Middlegame Planning

8/2/2019 Middlegame Planning

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Middlegame Planningby Georgi Orlov

Planning ahead is a very important part of the playing process. One of the great players of the last

century, Mikhail Chigorin, once said: Even a poor plan is better than no plan at all.

The right plan can save a poor position, while the wrong plan can break a good one. How should a player

make a plan, what kind of process is involved?

There are several steps in the making of a plan: 1) Detailed assessment of the current situation on the

board. This is the most difficult task; 2) Identifying and defining your own goals as well as your

opponents goals; 3) Creation of a plan.

Lets take a look at each of these steps.

DETAILED ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT SITUATION ON THE BOARD

There are several factors that must be included in this.

A) Safety of Kings, first your own, second, your opponents.

B) Misplaced pieces and pawns, unprotected pieces and pawns, smothered pieces.

C) Pawn structure.

D) Activity of the pieces.

E) Open files & diagonals.

F) Central outposts.

A) THE SAFETY OF THE KINGS (first your own, second, your opponents)

Is your King safe?a) Is the pawn structure around it sufficient against possible attacks?

b) Are there enough pieces to protect it in case of some sacrifice that may draw it out?

c) Is the back rank covered?

If the answer to any of these questions is NO, than serious consideration must be given to prophylactics.

The same checking procedure should be applied to your opponents King. It is important to be aggressive

in the game. If you think that the opponents King is less safe than yours, then you should make use of

this factor by attacking.

Tal - Unknown, simultaneous exhibition


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While evaluating this situation, the great Mikhail Tal noticed that the situation with Blacks King

deserves special attentionparticularly, there is no Rook to protect the back rank. Another important

point was a lack of protection for Blacks Queen. In case of the obvious 1.Rxh1 Nh5 2.f4 Nc4 Black

would be in a good shape. It is always important to look for unusual moves!

1.gxf6! Rxd1 2.Nxd1!

Now the Queen on a5 is under attack and so is the Bishop on g7.

2...Qxd2 3.fxg7!!

An amazing combination, Black resigned.

B) MISPLACED, UNPROTECTED, or SMOTHERED PIECES & PAWNS

These things need immediate attention. Carefully check the status of all your pieces and pawns. Anything

that needs to be defended must be taken care of first. Do the same against your opponents pieces and

pawnssee if you can immediately take anything or attack anything. Always look for targets. Any piece

that is not protected or poorly protected must be targeted for attack. Tactical considerations in manypositions overrule positional factors! Lets take a look at the following game.

R. Fischer - S. Reshevsky


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Perhaps White had hoped for 22...Nxc1 23.Qxc1 Re2+ 24.Kg3, with threats to g7, but the Knight on d3 is

worth more than the Rook on c1.

Now 23.Nh6+ Kf8 24.Ng3 Qg5! is very unpleasant and 23.Nxd6 meets 23...Qb6 24.Nxe8 Qxf2+ 25.Kh3

gxh5! and Black wins. White resigned

D) ACTIVITY OF THE PIECES

Its important that your pieces cooperate with each other. Avoid placing your pieces in the corners of theboard, unless they have a specific reason to be there or are on their way to anotherhopefully more

centrallocation. Try to play with the whole army instead of single pieces. In most cases pieces should

be place in center of the board, where they can attack more squares than in the corner. Always look for

ways to bring more pieces into the action. Activity is very often more important than material.

E) OPEN FILES & DIAGONALS

Open files and diagonals are the highways, or communication channels, of the chess game. Take control

of open files and diagonals if you can. If your opponent controls them, try to wrestle them back. The

player that controls communication channels controls the battle. Remember, Rooks belong on an open

file, Bishop belongs on an open diagonal!

The following game illustrates the importance of piece activity and open files and diagonals.

Petrosian - Spassky, Moscow1966


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Both Kings appear to be somewhat unsafe. Blacks pieces seem to be active particularly threatening is

the light-squared Bishop on h3. If Blacks Knight was to leave e5, it would significantly compromise his

position in a view of Whites control of a1-h8-diagonal. White must activate his pieces in order to

succeed in this game.

