Andrew Soltis - The Stonewall Attack - Chess Digest (1993).pdf

Copyright© 1993 Andrew Soltis This is a revised edition of 11ze Stonewall Attack by Andrew Soltis (1987 Chess Digest, Inc). All rights reserved under Pan American and lnten1aLional Copyright conventions.

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Stonewall Attack: Index

INDEX PAGE INTRODUCTION

Azzien Mohanuned-GM Arnold Denker, U.S. Open 1992 With the Cotnplete Games: Trenchard-Walbrodt, Vienna 1898 Kujoth-Crittendent Milwaukee 1949 Gunsberg-Tchigorin, Match 1890 Klinger-Kallai, Lenk 1990

CHAPTER ONE:

7

7

10

11 14 16

20

The Matter Of Move Order

With the Complete Games: Parr-Baxter, British Champ. 1962 Yusupov-Anand, Linares 1991

CHAPTER TWO:

20 25 30

Stonewall Strategies

(I) Simple Kin&side Attack With the Complete Game: Capablanca-Ilia, Exhibition 1911

30

(2) Good vs Bad Bisho_ps

36

With the Complete Game: Ware-Weiss, Vienna 1882 Ufimtsev- Vaiser, Kyakhstan Team Ch. 1965 (3) Queenside Play: The Open and Half-Open c-file With the Complete Games: Maroczy-Janowski, Vienna 1902 Christensen-Becker, Olympiade 1939

30

36 41 45 45 46 50

Stonewall Attack: Index

4

Page (4) The Pawn ReCaptured on d3 With the Complete Games: Sultan Khan-Mattison, Prague 1931 Marshall-Suchting, Vienna 1908 Trenchard-Schlechter, Vienna 1898 (5) The Double Stonewall With the Complete Games: Chajes-Rotlervi, Karlsbad 1911 Lee-Mason, London 1899

52 52 55 58 60

60 63

(6) The Advance of the e-Pawn With the Complete Game: Fogolevich-Lapin, Moscow 1928

66

CHAPTER THREE: The "Theoretically Best .. Defense

69 69

66

1 d4, d5 2 e3, Nf6. ..

2 ...Nc6

3 Bd3, Nc6 3...Bg4 4 f4 4 c3, 4 c4 4..., Nb4

4...Bg4

69 70 72 73

5Nf3

74

With the Complete Game: Yates-Schlechter, Pistyan 1902

78

CHAPTER FOUR: The Traditional Defense

81

1 d4, d5 2 e3, Nf6 2 ...c6 2... e6 3 Bd3, c5 3... c3

3...Nbd7

81 83 84

Stonewall Attack: Index

SECTION (A) Black Plays •••e6 1 d4, d5 2e3,Nf6 3 Bd3, c5 4 c3, e6 5 f4, Nc6 5...Nbd7 5...Qc7 6Nd2 6Nf3 6Qf3 6... Bd6 7 Qf3 7 Nh3 7... Bd7 7...0-0 7...h5 8~3

Page 87

87

88 89 90 91 ~

SEC'fiON (8) Black Develops His QB 1 d4, d5 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, c5 4 c3, Nc6 4...Qc7 5 f4 5 dxc5 in note 5NO 5... Bg4 6Nf6 6Qc2 6 ...e6 6 ...Ne4

93

93

94 ~

94 94 94

7Nbd2

95

Summary & Editor's Note

96

CHAPTER FIVE: Black Fianchettoes 1 d4, Nf6 2 e3, g6 2...d6 2... b6 1. Jonsson-T. Herrstrom, U.S. Open 1985

Variation A 3 f4, Bg7 4 Nf3 4 Bd3, d5 5 Nd2, c5 6 c3, Qc7 4 ...0-0 4...d5 5 Bd3 5 Be2, 0-0 6 0-0, c5

101

102 103 104 104 104

6...Nbd7

6 ... b6

106 106 106

6

Stonewall Attack: Index

5•..d5

5...d6

5...c5

6 0-0 6...c5

6 Nbd2 6...Ne8

6 c3

7 c3

7 Nbd2

7...b6, 7... cxd4, 7... Nc6, 7... Nbd7 8 Nbd2 8 Bd2 8 Qe2 8...Bb7

108 108

108 109

109 111 111

Variation B Form of The Colle 1 d4, Nf6 2 e3, g6 3 Nf3, Bg7 4Be2

114

ILLUSTRATIVE GAME SECTION The Complete Games of: 1. Sultan Khan-Rubinstein, Prague 1931 2. Marshall-Rubinstein, Vienna 1908 3. Horowitz-Amateur. New York 1950 4.RJnoch-Nagy, Budapest 1926 5. Santasiere-Adams. u.s. 1940 6. Lipke-Zink, Leipzig 1894 7. Lipke·Schiffers, Leipzig 1894 8. Pillsbury·Hanham, New York 1893

117 117 124 130

137 142 145 149

153

Introduction: Stonewall Attack

7

INTRODUCTION How often do you see something like this happen in the flfst round of a major open tournament? In U1ose ftrst rounds, there are mismatches of several hundred ratings points, and the better players usually finish their opponents in an hour or two. But then there are games Iike this, between a grand1naster and a 1700-playcr. Azziem Mohammed-(jM Arnold Denker U.S. pen 1992 l d4

2e3 3Bd3 4Nd2 5 f4!

6c3 7Qf3

Nf6 dS

e6 Nbd7 c5 b6 Bb7

We would prefer to develop the Knight at h3, from where it can go togS. But White still has an ~xcellent- and advantageous - position. 8Ne2 9 Bc2

Be7 ReS

10 0-0

Rc7

8

Stonewall Attack: Introduction

11 g4!

Qa8

12Ng3 13g5

0-0 Ne8

Things like this should not occur: White, vastly outrated, has the makings of a powerful attack. With a few preparatory moves such as 14 Khl he will command a dangerous auack force with little direct counterplay by Black. A more direct assault results frorn 14 Qh5! and if 14.•.g6, then 15 Qg4 followed by 16 h4 and 17 h5. White can also try 15 Qh3, with ideas such as Nd2-f3-e5 or 15 f5!, exf516 NxfS (since 16... gxf5? 17 Bxf5 is too dangerous). But White lost this game and tbe reason may be that he was overconfident(!). His position is so promising that White played 14 Bxh7ch?!, Kxh7 15 Qh5ch, Kg8. Now 16 Rf3looks powerful, because of the threat of 17 Nf5 !, exf5 18 Rh3. But 16..•g6! 17 Qh6, Ng7 kills the attack. White actually continued 16 NfJ, g6 17 Qh6, Ng7, but after 18 NeS, NxeS 19 fxe5, Qd8 20 Rf6!?, ReS! 21 Bd2, Bf8 he was already lost. The 1700-player resigned on the 32 move. But once again the point had been made: The Stonewall, once a mighty weapon in the hands of a Frank Marshall or a Jose Capablanca, is very much alive. And it is an opening well worth adopting. The Stonewall is unique in the realm of chess openings. It is one of the simplest to play and yet it's one of the rarest to be found in tournaments-at least on the master level. It was once very popular but its tilne of prominence was exceptionally brief. No strong master used the Stonewall before

Introduction: Stonewall Attack

9

the 1880s·-and no strong master has used it consistently since the 1920s. Yet it has been used by amateurs of all strengths since its heyday. In that heyday, it was adopted by attacking starts such as Frank Marshall and Edgar Colle--but it was also adopted by posilionaltnasters such as Geza Maroczy and Jose Capablanca. It was used by people, such as Gyula Breyer and Harry Bird, who broke new, theoretical paths, and also by those, such as Sultan Khan, who just wanted to get into the middlegame without having to learn a lot of book moves. The Stonewall's bold features and simple strategies attracted bold planners such as Harry Pillsbury. And while its positional disadvantages have been regularly cited in opening books they did little to dissuade such a dogmatician as Siegbert Tarrasch from using it. But eventually Lbe Stonewall lost favor. Sotne of today's opening books suggest this occurred because of the discovery of an easy "equalizing .. system for Black. But the equalizer doesn't necessarily equalize, as our Chapter Three suggests. The real reason the Stonewall lost its position in the family of openings was the ernergence of the rival Queenside strategy, Pillsbury's attack in the Queen's Gambit Declined, which offered White attacKing potential wilh few positional de1neri1S. Today the Stonewall has a poor reputation. A reputation based largely on the mediocre results it produced around the tum of the century. But those results are deceptive. As the stronger masters gave it up for the Queen's Gambit, lhe Stonewall appeared primarily in the games of lesserknown masters. And when the lesser masters got clobbered by the superstars, it was explained by the annotators that it was all due to the Stonewall. (Of course, when occasionally a superstar adopted the Stonewall and won, it was explained that he won because he was a superstar.)

