Lessons From Mariánské Lázně IV

CERTAIN words in chess have a technical meaning separate from their usage by the general public.

An obvious example of this is in the common pub-quiz question: "How many pieces are there on the board at the start of a game of chess?"

Most people, assuming they had at least a passing acquaintance with the game, would answer 32.

But an experienced chess player would probably pause, knowing that in chess the word pieces has a technical meaning that includes rooks, knights, bishops, kings and queens, but excludes pawns.

Similarly, 'good' and 'bad' has a technical meaning when applied to bishops.

A bad bishop, in this sense of the word, is one on the same colour complex as many of its own side's pawns, especially centre pawns, while a good bishop is one unobstructed in this way.

The importance of whether a bishop is technically good or bad becomes paramount in endings.

In the middlegame, however, what counts for more is whether a bishop is active or passive.

All of which is a long-winded introduction to my round-four game against Germany's Achim Heller (2038), in which the following position was reached after seven moves.

I have just played 7...Bf8-e7

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Black's dark-square bishop is technically good - Black's centre pawns are on light squares - but passive.

Black's light-square bishop is technically bad, but is active as it helps control the e4 square, reducing the chance of White making the pawn-break e4, and being well-placed to support the black king's knight should it ever go to e4.

White's light-square bishop is both good and active, while White's dark-square bishop is unmoved and technically bad.

It is also currently passive, but it can be made active by developing it to b2, and, indeed, 8.Bb2 is overwhelmingly the commonest move in the position (grandmasters have also played 8.Nc3 and 8.cxd5) as on b2 it helps prevent the pawn-break ...e5, and can support a white knight landing on the e5 square.

My opponent came up with what is probably a novelty in 8.Ba3!?

This is not an out-and-out mistake, but I think it is significant that after 8...0-0 Dragon1 suggests playing 9.Bb2!?, and Stockfish17.1 fluctuates between that move and the game's 9.Bxe7.

LESSON: whether a bishop is good or bad can be of decisive importance in an ending, but in the middlegame (and the opening) what usually counts is whether a bishop is active or passive.