Passive play never yields positive result

Aimless and passive play never helps a player during a game of chess. It is important to develop your pieces and establish good co-ordination between them.

 Trying to retreat and regroup often leads to passivity and the opponent then gets the upper hand and takes control of the board and the game.

In the game which follows, Black’s pieces hardly venture out of their territory and one fails to understand the awkward placement of his Queen in the middle-game. White on the other hand capitalises on this passivity to infiltrate and dominate the game.

White: Vadim Zvjaginsev (2650) – Black: Alexei Fedorov (2600)Russian Cup Final, 1998Sicilian Defence1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3 e6. Black could have tried to drive back the knight with 5...e5 6.Nb3 Be6 7.c4 Be7 8.Be3 0–0 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.Qd2 Rc86.c4 Be7If 6...Nc6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.Nc2 0–0 9.Ne3 a67.Nc3 0–0 8.Be2 b6Black could still have looked at 8…e5 or 8. ..Nc6 seriously9.0–0 Bb7 10.Be3 Nbd7 11.Qd2White could have played 11.Qb3 Ne5  12.a411. ..a6. If 11...Rc8 12.a4 (12.Ndb5 Ne5 13.Nxa7 Nxc4) 12...Ne5 13.b3 d512.a4 Qc7Once again Black does not choose the right continuation. He had options like 12...d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.cxd5 Bxd5 16.Nf5 or 12...Nc5 13.b4 e5 14.bxc5 exd4 15.Qxd4 dxc5 16.Qxd8 Rfxd8 17.Rab1 or even 12...Ne5 13.a5 bxa5 14.Nb3 Nc6 15.Na4 Nd7; 12...Re813.Rfc1 Rfe8. Better appears 13. ..Nc5  14.e5 Ndb5. Also if 13...Ne5 14.a5 bxa5 15.Nb3 Nc6 (15...Nxc4 16.Bxc4 Qxc4 17.Nxa5 Qb4 18.Ra4) 16.Nd514.a5. White on the other hand is freely and makes a good pawn advance14. ..bxa5 15.Nb3 Rac8Black is somehow missing the correct continuations. Here he could have played 15...Rab8 16.Nxa5 Ba8 17.b4 Rec816.Nxa5 Ba8 17.Nb3White should have continued aggressively with 17.Bd4 Rb8  18.Nd1 Nh517. ..Qb8. Difficult to understand this move. He could have played 17…Rb8. If 17...Ne5 18.Nd4 Qb8 19.b318.Nd4 Bb7 19.Bf2  Bd8Black is preferring to retreat and regroup possibly. If 19...d5 20.exd5 exd5 21.Nxd5 Nxd5 22.cxd520.b4 Ne5 21.Na4± Bc7 22.b5White on the other hand is advancing and pressing22. .. Nfd7 23.bxa6 Bxa6 24.Rcb1 Qa8

Another strange looking move!25.Nc3 Nc5. If 25...Bb6 26.c526.Ndb5 Bb8. If 26...Red8 27.Bxc5 dxc5 28.Nxc7 Rxc7 (28...Rxd2 29.Nxa8 Rxa8 30.Rxa6) 29.Rxa627.Nxd6 Red8 28.Ncb5White is totally controlling the board and is almost posting his pieces on whichever squares he desires. Black pieces have not attempted to venture out of their territory.28. ..Rc6If 28...Bxd6 29.Nxd6 Rc7 (29...Qc6 30.Nxc8  Rxd2 31.Ne7+) 30.Qa529.Bxc5 Rxc5 30.Qe3 Nd7If 30...Rc6 31.c531.f4 e5 32.Qa3 Rc6 33.fxe5 Nxe5 34.c5 Nd7If 34...Rf8 35.Nd435.Bc4 Nxc5 36.Nxf7 Rf8 37.Rf1Just piling on the misery37. ..Bxh2+More in desperation than anything concrete. Black has absolutely no counter-play38.Kxh2 Qb8+The Queen after having cornered herself moves after a long time but everything is already lost.39.Nfd6+ and Black resigned for if 39. ..Kh8  40.Rxf8+ Qxf8  41.Nf7+ Kg8  42.Rf11–0
White to play and win1.Be5+ Kg8 2.Qxe6+ Kf8 3.Bd6+ Kg7 4.Qxe1