Chess program Kvetka 3 29. Alexander Nikitin: My experience of computer game analysis

Position Analysis - very important skill for chess players of all levels. Many players analyze positions almost spontaneously , without a clearly defined plan.

They do not have a scheme with which you can systematically approach the analysis of positions.

The result is an incomplete analysis and many missed opportunities. In this article, we are going to change that. We will offer a simple and easy to implement plan to analyze all your games.

The material on the board is one of the most important elements for position analysis. Other things being equal, the side with the most material always has the advantage. Therefore, I recommend that you start evaluating any position by checking the material from both sides. This is very easy to do.

You can either compare figures "by heads" (for example, 2 horses, elephant, 5 pawns And rook against 2 elephants, horse, 5 pawns And rooks) or by points ("pawns") (for example, 19 points against 19 points)

Although the material advantage is very an important factor, which should be kept in mind when analyzing a position, it cannot tell us everything that is happening on the board.

If you have an extra rook, but checkmate in a couple of moves, it would be foolish to say that you have an advantage.

Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the position of the king (or, more precisely, his safety) taking into account all possible threats, mating attacks, etc.

You can quickly check the safety of the king by comparing the pawn structure and counting the number of defending pieces against the number of attackers.

Tip: In order to improve your game, you need to not only study the opening, but also focus on positional understanding and endgame play. If you want to play endings well, I suggest checking out where we go over a lot of common endings. After studying these materials, you no longer have to guess about the winning approach. You will simply apply the perfected technique:

The activity of the figures is the ability to create threats, control important fields on chessboard(e.g. weak) and/or the ability to move freely around the board. This is a very important element to consider when analyzing a position, especially when other factors such as the material balance and the king's safety seem to be equal.

To compare the activity of the pieces for both sides, you need to take each white piece and compare it to the black copy. For example, the white knight can control 3 cells while black controls 4 .

This means that the black knight is more active. However, if the white knight controls 3 squares near the opponent's king, and the black knight controls 4 on the opposite side of the board, we will consider the white knight to be more active, because he is more useful.

Control diagonals(especially long ones) with bishops and queen often plays a decisive role in attacking the opponent's position.

The side that has this control definitely has some positional advantage, all other things being equal.

Center control (fields e4-d4-e5-d5) is another important element to consider when evaluating a position. The importance of the center comes from the fact that it provides more opportunities to attack, as well as reduce the possibility of your opponent's counterattack.

The side that owns the center often has more active pieces as well as a safer king position.

Space control allows you to arrange your pieces for more effective offensive / defensive position and at the same time prevent your opponent from doing the same.

You can estimate how much space each side has by counting the number of squares controlled by pieces and pawns on the opponent's side.

Usually, the side with the space advantage should attack and put pressure on the enemy's position. Because it is difficult to coordinate the work of the figures due to lack of space.

Attack at once multiple goals often decides the game as your opponent is unable to reorganize his defense due to lack of space.

The pawn structure is closely related to space, control of the center and strong / weak fields. At the same time, you should also pay attention to weak pawns such as backward, isolated, doubled, etc.

You can also download this cheat sheet in pdf format to better remember the steps for scoring positions.

Note: If you are looking for a sharp increase in chess level, then it is necessary to systematically work on all elements of the game:

• Tactics
• Positional play
• Attacking Skills
• Endgame technique
• Analysis classic games
• Psychological preparation
• And much more

At first glance, it looks like there is a lot of work to be done. But thanks to our training course Your learning will be easy, efficiently and with minimal time. Join the training program "", right now!

Good day, dear friend!

Computers have long played stronger than humans. Best chess programs and even more so, it is impossible even for the strongest chess players to directly compete with them on an equal footing.

However, the "iron monster" is not as big and powerful as you might think. Him there are weaknesses and shortcomings . Which a chess player of any level simply must take into account.

More on that at the end of the article, but for now let's look inside the computer for a second and review the best engines and user interfaces.

What's inside?

A computer program (engine) is a counting unit. He counts, operates with numbers and does not understand at all what chess is .

The program translates the chess language into mathematical operations. Adds, subtracts and compares numbers. At the end of each option, a numerical score is given.

This is how chess engines work.

Engines

Competitions are also held between engines, consisting of a large number of games, much larger than between people. Based on the results, rating lists are compiled.

Rating of engines 2016

Komodo

Komodo ranks first in most rankings. Interestingly, Komodo differs in its brains from most of its counterparts.

He has learned to evaluate a position better and relies on evaluation to a greater extent, and less on the depth of calculation.

Perhaps this is the secret. The engine combined best qualities man and machine. However, these are my assumptions, which, of course, are not the ultimate truth.

The latest commercial version of the engine - 11.2 . Komodo 9 and older versions are offered for free free distribution.

You can download at main publisher portal

stockfish

This is the logo. Stockfish means dried fish. Where such an allegory comes from - I do not presume to judge

Stokish competes Lately With Komodo And Houdini and outperforms its rivals in a number of indicators

The success of Stockfish owes much to its distribution policy. Having created a gain, the developers post a version for testing to all users. Perhaps for this reason, there are almost no serious bugs left.

The program is free. The most latest version- eight. You can download here: https://stockfishchess.org/download/

But that is not all. It is difficult to use an engine without an interface for practical purposes .

Shells and client programs

In order to use the capabilities of the engine, to see its work, you need a shell, an interface. A custom chess program (shell) plus an engine (or several) - this is a ready-made product suitable for human use.

