Andrew Martin: Basic Defence

The topic of defence will have to be approached by the coach at some stage. It is so important when training young players to show them how to attack, how to create combinations and to fire the imagination. But the other side of the coin is not so far away and learning how to defend is a most important skill. The purpose of this short article is to help the coach teach basic defence.Let me list what I think are the skills needed to become a good defender and then we will deal with them in order. 1) Self confidence. 2) Counterplay is the essence of defence. 3) Exchanging can break an attack. 4) Return material to get a good position. 5) Attack with the maximum, defend with the minimum. SELF BELIEF Lets begin with self-belief. This is such an important quality which helps us to develop our full potential. Most players have enormous talent for chess which lies unfulfilled simply because they do not believe in themselves. How does this apply to defence? Consider the following game. Nakamura H. : Short N. London 2010 There are two important, interlinked components which help a competitor to keep in form. You have to play a lot and you have to play with inspiration. Don't underestimate the second item on the shortlist. Without inspiration it's easy to become jaded and results can nosedive at this point.

At the London Chess Classic 2010 Nigel Short seemed to be lacking inspiration and at world-class level, any weakness is going to be exploited. 1.e4 e5 2.Sf3 Sc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.La4 Sf6 5.00 Le7 6.Te1 b5 7.Lb3 00 8.c3 d5 9.ed5 e4?!

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwq-trk+0 9+-zp-vlpzpp0 9p+n+-sn-+0 9+p+P+-+-0 9-+-+p+-+0 9+LzP-+N+-0 9PzP-zP-zPPzP0 9tRNvLQtR-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
The Herman Steiner variation, considered very dubious, but of course, very unclear. Black can often whip up a dangerous attack. It takes a great player like Nakamura to expose it. 10.dc6 ef3 11.g3!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwq-trk+0 9+-zp-vlpzpp0 9p+P+-sn-+0 9+p+-+-+-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9+LzP-+pzP-0 9PzP-zP-zP-zP0 9tRNvLQtR-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
A remarkably self-confident move. It's very easy to see why 11 g3 has been more or less ignored for so long as it seems to expose weak light squares around the White King. But Short never even gets to close to getting in. Basically Nakamura belives that he can defend against any forthcoming Black attack and eventually round up the pawn on f3. 1

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin

Instead, after 11.d4 Black also has it all to prove: 11...fg2 12.Df3 Te8 13.Lg5 a5 (13...Lg4 14.Dg2 Lh5 15.Sd2 Dd6 16.Te5 Lg6 17.Tae1 Kf8 18.Lh4 Sg8 19.Lg3 Df6 20.Se4 Le4 21.De4 Dg6 22.De2 Tad8 23.d5 f6 24.Lc2 Df7 25.Te6 Td5 26.Lb3 Tg5 27.Te3, 1:0, So W. : Shukuraliev A., Guangzhou 2010) 14.Sd2 a4 15.Lc2 Le6 16.Te6 fe6 17.Dh3 g6 18.Te1 Dd6 19.Te6 Dd5 20.Sf3 Ld8 21.Tf6 Lf6 22.Lf6 Tf8 23.Lg6 hg6 24.Dh8 Kf7 25.Dg7 Ke6 26.De7 Kf5 27.Sh4 Kg4 28.De2 Kh3 29.De3, 1:0, Shirov A. : Lahno K., Benidorm 2008. 11...Te8 12.d4 12.Df3 Lc5. 12...Lg4 13.Lg5 h6 13...Dd6 14.Dd3 h6 15.Lf6 Lf6 16.Sd2 Dc6 17.Dg6 Le6 18.Dh5. 14.Lf6 Lf6 15.Sd2 Dd6 16.h3! Very good timing. Far from helping Black, the pawn on f3 is simply getting in his way! 16...Lh5 Or 16...Te1 (16Lh3 17.Df3 +-) 17.De1 Lh3 18.De4!

