Day 23 - Open Lines - 21 Days To Supercharge Your Chess by TheChessWorld

4/29/2015 Day23:OpenLines21DaystoSuperchargeYourChessbyTheChessWorld.
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Positional Package Day 23: Open Lines
Day23:OpenLines
14%PositionalTrainingCompleted
In todays lesson we are going to talk about the open lines and especially how you can take advantage of the open
lines in your games to get a positional upper hand. Open lines is a general term which is applicable to both open
files and open diagonals. Weve already learned that rooks belong on open files and bishops are superstars of open
diagonals.
The main question remains unanswered.
When should you open up files and diagonals and when it should be avoided at all costs? To answer this
question let me give you a simple example which will help to make this decision.
Example 1. Take a look at the diagram below and think if white should open up the e-file or not?
http://www.thechessworld.com/supercharge/positionalpackage/day23openlines/ 1/16
4/29/2015 Day23:OpenLines21DaystoSuperchargeYourChessbyTheChessWorld.com
1.exf4 ! In the following position white has a

significant material advantage and they are one
step from winning the game. They must open up
the position in order to utilize their extra piece.
A huge blunder would be to block the file

via 1.e4 ?? Now even though white is a
rook up, the position is totally locked up,
and white cannot make any progress. This is
a draw.
1...gxf4 Black on the other hand has no interest

opening up files and giving attacking possibilities
to white's rook, that's why they try to keep the e
file closed for as long as possible. 2. xe5 !
Removing the dpawn from blocking the d5
pawn. dxe5 Black must recapture. Notice how
black's king is outside the yellow square, meaning
There are few basic rules that you should always keep in mind when it comes to choosing weather to open up a
file/diagonal or not:
1. If you are short on space, you want to open up files and diagonals to activate your pieces. That way you
can position them more efficiently andcreate attacking possibilities.
2. It is always a good idea to open up files and diagonals in front of the opponents king in opposite side
castle positions.
3. If the opponents king is stuck in the center, it makes sense to open up e- and d-files, to explore this
temporary positional advantage.
4. If you have two bishops you want to obtain an open type of position to effectively use them, which can
be done by opening up files and diagonals.
5. If you have the knights, you typically want to keep the position locked up, which makes the knight a
superior piece to a bishop and sometimes even to a rook.
6. If you are up in material, you want to open up the files and diagonals to make better use of your pieces.
7. If you are being attacked or cannot make progress on one side of the board, you can try to create a
counter-play by opening up the center or the opposite flank.
Example 2. Lets take a look at a classical game Steinitz Showalter, in which Steinitz fully utilizes the open
line concept and due to his tremendous positional understanding he fully anticipates fine details of the
game.
Let's take a look at the very classical example

from the game Steinitz Showalter , main
positional element of which is opening up the
center. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 This is an
Advance Variation of French defense. We won't
be focusing too much on the opening, our goal is
to explore the middle game. c5 4.dxc5 Since
the game was played a while ago, white did not
mind giving up the center right away. This is,
generally speaking, not a good idea. c6
5. f3 xc5 Now black has full control of the
center. 6. d3 ge7 7.OO g6 Black is
putting pressure on the e5 pawn. 8. e1
Defending the pawn once again. d7 9.c3
White is trying to gain control of the central
square d4. a5 Black wants to prevent any space
gaining pawn pushes on the queen's side.
Lets briefly summarize what we have learned from this game:
1. If your opponent has a very active piece, it is a good idea to exchange it for a less active counter-part of
your own.
2. By spotting a weakness in the opponents position (i.e. absence of control over the dark squares) it is
possible to make it more pronounced by exchanging the defender of these squares, the bishop.
3. A rook-lift is a powerful technique to keep in mind when it comes to adding an attacker towards an
opponents castle, or a defender for your own kings safety.
4. When you are attacking an opponent's king you should try to open up as many files and diagonals as
possible in-front of his castle.
5. When you cannot make progress on one side of the board, you should consider switching your attention
to the other side, opening up more lines in the process.
Tactics Lab: Homework23

Instructions:
Here is your practical (tactical) exercises. Solving these problems is a very important part of the program on your
way to improve your game. Try solving them by looking on the diagram. If that is hard you can setup pieces on the
board and attempt again. Solutions are given at the end. Check them only after your complete/attempt all problems.
#128. White to move and win
#132. Black to move and win
Hide Solution
Guljajewvs.Tschetja
1.g6+ xf6
1... e6 2.g7 xf6 3.g8=Q+
2.g7 xg7 3. f5+
Endgame Lab:Position 23
Instructions:
Here is your practical (tactical) exercises. Solving these problems is a very important part of the program on your
way to improve your game. Try solving them by looking on the diagram. If that is hard you can setup pieces on the
board and attempt again. Solutions are given at the end. Check them only after your complete/attempt all problems.
White to move and draw
Hide Solution
This is another typical position that you might

encounter in your own games. White's king is
misplaced and he needs to fight to secure a
draw. 1. b7 White's king is behind the black's
pawn and it seems like he cannot stop it. He
employs the diagonal to move closer to both his
own pawn as well as to chase the black's pawn.
a5 2. c6 a4 3. d5 d3 Black is not
allowing white to move closer to the action by
blocking the diagonal. 4. e5 White is using
another diagonal. a3 Black can soon capture the
pawn, but white has a game saving trick in his
sleeve. This is the second point to remember
from this endgame. 5. f4 c2 6. e3
b2 7. d2 xa2 8. c2 = Black captured
the pawn, but he is trapped in the corner. He
cannot promote his pawn.
Endgame Trainer
Instructions:
Practice the following endgame position against the computer until you are confident that you can play it
correctlyin actual game. Take your time and go through the exercise more than once if needed to fully understand
the material. If you have any difficulties please refer to the lesson above.
Hide Practice Position: Day 23
White to move and draw:
GreatJob! That's it for today. You can move to the next lesson!
Next Lesson
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Day 23 - Open Lines - 21 Days To Supercharge Your Chess by TheChessWorld

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4/29/2015 Day23:OpenLines21DaystoSuperchargeYourChessbyTheChessWorld.

Positional Package Day 23: Open Lines

The main question remains unanswered.

1.exf4 ! In the following position white has a

A huge blunder would be to block the file

1...gxf4 Black on the other hand has no interest

temporary positional advantage.

Let's take a look at the very classical example

Lets briefly summarize what we have learned from this game:

Tactics Lab: Homework23

#128. White to move and win

#129. White to move and win

#130. White to move and win

#131. White to move and win

#132. Black to move and win

#133. White to move and win

1... e6 2.g7 xf6 3.g8=Q+

2.g7 xg7 3. f5+

White to move and draw

This is another typical position that you might

Hide Practice Position: Day 23

White to move and draw:

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