I will give examples of the best, in my opinion, shells and client programs:

Arena

One of the most famous and powerful programs. Can be used as a user interface, shell for almost all the best engines

You can download/install on the official website of the Arena.

Chessbase

Perhaps the most advanced analytical program known to the author.

ChessBase provides all the necessary analytical tools and can:

• Work with databases of games – watch played games and analyze
• Search by certain parameters: openings, positions, balance of material, endgames and more.
• Upload your games, with comments and pictures
• Analyze by selecting different engines
• Create player dossiers based on databases
• Print games and charts in various configurations

And also much more.

The latest version of the program - ChessBase-13

Shredder Classic 3

One of the best Shredder chess engines complete with interface.

• The ability to play both with the engine at different levels, and over the network with real opponents

• The choice of time controls, the ability to create your own control.
• Analysis of both parties and positions

• Interface customization: design of the board and figures, etc. figures, etc. further.

The full version is not free. To get started, you can download the shareware version.

chess planet

A specialized program associated with the portal http://chessplanet.ru/, where you can play online, in tournaments, by correspondence, by correspondence. Competitions and a lot of interesting things are held.

The client program is installed on the user's computer and provides the ability to play, chat on the forum, view and analyze games, watch lessons, and more.

There is also a simplified version where you can play in a browser without installing a client program on your computer.

You can install the client and get acquainted with the portal in more detail.

BabasChess

Multilingual interface (Russian truth is not found) for playing via the Internet.

Combines ease of use and a fairly wide range of functions. This is what captivates.

Works on Windows. Can also work on Linux

For learning

For beginner chess players and for learning, in my opinion, it is better to use multi-profile chess portals or an online school.

However, there are also standalone programs. For example, on a smartphone you can install:

Teaching chess - from simple to complex

Something like a navigator in the world of chess. The application will show the basic rules and give tips on how to improve the game.

The tutorial contains more hundreds topics. Including basic tricks and typical combinations. More 1000 various examples.

Learn more and install Here

Don't believe your eyes

The best chess engines are already somewhat "humanized" and in terms of evaluating positions are similar to people. However, they are also wrong. And rude.

Just one example, the simplest:

The position "on the board" is a draw and this is known to most chess players, not only masters. And it's not difficult to guess - the black king is sitting in the corner and it is impossible to smoke him out of there. Neither checkmate nor promote a pawn. And pressed in the corner - stalemate.

So, most engines, even the most modern ones, evaluate this position as won for White. stockfish gives +7 . If you don't believe me, you can check for yourself.

In fact, I could give about a dozen such examples, when a machine makes a gross mistake in assessing a position. Why this happens, I do not know, but the fact is the fact.

Hence the conclusion: deifying the computer, it will not be superfluous to remember that “there is a hole in the old woman” . It turns out that not only we check our calculations using a computer. Sometimes the reverse process is also required. That's it.

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Lecture read by the Honored Coach of the USSR in Loo on April 17, 2014 at the coaching seminar

Few people dispute the necessity and usefulness of the analysis of the games played. This analysis makes it possible to find committed mistakes, unravel the planned operations of the parties, determine the critical and turning points of a chess battle, and as a result of all this, draw conclusions that help to further improve the game of a chess player.

I started doing this kind of thing fifty years ago, when, after graduating from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, I had to move away from active game in competitions due to the heavy workload of engineering work in a very serious design bureau. In 1973, I nevertheless returned to chess world, accepting an offer to become one of the coaches of the USSR national teams.

Well, at the beginning of 1976, fate gave me a wonderful chance - I began to work closely with a little prodigy from Baku, who in a couple of years was recognized by the whole chess world. It was Garry Kasparov.

I will not talk further about the details and method of working with this super talented young man. Let me just say that the analysis of the games played, both joint and separate, was one of the main forms of his training process.

Clara Kasparova, Garry Kasparov, Vitaly Melik-Karamov and Alexander Nikitin (Vilnius, 1984)

Garry's rise fell on the endgame of the pre-computer period of chess, when the quality of analytical work depended only on the chess player's desire to get to the bottom of the truth, sometimes spending a lot of time and effort on it. From an early age, Harry had a great love for chess and a constant desire to learn as many of their secrets as possible. The analysis of various kinds of positions that arose at different stages of this wise game attracted first the boy, and then the young man to the same extent.

The results of our analyzes were recorded by Garik in thick notebooks. I, having managed to create a punched card file in the Central Chess Club (which is on Gogolevsky Boulevard), entered my analyzes into my own punched cards, which became the first attempt to facilitate the collection and storage of the necessary chess information and, most importantly, the quick extraction of its individual copies from a large array of punched cards, on which the specific information I needed was stored. In the seventies, the flow of information grew larger and larger every year, and there was a real threat of drowning in this stream of new games and analyzes published in books, chess newspapers and magazines, in special issues, etc. The invasion of computers into the world of chess rescued us.

At first, these were primitive game modules, of little use even for the role of sparring partners for a serious chess player. But the whole world was waiting for the appearance of computers capable of solving problems that were not chess at all. Since chess made it possible to study the process of playing from records of chess moves, they became a testing ground for working out serious analytical programs intended for use in science, management, military affairs, and in many other areas of human activity. Analytical programs designed for chess were not far away. True, the first computers only allowed chess pros not to carry a heavy suitcase full of magazines, informants, analytical notebooks, etc. to competitions, but they were not adapted for the work that is now familiar.

