Neil McDonald - Attack!: The Subtle Art of Winning Brilliantly

You might think this is Tal or Alekhine endorsing the virtues of their dashing style of play. In fact the quotation is from Capablanca writing in My Chess Career back in 1920. In other words the positional maestro, whose careful approach meant he avoided defeat for eight years , is telling us to attack. Only when weve reached a high level should we pause and consider if a strategic style suits us better. Now thats food for thought.

Did Capa follow his own advice? Well he played thousands of simultaneous games in his younger years and used them to try out sacrifices and speculative attacks. These games are extant and are fun to play through. There are also beautiful attacks in his serious games he won several brilliancy prizes though he only went for broke when the needs of the position demanded it. He wouldnt have been Capablanca otherwise.

Even if you prefer a steady positional game with the gradual accumulation of advantages, it is vital that you know how to attack and make sacrifices. For example your opponent might play in a highly provocative style which gives him excellent winning chances unless you punish him with an aggressive counter-action. Or you might build up a winning positional advantage but then see it dissipate and even lose in the end because you lacked the resolution to make a sacrifice. And remember that becoming a good attacker will open your eyes to the defensive resources inherent in a position. When you are attacked, which is of course inevitable, this knowledge will make you a more resilient defender.

The purpose of this book is to deepen your understanding of dynamic chess. The nature of an attack is that it cant always be explained by general principles: sometimes a checkmate on the board is the only certain proof of the correctness of a sacrifice.

For this reason Ive included a lot of variations. When you first play through a game feel free to skip the murky details and focus on the general flow. You can always return later to examine the finer points of the struggle. If you are very serious you can treat the variations as tactical exercises. Whatever path you choose youll be improving your tactical flair.

An extreme form of the gambit ideal is to catch the king in the centre and drag him out into the open before other pieces are capable of protecting him.
Game 1
A.Shirov-J.Lapinski
Daugavpils 1990
The Kings Gambit in its most uncompromising form involves heavy sacrifices. It has an earnestness unspoilt by the realities of positional chess. You tell me the weakest square in Blacks position is f7. Well then, why mess about? Open the f-file and lets get at it!

1 e4 e5 2 f4

White dislodges the pawn from e5 in order to build an unopposed centre with d2-d4. He hopes eventually to pick off the pawn with Bxf4, when he will have the open f-file along which to attack f7 with a rook (after 0-0) and a bishop (after Bc4) and maybe a knight (after Nf3 and then Ne5 or Ng5) The queen will also be expected to lend a hand in assailing the weak point.

2 ... exf4

Objectively this is probably the best response, but it does fall in somewhat with the plans of a gung-ho opponent. More annoying for such a fellow would be 2 ... d5 leading to a different type of struggle after 3 exd5 exf4 4 Nf3 Nf6 5 Bc4 Nxd5 6 0-0 Be7 etc.

3 Nf3 g5

Black is also unyielding. He not only bolsters the advanced pawn but, given the chance, intends to drive the white knight from f3 and seize the initiative himself.

The England grandmaster Mark Hebden used to be a big fan of the Kings Gambit in his youth. He told me for nostalgias sake he decided to give it one more go in a tournament as White in 2019. The game continued 3 ... Nf6!? 4 e5 Nh5 and Mark was already regretting his choice because he couldnt remember any of the theory of this line. His opponent meanwhile was moving briskly and confidently. There followed 5 Qe2 Be7 6 Nc3 d5 (actually Black should castle with at least equal chances, but he sees no reason not to grab some space). Hebden sat gloomily wondering what to do about Blacks looming counterplay on his centre. Then suddenly his mood brightened.