Skype coaching session, 05 May 2019.
The game discussed (39 moves) is given below with annotations and without
annotations.
Re-structuring of the sessions now offers the option for guests to bring their
own games for group discussion.
Recordings of some previous coaching sessions can be found at:
http://www.open-aurec.com/Skype/PaulBenson/PaulBenson.htm
Paul Benson.
* * *
Annotated Game.
White: W. Bills.
Black: L. Isaacs.
Event: 56th U.S. Open (Oklahoma City) 1956.
Result: 1-0 in 39 moves.
Opening: King's Indian Defence, Four Pawns Attack, E76.
| Editorial.
The opening moves here follow the coaching session of 28 April 2019 up to white
move 6.
The annotations given for that session up to white m
||
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 Bg7
4. e4 d6
5. f4 O-O
6. b4
| Welcome to the, "Five Pawns Attack, Queenside Push".
Well, if a move with only 2 games in the limited database consulted for these
session can be given a name, then there it is.
Incidentally, had white instead played, 6. h4, we would have been in the, "Five
Pawns Attack, Kingside Push".
So just what is white doing playing, 6. b4, when so far behind in development?
The idea is to prevent black from playing, pawn c5, an important move as part
of the process of undermining/attacking the white pawn centre.
Why have so few people tried it?
Surely if it was so good, then Grand Masters would be playing it,?
This must be true, but as this game flows, ask yourself just where are the
obvious improvements for both sides.
||
6. ... c6
| Black is adopting strategy known against the Polish system, 1. b4 c6 2. Bb2
a5, perhaps called the Outflank Defence?
Of course, this game is nothing like a Polish, but the idea is valid as far as
the queenside is concerned.
||
7. e5
| Commital, but definitely in the spirit of the Four Pawns Attack.
Instead, 7. Nf3 Bg4, would be pleasant for black, an important defender of the
central dark squares, the f3 knight, can be removed if black chooses.
||
7. ... dxe5
| Black cannot have a white pawn permanently lodged on e5, this is the first
step in the necessary challenge to the white centre.
||
8. fxe5
| Instead, 8. dxe5 Qxd1+, would please black, white needs queens on if the Four
Pawns Attack is to have any bite.
||
8. ... Nfd7
| Understandable, on d7 this knight nibbles on the white e5 pawn, however 7.
... Ne8, would avoid the congested queenside which will soon arise.
||
9. Nf3 a5
| The outflank plan continues, squares must be made available for the black
queenside pieces.
||
10. b5
| Instead, 10. bxa5 Rxa5, will leave white worrying over the a-pawn for a long
time to come.
||
10. ... cxb5
| This clears the c6 square for the black b8 knight.
A different approach could have been tried with, 10. ... c5, reverting to the
more usual method of undermining the white pawn centre.
||
11. Nxb5
| White does not want a symmetric pawn structure, so, 11. cxb5, must be
rejected.
||
11. ... Nc6
12. Bf4 b6
| The beginning of the second phase of attacking the white e5 pawn.
The logic-flow for the black plan construction runs as follows:
Black wishes to challenge with, pawn f6, but white will reply with, pawn e6,
immediately followed by, pawn d5, setting up a very strong centre.
So before black can play, pawn f6, there must be a black pawn sitting on e6.
However, if black plays, pawn e6, immediately, then white will surely jump in
with, Nd6, not to black's liking.
So, how can black hit with, pawn f6, without allowing the white knight onto the
d6 square?
There are 3 answers:
(A). Protect the d6 square sufficiently that white, Nd6, is discouraged.
(B). Push the white b5 knight back to either a3 or c3.
(C). Eliminate the white b5 knight.
So, black plans, Ba6, to either scare the white b5 knight away, or simply trade
it off if it stands firm, then the plan will continue, play, pawn e6, then
challenge with, pawn f6.
