Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 25
Answer in the centre
- What you will learn
- If your opponent attacks on the wing, you find an answer in the centre.
- What you should already know
- Where the middle of the board is
- What a pin is
- Lesson 8: Why the middle of the board matters
- Lesson 13: A piece that cannot move
Time: about 6 minutes
Thinking questions in this lesson
You can ask yourself these thinking questions in any position. They help you find a good move.
- What is the threat?
- Which piece could be better placed?
Step 1 of 6
Look first
A game by Akiba Rubinstein from 1911, which Nimzowitsch shows in “My System”. Rubinstein has White; his king is on c1.
Black attacks there, with the pawns on b5 and c5 and the knight on c4. An attack on one side of the board is called a wing attack.
You are playing White. To which square in the centre can your knight on f3 jump?
Arrow keys move the focus across the squares. Enter or Space marks a square or removes the mark.
Choose a square from a list
Position as a list
White
- King c1
- Queen f2
- Rook d1
- Rook e1
- Bishop g2
- Knight c3
- Knight f3
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn d4
- Pawn f4
- Pawn g3
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Queen f6
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Bishop c8
- Knight c4
- Knight c6
- Pawn a6
- Pawn b5
- Pawn c5
- Pawn d5
- Pawn e6
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 2 of 6
Decide
You can defend where Black is attacking. Or you play in the centre.
Black is attacking on the queenside, where your king stands. Which plan do you choose?
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.
Position as a list
White
- King c1
- Queen f2
- Rook d1
- Rook e1
- Bishop g2
- Knight c3
- Knight f3
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn d4
- Pawn f4
- Pawn g3
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Queen f6
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Bishop c8
- Knight c4
- Knight c6
- Pawn a6
- Pawn b5
- Pawn c5
- Pawn d5
- Pawn e6
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 3 of 6
Try it
Rubinstein played dxc5. Black captured on b2 with the knight, Rubinstein took back with the king, and Black went on attacking with b5–b4.
The pawn on b4 attacks your knight on c3. The queen on f6 pins it to your king; it cannot move away. Which move brings a piece to the centre in return?
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.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King b2
- Queen f2
- Rook d1
- Rook e1
- Bishop g2
- Knight c3
- Knight f3
- Pawn a2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn c5
- Pawn f4
- Pawn g3
- Pawn h2
Black
- King g8
- Queen f6
- Rook a8
- Rook f8
- Bishop c8
- Knight c6
- Pawn a6
- Pawn b4
- Pawn d5
- Pawn e6
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 4 of 6
Why does it work?
From the centre your pieces reach both wings quickly. An attack on the wing, by contrast, needs many moves, and in that time your centre grows stronger.
The knight on d4 breaks the pin and stands in the middle of the board. Later a rook captured the pawn on c3, and Rubinstein won.
Key idea
If your opponent attacks on the wing, first look for an answer in the centre.
When does this apply?
Check first whether a piece is hanging or checkmate is threatened. Sometimes you also have to defend on the wing; pieces in the centre help you with that.
Step 5 of 6
New position, same idea
A well-known opening, not an excerpt from a game. Here it is not a long wing attack but an early attack on your pawn on f7.
You are playing Black. White is attacking your pawn on f7 with the knight on g5 and the bishop on c4. Which move do you play?
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.
Choose a move from a list
Position as a list
White
- King e1
- Queen d1
- Rook a1
- Rook h1
- Bishop c1
- Bishop c4
- Knight b1
- Knight g5
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b2
- Pawn c2
- Pawn d2
- Pawn e4
- Pawn f2
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h2
Black
- King e8
- Queen d8
- Rook a8
- Rook h8
- Bishop c8
- Bishop f8
- Knight c6
- Knight f6
- Pawn a7
- Pawn b7
- Pawn c7
- Pawn d7
- Pawn e5
- Pawn f7
- Pawn g7
- Pawn h7
Step 6 of 6
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
Nimzowitsch writes, in substance: a strongly centralised game can never be killed off by a flank attack alone. To Rubinstein’s dxc5 he calls out “Bravo!”, to Nd4 he gives an exclamation mark, and he shows how the black wing attack is repelled from the centre. As the motto of the game itself he writes: first restrain, then blockade, and finally destroy. A second game in the same section, Kline – Capablanca 1913, he calls “central file against flank attack” (our translation). Akiba Rubinstein was one of the strongest players of his time. The texts are newly written for the course; the positions come from Rubinstein – Löwenfisch, Karlsbad 1911, and the opening is a teaching example of the course.
- My System, part II: Games for chapter 1 (in German) (original text not yet published)
Today’s view (editorial note)
Coaches pass this rule on to this day: an attack on the wing is often answered with a counter-thrust in the centre. In the opening from “New position”, 4… d5 has long been the usual move. The rule is not a guarantee; first you ask what your opponent is threatening.