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What It Takes to Become
a Chess Master

Andrew Soltis

BATSFORD
First published in the United Kingdom in 20 1 2 by

Bats ford
10 Southcombe Street
London
W 1 2 ORA

An imprint of Anova Books Company Ltd

Copyright© Bats ford 20 1 2

Text copyright© Andrew Soltis 2012

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the copyri ght owner.

ISBN 978 1 849940269

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Reproduction by Rival Colour Ltd, UK

Printed and bound by Bell & Bain, Glasgow

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www.anovabooks.com, or try your local bookshop
 Contents

Page

Introduction 5

Chapter One: What Matters Most 7

Chapter Two: Habits 28

Chapter Three: Little Tactics 51

Chapter Four: More 70

Chapter Five: Sense 84

Chapter Six: Winnability 106

Chapter Seven: Easier 132

Chapter Eight: Comp 148

Chapter Nine: Knowing 169

Quiz Answers 191

 Introduction

Only a tiny fraction of people who play chess become masters. In fact, only
two percent of the people who take chess seriously make master. Why?
Or, to put it personally: You take chess seriously. You read and reread books
and magazines. You may have acquired a large collection of books and/or
software. You scan the Web sites that helped you get to where you are. But it
doesn't seem to help you get further, to master. Why?
The answers aren't mysterious. The main reason is that the skills and know­
how that helped you get this far - such as tactical sight, awareness of general
principles and knowledge of basic endgame positions - have almost nothing to
do with making progress to the master level.
Sure, being good in these core areas is necessary to get to where you are. But
becoming better in them - going from good at tactics to great at tactics, for
example - doesn't translate into much greater strength.
It's like height in basketball. Being 6-foot-tall is virtually essential to making
it as a pro. And being taller, say 6-foot-6, offers a much better chance of playing
in the NBA than a mere 6-foot- 1 player.
But a 6-foot-9 player isn't necessarily superior to a 6-foot-6 player. (If you
don't believe me, look up a 6-foot-6 guy named Michael Jordan.)
Chess players are born with their own limitations. Some, for example, have
very good memories and others don't.
You need a relatively good memory to reach average strength. But a much
better memory isn't going to make you a master. There have been plenty of great
players with merely good memories. Or worse. Take the case of Sammy
Reshevsky.
He was a world-class player for 40 years. But he had one glaring weakness,
the opening. He made book mistakes as early as the sixth move and was lost in
some games by the tenth move.
Fans blamed Reshevsky's lack of study. Not true, said Pal Benko, who
served as his second. "We would study openings all day," Benko sighed in his
memoirs. "And by evening he wouldn 't remember anything we looked at."
Another ability you needed to get to where you are is calculating skill, to see
at least two or three moves ahead. Many amateurs think that if they learn to
calculate better, they'd play at master strength.
Well, it certainly doesn't hurt to be able to see one move further than you do
now. But there's a powerful law of diminishing returns in chess calculation, just
as there is in basketball height. The human who can see two moves ahead has
.. .

5
Introduction

an enormous advantage over the human who can see only one move. But being
able to see, say, seven moves ahead, rather than six, is of minuscule value
because you rarely have to calculate that far.
And, finally, many amateurs think that becoming a master is all about
gaining ' experience. ' They know that without some tournament experience
they'd never have gotten as far as they are now.
True. But more experience doesn't convert into more rating points. There are
players who have thousands of tournament games of experience and don't
improve. On the other hand, there are 1 2-year-old masters who have a tiny
fraction of that experience.
The Wall

The vast majority of players who take chess seriously will hit a wall: Your
rating may have been steadily rising when suddenly it stops. Some players will
hit the wall at about 1 500 strength, others at 1 700, others higher.
It's extraordinarily frustrating. Even if you reach a rating of 2 1 00, a splendid
achievement, it's just not the same as being able to call yourself a chess master.
Ed Edmondson, a longserving US Chess Federation official, helped guide
Bobby Fischer to the world championship. When asked about his own strength,
he said, "It depends on your point of view. The top players quite rightly consider
me a 'weakie' - even though I have an expert rating and am in the top 1 0
percent. I n this game, masters are really an exalted group."
One explanation for the wall is that most players got to where they are by
learning how to not lose. When two 1 700 players meet over the board, one will
typically self-destruct. Not in the opening, as an 1 1 00 player would, but by
move 40, if not 30. As a result, many players can reach 1 900 strength simply by
not blundering.
Mastering chess takes more. It requires a new set of skills and traits. In this
book I've identified nine of the attributes that are most important to making
master. Some of these may be familiar to you. Others will be new.
Many of these attributes are kinds of know-how, such as understanding when
to change the pawn structure or what a positionally won game looks like and
how to deal with it. Some are habits, like always looking for targets. Others are
refined senses, like recognizing a critical middlegame moment or feeling when
time is on your side and when it isn't.
You already know the main method of acquiring these skills, traits and
habits: Study master games. But that advice alone is much too vague to help
anyone improve. You need more specific answers to questions like: Which
games? What am I looking for when I study them? What exactly am I supposed
to get from a game?
In the chapters that follow I ' ve tried to answer some of those questions. I've
suggested study techniques, study material and new approaches. These are
things that typically aren't taught in books, the Internet or other obvious sources.
But, after all, if it were available that way, the ranks of masters would be
counted in the millions, not the thousands.

6
 Chapter One:

What Matters Most

The biggest difference between you and a master is not his deeper opening
knowledge. It is not his endgame skill. Or his ability to calculate further. The
biggest difference is that he knows what he wants.
Yes, I know what you're going to say: You also know what you want. You
want to deliver checkmate. We all want that.
But mate typically comes 20, 40, even 60 moves into the future of the
position you're looking at. A master looks at the board and knows what kind of
position he'd like to play two or three moves from now.
That's hard for non-masters to do because in any position there are so many
things to weigh. There is material to count, king safety to evaluate, weak squares
to consider, as well as good and bad bishops, outposts for knights, and so on.
A master can figure out what future position he wants to play because he can
isolate the one or two factors that are most important: He knows what matters
most.

Kramnik - Adams

Wijk aan Zee 2000

White to play

What do you notice when you first look at this position? Most players will
start by counting material. They'll conclude White is better because he has an extra
pawn.
Better players will know better. "What matters most in queen endings,"
they'll say, "is how close a pawn is to queening." They're right. The player
with the passed pawn closest to queening usually has a big, if not decisive
edge.
But here that doesn't help much. Black's b-pawn is just as fast as either of
White's pawns, as 1 'iie 7? b3 2 d6 b2 shows.

7
What Matters Most

Is there something else, something that matters even more? Yes. A master
will notice another feature of the position that stands out. Believe it or not, it's
a diagonal.
It's the one that runs from a8 to h i . Whoever controls that diagonal controls
the queening square of the a-pawn. That's a big deal.
But there's more. Next to queening the b-pawn, Black's only source of
counterplay is checking the White king. The only way he can do that is if he
controls the a8-h l diagonal. For example, if White plays l 'ii'c 6 Black shoots
·

back l . . . 'iVe4+! .

White to play

If White moves his king (or plays 2 f3 'ii'e 2+) Black will suddenly have the
winning chances following . . . b3 ! . Plainly, l 'iVc6? fails.
Well, then, what if White eliminates that pesky b-pawn? Then Black's
counterplay will be limited to queen checks.
The way to get rid of the b-pawn is I a6 so that I . . . 'iVxa6 allows 2 'ii'e4+
and 3 'iVxb4. Black can't avoid this by way of l . . . b3 because after the queening
race, 2 a7 b2 3 a8('iV) b l ('iV), White can mate on g8 or h8.
White will probably win in the 3 'iVxb4 line. But he still has a lot of work to
do after, say, 3 . . . 'ii'a 8.
Instead, White was able to end the game in a few moves with 1 d6! . The
point is that he wins control of the diagonal after l . . . 'iVxd6 2 'iVe4+! and 'iVb7.
For example, 2 . . . g6 3 'ii'b7 ! threatens 'iVxf7+ as well as pushing the a-pawn.

Black to play

8
 What Matters Most

Black can resign in view of 3 . . . �g7 4 a6 and 5 a7. Black also loses after
2 . . . 'ir'g6 3 'itb7 or 2 . . . �g8 3 'itb7. The 'itb7 idea beats all defenses. It wins
because what matters most is the a8-h I diagonal.
In the game, Black met I d6 with 1 b3. But he was too slow in the
...

queening race after 2 d7, e.g. 2 . . . 'ifc6+ 3 �h2 b2 4 d8('if) 'ifxe8 5 'ir'xe8 b I ('if)
6 'ifxf7 and wins.
When you realize how important that h I -a8 diagonal is, this ending goes
from being incredibly difficult to fairly routine. And note how little White had
to calculate.
He only had to visualize the position in the last diagram when he looked at
the first one. That's just two and a half moves into the future. Anyone who
aspires to be a master should be able to see that far, particularly when there are
so few pieces on the board.
By figuring out what matters most, a master strips a position down to its most
important elements. Let's consider a case that comes straight out of the opening.

Timman - Winants, Brussels 1 988: 1 d4 tt::lf6 2 c4 e6 3 tt::lc3 .i.b4 4 i.g5 h6

5 i.h4 c5 6 d5 d6 7 e3 g5 8 .i.g3 tt::le4 9 'ir'c2 'iff6 10 tt::le 2

Timman - Winants

Brussels 1988

Black to play

Black chose a natural move, 1 0 ... exd5. He assumed that after White
recaptured, I I cxd5, he would obtain good play with I I . . . i.f.S. The bishop
move protects the e4-knight and threatens to discover an attack on the White
queen ( 1 2 . . . tt::lxg3, 1 2 . . . tt::lx c3, 1 2 . . . tt::lx f2).
But consider the diagram a little more. What strikes you about White's
position?
There are a lot of things to focus on. But White realized that what really
matters is that he has a slight lead in development. Four of his pieces are out,
compared with three for Black. That dido 't change after 1 0 . . . exd5 because the
capture is not a developing move.
Black believed he had made a forcing move. But even in a complex position
like this, development matters more. White lengthened his lead with 11 0-0-0! .

9
What Matters Most

Black to play

Castling like this is the kind of magic-move that some amateurs marvel at.
But it isn't magic. It's appreciating how development trumps material once
again. (Paul Morphy would have spotted 1 1 0-0-0! immediately.)
Because of the threat of 1 2 lt:lxd5 ! , Black has no time for 1 1 . . �f5. not to
.

mention 1 1 . . . lt:lxf2. He chose to get rid of the White knights, 1 1 �xc3

•••

12 lt:lxc3 lt:lxc3.
But White tipped the ratio of developed pieces further in his favor with
13 'it'xc3 ! . Black didn't have a good alternative ( 1 3 . . . d4 1 4 exd4 lt:lc6
1 5 'it'e3+!) so he went reluctantly into the endgame, 13 'ii'Xc3+ 14 bxc3 .
•••

He would have been in bad shape after 1 4 . . . �e7 in view of 1 5 h4 ! g4

1 6 l:.xd5 l:.d8 1 7 l:.h5 . But what he played was worse, 1 4 dxc4 1 5 �xc4.
•..