Plan construction is a tricky beast, in this instance a certain retro-logic is
needed to ensure the desired black central challenge move is adequately
prepared.
||
13. Be2 Ba6
| Black plans to eliminate the white b5 knight, assuming it does not
voluntarily retreat, far more efficient than trying to over-protect the d6
square, a plan which would require so much convoluted shuffling.
||
14. a4
| White is happy for the b5 knight to be eliminated, this support from the
a-pawn is designed to capture with, axb5, and so maintain a flexible pawn
centre.
||
14. ... Nb4
| The black knight takes up an outpost, but how much influence does it have on
b4?
||
15. O-O Rc8
| Again, a black piece takes up a, "Natural-Looking", square, but if the white
e2 bishop does not stray, jut what can the black c8 rook do?
||
16. Qb3
| The white queen cannot do much by force from here, but where else was she to
go?
||
16. ... Bxb5
| Commital.
Instead a precautionary evasion of the x-ray attack from the white b3 queen
with, 16. ... Kh8, might have been wise.
Sure, there are 2 pawns in between the white queen and black king, but bear in
mind the previously discussed plan for black involving, pawn f6, which will
make the yet-to-arrive pawn on e6 into a potential target captureable with
check if the black king is still on g8.
||
17. axb5 e6
18. Rad1
| White sets up another x-ray attack, target the black d8 queen, again nothing
can happen by force here, but as more moves get played vague threats can turn
into real danger.
||
18. ... f6
| Consistent, the plan to challenge the white e5 pawn continues.
However, caution in the shape of, 18. ... Qe7, escaping the x-ray attack from
the white d1 rook seems sensible, with the added bonus that the e6 pawn would
be protected.
Is it essential to run away every time an x-ray attack appears?
Not necessarily, but if you let them just sit there, you must be certain of
your ability to calculate tactics both deeply and accurately.
||
19. exf6
| White now has the semi-open e-file down which to place pressure on the black
e6 pawn.
Had white permitted black to capture with, fxe5, there would have followed
piece exchanges on e5, not desirable for white who is trying to squeeze
something from the space advantage.
||
19. ... Bxf6
| Instead, 19. ... Nxf6, would avoid the annoyance about to arise in game.
||
20. Bd6
| Not just an attack for the sake of it.
White needs the bishop on the a3 - f8 diagonal in order to initiate another
space-gaining plan.
Note that if black had previously escaped the d-file x-ray attack with, Qe7,
this white finesse would not be available.
||
20. ... Be7
| A sad necessity.
Instead, 20. ... Re8, would concede the f-file to the white f1 rook as long as
white still has the dark square bishop on d6.
White to play and take advantage of the latent x-ray attacks.
||
21. c5
| This dynamic move could have been played after black challenged with, 19. ...
f6, which left the e6 pawn undefended.
White held back on the immediate queenside commitment, instead choosing to
stabilise the centre/kingside first.
Black however has chosen to counter-attack while a couple of white x-ray
attacks are still in operation, the d1 rook onto the d8 queen, the b3 queen
onto the g8 king, only advisable if you are an excellent tactician.
||
21. ... Nd5
| Black must play defensively, the tactics fail, a few sample lines run:
(A). If,21. ... Bxd6 22. Qxe6+ Kh8 23. Qxd6, white has won a safe pawn.
(B). Or if, 21. ... bxc5 22. Qxe6+ Kh8 23. Qxe7, white has won a piece.
(C). Or if, 21. ... bxc5 22. Qxe6+ Rf7 23. Ng5 Bxg5 24. Rxf7, with strong
threats of moving the f7 rook with check to win more material.
White to play and show how tactical threats can produce a positional gain.
||
22. Bxe7
| This trade is necessary to make that mentioned positional gain.
||
22. ... Qxe7
23. c6
| A protected passed pawn on the 6th rank, as more pieces are removed from play
this asset will grow in value, black will need to keep a piece close by to
prevent promotion.
Such an advantage is not automatically decisive, but it will reduce the
mobility of whichever black unit is given the task.
