Mastering the Bishop Pair - Srokovsky, Borulia, Braslawski

Mastering the

Bishop Pair

IM J aroslav Srokovsky GM Ekaterina Borulia

Wit Braslawski

International Chess Enterprises Seattle, Washington

Cover Image Copyright 1998, 1999 by lntelinvest Co. Ltd. Copyright 1999 by Intelinvest Co. Ltd. Copyright 1999 by International Chess Enterprises.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

International Chess Enterprises,' P.O. Box 19457, Seattle, WA 98109 1-800-26-CHESS http: //www.insidechess.com/

Editor: Jonathan Berry Series Editor: Jonathan Berry Diagrams: Jonathan Berry's YesWeDoDiagrams Typeset by Jonathan Berry using Ventura Publisher

Srokovsky, Jaroslav, Borulia, Ekaterina, and Braslawski, Wit Mastering the Bishop Pair

First printing: September 1999 220 + ii pages 200 game excerprts + 668 chess diagrams ISBN 1-879479-78-8

Editor's Introduction This is the third book in International Chess Enterprises' six-book series on strategic themes.

The fi rst two books , Hanging Pawns and Mastering Rook versus Minor Pieces, were introduced by the authors, but as editor I have taken on that task for Mastering the Bishop Pair.

The bishop pair arises when one side only retains both bishops. One patrols the light squares, the other runs along the dark. The opposing side most commonly has a bishop and a knight, but may have two knights against the bishops.

The bishop pair often confers an advantage upon the side possessing it. Nominally, a bishop or a knight is worth three pawns. But adding a bishop to each side, changes some of the considerations. First, the bishops cannot get in each other's way. Second, the presence of the bishops al lows their master more opportunities to open up the position, thus taking advantage of the long range powers of those same bishops. In that sense, possession of the bishop pair is a self-fulfilling prophecy; the bishops are the means and the ends. The opposition is fighting the losing battle of chess entropy: pieces once exchanged do not reappear.

A bishop is more likely to be able to capture a knight than the reverse. In the Ruy Lopez opening, after l .e4 e5 2.f'3 c6 3.Ab5, the bishop will have many chances to capture the c6 knight. The possessor of the bishop pair frequently takes advantage of such a situation. Tu.king the knight

will restore precise material balance, but careful timing will often yield a bonus, above equality.

The opposing side has resources, too. While lots of pieces remain, knights are at least the equal of bishops in close combat. Other themes include establishing an outpost for the knight, blockading, and trading off one of the bishops.

This book shows how to take advantage of the bishop pair, and how to overcome it.

The carefully-chosen examples, 200 of them, reflect real situations among strong players. The correct course of action does not present itself readily, and the solution at each step will challenge the reader, no matter what her or his strength. While the explanations are basic, the analysis delves into critical variations. The reader will doubt that the correct path has been taken at many unmarked junctures, but will have to work out the truth. The examples were not chosen to be easily explicable or revealed by a single note.

I am a player of about 2300 FIDE rating, and have learned a lot from editing this book. Without spoiling the reader's fun, I have played chess for over 30 years knowing that the bishop pair worked best with reduced material, but never before consciously realized that this spoke not just about pawns, but about all the pieces.

Can the player rated 1400 learn from this book? Yes ! In the old Soviet chess literature, the formula for success was work + talent = victory. But in North America, there is

2 Mastering the Bishop Pair

an extra element: environment. Talent may be found in any town or school, but it is not going to flourish without the right environment. In particular, a talented player may rise to the top, or nearly so, of the group of players in which she or he regularly competes. If that group already includes very strong players , the talented player can rise higher before having to find a new group. The present series of books provides an advanced environment for the ambitious and talented player. The notes were written by International Masters as if for each other, not talking down to the reader.

If the talented player can think in this plane, it will be a long time before he or she has to find a stronger group.

The material for the books in this series is the Chess Academy Tutorial computer software. The differences between book and computer deserve some examination. First, a book is better because you don't need the darned computer; a book is portable and flexible. A book is also easier on the eyes. On the other hand, a computer can show the position at every move, and it can achieve interactivity with the reader. Both the book and the computer have their place.

The material in this book is challenging. An ordinary presentation would h ave maybe one or two diagrams for each example, say 300 diagrams in all. Th follow such a story line, most of us, even the Experts and Masters, would have to sit at a table, moving the wooden pieces while trying not to lose place on the page, but that takes away the portability of the book. Except for less eyestrain,

the player might as well be at a computer. In this series, we include more than twice as many diagrams as is customary. The reader is invited to use the diagrams instead of a board, and to fill in the gaps mentally. This is a book that can be exploited just as readily on the subway, or in a quiet corner of the garden, as in the study.

Each diagram represents a point of departure. At each diagram, the reader should pause and consider the future. In general, the result with be a striking move, sometimes even brilliant, or an important strategical moment.

The letter W or B next to the opening diagram of each example indicates who has the move.

I do not claim any order in the presentation of the material. On the contrary, order has been spurned. The material could have been organized into topical chapters with titles such as "Endgame: Inducing Weaknesses". But I noticed that in the computer tutorial, my eye would flick up to the heading, and I would have a big hint as to the solution. But that is not what happens at the chess bo ard or i n rea l l i fe. Nobody whispers in our ear "you should induce weaknes se s b e fore you simplify" or, on the contrary, "you don't have time to induce weaknesses , he will attack, so simplify right now". So the examples are in a moderately random order.

For the benefit of those who like the hints (either before or after), the book begins with a graphical index of themes.

In summary, this book is intended for ambitious players who want to learn. The way to do it is to work

Mastering the Bishop Pair

through the examples, considering the course of action implicit in each d i agram before cons ider ing the material which follows it.

Jonathan Berry August 1999

Theme Index *indicates a measure taken against the bishop pair.The last three themes are endgame only. The number is the page on which the game starts.

Theme Middlegame

Gain the bishop pair 88, 156, 161 , 167, 173,185

Destroy it* 21,23,25, 142, 193,204

Give it away 41 ,42,43,59,60,61 ,62, 124, 203

Space Advantage 9,26,36,80

Blockade* 33,51 ,52, 109, 1 13, 152, 180,205

Knight outpost* 53, 104, 105, 148, 157

Endgame

216

20,24,57

42, 163,21 1

13,75,79,98, 108, 1 1 1 , 120, 191 ,208,209

18, 19,55,58,82,87,214

34,50,84, 106, 112

3

Attack the King 1 1 , 15, 16,40,70,89, 125, 134, 135, l43, l44, 153, 166, 170, 171 ,174, 178, 188, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197

Neutralize counterplay 17,32, 122, 147, 150, 159, 169

Simplify to Endgame 25,29,86, 123, 158, 175, 177,215

Sacrifice for pair 77, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131 , 132, l33,145,217

Crack new diagonals 27,30,37,38,39,44,47,49,63,64,65,66,68,71 ,72,73,75, 137, 141 , 145, 149, 160, 180, 182, 186, 189, 198, l99,200, 201 ,202

Shift diagonals 69, 1 16, 1 17, 1 18, 1 19, 136, 138, l40, 179, l81

Inducing Weakness 4,7,9, 10,28, 101 , 107, l l5,187,212

Passed Pawn 44,45,47,95,97, 101, 164

Open center 78,84,93,94,96, 100, 102, 154, 165,176, l83, l84,212,213


Boleslavsky Scherbakov

Moscow 1942

White's bishops exert strong pressure on Black's queenside. It is especially difficult for Black to neutralize the dark-square bishop.

1 a2-a4! Grabs space on the queenside, where White plans to induce weaknesses.

1 '&>e8-e7 2 gn-d1 ghs-ds 3 .lc4-a2

3.Ab3 !? . 3 4 5 6 7

7

d2-c4 gdlxd8

a4-a5 .la2-b3

t7-f6 b7-b6

e6xd8 .lc8-e6

.le6xc4?

Exchanging bishops (one way to combat the bishop pair) by 7 ... b5 gave better chances for defense.

8 .lb3xc4 b6-b5 9 .le3-c5t

Mastering the Bishop Pair 5

the board that is under dispute, usually the better for the bishops.

21 g7-e6 22 kl-fl 23 c&>e3-d3 24 f4-f5 25 e4xf5 26 d3-e4 27 g3-g4 28 29

l!fl-tl g4-g5!

30 .lc4xb5

d4-c2t c2-d4

g6xf5 e6-g7 g7-e8 d4-c2 c2-d4 d4-b5

Preventing 30 . . . .{)8c7 which liberates the as-g.

30 31 h2-h4 32 l!t2-d2 33 b2-b3 34 a5-a6 35 a6-a7 36 l!d2-d8 37 .lb6xc7 38 gSxf6t

Black resigned.

a6xb5 e7-f7 rf/f7-e7 l!a8-b8 l!b8-c8 l!c8-a8 e8-c7 l!a8xa7

Tarrasch - Rubinstein San Sebastian 1912

1 f7-ffi

B

Black plans to restrict the mobility of the white knight and exposes weaknesses in his opponent's camp.

2 e5-g4 If f'/6 13


5 Intending b4.

6 J,dl-t3

a7-a5!

One virtue of the bishop pair is that a bishop may frequently be traded to transform the advantage. White cannot reverse that here with 6.g4 b4 7 . .)xe3 gxe3 + ( weak square g3, weak square d3).

Very bad is 7.19 20 gd2-c2 21 f4-f5

21

t7-e6 e6-d6

gd8-c8! After the exchange of rooks, the black king becomes master of the situation.

22 .lt3-dl 22.gxc8 Axc8 23.g4 ,1e3 ! limits themobility of the white knight.

22 gcsxc2t 23 .ldlxc2 d6-e5 24 g3-g4 J,d4-e3- + 25 g2-t3

25 . .)f2 .1xf2 26.

29 a2-a4 29.a3 a4 6. Act .

29 30 e2-f331 t3xe3

31 32 e3-e2 33 h3-f4 34 f4-e6 35 e6xd4t 36 d4-b5 37 e2-e3 38 b5xa3 39 e3-d4

White resigned.


bishop pair. But Black's position is I f:i very solid and has no obvious weak.Qb5-d7 , &} nesses. White needs to weaken his

d4-c3 opponent's position.

d5-d4t! c3xc2 .Qd7xa4 4a4-b3 c2-b2

a5-a4 a4-a3

b2xa3 a3-b4

1 f3-f4!

Karpov - Kavalek Nice 1974

White's position is better because he enjoys spatial superiority and the

6 1:!clxc4! Exchanging a pair of rooks i s usually favorable for the player with the


bishops. 6 7 b3xc4

8 4e3xc5!

lk7xc4 e4-cSt

A surprise, but White's space advantage works even in a simplified position with bishops of opposite colour.

8 lk8xc5 8 . . . dxc5 9.h6 Ad4 10.gb1 .

9 h5-h6 4g7-f8 9 . . . fxg4 to.Axg4 Af8 l l .Ae6t tllh8 12.fS gas 13.gbl ga3t 14. tlle2 gxa2t15. tllfl Axh6 16.f6 e:xf6 11.gb8t Af8(17 . . . tllg7 18.gg8 mate) 18. t +-.

10 c&>d3-c3 There was the threat 10 ... gas. It was better to play 10.gS ! , shutting the black bishop out of the game and preparing an attack against the black

king and the h7-ft. 10 . . . gas 1 1 .gb1 tllf7 12.gb2 ga3t 13.gb3 gxa2 14.cS ! dxc5 15.d6 c4t 16. g8-t7 12 .1g4-e6t c&>t7-f6 13 4e6-g8 lk5-c7

13 . . . ,ixh6 14.gxh6 tllg7 15 .gxh7t c3-d3 c&>f6-f5 19 c&>d3-e3 lk7-e7t 20 c&>e3-f3 a6-a5 21 a2-a4 '8e7-c7 22 .1dS-e4t c&>f5-f6 23 '8hl-h6 '8c7-g7 24 c&>f3-g4

Black resigned.


Stein Averbakh Riga 1970

1 {)c3-b5! White invites Black to trade rooks, after which Black's pawns on the queenside become objects of attack.

1 ltc7xclt 2 ltblxcl ltc8xcl t 3 Adlxcl a7-a6 4 {)b5-c3 {) e6-c5 5 -el ralh8-g8 6 g3-g4 {)fS-d6 7 4g2-c6 Ag7-t'8

8 {)c3-d5 f7-fS 8 .. . b5 9.Aa3 cb7 10.c7 a5 1 1 .Axb7 xb7 12.Axf'St 13.xbS +-.

9 g4xf5 g6xf5 10 {)d5xb6 +- e5-e4 11 d3-d4 {)c5-d3 12 Acl-dl {)d6-b5

13 Ac6-b7 14 a2-a4 15 Ab7-a8

{)d3-b4 {)b5-d6

Black resigned. 15 ... aS 16.Axb4 axb4 17.aS +-.

Stein - Smyslov Moscow 1972

1 h2-h4! Exploiting Black's lack of a darksq uare bishop, White intends to weaken the dark squares on the kingside with a bold thrust of his h-ft.

1 {)b8-d7 2 h4-h5! Ab7xt3

3 ite2xt3! White sacrifices a pawn, hoping that when the game is opened his bishops will gain still greater force.

3 d6xe5


4 hS-h6! g7xh6 4 ... g6 5.dxe5 xe5 6.f6! +-.

S 4clxh6 eSxd4 6 4h6-g7 gh8-g8 7 ghlxh7 4) e7-G8 4g7xd4 c7-cS

9 10

g2-g4! g4xG

cSxd4 e6-eS

10. . . eS 1 1.'le4 dxc3 12.a2! +-.1 1 'lt3-dS!

White has a strong attack. 1 1 ggS.f8 12 c3xd4 gas-c8 13 gal-di 'ld8-e7 14 .a.n-g2 grs.gs 15 'ldS-b7 gcsxc4 16 d4xeS 'le7xeSt 17 Cllel-fi 'leS-bS

18 Cllfi-gl ! 'ftb5-c6?

better is 18 ... g2t! ? 19.'i\'xg2 5. 19 'lb7xc6 gc4xc6 20 gh7-h8! +-

And White won.

Kotov - Katetov Moscow 1946

1 Cllbl-c2 A standard plan is f3 and e4, but White sees no need to hurry, first aiming to induce weaknesses on Black's queenside.

1 2 3 4 s 6

4)d2xe4ghl-fi gdl-bl

2-t3 Cllc2-d2

6 . . . e6 7.e4.

7 a2-a4!

