WINNING UGLY
Andre Agassi had a problem. The great tennis player, who had already won Wimbledon at this point in his career, would sometimes lose inexplicably easily – in chess terms, like a patzer. He might be ranked number one in the world, then lose to a fish! Even worse, lose without a fight!
What was wrong was this: Agassi – supremely graceful, an artist on the court – was not always as perfect as he thought he should be. In fact, no one is. But Agassi, self critical, would see that he was off form, and get so upset with himself that he could hardly play – never mind that objectively, even off form, he could beat practically anyone in the world.
He couldn’t solve the problem himself – so he got a new coach, who taught him two magic words: “Winning Ugly.”
Basically, what his coach told him was that aesthetics and winning do not always have to go together. Hit an easy ball into the net? Fine, lob the next one, your opponent misses the smash, you get the point – not by way of a clean winner, but just because you persevered. Even when you’re not at your best, you can win ugly.
The same logic can apply to chess. One problem that players have (and I am not immune to this) is we see the great games of grandmasters and World Champions, and say, “Why can’t I play like that?” The fact is, even those World Champions did not play like that every day – sometimes they “won ugly” too!
Yet we hold as an ideal a game like this:
Botvinnik – Capablanca (E49)
AVRO Holland, 1938
Since this famous game is known to all, I will only give a few short comments.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 White establishes a center pawn majority. 8.Bd3 0–0 9.Ne2 b6 10.0–0 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Bb2 Qd7 13.a4 Rfe8 14.Qd3 c4 Capablanca plays to win a pawn, not seeing the young Botvinnik’s deeply laid plan. 15.Qc2 Nb8 16.Rae1 Nc6 17.Ng3 Na5 18.f3 Nb3 19.e4 Qxa4 20.e5 Nd7 21.Qf2 g6 22.f4 f5 23.exf6 Nxf6 24.f5 Botvinnik is on the attack! 24…Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8 26.Re6 Rxe6 27.fxe6 Kg7 28.Qf4 Qe8 29.Qe5 Qe7 30.Ba3!! An incredible sacrifice! 30… Qxa3 31.Nh5+!! And again! This is “winning beautiful!” 31…gxh5 32.Qg5+ Kf8 33.Qxf6+ Kg8 34.e7 Qc1+ 35.Kf2 Qc2+ 36.Kg3 Qd3+ 37.Kh4 Qe4+ 38.Kxh5 No missteps on the King march, White is accurate to the end! 38…Qe2+ 39.Kh4 Qe4+ 40.g4 Qe1+ 41.Kh5, 1–0.
What can you do with a game like this? Frame it? It’s so beautiful it makes your eyes hurt!
As an antidote, I now offer one of my own games, in which not only do I “win ugly”, but I also create the absolutely WORST pawn structure I have ever had before or since. When you come to the critical diagram, I suggest that the aesthetically sensitive should avert their eyes.
IM Timothy Taylor – Greg Small (E30)
Foothills Open, Los Angeles 2003
1.d4 Nf6
2.c4 e6
3.Nc3 Bb4
4.Bg5
“Thus the gauntlet is thrown down. The Leningrad Variation, which Spassky frequently adopts, usually leads to a complicated and sharp struggle.” So wrote Tal in his notes to Spassky-Tal, Tallin 1973, in his wonderful book “The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal.”
I chose the Leningrad this time for exactly the reasons Tal stated. I was in a must win situation, and “complicated and sharp” was just what I needed – but I didn’t know “ugly” would be added to the mix!
This was the situation: I had just lost to IM (and soon GM) Melik Khachyan, and was far from my best mood. My only chance of winning any money was to win this game.
My form was shaky, my spirits low – but it was the last round! I wasn’t going to get another chance in this tournament!
I “threw down the gauntlet” and persevered!
4…h6
5.Bh4 Nc6
UNUSUAL BUT VERY PLAYABLE
An unusual reply not even mentioned in ECO. Normal is 5...c5 as in the aforementioned Spassky-Tal game, which continued 6.d5 b5!? with violent gambit play, finally won by Black.
As I write this, I just looked up 5…Nc6 in the “Big Database” that comes with ChessBase, and has millions of games. The move has only been played 11 times – and that includes (which shows just how absurd these huge databases are) a game from an under 14 tournament where White was 1495 and Black was 1373! White won! The instructional value was, admittedly, slight …
Anyway, as far as the great Big Database goes, the move 5…Nc6 has only been played once by a GM, Laszlo Barczay, but he won!
There’s nothing terrible about the move: Black develops a piece and attacks the center.
“Everyone” automatically plays 5…c5 here, but I applaud my opponent’s creative approach. Many perfectly reasonable chess moves are “never” played just because they are not “book.”
