37 �g4 i.xe6 38
dxe6 l:tg7+ 39 Wf6 l:txg4 40 e7 is deci­
sive.
37 l:lxh7 + �xh7 38 ltJfS + 1 -0
Another uncomplicated example,
where a combination of Black's struc­
ture, vulnerable kingside, tardy devel­
opment and the massive e6-knight
proved decisive.
13
Un ders tan ding the Sacrifice

Ehlvest-Markovic so Black prefers to keep the move.

Elista Olympiad (Men) 1998 1 7 . . . .ixg4 1 8 "ii'xg4

Here the removal of Black's dark­ 1 8 . . . .!£ic6

squared bishop coincides with the po­ Planning ... 'ii'c8. Otherwise Black
tentially damaging advance of pawns in could consider 18 ...lt:Jd7 in order to
front of the king, with g6 and h6 in par­ send the knight over to the kingside
ticular (and h5 in some cases) attracting after 19 �xf8+ lt:Jxf8. Then 20 h4 e6 21
our attention. lt:Jf3 'ii'f6 22 hxg5 hxg5 23 lt:Jxg5 'ii'g6
1 5 g4! 24 l:r.fl is awkward for Black, e.g.
Again a lead in development affords 24 ...l:Z.e8 25 'ii'h4 l:Z.e7 26 lt:Je4! etc.
White the facility to sacrifice a pawn in 1 9 h4 "ii'c8 20 l:.xf8 + <it>xf8
favourable circumstances.
1 5 ... cxd5
The alternative is less desirable:
15... fxg4 16 l:r.xf8+! (16 i.xg4 l:txfl + 17
lt:Jxfl cxd5 18 lt:Je3 e6 permits some
sort of consolidation) 16 ... 'ii'xffi 17
i.xg4 cxd5 18 i.xc8 'ii'xc8 19 'ii'h5
�g7 20 �fl leaves Black terribly ex­
posed.
1 6 gxf5 i.xf5 1 7 .ig4l
White wants to maximise his options
on the light squares as well as eliminate
a defender. Now 17... e6 18 i.xf5 exf5 20...'ii'xffi 21 l:Z.fl 'ii' g7 (21...'ii'c8 22
19 'i'b3 'ii'd7 20 'ii'xd5+ �g7 21 �ael 'ii'h5) 22 'ii'e6+ �h8 23 l:r.£7 wins for
(21 lt:Jc4 l:r.f6) 21...lt:Jc6 22 �e6 and White, 23...lt:Jd8 24 l:r.xg7 lt:Jxe6 25
17 ... 'ii'd7 18 �xf5! �xf5 19 'ii'c2 e6 20 l:r.xe7 giving the rook too much fun.
i.xf5 exf5 21 �fl lt:Jc6 (21...f4 22 21 °ii'f3 +
'ii' g6+) 22 'ii'xf5 'ii'xf5 23 �xf5 see White is ready to collect.
White win back the pawn with interest, 21 . . . <it'g7

14
 In tro duc tion

21...�e8 22 hxg5 hxg5 23 'i'xd5.

22 hxg5 'W'e6
22...hxg5 23 'i'xd5.
23 gxh6 + 'W'xh6
23...�xh6 24 'i'f4+ �g7 25 l:.fl is
also very pleasant for White.
24 .:.1 1 !

With Black's defences having been
stripped away it is not surprising that
this is possible. Obviously 24 ...'i'xd2
loses to 25 'i'g4+ �h6 26 l:.f5.
The game ended 24 . . ..:.ga 25 l:[f2
�ha (25...'i'g5 26 tllfl !) 26 Wxd5 e5
27 lllf 1 'W'g6 2a g3 exd4 29 cxd4
.:.ea 30 l:[f4 .:.e7 31 .:.ta + · 1 -0
1 2 c5!
Always look for the most uncom­
promising continuation! This is particu­
larly important when the opponent has
a specific, thematic plan in mind, for in
these circumstances only those moves
that seem positionally natural or forced
tend to be considered. Here, for exam­
ple, d4-d5 is almost automatic, keeping
the centre closed for the knights as well
as shutting out the b7-bishop, but the
text is strong indeed.
1 2 . . . dxc5

Our next example is a good illustra­

tion of why we should be alert to posi­
tional sacrifices during each stage of the
game, even if it seems that the opening
is yet to warm up.

Chatalbashev-Todorov
Krynica Zonal 1998
Black has just played the sensible
looking ...e6-e5, seeking to undermine
White's already modest influence on the
dark squares by winning control of the
c5-square. However, White has the
other colour complex in mind.
The other way to accept the pawn is
12...exd4 when, after 13 cxd6, Black
must be careful as 13... .ixd6? 14 e5!
tllxe5 15 tllxe5 .ixe5 16 tllc4 wins for
White, while 13...'i'xd6 14 e5 'i'b6 15

15
Un ders tan ding th e Sa crific e
a5 is excellent for White, who is ready
to push the e-pawn. 13...cxd6 is forced,
leading to a clear advantage to White
after 1 4 tt::'ib3 (rounding up the d4-pawn
as well as threatening tt::'ia5) 1 4...tt::'ie5
(1 4...tt::'ic5 15 e5!) 15 tt::'ifxd4. Hoping to
side-step any trouble with 12...i.e7 runs
into 1 3 c6! i.xc6 1 4 ltc1.
1 3 dxe5 lt:Jxe5 1 4 lt:Jxe5 -..x e5 1 5
lt:Jc4
The game has undergone quite a
transformation, with two important
black pawns having been removed from
the centre. Not surprisingly this is part
of White's strategy, the chief aim of
which is to take control of the light
squares.
1 5 . . . -..e6
1 5...'ilfd4 looks a bit too active, 16
'i'c2 leaving White with tt::'ia 5, ltad1 , e4-
e5 etc.
1 6 lt:Ja5 ti'b6
Unfortunately for Black he will suffer
on the light squares with or without his
bishop, as 16...i.c8 17 i.c4 is strong.
17 ...'ilfb6? loses to 18 'ii'd 5, so Black
must choose between 17 ...'ii'd 6 1 8
'i'h 5!? (18 'iff3 'iff6) 18...g6 19 'iff3 or
17 ...'ii'g6 18 i.d5 i.g4 1 9 i.xf7+!?
'i'xf7 20 'ii'xg4, with a clear advantage
16
to White in either case.
1 7 lt:Jxb7 ti'xb7 1 8 e51
Black's extra pawn means absolutely
nothing. The light squares and Black's
exposed king are enough to give White
a decisive lead. In fact damaging Black's
structure and chasing down the light­
squared bishop has resulted in there
being no safe haven for the king. Cas­
tling long, for example, loses on the
spot to 1 9 i.fS+.
1 8 . . . i.e7
A fitting finish would be 18...ltd8 1 9
e6 'ii'd 5 20 exf7+ �xf7 2 1 i.c4!
Returning to 1 8...i.e7, with Black
just one move away from relative safety
it is imperative that White strike while
the iron is hot...
1 9 e61
Also very good for White is 1 9 i.e4
c6 20 'i'f3 ltc8 21 e6 0-0 22 exf7+ ltxf7
23 i.fS ll.d8 24 i.e6 i.f6! but the no­
nonsense text really hits Black hard on
the light squares.
19 0-0-0
...
19...0-0 20 exf7+ ll.xf7 21 i.c4 is
quite unpleasant, while 1 9... fxe6 20
i.g6+! �£8 21 i.e4 c6 22 'ii'f3+ nets
White a rook.
20 exf7 i.f6 2 1 ti'e2

Now Black does not even have a
pawn to show for his troubles, and
there is nothing he can do to contest
the light squares.
2 1 . . .'iit bB
21...l:td6 defends one rank at the cost
of another: 22 i.xa6! l:txa6 23 'it'e8+.
22 i.xa6 'ii'd 5
22...'it'c6 23 i.b5 is a lesser evil, al­
though the route to inevitable defeat is
an unenviable one.
23 'ii'b 5 + 'iita 7 24 'ii'a 5 'ii'd6
24...�b8 25 l:.adl! i.d4 (25...'it'xdl
26 'it'b5+) 26 l:.e7 and the end is nigh...
25 l:.e6 1 -0
A nice thematic move with which to
end the game, accentuating White's total
control of the light squares. Now
In tro duc tion
25...'it'xe6 26 i.c4+ is final, which
leaves 25...'ilf4
r
26 'ilxc5+ �b8 27
'ilb5+.
Pawns make the most important con­
tribution to every game, and the subject
of structural strengths and weaknesses
can be found throughout this book.
Here Black drastically alters the land­
scape in a symmetrical and ostensibly
drawn ending.
Zalkind-Finkel
Israel 1998
3 1 . . h4!
.
With two face-offs there are obvious
concerns for White on the h2-b8 diago­
nal.
32 gxh4 gxf4 33 exf4
In the space of two moves White has
seen his hitherto healthy looking mass
of united pawns break into three pawn
islands, each requiring a certain level of
protection as the ending unfolds.
Meanwhile it is true that Black has a
backward e-pawn but, in this situation,
at least there is no danger of losing it.
33 . . . i.h5!
Of course Black is now looking to
exploit the structural weaknesses he has
17
 Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice
inflicted upon his opponent, and from
h5 the bishop reminds White about his
other weakness on b3. Note that Black
need not be so concerned about b6 as
White will be too occupied defending
d4 and f4 to have the time to attack.
33 ...'ii'xh4?! recaptures the pawn but
after 34 'ii'g3+ 'ii'xg3+ 35 <iiifxg3 i.hS
White can go for a shut-out with the
sequence 36 i.f3 i.xf3 37 <iiifxf3 with a
draw.
34'ii.?g 3
34 'ii'g3+ <iitfh7! 35 'ii'g5 'ii'xg5? 36
hxgS i.dl 37 i.fl i.xb3 38 i.b5 clearly
favours White thanks to his repaired
pawns, but 35...i.dl ! is enough to main­
tain Black's advantage, e.g. 36 'ii'g3 'ii'f6
37 'ii'e3 'ii'h6 38 <iiifhl <iitfg8 39 i.cl <iiiff7,
when White must keep on his toes.
34 . . . 'ii'g 7 + 35 'ii.?h 2 'ii'f6 36 'ii'e3
'ii.?f7 37 .i.e1
For the pawn Black has assumed the
initiative and, consequently, put his
opponent under pressure, the positional
advantage therefore bringing with it a
psychological plus. With best play
White should be okay, but such a task is
far from easy in practice, particularly
when the nature of the game changes so
rapidly, unexpectedly and under the
18
opponent's circumstances.
37 . . .'ii'h 8! 38 .i.f2 'ii'b 81
Very nice. The targets on d4 and f4
afford Black the luxury of moving the
queen backwards and forwards, a strat­
egy that also puts the onus on White to
make accurate decisions when defend­
ing.
39 i.g3?
Natural but practically losing. Im­
perative is the more awkward looking
39 <iitfg3, e.g. 39 ...'ii'g8+ (39...'ii'c7 40
i.f3) 40 <iiifh2 'ii'c8 41 i.f3 i.xf3 42
'ii'xf3 'ifcl 43 <iitfg3 <iitfg6 44 h5+, when
progress seems unlikely for both sides.
Now the queenside will be a problem
fo� White.
39 . . . 'ii'c 7 40 'ii'd 2 i.b4
Finkel gives 40...<iitff6!? 41 i.fl i.b4
42 'ii'd3 'ifcl 43 <iitfg2 i.d2.
41 'ii'd3 'ii'c 3 42 'ii'x c3
42 'ii'bS 'ii'xd4 43 'ii'd7+ i.e7.
42 . . . .i.xc3 43 i.f2 .i.d 1
The absence of White's most flexible
defender accentuates his structural
weaknesses, and the defensive roles of
White's remaining pieces has left the
bishops passive, dominated by the in­
vaders.
44 .i.f 1 i.xb3 45 i.b5 i.d1 !
 In troduc tion

Monitoring both a4 and h5.

46 'it>g3 i.d2! 47 i.g1
47 i.c6?! i.e2! 48 i.gl cJ;e7 49 i.£2
�d8! 50 i.gl b5! 51 axb5 a4 52 b6 a3 is
very nice indeed.
47 . . . 'ifr>e7 48 i.f2 �dB 49 i.g 1 i.h5
0-1
The latest plan is ...i.e8 to trade bish­
ops and create a deadly passed pawn
with . b6-b5. Meanwhile White's bishop
..

is cornered by its opposite number.

19
 CHAPTER ONE I
The Importance of Structure

No matter how many combinations and imperfections in pawn formation is

tricks we play through, or how many weak or vulnerable squares, which are
moves of the most tactical variations of also featured in this chapter.
our favourite openings and def ences we
learn 'by heart', all this means nothing if McShane-Comp P ConNers
we have never sat down and looked at Llppstadt 1999
the immense practical significance of
pawns. The pawn structure is the skele­
ton of the position on which the pieces
are the flesh - if the skeleton is dam­
aged in some way, then freedom of
movement can become severely re­
stricted. Doubled pawns, for example,
seem not to concern many players, who
believe such a minor inconvenience will
play little or no part in a game that is
sure to be decided by some other, more
important (short-term) factor. Such
thinking, of course, is quite wrong - With his last move White ignored the
pawns are the soul of chess and, as attack on his h3-pawn by threatening to
such, determine the roles of the other damage Black's kingside structure. Sit­
pieces (whether good or bad). Weak ting on Black's side of the board most
pawns tend to automatically lead to of us would at least think twice before
weaker pieces, while generally weakened grabbing the h-pawn because we have
formations can even render a whole learned to respect our king (we castle
army practically redundant. into safety, after all). However, this is
Another important by-product of not the electronic way of playing (pawns

20
 Th e Imp ortance o f S truc ture

mean points), so instead of the sensible as a sign, and offered Shirov the pawn.
13... J.e7! , when the continuation 14
exdS ll'ixdS 15 .lxe7 l:he7 16 ltxeS
J.xh3 17 ltxe7 ll'ixe7 is an entirely logi­
cal means of exploiting the hanging h3-
pawn, Black went ahead anyway.
1 3 . . . .ixh3?? 14 .txh3 1i'xh3 15
.ixf6 gxf6 1 6 ll:ie3 'ile6 1 7 ll:ihf5
�hB 1 8 �g2

Suddenly Black's king is beginning to
look rather lonely over there ...
1 8 ....l:.gB 1 9 .l:.h 1 .l:.g5 20 .l:.h4 ll:id7
21 'ilh 1 ll:ifB 22 'ii'h 2 dxe4 23 .l:.h 1
�gB 24 dxe4 .l:.a7
Who said computers don't have a
sense of humour?
25 ll:ig4 :as 26 ll:igh6 + �hB 27
ll:ixd6 1 -0
1 1 ll:ig5 .txc4?!
11 ...J.£5 and 11...J.d7 must be bet­
ter.
1 2 b3 .te6
12... h6 13 bxc4 hxgS 14 J.xgS is at
least a little better for White, who is in
possession of the bishop pair, the h1-a8
diagonal and the b-file, while the dS­
square might come in handy, too. Nev­
ertheless, this could be preferable to the
text, which is about to get rather ugly (at
least from where Black is sitting).
1 3 ll:ixe6 fxe6 1 4 .ixc6! bxc6

Marin-Shirov
Spanish Team Championships,
Barcelona 2000

We reach the first diagram position

after the opening sequence
1 c4 ll:if6 2 ll:ic3 g6 3 g3 .tg7 4
.tg2 0-0 5 d4 d6 6 ll:if3 ll:ic6 7 0-0
a6 8 h3 e5 9 dxe5 dxe5 10 .ie3
.te6
White took the \hreat to his c-pawn
Even those of us who shiver at the
thought of surrendering our g2-bishop
would be happy to make this trade on
c6, resulting as it does in leaving Black

21
Un ders tanding the Sacrifice
.with four pawn islands, two of which
comprise doubled, isolated pawns. The
fact that Black has an extra pawn is ir­
relevant here (we might call it an extra
weakness), for the structural weaknesses
are long-term and White is sure to at
least redress the balance eventually.
1 4...'i'xdl 1 5 l:tfxdl bxc6 1 6 l:tacl ltJd5
1 7 i.d2 a5 1 8 ltJa4 is very good for
White.
1 5 'ii'x d8 l:.fxd8 1 6 i.g5
Black's knight looks more useful to
him than his bishop at the moment, so
this pin makes sense, giving White time
to trade on f6 if he so desires. In fact
Marin checks out 1 6...ltJd5 just in case.
.After 1 7 i.xd8 ltJxc3 1 8 i.xc7 e4 1 9
l:tael lbxa2 20 l:tdl ltJc3 21 11d2 ltJd5
22 i.d6 he evaluates the position as
clearly better for White. Black has a
pawn for the exchange but a few vul­
nerable pawns remain.
1 6 . . . a5 1 7 l:.ac 1 cj;fJ 1 8 l:.c2 l:.a6
1 9 l:.fc1 cj;eS
Having doubled on the attractive
looking c-file White is ready to step up
the pace. This is certainly not the kind
of position one would expect Shirov to
be playing, being reduced to waiting
until White helps himself to a pawn or
22
two - serious structural weaknesses that
Black could have avoided.
20 ll:Ja4!
There is no need to voluntarily take
on f6. Better to wait until Black has
spent a tempo with ... h7-h6, while the
pin also serves as another inconven­
ience about which Black can concern
himself. Having said that, 20 i.xf6
i.xf6 21 ltJe4 i.e7 22 l:txc6 llxc6 23
l:.xc6 l:td1 + 24 <itig2 <itid7 25 l:ta6 lld5
does look quite promising for White,
although Black's 'bad' bishop is not so
bad. The text simply keeps the pressure
on and is therefore more accurate.
20 . . . 'ite7
.After 20...h6 21 i.xf6 i.xf6 22 ltJc5
11b6 23 lbxe6 lld6 24 ltJc5 White pock­
ets a pawn and continues to dominate.
2 1 'itg2 l:.d5 22 e3 e4
22...h6 23 i.xf6+ i.xf6 24 <itif3 and
we might even see White's king take up
a royal residence on e4 - hence the de­
fence of the d4-square with 22 e3. In
pushing the front e-pawn Black accepts
that it could soon fall, but this way the
bishop is given some breathing space.
23 i.xf6 + i.xf6 24 ll:Jc5 l:.b6 25
ttlxe4 l:.b4
Unfortunately for Black his endeav-

ours to generate activity for his forces
ultimately fails because there are too
many weak pawns to protect, most no­
tably the one on c6.
26 lbc5!
The flexible knight is the ideal minor
piece with which to exploit both vul­
nerable pawns and squares. Able to op­
erate on either colour complex, the
knight can hop in and out of enemy
territory, often picking up a pawn or
two along the way. Marin's latest pre­
pares to return the knight to a4, the
edge of the board, ironically, acting as a
perfect base from which to carry out
aggressive operations (the a5-pawn is
also prevented from advancing, thus
denying Black a desirable simplifying
exchange of pawns). Consequently 26
lllxf6?! 'ifiixf6 27 1:.xc6 a4 28 l:txc7 axb3
29 axb3 h5 30 1:.7c3 1:.db5 might well
lead to a double rook ending that is un­
pleasant for Black, but the game con­
tinuation is worse for the defender.
26 . . . i.e5 27 lba4 g5 28 .:xc6
From a positional point of view 28 g4
seems appropriate in order to fix a cou­
ple of pawns on the most suitable (for
White) colour squares. However, with
28... hS!? 29 gxh5 g4 Shirov's rooks
threaten to generate annoying counter­
play. Of course this should not be
enough to genuinely trouble White, but
it is not necessary to allow such a possi­
bility. Anyway, the text bags a pawn.
28 . . . g4
28 ... hS is an alternative, but an�kind
of counterplay on the kingside cannot
compensate for the broken pawns on
the other flank.
29 hxg4 .:xg4 30 .:sc2! ?
30 f4 �d6 31 �£3 h5 32 lllc3 1:.£5 33
The Imp ortance o f Structure
llle4 is clearly better for White.
30 . . . h5 3 1 f4 .td6 32 'it>f3 e5 33
lbc3 :cs
Not 33...l:t d3 34 'ifiie4.
34 lbe4 .:bs 35 .:h 1 exf4 36 gxf4
:gs 37 :ch� :ha 38 lbg3
White rubs salt in Shirov's wounds,
the irony being that he now hunts down
a weak pawn that was created as a result
of Black's efforts to shift attention away
from the shattered queenside! White
eventually converted the full point on
the 57th move.
Bacrot-Topalov
Bosna SuperGM 2000
1 d4 d6 2 lbf3 g6 3 c4 i.g7 4 lbc3
c5 5 dxc5
Perhaps White wanted to avoid the
tricky system characterised by the
.
moves 5 d5 �xc3+ 6 bxc3 f5, when
Black has surrendered his prized bishop
for a knight in order to later exert con­
siderable pressure on White's (fixed)
broken queenside pawns. If this is the
case, then Black's reply is a shrewd psy­
chological ploy!
5 . . . i.xc3+ ! ?
Anyway!
Un ders tanding the Sacrifice
6 bxc3 dxc5 7 'ii'x d8 +
Whether the queens are involved or
not makes no difference to White's c­
pawns.
7 . . .�xd8 8 ll'ie5 .te6 9 g3 ll'id 7 1 0
ll'ixd7 �xd7 1 1 .tg2 ll'if6 ! ?
Offering the b-pawn o n the grounds
that 12 i.xb7!? :ab8 13 i..a6 ltJe4 of­
fers Black ample compensation. White's
c-pawns are going nowhere and Black
can always target the c4-pawn by drop­
ping back to d6.
1 2 l:lb1 7 !
Not impressed with the variation in
the previous note White declines the
offer, but now Black makes available an
even bigger prize ...
1 2 . . . b6!
24
The latest is an offer that White
could not refuse even if he wanted to,
for the c4-pawn cannot be saved what­
ever happens, whereas Black is without
such a weakness.
1 3 .txa8 :xa8 1 4 f3 ll'ie8 1 5 .tf4
.txc4
It is always nice to have a neat and
tidy pawn structure when your oppo­
nent is busy keeping his intact, and such
1
a luxury certainly facilitates the deci ,ion­
making process when it comes to con­
templating a positional sacrifice. In the
diagram position Black can focus on his
opponent's queenside pawns (which are
still pretty weak) in the knowledge that
White has nothing to attack. Meanwhile
Black's forces will be better placed than
White's, the rooks unable to join the
game in more than a defensive role.
16 l:lb2 'it>c6 17 l:ld2 ll'id6 18
.txd6?!
Ribli believes 18 �£2 to be more ac­
curate than this committal exchange,
although we can appreciate the wish to
alter the pawn formation in the hope of
opening up the game for his rooks.
1 8 . . . exd6 1 9 �f2
1 9 e4 f5 20 exf5 gxf5 is fine for Black
according to Ribli, although I prefer this

to the game continuation because here
White's kingside pawns remain intact.
1 9 . . . dS 20 e4 dxe4 2 1 fxe4 :ea 22
:e 1 .i.e6 23 �f3 �b5!
Black has a couple of juicy targets on
one flank and no weaknesses on the
other, something that gives him excel­
lent practical chances in this ending.
24 �f4 �c4 25 :e3 a5!
26 �g5 b5 27 �h6 b4 28 cxb4
axb4 29 <ili>xh7 :as 30 �g7 �b5
Preparing the advance of the passed
pawn. Notice how the bishop serves
dual roles of holding the kingside to­
gether and putting pressure on White's
queenside.
3 1 h4
I guess Topalov was hoping for the
Th e Imp ortance o f S truc ture
following pretty finish: 31 :ee2 c4 32
'&t>f6 c3 33 :c2 :xa2! 34 :xa2 i.xa2 35
:xa2 b3
Now even two pawns beat a rook!
3 1 . . . c4 32 g4 c3 33 :92 :xa2 0-1
Yet another case of a minor piece be­
ing more than a match for a rook. This
happens more often than we think, but
we tend to spend more time looking at
the points value of the pieces than the
actual value of weak pawn structures.
Movsesian-Kasparov
Bosna SuperGM, 2000
We have already seen how a mistake
that leads to doubled pawns in front of
a castled king can be disastrous. Here is
a typical example of the exchange sacri­
fice ... :xc3 in the Sicilian Defence,
Kasparov demonstrating in his own
inimitable style just how difficult life
can become for White if he has castled
queenside.
1 e4 c 6 lDf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4
lDxd4 lDf6 5 lDc3 a6 6 .i.e3 e6 7 f3
b5 8 ..d2 lDbd7 9 0-0-0 .i.b7 1 0 g4
lDb6 1 1 ._f2 lDfd7 1 2 �b 1 :ca 1 3
.i.d3
25
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice
With his knights ready to pounce,
this positional sacrifice seems all the
more attractive for Black. Not surpris­
ingly this specific position had been
played before this game, and Kasparov
has an improvement ready on Black's
previous play.
1 3 . . . l:txc3l? 1 4 bxc3 Wc7 1 5 ltJe2
i.e7 1 6 g5 0-0
Castling into an attack, perhaps, but
White already has serious weaknesses in
front of his own king, so Black needs to
bring his rook into the game in order to
maximise the potential of his attacking
force.
1 7 h4 ltJa4!
An earlier game went 17...dS 18 hS
dxe4 19 i.xe4 i.xe4 20 fxe4 liJc4 21
26
i.c1 b4 22 cxb4 i.xb4 23 l:.h3 with the
better chances to White in Zagrebelny­
Llngnau, Berlin 1993.
1 8 i.c 1 ? 1
The new situation has confused
White, who should play instead 18 hS
liJeS 19 h6 g6, which Ftacnik assesses as
unclear.
1 8 . . . ltJeS 1 9 h5 d5! 20 fih2
White is not willing to commit with
20 h6 g6, ·e.g. 21 'illg 3 i.d6 22 'illg 2
l:.c8, when each of Black's pieces have a
role to play.
20 . . . i.d6 2 1 fih3
Looking at the diagram position
Black seems spoilt for choice as to how
to continue his offensive but, with ad­
vancing enemy pawns approaching his
king, Kasparov needs to conduct the
rest of his attack with some precision. It
is significant that the exchange sacrifice
afforded Black an extra minor piece in a
situation where White's rooks play little
or no part (given the opportunity, of
course, White will use his to help deliver
the dea�y blow should he succeed in
prising open Black's kingside).
2 1 . . . ltJxd3 22 cxd3 b4!
Note that this and the previo�s move
serve to force the doubled c-pawns out
 Th e Impo rtan ce o f S truc ture

of the way in order to facilitate an inva­ The rest of the game is clinical:
sion by the queen. The point is that, 26 g6
apart from the fact that doubled iso­ 26 dxe4 i.e5+, or 26 l:.hgl 'ifc2 27
lated pawns are sitting ducks waiting to ll:ld4 i.e5 28 'ife3 i.d5.
be picked off, here Kasparov has re­ 26 . . . .i.xh 1 27 'ifxh 1 hb4 28
moved them through deflection, gxf7+
whether this be a recapture (on d3) or a 28 gxh7+ <tJh8.
forced capture. Their weakness does 20 . . . �a 29 'ii'92 :be! 30 .i.b2
not have to be demonstrated by actually 30 i.d2 i.a3 31 i.ct i.xcl 32 l:.xcl
'winning' them, rather exploiting their 'ifb6 33 ll:lc3 ll:lxc3.
powerlessness by forcing the issue. Less 30 . . . tlixb2 3 1 tlid4
clear is 22... ll:\xc3+ 23 ll:lxc3 'ifxc3 24 31 <tJxb2 i.d2+ 32 <tJal i.c3+.
i.b2 'ifb4 25 g6, which even gives 3 1 . . . tlixd 1 ! 32 llixe6 + �xf7 0-1
Black an opportunity to lose the game
in the event of25... dxe4? 26 h6! i.e5 27
d4 etc. Instead Black should play
25...i:e5, when 26 d4 i.f4 27 gxf7+
<tJxf7 28 'ifg4 i.h6 results in the usual
'unclear' Sicilian.
23 cxb4
White's position is quite loose after
23 c4 dxc4 24 h6 g6 25(rxc4 l1c8.
23 . . . :tca 24 �a 1
Ftacnik gives 24 'iffl dxe4 25 fxe4
'if c2+ 26 <tJal i.e5+ 27 d4 i.xe4 28
i.a3 i.d5. 33 'ifxg7+ (33 ll:lxc7 i.c3+) 33...<tJxe6
24 . . . dxe4 25 fxe4 34 'ifxc7 (34 'ii'b.6+ <tJf5) 34...i.c3+.
Forced in view of 25 dxe4? i.e5+ 26
ll:\d4 i.xd4+ 27 l:.xd4 'ifxcl +. Markowski-Bunzmann
25 . . . .i.xe4! Rubinstein Memorial 1999
Unders tan ding the Sacrifice

. Black's best here is 13....id7 followed

by ...l:tad8, �upporting the centre. In­
stead Bunzmann chose the traditional
Old Indian Defence approach of
queenside expansion.
1 3 . . . b5? !

1 4 c5!
The idea behind this thematic pawn
offer is to undermine Black's centre by
challenging the base of the mini d6-e5
pawn chain. White hopes to exploits the
absence of the dark-squared bishops as
well as Black's slightly tardy develop­
ment.
1 7 . . . b4
After 17...tLld5 18 g4 White defends
the h3-pawn out of the firing line be­
fore taking on d5, while 17...ttJ6d7 18
.ixc6 levels the 'points' score but oth­
erwise gives White the advantage.
1 8 tL!a4
18 exf6 bxc3 19 tLlxc3 .ixh3 20 fxg7
is unclear and unnecessary. The text
focuses on Black's sorry queenside
structure.
18 ••• tL!d5 1 9 g4
19 tLlxc5 .ixh3 20 tLld4 l:tac8.
1 9 . ..h4 20 tL!xc5
..

1 4 . . . dxc5
14...exd4 15 cxd6 dxc3 16 dxe7 cxd2
17 exf8'if + <ifi>xf8 is slightly better for
Black, if anyone, but 15 tLlxd4 15...dxc5
16 tLlxc6 followed by e4-e5 is promising
for White.
1 5 dxe5 'ii'x e5 1 6 f4 'ii'h 5 1 7 e5
After only a few moves Black's cen­
tral presence has all but disappeared
whereas White suddenly has. a powerful,
mobile kingside majority led by the
strong e-pawn. Meanwhile Black's
queenside majority enjoys no such ac­ Black has a backward c-pawn that
tivity, and if the undefended c-pawn can be attacked from both d4 and down
falls he will no longer have a pawn to the c-file, a useful and secure ,outpost
show for his troubles. on c5 and more space. This explains

28
 Th e Imp ortan ce o f S truc ture

Black's next, with which Bunzmann

aims to disrupt White's kingside pawns.
20 . . . h5 21 lLid4!?
21 i.xdS cxdS 22 'ifxdS l:ta7 leaves
White exposed on the light squares,
although White seems to be better any­
way.

21 . . . hxg4 22 lLixc6 'ii'g 3! 23 'ii'x d5
gxh3
And now White should have played
24 lLixb4 l:.b8 25 lLibd3
with what will soon be an extra pawn.
Notice that Black's 4-2 queenside ma­
jority has now become a minority(!)
thanks to the weakness of both c­
pawns.
1 4 . . . l:taeS
Incidentally 14... exd4? is too early,
e.g. 15 'ifxd4 lbf6 16 'ifh4 i.e7 17 cS!
(unleashing White's second bishop)
17 ... bxcS 18 lbgS h6 19 lbe4 lbxe4
(19 ...lbdS 20 'ifg4) 20 'ifxe4 i.d6?
(20 ... l:.fe8 is the necessary lesser evil,
when White's bishops have the advan­
tage and Black's extra pawn is worth­
less) 21 'ifg6!.
1 5 c5!

The spoiler
When in possession of the inferior
structure we should be on the lookout
to level the score by inflicting similar
damage to our opponent's pawns.

Adams-Shlrov A nice spoiling tactic. White forces

Sarajevo 1999
In the diagram position White is in
danger of being left with a sorry looking
queenside pawn complex after a pawn
trade on d4 or eS. With this is in mind
Black improved his position.
his opponent to place a pawn on cS
before Black can use the square as an
ideal outpost for a piece.
1 5 . . . bxc5 1 6 dxe5 lLixe5 1 7 lLixe5
.txe5 1 8 .txe5 l:txe5 1 9 'ii'd 21
Highlighting another positional

29
 . th e Sacrifice
Un ders tandtng
. .
downside to Black's new structure, for queens1de Black seems to be doing
now the aS-pawn ne ds � rotection. qwte well, with the 1ever thrust ...b7-b5
.

