"First restrain -- then blockade -- lastly, destroy!" -- Aron NIMZOWITSCH
- A blockade is just that: a block, stopping the enemy getting past a point or a line. Fischer used it as a tactical idea against Benko
- Locked pawn chains are a common blockade, usually stopping both players from moving freely
- If there is a blockade, then perhaps there is a fixed target you can attack.
- For example, an isolated Queen's pawn can create havoc if it is allowed to advance (Dittman-Fuchs, Kamsky-Short)
- But if you put it off advancing until you can block it, you can tie your opponent to defending it, and maybe later win it (Korchnoi-Karpov, Karpov-Spassky)
- Nimzowitsch loved to play this way, and wrote a whole book about it. An example of his approach is (Johner-Nimzowitsch) but an early pioneer was Elijah Williams (Staunton-Williams), who seemed to anticipate many of Nimzo's ideas.
- An amusing blockade is shown at the end of Kupferstich's game: the whole Black king's-side is in prison
- Sometimes you can place a whole position under a blockade (Becker), even giving up material to do so.
- A special type of blockade is an endgame fortress, where you might think the side ahead on material can win, but because of the special blockaded position reached, they can do nothing. https://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/who-would-win-fight-between-lion-...
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[Event "US Championship 1963/64"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1963.12.30"]
[EventDate "1963.??.??"]
[Round "10"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Bg4
7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nc6 9. Be3 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. f5 gxf5
12. Qxf5 Nd4 13. Qf2 Ne8 14. O-O Nd6 15. Qg3 Kh8 16. Qg4 c6
17. Qh5 Qe8 18. Bxd4 exd4 19. Rf6 Kg8 20. e5 h6 21. Ne2 1-0
[Event "Dresden"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Dittmann, Sieghart"]
[Black "Fuchs, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E54"]
[Annotator "IQP: advance d4-d5 break"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1956.??.??"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "DDR"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 d5 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. exd4 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Nbd7 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 Nb6 11. Bd3 Bd7 12. Ne5 Be7 13. Qf3 Bc6 14. Qe3 g6 15. Rad1 Bd5 16. Qh3 Rc8 17. Ng4 Nbd7 18. Rfe1 Re8 19. Bb5 Bc6 {[#]} 20. d5 {White gains no material but gets a strong position with open lines for his Rooks} Bxb5 21. dxe6 fxe6 22. Nxb5 Nxg4 23. Qxg4 Bxg5 24. Nd6 Bf6 25. Nxe8 Qxe8 26. Rxe6 {[#]} Qf7 (26... Be7 27. Qe2 Kf7 28. Re1) 27. Red6 Nb6 28. Rxb6 Rf8 29. Rb3 1-0
[Event "PCA-Wch Candidates semifinal"]
[Site "Linares ESP"]
[Date "1994.09.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Short, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E48"]
[Annotator "attack: weakening King's-side"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "1994.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Nge2 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. O-O Bd6 10. Ne4 Be7 11. a3 O-O 12. Bc2 Re8 {[%mdl 128] [#]} 13. Qd3 g6 14. Bh6 b6 15. Rad1 Bb7 16. Rfe1 Rc8 17. Bb3 a6 18. N2g3 Nb8 19. Qf3 Rc7 20. Nh5 Nd7 21. h4 N7f6 22. Nhxf6+ Nxf6 23. d5 $1 Nxe4 24. dxe6 f5 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Rd1 1-0
[Event "World-ch29 Karpov-Kortschnoj +6-2=12"]
[Site "Merano"]
[Date "1981.10.24"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Korchnoi, Viktor"]
