Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Queens’s Bishop Headache

There are openings like the Caro-Kann, French, Slav,… where after playing e6, the Queen’s bishop remains trapped behind the pawns chain. One of Black’s headaches is how to bring it into the game. Black’s plans range from advancing e5, to fianchettoing and advancing c5 at the right moment.

The question arising is “When is the right moment?”. Dear readers, as in every game, the answer relays on accurate evaluation. And certainly, that was not the case in today’s game. Brazilian GM Rafael Leitao faced Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev in round 1 of the World Cup held in Tromsø, Norway, in 2013. The game finished as a draw and they went to play tiebreaks. Today’s game is the second tiebreak played by them.

Inarkiev focused on how to bring his queen’s bishop into the game and didn’t accurately evaluate the consequences of his move. He fell victim to Leitao’s trap.

Despite Inarkiev’s efforts for bringing his queen’s bishop into the game, that bishop remained ironically on b7 for the rest of the game!

Dear readers, never relax your attention and be attentive to the consequences of your moves.
Remember the famous Fischer’s sentence: “Chess demands total concentration!”

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