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THE ATTACK AGAINST THE KING- The king remained in the centre -

Corresponding to an opening rule, making the castle in the first moves is useful for the kingbecause he abandons the central files, which doesnt offer him a good safety. Another importantadvantage of the castle is bringing the rook (with whom the castle is done) into play.

In this game we will see what happens if this principle is not obeyed, which means that the kingremains too much time in the center. Generally, when we start a king attack, we have to apply

the following principles:

1.The opening of the files and diagonals in order to increase the qualitative valueof the attackingpieces (by increasing their mobility);

2.Bringing more pieces into attack, in order to create a quantitative superiority;

3. Permanently creating of imminent threats, in order not to let the opponent to organize his

defense.4.Maintaining the opposite king in the center as much as possible

5.Using the fact that the opposite rooks do not take part into play.

We will see next and excellent example of attacking the king remained in the center, resulted in a

game from the Romanian Team Championship. It is interesting to be mentioned that the game

was published in a prestigious international publication, but due to an error, the winner wasmentioned as the loser, and the loser was mentioned to be the winner. As me and Vadim

Chernov were team mates and we were playing at adjacent tables, I can guarantee that he is the

real winner.

Chernov Vadim Cioara AndreiRomanian Team Championship, 1998

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5

The Caro-Kan opening system is considered to be one of the most solid systems for Black, even

if often it is just a short step between the solidity and passivity. The fact that, during the time,great champions like Capablanca, Botvinnik or Karpov included it in their opening repertoire, say

a lot about its viability.

3.Nc3

On of the trendy systems, through which White tries to obtain an advantage since the openingstage, is 3.e5 after which Black plays either 3...Bf5, or the pretentious move 3...c5 which leads to

a very complicated game.

3...g6

This is an opening system which combines the idea of the Caro-Kan Defense with those from

Pirc Defense. In Romania this system is very popular, probably also because it was used

regularly and with great success by Victor Ciocaltea, one of the greatest players in the Romanianchess history. This opening system is also known as Gurgenidze System, after the name of the

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Georgian player who used it with success in the 60s. Objectively speaking, the safest defendingsystem for Black is the classic one: 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4! to gain space on the

kingside 6...h6 7.h5 Bh7 8.Nf3 Nd7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Qc7 or 10...e6

4.e5

If White wants to avoid blocking the center and he prefers the open positions, then he can playthe variation 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 (against Bg4).

4...h5

A pawn move which may seem to be against the classical opening principles, but it has its logic.

The Blacks main rule is to use the f5- and g4- squares for the knight on g8 (Ng8-h6-f5) and thebishop on c8. Through the move 4h5, Black obtains the control over the g4-square, and the

position of the knight on f5 is strengthened because White cannot send away that knight with g2-

g4. An alternative is 4...Bg7 5.f4 h5 like in the game Fischer-Petrosian, USSR vs. Rest of World,Belgrad 1970. Playing 4h5 instead of 4Bg7, Black keeps the option to develop the f8-

bishop on e7, after he has realized his plan with Bg4 and Nh6-f5. From e7, the bishop is

able to sustain better the fight for the center with c5, but also the pawn advance h5-h4, usefulin some situations.

5.Nge2!?

A new, very interesting idea! White plans to play immediately Ne2-f4 and e5-e6 in order to

destroy the Blacks solid defense fortress.

5...Bg4

Black tries to obstruct Whites plan, or at least to force him to weaken his position. A possible

alternative is 5...Nh6 6.Nf4 Bf5, but now it follows a thematic sacrifice. The kamikazepawn issacrificed in order to destroy the opponents pawn structure. 7.e6! Bxe6 8.Nxe6 fxe6 9.Bd3 Nf5

10.Ne2 Kd7 11.Nf4 Qe8 12.Qe2 Qf7 13.c3=/and White gained compensation for the sacrificed

pawn. Petr-Nun, 2003

6.f3 Bd7 7.Nf4 e6

Black has parried the Whites threat e5-e6, but the price is high: delaying the development andblocking the light-squares bishop.

8.Be3

Having in mind the castle queenside, White develops first the bishop on that side.

8...Nh6 9.Bd3

In order to answer to the move Nf5 with Bxf5. In general, exchanging the bishop for theknight must not be done without justification, but in this case White has good reasons to take

such an exchange into consideration:

1. The knight on f5 would be the Blacks most active piece;2. The exchange on f5 would weaken the black pawn structure;

3.Black has bad bishop on d7, so leading the game to a knight vs. bad bishop position is a good

plan. For reaching such a position, White has to exchange the dark-squares bishops and his light-squares bishop for a knight.

