Chess Evolution 2

Beyond the Basics

By

Artur Yusupov

Quality Chess
www.qualitychess.co.uk
 CONTENTS
Key to symbols used 4
Preface 5
Introduction 6

1 Combined attack on the seventh and eighth ranks 8

2 Exchanging 20
3 Attacking the king 30
4 Opening repertoire against 1.c4 40
5 Don’t allow counterplay! 52
6 A lead in development 62
7 Exploiting weaknesses 74
8 Calculating short variations 84
9 Better pawn structures 92
10 The pawn phalanx 106
11 Opening repertoire (Black vs. the Reti/
White vs. the King’s Indian) 116
12 Don’t be too hasty! 130
13 The double bishop sacrifice 142
14 Pawn play 152
15 Active moves 164
16 Intermediate checks 174
17 Improving the position of your pieces 184
18 Pawn sacrifices in the opening 196
19 Intermediate moves 212
20 The principle of two weaknesses 222
21 An advantage in space 234
22 Counter-blows 248
23 The centre in the opening 258
24 The correct exchanges 270
Final test 285
Index of games & studies 296
 chapter 2
Contents Exchanging
ü Evaluation of exchanges
ü Unbalanced positions This important subject was introduced in Chapter 18
ü Some guidelines for of Build Up Your Chess 2. Which pieces should we
exchanging exchange, and which ones would we be better keeping
on the board? Correctly answering this question can
be the key to gaining a clear advantage. Of course it is
often not a trivial matter to evaluate exchanges – the
specific situation on the board must be investigated
accurately.

The annotations to the following game are based on

analysis by Tal.

Diagram 2-1 q Diagram 2-1


M.Tal – M.Botvinnik
    World Ch (15), Moscow 1960
   33...¥g8!
   Botvinnik here demonstrates a very deep positional
    understanding of the situation. For Black the most
    important task in this position is to activate his
rooks. But after 33...¥xc2 34.¢xc2 c5 35.bxc5 bxc5
     36.d5±, White would have the more active rooks in
   the rook ending – and therefore a great advantage!
     Black prepares the move ...f6, which will force the
white rook away, thereby facilitating the future
 breakthrough ...c5. Black’s light-squared bishop has
an important job to do!
34.g5 f6 35.¦5e4
After 35.gxf6 gxf6 36.¦5e4, Black would be able to
use the open g-file.
35...c5
Black secures counterplay.
36.¥b3
Here White could play 36.dxc5 bxc5 37.b5, so as
to retain some options on the queenside.
36...cxb4 37.cxb4 hxg5 38.fxg5 fxg5 39.¦g3 ¦f7
Black has opened lines for his passive rooks by
exchanging pawns.
40.¦xg5 ¦f2† 41.¢a3 ¦c7
Black has activated his forces and can now maintain
the balance.
½–½

20
20
 Exchanging

chapter
Some exchanging operations lead to unbalanced
…

2
positions (for example, rook plus one or two pawns
against two minor pieces). Such situations are
particularly difficult to evaluate, as the positional
factors play a very important role and can fully
compensate for a slight material deficit.

M.Tal – M.Botvinnik
World Ch (9), Moscow 1960

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 dxe4 4.¤xe4 ¥f5 5.¤g3 Diagram 2-2 r

¥g6 6.¤1e2 
6.h4 is the main continuation nowadays.   
6...¤f6 7.h4 h6 8.¤f4 ¥h7 9.¥c4 e6 10.0–0 ¥d6
Diagram 2-2
 
Tal had prepared an interesting sacrifice for this   
game. But Botvinnik too had been counting on the     
said sacrifice!
11.¤xe6!? fxe6 12.¥xe6 £c7
   
12...¤bd7 13.¦e1 and only then 13...£c7 would     
have been somewhat more precise.  
13.¦e1
13.¤h5!? is an interesting possibility here.
  
