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The Fine Art of Swindling

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The Fine Art of Swindling

Ali Mortazavi

CADOGAN

LONDON, NEW YORK

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First published 1996 by Cadogan Books plc,\

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Copyright © 1996 Ali Mortazavi

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Contents

Preface 6

Introduction: Understanding Compensation 7

τime Trouble 25

The Endgame 35

Attack is the Best Form of Defence 54

Emanuel Lasker: The Master Swindler 70

Capablanca and Alekhine 89

Don 't get Swindled 106

Preface

Although the cover or the title may not necessaήly suggest it, there are
some seήous points in this book. Probably the most important factor to
consider is that blunders, bad moves and 'imperfection' as a whole are
what makes the modem game of chess. The harsh reality is that if both
players were to play the best moves, the result of each game would be
a draw. It is only because human beings are 'imperfect' that we can
appreciate masterpieces such as the Immortal Game and the attacking
genius of Kasparov and Tal. Perhaps this is the reason that many top
chess players dislike the emergence of the computer. It is not so much
that the silicon monster can beat them but more the fact that computers
take the fantasy and the absurd out of chess.
Ι agreed to wήte this book in September 1993, since when there
have been enormous changes in chess. Ι find that knowledge of
openings is even more important than it was in 1993. Most players
hark back to the mid 1 980's to talk of the good old days when 'chess
players were real chess players' but even in three short years, the extra
computational power of the PC has changed the nature of chess.
Many players hardly make it to an even middlegame and this book is
in many ways dedicated to them. Ι would like to thank lM Neil
McDonald, lM Byron Jacobs and Mauήce Johnson for their valuable
contήbutions to this book. Ι hope that the book has struck the ήght
balance between the seήous and not so seήous aspects of the game and
wish all the readers the best of swindling !

Ali Mortazavi
London 1 996
1 lntroduction:
Understanding Compensation

Although you may well think that Pawn Structures

swindling an opponent requires As a general rule, the hardest de­
some kind of below the belt tactic fences to broach are ones where
during a game, fιrst of all it is your opponent has made very few
important to understand chess concessions in his pawn structure.
strategy. The reasons for this are The simple reason for this is that
simple. Α good swindle still re­ the pawn is by defιnition the best
quires the same patience, tenac­ defender available to the chess
ity, positional understanding, etc., player as it is only worth 1 point.
as a 'normal' game of chess. One This generalisation is a good rule
of the most important weapons to remember and is well illus­
that a strong chess player has is a trated by the following example:
very precise gauge of how much if you were descήbed in words a
compensation he or she has for position where White has a
sacήficed mateήal. This weapon queen, a king and three pawns
is especially important when one and Black has only a rook and
is in a lost position: an honest three pawns (both sides of course
assessment of how bad things are also have kings!), your natural
is an important stepping stone to conclusion would be that White
swindling yourself out of trouble. should win relatively easily
Unfortunately, there is no easy thanks to his mateήal supeήoήty:
way to descήbe 'good compen­
sation' or 'insufficient compen­
sation' as there are far too many
exceptions to the rule. We can
however, through real game ex­
amples, build up a lmowledge of
the different types of positions
that can aήse. Before launching
into a seήes of examples of vaή­
ous sacήfices around the king,
exchange sacήfices, etc., the best
starting point is a good under­
standing of pawn structures.
8 The Fine Art of Swindling

In the above position, White Α more complex example of a

would simply push his a-pawn up solid pawn structure with a lot of
the board and Black would pieces on the board is the fol­
eventually have to sacήfice his lowing World Championship
rook for the a-pawn in order to game between Short and Kas­
prevent White from creating a parov, London 1993:
second queen. The same mateήal
situation in the following position
has an entirely different com­
plexion:

Here, the game continued:

25 . . :xc3 ! 26 bxc3 and White's
.

ruined pawn structure gave Black

enough compensation for the sac­
Here, although White has a ήficed exchange. An interesting
large mateήal advantage, he has point which is also relevant to our
no way of making any progress discussion arose on move 37:
as Black has a classic fortress
position. The reason for this is
that Black's pawn structure is at
its Όptimum' and White's has
lost its flexibility by the moves f4
and h4. Somewhere in the above
game, White has made a conces­
sion in his pawn structure and at
this late stage, is paying for it
dearly.
Of course, there are many more
winning Queen + 3 Pawns ν
Rook + 3 Pawns positions than
there are drawn ones but the pήn­ Here, Short played 37 g4?, a
ciple of a solid pawn structure large concession in terms of pawn
still applies. structures as White then had no
 Introduction: Understanding Compensation 9

pawn breaks available to try and ι g4 ! , with the idea of simply

win the game. All commentators opening the g-file for his rooks
later agreed that the more flexible with g4-g5 . Notice, however, that
37 g3 ! , with the idea of creating a had Black refrained from ... h6
passed pawn with h3-h4, was and instead left the pawn on h7,
White's only chance to play for a White's idea of g4-g5 would be
win. extremely slow to have any effect
Though it is hard to believe, on Black's kingside.
even White's most popular first The point of the last few ex­
move ι e4 is a slight concession amples has not been to deter you
in his pawn structure. With ι e4, from playing, say, the Four
White immediately surrenders Pawns Attack against the King's
some control over the squares d3, Indian Defence, but to show
d4, f3 and f4 in that the e-pawn · every pawn move has a possible
can never defend these squares consequence, which you can use
for the rest of the game. Of to your advantage. The next stage
course, this ι:eason alone is not a is to incorporate this knowledge
justification to avoid playing 1 e4 along with minor and major
but the fact still remains White pieces and to build a good under­
has made a concession. Α more standing of compensation.
realistic example of an equally It is also useful to show the dif­
innocuous pawn move can be ferent types of pawn structures
seen here: that can arise, their strengths and
weaknesses . Υou will notice that
further discussion of compensa­
tion will nearly always relate
back to these pawn structures.

lsolated Pawns

In this 'normal' position,

probably arising from some sort
of Τοπe Attack, Black has in fact
played an extremely bad move
with . . . h7-h6. White now has the
option of launching an attack by
10 τhe Fine Art of Swindling

The diagram above is a good

example of why an isolated pawn
is to be avoided. Mateήal is equal
but Black has a clear advantage
thanks to the target on c4 which
White has to continually defend
with his major and minor pieces.
Note that if White had a pawn on
b3 defending the pawn on c4,
White's pieces would be free to
play a more active role. The best
policy against an isolated pawn is
to deny it the opportunity to ad­
vance. lt is clear form the above dia­
An isolated pawn can be an as­ gram that White has not achieved
set in some situations. Certain anything in his attack against the
fashionable opening lines, such as black king and is now simply left
the c3 Sicilian or the Panov­ with a weak and isolated d-pawn
Botvinnik Attack against the which is firmly bloackaded. In
Caro-Kann Defence, promote the practice, however, White has a
use of an isolated pawn as an at­ host of tήcks which Black must
tacking tool. be careful to avoid if he is to ex­
ploit his structural advantage.

Pawn lslands
One of the tools that the grand­
master uses for a snap assessment
on a given position is to see how
many pawn islands each side has.

In the above diagram, White

will simply ignore his weak d­
pawn and play for an attack
against the black king. Black
should stήve to steer the game to
the following type of position:
 Introduction: Understanding Compensation 11

Here, mateήal is equal but structure ίη return for the two

theoretίcally speaking Black has bίshops (note that this is a form
a structural advantage as he has of compensation). In general,
less pawn islands. White has however, doubled pawns are to be
three pawn islands as the pawns avoided as ίη many endgames
on a2 and c4 are isolated from you are ίη effect playing wίth a
each other. Black, however, only pawn deficit. When playing
has two pawn islands and the agaίnst doubled pawns, the gen­
pawn on b6 supports the pawn on eral rule is to blockade them so
c5, thereby giving him a favour­ that they cannot be exchanged for
able structure. Of course, a final a more favourable structure. In
decision on the position can only the above posίtίon, Black's best
be given with the exact position­ policy is to blockade the doubled
ing of the minor and major pawns with ... c7-c5.
pieces, but assuming 'normal'
circumstances, Black is said to
have a positional advantage.

Doubled and Tripled Pawns

Nearly every chess player has
been warned some tίme during
his career that ίη general double
and trίpled pawns are to be
avoided. The most famous exam­
ple of a doubled pawn structure
can be seen ίη the Nimzo-Indian
Defence:
Here, ίη the game Roma­
novsky-Levenfish, USSR Ch.
1 920, ίη an already difficult posi­
tion for White, Black played the
thematίc sacήfice:
27 ... f4! to which Whίte was
forced to play 28 gxf4 as 28
.i.xf4 would have left the impor­
tant d4 pawn en pήse. Black went
οη to play the aggressίve 28 ... i.f6
though 'wasting' one move with
the more thematic 28 ... f5 ! (see
following diagram) was also pos­
Here, White has voluntarily sible as White's position was
taken on the doubled pawn truly wίthout hope.
12 The Fίne Λrt of Swίndlίng

liver checkmate, Black will be

clearly better.
Tripled pawns are extremely
unusual and very rarely advanta­
geous in practice. The simplest
explanation of why tήpled pawns
are to be avoided can be seen in
the following diagram:

Although Ι have shown that

occasionally doubled pawns are
useful, in the majoήty of cases
they are nothing short of a long­
tenn liability. If we take the ex­
ample of the positon after 1 d4
lΔf6 2 c4 e6 3 lΔc3 .i.b4 4 a3
.i.xc3+ 5 bxc3, White has al­
ready, by move 5, made two ma­ Here, White is two clear pawns
jor structural concessions. The a4 up in a king and pawn endgame.
square, although not a terribly Under nonnal circumstances, this
important location at this stage, kind of mateήal advantage in this
is now weakened beyond repair. type of endgame would mean an
Should a black piece land on a4, easy victory for White. However,
White no longer has the option of the tήpled c-pawns (sometimes
playing b2-b3. The second con­ known as Ίήsh Pawns') have
cession is that White has pur­ cost White the game and a draw
posely taken on two pawn is­ would soon be agreed. Also note
lands. Even though the above that all the disadvantages associ­
seήes of moves is a well known ated with doubled pawns apply to
opening (the Samisch vaήation tήpled pawns.
against the Nimzo Indian), Ι
would advise any club player to Backward Pawns
avoid this type of opening as the Backward pawns, unable to ad­
positional concessions mean that vance easily, are again a liability
White has only one way forward rather than an asset.
- to play for mate. In effect, In the next diagram, Black's
against a strong player, White is pawn on d6 is a backward pawn
implying that if he does not de- as it cannot advance to d5 (notice
 Introduction: Understanding Compensation 13

that d 5 is Όverprσtected' by it is tσ predict what may happeη

White ίη σrder tσ stσp this ad­ in the future, in the abσve dia­
vaηce). Similar tσ the isσlated gram, fσrmer Wσrld Champiση
pawn example, Black's majσr aηd Anatσly Karpσv was playiηg
mίησr pieces are ησw tied tσ its Black. Here, thanks tσ the pawn
defeηce and cannσt play an active mσves ... c5 aηd . . . e5, White has
rσle ίη the game. established a huge pσsitiσηal ad­
vantage because σf the weakness
σf the d5 square. Of cσurse, Kar­
pσv was ησt tσ knσw that these
pawn mσves wσuld cause him
such prσblems.
Nσte hσw as the game cσηtin­
ues, Karpσv is reduced tσ waiting
fσr Kasparσv tσ reach an σpti­
mωn setup befσre cσming crash­
ing thrσugh ση the kingside. The
reasση fσr this is that Black had
ησ cσnstructive means tσ imprσve
his pσsitiση.
Weak Squares due to
Pawn Moves Kasparov-Karpov
As I've already explained, yσu Seville 1987
shσuld cσnsider every pawn
mσve as a pσteηtial liability. Per­ 29 �h6
haps the greatest prσblem arising 30 �g5 11tl8
as a result σf pawn mσves is the Of cσurse Black cannσt capture
weak squares that can arise: this knight as after 30 . . . �xg5 3 1
hxg5, White can than place his
knight ση f6 thanks tσ the suppσrt
leηt by the g5 pawn.
31 :le2 J.g7
32 'ifc2 11de8
33 �! J.b6
34 �d5 �g7
Again 34 .. J.xg5 35 hxg5
wσuld be futile as White wσuld
have a clear edge after f4
35 'ti'dl h6
36 � 1Wd8
37 11a2 J.c8
In σrder tσ shσw just hσw hard 38 Μ! h5
14 τhe Fine Art of Swindling

Another major concession Assessing Compensation

which 'unguards' the g5 square. It is important to remember that
39 .i.e4 l.te6 assessing a winning position as
40 liJcdS .i.h6 'good compensation' does not
41 l2Jg2 'it>g7? ! necessarily mean that you have a
42 f4 good feel for compensation.
There are many positions when a
piece sacήfice simply wins within
a few moves. These are not the
type of positions that we shall be
discussing here. Α good feel for
compensation can only be used in
positions which are basically un­
clear which side has the advan­
tage. At that point, you will need
to assess the position as:

1) Good compensation
2) Enough compensation
Finally, Kasparov plays his 3) Not enough compensation
pawn break after reaching the
best setup for his minor pieces. For the rest of this chapter, Ι
42 exf4 have tried to categoήse into posi­
42 . . . 1Σee8 43 l.taf2 with the tional and tactical forms compen­
idea of f5 would be crushing. sation though invariably you will
43 l2Jgxf4 .fιteS come across many positions
44 l2Jxg6! :xn which do not fit into any of these
45 'ii'xfl 1:ιχe4 ήgid categoήes.
46 dxe4 �xg6
Black has managed to get two Long-term and
minor pieces for a rook but at the Positional Compensation
cost of his kingside being blown It was tempting to create two
wide open. In any case, the separate sections for long-term
knight on a5 is a completely re­ and positional compensation but,
dundant piece. having gone through various ex­
47 :n 'ife8 amples, Ι soon realised that long­
48 eS! dxeS term compensation is nearly al­
If 48 . . . 'ii'xe5, 49 .:.e2 wins. ways based on a positional motif.
49 1:ιf6+ �g7 Long-term compensation is per­
50 J:ιd6 1-0 haps the hardest of all the various
Α crushing victory for the forms of compensation to evalu­
World Champion. ate. The reason for this being that
 Introduction: Understanding Compensation 15

very rarely is there a cσηcrete Black still has a slight edge.

retum fσr yσur iηvestmeηt. In 15 1:ιχc3!
geηeral, wheη a lσηg-tenn sacή­ 16 bxc3 l'Δg3
fice is made, a winning pσsitiση 17 :ο
is reached lσηg after the σήginal Or 17 I;lfe 1 l'Δxe4 18 .i.c 1
sacήfice was made. In practice, l'Δxc3 19 1ld3 l'Δxb3 20 axb3 1le8
many players are reluctant tσ sac­ with a clear advaηtage tσ Black.
rifice mateήal fσr sσmething 17 l'Δxe4
which will ησt mateήalise imme­ 18 .i.c1 1:ιc8
diately. 19 .i.b2
By the same tσkeη, hσwever, White has averted further ma­
pσsitiσηal sacήfices are the hard­ teήal lσss but his pσsitiση is ίη
est tσ defeηd against, as althσugh ruins. The best way tσ assess the
yσur game is ησt withσut hσpe, cσmpensatiση fσr the sacήficed
the rσad tσ victσry will always be mateήal is tσ ask yσurself the
difficult thanks tσ the lσηg-tenn fσllσwing:
ηature σf the sacήfice. 1) What is the exact material
Α gσσd example σf lσηg-tenn situation?
cσmpensatiση is the fσllσwing In this case, Black has sacή­
pσsitiση frσm the game betweeη
· ficed the exchange fσr a pawn.
Nick de Firmian and Kiril Geσr­ Therefσre, strictly speakiηg and
giev, ίη the New Yσrk PCA Opeη withσut taking the pσsίtίση ίηtσ
1994. cσnsideratiση, he is very ηearly
equal ση mateήal.
2) What compensation ίs there
for the sacrίficed materίal?
The mσst impσrtant fσnn σf
cσmpensatiση ίη the abσve pσsi­
tiση is White's ruined pawn
structure. White has three pawn
islaηds tσ Black's twσ, White has
dσubled c-pawns aηd Black has
extremely active pieces. In addi­
tiση, even if White were tσ sσme­
hσw weather the current stσnn
and alleviate the pressure ση his
Ιη aη already difficult pσsitiση pσsίtίση, Black's sσlid aηd flexi­
White ησw allσwed a pσsitiσηal ble pawn structure wσuld mean
sacήfice after that he has very little chance σf
15 g4? lσsing,
1 5 l'Δd5 1:ιfe8 1 6 c3 l'Δxb3 17 3) What could go wrong?
axb3 l'Δf6 was better thσugh The wσrst case sceηaήσ fσr
16 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

Black is that White escapes and ι b3!?

the position stabilises with White Black accepted the challenge
being an exchange for a pawn with
ahead. Even in this extreme case, ι cS
however, Black would have little 2 llJc2 .ixaι
chance of losing thanks to the 3 llJxaι f6
reasons outlined in point 2. In contrast to the previous ex­
4) Does Black haνe enough ample, White has no mateήal
compensatίon? compensation for the exchange,
The answer is that Black has e.g. an extra pawn. The only form
'good compensation' for the sac­ of compensation seems to be in
ήficed mateήal. the shape of his dark-squared
ι9 llJc4 bishop which can now harass the
20 j.xc4 black king along the weakened
20 j.a 1 ! ? was, perhaps, a bet- a 1 -g7 diagonal. Note that the
ter try. main reason why the sacήfice
20 .:txc4 was even possible was that Black
2ι :r.e3 fS has played the 'weakening' pawn
22 gxfS gxfS move . . . g7-g6. If the g-pawn was
23 'it>h2 Φr1 on g7 instead of g6, the sacήfice
And Black soon won. would not be anything like as
potent. Has White got enough
Α more complicated example compensation for the exchange?
of a positional sacήfice is the This is a far more difficult as­
following: sessment to make than the previ­
ous example. Although White's
dark-squared bishop will be a
continual menace, Black may
very well simplify into an end­
game and convert his mateήal
advantage to a win.
Α further look at the position,
however, shows that by playing
the move 1 . . . c5, Black has seή­
ously weakened the d5 square
whereas with the pawn on c6, his
pawn structure was more flexible.
Hence the white knights can tar­
In this position from Gutman­ get d5 as well as the dark-squared
Pavlov, Netanya 1983, White bishop harassing Black along the
invited Black to 'win' the ex­ diagonal. The overall conclusion
change with must then be that White certainly
 Introductίon: Understandίng Compensatίon 17

has enough compensation for the White now played

sacήficed mateήal, though is 10 e5? ! lΔd5
probably a little short on 'good 11 e6 fxe6
compensation' . 12 lΔg5
The game continued: which seemingly seems to put
4 lΔc2 lΔe5 Black in difficulties. However,
5 f4 lΔf7 with the help of an exchange sac­
6 lΔc3 i.e6 rifice, Black completely turned
7 i.b2 lΔc7 the tables.
8 lΔe3 'ifa5 12 cxd4
9 a4 1Σad8 13 lΔxe6 'ilc8
10 lΔcd5 i.xd5 14 lΔxf8 Φχf8
11 cxd5 lΔe8 15 c4 lΔe5!
12 h4 lΔb6 Again, we can ask ourselves
13 g4 lΔg7 the same questions as before. The
14 g5 mateήal situation is slightly in
and White soon won. White's favour (he is an ex­
change for a pawn up). Black's
Tactical Compensation compensation, however, is im­
By contrast to long-term or posi­ mense. He has two well placed
tional compensation, tactical bishops (especially the bishop on
compensation is easier to evalu­ b7 which is beaήng down on the
ate and also much easier to play. white king on g2), a passed d­
The target of most tactical sacή­ pawn, excellently placed knights
fices is very often the enemy king and in addition, White is seή­
and the returns can be immediate. ously underdeveloped. In this
type of position, Black's compen­
sation is also long-term as even if
White was to untangle, there
would still be enough play well
into an endgame. However, when
the opponent is lagging behind in
development, speed is of the es­
sence to finish the game off
quickly.
16 'i'b3 lΔf4
The attack on g2 begins.
11 i.n d3!
Notice how White cannot even
The diagram is taken from the move his knight from d2 as both
game Hennigan-Norwood, Lon­ f3 and e4 are attacked by Black's
don (Lloyds Bank Masters) 1993. pieces.
 18 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

18 11e3 'iffS retum opens the position up for

19 h3 Φg8 his bishops and gets rid of his
20 'ifdl .1%f8 doubled c-pawns.
21 'ifel g5
22 f3 h5
23 lbe4 g4
24 lΔg3 'i'g6
25 fxg4 hxg4
26 h4 .i.f6
27 lΔe4 .i.xe4
28 J:xe4 .i.xh4
29 'ife3 lΔe2+
30 �xe2 .i.f2+
31 'ifxf2 1lxf2
32 1:ιχe5 %lxe2
33 1Σg5 :el+
34 'iti>f2 'iWxg5 6 dxc5
35 'iti>xel 'ife5+ 7 .i.a3 'ii'd6
36 'iti>f1 0-1

Again, this was a slightly bi­

ased example as Black probably
had a winning position when he
sacήficed the exchange. Α closer
contest is seen in the next exam­
- ple where the issue of speed is
more relevant:

Hodgson-Psakhis
Metz Open 1994
Englίsh Openίng
8 d4! exd4
ι c4 e5 9 cxd4 'ii'xd4
2 lΔc3 .i.b4 10 'iWcl
3 g3 .i.xc3 Α further pawn sacήfice by
4 bxc3 d6 White. Exactly how much and
5 .i.g2 f5 what type of compensation does
6 c5! White have for his two pawns?
Α very imaginative pawn sacή­ Although White has secured the
fice which Black could hardly two bishops, which can be con­
have expected ση move six! strued as a positional advantage,
White sacήfices a pawn but in his compensation can only be
 Introductίon: Understandίng Compensatίon 19

fully realised b y playing tacti­ 20 �e4 h6

cally against the black king and 21 tl)f3 /004
harassing the badly placed black 22 'ii'c2 liJxb2
queen. 23 liJd4! liJe7
As a result, Black must not be 24 'ii'xb2 'ii't7
allowed to develop his queenside 25 liJxf5 li:Jxf5
without some major concessions 26 �c2 c5
as the two sacrificed pawns 27 'it'b5 �e6
would not be enough to justify 28 'it'xc5 %:ιc8
the two bishops. 29 'i'xc8+ �xc8
10 'ilff6 Black resigned before White
11 tiJh3 tiJd7 could play 30 .ib3 regaining the
12 0-0 liJe7 queen.
13 �b2 'ilft7
Assess Your Compensation
In order to improve your under­
standing of compensation, here
are a series of puzzles.