4)gS-e4

4)f6xe4 4c8-d7

b7-b6 4) e4-gS

t7-G

4)gS-t7

Mastering the Bishop Pair 11 8 a4-a5 b6-b5

The first goal is achieved. Now White needs to prod the kingside for a weakness.

9 l!fi-tl 10 h3-h4 1 1 Ah2-f4

h7-h5 l!e8-e7

1 1 g7-g6?! Unnecessarily weakening.

12 g2-g4! Cfg8-h7 13 g4xh5 g6xh5 14 l!tl-g2 l!a8-g8 15 l!g2xg8

In the course of realizing the advantage of two bishops, a rook trade often neutralizes the opponent's dynamic possibilities.

15 c&>h7xg8

weaknesses on the queenside. 16 c&>g8-h7 17 l!bl-gl l!e7-e8 18 c&>c2-b3 l!e8-c8 19 c&>b3-b4 c6-c5t

A desperate sacrifice! 20 d4xc5 a7-a6 21 e3-e4! d5xe4 22 t3xe4

White's bishops dominate the fray. 22 l!c8-c6 23 e4x5 l!c6-f6 24 l!gl-g6

Black resigned.

Eingorn - Krasenkow Metz 1993

1 e5-e6! White starts an attack against the king with the powerful support of his bishops.

1 t7xe6 16 c&>d2-c2 1 . . .f5 2.hl !::. g4 with an attack

White's king goes to exploit the (Krasenkow).


2 .!e2-g4 e6xd5 3 .!g4-e6t c5xe6

3 . . . h8 4.Ab2t Ag7 5.Axg7t g7 6.*d4t h6 7.gd3 ! )xd3 8.b6 +(Krasenkow).

4 '{te3xb6 d5xc4

5 '{tb6-e3?! Stronger was 5 .-&hb7 ( b,. *d5) 5 . . . )xf4 6.*e4 )d3 7.*e6t h8 8.bxc4 . White must keep Black'spieces from becoming active.

5 e6-g7 6 .!a3-b2?!

In forcing the attack, White allows counterplay. He might have kept the edge with the simple 6.bxc4, e.g. : 6 . . . gxc4 7.*b3 d5 s.gxd5 gxd5 9.c4 e6 10.Axf'8

Mastering the Bishop Pair 13 Kramnik Ulibin

Greece 1992

1 .1c3-b4! After 1 .0-0 xc3 2.fuc3 Ad7 /J. Ac6 Black has no difficulties (Kramnik). White decides to preserve his bishop.

1 .1c8-d7 Useless is l . . .iS'f6 2.iS'c2 6c5 3.0-0 AfS? ! 4.h4! when impossible is 4 . . . xg3? in view of 5.ftfxg3 iS'd4t 6.e3 ! iS'xe3t 7.iS'f2 (Kramnik).

Black should have started fighting against the bishops immediately: l . . .a5 2.,1a3 4c5 3.0-0 Ad7 4.d4 xd4 5 . iS'xd4 Ac6 6 .Axc6 bxc6 7.Axc5 dxc5 and, regardless of his trebled pawns, his counterplay is not bad. (Kramnik).

2 t3-e5 e6-c5?! Black had to risk the complications:

2 . . . iS'f6 3.Axe4 'l#txe5 4.Axb7 'l#txb2 ( 4 . . . fab8? 5.,1c3) s.gb 1 'l#txa2 6.Axa8 fua8 7.iS'b3 iS'a6 8.0-0 ;;!;;. But now White's bishops are much stronger than Black's knights (Kramnik).

3 e5xd7 c5xd7 4 0-0 a7-a5 s .1b4-a3 gm-es

S tronger is 5 . . . b6 , /J. f7 -f5 , strengthening the knight's position on e4. It is crucial to create support points for one's knights when fighting against bishops.

6 b2-b3 7 .1a3-b2

8 'l'dl-d4

b7-b6 ga8-d8

Inferior is immediate 8.f3 ec5 9.e4 in view of 9 . . . f5 ! 10.exf5 ( 10.iS'dSt iS'f7 1 1 .iS'xf7t '1Jxf7 12.exf5 ge2) 10 . . . iS'e3t 1 1 .'l}hl d3 with counterplay (Kramnik).

8 'l'e7-f6 8 . . . ef6 9.gcel ! /J. e2-e4, t'2-f4, g3-g4-g5 .

9 'l'd4xf6 An exchange of heavy pieces usually favors the player who enjoys the advantage of two bishops.

9 d7xf6 10 gn.dI h7-h6?

It is better to avoid weaknesses when playing against two bishops in the


ending especially. 1 1 e2-e3 4Jf6-d7 12 Ciflgl-fi ge8-e7 13 cflfi -e2 gd8-e8

m,1,:t "J:t, "0 v" "v ....... -.-- f - 1. - .... 0


29 . . . f6 30.AdSt .lf7 31 .!!agl c&'f8 32J'!h7 .

30 ghl-h4 f7.f6 30 . . . h7 31 .!!ahl .lef8 32.Ae4 g6 33.Ad5 6. t2-f4-f5 White's bishops are firing at will, everywhere! (Kramnik).

31 gal-gl 32 Ac6-d5

32.f4 h3 ! . 32 33 gh4-h8t 34 2-f4

34 ... gh7 35.Ag8 +-. 35 c&>e2-t3

c&>g8-t7

c&>t7-e8 e6-f8 g5-e6

After 35.Axe6 !!xe6 36.!!xg7 the ending is hopeless for Black.

35 f6.f5 e6-c5 ge7-t7

36 ggl-g6! 37 Ab2xg7 38 Ag7xf8

Black resigned.

Khenkin - Epishin USSR 1988

B

With c5- and d7-pawns like ripe grapes to be plucked, Black must make the most of his dynamic pluses: concentration of his pieces on the queenside; the insecure position of the white king at cl ; semi-open b-file.

1 ga8-b8! !

2 a3xb4 2.:!'!d2 Axe2 -+ ; 2.'lh2 Axc3 3.xc3 e5 with an attack.

2 c6xb4 3 Ae3xc5

3.*"c5 d3t 4.!!xd3 *"b2t 5.c&'dl Axd3 -+.

L .. 'J..7,

-}. --.

..

. r .,,,JQJ, 7. . . . . . V,"" . ; "%!"'

_ ... .. . /," '" 3 4 'l'd5-d2 5 '&>cl-bl 6 ii}'d2xb2 7 gdl-d6 8 c&>blxb2 9 c&>b2-al

10 Ac5-a3 1 1 Aa3-cl 12 gd6xd3

'l'b6-h6t! b4-d3t gb8xb2t d3xb2 Aa6-d3t gf8.b8t 'l'h6-d2 gb8-b3 itd2-c2

Fo rced i n v iew of the th rea t 12 . . . !!blt.


13 :!;!d3-d4 :!':!b6-a6t 14 :!;!d4-a4 :!:!a6xa4t 15 c3xa4 itc2xa4t 16

Mastering the Bishop Pair 1 7

17 e5-d7 lk3-b3 18 g4-g5 t7-f5 19 d7-f6t Cf}g8-t7 20 f6-d5 -e6 21 d5-f4t Clle6-d6 22 f4xg6 gb3-b4 23 4'lh2-g.3 gb4-g4t 24 calg.3-t3 gg4xg5 25 g6-f4 gg5-gl 26 f4-d3 ggl-al 27 d3-b2


19 . . . exfS 20.e6 +-.

20 Ab2-d4! The strength of the bishop pair often lies in the possibility of exchanging one of them at any appropriate moment. In this case White accepts the posit ion with oppos ite-coloured b i shops because the threats to Black's king will be irresistible (Flohr S.).

20 e6xf5 21 Ac2xf5

22.Axb6? a6t.21 22 'ld7xc7

23 'lc7-d6t! 23.e6? ! ite8! .

23 -g7 23 . . . 1/g8 24.e6! ite8 25.exf7t +-.

24 'ld6-f6t g7-g8

25 'ltf6-gSt 26 'lg5-h6t 27 'lh6-d6t

g8-f8 f8-e7

Black resigned. 27 . . . \tle8 28.Ad7t \tld8 29 .Ae6t \tle8 30.itd7t 1/f8 31 .'txf? mate.

Vaitonis - Geller Stockholm 1952

B

White has two bishops, but the light square one is restricted by his own pawns. If Black manages to exchange the dark-square bishops, he will have a strong knight against a weak b i s h o p . Cons i de r i ng W h i te 's numerous weaknesses, this should be quite enough for a win. But Black begins by strengthening up the positions of his pieces.

1 t7-f5! Fixing the weak f4 pawn.

2 c&>gl-fl 3 fl-e2 4 Ag2-f3

Preventing f6-h5. 4

g8-t7 e8-f6

f6-d7


5 h2-h3 .ld4-b2! With the idea Ab2-a3-b4

6 e2-d2 ,lb2-a3 7 ,la5-c7 r7-e7 8 a4-a5

White avoided the exchange of bishops, but now his bishop has fallen into a cage and Black captures the a5 pawn.

8 d7-f6 9 d2-c2 e7-d7

10 ,lc7-b6 d7-c8 11 c2-d2 f6-d7 12 .lf3-dl d7xb6- +

The endgame with bisops of opposite colour is an easy wm for Black.

13 a5xb6 .la3-b4t 14 d2-cl c8-b7 15 ,ldl-a4 16 ,la4-e8 17 cl-c2 18 .le8-r7

b7xb6 ,lb4-el b6-c7 c7-d8

White resigned in view of 19.Ag8 rfie7 20.Axh7? rfifl.

-:-='-"==---Sm y s lo v - Denker Moscow 1946


is weaker than his white counterpart; White's pieces are better centralized; and he has the initiative.

10 11 gd6-d7t 12 gd7xt7t 13 gd3-d8 14 'l!l'e5-e8 15 'l!l'e8-h8t 16 gd8-d6t 17 'l!l'h8xh6 + -1 8 gd6-dl 19 gl-g2 20 gdl-fit 21 'l!l'h6-ffi 22 'l!l'ffi-f5 23 gn.a 24 'l!l'f5-d3 25 ga.e2 26 'l!l'd3:-e4 27 'l!l'e4-d5t 28 ge2-e6

Black resigned. Muresan

1 .lc1-e3

gnxa ga.n grsxn gn-g7

g6-g5 h7-g6 g6-t7 'l!l'g4-f5

'l!l'f5-c5t 'l!l'c5-e7 t7-g8 'l!l'e7-e8

g5-g4 'l!l'e8-e7 gg7-g5 'l!l'e7-f8 gg5-g7 'l!l'f8-t7

Savereide Tbilisi 1982

With the idea grc1 , Ac5. White strives to exchange dark

square bishops, to deprive her opponent of the bishop pair and seize the weakened dark squares.

1 2 gn.ct 3 .le3-c5! 4 gclxcS 5 gal-cl 6 gl-fi 7 -el

0-0 .lc8-b7 .le7xc5 grs-d8 g8-f8 gd8-d3 ga8-d8

Unfortunately, Black derives no benefit from control of the open dfile.

8 f3-e5 gd3-d4 8 . . . gd2 9.g5c2.

9 tl-f3 gd4-d2 10 gcs-c2 gd2xc2 11 gclxc2 gd8-c8

l l . . . gd6 12.c4 6. a5. 12 e5-d7t -e7 13 d7-c5 gc8-c7

14 e4-e5! White restricts the black bishop still further by preventing e6-e5 6. Ab7-c8-e6. White has significant advantage in the endgame. Black can only await events.

14 15 16 17 18 19

b2-b4 gc2-d2 gd2-d6 el-d2 d2-c3

.lb7-c8 .lc8-d7 .ld7-e8 gc7-c8 gc8-b8

a7-a5 Now 20.bxa5 gb5 2 1 .b3 ! gxe5


22.a6 was winning immediately. 20 a2-a3 a5xb4t 21 a3xb4 gb8-a8 22 c3-b2 ga8-a7 23 t3-f4 ga7-a8 24 g2-g4 ga8-b8 25 b2-b3 26 gd6-dl 27 h2-h4

White strives to create an inroad on the kingside.

27 ga7-a8 28 g4-g5 29 h4-h5 30 h5-h6 31 g5xh6 32 gdl-gl 33 ggl-g7 34 c5-e4 35 e4-f6 36 f6xh7 37 h7-g5 38 h6-h7 39 g5xe6t 40 e6-g5 41 gg7-g8t 42 h7xg8itt 43 b3-c4 44 "1c4-c5 45 g5-e4 46 f4-fS 47 e4-d6 48 d6-c8

Black resigned.

ga8-a7 4e8-d7

g7xh6 J,d7-c8 4c8-a6 4a6-e2 4e2-d3 ga7-a8 ga8-h8 4d3-g6 "1e7-t'8 "1t'8-e7 "1e7-t'8

gh8xg8 t'8xg8 4g6-c2 4c2-a4 "1g8-g7 J,a4-c2 4c2-a4

Blackburne Schwarz Berlin 1881

B

Black's best defense lies in exchanging the dark-square bishop; the most dangerous attacking piece of his opponent.

1 J,d6-e7! The moves i n the game were l . . ..\f4t? 2.\hf4! Axf4 3.h5, and Black resigned.

2 4f6-e5 After 2.Axe6 fxe6 3.'tg5 Axf6 4.'txf6 follows 4 . . . 'td8! and if 5.'txg6t, then 5 . . . gg7.

2 4e7-d6 =

Botvinnik Smyslov Moscow l958

B

White has a passed pawn on the queenside while the black pawn at c4


is well blocked. But Black has untapped power - his bishops. Now White threatens to trade one of them, so prophylaxis is necessary.

1 d7-b6?! better is 1 . . . gfe8!, to answer 2.Ah6 with 2 . . . ,lh8!, preserving the darksquare bishops.

2 Ae3-h6! 3 iil'd2xh6 4 a3-a4 s gn-b1 6 'ith6-e3 7 t3xe4

8 d4-d5!

Ag7xh6 17-ffi

b6-a8 ffi-fS

f5xe4 a8-c7

White turns his passed pawn into a connected pair.

8 c6xd5 9 e4xd5 Ac8-b7

9 ... gf5 10.'M'd4,lb7 l l .f4 .

1 0 l(bl-fi 'itd8-d7 10 . . . xd5? 1Ute6t,

or 1 0 . . . Axd 5 ? l l .xd5 xd5 12.'M'e6t.

1 1 'ite3-d4 e7-e6 12 d5xe6 c7xe6

12 . . . 'M'xe6 13.f4 *e5 14.gadl .

1 3 'itd4-g4! 13.c4t d5 with counterplay.

