Investigating the Vukovic gap
Yesterday, I saw two IM's commenting on a game between two grandmasters. It was about the middlegame. Both commenters approached the position with the positional rules they had learned in their youth. And everytime they proposed a variant, the evaluation bar of the chess engine didn't approve. (I wonder how long commenters will show an evaluation bar in the future)
I wanted to investigate the Vukovic gap from two sides, the beginning and the end. The middlegame and the mate. I wanted to examine the middlegame with the aid of the positional rules that I learn from the Woodpecker method 2 positional play . But seeing the two floundering IM's, I realized that matters are not that simple.
Hence I'm trying a different approach. I got an account on DecodeChess (DC). DC gives an explanation of a game with the aid of AI in plain English. I investigated a game between Martin Olesen vs Walter M Buehl (1992) Rating 2305 vs 2037. 1 blunder vs 5. Since I recognized none of the blunders at first sight, I can apparently learn something from the game. From move 12 on, matters went downhill for black. I try to understand what is going on in the Vukovic gap. I will keep you posted.
From Black’s play, it appears that he is unfamiliar with how to play against hanging pawns. He tried a “cheapo” fork with 12… Nb4, and then created the hanging pawns on d4/c4. The general approach is to attack the hanging pawns without loss of tempi so that White (in this case) does not have a free hand to utilize his space advantage to shift his pieces into position for a kingside attack (the preconditions). Envision BBa6, BNa5, BRc7, BQc8—all aimed at the c4-pawn. Nimzowitsch devoted Part II: Chapter 3 in My System to the isolated Queen’s pawn (IQP) and the transition from IQP to the “isolated pawn pair” to hanging pawns and back to the IQP. Another feature of interest is the Horrwitz bishops (b2/b1). These brutes can be devastating in a kingside attack which is enabled by the space advantage of the hanging pawns!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent discussion of the advantages/disadvantages of the hanging pawns, and how to play both with them and against them is found in this video:
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlbF8j6_0KU
very instructive. Especially since I get hanging pawns all the time.
DeleteThere are three aspects to the ‘Vuković gap’. On the front end are the tabiyas In the middle of the gap are the priyomes. On the back end are the final mating attack or the endgame techniques. These are ‘slippery eels’ of skill that are difficult to definitively define and acquire as skill.
ReplyDeleteFirst, a couple of definitions so that we have an agreed upon starting point for discussion.
*- From GM Davorin Kuljasevic – The Importance of Modern Middel Game Tabiyas:
The tabiya is a position in the opening of a game that occurs after a sequence of moves that are heavily standardized and from which one or both players have many possible moves leading to divergent plans. Typical opening tabiyas that occur after the first 5-8 moves are characterized by a relative lack of overall development and, consequently, a large number of possible moves by both players, all approximately even in value. The more interesting (and difficult to play) tabiyas are standardized positions in the transition phase from opening to the middle game, typically around moves 10-12. By that point, both White and Black have usually castled and developed most if not all of their minor pieces and determined their basic pawn structure in the center.
An example of the Colle-Zuckertort tabiya:
LINK: https://thechessworld.com/articles/openings/colle-zukertort-system-complete-guide-for-white/
This article discusses the ideal White position and the associated goals from this tabiya, with examples.
*- From Chess.com blog DreamLearnBe - Show your flair! Dec 6, 2021, 3:33 AM - Mastering Priyomes: Build a library of key patterns (The corrected version of this post!)
The priyome is some sort of typical maneuver or technique in chess. These are positions with well defined strategic characteristics (often pawn structures) which suggest an associated maneuver. They are a key positional component within your process of pattern recognition. Apparently Mark Dvoretsky collected 3000 plus. Yasser Seirawan had 32 notebooks of them. But Andy Soltis suggests 25 will do for a start (which he gives in 100 Chess Master Trade Secrets). An example:
FEN - r3k2r/ppqbb2n/1n1p1p2/2pP2p1/P1P1P2p/1PNBB3/3QNRPP/R5K1 w kq - 0 19
The priyome is based on the Benoni pawn structure:
FEN – 4k3/8/3p4/2pP4/4P3/8/8/6K1 w - - 0 1
Commentary: After White played 19. e5! Black's game will collapse. The move offers a number of concrete outcomes:
1. It frees White's light squared bishop
2. It threatens to advance to e6
3. If captured it will draw a pawn to the blockading square e5
4. It frees e4 for white's pieces
Note that the priyome includes more than just the key aspects of the pawn structure. It also denotes the typical piece positions within the pawn structure AND the short-term objectives.
