Thematic Obsession

On Thursday at youth chess camp, I taught a short session on the minority attack and another on hanging pawns. On Friday, I tried to initiate a minority attack when the position did not call for it. Later in this game, my opponent had hanging pawns. By this point in the game, I already had a clear advantage.

The game was played in Arena at chessdotcom. 10 minutes.

Stripes,J. (1796) -- Internet Opponent (1968) [E08]
Live Chess Chess.com, 08.08.2025

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 c6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Rd1 h6

A rare move

White to move

9.a3N

Perhaps I'm hoping to conduct a minority attack.

9.Nbd2 is natural and best  b6 10.e4 Bb7 11.e5 Nh7 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.h4  appeared in Nepomniachtchi,I (2779) -- Tabatabaei,M (2689) Julius Baer Play In Match Chess.com INT rapid 2023, which Black won in 93 moves.

9...Re8 10.cxd5?!

10.Nc3 dxc4 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.Ne4

10...exd5 11.b4

Hastily initiating a minority attack that lacks support of pieces

11...Nb6 12.Nbd2

White will have difficulty getting the light-squared bishop into play.

12...Bf8 13.e3

13.Ne5 may be better

13...Bg4

White to move

14.Nb3

14.Re1 is better. White's opening cannot be deemed a success, as Black seems to be the one making threats.

14...Nc4 15.Nc5 b6 16.Nd3 Qc7 17.Re1 Nd6

White to move

18.Nfe5

The wrong knight. 18.Nde5 is equal.

18...Bd7

18...Bf5 pins the other knight.

19.Bb2=

White missed an opportunity to gain a pawn. 19.Nxd7 Qxd7 20.Ne5 Qe6 21.Qxc6 Rec8 22.Qa4.

19...Nde4?

This error helps White to gain the advantage. 19...Bf5

20.Rac1 Rac8 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Ne5

22.f3 Nd6 23.e4 was better.

22...Qf5 

White to move

 23.Qe2

White missed an opportunity to take control.

23.f3!+- Nd6 24.Qxf5 Nxf5 25.Bh3 This pin is the key to the tactical sequence 25...g6 26.e4 Ne7 27.Bxc8 Rxc8 28.Re2

23...Ng5 24.h4 Ne6 25.Qf3?

25.Rxc6 Rxc6 26.Nxc6+-

25...Qxf3 26.Bxf3 Nd8

26...c5 27.dxc5 bxc5 28.b5 would keep some chances for equality.

White to move

27.b5!

Although the minority attack that I tried to force led only to handing Black equality or perhaps even a slight advantage, shackling my opponent with hanging pawns was a good decision. Even here, though, the routine 27.Rc2 was slightly stronger, according to the engine.

27...c5 28.dxc5 bxc5+-

Now Black has hanging pawns. These are not always a defect in the position, but here they present White with vulnerable targets without offering Black any dynamic counterplay.

White has superior minor pieces, as well as more space and mobility.

29.a4

It is not terrible to secure the majority, but there are much better opportunities on the board. For instance, 29.Nd3 Nb7 30.Bxf6 removes a defender, although giving up one of the "superior" minor pieces 30...gxf6 31.Bxd5 Na5 32.Bc4 Rcd8 33.Nf4

29...Bd6 30.Ng4

30.Nd3 

30... Nxg4 31.Bxg4 Rc7 32.Red1 Be5

White to move

33.Ba3! d4 34.exd4

34.Rxc5! Nb7 35.Rxc7 Bxc7 36.Rxd4+-

34...Bf6 35.dxc5 Nb7 36.c6

Black's position is resignable. See "Two Donner Quotes".

White to move

The game went on another 25 moves. I kept my advantage. 1-0

Bishop vs. Knight

This week is Inland Chess Academy's annual August Youth Chess Camp and I'm teaching three sessions each of the three days.

My first session on Tuesday covered a few situations where a bishop or knight was a poor piece, such as a bishop's ineptitude when it does not control the promotion square of an a- or h-pawn. We also looked at some games where a good minor piece was able to dominate its rival.

The first position was from a game I played on Lichess seven years ago. 

White to move

White knew that Black's h-pawn had no future and quickly reached a textbook draw with 53.Nf7 Ke4 54.Nxd6+ Bxd6 55.Kg1 Kxd5 and there were thirty moves of shuffling as Black tried to run White's remaining 48 seconds down to zero. It was futile. Black had less time and White knew how to hold the draw. The game was drawn by repetition after move 86.