Continually accumulating small advantages, such as a 6th rank protected passed
pawn, should lead to a difficult defensive task becoming impossible.
||
23. ... N7f6
24. Bc4
| A tripler.
Firstly, the bishop moves off the e-file, permitting a rook to shuffle sideways
to pressure the backward isolated black e6 pawn.
Secondly, the white b3 queen and c4 bishop battery produce a strong x-ray
attack onto that vulnerable black e6 pawn.
Thirdly, depending on the demands of the position, white has an options to
trade, Bxd5, eliminating the black d5 knight and thus moving a little closer to
a favourable endgame.
||
24. ... Qd6
| A tripler.
Firstly, the black queen escapes a potential e-file x-ray attack before white
gets a rook onto the e1 square.
Secondly, the d5 knight is now over-protected, 3 defences outnumbering the 2
white aggressors.
Thirdly, on d6 the black queen is nibbling at the white h2 pawn.
||
25. Rde1
| The process of ganging up on the black e6 pawn begins.
The d-file rook is moved so that the f1 rook can remain to fight for the only
file on the board likely to be fully open, yes, there are a couple of knights
also on the f-file, but these could quickly depart.
||
25. ... Kg7
| A sign that black has no active plan and is instead waiting for white to put
his plan into action.
Instead, 25. ... Rce8, getting in an over-protection on the e6 pawn before it
is needed would have been useful.
||
26. Ng5
| A move which needs careful consideration.
There is a double-attack on the black e6 pawn, fine, but defensive support to
both the white d4 and h2 pawns has been given up.
||
26. ... Rce8
| Had black previously chosen, 25. ... Rce8, over-protecting in advance,
instead of waiting to be forced to give the e6 pawn a double-defence as here,
then, 26. h6, kicking the white knight back would have been available.
||
27. Bxd5
| Giving black the time-consuming joy of having to calculate tactical and
strategic consequences of all 3 recaptures.
White is beginning the process of trading pieces, the endgame is not an
automatic win, but that advanced passed c6 pawn demands black always has a unit
dedicated of preventing promotion.
||
27. ... Nxd5
| Black follows the strategic principle of placing the knight on an outpost, on
d5 it cannot be pushed away by any enemy pawn.
Fine, but are there tactical arguments against this policy?
The other captures give differing outcomes:
(A). If, 27. ... Qxd5 28. Qxd5 exd5 29. Ne6+, costs black an exchange, whether
black permits, Nxf8, or captures immediately with, Rxe6.
(B). Or if, 27. ... Qxd5 28. Qxd5 Nxd5 29. Nxe6+ Kg8 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. Nxf8
Kxf8, white is a clear exchange and pawn up.
So black capturing on d5 with the queen leads to a winning position for white.
(C). Or if, 27. ... exd5, black still has a double-guard on the e6 square,
white cannot win an exchange there, the middlegame fight continues.
It is likely there will be an exchange of rooks on the e-file, any exchanges
will slightly favour white as the endgame becomes nearer, but it is not
obviously losing for black.
However, the game move is definitely in the class of: "Win Something, Lose
Something".
||
28. Rxf8
| When the black f6 knight migrated to d5 it opened up the f-file for rook
activity to both players.
There is however still a white double-attack on the backward black e6 pawn.
White is taking advantage of both these features to make an incisive invasion.
||
28. ... Kxf8
| Black dare not claim the f-file with, 28. ... Rxf8, as, 29. Nxe6+, wins an
exchange and a pawn.
||
29. Qf3+
| The white queen is seeking an invasion on f7.
Every white piece is much better than every black piece, unsurprisingly there
are very serious threats.
Instead the materialistic, 29. Nxh7+, wins a useful pawn, but would miss a big
opportunity to take complete control of the position.
||
29. ... Nf4
| The best of a bad lot, instead permitting the white queen entry costs black
heavily:
(A). If, 29. ... Kg8 30. Qf7+ Kh8 31. Qxh7+ mate.
(B). Or if, 29. Kg7 30. Qf7+ Kh6 31. Qxe8 Kxg5 32. Qxe6, white is an exchange
and pawn up, but perhaps white can scent blood?
