If you read the sort of chess books I grew up with, you sometimes get the impression that a queenside pawn majority is, in itself, enough to win the game.
In my continuing series on Chernev’s Logical Chess Move by Move, there’s a game of this nature. Capablanca – Villegas (Simul 1914) is Game 30 in the book.
Chernev introduces it like this:
In this game, the art of chess is reduced to a simple formula: Get a passed pawn, move it up the board, and win! While several of Capa’s moves receive exclamation marks, only one of his hapless opponent’s moves receives any criticism at all, giving the impression that chess is almost a forced win for White.
Nimzowitsch, on the other hand, famously opined that:
The passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient.
Perhaps Villegas should have taken Nimzo’s advice.
Let’s see what Stockfish has to make of it.
1. d4 d5
2. Nf3 Nf6
3. e3 c6
4. Bd3 Bg4
5. c4 e6
6. Nbd2 Nbd7
7. O-O Be7
8. Qc2 Bh5
9. b3 Bg6
10. Bb2 Bxd3
The only Black move Chernev doesn’t like. Stocky disagrees, not fancying the doubled g-pawn, thinks it’s his best option here and asks why White didn’t trade last move.
11. Qxd3 O-O
12. Rae1 Qc7
13. e4 dxe4
14. Nxe4 Nxe4
15. Rxe4 Bf6
16. Qe3 c5
17. Ne5 cxd4
18. Nxd7!
A clever move. Capa had seen 18.. dxe3 19. Nxf6+ Kh8 20. Rh4 h6 21. Rxh6+ gxh6 22. Nd5+ when he’d have ended up with two pieces against a rook. Pretty impressive to spot that in a simul, don’t you think?
18.. Qxd7
19. Bxd4 Bxd4
20. Rxd4 Qc7
21. Rfd1 Rfd8
22. b4
An exclamation mark from Irv, but Stocky isn’t impressed, considering it premature. Instead the engine suggests 22. h4, stopping back rank mates, introducing a further advance of Harry to soften up the black king, and anticipating a queen ending with reasonable winning chances because of a more active queen and a potential passed c-pawn. Passed pawns tend to be strongest in pure queen endings.
22.. Rxd4
23. Qxd4 b6
A queen and rook ending has been reached in which White is more comfortable but Black should probably be able to hold. Stockfish wants to play Qd7 for White here.
24. g3 Rc8
25. Rc1 Rd8
This looks very natural but Stocky doesn’t like it, preferring Qd8 when Black should be able to save the rook ending. As a general principle here, I guess, White should be aiming for a queen ending and Black for a rook ending.
26. Qe3 Kf8
Maybe not best because it leaves the h-pawn undefended. Engine preferences are h6 and Qc6.
27. c5 bxc5
28. Qe4 Rd5
Stockfish prefers Qd6 here, aiming for a queen trade.
29. bxc5
29.. g6?
This is the losing move, but Chernev, although correctly observing that 29.. Rxc5 would have lost to Qb4, doesn’t question it. The only way to stay in the game was to follow Nimzo’s advice and put the passed pawn under lock and key: 29.. Qc6 30. Qxh7 Rxc5 31. Qh8+ Ke7 32. Rxc5 Qxc5 33. Qxg7 leaves White a pawn ahead in the queen ending, but Black has drawing chances.
30. c6 Kg7
31. a4 Rd6?
Allowing an obvious Stock Tactic, but he was losing anyway. The passed pawn is much stronger on c6 than on c5 here because of potential promotion tactics.
32. Qe5+ Kf8
33. Qxd6+!
1-0
An instructive game which, like many of Capablanca’s endings, is well worth studying, but not quite for the reasons Chernev had in mind.
Richard James
