Meran

Meran Variation
Written by GM Ruslan Scherbakov

Last updated Sunday, June 5, 2011
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3
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This is one of the most popular systems not only in the Slav Defence but in the
whole of opening theory. Black's early attack on the queenside compels White to play his
forces there which should prevent or at least make less effective White's future attack in the
centre and on the kingside. Quite often the black king stays uncastled for a long time but as
compensation Black achieves some pluses, usually these include active and strong
queenside pieces.
Rehab
Of course, the idea of playing a queenside attack in the opening is risky but Black
develops his queenside very quickly and his longrange pieces (especially the light squared
bishop) also have great influence in the centre so the positions are usually very sharp and
give much opportunity to a player good field to use his or her creativity and imagination.
Some of the lines were thought to be unfavourable for Black for years, for example
the positions with a weak pawn on e6, but in the early 80s these were almost rehabilitated
thanks to some young Russian players like Yusupov, Dolmatov and Panchenko . The theory
of the Meran System is well developed now and is included in the opening repertoire of
many top players such as Kramnik, Shirov, Dreev, Bareev.
Contents
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7
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6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3 a6
8...b7 9 0-0 (9 e4 D47 Meran/2, 3 & 4Main lines 8...b7 9. e4 9 a3 D47 Meran/1Various
lines) 9...a6 10 e4 c5 11 d5 c7 (11...c4 12 c2 D48 Meran/6 8...b7 9. 0-0 a6 10. e4
c5 11. d5 c4) 12 dxe6 fxe6 13 c2 D48 Meran/7 8...b7 9. 0-0 a6-10. e4 c5 11. d5
c7
9 e4 c5
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10 e5
10 d5 c4 11 dxe6 fxe6 12 c2 D48 Meran/5 8...a69. e4 c5 10. d5 various lines
10...cxd4 11 xb5
3
11...axb5 D49 Meran/9 main lines 8...a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11 Nxb5 axb5
11...xe5 12 xe5 axb5

D49 Meran/8 main lines 8...a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11 Nxb5 Nxe5
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Meran/1 Various lines [D47]

Last updated: 19/11/08 by R.Scherbakov
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3
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6...dxc4
The variation 6...d6
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is not very popular as Black's counterplay is too limited here. However, it does not promise
White more than small advantage and so Black keeps reasonable chances to equalise
with careful play. 7 e4 This immediate pawn advance is known to be more precise.
(after 7 0-0 0-0 White should play something like 8 e1 (8 e4 gives Black a good
option 8...dxc4!? 9 xc4 e5 10 g5 e7 11 e1 (White also tried other moves: 11 h3
5
d8 12 e2 h6 13 e3 exd4 14 xd4 e5 15 xe5 xe5 16 xe5 xe5 17 f4 c5+ 18 h2 d4

19 b3 e6!= with equality, in case of 11 d5 b6 12 b3 h6 13 xf6 xf6 14 dxc6 bxc6 15
c2 g4 Black also doesn't have any problems) 11...d8 (11...exd4 is doubtful as after
12 e5!? xe5 13 e4 White's initiative looks promising) A important position is
arisen. In the game Lautier Anand/Monaco 2000 White tried a new idea: 12 b3
(There are a lot of continuations: 12 e2, 12 b3, and 12 d5 ) 12...exd4 13 e5 (13 xd4?
c5 followed by Bh2+ is just bad for White.) 13...xe5 14 e4 We already saw this
idea, however, in this situation it seems to be less effective. (Interesting
complications would arise after 14 xe5 xe5 15 f4 dxc3 but Black seems to be okay in
all variations.) 14...b5! 15 xd6 (15 xf6 gxf6 was not dangerous for Black.)
15...xf3+ 16 xf3 xd6 17 xb5 d7 Black has successfully avoided direct
danger and secured one extra pawn, though White has some compensation thanks to
his active pieces.), after which Black might think about 8...dxc4
a) 8...e5!? is also worth considering
b) while 8...h6?! is dubious: 9 c5! (not 9 e4, which would be met by 9...dxc4 10 xc4 e5
with acceptable play) 9...c7 10 e4 dxe4 11 xe4 e5 and here in the game Werle
Michiels/Antwerp 2008 12 xf6+!? xf6 13 e3 (or 13 e2!? would have promised
the better chances for White)
9 xc4 b5, playing in a typical Meran style.) 7...dxe4 (here 7...dxc4 8 xc4 e5 is bad due to 9
dxe5 xe5 10 xe5 xe5 11 xd8+ xd8 12 xf7 and to win the pawn back Black has to
part with a bishop: 12...f8 13 c4 xc3+ 14 bxc3 xe4 15 0-0 with a big advantage) 8
xe4 xe4 9 xe4 0-0 10 0-0 h6 11 c2 e5
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An important of this system, which is quite solid but rather passive for Black, who can
usually hope only on half a point. However, for White the task to get substantial
advantage is not as easy as it might seem to be. 12 e1 The main continuation. (12
b4!? is also quite interesting. The idea is simple White is going to develop his
other bishop on the long diagonal, after which he would be ready to build two
batteries B+Q on the diagonals a1-h8 and b1-h7. Black king would face certain
problems but first he has to do something with White's Qside pawns otherwise
White will get positional advantage as well. 12...xb4!? A principled decision.
a) 12...e8 does not solve the problems: 13 c5 c7 14 e1 a5!? (14...exd4 15 xe8+
xe8 16 b2!) 15 b5! cxb5 16 d3 e4 17 xe4 xe4 18 xe4 f6 19 d3 b4 20 a3
bxa3 21 xa3 and White secured a small advantage but Black's position is quite
playable
b) An immediate 12...exd4!? is also worthy of consideration: 13 c5 c7 14 d3 f6
15 b2 d5 16 xd4 e8 17 fe1 d7 and here 18 h3 can probably secure a small
advantage for White but perhaps he has to find something more convincing in this
line.