21.Ne3!

Petrosian sacrifices the Exchange! The Queens Rook is now brought into play and the g2-square is

protected, renewing the threat to the Knight on e5. Of course, 21.fxe5?? Qg5+ had to be avoided.

21...Bxf1 22.Rxf1 Ng6 23.Bg4!

The Bishop is brought into action and the threat of 24.Be6+ is terribly unpleasant.

23...Nxf4 24.Rxf4!

One more Exchange is sacrificed in order to eliminate the defender of e6.

24...Rxf4 25.Be6+ Rf7 26.Ne4!

The e4-Knight controls g5 and f6 from here. Its very important to have more pieces closer to theopponents King for the attack to be successful.

26...Qh4

An attempt to counterattack, since Ne3-f5 and Qb2-g7 mate was coming.

27.Nxd6 Raa7 28.Bxf7+ Rxf7

It looks like Black has almost bailed out. Whites next move dispels the illusion.

29.Qh8+!!

Black resigned in a view of 29...Kxh8 30.Nxf7+ and 31.Nxg5.


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F) CENTRAL OUTPOSTS

The squares d4-d5-e4-e5 are in the heart of the chess board. In some cases a Knight or a Bishop placed

there is worth more than a Rook. Frequently, a powerful outpost provides great support for a minor piece,

turning it into a mighty attacking force.

Razuvaev - Bagirov, Russia, 1982

Whites Knight on e5 is beautifully placed. Its worth more that the opponents Rook on d8. The Knight

attacks the g6, f7 and d7 squares and GM Razuvaev masterfully uses his advantage to build a decisiveattack.

27.Rg6!

A move made possible by the Knights position on e5. This is much better than 27.Rg2, since from g6 the

Rook can get to h6, attacking h7.

27...Nce6 28.Rdg1 Rf8 29.Rh6

The threat of Ne5-g6+ forces the King to move. Here 29...Rf6? loses to 30.Qh4!

29...Kg8 30.Bb3

One more piece is employed in the attack, tying up the d-Rook to defense of the d5-pawn.

30...Rd6 31.Qg2

The d5-pawn is under attack once again.

31...Rfd8

Blacks Rook on d6 has to protect d5, while it also has to watch out for the Knight on e6 a classical case

of overload.


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32.Bxd5! Rxd5 33.Rxe6! Qf8

It seems that large losses have been avoided. No!

34.Re8!! Rxe8 35.Qxd5+

Now 35...Kh8 36.Nf7+ Kg8 37.Nd6+ Kh8 38.Nxe8 wins more material, therefore, Black resigned.

Not every situation can be solved tactically, of course, but any positional situation will eventually become

tactical. In the following game White executed a great positional plan and topped it off with a nice attack.

Smyslov - Denker, USSR vs. USA Match 1946

Both sides have safe Kings, although Blacks is a bit more open. White has full control of the d5 -square

and the pawn on d6 is obviously weak. What should White do here? His plan should involve some kind ofattack against d6, but first he has to make sure that his opponent has no counterplay. While Whites g2 -

Bishop has a good diagonal, it does very little there. Blacks light-squared Bishop guards the important

d5-square and can also be used for defending the g6-pawn. Therefore, White must first exchange light-

squared Bishops, getting even more control over d5 and eliminating a defender of the opponents King.

25.Bd5! Kh7 26.Bxe6 Qxe6 27.Rd3

Now the d5-square is completely under Whites control and he can safely triple his heavy pieces on the d-

file.

27...Rc7 28.Red1 Rf7

Perhaps Black hopes to double his Rooks along the f-file, but White can easily defend f2 with Nc3-e4.

29.Ne4! Bf8 30.Rd5

In such positions it pays to be slow. Also b3-b4 and c4-c5 is possible at some point.


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30...Qg4 31.R1d3!

