At the time I played this game, Alexey Suetin was one of the strongest players in the Soviet Union. He had played in at least twenty Soviet Championships and was one of the most, if not the most, prolific chess authors in the Soviet Union.

This game is a very good example of a key strategic idea: creating a successful attack via the use of Bishops of opposite colors.

Alexey Suetin – Nikolay Andrianov
Moscow-ch Moscow (17), 1981

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bf4 e5 8.Bg5

Now the game is going into the very popular Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defense.

8...a6 9.Na3 b5 10.Nd5 Be7 11.Bxf6

White is exchanging his Bishop for the Black Knight that is guarding the important central d5-square. After this trade, the White Knight will have easy access to d5 and will command the center. Remember that controlling the center and creating holes for Knights to live on (in this case d5) are both important strategies.

11...Bxf6 12.c3

Taking the d4-square away from Black’s Knight and allowing the offside horse on a3 to reach the dream square on d5 by Na3-c2-e3/b4.

12…0–0 13.Nc2 Rb8 14.Be2 Bg5 15.0–0 a5 16.b4 Ne7

Black is trying to exchange White’s strong central Knight by any possible means. As you can see now, Black’s dark-squared Bishop is not very active; it looks like a useless piece but, as the game unfolds, the Bishop will show its true value.

17.Nxe7+ Bxe7 18.Ne3 Be6 19.Nd5 axb4 20.cxb4 Qd7 21.Qd3 Bd8

This is the first move of my middlegame plan: activate the dark-squared Bishop at all costs!

THE MANEUVER …Be7-d8-b6-d4 IS VERY STRONG

22.Kh1 Bb6!

This Black Bishop is now getting more and more squares under his control.

23.Rac1?

Here White had an excellent possibility to get the dark-squared Bishop off the board by exchanging with his Knight on d5. White did not do this because he erroneously thought his Knight was the better-placed piece.

23...Bd4 24.f4 Bxd5

With the Knight on d5 controlling so many central squares, it was necessary to exchange it. This creates a Bishop of opposite colors situation where my piece is superior to his.

25.exd5 f5

Black is now organizing active play on his kingside because he has one extra pawn there (White’s pawn majority is on the queenside, where he has two on a2 and b4 to my one on b5). One of the main rules in chess is to play where you are stronger, and be passive where you possess a smaller force. Now I’ll slowly bring my pieces to the kingside until I achieve an attack there.

26.Rc6 Qe7 27.Bd1 Qf6 28.fxe5 Bxe5 29.Qh3 Rb7

Getting ready to swing this Rook over to f7. I want to make sure that ALL my pieces participate in the attack!

30.Bb3 Qg5 31.Rc2 Rbf7 32.Rcf2 Rf6

WHITE’S BISHOP CAN’T DEFEND THE KINGSIDE

White is trying to counter my attack by bringing his Rooks to the f-file. Unfortunately for him, his Bishop is a spectator, thus giving me (in effect) an extra piece.

33.Qd3 Rh6

This forces a weakening in White’s King position.

34.h3

White must play this move in order not to lose some material ... specifically his pawn. But now Black is getting more and more control over the board’s dark-squares. In particular, the important g3-square has grown very weak.

34...g6 35.Rf3 Rh4 36.Qxb5

White has won a pawn, but the weakness of his King will prove far more important.

36…Rd4 37.Rd1

White is trying to trade off some of Black’s active pieces. This is a usual defensive strategy.

37...Rxd1+ 38.Bxd1 Rc8

One of my Rooks is gone, but the other one will penetrate into the White position and case some serious pain.

39.Qe2 Rc1

Black’s pieces are getting more and more active while White’s are huddled together in a state of panic.

40.b5 Rb1 41.a4

Even though White has a small material advantage, Black’s active pieces will soon scoop up the pawns on a4 and b5. In chess, active pieces sometimes are a greater advantage than having more material!

41...Qh4 42.Qd3 Rc1 43.Qf1 Qd4 44.Rd3 Qxa4!

THE FEAST BEGINS

The White Bishop, unable to move because of the pin, must sit still and allow Black’s Queen to dine on some tasty pawns.

45.b6 Qb5 46.Rf3 Qxb6

Now Black has the more active army, the stronger Bishop, AND a material advantage.

47.Qd3 Qb4 48.Rf1 Kg7

Black is continuing to improve his pieces’ positions before the upcoming decisive blow. As you can see, the Black Bishop dominates its White counterpart. This is the beauty of Bishops of opposite colors: these pieces never “touch” and, as a result, if one attacks something, the other can’t defend it.

49.Qe3 Rc3 50.Qa7+ Kh6

This, of course, is the best square for the Black King to hide.

51.Qf7

This is a mistake. The White Queen has now moved too far away from the protection of her King.

51...Qe4 52.Kg1 Rg3 53.Bf3 Qe3+

Black’s middlegame strategy has been a complete success! The powerful Black Bishop owns all the dark squares around the White King, and this prevents him from escaping off the back rank. Naturally, this state of affairs allows me some nice tactical possibilities.

54.Kh1

BLACK TO MOVE AND WIN

54…Rxf3!

A completely decisive blow! Now there is no escape for the White King and the game ends quickly.

55.gxf3 Qe2, 0-1.

Suetin was surprised that he lost without any major blunders, and acknowledged that the opposite colored Bishop idea was a very strong middlegame strategy.

Since this game, I have used this same middlegame plan (i.e., Bishops of opposite colors as an attacking force) many times. It has proven very effective. When you have an attack with opposite colored Bishops, it’s like you are playing with one Bishop more in your attack, and he is playing with one Bishop less in his defense. This usually gives the attacking side a marked advantage.

LESSONS:

1) Bishops of opposite colors often give the side with the initiative real attacking chances.

2) Playing to dominate a particular color complex can be a highly effective strategy.

3) When you’re attacking, try to get all your pieces to participate!

4) Taking a few moves to bring a passive piece to a more active location is almost always a good idea.