Lesson 2: The Nd5 sacrifice

This lesson is on a thematic sacrifice in the

Sicilian Defence involving White playing

Nc3-d5 when Black has a pawn on e6.

There are two types of situation:

1) capturing the Knight leads to White

regaining the material quickly in a forced

line and leaves him (or her, Ill use him for ease of writing) with a positional edge.

2) White sacrifices the Knight for a pawn

and an attack. With energetic play, this

often leads to a win but if Black is given

time or space to develop, Whites advantage will disappear and Black will

win thanks to his material advantage.

We will be concentrating on the second

situation but give the following examples

of the first.

1) Combination

Engel Oeser, 1942

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18.Nd5 if exd5 19. exd5+ Be7 20. dxc6

and White has gained a pawn and its a protected passed pawn just 2 squares away

from Queening.

Richter - Reinhardt, 1935

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11.Nd5

One of the points about this move is that

d5 is a great square for the Knight, if Black

doesnt do something about the Knight then it can often stay on d5 and limit

Blacks options. For example, if he plays 11...Be7 we can just take the Bishop,

giving us the advantage of the Bishop Pair.

Now 11...exd5 12.exd5+ Be7 13.Nf5 wins

the Bishop as 13...Ng8 14.Nxd6+

This leaves Black a pawn down with a

backward, isolated pawn on d6 and some

King safety issues as 13...0-0? 14.Nxe7+

wins the exchange.

Reti - Meyer, 1919

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14.Nd5 and if 14...exd5 15.exd5 and the

Knight cant escape capture without leaving the e-file open and losing the

Queen to a discovered Bg5+ Ne7 16.d6

Bxg2 17.Kxg2.

Richter, - Groneberg, 1950

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8.Nd5 with the Nc6 pinned exd5 9. exd5+

wins the material back immediately with

the advantage of the weak d6 pawn and

open e-file for White.

Reti - Tartakower, 1919

11.Nd5

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if 11...exd5 12.Nxc6! Bxc6 13. exd5+

gives White the advantage.

The following is an important example of

when playing Nd5 is not a good idea:

Bastrikov - Terpugov, 1954

12.Nd5?

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12...exd5 13.exd5+ Ne5 14.f4 f6 the

position of the Bg5 allows Black to

counter and stay ahead in material

15.Kh1? Getting out of the way of a

possible Bc5 after the d-pawn recaptures

on e5 [15.fxe5 dxe5 and the Queen has to

move because of Bc5; 15.Bh4 Be7 16.fxe5

dxe5 17.Qe4 g5]

15...0-0-0 16.Bh4 Ng6 and Black has got

his King to safety and emerged a piece up.

What was the problem here? Mainly that

by playing f4 to regain the Knight, White

blocks off the escape route for his Bishop.

Also, White should have seen that he

would still lose material with 15. Kh1 and

found another way out with 15. Rad1! 0-

0-0 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. d6! when he is only

losing a pawn after exd4 18. dxc7 Kxc7

19. Bf4+

2) True Sacrifice

The great thing about this sacrifice is it

involves real attacking play. White

exchanges one of the elements of chess,

force (material) for two others (time and

space). He must use these wisely to win.

Becoming familiar with these positions

will improve your all-round attacking skill.

Understanding how to keep your opponent

under pressure is at least as important as an

eye for combinations. If possible, play

these positions against another player (or a

computer set to 2000 Elo strength) as both

colours to get an idea of the aims and

problems for both sides.

The Nd5 sacrifice is effective when White

has a big lead in development. White

normally has a Rook (sometimes Queen)

on the e-file, in line with the Black King

and offers the Knight in exchange for

opening this file and displacing the King

(blocking with Be7 leads to ruin).

Black must now try to develop his pieces

and keep his King safe but usually has

very few squares available. Exchanges will

generally favour Black.

Time is a big factor for both sides. If

White doesnt keep Black tied up defending against threats then he will lose

the initiative and be in trouble on account

of the material deficit. Black will look for

moves that create space for his pieces

(including flight squares for his King) and

force White to defend a piece/pawn at the

same time.

White has several mini-plans or options to

be aware of:

1. Open the c-file with c3/c4. The c-file is half-open already. Opening

the c-file and controlling it and the

e-file with Rooks leaves Blacks King trapped on the d-file ready to

be mated.

