2/25/2024 – Vasily Smyslov had this to say about beauty in chess: “Perhaps chess and music are drawn together by laws of harmony and beauty that are difficult to formulate and difficult to grasp”. This quote and a fascinating endgame from the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg prompted GM Sundararajan Kidambi to consider new ways to approach a chess position. The endgame was played in the game between Wang Hao (pictured) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
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After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6!?, Black takes the initiative, luring White into overextending their central pawns, only to dismantle them with precise counterplay. The Tango is not just an opening – it’s a weapon, designed for players who want to win as Black
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An instructive endgame
Perhaps chess and music are drawn together by laws of harmony and beauty that are difficult to formulate and difficult to grasp.
Vasily Smyslov
With an abundance of time at one’s disposal [during the pandemic], I came across an instructive and thought-provoking piece of analysis from an endgame which occurred in the game Wang Hao v. Vachier Lagrave in the Yekaterinburg Candidates Tournament. The author (and my friend), GM Vishnu Prasanna, is not only a gifted player and trainer, but also a fine thinker! Looking at this fascinating game and comments triggered a variety of thoughts in approaching a chess position.
Wang Hao v. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave - Round 6
This is the position after Black’s 32...Bc8. As Vishnu rightly points out in the ChessBase India video, Black’s main problem in this position is that his knight on a5 is out of play. Had it been on d6, the position would not at all be bad for Black. But such small differences, sometimes as little as one tempo, can alter a position diametrically.
The key factor in this position that seems to determine White’s advantage is the superior position and activity of his king. White need not actually just to contend with the fact that his king has reached a commanding post on d4, but can even strive to improve the royal monarch's position by rolling a red carpet!
Smyslov cultivated a clear positional style and even in sharp tactical positions often relied more on his intuition than on concrete calculation of variations. Let our authors introduce you into the world of Vasily Smyslov.
Can there be anything in the world better than winning a pawn without any resistance? Well, if only things were that simple!
Here again Vishnu’s explanation is crisp and efficient. His reasoning is that Black trades off a pawn to improve the position of his knight from a5.
Steinitz, in his Modern Chess Instructor, put forward a view that rook pawns are not qualitatively equal in strength to other pawns on the board as they control only one square wherever they stand, relative to pawns that stand on other files which control two.
It may not have too much relevance here. However, I do feel that White’s knight moves too far away from the critical square of d6, a square which is key for both White and Black (to blockade the mighty passed pawn for Black and to evict the blockader for White). And if in turn, Black establishes a strong blockade on d6, which also means that White’s king cannot be used more efficiently from d4. Just imagine a situation in which White wins the b-pawn instead of a-pawn: this would be immediately fatal for Black, as White’s king would march onward to c5 and further up the board — and wreak havoc.
So, in this position the b6-pawn is a vital link in Black’s setup, which is acting like a dam against White’s king. So in some ways, White does not even need to win the b-pawn, but instead merely coax Black to push it forward one square to b5!
This is perhaps all White needs in this position, as illustrated by the following line.
34.Nc3!! b5 35.Kc5 Kd7 36.Kb6! Nb7 37.Ne4 with a winning advantage
Analysis diagram
This position deserves a diagram. The visual effect clearly shows the decisive role played by the activity of the king!
If instead Black decides to answer to 34.Nc3 with 34...Kd6 35.Ne4+ Ke7 36.Ke5 b5 37. g4 Nb7 38.d6+, White also emerges with a huge advantage.
Analysis diagram
Another position from a line which I feel deserves a diagram. Note that the king conquers more dark squares, only this time on the other side.
These two positions led me to ponder, “Isn’t (positional) chess a constant trade-off between control and relinquishment of squares on every move?”
Let us get back to the game continuation:
34.Nc7 Kd6 35.Na6 Nb7 and we reach perhaps the decisive moment in the game.
Here White nonchalantly continued with 36.g4?, which might even be the decisive mistake after which a win no longer exists according to Vishnu.
First of all, it is a bit weird to fix the pawns on light squares while having the light-squared bishop, but perhaps White completely relaxed here and missed the simple response 36...g5!, which not only fixes the g-pawn on a light square, but also the pawn on f3. However, I do not think that the good/bad bishop factor is relevant here. I feel the key to this position is control of dark squares, as White needs to keep a path (on the dark squares) open for his king to conquest.
So, by retaining the pawn on g2, White could have manoeuvred his knight to e3, and then continue with f4-g4 and g5, which would in turn secure the e5-square for his king. And this would definitely retain winning chances in the position.