Game:
[Event "Bled"]
[Site "Bled/Portoroz (Slovenia)"]
[Round "15"]
[Date "1931.09.12"]
[White "Nimzowitsch, Aron"]
[Black "Flohr, Salo"]
[WhiteElo "2620"]
[BlackElo "2620"]
[Result "1-0"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 e5 5.Nge2 Be7 6.f3 c6 7.Be3 Qc7 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.d5 Nb6 10.Ng3 Bd7 11.b3 h5 12.Bd3 g6 13.O-O Nh7 14.a4 h4 15.Nge2 c5 16.f4 exf4 17.Rxf4 g5 18.Rf2 f6 19.e5 dxe5 20.Bg6+ Kd8 21.Ne4 Nc8 22.Bxh7 Rxh7 23.Nxf6 Rg7 24.Bxg5 Nd6 25.Bxh4 Nf5 26.Rxf5 Bxf5 27.d6 Qxd6 28.Qxd6+ Bxd6 29.Nh5+ Re7 30.Rf1 Bd3 31.Rf8+ Kd7 32.Rxa8 Bxe2 33.Bxe7 Bxe7 34.Ng3 Bd1 35.Nf5 Bd8 36.Rxa7 Kc6 37.Ra8 Kd7 38.Ne3 Bxb3 39.Kf2 e4 40.Rxd8+ Kxd8 41.a5 Ba2 42.g4 1-0
*- Finally, “technique” covers a multitude of chess “sins”. (It also minimizes the effort required to annotate a game.)
Surely you have seen this statement in annotations:
“And the rest is a matter of technique.”
The interesting thing about “technique” is that it is entirely subjective. What is mere technique to a master (or above) is anything but “obvious” to a club player.
The woodpecker 2 method provides about 1000 priyomes. I'm working on the first 50 now.
DeletePART I:
ReplyDeletePriyomes - by Nate Solon - Zwischenzug
[LINK: https://zwischenzug.substack.com/p/priyomes]
FEN: r1bq1rk1/p1p1p3/1p2Pbp1/3p1pNp/2n2B1P/2P1P3/PPB1QPP1/2KR3R w - - 0 1
Black has just played … Nc4. This is a priyome, according to the author, who has it in his Anki deck of priyomes.
He notes: “e4! Black cannot capture either way. g4 and Bxf5 are also good.”
What distinguishes this position as a priyome?
Is it the juxtaposition of the WRd1 vis-a-vis the BQd8, with a pin on the BPd5?
Is it the lack of pawn cover for the Black King?
Is it the advantage in space?
Is it the relative lag in Black’s development?
Is it the “thorn” WPe6?
Is it the potential pawn storm on the kingside?
Is it the inability of the Black pieces on the queenside to come to the defense of the Black King?
???
He notes: “e4! Black cannot capture either way. g4 and Bxf5 are also good.”
DeleteWhat distinguishes this position as a priyome?
Is it the juxtaposition of the WRd1 vis-a-vis the BQd8, with a pin on the BPd5?
Is it the lack of pawn cover for the Black King?
Is it the advantage in space?
Is it the relative lag in Black’s development?
Is it the “thorn” WPe6?
Is it the potential pawn storm on the kingside?
Is it the inability of the Black pieces on the queenside to come to the defense of the Black King?
???
I consider this position to be too complicated to start with. Like trying to gain muscle with a weight that is too heavy. It takes days of analysis before you have bite sized parts.
First, you must distinguish between moves that are winning and moves that do not give the win away. Some of these moves that do not give away the win can be seen as "preparational".
But first you must identify the winning mechanism. I assume that Bxf5 gives a clue. Invasion at all costs.
