The Chess Coach by Sunil Weeramantry Three Cases of an Exchange Sacrifice When the world's best players compete together in the same tournament, sparks are sure to fly. New York 1924 was the Linares of its time, an event that featured the reigning world champion, a former world champion and a future world champion, and many of the greatest players of their time in a double round robin format. Much of the excitement of this event has been captured by other Chess Cafe columnists, notably Danny Kopec, who subjected the three brilliancy prize games to careful scrutiny by Fritz, and Richard Forster, who explored the creative genius of Richard Reti. For my part, I would like to examine the use of the exchange sacrifice as an attacking weapon in the games of New York 1924. The exchange sacrifice comes in all shapes and sizes. It may be utilized for crashing through enemy lines, or for generating long- term attacking chances by weakening the king's defenses. It may be used to create structural weaknesses in the enemy camp, or to facilitate simplification into a superior endgame. Whatever its purpose, one fact cannot be denied: the exchange sacrifice will inevitably create a material imbalance which will result in more dynamic play, thereby greatly increasing the likelihood of a decisive result. The most powerful use of the exchange sacrifice is to give up one's rook in a way that will give the remaining attackers an opportunity to set up a direct assault on the enemy king. Sometimes, this will lead to mate. The best example of such an attack is found in the second brilliancy prize game, Marshall Bogoljubow, which I would like to re-visit. The following position was reached after Black's 26th move. (See Diagram) White: Kh1, Qh7, Re1, Rf1, Bb1, Nc3; pawns - a3, b2, e5, f4, g3, h2. Black: Kf8, Qb6, Ra8, Re8, Bd4, Ng4; pawns - a5, c6, d5, f7, g7, h6. It is clear that the white queen has already penetrated Black's defenses and that the rest of his pieces have also moved into good attacking position. However, one final thrust is needed before White's attack can crash through. Marshall cleverly prepares the final blow by inviting his opponent to win an exchange. 27.Bf5 Nf2+ 28.Rxf2 Bxf2. By sacrificing his rook for a knight, White eliminates one defender and lures another out of position. 29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qxg7. The rook on e1 cannot be touched as 30...Bxe1 leads to the basic queen and bishop mating pattern that I discussed in some detail in my very first column (June 1998). 31.Qf6+ Kf8 32.Qxh6+ Kg8 (32...Ke7 33.Qd6#) 33.Bh7+ Kh8 34.Bg6+ Kg8 35.Qh7+ Kf8 36.Qxf7 mate. Marshall must have seen this possibility when he sacrificed his rook on f2. 30...Kd8. Bogoljubow attempts to run the other way but to no avail. 31.Qf6+ Re7 32.e6 (See Diagram) White pursues the attack with deadly precision. Once again, the rook on e1 cannot be touched as 33.exf7 would lead to an immediate win for White. 32...Bd4 33.exf7 Bxf6 34.f8=Q+ Kc7 35.Rxe7+ Bxe7 36.Qxa8. The destruction of Black's position is complete. Marshall does not waste any time in securing the point. 36...Kd6 37.Qh8 Qd8 38.Qe5+. At this point, Marshall announced mate in five and Bogoljubow resigned. The conclusion would have been: 38...Kc5 39.Na4+ Kc4 40.Qc3+. Kb5 41.Bd3+ Kxa4 42.Qc2 mate The next example shows Capablanca in a combative mood. Playing Black against Maroczy, the world champion seizes the opportunity to sacrifice an exchange for attacking chances. (See Diagram) White: Kh2, Qc2, Ra1, Re1, Be3, Ng3; pawns - b2, c3, e4, f3, g2, h3. Black: Kg8, Qg5, Rd8, Rd3, Nf4, Ne7; pawns - b5, c4, e5, f5, g7, h6. 34...Rxe3 35.Rxe3 Nxg2. By picking off the base of the pawn chain, Capablanca creates several weaknesses in White's position and turns f4 into an outpost for the black knight. 