All these variations arising from the position on the twenty-third move provide instructive illustrations of how to spot the correct focal-point. The analysis of 23 Nd4! showed a typical attack on g7 ending in success for White, whereas in the continuation after 23 Ng5?! h6! a consistent attack could not be built up against any focal-point; White’s operations instead took on the character of an attempt to destroy the black king’s pawn cover, and as a result Black obtained open lines for his pieces as well as the time in which to organize his defences.
24 Nxh7 Nxh7 25 Rh3 Qc1
A desperate move, but Black no longer has an adequate defence. White could also have played 26 Qxd8+ now and won by virtue of being the exchange ahead, but he prefers to seek a mating attack, which brings even quicker success.
26 Qxh7+ Kf8 27 Rhe3 d4 28 Qh8+ Ke7 29 Qxg7 Rf8
Or 29 ... Bd5 30 Qf6+ Kf8 31 Bxd5 Rxd5 32 e6.
30 Qf6+ Ke8 31 e6 1-0
For 31 ... dxe3 is defeated by 32 exf7+ Kd7 33 Qe6+, and if 33 ... Kc7, then 34 Rxc1+, or if 33 ... Kd8, then 34 Qd6#.
The bayonet attack
The term ‘bayonet attack’ is used to designate the advance of one of the attacker’s pawns on the side of the board facing the opposing castled position, as a result of which the pawn drives off one of the opponent’s pieces or creates a sharp threat of some kind. A typical example of the bayonet attack is the move g4, whereby White prepares the advance g5 and an attack on Black’s knight at f6. The following examples show us some typical cases of the bayonet attack.
The following position arose in Keres-Petrov, Estonia-Latvia Match 1939, after the moves 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Nf3 Be7 6 Bd3 Ngf6 7 Qe2 Nxe4 8 Bxe4 Nf6 9 Bd3 c5 10 dxc5 Qa5+ 11 Bd2 Qxc5 12 0-0-0 0-0 13 Ne5 b6
White now played:
14 g4! Bb7
Black attempts to halt the further advance of White’s pawn by indirect means, namely, by attacking the rook on h1. The other possible replies were no better; White’s position is already so powerful that a bayonet attack is fully justified. If 14 ... h6 White would continue 15 h4, threatening 16 g5 with even greater effect; against 14 ... g6 he would not play 15 g5 immediately (since Black would reply 15 ... Nh5), but 15 h4 followed by h5. Finally, if 14 ... Bd6 then 15 f4 is very strong.
15 g5!
White does not worry about his rook, since if 15 ... Bxh1, he can dictate matters with 16 gxf6 Bxf6 (or 16 ... gxf6 17 Qg4+ Kh8 18 Rg1 Rg8 19 Nxf7#) 17 Nd7 Qc6 18 Nxf6+ gxf6 19 Qg4+ Kh8 20 Qh4 f5 21 Qf6+ Kg8 22 Rg1+ Bg2 23 Bh6 and mates.
15 ... Nd5 16 Rhg1
Black could have answered 16 Nd7 with 16 ... Qc7 17 Nxf8 Nf4! forcing simplification.
16 ... Qc7
In the event of 16 ... Nb4 Yudovich gave the following combination: 17 Bxb4 Qxb4 18 Rg4 Qc5 19 Bxh7+ Kxh7 20 Rh4+ Kg8 21 Qh5 Bxg5+ 22 Qxg5 f6 23 Qxg7+! Kxg7 24 Rg1+ and mates.
17 Rg4
Keres does not carry his attack to its logical conclusion, i.e. by the sacrifice 17 Bxh7+ Kxh7 18 Qh5+ Kg8 19 f4 threatening Rg4-h4. This attacking position is strong enough to guarantee victory, although it still demands precise play. Instead of 19 f4, Horowitz gives the weaker continuation 19 Rg3 Qxe5 20 Rh3 and shows that 20 ... f6 then parries White’s attack.