13 l(f8-e8 14 e2-d4 'itd7-g7 15 gal-dl e6-c7 16 ttg4-f4 ges-eS

17 d4-c6! 18 'itf4xc4t 19 'itc4xc6 20 'itc6-b6 21 'itb6-d4 22 ltfi-el

Ab7xc6 d6-d5

gb8-d8 'itg7-e7 'ite7-d6 l(d8-e8


23 gelxe5 24 b4-b5 25 'ltd4-a7!

ge8xe5 c7-e6

25.e4? gxe4 26.*"e4 'l!tcSt -+. 25 d5-d4 26 c3-e4-+

Black resigned in view of 26 . . . 'l!tf8 27.b6 f4 (or 27 ... d8 28.b7 c629.'M'b6) 28.b7 ges 29.b8'l!t gxb8 30.gS +-.

Ostojic

1

Sue tin Havana 1968

.lb7-e4!

B

Encourages White to trade lightsq uare bishops, after which Black will have a good knight against the bad bishop. Exchanging the opponent's more active bishop (let him keep the passive one) is one way to fight the pair.

2 .le2-d3 3 'ltg3-h3

e7-fS

3.-{tel Axd3 4.cxd3 d6, weak square d3 , d4.

3 'ltc7-c6 4 .lcl-b2

4 grs-ds 5 hl-gl

s.gael Axd3 6.*"d3 d5 7.exd6 gxd68.'{tc3 gad8 +.

5 6 7 8 9

10 1 1 12 13 14

14

c4xd5 .ld3xe4 gn.a

'l'h3-c3 .lb2-a3 'l'c3-d2 gal-dl c2-c3

'ltd2-cl

15 'ltclxc3 16 M-fi 17 .la3xc5 18 .lc5-f2 19 g2-g3

d7-d5 'l'c6xd5

'ltd5xe4 + ga8-b8 gd8-d4 gd4-c4

h7-h5 'lte4-c6 'ltc6-a4

gc4xc3 ! 'lta4xdlt

'ltdl-e2 'lte2xa2

a6-a5 a5-a4


20 gn-al 21 galxbl 22 !&>gl-g2 23 c&>g2-gl 24 At2-el 25 g3xh4 26 Aelxc3

White resigned.

Opocensky

gb8-blt i!l'a2xblt i!l'bl-b7t

i!l'b7-b3 h5-h4

i!l'b3xc3 f5-e3

Flohr Prague 1929

5 6 gc4-c3 7 Af4-e3

.lb4-t8! gb7-b4

B 7.Ae5 c5 8.f4 c4 9.bxc4t l!xc4 10.gbJ Ab4 + b,. a7-a5, gc4-c2-a2 (Flohr).

1 d6-c4! ! Sacrificing a pawn, Black seeks to strip White of the bishop pair, vacate the d5 square for his king, and transfer the rook to b4, whence it will attack the weakened white pawns.

2 Aa6xc4 It was better to decline the sacrifice 2.Af4 Ad6 3.Acl , though even in this case Black is better off. Black would be able to transfer his bishop to b6 and his knight to e6.

2 3 Ae3-f4 4 5

gc2xc4 b2-b3

d5xc4 gc7-b7 !&>e6-d5

7 8 Ae3xf4 9 ll>t2-g3?!

9.Ag3 was better. 9

10 gc3-c4

f5-f4! gb4xd4

At8-b4!

10.ge3 l!xf4! 1 1 .c&>xr4 Ad6t -+. 10 Ab4-elt 11 !&>g3-g2 gd4xc4 12 b3xc4t ll>d5xc4 13 Af4-b8 Ae1xh4 14 t3-f4 a7-a6 15 Ab8-e5 ll>c4-d5 16 f4-f5 !&>d5xe5

White resigned.


Szily

1

Polugaevsky Bad Liebenstein 1963

4e7-d8! With the idea *g4.

B

In this s ituation of static advantage, an exchange of queens favors Black. Bad is l . . . c3 2.c3 xe4 3 Jc7 f2t 4 .Axf2 *xh3 s.gxb7 /j, e7 .

2 4Jd4-e2 There was already the threat of 2 . . . c3.

2 tl'h5-g4! 3 4h4xf6

3.xg4 .lxg4 4.gh3 Ab6 +.3 'l'g4xh3 4 lte3xh3 4d8xf6 5 ltfi-dl ltc8-c6

Black has the bishop pair and pressure along the c-file. But most impor-

tant is that White lacks counterplay. 6 ltdl-d3 ID'8-c8 7 Cfihl-gl Cfig8-t8 8 Cfigl-fi

=::;;:;;::;;;:==

8 g7-g5! 9 e4-e5

9.fxg5 hxg5 jj, Ae5, g4 +.9 d6xe5

10 4Jc3-e4 Affi-g7 1 1 f4xg5 h6xg5 12 c2-c3 g5-g4- + 13 lth3-h7 ltc6-c7 14 4J e4-g5 4b7-d5 15 ltd3-g3 t7-ffi 16 c3-c4 b5xc4 17 b3xc4 ltc7xc4

White resigned. Simagin Gusev

Moscow l952


Black's bishops are strong; 1 . . .fub2 threatens.

1 b2-b3! White sacrifices the exchange for a strong attack on Black's weakened king.

1 .ld4xal Black accepts the exchange sacrifice, otherwise after 2.gadl /j, e3 White would have started the attack against the king without any sacrifice.

2 1!flxal itd8-e7 2 ... 'td6 3.gdl /j, e3.

3 ite2xa6 t7-f6 4 1!al-cl

White has more than sufficient compensation for the exchange: a pawn and an attack on the black king.

4 1!f8-t7 5 g4-e3 .ld5-a8

5 ... ga8 6.'te2 /j, h5.

6 .lf5-e6 ite7-a7 a 7 e3-f5t g7-h8

7 . . . \t>h7 8.'te2 +-. 8 1!c1-c8t h8-h7 9 ita6xa7 1!t7xa7

10 1!c8xb8 + - 1!a7xa2 1 1 1!b8-f8

Black resigned.

Kopylov

1

Zaitsev, I Kuibyshev 1970

t7-f5!

B

Exchanging the e4 pawn, Black extends the scope of his bishops and strips his opponent of control over the important central d5 point.

2 e4xf5 2.f3 deserves attention, and though White gets a weak e4 pawn, he retains the outpost d5, which is very important in a fight against bishops.

2 grsxrs + 3 c3-b5 1!f5-d5 4 itdl-13 'l'd8-d7 5 1!bl-cl

5 1!d5-f5 6 itt3-e2

6.'te4 Ad5 7.'td3 (7.'tc2 gaf8 8.'tc7 'te6) 7 . . . Ax:b2 +.


6 Ae6xb3 7 lkl-c7 l'd7-e6 8 bS-c3 d6-dS- + 9 4e3-d4 l'e6xe2

10 c3xe2 e7-eS 11 .ld4-c3 grs.n 12 gc7xt7 g8xt7 13 gn-e1 dS-d4 14 Ac3-d2 Ab3xa4 15 e2-g3 Aa4-c6

White resigned.

Inkiov - Gurevich, M Yunnala 1985

B

It looks like White's pieces occupy active positions, but he cannot derive any benefit from their placement. Black, on the other hand, can exploit the almost imperceptible weakness of the b3 square and build up pressure along the semi-open b-file.

1 c6-aS! + 2 e4-g3

2.g5? xc4! 3:ltxc4 d5 -+. 2 ga8-b8 3 ltd2-d3

3 l'c7-b6! Preventing f3-d2 and increasing pressure along the b-file.

4 e2-e4 4.b3 Axf3 5.Axf3 xb3 6.gbl d4 -+.

4 4b7-a8 s ltdl-bl

5.gtd2 b3 6.ge2 Af6. S a5-b3 6 l'c2-dl

6 d6-dS! Black has strengthened his position considerably, now he opens the game. The dormant bishops are about to awaken.

7 e4xdS e6xdS 8 l'dl-e2

8.exd5 c4 +. 8 Ae7-f6


9 c4xd5 c5-c4 10 g" },. . :a:m g -- -- ""'- . .11"%! -- },"%! B A; f"'t ,/,i"'""'/,"'"''/, !L a a 1 b2-b4!

It is far from easy for White to realize his advantage of two bishops, because Black's knight at d5 is strong and well entrenched. Making the most of the tactical peculiarities of the position (undeveloped black pieces and a weak eighth rank), White seizes space on the queenside.


1 d5xb4?! Better was l .. ..l\b7 2.b5 gbc8 3.a5 ;;!;;.

2 ,ld4xb6 gdSxdl t 3 galxdl b4-d5

Necessary, even though a pawn is Jost.

4 .lb6xa7 gbS-aS

5 ,lg2xd5 e6xd5 6 gdlxdS .lcS-e6 7 gdS-d4 t7-ffi s Aa7-b6 ffixeS 9 gd4-e4 gas-es

9 . .. Cf;fl 10.aS Cf;f6 1 1 .Ac7 +-. The attempt to draw with opposite

bishops has faint hope, but in any case Black will be two pawns down.

10 ge4xe5 Ae6-d7 11 gesxeSt ,ld7xe8 12 a4-a5 .leS-bS 13 t2-f4 f/g8-t7 14 f/gl-tl h7-h5 15 f/t2-e3 f/t7-e6 16 f/e3-d4 g7-g6

16 ... Cf;d6 17.AcSt


8 h3-h4 9 c&>gl-fi

10 4e2-g4t

c&>t7-e6 e8-d6

ffi-fS

11 4g4-dl a6-a5 After 1 1 . . .g6 it is easier for White to create a remote passed pawn on the kingside: 12.3, then, after centralizing the king, g3-g4, h4-h5.

12 4f4-d2 b7-b6 13 h4-h5

Fixing the pawn weakness at g7. 13 d6-b7 14 c&>fi-e2 e2-e3 b7-c5 16 c&>e3-d4 d4-e3 19 t2-f3 +-20 4dl-c2

c&>e6-t7 4g2-fi f5-f4t

Otherwise 21 .d4 6. Axf5. 21 g3xf4

21 .\\?xf4!? . 21 22 23 24 25 26

4c2-b3t f4-f5

c&>e3-f4 d3-d4 d4-d5

Black resigned.

c5-d7 c&>t7-f8 4fi-h3 4h3-fi .an-e2

Georgiev, Kir. Hilbner

1 c2-c4!

Wijk aan Zee 1988

White opens the game for the bishops.

1 . f5 ! ? ftexfS 2 .c4 ; 1 . . .ftgxf5 2.ftgxf5 ftexf5 3.exd5 g6 4.dxc6 bxc6 5.,1h6 (Georgiev Kir.).


1 'l'bS-cS More stubborn was 1 . ..dxc4 2.dxc4 b6 3 .fS (3 :ixd7 gfd8 4.cS ih6 s.c7 gac8 6.-teS Af6 7.'td6 Ae7 8.eS Axd6 9 .ftcxd6 ) 3 . . . eS 4.fxg6t+ "1xg6 5.A,f4 gad8 6.'tc2 with an attack.

2 c4xd5 c6xd5 3 e4xd5

3.fS!? . 3

4 'l'dl-b3?!

e6xd5

Better was 4.'tf3 ! b6 5.Ae3 d4 6.gacl 'td6 7.Agl gab8 8.5 +-, b. Ah2. (Georgiev Kir.).

4 5 a2-a4 6 4cl-e3

7 'l'b3-b5! 8 'l'b5xb4

4:)d7-b6 'l'cS-aS a

ga8-d8

'l'a5-b4 4e7xb4

9 a4-a5 4:)b6-c8 White has significant advantage since his very active bishops have targets to attack. Black has no counterplay.

10 11 12

gal-a4 ga4-d4

J,g2xd5t 12 .. . "1e7 n.ge4t.

13 gd4xd5 14 gdS-d7t 15 gd7xb7 + -

16 h3-h4

J.b4-e7 .!e7-c5

gdSxdS

J,c5xe3 '&'t7-g8 J.e3xf4

White is ready to sacrifice a pawn to exchange rooks and get a winning position.

16 h7-h6 17 g4-g5!

If Black is allowed to defend his bishop with a pawn, he avoids the exchange of rooks and the result of the game is oo.

17 18 h4xg5

h6xg5 gf8.f5

Now 19.b4 "1h7 20.gf3 +- would have led to a winning position. Instead he played 19.gb4 and Black managed to draw.


Donaldson, Elena - Suba New York 1988

1 gal-bl ! White has static advantages : the bishop pair, and Black's pawn structure weaknesses. Black's counterplay involves play along the open b-file.

1 gbsxbl 2 itd3xbl itg7-d7

After 2 . . . Axc3 3.,1xc3 'txc3 4.'lb8t !f/g7 5 .'lxc7t !f/g8 6 .'lc8t !f/g7 7.'lb7t !f/g8 8.Axa6 followed by the capture of the d6 pawn, Black's position remains grave.

3 Ac4-d3 h5-g7 4 itbl-b3

4.'lb7!? . 4 5 6

c3-e2 e2-f4

g7-e8 Ad4-e5 e8-f6

7 f4-e6 c7xd5 7 . . . xe6 8. dxe6 'lc7 9.e7t !f/g7 10.'le6 +-.

8 Ad3xf5 itd7-c8 Preventing 9.'lb8t and preparing c5-c4.

9 itb3-c4 c&>g8-h8 10 itc4-h4

White switches over to the attack against Black's king, where the two bishops have a very serious task to perform.

10 d5-e7

11 Ad2-g5! e7xf5 1 1 . . . eg8 12.Axf6t xf6 13.'lh6 'lg8 (13 . . . 'ld7 14.'lt'St g8 15.gS +-) 14.IB 'lg7 15.g6t !f/g8 16.Ae6t+-.

12 Ag5xf6t h8-g8 13 ith4-g5t c&>g8-t7 14 . e6-d8t t7-f8

14 . . . !f/e8 15.'lg8t !fld7 16.'lf7t.15 Af6xe5 d6xe5 16 itg5-f6t f8-e8 17 d8-t7 + -

Intending 18.'txfS. 17 18 19 20 21

itf6xf5 itf5-c8t! itc8xc5t itc5-d6t

itc8-d7 itd7xt7 e8-e7 e7-f6

Black resigned.

Mastering the Bishop Pair

8.b l ! ? bJ. c3, d2. 33

Frid stein

1

Simagin Moscow 1950

Ah5xf3!

B

Doubling the pawns, Black intends to switch the game into blockade mode, where the bishops can hardly show their best. Later, Black extends the strategy to limiting the mobility of White's bishops.