1)
Spassky-Tal
Moscow 1 97 1

14 e4!
Note that although White has
developed all of his pieces to at­
tacking positions, it is still not
enough to crack Black's de­
fences. With this move, White
opens another front in the shape
of an open e-file to harass Black
further. Black to play. The obvious
14 Ο-Ο move is l li:Jfd7 but White
...

15 liJg5 'ifg6 would then have a free hand and

16 exf5 .:xr5 would prepare a kingside attack
17 1:te1 tiJd5 with g2-g4 and f4-f5. Find an­
18 h4! tiJ7b6 other altemative for Black and jot
19 'ii'xc5 c6 down the components of Black's
20 τhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

compensation.

2)
Polugayevsky-Petrosian
Moscow 1983

4)
Gross-Mortazavi
Cappelle la Grande 199 1

Black to play. Black could

quite happily play l. . . tbc5 and
look forward to an equal game.
Fonner World Champion τigran
Petrosian, however, played
l. . . llxe3 ! ?. How much compen­
sation has Black got for the sacή­
ficed mateήal and can you iden­
tify what fonn this compensation
takes?

3) Black has already sacήficed a

Smyslov-Botvinnik pawn and can claim some com­
Moscow 1 958 pensation in his two bishops. The
game continued 1 . . . b5 2 'ii'xb5
The players actually agreed a iι.d3. Does Black have enough
draw in the following position. play. Explain why or why not?
Ex-World Champion Mikhail
Botvinnik, however, had a strong 5)
continuation with the sacήfice Levitt-Mortazavi
l. . . .:Xf3 ! . What is Black's com­ London (Lloyds Bank) 1992
pensation after this positional
sacrifice? From the following diagram,
the game continued: 1 e6! .txe6.
 Introduction: Understanding Compensation 21

What is White's compensation

and how should the game con­
tinue?

6)
- Mortazavi-Regan
Oakham 1 990

8)
Botvinnik-Pachman
Oberhausen 1 96 1

White to move. Only six

moves have been played and
Black has doubled pawns. Does
Black have any compensation?

7)
The next two diagrams show
backward pawns. What is the dif­
ference between them, if any?
22 The Fίne Λrt of Swίndlίng

Black has just played . . . fϊ-f5 and e3 are a pennanent weakness.

with the idea of 1 exf5 l2Jxd4 2
�xd4 i. xf5 with a fully playable 3) Black's compensation consists
position. Botvinnik, however, of the following:
played a different move. What i) White has three pawn islands
was it and how would you assess as well as a set of doubled pawns.
the position after this move? ii) Black has the two bishops
and light square domination.
Answers iii) White has not castled and
1) Black's best try is l . . . d4 ! ? Black can launch an attack
when after 2 l2Jxd4 l2Jd5 Black against the king.
has more than enough compensa­
tion for the sacήficed pawn: 4) Νο. Black has insufficient re­
i) The most important effect of ward for his investment for the
the . . . d4 sacήfice is that Black following reasons:
has liberated his b7 bishop along i) Black has sacήficed one
the dangerous a8-g2 diagonal. pawn too many for little or no
ii) White's extra pawn on d3 is compeήsation. White's pawn
not particulary dangerous. It can structure is far too solid for Black
eventually advance to d4 but will to claim any long-tenn compen­
find itself finnly bloackaded by sation.
Black's pieces which have ii) Black has no immediate and
Όverprotected' the d5-square. obvious ways to exploit the his
iii) Black also has the two development advantage. The
bishops which in general can game actually continued:
roughly be equated to a sacήficed 18 'ii'hS i.g6
pawn. 19 'i'h3 i.fS
20 'ife3 'ii'd7
2) Black has more than enough 21 lbfl 1he8
long-tenn compensation for the 22 'i'd2 i.d3
exchange. 23 1Σχe8 1Σχe8
i) By sacήficing on e3, Black 24 lbe3 cS
has forced White into an infeήor and White had solved all his
pan structure. Note that the e5 problems and is simply two
square now 'belongs' to Black. pawns up.
White can no longer play f4.
ii) Black has also netted the all 5) 1 8 e6 is a good sacήfice:
important dark-squared white i) After 19 l2Jxe6 %Σχe6, White
bishop which means that his own has compensation in the fonn of
dark-squared bishop controls the two bishops and Black's weak
black squares. light squares.
iii) White's weak pawns on c4 ii) In addition, Black has
 Introductίon: Understandίng Compensatίon 23

weakened his king with the threatens the maneouvre lt:Jc3-e4-

moves . . .f6 and . . . g5. d6.
iii) In any case, the game con­ iii) ln addition, if Black plays
tinuation showed that White has . . . d7-d6 or . . . d7-d5, White simply
in fact a winning position with captures the d-pawn resulting in
the spectacular: the following pawn structure:
19 .:xe4! dxe4
20 lt:Jxe6 :.xe6
21 it.c4 1i'b6
22 'ίi'xe4 %Σae8
23 11e1 rJ;f7
24 g4! !
Denying Black the opportunity
to play . . . f5 .
24 1Wc6
25 'ίi'xc6 bxc6
The fmal position is worthy of
another diagram!

From the diagram, it is clear

that Black has a seήous structural
disadvantage. He has a set of
doubled pawns, two isolated c­
pawns as well as three pawn is­
lands.

7) In the first diagram, Black has

very little chance to ήd himself of
the his weak backward pawn on
d6. In the second diagram, how­
ever, Black is firstly much more
26 .td6 1-0 active and can also play the the­
Black runs out of pawn moves matic break with l ... d5. (This
and will eventually lose a piece. occurred in the game Unzicker­
Taimanov, Stockholm lnterzonal
6) Black is positionally lost. ι952.)
i) Although Black has the two
bishops, White's knights are 8) ι lt:Jxf5 ! and now the game
clearly supeήor to the bishops. continued ι . . . gxf5 2 exf5 lt:Jg7 3
ii) With White to move, 7 e5 ! g4.
gains a huge positional advan­ i) White has sacήficed a knight
tage. White then immediately with full compensation. He al-
24 The Fίne Art of Swίndling

ready has two pawns for the Conclusion

piece, one of which is a protected There will no doubt be many po­
passed pawn on f5. sitions that will inevitably aήse in
ii) His massive pawn wedge on your games which do not exactly
the kingside can be used as an fall into the categoήes descήbed
attacking force against the black here. Υou will perhaps have to
king; Black also has a very weak apply some concepts seen in
d6 pawn. positional compensation and
iii) White's pawns also manage some in tactical compensation to
to play a containing role in that get an overall feel of the position.
the black knights on g7 and e6, Nevertheless, an understanding of
the bishops on f8 and d7 are all compensation is an essential
denied vital squares, thus making weapon in every swindler's rep­
manoeuvring difficult. ertoire.
2 Time Trouble

Time is perhaps the greatest eη­ Mortazavi-Miles

emy σf the mσdern day chess Lσηdση (Llσyds Bank
player. There is simply ησt Masters) 1994
eησugh time tσ evaluate every Vίenna Game
pσssible vaήatiση that can aήse
ίη a game σf chess. Eveη thσugh ι e4 l'Δc6
a mσdern day grandmaster σηly Ι must admit that already at
has tσ Ισσk at a few vaήatiσns at this early stage, Ι was thinking σf
a time thanks tσ his excelleηt a 'swindle' . Ι had seeη Τσηy
pσsitiσηal understanding, there Miles play this mσve against 1 e4
are still tσσ many σptiσns tσ ana­ sσ successfully that there was ησ
lyse everything ίη twσ hσurs. Fσr way Ι cσuld 'imprσve' ση his
this reasση, tσday's prσfessiσηal previσus games. Α frieηd σf mine
chess player ηeeds mσre than just theη ησticed that after the slightly
σpeηiηg knσwledge, gσσd tech­ strange 2 l'Δc3, Τσηy replied
nique and understaηding. There 2 . . . e5, which is a perfectly rea­
cσmes a pσiηt ίη every game sσηable mσve but σηe that al­
wheη yσu have tσ be prepared tσ lσwed me tσ charter the game
live by yσur iηtuitiση. Here a ίηtσ a black hσle ίη σpeniηg the­
gσσd analσgy can be drawn be­ σry !
tweeη the prσfessiσηal bσxer aηd 2 l'Δc3 eS
the prσfessiσηal chess player. Ιη 3 f4!
bσxiηg, every fighter must at The pσiηt. Υσu may well ask
sσme stage σf a Ισηg fight rely what it is that Ι have actually
purely ση his instinct. achieved, as the game has ησw
Uηfσrtunately, wheη the clσck transpσsed tσ a Vienna Game.
is ticking and time is pressing, a Well, it has, but the differeηce is
player's intuitiση is mσst likely tσ that Black ησrmally plays 2 .. l'Δf6
.

let him dσwn, and this is where against the Vienna, and after 3 f4,
the swiηdler will get his σppσrtu­ replies with 3 ... d5 . Here, hσw­
nity. The fσllσwing eηtertaining ever, Black must take the pawn
game demσnstrates time-trσuble, ση f4 at sσme time and play a
swindliηg and intuitiση at their dangerσus vaήatiση σf the King's
best. Gambit.
26 The Fine Art of Swindling

3 exf4 Φd8 10 :f2 'iig7 1 1 ii.xf4 lbe7

4 lbf3 gS 12 'ilh5 d6 1 3 J.g5 lbxc2 14
5 d4 g4 llafl 'i'e5 1 5 J.g8 'i'c5 16 Φh l
6 Ji.c4 Φd7 17 1ιxf8 lbg6 1 8 :td8+ Φc6
Spectacular stuff but not new 1 9 Ji.d5+ 1-0 Motwani-Kula,
at this stage. This kind of sacή­ Berlin 199 1 ) 8 'ii'xf3 Ji.e6 9 ii.xe6
fice is often seen in vaήations of fxe6 ι ο ii.xf4 lLJxd4 1 1 'ilfh5+
the King 's Gambit. <it'd7 12 11ad l 'ii'e8 1 3 fixe8+
6 gxf3 Φχe8 14 .1:txd4 e5 15 Ji.e3 exd4
16 Ji.xd4 lLJf6 17 Ji.xf6 :gs 1 8
lLJd5 Φd7 1 9 Ji.d4 'it>c6 20 :r3
1:ϊc8 2 1 J:a3 'it>d7 22 lbf6+ 'it>e6
23 lbxg8 c5 24 J.f6 'it>f7 25 !:tg3
:es 1-0 Soltis-Meetei, Calcutta
1 986.
7 dS!
Played after nearly an hour's
thought. During this hour Ι had
become convinced that Miles
would go for the draw with
... lbxd4. An hour and a full piece
later, Ι sank into thought. It is not
7 'ii'xf3 ! often that one gives a piece head
The fιrst new move, though start to a 2600 rated player on
Miles claimed after the game that move seven. Ι considered 8 0-0?!
he had found a reference in ECO dxc4 9 ifxf4 and gave up after
which dated back to the 1 820's. Ι finding nothing useful against the
didn 't tell him that a fήend of simple 9 ... lbh6. 8 exd5 seemed
mine had played this move in a like a bad move as it blocked the
quickplay the week before in a2-g8 diagonal, so after an hour
Golders Green! My only other of thought, Ι went for the obvi-
knowledge of this opening was ous ...
that after 7 . . . lbxd4, White has a 8 lLJxdS lbxd4
draw with 8 ii.xf7+ <ϊίιχf7 9 9 'i'xf4? ! Ji.d6
'ii'h5+ Φg7 ι ο 'ii'g4+ Φf7. 7 0-0 9 ... lLJxc2+ 10 'it>d l lLJxa l 1 1
has also been played a few times J.d2 was my intention and
and Ι shall give a few references though my gut feeling was that Ι
without attempting to give any was going slightly over the top, Ι
explanations. Υou can see for was sure that Miles wouldn 't ήsk
yourself that this opening defies this position. White has sacrificed
Jogical explanation. 7 0-0 d6 a rook and a piece but Black has
(7 111g5 8 :xf3 lbxd4 9 Ji.xf7 +
. . . yet to develop a single piece.
 τime Trouble 27

However Frίtz4 tells me that come to a complete halt.

White is completely lost and in 11 �es
all honesty, Ι believe it! 12 0-0! �xc4
13 'ii'd4 f6
1 3 ... j_xf4 14 'ii'xh8 j,xh2+ 15
Φχh2 'i'h4+ 16 Φg 1 �f8 17
:xf7+ �xf7 1 8 :η+ is danger­
ous for Black.
14 'ii'xc4 j,xf4?
Tony insisted after the game
that he had intended 14 ... c6 in­
stead of 15 ... c6. He thought that
White's compensation would
come to an end after 14 . . . c6.
15 �xf4 c6

10 'ii'f2 !
Far better than 10 e5, which
gains a useless tempo and under­
mines the knight on d5. Again, Ι
'felt' this rather than analysed it,
partly because Ι only had 45 min­
utes left on my clock and was
sure that Ι would need these later
on in the game and partly because
Ι simply was not able to fathom
out all the complications. After
the game, Miles said he also felt
it! 16 eS! !
10 �c6 And fmally White has achieved
11 �f4! full compensation! Although he
Α slightly strange move as is a piece for a pawn down and a
White should really be avoiding seήes of exchanges have taken
the exchange of pieces when he is place, he is fully developed in
a piece down. However, the contrast to Black's stationary
bishop on d6 is Black's best piece army.
and must be removed. Both play­ 16 fS
ers were down to the last twenty The only move as 16 ... fxe5
minutes or so by this stage and would open too many lines.
I'm sure that apart from avoiding 17 1lad1 'iie7
the numerous cheapos which ex­ 18 1Wc3 �h6
ist in the position, all analysis had 19 'iih3 'iigS
28 τhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

20 IΣd6 lLig4 29 'iff6 b5

30 'i'd6+ <itιb6
31 'i'd8+ <ifi!a6

21 1:tg6?!
Failing tσ adjust tσ the changes
iη the pσsitiση. My initial cσm­ An incredible turn σf eveηts.
pensatiση in this game was a tac­ Black has set up mating threats
tical σηe with seήσus threats against my king and his king has
against the black king but after 16 fσund the safest square ση the
e5! ! , the pσsitiση had 'turned' bσard, a6! .
and my cσmpensatiση was mσre 32 'ifc7 �b7
pσsitiσηal than tactical. 2 1 1Σg6?! 33 lLie7 Ilh8
lσσks gσσd but is in fact a cheap And ησw fully develσped,
shσt. Ι had by ησw reached the Black wins by fσrce.
dreaded five minute mark. Miles, 34 <itιb2 'i'f4+
meanwhile, was slightly ahead ση 35 <itιb1 We4
the clσck with seveη σr eight 36 Φh2 lLig4+
minutes. 37 <ifi!b1 :xh3
21 'ife7! 0-1
22 'iib5 hxg6 Α fiηe example σf σpeηing
23 1i'xh8+ preparatiση, swindling, cσunter
I've fmally managed tσ 'get at' swindling and time-trσuble.
the black king but in dσing sσ Ι
am fσrcing it tσ a safe haveη ση τime-Trouble Tactics
the queenside. It is σf the utmσst impσrtance that
23 <itιd7 the swindler cσηducts himself in
24 lLixg6 1i'c5+ the apprσpήate fashiση wheη his
25 Φb1 Φc7 σppσηeηt is ίη time-trσuble. Ι am
26 h3 lLie3 ashamed tσ say that ίη my career,
27 lle1 1i'xc2 Ι have swindled many many σp­
28 IΣg1 1i'e4 pσηeηts whilst they ηervσusly
 τime Trouble 29

twitched with seconds on their game, Ι was lost out of the open­
clock. Along the way, however, Ι ing on move eight and spent my
have learnt some very useful les­ allotted two hours cursing myself
sons: for not learning opening theory.
With little over five minutes left
to make 32(!) moves, Ι responded
with a move which Ι saw lost by
force. My opponent missed his
chance and Ι was able to escape
with only a completely lost posi­
tion instead of a 1 -0 result.
The interesting point was that
at first, my opponent was playing
reasonably slowly when Ι had
four minutes left on my clock. Ι
remember trying to analyse
variation after variation as
The above posιtιon is taken quickly as possible but my clock
from the game Tozer-Mortazavi, situation would not allow any
Oakham 1 990. Black is clearly concrete assesm s ents - Ι was
doing well thanks to his active seeing ghosts. As my clock situa­
two bishops. Furthermore, White tion became more and more
had approximately 20 seconds or acute, my opponent started to
even less on his clock to reach the speed up and instinctively Ι
time control while Black had over started playing good moves. On
an hour left. The game continued: move 40, Ι made my fmal move
1 . 1Η8?? 2 d6+ 'iith8 3 'i'xf8
.. in a winning position.
mate and that, unfortunately, was The moral of the story is that
the end of that. very few people can analyse
Of course every chess player calmly and logically in time­
will at sometime in his career trouble. Nature simply does not
blunder hoπendously. However, allow the body to relax. Although
a few months after the game, a there is an overwhelming need to
dose of honesty brought to the play quickly in a lost position
unhappy conclusion that my when your opponent is short of
swindling teclmique in time­ time, Ι have rarely seen any
trouble was flawed - Ι was play­ player making the best decision
ing far too quickly in my oppo­ under time pressure.
nent's time-trouble. It was not Ensure that you take your time
until a game Ι had later on that and enjoy making your opponent
year that Ι completely reviewed suffer!
my 'technique' . In this particular Αvoid the obvious move:
30 The Fίne Art oj Swίndlίng

position and even though it se­

cures a large advantage, it
changes the nature of the position
from a stranglehold to a more
tactical struggle.
2) As my opponent was in se­
ήous tirne-trouble, Ι prefeπed to
retain the threat of . . . d4 before he
made the tirne control. Mter all,
my advantage was not going to
run away in seven moves.
3) If Ι was to reverse roles with
White, the move that Ι would or­
In the above diagram (Piper­ ganise a defence to is . . . d4.
Mortazavi, Smith and Williamson The game continued
Masters 1 990), Black has an ob­ 34 'ii'd3 1:tbe8
vious advantage. In addition, Note how Black is not just
White was in seήous tirne-trouble making random moves but is
and Black had plenty of tirne left slowly improving his position.
on the clock. Υou will also notice The first goal has been achieved,
from the diagram the white king Ι have doubled my rooks on the
on g2 is badly placed as it is po­ e-file.
tentially in the line of fire of the 35 �h2 'i'c6
black queen on b7. Hence the 36 'i'c2 J.f6
move 33 . . . d4 is the first idea that The second stage of the plan.
spήngs to mind. In fact, having The king is more central. White
looked at the position in the com­ has achieved very little whilst Ι
fortable surroundings of my PC, Ι caπied out this sirnple procedure.
would say that 33 . . . d4 is the 'best 37 �g2 �g7
move' and that Black has a very 38 �h3 ll8e7
large advantage. Duήng the 39 �h2 'i'a6
game, however, Ι chose a differ­ 40 �g2 'i'c6
ent plan, even though Ι had seen The time control has been
33 . . . d4! . reached and White has done very
33 .:e6! little except for shuffling his king
Ι have given this move an ex­ around.
clamation mark as Ι think that 41 �h2 aS
practically and as a general pol­ 42 lΔfd2?
icy, this is the best move! Ι based Α blunder, although White's
my decision on avoiding 33 ... d4 position is probably lost anyway.
as follows: 42 lΔf2!
1) . . . d4 is the main threat in the 43 lΔn d4
 Πme Trouble 31

0-1 Russian player, get into desperate

Although the above example is time-trouble throughout the tour­
not a swindle as Black was nament and hence a tactical battle
clearly better all the way through, seemed like a good idea.
the principle of not making the
most obvious move still applies.
When an opponent is in time­
trouble, the main motifs that are
analysed are one move traps, ob­
vious pawn breaks, checks, etc. Α
good swindler will always retain
a 'threat' even if it is a pointless
check to gain time.

