Logical Chess: Move by Move

In this game White is ahead all the way through, playing with 99% accuracy versus Black's 60% accuracy

The Blackburne Defense 5...Be7 is a book move but Chernev says "not so good as the conventional 5...Ngf6" and Stockfish agrees with that.

Chernev points out a trap that White could lay if Black plays 5...b6 (a move the analyzer says is an inaccuracy)

The first inaccuracy that was played is 8...Nxe4 with the analysis engine recommending 8...b6 (and also Pallabi in her video).

However it would have been a bigger error if Black had played Nxe4 a move earlier before castling because it would have allowed White a combination that wins a pawn.

9.Qxe4 creates a mate in one threat, forcing 9...Nf6 which both defends and attacks the Queen.

10.Qh4 keeps the checkmate threat alive with the bishop and Queen both targeting the h7 square.

When Black did play b6 on move 10, the engine says this is another inaccuracy and that 10...g6 is best.

Advancing kingside pawns is often a bad idea when the kingside is under attack. Let's look at this position after 10.Qh4:

Here White has the threat of Qh7# if Black's knight is removed from it's defensive position.

If 10..g6 had been played, by the end of move 12 the board might look like the following, with White still in the lead but Black have some remaining chances:

Pawns can never go backwards so it is unsurprising that Black was not keen on g6 so soon. However he would soon need to play it anyway.

11.Bg5 is a great move as it attacks the knight defending the h7 square.

11...g6 is the best move. Moving the h-pawn to h6 would have been a blunder that could have cost Black his Rook on a8.

White's first inaccuracy is 12.c4 but is still ahead here, and Chernev says it is "a very good move! To begin with, it prevents Black playing 12...Nd5 to remove by exchange White's attacking pieces. Offensively, it prepares an advance of the d4-pawn, which will break up Black's pawn structure at e6."

The engine says the best move is 12.Be4, which would achieve the same purposes of preventing Nd5 and preparing to advance the d-pawn.

13.d5 is the best move

13...exd5 wins a pawn but is an inaccuracy according to the engine, which recommends 13...Re8

14...h6 is a mistake. A better defensive move would be to move the King to g7.

Chernev says 19.Re6!! is brilliant: "Threatening to capture the knight, and then mate with the Queen." Black cannot reply fxe6 because White could then play Nxe6 forking Black's Rook and Queen.

Principles learned in this game:

1) Occupy the centre with pawns

2) Develop your pieces towards the centre

3) Try developing your pieces as quickly as possible

4) Castle as early as possible

5) Whenever possible, develop with a threat

6) Try to weaken opponent's castled King's position

7) Do not weaken pawns in front of King's position (unless you have to)

8) Try to use most of your pieces while attacking

Pallabi video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erdnhgF2rFY

As usual, the first few moves are all book moves. White is slightly ahead because it has better control of the center.

4...Nd7 intends to support the follow up move Nf6 by defending one knight with the other knight.

The first inaccuracy is 9...b6 (should have castled instead). b6 allows a knight to safely sit on the dangerous c6 square.

10.Ne5 puts the knight on an outpost and within reach of c6 square.

With the black bishop on c8, the threat of Bb5+ isn't too scary for Black because he can defend with Bd7. But the bishop cannot move to the b7 square that it wants to move to because that bishop can't defend against check there, so Black now castles 10...O-O

Despite this danger, the engine still prefers the move 10...Bb7 over 10...O-O because it is a powerful long diagonal to take control over and put pressure on the pawn on g2. We will see in a minute how White took control of this diagonal instead of Black.

If Black had instead played 10...Qxd4 that would be a blunder

How could White take advantage of the Queen's position here? Look for a two move tactic.

12.Qf3 puts Black's rook on a8 in danger of capture, and if Black moves Bb7 then Black's bishop will get captured. So Black plays 12...Bd7 thereby connecting the rooks and protecting one with the other.

14. Bg5 x-rays the Black Queen behind the Black knight. If Black's knight is captured there is the threat of checkmate on the h7 square.

So Black needs to worry about the move Qe4 and if Black captures the Queen with Ne4 then White recaptures and attacks the rook on a8. This is why Black played 14...Rac8.

15...Rfe1 is another best move from Tarrasch

The first mistake of the game is 15...Rfe8 and this was played so that the King can move to the f8 square if necessary.

The best move would have been 15...h6 attacking White's bishop.

The engine calculates 16.Qg3 to be better than Tarrasch's move 16.Qh3

The idea behind Qh3 is simply to capture the Black knight and then play Qh7+. Because the f8 square is free, Qh7 is not checkmate.

