Tiviakov: Realizing an Advantage

by Mattis Trätmar
2/2/2021 – You gain a good positon in a game. That's great, but how can you "realize" your advantage, how can you increase it, what should you focus on, how should you think about the advantage you have gained. That is what this Fritztrainer is about, with many instructive thoughts, ideas and plans pointed out by Grandmaster Sergei Tiviakov, who is a renowned chess trainer and teacher. Review with examples by Mattis Trätmar.

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Recommendation: Realizing an Advantage by Sergei Tiviakov

Hello there, my name is Mattis and I want to recommend a DVD of ChessBase titled „Realizing an Advantage“. I am a new ChessBase author and I am very happy that I can write articles on different topics, including things like DVD (Fritztrainer) recommendations, book recommendations, studying the classics, studying endgames, the psychology of chess, the importance of concentration in chess, and so on. My first article will be about how to realize an advantage, on which aspects we should focus, in which ways we should think while converting an advantage you have gained. That is what this DVD is about, with many instructive thoughts, ideas and plans pointed out by Serbian grandmaster Sergei Tiviakov, who is a renowned chess trainer and teacher.

First of all I would like to give you an overview of the different aspects and matters which are explained on this DVD. After that I will talk about how I used it to learn some useful things, combined with the question of the importance of his explanations for me and especially for my own practical play.

So, what does it mean to convert an advantage into something more tangible and later on into victory? To start with this topic, it is important to understand what it means by “realizing an advantage”. In my opinion everything in chess is related to the question of how I can best improve my position in the best possible way, and what should I do to reach my goals.

The structure of this DVD is based on different aspects the conversion process. After a short introduction it starts with planning, goes on to matters of the center and space advantage. After that the GM Tiviakov's focus is the exploitation of weaknesses, particularly the principle of two weaknesses. He speaks about pawn structure and he tells you how to convert one type of an advantage into another one. This is called the transformation of advantages. He talks about exchanges and king activity, especially in the endgame. Last but not least, there is a test section in which all the aspects and principles he has dealt with are tested, where you can figure out which parts you have understood well, and where you can further improve.

In the beginning, Tiviakov speaks about the most important points and principles you should always remember. One thing is not to relax too early. "The game is not over until it is over" is an old saying. Another relevant principle is not to waste too much time. Also connected to these principles is that we should try to focus as precisely as it is possible! We should always try to finish our games as quickly and not allow our opponent to get any kind of counterplay. Besides we should not take too many risks during the realization of an advantage! Another important psychological aspect is a proper and adequate time management. We should try to keep slightly more time on our clock (let's say ten minutes) than our opponent has. Besides it is also very important to improve the position to a maximum. All this isn't that easy to understand and more challenging to use in our games. It may sound obvious, but when you look deeper you realize that it is quite difficult. Nevertheless it is very important that, particularly when we want to improve our position, we should keep trying to increase the pressure or even to get a more tangible advantage, in order to convert it into victory. Everything is related to the collection of our small benefits, advantages and preferences. Here is another quote by the former world champion Emanuel Lasker: "The most difficult thing in chess is to win a winning position."

Now, after a short but hopefully reasonable introduction I want to get with the heart of the matter.

The DVD starts with many instructively commented games of strong players of the past, like Anatoli Karpov, Vassili Smyslov, Max Euwe, Bobby Fischer, Michail Botwinnik and Tigran Petrosjan. Sergei Tiviakov shows us in exemplary fashion how to analyze high class games, especially when our focus is on the realization of an advantage. That is very good, and he explains his points without too much unnecessary information. He speaks in a very normal fashion, and I really appreciate his remarks, which are easy to understand and to remember as well.

I will now tell you about my key moments of this DVD and in the context of my learning strategy and my experience with this very important subject. I want to talk about some of the games I find most impressive and with which I think that I learned many things, like which elements I should try to focus on, and on which psychological tricks I should be aware of. I would like to start with an instructive game played in 1994 between Yakovich and Polovodin, with the focus on the process of planning.

When I took a first a look at the diagram position, where the game annotation starts, I thought that the chances should be roughly equal because of the symmetrical structure. But then, after some thinking, I realized that White has an advantage due to his better bishop (compare the bishop on b5 with the black one on e6).

Okay, that's nice to note, but how to proceed? That is the key question we have to ask in such a position. It is clear that we need an adequate, a long-term plan. So first of all we have to ask ourselves what we would like to achieve, under what circumstances we would like to achieve it, where we would like to have our pieces (it is good to have them on active/effective squares). Which pieces we would like to exchange, how we can improve our position in the most precise and, for our opponent, annoying way, and so on.

The move here is 1.Be2 followed by 2.Bf3, eyeing the somehow vulnerable d5 pawn and at the same time clearing the path for White’s knight, while simultaneously attacking the b7 pawn (it's job is already done on b5).