After the text move Black should have played 17 ... f5 18 gxf6 Bxf6, whereupon White would have been left with only a slight advantage.
17 ... g6? 18 Rh4 Bd6
So as to answer the threatened 19 Rxh7 with 19 ... Bxe5!.
19 Ng4
Thanks to Black’s error the attack has again got under way, and the game now ‘plays itself’.
19 ... Rfc8 20 Kb1 b5 21 Rg1 Be7 22 Nh6+ Kf8 23 Nxf7 Bc5 24 Rxh7 Bd4 25 Qxe6 Bg7
White now played 26 Nd6 and won in a few moves. By 26 Nh8 he could have forced Black to resign at once.
produces the bayonet in the form of:
1 g4!
Alekhine, in My Best Games of Chess 1924-1937, says of this move: ‘This little pawn threatens by its further advance to set on fire the black king’s residence and cannot possibly be stopped from that dark design.’
1 ... Qd6 2 Bg6
Black had intended to meet 2 g5 with 2 ... Qd5, but the intermediate move 2 Bg6 puts paid to that idea.
2 ... Rf8 3 g5!
The bayonet has its point in both the bishop on f6 and the pawn on h6, and nothing can be done about it.
3 ... Bxd4
If 3 ... Qd5 4 gxf6 Rxf6, White cannot exchange queens, it is true, but he has 5 Rd3 Nhf8 6 Bf7, holding on to the booty he has won.
4 gxh6 Ndf6 5 hxg7+ Kxg7 6 Qh6+ Kh8 7 Nxd4 Qxd4 8 Bb2 1-0
Black’s only possible attempt at resistance, 8 ... Qd7, is defeated by 9 Rd3 Qg7 10 Bxf6 and mate in three moves.
The pawn avalanche
The formation composed of two or three neighbouring pawns on the same rank is often called a ‘phalanx’ in chess literature, but when such a phalanx attacks it can also be suitably described as an ‘avalanche’ or ‘roller’. An attack based on a pawn avalanche generally entails even more positional commitments than the bayonet attack, as it involves advancing two pawns instead of only one. On the other hand, the avalanche’s power is also greater than that of the bayonet, for an avalanche drives all the enemy pieces before it and offers more attacking possibilities.
When attacking by means of a pawn avalanche, it is usually important that one’s opponent should be unable to retaliate in the centre or on the other wing. This is, admittedly, a general condition for any kind of attack on the castled king, but in the case of an attack using pawns it applies even more strictly, since one is more restricted positionally and the actual process of advancing pawns is slower than play with pieces, with the result that one’s opponent has greater opportunities for counterplay. The next example will show us a case where the conditions for an attack using the avalanche are favourable.
This position is from the game Schlechter-Tarrasch, Monte Carlo 1903. It is White’s move.
1 g4
The use of the avalanche attack is well justified in this position. Black has no counterplay worth speaking of either on the queenside or in the centre, so that the risk White accepts in being committed to deciding the game on the kingside is not great. Moreover, White already has a pawn at f5, which is in fact in his way at the moment. When the g-pawn moves up to its aid within just two moves, there is considerable prospect of the position’s being loosened up a little and that the f-pawn will acquire a dynamic potential.
1 ... Nc5 2 Bb1 a5 3 Kh1 Nfd7 4 g5 f6?!
4 ... Nf8 would probably have been better. Moves which weaken the position, such as ... f6, should not be resorted to unless absolutely necessary. After 5 Qf3 Black would, of course, already be compelled to play 5 ... f6.
5 h4 Bf8?
Certainly weaker than 5 ... Nf8; on his next move Black puts the bishop back on e7 and so loses two tempi. However, even after 5 ... Nf8 White’s attack would be overwhelming.