24.de5 might give Black some drawing chances. 22...Te5 23.de5 Lg6 23...Dg6 24.Dg6 Lg6 25.Ld5. 24.Dg5 De4 25.Dd8 Kh7 26.Dh4 Dh4 27.gh4 f6 27...Lh5 28.Kh2 Kh6 29.Kg3 mops up, with the help of Ld1-f3. 28.ef6 gf6 29.Ld5

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+-+0 9+-zp-+-+k0 9p+-+-zpl+0 9+p+L+-+-0 9-+-+-+-zP0 9+-zP-+p+P0 9PzP-+-zP-+0 9+-+-+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
You could say that this was the culmination of White's plan, which began with 11 g3. 29...a5 30.b4 ab4 31.cb4 Ld3 32.Kh2 Lc4 33.Le4 33.Lf3 La2. 33...Kh6 34.a3 1:0. Easy does it and total self-belief from Nakamura. He saw no ghosts, displayed no fear of Short's attack and won comfortably in the end. But how does one acquire this elusive quality of self confidence? Here are some good starting tips: 1) Work hard. 2) Play a lot. 3) Listen to good advice from people you respect and trust. COUNTERPLAY Counterplay is the main currency of the successful defender. You need to create a distraction in order to stop the opponent from running you down. Developing counterplay from a defensive position is an art, so let's see how the job is done. 2

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+-+-+k+0 9+-zp-+pzp-0 9p+Pwq-vl-zp0 9+p+-+-+-0 9-+-zPQ+-+0 9+LzP-+pzPl0 9PzP-sN-zP-+0 9tR-+-+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
which is an effective centralization. 17.Dc2 Lg5 18.Se4 Dc6 18...Dg6 19.Dd3, intending Bc2, is very good for White. 19.Sg5 hg5 20.Df5 Te1 20...Dg6 21.Dg6 Lg6 22.Ld5. 21.Te1 Te8 22.Te5! Control of the position is what all strong chessplayers desire and this is what 22 Te5! gives to Nakamura. 22.Te8 De8 23.De5 De5

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin

Ivanchuk V. : Short N. Linares 1992 We learn very early that damaging our pawn structure is a bad idea. Doubled pawns, isolated pawns, tripled pawns are to be avoided lest a bad endgame lurks in the wings. That may be true, but there are certain circumstances when we can make a poor pawn structure work for us. There are a few observations worth noting: 1) If your pawn structure is worse, don't routinely swap the pieces off. Stay in the middlegame and aim for the initiative. 2) Isolated or doubled pawns generally mean open lines next to those pawns. Get your pieces on those open lines. 3) If you must swap pieces, keep your active pieces on the board at all cost . If you can tie the opponent down, you might be able to stop him from realising his strategical advantage. Thus the matter is not clearcut. 1.d4 Sf6 2.c4 e6 3.Sc3 d5 4.cd5 ed5 5.Lg5 Lf5 6.e3 c6 7.Df3 Lg6 8.Lf6 Df6 9.Df6 gf6

patience,but it is very tough for White to increase his advantage. 10.Kd2 Just supporting Ld3. Of course Black will not exchange on this square. 10.Sge2 is another steady move, but in the following recent game Black easily held the balence: 10...Sd7 11.Sf4 Sb6 12.f3 Ld6. It is very important White cannot contest the dark squares. This forms the larger part of Black's 'compensation' for the pawn weakness. 13.Kf2 00 14.h4 h6 15.g4 Tae8 16.Te1 Te7 17.Tg1 Kh8 18.Sg6

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsn-+kvl-tr0 9zpp+-+p+p0 9-+p+-zpl+0 9+-+p+-+-0 9-+-zP-+-+0 9+-sN-zP-+-0 9PzP-+-zPPzP0 9tR-+-mKLsNR0 xiiiiiiiiy
On his road to the World Championship final against Kasparov, back in the early 1990's, Nigel Short seemed willing to play all sorts of openings where doubled pawns were involved. This is one such case in the Queen's Gambit. Black's position looks ghastly, but he has two Bishops and he may be able to tie White down on the dark squares. I wouldn't like to be playing Petrosian with Black or a player of immense

