In the diagrammed position, Black appears to be in serious trouble. White’s pieces are more active, the pawn on c5 is threatened, Black’s King is far from happy, and White enjoys a significant lead in development.

Is Black doomed? Does he have a defense? What is Black’s best option and what is the philosophy behind defending such miserable situations?

I would love to hear from some of my site’s readers! Tell me what you would do and why. If I like what you say, your views will be presented in my answer. So show some courage, speak up, and let’s try and make you a better player!

BLACK TO PLAY AND SURVIVE

First, I would like to thank the many people who offered their opinions on this very interesting position. I think it best to start with some of the incorrect (but highly instructive!) responses. For those that did get it wrong, remember that you are not alone!

If you other readers, as students of the game, are not prepared to test your understanding (in this forum or over the board in actual play) and learn from your mistakes (and mistaken views and moves are part of us all!), you will never improve. Hopefully I will hear from even more of you next lesson!

Our first “guest speaker” is MR. MIKE CLARK (rating: 1203):

I'm a middle-aged chess hobbyist who took up chess about 10 years ago and finally took the plunge into tournament play recently. Here's my try at this! I hope it’s not too wordy.

Position: White has more development, more space (though easily changed in this open position), and king is pretty safe. White also has 2 isolated pawns to blacks 1. Black has kingside majority. Black technically has a bad bishop, but again with such an open position, it might not be that detrimental. Also, black has a potentially good post on d5 for his knight.

If I were black, my basic objectives would be A) castle; B) eliminate the white d-pawn; c) target the a-pawn; D) centralize the bishop or knight on d5.

My first move would be 1...cxd4. The c-pawn is already a target so I might as well eliminate white’s d-pawn and have a passer to distract/annoy white, even if only for a move. Also, white has too many potential attacks involving the d-pawn to risk 1...Rxa2 2.dxc5, attacking Black’s queen and also giving White a very good passer.

After 1…cxd4 Black should castle since white doesn't have any immediate attacks and has to deal with 2…Rxa2 or the passed pawn on d4. After castling, Black will probably post the knight on d5 than attack the a-pawn.

Overall I see black as the aggressor initially and white having to somewhat react for a while. Since black has a post closer to the center, the a-pawn can become a liability.

You also ask what is the philosophy behind such a position? I say shore up what defenses you can (castling/joining rooks/etc)...then Attack! Sitting back is just allowing white to make whatever plan he wants.

Hope I was close with my assessment!

At a glance we could discount Mr. Clark’s recommendation since 1…cxd4 hangs material to 2.Nc7+. However, there are a couple things that strike me as interesting. The initial shock, which my readers couldn’t have been aware of, is that this is from a real game and Black is rated close to 2000. In that game she actually played 1…cxd4, completely missing the Knight fork (and, as a result, losing horribly)!

This begs a question: how could a 2000 player miss this? I think the answer resides in a certain state of hopelessness. When you hate your position and stare at a situation that appears lost, you often simply fold. Instead of looking for the positive features you might possess, you mentally and emotionally resign, caught in the “headlights” of White’s apparently overwhelming threats.

Anyone can be so fearfully intent on possibilities like dxc5 followed by Nd6+ that they miss a Knight leap to a very different square. But more interesting is Mr. Clark’s highly instructive comment: “I say shore up what defenses you can (castling/joining rooks/etc.)…then attack!”

Mr. Clark did a notable job of figuring out the basics of the position, but Black’s lack of development forces him to seek some form of positional compensation. Why? Because any dynamic battle (at least in the near term) will be won by White. Remember: when your King is stuck in the center, you DON’T want to make the game a slugfest!

In a way, Mr. Clark is correct. You DO want to shore up your position when you are off balance. But I would have trouble thinking of the word “attack” if I was Black. Instead, I might say, END WHITE’S DYNAMIC OPPORTUNITIES BY CASTLING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, THEN TRY AND MAKE USE OF WHATEVER STRATEGIC PLUSSES I MIGHT POSSESS.

For those still trying to figure out Black’s correct move, this should serve as a useful hint.

Next at bat is PROFESSOR CHRIS CONNELL, another brave soul who did his very best to solve this position’s inner secrets.

