A few posts ago, we saw a game wherein the pieces won using the side intrusion strategy. In this post, in contradiction, we will see a game where this strategy fails. This happened in the game trump_reelected-wgoto744, where the pieces got the queen into the pawns’ position, but this didn’t give him the win due to a strong pawns counter-attack.
The game took place as a part of Lichess’ daily Horde Arena on the 1st of May 2020. The user trump_reelected won third place in that arena.
The game
1. d5 e6 2. d4 h5 3. e5 d6 4. e4 a5
This is a pretty common opening when the pieces let the pawns take over the center squares while advancing in the extreme columns.
5. g6 exf5 6. gxf7+ Kxf7 7. gxf5 dxe5 8. fxe5 Rh7?!
This move is a novelty, meaning this is the first time it was played in that position. The pieces go for a blockade, moving the rook back and forth until the pawns must advance. But in that early stage of the game, it is too soon for the strategy. 9. e6+ Ke8 10. e5 Be7 11. e4 Rh8 12. d3 Rh7 13. d2 Rh8 14. c6 bxc6 15. bxc6 Rh7 16. b5 Rh8 17. c5 Rh7 18. c4 Rh8 19. c3 Rh7 20. c2 Rh8 21. e3 Rh7 22. f4 Rh8 23. f3 Rh7
Now the pawns must make a real advancement (now or after 24.f2). Let’s go through the options: 24. b6 loses that pawn for nothing. 24. b4 a:b4 25. a:b5 R:a4 loses a pawn but adding some support to the c5 pawn. Better chances exist for24. d6 c:d6 25. c:d6 B:d6 26. e:d6 Q:d6: It exchanges 2 pawns for a bishop, weakening the pawn center, but opens a lot of new progress opportunities. 24. f6 is useless, as it loses a pawn, and gives more space for the pieces. And finally, there is the played move.
24. g4 hxg4 25. hxg4 Rxh4 26. g3 Rh3 27. f2 Ra7 28. b6? the wrong way forward. 29. d6 leads to much better results, after 29… c:d6 30. c:d6 B:d6 31. e:d6 Q:d6 32. d5.
cxb6 29. b4 axb4 30. axb4 Rxa4 31. cxb6 Qxb6 32. b5
That position is ideal for imposing a blockade. The pawns don’t have many advancement options, and a calm back-and-forth maneuver could force him into worsening his position. But the pieces saw an opportunity to make an intrusion and rushed into exploiting it. Qa5?! 33. d6 Rxa2 34. bxa2 Qxa2
The money time of the whole game. The pieces, with the queen positioned well behind the pawn wall, aim to capture the pawns one at a move. On the other hand, the pawns have some very advanced pawns, 3 of them just 2 moves from a promotion.
For the pawns, the most obvious plan is to advance with the queenside pawns: d5, c5, b4, and then b6/c7/d7. Capturing the e7 bishop is not a good option, as it gives up the front of the pawn and delays the progress. The immediate advancement 35.c7 is a very strong move, eliminating the b8 knight without giving up too much in exchange. After 35. c7 Nd7 (or 35… Na6 36. b:a6 Q:a6) 36. e:d7+ K:d7 (36… B:d7 37. b6 Qa6 38. c5) 37. c5 the position of the pawns is so dangerous it prevents any damage by the black queen.
35. c5?! A natural move, but the temporarily exposed pawn at b5 gives the pieces a chance for an initiative. 35… Qxa1?! Misses the strong reply 35… Qa4!, which threatens the b5 pawn, and after 36. c4 N:c6! 35. b:c6 Q:c6 the pawns’ attack loses momentum. The pawns still hold the edge here, but less convincingly.
36. dxe7? A misjudgment of how much this bishop is actually worth. The poor piece had low relevance to the queenside pawn advancement – It could barely disturb the pawns there. The alternative move 36. c7 could abolish the important b8 knight, which holds back the d7 advancement and threatening the c6 pawn.
36… Qxb2 There is no need to hurry with the recapture on e7. 37. c4 Qxc2 38. c7 Nc6 39. d5
The position became highly tactical. Since we have more time than the 30 seconds the players had, we can calculate some lines to see how to handle that position. The pawns’ main threat is to move a pawn to c6 (either by capture or advancement), move another pawn to d6, and then advance with d7+ and d8=Q.
The pieces can defend from this threat by leaving the knight in c6: 40… Q:d3 41. b:c6 N:e7 (Threaten c6 and preventing the d6 advancement) 42. f6! g:f6 43. e:f6 B:e6! 44. d:e6 Q:c4 45. d4
Another option is 40… Na5 41. d6 N:e7, which makes a double threat on the c6 square. In that case, the pawns will have to eventually join the kingside pawns into the attack, with f6 and g5.
39… Ncxe7? Misses the threat. 40. c6? The plan should start with 40.d6 first since it avoids 40… N:c6, as we will see. 40… Qxd3? 40… N:c6! 41. b:c6 Ne7 reliefs much of the pressure. 41. b6? 40. d6 makes more urgent problems for the pieces, as 41. d7+ is hard to cope with. The threat now is 41. b7, which is simpler to tackle.
41… Qb3? It is hard to see it during an actual game, but 41… Q:c4 defends against all of the threats while destroying the pawns establishment. After 42. b7 B:b7 43. c:b7 Q:c7 or 42. g5 N:c6 the pieces are in winning position.
42. b7 Bxb7 43. cxb7 Qxb7 44. d6
44… Nc6? A fatal mistake. The pieces had to play 44… Kf8 to avoid disaster. 45. d4? 45. d7+ leads to an immediate win. Nxd4? The pieces, with 8 seconds left on his clock, makes one final blunder. 45… Kf8 could lead to a somehow-defendable position. 46. d7+ Ke7 47. d8=Q#
Key takeaways
- One must advance quickly and make immediate threats to counter the side intrusion tactic.
- As the pawns, consider carefully when you capture pieces in exchange for advanced pawns. Capture only the pieces that disturbing the pawn progress.
- As the pieces, do not automatically rush for queen intrusion. Sometimes imposing a blockade and waiting can be a much better strategy.