1 9 . ..l:tfeB 20 l:txe .;xe5 2 1 l:.b 1 ! an 0bVlOus candidate...

r
·

c4!? 1 5 . .. b 5�, ·

Swayed b the general pressure on

the c- fiile, but
Y now White engineers a
near dec1s1ve
· · structural advantage.
1 6 lt:Jd4! bxc4 1 7 ltJ xe 61 fxe6 1 8 b4

Black returns the pawn to restore

equality
. . all departments.
m

,
22 .i.xc4 �ca %-Ya

General Damage . ir-

Black's protected passed pawn is
The next seven examp1es feature vari- relevant here. What matters ts the e6-
.
·

ous kinds of general structural damage pawn and the general vulnerability of
the light squares created by the remova1
.
that are encountered on a regular basis
in practical play. of the bishop.
1 8 . . .lt:Jb7 1 9 f4
Kirillov-Garagulya After �
embarrass . g the b7-knight
Russian
. .
Tearn Championships, White rules out ... lLie . Black's best now
Smolensk 2000 is 1 9 ..w
�h8 when 20 e5 dS 21 1'.g4 s ees
' .
.

White ready to start his pawn collection.

.
With his forces atmed directly at the

30
 Th e Importance o f S truc ture

Unfortunately for Black 21...l:lc6 runs 1 7 d6 + <li>hB 1 8 g4! ?

into 22 i.xe6 l:lxe6 23 'ifxdS etc.
Instead Black played 1 9 . . . 'ii'c 7 and
now White missed a very promising
continuation in 20 i.g4! llJdB 2 1 e5!
according to Tsesarsky, e.g. 21 . . . d5 22
llJxd5! etc.

Yevseev-Kokarev
Moscow 1999

With the sacrifice taking on a restric­

tive character on the queenside White
turns to the other· flank, undermining
the defence of the e4-pawn in order to
open up the kingside. 18 ltixd4 cxd4 19
�6 axb6 20 l:ldl ltib4! 21 a3 ltic6
still favours White according to Tyom­
kin.
1 8 . . . i.e5! 1 9 'ii'd 51
\
Somehow Black has managed to send Better than 19 gxfS i.xd6 20 ltixd6
his bishop all the way into d4, which 'ifxd6 21 .:r.d1 'ifc6 22 'ifc4 dS!, when
may or may not be a good thing. In any Black comes out fighting.
case, an albeit temporary sacrifice 1 9 . . . i.xh2 + 20 �xh2 'ii'x b5 21
should have left Black's structure decid­ 'ii'e 5! 'ii'xe2
edly suspect.
1 3 d6 ! ? 'ii'x d6
I'm not sure Black is too worse if he
turns down the offer with 13 ...'iff7, as
14 ltibS ltic6 should be okay for the
second player. The problem, of course,
is the d6-pawn, which is probably why
Black thought he had no choice but to
remove it. Nevertheless I prefer ...'iff7.
1 4 lLlb5 'ii'b 6
The game continued in entertaining
fashion.
1 5 llJd5 ?! llJxd5 1 6 cxd5 llJa6 22 i.h3
Not 16 ...d6 17 ltixd4 cxd4 18 'ifxb6 22 i.h6? 'ifxg4 23 i.h3 'ifg6 24 .i.f4
axb6 19 l:ldl. ltib4.

31
Unders tan ding the Sacrific e
22 . . .fxg4 23 .i.h6 g3 + 24 Wg 1
gxf2 + 25 Wh2 :gs 26 :ac 1 tLlb4
27 .i.xg7 + :xg7
with a draw in view of 2S 'ii'eS +
:gs 29 'ii'e 5 + and so on.
While White succeeded in thwarting
his opponent's gueenside development
by twice(!) putting his own pawn on d6,
Black reacted energetically. In
White would have guarante � himself a
nice advantage had he concentrated
more on the long-term positional possi­
bilities created by the initial sacrifice.
Instead of jumping into dS in order to
lodge a second pawn on d6 White could
have played 15 lbxd4! cxd4 16 llfxb6
axb6 17 l:tdl lbc6 18 b3
In this way White· patiently ronnds up
the d4-pawn to emerge with the supe­
rior strucrure and the two bishops. With
the remaining isolated d-pawn to go
with the vulnerable b-pawns Black can
expect to experience further strucrural
difficulties later in the game. Like the
fable of the hare and the tortoise, this
form of positional sacrifice is guaran­
teed to present White with a definite
advantage that has long-term potential,
whereas White's choice in the game,
32
while clamping down on the gueenside
and the dark squares, was based on a
more speculative, attacking foundation,
with resourceful defence from Black
effectively diffqsing White's initiative.
Kasparov-M .Gurevich
Bosna SuperGM 2000
fact
Black hopes that the bishop pair
compensates for his imperfect pawn
formation. Kasparov's next threatens to
spoil his opponent's strategy on both
fronts,
1 6 tLlf1
An aggressive retreat, threatening to
exploit the pin on the d-file after
lbe3xd5, simultaneously ridding Black
of a good bishop and inflicting serious
strucrural damage in view of the forced
...e6xd5.
1 6 ...'ii'c7
Escaping the pin. However, with the
benefit of hindsight Finkel's suggestion
of 16...i.d6!? also makes sense, since
the thematic exchange sacrifice here
leads to an unclear position after 17
ltxdS (17 lbe3 i.e4) 17 ...exdS 18 lbe3
l:te8 19 lbd4 f4 20 ti'g4+ �h8.
1 7 :xd5!?
Based purely on strucrural, positional
.
 Th e Impo rtance o f S truc ture

grounds, this is White's only means of dealt with by ...f5-f4.

trying for an advantage. Otherwise 1 9 i.xd4!
...
'

Black's pieces enjoy too much activity. Black parts with the second bishop
1 7 exd5 1 8 llJe3
... on his own terms.
20 cxd4 llJe4 21 llJxd5 'ii'd6 22 lbe3
'ii'f6 23 'ii'h 5

It is easy to appreciate what White

has for the exchange. The f7-e6-f5
pawn cluster has been broken, leaving
Black with two very weak pawns, and
the fall of the bishop pair has resulted in
Black now being rather vulnerable on
the light squares. On the other hand, of
course, Black has more material to
compensate for his structural difficul­
ties, so the game is balanced. However,
Kasparov prefers this kind of 'balance'
because there are problems to be
solved.
1 8 i.f6
...
23 . . .l:tadS!
I like the way Black has coped with
his crumbling pawns since Kasparov's
attempt to unsettle him with l:txd5.
Here 23 ...'ifxd4!? is tempting, e.g. 24
'ifxf5 l:tae8 25 l:tdl 'ife5 26 'ifxe5 :lxe5
27 ltJg4 l:tg5 28 ltJh6+ 'ittg7 29 .ixe4
'itt xh6 30 l:td6+ 'ittg7 31 :lxa6 and the
ending is even. However, Kasparov
might well have opted instead for 24
ltJxfS!? 'ifxf2+ 25 'itthl 'ifxb2 26 l:tfl

Black can expect to see one of his

pawns fall but he must be careful how
he addresses the situation. For example
the plausible looking 18...l1ad8?! can
easily lead to difficulties after 19 ltJd4,
e.g. 19...l:tfe8 20 ltJdxfS 'ife5 21 'ifg4+
'itth8 22 f4 etc.
1 9 lbd4
19 lLlxd5 'ifd6 20 ltJd4 :lae8 is suffi­
ciently active for Black, while 20 lLlxf6+
'ii'xf6 does not look like a good idea for
White as the front f-pawn can always be This is just the kind of position

33
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice
White would be looking for when em­
barking on this route. Black's bishops
have disappeared, leaving White's survi­
vor with the run of the light squares,
White has an enormous knight where
Black's pawn once stood, his queen
could not be more aggressively posted
and even the rook is well placed on the
f-file. Whether this furnishes White any­
thing real is another question, but not
one that Gurevich would like to ask!
24 ll'lxf5 ll'ld6 25 ll'le3! ?
25 tLlxd6 l:r.xd6 might help Black
since White has little influence on the
dark squares.
25 . . .'ikxd4 26 1:td 1 'ikg7
Again there is a more adventurous
possibility in 26 ...'ii'xb2!? but Black is
more interested in safety.
27 1:td5 Wh8
Black has succeeded in trading his
original liabilities on d5 and f5 for
White's c3-pawn which, considering the
extra exchange, is a reasonable deal. The
positional theme has continued, though,
since Black still has a potential problem
in the a6-pawn (a8 is not available for
defensive purposes) and his kingside
pawns are separated. It is interesting
that White's forces seem less menacing
34
once the main targets have gone. All in
all the situation is level, and a draw
should result with careful play from
both sides. Ironically Black's game plan
later changed quite drastically - here is
the rest of the game - instructive and
entertaining:
28 'ikd 1 ll'lb7 29 b4! .:.xd5!? 30
'ikxd5 ll'ld8 31 'ikd6 ll'le6 32 'ikxa6
ll'ld4 33 h4 f5 34 ll'ld5 ll'le2+ 35
c;tr>f 1 f41 36 c;tr>xe2 fxg3 37 'ikd6 ! ?
'ikb2+
37 ...l:r.xf2+ 38 'it>d3 l:r.xg2 39 'ii'd8+
'ii'g8 is equal.
38 c;tr>d3
38 . . .1:txf2?
38. 'ii'bl +!? should draw, e.g. 39
..
'it>d4 'ilfh2+ 40 'it>c5 'ii'xf2+ 41 'it>xb5
'ii'e2+ 42 'it>b6 (or 42 'it>c5 'ii'f2+ 43
'it>c6 'ii'c2+ 44 'it>b7 l:r.f7+ 45 'it>b8
'ii'xg2) 42...'ii'f2+ 43 'it>c6 'ii'c2+.
39 'ikb8+ Wg7 40 'ikxg3+ Wh8 41
'ikb8+ Wg7 42 'ikc7+ Wf8 43
'ike7+ Wg8 44 'ikg5+ �h8 45 i.e4!
'ikc2+ 46 �d4 'ikd2+ 47 �c5
'ikxg5 48 hxg5 .:.xa2 49 �xb5 1:te2
50 ll'lc3 1:te3 51 Wc4 1:tg3 52 b5
1:txg5 53 b6 1 -0
I wonder if Kasparov would argue
that his original positional exchange

sacrifice even contributed to Gurevich's
sudden rush of blood? Probably. Never­
theless White's approach offered good
practical chances.
Our next game is different in that
Black's positional sacrifice, aimed at
crippling White's queenside pawns, in­
volves voluntarily allowing damage to
his own pawns on the kingside.
Artashes Minasian-Ara Minasian
Armenian Championship,
Yerevan 1999
1 e4 tiJf6 2 e5 tiJd5 3 d4 d6 4 c4
tiJb6 _5 exd6 exd6 6 ttJc3 ltJc6 7
d5!? ttJe5 8 f4 ltJed7 9 'ii'd 4!7
Hoping to hinder Black's develop­
ment by hitting the g7-pawn. Offering a
queen exchange with 9 ...'iff6 might
leave Black's queenside vulnerable while
9 ...lll f6 is probably one knight move
too many. Anyway, Black has other,
completely different ideas.
9 . . i.e71 1 0 'ii'x g7
. Oddly enough White plans to castle
Consistent.
1 0 . . .i. f6 1 1 'ii'g4
The alternative is 11 'ifh6, when after
11.. 'ife7+! 12 <iii>dl (12 i..e2 lllxc4 13
. his chances nevertheless.
Th e Imp o rtan ce o f S truc ture
llJf3 llle3) 12...i..xc3 13 bxc3 lllc5 14
'it'g7 l:t.£8 15 lllf 3 i..£5 Black has more
than enough compensation for the
pawn in terms of White's queenside
weaknesi08i. and Black's lead in devel­
opment and active forces.
1 1 . . . i.xc3 + 1 2 bxc3
This is the point of Black's play. It
might seem strange to part with the g­
pawn and then take three moves with
the bishop only to surrender it for a
knight, but the resulting damage to
White's queenside structure is signifi­
cant. In fact these weaknesses seem
even more serious when we look at the
location of Black's knights, which could
not be more appropriately placed to
deal with White's weaknesses. Of
course Black's kingside has also been
broken, although White is not in as
good a position to exploit it. Moreover
the e4-square could be a problem for
White thanks to the early advance of the
f-pawn.
1 2 . . .'ii'f6 1 3 i.d2
long. After 13 'it'f3 llJc5 14 i..a3 i..fS 15
i..xc5 dxc5 16 'ife3+ <iifd8 Black
doesn't get to castle at all but I prefer
35
Unders tan ding the Sacrifice
1 3 . . .lLic5 14 'ifg5 1 ? 'ifxg5 1 5 fxg5
i.f5
Black has obvious structural compen­
sation for the pawn as well as a lead in
development, factors which combine to
maintain the balance. Now 16 liJ£3
liJd3 + 17 i.xd3 i.xd3 18 cS dxcS?! 19
liJeS i.a6 20 0-0-0 lDxdS?! 21 :hel is a
touch better for White, but 18...lDxdS
19 cxd6 cxd6 20 <it£2 <itd7 21 :hel
:he8 is level.
Instead White sticks with his plan.
1 6 0-0-0 liJd3 + 1 7 .ixd3 .ixd3 1 8
c5!
Again we see White return the pawn
on his own terms rather than Black's.
The point is that after 18 ... dxcS 19 i.f4
c4 20 i.xc7 lDxd5 21 i.eS 0-0 22 liJ£3 a
36
few of the centre pawns have been
cleared away and it is the bishops of
opposite colour that become the most
important factor, steering the game to­
wards a draw.
The game continuation is even sim­
pler.
1 8 . . .liJxd5 1 9 cxd6 cxd6 20 lLih31
l:r.c8 2 1 lLif4 lLixf4 22 i.xf4 l:r.xc3 +
23 'itb2
Or 23 <itd2 :c4 24 i.xd6 i.e4 25
:ct :xcl 26 :xcl <itd7 27 i.eS etc.
23 . . .l:r.c2 + 24 'ifi>b3 l:r.f2 25 l:r.xd3
l:r.xf4 1/2-1/2
Black's fun initiated by the offer of
the g7 -pawn did not last too long
thanks to a realistic and accurate re­
sponse from White, particularly the c4-
c5 idea, which should be remembered
since Black cannot then avoid simplifi­
cation or (minor) damage to his own
pawns.
In the next example White sees his op­
ponent's early erection of a c5-d6-e5
pawn centre as an invitation to embark
on sacrificial positional play.
Romanishin-Maksimenko
Ordzhonikidze Zonal 2000
1 c4 c5 2 g3 g6 3 i.g2 i.g7 4 lLic3
lLic6 5 a3 d6 6 liJf3 e5 7 0-0 lLige7
8 b4! ?
Black's pawn centre i s designed to
provide a solid barrier and more space,
and this pawn offer already threatens to
diminish this strength considerably by
tempting the cS-pawn away. The main
idea, though, is to then exert pressure
on the backward d6-pawn and, perhaps,
exploit White's extra command of the

h1 -a8 diagonal afforded him by this
early advance of Black's centre pawns.
8 . . . cxb4?1
Ribli believes that Black should re­
fuse the sacrifice, but not with 8... i.e6?,
when 9 tl:JgS! i.xc4 10 d3 (D) has been
seen in a couple of Ftacnik games.
1 0... cxb4 1 1 axb4 i.e6 1 2 tl:Jxe6 fxe6
1 3 bS tl:Jd4 1 4 e3 'ii' c7 15 i.d2 tl:JdfS 16
b6!? 'ii'xb6 1 7 'ii'a 4+ rj;{fl 1 8 l:.fb1 was
excellent for White in Ftacnik-Danner,
Vienna 1986, while 10 ...i.e6 1 1 tl:Jxe6
fxe6 1 2 bxcS dS 1 3 e4 0-0 1 4 'ii'g4 was
no improvement for Black in Ftacnik­
Rogers, Groningen 1977. It seems il­
logical to part company with the light­
squared bishop with an essentially fixed
centre comprising pawns on cS, d6 and
The Importance o f S truc ture
eS.
Instead 8...e4 makes sense;e.g. 9 tl:Je 1
i.e6 10 l:.b 1 cxb4 1 1 tl:Jxe4 i.xc4 1 2
axb4 dS 13 tl:Jc3 a6 1 4 i.b2 d4 15 tl:Je4
0-0 16 d3 i.dS 17 tl:Jf3 'ii'b6 18 i.a3
l::t. fd8 1 9 'ii'd2 tl:JfS with chances for
both sides in Podzielny-De Firmian,
Essen 1 999. 9 tl:Je1 f5 is rather loose
and worked out well for White in Sura­
jev-Mijailovic, Belgrade 1 99 1 , where 10
i.b2 i.e6 11 d3 exd3 1 2 tl:Jxd3! i.xc4
13 bxcS 0-0 1 4 tl:Ja4 i.fl 15 i.xg7
rj;;xg7 1 6 tl:Jf4 dS 1 7 l:.b 1 left Black busy
defending weak pawns and squares.
9 axb4 ll:ixb4 1 0 .ta3
Apart from the obvious strategic
benefit to White of the target on d6,
Black also suffers here from losing time
in collecting the pawn.
10 . . . ll:iec6
10 ...tl:Jbc6 1 1 tl:JbS is pleasant for
White but 10 ...tl:Ja6 1 1 tl:Je4 tl:JcS leads
to complications. Martinovic-De Fir­
mian, Bar 1984 continued 1 2 tl:JfgS (1 2
tl:JxcS dxcS 1 3 i.xcS e4) 1 2 ... 'ii'c7 13
tl:Jxd6+ 'ii'xd6 1 4 tl:Je4 tl:Jxe4 15 i.xd6
tl:Jxd6 1 6 'ii'a 4+ rj;{f8 1 7 'ii'b4 tl:Je8 18
i.xb7 aS 19 i.xc8 l:.xc8 20 l:.xaS 1 -0.
Black's minor pieces are tiny.
1 1 'ii'a4 ll:ia6
37
Un ders t a n ding th e S a c rifice
1 1 ...e4 is unpleasant for Black after
either 12 t°llh4 g5 1 3 i.xb4 gxh4 1 4
lllxe4 o r 1 2 i.xb4 exf3 1 3 i.xf3, with a
clear advantage for White in both cases.
1 1 ...a5?? is even worse in view of 12
i.xb4, exploiting two pins.
1 2 lDe4
12 lllxe5 i.xe5 (not 12 ... dxe5 1 3
i.xc6+ i.d7 1 4 i.xd7+ 'ifxd7 1 5 t°llb5)
13 i.xc6+ i.d7 (1 3 ... �f8 14 i.d5 and
1 3 ... bxc6 1 4 'ii'x c6+ i.d7 1 5 'ii'xa6 are
poor for Black) 1 4 i.xd7 + 'ii'xd7 1 5
'ii'b5 is enough to put White in charge,
while 12 t'llg5 0-0 13 t'llge4 is more in­
teresting. The text is the most enterpris­
ing of White's choices.
1 2 . . ..tfS
Another possibility is 1 2 ... lllc 5!? 1 3
lllxc5 dxc5 1 4 i.xc5 e 4 1 5 t°lle l i.xal
1 6 'ifxal l:.g8 1 7 i.xe4 'ifxd2 1 8 t°ll f3
By now the invested pawn has be­
come an exchange, the compensation
also altering to take the form of an at­
tack on the king - predictably, in view
of the fact that Black's king was still
uncastled when White hit out with 8 b4.
In fact Black is in danger of being over­
run here.
1 3 d4
Black's latest could not really be met
38
with anything else! With only two
knights 'develop�d' now Maksimenko is
susceptible to an opening up of the po­
sition, especially with his king still at
home. 13 c5 is another way to prise
open the central barrier, so White is in
fact spoilt for choice.
1 3 . . . i.f5
Black needs to introduce his forces
into the game and this does so while
challenging the powerful knight. Oth­
erwise Black can address the pin imme­
diately with 1 3 ...i.d7, when 14 dxeS
dxe5 (1 4 ... lllxe5 1 5 'ii'b3 fails to allevi­
ate the pressure) 1 5 i.xf8 �xf8 1 6
l:tfdl introduces a new pin.
1 4 lDc3 i.d7 1 5 lDb5
White will not be denied his original
plan of focusing on the d6-pawn, and
the knight has been chased to another
useful square. Now 1 5 ... exd4 1 6 i.xd6
is understandably not to Black's liking
so he endeavours to keep the centre
closed.
1 5 . . . e4 1 6 lDd2 f5
When the smoke has cleared after
1 6 ...t°llxd4 1 7 lllxe4 i.xbS 1 8 cxb5
lllxe2+ 1 9 �hl Black is losing.
1 7 e3
White has a nice and healthy pawn
 f Struc
The lmportann cc�e�o� :....:...._ ture
______Black's __ __
-------

""'" •nd near full development. Black___:_: bes t is �

:..:..::__ \lllt
20.. . w g5 , when both
ru,,n't 21 'ifb3 and _21 ae b th put the ball
fumly b •ck m B:lac�'s :ourt. �-
Unfortu-
n•tely the text lom immediotelY·
21 llJe4

1 7 . . . 'iff6 9
1 7 . . lbc7 1 8 lbxd6+ .ixd6 1 �xd6
lbxd4 20 'ii'b4 is very good for White.
.
1 8 f3 21 . . . 'ifg6 22 llJex d6 + 1 -0
White has a pracnc ally dec1s1ve lead
. · ·

and therefore keeps m atters 9 simple,
although 1 8 .ixe4!? fxe4 1
lbxe4
seems strong.
1 8 . . . exf3 1 9 �xf3 �e7
If the owner of an isolated pawn has
..
nothing to comPensate his liability the
defensive task can be difficult at any
stage o f the game. White takes this one
step further m. the following exampie.

Marciano- Apicella 999

.
.
French Championships 1

.
20 �d5 1
After all this e ffort Black cannot e�
•llowed to castle, although White �
make an excep tion fa< 20 ..0-0-0 in view
of 21 .ixc6 .ixc6 22 lbxa7+ and 23
.

Black has .)USt taken the oPportunity

.
lbxc6 etc. to trade knights on d4 at a Lll
�me
" when
20 . . . g5? recaptunng W1"th the c-pawn seems

39
Unders tanding th e Sacrific e
forced in view of the fact that 'ifxd4
leaves the bishop insufficiently pro­
tected in the event of ... lL'ixh3+ or the
(
same problem after 22 l:txd4 l:te6 etc.) .
However, the d5-pawn is Black's only
weakness, yet this will lose relevance
once White's own pawn stands on d4.
With this in mind White found a logical
and effective resource that doesn't let
Black off the positional hook so readily.
22 1i'xd41
1bis must have come as an unpleas­
ant surprise to Black, who was no doubt
waiting to shake hands after 22 cxd4
l:te6 23 'ifb3 l:tb6 etc.
22 . .lt:Jxh3 + 23 'iti>f1
.
Black has won his pawn, as per plan,
but his structural weakness remains on
d5 at least until White decides to cap­
(
ture it!) . Moreover the inevitable ex­
change of queens will accentuate
White 's advantage in the resulting end­
ing thanks to his long-range bishop the
(
knight would work better with a queen
than without) .
23 . . .lllf4
23 ...'ifxd4!? 24 l:txd4 tL'ig5 25 l:txd5?!
lL'ixf3 26 l:.xd6 lL'ixe1 27 <ifi>xe1 l:te8+ 28
<ifi>d2 <ifi>f8! looks okay for Black, but 25
i.xd5 lL'ie6 26 i.xe6 l:txe6 27 l:td7
40
makes a vital difference and is another -
unfavourable - prospect altogether for
the defender.
24 1i'xf6 .::r.xf6 25 g3 lt:Jh3
After 25 ... tL'ie6 26 i.xd5 b6 27 i.g2
White threatens to help himself to the
seventh rank, and 27 ...l:td8?? 28 l:txd8+
lL'ixd8 29 l:te8 mate is not a nice way to
go. Note that here the fall of the d­
pawn clears the long diagonal, thus at­
tracting unwelcome attention to the
queenside pawns .
26 'iti>g2
Both minor pieces reside on the king­
side but bishop can enjoy a change of
scene m one move.
26 . . . h6 27 .::r.d 2
Freeing the bishop by defending f2,
although the immediate 27 l:te7!? could
be more accurate. Nevertheless Black's
pawns are weak anyway, and White will
soon have a majority that is more dan­
gerous than Black's rather tame lot on
the kingside.
27 . . . :de 28 .::r.e7 b5 29 .::r. xa7 lt:Jg5
30 .::r. xd 5!
White's patient but incisive treaanent
of his opponent's weaknesses has led to
a decisive advantage (this would not
have been the case had White accepted

his dull fate and automatically recap­
tured on d4 with his c-pawn). Not sur­
prisingly White soon picked up the b5-
pawn and, eventually, the full point.
We have seen instances where a seri­
ous disadvantage can be directly attrib­
uted to the presence of doubled pawns.
However, such a weakness can be
equally significant even if located away
from the 'action' area.
Rowson-Turner
Redbus Knockout, Southend 2000
In the diagram position Black's dou­
bled pawns on the queenside afford
White a sacrificial possibility on the
kingside, the point that the investment
of a pawn on that flank will still leave
Black without a majority. Black has just
pushed the h-pawn with a view to un­
dertaking active operations against
White's king. That this weakens the g5-
square seems irrelevant at the moment
for the f6-pawn provides protection,
but after White's next Black has cause
to regret ... h7-h5.
23 e5!
With one multi-purpose move White
is able to contemplate the following:
The Imp ortance o f Structure
generating po<;sibilities on the a 1 -h8
diagonal, obstructing Black's bi�jlop on
the h2-b8 diagonal, using the g5-square
for the knight or queen, introducing
threats on the e-file and using the e4-
square as an outpost. Of course these
are strategic, positional considerations
rather than must-do tasks, but each
represents a potential problem that
Black must address in one form or an­
other.
23 . . .ltJxe5
Now 23 ... fxe5 24 'ifg5 'iff71 25 lbxe5
.ixe5 26 .ixe5 h4 27 .ic3 l:t.f8 28 'ife3
keeps Black's disadvantage to a mini­
mal, albeit uncomfortable level, whereas
24...e4 25 lbd2 is clearly better for
White, who can also try 24 lbg5!? here.
Rowson believes that 23 ... .ixe5 is best,
offering the variation 24 lbxe5 fxe5 25
'iig5 (25 l:t.d1 !?) 25 ... h4 26 f4 'iff6 27
'ifxf6 gxf6 28 fxe5 hxg3 (28. . . fxe5 29
l:t.d 1 e4 30 l:t.d6) 29 'it>xg3 lbxe5 30
.ixe5 fxe5 3 1 l:td 1
He puts White in charge here thanks
to the more active king and rook,
Black's extra pawn not exactly impor­
tant. Note that the pawn ending is los­
ing for Black due to White having · the
outside passed pawn.
41
Unders tan ding the Sacrifice
24 ll'ixe5 fxe5
24. ..i.xe5? 25 f4.
25 ..g5
Already the h5-pawn is a problem,
e.g. 25 ...g6 26 f4 e4 27 'ifh6 or 26 ...l:.d8
27 i.xe5 l:.d2+ 28 'ittg l i.xe5 29 fxe5
etc.
25 . . . -.h6 26 -.xh6 gxh6
Black's new doubled pawns are at
least as significant as those on the
queenside, and his pieces are busy de­
fending the e-pawn, which White now
makes sure to immobilise.
27 l:.e41
27 f4 is tempting but premature, and
after 27 ... e4 28 i.e5 i.xe5 29 l:.xe4
l:.d8! 30 fxe5 l:.d2+ 31 'iif £3 l:.xa2 32 e6
'iii f8 Black could even be in front ac­
cording to Rowson.
27 . . . cJ;f7 2a 'iti>f3 'iti>g6 29 'iti>e2 'itf5
30 l:.h4 'iti>g6 3 1 i.c1
White is content to move to and fro
for a while given that Black is unable to
begin anything of his own. However,
the text does threaten to push g3-g4
now that White has both rook and
bishop ready to pounce on h6 .
3 1 . . . i.da 32 l:.e4 i.c 7 33 l:.h4 i.da
34 l:.e4
Purely psychological - White has no
42
intention o f kindly acquiescing to a
draw.
34 . . . i.c7 35 i.d2 l:.e6 36 f3 :ea 37
i.e 1 l:.e6 3a i.c3
38 . . . 'iti>f7
Not 38.. . i.d6 39 f4 'itt f5 40 'itt f3
exf4?? 41 g4+ .
39 'ifi>e3 :ea 40 'itf2 l:.e6 41 l:.e 1
'itg6 42 'ifi>e3 'ifi>f5 43 g4 + 'ifi>g6
43 ... 'ittg5 44 l:.hl !? l:.f6 45 i.d2 'itfh4
46 i.e 1 + 'it'g5 47 l:.g1 hxg4 48 hxg4 h5
49 l:.hl l:.h6 (49. ..hxg4 50 i.h4+) 50
'itte4 is exactly what White is looking
for.
44 'iti>e4 l:.f6 45 i.d2 l:.d6 46 i.e3
l:td7 47 l:.e21
Introducing the option of contesting
the d-file.
47 . . . l:.e7
47 . ..1:.£7 48 l:.d2!? h4 49 i.£2 'ittg5 50
i.e3+ 'ittg6 51 l:.dl l:.e7 52 i.cl l:.£7 53
lld3 l:.e7 54 i.b2 'it'g5 55 'iife3 and now
55 ... h5?! 56 'itte4 hxg4 57 fxg4 l:.£7 58
i.cl + 'ittg6 59 l:.£3 appears to be close
to winning for White, but 55 . ..'ittg6 56
l:.dl 'ittg5 57 i.c3 'iiig6 58 l:.el l:.d7 59
'iiie4 l:.e7 60 'ittd 3 l:.£7 6 1 l:.e3 l:.f4 62
'itte2 'itt f6 63 i.el 'ittg5 64 l:.c3 l:.£7 65
i.d2+ 'ittg6 66 l:.e3 l:.f4 67 i.c3 'itff6 68
l:.d3 'itfe6 69 i.el b5!? leads to an un-

clear position according to Rowson.
48 :g2
A key difference between the two
sides here is that White enjoys the lux­
ury of being able to 'casually' group and
regroup his forces without incurring
risks. Unfortunately for Black he cannot
avail himself of the same facility, as we
are about to see.
48 . . . .:.d7??
48...h4 is imperative, with similar play
to the previous note.
49 gSI
Winning. The game ended as follows:
49 . . . hxgS SO .:.xgS + �fS S1 :xhS
.li.dS S2 :hs + �g7 S3 h41 bS S4
hS aS SS :gs + �h7 SS a41 bxa4
S7 bxa4 :de sa .Ii.gs :d7 S9 :hs +
�g7 so :gs + �h7 s 1 :es .Ii.fa s2
.:.xcS .:.d4 + S3 �fS e4 S4 fxe4 :d7
SS :as .li.g7 SS es :11 + S7 .li.fS
.Ii.fa sa .:.xaS �g8 S9 :as :h7 70
eS .:.xhS + 7 1 �g4 1 -0
It should not escape our attention
that, yet again, the player on the receiv­
ing end of a positional sacrifice is set
numerous strategic and practical prob­
lems which tend to grow in gravity as
the game progresses and which, ulti-
Th e Imp ortance o f S truc ture
mately, are increasingly difficult to ad­
dress.
Triplets
The next three examples feature in­
stances in which the fate of doubled
pawns is exacerbated by the arrival of a
fellow foot-soldier on the same file!
Chernyshov-Ovetchkin
Russian Tean Championship,
Smolensk 2000
1 d4 li:JfS 2 lt:Jc3 dS 3 .Ii.gs .li.fS 4
.li.xfS gxfS S e3 eS S .li.d3 .Ii.gs 7 f4
A rather cheeky advance since it ne­
glects the e4-square and invites Black to
clamp down with 7 . . fS. In fact this
.
leads to a tenable position for Black, as
does the preliminary trade on d3. In­
stead Black sought to punish his oppo­
nent's latest by seeking to undermine
White's influence on the dark squares
now that the committal f2-f4 has also
neglected the e3-pawn.
7 . . . cS?!
Failing to spot White's response sug­
gests that Black was in too positive a
mood here, the one distinction about
the text being that it is a theoretical
43
Unders tanding th e Sacrifice
novelty.
8 f5!
Rather than White being guilty of se­
riously weakening his dark squares,
Black's neglection of his light squares is
the real crime.
8 . . . exf5
Black has to accept his three f-pawns
anyway, and by keeping the bishop in
the game the light squares should be
easier to defend. After 8 ... i.xfS 9 i.xfS
exf5 1 0 'if£3 White's position is even
more pleasant than in the game.
9 1i'f3 tDc6 1 0 tDge2
1 0 . .1i'd7
. who gives 1 2 i. xfS 1 2 ... i.xf5 1 3 'ifxfS
Black is eager to send his king over to
the queenside, away from the embar­
rassment. Otherwise there is an altema-
44
rive in 10 ... cxd4 1 1 exd4 i.b4. Then 1 2
0-0 i.xc3 1 3 lLixc3 0-0 1 4 'ifxd5 lLixd4
1 5 'ifxb7 sees White shift his attention
to the queenside, while 1 3 . ..tLlxd4 1 4
l:. ae1 + <iti> f8 can lead to an interesting
situation after the following sequence:
1 5 'ifxd5 'ifxd5 1 6 lLixd5 l:.d8 1 7 tLle3
l:.g8 1 8 c3 tiJ £3+ 1 9 l:.xf3 l:.xd3 20 l:. f2
Ironically the feature of which Black
is not too proud has survived intact!
Unfortunately the future of the f-pawns
is anyway in White's hands, which is
where the pawns will be eventually!
White can also play 1 2 i. xf5 i. xc3+
1 3 bxc3, which accepts imperfection in
White's own structure, although Black is
hardly in a position to exploit this.
1 1 0-0
1 1 lLixd5!? looks good, Black's best
being 1 1 ... i.g7 12 c4 with an obvious
advantage to White, rather than 1 1 ... 0-0-
0 1 2 lLi xf6 'ife6 1 3 d5 'ifxf6 1 4 dxc6
etc. The text is simple and takes aim on
the f-file.
1 1 . . . 0-0-0
1 1 ...l:.d8 is a suggestion of Tsesarsky,
i. h6 as only slightly worse for Black,
although White seems clearly better to
me. Even better for White is 1 2 lLi f4

