Key Elements of

Chess Strategy
By

Georgy Lisitsin

Quality Chess
www.qualitychess.co.uk
Key to Symbols used
Contents 4
Publisher’s Foreword 5

Preface to the Russian 2nd Edition 7

Advice to Readers 9

Chapter 1 – The Foundations of Strategy 11

The King’s Position 12
The Queen’s Position 25
The Rook’s Position 31
The Bishop’s Position 35
The Knight’s Position 41
Position of the Pawns 45
Arrangement of the Pieces and Pawns – Absolute and Relative Strength of the Pieces 54
Mobilizing Pieces and Establishing Pawns in the Centre 60
Improving the Placing of the Pieces – Driving the Opponent’s Pieces Back 62
Exchanging 66
Fortifying our Position – Weakening our Opponent’s Position 69
Restricting the Opponent’s Counterplay 71
Evaluation of the Position 75
Chess Theory is not Dogma 81

Chapter 2 – Realizing an Advantage – Devising a Strategic Plan 85

Realizing an Advantage in the Endgame 86
Bad Bishops and Weak Squares 107
Wing Blockade 109
Pins as Part of a Strategic Plan 111
Piece out of Play 113
Seizure of the Penultimate Rank 115
Open File 118
Undermining and Breaking Through 122
Pawn Chain and Game Plan 130
Blockade of a Pawn and Chain 135
Keeping the Initiative – Defending Difficult Positions 137
Creating Complications – Double-Edged Positions 142
Opening Repertoire – Strategic Plan in the Opening 147

Chapter 3 – Exercises 149

Appendix – Publisher’s End Article by John Shaw 187

Name Index 202
 Key to Symbols used
? a weak move
?? a blunder
! a good move
!! an excellent move
!? a move worth considering
?! a dubious move
† check
# mate
 Publisher’s Foreword
Quality Chess have produced a number of books in our Classics series over the years. The list
of these famous titles makes for impressive reading, among them My System and Chess Praxis
by Aron Nimzowitsch; Questions of Modern Chess Theory by Isaac Lipnitsky; Soviet Middlegame
Technique by Peter Romanovsky; and The Soviet Chess Primer by Ilya Maizelis. This book by
Georgy Lisitsin, Key Elements of Chess Strategy, together with its sister book, Key Elements of Chess
Tactics, stands proudly within that company as an addition to the series.

These books were originally written in 1952 as one large volume, Strategy and Tactics of the Art
of Chess. The wait for an English translation has been a long one but it is finally over. Due to its
length and the clear division of the chapters between tactics and strategy, the decision was taken
by Quality Chess to publish the English edition in two volumes. Each book can be read separately
from the other, but we would of course like you to buy both volumes.

Georgy Lisitsin was a strong international master from Leningrad who lived from 1909 to 1972.
His books had a strong influence on countless Soviet players. In particular, these two books were
a successful attempt to classify the underlying elements of tactics and strategy, each element
being illustrated with a number of apt examples. The examples both educate and entertain, and
one feature of the work is that a number of interesting endgame studies are used as illustrations,
in addition to examples from practical play. Some of the examples are famous and may well be
familiar to you, in which case, we hope you enjoy seeing them again – and if they are new to you,
you are in for a particular treat! But there are also numerous examples from some lesser-known
games, particularly those played in the Soviet Union up to the early 1950s, which should be new
to nearly all.

Another feature of the work is that, whilst it of course can be read and enjoyed as an instruction
manual, it can also be used as a puzzle book to aid its pedagogical value. This is facilitated by the
question in italics under each diagram, with the answer then being given in the narrative below.

As with previous Soviet classics, John Sugden performed an admirable translation into English,
followed by the work of the team at Quality Chess.

Clearly with the passage of time and in particular the advent of modern engines, analytical
mistakes can be found in older texts such as this one. We have no intention of ruining the flow
of the text by pointing out every instance where Stockfish finds an improvement. On the other
hand, if we left the original work completely unaltered, we would be doing an injustice to our
readers. For example, some of you may wish to try solving the positions before checking your
6 Key Elements of Chess Strategy

answer against the solution given. Well, good luck with solving a “White/Black to play and win”
position when no winning continuation exists...