Anything can happen in

τime-Trouble
This is perhaps the most impor­
tant rule to remember. The fol­ 9 dxc3
lowing game shows just what 10 'ii'e2 cxb2
ghosts time-trouble freaks see. 11 .txb2 'ikb4+
12 �n
Mortazavi-Aseev At the cost of two pawns,
London (Lloyds Bank Masters) White has managed to develop all
1 994 his pieces in a reasonably dan­
Sicilian Defence gerous looking formation. The
only drawback is the fact that
ι e4 cS Black has managed to stop White
2 c3 liJf6 from castling. Had this not been
3 eS liJdS the case, Ι think White has a near
4 d4 cxd4 winning position.
5 liJf3 liJc6 12 .tg4
6 .1c4 liJb6 13 I%d1 .:td8!
7 .tb3 dS An excellent move and an over
8 exd6 'ii'xd6 the board novelty which solves
- 9 liJa3?! all of Black's problems and gives
Α recommendation that Ι had him a practically winning advan­
seen in the Informant about ten tage.
minutes before the game. Ι was 14 %lxd8+ liJxd8!
trying to avoid the noπnal move This is the point. The black
9 cxd4, which at best gives White knight now protects the vulner­
a very slight advantage. Ι had able f7 square and all of White's
seen my opponent, a 2555-rated tήcks disappear with only a two-
32 τhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

pι:ιwn deficit to show for it. 22 liJxb4

15 liJc2 'ifc5 23 liJxb4 .txb4
16 �d4 'ikc7 24 i.xg7 1Σg8
17 h3 i.e6 25 i.e5
18 �g1 i.xb3 White is still two pawns down
19 axb3 liJc6 but along with my opponent's
20 i.a1 e6 time-trouble and the fact that Ι
had at least managed to stop him
from castling, Ι was sure that the
game had more twists yet.
25 'ifc4
26 'ii'd 1 a5
27 'ifb1 f5

Α disgraceful position to have

against a strong Russian grand­
master. Black has no weaknesses
and is simply two pawns up,
White still has to castle by hand.
Resignation seemed appropήate,
Ι actually would have resigned if On move 20, Black had the
Black could manage to castle. My perfect pawn structure and a two­
only form of 'compensation' is pawn mateήal advantage. Seven
that the bishop on f8 is temporar­ moves later, the two pawn ad­
ily tied down to the defence of vantage remains but Black has
the g7 pawn. made some seήous concessions
21 g3 .tc5?! in his pawn structure.
With under five minutes left to 28 �g2 liJd5
reach move 40, my opponent 29 'l'd1 �e7
plays for a cheap tήck. The sim­ 30 liJd4 ltJf6
ple manoeuvre ... liJb6-d5-f6 fol­ 31 .txf6+ <itxf6
lowed by castling would have 32 liJf3
better. Slowly but surely Black's king
22 b4! is stήpped bare of protection. The
22 .txg7? .1:ιg8 23 .ta l 'ikxg3+ threat is 'ikd7.
24 �f1 1i'g2+ was Black's idea. 32 �e7
 τime Trouble 33

33 ._a1 .tc3 alsσ fiηd that Ι σffer draws ίη my

34 'ii'a3+ 'ii'b4 σppσηeηt's time-trσuble. This can
35 'ifa2 1:tc8 be quite an art and must be timed
36 .1itbl 'ii'e4 at a precise mσmeηt. Fσr exam­
37 1lb3! a4? ple, there is ησ pσίηt σffeήηg an
Better was 37 . . . cil;f7 38 'ifa3 σppσηeηt a draw wheη they σηly
'ifc6! with a winniηg advaηtage have three mσves tσ make ίη five
thaηks tσ the piη ση f3 . miηutes. Belσw the three σr eveη
38 'ifa3+ Φd7 better the twσ miηute mark, is the
39 1:lxc3 1lxc3 best time tσ thrσw in this extra
40 'ifxc3 b5 vaήable:
41 <ith2? !
White's σηly winning try was
4 1 'ii'a 5 which stσps the passed
pawns in their track but dσes ησt
sσlve the prσblem σf the pin ση
f3.
41 b4
42 'i'd2+ Φc6
43 'ii'd8 b3
44 'ifc8+ Φd6
45 'ii'd8+ Φc6
46 1i'c8+ �d6
47 1i'd8+ 1/z-1/z
Ι was slightly disappσinted that In the abσve pσsίtίση, frσm
Ι did ησt wiη this game but, Mσrtazavi-Zifrσni, Smith and
lσσking back, Ι suppσse giving a Williamsση Masters 1992, White
grandmaster a twσ-pawn head is ίη a very bad way. Black has
start is a tricky situatiση tσ win the twσ bishσps and is threateηing
frσm! tσ wίη the White queeη with ... f4.
18 b4
The Tactical Draw Offer 1 8 'ii'e2 was the altemative but
Ι may be giving away sσmething such an abject retreat caη ηever
here, but Ι σnly ever σffer draws be ήght.
wheη I'm wσrse σr lσsing. Ιη 18 'ii'xb4
geηeral, this is a gσσd pσlicy tσ 19 :tb1 'iie7
stick tσ. There is ησ lσgical rea­ White has the b-file ίη
sση tσ σffer a draw in aηy σther 'cσmpensatiση' fσr the lσst pawn
circumstance as by defiηitiση yσu but the σηly chance σf swiηging
must either have an advantage σr the game was tσ sacήfice
actually be winning. (unsσundly! ) further, as Black's
As Ι · usually play quite fast, Ι pσsίtίση wσuld be impregηable
34 The Fine Art of Swindling

after . . .'i;c7. trying to play without ήsk, and

20 1%xb7 lΩcS! had earmarked this particular
21 dxcS 'ii'xb7 game as a 'draw'. Whatever the
22 lΩd4 f4 final verdict ση the position, if
23 'ii'c3 fxe3 White wanted a draw, this was
24 fxe3 I:e8? the best time to offer it duήng the
24 . . .1Σf8 with the idea of re- game. Black's time situation is
taining the bishop was better. getting near cήtical and White's
25 lΩ2b3 j,xd4? compensation is just beginning to
26 tι:Jxd4 aS form.
27 h4! �c7 Swindling aside, Ι have also
28 a3 noticed that players who fre­
And with my opponent down quently get into time-trouble can
to his final two minutes, Ι offered also use this fact against their
a draw which my opponent ac­ opponents. As Ι have already
cepted. In all honesty, if Ι had mentioned, although time-trouble
the same circumstances again, Ι addicts rarely play the best
would not offer a draw as Ι think moves, their opponents can also
that ίη practice, Black has too suffer from the excitement of the
many problems to solve ίη the moment and play abysmally.
allotted time. At the time, how­ Your opponent's time-trouble
ever, Ι was hoping to secure my should be enjoyed as much as a
second intemational master norm, winning position is enjoyed!
3 The Endgame

Despite its simplified ηature, the watched as a Wσrld Champiση

eηdgame is excelleηt swiηdle ter­ was swiηdled by a yσung aηd
ήtσry. Ι caη think σf twσ gσσd prσmising Eηglish player ίη a
reasσns why this shσuld be the simultaηeσus display:
case.
Firstly, ίη sσ called simple pσ­
sitiσns (which are ίη fact amσηg
the mσst cσmplicated pσsitiσns
ση the bσard) it is pσssible and
σfteη ηecessary tσ calculate a
Ισηg way ίη advance. This means
that if yσu spσt a trap at the eηd
σf a vaήatiση yσu can try tσ eη­
tice yσur σppσηeηt ίηtσ it. And if
yσur adversary is σηly making
mσves ση 'geηeral pήnciples'
theη he may fiηd that there is a
ηasty tactical sting at the eηd σf a Kasparov-McDoηald
seήes σf plausible pσsitiσηal Simultaneσus Display,
mσves. Eηgland 1986
And the secσηd 'bσηus' fσr the
swindler is that there are a whσle Here White caη wίη easily with
seήes σf cσmpletely 'unjust' 54 'ii'd6+ <j;g7 55 c6 ! and the
draws that a player can achieve pawn runs thrσugh. Instead he
frσm an appareηtly lσst eηdgame. saw ησ reasση ησt tσ take the e­
Ιη this chapter we shall begiη pawn and after 54 i.xe4 ?? was
with sσme examples where σηe ησ dσubt expecting Black tσ re­
player successfully σr unsuccess­ sigη. Instead there came
fully tήed tσ lure his σppσηeηt 54 . . . 11xg3+ 55 Φχg3 'i'e5+! aηd
ίηtσ σηe σf these drawiηg White was fσrced tσ stalemate
schemes. Black's kiηg.

Stalemate Traps Here is the mσst ησtσήσus ex­

Α gσσd place tσ start. Ι σηce ample σf a stalemating tήck.
36 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

Evans-Reshevsky Here Black was in desperate

New Υork 1 964 time pressure, while his opponent
had a full ten minutes on the
Here Reshevsky played the clock. White played 1 hxg5. His
'decisive' 48 ... 'ilfxg3?? (48 ... 'ii'f6 opponent replied 1 . . . hxg5, and
really does end the game). Evans after removing White's pawn
replied by reaching out with his from the board held his hand
ann . According to Evans, Resh­ hovering over his g-pawn, ready
evsky thought he was reaching to answer 2 .ixg5 with 2 ... g3
out to shake hands in resignation, (which wins, but I'm not sure
and tried to grab his hand! In fact, Black a1together comprehended
White was aiming to play 49 this). However, White replied 2
'ii'g 8+ ! ! . After 49 .. .'it>xg8 50 .ig3 and Black was stultified. His
!txg7+! Black can either capture hand fιrst hesitated over the g­
the rook (when it is stalemate) or pawn, then over his king, then
move his king (when the checks over his head, then it suddenly
carry on ad infinitum: 50 . . .'it>f8 shot out across the board towards
5 1 11f7+ 'ιti>e8 52 1:te7+ etc). his opponent, with the triumphant
It was easy to forget the possi­ shout 'it's stalemate! ' . His oppo­
bility of stalemate when the posi­ nent, looking stunned (and with
tion still had so many clearly his view of the board obstructed
identifiable features of a middle­ by the outstretched ann) auto­
game. matically grabbed the hand be­
Ι witnessed a good swindle at a fore him. Then looking like he
quickplay tournament in London been stung by a bee, he said Ίt's
recently. The following position not stalemate! Υou can play
was reached between two (with �d8 ! ' 'But you shook hands! '
the greatest respect) not terribly protested his opponent. White
good players: evidently decided there were
 The Endgame 37

enough problems in his life al­ Bishop and Wrong

ready, and he said nothing more. Coloured Rook's Pawn
Once again a swindler had pulled Another excellent saving method.
off an escape from the jaws of As is well known, the most seή­
defeat ! ous weakness of a bishop is that it
Although he probably wasn't is incapable of ousting an enemy
aware of this, Black had im­ king from in front of a passed
proved on a more illustrious rook's pawn, unless it controls
precedent. The following position the queening square.
was reached ίη the game
Korchnoi-Shamkovich played ίη
the USSR Championship, Kiev
1964/65.

White can stalemate Black ίη

the diagram above, but he can't
win.

Korchnoi played 83 h5 ! having

calculated that the black knight is
unable to head off the h-pawn.
But Shamkovich had one last
tήck up his sleeve. There came
83 ... �xc6 84 h6 lΔe4+ 85 Φg6
�d5 86 h7 �e5 87 h8(ji')+ Φf4
88 1i'd4 and here Shamkovich
announced 'it's stalemate! ' How­
ever, he had failed to obstruct his
opponent's view of the board and
Korchnoi (who is not the weakest
of characters) simply replied McNab-Motwanί
'King g4' . Thereafter the game Glenrothes Congress,
ended in a way entirely satisfac­ Scotland 1990
tory to him.
38 τhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

Ι am not going to show you l:txc2+! 42 i.xc2 �xe8 and we

how Black can hold this position, have our drawn endgame. White
for the simple reason that he can improve on 42 i.xc2 by 42
can't! Φg3 but then comes 42 ... J:c3+ 43
His problems aren't limited to Φg2 (42 Φf4 :c4+ draws imme­
being a pawn down. White's diately) 43 ... 11c2+ 44 'iioιf l It.c l+
pieces are on dominant squares 45 �e2 :.c2+ 46 Wd3 l:ta2 ! 47
and he also has the advantage of i.d7 (if 47 :e4 then 47 . . . 1:la3+)
the better minor piece: the bishop 47 ... I:.a3+ 48 'iioιe4 l:txh3 and with
is far more useful than the knight the disappearance of White's last
when there are pawns on both pawn we reach a rook and bishop
sides of the board. ν. rook endgame (it is assumed
What Ι am going to show you Black will lose his h-pawn sooner
is Motwani's bήlliant attempt at a or later) . Although this is a theo­
swindle. retical draw, it is good swindle
37 llaS! terήtory for White! Nevertheless,
Activity is the key to saving a difficult theoretical draw is
bad endgames. Here Black offers clearly preferable to a theoretical
to exchange his pawn on c6 for loss.
the e5 pawn. This is in a general In the game McNab took no
sense a good transaction for chances and played:
Black, based on the pήnciple that 40 i.xe8! �e7
when you are mateήal down you 41 lta8 1:txc2+
should exchange pawns, but not The difference with the vaήa­
pieces. But there is a tactical tion above is that White has kept
drawback to this otherwise desir­ the rooks on. The white rook can
able plan, as is soon revealed. compensate for the inadequacies
However, as pointed out above, of the bishop: it can force the
there is something wrong with black king away from h8 in the
everything in this position, since distant future and help queen the
Black is objectively lost. pawn.
38 i.xc6 %Σχe5 42 Φg3 l:tc4
39 J:d8 43 .thS �f6
The aforementioned drawback. 44 1Σa6+ Φg7
Now White plans simply to ex­ 45 i.g4 1:lc7
change off twice on e8, when he 46 i.fS :tt7
will have an easily won pawn 47 l:tg6+ Φh7
endgame. 48 �f4!
39 :cs! Accurate to the last. Black was
This is the defensive idea Ι hoping for the careless 48 Φg4 ??
culogised above. If now 40 J:tg7 ! exchanging rooks.
�xe8+ then 40 . . . Φfϊ 4 1 i.a4 48 :rs
 The Endgame 39

49 1:tgl + 'ίttb8 White's position is indeed lost,

50 'ote5 1:tg8 but it required just one more ac­
51 :aι curate move from Black to prove
and faced with the imminent it: 55 . . . i.e6, and it is all over. But
Φf6 and .:a 7, Black soon gave Karpov, impatient for victory
up. Despite the unfortunate result, over his perennial opponent (this
this was a good defensive try by was their 157th encounter), began
Black. celebrating a move too soon. He
played
Eliminating all the Pawns 55 1:td5??
This is a well-known defensive which on the face of it doesn't
try. It is impossible to mate with look like a double question-mark
only a minor piece or even with move. But it gave White the
two knights, sans pawns. In the chance he was waiting for:
following example Kasparov es­ 56 tlJh3!
capes by the skin of his teeth, The knight awakes. lt turns out
thanks to his great fighting spirit Black has squandered a vital
and a little help from his oppo­ tempo, since if 56 . . . i.e6 then 57
nent. tlJxf4 gxf4 58 .:a4 wins the last
white pawn (if 58 . . . f3 59 :f4+).
56 i.d2+
57 'ote2

Kasparov-Karpov
Amsterdam 199 1

White's position looks abso­ 57 'ίtt g7

lutely hopeless. Black is a piece Amazingly, there is no longer a
up and has all his pieces on win for Karpov. If 57 ... .te6 then
dominant squares. All he has to 58 !ta8+ followed by queening,
do is capture the white passed exchanging rooks and capturing
pawn, and then White will surely the bishop on d2 with the king.
resign. Or if 57 ... .tc 1 , 58 .:c7 and the
40 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

bishop has no moves: 58 . . . .i.f4 59 gering on two pawns down ίη a

lbxf4 gxf4 60 1Σc4 (or 60 �f3) simple endgame. Evidently, he is
and again White draws through just going through the motions
capturing the last pawn. and awaiting an appropήate mo­
58 1Σa2 .tcl ment to resign. The game ended
58 . . . 1:ιe5+ 59 �xd2 doesn't 46 e4 Φe6 47 �e3 'iitιd6 48 'iitιd4
win either. �d7 49 �c4 �c6 50 �b4 l:te5 5 1
59 11c2 .ta3 :Σ.c l+ Φb6 52 l:tc4. Here Short
60 lbxg5 ..tg8 resigned, since White has suc­
61 1:[c7 'iitι g6 ceeded ίη activating his rook and
and Karpov offered a draw cutting off the black king from
which was accepted. the e-pawn. lt will now be easy
for the white king to shepherd
All Rook Endgames home the passed e-pawn.
are Drawn ! Now let's return to the diagram
Players are always most careless position. If Kasparov hadn't been
when they think they are win­ so over confident, he wouldn't
ning. The corollary to this is that have played the impetuous 46
if you are ίη a bad position you e4?? . And if Short hadn 't been so
should redouble your efforts, and depressed about his match score
never lose hope. The next exam­ and his miserable play in the
ple is a good reminder of this. opening of this particular game
he would have found 46 ... 11c5 !
which draws easily.

Kasparov-Sbort
London 1 993
There are only two vaήations:
'Th.is is the position after 45 47 a5 .:lc3+ 48 �e2 �xe4 49 a6
moves in game nine of the 1993 l:tc8 and the rook is ίη time to
World Championship match. For block the pawn; and 47 l:ta3 1lc4
a long time Short had been lin- 48 a5 1txe4 49 a6 %Η4+ 50 �e3
 The Endgame 41

1Η8 and again the rook returns in cording to Botvinnik, the Dutch
time to head off the pawn. Instead supporters were cheeήng on their
of 46 e4 ?? , White could have man Euwe, convinced that he was
played either 46 'ιte2 'ιte4 47 about to achieve a fine victory
Iifl ! activating the rook with :f4 over a fellow pretender to the
next move (which is of course the crown of the recently deceased
answer to 47 ... :xa4) or 46 :a2 Alekhine. Euwe himself was also
'ιitf5 47 e4+ 'ιte5 48 Φe3 11a8 49 looking quietly confident. White
a5 11h8 50 11f2. These vaήations is apparently lost, since he is in
are given by Kasparov in lnfor­ zugzwang: either he retreats his
mator 59. king and allows the black king to
I'm sure that if the endgame at advance, or he retreats his rook
move 45 had been reached when and allows the passed pawn to
the score in the match was say 5- advance. But Botvinnik did both
5 rather than 4-0 to Kasparov, the and drew!
World Champion wouldn't have 41 <itιe3 <itιeS
been so careless. And Short 42 11c2! ! c3
seemed a little punch drunk: his 43 Φd3!
demise contrasts sadly with the
fierce rearguard action we see
from Kasparov in bad positions.
Here is another example of
over-confident play and this time
there is no happy ending.

Here Euwe gestured to his fans

to be quiet, since he had suddenly
realised there was no win. White
draws after 43 ... 11c7 44 lιxc3
:xc3+ 45 �xc3 Φχe4 46 Φc4
since although Black captures the
Botvinnik-Euwe white h-pawn the white king can
Groningen 1946 meanwhile go after the black g­
pawn. The result is a dead draw,
This game was played in as given by Botvinnik: 46 ... 'it>f4
Groningen in Holland and, ac- 47 Φd4 <itιg4 48 'it>e5 Φχh4 49
42 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

<itf6 �g4 50 <itxg6 and bσth sides

will queeη. After lσηg thσught
Euwe chσse anσther mσve.
43 %Σd8+
44 Φe3!
The best mσve, ησt allσwing
the kiηg tσ be cut σff after 44
�xc3 �xe4.
44 l:td4
45 %Σχc3 l:txe4+
46 �f3 1Σχh4
47 %Σc6!
This ensures the draw, since
the black king is unable tσ defeηd king siηce the rσσk fσrms an im­
the g-pawn withσut allσwing per­ peηetrable barήer acrσss the third
petual check, e.g. 47 ... \t>f5 48 rank. It shσuld be meηtiσηed that
:c5+ <ite6 49 %Σc6+ <itf7 50 this type σf fσrtress almσst al­
.U.c7+. ways requires the pawn tσ be ση
47 :r4+ the secσηd rank and ησ further
48 �e3 %Σe4+ advanced up the bσard. This is
49 �f3 �f5 because with the pawn ση b3 σr
50 %Σf6+ Φχg5 b4, etc., the eηemy queeη can
51 %Σχg6+ σfteη disrupt the defeηce by using
and a draw was agreed. the space behind the pawn tσ har­
At the time this game was ass and chase away the defeηding
played it certaiηly lσσked like a king.
swindle, whereas ησwadays per­
haps it is better classified as 'a
cσηtήbutiση tσ eηdgame theσry' .

Fortress Positions
Here is a simple example σf a
fσrtress (see followίng dίagram).
Believe it σr ησt (and Ι didn't
believe it the first and last time Ι
fell fσr it) Black cannσt win this
type σf pσsitiση. The white rσσk,
sσlidly defeηded by the b2 pawn,
which ίη tum is sσlidly defeηded
by the king, pivσts betweeη a3 Kir. Georgiev-Anand
and c3. Black's king can ηever Las Palmas 1993
get at the b2 pawn σr the white
 The Endgame 43

In this example Anand had 53 "iff4+!

been struggling for the whole
game, but by this stage had suc­
cessfully steered Black's position
towards a fortress set up. Admit­
tedly, it had taken some help
from his opponent to get this far,
but then if Anand hadn't been
aware of the fortress draw there
wouldn't have been any safe har­
bour (to keep the seafaring anal­
ogy) even to head for: he would
have drifted around until Geor­
giev finally found a win. That is
why it is necessary to be aware of Α cunning move, looking for a
all the 'book' draws. The game counter swindle. If now
continued 53 ... <iftc8?? then 54 "i!fd6 ! and we
38 "ifxh7 e3 see that, unlike in the diagram
39 "ifh2+ ςi;Ja8 before last, Black's rook doesn't
40 "ife5 a6 have two squares defended by a
41 "ii'e4 1::tf8 pawn to pivot between. This
42 i.xd5 wasn 't a problem when his king
This leads to our standard could move since the rook could
draw, but there was no way to nestle on b5 . Now however, our
disrupt or weaken Black's posi­ two old fήends zugzwang and
tion. stalemate have spoilt Black's
42 cxd5 party. The black rook must move
43 "ifxe3 llc8 to an unprotected square, but then
44 "ife6 %:ιc6 it is lost to a fork after a couple of
45 "ifxd5 1::tb6+ checks, e.g. 54 ... :.h5 55 'iff8+
46 'ita3 1::tb5 rJi;c7 56 "iff7+. But Anand hadn't
47 "ifd4 <it>b8 spent the whole game swindling
48 b3 'it>a8 only to end up being swindled
49 'itb2 <it>b8 himself, and finds the only move
50 Φc3 Φa8 to hold.
51 Φc4 Φb8 53 <iftb6!
52 b4 'ίtc7? ! Now the black rook won't be
It seems that Black wanted to in a situation to be forked.
add new theory to this 'book' 54 'i'b8 1::ιh5
endgame! Simply 52 . . . Φa8 leaves 55 <it>b3 1::t b5
White with nothing to do: the 56 rJi;a4 11d5
fortress is unbreakable. and a draw was agreed.
44 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

In this skiπnish at the famous The black king approaches the

New York Grandmaster touma­ dangerous passed pawns. Α good
ment in 1 924, Emanuel Lasker way to be swindled is to try to
(White) pulled off a celebrated win the white knight for the b­
swindle against his namesake pawn with 86 ... '1ti>b4 and
Edward Lasker. 87 . . . Φa3 : the white passed pawns
White looks to be completely would roll through. But why did
lost. The knight is attacked and if Black repeat the position twice?
83 - yes, they had played lots of Well, he wanted to reduce the
moves! - g7, then 83 . . . :g2 picks number of moves to the next time
up the pawn, while 83 liJd3+ '1t>c4 control and therefore give himself
84 g7 %ιg2 85 liJe5+ '1t>c3 also as much time as possible to mull
wins easily for Black. So it seems over future vaήations. Repeating
that the white passed pawns are the position to gain time on the
easily stopped, while the b-pawn clock is an excellent anti­
marches through. But we already swindling technique, even if it
know that Emanuel Lasker was a proved ineffective here.
great fighter, so it is ηο surpήse 87 Φd4
that he fmds the toughest path of White has to react immedi­
resistance. Here he played ately, since Black's plan was to
83 Φt'3! play 87 ... Φe7 or 87 . . . Φe6, when
when the knight was taboo be­ the black king takes over the task
cause of 84 g7, queening. Νο, our of restraining the white pawns.
swindle will be more sophisti­ This would have freed the rook to
cated than that! Play went force the win of the knight for the
83 .tld8 b3 pawn with ... :c8 and ... %ιc2
84 <ite4 .tld2 etc. And with the white pawns
85 Φf3 J:ιd8 rendered harmless, the game
86 Φe4 Φd6! would have been over. Therefore,
 τhe Endgame 45

White's king has to cross over the Chess For Blood Edward Lasker
d-file at once to approach the b­ reminisces that after playing the
pawn, before its passage over the move 90 ... J:g3! Ί left the room at
d-file is cut off by the black rook this stage to stretch a little and
after 87 . . /JΊie7. was congratulated upon my vic­
87 1ic8 tory by Bogolyubov and others
88 g7! who were in the Press room and
White plans to sacήfice his g­ told me the story was ready to be
pawn to deflect the rook from the released. However, when Ι re­
c-file and allow his king to con­ tumed to the table, a rude shock
tinue its joumey. awaited me. '
88 'ite6 91 lba4 �fS
89 g8(i!t') 1:txg8 92 'ιtb4 c;ιιχr4
90 Φc4 .:tg3! Here Black was still feeling the
delight of approaching victory.
He had calculated that after 93
�a3 �e4 94 lbc5+ �d4 95
lbxb3+ Φc4 he wins the pinned
knight.
93 lbb2!
But this is the unpleasant sur­
pήse alluded to above. lt turns
out that although White cannot
win the passed pawn, neither can
the black king approach to sup­
port it and eventually push it past
the white pieces. The only avenue
It looks as though this clinches of approach is the sixth rank, but
the game. White was hoping for can the black king pass over it
90 . . . 1:b8? when 9 1 �c3 followed without interfeήng with the
by lbd3, c;ιιb2 and lbc l wins the pawns defence by the rook?
passed pawn. And as we know, a According to Edward Lasker,
knight against a rook is an easy at this point he rushed back to the
draw, unless there are exceptional Press room and told them to kill
circumstances. But with any story about him beating the
90 . . . .J:g3! Black prevents White former World Champion!
playing �c3 and, it appears, get­ 93 <it>e4
ting his king in front of the pawn. 94 lba4 <it>d4
So what can White do in this po­ 95 lbb2 J:f3
sition, while Black takes the f­ 96 lba4 J:e3
pawn and bήngs up his king? 97 lbb2 <it>e4
ln his book Chess For Fun and 98 lba4 �f3
46 The Fine Art of Swindling

ciple of keeping out the enemy

king to achieve a draw in a
hopeless looking pawn endgame.