36.Re2 Nf4 37.Rd2 Rf8. Black avoids the trade of rooks and prepares to attack the weak pawn on h3 with ...Qh4. By contrast with the previous example, it is interesting to note that the exchange sacrifice has not resulted in an immediate mating attack. 38.Nh1? This is the losing move. White can offer more resistance with 38.Qd1, intending to protect h3 with a later Qf1. After the text, Black obtains a clear advantage. 38...Qh5 39.Nf2 Neg6. Black refrains from capturing the f3 pawn immediately as he would much rather capture it with his knight. 39...Qxf3 would place the queen in the front line of battle where she does not always belong. (See Diagram) 40.Qd1 Nh4 41.Rd8 Nxf3+ 42.Kh1 Nd3. It is clear that Capablanca's strategy has succeeded as the black knights move in for the kill. The immediate threat is to eliminate the defending knight on f2 and set up a mate on h3. 43.Rxd3. White has no choice in the matter. However, in returning the exchange, Maroczy is accepting an inferior position which proves to be indefensible against one of the greatest technicians of all time. The game concluded as follows: 43...cxd3 44.Qxd3 f4 45.Qd1 Rf6 46.Ra8+ Kh7 47.Qd5 Ng5 48.Qg8+ Kg6 49.Qe8+ Nf7 50.Qc8 Qf3+ 51.Kg1 Qg3+ 52.Kf1 f3 53.Qg4+ Qxg4 54.hxg4 Kg5 55.Ra5 Nd6 56.Nd3 Kxg4 57.Nxe5+ Kg3 58.Resigns. The exchange sacrifice is also used to create a material imbalance which one hopes will generate better winning chances in the endgame. A good illustration of this technique is found in the game Tartakower Reti where the following position was reached after White's 22nd move. (See Diagram) White: Kh2, Rd1, Re1, Bc2, Bd2, Ne2; pawns - a2, b3, c3, e4, f3, f2, h3. Black: Kg8, Rd8, Re8, Bf8, Nc6, Nf4; pawns - a6, b4, c7, e5, f7, g7, h7. Black's pieces are more evenly distributed throughout the board and enjoy far greater mobility. But how can he translate his lead in development into a more tangible advantage, particularly when White is about to untangle his position by trading off pieces? Reti provides a startling solution. 22...Rxd2! An exchange sacrifice, naturally. 23.Rxd2 bxc3 24.Nxc3. Before deciding on this sacrifice, he must surely have examined the variation with 24.Rd7. After all, the power of a rook on the seventh rank cannot be ignored at this late stage of the game. The most forcing line also appears to be the best in this instance. 24...Nxe2 25.Rxe2 Nd4 26.Re3 Nxc2 27.Rxc3 Nd4 28.Rcxc7. Now, despite White's doubled rooks on the seventh, Black has good counter-play. 28...Nxf3+ 29.Kg3 Ng5 30.f3 Ne6 31.Ra7 f6 32.Rd1 (threatening to win the a6 pawn) Nd4 33.Rxa6 Kf7. Black still has the edge as White cannot easily advance his connected passed pawns. If the white king had elected to go to g2 on move 29, he would have been in a more vulnerable position as 29.Kg2 Ng5 30.f3 would have left him exposed to an eventual rook check on the second rank or to a knight check on f4, each time with a critical loss of tempo; and 30.Ra7 Nxe4 31.Rxf7 Re6 32.h4 Rg6 would have retained pawns on both sides of the board, enabling Black to consolidate his advantage. 24...Bb4 25.Re3 Nd4. An impressive sight! The black knights have vaulted into powerful outpost squares. (See Diagram) White must take immediate steps to free his pieces before Black attacks on yet another front. The correct defense is 26.Bd1 preparing to unpin the d2 rook and moving the bishop to safety. Instead, Tartakower panics and chooses the wrong method to break the pin. 26.a3? Bxa3 27.Nd5 Bc1. Reti recovers the exchange with this skewer and trades off into a winning rook and pawn endgame. 28.Rd1 Bxe3 29.fxe3 Nxd5 30.exd4 Ne3 31.Rc1 Nxc2 32.Rxc2 exd4 33.Rxc7 Rd8 and Black went on to win a dozen moves later. Richard Forster points out in his Late Knight column that Reti would have had a spectacular result if he had only scored better with the black pieces. It is a shame that he was not able to play as well each and every time!