When you see a short Editor’s note in the text, it’s Quality Chess pointing out a brief correction.
We hope you will agree that it’s worth the minor disruption in the text to point out a significant
error, omission or alternative solution. If you are attempting to solve the exercises, you will find
these notes invaluable. Even if you are just reading the book for pleasure, you might still find it
interesting to observe the kind of hidden resources that Lisitsin, as well as some World Champions
and other great players, overlooked. (The Editor’s notes inserted by Quality Chess are not to be
confused with those marked as Editor’s note to the Russian second edition.)

Some of the more complicated examples featured multiple corrections and generally more detailed
explanations. There were fifteen such cases, each marked with a numbered note in superscript
(Note 1, Note 2 etc. up to Note 15). These are discussed in the Appendix, beginning on page 187.

On a personal note, I feel it is a shame that no English translation of the work was available in the
1970s when I was developing as a player in my teenage years. It would have been of great benefit
to me then. Equally, we hope that the reader will now be able to benefit from the book finally
being available in English, learning from a classic of the Soviet chess school.

Jeremy Hart
November 2023
 Chapter 2 – Realizing an Advantage – Devising a Strategic Plan 119

Lilienthal – Aronin Smyslov – Botvinnik

Moscow 1948 Moscow 1948
 
Ç    Ç   
Æ  Æ  
Å     Å   
Ä    Ä   
à   à   
Â   Â 
Á    Á  
À    À  
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
White to play and win Black to play and win

Lilienthal won elegantly from this position. This game exemplifies the great value of taking
With the aid of a pawn sacrifice, he broke control of an open file. The tripled major pieces
through on the c-file: 1.c5! £xc5 1...¥xc5 is on the e-file, not to mention the splendidly
wholly bad on account of 2.¦xb7. 2.¦c1 £a5 placed bishops, guarantee Black a fairly simple
So the first part of the task is solved and White win: 1...¦e1! The first result of possessing the
now needs to invade the eighth rank, but the open file. 2.bxc4 ¥xc4 Maintaining the threat
black rook is a hindrance to this; how is it to of ...¥xg1. 3.¥f1 ¦xd1 4.£xd1 ¦d8 Black
be diverted? 3.¥xf6! ¦xf6 By means of an now wins the exchange and the game. 4...£e1
exchange, the aim is achieved. We should note would also have led to a win. 5.£c2 ¥d5
that Black could not play 3...gxf6, on account White resigned five moves later.
of 4.¦c8† ¦d8 5.£h5! £xd5 6.exd5 ¦xc8
7.£g4† and 8.£xc8. 4.¦c8† ¥d8 5.£c3!
Deflection. 5...£b6 6.£b2! £d6 If 6...£a5,
then 7.£b5!. 7.f4! exf4 8.e5 £d7 9.£xb7
£e8 10.£b8 ¦d6 11.£xd6 ¥b6† 12.£xb6
£xc8 13.e6! g5 14.e7 ¢g7 15.¥c6 Black
resigned.

Seizure of an open file usually requires

preparation, which most often amounts to
doubling or tripling major pieces behind the
cover of a minor piece, so as to avoid exchanges.
120 Key Elements of Chess Strategy

Keres – Botvinnik Rossolimo – Wood

Moscow 1947 Southsea 1949
 
Ç    Ç   
Æ   Æ  
Å   Å   
Ä   Ä 
à     Ã
Â     Â  
Á    Á    
À    À    
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
Black to play White to play and win

