Winning stratagems

I have, for over four decades, been advocating a method of improving your results, by adopting a hero or role model and using that player’s ideas to create your own repertoire and prepared strategies.

One example is the concept of the rook sacrifice on f7, always a vulnerable square, defended only by the king. In 1968 Botvinnik won a brilliant game against Portisch with this device and three years later I was inspired to deliver a similar blow against the Austrian Grandmaster, Karl Robatsch.

Raymond Keene vs. Karl Robatsch

Clare Benedict Cup, Madrid, 1971, rd. 1

1.c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 Nbd7 7. Qc2 b6 8. Nc3 Bb7 9. cxd5 Nxd5

This line was employed by Geller in his 1965 Candidates’ match with Smyslov, and resulted in easy equality for Black. Here, or on the next move, a recapture on d5 with the e-pawn would restrict the mobility of Black’s queen’s bishop, though this might not prove serious in view of the foothold Black would gain in the centre.

10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11. e4 Bb7 12. Bf4

Smyslov played 12. Rd1, which got him nowhere. The text seems to me logical to me, since White now has the opportunity to place his rooks on d1 and e1, and in addition he has no reason to fear the central thrust …c7-c5 on account of the following pawn sacrifice.

12… c5 13. d5 exd5 14. exd5 Bf6

And not 14… Bxd5 15. Rad1 when Black must lose material. 14… Nf6 would fail to 15. d6 followed by 16. Rad1.

15.h4 Re8

15… h6 is possible, although White could then try 16. Nh2 and Ng4, attacking the weakness on h6.

16.Ng5 Nf8 17. Rad1 Bd4

Hoping to surround White’s d-pawn, but White’s next move thwarts this.

18.Be3

Now Black cannot capture at once on e3 in view of the sensitivity of f7.

18… h6

After the game Robatsch suggested 18… f6 but this fails to 19. d6! Bxg2 20. Qb3+ c4 21. Qxc4+ Ne6 22. Nxe6 Bxf1 23. Kxf1 etc.; en passant, it should also be mentioned that the variation 18… Bxd5 19. Bxd4 Bxg2 20. Bxg7! is in White’s favour.

19.Ne4 Bxe3 20. fxe3 Ng6? 

A severe tactical error. Correct is 20… Qe7!

21.Rxf7!!

I played this sacrifice after only a few minutes thought. It is clear that both 21… Rxe4 22. Qxe4 or 22. Rxb7 Rg4 23. Qf5 and 21… Kxf7 22. Rf1+ Kg8 23. Nf6+ gxf6 24. Qxg6+ Kh8 25. Qxh6+ Kg8 26. Qg6+ Kh8 27. Rxf6 Re7 28. Be4! are inadequate, and I felt that after 21… Kxf7 22. Rf1+ Ke7 there had to be a mate.

21… Kxf7

It is hopeless to decline. White remains a pawn up with a rook firmly established on the 7th rank.

22.Rf1+ Ke7

Now I paused to think for 50 minutes before continuing with the combination. White is winning but some of the variations demand precise calculation.

23.d6+ Kd7

Or 23…Ke6 24 Nxc5+ bxc5 25 Qxg6+ Kd7 26 Rf7+ etc.

24.Rf7+ Ne7

If 24… Kc8 then 25. Rc7+ Kb8 (or 25… Qxc7 26. dxc7 Kxc7 27. Nd6 Kxd6 28. Qxg6+ Re6 29. Qd3+ Kc7 30. Bxb7 Kxb7 31. Qd7+) 26. Rxb7+ Kxb7 27. Nxc5+ Kb8 28. Na6 mate. 25. Nxc5 also wins easily.

25.Qa4+ Kc8

There are two alternatives: a) 25… Bc6 26. Bh3 mate. b) 25… Ke6 26. Qc4+ and now: b1) 26… Kd7 27. Bh3+ Kc6 28. d7 Rf8 29. Qe6+ Kb5 30. Nd6+. b2) 26… Ke5 27. dxe7 Rxe7 (if 27… Qd5 28. Qc3+ Ke6 29. Ng5+) 28. Rf1! and Black’s king is stranded. b3) 26… Bd5 27. Rxe7+ Rxe7 (if 27… Qxe7 28. Nxc5+ Kxd6 29. Qxd5+ etc.) 28. Nxc5+ bxc5 (or 28… Kf6 29. Qf4+ Kg6 30. dxe7 Qxe7 31. Bxd5) 29. Qxd5+ Kf6 30. Qf3+ followed by dxe7 and Qxa8 winning a piece.

26.d7+

Leading to a surprising final twist.

26… Qxd7

Or 26… Kc7 27. dxe8=N+ Qxe8 28. Qc4 and Black is helpless.

27.Bh3!

27…Qxh3 28 Qxe8+; or 27…Bc6 28 Qxc6+ Nxc6 29 Bxd7+ Kb8 30 Bxc6. Black resigns 1-0

Another ploy is to adopt a system which you have faced yourself and which has caused you difficulties.  Don’t be too proud to borrow a winning strategem from an opponent.

An example from my own practice was the opening of the following game, where my opponent was a Soviet grandmaster, soon to become Garry Kasparov’s second in his world championship matches against Karpov.

Iossif Dorfman vs. Raymond Keene

Manila, 1979, rd. 11

After the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O, Dorfman tried the relatively unusual 6. Bg5. Whereupon I steered the game into well established Modern Benoni contours with 6…. h6 7. Be3 c5 8. d5 e6 9. Qd2 exd5 10. cxd5 Kh7 11. Nge2 Ndb7 12.Ng3 a6 13. a4 Ne5 14. Be2 Bd7 15. O-O Rb8 16. h3 b5 17. f4 Nc4

It seemed that I had played all the right Modern Benoni moves, but after, 18. Bxc4 bxc4 19. e5, White was winning and I only escaped by a miracle.