6 Rg1 Be7
Tarrasch was not a master who would lightly agree to the loss of a tempo, but in this case he was clearly convinced that his original plan had no prospects. This is evident from White’s threat (Black’s bishop is still on f8) 7 Qg4 (not 7 Qh5 followed by 8 g6? because of 8 ... h6, and Black would be saved by the blocked position) 7 ... Kh8 8 Bxc5 dxc5 9 Ne4, when Black’s defences give way under the pressure against the squares f6 and d6.
JN: In fact the plan of Qh5 and g6 should also bring success, as after the reply 8 ... h6 White can break through in King’s Indian style by 9 Bxh6 followed by 9 ... gxh6 10 g7, with a crushing attack.
7 Qh5 Nf8 8 Rg3 Ra8
There are no useful moves that Black can make in his cramped position. After, for example, 8 ... Ncd7 9 Rcg1 Rc8 10 Ne4 he finds himself in a sad state, without a satisfactory defence against the threat of 11 gxf6 Bxf6 12 Qh6.
9 Bxc5 dxc5 10 d6! Qxd6
If 10 ... Bxd6, then 11 gxf6 is decisive.
11 Ne4 Qd8 12 Rd1 1-0
Black cannot prevent the collapse of the weak point f6. If 12 Rd1
Nd7, then 13 gxf6 Bxf6 14 Rxd7 Qxd7 15 Nxf6+.
In this example three phases in White’s attack should be noted. The first is the creation of the advancing pawn avalanche, the second consists of the deployment of White’s pieces, and the third is the actual execution or breakthrough.
The avalanche alone cannot, as a rule, be decisive, and its greatest enemy is the danger of blockade. Combating this danger depends for the most part on piece play, and this takes two main forms: allowing the position to be blocked and then breaking it up by sacrificing a piece; or first sacrificing the piece and then pushing forward with the pawn avalanche without any fear of its being blocked. In the following games we shall see these methods being applied; destroying the enemy pawn cover is essentially the main combinative element.
Rubinstein - Teichmann
Vienna Match (4), 1908
Queen’s Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defence
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Nbd7 5 e3 Be7 6 Nf3 0-0 7 Qc2 b6
7 ... c5 is better.
8 cxd5 exd5 9 Bd3 Bb7 10 0-0-0 c5 11 h4 c4?
Logically, Black must attack on the queenside, but his plan is too slow. Before he can set up the avalanche formation with pawns on c4 and b4, White will have a flourishing attack since his pieces are more active than Black’s. Correct was 11 ... cxd4 in preparation for ... a6, ... b5 and ... Rc8; that would have constituted a more powerful threat.
12 Bf5 Re8
Kmoch, in his fine book on Rubinstein, thinks that even here 12 ... a6 and ... b5 would have been better, but the black pawn can hardly reach b4, since after 13 g4 there is an immediate threat of 14 Bxf6 followed by g5, picking up the booty on h7. If, for example, Black plays 13 ... g6, then 14 Bxd7 followed at once by Bh6 gives White a strong initiative.
The text move prepares the way for ... Nf8, so White immediately takes the knight on f6 to prevent this.
13 Bxf6 Nxf6 14 g4!
Thus a ‘small avalanche’ is formed on the fourth rank. Soon it will become ‘great’ on the fifth, and finally ‘terrible’ when it reaches the sixth en masse.
14 ... Bd6 15 g5 Ne4 16 h5
The fifth rank has been reached without Black having moved an inch on the queenside.
16 ... Qe7
If Black now plays 16 ... Nxg5, there follows 17 Nxg5 Qxg5 18 Bxh7+ Kf8 19 h6! gxh6 20 Rdg1, etc.
17 Rdg1 a6
Black reckons that nothing is threatened and devotes a tempo to his slow counterattack on the queenside. Admittedly, White would get nowhere by moving his pawns at this point: if 18 h6, the position is blocked by 18 ... g6; while if 18 g6, then 18 ... fxg6 followed by ... h6. However, White has another device, namely the sacrifice of his bishop, which enables the pawns to go ahead happily and without any fear of being blocked.
