1 Broader Issues and Their Evolution

1 Broader Issues and Their Evolution

1.1 Surrender of the Centre

The phrase 'surrender of the centre' usually re‑

fers to the classical situation after I e4 e5, in

which White plays d4 and Black plays ...exd4

rather than trying to protect his e5-pawn. This

arises, for example, in Philidor's Defence after

1 e4 e5 2 ielf3 d6 3 d4 exd4, and in the Ruy

Lopez after 1 e4 e5 2 12)f3 t?Ic6 3 b5lLif6

0-0 d6 5 d4 d7 642)6 exd4, among other se‑

quences. Surrender of the centre can also occur

when there are pawns on d4 and d5, such that

after White's move e4, Black plays ...dxe4 rather

than trying to shore up his centre. Nimzowitsch

approved of this strategy in the French Defence

line 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 eLc3 dxe4; and the open‑

ing that perhaps most successfully employs the

surrender of the centre is the Caro-Kann De‑

fence: 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 12)6 dxe4. In fact, one

could argue that the very existence of this last

venerable line means that no universal condem‑

nation of central surrender can be made.

Surrender of the centre is closely connected

to the topic of space. The side that surrenders

the centre gives his opponent influence over

five ranks, i.e., he controls only three ranks se‑

curely, his opponent controls four, and his own

fourth rank is disputed territory. For conve‑

nience, let's call the side that surrenders the

centre 'Black' (as is the case in the above exam‑

ples). In which cases is this justified? How

should Black proceed? Which side benefits from

exchanges? These issues are treated differently

in modem chess from the way they were in

classical times. Most significantly, the philoso‑

phy of when and when not to exchange pieces

has changed, and the decision to cede territory

to White depends more upon the immediacy of

central counterplay.

Surrender in the Double

e-Pawn Openings

Let's begin with examples of double e-pawn

lines involving ...exd4 that were relatively more

popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries:

3...exd4 in the Philidor Defence (1 e4 e5 2 if3

d6 3 d4) and an early ...exd4 in the Ruy Lopez

(1 e4 e5 2 12313 e?ic6 3 b5 with a later d4). To

identify some trends, I will use databases of the

top players who were at their best for various

epochs, as described in the Preface. The Phili‑

dor Defence was of course more popular in ear‑

her times. Among top players, it was used about

twice as often in the 19th century as in 1901-

1935, and about 8 times as often as in later

years (it has a small but steady following today,

with even top players dabbling occasionally).

e4 e5 2 1243 d6 3 d4 (D)

B

rrrrr,„„A

Black now faces a fundamental choice about

whether to surrender the centre with 3...exd4