Thus, the right way to continue was with 36.Nb4! Bd7 37.Nc2 Ke7 38.Ne3 Nd6 39.f4! followed by g4-g5 and Ke5.
Analysis diagram
After 36....g5 the game carried on with 37.Nb4 Bd7 38.Nc2 and so on.
Here, according to Vishnu, White had an interesting attempt to play for a win with 38.Nc6!? — Vishnu analyses some fine lines. I liked two resulting positions which are fortresses indicated here below as diagrams!
Fortress #1
Fortress #2
The first diagram is particularly pretty. The team work of the knight on d6 and the pawns on f6 and b6 form an unbreachable barricade against the white king, controlling all the key entry squares. In fact, the black king does not even have that big a role to play with such an impregnable formation of his other units!
Also, one has to bear in mind the role played by White’s own pawn on d5, which blocks the way for his king via d5.
Kramnik v. Grischuk - Kazan 2011 (Game 2)
This is the final position of the second game of the Kramnik v. Grischuk match from the 2011 Kazan Candidates, which illustrates the idea clearly.
In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.
My musings about this very interesting game are as follows.
The position of the king and its activity are one of the key aspects of the initial position.
The king should not be content to reach d4, but should strive to march onward to c5-b6 or e5 as dictated by the needs of the position and the opponent’s moves.
The colour complex is another key factor — in this instance, White’s control of the dark squares is pivotal.
Or, in short, (positional) chess is a game of trade-offs between control of and relinquishment of squares on every move!
Thanks to Sagar Shah and Chessbase India, who produced the following video, where GM Vishnu Prasanna shares invaluable commentary on the game.
Here is the game below with detailed comments on a replayable board.
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1.d4Nf62.c4g63.Nc3d54.cxd5Nxd55.e4Nxc36.bxc3Bg77.Bc4c58.Ne20-09.0-0Nc610.Be3b611.h4e612.h5Qh413.hxg6hxg614.f3Bb715.Qd2cxd416.cxd4Rfd817.Rac1Qe718.Rfd1Rac819.Bg5Bf620.Bxf6Qxf621.Qe3Kg722.Kf2Rh823.Rh1Rxh124.Rxh1Rh825.Rxh8Kxh826.Qc3Kg827.d5Qxc328.Nxc3Na529.Bd3exd530.exd5Kf831.Ke3Ke732.Kd4With an
abundance of time at one's disposal these days, I came across an instructive
and thought provoking piece of analysis from an endgame which occurred in the
recent game Wang Hao-Vachier Lagrave in the candidates tournament. The author
(and my friend) Grand master Vishnu Prasanna is not only a gifted player and
trainer, but also a fine thinker! Looking at this fascinating game and
comments , triggered a variety of thoughts in approaching a chess position.-
KidambiBc8position is deceptively simple, but White has a huge advantage
because of the fact that the knight on a5 is badly placed.-Vishnu This is the
position after Black's 32nd move Bc8. As Vishnu rightly points out in the
ChessBase India video, Black's main problem in this position is that his
Knight on a5 is out of play. Had it been on d6, the position would not at all
be bad for Black. But such small differences, sometimes as little as one tempo
can alter a position diametrically. They key factor in this position that
seems to determine White's advantage is the superior position and activity of
his King. White need not actually just be contended with the fact that his
King has reached a commanding post on d4, but can even strive to improve the
royal monarch's position by rolling a red carpet! Let us see how the game
continued: -Kidambi33.Nb5a634.Nc7?!Can there be anything in the world
with winning a pawn without any resistance? Well, if only things were that
simple! Here again Vishnu's explanation is crisp and efficient! His reasoning
is that Black trades off a pawn to improve the position of his Knight from a5.
Steinitz in his Modern Chess Instructor has put forward a view that Rook Pawns
are not qualitatively equal in strength to other pawns on the board as they
control only one square wherever they stand, relative to pawns that stand on
other files which control two! It may not have too much relevance here.
