Trade wars occur on the chess board, too, and not just in politics and economics. With this hint in mind please try to find black’s best move in this week’s position.
The white bishop on g5 is without financial backing, as black’s e7 bishop and queen have a concealed battery targeting the white g5 bishop. This allows black’s knight to capture white’s e4 pawn, which will generate revenue of the form of a pawn over the next several trades.
White has several trade options. Inferior is knight takes knight on e4. Black then trades bishops on g5 and the black queen seizes the g5 square. Black has won a pawn, as the black queen pins the g2 pawn and threatens bishop to h3 (see next diagram).
White should first trade knights on c6. Black must recapture because of the threat to black’s queen. This is followed by trading bishops on e7 as the black queen recaptures on e7 (see next diagram).
Because white’s knight on c3 helps its queen guard white’s bishop on e2, the bishop exchange on e7 forces white to trade knights on e4, or else the rook-queen battery wins white’s bishop. After the knight trade on e4, white’s bishop attacks the black queen from f3 and eyes black’s weak c6 pawn. Black’s queen moves to c4 and saves the pawn.
Black will soon move its a8 rook so it is not to be in the line of fire of white’s bishop. When the dust settles, white will have a trade deficit of one pawn.
The lesson this week is that winning a trade war is complicated and requires precise calculation.
Reach Eric Morrow at ericmorrowlaw@gmail.com or (505) 327-7121.
