Skype coaching session, 12 June 2016. 

Recordings of some previous coaching sessions can be found at: 

http://www.open-aurec.com/Skype/PaulBenson/PaulBenson.htm 

The following game was examined, the game 52 moves) is given with annotations and then again without annotations. 

Paul Benson. 

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Annotated game. 

White: Thi Mai Hung Nguyen, 2307. 
Black: Pia Cramling, 2500. 
Event: Womens Olympiad Tromso 2014. 
Result: 0-1 in 52 moves. 
Opening: London System, Indian Game, A46. 

1. d4 Nf6 
2. Nf3 e6 
3. Bf4 

| The move which defines the London Opening. This system involves speedy development without seeking to interact with whatever set up black adopts until the middlegame. Black in return is allowed to select from a wide range of defensive systems without hindrance. || 

3. ... b6 
4. e3 Bb7 
5. Bd3 d6 

| Black is also willing to postpone interactions until the middlegame. || 

6. h3 Nbd7 
7. Nbd2 g6 

| Black prefers to complete development before deciding where to challenge the white centre with either, pawn e5, or, pawn c5. || 

8. O-O Bg7 
9. c3 O-O 
10. a4 

| White plans to locate a knight on the c4 square without black having the option to push it away with, pawn b5. || 

10. ... Qe7 

| The queen is a most powerful piece. When placed on a completely clear board on any of the central squares of, d4, e4, d5, or, e5, she is striking in 8 directions at once and can move to no less than 27 squares. Clearly her mobility is severely restricted until a game opens up. It is worth paying attention to how she shuffles around the board in this game while making probing threats against the white position. She is happy to limit her movement to visiting a neighbouring square if that is what is required. Short moves can be just as powerful as those spanning the entire width or length of the board. 

The short move by the queen of, 10. ... Qe7 has created the threat to win material with, 11. ... e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Bh2 e4, forking two white pieces. || 

11. Bh2 e5 

| White must decide how to prevent the black e-pawn from advancing further with, pawn e4, which would win a piece. || 

12. e4 

| This avoids losing a piece but now white will now have a longstanding problem of the e4 pawn being a target. There is also the loss of control of the f4 square to be considered, but surely that square is of little value, isn't it? Clue: Pay careful attention as to which player manages to make the better use of the f4 square as the game proceeds and strategic understanding of how to play this type of position is on offer to you. || 

12. ... a6 
13. Re1 Nh5 

| It is at last time for black to commit to a plan. The chosen strategy is to combine keeping pressure on the centre while probing into the white kingside with the intention of provoking white to create weaknesses. || 

14. Nc4 Rfe8 

| Very instructive. Surely the position was crying out for black to hit out with, pawn f5, to break up the centre? No, in fact just the opposite. Black is going to probe around in the kingside for a while in order to test white. This rook now on e8 is being given the task of defending the black e5 pawn and might seem to have poor prospects of ever having an active life. Not so. This rook will discover that patience is a virtue. || 

15. Qb1 

| Rather mysterious. Why does white not play, 15. Qc2, allowing the a1 rook to move to the centre? || 

15. ... Qf6 

| The second short move shuffle from the black queen which also happens to be a double purpose move. Firstly the black queen is removed from the e-file to allow a lesser value piece place pressure on the white e4 pawn. Secondly there is now some pressure on the white kingside defences which could be vulnerable to a tactic if white is not awake. || 

16. Ne3 Qd8 

| When a piece or pawn moves it vacates a square for another unit to occupy it. Black is anticipating a possible, Nd5, from white which could then be challenged with, Ndf6. || 

17. Nc4 Qf6 
18. Ne3 Nf4 

| Black is not interested in repeating moves as a means of concluding the game in three-fold repetition and instead finds a double purpose move. Firstly the f4 knight now backwardly strengthens the black control of the d5 square. Secondly there is a tactic now in the air in front of the white king. || 

19. Bf1 

| Oh dear. It seems that white has missed a rather simple trick here. Black to play, take some time on the next move. || 

19. ... h5 

| The white bishop retreat to the f1 square set a clever trap for black, which has just been avoided. Had black instead gone for the material and kingside disrupting tactic with, 19. ... Nxh3+ 20. gxh3 Qxf3, winning a pawn then white would have produced the remarkable, 21. Ng4, controlling the f6 square. The black queen would now be well and truly trapped. She does not have a single safe retreat square. White would then be threatening 22. Bg2, winning the black queen. || 

20. dxe5 

| Since black now has control of the g4 square the pawn-winning tactic is available again. White solves this problem by finding a means to trade off the vulnerable f3 knight with a release of the central tension. || 

20. ... Nxe5 

| Instead, 20. ... dxe5, would block the action up the e-file and black would then struggle to find a method to attack the white e4 pawn with the rooks. || 

21. Nxe5 Rxe5 

| At last a pawn structure imbalance has arisen, just what white was hoping to avoid. The semi-open e-file will soon become the focus of attention. || 

