The leap into the center

Step 1 of 6

Look first

A game from 1914. Capablanca has White, Lopez Martinez has Black. The middle looks closed.

You are playing White. Which empty square in the center does no black pawn control?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a square from a list

Square a8, black rookb8, emptyc8, black bishopd8, emptye8, black kingf8, emptyg8, emptyh8, black rooka7, emptyb7, black pawnc7, black pawnd7, emptye7, black queenf7, black pawng7, emptyh7, emptya6, black pawnb6, emptyc6, black knightd6, black pawne6, emptyf6, black knightg6, emptyh6, emptya5, emptyb5, emptyc5, black bishopd5, emptye5, black pawnf5, emptyg5, emptyh5, black pawna4, emptyb4, emptyc4, white bishopd4, emptye4, white pawnf4, emptyg4, black pawnh4, white pawna3, emptyb3, emptyc3, white knightd3, white pawne3, emptyf3, emptyg3, white bishoph3, emptya2, white pawnb2, white pawnc2, white pawnd2, white queene2, white knightf2, white pawng2, white pawnh2, emptya1, white rookb1, emptyc1, emptyd1, emptye1, emptyf1, white rookg1, white kingh1, empty Mark or unmark

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen d2
• Rook a1
• Rook f1
• Bishop c4
• Bishop g3
• Knight c3
• Knight e2
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn c2
• Pawn d3
• Pawn e4
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h4

Black

• King e8
• Queen e7
• Rook a8
• Rook h8
• Bishop c5
• Bishop c8
• Knight c6
• Knight f6
• Pawn a6
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c7
• Pawn d6
• Pawn e5
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g4
• Pawn h5

Step 2 of 6

Decide

An early game by Nimzowitsch. He has White, Spielmann has Black.

You are playing White. The pawn on a6 attacks your knight on b5. Where do you move it?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Position as a list

White

• King e1
• Queen d1
• Rook a1
• Rook h1
• Bishop f1
• Knight b5
• Knight c3
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn c2
• Pawn e3
• Pawn e4
• Pawn g3
• Pawn h2

Black

• King e8
• Queen d8
• Rook a8
• Rook h8
• Bishop c8
• Knight c6
• Knight g8
• Pawn a6
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c7
• Pawn d7
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g7
• Pawn h7

Where do you move your knight?

Nb5–a3: the knight goes to the edge Nb5xc7+: the knight captures with check Nb5–d4: the knight goes into the center

Step 3 of 6

Try it

Back to the game from 1914. White has jumped to d5, Black has exchanged there, and White has recaptured with the pawn.

You are playing Black. The pawn on d5 attacks your knight on c6. Where do you jump?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

12345678

hgfedcba

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move Rb8 – rook from a8 to b8Ra7 – rook from a8 to a7Bd7 – bishop from c8 to d7Be6 – bishop from c8 to e6Bf5 – bishop from c8 to f5Kf8 – king from e8 to f8Kd7 – king from e8 to d7Kd8 – king from e8 to d8Rh7 – rook from h8 to h7Rh6 – rook from h8 to h6Rg8 – rook from h8 to g8Rf8 – rook from h8 to f8b6 – pawn from b7 to b6b5 – pawn from b7 to b5Qd8 – queen from e7 to d8Qf8 – queen from e7 to f8Qf6 – queen from e7 to f6Qg5 – queen from e7 to g5Qxh4 – queen from e7 captures on h4Qe6 – queen from e7 to e6Qd7 – queen from e7 to d7f6 – pawn from f7 to f6f5 – pawn from f7 to f5a5 – pawn from a6 to a5Na7 – knight from c6 to a7Nb8 – knight from c6 to b8Nd8 – knight from c6 to d8Nd4 – knight from c6 to d4Nb4 – knight from c6 to b4Na5 – knight from c6 to a5Bb6 – bishop from c5 to b6Ba7 – bishop from c5 to a7Bd4 – bishop from c5 to d4Be3 – bishop from c5 to e3Bxf2+ – bishop from c5 captures on f2Bb4 – bishop from c5 to b4Ba3 – bishop from c5 to a3e4 – pawn from e5 to e4O-O – castles kingside Play move

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen d2
• Rook a1
• Rook f1
• Bishop c4
• Bishop g3
• Knight e2
• Pawn a2
• Pawn b2
• Pawn c2
• Pawn d3
• Pawn d5
• Pawn f2
• Pawn g2
• Pawn h4

Black

• King e8
• Queen e7
• Rook a8
• Rook h8
• Bishop c5
• Bishop c8
• Knight c6
• Pawn a6
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c7
• Pawn d6
• Pawn e5
• Pawn f7
• Pawn g4
• Pawn h5

Step 4 of 6

Why does it work?

In the center a knight reaches many squares on both sides. Also check whether an enemy pawn could control your knight’s square after advancing. That pawn could then drive your knight away.

Nimzowitsch demands of the knights on c3 and c6: as soon as the opponent neglects the center, they jump to d5 or d4. He calls this an invasion of the center.

For Nimzowitsch the center consists of squares, not of pawns. A piece can dominate it too.

Step 5 of 6

New position, same idea

A game from 1926. Nimzowitsch has White, Michel has Black. The white pawns on e5 and f4 are far advanced.

You are playing White. Where does your knight on c3 jump?

Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space selects a piece and moves it to a highlighted square. Escape cancels the selection.

87654321

abcdefgh

Which piece should the pawn become?

Queen Rook Bishop Knight

Cancel

Choose a move from a list

Move e6 – pawn from e5 to e6a5 – pawn from a4 to a5Nb5 – knight from c3 to b5Nd5 – knight from c3 to d5Ne4 – knight from c3 to e4Ne2 – knight from c3 to e2Nd1 – knight from c3 to d1Nb1 – knight from c3 to b1Na2 – knight from c3 to a2Qg4 – queen from h3 to g4Qxf5 – queen from h3 captures on f5Qh4 – queen from h3 to h4Qh5 – queen from h3 to h5Qh6 – queen from h3 to h6Qxh7+ – queen from h3 captures on h7Qg2 – queen from h3 to g2Qg3 – queen from h3 to g3Qf3 – queen from h3 to f3Qe3 – queen from h3 to e3Qd3 – queen from h3 to d3Ba3 – bishop from b2 to a3Bc1 – bishop from b2 to c1d3 – pawn from d2 to d3d4 – pawn from d2 to d4Ra2 – rook from a1 to a2Ra3 – rook from a1 to a3Rab1 – rook from a1 to b1Rac1 – rook from a1 to c1Rad1 – rook from a1 to d1Rae1 – rook from a1 to e1Rf2 – rook from f1 to f2Rf3 – rook from f1 to f3Rfe1 – rook from f1 to e1Rfd1 – rook from f1 to d1Rfc1 – rook from f1 to c1Rfb1 – rook from f1 to b1Kf2 – king from g1 to f2 Play move

Position as a list

White

• King g1
• Queen h3
• Rook a1
• Rook f1
• Bishop b2
• Knight c3
• Pawn a4
• Pawn c4
• Pawn d2
• Pawn e5
• Pawn f4
• Pawn h2

Black

• King g8
• Queen e7
• Rook a8
• Rook f8
• Bishop c6
• Bishop c7
• Pawn a6
• Pawn b7
• Pawn c5
• Pawn f5
• Pawn g6
• Pawn h7

Step 6 of 6

Nimzowitsch and today

Aaron Nimzowitsch: looking at the board differently