13 dxe5 e8 (13...c5 fails to solve the problems: 14 e2 e7 15 b1 a5 16 d4 d8 17 b2
h4 18 bd1 g4 19 f3 e6 20 g3 h5 21 g4 g5 22 c1 e7 23 f4 c3 24 e3 and White
is ready to break Black's Kside) 14 b1 c5 15 e6! A rather unexpected and strong
advance. 15...f6! A good reaction. (15...xe6?! 16 d3 g6 17 xh6 gave White a
strong initiative, while after 15...fxe6 16 d3! f8 17 e4 the e6pawn limited Black's
pieces very much so White can smoothly develop his initiative) 16 exf7+ xf7 17
e5+ g8 This position arose in the game Lputian Fontaine/Calvia (ol) 2004.
White should have secured his advantage by playing 18 xd8! xd8 19 e1)
12...exd4 (or 12...b4 13 d2 xd2 14 xd2 exd4 15 xd4 b6 16 c3) 13 xd4 c5 14
c3 White keeps a small but clear advantage.
7 xc4 b5
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8 d3
8 e2
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is much less popular alternative but it is played from time to time. 8...b7 9 0-0 b4!?
a) 9...a6 10 e4 c5 11 e5 d5 12 a4 b4 13 e4 c7!? is one of popular lines
b) as well as 9...e7 10 e4 (10 a3 is a main alternative.) 10...b4 11 e5 bxc3 12 exf6
xf6 (A logical alternative 12...xf6 leads to the position with small advantage for
White after 13 bxc3 0-0 14 b1) 13 bxc3 c5 14 dxc5 This position arose in the game
Kramnik Topalov/WCh (tb/4) Elista 2006. After 14...xc5!? This capture is
actually a novelty. 15 b5+ f8 16 xd8+! Despite Black's king is not castled the
swapping of queens is correct! (In case of 16 a3?! c7! White could slowly get
worse. Black's pawn structure was better as well as his minor pieces while the
temporary inconvenience with the king was not critical for Black) 16...xd8 17 a3
c8 18 ab1! White could have maintained the pressure by 18...e7 19 e5 and
Black still had to defend accurately.
10 a4 c5!? A risky approach. (A common 10...e7 is more reliable though the more
passive option) 11 dxc5 xc5 (11...xc5 does not equalise: 12 xc5 (or 12 a3 e7 13
axb4 xb4 14 d2) 12...xc5 13 b5+ e7 14 d4 with better chances for White)
12 b5+ (12 a3!? cd7 13 d4 bxa3 14 b4 e7 15 xa3 0-0 16 fd1 might promise a
small advantage for White) 12...cd7 13 e5 c7 The game Kramnik
Topalov/WCh (m/8) Elista 2006 continued 14 d4 (14 xd7 xd7 15 e4 with the
idea c1-f4 deserved attention: 15...d8! 16 g5 f6 17 e3 xe4! (17...e5? is
dubious: 18 e2 d6 19 f4 xe4 20 ad1 a6 and here 21 d4! could have posed serious
problems for Black) 18 e2 f7 19 ac1 b7 20 fd1 with excellent
compensation for the pawn although Black is not bad at all after 20...e7) 14...d8
15 d2 a5! 16 c6 e7! 17 fc1 xc6 18 xc6 xa4 19 xd8 (19 b3!? b5 20
xa7 was maybe stronger) 19...xd8 20 xb4 xb4 21 xb4 d5 22 d6 f5 and
White has eventually failed in defence.
8 b3 is played only occasionally.
8...b7
8...d6 is not very popular but perhaps it is a bit underestimated. Without invitation Black
is changing his approach, transposing into AntiMeran type of position certainly
not the way for true Meran players. Besides, White can save time for the Anti
Meran move d1-c2. What can be attractive for Black in this system? The play is
8
not so sharp as in the main Meran lines since Black is not late with development of
his Kside and White anyway can hardly achieve more than a small advantage. 9 00 (White has tried many possibilities, among those Zdenko Kozul's approach 9
g5!? looks interesting but maybe not quite sufficient for White: 9...b7 10 f3
b6 (another way to prepare ...c6c5 is 10...b8 11 0-0 h6 (11...c5!? 12 h3 a6
deserves attention) 12 ge4 e7 13 d1 0-0 14 g3 xe4 15 xe4 c5 16 dxc5
xc5 17 xc5 xc5 18 e4! (18 h7+ xh7 19 xd8 bxd8 looks acceptable for
Black) 18...b6 19 f4 bc8 20 ac1 with a certain advantage) 11 h3 e7 12 0-0
b4 13 e2 c5 and Black achieves a good play) 9...0-0
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(9...b7?! can be strongly met by 10 e4 e5 11 dxe5! xe5 12 xe5 xe5 13 f4 with a clear
advantage) 10 a3 White is going to stop Black's typical ...c6c5.
