Contents Symbols 4 Introduction 5 A Sneak Preview into what this book is really about 7 Indecisiveness is Evil 7 Ruled by Emotions 12 Part 1: Trends, Turning Points and Emotional Shifts 18 A Really Long Game with a Little Bonus 20 Tr end-Breaking To ols 30 Burn Bridges Now or Preserve the Status Quo? 46 The Burden of Small Advantages 51 Surviving the Monster 58 Part 2: Openings and Early Middlegame Structures 65 The Exchange QGD: Staying Flexible in a Rigid Pawn Structure 67 What Good are Central Pawns against the Griinfeld Defence? 74 Side-stepping the 'Real' Benko 90 Relax; It's Just a Benoni 105 The Once-Feared Grand Prix Attack Now Rings Hollow 113 On the War Path: The Sicilian Counterattack 126 The Pros and Cons of the Double Fianchetto 142 A Final Word on Openings 154 Part 3: Tactical Mastery and Strategic Skills 161 What Exchanges are For 163 Classics Revisited or the Miseducation of Alex Yermolinsky 171 Back to the Exchanging Business- The New Liberated Approach 176 From Calculable Tactics to Combinational Understanding 183 Number of Pawns is just another Positional Factor 199 Let's Talk Computer Chess 216 Index of Openings 223 Index of Players 223 + check ++ double check # checkmate ! ! brilliant move good move !? interesting move ?! dubious move ? bad move ?? blunder +- White is winning ± White is much better ;!; White is slightly better equal position + Black is slightly better + Black is much better -+ Black is winning Ch championship G/60 time limit of 60 minutes for the whole game 1-0 the game ends in a win for White If2-lh the game ends in a draw 0-1 the game ends in a win for Black (D) see next diagram The book you are about to read is essentially a yourself as a chess-player. In fact, it's a good collection of Alex Yermolinsky's games and start, and I'll be talking about its benefits analyses I've made in the course of my every­ throughout this book. day work that began a long time ago. Anyway, I just wanted to make the point that Having started to attend a junior chess club it was no easy feat back then, when scoresheets at the age of 8, I was marked as a promising kid, had no carbon copies and were often substi­ but hardly a prodigy- I think in the early stages tuted by a piece of scrap paper. To my genuine of my career my results didn't match the time surprise- I think my mother was impressed too and effort put in- and I constantly let other kids - this new job took off quite easily, and soon I surpass me. They would quickly jump through started getting a huge kick out of meticulously the grades up to Category One level, while I entering moves into a thick workbook, along was taking a year or more for every step. It was with results, crosstables and statistics. Looking the most frustrating thing at the time, but it may back, I realize now that the-benefits were al­ have also been a blessing in disguise. I got to most instant. I began to obtain: play a lot of games against worthy opposition, a) a real sense of purpose in my chess career quite a few tournaments in every Category, un­ as I could set my goals short- and long-term; til I was absolutely ready to move on. And hav­ b) a feeling if I was doing things right or ing moved up a step, I would already be good wrong, dependingon ups and downs of my tour­ enough to compete at the new level, or, at least, nament results; avoid being blown away. This kind of slow rise, c) some necessary work habits that are es­ even if it's highly atypical for a future grand­ sential for every chess-player, namely the abil­ master, has its merits. If anything, it did a good ity to sit down and concentrate - even for a job preparing me for future disappointments small task, such copying your own games. and frustrations that essentially make up a life­ The quality of my analysis was lagging be­ long chess career. hind. Soon I made a habit of entering, along The Soviet School of Chess was strong in with the game score, some of the variations I numbers. There were many talented kids in our calculated during the game, including the stuff chess club, much more in the whole country, me and my opponent looked into during the but only a handful of us made it to become post-mortem, but I hardly did any serious work grandmasters. Why and what is a decisive crite­ after the game to verify their soundness. Mostly, ria for a future success- I don't know. Speaking my notes remained on a level of one-move sug­ for myself, I think I made my first step on that gestions and game and move annotations, coded long road in 1972, when I turned 14. I don't re­ with 'Informator' signs. That's where most member who it was, and how he/she managed people stop, as the desire to see your games ap­ to convince me- or maybe I simply picked it up pearing on the computer screen eventually gets from Alekhine's autobiography, the only chess saturated, and there's no incentive to put any book I had at that time- but one day I began to additional work into something that will not collect my games. Today, with the help of PC, it look an ounce better no matter what you do. I is something that every chess beginner does, felt the same way for a long time. The games simply out of a desire to see a 'MyGames' data­ were there, I also had nice statistical tables base next to 'KaspWhite' or 'KarpEnd' . Don't rounding up every year, and that was it. I needed be ashamed, there's nothing wrong with treating to take the next step and deepen my analysis. 6 THE ROAD TO CHESS IMPROVEMENT The real purpose of my work had slowly begun to prove once again that I was good enough to to come out, as I noticed that with time my reach the First League of the USSR Champion­ game entries would take more and more space ship, but not good enough to get to the Premier on the pages of my workbooks. League. Seven years, man, it was going on for Still, my game comments had remained on a seven years, and back to Square One every level of personalnotes, never rising to the level spring! Well, the competition was stiff, with of a professionally annotated game, even if I many talented players bashing heads with each was getting some experience with that kind of other, and some real talents breaking through work. Having served as Irina Levitina's second every once in a while. I felt like I was back in my duringher fantastic run in the Women's Cham­ junior years, when in every tournament there pionship Cycle of 1982-4, I later wrote a few would be somebody else, not me, taking that articles about her matches against Nona next step. I think I could easily have quit chess, Gaprindashvili, Nana Alexandria and Lidiya but to my surprise I never did. Semionova for a Russian-language magazine The problem I had to acknowledge was the Shakhmaty that was published in Latvia. The stagnation of my development. I was simply articles were a success, proving that I wasget­ going nowhere. It's not that I lackedexperience ting some knack of annotating chess games, but - I was 28 years old then, and I had been play­ I could not convince myself that such work ing chess for some 20 years up to that point- it should be done with every game I played. was rather a sad realization that my game was Not until 1986. At that time I wasalready an not improving. In search for inspiration I de­ established player somewhere between strong cided to follow the most common advice one IM and weak GM strength, even if I held no in­ can find in the works of Alekhine (my most fa­ ternational title. I could cite the lack of opportu­ vourite player) and Botvinnik (one of the least nities afforded to me by the Soviet State, but, favourite ones), which can be put into simple honestly, I am not sure I deserved many of words - study your games. Ever since, every those. Year after year, I went through the same game I played has been extensively annotated. mesh system of qualificationtournaments, only Care to take a peek? Be my guest. A Sneak Preview into what this book is really about I admit to it, every once in a while I play a game Indecisiveness is Evil that really leaves me confused. It's like, I can't believe I blew such a great position! For some­ The following game is an example of one of body who takes his chess very seriously this the worst sins. My position was so great that I could be a very disappointing experience lead­ could not choose between many attractive op­ ing to sleepless nights, a general feeling of dis­ tions, wasted time and practically invited my gust and a Joss of confidence. opponent back to the game. Ultimately, it was On the other hand, I realize that those games decided by a blunder, but a careful and honest could become a valuable learning material.