An important move. If 31.Nxd6, then 31...Bxd6 32.Rxd6 Qxd1+ 33.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 34.Kg2 e4! 35.Qxe4

Rd2 36.Qe3 Rxa2 and Black is still in the game.

31...Be7 32.Nxd6 Bxd6 33.Rxd6 Rdf8 34.Qxe5!

In case of 34.Rd2 e4! Black can still put up some resistance.

35...Rxf2 36.Rd7+ R8f7 37.Rxf7+ Rxf7 38.Re8! Rg7 39.Qe8 g5 40.Qh8+ Kg6 41.Rd6+ Kf7 42.Qxh6,

White has two extra pawns and he won few moves later.

IDENTIFYING and DEFINING MUTUAL GOALS

After looking at all of the above-mentioned factors, think about what you want to do and check it against

what you can realistically accomplish. Define your goal for the next 5-6 moves. Anything that takes more

than that is probably not worth doing. The longer it takes, the easier it is to defend against it. After

defining your plan, check your opponents intentions. Most plans fail because they dont take into the

account actions of the other side.

CREATION OF A PLAN

After goals are defined, make a plan, then pick moves that lead to accomplishment of your goal. Its

important to pick the right move order.

Whatever plan you choose, always check for possible tactics before proceeding further. Tactics rule the

game of chess! Calculate your play as many moves ahead as you can. Always ask yourself: If I am able

to execute my plan, what will happen then? Will I achieve a material or positional advantage? If the

answer is no, make another plan!


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Middlegame Planning IIBy Georgi Orlov

In this lecture we will look at a game where one side has a relatively clear choice of a plan thanks to a

common pawn structure that features a standard set of ideas. Players must know as many standard plans

as possible, since such knowledge helps during the game immensely. Its not necessary to come up with

some special plan for every position, in many cases, well known paths are very effective.

Stolberg - Nogovitsin

USSR 1938

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4

The Nimzo-Indian remains the most popular way to meet 1.d4 and 2.c4. Black has great counterplay in all

variations.

4.f3 d5

5.Qa4+!? Nc6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Bd7 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qc2 0-0 10.e3


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White played the Saemisch Variation against the Nimzo-Indian Defense. This treatment, 5.Qa4+, is no

longerpopular, since its not considered the best way for White.

The situation on the board is very standard for this line. White has a strong pawn center, which is

supported by a pair of Bishops, and his perspectives are clearly on the kingside.

The plan for White here is relatively simple: he has to play Bf1-d3, Ng1-e2, castle kingside, and advance

in the center by e3-e4-e5, gaining space on the kingside and opening his dark-square Bishop at the same

time. Then he should push f3-f4, threatening f4-f5-f6 with a strong kingside attack.

From Blacks point of view, things are a bit more complex. It is not clear to a less experienced player

what should be done here. Black has one good thing going in his favorall of his pieces are deployed. He

must create some pressure against Whites center before White has a chance to finish his development. A

good way to do it here is 10...Ne7! 11.Bd3 c5!? Here 12.Ne2? loses a piece to 12...c4. White can play

12.dxc5 Rc8 13.Ne2 Rxc5 14.Nd4, but Black obviously would have his chances there. Also deserving

serious attention is 10...Na5, with similar ideas. Instead, Black played...

10...Qe7?! 11.Bd3 Nd8?

If Blacks 10thmove was a waste of time, this one misplaces the Knight and breaks ties between Blackspieces. Again, 11...Na5 was necessary.

12.Ne2 c5 13.0-0 c4?!

This is a dubious idea. Black hopes to later play b7-b5, a7-a5 and b5-b4, but it would take a lot of

time and gives White a free hand in the center. Instead 13...Rc8, bringing the Rook to a semi-open file

and threatening ...cxd4, was clearly better. In that case the pressure against d4 and possible counterplay

along the c-file would make e3-e4 harder to achieve.

14.Bf5 Bc6!?

