Well, you still can turn your knight into a beast. But you need to be able to actively create the work for it. Usually, this is done by correct pawn play.
Let us have a look at three examples:
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The first example is simple, but from a match between two World Champions:
Karpov-Spassky, Candidates Semifinal Match 1974, White to move:
White's d3-knight has got a very nice c5-square at its disposal. However, Black's knight is looking forward to jump to c4. So, what should Karpov do to make his knight matter more? The key lies in reshaping the pawn structure!
Karpov decided to push the a3-pawn to a5. After that, the c5-knight will be hitting the weak a6-pawn, whereas the c4 knight will be useless.
White played 17.a4!. Now capturing on a4 would badly weaken Black's queenside. Spassky therefore responded 17…Bd8. However, after 18.Nc5 Bc8 19.a5 Bc7 20.g3 Nc4 21.e4! it was very clear that White has got the upper hand. Karpov won effortlessly.
Please note that whereas the white knight on c5 is active and safe, the c4-knight has a rather shaky position, especially after …d5xe4.
Here's the complete game:
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 0-0 7.e3 b6 8.Be2 Bb7 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.0-0 Qd6 12.Rc1 a6 13.a3 Nd7 14.b4 b5 15.Ne1 c6 16.Nd3 Nb6 17.a4 Bd8 18.Nc5 Bc8 19.a5 Bc7 20.g3 Nc4 21.e4 Bh3 22.Re1 dxe4 23.N3xe4 Qg6 24.Bh5 Qh7 25.Qf3 f5 26.Nc3 g6 27.Qxc6 gxh5 28.Nd5 f4 29.Re7 Qf5 30.Rxc7 Rae8 31.Qxh6 Rf7 32.Rxf7 Kxf7 33.Qxf4 Re2 34.Qc7+ Kf8 35.Nf4 1–0
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Karpov,A | - | Spassky,B | - | 1–0 | 1974 | D58 | Candidates sf Karpov-Spassky +4-1=6 | 11 |
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Karpov had it clear where to put his knight. In the following example, my task was considerably more difficult:
Markos-Caletka, Slovak Team Championship 2017, White to move:
Both my knights are normally developed, but what should I do with them? True, sometimes the f3-knight gets to f5 via d4 or h4. But what to do with the c3-knight? Fortunately, I did play this structure several times before, and therefore I knew that the best square for this knight is – no kidding – d6.
In order to get the knight there, White needs to build up a pawn majority in the centre. Then he needs push a pawn to e5. The rest is simple: Nc3-e4-d6. Please note: When a pawn majority marches forward, it usually creates outposts for knights as a by-product.
I know that such a plan seems to be rather abstract and difficult to push through. But it worked for me in countless blitz games, and also in the present game. I played 10.e4, and after 10…dxe4 11.dxe4 I already had the necessary pawn majority. In 14 more moves, the position changed significantly. Again, White is to move:
I was lucky to fulfil my plan to the very end. The once modest c3-kight now jumps to its dream location: 24.Nd6! and its strength soon proved to be unbearable for Black.
Here's the complete game:
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 Nd7 4.h3 Bh5 5.c4 e6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.0-0 Ngf6 8.d3 Be7 9.Nc3 c6 10.e4 dxe4 11.dxe4 0-0 12.Be3 Bc5 13.Re1 Bxe3 14.Rxe3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Re8 16.Qe2 Qa5 17.Rd1 Qc5 18.Kh2 Nb6 19.Red3 Qe7 20.f4 Rad8 21.e5 Rxd3 22.Qxd3 Nfd7 23.Ne4 Nf8 24.Nd6 Rb8 25.Qb3 Qe6 26.Qa3 a6 27.Qa5 Nbd7 28.Qc7 Qxa2 29.Nc8 Qxb2 30.Rxd7 Nxd7 31.Qd8+ 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
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Markos,J | 2559 | Caletka,R | 2337 | 1–0 | 2017 | A11 | SVK-chT 1718 | 6.1 |
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The last example is perhaps the most interesting. In a very important game, Grischuk twice failed to shape the pawn structure in a way favorable for his knight, and unfavorable for opponent’s knights. On the contrary, Ding always found the correct answer:
Ding-Grischuk, Candidates Tournament 2021, Black to move:
Despite controlling the a-file, Black is slightly worse. White has a notable space advantage, and the c6-weakness might tell in a long run. Also, Grischuk's d7 knight is very passive. How should Black take care of it?