An illustration of why the Stonewall's reputation suffered was what happened at the Vienna Toun1runent of 1898: The Stonewall was played only seven titnes, six of tltcm by tbe unheralded Englishman H.W. Trenchard, who managed only two draws with the opening. But Trenchard's problem wasn't the Stonewall, it was Trenchard. He was simply outclassed as a player. A look at some of Trenchard's positions after 20 moves, however, is encouraging:

10

Stonewall Attack: Introduction

VIENNA 1898

TRENCHARD-WALBRODrf ld4 2e3 3Bd3 4 f4! Sc3 6Nd2 7 NhJ!? 80-0 9 Nf3 tONeS

d5 Nf6 e6 cS Nc6 Bd7 Bd6 Qc7 h6 Ne7

Black's maneuvering is questionable, but it is difficult to suggest a clearcut plan for him. He is afraid of a Kingside attack if he castles Kingside. So he prepares to block White's active Bishop by occupying e4. 11 Nil! 12 Nfg4 13 Nxc6 14Bxe4 15Nf2 16 dxcS! 17b4 18c4! 19 bS! 20Bb2

Bc6 Ne4 bxc6 dxe4

rs

BxcS Bb6

c5 0-0

Introduction: Stonewall Attack

11

White has an excellent grune. His terrible Queen Bishop has seized a fme diagonal while its opposite nutnber has been reduced to the status of a big pawn. Only a tnistaken plan of exchanging Queens on 1nove 24 deprived White of a tretnendous middlegame position. What the Stonewall does is to build a fortress of dark-squared

pawns for a sitnple attacking machine. The machine consists of only a few pieces--the White Queen. King Bishop and King Knight and perhaps a Rook or the other Knight. But it only takes a few pieces to deliver tnate:

R. KUJOTH-R. CRIT1,ENDEN MILWAUKEE 1949 1 d4

2e3

d5 Nf6

For the weak 2•••Bf5 see Illustrated Game #4. 3Bd3 4C4 5Nd2!

e6 Nbd7

12

Stonewall Attack: Introduction

So far Black has made one minor error of omission. He missed his chance to organize a counter-Stonewall with 4••• Ne4! and S•••fS. But he soon makes two serious errors of ommission, after which White•s advantage just grows and grows.

s... 6c3 7 exd4! 8Ngf3 9NeS!

cS cxd4? Be7 b6 NxeS?

10 fxeS!

Black was understandably concerned after 9 NeS about White's clear plan of Ndf3-g5, attacKing r7 and h7 in coordination with a Queen and Bishop. The White King Rook could also get into action by way of Rf3-g3 or h3.

Introduction: Stonewall Attack

13

However, the exchange of pawns and Knights has only eased White's task. His donnant Queen Bishop, which was locked in by pawns at e3 and f4 only a few moves ago, can now join the olher forces in ag . . gression: 10...

Nd7

11 0-0 12Qg4 13 Bc2

aS g6

BgS

14Nc~

14...

dxc4

On 14•••Bxc1 White wins with 15 Nd6ch. After the text, White has a forced win, as all his pieces take part in the attack.

15 BxgS 16 Rxt7!

Qc7 Kxl7

On 16•••Nxe5 White continues 17 Rxc7, Nxg4 18 h3!, h6 19 Bxg6ch, Kf8 20 Rfich, Kg8 21 Bd2 White wins. 17 Rflch 18 Bh6cb!

Kg7 Kxb6

19Rl7

Qd8

20 Rxh7ch! 21 Qxg6mate

Kxh7

In essence, lhe Stonewall then consists of:

14

Stonewall Attack: Introduction

A Bishop at d3

One Knight at eS and the other at f3 (or h3 so that Whiters Queen can occupy f3). The points of attack are Blackrs castled position at h7 and f7. The White Queen Bishop is the problem piece of Ibis opening and sotnetitnes it plays no role in the first 10-15 moves. Often the Bishop has to Lake the overland route of Bd2-el-h4 in order to find a good diagonal. But t11ere are instances when that is insufficient and White must give the Bishop a greater role in the middlegame by playing b2-b3 and Bb2. Or, when White plays a different move order and achieves a belated f2-f4, then the g7 square can become the chief target for White. For instance, one of the most famous games of the last century went: I. GUNSBERG-M. TCHIGORIN

MATCH 1890 1 d4 2Nf3 3e3 4Bd3 s b3!? 6Bb2 7Nbd2 8Ne5 9 f4!

dS e6 Be7

Nf6 Nbd7 0-0 Re8 Nf8 c5

Introduction: Stonewall Attack

15

White's pieces coordinate quite well. Black is anticipating an attack on h7 and Lhat is why he's placed a Knight on 18. But that configura. . tion of forces makes ittnore difficult to protect the gJ square, and Ibis fact influences White's next few moves. 100-0 11 Rf3! 12 dxc5! 13Rg3 14 h4! lSNfl

a6 b5 BxcS Ng6 Qb6 Nxh4

The threat was 16 hS, NxeS 17 BxeS followed by Bxf6 or Rxg7cb!. Black's last move, however, allows the de1nolition of his Kingside. His King is chased westward until it reaches lhe end of the board. 16 Nxl7!, Kxf7 17 Bxf6, gxf6 18 QhSch, Ke7 19 Qxh4, Bd7 20 Rg7ch, Kd6 21 Qxr6, Bxe3cb 22 Nxe3, QxeJcb 23 Kfl, Rad8 24 Ret, Qd2 25 Re2, Qclcb 26 Kf2, Kc6 27 Rxh7, Rf8 28 Rxe6ch!, Kc7 29 Rc6cb!, Kb7 30 Rb6ch Black Resign.

Another illustration of how strong White's reputedly feeble Queen .. side can become with sorne accurate preparation.

16

Stonewall Attack: Introduction

Klinger-Kallai Lenk 1990 ld4 2e3

dS Nf6

3BdJ

g6

4f4

Bg7

5Nf3 This is a rare, modem example of a "pure" Stonewallinove-order in a grandmaster game. 5..• 6 0-0

0-0 cS

7c3

b6

8 Qe2

aS

Black has learned the lesson of the good and bad Bishops. Since White's eighth move was designed to stop 8.••Ba6, Black's replay is his way of insisting. Now 9•••Ba6 cannot be stopped.

However, there is a slight positional price to be paid. The squares bS and c6 can become highly vulnerable in the late middle game. 9 a4

Ba6

10 Bxa6 11 b3!?

Nxa6

Introduction: Stonewall Attack

17

White varies frotn the standard development plan (Bd2-eJ . .Iz4) because an important change has taken place on the Queenside. He intends planting his Queen Knight on bS along with a Bishop on a3 or b2 and a Rookatcl.

11...

Ne4

12 Bb2 13Na3

e6 Qe7

14 Rfcl This a rare case of this Rook swinging to the opposite wing in a Stonewall. The rea-;on is partly tactical: 14 Racl, Rfc8 JS Rc2, cxd4 15 exd4- similar to the game- would allow 15••• Nxc3! (16 Bxc3, Qxa3). Of course, in that case, White could recapture at move 15 with the c-pawn. But... 14... Rfc8 15 Rc2 cxd4? 16 exd4! Far superior to the c-pawn capture, whcih would give b4 to Black's Knight and lead to a symmetrical position in which Black would have the upper hand because of his better Bishop. Now Black finds that he cannot double Rooks smoothly on the cfile, as he planned (16... Rc7 17 Nb5,· 16... Rc6 17 Racl. Rac8?? 18 Qxa6). He has already gone astray since a better idea was 15•••Nd6 and 16•..c4. Now his game begins to deteriorate. Nc7 16••• 17 Racl Ne8 N8d6 18Nb5 19 c4!

