annotated chess game for advanced - page 514.Nc6!!A beautiful retreat. The two exclamation marks are there because this is the only move which maintains the initiative! Let me explain why is it a good move, and then, to show you how to find such "strong moves" in similar cases. This move is in accordance with Black's plan: attacking the white center. Indeed, the central pawn d4 doesn't exist anymore, only the e3 is still on the board. But the white king is still in the center, so we have to attack here further. With his last move, Black opens again the main diagonal for his bishop and attacks once more the knight on d4. The exchange on d4 will lead to the OPENING OF THE "E"-FILE, where the king is. This will mark the end of the first plan (attacking the center) and, at the same time, the beginning of a new one, attacking the king! How to find such moves? Firstly, don't be influenced by prejudices, like: - "The more central are the knights, the better is the position" - you will see many cases in which knights are excellent placed at the edge of the board; - "Do not move for several times with the same piece. (pay attention to the whole sentence). in the opening", here is not the opening phase anymore. Secondly, look every time for the proper plan and find the correct moves to realize that plan. Moves like 14.Rfe8, "centralizing the rooks", but without a determined aim, can lead only to losing the advantage. In this case, the proper plan is mentioned above, and the move played in the game is the only posibility to realize it. 15.Bb2 Of course not 15.Nxc6 Bxc6, losing the g2-pawn. Moreover, the white king would have remained in center and the h2-pawn would have been another weakness. But giving a pawn, White could have delayed his defeat: 15.0-0 Nxd4 16.exd4 Bxd4 17.Bb2 Bxb2 18.Qxb2, but even so, Black has an excellent endgame due to his pawn majority on the queenside. 15.Nxd4 16.exd4 Better would have been 16.Bxd4 Bxd4 17.exd4. The difference is that White exchanges his defending bishop with the opponent's attacker. It is logically, isn't it? Anyway White is in a desperate situation. TIP: When you are defending, exchange as many pieces as possible, especially those who have an attacking role. 16.Re8! Again a "strong "move to maintain the advantage. Right now, the plans have changed: Black doesn't attack the center anymore (even if the weak d4-pawn is still on the board), but he attacks the king himself, who remained in the center. And like any other weakness, before to attack it, we have to fix it! So, to fix the white king in the center, we pin him to defend his bishop on e2. This idea is to be retained; you can use it many times!
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