Game 10-12: Korchnoi vs Karpov 1981 & Karpov vs Kasparov 1984
Variation: Tartakower Defence
The next games dive into one of the most conceptually rich themes in the Queen's Gambit Declined: the hanging pawns on c5 and d5. These central pawns are a double-edged sword, potentially powerful if they can advance, but also vulnerable to pressure from well-placed white pieces. Few players understood this better than Anatoly Karpov, a true expert in navigating these structures from both sides.
One featured game is from the 1984-85 World Championship match against Garry Kasparov, where both players tested ideas in positions stemming from the Tartakower Variation and related setups. Karpov often preferred playing against the hanging pawns, using piece pressure and patient manoeuvring to restrain their activity and provoke weaknesses.
Two additional games are examined to reinforce the strategic themes. They offer a masterclass in handling hanging pawns, showing their latent energy, tactical fragility, and positional complexity, and why they remain one of the most debated structures in classical chess.
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