cxd4 1 3 lbfxd5 i.e7 1 4 exd4, e.g.
14 ... lbxd4 1 5 'ii'e3 lbe6 1 6 i.b5 i.c5 1 7
lbxf6+ rj;e7 1 8 'i'xc5+ lbxc5 1 9 lbxd7
lbxd7 20 l:t.ae1 +
Now both 20 ... rj; f6 21 lbe4+ rj;g7 22
lbd6 and 20...'it>d6 21 :d1 + 'it>c7 22
i.xd7 l:t.xd7 23 lbb5+ 'it>d8 24 lbxa7
are decisive.
1 2 .i.xf5
One down, two to go...
12 . . . .i.xfS 13 ti'xt5 lbb4
1 3 ...'ii'e6 14 'ii'xe6+ fxe6 1 5 l:r.x f6
i.g7 1 6 l:t.t7 i.h6 1 7 :s.
14 ti'f2
· Black has a terrible position after the
obvious 1 4 'i'xf6 i.e7 1 5 'i'f2 lbxc2 1 6
:act lbb4 1 7 'i'xt7 or 1 7 lbf4.
1 4 . . . lbxc2
Th e Imp ortance o f S truc ture
Or 1 4...i.h6 15 lbf4 cxd4 1 6 exd4
with a clear lead to White. Black's re­
maining f-pawns and the d5-pawn are
simply too weak in all these lines.
1 5 :tac1 lbb4 1 6 lbf4 1 ?
1 6 'i'xf6 l:t.g8 1 7 dxc5 'i'e 6 1 8
'i'xe6+ fxe6 1 9 lbf4 rj;d7 20 a3 lbc6 21
b4 is an extra pawn.
1 6 . . . cxd4 1 7 exd4 �b8 1 8 a3 lbc6
1 9 lbfxd5
No comment.
1 9 . . .ti'g4 20 l:.cd 1 .i.h6?
20... i.g7 21 b4 is an unpleasant lesser
evil. And now instead of 21 :fe1 ? f5 22
b4 f4!, which is hardly earth-shattering
but a tad inconvenient, White could
have effectively ended the game imme­
diately with 21 lbxf6! ti'g6 22 d5 etc.
M .Gurevich-Shirov
Bosna SuperGM, 2000
White is happy to accept doubled e­
pawns here because this will then open
the cl-file and allow him to pin the
knight, in turn exerting pressure on the
e5-pawn.
1 8 . . . .i.xe4
And Black is happy to oblige.. .
1 9 dxe4 .i.f6 20 l:.ad1
Forcing the win of a pawn.
45
Un ders tanding the Sacrific e
20 . . .'ii'e7 21 �xd7 :xd7 22 l:.xd7
'ii'x d7 23 fxe5 �d8
Remember that White was intending
to reach this position when we joined
the game. White's 5-3 kingside pawn
majority sounds better than it looks, but
at least a number of squares are covered
by this bizarre centre. However, the
pawns are going nowhere and, should
Black win the eS-pawn, the material
balance will be restored only to leave
White with doubled isolated pawns.
24 �g2 �c7 25 �d4 a6 26 'ii'c 3
:es
Preparing to get the queen and rook
the right way round for an assault on
the eS-pawn.
27 l:.f3 'ii'e8 28 l:.d3
46
The cl-file beckons as 28 l:tfS g6 will
force the capture of the eS-pawn any­
way. The text also means that Black
must spend a tempo creating an escape
square for his king, as 28... i.xeS?? 29
i.xeS I:txeS loses to 30 'iixeS.
28 . . . h6 29 'ii'd 2 �h7!
So nudging the h-pawn forward was
doubly useful - this time 29 ... i.xeS?? 30
i.xeS l:txeS runs into 3 1 l:. d8.
30 �c5 l:.xe5 3 1 l:.d7
Again White will have had this pre­
pared much earlier. Nevertheless
Black's prospects are the more promis­
ing, e.g. 3 1 ...b6 32 l:txc7 bxcS 33 bxcS
l:txe4 and the third e-pawn also comes
un·der pressure. In fact this is preferable
to Shirov's next, which is a nice way of
exchanging rooks but should result in a
level game.
31 . . .l:.d5 ! ? 32 exd5
Not 32 l:txdS 'iixe4+.
32 . . ...Wxd7 33 'ii'd 3 + �g8 34 d6?!
Having given Black targets on the e­
file White now presents his opponent
with something to aim at on the cl-file.
Better is 34 e4 with a draw the probable
result. Now the passed pawn is in dan­
ger of meeting the same fate as the eS­
pawn.
 __:_:_:_::______:__
__
The lmportan
n cc;__:_ f S.:.:...
e�o:.:_:: truc._ ture
_
_

36 d7 f5 followed by ...@ fl favours

B�ck
36 . . . b6 White's latest weakness can 't survive
7
. .
Evicting a defender tn preparatton much longer...
.
in
. g approach of the king
for the corrun 45 . . . i..f6 46 i..xf6 .
.
37 i..f2 �f8 38 g4 Understandably go g for the queen
38 d7? @e7 . ending rather than . viting 46 i. f4
38 . . . �ea 39 �f3 i. d4, although retatntng� the bishops
0 ffers better chanc es of survival.
.

46 . . .'ii'xf6 47 'ii'e 3
Trading queens 1·s obviously out o f
the question.
47 . . .'ii'xd6
47...@xd6 48 '1llr
• c 5+ @ d7 49 'i!fa7 +.
..+. e 5
48 'ii'a7 + �e6 49 'ii'x a6 w

39 . . . b5!
39 ...@d7?! 40 'ifxa6 gives White un-
necessary counterp1ay.
40 i..e3
40 i.cS @d7.
40 . . .'ii'f6 + !
.
Ruling out th e annoytng 'ifd4 before
slotting the kin in front o f the pawn. It is fitting th kin acts as ftnal
4 1 <it>e2 <it>d7 �2 i..d4 'ii'g 6! 43 i..e5 exern tl·oner for �e�:st }the e-pawns.
47
----
Un ders tan ding the Sacrifice
The game ended:
50 'ii'a 7 'ii'e6 5 1 �2
51 � £3 'i'b3+ 52 'iVe3 'iVxe3+ 53
�xe3 g5 and White must surrender ter­
ritory and the game.
5 1 . . .'ii'a 2 + 52 �g3
52 � £3 'i'b3+ .
52 . . . �xe4 53 'ii'c 5 'ii'd 5 54 'ii'c 1
5 4 'i'c2+ 'i'd3+.
54 . . . g5 55 'ii'e 1 + �d3 56 a4 bxa4
5 7 'ii'd 1 + �c3 58 'ii'x a4
58 'i'xd5 cxd5 59 b5 a3 60 b6 a2 61
b7 al 'i' 62 b8'i' 'i'gl + 63 � £3 (63 �h3
'i' ft + 64 �g3 'i' f4+) 63 ...'i' ft +.
58 . . .'ii'd3 + 0-1
The final checking move with the
queen, ... 'i'c2+, is next and so White
decides to call it a day.
Finally, here is a simple endgame
demonstration.
Ponomariov-Topalov
FIDE World Championship 1 999
31 tbg4 �c7
The alternative 3 t .. ..i.g7 runs into 32
'i'xg5 'i'xa2+ 33 �h3 .i.xc3 34 'i'xe7,
e.g. 34...'i'd2 35 e5! and the c5-pawn
drops.
32 e 5 ! ? .i.xe5!
48
32 ...dxe5 33 lb£2 closes cages the
bishop behind a wall of pawns and
leaves White ready to cement his knight
on e4.
33 t!Jxe5 dxe5 34 'ii'e2 �d6 35 c4
If Black does not pay attention here
he will find himself trying to hold back
the tide on both flanks after White
sends his king on a mission to capture
the g5-pawn.
35 . . . e41
Very good - Black has enough e­
pawns to go around. Now taking with
the pawn lets Black's king stroll in to e5
for what would be a tremendous out­
post, so White parts with his a-pawn
instead.
36 'ii'xe4 'ii'x a2 + 37 �h3 'ii'b2 38
�g4
Now, instead of 38 ...'i' f2?? 39 f4!,
forcing a decisive passed g-pawn in
view of 39 ...gxf4 40 'iVx f4+ 'iVx f4+ 41
�xf4, Black could have drawn with
38 . . .'ii'f6! 39 �h5 'ii'f5 1 , e.g. 40 g4
'ii'f7 + 41 �xg5 'ii'f6 + 42 �h5
'ii'h 8 + etc.
In the following instructive example
White needs a sacrifice to actually get at
his opponent's weaknesses.

Shirov-Short
Bosna SuperGM 2000
In the diagram position White already
has a considerable positional advantage
in that Black's pawns all occupy the
same colour complex as the bishop(s).
But thus far Black is managing to hold
everything together with the aid of his
'bad' bishop, offering the e6-pawn (and,
if necessary, the g6-pawn) support. If
only White could find a way in to
Black's dodgy queenside...
50 �g4 :ea 51 h5! _
Ironically White's sacrifice is aimed at
,
loosening Black's ostensibly iron grip of
the f5-square; the reason why will soon
be revealed.
5 1 . . . gxh5 52 �h3 h4 + 53 �h2
Th e Imp orta n c e of Struc ture
Thus far White seems only to have
lost a pawn and simultaneously pre­
sented Black with a passed pawn, but
White's active pieces are ready to ex­
ploit the location of Black's king which,
were the position to open, might be a
problem. For example after 53 ...:hg8
54 f5 exfS 55 l:.xf5+ 'it>g7 56 :g2+ 'it>f8
57 l:.gf2 :e7 58 : f6 Black's weak
queenside comes into play, e.g. 58 ...:a7
59 J. e6 l:.g7 60 J. xd5 and White will
emerge from the subsequent multiple
exchanges on fl with a winning pawn
ending. Alternatively 58 ...�g7 59 :xa6
spells the beginning of the end for
Black.
Instead Black anticipates the corning
advance.
53 . . .%le7 54 f5 %lhe8 55 %lg2! �g8
Or 55 ... exf5 56 l:.xf5+ 'it>e6 57 l:.g7
i.g8 58 :ffl+ �d6 59 l:.xe7 l::t.xe7 60
l:txg8 etc.
56 %lg6 + �7 57 %lgxe6
(seefollowing diagram)
White is winning.
57 . . . �fS
57 ...:xe6 58 fxe6+ 'it>f6 59 l:.xd5
i.xe6 60 :d6 again leads to the decisive
pawn ending after 60 ... 'it>fl 61 :xe6
:xe6 62 i.xe6+ 'it>xe6 63 'it>h3.
49
"
U'�
" n d�rs�
e� ta�
n�
.
dt..:.:;
ng � --
the Sacrri0_
fic�e�----- ��
.
60.. .'ittx f6 6 1 .i c8 being the first nail in
the coffin. BIack h" no nm . e to defend
the b-pawn because the a-pawn will . run
through.

58 l:.xe7 l:.xe 7 59 l:.xe7 'itiix e7 60

16 + I 1 -0
. will be able to explou m
.
·
Finally White
,
his opponent s queens!" de pawns , WI

50
 CHAPTER TWO I
The Colour Complex

During the opening phase in particular lookout for the more obvious destruc­
we might concentrate on just one col­ tive or short-term sacrifice, so this posi­
our complex with a view to later launch­ tionally oriented investment often
ing an offensive or stepping up the comes as a surprise, the implications of
pressure exclusively on, for example, which might still remain unclear until it
the dark squares. Alternatively the is too late.
change in location (or removal) of one
or more pawns, or an ostensibly unim­ Bagirov-Temirbaev
portant trade of pieces can alter the Manila Olympiad (M:en) 1 992
power-sharing of a colour complex
considerably, in turn changing the na­
ture of the general struggle. Such fac­
tors, since they concern practically 50%
of the board, can be decisive, which is
why opportunities to exploit a shift in
control of a colour complex tend not to
arise too often.
In this chapter we will look at exam­
ples in which one player endeavours to
create favourable circumstances on a
specific colour complex with the aid of
a sacrifice. Not surprisingly the advan­ An inspection of the diagram posi­
tages of a sacrifice designed to claim tion highlights White's light-squared
more than a fair share of this or that bishop as a useful piece, offering much
colour squares in one or more sectors needed support to both flanks, particu­
of the board can be significant. More­ larly the kingside which, as a result of
over, opponents are usually on the White's efforts to undermine the de-

51
Unders t a n ding th e Sa c rifice
fence of the e4-pawn, looks a bit ex­
posed. The dS-pawn also attracts our
attention, being protected only by the
queen. With these factors in mind, and
with his forces well posted, Black now
changed the pace of the game to his
advantage with a positional sacrifice
aimed at taking over the light squares.
22 . . . tLld3 !
.
Interference. Already White's lines of
communication with both c4 and dS
have been cut. Of course the knight
cannot be allowed to stay on d3, so
White must part with his bishop.
23 .i.xd3 exd3 24 b3 fxg4
Increasing the range of his light­
squared bishop before executing the key
part of the plan.
25 hxg4 l:.xc4!? 26 bxc4 'i'xc4
Black's exchange sacrifice is by no
means uncommon. Since rooks move
along ranks and files they tend to have
little to do with a particular colour
complex and, as such, make for good
sacrificial candidates in these situations.
Moreover, the colour oriented posi­
tional exchange sacrifice often serves to
lessen the worth of the opponent's
rooks, which cannot, of course , con­
tribute in the fight for diagonals or col-
52
lections of squares.
27 l:.d2 lLlf6 !?
27 ...'iie4+ is also possible, meeting
'ii f3 with ... 'iixa4. As long as Black now
undertakes aggressive action on the
light squares he will cause considerable
damage. This would not be the case
were Black to trade on bS - the whole
point of the play since we joined the
game has been to over-run White on
the light squares.
28 tLlxd6?
A mistake in an anyway hopeless po­
sition which, as far as White is con­
cerned, has fallen apart. After, for ex­
ample, 28 l:hd3 'iie4+ 29 @gt Black
crowns his strategy with either
29 ... ti)xg4 30 .llb 6 (30 .ll c t 'iix hl+ 31
�xhl tl)f2+) 30 .. .l:hf4 or 29 ....llxg4 30
'ii'd2 'ii'g6 etc.
After 28 . . .'i'xd5 + 29 Wg 1 'i'xd6
30 l:.xd3 'i'e6 3 1 g5 hxg5 32 fxg5
tLlg4 33 llh3 tLle5 White soon threw
in the towel.
Movsesian-Dizdar
FIDE World Championship 1 999
Here we have a French Defence
which is quite pleasant for Black, whose
two main candidate moves are castling
 The Colour Comp lex

and ...lt'ih4, the latter seeking to under­ dark squares and the text leaves White
mine White's support of the backward with only the 'wrong' bishop.
d4-pawn which can be a problem for 21 .i.xf3 'ii'xb4 22 b3 0-0
White in some variations. Instead Black
opted for a more provocative continua­
tion.
1 7 . . . l:.c4 1 8 'ii'd 1 l:.b4
Part of the plan, but the rook seems
to be heading for trouble in enemy terri­
tory.
1 9 .i.d2
Exploiting the fact that 1 9 ...l:.xb2 20
.1c3 traps the rook, 20...l:.xe2 2 1 'ii'xe2
.1xa4 22 l:.xa4 'ii'b 3 23 l:ta2 'ii'x c3 24
'ii'b 2!? seeing White win one of the
pawns back after 24...'ii'xb2 25 l:.xb2 b5 For the rook Black has a potentially
26 l:ta1 or 24...'ii'c 8 25 l:.c1 ! 'ii'd7 26 powerful dark-squared bishop (that
l:.b 1 . cannot be challenged) and an extra
(passed) centre pawn. He is also .without
structural weaknesses whereas White, in
contrast, needs to worry about the
pawns on b3 and e5 (and later, perhaps,
the h5-pawn).
The game continued
23 'ii'd3 .i.c5

1 9 . . .ll:Jxd4!
The point. Black will part with the
exchange but this version pockets the
far more important d4-pawn and, sig­
nificantly, trades the rook for the dark­
squared bishop, a consideration which
assures Black full positional compensa­
tion for the modest material investment. 23 ....i.g5 suggests itself, keeping an
20 .i.xb4 ll:Jxf3 + eye on c1 when the c-file offers White
20 ... lt'ixe2+ 21 'ii'xe2 'ii'xb4 is an­ the only means by which to use his 'ex­
other possibility, but Black is concen­ tra' rook. Instead Black is happy to give
trating his efforts on operating on the his bishop a more 'hands-on' role in

53
Un ders tanding th e Sa crific e

proceedings. that he is able to work from more than

24 llac1 id4 25 llfe 1 �b2 one sector o f the board. Thus far we
The criss-cross pressure on el and eS have seen the dark-squared bishop ap­
means that White must anyway aban­ pear (in total) on gS, cS, d4, b2, c l , f4,
don the c-file. a7 and bB! Incidentally, in the diagram
26 llb1 :ca! position 3 1 'ii'b2 runs into 3 1 ...i.xa4
Bringing the rook into the game and etc.
guaranteeing Black full compensation 29 llc1
and, with it, at the very least a level And now Black had to push with
game. 29 ... d4!
27 lle2 �d4
Psakhis proposes the more impres-
sive looking 27 ... i.c l !? 28 'ii'd l (28
l:.c2? 'ifel +) 28 ...i.f4, when 29 g3
meets with 29 ... 'ii'c 3! (hitting f3 and eS) ,
e.g. 30 i.xdS exdS 3 1 gxf4 i.g4 32 l::te3
i.xdl 33 l:.xc3 ::lxc'3 34 ::lxdl llxb3,
when Black seems to have the better of
the resulting rook ending.
28 lld 1 ic3
Although there is nothing wrong with
this move it appears that Black has in •

mind a faulty plan. The alternative With the bishop and cl-pawn success­
28 ... i.a7!? was probably discarded be­ fully closing out the rooks Black is do­
cause the bishop looks less 'busy' on a7. ing fine here. Unfortunately for Black
However, after the natural 29 llc2 l:hc2 he went for the tactical
30 'ii'xc2 i.b8 both eS and b3 are under 29 . . . Wxb3? 30 lle3 d4
pressure. but walked right into
31 Wxd4! �xd4 32 llxc8 + ixc8
33 llxb3
The game ended as follows.
33 . . . �xe5 34 �xb7 ixb7
34 ... i.d7!? 35 l:tb4 aS 36 ::lc4 i.f6 37
'
i.c6! i.xc6 (37 ...i.c8 38 i.e8 i.b7 39
l::tc7) 38 l::txc6 is a lesser evil, although
White's win will inevitably come even­
tually.
35 llxb7 a5 36 ..t>f1 ..t>f8 37 ..t>e2 96
38 hxg6 fxg6 39 ..t>d3 h5
Or 39...i.d6 40 'otc4 'ote8 41 '.tbs
It is worth noting that Black's greater i.b4 42 :g7.
influence over the dark squares is such 40 lla7 1 -0

54
 Th e Colour Complex

Grischuk-Markowski dxc7 'ii'xc7 2 1 .lte3 b6 is only equal) .

European Team Championship, After 1 5 .ltd3, on the other hand,
Baturni 1 999 White simply challenges Black to dem­
onstrate that his plan to pressure the
d5-pawn has been worth the positional
price-tag. Black has a choice here1

The diagram position arose after the

opening moves 1 e4 c5 2 lLif3 g6 3 d4
.ltg7 4 d5 lLif6 5 lLic3 d6 6 .ltc4 0-0 7 0-
0 .ltg4 8 h3 .ltxf3 9 'ii'x f3 lLibd7 1 0 1 5 . . . c4
'ii'd l lLie8 1 1 l:.el lLic7 1 2 a4 Giving the rook some breathing
1 2 . fS?!
. . space along the . rank. Let us see what
Having already parted company with might happen if Black captures on d5
his light-squared bishop Black is taking immediately. J 5 ...lLibxd5 1 6 lLig5 l::.e5
a risk with this aggressive thrust, which• leads to a comfortable · advantage to
weakens his light squares considerably. White after either 1 7 .lte4 lLif6 1 8
1 3 exf5 .:.xf5 .ltxb7 l:t.xe 1 + 1 9 'ii'xe 1 .:t.b8 20 lLie6
Now 1 4 .lta2 lLib6 1 5 g4 l:t.f7 1 6 a5 lLixe6 21 'ii'x e6+ ..tih8 22 .ltf3 or 1 7
lLid7 1 7 lLie4 is enough for a slight pull, :xe5 dxe5 (1 7. . ..ltxe5 1 8 .ltc4 i s a sim­
but White wanted to punish his oppo­ ple illustration of what can befall Black)
nent for having too little respect for an 1 8 .ltc4
important colour complex.
1 4 tl:Je4!?
Effectively calling Black's bluff by
taking his eye off the d5-pawn.
14 . . . tl:ib6
The only consistent follow-up. Other­
wise Black will have practically surren­
dered the e6-square for nothing.
1 5 i.d3 ! ?
Agairi .White can secure a n edge with
1 5 g4 l:.£8 1 6 'ii'd 3 lLixc4 1 7 'ii'xc4 'ii'd7
1 8 l:.a3 (1 8 lLixc5 dxc5 1 9 d6+ ..tih8 20

55
Unders tan ding th e Sacrific e
Black's extra e-pawn might even be a
liability here because it hinders his only
bishop, while the light squares are safely
in White's hands. 1 5...tt)cxdS and (even
worse) 1 5 ...l:.xdS both invite 1 6 aS,
when White is clearly better.
1 6 i.f 1
A typical active retreat. Obviously
White wants to keep this very relevant
piece in play. After 1 6 aS?! cxd3
(1 6 ... tt)bxdS 17 i..xc4) 17 axb6 tt)xdS
Black, who no longer has to worry
about his vulnerable light squares,
stands better, e.g. 1 8 bxa7 dxc2 1 9
'ii'xc2 i..d4 or 1 8 .:.xa7 dxc2 1 9 'ii'xc2
:r.b8.
1 6 . . ..:t.xdS 1 7 'iig4 :as
1 7 ... .:.fS 1 8 aS tt)d7 1 9 i..xc4+ dS 20
i.. b 3 e6 21 tt)g3 .:.n 22 c3 favours
White, with two pawn islands to Black's
three, targets on the centre files and -
still - the potentially influential bishop
pa.tr.
1 8 lLJgS
Black has gone to great lengths to
capture the dS-pawn. His rook is out on
a limb on aS and there is now a definite
problem on the light squares - no won­
der White was content to go along for
the ride rather than drop his bishop
56
back to a2 earlier. Black's best now is
1 8... c3 19 b3 l:.fS 20 aS tt)bdS 21 i.. d3
l:.eS 22 l:.xeS and now, rather than
22...i..xeS 23 i..c4, when the pin is deci­
sive thanks to 23 ...@g7 24 i..xdS tt)xdS
25 tt)e6+ or 23 ...'ii'c 8 24 'ii' f3, Black can
at least limit his plight to just a slight
disadvantage with 22... dxeS 23 i..c4 etc.
Instead...
1 8 . . .'iic S?
... was aimed at contesting the light
squares at the cost of a pawn, but after .. .
19 l:.xe7 'iixg4 20 hxg4 .:t.c8 21
i.d2 :cs
2 1 ...:r.xa4 22 .:.xa4 tt)xa4 23 i..xc4+
dS 24 i.. b 3 tt)cs (24 ... tt)xb2 25 i.. f4 h6
26 i..xc7 hxgS 27 i..xdS+) 25 i.. c 3
i..x c3 26 bxc3 h6 27 tt)f7 @£8 28 tt)d6
@xe7 29 tt)xc8+ @f6 30 tt)xa7 or 25
i.. a2 i..xb2 26 i.. f4 i.. f6 27 .:.xc7 l:.xc7
28 i..xc7 i..xgS 29 i..x dS+ @£8 30 f4,
with an advantage in both cases.
22 lLJe4 .:t.c6 23 i.c3 i.xc3 24 lLJxc3
White stood better.
Adams-Comp Fritz 6
Frankfurt-West Masters (rapid) 1 999
For some reason I always like to see
computers lose. Unfortunately in this
game super-GM Michael Adams man-
 Th e Colour Complex

aged only to draw against the machine, squares. Best play now seems to be the
although he did succeed in engineering following variations (based on analysis
a nice winning possibility along the way. by Muller).
Black's rather tardy development on the
kingside, combined with White's well
placed forces and - significantly - the
b-file, inspired Michael to make a fur­
ther, aggressive positional pawn sacri­
fice.
1 8 d61 1
Opening the long diagonal to home
in on b 7, freeing the d5-square for both
bishop and knight and generally taking
over the light squares en masse.
1 8 . . . exd6
Now White, understandably, contin­ 22 . . . i.xe6
ued 1 9 il.d5? but after 1 9 ... 'ifa6 20 l:.b l 22... a6 23 l:.xe5! axb5 (23 ... dxe5 24
1'.c6 21 l:.b3 1'.xd5 22 lbxd5 'itb8 23 l:.dl) 24 1'.xd7+ l:.xd7 25 l:.e8+ l:.d8 26
'iffl 'iic6 24 c4 'ifd7 25 'ti'£3 'iic8 26 l:.xd8+ 'itxd8 27 l:.e l 1'.e7 28 l:.xe7
l:.eb 1 l:.d7 Black put up sufficient resis­ 'ti'c8 29 llxb7 l:.e8 30 'itfl !
tance to eventually hold the draw - a
pity, in my opinion, particularly when
one looks at Michael's smooth posi­
tional approach, which deserved more.
Anyway, it seems that...
19 .:.b 1 !
...would have offered White excellent
winning chances according to Karsten
Muller. 1 9 ...'ti'a6 runs into 20 il.c4,
while 1 9 ...1'.c6 20 1'.e6+ l:.d7 (20 ... 'itc7
21 lbd5+) 21 1'.xd7+ 'itxd7 22 l:.xb7+!
1'.xb7 23 'ti'xb7+ 'itd8 24 l:.b l ! is deci­
sive. Muller also gives 19 ... e4!? 20 'ii'xe4 Very nice. Black will soon run out of
1'.c6 21 il.d5 'ti'a6 22 l:.b3 il.xd5 23 moves ...
lbxd5 'ti'c6 24 l:.ebl with a promising 23 'iWxe6 + .:r.d7 24 'iWea + .:.da 25
attack. This leaves ... :xe5! J..e 7
19 . . .'iWaS 20 i.e6! 'iWc7 21 lll b 5 25 ... a6 26 l:.xc5+! dxc5 27 'ti'e6+
'iWb8. .:t.d7 28 l:.d 1 wins for White.
21 ... 'ti'b6 22 lbxd6+ 1'.xd6 23 l:.xb6 26 'iWxe7 .:r.d7
axb6 24 il.d5. 26 ... dxe5 27 'ti'e6+ l:.d7 28 l:.dl
22 'iWf7 l:.hd8 29 l:.d5! b6 30 'ti'c6+ l:.c7 sets up
Black is in dire straits on the light a textbook finish.

57
Unders tanding the Sacrifice
31 l:£Jxc7 'ii'xc7 32 'it'a8+ 'ifb8 33
:xd8+.
27 'ii'e6 a6 28 .::r.d 1 axb5 29 :xc5 +
'iti>d8 30 .::r.x b5
and Black is in trouble.
Now for a more thematic example.
M . Gurevich-Bae rot
Bosna SuperGM, 2000
The diagram position is typical of one
of the main lines of the English Open­
ing with 1 ...e5 and ...g7-g6 etc. Black has
erected a barrier of pawns on the h 1 -a8
diagonal in the hope of later exploiting
the fact that the dark-squared bishop
has no opposite number. However,
White plans to make the most of his
58
presence on the light squares.
21 lLib3 1 7
By threatening to jump into c5 White
invites his young opponent to accept
the now unprotected c4-pawn, thus
removing Black's most advanced guard­
ian of the light squares.
21 . . . dxc4
Black did not like 2 1 ...'ii'd6 22 bxc6
bxc6 23 cxd5 cxd5 24 l:iJb5.
22 dxc4 .i.xc4 23 tlJc5
Now the b7-pawn comes under at­
tack, the general pressure on the queen­
side enhanced by White's heavy artillery
lined up on the b- and c-files.
23 . . . cxbS
The main alternative to the text -
and, perhaps, an improvement - is
23 ... b6 24 /:iJ5a4 /:iJfS, when 25 bxc6
l:iJd4 26 c7!? 'ii'x c7 27 l:iJb5! l:iJxb5 28
'ii'xc4 'ii'xc4 29 l:.xc4 :xa4 30 l:.xa4
/:iJc3 is an interesting series of ex­
changes from which Black emerges with
an extra pawn, albeit only worth an
edge. Instead 25 �xc6 l:iJd4 26 'ii'd l
l:£Jxe2+ 27 l:£Jxe2 'ii'x dl + 28 l:.xdl
�xe2 29 l:iJxb6! �xd 1 30 l:£Jxa8 l:.d8
leaves Black worrying about the b­
pawn, but 26 ... l:£Jxc6 27 bxc6 'ii'x dl + 28
l:.xd 1 l:.ac8 should be okay for Black,
e.g. 29 l:iJxb6 :xc6 30 l:£Jxc4 :xc4 3 1
l:iJd5 :c2. 2 3...'it'b6? 24 /:iJ3a4 is not to
be recommended, while 23 ...l:.b8 24
:d1 'it'a5 25 l:iJ3e4!? followed by hom­
ing in on d6 gives White a healthy}nitia­
tive for the invested material ace:brding
to Gurevich.
24 tLixb5 .i.xb5 25 .::r.x b5 lLif5
25 ... l:.bS 26 l:.dl 'it'c8 27 �xb7 gives
White a nagging edge.
26 .::r.x b7
White's practical try with the initial

sacrifice of the c4-pawn has resulted in
a clear advantage thanks to the extent of
his light square control. Unfortunately
for Black 26 ...:fs 27 :d7 drops an ex­
change, while 26 ...tbd4 27 'i'c4 drives
the queen to a more active square. Con­
sequently Black heads to the c-file.
26 . . J:tcs 21 l:txf7 tt::id4
27 .. Jle7 walks into 28 :xf5!
Now 28...gxfS 29 li'xfS+ 'iit>h 8 30
i.e4 is another illustration of White's
,,
domiitirance o f the light squares, and
28... :ec7 29 .l:tf3 :xcS 30 'ii'x cS :xcS
31 :xcS will also see Black's queen
struggling to fend off both rooks and
the bishop as White launches an assault
on the light squares. Note that here and
in the other variations thus far Black's
Th e Colour Complex
bishop has played no part, such is the
significance of White's concentration on
one colour complex.
28 '11r'a 2
Not 28 'ifdl ?? .l:txcS!, when 29 :xcS
tbf3+ picks up the queen.
28 . . Jle7
28 ...'ifd6 29 'ifa7 :gs 30 i.fl ! is a
temporary and decisive retreat of the
bishop, which is ready to rerurn to bat­
tle after e2-e3.
29 l:txe7 '11r'xe7 30 tl:ld3 :xc1 + 31
tl:lxc 1
and White evenrually converted his
extra pawn.
An impressive display from White,
wlfo took the practical decision to give
the sacrifice a try based on the posi­
tional pluses created by subsequently
assuming control of the light squares.
Turov-Holmsten
Ubeda 2000
A better than average appreciation of
the positional side of chess is, of course,
a very useful skill indeed, and one which
affords us opportunities to steer the
game down an avenue with which an
opponent may not be su fficiently ac-
59
Un ders tanding the Sacrifice
quainted. Such is the case in this exam­
ple, where White tempts his lower rated
opponent into capturing a pawn on
which he has been focusing for some
time. With the d4-pawn the subject of
considerable over-protection White
elected to give it away...
20 �e31?
A nice move from which White has a
good chance of getting what he wants.
The threat is a further advance to g4,
from where Black's 'good' bishop
comes under fire as well as his vulner­
able e5-square. Should Black now trade
knights White recaptures with the
queen, keeping open (at the cost of
leaving the d4-pawn isolated) both the
e-file, to monitor both the backward e6-
pawn and the weakness directly in front
of it, and the c1-h6 diagonal, upon
which stands the h6-pawn that currently
enjoys the protection of Black's knight.
Since allowing tLig4 is not really a plau­
sible option ( ... h6-h5 covers g4 while
surrendering the potentially important
g5-square) and ... tLixe3 might leave
Black a little exposed, he chooses to
accept the offer.
20 . . . �fxd4 21 �xd4
21 . . . i.xd4
60
21 ...tLixd4 2 2 1'.b2 tLif5 23 1'.xf6+
l:.xf6 24 tLig4 l:.ff8 25 l:.fel offers
White ample compensation in view of
the wonderful e5-s.quare and Black's
slightly suspect pawn structure. How­
ever, 21...'iixd4!? 22 'iie2 'iic3 is worth
a try. After 23 tLig4 tLid4 24 'iid2 e5!?
25 tLixf6 l:.xf6 26 1'.b2 'iixd2 27 l:.xd2
1'.h3! 28 1'.xd4 1'.xg2 29 'itixg2 exd4 30
l:.xd4 l:.d8 the ending is level but, to be
fair, such a variation is extremely diffi­
cult to navigate through at the board.
22 i.b2 i.xb2 23 'ii'x b2 + 'iti>h 7 24
�g4
This is what White was hoping for.
In return for the pawn White has a
nicely posted queen on the long diago­
nal plus a knight that monitors key dark
squares, not forgetting what could well
turn out to be juicy targets in the form
of the pawns on e6, g6 and h�. Mean­
while Black has the traditionally poor
bishop associated with this French
structure and a king that requires careful
protection. Comfortable compensation,
but Black does have a pawn in the bank
for his inconvenience, so White cannot
afford to be casual in his subsequent
treatment of his positional advantages.
24 . . . 'it'dS

