attack · recognise → explain → apply

Exchange a central blockader to free your pieces

An enemy minor piece on a stable central square interrupts your plan.

Explanation styleChoose any style. Age is not playing strength; no birth date is needed.

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Anatoly Karpov – Garry Kasparov

World Championship, game 17 · 1990.12.05 · 1-0

23... Nc4 · White to move

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What to notice at 23... Nc4

Karpov’s 24.Nd2 invited an exchange of Black’s knight on c4. After ...Nxd2 and Bxd2, White’s rook and central passer became important parts of the next phase.

A legally replayed historical example, not a claim that every move is best. A game’s result does not prove every defensive position was lost or drawn.

Game source ↗

Your thinking first

Name the signal, choose a plan, and test the opponent’s most challenging response.

What do you notice?What is your plan, and why?How could the opponent resist?

Recall and explain

1. An enemy minor piece on a stable central square interrupts your plan. How would you apply “exchange a central blockader to free your pieces”, and which defensive reply must you check?

Explain it in your own words before revealing.

Make it memorable

Remove the stopper, not your own momentum.

Teach this to a friend in one minute. Then return to a different example and look for the same signal without being told its name.

Reflect and revisit

This is your self-assessment, not an engine grade or a promise of mastery.

Connect the ideas

Practise pawn transformations →

Sources and further reading

Original LumaChess teaching and game analysis. Topic references are credited below; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.