Black to play

This truly strips the position down to its most important elements. All the
extraneous factors are gone.
Black will lose the d6-pawn and material will become equal. But White's
active pieces, particularly the two bishops, confer a huge edge. He has a choice
of strong continuations, e.g. 1 5 . . . lt:lc6 and now 1 6 �xd6 b6 1 7 l:.d2 and l:.hd 1
or 1 6 l:.xd6 and 1 7 l:.hd 1 are both strong.

10
 What Matters Most

The game actually went 1 5 .te6 1 6 .txe6 fxe6 1 7 l:lxd6 �e7 1 8 l:lhd1
•••

�f6 and now 1 9 f4 ! lLlc6 20 fxgS+ hxgS 21 l:ld7! b6 22 l:lfl+ �g6 23 l:ld6lL:ld8
24 .teS! resigns (in view of 24 . . . l:le8 25 g4 ! and 26 l:lf6+).

Do's and Don'ts

Figuring out what matters most is hard. What makes it hard is that from our
first days of studying chess we are bombarded with do's and don'ts.
At first, these tips seem like a godsend. They give you a way to evaluate
positions. You decide to advance a knight because you were told the value of
outposts. You shift a rook because you read about how good it is to control an
open file.
But after you've digested another bushel or two of do's and don'ts you
realize that some conflict with others. You can't obey all of them in the same
position. As a result, you can find yourself more confused than you were before
you had any advice. This is painfully clear in the games of some novices who
talk themselves out of winning a knight because it would mean doubling their
pawns.
Here's how a master puts pawn structure in perspective.

Anand - Kasparov

World Championship
match 1 995

Black to play

On general principles Black has to be wary of putting his attacked knight

offside at h5 or g4. The natural reply is 1 . . . lLlfd5 and then 2 lLlxd5 lLlxd5 .
But that leaves White with a free hand to attack the kingside, which now has
only one defensive piece, the bishop at e7. Black might have to worry about an
immediate, forcing line, perhaps, 3 lLlg5 .txg5 4 'ii'h 5, which threatens 'ifxh7+
and 'ifxf7+1'it'xd7 as well as 'it'xg5.
However, Garry Kasparov solved Black's kingside problems with virtually
no calculation. He replied 1 lLlfdS 2 lLlxd5 exdS! .
•.•

11
What Matters Most

White to play

He reasoned that White's bishop at d3 was his most dangerous weapon: No

bishop, no attack. The go-for-mate line 3 lL'lg5 i.xg5 4 'ii'h 5 now fails to
4 . . . lL'lxd3 ! .
True, 2 . . . exd5 sticks Black with an isolated pawn. But that pawn i s much
less significant than a kingside attack.
White was forced to look for another way to win. He chose 3 :let h6 4 c3
lL'lxd3 5 'ii'xd3 .
He was aiming for a positional edge. A well-placed White knight can
dominate Black's bad light-squared bishop. That can be an important, even
winning advantage in the hands of a good player.

Black to play

But Black understood that what mattered most is whether the knight gets to
d4. If it does, it severely restricts the bishop at d7. If it doesn't, the knight isn't
a big factor.
Once you realize this, it's easier to find 5 .i.c5. General principles tell us
•••

that the player with the two bishops should not trade one of them. But 5 . . . .i.c5 !
stops the knight from enjoying his ideal outpost because 6 .i.xc5 :lxc5 7 lL'ld4?
:lxe5 just drops a pawn.
Instead, White played 6 'ii'x d5 but Black had foreseen that 6 .te6 would
.••

be good for him. After 7 'ii'd 2 .i.xb6 8 axb6 l:.c6 the b6-pawn is lost. The game
was drawn soon afterwards. Black had twice passed the 'what matters' test.

12
 What Matters Most

Bobby Fischer gave the highest praise to young players who had a clear idea
of their goals in a position. When he saw 1 6-year-old Ken Rogoff for the first
time, Fischer said what impressed him the most "was his self-assured style and
his knowing exactly what he wanted over the chessboard."
What White wanted in the next example changed significantly from move to
move. That can happen even in a quiet position.

Sorokin - Belikov
Russian Championship
1 995

Black to play

Black has spent several tempi in the opening to get his pieces to protect the
pawn at d4 (that knight on c6 came from g8 !).
White, in tum, played c2-c3 to tempt I . . dxc3 . Then 2 bxc3 would allow
.

him to control d4 with a pawn. If he can follow up with d3-d4 ! , he gains

important space and shuts out Black's bishop.
So, Black played the consistent 1 ..."ifb6, which overprotects d4 and
threatens 2 . . . dxc3 and 3 . . . i.xt2+.
White shot back 2 c4! . At first this looks inconsistent and ugly: It surrenders
the fight for d4 and makes his bishop on b3 into nothing more than a big pawn.
But White appreciated that 2 c4 ! renders Black's bishop and queen toothless.
It also means there is only one obvious target left on the board and it's a big one,
the Black kingside. After 2 d6 3 'ii'g4! 0-0, White obtains dangerous play with
•••

4 cxb5 axb5 5 lt:lf3, threatening 6 i.h6.

Black preferred 3 g6 and then came 4 cxb5 axb5 5 lt:lf3.
•.•

Black to play

13
What Matters Most

Black has won the battle for d4. But that square has become virtually
meaningless. White's attack is what matters most.
With .i.h6 or .i.g5-f6 coming up, Black was in major trouble. The rest was
5 h6 6 "ifh4 _.d8? 7 .i.g5 'ii'b 6 8 .i.f6 l:.f8 9 _.xh6 .i.a6 10 lbg5 lbe5 11 _.g7
.••

resigns.
Throughout history, masters have changed the way we play this game by
pointing out new ways to appreciate 'what matters most'. F.A.Philidor
explained how pawns, not pieces, could be the most important feature in a
position. Morphy showed us how development can matter most in open
positions. Wilhelm Steinitz stressed that positional goodies, like the two-bishop
advantage, matter a lot. Fischer demonstrated why you have to give up control
of certain squares in order to control others that are more important.
What today's masters appreciate is that even subtle changes in a position,
made by just one or two innocuous-looking moves, can make a big difference -
as long as the changes affect what matters most.

Adams - Radjabov
Enghien-les-Bains 2003

White to play

Black has weaknesses all over his side of the board. But it's hard to get at
them because he also has targets to attack, at b2 and f4, and he can use the
f2-b6 diagonal tactically.
For instance, if he is allowed to play l . . . .i.c5 and 2 .i.xc5 'ii'x c5+ 3 <itJfl he
has 3 . . . 'ifb4 ! , attacking the f- and b-pawns.
White can avert that with l .i.c4 and then 1 ... .i.c5 2 .i.xc5 _.x e S+ 3 <itJfl .
But 3 . . . 'ii'f5 is annoying.
It stands to reason that if tactics are the problem White should take steps to
eliminate them. He began with the unassuming 1 �gl ! . Then came 1 ••• .i.c5
2 .i.xc5+ 'ii'x c5+ 3 �h 1 .

14
 What Matters Most

Black to play

White has played three more or less routine moves since the previous
diagram. But the position is no longer double-edged. White has a serious edge.
What made the difference? Of course, it's the White king. It is now out of
checking range. Once the king is no longer a factor, there's something else that
matters most, the insecure Black king and pawns.
White can hammer e6 with b2-b3 and .i.c4. Or he can try to get his queen to
g7 via 'iVg4. Or he can look for action on the other wing with l:r.ac l .
Thanks to �g 1 -h 1 the previously unclear position was won by White in a
few moves, 3 ... 'ii'b4 4 'it'e3 ! 'ii'a5 (or 4 . . . 'it'xb2 5 l:r.ab l and 4 . . . 'it'b6 5 'it'g3
�f7 6 b3 and .i.c4).
Black resigned after 5 b3 .i.d7 6 .i.c4 l:r.bd8 7 l:r.el 'iVb6 8 'ii'g3 l:r.dg8 9 'ifb3
in view of 1 0 .i.xe6.

Priorities

All players set priorities. You do it in some positions, such as when you
choose between a two-move win of a pawn or a three-move sequence that forces
checkmate. Yes, the two-mover is shorter. It's easier to calculate. There's less
chance of an oversight.
But it's obvious to you that the three-mover is more desirable. Mate counts
more.
As you face stronger opponents on your road to masterhood, you don't get
such easy choices. To break 2200, you need a more refined sense of priorities.
You need to appreciate how, for example, a single misplaced piece may be
decisive.

15
What Matters Most

Yakovich - McShane
Stockholm 1998

White to play

White's pieces are better placed. But that can be temporary. In light of the
symmetrical nature of the position, a draw is likely if Black can trade a pair, or
all, of the rooks.
However, Black is not ready for . . . l:lac8 or . . . l:lad8 because either move
would hang the a7-pawn. This tells us Black has to move his knight so he can
play . . . a6.
White appreciated how much that knight mattered. It's actually the most
important feature of the position. Once you understand that, it's easier to realize
how good 1 a3 ! and 2 b4 ! are.
Then the knight can't move ( l . . . lL!b8 2 lLlc7). That means the a-pawn can't
move. And that means the QR can't move.
After I a3 ! Black tried I l:lfd8 2 b4! e5 3 lL!b3 lL!c4 based on 4 l:lxc4??
•••

l:lxd l mate. But after 4 �fl ! l:lxdl+ 5 l:lxdl �e7 6 'iPe2 ! he was running out of
useful moves.

Black to play

The a-pawn would fall after 6 . . . l:ld8 7 l:lxd8 �xd8 8 �d3 ! . Black would
also lose a queenside pawn after 6 . . . lL!b6 7 lL!a5 .
Black tried 6 f6. In such a commanding position White has a choice of
•••

promising plans. One idea is 7 l:lc 1 . Another is 7 e4 followed by l:ld5 and �d3 .
White preferred to create an invasion route on the kingside with 7 g4 h6
8 h4. Black lost his patience and the game as well after 8 � e6 9 lL!c5+ lL!xc5
•••

10 lL!c7+.

16
 What Matters Most

Siegbert Tarrasch would have been pleased by that game. It validates his
own views about what matters most. To Tarrasch, chess was all about piece
mobility. If one piece stands badly, like Black's knight at a6, his whole game
stands badly, he wrote.
But in middlegames there are lots of pieces, and this increases the likelihood
that you can afford to make one bad. The sum of all the other pieces and pawns
matters more.

Lanka - I. Sokolov
Batumi 1999

Black to play

The position is riddled with positional plusses and minuses: Good and bad
pieces, holes and outposts, doubled pawns, pawn islands, and so on.
Black might be tempted to play l . . c4+, to liberate the b6-bishop, his worst
.

piece. But he chose 1 d4!, making it much worse.

...

One reason he did so was to open the diagonal of the other bishop. The one
at b7 has a brighter future than its brother because it has targets to hit, at f3 and
(after . . . g4) at g2.
Another point in favor of 1 . . d4 ! is that White wanted to bring his knights
.

into play, via e3 . After l .. c4+ a White knight might also be able to occupy d4,
.

either immediately or later.

