Harmony in Chess - History repeats!

"Some sort of pressure must exist; the artists exist because the world is not perfect. Art would be useless if the world were perfect, as man wouldn't look for harmony but would simply live in it. Art is born out of an ill-designed world" - Andrei Tarkovsky 

Chess is an art.....and imperfection is its art! 

.....and it is the duty of a Chess master to look for harmony amidst the chaos....spontaneously......and not look for certainty through his excessive ......

As Alexandra Horowitz wrote...."One trouble with being human - with the human condition - is that, as with many conditions, you cannot turn it off. Even as we develop from relatively immobile, helpless infants into mobile, autonomous adults, we are more and more constrained by the ways we learn to see the world."

The challenge lies in how we emancipate ourselves from the deluge of 'knowledge' that is staring at us....rendering us dazed....immobile or turn us into morons and repeat what......

Unlearning is the key....but this great art.....doesn't come easily as we 'grow' in knowledge ......and age!

Harmony!

A beautiful word which is coined to describe something that eludes any description!! 

It is an experience....has to be!  Be it music or chess or any art.....or any human relationship.....with fellow beings or with nature..... harmony is the invisible line which makes it profound.....aesthetic.....and gives life enhancing qualities!

Bronstein - Simagin 

I am not going to go into details of this position.....which would demand a short story of its own.....but just to show that Bronstein's last move 26.Kf1 triggered a great debate...... whether this or 26.Kh1......and my point of quoting it here in this article is to show you a glimpse of what is harmony in Chess.....!

Somewhere earlier, Bronstein's light squared Bishop danced on the diagonal a2-g8 before it self immolated on f7 to rip open Black's King. And in that process, it lured the Black pawn on b7 to b5.....and obviously Bronstein would not have envisaged that it will have a huge bearing in his choice of moving his King to f1......which would not have been possible if there was no Black pawn on b5 as it would allow Bb5 check and curtains for White!

This is what is experiencing harmony!  Bronstein like J C Bose.....who possibly conversed with plants....may have had conversation with his 'wooden' pieces!

Geller - Euwe, Zurich 1953

Euwe initiate a remarkable plan of action with his 16.....b5! culminating in this brilliant diversion sacrifice of his Rook....22.....Rh8!!

If one wishes to improve their imaginative vision, apart from studying Bronstein's games, they would do no harm in studying the games of Euwe whose vision for combination is second to none sharpened by his battles with the great Alekhine!

After luring Black Queen to South pole, Black just left the Knight on e8 to protect his King and allowed his other pieces to coordinate beautiful and attack White King! 

A word of caution!  Do not mar the beauty of creation by over analysing the position and of course using that .......You will neither do justice to the creator of art; .....mother caissa; ......and to your own self!  Just explore the beauty inherent in it....only this way you will learn to create!

Coming to the main part of the story!

Karpov - Unzicker, Nice Oly, 1974

This position is known to everyone now!  It is written....quoted ....in many chess textbooks....by almost every author! 

But, nothing can match what Bronstein wrote about this game in his great book "The modern Chess self-tutor"!

"That Bishops operate well in open positions has been known for a long time. On the other hand, not without reason it was reckoned that in closed positions Bishops are of little use.

But take a look at the above position. One White Bishop is stuck somewhere in the depths of the Queenside, and the second Bishop is having a strange duel with the Black Rook, which cannot capture it, nor even properly attack it directly along the file. For the defence of the Bishop, from the rear the Rook is on duty, for, solidarity supported by its colleague. The centre is completely blocked by closed pawn chains.

It is more than obvious that, if White does not switch all his forces from the a-file to the Kingside, and does not open the position by means of exchanges, it will be impossible to win the game. All this is what we see on a swift glance at the position.

But if we begin to think properly, we will see that the White Rooks have occupied the only open file, that the Black Rooks wanted by exchanges to neutralise this advantage in space, but the timely Bishop manoeuvre reduced the fighting potential of the Black Rooks and placed them in a state of complete inactivity. 

The pawn chains are by no means closed - they are stopped.

But whereas White's motorised infantry divisions have taken full possession of the important squares d5 and f5 from where they mount murderous fire on the opponent's fortified zone....c6, e6 and g6....

The resources of the Chess game are not only the pieces and pawns,, radiating energy in the form of Chess lines of force, but also the playing squares themselves, which generate for their army free space for the necessary regroupings and the organisation of diverse actions. 

As for the White Bishop on b1, it has gone there through necessity, vacating squares for the other pieces. Now, when the time has come to seek a breakthrough point of the enemy front, it is this Bishop that will be entrusted with the role of first echelon. At first slowly creeping out of its shelter, and then with a rapid march, the Bishop occupies the important h5 square, and under its cover White regroups his Knights and Queen so effectively, that Black's capitulation comes even sooner that it should have been expected. And the main marvel of all this work by the Bishop is that the position nevertheless remains closed.

Chess masterpieces, like all other productions of genuine art, also bear the stamp of inimitability, but the fact that, after studying the individual elements of White's plan, you will begin to play better, is undisputed. 

The elements, taken in isolation, are amazingly simple space for your own manoeuvres, the minimum of space for the opponent - for this we advance with a broad pawn chain and stop only on the territory of the opponent, taking under lasting control a group of important squares. Next, we create only one open file, but keep it for ourselves, and do not even allow the opponent there. Further, we do not block the pawn chain entirely, but leave a narrow road for transporting our weaponry into the enemy rearguard, in order to support the infantry, that has long been dug in there deep in the opponent's defence and awaiting reinforcements"

What Bronstein explained is his experience of harmony in this position!

Well, while in my usual musings with chess games....old and new.....I came across this position.....

MVL - Carlsen, Biel 2011

The striking similarity - in spirit - between this and Karpov - Unzicker and how it obeyed each and every expression of Bronstein in that above comment, gave me immense joy! 

"Usually we get to see Carlsen torturing his opponents like this.....for a change he is on the receiving end..." quipped GM Vishnu Prasanna!

After excruciating and laborious wood pushings for 37 moves (where I even doubted whether there would have been a three fold photographic repetition!) MVL finally got the right configuration of pieces and spotted .....78.f4!! in the above position and his Queen invaded through that 'narrow road' on h5 and clinched the issues with the support of the Rooks on the only open file!

As you would notice, in both these games, the only open file was the a-file and White Rooks dominated it....and the vital breakthrough happened on f4 square and the final invasion happened through h5 square!!

As the great Russian filmmaker Tarkovsky said, "art is born out of an ill-designed world" - ill designed in the sense that you cannot reduce art and creation into a bane system.....as is being attempted.......but you will live...and let the art thrive gloriously only by embracing this 'ill-design' and chaos....and develop a keen eye to spot the hidden harmony....instead of craving for certainty!  

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