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
Agon was just sold for one pound and the reputation of Ilyumzhinov’s FIDE is worth even less than that.
Garry Kasparov 2014
It is not possible to become a great player without having learned how to analyse deeply and accurately.
Mark Dvoretsky
A good sacrifice is one that is not necessarily sound but leaves your opponent dazed and confused.
Rudolf Spielmann
The game of chess is turning out to be much richer than we knew-you can’t reduce it to the simple rules
Vishy Anand 2017
” Chess is most certainly not my life.”
Tony Miles