Black makes an interesting decision. It looked like Black had a good reason to exchange Bishops, but its

not that simple. In case of 14...Bxf5 15.Qxf5 Black would have two ways of forcing Whites Queen out:


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1) 15...g6 (Black wants to force the Queen away from the kingside, as well as to have an option

ofh7-h5, anticipating Whites Knight coming to g3) 16.Qc2 Re8 17.Ng3 h5, but here after

18.e4! dxe4 19.Bg5! White would be on top.

2) 15...Qe6 16.Qc2 Re8 17.Ng3 Nc6 18.Bd2, with 19.Rae1 and 20.e3-e4 to follow, which would

also give White the upper hand.

After 14Bc6, Black threatens g7-g6 kicking Whites light-squared Bishop off of the b1-h7 diagonal.

15.Qb1!

White finds a great move, giving his light Bishop some room in case of g7-g6, since going back to h3

would not be as good.

15...b5 16.Ng3

White follows his plan, continuing preparations for e3-e4. Of course, poor was 16.a4 here in a view of16bxa4 17.Ba3?? Qxe3+, and Black wins.

16...Re8 17.Bc2

Also possible was e3-e4, but White decided to make the f5-square available for his Knight.

17...a5 18.e4!? g6?

Up to this point Black defended reasonably well, but the text move is a suicide, as it weakens the kingside

and the dark squares. Black should play 18...dxe4 19.Re1! (another way, 19.fxe4 Nxe4 20.Re1 f5!

21.Nxf5 Qb7 would be fine for Black) 19...e3 20.Rxe3 Ne6 with a defensible position. Now White totally

dominates the center and the kingside.

19.e5 Nd7 20.f4 f5

This is the only move. If Black allowed 21.f4-f5, he could have just as well resign on the spot. Here,

Mark Stolberg faced a choice of two options: 1) Sacrifice his Bishop with 21.Bxf5!?, which was very

tempting, and 2) The text move. The first one was probably good enough but less practical.

21.Ne2 Rf8


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22.g4! fxg4 23.Ng3!

White brings his Knight closer to opponents King. Now, Whites victory is just a matter of time.

23...Ne6 24.Bxg6!

This is a nice finish by White. He could also play 24.f5, with a smashing attack, but the text wins by

force.

24...hxg6 25.Qxg6+ Kh8 26.Qh6+ Kg8 27.f5 Nd8

28.Rf4!

This moves wins instantly.

28...Qg7 29.Qh5 Qh7 30.Rxg4+ Kh8 31.Bh6


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Its not a surprise that Black cant handle this raging attack.

31Rg8

In case of 31...Rf7 32.e6 Nf6 33.exf7! White wins as well.

32.Rxg8+ Qxg8

No better is 32Kxg8 33.Qe8+ with mate to follow.

33.f6 Qe6 34.Bg5+, 1-0. Black didnt need to be shown 34Kg8 35.Qg6+ Kf8 36.Bh6 mate.


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Middlegame Planning IIIBy Georgi Orlov

A player frequently encounters positions where he/she has to choose from two or three different

possibilities. Making the right choice is often crucial in such cases. Anyone who wants to seriously

improve his/her chess skills must pay attention to this subject. But how is a player to know which plan is

correct? While there is no ultimate solution, serious study can help a lot on that matter. What kind of

work should a chessplayer do? Basically, one of the best methods is to play over games of good players,

with extensive supplement commentary and analysis. Books of selected games of Garry Kasparov,Anatoly Karpov, Jose Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Aaron Nimzowitch and other World

Champions/chess legends are a great place to start. David Bronsteins famous book CANDIDATES

TOURNAMENT, ZURICH 1953 can also be recommended, perhaps even ahead of the above-mentioned

material.

Here are a few tips:

1) Evaluate a position using the following elements:

a) Kings position and safety (both your opponents and your own).

b) Material correlation.

c) Situation in the center, who controls it, what can be done about it? Ultimately, control of the center is a

great plus in most cases.

d) Presence of weak pawns and squares. If you have those, what can be done to defend or get rid of them?

e) Piece placement. Good and bad pieces (your own and your opponents)

f) Open lines, files, and diagonals.

