Double trouble | 18 September 2014

The importance of pawn structure cannot be overestimated when planning chess strategy. Although Philidor (18th century) understood the importance of pawns in chess, in the 19th century the health and safety of one’s pawns was often thrown to the wind in the interests of tactical advantages. However, as chess thinking became more sophisticated and was explained by chess philosophers such as Steinitz, Tarrasch and Nimzowitsch, the crucial nature of the pawn constellation became apparent. In modern grandmaster chess, even the slightest weakness in the pawn armature can be fatal.

This week’s game shows Nimzowitsch, the author of the chess strategic bible, My System, inflicting wound after wound on the white pawn structure against a two-times world championship challenger who seems to have believed, wrongly, that piece activity would always trump the handicap of shattered pawns. The notes are based on those by Steve Giddins in his new Everyman book Nimzowitsch: Move by Move, which takes Nimzo scholarship to a new level.

Bogoljubow-Nimzowitsch: Carlsbad 1929; Nimzo-Indian Defence

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 b6 6 g3 Bb7 7 Bg2 0-0 8 0-0 Re8 9 Re1 d6 10 Qc2 This threatens but it does not work. 10 Nd2 now seems the logical choice, since after 10 … Bxg2 11 Kxg2 e5 12 e4 the e4-pawn is adequately defended after the exchange on d4. 10 … Be4 11 Qb3 Nc6 12 Bf1 e5 13 dxe5 Nxe5 14 Nxe5 Rxe5 15 Bf4 Re8 16 f3 Bb7 17 Rad1 Nd7 18 e4 Qf6 (diagram 1) The key to assessing the position is to ask what White can actually do with his position. The answer is nothing. He has no pawn breaks, and no weaknesses in the black position to attack.