In this position, the black rooks have carried If our possession of the open file doesn’t yet
out the essential preparatory work. Botvinnik enable us to break through to the last or
now proceeds to the decisive operations: penultimate rank, a solution to the problem
1...¥b5! 2.¦fe1 ¢g8 At the same time he must be sought in some diversionary activities
improves the placing of his pieces. 3.f3 3.¥f1 in a different sector of the front. For example,
would be met by 3...¥xf1 4.¢xf1 ¤e4! 5.¤a2 here White has built up in the c-file with his
¦c2. 3...¥c4 4.¥f1 ¤e8 5.¥xc4 ¦xc4 6.¢f2 major pieces, but cannot directly utilize this
¤d6 7.¢e2 b5 Making use of the fact that factor. There is nonetheless a way to win: 1.f4!
White’s knight is tied to c3, Black strengthens The decisive breakthrough. If now 1...gxf4,
his position significantly. The ...b5-b4 break then 2.g5! fxg5 3.£h3†. 1...¦ba7 2.£h3 £d8
that he has in mind is closely linked to the 3.fxg5 fxg5 4.¦c1 £e7 5.£c3 £d8 6.¦f1
fight for the open c-file and leads to the win ¢e7 7.¦f5 ¦d7 8.£xe5†! Black resigned in
of a pawn. 8.¢d3 b4! 9.¤a2 There was no view of 8...dxe5 9.¦e6#.
improvement in 9.axb4 ¦xb4 10.¦b1 ¦cb8
11.¢c2 ¤c4 winning a pawn, or in 9.¤e2
¦xc1 10.¦xc1 ¦xc1 11.¤xc1 bxa3 12.bxa3
¤c4 13.a4 ¤b2†. Botvinnik’s suggestion of
9.¤e2 ¦xc1 10.¤xc1! bxa3 11.bxa3 ¦b8!
merits attention, and would have been White’s
best option. 9...bxa3 10.bxa3 ¦a4 11.¦xc8†
¤xc8 12.¤c3 ¦xa3 13.¢c2 ¤d6 14.¦b1
¢f7 As the result of the well-planned combat,
Black has won a pawn. He subsequently
conducted his advantage to victory.
 Chapter 2 – Realizing an Advantage – Devising a Strategic Plan 121

Botvinnik – Boleslavsky the advantage he has gained: 9.¤xg5 hxg5

10.£xa6 ¤e7 11.£b7 ¦e8 12.£d7 ¢f8
Moscow 1945
13.£d6 £xb4 14.¤g4! ¦a8
 Botvinnik continued with 15.£xe5, which
Ç    allowed Boleslavsky to resist for another 10
moves. Instead 15.¤xe5! leads straight to the
Æ  goal: 15...£xe4 16.£f6 £f5 17.¤d7† and
Å  White wins.

Ä     Thomas – Alekhine
à    Baden-Baden 1925
Â    
Á Ç  
À    Æ 
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ Å  
Ä   
White to play

The finish of this game is interesting. The à   

white rooks have taken up a conspicuously
active position in the open d-file. This is all Â  
Botvinnik needs in order to take the file into Á
his control. The game continued with 1.b4!.
Of course, there is more to White’s plan than
À  
domination of an open file. The chief aim of ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
any activities in open files is to break through Black to play
to one of the last two ranks. White therefore
prepares to drive back the black knight which If there are no open files at present, the
at the moment is securely guarding the exchange or removal of pawns creates them.
d7-point. There followed: 1...¥e6 2.¥b3 Sometimes a player forces the opening of a file
¦xd2 This exchange will be forced in any case by placing his knight in a powerful position.
after ¦d2-d3 and £e2-d2, for example 2...¥f6 This game continued with 1...¤d4!. Here the
3.¦d3 ¦xd3 4.£xd3 ¦d8 5.£xd8† £xd8 knight is occupying a superlative post, exerting
6.¦xd8† ¥xd8, and Black loses his pawn on e5. uncomfortable pressure on White’s game.
Now the second phase of White’s plan begins, Should the knight be exchanged, Black will
aimed at invading the seventh rank. 3.£xd2 recapture with his pawn, and the open c-file
¥xb3 4.axb3 £e6 5.c4 ¥f6 6.c5! ¤c8 The will be a good thoroughfare for the actions of
counterblow 6...¦d8 would give White more his major pieces. For the moment White can’t
than enough compensation for the queen after exchange knights on account of 2...£xg2#,
7.£xd8† ¥xd8 8.¦xd8† ¢g7 9.cxb6. 7.£d7! but he will be compelled to do so shortly.
£xb3 8.£xb7 ¥g5 There followed: 2.¤e3 £c6 3.¥d1 ¤d5!
From here on, the struggle enters its 4.¤xd4 cxd4 5.¤xd5 £xd5 6.¥f3 £d7
concluding phase in which White exploits 7.¥xb7 £xb7 8.c4 White’s wish to rid
122 Key Elements of Chess Strategy