But l . . . d4! makes the White knights almost useless. Play continued 2 tl:)aJ
._d5 3 c4 'ii'c 6.

White to play

Black might not be able to use his b6-bishop until an endgame, 30 moves
away. But all his other pieces are doing their jobs in the middlegame, and that's

17
What Matters Most

what matters most.

His immediate plan is . . . g4 and . . . gxf3 . But I . . . d4! also gave Black more
operating room, and that enables him to consider an alternate winning plan. He
can double rooks on the e-file and win the e-pawn (4 'ifd3 .:l.e7 and 5 . . . .:l.ae8,
followed by . . . �xg3 and . . . .:l.xe5).
White stopped the ... g4 push with 4 h3 so Black switched to his second plan,
4 .•. 'ifg6 S �bS .:l.e6.
White avoided . . . �xg3 by playing 6 .th2 but 6 ... �f4! shut the bishop out
of play.

White to play

Black's b6-bishop is still a bystander. But White is losing, if not lost. This
became clearer after Black doomed the e-pawn 7 .txf4 gxf4 8 �h2 hS! (to
-

stop �g4) 9 'ifd2 'ii'fS 10 .:te2 .:tae8.

The e-pawn fell with 1 1 .:tael .:l.xeS 1 2 .:l.xeS .:l.xeS 13 .:l.xeS 'ii'x eS. However
the ultimate humiliation was that White's knights remained useless while he was
done in by the resurrected b6-bishop.
The finish was 1 4 �n .tc8 1S <it>fl c6! 1 6 �a3 .td8! 1 7 �g1 .trs 18 b3
.th4 19 'ii'd 1 'ii'e l ! 20 'ii'd 2 .tgJ ! White resigns. After 2 1 'ifxe l .txe l and
. . . .tb4, it is White's QN that proves to be the worst piece on the board.

Prioritizing Practice

A good way to develop and refine your sense of what matters most is to
examine early middlegame positions from master games. Your aim is to figure
out what are White's priorities, what are Black's and why some changes in the
position will favor one side significantly. If a position in an annotated game
changes from unclear or even at move 1 5 to a plus-over-equals at move 20 or
25, try to figure out what changed. That will likely tell you what mattered most.
One approach is to focus on middlegames that arise from opening variations
that are new to you, ones you've never played or studied before. A Catalan
Gambit or one of the sacrificial lines of the Queen's Indian Defense may be
useful for a I e4 player, for example.

18
 What Matters Most

For the sake of introduction, let's consider some Sicilian Defense middlegames,
beginning with one from the game Sanikidze - Kacheishvilli, Georgian
Championship 2004: 1 e4 c5 2lDf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 tt:lxd4 tt:lf6 5 tt:lc3 tt:lc6 6 f3
eS 7 tt:lb3 i.e7 8 i.e3 0-0 9 'ii'd 2 aS 1 0 i.b5 i.e6 1 1 0-0-0 tt:le8
12 g4 tt:lc7 13 'ifi>b1 'ii'b 8 14 i.b6 l:c8 15 i.a4

Sanikidze­
Kacheishvili
Georgian Championship
2004

Black to play

Black carried out an unusual maneuver of his knight to c7 and put his queen
on the unlikely square of b8. Meanwhile, instead of attacking the king, White piled
up his pieces on the queenside and made the rare move i.b6. What's going on?
If you consider this for a while you may be able to see that there's a below­
the-radar battle. Black is trying hard to play a move and White seems almost
desperate to stop that move from happening.
Which move could be that important? It shouldn't be difficult to figure it out.
It's . . . b5.
If B lack cannot push his b-pawn, his queenside attack is halted. White would
have a free hand to advance his pawns to g5 and h5 and break open Black's king
position. This is why spending time on prophylactic moves can win time for you
later, as we'll see in Chapter Five. Here White would get an edge after
1 5 . . . tt:lb4 1 6 h4 tt:l7a6 1 7 a3 tt:lc6 1 8 tt:ld5 ! for example.
Once you appreciate how much . . . b5 matters, the next few moves of the
game begin to make sense: 1 5 ... l:a6! 16 'ii'f2 tt:la8! 17 i.e3 tt:lc7 18 i.b6!
tt:la7! 19 tt:lcl tt:la8! 20 i.e3 b5 ! .

White to play

19
What Matters Most

White's blockade on b6 is broken. His kingside attack never got past g2-g4.
Both of these factors freed Black to take charge after 2 1 .tb3 a4 22 .txe6 fxe6
23 li)3e2 b4 24 f4 li)b5 ! .
There are a lot of clever tactical points from here on. But what you should
appreciate is that the game became one-sided once White lost the battle over ... b5.
There followed 25 fxe5 li)c3+! 26 li)xc3 bxc3 27 b3 axb3 28 li)xb3 'ii'b4! .
White can't stop the queen from reaching a4 or a3 , and the game ended with
29 .tel 'ii'a4 30 a3 dxe5 31 l:hfl .txa3 32 .th6!? l:a7! 33 .te3 .tc5! 34 :Z.d3
'ii'a 2+ 35 �c l 'iVai +! White resigns in view of 36 li)xa1 l:xa1 mate.
Okay, that wasn't too hard, at least once you figure out how big a deal . . . b5
was. Let's move on to another Sicilian position, a quite a bit different one, from
the game Kasimdzhanov - Anand, Linares 2005 :
1 e4 c5 2 ltlf3 d6 3 c3 li)f6 4 .te2 .tg4 5 d3 e6 6 li)bd2 li)c6 7 lt)fl d5
8 exd5 li)xd5 9 'ii'a4 .th5 1 0 li)g3 li)b6 1 1 'ii'd 1 .tg6 12 0-0 .te7 13 a4 0-0
14 a5 li)d5 1 5 'ii'a4 'ii'c 7 16 d4 cxd4 17 'ii'x d4 li)xd4 18 'ii'xd4

Kasimdzhanov -
Anand
Linares 2005

Black to play

It's a Sicilian position that may be quite unfamiliar to a devoted Dragon or

Najdorf Variation player. Once again your task is to figure out what matters
most. Before reading on, take several minutes to consider what should be
important to each player and which factors take precedence.
Done that? Then let's consider the plusses for White. He has a queenside
majority of pawns. We can also see he has a nicely centralized queen.
But the queen can be driven away by ... .tf6 or ... .tc5 . Or by putting a Black
rook on d8 and discovering an attack along the d-file, such as . . . li)b4. And as
for the queenside majority, well that might be a factor in an endgame. But as for
now ...
Black appreciated that what matters most is the kingside majority because it
is immediately useful. He played 18 ... fS ! , which prepares . . . e5 with a
commanding center.
This makes his bishop at g6 bad. But taking e4 away from White's g3-knight
matters more. This becomes clearer after 1 9 .tf3 .l:.ad8 20 'ii'a4 e5 ! and 2 1 ... e4.
White chose the superior 19 'ii'a4 l:ad8 20 l:d1 so that he could meet
20 ... e5 with 2 1 .tc4 ! , gaining counterplay on the c4-g8 diagonal.

20
 What Matters Most

Black to play

Black can advance his f-pawn again but that gives up control of the
e4-square that he just seized. So take a few minutes before you read on and see
if you can figure out what matters most.
Time's up. What matters most is White's constricted position. The way to
emphasize that is 20 f4! It severely limits White's bishop at c I and thereby
•••

keeps the rook at a l in limbo.

I fWhite had retreated 2 1 tilfl - or even 2 1 tilh l - the overwhelming benefits
of 20 . . . f4! would have been obvious. White played 21 tile4 but 21 'ii'e S! was
••.

strong, e.g. 22 ..td3? tilxc3 ! loses material (23 bxc3 it.xe4).

White chose 22 it.f3 instead. There are several appealing responses but the
best was 22 bS! , based on 23 'ii'xbS? it.xe4 and 23 axb6? tilxb6 24 ..,c2 it.xe4
•••

25 it.xe4 'ii'x e4 ! .
White had to play 2 3 ..,c2 and Black forced a favorable position with
23 tilf6! 24 tilxf6+ 'ii'xf6 25 'ii'b 3 :txdl + 26 ..,xd 1 :td8 27 ..,e2 it.d3 28 Wet
•••

eS.

White to play

This culminates the strategy begun by 1 8 . . . fS ! . The Black center pawns are
choking White. He still can't activate his queenside (29 it.d2 e4 30 it.xe4? it.xe4
3 1 'ii'xe4 .:r.xd2).
Instead, he chose 29 .ie2 'ii'xe2 30 'ii'xe2 and now 30 e4! based on another
•••

last-rank tactic (3 1 'ii'x e4?? :td l +).

The Black center pawns performed one final service, creating a mating

21
What Matters Most

attack that ended the game soon after 31 g3 e3 ! 32 fxe3 fJ ! 33 'ifxb5 fl+
34 �g2 l:.f8, with the idea of . . fl ('if)+.
.

The reason that examining games like these is valuable is that it increases
your knowledge of different kinds of positions. The main reason that a modem
player would be superior to, say, Rudolf Spielmann or Richard Reti, or any of
the great players of the early 20th century, is that today we know many, many
more positions than a Spielmann or a Reti. We know what counts most in those
positions.
This also provides one reason - there are others - for why today's masters
are superior to today's amateurs. The masters know and understand more
positions. Occasionally an amateur will do well against a master because he gets
into one of the positions he understands well. But the master will win the
majority of games from him because he'll be able to reach middlegames that the
amateur doesn't know.
Let's try one final Sicilian middlegame. It comes from Short - Topalov,
Novgorod 1 997:
1 e4 c5 2 �fJ d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 �xd4 �f6 5 �c3 a6 6 i.e3 �g4 7 i.g5 h6
8 i.h4 g5 9 i.g3 .tg7 10 i.e2 h5 11 i.xg4 i.xg4 12 f3 i.d7 1 3 i.fl �c6
14 0-0 e6 15 �xc6 i.xc6 16 i.d4

Short - Topalov
Novgorod 1 997

Black to play

White wants to eliminate Black's two-bishop advantage and create kingside

chances. The bishops and the kingside are among the most important factors in
evaluating the position.
But what else matters? Once again, take several minutes to examine the
diagram. See if you can determine what the two players are aiming for. Where
are the weaknesses?
And specifically, how should Black answer 16 i.d4 ? Is it worth preserving
his bishop with 1 6 . . . e5 ? After all, he does it with a gain of time. Or is the hole
created on d5 more significant? And what are the worthwhile alternatives? Does
Black really want to castle here?
If you've given this position the attention it deserves you may have
considered the best move. It is 16 i.e5 ! .
•••

22
 What Matters Most

Black knew from similar positions that the doubling of pawns on the e-file
wasn't as important as having pawn control of d5 and d4. He pressed the point
by meeting 17 'iVd2 with 17 'iff6 ! .
.••

White didn't relish the prospect of going into a somewhat inferior ending
after 1 8 l:.ad 1 .i.xd4+ or 1 8 . . . 'ii'f4 1 9 'iVxf4 gxf4.
So the game went 18 .i.xeS dxeS ! .