13...¤bd7 14.¥g8† 
Diagram 2-3 Diagram 2-3 q
Why does Tal exchange pieces while attacking? He 
wishes to swap off a good defensive piece so as to  
obtain the f5-square for his knight.
14...¢f8 15.¥xh7 ¦xh7  
15...¥xg3? 16.¥g6 is too dangerous, as the light-    
squared bishop would be very strong.
16.¤f5
    
White has a dangerous initiative in return for a     
piece. Tal would like to continue to strengthen his     
position quietly with h4-h5, £f3 and ¥d2, followed
by doubling on the e-file. It is difficult for Black to
 
coordinate his pieces. Botvinnik returns a pawn in    
order to simplify the position. 
16...g6!?
It was later discovered that it was better to put in
the bishop check first: 16...¥h2† 17.¢h1 g6!µ
17.¥xh6† ¢g8 18.¤xd6 £xd6
Materially, the position is balanced, but positional
nuances play a very important role here. For example,
the two knights and the queen form an excellent,

21
 Positional play 1
2
chapter

† coordinated attacking force. In addition, in the

middlegame it will be very difficult for White to
advance his pawns.
Instead, 18...¦xh6 19.¦e6 ¦xh4 20.g3! (Kasparov)
would have given White good attacking chances.
19.¥g5
Diagram 2-4 q Diagram 2-4
 In his book on the match, Tal reports on his
   conversation with Botvinnik after the game. Tal
  showed his opponent a lot of variations he had
calculated at this point. Botvinnik’s reply was
   somewhat startling: he said that he too had preferred
     the white position at first, but then he had realized
     that it would be better to exchange the rooks but
retain the queens! Botvinnik had understood the
     essence of the position, which was more important
  than all the variations that one can calculate here!
    19...¦e7!
Black is fighting to get the open file for his major
 pieces.
20.£d3 ¢g7
Diagram 2-5 r
 21.£g3?
Diagram 2-5

    Tal wants to exchange queens to break up the

   dangerous combination of queen and two knights,
but he seriously damages his pawn structure and
   thereafter has hardly any chances to save the game.
     But his position was not yet bad, and he could have
     maintained equality.
Tal suggested 21.f4!?, intending 21...¦ae8 22.¦e5!
    with counterplay.
  21.¦xe7† £xe7 22.£b3= (Kasparov) seems even
     simpler, keeping the opponent occupied on the
queenside.
 21...¦xe1† 22.¦xe1 £xg3 23.fxg3 ¦f8!µ
A strong move, preventing a march into the centre
by the white king.
24.c4?!
This plan brings no relief to White. But passive
defence was not to the taste of the young Tal: 24.¦e7†
¦f7 25.¦xf7† ¢xf7 26.¢f2 ¢e6 27.¢f3 ¢f5µ
24...¤g4
The consequence of 21.£g3? – the black knight
profits immensely from the opponent’s damaged
pawn structure.

22
 Exchanging

chapter
25.d5 cxd5 26.cxd5 ¤df6 27.d6 ¦f7 28.¦c1 ¦d7 Diagram 2-6
…
r


2
29.¦c7 ¢f7
Diagram 2-6     
30.¥xf6
White must exchange his bishop in order to break
 
the blockade and set in motion his kingside pawns.    
30...¤xf6 31.¢f2 ¢e6 32.¦xd7 ¢xd7 33.¢f3     
¢xd6
After the wholesale exchanges and the capture
   
of the d-pawn, Black only has some final technical     
difficulties to overcome.   
Diagram 2-7
34.¢f4 ¢e6 35.g4 ¤d5† 36.¢e4
    
If 36.¢g5 ¢f7 37.h5, then 37...¢g7!–+ keeps 
Black in control. Diagram 2-7 r
36...¤f6† 37.¢f4 ¤d5† 38.¢e4 ¤b4 39.a3?! 
Slightly better is 39.a4.     
39...¤c6 40.h5
40.g5 ¤a5–+    
40...g5 41.h6 ¢f6! 42.¢d5    
42.h7 is met by 42...¢g7 43.¢f5 ¤a5! 44.¢xg5
¤c4–+.
    
