Hivechess Lecture: A Single Attack is not enough

Hello there,

And here is a new Hivechess lecture. We will be looking at how a single attack is not enough. This lesson is one I feel any chess player, at any level, can learn a thing or two from. It is the belief in the idea that a single attack is enough, especially in a classical game. This single attack could work in bullet and even sometimes in blitz. When I talk about a single attack in chess, I am talking about making a move on the board that attacks a single piece with the hope your opponent will not see it, and things like this. It would not work in classical chess, where there is more time, and your opponent can take their time to look around the board to find your one-move attack.

As you move further in chess, you start to understand that having a long-term strategy that entails a couple of moves, probably like 4 to 5 moves ahead in the position. This will be helpful to your game because a lot of games in chess are won by the player who has the ability to see more moves ahead on the board compared to the other person.

So, a game we will be using in today's lesson is from the German Bundesliga for chess, against GM Eljanov and GM Indjic. I will be precise with where the single attack took place on the board, and for details on the game, you can check it with the game link that will be provided below, or use the PGN game.

Highlighted above is the position where things took a drastic turn for GM Indjic with the white pieces. He went for the move Ne5??, which is a blunder in clear sight. First off, you would say it drops the knight in the capture range of the f6 pawn. Well, this caught my attention at first sight because why give up the knight? Here is the thing: it is a one-move attack with the idea of sacrificing the knight in exchange for an open file where the white queen can easily move to f6. Check the position below.

This is the position that came into my head when white sacrificed his knight. I was thinking the idea of moving his queen to f6 next will be a serious threat since the f-file is open and white is in control of it. This is why it got tricked; White did not capture back when his knight was taken.

It did not take a rocket scientist to see that white is losing. Down a piece and has to fight against a passed pawn. Well, it should not be surprising that the grandmaster Eljanov was able to convert the position into a win. That is the thing with a single attack or one-move attack, it can lead to trouble when you do not think it through. It looks simple and tempting at first sight, but it might just be a bad move,e and the only way to know is by thinking of at least 2 responses your opponent might make to your move.

Here is the game link
Game Link

And here is the PGN game

[Event "SBL Deggendorf"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/broadcast/german-bundesliga-202526/round-12/SR1eddMe/Xqq5BXdT"]
[Date "2026.01.11"]
[Round "12.1"]
[White "Indjic, Aleksandar"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2635"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[WhiteTeam "SV Deggendorf"]
[WhiteFideId "911925"]
[BlackElo "2649"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[BlackTeam "MSA Zugzwang"]
[BlackFideId "14102951"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "E36"]
[Opening "Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation"]
[UTCDate "2026.01.11"]
[UTCTime "10:49:12"]
[BroadcastName "German Bundesliga 2025/26"]
[BroadcastURL "https://lichess.org/broadcast/german-bundesliga-202526/round-12/SR1eddMe"]
[GameURL "https://lichess.org/broadcast/german-bundesliga-202526/round-12/SR1eddMe/Xqq5BXdT"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 
6. Qxc3 O-O 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Bg5 b6 9. cxd5 exd5 
10. e3 c5 11. Bb5 h6 12. Bh4 g5 13. Bg3 Ne4 
14. Qc2 Ndf6 15. Ne5 Bf5 16. Qd1 a6 17. Bc6 Ra7 
18. f3 Nxg3 19. hxg3 Kg7 20. b4 Qd6 21. g4 Bh7 
22. bxc5 bxc5 23. Ba4 Rb7 24. O-O c4 25. Qe1 Rc8 
26. Qc3 Ng8 27. Bc2 Bxc2 28. Qxc2 Ne7 29. f4 f6 
30. Nf3 Qe6 31. Qf2 c3 32. Ne5 fxe5 33. f5 Qf6 
34. dxe5 Qxe5 35. f6+ Kg6 36. Qe2 Nc6 
37. Qxa6 Rbc7 38. Rf3 Kf7 39. Rc1 Nd8 0-1

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_{I am @samostically, a chess player and writer. I love to share the experience I have gained from different battles over the 64 squares and the knowledgeable insights from books I have read. But most importantly, I am a Midnight Owl and I founded the community Midnight Letters.}

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Thanks For Reading!