My first computer was an Atari 1040, which in 1987 I spent O most of his fee received at the end of the Seville, the fourth match of two Ka. Now I could go to competitions and training camps with a small suitcase where my computer was packed, in a small hard drive of which all the chess information I needed on the trip was stored. I was happy with it and took great care of my computer. Back then, computers were extremely expensive. So, my colleague, returning from Seville, exchanged the same Atari for brand new Zhiguli. My Atari served me faithfully for five years, until in 1992, when I visited the editorial office of the Dutch magazine "New in Chess", I bought "at a reasonable price" an advanced computer for that time on the 386 SL processor. It was a real laptop that allowed you to work with the first versions of "Chess Base" and "Chess Assistant". True, his weak memory did not allow him to think about any advanced forms of work - operative memory of 1.0 megabytes, and the hard drive memory of 40 megabytes allowed him to use it only as a repository of valuable chess information that I had selected. I quickly got out of the habit of writing on paper, I did all the comments of games and analysis of openings on the computer and automatically saved it in its memory. This went on for the same five years, until the parameters of my computer friend began to noticeably yield to his new, more powerful and faster-firing brothers. The coaching problems that I had to solve became more and more difficult, my bank of chess information required moving to a new, more spacious room, and I had to change my computer.

It is generally accepted that computers become obsolete very quickly, and their useful life is approximately two years. I calmly work with my silicone assistants for five years, quickly get used to them, learn their features. They become my friends, with whom it is a pity to part. So, if your chess problems don't get more complicated, don't rush to part with your old computers. No wonder they say that old friend better than the new two.

For the next five years, I had a Pentium 266 computer that allowed me to run serious Chess Base 7.0 and Fritz 5.0 programs. Their use made it possible to feel more confident in the analysis debut schemes. True, the scores issued by the computers were sometimes very controversial, and I immediately made it a rule not to follow their lead, but to rely on my understanding of the position.

Honored Coach of the USSR, FIDE Senior Coach, International Master Alexander Sergeevich Nikitin

Now, for two years now, I have been closely friends with an ASUS laptop, the heart of which is a dual-core Intel (R) Core TM i3 CPU, which has a clock frequency (2.4 megahertz) quite sufficient for chess research; more than sufficient and hard disk capacity (40 gigabytes). I am quite satisfied with his work: both in terms of the good accuracy of his estimates and in terms of the time they were received. Now there are computers that can get the same results twice as fast, but I don't care, I don't like to rush my friend.

I must say that my experience with the latest analytical programs such as "Houdini 4", "Stockfish 4", "Komodo 5" allowed me to draw conclusions that you should think about.

1. No computer can improve your game. He can warn against gross errors during the analysis and at the end of it (you determine the termination of the analysis, again based on your understanding of the position), give a certain amount of information with your purely formal numerical estimates (there are always several of them), which you must check based on your understanding of the position and, most importantly, comparing it with your “human” assessment, make the final choice.

2. Leading in the analysis should be a person. It must be firmly grasped that the computer is a conscientious accountant, and you are the thinker and chief in the search for chess truth.

3. It's funny to me to see young chess players playing as a Candidate Master, but already having powerful computers with quad-core processors. For them, it's like playing games with crystal or gold chess, instead of the usual wooden pieces. On such computers it is good to spend time on challenging games type " star wars", etc., but that, as they say, is another story. To solve chess problems, dual-core processors are quite enough. It's better to buy good chess books with the money saved.

Next, I will try to simulate the process of analyzing a chess game using a computer. To do this, I took a game of the old masters, not at all long, not infallible, but without rude blunders. It had already been analyzed by Grandmaster Nunn 6 years ago, and I wanted to see if my more powerful computer would help me find something new in covering the events that took place in this interesting and instructive game. I note that during the lecture, of course, I did not show variations longer than 5-6 moves; they are presented below for independent analysis by trainers and students.

Young listeners in Loo

Rudolf Shpilman - Arnold Denker

French C06 Defense

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 Qb6 8.Ne2 cxd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+

Some players are itching to start a fight without first maneuvering. True, most of them have ratings that barely climb over 2100 - for this, it is enough to look at a selection of games from the Megabase. I operate in my comments with examples of the play of stronger chess players who are able to penetrate the understanding of the position, to put it computer language, on b O greater depth in less time.

The loss of castling here cannot have serious consequences, since the position in the center is stable. In the meantime, it is stable, the pawn e5 provides White with a space advantage, and Black the inconvenience associated with crowding in his own home, part of which is shot through by the enemy. I would like to somehow remove this pawn, but not very decisive ones are frightened by the opening of the game and the threat to their own king. This is how a conflict of interests immediately sets in and a chess Maidan arises.

Serious players prefer to get a small positional advantage, but not lose castling. 10.Bd2 (+0,10) Bxd2+ 11.Qxd2 Qb4 12.Rc1 Qxd2+ 13.Kxd2 Nb6 14.b3 Ke7 15.h4 Bd7 16.Rh3 Nb4 17.Bb1 a5 18.a3 +/=, Keres - Flores, 1939.