Then you have to identify the delay mechanisms. Why has black so much trouble to get his defenses ready?
The Woodpecker 2 method starts with simple pryomes. Usually the answer that you are looking for is one move deep. That gets you away from time consuming distractions. It gives you the possibility to focus on the patterns.
PART II:
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I set GM Stockfish to examining it. I set the number of branches to 20, hoping that would be sufficient to capture everything above an evaluation of 0.0. Alas! ‘Twas not to be.
The top 6 recommended “candidate moves” are all “winning” (+3.00). Can I “win” from this position regardless of what Black plays?
After 3 hours, this is what GM Stockfish “saw”:
D33 +4.85 1.g4 hxg4 2.f3 Qe8 3.h5 Bxg5 4.Bxg5 Bxe6 5.fxg4 fxg4 6.hxg6 Rf3 7.b3 Qf8 8.bxc4 Rf2 9.Qd3 g3 10.Qd4 Qg7 11.Bh4 Rxc2+ 12.Kxc2 g2 13.Rhg1 Bf5+ 14.Kb2 Be4 15.cxd5 Qxg6 16.Bxe7 Re8 17.d6 cxd6 18.Bxd6 Bf3 19.Bh2
D33 +3.95 1.e4 Qe8 2.exd5 Qb5 3.Bd3 Ba6 4.b3 Qa5 5.Bxc4 Bxc4 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qd3 Qxa2 8.Nf3 Qxb3 9.Be5 a5 10.Bxf6 Rxf6 11.Ne5 Qa3+ 12.Kd2 b4 13.Ke2 b3 14.Nd7 a4 15.Nxf6+ exf6 16.Qg3 Kh8 17.Rhe1 Qc5 18.Qxg6
D33 +3.66 1.Rh3 Qe8 2.Rg3 Qb5 3.Bd3 Bg7 4.Nf3 Qe8 5.Bxc4 dxc4 6.Ne5 Bxe6 7.Rxg6 Rf6 8.Rg5 c5 9.Qf3 Rd8 10.Rxd8 Qxd8 11.Qg3 Qf8 12.Ng6 Qd8 13.Be5 Qd3 14.Nf4 Qf1+ 15.Kd2 Qb1 16.Rxg7+ Kf8 17.Nxe6+ Ke8 18.Rg8+ Kd7 19.Rd8+ Kxe6 20.Qg8+ Rf7 21.f4 a5 22.Qe8 Qxb2+ 23.Ke1
D33 +3.60 1.Bxf5 Qe8 2.Bd3 Bxg5 3.Bxg5 b5 4.e4 d4 5.cxd4 Bxe6 6.d5 Bd7 7.Bxc4 bxc4 8.Qxc4 e6 9.f3 a5 10.Qd4 exd5 11.exd5 Qf7 12.Rhe1 Rae8 13.Rxe8 Rxe8 14.Bd2 a4 15.Bc3 Kh7 16.a3 Rc8 17.Kb1 Re8 18.Ka1 Qf8
D33 +3.39 1.f3 b5 2.g4 c6 3.gxf5 Bxc3 4.bxc3 Qa5 5.Rd4 Qxc3 6.Rxc4 bxc4 7.Qe1 Qa3+ 8.Kd1 Qb2 9.Qd2 Ba6 10.Nf7 Rxf7 11.exf7+ Kxf7 12.Qc1 Qf6 13.fxg6+ Kg8 14.Ke2 c3+ 15.Kf2 e5 16.Bg5 Qd6 17.Bb3 Qc5 18.Qc2 Rf8 19.g7 Rf7 20.Qg6 e4 21.Qe6 Qb5