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-tr-mk0 9zpp+-trp+-0 9-snpvl-zpNzp0 9+-+p+-+-0 9-+-zP-+PzP0 9+-sN-zPP+-0 9PzP-+-mK-+0 9+-+-tRLtR-0 xiiiiiiiiy
Paradoxical, but he did not like 18.h5 Lh7 19.Sg2 Tfe8 20.Sh4 (20.Td1 f5! dissolving the doubled pawns!) 20...Lh2 21.Th1 Lf4!, with a serious hit on the dark squares) 18...fg6 19.Ld3 Kg7 20.h5 g5 21.Te2 a6 22.Td1, , Grischuk A. : Bruzon B., Wijk aan Zee 2005. At this level, the opposite coloured Bishops mitigate in favour of a draw. 10...Sd7 11.Ld3 a5 12.Sf3 Sb6 13.b3 Kd7 14.Se1 Lb4 15.Sc2 Lc3 Unstereotyped. Short supposedly gives up his main trump card. In reality Black is looking deeply into the position. White cannot open up the game without preparing and carrying out the e3-e4 advance, so Black takes away a defender of that square and piles up on the e file. 16.Kc3 Sc8! 17.Tae1 Sd6 18.f3 The8 19.Te2 Te7 20.The1 Tae8

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+r+-+0 9+p+ktrp+p0 9-+psn-zpl+0 9zp-+p+-+-0 9-+-zP-+-+0 9+PmKLzPP+-0 9P+N+R+PzP0 9+-+-tR-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy
The strategy is complete. Black's active pieces dissuade White from his pawn break. The doubled pawns on f7 and f6 cannot be considered a weakness if White cannot get to them. 21.Sa3 b6 22.Kd2 Ld3 23.Kd3 f5 24.Sb1 c5! Reminding Ivanchuk that Black has a queenside pawn majority. 25.Sc3 Kc6 26.a4 Te6 27.Tc1 h5 28.Tcc2 h4 29.Tc1 Tg6 30.Tcc2 Teg8 Note the switch to another half-open file next to the doubled pawns. 31.Sb1 Se8 32.Sc3 Sc7 33.e4 Finally, to get active, but now the doubled pawns disappear. 33...fe4 34.fe4 Tg5 35.ed5 . This was a very instructive game, which could easily be bypassed, as in my experience many players completely ignore games which are drawn; they simply don't play them through! Short showed how to juggle with doubled pawns and come out the other side intact. Pert R. : Rendle T. British Championship 2010 Failing to appreciate danger is a common mistake at the chessboard and can lead to a purely defensive position. Let see the following game, where Black makes precisely this error.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Sd2 Le7 4.Ld3 c5 5.dc5 Sf6 6.De2 Sc6 7.Sgf3 Sb4 8.00 Sd3 9.cd3 Lc5 10.Sb3 Le7 11.Lg5 The critical position. What do you think Black should do now? 11...Db6?!