10...0-0?! (+1,15)

Rudolf Shpilman, in his meager comments, awarded the castling of the black king with a single question mark and called this natural move a decisive mistake, allowing the standard bishop sacrifice on h7. Indeed, he was not mistaken in speaking of a mistake; there are better moves than what he did. Black's castling in this moment- a move in which there is a lot of provocation, since a more or less experienced player's eyes immediately light up at the sight of the h7 pawn. "To hit or not to hit?" - immediately arises an ancient question.

Let's talk about computers first. My computer assistants - the snooty "Stockfish 4" and the solid "Komodo 5", as I expected, were not united in express assessment of the consequences of the elephant's seductive sacrifice. Stockfish decided on a sacrifice instantly (11.Bxh7+), immediately giving her a powerful support "+1.21". Komodo didn't notice this move at all, compared to the solid general strengthening 11.Be3 and two similar moves given to me to choose from. I decided to give them time to work. Only after 15 minutes, having reached the calculation depth of 25 half-moves, Komodo deigned to see the bishop's sacrifice and its benefits, immediately putting the move on the first line with a score of "+0.79". At the same time, he indicated a variant proof more convincing than that of his competitor Stockfish. Next, I decided to see at what depth of calculation the computers would stop moving further. After an hour of work, they sharply slowed down the speed of their calculations, and it no longer made sense to continue their operation. I had to record the following results of their work: "Stockfish 4" reached a depth of 31 half-moves and retained its former enthusiastic attitude towards the bishop's sacrifice when evaluating the move of the second line (11.a3), which is also quite high (+ 1.05). Komodo 5 was more thoughtful. He reached a depth of calculation of 26 half-moves and retained respect for the bishop's sacrifice, leaving it on the first line (+0.88), far from the second line (11.Be3 with a score of +0.31). At the same time, it's worth noting that Nunn's best "human" move (11.Nf4) has never received the attention of bookkeepers.

Having learned the opinion of the computer, we now continue our purely chess analysis. The main opening idea of ​​the French Defense is to undermine White's pawn fortifications in the center. Since the d4-pawn was successfully repelled, Black must hurry to break the e5-pawn, which unpleasantly hampers the movement of black pieces. This goal is served by advancing the pawn f7-f6, which must be carried out as quickly as possible.

1) 10...f5?(+0.90) A fundamental error that does not require a variant proof. Black refuses to undermine the pawn center and must now endure ordeals in a cramped position without counterplay. The hands make the first moves of the winning plan, giving the head a rest: 11.h4 0-0 12.Rh3 h6 13.Rg3 Kh8 14.Be3.

The computers that followed my moves here give a cruel assessment of Black's opening strategy: "+2.04 or +-". I agree and stop further analysis.

2) 10...f6 (0.56)

Let's see how Stockfish4 works again: 1 minute - calculation depth 20 half-moves, position evaluation "+0.58"; 2 minutes - 22 half moves and "+0.08"; 6 minutes - 26 half-moves and a score of "0.00".

11.Nf4 (11.exf6 (-0.10) Nxf6 12.Bf4 0-0 13.Qb1 Be7 14.a3 Bd7 =)11...fxe5 (11...Ndxe5?! 12.dxe5 fxe5 13.Nh5 0- 0 14.Be3 Qd8 15.Ng3 h6 16.h4 Bd6 17.Rh3 e4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Bxe4 +/-) 12.Nxe6!? g6 (Looks extremely suspicious, but nothing better) 13.dxe5 Ndxe5 14.Be3 Qa5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 White seemed to be doing everything right, but his hopes for an advantage seem to be fading away. 16.a3 (16.Nd4 0-0 17.Be2 Nc4 =) 16...Bxe6 17.axb4 Qxb4 18.Bd4 Bg4! 19.Qa4+ Qxa4 20.Rxa4 Rc8 21.Bb5+ Nd7 22.Bc3 a6 23.Bxa6 bxa6 24.Rxg4 0-0 25.Rd4 Nf6 26.f3 Ne4 =.

3) 10...Be7!(0.00) The bishop has done its job - the bishop can move closer to the king. 11.a3 f6! ( As an example of an unsuccessful staging of the opening for Black, I present a fragment of the game of two great classics who played this game at the end of their chess career. For some reason, Black immediately went into a deaf passive and meekly perished. 11...Nf8? 12.b4 Bd7 13.Be3 Nd8 14.Nc3 a5 15.Na4 Qa7 16.b5 b6+- (Alekhin - Capablanca, 1938) 17.h4! f5 18.Rh3 h6 19.Rg3+-)12.Nf4 fxe5 13.Nxe6 Bf6. The opening development is suddenly interrupted by the beginning of the battle in the center of the board. 14.Qe2 e4 15.Bf4 Nde5! 16.dxe5 Bxe6 17.exf6 0-0! 18.Ng5 Rxf6 19.Nxe6 exd3.

In this acute position, we began testing the operation of the Stockfish4 accountant in a single-processor stationary computer. After one minute, the engine reached a calculation depth of 18 half-strokes; ten minutes later he was at a depth of 27 half-moves with an estimate of 20.Qg4 "+0.14". After another 20 minutes, he stopped at a depth of 31 half-move with an estimate of the same move "0.00".

20.Qg4 Rg6 21.Ng5 Qxb2 22.Re1 d2. Computers give here an assessment of "=". But for me the position is not so clear - it is too difficult to understand what is happening here, and I rate it "unclear". However, if we continue the variation - 23.Rd1 h6 24.h4 hxg5 25.hxg5 Re8 26.Kg1 Qc2 27.Rxd2 Re1+ 28.Kh2 Ne5 29.Qh3 Rxh1+ 30.Kxh1 Qe4 31.Qc8+ Kh7 32.Qh3+, we get a perpetual check.