White to play

Note that White has no way to open up the position further for his rooks now
that f3-f4 is ruled out. Moreover, he has no obvious target to attack.
When you can't change the pawn structure favorably, you should make the
most of your pieces. Here that means White should try 1 9 'iVd6 l:.d8 20 'ii'c 5.
That would prompt Black to find a way to get his king to safety and connect
rooks, such as after 20 . . . 'iVg7 and . . . f6/ . . . 'iVe7/ . . �f7. In other words, what
.

matters in this position is the temporary discomfort of the Black pieces after
1 9 'ii'd6 ! .
Instead, White slipped into the worst of it after 1 9 a4? 0-0 2 0 b3 l:.fd8
21 'ii'e3 and then 2 1 'iVf4! 22 'ifxf4 gxf4 ! .
•.•

White to play

Quite a bit has changed so it's time to re-evaluate. What matters most now?
Well, White has a queenside majority of pawns and a frisky knight that can
carry out a useful regrouping, such as o!Da2-b4 and then c2-c4.

23
What Matters Most

Black's plusses include control of the d-file but that's temporary. He has
targets at g2 and possibly f3 , which could be exposed by . . . f5 . White went
steadily downhill - 23 :rd 1 h4 24 :xd8+ :xd8 2S :dt :cs ! . Black preserves
his rook to attack g2 and/or c2.
Then came 26 :d2 c.ti>f8 27.!i)d 1 rJ/;e7 28.!i)fl fS! 29 rJ;;n fxe4 30 fxe4 aS!
(to fix the queenside pawns) 3 1 rJ;;e2 .i.e8!.
Black's bishop can join the attack in variations such as 32 c4 .i.h5+ 33 rJ;; fl
:d8 34 :xd8 rJ/;xd8 35.!i)d3 .i.d 1 ! or 33 rJ;;e 1 l:.d8 34 :xd8 rJ/;xd8 35 .!i)d3 .i.g6.
White preferred 32 rJ;;d 1 .thS+ 33 rJ;;c t :gs 34 .!i)d3 h3 but eventually
lost.
Aside from examining late opening positions - which are easily found in
books, magazines and databases or on the Internet - there is another good
method for enriching your sense of what matters. It's your own games.
Unfortunately for your ego, it's usually your losses.
The reason is that by the time you've been playing tournament chess for
several years, you've developed an appreciation of what matters in some
positions. But you're also hampered by blind spots in other kinds of positions.
The best way to find out what you don 't understand is by examining positions
you didn't understand when you played them. Here's a personal example.

Huebner - Soltis
Ybbs 1 968

Black to play

I had sought this pawn structure and thought I had cleverly found a way to
swap some minor pieces, 1 .!i)d4 (2 .!i)xd4? exd4 3 'iVxd4 .!i)xe4) so that I
•••

wouldn't be constricted.
Play continued 2 .te3 .!i)xf3+ 3 'ifxt3 and now I figured I should get rid of
my bad bishop and did so with 3 .!i)d7 4 a4 .i.f6 S aS .tgS 6 .i.xgS 'iVxgS. I
•••

was making progress.

It was only after 7.!i)a4! that I began to realize that I had badly misevaluated.
Ifl move my knight - and there's no really good square for it - I allow a strong
.!i)b6. And if I don 't move the knight, how do I develop my queens ide?
I went ahead with the attack-the-base-of-the-pawn chain plan of 7 fS.
•••

After all, wasn 't that what all the textbooks said you did with this kind of pawn
structure? There followed 8 'ifa3 ! 'iVf6 9 exf6 gxfS 10 :ac t .

24
 What Matters Most

Black to play

It was already too late. White will penetrate with l:.c7 (since lO . . . 'ifd8 allow
1 1 'ii'x d6).
I tried to complicate with 10 ... e4 II f4 'ii'd4+ 12 �h2 e3 but had to resign
shortly after 13 l:.c4! ..d2 14 'ii'c3 'ii'fl iS i.e2 l:.e4 ! ? 15 l:.xc8+.
Only in the post-mortem did I realize that what mattered most wasn't my
having the better bishop or getting in the thematic . . . f5 . The hole on b6, the open
c-file and other factors were much more important. The positions I had sought
while choosing moves were simply ones I should have avoided.

Quiz

Now let's see if you can figure out what matters most in the following
positions. There will be similar quizzes at the end of each succeeding chapter.
Take your time, at least five minutes, trying to find the right answer. When
you're done you'll find the correct answers at the end of this book.

1
Spraggett - Morovic
Spanish Championship
1 994

White to play

What is the most important feature of the position and what should White do
about it?

25
What Matters Most

2
C arlsen - Anand
Linares 2009

White to play

White played 1 liJc7. Why does that make sense?

White to play

In this standard opening position Black has just played . . . liJc6. Many players
would be tempted to separate Black's pawns with 1 liJxc6. But why do some
masters prefer the time-losing retreat 1 liJf3 ?

4
Anand - Shirov
Frankfurt 2000

White to play

Both players have wing attacks in motion. What should White do?

26
 What Matters Most

5
Fressinet - Gelfand
Cannes 2002

Black to play

Black's best bishop is clearly the one at d6. Should he even consider
1 ... i.xe5 ?

6
Belyavsky - Mitkov
Panorma 200 1

White to play

In this book position, the routine continuations were 1 .i.f4 and I .i.e3 . Is
there anything better?

27
 Chapter Two:

Habits

Good chess comes from good habits. Making the jump to master requires
taking something that you know is a good trait and turning it into a habit.
You already have several good habits. You might not appreciate them but
you do. For example, when you were a beginner you were told that as soon as
your opponent makes a move you should look to see whether he made a threat.
At first you had to make a conscious effort to do this. But after a while you did
it automatically. It had become a habit.
You already know some, if not most, of the traits that masters have made
their habits. But you probably don't take them as seriously as a master does ­
perhaps because they sound too simple. For instance:
A master always looks for targets.
The easiest way to find the best move in a typical position is to take note of
the pieces and pawns that you can attack. You might be able to attack them on
the next move or on the move after that or even at some distant future point.

Gonzalez - Foisor
Balaguer 2004

White to play

Black's pieces are somewhat more active than White's and he has a passed
c-pawn as well as a threat, 1 . . . bxc5.
Yet White's best strategy should be to ignore all that and attack. The attack
should be directed at g7. Why?
What makes g7 a target is that Black has no pieces that can easily defend it,
just his king. White, on the other hand, can throw virtually all of his pieces at
g7.

28
 Habits

White began with 1 .i.gS ! . His idea was 2 'ifg4 followed by either .i.f6 or
i.h6 and 'ifxg7 mate.
That's a very primitive threat. With so much material on the board it might
seem that Black can parry it easily.
He can't. If he plays . . . �h8 and . . . l:tg8 to secure g7 he makes h7 another
high-value target.
That's what happened in the game, which went 1 . . bxcS 2 'ifg4 'ith8 3 l:[f3
.

cxd4 4 :hJ.

Black to play

White will play 'ifh5 or 'ifh4 and threaten 'ifxh7 mate. He can answer ... h6
with the crushing .i.xh6.
Black tried 4 fS so that 5 exf5 'ifxe5 6 'ifb4 'ifxf5 would defend. Or 5 exf6
•••

g6 6 'ifh4 :n.
But he resigned soon after S 'ii'h S! �g8 6 'ifxh7+ c::tf7 7 'ifhS+ c::tg8 8 .i. f6! .
Black lost because g7 was weak and because he had no counterplay to
distract White from attacking it. He needed to find his own targets. For example,
2 ... 'ifc3 ! , instead of2 . . . c::th 8, would allow him to meet 3 .i.f6 with 3 . . . 'ife3+
and 4 ... 'ifb6. And on 3 :ad l Black has 3 ... .i.a4 ! . His bishop, which can play
no role in defense, can attack. The game would become very double-edged after
4 i.h6 g6 5 'iff4 f5 ! .
The moral is: White had a plan, a strong one, as soon as he recognized that
g7 was a target. Black failed to recognize targets and lost.
When you were a beginner you probably got into the habit of looking at all
the captures available to you when it was your tum to move. The habit of
looking for targets is just an extension of this. In addition to "What can I take?"
you want to ask yourself "What can I attack in a few moves?"
This sounds too simpleminded to many amateurs. Why look for enemy
pieces and pawns that you can't immediately attack?
This way of thinking blinds the player to opportunities like the following.

29
Habits

Am. Rodriguez - Sorin

Matanzas 1 993

White to play

Look for the target in Black's camp before you read arty further.
See it? The only member of Black's army that is not protected is the pawn at
g7. It's easy to overlook because it's shielded on the g-file by two pieces.
Of course, not every target is worth going after. But here it shouldn't be hard
to grasp that if White can play 'ifxg7, he's doing very well.
Once you identify a target - and determine that it's worth going after - the
next step is to figure out how to get at it. There may not be a way: It's not always
possible to exploit a target.
But in this case White found 1 e6! . He threatens 2 'ifxg4, and I . . . �h5
2 'ii'g 5 is no antidote. After the forced reply, 1 �xe6, came 2 h4! .
•••

Black t o play

White threatens 3 h5 and then 3 . . . tLl-moves 4 'ifxg7. If Black tries to protect

g7 with his king, it becomes a bigger target. For example, 2 . . . 0-0 3 h5 tLle7
4 �h6 ! g6 5 'ife5 ! and wins.
Another line would be 2 . . . �f8 3 h5 tLle7 4 h6 g6 5 �g5 ! followed by 'ii'd6
and/or :ai-a7. And another is 2 . . . :gs 3 f4! .
I n the end, Black gave up on defending the target and lost after 2 �d7 •••

3 h5 tLl e7 4 'ifxg7 .
Beginners often make a concerted effort to threaten their opponent's queen
simply because it's so valuable. But queens are valuable because they're so
mobile. They can run away. The best targets are typically pawns because they

30
 Habits

tend to be stationary. Most stationary of all a{e squares because, obviously, they
cannot move.
But why would a square be valuable enough to become a target? Consider
the next example:

Kamsky - Grischuk
Olympiad 20 1 0

Black to play

At first Black's only target seems to be the d-pawn. But 1 . . . l:xd3 is

complicated by 2 lDe l .
An alternative is l . . . l:df8, which threatens 2 . . . l:xfl . Then if White moves
his rook from f1, Black can play . . . l:f2 and try to exploit the knight at g2,
perhaps with a . . . lDg6xh4 sacrifice.
But Black wondered what he would do after 2 l:xf3 . The recapture 2 . . . l:xf3
isn't bad. But when he evaluated 2 . . . gxf3 , he realized that h3 becomes a target.
With the g-pawn out of the way, Black may be able to get to h3 with his
queen. That's why Black found the stunning 1 .tb7 ! .
•••

It is tactically justified by 2 lDxa7? l:a8, pinning the doomed knight. But the
main point of l . . .tb7 is to continue . . . .tc8 at the moment when h3 is exposed.
.

