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In the 72nd volume of the Empire Chess series, Grandmaster Damian Lemos tackles the unusual theme of Learning to Defend like a GM. He does this by extensively analyzing strong grandmaster games, where you will see how GMs act when they have to defend themselves against their opponents’ attacks.
It is important to learn the basic concepts of defense in order to avoid suffering painful defeats due to not knowing how to react. You will also learn how to handle the concept of the counterattack at the opportune moment, a weapon that is very effective when used well. Defense is a sometimes difficult task and a part that many players do not like, but it is necessary in order to improve and progress in chess.
In this preview video we can see a game between the strong GMs Sokolov and Hellers. White employed the aggressive Trompowsky Opening, sacrificing a pawn that Black accepted in the opening.Once Black completed their development they had to act quickly before White went to h6 with their bishop.
Black played actively with c5 attacking the white center. An important concept is that the piece exchange tends to favor the defending side with additional material. In addition, achieving the queen exchange tends to avoid the enemy’s attack. Black plays well with the Nd7-b6 then c4 plan in order to capture White’s bishop, reducing their possibilities to attack. The defensive Nf8-Nd6 maneuver is rather typical; the knight is very good at blocking, being mindful of the opponent’s threats and avoiding the counterplay and playing without confidence. Following an excellent defensive game, Black repelled all the white threats and was left with additional material, winning the game without many problems and with an impeccable technique.