a) He has tried a huge number of moves. Let's take a brief look at some games: 10
d2 b7 11 c1 c8 12 g5 (12 e2 b4 13 e4 c5 14 e5!? xf3 15 exd6 also gives
somewhat better chances for White) 12...e7 13 a3 a5 14 f3 h6 15 ge4 a8 16
e2 b6 17 c2 xe4 18 xe4 with a small advantage
b) an immediate 10 e4 is playable for White: 10...e5 11 e2 A typical manoeuvre,
White is heading his knight towards the Kside. (11 dxe5 is harmless for Black:
11...xe5 12 xe5 xe5 13 h3 e8 with excellent play, 11 g5) 11...a6 (Both 11...e8, and
11...b7 are playable alternatives) 12 b3!? (As a rule, in such type of position White
develops his bishop to g5 and, as a rule, it does not promise much! After 12 g5 h6 13
h4 c5! 14 d5 c4 15 c2 c5 Black achieves good play) 12...e8 13 b2 b7 This
position arose in the game Svidler Inarkiev/RUSch Superfinal Moscow 2008.
White came up with an interesting 14 c1!? exd4 15 exd4 c5 16 f5 and here
Black should have played a principled 16...f4! (after 16...f8?! White's initiative
escalated smoothly: 17 e5! g4 18 d6! xf3 19 xf3 and so on) after which White had
no other choice than to give up the exchange by 17 g3! xc1 18 xc1, getting
reasonable compensation. A possible play would be 18...xe4 (18...xe4!? 19 g5 was
also very unclear) 19 xe4 xe4 20 d1 h6 21 e5 with initiative but Black's
position seems defendable.
c) 10 e4 xe4 11 xe4 b7 12 c2 f5 13 d3 c5 14 e2 c4 15 c2 f6 gives
better chances for Black
d) 10 e2!? deserves attention: 10...e8 11 g3 with a small advantage
e) 10 c2 b7 is a transposition to the AntiMeran.
9
f) 10 g5!? Contrary to the AntiMeran this typical manoeuvre can easily be played
here the moves d1-c2 and ...c8b7 are not played so ...d6xh2 and ...f6g4
is just impossible. 10...c7 11 f4 h6 This position arose in the game Kozul
Graf/Calvia (ol) 2004. It seems that 12 ge4!? could have secured a small
advantage for White this position requires more analysis and practical tests.
10...a5!? Black prefers this active advance in order to stop b2b4. Now the typical freeing
...c6c5 push looks problematic but otherwise he would never be able to play it
anyway. Here he might still hope for it as the Qside is not sealed. (Black also tried
other option. After 10...b7 White can transpose into the pure AntiMeran by playing
11 c2 However, it is rather logical to treat the position without move d1-c2 such
options as 11. h3 or 11. d2 and, of course, 11. b4 have been tested in practice as
well.) 11 e4 White pushes his central pawn without any delay. 11...e5 12 g5 (The
preliminary 12 e2!? deserves attention. After 12...b7 13 g5 h6 14 h4 exd4 15 exd4
e8 16 f5 White's chances look preferable) 12...b7 (12...exd4!? 13 xd4 e5 deserves
serious attention. Black can achieve good play after 14 e2 c5 15 f3 e7) 13 e1
e8 14 e2 h6 15 h4 This position arose in the game Jakovenko
Bologan/Poikovsky 2008. Here Black should have seriously thought about
15...b6!? A possible continuation would have been 16 dxe5 (16 g3!?) 16...xe5
17 xf6 xf3+ 18 gxf3 gxf6 19 d2 (or 19 g3 c5 20 f5 f4) 19...c5! 20 xh6
g5+ 21 xg5+ fxg5 with sufficient compensation for the pawn.
9 a3
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This move leads to a position with minimal risk for White, but gives him only a very small
edge.
Both 9 e4 and 9 0-0 are the main lines.
9...b4
10
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10 e4
10 axb4 xb4 11 0-0 c5 is known to be acceptable for Black. The game Kozul
Miroshnichenko/Bled 2000 continued by 12 e2!? (12 a2 was considered White's
main attempt as Black cannot save the bishop from being exchanged. Yet, he can
probably achieve a good play by 12...a5 (12...0-0 is less precise: 13 xb4 cxb4 14 b3!?
b6 15 b2 fc8 16 d2 with advantage) 13 xb4 axb4 14 xa8 xa8 15 e2 0-0=
Black has completed his development and seems to be fine. White's bishop pair is
not important here as his darksquared bishop is too passive.) 12...0-0 13 d1 The
position looks similar to a QGA and White treats the position the way he often does
in that opening! (13 a6 could be met by 13...b6 and here the inaccurate 14 d2?
allows Black to obtain a tangible advantage by 14...xf3! 15 xf3 cxd4 16 exd4 xd4 17
b7 e5! 18 f4 ad8 19 xd4 xd4 20 e3 d7 21 xa7 c4) 13...e7 (Waiting moves
such as 13...h6!? deserve attention. Now 14 a6 would be well met by 14...b6 15 xb7
xb7 16 a6 fb8= with equal play.) 14 a6 b6 15 a2 xa6 16 xa6 cxd4 17
xb4 xb4 18 xd4 b3 19 d2! Taking the opportunity to develop the Bishop.
19...ac8 (The b2 pawn was poisoned: 19...xb2?? 20 b4 c2 21 xb6+ winning) 20
b4!? (If 20 c3 bd5 Black has no problems at all.) 20...fd8 21 c3 and here Black
should have played 21...bd5! 22 d3 b8!= not only protecting the Rook on d8
but keeping in mind the possibility of e6e5 followed by e5e4.