42...¢g6 43.¢e6     
43.¢d6 loses to 43...¤a5 44.¢c7 b5; after the    
exchange of all the queenside pawns, the g5-pawn
will win the game.
  
43...¤a5 44.a4 ¤b3 45.¢d6 a5 46.¢d5     
Or 46.¢c7 ¤c5 47.¢b6 ¤xa4†–+. 
46...¢xh6 47.¢c4 ¤c1 48.¢b5 ¤d3 49.b3
¤c1 50.¢xa5 ¤xb3† 51.¢b4 ¤c1 52.¢c3 ¢g6
53.¢c2 ¤e2 54.¢d3 ¤c1† 55.¢c2 ¤e2 56.¢d3
¤f4† 57.¢c4 ¢f6 58.g3 ¤e2
59.¢b5 would be followed by: 59...¤xg3 60.¢b6
¤e4 61.a5 (61.¢xb7 ¤c5†–+) 61...¤d6–+
0–1

Here are a few more guidelines for exchanging:

1) Swap off your opponent’s active pieces (or
those that are potentially active) and try to retain
your own active pieces.
2) Avoid exchanging a bishop for a knight without
good reason.
3) When attacking you should try to avoid
unnecessary exchanges, though one may swap
off good defensive pieces to increase the advantage

23
 Positional play 1
2
chapter

† of the attacking side. (There is a rule in ice hockey

about attacking – 4 against 3 is less dangerous than
3 against 2.)
4) By intelligent simplification of the position the
defending side can weaken the force of the opponent’s
attack. An exchange of queens can be especially
important.
5) Sometimes a piece is actively placed but is
getting in the way of its fellow pieces. In this case an
exchange may clear the way for these other pieces.
6) You should try to swap off weak (or potentially
weak) pawns.

24
 chapter
Exercises
…
†Ex. 2-1… « q †Ex. 2-4… « r
 

2
   
    
     
       
      
    
     
       
 
†Ex. 2-2… «« r †Ex. 2-5… « r
 
     
    
         
      
     
    
     
        
 
†Ex. 2-3… « r †Ex. 2-6… «« q
 
     
    
        
       
       
        
     
     
 
25
2
Exercises
chapter

†
†Ex. 2-7… ««« q †Ex. 2-10… «« r
 
      
    
     
      
        
      
   
      
 
† …
Ex. 2-8 «« q †Ex. 2-11… «« r
 
    
   
    
      
        
        
   
        
 

†Ex. 2-9… «« q †Ex. 2-12… « r

 
     
      
     
      
     
       
      
      
 
26
 chapter
Solutions
Ex. 2-1 him with the bad bishop and at the same time
…

2
K.Volke – A.Yusupov making the f5-square even weaker.
Basle (rapid) 2005
1.a5!? (also 1 point) is a good alternative,
fixing the black pawns on the queenside and
1...cxd4! intending to follow up with ¥e2-g4.
(1 point) 1...b5 2.axb5 axb5 3.¥xc8 ¦fxc8 4.¤e2±
White overlooked this simple intermediate The knight heads for g3 and f5.
move. Black opens diagonals for his bishop 4...f5 5.¤g3 fxe4 6.¤xe4 £g6 7.¦e1 c4
pair. 8.d6 ¢h8 9.£d5 b4 10.¦ac1 c3 11.bxc3
2.axb7 ¥xb7 3.exd4 ¤xd4 4.¤xd4 ¥xd4 bxc3 12.d7 ¦d8 13.¦xc3 ¦b4
5.¦ab1 ¦e7 6.¤b5 ¥b6 7.¦fe1 ¦xe1† 13...¦xd7 14.£xd7 £xe4 15.£c8† ¢h7
8.¦xe1 £f6 9.¦e2 £f4!µ 16.¦xe4+–
But not 9...£a1† 10.¢h2 £xa4? on account 14.¦c8 ¦b8 15.¦xb8
of 11.¦e8† ¢g7 12.£xa4 ¦xa4 13.¦b8±. 1–0