2. Play Nd4-c6. Again, this limits the Kings movement as well as Blacks other Queenside pieces. Black will often be forced to

exchange Knights on c6 which will

bring the d5 pawn to that square,

controlling b7/d7 and still

restricting Black. The pawn can

become a promotion threat in some

positions. Timing is very important

with this move.

3. Attack f7. This square can become weak if Black develops a piece

along the 7th

rank and obstructs the

Queens defence of it. Exchanging a Bishop for a Black Knight on f6

leaves the f-pawns doubled and

isolated. White can attack with a

move like Qh5. Getting a Queen to

f7 allows White to attack along

both the 7th

and 8th

Ranks, giving

Blacks King nowhere to go to.

Game 1: Stein Furman, 1969

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6

5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 b5 7.Bg2 Bb7 8.0-0 Nf6

9.Re1 d6 10.a4! encouraging Black's next

move 10...b4 11.Nd5!

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attacking the Queen and b4 pawn.

11...exd5

Can Black decline the sacrifice? 11...Qa5

12.Bd2 and Black has to take the Knight or

lose the b-pawn; 11...Nxd5 12.exd5 e5

blocks in the dark-squared Bishop and

gives Black problems developing. The c6

pawn limits both the Queenside Knight

and Bishop, the e5 pawn is pinned so

White can keep the Knight centrally

placed, the b4 pawn is loose (and playing

...a5 will concede the b5 square) and White

can keep a big advantage by active play.

For example, 13.Be3! Be7 (13...exd4

14.Bg5+) 14.Nf5 Bf6 15.Qg4 g6 16.Qc4!

12.exd5+

White sacrifices the Knight for a pawn and

an attack on the King. White has much

better development, control of the open e-

file and Black's King is going to be stuck

in the centre. Played correctly, this is close

to a won position for White but if Black is

allowed to develop sufficiently then the

tables can be turned quickly.

12...Kd8 Not 12...Be7? when 13.Nf5 wins

the piece back giving White a dominating

position and an extra pawn. 13...0-0

(13...Ng8? loses quickly to 14.Bg5 as f6?

15.Nxg7+ Kd7 (15...Kf7 16.Ne6

threatening the Queen and mate in 1)

16.Qg4+ Kd8 17.Ne6+) 14.Rxe7 Nbd7

15.Bg5]

13.Bg5! natural and strong. The Bishop

restricts the most free Black minor piece

and threatens to double and isolate the

Kingside pawns. Just as important though,

is vacating the c1 square for a Rook -

opening the c-file would be very

dangerous for Black.

13...Nbd7 14.Qe2?! threatening mate in 1

[14.Nc6+ is the strongest move]

14...Kc8? 14...Qc5! is best, making space

for the King on c7 with tempo by making

threats against the d4 Knight and d5 pawn.

With the King on c7, the Rooks will be

closer to connecting too.

15.c3! b3 clearly 15...bxc3 16.Rac1 is

going to be crushing.

16.Nc6! immobilising the King and

threatening Qe8+

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16...Bxc6 16...h6? 17.Qe8+! Nxe8

18.Rxe8+ Qd8 19.Bxd8 and the discovered

check is devastating.

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(Variation) Position after 19. Bxd8

17.dxc6 Ne5 White is still down a minor

piece for a pawn, the pressure must be kept

up.

18.Ra3 18.Bh3+ first is stronger 18...Kb8

19.Ra3

18...d5? played in order to vacate d6 for

the Bishop but the d5 pawn is an easy

target now. 18...Rb8 holding on to the b-

pawn and forcing White to relocate his

Rook is interesting but 19.Qxa6+ Kd8

20.Raa1 is still good for White

19.Rxb3 Bd6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Bxd5 Nxc6

22.Qg4+ 22.Qf3! keeps Queens (and the

pressure) on and wins material.

22...Qd7 23.Qxd7+ Kxd7

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So the Queens are off and White only has

2 pawns for the piece, however, White's

Rooks are much more active, Black's King

is open to being forced around by checks

and the Black pawns are isolated and

weak. Compare them to White's 2 pawn

islands and the passed c-pawn.