himself of the backward pawn on c2 is natural. These strategic concepts go by the names of
8...dxc3! 9.bxc3 As a result Black has obtained breaking through and undermining. Quite
a marked positional advantage, since the often they complement each other.
hanging pawns on the third rank are very
weak. The rest of the game is a model of how The aim of a breakthrough is to open lines in
to turn an advantage into a win: 9...¦ac8 order to seize control of them afterwards, or to
10.¥b2 ¦fd8 11.¦f3 ¥f6 To free the queen obtain a preponderance of pawns in one section
from the duty of guarding the e7-pawn. of the board. The aim of an undermining action
12.d4 £d5 13.£e3 £b5! Black’s plan is to is a weakening of the pawn chain or some
exploit the weakness of the white pawns. To particular points in the opponent’s position.
this end he needs to transfer his rooks to the Cases of breaking through and undermining
a-file after a preliminary exchange of queens. are encountered in all phases of the game. In
14.£d2 ¦d5 15.h3 e6 16.¦e1 £a4 17.¦a1 some cases the breakthrough can be achieved
b5 18.£d1 ¦c4 19.£b3 ¦d6 20.¢h2 ¦a6 by tactical means – see the section about
21.¦ff1 ¥e7 22.¢h1 ¦4c6 23.¦fe1 ¥h4! To Exchanges and Positional Combinations on
drive the rook from the e-file. If now 24.¦e2, page 158 of Key Elements of Chess Tactics.
then 24...£xb3 25.axb3 ¦xa1† 26.¥xa1 ¦a6
27.¥b2 ¦a2, which clearly favours Black. Kotov – Goldberg
24.¦f1 £c4 In this way Black finally forces Moscow 1949
the queen exchange, for otherwise 25...¦a4
and 26...¦ca6 will follow. 
The remaining moves were: 25.£xc4 ¦xc4 Ç  
26.a3 ¥e7 27.¦fb1 ¥d6! 28.g3 ¢f8 29.¢g2
¢e7 30.¢f2 ¢d7 31.¢e2 ¢c6 32.¦a2 ¦ca4
Æ  
33.¦ba1 ¢d5 34.¢d3 ¦6a5 35.¥c1 a6 Å   
36.¥b2 h5! 37.h4 f6 38.¥c1 e5 39.fxe5 fxe5
40.¥b2 exd4 41.cxb4 b4! After a few more
Ä 
moves White resigned. Ã    
Undermining and Breaking Through
Â   
Á  
In many games the opening stage culminates À   
in a position of a closed nature. Long chains of
pawns, a lack of open lines for the rooks and ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
bishops, or, finally, powerful fortresses (such as White to play
the well-known Stonewall opening formation) Kotov executed a central breakthrough that
hold up the development of warlike operations. may be called typical, since in the Dutch
Defence it is frequently seen: 1.e4! dxe4? This
The thought occurs to both opponents: can’t plays into White’s hands, as the opening of
I somehow weaken these pawn chains and lines is what he is dreaming of. 1...¦ce8 was
fortresses? Can’t I open some lines and take somewhat better, but Black was evidently
control of them or of some particular key afraid of 2.g4!. 2.fxe4 f4 3.¥h3! Black had
points, by means of pawn exchanges or even underrated the strength of this fine move.
sacrifices? Now 3...g4 fails to 4.¥xf4!. 3...¦ce8 4.¦f2
 Chapter 2 – Realizing an Advantage – Devising a Strategic Plan 123

Threatening to win the f4-pawn with 5.¦ef1. Kopaev – Kunin

4...g4 5.¥f1! fxg3 If 5...f3 then 6.¥xh6.
Odessa 1949
6.¦xf7, and White won.

