If you want to learn more about this game, click below for just this game on video!! I have many other great games there to see, so make sure to check out my channel and subscribe!
Stop me if you have heard this one before: NEVER TRADE PIECES OFF WHEN ATTACKING!! Really?? This is one of the subjects I want to look at today! The game that I want to use today is from Pamplone 1996 between Boris Gulko and Ruslan Ponomariov. Ponomariov was definitely a fantastic chess player, but the guy I want to focus on is Boris Gulko. Gulko was one of the more talented players in chess’s history. In fact, he was the only person ever to win both the Russian and US Championships, arguably the hardest two championships to win. Now his rating was not all that impressive at its peak, 2644, but during his career, he beat Kasparov, Karpov, Taimanov, and the six time U.S. champion Walter Browne just to name a few top wins.
Today, we will see a game through Boris’s eyes as some of my notes come from his excellent book, “Lessons with a Grandmaster.” The following game has three phases that Boris keeps separate excellently. The reason why I say this is the fact Boris does not start an attack before he has finished FULLY developing his pieces, and he does not end his attack, until his opponent excepts a worse endgame, at which stage he switches into full board operations again, and gets a clean win. People often like to start attacking before they fully develop their attack, and when this happens, you get attacks that wear out too easily or just plain fail. Some people keep trying to attack as they get into an endgame, not realizing that their attack has finished and that it will not work anymore; their advantage has shifted elsewhere. Many timid people just try to bring on the endgame way to fast, and thus they lose any advantage they had and poof, they are worse or drawn.
Now you may argue with me saying you should not trade pieces when you are attacking because you don’t want to be that wimp that gives up too soon. However, there is a difference between giving up any attack you had because you want to trade, and trading with the full intention of getting a winning endgame. This game is an excellent example of this. In the middle of the attack, Boris offers a queen trade, and his opponent declined!! Why is this? You have to study the following to find out!
This was a very instructive game and I hope you learned something from it. Only trying to find the moves one by one for yourself will make you a stronger player. Just looking through the game is useless, studying the game is what it is all about: growth comes at the point of resistance.
I learned a couple of things.
1.I learned about the importance of deep calculation. – Never just assume a move is good or bad without calculation. If you do so you will miss out on so many great opportunities, or miss a crucial move from your opponent, killing your advantage or your game. \
2.I learned it is OK to trade pieces while attacking. – Generally, especially in this type of open game when pawns are all over the place (see position at move 23) weaknesses are all over the board. Sometimes it is best to give up on attacking ideas (at move 23) trying something like Re1, or earlier with Nh4 and Qg4, and instead go for trading your opponent’s best defensive pieces to give you better attacking chances in other areas of the board.
3.Stay sharp on tactics. Moves like 15…Nd4 and Qxg7 all require the backing of tactics. Only sharp tactitionists will find those moves often enough to give oneself a good tournament result.
Let me know what you guys learned, if I missed anything, or if you disagree with me anywhere in the comments down below!!
Hello All!
If you want to learn more about this game, click below for just this game on video!! I have many other great games there to see, so make sure to check out my channel and subscribe!
Rasberry Chess Youtube - Great Games: Gulko v. Ponomariov
Stop me if you have heard this one before: NEVER TRADE PIECES OFF WHEN ATTACKING!! Really?? This is one of the subjects I want to look at today! The game that I want to use today is from Pamplone 1996 between Boris Gulko and Ruslan Ponomariov. Ponomariov was definitely a fantastic chess player, but the guy I want to focus on is Boris Gulko. Gulko was one of the more talented players in chess’s history. In fact, he was the only person ever to win both the Russian and US Championships, arguably the hardest two championships to win. Now his rating was not all that impressive at its peak, 2644, but during his career, he beat Kasparov, Karpov, Taimanov, and the six time U.S. champion Walter Browne just to name a few top wins.
Today, we will see a game through Boris’s eyes as some of my notes come from his excellent book, “Lessons with a Grandmaster.” The following game has three phases that Boris keeps separate excellently. The reason why I say this is the fact Boris does not start an attack before he has finished FULLY developing his pieces, and he does not end his attack, until his opponent excepts a worse endgame, at which stage he switches into full board operations again, and gets a clean win. People often like to start attacking before they fully develop their attack, and when this happens, you get attacks that wear out too easily or just plain fail. Some people keep trying to attack as they get into an endgame, not realizing that their attack has finished and that it will not work anymore; their advantage has shifted elsewhere. Many timid people just try to bring on the endgame way to fast, and thus they lose any advantage they had and poof, they are worse or drawn.
Now you may argue with me saying you should not trade pieces when you are attacking because you don’t want to be that wimp that gives up too soon. However, there is a difference between giving up any attack you had because you want to trade, and trading with the full intention of getting a winning endgame. This game is an excellent example of this. In the middle of the attack, Boris offers a queen trade, and his opponent declined!! Why is this? You have to study the following to find out!
This was a very instructive game and I hope you learned something from it. Only trying to find the moves one by one for yourself will make you a stronger player. Just looking through the game is useless, studying the game is what it is all about: growth comes at the point of resistance.
I learned a couple of things.
1. I learned about the importance of deep calculation. – Never just assume a move is good or bad without calculation. If you do so you will miss out on so many great opportunities, or miss a crucial move from your opponent, killing your advantage or your game. \
2. I learned it is OK to trade pieces while attacking. – Generally, especially in this type of open game when pawns are all over the place (see position at move 23) weaknesses are all over the board. Sometimes it is best to give up on attacking ideas (at move 23) trying something like Re1, or earlier with Nh4 and Qg4, and instead go for trading your opponent’s best defensive pieces to give you better attacking chances in other areas of the board.
3. Stay sharp on tactics. Moves like 15…Nd4 and Qxg7 all require the backing of tactics. Only sharp tactitionists will find those moves often enough to give oneself a good tournament result.
Let me know what you guys learned, if I missed anything, or if you disagree with me anywhere in the comments down below!!
Till next time!
J. Rasberry