The peasants’ revolt

by Jonathan Speelman
5/21/2023 – Today I’m returning to a subject I’ve covered a number of times in the past: passed pawns. Passed pawns are a crucial aspect of chess and your attitude to them can have a profound effect on how you play and, in particular, your opening choices. To explore this topic, I look at a game played by Vasilios Kotronias, in which he was overwhelmed by an absolute pawn avalanche. The final phase is extraordinary and somewhat reminiscent of the famous game McDonnell versus De La Bourdonnais.
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A crucial aspect of chess

[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]

Today I’m returning to a subject I’ve covered a number of times in the past: passed pawns. This arose through a game which I happened to see online, in which Greece’s first-ever grandmaster Vasilios Kotronias was overwhelmed by an absolute horde of them. The final phase is extraordinary and somewhat reminiscent of the famous game McDonnell versus De La Bourdonnais.

Passed pawns are a crucial aspect of chess and your attitude to them can have a profound effect on how you play and, in particular, your opening choices. I had a very bad experience more than 50(!) years ago in the Hastings Challengers, and it still makes me rather more nervous of them than I really ought to be. Among other things, I’m loth to play the Grünfeld as Black — which is very appealing, but I’d have to learn of course, and more saliently here, as it does often lead to White having a potentially very powerful but also sometimes weak passed pawn on the d-file.

I’ve included that game and also McDonnell versus La Bourdonnais (though both have appeared here before), and I’m concluding with some tactical positions in which passed pawns play a crucial role. And, finally, Sam Loyd’s famous problem: the Excelsior!

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,180,95054%2421---
1.d4956,91055%2434---
1.Nf3285,50956%2441---
1.c4184,27056%2442---
1.g319,85756%2427---
1.b314,56954%2428---
1.f45,94648%2377---
1.Nc33,89750%2383---
1.b41,78848%2379---
1.a31,24754%2406---
1.e31,08049%2409---
1.d396550%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446554%2381---
1.c343851%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bf4 e5 8.Bg5 a6 9.Na3 b5 10.Nd5 Be7 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.c4 b4 13.Nc2 a5 14.g3 0-0 15.Bg2 g6 16.Qd3 Bg7 17.h4 Be6 18.h5 Bxd5 19.cxd5 Nd4 20.Nxd4 exd4 21.h6 Bh8 22.f4?! 22.Rc1 Qe7 22...Rc8 23.Rc6 22...Rc8 23.Kd2 Extremely bold! 23.Bh3 Rc5 24.0-0 24.Kd2 23.0-0 23...a4 24.Bh3 a3! 25.Bxc8 axb2
26.Rae1?! 26.Rac1! bxc1Q+ 27.Rxc1 Qf6 27...Qa5? 28.Qa6! is the only move but good for White. 28.Rc6 g5 29.Qf1 Qxh6 30.Qh3 Qxh3 31.Bxh3 h5 32.Bf1 Ra8 26...Qxc8 27.e5 Qc5 28.e6?! 28.exd6 Qxd5 28...Qc3+ 29.Qxc3 29.Ke2 fxe6 30.dxe6 Re8 29...bxc3+ 30.Kc2 fxe6 31.dxe6 Rc8 32.e7 Kf7 33.e8Q+! Otherwise Black will get in Ke8 to free the rook. 33.g4 Ke8 33...Bf6 33...d3+ 34.Rh3 34.f5 d3+ 34.Rd1 Kxe7 34...Rc7 35.f5 35.a4 Rxe7 36.Rxe7+ Kxe7 37.a5 Kd7-+ 35...gxf5 36.gxf5 Rxe7 33...Rxe8 34.Rxe8 Kxe8 35.g4 Kd7 36.g5 Kc6 37.Rf1 Kb5 38.f5
38...Kc4? An extraordinary decision presumably in time trouble. Why would you allow your bishop to be immured! 38...gxf5 39.a4+ Kxa4 40.Rf3 Ka3 41.Kb1 Kb3 42.Rh3 f4 43.Rf3 Be5 44.Rh3 44.g6 hxg6 45.h7 44...Kc4-+ 39.f6! d3+ 40.Kb1 Kb4 40...d5 41.Rh1 d2 42.f7 Kd3 43.Rh3+ Ke4 44.Rh1 Kd3= 41.Rf3 Kc4 42.Rf4+ Kc5
43.a4? This gives the black king the b3 square, which is fatal. He could have defended by pretending that it was a rook ending and making room for the rook to check by putting it on the h file. 43.Rf3 Kd4 43...d2? 44.Rd3! d5 45.Kc2+- 44.Rh3 44.Rf1 Kd5 45.Rf3 Ke4 46.Rf1 Ke3 47.a4 47.Rh1 44...d2 45.Rh1 Kd3 46.Rh3+ Kd4 47.Rh1 d5 48.f7 48.Kc2 Kc4 49.f7 d4 50.f8Q d3+ 51.Kb1 c2# 48...Kd3 49.Rh3+ Ke2 50.Rh2+= 43...d5 44.a5 d2 45.Rf1 Kc4
White resigned since the horde is now unstoppable. 45...Kc4 46.Kc2 46.Ka2 c2 46.a6 Kb3 46...d4 47.a6 d3+ 48.Kb1 Kb3 49.a7 c2# 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vasilios Kotronias-Salomeja Zaksaite-0–12023B33Round 4: Vasilios Kotronias - Salomeja Z
McDonnell,A-De Labourdonnais,L-0–11834B32London m416
Speelman,J-Schauwecker-0–11972B24Hastings challengers1
Alekhine-NN-1–01939Simul Trinidad1
Queens rooks and Ps--2016
Anand,V-Nakamura,H-1–02016C54St Louis
Kramnik,V2808Aronian,L27930–12017C50GCT Rapid YourNextMove6
Loyd,S-Excelsior!-1854Mate in 5

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Jonathan 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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