Chess Exchanges

by

S. TAULBUT and S. JONES

PERGAMON PRESS
OXFORD NEW YORK TORONTO SYDNEY FRANKFURT
Pergamon Chess Series
Ext!cutive Editor: JtLL PRICE
General Editor: DAVID LEVY

ALEXANDER, C.H.O'D.& BEACH, T. J. HARTSTON, W.R.& REUBEN, S.

Learn Chess: A New Way for All London 1980: Phillips & Drew Kings
Volume I - First Principles Chess Tournament
Volume 2 - Winning Methods KEENE,R.
ASSIAC The Chess Combination from Philidor to
More Delights of Chess Karpov
ASSIAC & O'CONNELL, K. The Evolution of Chess Opening Theory
Opening Preparation LEVY,D.N.L.
AVERBAKii, Y. Learn Chess from the World Champions
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge LEVY, D. N. L. & O'CONNELL,K.
BARDEN, L. W. Instant Chess
The Ruy Lopez: Winning Chess with IP-K4 MEDNIS,E.
BELL, A. From the Opening into the Endgame
The Machine Plays Chess? PORTISCH, L.& SARKOZY,B.
CAFFERTY, B. & HOOPER, D. Six Hundred Endings
A Complete Defence to IP-K4,Second Edition SZABO, L.
A Study of Petrorrs Defence My Best Games of Chess
A Complete Defence to ld4
TAULBUT, S. & JONES,S.
A Study of the Queen's Gambit Accepted
Chess Exchanges
DICKINS, A. S. M. & EBERT,H. VARNUSZ, E.
I 00 Classics of the Chessboard Paul Keres' Best Games, Volume 1: Close
EVANS, L. Games
The Chess Beat VUKOVIC,V.
1
GLIGORIC, S. & SOKOLOV, V. The Art of Attack in Chess
The Sicilian Defence, Book 1 WINTER, E. G.
HARDING, T. D. World Chess Champions
The Chess Computer Book
The New Chess Computer Book
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Copyright 1986 S. Taulbul & S. Jones

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Finl cdition 19116

Library ol Conareu Catalotlna In Publication Dal8

Taulbul, Shaun.
Chcss exchanges.
(Pergamon chess series)
1 I. Chess - Middlc games. I. Joncs. S.
II. Tille. Ill. Scries.
GVI450.3.T38 19115 794.1'23 114-541

Brldlb Library CalaJotulq In Publication Dal8

Taulbut, Shaun
Chess cxchanges. -(Pergamon cheliS series)
I. Chess - Middle games
I. Title II. Joncs. S.
794.1'23 GVI450.3
ISBN -029752-11 Hardcover
ISBN ()..()8..02 9751-X Aexicovcr

Printed in Grtut Brilain by A. Wheuton & Co. Lid., E.xer

 Prface

Chess has been often compared to the relative value of his pieces is not
war; planning of strategy and tactics absolute but is changing during a
are common to both. The chess game. Recognizing these changes is
player and the general have many the basis of this book, which seeks to
similar decisions to take. For the lay some theoretical foundations for
chess player it is an absolute war; a chess planning, particularly in the
fight to the death. Wars of attrition, opening and middlegame phases.
sacrifice and wholesale exchange are Chess pieces can be thought of as
common to him and no victory is too square controllers and this book
expensive. One may give up a whole starts with a quantitative analysis of
army to mate with a solitary pawn. the pieces' relative potential for
For the general the nature of the square control. From this analysis
terrain significantly influences his many of the well-known 'rules of
strategy and tactics. Deserts, woods, development' are deduced. The
mountains and cities all require next step is a qualitative one: to
different methods and equipment if examine not only how many s4uares
the attack (or defence) is to be can be controlled but which ones
successful. Long-range weapons are should be, and for how long. The
of little use when visibility is limited; method is to consider games and
high speed is of less importance than positions which have been carefully
manoeuvrability when travelling chosen to emphasize the particular
across country. point; by this approach a number of
The chess player too has to con guidelines for deciding to avoid or to
sider his terrain; but for him the elect to exchange are 'discovered'.
terrain in which he operates is itself a The guidelines having been dis
function of his pieces and the way he cussed, specific applications are
has disposed them. For this reason examined, particularly the rationale

"
"I Chess Exchanaa

behind certain openings and their oping a theoretical foundation for

transition to the middlegame and exchanging pieces rather than to
also the transition from middlegame other aspects of middlegame theory
to the ending. The whole process is because this is an aspect of chess
completed by a series of illustrative which has been given only cursory
games blending all the themes. treatment in most middlegame
Emphasis has been given to devel- texts.
 Conteqts
Introduction viii
Square control
Piece coordination

1. Active and passive pieces 1

Bad bishop
Good knight vs. bad bishop
Two bishops
Bishops of opposite colour

2. Types of exchanges 26
Exchanges to gain control of key squares
Exchanges to gain tempo
Sacrifices
Defensive exchanges
Avoidance of exchanges

3. Exchanges to reach an endgame 63

4. Opening exchanges 79

5. The initiative 104

6. Illustrative games 116

7. Test positions 169

Index of players 203

vii
 Introduction

Why exchange pieces? Pieces are one has to ask a number of questions
square controllers, so exchanging about square control. How many?
pieces exchanges square control, Which ones? When? For how long?
either actual or potential. Deciding At what cost? The answer to these
whether to exchange pieces is a questions will first depend on an
recognition of the desirability of ex analysis of specific variations sup
changing your opponent's square plemented by judgement where
control for your own. In making this time and vision are limiting factors.
decision it is necessary to appreciate Judgement is a blend of experience,
which squares to control and why. It knowledge and understanding that
I
may be necessary to control a par- gives a basis for sacrificing, for creat
ticular square because of the access ing and accepting weaknesses, for
it gives to other squares. Perhaps opening and closing lines, for gain
your opponent has extended his ing or losing tempo.
pawn structure and by exchanging The chess player's problem over
pieces he will have insufficient exchanging pieces is similar to that
pieces to guard his entire army. experienced by the international
Assessing the qualitative and quan traveller or currency speculator.
titative aspects of square control is a Most of the time there is an accepted
foundation for middlegame strat rate of exchange he can use to evalu
egy. The transition to the ending is ate the worth of his money relative
often a quantitative rather than to any other currency which is a
qualitative decision where the threat measure of its intrinsic worth. How
to increase square control by queen ever, a 5 note is of little use if you
ing a pawn causes the game to need I DM to make a telephone call
change dramatically. urgently in Germany. High interest
When considering an exchange rates, political developments, in-

viii
 lntroductloa

dustrial disasters may affect the ex Which piece is strongest?

change rate significantly, particular Which piece benefits most from
ly in the short term. Similarly, in development?
chess the value of a piece is deter Which piece benefits least?
mined by its intrinsic worth, its On which squares are your pieces
ability to manoeuvre. As the game best posted? i
progresses and piece configurations
change, so the importance of any Compare pieces on the basis of how
particular piece is enhanced or many squares they control on aver
diminished. Lines are opened qr age; then compare them again on
closed, the threats and counter the basis of how many directions
threats are concentrated in different. they can move on average. Ask
sectors of the board. In such cases yourself on this basis what would be
the 'stronger' piece will more often a fair rate of exchange for one piece
be the most useful, but occasions in terms of the others.
arise when a queen is exchanged for Some of the rules mentioned
a pawn because this leads to greater above start to make sense. Castling
gains. First we shall consider the puts the king in the corner. Con
intrinsic value of a piece by looking sequently it can only be attacked
at square control and manoeuvr from a limited number of directions
ability. and squares. It takes time to move
There are many well-known rules pieces to the edge of the board,
of development; occupy the centre, whereas if the king is central it is
develop knights before bishops, within reach of pieces on both sides
castle early, do not bring out the of the board. Why not develop the
queen early. Are these just the fruits queen early?She is relatively power
of experience or is there some ful on her home square and does not
logical reason behind these dictums? significantly increase her square
Try the following simple exper control by being developed. Perhaps
iment. Take a chessboard and a pen more important is an apparent para
and paper. Place each piece in turn dox in the threat value of a piece.
on a corner, side and central square The more squares a piece controls
and note to how many squares the the lower its threat value. That is to
piece can go in each case. Also note say the stronger a piece the greater
in how many different directions the the loss if it is captured or exchanged
piece can move. If you examine your for a lesser piece. So if a queen
results carefully you can make some attacks a guarded pawn the attack
interesting deductions. Ask your can usually be ignored, but if a pawn
self: attacks a queen it can seldom be
II Chess E11chanaes

ignored. So paradoxically the threat the centre when formulating his

from a pawn is greater than that opening plal1 and this will determine
from the queen. The consequence is the nature of the coming middle
that early development of the major game battle. Pawns occupying the
pieces leaves them vulnerable to central squares deny access there to
harassment by minor pieces with a enemy pieces and provide support
resultant loss of tempo. for one's own pieces. Attempts are
Squares guarded by pawns are made to undermine the opponent's
usually safe from enemy invasion. central position; to gain space and
The opponent has to lead the attack square control; to launch an attack;
with his own pawns to challenge the or to tie the opponent down; or to
square control and to exchange off force weaknesses.
the defending pawns. Because the This battle for the centre lays
pawns are slow-moving, this is diffi down the shape of the game, the
cult to achieve without giving the nature of the terrain. Our exper
opponent lots of warning. He can iment has given us a guide to the
use this time to prepare his defences value of the pieces and we can de
or to launch a counter-attack. Creat cide whether to exchange based on
ing weaknesses in a position, i.e. this experiment. It is important to
advancing your pawns dr making get full value when exchanging
exchanges which break them up to pieces. Exchanges are made to try
leave squares which can only be and gain advantages or to avoid
guarded by pieces, makes it easier ceding advantages to the opponent.
for the opponent to launch an Usually one expects to exchange like
attack. Exchanges to create weak for like, queen for queen, pawn for
nesses in the opposing pawn struc pawn and so on. Sometimes the
ture occur frequently and a number exchange is bishop for knight or
of opening systems have been devel queen for two rooks or occasionally
oped to achieve this end. This idea 'sacrificial moves' where a player
will be developed through the book apparently does not get full value.
and the term weak squares will often Why does a sacrifice work? Why
be used. does a smaller army apparently beat
Pieces are generally most effec a stronger one. These questions are
tive in the centre, and control of examined later in the book.
these squares is important simply As a first exercise in square con
because they allow control over trol and the importance of the centre
other squares. Opening theory has try the following simple puzzle. Set
evolved around the fight for the up the board with the knights and
centre. Each player has to consider bishops on their starting squares and
 lotroduc:tloo

no other pieces on the board. Now value. This is a good rule of thumb
move the pieces as in a game so that for quickly evaluating the outcome
the white and black pieces exchange of any exchange. Such a simplistic
places (knights cross from kingside approach, however, has its draw
to queenside). The conditions are backs, as the early chess computer
that no piece attacks or is attacked programmers found. There is a need
by any other piece. A typical to look at the qualitative aspects of
optimal solution is as follows. square control, otherwise sacrificial
possibilities will be overlooked.
I Ne2 Nf6 Effectively, sacrifices are an ex
2 Ng3 Nd5 change of square control quantity
3 Nh5 Nc6 for quality.
4 Nd2 Nc3 Generally speaking the more
5 Nf6 Nd4 pieces a player has the more threats
6 Nc4 NfJ he can direct against a specific
7 Na5 Nbl square. But this assumes the pieces
8 Nc6 Ngl have the time and space to coordi
9 NbS Bb4 nate effectively. A team of ten pro
10 Ng8 Bg4 fessional footballers might well beat
II Ba6 BfJ a team of eleven amateurs by virtue
12 Bc8 Bg2 of superior mobility and coordi
13 Bh6 on nation. The fewer the players in a
14 Bg7 Bdl game, the more significant the extra
15 818 Bel player becomes because the weaker
team finds it harder to control the
Trial and error soon proves that whole playing area and the coordi
the bishops have to move last be nation of the larger force gets easier
cause they control too many squares as it has more room to manoeuvre.
on an open board once they are Chess is no exception; a reduction
developed. For similar reasons the in material makes it harder for the
knights have to avoid getting tangled weaker side to organize both attack
up on the central squares. and defence. The weaker player will
A comparison of the manoeuvr find it harder and harder to defend
ability, and square control potential, the whole board as material is re
of the pieces allows a comparison of duced. The exception to this rule is
their relative worth. As a guide when the defending player has no
many beginner's texts take a scale of more material to lose and the
piece values: Q-9, R-5, B-3, N-3, stronger side has insufficient
P-1, with the king having infinite material to force mate. Before con-
xU Cbeu Excbanaa

sidering aspects of exchanges we

shall briefly look at piece coordi
nation.
Learning how pieces coordinate is
important, and this skill can be
developed by looking at endgame
studies. For instance, one could look
at the coordination of rook and
knight.

Qxh2+ 3 Rxh2 Rgl mate. This type

of coordination between two pieces
occurs often in chess. In the two
examples above we have seen two
pieces denying all the squares of a
king in the corner. The black queen
sacrificed itself to give access to gl to
the black rook. We shall meet many
examples of sacrifices to gain control
of vital squares later on.
A superiority of material is ob
This disposition of pieces allows viously advantageous, but effective
White to deliver perpetual check or use of pieces by good deployment
mate and this is a useful piece of and coordination is more important.
technique. White plays I Nf6+ KfH This is the reason why sacrifices and
(I . KhX 2 Rh7 mate) 2 Nh7+ KeH
. . gambits work. To illustrate the point
3 Nf6+ KfX 4 Nh7+ with a perpetual further, here are two examples of
check. queens being sacrified to leave a
position where there is a material
(see following diagram)
imbalance compensated for by good
Here Black can win quickly by piece coordination and square
1 . . Qh4 2 Rg2 (2 Rxh4 Rgl mate)
. control.
 Introduction xill

BLACKSTOCK vs. KRAUSE, SPEELMAN vs. MARTIN,

Malta, 1979 BCF, 1982

I NO Nf6
8 2 c4 g
3 g3 Bg7
4 Bg2 d6
5 0-0 0-0
5 6 b3 eS
7 Bb2 cS
4 8 Nc3 Nc6
9 d3 h6
10 e3 BfS
2
II h3 Qd7
12 Kh2 Rab8
13 Qd2 gS
0 b c d e f g h
14 Radl a6

Black's minor pieces are not so

active as White's. He played 1 . . . b5
here to try and neutralize White's
advantage while the c-pawn is
pinned, in the hope of getting a
knight to d4. White surprised Black
with 2 axb5 Nxb5 3 Qxb5! Rxb5 4
Rxb5. The activity of White's pieces
gives him an advantage. He has a
clear plan of invasion along the b
file. Black can only wait and defend.
4 . . . Rb8 5 RebI Rxb5 6 Rxb5 Bc8. o b c d e f g h
The bishop is unable to guard all the
light squares. 7 Nd5 Qd6 8 BaS Bf8 9
Bc7 Qe6 10 h4 Kg7 11 Rb8 Bd7 12 So far the game has proceeded
Bd8 Qd6 l3 Bf6+ Kh6 14 Rd8. quietly with both players being good
Black decided to resign before he neighbours and staying off each
ran out of moves. other's property. White has had
 xlv Cheu Eachllllla

enough of sitting at home and livens bishops, outposts for his knight and
things up with some line opening pressure against the d-pawn. In ad
exchanges to take advantage of the dition he has five pieces to Black's
weaknesses near Black's king. four and there are targets to attack
on the black kingside. For example,
IS d4 cxd4 White has prospects of playing a
16 exd4 exd4 knight to f6. The position is by no
17 Nxd4 Nxd4 means won for White, but the sacri
18 Qxd4 Ng4+ fice gives him good practical chances
because his pieces are so well co
This check discovers an attack on
ordinated, while Black's 'stronger
White's queen and is an example of
force' is relatively passive.
using exchanges to draw pieces onto
squares where they can be exploited
tactically. This idea will be 20 ... Bg6
examined again later. In this case 21 cS Rbe8
White has seen the loss of the queen, 22 NdS f6
but judged that his positional ad
vantages will outweigh the material Black should avoid weakening his
loss, a diffic!Jlt judgemeQt. kingside and play Re6 instead to
defend the weak points on the rank.
19 hxg4 Bxd4
20 Rxd4 23 NeJ QbS
24 cxd6 Qe2
25 BcJ Qxa2

Black seems unsure of how to de

ploy his forces and is content to
roam around snatching pawns, but
this gives White several useful
4 tempos to improve his position.

26 d7 Rd8
27 Rd6 Kh7

Not 27 . . Qxb3 2M Bd5+ recovers

.

o b c d e f g h the queen with advantage.

What is White's compensation? H e 28 NdS QaJ

has open lines for his rooks and 29 b4
 lotroductJon II

The intrinsic properties of the

8
pieces thus give us an indication of
their relative values and how best
they should be deployed. In some
6
deployments a particular grouping
5 of pieces will be bettr than another
4 of similar value, e.. 2 rooks vs.
queen or 2 bishops vs. bishop and
3
knight. In practice the stronger side
2 has more opportunity to be the
better deployed. Trial and error will
show that a material advantage
o b c d e f g h usually triumphs. It is in the ending
that such superiority is usually seen
most clearly. In the middlegame a
Black's queen is shut out and White minor piece may be more useful
has succeeded in pushing his forces than a rook, which needs open lines,
further into Black's territory. but as pieces are exchanged and
lines opened so the longer-ranging,
29 ... Qa4 more mobile, pieces increase in sig
30 Ral QbS nificance. There are exceptions
31 Rdl Qe2 when there are peculiar features
32 Nxf6+ Kh8 about the position which alter the
33 Rei Qc4 normal relative values of the pieces.
34 Bal Qa2 These are the key to sacrificial and
35 Kgl Qc4 combinative chess.
36 Bf'J Qb3 Few books illustrate how to win
37 Kg2 Qc4 when ahead in material, as this is
considered too obvious, or some
With the discovered check and the
thing the reader can solve for him
pawn at d7 threatening him, Black
self. However, slight material ad
hardly dare move a piece:
vantage is not so easily transformed
38 Ne4+ Kh7 into a win unless it is fully under
39 NxgS+ hxgS stood just why one piece is stronger
40 Rhl+ Kg8 than another. The classic lOth game
41 Rxg6+ Kf7 between Fischer and Spassky is a
42 Rg7+ good illustration of how to exploit a
small superiority, in this case two
Black resigned. rooks vs. rook, bishop and pawn.
 xvl Chesa Exclulnpa

FISCHER vs. SPASSKY, 9 Kg2 hS

Reykjavik, 1972 10 Rl56 Rdl
II KfJ Kf7
12 Ke2 RdS
13 f4 g6
14 g4 hxg4
IS hxg4 gS
16 fS DeS
17 RbS Kf6

If ... Bd4 18 Re6! is very strong

18 Rexb4 Dd4
1 9 Rb6+ KeS
20 KfJ Rd8
(or cxb4 21 Re6 mate)
Fischer played 21 Rb8 Rd7
I Bxf7+ Rxf7 Exchanging rooks would really
emphasize the superiority of the re
If I . . Kh8 2 Ng6+ mates
maining rook over the bishop after
.

2 Qxf7+ Qxf7' 21 cxb4 22 Rxd8 b3 23 Rb8 b2 24

3 Nxf7 Dxe4 Rb5+ . White's rook defends and
If Kxn. 4 Rd7+ recovers the piece. attacks allowing the king to pen
etrate.
4 Rxe4 Kxf7

S Rd7+ Kf6 22 R4b7 Rd6

6 Rb7 Ral+ 23 Rb6 Rd7
7 Kh2 Bd6+ 24 Rg6 KdS
8 g3 b4 25 RxgS DeS
26 f6 Kd4
The pawns are fixed on the same
27 Rbl
colour as the bishop, which limits its
mobility and the mobility of the Black resigned, he loses either his
pawns which cannot risk advancing bishop or rook to Rd I+ .
to unguarded squares. With hind Here is another example of a rook
sight, Black may have had better against minor piece and pawn. This
chances of survival if he had stayed time the weaker side has his king and
passive with his king and rook on the pawns well advanced and his knight
back rank. well centralized. These advantages
 lntroductloa IIVU

minimize the difference in strength The difficulty of winning with

between the rook and knight and such a small advantage (the greater
maximize White's drawing chances. mobility of the rook against the
The position comes from the game knight) is shown by the actual game
LASKER vs. LASKER, New York, continuation where Black chose
1924. 1 0 0 0 R b8
2 Ne3 ReS+
3 Kd4 Rd8+
4 Ke4 aS
S bxaS b4
6 a6 KcS
7 a7 b3
8 Ndl
and although White lost his pawns
he had time to set up a blockade,
which prevented Black queening his
pawn, and a draw was agreed on the
103rd move.
o b c d e f g h
CAPABLANCA vs.
Black has to create a passed pawn TARTAKOVER, New York, 1924
to win but White has a plus here also
because his single pawn on the b-file
holds up both Black's pawns. Black
must therefore consider sacrificing
his a-pawn. To increase his chances
of winning, Black should first drive

I ... Rd7
2 Nf6 Rd8
3 KeS aS
4 bxaS b4
S Ne4 RdS+
6 Kf6 Rd3
o c d e f g h
White's knight away from his strong
central position. The winning line is White's king is much stronger than
and Black gets his pawn home. Black's and his rook on the seventh
xviii Chess Exchan&es

rank is stronger than Black's rook. whether tey are weakened in some
Capablanca exchanged off the way, either doubled or isolated; or
minor pieces to exploit these ad whether they are passed, and
vantages without distraction. After capable of queening; or advancing
I Bxf5 gxf5 2 Kg3 Black was lost. and cramping the opponent's game.
The game ended 2 . . Rxc3+ 3 Kh4
. These advantages may be very
Rf3 4 g6 Rxf4 + 5 Kg5 Re4 6 Kf6 Kg8 small; and transforming a slightly
7 Rg7+ KhH H Rxc7 and Black has to more active piece into a win, by
surrender all his queenside pawns to careful manoeuvres to force further
avoid mate or the promotion of the strategical (and ultimately material)
g-pawn. Black resigned eleven gains, takes good technique and
moves later. patience. Gaining these advantages
Normally the smallest material is often a result of exchanges. Ex
advantage is considered to be a ploiting them invariably involves ex
pawn, and a study of king and pawn changes to magnify the significance
endings is a necessary part of a of a small weakness which can be
player's education. A positional defended if there are many pieces on
advantage occurs when one player the board. Let us quickly review the
has a better piece, i.e. pne which is basics of these ideas for the less
more active. The term 'bad' bishop advanced player before looking at
is widely used for bishops which are more complex analysis of several
obstructed by their ,own pawn themes blending together later in
chains. For pawns, on the other the book.
hand, it may be a question of
 1

Active and :Passive Pieces

There are eften exchanges of minor

pieces in the opening which affect
the whole game and in fact are the
theme of the game. The exchange of
bishops occurs in many games with
the result that one side is left with a
bad bishop. A bad bishop is one
which is badly hampered by its own
pawns; the following game is a
typical example.

KARPOV vs. RIBLI, a b c d e t g h

European Team Championship,
Bath, 1973 with 6 d4, but now Black has to
constantly worry about getting into
an ending where his bishop is short
I e4 cS
of useful squares.
2 NfJ d6
3 Bb5+ Bd7 6 NcJ Nc6
4 Bxd7+ Qxd7 7 0-0 Nge7
5 c4 eS 8 NdS

White takes the opportunity to ex

(see following diagram)
change another pair of minor pieces.

Black has just prevented White from 8 ... NxdS

reaching a Maroczy bind formation 9 cxdS Nd4
2 Cheu Exc:hanps

10 Nxd4 cxd4 28 b4_ Rc8

I I dJ 29 Qa2 Bb6
30 Bel Kf7
31 Rat Bd8
32 Bd2 Bb6
33 aS Bd8
34 Qa4 Qxa4
3S Rxa4
5

4
8

o b c d e f g h

Already an ending looms up as it is

likely that the major pieces will be
exchanged down the open c-file.

II ... Be7
o b c d e g
12 Qb3 0-0
13 f4 Rac8
14 Bd2 f6 So White has succeeded in exchang
IS hJ Rc7 ing the queens, which makes it
16 Rf2 Rfc8 easier for him to manoeuvre without
17 Raft Rc2 fearing a sudden invasion.
18 g4 a6
19 a4 R8cS 3S ... Ke8
20 Bb4 Rxf2 36 h4 h6
21 Kxf2 Rc7 37 Ra2 Kd7
22 8d2 Qc8 38 Bel Be7
23 Ke2 ReS 39 Rg2 Bd8
24 rs Bd8 40 Bd2 Be7
2S Qa3 Kf7
26 Rbl Ke7 Now if White attempts to break
27 Kdl Qd7 through with g5, Black can exchange
 Aetlve and Pualve Pleea 3

once on g5 and then take the h-file, Now we have reached the pure
so Karpov tries elsewhere. bishop ending and Black still has
problems with his bishop.
41 RgJ Rh8
42 Kc2 Rc8+
60 g5
43 KbJ RhH
44 Rg2 Rc8
Threatening to pen trate with his
45 Rgl Rh8
king to g6. Black cannot prevent this
46 Kc2 Rc8+
with 60 . . h5 because of 61 g6
47 Kdl Rh8
.

followed by 62 Bh6 winning.

48 Bel Rc8
49 Rg2 Rh8
50 Rb2 Rc8 60 ... hxg5
51 Bd2 BdH 61 hxg5 Bd8
52 b5 62 KO Kc8
6J Kg4 Kd7
At last Karpov makes his move:
64 Kh5 Ke8
52 ... axb5 65 Bb4 fxg5
53 Rxb5 Kc7
54 Ke2 KbH Black also loses after 65 . .. Be7 66
55 Bb4 Bc7 gxf6 gxf6 67 Kg6 and bringing the
56 a6 Ka7 bishop round to h4.
57 axb7 Rb8
58 Bd2 Rxb7
66 Bxd6 Bf6
59 Rxb7+ Kxb7
67 Bb4 Kt7
68 Bd2 Be7
69 Bxg5 BaJ
70 Bd8 Bd6
71 Kg5

White wins by f6. A very determined

performance by Karpov, with the
whole game revolving around
Black's bad dark squared bishop.
The effectiveness of a minor piece
is clearly related to the pawn struc
ture. Here is an example of a knight
o b c d e g h dominating a bishop.
 4 Chess Exc:hanaa

KARAKLAIC vs. HALL, weaknesses. on his central dark

Bognor Regis, 1968 squares which White effectively ex
ploits through the game.

l e4 eS 10 BeJ 0-0
2 NrJ Nc6 11 rJ NgS
J Bc4 Nf6 1 2 Qd2 f6
4 d4 exd4
The alternative, 12 ... Ne6, would
5 eS dS
allow White to exchange off Black's
6 BbS Ne4
key black square defenders, his
7 Nxd4 BcS
knight and bishop. Black's remain
8 0-0 Bd7
ing bishop is hampered by the pawns
9 Bxc6 bxc6
on the same colour at c6 and d5. This
is the strategical point to the game.
Black has to mobilize his central
pawns to activate the bishops. White
has to blockade them to keep a
strong central outpost for his knight.

IJ Khl Ne6?

Allowing White the chance to ex

ecute his strategical plan. A better
plan for Black is to play h6, support
ing his knight and freeing the f
pawn. Black could follow up with
Qe7 to support the advance of his c
pawn and to attack the e-pawn.

14 Nxe6 BxeJ
White has voluntarily surrendered
IS Nxd8 Bxd2
the two bishops to Black in order to
16 Nxd2 Raxd8
weaken the queenside pawns. These
17 exf6 Rxf6
can be blockaded on the c5 and d4
18 NbJ
squares by White's knights and dark
squared bishop. because Black has (see following diagram)
no pawns to defend these squares.
The pawns. as we have seen, offer White is effectively a pawn ahead.
the strongest threats and therefore His knight restricts the black queen
arc the best defenders. The opening side pawns while his own kingside
exchanges have left Black with pawns outnumber Black's 3:2. The
 Actin and Pualn Pleca 5

8 8

7 7

6 6

5 5

4 4

3 3

2 2

0 b c d e f g h a c e g h

bishop has free reign over the white Not only preventing d4 but also pre
squares, but they are almost irrel paring to switch to either flank
evant in this game. which pins Black's troops down in
their trenches.
IS ... ReS
19 Kgl BfS 25 ... RdS
20 c3 Kt7 26 Rf4 Kg6
21 NcS 27 Rei Rxel
28 Kxel Rb8
White's plan becomes clearer; he 29 b4 ReS+
would like to exchange off the rooks 30 Kd2
which are Black's only chance for
counterplay. Then White will move White is progressing nicely to his
his king to c5 attacking the weak long-term objective. Rather than
pawns and tying the black pieces to defend passively, Black tries to co
their defence. Finally White will ordinate his rook and bishop into an
mobilize his kingside pawns. attack against the white squares by
manoeuvring his bishop to c4. The
21 ... Re2 drawback to this is the further vul
22 Rfl Re3 nerability in his own camp when his
23 Rd2 Rd6 troops are committed to the attack.
24 Kf2 Re7
25 Rd4 30 . . . Bbl
 6 Cbess Exclwtaa

counterchancoes, but his king is un

defended now and White switches to
direct assault.

o b c d e g h 3

2
31 a4 Ba2
32 h4 Bc4
33 g4 Re2+ 0 c d e g h

34 Kdl Rh2
41 Ne6+ Kh4
White's pawns have created a mat
42 Nd4
ing net around Black' king while
escaping from Black's rook. neatly combining attack with de
fence. The control over the dark
35 h5+ Kg5
squares and the advantage of cen
36 Rt7
tralization for the knight is obvious.
White is assured of victory now that
42 ... Rxc3
he has breached Black's defences. A
43 Rxg7 BdJ
rook on the seventh rank like this is
44 Kf2 Rc4
like a tank which has burst into an
45 KeJ Bbl
infantry position spraying bullets
46 Rxc7 Rxb4
everywhere while remaining invul
47 aS
nerable to cou.nter-attack.
Black resigned. The black pawns are
36 . . Rhl+
doomed and White will soon be
.

37 Kd2 Rh2+
pushing a passed pawn forwards. It
38 Kel Rhl+
is in the ending when there are no
39 Kf2 Rfl+
other pieces around to cover weak
40 Kg2 Rei
nesses or to create tactical diversions
Black has fought hard to create that the qualitative difference be-
 Active and Pullve Plecea 7

tween pieces is most clearly seen. l Kel Bgl

Here are some more examples. J g5 Bxhl
4 Kn Bf4
The difficulties Black faces are per
GARCIA-GONZALEZ vs.
haps best illustrated b the variation
QUINTEROS, Moscow Interzonal,
4 . .. Kt7 5 Nc5, intening Ne6 and
1982
Nxc7 with a quick win.:BJack cannot
take the knight with either his b- or
d-pawns, since White would be able
8
to advance either his own b- or d
pawns. This would force an un-
stoppable passed pawn because the
6

black king is offside defending the

5 kingside and the bishop is still shut
4 out by the pawns

3 5 Nxf4

2 The other advantage that the player

with the better minor piece has is
that of deciding when to exchange.
a c d e t g h The recapture frees White's e-pawn
to advance and eventually White
gets a queen. The game concluded
White is effectively a pawn ahead on
the kingside and Black is hampered 5 ... exf4
because his central pawns are in the 6 g6 fJ
way of his bishop while White's are 7 Kgl Kf6
immune to attack. As in our last 8 e5+ dxe5
game, White plays to tie Black's 9 d6 e4
king to the defence of the queenside 10 d7
pawns. Black resigned.

I b5 aS In the earlier quoted game,

Karaklaic vs. Hall, mention was
Otherwise if 1 . axb5 2 axb5 White
. . made of White surrendering his ad
plays his knight via b4 to a6 and vantage of the two bishops. Why are
Black's king is forced to c8 leaving two bishops supposedly better than
White free to advance his king and two knights or than bishop and
pawn on the other side. knight in the majority of cases? A
 8 Cheu Excllllnaa

simple explanation is that when the direct attack with his long ranging
endgame is reached the firepower of bishops and will play to open up
two bishops is superior to that of a lines leading to the black king. Black
bishop and a knight. Let us look at has weakened White's pawns and
some examples of the two bishops in will have chances in an endgame of
action to see whether it is really that exploiting them. He has placed all
simple. his central pawns on black squares to
defend them. because of the absence
of his own dark squared bishop, and
PORTISCH vs. TIMMAN, to clear the white squares for his own
Wijk aan Zee, 1978 bishop. The pressure on White's
centre is designed to force him to
advance his d-pawn. With the centre
I d4 Nf6
closed, Black's slower moving but
2 c4 e6
highly manoeuvrable knights would
J NcJ Bb4
be more useful than the two
4 eJ cS
bishops. Portisch prefers to keep
5 BdJ Nc6
things fluid even at the cost of a
6 NfJ BxcJ+
pawn, reasoning that Black's poor
7 bxcJ d6
development and the open lines will
8 0-0 eS
give him compensation.

9 Nd2 cxd4
10 cxd4 exd4
II exd4 Nxd4
12 Rei+ Ne6
13 BaJ 0-0
14 NbJ Qd7
Black already has problems. His d
pawn was threatened, so he had to
make this artificial move to defend
it.

(see following diagram)

a c d e g h IS Re3
White avoids 15 Bxd6 Rd8 (not
The plans for both sides have been 15 ... Qxd6?? 16 Bxh7+ wins the
drawn up. White will be playing for a queen) 16 c5 Nxc5 and Black is
 9

a b c d e Q h

exchanging off to a won ending a White still has the two bishops and
pawn ahead. the more active game.

15 .. .
Qc6 22 Rd1 Rf'B
l3 BaJ Rd8
(White had the option Bc2 and Rd3)
Black's problem is that with his rook
16 Bxd6 Rd8
on this square he cannot move his
17 BeS Nd7
knight at d7 because of the reply
This retreat weakens Black's Bh7 + discovering an attack on the
kingside, but there was no other way rook. This leaves him few options,
to defend against Bxf6 breaking up so White repeats moves to gain time
the pawns. on the clock.

18 QhS h6 24 Bb2 Rf8

25 BaJ Rd8
The power of the bishops in the
26 BfS Nhf6
attack shows. If g6? 19 Qxh7+ and
27 Be7 Re8
20 Rh3+ forces mate.
28 Bxf6
19 Bb2
(see following diagram)
White allows Black to exchange
qut:ens in order to prt:serve his With Black's pieces all tied up,
precious bishops. White exchang:s off to a won end
19 ... Qxg2+ ing. Once again the side with the
20 Kxg2 Nf4+ better minor piece is able to decide
21 Kg1 NxhS when to make a favourable ex-
 10 Chess Excluulaa

here is a simjlar instructive example.

B
White succeeds even with the centre
closed.

PETROSIAN vs. IVKOV,

5 Nice Olympiad, 1974
4
1 d4 Nf6
3 2 c4 e6
2 3 Nc3 Bb4
4 e3 c5
5 Bd3 Nc6
o b c d e g h 6 Nf3 Bxc3+
7 bxc3
change. With open lines the bishops
have been able to switch attacks,
8
whereas the knights without pawn
protection have been unable to get 7
dose enough to White to pose any
6
problems.
5
28 . . . Nxf6
4
29 Rxe8+ Nxe8
30 Rd8 Kf8 3
31 Bxc8
2
Black resigned. As long-ranging
pieces that complement each other's
s4uare control, the two bishops co 0 b c d e g h
ordinate effectively on an open
board. A defence against one bishop This has become known as the
often creates weaknesses the other Hubner system. Black exchanges his
can exploit. dark squared bishop and saddles
Many openings feature an ex White with weak doubled c-pawns.
change of bishop for knight, for
7 .. d6
instance the Nimzo-lndian or Ruy
.

Lopez exchange variation. This is a Black places his own pawns on the
very wide topic and it would be dark squares in order to block the
difficult to cover all the examples of centre and give his own bishop
exchanging bishop for knight, but freedom of movement.
 Active and PIIIIIJve Pleca II

8 e4 e5 Black has been forced to weaken the

9 d5 Ne7 dark squares around his king.
10 Nd2 ,.J
16 0-0 Bd7
A useful move. The white knight is 17 Ne4 Nf6
not well placed on f3 and White 18 Ng5 Rae8
prepares to move it to a useful 19 rJ Ng7
square. 20 g4
10 ... 0-0 '
This is probably too soon. Blac 8
ought to consider castling queen
side; a good move would have been.
10 .. . h6 with the option of gaining 6
space on the kingside later with
5
. .. g5.
4
II Nfl Qa5
12 Bd2 Ne8
Black plays the opening in a straight 2
forward manner; simply aiming to
play . .. f5, but White is well placed
to meet this expansion by Black. a d e f g

13 Ng3 f5
All Black's pieces are tied up, so
14 e:d5 NxfS
Ivkov offers a queen exchange to
15 Qc2 g6
relieve the pressure.

20 ... Qa4
21 Qb3
So that if Black exchanges queens
White has a pawn roller on the
queenside with b4.

21 ... Rb8
22 Bel QaS
23 a4 Qc7
24 h3 a6
25 aS bS
26 axb6 e.p. Rxb6
a b c d e f g h 27 Qa3 Qd8
12 Chess Eschanaea

28 Qcl Qe7 . White's bishops were able to defend

29 Qel Rb2 the queenside wea pawns and the
30 Bd3 Bc8 b-file while simultaneously threat
31 Bel Rb3 ening Black's kingside. So, two
32 Bc2 Rb6 bishops can coordinate together
33 f4 very effectively. Here is another
hard-fought example showing how
the bishop's ability to complement
8 each others square control makes
them powerful attackers on the open
7
board.
6

5
UNZICKER vs. CZERNIAK,
4 Moscow, 1956
3

2 le4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Nc3 Nf6
4 d4 exd4
5 Nxd4 Bb4
I 6 Nxc6 bxc6
Now Black's pawn structure is shat-
7 Bd3 dS
tered, and lines are opened for the
8 exdS cxdS
bishops.

33 ". h6
34 fxe5 Qxe5 8
35 Qxe5 dxe5
7
36 Ne4 h5
37 Ba3 Nxe4 6
38 RxtlH KxfH
5
39 Bxe4 Rb3
40 Bxc5+ Kti 4

41 Rfl + 3

Black resigns. The danger of open- 2

ing up the position when the lb...J>ii.

opponent has the two bishops

(Black's 13 fS) is clearly seen.
. . . a b c d e g h
 Active and PIUilve Plec:a IJ

9 0-0 0-0 Still Nd4 was best. White's weak

10 BgS c6 ened queenside pawn structure will
11 QfJ Bd6 prove fatal.
12 Bxf6 Qxf6
16 ... cS
13 Qxf6 gxf6
1 7 Radl Rfd8
I

Not 17 . . . c418 bxc4d419 Bxh7+

8 18 f4 c4
19 bxc4 dxc4
20 Be4 BcS+
6 21 Khl Rab8
5 22 rs Rxdl
23 Rxdl Bd7
4
The exchanges initiated by 18 . . . c5
3
have left White with a doomed a
2 pawn.

l4 Nc3 Be8
25 g4 Bb4
26 NdS Kg7
27 Rd4
White clearly has the stronger pawn
lf 27 Nxb4 Rxb428 Rd8 Bxa429 Ra8
formation, yet Black has adequate
Rbl + 30 Kg2 Bxc2! wins.
compensation because his pawns
control central squares denying out 27 ... Bxa4
posts to the white knight, and the 28 Rxc4 BbS
two bishops have open lines. 29 Rc7 Bd6
30 Ra7 a4
14 Ne2 Be6
31 gS! fxgS
IS b3
32 f6+ Kf8
White overestimates his chances 33 Nc3 Be8
since he could have played 15 Nd4 c5 34 BdS
16 Nxe6 fxe6 recovering the two
bishops but straightening out (see following dwgram)
Black's pawns when chances would
34Nxa4?Rb4 35 Nc3 Rc4and White
still have been equal.
will be forced to move his knight
IS ... aS after Be5 when the white bishop is
16 a4?? lost.
 14 Cheu Exclaalqes

o b c d e f o h o b c d e f o h

J4 . . . Bc5 40 . . . g3!
35 Ra6 Rd8 41 Nxg3
Threat Bd4 Otherwise Rh2 mate.
36 Bc4 Bd4 41 . . . Bxf6
42 NfS Rd2
Preparing his next and thus stopp ing
43 Be4
Nxa4, e.g. 37 Nxa4? ReX 3X B b3?
Bc6+ 39 Rxc6 Rxc6 and Black wins 43 Nd6 Rxd5 44 Nxe8 Rd8
easily.
43 . . . Rd8
37 Ne4 Rc8 44 Ra6 Bb2
38 Bd5 45 Nd6 Bd7
46 Bxh7 Be6
(If 3H Bd3 Bc6 wins the f-pawn)
47 Nxr7 Rdl +
38 . . . Rxc2
If Kxf7, 48 Rxa4 with drawing
39 Ra8
chances.
(Not 39 Nxg5 Rei + and Rg l + )
48 Kg2 Bb3
39 . . . g4! 49 Nd6 a3
40 hJ SO NfS Bd5+
(Mate was threatened after Rei+ White still defends ingeniously if
and Rg l ) 50 . . . a2 5 1 Ra8+ Kf7 52 Bg8+ Kf6
 Active aod PIISSive Pieces 15

53 Bxb3 a 1 Q 54 Rxa 1 should draw U HLMANN vs. DARGA.

for White. Hastings. 1 959
51 KgJ Be5 +
52 Kfl a2 White has sacrificed a pawn for
53 NeJ Rd2+ development and has two active
54 Kel BcJ bishops trained against B lack's king.
55 Ndl Re2 + ! The rook, queen and night arc all
56 Kxel Bc4+ poised for attack. Black has only a
solitary knight on his kingside. He
and White resigned . I has just played 1 . . . Rd8 overlook-
Notice how the long-range mobil ing the resource 1 . . . Ba6!? 2 Oxa6
ity of the bishops allowed them to Nxe5 ! when he has exchanged a
switch from attack to defence , from
queenside piece for a kingside
kingside to queenside, at leisure,
attacker. His extra pawn and pros
while White's knight had to tele pects of blocking the d5 square
graph his intentions several moves
would then give compensation for
ah ead. The power of the centralized
the two bishops. White pressed on
bishops on an open board was par
his attack by first challenging the key
ticularly obvious at the cl osing stage
defensive piece with I Ng4 Nxg4
of the game. Here is another fine
(preserving the knight by Nd5 was
example of how effectively the two
safer).
bishops can attack on an open
board. 2 Qxg4 rs
3 Qh5 g6
4 Qh6 Qf8
5 QeJ Qf6
8 6 Bal Rd6
7 Qel Rad8
s d5 Qn
9 RadJ Ba6

(see following diagram)

Not 9 . . . exd5 10 Rxd5 Rxd5 II

Rxd5 Rxd5 1 2 Bxd5 Oxd5 13 QcM
mate, when the defenders are all
exchanged off or lured away from
a b c d e g the King's defence .