18

Stonewall Attack: Introduction

You might (incorrectly) conclude that Black still stands well because the pawn structure is nearly symmetrical and it is White with the inferior Bishop. However, the Bishop will be soon exchanged off, leaving the Rooks as the most important pieces. White has the better heavy pieces. 19... 20 cxbS!

NxbS

Rxc2

Not much better was 20•.•Qb7 21 NeS and Rc6. The vulnerability of c6 costs Black the game. 21 Qxc2 22Qd3 23 Rc6 24Rxb6 25 bxc4!

Qb4 Nd6 ReS

Nc4

This corrects the Queenside pawn structure. Eveu at the expense of the a-pawnt White wins easily now as the c-pawn can't be stopped. 25 ••• 26cS 27Ktl 28Rb7

29c6 30c7

Qxb2

Qalch Qxa4 Qb4 a4 Bf8

Otherwise 31 Rb8, Qf8 32 Rxc8 and 33 b6 tnust win.

31 b6

Bd6

32 Kg3!? 33Qc2

QaS a3

34 Rb8!

Introduction: Stonewall Attack

19

This wins because White can even allow Black to protnote his apawn. 34... 35 cxb8(Q)ch 36Qc8ch 37 Qxb8 38 b7 39Qe5ch 40Qd6

Rxb8 1Jxb8 Kg7 a2 al(Q) f6

Leading to a cute finish. 40... 41 Qe7ch!

QScJ Kh6

42 Kh4!

Black Resigns. To stop 43 Qf8 mate, Black must play a Queen to a3, after which White exchanges one pair of Queens and protnotes again.

In short, the Stonewall packs a deceptive punch that many tnodem players do not know how to dodge.

20

Stonewall Attack: Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE THE MATTER OF MOVE ORDER The ancient Stonewall wilh its rigid pawn fonnation and narrow purpose has one thing in common with flexible, modem systetns such as the King•s Indian Reversed. Just as the K.I.R. is essentially a system of development that can come about from 1 g3 or 1 Nf3 or 1 e4 or 1 dJ, the Stonewall is a system of development that can come about frotn several different move orders. In this book we'll consider the most conunon sequence: 1 d4 followed by 2 e3 and then 3 Bd3 and 4 f4 (or 3 f4 and 4 Bd3) But the Stonewall has materialized in quite a variety of sequences, including 1 f4 in the hands of Bent Larsen, Gideon Stahlberg and Harry Bird, or even 1 NO. Knowing the features of the Stonewall allows White the flexibility to adapt to his opponent's plans. For example, suppose White plays his first few moves as if he intends a Colle System. The opening popularized by the Belgian master in the 1920s.

PARR-BAXTER

BRffiSH CHAMPIONSHIP 1962 1 NO

d5

2 d4

Nf6

3e3

e6

4Bd3 Sc3

c5 Bd6

Chapter One: The Matter of Move Order

21

Black has played the position in the way often thought to equalize against the Colle System, an opening similar to the Stonewall but different because of pawn intentions. In the Colle, White strives for e3-e4 to liberate his pieces. On 6 Nbd2 Black might continue with •••Nbd7 followed by ....b7-b6, .••Bb7 and •••Qc7 with all of his pieces cooperating with one another. After White breaks in the center with e3-e4; there will follow a series of exchanges that blunt White•s attacKing potential and grant Black active counterplay. But White crosses hitn up: 6Ne5

Nbd7

7 f4! Now Black should realize tl1at the anti-CoJJe develop1nent he intended will fail miserably against the quite different Stonewall White has established. For this reason Black should counter his opponent's shift in strategy with a shift of his own--7.••Ne4! followed by 8••.0-0 and 9•••rs.

7... 8Nd2 9 0-0

0-0?! b6 Bb7

lOQfJ 11 g4!

Qc7

22

Stonewall Attack: Chapter One

Charge! Black has developed his pieces logically but has done nothing that will allow him to answer the simple attacking plan of 12 gS and 13 Qh5. For example, 11 ••• Rac8 12 gS, Ne8 13 Bxh7ch, Kxh7 14 QhSch, Kg815 Rf3 and 16 Rh3 (15../616 g6!) or lt ••• Rfd812 gS, Ne8 13 Bxh7ch!, Kxh7 14 QhSch, Kg815 Qxt7ch and 16 Rf3. Black tries instead to exchange off an attacker and then clear his second rank. ll •••BxeS 12 fxe5, Ne8 13 QhJ, g6 14 NfJ, f6 15 Bd2, fxeS? 16 NgS, Rxflch 17 Rxfl, Nef6 18 Qh6, ReS 19 Nxh7! Black resigns. (It's mate after 19...Nxh7 20 Qxg6ch.) The traditional order of tnoves is 1 d4, dS 2 eJ so that White gets

his Bishop to d3 before Black can challenge the diagonal witb ... B£5. (If Black plays the immediate 2... Bf5 the Bishop's absence from the Queenside is felt after 3 c4! and 4 Qb3). There is a great deal of subtlety in the order of moves chosen by each side. For example, after 1 d4, d5 2 eJ, Nf6 J Bd3 Black can elitninate the White attacking Bishop with 3... Nc6 because he threatens 4•••e5 as well as 4•••Nb4 5 Be2, Bf5!. White may choose, therefore, to play an early Nd2 in place of BdJ, as Capablanca used to do with l d4, dS 2 e3, Nf6 3 Nd2.

But then 3•••Bf5 is an obvious response for Black since the transposition to a Queen's gambit now with 4 c4 has much less strength (4... c6 5 Qb3, Qb6). And on 4 Ngf3, e6 S NeS continuing the Stonewall plan, Black can play S...Nfd7! 6 Ndf3, NxeS 7 NxeS, Nd7! 8 Nxd7, Qxd7 (Marshall-

Chapter One: 'fhe Matter of Move Order

23

Euwe, Karlsbad 1929). Without Knights the Stonewall beco1nes a wall that

only serves to entrap Bishops. During U1e 1870s and '80s there was an Alnerican tnaster nruned Preston Ware who used the sequence of 1 d4 and 2 f4?!, regardless of what Black did. But this is inferior because it concedes the e4 square too early and allows Black to seize the weakened light squares with •••Bf5! for exam· ple: 1 d4, d5 2 f4, BfS J NfJ, e6 with an easy garne for Black: 4 eJ, Nf6 5 Bd3, Bg6 6 0-0, cS 7 c3, Nc6 8 a3, Bxd3 9 Qxd3, c4! 10 Qe2, Bd6 11 Nbd2, 0-0 12 NeS, Ne7 (Ware-Mason, Vienna 1882) or 4.••c5 S BbSch, Nc6 6 0-0, Qb6 7 Bxc6ch, bxc6 8 c3, Nf6 9 Qa4, BdJ 10 Rel, Bd6 11 dxcS, BxcS 12 b4, Bd6 13 Nd4, ReS (Ware-Englisch, Vienna 1882).

