"During a chess competition a chessmaster should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk."-- Alexander ALEKHINE
Chess is a tense game. This tension may make you want to believe things that aren't really true, and comfort yourself with things that mean you don't have to think too hard any more. Not a bit of it....Kasparov - Karpov, Linares, 1994
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Ng5 e6
7. Qe2 Nb6 8. Bb3 h6 9. N5f3 a5 10. c3 c5 11. a3 Qc7 12. Ne5 cxd4 13. cxd4
13... a4[13... Bxa3]
14. Bc2 Bd7 15. Nxd7 Nbxd7 16. Qd1 Bd6 17. Ne2 Nd5 ...drawn
I wouldn't like to say there's anything wrong with the analytical abilities of either player - what we have here, apart from possibly some nerves, is an error of judgement. My guess is, it's a quiet position in a solid opening, and neither player bothered to look hard enough.
I have a whole book full of these types of disaster, when one player just turned the alarm off. You should be on guard all the time, with the alarm dial turned up to 11!Petrosian-Korchnoi, 1963
Black has a hopeless, passive position, just as he has had
for the last umpteen moves. Petrosian just went
1. Rxh6which was met by
1...f3!
Hoping for 2. Kxf3 Kg7 discovered check, winning the rook.
2. Kg5 Ke8 White resigns, unable to catch the f-pawn.
Afterwards, Petrosian explained that a move like ...f3 just didn't fit with "Black's hopeless position". But where there's life, there's hope!
"For a long time I had regarded my position as a winning one. Thus the whole opening phase of the struggle, when Korchnoi was unable to get out of trouble, had psychologically attuned me to the idea that the ending would be favourable to me ... and here comes the oversight 35 Rxh6?? I did not even see the threat ...f4-f3, possibly because it was in contrast to Black's hopeless position. Personally, I am of the view that if a strong master does not see such a threat at once he will not notice it, even if he analyses the position for twenty or thirty minutes." - PETROSIAN.
Please note that Petrosian was also thinking less than objectively about the game, and thinking only about his plans. Your opponent also has a right to exist...
When playing stronger players, don't stick to the script! Make a nuisance of yourself. Don't make concessions. Good players drop games to lesser lights every year - make sure it's you that they drop them to. Many players when pitted against a stronger opponent try and swap everything off and get a draw in the endgame. They then get a worse game, and are ground steadily down by their opponent's superior technique who is pleased to get a win without danger of losing. Every exchange made is going to be better for one side or the other, and every passive move makes your position less promising. The best way to get a draw is to play as well and actively as possible, just the same as if you were trying to win!
If your opponent is trying to win a level position, don't get impatient and rush, and don't get bored and go on the defensive, don't be tempted into exchanges that give a little ground. Stay calm. Give the impression of great patience, that you aren't going to blunder no matter how long they spin it out. And keep trying to play good and active moves, even if you think it's only a draw.
This document (middle.html) was last modified on 21 Nov 1996 by
Dr. Dave