Attack Together with Paul Keres – Part Ten
Attack Together with Paul Keres – Part Ten
Studying the Art of Attack through the Games of Paul Keres – Part Ten
Before we begin this installment, here are direct links to the earlier parts in the series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
With this tenth installment, we bid farewell (for now) to the great chess artist Paul Keres, a player who marked an entire era and whose games displayed a level of elegance previously unseen.
Of course, one should not assume we have covered all of his most important attacking games. We have merely examined a small portion, but for the attentive reader, this will be enough to understand how Keres conducted an attack—and naturally, to refine their own attacking skills.
For this tenth article, I have selected two of Keres’s well-known games, both played against the same opponent, Max Euwe. In both encounters, Keres had the Black pieces and launched quite interesting attacks.
Positional sacrifice for the attack
Thus far, we have examined games in which the attacking side sacrificed material. In this text, this theme becomes our primary focus.
Our first game features an interesting theoretical line of the Ruy Lopez, which at the time was considered somewhat dubious for Black.
Since the line in question was then an important part of the theoretical debate, I will provide more detailed commentary on the opening phase than usual. Let us look at the opening moves.
With his last move, 9.f3, White seeks to destabilize Black’s central control. Keres replies with the excellent move 9...e3, with the sole purpose of preventing the White knight from returning to f3. The pawn on e3 is, of course, sacrificed for this goal—namely, for long-term positional initiative.
It is true that a pawn is the smallest possible material sacrifice, but if it is given without sufficient compensation, it is enough to cost us the game.
The next phase of the game is especially instructive. The struggle centers around development and the critical question: when and how should White capture the pawn on e3?
Eventually, Euwe does so—but Keres has full compensation in the form of active piece play. Finally, Euwe makes a mistake with 15.Nd2?
From this moment on, Keres plays energetically, and with the brilliant sacrifice 19...Bxf4!!, he steers the game toward a well-deserved victory.
A fascinating game from beginning to end.
The following game is certainly one of the finest Paul Keres ever played in his career. It was played in a training match against Euwe in 1940, but the match held a special significance. As Keres himself noted, the winner of the match would earn the moral right to challenge the reigning World Champion, Alexander Alekhine.
The game began in a positional style: the Queen’s Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation, which at that time was not considered especially promising for White. After the standard moves of the opening, we entered the middlegame. Black played the inaccuracy 12…Nd7?!, and White felt compelled to punish this with the seemingly active 13.d5?!. This brings us to our first diagram:
In the next phase of the game, Black develops his pieces harmoniously, and the position becomes roughly equal after 15...Bf6. Euwe clearly believed he stood better and played the aggressive 16.Bh3. He continued with an assertive approach, even though his position did not justify such play. His move 19.Be6? was a serious mistake.
In the ensuing complications, both players made errors, which is only natural given the sharpness of the position. Black’s 21…d4? was bad, and White replied in kind with 22.f4?, returning the favour. This leads us to our next critical moment.
Now we begin to see true elegance and beauty—hallmarks of Keres’s attacking play. In this final phase of the game, Keres conducts a series of sacrifices that even modern engines initially fail to understand. This, perhaps, is one of the greatest compliments to his style. Special attention should be paid to the moves 22…d3!!, 23…Qxd3!!, and the final blow 32…Rxf4!. Naturally, there are other good moves in this phase as well.
An outstanding game that deserves careful study. One cannot help but admire Keres’s inventiveness throughout.
Conclusion: How Keres Conducted the Attack
In my opinion, beyond the general principles that one must understand when conducting an attack, there is also the matter of individual style, which gives each attack its unique character. When it comes to Keres, several key qualities stand out in his attacking play:
- Precision: This is essential in any attacking operation. Keres made surprisingly few mistakes once the attack was underway.
- Elegance: Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Keres’s attacks. He executed them with such grace that one might even coin the term “Keresian attacking elegance.”
- Virtuosity: His attacks had a special virtuosity that made his games instantly recognizable.
- Persistence: Keres never shied away from launching an attack and pursued it with remarkable determination.
- Resourcefulness: Leading an attack often demands intermediate moves, quiet maneuvers, or imaginative sacrifices. Keres’s games are filled with such ideas.
In conclusion, Keres was a masterful attacker with a distinctive “Keresian style” and one of the greatest attacking players of the period from 1937 to 1965. Studying his games not only brings aesthetic pleasure and entertainment to the reader, but also offers opportunities for self-improvement in various phases of the attack.
The End
In the next articles, I will try to discover how David Bronstein attacked.