In the 20th century the Stonewall becrune more sophisticated. Sui.. tan Khan chose a delayed fonn of Stonewall which allowed him to play the Queen's Gambit depending on what Black did: 1 d4, dS 2 Nf3, cS 3 e3 and now on 3 •••e6 he would continue 4 NeS!, Nf6 S Nd2, and fl-f4. The Indian master's game with Akiba Rubinstein from Prague 1931 saw Black play S...Nbd7 6 f4, Bd6 7 c3, b6 8 Bd3, Bb7 9 Qf3, hS to restrain g2-g4. But Black wa4i soon in trouble (10 Qg3!, Kj8 11 0-0. 11412 Qh3, Rc813 Ndf3, Ne4 14 Bd2, Nxd2 15 Nxd2, Nf6 16 NdfJ, llund QB for Black's excellent KB, that will leave him with a superior light-squared B against Black's limited B. But how to trade Bishops without weakening the center pawn wedge that makes the Stonewall a wall of stone? One of the basic themes is illustrated by the games of Preston Ware, a late-19th century American am· ateur who pursued a simple plan with the White pieces. He established the Stonewall early, then played Bd2-el-h4. And even when it didn't lead to mate, it often led to a positionally solid middlegame: PRESTON WARE (U.S.) ·MAX WEISS VIENNA (AUSTRIA) 1882 1 d4 2f4

dS e6

Not a good plan, as Black will be unable to exploit with his QB the light-squares on the Kingside and in the center (g4, e4, /5) that White has just weakened. 3NfJ

Nf6

This denies Black the opportunity to set up a counter-Stonewall with •••rJ.fS. Another of Preston Ware's games from his tournament vs. Meitner, saw Black delay the KN's development but then create the double wall when White•s attack got rolling: 3...b6 4 e3, Bb7 5 Bd3, Bd6 6 0-0,

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

37

Nd7 7 Bdl, Ngf6 8 Bel, cS 9 c3, a6?! 10 Bh4!, Qc7 11 Nbd2, c412 Bc2, Ng413 Qe2, fS 14 h3, Ngf615 NeS, 0-0. The natural consequences of ••rJ. f5 is to give White a sure-fire method of opening up the Kingside, with al· g4. He continued 16 a3, bS 17 Ndfl, Nb6 18 g4!, Ne4 19 gxfS, exf5 20 Kh2, Be7 21 Bxe7, Qxe7 22 Rgl, Be8 23 Rg2, Qf6 24 Ragl. Having exchanged off his bad Bishop and maximized his strength on the board's only open line, it is not surprising Ware won.

Later in the tournament A. Schwarz varied with 9•••Qc7 against Ware. but also got in a difficult position after 10 Bh4, b6 11 NeS, 0-0 12 Nd2, Rfe8 13 Ret, a6 14 Qe2, bS 15 g4, Ne4 16 Qg2, fS 17 Ndf3, Nf8 18 gxf5, exf5 19 Khl, c4 20 Bbl, Be7 21 Rgl, Bxh4 22 Nxh4, Bc8 23 Rcfi, Qe724RfJ. 4e3

4•••

Bd6

In yet a later round Johannes Zukertort. then a World Championship caliber player, continued 4•••c5 5 cJ, Be7 which avoids forks on eS after White plays NeS and Black captures it with his QN. The Bishop on e7 also avoids pins on the h4-d8 diagonal when White's QB completes its laborious, overland trek. The Ware-Zukertort game went 6 Bd3, Nc6 7 0-0, 0· 0 8 Bd2 and Black began a Queenside attack that was aided by White's eagerness to open lines there: 8•••c4 9 Bc2, bS 10 Bel, aS 11 b3?, b4! 12 NeS, Qc7 13 bxc4, dxc4. And now 14 Nxc4 runs into 14•••Ba6, so White continued his errant ways and ran into further trouble with 14 Qe2, Ba615 Nd2 (better 15 Ba4) bxcJ 16 Ndf3, NdS 17 Be4, Ncb4 18 a3, f6 19 Ng5?, fxg5 20 axb4,

.

38

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

axb4 with an avalanche of Black pawns gathering speed on the Queenside. White could, however, have played 19 axb4, fxe5 20 bS!, Bxb5 21 NxeS with quite a reasonable game. In a later game (Ware-Hruby) Black delayed castling but this only got bim into a different kind of trouble on the Kingside: 7•••c4 (instead of 7...0-0) 8 Bc2, b5 9 NeS, Qc7 10 Bd2, aS 11 Bel, Bd7 12 Bh4, b413 Nd2, Rb8 14 Rb1, NxeS? 15 fxeS, Ng816 Qg4, Bf817 Qf3, Bc618 e4, Nh619 g4!, gS! 20 Bg3.

5Bd3 6c3

cS Nc6

7 0-0

a6

Black doesn't need this move at all if he plans to expand on lhe Queenside. In another round, the World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, played the aggressive 7•••0..0 8 Bd2, c4 9 Bc2, bS 10 Bel, aS 11 Bh4, b4. However, White exploited the Kingside pin with enough energy to distract Black from the Queenside: 12 Nbd2, Rb8 13 NeS, Na7 14 e4!, Be7 15 exdS, exd5 16 fS, Rb617 QCJ, NbS 18 Rael, bxc3 19 bxc3. White eventually won by pushing his Kingside pawns.

B 1-;.~·- J.tt •··~. rB t (_,. ·J.:. i :t i

,y,'

t~~{•Ata

',

ft ,·ft

;;i .t ,' 1t

ft

:ft.Q.:ft~

a~~*

ft ft

a'lt>

8Bd2

Beginning the circuitous Bishop shift to h4. White decides against trying to use the Bishop on another diagonal, such as after b2-b3 and Ba3, because of the weakening of the central pawn barrier that White has labored so long to build.

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

39

The next stage of lhe game was characterized by White's application of his tried-and-true fonnula compared with Black's vacillation:

8...

0-0

9a3 10h3 11 Bel 12Nbd2 13 Qxd2 14 Radl 15Qe2 16 Bh4!

b6 Bb7 Ne4

Nxd2? NaS Nc4 NaS Qc7?

Black's failure to play the thematic 12...fS! and his stumbling attempts to find the right mixture of Queenside moves have left White with a free hand on the Kingside. Notice how few are Black's defensive pieces near the King. 17 NgS!

White could already have played for the brilliancy prize with that old combinational idea, 17 Bxh7ch!, Kxh7 18 Ng5ch, for example: (A) 18... Kg8 19 QhS, Rfc8 20 Qh7cb, Kf8 21 fS! and the f-file is decisively opened, (B) 18 ... Kg6 19 fSch, exf5 20 Rxf5! (20... Kxf5 21 Qg4ch and 22 Ne6ch), or (C) 18 ... Kh6! 19 f5, exf5 20 RxfS, g6 21 Rf6 with a powerful attack. The text, with its threat of capture on h7, insures some penetration of White pieces. Steinitz examined the defense of 17...g6 and considered White to be winning after 18 Nxh7!, Kxh7 19 Bf6, e.g. 19••• Kg8 20 RfJ, Be7 21 DeS, Bd6 22 Rg3, BxeS 23 dxeS followed by Qg4 and Rfl. Even stronger for white is 20 Qg4 (rather than 20 Rj3) because of the forcing line 20...Be7 21 BeS, Bd6 22 Bxg6!, BxeS 23 Bxl7cb, Kxl7 24 fxe5ch, Ke8 25 Rxf8cb, Kxf8 26 ROch, Q17 27 Qxe6!. The Queen beats the uncoordinated pieces in this endgame. 17". 18QhS

h6

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

40

18...

Nc4

There was no defense because of the impending Nh7! The Tournament book gives: (A) 18...Bc8 19 Nh7!, Re8 20 Nf6ch!, gxf6 21 Bxf6 and a Queen check, or 19...Rd8 20 Bxd8, Qxd8 21 Ng5!, hxg5 22 fxg5, Ra7 23 Qh7cb, Kf8 24 Qh8ch, Ke7 25 Rxf7ch! and wins; (B) 18 ... Rfe8 19 Nxf7!, Qxf7 20 Bh7ch, Kf8 21 Bg6, Qd7 22 f5!;

(C) 18 ...Rae8 19 Nh7 winning the exchange; (D) 18...Be7 19 f5, Bxg5 20 Bxg5, f6 21 fxe6 (2l .• .fxg5 22 Qg6).

Back to the game. 19 Nxe6! 20Qg6

fxe6

And the threat of 21 Qh7ch, Kf7 22 Bg6 1nate leads to a massacre. Notice how both the White Bishops have secured diagonals. Th~ game ended with: 20... 21 Qxe6ch 22Qg6 23Qh7 24Bg6

RfS Rl7 Kf8 Ke8 Bf8

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

2s rs

41

Kd7

(Desperation-but 26 f6 would have won in any event) 26 Bxf7, Nxe3 27 Be6ch, Kc6 28 Qg6, Bd6 29 Rfel, Nxdl 30 Rxdl, c4 31 BxdScb!, KxdS 32 Qe6cb, Ke6 33 Qxc4cb, Kd7 34 Qe6ch, Kc6 35 dSch,

KbS 36 Qe2ch, Ka4 37 Qclch, KbS 38 a4ch. Black resigns. And what about the other Bishop? It almost goes without saying that Black will try to exchange off the light-colored Bishops as soon as White play BdJ. A common method for Black to try for Ibis trade is shown in the following:

UFIMTSEV•VAISER KAZAKHSTAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 1965 1 d4

Nf6

2N13 3Nbd2 4e3 5Ne5 614

e6 dS

cS Bd6

As mentioned earlier, this is the Breyer move order leading to a delayed Stonewall. Black needs to develop his Queen Bishop and so be chooses to play: 6... 7Bd3 8c3

9Bc2!?

