April 2009

Each player has strengths and
weaknesses. Too often aspiring players will
focus on either a strength or a weakness. For
most of us the hard parts of chess are
recognizing objectively what is a strength
or weakness and then addressing it.
Here is a game that will test your mettle.
Lev Polugaevsky – Ljubomir Ljubojevic
Linares, Round 5
Spain, March 1985
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4
5. Qb3 a5 6. g3
Theoretically Speaking
by Bill McGeary
Mission completed. Black has
accelerated development by picking up
tempi via the a-pawn advance and some
wrangling of the c4 point. The attack on c4
doesn’t look like much, yet watch how the
initiative snowballs.
11. Ne5 d5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Qc2 Nb3
14. Qc6+ Kf8 15. Bg5
Yasser played the 5. Qb3 line many
times, but I don’t think that he would have
popped out g3 here. There is kind of a
common misconception that if White can
avoid doubled pawns in the Nimzo/Queen’s
Indian hybrid then any formation will
succeed. The problem is that Black is not
simply aiming to target some pawns on the
c-file, Black is also developing rapidly. With
that in mind, 6. g3 misses the mark I feel.
6. ...Nc6 7. Bg2 a4 8. Qc2 Ba6 9. a3
Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Na5
I am quite certain that if I had been
shown this game without knowing the
players names I would have figured out that
it was two GMs. Black has developed the
initiative very concretely, confident of the
conviction that Black should play
aggressively. White could have pitched a
pawn in the opening and tried to keep the
game going, but instead has found a ploy to
return fire. These are traits of very
determined players of skill. At this point the
game has deteriorated into hand to hand
combat. The issue is, who has more hands
15. ...Qe8 16. Nd7+ Kg8 17. e4 Nxd4
18. Qxa4 c5
Mortal humans might be able to feel their
way through some of this, while modern
computers would spit out analysis within
seconds. Ljubo has been famous for his
“feel” for some positions, and this is no
exception. Black is a piece down, has his
King stuck on g8 with the Rook on a8 in the
headlights. Yet, the Black army has the white
king stuck in the center with no where to
go. Again, we must take note of the style of
play by each player. Is either side bluffing
19. exd5 Bb5 20. Qd1 Qxd7 21. Be3
Be2 22. dxe6
The issue is,
who has more
hands
Bringing the black queen onto the e-file
Page 16 Northwest Chess April 2009