After this short plan has been executed we can think about our other pieces. The rook should be placed on e1, with the chance to occupy the e5-square, where it would immediately attack the weak pawn on d5 too.

Moreover, if we take a look at the queen on b3 we understand that there are better squares for it, e.g. b5, to aim for the e2 square. Another question here is where we would like to place our pawns. Therefore it makes sense to restrict the enemy pieces and their chances to go active. A helpful pawn move could be a3 at some point. So the game continued:

 
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18.Be2! transferring the bishop to f3 Rfc8 19.Bf3 to fulfill our short-term plan b6 20.Rfe1 also pointed out previously Rab8 maybe with the intention to go for …b5 on the next move 21.Qb5 preventing Black from doing this - a prophylactic measure h6 22.a3!? a useful move Rc7 23.Qe2 the queen is heading for the e5 square, where it has a well centralized position, and besides threatens Nb5, winning the exchange Qd7 Black is still attentive! 24.Qe5! here it is! The queen is very nicely placed here Now every piece of White is on a better square, that is nice! But how to proceed?
24...Rd8 25.Be2! back and forth. It aims for the desirable a6 square to keep Black in his passive position. Kf8 to keep the king closer to the center, thinking of the endgame 26.Ba6 here it is well placed, as it simply keeps Black from going to b7 and c8, either with a rook or the queen - restriction and control! Ne8 heading for the d6 square 27.Nb5! finally White is ready to exchange one pair of rooks, to reduce blacks counter chances Rxc1 28.Rxc1 f6?! this weakens Blacks position a bit.
28...Bf5 29.Rc3 29.Qe3 Bf7 30.h3 again, white is in no hurry! Bg6 31.Rc3 finally, all White's pieces are included into the game, whereas Black's pieces are passively placed and not well coordinated. Qf7 32.Qg3 Bf5 33.Qf4 Be4 34.f3 Bh7 35.Nc7 the exchange of knights is also one part of White's long-term plan.
35...g5 Black tries to free himself a bit 35...Nd6 36.Nb5 Ne8 37.h4!? 37.Kh2 37.Qc1 Rd7 37...Qd7 38.Nc7 Nd6 39.a4 it is not a big advantage here for White, but he got a lasting pull. 38.Rc8± 35...Nxc7?? 36.Rxc7+- 36.Qg3 Nd6 37.Nb5 Ne8 37...Nxb5?? all we want is to get rid of the knights. 38.Bxb5+- 37...Nf5?! still a tempting one, but not good 38.Qc7± 38.Rc6 38.a4 38.h4 38...Qd7 39.Rc3 Qe7 40.Kh2 40.f4 gxf4?? 40...Qe4 41.fxg5 hxg5 42.Rf3 40...Be4 41.fxg5 hxg5 42.Bc8!? 41.Qxf4+- 40...Bf5 41.Qf2 Nd6 42.Nc7 Ne8 42...Nc4!? an interesting attempt 43.Nxd5 Qd6+ 44.g3 44.Qg3 Qxd5 45.Bxc4 Qxd4 46.Bb3= 44.Kg1 Qxd5 45.Bxc4 45.Rxc4?? Bd3 46.Ra4 Qb3-+ 45...Qxd4 46.Qxd4 Rxd4 47.g4 Bd7= 44...Qxg3+ 43.Nxe8