Cl-1
16 Chess Exchanaes

knights can be attacked from afar by

8
the bishops and cannot maintain a
thre at when they move . The knights'
gre at strength is manoeuvrability
rather than speed. Centralized
5 knights pose threats which can be
4 difficult to defend because every
move produces an attack on eight
3 fresh squares of a different colour.
2 Here is an example which illustrates
the chances of two knights against
two bishops.
o b c d e g h

LERNER vs. MAKARYCHEV,

10 dxe6 Qe7
USSR, 1982
1 1 Rxd6 Rxd6
12 Rxd6
I d4 Nf6
The final exchanges smash open the
2 NfJ e6
diagonals for the bishops and f<Jrce
3 BgS h6
Black to resign, e.g.
4 Bxf61 Qxf6
12 . . . Qxd6 5e4 d6
13 e7+ forces mate 6 Nc3 Nd7
7 dS
or
12 ... Bxe2
13 Kxc6 Ba6 8
14 Rc7 Qxc7
15 e7+ Bc4 7
16 e8=Q mate. 6
The two bishops we have seen can 5
be a useful attacking force. What 4
about the two knights? In practice
the knights fare badly because it is 3

difficult to bring about and maintain 2

the positi ons that fav our the knights.
Eventually exchanges occur opening
lines which favour the bishop. The 0 b c d e g h
 Ac:tlve and Pualve Pleca 17

The point of White's opening has The knight is challenged. The prob
been to get a lead in development lem with centralized knights is keep
and to exchange a kingside defender ing them there when they have no
for a queensi de one . This exchange outposts. Ideally they need squares
has not only given White early which cannot be attacked by the
attacking chances but also more opponent's pawns. i This usually
space in the centre. B lack has the means that the opnent's pawns
two bishops and the exchange of a have advanced too far or that the
minor piece has made it easier for pawns are backward or isolated so
him to develop his pieces in hi the knights can shelter in front of
slightly cramped position. The ad them. White carries on regardless.
vance of the d-pawn has two aims .

10 Ne6
Either Black will close the position
with e5 , which White hopes will Retreating the knight allows Black
favour his knights, or exchange of to play N f6 and the freeing d5 .
pawns will give attacking chances
10 . . . QaS+
because White keeps a central space
advantage and can use the d5 out Capturing the knight allows a mate
post immediately to effect. Black by Qh5 + .
should play 7 . . e5 when chances
1 1 b4
.

are equal . Qa3

12 Nec7+
7 . . . exdS
White has both knights en prise and
8 NxdS Qd8
also has to worry about Qc3+ . He
9 Nd4
may have done better to check with
White sees the possibility of playing the d-knight and to exchange off his
his next trappy move which maxi e-knight for the f-bishop. White
mizes the power of the centralized wanted to keep the defence of his b
knights but does not look at the pawn to try and trap Black's queen.
longer term problems. He had a 12 . . . Kd8
good alternative in 9 Qd4 hamper 13 Rbl
ing Black's development because
White's queen is not easily driven White is in no position to exchange
away. lf 9 . . . c6 the d-pawn is weak off his only developed pieces for an
ened , and 10 Ne3 restraining Black undeveloped rook especially as
from playing d5 gives White an Black still has Qc3 + in reserve.
edge.
13 . . . cxdS
9 . . . c6 14 Rb3 Qxb3
 18 Cheu Exchan1a

Best. After Oxa2 White has time to weakened queenside . In the final
take the rook and then return to position chances,are equal.
attacking the black queen which The decision to exchange minor
would be out of play. pieces when viewed strategically is
based on an assessment of the effec
IS axbJ Kxc7
tiveness of the pieces, i.e. their
16 QxdS
square control potential . The next
Although material is level roughly, game contains a number of instruc
Black probably stands better be tive points.
cause he has five pieces to White's
three. The game was eventually Candid ates Quarter Finals, Velden,
drawn. 1980, KORCHNOI vs. PETROS
Another example of the tactical IAN game 3
possibilities of two centralized
knights is the opening sequence . 1 c4 c6
2 NfJ dS
I e4 eS
J eJ Nf6
2 NfJ Nc6
4 NcJ e6
J Bc4 Nf6
s bJ Nbd7
4 d4 exd4
6 Bb2 Be7
s 0-0 ReS
7 d4 0-0
6 eS dS
8 BdJ b6
7 exf6 dxc4
9 0-0 Bb7
8 Rei + Be6
10 Qe2 Qc7
9 NgS QdS
II Rac l Rad8
10 NcJ QfS
12 cxdS exdS
II g4 Qxf6
13 a3 Qb8
12 NdS Qd8
14 Rfd 1 Bd6
IJ Rxe6+ fxe6
IS b4 Rfe8
14 Nxe6 Qd7
16 Qc2 Re7
IS Bh6
17 Ne2 a6
White's knights are self-supporting 18 NgJ
and it is difficult for Black to get out
of the straightjacket imposed by the (see following diagram)
threatened knight forks on king and
queen. Playing to capture the a-rook The opening has proceeded quietly
would cost too much time and Black and chances are level . White's last
would usc his central control as the move threatened to play Nf5 ex
basis of an attack against White's changing off Black's good bishop.
 Active and Pulive Pieca 19

The additional point is that White The exchange of bishop for knight is
wants to prepare e4 opening lines possible because B lack's white
which in the long term is the only squared bishop is bad and White
way to improve his chances. succeeds in removing a kingside de
fender. This strategy is only good if
18 . . . g6
White can follow up by using his
19 Rei Rde8
remaining pieces to attack .
Both players are fighting for control
22 Ndl BxgJ
of the e4 square so Korchnoi's
logical choice here is N d2 with the Clearly . . . f5 would be weakening,
idea Ngf l , f3 an d then e4. Petrosian but Nf6 (perhaps with h5 and h4 to
has stopped Nf5 but in doing so has follow) , was probably better.
weakened the dark squares around Black's advanced pawn should give
his king. This gives Korchnoi ideas him the better chances provided he
of an attack based on opening the neutralizes White's coming attack.
a l -M diagonal for his dark square Therefore, it would be wiser to keep
bishop. the bishop to defend the black
squares.
20 Re2!? Ne4
Petrosian accepts the challenge to 23 hxgJ Nf6
seize the outpost and keep White 24 dS!
blockaded.
An outstanding move . White gives
21 Bxe4 dxe4 up a pawn and invites Black onto the
lO Cheu Exchanaes

superb outpost at d5 with his knight. 27 Rcdl Kg7

The reason is to open the diagonal 28 Bd4 Bc8
for the bishop because the players 28 Qb2 h5
have bishops of opposite colours.
The importance of this is that the White's centralized bishop is causing
white square black bishop is power problems on both sides of the board.
less to defend the black squares, so Black's pieces are passively placed
White effectively has an extra piece and have little prospect of counter
for attack . The added disadvantage play in the centre or on the queen
for Black is that his bishop is bad, so side. Creating a diversion on the
he cannot start a counter-attack on kingside is Black's only chance: he
the white squares. Petrosian recog delays this and makes some weaken
nized White's chances and he of ing moves on his queenside in
fered a draw after his next move. mutual time trouble.

JO a4 b5
31 Na5 bxa4
32 Bc5

Notice how White's control of the

dark squares makes it difficult for
Black to advance his pawns, which
keep the white square bishop im
prisoned on Black's rear ranks for
the rest of the game .

32 ... Bd7
33 Nc4 Kh6
34 Rat g5
35 Rxa4 Kg6
24 ... Nxd5
(see following diagram)
If Black had not exchanged his
bishop on move 22 he could have
36 Qc2
brought it to c5 to defend the diag
onal .
White avoids Rxa6 which would be a
25 Nc4 Re6 mistake because of 36 . . . Qb5 37
26 Rd2 f6 Ra7 Qxc4 and Black has succeeded
 Active IUICl Pllllive Pieces ll

6
5
4

a b c d e g h

in exchanging a lousy bishop for a 41 NaS Re6

well-placed knight. 42 Qbl Qf8
36 . . . Bc8
Petrosian has defende d accurately
37 NaS Qc7
after the adjournment. Despite his
38 Nb3 rs
passive position he still has his extra
39 Bd4 R6e7
pawn. White plays to recover the
40 Bal Qd6
pawn by a one move deep sacrifice .
The time scramble is over and White The complications go much further
has to adjourn. Black is ready to and B lack finds an equalizing line .
advance his h-pawn and if White
captures Black will double rooks on 43 Nxc6 Nb6!
the h-file. The weakness in this plan 44 Nd8 Nxa4
is that further dark square weak
nesses appear around Black's king, (see following diagram)
particularly at f4 when the pawns are
exchanged. This square would make Black cannot capture by 44 . . Rxd
.

a nice outpost for White's knight to because after 45 Rxd8 B lack's queen
enter the attack via d4 and c2. Per is needed to defend h8 and g7
haps White's best move here is Ra5. against the penetration by White's
From here the rook can move to c5 queen and the alternative 45 . . .
with attacking ideas against both Nxa4 46 Qd4 would be crushing for
sides of the board. White for the same reason .
 22 Chess Exchan11es

48 Rxc8 Rb6
49 BcJ aS
50 Rg8+ Kh6

White dare not open the file allow

ing Rbl + .

5 1 Rh8+
Draw agreed.
White will win B lack's pawn if the
king tries to escape. Even if White
has to lose his bishop B lack will be
unable to force a win with rook and
knight versus rook .
Our last game has introduced two
45 Nxe6 Rxe6 new ideas. The first point is that a
Black is careful to avoid lines which material advantage is not always
leave him in an ending with a bad enough to win . Most endgame
bishop. He wants to preserve his books will give examples of this and
knight so 45 Nxb2 exchanging
. . . special exceptions, e.g. two knights
queens would be wrung. Trying to are unable to force mate on their
activate his bishop by 45 . . B xe6
. own , but if the opponent has a pawn
would lose to the t actical play on the this is sometimes possible . Before
weak squares around his king after exchanging pieces into an ending the
46 QeS with Rd6 to follow and Black stronger player needs to ensure he
is losing. Recapturing with the rook can actually win it. Usually it is
helps defend the king. necessary to queen a pawn unless a
player already has an overwhelming
46 Rd8
material advantage. A single minor
Not quite enough . The fork on piece advantage will only suffice if it
queen and bishop (the queen cannot can be used to force home a passed
move without allowing mate) forces pawn.
a queen exchange and recovers the The second point that emerged
lost piece , but Black keeps an active was that bishops which operate on
knight instead of a useless bishop. opposite colour squares cannot
46 . . . Nxb2 oppose each other. In the endgame
47 Rxf8 NdJ this introduces drawing chances be-
 Active and P1111l11 ve Pieces ZJ

cause the stronger player is unable

to force the exchange of bishops.
The weaker player can then use the
bishop to control the opposite
colour squares to prevent pawns
advancing. In the mi ddlegame
whichever player can start an attack
has excellent chances of success be
cause of the difficulties of defending
the colour complex of squares of th e
opposing bishop.
The next game is a fine illustration.
of the attack possibilities and de
fence difficulties in an attacking
game with bishops of opposite
colour.
Both players have attacking chances
with the kings castled on opposite
HULAK vs. SPASSKY. sides
Toluca Interzonal, 1982
18 Nr5 Bxr5

1 d4 Nf6 Black j udges that this relatively

2 c4 e6 passive bishop is of little use as an
J NcJ d5 attacker or defender in the short
4 Bg5 Be7 term. With attacks on opposite
5 cxd5 exd5 flanks an early decision is likely and
6 eJ 0-0 there is no role for passengers. The
7 BdJ Nbd7 white knight had obvious aggressive
8 Qc2 ReS intentions not least against the black
9 Nge2 c6 square bishop which Black needs to
10 hJ Nf8 exploit the weak nesses around
II 0-0-0 aS White's king.
12 Kbl b5
19 gxrs
13 g4 a4
14 NgJ aJ White has succeeded in opening the
15 b3 Qa5 g-file and winning the two bishops,
16 Rhgl Kh8 but Black is further advanced with
17 Nce2 Bd7 his attack because he has weak-
ca-a
14

ncsscs to attack and he can open a queen exchange may have been
lines. safer.
19 0 0 0 Rac8 23 . . . Bd6
20 Nr4 N8d7 24 NxdS Na4
21 Qe2 cS
The point of Black's play. Black not
22 dxcS NxcS
only cuts off the white king's escape
23 Bd6?
via the c-file but also threatens
Nc3+ winning White's queen if the
knight at d5 moves. White dare not
capture the knight opening up the b
file
25 Rei Nc3 +
26 NxcJ
Much better is the sacrificial Rxc3
and after the recapture White gets f6
in with counterplay.
26 .
. . RxcJ
The black square weaknesses show
0 c d e hI clearly now. White dare not capture
the rook because Black's queen
penetrates to a l with deadly effect .
White may have been worried about
27 Rgd l Qb4
the prospect of a knight reaching c3
28 Bc2
via e4, or he may have felt that his
bishop was achieving little on the 28 . . Rxb3+ was a real threat.
.

kingside and could not retreat be-

28 . . RcxeJ!
.

cause of its own pawns being in the

way. and therefore he decided on Black clears the way for Qc3 win
the exchange . Additionally. White ning a pawn in the process.
saw the opportunity to win a pawn
apparently with gain of tempo by 29 Qd2 RcJ
threatening to capture Black's Obviously Black avoids q ueen ex
bishop. The disadvantage of Black's changes while he is attacking.
bishop conquering the a l -hX diag
onal with no fear of being challenged 30 Rei Rxel
outweighs all these factors. Offering 31 Qxel
 Active and Pualve Pieces 15

The black square grip held to the

end once White had exchanged off
his bishop. Notice how passive
White's bishop was. B lack's bishop
at f6 blockading the f-pawn shut
White's bishop out iof the attack
while breathing t l\e proverbial
dragon fire of bishops on a long
diagonal.
Our survey of minor piece ex
changes has shown that identifying
1,2;;:::;:;2:;;;;:!!!!22;;:;;!!;;=.1
the activity of the remaining pieces
o b e d e f h and their potential for square con
trol is an important aspect of chess
strategy and planning. We have
31 . . . h6 touched on a number of other con
32 Rd l Kh7 cepts: exchanging to avoid loss of
33 Qe2 Rxh3 tempo, exchanging to open lines,
34 Qel QcS exchanging to remove a key de
35 Kcl Rxb3 fender or attacker. In the next chap
36 axb3 a2 ter we examine these i deas in further
White resigned. detail.
 2

Types of Exchanges

In order to start thinking about the

exchanges during a game, play
through the following two games
without notes; try to decide who the
exchanges favoured.

Gamel

I d4 Nf6
2 NfJ c5
3 d5 d6
4 c4 g6
0 b c d e g h
5 Nc3 8g7
6 e4 0-0
7 8e2 e6 15 Bf4 Ne8
8 0-0 exd5 16 8h6 Ng7
9 exd5 Ne8 17 Radl Na6
10 Rei 18 Rd3 r5
8g4
II Ng5 19 Ng5 Nc7
20 Qe7 Qxe7
21 Rxe7 Nce8
(Jee following diugrum)
22 Rh3 f4
23 Bxg7 Nxg7
II ... 8xc3 24 Rxh7 Nf5
12 bxc3 8xe2 25 Re6 Rfe8
13 Qxe2 Ng7 26 Rxg6 + Kf8
14 Ne4 f6 27 Rf7 mate.
 Types of ExcbaJI&a 17

Game 2 Comments
1 e4 cS
2 Nf'J d6 Gamel
J d4 cxd4
This was a game between CAP A
4 Nxd4 Nf6
BLANCA and M IE:iES. Black's
5 NcJ g6
1 1 th move was an e Nor of j udge
6 Bel Bg7
ment. The doubled whi te pawns were
7 0 a6
irrelevant because Black had no
8 Bc4 bS
time to develop counterplay against
9 BbJ Bb7
them. Once he exchanges his fian
10 Qd2 Nbd7
chettoed bishop he not only loses
11 0-0-0 NcS
control over key squares around his
12 Kb l NxbJ
king but he is left with undeveloped
13 cxbJ 0-0
pieces which have no active squares.
14 Bh6
Notice also that the exchange of
queens increases rather than de
creases White's attack. Why? Be
cause it removes a dark square de
fender and gains a tempo for the
entry of the rook.

Game 2
5
4 This was a game between LITTLE
WOOD and BOTVINNIK. Why
3 did B lack spend two moves develop
2 ing his queen's knight to exchange it
for White's king's bishop? It wins
the 'two bishops' and doubles White's
a c d e f Q h pawns. White's bishop was a useful
defender and further the bishop con
trolled d5. White's control of d5
14 ... Bxh6
stops Black from freeing his game by
15 Qxh6 b4
. . . d5. Black's plan is to free h imself
16 eS Nd7
eventually by playing . . . d5 by ob
17 h4 bxcJ
taining control of the d5 square with
18 hS dxeS
... b4.
19 hxg6 Nf6
As in Game I, Black exchanges
and Black went on to win . off his fianchettoed bishop leaving
 l8 Chess Exchanaea

his kingsidc dark squares vulnerable a gainst Pytel from the 1 974 N ice
to penetration by the enemy pieces. Olympiad.
Black cannot avoid the exchange of
I e4 e5
dark squared bishops so he ex
2 f4 Nf6
changes himself to deflect White's
3 Nf3 exf4
queen. White decides to sacrifice on
4 Nc3 d5
move 16 because 16 Nce2 e5 was not
5 exd5 Nxd5
promising nor was 16 Na4 but inter
6 Bc4
esting was 16 Nd5 and if 16 . . . Nxd5
17 exd5 Bxd5 1 8 Nf5 gxf5 1 9 RxdS e6 The opening pawn exchanges have
20 Rxd6 Qxd6 21 Og5 + with a created open lines and an asym
perpetual check. After White's 17th metrical pawn structure. Con
move it seems all over for Black sequently this is a game where there
because of the forcing sequence will be a dynamic equilibrium not a
played, but if White plays 20 NfS static equilibrium.
Black has the resource 20 . . . c2+
6 ... Be6
which forces 21 Kxc2 when 21 . . .
7 Qe2 Be7
Oc!H wins the knight and the game .
8 d4 c6
An interesting alternative on move
9 0-0 0-0
17 was 17 exd6 with the idea 1HNf5
10 Nxd5
gxfS 19 OgS + and 20 dxe7. How
ever. Black can spoil this with Why docs White exchange on dS?
17 . . . eS. If these two games 'are The primary reason is to recover his
unfamiliar you may well feel that a pawn by recapturing on f4, but he
few simple guidelines are not going also wants to saddle B lack with a
to make you a grandmaster. There is weak pawn on d5.
no easy formula, not everyone can
10 . . . cxd5
be a Capablanca or a Botvinnik. But
the first small step to mastery is Black could have recaptured with
understanding. This chapter seeks the bishop but after 1 1 Bxd5 cxdS his
to illustrate the facets of exchanging pawn on d5 is weak .
as they occur in real games rather
I I Bd3 Nc6
than in composed settings. The con
12 Bxf4 Nb4
sequence of the decisions taken can
thus be appreciated in context . (see following diagram)
Let us continue our exploration
with another former worl d cham Black is threatening to exchange off
pion - Boris Spassky in his game White's king's bishop.
 Types ot Exchanaes l9

weaknesses that remain. It is gener

ally appreciated that when ahead in
material it pays to exchange pieces.
The same is true of an advantage of a
structural nature. The fewer the
pieces, the fewer the iresources and
opportunities for distraction or
counterplay. White's' advantage is
now clear.
22 . . . ReS
23 QfJ g6
24 h3 Kg7
25 BxdS BxdS
26 RxdS
White went on to win the ending.
13 BbS
This example showed White avoid
Spassky decides to preserve his ing an exchange to retain a good
king's bishop, for he can use it later piece and seeking exchanges to
on the kingside. This is the correct leave the opponent with a bad piece.
decision despite the time taken to A good example of various ex
redeploy the bishop. changes is the next game RUBIN
STEIN vs. MARSHALL, 1922.
13 ... a6
14 Ba4 bS
1 d4 dS
IS Bb3 Nc6
2 NO c5
16 c3 b4
3 c4 e6
17 Rfe1 bxc3
4 cxdS exdS
18 bxc3 Ra7
5 Nc3 . Nc6
19 Qd3 Bf6
6 g3 Nf6
20 NeS NxeS
7 Bg2 cxd4
21 BxeS BxeS
8 Nxd4 BcS
22 RxeS
9 Nb3 Bb4
Black has not been able to avoid 10 0-0 Bxc3
exchanges which have left him weak 11 bxc3 0-0
on the dark squares and his d-pawn 12 BgS Be6
is now doomed. The exchange of 13 NcS Qe7
pieces has served to emphasize the 14 Nxe6 fxe6
 30 Chess Exchanges

8
7
6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

0 c d e g h 0 c d e f g h

White has won the two bishops but provided that the remaining pieces
has a weak c-pawn. It is hard to see can exploit them.
how White can make progress. Because exchanges involve cap
tures they are usually forced on one
15 c4!
side. If he does not recapture he will
eliminating his weak pawn. have lost material and if he has no
compensation positionally he will
15 0 dxc4
simply be outnumbered by the op
16 Bxc6 bxc6
ponent's pieces. Further exchanges
17 Qd4 Qd8
will increase the significance of the
18 Hxf6 Rxf6
material advantage since the odds in
19 Qxc4
favour of the strong side get better as
(see following diagram) numbers reduce.
White has given up his coveted Because of the forcing nature of
bishops to reach a position where captures they can be used to draw
Black is tied down to defending his pieces out of position , away from
pawn weaknesses and has no chance defence or to squares where they are
of attacking on the kingside which vulnerable to attack by pins , forks,
might have been the case with minor etc. Consequently the implications
pieces present . White went on to win of an exchange must be considered
the ending. Again in this example for both tactical and strategical
exchanges lead to a position with no reasons. We shall meet many
counterplay. Simplification is the examples in the next few pages, but
easiest way to highlight weaknesses. here is an introductory game.
 Types or Exchanaes 31

BIELCZYK vs. STEMPE N , 8 Bxd7

Polanica Zdroj , 1982 9 f4 h6
10 Bh4 Be7
11 QfJ 0-0
1 e4 cS
12 0-0-0
2 NO d6
3 d4 cxd4 Clearly announcing His intention of
4 Nxd4 Nf6 playing a kingside att pck.
5 NcJ e6
12 ... bS
6 BbS + Nbd7
13 aJ Qb8
7 BgS a6
14 Rhe1 aS
8 Bxd7+
15 eS dxeS
16 fxeS NdS

5
4 5

3 4

2 3
2

o b c d e g h
o b c d e f g h

After 8 . . Bxd7.
.

17 NxdS Bxh4
This exchange relinquishes the two The pawn exchanges drove Black's
bishops to save a tempo and because knight away from the kingside , and
Black's bishops will be passive in the the knight capture forced the bishop
short term. White hopes to launch capture, otherwise Black would
an early attack in which his central have lost his bishop without com
ized knights will play a useful role. If pensation . Black has two bishops
Black repulses the attack and opens against two knights and there are a
up the position for his bishops, lot of open lines, but White's pieces
White may be in trouble. are centralized and Black's kingside
32 Chess Exchanses

is defenceless. Notice how many The exchanges have weakened

squares arc covered by White's Black's kingside and left him with all
knights. He cannot maintain them his pieces on the queenside.
indefinitely in the centre so he must
24 Qh5 Kh7
press home his attack urgently. He
25 g4 Qf4
docs this by exploiting the misplace
26 gS fxg5
ment of Black's pieces.
27 Rfl Qe5
18 Qg4! Bg5 + 28 b3
Winning the exchange by Bxe l Black has no good square for the
would be a mistake, because White bishop. It will either interfere with
has Nf6+ and Nxd7 to follow. the rooks' defence of each other or
be vulnerable to capture from
19 Kbl b4
White's rook or knight.
Obviously capturing on d5 allows
28 . . . Be8
Qxd7 and White can follow up with
29 hxg5 Qxg5
Nf5 or e6.
30 QfJ Bd7
20 a4 Bxa4 31 Rg l Qd5
21 Nf6+ 32 Qf6 Rg8
33 Qxf7+ Kh8
8 34 Rh l QgS
35 Qxd7
Black resigned. We now move onto
6 exchanges to force home attacks.
5
4 JANOWSKI vs. CHAJES,
3 New York, 1916

2
White can draw by perpetual
check if he wishes; but how to win?
a b c d e t g h His problem is to find a way to get
his queenside pieces into the game.
21 . . . Kh8 Black has two key defensive pieces.
The bishop on f6 defends g7, and the
Black loses quickly after gxf6 22 h4.
knight on c5 stops the white rook
22 h4 Bxf6 from invading on d7. White solved
23 exf6 gxf6 the problem by exchanging off one
 Type1 of Exc:ban1a

8 8

6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

0 g 0 g

of the defending pieces. 1 Nd7 Nxd7 So B lack was compelled to play.

2 Rxd7 Bc6 3 Ne4 the winning move 1 . . . Qxf6 2 exf6 and White has a
if now 3 . . . Bxe4 4 Qxf6 Rg8 5 Rcc7 decisive advantage. He still has his
is decisive or 3 . . . Bxd7 4 Nxf6+ kingside play, but now Black has no
wins. So Black went down instead counterplay on the queenside . A
with 3 . . . Bxb2 4 NgS+ Kh6 5 g4 g6 clever way to force the key queen
6 h4 Rh8 7 Qh7 + and mate next exchange.
move.

GELLER vs. STEAN ,

BRUZZI vs. TAYLOR,
Middlesbrough, 1 975
Barnstaple, 197 1

1 NO cS
In this example White has a strong
2 c4 g6
kingside initiative but Black would
3 d4 cxd4
have strong counterplay if he was
4 Nxd4 Nc6
allowed to play . . . Be8 followed by
S e4 Nf6
. . . Qa3, so White struck immediate
6 Nc3 d6
ly with 1 Qf6 ; now Black has few
7 Bel Nxd4
options.
8 Qxd4 Bg7
(a) I . . . gxf6 2 Nh7 mate 9 BgS Be6
(b) 1 . . . Kf8 2 Nxe6+ and wins 10 Re i QaS
(c) I . . . Nc6 2 Bh7+ Kt11 3 Nxe6+ 11 Qd2 ReS
wins 12 0
J4 Chell Excbaoaa

This exchange sacrifice leaves the

8
black king defenceless.
IS ... Rxc4
6 16 QxdS Ra4
5 17 BbS+ Kf'B
18 Rei 1-0
4
Black resigned because after IS . . .
3
Bd4+ 1 9 Qxd4 Rxd4 20 Bh6+ he is
2 mated. In this game White sacrificed
the exchange to gain control of the
queenside light squares and to
0 c d e Q h attack the black king.

Stcan has been playing very actively

and has tried to provoke White into
weakening himself with b3 when
Bl m:k can play . . . b5 . If Black now
castled he would stand worse a fter
13 Nd5 so he decides to grab a pawn
instead .
12 . . . Bxc4
13 NdS
Now Black cannot e xchange 4ueens
heca use of the pin of his bishop on
c4.
This position is from Spassky vs.
13 . . . Qxa2
Averkin, I 973, USSR Champion
14 0-0
ship.
Black is in a bad way; he cannot Black's knight is attacked. He has
castle because of N xe7 + and his two alternatives I . . . Nfd5 and I . ..

4 wen is badly placed. Nd7; I . . Nfd5 2 N xd5 exd5 is

.

slightly awkward for Black because

14 . . . NxdS
of t he pin on his knight and I . Nd7
. .

White now has a surprise . looks playable . Averkin chose

IS Rxc4 I ... Nd7
 Typa or Eac:ban&s 35

and after 12 Rn DeS

13 Qc8 Kg7
2 Naxb5 Nxe5
14 Qxe8 Bf6
J Bf4 NedJ
15 Ne4 e5
4 BxdJ NxdJ
16 Nxf6
5 RxdJ Bxb5
6 RgJ Black resigned. C4uld B lac k do
better? In the initial position he
the following position arose
could have played a promising ex
change sacrifice 1 . . . Rxc3 2 Qxc3
NfdS 3 Qd2 Nxe3 and Black will pick
up the a2 pawn with a good game.
Knowing which piece to exchange
in order to break through is a vital
skill as the following example shows.

o b c d e Q h 6
5
The exchanges have removed 4
Black's defenders on the kingside
and White's rook has joined the 3
queen and bishop in the attack. The 2
significance of this change had not
been appreciated by Black . Black
clearly is in a bad way now since o b c d e Q h
6 . . Ra8 is strongly answered by 7
.

QeS. After the game continuation

6 .
. . Rb6 ALEKHINE vs. CHAJES ,
7 Bc7 Rxc7 Carlsbad, 1923
8 Qe5 g6
9 Qxc7 Bh4
10 RfJ BeH White's only hope of penetrating
II Rxt7 Bxt7 Black's position is via the kingside
J6

along the h-file. This means he has 8 QxeS

to exchange bishops and the ex 9 fxeS 'Ka8
change has to be made immediately 10 Rg8 b4
otherwise Black's queen 's rook joins II Rhh8 Ree8
the defence. Comparing the activity 12 axb4 Ka7
for square control it might seem IJ KcJ Ka6
surprising at first sight that White 14 Nl7 Ra8
would even consider exchanging, IS Nd6 Reb8
but this is a good example of which 16 Rhl 1-0
squares not how many. The h-file is
the only way to make progress and Black has no defence to 1 7 Ra I.
though Black's bishop is little more Although it may be stating the
than a pawn in effectiveness it must obvious to say that once a piece is
be exchanged. exchanged it no longer exists and
that all its previous efforts disappear
I BhS Ra8 with it , the significance of this re
2 Bxg6 hxg6 mark lies in the possible loss of
J Kh7 Kae8 tempo involved when exchanging.
4 NeS Nf8 All the moves made by that piece
may be wasted if it is exchanged;
If Black had exchanged off White's moves that could have been used for
well-placed knight with 4 . . . Nxe5 developing or improving the pos
then after 5 fxe5 the white queen ition of other pieces. The import
would penetrate to g5 and later f6. ance of not losing tempo by ex
S Rh8
changes was one of the major con
tributions to chess theory from nine
White retains his rook rather than teenth-century players like An
exchanging here, since his rook is derssen and Morphy. In the London
much better than the corresponding 185 1 International tournament An
black one . derssen demonstrated this idea very
effectively against Wyville.
S Rg7
6 NrJ Rb8 I e4 cS
7 NgS Re7 2 Bc4 Nc6
8 QeS J NcJ e6
4 dJ NeS
White exchanges the queens since 5 Bf4
the black q ueen is a useful defensive
piece. White allows Black to win the two
 Types or Euhanaes 37

bishops because Black has to ex

change off his only developed piece 8
and White gets additional compen 7
sation in the form of an half-open
6
file and a grip on d5.
5
5 ... Nxc4 4
6 dxc4 a6
7 Qe2 Ne7 3
8 0-0-0 Ng6 2
9 Bg3

White could have defended hi s a b c d e g h

bishop by developing his knight (9
Nh3) but he wishes to preserve the
bishop for several reasons; Black is White has a big lead in development
still cramped and his knight on g6 is a and now strikes.
potential target for a white pawn
advance f4-f5. B lack has weak dark 17 Bc7 Qe7
squares in his position, notably d6, Black's only chance was to sur
and thus White's dark squared render two exchanges by 1 7 . . .
bishop is a powerful piece . Rxe4 1 8 Qxe4 Qxc7 1 9 Qxa8 though
White should win easily.
9 ... Be7
10 r4 0-0 18 Nxr6+ Qxr6
11 rs BgS+ 1 9 Rd6 Ne6
12 Kb1 exrs 19 . . Qe7 20 f6 wins. Now An
.

13 exrs ReB derssen finishes off in style.

14 Qg4 Nf8
IS ND ur6 20 rxe6 dxe6
16 Ne4 21 Rhd 1 Bb7
22 Rd7 Bc6
White wishes to exchan ge Black's 23 BeS BxD
dark squared bishop which will 24 Qg3 Qg6
enable White to invade on the dark 25 QxD bxc4
squares. 26 Qxa8 Rxa8
27 Rd8+ Rxd8
16 . . . bS 28 Rxd8 mate.
J8 Chess Exchanges

Nowadays few people as Black 7 Bxf7+ Kxf7

would play the following opening 8 Qh5+ g6
sequence 9 Qxc5
le4 e5
2 d4 exd4
3 c3 Bc5
4 cxd4 Bb4+
5 Bd2 Bxd2+
6 Nxd2
Black has moved his bishop three
times and then exchanged it for a
piece which has moved only once
and which was recaptured with a
developing move. Morphy was par
ticularly adept at punishing this type
of opening error.

MEEK vs. MORPHY Superficially White has done well

Mobile, 1 855 stopping Black from castling and
weakening his king position . Yet all
I e4 e5
White has achieved is the loss of all
2 NfJ Nc6
his developed pieces. Black is not
3 d4 exd4
only ahead in development, but his
This pawn exchange does not lose a next move gains a tempo by attack
tempo because White has to recap ing the white queen.
ture with an already developed
9 . . . d6
piece. If. however, White played
10 Qb5 ReS
N xd4 then 4 . . . N xd4 would not be
I I Qb3+ 0-0
good since White could then
develop his queen which would be in 1 1 0-0 was essential.
a strong central position and not
II ... d5
easily dislodged.
12 fJ Na5
4 Bc4 Bc5 13 Qd3 dxe4
5 Ng5 Nh6 14 fxe4 Qh4+
6 Nxf7 Nxf7 15 g3 Rxe4+
 Types of Exchnaes 39

This is better than Qxe4+ which

would allow White to exchange
queens and Black would have in
sufficient material to force an early
win.
5
16 Kf2 Qe7
4
17 Nd2 Re3
18 QbS c6 3
19 Qfl 2

The white queen is tied to the de-

fence of e2.

a b c d e g h

19 . . . Bh3
20 Qd l Rf8 ALEKHINE vs. MARSHALL.
21 NfJ Ke8 St Petersburg, 1 9 1 4

and White resigned.

A t first glance the game i s level .
Here is a much later game be
indeed Black might even consider he
tween Alekhine and Marshall where
has isolated White's q ueen's pawn
exchanges lead to Black being
and threatens to take White 's knight
drastically behind in development.
and consequently double White's
pawns. The significant feature of the
game , however, is White's lead in
l e4 eS
development because his rooks can
2 NfJ Nf6
enter the game and win material
3 NxeS d6
with a direct attack.
4 Nf3 Nxe4
s d4 dS 14 Rhel + Kd8
6 Bd3 Bd6 I S Be4
7 c4 Bb4+
White exchanges off Black's only
8 Nbd2 Nxd2
developed piece.
9 Bxd2 Qe7 +
10 Qe2 Qxe2+ 15 ... Bxe4
II Kxe2 Bxd2 16 Rxe4 Re8
12 Kxd2 Be6 17 Rael Rxe4
13 cxdS BxdS 18 Rxe4 Nc6
40 Chess Exc:hanses

19 Rg4 g6 I d4 Nf6
20 Rh4 Ke7 2 c4 e6
21 Rxh7 3 NfJ Ne4
A dubious move .
and White went on to win later by
sacrificing his extra pawn for an 4 Nfd2 Bb4
attack. If Black had tried 20 . . h5
. S Qc2 dS
then White still could have won a 6 Nc3 rs
pawn by 21 g4 followed by gxh5. 7 Ndxe4 fxe4
Here is another game between 8 Bf4 0-0
Alekhinc and Marshall where Black 9 e3 c6
again loses a tempo in the opening. 10 Be2 Nd7
He follows this up by playing to 1 1 a3 Be7
exchange White's strong bishop 12 0-0 Bg5
losing further time and tht:n even a Now Alekhine takes advantage of
4uecn exchange is insufficient to his lead in development and opens
slop Alekhine winning. up the centre.
13 f3 Bxf4
14 exf4 Rxf4
IS fxe4 Rxfl +
16 Rxn e5
ALEKHINE vs. MARSHALL, 17 Qd2 cS
'
New York, 1927 18 dxe5 d4
19 Qf4
This piece sacrifice is j ustified by
Black's undeveloped queenside
8
pieces.
19 dxc3
6 20 Qt7+ Kh8
21 bxc3 Qg8
5
22 Qe7 h6
4 23 Bh5 aS
24 e6 g6
25 exd7 Bxd7
2 Black resigns.
26 Rt7
By now we have a fair understanding
g h of the factors to consider before
 Type of EIIChan&es 41

taking a decision concerning ex The desperado combination 15

changes. Exchanging off an enemy Nxe5 dxe5 16 Qxh5 exd4 is also bad
piece exchanges square control . for White.
Sometimes exchanges can lead to
IS . . . axbS
one side having a decisive advantage
16 Nc3 b4.
in development or an advantage in
17 Nbl NN
one sector of the board . If there is a '

weakness in a position which is The first fruits of Bla ck's strategy.

guarded by a defender then
18 Nbd2 exd4
eliminating that defender allows thI
1 9 Nxd4 NeS
weakness to be exploited. If there is
a weakness it can be attacked by The second black knight takes up a
removing its defenders or potential post on the central dark squares.
defender. Consider the next pos
20 N2f3 Qf6
ition from a game Karpov vs. Tuk
21 NxeS dxeS
makov. Leningrad Interzonal , 1 973.
22 NfS
The alternatives 22 Nf3 and 22 Ne2
are both well met by 22 . . . RdM.
22 . . . BxfS
23 exfS Rad8
5 24 QO

4
8
3
2

5
a c d e
4
Black sees that in this position White
3
has little control over the central
dark squares. He plans to exchange 2
off the white queen's bishop and
gain control of these dark squares.
a b c d e f g h
13 . . . NhS
14 Bxe7 Qxe7 We have already looked at piece
IS cxbS exchanges as exchange of uare
42 Chess Exchan&a

controllers. The most extreme case The next game brings together
of a sacrificial exchange is where a several themes that we have looked
whole piece is given up apparently at. Exchanging your opponent's
for nothing. If White had played 24 developed pieces increases the rela
Oc2 Black could have replied tive effectiveness of your remaining
. . . Rd2! since after 25 Oxd2 Og5 developed pieces. Weaknesses can
Black threatens mate and a dis be attacked by exchanging their de
covered check winning the queen. fenders. The following game also
shows the effectiveness of deflection
24 . . . Rd2
sacrifices.
25 ReJ
White's game is very difficult . Black
has been able to penetrate his pieces SMYSLOV vs. KOTTNAUER,
into the white position via the dark Groningen, 1946
squares. Black's trump is his
strongly posted knight which is
I e4 cS
superior to White's bishop. White's
2 Nf3 d6
best chance is to sacrifice one of his
J d4 cxd4
rooks for the black knight.
4 Nxd4 Nr6
25 ... Rxb2 5 NcJ a6
26 Rae l ReS 6 Be2 e6
27 Re4 Nd5 7 0-0 bS
28 QgJ NcJ 8 Bf3
29 Rxb4 Ne2 +
White now has the threat of e5. Note
JO Rxe2 Rxe2
the light square weaknesses on
Jl Rb7
Black's queenside particularly the c6
White had good chances after 3 1 square. The c6 square is weak be
Og6 of complicating the issue. cause it is unguarded by pawns and
could be occupied later by the white
Jl . . . Re7
pieces.
32 Rb8+ Kh7
JJ Kfl Rd2 8 .. . Ra7
0- 1
8 . . . Bb7 is bad because of 9 e5.
Wnitc could have regained the ex
9 Qe2
change if Black had played 33 . . .
Re4 by 34 Qg6+ Qxg6 35 fxg6+ White removes his queen from the
Kxg6 36 Bc2 (or 34 . . . fxg6 35 BgB+ d-file so that he can continue with
draws). Rd l .
 Typea of Excban&es

9 ... Rc7
1 0 Rd 1 Nbd7 8

Black has defended against the

threat of e5 while controlling the c6 6
square. He cannot contemplate
5
playing . . . e5 himself because White
could occupy d5. 4

1 1 a4 bxa4 3
1 2 Nxa4 Bb7 2

White is in the assault but how

should he break through? Smyslov
solves the problem by a series of
deflection sacrifices.
18 NcS
White threatens Nxd7 followed by
Ra8 so Black must take the knight.
18 . . . dxcS
1 9 Br4
White now initiates a series of ex
A second deflection sacrifice. Now if
changes to remove the light square
19 . . . Qxf4 20 Qc8+ Ke7 21 Qxb7 is
defenders so that his pieces can
decisive.
infiltrate Black's position. The
second motive for exchanges is that 19 . . . Bd6
White has a lead in development and 20 Bxd6 Rb6
exchanges will increase his develop 2 1 Qxd7 +
ment advantage to decisive propor
and Black resigned because he
tions.
comes out a piece down after
13 eS NxeS 21 . . Kxd7 22 Bxb8+ . A fine game
.

14 Bxb7 Rxb7 showing the value of certain ex

IS Qxa6 Qb8 changes to the attacking side .
16 Nc6 Nxc6 The next game is a brilliant
17 Qxc6+ Nd7 example of tempo gaining, line
 44 Chess Exchanaes

clearing, exchanges leading to a win 10 Nxe4! dxe4

for the better developed side. There I I NeS rs
is a logical now to White's game
Otherwise he loses the e-pawn.
from start to finish .
12 13!
White smashes open the centre for
RETJ vs. BOGOL YUBOV '
his long-ranging pieces.
New York, 1924
12 . . . exf3
13 Bxf3! Qc7
I Nf3 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 g3 dS
4 Bg2 8d6
5 0-0 0-0
6 b3 ReS
7 8b2 Nbd7
8 d4! c6
9 Nbd2 Ne4
Black does not appear to have matde
any serious errors but his game is
already difficult . Although White 2
has not forced the pace in the open
mg. Black is lagging behind in
development because of his passive 0 c d e 0 h
defence. His ideal break with c5
would leave him with an isolated d
Black declines the exchange of
pawn after exchanges; and White's
queens by 1 3 Nxe5 14 dxe5 Bc5 +
. . .

bishops are ideally placed to attack

15 Kg2 Qxd 1 16 Raxd 1 when White
it. Unfortunately for Black by this
has a far superior ending because of
ove , in the hope of exchanging
Black's white-squared bishop being
p1cces to get more space, he allows
hemmed in
White to open lines for his better
developed pieces. Black'sking's de 14 Nxd7
fence is also weakened by the loss of
White exchanges to avoid losing
the knight. As is so often the case,
tempo in his efforts to open lines.
exchanging pieces when behind in
development is a mistake for the 14 . . . Bxd7
defender. IS e4! eS
 Types or Exchan&es 45

After 15 . .. fxe4 16 Bxe4 there is a If Black has defended with 23 . . .

simple threat of 17 Q h5 . Qe7 White wo uld sti ll have won b y
2 4 Bf7 + K h8 2 5 Bd5 Qf6 2 6 Qc8.
1 6 c5! Bf8
To concl ude t his section on
17 Qc2!
attacking exchanges here is a minia
threatening to wi n both the e- and f t ure from the Luce ne Olympiad
pawns which forces Black to o pen up 1982 which shows Black accepti ng
the lines. the poiso ned b-pawn and then play
ing a dubious new idea, to exchange
17 . . . exd4
off his q ueen's knight for o ne of
18 exfS Rad8
White's minor pieces. Superficially
19 Bh5 ReS
the ideas behind the exchange a re to
20 Bxd4 Rxf5
remove a white attacker, to make it

easier for the black q ueen to escape,

a nd to b ri ng the endgame nearer so
8
that Black ca n realize the b enefit of
his extra pawn. In rea lity B lack
takes several tem po to develop the
6
k night only to exchange it. The
5 opening pawn snatch had a lready
4 l eft him behind in development so it
is not surprising that White found a
q uick win. He exchanged Black's
2 o nly remaini ng developed piece a nd
then sacrificed a piece to b rea k
thro ug h o n the q ueenside.