D33 +3.38 1.Rdg1 Bxg5 2.hxg5 Bxe6 3.Rxh5 Qd7 4.Rh6 Kf7 5.g4 Ke8 6.Rxg6 fxg4 7.Rh6 Kd8 8.g6 Kc8 9.b3 Nd6 10.Qa6+ Kd8 11.g7 Rg8 12.Rh8 Qc6 13.Be5 Kd7 14.Rh5 Ne4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Rh6 Rad8 17.Rgh1 Ke8 18.Qxa7 Rd5 19.Qxc7 Qxc7 20.Bxc7
PART III:
ReplyDeleteD33 +2.90 1.b3 Ne5 2.e4 Qd6 3.exf5 Nd3+ 4.Bxd3 Qxf4+ 5.Kc2 Qd6 6.Kb1 Qe5 7.Qxe5 Bxe5 8.fxg6 a5 9.g4 a4 10.b4 Rxf2 11.gxh5 Ba6 12.Bxa6 a3 13.Rd3 c5 14.Nf7 Bf6 15.h6 cxb4
D33 +2.83 1.Qd3 c6 2.Nf7 Qe8 3.g4 Bxe6 4.Nh6+ Kh8 5.gxh5 Ne5 6.Bxe5 Bxe5 7.Rdg1 Bg7 8.Rxg6 Rf6 9.Rxf6 Bxf6 10.Nxf5 Qf7 11.Nd4 Bd7 12.Qg6 Qxg6 13.hxg6 e5 14.Bf5 exd4 15.Bxd7 dxe3 16.fxe3 c5 17.Rf1 Kg7 18.h5 d4 19.e4 dxc3 20.bxc3 Rf8 21.Kc2 Kh6 22.e5 Bg7 23.Rxf8 Bxf8 24.Bg4 Bg7 25.e6 Bf6
D33 +2.79 1.Rhe1 c5 2.Bxf5 Qe8 3.Bd3 Bxg5 4.Bxg5 b5 5.g4 hxg4 6.Bxc4 bxc4 7.Qxg4 Rb8 8.Qg2 Rb7 9.Bf4 d4 10.Be5 d3 11.Rg1 Rb6 12.Qxg6+ Qxg6 13.Rxg6+ Kh7 14.Rg7+ Kh6 15.Rdg1 Rxe6
D33 +2.64 1.Bd3 Bxg5 2.Bxc4 Bxf4 3.Bxd5 Bd6 4.Bxa8 Bxe6 5.Bd5 Bxd5 6.Rxd5 Qa8 7.Qc4 Kg7 8.f3 Qc8 9.Re1 e6 10.Rdd1 e5 11.Kc2 a5 12.Rd5 Qe6 13.Qc6 Rf6 14.e4 f4 15.Red1 Kh6 16.Kb1 Qe7 17.Qb7 Qd8 18.c4 Qe7 19.a3 Rf7 20.Rxd6 cxd6
D33 +2.62 1.Rhg1 Bxg5 2.Bxg5 Qd6 3.e4 Bxe6 4.exd5 Bxd5 5.Bxe7 Rfe8 6.Bxd6 Rxe2 7.Bd3 Nxd6 8.Bxe2 Bxa2 9.Rge1 Kf7 10.Bf3 Rc8 11.Kc2 Be6 12.b4 Kf6 13.Ra1 f4 14.Rxa7 Bf5+ 15.Kb3 Be6+ 16.Kb2
D33 +2.57 1.Bb3 Bxg5 2.Bxc4 Bxf4 3.Bxd5 Bd6 4.Bxa8 Bxe6 5.Bd5 Bxd5 6.Rxd5 Qa8 7.Qc4 Kg7 8.f3 Qc8 9.Re1 e6 10.Rdd1 e5 11.Kc2 a5 12.Rd5 Qe6 13.Qc6 Rf6 14.Red1 Kh6 15.g3 f4 16.gxf4 exf4 17.R5d4
D33 +2.54 1.Nf7 Qe8 2.g4 hxg4 3.h5 Qb5 4.Bd3 Bxe6 5.hxg6 Rxf7 6.gxf7+ Kxf7 7.Rh7+ Ke8 8.Qc2 Rb8 9.a4 Qc6 10.Bxf5 Bxf5 11.Qxf5 Qxa4 12.Rxd5 Qa1+ 13.Qb1 Qxb1+ 14.Kxb1 c6 15.Bxb8 cxd5 16.Bxa7 d4