Keres – Smyslov Ç   
Leningrad 1947 Æ   
 Å 
Ç   Ä   
Æ   Ã 
Å    Â   
Ä     Á    
Ã    À    
Â    ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
Á   White to play
À   Kopaev skilfully realized his advantage from
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ this position. His pieces have occupied
White to play dominating posts, but how is he to make use
of this? The further course of the game answers
Also in Keres – Smyslov, White broke through our question: 1.g5! A splendid breakthrough!
in the centre: 1.d4! exd4 White was threatening Now:
2.d5 and 3.d6. 2.exd4 ¦c8 3.dxc5! b5 4.¤c3 a) 1...hxg5 is met by 2.¦h3 ¦e7 3.¦h8 ¦e8
f5 5.¦c2! ¥xh4 6.¦d2! ¦f7 7.gxh4 ¤e6 4.¤d6†.
8.¤xb5 ¤xc5 9.¤d6 ¦e7 10.¤xc8, and b) If 1...fxg5 then 2.¤xe5.
Black resigned three moves later. c) On 1...¢b8 White plays 2.gxh6 gxh6
3.¤d6! ¥xd6 4.cxd6 ¢c8 5.¦h3 ¤b5 6.¦xh6
¤xd6 7.¦h8†.
d) In the game, there followed: 1...¤b5
2.¤d6† ¤xd6 3.gxh6! ¤f7 4.¦xd7 ¢xd7
5.hxg7 ¥xg7 6.gxf7 ¥f8 7.¢b7 ¥h6, and all
White needs to do to win this position is to
transfer his bishop along the route ¥b6-a5-e1-
h4 or ¥b6-c7-d6. Black resigned after another
three moves.
124 Key Elements of Chess Strategy

Ilivitsky – Panov Abramov – Lisitsin

Moscow 1948 Leningrad 1950
 
Ç   Ç  
Æ    Æ 
Å  Å
Ä   Ä    
à     à   
Â    Â   
Á   Á 
À   À   
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
Black to play Black to play

A well prepared and executed break with a

Sometimes the breakthrough helps the player
backward pawn can give the opponent a great
to free himself from a cramped position. This
deal of trouble. This game continued with:
is what happened for instance in Ilivitsky –
1...c5! White now has difficulty defending,
Panov: 1...e5! A dramatic breakthrough, as
as the black knight will land on d4. 2.dxc5
a result of which Black obtains a fully viable
dxc5 3.h5? White continues to advance on the
game. 2.£d2 Taking the pawn with 2.dxe5
kingside out of inertia, without taking account
or 2.fxe5 is not in White’s favour, since with
of what has happened in the last two moves.
2...£xc5 or 2...£xg5 Black would already be
After 3.¤d2 ¤d4 4.£b1!, with ¦d1-c1 and
able to prepare an attack. 2...exd4 3.exd4
¤d2-c4 to follow, he would retain chances
£c7 Preparing to exchange rooks on the
of successful resistance. 3...¤d4! 4.£c1?
b-file. 4.¤e2 ¤e6 5.¢g2 ¦e8 The immediate
4.¥xd4, getting rid of the menacing knight
5...¥d7 and 6...¦b8 would be better. 6.h4
at once, would be better. 4...¥g4 5.hxg6
¥d7 7.¢f3 ¦b8 8.¦b4 ¦xb4 9.£xb4 ¥c8
hxg6 6.¥xd4 cxd4 7.£h6? ¥f8! It now turns
10.£d2 ¢f7, and a draw was agreed.
out that the pawn can’t be taken owing to a
combination based on a discovered attack, for
example 8.£xg6† ¦g7 9.£h6 ¥xf3 10.gxf3
¦xg3†! and 11...¥xh6 – so the queen is forced
to retreat. 8.£d2 £b6 Threatening to win the
exchange by ...¥f8-b4. 9.a3 £b3
White now decided to give up a pawn to
create counterplay, seeing that the variation
10.£e2 ¦b7 11.¦b1 (11.¦d2 ¥h6! is still
worse) 11...¥xf3 12.gxf3 (or 12.£xf3 £xf3
13.gxf3 ¦b3 14.¢g2 ¥h6) 12...¥h6 wouldn’t
leave him with many saving chances.
 Chapter 2 – Realizing an Advantage – Devising a Strategic Plan 125

