IQP Blues

The debate over the merits of the position in which one side has an isolated queen pawn (IQP) has been raging in the chess world for well over a century. On the one hand, White (by convention in this discussion the player with the IQP) gets control of important central outposts such as c5 and e5 as well as the latent threat of advancing the pawn to d5 to open attacking lines on the enemy king and/or threaten the creation of a disruptive passed pawn in the heart of the enemy camp. If Black can remain cool in the face of the onslaught it is often possible to blockade the pawn (usually by getting a knight to d5) and trade down to an endgame in which the isolated pawn becomes a permanent structural weakness. If you want to understand a little about the differences between dynamic and static advantages on the chessboard, studying some of the thousands of master games in which an IQP appears can be very worthwhile.

A second, and definitely better, option would be to simply watch a game at your friendly neighbourhood chess club such as the one played on Thursday evening between Dominic (@Darktigr) and Berthil (@Ravelesque).

White's pawn on d5 is probably going to fall but the one on d4 is well defended and the e5 square is calling out to a white knight. In the game Black decided not to collect the pawn on d4 immediately (probably worried about discovered attacks from the bishop on g2) and this allowed White to get a chokehold on the position. After 16...a6 Black is tied in knots and the knight on e5 looks invulnerable (exchanging with ...Nxe5 or Bxe5 reunites the white pawns and creates a central steamroller that will flatten Black).

It looks as if Black is condemned to passive defence and waiting till White decides how to administer the coup de grâce. White was feeling the pressure of the clock though and lost sight of the fact that his advantage is in the dynamism of his central pieces, especially of the Ne5. On general principles then the move 17.Ng4 should be questioned. In addition to moving the knight away from a good central post it opens the d4 pawn to pressure from the Bg7. The game is far from lost but the static weakness of the IQP ends up being a fatal one that White, in time trouble, was unable to defend in the moves that follow. A very interesting game to watch even if it was a bit of a heartbreaker for the white player.

The rest of the games in the first round have either been played or are scheduled for sometime in the next week. There is always a bit of chaos in the first round as none of us knows very much in advance who we are playing and new participants are getting used to the basic mechanics of our tournaments. Thanks everyone for your patience.

One of the things we try to accomplish with these events is to give participants the opportunity to play chess in a way that is as close as possible to an over-the-board experience. A slower time control and the cultivation of the 'club atmosphere' are key elements of this. Some of us go a bit farther and even set up a physical board to play from in an attempt to keep our visualisation skills on a real board sharp. I don't expect that it is necessary to remind you but I should put it on the record that the use of notes, analysis engines, or moving pieces around on your board as you decide on your move is not permitted. If this is the kind of game you like to play, correspondence games might interest you more.

See you all next week !

David