I can understand Nimzowitsch's zeal for the topic of blockade. Such a difficult task! When a mass of pawns is marching toward your position, it is a threatening sight. They are slow, but cheap and thus able to chase away every piece that is standing in their way. Stopping them seems equally impossible as stopping a tsunami or a bush fire.
Still, there are techniques how to stop these little folks. Ninety-seven years after Nimzowitsch's classical work on the blockade, let us revisit the territory with more recent examples.
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First question you need to ask yourself is: "Where am I able to establish the blockade?"
In the following example Aronian was deliberating where should he establish the defensive line:
Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, Grand Slam Final 2013, Black to move:
Aronian's task is crystal-clear. If he stops White's pawns, with the help of his own passed pawn he will win the game. But how should he stop them?
Well, the first thing to notice is the presence of opposite-coloured bishops. That means that any successful blockade should be established on the dark squares. On the light squares, White is as strong as Black. Therefore, Black should fight for the h4-d8 diagonal, the last diagonal long enough to establish a full blockade.
Also, Black is a rook up. And pieces are much quicker than pawns. Therefore, slow play might favour the pawn avalanche. Aronian needs to act now! He needs to use his pieces actively, before the pawns start rolling.
Black played 48…Bg7!, the only move leading to a winning position. White is forced to play 49.e6 (49.f6 Bxf6!) and after 49…Bf6 Black seems to have reached his goal. However, now the white king enters the stage:
50.Kg3 a5 51.h4 Rg8 52.g5
Is the blockade broken? No, claims Aronian, never! I will not give up a single square! He played the lovely (and only) 52…Kg7!!. Sacrificing his bishop for the key g-pawn, he retained the blockading square f6. After 53.gxf6 Kxf6+ White's pawns are safely blocked, and the a-pawn will decide the game.
Black won soon.
Here's the complete game:
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d3 h6 8.b4 d6 9.Rb1 a6 10.a4 Ne7 10...Be6 11.b5 axb5 12.axb5 Ne7 11.Ba3 11.b5 axb5 12.axb5 11...c6 12.c5!? Re8 13.e4 Bg4 14.Qb3 Nd7 15.Nd2 15.cxd6 Nc8 16.b5 axb5 17.axb5 Be6 18.Qb2 c5 15...Nc8 16.Qc2 Bf8 17.cxd6 17.Nd1!? 17...Nxd6 18.Nb3 b5! 19.h3?! 19.Bc1 19...Be6 20.Rfd1 bxa4 21.Nxa4 Nb5 22.Bb2 Bxb3! 22...Bxb4 23.d4 23.Qxb3 c5 24.Rbc1 Rb8 24...cxb4 25.Rc6 25.Qa2?! 25.bxc5 Nd4 26.Qa2 Ne2+ 27.Kh2 Nxc1 28.Rxc1 25...cxb4 26.Rc6 Kg7 27.d4 b3! 28.Qb1 exd4 29.Bxd4+ Nxd4 30.Rxd4 Qa5? 30...Kg8 31.Rxd7 Qxa4 32.e5? 32.Rcc7 Qa2 32...b2 33.Rxf7+ Kg8 34.e5 Qa1 34...Qd1+ 35.Kh2‼ 35.Kh2‼ 35.Bd5‼ 35...Qxb1 36.Bd5+- 33.Rxf7+ Kg8 34.Qd3! b2 35.Qd7 b1Q+ 36.Kh2 Qbb2 37.Rxf8+ Kxf8 38.Qd6+ Kg8 39.Qxg6+ Kf8 40.Qxh6+ Kg8 41.Qh7+ Kf8 42.Qh6+ 32...Re7 33.Rdd6 Qa2?? 33...b2 34.Rxg6+ fxg6 35.Qxg6+ Kh8 34.Rxg6+ fxg6 35.Qxg6+ Kh8 36.Bd5 Rg7 37.Qxh6+ Rh7 38.Qe6? 38.Qg6 Rg7 38...Bc5 39.Qf6+ Rg7 40.Rxc5 38...Bg7 39.Be4 Rxh3 39...Rh6 40.Qf5 40.Kg2! 39.Qh5+ Rh7 40.Qg4! Qb1+ 41.Kg2 Be7 42.Rg6! 38...Qb1+ 39.Kg2 39.Kh2 Rg7 40.Rc4 Qh7 41.Rh4 Qxh4 42.gxh4 b2 43.Be4 b1Q 44.Bxb1 Rxb1 45.Qh6+ Kg8 46.Qe6+ Kh8 39...Rg7 40.Rc8 40.Rc4 Qh7 41.Rh4 Qxh4 40...Rxc8 41.Qxc8 Rg8! 42.Qb7 42.Bxg8 Qe4+! 42...Kxg8 43.Qe6+ 43.Kh2 Kxg8 44.Qe6+ Kh8 45.Qxb3 Qxe5 42...Qh7 43.Qxb3 Rg5 44.Qe3 Qe7 45.f4 Rg7 46.f5 46.Qb6 46...Qg5! 47.Qxg5 Rxg5 48.g4 Bg7! 48...a5? 49.Kf3 a4 50.Kf4 Rg7 51.f6 49.e6 Bf6 50.Kg3 a5 51.h4 Rg8 52.g5 Kg7! 53.Kf4 Rh8 54.Kg4 Rb8 55.gxf6+ Kxf6 56.e7 56.h5 a4 57.h6 Rd8! 58.Ba2 Rd2 56...a4 0–1