White found nothing better than 2 .tal and then came 2 l:df8! 3 l:xt3 gxt3!.
•••

White to play

Suddenly h3 goes from being one of the least significant squares on the
board, like a I or b8, to the most important. White has no satisfactory way of
meeting . . . .tc8 followed by the devastating . . . 'ifh3+.
He tried 4 lDe3 but his kingside collapsed after 4 .tc8! 5 g4 h5! and he
•••

resigned in five moves.

31
Habits

Targets = Initiative

Chess can be a simple game if we forget about positional subtleties and just
look for targets. A few pages ago we saw how a plan was just a matter of
figuring out how White could get his pieces to attack g7. In the same way, an
initiative can be nothing more than a series of threats to different targets. For
example:

Moiseenko - Dvoirys
Feugen 2006

White to play

What matters most here? The players disagree: Black would like to think it's
his extra pawn. White prefers to believe it's his lead in development.
But development comes with an expiration date. If White doesn't convert it
to another asset, Black will catch up. Then the extra pawn will count more.
White played 1 'ii'a 3!. The first point is that e7 is a target that loses the game
after 1 . . . 0-0? 2 il..x e7.
The second point is White has a threat, 2t'Llb6 ! , since 2 . . . 'ii'xb6? 3 'ifxe7 is
mate and 2 . . . axb6 drops the Exchange, 3 'ii'x a8.
The tactics become easier to spot when you realize that the rook at a8 as well
as the king are vulnerable. For example, after l . . . f6 White plays 2 l:.ab l ! and
Black meets thet'Llb6 threat with 2 . . . t'Lld7.

White to play

Now 3 .i.g4 is strong in view of il..x d7+ ! . White can punish 3 . . f5 with
.

4t'Lld6+ ! exd6 5 il..x d8 or 4 . �f8 5 'ifb3 ! and 'iff7 mate.

. .

32
 Habits

Let's stop for a moment and consider an alternative to 1 . . . f6. As ugly as it

looks, the backward step 1 . . ..tf8 defends e7. It stops the 2 tDb6 threat without
.

incurring a weakness the way 1 . . . f6 does.

After 1 ..tf8 White can renew the tDb6 idea with 2 ltab 1 . He can then meet
...

2 ... b5 with 3 tDa5 with considerable pressure.

But in the game White had a different idea, exploiting a newly vulnerable
Black piece.

White to play

Which piece? Well, just look for one that became unprotected as a result of
1 .. ..tf8.
.

That's right, it's the rook at h8. Once you see that, it becomes easier to spot
ways to attack it, with 2 d5! .
This i s based on 2 . . . 'ii'xd5 3 tDb6, again winning the Exchange. But it's also
based on 2 cxd5 3 'ifc3 ! , which threatens both 4 'ifxh8 and 4 tDd6+! 'ii'xd6
•••

5 'ifxc8+.
For example, 3 . . . d4 4 exd4 ..tg7 invites 5 tDd6+ ! 'ii'xd6 6 'ii'x c8+ 'ii'd 8
7 ..tb5+ tDd7 8 ..txd7+ or 7 . . . tDc6 8 Wxb7, winning in either case.
In the game, Black played 3 f6. But 4 tDd6+! works one more time, e.g.
•••

4 ... exd6 5 ..txf6 or 4 ... 'it'xd6 5 'ifxc8+ rl;f7 6 i.b5 ! (better than the immediate
6 'ii'xb7 'ii'c 6).

Targets in Defense

Both attacks and initiatives are fueled by targets. But for the defender, a
target means something else: It's a source of counterplay. A target is the
difference between active and passive resistance.
That's the choice Black faces in the next example and, as often happens,
passive defense is losing defense.

33
Habits

Abreu Nataf
-

Havana 200 1

Black to play

White has a basic winning plan of bringing his king to the queenside, say to
c3, and pushing the b-pawn. A king and passed pawn generally can outmuscle a
lone rook. It's as simple as two against one.
A master would see that Black can stop that plan with 1 . . . l:.e7. But he would
also realize that cutting off the king that way allows White to win with 2 �f2
and 3 b4! , followed by 4 l:.b2, 5 b5 and so on.
Black's only chance of survival is to create a kingside target for his king. If
he can pick off a pawn there and create his own passed pawn, Black may draw.
A typical way to start is 1 . . . l:.b4 and 2 . . . f4. But White can anticipate that
with 2 f4! .
For example, after 2 . . . h5 3 �f2 �g6 4 �e3 h4! White could just keep going
to the queenside, 5 �d3 ! hxg3 6 hxg3 .
Black is slow in exploiting the target, and 6 . . . .:tb3+ 7 �c4 .l:.xg3 8 b4 turns
out to be a win for White. No better is 6 . . . �h5 7 �c3 l:.b8 8 b4 �g4 9 l:.d3 ! .
S o let's go back to the diagram and see i f we can speed up B lack's
counterplay. The right way is 1 f4! and then 2 gxf4 �f6 and . . . �f5 .
••.

Both o f Black's pieces were active after 3 � fl � fS 4 �g3 l':.b6!. Black's

rook is perfectly placed. It can check at g6 or b3, depending on circumstances.
This was evident after 5 l:.c2 l:.g6+ 6 �fl l':.b6!.

White to play

There is no win in 7 �e3 l':.b3+! . Or in 7 �g3 l:.g6+ ! .

34
 Habits

White can only set a trap with 7 h3 . Then 7 . . . �xf4? 8 l:lc4+ ! and 9 b4!
allows him to bring his king to the queenside and win.
But Black avoided this by answering 7 h3 ! with 7 l:lb3 ! . There were no
...

other tricks and a draw was reached soon after 8 �g3 l:lb6 9 h4 h5 10 l:lc8 l:lg6+
11 �fl l:lb6.
How do you acquire the habits of a master? Some master traits may be
unattainable. Many masters simply concentrate better than non-masters. Bobby
Fischer was not the only GM who boasted of how "beautiful" he thought.
But most good habits of masters can be learned. For example, you can train
yourself to 'always look for targets' by clicking through games slowly and
making a note, mental or written, every time a newly visible target appears.
Positional, rather than tactical, games are more suitable for this. And master
games tend to be better study material because too often in amateur games, play
becomes chaotic and there are simply too many targets. When you click through
a game, or play it over on a board, look at it from White's point of view. When
you're done, replay it from Black's perspective. Regardless of who won, you
should be able to make target searching part of your chess routine.

Lazy Pieces

Looking for targets is the most important of the good habits of masters. The
second most important is:
A master ma kes his pieces work harder.
Books and teachers are always telling novices: Put your pieces on good
squares and good things will happen to them. Even in a position that seems quite
equal, getting a bishop, knight or rook to the right square can make a big
difference.

Goloshchapov - Mishra
Dhaka 2002

White to play

There is one White piece that has yet to be developed: the bishop at fl .
Ideally, what's the best square for that bishop?

35
Habits

Masters think like that. When you open up your mind that way you find
master-moves like 1 .i.c4 ! .
The bishop is going to b3, a perfect square. It will not only protect the king
position by blocking the b-file but will also create a powerful threat of .i.a4 and
.i.xf6/.i.xd7+. In fact, after I . . . d6 the retreat 2 �b3 ! followed by .i.a4 would
win the game.
Of course, to play I .i.c4 White had to have an answer to 1 ••• 'ii'xc4. But it
wasn't hard to find one, 2 .i.xf6, which threatens 3 'ii'xd7 mate.
The best Black could do after 2 .i.xf6 was to protect d7, with 2 . . . .i.c6 or
2 . . . 'ii'c 6. But he is lost after 3 .i.xg7 .i.xg7 4 l:.xg7.
Masters get more out of their pieces. It's not because they have more pieces.
Or smarter pieces. They have the same pieces you have.
But they get theirs to work harder. A master isn't satisfied with a bishop that
controls a nice diagonal or a rook that dominates an open file or a knight that
occupies a central outpost. Their pieces have to do something, not just look
good.

Abramovic - Savon
Erevan 1 982

Black to play

If you were to ask yourself, "Which is Black's best-placed piece" you might
answer "The bishop." It has a nice, clean diagonal. It denies White's heavy
pieces the use of squares such as d2 and e3 .
But that's not enough. If you look for targets, your eyes should focus on the
other side of the board. What matters most to Black is the pawns at b2 and c2.
They are targets and can come under fire after . . . lDa4.
However, Black can't carry out a queenside raid yet because I . . . lDa4
2 tDxa4 'ii'xa4 3 lDb3 'ii'xa2 allows White to take off a more valuable pawn,
4 l:.xd6 or 4 'ii'g4 and 5 'ii'xe6+ . .
That explains 1 ••• .i.e7 ! . The bishop looked nice o n g 5 but o n e 7 i t does
something: It protects the d-pawn and that means 2 . . . lDa4 ! is a powerful threat.
There followed 2 :d3 lDa4 ! 3 lDd 1 'ii'c7! .

36
 Habits

White to play

One of the threats, . . . 'ii'x a5 or . . . 'ii'x c2, must succeed. With his queenside in
collapse, White threw himself into an attack, 4 'ii'g 4, threatening 'ii'x e6+. But he
eventually lost after 4 l%f6 5 l%g3 .i.f8 6 tDb3 'ii'u 2.
...

Moving the Furniture

Because there are so few unoccupied and safe squares in a typical

middlegame, it stands to reason that the right square for one piece may be
unavailable because it belongs to another. To make his pieces work harder,
a master rearranges them. He 'moves the furniture around', often with

surprisingly strong effect.

Stahlberg - Keres
Munich 1 936

Black to play

Each of Black's pieces appears well-placed. His knight is splendidly

centralized and his bishop controls several key squares. His queen rook
commands the open file.
But Black realized that his pieces don 't have targets. If his rook penetrated
on the file, 1 . . l%c2?, it walks into 2 g4 ! . His pieces look nice - but they're lazy.
.

37
Habits

That explains 1 ••• lilf6! followed by . . . .i.e4-d5 . Then White pawns come
under fire on both wings, at a2 and g2 and he can drive the White knight off e5
with . . . d6.
Things dido 't appear to change much after 2 l:. ac l .i.e4! until White began
to search for a reply to 3 . . . .i.d5 ! .
I f he protects the a-pawn with 3 a3, then 3 . . . .i.d5 4 'ila4? ! d6 5 lilc6? 'ild7
loses material. And 5 lilc4 allows 5 . . . .i.xf3 6 gxf3 tild5 and . . . lilf4, when the
underused KR joins the action.
There are other problems with 4 'iVd3?! d6 5 lilc4 because of the pinning
5 . . . 'ilc7 ! .
That's why White went in for the complications of 3 lilg5 .i.d5 4 'ii'h 3.

Black to play

White is relying on tactics, such as 4 . . . .i.xa2 5 l:.a l and l:.xa7, or 4 . . . 'iVb4?

5 lilxd7 ! lilxd7? 6 'ifxh7 mate.
But 4 ... l:.xcl S l:.xc l h6! kicked one of knights back so that Black can get
the upper hand after 6 tilgf3 'ilb4 7 b3 d6 8 lilc4 lile4.
Instead, White gambled on 6 lilg6 'ii'e8 7 lilxf8 hxg5 8 l:.c7 'ifxf8 9 l:.xa7.
Material is roughly equal.
But as often happens when the queens remain on the board, a rook is no
match for two minor pieces because the queen works more efficiently with a
knight or bishop than with a rook.

