Many players throughout history have expressed the thought that the real beauty of chess is under the surface. On the surface we see the moves, but unless it’s a flashy queen sacrifice, easily understood and admired, it takes knowledge and effort to understand the ideas behind them.
The moves that impress me most are those who appear simple and easy on the surface, but have a deep idea underneath. In the game below, I was lucky to be able to play three “simple” moves that had in fact deeper ideas behind them.
In this position I was playing with the white pieces. Black is solid, but White has the pair of bishops.
My last move was 12.0-0. What can be simpler than castling? It’s a move that can be made without thinking, simply on general principles.
It may not look like it, but the move is a prophylactic one! Since White's advantage is the pair of bishops it is logical for Black to try to eliminate it. For that purpose the move ...Bf4 is one that must be considered at every possibility. While it was possible to play the blunt 12.g3, it's always best to combine the natural and developing moves with prophylaxis. Here we have the first instance.
Black played 12...0-0.
My idea after 12...Bf4? was 13.Bxf4 Qxf4 14.e5! Nd5 15.Rad1 with the idea of Rd4 when Black is in trouble.
This is the first moment of the hidden prophylaxis.
After Black’s 12…0-0 I again played a natural and easy move, 13.Rad1. And again it was a prophylactic move against Black’s idea of …Bf4.
In this position my intention after 13...Bf4? was 14.Bxf4 Qxf4 15.e5 Nd5 16.Rd4! (this was the point of the move 13.Rad1) Qf5 17.g3! taking away the f4-square from the knight and threatening Bd3.
Note that Black cannot take on h3 as after 17...Qxh3? 18.Rh4 Qf5 19.Bd3 he loses the queen.
These lines had to be calculated before playing the “easy” move 13.Rad1.
Realising this, Black didn’t try to exchange bishops and played 13…Ne5 and after the exchange of knights 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.c3! not only defended the pawn on b2, but again discouraged …Bf4.
In this position 15…Bf4?! is met by 16.Bxf4 Qxf4 17.e5 Nd5 18.Rd4 (here we see the point of 15.c3 - the d4-square is protected so White can play this move to harass the black queen) Qf5 19.g3! a line with the same idea as the previous one, only with one pair of knights exchanged. This position is also great for White.
White threatens Bd3 and then continue with attack on the kingside.
Having seen his idea of ...Bf4 prevented persistently (three times in a row!) Black gave up on it and played 15...Rad8 but then I could play 16.f4 and increase my advantage.
Later on I went on to win the game.
For me, this harmony that is present in moves that look like they were played based on general considerations but have deep prophylactic ideas is the ultimate beauty in chess. It is far from easy to play like this and even more difficult to decipher these moves when analysing a game. However, when possible, the playing is pure joy and the analysis a sheer marvel.
P.S. Continuing the Simplified Openings series and following the video on the Queen’s Gambit Accepted from last week, this week I propose lines against the London System, the Jobava and 2.Nf3 to complete the QGA repertoire. Check it out here.
This is a ln excellent write-up. I love simple positional play like this, because often it leads to sharp tactics later in the game.
Not only is Rad1 a move that prepares Rd4 to discourage counterplay, but in general it is just a great square for the rook, due to the open file. It can lead to discovered attacks and prepares it to infiltrate the seventh rank later. Your opponent is going to have a tough time countering simple moves like this.