That would nevertheless have been better passed pawn by way of compensation for
than what happened in the game: 10.¦c1 Black’s two sweeping bishops.
¥xf3 11.gxf3 £xf3 12.¦c6 ¢h7 13.£a5 The line chosen by Petrosian was less
¥h6! 14.£d5 ¦af8 Black fortifies all the good: 2.¤xd5 ¥xd5 3.exd5 ¦xc2 Black has
undefended points, so as not to give his renounced the advantage of the bishop pair
opponent any counter-chances. 15.£e6 d3 but penetrated to the second rank. 4.b3 e4!
16.¦d6 d2 17.¦a1 ¥f4! Black wants to drive This pawn is destined to play the decisive role!
the white knight back into a worse position. 5.g4 Black was threatening to win the white
At this point White could have played for a bishop with his next move. 5...e3 6.¦g2
trap: 18.£h3† ¢g7?? 19.¤f5†!, and the black ¦d2 Black’s aim is to cut off and destroy the
queen perishes. This variation shows that care d5-pawn. To crown his woes, White is forced
must be taken even in a won position. The to exchange rooks, and Black’s passed pawn on
correct reply to 18.£h3† is of course 18...¢g8, e3 advances to d2.
threatening ...¦f7-c7-c1 to which White has The rest of the game is a fine example of
no defence. the technical exploitation of an advantage:
The concluding moves were: 18.¤f1 ¢g7! 7.¦xd2 exd2 Owing to the opposite bishops,
19.¦d7 The only defence against 19...¦h8. winning for Black isn’t so simple. To achieve
19...¦xd7 20.£xd7† ¦f7 21.£a4 £g4† victory he must bring his king to the centre
22.¢h1 ¦f8 White resigned. and then, utilizing the threat to queen his
d-pawn, clamp down on the actions of White’s
Petrosian – Smyslov pieces. 8.¥d1 8.¥f3? is useless on account of
Moscow 1949 8...¦xd5. 8...¦xd5 9.¢g1 ¢f8 10.¢f1 ¥g5


11.a4 h5! The black pawn heads for h4 to
limit the mobility of the white rook. Black’s
Ç   answer to 12.h4 is not 12...¥xh4 13.¦h2, but
Æ   12...¥d8!, winning another pawn. 12.h3 h4
13.axb5 axb5 14.¦f2 If 14.¦e2, preventing
Å    ...¢f8-e7-f6, then 14...¦d3!, and the white
Ä   rook is forced to go to h2. 14...¢e7 15.¦f3
¢f6 16.¦c3 ¥f4! 17.¢e2 ¢g5 18.¦f3 b4
à    Cramping the white pieces even further. Black’s
Â     king must now endeavour to join his passed

Á 
pawn, while White can undertake nothing
constructive. 19.¢f1 Against 19.¦d3 Smyslov
À   intended 19...¦e5† 20.¢f2 ¦e1 21.¥e2 ¦h1,
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ after which White cannot avoid succumbing
to zugzwang. 19...¦e5 20.¥e2 ¥e3! Cutting
Black to play
the white rook off, Black prepares for his king’s
An analogous break with a backward pawn conclusive march. 21.¥d1 ¢f6 22.¥e2 ¦e4
was carried out by Smyslov in his game with White resigned.
Petrosian: 1...d5! Black wants to open lines
to create scope for all his pieces. In Smyslov’s The undermining of a pawn chain is achieved
opinion White should now have played 2.exd5 through pawn advances. Black twice relied on
e4! 3.¤xe4 ¥xb2 4.¥f3 ¥xa3 5.¦d3, with a the device of undermining in the next example.
126 Key Elements of Chess Strategy