So Black has managed to sneak

his king forwards without allow­
ing 'it>xb3.
99 'it>a3! Aronin-Smyslov
11υeatening 100 liJc5, and USSR Championship,
ready to answer an eventual 'it>d2 Moscow 195 1
with �b2 ! and the black king will
never be able to approach the When Ι first saw this position
pawn. So Black tried a different in an endgame book, Ι was dou­
method, but it's a draw all the bly amazed! Ι began by asking
same. myself: Ήοw could a player with
99 We4 such a harmonious positional
ιοο Φb4! style as Smyslov end up with
Back again. The white king such a bad bishop?' and could
watches his counterpart and give no answer. Then Ι wondered:
blocks all his attempts to ap- Ήοw could he possibly have es­
proach. caped with a draw? ' Fortunately
100 Φd4 the second question was easily
ι οι liJb2 1:th3 answered by playing through the
102 lΔa4 Φd3 moves before me.
103 �xb3 'it>d4+ ι :gs wh7
and a draw was agreed. 2 1:txg7+?
Το achieve this draw, Lasker Aronin thinks the easiest way
had to construct a fortress with to win is by liquidating to a pawn
his king and knight which pre­ endgame. But he has missed
vented the black king ever Black's bήlliant defence. Since
breaking into a couple of vital Black's bishop is so bad, White
squares. In the next example, we should have exchanged off rooks
see Smyslov using the same prin- with 2 1:te8 and 3 1:te7. Then the
 'Γhe Endgame 47

white king would have been free However, he was in for a shock!
to enter Black's position through 4 hxg3!
the many white square holes. 5 fxg3
Smyslov would surely have had
to resign after 2 1:te8.
2 :.xg7
3 tΔxg7 Φχg7
4 g4
This is White's idea. He
block's the kingside and prepares
to march his king to c4, attacking
the vulnerable queenside pawns.
Shereshevsky gives the vaήation
4 ... Φf7 5 Φe2 Φe6 6 Φd3 Φd6 7
Φc4 a5 8 f3 ! Φd7 9 Φc5 Φc7 10
c3 bxc3 1 1 bxc3 Φb7 12 Φd6
Φb6 1 3 c4 Φb7 14 c5 5 g4! !
Black not only gives White the
chance to create an outside
passed pawn, he forces him to!
6 h4
If 6 hxg4 then 6 . . . <itg6 7 �e2
Φh6 and White can't do anything
active since if his king moves
away Black is ready to munch up
the kingside, beginning with Φg5
and �xg4.
6 c5
7 Φe2

and Black is in zugzwang and

loses his c-pawn.
The vaήation 4 ... hxg3 5 fxg3
looks equally hopeless, since now
Black won 't even be able to bήng
his king over to the defence of the
queenside - White will always be
poised to create an outside passed
pawn with h4. Probably Aronin
didn't look too deeply into
4 . . . hxg3 and just satisfied himself
with the verbal outline above.
48 The Fine Art of Swindling

7 �h7! ! dle a draw three or more pawns

Α beautifully nonchalant move. down due to the equalising effect
Who says you should centralise of opposite-coloured bishops.
your king in an endgame? Here, for example, White is three
8 Φd3 �h6 pawns up but can't win, because
9 c3 his pawns can never pass over the
White realises why Smyslov dark-square blockade.
has a devious glint in his eye. If 9
�c4 then 9 . . f5 ! wins for Black
.

after 10 exf5 e4! and White will

soon be in zugzwang and forced
to move his king away, when the
e-pawn runs through. Inciden­
tally, this is a swindle very simi­
lar to that employed by Yusupov
against Bronstein later in this
chapter.
Nor can White draw after 9
Φc4 f5 by retracing his steps with
10 Φd3, because 10 . . .f4 1 1 gxf4
exf4 leaves Black's king ready to Even more disgusting exam­
capture both white passed pawns, ples could be concocted. But the
beginning with '.ii>h5 and '.ii>xh4. It moral is clear: if you have to bale
is curious that these two pawns out several pawns down into an
are so helpless and cannot over­ endgame, try to entice your op­
work the black king by both ponent into an opposite-coloured
threatening to run through to bishop endgame. Even if it looks
queen. Evidently they are too lost, there may just be a fluky
close together, and so only wait draw there!
until they are both captured.
9 aS
10 cxb4 axb4
and a draw was agreed. The
white king cannot go to c4, while
the black king must remain in the
so called 'square' of the passed h­
pawn. So neither player can do
anything except wait. Α marvel­
lous defence by Smyslov.

Opposite-Coloured Bishops
Sometimes it is possible to swin-
 τhe Endgame 49

Here's the great Bσbby Fischer

blundeήng ίηtσ aη unwinnable
eηdgame (see diagram on prevί­
ous page) :

Fischer-Donner
Saηta Mσnica 1 966

Here White cσuld play 30

'ii'b 1 ! threateηiηg 3 1 i.xf7+ !
..t>xb7 3 2 .:c7+ ! (σr the less
spectacular 32 'ilib7+). And the
reply 30 . . . �xc4? fails tσ 3 1 'ifb8+
aηd 32 !:xc4. Sσ Black wσuld Here we see Fischer ίη actiση
prσbably have tσ jettisση the a6 agaiη, but this time he was ησ
pawn tσ escape frσm his prσb­ dσubt rather mσre happy at the
lems, wheη White has gσσd win­ drawiηg prσperties σf σppσsite­
niηg chaηces. Instead, Fischer cσlσured bishσps!
thσught he cσuld wίη the a6 pawn
immediately with 30 i.d3? which
- ση the face σf it lσσks gσσd.
Hσwever, Fischer saw his mis­
take as sσση as he picked up the
bishσp. In the bσσk σf the Secσηd
Piatigσrsky Cup, Dσnner de­
scήbes a situatiση we all knσw
tσσ well.
After tσuching the bishσp
Fischer sat fσr secσηds with his
finger ση the piece desperately
lσσkiηg fσr aησther mσve. He had
seeη the pσint at the last minute Walther-Fischer
as usual but there was ησ σther Zurich 1959
mσve!
The pσίηt was 30 . . . �xc2 ! 3 1 Fischer had beeη struggling
i.xf5 1:.c 1 , regaining the queeη ήght frσm the start σf this game,
aηd eηteήng an σppσsite-cσlσured and his σppσηeηt had already
bishσp eηdgame where there is ησ missed ηumerσus easy wins. But
win, despite the extra pawn. like all great players, Fischer has
Fischer acquiesced tσ a draw after an intense will tσ survive. Here
32 'ilixc 1 i.xc 1 33 �fl h6 34 he understands that his σnly
'itte2 �f8. chance σf salvatiση is tσ
50 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

exchange off rooks, so he began

46 %Σel+
47 �c2 .l:ιfl!
pinning the bishop against the
rook. There followed
48 Ild5 .1:tf2+
49 %Σd2
According to Fischer in My
Sίxty Memorable Games White
could also win after 49 �b 1
�a3! (the best chance) 50 bxa3
%ίχf3 5 1 .:.xh5 11xa3 etc. How­
ever, it is understandable that
White didn't want to enter such 54 a4?
an endgame. Aren't all rook and Here we see why Fischer was
pawn endgames drawn? And be­ right to prefer this lost endgame
sides, didn't Fischer himself only over all others. White makes a
manage a draw with two rook's perfectly natural move which
pawns against Botvinnik? turns out to be a blunder in dis­
49 11xd2+ guise! Here White should play 54
50 �xd2 b4! when after 54 . . . Φc7 55 'iti>a5!
�b8 56 b5 �a3 57 b6 �c8 58
Φa6 Φb8

So Fischer has his opposite­

coloured bishop endgame. It is
still losing, but undoubtedly the 59 �g2! Black is in zugzwang.
best defensive chance. Either he moves his bishop al­
50 h4 lowing a4 etc., or plays 59 ... <it>c8
51 �d3 �f6 when 60 'iti>a7 .tc5 6 1 a4 etc.
52 Φc4 Φe7 This vaήation was worked out
53 Φb5 Φd7 by Fontana and is quoted in
 The Endgame 51

Fischer's aforementioned book. 59 .te2 .te3

So despite the fact that White was 60 �b3
winning, great accuracy was re­ If 60 �d5, then 60 . . . �d2 6 1
quired from him . ln any other b6+ (6 1 a6 Φb6 is our blocking
endgame he could have allowed draw) 6 1 ... Φb7 wins a pawn.
himself a minor inaccuracy 60 .td2
maybe a superfluous pawn move Or he could wait with 60 ... J.f2.
or wasted tempo and still won 61 b6+ �b7
easily. Like all master swindlers, 62 �a4 Φc6
Fischer has confronted his oppo­ 63 �b5+ �c5
nent with problems that eventu­ and a draw was agreed. After
ally prove too much for him. 64 b7 J.f4 65 a6 Φb6 the pawns
54 rJi;c7 are hopelessly blocked.
55 b4 �b8
56 a5 Here we will turn our minds to
White of course advances his some devilish ways of winning
pawns in a dark-square chain, so some drawn endgames.
that they can't be blocked on the
white squares. Zugzwang
56 �a7 Take a look at the following po­
57 �c4 �g3 sition.
58 b5 �f2!

'Not much going on,' you may

Black's drawing method is in­ think. And you haven 't told us
debted to another of our themes: whose move it is. Ah, but that's
after 59 b6+ �xb6! 60 axb6+ the point! Whoever is to move
Φχb6 we have the drawn bishop wins! White to move plays 1
and wrong colour rook's pawn �f7! and after 1 .. .'.1td5 2 �f6
endgame. And if 59 �d5, then Black is in zugzwang: he has to
59 . . . -te l 60 b6+ �a6 draws. give up the pawn. In contrast,
52 The Fine Art of Swindling

Blιιck to move fιrst plays 36 gxf4

l .'�d4! 2 �f6 c.td5 and we have
. . 37 tbe6 f3
the same position as with White 38 liJd4?
moving first, but this time it is White begins to go wrong. Ac­
with White to move. Zugzwang is cording to Kasparov he should
very much a phenomenon pecu­ play 38 ltJc5+ here. Then
liar to the endgame, and the 38 ... Φa7 39 liJxd3 looks bad for
reader should keep his eyes open Black, so he would have to try
to such a tactic. lt will save him 38 ... c.tc6, but he is still struggling
or her many points and half after 39 ltJxa6 �b5 40 ltJc7+
points. Φχa5 4 1 liJxd5 as Black's pawns
on d3 and f3 are ready targets.
38 �e4
Now Black's advanced pawns
are securely defended.
39 Φe3 Φc7

L. Bronstein-Yusupov
Luceme Olympiad 1982

In this semi-blocked position

White has a clear advantage since
his knight is far more valuable 40 liJxf3??
than the 'bad' black bishop, Α teπible blunder. White has
which has little to attack. Besides clearly lost all sense of danger.
the pawn on d3 is weak. Though, 40 i.xf3
jumping ahead, it doesn't prove 41 Φχf3
so weak. . . and here White realised his fa­
White began sensibly with tal eπor and resigned. After
35 Φd2 4 1 . .. d4! he is in zugzwang: his
There came king must move and let the d3
35 �g6 pawn run through to queen.
36 f4! Interestingly, Kasparov was
Only thus can White hope to watching this game and records
open lines into Black's position. in The Test Of τίme that after
 1'he Endgame 53

move 35 (our fιrst diagram posi­ J:.d 1 + and eventually play 11117 or
tion) Zaitsev, a member of the f5 if appropήate. But instead of
Soviet entourage, asked him his this slow approach, Hίibner
opinion of Yusupov's chances. jumped in irnmediately with 1
Kasparov replied ' Artur 'ιttf6? After l . .. �xf4 2 J:.xt7
(Yusupov) obviously stands 1Σχt7 + 3 'itiιxt7
worse, but Ι think he is intending
to win. ' And win he did! Clearly
Kasparov understood that at a
cnsιs point in the game,
Yusupov's sheer determination
and drive, to say nothing of his
talent, would overcome his oppo­
nent's resistance.

he must have been expecting

3 . . . 'itiιxe5, when 4 'itiιxg6 wins for
white as the h-pawn marches
through. lnstead there came the
response 3 ... Φf5! and suddenly
White was in zugzwang. If 4 'ιtte7
then 4 . . . 'itiιxe5 wins. So he had to
try 4 �g7 but 4 . . . g5 was then fa­
Hϋbner-Pfleger tal for him after 5 h5 (5 hxg5
Bundesliga 1 989 'ιttxg5 and the e5 pawn will be
lost) 5 . . . g4 6 h6 g3 and here Hίib­
Here 1 %tb8 looks rather awk­ ner resigned, since the exchange
ward for Black, e.g. l. . . J:.c7 2 of queens is forced: 7 h7 g2 8
1Σb4+ �d5 3 h5 gxh5 4 'ιttxh5 and h8(1i') g 1 (1i')+ 9 Φt7 'Wa7+ 10
White can put the king on f6, Φf8 'Wa8+ etc. or 9 �f8 'ifc5+ 10
drive off the black king with Φt7 'ifc7+ etc.
4 Attack is the Best Form of Defence

Sometimes there is no hope of tors, with the positional style of

saving a position by normal Smyslov getting the better of
means, and the only chance of Tal's tactical genius.
safety is to launch an all-out at­
tack. The 'swindling' attack was
the speciality of Tal, but it has
been in the repertoire of all great
players. In this chapter we shall
examine some instructive 'do or
die' attacks. Not every example
will witness a successful outcome
for the swindler, but the reader
will at least gain a feel for the
stratagems employed. And don 't
forget Kasparov and the others
were trying to outwit mostly
world-class opposition. With all Smyslov-Tal
due respect to them your own Bled 1959
opponents should not prove as
resilient as these top grandmas­ Smyslov has completely out­
ters! played Tal and with
25 h4!
Achieving Psychological he now wins a piece. The
Ascendancy over the Opponent bishop on f5 is taboo because of
At the 1 959 Candidates tourna­ tΔe7+, while the valiant
ment, Tal had to do battle with 25 ... 'i'xc 1+ 26 .ιχc 1 .ιχc7 re­
Smyslov four times. In their first sults in Black losing a piece after
encounter, Smyslov had won in 27 tΔe7+ and 28 tΔxc8, since d7
smooth positional style. Then Tal is hanging.
had struck back to score an at­ So Tal sells the life of the piece
tacking victory in the second as dearly as possible.
game. We now join play after 24 25 'i'xh4
moves of the third meeting be­ 26 tΔxe5 tΔxe5
tween these two great competi- 27 1txc8
 Attack ίs the Best Form of Defence 55

30 1Σχf8+ Jlxf8
31 fxe4 dxe4
32 'i'e3 Jld8

lt seems as if Black must im­

mediately resign, since he is a
piece down with no counterplay.
But Tal finds a way to keep the Α fιrst glimmer of activity. But
game going. ' Smyslov is getting really Tal is insulting his oppo­
a bit short of time,' he thinks nent by playing on.
'perhaps if Ι keep setting traps he 33 'it'g3 gS
may go wrong. ' Α good swindler 34 JlcS Jldl+
is an optimist. How else can you 35 'ίfίιg2 'i'e6
play on a piece down against a 36 bS? !
former World Champion? Here there is a very simple win
27 'Δf3+! with 36 'ilb8+ Φh7 37 'O'c8 !
'Γhis amounts to an exchange when Black is virtually com­
of the knight for the bishop on f5, pelled to exchange queens.
with a weakening of White's 36 Φh7
kingside the 'interest' on the deal. 37 Jlc6 'ίi'dS
28 gxf3 1Wg5+
29 Φfl
Of course not 29 i.g4? .f:.xc8,
winning back the exchange.
Though the dismissive expression
Όf course not' is perhaps inap­
propήate, since it could be
equally applied to the blunder
that Smyslov eventually makes!
29 'ii'xfS
As compensation for the piece,
Tal has a pawn and . . . well, a
safer king anyway.
56 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

38 'ikeS?? With this swindle, Tal gained

There was a win with 38 'it'e3 more than a valuable half point:
.1:td3 3 9 'ikb6 ! e3+ 40 �h2 and he broke the will of Smyslov,
Black will mated by :.xh6+. who still seemed to be depressed
There was also the crafty 38 when they sat down to play their
'ii'h2 ! e3+ 39 �g3, and again fourth game.
Black will be mated. In both
these lines the white king is cuή­
ously immune from checks,
whether he is on h2 or g3.
Smyslov thinks he has found
an even easier win. He threatens
mate and offers the exchange of
queens.
38 .:tgl+!
Α bolt from the blue. lt is per­
petual check after 39 �xg l
1i'd 1 + 40 �h2 'ii'h5+ 4 1 �g2
11i'f3+ (and not 4 1 . . . 'ifg4+ 42
'fί'g3 !). Tai-Smyslov
39 �h2 1lhl+! Bled 1959
There is a perpetual identical to
that above after 40 �xh 1 'fί'd 1 + Once again Tal is a piece
4 1 �h2 1i'h5+. Apparently it was down, though this time there is
this second rook sacήfice that somewhat more compensation.
Smyslov had missed when play­ Nevertheless, with best play
ing 38 "fle5??. Black must surely tήumph. How­
In The Life and Games of Mίk­ ever, Tal was feeling lucky ...
haίl Tal Tal descήbes the mo­ 28 %th3 .txb2
ment thus: ' Smyslov is normally 29 'ii'xg6 I1e7
imperturbable at the board, but 30 Ah6 1lg8
here, after my 39th move 31 'ii'f5 .ic8
39 . . . :h1 +, his face changed, and 32 'ii'f3 g4
after thinking for some three 33 'ii'd3 .ie5!
minutes (τal had only seconds But not 33 ... 'ifc3?? 34 .txh7 !
left to reach the time control at lt seem that after the game above,
move 40), he made his reply and Smyslov has learnt not to offer
slammed the clock with fuήous the exchange of queens against
force. ' Tal !
40 � g2 Agl+ Black now appears to be
and, much to Smyslov's cha­ coasting to victory. However, the
gήn, a draw was agreed. arch-swindler Tal finds a hidden
 Attack is the Best Form of Defence 57

resource. %lxg8 mate, or 41 'iff8+ :gs 42

:n :tgxf8 43 mιxh7+ �g8 44
:tfg7 - double discovered check­
mate.
Smyslov only has to find one
more move, and then the time
control will be reached. He will
then have an hour on his clock to
work out the easiest way to win.
Tal has timed things beauti­
fully so that Smyslov has to make
a difficult decision ίη a matter of
seconds. Or was he lucky? If this
cήsis had aήsen one move later
34 c4! bxc4 he would probably have lost the
35 bxc4 :tdg7 game, and perhaps never success­
36 cS! fully challenged Botvinnik for the
Once again Smyslov is set a title of W orld Champion.
hard task in time pressure. Here 40 Ilgd7??
he should simply play 36 ... 'ife7. He should play 40 . . :dg8, e.g.
.

36 dxcS? 41 i.xg8 ltxg8 42 %Σe l 'i'b7 !

37 d6 'ika7 ready to answer 43 :te7? with
38 i.dS %ld8 43 . . . 'i'b l+.
39 'i'e4 i.d4 41 l:tf6!