Time to bring the queen back into
the fold in order to shore up the sorry
looking dark squares by contesting the
long diagonal after ...'ii'f8-g7 (even if
this manoeuvre does take three moves
to accomplish) .
25 f4
Clamping down on eS.
25 . . .WfS 26 :te1 Wg7 27 'ii'd 2
l::thf8 28 i.f1 �h8 29 .td3
Now both g6 and h6 are a burden for
Black.
29 . . . Wd4 + ? !
Part of a faulty plan, although i t is
di fficult to suggest anything construc­
tive for Black.
30 'it;g2 h5?
Hindered by a sense of consistency,
Black follows up the check, but retrac­
ing his steps with 30 ...'ii'g7 is preferable
to the text, which effectively fixes both
pawns on far from ideal squares. Now
White should have pounced with...
3 1 tLie5 ! ttJxe5 32 :xe5 l:tg7 33
Wxa5
restoring the material balance with
. • .
a clear advantage.
The problem for Black is two-fold:
he is unable to compete on the dark
squares yet, ironically, he is in trouble
Th e Colour Complex
o n the light squares, too. Of course
matters did not have to reach this grave
level for Black, but the practical prob­
lems created by tbe3 - which incurred
no risks for White - were di fficult to
address.
Finally an energetic positional sacrifi­
cial theme aimed purely at undermining
the opponent's kingside protection.
Wells-Emms
Redbus Knockout 2000
Black must not be allowed to activate
his bishop pair by pushing his c-pawn.
Such a consideration might have led to
White's next which, despite having an
air of prophylaxis, is actually the first
part of a menacing strategy.
1 9 :ac 1 l 'ii'x a2 20 h5
Chipping away at Black's king.
20 . . .Wd5
The greedy 20...'ifxb2 runs into 21
hxg6 hxg6 22 tbeS! fxeS 23 'ii'e4 �h7
24 :h3, with mate looming. Instead
Black calls his queen back.
21 hxg6 hxg6 22 l:tc5 l
The point. White is happy to part
with the exchange of this means the
removal of Black's good bishop, after
61
Unders tan ding th e Sacrific e
which the dark squares around Black's
king will be susceptible to attack.
22 . . . i.xc5 23 l:lxc5
23 . . ..'iWd6
23 ... 'ifa2!? looks awkward but is
trkky. Wells gives a couple of variations
after 24 'ifd3 'i;fl 2S �gS+!? (2S �eS+
fxeS 26 'if£3+ 'l;e7 27 i.gS+ 'i;d6!
etc.). 2S... fxgS leads to a decisive advan­
tage for White after 26 'iff3+ 'i;e7
(26 ...'i;g8 27 'iff6) 27 i.xgS+ 'i;d6 28
'if f4+ eS 29 l:.xeS
White certainly has the dark squares
to himself here! An improvement is
2S ... 'i;e7 26 'ifxg6 'ifal + 27 'i;h2 'ifxb2
28 'iffl+ 'i;d8 29 'ifxf6+ 'l;c7 30 �fl
and the attack continues. Again White's
sacrifice has resulted in total domina-
62
ti.on of the dark squares, with all White's
forces operating on this complex.
24 'iWd31 �f7
Another reason behind lodging a
rook on the fifth rank is to meet
24...'i;h7 with 2S l:.hS. The alternative
24... fS frees the eS-square and is quite
uncomfortable for Black after 2S �eS,
when White is ready to turn the screw
with 'ifg3 etc.
25 tbe5 + !
Decisive. The forced capture of the
knight exposes Black's king.
25 . . .fxe5 26 'iWf3 + �g8
26 ...'i;e7 27 i.gS mate.
27 'iWf6
Staking a claim for Black's most valu­
able dark square.
27 . . .l:le7
27 ...'ife7 loses to 28 'ifxg6+ 'i;h8 29
i.gS.
28 'iWxg6 +
Wells points out an (academic) im­
provement found by Fritz, namely 28
l:.c3!.
28 . . .�h8 29 'iWf6 + �h7 30 i.f8 ! ?
This is slower but nicer - and more
in keeping with White's overall strategy
- than l:.c3.
30 . . .:xt8 31 'iWxf8 .i.e8
 The Colour Comp lex

31 ...'ifxcS 32 dxc5 l:lg7 serves only to 1 7 l:t 1 xc6!

postpone the inevitable. Black is going to miss this bishop.
32 l:tc3 exd4 33 llh3 + �g6 34 1 7 . . . bxc6 1 8 l:bf7 1 !
l:th6 + 1 -0

Finally an example in which Black

has only himself to blame.

Botvinnik-Portisch
Monte Carlo 1 968

Brilliant. White has now picked up a

strong bishop and two pawns for the
rook, and this latest sacrifice cannot be
accepted, e.g. 1 8 ...'it>xf7 19 'fi'c4+ rJi>g6
20 'ife4+ 'it>f7 21 tbg5+ 'it>e7 22
'fi'xe5+ 'it>d7 23 .ih3+ etc.
1 8 . . . h6 1 9 l:tb7 •ca 20 •c4 + �h8
A typical English Opening set-up, 20 ... 'ii'e6 21 tbxe5 gives White too
with White's forces aimed at the queen­ large a pawn collection which should
side and Black concentrating on the even grow when we look at Black's
centre. Ironically Black now chooses to weak queenside pawns.
close the c-file, his decision based on 21 ll:ih4!
the use of his best placed piece - always
a risky policy in case something goes
wrong...
15 . . . ll:ibS?
Played in the knowledge that the c­
pawn is indirectly protected. An alterna­
tive is 1 s.:.l1b8, pernaps followed by a
well-timed thrust of the b-pawn.
1 6 llxc7! .i.c6
The point - White's rook is trapped.
But as soon as Botvinnik took the c­
pawn Portisch must have started worry­
ing about the soundness of his plan, When we joined the game Black's ex­
although now, of course, it is too late to cellent bishop was posted on d5. Now
go back. he is about to lose thanks to his chronic

63
Unders tan ding the Sacrifice

weaknesses on the light squares.

21 . . .'iWxb7
21 ...'ife6 22 'ife4 'itiig8 23 tLlfS and
White continues the occupation of key
light squares, introducing the threat of
tLlxh6+ as ...gxh6 allows mate on h7.
After 23 ...tLld7 24 .1.h3! the end will
soon come.
22 tl'lg6 + �h 7 23 .te4 .td6 24
tl'lxe5 + g6 25 .txg6 + �g7 26
i.xh6 + 1 -0
After 26 ... 'ifiix h6 White has 27 'ifh4+
'itiig7 28 'ifb7+ etc.

64
I CHAPTER THREE I
Pieces for Pawns

------

- ��
- -
--- -

-
-

of pi. eces .
-

U sually the P osmonal sacnfice · H '" w< hav< a cypical King's Indian
-

. akin .
£or pawns involves t g ov« key D ,f<nco «<nano m which Whi " h "
sq ua"" - normilly m . th< cont« - In . been genmung pla .,,;: �n th<q0<<nsid<
�
·

u .
order to stage an occ patton of <n<my Black h" b usy on th ' oth "
.
t erntory th at can both i. troduco attack- ank . H ow= t Whi " now b rnu ht
n
. ng possibilities as well as red < ° '
i UC
.
.
prn m dinll' to ; swift halt with a •n
·�
ly :
e ven remov< tho " of th ' oppon<nt. An standatd demolinon of the centre.
.
1deal piece for pawns sac n5"'• fot <X-
·
2 1 lLi x d 6 ! l:.x d 6
nu·
amp I'• can load to Iong- term do na- �
2 1 ...tl'ih3 + 22 gxh3 .._xd2 23 .t.xoS
.
tlon from which the opponent can find d o" not hdp Black e.g. 23 ... llxd6 24
_ .
'
re lief only by re turrun th ' mat<rial in i.xd6 i.xe1 25 l:txe 1 etc.
uma
c
vourahl< circums. nces.! 22 lLic4

Pelletier-Balcera k
B"iel Open 2000

..
22 .l:tg 6 ?
.
22···i.c8 23 i. xeS is awful fior Black,
while p elle tier gives 22 ... ttJc8 23 ll'ixd6

------- 65
Un ders tan ding the Sacrifice

tbxd6 24 exf5 1'.xfS (24 ... e4 25 g3 tbd3 barrier o f pawns across the board.
26 1'.xd3 exd3 27 'ii'c3 �h7 28 f6) 25
1'.xe5 and 23 1'.xe5 l:tg6 24 1'.xf4!?
1'.xf4 25 e5, with a clear advantage in
both cases.
23 tlJxe5 1 -0

In the space of just three moves
White's occupation of the centre gives
him control of enough key squares to
induce resignation! A possible finish is
23 ... l:td6 24 1'.a3 1'.e8 25 1'.xd6 'ii'xd6
26 tbc4, when White has a rook and
two pawns for two pieces, the two
pawns ready to march unopposed down
the centre files.
In the following example White
clears away his opponent's centre pawns
at the cost of a piece, replacing them
with his own (passed pawns) in the
hope of paralysing Black in a bind on
the light squares. Black, in turn, sets
about erecting a blockade...
1 3 e4! ?
An interesting attempt to contest the
light squares by opening up the position
and putting the exclusive bishop to
good use.
1 3 . . . b4 1 4 exd5
Part of the plan. 14 e5 tbxe5 gets
White nowhere.
1 4 . . . bxc3
The more sober response is 1 4... exd5,
which led to a slight edge for White in
Bareev-Shirov, Pardubice 1 994 after 1 5
tba4 0-0 1 6 1'. £3 l:te8 1 7 1'.g5 'ii'b8 1 8
l:tfel l:txel + 1 9 l:txel 1'.h2+ 20 �fl
1'.f4 21 1'.xf6 tbxf6 22 cxd5 cxd5 23 g3.
1 5 dxc6

Akopian-Bareev
FIDE World Championship 1 999

Black has traded in his light-squared

bishop for a knight and then set his stall
out with what he intended to be a solid This is the consistent, positionally

66
 Pieces fo r Pa wns

oriented follow-up to the sacrifice, and :ea 27 �g2 t!Je7 28 i.eS t!JfS 29
looks preferable to the messy 1 5 dxe6 i.xd6 t!Jxd6
fxe6 1 6 'it'xg6+ 'it>f8.
1 S . . .t!Jb8 1 6 i.f3 fle7 1 7 dS
Establishing the very structure White
was looking for when embarking on this
route with e3-e4. Black obviously has
insufficient influence on the light
squares, which makes the advanced
cluster of pawns look pretty formidable.
However, what Black does have is de­
cent control of the dark squares, with
which only White's bishop (apart from
the queen) is acquainted - compared
with Black's bishop and two knights. The actors have changed but the role
Consequently a blockade looks likely... is the same. Blockading duties have
17 ... 0-0 18 i.e3 been undertaken by a knight, tradition­
Trying to improve on 1 8 b4 exd5 1 9 ally the most appropriate piece for such
cxd5 .ixb4 20 .U.bl i.d6 21 i.e3, which a task. Meanwhile White's remaining
was agreed drawn in Alterman-Ye minor piece is effectively restricted by
Rongguang, Beijing 1 995. the pawns it supports.
18 . . .exdS 1 9 exdS l:ld8 20 l:lad1 aS The result is a stand-off which ended
21 flxe3 as follows:
30 fld2 :ab8 31 l:lxe8 + t!Jfxe8 32
l:le1 �f8 33 'iWe3 'iWa7 34 h4 t!Jf6
3S fies fle7 36 'iWe3 'iWb6 37 'iWeS
fie 7 38 fle3 flb6 %- %

Kobalija-Zakharevieh
Russian Championship 2000

For the piece White has three pawns,

two of which need constant monitoring
and therefore severely restrict Black's
opportunity to make his extra piece tell.
There followed...
21 . . . t!Jbd7! 22 g3 t!Jb6 23 'iWe2 i.eS
24 fies t!JeB 2S l:lfe1 i.d6 26 'iWe2

67
Unders tan ding the Sa crifice
. Another KID, but this time the situa­
tion is less complex. Nevertheless White
saw that a piece sacrifice could open the
floodgates.
1 6 ll'ld5 ! ! cxd5
Black must accept the Trojan horse
sooner or later, e.g. 1 6 ...'i'd7 1 7 i.c4
cxd5 1 8 exd5 i.g4 1 9 c6, when the
pawns roll on in rugby scrum fashion,
the menacing bishops tucked in behind.
1 7 exd5 .tf5
Or 1 7 ...i.g4 1 8 h3 i.xf3 1 9 i.xf3
followed by the advance of the centre
pawns.
1 S .tc4! .tg4
1 8 ...lDd7 1 9 d6.
1 9 h3 .txf3 20 •xt3
White has only a pawn for the piece
but he has ownership of several squares
in the heart of Black's camp - and the
advance of the cl-pawn will stake a claim
to even more territory. In fact Black is
at a loss to find a feasible move in the
diagram position, e.g. 20 ... i.£8 21 d6
lbxd6 22 cxd6 'ii'xc4 (22...'ii'd7 23 i.d5)
23 'ii'xb7 'i'a4 24 l:td3 'ifc2 (24... e4 25
l:tb3) 25 :d5.
IQ. the game Black tried . .
. the stripping away of Black's front line.
20 . . . ll'ld6
... returning the piece to disrupt
68
White's pawns and thus obstruct the
mighty bishop pair, but after
2 1 cxd6 •cs
Not 21...'ii'xc4 22 :cl , e.g. 22 ... e4 23
l:txc4 exf3 24 lk8+ i.£8 25 :xf8+!
'ittx f8 26 d7+ .
2 2 .tf 1 ll'ld7 23 l:lc1 •es 2 4 l:.c7
White was on the road to victory.
Anastasi an-Bellini
1 st European Championship 2000
The diagram position arose after the
moves 1 c4 e6 2 d4 dS 3 lDc3 lDf6 4
cxd5 exd5 5 i.g5 c6 6 e3 i.£5 7 'ii' £3
i.g6 8 i.xf6 'ii'x f6 9 'ii'x f6 gxf6 1 0 h4
liJd7 1 1 lbge2 i.d6 1 2 h5 i.£5 1 3 £3 h6
1 4 @f2 l:tg8 1 5 lDf4 lDf8 1 6 :cl 'itte7
1 7 g4 i.h7. Doubled isolated pawns are,
of course, best avoided, although such
weaknesses can sometimes go unpun­
ished. Here the scope of Black's bishop
pair is relied upon to provide compen­
sation for the structural damage caused
by the trade of queens. However,
White's gradual nurturing of his king­
side pawn mass is about to pay divi­
dends thanks to a sacrifice that ensures
1 S ll'lcxd5 + ! cxd5 1 9 ll'lxd5 + <li>dS
In response to the stubborn 19 ...'itte6

White should pass over 20 i.c4, when
20...l:td8 leaves no worthwhile discov­
ered check, in favour of 20 li:Jc7 + i.xc7
21 l:txc7, picking up another pawn as
both b7 and f7 (indirectly thanks to
.itc4+) are under fire.
20 tDxf6
Having collected three pawns for the
piece the next phase of the strategy is to
make a play for the light squares in
preparation for mobilising the now 5-2
pawn majority.
There followed:
20 . . . l:g7 21 tDxh7 tDxh7 22 .id3
ti)f6 23 .if5 tDg8
24 f4?1
Baburin suggests keeping the bishop
on the board to facilitate the march of
Pieces for Pa wns
the pawns, offering the line 24 l:.hgl
li:Je7 25 i.d3 l:tc8 26 l:.xc8+ �xc8 27
f4 etc.
24 . . .tDe7 25 <j.?f3 tDxf5 26 gxf5 �e 7
27 e4 l:ag8 28 e5
28 f6+? fails in view of 28 ...�xf6 29
e5+ �e6 30 exd6 l:.g3+ 3 1 �e2 l:tg2+.
28 . . .l:g2 •
An instructive treatment from Black
who, sensibly, is realistic enough to re­
turn the piece on his own terms rather
than feel the force of the pawn mass.
In fact after the moves 29 <j.?e4 f6
(29 ... i.b8? 30 f6+ �d7 31 �f5) 30
l:h3 l:xb2 31 l:b3 l:xb3 32 exd6 +
�xd6 33 axb3 White had the doubled
isolated f-pawns, a factor that helped
Black secure the draw on the 50th
move.
nus game should serve as a reminder
that the positional pluses of a piece for
pawns sacrifice can evaporate should
circumstances arise in which a position­
ally oriented counter-sacrifice redresses
the structural balance.
Finally, here is an entertaining exam­
ple of the practical difficulties experi­
enced by both sides after a piece · for
pawns sacrifice in the centre.
69
Unders tan ding the Sacrifice
J. Polgar-Bacrot
Bastia (rapid) 1 999
1 9 . . .ll'iexd 5 ! ?
While this sacrifice might not be
fool-proof it is, nonetheless, interesting
to see how Black's centre pawns are
subsequently treated.
20 exd5 ll'ixd5 21 i.e4 f5 22
i.xd5 + i.xd5 23 'ii'd 3 i.e6 24 ll'ig5
24 'i'e3 bxc4 25 'i'xb6 gives White a
clear lead according to Wedberg, who
might have a point. Black's problem is a
lack of control of the dark squares,
which severely diminishes the potential
of the pawn mass in terms of marching
up the board to steam-roller White.
Having said that, a continuation such as
25...c3 26 ll:ib3 l:r.c6 27 'i'e3 i.xb3 28
axb3 'i'b7 still needs White to demon­
strate an advantage.
24 . . . bxc4 25 'ii'h 3?
Wedberg proposes 25 'i'a3.
25 . . .'ii'e 7 26 ll'ixe6 'ii'xe6 27 'ii'c 3 b5
Securing the c-pawn before preparing
for - ideally - the push of the cl-pawn.
However, in these situations it often
helps the player with the pawns to have
a minor piece for extra assistance, while
another piece for White would at least
be a potential target.
70
28 f4
Now the pressure on e5 forces Black
to relinquish control of the d4-square,
which happens to be immediately acces-
sible..
.
28 . . . e4 29 ll'if3 'ii'f7 30 ll'id4 d5 3 1
l:.cd 1 :ea 3 2 <Ji>f2 'ii'g 7
White has erected an effective block­
ade but the question is whether she has
anything else to do. Not surprisingly she
decides to give a kingside offensive a
try.
33 h4 l:!.ce7 34 l:!.e3 l:!.d7 35 h5?!
'ii'h 6!
Black is ready.
36 ll'ie2 'ii'x h5 37 'ii'f6 'ii'h 6 38 'ii'c 6
l:.ed8 39 'ii'e6 +
Grabbing the a6-pawn invites Black to
transform his pawns with ... d5-d4 etc.
39 . . .<Ji>hS 40 l:.h3 'ii'g 7 41 ll'id4 l:.d6
42 'ii'e 5 'ii'x e5 43 fxe5 l:.b6
Now Black's sheer weight in num­
bers is the significant factor, although
the game soon saw a further interesting
and instructive development.
44 <Ji>e3 <it>g7 45 ll'ie2 l:.e6! 46 ll'id4
l:.xe5 4 7 ll'ic6 d4 +
An unusual position. Black allows his
rooks to be forked and even offers the
cl-pawn!

48 �f4
48 tL!xd4 l:ed5 49 g3 l:8d7!, fol­
lowed by ...'iti f6-e5, is very uncomfort­
able for White, or 48 l:xd4 l:xd4 49
'itixd4 lte6 50 'itid5 (50 tLle5 l:d6+ 5 1
'iti c 5 ltd2; 5 0 tLlb8? l:b6 5 1 tL!d7
l1d6+) 50...'itif6 5 1 l:xh7 (5 1 tLld4
l:e5+ 52 'itid6 e3 53 tLle2 h5 and the
pawns keep coming) 5 1 ...e3 52 l:hl c3
53 tLld4 l:e5+! 54 'i1td6 l:e8 55 tLlc2 f4
etc. The knight is no match for the
pawns in this ending.
48 . . . l:r.ed5 49 ll'ixd8 l:r.xd8
I doubt Bacrot expected to reach
such a position when he originally re­
moved White's centre pawns.
50 l:r.a3
50 l:dhl h5.
Pie ces for Pa wns
50 . . .d3!
Three connected passed pawns bring
home the bacon.
5 1 l:r.xa6 c3 52 l:r.c6 C'2
· What a pawn chain! White has no an­
swer to the relentless advance of this
armada.
53 l:r.c7 + �f6 54 l:r.c6 + �7 55
l:r.c7 + �f6 56 l:r.c6 + �f7 57 l:r.c7 +
�e6 58 l:r.h1 d2 59 l:r.xc2 d H W 60
l:r.xd 1 l:r.xd 1 61 l:r.c6 + and Black went
on to win the ending.
Finally, here is a remarkable game in
which White's obsession with pawns
sees him gradually build up quite a col­
lection, Black's share of territory being
constantly undermined.
V .Mikhalevski-Rabinovich
Lost Boys Open 1 999
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 lDf3 e6 4 g3
dxc4 5 i.g2 b5 6 0-0 ll'id7 7 a4
i.b7 8 ll'ic3 a6 9 ll'ie5 ll'ie7 10
lt'ixf7 1 1
A new move at the time. Black's
queenside play has left his kingside sus­
ceptible to an attack, although White's
strategy is nevertheless of a more global
character.
71
 fi�
. g the Sa crrii!_!_
Undus tan d'" ce:____ ____:._ _�-
__ __
great for Whit< as IS . 1 2. . .l2Jd5? 1 3
1'.h3!, e.g. 1 3 ...ltJ�7 14 lDxe6 etc.
1 3 axb5 1
Not 1 3. 1'.h3? 1'.c8.
1 3 . . . i.cS?

1 0 . . . <iitxf7 1 1 ltie4
Eyeing up ho th d6 and g5.
1 1 . . .w
� g8
The altemattves fail to deny White a
.
leasant game. After 1 1 ...tiJfS 12 l2Jg5+
l!.," \1111
7 1 3 ,4 h6 1 3 . tiJd6 14 •g4) 1 4 1 3 . axb5? loses to 14 1'.h3! - the
�hxgS 1 5 i.xg5+.. lilf6 1 6 l:!d Black
(
P oint ..of White ' s capture on b5 for now
is under Pressure, whil< 1 1 ...lilg6 1 2 the rook is hangmg after' ...1'.c8.
•
1 3 ...'ii'b 6!? is b t, when 1 4 .._ h3 i. cB
·

ttJg5+ 'Wfte7 1 3 1'.h3 also targets the e6-

pawn. 1 5 l:txa6! l:txa6
�� bxa6 1 is unclear.
r:- 5 1:> 4
Worth a try is l 1 . .,_,d .. 1 2 lDg1li'5+ 1 4 bxc 6 l:r.a7 1 5 l:r.a
rl.-.
.

we7 13 e4 lD5f6 1 3 ...ltJc7 1 4 'ii'h5 e 8

.
Preparing to piek up the third pawn
1 5 'ii'h4) 1 4 e5 Mikhalevsk.i suggests 1 4
(
·

for the inves �ed pi_

\1111
after which the
( 1:>
1'.h3!? and 1 4 d 5. . ) 1 4...l2Jd5 1 5 w g4 e6-pawn, ir �
. orucally, be the only sur-
tDc7. .
vivor. White, on the other hand has a
'
1 2 lLlg5! pack of pawns at the ready as well as
active pieces. Meanwhile, Black is sen- .
ously laggmg be h"m d m
· . development.

1 2 . . .liJf6
1 2. ..lDf5? 1 3 e4 followed bY 1'.h3 is

72
 Pieces fo r Pa wns

1 5 . . . h6 1 6 lbh3 g5 plete control.

A necessary evil, denying White use
of the f4-square and preparing an unor­
thodox introduction of the king's rook.
1 7 :xc4 l:h7 1 8 e4 a5
Threatening to skewer White's rooks.
1 9 :e 1 �a6 20 l:c3 lbc8
Threatening to skewer White's rooks.

21 'ii'b 3!
White has not forgotten about the
e6-pawn - the problem with serious
weaknesses is their tendency to remain
so.
21 . . . �b4
21 ...'ife8 22 e5 ll.ld5 23 .li.xd5 exd5
24 'ifxd5+ is awful for Black, while
22... ll.lh5 23 g4 ll.lg7 is embarrassing.
22 'ii'xe6 + .
23 . . . �xc3
23 ... hxg5 24 1'.xg5 1'.e7 25 c7! 'ifxd4
26 1' f1 ! is nice, e.g. 26...1'xf1 27
1'xf6+ 'ifxf6 28 'ifxc8+ .li. £8 29 'ifd8!?,
or 26...1'.b7 27 l:td3! lla6 (27...'ib6 28
lld8+! .li.xd8 29 cxd8'if+ 'ifxd8 30
1'xf6+) 28 'ifxa6! etc. Finally 26 ...'ifd6
27 1'xf6+ 1'.xf6 28 'ife8+ @g7 29 e5!
cleans up: 29 ...1'.xe5 30 l:txe5 or
29 ... l:th8 30 'ifxh8+ @xh8 3 1 exd6.
24 bxc3!
White's faithful adherence to the
theme of pieces for pawns is admirable.
lbis time he prefers to add to his cen­
tral tally than capture the irrelevant
rook.

Giving White three connected passed

pawns. Now 22 ... l:thf7 23 e5 1'.xC3 24
bxc3 l:t.ae7 runs into 25 c7!, e.g.
25 ... 'ifxc7 26 'ifxa6 'ifxc3 27 l:tfl , when
Black is about to lose more material.
22 . ..thS 23 lbxg5!!
..

White simply can't help himselfl

Nevertheless, his position is so good
that the original sacrificed piece, the
skewer of his rooks and the present
sacrifice seem not to have diminished
the impression that White is in com- 24 . . .l:hg7

73
Un ders t a n ding th e Sa crific e

24 ...hxg5 25 .i.xg5 :an 26 e5 is the Anyway, White's entire strategy of

end, while after 24...'ii'e7 25 .i.a3! ii'xe6 stripping away the layers of Black's de­
26 li.)xe6 Black's comical rooks are no fences by gradually ridding him of
match for the coming wave of pawns. pawns was conducted with great skill,
25 'ii'h 3! l:g6 and such a convincing display is rare
25 ... lLig4 26 .i.£3! (26 li.)e6 ii' f6!) indeed. While we can't expect to emu­
26 ...:xg5 27 .i.xg5 ii'xg5 28 .i.xg4 late such success (or can we?) , the ideas
leaves White with five pawns for a are the same, and an appreciation of the
knight. importance of the role of the pawns is
26 ltJe6 'ii'e8 27 ltJf4 l:tgg7 28 useful.
'ii'x h6 +
Another one bites the dust.
28 . . .ltJh7 29 e 5 ltJe7 30 .te4 .tc4
31 ltJh5 l:tg6 32 'i'xh7 + ! �xh7 33
ltJf6 + �h8 34 ltJxe8 l:tg8 35 ltJf6
1 -0
After being so willing to sacrifice
throughout the game White has been
rewarded with a bishop and six pawns
for a rook! Incidentally, how many
ti.mes have you seen seven (or eight if
you include Black's) passed pawns?

74
 CHAPTER FOUR I
Rampant Knights

When contemplating the future of White has just played 1 c4, clamping
knights we should obviously focus on down on the dS-square and, in so doing,
the most realistically available - and fixing the backward d6-pawn. Black had
desirable - squares. Ideally a 'hole' is little choice but to accept the proffered
perfect since such a square can be pro­ pawn:
tected only by pieces. In such a scenario 1 . . . i.xc4 2 lllc3
we should be looking for ways to elimi­ Before removing one protector of dS
nate these pieces, even at the cost of a White gains a useful tempo on the
pawn (or more) if justified by the ulti­ queen.
mate positional rewards. Of · course 2 . .'iib3 3 i.xc4 'ii'xc4 4 i.g5!
.

when there is no ready-made outpost Forcing the elimination of the re­

available we have to create our own. maining key defender.
4 . . .'ife6 5 i.xf6 'ii'xf6 6 llld 5
Boleslavsky-Lisitsin
23rd USSR Championship 1 956

The transformation i s complete. For

the modest price of a pawn White has

75
Un ders tan ding the Sa crifice
.taken control of the dS-square with an
all-seeing knight and le ft Black with a
terrible bishop after the trade of a few
minor pieces. Of course White is able to
operate equally well on either flank, so
the course of the game might depend
on how Black addresses his positional
problems.
6 . . .'ii'h4 7 'ii'e2 i.f8 8 'ii'f 1 ! l:.ac8 9
g3 'ii'g 5 1 0 h4! 'ii'h6
10 ... 'ifxg3 1 1 l:.h3.
1 1 g4 g5 1 2 hxg5 'ii'x g5 1 3 l:.h5
'ii'g6 1 4 g5 h6 1 5 l:.xh6 'ii'x g5
1 5 ...i.xh6 1 6 tbe7+.
16 l:.h5 1 -0
Taking the rook gives White's star
player an opportunity to end the game
with the fork on f6, while 1 6 ... 'ifg6 1 7
'ifgl !? would be a nice finish.
Drozdov-Kozul
Groningen 1 994
Again the dS-square attracts attention
as a potential outpost for a white knight
but, this time, White's rather artificial
queenside set-up gives Black something
to bite on in the shape of the vulnerable
c3-square. Believe it or not this is ex­
actly where Black eventually finds him­
self with an enormous knight!
76
1 6 ll:ic4
Closing the c-file and no doubt plan­
ning to transfer the knight to e3, from
where the inviting dS-square will be ripe
for the taking. However, Black has posi­
tional ambitions of his own.
1 6 . . . .txc4!? 1 7 .txc4 ll:ib6 1 8 i.f1
White retreats, relying on a pin on the
e l -aS diagonal to address the threat of
...l:.xc3. Clearly White has not given up
on the idea of occupying the dS-square,
a quest which would come to an end in
the event of 1 8 tbdS lDfxdS 1 9 i.xdS
tbxdS 20 exdS, which not only takes
away dS but also hands Black a useful
kingside pawn majority.
1 8 . . ..:.xcl! ?
Calling White's bluff and, no doubt,
part of Black's original plan in bringing
the queen to aS.
1 9 'ii'd2
The point of White's play is that
dropping the rook back to cS walks into
b3-b4.
1 9 . . .l:.fc8 20 .:.e3
20 . . .ll:ixe4! ?
Consistent. Another possibility is
20 ... l:.3c5 21 b4 l:.xc2 22 'ifxc2 l:.xc2 23
bxaS l::txb2 24 axb6 l:r.xb6, when Black
has two pawns for the exchange but his
 Rampant Knights

forces lack cohesion. The text looks

more promising.
21 :xe4 'ii'd 5 22 'ii'x d5
22 .txc3 'ifxe4 is simply an extra
pawn.
22 . . . llJxd5 23 i.xc3 llJxc3

Black has earned himself a very
pleasant position indeed, the knight
almost single-handedly dominating both
enemy rooks, while White's bishop is,
of course, powerless.
A couple of sample continuations: 24
l:.e3 .tg5 25 l:td3 d5 26 l:.el e4 27 l:td4
f5 followed by ... @f7-e6, or 24... e4 25
.tc4 .tf6 (with ... d6-d5 to follow), with
a more than comfortable game for
Black in both cases.
38 d5!
An excellent practical chance, de­
signed to open up Black's king cover a
little while simultaneously denying
Black's queen unlimited access to the
a2-g8 diagonal. There is also the matter
of the d4-square, from where the knight
will monitor c6, e6 and the f5-pawn.
38 . . . 'ii'g 8?
Black should accept his lot immedi­
ately. A possible continuation is
38... cxd5 39 lDd4 l:tg8 40 'ifd6+ @a8
41 lDe6, with a couple of alternatives
for Black. After 41 ...l:.c8 42 l:.c 1 l:.xcl +
43 @xcl we reach the following posi­
tion:

Kempinski-Pinter
European Team Championship,
Banimi 1 999

The respective structures rightly

point to White having the superior mi­
nor piece. However, Black's position is
not easy to infiltrate and the open a2-g8
diagonal combines with Black's menac­
ingly posted rook to remind us that
White's king could be a problem. Hence White has traded in an initiative for a
White's next. promising ending, the pawn deficit be-

77
Un ders tan ding th e Sa crifice

ing more than compensated for by �d4 leads to a decisive 'good' knight
White's ability to operate almost exclu­ versus 'bad' bishop ending.
sively on the dark squares, the knight 44 tlJd4
having virtual freedom of key areas. Let
us see what might happen if Black is not
willing to accept his fate following the
inevitable invasion by White's king:
43 ...Wht + 44 � d2 Wg2+ 45 �c3 We2
46 ll:ic7+ �a7 47 'iib6+ �b8 48
ll:ixa6+ �a8 49 �c7+ � b8 50 �xb5
Wc4+ 51 � d2 Wxb4+ 52 �e2 'iih2+
53 � ft We t + 54 �g2 and, after the
end of the checks, it is White's turn!
4 t ...l::tg6 improves, when Black seems
to be holding on after, for example, 42
1:1.dt (not 42...Wf7 43 Wd8+ �a7 44 Having come to life and subsequently
'iib6+ �a8 45 ll:ic7 + �b8 46 ll:ixa6+ captured the f5-pawn (leaving White
or 44. . .�b8 45 :xd5 ltgt + 46 �b2 with a passed pawn) the knight returns
etc.) 42...Wg8 43 ll:ic7 + �b8 44 We5 for temporary defensive duties.
�a7 . 44 Wd2 + 45 tLic2 1i'f2 46 <iti>c3
. . .

