Recently one of my readers asked whether I play against the computer for training or just for fun. I answered that it was probably 75 percent for fun and 25 percent for training. But perhaps I was wrong, because the two are not mutually exclusive! Here’s a game I played yesterday that, in my opinion, was both fun and had a lot of training value.
Position after 27. Na4. Black to play.
FEN: 7r/1r2kp1p/2bnp1pP/p2p4/N1pP4/P3P3/2B1KPP1/1R5R b – – 0 27
I was Black in this position, where Shredder (set at a rating of 2201) has just moved its knight from b2 to a4. Obviously Black is in good shape, with an extra pawn on c4 that is protected and passed, but that doesn’t mean the game will win itself. After White’s move there are going to be some exchanges, which means that the position may change dramatically in the next few moves. Because this was a key transitional moment, I thought it was a good time to take my time-out.
(Explanation for people who are new to this blog: One of my training tools when playing the computer is to allow myself one time-out per game to analyze the position as deeply as I want. I call this Matrix chess. I like the technique because it’s like analyzing a position from a tournament game at home, but with an important difference: the game isn’t over. You don’t have 20/20 hindsight to guide your analysis, and you get immediate feedback on whether your analysis was right or wrong.)
What do you think Black should do here? I considered three moves, which have different goals: 27. … Bxa4, 27. … Rxb1, and 27. … R8b8.
My gut reaction here was to play the first of these, 27. … Bxa4. The argument is simple: The worst piece in Black’s position is the bishop, so why not trade it off? I may not get another chance.
The trouble is that White doesn’t have to recapture right away. Instead he throws in the intermezzo 28. Rxb7+! Nxb7 29. Bxa4. The trade has put Black’s knight in a bad position and allows White to take control of the only open file after, say, 29. … Nd6 30. Rb1.
In fact we have a position here where two general principles come into conflict. One is that Black should trade off his bad bishop while he has the chance. The other is that Black should fight for control of the open file. But I can’t do both! When two principles conflict, how do you tell which one is more important?
I’m not sure if I can answer this question in general, but I’ll tell you how I resolved it in this case. If I want to control the b-file, 27. … R8b8 is definitely the move to play. If White were to trade both pairs of rooks, Black would just be winning, because I can eventually round up the h6 pawn. If White leaves the b-file unchallenged, then I’ll get a rook to the seventh rank and surely the game will win itself, right? For maybe a minute or so I thought this was just an easy win, and I was already starting to compose a blog entry in my head about the value of open files.
But is it so easy? Suddenly I had a ghastly thought: what if White trades off only one pair of rooks and then moves his knight to c3? After 27. … R8b8 28. Rxb7 Rxb7 29. Nc3! Rb2 White simply plays 30. Kd2!
Position after 30. Kd2 (analysis). Black to move.
FEN: 8/4kp1p/2bnp1pP/p2p4/2pP4/P1N1P3/1rBK1PP1/7R b – – 0 30
My rook is on the seventh rank but it has nowhere to go, and it’s going to be evicted next move with Kc1. This is a very important type of position to recognize: a position where I have “maxed out” and can’t make further progress. Well, I could try sacrificing the exchange with 30. … a4 31. Kc1 Rb3, which is really interesting — but let’s face it, that’s a risky way to play for a win considering that just a couple moves ago I seemed to have a very safe advantage. There must be a better way.
No matter how long I looked at it, I just couldn’t find a winning plan in the above position. If I can’t do anything with my rook on the b-file, then how can I make progress? Ordinarily the thing to do would be to try to create a second weakness, by pushing pawns on the kingside. But that is fraught with risk. The g-pawn can’t move, and even the f-pawn has to move with caution because Black has to be aware of the possibility (in some positions) for White to sac on g6 and queen his h-pawn.
That h6 pawn is, in fact, a very interesting feature of the position. On the one hand, it’s a weakness that needs constant tending; it’s why White doesn’t want to trade off his last rook. On the other hand, if the h7-pawn is removed the h6-pawn turns from a weakness into a game-winning advantage. I really don’t want to open new files that might allow White’s rook to penetrate and threaten h7.