Black to play

Black was winning after 9 ... 'ii'b 8 ! 1 0 l:.a3 'ii'f4 1 1 'ii'e3 'ii'f5 1 2 l:.c3 'ii'b l +

38
 Habits

13 l:cl W'xb2 1 4 W'xgS W'xa2. But the real winning moves were 1 . . . lLlf6 and
... i.e4-d5 .

Work it or Trade it

When you hear someone say that master chess is 'more concrete' , what they
mean is that variations trump appearances. Another illustration of that: If a piece
- even a good-looking one - isn't pulling its weight, a master looks for a way to
get rid of it.

Karpov - Maciej a
Warsaw 2003

White to play

This had been a fairly even game until five moves before, when White forced
Black to give up his dark-squared bishop for a knight. White's bishop on c5
should give him a serious positional advantage.
But there's a limit to what the bishop can do. White realized that the easiest
way to make further progress was 1 .i.xb6!.
A knight will do more on c5 than a bishop because it attacks a6 and b7
(1 lLlxb6 2 lLlcS).
•.•

Then White prepares to invade on the dark squares, not with the departed
bishop, but with the queen on d4 or d6 (e.g. 2 . . . e5 3 W'd2 and 4 W'd6).
The game went 2 W'a8 3 W'eS i.c6.
•••

White to play

Black seems to have everything covered - until White makes a full-board

search for targets. Then he notices g7 and finds 4 l:d4 ! .

39
Habits

Black doesn't have a good defense against 5 .:r.g4, which threatens 'ifxg7
mate and that prompts another weakness, such as 4 . . . f6 which can be punished
by Wg3 followed by .:r.d6 or by .id3!'ifg6.
In the end Black desperately sought a trade of queens and lost the endgame
after 4 'ii'b 8 S Wxb8 .:r. xb8 6 .!b xa6 .
•••

Often, two good habits fit together to produce a good move or plan. Don't
be frightened by the word 'plan ' . A plan is usually just two or three useful moves
that fit together. Here's an example.

Glek - Krivoshey
Bundesliga 2004

White to play

White has the usual kingside pressure that he enjoys in this kind of pawn
structure. His bishop and knight cooperate nicely against the target at f7.
But there's no way to aim another piece at f7. That suggests that either
White's bishop or knight isn't doing enough. For that reason he switched to
1 .!bg4! .
He threatens 2 .!bh6+ 'iti>h8? 3 .!bxfl+ and would be happy to see 2 . .ixh6
..

3 .ixh6 (or 3 Wxh6) and 4 .:r.e3 .

White would also like to meet 1 .. .!bd5, which closes the b3-f7 diagonal,
.

with 2 .ih6 and see if his majority of pieces on the kingside can overwhelm the
Black king.
But there's a more important explanation for 1 .!bg4 and it was revealed by
1 ••• .!bxg4 2 'ii'xg4.

Black to play

40
 Habits

The elimination of Black's knight means that two targets have been exposed,
at h7 and e7. White can aim at them with 'ifh4 and/or .:.e3-h3 .
In addition, f7 is still vulnerable if Black uses his KR to defend e7 -
2 .. . .:.e8? 3 'ii'f4 ! forces 3 . . .:.rs after which 4 .:.e3 and :ee l is unpleasant.
.

Black does have a target of his own, c3, to shoot at and he can shoot with
2 •.. 'ii'c 8! . White was only slightly better after 3 'ii'g3 e6 4 h4! and then
4 .•. ..tdS! S ..txdS exdS 6 hS.
One of the best ways to train yourself to get more out of your pieces is - once
again - to reexamine your losses. When you lose a game positionally, or even
when you got mated, there was probably a piece (or pieces) that you
mishandled. After you resigned you may have concluded that you lost because
of, say, an opening mistake or getting a bad pawn structure. But there was
almost certainly a lazy piece that cost you. Take another look at those games.
If you' d prefer study material that is less of a threat to your ego, play over
games of Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Magnus Carlsen, Michael Adams or
one of the other grandmasters who rarely seem to have bad pieces - and
managed to skillfully dispense with them if they did.

Low-Calc Thinking

Masters are more efficient with their pieces - and with their calculations.
They trained themselves to be that way. A third good habit to acquire:
A master doesn � calculate more than he has to.
Let's be honest. The best players can calculate very, very long variations.
They can see much farther ahead than you. But masters are also more practical.
They know that the longer the variation a person tries to calculate, the more
likely he will miss something. The likelihood escalates if he's tired from
calculating other long variations earlier in the game.

Shirov - Carlsen
Moscow 2007

White to play

Black 's pieces appear so much more vulnerable that White would be
justified in trying to find a forced win. Candidate moves such as I :d7+, I tlJd5
and I tlJg4 might occur to you.

41
Habits

White focused on another idea, winning the unprotected bishop. He looked

at I g3 with the idea of I ... .i.g5 2 lld7+.
White wins the bishop after 2 .. �h6 3 Wh i + ! . Or after 2 . . llf7 3 llxf7+
. .

�xf7 4 'i'd5+ and 'i'xg5 .

But there is a complication. Black can meet I g3 with I . . . .i.xg3, based on
2 fxg3 ?? 'i'xe3+.
Still, White dido 't want to give up on a strong-looking move like I g3 and
he worked out a win: I ... .i.xg3 2 lld7+ �h6 3 'it'h i + ! �g5 4 lld5+ �f4 and
now 5 Wh3 ! .
All very neat. But i n the end White chose 1 'ii'e4! instead.

Black to play

He had the same goal, winning the bishop. But this is much simpler, and the
chance of making a mistake in calculation is much less.
This time the bishop has no good move at all ( I . . . .i.g5 2 'i'e7+ llf7 3 'i'xg5
or 2 ... �h6 3 itJg4+).
Protecting the bishop also fails: I . . . g5 2 'i'e7+ llf7 allows 3 itJf5+ followed
by a winning rook check at d6 or d8.
Black couldn't find a defense and resigned after 1 b3 2 axb3 .
•••

Even though he didn't find a flaw in his calculation of 1 g3, White went with
the safer and simpler queen move - because it is safer and simpler.
Masters recognize that they can often get a better read on a position by
evaluating it in general terms, rather than calculating.

Karjakin - Onischuk
Khanty-Mansiysk 20 1 0

White to play

42
 Habits

Black has just captured on c2, offeripg to trade queens. There is a lot for
White to calculate, beginning with I 'ii'xc2 .:txc2 2 liJd6 and I .:td i 'ii'xd3
2 .:txd3 .
He can also stay in the middlegame with I lL!e7+ followed by a queen move
such as 2 'ii'g3 . Even a GM could easily spend half an hour trying to work out
all the lines.
But, White wrote, "Here it isn't necessary to see all the variations. It's
sufficient to evaluate the position." He went on: "White dominates the center
and kingside, and Black's bishop doesn't help in the defense."
He concluded that he should go after the king with 1 lL!e7+ �h8 2 'ii'g3 and
rely on solid moves to provide him with threats.

Black to play

One of the low-calculation techniques is visualizing. This means looking in

general terms at the near future: What good moves are available to you? What
are the best squares for your pieces?
At the previous diagram White might have concluded I lL!e7+ and 2 'ii'g3
was best because he could see .:tae I -e3 coming up, as well as 'ii'h4 , with
prospects of lL!g6+. This went into White's favorable evaluation of this position.
Calculating is different from visualizing because you have to take your
opponent's moves into consideration. But you can reduce the amount of
calculation by just getting a taste of a few sample variations.
For example, White might have looked at 2 . . . 'ii'xb2 because it looks the
most dangerous. The natural response is 3 .:tae I . White can see a variation that
runs 3 . . . .:tc I 4 lL!fS g6 5 lLid6. Of course, this is only one variation. But if he
likes the looks of it, White can feel confident enough to go ahead.
Sample variations are not expected to be conclusive and often they don't
occur in the game. In fact, Black chose 2 .:tcd8 rather than 2 . . . 'ii'xb2. Then
•••

came 3 .:tael 'ii'd 2 4 .:tte3 'ii'x b2 but White's attack was overwhelming after
5 'ii'h 4, e.g. 5 .:td6 6 .:tf5! .:ta8 6 'ii'f4 :dd8 7 .:tt7 resigns.
•••

Visualizing plays an important role in determining whether you have

winning chances in a particular line of play you're considering. We'll explore
that further in Chapter Six. But here's a taste:

43
Habits

Lautier - Cvitan
Ohrid 200 1

White to play

White had this kind of position in mind when he made decisions several
moves ago. But why did he think he could win this? After all, the pawns lie on
only one wing. Black has doubled pawns but they do a good job of preventing
White from creating a passed pawn.
Actually this is a simple win if you visualize what it would be like if a pair
of rooks has been traded. Suppose the rooks on c4 and f8 disappear.
In positions like that, Jose Capablanca would say, "White wins in one
move." He was joking: the one move is White king to e8.
In other words, once a pair of rooks is gone, what White needs to win is to
attack the only available target, at £7. Black could either lose the f-pawn or
advance it, creating a new target at g6. Then it's just a matter of applying
pressure to whatever is weakest.
Play continued 1 .:tde7! �g7 2 .:teS! .:txeS 3 .:txeS.

Black to play

Thanks to his ability to visualize, Capa-like, a winning future position,

White didn't have to calculate what follows. The game went 3 .i.d4 4 l:.e4
•••

.i.e5 5 .:te6 �f8 6 �fl �e7 7 �e2 �f8 S .:te5 iLf6 9 .:te7 iLe5 10 l::tb 7.
White could have chosen other squares for the rook without damaging his
winning chances. The next stage was to advance the king towards e8. Play went
10 ••• �g7 1 1 �d3 iLd6 1 2 �d4 iLf4 13 �d5 �f6 14 g3 ! iLd2 15 �d6 .i.el
1 6 .:tb1 .i.e3 (not 16 ... .i.xf2 17 .:tfl ).

44
 Habits

Once the king is closing in on f7, Wliite frees his rook from the defense of
his pawns by advancing them to light squares 1 7 :bJ .i.eS+ 1 8 �d7 �g7
-

19 :b7 cJi>f8 20 g4 .i.d4 21 tJ .i.e5 22 :bs .i.f4 23 l:.c5 .i.d2 24 :c8+! �g7
25 �e8.

Black to play

There is no defense to White getting his rook to the seventh rank. On

25 . . f6, the easiest way to win is to get White's king to e6 and sacrifice the rook
.

on f6 for a bishop and a pawn.

In the game Black tried 25 fS 26 :c7+ Wf6 and White went after the new
•••

target at g6 with 26 <iii'f8 !, threatening :c6+. He won shortly after 26 <iii'e5

••.

27 q;r7 <iii'f4 28 <iii' x g6.

