Monster Your Middlegame Planning

Efstratios Grivas MONSTER YOUR MIDDLEGAME PLANNING VOLUME 2 Chess Evolution Cover designer Piotr Pielach Monster drawing by Ingram Image Typesetting i-Press ‹www.i-press.pl› First edition 2019 by Chess Evolution Monster your middlegame planning. Volume 2 Copyright © 2019 Chess Evolution All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-615-5793-13-4 All sales or enquiries should be directed to Chess Evolution 2040 Budaors, Nyar utca 16, Magyarorszag e-mail: [email protected] website: www.chess-evolution.com Printed in Hungary TABLE OF CONTENTS Key to symbols ...............................................................................................................5 Foreword .........................................................................................................................7 Evaluation — Plan — Execution ...............................................................................9 CHAPTER 1. INITIATIVE CONCEPTS Buried Piece ...................................................................................................................13 Development ................................................................................................................ 31 Exchange Sacrifi ce ......................................................................................................49 King’s Safety ................................................................................................................ 69 Lethal Diagonals .........................................................................................................93 CHAPTER 2. STRATEGICAL CONCEPTS Bishop Pair...................................................................................................................113 Centre Domination ...................................................................................................135 Edged Piece ..................................................................................................................155 Exchanges ....................................................................................................................175 Pawn Minority (Minority Attack) ........................................................................ 197 Pawn Majority............................................................................................................ 217 Weak Square Complexes .........................................................................................239 Won/Lost Positions .................................................................................................. 255 Index of Games .......................................................................................................... 275 Index of Openings (ECO Classifi cation) .............................................................279 KEY TO SYMBOLS = Equality or equal chances White has a slight advantage Black has a slight advantage White is better Black is better +- White has a decisive advantage -+ Black has a decisive advantage unclear with compensation with counterplay with initiative with an attack with the idea only move Nnovelty ! a good move !! an excellent move ?a weak move ?? a blunder !? an interesing move ?! a dubious move +check #mate FOREWORD I would like to thank Mr. Vasilis An- Now, as said, the format changed, with dronis, Mr. Antonis Vragoteris and 13 thematic chapters, where in each of Mr. Manolis Kotsifi s for being the them 6 tests are included. Each theme fi rst testers of the book, advising me is analysed by modern concepts and with some important thoughts and tips, which will drive the reader to the suggestions. right path. For me solving the tests is not the most important feature. Un- Th e MYMP off ers training on a vital derstanding them and learning how to subject, the choice of the ‘best’ avail- do the job in an over-the-board game able plan. As is commonly accepted is far more important and what counts in the chess world, a correct Evalua- in the end of the day! tion of the position, a strong Plan and an accurate Execution are the three With this book I have sought to pro- important factors that separate ‘the vide a training guide that will be help- expert from the amateur’. In a way, ful mostly to players in the 1500–2200 effi cient training on the three above range — corresponding to a lower mentioned concepts can help a chess club level up to those with aspirations player mature and lead him to new for a FIDE title. successful paths. Of course, the book may well also be Back in 2007 I published my fi rst useful for players weaker than 1500, English language book on planning or for those stronger than 2200, but (Modern Chess Planning — Gambit), this is a decision these players should which was later translated and pub- make for themselves! lished in the Greek, Spanish and Ira- nian languages, making it a best-sell- In this book there are 78 tests, each er. I took seriously the various based around a game. In each of these recommendations and notes of the tests, the starting point is the fi rst dia- readers and so in that respect I im- gram. Th ere is an evaluation of the di- proved the writing and the presenta- agrammed position, which helps the tion of the tests aiming to fulfi l your reader to understand some important expectations. facts about the position itself. 8 MONSTER YOUR MIDDLEGAME PLANNING. VOLUME 2 A presentation of three possible plans Total Points Planning Strength follows. Th en the reader must decide 2400–2500 Grandmaster which is the most valuable/best plan. Th e best plan receives a maximum of 2300–2399 International Master 50 points. Th e other, less good, bad 2200–2299 FIDE Master or indiff erent plans normally receive 2000–2199 Candidate Master some points or none at all, depending 1800–1999 National Master on their actual value and correctness. Some of the plans receive no points at 1600–1799 National A’ Category all; they are just bad! 1400–1699 National B’ Category 1200–1399 National C’ Category Aft er completing the work on each 835–1199 Should try harder! test, the reader must take a look at the solution, where he can fi nd the answers. In the solutions, the game As one might notice from the is analysed until its end, so the read- score-table, expectations are a little er can better understand why the re- higher than usual for the categories warded plan was the ‘best’ in the posi- listed, as in this book the evaluation tion and how it worked out. Th ere are of the position is given by the author a few examples where the best avail- beforehand, and this is a great help for able plan was overlooked, but these the reader. A correct evaluation of any are exceptions and the games are nev- position is one of the most signifi cant ertheless quite interesting. factors in chess, but that could be the subject for another book. By this point, you will have received some very good training. But then, It is now time for you to work and it will do no harm to measure your train on that important chess con- ‘strength’ on this subject. Th e max- cept, the plan. Have fun and train imum score is 3.900 points and you well! should divide your total score by 1.5: Athens, 2019 Efstratios Grivas EVALUATION — PLAN — EXECUTION Th e most important element in mod- In every position you must know ern chess practice is probably correct where you are (evaluation), where you planning. Th e plan is associated with want to go (plan) and how you will go evaluation and execution, three valu- there (execution). So simple, but we able concepts that cannot be separat- tend to forget this procedure in the ed and which most of the time deter- heat of battle. mine the fate of our positions. Nowadays, chess games between de- During my training sessions I do ask cent players are full of small plans of from my trainees the famous EPE diff erent types and ideas, based on procedure, as below: purely strategic and tactical motives. Th e one who will eva-luate, plan and SOS Tip 1 — EPE execute better than the oppo-nent earns the fi rst option to win the game. 1. Evaluation (strategical & tactical) 2. Plan (ours and our opponent’s) A closer examination of games played between strong players will prove that 3. Execution (calculation & move) there is some harmony among their moves, some central idea that guides the movements of their forces. Th is Th at’s the right order, although many is what we call a plan. A good chess trainers/authors do not really follow player refuses to act without any plan, it — they prefer to teach fi rst to move even if this plan sometimes turns out and then to think. With this way they to be mistaken in the long run. have some success but they will nev- er have a GM or a player near such First of all, it is important to identify strength. the most important strategic and tactical elements of each particular po- Chess is a mind game — it asks you to sition. According to the needs of that think to fi nd solutions, even if these certain position, we should create our solutions are more or less obvious. plan and stick to it. Games where only one plan is used are rarely seen these 10 MONSTER YOUR MIDDLEGAME PLANNING. VOLUME 2 days. We are usually obliged to create ing theory having gone very far, the several small plans, which of course choice of a certain opening very much are just parts of our main

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