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+l+k+-tr0 9zpp+-vlpzpp0 9-wq-+psn-+0 9+-+p+-vL-0 9-+-+P+-+0 9+N+P+N+-0 9PzP-+QzPPzP0 9tR-+-+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
It is hard to believe that this is a mistake, but from now on Pert develops an enduring initiative. It appears that Black must force a decision with 11..h6, preempting e4-e5. 11...h6! 12.Lh4 (12.Lf6 Lf6 13.e5 Le7 14.Tac1 00 15.Tc2 a5 16.Tfc1 Ld7 17.Sc5 Lc5 18.Tc5 Db6 19.T1c3 Tac8 20.Dc2 Tc5 21.Tc5 Lb5 22.d4 a4 23.Sd2 Da6 24.h3 Ta8 25.Dc3 Ld7 26.Sf1 De2 27.Dd2 De4 28.a3 Lc6 29.Sg3 Dh4 30.Tc3 Ta6 31.Se2 Dg5 32.Sf4 Df5 33.Sd3 Ta8 34.Sb4 Tc8 35.Dc2 Df4 36.Dd1 De4 37.g3 h5 38.h4 g6 39.Kh2 Kg7 40.Te3 Df5 41.Tf3 Dg4 42.Sc2 Lb5 43.Se3 De4 44.Tf4 Dd3 45.Df3 Tc7 46.g4 De2 47.Dg2 hg4 48.Sg4 Df1 49.Df1 Lf1 50.h5 gh5 51.Sf6 Kf8 52.Tf3 Ke7 53.Tg3 Tc2 54.b3 ab3 55.Tb3 La6 56.Tf3 h4 57.Kh3 Td2 58.Tf4 Td3 59.Kh4 Ta3 60.Sg8 Ke8 61.Sh6 b5 62.Tf7 b4 63.Kg5 b3 64.Tf3 Le2 65.Tg3 b2 66.Ta3, 0:1, Gu Xiaobing : Le Thanh Tu, Subic Bay 2009) 12...Db6 13.e5 (13.Tac1 de4 14.de4 Ld7 15.Tfd1 Lb5 16.Dc2 Lc6 17.e5 Sd5 18.Sfd4 00 19.Dc5 Tfe8, , Svidler P. : Morozevich A., Almaty 2008) 13...Sg8 14.Lg3 a5 15.Lf4 a4 16.Le3 Da6 17.Sbd4 Ld8 18.Ld2 Ld7 19.Tac1 Lb6 20.Lb4 Da7 21.Sc2 Lc5 22.Dd2 Se7 23.Lc5 Dc5 24.Sb4 Db6 25.a3 00 26.Tc2 Tfc8 4

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin

27.Tfc1 Dd8 28.Sa2 Tc2 29.Tc2 Tc8 30.Tc8 Dc8 31.Dc3 Dc3 32.bc3 Sg6, , Bojkovic N. : Vojinovic J., Pozarevac 2009. 12.e5! Sg8 13.Le3 Db4 14.Sfd4 The biggest danger to Black now is the pawn lever f4-f5. Rendle tries to stop it. 14...Sh6 15.Tac1 Sf5 15...00 leaves Black with the same predicament, after 16.Tc7! Ld8 (16...Te8 17.Lh6 gh6 18.Dg4 Kh8 19.Tfc1+-) 17.Tc3 Lb6 (17...f6 18.Tfc1+-) 18.Dd2 Sg4 19.Tc8! 16.Sf5 ef5 17.Tc7! Good, but not quite as strong is 17.Lc5 Lc5 18.Tc5, when Black also has to suffer. 17...Ld8 18.Tc3 b6 19.Sd4 00 20.a3 Da4 21.Df3 Dd7 22.Tfc1

EXCHANGING Kasparov G. : Karpov A. Moscow 1984 The following game provides us with an excellent example of play at the highest level. White gets the initiative early in the game, but Karpov is able to break Kasparov's grip by exchanging pieces at the right moment. He is even willing to enter the endgame a pawn down! 1.Sf3 Sf6 2.c4 c5 3.Sc3 Sc6 4.d4 cd4 5.Sd4 e6 6.g3 Db6 7.Sb3 d5 8.cd5 Sd5 9.Lg2 Sc3 10.bc3 Le7 11.00 e5 12.Le3 Dc7 13.Sc5 0 0 14.Da4

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lvl-trk+0 9zp-+q+pzpp0 9-zp-+-+-+0 9+-+pzPp+-0 9-+-sN-+-+0 9zP-tRPvLQ+-0 9-zP-+-zPPzP0 9+-tR-+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
Flawless play by White over the past ten moves. Black has been driven passive and cannot free himself. 22...Te8 23.Dg3 Lb7 23...g6 24.h4 Lb7 25.h5+-. 24.e6! Te6 24...fe6 25.Tc7; 24...De7 25.Sf5. 25.Se6 De6 26.Ld4+Even the coming short, technical phase is handled perfectly. 26...g6 27.De5 De5 28.Le5 f6 29.Lc7 La6 29...Le7 30.Lb6 ab6 31.Tc7. 30.Ld8 Td8 31.d4 Te8 32.Te3! Te4 33.Te4 fe4 34.Tc7 f5 35.Ta7 Lc4 36.Tb7 b5 37.b3 Lb3 38.Tb5 Lc4 39.Tb7 1:0. A superb game by White.