2 g2xt3

2 Weak square f4

3 Ag5-e3 4 a2-a4 s Ac4-d3 6 'ld2-e2 7 c&iel-fi 8 e4-e5

ffi-hS

c7-c6 d6-d5

Ae7-b4 'ld8-c7

0-0

8 9 b2xc3

9

Ab4xc3

t7-fS! Preventing f3-f4-f5 ! and limiting the white bishops still further.

IO t3-f4 g7-g6 1 1 c3-c4

1 1 c6-c5! Motivated by the perception of White's mighty pawn center as a collection of weaknesses, and bolstered by precise calculation, Black engages battle. The knights are already superior to the bishops.

12 c4xd5 12.dxc5 c5 +.

12 c5xd4 13 Ae3-d2

13.dxe6 e5 14.Jlxd4 (14.fxe5 dxe3


15 .itxe3 gae8 with the initiative) 31 Afi-c4 g8-g7- + 14 . . . xd3 15.itxd3 '(tc6 with the initi- Black won. ative.

13 14 15

ite2-t3 Ad2-b4?

e6xd5 itc7-c6

White had to play 15.AbS, exchanging the dangerous black knight.

15 a7-a6! White's extra exchange will not be felt, since there are no open files for the rooks and Black's knights attack the many pawn weaknesses i n White's camp. In assessing the position, due attention should be paid to the white king's unlucky placement.

16 Ab4xf8 lfa8xf8 17 ltal-bl d7-c5 18 a4-a5 c5-e4 + 19 ltbl-dl itc6-c5 20 fi-g2 itc5xa5 21 g2-h2 ita5-d8! 22 Ad3-n itd8-h4 23 ltdlxd4 h5xf4 24 c2-c4 f4-e6 25 ltd4xd5 e6-g5 26 itt3-e2 e4xtl 27 e5-e6 g5-e4 28 'l'e2-t3 tlxhl 29 h2xhl 'l'h4-ffi 30 c4-c5 'l'ffixe6

Suba Groszpeter Saint John 1988

The advantage of the two bishops and an active rook more than fully compensate for White's missing pawn. Two important facets are that White can play on both flanks and that Black's knights have no strong support points.

1 ltbl-b7! First stage: strengthening the positions of the pieces.

1 c8-a7 2 Aa3-b2

With the idea Axf6, Ah5. 2 ffi-e8 3 h2-h4

White seeks to induce weaknesses. Another try was 3.Ah5 g6 4.Adl , weakening the al -h8 diagonal.

3 a7-b5 4 h4-h5 h7-h6 5 tl-f4

Better was 5.a4 4)bd6 6.gb6 /::,. f4 . After the next move Black creates outposts for his knights.

5 lta8-c8 6 gl-tl


6 d5-d4! 6 . . . f6 7.g4 xg4t 8.Axg4 gc2t 9.c&>g3 gxb2 10.a4 +-.

7 Adl-b3?! 7.gb6 meets 7 . . . c3 8.,1b3 d5 with counterplay;

Better is 7.c&>f.3 Li gb7-b6 . 7 .le8-f6 8 gb7-b6

After 8.f5 d5 it is still possible to defend Black's position because his knights occupy support points in the center.

8 .lf6-d5 9 gb6xa6 .ld5-b4

10 ga6-b6 .lb4xd3t 1 1 c&>fl-e2 .ld3xb2 12 gb6xb5

12 gcS-c3 Be tter was 1 2 . . . c4 ! ? 13 J!b4

( 13 .c&>d3!? d6 14.gb4 f5 with counterplay) 13 . . . a5 = .

13 gb5-b8t? 13 .gb4! d3 ( 1 3 . . . gxg3 14.gxd4 weak square b2) 14 .gxd4 c5 15.gc4 gxc4 16.Axc4 .

13 '&>g8-h7 14 gb8-d8 .lb2-c4 15 gd8xd4 .lc4-a5 16 gd4-d3 gc3-c5 17 g.l-g4 .la5xb3 18 a2xb3 g7-g5!= 19 h5xg6t c&'h7xg6 20 b3-b4 gc5-c4 21 gd3-b3 gc4xf4 22 b4-b5 gr4-d4 23 b5-b6 gd4-d8 24 b6-b7 gd8-b8 25 '&>e2-e3 '&>g6-g5 26 gb3-b4 t7-f5

Draw.


Baranov Konstantinopolsky

co". 1935-36

B

The cS and dS pawns ensure Black's advantage in the center and enable him at any appropriate moment, having played dS-d4, to exert strong pressure on the white king with the Ab7 and ffc6 battery.

1 'l!tc7-c6! Intending dS-d4.

2 f3-d2 3 gn-el 4 2-f 4

0-0 gas-es

4 t7-G! 5 b2-b3

S.exf6 Axf6 6.f.3 d4 7.dl (7.e4 .l\d8 + ) 7 . . . eS! 8.dxeS es 9.xeS Axes 10 . .(beS gxeS 1 1 .f(c4t i&>h8 12.ge2 ffxg2t -+ .

5 g7-g5! 6 f4xg5 d5-d4 7 c3-a4 G-f4 s Ag3-h4 d7xe5 9 d2-f3

Black threatened f4-f.3. 9 eSxrJt

10 1 1 12

g2xf3 gl-2

l!el-gl?

4e7-dS l!f8-G!

Better was 12.f(e4, but even then, after 12 ... ftd7 13.ffe2 ( 13.f(d3 AaS 14.gez ,1c6 +) 13 ... .6\aS 14.ggl f(c6 Black has a great advantage.

12 13 'l!te2xe5 14 2-el 15 c2-c3

gG-eS! 'l!tc6xf3t 4dS-a5t


15 16 .lh4-f2

White resigned.

,lb7-e4 d4-d3

Polugaevsky - Bilek Busum 1969

1 d5-d6 ! ! White sacrifices a pawn and opens the h 1 -a8 diagonal for his bishop. 1 .b3 meets with 1 . . ..lb7 b. 4)d6 and White will have difficulties in realizing his advantage.

1 2 3

b2-b4 .le2-t3

'ftffixd6 4) a5-b7'l'd6-b8

After 3 . . . ge7, White has a couple of good lines: a: 4.,'1.h6 f6 ( 4 ... Ag7 5.AgS f6 6.Ah4 ) s.gcdl i'tb8 6.Axb7 gxb7 7.f4 with the initiative;

b: 4.AgS!? f6 s.gxes! gxes 6.\tc4t

i'te6 7.Axf6 gel t 8.h2 \txc4 9.gxc4 gd7 1 0 .,'1.g4! gd6 1 i .gc8t f7 12.Ah4! hS 13.Af3 gd7 14.Ac6 .

4 .le3-g5 t7-ffi Cl

5 gelxeS ! 6 'l'b5-c4t 7 ti\'c4-c7t

7 ... \txc7 simply loses.

8 ,lgSxffi! 9 l/gl-h2

gesxeS l/g8-g7 l/g7-g8

geS-elt gelxcl

9 ... \txc7t rn.gxc7 gd6 1 1 .Ac3 . 1 0 .lf3-dSt + -

Black resigned. 10 . . . f8 1 1 .Ag7t c&'e8 12.Af7 mate.


Chelushkina Arakhamia Azov 1990

The position is of a closed nature. White's bishops are passive.

1 e3-e4! White sacrifices a pawn to open diagonals for the bishops.

1 f5xe4 2 .!e2-g4

White's bishop seizes the important h3 -c8 diagonal and ensures her domination over the center and on the kingside.

2 3 4 5

,!g4-e6 'ltdl-a4t

0-0

'ltd7-c7 gS-ffi c&>eS-t8 c&>t8-g7

6 g2-g4! IDi8-t8 6 ... h6?! 7.f/c2 /::,. g5. Worse is 7.g5 h5 8.f/c2 hxg5 9.fxg5 (9.f5 f6)

9 . . . e5 with counterplay. 7 gbl-b2 a7-a6 s g4-g5 ffi-eS 9 gb2-e2 c&>g7-hS

10 ge2xe4 eS-g7 11 .!e6-g4 g7-f5 12 gn-el gas-es 13 'l!ta4-c2 t7-dS 14 .!cl-e3

White strengthens her position. Black has no counterplay.

14 'l!tc7-a5 1s .!e3-f2 gm.n 16 h2-h4 17 h4-h5 lS c&>gl-g2

19 ,!g4xf5

'lta5-c7 c&>hS-gS ges-t8

The black knight at f5 defends the kingside perfectly. After i ts exchange, White's attack becomes irresistible.

19 g6xf5 20 ge4-e3 gn.g7 21 h5-h6 gg7-t7 22 'ltc2-e2 gm-eS 23 .!f2-h4 c&>g8-h8 24 c&>g2-f2 itc7-d7


25 ge3-e6! 'l!td7-c7 26 g5-g6! h7xg6 27 ge6xg6 'l!tc7-d7 28 'l!te2-h5

Black resigned.

Mariotti - Furman Portorou-Ljubljana 1975

1 d6-d5! B l ack opens d i agona l s for h i s bishops.

2 a4xb5 a6xb5 3 galxaS gf8xa8

4 .Qt2-h4! Other continuations lead to an opening of the position. Now Black has to close ranks for a while.

4 ... d5-d4 5 .1h4xf6 .1e7xf6 6 c3-bl

6.xb5 Ac6 7.a3 D Aa4 8.b4 (8.a2 Axc2 -+) 8. . . Ae7 9.d2 Axa3 10.bxa3 gc8 l l .gc1 c6 -+.

.Qf6-g5 .Qg5-f4!

h7xg6 'l!td7xb5 .Qb7-a6


12 13 galxa6

Black has transformed his advantage from the bishop pair into a strong rook on the seventh rank.

14 b5-d6 14.b4 .'1.g3 ts.gaU !d2 +.

14 4f4-g3 ! 15 ga6-al gc2-d2 16 b2-b4 gd2xd3 17 gal-bl gd3-e3 18 b4-b5 d4-d3 19 d6-c4 ge3xe4 20 c4-d2 ge4-e2 21 d2-fl .ig3-f2t 22 !fgl-h2 .if2-b6! 23 fl-g3 ge2-c2 24 gbl-dl d3-d2 25 g3-e4 .ib6-a5 26 b5-b6 gc2-b2 27 e4xd2 .ia5xd2 28 b6-b7 .id2-f4t

White resigned. Aronin Romanovsky

USSR 1945

B

White wants to create unpleasant threats to the d5 pawn with 2.f4.

1 g6-g5! Striving to change the course of events, Black sacrifices a pawn for an attack against White's king. But the

attack will be dangerous only if Black manages to join his second bishop to the effort.

2 h4xg5 Affixg5 3 .it3xh5

3 itd6-h6?! Better was 3 . . . gh8 4.,'1.f3.

4 .ih5-t3 ith6-ffi

It was necessary to play 5.g2!, refuting Black's threats 5 . . . gh8 6.gc7 gh2t 7.h2 'ixf3 8.gl +-.

5 J.b7-c8! 6 b2-b3 Ac8-d7! 7 tta4-a2


7 ,1g5-e3 ! 8 k3xe3 ge7xe3 9 tlxe3 itffixt3- +

10 4) e2-f4 gesxe3 11 4)f4-g2 itt3xg.l 12 gel-cl ,1d7-h3 13 b3-b4 ge3-e4 14 gcl-dl ge4-g4

White resigned.

Bareev Lputian Kharkov 1985

1 gc3xb3! White simplifies, losing the bishop pair, but seizing the seventh rank.

1 4)d7xc5 2 ,1d4xc5 gc7xc5 3 gb3-b7 ita4-a5

4 itb2-b4! Prevents :gcsc7.

4 geS-c8 Now both rooks get to the seventh. However, good advice for Black is hard to come up with. If 4 . . . :gcl t 5 . g2 'l h6 t h e n 6 .:gxf7! xf7 7.AxdSt g6 (7 . . . :ge6 s.:ge3 :gc6 9.:gxe6 :gxe6 10.*e4 +-) 8.Ae4t 'ifi>f7 9.:gd7t g8 10.*b3t h8 11 .*f7 +-.

5 itb4xa5 gcsxaS 6 gd3-e3 gcs-eS 7 geJ.cJ g7-g6

Prevents s.:gcc7 :grs 9.Axh5! Axh5 rn.:gxg7t +-.

8 gc3-c7 + - ges-t'8 9 e2-e3 a7-a6

9 ... :gxa3 10.:gxf7 +-. 10 gc7-d7 ffi.fS 1 1 gb7-c7 gaS-bS 12 gl-g2 gbs-as 13 a3-a4! Zugzwang

Zugzwang. Black resigned. 13 . . . :gxa4 14.:gxf7 :gxf7 15.Axd5 +-.


Polugaevsky - Kavalek 8 Af6xe5t c&>c7xb7 1-0 Lucerne 1982 9 f5.f6

White's pieces are more active, he controls more space and the a6-ft is weak: so he has the advantage.

I Aa4-c6! White transforms his bishop pair into a passed c-ft.

1 Ad7xc6 t . . .t&'e7 2.Ab7 +-;

t .. .Ac8 2.Axe8t &e8 3.d8t t&'f8 4.f6 'iJc7 D 5.Ah6t t&'e8 6.t7t +-.

2 d5xc6 d6-d5 2 . . . rf}e7 3 .'iJg7 c7 4 .h5 e8 5.xf6 6 6.Axf6t tllxf6 7.c7 +-.

3 c6-c7 4) e8-d6

4 4) e6-d8t 5 4)d8-b7 6 '&?h8-g7 + -7 .lg5xf6

Boleslavsky - Tai Moscow 1957

White is a pawn down, but his strong pair of bishops shoots through the entire board.

1 Ae4xb7! gd8xdl t 2 itg4xdl ite7xb7 3 itdl-d6

White surrendered h i s pa i r of bishops, but will regain the pawn, and can count on positional pluses as well: his pieces are placed more actively than Black's; the black king has . no pawn shield and is in danger.

3 . . . c&'g8-t7 4 Ae3xc5 h7-h5

4 . . . *e7 5.*d5t *e6 6.*b7t rf}g8 7.*b8t +-.

5 c3-c4! Mastering the Bishop Pair

Smyslov 43

Reshevsky Moscow 1948 White's queen and bishop are active.

White combines the advance of the c-ft with threats to Black's king. As so often happens, two weaknesses are fatal where either one on its own might be coped with.

5 6 b3xc4

b5xc4 i!tb7-blt

Better was 6 . . . e4, joining the bishop to the defense force.