11.Bxh7+ (+1.15)

White is in a hurry, maybe it's not in vain. Indeed, on the next move, one of the black pawns - f7 or h7 can go to the 6th rank, and then the possibility of sacrificing the bishop will become irrelevant. Of course, the hand reaches out to “slam” on h7, after which the white queen bursts into the fortress, where the enemy king is hiding, and he has to flee. It was this circumstance that allowed the great lover to attack and consider the bishop's sacrifice justified, for he believed in his ability to attack and believed that “further attacking opportunities will be found automatically. Having sacrificed the bishop, I was convinced that my attack must somehow lead to victory.

However, not all so simple. Black's position is unpleasant because his pieces are in some kind of disorder, making it difficult to organize counterplay. Taking advantage of this, White can look for a way to strengthen the attacking grouping. And then it is easy to pay attention to the jump of the e2 knight.

11.Nf4! (+0.90). This calm enhancement of the attacking potential was found by Grandmaster Nunn, who did not believe in the effectiveness of the sacrifice of the white bishop, a piece, by the way, very useful in attacking the king. If the attack bogs down, then the absence of a lookout for white fields can create serious problems for them.

a) 11...f6 12.Nxe6 fxe5 ( 12...Re8 13.Nf4 fxe5 14.Nxd5 +-) 13.dxe5 Ndxe5 14.Bxh7+ Kxh7 15.Nxf8+ Bxf8 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Qh5+ Kg8 18.Qxe5 +-;

b) 11...h6 12.Bb1 Re8 13.Kg1 Nf8 14.h4 Qc7 15.Rh3 Bd7 16.Rg3 Ne7 17.Nh5 Nfg6 18.Nxg7 Kxg7 19.h5 Rec8 20.Bf4 +-;

With) 11...Be7 12.h4 h6 13.Rh3 Re8 14.a3 Bf8 15.Rg3 Ne7 16.Kg1 a5 17.Ne1 Nf5 18.Bxf5 exf5 19.Nxd5 Qc6 20.Nf4 +-.

I “showed” Nunn's move to my accountant when, after 12 minutes of calculated work, he still did not highlight it on the monitor, and the move made by Shpilman remained the favorite, with an estimate reaching “+1.27”. The computer reacted positively to such a “kick”, but without enthusiasm, giving a rating of “+0.94” after 8 minutes of calculation at a depth of 25 half-moves.

11...Kxh7 12.Ng5+ Kg8

The game ends instantly if the king attacks - 12...Kg6?? 13. Qd3+ f5 14. Nf4+! Kxg5 15.Qg3+ Kh6 18.Qg6#.

13.Qd3! (+1.03) Re8 14.Qh7+ Kf8

The first phase of White's attack is over. Now they have to choose from several very tempting sequels the best one. There is practically no one to protect the black king, the only staging post - the square e7 is a saving loophole for the further flight of the monarch, if he succeeds. On the other hand, only two white pieces are involved in the attack so far. But this pair is only good for mating the king around the f7-square. White solves the problem of this point, but not in the best way.

15.Qh8+?(-0.16)

It cannot be said that this malfunction is obvious. However, this is indeed a glitch. The white queen did the wrong thing. Fascinated by the chase, he drives the enemy king out of the danger zone to a relatively safe temporary shelter on d8, from where a path leads to a safer shelter on b8. As a reward, he will get two unfortunate pawns on the kingside and clearing the way for the white passed pawn to move to the queen.

However, further we will see the divergence of the winner's statement: "The idea that every sacrifice should be calculated as accurately as possible is fundamentally wrong. When attacking, only faith in the position (?) and in oneself is required," with the conclusions of careful analysis, which proves that here White missed two much more effective continuations of the attack.

First of all, it should be noted that an attempt to immediately win back a piece given up for the sake of attack by moving 15. a3 reveals a defect in White's position - a weakening of the d4-pawn. This circumstance can be used by Black to great advantage - 15…Nxd4! 16.axb4 Qb5!, and after the forced exchange of queens, White is left without a pawn and without initiative.

Having discussed the bad opportunity, now let's talk about the good ones.

1) 15.Qh5!? The winner, who is very pleased with the attack brought to victory, does not even mention another version of the scenario he invented, when White gets to the f7-pawn a move earlier. This time saving sharply strengthens the attack, making it irresistible, for example: 15...g6 (+2.20) 16.Qh7 Ke7 (16...Nd8 17.Ne4!!+-)17.Qxf7+ Kd8 18.Nxe6+ Rxe6 19. Qxe6 Qb5 20.Be3+- or 15...Nd8 (1.09) 16.a3 Qa6 17.Be3 Ke7 18.Rc1 Ba5 19.Qh7! Rf8 20.h4! Nc6 21.Qxg7 Bb6 22.Ke1! Ke8 23.Rh3!+- Qd3 24.h5 Bxd4 25.Bxd4+-.

2) 15.Nf3! (+1.27). The knight, having jumped back, not only strengthened the defense of the central pawn, but, most importantly, gave way to the bishop, and its appearance on the g5-square threatens to immediately end the battle.