[Black "Karpov, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "2650"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[Annotator "IQP: defence - seek exchanges"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "1981.10.01"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
1. c4 {Wch30-Merano} e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. Rc1 dxc4 8. e3 c5 9. Bxc4 cxd4 10. exd4 {Wch30-Merano: '!?' Wch30-Merano: '[#] Playing for the win.'} Nc6 11. O-O Nh5 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13. Bb3 (13. Ne5 {Wch30-Merano}) 13... Nf6 14. Ne5 Bd7 15. Qe2 Rc8 {Wch30-Merano: '[#]'} 16. Ne4 {Wch30-Merano: '?' Wch30-Merano: 'The wrong plan, with no real justification. Keep the pieces on!'} Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Bc6 18. Nxc6 Rxc6 19. Rc3 {Wch30-Merano: '?!'} (19. Rxc6 {Wch30-Merano} Nxc6 20. d5 {exchanges the IQP leaving nothing much left to play for.}) 19... Qd6 20. g3 {Wch30-Merano: '?!'} Rd8 21. Rd1 Rb6 22. Qe1 Qd7 23. Rcd3 Rd6 24. Qe4 Qc6 25. Qf4 Nd5 {Wch30-Merano: '[#]'} 26. Qd2 Qb6 27. Bxd5 {Wch30-Merano: '?' Wch30-Merano: 'The Bishop was a compensating plus.'} (27. a3 {Wch30-Merano} Ne7 28. Qf4 Nf5 29. d5 Ne7 30. Qe3 {e.g.} Qxe3 31. fxe3 exd5 (31... Nxd5 32. e4) 32. e4 d4 33. e5 Rb6 (33... R6d7 34. e6) 34. Rf1) 27... Rxd5 28. Rb3 Qc6 29. Qc3 Qd7 {Wch30-Merano: '[#]'} 30. f4 {Wch30-Merano: 'looks impetuous, but ...e5 was threatened'} b6 31. Rb4 b5 32. a4 bxa4 33. Qa3 a5 34. Rxa4 Qb5 35. Rd2 e5 36. fxe5 Rxe5 37. Qa1 Qe8 38. dxe5 Rxd2 39. Rxa5 {Wch30-Merano: '[#] White has allowed a monster Rook on the seventh'} Qc6 40. Ra8+ Kh7 41. Qb1+ g6 42. Qf1 Qc5+ (42... Qxa8 {Wch30-Merano} 43. Qxf7+ Kh8 44. Qf6+ Kg8 45. Qxg6+ Kh8) 43. Kh1 Qd5+ 0-1
[Event "Montreal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.04.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Karpov, A."]
[Black "Spassky, B."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2705"]
[BlackElo "2640"]
[Annotator "IQP: weak in middlegame"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1979.11.29"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[EventCategory "12"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Nc6 8. Qc2 Qa5 9. a3 Bxc5 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Nd2 Bd7 12. Be2 Rfc8 13. O-O Qd8 14. cxd5 exd5 {[#]} 15. Nf3 h6 16. Ne5 Be6 17. Nxc6 Rxc6 18. Bf3 Qb6 19. Be5 Ne4 20. Qe2 Nxc3 21. Bxc3 Rd8 22. Rd3 Rcd6 23. Rfd1 R6d7 24. R1d2 Qb5 25. Qd1 b6 26. g3 Bf8 27. Bg2 Be7 28. Qh5 a6 29. h3 Qc6 30. Kh2 a5 {[#] The typical tactic e3-e4 is pointless here, as Be6 protects Rd7} 31. f4 $1 f6 32. Qd1 Qb5 33. g4 g5 34. Kh1 Qc6 35. f5 Bf7 {[#]} 36. e4 $1 Kg7 37. exd5 Qc7 38. Re2 b5 39. Rxe7 Rxe7 40. d6 Qc4 41. b3 1-0
[Event "London"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "1851.07.12"]
[EventDate "1851.??.??"]
[Round "4.6"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Howard Staunton"]
[Black "Elijah Williams"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "74"]
1. c4 e6 2. e3 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nge2 Bb4
7. O-O d6 8. d4 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Qe7 10. Ba3 c5 11. Rb1 e5 12. Rb5
a6 13. Rb3 Nbd7 14. Rb1 e4 15. Qd2 Qf7 16. f3 Qxc4 17. fxe4
fxe4 18. Bh3 b5 19. Nf4 Nb6 20. Bg2 Qf7 21. dxc5 Nc4 22. Qc1
Qa7 23. Re1 dxc5 24. Bb2 g5 25. Ne2 Bg4 26. h3 Bf3 27. Kh2
Rad8 28. Ba1 Rd2 29. Rb2 Rfd8 30. Nd4 Rxb2 31. Bxb2 cxd4
32. cxd4 Bxg2 33. Kxg2 Nd5 34. Kh2 Rf8 35. Qc2 Qf7 36. Re2 Qf1
37. Bc1 Nb4 0-1
[Event "Dresden Schachverein 50 Years"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "1926.04.05"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Johner, P."]
