Train Like a Grandmaster
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THECLUB PLAYER'S LIBRARY Trainlike a Grandmaster ALEXANDERKOTOV Translatedby BernardCafferty B.T. BatsfordLtd, London Firstpubtished 1981 Reprinted1984, 1986, 1 990 Contents @ AlexanderKotov, 1 981 ISBN0 7134 3609 3 (limp) Typesetby W.Turner & SonLimited, Symbolsand Acknowledgements 6 Halifax Preface 7 andPrinted in Great Britain by 1 A littlehistory 9 Billing& SonsLtd, Worcester 2 Howthe Openingis Studied 1'] forthe publishers 3 Objectivityin the Ending 24 B.T. Batsford Limited 4 Competitiveor CreativeElement? za 4 FitzhardingeStreet, London W1 H OAH 5 Studyingthe MiddleGame 41 6 AnnotatingGames 63 7 A Philosophyof Chess 68 8 Schoolsof Chess 70 9 Botvinnik'sChess School 84 10 Kart'sChess School 102 11 Karseladze'sChess School 112 12 Withouta School 117 A BATSFORDCHESS BOOK Adviser:GMR.D. Keene OBE TechnicalEditor: lan Kingston _=!l-F'-F_ Symbols Preface + Check 'What a strangestate of aifairsyou havein chessnowadays; Goodmove remarkedafriend of mine.He does not know the finer points of the tl Very strongmove KingsIndian Defence, but he takesnote of all the resultsof ; Doubtfulmove tournamentsand matches. 'Whatdo you havein mind?' ?? Blunder 'Almost Whiteto move everyVear there are reportsabout the emergenceoT a Yugoslavia,the B Blackto move newoutstanding chess talent. In Moscow,Britain, USAl 'lt'sthe naturalprogression of the generationsl 'Progression!Yet in the Candidates'Matches for overa decade Acknowledgements challengersfor theworld title have almost always been the theeig6t 'old selfsame men" 'Whatabout Karpov?' NOTE:Some minor corrections were made to the text at editonat 'Karpovhas been champion for fiveyears already. Where are the sf€ge- R.G.W. otheryoung talents? Compared to the Candidates'series of 1965 theaverageage of thechallengers in the 1980series has gone up by almosttwo years.There is no challengeryounger than thirty, yet andsome of o; theother hand Tigran Petrosian isalready fifty-one, ' the othersare gettingclose to their halfcentury. 'lt sometimeshaPPens that way 'sometimeslThen again Yefim Geller at the age of fifty-four outplaysall the youngmen and takes the goldmedal in the 1979 SovietChamoionship - anotherexample to youthi We discussedthis topic. and laterI reflected a greatdeal trying to answera questionwhich troubles the chess organisations of many countries.Aecently in Moscowthere was a gatheringof experienced grandmastersand young talentedplayers. There were notes of alarm soundedin the speechesof famouschess experts sucfi as grandmastersSmyslov, Polugayevsky, Taimanov and-others Even 5arlier,serious claims were expressed in an articleby PetrosianWe get to know his interestingthoughts later, but herewe can shall 'lt givea resum6: iseasy to playagainst the youngplayers; lor me theyare an openbooki What are the reasonsfor the slowingdown in the development -.-....-tr- I Preface of younggrandmasters both in our countryand in others?The authorcame to the conclusionthat an answercan onlv be oiven aftera carefulanalysis of thepresent state of chesstheory. Ho-w do we play?What is the foundationof modernchess? What plavsthe leadingrole in ourcreative efforts? What are the chief principles of modernchess theory? My latefriend and trainer,grandmaster Simagin, used to stress A littlehistory the needto discussthe philosophyof presentdav chess, how for 1 example\^€ regardthe advantage of Whjtemoving first, what are the mainguide lines for our researchwork. Theauthor has to overcomesome diffidence in tacklino this most difficulttopic, in tryingto filla gap left by theoreticians:I console myselfwith the thought that the traveller who penetratesthe thick Chessplayers who devote their time to thegreat and ancient game forestmay have a sadfate, but no worsethan that of the irresolute can be dividedinto two basiccategories. The firstsimply play in who hesitateat thefirst clearing tournamentsappropnate to theirstrength. The second try to find Inexamining the current state of chessthe author has no choice somephilosophical sense in chess,to createchess theory, which in butto copewith anothertask - to talkabout modern methods of our dayshas become a genuinescience. The first becomeworld chesscoaching, and naturallyof the modernSoviet School of championsand leadinggrandmasters, the winnersof top tour- Chess.lt canhardly be denied that modern chess is to a considerable naments.The second write books on thetheory of thethree stages extentSoviet chess. By a carefulexamination of chesscoachinq in of thegame. Sometimes leadirig f igures combine both activities and the USSRthe Western player can learn a lot,and useit in hisoiwn thenwe getan outstandingperson in theworld of chess. attemptsto improve.For examplehow usefulit is to become Thefirst guidingprinciples of chesstheory