I'm a 44 year-old college professor (in English) who has played bad chess sporadically for years. I've recently rekindled my interest in chess. In fact, another faculty member and I have started a chess club on campus. I happened to buy your books about a year ago (which were a little beyond me at the time, but not now) and am slowly working through them. I was very happy to find this site in the last couple of weeks.

Now on to the question -- I'll answer it in three parts dealing with assessment, strategy, and the moves or tactics to actually get a better position.

Assessment: Despite White's strengths, Black's position can be made better. Material is even. White has an isolated pawn at a2. There is room to develop an attack on the Kingside, if Black can get his pieces over there. The Queenside also looks possible, if Black can stabilize the situation.

Strategy: Black is faced with several issues: 1) save the pawn on c5; 2) develop pieces and get them working together; 3) don't make the Queen waste her strength guarding the pawn; 4) protect the King; 5) get his bishop into a good position. It would seem that the time is also ripe to get into a more advantageous position for attack, given the space on the board. If Black can accomplish any of these goals in concert he will be in a better position.

The strategy here is to immediately salvage the pawn and remove the Queen from attack, and develop pieces creating a stronger position. Black needs to take control now and take a more aggressive stance or I think all is lost.

Tactics: To accomplish this, these are the moves I'd follow: 1...N-e4, which protects the pawn and releases the Queen. If white's pawn on d4 did take c5, the Knight could retake and have a strong position on the queenside. After 1…Ne4, Black would follow with 2...B-b7, which supports the knight and also gets the bishop on the long diagonal and attacks the g2-square. Further moves would be 3...0-0 with 4...Rf8-d8 (or maybe to c8?) to follow.

After this point, I can't see what the next best move would necessarily be. There are options like moving the Black Queen to the h1-a8 diagonal to reinforce the Bishop's attack on g2 and the White King; or …Rxa2, which harasses white and could be part of an attack on the 7th and 8th ranks.

That's about it for me. I like the website. Thanks for doing this.

 

Okay, I really must correct a common error in thinking: YOU SHOULD RARELY START ACTIVE PLAY UNTIL YOUR KING IS SAFE! In the present situation, Black (by 1…Ne4) is bringing his Knight to a vulnerable square and starting a central fight. This is a fight he CAN’T win since his King isn’t castled and White has more pieces in play than Black does.

Our first reader (Mr. Clark) wanted to save his pawn by …cxd4 so he could safely (and cheaply!) castle. The reply 1…cxd4 2.Nc7+ showed that Black simply doesn’t have the time for this.

Professor Connell is also trying to save his c-pawn, but chose to do so with his Knight. While some players might feel that 1…Ne4 is a good, aggressive move, the truth is that it leaves a piece on an unprotected square and begins “contact” at a time when Black would be wiser to (as Mr. Clark put it) “shore up his defenses.”

So how can White punish 1…Ne4? Well, Black’s c-pawn is under pressure, his King is in danger, his Knight can easily be attacked, and his pawn on g7 is undefended. With so much tasty stuff on the board, White should play for a knockout! Thus: 2.dxc5 (completely opening the position up) 2…Nxc5 3.Qd4 creates a double attack against c5 and g7 and virtually forces resignation (a reply like 3…Nd7 loses the house to 4.Nc7+ or 4.Qxg7).

Just to show that Professor Connell isn’t the only one to recommend 1…Ne4, let’s see what MR. GREG BEAVER had to say:

I've been musing about your advanced instruction, and have a couple thoughts. Before I say them, a disclaimer: I'm really bad at chess, and desperately want to be really good at chess. Forgive anything stupid I say, but feel free to make an example of me to help others.