The centre is wide open. White has

an attack o n the f-file which he
presses home with tempo by ex
BELY A VSK Y vs. STEAN,
changing off the b lack defenders.
USS R vs. E ng la nd, Board 3
21 Rxrs Bxf5
22 Qxf5 Rxd4
23 Rf
l Rd8 I e4 c5
24 Bti+ Kh8 2 Nf3 d6
25 Be8 J d4 cxd4
Black resigned. 4 Nxd4 Nf6
46 Chess Exchan1es

5 NcJ a6
8
6 BgS e6
1 r4 Qb6 7
H Qd2 Qxb2
6
9 NbJ Nbd7
10 BdJ bS 5
II 0-0 NcS? 4
3
2
8

a b c d f g h
6
5
4 SUBA vs. ANTO N O V ,
3 Pernitz, 1978

a b c d e g h White has a strong i nitiative o n

I
t h e kingside. Black's k e y defensive
piece is his king's knight defending
12 NxcS dxcS against t he mate threat o n h7. I n the
IJ Bxr6 gd6 ga me Black played 1 . .. h6 a nd after
14 Ka bl QaJ 2 NdS was forced to resign since
IS NxbS 2 . . exd5 loses to 3 Bxf6. Black's
.

Black resigned. best defence in the i nitial position

was to exchange White's dangerous
The knight ca nnot be ca ptured: e.g. knight on c3 by 1 . . Bxc3 2 Bxc3 e5
.

if I S a xb5 16 Bxb5+ Ke717 Rfd l

. . . 3 Bd3 h6 4 Ne4 when White has the
forces mate . advantage but Black ca n survive .
So far we have looked a t ex When faced with a difficult de
changes from the point of view of the fence it often helps to e xchange
atta cking player . Now we consider pieces. If you have a piece doing
how exchanges affect the defending nothing and t he opponent has a
player . piece which ca n achieve something
 Typa ol Eadaaqa 47

then an exchange will be advan 2 Rxf4

tageous. J Rxf4 Rxf4
4 Nxf4
and White went on to win with his
material advantage. i How could
Black have i mproved?, His bishop on
b4 is clearly achieving little and
indeed beco mes a liability when the
white knight co mes to d5 so Black
sho uld have exchanged his bishop
for White's knight .
I Bxti BxcJ
2 bxcJ Nc6
This forces an exchange of minor
a b c d e f g h
pieces

This is from a game Szabo vs. 3 Nxc6 Qxf7

E uwe, Groningen, 1946. wi th some chances fo r Black.
White is attacking stro ngly par
Fail ure to preserve key defenders
ticularly on the kingside light
is obvio usl y a recipe for losing . Here
sq uares. Szabo played
is a particularly painf u l piece of self
I Bxti immolation.

This capture clears the way for the

MARS H A LL vs. GOTA Y ,
e ntry of his knight to d5 . Euwe
S an J uan, 1936
decided to give up the exchange for
the impo rtant light sq uared bishop
with White's centralized pieces give
him good attacking chances and
I R6xti
probably o utweigh the weakness of
After his isolated d-pawn. Black feared
the comiog attack and decided to t ry
2 NdS
and exchange off White's attackers,
he found that he had to lose the b ut his method only made matters
exchange in an unfavourable man worse . The black bishop is usef u l for
ner e .g . 2 . . Qe6 3 Nxn+ fo llowed
. attack, and it has a key role in
by Nxb4. So he played defendi ng the white squares, par-
48 Cbeu Exchanaes
swapping off i nto a drawn ending
was clearl y unso und. Nonetheless,
such a tact ic can be very effective if a
defensive formation ca n be estab
l ished which stops t he rooks becom
ing act ive. For this to succeed t he
defending player will need to have
act ive pieces attacking weaknesses
to keep t he stronger sides' pieces
tied to a passive defensive role .
There should be no way for t he
stronger player to break i nto t he
o b c d e g h defender's territory without surren
dering b ack his material advantage.
ticularly n against a roo k invasion, Here a re some examples of t his idea
and the a2-g8 diago nal against a in pract ice .
check fro m the white queen. Black
tho ught that he co ul d neutralize
F A RAGO vs. ROMANIS H I N ,
these thre;ats hy giving up the ex
Hastings, 1976177
change to remove the other knight
and to win the d-pawn . Play con
ti nued :
I ... 8xe4?
2 Rxe4 Rxd4
3 Rxd4 QxeS
4 Qfl
Because White's roo ks are act ive
and can penet rate to attack Black's
posit ion he stands hetter, being the
exchange ahead , b ut Black can try
and set up a defence with Qe6.
Instead he bl undered hy allowing a 0 c d e
further exchange and played
4 ... QeJ?
White has actively posted pieces
5 QxeJ RxeJ
and has sacrif iced a pawn to o pen
6 Rd8
t he a2-g8 diago nal . Black's q ueen is
and Black resigned. Black's aim of en prise and he also has to face
 Types of Exchanaa 49

threats of Ng5 and Rb7. What with centralized active knights and
sho uld he play to neut ralize the an extra pawn which proved a de
attack? q uate co mpensation for the ex
Roma nishin saw that White had a change after
number of wea knesses in his pos
6 exd6
itio n . There a re central o utposts for
7 Bb4
Black's knights and White has no
defensive pawns l eft. White's roo ks White does not have t ime for Rb8 +
are actively posted fo r the attack, and Ra8 because Black would then
b ut have to defend a nd the White: have Rc l + and if White replies Kf 2
king is exposed. These factors allow then Black plays Nh3+ recovering
Black to equalize. H is first step is to the excha nge.
reduce the white tact ical threats pa r
7 ... NdJ+
t icularly o n the white squa res, so he
8 Kd2 Nxb4
chose
9 Rxb4 Rc7!
I . Qc8
By avo iding the roo k exchange and
. .

This defended his b ishop and securing the pawns f ro m a n i nvasion

attacked White's b isho p, threaten by White's roo ks, Black's positio n is
ing to exchange q ueens. White had clearly adequate to draw.
to comply beca use his queen's pos A well-conducted defence by
ition is precario us. Another import Roma nishi n who exchanged off
a nt factor was the battle for b7 fo r White's aggressive pieces and ac
White's rook . tivated his own.
Another fine example of the sa me
2 Qxc8 Rxc8
theme, i.e . g iving up the exchange in
J NgS Rxc4
o rder to activate defensive pieces
Exchang ing the white sq uared and set up an impenetrable positio n ,
b ishops was an impo rtant pa rt of was t h e seventeenth game of the
Black's pla n . Spassky vs. Fischer match of 1972
which follows.
4 Nxe6 Nxf4
5 Nxf8 Kxf8
S P ASSKY vs. FISCHER,
The sacrifice of the exchange was
Reykjavik, 1972
also a necessa ry pa rt of Black's de
fence . Defending passively by Rf7
would have a l lowed White's roo k to I e4 d6
penetrate decisively to b8 with a b ig 2 d4 g6
advantage. Black now fo und himself J NcJ Nf6
so Chess Exchan1es

4 f4 8g7 20 cxb3 QcS +

S Nf3 cS 21 Kh l QeS
6 dxcS QaS
Sacrif icing the exchange is forced
7 Bd3 QxcS
because a roo k move allows White
8 Qc2 0-0
to open the f-file with fxg6 followed
9 Be3 QaS
b y g4 and gS and n is indefensib le .
10 0-0 Bg4
II Rad l Nc6 22 Hx.f8 Rxf8
12 Bc4 NbS
The exchange has removed a dan
13 Hb3
gero us attacker and Black's control
over the cS s4uare is secure .
23 Re3 Rc8
8 24 fx.g6 hxg6
2S Qf4

6 Necessary to stop White's pieces

remaining passive .
5
4 25 . . . Qx.f4
26 Rx.f4 Nd7
3 27 Rf2 NeS
2 28 Kh2 Rc8
29 Reel Nc6

Black has to avoid a rook exchange

0 c d e g h
and also the possibility of White's
roo ks pe netrating into the 7th and
Sacr i ficing a pawn to e xchange off Kth ranks.
the important b lack b ishop defend 30 Rcl Rei
ing the kingside . 31 Rfel Ral
13 ... Bxc3 32 KgJ
14 bxc3 Qxc3
White had no way of breaking into
IS fS Nf6
Black's positio n and the game was
16 h3 BxfJ
drawn on move 45 . Giving up the
17 Qxf3 NaS
exchange in order to estab lish a
18 Rd3 Qc7
watertig ht defence is obviously a
19 Bh6 Nxb3
useful strategy provided the de
If 20 BxfK Nc5 is good for Black. fender can activate his pieces and
 Types or Exchanaes 51

avoid the exchange of the seco nd

8
rook . Leaving the 'stronger' side ;.ru.rz=i.;;7"1771""""'
with pawn weaknesses which tie 7
down pieces to defending them is
6
often essential if the defence is to
succeed. 5
The simplest type of defe nsive 4
exchange is the simplifying ex
change to clarify the position and 3
reduce the oppone nt's oppo r- : 2
tunities. The disadvantage of such a
po licy is the reduction of one's own

chances of posing prob lems for the 0 b c e f g

oppo nent . This topic is e xamined
further under our discussion o n the has netted a knight and pawn with a
init iative. b ut here is a n example of a roo k to fol low. Black's chances a re
David and Goliath battle where quite adequate in this variat io n , b ut
Black is only too happy to play for a it is easy to go astray, so he prefers to
draw against his already famous avoid the exchanges beca use the loss
o ppo nent , the young 'Bobby' of tempo is balanced by the closing
F ischer. of t he centre and contro l of da rk
square o utpo sts.

5 c4 eS
FISCHER vs . E M M A,
Mar del Plata, 1959 .Though White's centre g ives him a
space advantage the simple Nc3 may
be a better try than t he fol lowing
I e4 Nc6
capture which a llows Black to chal
2 Nf3 d6
lenge t he centra l white square con
3 d4 Bg4
tro l .
4 dS NbS
6 dxe6 e.p. fxe6
(see following diagram) Nc6
7 Nc3
8 Be2 Nf6
Not giving White the o ppo rtunity to
9 h3 BhS
cause complications with the i nter
est ing idea 4 Ne5 5 Nxe5 ! '! Bxd l
. . . Naturally Black is in no hurry to
6 Bb5 + c6 7 dxc6 Qa5 + H Nc3 0-0-0 exchange off his white square de
9 cxb7+ Kxb7 10 Nc6 and White has fender in view of t he wea knesses at
excellent play for his q ueen which e6 and g6. The b ishop will be able to
 52 Che!is ExchiUI&es
ma inta in pressure on White's centre 14 dxeS
while saf egua rding the kingside . 15 Qa4 0-0
10 BeJ Be7 The doub led pawns commit Black'!>
II 0-0 Qd7 pieces to their defence , b ut they also
12 Nd4 Bg6! contrib ute to Black's overa ll de
IJ Nxc6 fences b y controll ing important cen
tral squares. White na turally
avoided queen exchanges to maxi
mize his attacking chances, Black
could have ventured the double
edged c5 hoping to exchange queens
and play his king to c6 hanging on to
the extra pawn . Black sticks to his
low-risk stra tegy and forces White
into simpl ifying exchanges in order
to recover the pawn.

16 Radl Qe8
17 QaS Bd6
18 cS Be7
o b c d e g h 19 Qxc7 NdS!

This excha nge hera lds the st art of

White 's a uack a nd there arc two
threats that Black had to foresee
hdorc allowing the exchange of
knights in order to preserve his im
porta nt b ishop. The first is that if
13 . . . Qxc6 14 c5 ! a6 1 5 a4 still
threa te ning Bb5 a nd Bla ck's ce ntre
pa wns arc destroyed to sa feg uard his
4uecn . The second threa t is played
in the ga me .
IJ . . . bxc6
14 eS!?
Once again probing the pawns to try Protecting the pawn by r unning
and force weakening exchanges. away to e4 would be a mistake
 Types or Exc:hanaes 53

beca use Black's pieces would then 27 b4 Rb8

be tied to its defence. White could 28 a3 Rf8+
play Bc4 a nd Qe5 with a promising 29 81"3 aS
attack. Now , however 20 Qxe5 Bf6 JO bxaS Ra8
2 1 Og3 Bxc3 2 2 b xc3 Nxc3 23 Rd2 31 e4 RxaS
Nxe2+ 24 Rxe2 Bd3 wins the ex 32 exdS extiS
change. So it is White who has to
ma ke a defensive exchange! and the game was dr wn o n move
46.
20 NxdS exdS
This game shows the danger of
21 QxeS
trying to force the issue without
So White has recovered his pawn b ut adequate prepara tion. Beca use
now has to concede further si mplify White had no sig nificant adva ntage
ing exchanges. his insistence on attacking only left
him vulnerab le with the co n
21 . . . BxcS!
seq uence that he was easi ly forced
22 Qc3
into simplifying exchanges. The
Exchanging queens wo ui<J forego all more he forced the issue the faster
wi nning cha nces her e , b ut this de his chances seemed to disappear . In
fensive exchange was best for white the last part of the game a better
(who bei ng the stro nger player was player mig ht well have won the end
keen to play a ll o ut for victory) ing as Black.
Knowing when to exchange your
22 . . . Bxe3 self or when to a llow the oppo nent
23 Qxe3 Qxe3 to exchange is clearly important. All
24 fxe3 Rae8? possi b le exchanges have to be re
With the e-pawn as a target it wo uld viewed every move to ensure they
have been better for Black to play do not create or lose opportunities
Rfe8 to tie White's rooks down to for either the middlegame or the
defe nce. After 25 Rf3 Rad8 offt.."fs endga me. Well-ti med exchanges
excellent cha nces for B lack . Fischer ca n make the difference between
is quick to make a defensive ex successf ul attack or defence.
change when neither side is able to Clearly, if ma king excha nges is
make much of the subsequent end good for o ne side then avoiding
ga me . them is good for the other . In this
exa mple White wishes to exchange
25 Rxf8+ KxfK off Black's attacking pieces to save
26 Kfl Ke7 his ki ng .
 54 Chess Exchanaes
BYRNE vs . BOTTERILL, 8 Qh3 + Bh6
Hasti ngs Premier, I 972173 9 Qh4 Rel +
10 Kf2 Rxb2+
White resigns because of . . . Re3
8 mate .
In the above example Black was
careful to avoid the exchange of
6 4ueens si nce then he would not have
5 a strong attack on the kingside and
white would have counterplay on
4
the q ueenside.
3
2

KARPOV vs. UNZICKER,

0 e f o h Nice Olympiad , 1974

White's ki ng is exposed and his

bishop and rook are passive. Black 8
starts by exchanging off som: de
fenders
6
I ... Ne3+
2 Rxe3 5

If 2 Nxe3 f3+ 3 Qxf3 Rxf3 4 Kxf3

4
RfH+ and Black wins af ter 5 Ke 2 3
011+ 6 Kd l Of3+ picki ng up the
2
white rook.
2 ... fxe3
3 Nxe3 Qe4+ o b c d e 0 h
4 Kgl Kh7
I n this position from a Ruy Lopez
This move is to prevent the e x
Karpov has closed the centre with d5
change of 4uccns by Qc4 + .
and has a space advantage . Black
5 Qel Rf3 has a cramped position, b ut is hop
6 c7 Rxb7 i ng for some exchanges to free his
7 c8=Q Rxe3 position.
 Types ol Exduaqea 55
Karpov then played the excellent
8
1 Ba7

This prevents Black fro m simplify

ing down t he a-file and Black's
pieces a re too bottled up to evict the
troubleso me bishop. After

1 ... Ne8
2 Bc2 Nc7
3 Real Qe7

White had co ntrol of the a-fi le and a b e d e f g h

t urned his attentio n to the kingside.

4 Bb l Be8 Black can not sto p the slow i nfi l

5 Ne2 Nd8 t ration of white pieces o n t he light
6 Nh2 Bg7 squares
7 f4 f6
12 ... Qe8
If Black had exchanged o n f4 then 13 Qd l Nd8
after Nxf4 White wo uld have man 14 RaJ Kf8
oeuvred his knight via f3 to d4, but 15 R la2 Kg8
t his is pro ba bl y better tha n the slow 16 Ng4 Kf8
death Black now suffers. 17 NeJ Kg8
18 Bxf7 + Nxf7
8 f5 g5 19 Qh5 Nd8
9 Bc2 20 Qg6 Kf8
21 Nh5
Karpov now plans to i nfiltrate on the
kingside light squares. Black resigned beca use if he ex
changes on g6 the white knight wi ll
9 . . . 817 come to f5 with decisive effect a nd
10 Ng3 Nb7 . .. Qt7 does not prolong the game
Black ca nnot keep White o ut by long after Ng4.
10 . h5 beca use of 1 1 B d l.
. .
Our next position is taken from
the game Kaspa rov vs. Belyavsky,
1 1 Bd l h6 ga me 5, Ca ndidates q ua rter fina l ,
12 Bh5 1983.

CI..C
56 Cheu Exchanaa;

clearing the d-file and reinforcing

8
the kingside pressure .
I ... Nc7
6 2 Qg4! Qe8?
5 3 Bd7! Qd8
4 Radl h5!?
4
Having missed his chance to play for
3 the exchange of white-squared
2 bishops on move 2, he weakens his
kingside in a bid for freedom .
5 Qh3 h4
6 Bf4 Bg5
7 Bf5 g6

After exchanges on eS Black has

retreated his knight to eX. Kasparov 8
saw that Black had a passive position
7
with little manoeuvring space nd
avoided the hishop exchange with 6
5
I BgJ
4
Exchanging hishops would have
3
considerahly cased Black's task and
given his queen a comfortahlc 2
square at c7. White now threatens to
huild up an attack on the kingside
with his queen and hishops. with his 0 c d e f g
rooks exerting pressure down the
half-open central files. The white Black seems to have forced the
knight can also transfer to the king desired bishop exchanges. but it is
side to join the attack . Black has no too late for this remedy. Black has
clear plan to improve his position lost vital tempo and weakened his
unless he can exchange light squared kingside so Kasparov moves over to
hishops. so he plays to defend his d all-out assault. White no longer
pawn in order to threaten BcX as wants to avoid exchange: he is ready
well as Bh4. Kasprov is alert and to conquer the weakened black
stops this threat , simultaneously squares with the bishops off.
 Types or Exchnaes 57

8 Ne4! Bxf4 pawns wil l pose threa ts that Black's

9 exf4 gxf5 poo rl y coo rdinated queenside
10 QxfS pieces will not be able to defend
agai nst .
intending Nf6+
15 Rei exfl+
10 ... dxe4
II Qg4+ Kh7
16 Kxf2 rld2+
17 Re2 Rxe2+
12 Rxd8 Rfxd8
18 Kxe2 Ba6+
13 Qxh4+ Kg8
19 Kf2 Ne6
14 Qe7 eJ
20 f5! Nd4
21 e6! Rf8
(fxe6? 2 2 f6 Nf5 23 Qxe6 + etc.)

22 Qg5+ Kh7
13 e7

An a musing turnaround: it is the

white e-pawn that is now ca using
havoc.
13 . . . ReS
24 f6 Ne6
25 Qh5+
0 c e f g h and Black resigned .
White can pla y to fo rce home his
A defence wo rthy of a world cha m passed e-pawn by manoeuvring his
pio nship ca ndidate . Black rea lizes queen to d7. The .black bishop can
that passive defence by 14 . . . Rac8 not defend the roo k beca use it wi ll
wo uld lose quickly to an advance of be driven away by b3 a nd a4 a nd the
the f-pa wn fol lowed by Qg5 + . Ca p knight is needed to guard agai nst
turing the e-pawn by 15 fxe3 would mate at g7 .
allow Rd2 with co unterplay against Avoiding exchanges is often
g2 because Black's bishop ca n hide necessa ry fo r the a ttacki ng player
from White's queen at e4 . Alter who wishes to preserve an i nitiative .
natively, the direct 15 Qxc7 wo uld The defensive player may need to
allow e2 threatening Rd1. Kaspa rov avoid the excha nge of a key de
sees through the traps and plays to fender or of his active pieces. Co n
excha nge off Black's active roo k sider these two instructive
when his mobile queen and kingside examples.
58 Chess Exchan11es

TO LUSH vs. B RONSTEIN, 5 Rb7 Rxc4!

Lening rad/Moscow, March 1960 6 Nxc4 Rxgl+
7 Kh l BhJ
and Black's ga me is won. (He has a
threat o f 8 . . . Rb 2 9 . Bg2 + a nd
. .

10 . Nh3 mate . )
. .

White wo uld have done better to

avoid the queen exchange and to
play immediately 2 Bc4 t rying to
deny access to Black's pieces.
In the second positio n , Wade vs.
Benko, Buenos Aires, 1960:

0 c d e g

Black ha s active pieces a nd l'ij! is

trying to invade White's queenside.
In pa rticula r he ho pes to play his
roo ks to a2 a nd c2. White's main
ucfender is his quee n . so Black is
keen to fo rce exchanges.
I ... NhS
2 Qxa2? o b c d e g
Wrong on genera l principles, but
White has chosen t he Samisch
a lso overloo king the coming sacri
against the King's Indian and played
fice .
the attacking move
2 ... Rxa2
I g4
J Rd l Nf4
4 Bc4 NcdJ invit ing excha nges. After
The exchange o f roo ks wo uld be in I ... Nf4
Black's fa vo ur because his knights 2 Nxf4 exf4
can get to aggressive o utpo sts unlike J Bxc4 Qxc4

White's. 4 Nel
 Types or Exchaoaes 59

(not 4 Qxf4'! g5 ) exchangi ng off the key defende r

which should have been protected
4 ... Qa6
with 7 . . . Rf7 rather tha n the loss of
Black overestimates his pos1t 1on. tempo wit h the ki ng.
With two bishops a nd play agai nst
9 ... eJ
White's queen on the open c-file he I

hopes fo r an attack. White's knight (If 9 . . . Kxg7 10 Nh+ wi ns, e . g .

has excellent prospects at f4, d4 and 10 . . . Kf7 I I Qf4+ Ke8 1 2 Ng7
e6 a nd he has a good grip o n the mate. )
cent re. Black's queen is o ut of pia
at a6 as White has no necessity to 10 Qd4 Rxf4
play 0-0. Safer fo r Black was. 1 1 Rg6 + !
4 . . . Qxc I + or 4 . . . Qd4 5 Qc3
a nd Black resigned.
Qxc3+ 6 Nxc3 with f5 to follow a nd
Compare the play to the last pos
the game is level. Black only loo ks at
itio n. The sacrifice of rook fo r
his own prospects and neglects to
bishop to remove a key defender
examine White's.
a nd gai n access for the remaining
5 Qd2 r5 mobile pieces is in both cases poss
i ble due to the wro ng decision over
Our examination of the two bishops
q ueen exchanges.
indicates that they need o pen lines
To sum up the l esso ns of this
and with White's ki ng in the cent re
chapter co ncerning the exchange of
o pening files for the rooks a lso
key pieces, here is a game from
seems logical fo r Black . The danger
Sa nta Monica 1976 between Sham
to Black is that li nes a re also opened
kovich a nd Blohm .
to his own king because White's
queen ca n enter the attack, whereas l e4 e5
Black's queen is shut o ut by the 2 NfJ Nc6
pawn centre. 3 BbS Nf6
6 gxf5 4 0-0 Nxe4
gxf5
7 Rgl Kh8 5 Re i Nd6
6 Nxe5
(still b li nd to the danger)
White is clearly aiming for a di rect
8 Nxf4 attack agai nst Blac k's king i n this
Black's position certainly loo ks double-edged o pening.
menaci ng b ut
6 ... Be7
9 Rxg7! 7 Qh5
 60 Chess Exchanges

8
7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

0 b c d e g h 0 b c d e g h

White is dar ing Black to castle into exchanged off the pawn defences in
an attack. This provoca tive move front of the b lack mona rch, but his
seems to off er Black the opportunity front-line troops have perished in
to exchange off the white attackers the assault. White is not yet ready to
by 7 . . . Nxe5 X Oxe5 Nxb5, but sign a peace treaty, because al
White ca n give up the piece with though he has fewer reserves he can
interesting complications by I} Oxg7 mobilize them more effectively.
RfX I0 a4 Nd6 I I Nc3 a nd a stro ng
attack: 12 b3

7 ... 0-0 The alternative Re3 would be too

8 HdJ g6 slow because Black's minor pieces
rush into action after Nf5 and if
forcing White to sacrifice material necessary Bh4.
ra ther than settle for the safer f5 .
12 . . . Bf6
9 Nxg6 rxg6
13 ReJ
10 Bxg6 hxg6
I I Qxg6 + Kh8 Now that the b lack bishop has to
defend the a 1 -hM diagonal it cannot
(see following diagram) defend at h4.

White could natura lly settle for a 13 . . . Bg7

draw by repetition here . White has 14 Bb2 Rf6
 Types or Exchan&es 61

. . . Q xf6 would not o nly mobilize

another defender b ut would also
mai ntai n the t hreat o n Whi te's rook .
If then 1 8 Rf3 Q xf3 1 9 gxf3 Bxa 1 20
c3 Nt7 and Black has goo d chances.
.I
18 RgJ Ne7
19 NcJ

With a strong threat of Nd5 and the

exchange of a key defender.

19 . . . Qe8
0 c e t g h 20 Qh6+ Kt7
2 1 Rei Qh8

Apparently stoppi ng the attack by

An excellent defensive move which threatening to exchange off White's
temporarily closes the diagonal o r queen, the key attacki ng piece , b ut
invites White to exchange off one of White has one last shot . He can
his few remai ni ng attackers. The exchange off an attacker fo r a key
obvious Rt7 would have been met by defender and still feed another piece
15 Rg3 Qe7 16 Rh3+ and mate into the attack, b ut Black has no
follows. defenders o n standby.

IS RhJ+ Kg8 22 Rxe7+ Kxe7

16 Qh7 + Kf8 23 NdS Ke6 (forced)
17 Bxf6 24 Nxc7+ Ke7
25 NdS+ Ke6
The diagonal has assumed less i m 26 Nf4 + KfS
portance than the play on the f - and
g-files now that Black has moved his Unpleasant, b ut Kt7 would be met
king, so Whi te exchanges. by 27 Qg6+ Kf8 (otherwise White
gets Nd5+ i n ) 28 Qd3 ! with strong
17 . . . Bxf6 threats which recover his materi al .
Perhaps this is where Black loses his 27 Qg6 + Kxf4
way . With a materi al advantage he 28 d4
has to pl ay fo r further exchanges to
stop White's attack and to reach a Black resigned, as mate is in-
wi nning endi ng. Recapturing by 1 7 evitable.
6l Cheu Enhanaa

It is in these b loodthirsty ga mes The pawn structures which afforded

that recognizing which pieces to ex such promising attacking chances
change is a prerequisite for surviva l . ma y be of little use for creating a
To run o u t of assa ult troops or to passed pawn for t he ending. The
lose co ntro l of a critical square ca n king which was so secure in the
mea n insta nt defeat . Identifying the middlega me may find himself too far
key pieces and looking for a wa y to behind t he fro nt line to support t he
exchange them is often the only pawns in a victory match. As pieces
stra tegical pla nning necessary for are excha nged, so the usefulness of a
both attacker a nd defender . particular pawn structure changes.
Should neither pla yer be able to P layers must a lways be aware of t he
mo unt a winning attack or if the possib ility of exchanges being
spo i ls of victory are very sma l l , initiated which lead to a n endga me .
further attacks will be necessary Such exchanges form the basis of t he
until piece excha nges lead either by next chapter.
design or by attrition to a n endga me .
 3

Exchanges to r,each an endgame

I

Exchanges naturally lead to a re- This pos1t1on from Larsen vs.

ductio n in material and every ex Kavalek Las Palmas 1974, looks far
change therefore b rings the end removed from an ending, but Black
ga me nearer. When o ne side has a obviously did not consider the possi
ma terial advantage excha nges often bility in the sequel
magnify this advantage. It is con
I d4 cxd4
ventional wisdo m that when ahead
2 Nxd4 Nxd4
in material o ne should excha nge
J Bxd4 e5
pieces a nd not pawns. Excha nging
4 fxe5 dxe5?
pieces reduces compl icatio ns and
o ppo rtunities fo r co untcrpla y . Ex Much better was 4 . . Nc6 with good
.

cha nging pa wns reduces the chance play for Black. White now obtai ns a
of queening a pawn a nd co nseq uent good ending.
ly the chance of winni ng.
5 Bc5 Qc7
6 Qd6 Qxd6
7 Bxd6 ReB
8 Bc4!

threatening Rf l
8 ... Be6
9 Bxe6 fxe6

with a b ig plus fo r White.

(see following diagram)

This positio n is fro m the Hartston

a c d e f g h vs. Basman play-off match for the
6J
64 Chess Exchanaes

POPOVIC vs. BELLIN,

8 Hastings, 1980/1981
7

6
8
5
7
4
6
3
5
2
4

3
0 b c d e g h
2

British Championship. Black has a

material advantage but seems to be
in trouble due to the active position
of White's pieces. hut surprisingly
Ulal:k l:an simplify to a won end ing. White saw that he could now force a
. passed pawn so he exchanged into
I Qxd2
an ending before Black could ac
2 Qxd2 Rxg2 +
tivate his bishop.
3 Qxg2 Bxg2
4 Kxg2 I
Qe2! f5
2
ReS Rxe8
and Black went on to win .
3
Qxe8 Qxe8
Exchanges to a n ending t o avoid a
4
Rxe8 Re7
middlegame loss arc effectively de
5
Rxe7 Bxe7
fensive exl:hanges. Similarly. spot
6
f4! Bf6
ting an endgame advantage is seeing
7
Ne2 Kt7
a way of exchanging the opponent's
8
Kf2 Kg6
key defenders on a large scale. Here
9
Ke3 KhS
arc some examples.
10 a4! gS
Black's bishop is passive but has
I I b4!
the possibility of playing to g7 to
attack White's d-pawn. Neverthe Black resigned, he has no way of
less. White has a grip on the pos stopping the passed pawn that is
ition. Black has just played . . . aS . created on the a-file, while his own
How did White exploit his advan on the b-file is easily stopped by
tage in piece activity? White's knight.
 Exchanaes to Reach liD Endaune 65

fore c hose 1 .. . Ng6 but after 2 Qxh4

8 Nxh4 3 Bxe6 fxe6 4 Nxf4 White had
7 won a pawn and transposed into an
ending where his pieces were beth:r
6
placed whic h led to t e wi n .
5 I

4
KORCH N O I vs.
PO LUGA YEVSKY

8
0 b c

KOSTEN vs. KNOX,

BCF Torqua y , 1982

Here White is better developed

a nd has two mating ideas. The fi rst is
to play Nf6 whic h is prcyented by
Blac k's quee n ; the second is to play
Bxn whic h is stopped by Blac k's 0 b c e
bishop. White, however, has t
worry a bout the threat Rxd I a nd h1s
Black has two threats here: gxh5 or
knight at h5 is also i n jeopa rdy.
. . . f5. O bvio usly White has aggress
Despite his wea knesses, Blac k has
ive i ntentio ns against Blac k's king.
so me threats a lo ng the g-fi le. There
Materia l is level and there seems to
is one other i mporta nt feature a bout
be no winning prospec t fo r White i n
the positio n: the blac k pa wn o n f4 is
an ending. Korchnoi uses tactics to
wea k. White took advantage of a l l
force exchanges i nto a good ending.
these factors a nd played 1 Qg4!
when his queen could not be cap 1 Bxg6
tured either way beca use of the
threatening mate i n two with Rxh7+
aforementioned mate threa ts. Blac k
a nd Nh6 mate.
cannot a llow White to exchange un
less he has a n answer to Nf6 mate so 1 ... fxg6
1 .. Qg5 is also no use. B lac k there-
. 2 Qxe7 Nxe7
66 Chess Exc:hanaa

3 RKh7+ KKh7 disaster, especially against a

4 Ru7 + Kh8 stronger player. Consider the fol
5 RKb7 lowing e11:amples of players hoping
for a draw by exchanging pieces.

B
ALEKHINE vs. YATES,
Hastings, 1925/6

5 I d4 e6
4 2 e4 d5
3 Nc3 Bb4
3 4 exdS exdS
2 5 Bd3 Nf6
6 BgS 0-0
7 Ne2 Re8
o b c d e f g h 8 0-0 c6
9 Ng3 Nbd7
' 10 NhS Be7
White has good chances with his II Re i h6
kingside pawn majority 12 Bh4 NxhS
5 ... Rb8 13 Bxe7 Rxe7
6 RKa7 Ra8 14 QxhS Nf6
7 Rb7 Rtb8 IS Qh4 Bd7
8 Re7 Re8
9 Ne5 Rxe7
10 Nxg6+ Kg7
II Nxe7 Rxa2
12 c4 Rd2
13 Kg2 Rd7
14 NfS + Kf6
15 Ne3

With his c-pawn safely defended

White went on to win.
Exchanging pieces with no real
aim or just hoping that the position
will end up as a draw is a recipe for 0 d e f g
 Exchllnaea to Rach aa Endpme 67

White still has the more comfortable is opened for the king and knight to
position , so Black seeks further ex penetrate.
changes; but White ensures that the
recaptures maintain his initiative. 34 . . . gS
35 h4 f6
36 hxgS r,gs
16 ReS! RxeS
37 Ngl Bd7
17 dxeS Nh7
38 f6+ Ke8
18 Qxd8+ Rxd8
39 Nf3 g4
19 f4 Re8
40 Nh4 Be6
20 Kf'l Nf8
41 Ng6 Bf7
21 b4 Ne6
42 Nf4 Kd7
22 g3 Kf8
43 Ke2 aS
23 Re i g6
44 Ke3
24 bS NcS
25 bxc6 bxc6 Black will be put into zugzwang.
26 Rb l Ke7
27 Rb4 hS 44 .. . Bg8
28 Ne2 Kd8 45 NxhS Bf7
29 Rb8+ Ke7 46 Nf4 Bg8
30 Rxe8 + Bxe8 47 Ne2 Be6
31 Ke3 Nxd3 48 Kf4 Ke8
31 cxd3 49 KgS Kf7
SO Nc3
White has successfully weakened
Black's queenside by playing the Black is forced to give ground once
minority attack and he has also cen more.
tralized his king. The exchange of
knight for bishop aids the winning SO ... Kf8
process because Black's bishop is 51 Kg6 Kg8
hopelessly confined by its own 52 f7+ Kf8
pawns. 53 Kf6 Bxf7
54 e6 BhS
32 cS 55 Nxd5 Be8
33 d4! c4 60 Nc3
34 rs
Black resigned.
The queenside has been closed to Here is another fine example from
shut out the bishop and the kingside a Hastings tournament.
68 Chess Exchanaes

PI LLSB URY vs. GU NSBERG . 10 Qb3 bS

I SYS I I BxdS BxdS
12NxdS QxdS
13QxdS cxdS
I d4 dS
14Nd3 Nd7
2 c4 c6
ISBd2 Rfc8
3 e3 g6
16 Ke2 e6
4 NcJ Bg7
17 Rhcl Bf8
S NfJ Nf6
18 Rxc8 Rxc8
6 Bd3 0-0
19 Re i Rxcl
7 NeS dxc4
20 Bxc l Bd6
8 Bxc4 NdS
21 Bd2 Kf8
9 f4 Be6
22 Bb4 Ke7
23 BcS a6
24 b4 f6
25 g4 BxcS
26 bxcS NbS

e g h

Black avoids the passive e6 and

threatens to win a piece hy Bxe5 and
Nxc3 ; White is not afraid of the
following exchanges as he still sees
chances to outplay his opponent in
the ending. Black seems to relax
Black seems poised to blockade the
once the pieces are exchanged and
passed pawn and then advance his
the later exchange of the bishop is
. queenside majority. White has other
dectdedly careless, giving White the
ideas.
chance to create a passed pawn
(move 25). 27 fS!!
 Exchanges to Reach an E.nclgame 69

Playing to exchange off the defender into an ending where he has an edge ,
of the d-pawn . but indifferent play allows Kasparov
to force a draw.
27 . . . gS
If 27 . . . gxf5 28 gxf5 exf5 29 Nf4 KORCHNOI v KASPAROV
wins the d-pawn and White has two Candidates Semi-final (Acorn
connected passed pawns. Computers World Championships
28 Nb4 aS
1 983), Game 8
29 c6! Kd6
I d4 dS
30 fxe6! Nxc6
2 c4 e6
Black is unable to take the knight. 3 NO Nf6
without letting a pawn through to 4 g3 dxc4
queen. S Bg2 cS
6 Qa4+ Bd7
31 Nxc6 Kxc6
7 Qxc4 Bc6
32 e4!
8 dxcS Nbd7
The sting in the tail, the final ex 9 Be3 BdS
change of pieces have left White 10 Qa4 Bc6
with a won study-like ending. II Qc4 BdS
32 . . . dxe4 12 Qb4 Qc8
33 dS + Kd6 13 Nc3 BxcS
34 Ke3 b4 14 BxcS QxcS
3S Kxe4 a4 IS NxdS NxdS
36 Kd4 hS 16 Qd2 Rc8
37 gxhS a6 17 0-0 0-0
38 Kc4 rs 18 Racl Qb6
39 h6 f4 19 Qd4 Rfd8
40 h7 20 Rfdl Qxd4
21 Nxd4 N7b6
Black resigned. 22 Nb3 Rxcl
Exchanging to reach a level pos 23 Rxcl Rc8
ition is not sufficient. Chances are 24 Rxc8+ Nxc8
only equal if you are aware of them, 25 BxdS exdS
and take them. Similarly, exchang 26 NcS Nd6
ing into a won ending is not enough , 27 Kg2 Kf8
the position still has to be worked at 28 KO Ke7
to score the point. Here is an 29 Kf4 f6
example of Korchnoi exchanging JO h4 g6
 70 Cheu Exctum&es

31 g4 b6 vanced c-pawn by b5 or Ba6 have

32 Na6 NeS been nipped in the bud.
33 f3 NcS
8 ... eS
34 Nc7 d4
35 NdS + Ke6 This further weakening of the white
36 Nb4 aS squares in order to set up a queen
White's peripatetic knight has side majority is double-edged be
achieved little . cause Black has no time to use it.
9 Nxc4 exd4
37 Nd3 KdS
38 gS rs
10 Qxd4 BcS
Nxd3 I I Qd3 0-0
39 Kg3
12 Nc3 Bb7
Draw agreed.
A difficult decision, but Black's
The ninth game from the same
queenside is difficult to unravel.
match showed all too clearly the
dangers of a careless approach to 13 Bxb7 Rxb7
exchanging. The opening was once 14 QfJ!
again a Catalan variant of the
White controls all the light squares.
Queen's Gambit. Korchnoi looked
to neutralize the kingside fianchetto 14 ... Qa8
by exchanging light-squared 15 Bf4 a6
bishops. The net effect was to leave 16 e4 Ra7
himself weak on the long white 17 NdS bS
diagonal h l -aX and his pieces 18 NaS bxa4
tangled up on the queenside. Kas 19 Rfc l Bd4
parov was able to win the exchange 20 Rxa4 Bxb2
and quickly liquidate to a won 21 Ne7+ Kh8
ending. 22 Rc2 Qe8

I d4 Nf6 Korchnoi defends grimly, but his

2 c4 e6 position is under too much pressure .
3 g3 dS 23 Rxb2 Qxe7
4 Bg2 dxc4 24 Nc6 QcS
5 Nf3 Nbd7 25 Nxa7 Qxa7
6 0-0 Rb8 26 eS
7 a4 b6
8 Nfd2 There are to be no miracles in this
game: Black's passed pawns are j ust
Black's chances of holding the ad- liabilities
 Exchanaa to Reach an Eodpme 71

26 0 0 0 Ng8
8
27 Be3 Qa8
28 Qxa8 Rxa8
29 r4 Ne7
30 Rd2
5
Black resigned. If Nb6 3 1 Bxb6 cxb6
32 Rd6 wins easily. 4
Tempting an opponent to make a 3
dubio us exchange is obviously a use;
ful stratagem as we see in our next 2

game where Black sees the oppor

tunity to 'win' the two bishops.
White gets an annoying control over
the centre which tempts Black into a
line opening pawn exchange which
White offers B lack the opportunity
only further weakens his position .
to exchange knight for bishop to get
White is able to establish his minor
a central advantage.
pieces in the centre and Black is
unable to exchange them without 10 . . . dxc4
material loss. Eventually White's I I Bxc4 Nxc4
position is so superior he can force 12 Qxc4 Nd7
an exchange of Black's developed 13 e4 Qc7
pieces to reach a won ending even at 1 4 eS Nb6
the cost of a pawn. IS Qe2

White is increasing his grip and

FINE vs. LILIENTHAL,
Black grows impatient. Black's next
Moscow, 1937
move challenges the centre and tries
to open lines for the two bishops, but
I d4 Nr6 it is very weakening.
2 c4 g6
IS ... rs
3 Nc3 dS
16 exf6 e.p. Rxf6
4 Qb3 c6
17 Ne4 ars
S Nf3 Bg7
18 Bb4 RdS
6 e3 0-0
19 NeS
7 Bd2 e6
8 Bd3 Nbd7 White still has the edge in the centre.
9 0-0 Nb6 Black's rook should have retreated
10 Rrd l to f8 and then covered the d-file
72 Chess Exchllnges

from dH. B lack cannot play Bd7

without losing the exchange to N c3 .
Capturing the c5 k night would give
White a strong outpost at d6 or f6
because i f I I) . . . Bxe5 20 dxe5
Rxe5? 21 Bd6 wins the exchange or
20 . . . Qxc5 21 Bc3 with N f6 + to 4
fol low.

19 . . . Rd8
2
20 Racl Nd5
21 Ba3 Ne7

Blac k sti l l cannot exchange off or o b c d e f g h

develop the queen bishop. I f 21 . . .
Bd7 22 Bd6 is embarrassing o r if Black's position has been further
21 . . . Bxe5 22 dxe5 Qxe5 23 Be7 weakened by the exchange of
with the strong t h reat N f6+ winning bishops and pawns. White sees a
Black's q ueen . simple way to force home victory.