0-0 b6 Ba6

42 .

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

And White is willing to take extreme measures to avoid the exchange of light-squared Bishops. Implicit in this decision is the willingness to forego castling. White is saying: "I know where your King lives. With the center closed, I can go all out to attack it and not pay attention to where my King is." Black recognizes this and takes measures of his own: 9•••

tom

11 dxeS 12Qh5 13Nf3

Nbd7 Bxe5!? Ne8

rs

When Black blocks the key d3-h7 diagonal, White's choice of continuing the attack usually comes down to Ibis: taking en ..passant or opening the g-ftle with g2-g4xf5.

Sometimes the en-passant option is superior because then White can attack the weakened e6-square. Here, however, White wants to open the g-ftle only. 13... 14Bd2 15g4

Qe7 Nc7

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

43

It turns out that the White King is well-placed after all. It would be misplaced on gl even if castling had been legal because White will open the g·flle and play Rgl. 15... 16Qb3 17Rbgl 18gxf5 19Rg3 20Ragl

g6 Bb7 Qg7

exfS Bc8 c4

Black's last move is a gesture of frustration: He has no counterplay. Wbite can simply retreat the Bishop, but he already is thinking of forcing a win such as the endgame after 21 Qb5, gxhS 22 Rxg7ch, Kb8 23 BxfS! (23 ...Rxf5 24 Rg8 mate). 21 QhS! 22 Rxg6! 23Rxg6 24 Rxg7ch 2SBxf5 26Qxf5

Rli hxg6 Nf8 Rxg7 BxfS

44

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

Black bas fmally managed to exchange off the Bishops, but of course, positional niceties no longer matter. The game ended shortly after 26••.Nfe6 27 h4, Rf8 28 Qh3, NcS 29 NgS, Ne4ch 30 Nxe4, dxe4 31 Qbl!.

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

45

C3l QliEENSIDE PLAY: THE QPEN ANn HALF-oPEN C-file The Stonewall is not monolithic: White is not limited to winning by means of Qh5-Qxh7 mate. In general, be would like to keep the Queenside quiet, but this is not always possible. For example, there are times when tbe c-fJ.le becomes open, full or part way. Black can open it part way with •••c7-cSxd4:

White must choose between the two pawn recaptures. In most cases, it pays for him to retake with his e-pawn because (A) his bad Bishop then improves in scope on the Kingside, (B) he may be able to use the extra two squares along the e-file that a Rook on el will now control. and (C) be keeps Black from exploiting the board's only open file (as he might after cxd4).

But these are not the only guidelines for the middlegame. There are times in which White either is forced, or opts from a free choice, to play cxd4. Then attention may shift from the King's wing to the Queen's because of the openess of the position there. White should not assume that the enemy has the better Queenside prospects, as the following indicates:

46

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

GEZA MAROCZY (Hungary)-DAVID JANOWSKI (France) VIENNA 1902 1 f4

dS

2e3 3d4

c5

4Bd3 5c3 6Nd2 7Ngf3

Nc6 Nf6

e6

Bd6

cxd4!

After this alert capture White must open the C· file since the alternative, 8 exd4, surrenders the f-pawn without compensation (9... Bxf4). 8cxd4

Bd7

The battle for the board's only open file begins. Black threatens 9•••Nb4! followed by penetration on c2 (after 10 Be2, ReB) or on d3 (after 10 Bbl, Bb5!). He cannot seize those square immediately because 8 •••Nb4 9 Bel, Bd7 allows White a breath and be uses it to play 10 a3!, forcing Black backward. 9a3! 10Qe2 110-0

ReS Qb6 Ne7

Black wants to solve the problem of his QB by way of •••Ba4 or ••.a6 and •••Bb5, as well as winning control of e4 with a later •••Nf5-d6-e4. But he achieves these goals more directly--and without allowing White to

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

47

expand on the Queenside--with the superior ll •.•aS!, followed by 12••.Na7 and 13••.Bb5! 12NeS 13b4 14Bb2 15 Racl 16Qxd3

Bc6 Ba4 Bc2 BxdJ

Black has achieved his strategic goal: the light-squared Bishops are off the board. But there has been some cost, a good deal of lost time. Moreover, White can use this time to reinforce some of the excellent dark squares of the board beginning with e5 and c5.

16••• 17Nb3

0-0 BxeS?

Black should begin trading Rooks, not more minor pieces. He expects to reach an endgame in which White's bad Bishop will be a chronic liability, but underestimates the initiative he grants the ene1ny. 18 dxeS! An occasion when White does not benefit much from the half-

opened f-file, particularly because if White were to launch a Kingside at· tack there would be plenty of enemy counterplay along the c-file. However, by recapturing with the d-pawn White clears d4 for his other Knight and makes the QB into an expansionist piece from b2. In lhe next few moves . Maroczy establishes control of the c-file and this frees him for action on either wing. 18... 19Bd4 20 Rxc8 21 NcS! 22Bxc5 23f5!

Ne4 Qd8 Nxc8 NxcS ReS

48

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two White threatens 24 f6 after which Black's g7 will never be secure. Now Black makes concessions on the Queenside, diminishing control of what appears to be an insignificant square at c6. 23... 24Bd4 25 QxfS 26Qf3 27 bS!

b6 exfS Qc7 Qd7 Rf8

Or 27 •••Qe6 28 Qg3!, Kh8 29 Rcl! with play as in the game. White's next move threatens 29 Qxg7cb!, Kxg7 30 e6ch. 28Qg3

Rd8

29 Rcl 30Rc6 31 e6!

g6 ReS

A beautiful clearance sacrifice which allows his Rook to penetrate at c7 in the coming endgame.

31...

Rxe6

32Qc7!

There is nothing certain about 33 Rc7, Qe8. But the endgame now forced by White finds Black in a remarkable bind. 32... 33Rxc7 34a4!

Qxc7 Re8

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

49

Black's Knight is stalemated since he cannot afford to lose the apawn that anchors his Queenside. Since the Knight is tied to c8, the Black Rook cannot go far from e8, and his King is limited to the vicinity of g8. This means White's King has uninterrupted progress ahead of him. 34...

Kf8

35 g4

g5

Black could not afford the paralyzing 35 g5, but now he has another pawn on a dark square, and to defend it be will place another on a dark square, b6. 36 Kfl 37 Kel 38Kd3 39Rd7 40Rxd5

h6 Kg8 Rf8 Kb7 ReS

Black's opportunities are pitifully slim because he cannot afford to trade Rooks: 40•••Kg6 41 Rd7, f6 42 Kc4, Rl7 43 Rxf7, Kxl7 44 KdS and the White King invades on the light squares. 41 Rd7 42 Rd8!

Re7

Black Resigns The end would be 42••.Rc7 43 Rh8ch, Kg6 44 Rg8cb, Kh7 45 Rg7ch, Kb8 46 Rxl7 discovered check and death.

Compare this with the following:

50

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

CHRISTENSEN-BECKER BUENOS AIRES, OLYMPIADE 1939

d5

1 f4 2Nf3 JeJ 4d4 5Bd3 60-0 7Nbd2 8Rel 9c3 10 cxd4

Nf6 g6 Bg7 0-0 c5 Ng4?! Qc7 cxd4 Nc6

11 a3!

Kh8

12b4

With Black's Queen about to face a White Rook along the open cftle, White appears to have come out of the opening well. For instance, 12•••b6 13 h3, Nf6 14 Bb2, Bb7 15 Ret, a6 16 a4 and the threat of 17 bS gives White an edge.