24.Rb7+! 24.Bxf7? Na5! and Black is

winning as the Rook is trapped 25.Rb6

Kc7

24...Bc7 25.Bg2! 25.Bf3? Ne5

25...Rad8 25...Ne5? 26.Rd1+ Kc8 27.Rb3!

and the King is trapped on the c-file with

the Rook en prise. 27...Ra7 28.Bh3+

26.Bh3+ and White continues to make use

of the exposed King to swap off pieces and

create passed pawns which win the game.

26...Kd6 27.Rd1+ Kc5 28.b4+ Kc4

29.Bf1+ Kb3 30.Rxc7 Rxd1 31.Rxc6

Kxa4 32.Kg2 a5 33.bxa5 Rhd8 34.Rxf6

R8d7 35.a6 Rc1 36.Bd3 Rxc3 37.Bxh7

Kb5 38.Be4 Ra3 39.Bb7 Kc5 40.h4 Kd4

41.Rf5 Re7 42.h5 Re5 43.Rf4+ Kc5

44.h6 1-0

Game 2: Van Schoor, - Borja, 1960

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6

5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 b5 8.0-0 Bb7

9.Re1 d6 10.Nd5!

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10...exd5 11.exd5+ Kd8 [11...Kd7 leaves

the b8 Knight with nowhere to go]

12.Bg5 Bc8 with the idea of keeping the

Knight out of f5 after Be7

13.Bxf6+ gxf6 14.Qh5

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This attack on f7 means that Black can't

put a piece on d7 or e7 as it would obstruct

the Queen's defence of the pawn. As you

can see, this doesn't leave Black with

many moves!

14...Ra7 Defending the e7 square from

invasion by a Rook after White doubles

Rooks on the e-file and Black plays Bg7.

15.Re3 Qd7? A waste of time. 15...Bg7

could have been played as 16.Rc3 doesn't

achieve anything.

16.Rae1 Bg7 17.Re6!? Re4 could have

been played straight away but this is a

tempting move. Black can't take the Rook

17.Re7? allows Black to exchange off and

emerge with a material advantage and

more freedom for his pieces (including

King).

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17...Qc7 17...fxe6? 18.Nxe6+ Ke7

19.Nxg7+ Kf8 20.Ne6+ Ke7 21.Qh6 Rd8

22.Qg7+ Ke8 23.Nc7#!

18.R6e4 f5? Black has very few playable

moves as this shows

19.Nxf5? this releases some of the

pressure 19.Qh4+ f6 20.Re6! Rf8 21.Qf4!

the threats and the pressure keep piling up!

21...Bd7 (21...Rh8 22.Rxd6+ Bd7

23.Ne6+) 22.Re7 Rg8 23.Ne6+]

19...Bxf5 20.Qg5+ a zwischenzug (in-

between move) so that the Bishop can be

retaken with check after Kc8

20...f6?

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This looks tempting, the Queen and Rook

defend against the 7th rank and White will

not capture with check, however it creates

a hole on e6, shuts in the g7 Bishop and

the King is still in the centre. Notice how

the removal from the board of the light-

squared Bishop allows White to use other

lines of attack and involve the Bishop that

has been sat on g2.

Black should have taken the opportunity to

get his King to safety and get his Knight

into the game with 20...Kc8 21.Qxf5+ Nd7

22.Qxf7? Ne5

21.Qxf5 Qf7 22.Bh3 mate threat

22...Rd7 22...Nd7 23.Re7 Qxe7 24.Rxe7

Kxe7 25.Qe6+ and White's advantage will

be in the lack of mobility for Black and the

advanced d-pawn.

23.Qf4 [23.c4! is very strong. White will

open the c-file and double the Rooks there

as c8 cannot be adequately defended.

23...bxc4 (23...b4 24.c5! dxc5 25.d6! with

Qxc5 and Qa5/b6+ to follow.) 24.Rxc4 h5

25.Rec1

23...Qxd5? now White wins back the

material and Black still has poorly placed

pieces. The game finishes quickly. 23...f5

makes life easier for Black although White

is still better after 24.Bxf5 Bxb2 25.Qe3

(25.Bxd7 Qxf4 26.Rxf4 Nxd7) 25...Rb7

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24.Bxd7 Nxd7 25.Rd4 Qb7 26.Qxd6

Re8 27.Rxe8+ Kxe8 28.Qe6+ Kd8

29.Qg8+ 1-0