UNDERSTANDING CHESS MIDDLEGAMES Euwe was being somewhat unfair in choosing this as an example of the
merits of the queenside majority, because White
has a whole raft of positional advantages, most
of which have absolutely nothing to do with the
queenside majority. First of all, the backward
e6-pawn and the resulting hole on e5 spring to
the eye. True, at the moment the e6-pawn is
shielded by the knight on e4, but this knight
will probably not stay there forever since White
will eventually be able to play f3 to force the
knight into a retreat or an exchange. Then the
e6-pawn will be fully exposed to attack along
the half-open e-file. Secondly, Black has a bad
bishop on d7 (see Section 30), which is se-
verely restricted by the light-squared central
pawn-chain. This bishop has very few prospects
of activity. In the long run, it could emerge via
e8 to h5, but this would involve moving the
knight away from g6, which would allow ttJe5
followed by fl. Black's chances of playing ... e5
are virtually zero as this would require control
of e5 and reinforcement of d5, and even if
Black succeeded, he would be left with an iso-
lated d-pawn.
It is true that the queenside majority is a fur-
ther asset, because it gives White another possi-
bility for active play. In addition to the plan of
organizing f3, White also has the idea of simply
advancing his pawn to b5, after which Black
has to worry about c6 at some point. But the key
point is that this advantage is peripheral to the
overall assessment of the position. I don't criti-
cize Euwe for his choice of this example, but I
think it is misleading to focus on one rather mi-
nor aspect of the position and pretend that this
is the sole reason why White has an advantage.

It's not ! Alekhine, in fact, dealt with that issue according to Kasparov in MGP I.

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