We obviously want to get to an endgame with queen, rook and one bishop plus few pawns remaining on the board. 43...Rxe8 44.Qg3 here the queen is clearly more active than on f2 Rd8 45.Bb5 preparing to enter on the seventh rank by means of Rc7, without allowing …Rd7 Rd6 Black prevents white from doing so 45...Rc8 46.Rxc8+ Bxc8 47.Qb8 Qb7 48.Qd6+ Kg7 48...Qe7!? 49.Qxd5 Be6 that is my engines suggestion but it is not a human decision. 50.Qe4 to convert it into victory is not so easy but first of all white has a sound extra pawn 49.Be8 46.Rc1 heading for e1 Kg7 just in case 47.Be8 the bishop here is taboo due to the hanging rook on d6 Be6 48.Re1 Qd8 49.Re3 Kf8 attacking now the undefended bishop, so it has to leave 50.Bb5 here we are again Bf7 51.Qe1 now White controls the whole e-file Qc7 indirectly eyeing White's king 52.Kg1 to get rid of the pin a5 53.Rc3 Qd8 54.Qc1
White’s position has been improved to the maximum! He has a perfect control over the c-file, all his pieces are enjoying comfortable squares, while their overwhelming and aesthetic coordination is also a very important aspect we should consider when looking at the position. Moreover, Black has no counterplay. That is a very important fact, since otherwise white could have some difficulties. And what do we have despite this? We can soon exploit the weak pawns on b6, f6 and h6. Here it is interesting to see the engines evaluation: equal, or a slight edge for White! But, as we know, humans are fortunately not machines, and I am pretty sure that most of us would think that White has at least a slight or even clear advantage. 54...Kg7 to avoid the nasty threat Rc8 54...Re6!? a tricky move 55.Rc8? to hasty 55.Kh2 55.Kf2 Kg7 56.Rc8 Qd6 57.Qc7 with some lasting pressure 55...Re1+ 56.Qxe1 Qxc8= with total equality 55.Rc8 nevertheless Qe7 56.Rc7 a rook on the 7th rank is often a thorn in side of the enemy! Qe6 57.Kf2 keep calm and look what Black want`s to do ... f5 58.Qe3 offering to swap queens f4? a mistake 58...Qxe3+ 59.Kxe3 f4+ 60.Kd2 with a slide edge here but black should be able to hold 59.Qxe6 Rxe6 60.Bc6! now, White`s position should be winning Rd6 60...Rf6?? 61.b4± 61.Bxd5+- Kg6 62.Bxf7+ Rxf7 63.Rxf7 Kxf7 64.Ke2 Ke6 65.Kd3 Kd5 66.a4+- and white will win this pawn ending without any difficulties 61.Be8 Rf6 62.Rb7 The final touch! As we can see, White’s strategy to exploit Black’s several weaknesses was successful in the end of the long planning process! He cannot prevent losing a pawn. 62.Rd7 Kf8 63.Bxf7 Rxf7 64.Rd8+ little technique Ke7 65.Rxd5± 62...Kf8?? this loses by force! 62...Kg6 clearly more stubborn 63.Bxf7+ Rxf7 64.Rxb6+ Kh5 65.Rb5 Rc7 66.Rxd5 Rc2+ 67.Kg1 Kh4 things are not so easy here due to blacks very active king combined with the well placed rook on the 2nd rank 63.Bxf7 Rxf7 64.Rxb6± White has won a pawn and remains with the better structure, the more active king and the rook is attacking the several weaknesses in blacks camp Rc7?! a desperate attempt to gain some activity, but it is too late! 64...Kg7 65.Rb5 Rc7 65...a4 66.Rxd5 Rb7 67.Ra5 Rxb2+ 68.Kf1 Rd2 69.Rxa4 Kf6± in the long run, black will suffer and not be able to hold, i guess 66.Rxd5 Rc2+ 67.Kg1 Rxb2 68.Rxa5 Rd2 69.d5 Rd4 70.a4 Kg6 65.Rxh6 Rc2+ 66.Kg1 Rxb2 67.Rd6 Ra2 68.Rxd5 Rxa3 69.Rxg5 a4 70.Rf5+ Ke7 71.Rxf4 Ra1+ 72.Kh2 a3 73.Rf5+-
Three pawns are too much to handle for Black!
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Yakovich,Y2515Polovodin,I24201–01994RUS-chT6

