Concessions.

Introduction

For those that enjoy chess study and improvement, hours are lost to the endless reams of positional and tactical puzzle solving. Be it a casual study group focused on achieving the highest puzzle rush score possible or the candle lit study of mastering positional ideas from brilliant chess players. The satisfaction of having learned something new and exciting to add to the repertoire of ideas keeps one engaged and thrilled to later spend more time pondering over the core concepts.

Myself, I find these things to be rather evident over the years I have played both casually at clubs and over the board (OTB) at tournaments. However, when we transition from the realm of study to play there is a sharp realization (at least for me) that one does not simply play studies. One must play positions that they themselves take part in creating. Positional concepts are not freely given and tactical shots must be forged from correct (or incorrect) piece positioning by us and our opposition.

Securing the Outpost

The first scenario considered is the rerouting of the white knight to an outpost via Nf3-h4-f5. This maneuver positions the knight on a powerful forward square inside the opposition's territory. A knight on f5 will target the king side and by vacating the f-file will allow the rook to join into an attack (via f4 then Rf3-g(h)3).

While preventing the pawn from pushing forward with f2-f4 is rather challenging, the knights target square can be controlled with ...g7-g6 and this indeed occurs in the game.

Taking a look at the position will allow us to note how both positions have changed and the benefit/drawback of these changes. White is opening up the f file for their rook when the king is the sole defender of the f7 pawn (a common early game weakness). White also has a tactical weakness they should be aware of as the knight on h4 is undefended.

There are however no tactical shots available for Black at the moment. If instead of ...g7-g6, black plays ...Nxe4 white will simply recapture the knight with Bxe4 attacking the bishop on b7. This means the capture of the knight on h4 would lose a minor piece for a pawn if ...Qxh4 Bxb7 were played. So instead, black considers ...Nxe4 Bxe4 Bxe4 Qxe4 f5 to lure the queen away from defending the h4 knight. Unfortunately, there remains the issue that the queen keeps an eye on the a8 rook. So white has either Qd5 or Qc6 when Qxh4 loses to Qxa8.

Lines in above analysis: ...Nxe4 Bxe4 Bxe4 (...Qxh4 Bxb7) Qxe4 f5 Qc6 Qxh4 Qxa8+

Looking back at the position for black, we see that the move ...g7-g6 creates a series of weakened dark squares on the kingside (primarily due to the lack of a dark square bishop (DSB)). Our bishop on c1 will have access to g5 and h6 where it will be challenging for black to attack due to the very presence of the pawns on f7, h7, and g6. A long-term positional weakening to prevent another positional idea from occurring immediately.

Blocking the Diagonal

The second scenario deals with a dominating bishop that the opposition decides to restrict by mobilizing pawns along their scope, restricting the influence they have in the position. By doing so, they may subsequently make a positional weakness (or in some instances a tactical mistake). In the event that your opponent has two bishops glaring down onto your castled king, it is important that the more dangerous bishop is kept dull by maintaining pawns on its path. If the operation of a second bishop lifts this restriction, then the bishop becomes an active participant in the attack.

As we appreciate the position, I will break down the pieces and their operations so the move played by black will make more sense. Black has three pieces in an attack against a weakened king (the queen, knight, and c6 bishop).

The knight is active on g3, constantly pressuring the bishop on e2 which requires constant guard by the queen for now. The queen presses the king unto the back rank (as f2 is indirectly covered by a double check after ...Ne4. Finally, the bishop on c6 waits for the pawn on f3 to press forward so its pressure against g2 can be realized. However, the bishop on g7 is not supporting the attack (neither is the rook on a8, but there is no reasonable way for it to support immediately).

Using this information and the idea of activating the g7 bishop towards pressuring the kingside and supporting an attack, black should find this move easier to play.

If the bishop is allowed to reach h2 and harass the king, the game will surely favor black. This is why the computer screams for white to sacrifice the rook in any manner possible (Rd5 to block the c6 bishop and Rd6 to directly threaten it). My opponent understands the dangerous nature of having the bishop operate along the diagonal and decides to seal it from the game with f3-f4. I do encourage the reading audience to determine the best play for black, and I will have the answer posted below the article.

Answer to Blocking the Diagonal Puzzle: After f4, black plays ...Qh1+ Kf2 Ne4#. A striking backwards knight moves to secure the win. I did miss this in the game and it's a shame as I watched a grandmaster play a similar checkmate not 15 minutes prior to playing this game.