2) After evaluating the situation, make your decision. What are the common plans in such positions?

3) After choosing a plan, start looking for a particular move, make sure its tactically sound.

4) After verifying your move, take a look at least at one alternative move.

There are some other factors that may influence your choice of a plan, such as the tournament situation,

the presence of a time pressure, etc.

Here are two games where one of the players faced a dilemma while choosing a plan. Particularly

challenging are situations where a player has to choose between keeping Queens on the board or

exchanging them.


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Karpov-Kasparov, World Championship Match 1984BLACK TO PLAY & MAKE A DECISION

Garry Kasparov, then a young grandmaster, faced a serious challenge here: to play 35...Qxd3 36.Rxd3

Kf7 with a slightly passive, but nevertheless solid position, or to play the move that occurred in the game,

35...Rc2, which also looks attractive. On top of the seriousness of this decision, Black also had a serious

time shortage.

Lets evaluate the situation here. Whites King is safe, he controls the d-file, and his Bishop is more

active than his opponents Knight. Blacks King seems to be okay for now, but not quite as safe as his

White adversary is. Also, the h-pawn is bit loose. Taking all this into consideration, in my opinion Black

should do the following:

1) Exchange Queens with 35...Qxd3 36.Rxd3, because in a middlegame his King may be in danger.

2) Bring the King to the center with 36...Kf7 and be ready to cover the d7-square with Kf7-e6.

3) Play g7-g5, kicking Whites Bishop off its comfortable post. The advance of the g-pawn also sets up

a later h5-g4 push at the right time.

4) Try to activate his Knight and Rook.

All of this looks relatively simple, but faced with time-pressure, Kasparov chose the second option.

35...Rc2?

It sounds strange, but this is the losing move! Black probably hoped for 36.a4 Qxd3 37.Rxd3 Ng6 but

forgot that his 8th rank was weak and that White does not have to trade Queens.

36.Qe3!

Karpov makes a very strong move that points out the vulnerability of Blacks King. In case of 36...Rxa2?

37.Rd8, threatening 37.Bd6, White would win Blacks Knight. Also bad was 36...Qf7 when 37.Rd8 Kh7

38.Rxf8! Qxf8 39.Qd3+ and 40.Qxc2 wins for White.

36...Rc8 37.Qe7!

Now its obvious Black is in trouble, as his pieces are disorganized and pawns are weak.


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21.Ra1!

Petrosian prepares Rh1-b1, Kb2-c1 followed by the advance of the passed a- and b-pawns.

21...Nd3+ 22.Bxd3 cxd3

ANOTHER DIFFICULT DECISION

Again White has a problem. His ideal would be to move his queenside pawns and then win the d3-pawn,

but how? In case of 23.Rhb1 fxe4 24.fxe4 Bc4 going back to c1 does not make sense. Tigran employees

the rule of the first World Champion Steinitz, The King is a strong piece.

23.Kb3! Rc8 24.a4 c6 25.dxc6 Rxc6 26.b5

The d3-pawn falls and Black decides to complicate things.

26...d5 27.Nxd5 Bf8 28.Qxd3 Qd6

Another challenge here. White needs to trade pieces, but in case of 29.Rhc1 Rxc1 30.Bxc1, Black would

have 30...Bxb5! 31.Qxb5 Rb8.

29.Kb2! Rb8 30.Rhc1 Kh8 31.Rc3!

If 31.Rxc6 Qxc6 32.Rc1 then 32...Bxb5!!

31...Bb7 32.Rac1 fxe4 33.fxe4 Rxc3 34.Rxc3 Bxd5 35.Bc5!


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KILLING COUNTERPLAY AND ICING THE GAME

A nice little detail, otherwise Blacks Queen would have had access to b4.

35...Qf6 36.Qxd5 Rd8 37.Qc6!

Now Whites win is a matter of technique.

37...Qf4 38.Bxf8 Qxf8 39.Qc5 Qf4 40.Qc6 Qd2+ 41.Ka3 and White went on to win the game.

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Middlegame Planning