Isn't this what chess is really all about?  

Last month, I dealt with "the interplay of the pieces."  (tactics) 

This month I get to deal with everything else.   

The old saw in chess  is that: "Chess is mostly (99%) tactics," and while this might be true, what about the part of the game that is NOT tactics? If I have left you a little confused, I apologize - I am engaging in a little bit of playful teasing ... but I am also deadly serious!  

All joking aside, I want to isolate those aspects of chess that are not directly tactical in nature. How important are they? What elements of the game do they entail? How much do they really affect the game? And the one question I want to answer most is: "What is positional chess?" 

I think it would help first if we had a working definition of exactly what we mean by ... "positional chess." (And definitely - in positional chess - the focus is AWAY from the interplay of the pieces.) 

The most important fundamental concept about positional chess is:  

• THE PRIMARY EMPHASIS is on controlling squares!!!   

1. The main object of the game would be to control more key squares than your opponent. 

2. We try to slowly improve our game until we reach the point where our advantage is both obvious and overwhelming. (At that point we will probably have to resort to tactics to finish the game.)

3. One of the fundamental precepts of this type of chess would be to emphasize ... 
   PLANNING! (If you would like to briefly see one example of a plan having great benefit, than see my win over the GM. After Black's 46th move, I came with a fairly simple plan of counterplay. I would play 47.g4! to get my one passer moving. I would immediately follow this up by playing K-g3-h4-g5, getting my King to an aggressive post. Then I would activate my Rook, and try to penetrate via one of the many open files. This is a simple but concrete plan, deep analysis with the aid of the computer has not yet demonstrated any refutation to this idea. And it was good enough to defeat a GM, even though he was ahead in material!)   
   
   Please do not confuse one simple plan - like mine - with real STRATEGY. I define strategy as: "a deep, overall plan that encompasses ALL the elements and phases of chess." In real strategic chess, the great ones come up with an overall schematic for the game ... that literally takes one from the opening to the endgame ... from the cradle to the grave, so to speak. 

4. I often find the master strategists use tactics in a strange way. It is like this part of the game is completely subservient to the overall goals of the plan. In other words, one player wants to get his piece to a certain square. He is so focused on that one goal that eventually he finds a way to do exactly that. There is a tactical justification for the maneuver, but usually it just lies dormant, sitting idly by, deeply hidden in the notes. (The games of top GM's are often like this, they often bypass complex tactical traps that would swallow up the average player. Usually - the fireworks for their games - are often found ONLY in the notes!) 

5. In positional chess, base things like: tactics, forks, swindles, cheap shots, mating attacks, etc; take a back seat. What comes to the forefront is an emphasis on things like: having the better structure, using outposts, gaining and controlling key open lines, and having better squares for ALL of your pieces. And unlike tactical chess, where we often burn our bridges behind us, in positional chess we are always looking ahead, especially to the endgame.  

6. In my opinion, one of the greatest planners who ever lived was {former} World Champion, Mikhail Botvinnik. In studying many of the games with his own notes, we find that he had a plan within a plan within a plan. He had an idea for improving one bad piece, he might have several ideas for where or how he might achieve his key pawn break-through, he even had a plan for the ensuing ending. (He could plan circles around the average GM!!)  Another great player - who also excelled at positional chess and strategy - was the man who eventually replaced Botvinnik, Tigran Petrosian. (Petrosian is the featured player in this month's lesson.) 

7. "All this sounds great ... but how do I use all of this in my own game?" (A good question!) I always teach all of my students to use something called a "POD." (P.O.D. = Plan of deployment.) From ANY position that you find yourself in, form a simple plan of ONLY 2-3 moves. What squares would you like to get your pieces to? What open lines do you need to occupy? Initially play these moves in your head, WITHOUT ANY WORRY AS TO WHAT YOUR OPPONENT MIGHT BE DOING! Only after you have practiced this basic method of planning - and developed your visualization skills - will you be able to reach the point to where you can concern yourself with your own moves and your opponent's replies to those moves as well.  

8. Of course - and I cannot emphasize the importance of this strongly enough if you are serious about your game - you should be doing your DAILY problem solving in order to be able to develop your tactics to the point where you should be able to calculate two or three moves ahead. Only after you have been doing this exercise faithfully for a period of at least eighteen months will you have developed your tactical skill to the point where you can analyze competently. 

9. I guess the final point that I should make is that if you fail at basic tactics, you will never be able to really concern yourself with the finer, more complicated maneuvers that arise in basic positional chess. (One goes hand-in-glove with the other.)  

OK, enough sermonizing ... its time to get down to the nitty gritty! 

This is from the game: Karpov - Lautier; Biel, 1992.  [replay] 
(I encourage you to set up a board and play through all the examples carefully.)   

It is White to play and make his 31st move, and the position is NOT that easy to captain; especially without a fairly good understanding of the position and a concrete positional plan. 

White sees that his pieces have reached good squares, but there is no immediate decisive blow. IN SUCH GAMES, POSITIONAL PLAY IS OFTEN THE ONLY WAY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM! In other words, White must find a way to control more squares than his opponent - and most importantly - slowly improve his position. 

