Star Wars Episode I Galactic Chess
Star
Wars Episode I Galactic Chess
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Material balance
King safety
Piece activity
Pawn structure
Tension
"You need to use the force Luke !" - Star wars
The calm after the storm!
Chess is not just about calculation. You need to understand the elements in the position, and their best management. This is a critical position in the game, where Kasparov has quite a few decent move options. It is a good time to try and actually understand the position, as well as feed it into our computers for analysis. By understanding the position, we can play strong moves on a positional basis, as well as a tactical basis. We can use the "force" as Star Wars fans put it!
Let us take the "elements" of the position in turn now.
(Related section is Tension)
We have in chess terminology 2 pawns for the "exchange"- i.e. rook for bishop or knight.
Future fluctuations in material balance could occur in two ways:
a) If we can leverage the strength of our passed d pawn. As pieces get exchanged off for example, the value of our passed d pawn will increase.
b) Also with piece exchanges, the value of our king would increase. Our king could become an aggressive piece in possible endgame scenarios, and would be more aggressively positioned than Kasparov's king!
Exchanging pieces is not an easy process however. For example, if Kasparov played Nc3, we cannot safely answer this with Ne4 trying to exchange pieces because Kasparov could simply take on e4 and then play Qb3 :-
Unless we intend to sacrifice a pawn, this is not good news. Engineering the safe exchanging of pieces will be one of our critical tasks over the next few moves. It is a major element issue in the position.
Our king is not safely tucked away in a castled position. It is in the centre of the board. However, White does not have resources to exploit this fact. The King is sheltered behind 2 pawns.
Analysis of this factor should be independent of the opponent. However in this exceptional case, it should be noted we are playing against arguably the most aggressive world champion in the history of chess!! If anyone can expose our king being in the centre, it will be Kasparov. Tal and Fischer at their peaks would also come close.
If Kasparov can increase his piece pressure, we might be forced into material or other concessions if our King safety becomes worse. For example the following position is highlighted in the analysis of Nc3:-
We have to be able to play carefully in these evolving positions. Here for example our knight is pinned to our King, and Kasparov is threatening Rxc6, followed by Qxa6. This is an example of the side effect of our king being "stuck" the centre. Pins against our king become more easy to engineer. Also Kasparov may think about sacrificing pawns in order to increase queenside pressure.
As material diminishes, King safety would become less of an issue.
Kasparov's king by contrast is safely tucked away. However there may be some interesting back row mate tactics emerging in side variations as the game progresses. Kasparov may later provide some "air" for his king, by playing a move such as h3.
We have a semi open a file for our rook. We also have a potentially very powerful bishop on g7. Our knights are centrally placed. Our piece activity in summary seems to be in good order.
Kasparov needs to emphasise his rooks because he is the exchange up. In order to do this, Rooks need open lines. In the present situation, we seem to be pretty safe. There is however potential pressure on the semi-open c,d, and e files. Kasparov may also think about sacrificing his queen side pawns in order to increase the queen side pressure.
We have "doubled pawns" in chess terminology. Other than that, our pawn structure is harmonious with our pieces. The bishop on g7 for example is comfortably placed. The rook on h8 can swing to a8, where it can exploit the "semi-open" a file.
Kasparov's pawns are solid
The doubled pawns cannot be easily attacked by Kasparov. For example the direct Be3 can be answered by Nd5:-
However Kasparov may play Nc3 first, in order to then play Be3.
British Grandmaster Jon Speelman has highlighted that we could use our rook to guard the b6 pawn, with the maneuver Ra8-a6:-
We have two main options regarding our seemingly weak doubled pawns in particular dynamic usage of the pawn on b6:-
A) Supporting the outpost square c4 later. The pawn on b6 may prove a valuable asset later, if it moves to b5, and supports the c4 square, where for example a knight could maneuver to.
B) Use as a battering ram against White's queenside pawns! The pawn could be used in conjunction with the our rook, to create pressure on the a file. If we could exchange the pawn for Kasparov's a pawn, our 2 pawns for the exchange would be more clearly highlighted.
"Tension" in the position is important to understand, especially in this position. Kasparov will be keen to keep the "tension" in the position. This implies that he keeps resources on for as long as possible in order to create as many opportunities as possible to exploit our king safety.
Kasparov and any Grandmaster see pieces and pawns as "resources". Resources as such are there to be used for aggressive goals. If Kasparov lets his resources be exchanged off, then our extra pawns will gain in significance.
As a concrete example, the following variation: Be3 Nd5 Qd2 Nxe3 fxe3 f5 from the perspective of "tension" is not logical:-
Kasparov would not like to play Be3 and allow an exchange of pieces after Nd5 and Qd2. Barnet's top guns would be very surprised if this variation occurred. Kasparov's resources in the above position have been diminished, and the impicit attacking opportunities have also been reduced as a result.
The dominant theme in the position is the dynamic material balance. We have 2 pawns for the exchange in chess jargon terms. Our pawns will gain in significance with piece exchanges.
In particular our passed 'd' pawn may prove to be our winning asset. Our king safety will also be increased if we can safely simplify the position. We need to find safe ways therefore to gradually reduce the "tension" in the position, and head for a favorable endgame where we can increase the significance of our extra pawns.
Barnet chess club top guns hope you can now appreciate more all the analysis presented in various forums, and see it's implications from the perspective of "element management".
Let the force be with us!