Awkward Defense

The third scenario is an opening appreciation that is not abundant, but a nice idea to keep if the opportunity presents itself. In the opening, we generally want to develop our pieces so that they will have active maneuvers (or roles to fulfill) to complete during the middle game. A piece that is misplaced in the opening will typically not contribute to the same caliber as our opponents. If a piece is positioned awkwardly enough the loss of time to reposition it again will sometimes lend to a successful attack. There is no attack in this example, but the requirement of defense clearly hampers black no matter how they decide to respond.

I didn't appreciate this fact in the game, but the maneuver embarked on by black here (while standard in some lines of the Dutch) seems like an inaccuracy. Even though black will recover the bishop via the ...Qh4+xh6 maneuver, the protection of c7 falls.

White is already primed to target this square with Nc3-b5, and its defense requires one of several moves. Options include:

1\. \.\.\.Kd8 Attempting to utilize the closed nature of the game by keeping the king centralized and the pawn defended\.

2\. \.\.\.Na6 The knight doesn't have many active squares to occupy at the moment\, but putting the knight on a6 makes it redundant to the knight already on d7\. Later\, if black decides to play \.\.\.c6 and white captures the knight will not be able to route to the center as quickly \(via Nxc6\-d4\)\.

3\. \.\.\.Qe3\+\-b6 The queen doesn't stand very well on b6 primarily due to the fact that it can be readily harassed as white pushes the queen side pawns\. This middle game plan is common when there are two opposing central pawn structures\. Black has c7\-d6\-e5 while white has f3\-e4\-d5\. Black will play for an eventual \.\.\.f7\-f5 while white is focused on \.\.\.c4\-c5\.

Actively Attacking

The final example of forcing concessions is a line I had analyzed with the help of the computer after watching two other Lichess members during their game. It is not a perfect example, but it is a worthy calculation and the appreciation of what happened will not occur unless more enthusiasts like yourself are shown. I will provide that the players in question are both approximately 2100-2150 in the time control of this game. While watching, I did in fact find myself obsessed with attempting to make the moves work and missed the cherry on top.

The initial position is black to move. However, I would like to impose my own viewpoint onto the reader as well. How do we calculate moves in the position? Let's start with the simple check, capture, threats that have been cycling online for some time now. A check? Nf3. Note that once the knight moves to f3, the bishop is opened along the diagonal. If the king goes to h1, Qxf2 threatens mate on h2 and g1.

While the computer finds a "simple" mate in seven!, I don't believe it is necessary to see beyond Qf2 here. The only other option after ...Nf3+ is to play Kg2. We continue with analysis by looking at attacks. In particular, the f2 pawn is weak and can be targeted with ...Bd4.

White has only one decent option here and to avoid overloading the post I will leave the sidelines for the reader to investigate at their own pace. After the trade of queens, white has a decision to make as to where the king should be placed. While it is not best, I will encourage us to continue this line with Kg1.

For now, we will say that this move is purely used to defend the pawn on f2, else it would be captured. Please take a moment to try and find black's next move to exploit the desire of protecting the pawn on f2.

Quite an amazing shot from black. The bishop is seemingly dominated on its home diagonal. Note that the knight covers both d2 and g5 due to the fork on f3 and the rook covers c1 from afar. This forces white to make a concession by playing the only remaining move, Be3. White will have to contend with doubled pawns and an open seventh rank.

From here, Black can continue to pressure white with ...Rc2 when a checkmate is threatened via ...Nf3+ and ...Rxh2#. White can only survive this attack by moving the f1 bishop. However, the loss of material that occurs as a result makes it a winning game for black.

Concluding Remarks

Concessions in chess are the reluctant, but necessary, giving of something in response to pressure. We have covered how these are borne out of piece maneuvers to advanced positions where they gain active play. The result of these concessions is typically a long-term positional weakness that one exploits over many moves, but it is also common for players to fold under the pressure this creates. Concessions are not limited a particular phase of the game. We have explored an opening position, a middle game knight maneuver, and an endgame rook and knight combo.

While the list of positional concessions is probably longer than the handful of examples I present here, my original intent with blogging was to play and post. I have a list of topics that will be covered once I have enough material and time to organize my thoughts and mull through the drafts necessary to produce these works. Hopefully you find them entertaining and informative as you continue to grow or simply appreciate the game. All the best as we bring the year to a close.