SC Week 6/5: Stean - Planinc, Alekhine Memorial 1975 (Black squares and White squares)
"There are essentially two types of white-square strategy … The objective is the same, to give the opponent a black-square pawn formation, but with no bishop to plug the gaps …."
Michael Stean
Notes and Observations
Although he doesn’t mention it directly, the number of similarities between this game and Botvinnik - Szilagyi (Introduction/2) make it hard to believe that Stean didn’t play it without full knowledge of its great predecessor:-
The symmetrical pawn structure with an open d-file.
White’s light-square strategy after Black gives up a bishop for a knight.
The importance of the c4-square
The Bb3-Qc4 battery.
White’s use of the open d-file to exchange both pairs of rooks and his lack of interest in preventing Black from taking the file with his queen.
The Kg2 safety move.
Reminder
Mednis has a chapter on these Exchange Pirc centres, albeit not this specific sub-variation, in From the Opening Into The Endgame.
White square strategy: Black mistraded it's white-squared bishop. Black from that moment on went for a strategy, where he provokes black to put his pawns on black squares and white puts all his pieces on white squares to infiltrate and use the outposts.
ReplyDeleteI found it an interesting idea that by trading rooks (13. Rxd8) he creates more space for his pieces to infiltrate on the white squares. Interesting concept. As you write in the end it is also simply a way for Stean to take the d-file with his queen.
18. Ba6! Is a nice multi-purpose move that holds black back from defending the pawn on b6 with Nc8 and together with the idea of Qd5-Qa8 and Bb7 wins the knight on a7. A cool concept of an invading bishop that restrains black.
In the end black is powerless on the white squares and after trade of the rooks Stean can simply keep on improving his pieces and play on the weak paws from safe white outposts.