Boxer Muhammad Ali (whose 74th birthday is Jan.17) won some of his later fights by leaning back on the ropes while his opponents would punch themselves out, and when they lowered their guard he would launch a winning counter attack. That strategy can work in chess too. This week's Canadian Tactic comes from round 2 of the RA Chess Club Championship. The expert playing White has a lead in development and more aggressively posted Bishops, while the master playing Black seems to have been curling up in a ball to avoid conflict, and doesn't even have one piece beyond his third rank.
But it's Black to move, and if White overlooks a tactic he'll loses a piece in two moves.
[Event "RACC Ch"]
[Site "RA Centre"]
[Date "2016.01.14"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Cova, Ramon"]
[Black "Gordon, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B02"]
[WhiteElo "2085"]
[BlackElo "2322"]
[Annotator "Upper,John"]
[PlyCount "30"]
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nxd5 4. Qf3 Nf6 5. Bc4 Nc6 {Threatening ...Ne5 to
get the B pair.} 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. d3 e6 (7... Nd4 $1 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. Qd1 Qg4 $1
$17) 8. Bg5 Be7 9. Nge2 O-O 10. O-O h6 11. Bf4 {Black's position could hardly
look more innocuous.... but in two moves he'll be winning.} e5 12. Bg3 $2 (12.
Be3 $142 $15 Bg4 13. Qg3 Nd4 14. f3 $8 Be6 $15 15. Qxe5 $4 Nxc2 16. Rac1 Bd6 {
traps the Qe5.}) 12... Bg4 13. Qe3 Nd4 $1 $19 {Attacks c2, b5 and e2. The Nc3
is overloaded and White loses a piece.} 14. Qd2 (14. Nxd4 exd4 {the fork wins.}
) (14. Ba4 {saves the B and defends c3, but Black has a standard maneuver to
gain tempi and remove a defender:} b5 15. Bb3 b4 $19 16. f3 Bc5 $1) (14. Qxe5 {
avoids the fork on c2, but} Nxc2 15. Rac1 $19 Bd6 {traps the Qe5.}) (14. f3 {
defends the Ne2 with tempo gain on the Bg4, but} Nxc2 15. Qc1 Nxa1 16. fxg4 Nb3
$1 {not just a spite move to break up White's pawns,} 17. axb3 c6 18. Bc4 b5
$19 {the B is trapped and Black will be up an exchange.}) 14... Bxe2 15. Nxe2
Nxb5 {and Black went on to win.} 0-1
