Preconditions
We talked a lot about preconditions for an assault on the king. What do these preconditions look like?
 |
| White to move |
r1b3k1/1pp1q3/8/p2Pp2p/2P1P1p1/2N3P1/PP3Q2/5RK1 w - - 0 28
What are the preconditions?
- Black is behind in development
- Black needs two moves to consolidate his position
- The black queen is tied to the defense of f8 and f7
- The black king is unsafe
- white can gain a lot of tempi
White has two attackers ready. If he can mobilize the third attacker with tempo, he is good to go.
So what is the plan?
- activate the knight with tempo
- chase the slowest piece (the king) with tempo until one of the following chances emerge:
- mate
- piece loss
- pawn drops
28. d6 with tempo
28. ... cxd6
Note that it is irrelevant that 28. d6 opens the LoA for blacks bad bishop. Since the tempo pressure leaves black no time to make use of it.
29. Nd5 with tempo
29. ... Qg7
30. Nf6+ with tempo
30. ... Kh8
31. Ne8 with tempo
31. ... Qh6
32. Qf8+ with tempo
32. ... Qxf8
33. Rxf8+ with tempo
33. ... Kh7
34. Nxd6 and a piece drops
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| Black resigns |
I found this position in the Chess Tempo database—the game Yusupov, Artur (2600) vs Correa, Aron Antunes (2295), 1985-08, “wch u26 tt 1, Mendoza”.
ReplyDeleteI think the preconditions for the combination came earlier in the game. The general impression that I got was that neither player was following “theory” during the opening; at several points, neither player chose the best or the most popular variation (in terms of number of games played). GM Yusupov seemed to be content to “serve and volley,” possibly waiting for Correa to self-destruct—and he did, just before the given position.
Eventually, GM Yusupov “SAW” the forcing tactical shot that you described so well, and he played it. GM Stockfish (as expected) had some suggestions for improvement toward the end of the combination, but the variation chosen cements the win while keeping things simple. A win is a win is a win; it’s not a beauty contest.
I’m curious:
Did this position arise while using the move trainer, or is it a tactical problem that you solved, or did it arise in one of your games?
Would you try to play this variation all the way out to move 28? Could you remember all the twists and turns to get there, that deep into the game?
This inquiring mind would like to know.
This position is from the Chessable course "The Art of Awakening Pieces" by CM Can Kabadayi as introduction for chapter 4 "A Piece of Wood Getting in the Way" without any information from which game it came.
ReplyDeleteIt shows the moment just before the committal move. White can choose: play for a draw or an assault.
I associated it for that reason with the preconditions.
The next step is to ask "how did the preconditions came about"
In order to find that out, I study:
The Art of Awakening Pieces
The Art of Burying Pieces
The Art of Exchanging Pieces
The Art of Multi-Purpose Moves
Chess Principles Reloaded - Development
Chess Principles Reloaded - Center
Chess Principles Reloaded - King Safety
I divide this area in two:
First from opening to conquering the center
Second from center to the first committal move
Since I work backwards, I have a reasonable idea about the second stage, based on the pivotal squares and the LoAs that point to the king.
The first stage is still a mystery though, but the books above provide a lot of good positions that can be used to ponder. From time to time I notice something interesting that I deem suited for this blog.