22 QfJ 29 Qg3+ Qg7

30 Rd3!
With the simple idea Qh3 and N g5 .
Black's extra pawn is irrelevant.
l31ack should try Nf5 to b o l st e r, up
White's active pieces secure him a
the ki ngside and to attac k the d
pawn.
won ending.
30 ... h4
22 . . . Nd5 31 Qxg7 + Kxg7
23 Qg3
32 g3 hxg3
White has operated very e ffe cti ve ly 33 Rxg3 + Kf8
on t h e black squares to maintain and 34 1'3 Nf6
increase the pressure. 35 Rh2 Rxe4

White threatened Nxf6 and Rxh7. If

23 ... Bh6
35 . . .
Nxe4 36 fxe4 White's rooks
24 Rc2 BfK
penetrate to the seventh rank and
25 h4 Bxa3
force mate quickly.
26 Qxa3 Rf8
27 h5 Rf4 36 fxe4 Nxe4
28 Re2 gxh5 37 Rg4 Nf6?
 Exchanaes to Reach an Endpme 73

even after Nd6 38 Rxh7 wins easily. play. So Gligoric decides to play for
the ending and exchange Black's
38 Rfl active pieces.
Black resigned, his queenside pieces 1 eS
never got into the game.
White allows his kingside to be dis
The co-operation of the pieces
rupted because Blpck's good
depends on a combination of man
queen's bishop is exchanged and
oeuvrability and square control. As
eventually Black will have to retreat
we have seen, these factors are often I
the knight on f6 to a bad square. In
more Important than material con- 1
addition, when the knight does
siderations when engaged in a
move the white rook will be able to
middlegame attack , but they can be

invade on d7.
even more important when deciding
to play for an ending. 1 . .
. BxD
2 gxO

The key to White's play is to keep his

GLIGORJC vs. MATANOVJC
strong e-pawn.
Yugoslavia, 1 965
2 ... Rae8
J Bf4 QxhJ
Black seems to have done well,
winning a pawn and weakening
White's kingsidc, but White has
gained a firm grip on the centre and
his two bishops will revel in the open
4 lines. White's pieces co-operate
effectively because they are all long
3 range pieces which need a lot of
2 space for manoeuvre and benefit
from open lines. Black still has a
poor bishop on a5 hampered by its
0 c e 0 h own pawns.
4 Bh2 Kh8
In this middlegame situation Black s Qn Qxn +
has active pieces except for the 6 Kxn Ng8
bishop on a5 which is badly out of 7 Rd7
 74 Chess Exchanaes

a b c d e g h a c d e g h

White has made great progress and White exchanged queens and drove
Black is firmly tied down. away the Black knight as follows.
I eS QxfJ
7 ... rs
2 RdJ Nh7
8 f4 Ne7
3 Rd7 Rab8
9 Radl Nc6
4 NdS 81'8
10 Rl d6 Re7
S Hfl RedS
11 HdS RKd7
6
Nb6 Rxd7
12 RKd7 Nb4
7
Nxd7 ReS
13 Bf7 g6
8 Rc3 Rc7
14 Bg3 Kg7
9 Nxf8 Kxf8
IS Hc4+ Kh6
10 RxcS
16 Bh4
and White went on to win.
Black resigned here since he has no Although by no means identical,
defence to 1 7 BgS and I H Be2 mate these last two examples have similar
apart from 1 7 . . . gS which loses themes. Identifying such themes has
after I H BxgS + Kg6 19 e6 followed led to the development of chess
by e7. technique which is essentially a col
The transposition to an ending is lection of principles to be applied to
one that always has to be borne in particular positions. Chess tech
mind as we have already seen. Here nique is best understood in relation
is a similar example from a game of to the ending and there are many
Morphy's. excellent endgame books.
 Exc:hllJIIa to Reach 1111 Endpme 75

The player who is perhaps best 4 QxeS fxeS

recognized for using the technique S Be4 Bc6
of exchanging off pieces to reach a
(5 . . b6 6 a4 is strong)
won endgame is Capablanca. In this
.

position from a game against Ship 6 Bxc6 bxc;6

ley, his opponent playing Black is 7 Rb3 Kd
under some pressure on the queen 8 Rabl RbS
side, i.e. Capablanca has the 9 Rxb8 Rxb8
initiative. Black seeks to bring about 10 Rxb8 Kxb8
simplifying exchanges and hopes to : II Kd3 Kc7
open central lines against White's 12 Ke4 Kd6
king. He fails to consider the poss-
13 g4 Ke6
ible ending. He assumed that with 14 h4 f6
queens exchanged the position IS f4 exf4
would be level, but the activity of 16 Kxf4 h6
Capablanca's pieces (notably the 17 c3 aS
bishop and rook on the half-open b 18 a4 Ke7
file) forced him into further ex
changes which could not be avoided White has exploited the weak square
without allowing White's pieces to in front of the black centre pawn.
decisively penetrate his game. This was possible because his king
was centralized while B lack's was
too far away on the queenside.
8
19 KfS cS
20 c4
6 Black resigned.

5 After 20 . . . Kf7 2 1 h5 White will win

4 the black pawns.
Positional elements should only
3 be a guide on which to examine
2 ideas. Reliance on technique with
out proper consideration can lead to
superficial judgements. Why? Be
a b e d g h cause it is important to ensure that
all the elements of a position have
I ... eS been considered and correctly
2 dxeS NxeS evaluated in relation to each other.
3 NxeS QxeS In practice a position may be too
76 Chess Exchan&es

complex and then specific analysis of that with bishops of opposite colours
variations plus judgement based on it i s difficult to force matters, par
experience is needed . Consider this ticularly a pawn advance , and often
position l'rom Korchnoi vs. Bobot there are chances to sacrifice the
sov, Wijk Aan Zee, 1 96M. bishop for the last pawn , securing a
draw.
Here there are other factors to
consider. White's bishop is more
active than B lack's; it controls the c8
square which prevents Black con
trolling the c-file . It also pins down
Black's king and prevents Black
playing to exchange the weak d
pawn. The position of the king is
also relevant. For a middlegame
White's king is badly placed, being
vulnerable to attack on the open
board , whereas Black's king is fairly
secure . In the ending the activity of
the king is more important than
concern over its security. For
example , if Black had played
I . . . Qb6 White probably could do
no better than defend the f2 square.
Black is a pawn down , hut the ex The game continued:
posed position of White's king and
the open lines give him counter 2 Rxc3 Rf4
chances. White , a pawn ahead, is 3 BdS
keen to exchange pieces into an
The advantage of centralization is
ending he might win rather than
clearly shown. White's bishop con
allow Black middlegamc chances.
trols most of the board and neatly
I QcJ QxcJ? combines attack and defence .
A terrible move , so why did Black 3 ... Raf8
play it? Presumably because he ex 4 Rhl Rf2 +
pected that the bishops of opposite 5 KdJ
colours would reduce White's win
ning chances in an ending. 'Experi Black's difficulties are evident and
ence' from many games has shown his queenside is ripe for plucking.
 Exchanaa to Reach au Endpme 77

5 .. . Rd8 Should Black play 1 . . . Bg6 or

6 Kc4 Bb6 1 . . . Qb4?
7 KbS Rb8 White threatens to play an ex
8 Ka4 Bd4 change of rook for bishop which
9 RbJ draws the black knight away from
defence of h7 allow ing mate. If
When a player gets an improvement
. . . Bg6, White has a : brilliant ex
in position by exchanging pieces he
changing combination by 2 Qxg6
can use the threat to exchange as a
hxg6 3 Bxf7 + Rxf7 4 Rh8 Kxh8 5
way of gaining tempo or getting
1
I
Naf7+ Kg8 6 Nxd6 Rd8 7 Re6.
control of vital squares.
The correct move for Black is to
9 ... Rf8 play 1 . . Qb4 removing his queen
.

10 cJ BcS from the threatened combination

1 1 KaS with tempo gain.
and Black lost soon after as White
pushed his b-pawn on to queen.
Here is an example of a combinative
transition to an ending which nets a
pawn in the process by a com
bination which has been seen in a
number of similar variants and has
thus become a part of chess tech
nique .

0 c d e 0

KA VALEK vs. TORRE,

Skopje, 1 972

White has just played 1 Nd2 from

f3. Black sees that by playing Nxe4
he can exchange his knight for one of
White's minor pieces with the idea
of getting more space for his con-
78 Cheu Exthanges

gestcd pieces. Black also hopes to 14 hS Rxb l

follow up with a rapid mobilization IS Qxbl Qa6?
of his kingside pawn roller. 16 Qb8+ Qc8
After 17 Qxc8+ Bxc8
18 h6 Uf8
I ... Nxe4
19 Nf6+ Kf7
2 Ndxe4 rs
20 Nxh7 Ba6
3 g4!!
21 Kd3 c6
Black's idea is refuted. The ex 22 NgS+ Ke7
change of the piece is not as import 23 h7 Bg7
ant as the control of the e4 square. 24 Ne6 Bh8
While White controls this square, 25 BgS+ Kd7
Black's bishops are condemned to 26 Nf8+ Ke8
inactivity. White gets a thematic 27 Nxg6 cxdS
ideal position against this King's 28 Nxh8 Bxc4+
Indian set-up. 29 Kc3
After and Black resigned.
3 ... fxe4 This last example shows opening
4 Nxe4 b6 exchanges which lead to a middle
S Ud3 NcS game and soon to an endgame.
6 b3 Opening exchanges may give a pos
ition with good middlegame pros
it is White who is ready to rb ll
pects but poor endgame prospects if
forward the kingside pawns and with
all the pieces are exchanged off.
the centre closed Black has little
We consider the significance of
chance of counterplay. To stop the
opening exchanges in more detail in
attack Black is forced to exchange
the next chapter.
off his pieces which bring him closer
Throughout the book we have
to an ending where White's strongly
tried to show how the initiative
placed knight will dominate the bad
gained in the opening is translated
bishop. into superiority in the middlegame
6 ... Nxd3+ more often than not leading to a
7 Qxd3 Ud7 won endgame rather than a direct
8 Ke2 bS mate. A clear understanding of the
9 1'3 bxc4 link between the phases of a game
10 bxc4 Rb8 helps make decisions concerning
I I Rabl Rxb l exchanges. An appreciation of end
12 Rxb l Qa8 games is often necessary to under
13 h4 Rb8 stand opening ideas.
 4 ..

Opening Exchanges

As the players commence the chess

battle and the opening salvos are 8

fired they formulate their strategies
around the tactical opportunities
6
presented. Exchanges at this early
stage can dictate the battle plans for 5
the rest of the game. Pawn struc 4
tures may be weakened or asym
metrical formations may result. The 3
availability of open lines and out 2
posts will encourage players to
follow a particular course of action
to seek out or to avoid further ex a g
changes.
Let us look at some less familiar
openings to see the practical con action for B lack would be to strike
sequences of some of the principles back with 4 . . . e5 developing his
we have established. Let us start king's bishop and trying to exchange
with a gambit . In the Caro Kahn queens. This is not possible because
after 1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 d4 dxe4 White has the strong reply 5 Qh5 so
White can delay the recapture and after 4 . . . Nf6 White is faced with
play 4 Bc4 with obvious attacking justifying his pawn sacrifice. The
intentions. logical follow up is 5 f3 opening the
e- and f-file or recovering his pawn
(see following diagram)
and controlling the centre . After
Like all gambits the ideas are to 5 . . . exf3 6 Nxf3 White's lead in
open lines, to control the centre and development gives him many attack
to develop quickly. A logical re- ing chances, e .g. 6 . . . g6?! 7 Ne5
CI-D 79
 Chesa; Excjlanaes

Nd:'i H NxdS cxd5 9 Qf3 Bc6? 1 0 The ending after the indirect queen
Bb5 + wins. A move like 6 . . . g6 is exchanges 9 . . . Bxd l 10 Nxd8 gives
just too slow in such a position. Even White good play.
after the better 7 Ne5 e6 X 0-0 or X
10 Qg4 Qd7
Bg5 White still has a strong attack?
I I BgS Na6
Black has to pia' either 6 . . . e6 or 6
Bf5 to further his development and (intending to manoeuvre the knight
strengthen his kingside which are to d5) . This is a critical position for
logical necessities after the opening White. All his pieces are developed,
of lines when both sides have but he is still a knight down, and has
chances. to press home his attack before
Here is an example of a White Black completes his development.
win. The only way White can improve his
position is to open up the lines to
WELLING vs. MARZIK, Black's king which can only be done
Biel, 1 9X I by playing d5. Therefore White has
to exchange by
12 Bxf6 gxf6
13 dS Nc7

a c d e Q h

6 ... BfS
7 NeS e6
8 0-0 Bxc2 o b c d e f g h

(trying to exchange his vulnerable

The critical decision was to play
bishop for White's knight ; if 9 Qxc2
13 . . . cxd5 14 Nxd5 (note that
Qxd4 + recovers the piece)
Black's e-pawn is pinned against
9 Nxf7 Kxf7 both the queen and king) 14 . . . Bg7
 Openlna Exchanaes II

1 5 Rxf6+ Bxf6 16 Rfl BfS 1 7 Rxf5

exfS 1 8 Nb6+ recovering the
material, an interesting series of
sacrificial line clearing exchanges
dictated almost by the very choice of
opening.
14 dxe6 Nxe6
15 Rael Re8
16 Ne4 Bxe4
17 Rxe4 DeS +
18 Kh l Re7
19 Qh5+
and White wins back his piece and
still has the attack - Black resigned.
Here are some other gambit ideas White's aim is clearly to castle
which feature unusual positions queenside and use the open centre
after the opening exchanges. Like for pressure against B lack's king and
all gambits material is offered for an queen.
initiative aimed at a winning attack.
7 NdS
The role of exchanges in such open . . .

ings is critical if the initiative is not to Initiating a series of exchanges to

be lost leaving the gambiteer with a reduce White's attacking chances.
material deficit and no compen 7 . . . Nd4 8 Qe3 Nxf3 + 9 gxf3
sation. In the next example White followed by 0-0-0 would give White
offers a positional gambit after his the position he wants.
material one.
8 Qe4 BxfJ
9 gxfJ NxcJ
MYERS vs. MEYER, 10 bxcJ Qd6
US open, 1981 II BeJ!
An unusual gambit, of White's pawn
l e4 Nf6 structure, which is not only weak
2 Nc3 dS ened but virtually decimated. What
3 dJ!? dxe4 compensation does White have? His
4 BgS exdJ only pieces are long-ranging ones
5 BxdJ Nc6 which need open lines. He has four
6 NfJ 8g4 half-open files for his rooks and
7 Qe2! queen which will hamper Black's
81 Cheal Exc:hanaes

task of safeguarding his king. The 16 QbJ

bishops are centrally posted on open
(Notice how White is able to create
diagonals attacking both kingside
threats by almost every move he
and queensidc , yet defending his
makes because of his actively posted
own position and the white pawns
pieces. )
deny access of Black's pieces to the
centre. White will clearly be looking 16 . . . b6
for a direct attack rather than pos- 17 f4
itional manoeuvring. he wants to
( perh aps B e4 was bet ter)
preserve his space advantage and
keep Black passive. Therefore
White had to avoid the queen ex-
change which Black threatened on
1 17
18
19
...
f3
Rhn
Qh5+
QhJ
RxdJ!
his last move with Oe6 because 20 cxdJ Qxh2+
White's pawns are no good for an 21 Rfl Qh5
___ ...
ending. 22 Qa4 Kb7
23 Rb5 Qh l
II 0-0-0
12 Rbl Qe5
IJ Qc4 e6
14 Ke2
(threatening Rxb7)
14 . . . QdS
IS Qa4 QaS

6 a c d Q
5
Black's sacrifice of the exchange to
4 reduce the pressure on the white
3 squares and to slow down White's
attack was a well-j udged defence
2 exchange.
24 Rfl Qg2 +
a b c d e Q h 25 Bfl Qg6
 OpeaiDa Exchanaa &l
26 Qe4 Bd6 Here we see an example of Black
27 RgS Qf6 trying to delay "normal" opening
ideas in order to set his opponent
Suddenly it is Black avoiding the
problems. He has seized the gambit
queen exchanges because White
pawn and plans to hang on to it. This
would magically regroup all his
is a courageous but rlsky strategy;
scattered infantry in the centre of
declaring war without 1'irst mobiliz
the battlefield.
ing your reserves is seldom good
28 Bd4 eS sense. Black's problems are the lack
29 BxeS BxeS of central control, the white square
30 RxeS Kb8 weaknesses and poor development.
31 Re8 + Rxe8
32 Qxe8+ Kb7 6 eS! NdS
7 a4 Nxc3
The game was eventually drawn in 8 bxc3 QdS
47 moves.
Black is already being forced to play
BALASHOV vs. MILES, dubious moves. The logical 8 . . .
Bugono, 1 978 Bb7 invites White to play 9 e6, but
the queen is now vulnerable.
White's attack against the weakened
I d4 dS white squares is very impressive.
2 Nf'J Nf6
3 c4 dxc4 9 g3 Be6
4 Nc3 a6 10 Bg2 Qb7
S e4 bS I I 0-0 BdS
1 2 e6!

8 Not only threatening to destroy

Black on the white squares but also
the start of a series of exchanges to
6 remove Black's developed pieces.
5 12 ... Bxe6
4 13 NgS BdS
14 BxdS QxdS
3
IS axbS axbS
2 16 Rxa8 Qxa8
17 Qg4

0 c d e f g h (see following diagram)

84 Chess Exchanaes

8 8
7
6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

0 b c d e f Q h 0 b c d e f Q h

(threatening I H QcH mate) 2 1 . . . gxf4 22 Qh5 + Kd7 23 Nc5 +

wins the Black queen.
17 . . . Nc6
(if 1 7 . . . c6 I H Qf4 recovers at leat a 21 . . . Bh6
pawn) Black has been reduced to nonsense
18 QfJ f6 moves, there is no way to improve
19 Ne6 his position

Almost an ideal position for White . 22 Rei Qb6

Black's pieces arc almost helpless.
Hoping to play Kf7 without worry
19 . . . Qb7 ing about the discovered check
20 QdS
23 Nxc7+ Kf8
White can recover his material 24 Re6
whenever he wants by the exchang
ing combination 21 Qxb5 'Qxb5 22 Thematic to the end White forces
Nxc7+ etc. the exchange of the last active piece
while continuing to press home his
20 . . . gS attack on the white squares.
21 Bf4!
24 . . . gxf4
(see following diagram)
25 Rxc6 Qb8
Black has weakened all the white 26 Ne6+ Ke8
squares on his kingside as well. If 27 Rc7 Kf7
 Openin& Exchanaes

28 Nxf4+ Kf8
8
29 QcS
and Black resigned. As wdl as the
threatened Oxe7+ he also had no 6
defence to RdH . The next game 5
shows a similar pyrrhic victory on
the light squares. White punishes 4
Black's attempt to develop his 3
queenside early by attacking the
queenside light squares. Within a 2
few moves Black is way behind in
development and White throws in a
a b c d e f g h
pawn, to fuel the flames by smashing
open lines, and weakening the white
squares. Subsequent exchanges pur
sue the white square strategy right Black has nothing better here than
up to the final endgame liquidation. trying to exchange queens by Qb6,
but after 6 c5 White has a better
position. Black cannot afford the
tempo or the further weakening of
RIBLI vs. KU RAJICA , the light squares resulting from his
Novi Sad , 1 983 next move.
5 ... b6?
I NO dS
6 cxd5 exdS
2 d4 BfS!?
7 e4! !
Developing the problem bishop
early weakens the b-pawn and Destroying Black's game by forcing
leaves Black vulnerable to checks on the exchange of his only developed
the a4-e8 diagonal. piece and opening up lines for
attack.
3 c4 e6
4 Nc3 c6 7 dxe4

Black has made three pawn moves Similarly if 7 . . . Bxe4 8 Nxe4 dxe4 9
already and they are all on light Ne5 followed by Bc4 gives White an
squares. White's next move pin excellent game.
points the weakness of this strategy.
8 Ne5 Be6
5 Qb3 9 Bc4 Bxc4
86 Chess Exchan&a

Black's bishop has made three tive , but Black might get chances
moves to achieve nothing but the along the g-file or on the dark
development of White's pieces. squares.
10 Qxc4 Qe7
8
Black is forced to surrender either
the e- or the c-pawn.
I I Nxc6 Qc7 6
12 dS Nf6 5
If Black plays 12 . . Nxc6 White
.
4
does not recapture immediately but
plays 13 Bf4 with a crushing pos 3
ition . 2
13 NbS Qc8
14 BgS
0 c d e f g
Threatening to remove another
white square defender and then cap 18 . . . fS
ture the e-pawn. 19 Nd6+ Kf'B
20 Nxc8
14 . . . Nxc6
IS 8xf6 gxf6 Much stronger than Nxf5 . After the
16 dxc6 ReS! forced exchange of queens when
Black plays Qe6, Black has the
Hetter than trying to defend the e
intermediate move Bxb4+ before
pawn with f5 because if 1 6 . . . fS 1 7
recapturing the queen now lhat his
Qd4 Oxc6 White does not capture
bishop is no longer pinned. Black
the rook immediately but plays in
wants to exchange the minor pieces
stead I X Qe5 + which wins the rook
as well as the queens, confident that
for nothing.
the extra pawn, being passed and
17 b4 Be7 advanced, will be enough to win.
18 Qxe4
20 . . . fxe4
Black has defended well in a dif 2 1 Nxe7 Kxe7
ficult game . His next move gives 22 Ke2 Rhg8
White the chance to go astray but 23 g3 a6
also allows White to exchange into a 24 a4 Rgd8
won endgame . The alternative l H 25 Rhd l bS
. 0-0 does not seem very attrac-
. . 26 Rxd8 Rxd8
 Openin& Exchan&a 87

Exchanging a pair of rooks reduces 1 d4 Nf6

Black's opportunities for resistance. 2 BgS
27 axbS axbS has gained in popularity in the last
28 Rei ! decade. Some of the drawbacks of
this opening sequenfe are the vul
Black resigned. White's plan is to tie
nerability of the white queen bishop
down B lack's rook by advancing the
and weaknesses of the black
c-pawn to c7. Black will be unable to
squares on White's queenside . An
capture the c-pawn without allowing
active defence for Black to exploit
White to exchange rooks wheh
these weaknesses is
Black's king is too far away after
the recapture to come to the defence. 2 ... cS
of his kingside pawns. White's king
This releases Black's queen to
will penetrate B lack's weakened
attack the dark squares and also
kingside whether B lack exchanges
challenges the centre.
or not.
The gambit player, who has given
up material, has to be very careful 3 dS Ne4
to ensure that exchanges maintain 4 Bh4 Qb6
or increase his initiative and that 5 Qc l gS!
the position does not become over
This move looks surprising, but it
simplified. Many gambits have gone
appears to give Black an advantage.
out of fashion because defences
The open diagonal allows Black's
have been found which give back
king bishop to strike at the dark
the material to exchange off the
squares and White's important
attacking pieces to reach an ending
bishop will be exchanged.
which is level or where the attacker
stands positionally worse. The im (see following diagram)
portance of exchanges in removing
opponents' developed pieces or key
6 BgJ
defenders is clearly seen in the
attack and the forcing nature of an (Better is 6 f3 !)
exchange can be vital to maintain
6 ... Bg7
ing the initiative necessary to justify
7 cJ Qh6!!
the gambited material .
Having looked a t some o f the An excellent move - attributable
ideas behind gambit openings, let to Hort. B lack has consistently
us look at other aspects of early attacked the black squares. His last
exchanges. The opening sequence move prepares to exchange off
1111 ChHii Exchamges

fence of the e-pawn, his centre is

8 blocked and Black threatens to
advance on both wings.
These rather unusual opening
6
sequences have nevertheless all
5 complied with the general prin
4 ciples of development, piece co
ordination , and central control.
3 Some of the more extreme open
2 ings, such as the Grob 1 g4, the St
George 1 . . a6 and the defence
.

I . . . c6 2 . . Na6, which have

.

gained in popularity recently. seem

to contradict these principles , yet
prove successful. The 'principles'
White's bishop but keeps the h-file
are not wrong, but some of them
closed. After
can be delayed a move or so for
8 NhJ d6 longer-term strategical aims or
9 Nd2 NxgJ short-term tactical ones. Chess is a
10 rxgJ Qg6 struggle and it is necessary to pose
II e4 Nd7 the opponent's problems in order to
12 Be2 NeS win . The important thing is that
there is an objective reason for
selecting a particular move se
quence .
Given an objective a player can
evolve a plan which will guide him
to determine which pieces should
be exchanged. Understanding the
facilities of the pieces and their
potential guides a player to choos
ing an objective.
A player's approach to the chess
openings will reflect his own knowl
edge and experience and also his
a b c d e f g h temperament. Some players will
prefer to offer gambits, others to
Hla<.:k has an excellent pos1t1on . avoid them. Some may prefer a
White's pieces are tied to the de- course of action which will require
 Openlna Ec:han&es 89

precise analysis of specific vari mean that one side has a number of
ations, others will prefer a more chances for attack but the other has
strategic course where judgement adequate resourc . to meet them;
may be more crucial than analysis. or it may mean both players have
A player's temperament may lead equal attacking cl)ances. A de
him naturally to adopt an attacking fensive player can a'dopt a strategy
formation or a defensive one . Some of playing defensive ly to achieve
will be happy to declare their basic equality, the 'simplest' idea being to
strategy as early as possible others exchange off all the pieces. The
will prefer a more flexible approah alternative defensive strategy is to
where opportunities for attack on set up an iinprgna ble position .
either side of the board can b8 Another approach is to play for
combined with defence. How do counter-attack. Perhaps a kingside
these factors manifest themselves in attack can be met by a queenside
the actual opening moves selected one, perhaps tactical threats can be
by a player? met with positional ones, an even
Between evenly matched players more extreme approach is for B lack
it is difficult to impose one's own to set out to attack directly trying to
strategy without taking account of put White on the defensive.
the opponent's. The desired plan The choice of opening strategy
may never materialize on the will dictate the exchanges a player
board. A player has to exploit will seek to make or to avoid.
whatever opportunities come his Usually the early exchanges in a
way and a pre-determined plan may game involve pawns, either directly
not be possible . There are a number or indirectly when they recapture .
of opening systems which have be Because they are slow-moving
come established as 'standard' and pieces with only a limited choice of
have evolved a body of recognized moves, because they are of relative
theory usually leading to positions ly little value and can be sacrificed
offering equal chances to both in an assault with less risk than a
sides. In such cases players may piece, because they are excellent
champion one side or other in a defenders, because they pose the
particular opening and both may be greatest threats to pieces and be
happy to head for the critical pos cause there are so many of them ,
ition where the game really starts. pawns have a vital role to play in
Equal chances can mean many openings. We have seen how the
things. It can mean no chances for pawn position can favour particular
either side, i.e. a clearly drawn minor pieces, how the opening of
position has been reached. It may lines through the pawn chains is
 90 Chess Exchanaes

necessary to usc the heavy pieces of manoeuvring space which could

and how the creation of a passed lead to the owner of the small
pawn can result in a won game . centre being overrun if he is not
Evidently a player has to select or resourceful enough.
bring about the necessary pawn How have these ideas shaped the
formation for his strategy to work modern opening systems and how
or more often he has to select his are piece exchanges, pawn struc
strategy to suit the pawn formation. tures, central control, develop
The pawn structure that looks so ment, piece coordination and strat
promising for attack may be of little egy blended together in practice. _

usc in defence or in an ending. The We shall consider a few pawn

early moves of the game lay down structures to see how piece ex
the terrain for the battle as the changes relate to them and what
pieces arc developed in accordance pieces should be exchanged in the
with the pawns. The selection of opening.
any move is a compromise between
conflicting ends. A piece can only
contribute to attack and defence on
both sides of the board if it is
centrally situated . The opponent
will be fighting for his share of the
centre and there will not be room
for all the pieces. so some will ha ve
to move elsewhere. A fight for
central control is therefore necess
ary at some stage . This does not
have to be a direct fight. a player
may concede partial control for a
number of reasons. A small pawn
centre is a small well-defended
target to attack. To open lines an
opponent has to advance his own
pawns leaving unguarded squares in This type of pawn structure may be
their rear which it might bt! possible reached either via the French De
to exploit later. Leading an attack fence 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 exd5 or
with pawns rather than pieces is via the Petroff Defence I e4 e5 2
time-consuming and allows defence Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 Nxe4 4 Bd3 d5 5 Nxe5.
or counter attacks to be prepared. There is one open file and both
The obvious disadvantage is a lack sides will aim to gain control of this
 Openlna Entumaes 91

file. The most useful square for 13 Qxd3 h6

each side's king's bishop is d3/d6 14 f4
aiming at the enemy kingside; the
This is bad since it weakens the e3
knights may take up various pos
and e4 squares.
itions. The most difficult piece to
place is the queen's bishop. Both
queen's bishops are slightly ham
pered by their own centre pawn on 8
d4/d5. Often one side will try to 7
exchange off his slightly ba
queen's bishop as in the following 6
game . 5
4
3

WINTER vs. ALEKHINE, 2

Nottingham , 1936

I d4 e6
2 e4 d5
14 . . . Qg4
3 exd5 exd5
1 5 h3 Qd7
4 Bd3 Nc6
16 Rhrt hS
5 Ne2 Bd6
6 c3 Qh4 Black prevents White from break
ing free with f5 . If now 17 f5 h4 18
This queen move prevents White
f6 Ng8 19 Nh I Re8 Black will round
from exchanging off his dark
up the white pawn on f6.
squared bishop by Bf4.
17 Ng1 h4
7 Nd2 Bg4 18 N3e2 NfS
8 Qc2 0-0-0 19 NfJ f6
9 NCJ g6 20 Nh2 Rde8
10 Be3 Nge7 21 Bd2 Re6
Black aims to exchange off White's 22 Ng4 Rhe8
light squared bishop. 23 Rde1 R8e7
24 Kd 1 Qe8
I I 0-0-0 Bf5 25 QfJ Na5
12 Nfg3 Bxd3 26 bJ
91 Chess Exc:hanaes

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

a b e d e f g h

26 . . . Nc4 Since Black's pawns are fixed on

the dark squares he should aim for
White cannot accept this sacrifice ;
an exchange of the dark squared
after 27 bxc4 Qa4+ 2H Kc l Ba3+ 29
bishops, whereas White should try
Kb I Rb6+ 30 Ka I Qc2 mate is
. to exchange off the light squared
unavoidable.
bishops.
27 Be l Nce3 +
28 BxeJ Nxe3+
29 Nxe3 Rxe3
JO Qfl QbS
31 Ncl Rxc3
32 Rxe7 Bxe7
33 Qel Kd7
34 f5 Re3
35 Qfl gS
36 Rei Re4
37 Rxe4 dxe4
38 Kd2 Bd6
39 Kc2 Bf4
White resigned .
Positions with interlocking pawn
chains often arise in the opening In this type of pawn structure White
and again exchanges of bishops are should aim for the exchange of dark
a key feature of such positions. squared bishops whereas Black
 Opeoln& Exchan&et 93

should try to exchange off light 4 h3 BxO

squared bishops. The following S Qxf3 Nf6
game shows exchanges in the open 6 d3 e6
ing resulting in a favourable 7 g3 Bb4
middlegame and a winning end An important positional decision;
game. Black prepares to exc ange the dark
squared bishops in order to leave
FISCHER vs. KERES, White with a bad bishop.
Candidates tournament , 8 Bd2 d4
Belgrade, 1959 9 Nbl Qb6
10 bJ Nbd7
II Bg2 aS
I e4 c6 12 a3 Bxd2+
2 Nc3 dS 13 Nxd2 QcS
3 NO Bg4 14 Qd1 hS
Black attempts to further restrict the
scope of White's bishop by playing

15 NO Qc3+
16 Ke2 QcS
17 Qd2 NeS
18 b4 NxO
19 BxO QeS
20 Qf4 Nd7

8
7
o b c d e Q h
6
Black is willing to exchange off his 5
queen 's bishop for White's knight 4
since his bishop is slightly hampered
by the pawn structure c6-d5. In the 3
m id,,llt:gam_ Black mus!our. 2 __

_
to kep th potiiln closed .ur_el.se-
Whitc will be able lo u.se.the CKi.l.tan- - - 1 :;;;;:
t<;tBe_of_t-pJ. .Q_air:___ o b c d e f Q h
94 Chess Exchanaes

Black maintains the blockade on e5 Unfortunately White cannot cap

in order to slop the white bishop ture the d-pawn.
from coming into play.
53 . . . Nc3
21 QxeS NxeS 54 Bh7 bS
22 bxaS Kd7 55 Rf7+ Ke3
23 Rhbl Kc7
White resigns. He has no defence to
24 Rb4 RxaS
56 . . . d3.
Now While cannot capture on d4
because of . . . c5 .
25 Bg2 gS
26 f4 gxf4
27 gxf4 Ng6
28 KfJ Rg8
29 Bfl eS
30 fxeS NxeS+
31 Ke2 cS
32 Rb3 b6
33 Rabl Rg6
34 h4 Ra6
35 Bh3 Rg3
36 Bfl Rg4
37 Bh3 Rxh4
38 Rhl Ra8
39 Rbb l Rg8 How does the blend of strategy.
40 Rbfl Rg3 exchanges. and pawn structures
41 BfS Rg2 + evolve into opening systems? Let us
42 Kd l Rhh2 consider a complex modern opening
43 Rxh2 Rxh2 system. the Queen's Indian De
44 Rgl c4 fence . After 1 d4 White establishes a
45 dxc4 Nxc4 central foothold, which if unchal
46 Rg7 Kd6 lenged could give him a space ad
47 Rxf7 Ne3+ vantage. If he can continue with e4
48 Kc l Rxc2 + he will control the e5 and d5 squares,
49 Kbl Rh2 the two squares which give best
SO Rd7+ KeS access to Black's position. Black can
51 Re7+ Kf4 meet this direct assault in a number
52 Rd7 Ndl of ways. The classical openings saw
53 Kcl Black playing d5, when White could
 Openlna EKctuuaaa 95

continue with c4 trying to under- 10 e3 0-0

mine the Black pawn centre . An I I 0-0-0 cS
alternative strategy for Black is to 12 Kbl Nc6
challenge control of e4 with his 13 dxcS Nb4
pieces, keeping his central pawn 14 Qb3 bxcS
formation uncommitted, and flex- I S a3 BKJ
ible until he sees White's central 16 Qxc3 d4
pawn structure and piece deploy- 17 exd4 Be4 +
ment and then choosing an appro- 1 8 Kat Nc2+
priate counter. The conflict over 19 Kal cxd4
e4 may allow Black to force piece 20 Nxd4 ReS
exchanges which will minimize any . 21 Qd2 Qb6
space disadvantage. If White tries 22 f3 BdS+
too hard to conquer e4 he will have 23 Kbl Nxa3 +
to neglect other squares and Black 24 Kal Rfd8
can often successfully play against 25 bxa3 Bb3
d4 instead. 26 Rbl Rxd4
This is not intended to be an 27 Qb2 Qf6
opening textbook, so we will look at 28 Ba6 Rc2
a number of games rather than 29 Qxb3 Rb4+
examine detailed .lines. As you play White resigned.
through the games try and evaluate
how the choices taken guide the
players to exchange or avoid ex- N IMZOVITCH vs. MARSHALL,
changes. Bad Kissingen, 1982

I d4 Nf6
BENKO vs. RESHEVSKY,
2 c4 b6
New York, 1960
3 Nc3 Bb7
4 BgS e6
I d4 Nf6 5 Qc2 h6
2 c4 e6 6 Bh4 Be7
3 Nf'J b6 7 e4 0-0
4 Nc3 Bb7 8 eS NdS
5 BgS Be7 9 Bg3? Nb4
6 Qc2 h6 10 Qb3 dS
7 Bh4 dS II exdS e.p. Bxd6
8 Bxf6 Bxf6 12 0-0-0 N lc6
9 cxdS exdS 13 Bxd6 Qxd6
 1 4 a3 Nxd4 limited some of his options. After
IS Rxd4 Qxd4 the subsequent 4 Nc3 Bb7 Black Still
16 axb4 Qxf2 challenges e4. If Black were to chal
17 Qd l Rl'dH lenge the centre immediately by
18 Qe7 Qf'4+ 4 . . . c5 White would play 5 d5 with a
1 9 Kc2 aS cramping effect on Black's game .
20 bxaS RxaS However, if 4 . . dS 5 cxdS exdS 6
.

2 1 Nf3 Ra l BgS would be a variation of the

22 Kb3 bS Queen's Gambit where Black's b6 is
23 QeS bxc4+ not very useful.
24 Kb4 Qc l S BgS Be7. The idea behind Be7 is
2S NbS cS + to seek exchanges by Ne4 when the
White resigned. position is so equal it offers neither
In both these games the positional player winning chances. Black could
fight for e4 soon got overtaken by play this on move 5 so White now
the players' aggressive intentions. tries to prevent it by 6 Qd which
The white players' plan of opposite takes protection away from d4 so
side castling and a kingside pawn that 6 . . cS! is a good move for
.

storm being met in both cases by Black .

black pawn sacrifices in true blooU We are ready to move on and
and-guts gambit style. The assym pursue new ideas..
mctrical nature of the games made it
'
vital for the players to seck counte r
attacking chances. Notice how the
SPASSKY vs. PORTISCH
Black players sought line opening
Match , 1 977, game 5
pawn exchanges, but were particu
larly careful to avoid queen ex
changes. Reshevsky's 15 . . . Bxc3 I d4 Nf6
was a typical attacking exchange . 2 NfJ e6
work ing with tempo to try and open 3 c4 b6
the h-file, and removing one of 4 NcJ Bb7
White's few defenders. 5 BgS h6
Let us quickly recap the. opening 6 Bh4 Be7
sequence. After I d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 7 e3 0-0
Nf3 White avoids the pin which 8 Bd3 cS
would follow after J Nc3 Bb4 as part 9 0-0 cxd4
of the fight for e4. After 3 . . . b6 10 exd4 dS
White is less worried about Bb4 II Bxf6 Bxf6
hecause Black 's choict: of b6 has 12 cxdS exdS
 Openina Exc:hanaes 97

13 Rei Nc6 was more ambitious. Note that if

14 BbS Ne7 White answers 7 . . . Ne4 with 8 Nxe4
IS NeS (intending Nd7) Black should reply 8 . . Bxe4 with
.

IS ... BxeS equality not 8 . . Bxh4? 9 Bd3! Be7

.

