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Chess Endgames #006 – Najdorf vs Averbakh – The right exchange
It's not about the pieces traded; it's about those left on the board.
Great video, really enjoying this series so far. I hope we also see games in which the side who is suffering manages to survive and hold a draw. I understand that they can be tricky to make a video on because often it has to be seen that many promising options don't win.
A very instructive ending! It is very interesting that we get to see this ending ‘in context’ – i.e. as part of the whole game, rather than just a game segment. For me, this kind of real-life example and the particular material combination (R + minor piece) is far, far more useful than something which we find in books but which may never actually occur in practice (e.g. how to mate with 2 Ns when the opponent has a pawn).
Again, 22. … BxN is totally counterintuitive for me (why rid the opponent of a backward point on a half-open file?!) but of course Averbakh knows best… 🙂
3 more interesting points from your commentary which I think are worth remembering: a) being able to tell the difference between situations where you have to act and others where the ‘do not hurry’ principle applies (e.g. here) b) the idea of the ‘mini plans’ (cf Kotov) – gradually improving your position until the final stage of conversion ‘emerges’ almost by itself and c) the principle that if you dominate the position and you set about calmly improving it, the opponent is very likely to make things worse for themselves.
[Just one little thing: it might have been better if the board had been flipped so we could see things from black’s point of view…]
Read Zurich 53 this summer 🙂 I can't recommend enough reading Bronstein's book. Aside from the goldmine of chessknowledge it contains, the enthusiasm it exudes is invigorating. The strategic domination here is as striking as it was to me a few months ago. What CE has done adds value, through the emphasis on the exchange, the structure and the weaknesses. Thanks.
Brilliant video! I even felt like I understood everything you said. Good clear exposition on a topic I don't often understand very well.
Excellent instructive endgame series. Keep up the great work CE!
classic CE
I personally could do with a whole series on "the right exchange" as it seems to me to be a black art at times. This video is a gem and CE has hit on a perfect balance of advanced ideas and straightforward explanations.
CE's "Do not rush" or "Do not hurry" is refering to Shereshevsky's well known Endgame book.
Very instructive.