Comps do not immediately realize the power of this maneuver, and for about half a minute I see their indignation. Their favorite (15.Qh5) was displaced from the first line only at a calculation depth of 25 half-moves, and immediately with a knight's jump estimate of "+1.90", and after calculation for 27 half-moves, the estimate reached "+2.16".

Such a combination of defense of the d4-pawn and attack, with the involvement of the dark-squared bishop, was not seen even by Nunn. 15...f6 16.Bh6! Ke7 17.Qxg7+ Kd8 18.exf6 Bf8 19.Qg6 Bxh6 20.Qxh6 Qxb2 21.Re1 Kc7 22.f7 Re7 (22...Rf8 23.Ng5 Nd8 24.h4 b6 25.Nf4 Ba6+ 26.Kg1 Kb7 27.Nfxe6 Nxe6 28.Qxe6 +-)23.f8Q Nxf8 24.Qxf8 b6 25.Kg1 Kb7 26.h4 e5 27.Qf6 Re6 28.Qg7+ Re7 29.Qg5 exd4 30.Nfxd4 Rd7 31.Qf6+-

15... Ke7 16.Qxg7 (0.00) 16…Kd8 (+0.30)

Black should have defended the pawn: 16…Rf8 17.Nxe6! “While my opponent was thinking about his move, I delved deeply into the position and decided that this sacrifice wins immediately” R. Shpilman. It is a pity that the grandmaster did not provide a variant proof of deep penetration. Nunn, however, somehow casually remarks that the winner simply did not worry about calculating the options and relied entirely on his intuition. But in vain ... Something is not visible winning straightaway, except maybe only in case of 17...Kxe6? 18.Nf4+ Ke7 Nxd5+. To unsteady equality leads only indicated by computers 17 … Ke8 18.Nxf8 Nxf8 19.Be3 Ng6 20.Qh7 Bf5. The bookkeepers mutter about White's little initiative, and I agree with them.

17.Qxf7? (-1.11)

The ensuing lull invites reflection. I would like to look at the position "in a human way", throwing aside the sheets with computer calculations. Something is not quite right, or maybe not quite right for White. The game for checkmate has died down, and now the most important thing for them is to push the pawn as far as possible, but where?

Nunn managed to find an increase in White's attack using the old method. He considered this position to be the first intermediate result of the bishop sacrifice on h7. Then a legitimate question arose: “What did White achieve in these six moves?” Yes, they got enough pawn equivalent for the sacrificed bishop. But it was not pitiful pawns that were their target when they launched their attack. They drove the king to the center, where he found himself under the protection of the black pieces already standing there. Well, what of it? The threat of capturing the e6 pawn can be easily repelled by Black, at least by placing the knight on f8, and in its place bring the bishop, further strengthening the defense of the king. It is not difficult to understand that the two white pieces, having “destroyed” the royal fortress, need reinforcements to continue the offensive. But it takes time to bring reserves into battle (about 3-4 moves), and in this short time period Black will have time to bring the rook to c8, cover the king on b8, and be ready to start his game. It turns out that White's achievements in attack are not so great. IN practice game these general considerations and arguments are quite enough to cast doubt on the correctness of the elephant sacrifice. And this forced the English grandmaster to start looking for an improvement for White, returning to the position that arose after ten moves. So he found the move 11.Nf4!

Let's return to the position on the last diagram. Her assessment is not entirely clear. White has only to strengthen himself by 17.Be3 (+0.30) Be7 18.b3, and then impetuous play on the opposite courses begins: 18...a5 19.h4 a4 20.b4! Qxb4 21.Nxf7+ Kc7 22.Rc1. The white passer looks intimidating, and many would go over to the side of the whites, but the computers are in their element here. He somehow manages to save Black after 22...Nb6 and even after 22...b6. The purely illustrative variations given below are excellent food for those who like to prove the universally recognized chess axiom "any long variation contains an error."

By the way, this worldly statement is saturated with the tears of many chess analysts who were carried away by lengthy analytical studies. Practitioners want to know how long options should be, when the probability of error should be high, and what should be considered an error in this case. As for the length of the variation, G. Kasparov again believes that “in complex positions, the tree of variations (note, the “tree”, and not just the trunk) is usually traced (by them!) to a depth of ten half-moves, which is a fairly reliable depth . In a practical game, it is important to understand when to stop the calculation work. Usually this moment comes when you come to a certain assessment of the position (again, based on your chess strength), or when there is no time left to continue the calculation.

Well, a mistake in a variation, due to which all the calculated work turns out to be a waste of time, may not necessarily be a rough look at a strong opponent’s response, but also the presence of a couple of side branches from the trunk, directing the game in ways with completely unclear consequences. How many times have fans bought this to follow the computer road (at least to save time). Even such a chess monster as V.L. Korchnoi said that he didn’t like to analyze with a computer, as it leads him along for some time, and then suddenly changes the assessment of the position, and you have to start all over again.