Of course it is difficult for Black to 46 Wf8+ is strong, e.g. 46 ....1c8 47

cope with the energetic knight, which is Wd6+ or 46 ...�a7 47 f5.
probably why Pinter chose to go active. 46 . . . 1i'g3 47 1i'f8 + �a7 48 �b2
Teasing Black.

39 tlJd4 cxd5 40 l:.c 1 l:.g 1 4 1 tiJxf5

l:.xc 1 + 42 �xc1
Not 42 Wxct ? Wf8!, hitting f5 and
b4.
42 . . .'W'g 1 + 4;3 �b2 'W'd 1
43 ...Wg2+ 44 �c3 Wgt 45 �d4
Wa t + 46 Wc3 Wxc3+ 47 �xc3 � c7 48
48 . . . d4
Defeat is only a matter of time, so
Black tries to unsettle his opponent.
49 1Wc5 + �as 50 Wxd4 'W'f2 5 1
1i'e5 1i'd2
5t ...Wh2 52 �c3.

78

52 'ifh8 + <j;/a7 53 'ii'd 4 + 1 -0
Rashkovsky-Kosikov
Daugavpils 1 978
As we join this game White's knight
could hardly be less conveniently posted
- a future of 'dim on the rim' being a
genuine danger. Fortunately for White
his opponent is lagging behind in de­
velopment, a factor which inspired a
sacrifice designed to transform the for­
tunes of the knight.
1 5 d5! exd5 1 6 lDf5
Already White's newest attacking
piece monitors d6, e7 which could
(
prove significant should White be given
control of the c-file and a subsequent
check on c8) and even the g7-pawn.
Rampa n t Knights
However, sacrificing the cl-pawn served
more than to remove Black's protection
of the fS-square, for after the practically
forced
1 6 . . . g6
White was able to use the newly
available d4-square.
The game continued:
1 7 liJd4 .:r.xc 1 1 8 .i::r.xc 1 'ii'x b2
1 8...'ifd8 19 l:tc7 is terrible for Black
so he takes his chances in material gain.
1 9 :cs + <j;/97 20 lDb3
White 's busy knight, having contrib­
uted to Black's somewhat ragged set-up,
now comes to the defence of the back
rank, with the added sting of leaving the
b7-pawn without defence. Consequently
Black should play 20 b6 21 'ifxa6 i..g7,
...
which at least keeps White 's queen at
bay for a while. White does have com­
pensation for the pawn, of course, but
the fight continues.
Instead the game ended 20 . . .g5? 21
.i.xg5 + f6 22 'ifb4 + I <j;/f7 23 'ii'x b7
.i.e7 24 'ii'x d5 + ri;g7 25 'ifxd7
:xc8 26 'ii'x e7 + 1 -0
In the following example Black is
happy to see his opponent go to con­
siderable lengths in order to net a pawn,
79
Un ders t a n ding t h e S a c rifice

the result being a 'good' knight against 20 . . .lLig7

an embarrassing bishop, White' s minor
piece being severely restricted by his
own pawn structure.

Sargissian-Asrian
Armenian Championship,
Yerevan 1 999

White stands slightly better thanks to
his territorial superiority and the more
active forces this advan tage brings. With
this in mind, and taking into considera­
tion the closed nature of the position,
White decided to strike against Black's
rather isolated queenside pawns.
1 7 a3 �xd31?
Taking on a3 will leave the aS -pawn
too exposed, so Black inflicts some
structural damage on his opponent
·
2 1 �h3
Clearly directed against the coming
knight. Of course White need not hurry
in removing the b4-pawn, although 2 1
lhb4 tiJ fS 22 !t e l gives White a n edge.
21 . . .l:.b8 22 lLif3 "fie7 23 l:.fa 1 lLif5
24 °fid2 l:tb7 25 �xf5
Part of White's overall strategy, al­
though one can't help thinking that,
despite the mass of pawns across the
board affording more scope to the
knights, White could well miss this
bishop.
25 . . . exf5 26 l:.xb4 l:.xb4 27 'i'xb4
l:.b8 28 "fic3 "fib7 29 l:.a3 lLif8

(i'xd3? runs into ...tLlxcS) - a price

White is willing to pay in return for the
eventual win of a pawn.
1 8 exd3 g6!
Excellent positional play - Black
makes way for his knight to travel to fS,
from where the d4-pawn can be put
under pressure.
1 9 axb4 axb4 20 :a4
White continues with his plan, which Having succeeded in collecting the
Black is content to go along with. pawn White finds himself in a rather

80
 Rampant Knights

awkward situation, with queen and rook ... :h7 followed by sending the queen to
now tied to the remaining b-pawn. h8, while 37 'ife3 :h3 introduces the
Meanwhile the doubled cl-pawns don't threat of.. .. f5-f4. Notice the role of the
look to healthy, a factor which has knight here, tying White down to the
prompted Black to transfer his knight to defence of d4, supporting the fS-pawn
the excellent e6-square, which is avail­ and always ready to infiltrate via the gS­
able only thanks to the trade on fS (al­ square.
though, to be fair, without this Black 37 . . . lLig5 38 'ii'e3 f4!
would now have an equally formidable Black has another square in mind for
knight on fS). his knight.
30 lLie5 lLie6 3 1 'ii'd 2 i.xe5 ! ? 32 39 gxf4 .::r.h 3 40 'ii'e2
fxe5 'iPg7 40 'iff2 'ifc8 is decisive, e.g. 41 fxgS
32 ... :as 33 :xa8+ 'ifxa8, with obvi­ (or 41 'ifg2 ti:Jf3+ 42 <;tin 'iffS)
ous compensation in the ending, has 4 1 . . .'ifg4 + 42 'ifg2 l:t.g3 43 :a2 'ifxgS.
also been suggested. With the text Black 40 . . .lLif3 + 41 'iPg2
hopes to exploit to the full the poor
bishop and, ultimately, the versatile
knight, opting to accentuate his posi­
tional advantage by preserving some
fire-power.
33 i.c3
Preparing to shore up the queenside
by pushing the b-pawn. Black now
switches flanks in thematic fashion.
33 . . . h5! 34 b4 h4
Suddenly White's structure is begin­
ning to look a little shaky.
35 :as hxg3 36 hxg3 .::r. h8 41 . . .'ii'c 8!
More accurate than 4 1 . . .l:1h2+ 42
<;tixf3 1:.xe2 43 <;tixe2.
42 'ii'xf3
White is finally forced to get rid of
the knight.
42 . . ..::r.xf3 43 'iPxf3 'ii'h 3 + 44 ..te2
'ii'h 2 + 45 'iPe3 'ii'g3 + 46 'iPe2 'ii'xf4
47 b5!? cxb5 48 .::r.x b5 g5 49 c6
Initiating a promotion race that
caused Black sufficient inconvenience.
The game ended:
49 . . . g4 50 c7 'ii'f3 + 5 1 'iPd2 g3 52
37 'ii'f2 ..tc2! 'ii'g4
After 3 7 <;tig2 Black was planning 52 ...g2 might be better, but

81
Un ders tan ding the Sa crifice

52: ..'i!f £2+? 53 �d2 g2 54 c8'i!f gt 'if 55 knight on dS as well as the passed pawn.
ltb8 is one to avoid! Instead the game continued:
53 l:tb1 Wd7 54 llg 1 "ii'x c7 55 20 tl:lxd4 tl:lxd4 21 i.xd4 llfd8
l:.xg3 + 'it>f8 56 llf3 'it>e8 57 l:.f6
Wd7 58 l:tb6 1i'a4 + 59 'it>b2
59 '1t>d2 draws.
59 . . .Wd 1 60 i.b4 We2 +
Or 60...'i!fxd3 61 �cS.
61 'it>c3 We 1 + 62 �c2 1i'f2 + 63
'it>c3 %-%

Khachian-Lputian
Armenian Championship,
Yerevan 1 999

22 l:.d5 ! ?
If White insists o n holding on to the
pawn with 22 �c3 Black takes over the
initiative with 22 ... tiJdS 23 'ifd2 l:.a4,
when the all-seeing knight is well worth
a pawn. 22 �f2 'ifxb4 23 l:c4 'ifh2 24
�h4 is another possibility, but
24...ttJdS!? 25 �xd8 tLle3 26 'iff3 lLixfl
looks nice for Black.
22 . . .Wxb4
Alternatively 23 !txd8+ !txd8 24
In the diagram position, which arose �al l:a8!? followed by finally planting
from the French Defence, Black has the the knight on dS is amusing.
better pawn structure and decent pieces.
The first possibility most players would
consider is 1 9 ... lLixb4?, which runs into
20 l:c4!. However, students of the posi­
tional game might find themselves be­
ing attracted to Lputian's following sac­
rifice.
1 9 . . . d41
Exploiting White's weaknesses and
freeing the influential dS-square to be
used as a knight ourpost. Now 20 �xd4
tLlxd4 21 lLixd4 'ifxb4 22 ltc4 'i!faS or
... 'i!fb2 gives Black a nagging edge White's bishop could not be more
thanks to what will be a rock-solid amusingly located (a stark contrast to

82
 Ramp an t Knights

the Powerful knight) , while the cl-pawn

is not gomg anywhere. Consequen tly
.

the status of Black's b-pawn i. s en-

hanced.
White opted instead for:
23 .i.c5 'ii'a 5 24 l:[xd8 + 1Wlxd8
• 25
'ii'f3
This turns down the unpleasant end-
ing that results o ading on e7.
25 . . .lbd5 26 f � ;c; 27 d4
27 �d6 'ifb6+ 28 @hl 'i!fe3!
27 . . . h6
Not 27 ... b6.;> 28 fxe6! 32 .:.t2 .:.a 1 + 33 �h2 We4 34 hxg5
28 'ii'h 3 'ii'c6 lbg4 + 0-1

·
In the folloW!Ilg example White does
� � �;�
•ill --��� everything necessary to exploit his op-
,

�b
ponent s vulnerable king.

,�1- �.)''-� Kharlov-K har1'tonov

� ��-� Russi. a cup 1 999
·
��-
�
- �· �,•-�
-,� , -0
�

�..
-
'B, m,,
��
- ,,J.lli
�� � ; · :

29 f6?
White's desperanon at the prospect
.

of Black eventuall assurmng . full con-

tro1 soon leads � into trouble (29
. a 1esser evil, when Black
.ll.d 6 'i!fd7 is
.
will .
effecnvely i ore the b'IBhop anf6 d
operate n1y on gn the light squares, 30
.
runnmg · � mto 30...ttJxf6) . What would Black give for a dark-
29 . . .....
""" . a 2 . . He does have all of his
squared bi. sho p;>I
B1ack was ready to meet fxg7 W1"th 'outfield , p1 eces ready for acnon
. on the
ttJe3!, W1Il ·
·

· nmg
. on the spot. queen>U'd e but the dark squares m front
3o 'ii'g3 g 5 ! 3 1 h4? I o f his king are �em"bly weak. Of course
3 1 'i!ff3!? ttJe3 3� 'ifxc6 bxc6 i s an White would like to deliver mate by
. provement, albeit one that leaves
llil lining up his queen and bishop on the
White struggling. al -h8 diagonal, but 1t . lS
. not clear how
3 1 . . . lbe3! .
'UCh a situanon could be engineere d .

83
Unders tanding the Sacrifice
Alternatively the holes on f6 and h6 are
pretty inviting for a knight, but the
'connected' squares (d5, e4, g4 and h5)
are adequately protected by Black.
However, Black's king looks sufficiently
vulnerable to justify investing a little
time in a brief appraisal of the relevant
squares, as well as the pieces that de­
fend them... Such reasoning helped
White find a thematic pawn sacrifice,
albeit one that might require the 'sur­
render' of two strong bishops for two
knights in order to be most effective.
20 f5!
Decisive! Unfortunately for Black
20 ... 1'.xfS 21 1'.xb6 axb6 22 tbxd5 is
terrible, so this ugly capture is forced.
But now the h5-square is no longer
covered...
20 ... gxf5 21 ltJe2
Wasting no time in heading for the
jugular.
21 .•. ltJd7
With the dark-squared weaknesses in
front of his king now even worse Black
seeks to take White'.s bishop out of the
equation. 2 1 ...tbc4 22 tbf4 b6 23 1'.xc6
'ii'xc6 24 1'.d4 is an illustration of what
Black is worried about.
22 ltJf41
84
It emerges that White's knight is the
star player, there being no need to
spend time saving the c5-bishop.
22 . . . ltJxc5
After 22 ... a6 23 1'.d3 'ii'c7 24 tbxe6
fxe6 25 l::!.xe6 tbxc5 26 'ii'xc5 'ii'f4+ 27
'it>b 1 we need only look at the kings to
confirm that Black's game is in dire
straits.
23 'ii'x c5 a6
23 ...tba5 24 'ile7 lbb3+ 25 'it>b l 'ii'c 5
is a nice try but fails in thematic fashion,
e.g. 26 'ii' f6 'ilxb5 (or 26 ... l:ac8 27 cxb3
'ii'xb5 28 lbh5) 27 lbh5 - this is made
possible by winning the h5-square with
the initial sacrifice f4-f5.
24 .i.d3 ltJe5 25 'ili'd4
25 'We3!? tbxd3+ 26 l:xd3 is clearly
better for White, but he is intent on
focusing on f6 and g7.
25 . . .ltJxd3 + ?
Making a very difficult situation even
worse. Instead Black can try 25 ...lbf3!?
26 'ilf6 tbxel 27 l::!.x el :d6
Ftacnik offers the following: 28 g6
hxg6! (28...'ild8? 29 gxh7+ 'it>xh7 30
1'.xfS+ 1'.xf5 31 'ilxfS+) 29 tbxg6 fxg6
30 'ii'xg6+ 'it>IB 3 1 'ilf6+ (31 1'.xf5
1'.xfS 32 'ilxd6+ 'it>g8 33 l:gl + 'it>f7 34
'ilxd5+ 'it>f6 is unclear according to
 Rampant Knights

Ftacnik) 3 1 ...'iii>e8 32 i.xfS °ii'd8 33 30 l:.c3 'ii'a2 3 1 °ii'd4 sees White hom­
'ii'g 6+ 'iii>d7 34 i.xe6+ 'iii>c7 35 'ii'g3 ing in on Black's king.
with a slight edge to White. Fair 28 li:Jh5 �f8 29 °W'h8 + �e 7 30
enough, but I prefer his other sugges­ 'W'ta + 'if.Ifs
tion, the direct 28 li:JhS 'if £8 29 'ii'e S 30...'iii>d7 3 1 l:.xd4+.
lk6 30 l:te3! 31 li:Jf4 1 -0

This seems to do the trick. The knight ends the game: 3 1 ...l:.d6
26 .l:.xd3 'W'c4 27 'W'e5 1 d4 (31 ...'iii>g8 32 g6! hxg6 33 l:.h3) 32
27 ...l:.e8 28 li:JhS 'iii> f8 29 'ii'g7+ 'iii>e7 °ii'h8+ 'iii>e7 33 'ii'xa8.

85
 CHAPTER FIVE I
Bishops at Work

In the opening phase of the game we
tend to ·see 'classic' development o f the
bishops - giving them room to manceu­
vre by placing them on f4, gS or c4, for
example. In other, not uncommon cir­
cumstances, holding back the bishops
(deliberately or otherwise) might call for
more patient development, while other
means of activation could involve the
sacrifice of one or more pawns. The
sudden change in fortune of a hitherto
dormant or average bishop can in itself
alter the course of a game, while the
trans formation of a bishop pair can be
extremely effective.
serves only to maxuruse the scope of
Black's bishop. Note that . . . f7-f5 un­
dermines the defence of the dS-pawn
but, at the same time, does Black no
favours as far as the dark squares are
concerned (erecting a barrier on f6 is no
longer possible) . With this dark square
bonus and his bishop pair in mind
White judged that his positional plus
outweighed the (modest) material cost
of the dS-pawn.

Vaisser-Dvoretsky
Kiev 1 970

In the diagram position Black has

parted with his dark-squared bishop and
White's queen is already potentially well
placed on the a l -h8 diagonal. However,
there is currently th� matter of the dS-
pawn, which is under threat. Protecting 1 b4!? exd5 2 .i.b2 :Z.f7
the pawn costs what might be an im- Now 3 l:td 1 dxc4 4 .i.xc4 d5 5
portant tempo, while trading on e6 0-0 c6 6 b5 was played, and this time

86

it is the defence of a black dS-pawn that
is being undermined. 6 ... cS 7 i.xdS
i.xdS 8 'ii'e S sees White restore mate­
rial parity with the dominant minor
piece, so the game continued 6 . . cxb5
. by-product of such a policy tends to be
7 .txb5 .!t:Jd7 8 f3 l:.c8 9 'i'd4 with
compensation for White in the form of
the two bishops, superiority on the dark
squares and better structure. Of course
a pawn is a pawn but, being so vulner­
able on the dark squares, it is clear that
the points score has little relevance
here. Since this game there has been a
suggested improvement for White,
namely 3 0-0-0! again the rook comes
-
to d 1 with the threat of capturing on dS,
but there is a difference in that White's
rooks can be more rapidly connected.
The point is that after 3 ... dxc4 4 i.xc4
dS 5 bS!? we reach the following posi­
tion:
The idea is to exploit the new-found
friendship of White's rooks with the
threat of 6 l:.xdS i.xdS 7 l:.d 1 , when
Black is under pressure on the a2-g8
and a1 -h8 diagonals. Not surprisingly
this has been assessed as clearly better
for White, although 5 ...c6 6 bxc6 i.xc6
7 ltxdS i.xdS 8 l:.dl tlld7 9 ltxdS <itih8
10 l:.xfS l:.e7 does not look too bad for
Bishops a t Work
Black. Nevertheless these variations do
demonstrate how we can make the most
of an 'extra' bishop through the sacri­
fice of a pawn. Remember, also, that a
that the bishop pair assumes greater
significance.
Diagonal Clearance
Solozhenkin-Drei
Reggio Emilia 2000
Black has just played ... a6-a5, no
doubt directed against b2-b4 as well as
seeking to accentuate Black's would-be
control of the dark squares - particu­
larly after a subsequent ... b7-b6. Of
course White does not want his bishop
to be hindered by his own pawns, hence
his next.
1 8 c5!?
Prompted by Black's own action on
the queenside, White strikes first, judg­
ing that the sacrifice of the dS-pawn will
pay dividends in the near future �anks
to the greater scope of his bishop.
1 8 . . ..!t:Jexd 5
1 8...tll fxdS 1 9 'ii'b 3 a4 20 'ii'c4 tllf6
transposes to the game continuation. ·
1 9 'i'b3
87
 Unders tanding the Sacrifice
. The point. The queen works with the
bishop to exert pressure on b7.
1 9 . . . a4
19 ... ti:Jb4 20 tl:Jxb4 axb4 21 'ifxb4 d5
might be okay for Black, but 21 cxd6
'ii'xd6 22 i.xb7 leaves White with the
superior minor piece.
20 •c4 ti:Je7
The tricky 20 ... b5? backfires after 2 1
'ii'd4, when Black has helped maximise
the power of his opponent's bishop.
21 cxd6
2 1 'ii'f4?! l:.fd8 looks fine for Black.
21 . . ...xd6 22 l':.fd 1
The removal of three centre pawns
has done away with Black's plans to
engineer a positional advantage based
on control of the dark squares and fix­
ing White's pawns on the same colour
complex as the bishop. In fact the
bishop is now the strongest minor piece
on the board and, with Black's queen­
side pawns quite vulnerable, White (also
with aggressively posted rooks) has suf­
ficient compensation.
22 . . J:tfcS 23 ti:Jc5 _.b6
After 23 ...'ii'b B!? Z4 'ii'b 5 White any­
way gangs up on the b7-pawn.
24 a3 •an
Black fails to appreciate the weakness
88
of his back rank. 24...'ii'xb2 25 i.xb7
l:.xc5 (25 ...'ii'xb7 26 tl:Jxb7 l:.xc4 27
.:t.xc4) 26 i.xa8! would be a nice finish
to White's positional sacrifice, the
bishop travelling the full distance to win
the game. Black's best is 24...l:.ab8! 25 ..
tLixa4 'ii'a5 with a slight pull for White
thanks to his more active pieces, not
least the bishop. The text should have
met with the same fate as ...'ii'xb2,
namely 25 i.xb7! l:.xc5 (25 ...'ii'xb7 26
ti:Jxb7 l:.xc4 27 l:.xc4) 26 i.xa8! etc.
(26 ... l:.xc4 27 l:.d8+), but instead White
played:
25 ..b4? !
Although after.. .
25 . . .l':.abS 26 ti:Jd 7 !
. . .White was still on his way to vic­
tory.
The game ended:
26 . . . ti:Jxd7
26...l:.xc l 27 ti:Jxf6+ gxf6 28 .:txcl
tl:Jg6 29 l:.c7 is a lesser evil, if very un­
pleasant for Black.
27 l:txc8 + l:txc8
27 ... tl:Jxc8 28 l:txd7 ti:Jb6 29 'ii'd4!.
28 •xe7 l:tc2
28 ...ti:Jffi 29 i.d5 <itih8 30 'ii'x f7 tLlg6
3 1 'ii'xg6! hxg6 32 <itig2.
29 l':.d4! ti:Jf8
29 ...'ii'xd4 30 'ii'd8+ ti:JIB 31 'ii'xd4.
30 l:tf4 1 -0
A surprisingly simple demonstration
of diagonal clearance. White would have
had a slight edge after correct play from
Black but, practically, the sacrifice had
the bonus of putting Black under con­
siderable pressure. This is an important
feature of White's strategy, whose prin­
cipal aim was to reverse the potential
positional roles by denying Black the

desired dark-square bind in favour of
activity on the long diagonal.
In the next example we see both
sides seeking to clear away the obstacles
that impede bishops.
Wang Zili-Dreev
5th Tan Chin Nam Cup 1 999
White's knights have been given
blockading duty on the queenside , al­
though they have also teamed up to
keep Black's dark-squared bishop busy
in the defence of cS. Of course Black
would like to make his presence felt on
the dark squares and White has similar
ambitions on the other colour complex
but, at the moment, the bishops lack
breathing space. This situation soon
changed. White's most automatic reac­
tion here is to try to prise open the b 1 -
h7 diagonal with 2 1 g4, but after
21 ... i..d7 22 lLid2 b3!? 23 axb3 lLib4 24
'ii'c3 lLixd3 25 'ii'xd3 l:.ab8 Black seems
to be making progress. With this in
mind White came up with a clever dual­
purpose sacrifice.
2 1 d61 .txd6 22 g4
The point of White's opener is that
the capture on d6 has forced Black to
take his eye off the b6-square, so that
Bishops a t Work
22... i..d7? can now be met with 23
lLib6, when 23 ...l:.ad8 24 lLixd7 l:.xd7
25 i..xfS is decisive thanks to White's
hitherto unemployed bishop. However,
part of the game is frustrating your op­
ponent's plans, and this often leads to
finding a good one of your own in the
process. Consequently Black's next is a
good practical decision.
22 ... e4!
Simultaneously denying White's
bishop the desired freedom while pro­
viding the d6-bishop with possible in­
roads into White's half of the board.
23 fxe4 f4!
Two can play at this game! White's
initial sacrifice was designed to nip
Black's potential queenside counterplay
in the bud in order to enjoy an initiative
on the other flank created by the open­
ing of the bl -h7 diagonal. Now, how­
ever, Black's counter-sacrifice keeps the
diagonal in question closed while taking
over ownership of the important eS­
·
square! White's next should not be too
difficult to find ...
24 e5!
White will not be outdone in the
pawn sacrificing stakes.
24 . . ..txe5 25 .txh7 + �h8
89
Unders tanding· the Sacrifice
For some reason White now played
26 i.fS?!, which abandons the strategy
altogether and even failed to give White
enough in the ending that followed
26 ... i.xfS 27'if?' fS 'if xfS+ 28 gxfS
· Tregubov-Aseev
l:lad8 29 lLiaxcS lDxcS 30 lLixcS .l:lxdt +
3 1 l:lxdt f3 32 ltft i.d4 33 lLid3 .l:le3
34 'it>c2 'it>g7 35 cS 'iti>f6 36 c6 i.b6 etc.
In fact Black, -with a flexible bishop,
eventually won the game.
Instead 26 i.e4! is _ the logical and
very strong culmination of White's play
thus far, exploiting the fact that the ini­
tial sacrifice of the cl-pawn cleared the
h 1 -aS diagonal.
After 26 . . . l:ta7 27 tt:Jbxc5 tt:Jxc5
28 tt:Jxc5 i.d4 29 tt:Jb3 i.e3 30 .:r.d5
Black does not have enough for the
90
pawn, although -there is still much work
to be done.
A fan of the hypermodern approach
involving a fianchetto or two, over the
years I have found the presence of a
bishop on g2 and g7 to be quite reassur­
ing. It is not unusual to be given (or to
create oneself) the opportunity to cap­
ture a rook in ·the opposite corner dur­
ing the opening or early middlegame
phase and, despite the gain in material
terms, such a trade can quite easily lead
to difficulties. The following game is a
typical example.
Russian Championship 2000
1 d4 tt:Jf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt:Jf3 b6 4 g3
i.a6 5 tt:Jbd2 c5 6 i.g2 tt:Jc6 7 tt:Je5
Seeking to exploit the pin on the long
diagonal, this advance is given a '!?' by
the talented young theoretician Gershon
of lsrael.
7 . . . tt:Jxd4
Continuing the discussion (with him­
self), Gershon also likes Black's sacri­
fice.
8 e3

With Black's last move netting a
pawn, White obviously has little choice
but to take the rook, the only decision
being whether to first evict the knight
from d4. In Vladimirov-Dautov, Frunze
1 988 White postponed such action, the
game continuing 8 i.xa8 'i'xa8 9 0-0
i.e7 10 b3 d6 1 1 tl:ie£3 tl:ix£3+ 12 tl:ix£3
'ii'c6 1 3 i.b2 i.b7 14 h3 0-0 1 5 'ii'c2
tl:ie4 16 'iifh2 f5
With a goo.cl bishop and centre pawn
for the rook, Black's influence on the
h 1-a8 diagonal combined with his
knight and control of key centre squares
should be enough for a slight advantage.
After 17 l:.adl g5! Black was ready to
rid his opponent of what control he had
left of the h 1 -a8 diagonal. Note that the
thrust of the g7-pawn opens the other
long diagonal for White's remaining
bishop, but this factor cannot realisti­
cally be exploited. In fact 1 8 'i!fct ltf?
19 'i!fe3 g4 20 tl:iet .tg5 21 f4 (21 'i!fd3
tl:ixf2 and 22 l:.xf2 allows the thematic
culmination of Black's exchange sacri­
fice with a mate on ht) 21...gx£3 22
'i'x£3 tl:id2 23 'ii'xc6 tl:ixft + 24 'it.igt
i.xc6 left Black with a clear lead.
The text deals with Black's knight but
at the cost of further weakening the
Bishops a t Work
light squares.
8 ... lLif5 9 Wa4!?
Gaining an important tempo and im­
proving on 9 i.xa8 'ii'xa8 10 0-0 i.d6
1 1 tl:ie£3 h5 (again 1 1 ...'ii'c 6!?, followed
by dropping the bishop back to b7,
looks sensible) 12 l:.et tl:ie4 13 tl:ixe4
'ifxe4 14 tl:id2 'ifc6 1 5 b3 h4 1 6 'if£3
hxg3 1 7 hxg3 i.b7 1 8 'i!fxc6 i.xc6 1 9
e 4 tl:id4, which favoured Black in Hert­
neck-Dautov, Bad Wiessee 1 997. With
pretty ineffectual rooks White offered
to return the exchange with 20 i.b2,
but after 20...tl:ic2 21 i.xg7 :b7 22 i.f6
l:.h6 23 i.g7 l:.h7 24 i.f6 tl:ixal! 25
.ixal f5 the problems on the light
squares continued.
9 ... Wc8 1 0 .i.xa8 Wxa8 1 1 llg 1
The idea behind White's 9 'a4 is to
castle queenside, when Black's domi­
nance of the long diagonal will be less
significant.
1 1 . . . .i.cS
A necessary defensive retreat in view
of 1 1 . .. .ib7 12 g4 (threatening to high­
light the weakness of d7 with g4-g5)
12... 'i!fb8 1 3 gxf5 'ii'x e5 14 'ii'xa7, when
White is on the offensive.
1 2 b3 lLie4 1 3 .i.b2
13 tl:ixe4 'ii'xe4 embarrasses the
91
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice
knight, so White allows his king to be
inconvenienced.
1 3 . . . tt:Jxd2 1 4 �xd2 f6
Believe it or not this was a new move
at the time of the game! It is time to
concentrate on the light squares, for
which Black originally parted with his
rook.
1 5 tt:Jd3 i..b 7 1 6 l':.ad 1 i..c6
16 ... J.f3!? 17 l:.del J.c6 18 �a6 is
also possible, the decision being based
on where Black prefers his bishop.
1 7 'ifa6 i..f3
Neither White's king nor queen are
where we would have expected them to
be by now, but the occupation of the
h 1 -a8 diagonal is exactly what Black has
been working toward since calling
White's bluff with ·7 ... lLixd4. The text
highlights the plight of White's rooks
which - for the moment - show no sign
of finding a way into the game. Mean­
while Black has an extra centre pawn,
decent pieces and no real weaknesses.
1 8 l:.de1 i..e 7 1 9 'iti>c 1 0-0
With his queen wonderfully placed in
the corner Black has •n ow completed his
development. White's rooks are both
being monitored by the bishop on f3
and his queen now seems out on a limb
92
over on a6, too far from the kingside,
where White would like to generate an
attack but where Black is well in con­
trol.
20 tt:Jf4?
Understandably at a loss for some­
thing to do, although bringing the
queen back into the fold with 20 �a3
followed by J.c3 and �b2 makes sense.
20 . . .tt:Jd6 21 g4 tt:Je4
Black nelps himself to another juicy
square on the long diagonal.
22 tt:Jd3 i..d 6 23 h4 i.. h 2
Teasing the rooks with the prospect
of an inevitable capture.
24 l':.gf1 i..g 2 .
It is nice - after sacrificing the ex­
change - to see rooks being dominated
in such a fashion by a pair of bishops!
25 f4
Much worse for White is 25 f3 J.xfl
26 l:.xfl lLlg3 27 l:.£2 (27 l:.el �xf3)
27 . . . J.gl 28 l:.g2 �xf3 etc.
25 . . .i..g3
25 . . .J.xfl 26 l:.xfl d5 clearly favours
Black, but the text is loyal to the mighty
light-squared bishop.
26 l:.g1
26 l:.dl J.xfl 27 l:.xfl J.xh4.
26 . . .tt:Jf2! 27 tt:Jxf2 i.. xf2 28 i..c3

Here Black - inexplicably - presented
his opponent with the opportunity of
exchanging queens, although after
28 ...'i'b7? 29 'i'xb7 .txb7 30 gS .txe1
31 l:.xe1 fxgS 32 hxgS .te4!, with an
extra pawn, the better bishop and ... d7 -
dS coming, Black was in charge.
Instead 28 . . . .txe 1 29 l:.xe 1 'ii'e 4!
is a big improvement, cashing in while
maintaining the positional superiority
afforded by the long diagonal, not for­
getting White's terribly isolated queen.
The point is that 30 'i'xa7 'i'd3 spells
the end for White, e.g. 31 �b2 .i.e4 etc.
Meanwhile 30 'ii'a 3 d5 3 1 cxd5 exd5
leaves Black with a decisive advantage.
It is interesting to note that from the
moment White's light-squared bishop
left the board the h1-a8 diagonal played
an increasingly significant role through­
out the game, culminating in the possi­
ble 'finish', above, where Black's queen
takes centre stage on e4. By concentrat­
ing on the long diagonal Black was able
to reduce his opponent to utter passiv­
ity.
In the previous example we saw an
exchange sacrifice earn Black a slowly
developing initiative thanks to a power­
ful bishop posted on a key diagonal.
Next we come to another common po­
sitional sacrifice of rook for bishop, this
time the aim being to nip an attack in
the bud as well as to create a 'shut-out'
of enemy forces.
Herrera-Dominguez
Guillermo Garcia Premier (II) 2000
It is not difficult to see that White
has been busy trying to attack on the
Bis hops a t Work
kingside, the result being a positional
inferiority on the other flank. Black ex­
ploited this with a sacrifice designed to
alleviate the pressure.
24 . . ..te5 !
The most secure square available to
the bishop is also the best, and accep­
tance of the offer by White will leave
the bishop unopposed. After 25 .txf8
l:.xf8 26 'i'h6 f6 27 l:th3 'i'g7 Black's
offer to trade queens was fully justified.
White's hopes of an attack have disap­
peared with the defence of h7, and
there is nothµig left to target in Black's
camp, the knight being almost as im­
pressive as the all-seeing bishop on eS.
As is often the case we should concen­
trate on the influence of Black's bishop
on both sides of the board rather than
the exchange sa�rifice required to ele­
vate its status.
The game continued
28 'i'xg7 + <it>xg7 29 <it>g2 :ca 30
l:.b 1 l:tc7 3 1 l:te3 liJd7 32 .td3 <it>f8
33 l:th3 ltJc5 34 .tc2 <it>g7 35 l:.e3
li:ld7 36 .td3 ltJc5 %- %
White's rooks can do nothing and
Black's bishop is a match for anything.
Notice how White's bishop, which
looked so menacing when we joined the
93
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice
game, has been demoted to 'bad' bishop
- a positional factor that Black will have
considered when inviting White to part
company with his better Oong-term)
bishop (and, in doing so, surrender the
dark squares) .
Transformation of 'bad' bishop
Alekhine-Johner
Zurich 1 934
A cursory glance at the diagram posi­
tion suggests that Black is doing fine
despite the deficit of a pawn, thanks to
the closed nature of the position and
the number of White's pawns that are
ostensibly fixed on the same colour
squares as the bishop. Meanwhile the
94
knight is ready to quickly hop into the
particularly inviting eS-square, from
where several sectors of the board can
be monitored. White acted quickly...
1 e5!
Yet another example of the oppo­
nent's key plan pointing us in the right
direction in the quest to find one of our
own. By focusing on the eS-square
White sets in motion the first of a bril­
liant series of positional sacrifices de­
. signed to transform the bishop from
awkward bystander to game-winner.
Now 1 ...fxeS 2 f6! 'i'xf6 3 'i'xg4+ @fl
4 i.e4 will indeed leave White with an
extra pawn and - this time - the
stronger minor piece. This led Black to
recapture with the other pawn.
1 . . . dxe5 2 d6!
Addressing White's chief problem of
the seemingly ineffectual bishop has
inspired clearance sacrifices. It often
pays to take thematic routes when ana­
lysing potential sacrificial variations,
especially when you are looking for
ways to alter the positional characteris­
tics of the game in your favour. If this
or that sacrifice doesn't work then sim­
ply look for something else, but by ex­
hausting these possibilities we can often
 Bishops a t Work

find unexpectedly successful plans. merely improving) a bishop are clearly

Alekhine, of course, probably had all
this worked out well in advance.
2 . . c5
. tion. Consequently we should be alert to
Spoiling the party! After the natural
2. cxd6 White continues this wonderful
..
theme with the now equally natural (at
least once we have seen the idea) 3 cS!!
enhanced when its opposite number is
not on the board to offer any competi­
possibilities of investing a pawn to
eliminate an enemy bishop for a knight
if this brings with it the prospect of en­
hancing the power of our own bishop.
In order to facilitate the execution of
such positional strategies it pays to keep
an eye on candidate/ideal diagonals for
your bishops.