7 gl-h2 'l!tbl-b7 7 . . . *xa2 8.*f8t c&ie6 9.'le8t c&if5 10.'tc8t.

s 4c5-e3 9 c4-c5 + -

10 9d6-b6 1 1 c5-c6 12 g2-g3 13 c6-c7 14 h2-g2

15 9b6xd6! 16 c7-cS9 17 9cS-b7t lS 9b7xe4t

e5-e4 4f6-e7

9b7-d5 !.e7-d6t

h5-h4! h4xg3t

i!tdS-dl

9dlxd6 g3xtl

t7-e6

White gradually transformed his advantage to a win.

Black wants to consolidate with b8-d7. How can White use his temporary development advantage while the b8 knight blocks off the a8 rook?

1 .!b3xe6! t7xe6

2 9g4-h4! D ivert ing the queen from the defense of the d6 pawn.

2 9e7-d7 3 9h4-dSt 9d7xdS 4 .!b6xdS b8-d7 5 !.dS-c7 d7-c5 6 gdlxd6 gas-cs 7 4c7-b6 c5-a4 S gd6xe6 a4xb2 9 ge6xe5 b2-c4

9 . . . c3 10.Ad4 weak square g7 +-.10 geS-e6 c4xb6

44 Mastering tfie Bishop Pair

1 1 ge6xb6 gc8xc3 12 gb6xb7 gc3-c2 13 h2-h4 + - gc2xa2 14 gl-g2 a6-a5 15 h4-h5 a5-a4 16 gb7-a7 h8-g8 17 g3-g4 a4-a3 18 g2-g3 ga2-e2 19 g3-t3 ge2-a2 20 t3-e3 g8-t8 21 tl-t3 ga2-al 22 e3-f4 a3-a2 23 e4-e5 t8-g8 24 f4-f5 gal-fl 25 ga7xa2 gnxtJt 26 f5-g6 g8-t8 27 ga2-a8t t8-e7 28 ga8-a7t

Black resigned. Karpov Polugaevsky

Moscow 1974

1 itc4xc5! The best way to real ize the advantage. The passed c-ft, supported by the two bishops, will bring White an easy win.

1 2 3 4 5

.lc7xb8 b2xc3 c3-c4

.lb8-c7

d7xc5 .ld2xc3 c5xe4 ffi-d7

g7-g6

6 .lt7-e6 e4-c5

7 .le6xd7 c5xd7 8 .lc7-d6

Black resigned.

Zagoriansky - Stein Moscow 1956

B

1 ffixe4! The piece sacrifice releases the power of the bishops and gives White his choice of unpleasant consequences.

2 ge2xe4 3 gelxe4

ge8xe4


3 d6-d5! 4 ge4-el

4.cxd5 !'!xd5 !'!xdl -+.4 d5xc4 5 'l'd3-fl

5.xc4 Axf3 6.,1xf3 'lihch3t -+.5 c4-c3 6 dl-e3 Ag7-d4 7 'llhl-h2

7 Ad4xe3 ! A typical decision: one of the bishops g ives itself up for the sake of a favorable transformation of the advantage, in this case to mobilize thequeenside pawn majority.

8 gelxe3 'l'c8-f5 9 ge3-e5 'l'f5-c2

10 'l'fl-e2 'l'c2xe2 1 1 geSxe2 Ac6-b5 12 ge2-el c5-c4

White's minor pieces cannot get to the queenside in time.

13 gel-cl 14 'llh2-gl 15 a2xb3 16 b3xa4 17 t3-e5 18 Ag2-t3

18

a6-a5 c4xb3 a5-a4

Ab5xa4 c3-c2

b4-b3! The first move in a finely-calculated series of hammer-like blows.

19 e5-c4 Aa4-c6! 20 At3-e2 Ac6-b5! 21 c4-b2 Ab5xe2 22 'llgl-tl !1ld8-dl !

White resigned.

Smyslov - Botvinnik Moscow 1957

1 t3-d4!


White gets a passed a-ft right away. 1 f6xe4 2 d4xc6 b7xc6 3 !.c5xa7 Ag4-f5 4 tl-t3

4 e4-d6 Dangerous is 4 . . . xc3 5.Ab6 gd7 6.a4 bi. 7.g4 and AaS.

5 a2-a4 6 !.a7-b6 7 c4-c5 8 g2-g4 9 a4-a5

gd8-a8 0-0

d6-c8 .lf5-e6

c8xb6 There is no other way to stop the a-ft, which is supported by a pair of bishops.

10 c5xb6 gf8.b8

1 1 .lfi-d3 Better was 1 1 .f2 &b6 12.axb6 &al 13.b7 gbl 14.Aa6 b2t 15.e3 f8

16.gdl e8 17.gd4 cS 18.gb4 +-.1 1 gb8xb6 12 a5xb6 ga8xal t 13 el-d2 gal-alt

Impossible is 13 . . . &hl 14.b7 &h2t 15.Ae2 +-.

14 ct/d2-e3 .le6-c8 15 ghl-dl ga2-b2 16 .ld3-c4! ct/g8-g7 17 gdl-d8 !.c8-e6

17 . . . Ab7 18.gd7 gxb6 19.gxe7 bi. 20.g,d"?t +-.

18 !.c4xe6 19 gd8-b8 20 c3-c4 21 c4-c5

22 gb8-dS! + -

t7xe6 e6-e5

ct/g7-t7 t7-e6

Cutting the black king off from the passed pawn.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

h2-h3 e3-d2 d2-d3 d3-c4 c4-b4 ct/b4-a4 a4-b4 b4-a3 a3-b2 gds-d3 b2-b3

g6-g5 gb2-bl gbl-bS gbS-bl

gbl-clt gc1-blt gbl-alt gal-blt gbl-alt

gal-aS gas-as gas-as


Black resigned.

Boleslavsky - Taimanov Moscow 1952

1 c3-c4! White enjoys the advantage due to his two strong bishops. In addition, B lack has problems dealing with White's strong d5-ft.

1 ge8xel l . . .b6 2.f3 gxe1t 3.gxel ges 4.gcl b, c4-c5.

2 galxel ga8-e8

-- w . . . . . . . . . . . / ... my /, . Jll. .. . . . . . . . .... . . . . 3 gel-cl !

The bishops in cooperation with a rook are strong, especially in inducing weaknesses (or a passed pawn).

3 ge8-e4 4 .!f4-e3 ge4-e8 5 .!e3-f4 ge8-e4

6 g2-g.1 .!d7-g4 7 h2-h3 .!g4-f3 8 c4-c5 d6-e8 9 gcl-c3 g7-g5

9 . . . ,1h5 10 .d6 cxd6 1 l .cxd6 gd4 12.gcs f6 13.,1b5 'i\'f8 14.d7 +-.

10 .!f4xg5 .!f3-dl 1 1 .a.n-g2 ge4-el t 12 f!>gl-h2 gel-e2 13 gcJ-e3 b7-b6

14 d5-d6! + -14 15 c5xd6

15 . . . gxe3 16.d7! +-. 16 ge3-d3 17 gd3xd6

White won.

c7xd6 e8xd6

.!dl-a4

Kasparov - Timman Linares 1993


1 d4xcS! White relies on the strength on his two bishops and opens the game.

1 b6xcS

e3-e4! dSxe4?! With this move Black loses the initiative because he gives White the chance to activate the queen. Better was 2 . . . d4 3.eS dxc3 4.gxd8 gxd8 S.exf6 *c4! (S . . . gd2? 6.Axh7t 7 7.*g3 el t 8.el cxb2 9.*bl t g6 10.,\el ge2 l l .,\c3 +- (Kasparov)) 6.fxg7 gs oo (6 . . . gd2? 7 . .\xh7t!xh7 8.g8*t xg8 9.*g3t h7 10.,\f6 +- (Kasparov).

3 l!dlxd8 l!e8xd8 4 'l\'tlxcS

4.xe4!? Axe4 S.,\xe4 xe4 6.Axd8xf2 7 .gxe6 xh3 t 8.gxh3 fxe6 9.,\e7 c4 10.f2 f6 1 1 .,\cS a6 12.e3 dSt 13.d4 f4 14.xc4 ( 14.h4 d3) 14 . . . xh3 1S.b4 gs 16.f4 t"3 17.bS axbSt 18.xbS .

4 4)h7-gS! Sacrificing a pawn, Black exchanges his passive knight for White's active bishop. Bad is 4 . . . gd2 in view of S.xe4 (Kasparov).

s Ah4xg5 6 'l\'cSxgS 7 t3xe4

h6xgS 'l\'e6-c4

Denies Black counterplay. For ex-

ample, after 7.xe4 *d4t (7 . . . ,\xe4 8.,\xe4 *d4t 9.*e3 b2 10.a7 xe4 l l .gxe4 gd2 12.gg4 ) 8.*e3 *xb2 9.xf6t *xf6 10.*xa7 *c31 1 .g c 1 g6 w i th c o u n te r p l ay (Kasparov).

7 8 9

10 11 12

'l\'g5-e3 l!elxe3 l!e3-e2 4)c3xe2 Ac2xe4

'll'c4-d4t 'l\'d4xe3t

l!d8-d2 l!d2xe2 4)ffixe4 Ac6xe4

White has a winning endgame. 13 c&igl-tl c&ig8-t8 14 g2-g3 t8-e7 15 -e3 Ae4-c6 16 h3-h4 Ac6-d7 17 c&ie3-f4 c&ie7-d6 18 g3-g4

Better is 18.d4!. 18 17-ffi

19 h4-hS? ! 1 9 . d 4 ! g S ! ? + 20 . hxgS fxg S t 21 .xgS eS 22.fS aS 23.b4 axb4 24.axb4 +- (Kasparov).

19 d6-e7 20 4) e2-d4 e7-t7 21 b2-b4 Ad7-a4

2 1 . . . g6 22.hxg6t xg6 23 .bS +(Kasparov).

22 4)d4-fS g7-g6


23 f5-d6t 24 d6-c8 25 c8-d6

25

rt/r7-g7 a7-a6

.la4-dl? More stubborn is 25 . . . c&>h6.

26 d6-e8t! rt/g7-r7 27 e8xf6 rt/r7xf6 28 g4-g5t rt/f6-g7 29 h5-h6t

Black resigned.

Smyslov - Bilek Sochi 1963

White has the bishop pair, but the game is of a semi-closed nature.

1 e4-e5! Starting a combination to open the center.

1 d6-d5 1

.

. . .a.xe5 2 . .Q.xb7 bh4 3.g3 Axg3

4.fxg3 'txg3t 5.Ag2 ; 1 . . .c6?! 2 .Axc6! (advantage

transformation) 2 . . . bxc6 3.Ag5 'f!c7 4.exd6 xd6 5.'f!e2 (Smyslov) , after which White has a great positional advantage.

2 .!cl-g5 i!l'd8-b6 2 ... 'f!d7 would meet the same reply as in the game .

3 c3xd5! Opening the h l -a8 diagonal.

3 e6xd5

4 a4-a5! i!l'b6-a6 5 i!l'dlxd5t gm.n 6 e5-e6 gnxf3

6 . . . "Bc7 7.'f!d8 'f!b5 8.c4 +-. 7 i!l'd5xf3 i!l'a6xe6 8 gn-el


s e6-t7 Forced. Losing are 8 . . . *c6 9.a6! bxa6 1 0 .gxe8t *xe8 l l .*xa8 +- or 9 . . . d6 10.ge6 ,\f8 1 l .gxd6 ,\xd6 12.axb7 +-.

8 . . . *c8 9.ge7 c6 10.*f7t 'it>h811 .gael xe7 12.E!xe7 *d8 13.,\h6 *dl t 14.'it>h2 *d6t 15.g3 +- (Smyslov).

9 f3xt7t c&>gSxt7 10 gel-e7t c&>t7-f8 11 ge7xb7

Two pawns and the active rook on the seventh rank ensure White's winning advantage.

1 1 4JbS-c6 12 c2-c3 cai>f8-gS 13 a5-a6! .Qg7-f8 14 gal-dl h7-h6 15 .Qg5-f4 4Jc6-dS

am a 1. /, . . . . . . . .. . fft----' " " m" "mar mr ....... . ;7, . . . . . /, w, ,, w--illil- .B. , , . . /. -illil r, /,f31 - %Wk

16 b2-b4! 17 h4xg5 lS .Qf4-g3 19 b4-b5 20 .Qg3xf4 21 gdl-d7 22 gb7xa7 23 gd7xd6 24 ga7-d7 25 a6-a7 26 gd7xa7 27 cai>gl-h2 2S c3-c4 29 ga7-c7

Black resigned.

g6-g5 h6xg5

4JdS-e6 4J e6-f4

g5xf4 4J eS-d6 gas-es .Qf8xd6 .Qd6-bS .QbSxa7 geS-elt gel-bl gbl-b4

Kliavins - Ragozin Riga 1952

The mobility of the white bishops is restricted. White wants to transfer his bishop from b2 to e3. But Black leaves his opponent no chances to activate the bishops.

1 .Qg4xf3! Ceding the bishop pair, but weakening the enemy kingside and getting the important f4 support point for his knight instead. 1 . . .*a2! was also good.

2 g2xf3 Not 2.tnd3 in view of 2 . . . *a2 -+.

2 4Jffi-h5


Black strives to exploit deficiencies in his opponent's pawn structure and c o mmence p iece p l ay o n the weakened dark squares.

3 Ab2-cl ita8-al 4 ite2-el

4

, , w. , , .,,,. , . . . . . . /.,,,.m y,1; ' /, , W' k . . .

.. ? .

.

. . . Ae7-g5!

Black continues to restrain White's bishops.

s Acl-d2 6 Ad2xel

italxelt .igS-cl- +

Black plans let his king loose on the weak white pawns on the kingside. But with this move he traps White's bishop at el and in effect goes a piece ahead.

7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Ac2-dl Adl-c2 'lf!gl-fl Ac2-dl Adl-c2 Ac2-bl Abl-c2 c&>fl-gl Ac2-bl Abl-c2 c&>gl-fl -&1fl-e2 Ac2xd3

White resigned.

hS-f4 t7-ffi

c;>g8-t7 'IJ!t7-g6 c&>g6-g5 'IJ!gS-h4 c&>h4-h3

h7-h6 h6-hS

f4-d3 'lf!h3xh2 c&>h2-g2 c4xd3t

Azmaiparashvili Yudasin

/(jev 1986

White is better developed. Black's bishop pair is not a factor yet because the bishop on c8 has no moves. But if Black manages to play a7-a6 and b7-b5, he will get sufficient counterplay.

1 itc3-b4!

