Detecting vulnerabilities

I suspect many players perceive the chess board in rich contrast, like a heat map. Glowing bright red are those pieces which are attacked but not defended. A gentler shade applies to pieces which are vulnerable to attack in future, or squares that are ripe for occupation.

In the diagram below, the intrusion 10 Nd5-e7+ is tempting, to win rook for knight. But Wesley So’s stunning move 10 Nf6+ showed an exquisite sense for the soft spots in Black’s position. The key point is that after 10…gxf6 11 Qh6, Black’s awkward clump of pieces have almost no way to influence the f6-square, so Qh6-f6 and Be1-c3 is very hard to meet. It is remarkable that the attack is viable even when White’s supporting pieces have yet to leave the barracks.

This was a game of ‘Chess 960’ in which the pieces on the back rank are shuffled before the game begins. The start position for this game had: Qa1, Nb1, Rc1, Bd1, Be1, Nf1, Kg1, Rh1. Black’s setup mirrors that: Qa8, Nb8, etc.

Wesley So–Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Champions Showdown Chess9LX, September 2021

1 b4 d6 2 c4 e5 3 d4 exd4 4 Qxd4 Nc6 5 Qb2 Ne6 6 Ne3 Bg5 7 Nd5 A powerful sacrifice which yields rich strategical compensation. Bxc1 8 Qxc1 O-O Castling rules differ slightly in Chess960: the king stays on g8 and the rook moves from h8 to f8. 9 b5 Ncd8 (see diagram 1) 10 Nf6+ gxf6 No better was 10…Kh8 11 Bc3 (threatening Qc1-c2 or Bd1-c2) 11 Qh6 Bd1-c2 is the immediate threat, but Be1-c3 is the deeper problem. f5 12 Qf6 It is crucial to occupy this square first. 12 Bc3 f6! would let Black off the hook. Ng7 12…c5 13 Bc3 Nd4 14 e3 N8e6 15 h4! prepares the decisive Rh1-h3-g3.