June | 2023 | CHESS AT THE BAG OF CATS

The first weekend in June I held a workshop on the Carlsbad structure for Swedish elite juniors, in Lund, Sweden. As usual, when I have prepared a big theme like this, I was not able to go through even half of that which I had prepared. The two days turned out to be two days too little for me to get even half the way. So, for those who attended and anyone who is interested, I will publish a few of those games that we did not have the time to go through (the one below we managed to skim, very shortly).

I will hold a Carlsbad workshop in week 32, 7-13/8, where you will be able sign up to as soon as I get a hang of the “event”-function in WordPress. The cost of attending will be 130 Euro, which includes 8 hours of Carlsbad lessons online, and a 1½ hour private session for going through games of your choice. If you are interested you can send me a message with the “contact” button on the left.

   [Event "Bundesliga 2021-22"]  [Site "Viernheim GER"]  [Date "2022.05.14"]  [Round "7"]  [White "Korobov, A"]  [Black "Blohberger, F"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "B11"]  [WhiteElo "2695"]  [BlackElo "2504"]  [EventDate "2022.03.05"]  [EventType "team"]  [EventRounds "15"]  [EventCountry "GER"]  [WhiteTeam "SC Viernheim"]  [BlackTeam "SF Berlin"]   1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 e6 5. d4 Be7 6. h3 Bh5 7. exd5 Bxf3 8.  Bxf3 cxd5 9. O-O Nc6 {So, how does this have anything to do with the Carlsbad?  Doesn't that come about through the Queen's Gambit? And then, what is the  knight doing on c3? Indeed, the Carlsbad structure can also come about through  the Caro Kann, and the London-systems, and yes, the knight is weirdly placed.  White's first mission ought to be to reroute the knight to a better place...}  10. Re1 ({Perhaps the best way to get the knight to its most wanted square, is  to start with} 10. a4 {, so as to not allow b7-b5 after} Nf6 11. Ne2 $1) 10...  Nf6 (10... Bb4 $6 11. Bxd5) 11. Ne2 {The knight is headed for d3(!), the  natural square for White's knight in this structure. From there it will keep  an eye on the important squares e5 and c5, and it will be easier for White to  control Black's minority attack.} (11. a4 $6 Bb4 $1 {and White will have a  hard time to disentangle from the pin.}) 11... O-O (11... b5 $5) 12. c3 (12. a4  $5 Bd6 13. c3 Qc7 14. g3 a6 15. Kg2 b5 16. Qd3 Qb7 {is comfortable for Black  too.}) 12... b5 13. Nf4 {The knight is headed for the ideal square. Now it is  important to understand what is going on on the queenside. Black would like to  play b5-b4, but it does not work now as White can play c3-c4, using the pin on  Black's d-pawn, so Black must first protect the knight on c6. How would you do  that? Here it is also important to bear in mind one of White's main plans  against Black's minority attack: to play b2-b4 and then use the c5-square as  an outpost for the knight (in transit via f4-d3).} Rc8 $6 {This would be a  great move if Black could now continue with b5-b4, but alas, this is no longer  the case...} ({The right move was} 13... Qc7 $1 {, when} 14. b4 $2 {is bad due  to} (14. Nd3 b4 15. Nxb4 Nxb4 16. cxb4 Bxb4 17. Re2 Rfc8 {The engines evaluate  this as about equal, but in practical play it is much easier for Black to make  find coordination, than it is for White. Also, the d4-pawn is a bit weak.})  14... a5 $1 {when the Black rook on the a-file makes it impossible for White  to keep control on the queenside. This is the reason why Rac8 was a mistake.})  14. a3 $5 (14. b4 a5 15. a3 Ra8 {leads to the next comment.}) 14... Na5 (14...  a5 15. b4 $1 Ra8 16. Bd2 Qc7 17. Nd3 $14) 15. Nd3 Nc4 {Now, one would be  excused to think that Black has a harmonious position, whereas in fact the  initiative is firmly with White.} 16. a4 $1 {Black has to struggle to keep the  queenside intact.} a6 (16... bxa4 17. Rxa4 a5 18. Bf4 {and White's structure  is better, while the knight on d3 really shines. After} Bd6 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20.  Qc2 Qc7 21. Rea1 Nd7 {Black can keep White's advantage to a minimum, and  perhaps a draw is the likely outcome after all.}) 17. Bf4 {It is a huge gain  for White to have achieved this structure on the queenside without having to  commit to b2-b4 (as there is now a good square on b4, the c3-pawn is less weak,  and the knight on c4 can be kicked away).} Qb6 18. b3 Nd6 19. Nc5 {Things are  looking dire for Black, but he finds a way to make things complicated:} Nde4 $1  20. Bxe4 dxe4 (20... Nxe4 21. Nd7) 21. axb5 ({The engine prefers} 21. Be5 $1  Bxc5 22. dxc5 Qxc5 23. Bd6 Qxc3 24. Bxf8 Rxf8 25. Qd6 {with "a clear advantage  for White", but it is slightly less obvious for a human, or at least a human  like me.}) 21... axb5 22. Ra6 (22. b4 $1 Nd5 23. Be5 $1 Nxc3 24. Qg4 g6 25. h4  Ra8 26. Nd7 $1 {would have won material, but even here it seems to me that  Black has decent chances to hold the game. I am somewhat too fond of the  outpost on d5...}) 22... Qd8 23. b4 Nd5 24. Bd2 e5 $2 {Black has done a great  defensive job, only to self-destruct at the critical moment.} (24... Ra8 $1 $14  ) 25. Rxe4 exd4 26. Rxd4 Bxc5 27. bxc5 Rxc5 {This is a nice combinational  exercise for those who want one.} 28. Bh6 $3 Qc8 (28... gxh6 29. Rg4+ Kh8 30.  Qd4+) 29. Qg4 Qxg4 30. Rxg4 g6 31. Bxf8 Kxf8 32. Rg5 $18 f5 33. Rg3 Rxc3 34.  Rxc3 Nxc3 35. Ra7 h5 36. h4 Ne2+ 37. Kf1 Nd4 38. Rd7 Ne6 39. Rb7 b4 40. Rxb4  Kf7 41. Ke2 Kf6 42. f4 Kf7 43. Kd3 Kf6 44. Rb6 Kf7 45. g3 Nc5+ 46. Kd4 Nd7 47.  Ra6 Nf6 48. Ke5 Ng4+ 49. Kd6 Nf6 50. Ra7+ Kf8 51. Ke6 Ng4 52. Rf7+ Kg8 53. Ke7  Nh6 54. Rf6 Kg7 55. Rf8 Ng4 56. Rf7+ Kg8 57. Rf6 Kg7 58. Rf8 Nh6 59. Ra8 Ng4  60. Ke6 1-0

The Swedish Championship starts on Saturday, and I cannot say that I am well prepared, so I will try to reign in my ambitions and just play some good games, hopefully.

CHESS AT THE BAG OF CATS

Tiger Hillarp on Chess

Monthly Archives: June 2023

Carlsbad Level 1. course coming up in August