Stefanova-Wells
1 st Fraenkische GM 2000

1bis third pawn sacrifice leaves the

bishop free to deliver the knockout
blow with a check on b3 after 3 ... bxcS,
while 3 ...'it'c7 4 i.b3+ �g7 5 'it'xg4+
�h6 6 'i'g8! 'i'e7 7 cxb6 and 3 ...'it'd7 4
cxd6 'it'xd6 5 i.b3+ �g7 6 'it'xg4+
�h6 7 'ii'x f3 (the lesser evil) are awful
for Black. (2...c6 3 cS! is the other pos­ White's last lined up the queen and
sibility). bishop on the b1 -h7 diagonal. Mean­
3 �e4 · while Black, whose traditionally 'better'
Wasting no time with the bishop's bishop has already left the arena, has a
new-found role of aggressor now that poor looking bishop that is yet to play a
both e4 and dS have been made avail­ role. However, the next series of moves
able. sees an instructive transformation that
3 . . .'iid 7 4 'iih 6! 1 -0 , is worth remembering.
The 'futures' of the minor pieces 1 5 . llld 3 + ! ?
. .

have changed drastically since we joined Clearly not satisfied with 1 5. . .g6? 1 6
the game - the knight no longer has a h4 , when White profits from not hav­
future. A possible finish might be ing castled, Wells addresses the problem
4 ... lllh7 5 i.dS+ �h8 6 'i'g6 'it'd8 7 d7 of his opponent's key diagonal in a
etc. more aggressive fashion with the aid_ of
The chances of transforming (or a logical positional sacrifice.

95
Un ders tan ding th e Sacrifice
1 6 �xd3 cxd3 1 7 'ii'xd3 �d7
No prizes for spotting Black's plan!
Notice that White's extra pawn is effec­
tively doubled and isolated, while -
ironically - she is not in good shape to
defend the light squares. Nevertheless
White should simply play 1 8 0-0 i.e8
1 9 �d4 i.g6 20 'ife2 l:.ae8 (defending
the e6-pawn so that the queen can at­
tack eS from gS) 21 l:.xf8+ l:.xf8 22 l:.fl
with a slight ·edge - a situation with
which Black should now be
when we contemplate the alternative
1 5 ...g6 1 6 h4 etc.
1 8 e4?!
Understandably ridding herself of a
potential weakness, but opening lines is
a bit ambitious. Psychologically, per­
haps, White was still in an aggressive
mood.
1 8 . . . dxe4 1 9 'ii'xe4 'ii'c 5
Ruling out 0-0. White's extra pawn
must mean something but at least Black
has a sound position and his bishop is
ready to jump to action.
20 tllg 5
20 i.f2 'ifbs 21 0-0-0 (21 �gS?! l:.f5)
21 ...i.e8 is obviously not without risks
for White with the prospect of Black's
bishop taking up residence on the b 1 -h7
96
diagonal.
20 . . .l:.f5 21 0-0-0
happy
21 . . . 'ii'e 7
21 ...l:.xgS 22 l:.xd7 �xeS 23 l:.xb7
surrenders the bishop unnecessarily.
Instead, with White's king now on the
queenside Black drops his queen back
to release the bishop for more useful
duties.
22 tllf3 �ea 23 :d6
And now instead of 23 ... i.g6 24 'ifc4
l:.e8 25 l:.hdl i.hS 26 l:.d7 'iff8 27 'ifh4
i.xf3 28 gxf3 l:.xf3 29 l:.xb7, when
29 ...l:.fl 30 l:.bd7 'iff5 3 1 l:.xfl 'ifxfl +
32 l:.dl 'ife2 would have given Black
something, 23 . . . �h5 24 :hd 1 :ate
25 :d7 'ii'e8 has been suggested as
offering Black sufficient compensation.
A possible continuation is 26 l:.xb7
l:.xf3 27 gxf3 �xf3 28 'ii'e3 �xd 1
29 �xd 1 'ii'ca 30 :b3 'ii'a 6,
accentuating White's problems. on the
light squares. Notice in these lines how
White's bishop takes no part in the
game whereas Black's has options on
both the b l -h7 and d l -hS diagonals.
On the surface the next example
seems more to do with outposts or
strong central knights than diagonals,

but White's alert use of his queen is
very impressive and his busy knight
takes only a co-starring role.
M .Gurevich-Babula
Bundesliga 1 999
29 tlle6 i.xe6 30 dxe6
Of course the potential use of the d5-
square alone is enough to suggest the
surrender of the d5-pawn. However,
White has seen deeper into the posi­
tional aspects of the situation, so much
so that his chosen theme for the day
continues until Black's resignation...
30 . . . tllg7 31 l:ld1 tllxe6
Now 32 'ifxd6 tbd4 gives Black a
level game ( 33 'ifxe5?? tiJf3+ ), but
trading off into an ending was never
White's intention.
32 •a2!
The point. For the moment White
exploits the fact that the d5-square is
free by exerting pressure on the hitherto
closed diagonal rather than automati­
cally putting a knight there.
32 . . .'�e7
Again it is clear that considerable
thought has gone into White's initial
sacrifice. This clever move would also
have been the reply even if Black had
Bishop s a t Work
chosen d7 for his queen. Note that the
stereotyped
33 tllb 5!
33 tiJd5 'iffl 34 tbxb6 tbd4 presents
Black with promising counterplay.
33 . . . l:ldS 34 tllc 7!?
34 'ii'dS! is another, strong, alterna­
tive, after which the queen can come to
c6 with a dangerous looking grip of the
queenside. However, White has his
theme to stick to...
34 . . .c:ii>f7
Of course White is happy to go into
an ending if it brings with it serious
winning chances, which is the case after
34...'ifxc7 35 'ifxe6+ 'iff7 36 l:.xd6 etc.
35 tll d5
35 tbxe6 'ifxe6 36 'ifa7+ l:.d7 37
'ii'xb6 d5 is equal.
35 . . .'�b7
Only after forcing Black's king to
take a step closer to the action did
White finally acquiesce to the traditional
desire to plant a knight on d5 (in front
of a backward pawn, too), but even this
dream posting is related to the diagonal
theme.
36 •c2!
By taking up residence on this second
diagonal the queen heralds the wm.
97
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice

With the king on fl, ... f5-f4 is out of the Threatening a nasty check o n f4 fol­
question as h7 drops, while 36...l'Lld4 37 lowed by 'ii'x b7.
l:.xd4 exd4 38 'ii'x fS+ wins for White, 39 . . ...f7 40 lDe31 1 -0
e.g. 38 ...�e8 (38 ...�g7 39 'ii'f6+) 39
l'Llf6+ �£8 (39 ...�e7 40 'ii'x h7+) 40
l'Lld7+ �e7 (40...�g7 41 'ii'f6+) 41
'ii'x h7+ �e6 42 l'Llf8+ etc.
36 . . . ..ti>g6
After 36 ...l'Llg7 37 'ii'c4! the queen re­
turns to the a2-g8 diagonal with tempo
on the way to bS or h4. Finally 36 ... e4
37 'ii'c 3 invites White to use a third
diagonal!
37 g4! 7 lLJg7
37 ... e4 38 'ii'e 2.
38 gxf5 + lLJxf5 As well as the check on g4 White toys
38 ...�fl 39 f6. with the idea of nudging his king to the
39 ,.e4 corner to make way for l:.gl etc.

98
 CHAPTER SIX I
Exploiting Key Squares

Sacrificing material (usually a pawn or

two) in order to take charge of a
particular square is not an uncommon
positional weapon. The more central
the square, of course, the greater the
reward. The outcome of these posi­
tional sacrifices tends to see the aggres­
sor either using the square as an outpost
(the benefits of long-term ownership of
a square right in the heart of enemy
territory are obvious) or making life
difficult for the opponent (hindering
development, for example) by simply 9 e5!?
aiming more pieces - and pawns - at Taking aim at the d6-square regard­
the target. A potentially vulnerable spot less of whether Black accepts the offer.
in front of the enemy king can be 9 . . . 'ii'x e5
crucial, so these, too, should be closely After 9 ... d6 10 lDe4 dxeS White has
monitored. 1 1 lDxe6 i.xe6 12 J.xcS and 1 1 lDbS
axbS 12 i.xcS, stealing the dark squares
Motylev-Brodsky - d6 in particular - in both cases. How­
Chigorin Memorial 1 999 ever, Black might consider ignoring the
e-pawn altogether in favour of an im­
As is often the case a lead in devel­ mediate queenside finachetto.
opment affords White the possibility of 1 0 lbf3 'ii'd 6
a positional sacrifice, in this case with 1 0 'ii'c7 1 1 i.xcS i'xcS transposes.
1 1 .i.xc5 'ii'xc5 1 2 lbe4 'ii'c 7 1 3
...

the action concentrated heavily on the

dark squares. lbd6 + �f8

99
Un ders ta nding the Sacrific e
This is just what White has been aim­
ing for, disrupting Black's already tardy
development while establishing a piece
in Black's camp. White's strategy from
here is quite simple, for all he needs to
do is concentrate on the d6-square and
let Black worry about how he is going
to survive.
1 4 c4 b6 1 5 'ii'd 2 f6
Not a nice move to have to make but
ltJeS is best avoided.
1 6 l:tfd1 l:ta7
Defending the d7-pawn be-
fore.... j.b7.
1 7 a4
The natural way to treat such a posi­
tion. The b6-pawn obstructs White's
intention to accentuate his grip on the
d6-square by (eventually) planting a
pawn on cS, so White prepares to re­
move the defender.
1 7 . . ..ib7?1
1 7 ... ltJc6 18 b4 is a lesser evil, al-
though White's compensation in that
particular case is more than enough for
the pawn.
1 8 a5 bxa5
1 8 ... ltJc6 1 9 b4 bxaS 20 bS! is very
good for White. After 20. . .ltJb4 21 'ii'e 3
J:a8 22 b6 Black's problems escalate,
1 00
e.g. 22. . .'ii'c6 23. ltxaS or 22 ... ti'b8 23
ti'cS ltJe7 24 ltJd4, with a clear advan­
tage to White in both cases. Equally
poor for Black is 20... ltJce7 21 ltJxb7
(or 21 ti'xaS) 21 ...'ii'xb7 22 ti'xaS.
1 9 l:txa5
Threatening ltJbS.
1 9 . . .lllc6 20 l:ta4
Ribli proposes the more flexible 20
l:t.a3, but there is nothing wrong with
the text.
20 . . .lllg e7 2 1 b4
With c4-c5 coming White's lot seems
to have improved since first taking
ownership of d6. Black's development
problems have continued - the king's
rook has no chance of seeing any action
- and his pieces are huddled together
on the queenside.
21 . . .lllca
Black is finally contesting the d6-
square.
22 lll x b7 'ii'x b7 23 c5
Renewing the relationship with d6
and throwing in control of b6 for good
measure. Meanwhile both a6 and d7 are
under pressure.
The game continued
23 . . . lllbS 24 llld4 �f7
24... eS 25 ltJfS sees a second knight

hop into d6.
25 f4 h5
25 ...tLle7 makes the mistake of sur­
rendering d6 completely which, consid­
ering the theme since we first joined the
game, deserves to be punished. In fact
White can pounce immediately with 26
b5 axb5 27 tbxb5.
26 f5 e5 27 .tc4 + <ii?e 7 28 lllf3
<ii?e8 29 -.a2 and White completely
dominated.
Apologies to fans of the Sicilian Tai­
manov, but such systems do create po­
tential weaknesses on d6 and b6, both
of which come under fire in this in­
structive game.
Wed berg-Sjoberg
Scandic Hotels CC 1 999
1 2 e5!?
With the previous game fresh in our
minds this pawn offer - a new move -
is easy to appreciate. Thanks to the al­
ready advanced c4-pawn the prospect
of clamping down on the vulnerable
spots b6 and d6 is a genuine concern
for Black. For example should Black
now play 1 2... tbxe5, then 1 3 i.f4 0-0 1 4
'ii'e 2 f6 1 5 c 5 is awkward for Black.
Exploiting Key Squa res
White's knight on the rim is no
longer dim, both supporting the cramp­
ing c-pawn and reminding Black about
b6. The d6-square, of course, is a also
weak (a great home for a white rook),
Black is short of breathing space and
the pin on the knight is uncomfortable.
Moreover, breaking the pin and return­
ing the pawn after i.xe5 will present
White with a new target in the form of
the isolated e6-pawn.
Perhaps Black took these factors into
consideration when electing to capture
on e5 with the queen.
1 2 . . . -.xe5 1 3 i.f4
Guaranteeing White access to the
juicy d6-square, which is particularly
useful when Black is yet to castle. Now
1 3 ...'ii'd4!? 1 4 'ii'e2 0-0 1 5 l:.adl 'ii'f6 "16
i.d6 and 1 3 ... 'ii' f5 1 4 i.d6 both look
uncomfortable for Black, hence the
text. ·
1 3 . . ....f6 1 4 .td6 ..d4
In· this way Black at least feels more
secure about the health of. his king by
forcing the exchange of queens. How­
ever, any inconvenience to Black's king
and subsequent opportunities to launch
an attack are an incidental part of.
White's overall strategy which, simply, is
101
Unders tanding the Sacrifice
to focus on d6 and b6 and exploit the
positional advantages the ownership of
these squares affords him .
1 5 c5 •xd 1 1 6 :axd 1
Phase Two is complete. How Black is
supposed to get his pieces into the game
is a difficult question, although White,
for his part, must find a way of making
his territorial and positional supremacy
count. The obvious candidate for a plan
is to push the f-pawn in order to loosen
up Black's defences, while a transfer of
the knight to replace the bishop on d6
is another idea worth keeping in mind.
1 6 . . . ..i.bS
Preparing to remove the troublesome
bishop. The problem with this under­
standable defensive move is that Black
might live to regret parting with this
bishop, without which both b6 and d6
will be more difficult to guard. Ribli
suggests 1 6 ... tt:)f6!? followed by lodging
the knight firmly on dS. This makes
sense in that it closes the cl-file, al­
though (again) subsequent play will be
uncomfortable for Black.
1 7 f4 .ixd6 1 8 .:r.�d6 'i;e7 1 9 l:[fd 1
Not 1 9 fS? tt:)xcS, a tactic that White
has addressed by doubling.
1 9 . . . 96
1 02
Holding back the f-pawn.
20 g4
White has extra space on both flanks,
the cl-file and well placed pieces. In
terms of compensation these factors
combine to be worth at least a pawn,
particularly when we consider the prac­
tical implications inherent either in sit­
ting tight or embarking on some kind of
active defence.
20 . . .lLif6
Black commits the knight, hitting g4
and ready to obstruct the rooks from
dS. Obviously White now jumps into b6
with tempo.
2 1 lLlb(; :be 22 .if3 h5 23 gxh5!
White should avoid 23 gS tt:)dS, when
the closed position and the resulting
lack of a pawn break gives Black much
less to worry about. Instead White is
happy to open up thanks to l).is more
active pieces and freedom of move­
ment.
23 . . . gxh5
23 ...tt:)xhS 24 ltld4 and White main-
tains the bind.
24 '1;12 h4
I don't like the look of 24...tt:)g4+ 25
..txg4 hxg4 26 'iti>g3 fS in view of 27
tt:)c4, when White can add the eS-square

to b6 and d6.
25 b41 ? h3 26 a3
White's posmon has steadily im­
proved since taking control of d6 (and,
to a lesser extent, b6). After parting
with the h3-pawn Black tried to defend
a rook ending, surrendering on the 56th
move.
Rogozenko·M .Hoffmann
Bundesliga 2000
The diagram position arose after the
opening moves 1 d4 tbf6 2 c4 e6 3 tbc3
�b4 4 tbf3 c5 5 g3 tbc6 6 �g2 'ti'a5.
7 0-0 !
After lining up on the e1 -a5 diagonal
Black is more or less committed to ac­
cepting the offer(s), whereupon White
Exploiting Key Squares
hopes to exploit his opponent's missing
dark-squared bishop by occupying the
d6-square.
7 . . . i.xc3 8 bxc3 'i'xc3 9 i.f4! 'i'xc4
It is indicative of the efficacy of
White's plan that each of Black's main
moves here results in White's control of
d6 being a relevant and influential fea­
ture of the position. For example after
9 ...cxd4 10 l:.c1 'iib2 1 1 :c2 'iib6 1 2 c5
'ii'b4 13 'ii'c l !? 0-0 14 �d6 :es 1 5 l:.c4
'ti'a5 16 tbxd4 tbxd4 1 7 l:.xd4 e5 1 8
l:.d2 White stood better in Valdes­
Lipnowski, Capablanca Memorial, Ha­
vana 1 998. 1 0...'ti'a5 1 1 tbxd4 leads to
more complex situations. 1 1 ...tbxd4 1 2
'ii'xd4 0-0 1 3 �d6 and 1 1 ...0-0 1 2 �d6
l:.d8 1 3 lbb5 both present White with a
powerful bind. Black can try to address
the problem of the d6-square with
1 1 ...e5 but after 1 2 �d2! 'ii'xa2 1 3 tbfS
0-0 White has other irons in the fire,
and 1 4 �g5! reminds Black of his gen­
eral vulnerability on the dark squares. A
possible continuation is 1 4...d5 1 5
tbh6+!? gxh6 1 6 �xf6 dxc4 1 7 e3 'ii'b3
1 8 'ti'h5 'ti'd3 1 9 e4
Black's efforts to distract his oppo­
nent from the d6-square have led to his
king being under pressure. Black can
1 03
Un ders tanding the Sacrifice
also play 9 ... lbxd4. Then 10 l:.ct lbxf3+
1 1 i.xf3 °ifd4 1 2 'ifxd4 cxd4 1 3 i.d6
has the desired effect even with the
queens off the board.
White will limit the investment to just
a single pawn by rounding up the d­
pawn, while Black's development is dif­
ficult to organise and his queenside
could come under fire. However, I pre­
fer 1 0 lbxd4, e.g. 1 0...°ifxd4 1 1 'ifb3! d5
1 2 l:.act with a clear advantage to
White, 1 2... dxc4 1 3 l:.xc4 °ifd8 1 4 l:.xc5
0-0 1 5 l:.dl °ifb6 1 6 l:.b5 °ifa6 17 l:.d6
seeing the d6-square being put to very
good use! Best is 1 0... cxd4 1 1 l:.ct °ifb2
1 2 l:.c2, when White should pick up the
d4-pawn to emerge with the usual com­
pensation. Black's choice in the game
ignores the d4-pawn in favour of clear­
ing up the rest of the queenside. This
policy does, however, afford White
greater control of the d6-square.
1 0 l:.c 1 'ii'x a2 1 1 dxc5 0-0 1 2 i..d 6
It is true that Black has two extra
pawns but, for the moment, he can do
nothing with them: Meanwhile White
has planted his bishop on the target
square, and Black must either sit pas­
sively by as his opponent further im­
proves or, as in the game, go to consid-
1 04
erable lengths to fight against the bind.
1 2 . . .l:.d8 1 3 li:Jd4 lt:Je8
1 3 ...lbxd4 1 4 'ifxd4 'ifxe2 is greedy,
and 1 5 i.e7 l:.e8 1 6 i.xf6 cashes in one
positional plus for another as Black's
king becomes the new focus of White's
attention.
1 4 i..f4 d5!
Nice. At the time of the game this
was a new move, and certainly an im­
provement on 1 4...°ifa5 1 5 'ifd3 e5 1 6
i.d2 'ifa4 1 7 lbxc6 ?bxc6 1 8 l:.al 'iig4
1 9 i.a5 'iig5 20 i.xd8 'ifxd8 21 i.xc6,
as in Rashkovsky-Novikov, Kujbyshev
1 986. Instead Black's compromise suc­
ceeds in evicting the bishop but at the
cost of inviting a protected passed pawn
onto d6, a feature that does look some­
what risky for Black. However, with an
improved and otherwise pretty solid set­
up Black has decent chances to keep his
opponent at bay. White cannot afford
to allow his opponent to consolidate
and subsequently go on the offensive
with his own passed pawns.
1 5 cxd6 li:Jxd4 1 6 •xd4 •xe2
Now it is time for White to weigh up
the consequences of his sacrificial play
thus far. The cl-pawn is strong but
blockaded and White ahs active pieces.

On the other hand there is nothing else
for him to concentrate on, other than
Black's queenside pawns. Reducing the
deficit will in turn reduce Black's
counter-chances, so White sets about
exerting further pressure.
1 7 l:.fd 1
Wells suggests 1 7 l:r.fel !?, while
Rogozenko prefers to over-protect his
key player on d6.
1 7 . . . .i.d7 ! ?
A sensible pra°'ctical decision made
possible by Black's material lead. Rather
than give White the time to continue to
turn the screw Black intends to return
the pawns and activate his forces on the
kingside.
1 8 .i.xb7 l:.ab8 1 9 1i'xa7 e5
Exploiting Ke y Squares
The point. Capturing the a7-pawn
has sent White's queen from the centre
to the edge of the board and Black is
quick to profit from this with - finally -
aggression of his own. The immediate
result of the text is to cut communica­
tion to the cl-pawn, which now has a
third of the protection it enjoyed a cou­
ple of moves earlier. Black's bishop is
also free to come to e6 now, which will
put the cl-pawn under attack. White
could now consider dropping the
bishop back to e3, from where both
flanks can be monitored. With the
bishop pair, better pieces and the d­
pawn still a thorn in Black's side, it is
reasonable to assess the situation as of­
fering White decent practical chances.
In the game White, understandably,
opted for 20 .i.g5 tLlf6 2 1 .i.g2 ft5
22 h4 h6 23 .i.xf6 gxf6, no doubt
hoping to exploit Black's latest struc­
tural weakness.
However, with all the action essen­
tially taking place on just one flank,
Black was able to hold, the game ending
as follows: 24 l:.b1 .i.e6 25 1i'e7 (25
'i'xb8 'i'xdl + 26 l:.xdl l:.xb8)
25 . . . �g7 26 .i.c6 1i'e2 27 d7 e41 28
1i'd6 % - %
1 05
Un ders tan ding th e Sacrifice
An impressive defensive display from
.
Black throughout.
Halkias-Fernandez Romero
5th Ubeda Open 2000
White's king is actually by no means
poorly positioned on the e-file, but
Black's is about to come under fire
thanks to a positional exchange sacrifice
aimed at removing a key defender.
1 7 b4! .txd5
Declining the offer with l 7 ... ttlc6 is
not much of an option as 1 8 l:lhdl
prompts a concession from Black.
1 8 cxd5 lll b 7
Black's knight is not a pretty sight.
Now the a6-square is a target for White,
and c6 might also prove a problem for
1 06
the defender, especially with White's
knight just one step from the related d4-
square.
1 9 :c 1 :ca 20 'ii'd 3
This is the chief point behind White's
sacrifice. Note how White's advanced
centre paw�s make defensive duties that
much more difficult for Black.
20 . . .:ta?
20 ... c6! is necessary, when 21 dxc6
l:lxc6 22 l:lxc6 dxc6 23 'ifd7 looks level,
but 21 d6 'ifd8 keeps Black boxed in.
Now White wins.
21 llld 41
The final piece comes into play to
control c6 with decisive effect in view
of 21 ...cS 22 dxc6 etc.
21 . . .llldS 22 'ii'a6 c6
This time 22 ... cS loses to 23 tLlbS
tbc6 24 dxc6 (24 bxcS also looks good)
24 ... dxc6 25 .ltxc8.
23 lll b 5! 1 -0
23 ...l:tc7 (23 ... cxbS 24 l:txc8 mate) 24
d6. We are all guilty of deciding against
this or that plan - particularly one in­
volving the investment of material - on
the grounds that the opponent has a
'defence' but, as this and many games
demonstrate, a sacrifice tends to unset­
tle the opponent. Moreover a positional

sacrifice (as opposed to one of the all­
or-nothing variety) has the advantage of
inflicting upon the opponent what is
usually structural damage and, for this
reason, we should be more willing to
play in this fashion.
Leko-Topalov
Frankfurt-West Masters (rapid) 1 999
We should now be confident of find­
ing the position's most appropriate re­
sponse here ...
1 8 .!Lixd41 exd4 19 l::.x d4 i.xd4 20
'ii'xd4
Black is faced with an unpleasant
choice here - severely compromise the
pawns in front of his king or allow
White's queen to infiltrate directly after
Exploiting Key Squares
20...cS 21 dxc6 ii.xc6 22 'ii'xa7, which
also involves giving up a pawn. He tries
his luck with the former option.
20 . . . b6 2 1 .!Lib5!
Attacking a7, but this time the plan is
to home in the c6-square after making
d4 available to the knight. Meanwhile
White will have no problems finding a
way into a6. Incidentally Black cannot
realistically contemplate ....i.xbS here
since he would then fmd White's bishop
on c6, which is an even worse fate.
2 1 . . .'it>b7 22 'ii'c 3 l:tc8
22 ... i.c8 fails to keep White out in
view of 23 �d4 i.d7 24 'iid3 etc.
23 .!Lid4 'ii'f6
An amusing way for Black to lose
here is 23 ... cS 24 dxc6+ i.xc6 25 �xc6
'iid7 (25 ...llxc6 26 'iixh8) 26 i.a6 +!?
<it>xa6 27 'iia3 + <it>b7 28 'ii'xa7+ <it>xc6
29 'ii'x b6 mate.
24 Wd3 'it>a8 25 .i.xh4 ti'f4 + 26
'it>b 1 .!Lits
This time 26 ... cS runs into 27 dxc6
ii.xc6 28 '1Jxc6 l:.xc6 29 'iid S <it>b7 30
i.bS etc.
27 Wc3 .!Lig6
27 ...'it>b8 should be met with 28 i.a6
rather than the suicidal 28 �c6 +? i..xc6
29 'ii'xc6 'ii'x f3, hitting both d l and h l .
107
Un ders tan ding th e Sacrifice

28 i.a6 28 ...l:.b8 29 'ii'xc7 wins for White.

Decisive. White's investment is about
to pay dividends in both material and
positional terms.
28 . . .lt:Jxh4
After 29 ...ll:ieS 30 'ii'xd6 followed by
.i.f6 Black's position falls apart, while
29 ... .i.c8 30 ll:ic6 leads to forced mate
thanks to 30 ... .i.b7 31 .i.d8 llhxd8 32
.i.xb7+ l:.xb7 33 'ii'x d8+ or 30...llb7 31
.i.xb7 + .i.xb7 32 .i.d8.
29 i.xc8 :xc8 30 :xh4
White has an extra pawn and Black's
holes have not gone away.
The game ended as follows.
30 . . .'it>b7 3 1 a3 :ga 32 lt:Je2 ir'g5
33 :hs ir'e7 34 :xh6 f5 35 gxf5
i.xf5 36 lt:Jd4 i.d7 37 lt:Je6 i.c8 38
f4 :g4 39 ir'c6 + 'it>b8 40 :ha 1 -0
Even in the final position the c6-
square is the cause of Black's suffering.