16 RxeS Ng6 10 0-0 0-0 1 1 Bc2 and White has

17 Re3 QgS control over the central white
18 Rg3 Qf6 squares e4 and dS after Qd3.
19 Qd2 Rad8 In the first game of the same
20 Re i Bc8 match Portisch had varied from the
21 Qd l Qf4 fifth game continuation 10 . . . dS
22 Rge3 Be6 with the exchange 1 0 . . . Bxf3 with a
23 g3 Qd6 very drawish position. The game
24 Bd3 Ne7 variation gave him the two bishops
25 Bbl Rfe8 but one of them was bad. The
26 Qc2 Ng6 mutual pawn weaknesses created
27 NbS Qb4 more winning and losing chances.
28 Nc7! Nf8 Another approach to this opening
29 Nxe8 for White is to oppose Black's fian
chetto bishop on the long diagonal.
(Black could not allow Nxe6, and
moving the rook allows the strong
reply a3 driving the queen to a bad
square . ) KORELOV vs. B LATTNER,
Correspondence Game
29 . . . Rxe8
30 Qc3 QbS
31 f4 Rc8 I d4 Nf6
32 Qd2 Qd7? 2 c4 e6
33 fS! BxfS 3 NO b6
34 Re7 Qxe7 4 g3 Bb7
35 Rxe7 Bxb l 5 Bg2 cS?!
36 Rxa7 Ne6 6 dS d6
37 h4 7 Nc3 Be7
8 0-0 0-0
stopping NgS , and White went on to 9 dxe6 fxe6
win at move 6 1 . 10 Bh3 eS
Portisch avoided the 'safe' II NgS Qe8
7 . . . Ne4 8 Bxe7 9 Nxe4 Bxc4 10 Bc2 12 Ne6 QhS
0-0 I I 0-0 d6 with little chance of 13 Bg2 Ng4
advantage to either side because he 14 h3 Bxg2
 98 Chess Exchllnaes

IS Kxg2 Nxf2 pinned on the diagonal, White being

16 Rxf2 Rxf2+ able to continue with recapturing
17 Kxf2 Qf7+ the pawn and then e4. The first game
18 Nf4 exr4 continuation was no improvement
19 Bxf4 Qxc4? despite Black's desperate counter
20 Qh l attack. because of the white square
Black resigned. weaknesses.
(if 19 . . . g5 20 Qd5 !) Our second game shows Black
playing for thematic exchanges with
BECKER vs. FUSS. out examining the tactical con
Vienna , 1 933 sequences. A simple reply is
7 . . . 0-0 K 0-0 d6 9 Nc3 Ne5 10 Qc2
Nxc3 because I I Ng5 is met by
I d4 Nf6
Nxe2+ with adequate compensation
2 c4 e6
or if I I Qxc3 Nbd7 12 Rad l Qe7 is
3 Nf3 h6
equal.
4 g3 Bb7
The so-called Monticelli trap Ng5
S Ug2 Bb4+
always has to be considered in this
6 Ud2 Bxd2
opening. Black's best plan after ex
7 Qxd2 d6
changing his king bishop is to set up
8 Nc3 NeS?
the dark squared pawn structure d6
9 Qf4 Nxc3
and e5 supported by Qe7.
10 NgS f6
I I Bxb7 fxgS
12 Qe3 Nd7
13 Qxe6+ KfH KARPOV vs. SPASSKY.
14 Bxa8 Qxa8 6th Spartakiad, USSR. 1975
IS f3
Black resigned.
I d4 Nf6
These miniatures illustrate some 2 c4 e6
of the problems to he solved on the 3 NfJ b6
long diagonal. In the first game the 4 g3 Bb7
move 5 . . . c5 appears to be a logical 5 Bg2 Be7
idea taking advantage of the pin on 6 Nc3 0-0
White's knight to threaten cxd4, 7 Qc2 dS
with d5 to follow. giving White an 8 cxdS NxdS
isolated d-pawn. The reply 6 d5 9 0-0 Nd7
turns the table because 6 . . . exd5 is 10 NxdS exdS
met by 7 Nh4 and it is Black who is II Rd l Nf6
 Openina Exchan&a 99

12 NeS cS 44 KD
13 dxcS BxcS Black resigned his task is hopeless
14 Nd3 Bd6 with his pieces so passively placed.
IS Bf4 ReS Spassky's attempt to liquidate the
16 e3 Ne4 centre by d5 is logical, and tricky, for
17 Bxd6 Qxd6 example after 8 Ne5 iC5 9 dxc5 Bxc5
IS Nf4 RacS 10 0-0 Qc8 1 1 cxd5 -Nxd5 12 Nxd5
19 Qa4 Qe7 Bxd5 13 Bxd5 Bxf2+ wins the
20 Qxa7 Nxfl queen. 1 4 Rxf2 Qx l 1 5 Bxa8 White
21 NxdS BxdS is better. The opening exchanges left
22 Qxe7 Nxdl Spassky with a bad bishop and to
improve his game he had to play for
(The ending is lost if B lack ex- c5 which Karpov anticipated would
changes, because White has a lead to an open d-file . After the
mobile queenside majority and an pawn exchanges had left Black with
active bishop against the knight. ) the isolated d-pawn Karpov
harassed the king bishop to stop it
23 Re i ! Rb8
supporting the thrust d4. With the
24 Qb4 Bxg2
dark square bishop exchanged, and
2S Kxg2 Nxe3+
the other bishop bad , White's more
26 Kgl Re6
active pieces kept Black tied to the
27 Qf4 Rd8
defence of the d-pawn. Black , un
28 Qd4 Rde8
able to exchange into the ending, let
29 Qd7 Ng4
Karpov eventually gain the material
30 ReS Nf6
advantage of queen for rook and
31 RxeS+ RxeS
knight. He immediately forced ex
32 Qb7 Re6
change of a pair of rooks to reduce
33 Qb8+ Ne8
Black's opportunity for counter
34 a4 g6
play. With pawns on both sides of
3S b4 Kg7
the board Karpov played to tie down
36 Qb7 hS
Black's pieces so Spassky could not
37 Kg2 Kf6
sacrifice a knight for the queenside
38 h3 Rd6
pawns with chances of setting up a
39 aS bxaS
blockade with king and rook on the
40 bxaS Re6
kingside.
41 a6 Nc7
The difficulties of challenging e4
42 a7 Re7
control past the opening stages has
43 Qc6+ KeS
seen the black players following
(Not Kg7 44 Qd6 Kf8 45 Qd8+ wins) Korchnoi's idea of assaulting d4 with
100 CheSii Exchanges

positions that can resemble a Benoni 23 Bh3 R7d8

structure or more frequently a 24 f3 Qf6
Sicilian. 25 R2d2 Qe7
The first two examples sec Black 26 Qc3 g6
playing for dark square centre con 21 Ne3 rs
trol to offset White's bind on the 28 exfS BxfJ
white squares. The exchanges of 29 Rei Ne4
minor pieces reduces the effect of 30 Qc2 Nxd2
White's spatial advantage and 31 Qxd2 Be4
Korchnoi shows up the weaknesses 32 Ng4 BxfS
in White's game. 33 Nxh6+ Kh8
34 g4 Bc8
35 Qe3 Qh4
36 Rdl Kh7
IVKOV vs KORCHNOI, White resigned.
Lugano Olympiad, l lJ6M
First 12 moves as the previous game.
I d4 Nf6 13 Qd2 Rd8
2 c4 e6 14 Ne l Bxg2
3 NfJ b6 IS Nxg2 Nc6
4 g3 Bb7 16 dS exdS
S Bg2 8e7 17 cxdS Bxb2
6 0-0 0-0 18 Qxb2 Nd4
7 NcJ Ne4 19 e3 NfJ+
8 Qc2 Nxc3 20 Kh l Qe4
9 QxcJ cS 21 Qe2 a6
10 Rd l d6 22 Qd3 Qg4
II bJ Bf6 23 Nel Re8
12 8b2 Qe7 24 NxfJ QxfJ+
IJ Qd2 Na6 2S Kgl ReS
14 Nel Rad8 26 a4 hS
IS e4 cxd4 27 Ra2 gS
16 Bxd4 Bxd4 28 Qe2 g4
17 Qxd4 QgS 29 QxfJ gxfJ
18 Nc2 NcS 30 Rc2 Re4
19 Rei aS 31 Rc4 rs
20 Re2 Rd7 32 hJ Kt7
21 Rd l eS 33 Kh2 bS
22 Qe3 h6 34 Rxe4 fxe4
 Openlna Exchanaes 101

35 Ra 1 b4 15 Qxd4 Bf'H
36 g4 h4
(Na4 was threatened)
37 gS ReS
While resigned. 16 Rfd1 Nd7
17 Qe3 Rac8
The ending is hopeless if he ex
18 Rd2 Nc6
changes rooks and he has no way to
19 h3 Q118
stop the c4 break.
20 Kh2 Bc6
In our next example White plays
21 f4 b5
an interesting transposition of quee p
22 b4 Nd7
and knight at moves 10 and 1 1 hav
23 cxb5 axb5
ing taken the opemng via the
24 on Nf6
English and Queen's I ndian into a
25 a3 Qb7
Marcozy Bind of the Sicilian. His
26 Bg2 Nd7
intention is to keep Black from play
27 Qd3 Nf6
ing the thematic break b5 . Notice
28 Rdc2 Be7
how much more difficult Black's
29 Ne2 e5
game is with the extra minor piece .
30 Nc3 exf4
31 gxf4 NbS
32 Ne2 Be8

UHLMANN vs. HARTSTON, ( Rxc6 was a threat . )

Hastings, 1975176
33 Rxc8 Rxc8
34 e5 Qb8
1 c4 cS
35 Rxc8 Qxc8
2 NfJ Nf6
36 so r5
3 Nc3 e6
4 g3 b6 (g6 37 Bxh5 opening the g-file wins)
S Bg2 Bb7
6 d4 cxd4 37 exd6 Bf6
7 Qxd4 Be7 38 BxhS Bxh5
8 0-0 0-0 39 d7
9 e4 d6 Black resigned.
10 Qe3 a6
1 1 Nd4 Qc7 Black never seemed able to play dS
1 2 b3 Nc6 or N b6 and despite alert defence his
123 Bb2 Rfd8 position was too passive to hold on .
1 4 Rac1 Nxd4 Here is another example showing
(to stop Nd5) how Black can handle this line.
102 Chess Exchan&es

LEI N vs. CSOM , . 32 Rxd 1 f6

Hastings, 1 979/HO 33 gxf6 Re6+
34 Kf3
Draw agreed.
c4 Nf6
2 Nc3 e6 There are many other ways of
3 Nf3 cS treating this opening, but that in
4 g3 b6 vestigation is best carried out with a
5 Bg2 Bb7 specialist opening text . We have
6 0-0 d6 tried to show how the choice of a
7 b3 a6 variation depends on a player's
8 d4 cxd4 strategy: is he playing to win or
9 Qxd4 Nbd7 draw, for an aggressive tactical line ,
10 Rd l Qc7 or a positional one? The strategy
II 8b2 Be7 indicates the appropriate ex
12 Qe3 0-0 changes. On the other hand, ex
13 Nd4 Bxg2 changes can force a change of strat
14 Kxg2 Qb7+ egy. The pawn structure helps deter
IS Qf3 Qxf3+ mine the effective deployment and
.
coordination of the pieces and in
The exchanges case Black's game,
dicates which ones to exchange and
hut the long diagonal is too import
which to preserve. Such understand
ant for either side to concede.
ing is more important than memor
16 Nxf3 Rfc8 izing specific lines. Transpositions to
17 Nd4 Nb8 different openings or discovering
IK f4 Nc6 'new' moves is far easier if you
19 Kf3 Rab8 examine the structure of a position
20 Nxc6 Rxc6 and the potential of the pieces rather
21 Rac l Kf8 than playing to the 'book'. Simply
22 Ne4 Nd7 developing pieces is unlikely to be
23 Ba3 NcS sufficient if they do not coordinate
24 BxcS bxcS together to meet the specific threats
25 g4 Rd8 and opportunities presented. There_
26 gS dS are further examples of this opening
27 cxdS exdS in the illustrative games section , so
28 Nc3 Rcd6 to close this chapter here is an
29 Na4 Rc6 example of Black playing an un
30 e4 dxe4+ expected early exchange which cer
31 Kxe4 Rxd1 tainly solves the problem of prevent-
 Openlna Exchanaes 103

ing e4 but concedes the two bishops. 21 NeS Qxe2

The later opening up of the queen- 22 Rxe2 Re8
side is exploited by White in a con- 23 Bc6 Rc8
trolled manner. 24 BdS ReS
25 Bb3 Nc4
FTACNI K vs. MESTEL, 26 rs NxtS
Hastings, 1980/8 1 27 BxeS Nd8
28 Bxg7 Kxg7
29 Rxe7 RxfS
I d4 Nf6
30 Rxa7 Nc6
2 NO b6
3 1 Rd7 Ne5
3 g3 Bb7
32 Rd5 Nf'J+
4 c4 Bxf'J!?
33 Kg2 Rxd5
5 exf'J e6
34 BxdS Nd4
6 Bg2 d5
35 f4 hS
7 0-0 c6
36 Kfl Kf6
Black naturally opts for a white- 37 Ke3 Nf5 +
squared pawn structure. 38 Kd3 Nd6
39 Kd4 Nf5 +
8 b3 Be7
40 Kc5 Ne3
9 Nd2 0-0
41 Bf'J h4
10 f4 Nbd7
42 KxbS hxg3
II Bb2 Rc8
43 hxg3 Nf5
12 Qe2 Ne8
44 Kb6
13 Rac l Nd6
14 Nf'J dxc4 Black resigned: he cannot stop the a-
15 bxc4 b5 pawn.
16 cxb5 cxbS The opening battle is all about a
17 Rxc8 Qxc8 struggle for an initiative, gained by a
18 d5! Qc4 more effective piece disposition . In
19 Rei Nc5 our next chapter we examine the
20 dxe6 Nxe6 role exchanges play in this battle .
 5

The Initiative

The initiative is a subject often dis- have an- important role to pj'!)' .iruiny
cussed i n chess books. Essentially it planof tign 9esigned:.fo..L!.<?
means having an advantage which .maintaintb ioitiative.
may be a lead in development or a _!\t the start o e S!l_l)le White
structural --positional advan tage1_ consie!t:!f 19 thtil!itiative be
which allows action to the 'initiated' ;ause he moves first. StatisticsOf
- -
that forces the opponent's response, players results from tournaments,
or at least interferes with his plan to matches, etc. , indicate that this
-
a l?nsidt:rable ex_<: '!.!.:._!e pli initiative is usually converted into a
_ _
with the initiative is, or shmdd be. plus score for White . I t has been
able to dictate the course of i he compared to the serve in tennis, or
game : where the action is t.o take. to the element of surprise that goes
place , whether to open or to close to the aggressor in a battle who has
lines and whether to exchange . the advantage of knowing where and
_Because captures gain material when he is going to strike first.
they are forcing moves. i . e . the _ _ Classical opening play sees Black.
opponent is forced to recapture or to trying to neu_vai--W_hi_!_e_:_s ope:':J ing
complete the exchange of material . initiative before tryin, tQ J.!!.k. e -
Exchanges as we have seen can be _inittiy:.JtimselL.Opepi_ng theory
used to draw pieces out of position. has eyQlv.cd .tQ produce sys!ems
_

Pieces may be lured into passive which 5 _81!< fighting for te

positions or they may become tar- initiative from move one with a
gets for capture . Exchanges can systel!!_ of attack and counter-attack
open or close lines or create weak- rather than attack and defeoce as-the
nesses in pawn structures and they t
can be used to gain or to avoid loss of The deknder in chess has the
- -
tempo. Consequently exchans advantage oith dfende r In war, or
.,----

104
 The Initiative lOS

even the defender of the tennis _th process:. i.!<l.. i.!!! !!li<l_t_e ly
- serve. He knows from where the . t(ies to force the exchange of Black's
a ttack is coming. He is in position light squared bishop. Black has_!o
ready to defend a"g ainst it. -!r- avoiathls-excliange and White gains
fare there is a rule of thumb wh1ch idead in development which lie uses
says that fora-successful attaC:]{odds to good Cffectoy- fqrcrng-ceniral
o-r l to - -a.=c--necessa ry because the pawn exchanges. to open lines for his
defender has all hls forces i well pieces lack tries to ease-nts game
prepared positions with good fields b_fsimplify1 ng exchang:c;ulWhite
of fire , mutually supporting and re-: mainfaitKthe initiative and wins.
inforci ng each other. The attacker
--------- - -

ltas extended lines of suppl y .and has

to protecf his reireat an<f his- own

<ls. _The_ p_aralleLilb=.ches !s _

ERVIN vs. ENIGL,

evident, P?!IY prepared defens_i_
World Student Team
posltions will - crum'2_!e:--a.&!lst
Championships, 1974,
-iintjv -aipiepa!!. -t!f- USA vs. Austria
The influence oftliis line of thought
has been seen in chess openings.
Early engagement of forces is I e4 eS
shunned by some players who con 2 Nf3 Nc6
centrate on sound unpretentious J BbS rs
development where long- term stra 4 dJ rxe4
tegical aims are more important s dxe4 Nr6
than a simple rapid mobilization . 6 0-0
The implication is that because
Black is playing a line similar to a
any move alters the square control
reversed King's Gambit.
of a player's forces, to start an
attck, or to try an.d.seize.ilieinltiat 6 ... d6
ive . a1@_in! a \Vf;!ll-prepared positi<?n 7 NcJ Bg4
will cause weaknesses-or imbalances
Black has a number of weak light
in the distribution of the attacking
squares m h1s position and be shwlld
forces which the uncommitted de
be careful not to exchange his lihl
fender will be able to plait .
s,guare bishop. For this reason
Though important . the init iative
7 . Be7 followed by . . . 0-0 seems
is not something to be gained at any
. .

sensible .
cost. tis sxJ _gaJ!! e Bl-s
to-gain the _ in_ti_aive but_ _creates _<,1 8 hJ BhS
number of light square weaknesses 9 g4 817
 106 Cheu Exchmaea

9 ...Bg6 seems better after 1 0 Ng5 Black's light squared bishop and
Qd7 1 1 Nd5 0-0-0 with an unclear won a pawn.
position. The next position is from the
game Browne vs. Sosonko featuring
10 NgS Bg8
the sharp Sicilian Dragon variation.
11 f4 exf4
Both sides strive for the initiative at
12 Bxf4 Qd7
all costs.
IJ eS dxeS
14 BxeS 0-0-0
BROWNE vs. SOSONKO,
IS Bxf6 BcS+
37th HOOGOVEN ,
16 Khl gxf6
Wijk-aan-Zee , 1 975
17 Qxd7+
With a pawn ahead White aims for
the ending. Black could pose awk
ward problems for White with his
two bishops especially with the
queens on.
17 . . . Rxd7
18 Nge4 Bd4
19 Nxf6 Rg7
2
.:_I'he __ ui!"ficult_y !! wjnnins-
!-- ta_l)_t--t.irt itiative I
int o - !!!.!h i _g_ _p.rmaneat - d -=
o=== c=== e g
tangihle without h_a_f!ding..back &l:le
jniti_<;t_tjyc t<) !;PP'!n.D.l: White has
succeeded in gaining a pawn , but Black's last chance to create com
Black seems to have counterchances plications is to play for . . . d5, but
hascd on . . . h5 . White seems to have adequately
prevented this by guarding the
20 Kf4 BeS
square with five pieces. The advance
21 NbS Kf7
of the black d-pawn also allows
22 Re4 Bd6
White to attack the black queen with
23 Rael Rfl
Bf4. On the other hand, White's
24 Re8+ Kd7
defenders of d5 have other tasks: the
2S K le2 Kxe2
defence of c2 and b5. This is the key
26 Nf6 mate.
to Black's play. He exchanges off
In th i s game White took the initiat the active white minor pieces sacri
ive early on through hounding ficing his queen in the process.
 The lnltilltlve 107

I ... dS of the black stranglehold despite his

2 exdS BxbS material advantage.
3 Br4
This in-between move looks crush
ALEKHINE vs. PODGORNY,
ing. It appears. that Black must play
Prague, 1 42
3 . . . Qa7 when White wins by 4 .

Nxb5 because of his safe extra pawn .

l e4 cS
3 ... Rxc3
2 c3 dS
4 Bxb8 Rxb3
3 exdS QxdS
Now if 5 cxb3 Bd3+ followed by 4 d4 Nc6
Rxb8 is fine for Black. S NO Bg4
6 Bel cxd4
S BeS Bd3
7 cxd4 e6
6 cxdS NrxdS
8 Nc3 Bb4
7 Bxg7 Kxg7
9 0-0 QaS
10 a3 Nr6

6
5
.,......,...,,,'?711
4
lwmzv:F'=
3
2

o b c d e g h
Black has only two knights for a
queen, but surprisingly the com
batants agreed to a draw here . The Black does not want to exchange
white queen on d2 is unable to move his dark squared bishop for White's
because of . . . Nc3+ and moving the knight since then he would be very
white rook on d I allows . . . Rxd3 so exposed on the dark squares. After
it is difficult for White to break out 10 . . Bxc3 1 1 bxc3 Qxc3 12 Rb l
.
108 Chess Exchanaes

Black would be in a bad way . But skewers White's queen with . . . Re8.
now Alckhine is able to trap the White forces the queen exchange
black king in the centre with a com first so that he can safely pick up the
bination. black knight on e7 with his rook .
I I d5 exdS 16 . . . Qa6
17 Qxa6 bxa6
1 1 . . Nxd5 1 2 Nxd5 exd5 13 Nd4
.

18 Rxe7
Nxd4 14 Bxg4 gives White a very
strong attack. and White went on to win the
ending.
12 axb4 Qxa l
To highlight the significance of
13 Nd2
the initiative here are two excellent
games showing how to fight for and
how to preserve an initiative.

TAIMANOV vs. LARSEN,

Vinkovci, 1 970

I d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6
3 NcJ Bb4
4 Qc2 c5
5 dxcS
a b c d e g h

Black is now forced to exchange on

c2 otherwise 14 Nb3 will win the
black queen. Unfortunately the ex
change still leaves White with the
initiative. because he recaptures
with another lorcing move , J,:heck !
13 ... Bxe2
14 Qxe2 + Ne7
15 Re i 0-0
16 Nb3
Obviously not 16 Qxe7 when Black a b c d e Q h
 The lnltlatln 109
White's fourth move had the aim of
winning the two bishops by a3 with 8
out incurring doubled pawns. So
Black struck at the centre immedi
6
ately with . . . c5 .
5
5 ... 0-0 4
6 Bf4 BxcS
7 N IJ Nc6 3
8 eJ dS 2
9 aJ QaS

By transposition we have reached a 0 h

line in the Queen's gambit Black
has to play actively to prevent
White from seizing a decisive in 14 gS
itiative. White will move his queen's
rook to threaten b4. Black has to use Black's other choices are un-
inspiring:
his lead in development to harass
White .
(a) 14 . . . Rd8 15 Qb5 and a queen
10 Re i Be7 exchange occurs reducing
I I Bel dxc4 Black's counterplay to a mini
12 Bxc4 NdS mum and leaves White with a
favourable ending in view of
Larsen is prepared to weaken his Black's weak d-pawn.
pawn structure to open lines for his (b) 1 4 . . . Bf6 to prevent Qxd5 or
bishops and stop White's methodical Qb5 because of . . . Bxc3+ does
build-up. not solve Black's problems after
1 5 0-0.
IJ Bxd.S
J-4 Qh3 The u.ctical jifteation (or l . . .

.a :..f B=-: B ltl -'

-S.="IIJI16 ...=--:ib ... .:-1"

... IDIIII .a -
1 d&!fcocc u{ J-p.1v. n m
hope o( rymg Black piece!> do" n to a 15 Bel ,..,
defensive role. On the debit side The logical follow-up to stop White
White has lost another development from consolidating his position by
tempo. 0-0.
1 10 Chess Exchanaa

16 Nd4 20 h3 gxh3
21 BeS f6
Exchanging pieces fits in with
22 Ne4 fxeS
White's long-term plan of reaching
23 QgJ+ Bg4
an ending to take advantage of
Black's pawn structure. Worth con A fine move deflecting White's
sideration was 16 Ne5 d4 17 Nxc6 queen from control of e5. 23 . . . Kn
bxc6 18 cxd4 Bg5 19 0-0 leading to a 24 Ng5+ Ke7 25 Qxe5 followed by
position similar to the game. Rc7 is disastrous for Black.
16 . . . Nxd4 24 Qxg4+ Kh8
17 exd4 BgS 25 NgS Qdl
Now if White moves his rook then The saving move for Black ; he
Black will get good counterplay with threatens to check on f2 or to offer a
. . . Re8 + . queen exchange on f4.
18 0-0 26 Rc7 Qxfl+
27 Khl Qxg2+
White seizes the initiative with this
28 Qxg2 hxgl
sacrificial exchange offer.
29 dxeS Rac8
18 . . . Bxcl 30 Rxb7 Rc2
19 Rxcl Be6 31 Nt7+ Kg7
32 e6 Kf6
33 e7 giQ+
8 34 Kxgl Rg8+
7 White resigns as his knight is lost.
6
5
HORT vs. POLUGA YEVSKY,
4 Match of the Century, 1 970
3
2 Hort starts as White and settles
for the small initiative of the first
move. He makes no attempt to force
o b c d e f g h issues but plays controlled chess suf-
ficient to preserve his edge. He does
White should now take a pawn this by playing an opening variation
with 20 Qxb7 but instead tries to which makes it difficult for Black to
open up the black kingside. get counterplay. B lack feels pressur-
 The lnltlatJve Ill

ized and allows a n exchange into an advantage with 10 . . . Qxd2+ fol-

ending where White's pieces have lowed by . . . Nxe4
slightly more activity. Despite his
10 . . . Qd5
tenacious defence Polugaycvsky
I I NdfJ Bd6
never seems able to wrest the initiat
ive from Hart's grasp. Trying to force White into a
decision.
1 e4 c5
2 c3 Nf6 12 Bf4
J e5 Nd5
White values his e5 strongpoint
4 d4 cxd4
more than weakening Black's pawns
5 Qxd4 e6
with Nxc6. White now is threatening
6 NfJ Nc6
the unpleasant Rd 1 so that Black
7 Qe4 d6
exchanges queens.
8 Nbdl dxe5
9 Nxe5 12 ... Qe4+
1J Qxe4 Nxe4
14 BdJ Nxe5
15 Bxe5 Bxe5
16 Nxe5 c5
17 Bel

5
4
3
2
Black should probably now ex
change on e5 but is tempted by the

following: a e d e g h
9 . . . Nf6
10 Qa4
In this simple position White has the
Not 10 Nxc6 when Black gets the advantage because of his better
Cl-1
1 12 Cheu Exchanaes

development. White can castle 25. . . . Bc6 fails to 26 Bxe6.

queenside bringing his queen's rook
26 Nxf5+ Kt7
to the d-file. Polugayevsky is ob
27 Rd3 Bc8
viously worried about the com
28 Rg3
manding position of White's knight
and decides to drive away the beast .
1 7 . . . Nd7 may be best here .
17 ... f6
18 Nc4 Ke7
19 0-0-0 Bd7
20 b4 Na6
The black steed is forced to this
offside position since 20 . . . Na4
loses to 21 Rxd7 + winning two
minor pieces for a rook.
21 Nd6
a b c d e f g h
An immensely strong move wilich
takes squares from almost all
White has all his pieces in action but
Black's pieces, weakens Black's
as yet there are no material gains
pawn structure further and positi9ns
the knight to take action on both 28 . .. Ne8
sides of the board . The only draw
More active was 28 . . . Nd5.
back is that the knight itself may be
vulnerable to attack. 29 Nd4 Nc7
30 Nf5 Ne8
21 . . . b6
31 Nd4 Nc7
22 Rhe l g6
32 Re4 Rdg8
Black prevents the threatened 33 Rxg8 Rxg8
N f5 + . 34 Nf5
23 Bb3 Rad8 White threatens Nh6+ and if the
24 f4 Nc7 black rook moves off the first rank
Nd6+ wins the bishop.
The knight returns to a better square
and prepares to evict the white 34 . . . Rd8
knight by . . . Ne8.
Now White is able to switch the
25 rs gxf5 attack to the kingside again.
 The Inlllatlve 113

35 Rg4 Ne8 points than combinative ability or

36 Rh4 h5 opening knowledge. Just as there
are combinative ideas which can be
36 . . . Kg6 37 Ne7 + followed by Nc6
learnt, pins, forks, mating positions
is good for White.
so there are positional ideas and
37 Rxh5 Kg6 endgame techniques i which can be
38 Ng3 Ng7 learnt. The essential skill is to
39 Rh4 Bb7 recognize basic positions or cl
40 Rg4+ Kf7 ements of position , exchanging
41 Ne2 extra pieces to reach a pos1t1on
where the winning or drawing
By surrendering a pawn Polugayev-. method can be employed.
sky hopes to gain some freedom , but As the level of chess understand
Hort gives him no chance. ing has increased and become a
more technical process, so players
41 .
. . fS
are ever more careful to prevent the
42 Rc4 Ne8
opponent seizing the initiative.
43 Rd4
Apparently dull draws arc the result
The point of White's play: with the of both players avoiding risks.
exchange of rooks the white king can Games which appear more exciting
enter the arena and the passed h are not necessarily better played .
pawn will be decisive. For example, compare the following
draws. In the first nothing much
43 . . . Rd6
seems to happen. Pieces are ex
44 Nf4 Bc8
changed as soon as they become
45 Ba4 Rxd4
threatening and at the end the sym
46 Bxe8 + Kxe8
metrical pawn structure and sole
47 cxd4
open file offers neither side any
and White went on to win . winning chances. In the second
This game is a marvellous game White plays aggressively to
example of how to preserve and weaken Black's kingside and to ex
exploit a small advantage or initiat change off key defenders, but Black
ive. Particularly important to note rises to the occasion to take advan
was the end phase where Hort tage of the weaknesses in White's
forced exchanges to simplify the rear. A careful study of the methods
ending to make his extra pawn a employed in both games is recom
deciding factor. In practical play mended as a guide to maintaining an
such technique notches up more equal share of the initiative.
1 14 Chess Exchao&es

STEAN vs. HARTSTON , 9 dxeS dxeS

British Championship 1974 10 Bc3 Nbd7
11 g4 b6
12 Rgl Bb7
1 NfJ Nf6
13 Nd2 NcS
2 c4 b6
14 b4 Ne6
3 g3 Bb7
IS gS Nd7
4 Bg2 g6
16 Bd3 g6
s 0-0 Bg7
17 Be4 Bxe4
6 d4 cS
18 Nxe4 aS
7 Nc3 cxd4
19 Rdl Rfd8
8 Nxd4 Bxg2
20 Rxd7 Rxd7
9 Kxg2 Qc8
21 Nf6+ Kf8
10 Qd3 Qb7+
22 Qe4 Rad8
l l fJ Nc6
23 Nxh7+ Kg8
12 Nxc6 dxc6
24 Nf6+ Qxf6
13 Rd l Nd7
lS gxf6 Rdl +
14 Bf4 NcS
26 Ke2 Rxgl
I S Qd2 0-0
27 bxaS bxaS
16 Bh6 Qc7
28 h4 a4
17 Bxg7 Kxg7
29 QxeS Rg4
18 Qe3
30 QbS Rxh4
Draw agreed.
31 Qxa4 Rh1
Neither player was given the ghost 32 Qc2 NgS
of a chance to seize an initiative. 33 a4 Nh3
34 Qe4 Rei
3S Bel NgS
36 Qe7 Rc2+
LITTLEWOOD vs. SHORT,
37 Kn Ne6
Hastings 198 1 /2
38 Kg2
,

Rxc4
39 aS Rei
1 d4 Nf6 40 Bb4 cS
2 NfJ e6 4 1 BaJ Ra8
3 c4 Bb4+ Draw agreed.
4 Nbd2 0-0
S e3 d6 Some interesting exchanges.
6 a3 Bxd2+ Black's calmness in defence is very
7 Bxd2 Qe7 impressive. The idea of a sacrificial
8 Qc2 eS exchange to set up a solid defence
 The lnili11tlve 1 15

with an active rook harassing the 13 . . . 0-0-0

'stronger' sides' weaknesses is an
idea we have already examined in Taking the e-pawn would allow
the chapter on defensive exchanges. White to exchange off the defenders
So a draw need not be mere wood around Black's king with attacking
chopping. Here is a final example chances after switchingI his queen to
between two of the most aggressive the other side via d3. .
players of modern times in this game 14 BgS NxeS!
of the 14th Olympiad . IS NxeS!

White has to be careful not to ex

FISCH ER vs. TAL,
change into a lost ending, e.g. 15
Liepzig, 1960
Bxd7 + ? Rxd7 16 Nxe5 Qxe5 17
Bxe7 Rh8 18 Rde l . 18 . . . Rxh7 19
l e4 e6 Rxe5 Rxe7 and Black's pawns are
2 d4 dS deadly.
3 Nc3 Bb4
4 eS cS IS BxbS!
S a3 BaS 16 Nxt7 Bxfl
6 b4 cxd4 17 Nxd8 RxgS
7 Qg4 Ne7 18 Nxe6 Rxg2 +
8 bxaS dxc3 19 Kh1 !
9 Qxg7 Rg8 The h-pawn is more important than
10 Qxh7 Nbc6 Black's bishop.
II NrJ Qc7
12 BbS 19 . . . QeS
20 Rxn Qxe6
The opening. though very sharp.
21 Kxg2
was well-known to both players.
Draw agreed.
White is happy to offer his g-pawn to
exchange rooks in order for his Black has a perpetual check at g4
queen to pursue the attack at hH, but and f3.
Black does not oblige. A marvellous game and the ex
changes through moves 15- 1 8 were
12 . . . Bd7
a battle for the initiative by both
13 0-0!?
players, each setting and solving
(Perhaps Bxc6 fighting for the cen problems in an all-out attempt to
tral dark squares was better.) win.
 6

Illustrative Games

We have come a long way in our examine and which to ignore, i.e. it
study of exchanges and their im helps j udgement. Experience of
portance to the game . How can what is possible of both positional
these lessons be successfully applied and tactical themes is the other el
in our own games? A look through ement of j udgement.
any chess magazine or tournament A blend of experience, under
bulletin will indicate that few games standing and calculation of specific
are apparently played with a logical variations is necessary to select a
theme from start to finish. We move. Often there is no best move
started off by taking an analogr with since many moves have drawbacks
warfare. Successful strategy creates as well as advantages. This book has
the opportunities for favourable tried to emphasize some of the
tactics and favourable tactical out dangers of playing stereotyped
comes enable further strategical moves without understanding them .
control . The ideal is to make moves The illustrative games give
which further both long-term stra examples of pragmatic solutions to a
tegical aims and exploit short-term wide range of decisions a player has
tactical opportunities. Often, how to face . Playing through the later
ever, the choice seems to be be test positions will give further prac
tween one aim or the other. Re tice of decision-making when faced
sourceful defenders will counter with exchanging opportunities.
attack to exploit whichever of these U nderstanding chess is often very
aims is neglected. An understanding easy when faced with familiar pos
of pieces and square control and the itions or ideas. There are many chess
way their disposition affects their books available , most of the theor
activity and coordination helps in etical works on openings, middle
deciding which alternative to games and endgames are based on
1 16
 lllustradve Games 1 17

recognizing what Capablanca called any player. Once you have pro
'chess fundamentals'. Understand gressed past the beginning stage,
ing is intricately linked to knowl you know about forks, pins,
edge. Opening sequences such as skewers, discovered checks. You
the Ruy Lopez, Queen's gambit, know a number of opening systems
King's I ndian ; and middlegame and their strategical ideas; and you
themes and ideas such as the min avoid gross blunders i ri the middle
ority attack, isolated queen pawns, game and endings, how do you pro
Philidor's mate ; endgame tech gress? Studying annotated master
niques such as the opposition, or the : games helps to broaden your experi
Lucena position are essential items ence and understanding. Playing as
in a player's armoury. These are not many different opponents as poss
impossible to work out over the ible will have the same effect .
board , but this consumes valuable You should be able to apply many
time. Recognizing how a particular of the ideas we have examined in
position can be brought about or your own games. But what do you
avoided is one of the first steps in do when you reach what seems a
deciding whether to seck exchanges. dead level position where there arc
The more ideas and positions with no obvious weaknesses? How do
which a player is familiar the less you progress? Considering ex
likely he is to miss an opportunity . changes is often a way of finding a
Understanding leads to the devel plan in a sterile position. Has your
opment of new and original ideas opponent got a particularly well
and concepts and prevents routine placed piece you would like to ex
play. Chess theory has advanced change? Where would you like to
considerably over the last fifty years. place your pieces? Which of your
No longer is the game considered opponent's pieces are stopping you?
played out and a draw the logical Which of your pieces seems to be
outcome . Newer and subtler ideas achieving little, or indeed is a
have been developed, old ideas have potential liability? The answer to
been rehabilitated or discarded. The these questions should help you
modern Grandmaster is pragmatic arrive at a plan which will probably
in his style and will play tactically or involve exchanges or their avoid
positionally as the position dictates ance. What if they don't? Carry out
with Jess dogmatic or preconceived the same analysis from your op
ideas. Yet the standard of chess ponent's side. After all, if you have
technique has risen at all levels of all your pieces posted on their best
play and so a good knowledge of squares he is going to try and do
basic ideas must be the first step for something about it. Will he be able
 1 18 Chess Excban&a

to force an exchange of your best good reason for making, avoiding or

pieces? Will your chances improve allowing exchanges.
or decline in the ending? Should you The test of a theory is its appli
be playing to open or close lines, to cation in practice, which is seldom as
complicate or to simplify the pos easy as texts seem to imply. Analys
ition? Chess magazines do not sell ing games is an excellent way to test
by publishing 'boring' games; yet aspects of chess theory. The de
many of the more instructional cisions a player has to take are based
points are to be found in the hard on a blend of factors and have to be
fought games where neither side made in a specific time limit. For this
takes the advantage . Tournament reason many of the games which
books are more useful in this re follow include examples where the
spect . When you come across a pos wrong decisions have been taken
ition you don't understand or feel and the causes of these misjudge
there is little in it , see how the ments form a valuable source of
players tackled the problems. If you insight . These games give practice in
can recognize the same idea in dif taking decisions, more particularly
ferent settings in a number of games in recognizing that a decision has to
you will have developed yourchcss be made , so that in your own games
technique and be able to use the you will take the right decisions.
ideas in your own games. Several Most of our examples in this book
examples are given in this bCIOk of have featured the world's leading
the same idea occurring in different players, because their games gener
games. ally show a ruthless exploitation of
Keep a score of all your games; advantage and a complete aware
this itself imposes a discipline . After ness of how best to deploy their
all who wants a book of boring draws pieces. It is appropriate to start with
or blunders? Try annotating your a game between the two leading
games as we annotated those in this protagonists of chess in the last
book. Can you identify your weak decade.
points? Identifying your difficulties
is the first step to overcoming them.
Consider the exchanges you made or
KORCHNOI vs. KARPOV,
declined, those you allowed your
game 21 , World Championship,
opponent to make or those he might
Baguio, 1 978
have made. How different might the
game's outcome have been? Would
you make a different decision next 1 c4 Nf6
time? You should always have a 2 NcJ e6
 IUualratln Gama 119

J NO d5 action goes on in the players' heads

4 d4 Be7 rather than over the board. Threats
5 Bf4 0-0 and counter-threats are sidestepped
6 eJ c5 deftly, leaving an apparently harm
7 dxc5 Bxc5 less game until it is examined
deeper. Here , for i nstance, White
does not play 11 114 because of
.
1 1 . . . Nxb4 12 axb4 Bxb4 13 Rc l
Ne4 14 Be5 f6 15 Bd4 e5 and Black
has a big advantage. The second
point to Black's move is the poten-
tial pin along the e-file .
5

4 I I Nd2 e5
12 Bg5 Nd4

a c d e Q h

Black has chosen to release central

tension with the exchange of pawns
rather than bolstering the centre
with c6, and this is probably the
simplest ro<d to e4uillity. Korchnoi
could weaken Black's pawns now by
8 cxd5 Nxd5 9 Nxd5 exd5 , but the
activity of Black's pieces would be
ade4uate compensation. Korchnoi
prefers to leave Karpov with the The last few moves have been a
problem of developing his 4ucen 's series of threats and counter
bishop. threats. Black's offer of a piece is a
bid for a strong initiative. A likely
8 Qc2 Nc6
line is 13 exd4 exd4+ 14 Ne2 Ng4
9 Rd l Qa5
with the strong threat d3 threatening
10 aJ Re8
mate and the queen. After 15 Bh4
A new move with several points. dxc4 16 Qxc4 Ne5 with d3 or Nd3 to
Often in a game of chess the real follow is very strong.
120 Cheu ExchaRIIell

13 Qbl after 1 4 . . . Bxd3 1 5 Qxd3 Ne4 16

Ncxe4 dxe4 1 7 Qxe4 Nb3 18 Qc2
An excellent move, showing there N xd2 19 Rxd2 and b4 is still a threat.
arc usually good reasons for trusting
in the strength of a well-prepared 14 . . . e4
position . Korchnoi has made no I S Bc2 Nxc2+
noticeable error so far and it would Black's solution to his apparent
be surprising if Black were to pro dilemma is to give up a pawn to force
duce a quick knockout. Black's the win of the two bishops. Giving
knight sortie has cost him a tempo. up material to be left with more
The knight is still en prise, b4 is still active pieces is a theme we will
threatened, Black's d-pawn is en examine again in the next game .
prise and White also threatens to
16 Qxc2 Qa6
disrupt Black's kingside with Bxf6.
White also has the counter-punch A voiding the b4 threat and defend
Nb3 if Black retreats the knight. ing the f-knight, but dxc4, opening
Both players are forced to produce lines for his long-range pieces, or the
their best as a sharp struggle like this more solid Be7 may have preserved
can mean sudden death. a better chance for the initiative.
13 . . . BfS 17 Bxf6 Qxf6
14 Bd3 18 NbJ

o b c d e f g h o b c d e g h

challenging Black to simplify when The tempo gained by attacking the

his chances of holding his game bishop on cS allows White to capture
together diminish. For example, on d5 with his rook. This allows
 1Uustratle Games Ill

White to keep his queenside pawns

8
united and the rook exerts sufficient
challenge for the central squares to
prevent Black launching a kingside
6
attack with his queen and bishops.
5
18 . . . Bd6
19 Rxd5 4

The attack on the bishop stops the 3

reply 19 . . Qg5 which would have

.
2
been good against 19 Nxd5
19 . . . ReS
0 c
A move which has been under
estimated. Black has to challenge
the strong white rook to make an advantage with his bishops unless
progress. The black e-pawn is weak he can open lines or provoke weak
and can be attacked more times than nesses on both sides of the board.
it can be defended. Trying to get Black is prepared to let White swap
another piece in the attack on the off his active knight for the white
kingside is also logical. The obvious square bishop in the hope that the
tries offer nothing. e . g . 19 . . . Qg6 remaining bishop will prove more
200-0 Bh3 2 1 f4 taking advantage of active than the knight on c3 so
the pin on the e-pawn because Black perhaps 2 1 f4 was better forcing the
cannot allow the queen exchange . If exchange of rooks on Black.
19 . . . Be5 20 Nd4 gives White an
21 Rxe5 Qxe5
excellent game because Black can
only make progress by exchanging White has elected for the rook ex
off the knight. but then he has in change rather than f4 because his
sufficient pieces to launch a success chances seem to lie in the ending.
ful middlegame attack and the end Notice that Black could not play
game looms up with White's extra 21 . Bxe5 because after 22 Nd5
. .

pawn on the queenside. Black will lose a piece because there

is a threat of Ne7 + after the capture
20 Nd4 Rc8
of the bishop at f5. Tactical stings
(see following diagram) like these always have to be
examined if an exchange is allowed
This counter-attack is probably best. because the pieces are drawn to new
Black has little prospect of getting positions.
122 Chess Exchanaes

22 NxfS QxfS 24 QeS

23 0-0
A very natural move which under
Another sideline. Capturing the e estimates his problems. Black has
pawn is met by either 23 Qxe4 Qxe4 weaknesses on his back rank , his e
24 Nxe4 Rxc4 and Black gets his pawn and his bishop are attacked
rook to c2 (or if 25 Nc3 Bxa3) or if and White is quite happy to get a
the knight captures, then 23 Nxe4 b5 tempo to give his king an escape
is good for Black . route out of his first rank.
24 . . . Be7, as in our last note , was the
23 . . . Rxc4
best plan. If then the obvious 25 Rd4
24 Rd l
Rxd4 26 exd4 Qg5 (intending f3) 27
Nxe4 Qd5 28 Qd3 Qa2 and White
8 has to give back the pawn to avoid
mate. Or if 25 Qb3 Qc8 26 Rd4 Rxd4
27 exd4 Kf8 with f5 to follow.
6
25 g3 a6
5 26 Qb3 bS
4 27 a4

3 Karpov should have given up the e

pawn rather than weaken his queen
2 side. Later he makes the same mis
take on the other side of the board.
Now Black cannot allow White to
play Rd5 unchallenged so his reply is
forced.
So after all the complications Black
seems to have done well . He has a 27 . . . Rb4
bishop against a knight, but White
(see following diagram)
actually has the advantage because
the e-pawn is vulnerable and the Korchnoi now gets the opportunity
black pieces are not well placed. to win a pawn with real winning
Nonetheless, Black is not really in chances. The endgame with an
danger of losing here if he simply active bishop on an open board will
retreats his bishop to e7 to defend not be a clear win , but at this level
his rear. For example, 24 . . . Be7 25 chances have to be created and
Nd5 Qxd5 26 Rxd5 Rxc2 and the taken. Capitalizing on the half
mate threat means Black has won a chance is the mark of all great
piece, or 25 Qb3 Qc8. sportsmen .
 lllustntlve Games Ill

35 Rb l +
36 Kgl Bd6
37 Ra7 + Kf6
38 b6 Bb8
39 Ra8 BeS
'

Keeping the knight mit of c5 by Bd6

looks better.
40 Nc5 Bd6
4 1 b7
The fork at d7 has to be reckoned
with and the knight cannot be cap
a c e f g h
tured without allowing the pawn to
queen when White with rook for
28 Qd5 Qxd5 bishop has good chances.
29 Rxd5 Bill
41 . . . Ke7
30 axb5 a5
42 Rg8 Be5
This is one of those endings where
exchanging pawns is not the right
way to draw. White has a clear win
after 30 . . . axb5 3 1 Rxb5 so Black
relies on winning the b2 pawn. The
point is that Black must be able to
keep his rook behind White's passed
pawn to secure drawing chances.
31 Rd8 Rxb2
32 Ra8 r5
Defending against the mate threat 2
Nd5 and Ne7 + as well as holding the
e-pawn .
a b c d e f g h
33 Rxa5 Bb4
34 Ra8 + Kti
35 Na4
The bishop is showing its agility in
Black cannot be permitted to mount covering both sides of the board at
attacks against both the b-pawn and once . White can make no more
the f-pawn. progress without his king.
124 Chelis Exch11nges

43 f4 exf3+ e.p. White will play Rd5 picking up the

44 Kxf3 Kti kingside pawns.
This move could not be played last
time because of the reply RdS. If
now 44 . . . Rb5 45 Nd3 Kt7 46 Rd8
wins ( Bc7 47 Rd7+ etc. ). (Or
46 . . . Ke7 47 Nxe5 KxdH 4H bHO +
RxbH 49 Nc6+ Kc7 50 Nxb8 Kxb8 5 1
Kf4 with an easy win . ]
45 Rc8
This is better now than Rd8 which is
met by 45 . . . Ke7 46 Rd7+ Ke8 47
Rd5 BbH 48 Rxf5 Bd6 and Black
holds the draw.
45 . . . Ke7 a b c d e t o h
46 h3
The logical move is e4, but Black can several notes. Now this seems to
struggle on with g6. The move give a clear way to win by exchang
played tempts Black to advance his ing off the pieces to a won king and
kingsidc pawns perhaps with the pawn ending, e .g. 49 Nd3 Ke7 50
idea of exchanging them. The weak Nxe5 Kxd8 5 1 b80+ Rxb8 52 Nc6+
nesses created give Korchnoi new Kxc7 53 Nxb8 Kxb8 54 e4, etc. Black
targets to attack while Black is busy could try sacrificing his bishop to
defending the queenside . The safer draw by 49 Nd3 g4+ 50 hxg4 hxg4+
Rb5 , or Bd6, were preferable 5 1 Kf2 Bxg3 + 52 Kxg3 Rxb7, but
options for Black's next move. after Kf4 White wins the ending.
46 . . . hS 49 g4 hxg4+
47 R8 SO hxg4 Ke7
Threatening Nd3 again. 51 Rg8 fxg4+
47 . .
. Kf7 52 Kxg4
48 Rd8 gS White simply threatens to capture
Compare the position to the note at the remaining g-pawn . Black would
move 45 : Black cannot play Ke8 like to play 52 . . . Bd6 driving away
(after 48 . . . Ke7 49 Rd7 + ) because White's knight followed by captur
The idea Nd3 trying to exchange off ing the b-pawn , but this fails to the
the key defender has occurred in subsequent Rg7 + when B lack
 IIIWJtratl\le Games 125

would lose his rook, so Black pre 56 e5

pares this by defending g7 with his
Clearly b8Q also wins, but this is
king.
perhaps the most precise way to win.
52 . . . Kn
53 Rc8 56 . . . Rfl +
57 Ke4 Rei +
White avoids Rxg5 which allows 58 Kd5
Bd6 winning the b-pawn . A last joke . I f 58 . . . Bxe5 59 Nd3
53 . . . Bd6 wins easily.
54 e4 58 . . . Rd l +
59 Nd3 Rxd3+
60 Kc4

Black resigned. He has to lose both

pieces, one immediately and the
other for the b-pawn .
We have examined quite a long
game which featured many of the
different aspects of exchanges. The
fight for the initiative in the early
stages, the battle for active pieces,
opening of lines and creation of
weaknesses, were all seen . Against a
determined opponent nothing is
guaranteed. Positional gains still
The second passed pawn will stretch have to be converted into material
Black's defences. White could have ones and these have to be used to
won the exchange by 54 Kxg4 Bxc5 force a win. Although there was a
55 bHO + KxbH 56 RxbH, but after positional logic behind the overall
Bxe3 + removing the last pawn moves of each player. notice how
Black would have a draw . Such the tactical sidelines had to be
exchanging possibilities reducing to examined. There are few master
a position where a small material games that flow like a mathematical
advantage cannot be converted into proof. Opponents who are aware of
a win is one of the main drawing the possibilities open to you will not
techniques in chess. passively comply with your aims -
you have to demonstrate a win . It
S4 Rg l + may be a tactical victory, or a stra
55 Kf5 g4 tegic one depending on how your
126 Chess Excban1ea

opponent reacts, either by defence Black has j ust stopped White

or by counter-attack. In the best from advancing in the centre with e4
games there is a constant switching and threatens to win a pawn by
of methods and ideas which de capturing on c3. White decides to
mands very accurate play. We will sacrifice a pawn to exchange off
examine various examples of differ Black's developed pieces, in par
ing types of play in our remaining ticular the kingside defenders.
games.
Exchanging off your opponent's 10 Bd3 Bxc3
developed pieces gives good attack 11 bxc3 Nxc3
ing chances. Najdorf vs. Rollansky 12 Qc2 Bxd3
13 Qxd3 NdS
sees White gambitting a pawn in his
opening to do this. 14 Rb1

White has gained open lines and

NAJDORF vs. ROLLANSKY , several tempi as a result of his ex
Mar del Plata, 1%7 changes.
I d4 d5 14 ... Qc7
2 c4 c6 15 e4 Nf6
3 NfJ Nf6 16 e5 NdS
4 NcJ dxc4 17 Ng5 g6
5 a4 Bf5 18 Qh3 h5
6 e3 e6 19 g4 Kg7
7 Bxc4 Bb4 20 gxhS Rh8
8 0-0 0-0 21 h6
9 Qe2 Ne4
A surprise. Black cannot play
8 . . . Rxh6 because of Qxh6+ fol-
lowed by Nxe6+ and Nxc7 winning.
7
21 0 0 0 Kg8
6 22 h7 + Kg7
5 23 Rb3 Ne7
24 Qxe6
4
3 A pity as Najdorf could have wrap-
ped up the game nicely with 24
2 Qh6+ Kxh6 25 Nxe6+ and 26 Nxc7.
24 . . . Nd5
0 c e f g 25 Nxt7 Rxh7
 llluslnlllve GIUMI ll7

26 Nd6 5 NO h4
Black resigns. 6 Nxh4 Rxh4
7 gxh4 Qxh4
The next gam!!, Hartston vs.
Mariotti, Skopje 1972, features an
unusual example of Black giving up
material early on to exchange off a 8
kingside defender and smash open
. White's pawn structure . The result
6
ing position offers good chances in
the short term for Black's mindr 5
pieces because White's rooks and 4
bishops are fairly passive.
3
I e4 Nc6
2 Nc3 eS 2
3 g3 DeS
4 Bg2 hS
o b c d e t g h

8 Black has sacrificed a whole ex

change, but has good compensation
for it; White's kingside is broken and
6 Black has pressure on f2 .
5 8 d4
4 White gives back a pawn to develop
3 his queenside.

