A Lesson on Using an Open File by Pachman

     Czech GM Ludek Pachman (May 11, 1924, Bělá pod Bezdězem, today Czech Republic – March 6, 2003, Passau, Germany) is pretty much forgotten these days, but he was not only a prominent player and theoretician, but a prolific author, publishing eighty books in five languages. 
     Pachman considered Modern Chess Strategy, published in 1959, to be his best book and his book Checkmate in Prague recounts his treatment at the hands of the Communist. The latter book is fascinating reading as a personal account of his life and I highly recommend it. 

 

     Modern Chess Strategy is still worth reading. It was originally published as a trilogy titled Strategie Moderniho Sachu in Czech, but Alan S. Russell did a good job of distilling it into one 300+ page volume in English. 

 

     Russell omitted a number of games and left off the opening moves of many others, but on the whole retained Pachman's presentation of ideas. 
     In this game Pachman demonstrates how to use an open file to attack an opponent's King. Of course, the engines, as they almost always do, found some loopholes in his analysis. But, that does not matter because we don't play engines. What is important are the ideas and strategies that we can use against human opponents who don't calculate variations by the millions.