I find the game very instructive – it is a real positional masterpiece! It is very nice to see, how White develops a short-term and later on long-term plan, how he achieves desirable squares for his pieces, how perfect they work together (most of the time every single piece has a job to do, how he doesn't allows any kind of counter chances, how he attacks the weaknesses in Black’s camp, how he wears down his opponent, with the many manoeuvres of the queen, the rook, and particularly the light squared bishop. Furthermore, I find it very cool to see how calm White is, how he uses the method of prophylactic thinking, how he is able to exploit Black’s weaknesses, and how he penetrates Black’s camp, just little by little! A player with an astounding positional understanding and a remarkable composure as well!

After the above game, with the main focus on planning, I would like to show another one that is rather more classic. It was played at the Candidates Match in 1971 between Bobby Fischer and Mark Taimanov.

This is our point of interest: a typical Fischer vs. Taimanov scenario, which arose many times

Here we can see a general configuration, often used by Fischer. He has his powerful bishop on g2, which has an eye on the whole h1-a8 diagonal, against a rather passive knight on Black’s side. Another thing is the active centralized position of White’s rook on e5, whereas Black’s rook is not yet participating in the game. Both factors (active rook and strong bishop) are enough for a small advantage for White. But how to proceed?

 

 
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25.Bf1! Attacks the a6 pawn, which means that Black has to decide whether to play 25... a5 or 25...Ra8. In case of 25…Ra8, the rook would move from a closed file to … a closed file. After the pawn move 25…a5 Black would weaken the b5 square. The disadvantage of the more stubborn seeming rook move is that it costs a pawn after the simple reply of 26.Bc4. a5 Black can`t defend his f7 and a6 pawn at the same time! Therefore more or less forced 25...Ra8 26.Bc4± 26.Bc4 Rf8 A sad necessity. 26...Ng4 27.Re2± 27.Kg2 A calm move - please note that White is in no hurry! Kd6 28.Kf3 Firstly White brings his king closer to the centre This is, especially in endgames, an often used principle, called king’s activity. White should allow his king to participate in the game. Nd7 29.Re3 Nb8 Obviously heading for the c6 square and later on maybe to d4/b4 30.Rd3+ Kc7 31.c3! Taking the d4 and b4 square from Black’s knight, a restriction measure. Nc6 32.Re3 Kd6 33.a4! Fixing the pawns on the queenside, to prepare a better endgame for White. Ne7 34.h3 Nc6 Black has to wait and to hope for the best - no chances for him to get any activity. This is often a bad sign 35.h4!? White has everything under perfect control, therefore he can spare a tempo on h3 and push one move later to h4. Again, he is no hurry! It is also important to mention that Black is stuck. h5 Otherwise White would play 12.h5, fixing the kingside pawns as well. 36.Rd3+ Kc7 37.Rd5 White's postion has improved a bit and he keeps the status quo. f5 37...g6 38.Rg5!? 38.Rd2 The smooth rook moves are probably the most fascinating in this game. Rf6 39.Re2 Kd7 40.Re3 g6 41.Bb5 Pinning the knight. It looks unpleasant to play for Black. Rd6 42.Ke2 With the intention to exchange the rooks to reach a minor pieces endgame. Kd8 43.Rd3 Kc7 44.Rxd6 Kxd6
The plan has been finished, only minor pieces and few pawn remain on the board. Let`s take a brief moment for thought. Most of White's job is already done, but how to handle this endgame? I will give you the evaluation of my engine: the position is winning! But why? Black has to deal with two weaknesses, the one on b6 and the pawn on g6. Both weaknesses are far from each other. That means that Black will be not able to defend both simultaneously with his king. This is also the sort of principle I mentioned earlier. Moreover, the c3-pawn does it job very well, preventing Black’s knight from moving to the d4 square. So the next steps are: 1. to bring the king closer to the action; 2. to attack the vulnerable pawns on the kingside with the long-distance bishop - principle of two weaknesses; 3. to follow the direct plans by means of domination; 4. to invade Black’s camp with the white king; 5. to create a sort of zugzwang position; and 6. to convert all the positional pluses into victory! 45.Kd3+- White's position is winning. Ne7 46.Be8 The knight is tied to the defence of the g6 pawn. Kd5 47.Bf7+ Kd6 48.Kc4 Kc6 49.Be8+ Back and forth. Kb7 50.Kb5 Now White's king penetrates into Black`s camp. Nc8 threatening deadly ...Nd6#. But this is Black's only threat and can be easily prevented. 51.Bc6+ Kc7 52.Bd5 The principle of two weaknesses: as we shall see, the knight will lack space. Ne7 53.Bf7 Kb7 54.Bb3 Ka7 55.Bd1 Kb7 56.Bf3+ Kc7 57.Ka6 Nc8 58.Bd5 Ne7 59.Bc4 Nc6 60.Bf7 Ne7 61.Be8 now Black has to attack the bishop, but it is already too late! Kd8 A desperate attempt! 62.Bxg6! A tactical solution finishes the game This wins immediately! Remember: try to play as simple as you can! 62.Bf7 Kc7 63.Be8 Kd8 64.Bb5 Kc7 65.Bc4+- is also winning 62...Nxg6 63.Kxb6 Kd7 64.Kxc5 Ne7 65.b4 axb4 66.cxb4 Black's knight is completely helpless to deal with White's strong connected passed pawn on a4 and b4, combined with White's ideally placed king on c5. Nc8 67.a5 Nd6 68.b5 Ne4+ 69.Kb6 Kc8 70.Kc6 Kb8 71.b6
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Fischer,R2740Taimanov,M26201–01971Candidates qf34

What a brilliant game! Fischer showed his skills of technique and endgame strategy. Besides, I really like his patience. At no moment did he hurry, and he outplayed the poor Taimanov by all rules of the game! The win was primary ensured by Fischer's striking understanding of how to play with a rook and superior bishop against Black's knight and rook. Besides he improved his position little by little, mainly using the rule of calmness. I lastly have to mention that his light-squared bishop was always superior to Black's knight, and after the restrictive move 31.c3 it wasn't participating in the game for a long time. Fischer had phenomenal skills at squeezing everything possible out of his opponents. Moreover, it is important to notice that he used the principle of two weaknesses in an instructive way. Very impressive too!

Note that if you want to study the analysis in the above games it is best to maximize (the replay board and your browser window) and then to switch on the engine (fan icon). That way you can really follow the ideas and the thought processes of the great players.


I am a biological-technical assistant by profession, which is why I am deeply interested in natural sciences, apart from chess and writing articles on various topics. I hope that you like my articles and I look forward to feedback, both positive and constructive negative!

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