Süleymanlı–Meshkovs, played in the opening round of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, is an instructive example of positional play. In the Queen’s Indian Defence, White first takes control of the centre, then uses seemingly modest waiting moves such as a3, h3 and Kh1 to force his opponent to commit. Black’s position gradually deteriorates, and the decisive tactical blow comes with a deflection on move 31.
Below you can replay the complete annotated game, with a summary of the ideas explained in the video, and then try solving four critical positions for yourself.
Annotated Game
Click the moves, use the buttons below the board, or press the arrow keys to navigate through the game. Green arrows and highlighted squares illustrate the ideas discussed in the video.
Critical Positions
These are the four moves given an exclamation mark in the video. White is to move in every position. Think first, then reveal the answer or use the next-move button below the board.
Critical Position 1 — Move 4, White to move
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4. a3! Nc3 looks like the natural move, but it allows ...Bb4, pinning the knight that controls the centre and helping Black put pressure on it from a distance. Petrosyan’s a3 prevents this in advance: after ...Bb7, the knight can develop freely to c3. If Black now plays ...Be7, d5 and e4 give White full control of the centre, so ...d5 becomes necessary.
Critical Position 2 — Move 16, White to move
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16. h3! Black’s ...Re8 prepares ...Bf8. White is in no hurry and invites Black to make that move. After ...Bf8, Nh2-g4 and Re3-g3 would produce a very strong kingside attack. Immediate Be3 would block this rook manoeuvre. The engine does not award h3 an exclamation mark, but its underlying idea is highly instructive.
Critical Position 3 — Move 19, White to move
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19. Kh1! A quiet king move with all the pieces still on the board, and the engine’s first choice. White wants to play f4, but an immediate advance would allow ...Qc5+ and dark-square counterplay. Kh1 prevents that check in advance and forces Black to commit: ...Rb8 is met by f4 followed by Bf4 with tempo; ...Nd3 by c4 and Rc1 ideas; a queen move by Qg4; and a bishop move by f4 again. Black has no satisfactory move.
Critical Position 4 — Move 31, White to move
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31. Rxb6! A deflection. The black rook on b7 is defending f7. If it captures on b6, it leaves the seventh rank, allowing Qf7+ followed by a back-rank mate. Black tried to resist with ...Rf8, but White exchanged with Qxf8+ and reached an endgame a minor piece ahead.
Lessons from the Game
- Centre and space: White established a d4-e4 pawn centre and gained space with d5. Black had to lock the centre with ...c4 and ...e5; otherwise White’s bishop would become very strong on the long diagonal from b2.
- Useful waiting moves: a3, h3 and Kh1 belong to the same family. As Karpov explained, they improve your position little by little while forcing your opponent to make a move that worsens theirs.
- Prophylaxis: Think about your opponent’s ideas in advance: h3 anticipates the ...Bf8 manoeuvre, while Kh1 prevents ...Qc5+.
- A prepared pawn break: f4 was prepared with Nd2 and Kh1, then played under favourable conditions and with tempo.
- Pieces far from the action: Black’s queen collected pawns on the queenside while becoming cut off from the kingside, and the bishop on a6 remained out of play. The engine indicates that accurate defence could reduce White’s advantage, but finding those moves under time pressure is very difficult.
- A tactical finish: The positional advantage culminated in the deflection Rxb6.
Video Commentary
The original video commentary is in Turkish. The game annotations and explanations on this page are in English.
Adapted and translated from the original Satranç Okulu Market article.