Black, perhaps appreciating this, gambles on a Knight sacrifice that gives him three pawns: 12..• 13Rxe3 14Nb3 15Nfxd4 16Nxd4

Nxe3?!

Qxf4 Nxd4

Bxd4 Qxd4

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 17 Rbl

51

e5

Black's center could be impressive. But it will inevitably come under rue from the heavy White pieces. The advance of either centerpawn will benefit one of the two White Bishops.

18 Qe1

f6

19Bb2 20 Khl

Qb6 d4?

21 Rxe5!

Not a hard combination to find (2l ...fxe5 22 Qxe5ch, Kg8 23 Qxd4 or 22..• Qj6 23 Bxd4) but consistent with White's plan of pressuring the pawns until they break. The rest was mop-up: 2l •••Bg4 22 ReS, Qe6 23 Qxe6, Bxe6 24 Ret, Rae8 25 Kg1, Kg7 26 BbS, Re7 27 Bc4, Rfe8 28 Rxe6 and wins.

52

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

(4l THE PAWN RE-CAPTuRE ON d3 White's attack works best--as we've seen--when his light-squared Bishop bas free rein from d3. Black, then, needs counter-plans. One is to capture the Bishop (... b61. ..Ba6xd3, or ... Bf5xd3 or ... Nc6-b4xd3). The second, considered in the next section, is to limit the Bishop's range with •••f7. f5. Most of tl1e opening authorities believe Wbite•s attack is dead once his light-squared Bishop goes off the board. Wbat•s wors~, they say, is that White must have the inferior game from the positional point of view because Black will then have access to previously off-litnits squares, such as c4 and e4. However, White has a remedy. In most instances it is to his benefit to recapture on d3 with a pawn. This does several good things. Among them: (A) It regains pawn-control of e4, (B) it takes the sting out of the advance of Black's c-pawn, and (C) it gives White some prospects along the half-open c-file.

SULTAN KHAN· H. MATTISON PRAGUE 1931 1 d4 2Nf3

Nf6 e6

3e3 4Bd3 5 Nbd2

b6 Bb7 dS?!

Black is worried about e3-e4-e5 so he takes steps to restrain the enemy center. But this allows White to adopt the Stonewall in a most favorable version. Black should have played S••.cS and keep the dS-square free for his pieces.

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

6Ne5! 7 f4! 8Qf3

53

Bd6 0-0

White declares his intentions--checkmate, · plain .aod·. sim.~;-~AJ;..~ ready Black is in trouble. His-best antidote· no~:~-~&~-~~~;;.~~ since White bas somewhat less cbance ·of ··a ~~1iW;k~.·t \ ·-· . . pieces, even after g2-g4-g5.- Black decides ~ .tO·/~~~ Stonewall and later realizes he also needs ••.Ba6. His--in~~* the game. '¥

8... 9Qh3 10Ndf3 11 Bd2

Nfd7?

rs

Nf6

Ba6

Black is understandably concen1ed about White's opening of the gflle and d3-h7 diagonal, with g2-g4. He might have done better to cootinue with the typical shift of Knights to e4 and f6, but this is bard to acbieve:·~ ll •••Ne4 12 Bxe4, dxe4 13 NgS attacKing h7 and e6. Perhaps best ·was·

lt •••Qe8.

·

·

12Rgl

Bxd3

13cxd3!

Qe8

54

Stonewall Attack: Chapter 1,wo

14 Ke2! It's been said that because castling was not legal in his native India, Sultan Khan's games often show his King remaining in tbe center for many moves, if not the entire game. Here the e2 square is a much better house for it than can be found on the usual wing squares. On gl it would have interfered with the Kingside attack and on cl or bl, it might be vulnerable once Black opens the c-file with •••c7-c5. But on e2 the King defends d3 against the threatened 14•••QbS.

Note the effect of the White pawn on ·d3. it ·keeps "l.he encn1y · Knight out of e4 and allows White to consider Qucet,side ·actions against the c6 bole. J

14... 15 Qh4

Nbd7 cS

This only shortens the game, by allowing White to open the c3-g7 diagonal. But what was Black to do in the virtual absence of alternative counterplay. Where would his QN go, for example? 16 Bc3 17Bxd4 18g4!

cxd4 NcS?

The attack plays itself. White begins to make threats, such as 19 gxf5, exfS 20 Rxg7ch!!, Kxg7 21 Rglch, Kh8 22 Ng6ch. 18•••

Bxe5

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 19NxeS fxg4 20Nxg4 Nxg4 21 Rxg4 g6 Black is oubnallned if he tries to defend g7 with heavy pieces (2l ... Rj7 22 Rag1, Qd7 23 Qh6)

22Ragl Black resigns! There is no defense to 23 Rxg6ch, hxgei 24 Qh8ch and mate next. Another theme of the exchange on d3 is the ability of Wbite to attack on both wings. It is rare to see White win as simply in the endgame as he does in the following: ·

MARSHALL·SUCHTING VIENNA1908

1 d4 ~·'i3 .::

~~d3'

4 faf

::.

5Nf3 6cxd3 · 7Nc3

80·0

dS Nf6 , Nc6 . Nb4

Nxd3c" e6 b6 ·cS

9Ne5

9...

10Bd2

bS!? Bd7

Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two

56

11 QO Rc8 12 Bel. It's sometimes surprising how quickly a maneuver such as Bd2-el can spring a Bishop to life. 12•••

13Ne2 14Nxd4 15 Bc3!

16a3 17Qg3 18 Racl

Be7 cxd4? BcS bS?! a6

Kf8 Rh6

19 Nb3!.

White now demonstrates there is more tJ1an one string to his fiddle. Black's 15th and 16th moves looked logical, but they have created occupi. . able holes at squares such as c8, cS, aS and b6. Having been effectively, if

temporarily, stopped on the Kingside, White's attention is directed to his left:

19...

Bd6

20Qg5 21 BaS! 22Qg3 23 Nxd7ch

Be7

24 Rxc8ch

Qe8 Ng8 Qxd7 Qxc8

25 Ret

Qa8

26Nd4

Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies

Black now realizes tbat his defensive measures (...K/8, •.. h7-h5, . ••• Rh6) have left him with few forces to fight a battle on tbe Queenside. He : cannot now resist an invasion on the c-file. 26...

h4

27Qil 28Qc2! 29Qc6!

Nf6 . Bd6 Qxc6

30Rxc6

Ne8

31 Rxa6 This fust fruit. White forced resignation now without much resis-

tance. 31...

eS

32NfS! 33Nxd6 34Rxd6 35Bb4!

Rely ittfcrir.

Black may still delay development of his Bishop with 6...Qc7 as used by Capablanca, e.g. 7 Ndf3?!, Ne4! 8 NeS, cxd4! 9 Bxe4, NxeS 10 fxe5, dxe4 11 exd4, fS! with equality (Marshaii-Capablanca, Match 1912, which was drawn after perpetual cbecks--12 exjO, gx.ffi 13 Qh5ch, (}j7 14 Qb5ch, Qd7 15 QIJ5ch, etc). Of course, White's seventh move can be ~eplaced with the more promising alternatives sucb as 7 QfJ or 7 Nh3. The other chief alternative for· Black in the diagram is 6...Be7 and this is a good point to discuss the merits of this development of the Bishop. On d6 the Bishop looks more aggressively placed but has the disadvantage of being misused in case of (A) a well-timed White advance of e3-e4; and (B) the Bd2-el-h4 shift of White•s bad Bishop. Moreover, when the Bishop

90

Stonewall: Chapter Four

goes to e7 Black is in a position to exchange Knights on e5 without forking his minor pieces with an enemy pawn. A good policy for White after 6 •••1Je7 is 7 Nh3 so as to usc his Knights on g5 and e5. For example, 7 •••0-0 8 Ng5! keeps the Black Knight out of e4 and prepares 0-0 and Rf3 -h3. The Knight is not easily ousted from h3 because 8••• h6 can be met by 9 h4! with attacking chances, e.g. 9•••hxg5? 10 hxg5, N-moves 11 Qh5 and mates.