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9...c5?!

In spite of the development disadvantage, Black provokes himself the opening of the position,

which is an unprincipled thing. As a rule, the side with development disadvantage has to avoid

opening the position and provoking the fight because it is very likely for him to fight inconditions of numerical inferiority. But here Black doesnt have too many options, because it is

hard for him to complete his development because the lack of space. Preferable would have been9...Nf5 even if Black would have exposed himself to the above mentioned exchange. After10.Bxf5 Black plays 10...exf5! with the idea Be6, Nd7, Qc7, 0-0-0 with solid position.

10.dxc5 Qc7?!

Attacking simultaneously the c5 and e5 pawn, Black gets back the temporary sacrificed pawn.However, this thing cost him other valuable tempi, in conditions in which he was anyway behind

with the development. Better was 10Nc6

11.Qd2 Qxe5

Black has recuperated the sacrificed pawn, but now the white rooks are able to use the central d-

and e- files in order to attack the opponents king. It is interesting that in this game White did notmake big efforts to open the game in the center, his opponent being the one who took care about

this aspect.

12.000!

Ignoring the Blacks threat (the double attack), White completes the development being preparedfor the decisive attack. Comparing the two armies, it is like one of them has all his weapons

straightened for the assault, while the opponents fighters are still sleeping.

12...d4?

Black falls directly into the trap! It should have been played 12...Nc6 with the idea 0-0-0. Even

so, Whites position is still preferable.

13.Bxd4 Qxd4

QUIZ

Find the best move for White

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14.Nxe6!!

A real thunderbolt! Now the black king is going to fall under the target of the white pieces.

14...Qb4

The knight on e6 cannot be taken because Black loses the queen: 14...fxe6 15.Bxg6+ +-; and to

14...Bxe6 follows: 15.Bb5+ +-

15.Nc7+ Kd8

QUIZ

Find the best way to continue the attack

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16.Bb5!

Sure, White can play also 16.Nxa8, but the move in the game is more esthetical and stronger at

the same time. The knight on c7 cannot be captured because of the double attack Nd5, so White

exploits this situation by creating a new threat by opening the d-file and attacking the bishop ond7.

16...Ng8

Black defends himself desperately, threatening to capture the queen with Bh6.

16...Nf5 17.Bxd7 Bh6 18.Bxf5+ Bxd2+ 19.Rxd2+ would have led to a variation similar to the

one in the game, but with a knight up for White.

17.Bxd7!

17.Kb1 was also possible, but the move in the game is spectacular and efficient at the same time.

17...Bh6 18.Bh3+ Bxd2+

QUIZ

Find the winning way if Black plays 18Nd7 insteadof the move in the game

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Answer: 19.Qxh6!! Nxh6 20.Rxd7+ Kc8 21.Rd4+! +-

19.Rxd2+ Kxc7

After 19...Ke7 Black also loses the queen because of the double attack with the knight on d5

20.Nd5+ Kc6 21.Nxb4+ Kxc5After an excellent lead attack, White is a pawn up and has a very active position. Blacks onlypiece which is not on its initial square is the king! But as such a game deserves a spectacular end,

White continued his attack.

QUIZ

Find the best continuation for White

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22.Rd5+! Kxb4

After 22...Kb6 it follows 23.Rd8! and de Rh1e1e8 and Black loses at least a piece

QUIZ

White moves and checkmates in 4 moves

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23.a3+?!Unfortunately, White misses the most elegant finalization of an excellent played game. The

easiest was 23.c3+! Kc4 (23...Ka4 24.b3+ Ka3 25.Ra5#) 24.Rhd1 Nc6 25.R1d3 followed by

mate next move.However, after 23.a3+ Black resigned. A possible end could have been 23...Ka4 (23...Kc4

24.Rhd1 Nc6 25.b3+ Kc3 26.R1d3#) 24.Re1 (or 24.Rd8followed by Rh1e1e8) 24...Nf6(24...b5 25.Re8! followed by Rd8) 25.b3+ Kxa3 26.Ra5+ Kb4 27.Ree5! and the black kingcannot escape from checkmate .

CONCLUSIONS

The above analyzed game shows clearly the danger to which a player is exposed (even anInternational Master like Andrei Cioara), when he neglects the opening principles by remaining

behind with the development and keeping the king in the center. White has exploited promptly

the Blacks careless play, using all the 5 fighting methods (indicated at the beginning of thelesson) when the opposite king remains in the center.

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