Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.
Lesson 36
Manoeuvring along an axis
- What you will learn
- When manoeuvring against a weakness, you use a central square over which your pieces switch quickly between the two wings.
- What you should already know
- How to attack a weakness from two sides
- Lesson 29: Attacking a weakness from two sides
Time: about 5 minutes
Thinking questions in this lesson
You can ask yourself these thinking questions in any position. They help you find a good move.
- Which piece could be better placed?
- What is the threat?
Step 1 of 6
Look first
An endgame of Nimzowitsch’s from 1928. Schlage has White, Nimzowitsch has Black and more space. The white knights control the queenside like gatekeepers.
You are playing Black. Which square on the queenside can your bishop and your knight both reach in one move, without a white pawn being able to control it?
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 f1
- Knight b2
- Knight d2
- Pawn b4
- Pawn c3
- Pawn f3
- Pawn g2
- Pawn h3
Black
- King c6
- Bishop d5
- Knight e5
- Pawn b5
- Pawn e6
- Pawn f5
- Pawn g5
- Pawn h5
Step 2 of 6
Decide
A queen endgame from 1926. Nimzowitsch has White, Antze has Black. The black pawns on a7, f5 and h6 stand far apart.
You are playing White. Where do you put your queen to manoeuvre against the black weaknesses?
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 h3
- Queen d5
- Pawn a2
- Pawn b3
- Pawn e3
- Pawn f4
Black
- King f6
- Queen c7
- Pawn a7
- Pawn f5
- Pawn h6
Step 3 of 6
Try it
The same game, many moves later. The white queen has switched between the wings several times.
You are playing White. With which check do you drive the black king back without losing your queen?
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 h3
- Queen e7
- Pawn a4
- Pawn b4
- Pawn e3
- Pawn f4
Black
- King g6
- Queen d5
- Pawn a6
- Pawn f5
- Pawn h6
Step 4 of 6
Why does it work?
Whoever has more space reaches the opponent’s weaknesses faster. Nimzowitsch calls the square over which the pieces switch from one wing to the other the axis.
The defender has to follow every threat and needs longer routes to do so.
Key idea
When manoeuvring with a space advantage, your pieces switch from one wing to the other over a central square. When the defender can no longer keep up, break through.
When does this apply?
The axis is usually a square or a group of squares in the centre that the opponent cannot control with pawns. The concrete position shows when the breakthrough comes.
Step 5 of 6
New position, same idea
Back to the endgame against Schlage, twenty moves later. Nimzowitsch has been manoeuvring for a long time.
You are playing Black. After long manoeuvring the white king is, as Nimzowitsch puts it, chained to the weak point h3. With which pawn move do you break through now?
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 h2
- Knight d2
- Knight d3
- Pawn b4
- Pawn c3
- Pawn f3
- Pawn h3
Black
- King e6
- Bishop d5
- Knight h5
- Pawn b5
- Pawn e5
- Pawn f5
- Pawn g5
Step 6 of 6
Nimzowitsch and today
Source
In “Chess Praxis” Nimzowitsch explains that when manoeuvring with a space advantage, space is what matters most: two weaknesses are fired at in turn, and the attacker uses their better lines of communication. These run over a particular square, the “axis of the manoeuvring operation” (our translation); against Schlage it was d5, against Antze d4. The defender loses because at some point they can no longer keep pace with the regrouping. The texts are newly written for the course; the positions come from Schlage – Nimzowitsch, Berlin 1928, and Nimzowitsch – Antze, Hanover 1926.
- Chess Praxis, 5. Manoeuvring with a space advantage (original text not yet published)
- Chess Praxis, game 71: Schlage – Nimzowitsch (in German)
- Chess Praxis, game 75: Nimzowitsch – Antze (in German)
Today’s view (editorial note)
Long manoeuvring with a space advantage still counts today as an art of endgame technique. Modern analysis often finds several equally good ways; what remains decisive is that the defender becomes overloaded.