16...Qd6 is another mistake from Mieses. The idea here is after Bxf6 gxf6 Qh7+ Black moves to f8 and has an escape hatch in the form of the e7 square, but overlooks the line that Tarrasch then played with 18.Qh6

The engine still recommends the move h6. Chernev says White would play 17.Bxh6 and after 17...gxh6 White can bring the Rook in to partner with the Queen for checkmate. However this overlooks a trick that Black has: 17...e5 discovered attack on the Queen! And this is why the move 16.Qg3 is better than Tarrasch's move 16.Qh3: 17...e5 would not be a discovered attack on the Queen there.

The idea behind 18...f5 is to block the bishops line of sight on the h7 square. It is the best move.

The idea behind 19...Qxd4 is also primarily defensive, because it allows the Queen to guard the g7 square. However this is not the best move according to the engine, which says 19...e5 is a stronger move, the idea being after Rg3+ Black can sacrifice the Queen with Qg6. In any case White has a massive advantage at this stage of the game.

White exposes the weakness of the Black Queen with 20.c3 threatening to capture the Queen. At this point Black has no good options left and resigns.

I ran also this game through the decode chess engine (a new 3rd party analysis engine in Beta) and one curious thing is it categorized the game winning move 20.c3 as a blunder!

Pallabi video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE5Sn7B8TZY

White plays 6.dxe5 instead of moving the bishop to safety, because Alekhine knew he could capture the Black knight a few moves later.

7.a4 attacks the knight, and Black makes a mistake fairly early on in the game: 7...Nd6? hangs the knight.

Chernev says "Black should have played 7...Nbd4 8.Ncd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d5, a better way of returning the piece as it frees his bishops."

This is what the position would look like:

There is a lot of criticism from Chernev on the number of times Black moves the same knight around in the opening.

Ng5 makes it dangerous to castle, because Qd3 targets the pawn on the h7 square.

Chernev says something that explains the principles covered throughout the book in the correct light: "Moves are good or bad by one standard only; their effect on the position at hand."

So if a move violates a principle but is the best move in the given position, then play it.

By threatening checkmate Alekhine forces a weakness in Black's kingside pawn structure, and then moves 11.Qh6.

13.Ne4 threatens Nf6# smothered mate, so Black defended with 13...f5

Black could not capture the Queen with the bishop due to the risk of checkmate.

White plays 14.Nf6 anyway, with check, forcing 14...Kf7

15.Qf4 protects the knight from capture.

Good Moves: Alekhine vs Poindle https://vimeo.com/444828038

Exeter Chess Club: The Initiative: https://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/initiative

Pallabi video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOMw9o45xos

All of the previous 15 games started with 1.e4.

The next several games begin with 1.d4

The most popular d4 opening is The Queen's Gambit, and there are many variations of this, which have two main branches: Queen's Gambit Accepted and Queen's Gambit Declined.

This 12 minute Hanging Pawns video introduces the Queen's Gambit Accepted theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlXXfcXcF5o

Stjepan says 3.e3 (Old Variation) is the main sideline and this is the opening that was played by Tarrasch.

For further information on the Old Variation see this 24 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mLKlj88iC0

Stjepan (Hanging Pawns) says 3.e3 is the 2nd most popular move after Nf3 and is "solid for White, has positional disadvantages" and often transposes into main lines with Nf3. He says it is fairly easy for Black to equalize by trading off pawns and creating a symmetrical position.

(There is much more theory on the Queen's Gambit Declined. This 19 minute Hanging Pawns video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMy65JeSShw introduces the Queen's Gambit Declined and briefly introduces the variations

• Alatortsev
• Tarrasch
• Exchange
• Classical Defense
• Semi-Tarrasch
• Ragozin
• Cambridge-Springs
• Lasker Defense
• Tartakower
• Vienna
• Blackburne

)

In this game there is a massive disparity between the near perfect performance of Tarrasch and the weak play of Kurschner in this game.

NYCosmos has a good blog post on this game: https://www.chess.com/blog/NYCosmos/tarrasch-vs-max-kuerschner-1889

It is usually a bad idea to accept the Queen's gambit, it is okay if you know how to play the later moves really well, but Kurschner did not.

3...e5 and 3...c5 are good moves recommended in the above Hanging Pawns QGA Old Variation video.