Looking at the position, the main weakness in white's position is the hanging a-pawn and the under-protected knight. The focus of white's play is on the queenside, and black's pieces point to the kingside, so that is another thing to investigate. The a-pawn can only be defended by removing one of the active pieces to a defensive role. Also, white's attack relies on the strength of the isolated d-pawn, but this pawn can be compromised by attacking the minor pieces and rooks that help to make it strong. Basically the strategy I think black needs to pursue involves heavy trades to dilute white's lead in development and attack, and I would investigate moves like …Rxa2 and …Ba6, challenging the support of the minor pieces. Another possibility is …Nd5 or …Ne4 to activate the passive knight and block the possibility of a line such as 1 ... Ba6 2 Rxc5 and black is in serious trouble. Perhaps 1 ... Ne4 2 Bd3 f5 and if white captures the knight, the f-file is open and occupied after …O-O. Plus, if white recaptures with the bishop, the knight is hanging. Black would not be wise to castle early, even though the center is open, because grabbing the initiative and using it to complete development will allow castling soon enough. Black needs to activate right away and make the kingside pawn majority significant (even with the potential for doubled isolated pawns …Ne4 creates), so that the potential weakness of white's isolated pawn islands becomes a major liability.

The basic philosophy behind defending a miserable position is that only losers give up before the fat lady sings. More specifically, I would make life as difficult for my opponent as possible, and do moves that force the best moves even in a losing position so that the slightest mistake leads or could lead to a reversal of advantage.

Kudos to Mr. Beaver for having the courage to share his analysis! It’s incorrect, of course, but he was aware that he was probably going to be wrong. Though his views are mistaken, they are also quite common and therefore allow me to address typical flaws in many players’ chess makeup.

I’ve already discussed 1…Ne4, and 1…Ba6 will be explored in a moment. What I do want to talk about in Mr. Beaver’s analysis are two comments. The first is, “Black would not be wise to castle early, even though the center is open, because grabbing the initiative and using it to complete development will allow castling soon enough.”

Allow me to stress this point again: IF THE CENTER IS OPEN AND YOUR KING IS IN THE MIDDLE, CASTLE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE! Fighting for domination when your King’s a target (while the enemy King is safe and sound) is, in chess terms, known as SUICIDE!

I am especially fond of his ideas about defense: “The basic philosophy behind defending a miserable position is that only losers give up before the fat lady sings.” In one sense, he’s right about fighting to the last breath. But HOW does one fight? Slapping your opponent’s face isn’t allowed under the rules of chess and, as Mr. Beaver’s recommends, making moves that force your opponent to find the best replies sounds nice, but it’s easier said than done.

The truth is, you are doomed (against a strong opponent) if your position has no redeeming value. This means that you MUST label the good things in your game and put them to maximum use. If you are positionally busted but have a lead in development and/or tactical chances, you must go ape and play with primordial energy (thus making use of the availability of your superior force). If you have positional plusses but are about to be gutted tactically, you must find a way to survive the impending guillotine so you can eventually get some mileage from your positive strategic imbalances.

Again, we are taken back to the diagrammed position.

IS THERE ANYTHING POSITIVE ABOUT BLACK’S GAME?

As my “guests” have mentioned, White has isolated pawns on a2 and d4. Black also has a tasty square on d5 for his Knight and, though the Bishop is doing nothing on c8, it eventually will enjoy a grand future on the a8-h1 diagonal. In a normal situation, the structure would give Black some nice long-term chances. Sadly, the threat of dxc5 and the vulnerability of the Black King have given the game a tactical, dynamic flavor.

This means that all of Black’s plusses won’t amount to anything unless he can steer the game back into positional channels. Toss out any thoughts of “attack.” Black needs to quiet the game down, end the tactics, get his King to safety, and then (finally!) make use of his long-term assets.

Have you solved it yet? No? Then let’s allow another gentleman give it a go. This time we’ll be hearing from MR. DOUGLAS STAPLES:

Black CANNOT play …cxd4 because of Nc7+. Also, he would like to clear the back rank before he castles to give his Rooks greater maneuverability. This is important because White's rooks are dominantly placed at the moment and his are rather passive. Finally, Black is behind in development so he would prefer to clear the back rank with tempo so 1...Ba6 is called for.

After 2.Nc3 (anything else loses the d-pawn if I calculated correctly), White can trade bishops. His development issues call for this because if he can simplify through exchanges and White's advantage will deteriorate. So, 2...Bxe2 3.Nxe2 (any other capture loses the d-pawn).

After this Black can and should castle which loses the c-pawn, but that capture means White allows to equalize in terms of development. Then black can fight like mad for the c6-square and, once he wins it, can mobilize his K-side majority and try to get a friendly endgame.

