Chess Wholegame
64 Great Chess Games 7
The first major North American postal tournament was a two-stage event, beginning in 1894, organized by Walter Penn Shipley and others for the Continental Correspondence Chess Association. Seventy players from the USA and Canada competed in five sections, with the section leaders playing off for the championship. The final winner was C.W. Phillips from Chicago. This game is the most fascinating one I've seen from the event; Nimzowitsch would have loved to annotate it. It was rediscovered by US chess historian John S. Hilbert, who republished it on The Campbell Report website, including contemporary notes by Emil Kemeny (marked as EK), a Hungarian emigrant to the USA. I find these notes to be generally accurate regarding the game's overall structure, but Kemeny's attempts at analyzing variations were often flawed.
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Explore the amazing kingside attack in Alekhine's Defence
Black entices White's pawns to advance, creating an expansive pawn center, while harboring intentions to later challenge and assault the robust white pawn structure, employing a hypermodern defensive approach. White's formidable array of central pawns typically consists of pawns on c4, d4, e5, and f4.
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The Need to Act-Sicilian Defence
For this game, the reason for Anand's victory is quite evident. His solid pawn structure and strategically placed pieces enabled him to orchestrate a methodical advancement on the queenside, while Black lacked any meaningful counterplay. This advancement created a potent initiative, eventually resulting in a material advantage. The transformative process prevailed, with Black's seemingly solid position gradually deteriorating under pressure. Despite its initial firmness, Black's position lost its flexibility and ability to react effectively. Ultimately, Black found themselves suffocated by the relentless pressure exerted by Anand.
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Wing play met by counterplay on the other wing 1
The Sicilian Defense offers abundant illustrations of this concept, making it an ideal starting point for our analysis. In the Open Sicilian variation, a fluid and possibly precarious center emerges, presenting a variety of pawn advances. Broadly speaking, White tends to dominate the kingside, while the queenside favors Black. This division is dictated by the arrangement of pawns on the board.
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The Wing Attack Countered on the same Wing 6
Players were hesitant to embark on such daring flights of creativity at the outset of the game. Even in modern times, executing a counter-advance on the same flank remains a less explored area of pawn maneuvers. This limited exploration can be attributed to several factors, with a significant one being that during the opening phase, both Black and White typically focus on their respective sides of the board. This division is often dictated by the formation of central pawns, which naturally shape each side's initial strategy.
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The Mobile Centre-Queen's Gambit 3
Even after fifty years, this game remains etched in Petrosian's memory as an exceptional tutorial on the concept of maneuverability, illustrating the inherent danger it poses and the defensive strategies one can employ to counteract it. The enduring impression it has left serves as a testament to the enduring relevance of the lessons it imparts regarding the dynamic nature of mobility, the associated risks it presents, and the effective defensive measures one can employ in response it's take a look.
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The Closed Centre-King's Indian Defence 2
During the initial stages of the variation's evolution, the early blockade served as a clear indication of future developments. This strategic move signaled White's intent to castle queenside and initiate a formidable kingside pawn-storm. While White later diversified their options over time, the enduring appeal lies in the relative safety of the king on the queenside and the promising opportunities for launching attacks on the opposite side of the board. The strategic choices made in the early blockade set the stage for White's ongoing pursuit of both defensive stability and offensive prospects in the game.
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The Closed Centre-Czech Benoni
In this opening, Black responds to 1. d4 with the flexible move 1...Nf6, followed by an early c5, aiming to establish a pawn structure known as the Benoni. The move 3...e5 is a characteristic move in the Czech Benoni, aiming to counterattack in the center and create an asymmetrical pawn structure. It leads to dynamic and unbalanced positions, providing both sides with chances for active play and strategic complexities. The Czech Benoni is known for its potential to lead to sharp and tactical middlegame positions.
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The Closed Centre-King's Indian/Benoni 1
The blocked center is identified by a pawn blockade that partitions the chessboard, effectively sealing off lines and diagonals. While there might be occasional opportunities for pawn advances along the central files, a complete blockade fundamentally shapes the course of the game. The mere occupation of central squares establishes a critical constraint, compelling the gameplay to unfold along the flanks. With the center rendered inaccessible, strategic battles naturally gravitate towards the wings, where players seek to assert dominance and find avenues for advancement. This dynamic sets the stage for maneuvering and tactical engagements on the periphery of the board.
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The Closed Centre-Old Indian
In the closed center, pawns take up residence with the primary objective of staking a claim to valuable central space and the influence it affords. However, this initial task is not their ultimate goal, as their purpose extends well into the middlegame. The potency wielded in the center would be meaningless if it couldn't be translated into further strategic maneuvers. In essence, the evaluation of the center hinges on the potential activity it engenders. Regardless of how robust and imposing a pawn-center may appear, its strength is futile if it remains stationary and lacks the capacity for subsequent action. In such cases, signs of deterioration will soon become apparent.
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