KNOWING WHEN TO MAKE EXCHANGES

by Peter Long

In the course of the Intchess Mixed event, I played against as many as three 14 year old girls and scored 2.5 out of a possible 3 points! The next time (unless I can avoid it) it would more likely be the other way around and I would be happy with getting even 0.5 point!

For sure Cheradee Camacho from the Philippines, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung from Vietnam, and Myat Thiri Aung Khaw from Burma are all very talented and currently the best of their countries young talent.

Here I would like to share my game with Camacho whose results in the event can be partly explained by her experimenting with 1. e4 instead of her usual 1. d4. That lack of fear is a characteristic I keep seeing in the best young players.

The following position arose from a Sicilian where the Grand Prix Attack (1. e4, 2. Nc3 and 3. f4) has gone badly wrong. But even in an advantageous position I had to work hard and be alert and flexible in my approach to take home the full point.


Camacho, Chardine Cheradee-Long, Peter
Intchess Mixed - ASEAN Masters Circuit - Singapore

Here, instead of 16. ... b4 as originally planned, I instead chose the following forcing sequence.

16. ... d4 17. cxd4 cxd4 18. Nc1

18. … Nxd2 19. Qxd2 Ne3 20. Rf2 Rc8 21. Ne2 Rc2 22. Qe1

My first piece exchange takes control of the e3 square. Because the White Knight has shifted to c1 and blocking her Rook I critically also gained time to put my Rook on the c-file.

White was hoping to play 23. Nexd4. But after 23. … Nxg2 24. Kxg2 (24. Rxg2 fails to 24. … Rxg2 25. Kxg2 Qxd4 winning a piece as the Knight is pinned) I have the nice choice of 24. … Rxf2 25. Qxf2 Bc5! or even 24. … Qxd4 25. Rxc2 Qxd3!

22. … b4 23. Qg1

White is now actually threatening to take the pawn on d4. But with my pieces in their optimum positions it was time for me to demonstrate my advantage in concrete fashion. This required a second and more difficult to see piece exchange.

23. ... Bxf3 24. Bxf3 Ng4+ 25. Bxg4 hxg4 26. h4

Now that the h-file does not matter it was all important to get the Rook, my remaining undeveloped piece into play. Note that 27. Nxd4 fails to 27. … Rxf2 28. Qxf2 and 28. … Bc5!

26. … O-O 27. Rg2 Rd8 28. Qd1 b3 29. Qf1 Rdc8 30. Rc1 Rxc1 31. Nxc1

White's last moves were pretty bad but it is hard to give good advice. I now chose a forcing sequence based on the following tactical shot which wins a pawn and more importantly stamps out any hope at all of counterplay.

31. … Bxa3 32. Nxb3 Qxb3 33. bxa3 Qxa3 34. Qe2 Rc1 35. Qb2 Qxb2 36. Rxb2 a3 37. Ra2 Rc3 38. Kg2

Black is of course totally winning but I think everyone would appreciate the asthetics of the finish!

38. … Rb3 39. Kf1 Rb1+ 40. Ke2 Rb2+ 0:1

So what lessons can this game offer? I think for one that when playing Black, after White had allowed me to reach equality, that was really all. I did get an easy game from the opening but it was only around move 14 with thanks to my young opponent's ambition that I was able to play for a win.

Key was understanding which pieces I needed to keep and recognising when to exchange them and with that I was able to improve my position to the point that I gained a winning advantage.

To do so I also had to commit my pawn structure and delay castling, all of which were risks that needed to be taken. And I had to calculate the tactics properly and fortunately each time they went my way.

Finally, I did not make the same mistake as in my 1st round game with Graham (this was the 10th and penultimate game so I must have been getting better!) so I had no trouble finding and playing 23. … Bxf3 and then 24. … Ng4, giving up both my main attacking pieces from with which I had conducted most of my earlier play.

The ability to recognise when to make the right exchanges is very important in chess and here it proved to be all important.