22. Nc4 Re7 
23. Qc2 Rae8 
24. Nd2 Bh6 

| With possible ideas of moving the f4 knight to trade-off the white d2 knight defender of the e4 pawn. || 

25. Rad1 h4 

| A double purpose move. Firstly black is keeping a squeeze on the white kingside. Secondly when a unit moves then the vacated square becomes available for a different unit. || 

26. f3 

| White feels the need to reinforce the e4 pawn. The strategy for both players for much of the rest of the game is now set. White must keep hold of the e4 pawn, black must find a means to win it. || 

26. ... d5 

| Taking advantage of the x-ray attack of the doubled black rooks up the e-file, the white e4 pawn cannot capture on d5 as the white e1 rook is only protected once. Similarly, the white e4 pawn cannot advance as it will simply be captured. || 

27. Kh1 Qg5 

| The third black queen short shuffle move. White is slowly having pieces tied down to defensive posts. Now the f1 bishop cannot move because of the threat of, Qxg2+ mate, on the g2 square. || 

28. Qb1 

| This queen retreat increases the defence to the e1 rook but also pushes the queen into passivity. || 

28. ... Nh5 

| Black does not have any immediate threat here, this is simply a move which leaves white to calculate what new possibilities might occur should the knight ever invade on g3. || 

29. Bd3 Nf4 
30. Bf1 Nh5 

| It seems fair to claim that every black piece is better than every white piece. Despite this, black has yet to find a means to break through into the white position. Black is not interested in three-fold repetition and is just getting a few more moves on the score sheet before committing to moves which will alter the position. || 

31. Bd3 

| The scene of all the action to come is going to be the e4 pawn. Black needs to be certain that when the tactical sequence of exchanges begins that white will always be left with an isolated pawn on e4. Black should not attempt to throw the f7 pawn forward, this will ultimately expose the black king to a potential sequence of checks from the white queen once the central tension has been released. || 

31. ... Ng3+ 
32. Bxg3 Qxg3 

| The exchange of the white h2 bishop has surrendered much control of the dark squares, the black h6 bishop can now only be challenged by the white knight, unless white is prepared to give up a rook to eliminate the black dark square bishop. || 

33. Nf1 Qe5 

| Surely the black queen has voluntarily entered into an x-ray attack from the white e1 rook? Take some time to check the tactics here. || 

34. Re2 

| White is trying to further strengthen the defences to the e4 pawn by doubling rooks. Instead, 34. exd5 Qxe1 35. Rxe1 Rxe1 36. Qc2 Bxd5, and all the black pieces will be active while the only piece with any activity for white is the queen. White would be further hampered by being unable to challenge any action of the black dark square bishop, which would effectively mean black would be attacking with an extra piece. || 

34. ... dxe4 
35. Bxe4 Qc5 

| The black queen now has ideas of a possible invasion on the f2 square should the white defences of the white 2nd rank be eliminated. || 

36. Rde1 Bxe4 
37. fxe4 Qc4 

| Black keeps probing around the weak white e4 pawn while also threatening the white a4 pawn. The open nature of the position allows the black bishop to move around with relative freedom while the white f1 knight cannot find a means to make itself count. And oh yes, the black queen has just made her ninth move of the game. Four short shuffle moves and five moves travelling two squares. || 

38. Qc2 Bf4 

| With a black bishop on the f4 square, and a white knight on the f1 square, we now have the bishop versus knight stand off formation. This pattern is easy to recognise. It requires that the opposing pieces are located on the same file or same rank and be separated by two squares. As it happens in this instance the skirmish between these two is not of particular importance, the fight around the white e4 is a much more critical factor in determining the outcome of this game. || 

39. b3 

| White feels the need to force the black queen back, but in doing so leaves the dark squares on the queenside unguarded. || 

39. ... Qc6 
40. c4 Re5 

| Perhaps played with very little time on the clock. The rook might have been played here with ideas of transferring over to the kingside. Once the time control of move 40 has been passed black will have sufficient time to search for the correct course of action. || 

41. Qd3 

| The white queen is preparing for the eventual loss of the e4 pawn and so positions herself to find activity when the threat is finally executed. || 

41. ... R5e6 

| Well judged. If a piece which has just been moved turns out to be incorrectly placed then just admit it and place it where is better suited. Do not feel the previous move must be justified, there is no shame in retracting a poor idea if it can be replaced with a much better plan which was previously overlooked. The rook retreat from the e5 square to e6 allows black to play a powerful re-grouping to finally break down the white resistance. || 

42. Qf3 Bd6 
43. Qg4 Bb4 

| Undermining the doubled rook defence to the white e4 pawn. || 

44. Rd1 Rxe4 

| Back on move 12 white felt it was necessary to advance a pawn to the e4 square. Since then black has been simultaneously playing around and against that pawn. Over time the target pawn was fixed, attacked and defended, weakened, then finally captured. All this occurred over 28 moves. Strategic patience can be a virtue. || 

