2/18/2024 – Today’s column is about sacrifices and the exchange in particular. If you’re shown a chess position cold, then the first thing you do normally is to count the pieces just to check that the material is fairly balanced. But the relative activity is at least as important. The “joy of innumeracy” might turn out to be a valuable (in)ability in many chess positions! | Pictured: Lu Miaoyi at the 2023 Rapid and Blitz World Championships. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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When 1 is greater than 3
[Note that Jon Speelman also looks at the content of the article in video format, here embedded at the end of the article.]
Today’s column is about sacrifices and the exchange in particular, which I imagined was a topic that I would have treated here fairly often. However, when I went back through my list of columns (and the titles are rather opaque, so I may have missed something) the first one I found which explicitly focused on this was #132 in October 2020, which I had entitled When 3 is greater than 5.
Following on from this, today’s explores the “joy of innumeracy”, which turns out to be a valuable (in)ability in many chess positions, especially as they are handled today.
If you’re shown a chess position cold, then the first thing you do normally is to count the pieces just to check that the material is fairly balanced. But the relative activity is at least as important, and exchange sacrifices often confer great amounts of energy as compensation.
I’ve got two examples today from the 4NCL: my own win last Sunday which followed an idea pioneered by Matthias Bluebaum against Markus Ragger at the Chennai Olympiad two years ago (and very possibly born of the beeping of an engine before that), and the brilliant upset win by William Claridge-Hansen against Constantin Lupulescu the day before.
To finish, a magnificently violent game which has been doing the rounds recently (so I guess you may have seen it already) in which a ferocious 14-year-old Chinese girl put an Italian grandmaster to the sword. She started by asserting (sacrificing a knight for a pawn) that 1>3, and he later made a good defensive exchange sacrifice. Near the end, the body count (under the conventional scoring) was 23 to 16 in Black’s favour, but she still crashed through.
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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.e4c52.Nf3e63.c3d54.e54.exd54...d4The critical move, preventing White from transposing into an Advance French.5.Na3Nc66.Bd3Bd77.0-0g5!?This nice confident move puts pressure on White before he can unravel.8.Qe28.Nc4g49.Ne1b510.Nd6+Bxd611.exd6c412.Be2d313.Bxg4is another very unclear line.8...h59.Ne1Qb810.f4gxf411.Nf3
At the cost of a pawn (maybe temporarily) White has defended the e5-pawn.11...Nh612.Re1Stockfish much prefers to play b3 immediately, though I can't yet see why the difference is so great.12.b3Ng413.Nc4b514.Nd6+Bxd615.exd612...Rg813.b3a614.Bb214.Nc2was better since Black can't capture dxc3 with the bishop still on c1.14...dxc315.Bxc3?!b516.Nc2Qa717.Kh1Rd818.Rf1?!so eventually Rf1-e1 has cost White 2 tempi.The annoying18.Bh7apparently kept the balanceRg419.d4cxd420.Ncxd4Nxd421.Bxd4Qb722.h3Rg723.Be4=Bc624.Bxc6+Qxc618...Ne719.Ng1?19.b4fought for the d4-square, though apparently Nd5 is still better for Black.Nd519...c420.Be419...Bc6
20.Ne1?It was essential to challenge the diagonal with Be4 before it was too late.20.Be4Bxe421.Qxe4b422.Bb2Rxd223.Ne2was unpleasant but maybe still defensible - though now Stockfish is telling me that Black should be winning afterQd724.Nxf4Qc625.Qxc6+Nxc626.Rac1Ng420...Qb721.Nef3Nef522.Rae1?!
Getting ready to play Be4 - it's too late.22.Rac1Rxd322...Rxd3!This beautiful thematic sacrifice maintains total hegemony over the long white diagonal, and with best play Black should be winning.23.Qxd3c4?!To bring the other bishops into the attack, but this was unnecessary and gives White a chance to fight back.Instead23...b424.Bb2Nh4was winning after25.Rf225.Re2Nxf326.Nxf326.Rxf3Nf526.gxf3Bb527.Qe4Qxe428.fxe4Rxg1+29.Kxg1Bxe230.Rxf4Ng431.h3Bh626...Bb525...Rxg2!26.Rxg2Nxf327.Nxf3Bxf328.Reg128.Ree2Bxe229.Qxe2f328.Qf1Bxg2+29.Qxg2f330.Qf2Ng428...Nf529.Qf1Nh429...h430.h3Bxg2+31.Rxg2Nxg232.Qxg2andf3is even more decisive than32...Qxg2+24.bxc4Bc5?24...b425.Ba1Nh426.Re2N6f527.Qc2Rg428.Ref2a529.Qb1Be730.h3Ng3+31.Kh225.Qe2Missing the vicious25.Ba5!when the main threat apparently allows White to defendBd425...Kf826.Rc1b426.Ne226.cxb5axb527.Re226...Be427.Qa3Bxe528.d4Bd629.c5Bb830.Nc3Bxf331.gxf3Ne325...h4?!Inaccuracy. Bxg1 was best.25...Bxg126.Kxg1h426.d4?!
26.Nh3Rg3!27.cxb5axb528.Rc1Rxh329.gxh3Ng3+30.hxg3Nf5is Stockfish's magnificent main line continuing31.Qg2!hxg332.Bd4Nh433.Rxc5Nxg234.Kxg2"equal"Bxf3+35.Rxf3Qe436.Be3!fxe337.dxe3Qd3=26...Bxd4!27.Bxd4Nxd428.Qd3Nhf529.cxb529.Rf2bxc430.Qxc4h331.Nxh3Nxf329...Bxb5Stockfish thinks that h3 first is more accurate29...h330.Nxh3Bxb531.Rb1Rxg232.Rxb5axb5-+30.Qb130.Rb1h331.Rf231.Nxh3Rxg232.Kxg2Ne3+31...hxg2+32.Rxg2Rxg233.Kxg2Qd534.Rxb5axb535.Kf2Qxa2+36.Ne2Nxe230...h3!Deflecting the g1-knight to undermine the defence of his colleague on f331.Nxh3
31...Rxg2!The culmination of the attack - the rook is sacrificed on the focal point and all Black's pieces unite to dispatch the enemy king.32.Nxf432.Re4Nxf333.Rxf3Rb234.Qxb2Qxe435.Ng5Qe1+36.Kg2Ne3+37.Kh3Qg138.Rxe3fxe332.Kxg2Nh4+32...Nxf333.Rxf333.Kf2Nd234.Qd1Qb6+35.Kg2Nh4+36.Kh1Bc6+33...Nh4+33.Kg1Ndxf3+The better way to capture since it opens the a7 to g1 diagonal.34.Rxf334.Kf2Qb6+34...Qxf335.Qc2Bc632...Rg433.Nh5Nxf334.Nf6+Kf8White resigned. A brilliant thematic game!0–1
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
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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