That’s about it really, if it's not very good I apologize. I'm just doing this off the top of my head so I could easily have missed something.

Again, when you try and answer these tests, it’s not a matter of your work being good or bad. It’s the effort that counts. Also, the errors you make helps others learn because they would often have made the same mistakes.

In response to 1…Ba6, Black gets wasted by 2.dxc5 Qa5 3.Nd6+ when White enjoys an extra pawn and a strong attack.

Thus far readers have taken a close look at 1…cxd4, 1…Ne4, and 1…Ba6. I think it’s time to let MR. GEOFF DAVIES speak out in favor of the “tempting” 1…Rxa2.

Hi Jeremy,

I am an avid reader of your books. My rating is about 1700.

In the diagrammed position, Black is definitely on the defensive. The cause for concern is passed pawns on the queenside. The a-pawn is already passed, and White's main threat is to play dxc5 attacking the queen whilst creating an advanced, passed c-pawn.

So what to do?

Option 0
1…cxd4 2.Nc7+ resigns, if I wanted to go home early.

Option 1
Ignoring the threat with 1…0-0 2.dxc5 would surely lose. The attack on the queen with dxc5 gives White a tempo to defend the a-pawn. Two passed pawns must win. Even a 1700 player knows that.

Option 2
Sacrificing the c-pawn with 1...c4 2.Bxc4 doesn't look too promising either. The Bishop is brought to an active, central diagonal where it eyes d5 and e6, at the same time defending the pawn on a2.

Option 3
1…Rxa2 2.dxc5 at least gets rid of the dangerous a-pawn. My plan for survival is to:

• Remain optimistic.
• Blockade the c-pawn.
• Play actively.
• Swap off as many pieces as possible, particularly the Queen and Rooks.

If I could accomplish all these goals, the c-pawn might even turn out to be weak enough for me to win it. In that case, the fact that the remaining pawns are on one side of the board would give White good drawing chances.

Mr. Davies managed to retain material equality, but his position is completely hopeless after 1…Rxa2 2.dxc5 Qd8 3.Nd6+ since White has a powerful passed pawn on c5 AND a crushing attack against the poor Black King (For those that need proof, here it is: 3…Kf8 [3...Ke7 4.Nxc8+ Qxc8 5.Qd6+ Ke8 6.Bb5+ Nd7 7.c6 Nf6 8.c7+ Nd7 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.c8=Q+ and mates] 4.Qb3 Ra8 5.Bf3 Ra7 6.Ra1 Rc7 7.Ra8 Rxc5 [7...g6 8.Bb7 Rxc5 9.Qa3 Qxd6 10.Rxc8+] and now both 8.Qb4 and 8.Nb7 end the game).

None of his stated goals are possible if Black’s King is being kicked around like a mangy dog. Again: we are looking for long-term positional plusses AND King safety. Clearly, 1…Rxa2 doesn’t achieve these things.

We still don’t seem to be getting close to an answer, but our next guest, MR. JIM MONGIARDO, comes very close.

The first thing I'll do is take stock of the position.
1. Material is even.
2. White is better developed with both minor pieces in play, centralized rooks and a castled king. Black has only one minor piece in play and his queen developed.
3. Space is fairly even.
4. White's pieces are much more active then blacks.
5. White's pawn structure is slightly worse then blacks. He has three pawn islands and two isolated pawns though the d4 pawn is far from weak.
6. Due to the open nature of the queenside there are many unprotected squares in both camps. However, black's d6 square seems weak, especially if white is allowed to play dxc5 with a support point for white's knight. White has a slight weakness around his king due to the h3 pawn but with no dark squared bishop, this is hardly crippling.

Overall assessment. White has a clear advantage. If Black doesn't gain the initiative with some active counterplay, he/she will more than likely lose. This will probably necessitate a material sacrifice, but we shall see. (Time: 9:09)

Black has some pressure on the a-pawn and …Nd5 will give him a centrally placed knight at least for the time being.