Another somewhat more difficult position comes from a game that I annotated in "Excelling at Technical Chess" 14 years ago, a game that is memorable both because I played reasonably well and because it was my revenge after I lost to my opponent in 20 moves a few months earlier.

White to move

I had plenty of time, but perhaps was rushing things because my opponent was short of time.

56.Be2 traps the knight and I should have won quickly. Instead, 

56.g4?? Nf3 57.Kf4 Nd4 58.Kg3 Ne6 59.Bf5 Ng7 60.Bc8

Black to move

My opponent erred in this position, returning the advantage I had squandered earlier. Twenty moves later, he resigned.

What would you play if you had Black here?

Two Donner Quotes

On Friday, 16 May, someone shared on Facebook a quote by J. H. Donner concerning the difficulty of converting a winning position into a win. Donner's words were that he "cannot stand" such positions, while he "loves" all other types of chess positions, even "a bad position". The statement comes from an article, "On the Justice of Chess", that he wrote in 1950 and that was reprinted in The King: Chess Pieces (2006), 17-20.

The shared quote inspired me somewhat two days after I read it on Facebook. While going through a long and difficult game that I won, my opponent and I were examining a position that had occurred one-third of the way through the game. I was clearly worse. "You should have resigned," Mark said. My position was quite bleak. I was down an exchange plus pawn and my pieces had no play.

Black to move

Havrilla -- Stripes 2025

Perhaps it was about this time that I walked over to the wall charts to see Mark's rating. It was close to mine (ten points lower). We were both low-A Class. I've been A-Class long enough to know that anyone at such a level probably has defects in their game.

My position was clearly worse, but my opponent still had some work to perform. A resignable position in my view is one where I could turn the board around, take my opponent's side, and defeat Magnus Carlsen, or Stockfish, or Carlsen and Stockfish working together.

Donner's assertion, which I could no longer find where I'd remembered seeing it on Facebook, was made in the context of two games he played against Borislav Milic in a match between Yugoslavia and the Netherlands. Although Donner reached a clearly superior position in both games, he managed only half a point.

Black to move

Donner -- Milic 1950

In comments on the position above, he wrote, "Decent players resign in such a position. Black did not and managed a draw" (19).

Knowing that my opponent was quite strong, but not so strong that a few errors might led me swindle a draw from my nearly hopeless position, I opted to play on.

Twelve moves after the position that Mark and I were examining postgame when he thought that I should resign, I snatched an important pawn with 33…Nxa4.

White to move

Havrilla -- Stripes 2025

My game remained objectively worse, but at least my pieces had some play. While discussing the game afterwards with some others at the tournament, I described my knight as a fly buzzing in my opponent's face. I expressed some empathy for the difficulty of contending with such irritation.

The game continued, 34.Rc8 Bc5+ 35.Kg2 Rxc8 36.Bxc8 Nxc3 37.Rc1 Ne2 38.Rf1 b6

White to move

Havrilla -- Stripes 2025

I began to feel that a draw was a real possibility. After 39.Kf3 Nd4+ 40.Kg4 a4! I was certain that I could hold the game.

Neither of us played the best moves from this difficult position, but after another twenty moves, I was clearly winning. My opponent was also desperately short of time.

White to move

Havrilla -- Stripes 2025

Five moves later, my pawn was sitting a2, I had my queen near to hand, and my opponent's clock expired.

In Donner's first game with Milic, he spent an hour on this position.

Black to move

Milic -- Donner 1950

Stockfish 17 favors the move that he played, 22...Rg8, but he suggested several others as better, writing without the benefit of computer analysis in 1950. Nonetheless, his advantage began to slip away and the clock also had become an issue by the time Milic had a clear advantage.

This loss and the draw that followed led Donner to offer what became an inspirational quote for me after Mark's postgame comment.

I love all positions. Give me a difficult positional game, I'll play it. Give me a bad position, I'll defend it. Openings, endgames, complicated positions and dull, drawn positions, I love them all and will give them my best efforts. But totally winning positions I cannot stand. (19)

Later in the same paragraph is the statement that I used as an epigraph last week while annotating an ending where imperfect play on both sides gave me drawing chances that I missed, followed by my opponent missing his winning chances, and eventually the draw falling into my lap (see "Comedy of Errors"): "It is much better, in fact, to play an objectively less correct game but to be able to win once you've got a winning position" (19).

Comedy of Errors

It is much better, in fact, to play an objectively less correct game but to be able to win once you've got a winning position.
J.H. Donner, "On the Justice of Chess" (1950), rpt. The King: Chess Pieces (2006), 19.

White to move

White clearly has a winning advantage. After ten moves, the advantage is still there.

