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Minority attack

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abcdefgh
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a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black pawn
d5 black pawn
d4 white pawn
e3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
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In the Carlsbad pawn structure, a common plan for white is to advance the a and b-pawns in a minority attack.

In chess, a minority attack is the advancement of one's pawns on the side of the board where one has fewer pawns than their opponent, intending to use their minority to strategically provoke a weakness (i.e, an isolated or backward pawn) in the opponent's pawn structure. The minority attack is a common middlegame plan that can be played in many pawn structures. The name might be misleading, as the "attack" does not involve tactics planned to produce checkmate or significant material gain, but rather a strategical and structural advantage for the attacking player.[1][2][3]

The minority attack can be strengthened by the moving of one or both rooks to the files where the attacking player intends to advance their pawns, planning prophylactically for the opening of the files. Common openings that result in pawn structures where a minority attack is effective include the Queen's Gambit Declined and the Caro-Kann Defense. The minority attack occurs most commonly on the queenside, as players commonly castle kingside in openings where a minority attack is effective, and the advancement of the pawns on the side of the castled king is widely considered to severely weaken the king's safety.[4][5][6]

Examples

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Karpov vs Lautier, 1995
abcdefgh
8
d8 black rook
e8 black rook
f8 black knight
g8 black king
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
b6 black bishop
c6 black pawn
e6 black bishop
f6 black knight
h6 black pawn
e5 black queen
b4 white pawn
a3 white pawn
d3 white bishop
e3 white pawn
g3 white knight
h3 white pawn
c2 white queen
d2 white bishop
e2 white knight
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
a1 white rook
d1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh

Karpov vs Lautier, 1995

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This game, lauded as an example of a successful minority attack, demonstrates the goals and execution of the attack. In the diagrammed position, Anatoly Karpov has just played 20. b4! initiating the minority attack. After 20... Ng6 21. a4 a6 22. Bc3 Qg5 23. Bd4 Bxd4 24. Nxd4 Bd5 25. e4 Be6 26. Nf3 Qf4 Karpov plays 27. b5!, provoking a weakness and threatening to severely impede Joël Lautier's pawn structure by capturing on a6 or c6, creating an isolated pawn and leaving Lautier three pawn islands. After 27... axb5 28. axb5 the game lasted 44 moves before Lautier resigned due to Karpov's passed d-pawn and the weakness of his own c-pawn.[7]

Petrosian vs Krogius, 1959
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
f8 black rook
g8 black king
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
e7 black knight
f7 black pawn
g7 black bishop
h7 black pawn
g6 black pawn
d5 black pawn
b4 white pawn
d4 white pawn
c3 white knight
d3 white bishop
e3 white pawn
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
d1 white queen
f1 white rook
g1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh

Petrosian vs Krogius, 1959

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In this position, World Champion Tigran Petrosian has just played 12. b4, initiating the minority attack and intending to advance both the a and b-pawns to provoke weaknesses in black's queenside majority. After 12... Bf5 13. Bxf5 Nxf5, Petrosian played 14. b5! On move 22, the advancement of white's queenside pawns resulted in a destruction of black's queenside pawn structure and the creation of two isolated pawns for black, creating a decisive advantage for Petrosian.[8]

Seirawan vs Tal, 1983
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black rook
g8 black king
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
e6 black bishop
f6 black queen
h6 black pawn
d5 black pawn
b4 white pawn
d4 white pawn
a3 white pawn
c3 white queen
e3 white pawn
g3 white knight
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh

Seirawan vs Tal, 1983

[edit]

In this position, Syrian-American Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan has just played 13. b4 against the former World Champion Mikhail Tal, expanding his a and b-pawn minority on the queenside against Tal's a, b, and c-pawn majority. Tal responded 13... a5!?, counterattacking Seirawan's queenside and hoping to isolate the b-pawn. The game continued 14. Be2 axb4 15. axb4 Rxa1+ 16. Qxa1 Qe7 17. Qc3 Nc6 when Seirawan continued 18. b5! removing the knight from the powerful c6 square and advancing his b-pawn. The game further continued 18... Nd8 19. O-O c5 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Rd1, and black's weak c-pawn fell on move 33, creating a decisive structural advantage for Seirawan.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Chess - Development of theory | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  2. ^ "Minority Attack - Chess Terms". Chess.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  3. ^ "Minority attack - chess term". chess24.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  4. ^ "The Minority Attack by Nigel Davies – ChessCafe.com". chesscafe.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  5. ^ "Who's afraid of the Big Bad Minority attack? | Exeter Chess Club". www.exeterchessclub.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  6. ^ "Minority Attack - Chessprogramming wiki". www.chessprogramming.org. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  7. ^ "Anatoly Karpov vs Joel Lautier (1995)". www.chessgames.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  8. ^ "Tigran V Petrosian vs Nikolai Krogius (1959)". www.chessgames.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  9. ^ "Yasser Seirawan vs Mikhail Tal (1983)". www.chessgames.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.