45. Rxe4 Rxe4 

| The centre has cleared and both players have activity for their queen and rook. Now it is king safety which is going to be of most importance. Both kings have weak dark squares around themselves. The white king has the f1 knight valiantly trying to defend the dark squares while the black bishop does not have to contribute to the defence of the black king. This means the black bishop is an attacking unit while the white knight is almost permanently reduced to defending. White now finds some brief activity which might appear dangerous but as we all know, appearances can be deceptive. || 

46. Qc8+ Kg7 
47. Rd8 

| Looks impressive but the combined white queen and rook will not be given time to weave a mating net. The white rook invasion could be referred to as a 50 per cent move. It sets up some strong threats against the black king, but nothing can happen by force. If black does not find the correct reply then white will make good gains and will have gambled well. If black finds the right response then white will gain nothing. Hence the, 50 - 50, expression. White can only gain in a position which is essentially lost. Black to play and find a double purpose move to set up a defend for the king and also start the final attack. || 

47. ... Qf6 

| Attacking the undefended white f1 knight and placing an important x-ray defence onto the h8 square. || 
48. Rd1 

| Instead, 48. Rg8+ Kh7, and the black queen backward guard of the h8 square prevents white from making further progress. || 

48. ... Qf2 

| A powerful invasion. The dark squares in the white kingside cannot be defended by the uncoordinated white pieces. Black now has ideas of either, Bc5, threatening mate on the g1 square, or, Re2, threatening mate on the g2 square. || 

49. Qxc7 Bc5 
50. Qh2 

| The white queen races to the defence just in time, or so it appears. Black to play and find either of two winning variations. || 

50. ... Re1 

| The more efficient conclusion. Instead, 50. ... Rf4, also wins. The black threat is, 51. ... Qxf1+ 52. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 53. Qg1 Rxg1+, and black is a rook and bishop up. White cannot further defend the knight and so can either move it or try to remove the constriction on the white king with a pawn move. So after, 50. ... Rf4, white has two tries: 
(A). 51. Nd2 Qxd2 52. Rxd2 Rf1+ 53. Qg1 Rxg1+, black is a piece up. 
(B). 51. g4 Qxf1+ 52. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 53. Kg2 Rf2+ 54. Kh1 Rxh2+ 55. Kxh2, and black is again a piece up. || 

51. Rxe1 Qxe1 
52. Qf4 

| Apparently coming to the rescue of the f1 knight. Black to play and finish the game with one move. || 

52. ... Bf2 
White resigns, 0-1 

| The white queen is cut off from defending the f1 knight with an interference by the black bishop. The white queen cannot move to defend the knight, white can only lengthen the game with, 53. g4 Qxf1+ 54. Kh2 Qg1+ mate. 

This game is a wonderful demonstration of how to prod and probe at a weakened dark square, f4, leading to an eventual weakening of virtually all the dark squares. Rather ironic really. The London system places the bishop on the f4 square and then further supports it with, pawn e3 and despite this, it is black who eventually claimed the f4 square for herself. || 

* * * 

## Unannotated game. 

White: Thi Mai Hung Nguyen, 2307. 
Black: Pia Cramling, 2500. 
Event: Womens Olympiad Tromso 2014. 
Result: 0-1 in 52 moves. 
Opening: London System, Indian Game, A46. 

1. d4 Nf6 
2. Nf3 e6 
3. Bf4 b6 
4. e3 Bb7 
5. Bd3 d6 
6. h3 Nbd7 
7. Nbd2 g6 
8. O-O Bg7 
9. c3 O-O 
10. a4 Qe7 
11. Bh2 e5 
12. e4 a6 
13. Re1 Nh5 
14. Nc4 Rfe8 
15. Qb1 Qf6 
16. Ne3 Qd8 
17. Nc4 Qf6 
18. Ne3 Nf4 
19. Bf1 h5 
20. dxe5 Nxe5 
21. Nxe5 Rxe5 
22. Nc4 Re7 
23. Qc2 Rae8 
24. Nd2 Bh6 
25. Rad1 h4 
26. f3 d5 
27. Kh1 Qg5 
28. Qb1 Nh5 
29. Bd3 Nf4 
30. Bf1 Nh5 
31. Bd3 Ng3+ 
32. Bxg3 Qxg3 
33. Nf1 Qe5 
34. Re2 dxe4 
35. Bxe4 Qc5 
36. Rde1 Bxe4 
37. fxe4 Qc4 
38. Qc2 Bf4 
39. b3 Qc6 
40. c4 Re5 
41. Qd3 R5e6 
42. Qf3 Bd6 
43. Qg4 Bb4 
44. Rd1 Rxe4 
45. Rxe4 Rxe4 
46. Qc8+ Kg7 
47. Rd8 Qf6 
48. Rd1 Qf2 
49. Qxc7 Bc5 
50. Qh2 Re1 
51. Rxe1 Qxe1 
52. Qf4 Bf2 
White resigns, 0-1 

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