31.Kg3!!, 
A beautiful move, the only way to improve his position is to bring his King into play. Another basic aspect of positional play reveals itself: Black has lost almost complete control of the dark squares, and the invasion route that the White King will take will involve a path comprised entirely of these squares! 

Against a plan of ... say, Black just moving his Bishop back and forth, (between a8 and b7); White can march his King to h6, play Qf6, and Black will be helpless against the mate threat. 

31...Qb7?!;  (Maybe - '?') 
In the face of the plan outlined after White's last move, Black (understandably) panics. 

GM Andrew Soltis, (In his book, "Turning Advantage Into Victory.");  points out that Black had to "hang tough," play something like: 31...Qb8; and just adopt a "wait-and-see" type attitude. This is sometimes a difficult thing to do, even if you are a GM! 

32.Qxb7! Bxb7;  33.Kf4 Kf8;  
Not much choice for Black, White threatened Ke3-d4-c5-b6. This plan would annex all of Black's Q-side Pawns, so Black is forced to try and rush his King over to that sector. 

34.Kg5!,  
A pleasing theme, after threatening one sector - the WK suddenly switches gears and goes to the other side of the board. Note how Karpov plays this whole affair ... almost as if he had no opponent, the plan that Karpov has thought out dominates the play and is followed like a road map. 

34...Ke7;  
It does not really matter if Black goes here or to g7, White's plan remains the same. Now Lautier said after the game that he knew he had a bad position, but did not think his opponent could make any real progress from here. 

35.Be4!;  
The reason for this move is not immediately clear, other than the fact that White wants to maintain the pin on the long diagonal in order to keep Black's Bishop pinned down. 

34...Ba8;  
Note that Black has been reduced to just moving back and forth, he is completely unable to prevent White from executing his plan, whatever that might be. 

36.f3!,  
A Pawn push, yes ... but what is the point?  

Meanwhile Black can only move back and forth and await the fall of the executioner's axe. 

36...Bb7;  37.g4!,   
White's plan has been revealed, he threatens to win a pawn. Black cannot capture, i.e., 37...hxg4?; 38.fxg4, as this creates a passed Pawn, (h4-h5 cannot be prevented); that will win the game easily. Black could have resigned at this point, such is the state of his helplessness.  

The rest needs no comment, however Karpov's technique bears close study and emulation. 

37...Ba8;  38.gxh5 gxh5;  39.f4! Bb7;  40.Bf3 Ba8;   41.Kxh5, Black resigns. (1-0)  

An outstanding example of the former Champion's skill in the endgame. 

This is from the game: 
Tigran Petrosian - Victor Korchnoi; Under-18 URS Championships 
/ Leningrad, U.S.S.R;  07,1946.  [replay] 

Now - to prevent you from thinking that the ideas of positional chess apply only to the endgame, I present this nice example or game excerpt. 

Black's last move was 6...c6;  Black plays a "Stonewall" Dutch, which can be a formidable weapon in the hands of one of its exponents. (King-side attacks - for Black - abound in this opening.) Here, however, Petrosian shows a deep mastery of the whole game and the positional aspects of this opening as well. 

White to move, what move would you play here? 
7.b3!,  (Maybe - '!!')  
This appears to simply protect the button on c4, and perhaps even prepares to fianchetto White's Queen-Bishop. But Petrosian has something deeper and much more original in mind. 

7...0-0;  
Castling is always good, right? (True, but 7...Qe7; might have been a shade more accurate. White can still get in Ba3 by playing a4, but at least he has to work harder to achieve this.) 

8.Ba3!, 
I could write an entire book about what this move does and its impact on this position. Suffice it to say that the main idea is that White swaps off his opponent's one good Bishop, leaving Black's other "diagonal-fighter" a sad piece ... that is almost entirely hemmed in by its own pawns. 

8...Bxa3;  9.Nxa3, Qe8;  10.Nc2!, 
Petrosian is not content to let a Knight sit on the edge of the board for very long, plus this piece already has its eye on the e5-square; a point that was left vulnerable by Black's entire opening scheme. 

10...Qh5!?; 
Korchnoi is already dreaming of a King-side attack, rapid checkmates, and winning the brilliancy prize. (10...Nbd7; first might have been a little more accurate.) 

11.Qc1!!, 
A move so deep, that most computers completely fail to grasp the point of it. 

White has accomplished many things, a few are:  

1. Dominance of the dark squares, which Black has almost completely ignored. 

2. After a later exchange of Pawns, (in the center) The White Queen will invade Black's position on the c7-square. This will leave Black completely tied up, as remainder of the game will clearly demonstrate. 

3. White has PREVENTED Black from playing ...g7-g5; which is usually the "starting bell" for Black's King-side attack.

4. White threatens to invade on g5 - or later switch to the a3-square to grab Queenside play and, in some lines, eye a Black Rook on f8. 

Black was unable to meet all of White's threats and was soundly thrashed in only 23 moves. I do not annotate the remainder of this game, in the hopes that you will deeply study it on your own. 

This game is also beautifully annotated, (game # 14); in the following book: "The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played," (62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy, © 1965); by the one and only Irving Chernev. (This is one of my all-time, favorite books!) 

