DOUBLED PAWNS (c3/c4) IN THE KID STRUCTURE

by Georgi Orlov

Pawn structure is the backbone of every position. It’s very important to learn how to play different pawn formations, what to do, and which plans to follow. While some things can be learned through experience, it’s generally a better idea to study well known material that’s known for its instructive content. The general disadvantage of doubled pawns is their inflexibility and potential liability in the ending. There are some open files to compensate for these problems, however.

The flexibility of the pawn structure is very important for an easy flow of pieces between both sides of the board. An inflexible pawn formation makes such movements more difficult and breaks the cooperation between pieces. The doubled pawns c3/c4 usually appear as a result of the exchange of Black’s dark Bishop for the white queen’s Knight. Such positions are typical for the Nimzo-Indian Defense, but can also be reached in some lines of the Accelerated Dragon and the King’s Indian. The positional idea behind such an exchange in the King’s Indian Defense is to limit White’s activity in the center and block his pieces, particularly the dark Bishop, inside of his pawn formation. Black’s long-term plan is to attack these weak pawns, of course. Generally, the exchange of pieces, particularly the light-squared Bishops, is beneficial for Black in such situations. Let’s take a look at the following example.

Liptay-Spassky

Marianske Lazne, 1962

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.exd5 Nh5!? 10.0-0 Re8

In Maslov-Gipslis, Leningrad, 1962, Black played an immediate 10...Bxc3, and after 11.bxc3 Ng7 12.Be3 Nd7 13.Bf2 Nf6 14.Nd2 Re8 15.Bf3 Nf5 Black had a good game. Instead of 12.Be3, deserving of attention is 12.f5!? Bxf5 13.Bf4. Still, after 13... Qe7 14.Qd2 Nd7 15.Rae1 f6 16.Bd1 Ne5 17.Bxe5 dxe5! (White has the initiative after 17...fxe5? 18.Bg5 Qc7 19.g4) Black keeps a better game, according to B. Zlotnik.

11.Bd3

The former World Champion, Boris Spassky, comes up with an interesting plan here. White is obviously preparing a kingside attack with f4-f5. Black, however, would not want to play ...f7-f5 himself, due to Nf3-g5, threatening Ng5-e6. Instead, Black exchanges his dark Bishop for his opponent’s c3-Knight, and further offers the exchange of light Bishops, thus limiting his opponent’s attacking potential.

11...Bxc3!? 12.bxc3 Ng7

The key point. Now f4-f5 can only be played at the expense of a pawn.

13.Rb1 b6 14.f5!

The only correct reaction. The main drawback to Black’s plan is a weakening of the dark squares on the kingside. The sacrifice of the f-pawn frees his dark Bishop, while simultaneously opening the f-file.

14...Bxf5 15.Bxf5 Nxf5 16.Ng5?

By playing this move, White opens the f-file for his Rook and attacks the h7 and f7-squares at the same time. This sounds good, but his dark Bishop remains uninvolved, limiting any possible involvement of the b1-Rook as well. Instead, 16.Bf4 deserved some attention. If 16... Qe7?!, then 17.Qd2 Nd7 18.Rae1 Qf8 19.g4 gives White compensation for the pawn, as pointed out by Boris Zlotnik. However, 16...Ne3! is an improvement, when 17.Bxe3 Rxe3 18.Qd2 Qe7! (18... Re7 19.Qf4! with the initiative) 19.Re1 Rxe1 20.Rxe1 Qf8, with ...Nb8-d7 to follow, would keep an advantage for Black.

16...Qe7

17.Nxh7?

Perhaps this move is a result of a miscalculation. Nevertheless, since 17.Nxf7 Qxf7 18.g4 Re4! 19.gxf5 gxf5 promises little, and since 17.Qf3 Nd7 18.Qh3 f6! 19.Ne6 Nf8 looks good for Black as well, White does not have much to look forward to.

17...Kxh7 18.Rxf5 gxf5 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Bg5 Qe2!

This move may have been missed. Of course, 20...f6? loses to 21.Qg6+.

21.Qh6 Nd7, 0-1.

Perhaps, when playing the above game, Spassky had in mind the following example. In the game below, the future World Champion, Tigran Petrosian, demonstrated his excellent understanding of a slightly different position with similar ideas.

Bronstein-Petrosian

Amsterdam, 1956

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 Nf6 5.e4 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.Re1 c6 9.d5 c5 10.a3 Ne8 11.Bg5 f6 12.Bd2 f5 13.Ng5 Nc7 14.exf5 gxf5 15.f4 e4 16.Be3 h6 17.Nh3

17...Bxc3!

Petrosian makes a very brave and original move. Black’s King is open, and giving up the dark Bishop looks a bit suicidal. Why would Black do something like this? Firstly, the Knight can be easily transferred to f2, where is would support g2-g4, which is standard in such positions. As frequently happens in such a situation, White does not have a diagonal for his dark Bishop, nor does he have any other diagonals from which to aim at his opponent’s King. Secondly, since ...Nd7-f6 is rather necessary, Black’s dark Bishop would not have much of a future. And finally, under some circumstances Black can make use of the g-file.

18.bxc3 Nf6 19.a4

White seals the queenside, since at some point ...b7-b5 would seriously undermine the d5-pawn.

19...Kh8 20.Nf2 Rg8 21.Kh1 Qe8

As you can see, White’s dark Bishop serves as a passive bystander, while Black slowly shifts his pieces to the kingside.

22.Rg1 Qg6 23.Qd2 Bd7 24.g3!

This pawn move is a very timely solution. Black threatened to march his Rook pawn to h4, making the g2-pawn very vulnerable. Bronstein makes sure he can fight this with g3xh4.

24...Rae8 25.a5!

An important move, which allows White to free up his queen’s Rook, and also keeps the b7-pawn under observation.

25...Re7 26.Rab1 Bc8 27.Rg2 Reg7 28.Rbg1 Nce8 29.h3 h5, 1/2-1/2.

Earlier, ...h6-h5 could be met by Nf2-h3. This position is very balanced, since neither player can make a step forward without risking his position. Perhaps Petrosian could have tried for a win by pushing his b-pawn at an appropriate moment, but such play would inevitably expose him to some risk as well.