Advances since Nimzowitsch AS OM ET CrestSecrets of Modern Chess Strategy Advances Since Nimzowitsch John Watson AMBEATFirst published in the UK by Gambit Publications Ltd 1998 Reprinted 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 Copyright © John Watson 1998 ‘The right of John Watson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library ISBN 1 901983 07 2 DISTRIBUTION: Worldwide (except USA): Central Books Ltd, 99 Wallis Rd, London E9 SLN. Tel +44 (0)20 8986 4854 Fax +44 (0)20 8533 5821. E-mail: orders @Centralbooks.com USA: Continental Enterprises Group, Inc., 302 West North 2nd Street, Seneca, SC 29678, USA. For all other enquiries (including a full list of all Gambit chess titles) please contact the publishers, Gambit Publications Ltd, P.O. Box 32640, London W14 OJN. E-mail: info@gambitbooks.com Or visit the GAMBIT web site at http://www.gambitbooks.com Edited by Graham Burgess and Chris Baker Typeset by John and Petra Nunn Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wilts. 109876 Gambit Publications Ltd Managing Director: GM Murray Chandler Chess Director: GM John Nunn Editorial Director: FM Graham Burgess German Editor: WFM Petra NunnContents Symbols Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1: The Refinement of Traditional Theory 1: Overview The Nature of Middlegame Theory Methodology 2: The Centre and Development The Centre and Tempi Pawn-Grabbing in the Opening The Really Big Centre The Mobile Central Pawn-mass Surrender of the Centre 3: Minorities, Majorities, and Passed Pawns Minority Attacks Majorities and Candidates Passed Pawns and the Blockade The Lustful Contemporary Passed Pawn 4: Pawns: in Chains and Doubled Up Nimzowitsch’s New Ideas Nimzowitsch and Doubled Pawns An Old Dispute The Evolution of Doubled-Pawn Theory Tripling Up 5: The Evolution of the IQP Framing the Issue The Modern IQP Environment 6: Minor-Piece Issues The Conventional View Opposite Colours Attract? Folklore or Reality? Queens and Knights 7: Those Radical Rooks Seventh and Eighth Ranks Rooks Who Roam on Ranks Drawish Endings? Ana4 SECRETS OF MODERN CHESS STRATEGY 8: Royalty in Our Times The Nimzo-Kingdian Defence King Adventures after Nimzowitsch 9: Assorted Topics Manoeuvring and Weaknesses Exchanging, Old and New Overprotection: A Few Remarks Part 2: New Ideas and the Modern Revolution 1: Overview The Death of Chess Revisited 2: Rule-Independence The Demise of the General Rule; Examples from Practice Description Versus Reality The Royal Guard and How It Strays Affording Common Courtesy to a Horse 3: Modern Pawn Play New Treatments of the Pawn-chain The Positional Pawn Sacrifice Are Your Pawns Really Backward? The New Relationship of Flank to Centre Other Pawn Issues 4: The Modern Bishop All That Fianchettoing The New Morality of Bad Bishops The Bishop-pair Reconsidered 5: The Contemporary Knight They Live on the Edge Optical Illusions Are You Feeling Superfluous? 6: Bishops versus Knights 1: One-on-One The Minor Pieces Face Off 7: Bishops versus Knights 2: Minor-Piece Pairs Against all Odds: Championing the Steeds a) Classical Case: Permanent Weaknesses bi Space/Centre for Bishops: An Obscure Trade-off co) Reversing the Conventional Wisdom Vengeance of the Bishops A Practical Digression 8: The Exchange Sacrifice Origins 151 163 163 169 169 169 175 178 191 195 197 197CONTENTS A Conceptual Leap Petrosian’s Patent The Unfinished Product 9: Prophylaxis Nimzowitsch’s Notion Modern Prophylaxis: Pervasive Prevention 10: Dynamism: The Modern Difference What is Dynamism? Accumulation or Plunder? Dynamic Balance and Planning Optical Advantages versus Elasticity 11: Time and Information Information Theory and Chess Remis? Time and Reversed Openings Today’s Symmetry is Tomorrow’s Opportunity 12: The Initiative Dance: Some Musings The Mysteries of Momentum: What is an Advantage? Dynamism and Provocation 13: The Modern Opening Reconsidered The Paradox of Alekhine The Analytical Revolution An Overview of Contemporary Theory The Avant-Garde 14: Playing Modern Chess/Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography Index of Players Index of Openings 199 202 205 211 211 214 222 222 224 227 228 231 231 232 233 236 238 238 244 244 247 248 262 265 267 268 270 272Symbols + check ++ double check # checkmate x capture im brilliant move : good move 1 interesting move 7 dubious move 7 bad move ne