Black needs to neutralize the pressure down the center or at least challenge it and whisk his king to safety on the kingside. He does have a small structural plus, so if he can put together a strong defense, he should be able to generate some counterplay against the weaker white queenside pawns. Now for some more specific analyses. (13:14)

White has the threat of dxc5. Is this a legitimate threat? 1.dxc5 uncovers the threat Nd6+ with the white queen and c5 pawn ganging up on the d6 square. If 1.dxc5 Qa5 2.Nd6+ Kf8 3.Rc2 seems to prevent black from getting anything going. It seems that black must prevent dxc5 if he is to have some chances. Actually it’s the move Nd6 that solidifies the pressure against black. The move …Nd5 closes off the d-file and centralizes the knight.

However after dxc5 the threat of Nd6 is still there. It appears that dxc5 forcing the movement of the queen allows white to play Nd6 before black can safely castle. Therefore I think that one of black's candidate moves is …Qa5 which allows black to castle after dxc5. Another move is to simply castle straight away which would basically transpose. (41:32)

If 1…O-O then 2.dxc5 Qa5 3.Nd6 Rd8 when black should be able to play …Nd5 and …Ba6 with a defensible position and pressure against the a- and c-pawns for his one pawn investment. (52:10)

Mr. Mongiardo did an excellent job, and he’s the only one that managed to get castled. Unfortunately, 1…0-0 2.dxc5 Qa5 3.Bf3 leaves White with an extra pawn and a powerful passed c-pawn. Black can fight, but his position sucks. However you now have even more information: you need to get castled but you can’t allow dxc5. What does that leave you?

Now we finally get to those that found the correct solution. Since I can’t repeat everyone’s comments (do we really need a 100 page book on this single chess problem?), I’ll settle for the most entertaining one. Prepare to enter the mind of MR. DAVID BLUE:

OK. I'll be brave and dare a reply. I'll think this through "out loud", and send it just as it came to my mind. (Afterwards: beware, this was quite a few hours of thinking.)

My first question is always: "quo vadis?" (Where are you going?) And then frequently (in friendly pink letters: "Don't panic.") 1. d4xc5. Or 1. Rc1xc5. Maybe 1. Be2-f3, it might take a while to figure that out, and the answer might not be clear. 1. d4xc5 followed by Nb5-d6 is a real threat. (And after lengthy brow-furrowing) 1. Rc1xc5 or (blank) ... c5xd4 2. Nb5-c7+ and 3. Nc7xa8 -- better remember that.

Step two, having introduced a little reality into my deliberations: Analyze The Position Properly, and get oriented or more likely disoriented, as fortune decrees.

* Material: numerically equal, White king better (unless we go to an endgame); White queen possibly one developing move worse; White king's rook much better; White queen's rook possibly slightly better (no biff like Be2-f3 to worry about); White bishop slightly worse (burdened by the knight); White knight much better, pawns on the f, g, and h files one move (for luft) better for White; pawns from the a- to e-files, the e6-pawn is the best-looking pawn on the board (protected/united and central) but it won't win an ending, whereas the a-pawn often will. I have no idea at this stage what's going to happen with the pawns d4 and c5.

* Time: White is ahead, 8 moves to 4/2, but it's not clear to me where each side is going, so I can't say who will get there first. Of course I'd bet on White.

* Space: authors are generally a little ambiguous on how you count space. The problem doesn't come up unless you actually do it, which makes me suspect they don't do it, they just recommend it for chess lame-brains. But I do it anyway, because when I look methodically at all the squares attacked beyond the fourth rank, sometimes I see something actually useful, like a back rank mate or a queen en prise. In this case, however you count it, White is lots ahead, and it is also clear that this is what I call "beer froth". Nobody at my level of play is going to be able to keep any hostile piece cramped and/or permanently bad with this sort of space advantage, so it's use those squares or lose them.

* Pawn structure: color me clueless. This is why I stopped treating it as an "element". If I can guess which units are good or bad, and who will win an ending, that already covers all the information I am likely to be able to use.

* Interior analysis: attempt to produce really subtle evaluation of the position based on the nonexistent foundations laid so far. Press Enter. C:> Bad command or file name. Well, I expected that.

Summary of Phase Two, the Good Student Phase: time consumed: lots; enlightenment produced: zero; sense of orientation: less than at the start; fitness to continue: reduced, due to mental tiredness; overall result: normal.