10...xe4
The most precise approach Black arranges his pieces in the best way.
10...a5 has been played a couple of times by very good players but this approach looks
suspicious to me. It does not help much to prepare the programmed advance ...c6c5
while sometimes it would be useful for Black to have the pawn on a7. His main idea
is still ...c6c5 but he is wasting important time for preparations and it seems that
White can prove better chances in this line. 11 xf6+ (11 0-0 is another possibility
but I like the text move more because the knight is forced to go to f6, while its best
square is surely d7 in such kinds of position.) 11...xf6 12 e4 e7 13 e2
11
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13...d7!? This knight retreat is in the spirit of position but it does not solve the problems
completely.
a) There are a lot of possible continuations but it looks like White keeps better
chances. 13...c5!? 14 b5+ f8 15 dxc5 xc5 16 d3 with the upper hand
b) 13...bxa3 14 bxa3 0-0 does not prevent White's play on the Kside: 15 e5!? d5
16 h4! (in case of 16 e4 g6 17 h6 e8 18 h4 Black gets good counter chances by
18...c5! 19 b5 a6! 20 xa6 (20 xe8 xe8) 20...xa6) and 16...c5?! does not
seem to be possible because of 17 xh7+! h8 18 g5 g6 19 xe6!, destroying
Black's position.
c) 13...b6?! was unsuccessfully tried in the game Bareev Dreev/chTRUS Azov
1996. This setup doesn't look very good. Black usually can play c6c5 without
spending so much time and without using his queen for this role. 14 0-0 c5 15 axb4!
cxb4 (In case of 15...axb4 16 b5+ f8 17 xa8+ xa8 18 d5 exd5 (18...xe4 19
e5!) 19 exd5 xd5 (19...xd5 20 e1) 20 e1 b7 21 e5 with the idea of Ne5
d7 White's obtains a very strong initiative.) 16 d5 exd5 (Black has no time to castle
since 16...0-0 is bad because of 17 d6 d8 18 e5 d5 19 g5 with advantage) 17 e3
c5 (17...e6 18 d4 with attack) 18 xc5 xc5 19 ac1! b6 (After 19...e7 20 e5
e4 21 b5+ f8 22 e3 Black was faced with the same problems.) 20 b5+ f8 21
e5 e8 (After 21...e4 22 fd1 g6 23 d4 White is also much better) 22 fe1! White
is going to play e5e6 followed by f3e5, his initiative is threatening.
14 0-0 0-0 15 d1 (after 15 e3 c5 16 axb4 cxd4 17 xd4 xb4 18 ac1 c8 Black has no
problems: 19 xc8 xc8 20 e3 h6 21 c1 b8 22 b5 d8 23 a4 f8 24 b6 c8= with
equal play) 15...c7 (15...b8 does not help Black to solve the problems: 16 e3 d8
17 axb4 axb4 18 ac1 f8 19 h4 with a clear advantage) 16 e3 fd8 17 axb4 axb4 18
ac1 c5 If Black delays with this program advance White can simply improve his
position on the Kside, advancing his hpawn. This position arose in the game
Pogorelov Korneev/Seville 2003. It looks like White should have simply taken the
pawn: 19 dxc5!? (19 b1 a6!? 20 c2 c4 21 e5 f8 was fine for Black) 19...xc5 and
now 20 g5! could have secured the advantage: 20...h6 (20...xg5 21 xg5 xd3 22
xd3 xd3 23 xc7 xe4 24 f3) 21 xf7! xf7 22 xc5 xc5 23 h5+ g8 24 xc5
f4 25 g3 f6 26 e2 with a healthy extra pawn.
The line 10...c5!? 11 xf6+ gxf6
12
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looks dubious but in fact Black not only damages his pawn structure he also gets
additional control over the important e5square and the open gfile for the rook.
Yet, White can probably get better chances. (The last move was forced since other
continuations were just bad. In case of 11...xf6? the check 12 b5+ is very annoying,
while 11...xf6? is also unacceptable for Black due to 12 e5 with strong initiative)
12 0-0 Other continuations are harmless for Black. (12 axb4 cxd4 13 xd4 xb4+ 14 d2
b6 was tested many times and Black had no problems, while after 12 e4 cxd4 13 xd4
b6 14 e3 c5 15 b5 d8 Black takes the initiative) 12...cxd4 Black had a big
choice.
a) 12...b6 13 axb4 cxd4 14 xd4 (14 exd4 seems less promising: 14...xb4 15 e2 a5
16 e3 d5 17 d2 b7 18 f3 f5! 19 c4 0-0! 20 h6 fc8 21 ac1 xc4! 22 xc4 f8 23 xf8
xf8= and Black almost equalises) 14...xb4 15 d2 (15 f3 e7 16 f2 h5 17 d2 a5 18
xb4+ axb4 19 xa8 xa8 20 f1 h4 21 h3 e5 22 d2 d8 is acceptable for Black)
15...g8 16 f3 g5 17 xb4 xb4 18 f2 c5 19 d2!? b6 20 b4 and White

takes the initiative
b) 12...g8 is interesting but it does not seem to be fully equalising as well: 13 e2
b6 14 axb4 cxd4 15 exd4 c6!? (after 15...d6 16 e4 e7 17 d1 xe4 18 xe4 xb4
19 h4! White's initiative is fairly strong: 19...c5 20 e2 b3 21 f5+ d7 22 xd6
xa1 23 e4 g6 24 d2 xb2 25 a6+ with decisive advantage) 16 h1 xb4 17 f4
g4!? 18 g3 xd4 Black is playing very actively but White can still prove the
advantage of his solid position by 19 fc1 (19 b5!? e4 20 xe4 xe4 21 fc1 c8 22
xc8+ xc8 23 xa7 also gives White better chances ) 19...d5 20 c4 xc4 21 xc4
and White can effectively use his rooks by, for example, Ra1-d1, Rc4c7 with a
certain initiative .
c) 12...bxa3 13 bxa3 g7 looks suspicious. Then possible is 14 b1 xf3 15 xf3
cxd4 16 exd4 with a clear advantage.
