OH OHO
2.4. USOS DEL ALMIDÓN
2.6.2. Producción por diversos métodos
2.6.2.4. La estructura interna de los almidones y su relación con la extrusión
C A L C U L A T I O N A N D C O M B I N A T I O N S / 3 9
In general, calculation is necessary to verify the tactical worth of a move that seems to take care of the needs of a given position. In diagram #30 we have a situation that is anything but subtle. It's clear that both sides are trying to mate the other and, if he can get away with it, White would love to play 1 .Qxa6 when mate on a8 or b7 is unstoppable
if
Black doesn't execute White first.Since the position screams for l . Qxa6 to be played, White has only to calculate the consequences of a Black checking onslaught to see if it is a correct decision
tactically.
As it turns out, Black gets some macho checks and then has to resign:1.Qxa6 Qhl+ 2.Kf2 Qxg2+ 3.Kxe3 Bg5+ 4.Kd3,
1 -0 . We can see then, that i n both positional and tactical situations you must use my thinking technique (or at least care
fully weigh the imbalances) to find the proper plan or move.
You only bother calculating once the correct plan is clear and once you settle upon a move that helps your plan come to fruition.
Kelson-Silman, Reno 1993.
Black to play.
In diagram #31 we see that Black is a pawn down and his Rook on c8 is attacked. On the basis of these two factors we might conclude that White is in control. However, when we factor in Black's two Bishops, safe King, and the open lines and files that lead right to the White monarch, we get quite a different picture.
4 0 / H O W T O R E A S S E S S Y O U R C H E S S move that strives to make our plan a reality (still no calcula
tion), and listed our opponent's intelligent replies (sorry
we haven't started to calculate yet). Only when all this is done do we actually calculate each White move in our mental list to see if 1 . . . Rc5 is actually correct:
A) 2.c4 Bxd5 3.RxdS RxdS 4.cxdS QaS gives Black a strong attack (this occurred in the actual game).
B) 2.Qe4?? allows the Knight to remain on dS but runs into 2 .. . Bf5! .
C) 2.Nc3 Qa5 gives Black the kind of attacking position he has been dreaming of. No further calculation would be necessary; you have a beautiful position-there is no necessity to figure everything out to the end.
C A L C U L A T I O N A N D C O M B I N A T I O N S / 4 1 fighting with 5 .Kd2, Black can win immediately with the pretty 3 ... Rxc2+! 4.Kxc2 Bf5+ 5 .Kd2 Qxd6+ 6.Bd3 Qb4+
7.Ke2 Bg4+ S.Kf2 Bd4.
Interestingly enough, old experienced dogs like myself will often avoid calculation even in this type of complicated situation and just play 1 . . .Rc5 cold turkey (of course, we would still use the thinking technique to find the correct plan)! Why? Are we tempting fate or are we getting some sort of rush from the knowledge that we might be hammered at any moment? The simple truth is that . . . RcS is the move that the position calls for. Since the
board
wants it to be played, I may trust in my instincts and give it a go, secure in the knowledge that the ultimate spiritual truth of the chessboard will not prove me wrong (on occasion Ihave
been punished for such unabashed idealism; so beware-the Goddess Caissa does not always heap rewards on her devotees).Normally you may want to look a couple of moves ahead to make sure that everything is in order. Of course, once in a while very deep calculation is a must-you simply
have
to look deeply into the position.4 2 / H O W T O R E A S S E S S Y O U R C H E S S
Eddy-Silman, Anchorage 1 993.
Black to play.
In diagram #32 Black has a winning advantage because White's Bishop is entombed on the kingside. However, Black made a point of calculating over 20 moves ahead to insure that the zugzwang he had in m ind was really going to happen. The first part of Black's calculations concerned keeping White's King out of c3 (after a trade of Rooks) by placing a pawn on b1.
1 ... a5 2.Kel Bb3 3.Kf2 ReI 4.Bg2 g5 5.h3 g4 6.h4 b5 7.Bfl Ke6? An inaccuracy. Black could have kept White's countcrplay to a minimum by 7" .Rc8 8.Kel Ke6 9.Bg2 Rcl + 10.Kf2 Rc2, when things would have turned out as they did in the actual game. 8.Bg2? His last chance was 8.Rd8 Rc2 9.Rh8 with fighting chances. 8 ... Re2 9.Kel Rxd2 10.Kxd2 b4 1 l.axb4 axb4 12.Bhl Kd5 13.Bg2 Kc4 14.Bfl Ba4 15.Kcl Kb3 16.Kbl Bb5 17.Kel Ka2 18.Kc2 Ba4+ Black also wins with 18".Bc4 19.Kc1 b3. 19.Kc1 Bdl! 20.Bg2 The sad state of White's Bishop would be highlighted after 20.Kxdl Kxb2 when nothing can be done to stop Black from promoting his b-pawn. 20 ... Bxe2 21.Kc2 Bd3+ 22.Kcl b3 23.Bhl Bft, 0-1 . Believe it or not, Black saw this position (and variations of it) when he played 1 . ,.a5 . The depth of this calculation was made possible by the fact that White was helpless and could only go back and forth. The lack of side variations can make a calculation of any size rather easy for the international player.
