FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

1

Efstratios Grivas:

The Hungarian Knight-Tour

Concept
One of the main advices of the experts is to
not place your pieces on the edge of the
board. Centralisation and initiative are
must in our days and chess players are
usually focused on these two assets.
I also do believe in these assets but I do not
feel shame to use some edge squares for
my pieces, if this is necessary for my plans
…
I have noticed some games where a knight
is placed temporarily on h1/h8, as a part of
its route to ‘more’ central squares!
Sometimes this knight-tour is connected
with the g4/...g5 advance and pressure on
the centre. I named the concept as ‘The
Hungarian Knight-Tour’ mainly because I
primary met if in Hungarian players
games!
But let’s see what it is about after all:

Lukacs P. : Horvath G.
Budapest 1989

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White should feel happy due to his more
centralised pieces. But it is essential to
force the e5 advance, activating his rooks
and to activate his knight as well. The not
so good placed knight should be
transferred to a better square, namely c6 or
e6.
29.g4!?

Preparing the knight-route to d4 square via
h1.
29...Qa6?
Black loses valuable time. He should also
think of improving his knight and this is
better done to the c5 square. So, 29...Nd7!
was a must: 30.Nh1 Rc7 31.Ng3 Nc5
32.Nf5 Nd3 33.Rf1. He obviously thought
that his knight on b6 defends against the e5
advance, because of the pressure on the d5
pawn.
30.Nh1 Qc8 31.h3 Re8?!
Although Black lost time with his queen,
he should again opt for placing his knight
on c5: 31...Rc7 32.Ng3 Nd7 33.Nf5 Qa6
34.Ne7 Kh8 35.Nc6.
32.Ng3 g6 33.Ne2 Qd7 34.Nd4
Now Black is in trouble - the white knight
makes the difference ...
34...Rcc8 35.Rd1?
Here White could play 35.f5! After 35...g5
(35...a6 36.fg6 hg6 37.Rf1 Qe7 38.Ne6±)
36.Ne6, and ideas as Qd4 and h4–Rh3, he
would have a nearly decisive advantage.
35...Na4! 36.Nc6?!
Again 36.f5! Nc5 37.Ne6 would be
preferable. But White was focused on the
e5 advance ...
36...a6 37.Qd4 Rf8

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38.e5! fe5 39.fe5 de5?
The decisive mistake. Black should have
opted for 39...Rce8! 40.e6 Qg7.
40.Re5?
After 40.Ne5! Qd6 41.g5!, the threat Ng4
is difficult to be met ...
40...Rc6?

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

2

Panic! Black had to try to defend with
40...Rce8 41.Rde1 Re5 42.Qe5±.
41.dc6 Qc6 42.Re7 Qf6 43.Qf6 Rf6
44.Rd8 Rf8 45.Rdd7 1:0.

I was lucky to watch the 2

nd

example live,

as I was present in 2013 Tata Steel:

Nikolic P. : Rapport R.
Wijk aan Zee 2013

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Black's knight looks more or less OK, but
still it lacks any good attacking square.
And passivity is not welcomed by the new
generation!
31...g5!?
After 31...Kg7 32.g5! h6 33.h4 Qb4
34.Rc2 chances would be more or less
equal.
32.Rc2?!
The active 32.Ne4! should be best:
32...Qb4 (32...gf4 33.ef4 Qb4 34.Nf6 Kg7
35.Nh5 Kf8 36.Qb4 Rb4 37.a5) 33.Qb4
Rb4 34.Ng5 Ng5 35.fg5 Ra4 36.Rb1 Ra2!
(36...Rb4?! 37.Ra1 Rb6 38.Kf2±) 37.Rb6
a5 38.Rd6 a4 39.Rd8 Kf7 40.Rd7 Kg6
41.d6 Rd2 42.Ra7 Kg5 43.d7 h5 44.gh5
Kh5 45.Kf1 a3 46.Ke1 Rd6=. Note that if
White wants to have a passed & protected
pawn with f5, then he would have to live
with an excellent placed black knight on
e5.
32...Qb4!
Now Black improves his queen before any
further operation.
33.Kh2 Qc4 34.Kg2

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34...Nh8!
The knight tour begins ...
35.Kf2 Ng6 36.Ne2
White could think of 36.fg5 Ne5.
36...Qa4 37.Rb2?!
White's time-trouble was a key factor here,
as he missed his chances with 37.Ra2 Qc4
38.fg5 Ne5 39.Nf4.
37...gf4 38.ef4?
Another grave mistake. Forced was 38.Rb3
Qb3 39.ef4 Qh3 40.Qb2! Qh4 (40...Qg4
41.Qb8 Kf7 42.Qd6) 41.Ke3 Qe7 42.Kf3
a5.
38...c4?
Returning the favour. 38...Rh3! 39.Rb8
Kf7 40.Rb7 Ne7–+ was rather easy ...
39.f5?