13 xd4 g8 14 f3 d6 Black should play very actively to compensate drawbacks of his
pawn structure and centralized position of his king. 15 e1!? A multipurpose move
White is moving his queen to the Kside, creating threat to the Black b4pawn in
passing. It is also important to protect g3square to neutralise Black's possible
threats by g2g3. 15...f5!? A good idea. White queen will be very useful on h4 so
this manoeuvre should be prevented. (after 15...b8? 16 h4 e5 17 e2 e7 18 d2
Black faces many problems after he has no real counter chances while his king
13
was rather vulnerable) 16 axb4 f6!? (16...g5 was a natural alternative but the
problems still remained: 17 g3 h4!? 18 g2 f6 (18...e5 19 e2) 19 d2 h5 20
e2 and Black cannot create more threats so White's chances are preferable.) The
queen looks better on f6 as it helps to advance fpawn and does not come under e3
e4. 17 a6!? (17 b5!? deserved attention: 17...h6 18 g3 h3 19 e2 and White gets
advantage.) 17...d5 18 a5! Here a draw was agreed Moskalenko
Lastin/Marganets 1999 but thorough analysis can still prove White's superiority.
11 xe4 bxa3
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12 0-0!?
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This interesting sacrifice was introduced by Vassily Ivanchuk in the game against Vladimir
Kramnik in 1994.
After the common 12 bxa3 d6 Black is going to realise the program pawn advance ...c6
c5 after some preparation as c7, b8 and so on. The tournament practice does not
promise any advantage for White but Black should still play precisely. (12...e7?!
looks passive. The idea is probably to make White's typical manoeuvre Nf3d2c4
useless but White has other ideas. For example, 13 b1 c7 14 c2 c8 15 0-0 f6 16
14
d3 c5 17 e4! c4 18 f4! and White has got the advantage) 13 0-0 There are some other
options.
a) 13 d2!? is interesting White improves his knight first of all, at the same time
securing the bishop's retreat over the important diagonal f3a8. Yet, this approach
looks a bit slow and Black gets time to prepare the program advance ...c6c5:
13...c7 14 c4 e7 15 0-0 0-0 16 b1 This position arose in the game Beliavsky
Galkin/FIDE WCh New Delhi 2000. Here it seemed quite natural to continue the
preparations of the key idea the advance ...c6c5 by playing 16...ab8 and 17
a4 could have been met by 17...b6! 18 a5 c5!? (a solid 18...a8 followed by
...c6c5 could also be not bad) 19 xa7 xc4 20 xb7 xb7 21 xb7 xb7 22
xb7 cxd4 and the endgame looks drawish as the White pieces are rather passive.
b) An attempt to save one tempo for castling and so to quickly put problems for
Black on the Qside by 13 b2 0-0 14 c1 c8 15 d2 looks interesting but it
seems that Black has sufficient counter chances: 15...f6 16 f3 (16 a4!? deserved
attention but it could not prevent the program ...c6c5: 16...xe4 17 xe4 c5! 18 dxc5
xe4 19 xe4 a5+ 20 b4 xc5 21 xc5 xc5 22 xc5 xc5 23 e2 b8 24 e5 d8 25 a4
f6 26 c1 b6= with drawish endgame) 16...a6! 17 c4 b8! with excellent
counterplay, Krasenkow Shirov/Reykjavik Edda Rapid 2003.

c) Another bishop move 13 d2 was also tried but without much success: 13...b8
14 0-0 (the alternative 14 a4 can be met by 14...c5 15 xb7 xb7 16 dxc5 xc5 17 a5
b8! 18 d1 0-0! and Black solves all the problems since the knight on d7 is
untouchable: 19 xd7? e8! 20 e5 b1+ 21 e2 xh1-+) 14...0-0 15 b4 c5 16 dxc5
xc5 17 xb7 xb7 18 d4 b6 19 xc5 xc5 with equal play.
13...0-0 14 b2
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14...b8! (14...h6 is tempting but certainly less precise: 15 c1 c7 16 b1 fd8 17 c2
f8 (17...f6? 18 e4) and here White can secure the advantage by playing 18 c3! )
15 c2 c5!? A very interesting idea, completely in the spirit of this position Black
can continue his plans, ignoring White's threat! (15...f5!? was also quite possible: 16
d3 c5 with excellent counter chances) 16 xb7 (16 xh7+?! could bring White
nothing but troubles: 16...h8 17 d3 xf3 18 gxf3 cxd4 (Black also had two
options to make perpetual check: 18...xh2+ 19 g2 g5+ 20 xh2 h4+=, 18...h4 19 f4
g4+ 20 h1 f3+=) 19 xd4 and it looks like Black should still agree to a draw by,
for example, 19...h4 20 f4 g4+=) 16...xb7 17 dxc5 (In case of 17 ab1 Black
15
could simply continue by 17...e7 (while 17...cxd4 18 e4!? followed by xd4 could
promise White some initiative) ) 17...xc5 18 fd1 e7 19 a4 Black has solved all
the problems and here a draw was agreed in the game Karpov Anand/FIDE WCh
(m/3) Lausanne 1998.
