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Thursday, February 2, 2023

Pawn Majorities

     The year 1928 was life changing. Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. Even then one important observation he made was that many bacteria were not affected by it and because penicillin resistance is now so common, other antibiotics are the preferred choice. 
     That was almost 100 years ago. What was life like then? Life expectancy of males in the US was just 55.6 years, whereas that of females was 58.3 years.
     Besides being the year Mickey Mouse was introduced, the first movie that was completely sound-filled was Lights of New York. It was a blockbuster, earning a revenue of over $1 million...$17 million today. 
     Thomas Midgley and Charles Kettering invented Freon, a non-flammable, odorless gas or liquid that was once considered to miraculous. Widely used as a refrigerant, today it is a cause of great concern because they say it is responsible for the ozone layer's depletion. Where I live, if your refrigerator quits working you can't just set it out for trash pickup...it has to be tagged by a licensed technician certifying that the Freon has been removed and it could cost you $100 or more.
     On July 6, 1928, the world's first machine for slicing bread was invented and patented by Richard Rohwedder. Today's perfectly sliced pieces of bread are a product of this fine invention. 
     Oscar Chajes (1873-1928) died in New York City at the age of 54. John G. White (1845-1928) died in Jackson Lake, Wyoming at the age of 83. He was founder of the world's largest chess library. Dr. Berthold Lasker (1860-1928), Emanuel's brother, passed away in 1928.
     Today we'll be taking a look at the Q-side P-majority. Generally speaking the Q-side P-majority is of the greatest and most lasting value in positions in which the Kings have NOT been centralized and materially is sufficiently reduced that there is no danger of an attack on the King taking place. These positions are usually seen in the phase when the game is in transition from the middlegame to the ending. Usually, but not always, the Qs will have been exchanged. 
     Going way back, Steinitz was the first to draw attention to the subject of Pawn majorities being a separate element and for years after that teachers put great stock in them. 
     A Q-side P-majority in particular was considered a significant advantage. However, as theory has evolved the value of the Q-side majority has become less significant. Still, it pays to pay attention to the presence of the Q-side majority. 
     If it is to be put to use it has to be mobile. In the following game we see Colle (playing black) give up a P simply for the sake of immobilizing Spielmann's P-majority even though it left Spielmann with two extra Ps in the majority. Colle then smashes his way to victory on the K-side.
A game that I liked (Fritz 17)
[Event "Dortmund"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "1928.08.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Rudolf Spielmann"] [Black "Edgar Colle"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B03"] [Annotator "Stockfish 15.1"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "1928.??.??"] {Alekhine's Defense: Four Pawns Attack} 1. e4 {[%mdl 32]} Nf6 {Once popular, this has become rare in modern play although Fischer used it in two games against Spassky in their 1972 World Championship and Korchnoi included it in his repertoire.} 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 {[%mdl 32] White's most ambitious try in which he makes several tempo gaining attacks on the N and establishes an imposing P-center in the belief that it can later be destroyed. It often leads to sharp play because black must succeed in making a successful strike at the center before white can use his space advantage.} Bf5 (5... g5 { Is the sharp Planinc Variation, named after the Yugoslav GM Albin Planinc (1944-2008), a brilliant player who suffered from severe depression for decades and spent the last years of his life in a mental institution in Ljubljana. There is practically no theory on the move.