We can see here https://www.chess.com/openings/Queens-Gambit-Accepted-Old-Variation that the best and most commonly played move by master players is 3..Nf6 but there are several other playable moves 3...e5, 3...e6, 3...c5, 3.Be6

Black went for Bf5 which is rarely played and completely winning for White because it is a mediocre opening move. Do not play it!

Chernev says "Another drawback in Black's move is that it violates one of the precepts fro sound development: Bring out your knights before the bishops!"

Chernev recommends 3...e5 instead

4.Bxc4 is the best response after which Black has three playable moves (move played in bold):

• 4...e6
• 4...Nc6
• 4...Nf6

After 4...e6 there are three playable moves for White:

• 5.Qb3
• 5.Nc3
• 5.Nf3

After 5.Qb3 the three playable moves are:

• 5...Be4
• 5...Nf6
• 5...Nc6

5...Be4 moves the same piece twice. It is rated "excellent" by the engine, but the best move is to develop the Knight with 5...Nf6

6.f3 is the obvious defense, forcing Black to retreat

6...Bc6 is too passive and blocks the c-pawn, giving up the fight for the center. 6...Bd5 would have been the best move.

White pushes up the board and by move 12 Black is extremely cramped and passive.

After 13.Bxf7+ the King moves the wrong way, to d8 when f8 would be safer and mean the White Queen needed to stay on the diagonal to avoid loss of the bishop.

The advantage of Kd8 is the rook on h8 has more freedom, but Black is not going to want to spend two moves just to trade his rook for the white bishop, and can't move to e8 without being captured.

The knight on f6 is pinned, and 15.Ne4 takes advantage of this with a double attack on Black's bishop and knight.

15...Be7 is another myopic move, h6 would have been better. After 16.Bxf6 gxf6 the bishop on e7 is stuck behind his own pawn.

Black should probably resign by now but plays on.

17.O-O-O is another great move because it pins the bishop to the king.

After 18.Nf4 White is threatening mate in one with Ne6#

18...Qb8 is to allow the King to escape to c8, but problems don't go away as White plays 19.Qe6

20...Bd6 finally unpins the bishop on d7 allowing Black to capture the Queen on the next move if White made a big blunder. Instead White just captured the bishop with 21.Nxd7 family forking the Queen, rook and knight.

Black recaptured with the 21...Nxd7 prompting Tarrasch to bring his last piece into the game with 22.Rhe1

Kurschner finally gets the hint that has has just been massively outplayed, and throws in the towel.

Game analysis: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/2dC6s9SgqL

Pallabi video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw1GSeJo-So

There is an episode of the Perpetual Chess Podcast that aired this April with Brooklyn father of 4 Barry Katz talking about the book Logical Chess: Move by Move.

"...I found this book to be excellent for where I was [in the game] at the time. After I reread it a second time, after I improved, there was still a lot to learn, so this is a book that can be helpful for multiple [skill] levels.

I love the fact that he used down to earth language and even has a wit to it. Not to say they were the funniest jokes I've ever seen, but it does keep you interested because there are so many book especially from that era that are written in such a dry manner that you have to fight to stay awake"

"...this is a book you can go back to over and over."

"...many of the games and the analyses don't stand up to the engines, you know this was written before they used chess engines, so often the principles that he talks about don't apply because the engines have found [moves] that do the opposite of what the principles say. So I thought it was interesting to see how he reconciles what he considers the importance of following the chess principles with openings that don't necessarily go along with chess principles."

The host goes on to say everything is not 100% accurate and the engines pick apart some of the lines, but for the earlier stage in your chess development you are not going to find better explanations.

Katz says "there is something to be said about not being married to the engine, and especially for club players who sometimes become so obsessed with what the engine says, it's almost as if they turn their brains off and say I have to do whatever the engine says."

https://archive.org/details/o9gs47oi887irvidakfgtwbd1onjrehdhye0tpza

I can read those comments, but, frankly, I don't know what they mean.  Or, rather, it's an assertion with an explanation.  Specifically, around moves 7 and 8:

Why must tension be maintained?  Why must pawn position be kept fluid?  How exactly does that help with counterplay?

It's not explained enough for me -- i.e., it's just over my head.

For a "beginners" book, this could have been explained much better by Chernev.

The following is my understanding but more experienced players may be able to chip in a give a better reply.

Why must tension be maintained?

This is the position before c4 is played. Black enjoys the option of capturing with cxd4 at whatever moment Black chooses but White cannot capture dxc5 because of Black would just reply Bxc5.

So it is in Black's interest to wait until the best moment. Later in the game White may no longer have as many defenders of the d4 pawn and which point Black can seize control of the center.

