6/6/2021 – Often times during a chess game you have to make a choice between waiting and initiating concrete action. Star columnist Jon Speelman notes that “this eerie silence before battle is perhaps the most difficult moment psychologically”, and goes on to show how even world champion Magnus Carlsen can take a wrong turn from time to time. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
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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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A psychological battle
[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]
Chess (as played by human beings) is both a technical and a psychological battle, and once players become reasonably proficient at the technical side then the psychological one becomes equally important.
Decision-making isn’t that hard as such when there are forced lines, since you have to do your best at calculating them and make a choice. But in the space that precedes hand-to-hand combat it becomes much more a case of how you feel.
There may be a decent move which improves your position, by either moving a piece to a better square or (allegedly) upgrading your pawn structure (always remember though that pawns can’t move backwards). Or you may have to make a choice between waiting and initiating concrete action.
This eerie silence before battle is perhaps the most difficult moment psychologically — and one way in which stronger players often outplay weaker but good ones is by persuading them to break the equilibrium a move too soon. In a balanced position it’s quite possible that the best course is to “do nothing well”. But in chess as in everything else, people yearn for certainty, and so there is a strong inclination to clarify matters even among the world’s very best players.
I was drawn to this by a couple of Magnus Carlsen’s games from the recent FTX Crypto Cup. Of course, he is the world's best player — and arguably the best player ever to have lived. But he was in very patchy form (even though he won the tournament in the end), and when he had the chance to make choices they went badly wrong a couple of times.
It must be rather overwhelming to play so many rapidplay games in a little over a week, and even Carlsen was bound to lose a few, but the manner was very instructive in these two especially.
[Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour]
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1.e4
1,186,706
54%
2421
---
1.d4
960,560
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
286,913
56%
2440
---
1.c4
185,115
56%
2442
---
1.g3
19,902
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,609
54%
2428
---
1.f4
5,959
48%
2376
---
1.Nc3
3,919
50%
2383
---
1.b4
1,791
48%
2379
---
1.a3
1,252
54%
2406
---
1.e3
1,081
49%
2409
---
1.d3
969
50%
2378
---
1.g4
670
46%
2361
---
1.h4
466
54%
2382
---
1.c3
439
51%
2425
---
1.h3
289
56%
2420
---
1.a4
118
60%
2461
---
1.f3
100
47%
2427
---
1.Nh3
93
66%
2506
---
1.Na3
47
62%
2476
---
Please, wait...
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bb5Nf64.d3Bc55.0-0d66.Nc3Bd77.Na4Bb68.Nxb6axb6White has gained the two bishops
but Black is extremely solid.9.Re1h69...Na5wouldn't be a bad idea,
forcing the exhcange of a pair of bishops though.10.Bxd7+Nxd7must be a
tad better for White10.c3Ne7and again now Na5 was reasonable, but very
possibly Carlsen was playing for more.10...Na511.a411.c411...c611.Bc4b512.Bb3Ng613.d40-014.h3Re815.Bc2Bc6
Black is now
preparing to capture on d4, though Qxd4 might just about be a decent response.
In any case, Carlsen was inviting Nakamura to resolve the centre either by d5
or dxe5, and watching at the time I thought he would indeed have to make a
choice. But after about a minute Nakamura played:16.Nd2!Engines don't
particularly notice this move, but psychologically it was extremely telling.
Black must now decide whether to try to equalise immediately or to temporise.
I thought that Carlsen might play Qb8 to go to a7 and attack d4, though the
queen isn't great on a7 and d5 followed by Nf1 might be good. But after using
about half of his remaining time, Carlsen decided to clear matters up:16.d516.b3exd417.Qxd4Nh516...d5!?After about a 7-minute thought.16...Qb817.a3Qa718.d5Bd719.Nf1Qb820.Ng3White has an edge.16...b417.dxe5bxc318.exf6cxd219.Bxd2Qxf620.Bc317.dxe5Nxe4
Played almost instantly.17...Nxe5?!18.f417...Rxe5was better and if
18.f418.Nf3Re819.e5Ne4should equalise.18...Nxf419.Nf3Rxe420.Bxe4dxe421.Bxf4exf322.Qxd8+Rxd823.Rad1Rc8Black should have
enough for the exchange:18.f4!Nh418...Qh419.Rf1f6was playable.18...Nxf4?19.Nxe4Nxg220.Kxg2dxe421.Qxd819.Nxe4dxe420.Qxd8Raxd821.Be3Nf522.Kf2
Six moves after he decided to play d5, Carlsen
is already clearly worse.22...g5Entirely understandable, but engines prefer f6
and still give White only some advantage.22...h523.g4hxg424.hxg4Nxe325.Kxe3g5looks less bad - the exchange of h-pawns should certainly improve
Black's defensive chances.23.Rad1Nxe324.Kxe3gxf4+25.Kxf4e326.Rd4!