(C). Or if, 29. ... Kg7 30. Qf7+ Kh6 31. Qxh7+ Kxg5 32. h4+ Kg4 33. Qxg6+ Kxh4
34. Re4+ Nf4 35. Kh2, and black cannot prevent the humble, 36. g3+ mate.
(D). Or if, 29. ... Kg7 30. Qf7+ Kh6 31. Qxh7+ Kxg5 32. h4+ Kf4 33. Qh6+ Kf5 or
Kg4 or Kg3 34. Qg5+ mate.
(E). Or if, 29. ... Ke7 30. Qf7+ Kd8 31. Nxe6+ Kc8 32. Qb7+ mate.
(F). Or if, 29. ... Ke7 30. Qf7+ Kd8 31. Nxe6+ Rxe6 32. Qxe6, white is an
exchange and pawn up.
(G). Or if, 29. ... Qf4 30. Qxf4+ Nxf4 31. Rf1 e5 32. dxe5 Rxe5 33. Rxf4+ Ke8
34. Re4, forces rooks off, the white knight has sufficient time to prevent the
black passed a5 pawn promotion.
(H). Or if, 29. ... Qf4 30. Qxf4+ Nxf4 31. Rf1 e5 32. dxe5 Rxe5 33. Rxf4+ Kg8
34. c7 Rc5 35. Rf8+ Kxf8 36. Ne6+ Ke7 37. Nxc5, black cannot prevent white,
c8=Q.
||
30. g3
| White pins and wins the black f4 knight at the cost of the d4 pawn.
The rest as they say, is just a matter of technique.
||
30. ... Qxd4+
31. Kh1
| White must move the king, instead piece interventions gain nothing:
(A). If, 31. Qf2 Qxf2+ 32. Kxf2 Nd3+, losing an exchange is a disaster for
white.
(B). Or if, 31. Re3 Qa1+ 32. Qf1 Qxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Nd5 34. Rxe6, is material
equality, but each player will need to take care over those passed queenside
pawns.
(C). Or if, 31. Kf1 Qc4+ 32. Kg1 Qd4+, hints at a possible 3-fold repetition,
white will not accept this.
So after, 31. Kh1, the white king is out of trouble, right?
Not so clear, with the black knight still hovering on f4, the white king is in
an uncommon potential back-rank mating pattern.
||
31. ... h6
| Black tries to confuse matters.
Instead, 31. ... Qd5, was the only other trick worth trying, the ideas run:
(A).If, 31. ... Qd5 32. Qxd5 Nxd5, black has escaped the pin, white can regain
the pawn, each player must then take care of those queenside passed pawns, but
by trading queens white has missed the chance to win a piece.
(B). Or if, 31. ... Qd5 32. Rf1 Qxg5 33. gxf4 Qxb5, white is 2 pawns down and
struggling severely.
(C). Or if, 31. ... Qd5 32. Rf1 Qxg5 33. Qxf4+ Qxf4 34. gxf4, white is a pawn
down in a single rook ending, not pleasant.
So, is there a remedy to this quiet black queen retreat?
(D). Or if, 31. ... Qd5 32. Ne4 Qxb5 33. Qxf4+ Ke7 34. Rd1 Rf8 35. Qd6+ Kd8 36.
Qd7+ mate.
(E). Or if, 31. ... Qd5 32. Ne4 Qxb5 33. Qxf4+ Ke7 34. Rd1 Rf8 35. Qd6+ Kf7 36.
Qd7+ Kg8 37. Qxe6+ Kh8 38. Nf6, white is a piece up for a pawn, care required
to convert this but the point should not be in doubt.
(F). Or if, 31. ... Qd5 32. Ne4 Qxb5 33. Qxf4+ Ke7 34. Rd1 Qxc6 35. Qf6+ mate.