So at this point I decided to back up and take a closer look at the first line. After 27. … Bxa4! 28. Rxb7+ Nxb7 29. Bxa4 instead of moving the knight, I can protect it with my king: 29. … Kd6! 30. Rb1 Kc7! 31. Rb5 Ra8. (Diagram)
Position after 31. … Ra8. White to move.
FEN: r7/1nk2p1p/4p1pP/pR1p4/B1pP4/P3P3/4KPP1/8 w – – 0 32
At this point I realized I had been guilty of some false assumptions:
Assumption 1: The knight is badly placed on b7. False! It defends the a5-pawn, and the c5-square as well, and it cuts off White’s access to the back rank.
Assumption 2: It’s the end of the world if White controls the b-file. False! Just like the previous position we saw, this is a position where White has “maxed out.” He can’t improve the position of his pieces any more. All I have to do is lift my rook to a6 and b6 and trade them off. Then the endgame should be a win! Not only that, if White realizes the danger and runs away with his rook, then I will control the b-file and it will be much better than before. Now that White has only the bishop left to defend with, not the bishop and knight together, Black’s rook (and knight) should be able to do some damage.
In fact, Shredder obediently let me follow the plan: 32. Kd2 Ra6 33. f4 Rb6 34. Rxb6 Kxb6 and now I “should be winning.”
My goal now is to corral the h6 pawn. But that’s not so easy! I have to make sure that White doesn’t get a chance to penetrate with his bishop to e8 or d7, and I also have to watch out for the aforementioned bishop sacrifice on g6, if I ever push my f-pawn. So I had to continue to “retreat to victory,” bringing my king back to d8.
The game continued 35. g4 Nd6 36. Kc2 Kc7 37. g5 Kd8! (Diagram)
Position after 37. … Kd8. White to move.
FEN: 3k4/5p1p/3np1pP/p2p2P1/B1pP1P2/P3P3/2K5/8 w – – 0 38
It’s just amazing to me how many of the moves in this lengthy maneuver look like “passive” or “defensive” moves. Moving my knight to b7. Moving my king to c7 to defend the knight. Moving my rook to a8. Bringing my king back to d8. Of course, one reason I have the luxury to play this way is the fact that the position is totally closed. White’s king and bishop can’t generate even a shred of counterplay. It’s fascinating how the two pawns at c4 and a5 keep White’s king locked out forever. (In fact, White’s pawn at a3 is part of the conspiracy; put it at a2 and White’s king could penetrate. So the a-pawn is what Mike Splane calls a “traitor pawn.”)
Here Shredder played 38. Kd2 f6 39. gf (otherwise I will trade and win the g5-pawn) 39. … Ne4+ 40. Ke1 Nxf6 41. Bc2 Ke7 42. Kd2 Kf7 (Being very careful not to allow the bishop sac) 43. Ba4 Ng8 44. Bc6 Ke7! (Patience, patience, patience! We don’t want to allow e4, breaking up my pawn formation). 45. e4 Kd6 46. Ba4 Nxh6.
Finally, my patience is rewarded! From this point the win is very easy, with two extra pawns, so I’ll stop here.
Non-chess players sometimes ask, “How many moves ahead can you see?” It’s a hard question to answer. In this case you can argue that I saw 20 moves ahead, because the decision to play 27. … Bxa4 was based on the plan that was finally completed with 46. … Nxh6.
Anyway, the take-home lesson from this game, for me, was to examine your assumptions. A bad bishop doesn’t necessarily have to be traded. A good bishop isn’t necessarily effective. (Take a look at the last diagram! White’s “good bishop” can’t do anything. In fact it turns out to be worse than useless because it can’t defend his pawns on dark squares.) A rook on the seventh rank isn’t necessarily a winning advantage. A rook on an open file can’t do anything if all of the entry squares are defended. “Retreating” moves can be winning moves. Basically, everything you thought you knew about chess is (sometimes) wrong!
A second lesson is to learn to look for and recognize “maxed out” positions. And finally… be patient. If you want to defeat a master-level player, whether it’s a human or a computer, you can’t rush.
What do you think? Was my judgement of the position after 27. … R8b8 28. Rxb7 Rxb7 29. Nc3 too pessimistic? At any point in this 20-move “combination,” did Shredder have a better defense that might have drawn? Let me know in the comments!