1 08
I CHAPTER SEVEI{ I
The Exchange Sacrifice
Despite the fact that many players tend
to give the rook a value of 5 points
compared with just 3 points for a
bishop or knight, the exchange sacrifice
is by no means an uncommon posi­
tional tool. Of course you will find such
examples elsewhere in this book, but
devoting a chapter to the subject should
make us more conscious of the theme
and, therefore, more likely to be willing
to part with this strong piece should an
appropriate opportunity present itself.
Balogh-lstrat�scu
Krynica Zonal 1 998
What should first attract our atten­
tion when looking at the diagram posi­
tion is White's all-seeing bishop on es
(compare it with its fellow minor
·
pieces). Black could consider trading
dark-squared bishops, but his own also
has the potential to make a useful con­
tribution thanks to his queenside pawns,
which monitor three squares in White's
camp, namely b2, c3 and d4. Moreover,
in an ideal world the bishop would sup­
port the advance of the a3-pawn, which
can be released by challenging the
blockader with.... b4-b3. Taking these
factors into account, and measuring the
extent to which White's influence on
the dark squares is reduced on the re­
moval of the key player- on eS, it is not
unusual to come to the same conclusion
as Istratescu.
27 ... :xe51 28 .Uxe5 lLid7
Unleashing the hitherto dormant but
now dominant . bishop, which has a
choice of three outposts in White's
camp.
29 lle4 .
Better than 29 l:te2 lLib6 30 l:te4 i.d4
1 09
Un ders tanding th e Sa crific e

and 29 :e7 tlle S. Marin-Gdanski

29 . . . .ib2 Krynica Zonal 1 998
Played not to attack the queen but to
offer assistance to the a3-pawn in readi­
ness for ...b4-b3 etc.
30 'ii'f4 b3 3 1 axb3 .ixb3

White's hypermodern bishops criss­

cross the board on the long diagonals,
but the capture of a pawn on f4 has
weakened the dark squares - hence the
Let us have a look at the effects of recent arrival of Black's rook on a2
Black's exchange sacrifice. Suddenly the (which created a pin from which White · ·
a-pawn has a couple of armed guards, has stepped out with 'i'c2-b3) .
perfectly placed to shepherd the pawn 2 1 . . .l:.xb2!? 22 'ii'x b2 exf4
home, and Black's bishops have grown Again the exchange sacrifice serves to
in stature to such an extent that White's eliminate the opposite number of a
rooks can offer little resistance (note strong piece, although this time Black's
that on b2 the bishop monitors a num­ decision is based more on the strength
ber of key squares as well as al). In of the resulting initiative afforded by his
short, we can now see the level of re­ positional compensation than on con­
sponsibility borne by White's dark­ crete analysis.
squared bishop, its removal having led
to a decisive advantage for Black.
32 l:.e7 'ii'f6 33 'ii'e3
Trading queens does not help White,
e.g. 33 'i'xf6 tllx f6 34 d6 i.xc4 35 l:tdl
a2 36 :a7, when 36 ... i.b3 paves the
way for the c-pawn.
33 . . . .ixc4! 34 l:.xd7 .ixf1 35 .ixf1
a2 36 g5 'ii'f5 0-1
A possible finish here is 37 l:ta7
'i'xdS!? 38 tllg4 al'i' 39 :xal i.xal etc,
which White doubtless found unnat­
tractive. 23 'ii'd 2

110
 Th e Ex change Sacrifice

Understandably concentrating on the

dark squares. The alternative is 23 'ii'e2,
when 23 ... tlJd4 24 'ii'e7 f3 25 'ii'xd8
l:.xd8 26 tDe7+ '1t>f8 27 tbxc8 fxg2 28
'1t>xg2 l:.xc8 29 l:.al favours Black's lar­
ger army, while Marin suggests instead
the variation 23 ... 'ii'h 4! 24 lHel .te5 25
'ii'e4 tbd4

The point is that after 26 tbc7 Black
can claim a decisive advantage with
26...'1t>h8! (the ability to sit back and
consider such a quiet possibility - which
both side-steps a check on dS and
makes way for the remaining rook to
join in the attack with ...:gs - tends to
come naturally to strong players) -
rather than the obvious but unwise
26 ... .tfS?, which runs into the counter­
sacrifice 27 'ii'd5 + '1t>h8 28 :xe5!, when
the tide turns in White's favour. It is
important to remember this counter,
since returning the exchange - often for
the 'same' piece - can be a crucial re­
source in these situations.
23 . . ..te5 24 'ifi>h1 ti'h4 25 :g1
Introducing the 'threat' of a discov­
ered check, which Black could avoid
now with the move 25 ...'1t>h8, securing a
clear lead after 26 .tf3 tl:Jd4 27 'ii'd l
'ii'x f2 etc.
25 . . . f3 ! ?
Carrying o n regardless in view of the
more pressing matter of the bishop's
new role on eS.
26 .txf3 + lllg 71
Opening the f-file.
27 :g3 :xt3 28 llle 7 + ti'xe7
28 ...'1t>h8? 29 tbxc8 .txg3 30 fxg3
nets a safe pawn for White because
30 ... l:.xg3? walks into 31 'ii' f2 !, hitting
the rook and threatening mate on f8.
29 :xt3 b6! 30 .l:r.e 1 .tb 7 3 1 . .l:r.e4
Again rooks are dominated by minor
pieces, so much so that ....txe4 is a
good deal in terms of points but has the
downside of trading in a good piece for
a poor one. However, the rooks do
monitor a number of important squares

111
Un ders tan ding th e Sacrific e
and are reasonably placed in the middle
of the board.
3 1 . . .lLle6
With the bishops optimally placed
Black sends the knight back into action.
As is so often the case Black has a
'normal' looking way of losing here,
31 ... i.xe4? 32 dxe4 'iih4?? threatening
mate but falling foul of 33 'iid S+,
when ·white mates first.
32 l:.f5 lLld4
32 ... i.xe4+ 33 dxe4 'iih4 34 f3 lll f4
35 'iid l 'iif2 is given by Marin, who
proposes the subsequent advance of
Black's h-pawn all the way to h3.
33 :9s + �ha 34 .:994
34 . . .lLlf3
The immediate 34 ...'iif7 ! seems very
strong, leaving f3 available for the
queen.
35 'ii'h 6 'ii'f7
35 ...lllxh2 looks tempting but after
36 l:tgf4!! i.xf4 37 'iix f4 i.xe4+ 38
dxe4 lll fl 39 �gl the knight falls.
36 h3 lLle 1 37 'ii'h 4
37 'iigS 'iif3 + 38 �gt i.h2+ could
go either way, depending on White's
response. Black wins after 39 �xh2?
'iix f2+ 40 �hl 'ii fl + in view of 41
�h2 lll f3 + or 41 llgl 'iixh3 mate, but
112
39 �fl leads to disaster for Black, e.g.
39 ...'iix d3+ 40 l:te2! 'iixh3 + 41 �xel
'iic3+ 42 l:td2. Instead 37 ...'ii f8 is very
good for Black.
37 . . .'ii'fS 38 f4
38 . . .i.c3
Not 38 ... lllxd3? 39 fxeS i.xe4+ 40
llxe4 lll f2+ 41 �g2 lllxe4 42 'iixe4
'iig 7+ 43 �f3, when White's active
king makes a crucial difference. How­
ever, 38 ... lll f3 39 'iig3 lll d2, preparing
to capture the rook with the knight
rather than the bishop, keeps Black well
on top as 40 fxeS 'ii fl + is final in view
of 41 'iig l 'iix h3+ 42 'iih2 'iixg4 43
'iixd2 i.xe4+ 44 dxe4 'iixe4+ or 41
�h2 lll f3 +.
39 'ii'g 3 lLlc2 40 ""'h2 l2Jd4?!
40...i.xe4 41 dxe4 i.d4 is clearly bet­
ter for Black.
4 1 'ii'e3 i.xe4
Both 4 l ... i.d2?? 42 lle8 and
4L.lll f5?? 42 l:te8 deservedly backfire.
42 'ii'xe4 Y.z - Y.z
Here - for some reason - a draw was
agreed. After all Black's hard work he
might as well have continued with
42 ...lll fS with at least an edge. The natu­
ral 43 llg2?!, for instance, meets with
43 ... dS!! (found by Badea), the point

being th1t 44 cxd5 tl:\d6 exploits
White's broken pawns.
The desire to deny our opponents a
smooth exe<;:ution of their strategy is a
key feature of chess, and a positional
sacrifice tends to be a good means of
causing such disruption. In the follow�
ing example White exploits both his
opponent's structure and lagging devel­
opment.
Sorin-Campora
Najdorf Memorial, Argentina 1999
Black's overall plan revolves around
control of the e4-square and its occupa­
tion by an advance party (typically a
knight). However, White, with his own
Th e Exchange Sacrific e
bishop on the long diagonal, opened up
the game before Black was able to con- .
solidate.
1 1 d5!?
At the cost of a pawn White cuts the
communication between bishop and
knight. Now 11. ..exd5 12 tl:\d4 0-0 13
cxd5 i.xd5 14 g4! continues to pile the
pressure on Black's grip on the centre,
e.g. 14 ...g6 15 gxfS gxfS 16 tl:\xf5 llxfS
17 i.xe4 i.xe4 18 'ir'xe4 d5 19 'ir'g4+
when Black's king lacks support.
11 ... 0-0 1 2 lllg 5 exd5
Black accepts the offer rather than
see the bishop pair dominate 'for free'
after 12...tl:\xg5 13 i.xg5 tl:\a6 14 e4
fxe4 15 i.xe4 h6 16 i.e3 etc.
1 3 cxd5 i.xd5 1 4 :d 1
White now has four pieces aimed at
the centre and both Black's active
pieces are under fire. Add this to
White's growing development advan­
tage and it is reasonable to conclude
that White has more than enough com­
pensation.
14 . . . 'ifb7 1 5 l:r.xd5!
A good example of analysing varia­
tions through to the limit when investi­
gating positional possibilities - assuming ·
that we are happy to make investments
113
Un ders ta n din g t h e Sa c rific e

to. the positional cause. Just as Black tbxe8 are final, leaving 1 9 ...'ii'xc2 20
thought he was getting his game in i.xc2 , when the minor pieces have the
some sort of order W'hite makes a bold edge.
looking play for the light squares and 17 l:.d 1 ! 'ii' b5 1 8 ltJxe4 fxe4 1 9
the centre. The game continued as fol­ i.xf8 l:.xf8 20 i.xe4 'ii'h 5 21 l:.d5
lows: ._h6 22 l:.xd7
1 5 . . .'ii'x d5
Now, instead of 16 tbxe4 fxe4 1 7
i.xe4 'iif7 1 8 i.xh7+ ( 1 8 i.xa8??
'iix f2+) 18 ... �h8 1 9 i.e3 tbc6, which is
unclear according to Gershon, Sorin
took the correct route.
1 6 i.a3! ltJc6
The point of 1 6 i.a3 is that after
1 6 ... l:.e8 1 7 l:.d 1 Black's problems on
the light squares accentuate in view of
his vulnerability on the a2-g8 diagonal.
A possible continuation is 17 ... 'iic4
(17 ...'iib 5 18 tbxe4 fxe4 1 9 i.xe4 tbc6 %ite's investment has reaped the
20 l:.xd7 and the threat of c3-c4 looks reward of a pawn profit, but he also has
decisive) 18 .l:.d4 �xc3 (1 8 ... 'iib5 1 9 the superior pieces.
i.xe4 fxe4 20 .l:.xe4 sees the a8-rook After 22 . . .ltJe5 23 l:td4 g6
come into %ite's view should Black (23 ... tbg4?? 24 i.d5+ �h8 25 :xg4) 24
take on e4, while h7 is an even juicier ._b3 + 'it>g7 25 'ii'e6 'ii'g 5 26 i.d5
target) 19 i.xe4 (26 f4 .l:.xf4) 26 . . .'ii'f6 27 f4 'i'xe6 28
i.xe6 'it>f6 29 i.b3 ltJg4 30 l:.d7
W'hite had a near decisive lead in the
ending, converting twenty moves later.

Many players are guilty of allowing

themselves to drift into a passive posi­
tion that could be avoided by a posi­
tional sacrifice. Parting with . the ex­
change can be an effective means with
which to nip a dangerous looking initia­
tive in the bud, as is demonstrated in
the following example.
Then 1 9 ... 'iie l + 20 �g2 fxe4 2 1
'iic4+ Wh8 2 2 tbf7+ Wg8 2 3 lbh6+ Ftacnik-Rozentalis
�h8 24 'iig 8+! and 19 ...'ii'xd4 20 Bundesliga 1 999
'iib3+ d5 21 'ii'x d5+ �xd5 22 i.xd5+
�h8 23 tbf7+ �g8 24 tbd6+ �h8 25 During the last few moves W'hite has

1 14

been stepping up the pace on the king­
side, where Black's knights look rather
ill at ease. However, after Black's next
'spoiling' move the advance of White's
pawns holds considerably less venom.
28 . . Jld4! 1
Whether this sacrifice is accepted or
not takes nothing away from the effec­
tiveness of this excellent counter­
attacking response.
29 i.xd4
White should avoid 29 hS .ixf3 30
l:txf3 llJxeS 31 �e3 llJgS!? 32 .ixd4
�xd4
In return for the exchange Black has
a pawn and phoenix-like knights that
can both enjoy the game from excellent
outposts (note that eS is protected
Th e Ex change Sacrifice
thanks to the fork on f3). Meanwhile
the dark squares are a potential problem
for White, and the remaining bishop is
awful. Another, more tenable option for
White is 29 llJd2 °ile7 30 i.xd4 cxd4 31
�e2 lbxh4, when Black has obvious
compensation, if not the clear advan­
tage afforded him in the previous dia­
gram position. Ftacnik takes the ex­
pected route.
29 . . . cxd4 30 l:!.e2 i.xf3 3 1 'ii'xf3
tt:\xh4!
31 ...lbxeS? is different here because
the gS-square is not available to the
other knight after the pin with 32 °ilg3.
In fact after 32 ... f6 33 gS! the position
opens up in White's favour. After the
text White's kingside play comes to a
standstill.
32 'ii'g 3 tt:\g5!
The knights are untouchable and the
bishop is poor. Again we see how com­
fortably minor pieces are able to contain
rooks. We joined the game at a point
where Black was in danger of being
over-run on the kingside and in need of
an effective resource, which is what he
found in ... :d4. However, although the
mission has been accomplished and .
Black is now quite safe, he is not in a
1 15
Un ders tan ding the Sacrifice

position to reverse roles and put White Portisch-Chiburdanidze

linder pressure. Cancan Veterans-Women 1998
There followed 33 llf1 l0g6 34
.tg2 l0f8 when Black was indeed at­
tempting to assume the advantage by
sending his knight to c5 via d7.

29 . . . d4! ?
Black begins by exploiting one of her
opponent's positional weaknesses - the
vulnerability of the gl -a7 diagonal.
White responded by monitoring the 30 .ta5 l:td5 !
d4-pawn with 35 :.t4!, when 35 ... 'i'c5 Black's forces are better placed and
36 'i'el introduces the possibility of she has much more space, so she !turns
'i'b4. Consequently 35 . . .l0g6 36 l:tf1 down the likely draw resulting from
l0f8 37 :.t4 l0g6 saw a stand-off that 30 . . .: d6 31 tbc4 lit d7 32 tbe5 �d6 in
prompted the players to agree a draw. favour of an interesting rook sortie.
3 1 f4 :.xe5 32 .txb7
Rooks, of course, operate best when The alternative route is 32 fxe5 ii.xg2
there is one or more open line on which 33 �xg2, when 33 ...'i'b5 34 exd4!
to work, and they are at their least effec­ 'i'e2+ 35 �gl 'i'e3+ is a draw but
tive when the situation is generally Black can keep the fire burning with
cramped. During the middlegame in 33 ... dxe3
particular it is not unusual to see a terri­
torial advantage being exploited by an
exchange sacrifice designed to earn even
more space and, consequently, further
reduce the influence of the enemy
rooks, thus creating a platform for more
versatile minor pieces or a wall of
pawns. Watch how Chiburdanidze is so
insistent on adopting such a policy that
she sends her rook on a suicide mission
through sniper fire and into the heart of
enemy territory ...

1 16

White's bishop is terrible on aS and
the queen could certainly be better
placed than on a 1 . The rooks seem okay
but, when we take a look at the other
flank, White's king is about to come
into contact with enemy pawns after
... f5-f4. Black's excellent knight can hop
into f4 and the queen is ready to come
to c6.
32 . . ..:r.xe3 33 .id2
Having turned down the first offer of
an exchange White should ignore the
second, as 33 .ltxc8? 'ii'xc8 34 .ltd2 l:.e2
highlights the plight of White's lonely
king.
33 . . . gxf4 34 gxf4
Petursson gives this a '?' and offers
34 .ltxc8 'ii'xc8 35 .ltxe3 fxe3
Th e Ex change Sacrifice
This time we have a double exchange
sacrifice, leaving Black with a couple of
minor pieces and a wall of pawns for
the rooks. Now the points value of the
pieces is irrelevant and Black is ready to
infiltrate, while the reactionary 36
.l:r.xd4?? runs into 36....ltf6!. Petursson's
36 'ii'b2 looks sensible, after which
White will be too busy fending off
threats to count his booty.
34 . . . .:r.e2 35 'ii'b 1 'ii'd 71
Not 35 ...'ii'g6+? 36 <it>ht when :gt is
at best an inconvenience for Black,
while also in White's favour is 3S ...:c7
36 'ii'd3 l:.xd2 37 'ii'xd2 (37 :xd2?
:xb7 38 'ii'xfS .ltd6 39 :e2 :g7 + 40
<it>f2 :e7 4t :gt + tbg7) 37 ...'ii'g 6+ 38
<it>h t l:.xb7 39 l:.gt , or 37 ...:xb7 38
'ii'g 2+ <it>h8 39 'ii'xb7 tbxf4 40 <it>h 1 .
The text clears the way for the rook to
come to the g-file, there being alterna­
tive routes into White's kingside for the
queen.
36 .if3
Not surprisingly White prefers to
keep his light-squared bishop on the
board, but he must choose where to put
it. The alternative 36 .lta6 works out
well for White after 36 ... d3? 37 'ii'xd3
'ii'xd3 38 .ltxd3, but Black can ignore
11 7
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice

the threat to her rook with the ruthless

36...�h8!!, e.g. 37 .ixe2 l:r.g8+ 38 �fl
'iVc6 or 37 �fl ? l:r.xh2 38 i.xc8 'ii'c6
etc.
36 . . . d3!
It is interesting in these lines that
Black's advanced rook causes White
terrible problems yet is simultaneously
awkward for White to remove without
further, more serious trouble. Black
simply has too much control of key ar­
eas in White's half of the board.
43 . . . �d6 + 44 �e5 .i.xe5 + 0-1 (45
litxeS 'iVd4+ 46 �xfS l:hgt)
Chiburdanidze's willingness to part
with the exchange and Portisch's reluc­
tance to accept demonstrate just how
'normal' such an approach is.

Before we all rush to the next game

intent on bamboozling our oppbnent
with a positional exchange sacrifice,
here is an example of how easy it is to
overestimate this kind of compensation
37 .i.c3 compared with sacrifices aimed at some
37 l:tc4 lt:id4. kind of immediate or short-term gain.
37 . . . ::te3
37 ...lt:ixf4 is also decisive, but Black's Onischuk-Ye Jiangchuan
rook is on a mission, remember. Elista Olympiad (Men) 1 998
38 'it>f2 ::txf3 + !
Black has been more than happy to
part with the exchange since we joined
the game, so now - after so much pro­
gress - the useful defender is finally
eliminated.
39 �xf3 "ii'd 5 + 40 'it>g3 lLlxf4
Chipping away at what is left of the
king's protection.
41 ::tg 1
41 �xf4 leads to forced mate after
41...'ii'e4+ 42 �g3 i.h4+ etc.
41 . . . �f7! 42 ::tee 1 ::tg8 + 43 �xf4 In the diagram position White has no

1 18

dark-squared bishop but he does have
both e4 and dS. 27 f4 i.h6 28 fxeS dxeS
29 :xeS lbxb3 clearly favours Black,
but White had the following exchange
sacrifice in mind:
27 ::txd4 exd4 28 l2Je4
White's strategy is based on centrally
located knights. 28 'ii'x d4+ i. f6 29
lbxf6 'ii'xf6 30 'ii'd3 l:.b6 is certainly not
what White is looking for because the
rooks threaten to get into the game
while White lacks presence in the cen­
tre. However, the b3-pawn is a problem
anyway, as is Black's influence on the
dark squares.
28 . . . �h6! 29 'ii'x d4 + �g7 30 'ii'd 3
l:r.b7 ! ?
This is probably the kind of situation
Th e Exchange Sacrifice
White had in mind long before we
joined the game. A cursory inspection
highlights the two well placed knights,
White's general control of the centre
and his run of the light squares, while
Black seems to lack breathing space and
a pawn break with which to open the
position for his 'extra' rook. Unfortu­
nately for White the compensation is
not enough - Black's bishops, being
long-range pieces, are fine, his rooks do,
in fact, have some breathing space and
both the b3-pawn (which is probably
weaker than the d6-pawn) and White's
dark squares are permanent weaknesses.
When a positional exchange sacrifice
fails to deliver the desired rewards the
problem is the resulting scenario of hav­
ing good looking pieces that have noth­
ing to do, with no targets upon which
to exert pressure. Consequently the op­
ponent will sooner or later - improve
-
his lot and asswne control. In this case
White has concentrated on the light
squares but Black still has a light­
squared bishop, while White is in no
position to contest the dark squares.
White's main trump card is the grip on
the dS-square, a matter that Black in­
tends to address.
31 l:r.e 1 ::tea 32 g3?
Preferable is 32 :te3! i.xdS 33 'ifxdS.
Now White is about to be denied the
use of the dS-square.
32 . . . �xd5 33 'ii'x d5
After 33 cxdS :tb4 34 i.e6 'ifb6 35
l:.e3 l:.b8 36 @g2 i.d4 37 :f3 i.eS
Black has the upper hand.
33 . . . l:r.be7
There is no reason to allow White ac­
tivity with 33 ...l:.xb3? 34 cS, especially
when Black is about to open the posi-
1 19
Un ders tanding the Sa crifice
tion on his own terms.
34 .if3 l:le5 ! 35 •d3 d5
Now Black has an initiative to add to
1 20
his slight material lead, the rooks being
dominant. The game continued:
36 l:.d1 'fie7 37 ll'id2 l:.e1 + 38 <itg2
l:lxd1 39 .ixd 1 dxc4 40 ll'ixc4 l:.d8
41 'fic2 'fib4 42 .i f3 'fic3 (White is
powerless on the dark squares) 43 'fie2
l:lf8 44 'fie3 .id4 45 •xc3 .i.xc3 46
.ie4 l:lb8 47 .ic2 l:.d8 48 <itf3 l:.e8
49 .ie4 .ie 1 50 .id5 l:lf8 + 5 1 <ite2
.ixf2 52 ll'ixa5 .ig 1 53 ll'ic6 .i.xh2
54 g4 �g7 55 b4 .i.g 1 56 b5 <itf6
57 .if3 .ic5 58 �d3 <ite6 59 .i.d1
�d6 60 .ie2 .ib6 6 1 <itc4 l:.e8 62
.if3 l:le3 63 .id1 l:le1 64 .i.f3 l:.c 1 +
65 �d3 l:lc5 0-1
I CHAPTER EIGHT I
The Vulnerable King
Positional chess is not just a matter of
exerting pressure on a weak square or
pawn, or establishing a great knight
outpost with a view to a long grind.
During the course of a game it is not
unusual to experience some sort of po­
sitional damage in and around the king's
defences, and it pays to be alen to these
weak spots. In this chapter we investi­
gate how positional frailties can be ex­
ploited to launch a direct assault on the
king or to force concessions elsewhere.
P .Schlosser-Bykhovsky
Herzliya 1 998
In an effort to infiltrate the queenside
Black has neglected his king, prompting
White to pounce ...
33 d6!
Pin-pointing the weakness on fl.
33 . . ..l:r.xd6 34 .l:r.a7 .l:r.f6 35 e5
Now the rook cannot defend f7 and,
since it will simply be captured on e6,
we could leave the game here. However,
it is wonh witnessing Black's effons to
stay alive - itself an attempt to profit
from White's own king position.
35 . . ..l:r.f3!? 36 �xf3 'ii'h 1 + 37 <li'g4
Here we go...
37 . h5 +
. .
1 21
Un ders ta n ding th e Sacrifice

3.8 �xg5 l:txe6+ is the same, as 42... �xe6? walks

White has to be careful here, e.g. 38 into mate on e3) 4 1...'ifxe6 42 :hs+
�xh5 'li'f3+ 39 g4?? 'li'h3+ 40 �xg5 �fl 43 l:th7+ �f8 44 Wh8+ 'li'g8 45
�d2+ 41 �f5 'iff3 mate (41 ...'li'h7 'li'f6+ �e8 46 l:th8 'ifxh8 47 'li'xh8+
mate), or 41 f4 'iih 6+ 42 �f5 'ii'g6 �fl 48 'li'f6+ will soon leave White
mate (42...'ifxf4 mate). Only 39 �xg5 with three connected passed pawns, so
�d2+ 40 �h4 will do, when Black can Black must accept a very poor ending.
resign with a clear conscience.
38 . . .'W'f3 39 l:.xf7 + ! 1 -0
Ironically White's king has been
checked so far up the board that this
counter-sacrifice leads to an easily win­
ning ending.

Aronian-Nevednichy
European Team Championships,
Batumi 1 999

40 . . . 'W'g7 4 1 'W'xg7 + l:.xg7 42 l:.xe6

�f7 43 l:.f6 + �e7
43 ...�g8 44 :h6.
44 e4!

With what looks like a potentially

'bad' bishop Black needs his queen to
protect the dark squares. The ultimate
aim of White's next is to generate
threats against Black's king that will fa­
cilitate the exploitation of other weak­
nesses in the black camp. Producing the necessary break­
37 l0g5 + ! hxg5 38 hxg5 'W'f7 through.
Or 38 ...'ife7 39 Wc3. 44 . . fxe4 45 l:.e 1 1 -0
.

39 l:.h 1 + �98 40 •ca After 45 ...�d7 46 :xe4 :es 4 7

Suddenly Black is looking genuinely :xd6+ and 45 ... d5 46 �xc6 dxc4 47
vulnerable on the dark squares. Now l::txe4+ �d7 48 :a6 Black is helpless.
40...�fB 41 .=.xe6! (41 l:th8+ �e7 42 Again Black's king was only temporarily

1 22
 Th e Vulnerable King

under fire, but enough to lead to more has the more active pieces, a grip on the
serious trouble elsewhere. centre and the better of the kingside.
27 gxh5 'ii'xf2 + 28 �h 1 'ii'f4
In the following example Black reacts
to his opponent's build-up on the
queenside with a powerful assault on
the opposite flank, concentrating on the
dark squares around White's king to
clear away the defensive barrier.

Burmakin-M .Loeffler
Schwarzach 1 998

Black has achieved the initial part of

the plan of hitting the dark squares, and
White's situation is compounded by the
fact that only his bishop can offer the
king close-quarter protection. The im­
mediate threat is ...�eS.
29 l:tf1
Or 29 'it>g1 �eS 30 'i'xe3 'i'lh2+ 31
'it>£2 .l:.f8+! 32 �xf8 l:.xf8+ 33 'it>e1
With White's bishop standing on cS it �xc3+ 34 'ii'xc3 'i'xg2.
might seem unlikely that he could have 29 . . . i.xf1 30 i.xf1 i.e5!
problems on the dark squares, but this
is precisely the positional imperfection
that Black has noticed.
25 . . . f4!
Perhaps White could be forgiven for
discounting this thrust in view of 26 g4
ll'if6 27 exf4 etc.
26 g4
The alternative 26 exf4 gxf4 27 g4
runs into 27 . f3, e.g. 28 gxhS (28 �fl
. .

�xf1 29 'it>xf1 ll'if4) 28 ...'ii'xhS! , when

29 �h1?? 'ii'g 6+ mates.
26 . . . fxe3
The point, in response to which
White should settle for being clearly
worse after 27 �xe3 ll'if4, when Black
Nice. The threat of mate forces
White to take his eye off the back rank.
3 1 .:.a2 i.xc3 32 i.e2 'ii'e4 + 33·
�g 1 d4 34 i.c4 + �ha 35 l:tc2 'ii'e 5

1 23
Un ders ta n ding the Sacrifice
Q-1
In fact White overstepped the time
limit, but the situation is beyond hope.
Now for a more complex kingside at­
tack which is made possible by a seem­
ingly harmless pawn move.
Zagorskis-Sadler
Elista Olympiad (Men) 1 998
Black has just tested the water with
the move ... li:'ig4, getting the reaction he
was hoping for in White's somewhat
automatic nudge of the h-pawn. All
pawn moyes create weaknesses, and
with his dark-squared bishop already
out o f the game, hitting the knight in­
volves considerable risk as the dark
squares in front of the king are then
slightly weakened.
1 5 . . .l0xf2! ?
The beginning of a quest to generate
a powerful attack against White's king.
While it is true that very few players
have Matthew Sadler's ability to accu­
rately visualise the outcome of compli­
cated sacrificial variations, this does not
mean that we should be afraid of em­
barking on such a journey should the
1 24
opportunity suggest itself. In this case
Black is alert to the possibility of strik­
ing in an area where White is suscepti­
ble to activity on the dark squares, his
decision perhaps helped along by the
fact that most of White's forces stand
on the queenside with limited access to
the king.
1 6 �xf2 'ii'h4 + 1 7 <it>f1 ? !
A s is so often the case when faced
with a sudden change in circumstances,
White immediately makes a mistake.
Worse than the text is 1 7 'ot>g1 ? litxe3 1 8
li:'i f3 i.xf3 1 9 i.xf3 i.xd4, but 1 7 g3
looks good, when 1 7 ...'ii'xh3 1 8 li:'ifl (18
li:'if3 i.h6 19 litd3 i.e4!) 18 ...i.h6!? has
been suggested as providing Black with
enough pressure. The point is that
Black is not looking for a forced advan­
tage, rather an initiative revolving
around the positional shortcomings of
White's kingside.
1 7 J:txe3
. .
Threatening both ...l:.xc3 followed by
...i.xd4 as well as an immediate ... litxh3.
Now 1 8 li:'idS i.xdS 1 9 cxdS l::txh3! sees
Black continuing the stripping away
process which, in fact, quickly reaps
rewards after 20 gxh3 'ii'x h3+ 21 @el
'ii'g3+ 22 @fl i.xd4 with mate threats

on both f2 and gt . Nor does 1 8 �£3
help White in view of 1 8 ...�xd4! (once
we recognise the theme we should aim
to be consistent, and here all options on
the dark squares need to be checked
out) 1 9 �xb7 l:tet +
No doubt Matthew had seen this nice
finish (20 l:txe1 'if£2 mate) before
...tLixf2.
Therefore White's next is forced.
1 8 tiJf3 'ili'f4
The latest threat is ... g6-g5-g4 etc.
1 9 tlJd5 .txd 5 20 cxd5 :ae8 2 1
.i.xa6
White avoids 2t l:tet g5, when step­
ping out of the pin with 22 �gt walks
into 22...llxe2 23 llxe2 l:txe2 24 'ifxe2
'ifxc 1 + .
Th e Vulnerable King
21 .. Jbf3 + 1
No-nonsense chess. This time
21 ... gS? can be met with 22 'if£2, shor­
ing up the defences to leave White bet­
ter.
22 gxf3 :e3!
The level of investment is now a
rook, but White's kingside is looking
.
increasingly ragged.
23 .te2? !
2 3 l:.d2 :xf3+ 2 4 �gt �xd4+ i s fi­
nal, but White has an improvement in
23 @gt !?. After 23 ... l:txf3 Stohl offers
the following variation: 24 'ifd2
�xd4+! 25 'ifxd4 'ifg3+ 26 �ht
'ifxh3 + 27 @gt l:.g3+ 28 �£2 .:r.g2+ 29
<iii>e t 'ilg3+ 30 <iii>f1 b5!
31 �xb5 l:th2 32 'ifgt 'iff4+ 33 �et
1 25
Un ders tanding the Sacrifice
'ii'xb4+ 34 �fl 'ii'xb5+ etc. Instead 24
�fl �xd4+ 25 llxd4 'ii'xd4+ 26 �hl
'ii'xd5 27 �h2 l:r.a3 keeps the game go­
ing, although Black has four pawns for
the piece and White's king is exposed.
23 . . .'ii'h 2
Introducing the threat of ...�f6-h4.
24 'i!fd2
The alternatives lead to interesting
play: 24 �el .tf6 (24...�h6!? 25 'ii'c4
l:te7) 25 l:td3 (25 'ii'c4 .th4+ 26 �d2
�g5) 25 ...�h4+ 26 �dl 'tigl + 27 �d2
l:txe2+ 28 �xe2 'i!ff2+ 29 �dl 'i!fel
mate, or 24 l:ld3 .tf6! 25 :.xe3 'iifh 1 +
26 �f2 �h4 mate.
24 . . . i.h6 2 5 'i!fe 1 'ilfh 1 + 26 �2
'ii'h 2 + 27 �f1 'ilfxh3 + 2a @g 1
l:.e4!
Now 29 fxe4 �e3+ 30 'iiff2 meets
with 30 ...'ii'g 3+.
29 l:.c3 l:.h4 30 f4
30 'i!fxh4 'iifxh4 31 �g2 �f4 32 l:Ihl
(32 :.g1 �g3 33 llhl 'ii'xd4) 32...'i!Vg3+
33 �fl �d2. Notice how Black's exclu­
sive operation on the dark squares is so
effective in all these. lines. The queen
and bishop form a sufficiently deadly
partnership.
30 . . .'ii'h 1 + 31 @f2 l:.h2 + 32 @e3
'i!fe4 + 0-1
1 26
After 33 �d2 �xf4+ there will be
nothing left of White's kingside.
Finally, here is a typical 'textbook'
demonstration of the positional sacri­
fice.
Heissler-Kasimdzhanov
Bundesliga 1 999
White has just played f2-f3 to bolster
his centre in preparation for an assault
on the isolated cl-pawn...
1 6 . . . d51
Whether this is a result of dealing
with White's threat is not clear, but
from here on White unexpectedly finds
his ostensibly solid kingside coming
under attack, as well as a few dark
squares.
1 7 exd5 :ea
Preventing the useful �e3 and there­
fore threatening to exert pressure on the
g 1-a7 diagonal.
1 a �h1 tlJh5 1
Black's latest highlights another
downside to f2-f3, namely the weakened
g3-square, which is now a focus of at­
tention in view of ...'iifh4.
1 9 g4 tlJt6 20 'i!fd3 :ca 2 1 i.d2
White's defensive policy has resulted

in a further loosening of his kingside,
but he is gradually completing devel­
opment. Such phases of the game re­
quire consistent and clinical handling
from the aggressor if the sacrifice is to
be properly justified.
2 1 . . . h5! 22 g5 lllh 7 23 f4
Having been lured forward from £3
and g4, White's pawns no longer have
any influence on e4 and fS, a positional
factor that Black is quick to exploit.
23 . . .l:te4 ! !
2 4 i.c3
After 24 'ii'xe4 %hc4 25 i.c3 i.fS
White's game falls apart. With the text
White hopes to shore up the defences,
but the gradual accumulation of weak­
nesses resulting from Black's initial sac­
rifice has now reached decisive propor­
tions.
Th e Vulnera ble King
24 . . . l:txd4! 25 i.xd4 i.f5 26 'ii'c 3
tlixg5!
The process continues, with each
new sacrifice further reducing the pro­
tection afforded to White's king. Now
27 fxgS i.e4+ 28 �gl 'ii'xgS+ 29 �£2
l:t.xc4! 30 'ifxc4 'ii'd 2+ will surely lead to
mate.
27 i.xg7
Here Black steered his way to a win­
ning ending with 27 ...l:.xc4 28 'ii'xc4
i.e4+ 29 'ii'xe4 lt'ixe4 30 i.eS 'it'xdS 31
�gl lt'igS! 32 fxgS 'ii'xeS 33 l:.£2
'ii'xgS+ etc. However, with the con­
tinuation 27 . . . i.e4 + ! 28 �g 1 l:txc4!
the attractive mate on h3 ties White's
queen to the third rank. A possible fin­
ish is 29 'ii'e 3 'ii'b 6!
Black threatens mate on h3(!), and 30
l:tfe1 lllf3 + is final.
127
 CHAPTER NINE
The Restrictive Sacrifice
Sacrifices aimed at contributing to a
general restriction of the opponent's
forces require as much judgement as
calculation. If we can generate a healthy
level of activity while simultaneously
keeping one or more enemy pieces 'in
the box' then we should already have
sufficient reason to justify making a
positionally oriented restrictive sacrifice.
Wells-Rowson
Canadian Open, Edmondton 2000
There are two pins on the board and
Black has an isolated pawn. However,
Black's rather aggressively placed pieces
128
I
justify an equally aggressive positional
sacrifice.
1 5 . . . g5!
Weakening the kingside, perhaps, but
there is a point.
1 6 i.g3 lt:Je4!
Due to the pressure on the g1 -a7 di­
agonal White must accept the pawn
offer.
1 7 i.xe4 dxe4 1 8 nxe4 f5 1 9 ne6
1i'xd 1 + 20 nxd 1 f4 2 1 i.h2
For the price of a pawn Black has ef­
fectively shut his opponent's bishop out
of the game. Moreover, it is far from
clear how and when White will be able

to address this problem, especially if
Black endeavours to keep White busy
elsewhere.
2 1 . . ..:r.adS!
Wasting no time, Black immediately
exploits a by-product of White's
bishop's new home - the vulnerable
back rank. Perhaps White should now
consider 22 l:tdel �xf3 23 gxf3 �g7 24
h4, which at least seeks to create some
breathing space.
22 .:r.xd8 .:r.xd8 23 l£ifd2
Or if instead 23 lbbd2 �fl 24 :el
(24 :xh6 �g7) 24... �xa2, when Black
wins back the pawn but has an extra
piece in play.
23 . . ..tf7 24 ne2 .tc4! 25 ne 1 l£ie5!
Black continues to pile on the pres-
Th e Res tric tive Sacrifice
sure, concentrating on White's back
rank, White's second rank, the d3-
square and the b2- and £2-pawns.
26 l£ixc4
26 l:txeS �xb3 is quite unpleasant for
White.
26 . . .l£ixc4 27 �f1
White has no time for 27 g3 in view
of 27 ...tbd2!, which would also be the
reply in the event of 27 :bl .
27 . . . l£ixb2 28 g3 f3! 29 g4
White is finally ready to liberate the
bishop but it is too late...
29 . . . .txf2!
Trading in one advantage for an­
other. Now 30 l:r.e7 runs into 30... �h4
31 tbd4 l:r.xd4! 32 cxd4 tbc4 and, ironi­
cally, White's bishop is so close yet so
far from the action, powerless against
the passed pawn in view of the amusing
33 �gl tbd2 mate.
30 �xf2 l£Jd3 + 3 1 �f 1 l£ixe 1 32
�xe 1 nee + 33 �f 1 ne2
A typical case of minor pieces unable
to compete with a rook.
34 .tg3
34 �d6 :xa2 35 tbd4 aS 36 tbxf3 a4
37 tbd4 a3 38 lbbS l:lal + etc.
34 . . . nxa2 35 l£id4 a 5 ! 36 l£ixf3 a4
0-1
129
Unders tanding th e Sacrifice

Yusupov-Timman 'friendly' pawn!).