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Vachier Lagrave,M | 2742 | Aronian,L | 2795 | 0–1 | 2013 | A26 | Grand Slam Final 6th | 4 |
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Four years later, the same opponents met again. And again, it was Aronian's task to stop the avalanche of the Frenchman:
Vachier-Lagrave – Aronian, FIDE World Cup 2017, Black to move:
Again, Vachier-Lagrave's pawns are very mobile. White can prepare all sorts of pawn breaks, and for Black it is extremely unpleasant to watch out for all of them. Therefore, Aronian correctly decides to limit the mobility of White's avalanche:
27…h5! 28.g5 Bg7
Now White has lost the possibility of playing the h4-h5 break… But he can still move his e- and f-pawns. That means Black must continue his restraining job.
29.Rf1 Qa7 30.Qe1
What to do now? Black should have been consistent. After 30…d5! 31.e5 c5 he would stop the avalanche successfully. Black plans to play …Qa7-d7, and the immediate 32.f5 does not work because of the weakness of the e5-pawn. After 32…gxf5 White's knight is stuck at f3, defending the pawn.
Please note: you can immobilise a pawn not only by blocking a square in front of it, but also by attacking a target defended by this pawn.
Instead, Aronian played the slow 30…c5?, after which he was unable to stop the f4-f5 break in the following fight, and lost.
Here's the complete game:
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 0-0 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Be3 Nd4 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 Rc8 14.Bc6!? Bf6 15.a4 Bd7 15...Rb8 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 17.Qd2 Qc6 18.b3 Rfe8 19.Rfe1 Qc5 20.g4!? b4 21.Re2 c6 22.Rae1 g6 23.h4 Re6 24.Kg2 Rce8 25.Ng5 R6e7 26.f4 a5 27.Nf3?! 27.Kh1 27...h5! 27...Kh8 28.h5! gxh5 29.g5± 28.g5 Bg7 29.Rf1 Qa7 30.Qe1 c5?! 30...Qd7! 31.Qg3 d5 32.e5 c5= 30...d5! 31.e5 Qd7 32.Qg3 c5= 31.Qg3 Qd7 32.Qh3! Qc6 32...Qxh3+ 33.Kxh3 d5 34.Nd2± 33.f5 Ra7 33...d5! 34.Nd2 dxe4 35.Nxe4 c4! 36.bxc4 Rxe4 37.Rxe4 Rxe4 38.dxe4 Qxe4+ 39.Qf3 Qxc2+ 40.Rf2 Qxc4∞ 34.Nd2 Rc7 35.Qf3 Ra7 36.Rfe1 Qc7 37.Nc4 Be5 38.Rf1 Qd8 39.Ref2 Bg7 40.Qf4 Rd7 41.Kg1 Kh7 42.Qg3 Kg8 43.Rf3 d5 44.exd5 Rxd5 45.f6 Bf8 46.Re1 Rxe1+ 47.Qxe1 Bd6 48.Qe4 Bc7 49.Rf2 Qd7 50.Re2 Kh7 51.Qg2?! 51.Qf3 51...Qf5 52.Re4 Rd7 53.Qf1! Qd5 54.Qf3 Qb7 55.Kg2 Qc8 56.Qe2 Qb7 57.Kg1 Qd5 58.Ne5 Bxe5 59.Rxe5 Qd6 60.Kg2 Rd8 61.Qe4 Rd7 62.Re7 Qc7 63.Kh3 Qc8 64.Qe6 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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- Drag the split bars between window panes.
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Vachier Lagrave,M | 2804 | Aronian,L | 2802 | 1–0 | 2017 | C84 | FIDE World Cup | 6.3 |
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Sometimes, restraining a pawn chain involves compromising it:
Conquest – Williams, British Championship, 2010, White to move:
White's pawn avalanche on the queenside is further advanced, but it is not really dangerous. Black's light-squared bishop controls an important blockading diagonal. In fact, it is White that has to solve the riddle how to stop the march of Black's central pawns.
