IM Sandeep Annotates - #7 - Powerful Passed Pawns

This week’s article will feature games, played by Sakindu, from the weekly Wednesday MCA Arena. We found some instructive moments in these three games in which Sakindu played well but was unable to win. We will go over Sakindu’s games and explore the moments where he could’ve changed the tide of the game, and from those moments, we will take lessons for our own games. Have fun analyzing!

Pay Attention to Passed Pawns

The first game was against Michael in a French Defense where Sakindu was able to easily gain an advantage from the opening. He was winning for the vast majority of the game, but a small series of mistakes resulted in a roughly equal position by move 34. However, Sakindu’s opponent immediately makes a mistake and loses his only passed pawn. With good technique, Sakindu’s position should have been winning. Check out the game to see how things ended up:

Some key takeaways from the game:

1. Pay attention to the existence of passed pawns for both sides
2. Never take your foot off of the gas, no matter how winning you think you are: the game can always change
3. There are always chances to come back into the game, no matter how losing it looks. There were 2 points in the game where a stalemate could have occurred
4. Never give up! This game is a perfect example of how to never give up and always play for something

Test Your Knowledge 

Try to solve these positions and then check out the answers in the annotated game.

How should White make the most of his extra pawns?

To take or not to take? The game should end in a draw.

The Perks of Playing a Gambit

Again, in this game Sakindu was able to gain an advantage out of the opening with active piece play. However, he wasn’t able to capitalize on it: we’ll discover how he could have converted it to something more tangible. Check out the game here:

Some key takeaways from the game:

1. Never be afraid to sacrifice pawns or pieces, especially when the sacrifice helps to activate your pieces.
2. In endgames down a pawn or even two, it is very important to be willing to blockade the position to try and make a draw.
3. Always play with a purpose: making random uncoordinated moves never leads to good results. Two coordinated pieces can beat a whole army.

Test Your Knowledge 

Try to solve these positions and then check out the answers in the annotated game.

How should White take advantage of the free tempi White gave him?

White is down a pawn but has very active pieces.
White to move and end the game immediately. 

A Positional Battle in the Caro

Once more, Sakindu had a very strong position from the opening. However, he couldn’t take advantage: Let’s see why. Check out the game here:

Some key takeaways from the game:

1. Sometimes pawn structure isn’t as important as it seems, just as important as having well placed pieces.
2. Pawn structure problems become more relevant in the endgame, especially King and Pawn endgames.
3. The bishop pair can be worth a pawn or even more in wide-open positions
4. Finally, because it’s so important, Never give up!

Test Your Knowledge 

Try to solve these positions and then check out the answers in the annotated game.

Was this the best move for Black, or did he have a win?

Who is better and why?