were discovered by famlliarwith the organisationand teaching methods of Botvinnik's the inventorsof openingsand gambits.Amongst these principles famousschool, the Soviet TV schooland others. the best establishedis the simplestone: bring out your pieces quickly,seize fie centreand go for the enemyking with all your 'blitzkrieg' Thuswe getthe mainaim of thisbook: forces.Such aimsare servedby the EvansGambit, the To describethe featuresof the modernattitude to chess,as DanishGambit, the KingsGambit and others. Even nowadays the largelyworked out by the Soviet School,to try and revealtne seizureof the centreand speedypiece development are a corner- philosophyof modernchess, and to indicatehow chess is studied rn stoneof modernstrategy. thestrongest of the Schoolsof Chess- And16Philidor drew attention to yetanother important postulate theSoviet School. 'The ln the lightof thisthe author has divided the bookinto two basrc pawnis the soul of chess'he stated, and everybody concurred parts: in devotingcareful study to pawnchains, the isolatedcentre pawn 1 How chess theory is studied. andthe weakness of a groupof pawns. 2 Chess schools in the Soviet Union. A significantevent in the developmentof theory was the teachingof WilhelmSteinitz with his stresson avoidingweak squares,the accumulationof temporary.slight advantages and their transformationinto permanentones. With the arrivalof Steinitztheory became a realforce; he was the one who originated the scientrficaooroach to chesswhich is now sowell developed. The proponentsof Steinitz'stheory - Tarraschand his supporters- triedto expressSteinitz's teaching in the form of laconicrules, and as often happens in suchcases, they went too far. Thelaconic tended to becomedogmatic, and chessbegan to lose itsfreshness, originality and charm. Theyoung of thattime rose up againstthis. In the earlypart of the 20th centuryNimzowitsch and R6tiin theirpolemic books and -/ 10 A little history articlesand Alekhinein his practicalplay started propagandising moreand morethe creativeprinciples to be foundeven earlier in thegames of Chigorin.Their main postulates were: Get away from dogma,play inventively, even originally, and as Blackdo not go for equality,as the Tarrasch school taught, but fromthe first moves try to createyour own planof counterplay. These aims, an immediate counterattack by pieceson a seeminglyimpregnable pawn centre, 2 How the Openingis Studied were servedby the inventionof their openings- the Alekhine Defence,the Gr0nfeldDefence, the NimzowitschDefence and so on. Morethan halfa centuryhas gone by sincethe appearanceof R6ti'sModern ldeasin Chessand Nimzowitsch'sMy Systemin principles (they How do presentday grandmastersplay the first stageof the game? whichthe of theseinnovators are laiddown called questlons themselvesthe hypermoderns). grown What principlesdo they follow?lf we can answerthese Sincethen chess has intoa theory. massively-popularartand the number of chessbooks and magazines we shallmake real progress in understandingall modern in the variouslanguages you Firstof all the advantageof the first move-Chess experts who of theworld cannot be counted.Yet positionare will look in vainon the bookshelvesfor a work devotedto qeneral seemto allegethat White has no advanbge in theinitial questionsof chess wrong.Even in quick-movingsports the starting side nearly alwavs development.for an accountof thd main - theright to postulatesof modern chessthought. The bookshelvesare piled hass6me advantage, even if veryslight for example high serveat tennis,or to bullyoff in hockey.In chesslt ls always insteadwith bookson the openings,tournament books and of biographiesof the greatplayers. preferableto be White.The questionthen ariseswhat sort. to neutrallsethe In thisbook we try to dealwith a numberof importantpoints of strategicplan Black should choose in an attempt modern chesstheory. right"lt to movefirst and to seizethe initiative. What is chessnowadays? How is theory play andBlack studiedby a leadingschool? How are modern views on this standsto reasonthat the methodsof for White ancient we considerthem gameformed? The readerwill alsolearn how a generaltheory of in the initialoosition are different,so shall chessdevelops and how the theoryof the threestages of the game separately. isstudied in the SovietUnion. White Threemain currents of thoughtmay be distinguished in the mlnd of a moderngrandmaster playing White in a tournament-.game: 1)The method of quietmaintenance of the advantage ol lrrstmove swift strike. 2) The methodof the 'coiled 3) Themethod of the spring: 1) Incases when a grandmasterdoes not have to winat allcosts he tendsto avoidshara lines in theopening and sticks io clearsensible lines.This method is alsoadopted when the opponentis a definite protagonistof sharpplay and it is advantageousto'keep