The Winning Academy 44: Let's break some rules!

by Jan Markos
4/16/2026 – Strategical rules are important. Without them, learning chess would be much more difficult, if not impossible. When a beginner starts learning about the royal game, he needs a lot of guidance. Rules like “a bishop pair is stronger than a bishop and a knight” or “the threat is stronger than its execution” can provide such help. However, once the beginner turns into a grandmaster, he finds out that there is no need to follow the rules every time. Rules tend to have exceptions. Sometimes, specific aspects of the position are more important than an abstract rule. Let us have a look at four positions where it was good to break the rules! | Image: Markus Winkler
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Aronian-Kramnik, Candidates Tournament 2013, Black to move:

Kramnik is a minor piece up. Moreover, this piece is a bishop, which is much more useful in an open position than a knight. Therefore, White's two pawns are not an adequate compensation.

The only task Black has to fulfil before White resigns is to annihilate the dangerous c6-pawn. But how should he do it? Should he attack it from behind, of from the front?

Kramnik decided to follow the rule that claims “the rook belongs behind the passed pawn.” He played 30...Rf1+? 31.Kh2 Rc1, but after 32.Re3! Bb1 33.Rc3 Aronian successfully defended the pawn and got decent chances to save the game.

In the diagrammed position, it was much simpler to forget about the rule and attack the pawn from the front, winning it in a few moves: 30...Rc8!, E.g. 31.Kf2 Bc4 33.Rd6 Bf7! and 34...Be8.

Here's the complete game:

***

All beginners are taught that material is important. And yet, there are many positions where this rule can be broken. This is one of my favouries:

Nepomniachtchi-Eljanov, Russian League 2010, White to move:

Nepo is several pawns down. Yet, he can take the bishop. Should he do it?

Surprisingly, he should not. Instead, he should consume the seemingly unimportant f7-pawn. After 44.exf7! White can save the game, holding a fortress based on the presence of opposite-coloured bishops. Imagine the White king moving along the c1-f4-g3 path, mirroring the movements of the black monarch, and you will have a clear plan of drawing the game.

Instead, Nepo took 44.exd7??. Eljanov answered 44…Ke7 45.Kf3 Kxd7 and it transpired that White unable to hold the fortress anymore. The f-pawn can cross the all-important a1-h8 diagonal, boldly playing ...f7-f5. After that, there are going to be too many running pawns around.

Please, check the game below for details.

***

Young players are also taught that the knights belong to the centre. And yet, sometimes they don't!

Sokolov-Eljanov, Sarajevo 2009, Black to move:

I think that Eljanov was satisfied with his position. Yes, White possesses a pair of bishops and a strong center, but he is also underdeveloped and his kingside is severely weakened. Black already has one of the knights on the rim of the board. Still, he does the same with his other knight. And it is good!

Eljanov played 14...Nh5!, preparing a direct kingside attack. This aggression proved to be irresistible, after 15.Be2 Qh4 16.Rd1 f5 17.Rb1 Rf6 Black was clearly in the driver's seat.

Here's the complete game:

***

In the last example of this article, we are going to challenge the rule about the importance of the centre of the chessboard. The side that controls the centre and has more space usually stands better, we tend to claim. And then we might come across the following position:

Aronian-Gashimov, Tata Steel Chess 2012, White to move:

Black seems to be OK, at least equal. Yes, White has got a pair of bishops and a stronghold on d4, but otherwise his position is very cramped. On the other hand, Black has plenty of space and some nice pawns on the queenside. So why should he worry about the future?

Well, maybe Gashimov was reasonably happy with the result of the opening. However, only until Aronian played 21.Qe1!. Now the b4-pawn hangs and it is by no means clear how to defend it.

Moves like …a7-a5 or …Bg7-f8 are impossible, as they lose one of the knights. 21…Qd6 loses a pawn after 22.Bxb6 and 23.Bxc4. So, not many options do remain:

21…Qb5 is relatively the best, but after 22.b3 the queen is unpleasantly pinned.

21…b3? saves the pawn but is strategically unsound. After 22.axb3 cxb3 23.Rd1 White dominates and prepares to attack Black's weakened queenside pawns.

Gashimov played 21…c3?!, giving up a pawn without an adequate compensation. He later lost a rather one-sided game.

***

Breaking the rules in chess is not a sign of a rebellion. Rather, it is a mark of a deep understanding of the positions. Sometimes two or three strategical rules collide, and you have to decide which one is the most important.

At some other times the concrete tactical features of the position have their word. If you can win with a “strategically bad” move, you should, of course, do it!

Every position is unique. And therefore, although we should follow the rules in nine cases out of ten, in the tenth case we should break them.

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Jan Markos is a Slovakian chess author, trainer, and grandmaster. His book Under the Surface was the English Chess Federation´s 2018 Book of the Year. His last book, The Secret Ingredient, co-authored with David Navara, focuses on the practical aspects of play, e.g. time-management over the board, how to prepare against a specific opponent, or how to use chess engines during the training process. Markos was the U16 European Champion twenty years ago. At present he helps his pupils from several countries to achieve similar successes. Apart from focusing on the royal game, he is also the author of several non-chess books, focused on critical thinking, moral dilemmas, and phenomenology.
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