4/7/2023 – Middlegame secrets are revealed - in a series of articles featuring videos by Jan Markos. We'll begin with the Queen, exploring things to avoid when playing with the most powerful chess piece! If you wish to know more, we recommend the full course by Jan Markos: Middlegame Secrets Vol.1: The Power of the Queen | Photo: Alexis Fauvet/Unsplash
Let us explore together how the rooks should enter the game in the early middlegame, how they operate on open files and how they sometimes join a deadly attack, being transferred in front of the pawn chain and many more topics!
The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.
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Middlegame Secrets Vol.1: The Power of the Queen
For a chess player, chess pieces are like specific tools in a toolbox. We need to know how to use them best, like a craftsman knows their tools. We shouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail; and we shouldn’t use the queen just for defence. This series will show you in great detail the specific qualities of each chess piece, so that you can maximize their effectiveness and thus improve your game. Queens are the true ladies of the chessboard. They are dangerous attackers, but poor defenders. They dislike dirty work, and often wait until other pieces prepare space for them. Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Let us explore together how the rooks should enter the game in the early middlegame, how they operate on open files and how they sometimes join a deadly attack, being transferred in front of the pawn chain and many more topics!
Soulmates: Queen & Knight
The Queen is the most powerful piece on the chess board, but it can be even more effective with the help of the other pieces. In this article we're going to talk about the most effective ways that the power of the queen is enhanced in combination with the knight.
Giri vs Yu Yangyi
How can Black take advantage of the power of the soulmates: Queen + Knight?
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43...Qb7+!-+
43...Na4?I didn't spend too much time here.
43...Na4 is actually not a good move. I deemed Black's advantage to be
decisive but underestimated White's advanced d-pawn, which quite annoyingly
ties up Black's pieces. If I give up my pawn on c3 for White's d-pawn, the
resulting endgame will be a lengthy battle. The best continuation would have
been 43...Qb7+ followed by 44...Qf3. White's awkward kingside pawns leave his
king exposed, allowing Black's queen and knight to penetrate White's kingside
and create mating threats. Black will very likely win White's bishop or at the
very least the h- and the g-pawn.44.d5Qd4I had initially planned 44...
Qc4 but had to abandon this idea after realising that White can simply play 45.
Kg1. After long thought I decided to go for 44...Qd4.44...Qc445.Kg145.d6Up to here Giri had defended remarkably well, considering the enormous
pressure he had been facing during the whole game. A true reflection of his
strength.Nc5Played after about 25 minutes. My initial plan after 44...Qd4
was to continue with 45...Qe3, but then I saw that White could play 46.Kg2
after which my advantage would get less and less. I also thought about ...Kf8
but was a bit too worried. After the game the engines suggested that ...Kf8 is
not such a bad move! The text move leads to an endgame that is not easy to win
for Black but not easy to draw for White either. At least I wanted to maintain
the pressure on White.45...Qe3?!46.Kg2!45...Kf8!?46.Qf5g646...g547.Bf247.Qc8+Kg748.d7Qe4+47.Qc8+Kg748.Kg248.d7Qe4+48...Qd5+-+46.Qxc3Qxd647.Qf3Qe648.Bf2Ne449.Be3Qc450.Bf4Qc251.Kg1Qc5+52.Kg2Qd453.Be3Qb2+54.Kg1Qb1+55.Kg2Qc2+56.Kg1Nc357.Bf2Qd258.Kf1Nd559.Kg2Nf4+60.Kg3Nd5Here we both had less than ten
minutes left though I was a bit better on the clock. I also had the initiative
and thus a psychological edge.61.Kg2Nf662.Qf5Qc363.Qf3Qc264.Qa8+Kh765.Qf3Qc466.Qf5+Kg867.Qf3Ne468.Be3f669.Bf4Kf770.Be3Qd571.Kg1Ke672.Kg2Kd773.Kg1Kd674.Qe2Ke675.Qf3Qe576.Kh1Kf777.Bf4Qd578.Kg2Kg679.Be3Qe680.Bf4Nc581.Bg3Qc482.Qe3Qc2+We were in the
fifth hour of a mentally and physically exhausting game. Here I had about nine
minutes left on the clock, whereas my opponent was down to one minute.
Probably afraid of mistakes in extreme time pressure he tried to find a
tactical way to secure a draw.83.Qf2Qc484.Qe3Ne485.Bf4Qc2+86.Kf3Nc3Right after making this move I saw that White could play 87.Bxh6. And my
opponent went for it straight away. I was forced to remain calm and pull
myself together. I said to myself that it would be miraculously unfair to fall
victim to such a tactical blow in a position with so few pieces on the board.
87...gxh6 would of course end in a perpetual, but Black is not forced to take
the bishop. I took a sober look at the position and after about one minute I
found a response.87.Bxh6?Qh2!-+I had calculated that this was
winning for Black. After the game the engine confirmed my assessment. My
opponent had little time left. He will lose his bishop without attaining the
desired perpetual, and any attempt to save the bishop will cost him his queen.
It is fair to say, my queen and knight harmonized very well with each other in
penetrating White's exposed king and exploiting the space advantage Black had
throughout the entire game.88.Qe8+88.Bf4Qxh3+89.Bg3Qh1+88...Kh789.Bxg789.Bf4Qxh3+90.Bg3Qh1+91.Ke3Qg1+92.Kd2Qd4+93.Kc2Qxg4-+89...Qh1+!-+89...Qxh3+90.Kf2Kxg791.Qd7+Kh692.g5+90.Kf2Ne4+91.Ke2Qg2+I felt relieved and a bit lucky after this epic five hour
battle. I had made a few inaccuracies but by and large I had played a good
game and was satisfied with my performance. After the game I had dinner and
went for a walk. Then I returned to the hotel to rest and think about how to
prepare for the game against Kramnik in the final round.44.Kg1Qf345.Qxc3Nd346.Qd246.d5Qe3+47.Kf1Qxh3+48.Ke2Nf4+-+46...Nf447.d5Nxh3+48.Kh2Qxg449.d6Ng1-+0–1
Jan Markos is a grandmaster from Slovakia.. He is the author of numerous excellent books and for some time has also been a writer for ChessBase. Besides his column in ChessBase Magazine "Practical tips for the tournament player" he writes a column for ChessBase News "The Winning Academy". With his new video series "Middlegame Secrets" the specific qualities of each piece are explained in detail. Each piece has certain tasks for which it is better suited than others. With the help of rules of thumb and principles, The Queen and the Rook are dealt with in the first two volumes. Markos knows how to break down the complexity of the pieces into simple rules of thumb. This makes it easier to learn and apply. On the occasion of the publication of the courses, we have made a nice interview with the author:
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
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