2 8 ... Bxd4
9 Qe2 Bxc3+
10 bxc3 d6
0 c d e t g h II 0-0
White's idea is to open up the game
This must havt! been very discon for his rooks with f4, but Black's
ct!rting to meet and espt!cially so next move stops this. So White
because it is not that bad a move. should have played 1 1 Qe3 first.
White could block with h4 and then
II ... gS
play Nh3. but there seems nothing
wrong with the natural Nf3. Good positional sense and the
128

logical follow-up to the opening Black uses his grip on the dark
exchanges. White wants open lines; squares to exploit the light square
Black wants to keep the pawn struc weaknesses around White's king.
ture static to allow his slow-moving White dare not open the g-file by
knights to get a grip on the game exchanging off Black's knight on f4.
without being harassed.
20 Bg4
12 Qe3 f6
White has too many light square
13 Qg3 Qh7
weaknesses to exchange off this
14 80 Nge7
piece.
15 Re i Ng6
16 Be3 Ke7 20 . . . Bxg4
17 c4 b6 2 1 Qxg4 Rh8
White has problems because 22 Qg3
loses the e-pawn after 22 . . . Nh3 + .
8 22 h4 Qg8
Black refuses to exchange off his
6 queen because White's queen is a
liability and tied to a passive role.
5
4 23 Bxf4 Rxh4
24 Qg2 exf4
3 25 e5 Nxe5
2 26 Qb7 Rg4+
27 Kfl Qc4+
28 Re2 Kd7
a b c d e g h
Black now has the deadly threat of
. . . f3.
Although White has completed his 29 Qe4 f3
uevelopment first his pieces are not 30 Qxc4 Nxc4
very effective because Black has the 3 1 Rc2 Rg2
position well blockaued. There are
Black now prepares . . . Ne3.
many holes for Black to exploit in
the white camp. Rather than wait to 32 Rei f5
be strangled, Hartston hits out . 33 Rce2 Kc6
18 c5 bxc5 White resigns. His rook must stay on
19 c3 Nf4 the second rank to stop . . . Nd2 mate
 119

and Black can simply advance his centre and then plays to undermine
kingside pawns, e .g. 34 Rc2 f4 35 it.
Rce2 g4 36 Rc2 g3 37 Rce2 Rh2 and
3 ... d5
Black wins.
4 Bb2 d4
The next two games arc more
5 NfJ B\f6
heavyweight struggles and very in
6 d3 cS.
structive.
7 Bg2 Ne7
8 0-0 Nec6
PETROSIAN vs. KORCHNOI 9 e3 0-0
Candidates Semi-final Match , 10 Nbd2 Be6
9th game , 1971 l l e4 Nd7

Korchnoi has played some strange
knight manoeuvres as Black and
Petrosian has decided to close the
centre with e4 rather than open it
8
with exd4. White now hopes to gain
the initiative on the kingside.
6 12 Nh4 g6
5 13 BfJ

4 Petrosian seeks to exchange his bad

bishop off for Black's good one on
3 e6.
2
13 . . . Bc7
14 aJ BaS
g h
15 Be l
0 c e
All very clever stuff. Petrosian can
now reply to . . . Bc3 with Ra2, so
White can now return to activating
I n this game it is worth asking his kingside .
yourself who stands better after
every move . 15 . . . Qe7
16 Bg4 rs
I c4 e5
2 gJ c6 (see following diagram)
3 bJ
Naturally Korchnoi does not want to
Typical of Petrosian's style . He in lose the initiative and expands on
vites Korchnoi to build a big pawn the kingside.
IJO Cheu Exchanaes

It may come as a surprise to you to

8
read that White is better here.
Despite his apparent loss of time and
the positioning of his pieces on
funny squares, White's develop
5 ment is better because it is more
4 effective. The loss of tempo does not
have such significance as in an open
position. Black's centre pawns are as
2 much a liability as an asset. His e
and f-pawns are effectively hanging
and are already under attack from
a b c d e o h White's pieces. The cornerstone of
Black's game is his d-pawn which is
supported by the c-pawn, the rook,
17 exfS gxfS and the knight on c6. However, the
18 Bf3 Nf6 knight can be exchanged, the c
19 Bg2 Rad8
pawn can be undermined. Black's e-
pawn can be further attacked by
Black's pawn centre looks mnac
White's queen and knight.
ing. Is Petrosian going to get
Suddenly White's rook on a2 does
squashed?
not look so funny either, as it can
20 Ra2 Bc8 travel to the good square e2. Do you
21 Rei Kh8 believe it or do you still fancy
Black's pawn roller? Petrosian
demonstrated the strength of his
position with thematic exchanges.

22 b4 cxb4
23 Nb3 Bb6

Probably best was 23 . . . Bc7.

24 Bxc6

The key exchange of the game. The

black centre's main defender is re
moved. White's knight on h4 does a
good job of defending the light
squares around his king.
 lllllltratlve Games Ill

24 . . . bxc6 KORCHNOI n . KA RPOV

25 axb4 a6 ALEKHINE MEMORIAL
TOU RNAMENT, Moscow, 1971
It was difficult to find a sensible
move for Black. White simply plan
ned c5 followed by Rxa7. I c4 c5
2 Nf3 Nf6
26 NfJ e4
3 g3 dS
27 cS Bc7
4 cxdS NxdS
28 Nfxd4
I 5 Bg2 g6
The first material gain for White . 6 d4 Bg7
Now White's dark squared bishop 7 e4 Nc7
comes into play with tremendou s 8 dS
effect on the long diagonal .
28 . . . Q17
29 Rd2 Bd7 8
30 Bb2 Kg8
31 NaS BxaS
6
32 bxaS Rb8
33 Ba l 5
White preserves his important dark 4
squared bishop against a possible 3
exchange sacrifice by Black .
2
33 ... Rfe8
34 Rde2 QhS
35 Qd2 Kl7 0 c d e g h
36 h4 exd3
37 Qxd3 f4 A slightly unusual opening by
38 NfJ Karpov: White has a space advan
tage and a pawn centre; the black
Now Black cannot escape the wrath
pieces are slightly cramped together
of the White army.
on the queenside so Karpov pre
38 . . . Rxe2 pares to exchange the knight on c7.
39 Qxe2 QxcS
8 ... NbS
40 NeS+ Kf8
9 0-0 0-0
41 Nxd7+ Nxd7
10 Qc2 Na6
Black resigned because 42 Qg4 is 11 Bf4 Bg4
lethal . 12 Nbd2 Nd4
131 Cheu ExchaJI&es

16 f6
17 Bf4 Rac8
18 Qa4 g5
19 Bel Be2
20 Rei d3

6
5
o D C e g
4
3
Hlack forct:s the exchange of
knights. This exchange leads to the 2
opening of the c-file which Karpov
hopes to ust: . Black also obtaips a
0 b c d e f g h
strong passed pawn.
13 Nxd4 cxd4
Karpov's fine judgement on move
14 NO
15 has been amply rewarded.
This stops Black's intended . . . Bt:2 White's pieces have been driven
followed by . . . d3. White would like back, and Black's passed pawn is
to havt: his knight on the d3 square close to the queening square.
blockading the enemy passed pawn.
2 1 Bfi Bxfi
14 . . . Qb6 22 Rxn Rc2
15 Ne5 23 Be3 Nc5
24 Qd4 e5
This has tht! right intention ; to post
25 dxe6 e.p. Qxe6
the knight on d3 ; but is the wrong
way of achieving this aim. By this forcing sequence B lack has
retained his strong passed pawn.
15 . . . Bxe5
16 Bxe5 26 Racl Rc8
27 b4 Nxe4
This surprise surrender of the fian
cht:ttoed king's bishop allows Black Unfortunately for White he cannot
to seize the initiative. take the d-pawn now. 28 Qxd3 fails
 llluatratlve GIUIIeS IJJ
to . . . Nxf2 , the bishop on e3 being
overloaded.
28 Rxc2 dxc2
29 Re i b6 6
30 0 Nd6
5
31 Qd3 Rc6
4
White cannot take the c-pawn be
cause his bishop is undefended. 3

32 a4 Qc4 2
33 Qd2 Nt7
34 f4 g4
35 bS Rc8
36 Qd7 hS
37 Kf2 Qc3
Black has outposts and open lines as
38 QfS Re8
compensation.
White resigned because he cannot
defend the bishop satisfactorily. A 9 ..
. 0-0
fine game by Karpov showing the 10 BgS Na6
value of considering every possible II Rei h6
exchange carefully. 12 Bxf6 Bxf6

White has given up the two bishops

KA RLSSON vs. FTACNIK. to weaken Black's defence of the d
1 9H2 Olympiad pawn. With the centre still fluid this
is a double-edged tactic.
c4 cS
2 Nc3 Nf6 13 e3 Re8
3 g3 e6 14 Qd2
4 NO b6 White would do better to play Re2
S Bg2 Bb7 intending Rd2 with increased press
6 0-0 Be7 ure on the d-file . The queen is better
7 Rei dS left at dl operating on the white
8 cxdS exdS squares. Black is already eyeing d3
9 d4 for his knight and his two bishops are
(see following diagram) poised on the long diagonals.
The central exchanges have left 14 . . . Qe7
White with a target, the d-pawn . I S dxcS NxcS
134

If White had not exchanged, then bishops and White has no compen
Black would have, with a similar sating pawn weakness to attack.
result. Rather than exchange, White
should relocate his queen on the
white squares. Perhaps he should
head for b3.
17 . . . dxe4
1 8 Redl Rad8
1 9 Qc3

3 8

e 5
0 d 0 h
4
16 Nd4 3
The d-pawn is defended indirectly 2
by 16 Nxd5? Bxd5 1 7 Qxd5 Rad8
and 1H . . Nd3 wins the exchange.
.

16 . . . Ne4
0 e 0

A classic isolated d-pawn position

White had to play this to meet the
with both sides having ideal piece
threat of Bxd4 with e3 to follow.
positions. White has the pawn
blockaded and has exchanged off his 19 . .
. RdS
dark squared bishop, which could 20 BhJ
not attack the pawn, for a knight
(better Qb3)
which could defend it or join in an
attack. Black has open lines, out 20 . . . ReS
posts, and the two bishops to get 21 Qe l
active counterplay.
Black's two bishops are causing dif
17 Nxe4 ficulties, Bxd4 was still a threat.
This does not look right; Black is left 21 . . . Rxcl
with the advantage of the two 22 NfS
 Illustrative Games 135

After Rxcl B lack still has maintains a strong attack because of

22 . . . Bxd4 23 exd4 e3. However. the threat Rdd2 followed by Rxf2 +
temporarily a rook ahead, Black is
23 Rxcl!? Qxel +
able to offer some desperado ex
24 Rxel Rd8
changes.
Black avoids the forK. at d6 and is
22 . . . Qb4!
now clearly better for the ending
with his two bishops.
25 b3 g6
It is always good policy with bishop
against knight to use pawns to take
away the knight's outposts, but here
5
there is a tactical threat . l f 26 Nxh6+
4 Kg7 27 Ng4 Bb2 28 f4 (f5 was
threatened) exf3 e.p. with great ad
vantage to Black.
2
26 Nh4 Rd2
27 b4 Rxa2
a b c d e 0 h Simpler was Kg7 avoiding White's
exchanging combination.
White's best chance is to accept the
28 Nxg6 aS!
offer:
29 bxaS bxaS
23 Qxb4 Rxd l + 30 Nf4
24 Bfl
(Kg2 loses quickly to Ba6)
24 . . . Rc8
(not Ba6 25 Qa4 forking everything)
25 Nd6 Ba6
26 Qa4 Rxfl +
27 Kg2 Rgl + !
28 Kh3 Bfl +
29 Kg4 Rd8
is winning for Black but White can
improve by 25 Kg2 Rc2 and Black a b c d e 0 h
IJ6 Cheu Exchanaa

Notice how passive White is. The 9 e3 0-0

two bishops dominate the board. If 10 Rei ReS
White tries to activate his rook, l l Bd3 Qe7
Black will exchange it by Ra l .
30 . .. a4
31 80 a3 8
32 Ret Rd2 7
33 Bc4 a2
6
34 Bxa2 Rxa2
35 Rc7 Ba6 5
White resigned. 4
II is surprising j ust how quickly 3
small strategic errors can lead to a
lost game tactically. Black used 2
tactics to exploit strategical defects
to make further strategical gains
a c d f g h .
leading to new tactics in a masterly
blend throughout the game.
We have discussed the relative Both players have avoided ex
merits of bishop vs. knight through changes. White's a3 stopped Bb4
out the book. Here is a cLear which is a normal move in the fight
example ol a good knight against a for e4. B lack has stopped the
bad bishop with some interesting possibility of NbS, but this has de
tactical opportunities developjng layed the thrust c5 which would have
out of this strategic advantage . been weak last move because after
1 1 . . . c5 12 dxc5 bxc5 1 3 Na4! With
his next move White takes further
M I LES vs. PANNO,
prophylactic measures and Black
Puerto Madryn, 1 98 1
has difficulty equalizing.
12 b4 Nbd7
1 d4 Nf6
13 QbJ c6
2 c4 f6
3 NO b6 Black's bishop on b7 was already
4 'a3 Bb7 hampered by its own pawns, but this
5 NcJ d5 move was played to bolster up d5
6 cxd5 exd5 and to prevent the thrust b5 which
7 Bf4 Bd6 White might play after a preparatory
8 BgJ a6 Bxd6.
 Ulllltnltive Gllllleli IJ7
14 0-0 aS All is revealed. White has an over
15 BfS whelming attack on the white
squares.
Already creating possibilities of ex
changing to a good knight/bad 21 . . . Qe7
bishop ending.
(not Nd5 22 Ncxe4 and 23 Qh3)
IS . . . axb4
16 Bxd6 Qxd6 22 Nxr7 NdS
17 axb4 Ra7 (Oxn?? 23 Be6)
Black's planned invasion on the a- 1 23 NxdS cxdS
file looks logical, but Miles has seen
further. The rook at a7 poses no (Oxn? 24 Nf6 + )
immediate threat and is unable to 24 Bxd7
defend the kingside. With the Stronger than 24 Qh3 Nf8!
bishop also incarcerated on the 24 . . . Qxd7
queenside, Miles sees a kingside
attack, so his first step is to lure the Black's game is very difficult after
other rook to a7. oxn 25 Qh3, but he might be able to
offer bishop exchanges or get play
against White' s d-pawn. Note
White's knight dominates the board.
25 NeS Qd6
26 fJ

8
7
6
5
0 c d e g h 4
3
18 Ra 1 Rea8 2
19 Rxa7 Rxa7
20 e4! dxe4
21 NgS! 0 b c d e f g h
 IJ8 Cheu Exchanaea

Black dare not play 26 . . . exf3 27 bishop and the white square weak
Qxf3 and White threatens the awk nesses in B lack's position.
ward On + . Perhaps e3!? is the only
34 . . . Kg6
try for Black.
or 34 . . . hxg5 loses to 35 Qd3 +
26 . . . Bc8
27 fxe4 Be6 35 Rc6+ KxgS
36 Qg3 +
Black has activated his bishop at the
cost of a pawn, but the tempo loss is and Black lost on time after
more significant . 36 . . . Kf5 37 Qf3 + Kg5 38 Kg3
which was probably less embarrass
28 Rcl ! h6
ing than 38 . . . Ra3 39 h4 mate.
(not 2M . dxe4'! 29 Rc8 forcing
. .

mate, but challenging the c-file by

28 . . . Rc7 gives better chances of
prolonging the game . ) GLIGORIC vs. PORTISCH,
29 Rc6 Ral + Manila, 1 974
30 Kf2 Qe7
31 NO 817
This game sees Black sacrificing
32 eS Qa7
his pawn structure to get active play
33 Rc8+ Kh7
for his pieces. White plays to expose
34 NgS+
the weaknesses left in Black's pos
ition and to neutralize his activity
with some well-judged exchanges
leading to a winning attack .
I d4 Nf6
2 c4 cS
3 dS e6
4 NcJ exdS
S cxdS d6
6 e4 g6
7 NO Bg7
8 Bel 0-0
9 0-0 Re8
a b e d e f g h 10 Ndl Na6
11 0 Nc7
A nice finish , illustrating once again 12 a4 Nd7
the superiority of the knight over the 13 Kh l
 IUustrative Glllllel 139

because Black has no good recap

8
ture . If dxe5 1 7 Be3 b6 1 8 Qd2 and
White's chances are much better.
6
16 . . . BxeS
5 17 f4!
4
The key to White's play is to
3 neutralize Black's bishops and to
2 t challenge control of e4.
17 ... Bg7
18 BhS Rf8
a b c d e f g h
19 RO Ne8
20 Bxe8 Qxe8
The game really starts here , the
players having covered well-known Whereas White's pieces seem to
territory en route. White has played penetrate Black's kingside with
sensibly to safeguard his e-pawn ease , any black pieces coming to the
allowing his knights to head for c4 defence are harassed or exchanged.
and b5 attacking the d-pawn . At the Black's white square bishop will be
same time he has discouraged of little use defending the kingsidc
Black's plan of expanding on the and will be stretched to defend all
queenside by advancing his b-pawn. the white square weaknesses on the
If Black plays passively, White can queenside while there is still a dan
manoeuvre a knight to e3 via c4 with gerous white outpost at e6 to be
the idea of advancing his kingside observed.
pawns. Black's plan is to break open
21 Rg3 Bd7
lines in order to use his rook and
22 Bd2 Rf6
bishops to good effect and to isolate
23 Qb3 Rg6
White's d-pawn. The black knights
24 Rei Qd8
have potential outposts at e5 and d4.
13 ... rs (see following diagram)
14 exfS gxrs
Gligoric correctly avoided the ex
IS Nc4 NeS
change of rooks which would have
16 NxeS
helped Black . With his next move he
An important exchange. The prevents Black from exchanging be
active black knight had to be re cause the knight move not only
moved, but White gets an advantage clears the way for the queen to
140 Chess Exchanaes

both threatened he cannot hold out

for much longer.
The next game also sees two
bishops in a rather sorry state. Black
plays a little too casually in the
opening and finds himself in a pos
ition which allows few chances.
White has a small initiative , but it
cannot be challenged and it mounts
to winning proportions in very few
moves.

G LIKSMAN vs. SOLTIS ,

Birmingham, 1973
recapture and enter the attack with
tempo, but also vacaes the c3
square for the bishop to join in the 1 d4 dS
final assault on the rapidly crum 2 Nf3 Nf6
bling defences. The added inult is 3 Bf4 c6
that by attacking the d-pawn White 4 e3 BfS
threatens to exchange rooks him- S c4 e6
self! '
6 Qb3

25 NbS Be8
26 Rge3 817

If 25 BxbS White gets control of

. . .

e6. Black's bishops are in a sorry

state, being tied to defence. The
heavy pieces now administer the
final blow.

27 Re7 a6
28 Nc7 Rb8
29 Qh3 Rg4
30 Qd3 Bf6
31 QxfS Rg6
32 Rd7
In this almost symmetrical position a
Black resigned. With Ne6 and Bc3 slight initiative proves surprisingly
 IUustratJve Gama 141

difficult to neutralize. White takes

advantage of the weaknesses on . 8
Black's queenside with the bishop
away on other duties.
6
6 ... Qb6 5
7 NcJ Nd7
8 cS 4

Forcing an exchange of queens into 3

an ending which is almost won. The 1 2
passive black pieces will be unable to
contest the queenside play.
a f g h
8 ... QxbJ
9 axbJ NhS
10 b4 After White plays Bxb5 and Ne5
recovering his material he is well
Black could not prevent the advance placed.
of the b-pawn . He hopes to break in
the centre with e5 , so plays to ex 14 BxbS a6
change the bishop at f4 and to free IS Ba4 Nxc6
the advance of his f-pawn to support 16 Bxc6 Rb8
e5. 17 bS axbS
18 BxbS f6
10 . . . Nxf4 19 Kd2 h6
I I exf4
A curious position . The white pawns White's active pieces and passed
keep Black's black squared bishop pawns outweigh the Joss of the
at home and e5 is well guarded. exchange. Black plays to preserve
Meanwhile the black pawns are his two bishops and to break on the
fixed on white squares which limits kingside as he has no other active
the mobility of the other bishop. plan.

H ... hS 28 W &7
::J JiiJIJ
t a iw;: ..-"=> Ifte- cz.;' :' z._.:
= .,.
C A. ......
.:i *" a.a:-
u &.K6 ..u Ll ....
and rwo pawns for rook is no better. 25 Rb2 Rha8
Tbc immediate exchange of knight 26 Bd7
 142 Chell Excbaoaa

Black has tried to activate his pieces, into black territory. Despite the
but White still dictates the tactics; sabre rattling border patrol by
the pawn winning exchange Nxd5 is Black's rooks his pieces have been
threatened. contained in their trenches. The
white h-pawn cannot be taken be
26 . . . Kc7
cause White simply plays g3 and
27 Bb5 Ral
then rolls his queenside pawns for
28 Be2 Bg6
ward.
29 b5 Be8
30 r5 36 . . . Rec8
37 b6+ Kb7
Black is unable to hold up the pawn
38 BfJ Bxc5
advances on both sides of the board.
39 Nxd5 Bxd4
30 . .. 817 40 Nc7+
31 fxe6 Bxe6
Black resigned rather than face final
32 Nel Rd8 humiliation with Kb8 4 1 Nc6+ and
33 Nc2 Raa8 Black will lose all his pieces.
34 Nb4 rs
Here we see both players in
35 Nc6 ReS aggressive mood and offering sacri
36 Ne5
ficial exchanges for attack. B lack
strikes first, but before his develop
ment is complete, and he is punished
for opening lines with a positional
counter-sacrifice .

KARPOV vs. SAX,

Linares Elite Tournament, 1 983

I e4 c5
2 NfJ d6
3 d4 cxd4
4 Nxd4 Nf6
5 Nc3 e6
6 g4 h6
7 Rgl Be7
White's pieces have taken it in turn
8 Bel Nc6
to demonstrate their agility. The
rook, bishop and knight have all The asymmetrical position offers
carried out solo commando raids both sides attacking chances.
 IUuslralln Gama 143

played e5 there is a weakness at d5,

8
as well as at d6, for the queen to
observe. Black could continue with
6 the idea Nh7, NfH and Ne6 or Ng6 to
exploit the dark square weaknesses
5 and also to attack White's h-pawn. If
4 the pawn advances, then Black may
be able to offer the exchange of
3 bishops with Bg5. Instead, Black
t initiates an attack on White's centre.
2
13 . . . QaS
1 4 0-0-0 Nxe4?!
a c d e t g h
An interesting idea to free the cen
Karpov introduces a new idea here ; tral pawns and the bishops and to try
by delaying the development o f his and exchange off the defensive
king's bishop he gains a tempo for knight. It is too late for Nh7 now that
castling, and the e2 square is free for Black's queen no longer protects d6
the queen, so that the a-rook can and the d8-h4 diagonal.
bear down the half-open d-file.
I S Nxe4 dS
9 Qe2 Bd7
10 h4 Nxd4
Black wishes to control the weak
dark squares at f4 and d4 by the
advance e5 , but he does not wish to
allow White to play his knight to f5,
so he exchanges it off. This also
allows the black pieces to play
against the e-pawn. the bishop being
able to get to c6.
I I Bxd4 eS
12 BeJ Bc6
13 Qd3 o b c d e f g h
White appears to be losing time with
his queen after his opening inno If 16 Ng3 Qxa2 gives Black a very
vation, but the e-pawn needed de strong attack. Alternatively if 16
fence ; and now that B lack has Nc3 d4 recovers the material and
CE-r
144 Cheu Exchanaa

keeps up the attack. Karpov finds

another solution.
16 Qb3!
Combining attack and defence. This
game will be decided on the white
squares.
16 . . . dxe4
17 Bc4 Rf8
Not a pleasant decision, but 0-0
allows White to carry out his
thematic opening attack with g5 and
if the dark squared bishops are ex
changed , then Og3 will follow.
23 . . . Oxc3+ 24 Kbl ! Qxb2+ 25
18 RdS!
Kxb2 Ba3 + 26 Kxa3 Rxd5 to ex
With Black's rook condemned to a change off queens and blunt the
passive defensive role at f8, Ktrpov attack, but after 27 Bxa7 White
sees that exchanging off the white should win the ending with his a
square bishop will bring victory. pawn.
18 . . . BxdS 23 . . . Ke7
19 BxdS Rd8 24 BcS
20 Bc4
Not only putting paid to the de
The point of White's exchange sacri fensive exchange mentioned in the
fice becomes clear. Black has to last note, but also forcing the ex
defend against Bb5 + but a6?? change of Black's last active piece
would lose the queen to Bb6. and the only defender of the king.
20 ... Bb4 24 . . . BxcS
21 c3 bS 25 QxeS+ Kd7
22 Be2 Bd6 26 QxcS
23 QdS!
Black is faced with Bxb5 + and
(see following diagram) Rdl + which threaten mate, so
Black has to get his queen back into
The position still needs careful the defence, but the passive position
handling. For example, White had of his pieces gives White a free hand
to be alert to the possibility to generate fresh attacks.
 llluatratlve GIUIIa 145

26 . . . Qc7 7 Be3 Nc6

27 QfS + Ke7 8 Qd2 e5
28 Qxe4+ Kd7 9 d5 Ne7
29 Qf5 + Ke7 10 Rad l
30 Rei Rd6
31 Bc4+ Kd8
8
32 Bxb5 a6
lf32 . . . Rf6 33 Qd5 + Kc8 34 Re7!
and if 34 . . . Oxe7 35 Qa8+ Kc7 3p 6
Qxa7+ Kd6 37 Qb6+ Ke5 38 Qd4+ 5
Ke6 39 Bc4 mate.
4
33 Ba4 g6
34 QIJ Kc8 3
35 Re7! 2
35 . . . Rd l +
36 Kd l Qxe7
a b c d e g h
37 Qa8+ Kc7
38 Qa7+ Kd6
Karpov has developed quietly.
39 Qb6+
settling for a small space advantage.
Black resigned because there is a his last move preventing c6 because
mate in two after 40 Qd4+ and Bb3 of the pressure on the d-pawn if the
mate. file is opened. The tempting
Karpov does not always win. as 10 . . . Nxe4 1 1 Nxe4 f5 is refuted by
the next game shows. 12 Nfg5 . forcing the exchange of the
light squared bishops and gaining
control of e6 which wins the ex
change. Black finds a better idea
KARPOV vs.
which is to deflect white square
AZMAI PARASHVILI .
defenders away from the kingside.
USSR Championships. 193
10 . . . b5
l e4 d6 Obviously a capture by the knight
2 d4 g6 allows Nxe4 in response, while the
3 NfJ Nf6 capture 1 1 Bxb5 allows Bxf3 fol
4 Nc3 Bg7 lowed by Nh5 . f5 and a promising
5 Be2 0-0 kingside attack if Black recaptures
6 0-0 Bg4 on f5 with a piece rather than a
146

pawn. Opening the f-file is more exploited. White's remaining bishop

important than control of e4 and the has little scope and there are poten
g-filc offers White counter-attacking tial weaknesses on the central black
chances if it is opened . squares after the exchange of
bishops. Either Bxe7 followed by
I I a3 aS
Be2 or Bg4 intending Ral seem
12 b4 axb4
better options.
13 axb4 RaJ
17 ... Kxg7
The beauty of Black's idea is that if
18 Ra1 Qa8
White refuses to give him play on the
19 Rxa3 Qxa3
kingside he gets play on the queen
20 Bel Qbl
side instead.
21 Rd1 f5
14 Bg5 RxcJ! 22 exfS NxfS
23 cJ
So Black manages to eliminate a
white square defender. The point of White's manoeuvres
was to offer this queen exchange and
15 Bxf6 BxfJ

then pick up the b-pawn while keep

16 BxfJ RaJ
ing d4 from Black's knight, but the
17 Bxg7
exchanges leave Black with much
more active pieces than White.
8 23 . . . Qxdl
24 Rxdl Ra8
25 BxbS RaJ
6 26 Rcl Ne7
5 27 f4
4 White has to return the pawn, other
wise there is a back rank mate
3 threat.
2 27 exf4
28 Bc6 NfS
o b c d e f g h The black knight is a far superior
piece to the bishop which is tied to
This exchange seems dubious. the pawn's defence.
Black's bishop is not particularly 29 Kf2 NeJ
useful and the black square weak 30 Rei Kf6
nesses around his king cannot be 3 1 g3 KeS
 llluatratJve Gamel 147

32 KfJ gS
33 gd4 gd4 8
34 h4 NxdS!
Black now has the better-placed 6
king and can afford this simplifying
5
exchange. As is usually the case , the
advantage of a better minor piece is 4
being able to decide when to make 3
the exchange.
2
35 bxdS KxdS
36 Kxf4 Kc4
37 el RxcJ o b c d e t g h
J8 Re7 Kxb4
39 Rxh7 dS
40 KeS c6 launch an attack and not have to
41 Kd4 worry about becoming over
extended with too few pieces to
The position was adjourned here but
safeguard his advanced e-pawn.
White resigned without further play.
Keres sees deeper. Black's king's
bishop will be difficult to develop.
and thus Black will have problems
KERES vs. SCHMI D.
castling. Keres therefore opts to re
Zurich, 196 1
move Black's remaining minor
pieces which have prospects of
l e4 Nf6 active play. White's remaining
2 eS NdS pieces will then be able to gain
3 NcJ Nxc3 control.
4 dxc3 d6
7 Nxe5
5 NO Nc6
6 BbS Bd7 7 . . . e6 followed by 8 . . . Be7 1s
7 Qe2 safest.
8 Nxe5 dxe5
(see following diagram)
9 Qxe5 c6
10 Bc4 Qb8
White's advantage appears to lie in a
spatial superiority. Consequently he Black wants to exchange off White's
would be expected to avoid ex powerful queen. 10 . f6 would be
. .

changes in order to use this space to very weakening.

148 Chaa ExclwJaa

1 1 Qe4 Despite his rook being pinned,

White's possession of the open d-file
It is vital for White to avoid the
is a big advantage which increases in
queen exchange which would leave
significance as pieces disappear
him with no attacking chances and a
from the board.
bad ending.
19 ... b6
11 ... e6
20 QhS 0-0-0
12 BgS
21 Ba6+ Kc7
Preventing . . . Be7. Black must now 22 g3 QfS
develop his king's bishop on d6 23 Qxf7 eS
where it will be exposed to attack l4 Rd6 Rh7
down the d-filc.
Here it would seem that White could
12 ... h6 exchange queens for a won ending
13 Bh4 Bd6 by 25 Qxf6 Qxf6 26 Rxf6 but then
14 0-0-0 Qc7 Black would trap the white bishop
IS Qd4 BeS by . . . bS.
16 QcS Bf6
25 Rxc6+
Black is almost forced to excH ange
Now Black cannot recapture the
bishops.
rook because of Qc4 mate.
17 Bxf6 Qf4+
25 . . . Kb8
18 Rd2 gxf6
26 QdS Qxf2
19 Rhdl
27 Qd6+ Ka8
28 Bb7+ Kxb7
29 Rc7+
8
Black resigns.

6
PANOV vs. YUDOVITCH,
5 Moscow, 1936
4
3 There is a wealth of instructive
lessons about exchanging in this
2
entertaining game.
1 e4 eS
a g 2 Nf3 Nf6
 IU!Wrallve Games 149

3 NcJ Nc6 manoeuvre . In addition, White can

4 BbS Nd4 do little to prevent the freeing
5 Bc4 d6 breaks . . . c6 and . . . f5.
6 NgS Ne6
7 d4 NxgS 10 QdJ c6
8 BxgS II a4 Qb6
12 Bel Ng4
13 aS Qc7

B
7
5 6
4 5
3 4
2 3
2
0 d e f Q

0 d e f Q
White has gained a tempo, but it is
not very significant because Black's
kingside is secure. At first sight this is a defensive
retreat, but there is a concealed
8 . . . Be7 threat against h2 by . . . exd4 and
9 0-0 0-0 then . . . d5.
Exchanging pawns and queens
14 dxeS dS
would probably lead to a quick QxeS
IS exdS
draw. one reason why classical
openings such as the Four Knights (see following diagram)
have gone out of favour with grand
masters this century. If White ad Black has suddenly got a terrific
vances 10 d5 the space gain would attack from nowhere.
not embarrass Black because with a
pair of minor pieces exchanged he 16 gJ QhS
would have adequate room to 17 h4 Bxh4
ISO Cheu Exchaa&a

19 Qe4 Nxc4
20 Qxc4 Bf6
2 1 Rhl Qg6
So White has temporarily stopped
B lack's kingside attack.
22 a6
Better than the win of a pawn by 22
dxc6 bxc6 23 Qxc6 when B lack ex
ploits White's greediness by . . . Rb8
followed by . . . Bb7.
22 . .. cxdS
23 NxdS bxa6

White cannot play 1 gxh4 because Black captures so that he can em

of . . . Ne5 . ploy his queen's bishop on the long
white diagonal.
24 Qc6 Rb8
25 Nxf6+ gxf6
White's 25th move was a mistake ; it
would have been good if B lack had
recaptured on f6 with his queen
allowing a queen exchange, but now
White has problems defending his
king. Correct was 25 Qxf6 forcing a
queen exchange.
26 QcJ Bb7+
27 0 Rbc8
28 ReS Rfe8
29 Rael Rxel
30 Rxel QfS
18 Kg2 NeS 31 b4 aS

Why not the deflecting, line clear (see following diagram)

ing, tempo gaining exchange 18 . . .
Nxe3+ and if 1 9 Qxe3 Bg5 or if 1 9 This move is very awkward for
fxe3 Qg4. White, since axb4 is a serious threat.
 IUustntlve G1110e1 151

3 NcJ Bg7
4 e4 d6
5 1"3 c5

5 8
4 7

3 6

2 5
4

0 c d e g h 3
2
White's only defence is to exchange
queens, but this leads him to a lost
ending.
32 QdJ QxdJ
33 cxdJ axb4 Black's plan of undermining White's
34 Bxa7 Rc2+ centre is faulty here, as it allows
35 Bf2 bJ White to exchange queens, leaving
Black's king exposed.
White pieces are too passively
placed to stop the black b-pawn . 6 dxcS dxcS
7 Qxd8+ Kxd8
36 Re8 + Kg7 8 Bel Nfd7
37 Rb8 Bd5 9 0-0-0 b6
38 g4 b2 10 f4 BxcJ
39 g5 Ba2
40 gxf6+ Kxf6 This seems a weak move but White
was threatening to block in the
White resigns. bishop with e5; the white queen's
knight is a good piece, so Black was
probably not too unhappy with this
SPASSKY vs. GHEORGHIU , exchange.
Alekhine Memorial Tournament,
I I bxcJ Bb7
Moscow. 1 97 1
12 NfJ
I d4 Nf6 indirectly defending the e-pawn with
2 c4 g6 the threat of Ng5.
CEP
152

12 . . . Ke8 18 BgS Kt7

13 eS BxfJ 19 h4 Rad8
14 gxrJ 20 Rei

White refrains from exchanging

8 rooks, as this would make B lack's
defensive task easier.