Tilburg Candidates 1 986

The game continued

Black's previous move, ... c5-c4, pre­ 3 lllc 5 4 �xc5 l:bc5 5 llle4 :as
. . .

pares ...'fie? and ... tt:JcS, monitoring b3, 5 ...l:tdS 6 fxg6 hxg6 7 iDf6+ 'fixf6 8
d3 and e4 and putting White on the .txdS 'fixd6 9 lladl 'ifcS+ 10 �h2
defensive. Yusupov's reaction is an in­ l:te7 1 1 llft gives White a slight pull. In
structive combination of prophylaxis fact after the plausible 1 1 ...c3 1 2 �xf7 +
and aggression. l:txf7 1 3 l:td8+ �h7 (1 3 ...l:.f8 14
1 e5! dxe5 llfxf8+ .txf8 15 'fixg6+ �h8 1 6 'iff7)
The immediate 1 ... lDcS invites 2 1 4 l::tx f7 .tc4 1 5 l::txg7+ �xg7 16 bxc3
�xcS bxcS 3 'fia4, e.g. 3 ...'fib6 4 exd6 Black has problems in the ending.
:ed8 5 :ez with the more comfortable 6 g4 'ii'd 7 7 :ad 1 :cs and now S
game for White. Alternatively 1 ...'fic7 'ii'f2 maintains the positional bind.
looks too slow, and after 2 'fia4 llJcS 3
.txcS 'fixcS+ 4 �h2 Black's best seems
to be 4 ... 'fiaS (4 ... 'fic8 5 llJe4) 5 'fixaS
bxaS 6 exd6 l::te d8, although 7 l:te7 fa­
vours White.
2 d6 :cs 3 f5!
The idea behind White's strategy is to
close out Black's traditionally influential
dark-squared bishop by - ironically -
fixing Black's own pawn on eS. To add
insult to injury White's knight is also
destined for a bright future on e4.
Meanwhile the clearing away of White's White's sacrifice has worked well, for
pawns from e4 and dS has enhanced the not only has the g7-bishop been re­
scope of White's light-squared bishop duced to utter passivity, but we see that
which, consequently, now dominates its Black also has a useless rook on aS and
counterpart on a6 (also obstructed by a a queen which is busy blockading a pro-

1 30

tected passed pawn on the sixth rank.
Meanwhile White's rooks stand on the
centre files and his knight is in the mid­
dle of the board. For the price of a
pawn this is good value.
Vallejo Pons-Gelfand
Ciudad de Pamplona 1999
Faced with the prospect of White be­
ing able to put his bishop pair to good
use after 1 ...ltie6 2 b3 and �b2 Black
opted for an altogether different, un­
compromising approach.
1 8 . . .f4! ? 1 9 exd4 f3
Onward! White already has a critical
decision to make - should he retreat his
bishop in case the light squares need
protection or refuse to have so many
pieces on the back rank and trade on
h3?
20 �f 1 !
White goes for the former plan
which, in retrospect, is very well played.
Let us have a look at the alternative. 20
�h3 exd4+ brings us to another fork,
although it seems that, whether the king
moves left or right, the e2-square could
be a problem for White. After 21 �fl
�xh3+ 22 %:txh3 Black has 22...'ii'h5
(also possible here is 22 ... 'ii'e 6!? 23 ltg3
Th e Res tric tive Sacrifice
ltae8 followed by sending the queen
into e2, a situation evaluated by Ribli as
giving Black compensation - fair
enough!) 23 b3 'ii'g4, when 24 %:th2
%:tae8 25 'ii'd l %:te2 leads to what looks
like a bizarre yet balanced position,
while 24 %:tg3? 'ii'xh4 25 �gl %:tae8 26
'ii'd l %:te2 is dangerous.
For example 27 %:txf3 %:txf2! is a nice
finish, as is 27 �d2 ltxf2 etc.
Strangely, the ostensibly safer haven
on the queenside works out less well for
White: 21 �dl �xh3 22 %:txh3 'ii'e6
(again the h5-square is an option in or­
der to make way for a rook to come to
e2) 23 %:tg3 %:tae8 24 �c2 'ii'f5 25 �bl
%:te2 26 'ii'd l ltel
This is fun. The collection of pieces
1 31
Unders tanding the Sacrifice
on the back rank deserves a diagram.
.
Black must be winning here, e.g. 27
'i'c2 (27 'i'xel 'i'xd3 mate) 27 ....:r.fe8 28
a3 .:r.8e2 29 'i'b3 'i'f4 30 <it>a2 'i'xg3!?
31 fxg3 b6! 32 �d2 l:txa l + 33 <it>xal
.:r.xd2 etc.
20 . . . exd4 + 21 'it>d 1 �g41 ? 22 b3
The beginning of a gradual 'devel­
opment' plan. Instead 22 'i'el 'i'g6
doesn't look right, and White is not
ready for 22 b4 cxb4 23 'i'xb4 b6 24 c5
'i'e5.
22 . . .'li'g6 23 �a3!
23 . . . b6!
Patiently maintaining the bind rather
than rushing in with 23 ...l::tae8 24 �xc5
l:.e2 25 �xe2 fxe2+ 26 <it>c2 l:.f3 27
�xd4 l:.xd3 28 'i'xd3 �f5 29 'i'xfS
'i'xfS+ 30 <it>b2, when the queen is out­
numbered. Thus far Black's sacrifice has
worked out rather well, with each of
White's pieces unable to find a decent
posting. Meanwhile Black enjoys greater
space and healthy development. How­
ever, whether he can actually do any­
thing about this is debatable, and White
is - step by step - :digging out of the
admittedly deep hole in which he finds
himself. Black has compensation for the
piece, but White has the piece! This
1 32
boring material consideration needs to
be home in mind when embarking on
· such a practical sacrifice - White has
had chances to go wrong with perfectly
natural looking moves, but there are
also possibilities for accurate play, too.
Black will have weighed up these factors
when deciding against retreating his
knight to e6 in the opening diagram.
24 'it>c2
24 b4 cxb4 25 �xb4 c5 and White
remains locked in.
24 . . . a5!
The containment continues.
25 ng 1 'li'h 5 26 ne 1
In the event of 26 g6 h6 Black rules
out 'i'g5, while Ribli suggests a simple
return to hl .
26 . . . a4 27 b4! cxb4 28 'li'xb4
Preferable to 28 �xb4 c5 29 �a3
l::tae8.
28 . . .'li'xh4 29 ng3
29 'i'd2! l:lfe8 30 l::te4 :xe4 31 dxe4
c5 is possible but after · 30 �d6 :xe 1 31
'i'xel �d7 White is beginning to get
back into the game.
29 . . . c5 30 'li'd2!
White should avoid 30 'i'xb6? 'i'h2!
31 .:r.xg4 'i'xf2+ 32 <it>d 1 l:lab8 33
'i'e6+ <it>h8 34 �cl 'i'xa2
 Th e Res tric tive Sacrifice

White misses a promising opportunity.

Gelfand and Huzman give the following
amazing analysis (a few of the '!' are
mine since I am clearly more impressed
with their findings than they are!): 33
l:r.h3! 'ifg4 34 'iff4 'ifg1 35 llxh5
35 ...'ifxfl (35 ... 'ifxf2+ 36 i.d2 Wxf1 37
'iffS g6 38 'ifdS + �h8 39 llxh7 +!) 36
'iffS!! 'ifxf2+ (36 ...lte2+ 37 �bl 'ii'e 1
38 'ifd S + �h8 3 9 a3) 3 7 i.d2 lle2 3 8
'ifc8+ � fl

This time White has two extra bish­

ops, but if you experiment with this
position you will soon be favouring
Black.
30 ... l:laeS 31 �c1
The regrouping is complete. Instead
after 31 .:txe8 llxe8 32 'ii' f4 'irh1 33
'ifc1 'ifh2 34 'ii'd2 'ii'h1 White should
take the draw by threefold repetition,
since 35 l:r.xg4 'ifxf1 36 .:te4 .:txe4 37
dxe4 'ifxc4+ favours the pawn mass.
31 . . . �hS 32 l:lxe8 Are you keeping up? 3 9 g6 +! hxg6 40
If the next note is anything to go by 'ii'b7 + �f6 (40....:t.e7 41 'ifdS + �f6 42
Black should be happy with a draw after %1h8) 41 'ifxb6+ �fl 42 'ifc7+ �e6 43
32 %1h3 'ifg4 33 l:r.g3 �4 34 l:r.h3 etc. 'ii'c 6+ �fl 44 'ii'dS + �f6 45 'ifgS+
32 JlxeS
. . �fl 46 %1h8! 'ii'e3 47 'ifdS+ and the
pinned bishop loses relevance, e.g.
47 ... �e7 48 'ifd8+ �e6 49 .:te8+ �f5
50 'ifd7+ �f6 (or 50...�gS 51 l:r.xe3
dxe3 52 'i!fe7+ �g4 53 'ifxe3 l:r.xe3 54
i.xe3) 51 'i!fd6+ �g5 52 l:r.xe3 dxe3 53
..g3 +.
33 •.• 'ii'h 1 34 �h3?
No doubt with time White would
have found 34 llh3 'ifxf1 35 ltxh5 'ii'e 1
(35...'ii'x f2+ 36 i.d2) 36 i.d2 'ifa1 37
'iix f3 'ii'xa2+ 38 �cl a3 39 'ii'd S+ �h8
40 llxh7 +! �xh7 41 g6+ �xg6 42 .
33 ...f4?1 'ifc6+ with a draw on the cards. After
Short of time (not surprisingly), the text Black is winning.

1 33
 ���
" g th e Sa c ni f1·c e��������
Unde'5 tan d'"
��
...llle6 ? I don't think sol
.

Now for a piece sacn" fiice that effec-

.

tive1y puts all

1 the opp onent's pieces out
.

of the game
.
.
Sam1sch-Nimzowitsch
Copenhagen 1 923

Ironically White's lib era tion ofdin

• the

· n 1s
bishop to h3 has resulted in han g
ove< the full pomt.
_
. Black's infiltratio
decisiV<.
37 i.e6 + nxe6 38 l:lxl3 111x a2 + 39
'ifi> d 1 'ii'b 1 + 40 i. c 1 ..
b3 + 4 1 "1d2 Nimzowitsch, the pos1tio
. . nal player's
-.a2 + 0 - 1 .
hero, has his piece s aggressively placed'
but 1 e4 threatened both 'ifxhS and
exdS etc. Wt. � a sudden change of tac-
.
tics .
Black engmeered a fantastic bmd:
1 . . . fxe4! 2 ..x h5 nxf2 3 'ii'g 5 l:.af8

A remarkable struggle which high-

. al difficulties experi-
lights the practic
enced b .
both parties after a would-be
. lingY pos1t1on
cnpp . . al sacrifice. There was
an element o f ri'k involved f;or Black, of Black already has two pawns for the
course, but would White have £ound
. .
.
piece .
but the Important c haractenstic of
himself with so m ny ob"""' to over ; the diagram P stti
. . n ts
? �
. White's hitherto
=�=�:
. th e co mio nable eventuality o
come m untroubled pieces lack .
of breathing
������
1 34
__� ­

space. In fact this predicament will be­
come worse surprisingly soon. The
pinned bishop is already a problem for
White, e.g. 4 'i'e3 l::.8 f3.
4 �h 1 l:.8f5 5 'iie3 i.d3
Closing in, and introducing the threat
of ...l::.e2, trapping the queen.
6 l:.ce1 h6! 0-1
Zugzwang!! Rather than immobilising
or caging one piece in return for the
sacrificed material Black has succeeded
in completely paralysing his opponent's
forces! White's knight has no available
squares and it will leave the board
should the d2-bishop drop back to c l ,
while the other bishop i s also trapped
on home ground. Meanwhile, any rook
move loses too much material and
pawn advances will soon run out. Even
7 g4 loses on the spot to 7 ...l:.Sf3 8
i.xf3 l:th2 mate, and 7 @h2 walks into
7 ...l:t5f3 etc.
To finish here is an amusing block­
ade.
Dautov-Bischoff
German Championship 1 999
As we know, closed positions tend to
Th e Res tric tive Sacrifice
favour knights, and here White's passed
pawn is firmly blockaded and his bishop
is quite poor, while Black threatens to
infiltrate by coming in behind the a­
pawn. However, White has a cunning
plan ready to close out Black's entire
army!
36 l:.a 1 ! ? ll:ic2 37 i.d3! ll:ixa 1
After 37 ...llld4 38 'i'g3 followed by
lllg2-e3 and l:.a4 White is holding to­
gether nicely, and 37 ...llle3 38 'i'e2
lllxfl + 39 'i'xfl is similar to the game,
so Black accepts the offer with the in­
tention of using his extra major piece
later.
38 l:.xa 1
38 . . .'iie 7? 1
In retrospect a worthy alternative is
1 35
Un ders tanding the Sacrifice
38 ... a4!? 39 lha4 :b8 40 :a6 'iVd8 fol­
lowed by ...l:la8.
39 lta4
The first . phase of the strategy 1s
complete. Bfack must look to the king­
side for a breakthrough.
39 . . .�f7 40 lLlf3 �e8 41 Wg3 g6
42 fxg6 hxg6 43 lta2 g5?!
Effectively deciding the (drawn) out­
come of the game, establishing a knight
outpost on, f4 also rules out any future -
and necessary - pawn breaks. The ag­
gressive 43 ... f5 44 gxf5 gxf5 might well
backfire after 45 lllx e5, but the patient
43 ...@d8 -c7-b8-a7, deserves considera­
tion, keeping his options open and tuck­
ing the king away in preparation for a
more drastic breakthrough.
44 lta4!
Back again.
1 36
44 . . . l:.h8 45 lL'ld2 lta7 46 lLlb1 ! ?
�d7
46... fS!? has to be tried, when 47 exfS
(47 gxfS? l:lh4 and Black threatens
...lllxe4 and ...g5-g4) 47 ...e4 48 i.f1 'i'f6
looks dangerous, although Black, too,
must then keep an eye on White's
queen.
47 lLlc3 <t;c1 48 lL'ld 1 lth6 49 lLlf2
It is too late for Black now.
The game ended as follows:
49 . . . 'iti?b8 50 �f1 1We8 5 1 <t;g 1 l:.ah7
52 �h2 lL'lf7
52 ... @c7 53 @g1 '.tid7 54 '.tih2 f5?!
55 exf5 (55 gxfS!? is unclear) 55 ...e4 56
:a3 gets Black nowhere.
53 1i'f3 1i'd8 54 Wg3 lLlh8 55 lL'ld 1
lLlg6 56 lLlf2 lLlf4 57 1We3 1i'd6 58
1i'g3 lth4 59 We3 l:.h8 60 �g 1 % - %
An unlikely practical example!
 CHAPTER TEN
The Queen Sacrifice
Apart from the fact that the queen is
worth so much in material terms there
is no reason why it cannot be consid­
ered a worthy candidate to volunteer its
services for a positional sacrifice. The
most common form sees a decent
'points' return to accompany the posi­
tional factor(s), but there are excep­
tional circumstances.
Let us start with a classic, albeit im­
perfect example of an unexpected posi­
tional queen sacrifice:
A . Petrosian-Hazai
Belgium 1 970
I
It is already quite rare to find our­
selves with all sixteen pawns still intact
when so many pieces have been ex­
changed. Black's next is even more rare.
1 . . . 'ii'b 6!?
The game continued
2 liJxb6 + ? cxb6
Now Black threatens ... h5-h4 to com­
pletely close out the queen, thus forcing
a bizarre draw - hence White's next.
3 h4! gxh41 Draw!
There is no stopping full closure, e.g.
4 'ii'cl h3! 5 gxh3 (otherwise Black will
simply advance to h2, again denying the
queen an entry point) s .. h4
.
137
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice
-

Amazing. lated f-pawns to accompany the dS­

However, we've had our fun, and if
we now return to the position after
1 ...'ifb6 I regret to report that White
still has a winning plan based on ignor­
ing the very kind offer in favour of set­
tillg for the aS-pawn instead. After 2
'ii'd2! followed by �b3, tbc3, �a4 and
then manoeuvring the knight around to
b3 the a-pawn will drop. Still, Hazai
deservedly shot to chess fame with his
cheeky sacrifice.
pawn, White's knight can come to f4
and the rooks might find something on
the c-file. Furthermore, unlike Black's,
White's structure is without weaknesses.
Consequently the onus is on Black to
make sure that his weaknesses are not
gradually picked off one by one.

Wells-Schulte
Canadian Open, Edmondton 2000

20 . . .1i'e7 21 ltd 1 i.f5!

Unfortunately for White his oppo­
nent correctly goes on the offensive
rather than waiting for White to further
improve his forces. The aim of the text
is to seek the exchange of light-squared
bishops, thus trading in the influential
Ironically White has (deliberately) al­ player on g2 for the otherwise defensive
lowed his queen to be trapped on the piece on e6.
best square on the board. The point is 22 l:tcd2 i.e4
to embark on a positional queen sacri­
fice.
1 9 1i'xf6 !
Preferable to 1 9 'ii'd 3 i.fS 20 'ii'xc2
i.xc2 21 i.xf6 gxf6 22 l:hc2, when
White does not enjoy the services of the
dark-squared bishop.
1 9 . . . gxf6 20 l:txc2
Points-wise, for the queen White has
collected a rook and a minor piece, so
the investment is really not too much.
Meanwhile Black now has doubled iso-

1 38
 Th e Queen Sacrifice

Here a draw was agreed, White using 'ii'g3) runs into 1 ...'fixc3! 2 bxc3 lt:Je2+
up much of his time contemplating etc. But White does have another op­
Black's offer that accompanied the tion.
bishop's arrival on e4. In fact White
would be perfectly justified in playing
on, although 23 f3? i.xe3 24 fxe4 i.xd2
25 l:hd2 dxe4 favours Black. Instead 23
lt:Jf4 i.xg2 24 'iifxg2 d4! is logical from
both sides, with Black rocking the boat
enough to either activate the queen or
disrupt White's structure, e.g. 25 i.xd4
(25 exd4 i.d6) 25 ... 'iib 7+! 26 <wii>g l
i.b4! 27 :lc2 (27 l:ld3 'fif3) 27 ...l:.c8
etc.
Incidentally, according to Wells
25 ... i.xd4 26 l:lxd4! l:lxd4 27 exd4! can 1 'ii'x f6!? lDe2 +
be difficult for the queen. 1bis brief Automatic, perhaps, butwe must also
example illustrates both the desired cir­ consider 1 ...lt:Jxb3 2 axb3 'ii'xal , when
cumstances we should be looking for White has a nice finish in 3 'iixe7! 'ii'a S
when contemplating parting with the 4 i.h6 'ii'd8 (4...lld8 5 'fif6) 5 lt:JdS! etc.
queen in 'normal' situations (typically: 2 tllx e2 exf6 3 tllc 3 lte8 4 llld 5 l:te6
damaging the opponent's structure, as­
suming greater control of the board
with our now larger army and, subse­
quently, reducing the opponent to pas­
sivity) as well as the need for the 'de­
fender' to seek some kind of activity,
often exploiting the queen's versatility.

In the next game White gets fewer

pieces but more squares for the queen.

Nezhmetdinov-Chernikov
Rostov�on-Don 1 962
White has a number of choices in the
diagram position, with a draw by repeti­
tion resulting from 1 'fih6 i.g7 2 'fih4
i.f6, while the ending after 2 'figs
'iixgS 3 i.xg5 lt:Jxb3 4 axb3 i.xc3 5
bxc3 f6 6 i.e3 a6 is completely equal. 1
'tig4 d6 helps Black, and 1 'ii'f4 (or 1
Already Black must undergo some
inconvenience for his booty, and the
new landscape of the game is taking
shape. Rather than grow overly con­
cerned with the traditional cost of
White's investment we should concen­
trate on the actual value of the pieces
remaining on the board and their rela­
tionship with both each other and the

1 39
Unders tanding the Sacrific e

resulting positional characteristics. The @g4 1 5 i.xe6 mate) 14 i.xe6 and now
main feature we notice is the contrast­ 1 4...i.xfl 1 5 i.f5 spells the end, e.g.
ing pawn structures and related weak­ 1 5 ...'iig8 1 6 l:tf6+ @g7 (1 6...@h5 1 7
nesses - White has nothing to worry g4+) 17 l:r.g6+ @ fl 1 8 llxg8 llxg8 1 9
about in this department whereas Black @xfl , or 1 5. . .'iih 8 1 6 h4.
has a collection of weak squares (a host 1 2 l:th3
of vulnerable dark squares) and pawns.
Add to this White's lead in development
and superior piece placement and it be­
comes evident that Black will be busy
defending. White's next moves the mo­
nopolising bishop on the best possible
post.
5 .id4
Obviously White should hit the dark
squares.
5 ... 'iti>g7 6 l:tad 1 d6 7 l:td3
Preparing to home in on f6.
7 . . . .id7 8 l:tf3 .ib5 9 .ic3 'ili'd8 1 0 1 2 . . .l:teS
llJxf6! Desperately trying to obstruct the
most worrying diagonal. After 1 2 ...i.xfl
13 tLlg5 :f6 14 i.xfl+ White wins -
14 ...@f8 (14 ... @g7 1 5 i.d5) 1 5 i.xf6
'iix f6 1 6 tLlh7+ @xfl 1 7 tLlxf6 etc.
1 3 f4! ?

Now returning the queen with multi­

ple exchanges on f6 leaves Black a pawn
down for nothing, and 1 o...i.xfl 1 1
tLlg4+ @g8 1 2 i.xe6 can be ruled out in
view of 12 ... fxe6 1 3 tLlh6 mate.
1 o . . ..te2 1 1 llJxh7 + ! 'iti>g8 1 3 . . ..ixf1
Let us see what happens if Black 13 ... llh5 14 tLlf6+ @f8 1 5 tLlxh5 is
takes the knight: 1 1 ...@xh7 12 l:.xfl+ very complicated and seems to favour
(12 l:.h3 + i.h5) 12 ... @h6 (1 2.. ,@g8 1 3 White, e.g. 1 5 ...i.xh5 1 6 g4 'iid7 17 f5
i.xe6) 1 3 i.d2+ g5 ( 1 3. . .@h5 1 4 l:.h7+ or 1 5... i.xfl 1 6 i.g7+ @e8 17 tLlf6+

140

cJi;e7 1 8 liJdS+ cJi;d7 1 9 cJi;xfl . Even the
more palatable 1 5 ...gxhS 1 6 l:l£2 i.g4 1 7
l:ld3 still does little for the tastebuds,
with White ready to pick up the d6-
pawn. Black's general problem is that
there is nothing for him to attack in
these lines - only weaknesses to defend.
1 4 Wxf1 ltc8 1 5 i.d4 b5 1 6 lt:\g5
l:.c7
Is everything adequately protected?
1 7 i.xf7 + I
No.
1 7 . . .ltxf7
1 7 ...cJ;;g7 1 8 liJe6+.
18 lth8 +
The point.
1 8 . . . Wxh8 1 9 lt:\xf7 + Wh 7 20 lt:\xd8
ltxe4 21 lt:\c6 ltxf4 + 22 We2 1 -0
Th e Queen Sacrifice
Perhaps Black capitulated rather
quickly, but this game does demonstrate
the kind of problems that can beset the
side with the often lonely queen in such
circumstances. The important thing to
remember is to strike while the iron is
hot after a positional sacrifice of the
queen - not necessarily going for an all­
out attack, rather concentrating one's
forces on key weaknesses.
Finally, an example of the worst pos­
sible scenario for the victim of a posi­
tionally oriented queen sacrifice - the
nightmare of having nothing whatso­
ever to attack!
Gretarsson-Marin
Andorra 1 999
We have a well balanced position in
which Black has just pushed his f-pawn
to clamp down on the e4-square. With
Black's rooks still not introduced White
automatically judged this to be the best
time to trade a pair of rooks.
1 9 l:.e3?! ifxe3! 20 i.xe3 l:.xe3
Obviously White will have consid­
ered the possibility of the queen sacri­
fice, albeit in cursory fashion. After all -
Black's queenside development is not
141
Un ders tanding th e Sacrifice

yet complete, and White does not have rook.

any significant structural weaknesses.
Not happy with either 21 Ji.d3 tt:'ixf4 22
tt:'ixf4 1'.xc3 23 l:tc l Ji.d4 24 'ith 1 Ji.d7
or 23 ... l:tel + 24 'iix el 1'.xel 25 l:lxel
'itf7 White opted instead for...
21 1i'd2 lbe2! 22 1i'xe2 i.xc3

24 . . . i.xe1 2 5 1i'xe 1 �f6?

Marin proposes 25 ... a5!, e.g. 26 'iie 7 +
tt:'if7, when 27 g4 fxg4 28 hxg4 1'.xg4 29
'iixb7 l:le8 opens the floodgates.
26 1i'e7 + �f7 27 1i'c7?
27 a5! makes Black's task-- activating
The tally is now two knights and a the rook and bishop - more problem-
powerful (dark-squared) bishop for the atic.
queen, but the real problem for White is 27 . . . a5!
what to do with his remaining pieces - Quickly rectifying matters.
the bishop serves no other purpose 28 1i'e7
than to defend the b3-pawn and the e4- Ditto. Here is another way for the
square .while the rook won't have any queen to end her days: 28 g3 'itf8! 29
impact even if it does reach the e-file. 'it f2 tt:'ie8 30 'iib6 l:ta6 31 'iib 5 tt:'ic7.
This leaves the queen... 28 . . . i.d7 29 1i'e 1 b6 30 1i'c3 l:le8
23 1i'e8 + �g7 24 lle 1 31 g3 g5!
Understandable given that the alter­
native gets White less than nowhere: 24
'
l:lfl tt:'if7 25 'ife7 and now, instead or
25 ...ltJf6 26 'iic 7, when the queen has
successfully infiltrated, Black should
play the crafty 25 ...Ji. f61, the point being
that 26 'iic 7?? loses to 26 ...1'.d8. There­
fore 26 'iie l is forced, after which
26 ... Ji.d7 followed by ... l:le8 is excellent
for Black. The troublesome piece here
is the dark-squared bishop - hence
White's choice in the game: White be­
lieves this piece to be as strong as his Without a single weakness Black is

142

ready to step up a gear on the kingside,
where White is ripe for the taking.
32 i.d1 :e7
32 ... gxf4 33 gxf4 tbh8 34 h4 tbg6 35
h5 unnecessarily gives White some fun
thanks to 35 ...tbxf4 36 'ti'g3 + 4/;f? 37
'ii'x f4 :et + 38 'itg2 l:r.xdl 39 'ii'xd6,
when the queen grows in stature. The
text calmly addresses White's next.
33 i.hS h6 34 h4 gxf4 3S gxf4 :e4
36 'ti'g3 + �g4 37 'ti'c3 + :d4 38
'ti'e 1 'iit>f8 39 'ti'c3 �h8
Black can move around as much as
he likes until everything is just right.
White can only wait.
�O 'ti'g3 'iit>g 7 -4 1 'ti'e1 :e4 42 'ti'c3 +
�f6 43 'ti'g3 + �h7 44 i.f3 :e3
Arriving at the inevitable. One of
White's weaknesses is about to drop,
The Queen Sacrifice
and with it the game.
4S 'W'f2 :xb3 46 'ti'e2 �g6 47 �f2
47 'ti'e7 l:txf3 48 h5+ is a nice try but
untenable for White after 48 ... tbxh5 49
'ii'xd7 tbf7 50 'ti'b5 l:ta3.
47 . . . �f7 48 'ti'e7 i.xa4 49 'ti'e6
49 . . .:xf3 + !
No more messing about. The game
etlfled as follows:
SO �xf3 hS S 1 'iite3 bS S2 cxbS
i.xbS S3 <;t>d2 i.c4 S4 .'ti'e7 a4 SS
'ti'a7 i.b3 S6 �c 1 �xdS S7 'ti'aS
�xf4 S8 'ti'd2 tiJ86 S9 'iit> b2 dS 60
'ti'g2 + <;t>f6 61 'ti'e2 d4 62 'iita 1 c4
63 'ti'd2 c3 64 'ti'c1 �cs 6S 'ti'g1
�e6 66 1i'c1 �e7 67 'ti'g 1 'iit>d6 68
'ti'g3 + �es 69 'ti'e1 �cs 70 'ti'g 1
i.dS 7 1 <;t>b1 d3 72 'ti'e3 c2 + 73
�b2 �c4 + 0-1
143