} 6. fxg5 {White should play either 6.Nc3 or 6.exd6} dxe5 {White should now play 7.c5 and 8.Nf3} 7. dxe5 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 Nc6 9. c5 Nd7 10. e6 Nxc5 11. exf7+ Kxf7 12. Bc4+ Be6 { and black is better.}) 6. Nc3 e6 7. Be3 dxe5 8. fxe5 Nc6 9. Be2 Be7 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O f6 12. Nh4 fxe5 13. Nxf5 exf5 14. d5 Nd4 15. Bxd4 exd4 16. Qxd4 Nd7 { [%mdl 32] Obviously threatening ...c5. White's next move prevents this and at the same time prepares for the advance of his majority by c4-c5. Inhibits c5. aiming for ...Bc5.} 17. Na4 {The opening has a modern look to it!} ({White should play} 17. Kh1 Bd6 18. Bd3 g6 19. Rae1 Re8 20. Bc2 {The position slightly favors black. Brandenburg,D (2522)-Miroshnichenko,E (2624) Bremen 2011 }) (17. Qd2 Bc5+ 18. Kh1 Qh4 19. Qf4 Qxf4 20. Rxf4 Rae8 21. Bd3 g6 22. Nb5 a6 23. b4 Bxb4 24. Rb1 Bd2 25. Nxc7 Bxf4 {White resigned. Letzelter,J-Hort,V Monte Carlo 1968}) 17... b5 {A very fine strategic move. At the cost of a P, black cripples the majority. In Modern Chess Strategy Ludek Pachman points out that white's two extra Ps on the Q-side are very difficult to convert into a passed P and black's B gains a beautiful post on d6 from where it aims at white's K-side. Additionally. white's N on a4 is out of the action.} 18. cxb5 Bd6 19. Rae1 Qe7 (19... Qg5 {Looks more dangerous than it is. After} 20. Bd1 Rf6 21. Qe3 Qh4 22. g3 Qh3 23. Qf3 {white has succeeded in holding off black's assault on his K.}) 20. Bd3 Ne5 21. Kh1 {Avoiding a potential pin on the Q and K.} (21. Bxf5 {would be a serious mistake.} Rxf5 22. Rxf5 Nf3+ 23. Rxf3 Qxe1+ 24. Rf1 Bxh2+ 25. Kxh2 Qxf1 26. d6 Rd8 {Black is winning the ending. Hpw so? Here is a sample line...} 27. d7 Qf6 28. Qxf6 gxf6 29. Nc5 Kf7 30. Kg3 h5 31. Kf4 Ke7 32. g3 Rg8 33. Kf3 Rg4 34. b3 Rg5 35. b4 Rg4 36. a3 Rd4 37. Ke3 Rg4 38. Kf3 Rc4 39. Kg2 Rc2+ 40. Kh3 Rc3 41. a4 Rc4) 21... f4 {Another good move was 21...Rf6} 22. Re2 {So far Colle has had the initiative, but Spielmann's defense has met the challenge, but with this move he falters.} (22. Nc5 { A nice little shot that diffuses the situation if black takes the N.} f3 (22... Bxc5 {would leave white with a slight advantage.} 23. Rxe5) 23. g3 {The only safe move.} (23. gxf3)) 22... Rae8 {[%mdl 1024] Black has plenty of compensation for a P and white's position is growing precarious.} 23. Nc3 (23. Qxa7 {is unsatisfactory. For example...} Qh4 24. Qf2 Qh6 25. Qg1 (25. Bc2 Ng4 { wins}) 25... Nxd3 26. Re6 Rxe6 27. dxe6 Qxe6 {White's Q-side Ps are under attack and black has a winning position.}) (23. Rxf4 Qg5 24. Rxf8+ Rxf8 25. Rxe5 Bxe5 26. Qg1 Qd2 27. Nc5 Bd4 {wins}) (23. Re4 {This white's best defense.} Qg5 24. Be2 Qh6 25. Bf3 g5 {With a strong attack, but at leadt whiter has some hope of defending himself because there is no clear win for black.} 26. Nc5 g4 27. Ne6 gxf3 28. gxf3 Rf5 29. Rg1+ Ng6 30. Qxa7 {In Shootouts from this position white scored +0 -4 =1, but the games went on for another 50 moves or so. In practical play the results might not be as decisive.}) 23... Qh4 { ...Ng4 is the strong threat.} 24. Ne4 {It's too late for 24.Qe4 to cause white any problems. Note that this is a typical situation where opposite colored Bs favor the attacker.} (24. Qe4 Ng4 25. Qxh7+ Qxh7 26. Bxh7+ Kxh7 27. Re6 Rxe6 28. dxe6 Kg6 {winning.}) 24... Ng4 25. h3 (25. Qg1 Nxh2 26. Qxh2 Qxh2+ 27. Kxh2 f3+ 28. Kh3 (28. Nxd6 fxe2 29. Nxe8 exf1=Q 30. Bxf1 Rxe8 31. Bc4) 28... fxe2 29. Re1 g6 30. Rxe2 Re5 {would win for black.}) 25... f3 {Decisive.} 26. Rxf3 Rxf3 27. Nf6+ Kf7 {White resigned. He gets mated in 11 moves.} (27... Kf7 28. Nxg4 (28. Nxe8 Rf1+ 29. Qg1 Rxg1+ 30. Kxg1 Bc5+ 31. Kh1 Qg3 {Mate is unavoidable.}) 28... Rf1+ 29. Qg1 Rxg1+ 30. Kxg1 Rxe2 31. Bxe2 Qe1+ 32. Bf1 Bc5+ 33. Kh2 h5 34. Nh6+ gxh6 35. d6 Bxd6+ 36. Kg1 Bg3 37. b6 Qf2+ 38. Kh1 Qxf1#) 0-1

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