Smyslov – Botvinnik However, by means of the undermining move

1...g5!, Botvinnik gained a draw with no
The Hague 1948
trouble: 2.¢f3 ¦f8 3.¦e4 ¤f6! Aiming to
 repeat moves. 4.¦e2 ¤d5 5.¦e4 ¤f6 6.¦e2
Ç   Not 6.¦c4, in view of 6...¤d5 7.¤d3 ¦e3†
8.¢f2 ¥xb2. 6...¤d5, and a draw was agreed.
Æ 
Å  Lisitsin – Capablanca
Ä    Moscow 1935

à    
Â  Ç  
Á  Æ 
À    Å  
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ Ä    
Explain the aim of ...f6-f5 Ã 
Black’s last move was ...f6-f5. In this way the Â  
square d5 becomes available to the knight Á   
À   
on b6. There followed 1.¤c5 fxe4 2.£xe4
¤xc5 3.dxc5 ¤d5 4.¦e1 ¦ce8, and Black
had accomplished the strategic task he had set ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
himself. White to play
Later Smyslov succeeded in winning a pawn:
In Lisitsin – Capablanca, White succeeded in
Smyslov – Botvinnik weakening his opponent’s queenside pawns by
The Hague 1948 an undermining action: 1.a5! £c7 2.a6! ¦c8
3.axb7 £xb7 4.¦a1 ¦c7 5.¦dc1 ¦b8 6.£c2!
 Threatening to win the exchange by means of
Ç   7.f3 and 8.¤c5. 6...£с8 White has achieved a
Æ   won position. At this point, instead of 7.¦a5?
as occurred in the game, 7.¤e5! would have
Å   been immediately decisive. For example,
Ä    7...¤f6 8.¤xc6 ¢h8 (otherwise 9.¤e7†
follows) 9.¦xa7 ¦xa7 10.¤xa7; or 7...¤d6
à     8.¤xc6 ¢h8 (if 8...¢f8, then 9.£c5) 9.¦xa7
Â    ¦xa7 10.¤xa7 £xc2 11.¦xc2 ¦xb4 12.¦c6,

Á    
winning a piece.

À    
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
Black to play and draw
 Chapter 2 – Realizing an Advantage – Devising a Strategic Plan 127

Euwe – Noteboom In his game with Yudovich, Estrin played

excellently: 1.f5! exf5 2.¤f4 ¥e6 3.¤hg6
Amsterdam 1931
White’s aim is achieved – the pawn on d5
 is weakened and will soon fall. 3...£d7 Or
Ç  3...¤xg6 4.¦xg6 ¦c6 5.¤xe6 ¦xe6 6.£xd5.
4.¤xf8 ¢xf8 5.¤xe6† £xe6 6.¦g6 £e7
Æ  7.e6 ¦f6 8.£xd5 As a result, White gained an
Å    advantage sufficient for victory.

Ä     Quite often an undermining action and a

à    breakthrough complement each other. Let us
Â   look at the game Averbakh – Ravinsky.

Á   Averbakh – Ravinsky

À    Moscow 1950
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ 
White to move
Ç
The next example illustrates the undermining Æ 
of a black pawn on the diagonal of White’s
bishop: 1.b4! ¤e6 1...e4 can be met by
Å   
either 2.bxc5 exf3 3.exf3 or 2.¥g2 ¤a6 3.a3, Ä   
since the e4-pawn is bound to fall sooner or à    
Â  
later. 2.b5!, winning a pawn. If 2...cxb5 then
3.¥xb7 ¦ab8 4.¥c6 and 5.cxb5.
Á 
Estrin – Yudovich
À   

Moscow 1949
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
White to play
Ç  
Æ   With 1.¦ab1 ¥g4 2.¤e5 ¥h5 3.b4 a6 4.a4
White prepared to break through with b4-b5.
Å    Black for his part created counter-chances on
Ä  the kingside: 4...¤g4 5.¥xe7 £xe7 6.¤xg4
¥xg4 7.b5! axb5 8.axb5 £g5 9.¢h1 ¦ad8
à    10.bxc6 bxc6 Whose chances are better is
Â    difficult to say. There followed: 11.¤e2 ¦d6
12.¦b6 ¦h6 Black attempts to launch an
Á   attack at the cost of a pawn sacrifice. Instead
À    12...¥d7 was calmer and apparently stronger.
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ Averbakh accepted the pawn, beat off the
attack and went on to win the game.
White to move
 Chapter 3 – Exercises 153