Not of course 39 ... �xd6 40 and the game came to an

%lxd6! . abrupt end. Black resigned, since
40 'iff4! the threat of 42 .:tf8+ can only be
With the fearsome threat of 4 1 answered by 42 . . . �xf6, but then
'ii'f8+ .:txf8 42 J:ιxf8+ J:ιg8 43 43 'ii'xf6+ 1Σg8 44 'ii'xd8+ wins at
58 The Fine Art of Swindling

once. he asks Black to broaden his

As has been pointed out earlier pawn front, and Filip duly
ίη this book, Α swindler certainly obliges.
thrives in time pressure! 30 J:r.xd4
31 cxd4 Φh7
32 .iid l tbe8?

Tai-Filip
Portoroz 1 958
Το threaten 32 ... .i.f6. But
Tal is ίη big trouble here since Black has made a fatal tactical
the bishop on d2 is attacked, and oversight. He could play
if he moves it, e.g. 28 .i.e3, then 32 ... .:d7, or the ingenious
28 . . . 1:txd 1 29 %Σ.χd 1 1Σχd 1 + 30 32 ... 'ii'g7! when White must reply
.i.xd 1 tbxe4 3 1 'ifxe5 tbxf2+ 33 'i'f4, since 33 'ifxe7? 1:tg8 al­
wins a pawn. lows mate on g2, and 33 1:tg 1 is
Tal finds a good fighting answered by 33 ... .i.d6! ! 34
chance. He moves the bishop to­ J:.xg7 + Φχg7, and the white
h6! queen is trapped ίη mid-board!
28 .i.xh6 gxh6 Now, would that be a swindle (a
29 'ifxeS .i.e7? lucky defensive feature ίη the
Taken aback, Black immedi­ position) or a natural way of re­
ately goes wrong. 29 . . . 'ii'e7 was futing an unsound sacήfice?
better, when 30 'iff4 tbh7 3 1 After 32 ... 'ifg7 33 'iff4 .l:tg8 34
'ii'xh6 'iff6 leaves Black ίη con­ 'i'f3 the fight would be pro­
trol. longed.
30 1:td4! 33 f6! tbxf6
Beginning a similar plan to that 34 'iffS+ <it>h8
caπied out against Smyslov ίη 35 eS
the previous game. Tal is a piece White has been allowed to un­
down, so he needs some help leash his bishop, and there is no
from his pawns. With this move longer a defence.
 Attack is the Best Form of Defence 59

tisch!
Pσrtisch was reησwned fσr
haviηg a fiηe grasp σf pσsitiσηal
chess. If he had a wealrness, it
was ίη the realm σf calculatiση.
He teηded tσ becσme slightly
fazed in melees. Musing ση this,
Tal decided ση the speculative
14 �xc4?!
but was sσση lσsiηg
15 �xc4 cxd5
16 � d4
Oηce again Tal has sacήficed a
35 'iWg7 piece aηd is planniηg tσ be res­
36 exf6 i.xf6 cued by his pawns. Eηtirely
37 %:tg1 i.g5 hσpeless wσuld be 16 ... �e4 17
38 f4 �xd5 .
and Black resigηed. 17 �xa8 'ifxa8
18 �cb5 %:tc8
19 'i'd1 �4

Portisch-Tal
Arnsterdam 1964
Black's build up lσσks impres­
White played sive, but aη extra rσσk is wσrth a
14 b4 little trσuble!
gainiηg space ση the queenside 20 f3 a6
and appareηtly fσrcing the knight 21 �xd4 'i'd5
ση a5 tσ retreat tσ a passive 22 i.e3 %:tc3
square. Tal didn't faηcy the prσs­ 23 �dc2?
pect σf dσur defeηce after Pσrtisch is bemused by all his
14 . . . �b7, especially against Ρσr- extra pieces. The greedy 23 fxe4
60 τhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

was simplest. 28 fxe4

23 \i'f5 Adding another piece to his
large collection.
28 \i'xe4
29 lbf3 'ife3+
30 Cϊti>hl J.c6
At last some swindling chances
appear. If now 3 1 'ii'd4? then
3 1 ... gxf3 32 \i'xe3 f2+ 33 \i'f3
:xf3 ! 34 :ac ι (34 exf3 .Ji.xf3 is
mate with Black's last remaining
piece!) 34 ... fl ('if)+ 35 :xfl %Σxfl
mate!
31 :η 1Σχa3
32 'ii'c l gxf3
24 g4? 33 \i'xc6 \i'xe2
There was no need to weaken
the kingside. Now the pawn on
g4 becomes a target.
24 'ife6
25 J.d4 h5!
There can be no breaking off of
the attack. Black has to fling eve­
rything forwards and hope for the
best.
26 J.xg7 hxg4
If 26 . . . �xg7 27 'ifd4+ wins a
rook or knight.
21 lbd4 •d5
34 llgl Cϊti>xg7
35 %Σael 'ifd2
36 Ildl 'ife2
37 :tdel 'i'd2
38 :dι 'i'e2
39 1Σdel
and a draw was agreed. The
four pawns compensate for the
piece. After the game Portisch
admitted he had been expecting
Tal to resign on every move, and
this had disturbed him!
 Attack is the Best Form of Defence 61

Garry Kasparov parov has to achieve the maxi­

Gaπy Kasparov has also proved mum activity for his pieces if he
himself an astute swindler. In the is to avoid defeat. His rook and
early days of his career, before bishop are excellently placed, and
his positional sense had mel­ the knight eyes the f4 square. But
lowed, he often found himself what about the queen? Kasparov
being strategically outplayed by decides to redeploy her to the
top-class players. The fact that he kingside and introduce some
usually escaped unscathed was threats against the enemy king.
due to his great tactical powers 36 'ii'd7!
and gritty determination. 37 'i'f2
Nowadays he is more than a Planning to swap off Black's
match for his opponents, and al­ strong bishop with 38 .i.d4.
most the only times he needs to 37 'ii'h3
play to swindle are when he has 38 f4
tήed too hard to win (usually
with the black pieces).

Here is an example of Por­

tisch's tactical weakness (which
Portisch-Kasparov of course can only be descήbed
Moscow 1 98 1 as a weakness in compaήson with
the ability of other world-class
Ι suppose Ι should apologise to players). According to Kasparov
Portisch for presenting him as the in The Test of τime, Portisch said
fall guy again. However, it is after the game that he was afraid
surely a veiled compliment that of 38 .i.d4 llJg3+, e.g. 39 �g l
two of the greatest players in the llJe2+ ! . However, he had over­
history of chess should have had looked 39 'ii'xg3 ! and wins.
to swindle him! However, Black can do better:
In the diagram position, White 38 .i.d4 .i.xd4 39 'i'xd4+ <t>h7 is
has two extra pawns. So Kas- similar to the game.
62 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

38 Ac3 44 l2Jg3+!
39 i.d4+ i.xd4 45 hxg3 'ifhS+
40 'it'xd4+ �h7 46 'ifh2 'iff3+
41 %lg1 47 J:g2 'it'd1+
and the draw was agreed.
Note that if Black's king were
ση h7 then after 45 . . . 'ifh5+ 46
'iih2 the black queen would have
been pinned against the king.
That's why 4 l . .. �g8 was such a
subtle move.
Although Kasparov was never
actually losing this game, he still
had to display the qualities of
tactical resourcefulness requisite
to a swindle. And all would-be
swindlers should try to remember
Ruling out 4 1 . . . l2Jg3+ intend- the drawing mechanism at the
ing to answer 4 1 . . . l2Jxf4 with 42 end!
'ikf6 J:xd2 43 'ifxti+ �h8 44 Here is a 100% swindle.
'fixf4, while planning 42 d6.
41 <it>g8 ! !
Α quiet move that is the prel­
ude to a drawing combination.
42 d6
There is nothing better.
42 .rtxd2!
43 'ifxd2 'iff3+
44 'ii'g2

τimman-Kasparov
Bugojno 1982

Kasparov thought he had

enough play in this position. Un­
til, that is, Timman played the
unexpected
16 b4!
when he realised he was lost.
 Attack is the Best Form of Defence 63

However, he decided to make a 21 'ίi'xd6

fight of it. White avoids 2 1 Wxb5 lbxc6.
16 cxb3! Now his mateήal advantage is
Rather than 1 6 . . . lbb7, when 17 ήsing again (it is the exchange
i.xc4 wins the exchange without and a pawn) and he seems to have
giving any counterplay, Kasparov beaten off the attack.
elects to give up a whole rook for 21 'ίi'e8
the sake of activity. This was un­ 22 'i'd8
doubtedly the best practical Here Kasparov gives 22 �b2,
course. answeήng 22 ... lbxc6 with 23
17 .1ε.χb5 cS lbe2, as convincing enough.
Defending the knight οη a5. Timman's move gives Black the
Now White should play 1 8 i.e2. chance to redeploy his queen with
But why not take everything? great effect, upon which a terήfy­
18 dxc6? axbS ing sacήfice becomes possible ...
19 'ii'dS+? 22 'ifxc6+
Here Kasparov points out the 23 �b2 'i'a8!
following variation: 1 9 cxd7 lbc4 24 1Σc1 lbc4+!
20 dxc8('i') Wxc8. Now 2 1 25 bxc4 I:.d7!
'ifd5+ :n isn't so clear. How­
ever, 2 1 axb3 ! lbxd2+ 22 �xd2
would kill the attack and leave
White with a rook and two pieces
for the queen. However, as Kas­
parov astutely points out, it is
disagreeable to give up your
queen when you are a rook up!
19 :n
20 axb3 lbf8

It soon becomes clear why

Black lures the queen to the e8
square. However, other queen
moves have their drawbacks - 26
1i'h4 (passive) or 26 'iib6
(dangerous) 26 ... 1:tb7 ! .
26 We8 bxc4
The white king suddenly finds
itself devoid of pawn cover...
27 lbc3 'ifc6!!
64 The Fine Art of Swindling

and the white queen finds itself a real shock for Korchnoi who
trapped. was ίη his habitual time-trouble.
28 �c2 32 IΣ.xf2+
There is nothing better. 33 <ittg3 l:ιxe7?
28 Jld2+
and Kasparov offered a draw,
which was accepted.
This draw offer is another
noteworthy swindle technique:
τimman is ίη shock at losing his
queen, and so grasps the chance
to teπninate play. If Kasparov
hadn't made his offer, Timman
may have found 29 <ittxd2 'iixe8
30 lbd5, when still he has a good
position.
Here is our final example of
the World Champion ίη swindle Panic ίη time pressure.
mode. 33 ... 1i'a8 ! threatens 34 . . .'ii' a 3+
and obliges White to play 34
l:xe8+ 'ifxe8 when the attack is
easily defeated.
34 f6! lbg6
Black would even lose after
34 ... g6? 35 'iih6 'iif8 36 lbxe7+.
35 lbxe7+

Kasparov-Korchnoi
Brussels 1 986

In case you haven't noticed,

Black has an extra rook. So Kas­
parov decided he had to do
something fast.
32 1te7! 35 Φf8
An ingenious try which almost Here 35 ... lbxe7 36 'ii'xh7+ �f8
pushes Black off the edge. It was 37 1i'h8+ lbg8 38 'ii'xg7+ �e8 39
 Attack ίs the Best Form of Defence 65

'ifxg7+ 'ifi>c8 40 'ifxb7 is matel try to enjoy his chess. And sacή­
36 'ifxh7 �xf6 ficing pieces and launching big
Black would be mated as in the attacks is great fun. But he must
vaήation above after 36 . . . lbxe7. be prepared for the occasional
37 lbxg6+ fxg6 short, sharp defeat against a
38 'ιtxf2 'i!t'b6+ player he regards as an infeήor
39 'itιg2 'iνb2+ (in chess terms, of coursel). The
40 �h3? opponent won 't always come to
his rescue with a blunder, as the
next couple of examples indicate.

40 JlxgS?
Both sides were in time pres­
sure. Here 40 . . . Jle5 was danger­ Tai-Bhend
ous, so White should have played Zuήch 1 959
40 �f3.
41 'ifxg6 'iff6 Here the simple 22 lbf4, ex­
42 'ifxf6+ changing off bishops, gives
and a draw was agreed. The White a very slight advantage.
opposite-coloured bishops negate But that wasn't the young Tal's
any winning chances after way of playing. lnstead he
42 . . . Jlxf6 43 �xb7. speculate with
22 Jlxg6!?
The Perils of a S harp Style Hoping for 22. . . hxg6 23 lbe7 !
The following is a reminder that when the threat of 24 'it'h4 will be
those who live by the sword also decisive, e.g. 23 ... �e5 24 'iνh6
ήsk dying by the sword. If the mate or 23 ... .:.f5 24 'ifh4+ :h5
reader wishes to adopt an ultra­ 25 lbxg6+ and 26 'i'xh5 . Black
aggressive style and make finds the only move.
speculative sacήfices, then fmel 22 JlxdS!
Unless he is a professional player Now both 23 cxd5 hxg6 and 23
with a mortgage to pay he should 'ifh5 Jlg8 1 leave White a piece
66 The Fine Art of Swindling

down. draw by repetition 25 ... .td4 26

But, undaunted, Tal presses on: 'ifh6 .tg7 is given as best by
23 J:e7 'ii'd8 Pachman. An amusing altemative
24 11fel is 25 . . . .tc3 26 'iih6 .txe l ? 27
According to Tal, he had in­ .tg6! ! .txg6 28 "ilg7 mate.
tended 24 .txh7 here which at So equality with 25 .th5 was
first glance looks decisive: the White' s best line.
threat is 25 'ii'xg7 mate. And the 25 1:tb7!
black king, stripped of pawn
cover, is also menaced by secon­
dary threats such as 25 �5.
But Tal had seen too late that
Black has a complete defence in
24 . . . .tf6 ! e.g. 25 'ifh6 'ifxe7 26
.te4+ �g8 27 .txd5+ .:π.
So Tal tried the game move,
which also looks very strong. If
24 . . . .tg8, 25 .t:xh7

τhis move wouldn't have been

possible with the white bishop on
h5, because then 26 .txf7 .:txf7?
27 l:te8+ would win for White.
Now the White attack gradu-
ally fades away. The game ended:
26 h4 11xe7
27 J:xe7 h6
28 'i'f5 .tg8
29 'ii'e4 d5
really does look dangerous, 30 . cxd5 'i'xd5
e.g. 25 . . . .tf6? 26 'ifb6 'iixe7 27 31 'i'g6 'i'd4
:xe7 .txe7 28 .tg6+ .th7 29 32 'i'g3 :n
'ifxh7 mate. 33 1te4 'iib2
But Bhend ήses to the occa- 34 .td3 .td4
sion. 35 :e2 'ifcl+
24 .tt7! and White resigned.
25 .tc2?
Here 25 .th5 ! intends 26 'ii'g3 And sometimes, a player who
or 26 'iig4, when White threatens sets out to play in 'swindley'
to capture on f7. Then the curious style can be beaten because his
 Auack is the Best Form of Defence 67

opponent makes a lucky guess.

35 1tee1! !
Tal-Gligoric But this alters the picture! The
Candidates match, 1 968 threat of mate ση hl turns a lost
position into a winning one.
White has a most imposing at­ 36 'ifxt7+
tacking fonnation and not sur­ White has nothing to do but
pήsingly Tal continued in typi­ simplify into a lost endgame.
calLy aggressive fashion. 36 �xt7
31 'ifh5 37 liJxd6+ Φe6
The threat of 1th8 mate looks 38 1Σg6+ �d5
unstoppable: all Black can do is 39 liJf5 J:b7
give a couple of checks, and then 40 liJe3+ %Σχe3!
he must resign. Gligoήc was also 41 fxe3 1Σc7
in bad time pressure. The game
now went
31 'ii'xc1+
32 Φh2 �d6+!
33 .1:txd6 'iff4+
34 .1:tg3 'ii'xd6
35 liJf5
Black has found a way to stave
off the immediate mate, but what
now? If 35 . . . 'i'c7 36 liJxg7 (36
'ifh6?? 'ii'xg3+! would be a swin­
dle and a half, but there may be
other wins here) 36 ... 'ii'x g3+ 37
fxg3 <J;xg7 38 'ifxc5 results in an Gligoήc has simplified clev­
easily winning endgame for erly. The passed pawn is unstop­
White. pable.
68 The Fine Art of Swindling

42 Φg3 c4 25 J::ιhl 'ii't7 !

43 Φf4 c3
44 e4+ <itιc4
45 lΣa6 c2
46 :aι Φd3
and Tal resigned. Incidentally,
he could have gained a strong
attack with 3 1 lbb3 ! but that is
another story.
After the game, Gligoήc said Ί
won because Ι guessed the ήght
move in time-trouble. ' Normally
after such a fme win the victor
pretends he has seen all the tac­
tics. So, Gligoήc's candour is Accurate defence. Tal was
very pleasing. planning a big attack after
In fact, it is so pleasing that we 25 . . .i.fϊ 26 %lxh7+! �xh7 27
.

will show another episode in :h 1 + <iii>g 8 28 lbg4, etc., intend­

which he outwitted Tal. ing both 29 lbxf6+ and 29 'ii'h4.
But this beautiful vaήation
vanishes after Gligoήc's game
move. White was unable to
breakthrough after
26 'ii'h3 !/Lg6
27 'ii'g4 <ii?g8 etc.
Black eventually exploited the
advantages of his position, which
also include a safer king and
White resigned ση move 42.

Now besides goodwill towards

Gligoήc, there are other reasons
Tal-Gligoήc why we gave this extract.
Zuήch 1 959 τhis game and the game
against Bhend also given above
Black's position looks rock are both miserable losses by Tal
solid, but that didn 't deter Tal. He with White. They are also both
began speculating with from the same tournament: Zu­
21 h4 'ii'd7 ήch 1959. And they were Tal's
22 lbe3 !/Lt7 only losses in the whole event,
23 <ii>f2 c6 which he won with the fme total
24 h5 !/Lxh5! of ten wins, three draws and two
 Λttack ίs the Best Form of Defence 69

losses. At move 2 1 of the game his swash-buckling approach has

above, Pachman writes cήtically: only conceded three draws. Α
'Tal has given his opponent the double-edged style of play only
bishop pair and has allowed his courts disapproval when it goes
kingside to be weakened all for wrong.
the sake of some nebulous at­ So the reader should take de­
tacking chances. ' True, but he has feat in his stήde and, taking his
played in the same spiήt that led cue from the master Tal, bounce
him to win ten games in the tour­ back to win the next game in
nament! And just as importantly. bήlliant style!
5 Emanuel Las ker: The Master Swindler

According to common consensus in Korchnoi claiming that a

the greatest swindler of all time Doctor Zukhar was trying to psy­
was the foπner World Champion che him out at Baguio duήng the
Emanuel Lasker ( 1 868- 1 94 1 ) . 1 978 World Championship match
Lasker would claim undisputed against Karpov.
pήde of place in a swindling Reti had his own theory to ex­
Ήall of Fame' . plain what seemed Lasker's in­
His swindles ranged from one credible good luck. He believed
move cheapos to sublime de­ that Lasker deliberately played
fences of losing endgames. He bad moves, in order to upset the
could bamboozle opponents with emotional balance of his oppo­
unsound middlegame attacks or nent. If the opponent was a de­
altematively entice them into fensive player, for example,
promising attacks themselves: Lasker would play a rash move
which always seemed to go that exposed his own position to a
wrong ! strong attack, since he knew that
How did he do it? Some of his in the resulting fight his opponent
contemporaήes argued seήously would feel uneasy and could
that the foul-smelling cigars he therefore be outwitted. Similarly,
always smoked duήng games against a attacking player he
were a major factor in his suc­ would start an unsound attack to
cess. Their pungent fumes dis­ fήghten him The fact that when
.

turbed his opponents. Others ac­ the battle began he stood objec­
cused him of more sinister prac­ tively worse failed to perturb
tices: Ίt is remarkable and de­ Lasker. Perhaps that is why Pol­
serves special attention, that the lock said 'it was by no means­
great masters, such as Pillsbury, easy to reply to Lasker's bad
Maroczy, and Janowsky, play moves! ' The opponent never
against Lasker as though hypno­ seems to have the type of position
tised,' wrote Marco in the early he wants.
1900s. So there is nothing new in Let's look at some of Lasker's
Benko donning thick dark glasses swindles. They really do range
to stop Tal hypnotising him at the from the sublime to the ridicu­
1959 Candidates toumament, nor lous.
 Emanuel Lasker: The Master Swindler 71

Α Brilliant Tactical Eye

Here White can play 1 8 .:tab 1 ,

Lasker-Tb. von Scbeve when the black bishop on b4 is
Berlin 1 890 forced to retreat ( 1 8 . . . c5 1 9 .ixe5
fxe5 20 'i'xe5 would be horήble) .
Here B1ack is a pawn down, Then after, say, 1 8 ... .i.e7 19
but has good compensation ίη the 'ii'xb7 White has a clear posi­
form of the badly placed white tional advantage.
lmight on a3. But all positional But Capa thought it didn't
considerations ceased to matter matter which rook he put on b 1,
when the evil eye got to Von and played
Scheve: 18 .r.ttb1?
24 cS?? However, there is a big differ­
25 J:Σxd3! 'ii'xd3 ence. As Euwe points out, White
With his 24th move Black has would now be in seήous trouble
kindly exposed his rook on a8 to after 1 8 ... t2Jc4 ! If 1 9 'ifxb4 then
attack, so that 25 ... 1:.xd3 fails to you probably guessed it:
26 'ii'x a8+. 19 ... :d 1+! wins a rook.
26 :.e8+! In the actua1 game, Black
and Black resigned because he failed to take advantage of
loses a rook after 26 ... �h7 27 White's eπor and replied with the
'ii'xd3. The former World Cham­ quiet
pion Max Euwe descήbes this 18 �Ο?
encounter as a 'real coffee-house when, although the bishop is
game ' . However, we shou1dn't be still of course untouchable ( 1 9
too harsh on von Scheve, since Wxb4 %ld 1 +! still works), Capa­
the great Capablanca fell for the blanca found another way to
same type of trap against Euwe wreck B1ack's position:
himself ίη game nine of their 19 .ixeS fxeS
1 93 1 match. 20 tΩgS! .ic3
72 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