22...Nb6 (22...b6 23.Kg1 (23.Qg6 Nf8 24.Qc2 Bd7 25.Bg5 Qc4 26.Qxc4 dxc4 27.Rxc4 b5 28.Rc1 b4 29.Bxe7 Rxe7 30.Nd6 Bc8 31.Rh3 Ba6 32.h5 Rg7 33.h6 Rh7 34.g4 Ng6 35.Nc4 b3 36.axb3 axb3 37.Rxb3 Rxh6і)23...Ba6 24.Nf4 Rac8 25.Qh6 Nf8 (25...Kb8 26.Qxe6 Nf8 27 .Qxd5 Na5 28.Rxc8+ Rxc8 29.Nd6 Bxd6 30.Qxd6+ Qxd6 31.exd6 Rc2)26.Nxd5+ exd5 27.Rxc6+ Kb7 28.Nd6+ Bxd6 29.Rxd6 Bc4 30.Rh3 Bxa2 31.Rf3 Ka6 32.Rff6 Rb8 33. R xh8 33. RXH8 QA3 34.RC2 KB6 35.RA8 QXe3 36.rxc6+ bxc6 37.qxe7 QXD4 38.QXE6 (38.QD8+? KB5 39.QAA5+ KC4 -+) 38 ... QH4+ 39.QH3 QXH3+ 40.GxH3 KC7 41.h4 b5 42.Rg8 a3 43.Rg7+ Kb6 44.h5 a2 45.Rg1 b4 46.h6 b3 47.h7 b2 48.h8Q b1Q 49.Qd8+ Ka6 50.Qc8+ Kb6 =.

It should be noted that not enough experienced chess player here both analytical modules will offer the choice of moves 17.a3, 17.Be3, 17.h4 and 17.Nxf7+ (=), and it will not be an easy choice.

17...Nf8 (-0.42)

Many protein individuals, including myself, would have made this normal general strengthening move in order to quickly bring the arrangement of their pieces into a form familiar to the eye and mind by means of Bd7, Rc8 and Kd8-c7-b8. However, the comps again intervene, who advise to take a closer look at the counterplay on the white squares, where their light-squared bishop, which has no opponent, can play an important role

Meticulous accountants offer an elegant solution for Black 17...Qa6!? (-1.11) and ask the supporters of the white army to refute their options:

A) 18.Nf3 Be7 19.Be3 (19.Qxe6 Nf6 20.Qf7 Rf8 21.Qg7 Rg8 22.Qh6 Ne4 23.Ne1 Kc7 24.Qe3 Bg4 25.Qd3 Bxe2+ 26.Qxe2 Qxe2+ 27.Kxe2 Nxd4+ 28.Kf1 Nc 6 -+ )19...Nb6 20.b3 Bd7 21.h4 Nb4 22.a4 Rc8 23.Rd1 Rc2 -/+ and

b) 18.Qf4 Qd3 19.Be3 Nb6 (19...b6!? 20.a3 Ba6 21.axb4 Qxe2+ 22.Kg1 Kc7 23.h4 Re7 24.Qf3 Qxf3 25.Nxf3 Kb7 26.h5 Nxb4 27.Ra3 Rg8-/ +)20.Qh4 Re7 21.a3 Bd2 22.Bxd2 (22.Rd1? Qc2! -+)22...Qxd2 23.b3 Qb2 24.Rc1 Qxb3 25.Qf4 Nc4 26.h4 Qb2 27.h5 Bd7 28. h6 Kc7 29.h7 Rh8 30.Rh3 Kb8-/+.

It looks like the last move made by Shpilman gives Black more opportunities to fight for the initiative.

18.h4 Bd7 (-0.42)

19.Be3 (-0.85).

It looks like a useful general strengthening move, but it had to be made a move later, then White managed to save an important tempo, which allowed him to consolidate the position a little: 19.h5 Qa6! 20.Be3! Kc7 21.a3 Rac8. Although the position still remained more promising for Black: 22.Rd1 Nd8 23.Qf3 Be7 24.h6 Kb8 25.h7 Ng6 =/+.

19...Rc8? (0.00)

You can't say right away that this is a mistake, but in fact Black makes a move that is so natural, so untimely in this situation, when the rapid advance of the white passed pawn had to be countered by an equally rapid deployment of active counterplay. In this game, the player playing with black was not strong in understanding the position, and his blunders must be tolerated. The grandmaster was, in my opinion, in full confidence that everything was going according to plan, and therefore at some moments he relaxed his vigilance, being sure that everything would be fine. The analysis proves that with the move of the rook Black misses b O most of the big advantage he gave him, which they did not deserve and which was achieved by the immediate start of a counter-operation on the queenside.

19...Be7! (-0.95) This is both an increase in the defense of the king and an attack on the b2-pawn. White is already hard to give good advice. 20.h5 (20.b3 Qa6! 21.h5 Nb4! 22.Rc1 (22.h6 Nc2 23.Rc1 Rc8 24.Qf4 Bb5 25.Kg1 Nxe3 26.Rxc8+ Kxc8 27.Nc3 Bxg5 28.Qxg5 Nf5 29.Nxb5 Qxb5 30.h7 Nxh7 31.Rxh7 Nxd4 32.Qg7 Kb8 -+)22...Nxa2 23.Ra1 Rc8 24.h6 Rc2 25.Kg1 Rxe2 26.h7 Nxh7 27.Nxh7 Qa5 28.Rh3 Qc3 29.Rf1 Re1 30. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 31.Kh2 Nc3 32.Qg7 Ne2 33.f4 Qb4 34.Nf6 Nxd4 35.Nxe8 Nf5 36.Qf7 Nxe3 37.Nd6 Nf5 -+) 20...Qxb2 21.Rc1 Rc8! (Now this move is quite appropriate, because on 22.h7 the blow 22...Nxd4! 23.Rxc8+ Kxc8 24.Nxd4 Qb1+ 25.Ke2 Qxh1 decides the matter). It remains to check only 22.Qg7, and then a pure illustration: A) 22...Nxd4?? 23.Nf7#; b) 22...Nxe5 23.Qxe5 (23.dxe5? Bb5-+)23...Bb5 24.Re1 Rc2 25.Kg1 Nd7 26.Qxe6 Rxe2 27.Rxe2 Qxe2 28.Nf7+ Kc8 29.h6 Qd1+ 30.Kh2 Qh5+ 31.Kg1=; c) 22…Kc7 23.h6 Kb8 24.h7 Nxh7 25.Nxh7 Nxd4 26.Rxc8+ Kxc8 27.Nxd4 Qa1+ 28.Ke2 Qxh1 29.Nf6 Ba4 30.Nb3 Bb5+ 31.Kf3 Bxf6 32.exf6 Qh5+ 33.Kg 3 Qh8 =/+ .