12...axb2
A principled choice.
12...d6 allows White to secure a small advantage by playing 13 b3!?
a) Another interesting option is 13 b4!? but Black can probably neutralise White's
pressure with accurate play: 13...f6 (13...xb4 is worse: 14 b3 a5 (14...b6?! 15
xa3 xa3 16 xa3) 15 xa3 b6 16 xb4 axb4 17 d2! 0-0 18 c4 b5 19 d6
b6 20 ab1) 14 d3 d5! 15 xa3 xb4 16 xb4 xb4 and Black is doing well.
17 e5 a5 18 h5 c7 19 fc1 g6 20 h6 f8 21 g5 e7 22 h6 and here a
draw was agreed.
b) 13 d2!? is a very rare but interesting option. 13...c7!?
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(13...0-0 14 b3 b8 15 h3 followed by Bc1xa3 gives a stable advantage for White) 14 c4! A
wonderful idea! White leaves another pawn to the mercy of fate, counting on the
control over darksquares and passivity of Black's lightsquared bishop. 14...xh2+
15 h1 The game Kramnik Shirov/Tal Memorial Moscow 2008 continued
15...b6!? (The bishop's retreat 15...d6 wasn't satisfactory for Black: 16 xd6+ xd6
17 b3 c7 18 xa3 with a rather annoying initiative for the pawn) 16 xb6 axb6 17 g3
xg3 18 fxg3 and here Black could have achieved more counter chances by securing
his passer: 18...a2! (after 18...xg3?! 19 h5! White neutralized opponent's
counterplay) 19 g2 (19 f3? failed to 19...f5, but 19 b3!? was possibly stronger)
19...c5 20 f3 xe4 21 xe4 0-0 22 dxc5 bxc5 23 b3 a6 24 f2 fa8 25 b2 f6
with unclear play.
13...f6 (In case of 13...e7!? Here White can think about the typical manoeuvre 14
d2!? (14 c2 can be met by 14...f5!? 15 xc6 c8 16 xd7+ xd7 with good counter
chances) 14...b6 (14...f5 15 f3) 15 c4 xc4 16 bxc4 0-0 (16...xh2+? 17 xh2 h4+
18 g1 xe4 19 f3! f5 20 xa3) 17 d3, maintaining somewhat the better chances.)
14 d2! A strong idea. (14 d3 does not promise much due to 14...c5! 15 xa3 (or
15 dxc5 xc5 16 b5+ e7 17 xa3 xa3 18 xd8+ hxd8 19 xa3 a6 20 c4 d6=)
16
15...cxd4 16 b5+ e7 17 xd4 a6 18 c4 xa3 19 xa3 xd4 20 xd4 hd8=

with equal play.) 14...c7 (14...xe4?! secures an extra pawn but the position Black
is going to play is suspicious: 15 xe4 xh2+ 16 xh2 h4+ 17 g1 xe4 was
too risky for Black since his king would face serious problems in center: 18 f3! (not
18 xa3? c5!) 18...d5 19 xa3 Such positions with oppositecoloured bishops are
too risky for Black as his bishop is too passive and his king would face serious
problems in the center, and in the game Bareev Bruzon/Havana 2006 White
successfully converted his advantage.) 15 f3! White is doing everything in order to
prevent the programmed ...c6c5. (15 xa3!? could be played with the same idea and
perhaps the same position could be reached after 15...xh2+ 16 h1 d6 17 xd6 xd6
18 c4 e7 19 f3 0-0) 15...xh2+ 16 h1 d6 17 c4 e7 18 xa3 0-0 19 c5!
This idea looks strong. White keeps more tension to make his opponent's defence
more difficult. (In the game Topalov Kramnik/WCh (m/4) Elista 2006 White
achieved excellent compensation for the pawn after 19 xe7 xe7 20 a5 but then he
failed to get serious winning chances after 20...fd8 21 g1 c5! 22 xc5 e4 23 xe4
xe4 with acceptable play.) 19...fd8 20 b4! xc5 21 bxc5 Now the knight on the
d6square would not be supported along the dfile but it is still very good for White,
who has improved his pawn structure and got more space. The game Aronian
Grischuk/FIDE GP Sochi 2008, continued 21...a5 22 e1 a6 23 b6 ab8 24 xa5
b5 25 a1 and White has regained the pawn and maintained a stable advantage.
In case of 12...e7 White can get small advantage by 13 b3!? f6 14 d3 By the way, this
position may also arise via the move order 9.0-0 b4 10.Ne4 Be7 11.a3 Nxe4 12.Bxe4
Nf6 13.Bd3 bxa3 14.b3. Perhaps 14...b6 (14...a5 can be well met by 15 b4! xb4
16 xa3 0-0 (or 16...xa3 17 b3 0-0 18 xa3 c7 19 c2 with certain pressure over
Black's Qside) 17 xb4 xb4 18 e5 Black's defence is not easy. He is unable to
advance his cpawn without concessions, and he might give the extra pawn back
under unfavourable circumstances, P.H.Nielsen Baramidze/EUch Plovdiv 2008)
15 xa3 xa3 16 xa3 c5 17 dxc5 xc5 18 b4!? b6 (the principled 18...xb4!?
was also worth considering: 19 b3 e7 (19...xf3? 20 xf3! xb3 21 xa8++) 20
b5+ f8 21 e5 g6 with reasonable chances to extinguish White's initiative) 19
a4+ c6 20 a5 0-0 21 d4 d5 22 fa1 and White has secured the edge.