6 20 ... Rd6
21 Rh2 Nh7
5
22 Bd2 Nf6
4 23 Kcl Re6
24 Rxe6 Kxe6
3
25 Bd3 Kr7
2 26 Bf4 NhS
27 BgS Ng3
28 Rh3 NhS
a b c d e f Q h 29 f4

The exchanges have left White wjth

two bishops against two knights.
White therefore seeks to open lines
to increase the scope of the bishops,
while Black seeks to fix the pawn
structure. The e6 and potentially the
f5 square look good outposts for he
black knights though White can
challenge control of these squares
with Bh3. If Black plays . . . e6 then
White can invade with his rooks on
d6.
14 . . . rs
a e f g h
1 5 exf6 Nxf6
16 fS
A fine pawn sacrifice. Now if Black cannot simplify the position
1 6 . . . gxf5 1 7 Bh3 e6 1 8 Rd6 with by . . . e5 because of 30 Be4.
good play for the pawn . 29 . . . Nf6
16 . . . Nc6 30 Rg3 Rg8
17 fxg6 hxg6 3 1 rs
 W1111tndve GUDe1 153

White exchanges his f-pawn for queen has to move to reach an

Black's g-pawn in order to create a attacking position and this helps
passed h-pawn . White along. The central pawn
structure makes it easier for White
31 . . . NeS
to complete his development, i.e. to
32 fxg6+ Nxg6
move his pieces to control important
33 Re3 Nf8
squares. In this game the vital
J4 BfS e6
squares are around Black's king.
35 Bh3 Rg6
J6 a4 9 Qxe4 Nf6
I
10 Qh4 b6
White's idea is to play a5-a6 and
then Bf4-bK xa7. This is a bad move since the rook on
aM is vulnerable to double attacks
J6 . . N6h7
. Bf4
now.
37 Bf4
1 1 BgS
and at this point Black overstepped
the time limit, hut his position is very
difficult to defend. 8
7
DOBIAS vs. PODGORNY, 6
Prague, 1952
5
4
l e4 e6
2 d4 dS 3
3 Nd2 dxe4 2
4 Nxe4 Nd7
5 Nf3 Be7
6 Bd3 Ngf6 a b c d e t g h
7 Qe2 0-0
8 0-0 Nxe4
White is now threatening the simple
Black has a passive position. His Bxf6 and Black cannot reply . . . h6
small centre holds off the white army because of Bxf6 followed by Qe4.
hut cedes the initiative. He would
like to exchange a pair of minor II . . . g6
pieces and then gain a tempo by 12 c4 Bb7
attacking the white queen. But this 13 dS exdS
gain is illusory because White's 14 Rfe 1
154 Cbeu Exc:hanaa

SZABO vs. LARSEN

8
Vmkovci, 1979
An excellent example of when
6 and why to exchange.
5 1 NO cS
4 2 c4 Nc6
J d4 cxd4
3 4 Nxd4 g6
2 5 e4 Bg7
6 Bel d6
7 NcJ Nh6
0 e g h 8 Be2 0-0
9 0-0 rs

White has the simple thre11t of 1 5

Rxe7 followed by Bxf6 winning. 8

14 ... h6
15 Qxh6 Ng4
16 Qh4 BxgS
17 NxgS Nf6
18 Qh6
Black has averted immediate
disaster but is now completely tied
up. White's last move stopped Black
from consolidating with . . . Kg7 and
. . . Rh8. a b e d e
18 . . . d4
19 Re6
This variation of the Maroczy Bind
Decisive. White threatens Rxf6 19 against the Sicilian gives Black
. . . fxe6 20 Qxg6+ Kh8 21 Qh6+ attacking chances on the queenside
Kg8 22 Bh7+ Kh8 23 Bf5 + Kg8 24 based on the strength of the fian
Bxe6+ wins. chettoed bishop.
19 . . . Re8 10 exfS gxfS
20 Bxg6 1 1 f4 Bd7
Black resigns. 12 Qd2
 IUuslnltJn Game 155

One would expect that White would

aim for the exchange of light 8
squared bishops in this position with
the plan of exploiting the e6 square.
But Szabo wants an eventual ex 6
change of Black's king's bishop as 5
this would leave the black king very 4
open.
3
12 ... Ng4
13 Bxg4 rxg4 I 2
14 NdS Rf7
1s rs
a e f g h
Black could not have played . . . e6
because the d-pawn would be too exchange off the last defender of the
weak but 1 4 . . . Bf5 was worth con dark squares, the black queen's
sidering. Now Black cannot take the knight, and the game is all but over.
pawn on f5 ; 15 . . . Nxd4 16 Bxd4
17 . . . Qxg7
Bxf5 17 Bxg7 Kxg7 U Qg5 + Bg6 19
1 8 Nxe7 Nxe7
Rxf7 + Kxf7 20 Rfl + with a big '
19 r6 Qg6
advantage, or 15 . . . Nxd4 16 Bxd4
Bxd4 1 7 Qxd4 17 . . . Bxf5 1 8 Rxf5 Capturing on f6 is clearly impossible
Rxf5 19 Qxg4+ winning. with White's bishop lurking ready to
go to d4.
IS . . . Kh8
16 Ne6 20 rxe7 Rxe7
21 Bd4+ Kg8
(see following diagram)
22 Rr6 QhS
23 Ran
If Black now exchanges 16 . . . Bxe6
17 fxe6 Rxfl + 18 Rxfl . Black would Now 24 Rh6 is a potent threat.
not be able to stop the white pieces
23 ... gJ
invading on f7.
24 hxgJ Be6
16 . . . Qg8 2s Qr4 Rf7
17 Nxg7 26 g4
White is only too pleased to ex Black resigns. He cannot move his
change off the dark square defender queen without losing his rook.
when his own bishop becomes Similar ideas are explored in the
lethal. All White has to do now is to next game.
156 Cbeu Exchanaa

TAL vs. NAJDORF, 13 Rfd 1 Kh8

Bled, 1961 1 4 c3 fS
Black seeks to weaken White's grip
I e4 cS on the central squares and open the
2 Nf'J d6 f-file for attack. The drawback is
3 d4 cxd4 that Black further weakens his light
4 Nxd4 Nf6 squares, notably e6.
5 Nc3 a6
IS Bf'J BxdS
6 Bel eS
7 Nb3 Be7 The problem with this move is that
8 BgS Be6 Black's remaining minor pieces are
9 0-0 0-0 very passive. Black should have
tried 15 . . . g6.
8 16 QxdS fxe4
17 Qxe4

0 e g

A typical Sicilian position has been

reached. Tal now embarks on a plan
to gain control of d5 and thus ex o b c d e f g h
changes off one of the black de White has a terrible grip on the light
fenders of this square . squares and Black can only hope for
10 Bxf6 Bxf6 a mistake.
1 1 Qd3 Nc6 17 . . . Qe7
12 NdS BgS 18 QdS Rf6
Black puts his faith in the two 19 Ndl
bishops. After 12 . . Bxd5 13 Qxd5
. Black cannot allow this knight to
White has a strong bind. reach e4.
 llluslnltlve GIUiles 157

19 ... Bxd2 White had exchanged he would have

20 Rxd2 Qc7 given Black a tempo to move his
21 Rei Raf8 king to the centre on recapture.
22 Re3 Secondly, White has fixed Black
with one weakness in the centre ; he
Black is denied the option of break
would like to create another one on
ing up White's kingside by the sacri
the queenside. After Black ex
ficial . . . Rxf3. Meanwhile, White
changes, the a-file is open which
seeks to exchange rooks. He wants
allows White to play for b4-b5 or
to reduce Black's counterplay to a
Bxc6 and Ra 1 .
minimum . The fewer pieces Black 1

has, the fewer his choices, as those 27 . . . Qxb3

left will be tied to the weakness at 28 axb3 Nd8
d6. 29 b4 K17
22 ... g6 30 Rd5 Ke8
23 Be4 Kg7 31 b5 axb5
24 Rf3 Rxf3 32 Rxb5 Rl7
25 BxfJ Rr6 33 Rb6 Kd7
26 Be4 Qf7 34 Bd5 ar4
27 Qb3 35 gJ Ra4

0 e g h 0 c f g h

White is happy to have the 4ueens Now White is able to take the b
exchanged. so why does he not ex pawn, but Black probably felt he
change himself and why does he would be crushed if he remained
allow Black to double his pawns? If passive.
158 Cbea Exctaanaes

36 Bxb7 Ra l +
37 Kg2 Kc7 B
38 Ra6 Rb l
39 BdS Rxb2
6
40 Ra7+ Nb7
41 Kf3 5
The black pieces are tied up and the 4
white king will invade the black
kingside.
2
41 . . . Kb8
42 Ra6 Kc7
43 Ra8 NcS
44 Ra7+ Nb7
45 h4 Kb8 cxd5 Nxd5 8 Bxh7+ Kxh7 9 Qxd5
46 Ra6 Kc7 White has some advantage due to
47 Ra8 RbS the exposed black king.
48 c4 Rb3+
49 Kg4 6 ... bS
7 dxe6 fxe6
Black resigns. The whole black king 8 cxbS
side will be taken by the whit king
Black has sacrificed a pawn to obtain
and rook.
a big pawn centre.
8 ... Bb7
KARPOV vs. KORCHNOI , 9 Nf3 dS
1978, game 7, World Championship 10 0-0 Nbd7
11 Ne2 Qe8
I d4 Nf6 12 NgJ eS
2 c4 e6 13 BfS g6
3 NcJ Bb4 14 BhJ a6
4 eJ 0-0 (see following diagram)
5 BdJ c:S
Black has taken the difficult decision
6 dS
to weaken his king position to safe
guard f5 and now seeks to open up
(see following diagram)
the queenside. White would like to
play e4 blockading the black centre.
An unusual line. This is an idea of
Murei's: if Black tries 6 . . exd5 7
. IS NgS
 Illustrative G111nes 159

pieces to leave Black with too few

B
pieces to defend his big position.
23 . . . Nbd7
24 Qd2 Bd6
5 25 Bb4 Nc5
26 Bxc5 Bxc5
4
27 Kh l Qd6
3 28 Rad l Kh8
29 Qc2
2
Both sides have been quietly prepar
ing for a black pawn advance in the
a c g centre .

Korchnoi exploits the weak square 29 . .

.
Qe6
behind Black's centre pawns. 30 Ne2 Qc6
Karpov decides to sacrifice the ex 31 h3 ReB
change in order to maintain the 32 b4
initiative. This is a serious mistake, since it
IS ... axbS immediately gives Black a passed c
16 Ne6 c4 pawn and the possibility of two con
17 Bd2 DeS nected passed pawns after an even
18 Nc7 Qe7 tual . . . d4.
19 Nx88 Rxa8 Bb6
32 ...
20 a3 Nb6 33 Qb2 Kg8
21 Qc2 Bc8 34 Rrel Kf7
Surprisingly. despite its confined 35 Qcl
position, the white king's bishop is A curious move since Black can
one of the more active white pieces. advance the d-pawn. Perhaps
The weaknesses in the black pos Korchnoi wanted to open the pos
ition will become more exposed ition to get at the black king.
when he advances his centre pawns.
so Black takes the precaution of 35 . . . d4
exchanging off this bishop. 36 Ng3
22 Bxc8 Rxc8 White cannot take twice on d4.
23 BaS
36 . . . Rd8
White would like to exchange minor 37 exd4 exd4
160 Chas Exchanaes

38 Qd2 d3
39 Qh6 c3 8
40 Ne4 7
Exchanging off Black's kingside de 6
fender is the only hope for White.
5
40 .. . Nxe4 4
4 1 Qxh7+ Kf8
42 Qh8+
The game was adjourned here and
the players agreed on a draw. At
best White could get a perpetual
o b c d e
check so that it is surprising that
Black did not play on .
7 Bb2 d6
Unlike our first illustrative game f5
8 c3
from the same match , this. example
shows that even the best players are
not infallible. 8
7
PADEVSKI vs. MATINOVIC, 6
Vrnjacka- Banja, 1 975 '

I e4 c5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 8b5 e6
4 Bxc6 bxc6

(see following diagram)

0 b c d g
This exchange seems a little pre
The strong grip exerted on the
mature . Although White has
centre by Black's pawns makes it
doubled Black's pawns, the centre is
difficult for White to use his lead in
not fixed and thus Black can put his
development so he has prepared to
centre pawns on squares which fit in
play d4 to open up the centre. How
with his bishops.
ever Black is able to use the tempo
5 0-0 Qc7 to s; rike at White's central light
6 b3 e5 squares.
 IUustrallve Games 161

9 exfS Nf6 (because then White could defend) ,

10 d4 cxd4 but instead intensifies the attack.
II cxd4 e4
18 fxgS Rxh4
12 Nh4 dS
19 Rf4 Nxh2

8
7
6
5
4

0 b c e
a b c d e

White is a pawn up, but his pieces

The white k ing position has been
are badly coordinated . Black has
decimated. In desperation White
possibilities of developing a stro ng
. now tries to drive the black queen
kingside attack. White wants to In
off the dark squares, but Black sim
crease the . activity of his queen's
plifies into a won ending.
bishop which is blocked in by the
pawn at d4 and decides to exchange 20 NbS cxbS
the dark squared bishops. Unfor 21 Rei Rxf4
tunately he is in for a shock! 22 Rxc7 Rfl +
23 Qxfl Nxfl
13 Ba3 Bxa3
24 Kxfl Bd7
14 Nxa3 gS
25 g6 Ke7
This forces open the h-file.
and White resigned on move 3 1 .
15 fxg6 e.p. hxg6
16 g3 Ng4
SPASSKY vs. TAL,
Threatening . . . Rxh4.
Tallinn. 1973
17 f4 gS
I d4 Nf6
Black does not take the exchange 2 c4 e6
16l Cheu Exchanaes

3 Nc3 Bb4
4 BgS
The Leningrad vanat1on popular
ized by Spassky.
4 ... h6
5 Bh4 cS
6 dS bS
This gambit system is popular; Black
can also play solidly by exchanging
on c3 and then blockading the centre
with . . . d6 and . . . eS.
a b c d e f g h
7 dxe6 fxe6
8 cxbS dS protecting the e4 square against a
later invasion by a black knight and
preparing to support the knight on
c3 with Nge2. Also possible was 10
a3.
10 . . . QaS
1 1 Bxf6 Rxf6
5
12 Qdl
4
This seems to be asking for trouble.
3 12 Qcl or Rcl is safer.
2 12 . . . a6
13 bxa6 Nc6

a b c d e g h Tal does not waste time recapturing

on a6, but now threatens . . . Rxf3
White is a pawn up, but Black has and . . . d4 winning two pieces for a
good compensation in the form of rook.
his pawn centre.
14 Bel d4
9 e3 0-0 15 exd4 Rxf3
10 Nf3 16 Bxf3 cxd4
(see following diagram) (see following diagram)

Surprisingly White's last move is a White cannot play 17 Bxc6 because

mistake. He should play 10 Bd3 17 . . . dxc3 wins. If 1 7 Ret Bxa6 18
 16J

Bxf2+ 28 Kxf2 Qf4+ 29 Kg l Qe3+

30 Kh l Qxcl + and mates.
25 QgJ QfS
26 Rfc l Bb7
27 QfJ
(Not 27 Qb8+ Kh7 28 Qxb7 Bxf2 + )
27 . . . QgS

a e d e f o h
'6
Bxc6 RdH 19 Qc2 dxc3 20 bxc3 5
Qe5+ wins for Black .
4
17 0-0 dxcJ
18 bxcJ BxcJ
19 Qd6 Rxa6 2
20 Bxc6 Bb4
Tal's army is ahead in material . but
Black has some weuknesses in his
king position , . so Spassky has some
The battle for the initiative is still
play.
being waged as each player tries to
2 1 Qb8 Rxc6 convert a threat into a decisive ad
22 Racl BcS vantage. Black still cannot exchange
23 Rc2 Qa4 queens so he defends the bishop and
the c 1 square ; a typical trap is 28 Qg3
White was threatening to double
Bxf2+ 29 Qxf2 Qxc l + winning.
rooks which Tal prevents tactically.
28 QbJ Rc7
24 QbJ
Black's initiative grows as his
(24 Rfc I loses to . . . Bxf2 + )
bishops start to work; he threatens
24 . . . Qf4 . . . Qxg2 mate.
A similar defence to Rfc I . This 29 gJ Bxf2 +
move also defends against 25 Qb5, JO KxCl Qf6 +
e.g. 25 . . . Qd6 26 Rfc l Ba6 27 Qa5 J l Kel QeS+
164 Cbeu Exc:banaa

32 Kn Ba6+
33 Kgl Qd4+ 8
34 Kg2 Qe4+
35 Kgl Bb7
36 h4 Qh l +
37 Kf2 Rf7+ 5
38 Ke2 Qe4+ 4
and Spassky resigned because of
39 Qe3 Ba6+ 2
40 Kd2 Rd7+
and wins.
a b c d e f g h
A tremendous example of piece
coordination and the fight for the
lot of weak squares around the white
initiative. There were many forcing
king. Black challenges the dark
moves which had to be made for
squares and starts to attack White's
each player to stay alive . The tactical
centre.
resources that Tal found to keep
White from unravelling were 7 dS
brilliant.
The safest choice. 7 Be2 is at best
drawish and 7 dxc5 Qa5 intending
Nxe4 is potentially dangerous in
CHRISTIANSEN vs.
view of Black's better development.
KASPAROV,
White does better to keep the game
Moscow Interzonal, 1982

closed till he mobilizes his pieces.

7 ... e6
I d4 Nf6
8 dxe6
2 c4 g6
3 Nc3 Bg7 This move is dubious for the reasons
4 e4 d6 already given. Safer and normal is 8
5 f4 0-0 Be2.
6 NfJ cS
8 .
. . fxe6
(see following diagram) 9 Bd3 Nc6
10 0-0 Nd4
Black has met White's provocative
choice of the four pawns' attack in Directly exploiting the dark square
the thematic way . Although White's weaknesses. If White exchanges
centre looks fearsome, there are a knights on d4 Black will get control
 IUustratlve Games 16S

over c3 and e3. Another good line gxf5 1 4 exf5 Nxf5 1 5 Nxe5 dxe5 16
for Black is 10 . . a6 preparing b5 to
. Bxf5 Qd4+ either winning the c

undermine the centre and stopping pawn or getting two connected
NbS. passed pawns for a very favourable
ending if White exchanges queens.
I I NgS!?
Perhaps White should have risked
all on the double-edged 13 fxg6 hxg5
8 14 Bxg5 with good chances, al
though Black has adequate de
fensive resources to avoid loss it is
6 not clear that he will actually get a
5 win.
4 13 . .. gxrs
14 exrs bS
3
2
8

a c d e Q h
6
In the game Garcia vs. Tatai , 5
Bucharest 1 97 1 , Black got a good
4
game by Qc7, but Kasparov plays
more thematically on the dark 3
squares. 2
II . . .
eS
12 f'S
a b c d e 0 h
Not best. The minus side of Kas
parov's advance of the e-pawn is Suddenly White's proud centre has
best shown by 1 2 fxe5 dxe5 13 Nd5 been destroyed from the flanks and
when there are weaknesses in both Black's forces are ready to break
camps and Kasparov's bishop is through.
blockaded by his e-pawn .
IS BeJ
12 . . . h6
Clearly 1 5 cxb5 allows Black to play
13 NhJ
d5 with a tremendous pawn roller.
An awkward retreat , but after Nf3 White could have tried Nxb5. how
Black simply exchanges by 1 3 . . . ever. because Black would then
166 Chess Exchanp

have to exchange off his proud 19 Nxf6

knight in order to mobilize his
19 Bxa6 would not be good because
pawns, when chances may be equal.
after Nxd5 B lack gets access to e3.
IS . . bxc4
Bxc4
.

19 . . .
16 Bxc4+ Kh8
20 NhS Bxfi
Avoiding complications based on d5 21 Qg4
allowing the sacrificial sequence
The point of White's play is that he
Nxd5, Bxd4 and Qb3.
has managed to gain a preponder
17 Bxd4 ance of forces on the kingside, but
Black can cope and he maintains a
White's difficulties come to a head.
material advantage and a mobile
Kasparov picks up the two bishops
centre.
very neatly. The first one goes to
save the f-pawn. 21 . . . Qd7
22 Rxn dJ
2J QCJ

(Better than Qe4 allowing d5 with

gain of tempo . )
6 2J .. . d2
5 24 g4
4 In his notes to this game in Jn
formator 34 Kasparov indicates the
3
beautiful exchanging combination
2 24 f6 Bxf6 25 Nxf6 Qg7 26 Qd5
dl =Q winning back the piece and
remaining the exchange ahead. The
0 b c d e f g h same idea occurs on the next move
in an even more delightful form:
17 . .. cxd4 24 . . . Rac8
18 Nd5 Ba6 . 25 QdJ
It is vital for Black to remove the (see following diagram)
white square blockaders to mobilize
his passed pawns and to free his (If 25 f6 Bxf6 26 Nxf6 Qg7 27 g5 Ret
entombed fianchettoed bishop. The 28 Kf2 Qg6 [threat Qc2])
exchange Nxd5 19 Bxd5 would have 25 . . . Qa4!
favoured White. 26 Nfl Qd4
 Illustrative Games 167

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 I 2

a b c d e f g h

27 Qxd4 exd4 34 NxgS hxgS

28 Nf4 Rfe8 3S Rf2 Re4
29 Ne6 Re i
Black plays to exchange rooks at f4.
30 Nd l Bf6
36 h3
Necessary to keep White's king from
reaching the advanced pawns when (Rg2 was safer. )
he would have good chances. 36 . . . Re3+
31 Kf2 . BgS

Black is prepared to have his bishop

exchanged to open the e-file for his
other rook to join the attack . Play
ing the bishop to e I would not be a
good plan for Black because White
would get his rook to d3.
32 Ke2 ReS!
33 Kd3 ReS

(see following diagram)

a b c d e f g h
Black has got a rook to the e-file and
has possibilities of playing Rxe6 or Black offers to give the exchange
Be3. so White exchanges. back to straighten out his pawns.
1 611 Chesa Exc:luuJ&es

which would lead to a quick win. If 39 Rf3 Ret

White tries 37 Kxd2 Rxh3 is very 40 f6 Rf4
good for Black.
Black forces the final exchange and
37 Kxd4 R8e4+ White has to resign. A complex
38 KdS Re2 game typical of modern chess.
 7

Test Positions

These positions give practice in

deciding whether to exchange
material. Some are 'simple' tactical
points which rely on the forcing
nature of the exchange; to draw
pieces out of position , or to
remove defenders, or to open
lines for attack. Others are longer
term exchanges and it will not be
possible to analyse to a forced
conclusion. The positions are
taken from actual games and are
given randomly without any
theme to simulate the real prob
lems of over the board play as STEINER vs. WEINSTOCK.
closely as possible. In many cases Vienna, 1937
you can only justify your decision
by judgement of the various fac White has pressure against e6 and
tors rather than by precise analy has occupied the d6 outpost, but
sis. Awareness that a decision has Black is ready to exchange rooks or
to be taken about an exchange is to play h6 and Ne4. How should
the first step to taking the right White continue?
decision .
169
 170 CbeSII Exha1111es

White's real advantage is the Even better than the exchanges 18

superiority of his bishop over e7 Rxd7 1 9 e80 Rxd l + 20 Kxd 1
Black's and exchanging off the Bxe8 2 1 Bxe8 and Black struggles on
active black pieces leaves White for some time with his pawns.
with a winning positional advantage. 18 . . . fS 19 Be4. And another
White forced exchanges by I b4 h6. beautiful exchange to finish . Black's
This reply is forced because mov bishop only entered the game when
ing the knight would cost Black his it was already lost and now White
e-pawn. 2 Nl7! A very strong move threatens to exchange it. Black re
which keeps lines closed and better signed because 19 . . . Bxe4 20 e7
than the obvious 2 bxc5 hxg5 3 Bc4 wins easily. An instructive series of
bxc5 4 Bxe6+ Kc7 5 RxdH RxdH 6 exchanges to convert an advantage
Oxf5 RfX and Black has good into a win.
counter-chances. In the game con
tinuation he is left with no chances
after 2 . . . Qx17 3 bxcS bxcS 4 Bc4
Rxd6 (0b3 or Rd I were tl:trcatened)
S exd6 Rd8 6 Qd2 (keeping the
option of Re I to prevent c5 if Black
plays Of6) 6 . . . Kb8 7 Rdl Bc8 s-oeJ
Qf6 9 Kc2 Ka8 10 QxcS.
White has recovered his pawn and
'
created a passed pawn by his ex
changes. Black's position is totally
passive. All White has to do to win is
exchange off Black's pieces and he
can queen his advanced pawn, e .g. if
10 . . Bd7 I I 0a5 Rbg 12 Qc7 Rb7
.

13 Ba6 Rxc7 14 dxc7 Qe7 15 Rxd7,

etc. Black found another way to
GHEORGHIU vs. GLIGORIC.
lose .
Novi Sad, 1982
10 . . . Bb7 1 1 d7! gS 12 QeS.
Black's last active piece is ex
changed. White is a pawn ahead, but there
i2 . . . QxeS 13 fxeS cS 14 Bxe6 are bishops of opposite colours on
Be4+ IS Kcl Kb7 16 817 Bxg2 17 e6 the board. How does he progress?
Bc6 18 Bg6.
 Tat Plllklool 171

The queenside is apparently

closed to White's pieces because of 8
the bishop at c6 which defends al f 7
White's targets and keeps the c-file
6
closed. White's king is tied to the
defence of f3 but playing f4 would 5
stop White's king penetrating the 4
kingside later. Opening lines on the
kingside by advancing the g-pawn 3
would be wrong because Black 2
rook at d8 occupies the h-file first
after the pawn exchanges. The pawn
sacrifice e6+ loses a pawn to Kxe6 a b c d e f g h
and opens the files for Black's rooks
to break through. White must there PARMA vs. PETROSIAN ,
fore look again at the queenside. Bled, 1961
Gheorghiu sees that he can use his
king to good effect on the kingside if Black played I . . . Rxd4. White
he can remove the threat to his f threatened 2 f4 a/tacking both of
pawn. Similarly, he can attack the Black's knights. After 2 Rxd4 how
weak queenside pawns if he can should Black continue? Did he have
destroy their defender so he decides an alternative first move?
to sacrifice the exchange: I Rxc6
bxc6 2 Rc4 cS 3 Bel Ra8 4 RxcS Ra6 S
Kf4. Black played 2 . . . NxfJ? 3 Rddl
With two pawns for the exchange Nd4 4 QxhS (not 4 Rxd4 Qxd4 5
giving a majority on both sides of the Qxh5 Bxe4+ etc . , winning for
board and with the more actively Black).
placed pieces White had good win 4 . . . NxbJ S Rn Qg6? 6 Qxg6
ning chances and eventually won hxg6 and the ending was lost. Black
after another 49 moves. A well resigned after 7 Red I NcS 8 Kgl Rc7
judged exchange. White's bishop 9 Rd8+ Kh7 10 b4 Nxe4 I I Nxe4
was very well-placed for queenside Bxe4 1 2 Rf4.
defence and kingside attack, as This is a difficult position. What
B lack's had been before the ex other choices were there? An im
change. The diagonals were more provement is 2 . . . Nxg3+ 3 hxg3
significant than the files in this Qh6+4Kg2 Qxcl and if 5f4, f4
example. trying to win queen with Rdl , B lack
 171 Cheu Exclwlaa

has the counter 5 . . Ng4 with ad

. S Qxh7+ Kxf6 6 Qh8+ KgS 7
vantage. b4+ . Black resigned because he no
Such complexities are difficult to longer threatens mate and must lose
unravel over the board. There are so his queen.
many possible exchanges to
examine. Probably best is 1 . . .

Qxf3+ 2 Qxf3 Nxf3 3 Bxb6 Rd2 and

Black has the better ending.

2 NUNN vs. REE,

1982 Olympiad
o b c d e Q h
White is threatening a kingside
VAN DER WIEL vs. N I KOLIC, attack starting with check ar h 7 which
Novi Sad , 1 982 Black has prevented by interposing
his queen. Two moves earlier the
Whire has a kingside a/lack but his same position had been reached but
rook on e5 looks vulnerable. What wirh White's queen on d3. What is the
s/wuld he play? essential difference that Black has
missed? How does White get a win
ning advantage?
White finished neatly with I
BxdS+ cxdS 2 Re8! Rxe8 3 Nxf6+
Kli ( if 3 Oxf6 4 Rxe8+ Kg7 5
. . . Nunn played I Qxc6 exchanging
Rg8 + Kf7 6 Rf8+ wins). off to a won ending because he wins
4 Rxe8 Re7 hoping to force an the d-pawn. Black cannot avoid the
exchange because of the mate threat exchange of queens because he is a
which hangs over White. piece down otherwise and I . . . Qxbl
 Test Posllloos 173

is met by 2 Qxc8 Qxa l 3 Qxe6+ with prevent it queening, i . e . the white

an easy win. Black was forced to rooks. After the game continuation
play 1 . . . bxc6 2 BdS exrS 3 Nxd4 2 Rbd1 Ne2+ 3 Kh1 Qxd1 4 Rxd1
and White went on to win. Rxd1 5 Qxd1 a3 White cannot take
the knight because a2 wins. White
cannot blockade the pawn by Q a l
since Black wins b y a2 and bring
...

ing the knight to b3.

5
4
3
2

a d e t g h

BARRY vs. NAPIER,

Cambridge Springs, 1 904

Black to m_ove. What should he

play?
SCHLEeTER vs. MARCO,
Monte Carlo, 1904
Evidently after 1 . . Qxd2 2 Rbdl
.

Black will lose the exchange or have

to give up his queen. An alternative Material is level. White's forces are
would be to exchange off knights by concentrated against Black's queen
1 . Nh3 + 2 gxh3 Qxd2 3 Radl
. . side where Black is not well or
Qg5 + . The reduced material to ganized for defence. The black
gether with the weakened kingside bishop would normally be con
and the passed pawn should give sidered bad with this pawn structure,
Black an easy win . Yet Black chose but it is serving the useful purpose of
1 . . . Qxd2 . Black's main asset is his defending the queenside light
passed a-pawn and so he seeks to squares. White sees that he can feed
exchange off those pieces which his pieces into the allack faster than
 174 Chess Excbanaes

8/uck cwz defend. How does he advantage of the two bishops which
break through to win? would be bad if the position became
open. In addition he could not hope
to free his position on the kingside
Schleeter played I Rxc6 Kxc6 2
with the thematic . . f5 as there
NxdS. Nuw if 2 . . exdS 3 Rb6+ Kc7
.
.

would be too many light square

4 QxdS and Black cannot prevent
weaknesses.
mate. 2 Rab8 J Nf4+ Kd7 4
. . .

Rb7 + Rxb7 S Qxb7 + Ke8 6 c6 and

Black resigned in the face of the two
threats Qd7 and c7.

o b c d e f g h

KARPOV vs. KORCHNOI,

Baguio, 1978, game 1 8

KARPOV vs. KORCH NOI.

Should White play I Bh6?
World Championship. Baguio 1978,
18th game
Karpov did play this move, since
he wants to play f4 and attack on the
Should Black exchange 011 f3.
kingside.
White cannot play f4 immediately
Black correctly chose I . . Bd7.
. since Black could reply 1 . . . h6
On I . . Bxf3 he gives White the
. followed by 2 . . . exf4.
 Tat Pc.ldou 175

8 8
7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3
2 I 2

0 g o b c d e f g h

White played 1 Nde4 Nxe4 2

Qxd5+ Qxd5 3 Bxd5+ Kh8 4 Nxe4
and White wins.
Should Black play 1 . . . Bxf3?

The simplification would appear

to be good for Black, but in fact
leaves him disastrously behind in 8
development.
After 1 . . . l;lxf3 2 Qxf3 Qxf3 3
gxf3 Nc6 4 Bxc7 Nxd4 5 0-0-0 and 6
Black is in trouble for if 5 . . . Nc6 6
5
Bb5 intending Rhe1 or 5 . . . Nxf3 6
Bg2 or if 5 . . . Ne6 6 B b5 + Ke7 6 4
Nd5 mate. 3
(see following diagram) 2

Black has weakened his kingside

by exchanging his /-pawn and the o b c d e f g h
opportunity exists for White to take
advantage of this. How should White KARPOV vs. SPASSKY,
exchange to win material? USSR teams, Match tournament ,
1973
176

White has sacrificed the exchange, Should he choose 1 Na5, 1 exf6+ or a

but how should he make progress? queen retreat?

Karpov surprisingly played I QgS. Larsen chose I NaS ; his threat is

Black cannot exchange queens with Nxc6 and if 1 . . . Nxa5 2 Qxe7 gives
out losing a piece. After I . . .r6 2 White a big advantage. Play con
Qg4 threatening Rxd6 followed by tinued I . . Rhd8 2 Nxc6 Rxd7 3
.

Nf5. Nxa7 Rc7: the clever point to Black's

2 . . . Kh7 3 Nh4 Spassky resigned defence which White had over
for after 3 . . . Rg8 4 Bxc4 Rg7 5 Rxd6 looked. Black retains control of his
Qxd6 6 NhfS Black must give up his second rank by this move delaying
queen to avoid mate, or try 6 . . . Nf8 the recapture of the knight and
7 Nxg6 with 8 QhS+ and 9 Rxd7 to avoiding the exchange of rooks.
follow. Note that in the original Larsen's idea had been correct
position the "obvious try" 1 Qd2 positionally but did not work tac
Rad8 2 Qxd6 loses to 2 . . . Nf8. tically. Because of the opposite
colour bishops the weaknesses in
Black's position were not easily ex
ploitable and the game was even
tually drawn. Larsen therefore
should have chosen 1 exf6+ Bxf6 2
Qd2 which would have given attack
ing chances based on a later f5.
Retreating the queen is too pass
ive and gives Black a valuable tempo
for defence or counter-attack.

(see following diagram)

What should Black play in this

position?
o b e d e t g h

LARSEN vs. BOTVINNIK,

This position was from a game
Moscow Olympiad, 1956
Haygarth vs. Mestel, B ritish Cham
pionship play-off, 1975. Black now
White is threatened with the trap chose to exchange his dark
ping ofhis queen with Rhd8 and then squared bishop by I . . . Bh6 after 2
Rac8 so he must attend to this threat. B:xh6 Nxh6 3 Qd2 NcS 4 0-0-0 Ng4 S
 Test Polltloal 177

little difference. Black's success has

8 been to exchange off the queens and
dark squared bishops. These ex
changes leave B lack with a grip on
6
the dark squares due to the pawn
5 structure. The white pawns are in
4 the way of White's bishop and under
attack from Black's minor pieces.
3
2
8
g h 7
6
Rdfi Qf6 6 g3 Qg7 7 Nh2 Nf6 8 13 Bd7
9 Qe3 Ke7 10 Rf2 Qh6 1 1 Qxh6 5
Rxh6. 4
3
8 2

6 a b c d e f g h
5 ADORJAN vs. TOMPA,
4 1974
3
How should White continue his
2 attack?

a b c d e t g h White won brilliantly by 1 QxhS!

exchanging off the key defender and
Black has a clear advantage due to opening lines for his long-ranging
his control of the dark squares. The attacking pieces (rooks and bishops).
white king's bishop is limited by the Black's pieces are poorly placed for
pawn structure and White has no defence. The game finished 1 . . .

active play. Black went on to win . gxhS 2 Rg3+ Bg7 3 NfS Qf8 4 Nxg7
Compare this position with the dxeS S Ne6+ Kh8 6 BxeS+ f6 7 Rxf6
start position. Structurally there is and Black resigned.
178 Chell Exthanaa

8 8

6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

o b c d e f g h o b c d e f g h

ZARALEV vs. KAPANADZE, HECHT vs. MARKLAND

1977
Black
has the nasty threat
1 . . Rxfl
. + winning Whitn queen.
How should White play?
White threatened to win by ex
changing rook.\- and drawing Black 's
Hecht played I Bxe4! (with the
other rook away from de[t11ce oflhe
simple threat Rxf4). This move not
[-pawn. It is Black to move. What
only exchanges off the defender of
should he do?
the a2-g8 diagonal but removes the
threat against White's own bishop.
Black also has winning ideas! The game continued I . . Rxn + 2 .

After I . . Rxbl 2 Rxbl Black had

. Rxn Bxd2. Black has exchanged
effectively used the same idea two of his own defenders and the
against White, i.e. luring the other other is drawn out of position . White
rook away from defence of the f-file. has three pieces firing over open
The point was soon revealed by sights.
2 . . . BfS! and White has no defence 3 BdS+ e6 4 Bxe6 mate.
to the threat of 3 . . . Qf3+ or ( 1 Rxf4 Bxf4 2 Qxf4 Bxd3 1eads to an
3 . . . Qe2. White resigned. unclear position)
 Test Polltlool 179

8 8

6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

0 c d f 0 h 0 d e f 0 h

SPASSKY vs. GHITESCU , CAPABLANCA vs. VILLEGAS,

USSR - Romania, 1958 Buenos Aires, 1914,
Exhibition Game
White is a passed pawn ahead but
his kingside pawns are split and Capab/anca has more space and
Black's active rook seems to offer central control and the more active
good counter-play. How did Spassky pieces. He has a potential queen.side
win quickly? majority ofpawns and the making of
a kingside attack. Black played for a
draw by 1 cxd4 intending to ex
. . .

Spassky exchanged into a won

change minor pieces on e5 and then
ending by I Qg8 + Qxg8 l Bxg8+
seize control of the d-file to offset
Kxg8 3 c7 and Black resigned, be
White's queen.side majority and to
cause White has Rd8+ to guide the
remove the kingside attackers. How
pawn home.
did Capab/anca refute his strategy?

l Nxd7 (the point of the queen

sacrifice offer is to gain control of
180 Chelis Exchanaes

the d-file for the ending because White seeing further replied 2 Bxe7
Black cannot play 2 . . . dxe3 3 Ngxe7 (not 2 . . . Ncxe7 3 Bxb7 Qxb7
Nxf6+ KhH (not 2 . . . gxf6 3 Rg4+ 4 Nxd6) 3 Bxf7+ Kxt7 4 NgS+ and
mating) 4 Rh4 h6 5 Rh6 + gxh6 6 White had a winning attack, e.g.
NeH+ and White has gained two 4 . . . Kg6 5 Nxg7! ! or 4 . . . Kf8 5
minor pieces for the rook) 2 . . . Ne6 + . The game finished 4 . . . Kg8
Qxd7 3 Bxd4 Bxd4 4 Rxd4 Qc7 S S QhS NxfS 6 Qxh7+ Kf8 7 QxfS+
Rfd I Rfd8 6 b4 Rxd4 7 Qxd4 and Kg8 8 Qg6! Qd7 9 Re3. Black re
White's majority and control of the signed.
d-file led to a win in the ending. Black had to try either 1 . . . BxgS
which leaves him with a difficult
position or I . . . Bd8 with a feasible
defensive formation.

5
4
3
2
TE I CHM A NN vs . SCH LEeTER,
Carlsbad, 1 9 1 1

TIM MAN v STEAN,

White hal" a menacing build-up of
Alexander Memorial
minor piece.\ on the kingide. He has
jul"t played I Bd5. What is he
Middlesbrough, 1 975
threatening? ll" I . . . Ng6 a good de In this position from the Benko
fence? Gambit Black played 1 . . . Bc4
threatening to recover his pawn.
.
How should White reply?
White threatens simply I Bxc6
followed by Nxe7 + winning at least
the exchange. 1 . . . Ng6 seems play Timman played 2 b3 giving back
able overdefending the bishop. the pawn to force exchanges. Black
 Teat POiitloal 181

is left with a weakened pawn pos

ition and his developed pieces are. 8
removed. (Giving up the exchange
by 2 e4 is at best unclear . ) After
6
2 . . . BxdS 3 NxdS NbxdS 4 e4! Nc7 5
eS dxeS 6 NxeS White was much 5
better, he won quickly after 4
6 . . . Bg7 7 Qe2 e6 8 Be3 NfdS 9 BxcS
Nc3 10 Qel Nxa2 I I Rfdl Qxd l 12 3
Qxdl BxeS 13 f4 Bf6 14 Qd6. Blac!Q 2
resigned.

a g

MILES vs. CHA YES,

SAo Paulo, 1 977

Black is a piece down but all his

pieces are actively placed. How did
he win?

The white d-pawn is en prise to the

fianchetto bishop. After 1 . . Bxd4.

a b c d e f g h Black pins the rook threatening both

2 . . . Bxe3+ and 2 . . . Bxe4, but
OSTOJJC vs. GHEORGHJU, White has the counter pin 2 Bb2!
Metz, 1 977 forcing the exchange of the import
ant black squared bishops. Black
beats this idea with I . . RxaJ ex
.

White is a piece for two pawns changing off his only piece not
down but has an attack. His queen attacking the kingside for White's
and bishop are attacked. How should black squared bishop. After 2 Qxa3
he continue? Bxd4 3 Kg2 Qh3 + 4 Khl Bxe4+ and
White resigned.
White won by 1 Rxe8+ Rxe8 2
Qd7 when Black cannot prevent
mate.
Jill Chess Exchanges

8 8
7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

o b c d e f g h

STEAN vs. CORDEN KARPOV vs. B ROWNE,

Amsterdam, 1976
White is massed for a kingside
attack while Black has yet to com Karpov is a pawn down. How can
plete his development. he save the game?
1/ow did White press home his
advantage?
Karpov played the forcing
sequence I QcJ (forcing the ex
Stean needed to exchange off the change of queens because of the
kingside defenders, and to break up threat Bxg7) I Qxc3 2 bxc3
. . .

Black's pawn structure. To do this (threat Bxb7) 2 Rb8 3 Ba7 Ra8 4

. . .

he had to clear the king bishop file so Bd4 Rb8 drawn by repetition!
his king bishop was exchanged to
avoid loss of tempo. I Nxg6 hxg6 2
Bxb8 Raxb8 3 Rxf6 gxf6 4 Qxg6+
and Black resigned.
 Tat Polltloaa Ill

8
7
6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

0 b c d e g h 0 e g

FISCHER vs. SPASSKY, NOBLESSE vs. ZAPP,

Reykjavik, 1972, game 8 Kent, 1968 (4th International
Post Office Championships)
Spassky has a pawn for the ex
change. He has just played I . . Nd7
. After I . . NdS should White
.

threat 2 . . . Bxc3 hoping to win the e reply 2 Be3?

or a-pawn. Is this a good idea? How
should White reply?
If 2 Nxd5 Nxd5 White still has to
move his bishop and the black rook
Fischer carried out the well penetrates on the c-file. The player
known exchanging manoeuvre l with the isolated d-pawn generally
NdS Qxdl J Nxe7 + Kf8 4 Rxdl Kxe7 needs to avoid piece exchanges. His
S Rxc4 and White went on to win. compensation is the possibility of an
Better for Black was (a) 1 . . Be6
. attack based on the central control,
safeguarding the bishop, (b) 1 . . . open lines and space advantage
Kf8 safeguarding the e-pawn, or (c) conferred by the isolated pawn.
1 . Qa3 safeguarding the queen
. . Therefore best is 2 Bg3 or 2 Be5.
and aiming to enter at b2. White decided to defend his d-pawn
 184 Cheu Exchanaes

and was crushed after 2 Be3 Nc2 3

Radl Ndxe3 4 fxe3 Bh6! It seems
fitting that there was immediate
punishment on the black squares
after White's bishop was removed.

a c e f g h

5 BASMAN vs. HAGOPIAN,

4 Armenian Championship, 1 970

3
White hus obvious pressure against
2 Black's centre und queenside. Bus
man found an imaginative series of
exchanges to press home his advan
a b c d e f g h; tage. How?
Study by Horwitz and Kling
Basman opened up the lines by I
exdS exd5 2 Nxc4 dxc4 3 dS (if
Cun White suve this position?
2 . . Nb8 3 d6! ) 3 . . . Be6 4 dxc6!
.