(G). Or if, 31. ... Qd5 32. Ne4 Qxb5 33. Qxf4+ Kg7 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Rc1, white
transfers focus onto promoting the c6 pawn while there is an immediate threat
of, Nd6, winning an exchange to be neutralised by black.
(H). Or if, 31. ... Qd5 32. Ne4 Qxb5 33. Qxf4+ Kg8 34. Nf6+ Kh8 35. Nxe8+ Qxc6+
36. Qe4 Qxe8 37. Qxe6, white is a rook up for 2 black queenside pawns, a
comfortable win for white.
It appears that after, 31. ... Qd5 32. Ne4, black is just losing the f4 knight
with options of more horrors to be avoided.
White in the game must now not get greedy, the mistakes are always out there
waiting to be played.
||
32. Ne4
| White had to resist the disastrous, 32. Nxe6+, royal fork, because, 32. ...
Rxe6 33. Rxe6 Qa1+, back-rank mate net, 34 Re1 Qxe1 35. Qf1 Qxf1+ mate, a
painful lesson.
||
32. ... Kg7
| Vacating the f8 square so after white captures on f4, there will at least be
some activity for the black rook with, Rf8.
||
33. gxf4
| Instead, 33. Qxf4 Rf8, allows black some activity, capturing with the pawn
makes it harder for the black e8 rook to enter the game.
||
33. ... e5
| A doubler.
Firstly, an attempt to activate the passive black e8 rook is under way.
Secondly, black has avoided the white threat of, 34. Qc3, which without a pawn
on e5 closing the long a1 - h8 diagonal, would force a queen trade, not
favourable to black when a piece down.
Unfortunately for black, when playing, pawn e5, white might at the right moment
take the opportunity to open up the f-file again with, fxe5.
So, is, 33. ... e5, a mistake?
Not really, white has a decisive material plus, black needs activity at all
costs, so take whatever risky idea offers the best chance, if it loses do not
worry, it was surely going to happen with slower play anyway, go down fighting
and flailing.
White is now to play and activate his own passive unit.
||
34. Rd1
| White places a rook on what is to be the only fully-open file on the board,
destination 7th rank with check.
||
34. ... Qa4
| A doubler.
Firstly, the black queen is nibbling at the white d1 rook, it is protected by
the f3 queen, but this attack at least immobilises the white queen for a while.
Secondly, the backward white b5 pawn is attacked, if black can wipe out all the
white queenside pawns then salvation becomes a distant possibility.
Black prefers activity by hitting the white d1 rook and b5 pawn, the only
defensive try could have been, 34. ... Qb4, intending to interpose a rook on e7
should white try an, Rd7+, invasion.
This would permit white to further trade down, very disappointing for black, in
essence, black is busted, defending gains nothing, just keep whatever activity
you can and hope.
||
35. fxe5
| There is no need to hurry, the white 7th rank rook invasion cannot be
prevented.
With the opening of the f-file there are now 2 motorways leading toward the
black king, there are no defences here, it is now just a test of how aware and
awake white is.
And oh yes, the white e4 knight is not missing out on the fun, f6 has just been
claimed as a massive entry square.
||
35. ... Rf8
| Instead the defensive, 35. ... Re7, fails, the ideas run:
(A). If, 35. ... Re7 36. Qf6+ Kg8 37. Rd8+ Kh7 38. Rh8+ mate.
(B). Or if, 35. ... Re7 36. Qf6+ Kh7 37. Qxe7+ Kg8 38. Rd8+ mate.
While the aggressive, 35. ... Rxe5, is similarly crushed:
(C). Or if, 35. ... Rxe5 36. Rd7+ Kh8 36. Qf8+ mate.
(D). Or if, 35. ... Rxe5 36. Rd7+ Kg8 37. Qf7+ Kh8 38. Qh7+ mate.
||
36. Rd7+ Kg8
| Instead, 36. ... Kh8 37. Qxf8+ mate, could really only happen in a
time-scramble.
||
37. Nf6+
| Creating, what should be, a familiar mating pattern of rook + knight focusing
on the h7 square.
||
37. ... Rxf6
| Instead, 37. ... Kh8 38. Rh7+ mate, is that referenced mating pattern, which
must be ingrained in the memory, necessary to drive the analytical processes to
work forwards to find such a mate.