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Ping-pong of time-trouble mistakes.
39.Rb3! seems to hold: 39...cb3 40.f5! Ne5
41.Qg5 Kf7 42.Qh5=.
39...c3!

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

3

Decisive - Black wins the white knight!
40.Nc3
40.Qe3 cb2 41.Qe6 Kg7 42.fg6 Rb7–+.
40...Qf4 41.Ke1
41.Qf4 Rb2 42.Kg3 Nf4 43.Kf4 a5–+.
41...Qg3 42.Kd1 Rc3 43.Rb8
43.fg6 Qf3 44.Qe2 Qh1 45.Qe1 Rc1–+.
43...Kg7 44.Rb7 Kf6 45.fg6 Qf3 46.Qe2
Qh1
And White resigned due to 47.Qe1 Qd5
48.Qd2 Qh1 49.Qe1 Rd3 50.Kc2 Qe1
51.Kd3 Qf1 52.Kd4 Qf2 53.Kc3 Qf3. 0:1.

Ghaem Maghami : Salem AR S.
Khanty-Mansiysk 2013

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White's spatial advantage is an important
factor in this position, as it deprives Black
from any form of counterplay. But still
something can be improved!
31.Nh1! Rf5 32.Ng3 Ne7!?
Black decided to sac the exchange, hoping
for a good blockade on the light squares.
32...Rf7 33.h4± and h5 wasn't too much
appealing to him ...
33.h4!?
33.Nf5 ef5 34.Qd2 Ne6 was Black's idea,
although after 35.h4! White should win.
But the Hungarian Knight looks quite
important to exchange it for a rook ...
33...Kg8 34.h5 gh5

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35.Nh4!
Very well played and decisive, as now the
blockade on f5 will be broken.
35...Qb5
Black is without any defence. Easy as well
was 35...Rf7 36.f5 ef5 37.Ngf5 Nf5
38.Nf5+–.
36.Qb5 ab5 37.Nhf5 Nf5 38.Nf5 ef5
39.Rc1 Ne6 40.Rc6 Kf7 41.Rd6 Bf8
42.Rd5 1:0.

Iljin A. : Wilschut P.
Leiden 2013

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It seems that Black's activity on the king
side is promising, but in reality it is only
weakening his position!
19.fg5! hg5 20.g4!
And now the Black centre will fall under
heavy attack.
20...Qd7 21.gf5 Bf5 22.Nh1
A well-known idea, but here I would have
opted for 22.Kh1 Bh6 23.Rg1 Kh7 24.Raf1

FIDE Surveys – Efstratios Grivas

4

Qe6 25.Rg3.
22...Bh3! 23.Rf2 Qe6?!
Black missed the active 23...Ng4! After
24.Rf8 Rf8 25.Qe4 Nf6 26.Qc2 Qe6,
White cannot really afford to protect his
extra pawn: 27.Nf2 (27.Bd2? Ng4–+)
27...Qe3 28.Qd3=.
24.Ng3
The knight completed its mission and now
the black centre is rather weak ...
24...Bh6 25.Rd1
Also good was 25.a5 b5 26.Bf1 Bf1
27.Raf1 Ng4 28.Rf8 Rf8 29.Rf8 Bf8
30.cb5 cb5 31.Qe4±.
25...Rad8 26.Rd2
White seems to be in no hurry for the d5
advance, but here it was quite good: 26.d5!
cd5 27.Bf6 ef6 28.cd5±.
26...a5

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27.Bf1?
A bad idea, losing the advantage. 27.d5!
again was strong.
27...Bg4?
And Black returns the favour! 27...Bf1
28.Rf1 Ng4 was unclear.
28.Bg2
Now the e4–pawn is lost ...
28...Rf7 29.Ne4 Ne4 30.Qe4 Qe4 31.Be4
Bd7 32.Rf7 Kf7 33.c5 g4 34.Kf2 1:0.

Conclusion
Obviously, dogmatic treatment should be
forbidden! Our pieces should seek
centralisation in general, but any square is
good and should be used for this purpose!
If we keep this in mind, we will be able to
find manoeuvres as Nh1/h8, which will
improve in certain cases our position.