Ulf Andersson demonstrates skill and strong nerves to buttress his position
Andersson-Mestel, Hastings 1979. White to play.
More from the maestro of positional chess Ulf Andersson. Can you think of a plan for White?
RB Last week I was tearing my hair out because there were so few pieces on the board and said this made it even more difficult to find the correct continuation – one small step in the wrong direction spelt doom. Here, all the pieces are on the board and I want to use the exact same excuse.
In this kind of closed position I'm seeking to gain space, improve the position of my pieces, or create a structural weakness in my opponent's position – and preferably all three together. The hole at e5 is the obvious candidate for attention. Wouldn't it be nice to plant a knight there? But at the moment it's covered by Black's bishop and knight. That will have to wait. First things first – I have to decide what to do about the c-pawn. Do I exchange on d5? I don't like White's position after 1 cxd5 exd5, when the hole at e5 is suddenly less enticing. Why not 1 c5, forcing the bishop back to either e7 or c7 and then following up with 2 b4…?
DK 1 c5 Bc7 2 b4 gains space – that's pleasant – but allows Black to counter in the centre with 2…e5. That outweighs White's queenside play. This central break would be out of the question were White's pawn still on c4 as the d5 pawn would be too weak.
Ronan mentions the right idea: White should be looking to occupy the weakened e5 square – the achilles heel of Black's Stonewall pawn structure – and this Andersson did directly, by shifting the knight from c3. It takes strong nerves to play such a long manoeuvre, particularly when Black continues building on the kingside, but it's worth it: 1 Na2 Ndf6 2 Nc1 Ne4 3 Be1 (another good manoeuvre – the bishop overprotects the sensitive g3 square) g5 4 Nd3 Bd7 5 Nfe5. With the knight planted on e5, Black's kingside pawn storm is ineffective.
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