[Black "Nimzowitsch, Aron"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E41"]
[Annotator "pawn mobility: restraint/blockade"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1926.04.04"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 d6 9. Nd2 b6 10. Nb3 e5 11. f4 e4 12. Be2 Qd7 {Dell: '[#] Pardon? Well, White's Queen's-side pawns are BLOCKADED, so the only break for White is on the K-side, so Black wants to RESTRAIN the g2-g4 move.'} 13. h3 Ne7 14. Qe1 (14. g4) 14... h5 15. Bd2 Qf5 16. Kh2 Qh7 {Dell: '[#] Another mysterious Queen move, again in order to deter g2-g4. In fact, Black so efficiently controls the King's-side that it is actually Black who arranges the decisive break there.'} 17. a4 Nf5 18. g3 a5 19. Rg1 Nh6 20. Bf1 Bd7 21. Bc1 Rac8 22. d5 Kh8 23. Nd2 Rg8 24. Bg2 g5 25. Nf1 Rg7 26. Ra2 Nf5 27. Bh1 Rcg8 28. Qd1 {Dell: '[#]'} gxf4 29. exf4 Bc8 30. Qb3 Ba6 31. Re2 Nh4 32. Re3 Bc8 33. Qc2 Bxh3 34. Bxe4 (34. Kxh3 Qf5+ 35. Kh2 Ng4+ 36. Kh3 Nf2+ 37. Kh2 Qh3#) 34... Bf5 35. Bxf5 Nxf5 (35... Ng4+) 36. Re2 h4 37. Rgg2 hxg3+ 38. Kg1 Qh3 39. Ne3 Nh4 40. Kf1 Re8 {Dell: 'johner-nimzo. (NIMZO)'} 0-1
[Event "Club Tournament"]
[Site "Copenhagen DEN"]
[Date "1953.01.12"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Moises A Kupferstich"]
[Black "Harry Andreasen"]
[ECO "C27"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "67"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nb5 g6
7.Qf3 Nf5 8.Qd5 Nh6 9.d4 d6 10.Bxh6 Be6 11.Qf3 Bxb3 12.Bxf8
Ba4 13.Bg7 Rg8 14.Bf6 Qd7 15.Na3 Nxd4 16.Qh3 Qxh3 17.Nxh3
Nxc2+ 18.Nxc2 Bxc2 19.Rc1 Be4 20.Ng5 Bxg2 21.Rxc7 Bxh1 22.Nxf7
Bd5 23.Nxd6+ Kf8 24.Bg5 Rh8 25.Bh6+ Kg8 26.Rg7+ Kf8 27.Rc7+
Kg8 28.Nc8 Bc6 29.Rg7+ Kf8 30.Rxb7+ Kg8 31.Rg7+ Kf8 32.Rxa7+
Kg8 33.Rxa8 Bxa8 34.Nd6 1-0
[Event "Tatatovaros it"]
[Site "HUN"]
[Date "1935.07.11"]
[EventDate "1935.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Albert Becker"]
[Black "Imre Korody Keresztely"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "61"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. d4 Bb6 6. d5 Nb8
7. d6 Qxd6 8. Qxd6 cxd6 9. Na3 Nf6 10. Bd5 Nc6 11. Nb5 O-O
12. Be3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 Ne8 14. O-O a6 15. Na3 Rb8 16. Rf2 Nd8
17. Nc4 b5 18. Na5 Ne6 19. b4 N6c7 20. Nh4 Nxd5 21. exd5 Nf6
22. Rxf6 gxf6 23. Rf1 f5 24. Nxf5 f6 25. Rf3 Kh8 26. e4 Bb7
27. Nxd6 Bc8 28. a3 Rb6 29. c4 bxc4 30. Naxc4 Rb8 31. Kf2 1-0