Game analysis #10 - The right way to simplify in chess
Simplification is one of those deceptively simple chess principles. You hear it once and you think you are done with it: OK, when a piece up, just swap off everything and win the endgame. What could be more obvious than that?
Still, as a chess coach, I see it again and again how my students run into difficulties when they try to apply this simple concept in a real game. In the heat of the battle, when there is a lot to calculate, it is easy to go wrong, and forget about your main strategic aim - especially if your opponent knows what they are doing, and tries to avoid simplifications at all cost.
In such situations you cannot just wait for the opportunity to arise. You have to go out of your way and create it - and the best way to do so is to make your pieces so active that your opponent just can't tolerate them and will be forced to seek exchanges themselves.
As Artur Yusupov puts it:
If we simplify the position (exchange pieces), then we can normally realize our material advantage more easily. However, less experienced players often make the typical mistake of simply chasing the opponent’s pieces about, in the vague hope that the opponent will tire and allow the exchange of pieces. It is much better to put your pieces in active positions. Then the opponent will be the one trying to exchange off these active pieces.
The following game is the perfect example of the difficulties you can run into if you are not really committed to simplifying. It was played by ChessAdmin, who runs the blog Pathtochessmastery.com. (Which is one of the best chess blogs outside Chess.com, in my opinion.) He outplayed his master opponent with superb play, got a winning material advantage at move 27, so all he needed to do is to simplify, and accept resignation gracefully... But somehow it never happened. The game was just dragging on without a single exchange until move 40, then things started to get a bit messy, and finally the tables were turned, and he had to resign a game that should have been one of his best.
He obviously knew the principle of simplifications. He just didn't want it badly enough, and got distracted by one move threats and other promising alternatives.
So, here is the game, with ChessAdmin's original analysis included. We will join in only at move 27, when the technical phase of the game begins:
I hope you enjoyed the post. If you are looking for quality coaching to improve your game, I am currently accepting new students.
If you are interested, feel free to send me a private message here or on hogata11@gmail.com, and we can arrange a free, non-committal Skype call to discuss your goals and get to know each other.