12...f6 13 d3 axb2 14 xb2 is just a transposition to the line 12 ...axb2.
13 xb2 f6
After 13...e7 14 c2 h6 15 xc6 c8 16 d5 exd5 17 xd7+ xd7 18 b3 White takes
the initiative.
14 d3
17
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White has achieved excellent compensation for the pawn but the question is if it would
promise more than just the initiative.
14...a5!
In the abovementioned game Ivanchuk Kramnik, New York 1994 Black played 14...e7
15 b1 b8 16 xa7 b6 17 a2 (17 a1!?) 17...0-0 18 b1 a8 19 xa8 xa8 20
c4 a6 21 c2 xd3 22 xd3 b5 and successfully equalised but White's play
would certainly be improved.
15 d5!?
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This very unexpected pawn push poses certain problems for Black. However, White
already gives up a second pawn while his initiative does not look too dangerous at
the moment...
In case of 15 b3 b4 16 a3 Black would have thought about a typical 16...c5!? (a
restrained 16...e7 is also possible: 17 xb4 axb4 18 xa8+ xa8 19 b1 0-0 20 xb4 xb4
21 xb4 c5! 22 dxc5 d7 and Black equalises) 17 a4+!? d7 18 b5 xf3 19 gxf3
e7 20 dxc5 xc5 21 xb4 axb4 22 xb4 d5 and Black is fine
18
15 a4!? has been also tried in practice: 15...b4 16 a3 d5 17 e4 b6 18 b3 e7 The

game Gelfand Kramnik/WCh Mexico City 2007 continued 19 ab1 xa3 20 xb6
b4 and here White could have thought about 21 d5!, which would still promise the
better chances for White: 21...exd5 (21...cxd5? was bad due to 22 fc1 c8? 23 b5+
f8 24 xc8+ xc8 25 c1+) 22 exd5 0-0 23 dxc6 c8 24 fc1 and the strong c6
passer secures White's small advantage.
15...xd5
Black has a wide choice and it is really not easy to make a decision.
15...cxd5?? loses to 16 b5+ d7 17 e5+
while other captures deserves attention: 15...exd5!? 16 d4 b4! (16...e7 seems worse: 17
f5 and here 17...0-0? is impossible because of 18 xg7! xg7 19 g4+ h8 20 xf6+
xf6 21 f5+) 17 f5 (in case of 17 f3 0-0 18 f5 e8 19 fc1 (19 h6+ f8 20
xh7 c8 is far form clear) 19...c5 20 g3 Black defended by 20...h5 21 f3 f6
with repetition of moves) 17...g6!? 18 h6 f8 19 f3 with sufficient
compensation for a couple of pawns
or 15...xd5!? 16 e4!? (16 e2 b4 17 e5) 16...xe4 (16...h5!?) 17 b1 (17 xe4 xe4 18
e5 d8 19 h5 f5 20 xf5 exf5 21 fe1) 17...c5 18 c2 with good compensation.
16 e5
This position arose in the game Carlsen Aronian/Bilbao 2008, which continued
16...f6 17 a4 b4!? 18 xc6 xc6 19 xc6+ e7 20 fd1
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with more than sufficient compensation for the pawn.
19
Meran/2 8...Bb7 9. e4... Various white

12th moves [D47]
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

b7 9 e4 b4 10 a4 c5 11 e5 d5
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12 dxc5
12 g5 is a rare option: 12...cxd4 (12...e7 has been also tested: 13 h5 xg5 (13...g6 is
weaker: 14 h6 f8 15 xe6 xh6 16 xd8 xd8 17 xh6 cxd4 18 c1 c8 19 xc8+ xc8 20
e6 fxe6 21 g7 g8 22 xd4 with a clear advantage) 14 xg5 a5 15 xc5 xc5 16
dxc5 a6 17 xa6 xa6 18 e2 xe2+ 19 xe2 d7 20 hc1 c6 21 d2 a5
Black's position looks excellent but an extra pawn is an extra pawn he has to fight
for a draw.) 13 xe6 e7 (13...fxe6!? looks risky but perhaps everything is not so
clear and Black may seriously think about this brave capture. For example, 14 h5+
e7 15 g5+ 5f6 16 exf6+ gxf6 17 d2 a5 18 0-0 e5 with an excellent game) 14 xf8
xe5+ 15 e2 xf8 This is maybe more reliable. (15...xf8 is more risky
alternative: 16 0-0 0-0-0! Black has no other way to hide the king. Yet, it is not
completely safe on the queenside but the activity of all his pieces would distract
White's attention. 17 e1!? After (17 a3 b8 a draw was agreed in the game Volzhin
Cs.Horvath/Gyula 2000.) 17...f6 in case of (17...fe8 White has a nice move: 18
c5! e3 19 xe3 xc5 20 d2 d5 21 f3 xe1+ 22 xe1 keeping the initiative) 18 a3
20
A logical continuation White opens lines against the rival's king. (18 d2 fe8
looks unclear) 18...b8 19 axb4 xb4 20 b3 and White seized a rather annoying
initiative, Najer Shinkevich/Togliatty 2001.) 16 0-0 e8 17 c4 e6 in case of
(17...f4?! White has 18 d2! and the knight is forced to retreat back) 18 f4 d6
(18...f6 is more risky: 19 b3 d6 20 d2!? a5 21 a3 with initiative) 19 xd4 5b6 20
xd6+ xd6 21 xb6 xb6 22 b3 Thanks to the pair of bishops White secured a
small advantage in the ending.
