THE SQUEEZE -- A VALUABLE "TACTIC"

I watched The Squeeze DVD from Daniel King last night with particular attention to the game Botvinnik-Alekhine AVRO 1938. Botvinnik's play was extremely impressive (as was his brilliant win against Capablanca in the same tournament). His "paranoia," if you want to call it that (I do), was about the square c7, protecting it or invading on it.

No less brilliant was the defender Alekhine. No doubt Botvinnik was thinking "This guy won't give me a break. He won't let me in." Just when you thought it was safe to go back to pressuring Black Alekhine would come up with a move that would let you win the pawn, but start losing material in other parts of the board. Maybe it was a tempo. That ONE extra move Botvinnik had (being White?) was all the difference it took. It showed me that even in 1938 Alekhine was still very strong and a match between the two would have been stupendous.

The "Squeeze," to put it fundamentally, is a method by which small improvements in the "attackers" position makes it "impossible" for the other side to do what they want to do... and to keep applying that pressure. The main advantage of this stand-alone DVD in the "powerplay" series is that is the main subject GM King concentrates on. He doesn't apologize for older games because it is a truth no matter what age the game might be and in this case the level of defense was extremely high, 72 years ago!

At the end of that tortuous road he gives Anand-Karpov where Anand applies a similar idea in putting Karpov out to pasture.

Except for the first game, where Andras Adorjan was putting the Squeeze on King in a simul game back in 1977, and lost, all the rest of the games seem to be White victories. IS this the advantage of the first move?; to zugzwang from the beginning?

I have supplies of this enjoyable DVD at $35.95 for regular customers and $33.95 for Gold Card customers.

bob@thinkerspressinc.com