#42 – October 3, 2003
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#42 – October 3, 2003 |
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PIECE & HARMONY Study by Kondratjev,V – 1978 1.c7 Rc4 [1...Ra8 2.Nf7 Rc8 3.Ne3 Rxc7 4.Ng5#] 2.Ng4! Rxg4 [2...Rxc7 3.Nf2#; 2...Kxg4 3.Ne3+] 3.Nd2! [3.c8Q?; 3.c8R Rc4 4.Rg8 Rf4 5.Kg1 Rf2 6.Re8 Rg2+ 7.Kh1
Rf2 8.Re3+] 3...Rg8 4.Ne4! Kg4 [4...Rc8 5.Nf2#; 4...Rf8 5.c8Q+
Rxc8 6.Nf2#] 5.Nf6+ 1-0 |
© 2003 Mig Greengard and ChessNinja.com
This
is an old position, going back to the 20's. White can play 7.e4
and play a main line Grunfeld Exchange by transposition. But English
Opening players usually prefer to play e3 at some point, keeping
a solid center. 
15...Rd7
The first new move of the game, trying to improve on Kasparov's
15...Rac8 from a 1988 rapid game. Lautier immediately plays to increase
pressure on d4 by doubling rooks. White responds with the usual
plan of pushing his h-pawn. 
16...h6
A typical stratagem against a wing push. With pawns on g6 and
h6, Black can meet any advance by passing and locking the structure,
at least for a while. This weakens the squares around the black
king, but it's normal for him to live on the edge in these sharp
lines. 
20.Nxg5?!
A radical way of punishing Black for his kingside pawn moves.
This sacrifice is quite unclear because Black's pieces are well
developed. The game now enters a tactical phase and Black does a
better job of navigating the dangers. 
22...f5!
This is the key move. Black plays for counterattack, not just
defense. Now it's White who has to be cautious on the kingside!
The black heavy pieces are ready to combine with the b7 bishop to
counterattack the white king. 
White's
king is open and all of Black's pieces participate in the attack.
It's hard to believe that it was White who recently sacrificed a
piece for a kingside attack! 
Kondratjev,
V – 1978
Example
(W.Winter)
16...Bb6
Taking aim at the d4 pawn. This fantastic game between the former
and future world champions is a great example of our theme. Weak
pawns serve as distractions even when they can be successfully defended.
White has to use his forces to watch the d-pawn. This inhibits his
own attacking chances and also makes him vulnerable in other areas
because his pieces are tied down. 
23...Bc7
The bishop's job on b6 is done. The weakness of d4 allowed Lasker
to create other weaknesses on the kingside and now he goes after
those. 
The
battle lines have been drawn. White has total control over the square
IN FRONT OF THE PAWN. This is a critical part of the strategy. Isolated
queen's pawns can be a pain in the neck if they can advance and
disrupt your position. 
Fantastic!
Black is stuck defending d4 and White shifts to a kingside attack.
g5 will create open lines and more weaknesses in the black position.
True, White's king position is also weakened, but there is nothing
Black's pieces can do about it. 
Although
it didn't come around in the usual way via a minority attack in
the queen's gambit, we have the typical backwards c6 pawn on a half-open
c-file. It's instructive how White slowly exploits this weakness,
and the one on a4, in the endgame. 
Illustrating
the other problem Black has. With his king defending c6, the white
king has a clear path to the kingside on the dark squares. He'll
just walk up and capture the h7 pawn. 
Beginning
the usual minority attack play. Two pawns attack three in order
to give Black a backwards c-pawn. This seems like a rather unambitious
plan and is certainly less spectacular than a sacrificial kingside
attack. 
27...c5!
Eliminating the weakness and freeing his pieces. 28.Nxc5
Bxc5 29.dxc5 Nxc5 30.Qd1 [30.Qxd5? Nxa6 Winning a piece.] 
A
dream position compared to what would have occurred after 30...d4!
The black pawn is blockaded by the best possible blockader, a knight.