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A space advantage alone is rarely enough to win. however, if you combine it with other pluses such as central dominance, superior piece placement, developmental lead, and superior king safety then you have enough for the win. As a rule you need a combination of 3 or more small advantages for a decisive win. |
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1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3
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I have always had good success with this type of pawn structure. The the extra pawn in the centre along with the open b-file and a3-f8 diagonal for the bishop make it attractive for me. |
 
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6... Bg7
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Black is planning to attack the centre via ...c5 with the support of the bishop on g7. It often works well but can on occasion give white a huge centre. Notice how my pawns give me a plus of space and central dominance. This is enough to give me a small but enduring advantage. |
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7. Nf3
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Developing a piece and defending d4. |
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7... c5
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As expected Harpov plays to attack the centre immediately. The alternative ...0-0 has not scored as well for black in practice. Probably because it gives white time to consolidate in the centre. So if black does want to fight for a win then ...c5 is his only option. |
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8. Rb1
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White has a wide range of choices here but I like Rb1 because rooks belong on open files and hitting at b7 hinders the development of black's LSB and thus his queen side. |
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8... O-O 9. Be2
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In my view the only move. It does not hinder the potential of the other pieces and assists in kingside castling. |
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9... Nc6 10. d5
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Attacks the knight and ensures that white has a descent centre. However, it gives up e5 and makes c3 a target. |
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10... Ne5 11. Nxe5
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The exchange of knight draws the DSB out of it's protective cave and into a less secure environment. On e5 black will have to watch out for f2-f4 with tempo |
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11... Bxe5
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The exchange is good for white as the bishop is vulnerable to f4 and white's centre is almost god like. This guarantees a space advantage. |
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12. c4
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Consolidates the centre but invites black to put pressure on c3 via Qa4+. I plan to give Harpov control of the queen side in exchange for greater development and freedom on the king side. On the other hand black has managed to create significant weakness on the dark squares. His developed bishop is far superior. So white's big centre is balanced by black's big bishop and dark square control. |
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12... Qa5+
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Wins the a-pawn but at the cost of lagging development and more lose in space. So to maintain the balance black gets a pawn for the lagging development. |
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13. Bd2 Qxa2
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I give up the pawn in order get attacking chances on the king side via f2-f4. If I can play f2-f4 before black moves his DSB I will gain an attack with tempo |
1 comment
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14. O-O
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White is now completely developed and ready to attack. My goal is to play f4 with a king side and centre steamroll. But first I must play Be3 in order to prevent black from playing ...Bd4 |
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14... b6
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Black consolidates his queenside and seems to want to play ...Ba6 hitting at c4. |
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15. Be3
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Discouraging ...Bd4 and shoring up any weaknesses created from f4 |
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15... Bg7
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Black retreats in anticipation for the up coming f2-f4. |
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16. f4
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now white threatens a timely e5 with a massive advantage. |
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16... Qa3
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A pointless move that only assists white in further mobilizing his forces. In my view 16...e6
17. e5 f6 was dependable for black. |
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17. Rb3
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driving away the queen. |
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17... Qa4
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White has improved his pieces and gained an all important tempo. Meanwhile black has moved his queen twice in a row. |
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