Reti-Alekhine, Baden Baden 1 925.
1.g3 e5 2.Nf3 e4 3.Nd4 d5 4.d3 exd3 5.Qxd3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Nxd2 0-0 9.c4
Starting play in the center and trying to increase the scope of his Bishop on g2.9 ... Na6 10.cxd5 Nb4 1 l.Qe4 Nbxd5 12.N2b3 e6 13.0-0 Re8 14.Rfdl Bg4 15.Rd2 Qe8 16.Nc5
White has prevented any active play in the center and intends to roll Black up on the queenside by b2-b4-bS. Since Black has more pieces on the kingside, his only chance is to generate some threats in that sector.16 ... Bh3
A natural move that entails a good deal of calculation. While it's clear that Black would like to get rid of White's powerful Bishop, he must make sure that I7.Bxh3 Qxh3 18.Nxb7 doesn't just drop all his queenside pawns: 18".Ng4 19.Nf3 Nde3! 20.fxe3 Nxe3 2 1 .Qxf7+ Kh8!(21 . ..Kxf7?? 22.Ng5+ picks up the Black Queen) 22.Nh4 Rf8 and any Queen move gets mated by 23".Rf1 +. Black was only able to play 16."Bh3 after he saw that the b-pawn is taboo.
17.Bf3
Bg4 18.Bg2 Bh3 19.Bf3 Bg4 20.Bhl
White refuses the draw by repetition and instead tries for the win. He knows that his queenside attack will eventually pay dividends and he does not believe that Black's kingside counterplay will really lead to anything. In a way, this is typical of the mentality of kingside attacks vs. queenside attacks. The queenside attack is effective in a middlegameand
in an endgame because the target is Usually a weak pawn or square. A kingside attack usually aims at the enemy King. This means that a Queen trade will favor the queensidc attack since the guy going after the King needs the Queen to head the mating attack. In other words, the side with the queens ide attack is willing to put up with a few insults to his King-he is getting endgame odds (the long range chances) in return!20 ... h5!
Preparing to weaken White's kingside pawn Shelter.2 1.b4 a6 22.Rc1 h4
Neither side wastes any time in trying to make his plan bear fruit. Mutual ana eking situations4 4 / H O W T O R E A S S E S S Y O U R C H E S S
always call for speed. If you hesitate and lose confidence in your ideas, you will be utterly consumed.
23.a4 hxg3 24.hxg3 Qc7
Eyeing the newly weakened g3 point.25.b5
Forging ahead but underestimating Black's possibilities.2 5
• . .axb5 26.axb5 Re31
The storm breaks! A never ending stream of tactical ideas now beat White to a
pulp. 27.Nf3
It's obvious that 27.fxe3 Qxg3+ (Analysis by Alekhine). Alekhine claims that 27.Bf3! was White's best chance, though Black would retain an advantage after have some tactical skills. Does this mean that you are doomed if you don't have a natural gift in this area? Of course not! Don't despair; every player, no matter how low his ranking, can hone his calculation skills. The only rub (natural
ly) is that it will take lots of hard work. play through the first ten moves or so until the opening is coming to an end and the middlegame seems to be starting. Then COver up the moves and figure out what is going on. Go through all the imbalances and the whole thinking technique. Figure out the proper plan and all the candidates that lead to its fulfillment. Writeall
thisdown/It
doesn't matter how long it takes to work all this out, just get it all on paper. When your list of candidate moves is clear, analyze each one in detail in your head--don't move the pieces on the actual board.Once again you must write down all the analysis that you have come up with.
Once this task is completed you will look at the move that was actually played, check out the opponent's reply, and then do the whole thing over again. A
word
of warning!
If the first move took you thirty minutes or even an hour or more to work everything out and get it on paper, feel free to take a break and continue the4 6 / H O W T O R E A S S E S S Y O U R C H E S S
game at a future date. We are not after speed here, we are trying to develop your ability to make use of my thinking technique and to increase your powers of visualization.
When you have gone through this process for the whole game, go over the annotations in the book and compare them with the notes you made. See how close you came to following the logic of the game and compare any tactical operations to your own analysis. If you were way off, play over the correct analysis, see where you went wrong, and
don 't get depressed.
You're not in a contest here; you are simply trying to better yourself.As your notebook fills up, you will notice that your work is becoming more concise and accurate. You will take less time to understand more about the position.
You will get better if you work at it.
2) Get a copy of Kotov's excellent book,
Think Like a Grandmaster.
Aside from being fun to read, it will help improve your powers of calculation. Keep in mind though, thatThink Like a Grandmaster
is an advanced book and requires a serious effort if you want to mine its treasures. Only read itafter
you have spent several months filling up your notebook with the exercise listed above.Of course, all this is hard work and somewhat time-consum
ing. Not everyone will want to make such a commitment. For this majority of individuals, the completion of
How to Reassess Your Chess
and lots of over-the-board experience is quite enough to see a marked improvement in your play.C H A P T E R T W O