blunder Ch championship 1-0 the game ends in a win for White ‘)-\ the game ends ina draw 0-1 the game ends in a win for Black (D) _ see next diagram Dedication To Tal Shaked and Patrick Hummel, students who are gradually teaching me about chess Acknowledgements Thanks to Graham Burgess and John Nunn, for their suggestions and patience, and to the folks at ChessBase, who supplied me with never-ending data. I am also grateful to IM Larry D Evans, for both his friendship and the use of his fine library.Introduction In Chessman Comics #2', Chessman and Zug- zwang are seen watching the chess western movie “Fort Blunder”, starring General Princi- ple and Chief Alternative, in which the follow- ing dialogue takes place between the General and his assistant: “General Principle, sir, you’ve almost killed off them Old Indians!”; “Yup, but I fear there are new Indian formations coming!”. At the time of Nimzowitsch, the world of chess was undergoing major transfor- mations which would indeed challenge the gen- eral principles then dominating chess theory. In fact, these changes, most apparent in the new Indian formations championed by Nimzo- witsch himself, ultimately cast into doubt the very validity of having such things as ‘general principles’ at all. Nimzowitsch challenged older theory, and his successors ushered in an era of pragmatism, rejection of dogmatism, and ana- lytical research which still characterizes chess today. My task in this book has been to identify the most important changes in chess theory which distinguish modern from classical chess thought. Right away, since I am aware how daunting this book may seem to the reader, I want to make some organizational and philosophic points. First, defining what is ‘modern’ in chess has been a tricky task; as a general guideline, I have chosen 1935, the year of Nimzowitsch’s death, as a dividing point between modern and pre-modern play. Of course, there was no revo- lution in chess thought during that particular year; so ideas which I characterize as ‘modern’ were not necessarily unheard of before 1935, and naturally, some of the concepts I will em- phasize have only recently entered the general consciousness. But when the reader is confused as to why I am designating an idea as ‘modern’ or ‘classical’, he or she is advised to take this somewhat arbitrary dividing point as a guide. Unfortunately, the structure of this book is a bit tricky, and I hope the reader will forgive me if I make repeated explanations about it. Part | is designed to make the student feel comfort- able with classical theory and with Nimzo- witsch’s revisions to that theory. It seemed only fair to the average chess fan to explain a bit about older theory and to lay some foundation for later claims of radical change. But Part 1 also opens the subject of the modern ‘evolu- tion’ of the older theory. Although the distinc- tion is a bit arbitrary, I have introduced in Part 1 what could be termed ‘natural’ developments of older theory, whereas Part 2 is devoted to ‘revo- lutionary’ changes, for example, ones which re- fute older principles or involve fundamental philosophical changes. Thus, both parts fulfil the mandate of the book’s subtitle (‘Advances Since Nimzowitsch’); but Part 2 covers, with a minimal review of past thought, the new ideas which radically distinguish modern play. Hopefully, the chapter and section introduc- tions will help the reader to make sense of these distinctions. At the risk of becoming tedious, I will repeat and expand upon what I have just said about the organization of this book in the first chapter of Part 1, and then again, to a lesser extent, in the first chapter of Part 2. Next, I want to discuss my stylistic approach to this book, including the use of statistics and my choice of exemplary material. The first point to make is that this is nor an instructional book. While I would hope and assume that its study can only help one as a player, that is not its primary purpose. Nor am I writing a com- plete guide to chess middlegame theory, in the way that well-known books written by Pach- man or Euwe and Kramer have done. The book before you is a sort of middlegame book, with numerous examples from opening theory, since the opening and middlegame are no longer 1 The author referring to his own oeuvre! Chessman Comics #2; Watson & Myreng; Chess Enterprises Inc., 1982.