It is surprising how quickly Conquest, a strong and experienced GM, succumbed under the pressure. The game lasted only ten more moves, in which Black's central pawns moved to d4 and e4 and White had to resign.
However, the diagrammed position is still equal. The continuation I like most is 26.f5!?. For the price of a pawn, White destroys the harmony of Black's pawn chain. Both 26…exf5 27.Nd4 and 26…gxf5 27.Nd4 lead to complicated positions, in which White's chances are not worse. Most importantly, he is not getting steamrolled any time soon.
Please, remember: As wounded soldiers slow down the entire army, doubled pawns restrict the mobility of the entire pawn chain.
Here's the complete game:
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nge7 7.0-0 Nf5 8.dxc5 Nh4 9.Nxh4 Qxh4 10.Be3 Nxe5 11.Nd2 Qd8 12.b4 Be7 13.f4 Nc6 14.Nf3 0-0 15.Rc1 Re8 16.Qd2 Bf6 17.Bd4 a6 18.a3 g6 19.Rf2 Nxd4 20.cxd4 Bg7 21.Bd3 Ba4 22.Kh1 b6 23.Qe2 bxc5 24.dxc5 Qc7 25.Qd2 f6 26.Bc2 Bxc2 27.Rxc2 Rad8 28.a4 e5 29.Re2 Qc6 30.Ra2 d4 31.Qd3 e4 32.Qc4+ Qd5 33.Qxd5+ Rxd5 34.c6 f5 35.Nd2 Rc8 0–1
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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Conquest,S | 2523 | Williams,S | 2511 | 0–1 | 2010 | C02 | GBR-ch 97th | 9 |
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The last example will be somewhat different. Instead of patiently blocking the opponent's pawn chain, Anand decided to untie the Gordian know of the position with a sword:
Anand-Leko, Tal Memorial, 2009, White to move:
White is a piece up, but the black pawn avalanche looks really threatening. Moreover, White's knight is a poor, restricted piece. In such a situation, a purely defensive approach would probably lead to a disaster. The pawns are simply too advanced to establish a successful blockade.
However, if the pawns are too advanced, there is a lot of space behind them for a quick SWAT squad! In fact, both the black king and the b7-bishop are serious tactical weaknesses.
Therefore, Anand played the paradoxical 22.Nxd4!, and after 22…cxd4 23.Re6 Leko faced surprisingly difficult problems. He chose 23…Bc8?! (According to recent theory, 23…Rf6 should keep approximate equality.), and after 24.Rg6+ Kh7 25.axb5 White had the upper hand.
Here's the complete game:
1.e4 | 1,185,008 | 54% | 2421 | --- |
1.d4 | 959,510 | 55% | 2434 | --- |
1.Nf3 | 286,503 | 56% | 2441 | --- |
1.c4 | 184,834 | 56% | 2442 | --- |
1.g3 | 19,892 | 56% | 2427 | --- |
1.b3 | 14,600 | 54% | 2428 | --- |
1.f4 | 5,954 | 48% | 2377 | --- |
1.Nc3 | 3,911 | 50% | 2384 | --- |
1.b4 | 1,791 | 48% | 2379 | --- |
1.a3 | 1,250 | 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.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bd6 a6 14.a4 e5 15.Bg4 exd4 16.e5 c5 17.Re1 Nxe5 18.Bxe5 0-0 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Ne2 f5 21.Bh5 f4 22.Nxd4 cxd4 23.Re6 Bc8 24.Rg6+ Kh7 25.axb5 Rf6 26.Rxf6 Qxf6 27.Qc2+ Bf5 28.Qxc4 Rc8 29.Qd5 axb5 30.h3 Kh8 31.Qxb5 Rf8 32.Ra6 Qg7 33.Rd6 d3 34.Qb6 Qe5 35.Bg6 d2 36.Bxf5 Qxf5 37.Qd4+ Kh7 38.Qxd2 Rf7 39.f3 h5 40.Rd5 Qg6 41.Qa5 Rg7 42.h4 Qb1+ 43.Kh2 Qxb2 44.Rxg5 Rxg5 45.Qxg5 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.
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Anand,V | 2788 | Leko,P | 2752 | 1–0 | 2009 | D43 | Moscow Tal Memorial 4th | 5 |
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Again, something to remember: A pawn chain is only threatening from the front. Once you are behind it, it does not bother you a thing. Therefore, getting your pieces behind the pawn chain of your opponent might easily turn the tables.
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To sum the article up: There are three strategies you can use against a mobile pawn avalanche of your opponent. Firstly, you can block it once you find the most suitable squares to create a barrier. Secondly, you can compromise it, E.g. by creating a doubled-pawn. And thirdly, you can slip with your army behind the chain, finding attractive targets for an attack.
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