Seize da centa

 

The title of this post is inspired by the funny accent of Hungarian IM Andras Toth. Currently I'm working my way through his course Chess Principles Reloaded - The Center 

I have seen all the videos. I think I have found the missing link here. What to do when the sitting ducks (King and pawns) have no feasible line of attack yet. When the opponent's  King isn't unsafe yet and there are no weak pawns either.

IM Toth gives the answer: seize the center! I remember that I investigated that before, but became stuck in the trivialities that were poured over me. Toth stitches the ideas of the center, Nimzowitsch and himself nicely together. The following picture emerges:

Aim all your pieces and pawns towards or in the center. When ready, your pawns are overprotected. Have a look at my post about Overprotection When you are ready, you push your pawns in the center. That uncorks the pieces that were behind your  pawns. All of a sudden, all your pieces come to live. Your opponents pieces were defending the center. But now the center bursts open, they might find themselves not in the best place to counter the attack. If your rook is on e1, and the center pawn e4 disappears, the opponents pieces on the e-file might find themselves in a pin.

All this can only work, when your center pawns are mobile. Hence the advice of Nimzowitsch comes in: blockade the center! Be it with your pawns or your pieces. The good thing of a blockade with your pieces, is that your pieces are active and not looking at your own pawns. But a blockading square is only good when your piece cannot be driven away.

When your center pawns are blocked by the pawns of your opponent, like interlocking chains, another rule of Nimzowitsch applies: attack the base of the chain. Undermine the blockaders.

Hence the big picture is: fight the battle for the center until one of the three sitting ducks (unsafe King, weak pawn or promoting a passer) comes into sight.

Another good thing is, that IM Toth has a good sense of humour. He is the first of 63 chess authors with that feature at Chessable that I know of.

I'm going to try to get a better insight in the standard scenarios that accompany the battle for the center!