 
7 Ç   10
Ç  
Æ  Æ  
Å   Å 
Ä     Ä   
à    à   
Â     Â    
Á    Á 

À    
À   
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
White to play and win White to play and win
 
8 Ç    11 Ç 
Æ Æ  
Å    Å   
Ä    Ä  
à     à    
Â  Â  
Á  Á

À   
À   
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
White to play and win White to play and win
 
9 Ç  12 
Ç 
Æ  Æ 
Å   Å  
Ä    Ä   
à     à   
Â     Â    
Á Á  

À    À   
ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ ÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏ
White to play and win Black to play and win
154 Solutions

7. Zheliandinov – Karagadian, Moscow 1953

1.e6! With threats of 2.£h6 ¢g8 3.e7, and also 2.exf7. 1...¤d6 2.£h6 ¦g8 3.¦xd6! £xd6
4.£g7†! Black resigned, due to the variation: 4...¦xg7 5.fxg7† ¢g8 6.exf7† ¦xf7 7.¥xf7#

8. Lisitsin – Ufimtsev, Leningrad 1953

1.b4! ¥xh6 Or 1...£d6† 2.¥f4 £c6 3.¤e7 ¥xe7 4.fxe7 ¦xe7 5.¥g5 f6 6.¤e5 wins. In this line
3.¤e5 is also good. 2.£xh6 £f8 3.¤g5! £xh6 If 3...£g8, then 4.¤e7. 4.¤xf7† ¢g8 5.¤xh6†
¢f8 6.f7 Black resigned.

9. Shamkovich – Zilber, Riga 1953

1.¦d1! ¥b7 1...¤f4 also wins for White after 2.¥f3 ¦b8 3.¤e4, threatening 4.g3. 2.g3 £h6
3.¤xe6 £h3 4.¤g5 ¤e3 5.¤xh3 ¤xc2 6.¦b1 ¥e4 7.¦b2 ¦ac8 8.¥h6 ¦fe8 9.f3 ¥b7 10.¤f2
f6 11.¥b5 ¦e7 12.e6 ¤b8 13.d5 f5 14.¥g5 Black resigned.

10. Tolush – Sokolsky, Moscow 1950

1.¤h6† ¢f8 2.¦xg7! ¢xg7 3.£g4† ¥g5 If 3...¢f6, then 4.c4 £a5 5.d5 exd5 6.¥g5† and mate
in 2 moves. 4.c4! £xd4 Or 4...£a5 5.d5!; White could also play 5.¥xg5. 5.£xg5† ¢f8 6.¥e3
£h8 7.¥c5† ¢e8 8.¤g4 ¢d7 9.£f4! In the game, 9.¥b6 was played, and Black resigned 10
moves later. 9...¦c7 10.¥b6 White wins.

11. Tarasov – Vistaneckis, Riga 1950

1.£xc8†! A correct queen sacrifice. It’s very hard for Black to improve the position of his rook
on h6. 1...¦xc8 2.¦xc8† ¢g7 3.¦fc1 ¤d7 White was threatening 4.¥a3 and 5.¦1c7. There
followed: 4.¦1c7 ¥xc7 5.¦xc7 £b4 6.¦xd7† ¢g8 7.¤d3 £d2 8.¥f1 ¦f6 9.¥a3 ¦f7 10.¦d8†
¢g7 11.¥d6 £a5 12.¥e5† ¢h6 13.¦g8 £xa2 14.h4! g4 15.¥f4† Black resigned.

12. Loktev – Borisenkov, Kiev 1950

1...¥g5! 2.f4 ¥xf4 3.¦ae1 ¥xe3† 4.¥xe3 ¦xc3! Black came away with two extra pawns.