D33 +2.47 1.Ba4 Nd6 2.Rxd5 Bxg5 3.Bxg5 Bxe6 4.Re5 Bc4 5.Qc2 Nf7 6.Rxe7 Nxg5 7.Rd7 Qf6 8.hxg5 Qxg5 9.Rxc7 b5 10.Bxb5 Bf7 11.Qe2 f4 12.Bc4 Qxg2 13.Rd1 fxe3 14.Rxf7 Rxf7 15.Qxe3 Qg4 16.Bd5 Rf8 17.Qh6
D33 +2.37 1.Qf3 Bb7 2.g4 hxg4 3.Qe2 b5 4.h5 d4 5.f3 dxc3 6.b3 Qd2+ 7.Rxd2 cxd2+ 8.Kd1 Bxg5 9.Bxg5 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Nb2+ 11.Kxd2 gxf3 12.Kc1 Kg7 13.Kxb2 a5 14.Bd1 f2 15.h6+ Kh7 16.Bxe7 Rae8 17.Bxf8 Rxf8 18.Kc3 Re8 19.Kd2 Rxe6 20.Ke2 Rd6 21.Kxf2
D33 +2.30 1.Bb1 Qe8 2.e4 Qa4 3.Rxd5 Nd6 4.Bxd6 Ba6 5.Qe3 cxd6 6.exf5 Bb7 7.Rd2 Rac8 8.fxg6 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Qa3+ 10.Kd1 Rxc3 11.Rd3 Rfc8 12.Rxc3 Rxc3 13.Qf4 Rd3+ 14.Bxd3 Qxd3+ 15.Qd2 Qb1+ 16.Qc1 Qd3+ 17.Ke1 Ba6 18.Qb2 Bc4
D33 +2.23 1.g3 Qe8 2.e4 Qb5 3.Bb3 fxe4 4.Nxe4 a5 5.Rxd5 Qxd5 6.Bxc4 Qf5 7.Rd1 Bb7 8.Nxf6+ Rxf6 9.Rd7 Re8 10.Bg5 Qxf2 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Rxc7 Bf3 13.Qd3 Bg4 14.Qd7 Qf8 15.a4 Bf5 16.Qd4 Kh7 17.b3 Rd8 18.Rd7
D32 +1.96 1.Rhf1 Qe8 2.g4 Qb5 3.Bd3 hxg4 4.f3 Bxg5 5.Bxg5 Bxe6 6.fxg4 fxg4 7.b3 Rxf1 8.Rxf1 Qa5 9.bxc4 dxc4 10.Bb1 Qxc3+ 11.Qc2 Qa3+ 12.Qb2 Qxb2+ 13.Kxb2 Rf8 14.Rxf8+ Kxf8 15.Bf4 Kg7 16.Bxc7 Kh6 17.Bg3 Kh5 18.a3
D32 +1.79 1.Rd4 Qe8 2.g4 Bxd4 3.gxh5 Qb5 4.Bb3 Bxc3 5.bxc3 Qa5 6.Bxc4 Qxc3+ 7.Kb1 dxc4 8.Rc1 Qh8 9.hxg6 Bb7 10.f3 Qh5 11.Be5 c5 12.Qxc4 Bxf3 13.Qf4 Bg4 14.Rg1 Qxg6 15.h5 Bxh5 16.Qh2
D32 +1.78 1.Rde1 Qe8 2.g4 fxg4 3.Qd3 Bxg5 4.hxg5 Bxe6 5.Rxh5 Bf5 6.Qxd5+ Qf7 7.Qxf7+ Rxf7 8.Rh6 Bxc2 9.Kxc2 Rg7 10.Rh4 Rf8 11.Reh1 e5 12.Bg3 Re7 13.Rxg4 Nd6 14.Rgh4 Kf7 15.Rh7+ Ke6 16.Rxe7+ Kxe7 17.Rh7+ Kd8 18.Rh6 Ne4 19.Rxg6 Nxg3 20.fxg3
In her biography Susan Polgar describes how she experienced the simul against 1131 opponents. She experienced every position as a chess puzzle. She didn't remember the game. So you talk about 28.000 chess puzzles in 17 hour. 2.5 seconds per puzzle. Scoring 99.03%
ReplyDeleteWhat does that say about the priyomes?