Sacrificing a pawn, White tries to prevent the realization of Black's plan.

1 a7-a6?

Black should have declined this sacrifice, but not necessarily all sacrifices: 1 . . . d5 ! ? 2.xd5? ! exd5 3.Axd5t Ae6 4.Axe6t 'lxe6 5.c7'l!txc4 6.'l!txc4 t xc4 7.xa8 gxa8 + ;

1 . . .d5 ! ? 2.cxd5? a6! + ; 1 . . .d5 ! ? 2.a4! ;t .

2 itb4-d6 eSxc4

2 . . . c6 3.d5! exd5 4.Axd5t gn 5.Axf7t


4 lJfi-cl Black is a pawn up, but White is virtually a piece up because the bishop on c8 will not join the play soon. Moreover, White has time to exploit the very weak dark squares in Black's camp.

4 a6-a5 Avoiding 5.a4 'lb3 6.ga3.

5 .kl-cl ga8-a6 6 'l'd6-c7 'l!l'b5-b4 7 a2-a3 'l'b4-b3 8 gal-cl a5-a4?

He had to play 8 ... d5 at once.

9 '{tc7-b8! + -1 0 c4-d2

d7-d5 .lc8-d7

11 gc2-c8! Black resigned.

Bronstein - Petrosian Amsterdam 1956

1 .lg7xc3!

B

White plans g2-g4 to seize the initiative. Exchanging his King's Indian bishop for the c3 knight, Black's calculation is precise, the exchange is favorable for him because White will be unable to activate his bishops.

2 b2xc3 d7-f6 3 a3-a4

In reply to 3.{)f2 follows the unpleasant 3 . . . b5! +.

3 4 5 6

h3-tl c&>gl-hl gel-gl

c&>g8-h8 gm.gs

'l'd8-e8 '{te8-g6


Just in time. With the position block- restricted as it is by the e5 pawn. aded, bishops have no room.

7 'l'dl-d2 .!c8-d7 8 g2-g3 fa8-e8

With the idea ge8-e7-g7. 9 a4-a5 ge8-e7

10 gal-bl 4d7-c8 11 ggl-g2 ge7-g7 12 gbl-gl {)ffi-e8 13 h2-h3 h6-h5

White's bishops have remained useless. Draw.

Yusupov Gavrikov Yerevan 1982

2 4e2xg4! f5xg4 Black has two bishops, but a blockading knight at e4 is far superior to B l ac k ' s d a r k - s q u a r e b i s h o p ,

3 tl-f3! White opens up lines for his pieces on the kingside by opening the f-file. Black's knight at c7 is cut off from play there.

3 g4xt3 4 gnxa .a.cs-rs 5 'l!>dl-e2 'td8-d7

Black could not free himself with 5 ... e4 6.gxe4 xd5? 7.xd5 Axal 8.gxf5! gxf5 9.'tg4t +-.

6 ga1-n 4f5-g6 6 . . . Ag4? 7.'te4;

6 . . . h6 7.ge4 Ag4 s.gxf8t gxf8 9.gxf8t f8 10.'tf2t g8 1 1 .f6t .

1 {)gS-e4 gmxt3 8 'te2xt3


9 .!d2-g5! Joining the bishop to the attack.

9 4:)c7-e8 9 . . . gf8 10.\1hf8t! Axf8 11 .gnst rt;g7 12.ggst rt;fl 13.gds t-g4 14.h3 toh515.gd?t +- and 16.gxc7 (Yusupov).

10 h2-h4 h7-h6 1 1 h4-h5! .!g6-h7

l l . . . ,1xe4 12.xe4 hxg5 13.h6! Axh6 14.t'h5 t'h7 15.xg5 +-.

12 .!g5-e3 lta8-c8 13 .!e3xa7 ltc8-a8 14 .!a7-b6 lta8xa3

15 tl't3-t7 +-With the transition to the endgame endgame, the unlucky position of Black's bishop at g7 will play a sorry role.

15 16 ltflxt7 17 ltt7xb7 18 ltb7-b8 19 4:)c3xe4 20 ltb8xe8

20 . . . gxb6 2i .gd8 +-. 21 lte8-d8 22 ltd8xd6 23 ltd6-d7!

Better is 23 ... ggs. 24 ltd7xg7t 25 d5-d6

tl'd7xt7 lta3-b3 ltb3xb4 J,h7xe4 c&ih8-h7 ltb4xe4

lte4-h4 lth4xh5

c&ih7-g6?

c&ig6xg7 lth5-f5

26 d6-d7 27 d7-d8tl'

Black resigned. Tseshkovsky Romani shin

Moscow 1976

White has the positional advantage. All his pieces are placed actively, while Black's forces are disunited and undeveloped. One of Black's bishops is tied to defense of the fl-ft, while the other's activity is illusory.

1 g2-g3! Intending h2-h4, restricting the mobility of the black bishop at g5.

1 Cllc8-b7 l . ..c6 2.f4 Ad7 3.e6! fxe6 4.Axg7 .

l . . .h5 2.h4 ,1h6 3.{)e7t \\'b7 4.f5 leaves Black almost in Zugzwang.

2 h2-h4 .!g5-d8


3 e5-e6! White cashes his posit ional advantages for the win of kingside pawns.

3 4 d5-f4

5 ,lb2-e5!

t7xe6 .ld8-e7

.le7-f6 The crushing 6.xe6 forces this abject reply.

6 .le5xf6 7 f4xe6 + -8 c&>gl-h2 9 gdl-d7

10 gnxf6 11 gd7-h7 12 c&>h2-g2 13 e6-f4 14 f4xh5 15 gf6.fl

16 gh7xd7! + -

g7xf6 gh8-g8 .le8-h5 ga8-c8 ,lh5-g4

h6-h5 gg8-e8 ge8xe3 gc8-d8 .lg4-d7

Leaving Black no counterplay. The game is decided by the connected passed pawns which are supported by White's pieces.

16 17 h5-f6 18 g3-g4 19 b3xc4

19 . . . a3 20.hS. 20 h4-h5 21 c&>g2-g3 22 c&>g3-f4 23 h5-h6 24 g4-g5! 25 h6-h7! 26 g5xf6 27 f6-t7 28 c&>f4-g4t 29 ga.f6t!

White won.

gd8xd7 gd7-g7

cS-c4 c&>b7-c6

ge3-e7 c&>c6-d6 ge7-e5 gg7-g6 c&>d6-e6

gg6xf6t ge5-h5 c&>e6xt7 c&>t7-g6

Karpov - Kasparov London 1986

1 .lb5xd7!? White lets his opponent enjoy the advantage of the two bishops, retaining the strong pawn center which restricts those bishops. The game will be decided by his ability to hold the center. And it is far from easy since he lags in development.

1 .lc8xd7


2 e3-e4 Bad is 2.gb1 Af5 3.gxb7 e5 ! 4.Ag3 ( 4.dxe6 Ae4) 4 . . . ,1e4 and Black gets an excellent position (Kasparov).

2 t7-fS 3 e4-e5

3 e7-e6 3 ... gac8 is well met by 4.c4! (Worse is 4.c6? ! bxc6 5.d6 exd6 6.exd6 gf6 witha good position. Black was successful in destroying White's center in Schmidt W. - Gross S. , Nalechov, 1984) 4 ... gxcs 5.,1e3 gas 6.f4. The powerful center ensures White his advantage (Kasparov).

4 c3-c4 s c5-c6 6 d5-d6

6

lU8-c8 b7xc6

c6-c5? Black loses his last chance to free his

dark-square bishop: 6 . . . g5! 7.Axg5 Axe5 8.c5 Ag7 ( /::,. 9 . . . e5) 9.f4 h6 10.,1e7 gcb8 1 1 .f3 gb2t 12.gcz gb4 (Kasparov). Black is all right because he has solved the problem of the bishops. The bishop at g7 is active, while the bishop at d7 performs an important blocking function and is but a little inferior to White's bishop on e7. For example: 13.e5 Axe5 14.fxe5 a5.

7 h2-h4! White prevents Black from activating his g7-,l.

7 h7-h6 8 {)gl-h3 ! a7-a5

Noth ing wou ld be ch anged by 8 . . . gcb8 9.f3 gb2t 10.gc2 gxc2t l l .'if}xc2 Aa4t 12.d2 gb8 13.gal gb2t 14.el and Black stands worse (Kasparov).

9 t2-t3 10 ghl-el !

a5-a4

After 10.4)f2 g5 1 l .hxg5 hxg5 12.,lh2 f4 13.4)d3 ,le8 14.g3 Ag6 15.gxf4 a3 16.fxg5 a2 it is still possible to fight(Kasparov).

10 1 1 {)h3-t2 12 {)t2-d3

a4-a3 a3-a2

White's strategy, commenced by the 1 .Axd7 move, has succeeded. The


center is well fortified, Black's darksquare bishop takes no part in the game.

12 lfa8-a3 13 kl-al g6-g5 14 h4xg5 h6xg5 15 Af4xgS Cfg8-t7

1 5 . . . gbs 16.c;t>e2. 16 Ag5-f4 k8-b8 17 gel-cl Ad7-c6 18 gcl-c3 ga3-a5 19 gc3-c2 gb8-a8 20 d3-cl

Black resigned.

Sokolov, A - Yusupov Riga 1986

Black strives to make up for the static deficiency of his position, the backward e6-ft, through enhanced activity of his pieces. Control over the key e5-square is crucial.

1 Ad3-b5! Ac8-d7

2 f3-h4! Drives Black 's kn ight from g4, whence it controls the e5 square.

2 g4-ffi 3 'ltdl-d3 Cfg8-g7?!

Black defends against 4.xg6, but, considering the further course of the play, 3 ... gf'7! is stronger.

4 Ab5xc6 If 4.f.3 then 4 . . . g4 5.h3 f6 and White has difficulties with his knight at g3.

4 .gfe l gives nothing, becausethere is no way to consolidate the position further - 5.f.3 is impossible in view of 5 ... g4 6.h3 xf2.

With 4.,bc6 White prepares itd3-e2 b.. h4-f.3-e5.

4 b7xc6 5 'ltd3-e2


5 grs.n Black should risk 5 ... e5, though after 6.dxe5 Axes 7.4)f3 Ad6 8 . .ld4 gae8 9.*d2 Ii 10.Ah6 and 10.4)b5 White has the advantage (Vitolins ) , or 7 . . . Af4 8.Axf4 (8.*e7t? gn 9.Axf6t g8) 8 . . . 4 9.*e5! ? .

6 flh4-f3 h7-h6 7 4g5-d2 flffi-g4 8 h2-h3 flg4-ffi

8 . . . 4)xf2? 9 . .le5 +-. 9 flf3-e5 4d6xe5

10 d4xe5 flffi-g8

11 b2-b3 White should play l l .Ab4! followed by Ab4-d6, gcl -c3 with the advantage due to the superior activity of his bishop.

11 'ftc7-b6 Black prevents the blockade.

12 4d2-e3 d5-d4 13 4e3-d2 c6-c5

Black succeeded in activating his bishop, so the game is even.

14 'fte2-g4 4d7-b5 15 gn.el 4b5-d3 16 flg3-e4 4d3xe4 17 'l'g4xe4 gas-rs 18 f.2.f3 flg8-e7 19 gcl-c4 fl e7-d5 20 gel-cl gn.c7

21 c&>gl-h2 'l'b6-b5 22 b3-b4 grs.cs 23 b4xcS gc7xc5 24 gc4xc5 gcsxc5 25 'fte4xd4 gc5xcl 26 4d2xcl 'l'b5-b6 27 'l'd4-d2 g6-g5 28 h3-h4 'l'b6-c7 29 g2-g3 Cfg7-g6 30 'ftd2-d3t c&>g6-g7 31 'ftd3-d2 c&>g7-g6 32 h4xg5 h6-h5 33 'ftd2-d3t c&>g6-g7 34 'litd3-d2 Cfg7-g6 35 'ftd2-d3t c&>g6-g7 36 4cl-e3 a7-a5 37 4e3-f2 'litc7-cl 38 f3-f 4 'ftcl-b2 39 Cfh2-gl 'l'b2-alt 40 'ftd3-fi 'ftalxa2 41 'ftfi-b5 fld5-e7 42 'l'b5-e8

Draw. Lasker Chigorin

Hastings 1895

The mobility of White's bishops is , restricted by the strong blockade , knight on e5. White has to liberate : the e5 point to advance e4-e5.

1 4f2-h4? i 1 .Ad4 ! 4)xd4 (or t . . .ge7 2 .AxeS 1


xe5 3.gdd5) 2.gxd4 (2.cxd4? c3) 2 . . . ge7 3.gdd5 g6 4.e5.

1 'f!,,c7-g7 2 Cf/e2-f2

Prevents 2 . . . gg2t. 2 'f!,,g7-g6!

Else 3.,l.f6. 3 'f!,,d2-d5

It is too late now to fight the blockade knight on e5. Black's rooks have established proper cooperation and are invading the white camp.

3 'f!,,a4-al

4 Ah4-d8 s Ablxd3 6 'f!,,d5xd3 7 'f!,,bS-tst 8 Ad8-g5

White resigned.

.> e5-d3t! c4xd3

'f!,,al-gl Cf/t'8-e8 'f!,,g6xg5

Kortchnoi - Karpov Moscow 1971

1 Ag7xe5!

B

Black exchanges the strong bishop for a knight, thus presenting his opponent with the advantage of the bishop pair. But Black's pieces quickly seize active positions, restricting the poorly coordinated white pieces.

2 .lf4xe5 t7-ffi! 3 Ae5-f4 'f!,,a8-c8 4 l'c2-a4

4.\/d2? g5 5.,l.xg5 fxg5 6.\/xgSt \/g6! ; 4.\/d3 b4 . .

4 g6-g5 5 .lf4-cl

5 .lg4-e2?! Black has seized the dominant position, but White has no visible weaknesses, so Black should transform his


activity into something more stable with 5 ... b4! 6.3 c2! 7.!'!bl Ah5 8.Ad2 e3 +.

6 gn-el 7 .lg2-fl 8 gelxfl 9

10 .lc1-e3 'lta4-d4

d4-d3 .le2xfl

gc8-c2 + a6-c5

10.t'a3 !'!fc8 1 1 .!'!acl t'b5! +.10 e7-e5 1 1 d5xe6 itb6xe6

12 gal-cl? 12.b4 xe4 13.t'xd3 !'!c3 + .

