Zukertort Method: Zukertort Setup
Zukertort Method: Zukertort Setup
Johannes Hermann Zukertort was a leading Polish-German-British chess master. He was one of the leading world players for most of the 1870s and 1880s, and lost to Wilhelm Steinitz in the World Chess Championship 1886, which is generally regarded as the first World Chess Championship match.
One variation of the Colle is the Colle–Zukertort System (named after Johannes Zukertort), characterized by developing the dark-squared bishop on b2. The typical plan is: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Nc6 6.0-0 Bd6 7.Bb2 0-0, where White, despite their apparently innocuous development, will eventually play for a kingside attack. This system has been frequently employed at grandmaster level by Artur Yusupov.
Today however we will look at like-type positions used by Zukertort. Note that not all of them are necessarily the exact system, but they do illustrate some key ideas of the system.
The following diagram shows typical plans employed with the kingside attack, much like Pillsbury (Next week's article 
).
However, even though Zukertort understood the kingside attack he would usually play the queenside pawn advance. Enough said about the position, let look at some examples.
Example 1
In this example we see a highly instructive and motivational game played by Zukertort. He uses the power of his bishops in excellent fashion to create a winning attack.
Aspects:
- Bishop Pair
- Attack on Kingside
- Opening up the Position
- Open c-file
Example 2
Here we see once again the power of having the two bishops. Zukertort here uses the sam sneaky knight move to gain the bishop pair but wins the game more quietly. This game illustrates the power of having the bishop pair in the endgame.
Aspects:
- Bishop Pair vs. Bishop + Knight
- Endgame Technique
- Outside Passed Pawn
Example 3
Here Zukertort illustrates another key idea in the setup. Namely a queenside pawn advance. The idea is to create a passed c-pawn.
Aspects:
- Creating a passed c-pawn
- Supporting the passed pawn
- Counter play
Example 4
In this game we see how white transfers his plan to a kingside attack with pieces, however thing go wrong and perhaps he should have played more accurately. Nevertheless we can learn a lot from the mistakes of the innovators themselves.
Aspects:
- Creating a passed c-pawn
- Piece Attack on the kingside
- Center Control
Example 5
And as our final example we see how Zukertort improves his play. When black plays on the side ,white plays in the center!
Aspects:
- e5 Knight Post
- Creating a Passed c-pawn
- Supporting the Passed Pawn
- Using the Space Avantage
Summary:
We can notice some key aspects and ideas in the Zukertort games about the setup being played namely,
- The Zukertort System is flexible in play on the queenside and kingside.
- Try and obtain the bishop-pair.
- Open the center if bishop pair is achieved.
- Try to create a passed c-pawn on the queenside.
- Support the passed pawn if the passer is achieved.
- Combine the piece attack on the kingside with the pawn advance on the queenside
These ideas give as clear objectives to think about in the game. Of course nothing is set in stone but it greatly helps one create plans and thought processes.
Feel free as always to comment and criticize