Step three: open the mammoth-hide pouch of Chess Deco (my Internet Chess nickname) HOME MADE BRUTE FORCE PREHISTORIC CHESS TOOLS, made by bashing rooks against each other real hard for a long time till I got the flint to take an edge.

COLORS: Green. (I won't go into my color codes, but they help me not to treat every position alike, and that's actually valuable.) Maybe some Blue? And definitely Red. Open, a fair few pieces are or should get into action, not much tactical security to be had, especially for Black. So: no matter what the evaluation would be in a master game, in my games this means someone, probably Black, must drop at least a pawn soon, and likely the exchange or a whole piece. No matter what masterly strategic analysis says, this is what I must act on above all else. (This does not mean the game will not continue strategically; only that if it does so it must be because one or both players will have missed deadly tactical opportunities.) Time expended: 10 seconds.

ENDING: Lost in practice. I noticed Emmanuel Lasker's games in Nottingham 1936, where he was very casually heading for endgames where his opponent would have an outside passed pawn for no compensation whatever, and the opponent would agree that this was drawn (no need to show how), and Alekhine would say yes that's right, perfectly drawn, on routine endgame knowledge. I looked up ending books, and it was mostly about rook and pawn versus rook, and similar -- nothing to do with the middle bit, which is actually the life and death bit. Reason number umpty-ump in a list of squillions, why chess books consume money, shelf space, time and (most of all) pride, but do nothing for your chess unless you have a divine gift of tactical talent. Ayhoo, I can see how this ending will go unless I can stop it, it takes the attacker no brains at all, and since I don't know how to stop it, I'd better not play this ending, no matter what the master verdict would be. Time expended: 10 minutes, almost all of it spent thinking how very convenient it would be to be Emmanuel Lasker in this position, and wondering what he would do here.

APPLY PILLSBURY PRINCIPLE (Before heartbreaking loss of my out-of-print Dover edition of Pillsbury's games, with moves in columns perfect for covering with a card, I noticed he cared very much about his main chance to win (or if in desperation draw) the game, and very little about anything else. Details just got bent into any shape that would aid the main chance. I was so amazed to find something useful in a chess book that I incised the rune for "lucky" on this tusk of a long-dead saber-tooth, and have hung it about my neck ever since.) OK, in practice, I think my best chance to save this game is to knight fork two heavy pieces. My opponent will supply the opportunity, if I don't lose material to him first. (If my opponent won't supply me any such opportunities, he is so far out of my league it doesn't matter.) If I saw a rational hope to win or draw, I would go for it, but I don't, so this is what it will have to be. For this caveman plan, I need a good square for my knight, which can only be d5. (An old scar itches.) Oh, and I'll need the king off the e-file, so I don't lose the knight to a pin or discovered check or double check. (Castle, probably, and then shuffle the king back as near to the center as I dare.) Bishops have to go. Too bad, considering he has a passed pawn I'd like to stop, but his bishop is the wrong color for me to draw with bare king versus bishop and a-pawn anyway. Obviously I'll need his center pawn on d4, sheltering the knight, not c5, tying it down. My heavy pieces are going to have to shuffle round a lot: I don't want to trade them. Now I know what I want, I'm ready to try and bash some moves into shape. Time spent: twenty minutes, including a quarter of an hour missing my best book.

They don't make them like that anymore: modern chess books don't work right, because the analysis is ladled into the score of the game, where it's practically impossible to avoid seeing it before you look at the rest of the moves.

BASH MOVES: Can I actually save my pawn? (Spends some time looking at natural defensive tries, ... Nf6-e4 etc., notices several times that …Qb6-a5+ actually isn't. Darn.) ... Ra8xa2 (random violence to see what happens) ... (fumbles around thinking hard but achieving no certainty: ... Ra8xa2 d4xc5 Ra2xe2 c5xb6 no dice, ... Ra8xa2 Qd1-b3 maybe ... Ra2-a6, no because d4xc5 and Nb5-d6+ and Be2xa6, etc. In every case, I seen to get to positions where I'm dropping serious material soon, or under such pressure that in practice that's what will happen, and I'm just not that desperate yet. If this pawn can be saved (in practice), it will take a stronger player than me to do it.