12 gf8.c8 13 b2-b4 c5xe4 14 gc1xc2 d3xc2 15 gn-cl b7-b6 16 tl-f3 e4-d6 17 itd4-d3 gc8-c6 18 a2-a4 ite6-c4 19 itd3-d2 d6-t7 20 f3-f4 g5-g4 21 b4-b5 gc6-c8 22 itd2-d7 h7-h5 23 gl-tl 'ltc4-c3 24 itd7-f5 gc8-e8

White resigned.

Taimanov - Suetin /(jev 1954

1 .lg2xc6t! White voluntarily exchanges his l ight-squ are b i shop for Black ' s knight. Black must compensate for the static weakness of the c6 and c5 pawns with activity of his pieces.

1 b7xc6 2 'ltdl-a4 itd8-d7 3 gl-f3 t7-ffi 4 .lcl-e3 e7-e5 5 c3-e4 c7-e6 6 gal-cl ga8-b8 7 ita4-c2

7 .lf8-e7? Black had an excellent opportunity to activate his bishops with a pawn sacrifice : 7 . . . d4 8 .Axd4 ftcxd4 9.t'xc6 J.b7 and Black has good


chances to draw the endgame. After the next move Black loses a pawn and finds himself in a deplorable position.

8 e4xc5 4e7xc5 9 .le3xc5 e6xc5

10 itc2xc5 gb8xb2

1 1 t3xe5! l l . . .fxe5 12.*"e5t +-.

12 itc5xc6t 13 e5xc6 + -14 2-t3 15 el-2 16 c6-d4 17 gel-al 18 galxa7

itd7-e6

ite6xc6 4c8-h3

0-0 gf'8.e8

gb2xa2 ga2-b2

White won in due course.

Sokolsky - Arulaid Tallinn 1959

1 ,lg2xc6t!

Exchanging the fianchettoed bishop for a knight is a common technical device in such situations. White presents his opponent with the bishop pair, but their mobility is restricted and they have to defend weak pawns.

1 2 d2-c4 3 itdl-a4

b7xc6 t7-f6

4c8-d7 When the bishops are hemmed in by their own pawns a player should always consider letting one or two of them go: 3 . . . 0-0 4.*"c6 gb8 5.0-0 gb4 ! ? with compensation for the material, /;:;. Ac8-b7 deserved such attention.

4 c4-a5 c7-d5 5 4cl-d2 itd8-b6 6 a5-c4 itb6-b7 7 c3-e4 0-0 8 ita4-a5 itb7-b5 9 gal-cl d5-b6

Else 10.a2-a4.

10 b2-b3 f6-f5 1 1 e4-d6 b6xc4 12 d6xc4 e5-e4 13 ita5-c7!

Black was unable to counter White's attack on the queenside. White quickly realized his advantage. After 13 . . . gad8 14.dxe4 fxe4 15.Aa5, White threatens to win material and can keep the complications in check, for example 15 . . . e3 16.f4.


Pigusov Barlov g8 feels shut out of the play. 6 ... b8 Sochi 1985 (6 . . . c5? ! 7.a5 bxa5 8.Axc5 or

== 6 . . . '8c7 7.a5 bxa5 8.'8al ) 7.a5 bxa5 B (7 . . . xc6 8.axb6 axb6 9.Axb6 f6 +)

1 4g7xc3 ! Black parts with the bishop pair to induce weaknesses along the c-file. Not only the c3-ft, but the squares c4 and c5 provide useful support points for the knights. White's bishops are blocked by his own pawns.

2 gclxc3 lk7xc3 3 b2xc3 b7-b6

3 . . . '8c8 4.xb7 '8xc3 5 . .Q.xa7 = .

4 {) a5-b3? White condemns himself to a passive defense, though he had an excellent opportunity to activate his bishops with a pawn sacrifice: 4.c6! Axc6 5.dxc6 '8c8 6.a4! and the bishops arereanimated immediately. Moreover, in the complications Black's knight at

8.Axa7 xc6 9 . .Q,b6 a4 10.'Sal e51 1 .Ad4.

4 AeS-a4 s gdl-bl gas-cs

6 Ae3-d2? Too passive. Better is 6.Ad4 Axb3 7.'8xb3 f6 8.g5 d7 + .

6 Aa4xb3 7 gblxb3 {)g8-fti s g4-g5 {)fti-d7 9 Ag2-fi {)d7-c5

10 gb3-b2 {)c5-e4 11 e2-e3 {) a6-c5 12 c3-c4 {) e4xd2 13 gb2xd2 {)c5-e4 14 gd2-d4 {) e4xg5- +

Black has won a pawn and gradually realizes his advantage.

15 Cl?gl-g2 16 h3-h4 17 h4-h5 lS h5xg6 19 .a.n-d3 20 Ad3-c2 21 t2-f4 22 Cl?g2-t3 23 c&?t3-g2

t7-f5 {)g5-e4 "'f8-g7 h7xg6

{) e4-c5 gcS-hS gbS-cS c&?g7-fti

{)c5-b7


24 .ic2-a4 25 4a4-dl 26 e3-e4 27 e4xf5 28 f.5xg6 29 l!d4-d2 30 l!d2-b2 31 l!b2xb6 32 l!b6-b2 33 4dl-h5 34 l!b2-e2 35 l!e2xe7 36 l!e7-a7 37 l!a7-t7t 38 l!t7-a7 39 l!a7-a6 40 l!a6-a5 41 .ih5-e2 42 l!a5-a3t 43 l!a3-a8

White resigned.

a7-a6 l!c8-c5 l!c5-a5

l!a5xa3 '&'f6xg6 b7-c5 '&'g6-f.5 cmsxr4 l!a3-al

a6-a5 a5-a4 a4-a3

c5-e4 '&'f4-e5

Cf/e5-d4 e4-c5 Cf/d4-c3

a3-a2 Cf/c3-b4 c5-a4

Sigurjonsson - Stein Reykjavik 1972

1 d6-d5!

B

Exploiting the unfavorable position of White's minor pieces (the knight at c3 and the bishop at e3), Black seizes the initiative.

2 e4-e5

2 d5-d4! Otherwise White would play d4 and move into an excellent position.

3 f3xd4 3.exf6 Axf6 +.

3.,lxd4 Axt'3 4.exf6 Axf6! 5.,lxf6"(hf6 +.

3 f6-g4 4 .ie3-gl

4 g4xh2! 5 l!fi-cl

s.h2 Ab4! ;5.xe6 'lxd3 6.!Ucl 'l!th3 ! -+.After S.gfd l g4 6.f3 Black

gains the positional advantage due to his strong bishops and the exposed position of White's king.

5 h2-g4 6 c3-e4


6 ,!e7xb4!- + Black has won a pawn and transformed his advantage into a win.

7 e4-g5 'lil'd8-d5 8 g5-t3 'lil'd5xb3 9 d4xb3 .!b7-d5

10 t3-d2 .!b4-c3 1 1 gal-bl 12 a4xb5 13 d2-e4 14 d3xe4 15 g2-g3 16 c&>hl-g2 17 gel-cl 18 gc2xc4 19 b3-a5 20 calg2-t3 21 .!glxd4 22 calt3-e2 23 e4-e5 24 gbl-cl 25 cale2-t3 26 c&>t3-g2 27 c&>g2-2

White resigned.

b6-b5 a6xb5

.!d5xe4 gcs-c4 h7-h5

gf8-d8 ,!c3xe5!

b5xc4 gdS-d2t

.!e5-d4 gd2-d3t gd3xd4

c4-c3 gd4-d2t gd2-d3t g4-e3t

e3-f5

Stein - Kupreichik Sochi 1970

White has the two bishops and a passed pawn in the center. But Black's pieces are more active than White's (the g2 bishop is blocked), allowing Black active counterplay. For example, there is already a threat of l . . .Ax:c3 and b5 ( weak square d5).

1 2-t3! Sacrificing a pawn, White opens the position. And in open play, the two bishops constitute a formidable force.

1 ,!g7xc3?! Black falls into the trap. He has won a pawn, but his king comes under a crushing attack. Better was l . . .exf'3.

2 gclxc3 gc7xc3


3 Ab4xc3 4 Ac3-al

5 'ld2-g5!

4)d6-b5 tMSxdS

Not so good is 5 .'lbb2 .ic3 6.gc1 '1bd4t 7 . h l .i ed5 and Black's knights are very active.

5 'ldS-cSt 6 c&'gl-h2 4) e7-d5 7 f3xe4 4)d5-e3 8 gn.a 4) e3xg2

9 'lgS-ffi! Black's attempts to neutralize the bishop pair have failed.

9 k8-c7

10 gf3.d3! Black resigned.

Stein - Keres Moscow 1967

1 . . :xe5 is menacing. How should the pawn be defended? The evident 1 .f4 restricts the mobility of the bishop at e3. After 1 .Af4 gad8 Black activates his forces and prepares the d5-d4 breakthrough.

1 a2-a4! Inviting Black to capture the pawn at e5. But after 1 . . .'lbxe5 2.ge1 'l'd6 3.axb5 axb5 4.gx:a8 gx:a8 5.AxfS the activity of White's bishops is overwhelming.

1 4)b7-a5


2 4e3-f2! Again sacrifices the pawn. White is ready to meet 2 . . . c4 with 3.b3 ! xe5 4.gel or 4.axb5 axb5 s.gxas gxas 6.ge1 ( b,. f4) 6 .. .f4 7.b4! .

2 c&>g8-h8 . 3 gn-el

White resolved the defense of his e5-ft without compromising the position of his pieces. Now he starts to induce weaknesses on the queenside.

3 ga8-a7 4 itdl-e2! b5-b4 5 c3xb4 c5xb4 6 Af2xb6 ite6xb6 7 gal-dl itb6-c5 8 4c2-d3 ! itc5-b6 9 Ad3-bl itb6-c6

10 ite2-d2! 'lil'c6xa4 11 itd2xd5 a5-c6

12 AblxfS! + -The combination is based o n the centralization of his own pieces and weakness of the opponent's eight rank.

12 'lil'a4-b5 12 .. . gxf5 13.'ld8t;

12 . . . e7 13.'lc5. 13 'lil'd5-d6 itb5-b8 14 'lil'd6xc6 grsxrs 15 e5-e6 ga7-e7 16 gdl-d7 ge7-e8 17 gd7-b7 itb8-c8 18 gb7-c7 itc8-b8 19 'lil'c6-d7 grs-gS 20 f3-f4 ggS-g6 21 f4-f5 gg6-g5 22 f5-f6

Black resigned.

Stein - Sokolsky Odessa 1960

1 f3-g5! Opening the a8-hl diagonal for the white bishop at g2 and creating dangerous tactical threats.

1 M-e8 White threatened 2.Axc5 or 2.b4.

2 b3-b4 c5-b7


3 Ag2xd5! ga8-d8 3 . . . exd5 4.'xdSt C\t>h8 5.f7t g8 6.h6t + h8 7.,1g5 ! wins.

4 .!d5xc6! This can hardly be called a sacrifice, because White gets for his queen a rook, two strong bishops and two pawns. Moreover, White's king is safe and Black's is not. All of White's pieces occupy active and stable posi-tions, and that is most important when playing without the queen.

4 gd8xdl 5 geixdl ge8-b8 6 l!alxa7 b7-d8 7 Ac6-g2 h7-h6 8 g5-e4 itf6-f5 9 l!dl-d7 Ag7-e5

10 .!e3xh6 \d8-c6 1 1 l!d7-g7t!

Exchanging the only piece that defends the king.

11 12 ga7xg7t

13 gg7-c7! + -

.!e5xg7 c&>g8-h8

itf5-e5 In view of 14.,1g7t /:::;. f6t.

14 .!h6-f4 ite5-f5 Otherwise White would play 15.f6 and win immediately.

15 gc7xc6 gb8-d8 16 h2-h4 b6-b5 17 gc6-c7 e6-e5 18 .!f4-g5 gd8-d7 19 g.l-g4 itf5xg4 20 gc7-c5 itg4-e2 21 gc5xe5 ite2xb2 22 4g5-f6t c&>h8-g8 23 e4-g5 itb2-clt 24 4g2-fi gd7-t7 25 g5xt7 c&>g8xt7 26 .!f6-g5 itclxc3 27 l!e5xb5 itc3-al 28 l!b5-b6 ital-d4 29 l!b6-f6t

Black resigned.


1

Wade - Smyslov Havana 1965

c6-d4!

B

Black sacrifices a pawn to open the h8-al diagonal for his bishop and remove White's dark-square bishop.

2 Ae3xd4 e5xd4 3 ftdlxd4

3 c7-c6! Continuing to open up the center.

4 d5xc6 b7xc6 5 0-0 ffi-d5 6 ftd4-c4 d5-f4!

Black's pieces begin to eye the white king. For example: 7.AB gb8 8.gabl (8 .b3 \ta5) 8 . . . gb6 9 .gfd l Aa6 10.\ta4 Ae5 11 .g3 \tf6! + and not 12.gxf4 in view of 12 ... \txf4 (Smyslov).

7 itc4xc6? Ag7xc3

8 Ae2-f3 9 ftc6xa8

10 l!fixal

10

Ac3xb2 Ab2xal

ftd8-b6! White's queen is trapped. Black's active bishops have played an important part in this splendid combination.

11 12

e4-e5 g2-g3

12.,lxdS Ae6 -+. 12 13 14 15

15 16 17 18 19

fta8xf8t Af3xg4 g3xf4

c&'gl-g2 l!al-el l!el-e3 l!e3xg3

d6-d5

Ac8-g4 c&'g8xf8

h5xg4

ttb6-b4!- + ftb4xf4 c&'f8-e8

g4-g3 ftf4xh4


20 c2-c3 c&>e8-e7 21 c&>g2-gl 'lh4-f4 22 4)g5-h7 a7-a5 23 4)h7-ffi 'lf4xe5

White resigned.

Smyslov - Filip Vienna 1957

How should White defend the e4-ft against 1 . ..,bc3 /:::,. gxe4 ? U3 is too passive. l .Ad3 may be met with 1 . ..e5.

1 tl-f4! t7-f5? If Black accepts the pawn sacrifice, the diagonals will be opened for White's bishops: 1 . ..Axc3? ! 2.'lt/xc3 gxe4 3.,ld3 ge3 4.'lt/d2 gbe8 5.b4 /:::,. Agl and f5.

In reply to the cool l .. .'lt/a5 White prepares an attack on the kingside with 2.dl , /:::,. f2.

2 Ae2-f3! Black expected 2.exf5 Axc3 3.fxg6 hf6. But White again invites him to accept the sacrificial pawn on e4.

2 .!g7xc3 3 'lc2xc3 f5xe4 4 .!f3-g4

Transferr ing the b i shop to the s t r a teg i ca l l y i m por t an t c8 -h3 diagonal.

