|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Chessville
From the
|
The Study of the Opening - Part
2 Let’s look at another game where GM Anand won with White pieces: [Click here to follow the game on a JavaScript board.] Viswanathan Anand vs Anatoly Karpov
This is certainly different from the previous game and we are tempted to assume that it is one of the major variations in the Petroff. We wonder if Black is able to play 5… Bd6 retaining the symmetry but that’s just curiosity… The external analysis:
Is it necessary to pursue this analysis often during the game? Eventually the external analysis will become second nature to you and it will not be necessary to consciously pursue it at all. However, dividing the game into digestible chunks for pursuing the external analysis does help to slow down and reflect upon the position and project positions into the future. Speaking about projecting positions into the future, this is a very important ability and questions like what could possibly happen in five or ten moves and being able to accurately spot the resulting position in your brain can mark the difference between joy and pain. Chess is not easy and developing calculating abilities by studying positions over the board without chess engines is a must. What we are trying to say is that you must be able to assess a position, analyze it objectively, spot tactical shots and have a clear picture of how things might develop into the future. Again, we must warn you that we are just enthusiastic amateurs and that if you wish to learn more about projecting positions into the future and how to calculate better these references might come handy: “Think like a Grandmaster” by A. Kotov and “Chess Master… at any age” by R. Wetzell. So complex is the game of chess that trying to study each element (i.e. openings, middle-game, and endings) independently is just plain difficult, because these elements are organically interconnected. A chess game is a continuous entity rather than a discrete series of events. Back to the game!
This is a symmetrical pawn structure so the static factors are somewhat balanced in our opinion: Both sides have an isolated pawn but this is about even. At most, Black has a small lead in development.
We saw that White wins a pawn after this move so, what is Karpov thinking! Can Black do better? The first impression of the position is a bad one for Black. We think that Black mistreated the opening somewhere along the lines. The fact that the loss of a pawn happened as early as the tenth move is worrisome for the student intending to play the Black side of the Petroff. Did you remember what we said about dropping pieces before? Well, it applies to pawns too… Losing a pawn with no compensation is unacceptable. However, remember that we are just enjoying some games and that perhaps in some other game we will find a better way of handling this variation. (Editor's note: The line with 10.Qh5 0-0 sacrificing a pawn for speedy development is very topical and not considered bad for Black at all. The alternative to 10...0-0 is 10...Qf6 which is considered less reliable, according to Janjgava's book on the Petroff. Karpov's play shows what we already know, namely that he was always a well prepared player. In this article, the authors are documenting their stream of thought - that's what this article is all about!)
Yes, Black might have some compensation for the pawn but still: a pawn is a pawn! Perhaps a better player would assess this as equal but we would not take Black’s side here. With all due respect to Karpov, this is a line that we would either repair or not adopt it at all.
Hmmm! Alright now: Black recovers the pawn but at the cost of that ugly weakness at c6—“Sorry, I hate it when the pawn structure splits like that and in my opinion is too much of a burden to carry.” (Diego) Summarizing: If you can’t determine how to play a particular position or if you don’t like it, then don’t enter it! Just because Anand, Karpov or Kasparov can draw or win in a position, if you don’t feel like you can then don’t play the line. “This is not something I want to play ever.” (Tony) We can track the problem back to the tenth move by Black and therefore we make a note to work on this very issue in the future.
The weakness is gone and now White has a doubled pawn but Black remains a pawn down combined with the fact that a passed pawn will soon be created on the queenside gives the impression of Black swimming upstream in piranha-infested water. On the other hand watching Anand convert his advantage is a lesson of technique that deserves to be seen… Enjoy the rest of the moves while you hone your ending skills.
We hope you enjoyed these examples, because no matter which opening you choose to play you will have to enjoy playing it again and again and again. If you don’t enjoy playing over the games of your hero in your opening of choice you might as well try another opening until you find something that you like. Just remember, no matter which opening you choose to play you will have to deal with pesky systems and critical variations. Your desire to stick and deal with those variations as best as you can is a matter of discipline. Don’t give up! You will not always get the variation you want. You can be faced with quiet variations and wild gambits. Trust your knowledge and ability. Before we carry on let us post a small disclaimer here: We are not suggesting that you play a particular opening against 1.e4, or imitate blindly Karpov or any other chess master. Our aim is to show how to systematically study openings. In that sense, some people would like to work on 1… c6, others more violently inclined would try 1…c5, a degenerate soul would do 1…Nf6 (just kidding!) or something else… In any instance, Black needs to work each system individually just as our fellow that chose 1 …e5 to try to emulate his hero. Now that we have covered ourselves against litigation claims we can proceed confidently to take care of another important matter: “But Tony and Diego, I know who my favorite player is but I don’t know what he plays against 1.e4” or “I like this spectacular opening that busts 1.e4 no matter what White does, but I don’t know who the specialist is.” We are glad you asked; our fellow here got Karpov’s games from the Internet for free! Here are a few websites that are worth exploring to start you on your way: Of course, these websites are not the only ones that you can use but we can guarantee you that there are plenty of resources available where you can get files with games from your favorite players or selected openings. Is this all? For the time being yes. There is more, but we would like you to absorb the material that we just presented. We would like to encourage you to start gathering games from your hero and to build your understanding of your opening systems in an organized manner. Come on! With the chess software available on the Internet this is a breeze! Play through those games carefully while writing notes. Don’t use an engine for the time being and make an effort to do all calculations of variations yourself. “I need a refill.” - Tony. Refreshed?
|
Place Your Ad Advertise to Single insert:
The
|
||||
|
||||||