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+l+-trk+0 9zppwq-vlpzpp0 9-+n+-+-+0 9+-sN-zp-+-0 9Q+-+-+-+0 9+-zP-vL-zP-0 9P+-+PzPLzP0 9tR-+-+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
The problem for Black is, that it is quite difficult to develop the queenside. So Karpov feels that he has to exchange on c5. 14...Lc5 14...Tb8 15.Tab1 Td8 16.Le4! 15.Lc5 Td8 16.Tfd1 Le6 17.h3 Td1 Alternative moves can lead to an unpleasant position for Black: 17...Sa5 18.Db4 Sc4 19.Lb7 Td1 20.Td1 Tb8 21.La7; 17...h6 18.Tab1 Sa5 19.Td8 Dd8 20.Lb4 Sc6 21.Db5 Sb4 22.Tb4. 18.Td1 Td8! White's Bishop pair is becoming stronger and Karpov now makes his best decision of the game. In his usual clear-sighted way he sacrifices a pawn to reach a drawn endgame. 18...h6 19.Kh2 a6 20.Td6 Td8 21.Td8 Sd8 22.De8 Kh7 23.Df8. 5

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-tr-+k+0 9zppwq-+pzpp0 9-+n+l+-+0 9+-vL-zp-+-0 9Q+-+-+-+0 9+-zP-+-zPP0 9P+-+PzPL+0 9+-+R+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
19.Td8 Dd8 20.La7 Da8 21.Lc6 bc6 22.Kh2 h5 23.Da5 f6 24.a4 Dc8 25.h4 Lc4 . The opposite coloured Bishops make it impossible for White to make progress. Exchanging pieces is a rational way to defend when you are under pressure. Try to determine which are the well-placed enemy pieces and aim to remove them from the board. If you can keep your own well-placed pieces then so much the better! RETURNING MATERIAL GAINS The opening textbooks are filled with dangerous gambits, where a player might sacrifice material in order to get the attack. In the middlegame, the same type of sacrifice may occur, where material is offered for time, space and momentum. Let us establish that there is no need for the defender to meekly surrender to his opponent! Offers of material may be accepted, but one should always look out for the opportunity to return material in order to get a good position! Sveshnikov E. : Wu Shaobin Beijing 2008 1.e4 e5 2.Sf3 Sc6 3.Lc4 Lc5 4.b4 The Evans Gambit, still very dangerous in the hands of Grandmasters of the calibre of

Evgeny Sveshnikov, Nigel Short and Jonny Hector. 4...Lb4 5.c3 La5 6.d4 ed4 7.00 Sge7!

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwqk+-tr0 9zppzppsnpzpp0 9-+n+-+-+0 9vl-+-+-+-0 9-+LzpP+-+0 9+-zP-+N+-0 9P+-+-zPPzP0 9tRNvLQ+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
One of Black's best defences. Rather than accept all the pawns on offer, Black concentrates on development and achieves a good position. 8.Sg5 d5! 9.ed5 Se5! 10.Lb5 c6 11.dc6 bc6 12.cd4 cb5 13.de5 Dd1 14.Td1 Lf5 15.Lb2 h6 16.Sf3 00 Black has emerged safely from the opening complications and perhaps stands a fraction better with the Bishop pair. 17.Sc3 a6 18.Sd4 Lg6 19.Sb3 Lb6 20.Td6 20.La3 Tfc8 is a good way for Black to maintain his slight edge. 20...La7 21.Tad1 Tfc8 22.Td7 Sc6 23.e6 Se5 24.ef7 Lf7 25.Te7 Sg6 26.Tb7 Tcb8 Exchanging off a potential attacker. 27.Tdd7 27.Tb8 Tb8 28.Td7 Te8! 29.g3 Te7 30.Te7 Se7 31.Se4 b4