If 20 ... �f5 then 2 1 'ifb3+ wms

the exchange.
21 'ifc2
'Threatening mate.
21 ..tfS

Lasker-Showalter
Paήs 1900

It was probably with some sat­

isfactioη that Showalter rein­
22 .te4! forced his roσk ση the seveηth
Gaining complete control of rank with 23 ... %Hd8. He ησw
the white squares. lf now seems to be ίη complete cσηtrσl:
22 . . . -txa l theη 23 ..txf5 leads tσ all his pieces are ση supeήor
a quick demolitioη of Black's squares to his oppσηeηt 's. Or sσ
kingside. he thought. Lasker had σther
22 g6 ideas and played
23 'ii'a2 + fj;g7 24 lLJdS! !
24 l:txb7+ Α beautiful move based ση the
and we agree with Euwe that it interfereηce theme. White ob­
is time to draw a veil over structs the interactioη of Black's
Black's sufferings here. pieces both aloηg the d-file and
acrσss the fifth rank.
Curiously, Euwe gives both Black must ηοw tread care­
eηcounters Lasker-voη Scheve fully.
and Capablanca-Euwe in his book 24 1txd1+
Bobby Fίscher and hίs Predeces­ If 24 . . . %1xc2 25 :Xc2 'ii'xe4 26
sors. However, he doesη't de­ 'ii'xc5 'ii'xc2 27 l2Je7+ and Black
scήbe Capa as a coffee-house is mated.
player wheη he himself falls for 25 llxd1 b6
the trap! And if here 25 . . . ..txd5 theη 26
But let's look at some more 'ii'xc5 wms a piece. Alsσ bad is
examples of Lasker's tremeηdous 25 ... cxd5 26 'ii'xc5 (the lesser
tactical alertness. threat is ηοw 27 b3, winning the
 Emanuel Lasker: The Master Swίndler 73

d5 pawn) 26 ... 'ii'xb2? 27 'ifxc4. and the bishσp ση c4. Sσ it seems

But the beautiful swindle is re­ Black has ησthing better than tσ
served fσr 25 . . . liJe6: 26 liJe7+ eηter an eηdgame a pawn dσwn.
<it>h8 27 :xd8+ liJxd8 28 liJxc6 ! 27 tΔe7+ Φf8
liJxc6? 29 'iff8 mate. It tums σut 28 'i'xb8 1lxb8
that Lasker's queeη is better 29 liJxc6 11e8
placed fσr the tactics than Black's 30 f3
'well ceηtralised' lady ση e5.

and Lasker's fine technique

But what shσuld White dσ wση the eηdgame at mσve 44.
ησw? Black is ready tσ capture
the knight and if 26 liJxb6 theη At the famσus St Petersburg
26 . . . :xdl + 27 �xd 1 'ii'xe4, 1 9 1 4 tσumameηt, the yσung
threatening mate, lσσks uncσm­ Alekhine was swindled twice by
fσrtable fσr White (the mild σur herσ. The fιrst swindle was a
27 . . . �a6, leaving the knight ση blσσd aηd thunder epic, while the
b6, alsσ has sσme meήt). secσηd was a far quieter.
But Lasker has anσther tήck up ·

his sleeve.
26 'ii'g3! ! ...b8
Black lσses the exchange after
26 ... 'ifxg3 27 liJf6+! gxf6 28
:xd8+ σr 27 ... �f8 ! ? 28 :Xd8+
<it>e7 29 :e8+! . Or if he wants an
early bath he can lσse the ex­
change and be mated: 26 . . . 'ii'xb2
27 liJe7+ <it>f8 28 1txd8+ Φχe7 29
'ii'd6 mate. Altematively, if
26 . . . :e8 27 'ii'xe5 1Σχe5 28 liJxb6
aηd White bσth threatens mate
74 The Fine Art of Swindling

Lasker-Aiekhine
St Petersburg 1 9 1 4

Νο, there isn't a mispήnt ίη the

diagram. lt really is a white pawn
on b7. However, this pawn is
only good for White ίη an end­
game, since at the moment it
helps shelter Black's king from a
middlegame attack. lt is White's
king that is the more open to at­
tack. Here Alekhine innocently
played
22 lbf5 25 lbxdl
and Lasker, with the above There wasn't actually any al­
considerations ίη mind, thought ternative here.
he should exchange off one of 26 .i.xf4 lbc3!
Black' s attacking pieces with the
simple
23 �cl
But he was rocked back by
Alekhine's reply
23 lbe3!
The knight jumps into the
midst of White's position, but
proves inviolable: 24 fxe3? dxe3
and the white queen is pinned
against the rook on d 1 .
But Lasker quickly recovered
from the shock and found the best
move. This is Alekhine's idea. He is
24 1tc5! winning after both 27 'ii'f3 'ii'xf4 !
Now 24 . . . lbxd l 25 .i.xf4 is 28 'ii'xf4 lbxe2+ and 27 :.xc3
good for White. So Alekhine de­ dxc3 28 .i.xd6 'ii'xd6. So does
fends his Bishop. Lasker have to resign?
24 'ii'f6 27 �xd6! !
25 'ii'e4! Not after this move! lt turns
This would also have been the out that the white queen is taboo:
answer to 25 . . . 'ifg4. Now Alek­ 27 ... lbxe4 28 �xc7+ Φχb7 29
hine must have thought that he .i.xe4+, and Black has the miser­
had a winning combination, but able choice of 29 ... 'ιt>c8 30 �e5+
Lasker has seen further. or 29 ... Φa6 30 .:.as mate. Also
 Emanuel Lasker: τhe Master Swindler 75

leading to a quick checkmate is

the immediate 27 . . . cxd6: 28
%Σc8+ llxc8 29 bxc8('ίi')+ �xc8
30 'ii'b 7.
27 1ixd6
This was all that was left for
Black to try, but Lasker now
makes short work of the end­
game.
28 'ifeS 'i'b6
29 'ii'e 7!
An instructive winning
method. If now 29 . . . :Ιι8, then 30
%:te5 intends 3 1 'ile8+ ! etc. Alekhine-Lasker
29 'ifd6 St Petersburg 19 14
30 :es d3
31 exd3 'i'xd3 Things look far rosier for
32 lle3 iVd1+ Alekhine in this game. He is a
33 Φh2 liJbS pawn up and about to play 42
34 %Σe6! liJxa3 llJe6, unleashing fatal pressure on
35 J:tf6 g7. It seems that he is about to
expeήence some sweet revenge.
Unless, of course, Lasker (to
move) fmds something bήlliant. ..
41 :te3!!
... which naturally he does! This
insidious move threatens
42 . . . liJc3+ followed by 43 ... 1Σχd7.
What can White do? The king
can't move: the penalty of 42
�c2 is 42 . . . liJb4+, winning a
rook, while even uglier is 42 �c l
I:.a ι + 43 liJb4 mate.
Nor can the rook move from d7
Lasker has broken through to to a safe square: 42 :b7 .:.d l + 43
Black's vulnerable back rank, so �c2 liJd3+ 44 �b3 llJxg2 wins a
Alekhine resigned since there is whole rook.
no defence to 36 .:.fs. So in the game Alekhine had to
play
Here is an extract from the 42 :xdS llxdS
second game between these play­ 43 liJe6 Φf7
ers at St Petersburg. 44 1Σχg7+
76 The Fine Art of Swindling

This was the game between the

two leaders of the tournament
(who ended up fιrst and second)
so it had a direct beaήng on the
final outcome of the event.
Lasker always proved himself to
be a very tough fighter ίη such
cήtical situations.
Here he has played the opening
poorly, and White has a clear
positional advantage. The knight
is beautifully placed on c4 and
ties Black down to the defence of
which was almost drawing. But the a5 pawn. The white queen
Lasker ground out a win ίη 89 controls a lovely diagonal and
moves! White's rook has seized the d­
file. And even worse for Lasker,
Playing the Man rather White has a clear plan to increase
than the Board his advantage: play his knight
We have quoted Reti above as from c l to e5 and double rooks
claiming that Lasker deliberately along the d-file. If Black opposes
played bad moves ίη order to en­ this plan by exchanging off both
tice his opponent's into positions pairs of rooks, then an endgame
that didn't suit their style. Per­ will be reached ίη which he will
haps it was personal expeήences fmd it hard to defend the a5
such as the following example pawn.
which led Reti to this opinion. Το add to all Lasker's prob­
lems is the fact that he is playing
a renowned master of strategy. So
he cannot expect any strategical
misconceptions from his oppo- -;
nent. But what if he could create '
some complications? Reti was far
worse at calculating vaήations
than making plans! However, the
position looks too simple for
there to be any sharp tactics.
So for the time being Lasker
quietly strengthens his defences.
The bishop on c5 is a very sickly
Reti-Lasker piece, incapable of attacking
Mayήch-Ostrau 1 923 anything. However, there is one
 Emanuel Lasker: The Master Swindler 77

σpeη diagσηal fσr it ση the bσard, performing a vital functioη ίη

aηd Lasker hits ση the plan σf keepiηg d l unavailable to a white
redeplσying it there. roσk.
20 .te7! White ησw plans 28 e5, sσlidi­
21 tiJd3 tiJd5 fyiηg his rσok οη d6 aηd consσli­
22 tbde5 .tf6 dating his space advaηtage. If
Lasker's manσeuvre has Black respoηded passively with
greatly increased the value σf his 28 . . . tbd5, οηe good plan is to put
bishσp. Hσwever, he is still under his queeη οη d4 and theη start
strσηg pressure. advancing his f-pawn to begiη a
23 e4 tbc3 kiηgside attack.
24 1:ιd6 'ifb7 Lasker sees that to allow 28 e5
25 :tel is to iηvite a slow death. He also
knows that he is playing a posi­
tiσηal maestro who is far weaker
ίη tactics. So he decides to gam­
ble. If White sees through the
trap, he will win; if ηοt, theη he
will lose. Many players would be
fearful of taking such a ήsk, but
Lasker knows that to do ηothing
is far ήskier. So, taking his life ίη
his hands, he played:

Sσ Black has at least fσrced a

white rσσk tσ a passive square.
25 j.xe5
The bishσp was a gσσd defeη­
sive piece, but the white knights
were becσming too powerful.
26 tiJxeS 'ίi'c7!
White threateηed 27 .:.d7, win­
ning at oηce since f7 drops. Now
27 .:.d7? fails to 27 . . . Wxe5 28
'ίi'xfl+ �h8. 27 e5! ?
27 lLΊc4 I'm sure this must have come
But White remains in total as a complete surprise to Reti,
coηtrol. If 27 . . . lLΊxa4? White wins since after his reply
the exchange after 28 .:.edl lLΊc5 28 'ίi'f5!
29 lLΊb6 etc. The knight οη c3 is He threatens both 29 .:.d7 and
78 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

29 'i!fxe5. But ησw Lasker's idea crete calculatiση, shσuld σpt fσr
is revealed: it. Lasker had shrewdly assessed
28 lbe2+! his σppσηeηt!
This must have set Reti thiηk­ Tarrasch pσints σut what hap­
iηg ! pens after the cσπect 29 'ίth l :
Νσ dσubt he saw quickly that 29 ... l2Jd4 30 'i'xe5 l2Jxb3 3 1 l2Jb6
29 J:xe2 lσses the exchange: 'ii'c 3 32 'ii'xc3 bxc3 33 l2Jxa8 c2
29 . . . 'i'xd6 ! aηd if 30 l2Jxd6? 34 h3 ! c l'ii' 35 1txc l tbxc l 36
.:tc 1 + is theη a back rank mate. l2Jb6 and White remains a pawn
As we saw abσve, Shσwalter had up. He wσuld still face Lasker's
the same prσblem with his back excelleηt eηdgame technique, but
rank against Lasker sσme tweηty we wσuld expect Reti, whσ cσm­
years earlier! pσsed many eηdgame studies, tσ
Sσ if he can 't take the knight, be able tσ clinch victσry. And ίη
theη he must mσve his king. But aηy case, eveη if Reti σnly drew
shσuld it gσ tσ hl σr g l ? Reti he wσuld finish equal first in the
chσse wrσηgly, aηd came secσηd tσurnameηt.
rather than fιrst in the tσurna­ 29 l2Jd4
meηt. 30 'i'xeS l2Jxb3
31 l2Jb6 l2Jd2+!

29 Φn
It lσσks mσre ηatural tσ gσ this The pσint! With the white king
way, since White rules σut any ση hl this wσuldn't be check.
further back-rank ideas, attacks 32 Φgl l2Jc4!
the knight a secσηd time and Black has gaiηed a vital tempσ
bήηgs his kiηg clσser tσ the ceη­ by checking ση d2 and it cσm­
tre fσr aηy cσmiηg eηdgame. Sσ it pletely alters the balance σf the
is ησt surprising that a pσsitiσηal struggle. Black avσids material
player like Reti, relyiηg ση his lσss and ησw has a strσηg passed
strategical feel rather than cση- pawn which eveηtually decides
 Emanuel Lasker: The Master Swίndler 79

the game. and a shell-shocked Reti re­

33 lbxc4 1i'xc4 signed. Tartakower gives the
34 1i'f5 ltab8 convincing variation 44 .1Σf1
35 e5 'We3+ 45 Φh l 'i'c l 46 Φg l h6 47
Α desperate attempt to get f6 .:.xb7 48 1i'xb7 ]Σχf6! and
some counterplay before the wins.
passed pawn destroys him. Lasker also seems to have
made a shrewd assessment of the
style and temperament of the
former World Champion Euwe.

35 b3
36 e6 fxe6
37 %Σdxe6 :rs
38 We5 'i'c2 Lasker-Euwe
39 f4 b2 Nottingham 1936
40 .:.e7 'ii' g6
41 f5 1i'f6 Euwe was the reigning World
42 1i'd5+ Φh8 Champion at the time of this
43 .1Σb7 Wc3 game, while Lasker was in the
twilight of his career. So the
Dutchman was eager to win the
game, especially since he was
fighting for first place ...
Lasker was aware of this and
had played very solidly, not giv­
ing his opponent any chance to
complicate the struggle. The re­
sult: a win for Lasker!
Euwe' s sense of danger was
dulled, and he blundered a piece:
23 Jιa5??
24 b4! Jιxb4
80 τhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

25 l2Jc2! But after

The knight moves to safety and 14 0-0 cxd4
leaves two black pieces hanging. 15 l2Jxd4 l2Jb6
Lasker soon mopped up in the 16 .i.a2
endgame. Black's posιtιon was uncom­
fortable due to White's pressure
along the c-file and generally su­
peήor pieces.
Το be a successful swindler
you have to bide your time in
such positions. It is no good
looking for clever tactics: they
don't exist! So Lasker, who by
now had realised his mistake at
move 13, decided to wait pa­
tiently.
16 1:lb8
17 e4! 1Σd8
Lasker-Euwe 18 .llfd1 .i.d7
Zuήch 1 934 19 eS l2Je8
20 .i.b1 g6
Something similar had hap­ 21 'ife4
pened to Euwe two years before
the game above. Again, Euwe
was striving to win the tourna­
ment. This time he had the white
pieces, and was eager to do battle
against a player aged 65. Lasker
no doubt sensed this, and elected
to play gritty defensive chess,
leaving no obvious weaknesses in
his position. The result was that
Euwe, searching for winning
chances, overpressed and lost.
From the diagram we see that
Lasker has achieved a solid White has built up a space ad­
enough set up and could continue vantage in the centre and appar­
with 1 3 . . . b6 followed by ently Black can do nothing ac­
14 . . . .i.b7. Instead he sought to tive. But Lasker was a cunning
liquidate things in the centre with old fox, as he now demonstrates.
an immediate 21 .ta4! !
13 cS? ! Α move every reader interested
 Emanuel Lasker: The Master Swίndler 81

ίη the art σf swindling shσuld σb­ Black tries tσ preveηt this with
serve carefully. At ftrSt sight, 27 .. .'fic7, theη 28 J.xd5 ! J:txd5
there seems tσ be ησ reasση why 29 .:Σχd5 exd5 30 b4 ! ? lσσks gσσd
Black shσuld waηt tσ prσvσke fσr White.
White ίηtσ advancing his queeη­ 27 lΔb4!
side pawns. Hσwever, Lasker 28 1'Σf3?
knσws that in the future there We begiη tσ see the value σf
may be a situatiση where a white Black's 21st mσve. Lasker has
weakness ση the queenside wση the psychσlσgical battle: he
prσves crucial. Α gσσd swindler has lulled Euwe ίηtσ a false sense
isη't a Mr Micawber figure, whσ σf security with his dσur defeη­
merely hσpes sσmething will turn sive play, and ησw prσvσkes him
up tσ his advantage: he dσes all ίηtσ launching a rash attack ση
he caη tσ push the pσsitiση in the the kingside. The result is that he
desΠed directiση. Eveη if sσme­ lσses cσηtrσl σf the d-file, aηd ...
times the push is a barely percep­ well, all will sσση be revealed.
tible ηudge ... Instead σf the game mσve, Euwe
22 b3 J.d7 shσuld play ίη the same spmt as
23 a4 lΔdS Lasker: 28 :dd l ! In dσing sσ he
24 �d3 11bc8 wσuld lσse sσme face, but ησt the
25 �c4 �c6 game.
26 lΔxc6 bxc6 28 11c7
29 b4 1'Σcd7
30 hS 'ilgS!
Black's pieces gradually take
up dσminating pσsitiσns.
31 J:tcel 11d4

Lasker has defeηded well and

has a very sσlid pσsίtίση.
27 J:td3?!
This marks the beginning σ f a
bad plan. He shσuld have played
27 'Wg4 fσllσwed by 28 lΔe4 re­ 32 hxg6!
t umiηg the knight tσ the ceηtre. If Α nice try frσm Euwe. White
82 The Fine Art of Swindlίng

H�IH ιφ u Nwi ndle of his own after becomes a teπor to White.

�\2 :xc4 33 gxf7+ Wf8 34
. . .

t'xc8('i')+ Φχe8 35 tbxe4 'ii'h4 36

tbd6+ and Black is busted after
both 36 .. .'l;;e7 37 1Xf7+ mate σr
(margiηally better) 36 . . . 1Xxd6 37
exd6.
32 hxg6!
33 'ile2 l:ιd2
34 "ii'fl

39 .ie2 tbd4
The knights in the ceηtre are
aesthetically very pleasing.
40 .tf3 lLixf2
41 'i!fc4 liJd3
42 :ιι lLie5
43 'ilb4 lLiexf3+
44 gxf3 lLie2+
45 'it>h2 liJf4+
The queeη has beeη dήveη to 46 'itth 1 %Ud4
an ignominious square. But isη't 47 "ii'e7 riiιg7
the threat σf 35 tbe4 quite awk­
ward ησw? Lasker respσnse is
based ση the well knσwn maxim
'the-best way to answer a threat is
tσ ignσre it' .
34 lLic2!
35 lLie4 "ii'xe5!
Α spleηdid queeη sacήfice that
leaves White with three hope­
lessly uncσσrdinated pieces.
White is ησw dήveη back in coη­
fusioη.
36 liJf6+ 'ilfxf6
37 1:.xf6 lLixf6 Black prepares tσ utilise the h­
38 .1:r.c1 lbe4! file fσr the fmal attack.
The knight that has slept ση e8 48 'ilfc7 %X8d5
for most of the game suddenly 49 :eι 1Xg5
 Emanuel Lasker: The Master Swjndler 83

One idea now is 50 . . .t2Jd5 and pleasant cl or h2 squares) and

5 1 . . . 11h4 mate. Black's pawn roller, he chose:
50 'ii'xc6 Jld8! 18 'i'g4+ fS
and White resigned. 19 "iixg7
This game was Euwe's only So there won 't be a pawn
loss at Zurich, a tournament roller. And neither will the white
played shortly before he became queen be forced backwards.
World Champion by winnίng a But this is an almost unbeliev­
match against Alekhine. Hence it able pawn snatch for a World
was a remarkable achievement Champion. Surely Black will
for Lasker to beat him ίη such break through along the g-file?
style. Marshall was probably shocked,
and continued mechanically:
19 :tg8
which to be fair looks decisive.
20 'ii'h6
If 20 'ii'xh7 then 20 . . . 1'1h8 2 1
'ilg7 1ldg8 wins the queen, to say
nothing of other wins such as
20 . . . t2Jf6 and 2 1 . . . 1i'xf3.
20 t2Jd2
White just holds on after
20 . . . 1td6 2 1 'ilf4 1:[dg6 22 t2Jh4.
21 1i'xd2 'ilxf3
22 g3 hS
Lasker-Marshall
Match, New York 1907

Lasker has played the opening

carelessly and allowed Black to
build up an imposing position. If
White now continues 'normally'­
for example 1 8 1:[fe l then Black
gets a huge attack against
White's king with 1 8 . . . g5 19 'it'c l
(or 19 Wh2) f5 etc., and the
pawns roll forward.
Lasker decided the position re­
quired resolute action. Since his White's kingside looks as if it
problems ίη the typical variation is about to crurnble, but ίη fact he
above stem from his queen's lack has enough defensive resources.
of space (it is forced to the un- 23 'ilf4! 1i'd5
84 τhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

