We play the game of war

Having been immersed in Napoleonic studies in order to bring out my new book on Napoleon and Goethe, to coincide with the launch of the Ridley Scott biopic of the emperor last month, I have become increasingly aware of possible resonances between famous chess games and Napoleonic battles. The title of this week’s column alludes to the Latin poem Scacchia Ludus (“The Game of Chess”), published in 1527 and composed by Marcus Hieronymus Vida, the Bishop of Alba and Cremona. A translation by Oliver Goldsmith may be found here. The poem includes the words ludimus effigiem belli, meaning:  “We play the game of war”.

Napoleon’s chef d’oeuvre, the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, was one of the most important engagements of his career. This decisive victory by the Grande Armée terminated the War of the Third Coalition. The battle is considered a tactical masterstroke, in the same class as such other momentous set pieces as Cannae (when Hannibal crushed the Roman legions) and Gaugamela, where Alexander terminated Persian resistance by defeating the so-called Great King Darius III. Although the chief title of Darius was Shah en Shah, King of Kings, when comparing greatness, as between the rulers of Macedonia and Persia, I take the liberty of misquoting Shakespeare’s Richard II :  Good King, great king, and yet not goodly great…

Napoleon’s strategy at Austerlitz was to lure the opposition into a premature battle. Had the allied Emperors of Russia and Austria simply declined to fight, then Napoleon could not have made a breakthrough. As it was, the Allies, presaging the game of chess which follows, launched a major assault against Napoleon’s right flank. They thereby weakened their centre on the Pratzen Heights, which was promptly and violently attacked by the IV Corps, led by the talented and ambitious Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult. With the enemy centre broken, French troops wheeled through both allied wings and forced Napoleon’s opponents to flee in panic. Napoleon, the new film by Sir Ridley Scott, depicts this battle in graphic, if not always historically accurate, detail.

Paradoxically, in this battle, Napoleon surrenders the central high ground, only to regain it in a devastating counterattack. This battle also furnished the material for one of the most memorable chapters of Tolstoy’s epic, War and Peace. In chess the following game between two leading British Grandmasters (both former pupils of top chess tutor Julian Simpole) parallels the Battle of Austerlitz. White penetrates on the queen’s side and much of the centre, only to be felled by a focused offensive against the white king’s depleted fortifications.

David Howell vs. Luke McShane

British Championship, Hull (2018), round 9

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6

The old Steinitz Deferred Defence, used by Capablanca, Keres and Alekhine.

5.O-O Bd7 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Nxd4 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. Qxd4 Nf6 10. Nc3 Be7

Now admire the way in which Black’s slightly retro handling of the opening can open up such dynamic, one might say, Napoleonic, counter-attacking perspectives.

11.Bf4

11 b3, to place the bishop on the long diagonal, is a more relevant choice.

11… O-O 12. Rad1 Qc6 13. Nd5

This seemingly proactive advance actually simplifies the position and leaves Black without problems. Maintaining the tension with 13 f3 or 13 Rfe1 are both better tries for the advantage.

13… Nxd5 14. exd5 Qxc2 15. Rc1 Qf5 16. Rxc7 Bf6

Now Black has no problems at all as his pieces are slightly better coordinated than White’s.

17.Qd2 Rfc8 18. Rfc1

It might have been advisable for White to play 18 Bxd6 Rd8 19 Bg3 Rxd5 20 Qc2 when (although Black may have a tiny advantage) the symmetrical structure makes a draw extremely likely. Instead of taking safety precautions, White redoubles his efforts to obliterate Black’s queen’s wing.

18… Rxc7 19. Rxc7 Re8 20. h3 h5 21. b3 g5 22. Be3 Re5 23. Rxb7 Rxd5 24. Qc1 Be5

White has been deflected away from the key fulcrum.

Black’s concentration of attacking force in the centre equates to Napoleon’s storming of the Pratzen Heights at Austerlitz.

25. Rb4

If 25 Bxg5 then…Rc5 26 Qd2 Qb1+ is deadly, exploiting White’s vulnerability on the back rank.

25… Qd3 26. f4

White has to play 26 g3. Although the reply 26…Qe2 looks scary after 27 Qc8+ Kg7 28 Qf5, White is actually OK.

26… Qe2 27. Kh2 gxf4 28. Bxf4 Rd2 29. Qc6 Kg7

This is a far-sighted move, tidying up Black’s position by avoiding potential back rank checks. White is now helpless against Black’s attack.

30.a3 h4 31. Rc4

If White tries 31 Ra4 then, according to Luke, the reply 31… a5!! places White in an unexpected zugzwang. In general if the queen moves to b7/a8 then…d6-d5 wins, as Qc6-h6+ in reply is no longer possible.

31… Qe3 32. Qe4

Now comes a thunderbolt.

32… Qg3+ White resigns 0-1

After 33 Bxg3 Bxg3+ 34 Kg1 Rd1+ leads to a forced mate.

Just as at the Battle of Austerlitz, the losing side had appeared to be safe, indeed, pressing for the initiative. The massive counterattack, both in the battle itself and in this game, came almost like a lightning stroke from a seemingly clear sky.

Napoleon was not just a master strategist and tactician but also, and vitally, an expert opportunist, who had mastered the art of concealing his true objective from the opposition, until the decisive moment materialised.

Ray’s 206th book, “Chess in the Year of the King”, written in collaboration with former Reuters chess correspondent, Adam Black, appeared earlier this year. Now  his 207th, “Napoleon and Goethe: The Touchstone of Genius” (which discusses their relationship with chess and explains how Ray used Napoleonic era  battle strategies to develop his own chess style) has been published just in time to complement Ridley Scott’s new biopic. This week’s column gives a flavour of the main theme of Ray’s latest book. Both books are available from Amazon and Blackwells.

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