The finely tuned positional antennae of Ulf Andersson sense a problem requiring a harmonious solution
Wltschek-Andersson, Bad Wiessee 2010. Black to play.
More from the master of positional play, Ulf Andersson. How did he manage to improve his position?
RB Last week I went for an exchange sacrifice in the game Andersson-Tempone. It wasn't the continuation that Andersson chose, which should perhaps be enough to warn me against the move I am thinking of here – 1…Rd4. If White accepts the offer, 2 Bxd4 then 2…exd4 and the knight, which is pinned to the queen, is lost. But, of course, it's not going to be that simple. White can refuse to play ball and instead go 2 Nb3. It's not a disaster – I don't think – but the rook will either have to retreat or take on d1 and Black will end up losing time.
So what else? 1…c4 might be an idea, cramping White's game and with the potential later to exploit the weakness at d3. I'm not sure what's best for White – 2 Nf1, with the idea of trying to swap off the rooks?
DK 1…c4 is an ambitious idea. Rolling the queenside pawn majority definitely appeals, but there is a downside: Black relinquishes control over the d4 square. White has a nice plan: redeploy the knight via f1-g3-e2-d4 and Black won't get a chance to occupy d3. I once tried this …c4 idea in a similar position, and my experienced opponent gradually conquered the weakened squares like a seasoned boxer picking punches.
Andersson's finely tuned positional antennae must have sensed that the knight on e7 was the problem: it is the only piece in his army that is poorly positioned. Solve that, and everything else falls into place. What's the ideal square for the knight? On the outpost, the point on the open file supported by the pawn – d4. A rook won't last long there, but a knight will. How to get it there? First things first: 1…b6 2 Rac1 Qb7. The c5 pawn has been strengthened and the queen makes way for the knight: 3 Nf1 Nc6 4 a3 Nd4. Mission accomplished. Black's pieces are a picture of harmony. chess@guardian.co.uk
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