Let it go: 1... c5-c4. Now:

* 2.Be2xc4, or

* 2.Rc1xc4, and not 2…Qb6xb5 3Rc4xc8+ die, die, die, because I know that one from bitter experience.

* Or anything he pleases, like a2-a4, or some attempt at d4-d5, because he can round up my c-pawn at leisure. 2.d4-d5 now? 2... Nf6xd5 3Qd1xd5 e6xd5 4.Nb5-c7+ and even if he agrees to 4…Qb6xc7 5.Be2-b5+ Ke8-d8 6.Re1-e7+ Rh8xe7 ...

Time elapsed: lots and lots. Getting eye-strain, cramped and tired. Stretch, go jogging, shower and change, meditate on the rising moon, Run on the spot, slap shoulders. OK, I'm ready to try again.

Of course, according to Kotov, I shouldn't try again. Every candidate move will be obvious at the outset, and every variation will be correctly calculated the first time (and I am the Tzar of all Russias), so there's never any need to look back. Which means killing off that sense that's telling me "…Ra8xa2 may look safe, but don't trust it!" But having gotten rid of it, what if I need it again some day? That sense that says "Look out, don't trust it! or "I will be the one, don't be afraid, recheck his counter-threat till you find a way around it!" wins most of the games that I do win, and who wants to give up the best weapon he has, even if it's only a wooden club? That sense is very fallible, but it works better that a "tree" where most variations "end": "Too many possible moves, each with too many possible replies to sort out. System overload. Try something else."

More time passed ... this is how I wind up spending all twenty days on some moves in Internet chess.

A while later, I decide ... c5-c4 really doesn't work. It's nice to get a star piece, because then I know what to do with the rest, they all become helpers underlining that star quality (Chess Deco Home Made Pet Plan Number Two), but that simply isn't going to happen here. So I have no thing that I'm aiming for, which means it's just moves, moves, moves now. I read somewhere that Shirov had proudly boasted that for him, pure strategy had simply ceased to exist, dissolved in variations. For me too, but I don't think we both mean it in quite the same way.

More strenuous hours pass. I change chess sets, just so my eyes can look at something different. Moves, moves, moves ...

1...c4 looks a very sure loss. But first I will have the pleasure of completing the overdue development of my pieces. 1... Ra8xa2 looks a loss right now, e.g. 2.d4xc5 Qb6-a5 3.Nb6-d6+ and Nd6-b7+ or Nd6-c4+. The position is in fact Red, and if I last long enough to give my opponent some chances to drop a piece later, I will have done the best I can.

1...c4

OK, Jeremy, is that the textbook example you were thinking of -- of how to think systematically and effectively in a difficult position?

Whew! That was a real trip. Sometimes he made good sense, and sometimes I suspected he was enjoying a nice glass of absinthe. Anyway…yes, the answer is indeed 1…c4!. By accepting that Black is going to lose a pawn, he does so in a manner that leaves White with weak pawns on a2 and d4, allows Black to castle and develop the rest of his pieces, and gives Black access to the nice square on d5.

Personally, I think Black’s game is quite playable after 1…c4 2.Bxc4 0-0 (with 3…Rd8 or 3…Bb7 to follow, though White has dynamic counters based on Re1-e5-c5 or, in some lines, taking aim at the Black King via Bd3) since Black has various long term strategic plusses that act as compensation. In the meantime, Black doesn’t have to worry about being smashed, and he can quietly put all his pieces on active squares.

Would it have taken all this agony to find and play 1…c4 in a real game? No, not at all! In fact, it’s a decision that a titled player would make in a few seconds (while class players could find it too, but it might take a tad longer to accept the loss of that pawn!). The basic idea is simple: all the tactics are bad for Black (calculation isn’t necessary: the King in the center means that Black loses all tactical fights), Black does have some positional plusses -- he just needs to create an environment where he can calmly use them, he’s going to lose that pawn on c5 anyway, and White can’t be allowed to play dxc5. Add all that together and 1…c4 is a MUST, even if you don’t really believe in it.

Finally, allow me to congratulate some other players who came up with 1…c4: Dominic Barker, Tom Ceterski, Kennet Eriksson, Stephanie Gracey, Paolo Nicora, Java Joe, John and Igor Ummel, and Gordon Gooding.