A concerted action of two or more chessmen designed to achieve a specific objective, such as to gain material advantage or to win a more favorable position, or to effect a checkmate.
For a ‘Petite Combinaison’ (French names used by Capablanca), let us see the game Tartakower-Capablanca, New York 1924. Tartakower played 9.Bxb8 hoping for Rxb8 then 9. Qa4+ followed by Qxb4, but Capablanca played the subtle 9…Nxd5 threatening 10…Ne3 with a win.
For a ‘Longue Combinaison’ let us go the famous game Mason-Szymon [C50], Vienna 1st Vienna (27), 13.06.1882.
Botvinnik said: A combination is a forced variation with sacrifice.
ECHESSPEDIA
Quotes of the Day
16. “By all means examine the games of the great chess players, but don’t swallow them whole. Their games are valuable not for their separate moves, but for their vision of chess, their way of thinking.
Anatoly Karpov
Unfortunately this gentlemanlike behaviour among chessplayers is out of fashion. It’s my principle that you should respect your opponent as much as you respect yourself.
Lajos Portisch 1990
Botvinnik, Korchnoi and Kasparov had to hate the opponent to play successfully. I belong to a different type of chess players. I’m like Keres, Spassky and Portisch. On the board we fight, but in life we get along great.
Anatoly Karpov 2015
Fischer’s strength, among other things, was his ability to evolve the most efficient plan for the middlegame right after the opening.
Boris Spassky
The Golden Age, when machines were weak and my hair was strong!
Garry Kasparov 2017