20.h5 Ne7.

Black does not think about activity, but drives the pieces closer to the king. Now this is called a "dense" game. A serious battle for three results flared up after 20...Qa6 21.h6 Ne7. However, with the right defense everything ended in peace: 22.h7 Nxh7 23.Nxh7 Rc2 24.Nf6 Qxe2+ 25.Kg1 Bd2 26.Bxd2 Qxd2 27.Rf1 Rc1 28.g3 Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Qxd4 30.Nxe8 Bxe8 31.Qxe6 (3 1. Rh8 Qc4+ 32.Kg1 Qc6 -/+) 31...Qd3+ 32.Kg1 Qb1+ 33.Kg2 Qe4+ 34.Kh2 Nf5 35.Rc1 Bc6 36.Kh3 d4 37.Qg8+ Kc7 38.Qf7+ =.

21.Nf4 (0.00)

White is no longer in danger of losing. However, they hardly thought about this joyful moment and, without noticing the dangers that threatened them, they continued to play for victory, introducing reserves into the battle. The equality after 21.h6 Qa6 22.h7 Nxh7 23.Nxh7 Rc2 has already been considered. The sharp fight ended with equality after 21.Kg1 Nf5 22.h6 Be7 23.h7 Nxh7 24.Rxh7 Rf8 25.Qh5 Qxb2 26.Rd1 Nxe3 27.fxe3 Qa3 28.Kh2 Qxe3 29.Nf7+ Kc7 30.Rc1+ Kb8.

21... Nf5 22.h6Nxe3+ 23.fxe3 (0.00)

23...Bb5+?? (+3.98)

Here comes help for White. The difference in the class had an effect, especially since Black was in time trouble. They make a really decisive mistake at a moment when the outcome of the chaotic battle continued to remain unclear. Well, with such a set of misses, the one who makes the last mistake loses.

After 23...Be7 (0.00) 24.h7 Nxh7 25.Ngxe6+ Bxe6 26.Nxe6+ Kd7 27.Nf4 Qb5+ 28.Kg1 Ng5 it was impossible to talk about anyone's advantage in a position full of life: 29.a4 Qxb2 30.Qxd5+ Kc7 31.Qa2 Qxa2 32.Rxa2 Kd7 33.Kf2 Rc4 34.Ke2 Rec8 =.

Now you can already admire the incomparable art of attack of the famous coryphaeus of the past. And I remember the great magician Mikhail Tal and his attacks - these were miracles!

24.Kg1 Rc7 25.h7 Rxf7 26.Nxf7+ Kc8 27.h8Q

It's time for Black to resign, which he did after a dozen completely unnecessary moves.

So, what should be kept in mind after watching this interesting and instructive game?

1. The opening variation with 10.Kf1 is quite suitable for lovers of complications, and for both colors. If it is planned to be included in the fighting opening repertoire, it is worth writing down the “correct” continuation of the game after White's 10th move.

2. If you are going to donate serious material, then the decision should be made only after calculating the necessary options to an acceptable depth, which depends on the practical strength of the player.

3. “If you are not able to quickly find an excuse for the planned sacrifice, having removed all the ambiguities, then you should look for another, more reliable continuation that does not worsen the situation.” (Nunn). It will be practical if, having seen the idea of ​​a sacrifice, before calculating it, you first find this spare continuation.

4. Try to keep the situation under control and notice the slightest changes in the features of the position after each move, both your own and, especially, someone else's. They can force you to make adjustments to your choice of move.

5. When analyzing a game, respect the work of the computer, which protects you from gross errors. But remember that the main thing in analytical work is the person, i.e. you. And you, only you will have to make the final choice of move. And it will not necessarily be a computer move of the first line.

6. First, check on the computer the move that you think is the best, based on your understanding of the position and style of play, and then compare it with the best choice comp. Then make your final choice.

7. Don't force the computer to give you blitz-tempo advice, as it may give you a wrong move. In principled positions, let the computer think for at least 3 minutes on each move. Always try to start such an analysis with an assessment of the position, based on general considerations and your positional understanding.

8.Always try to start the computer analysis of any position by evaluating it from general considerations and by virtue of your positional understanding. No analytical program will teach you to understand the position. It will only give you food for thought. No even the most powerful computer will improve your game if you have a poor understanding of the position.

They will teach you chess tricks only good books. But this is a special discussion.

Alexander Nikitin conducts classes at the school "Chess Hopes of Russia" in the boarding house "Ognikovo"

Photos by B. Dolmatovsky, V. Barsky and E. Kublashvili