24 :reι %Σde8 In fact Marshall played his

25 %txe8+ :xe8 moves in the wrong order. In­
26 Ilel stead of the game 19 . . . 1Σg8?
which after 20 'fi'b6 allowed
White to answer 20 . . . lΔd2 with
2 1 1!fxd2, he should have played
19 lΔd2!
Then after 20 lbxd2 (there is
hardly any choice) 20 . . . %lg8 the
queen is pinned against a mate on
g2. However, things aren't so
simple. White has the resource 2 1
lbf4 ! defending g2, when play
could continue 2 1 ... 'iWd6 22 'iWxh7
..,xf4 23 %Σ.ad l , when White is
facing a fierce attack but it's not
Black's attack has completely clear that Black can win by force.
vanished and after a bήef attempt Lasker showed enormous
to confuse things with 26 . . . :e4 courage in snatching the g-pawn.
27 •gs lΔb4 28 .:.Xe4 fxe4 29 Marshall, on the other hand, who
'fi'xdS lΔxdS 30 lΔcS Black found was normally such a fme tacti­
himself in a lost endgame. White cian, seems to have been over­
won on move 52. whelmed by the audacity of his
One can understand why Las­ opponent, and consequently was
ker was accused of hypnotism af­ unable to show his true powers.
ter seeing this remarkable escape. This game, the second of a World
Retuming to the position after Championship match, may have
19 11fxg7, there was indeed a broken Marshall's will for the
much stronger move for Black. whole contest. If he couldn 't beat
Lasker from such a position, how
could he ever beat him, seems to
have been his subsequent attitude.
Lasker won the match 8-0 with
seven draws.
lt is easy to swindle an oppo­
nent if you dominate him psy­
chologically!
Here is another example of
Lasker playing the man rather
than the board.
 Emanuel Lasker: τhe Master Swίndler 85

didn't realise he was losing his

Queen. An absurd suggestion!
2) He felt that objectίvely
Black had better chances here
than after the exchange of
queens. But ίt is hard to believe
the great man's posίtίonal as­
sessment could have gone so
awry. Surely Whίte is much bet­
ter here?
3) As Sherlock Holmes once
remarked, when you have elimi­
nated the impossible, whatever
lljin-Zhenevsky - Lasker remaίns, however unlίkely or ίm­
Moscow 1 925 probable ίt may seem, must be
the truth. Assuming that Lasker's
White has just played his tactίcal or strategical sense
knight from c3 to e2, offeήng an wasn 't for some reason tempo­
exchange of queens. Black's re­ rarily thunderstruck, there is only
ply was the incredible one explanation for the move.
13 'ifxa2 Lasker was doing as Reti de­
when he lost his queen for scήbed above: he was playing a
rook, bishop and pawn after ήsky move to upset his oppo­
14 :a1 'ifxb2 nent's mental equilibήum. And
15 J:ttb1 'it'xb1 for once we have fιrst-hand evi­
16 Jlxb1 dence from his opponent that ίt
worked. In Thίnk Lίke Α Grand­
master Kotov quotes an article ίη
whίch Iljin-Zhenevsky descήbes
his feelings after Lasker's unex­
pected move.
'The thought (that Ι could win)
really set me going. Just think.
The day before Ι had beaten Ca­
pablanca, today Ι was winning
agaίnst Lasker. Things were
really going my way! So Ι started
playing sharply partly because Ι
was ίη tίme-trouble. '
Why did Lasker do it? There Ι suspect that Lasker had
are three options: acutely assessed his opponent's
1) Lasker miscalculated, and mood and character and con-
86 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

ι: Ι ιιιlσιl thut I 3 'i' xa2, although

. . .

riMky , was j ust th e way to over­

excite him and persuade him to
jump over a precipice. Perhaps he
also thought that all the celebra­
tions (and the inevitable toasts!)
that Iljin-Zhenevsky had gone
through after his victory over Ca­
pablanca the day before would
have left him drained of energy
for a hard analytical battle.
In the game, White's impulsive
play soon led to the ruin of his
position. 24 e5!
16 %lfd8 and it was Lasker's tum to
17 c4 lbe8 have the mateήal advantage. But
18 f4? unlike his opponent he was able
to exploit it and soon won the
endgame:
25 lbf5 .t.xf5
26 exf5 lbc2
27 'ii'c 3 lbxa1
28 'ii'xa1 .i..f6
29 'ii' g 1 d5
30 cxd5 lbxd5
31 fxe5 .t.xe5
32 g4 f6
33 h4 b5
34 lbd4 lbe3
35 'iifxe3 11xd4
This loosens the kingside too 36 .t.f3 a4
much. 1 8 lbxc6 .i.xc6 19 lbd4 37 h5 a3
was better. 38 'ii'e2 1ld8
18 a6 and White resigned.
19 �h1 lbc7
20 'ife3 1:tb8 White's rueful comment after
21 11d1 lbb4 the game was 'this is how you get
22 'ifc3 a5 punished when you get carήed
23 :a1 b6 away by success' . His opponent
24 'ife3? deserves some credit for fuelling
White has played aimlessly his fantasies with 1 3 . . 'ifxa2. lt
.

and now blunders the exchange. would have been so much easier
 Emanuel Lasker: τhe Master Swindler 87

to have had a quiet life after and there is still the threat of
1 3 . . . 'flxd2. 22 ... h6 or 22 ... f6. (ln fact
2 l ... 'fld5 ! is much stronger, when
The purpose of our fmal exam­ Black has an excellent position.)
ple is to show that Lasker was 22 1:tg3 h6
human after all. 23 lbc4!

C. Torre-Lasker 23 'ii'dS?
Moscow 1925 Black is convinced he is win­
ning the piece and is oblivious to
Lasker had been gradually out­ the looming trap.
playing his young opponent. Al­ τhis is extraordinary careless­
ready he has the better pawn ness for a Lasker. As Euwe points
structure and the white knight on out, Black could probably have
a3 is badly placed. Here Lasker drawn after 23 . . . hxg5 24 lbxd6
played 20 . . . 1i'a5 ! , hitting the rook 'ii'g6 25 'flxg6 lbxg6 26 lbxb7
on e l and also threatening to win %ιeb8 etc.
the pinned bishop with ... h6 or 24 lbe3 'ii'bS?
. . . f6. White seems to be close to a The last chance would be
loss. Τοπe played 24 . . . 'ii'xd4, when White has a
21 b4! winning attack after 25 i.xh6
which is virtually the only an­ lbg6 26 i.g5 threatening 27 :h3
swer to the double threat of the according to Euwe. But perhaps
black queen. Here 2 l . . . 'ii'xb4 22 25 ... g6 would be a better drawing
.:.b ι 1i'a5 23 lbc4 gives White chance than 25 ... lbg6, since the
some counterplay, so Lasker re­ queen can in some lines retreat to
plied g7 or h8. In any case, if there was
21 1i'f5 one man you would bet on to
which looks decisive, since the save such a position, it would be
other rook on d3 is now attacked, Lasker. But even his great defen-
88 The Fίne Art oj Swindling

"'Ι ν� Nkl l l hιιΝ no chance after he 25 1ixh5

Ιιιικ f'ιι l len for the trap. 26 1Σχg7+ Φb8
25 �f6!! 27 1Σχt7+ Φg8
28 1:g7+ �h8
29 1Σχb7+ Φg8
30 .rlg7+ �h8
31 1Σg5+ �h7
32 fLxhS �g6
33 %Σh3 <tιxf6
34 J:txh6+
and White won easily with his
three extra pawns.
Lasker was well and truly
swindled, but as Tarrasch re­
marked of his great ήval 'Lasker
occasionally loses a game, but he
After this game White's win­ never loses his head' . The reader
ning device became known as the should seek to emulate Lasker's
'windmill' , for reasons that soon fighting spiήt and resourceful­
become obvious. ness.
6 Capablanca and Alekh i ne

In this chapter we look at the esting swindle attempt by the

swindling technique of two great great charnpion.
World Charnpions: Capablanca
and Alekhine. Their styles pro­
vide an interesting contrast with
Capablanca being mainly a posi­
tionally motivated player while
Alekhine was always on the
lookout for tactical shots.

How did he do it?

The former World Charnpion
Jose Raul Capablanca lost fewer
garnes in his career than any
other player of similar stature. He
lost 35 games out of a total of Marshall-Capablanca
567, a loss rate of 5 .5 % . Even New York Match 1909
allowing for his more pacific
style, this career loss rate com­ This garne can be found in Ca­
pares favourably with the 10% pablanca's book Chess Funda­
loss rate of Alekhine and the 1 1 % mentals (Cadogan) where the
loss rate of Lasker. (These figures author modestly annotates six of
are given by Chemev in The his losses.
Golden Dozen.) Capa is well and truly on the
So how did Capa do it? Did he ropes here, and after. . .
have any uncanny positional 18 �xd7 'ίi'xd7
sense that always spotted danger 19 a6 �c6
in advance? Or was he a bήlliant 20 dxcS bxcS
swindler? The answer, as the 21 'ίi'xcS
reader no doubt expects, is a . . . he was a pawn down with a
mixture of both. hopeless position. However,
Let's be perverse and begin by World Charnpions do not become
looking at Capa's shortest ever World Charnpions by giving up
defeat, since it features an inter- easily.
90 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

having nothing to do with this.

He played
25 'ifxb6!
and Black resigned, since
25 ... axb6 26 tΔxc6 leaves him
unable to prevent the a-pawn
queening ίη just a couple of
moves.
Nevertheless this was a clever
attempt at a swindle.

Here is another ingenious

swindle try, which is also to be
Here Capablanca tήed . . . found in Capa's book.
21 I:tab8
. . . setting a cωming trap. There
followed
22 J:xb8 :.xb8
23 lbes 'iffS!
Attacking the knight and
threatening mate.
24 f4

Chajes-Capablanca
New York 1 9 1 6

Capablanca had earlier sacή­

ficed his queen for a strong at­
tack, but then he had been care­
less and allowed White to re­
group his pieces. Black now has
If White is now careless and terήble problems. Chajes contin­
plays 25 tΔxc6?? then 25 . . . 1:tb l + ! ued
escapes with a draw b y perpetual so .ih6+ Φg8
check after 26 1:txb l 'ii'xb l+ 27 Here Capa explains that he was
'iii>f2 'ifc2+ 28 'itg3 'ii'g6+ etc. hoping for the vaήation 5 1
However, Marshall, who was 'i'xg4+ 'ith7 52 'ifh5 I:txf6 ! 53
himself a renowned swindler, is .ig5+ Φg7 54 .ixf6+ �xf6.
 Capablanca and Alekhίne 91

chances. For example, he could

simply capture the b7-pawn.
However, Rubinstein is over­
anxious to clinch the victory over
the mighty Cuban and began a
direct attack on Black's king.

He remarks 'although White

has a won game it is by no means
easy. If the reader does not be­
lieve it, let him take the white
pieces against a master and see
what happens. '
Apparently Chajes came close 20 h4
to choosing this variation, but We shouldn't really blame Ru­
finally played safe with 5 1 J.. g7 binstein too much, since it was
and eventually won. easy to overlook Capa's marvel­
Now let's take a look at some lous defensive scheme.
swindle attempts with a more 20 1ixa3
happy outcome. 21 l'ΔgS

Saved by a Passed Pawn

In Capa's games we often see the
cήsis resolved by the action of a
plucky pawn.
The foot sloggers come to the
rescue of their monarch, as re­
vealed by the following exam­
ples.

(see followίng dίagram)

Rubinstein-Capablanca
Berlin 1 928 Threatening to win at once
with 22 1Wg5, so Black's reply is
White has good winning forced.
92 τhe Fίne Λrt of Swίndlίng

21 .t.xg5 It's crunch time. Now White

22 hxg5 'irxb4 even loses after 28 %Σχf8+ %Σχf8.
23 'iff3 1i'f8! 28 %Σχg7+ 'irxg7
24 1lxb7 a5! ! 29 :lxg7+ rttxg7
30 'ίi'f6+ Φg8
31 'ίi'g6+ Φf8
32 'i'f6+
and a draw was agreed, since
White must force perpetual
check.

Here we give the fιrst pawn

advance two exclamation marks,
since otherwise we would have to
give an exclamation mark every
time it advances.
25 1:td1 a4
26 1:tdd7 a3 Kevitz-Capablanca
Capa displays remarkable New York 193 1
coolness. The white rooks ravage
his seventh rank and kingside, but Here Capa played the surpήs­
the little pawn will save him. ing
27 %Σχt7 a2 15 .t.a3
which loses a pawn. Some
commentators believe he simply
forgot that White can now cap­
ture on e5. lf that was the case,
then Capa's own quip 'the good
player is always lucky' certainly
applies here. Black gets good
counterplay, whether or not he
planned it.
16 llJxe5 .t.xb2
17 'ίi'xb2 llJxe5
18 'ifxe5
 Capablanca and Alekhine 93

onslaught. White's move frees

the e2 square for his rook, but it
is all very passive.
21 J..e6
22 %te2 %Σfd8
23 'i'b2

So White is a pawn up, appar­

ently with good chances. But now
he dithers around, unsure of how
to use his extra pawn. We saw
exactly the same indecision from
White in the game Iljin­
Zhenevsky - Lasker. lt seems the Golombek chides Kevitz for
possibility of victory over a great his lifeless play, and recommends
World Champion tends to para­ 23 'ith2, f4 and f5 as the coπect
lyse a lesser mortal's capacity to plan.
come up with any constructive 23 'ifcS
plan. 24 %td2 1:ιχd2
18 'ifa3 25 'iixd2 b6
Black doesn 't panic. He sees 26 %td1 g6
potential counterplay on the 27 <it>h2 aS!
queenside. Black's play is now in accord
19 tΔe3 tΔg4! with the theme of our section. He
It feels wrong to be exchanging will use a pawn advance not only
pieces a pawn down, but Capa to save the game, but also to win
sees that the white knight will be it!
very strong after 20 tΔd5 etc. Be­ 28 'ife2 bS
sides, he wants to gain access to 29 f4
the c2 square for his rook. At last some activity.
20 tΔxg4 .txg4 29 a4
21 h3? 30 bxa4 bxa4
Here 2 1 'i'g5 .te6 22 e5 was 31 %td2?
more active. The only advantage White doesn't realise how dan­
in having an extra pawn on e5 is gerous things have become. He
if you use it as part of a kingside should give up playing for
ιιιl νιιιιtuge und jettison the extra
puwn with 3 1 f5, when after
3 l . .. gxf5 32 exf5 il.xf5 33 %ld5
he has adequate play.
31 a3!

36 f3!
Α clever interference move. If
now 37 Axf3 then 37 ... :tb8 and
38 . . . :b2 wins.
37 il.n :tb8
The a2 pawn is now fixed un­ 38 11xf3 1itb2+
der the powerful gaze of the 39 Φg3 :txa2
bishop on e6. 40 :tc3 :aι
32 g4? and White resigned.
Still 32 f5 should save the
game. But White obstinately re­ Here is an example of the sav­
fuses to give back the pawn. In ing pawn clause in a more com­
other words, he is in a perfect plicated setting.
state of mind to allow himself to
be swindled!
32 gS!
This breaks up White's king­
side and leaves him fatally weak
on the dark squares.
33 'iff2
In his book, Harry Golombek
gives the nasty vaήation 33 f5 (or
33 fxg5) 33 . . . 'ife5+ 34 �g 1 :tc 1 +
35 :td 1 'ίi'd4+ ! .
33 'ii'xf2
34 :txf2 gxf4
35 :tf3 :ta8 Capablanca-Nimzowitsch
36 :tf2 Bad Kissingen 1 928
 Capablanca and Alekhine 95

Capablanca had unintentionally 21 jlxfS?

played a gambit opening: Ι sus­ After 2 l ... lbd5 ! White would
pect after 1 d4 lbf6 2 c4 e6 3 lbc3 have been forced to resign very
jtb4 4 iic2 d5 5 jtg5 dxc4 6 quickly, e.g. if 22 'i'xe4 lbxc3 23
lbf3 (6 e3 !) 6 ... b5 7 a4 c6 he 'i'e5+ f6 24 'i'c5 (other moves
probably didn't realise he lose the queen to a knight fork)
wouldn't be getting the pawn 24 ... lbxb l (there may be even
back. So he had been forced to stronger moves) loses mateήal or
seek attacking chances in a 22 'i'g3 1lg8 23 'iί'h3 lbf4. So
murky middlegame, a method of White would have had to try 22
play which didn't suit his classi­ 'Wh3, but then 22 ... lbf4 23 'ii'g4
cal style. Here he was probably lbxg2 wins a piece since a re­
feeling distinctly uncomfortable capture on g2 allows the pin
and resorted to 24 . . . :gs.
20 g4? Nimzowitsch's move in the
An attempt to break up Black's game seems (and is) very strong,
pawn centre. However, as Euwe but it allows Capa to switch into
points out, 20 f3 was a better way swindle mode. He is still losing,
of going about it. Also satisfac­ but on every move he sets Black
tory is the quiet 20 lbfl , making problems, until fmally he cracks.
an escape square for the queen. 22 'ίi'f4!
The position would then remain
obscure: Black has his extra
pawn, but his pawn structure in
the centre looks somewhat frag­
ile.
20 lbf6!
21 gxfS .
He can't allow 2 l . . . lbxg4.

Taking the e-pawn immedi­

ately allows an overwhelming
attack based on a pin, e.g. after
22 lbxe4 %ιe6 23 f3 %ιg8 the
threat is 24 ... .th3 or 24 . . . lbxe4.
22 'i'd7
23 .txe4!
The best chance. Tartakower
96 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

points out that 23 li:)xe4 �xe4 24 Preventing White from

.ixe4 :g8+ 25 .1g2 (or 25 . . . 1:ιg4 strengthening his centre with 27
follows) 25 ... 1i'h3 26 'iί'f3 'i'xf3 e4.
27 exf3 li:)d5 28 'iifh 1 (the threat 27 f3
was 28 . . . li:)f4) 28 . . . li:)xc3 easily Making a safe square for the
wins for Black. Capa always king on f2 since he wants the
picks the move that sets Black the king near the centre for any po­
most problems. tential endgame. Also, Black has
22 li:)xe4 to think about 28 e4.
24 li:)xe4 Ι:ιg6+ 27 'ii'g7
28 <it>f2 'ii'f6
29 axb5 cxb5
This allows White a passed
pawn and therefore a glimmer of
hope. But 29 ... axb5 30 d5 cxd5
3 1 1:.xb5 or 30 ... 'iixc3 3 1 dxc6
also allow White to fight.
30 ltdl!

25 li:)g3!
Ghastly is 25 'iiff l .1xe4 26
'ii'xe4 'ii'h 3+ 27 <it>e 1 'ii'x c3+ 28
'iiff l 1:Σ.fg8 etc. Also bad is 25
·

�h 1 'ii'd5 26 f3 Ι:ιe8 ! (with the

threat of 27 . . . Ι:ιχe4! ) when 27
li:)g3 loses the exchange as in the
game, except that White's king is
on a worse square. White has to play actively and
25 i.xbl hope for the best.
26 %Σxbl 30 Φg8
So White has emerged the 31 d5 'ifxc3?
whole exchange down and must After this greedy episode the
lose with best play. However, he white passed pawn becomes very
no longer faces any real danger strong enough to save the game.
ση the kingside and Black's king Tartakower gives 3 1 . . . 'ifd6! stop­
is slightly exposed, a fact Capa ping the passed pawn in its
will try to exploit. tracks. Then 32 'ifxd6 :Xd6 33
26 f5! e4 fxe4 34 li:)xe4 :Jι6 should win
 Capablanca and Λlekhίne 97

for Black in fairly straightforward ened with 37 :xg6+ hxg6 38

fashion. If White avoids the ex­ 'ilg7 mate. The attacking white
change of queens with 32 'ifd2, pieces have become beautifully
then Black can begin advancing co-ordinated.
his passed pawns with a5, and 36 1:txf5
White would be helpless. and a draw was agreed. lt is
So Capa 's deteπnined defence perpetual check after 37 J:lxg6+
would have counted for nothing if hxg6 38 'i'e8+ l:tf8 39 'i'xg6+
Nimzowitsch had found �h8 40 'i'h6+ etc.
3 1 . . . 'ifd6. However, he went
wrong precisely because he was Expecting Trouble
confused by White's spirited re­ The best way to avoid losing is
sistance. not to be a bήlliant swindler: it is
32 d6 'iff6 to avoid a bad position in the first
33 d7 place! We end this examination
This pawn has had a bήlliant of Capa with an example of his
career. finely-tuned defensive radar.
33 c3
34 tiJxf5! c2
35 J:td6!

Capablanca-Burn
San Sebastian 1 9 1 1

Now Black has to be careful he White has a crushing advan­

doesn't lose. If 35 . . . 'ii'g 5, for in­ tage. He is a pawn up with the
stance, 36 J:txg6+ 'ii'xg6 37 better development and the safer
d8 �) .:Xd8 38 tbe7+ wins for king. Many players at this point
White. would already be thinking about
35 1id8 their next game in the tourna­
36 1ie5 ! ! ment. Not Capablanca! His note
The fmal move o f a magnifi­ in Chess Fundamentals reveals
cent come back. Black is threat- that he was alert to the danger of
98 'Γhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

being swindled here: end with, here is Capa falling for

' . . . it only remains for White to a nasty swindle.
drive home his advantage before
Black can come out with his
pieces, in which case, by using
the open h-file, Black might be
able to start a strong attack
against White's king. '
Such a comment indicates why
the Cuban was so rarely downed.
In the game, he came up with
22 l'Δh4!
which in view of the threat of
23 'ii'h 8+ �e7 24 l'Δf5+ and 25
'ili'xg7, and the inadequacy of
22 . . . g6 (23 .i.xg6! ) compels Capablanca-Jaffe
Black to exchange queens, when New York 1 9 1 3
all possible danger is passed.
22 'ili'h6 White has sacήficed a pawn to
23 'ii'xh6 gxh6 break up Black's kingside and
24 l'ΔfS hS continued methodically with
25 ..tdl l'Δd7 26 1Σgl ..te7
26 ..txhS 27 f4 exf4
But here he avoided the natural
28 ..txf4 and played the tempting
28 ..tb2
τhreatening 29 1!fxg5 .
28 1:ιg8
29 'ii'xf4??

White has won a second pawn

and soon forced Black to resign.

Ouch l
But no player is totally immune
from lapses of concentration. Το
 Capablanca and Alekhίne 99

However, this move has a 'muddying the waters' he was

slight drawback. Mter giving himself an excellent
29 tlJh3 ! ! chance of outplaying his oppo­
White lost his queen since 30 nent, albeit with the possibility of
iixh6 t2Jf2 is mate. An embar­ a sharp defeat.
rassed Capablanca resigned after The advantages and disadvan­
30 J:xg8+ J:xg8 3 1 'ii'f l 'iife 3, tages of a 'dangerous' style rather
because 32 . . . t2Jf2+ is now fatal. than a 'positional' style have al­
However, this was οώy one ready been discussed in an earlier
'goal' conceded compared to chapter.
many bήlliantly 'saved' . But to return to the subject of
our present section. Is the fol­
Capablanca managed many lowing example a bήlliant attack
swindles because he possessed an or a swindle?
aura of invincibility. His oppo­
nent's couldn't quite believe they
were winning against the so­
called 'Chess Machine' and so let
him off the hook.

