In part one of this topic we covered some of the theory of the Piece Exchange Technique. The right piece exchanges can win the game without any tactical strikes. These five examples demonstrate how this works in practice.
Playing With a Slight Advantage
In this first example, Black has the slightly better position. There are b2 and d4 weaknesses and Black needs to keep the rook alive in order to attack those pawns together with the queen. Any move like 1… Rb4, 1… Rb5 or 1… Rb8 would be fine. But it would be a mistake to play 1… Qb6 and let the rook exchange. Rooks are not equal in this position! The black rook is the attacker while its white colleague is forced to be passive with defensive work.
Lacking Space
In the second example, Black is in a worse position. He has problems due to lack of space and White’s pair of bishops. In the game, Black played 1… Ne5, but that did not solve the problems and was just a waste of a time. White answered 2. Rae1 and after Bd4, f2-f4! and g2-g4! it became hard to breathe for Black. The correct solution would have been: 1… Ne4!. A knight exchange would minimize problems with limited space and the rest of the black pieces would feel more comfortable.
Avoiding Exchange
The third example is very similar to the first one. White has to avoid a knight exchange, as the black a5 knight is trapped in the corner and will be very hard to bring back into the game. White’s first move is 1. Nd2! creating the threat of b2-b4!. Black answered with 1… b7-b5, but after 2. b2-b4 Nb7 3. c2-c4! White starts a queen’s side attack using pawn majority, while the b7 knight is restricted by the b4 pawn and there is no way out.
Many Possibilities
In the next position we have a hard choice, as there are a lot of possibilities to exchange something or just ignore it. Some young players would suggest playing 1. Nf6+ Bf6 2. Bf6, but Black would be very pleased by this decision as his bad bishop is gone and the mating idea on dark squares is just an illusion. 2… Qe6 and f7-f5 with a good position for Black. The most technical continuation is: 1. Nxe7+ Nxe7 2. Bxe7! Qe7. White exchanges two minor pieces and leaves Black with bad g7 bishop! Now the knight will dominate the board. And what is the next thing that White has to do? He, of course, needs to bring the knight to the d5 square: Nd2-b1-c3-d5.
Gaining the Advantage
In the last example, White gets a decisive advantage by playing 1. Re1!. In the rook endgame Black would do fine and White won’t be able to win, but a pawn endgame is hopeless for Black due to the protected passed h5 pawn. The black king must stay on the king’s side to be ready to stop the h5 pawn if it starts advancing; meanwhile the white king goes to the queen’s side to face Black’s pawns.
Remember: Any little exchange may have a huge effect on the result of the game. Always keep this in mind, and trade the pieces wisely.
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