SC Week 6/1: Tarrasch - Teichmann, San Sebastian 1912 (Black squares and White squares)

 "In endgames you should try to introduce 'width' into your play, i.e. create trouble on two widely-spaced fronts."

Michael Stean

Notes and Observations

One Black rook is tied to the c-file to prevent the White king from invading, the Black bishop is blocked behind all of its pawns. Black has only one decent piece - the second rook - so Tarrasch exchanges it off. No decent pieces equals no counter play.

Careless checks can cost lives - see Stean’s note to Rh7+. Target pawn weaknesses as a priority.

Black has the ideal 'Sicilian Outpost' on c3, and Teichmann even gets to secure it with … b5-b4. Even so, it’s not of any use to him because of what else is happening on the board. Yet another example of weaknesses only being weaknesses if they can be exploited.

Reminders

Other demonstrations of one side exploiting a positional advantage to the maximum and then opening up a second front with a pawn advance:-

Botvinnik - Szilagyi 1966, Introduction/1

Fischer - Gadia 1960, Outposts/4

Donner - Pomar Salamanca 1966, Open Files/2