Α Brilliant Attack
or a Swindle?
In the case of Capablanca, the
need to swindle showed that
something had gone wrong with
his intended game plan. He nor­
mally avoided any obscuήty,
aiming instead for a small ad­ Alekhine-Bogolyubov
vantage and a clear strategy. Οώy Nottingham 1 936
when he was in seήous trouble
did he resort to setting traps, in Here Alekhine played
which case he could fight with 20 t2Jf6+
exceptional bήlliance. Alekhine, which he descήbes in the book
on the other hand, often plunged of the tournament as 'rather bold,
into a complicated tactical strug­ but in the circumstances the most
gle. This was a far ήskier ap­ promising chance of attack. '
proach than Capablanca's, but on 20 �xf6
the other hand Alekhine had great 21 exf6 �d7
powers of calculation, the help of 22 .te3?
deep opening preparation and a Α blunder: Alekhine says he
flair for tactics that usually out­ should have continued 22 .ta3 !
witted his opponent. Hence in with a pin on the knight and the
1 00 The Fίne Art of Swίndling

poNNihll ity of defending the pawn 24 lbxf6

ση f6 with J.e7 at a later point. 25 .td4!
Α defιning moment. Alekhine,
true to his style, seeks to create
problems for his opponent in the
middlegame rather than the end­
game. Α Capablanca, ση the other
hand, may have sought swindle
chances in the endgame after 25
:Xa7 lbd5 (if 25 ... :Xa7 26 b6 !)
26 :xa8 lbxe3 27 1Σχf8+ �xf8
28 'i'd3 lbxd l 29 'ii'xdl 'ifc5+.
Black wins a pawn, but the queen
endgame offers drawing chances.
25 lbd7
22 �xb5 26 1i'f2 b6
23 axb5 lbd7! 27 :eι 'ii'c4
28 1Σabl :&c8
29 'ife3 J:ιfe8
30 1i'f3 f6? !

This move, which would have

been impossible with the bishop
at a3, wins the f6 pawn.
24 g3! Black thinks he i s better be­
Alekhine, like all good swin­ cause of his extra pawn and
dlers, quickly recovers from the stήves to seize the initiative. But
unpleasant surpήse. He defends Alekhine has been waiting pa­
the f4 pawn and so frees his tiently for Bogolyubov to weaken
bishop for aggressive action. his position.
Worse would be 24 i.d4 'ii'xf4 Alekhine recommends
and Black threatens . . . e5, winning 30 ... 'ii'd5, when White has
the f6 pawn as well. enough pressure . for the pawn
 Capablanca and Alekhine 101

after 31 1fxd5 exd5 32 :Xe8+ 36 . . .exf5 37 1fd5+ �f8 38 .J\.g7 !

:.xe8 33 11a l etc. and 36 . . .gxf5 37 1fh5+ �f8 38
31 1ιb4! 1fc7 1fh6+ �g8 39 1fxg5 and White
32 %tb2! %:ιe7 wins. These are convincing, but
33 :.be2 ι:J;f.7 there is a flaw with his third
34 g4! vaήation: 36 . . . e5 ! 37 1fd5+ �f8
White has brought all his and now Alekhine intended 38
pieces to their optimωn squares 1fc6, answeήng 38 ... 'i'xc6 with
and now uses his pawns to inten­ 39 bxc6 exd4 40 11xe7+ :Xe7 4 1
sify the pressure on Black's king­ :txe7+ Φχe7 42 c7 ! and the pawn
side. queens. Α beautiful vaήation. lt
34 :r.ce8 is no surpήse that Alekhine was
35 gS! fxgS blinded to the fact that after 38
1fc6, Black doesn't have to ex­
change queens. As Kotov points
out, he could play the mundane
38 . . . 1fd8 ! or 38 . . . 1Σc8 ! when
Black defends successfully.
So from an objective point of
view, 36 f5 deserves a question
mark and should be replaced with
the simple 36 fxg5+, when White
maintains a strong attack.
But just think how shocked
Bogolyubov must have been by
36 f5 and Alekhine's accompa­
Here Botvinnik, who also nying antics. It is no wonder he
played at Nottingham, sets the immediately collapses.
scene. Alekhine was circling
around the board like a kite,
waiting for his opponent to move.
Finally, Bogolyubov played his
move, and Alekhine, without
even sitting down, bashed out his
surpήse reply with such ferocity
that Bogo almost jωnped out of
his chair.
36 fS
Alekhine graces this move with
two exclamation marks, and de­
scήbes it as a 'problem-like fm­
ish' . He then gives the vaήations 36 1ff4?
1 02 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

37 fxe6+ 1Σχe6 45 .1:tf6 Φh7

38 'i'dS 46 1Σχe6 .1:txe6
ThiN is immediately decisive,
Nince White attacks both d7 and
e6, and also threatens 39 :tfl .

47 'ird7+
And here was the last chance to
go wrong: 47 'i'xe6?? 1i'e4+ 48
38 liJf6 :g2 'ife l+ 49 :g ι 'ii'e4+ is a
39 i.xf6 'ii'g4+ draw by perpetual check.
40 l:ιg2 'irfS Black resigned, since it is mate
in two.
So was this a swindle? Alek­
hine thought he had won bήl­
liantly, and only Kotov's analysis
many years later found the flaw -
a flaw both of the players had
missed duήng the game, and
what's more, Alekhine had
missed when wήting his notes for
the tournament book! The imagi­
nation, flair and fighting spiήt
Alekhine revealed in this game
was a world away from a simple
41 i.eS swindle (such as those pointed
Here Alekhine points out a out at moves 4 1 and 47 above).
swindle he could have fallen into: But what does the reader think?
4 1 'ii'c4 'ii'c 5+! and Black wins!
41 •.. <it?g8 His First Swindle
42 :tf2 'ii'g4+ The following game is given for
43 �h1 hS its histoήcal interest. lt was
44 IΣg1 'ii'h4 Alekhine's first ever swindle in
 Capablanca and Alekhine 103

his fιrst ever toumament game.

26 �f8
Alekhine-Rosanov 27 :eι 1i'd7
Moscow 1 907 28 'ii'g5+ Φc7
29 1te3! Φb7
Th.e fifteen-year-old Alekhine 30 l'Δa4 1te8
had gradually been out-played, 31 ]Σb3+ Φa8
and now after 22 . . . :h5 or 32 1i'g3!
22 . . . lbe4 23 l'Δxe4 dxe4 Black
would have a clear advantage due
to his grip ση the white squares.
Instead he thought he could
win the white queen with
22 l'Δg4
when there seems no answer to
the threat of 23 . . . :h5 . However,
Alekhine had prepared a little
surpήse.
23 1te6! <ifiιxe6
Th.ere is no refusing, since
23 . . . :h6 24 :.fe 1 leaves Black
defenceless: White threatens 25 Th.e queenside will prove no
h3 ! and the knight has ηο good safer than the centre for Black's
retreat. king. Alekhine prepares to trans­
24 'ifxg6+ Φd7 fer his queen there to make the
25 1i'xf5+ <itd8 attack overpoweήng.
26 1i'xg4 32 lth6
White regains his mateήal and 33 'ti'd3 1the6
has an overwhelming attack. He 34 .tes
made no mistake in what follows. Shutting out any potential
1 04 Tht Fine Art of Swίndlίng

ι'Ι ΙΙ Ι Ι Ι t rφJιι y . pawn. So he tήes a desperate

J4 cS remedy.
3! J:tc8
.1:tb5 17 lt:Je4
36 c4 a6 18 li:Jf4
Resistance also crumbles after Now the crushing 19 li:Jxd5 is
36 . . . d4 37 lt:Jxc5 ! �xc5 38 'ii'f3+ threatened, so Black must do or
.Uec6 39 1%xc5. die.
37 li:Jb6+ 1%xb6 18 li:Jxf2!?
38 .Uxb6 Φa7
39 'ίi'g6 'ίi'a4
40 I:b3 'ifc6
41 'ift7+ Φa8
42 cxdS
and Black called it a day.

His Last Swindle?

Here's the idea: Black breaches

White fortress. Now White has to
chose which way to capture on
f2. One way will lead to victory
over the World Champion; the
other way will lead to an embar­
rassing swindle. The path to hap­
piness begins with 19 Φχf2 !
Opocensky-Aiekhine Then after 19 . . . .ixe3+ 20 Φfl
Prague 1942 Black would still be in a bad way.
Since 20 ... �xc 1 2 1 'ifxc 1 ! ?
This game was played some 35 followed by capturing on d5 wins
years after the encounter with easily for White, Alekhine would
Rosanov above, but the same probably have tήed 20 . . . b6 ! with
spirit of enterpήse was undimin­ the annoying threat of 2 1 . . . �a6+.
ished. However, against precise defence
Alekhine has played the open­ this must be inadequate to save
ing badly and is now under se­ the game. White's best reply
vere pressure. The immediate would perhaps be 22 �f3.
threat is 1 8 �xf6, destroying his However, Opocensky seems
kingside and winning the d5 afraid to enter a melee against a
 Capablanca and Alekhine 105

tactical genius, and tήes to keep mateήal for the queen and threat­
solid control of the position. ens c8. However, White gets a
19 'iixf2 ? .txe3 nasty surpήse when Black moves
20 -.xe3 %Σ.χe3 the bishop to safety!
21 lbxdS

23 .th3!!
lt is no wonder that White was It should be mentioned that
tempted along this false trail. He White's combination was in any
attacks the rook ση e3 directly, case flawed since Black could
and also threatens 22 lbf6+ and have forced a draw by perpetual
22 lbb6. White already has a two check after 23 ... :.xg2+ and
pieces for the queen. How can 24 ... 'ii'e2+. But Alekhίne's move
Black stop him adding a rook? is a far nastier sting ίη the tail.
21 .1:te2! White is suddenly lost, because
This attacks not one but two 24 .txh3 allows mate ίη three
bishops, as the sequel demon­ after 24 . . . fie3+.
strates. Now 22 lbf6+ gxf6 23 24 1Σd8+ fixd8
1:xd7 .txd7 is bad for White. 25 .txh3 Wxa8
22 lbc7 fie7 and White resigned.
23 lbxa8 Right until the end of his ca­
This looks very strong, since reer Alekhine was a supreme
White has more than enough fighter.
7 Don 't get Swi n d led

Ι suppose that a guide to swindles Collinson-Mortazavi

shouldn't really have a chapter on Smith and Williamson
avoiding them. However, Ι have Masters 1992
decided to include one as it will Sicilian Defence
help the swindler in predicting
ways in which his opponent will ι e4 cS
try and avoid being swindled. It is 2 liJf3 e6
very important to remember that 3 b3! ?
your opponent is a vital ingredi­ Deciding to avoid the highly
ent in the swindle you are at­ theoretical main lines of the Open
tempting to perpetrate. Here is Sicilian, White chooses an in­
my guide to avoiding swindles nocuous system which, however,
and though every point may not promises only a slight advantage
apply to you, there is something at best.
here for every chess player. 3 b6
4 i.b2 i.b7
DQn't get Attached to a 5 liJc3 d6
Winning Opening Line 6 d4 cxd4
Chess openings are becoming 7 liJxd4?!
increasingly difficult to keep up See the next example.
with. Today's main lines are to­ 7 liJf6
moπow's old news and many of 8 i.bS+ liJbd7
the more 'reliable' openings re­ 9 'ife2 a6
quire too much study and re­ 10 i.c6 .txc6
search for a non-professional 11 liJxc6 'ilc7
chess player. Most players be­ 12 liJb4 dS
come attached to an opening 13 liJd3 .ta3 ! !
thanks to a single or a string of An incredible move which
previous victoήes. However, it is gave Black a decisive advantage
vital to remember that, in the cur­ which Ι succeeded in converting
rent electronic climate, chess to a win in 24 moves. In the same
openings evolve daily and change toumament, but a few rounds
shape and assessment like any later, the same opening arose
other life form! once more:
 Don 't get Swindled 107

of similar occurrences in the

opening stages of the game. Get­
ting swindled in the first ten
moves or so is perhaps the worst
type of swindle to accept as it is
quite easy to avoid with a little
bit of foresight and preparation.

Consider Changing Your

Style
One of the reasons why some
chess players reach the heady
heights of a 2600 rating is their
Quillan-Mortazavi resilience in defence. Although
Smith and Williamson everyone tries to adhere to the
Masters 1 992 rule that the game is not over un­
Sicilian Defence til your opponent resigns, very
few of us can actually resist the
1 e4 cS temptation of showeήng our­
2 tL!f3 e6 selves with compliments for ob­
3 b3 b6 taining a winning position. It
4 .tb2 .tb7 doesn't take too many bad expe­
5 tLic3 d6 ήences, however, to make us face
6 d4 cxd4 the hard facts: it ain't over 'til the
Ι simply could not resist play­ fat lady sings.
ing the same line as in the previ­ Another strange phenomenon
ous game as Ι had become con­ that can develop is that some
vinced by 1 3 . . . .ta3 ! ! that the players have seήous problems
variation was good for Black. with winning positions. The same
7 .tbS+ players, however, seem to be
Α slight deviation from the completely at ease in equal or
previous game though Ι thought even losing positions. Possibly,
that the game would transpose. all of us have at some time felt
7 tLid7 that a winning position, espe­
8 'ίi'xd4! 'ίi'c7 cially against a much stronger
9 0-0-0 opponent, is more of a burden
And the sad truth of matters than a pleasure. The best general
became very clear. Black is com­ advice for keeping calm in a win­
pletely underdeveloped and ning position is to enjoy it! Re­
White is ready to launch an attack member that part of the pleasure
whichever side Black castles. of winning a game of chess is not
There are many more examples just to notch up the result but to
1 08 The Fine Art of Swindling

enjoy the moment. If you cannot nothing else, at least subcon­

enjoy sitting on a winning posi­ sciously. For a fme example of
tion, chess is not for you. the use of body language and
Apart from attempting to be a sheer presence, we need look no
masochist of some sort by further than the current World
watching your opponent suffer, Chess Champion Garry Kas­
there are also measures that you parov:
can take with your chess to avoid
losing winning positions. From
my own expeήence, the step up
from a good intemational player
to an intemational master was
achieved by adjusting my style.
Instead of trying to beat my op­
ponents, Ι developed a new habit
of letting them lose the game! Of
course, there were times when Ι
had to force issues and play ag­
gressively, but Ι was having great
success with many of my oppo­
nents who could not match me The above is from Anand­
move for move. Very often, they Kasparov, Intel World Chess
made seήous concessions. The Championship, New York 1995.
same pήnciple can be applied in Without knowing anything about
winning positions. Very often, the opening or the 'history' be­
there is no need to fmish off your hind this game, a quick glance
opponent in a blaze of glory as shows that White has a menacing
usually their bad position and position. Anand has just played
mental state will score the victory 19 e5 and the video of the game
easier. Having said that, if you showed Kasparov bang out
see a winning vaήation, go for it! 1 9 ... :fs immediately. Anand,
possibly the world's greatest at­
Play the Position, not tacking player, along with Kas­
the Man parov, played 20 .i.xc5? and
The person opposite you makes missed his chance of a spectacu­
more of a difference to the end lar win with 20 exf6 .i.xf6 2 1
result than you think. However .i.xh7 ! + with an unstoppable at­
impartial we all try and remain tack.
during the game, we can never It is difficult to gauge exactly
get away from the fact that we how much Anand was affected by
notice every gesture, every Kasparov's show of strength but
movement of our opponent if he would certainly not to be the
 Don 't get Swίndled 109

fιrst player to fall into the sitions should simply be thought

clutches of the World Cham­ of as an opinion and one should
pion's psychological warfare over not consider any position as won
the board. An interesting point to or even drawn until the result has
note is that part of the reason for been decided. The following is a
the success of computers against nice example of two-way com­
strong human opposition is be­ placency:
cause of the lack of a psychologi­
cal interaction. Kasparov found to
his cost in London 1 994 that the
Pentium Processor is not affected
by any kind of human psychology
whatsoever. The computer simply
plays the position. Indeed, Kas­
parov has had to significantly
change his playing style in order
to overcome the latest chess
playing software.
There is not much advice Ι can
give when it comes to the sub­
conscious intake of opponent's After a long struggle, the fol­
gestures, etc., but it is vital to lowing position was reached in
remember that the position on the the game Hebden-Mortazavi
board holds the 'truth' . As far as Bήtish Championship 1994.
the position on the board goes, Ι White, of course, has a clear ad­
believe that the next point is vital vantage (note: not winning !)
in a strong chess player's reper­ thanks to his powerful bishop and
toire. outside passed pawn. The game,
however, had more twists than
Never Assess a Position both players had anticipated:
as Winning 51 a6?!
Initially, this seems like a strange Ι am sure that Ι was expected
point to make as you will doubt­ to resign at this stage and Ι must
less come across many positions admit that Ι was very close to
which are exactly that - winning, doing so until Ι saw ...
perhaps even by force. However, 51 ltJxa6
the state of mind which a 52 �xa6 h3! !
'winning' position brings is At first sight, this move does
strongly linked to complacency not seem particularly significant
and it is in this state of mind that but a closer look at the position
many swindles occur. The verdict reveals that were it not for
on the vast majoήty of chess po- White's g-pawn, the position
1 10 Ίhe Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

would be draw as White has the ference to the end result.

wrong-coloured rook's pawn to 58 .tc6 �g6
win the game. My plan now was 59 .te8+ �f5
simple: . . . g5 followed by . . . f5 and 60 �e3 ct>e5
the g-pawn would be exchanged 1-0
with a spectacular draw. Ι offered And everything became crystal
my opponent a draw and he re­ clear to both players. White has a
plied: 'That was a bit careless simple winning plan: Win the e6-
wasn' t it. ' Instead of the careless pawn, dήve the black king to h8
5 1 a6? ! , 5 1 h3 ! would have re­ and achieve the following posi­
sulted in a much simpler win. tion with Black to move:
Nevertheless, both players went
through the formalities . . . .

The black king is in stalemate

but because of the doubled g­
53 �fl g5 pawns, Black can still play the
54 .txh3 f5 unfortunate 1 . . . g3 2 hxg3 which
55 .tg2! fxg4 gives White the much needed g­
Forced as White would other­ pawn to win the endgame. Worse
wise play h3 and retain the g­ still, if Black did not have a pawn
pawn. Ι was sure that White was on g5, the position would be a
about to offer a draw at this stage draw by stalemate but after 2
when he suddenly began to play hxg3, Black still has one more
with a spήng in his step. left in 2 ... g4 to which White
56 <iti>d4 �f6 would reply 3 .te8 ! , 'un-stale­
57 .te4 �g7 mating' the black king with a
And with this move, the terή­ simple win.
ble truth came to me. White may
only have the wrong rook's pawn If the above example was not
but Ι still have three pawns on the enough to convince you, here is
board and these make a big dif- an even better example with the
 Don 't get Swindled 111

same opponents: sation.

In the above diagram from the 25 lbd8

game Hebden-Mortazavi, London 26 •xe7 'ii'xb2
(Lloyds Bank Masters) 1989, 27 d6 'ίi'c3
Black is a clear exchange and a 28 1ίg7 'ίi'xf3+
pawn up. In addition, White's 29 �g1 ...d1+
kingside pawns are shattered and . 30 Φf2 Wc2+
his king is in some trouble. 31 Φg3 Wb3+
Rightly or wrongly, Ι really did 32 �h4 liJe6!
think that Ι was winning. In fact, Ι 33 :t7 :gs
also thought that Hebden might 34 :xf6 ...f3?
resign at any moment.
19 :xd3
Probably not strictly necessary
but it is debatable if White's po­
sition improves even with some
sort of mateήal balance. Note that
White has four pawn islands, four
isolated pawns and a set of dou­
bled pawns. He is also a pawn
down.
20 cxd3 Wc5
21 We6+ �b8
22 :g1 b6
23 i.b2 Φb7 The fιrst shaky move. 34 . . . h5 !
24 d4 'ifb5 would have threatened mate with
25 d5?! ... :g4 and 'iί'h3, to which White
Losing a piece with only a has no answer.
modicum of activity as compen- 35 Wxe6 'i'f2+
ι 12 The Fίne Art of Swίndlίng

36 Φh3 1i'g2+ Α brilliant move which averts

37 <i!th4 'iff2+ Black's mate threats and at the
38 Φh3 1i'g2+ same time gives White the initia­
39 Φh4 h5? ! tive.
Ι was simply too proud play 45 %:ιd8
39 ... 1i'xh2 + 40 'ii'h3 'ifxh3+ 4 1 46 :J:tb7+! <i!ta8
'ίitxh3 cxd6 with an easily win­ 47 1Σχa7+ <i!tb8
ning rook and pawn ending. 48 :J:ta8+! Φχa8
49 'ifxc6+ <i!ta7
50 'ifc7+ Φa6
51 'ii'xd8 'ifxh3+
52 Φg6 'ife6+
53 Φg5 'ifd5+
54 f5 1-0

So remember, no position is
winning until it is won!

Don't lose Your Composure

This is the hardest rule of all to
adhere to. There is no worse
40 h3! ! feeling than when a completely
Ρυα incredible saving resource trivial position suddenly becomes
which suddenly swings the posi­ unclear. However, the only way
tion to a chaotic state. White now to win the game is to start again
has clear counterplay thanks to and nurture a new advantage. If
his pawn on d6. Ι failed, however, you can genuinely master the rule
to adapt to the new situation and that no position is winnίng until
simply refused to believe that the result has been registered
White was back ίη the game. with the tournament arbiter, you
40 'ifg3+ should have no problems ίη 're­
41 Cίtxh5 1i'f3+ starting' the game.
42 Φh6! 'ifg3?
Black should have kept control Don't get into 1ime-Trouble
of the a8-hl diagonal with . . . 1i'g2 Ι have already dedicated an entire
with some winnίng chances. chapter to this arch enemy of the
43 'ife4+ c� . chess player. However, there is a
44 %Σt7+ Ν simple rule to not getting swin­
45 Φb'Η! dled: don't get into time-trouble.
 The FineArt of
Swindling
The chess swindle, whereby one player
tricks his opponent ίη a seemingly
hopeless situation, is one of the most
colourful aspects of the game. l n this
richly entertaining book Ali Mortazavi
demonstrates various gentle means of
persuading your opponent to snatch
defeat from the jaws of victory, with
illustrations from grandmaster
practice and club play.
Become a π a rch-swi nd ler and leave
you r opponents crushed a nd
bewi ldered !

World Champion Garry Kaspa rov

�dvisor

7
Λ

9 41 055