In my last blog post, we cast our minds into the nightmare of endgames future and saw some evidence that we need to play decisively as Black in the middlegame and not allow ourselves to drift into a passive situation.
Just in case we still aren’t totally convinced, it’s also instructive to look at the engine evaluations after Black’s 14th move alternatives:
So here we are after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Nd2 Nbd7 4.Ngf3 h6 5.Bh4 e6 6.e3 c5 7.Bd3 Be7 8.c3 0–0 9.0–0 c4 10.Bc2 b5 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.f4
What about a natural developing move like 14…Bb7?
Well the engines give White a whopping 1.03 and I may as well delight you with another Stockfish gem (Torch won its white games too, but in a less spectacular manner)
What is wrong with 14…Bb7? Well it’s actually a super example of a “natural developing move” that does too little while inadvertently gets in the way of Black’s most promising initiatives. On the positive side, Black completes his development and connects the rooks. On the negative side, the bishop gets in the way of Black’s b-file counterplay with …b4 by blocking the b-file. In fact as we shall see in subsequent analysis, the bishop is either better on c8 or a6. On c8, the bishop supports Black’s kingside light squares which is useful both when White breaks with f5 or when Black attacks the white centre with …f6. In that case, Black may transfer the bishop via d7 to e8 to cover the sensitive g6-square. On a6, the bishop supports the manoeuvre …Nc5-d3 blocking the attacking ambitions of White’s light-squared along the b1-h7 diagonal.
15. Nf3
The engines understand that Black’s counterplay will be slowed by a couple of moves and take the slow steady route, optimising the knight’s position before lighting the fuse on Black’s kingside!
15…a5 16. Nd4 b4 17. Qh5
Here we go!
17… Nc5 18. Rf3
White plays the most flexible moves first. Next, the rook might sidle over to g3 and h3 or White might throw in g4-g5 to mine the pawn on h6. There’s also a big threat of f5 as …exf5, Nxf5 brings the knight into the kingside attack with decisive effect. For that reason, the engines take back Black’s 14th move!
18…Bc8
Now it’s time for Stockfish to flex its tactical muscles!
19. Nc6
Diverting the black queen from the defence of the kingside dark squares.
19…Qd7 20. Rg3 Kh8
20… Qxc6 21. Qxh6 g6 22. Rh3 is mate of course!
21. Rf1
A lovely little move, leaving the knight on c6 suspended and en prise in mid air!
21… Ne4
Blocking the b1-h7 diagonal and hoping to block the white rook’s access to f3 by forcing a black pawn to e4.
21… Qxc6 22. Rxg7 Kxg7 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. Qh4 A typical manoeuvre in such kingside attacks, repositioning the queen to an optimal post with gain of tempo. 24…Kg7 25. Qf6+ Kg8 26. Rf3 Ne4 27. Bxe4 with Rg3+ to follow.
22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. Qg4 Rg8
24. Rd1
But when Stockfish is attacking, it’s like your position is springing leaks in multiple places simultaneously! Now the d-file proves painful for Black! Here Torch gave up the queen in desperation because
24…Qxc6 25. Rd8 g6
25… Rxd8 26. Qxg7#
26. Rh3 Rxd8 27. Rxh6+ Kg7 28. Qh4 is forced mate! Power play!
So by now, I hope we’re convinced about the need for action so there’s just one move we want to play: 14…b4!
…b4 kick-starts our counterplay against White’s queenside. How will White react?
The biggest danger for Black is the push g4-g5 which grabs hold of the “hook” on h6.
After …hxg5, then both the h-file and the h7-square are vulnerable to a combination of the bishop on c2 and a white queen and rook on the h-file
particularly since the e5-pawn prevents a black knight from using the key defensive square f6.
To me the most natural way for White to proceed is to play the queen to h5 and follow up either with g4-g5 or maybe even Rf3-g3 according to circumstances.
The only doubt I might have is whether to play my knight on d2 first to d4 to consolidate my position – for example the bishop on c2 is protected against attack by …bxc3 and …Rb8-b2 – before taking this action. So 15.Qh5 and 15.Nf3 would be my candidate moves.
The engine suggests another one which is of course logical – 15.g4 – but does feel rather loose to me!
The one thing that White *doesn’t* want to do in this position is to play e4!
Not only does it weaken White’s control of the central dark squares – moves like …Qc5+ followed by …d4 are possible when apart from anything else, White’s bishop on c2 is now blocked along the b1-h7 diagonal by a pawn on e4! – but a follow-up of …Bb7, exd5 will only activate Black’s sad-looking bishop on c8 without particularly advancing White’s cause.
Let’s now take a high-level look at White’s options and we’ll come back to them in more detail subsequently.
- 15.Qh5
Let’s look at my move first, which I assume is the most human move! What counterplay options does Black have? We are assuming that …bxc3 will be correct at some moment, opening the b-file for Black’s rook to invade via b8–b2. This may also give the black queen a chance to step out to a3 and cause some damage by hitting the pawn on c3 though obviously moving the queen away from the kingside while White’s queen is moving there is a double-edged decision! Another logical idea is to block the path of the bishop on c2 towards the kingside with …Nc5–d3. This also moves a piece away from the kingside but a smaller value piece than the queen, and at least it reduces the activity of an attacking piece at the same time. So we have something in our heads like 15…bxc3 16.bxc3 Rb8 with ideas of …Rb2 and …Nc5–d3. That’s a plan at least!
- 15.Nf3
is a more flexible idea. White might play the knight to d4 and follow up with Qh5 or even – and I’m only triggered by the engine’s 15.g4 – a quick g4–g5. Obviously, my first reaction here would be to play …bxc3 followed by …Rb8–b2. It would be great if one size fits all! The only doubt there is whether …Rb8–b2 will have the same impact when a knight on d4 is holding things together while the queen on d1 is still defending the bishop on c2. My feeling would be that a quick transfer of my knight on d7 to d3 to block the bishop on c2 might be a better use of my time.
- 15.g4
is the engine first choice and the real caveman option! White possibly has a threat already of g5 followed by Qh5. One reaction might well be 15…f6, taking the gamble of loosening Black’s kingside light squares since White’s kingside has also been loosened with g4. I could also try simply to carry on hitting White via the queenside with ,…bxc3 and …Rb8–b2, hoping that the looseness of White’s kingside after g4 might create some additional tactical chances.
This blog article is getting a little long already so I’ll leave you on that cliffhanger and we’ll pick up some concrete attacking and defensive lines in the next post!