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14Section 3Friday, July 19, 1974THE HERALDShelby LymaonchessW/Zv.# ■•-v.v-x-Defensive play often overlookedThere is a dimension of chess whoseexistence only gradually impinges on theconsciousness of the developing player.The art of defense is often the last skillto be appreciated and developed. Perhaps, this is because virtuositv in defense presents the greatest problems inprecision and morale. For the youngplayer, bravado in attack precedes patience in warding off the attack.Yet there are some defensive techniques that are immediately part of every player’s repertoire. An attack on apiece almost inevitably provokes a basicdefensive response: protect the piece ormove it. Only on singular occasions cana piece not be saved in that manner.It wras therefore with great ingenuitythat the 22-year-old Brazilian, EugeneMecking, played a subtle combinationagainst the Russian ace Korchnoi andreached the following position. OnewouldDiagram 1Think that Mecking has simply miscalculated. Korchnoi's bishop is attacking both white's rook and knight, winchthough defended once by white’s bishopis threatened a second time by the blackrook. Mecking is a pawn ahead. But howis he to extricate himself from losingmuch more?An at least partial respite is not toohard to find. Mecking can apparently cuthis losses by playing 1. R-R2, winchthreatens 2. R-R8 check mate, thoughblack, it seems, can still win material by1 . . . RxN ( winch provides an escapesquare for the king). (See Diagram 2).Now if Mecking plays 2. BxR, Korchnoiwill answerDiagram 22 . .. BxB. With a bishop and knight fora rook and a pawrn, Korchnoi will have aslight material advantage.But Mecking, who has chosen an active'•defense” for himself, has foreseen somecurious defensive problems for black. Hedid not in fact play BxR after RxN. Instead he played 2. R-R3!, a move thatwill leave white a pawn ahead and justify his preceding play. For the attackedbishop cannot be defended, and the normal response of flight leaves the blackrook undefended.Though this was Mecking’s only win inhis 3-1 match loss to Korchnoi, the caliber of play shown in this game speaks ofhis potential world championship stature.Diagram 3Our last position, a hypothetical situation from a Karpov-Hort game, is another example of a strange lack of defensive responses. WThy could Hort (black)have not afforded to reach this position,as he wrould have by playing B(K3)x BP?(Diagram 1)BLACKKORCHNOIdO NO BO O Xax NX dXhJOR QN QB QK8 KN KRMECKINGWHITEWhat is white to do ?(Diagram 2)BLACKKORCHNOIdo NO 80 O X 8X NX dXOR QN OKB KN KRMECKINGWHITENow what?(Diagram 3)BLACKHORTdO NO 908X NX dX8765321QR QN QBKB KN KRKARPOVWHITEWhite wins a piece!ft'Isibilities may never be underestimated.The answer is too simple. White would t^ey ajs0 may never be taken for grant-have played 2. R-QBl, winning a piece. e{jAgain there is no direct defense of theAddress your question in care ofattacked piece. And if it should move cojumn j0 paddock Publications,away, a curious pin materializes. Black Box m Arlington Heights. 111.will lose a rook after 3. QxR! (Hort actually played N-B4. instead of BxBP.)60006.It is apparent that while defensive pos-(Copvright 1074 by Shelby Lyman)
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Des Plaines Herald
Des Plaines, Illinois, US
Fri, Jul 19, 1974
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