Why must pawn position be kept fluid?

Broadly speaking, because when a player's pawn structure becomes fixed that player has little or no defense (or counterplay) against opponent attacks.

A few concrete examples would help illustrate this. I will try to find some.

There is a game where I made the same mistake that has been explained to me by some stronger players: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-analysis/reading-the-board-push-capture-or-ignore

I still don't get it.  Here's a position from a recent game of mine -- I was white.  (I also posted this on the "push, capture, or ignore" thread).  What should white do with his c-pawn, given the explanations above?  Note: I'm not looking for the answer (I already know what the engine likes -- and, btw, while I almost always make the wrong choice, here I made the engine's correct choice), I'm looking for the *reason*, given what was just written:

CAPS: White 98.5%, Black 67.3%

Best moves: White 18, Black 9

Mistakes: White 1, Black 3

Decode chess summary stats:

In game 18, what do folks think of white's 13 Bxf6 ?  (See if we can discuss without looking at what Chernev said or what the engines say)

Haven't yet read the chapter or seen the engine so this is just my first impression: Neither of the alternatives look great: Bh4 is okay but gives Black the choice of playing g5 or not. Bf4 also okay but nothing to get too excited about. Feels to me like the sort of position where the value of the knight and bishop is about the same.  Overall I guess Bxf6 is the best move, but would not be a disaster if White decided to protect the bishop instead.

After looking at the analysis I learned that Bxf6 is the best move.

That's a good explanation, Kevin.  Thanks.  I've since learned more about the move, and posted three reasons why it's a bad move at the other thread (https://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-analysis/reading-the-board-push-capture-or-ignore)  at comment #22

Chernev explains the reasons why White does not want to play 3.c5

1) Good strategy to maintain tension in the center, to keep the pawn position fluid
2) c5 gives us the attack on the enemy center
3) c5 square should be an outpost for a piece, not a pawn
4) it closes the c-file and makes it useless for the operations of the Rook or Queen
5) In the opening, pieces not pawns should be moved

Many very strong opening moves.

On 9.Nxe4 Chernev says "More energetic than recapturing with the bishop. The knight gets out of the way of the c1-bishop and puts the question to the enemy knight."

Black's first inaccuracy is with 11...b6 Chernev just says "To develop the bishop at b7, since it is shut in by the e-pawn on the other diagonal."

Black should have instead played 11...c5. Pallabi says "was better to play c5 as it would open up the position and Black's pieces would move freely"

White's move 13.Ne5 is "good" but Re1 is best there.

Black responded with 13...Rd8 moving the rook into the semi-open file. Simply castling would have been stronger.

White obviously doesn't want his d4 pawn captured so plays the best move 14.Rd1 to defend.

Black now castles 14...O-O

After white plays the best move 15.Bf4, which sets up a discovered attack on Black's queen (with Ng6) .

Black then makes a mistake with 15...Bd6

Chernev says "The alternative 15...Qc8, moving the queen out of the bishop's range, does not look appetizing." however this overlooks White's next move 16.c5

The engine recommends the move 15...Rfe8 which takes all of the sting out of 16.Ng6 since it would no longer be a double attack. After 15...Rfe8 16.Ng6 would be a mistake, and White would instead be wiser to play 16.Qe3

Pallabi video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3JEtDg_LT8

I read and studied this book when I first began. It was one of the most helpful, accessible chess books I've read. More chess books should be written in this style. I view it as required reading for anyone who is looking to understand chess. This and Silman's Complete Endgame Course are perfect for beginners before they move on to Nimzovich's My System, etc.

Chernev, btw, put out a sequel in 1962, for a slightly higher rated audience:  The Most Instructive Games of Chess ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Modern Chess Strategy.  Logical Chess was published in 1957 I think.

And, yes, I agree with the comment that this book along with Silman's Complete Endgame Course are fantastic for novice players.

I like what you are doing with the analysis. Another great book to study, though not really for beginners, is Bobby Fischer: The Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion by Karsten Muller. Though Muller annotates many of the games, there are many where he has not. You can run an engine on those games, which are especially the most instructive for beginners, and those are the games when Fischer was a raw beginner, when he was 12 and a Class B player. By going over every game, one can see exactly how he improved from a class player to Expert, to GM and all the way to champion. And if you haven't read "Endgame," his biography by Frank Brady, it's a great book to read at the same time. 

If you want a well-researched biography of Fischer, nothing else compares to https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/bobby-fischer-and-his-world/