Here are the solutions to the three positions that you were given yesterday.
Position 135 – Opening – Play on the wings Black to move Monticelli – Capablanca, Barcelona 1929
![Monticelli-Capablanca, Barcelona 1929 - Förberedelse av minoritetsangrepp Svart vid draget, 1929 [Engqvist]](http://www.schacksnack.se/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Utskick42_882-7.jpg)
This type of position has arisen after the sequence of moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 c5 5.dxc5 bxc5 6.c4 g6 7.b3 Bg7 8.Bb2 0-0 9.0-0 d6 10.Nc3. It is easy for Black to play since he has the possibility of a5-a4. The corresponding idea for White, i.e., e4-e5, is not as easy to achieve. 10…Ne4!! It is easier to carry out a5-a4 after the exchange of knights. If you have the opportunity, study the game Karlsson-Engsner, Rilton Cup 1989, where Karlsson, playing White, won in a similar manner to Capablanca by consistently targeting the weak b-pawn. 11.Qc1 Nxc3 12.Bxc3 Bxc3 13.Qxc3 a5! Black’s long-term plan with the minority attack is to weaken the b3-pawn. 14.Rfd1 Nd7 15.Qe3 Kg7 Black must play actively with the king and not allow White’s dangerous queen sortie to h6. 16.h3 Nf6 17.g4 h6 18.Ne1 Qc7 19.Nd3 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 a4! Black has achieved the first step in his plan. 21.Nf4 Rfb8 22.f3 axb3 The second step of weakening the b-pawn with the exchange has been accomplished. 23.axb3 Rxa1 24.Rxa1 e5! 25.Nd5 Nxd5 26.cxd5 Rb4! White cannot hold either the b3 or d5 pawns so he is lost. 27.Qd3 Qb7 28.Qa6 Qxd5 29.Qc8 Qb7! 30.Qd8 Qb8 31.Qd7 Rb7 32.Qc6 Rxb3 33.Ra6 Rb2 0-1 If you are familiar with this simple plan, you have a significant advantage over a player who is unfamiliar with this approach.
Position 83 – Endgame – The bishop manoeuvre Black to move Ernst – Engqvist, Stockholm 2017

20…Bxh2! Initially, I calculated 20…Rxh2 21.Rxh2 Bxh2 (21…Rf1+ 22.Kc2 Rxa1 23.Rh7) 22.Ke2 Bf4 23.Rh1, but in both variations, it felt like White had good drawing chances despite being down a pawn. Then, I examined the move in the text and immediately associated it with the famous move 24.La7 Karpov played in a renowned game against Unzicker. The idea behind the move was for White to double on the a-file behind the bishop at his own pace. Here, the same concept could be applied since I wanted to keep both rooks, allowing for a king-side attack. So, I played 20…Bxh2! The game continued 21.Ke2 Rfh5, with the rook doubling being the central idea, thus avoiding an exchange while releasing the bind. 22.g4 Rh3 23.Raf1 f6 24.Rf3 R3h4 25.g5 f5 26.Kd3 Bd6. I was starting to run low on time and agreed to exchange one rook. 26…Kd7 would otherwise have been a valid alternative. 27.Rxh4 Rxh4 28.b3 f4 29.Bd2 29.Bf2 Rh5 wouldn’t help White. 29…Kd7 30.c4 c6 31.cxd5 31.c5 leads to a loss after 31…Bc7 32.Be1 Rh8 33.Bd2 Rf8. 31…cxd5 32.b4 Ke6 33.a4 Kf5 34.b5 Kxg5 0-1.
Here follows the inspiration for 20…Bxh2! that I ”borrowed” from Karpov.
Position 82 – Middlegame – The bishop manoeuvre White to move Karpov – Unzicker, Olympiad, Nice 1974

24.Ba7!! A revolutionary idea based on the concept of avoiding exchanges of heavy pieces. Many times in the Spanish Game, White plays on the kingside and Black gets counterplay on the queenside. Through this original move, Black’s counterplay on the queenside disappears. This is also an idea to remember when it comes to how to take control of a line through doubling or tripling. 24…Ne8 25.Bc2 Nc7 26.Rea1 Qe7 27.Bb1 Be8 28.Ne2 White is gradually preparing play on the kingside with f4. Black can’t do much but passively watch. 28…Nd8 29.Nh2 Bg7 30.f4 f6 31.f5 Now White has a territorial advantage, not only in the center but also on the kingside. 31…g5 32.Bc2 Bf7 33.Ng3 Nb7 34.Bd1 h6 35.Bh5 It’s fascinating to see how Karpov exploits the edges of the board with his bishops to achieve his strategic goals. Now Black cannot prevent the exchange of the light-squared bishops. 35…Qe8 36.Qd1 Nd8 37.Ra3 Kf8 38.R1a2 Kg8 39.Ng4 Kf8 40.Ne3 Kg8 41.Bxf7+ Nxf7 42.Qh5 Nd8 43.Qg6 Capablanca’s and Fischer’s method, which involves accepting an exchange when it improves the pawn structure. 43…Kf8 44.Nh5 1-0 A strategic masterpiece by Karpov.
There are 297 more key positions to know, so why not take the opportunity to deepen your chess knowledge!
Thomas Engqvist
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