18 Bxh7+! Kxh7 19 g6+ Kg8
Or 19 ... fxg6 20 Nxe4 dxe4 21 Ng5+ and if 21 ... Kg8 then 22 Qxc4+, or if 21 ... Kh6, then 22 Nf7+ Qxf7 23 hxg6+ mating..
20 Nxe4
In fact superfluous. The immediate 20 h6 was simpler, and if 20 ... fxg6 then 21 Rxg6, while if 20 ... f6, then 21 hxg7.
20 ... dxe4
If 20 ... Qxe4, then 21 gxf7+ is decisive.
21 h6
The avalanche has come down on Black’s pawns, which can no longer offer any help by blocking the position. Carried away by the spectacle on the board, Kmoch adds two exclamation marks, which I am unable to do, since I can see another continuation which is simpler, stronger, and even more ‘Rubinstein-like’ than h6, in that it links the combination with a positional breakthrough in the centre: 21 Ng5! Bd5 (the f-pawn cannot be moved because of 22 Qxc4) 22 gxf7+ Bxf7 23 f3! Bd5 (otherwise 24 fxe4 and e5) 24 h6 Rac8 (or 24 ... g6 25 Rh4) 25 fxe4 Bxe4 26 h7+ Kh8 27 Qxe4! Qxg5 28 Qxe8+ and White wins.
JN: However, this line is also not conclusive as, instead of 23 ... Bd5, Black can create confusion by 23 ... c3, when White’s plan of 24 fxe4 followed by e5 starts to look too slow.
21 ... f6?!
This makes White’s task easier, though the game would not have been saved by the more stubborn move 21 ... fxg6. 21 ... exf3 would have been even weaker, e.g. 22 gxf7+ Qxf7 23 hxg7 with threats against h8 and h7.
After 21 fxg6 Kmoch shows that 22 Rxg6? is weak (because of 22 ... exf3, and Black gains too much material in return for his queen). He gives the following line as good for White: 22 Nh4 g5 23 Ng6 Qf6 24 h7+ Kf7 25 h8Q Rxh8 26 Nxh8+. However, the situation is somewhat doubtful after 26 ... Ke7, for while White is extracting his knight from the corner, Black works up a counterattack, e.g. 27 Qe2 c3! 28 Qh5 (or 28 bxc3 Ba3+ followed by ... Qh5) 28 ... cxb2+, and if 29 Kb1, then 29 ... Ba3, while if 29 Kxb2, then 29 ... Qxf2+, etc.
22 hxg7 exf3
The queen can be saved by 22 ... Qe6, but then 23 Rh8+ followed by 23 ... Kxg7 24 Rh7+ and 25 Rgh1 leads to a mating attack.
23 Rh8+ Kxg7 24 Rh7+ Kg8 25 Qf5 c3
Or 25 ... Qe6 26 Qh5, etc.
26 Rxe7 1-0
For if 26 ... Rxe7, then 27 Qxf6 is decisive.
König - Weiss
USSR Championship, Moscow 1919
Queen’s Pawn Game
1 d4 e6 2 c3 d5 3 Bf4 Nf6 4 e3 c5
Here it is Black who is playing the Queen’s Gambit, while White is building up his position according to the pattern which Black uses in the Semi-Slav Defence, to which the move Bf4 is a useful addition. This is an example of a so-called inverted opening, in which White plays Black’s system with a tempo in hand.
5 Bd3 Nc6 6 Nd2 Be7?!
Black has obviously lost his bearings and is not aware that he is ‘really White’; passive moves of this type do not fit in with the active position of his central pawns. Correct was 6 ... Bd6.