Must-Calc

There are, naturally, bound to be times in a game, particularly a complex

game, when you absolutely must calculate. High on the list are situations when
you are defending.
Defense tends to require more exact and thorough calculation than attack.
On the other hand, when you have the initiative or are simply better developed,
you can sometimes rely on a calculating minimum.

Kholmov Suetin
-

Leningrad 1 963

White to play

White's advantage in development is minimized by the well-placed Black

queen and knight. To White, those pieces are what matters most.

45
Habits

There is a way to deal with them, 1 'ii'e3 ! ? . But to play this White has to
calculate l . . . 'ii'x e3 2 fxe3 .
White realized it was worth calculating. He saw 2 . . . lLlg6 3 lLlb3 would give
him a sizable edge after 4 lLlcS or 4 l:.d6 (or after 3 . . . i.a6 4 i.xa6 l:.xa6 6 :d7).
But he knew he wasn 't done. He also had to calculate 2 ... lLle6 and he saw
that this time his knight should go to f3 because eS is a target. After 3 lLlf3 ..ta6
4 i.xa6 l:.xa6 S lLlxeS White has a big edge (S . . . fLieS 6 lLld7 !).
Finally if Black meets l 'ii'e 3 ! with l . . . lLle6 he is losing a pawn to 2 i.xe6
'ii'x e3 3 i.xf7+.
That's a lot to see. But it was worth it because to avoid all this Black had to
retreat his queen. It was a big concession, as the game went: 1 'ii'e7 2 lLlb3
•..

i.e6 and now 3 i.xe6 lLlxe6.

White to play

White has a positional advantage because of the queenside targets (aS and
c6). He could restart his calculating machine and consider lines such as 4 'ii'b6
'ii'g S and then S 'ii'x c6 lLlf4 (threat of mate on g2) 6 g3 'ii'g4 or 6 . . . l:.ac8.
But it's just not worth it. White's advantage has become more obvious since
the previous diagram and he deserves an easier time.
He can increase his positional edge - without calculation - by just doubling
rooks on the d-file, l:.d2 and l:.fd l . Play went 4 l:.d2 ! cS S l:.dS c4 6 lLlcS l:.fc8
7 lLlxe6 'ii'x e6 8 l:.fd l .
Then came 8 ••. 'ii'c 6 9 l:.bS c3 1 0 b3! l:.d8.

White to play

46
 Habits

Amateurs sometimes reach commanding positions like the one White

enjoys. But they become frustrated because they haven't been able to cash in
yet. They try to calculate forcing lines like 1 1 l:.xd8+ l:.xd8 1 2 h3, which
threatens l:.xe5 or l:.xa5 .
They may see that 1 2 . . . 'flc7 1 3 'ii'c 5 looks good for White. But they aren't
sure about 12 . . . h6 1 3 l:.xa5 l:.d2 ! and try to look further and further ahead. And
meanwhile their clock is running.
A master knows that keeping command of the position - 11 l:.bdS! l:.xdS
12 l:.xdS - is what matters most. Then he can take his time probing both wings.
Play went 12 1i'f6 13 g3 h6 14 'fld3 �h7 15 h4 'fle6 16 'it>g2 f6 17 l:.d6
•••

"ikf7 18 'ii'f3 .
On the kingside h e was looking at 1 9 h 5 followed b y 'flf5+ and possibly
"ikg6 or l:.d7. Black defended with 18 hS 19 'fld3 l:.a7 20 l:.d8 'ilg6 21 'ii'd S
.••

"ikf7.

White to play

For the first time in 20 moves White should calculate a long variation. Why
now? Because 22 'ii'x f7 l:.xf7 and 23 l:.a8 l:.d7 24 l:.xa5 l:.d2 or 23 l:.d5 l:.a7
changes the position decisively, one way or the other.
In fact, White is winning in the 23 l:.dS l:a7 line if he finds 24 f4! exf4
25 l:.xhS+ �g6 26 g4 ! . It takes a further examination - of 26 l:.d7 27 l:.dS!
•••

l:.xdS 28 exdS - to prove it.

But the position in the diagram was the last one before the time control.
White didn't have time to calculate 22 'flxf7 ! . He kept control of the situation
with 22 1i'd3 and eventually found a way to win, 1 6 moves later.
Reducing calculation to a minimum is a more difficult habit to acquire than
the others discussed in this chapter. One training method might help:
After each of your tournament games, try to remember the variations that
you calculated. You don't have to recall every single move. Rather, you should
try to recollect the candidate moves you spent significant time on and whether
you looked three, four, five or more moves into the future. (You might be able
to make this part of a post-mortem analysis with your opponent, or even record it.)
Some time later, go over the game again and see how many variations that
you looked at were wastes of time and energy. You'll probably find that the best
moves you played could have been selected with a fraction of the time you spent
on them. This can show you how much more efficiently you can think.

47
Habits

And now for this chapter's quiz positions.

Quiz

7
Vallejo Pons - Shirov
Ayamonte 2002

Black to play

Black can't be too confident about his material edge in light of his mangled
pawns. What is his best policy?

8
Chandler - McNab
British Championship 1 988

White to play

How can White prove he has more than equality?

9
Volkov - Vaganian
Moscow 2005

White to play

How many potential targets can you identify for White? What should he do?

48
 Habits

10
Leko - Rodriguez
Yopal 1 997

White to play

White is poised to win on the kingside. How does he nail down victory?

11
Morozevich - Petrushin
Krasnodar 1 997

White to play

White's positional advantage is clear in view of his better bishop and more
concentrated rooks. How can he make progress?

12
Short - Svidler
Moscow 2002

Black to play

That great knight on c4 and passed b-pawn give Black an edge. How does
he win?

49
Habits

13
Mikhalchishin - Jelen
Slovenian Championship
2002

White to play

Is this the time for White to calculate or maneuver? And if so, calculate what
and maneuver how?

14
Tukmakov - Lazarev
Neuchatel 2002

White to play

Should White begin calculating variations directed at the kingside? He can

defend b3 with 1 .i.d 1 , for example, and then play 2 'ifd2/3 .i.h6+ or 3 f4.

15
Smyslov - Spassky
Moscow-vs.-Leningrad 1 959

White to play

Should White be thinking of targets or about getting more out of a lazy

piece?

50
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» — Impossible. Je n’ai pas le temps. Je pars demain.
» — C’est justement… il n’y aura pas un chrétien dans la dune de
Laoual, cette nuit… Les gabelous seront dans le Nord… Je me suis
informée… Eh bien ! là, au point d’atterrissement du câble de l’île, le
couvre-feu sonnant, voulez-vous ?… Ne dites pas non ! De grâce ! ne
dites pas non. »
Il dut s’interrompre : le rire l’étouffait. Je riais aussi, mais du bout
des lèvres… Une sueur de mort me perlait aux tempes. Je ne
respirais plus.
— Qu’est-ce que tu aurais fait à ma place ? demanda-t-il, lorsque
son hilarité se fut un peu calmée. — Tu aurais envoyé cette
possédée se faire exorciser par le vicaire, n’est-ce pas ?… Moi, pour
me débarrasser d’elle, j’ai accepté son rendez-vous.
— Et alors ?…
Il se renversa sur le dos, toujours pouffant.
— Tiens ! cette blague !… Je n’y suis pas allé.
Il me sembla qu’il m’ôtait la roche de Gorlébella de dessus la
poitrine. Je ne pus résister à la tentation de lui objecter
sournoisement :
— Eh ! tu as peut-être eu tort de faire le dégoûté.
Il sursauta, froissé au vif dans sa fatuité de « joli cœur ».
— Les restes à Chevanton !… Merci !… J’ai mieux que ça !
Le mot n’était pas lâché qu’il eût souhaité de pouvoir le
reprendre. Une rougeur légère avait empourpré son teint mat, sa
peau bronzée d’ancien « colonial », et ce fut d’un ton presque gêné
qu’il ajouta :
— Il ne faut pourtant pas t’imaginer, parce que tu as une femme
adorable, que nous autres nous dînons de ratatouille, mon cher.
 XV

Je me suis levé pour calfeutrer avec ma veste le bas de la porte

qui donne sur l’escalier. Oh ! ce n’est pas à cause du vent… D’abord,
sa violence s’apaise ; et puis, il y a si longtemps que nous nous
connaissons, que nous vivons ensemble, lui et moi ! Que de fois ne
m’est-il pas arrivé de causer avec lui, comme avec un être qui aurait
une âme et presque un visage !… Ce n’est pas lui qui serait capable
de m’incommoder. Au contraire. N’était la lampe, j’ouvrirais le vitrage
à deux battants pour laisser entrer les grandes haleines impétueuses
et salubres du dehors. Au moins, je n’aurais plus autour de moi, je
ne respirerais pas jusque dans mes vêtements cette odeur…
comment dirai-je ?… cette odeur étrange, indéfinissable, qui, d’heure
en heure, se fait plus envahissante et plus nauséabonde.
Au premier moment, j’ai cru que cela provenait peut-être de
l’appareil, que c’était la mèche qui brûlait mal ou la qualité de l’huile
qui laissait à désirer.
Ce n’est que lorsque j’ai été pour descendre aux cuves
d’approvisionnement que j’ai compris… La puanteur emplissait les
entrailles du phare, et c’est d’en bas, c’est des étages inférieurs que
les émanations montaient, — les mêmes, identiquement, qui
s’exhalent des champs capistes, en automne, quand les détritus de
sardines et de sprats avec lesquels on les engraisse ont commencé
de pourrir.
 J’ai tâché, mais en vain, de leur clore hermétiquement toute
issue : elles n’en continuent pas moins d’arriver jusqu’à moi. Elles
flottent dans l’atmosphère épaissie de la lanterne, et elles
m’imprègnent moi-même tout entier… J’ai la bouche mauvaise et le
cœur fade. Je songe au parfum de jeune sève qui se dégageait
d’elle, du temps qu’elle était vivante. Qu’est-ce donc, déjà, qu’il avait
de si particulier, de si unique ? J’essaie de me rappeler, je ne peux
pas… Et, avec l’odeur de son parfum, voici, me semble-t-il, que
l’image de sa forme même m’échappe. Il y a sur elle comme une
obscurité qui, sans me la dérober tout à fait, ne me permet plus de
rien distinguer nettement. Les yeux brillent encore dans le visage,
mais de cet éclat indécis et pâle qu’ont les prunelles décolorées des
gens sur les vieux portraits.
Et dire qu’il y a seulement quinze jours !…