Rxd1 5 cxb7+ Kb8 6 Rexdl . Despite

I Rxe6 Rxe6 2 b6+ Kxb6 (if his material deficiency, rook and
2 . KbX 3 RhH + forces mate) 3
. . two pawns for queen, White is much
Rh6 a lovely cross pin on king and better; he has the threat of doubling
queen which forces the win. White's rooks on the d-file, so B lack tried
initial exchange of rooks exchanged 6 . . . a6 7 a4!! (stopping NbS. Ob
a useless piece for an aggressive one viously if 7 . . Qxa4 then 8 Ra t
.

and simultaneously cleared the way wins) 7 . . . gS 8 Rd6 g4 9 Be4 Re8 10

for the pawn advance. A good Rbd1 Ka7 1 1 Rd8 Rxd8 12 Rxd8 Qb6
example of a defensive exchange . 13 Ra8+ and B lack resigned.
 Tat Positions 185

8 8
7
6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

a c e f 0 a e f 0 h

PETRAN vs. PORTISCH ,

Zalaegerszeg, 1977

Black 's pieces are more actively In this position from the Latvian
placed than White's. How did he use Gambit, after 5 . . . d6 6 Ng4, should
his control of the open lines to Black exchange knights or play Be7?
achieve victory?
Black has some white square
Black played 1 . . . Qxe1 + taking weaknesses notably e6. Exchanging
advantage of the fact that the rook knights removes a white squared
and bishop are needed to protect the defender and also aids White in
knight at d4. 2 Bxe1 Bxd4+ . The exchanging off the white squared
point of Black's combination, giving bishops further emphasizing the
up his queen for rook and knight, is weakness. Black's other bishop is
the greater activity of his remaining likely to be passive. A practical
pieces. He uses them to penetrate example is Romanishin vs. van
White's position with 3 Kh2 Re2 4 Riemsdijk, 1979, which continued
Bd2 Be5 5 Kg1 f4 6 b4 RaJ 7 c5 d5 6 . . . Nxg4? 7 Bxg4 Nd7 8 NcJ Nf6 9
and White resigned. Bxc8 Qxc8 10 0-0 Be7 1 1 Bg5. An
If 3 Rxd4 Rxe 1 + 4 Kh2 Re2 5 Qc3 important move which allows White
(5 Rd.2 Nfl +) 5 . . Raa2 wins.
. to exchange bishop for knight and
 186

this stops Black advancing d5. This the g-file, bur Black's pieces are quite
leaves Black's bishop passive and active. How did Romanishin force a
allows White to advance d5 seizing quick win?
the e6 square. I I . . QfS 12 Bxf6
.

gxf6 (if 1 2 . . . Bxf6 13 Nxe4 wins a

The decisive I Qxf4 ended the
pawn) 13 Qe2 0-0-0 (14 Qb5 + was
game because exf4 2 Rxg4 leaves
threatened) 14 Nxe4 hS IS NgJ Qd7
white with a simple won ending
a6 Rfe l Rde8 17 QO h4 and White's
advantage of rook and pawns
knight was far superior to Black's
against bishop because 2 . . . BgS
bishop. The final moves were 18 NfS
allows J d8=Q+ Bxd8 4 Rxg7 +
Bd8 19 Rxe8 Qxe8 20 hJ Qe6 21 Qg4
Kxg7 5 Rdl ! wins.
(threat Nxd6 + ) Kb8 22 Nel Qr7 23
dS RhS 24 NfS RgS 2S Qf'J Qh7 26
Nd4 ReS 27 Nc6+ and Black re
signed. If 27 . . . bxc6 28 Qb3+ and
29 dxc6 forces mate. 8

6
5
8 4
7 3
6 2
5
4
3 EVANS vs. BENKO ,
2 Lone Pine , 1975

White is a pawn down but he has

a e f . g h
tremendous play. How did he take
advantage of Black's poor piece co
ROMANISHIN vs. PETROSIAN. ordination to force a win?
1975

White has a11 advanced passed After 1 Rxe6+ Black's knight is

paw11 a11d an Ullcomforrable pin on hanging. The game continued I . . .
 Test POilltlonl 187

fxe6 2 Rxe6+ Rxe6 3 NxfS + Kc7 4 many white square weaknesses. The
Nxe6+ Kd7 S Nexg7 and White wins game continued 1 . Bxfl 2 Rxn
. .

by queening his h-pawn after h6, and Qxa4 3 Rd8+ ReS (3 . . . Kg7 4 Qd6)
moving his king to assist via g5. 4 Qf3 Qc4 S Rd7 and B lack resigned ,
Black's king and rook are effectively because of 5 . . . Rf8 6 Nf7 intending
shut out of the game. Nh6 + . B lack could not avoid this
exchange of his bishop and 1 . . . Ba2
simply gives White a tempo to triple
his heavy pieces on the d-file after
2 Re2 etc. If Black had tried to
8 defend his bishop, for example by
1 . . . Qxa4, he has to weaken his
back rank, which is exploited by 2
6 Rd8+ Kg7 (2 . . . ReB 3 Rxa8 Rxa8 4
5 Bxc4+ Qxc4 5 Qd7) 3 Rxa8 Qxa8 4
Bc4 etc. These lines illustrate the
4 white square weaknesses in Black's
3 position.
2

SMYSLOV vs. BOTVINNIK,

1955 6
5
At first glance the position is level.
4
White's extra pawn is doubled and
his control of the d-file is counter 3
balanced by Black 's pressure agaimt
2
the a-pawn. Smyslov went on to win
quickly. What should he play first?
a b c d e t g
White played I Brl ! forcing the TAL vs. HOLM,
exchange of bishops. White's bishop Kaptenberg, 1971
was achieving nothing at g2 while
Black's bishop was tying down Tal has a bishop (/8) en prise .
White's rook and also guarding his Holm has both bishops en prise. A
 188 Chellll Exehanaes

pawn ahead Tal appears to have a Korchnoi played 1 b4 so that if

simple win by exchanging off to a I . . Bxb4 2 Nxe6 fxe6 3 Qb5 re
.

won ending. Tal sees a quicker way covers the piece.

by exchanging off a key defender. Reshevsky chose I Bxd4 2 . . .

How? Rxd4 Qe7 3 Rfd l Nf6 4 bS and

White's two bishops and space ad
vantage were enough for Korchnoi
Tal won by I Qe8! Rxe8 2 Rxe8
to win the ending. If instead
Bd7 3 Rd8 and Black resigned.
I . Be7 Black is passively placed
. .

and White can continue with 2 Nf3

or 2 a3.

5
6
4
5
3
4
2
3
2
0 e 0
KORCHNOi w. RESHEVSKY ' 0 c d 8 0 h

White has a better po;ition because

hi.\' pieces are .\lightly more active and
STEIN vs. HORT,
his king am/ queen are better pro
Interzonal Play Off, 1 968. game 1 1
tected. These factors allowed Korch
noi to play w1 exchanging com
bination which gave him a positional Black has the option of playing
aclvantage. Can you find Korchnoi's 1 . . Bxe3. ls this a good or bad
.

idea? move?
 Teat Polltloni 189

Although it surrenders the two After 1 b4 should Black play

bishops (totally) and leaves Black 1 . . Na4 or 1 . . . NxdJ?
.

kingside weakened it is a good

move. White's knight will be ex
Because of his weakened queen
cellently placed at dS attacking b6,
side pawns it seems tt}at Black does
f6 and e7 and closing the d-file.
better to play for control of c3, but
After 1 . . Bxe3 the static pawn
.

Black's fear of playing an endgame

formation favours the knights and
blinded him to a fatal flaw in this
the bishops are left passive. The
move. It remo'ttes a piece away from
open d-file for Black's rooks and the
the kingside while leaving White's
outposts at b4 and d4 give Black the
bishop for the attack - the middle
advantage . Play continued 2 Rxe3
game is not yet over. After 1 . . . Na4
Nab4 3 BfJ Rd6 4 Qb2 Rad8 5 Kg2
2 Rxc8 Rxc8 the exchange of rooks
Qe7 6 h4 Qe6 7 Be2 Nd4 8 Re i (if 8
has left Black with one undefended
Bxb4 Rb6 recovers the piece with
rook making the following break
advantage) 8 . . . R8d7 9 a5 Ndc6 and
through possible, 3 e5! g6 (4 QfS
Black went on to win the a-pawn and
forking h7 and c8 was threatened) 4
subsequently the game.
e6 Rf8 (or . . . fxe6 5 Qg4) 5 Ng3 Qb7
(or . . . fxe6 6 Og4 Rf6? 7 NhS ! or
. . . fS 6 BxfS gxfS 7 NxfS and the
passed pawn and attacking chances
to force a win) 6 Nf5! fxe6 ( . . . Kh8 7
Oe4! or 6 . . . gxfS 7 QxfS etc . ) 7
dxe6 (the tactics have allowed White
to exchange off a pair of pawns with
two objectives. First to weaken the
kingside, second to gain a passed
pawn. Black cannot exchange
queens without losing his bishop.)
7 . . . Qc7 8 Qc6! Qd8 (8 . . Rc8? 9
.

Nxe7+ ) 9 Nxe7+ Qxe7 10 Bxb5 NcJ

1 1 Qd7! Qxd7 12 Bxd7 and White
won the ending in 13 more moves.
CAPABLANCA vs. DUZ Black should have opted for
HOTIMIRSKY, 1 . . . Nxd3 2 Qxd3 B f6 with reason
St Petersburg, 1913, second game able chances of survival .
190 Cheu Echanaa

8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2

0 c e g 0 e g

VASIUKOV vs. SPEELMAN, SMYSLOV vs. GLIGORIC,

Hastings 1978179 . Warsaw, 1947

White is better placed here wiJh How should Black continue?

control ofd5 and queenside pressure.
Black 'l a-pawn il weak because the
At first glance White seems to
hishop also has to defend the [-knight
have marginally better chances in
and the knight at c6 is pinned. How
this position. The pawn structure is
did White capitalize?
symmetrical, but White has a flight
square for his king and a bishop for a
By I BxaS BxaS 2 Nxf6+ gxf6 3 knight with open lines. Yet the
NxaS RxaS (perhaps 3 . . . Qc7 ) 4 advantage lies with Black because
QxaS! NxaS 5 Bxd7 Bxd7 6 0-0-0 he can force exchanges into an end
forcing the win of a second pawn. ing where he is better. 1 . . . gS! hit
With Black's kingside weakened as ting at the weakness in White's pos
well, White had the advantage and ition - the white queen has no good
went on to win . retreat. 2 Qe3 Qxe3 3 fxe3 Rcl 4 Ne4
 Tat POIJtloal 191

g4! S Bxg4 Nxg4 6 Rxd7 Rxe2 7 Rd2

Rxd2 8 Nxd2 Nxe3 9 RaJ Nc4 1.0
Nxc4 bxc4 and Black eventually won
in another 26 moves.

6
5
o b e d e g h

3 SMYSLOV vs. GLIGORIC,

Zagreb, 1970
2

Should Black play 1 . . . Rxd3 or

a d e f g h 1 . . . Rxe2?

KNAAK vs. INKIOV,

DDR-Bulgaria, 1982 Black has a good endgame in
prospect but after 1 Rxd3 2 Rxd3
. . .

Bxb4 3 Nxc8 Rxc8 Smyslov has

What should Black play in this
counterplay with 4 Rd7 and the
position?
opposite coloured bishops further
complicate Black's task. Gligoric
Black found I Nd2 threatening
. . . correctly chose to exchange off the
Nxf3 + and Qxh4. If 2 Qxa7, then bishops and keep his pieces active by
Black has the strong reply Rc7. I . . Rxe2 2 Rxc3 (not 2 Nxc8?
.

White's other try is to defend the Bxb4 ! ) 2 . . . Bg4! (preventing 3 Rf3

bishop by 2 Bg3 Nxf3+ 3 gxf3 Qxd4 and thus threatening Rft2 with a
with advantage. Play continued 2 winning attack) 3 Rfi Ra8! (pen
Nxd2 Qxh4. B lack has recovered the etrating to White's second rank is
bishop for knight exchange and more important than the b-pawn) 4
maintains an initiative because NfS BxfS S RxfS Raal and Black's
White has weaker pawns. active rooks were enough to win the
 192 Chess Exchanaa

game . Tactics based on piece NxfJ+ 4 QxfJ QxcJ+ S bxcJ BxfJ.

activity and coordination are still White resigned - the ending is
important in the ending as this hopeless.
example shows.
8

6
5
4
3
2

DORESKEVICH vs. G U LKO ,

USSR Championship. 1 975
0 e f g h
Black has developed Juster and
DEL Y vs. BOEY,
more effectively than White. He
Amsterdam. 1974
played I . . . NdS threatening Nxc3 or
Nb4 setting White problems. What
Black hus weukened White 's king" should White play?
side und has u lead in development.
White has pressure along the 5th
Clearly if2 Be2 preparing to castle
rank. What should Black play?
White gets a bad pawn structure
after 2 . . . Nxc3. The aggressive 2
Boey forced transposition to a 0-0-0 looks suicidal but may be
won ending by I . . Qh4+ 2 gJ (2
. White's last chance to confuse
Kd I is not very attractive) l . . Qd4, . matters and get some chances of a
the insertion of 1 . Qh4+ has
. . swindle. White thinks he should
weakened White further. 3 eJ simply exchange off the aggressive
 Test Po1UI01U 19J

knight, but this costs him another Torre chose 1 . . . Ra6? This
tempo in development. Black forces appears logical because it removes
the exchange of the remaining the rook from the threat of the white
developed piece and wins quickly queen and safeguards the bishop at
after 2 NxdS by 2 QxdS 3 Bxe7
d6 so that the pawn at b5 remains
Rfd8! 4 Bxd8 (Be2 had to be tried defended after exchanges at d7 and
but after 4 . . . Qd2+ 5 Kfl Bxb2 d6. However, the move is a mistake
Black is well on top) 4 . . . Rxd8 S and Black would have done better to
QxaS Bxbl 6 Bc4 Qxc4 7 Qxd8+ Kg7 exchange bishop for knight even
8 Rbl Bc3+ 9 Kdl Qa4+ 10 Kcl Bf!. though he would have had a difficult
White resigns. A nice example of the defence ahead. Ribli continued 2
power of two attacking bishops. Nxd7 Nxd7.
If 2 . . . Qxd7 3 a4! (threatening
Bxb5 winning the queen) Rxa4 4
Rxa4 bxa4 5 Qa8+ Qd8 6 Qxd!H
Kxd8 7 Bxd6 and White wins a
8 piece.
3 BxbS Rb6 4 Bxd6 RxbS (if
4 . . . Rxd6 5 Qg3).
6 S Rac l ! f6? 6 Qel Black resigned.
5
4
8
3
2

5
4

RIBLI vs. TORRE, 3

Candidates Quarter Final , 1983, 2
game 6

0 g
Should Black play 1 . . . Bxe5 or
1 . . . Ra6 in this difficult position? WIN A WER vs. STEIN JTZ,
N u remburg, 1896
 194 Chess Exc:han&es

White clearly haJ attacking

chanceJ on the kingJide. The knight 8
i!> invulnerable to capture because 7
White 's rook would enter the attack
6
on the h-file. Black 'J g-pawn is
pinned and there is a potential knight 5
fork at f7. Black haJ re!>ponded by 4
forking White'J queen and the bi.hop
at c3. How Jhould White continue? 3
Can he force a win or mu!>t he 2
.\truggle to draw?

White played the thematic ex 0 e g

change sacrifice I Rxd5 Bxd5 which MASON vs. JANOWSKI ,
is not difficult to see as the best Monte Carlo, 1902
continuation. White's next move is
the key to his attack . He offers to
White has chased Black 's king with
exchange off the white squared
his queen, but the fun seems to have
bishops to conquer n or to try .for
ended and his queen is en prise.
mate at h7. The threat to take
Black is also threatening to break
Black's bishop is a forcing move
through on the b-file with Bxc2.
which maintains White's initiative.
What should White play?
There is also a threat of 3 Nxn + and
4 Qxh6 + .
2 Be4! f6? White had to be pre There are two features to note in
pared for the counter-exchange this position. The black bishop is
sacrifice 2 . Rxe4 3 Nxe4 (threat
. . hampered by its pawns, and Black is
Qxh6 + ) Ne5 4 Nxd6! Qxd6 (cxd6 5 a pawn down, so the ending could
Rd I leaves White with the advan favour White if he could disentangle
tage) 5 Bxe5 Qc6 6 Rd 1 (threat 7 his queenside. Secondly, the black
Rxd5 Qxd5 8 Qxh6+) Bxa2? 7 Rd6 queen has few squares. Mason
wins or 6 . . . Be5 ! 7 c3 Black has liquidated into a winning endgame
survived! If White avoids 2 Be4 then by I Nd4! Rxb2 not 1 . Rxd4?? 2
. .

Black always has time to get in Ne5 Rb7+ forcing mate. Or if 1 . . . Rxh8
closing the dark diagonal. 2 Rxb4 and White wins back the
3 Bxd5 fxg5 4 hxg5 Ne5 5 g6 and queen.
Black resigned because there is no 2 Qxb8 Rxb8 3 Rxb8 Kc7 4 Nxe6+
answer to the rook sacrifice on h6. Kxb8 5 Nd4. The tactics are over.
 Teat Pos!tlou 195

Black has avoided loss of material Petrosian realized that he should

but he has a hopeless endgame task. exchange queens to end Black's
His king is out of play and tied to attack and to reach a won endgame
defence of the weak c-pawn . The so he played 1 Qr5! Qe6. Black could
bishop can hardly move, whereas not avoid this move. If 1 . . . Nf6 2
White is ready to roll forward his Bxf6 or if 1 . . . Qh3? 2 Qxf7+ Kxf7 3
kingside majority. Ng5 + wins a pawn.
S . . . Kc7 6 g4 h4 7 cJ Kd7 8 Kgl 2 Qxe6 Rxe6 3 Rae 1 r6 4 Rc2 NeS S
Kc7 9 Kf2 Kd7 10 rs gxrs 1 1 gxrs Kc7 BxeS BxeS.
12 Ke3 Bg2 13 NO (Clearly Black If 5 . . . fxe5 6 e4 d4 7 Ne 1 -d3 is
cannot exchange pieces) 13 . . . Bxh3 good for White. White's knight has
14 Nxh4 Bg4 IS Kr4 Be2 16 NO BxO much more to offer than B lack's
17 Kxf3 Black resigned: an excellent bishop.
example of a good knight dominat 6 Rre1 ReS 7 ReS (threat Rxd5)
ing a bad bishop. Rd6 8 R1c2 Kr7 9 Kn Ke6 10 Net d4
I I r4 d6 12 Rdl Bbl 13 Rxd3. The
threat of White manoeuvring his
knight to b4 to pick up the queenside
8
pawns led Black into the pawn sacri
fice , but his pieces have benefited
6 very little. The idea 13 Rxb2? d2 is
little more than a joke between the
5 grandmasters.
4 13 . . . Ra8 14 Rxd6+ Kxd6. Clear
ly in White's favour because his rook
3
had nowhere to go. Now White's
2 remaining pieces are better than
Black's.
IS Nd3 aS .16 Rc4 Bal l7 Ra4 1k5
o b c d e t g h 18 NxcS. The final ignominy for the
PETROSIAN vs. BELYAVSKY, bishop: it has been driven to a
USSR Championships, 1973 square where the knight could be
exchanged for it and could draw the
Black is menacing a kingside king into a square where it could be
attack with Re6, Qh3 and Rh6. How forked.
ever, White has the better pawn struc 18 . . . KxeS 19 b4+ (a nice com
ture and it is his move. What is his bination of a fork and a pin) Kc4 20
winning plan? RxaS.
20 . . Rh8. The pawn ending is an
.
 I% Chelil Exclwnaes
easy win for White so Black has to is pinned against the bishop and the
avoid rook exchanges which is why f-file is open so he has to play
his king went to c4 and not b5. 2 . . . dxeS 3 Ne4. The other point of
2 1 aJ KdJ 22 Kl'2 Rb7 23 ReS Ra7 White's last move was to clear e4 for
24 Rxc6 RxaJ 25 KfJ Black resigned. the knight to threaten an exchange
After 25 . . . Kd2 26 Rd6+ Kc3 27 which would force open the g-file.
Rd7 wins easily. 3 . . . Nh5 4 Qg6 dxe4 (if 4 . . . Nf4 5
Rxf4 exf4 6 Nf3 with the threats of
Ne5 or Ng5 to follow. A possible
continuation would be 6 . . . Qb6 7
Ne5 - better than 7 Nf6 allowing
Black to struggle on with Qxg l + -
7 . . . Bc6 B Qxh6+ forces mate).
5 NgS! Black resigned.
l f 5 . . . hxg5 6 Qxh5+ Kg8 7 Qf7+
Kh8 8 Rf3 forces mate.

a e t g

SPASSKY vs. PETROSIAN.

1 969 Match . game 1 9

White is all out to mate Black. If

only he could exchange off Black 's f
hishop or open up the g-file. How
should White proceed'!

Spassky forced his attack home by PO LUG A YEVSKY vs.

challenging the kingside defenders PETROSIAN,
and threatening to exchange them Game 1 . USSR Championship
after I fxe6 fxe6 2 eS! . Black's knight playoff, 1970
 Tat Politiou 197

White is building up a kingside Nef6 6 Qg2 Rg8 is much better for

attack but it is Black who has the Black).
advantage here. How should Black 4 . . . Nef6 5 Ngl Rfe8.
continue? We give the game continuation to
the end so you can properly evaluate
Petrosian realizes that his pieces Petrosian's judgement and because
are well placed to defend his king there are many more instructive
side. White has difficulty developing lessons to follow about exchanging.
his queenside because of the black Here, for example, White is dis
pawn centre. Petrosian opens up ttle couraged from 6 Nxe3 because of
centre and exchanges off the light the reply 6 . . . Rxe4 threatening
squared bishops to use his agile Rxe3, followed by Ng4+ if White
knights. This involves weakening his recaptures with the queen. An al
kingside but , as Petrosian demon ternative for Black was to retreat the
strates, White cannot profit from the bishop to h6 and then play for an
weaknesses; indeed he has to worry attack along the g-file with his rooks.
about the weak squares around his 6 Ndl Bxdl 7 Qxdl QxgJ+ 8 KxgJ
own king once the position is opened Nxe4+ 9 Kf4 Nxdl. An exchanging
up. Play continued I . . . gxf5! l exf5 combination which leaves Black a
- a difficult choice. passed pawn ahead and justifies his
I f (a) 2 Rxf5 Ng7 3 Rfl f5 Black earlier judgement of the possibilities
has an even better position than in once the centre was opened.
the game . (b) 2 Rxf5 Ng7 3 Bh3 Nxf5 10 Rfel Nf6 1 1 Rxe8+ Rxe8 ll Rei
4 Bxf5 Nf6! and if 5 BxcM Bxc8 Black Nde4. Black declines to exchange
is clearly better. (c) The most diffi rooks because it is then easier to use
cult line to assess is the sharp 2 Bh3 his passed pawn.
fxe4 (Ng7=) 3 Qg4+ Ng7 4 Qxd7 IJ Rel Kf8 14 KO (Nh5+ and Ng3
Qxd7 5 Bxd7 Rcd8 6 Bh3 f5 and was threatened) 14 . . . dJ! 15 ReJ
Black's central pawns are probably Rd8 16 Rei (White should have
worth the piece). risked the exchanging sequence 16
l . . . e4! A fine central break Bxf6 d2 17 Bxd8 dl =0+ 1 8 Kxe4
through. Qxd8 with a lot of resistance still to
J Bxe4 (3 dxe4 Nef6 is not an offer) 16 . . . dl 17 Rdl Ng4! 18 NeJ
appealing option) J . . . Bxe4 4 dxe4 Nell 19 8cJ RdJ and White
(Black has succeeded in weakening resigned.
White's centre and kingside. The Deceptively simple play by Petro
alternative 4 Qg4+ Kh8 5 Qxe4 sian which will repay careful study.
 198 Cheu Exc:hanaa

8 Kh l Nxd4 9 Nxd4 Qxd4 10 Qb4.

The exchange of dark square
bishops means the attack can still
progress.
10 . . . Bf5 I I Qe7 Qh4 12 Qt7 +
Kh8 13 Qf6+ Kg8 14 g3 Qh5 15
Qt7+ Kh8 16 RxfS. Black resigned .
The g-pawn is pinned. It is clear
from this continuation that captur
ing the b-pawn is dangerous for
Black. What is his best line? White's
king bishop is out of play on the
o b c d e g h queenside and the only contribution
it can make to White's attack is to
exchange off Black's knight. Black's
HODGSON vs. CONQUEST, main prospect for counter-attack is
BCF 1 983, Southport against the white centre. He should
aim to recapture with the b-pawn so
that it can be advanced to c5. The
Should Black capture the b-pawn,
open b-file would also offer queen
or play Nf5, or Bd7, or Rxf3?
side counterplay. Unfortunately for
Black his knight at e7 is under
White has a lead in development attack. So, 1 . . . Nf5 comes into con
and space advantage which has sideration. After 2 Bxc6 bxc6 3 g4 h6
allowed him to menace a kingside 4 gxf5 hxg5 5 f6 Bh6 6 h4 with a big
attack . It seems unlikely that Black advantage for White.
can afford to waste time capturing a Black's queen bishop is still no
distant pawn which the game con nearer to being developed, and
tinuation confirmed. After I . . . White can delay all-out attack and
Qxb2 White is able to exchange off transfer his knight from c3 to c5 via
Black's developed pieces by 2 Bxc6 a4 with prospects on the queenside
Nxc6 3 Bf6 Bxf6 (Accepting the and in the centre. The less aggress
second pawn offer allows White to ive I . Bd7 quietly completing
. .

force further exchanges in pursuit of development leads after 2 Bxc6 Nxc6

his attack. A much better policy is 3 Khl to a position where White's
3 . . . Bd7 connecting the rooks. ) 4 knights are more useful than the
exf6 Rxf6 5 Ng5! Rxn + 6 Rxn Qb6 7 black bishops. White can protect his
Ne2 e5 desperate measures are pawn centre with c3 and transfer his
needed to counter Qf4. queen knight via dl to e3 and then
 Tat PoliiJou 199
carry on to g4 to penetrate at h6 or remove White's active pieces to win
f6. B lack has time to defend but his the inactive king bishop.
position is passive.
The last try, 1 . . . Rxf3, is most
interesting. The tactical justification
is White's bishop at a4. Black can
play to win the bishop if he can stop
White exchanging it. Black also has
B
ideas of capturing at e5 while the d
pawn is pinned, e.g. I . . RxfJ 12
.

RxfJ Nxd4 (2 . . . Qxd4+ is also poss

ible) 3 Rfl (Other moves give back
the exchange plus the centre pawns 5
or allow a deadly double check. If 3 4
Re3 N7f5 is good for Black. Or 3
Be3 Nxf3+ 4 gxf3 Qc7!) 3
3 . . . N7f5 4 Br4 (not 4 g4?? Nf6+ 2
or 4 Ne2 Qxb2) with an unclear
position.
Another idea for Black is to cap a .d 8 0
ture the e-pawn rather than the d
pawn, because this pawn causes him KARPOV vs. ANDERSSON,
more trouble and with the e-pawn Madrid 1973
removed White can hardly defend
the d-pawn .
White's bishop at d6 is cramping
I . RxfJ 2 RxfJ NxeS 3 Bxe7 (the
Black's game. Should Black seek
. .

only serious attempt at refutation)

reliefby 1 . . Bxp?, or by 1 . . . Ne4?
.

3 . . . Nxf3 + 4 gxfJ Qxd4+ (Bxd4+ ?

but 4 . . . Qc7 is worth a try) S Qxd4
Bxd4+ 6 Kg2 Bxc3 7 bxcJ bS 8 BbJ Black is undeveloped and short of
with a probably drawn ending. space and therefore has to be careful
The moral of examining all ex that he does not allow White to start
changes carefully is well exemplified a kingside attack.
by this position. The line Black I . . BxfJ 2 Bxf3 Nc6 allows Black
.

chose allowed White to exchange off to complete his development with

all Black's useful pieces, whereas he out loss of tempo, with his kingside
could have mitigated the effects by adequately guarded by the knight at
the first two alternatives or turned f6. The threat to defend the pawn at
the tables by the latter attempt to d4 by e5 virtually forces White to
 200 Chess Exc:han&es

continue the exchanges with 3 Bxc6

dxc6 4 Oxd4. Now, with another 8
pair of minor pieces exchanged,
Black's kingside is secure ; and he
6
can play Ne4! forcing another ex
change, with good chances of hold 5
ing the ending. Andersson chose 4
instead I . . Ne4 and Karpov main
.

tained his initiative after 2 Qxd4 Na6 3

3 b4 Rac8 4 Racl Nxd6 S Qxd6. The 2
pressure on the d-file and the possi
bility of a kingside attack by Qd3
and Ng5 keep Black under pressure. a c g
He is forced to exchange bishop for
knight , but Karpov is able to usc the KARPOV vs. BALASHOV,
white square control and bishop Leningrad 197 1 .
mobility to create threats on both 39th USSR Championship
sides of the board. The continuation
This position from the 1971 USSR
of the game is given without colll
Championship at Leningrad is very
rnent S . . . Nc7 6 Rfd I Re7 7 Qd3
sharp. Karpov has a weak e-pawn
Bxf3 8 Bxf3 Ne8 9 Bb7! Rc6 10 Qb3
and his bishop at b5 is en prise. If he
Qb8 I I Qa4 Rc7 12 QbS Nf6 13 f3 tiS
retreats the bishop Black will be able
14 cS! hS IS a4 Re8 16 cxb6 axb6 17
to exchange knights with an excellent
aS Rxc8 18 Rxc8 QeS 19 Qxb6 d4 20
position. Should White play 1 Bxc6+
Kh I QeJ 21 Rfl e4 22 Bd3 h4 23 gxb4
or 1 Nxd5 or any other?
Qf4 24 Rgl Qxh4 2S a6 g6 26 a7 Kg7
27 Bxg6! Black resigned.
There arc a number of wins to It was thought after the game that
choose among. Note that Black Karpov had overlooked a forced win
avoided queen exchanges at move by 1 NxdS with combinations against
I X because the resulting passed a d8 reminiscent of the famous
pawn wins the ending. Morphy game in the opera house.
 Tat Polldoal 101

After 1 . . . exd5 2 Qxd5 (threat pawn and setting up threats once

Bxc6+ wins the queen or Qd7;. more at d8) 2 a3 h6 3 Bd2 Qb6 and
forcing mate) 2 . . . Bxb5 (not White was forced to accept a queen
2 . . . Qxb5? 3 Qd8+ and mates) 3 e6 exchange into a drawn ending.
(threat exf7 mate) 3 . . . f6 4 Qxb7 Other first moves such as 1 Qa4 or 1
and there are no defences to the a4 merely give Black a tempo to
threats of mate, e.g. if 4 . . . Rc7 5 exchange thereby destroying
Qb8+ Ke7 6 Qd8+ Kxe6 7 Qd5+ White's attack and increasing the
and 8 Re l + forces mate. Or prospect of Black's attack on the
1 . . . Qxb5 2 Nc7+ again with a matt queenside.
at d8 to follow. But Black has one
other defence , 1 . . . BxbS! l Qxa7!
(the only try for advantage because
retreating the knight leaves Black
well-placed to attack on the queen
side) 2 . . . Bb4! (the only defence,
e.g. if Ba3 3 Qb6! Qxb6 (Qxd5 4
Rxd5 exd5 5 b4!) 4 Nxb6 Rb8 5 Nd7
with a better ending for White) 3
Qxb7 0-0 with an unclear position.
If 4 Nxb4 Qxb4 B lack threatens
5 . . . Rxc2+ 6 Kxc2 Ba4 + winning
the White Queen. The opposite
colour bishops make c2 and a2 diffi
cult to defend. If 5 c3 Rxc3+ gives a
draw by perpetual check or 5 Qf3
Qc5 picks up the e-pawn with KARPOV vs. HORT,
chances of survival. Budapest, 1973
Karpov chose to avoid all this and
What should Black play?
simplified by 1 Bxc6+ forcing the
reply 1 . . . bxc6 (otherwise , if Rxc6
White captures on d5, winning a Karpov has fixed Black's pawns
202 Chess Exchanaes

on the s<Jme colour squares as once the bishops are exchanged

Black's bishop; this bad bishop White blockades the d-pawn and
me<Jns that White stands better. wins it because he has the opposition
Black's knight, however, has rea in all lines.
son<Jble prospects by heading for cS. The best try for Black is to keep
The pawn structure also favours the bishop active outside the pawn
White bec<Juse Black's passed pawn chain with the aim of settling it at cS
is easily blockaded, whereas White when an exchange would leave him
still hils a mobile kingside majority with a protected passed c-pawn
with the prospect of setting up a rather than a weak d-pawn. So the
remote passed pawn. Black's aim indicated move is 4 . . . Bd l !? But 5
should be therefore to exchange fS gxfS 6 BxfS wins.
pawns or bishops but to preserve the Hart found a quicker way to lose .
knights. Instead Hort chose to ex 5 Kd4 BgS 6 Bc2 Be6 7 Bb3 Bt7 (an
change knights, presumably to try awful move but there is nothing else)
and remove the blockade of his 8 Bdl Be6 9 BfJ Bt7 10 Bg4 Black
passed pawn in the hope that this resigned. White's more active
would restrict White's options. With bishop threatens to take the queen
the knights removed, Black quikly side pawns by Bc8, so Black is faced
runs out of meaningful moves. The with exchanging bishops which
best plan seems to be to manoeuvre leaves him with the lost king and
the knight to e7 via d7 and b6 anc;l c8 pawn ending.
with the idea of playing BfS and Even when the ending has been
preventing fS; however, play con reached, an awareness of the pieces'
tinued I . . . Ne6? 2 Nxe6 Bxe6 3 Ke3 potential still gives a guide to which
Bg4 4 Bd3 Be6 (the attempt to ex pieces to exchange and which to
change bishops by Ke6 and BfS loses preserve. Studying the relationship
because afterwards White takes the between pawn structures and piece
queenside pawns and Black the utility helps indicate desirable
kingside pawns. White will queen middlegame exchanges and may
with check with the a-pawn, Black's even influence opening decisions.
last capture being at g2. This means We have indicated throughout the
Black cannot accept a bishop ex book the need to consider the end
change in any variation because ing when exchanging pieces.
 Index of Players

(Bold print indicates the opponent has White)

ADORJAN vs. Tompa ( 1 77)
ALEKHINE vs. Chajes (35), Marshall (39, 40), Yates (66), Wlnler (91),
Podgorny ( 107)
ANDERSSEN vs. Wyville (36)
ANDERSSON vs. Karpov ( 199)
ANTONOV vs. Suba (46)
A VERKHIN vs. Spusky (34)
AZMAIPARASHVILI vs. Karpov ( 145)

BALASHOV vs. Miles (!13), Karpov (200)

BARRY vs. Napier ( 173)
BASMAN vs. Hartaton (63), Hagopian ( 1!14)
BECKER vs. Fuss (9H)
BELLIN vs. Popovic (64)
BELYAVSKY vs. Stean (45), Kasparov (55), Petroslan ( 195)
BENKO vs. Wilde (58), Reshevsky (95) Evans ( 186)
BIELCZYK vs. Stempen (31)
BLACKSTOCK vs. Krause (Kiii)
BLATTNER vs. Korelov (97)
BLOHM vs. Shamkovlch (59)
BOBOTSOV vs. Korchool (76)
BOEY vs. Dely ( 192)
BOGOLYUBOV vs. RetJ (44)
BOTTERILL vs. Byrne (54)
BOlVINNIK vs. Uulewood (26), Lanen ( 1 76), Smyllov ( 1 87)
BRONSTEIN vs. Tollllb (58)
BROWNE vs. Sosonko ( 106)
BRUZZI vs. Taylor (33)
BYRNE vs. Botterill (54)

CAPABLANCA vs. Tartakover (Kvii) , Mieses (26), Shipley (75), Villcpa ( 179),
Duz-Hotimirsky ( 1 89)
CHAJES vs. Janowllld (32), Alekb.lne (35)
CHAVES vs. Mllel ( 1 8 1 )
CHRISTIANSEN vs. Kasparov ( 164)
C,O NOUEST vs. Hodgson ( 198)
CORDEN vs. Stean ( 1 82)
CSOM vs. Leln ( 102)
CZERNIAK vs. Unzkker ( 1 2)

DARGA vs. Uhlmann ( 1 5)

DEL Y vs. Boey ( 192)
. DOBIAS vs. Podgorny ( 1 53)
DORESKEVICH vs. Gulko ( 192)
DUZ-HOTIMIRSKY vs. Capablanc:a ( 1 89)

EMMA vs. l'ischer (52)

EN1GL vs. Ervin ( 1 05)
ERVIN vs. Enigl ( 105)
EVANS vs. Benko ( 11!6)

FARAGO vs. Romanishin (48)

FINE vs. Lilienthal (7 1 )
FISCHER vs. Spassky (xvi, 49, 183), Emma (5 1 ) , Keres (93), Tal ( 1 15)
FTACNJ K vs. Mestel ( 103) , Karlsson ( 1 33)
FUSS vs. Becker (98)

GARCIA-GONZALEZ vs. Quinteros (7)

GELLER vs. Stean (33)

GHEORGHIU vs. Spassky ( 1 5 1 ) , Gligoric ( 1 70), Ostojk: ( 18 1 )

GHITESCU vs. Spassky ( 1 79)
GLIGORJC vs. Matanovic (73), Portisch ( 1 38), Gheorplu ( 1 70), Smylllov ( 190)
GLIKSMAN vs. Soltis ( 140)
GOTAY vs. MarshaU (47)
GULKO vs. Doreskevk:h ( 192)
GUNSBERG vs. Pillsbury (68)

HAGOPIAN vs. Basman ( 1 114)

HALL vs. Karaldaic: (4)
HARTSTON vs. Basman (63), Uhlnwm ( 101), Stan ( 1 14), Mariotti ( 1 27)
HA YGARTH vs. Mestel ( 1 76)
HECHT vs. Markland ( 1 78)
HODGSON vs. Conquest ( 198)
HOLM vs. Tal ( 1 117)
HORT vs. Polugayevsky ( 1 10), Stein (188), Karpov (20 1 )
H U LA K vs. Spassky (23)

INKIOV vs. Knaak ( 19 1 )

IVKOV vs. Pelrollan ( 10), Korchnoi ( 1 00)

JANOWSKI vs. Chajes (32), Malon (194)

KAPANADZE vs. Zaralev ( 1 78)

KARLSSON vs. Ftacnik ( 1 33)
 lode11 of Players

KARPOV vs. Ribli ( 1 ), Unzicker (54,) Spassky (99, 175) Korchnoi ( 1 18, 131, 158,
1 74), Sax ( 1 42), Azmaiparashvili ( 145), Browne ( 1 112), Andersson ( 199), Balashov

(200), Hort (201)

KARAKLAIC vs. Hall (4)
KASPAROV vs. Bclyavsky (55), Korchnoi (69, 70), Christiansen ( 1 64)
KAVALEK vs. Larsen (63), Torre (77)
KERES vs. Fischer (93), Schmid ( 1 47)
KNAAK vs. lnkiov ( 19 1 )
KNOX vs. Kosten (65)
KORCHNOI vs. Petrosian ( Ill, 129), Polugayevsky (65), Kasparov (69, 70, 1 18),
Bohotsov (76), lvkov ( 100) , Karpov ( 1 111, 1 3 1 , 158, 174) , Reshevsky ( IIIII )
KORELOV vs. Blallner (97)
KOSTEN vs. Knox (65)
KOTTNAUER vs. Smyslov (42)
KRAUSE vs. Blackstock (xiii)
KURAJICA vs. Rlbll (115)

LARSEN vs. Kavalek (63), Taimanov ( 1011 ) , Szabo ( 154), Botvinnik ( 1 76)
LEIN vs. Csom ( 102)
LERNER vs. Makarychev ( 16)
LILIENTHAL vs. Fine (7 1 )
LITTLEWOOD vs. Botvinnik (26), Short ( 1 14)

MAKARYCHEV vs. Lerner ( 16)

MA RCO vs. Schleeter ( 1 73)
MARIOTTI vs. Hanston ( 1 27)
MARKLAND vs. Hecht ( 1 711)
MARSHALL vs. Rubinstein (29), Alekbine (39, 40), Gotay (47), Nimzovltch (95)
MARTIN vs. Speelnumn (xiii)
MARZIK vs. Wellln1 (110)
MATANOVIC vs. Gll1orlc (73)
MATINOVIC vs. Paclevsld ( 160)
MASON vs. Janowski ( 194)
MEEK vs. Morphy (311)
MESTEL vs. Ftacn.lk ( 103), Hayprth ( 1 76)
MEYER vs. Myers (Il l )
MIESES vs. Capablaoca (26)
M ILES vs. Palashov (113), Panno ( 136), Chaves ( 18 1 )
MORPHY vs. Meek (311)
MYERS vs. Meyer (H I )

NAJDORF vs. Rollansky ( 126), Tal ( 1 56)

NAPIER vs. Barry ( 173)
NIKOLIC vs. VIUI der Wlel ( 172)
NIMZOVITCH vs. Marshall (95)
NOBLESSE vs. Zapp ( 1115)
NUNN vs. Ree ( 172)

OSTOJIC vs. Gheorghiu ( 1 11 1 )

PADEVSKI vs. Matinovic ( 160)

PANNO vs. MJies ( 136)
PANOV vs. Yudovitch ( 1 4M)
PARMA vs. Petrosian ( 1 7 1 )
PETRAN vs. Purtlsch ( 1 85)
PETROSIAN vs. lvkov ( 10) , Korchnoi ( 18, 129), Parma ( 1 7 1 ), Romanlshln (186),
Bclyavsky ( 195), Spassky ( 196), Polupyevsky ( 196)
PILLSBURY vs. Gunsberg (6!1)
PODGORNY vs. Alekhine ( 107), Dobias ( 153)
POLUGA YEVSKY vs. Korc:hnol (65), Hort ( 1 10), Petrosian ( 196)
POPOVIC vs. Bellin (64)
PORTISCH vs. Timman (8), Spassky (96), Gligoric ( 1 38), Petran (185)
PYTEL vs. Spassky (2M)

QUINTEROS vs. Garc:la-Gonzalez (7)

REE vs. Nunn ( 172)

RESHEVSKY vs. Benko (95), Korc:hnoi ( 1118)
RETI vs. Bogolyubov (44)
RIBLI vs. Karpov ( 1 ), Kurajica (M5), Torre ( 193)
RIEMSDIJK vs. Romanishin ( 1 85)
ROLLANSKY vs. Najdorl ( 1 26)
ROMANISHIN vs. Farago (48), Riemsdijk ( 185), "Petrosian ( 1 86)
RUBINSTEIN vs. Marshall (29)

SAX vs. Karpov ( 142)

SCHLECTER vs. Marco ( 1 73), Teichmann ( 1 80)
SCHMID vs. Keres ( 1 47)
SHAMKOVICH vs. Blohm (59)
SHIPLEY vs. Capablanca (75)
SHORT vs. Littlewood ( 1 14)
SMYSLOV vs. Kottnauer (42), Botvinnik (187), Gligoric ( 190, 191)
SOLTIS vs. Gllksman ( 140)
SOSONKO vs. Browne ( 106)
SPASSKY vs. Fischer (nl, 49, 183) Hulak (23), Pytel (28), Averkhin (34),
Portisch (96), Karpov (99, 175) Gheorghi u ( 1 5 1 ) , Tal ( 16 1 ) , Ghitescu ( 1 79),
Petrosian ( 196)
SPEELMANN vs. Martin (xiii), Vaslvkov (190)
STEAN vs. Geller (33), BelyaVBky (45), Hanston ( 1 14), Corden ( 182)
STEIN vs. Hort ( 1 88)
STEINER vs. Weinstock (169)
STEINITZ vs. Wluwer ( 193)
STEMPEN vs. Blelczyk (31)
SUBA vs . Antonov (46)
SZABO vs. Larsen ( 154)

TAIMANOV vs. Larsen (108)

TAL vs. Fischer ( 1 15), Najdorl ( 156), Spuaky ( 161), Holm ( 1 87)
TAYLOR vs. Bruzzi (33)
TARTAKOVER vs. Capablanca (xvii)
TEICHMANN vs. Schleeter ( 180)
TIMMAN vs. Portlscb (8)
TOLUSH vs. Bronstein (58)
 Index of Players 207

TOMPA vs. Adurj11n ( 1 77)

TORRE vs. Kllnlek (77), RJbli ( 193)

UHLMANN vs. Darga ( 15), Harrston ( 101)

UNZICKER vs. Czc:rniak ( 1 2) , Karpuv (54)

VAN DER WIEL vs. Nikolic ( 1 72)

VILLEGAS vs. C11pablanca ( 1 79)
VASIVKOV vs. Speelmann ( 190)

WADE vs . Benko (58)

WEINSTOCK vs. Steiner ( 169)
WELLING vs. Marzik (110)
WINAWER vs. Steinitz ( 193)
WINTER vs. Alekhine (91 )
WYVILLE vs. Anderuen (36)

YATES vs. Alekblne (66)

YUDOVITCH vs. Panov ( 14H)

ZAPP vs. Noblesse ( 1 85)

ZARALEV vs. Kapanadze ( 1 78)

Study: HORWITZ and KLING ( IH4)