How To Play Equal Positions in Chess PDF

Chapter 2 Equal positions with a choice of bailing out or playing on Calculated risk and its components, safety calls “Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.”...

Chapter 2 Equal positions with a choice of bailing out or playing on Calculated risk and its components, safety calls “Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” George S. Patton The next Carlsen’s game we are going to look at introduces us to related, yet slightly different topics than the ones we have addressed in the previous three games. These are: Taking calculated risk to prevent the equal position from becoming completely drawish. Creating “ghost threats” to the opponent by displaying activity. Conversely, the importance of avoiding “ghost visions” by eliminating any possible reason that could cause them. Showing endurance in playing equal positions out to the very end. Chess is becoming a kind of a muscle sport in these situations, and one has to be mentally prepared for a tough, ruthless fight when he finds himself involved in them. Vallejo Pons – Carlsen Karlsruhe 2019 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.c3 0-0 7.d4 Ba7 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Bc2 d5 10.exd6 Nxd6 11.Bg5 f6 12.Bf4 g5 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.Qxd6 cxd6 15.Nbd2 36 We join the game after White’s 15th move in a topical line of the Spanish, which Carlsen has made his trademark in the past few years. The queens have just left the board (as is customary for many Carlsen encounters), leaving the chances approximately equal. Yet this is a different type of equality than the ones seen in the previous examples. Accordingly, the approach should be different as well, but before proceeding to explore it I deem it right to explain in a few words the steps before arriving at this approach. We have already mentioned in our first example that evaluating a position properly is important for the type of strategy we should follow. In order to proceed correctly, it is necessary to realise: whether the position is equal or not; are there sound plans based on concrete features of the position, which would allow us to find our way through the various continuations. So let me first of all explain why the above position is approximately equal. From a static point of view White enjoys an advantage. His pawn formation is compact, while Black has a pawn island at d6, which is weak and isolated. White also seems to have some vague prospects of exploiting the slight weakness of the e6- and f5-squares. However, as almost everyone is aware nowadays, static evaluation alone doesn’t tell the whole truth about a position. Indeed, when we start to examine the dynamic elements, we immediately realise that two important factors work in Black’s favour – he has two long-range bishops and a space advantage on the kingside. Besides, his pawn structure may be compromised, but he might get rid of the d-pawn with...d5-d4, as he has a good control of d4. Taking these factors into consideration, we can only reach one conclusion – that indeed an approximate equality reigns on the board. 37 Coming now to the respective strategies for each side, it is obvious to me that concrete plans do exist, because there are concrete weaknesses and assets for each side, as was already outlined above. Looking at it from White’s point of view, it should be obvious even to the average club player that taking advantage of the isolani should be one of the priorities. “First restrain, then blockade, finally destroy!” is Nimzowitsch’s rule, and not much has changed from his era till now. Failing to do that, White could instead pursue an exchange of the light-squared bishops or a trade of one of his knights for the Bc8 with the aim of exploiting the light square weaknesses in the enemy camp. Coming to Black, I think that his primary goal is to get rid of the d-pawn by advancing it to d4, but if he fails in that, another logical idea is to exchange major pieces as then the d6-weakness would be hardly exploitable by White. Well, at least that is what I learned from chess books and the few mentors I had in my chess career. Practice has not taught me otherwise. 15...g4!? Carlsen chooses the more principled plan, namely that of depriving White of control over d4, with the aim of pushing his pawn up all the way to that square. However, on this occasion the idea has a side- effect – he further weakens his kingside, allowing White’s knights to start treading all around, creating tactical micro-threats and harassing Black in general. The question that naturally arises is, why did he do it? Was it worth the risk involved? I think that the explanation involves both subjective and objective reasons, so the answer will be divided in two parts. Before all, Magnus is a fighter by nature, so he hates draws. He will not go to extreme lengths to avoid them, as often happens with yours truly, but he will surely exhaust all sound tries before signing a draw. Here he obviously saw that after 15...d5! 16.Nb3 Re8 17.Rfe1 Bd7 18.Rad1 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Re8= he could secure comfortable equality, but of the type that leads to an unavoidable draw. And naturally he didn’t want one. This much about the subjective part. Now we move on to the really difficult part of the answer, which is based on the real situation on the board. We should answer two sub-questions: 1. Is there any objective background in trying to play for a win? 2. If yes, on what components of the position did Carlsen base his decision? Calculated risk In order to answer question #1 I decided to look at the position after 15...g4!? for a few minutes without engine help. I must admit that I soon started to like it because it resembled a good Paulsen. I felt that even if White had some path to a slight advantage, Black’s activity should be enough to offset it at a later stage because on a wide open board the power of the bishops often proves sufficient 38 to neutralise other factors. It was then that I recalled the