White to move

White struggled to find the correct plan to bring home the full point. The correct idea is to march the king to a7 in order to activate the rook. See a discussion of this idea in "Knowledge".

52.f4??=

52.Kg2 Ra2+ 53.Kf1 Kg6 54.Ke1+-

52...Ra2 53.Ra7 Kh6??

Black also seems to be confused about the demands of the position.

53...Kg6 was necessary.

54.f5+- Ra3 55.Ra8 Kh7 56.Ra7 Kh6 57.Ra8 Kh7 

White to move

58.a7??=

This move clarifies matters for Black. Moreover, the correct plan mentioned above is no longer an option. White's only hope is that Black will err.

58...Ra2 59.g4 Ra3+ 60.Kg2

Black to move

60...hxg4??

60...Ra2+ holds. White's king cannot both find refuge from checks and prevent Black from getting a passed pawn that becomes a queening threat. But, Black's haste to get a passed pawn here was a critical error.

To Black's credit, he now knew that his position was lost and what White should do to win. After nine more moves, the critical moment arrived.

White to move

70.f6??=

70.h6 would win. The f-pawn will deflect either the rook from it's critical spot behind the pawn, or the king from security against a skewer.

Although the draw is now assured, the game continued for another 20 moves. I was Black and played this game this morning online at ten minutes for the game.

The Sidebar

Chess Skills was started in 2007. At the time, most readers accessed the content on a regular computer. Now, more and more use mobile devices, which often deprives them of access to the sidebar. It contains much that is useful: a link to my self-published books, links to posts that are receiving traffic, an archive list, an index of topics, and links to other sites.

Particularly useful for some of my regular visitors are the links concerning scholastic chess in Washington state where I coach and work as an event organizer.

There is also a contact form for those who would like to email a personal communication to me.

Alas, many of the links, especially to blogs, are no longer active. This morning, I'm spending some time eliminating dead links and adding a few new ones. I'm keeping a few blogs on the list that are no longer active because they offer good content.

Seek the Truth

Many years ago I was going through a game played by two others at the Spokane Chess Club with the one who lost the game. We were looking for improvements in his play when his opponent stopped by, stating, "but, this is what happened in the game." That player who won that game never got his rating substantially above where it was then. The other player continued to improve. Both of them have far better records against me than anyone else rated 500 points lower, but that's another story.

Yesterday, at the Inland Empire Open, my second round opponent resigned at move 22. In the post game analysis, our task was to find his errors and improve upon them rather than celebrate my performance. Analyzing with Steve and other opponents is also one of the central pleasures of weekend chess tournaments.

In 2006, Steve and I tied for first in the Reserve (u1700) section of the Washington Challenger's Cup. It was my first significant success in a weekend Swiss (see "My Chess Journey"). Our game in that event had one of the longest chess moves ever played in one of my games--his 37 minutes and my 23 minutes. The last time we played, two years ago, the game was even until he made an endgame error (see "Bishop vs. Knight").

Stripes,James (1831) -- Brendemihl,Steve (1557) [A80]
Inland Empire Open Spokane (2), 17.05.2025

1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5 e6 4.e4 h6?!

4...fxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 is the normal continuation.

White to move

5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.Nf3

6.exf5 appears in several games.
6.e5 Qf7 7.h4 d6 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Bb5 Bd7 10.Qe2 0-0-0 11.0-0-0 and White won after a long struggle 1-0 Melkumyan,H (2640) -- Kamsky,G (2623) Titled Tuesday intern op 27th Feb Late Chess.com INT blitz 2024.

6...Bb4 7.exf5 Bxc3+

7...0-0 was worth considering 8.fxe6 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 d6 White is slightly better.

8.bxc3

Black to move

8...exf5N

I expected 8...Qxf5, which my database shows me was played in a short draw in 2015.

8...0-0 is probably best 9.fxe6 Qxe6+ 10.Qe2 Qf7 11.Ne5 Qf6 12.Qf3 (White should have played 12.Qc4+ d5 13.Qxd5+ Be6 14.Qxe6+ Qxe6 15.Bc4) 12...d6 13.Bc4+ Be6 14.Qxf6 Rxf6 15.d5 Bf5 16.Nd3 Nd7 and Black won in 76 moves 0-1 Naegeli,O -- Diemer,E SUI-ch 57th Thun 1956.