Nous venions d’allumer le feu, quand parut sur la mer encore

claire, la barque qui la portait. C’était la Notre-Dame de Bon-Voyage,
une bisquine de pêche appartenant aux frères Guichaoua, du
hameau de Pendreff, en Lezcoff. Des amis à Louarn, ces Guichaoua,
sa compagnie de prédilection, lorsqu’il était de congé à terre. Du
reste marins consommés et d’une discrétion à toute épreuve. Il se
fût difficilement adressé mieux.
— Sans compter, mon cher, que le nom du bateau est, à lui seul,
un sauf-conduit, — m’avait-il fait observer du ton de gouaillerie
sceptique qui, même en matière de religion, lui était habituel.
Vue dans le lointain crépusculaire, sa grand-voile tendue au
souffle fraîchissant du soir, la bisquine avait un air de planer entre
ciel et eau, immobile, pareille à quelque « rock » fabuleux, à quelque
gigantesque oiseau de légende. Elle avançait, cependant, mais d’une
allure calme et comme recueillie.
Nous avions, Louarn et moi, repris nos places au pied du phare
dont les yeux d’escarboucle et de rubis semblaient aussi
passionnément intéressés que les nôtres par la venue silencieuse de
cette barque surnaturelle dans la nuit… Et, plus haut que le phare
les astres eux-mêmes regardaient… On eût dit que l’attente
angoissée qui me tenait les nerfs en suspens s’était communiquée à
tout l’espace. Une caravane de cirrus fauves moutonnait, tapie au
ras de l’horizon, dans la direction du couchant. La mer bruissait à
peine. Il n’était pas jusqu’au Trégorrois qui ne se tût… Soudain, il me
poussa le coude :
— Écoute ! murmura-t-il sourdement.
Je prêtai l’oreille.
Ce ne furent d’abord que des sons faibles, indistincts, — une
sorte de fredon très vague, très léger, très doux, à demi noyé encore
dans la confuse rumeur des courants. Puis, à mesure que diminuait
la distance, la mélodie se précisa, la voix s’affermit. Bientôt elle
s’éleva, singulièrement captivante et pure. Louarn exultait.
— Ah ! fit-il, elle n’en aura pas eu le démenti… Elle a tout de
même le cœur solidement accroché, la payse !
Et se tournant vers moi :
— Tu as raison, décidément… Il faut qu’il y ait en elle du sang
des sirènes !… Elle est, pour sûr, la première femme qui traverse le
Raz en chantant.
On n’entendait plus maintenant que cette voix, dont les
modulations se jouaient au milieu du silence universel, élargies et
comme infinisées par l’immense paix nocturne.
— Je reconnais l’air, reprit Louarn. C’est une « sône » de chez
nous… Quelle donc ?
Il chercha un instant. Puis, avec un geste de triomphe :
— Eh ! suis-je bête !… Tout juste la sône d’Ahès, mon cher… la
sône de la Morgane !
Il se mit lui-même à chantonner :
Me wêl o sével war ar mor… [12]
[12] Je vois se lever sur la mer…
 La Notre-Dame de Bon-Voyage n’était plus qu’à une demi-
encablure de l’îlot. Brusquement, les vergues s’inclinèrent et la
voilure s’abattit, tandis que les Guichaoua s’emparaient des rames,
afin d’accoster à l’aviron. Alors, nous vîmes la chanteuse. Elle était
debout sur l’avant, le dos au mât. Sa silhouette faisait corps avec
celle de la bisquine, semblait en être le couronnement, une de ces
figures sculptées, une de ces mythologiques divinités marines qui se
dressaient à la proue des anciens vaisseaux. Le reflet du secteur
vert, en passant sur elle, l’enveloppa d’une lumineuse buée glauque.
Elle me parut Ahès en personne, Ahès, la Messaline des ondes, tout
à coup surgie des gouffres du Raz pour son éternelle besogne
d’incantation, de luxure et de mort !
J’avais encore cette vision dans les yeux quand, une dizaine de
minutes plus tard, elle aborda. Elle n’eut même pas à prendre terre.
Je l’avais déjà saisie, enlacée, emportée avec la fougue vertigineuse
d’une trombe dans votre chambre, mon ingénieur. Je la déposai
toute pantelante sur le lit. Elle y demeura quelque temps sans force,
la respiration coupée.
— Non ! s’écria-t-elle, dès qu’elle eut recouvré l’haleine, tu ne te
corrigeras jamais de tes manières d’hercule léonard, en vérité !
— Mais c’était ton rêve, Adèle, d’entrer ainsi au phare, sur mes
bras !… Et puis, qu’est-ce que tu veux, j’avais tant de hâte de te
retrouver !… tant hâte !…
Je lui avais pris les mains ; elle les dégagea.
— Regarde dans quel état tu m’as mise !
Elle considérait, vexée, le désordre de sa toilette, sa robe fripée,
sa coiffe pendante, un de ses bandeaux défaits, la lourde nappe de
ses cheveux roulant éparse sur son épaule. Je plongeai les doigts
dans leur soie lustrée, pour les attirer vers mes lèvres.
— Te rappelles-tu la nuit de notre noce, Adèle ?
Elle balbutia précipitamment, la pensée ailleurs :
— Sans doute !… Sans doute !… Mais ne me touche plus !…
Louarn monte !
 Je murmurai à part moi :
— N’aie pas peur : tu vas l’avoir entièrement à toi, ton Louarn !
A l’instant même où elle achevait le geste de m’écarter d’elle, il
se montrait sur le pas de la porte.
— Diable ! ricana-t-il, vous ne perdez pas de temps, vous autres…
Mais j’arrive peut-être trop tôt… Voulez-vous que j’aille attendre en
bas que ce soit fini ?…
Les traits de la Trégorroise se contractèrent en une moue
douloureuse et irritée. Dans les yeux, les grands yeux humides
qu’elle leva sur son amant, il y avait tout ensemble de l’orage et des
larmes, de la révolte et de la supplication.
— Ne faites pas l’imbécile, Hervé Louarn ! dit-elle ; vous savez
bien que ce n’est pas ce que vous croyez.
J’eus le triste courage de m’écrier sur un ton plaisant :
— Pas de querelles, les enfants ! Sinon je vous mets au pain sec !
— C’est pourtant vrai, fit Louarn. Si nous dînions d’abord ! Je ne
sais pas si vous êtes comme moi, mais j’ai l’estomac dans les
talons… Branle-bas, nom d’un tonnerre ! Je suis le gabier de service,
je cours à la soute aux vivres !
Je le retins par le revers de sa vareuse :
— Ne bouge pas. C’est moi qui régale, c’est à moi de
commander… Adèle et toi, vous mettrez le couvert. Tu lui feras voir,
dans le buffet du Grand Chef, où sont les linges, les fourchettes, les
couteaux, les verres… tout le tremblement, quoi !… Le reste, c’est
moi qui m’en charge.
J’avais, en prononçant leur sentence, ma voix habituelle, ma
figure de tous les jours. Ils repartirent en chœur :
— Soit !
Au moment de sortir, je me retournai :
— Ah !… Pour votre gouverne !… Au cas où la faïence aurait
besoin d’être rincée, il y a un plein seau d’eau fraîche au chevet du
lit.
 — Monsieur Précaution ! s’exclama Louarn. Il a pensé à tout.
Ce seau, mon ingénieur, je l’avais empli à la mer, le matin même.
J’avais lu, jadis, dans un livre sur les naufrages célèbres, — un des
seuls prix que j’aie remportés à Saint-Pol, — que boire de l’eau salée
multipliait les tortures de la soif et activait le travail de la mort. Ce
détail m’était demeuré dans l’esprit. J’ai la mémoire longue.
Ma recommandation faite, je donnai un dernier regard à ces deux
êtres qui avaient été toute ma vie. Ils se renvoyaient des propos
frivoles, et ne sentaient pas les mailles du destin qui déjà se
resserraient sur eux. Lui, s’occupait de pousser la table au milieu de
la pièce ; elle, le buste cambré, les bras repliés à la hauteur du front,
elle rajustait sa coiffure devant la glace… Le seuil passé, la porte se
referma derrière moi comme d’elle-même. Jamais je ne me serais
imaginé qu’un tel acte fût d’un accomplissement si facile. Cet
étonnement fut, je crois bien, le seul émoi que je ressentis. Je
gagnai le sommet du phare, d’un pas tranquille. Tout en escaladant
les marches, dans les ténèbres, je me rappelle que je faisais tourner
machinalement autour de mon index la délicate clef de fer
qu’aussitôt l’opération terminée j’avais enlevée de la serrure.
J’arrivai ainsi jusque sur le balcon.
La clarté naissante de la lune étincelait à la surface des eaux en
un frisson d’écailles d’argent. Dans l’est, la barque des Guichaoua
était encore à portée. L’homme de barre avisa mon ombre qui
formait écran sur la flamme. A tout hasard il cria :
— Ohé, Louarn !… Adieu-vat !
Je lui rétorquai :
— Ohé, la Notre-Dame de Bon-Voyage ! Adieu-vat !
Depuis, mon ingénieur, je n’ai plus échangé une parole avec âme
qui vive, sauf dans la circonstance relatée ci-dessus, le jour où le
Baliseur faillit me rendre visite…
D’en bas, cependant, des appels d’une autre sorte commençaient
à monter. Ceux-là, je ne leur répondis qu’en lançant à la mer la clef
de la chambre d’où ils partaient… Un « plouf » à peine perceptible,
quelques cercles d’onde… Ce fut fini.
Il était exactement, au chronomètre, neuf heures douze minutes
et trente secondes, mon ingénieur.
Et maintenant, que vous dirai-je de plus ?
Je vous ai demandé pardon, au début de ces pages, pour toutes
les infractions au règlement qu’elles allaient vous révéler. Il ne me
reste à vous remercier de m’avoir fourni l’occasion de les écrire. Elles
ont été mon viatique durant cette épouvantable agonie de treize
jours et quatorze nuits. Grâce à elles, j’ai pu persévérer jusqu’au
bout dans ma douloureuse tâche de gardien du feu et de geôlier de
la mort.
A présent, mes comptes sont réglés ; l’odeur, la harcelante odeur
est là, qui me signifie que ma faction est close… Le Ravitailleur, il est
vrai, ne doit venir que demain. Mais j’ai gorgé la lampe d’huile et
renouvelé sa mèche. C’est une veilleuse fidèle et sûre. Elle attendra,
j’en suis convaincu, pour s’éteindre, qu’un autre ait pris, au banc de
quart, la place que j’aurai quittée.
Pauvre cher feu de Gorlébella !… La seule chose, le seul être au
monde dont je m’éloigne avec quelque regret, c’est lui !… La seule
lueur bienfaisante qui persiste dans la détresse de mon cœur
dévasté, c’est lui !… Tout le reste, famille, patrie, Dieu même, celle
que vous savez l’a fauché… Si j’étais capable d’une prière, c’est au
foyer tutélaire des nuits du Raz que je l’adresserais. Qu’il reçoive du
moins la dernière larme que puissent verser encore mes yeux taris :
je la lui voue !…
J’ai ouvert la porte de la galerie. Les vents sont nord-noroît : le
ciel s’éclaircit.
Je viens de jeter par-dessus la balustrade le « coffre à Jim », et je
vais prendre le même chemin. Dans un instant, mon ingénieur, le
nommé Dénès (Goulven), de Plounéventèr, ne sera plus qu’un noyé
sans nom… Par ailleurs, rien à signaler.
 Sur cette formule de service, au-dessus de laquelle était apposée
la signature, avec son paraphe, se terminait le mémorial funèbre du
chef-gardien de Gorlébella.

FIN

IMP. Vve L. CHOGNARD. — ENGHIEN-LES-BAINS — 9842-9-19.

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