famous expression “calculated risk” which is in fact an expression containing a healthy dose of objectivity: Indeed, if you enter a position overflowing with possibilities that offer you good chances in 70-80% of the lines and a slight edge to your opponent in 20-30% percent of the lines on the condition he finds all the right moves, then objectively you have good chances of winning if you are the higher rated player. Then your choice would be fully acceptable. So the answer to question #1 is yes, and I think that was the key reasoning behind Magnus’ decision. My answer to question #2 has of course a direct affinity to #1 and is threefold: a) Black will have two bishops on an open board after he pushes his d-pawn to d4. This is a powerful factor for the upcoming queenless middlegame. b) His kingside pawns are mobile, so they can be pushed further to attack the opponent. c) if something goes wrong in the process, for which there is a serious possibility as there are weaknesses on the light squares which Black might fail to control, there is always the prospect of escaping to opposite coloured bishop endings which, as we know, offer excellent chances of salvation. With these important questions answered, I think it is time for us to relax, sit back and watch the game unfold: 16.Nh4 d5 Black is one step away from getting rid of his weakness, so in some sense his play is a bit predictable at this point. What should White do? 17.Nf5! Francisco Vallejo Pons, or “Paco”, as most of his colleagues call him, is a Spanish GM that was raised chessicaly in the company of such legends as Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Leko and Gelfand, to name but a few. He developed a fine sense of danger and an excellent 39 understanding of positional play, two qualities that are sufficient to rank him in the category of world elite players. Consequently, it would have been hard to trick him in the diagram position, and indeed, he finds the best move. The stray knight enters the fray preventing...f6-f5, which would have gained valuable room for Black on the kingside. It also eyes the critical d4- and d6-squares, improving White’s impact on the centre. “But isn’t 17.Nf5! a natural move?”, you may ask. I would say undoubtedly yes, but equally natural options appear to be rook centralisation with the aim of preventing...Rf8-e8/...Bc8-e6, or anticipating...d5-d4 in the best possible way. However, White’s main task should be to coordinate the strength of his minor pieces, something the text accomplishes in a profitable manner as it retains control of the light squares. To better appreciate Paco’s “call for coordination”, I advise you to consult the following lines: 17.Rad1. This prepares Nd2-b3. In the event of...d5-d4 White would like to give a check from b3 and deploy the Nd2 actively to e4, developing a serious initiative. However, playing in this way White neglects the e-file, something Black should immediately exploit: 17...Re8! 17...Be6 is also possible, but then 18.Nb3 Rad8 19.Nf5 Rfe8 20.Nbd4²/= allows White to achieve some progress. 18.Nb3 Re2!? More incisive than 18...Re5 19.Rd2 Bd7 20.g3 Rae8 21.Bd3÷. 19.Rd2 Rxd2 20.Nxd2 d4! 21.Ne4 Kg7 22.Nd6 Be6!÷. Black has created a mess out of which the bishops have good chances of emerging as winners. Realising the sort of problems 17.Rad1 entails, I tested instead 17.Rfe1 against the computer. However, that weakens the f2 square, so Black can start a march of his f-pawn: 17...f5! 18.Rad1 f4! 19.Bb3 Kh8 20.Bxd5 g3 21.Ne4 Ne7 22.Bb3 Bg4!° with full compensation. 40 Finally, “improving on the improvement” with 17.Rae1!? is a bit clumsy, and Black gets good chances with 17...d4 18.Ne4 Be6! 19.Nd6 Bxa2 20.Nhf5 dxc3 21.bxc3 Rab8 22.Be4 Ne5 23.c4 Kh8÷. It is important to note that in all three continuations mentioned above Black has real chances to play for a win. As we will soon witness, after Vallejo’s choice these chances become significantly reduced. 17...d4! Magnus continues in an enterprising manner, liberating his play by getting rid of the main weakness in his camp. It is important to notice here that his move is once again the least committal as there is no need to take immediately the knight on f5. That said, after 17...Bxf5 18.Bxf5 h5 19.Rfe1 Rae8! 20.Rxe8! (20.Be6+ Kh8 21.Bxd5 Rd8 22.c4 Nb4=) 20...Rxe8 21.Kf1 Ne7 22.Re1 Kf8 23.Bc2²/= White is only a tad better and Black should draw without many problems. After the move played we have reached another decision-making point with White having once more a choice between several natural continuations: 18.Nc4 There are no less than five (!) logical possibilities here, and Paco simply chooses one of them. As you can witness by checking the lines below, the motif is almost all the time similar. White gets a very slight initiative that fades out in opposite coloured bishop endgames. The only line where I found Black to have possibilities to play for a win occurs after the rather careless 18.Rfe1. Then Black has 18...d3! 19.Bb3+ (19.Bxd3? Rd8µ) 19...Kh8 20.Be6 Ne5 21.Bxc8 Raxc8÷, obtaining a position where the pawn on d3 is more of a strength than a weakness. It is White in my opinion, who has to be the more careful side. 41 After 18.Nd6 f5! 19.Rae1 dxc3 20.bxc3 Bc5! 21.Nxc8 Raxc8 22.Re2 Kg7 the weakness of the f5 pawn isn’t so important and Black should hold easily. For example: 23.Nb3 (23.Rfe1 Rc7 24.Nb3 Ba7 25.Kf1 Rff7=) 23...Ba7 24.Rd1 Rcd8 25.Red2 Rxd2 26.Rxd2 Re8 27.Kf1 Kf6 28.Rd5 Re5 29.Rd7 Re7=. 18.Nb3 leads to similarly equal positions, e.g. 18...Bxf5 19.Bxf5 dxc3 20.bxc3 h5 21.Rad1 Rad8 22.Rfe1 Kf7 23.Kf1 Rfe8 24.Rxd8 Rxd8=. Finally, there is 18.Rfd1!?, which represents White’s best effort to obtain an edge. However, even here the alert 18...dxc3! Also possible is 18...Be6 19.Re1! Bxf5 (19...dxc3 20.Rxe6! cxd2 21.Kf1 Rad8 22.Rd1 Nd4 23.Nxd4²) 20.Bxf5 Rad8 21.Rad1 h5 22.Kf1 Kf7, but the resulting positions are more difficult to handle for Black, e.g. 23.a4 (23.c4!? d3 24.b4 Bd4!„) 23...dxc3 24.bxc3 Rfe8 25.Ne4 Rxd1 26.Rxd1 Bb8 27.Rb1²/=. 19.bxc3 Be6 produces a situation where White has nothing serious. 42