Ex. 2-2 Ex. 2-4

A.Yusupov – G.Milosevic A.Yusupov – A.Horvath
Basle (rapid) 2005 Basle (rapid) 2005

1.¤xe5! 1.¤d2!
(1 point) (1 point)
The concentration of the white major pieces After White has exchanged off his opponent’s
on the e-file should suggest to us that this file most active piece, Black will have difficulties
might be opened by force. defending his hanging pawns.
1...dxe5 2.¥xe5 ¥d6 1...¤b4 2.¤xe4 dxe4 3.£g4! ¥f6 4.¦cd1
(1 point for spotting this defensive idea) ¤d3±
2...£a8 loses to both 3.¥xf6 and 3.¤c7. See Ex. 2-5.
3.¥xd6 ¦xe3 4.£xe3 ¦xd6 5.¤xd6 £xd6
6.£e7 Ex. 2-5
White has a clear advantage. A.Yusupov – A.Horvath
6...£b8 7.h4 h5 8.a4 a6 9.¦e3 b5 10.axb5 Basle (rapid) 2005
axb5 11.£c5 g6 12.¥h3 bxc4 13.bxc4 £a8
14.£d4 ¤8h7 15.¦e7 £a6 16.£b2 ¥a8 1.£xe4!
17.£b8† ¤f8 18.¦a7 £xc4 19.¦xa8 ¤6h7 (1 point)
20.d6 £c1† 21.¢h2 £c5 22.d7 A natural series of exchanges leads to a clear
1–0 advantage.
1...¤xe1 2.¦xd8 ¦fxd8 3.¥xf6 gxf6
Ex. 2-3 White’s small material advantage is not as
A.Yusupov – G.Terreaux important as the larger positional advantage
Switzerland 2004
resulting from Black’s weakened king position
and badly placed knight.
1.¥g4! If 3...¦d1, then 4.¢f1 gxf6 5.£g4†+–.
(1 point) 4.¤b2!
A standard operation. White swaps off his Keeping the e1-knight cut off.
opponent’s good light-squared bishop, leaving 4...¦c7 5.¢f1 c4

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2
Solutions
chapter

† 5...¦d2 6.¤c4+– 2...£c6!

6.¢xe1 c3 7.¤c4+– ¦d2!? 8.£f4 (another 2 points)
8.¤xd2? c2= Black is playing for safety.
8...¦c6 He must certainly avoid 2...¤xc5??
8...¦xa2 9.£xc7 ¦a1† 10.¢e2 c2 3.¥h7†+–.
11.¤d6+– However, there is another strong (and
9.£f3! ¦xa2 10.£xc6 ¦a1† 11.¢e2 c2 much more interesting) possibility: 2...¤d2!
12.¤e5! (also 2 points) 3.f3 ¤xf3† 4.gxf3 £xf3 5.£e2
Black resigned, in view of 12...c1£ 13.£e8† £h1† 6.¢f2 £xh2† 7.¢e1÷
¢g7 14.£xf7† ¢h6 15.£xf6† ¢h5 16.g4#. 3.¥xe4 £xe4 4.£xe4 ¥xe4 5.¦d6 ¥c6
1–0 White has only a minimal initiative, and
the opposite-coloured bishops make a draw
Ex. 2-6 inevitable.
M.Cebalo – A.Yusupov
Bastia (rapid) 2004
Ex. 2-8
C.Balogh – A.Yusupov
1...¤xd5 Bastia (rapid) 2004
(1 point)
Of course the strong bishop must be 1...¥xh2†!
exchanged! (2 points)
2.¦xd5 £c7! 3.£xa7 ¦a8 1...¦xe7? gives White a decisive attack after
3...¥c6 is less precise, on account of 4.¦a5. 2.£xh7†.
4.£d4 ¥c6 5.¦c5 ¦xa2 1...¥xf5?! 2.¥xd6 £f7 (1 consolation point)
(another 1 point) is only good enough for equality.
6.¤e5 £b6 7.b4 ¦e2 8.b5? 2.£xh2 £xh2† 3.¢xh2 ¥xf5 4.¦ac1 ¢f7
White should play 8.¤xc6 with equality. 5.¥c5 b6 6.¥d6 ¦xe1 7.¦xe1 ¦e8³
8...¦d8! 9.£c4 ¥e8³ Black will go a pawn up in the ending, but
For the conclusion of the game, see Boost White has no problems holding the draw –
Your Chess 1, Ex. 22-3. opposite-coloured bishops again!

