Middlegame positional strategy

I don't know if I shared this in the public forum. If I did then please forgive me for posting it again. I posted it in the DUNE forum for our members as an example of how to play for advantage in the middle game. I played Black.

Originally posted by Arrakis
Event: 2007 Michigan State Senior Championship
Date: 05-19-2007
Round 1
White: Amateur
Black: Expert

After the moves 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 Nc6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Be3 Qc7 12. Re1 d5 13. exd5 exd5 14. Qf3 Be6 15. Rad1 Bb4 16. Bd2 a5 17. a3 Be7 18. Be3 Rfd8 19. Bd4 the following position was reached.



White hasn't made any serious blunders, but he has given Black a pawn majority in the center. Black needs to exploit that advantage but he can't because White controls all the important squares. He has pressure against Black's d-pawn and his black squared bishop covers the dark squares, both of these problems prevent Black from advancing his center pawns. So Black finds a nice move...

19...Nd7!

A very nice solution to White's control of the dark squares - simply get rid of White's dark squared bishop! Play continued with:
20. Re2 Bc5 21. Bxc5 Nxc5 and now even a good player will have problems holding back Black's center pawns. White played 22. Ba4?
and was quickly crushed after 22...d4, But note that 22. Ba2 also loses to 22...d4! because after 23. Bxe6 dxc Black wins a piece due to the mate threat on the back rank.

The game finished with 23. Qxc6 Qxc6 24. Bxc6 dxc3 25. Rde1 Rac8 26. b4 Rxc6 27. bxc5 Rxc5 28. f4 Rd2 29. Re3 Rxc2 30. g4 g6 31. Rg3 Rd2 32. Rc1 c2 33. Re3 Rd1+ 34. Re1 Rxe1+ 35. Rxe1 c1=Q 0-1

So sometimes a quiet positional move (such as ...Nd7) can set the stage for destroying your opponent! 🙂

Originally posted by Arrakis
I don't know if I shared this in the public forum. If I did then please forgive me for posting it again. I posted it in the DUNE forum for our members as an example of how to play for advantage in the middle game. I played Black.

Originally posted by Arrakis
Event: 2007 Michigan State Senior Championship
Date: 05-19-2007
Round 1
White: Amateur
Black: quiet positional move (such as ...Nd7) can set the stage for destroying your opponent! 🙂

What about 20.Rxe6? and 20.Na4?

Nice game arriakis, havent read in too many books about the positional advantage of an extra pawn in the center. Well actually thats not true silman talks about the imbalances of a duo in how to reassess your chess. What white should be doing is stopping the duo in its tracks and than it becomes a weakness. White plays re2? seems like a weak move to me, he's blocking his knight from occupying that square. Personally I think the knight would be better placed there to stop the duo in its tracks like Silman recommends and white would have an advantage with the weak pawn structure of black.

What do you think?

Originally posted by HomerJSimpson
Nice game arriakis, havent read in too many books about the positional advantage of an extra pawn in the center. Well actually thats not true silman talks about the imbalances of a duo in how to reassess your chess. What white should be doing is stopping the duo in its tracks and than it becomes a weakness. White plays re2? seems like a weak move to ...[text shortened]... and white would have an advantage with the weak pawn structure of black.

What do you think?

I think you are thinking about two pawns abreast of each other...the real problem is that one of the pawns is backwards. White needs to keep it backwards or move onto other things while black tries to control the square in front of the pawn.

naw I think youre reading too much into this position, what good does white accomplish if the backward pawn isnt on an open file?

Originally posted by HomerJSimpson
naw I think youre reading too much into this position, what good does white accomplish if the backward pawn isnt on an open file?

If he can blockade it he can focus on opening that file later if he wants to and he really doesn't want black to advance that pawn.

Originally posted by tomtom232
What about 20.Rxe6? and 20.Na4?

My first thought is Na4 looks best. It blocks Bc5 and opens the way for c4 to directly attack the centre. Sub-plots include the bishop onto b6 (the black knight's stuck until the potential skewer is gone) and particularly the thought of the bishop on c2 to assail the King position. Black's knight move actually weakens his King-side position. White lost the plot with his move.

Originally posted by buffalobill
My first thought is Na4 looks best. It blocks Bc5 and opens the way for c4 to directly attack the centre. Sub-plots include the bishop onto b6 (the black knight's stuck until the potential skewer is gone) and particularly the thought of the bishop on c2 to assail the King position. Black's knight move actually weakens his King-side position. White lost the plot with his move.

I thought 20.Na4 was White's best try. But there was no way for me to make progress as long as White dominated the black squares. So if White did find 20.Na4 I was going to play ...Bf6 eliminating his dark squared bishop.

Well, that was my idea anyways, with the thought that I would get the pawns moving later on.

Originally posted by Arrakis
I thought 20.Na4 was White's best try. But there was no way for me to make progress as long as White dominated the black squares. So if White did find 20.Na4 I was going to play ...Bf6 eliminating his dark squared bishop.

Well, that was my idea anyways, with the thought that I would get the pawns moving later on.

After 20.Na4 Bf6 21.Bxf6 Nxf6 (21...gxf6 looks awkward) 22.Nc5 white should be OK.

Originally posted by Korch
After 20.Na4 Bf6 21.Bxf6 Nxf6 (21...gxf6 looks awkward) 22.Nc5 white should be OK.

Nice to see you back! 🙂

Originally posted by Korch
After 20.Na4 Bf6 21.Bxf6 Nxf6 (21...gxf6 looks awkward) 22.Nc5 white should be OK.

I would play that line for White also. I do think that Black can eventually remove the knight though and then the pawns are fluid.

Originally posted by Arrakis
I don't know if I shared this in the public forum. If I did then please forgive me for posting it again. I posted it in the DUNE forum for our members as an example of how to play for advantage in the middle game. I played Black.

Originally posted by Arrakis
Event: 2007 Michigan State Senior Championship
Date: 05-19-2007
Round 1
White: Amateur
Black: ...[text shortened]... quiet positional move (such as ...Nd7) can set the stage for destroying your opponent! 🙂

and why not just play 19...c5?

9.h3? is wasted tempo

Originally posted by tomtom232
and why not just play 19...c5?

19. ...c5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Nxd5 followed by 22. Nxf6 and white picks up a pawn and has heaps of opportunities.

Or 21. ... Bxd5 22. Bxd5 is even better for white.

Originally posted by buffalobill
19. ...c5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Nxd5 followed by 22. Nxf6 and white picks up a pawn and has heaps of opportunities.

Or 21. ... Bxd5 22. Bxd5 is even better for white.

Aha...thats why I couldn't see what was wrong with c5 😛

I forgot all about the rook on a8.