9.Bc4 d6 10.0-0

White has a comfortable game

10...Nc6

10...Kf8 is a computer recommendation. 11.Re1 g5 12.Re3 f4 13.Re2

11.Re1+ Ne7

11...Kf8

12.Qe2

12.Qd3 might be better 12...g5 13.Re2 Rh7 (13...g4 14.Rae1 gxf3 15.Rxe7+ Qxe7 16.Rxe7+ Kxe7 17.Qe3+ Kd8 18.Qxf3+-) 14.h3 g4 15.hxg4 Rg7 16.Rae1 and White is slightly better.

12...Kd8

12...g5 and I might have played 13.d5 to open d4 for my knight.

White to move

13.Rad1!+/=

A move that the computer likes better after seeing it played.

13...Re8 14.Ne5

Hope chess: take my knight, please. 14.Bb3 is probably better.

14...d5

14...c6 15.Bf7 (15.Nf7+? Kc7) 15...Rf8 16.Bh5 Kc7 and Stockfish wants to sacrifice the knight
14...-- I had this fantasy 15.Nf7+ Kd7 16.Be6+ Kc6 17.Qc4+ Kb6 18.Rb1+ Ka5 19.Qb5#

15.Bb3

Before placing my knight on e5, I thought I could play 15.Bxd5 Nxd5 16.Nc6+ but after my opponent's move. I saw that 16...Qxc6 protects the rook.

Black to move

15...c6

It was difficult to find an improvement for Black at this point in the game. White's advantage is clear and the moves come easy.

15...a5 16.a3

16.c4+- Be6

16...dxc4 17.Bxc4 Kc7 18.d5+-

17.cxd5 Nxd5 18.Qd2

I almost played 18.c4?? Nc3 19.Qd2 Nxd1 20.Bxd1 and White may have compensation for the material wantonly thrown away.

18.Bxd5 Bxd5 19.c4 Bf7 20.d5+-

18...Kc7 19.c4

Black to move

19...Ne7

We looked at 19...Nb6 20.Qa5 Kc8 21.c5 Bxb3 22.axb3 Nd5 and White does not seem to have much of an attack, even though Black's positional difficulties remain.

20.d5 Red8

20...Rad8 21.Qa5+ Kb8 22.dxe6+-
20...cxd5 21.cxd5 Bxd5 22.Bxd5 Rad8 23.Qc1+ Kb8 24.Bf7+-

21.d6+ Kb8

We looked at 21...Kc8 22.dxe7 Qxe7 23.Qxd8+ (23.Ng6 is better) 23...Qxd8 24.Rxd8+ Kxd8 25.Nxc6+ White is a piece to the good.

White to move

22.dxe7!

It's nice to be able to play such a move. Black resigned.

22.dxe7 Rxd2 (22...Re8 23.Qd6+ Kc8 24.Nxc6; 22...Qxe7 23.Qxd8+ Qxd8 24.Rxd8+ Bc8 25.c5) 23.e8Q+ Kc7 (23...Rd8 24.Rxd8+ Kc7 25.Rxa8) 24.Qxa8

1-0

Two Endings from Informant

Yesterday, I put one of my stronger students through five endings from Chess Informant 163. They proved challenging. This morning, I had three candidate moves for number six. I rejected the move played in the game, but chose the wrong one of the other two.

White to move and win

From Putnam,L.--Kaliksteyn,A., New York 2025

After some discussion concerning efforts that did not work, I found how Anton Korobov drew against Bogdan Deac.

Black to move

 How would you play these two endings?

Some Problems in the French

This position has arisen perhaps a dozen times in master play.

Black to move

The most recent instance of this position was in Lu,M.--Svane,F., Wijk aan Zee 2025. Svane played 10...dxc4. In ChessBase Mega 2024, Black has played this move seven times, limiting White's score to 42.9%.

10...c6 is more common and was suggested as better by Milos Perunovic in Chess Informant 163/104.

10...Bf4 appears four times in CB Mega, including in a blitz game, Topalov,V.--Nepomniachtchi,I., Zagreb 2022, which was drawn in 70 moves. In none of these games did White play 11.cxd5, which Stockfish 17 recommends.

This position appears in 35 games in ChessBase Mega 2024.

Black to move

The most popular replies have been:

a) 10...Bd7
b) 10...Qb6
c) 10...O-O

Black has not done well with Stockfish's top choice.

This position occurs with some frequency.

Black to move

Black has two ways to capture the pawn on c5, or the capture can be postponed. What are the merits of each of the main options?

a) 9...Bxc5
b) 9...Nxc5
c) 9...Qa5

Bonus Positions

What would you play?

Black to move

From Gukesh,D.--Harikrishna,P., Wijk aan Zee 2025, CI 163/105

Black to move

From Tabatabaei,M.--Mamedyarov,S., Deutschland 2025, CI 163/108