7 Ngf3 0-0 8 Ne5! Re8?
Black does not appreciate the real nature of the position and is not taking measures to obtain counterplay at the right time by means of an outpost on one of the central squares. He even surrenders control of the important e4 and e5 squares to White, and as a result suddenly comes up against the storm of an attack on his castled king. The correct course was 8 ... cxd4 9 exd4 Nxe5 10 dxe5 Nd7 11 Qh5 f5!, when Black can meet 12 f3 by 12 ... Qc7, and 12 g4 by and 12 ... Nc5 13 Bc2 Ne4.
9 g4!
Throughout the opening stage of the game the conditions required to justify a ‘bayonet attack’ have been gradually accumulating. One group of these conditions has already been noted in the shape of Black’s inferior moves and his lack of concern to control at least one of the important squares e5 and e4. The other group can be revealed by an analysis of the structure of White’s position. This is clearly distinguished by good piece play together with a modest but sound pawn formation in the centre. Indeed, its essence lies in the very soundness of the formation c3, d4, and e3, with the strong protection which it gives to the square d4. If this solidity in the centre did not exist, Black would be able at the last moment to organize a counterattack in the centre as an answer to White’s attack on his castled king.
His security against such a central counterattack – generally the main weapon in an active defence against an attack on the castled king – gives White great freedom in his attack on the castled position and is basically the main justification for the move 9 g4!.
9 ... Nxe5
If 9 ... Nd7 White will continue with 10 g5 as in the game.
10 dxe5 Nd7 11 g5! Nf8
If 11 ... Bxg5, then 12 Qh5 h6 13 Rg1 Bxf4 14 exf4 Kf8 15 Qg4 g6 16 Bxg6 . If 11 ... Qc7, then 12 Bxh7+ Kxh7 13 Qh5+ Kg8 14 g6 fxg6 15 Qxg6 Rd8 (or 15 ... Rf8 16 Qxe6+ Rf7 17 Qxf7+ and 18 e6+) 16 Rg1 Bf8 17 Nf3 followed by Ng5.
12 h4 Bd7 13 Qg4 Bc6 14 0-0-0 b5
This simplifies White’s task, though better moves would not help Black very much.
15 h5 c4
16 Bxh7+!
No sooner has White’s pawn avalanche established itself on the fifth rank than he carries out the characteristic piece sacrifice, which breaks up the castled position and prevents a defensive blockade from being set up.
16 ... Nxh7 17 g6 Ng5 18 Ne4! Nxe4 19 gxf7+ Kxf7 20
Qg6+ Kf8
His position also collapses after 20 ... Kg8 21 h6 Bf8 22 Rdg1 Re7 23 Qh7+ Kxh7 (or 23 ... Kf7 24 hxg7) 24 hxg7+ Kg8 25 Rh8+ Kf7 26 g8Q+, etc.
JN: In fact, White ends up material down after 26 ... Ke8 27 Qxf8+ Kd7, etc, so he should prefer 23 hxg7 Bxg7 24 Rh7 Qc7 25 Rgh1, followed by mate..
21 h6 Bf6 22 hxg7+ Bxg7 23 Rh8+ Bxh8 24 Bh6+ Ke7 25 Qh7+ and mate next move.
Tolush - Kotov
USSR Championship, Moscow 1945
Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 d6 6 g3
It is more usual to play either 6 g4 or 6 Be2 at this point, which perhaps give White somewhat greater scope for attack than 6 g3.
6 ... Nc6 7 Bg2 Bd7
Another plan would have been 7 ... Nxd4 and then ... Bd7, in order to play the bishop to c6. White now withdraws his knight from d4 and so makes it difficult for Black to further the development of the c8-bishop.
8 Nde2! a6 9 0-0 b5 10 a3 Qc7 11 h3 Be7 12 Kh1 0-0 13 g4
The preparation of a bayonet attack is justified in this position, for Black is still quite a long way from starting a counterattack by ... d5.
13 ... Kh8?
Not to the point; better is 13 ... Rfd8.
Art of Attack in Chess Page 18