In issue 3 of Modern Chess Magazine, our GM team provides you again with high-quality content, with is a part of a structured chess education. Here is a brief review of the articles that you will find on the pages of our magazine:
Attack In Positions With An Isolated Pawn - Part 2
GM Viktor Gavrikov
In this article, GM Viktor Gavrikov goes further in explaining all the subtleties you must know about one of the most important middlegame positions in chess. In the present article, he brings ti your attention another three extremely important attacking ideas which we can use when playing with an "isolani":
1) transition into a symmetrical pawn structure
2) advance of the "f" pawn
3) advance of the "h" pawn
GM Viktor Gavrikov provides the reader with extremely detailed explanations which are so typical for the Soviet chess school.
GM Repertoire Against The Sicilian - Alapin variation - Part 2
GM Petar Arnaudov
In the second part of his article, GM Petar Arnaudov proves that Alapin variation ( 2.c3 ) is a very dangerous weapon, even when it comes to the one of the most popular options for black, namely 2...Nf6. The repertoire proposed by GM Arnaudov is not only easy to learn and understand but at the same time, it is an extremely sound opening choice and could be played on regular basis.
Beat 1.e4 With The Dragon - Part 3
GM Nikolai Ninov
The new member of our team GM Nikolai Ninov continues the course concerning the Dragon variation in Sicilian defence. In his first article for Modern Chess Magazine, he concentrates on the positional plans connected where White plays 0-0 in different move orders. It is important to mention that GM Ninov explains the ideas and plans for both sides. This makes the article useful not only for players who play Dragon as Black but also for those of you who play this variation as White.
Endgame Series - Part 3
GM Davorin Kuljasevic
Passed pawns are one of the most important factors in chess. As you probably know, their importance is considerably bigger in the final stage of the game. In his second article concerning the passed pawns, GM Davorin Kuljasevic starts examining the concept of "electric pawns". The reader can find some methods which allow him to find the best move in the endgame without any calculations, making use of some interesting geometric motifs.
The Importance Of The Initiative In the Endgame
GM Boris Chatalbashev
In this issue GM Boris Chatalbashev finishes his course dedicated to the initiative in chess. His last article on this topic concerns the importance of the initiative in the endgame. His explanations will persuade you that there is nothing more important than the activity in the endgame.
Free Sample:
Attack In Positions With An Isolated Pawn
GM Viktor Gavrikov
Dear readers,
In the present issue of "Modern Chess", we continue to examine the positions with "isolani". The first article of the course was designed to deal with three of the most important attacking possibilities in such positions - rook transfer to the kingside, knight sacrifice on "f7" square and pushing of the isolated pawn.
In this article, I am going to bring to your attention another three fundamental attacking ideas for the side which play with an isolated queen's pawn -
1) transition into symmetrical pawn structure,
2) advance of the "f" pawn and
3) advance of the "h" pawn.
1) Transition into symmetrical pawn structure.
The transition into symmetrical pawn structure is a topic, the importance of which is often underestimated in the chess literature. Such transition can arise in positions where the piece which blockades the isolated pawn is exchanged. When we play a position with an "isolani", the possibility of a transition into symmetrical pawn structure after an exchange on "d5" ("d4") is always in the air and we should consider it in every moment. That's why we are obliged to examine a new pawn structure, even though it doesn't seem to have anything in common with the isolated pawn. Under what circumstances we should give preference to the symmetrical pawn structure? That is the question I am most often confronted to when explaining the present topic to my students. Despite the fact that the answer is rather complex, I will point out some general directions. Those of you who have read the first article of the course know that when we play with an isolated pawn, our long-term plan is to launch a kingside attack. According to the basic chess principles, side attacks are successful when the situation in the center is stable. In the same line of thoughts, the transition into symmetrical pawn structure favours the side which is planning to attack the opponent's king. On the other hand, in positions with symmetrical pawn structure, our typical space advantage doesn't exist anymore. Moreover, there are is no pressure on the "e" file. In order to use the advantages of the symmetrical pawn structure, we should be ahead in the development and our pieces must be more active. Only in these cases, we can organize a strong kingside attack which compensates the fact that the space advantage is lost. Also, it's important to mention that the transposition to symmetrical pawn structure is generally favourable when the opponent's kingside is weakened. The above-mentioned ideas are brilliantly illustrated by the game Honfi - Dorfman played in 1976. Let's take a look at that instructive win of GM Karoly Honfi (on the picture below)
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