In Lipke-Schiffers, Leipzig 1894 (see Illustrative Gfunc #7 for the complete game) Black played 9 •••cxd4 10 exd4, Qd6 11 Ndf3. It was hard to find an answer to Wbite•s plan of Ne5 and g2-g4 or Qc2/Bh7ch. In tlle game Black tried lt ...hxgS 12 hxg5, Ne4 13 Bxe4, dxe4 14 NeS, llxgS but after 15 fxgS, Nxe516 Qh5!, f617 g6!, Nxg6 18 Qxg6, Rl7 191Je3, b5 20 0-0-0, lhe h-filc gave White a killing attack. 7Qf3 From here the Queen can go to gJ, attacking g7 or h3 where it takes part in the general assault on h7. The alternative, 7 Nh3, is perfectly good since it gives White the option of NgS as well as Nf2 and e3-e4. Black has often in the past tried to castle Queenside after 7 Nh3. For exmnple we have (A), (B) and (C): _

(A) 7•••Bd7 8 0-0, Qc7 9 Nf3 and now if Black continues to delay castling--in the hopes of denying White an attacKing target--the enetny Knights become too active. In Trenchard-Walbrodt, Vienna 1898 White achieved a wonderful position after 9•••h6 10 Ne5, Ne7 11 Nf2, Bc6 12 Nfg4!, Ne4 13 Nxc6!, bxc6 14 Bxe4, dxe4 and now 15 Nf2, rs 16 dxcS!,

Cbapter Four: The Traditional Defense

91

1Jxc5 17 b4, l~b6 18 c4, cS 191,5! and 20 1Jh2. The difference between the two Bishops is obvious. (B) 7 •••Qb6 8 0-0, Bd7 9 Nf3, h6 10 Ne5 is similar play by both sides and in Barry-Lawrence, U.S.-England Cable Match 1897, White stood well after 1O•• .cxd4 11 Nxd7 (not 11 exd4, Nxe5 12 fxe5, Bxe5!), Nxd7 12 exd4, 0-0-0 13 Kh1, f6 14 Qe2, Rde8 15 Bel, g5 and now 16 fS!,

exf5 17 BxfS and Raei, gives White pressure on the light squares and various Kingside weaknesses. (C) 7•••Qb6 8 0-0, Bd7 and now 9 Khl, 0-0-0 10 Nf3, Be8! 11

Nf2, Nd7 12 Qe2, f6 looks like a good center strategy for Black. However White can expand on both wings with 13 c4! now that e6 is weakened, e.g. 13•••cxd4 14 exd4, Nxd4? 15 Nxd4, Qxd4 16 BeJ or l3•••Bb5 14 g4!, Bl7 15 a3, Rhe8 16 dxcS, Nxc5 17 b4, Nxd3 18 Qxd3, with a doubleedged

play (Breyer-Leonhardt, Berlin 1920). (D) 7...0-0 See Illustrative Game #3. But it should be pointed out that 7 Ngf3 is a bit inexact because it

allows 7•••cxd4 when White cannot recapture with the e-pawn without sacrificing --unsoundly--his f-pawn. After 7 •••cxd4 8 cxd4, Bd7 Black is already on the attack on the c-file and after 9 a3, ReS 10 Qe2, Qb6 11 0-0 (Maroczy-Janowski, Vienna 1902). He should equalize with ll...a512 b3, · Na7 13 Bb2, BbS!. 7••.

Bd7

Black is wise not to provide the cnctny with a target with 7-.0-0 8 g4 or8 Nh3.

If Black burns his Kingsidc bridges with 7••• h5 he gives up too much ground after 8 Nh3! and NgS, e.g. 8 .•• Bd7 9 0-0, g6 10 Ng5, Qe7 and now in Showalter-Cohn, London 1899 White went posilionaly astray with 11 dxc5?, BxcS 12 b4, Bb6 13 Nb3, eS! 14 Bc2, e4 wben be could have tried 11 Khl, preparing dxc5 and e3-e4. ~

Black can avoid the opening of lines with dxc5 by playing ••.c:xd4 hitnself, but this often creates a sterile position for Black, particularly if he has to castle Queenside. For example, 7•.•cxd4 8 exd4, Qc7 9 Nh3, Ne7 10

92

Stonewall: Chapter )4.,our

Nfl, Bd711 Bd2, 0-0-0 12 0-0-0, h6 and now 13 Ne3, Kb8 14 Khl, bS 15 Rhel with an easy game for White as in the consultation grunc Capablanc1t vs.Labatta and Moise, New Orleans 1911. 8Nb3

From here the Knight can subsequently go to f2 in preparation for e3-e4!. This is what happened in the influential game Marshall-Robinstein, Vienna 1908: 8 •••Qb6 9 Nf2, 0-0-0 tO 0-0, Kb8 11 e4! and White soon realized an advantage.

..

.

The game continued ll •••dxe4 12 Nfxe4, .,N~e4 13 Nxe4, ~'' 14 dxcS, BxcSch 15 NxcS, QxcSch 16 Be3~ Qa5 17 a4; Ne7 18 b4, Qc7'19 Bd4 followed by the advance of the Queenside pawns.. Black's lack of . counterplay was clear after 19•••(6 20 Qll, Nc8 21 Rfe1, Rhe8 22 Qg3, Bc6 23 b5, BdS 24 aS, Bc4 25 b6!· and White won. (See Illustrative Game #2).

Notice that White's piece placement put him in a position at the diagram in which any changes in the pawn structure (...cxd4 by Black or e3e4 by White) will improve the scope of White's pieces. Black's problems are by no means confined to his bad QB but he should consider other ways of playing the position.

Chapter l"our: The Traditional Defense

93

SECTION 8 BLACK DEVELOPS HIS QB (After 1 d4, dS 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, cS 4 c3)

4•.•

Nc6

As noted earlier, this is risky because .White may abandon his Stonewall intentions an4, play S dxcS. Even though White has then disrupte~ bi~: pawn. strUcture~/~ ~htay. }le:-fo~c~ t(> ~ove his onir developed . . piece. a ~ond ti~ei(~••• q~·~:PIJS).b~)s, af:~r·:an,:~·good pawn abead.and is:: likely remain So.~ :· l.'·- ·• ~ :. · · · · ··''· .. I

to .

.I

,

.

.

.

.

.

. I

..

I

For this reason, Black sbould consider 4•.:.Qc7, which Capablanca · considered best Then White should adopt the same waiting game as Blade and play 5 Ndl so tbat he can meet 5...Nbd7 with 6 f4 and 5...Nc6 witb 6 ·· dxcS. Black may force matters .with S•••eS 6 dxeS, Qxe5 but White's lead in development cannot be ignored after 7 Ngf3, Qc7 8 e4 or 8c4.

If, however, White insists on the immediate Stonewall by meeting 4•••Qc7 with 5 f4 he must deal with the consequences of 5...Bg4! 6 Nf3, e6. White can get the upper band by exploiting the absence of the QB from tbc Black Queenside after 7 Qa4eh!, e.g. 7•••Qd7? 8 ;BbS or 7••.Nc6 8 NeS or 7••.Nbd7 8 Ne5, c4? 9 Nxg4, Nxg4 10 Bel, Nh6 11 b3, cxb3 12 axb3, a6 13 0-0, Bd6 14 c4 followed by c4-c5 and b3-b4 (Chajes-Capablanea, New York 1911). Better for Black is 7•••Nbd7 8 NeS, BfS or 8•••8d6. Cafferty and Hoopert in "a complete defense to 1 d4", claim equality for Black after

Stonewall: Chapter Four

8 •••Bd6 9 Nxg4, Nxg4 10 h3, Nh6 (to keep the f-pawn unblocked) 11 0-0, f5. However, 12 Na3 or 12 dxcS, followed by Na3-Nc2-d4, tnuy give

White a small edge. 5 f4?!

5 NO heads toward a Colle System. The slight difference between the Stonewall and the Colle is the White f-pawn--and that makes all the difference in tbe world. In Colle's system, White is preparing e3-e4 and wants to open the center. But in the Stonewall White docs not need that freeing advance, since the f2-f4 gives him a window on the Kingsidc. He usually wants the center to be closed. 5 .•• 6Nf3

Bg4

On 6 Qc2 Black can play 6 ••• Rc8 witlt a threat of 7•••cxd4 8 exd4, Nxd4. And on 6 Qa4 White has notl1ing attractive to answer 6••• Bd7.