White already has a huge advantage, and Nakamura kept good control for
the remainder.26...b427.g4bxc328.bxc3Rxd4+29.cxd4Bd530.Bb3Rd831.Kxe3Bxb332.axb3c632...c533.dxc5Rd534.b4Rxe5+35.Kf2Rd536.Re733.h4Rd534.b4Rb535.Rb1Kg736.Ke4Kg637.h5+Kg737...Kg538.Rf1Rxb439.Rxf7c540.Rg7+Kh441.e6Rxd4+42.Ke5and the e-pawn will win.38.Kf5Rd539.Ke4Rb540.Rb2Kf841.Kd3Ke742.Kc4f643.Re2Rd544.exf6+Kxf645.Re5!b5+46.Kd3Rd846...Rxe547.dxe5+Kxe548.Ke3Kf649.Kf4+-47.Rc5Rd648.Ke4Re6+49.Re5Rd650.d5cxd5+51.Rxd5Rb652.Kd4Rb853.Rd6+Kg554.Rg6+Kh455.Kc5Kg356.Rxh6Kxg457.Rb6Rc8+58.Kxb5
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To finish, a magnificent example of winding your opponent up in what I shall call “The Immortal Bulls**t Game”. Ulf Anderssoon is a fantastic player, and adept at going backwards well like nobody else I’ve ever played. You’d attack and he’d retreat, and suddenly you’d lose self belief – or rather I would. We played more than a dozen times and he won once with the rest drawn.
Only against Anatoly Karpov and Gary Kasparov did the spell seem to be broken. They simply didn’t believe him, and while he beat Karpov twice (no wins against Kasparov), more often than not he didn’t bounce back from the edge of the board but was driven into the sea.
When Ulf played Michael Basman in Hastings 1974 he was very much the favourite and quickly gained a nice advantage. But the wonderfully eccentric Basman (future hero of the Grob, the Borg — Grob reversed — 1.e4 g5, and the St George Defence 1.e4 a6) just sat there and moved his pieces backwards and forwards. Eventually, even Ulf couldn’t resist advancing, and when he did, he lost control and Basman cut him down.
12...Ba8In this Queen's Indian line, Black would normally like to break with c5
if possible, but if12...c513.dxc5bxc513...Bxc514.Na414.Rfd1
with a clear advantage, so Basman began to temporise13.Rfd1Kh714.h3Kg815.Kh2Kh716.g4This very unUlf-like move is still perfectly fine, of
course.Kg817.Bg3Bb718.e3Ba819.a3Bb720.f4Ba821.Rd2Qd622.f5Qd823.Bf4Bb724.Rg1c625.Bf3Nh726.Rc126.Na4b527.Nc5would have
gained a nice square for the knight.26...Bd627.Na4Bc728.Kg3Nf629.h4Nfd7
30.Nxd7Engines still like30.Qc3but it's becoming very
messy and Ulf, who hates advancing his pawns too far, must have already been
very uncomfortable.30...Nxd731.Re2Re832.Kh3Bxf433.exf4Rxe234.Bxe2Qe735.Bf3b536.Nc5Bc836...Nxc5was perfectly playable, but by
now Basman surely scented blood.37.Qd3
37.h5would have kept his
kingside intact.Nxc538.Rxc5Bd739.Qd137...h5!38.gxh5?38.Nxd7Bxd739.Kg3was still playable if ugly!38...Qf639.Kg3Nxc540.Rxc5Bxf5The culmination of the "Great Bulls**t Game". The fan is now bespattered
and Basman jumps out to kill his opponent.41.Qc3Bd742.Qd3Ra843.Rc1Re844.Qc3
44...c5?!Apparently this execution doesn't quite work. Simply44...a5kept a very nice advantage.45.Qxc545.dxc5It seems that (or
rather my engine tells me)d446.Qd2Qf547.Kf2!defends, since if Qh3
there is Rh1, but it certainly looked as though something would give.Qh3?48.Rh145...Qf546.Qxd5Qh3+47.Kf2Qh2+48.Bg2Qxf4+49.Bf3
49...Bg4
Even stronger than taking the rook.50.Rc3Qh2+51.Bg2Qxh4+52.Kg1Re1+53.Bf1Bh3
Brilliant provocation by Basman!53...Bh354.Rf3Qg4+!
is even cleaner than winning the bishop.54...Rxf1+55.Rxf1Qg3+56.Kh1Bxf1wins, so Andersson resigned.55.Kh2Re2+56.Bxe2Qg2#0–1
Wesley So published two new opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Get them in a package and save money!
Jonathan SpeelmanJonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.
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