6.e3 g5
7.Bg3 Ne4
Black wants to double all my pawns! So let him – damn the aesthetics, give me some open files to work with!
8.Qc2 Bxc3+
9.bxc3 Nxg3
10.hxg3 d6
11.Bd3 Bd7
12.f4
I HAD AN IDEA
I very much doubt this is the best move. I’m sure Botvinnik would have played 12.Ne2 here, but at least my move has an idea (follow with Nf3, so the Knight reinforces the pawn attack on g5) and shows an aggressive spirit.
12…Qf6
13.Nf3 0–0–0
14.Rb1
There’s that open file! The mere sight of the White Rook aiming for Black’s King disconcerts my opponent, and he in turn makes an inaccuracy.
Actually, Black’s unusual opening has worked out well for him, and if he now played 14… Qg7! (threatening …gxf4, showing the dark side of White’s impetuous kingside pawn advance) he would have good counterplay and stand fully equal. The “attack” of 15.Qb2 could be met solidly by 15… Na5.
14…e5?!
You’ve probably heard that it’s better to have a bad plan, than no plan at all – and it’s true!
While thinking over my next move, I came up with a “deep attacking plan” that was … unsound … but at least I had a plan!
Had I seen the flaw in my strategy, I might not have made the following ugly move, but would instead have played the positional 15.fxe5 (capture toward the center!) 15…dxe5 16.0-0 “smiling” at the Black Queen, when White is somewhat better.
15.d5
UGLY
Even at the board, I knew this was ugly! White fixes his own pawns on the color of his only Bishop! Why did I make this silly move? Because I had a “brilliant” plan!
15...Ne7
16.Qb3 b6
17.c5!??
And this was it! I saw the game continuation, which favors White, and I had calculated the following “win” if Black played the critical 17...exf4, which was supposed to be 18.c6 Bg4 19.Qa3 and now my slightly flawed brain thought that, because of the two threats of 20.Qa6 or Qxa7, Black had to play 19...a5 when I would crash through brilliantly with 20.Qxa5!! and mate with 21.Ba6!
Unfortunately, as any obnoxious computer can tell you, Black can play 19… Kb8! instead of …a5, meeting both threats (20.Qa6 Bc8) and Black may even stand better due to his extra pawn!
However, though one would rather win by a sound combination, my ugly and unsound combination nonetheless gave me the better game, as Black also made a “human error” and failed to see the above-mentioned defense (note again the often overlooked “diagonal move backwards” 20…Bc8 which is the key defensive resource).
17…dxc5?
18.fxe5 Qg7
19.Qa3 Kb8
20.Qxc5
The dust has cleared, and White has emerged on top, with an extra center pawn. This provokes Black to launch his own unsound combination!
20…Nxd5
Not a bad try, but there’s a hole …
21.Qxd5 Be6
Black had intended 21...Bf5 thinking he was winning the piece back, then suddenly noticed I would give up the Queen for three! After 22.Qxd8+ Rxd8 23.Bxf5 White is much better.
22.Qb5 Rd5
Or 22...Bd7 23.Qc5 maintains the extra piece.
23.Qa6 Bc8
24.Qc4 Bb7
25.Be4 Rc5
26.Qd4 Bxe4
27.Qxe4
THE TRIUMPH OF “WINNING UGLY!”
All six of White’s pawns are isolated! Four of them are doubled isolated pawns! But the extra piece is winning despite these aesthetic irregularities.
27…h5
28.0–0!
Yes, this move is still legal!
28...h4
29.g4
It’s important to maintain all my doubled pawns!
29...h3
30.Nd4 hxg2
31.Kxg2 Rh4
32.Nf5 Qh7
A clever defense to White’s fork, but …
33.Rh1
White shuts down Black’s attack.
33…Rxc3
34.Rbd1!
There is no defense.
If Black moves the Queen to defend his back rank (say 34…Qh8) then the pin on the White Knight is released, and White wins easily with 35.Nxh4.
Alternatively 34...c5 leads to mate: 35.Rd8+ Kc7 36.Rd7+ Kxd7 37.Qb7+ Ke6 38.Qc6+ Kxe5 39.Qd6+ Ke4 40.Ng3+ Kxe3 41.Re1 mate.
Relatively “best” is 34...c6, but White wins by combinative play: 35.Rd8+ Kc7 36.Rxh4 gxh4 37.Rc8+! Kd7 38.Rb8 Kc7 39.Rb7+! and the Queen drops to the discovered Knight check.
34…Rxe3
35.Rd8 mate!
White wins with three remaining isolated pawns and his Queen and K-Rook en prise.
Maybe you don’t want to frame this game – but ugly as it was, White scored the full point.