6••.

e6

6•••Ne4 was widely praised after tJ1c brilliant gatne Colle-Johner, Karlsbad 1929: 7 Nbd2, f5 8 Qa4, Nxd2 9 Bxd2, IJxfJ 10 gxf3, e6 11 0-0-0?, c4 12 Bbl, Be7 13 e4?!, 0-0 14 Rdgt, Rb8 15 Qdl, b5 16 h4?, b4 17 Qe2, bxc318 Bxc3, Bd6 19 exf5, exf5 20 Qe6ch, Kh8 21 BxfS, 1Jxf4ch 22 Kbl, Rf6 23 Qd7, Qf8 24 Be6, Be3! 25 Rdl, Qa3! 26 Kal, Nh4! 27 Bxh4, Qxb4 28 Rh2, Bxd4 29 Rdd2, Bxb2ch! White resigns.

Chapter }"our: The Traditional Defense

95

But White should not rush his King away from tbe possibility of •.•Qh4cb. For example, 11 b4, Qb4ch 12 Ke2 is a reasonable improvement over 11 0-0-0?. White has good prospects on the b-file and Queenside generally after •••cxb4/cxb4. Even as the Karlsbad game was played, White should have doubled Rooks on the g-file before playing e3-e4 or b2-h4. 7Nbd2 Pachman giv~es 7 0-0, Bd6 8 Qel, 0-0 9 NeS, BfS! as being in Black's favor and it is hard to dispute this.

7•••

Bd6

One of the few games with this line, Delmar-Lawrence, Cambridge Springs 1904, went 7...Qc7 8 Bel?!, Be7 9 0-0, Bf5 10 NeS, hS and Black already stood better. But he reversed direction and soon was worse after ll NdrJ, Ng4 12 h3, Nxe5 13 NxeS, b4 14 Bd3, Bxd3 15 Qxd3, f516 Bd2, NxeS 17 fxe5, c4 18 Qe2, gS 19 Khl, 0-0-0 20 b3, Rdg8 21 be, clxc4

22e4. Better after 7•••Qc7 is 8 Qa4 with the idea of 8 NeS. This is wby 7•••Bd6, which prepares castJing, is more exact. 80-0

ECO says Black is better, without giving further analysis. On 8 h3 Black can simply retreat to fS since 9 BxfS, exfS only elitninates his bad Bishop and reinforces his control of e4. Of course, 8 h3, Bh5 is also good and after 9 b3, cxd4 10 cxd4, Rc8 11 ~-0, Bg6 12 Bxg6?, hxg6, the game Gunsberg-Teichmann, Monte Carlo 1902, was at least equal for Black. He won by giving up his remaining Bishop for a Knight and exploited lightsquare holes in the endgame. After the

tex~

Black can force the opening of the c-ftle with 8•••cxd4 9 c:xd4 or simply castle and await events. On 8•••0-0 9 Qel? Black

gets a good grune with 9••• cxd4! since 10 exd4 loses the f-pawn. 10 exd4 invites Queenside invasion with 10••• Nb4 11 Bbl, ReS 12 NeS, BfS, and 10 Nxd4 is out of character with White's opening strategy but carries with it sorne tactical points (e.g. IO... e5? II Nxc6, bxc6 12fxe5, Bxe5 13 Qh4!, 115-

96

Stonewall: Chapter J4,our

-not 13... Be6 14 Rxf6!--14 h3, Bc8 15 Nf3, Re8 16 Nxe5. Rxe5 17 Bd2, Qel 18 c4 and Bc3 as in Trenchard-Lipke, Vienna 1898).

In view of the lack of promise here, White should consider varying at move 5 with 5 dxcS or NO.

EDITOR'S (Ken Smith) NOTE: The Stonewall combined with tl1e Colle, in such lines as this, make a fonnidable weapon. Looking at Soltis' suggestion 5 ND: (Colle): 1 d4 2e3 3Bd3

4c3 5Nf3 6Nbd2

dS Nf6

cS Nc6 e6

(A) In Gottilf-Romanovsky, Tourney of Leningrad Masters 1930, Black tried 6•••Qb6 7 0-0, Bd7. If his intention was to castle Q-side, he soon thought better of it: 8 de, BxcS 9 e4, Rd810 ed, ed 11 NbJ, Be7 12 h3, 0-0 13 Be3, Qc7 (completing the ignominious retreat) 14 Nbd4 and Ute position is a Tarrasch French in which Black's pieces arc too passively placed to compensate for the isolation of his d-pawn (1-0, 42). (B) 6 •••a6 7 0-0, Qc7 8 Qe2, Be7 9 de, BxcS 10 e4 White is better. Przepiorka-Gilfer, Hamburg 1930.

(C) 6 •••cd 7 ed, Bd6 8 0-0, 0-0 9 Ret, Qc7 (9... Re8 10 Ne5 note bl) See note to Black's 7th.

Chapter Four: The Traditional Defense

6•••

Bd6

With ••.Bd6 Black adopts his most classical minor piece set-up. The position is in effect a reversed Queen's Gambit, Semi-Slav (Chigorin•s

Half-Meran) in wbicb the extra tempo means a lot to White: be will be the rust to advance his e-pawn.

70-0 7 e4 is premature.

7•••

0-0

More T.D. Harding: "Black can transpose by 7•••Qc7 8 de, BxcS 9 e4, 0-0, but should avoid:" (A) 7•••eS?! was played in the stem-grune Cbarousek-Suchting, Berling 1897 Thirty years later the variation was rediscovered and popularised by Colle!

Cllarousek-Sucbting continued 8 de, BxcS 9 e4, d4?! 10 Nb3, Bb6 11 cd, ed 12 e5!, Nd7 13 Bg5, Qc7 14 Ret White is better, but possibly

;II

9 •••de 10 Nxe4, Nxe4! 11 Bxe4, Qxdll2 Rxd1, Bg4 (12 .. .}613 b4, Bb614 a4 White is better) 13 h3, Bxf3 14 Bxf3 would have resbicted White to a

minimal endgame advantage. Neikirkh and Tsvetkov, the Bulgarian analysts, suggest that White would do better with 8 de, Nxe5 9 NxeS, Bxe5 10 f4, Bc7 11 e4, de 12 Nxe4, Nxe413 Bxe4, Qxdll4 Rxdl e.g. 14•.. Rb815 Be3, b6 16 Bc6+, Ke7 17 Ret White is better. Another idea is 8 e4 and White will use thee-file first-Koltanowski. ·

98

Stonewall: Chapter Four

(B) 7•••cd 8 ed produces an Exchange Variation of ll1c Caro-K~un1 with Black's Queen's Bishop locked inside his pawn structure. Two cxatnples after 8•••Qc7 9 Ret: (Bl) 9 •••0-0 10 Qe2, ReS 11 NeS, Re7 12 Ndf3, Nfd7 13 NuS!, Nf814 Nxh7! White is better. Colle-Soultanbeieff, l.,iege 1930. (82) 9•••Bd7 10 Qe2, 0-0-0 11 NeS, Be8 12 Ndf3, Nd7 13 lld2, Nf814 c4, f615 cd, ed 16 Nxc6, be 17 b4 followed by Rfel, Rabl, a4 and

bS, opening up Black's Q-side-Koltanowski. Harding continues to suggest: 8Qe2

Also good is 8 de, BcS 9 e4, Qc710 Qe2, Bd6 (10...Ng4) (A) lO•••Ng4 11 ed, ed 12 Nb3, Bb6 13 BgS! The Black King's Knight cannot reach e4 and the White Queen's Bishop will achieve tl1e standard manoeuvre Bg5-b4-g3. If 13•••Bd7 14 Bh4, Rae8 15 Qc2, h6 16 Bg3 and 17 Rael, or if 13.••Nee5 (or 13...Nge5) then 14 l'f4! is proanising-

Harding. (B) lO •••eS? 11 ed, Nxd512 Bxh7+, Kxh7 13 Qe4+ an