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-+-+k+0 9vl-+-snlzp-0 9p+-+-+-zp0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-zp-+N+-+0 9+N+-+-zP-0 9PvL-+-zP-zP0 9+-+-+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
6

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin

leads to an endgame, where Black's queenside pawn majority is very important. 27...Tb7 28.Tb7 Se5 28...Te8! goes back into the last line and was more precise. 29.Se4? Possibly, the speed of the game prompted this mistake. 29.Sb5! would have given White an excellent chance to hold: 29...Lf2 30.Kf2 ab5 31.Le5 Ta2 32.Ke3 Lb3 33.Tg7 Kf8=. 29...Ld5 30.Te7 Sd3 31.Tg7 Kf8 32.Ta7 Ta7 33.Ld4 Tc7 Unfortunately for Svehsnikov, the win is now quite routine for Black. 34.Sf6 Lb3 35.g4 Kf7 36.ab3 a5 37.g5 hg5 38.Se4 Td7 39.Le3 g4 40.Sc3 b4 41.Sa4 Ke6 42.Kg2 Kf5 43.h3 gh3 44.Kh3 Tg7 45.Sb6 Ke4 46.Sc4 Kf3 47.Sa5 Th7 0:1. Very strong players usually make chess look like an easy game, whereas we all know it is not so simple! But the defensive principle established by Wu in this game is easy enough to comprehend: don't be greedy! Do not hesitate to give back material gained, if you can see a clear way through to a good position. DEFEND WITH THE MINIMUM Slavin A. : Adams M. British Championship 2010 White's usual theatre of attack is the kingside in the coming old-fashioned queens pawn game. However, Michael Adams makes any projected White attack look very tame indeed, using the following techniques. 1) He creates diversionary counterplay at every opportunity. 2) He attacks with every piece available and reserves the bare minimum of material for defence. 3) He only defends when he has to. Otherwise, his whole mindset is

concentrated on how he can get the initiative. 1.d4 Sf6 2.Sf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Ld3 Lb7 5.00 d5 6.Se5!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsn-wqkvl-tr0 9zplzp-+pzpp0 9-zp-+psn-+0 9+-+psN-+-0 9-+-zP-+-+0 9+-+LzP-+-0 9PzPP+-zPPzP0 9tRNvLQ+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
A move of which Sultan Khan would have been proud. Moreover, Slavin has recent experience with 6.Se5 from both sides of the board! However, the normal 6.Sbd2 or 6.b3 are both superior. 6...Ld6 7.f4 7.b3 00 8.Lb2 Sbd7 9.Sd2 Se4 10.f4 is about the best White can hope for, but one cannot help but form the impression that Se5 has been played too early. 10...Sd2 11.Dd2 f6= 12.Sf3 De7 13.c4 c5 14.cd5 ed5 15.Sh4 Tfe8 16.Tf3 Df7 17.Tg3 Lf8 18.Dc2 Te4 19.Le4 de4 20.Sf5 De6 21.Sh6 Kh8 22.d5 Ld5 23.f5 Dc6 24.Td1 b5 25.Dd2 Sb6 26.Dd5 Sd5 27.Sf7 Kg8 28.Sh6, , Rahman Z. : Venkatesh M., Chennai 2010. 7...00 8.Sd2 c5 8...Se4 9.Se4 de4 10.Le2 Sd7 11.b3 De7 12.a4 Tad8 13.Sc4 Lb4 14.Lb2 Dh4 15.c3 Le7 16.De1 De1 17.Tfe1 a5 18.La3 La3 19.Ta3 Sf6 20.b4 Ta8 21.b5 Sd5 22.Kf2 f6 23.Sd2 e5 24.g3 g5 25.f5 Tfe8 26.Lc4 Kg7 27.Ld5 Ld5 28.c4 Lb7 29.d5 Lc8 30.g4 h5 31.h3 Th8 32.Se4 hg4 33.hg4 Th2 34.Kf3 Tc2 35.Tc3 Ta2 36.c5 Ta4 37.cb6 Lf5 38.Tc7 Kg6 39.gf5 Kf5 40.Sd6 Kg6 41.Tc8 e4 42.Kg3 Tc8 43.Sc8 Tb4 44.Sd6, 1:0, Tymrakiewicz R. : Slavin A., Uxbridge 2010. This was possibly the game that

