Contextualización de las metodologías para un proyecto de desarrollo: normativas y

Candidates Match, London, 1991 This was the position after White's 18th move.

Lesson 7. P a w n Walls Against Bishops

The first thing to notice is that Black actually has some problems contesting the c-file.

Given a chance White would play £}f3-g5. Assuming Black deals with the threat of £}g5-f7+ then White would i n - stead play £}g5-e6. Then Black will e i - ther have to tolerate a knight on e6 (not an attractive proposition) or capture the knight. After White's reply of A x e 6 , Black loses control of the c8 square and consequently the c-file.

18...Ag4 solves the problem of the knight leaping to g5 but not of the c-file. After 19.h3 A x D + 20.gxf3 White will play A b 3 - e 6 next and the control of the c-file will outweigh his pawn structure defects.

Trading all the rooks does not fully relieve the pressure either as the £}f3 may still leap to g5 or e5, and then af- ter the thrust d4-d5 the A e 3 takes aim at the black queenside, while the A g 7 merely shoots into thin air.

18...Ac2

Initiating exchanges which will re- move the light-squared bishops, main- taining an equilibrium on the c-file.

19. A x c 2 ^ x c 2

After 19...Hxc2+? 20.Hxc2 ^ x c 2 2 1 . B e l all of Black's work is undone and White gains the c-file with ease.

20. * d 2

Putting the question to the £}c2, and reaching the critical decision of the game:

Clearly the knight must move from c2, but to where?

O f the three choices, 20...^b4? is the easiest to dismiss. White can reply 21.Bxc8 B x c 8 2 2 . B M followed by the capture on b7, achieving a clearly bet- ter game as his rook takes up a powerful post on the seventh rank.

20...^xe3?!

The alternative was 20...^a3 to post the knight on the c4 square. This does not solve all of Black's problems but

P A R T 2. P r i n c i p l e s and Essential T h e o r y

nevertheless would have been preferable to the game continuation.

After 21.<4>d3 b5 preventing the

knight coming to c4 with 22.^d2?! is not effective as White loses control of the center. After 22...Hfd8 Black is al- most ready for e7-e5.

Instead 22.Hc5! is probably best, with White retaining some advantage.

21.fxe3 *>g8

21...Hfd8 would be more logical, i n - tending to play e7-e5. The threat of £}f3- g5 is still in the position though and Black still has some difficulties after 22.<4>d3 e5 23.£}g5 (or even 22.£}g5 immediately).

22.4>d3

With the pawns e3-d4 placed on dark squares, the A g 7 is locked from play so long as a favorable e7-e5 is not permit- ted. N o w that his king has reached d3, White plans to further improve it with

<4>d3-e4. He intends to maintain the

pawns on their current squares i n the center for the foreseeable future, so

there is no question of this hindering their advance.

22...Af6

Removing the annoying £}f3-g5 threat from White's arsenal.

23.4>e4 & f 7

White has succeeded in achieving a certain degree of domination. He has the superior pawn structure, the superior minor piece and a strong king position.

However Black has no real weak- ness in his position (we can hardly call the e7-pawn a weakness at the moment) and he has established status quo on the c-file. To win the game some point of at- tack must be created. White's first plan would map out as follows:

> Reposition the knight from O to d3. From here it menaces a leap to c5 where it bites at e6 and d7, as well as at- tacking the pawn on b7.

> When Black plays the move b5- b6, as he surely will, the advance of the

Lesson 7. P a w n Walls Against Bishops

a-pawn (minority attack) will create a weakness in the black queenside.

24. £ t e 5 + ? * e 6 ?

O f course in principle Black should play 24...Jfcxe5 to remove the bad m i - nor piece imbalance. However this after 25.4>xe5 put White's king on an even stronger square. He must have judged he had more chances to hold the game with minor pieces on the board.

As Short himself later pointed out, Black should be able hold the game after 24...Axe5 25.4>xe5 Hfd8! 26.d5 4>e8.

25. M

The opportunity to remove minor pieces mentioned at the last note would have been prevented after the alternative route to <^f3-el-d3 starting with 24.<^el!

25...*d6 26.a4

N o w that Black has covered the e6 and d7 squares with his king, following

26.<£>c5 b6 White would have to first retreat with 27.<£>d3 and only then ad- vance the a-pawn.

Instead White saves a tempo by push- ing the pawn to a5 immediately.

26...b6

Otherwise White would play 27.a5 with ideas of H b l and <£>d3-c5, when b7 becomes a weakness.

27. a5! Hxcl

After 27...bxa5 White can post his knight to c5 to close the c-file, and win back the pawn with H a l .

28. HxclHb8 29. axb6

Taking the principled decision to create the weakness. 29.a6 was also i n - teresting, although it is difficult to ar- range the desirable <5^b4-c6 follow-up without allowing a pin on the c-file.

P A R T 2. P r i n c i p l e s and Essential T h e o r y

30. ^ b 4

White has the advantage, but the position is far from winning. He plans B c l - c 6 but there is no obvious way to bring further pressure to bear on b6.

30.. .e6

31. B c 6 + * d 7 32. d5 He8?!

The threats after 32...exd5+! 3 3 . * x d 5 A e 7 34.£>d3 b5 35.^e5+ are not too dangerous.

For instance 36...*e8 3 7 . * e 6 (bet- ter is 37.Hc7! A d 8 and White main- tains a small advantage) 37...b4 and it is White who must be careful here. If White plays more slowly after 32... exd5+! then the black b-pawn should provide ample counterplay to draw the game. 33.Hxb6 exd5+ 34.4>d3Ae5 35. h 3 A c 7 36. H f 6 H e 5 37. Bf7+

White picks off a clean pawn with good winning chances (1-0 on move 44).

S U M M A R Y O F IDEAS

> The bishop operates most effectively when it can influence both sides of the board.

> Pawns can restrict the mobility and effectiveness of bishops if they are stable and placed on the same color as the enemy bishop (Capablanca's rule).

> Shutting down an enemy bishop can be a useful tool, but does not win the game in itself. Often later in the game the blockade will need to be broken in order to make progress.

Lesson 7. P a w n Walls Against Bishops

We did not encounter a great deal of theory in this chapter, but we did see an example of a theoretical opposite-color- ed bishop endgame with two connected passed pawns. This will be discussed in more detail in the theoretical notes.

First we will examine the themes from this lesson at work in a complete game:

Akobian — Howell,