Ex. 2-7 Ex. 2-9

Y.Pelletier – A.Yusupov S.Docx – A.Yusupov
Basle (rapid) 2005 Netherlands 2005

1...¤xe4 1...c3!
(1 point) (2 points)
1...£xc5? is bad: 2.£xc5 ¦xc5 3.¥b4+– Immediately setting in motion the queenside
2.¥e3! pawns.
This causes Black some worries. 1 consolation point for 1...¦e8.
On the other hand, 2.¥xe4 is not dangerous: 2.¤xb5 cxb2!
2...£xe4 3.£xe4 ¥xe4= This is even more energetic than 2...axb5–+.
2.¥b4? is answered by: 2...¤d2! 3.f3 (3.¥f1 3.¤d6 ¦c1 4.¦f1 a3
¤f3† 4.¢h1 £h5–+) 3...¤xf3† 4.gxf3 If 4.¥b1, then ¦xb1 5.¦xb1 a2–+.
£d4†–+ 0–1

28
 chapter
Solutions
Ex. 2-10 is correct. The moves 1.£d2 and 1.£a3
…

2
M.Tal – M.Botvinnik (intending ¥c3) are equally good, and also
World Ch (7), Moscow 1960
earn 2 points.
An exchange of queens would only make
1.¦xd7†! things easier for the defence: 1.£xc7?! ¦xc7
(2 points) 2.¤a5 ¤b4=
A courageous decision. After other moves, Nor does 1.e4 ¥xc4 2.£xc7 ¦xc7 3.¦xc4 c5
White would only have been fighting for a promise White anything.
draw. 1...£b8 2.e4 ¥xc4 3.¦xc4 ¤c7 4.¥h3
1...¤xd7 2.¦xd7† ¢xd7 3.¤f6† ¢d6 It may be more accurate to play 4.¥c1!?
4.¤xg8 ¤b5 5.¥h3 e6 6.¥f4 £a8 7.d5± (Tal).
The badly placed knights offer Black 4...e6 5.¥c1 £a8! 6.¥g5 ¦e8 7.£d2 f5!
compensation for his small material deficit. Although White is still slightly better, Black
4...¦c5 5.¤h6 f6 6.¤g4 ¥xc2 7.¤xf6 has reasonable counterplay.
¥xb3?!
7...¥f5 would have kept the chances Ex. 2-12
balanced. M.Tal – M.Botvinnik
8.axb3 ¦b5 9.¤xg5± World Ch (13), Moscow 1960
White went on to win this sharp ending.
1.¥b2!
Ex. 2-11 (1 point)
M.Tal – M.Botvinnik By offering this exchange, White neutralizes
World Ch (11), Moscow 1960
the pressure on his position.
1...¥xb2
1.£e1! 1...¥xb1? 2.¥xf6+–
(2 points) 2.¦xb2
White has an advantage in space, and so ½–½
retreating with the queen to avoid an exchange

Scoring
Maximum number of points is 20
17 points and above Excellent
14 points and above Good
10 points Pass mark

If you scored less than 10 points, we recommend that you read the
chapter again and repeat the exercises which you got wrong.

29