4 4)h7-ffi

5 .!g4-e6t 6 h3-h4

c&>g8-h7

White builds the kingside attack. The h2-A has supported the attack but soon will become a force on its own merits with f4-f5.

6 ge8-g8

7 g2-g4! The light-square bishop is superior to a rook in this position.

7 8 9

10 1 1

g4-g5 f4-f5

f5xg6t .!e6xg4

h6-h5 4)ffi-g4 gg8-f8

c&>h7xg6 h5xg4

12 h4-h5t! c&>g6xh5 12 . . . c;flh7 13.'lt/e3 gbe8 14.gxf8 xffi 1s.gn 'iflg8 t6.g6 +-:

13 'lc3-g7 14 Ah2xlP

g4-IP c&>h5-g4


15 l!fl-gl l!f8-h8t 16 4g3-h2t !fg4-h4 17 l!cl-fl l!b8-g8 18 l!fl-f4t !fh4-h5 19 iil'g7-t7t l!g8-g6 20 iil't7-f.5

Black resigned.

Krogius - Stein /(jev 1960

B

Black's pieces are mustered on the kingside, and the f4 pawn creates excellent preconditions for the attack against White's king, which is rather restricted in his movements.

1 d6-d5! While not strictly a bishop pair position, here White must struggle with his cl -A, which lacks scope. Black sacrifices a pawn to activate his darksquare bishop, which is soon able to take a crucial role in the attack.

2 4)b4xd5 3 c&>gl-hl 4 il'dl-el

Af8-c5t 4)f6-h5

4 5 6 7

h2xg3 g3-g4 g2-g3

4)h5-g3t! iil'd8-g5

h6-h5

Otherwise 7 . . . hxg4, *h6t. 7 h5xg4 8 !fhl-g2 l!a8-f8 9 Acl-d2?

Better is 9.ght preventing 9 . . . *h6, g6-g5.

9 10 l!fl-hl 1 1 g3xf4 12 l!al-dl 13 e4-e5

iil'g5-h6! 'th6-g7

e5xf4 g6-g5!

Before Black plays 13 . . . gxt'3t g4. 13 il'g7xe5 14 t3xg4


14 15 'l'elxe2 16 'l'e2xt3 17 ghl-fi

Black won.

Stein

1 'l'e2-a6!

9e5xe2t! f4-f3t

gnxt3 .le6xg4

Parma Moscow l971

After White's last move Black's b6 and a5 pawns need protection, while his control over the c-file hardly matters.

1 'l'c2-c6 At first sight, l . ..e5 looks good, as 2.Ag3 'lc6 3.gdl e4! ? , or 3.g5 hxg54.hxg5 gas 5 .'ld3 e4 both g ivecounterplay. However, White has 2.g5 ! hxg5 3.hxg5 exf4 (3 ... h5 4.g6)4.gxf6 'lc5? ! 5.'ld3 with a strong attack.

2 e3-e4! This pawn thrust is reinforced by the tactical threat 3.gcl .

2 3 e4xd5! 4 'l'a6-d3

gc8-a8 e6xd5

Now the white bishops will show their worth!

4

5 g4-g5! 6 h4xg5 7 .lg2-h3 !

'l'c6-e6

h6xg5 .lf6-e4 i>e6-g6

7 . . . 'lc6 s.gc1 'lb7 9.gc7! +-. 8 i>d3xd5 ga8-d8


9 'litd5-e6! A typical way to real ize the advantage of the two bishops , To destroy the opponent's dynamics is often accomplished by exchanging queens, a pair of rooks or other dangerous pieces.

9 10 1 1

!.h3xe6 !.e6-c4!

itg6xe6 c&>g8-f8

With a threat Ac7 or Ae3. 11 gd8-e8

1 l . . .fd6 12.AdS! . 12 !.f4-e3 e4xg5 13 !.e3xb6 + -

The rest is a purely technical matter. 13 a5-a4 14 !.b6-c5t c&>f8-g8 15 tl-f4 g5-e4 16 gn-el a4xb3 17 a2xb3 g7-g5 18 !.c4-d5 e4-f6 19 gelxe8t f6xe8 20 f4xg5 c&>g8-g7 21 !.d5xt7

Black resigned.

Rukavina - Larsen Leningrad 1973

B

Black is better developed and he enj oys the advantage of the two bishops.

1 e4-e3 ! Black sacrifices a pawn to open up the position and, bringing his heavy pieces into the game, he starts a dangerous attack against the king.

2 tlxe3 grsxn t 3 c&>glxfl

3 4 !.cl-b2 5 c4xd5

e7-e6! e6xd5

5.xd5 Axb2 6.hb2 xd5 7.cxd5f!g5 =F .

5 itd8-g5 6 gal-dl

If 6.'it>gl , then 6 . . . ,!xg2 7.'it>xg2 ge8


with the attack, e.g. 8.c&'f.3 Ad4 or 8.\tlt'2 gxe3.

6 7 8 9

e3-e4 c&'fi-gl g2-e3

4g7-e5 'l!tg5-g4

9.e3 *f.3 or 9 . . . xa2!? 10 . .\xa2 Axb2-+ .

9 'l!tg4-g5 9 . . . Ad4? 10.d4! cxd4 l l .xg4 dxc3 l 2 . h 6 t c&'g7 1 3 . Axc3 t c&'xh6 14.Axb4 .

10 e3-g2 'l!tgS-hS 1 1 gdl-el? !

1 l ..\a4 Axg2 12.AxeS ( 12.\tlxg2 gt'2t - + ) 1 2 . . . *xeS 1 3 .c&'xg2 *xe4t 14.\tlgl xa2 15.a2 *e3t 16.c&'hl !!t'2 -+ .

11 4h3xg2 12 c&'glxg2

12 gm.at!- + 13 c&'g2xtl 'l!th5xh2t 14 'l'tl-fi 'l!th2-h3t

White resigned.

Tseitlin Kovacs Bmo l991

White enjoys- the advantage of the two bishops, so he strives to open the game.

1 f4xe5! Less good is 1 .f5? ! in view of l .. .Ad7 and 2 . . . .\d4.

1 2 a2-a4 3 gal-dl!

Intending d3-d4. 3 4 'l!tel-c3

5 d3-d4! 6 e2xd4

6 . . . xd4 7.gxd4 +-. 7 ttc3-al

c6xe5 a6-a5

g8-e7 e7-c6

c5xd4 'l!td6-b4

7.c6? .\xc6 8.xc6 gxdl +.7 g7-g5


8 d4xc6! It is far more important to weaken the blockade at e5 than to "win" another bishop, so 8.xe6 fxe6 is not so good.

8 9 'lal-f6

10 ltdlxd8t

11 'lf6-c3 !

e5xc6 'lb4-e7 'le7xd8

With so many of Black's pieces, not the least of which is the king, in danger, our frequent advice to exchange queens is not appropriate.

1 1 c8-b7 12 e4-e5

The second bishop joins the attack. 12 'ld8-e8

1 2 . . . Ad7 1 3 .e 6 ! fxe6 1 4 .1ld l b. 1 5 .Axc6 and 1 5 .1lxd7; better is 12 . . . f(d7, and perhaps 13.1lt2 b. 1ld2.

13 ltfi-dl !

14 ltdl-d8! 15 'lc3xc6t 16 Ae3xb6

'le8xd8 c&>b7-c8

Threatens 17.'tb7t '&'d7 1 8.Ac6t '&'e7 19.AcSt +-.

16 Ae6-f5! Black intends to play 17 . . . 1lg6, he also vacates the e6 square for his king.

17 'lc6-t3! Af5-h7 17. . . Ag6 18.'tb7t '&>d7 19.AxaS .

1 8 'lt3-b7t c8-d7 19 .lb6xa5 ltg8-g6 20 'lb7-b5t!

Drives the king back into the middle.; 20 d7-e7

20 . . . c6 21 .'ld3t. 21 4a5-b4t 22 'lbSxcSt

c7-c5 e7-d7


23 24 25

'l'cS-bSt 'l'b5-c6t 4g2-e4t

c&>d7-e6 c&>e6-f5

Black resigned, 25 . . . CllxeS 26.,'1.c3t.

Tseshkovsky Timoshchenko

1 c3-c4!

USSR 1979

Sacrificing a pawn, White opens up the a1-h8 diagonal for his bishop.

1 4a6xc4 2 4cl-a3 ID'8-e8 3 4a3-b2 e6-e5

Black cannot keep his material advantage, e.g. 3 .. .f6 4.'tg4 Aa6 5.c4.

4 'l'dl-g4 4.Axe5! ?.

4 5 gal-bl

itd8-b8 'l'b8-b5

6 a2-a4! 6 . . . 'tb4 7.ge4 +-.

7 gelxeS 8 4b2xe5 9 'l'g4-g5

10 4g2-h3? !

'l'b5xa4

gesxeS g7-g6

'l'a4-a6

Black will have difficulties defending dark squares on his kingside. The simplest exploitation is 10.h4, b. h4-h5.

10 ga8-f8? Time trouble. After 10 . . . cS White would have nothing better than to regroup and realize the same plan, h2-h4-h5.

1 1 'l'g5-h6 Black resigned.

Miles Kortchoi Ti/burg 1985


White enjoys a spatial advantage. He also has two bishops, which may be very active in an open position.

1 4cl-e3 White develops a piece and encourages a move that opens useful squares for his other bishop.

1 b7-b6 2 tl-t3 ghS-dS 3 0-0-0 4d7-eS 4 4fl-e2 41ffi-d7 5 41c3-b5!?

White intends to exchange his knight for Black's bishop, supposing that the bishop defends Black's position well. But in our opinion he should keep the knight, since exchanges favor the player with less space and the knight may be useful for inducing weaknesses on the queenside.

5 t7-ffi 6 41b5-c7 gas-cs 7 41c7xeS gdSxe8

7 . . . d4t 8.bl xe2 9.xg7 /:::,. gd2 +-.

S c&>cl-bl 41d7-bS 8 . . . f8 ! ? 9 .Aa6 gc7 10 .gc1 e5 l l .Ac4! e6 12.Ad5 gec8 13.a3 .

9 gdl-cl e6-e5 10 ghl-dl geS-dS 11 gdlxdS gcSxdS 12 4e2-b5 gdS-d6 13 a2-a3

White starts seizing space on the queenside.

13 c&>e7-dS 14 4b5-c4 41c6-e7 15 b2-b4 4)bS-c6 16 c&>bl-b2 41c6-d4 17 gcl-dl c&>dS-c7 lS gdl-d2 g7-g5?!

It was better to defend without weakening.

19 a3-a4 20 c&>b2-c3 21 b4-b5

22 gd2-a2

41 e7-g6 41g6-h4 41d4-e6

White begins the second phase: unm a s k i n g weaknes se s in the opponent's camp. The broader the theatre of action , the less well knights are able to cope with all of it This is an important technical element in realizing the advantage of two bishops.

22 23 24 25 26 27

4'/c3-b4 a4-a5

c&>b4xa5 c&>a5-b4 g2-g.l!

2S 4c4xe6!

41 e6-d4 41h4-g6 b6xa5t 41g6-f4 c&>c7-b8 41f4-e6

A profitable exchange is one way of

Mastering the Bishop Pair 77 rea l iz ing the advantage of two bishops. The weakness of the a7-ft allows White the opportunity to simply into a won rook ending.

28 gd6xe6 29 Ae3xd4 e5xd4 30 ga2-a6! ge6-e7 31 b4-c4 +-

The rook ending is easily won. 31 ge7-r7 32 c4xd4 h7-h5 33 d4-dS grr-b7 34 d5-e6 gb7xb5 35 e6xf6 g5-g4 36 f3-f4 gbS-b2 37 e4-e5 b8-b7 38 ga6-al gb2xh2 39 e5-e6

Black resigned.

Ragozin - Noskov Moscow 1930

1 e4-e5! White sacrifices a pawn to activate his pieces in the most important sector. He gains the bishop pair and an attack--in which all of White's pieces take part--against the king.

1 d6xe5 2 4)d2-e4! e5xf4 3 4) e4xf6t 4)d7xf64 gnxr4

4 grs-e8 4 . . . t'b6t 5 . .B.d4 c5 6 . .B.xf6 gxf6 7.Axh7t +-;

4 ... d5 5 . .B.xh7t


Black resigned.

Serawan - Kortchnoi Montpellier 1985

In open positions with play on both flanks, the bishops are strong. Moreover, White has an inviting target on each flank: the b5-ft and the king.

1 lk8-c5 Forces the exchange of rooks, but White's weaknesses are more vulnerable with the rooks present: l . ..:!':k31 2.


22.c&>t7 Aa3 -+. 18 Cl'd6-c5 19 .lc4-d3 .ldl-a4 20 .ld3xh7 .la4xb5 21 Ah7-g8

21.hS ! ? Ae7t 22.c&>fS Ac4 +. 21 4f8-e7t 22 c&>g5-g4 4b5-e2t

The two bishops can get the better of the passed pawn easily. White's knight and bishop are defenseless against Black's passed pawn.

23 Cl'g4-f4 24 Cl'f4-g3 25 4g8-t7 26 Cfg3-g2 27 h4-h5 28 tl-h3 29 h3-gl 30 gl-f3t 31 f3-e5 32 Cl'g2-fi 33 Cl'fi-el 34 e5-c4 35 c4-b6 36 b6-d5 37 c&>el-e2 38 At7-g6?!

38 39 d5-e3 40 e3-dlt

c&>c5-d4- + b6-b5

.le7-d6t a7-a5

.ld6-f4 .lf4-e3

Ae2-dl 'l'd4-c3

a5-a4 b5-b4

.ldl-c2 Ae3-f4

c&>c3-b2 .lf4-e5 Ae5-c3

b4-b3! Ac2xg6 'l'b2-c2

41 dl-e3t c&>c2-cl 42 a2xb3 a4-a3

White resigned. Blackburne Lasker

London 1892

B

1 t7-f5! Grabbing space and restricting piece mobil ity (especially knights) are together an important method in realizing the bishop pair advantage. Black does not exchange (xd3), be-cause exchanges are favorable for the player with less space under his control.

2 e4-c3 .lc8-e6 3 Cl'cl-bl grs-d8 4 e2-f4 Ae6-t7 5 .ld3-e2 e5-c6 6 gdlxd8t g

Documents

Mastering the Bishop Pair - Srokovsky, Borulia, Braslawski