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin

inspired Slavin to make his opening choice. 9.b3 b5!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsn-wq-trk+0 9zpl+-+pzpp0 9-+-vlpsn-+0 9+pzppsN-+-0 9-+-zP-zP-+0 9+P+LzP-+-0 9P+PsN-+PzP0 9tR-vLQ+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
Unstereotyped and an effort by Adams to unbalence a very stable situation. 9...Sc6 10.Lb2 Tc8 11.a3 Se7 12.De2 Se4 13.c4 f6?! 14.Sef3 Dc7 15.Tac1 Db8 16.dc5 Sc5 17.Lb1 dc4 18.Sc4 Ld5 19.Sd6 Dd6 20.e4 Lb3 21.e5 Dd7 22.ef6 gf6 23.Se5 fe5 24.De5 Sg6 25.De3 Ld5 26.Tcd1 Tf7 27.h4 Tcf8 28.g3 Tg7 29.Kh2 Sh4 30.Lg7 Dg7 31.Td5 ed5 32.gh4 d4 33.Df3 Kh8 34.Tf2 Dh6 35.Kh3 Te8 36.Dg4 Tg8 37.Df5 Dg7 38.Dg5 Dd7 39.Df5 Dg7 40.De5 d3 41.Dg7 Kg7 42.Td2 Kf6 43.Td1 Se4 44.Tf1 Sd2 45.Td1 Sb1 46.Tb1 Kf5 47.Tb4 Td8, 0:1, Slavin A. : Gasanov E., Rijeka 2010. 10.c3 10.Lb5 may be possible: 10...cd4 11.Sdf3! de3 12.Le3, but, of course, Black is fine after 12...Se4. 10...b4 11.cb4 cd4 12.ed4 Lb4 13.Lb2 Sc6 The position is a little better for Black, thanks to the pawn structure, but White should be able to hold it all together. It's important that Slavin finds some counterplay quickly and this he tries to do via Sdf3 and Sg5. 14.De2 Db6 15.Sdf3 Ld6 16.a3 a5 16...Db3 17.Tab1 Db6 18.La1 Dc7 19.Tfc1 gives White too much. 17.Tac1 Le5! Unexpected, when Black could put either of his Rooks on c8. Slavin seems quite taken

aback by this unusual move and the quality of his play heads downhill from here. 18.fe5 Se4 19.Le4 de4 20.Sg5?? It is baffling why he did not choose the obvious 20.De4. Black has clear counterplay after 20...Se7!, but this variation will lead to a playable position for White: 21.Db1! (21.De1 Db3 22.Dc3 Dc3 23.Lc3 Sf5) 21...Tac8 22.b4 (22.Tc8 Tc8 23.Sd2 Sf5 24.Tf4 Se3) 22...ab4 23.ab4 Db4 24.Lc3 Db1 25.Tb1 Le4 26.Tbc1. 20...Sd4 21.Ld4 Dd4 22.Kh1 h6 Or 22...De5 23.De3 Ld5 24.Tc5 f5+. 23.Sf7 Tf7 24.Tf7 Kf7 25.Tc7 Kg8 26.Tb7 Da1 0:1. Attack with the maximum, defend with the minimum. This principle underpins highlevel chess. SUMMARY Summarizing, only defend when you have to, but this doesnt mean ignoring defensive skills! Good opponents will try to put you on the defensive from move one, so even a rudimentary knowledge of defensive techniques will help anyone to become a stronger player.

FIDE Surveys Andrew Martin