The best possible square for the black knight is f5. For the moment, it is difficult to imagine how it could get there. But anyway, it would be nice to have that square under control. Also, the f6-square is quite useful as well: from there, the knight could later jump to e4 or g4.
Therefore, Black's best option is to play 21…h5!, followed by …Nd7-f6 and …g7-g6. White can try to disrupt this plan by answering 22.f5, but after the strong 22…Nf8! the knight would get new prospects on e6, hitting d4.
Instead of all this, Grischuk played 21...Bf6?!. Ding did not give him a second chance, playing 22.h5! himself. Now the structure on the kingside looks different: White's g-pawn can chase the black knight away from both f5 and f6.
Let us have a look at another position from the same game, twenty-one moves later. Again, Black is to move:
As you can see, White has gained a lot of space on the kingside and attacked the Achilles heel of Black's position, the c6-pawn. Still, Black is not hopeless after the modest 42…Qa6 or 42…Qa8. However, Grischuk was not lucky that day. Instead of defending passively, he took 42...Bxe5? And again, Ding was up to the task, responding 43.dxe5! and freeing the d4-square for his own knight.
On d4, the shy c1-knight instantly turned into a Godzilla, controlling the entire board: attacking c6 and preparing f4-f5 at the same time. Ding won a nice game.
Here's the complete game:
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Nh5 8.Bd3 Nxf4 9.exf4 b6 10.b4 a5 11.a3 c6 12.0-0 Ba6 13.Ne2 Qc7 14.h4 h6 15.g3 15.Qc2 15...Bc4 16.Qc2 b5 17.Rfe1 Ra7 18.Nc3 Rfa8 19.Rab1 axb4 20.axb4 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 Bf6?! 21...Nf6 22.Ne5 h5 23.f5 exf5 24.Qxf5 Bd8! 21...h5 22.f5 22.h5 Ra3 23.Qc2 Be7 24.Kg2 Bf6 25.Rec1 25.Ne5 25...Bd8 26.Qe2 Bf6 27.Rc2 Qb8 28.Rbb2 Bd8 29.Nb1 R3a6 30.Ne5 Nf6 31.Nd2 Bc7 32.Nb3 Qe8 33.Nc1 Ra4 34.Ncd3 Ne4 35.g4!? 35.f3 Nf6 36.g4 Nh7 35...R8a6 35...Bxe5! 36.Nxe5 36.fxe5 R8a7 36.dxe5 Ra3! 36...Qd8 37.Nxc6? Qh4 36.f3 Nf6 37.Kf2 37.Ra2 Qa8 38.Rxa4 Rxa4= 37...Ra1?! 37...Nd7 38.Ra2 Qa8 39.Nc1! R1xa2 40.Rxa2 Ra3? 40...Ra4 41.Rxa4 bxa4 42.b5 cxb5 43.Qxb5 a3 44.Na2 Bxe5 45.fxe5 Ne8∞ 41.Rxa3 Qxa3 42.Qd2 Bxe5 42...Qa6 43.Qa2 Qxa2+ 44.Nxa2 Bxe5 43.dxe5 Nd7 44.Ne2 f6 45.exf6 e5 46.fxg7 e4 47.Qc3 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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Ding,L | 2805 | Grischuk,A | 2777 | 1–0 | 2021 | D37 | Candidates Tournament | 12 |
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***
Pawns and knights are the least mobile fighting units on the board. Therefore, it makes sense that they should cooperate closely. Please, remember: when you don’t know what to do with your knight, the answer is often hidden in the placement of the pawns. Change the pawn structure in a smart way, and your knight will be very thankful.
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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