Chess School Quiz Challenge #15

Challenge

Grandmaster Michael Prusikin faces a positional threat with the white pieces. What is it? What should White play?

Solution

If it were Black's move, it would be a clear case. Black would play 1…c5-c4 and would have established a pawn majority on the queenside: the three black pawns on the a-, b- and c-file would be opposed by two white pawns. 

This majority would be mobile and threatening. Black would immediately follow up with...a6-a5 and...b5-b4, a pawn storm. The queenside would be in Black's hands, while the white pieces would have a hard time finding good squares in a cramped space. White would have to be careful not to be steamrolled.

From White's point of view, there is the additional problem of a lack of counterplay. White would love to use the pawn break e3-e4 in the center to crack open the black pawn mass, but that's not an option. Black covers the e4 square four times, so e3-e4 would lose a pawn. 

1...c5-c4 is a powerful threat. If Black were able to execute this move, the game would immediately be a one-way trip. Of course, in this game from the 2023 German Masters, Grandmaster Michael Prusikin understood the threat and took preventive action. 

1.d4xc5! is clearly the best move, which primarily serves to remove the black threat from the position. By capturing on c5, White transforms the pawn structure into an isolated pawn structure.

The black pawn on d5 is now isolated. It cannot be protected by its own pawns, which means that it is in danger of becoming a target for the white pieces. What's more, White has cleared the blockade square d4. A white knight will nestle there unassailably and prevent the isolated pawn from advancing for the time being, before White targets it.