White to play, can play, "The Obvious", and still win, black has no perpetual
checks on the white king, the f6 queen can retreat to block satisfactorily,
fine, but is there something better?
This is a, "White to play and win, very quickly", problem, a test of personal
pride, which requires only a little calculation.
||
38. Qd5+
| The white queen is invading with checks, forcing moves cannot be ignored.
Sure, 38. exf6, or, 38. Qxf6, both win, but will take more moves if black
insists.
||
38. ... Kh8
| Instead, 38. ... Kf8, will be treated in the same fashion as game.
||
39. Rd8+
Black resigns, 1-0
| After either, 39. ... Kg7, or, 39. ... Kh7, white has, 40. Qg8+ mate, an
opposing queen plus rook on your back rank create tremendous threats.
||
* * *
## Repeat Annotations From 28 April 2019 Coaching Notes.
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 Bg7
| Mainline branch, instead, 3. ... d5, is the Gruenfeld Defence.
||
4. e4 d6
| By far the most popular choice, instead, 4. ... O-O, giving white the
opportunity to claim space with, 5. e5 Ne8, has some supporters.
||
5. f4
| Welcome to the Four Pawns Attack.
Instead more popular here are, 5. Nf3, 5. f3 5. Be2.
With roughly the same popularity there is, 5. h3.
Then with quite less support there are, 5. Bd3, 5. Nge2.
Finally for those systems which must be playable for white but receive limited
support there are, 5. Bg5, 5. g3.
Which variation is, "The Best"?
Wrong question.
Choose a pawn formation with which one feels comfortable, study some games in
the variation, give it a chance in live games, and if the results are
acceptable, stick with your choice.
The fact that there are so many variations selected by Grand Masters tells us
it is the type of middlegame produced which determines their individual choice
here.
So if there is a present-day active Grand Master who plays in a style you
admire, then why not adopt his/her repertoire as your own?
Even better, pick on a fast-rising star who has just entered the 2700-club,
they will continually be improving their systems in order to progress their
career.
Meanwhile, back to this game and we ask, what is the purpose of the Four Pawns
Attack?
White is claiming space at the cost of falling slightly behind in development.
Black in turn must counter quickly against this broad pawn centre.
||
5. ... O-O
| Instead, 5. ... c5, can be played, and amongst those choices needing far more
testing, 5. ... Bg4, might work if black has prepared the variation by studying
the handful of games out there.
||
* * *
## Unannotated Game.
White: W. Bills.
Black: L. Isaacs.
Event: 56th U.S. Open (Oklahoma City) 1956.
Result: 1-0 in 39 moves.
Opening: King's Indian Defence, Four Pawns Attack, E76.
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 Bg7
4. e4 d6
5. f4 O-O
6. b4 c6
7. e5 dxe5
8. fxe5 Nfd7
9. Nf3 a5
10. b5 cxb5
11. Nxb5 Nc6
12. Bf4 b6
13. Be2 Ba6
14. a4 Nb4
15. O-O Rc8
16. Qb3 Bxb5
17. axb5 e6
18. Rad1 f6
19. exf6 Bxf6
20. Bd6 Be7
21. c5 Nd5
22. Bxe7 Qxe7
23. c6 N7f6
24. Bc4 Qd6
25. Rde1 Kg7
26. Ng5 Rce8
27. Bxd5 Nxd5
28. Rxf8 Kxf8
29. Qf3+ Nf4
30. g3 Qxd4+
31. Kh1 h6
32. Ne4 Kg7
33. gxf4 e5
34. Rd1 Qa4
35. fxe5 Rf8
36. Rd7+ Kg8
37. Nf6+ Rxf6
38. Qd5+ Kh8
39. Rd8+
Black resigns, 1-0
* * *