However I do feel that White's Knight moves too far away from the critical
square of d6, a square which is key for both White and Black( to blockade the
mighty passed pawn for Black and to evict the blockader for White). And if in
turn Black establishes a strong blockade on d6 it also means that White's King
cannot be used more efficiently from d4. Just Imagine a situation in which
White wins the b-pawn instead of a-pawn: this would be immediately fatal for
Black as White's King would march onward to c5 and further up the board and
wreak havoc. So, in this position the b6-pawn is a vital link in Black's
position which is acting like a dam against White's King. So in some ways,
White does not even need to win the b-pawn but instead merely coax Black to
push it forward one square to b5! This is perhaps all White needs in this
position as illustrated by the following line. - Kidambi34.Nc3‼b534...Kd635.Ne4+Ke736.Ke5b537.g4Nb738.d6+I think White has a huge
advantage-Vishnu35.Kc5Kd736.Kb6Nb737.Ne4+-
Vishnu34...Kd635.Nxa6The Knight being too far away from the critical square d6 from where
the Blockader needs to be evicted is an important feature of the position.
Perhaps, this outweighs the material consideration of a pawn here.- KidambiNb7Here White nonchalantly continued with36.g4?which might even be the decisive mistake after which a win no longer
exists according to Vishnu. First of all it is a bit weird to fix the pawns on
a light square while having the light squared Bishop, but perhaps White
completely relaxed here and missed the simple response g5! hich not only fixes
the g-pawn on a light square, but also the pawn on f3. However, I do not think
that the Good/Bad Bishops is a relevant factor here. I feel the key to this
position is control of dark squares and White needs to keep a path ( on dark
squares) open to his King's conquest. So, by retaining the pawn on g2, White
could have manoeuvred his Knight to e3, and then continued with f4-g4 and g5,
which would inturn secure the e5-square for his King. And this would
definitely retain winning chances in the position.- Kidambi A fundamental
error fixing the pawn on a light square-Vishnu36.Nb4!Bd736...Nc537.Bb5Bf537...Bb738.Be8Ke739.Bc6Bc840.Nc2Ba641.Ne3In the game
fortress existed mainly because White cannot force the exchange of Bishops or
achieve d5-d6.-Vishnu38.g4!37.Nc2Ke738.Ne3Nd639.f4!
important move-VishnuBe840.g4Bd741.g5Be842.Ke5Black has too many
weaknesses in this position to save this-Vishnu36...g5!After this,
there is perhaps no longer a win! -Vishnu37.Nb4Bd738.Nc2An
interesting winning attempt would be38.Nc6!?f639.Bb5Be8But the
critical move is39...Bxc6!40.dxc640.Bxc6Nd841.Bb5Nf742.Ke4Ke743.a4Nd6+looks like a fortress-Vishnu40...Nc541.Ke3Ne642.Ke4Nc7!This fascinating position turns out to be a fortress.-Vishnu43.Bc4Ne844.Kf5Ke7The Knight has too many squares for instance a8,a6,c7 etc. The B
is not able to dominate it and Blacks King protects f6 whever it is
attacked-Vishnu40.Na7Bg641.Bc6Nd842.Nb5+Ke743.Nc3This isnt
really a fortress, White has good winning chances there.-Vishnu38...Ke739.Ne3Nd6!Any attempt to make the right exchange is not possible, atleast
not without Black's cooperation.-Vishnu40.Nd140.Nf5+Nxf5+41.Bxf5Ba4
White has no way to breach this fortress.-Vishnu40...Ba441.Nf241.Nc3Bd742.a4f643.Bb5Nxb5+44.Nxb5Bc8is really not giving any chances for
White because all White's pawns are fixed on light squares.-Vishnu41...f642.Be2Be843.Nd1Ba444.Nb2Be845.Bd1Nb5+46.Kc4Nc747.Bb3Kd648.Kd4Nb5+49.Kd3Nc750.Nc4+Kc551.Nd2Bb5+52.Ke4Bd753.Nf1Nb554.Ng3Nd6+55.Ke3f556.gxf5Bxf557.Nxf5Nxf5+58.Ke4Nh459.Ba4Kd660.Be8Ng261.Bf7Ne162.a4Nc263.Be8Ne164.Bb5Ng265.Bc4Nh466.Bf1Kc567.Bh3Kd6This position reminds me of the second game Kramnik-Grischuk Kazan
Match 2011, where Sasha defended a position where he was a pawn down with a
stable knight blockade on d6!-Kidambi68.Be6Ng669.Bf7Nh470.Be8Ng271.Bb5Nh472.Bd3Kc573.Bf1Kd674.Bh3Ng675.Be6Nh476.Bf7Ke777.Bh5Kd678.Bg4Ng279.Kf5Kxd580.Kxg5Ke581.Kg6Nf4+82.Kf7Nd383.Ke7½–½
Sundararajan KidambiSundararajan is a chess player, enthusiast and Grandmaster from Chennai, India, who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of chess classics.
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