It therefore seemed to me that if Dorfman could gain such a crushing advantage so quickly against natural play by Black, then it was worth trying Bg5 myself. I did so — and the results were spectacular. Here are two examples:

Raymond Keene vs. D Brett Lund

London Team Championship, London, 1982

Adolph Anderssen won the Immortal Game, played at Simpsons in the Strand 1851. Nimzowitsch won the Immortal Zugzwang game in 1923. I like to think of this as my Immortal Retreating Game, based on my hammer blow backwards manoeuvres on moves 21-23.

1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Be3 a6 9. a4 Qe7 10. f3 Bg7 11. Qd2 Nbd7 12. Nh3 Ne5 13. Nf2 g5 14. Be2 Ng6

In the USSR Championship the previous year, Gulko vs. Kasparov had gone 14 … Bd7 15. a5 Rb8 16. Na4 Nh5 17. Nb6 Bb5 18. 0-0 0-0 19. b4! +/- (1-0, 37). Lund tries to improve Black’s play.

15.0-0 0-0 16. Rab1 Nh5 17. b4 b6 18. bxc5 bxc5 19. Rb6 

White’s control of the open bfile gives him a strategic win on the queenside. Black is therefore forced to hurl all his resources into a do-or-die attack on the other wing.

19… Nhf4 20. Rc1 Be5 21 Bf1

The first move in a chain of retreats which, paradoxically, leave Black in dire straits.

21… Nh4 22. Qd1 Qf6 23. Nb1 h5 24. Nd2 g4 25. fxg4 Qg5 26. Rb3 f5 27. exf5 Bxf5

Black’s attack appears to be on the point of crashing through but White has so many pieces defending his king that he can expose all such aggression as futile.

28.gxf5 Nhxg2 29. Bxf4 Nxf4+ 30. Rg3 Ne2+

A counsel of despair. In order to save his queen Black has to give up his last few attacking units.

31.Qxe2 Bxg3 32. hxg3 Qxg3+ 33. Bg2 Rxf5 34. Qe6+ Rf7 35. Nde4 Qf4 36. Rf1 Qf5 37. Nxd6 Qxe6 38. dxe6 Rg7 39. Nf5 Rg5 Black resigns 1-0

Raymond Keene vs. Bo Jacobsen

Lux Time Cup, Aarhus, 1983, rd. 6

1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 0-0 5. f3 d6 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Qd2 exd5 9. cxd5 Re8 

If 9… h6!? then 10. Be3! (10. Bxh6 Nxe4! 11. Nxe4 Qh4+ gives Black good chances). Play could then develop along the lines of my game with Dorfman.

10.Nge2 Qa5 

Or 10… a6 11. a4 Qa5 12. Ra3!

11.Ng3 a6 12. Be2 b5 13. 0-0 Nbd7 14. a4?! 

Better perhaps was 14. Kh1 c4 15. a3.

14… b4 15. Nd1 c4!

16.Kh1

I decided to avoid 16. Bxc4 Qc5+ 17. Ne3 h6 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Rad1 Nb6 20. Bb3 Bd7. Whether as White or Black in the Kings Indian I hated giving up my dark squared bishop if my opponent retained his one.

16… Nb6 17. Be3 Nfd7 18. Bd4 Nc5?

Black should play 18… Bxd4 19. Qxd4 Qc5, and if 20. Qxc5 (20. Qd2!) then 20… Nxc5 21. a5 (or 21. Ne3 Nb3 22. Rad1 Nxa4 23. Nxc4 Rd8) 21… Nb3 22. Ra2 Nc1 23. Ra1 Nxe2 24. Nxe2 Nxd5!

19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Qg5!

Better than 20. Qd4+ f6! 21. Bxc4 Nxc4 22. Qxc4 Bd7 23. Ne3 Rac8.

20… Kg8 21. Ne3 c3 22. bxc3 b3 23. Nh5 Nbd7 24. Ng4 Qd8 

If 24… Qxc3 then 25. e5! dxe5 26. Nhf6+ Nxf6 27. Nxf6+ Kf8 28. Nxe8 Kxe8 29. d6.

25.Nhf6+ Kh8 

26.h4! Rb8 

Or 26… Nxf6 (26… Rf8 27. Qh6!) 27. Nxf6 Re5 (if 27… Rf8 or 27… Re7, then 28. Qh6! anyway) 28. Qh6 Qxf6 29. Qf8 mate.

27.Nxe8 Qxe8 28. Qd2 Qe7 29. Qd4+ f6 30. Ne3 Kg8 31. Rfb1 Ne5 32. f4 Nf7 33. Bf3 f5 34. e5! Qxh4+ 

34… dxe5 35. fxe5 Nxe5 36. d6!

35.Kg1 b2 36. Ra2 Nb3 37. Qa7 Nd2 

37… Rb7 38. Qa8 Rc7 39. Raxb2; or 37… Qxf4 38. Nfl Rb7 39. Qa8 Rc7 40. Raxb2 Nc5 41. Rb8.

The rest is mopping up.

38.Qxb8 Qg3 39. Qxc8+ Kg7 40. Raxb2 Nxf3+ 41. Kfl!1-0

So good luck copying your opponents’ most dangerous ideas and using them yourself!

Ray’s 206th book, “  Chess in the Year of the King  ”, written in collaboration with Adam Black, and his 207th, “  Napoleon and Goethe: The Touchstone of Genius  ” (which discusses their relationship with chess) can be ordered from both Amazon and Blackwells. His 208th, the world record for chess books, written jointly with chess playing artist Barry Martin,  Chess through the Looking Glass ,  is now available from Amazon. 

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