This is from the game: J.R. Capablanca - S. Tartakower; New York, 1924.  [replay] 

Here is a really good middle-game example! Black seems to have a very good position, he just played 14...Rae8 here. (It is White to move in the position given just above.) 

I once showed this position (& game) to a master ... who admitted that he had NEVER studied the games of Capablanca! I asked him his opinion of this position and his answer was something like the following, as best as I can remember:  "Black must be better here. He has the better and more effective development. He controls the center and could play something like ...Qg5; and then ...f5-f4; with a powerful King-side attack. Further, White has a slightly ineffective Bishop and also an isolated QRP and doubled QBP's. If I were Black here, I would expect to win, and probably rather quickly."  

Actually, just about everything the master said about this position was true! Again, the question for Capablanca was how to meet Black's plan ... AND CONTROL MORE KEY SQUARES THAN HIS OPPONENT! There is also the aspect of this type of play ... where it is  just as important to prevent your opponent from playing good moves and executing his (or her) ideas,  as it is to play good moves yourself!! 

Here is how Capablanca managed to achieve his goals, watch his plan unfold:  
15.Qh3!,  (Maybe - '!!')  
A small move, but one that does many things. Most importantly, Black cannot {now} advance his KBP, (on the f-file); as White would smash Black on the h7-square. 

15...Rf6!?;  
Black wants to activate his Rook and possibly play ...Rh6; to smack the White Queen in the face, and force her off the key h-file. 

This move is the first (or second) choice of many strong computer programs here. Further, it was criticized by many writers and annotators, yet NO ONE ever clearly demonstrated a better or a stronger plan for Black!  

16.f4!,  
Having moved the Queen out of the way, White grabs some space, and also controls some vital squares on the King-side. Notice also how White has put a "lock" on the e5-square ... if Black wants to play the ...e6-e5; advance now, he must be willing to sacrifice a Pawn. 

16...Na5!?;  
Again ... this move is the first or second choice of most computer programs. The move is logical and is exactly the kind of play that Nimzovich prescribed for such positions. (Tartakower is dreaming about attacking and winning one of White's doubled c-pawns. However, Capa keeps his opponent so busy, that he never gets the chance to play or execute this idea.) 

17.Qf3!,    "+/="   
Having done her job on the edge of the board, the Queen returns back to the center of the board. Even today, the computers see little or no change in their evaluations of the position here. Yet Capa has greatly improved his position - he has gained space, prevented the advance of Tartakower's e-pawn ... and went on to win a model game. 

This magnificent display is also annotated in the Chernev book, see the example of positional chess given just above this one. 

This position comes from the GM contest:  Robert Huebner - Lajos Portisch; The Super-Master Tournament of OHRA "A" / Brussels, Belgium; 1986.  [replay]  

Black just played the move, 34...Raa8; it is  White to move  in this position.  

Once again, we have the positional formula, which could be expressed by the following questions:  

# 1.)  How do we control key squares? 
# 2.)  How do we improve our position? 
# 3.)  How do I manage the above two requirements ... without            losing my grip on the position?  

White found a very ingenious solution. 
35.f3!!, 
After much thought, Huebner realized that exchanges would only dilute his advantage. So he has contrived a plan to greatly improve his position, while preparing for the coming endgame. 

35...Kf8;  
Black's ideas - and thoughts - are very similar to those of his opponents. 

36.Kf2!,  
GM Huebner continues to execute his plan, and brings his King closer to the center of the board. Meanwhile, Black is nearly helpless, he is almost completely tied up and unable to break out of the bind. 

36...Rab8;  
Black is basically just marking time in this position, which is all he really can do. 

37.Ke3!,  "+/"  (White has a very large advantage.)  
White has managed to greatly improve his position ... with little or no risk, and Black was not allowed any real counterplay in the interim. 

"Now every White piece is greatly superior to its opposite number in the Black camp."  
 - GM Neil McDonald, in the (2004) book - "Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking." (Pg. # 26) 

Black is bound hand and foot, and he did not last much longer: 
37...g6!?;  38.Bd7 Rxc7;  39.Qxc7 Qxc7;  40.Rxc7 Ba6;  41.Be6 Rb7;  42.Rc6 Bf1;  43.Rxd6 Bc4!?;  44.Rd8+!,  Black Resigns; 1-0.  (The threat of Rh8 here, followed by taking the KRP finishes Black.)  

An impressive display of power-positional chess ... from the first move to the last.  

That about wraps things up for this month. I hope by now that you have a better idea of just what  positional chess  is and how to implement it in your own games. I would also like to invite you to visit my domain. There you will find the game that I deeply annotated ... specifically as a back-drop for this month's lesson:  

  GM Tigran Petrosian - GM Wolfgang Unzicker; 
  Nations Match, FRG-URS;  
  Hamburg, Germany; 1960.  

  ****************************************************  

I hope you have enjoyed this month's lesson. Please contact me if you have any questions. Also, be sure to contact the webmaster here, and let him know what you think of this lesson. Thank you for your time and attention ... and I will see you next month! 

 Copyright © A.J. Goldsby, 2005.  
  All rights reserved.  

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