12 xc5 often leads to the same position as 12. dxc5 since 12...xc5 13 dxc5 xc5 14
b5+ f8 15 0-0 promises a small but stable advantage for White.
12...xc5
12...a5 is the alternative, which looks rather risky. However, a very strong knight on d5
and bishop on b7 secures Black from getting much worse: 13 0-0 xc5
a) other possibilities do not solve the problems: 13...c6 14 c2 xc5 (14...h6?! 15
d4) 15 xc5 xc5 16 d4
b) 13...c7 14 c2 d8 15 g5
c) or 13...xc5 14 xc5 xc5 15 g5
14 xc5 (by the way, this position can be also reached in the line 13. Nxc5 Bxc5 14. dxc5
Qa5) 14...xc5 15 c2 with better chances for White, according to the tournament
practice.
13 xc5
13 b5+ is not the most popular but quite a poisonous option. 13...d7 14 g5 a5 (Black
is forced to play without castling as 14...e7? can be strongly met by 15 c5! xg5 16
xd7+ f8 17 xe6!+) 15 xd7+ (15 d4 can be well by 15...a6!? 16 c6 c8 17
c1 (17 b3 xc6! 18 xc6 c7) 17...b3+! 18 c3 (18 d2 b4!) 18...bxa2 19 xd7+
xd7) 15...xd7 16 0-0
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(16 b3 a6 is fine for Black) According to the tournament practice, the immediate 16...e7!?
promises very good play for Black.

a) Other options seem to be weaker: 16...c6 17 b3 h6 (17...e7?! was strongly met
by 18 b2! followed by Nb2c4 with rather annoying initiative, Vladimirov
21
Ramesh/Dubai 2004) 18 d2!? (18 e3 is probably less promising but still better for
White: 18...xa4 19 bxa4 e7 20 d4 hc8 21 h5 g6 22 f3 e8 23 b5 xa4 24 d6+
xd6 25 exd6 with some initiative but Black can probably hold the position thanks to
his strong knight on d5) 18...xa4 19 bxa4 with a transposition to the line 16 ...h6.
b) 16...h6 can help White to find some work for his bishop: 17 d2!? c6 18 b3
xa4 (18...b5?! can only promote the White rook: 19 e1 xa4 20 bxa4 c5 21 a3) 19
bxa4 c5 20 a3 hc8 21 b1 ab8 22 e1 e8 23 g4 with some initiative
although Black should still play very precisely to keep things under control, Cvitan
Kharlov, Bern 1992
17 b3 (17 a3 has been tried without much success: 17...hc8 18 xe7 xe7 19 g5 f4!
20 d6+ e8 21 xh7 (21 axb4 d5 22 xd5 xd5) 21...g6 22 axb4 xe5 23 xe5
xe5 24 c5 (24 g5 c4) 24...d5 25 g5 c6 26 ge4 e7 27 a4 cb8 28 c3
xb4 29 xd5+ exd5) 17...h6 18 xe7 (18 d2 hc8) 18...xe7 with a good
play, according to the tournament practice.
13...xc5 14 0-0
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Recently this welldeveloped line doesn't promise too much for White.
14...h6
14...c7!? is a rather fresh and interesting idea: 15 d2 h6 16 c1 (16 a4+?! only helps
Black to develop his kingside: 16...e7 17 ac1 hc8 18 e4 a5 with advantage)
16...b6 17 c4 A typical manoeuvre. (17 e2 g6 18 c2 f8 19 fc1 c8 20 a3 a5 21
axb4 axb4 is harmless for Black) 17...d8 18 g4 f8 As often happens in this line,
Black is deprived of castling but this is the only drawback of his very solid position,
V.Milov Khenkin/Bratto 2001.
15 d2
22
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The tournament practice does not promise very much for White after 15 e2 b6
15...c7!?
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A popular option Black is trying to disturb White's plans by attacking the e5pawn and
quickly getting his pieces into play.
The line 15...c3?! 16 c2 d5 17 f3 d8 18 e1! d4 19 d2! is out of fashion since
Black has suffered some painful defeats
an old line 15...0-0 is still quite playable: 16 e4 (16 c4 can be met by 16...f5!? 17 exf6 xf6
and Black takes the initiative) 16...d4! (16...e7?! is too passive: 17 g4 with
initiative) 17 d6 c6 (An interesting 17...xe5?! 18 xb7 b6 is not quite
satisfactory for Black due to 19 h5! f4 20 c5! xc5 (or 20...f6 21 f3 xc1 22
axc1+) 21 xf4 d4 22 d6 xd3 (22...fd8 23 ad1+) 23 xf8 xf8 24 e5
with good winning chances) 18 h7+! (A slow 18 e2?! favours Black: 18...f5 19 d1
h4! with initiative) 18...xh7 19 xd4
23
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White's position looks preferable thanks to his strong knight on d6 which keeps the Black
rooks passive. On the other hand, Black's minor pieces are quite good and if he gets
the rooks into play everything will be fine for him. To solve this task he has to shake
loose the knight on d6. 19...f6! 20 d2 fxe5 (20...d7 21 ac1 was certainly better for
White in the game Mamedyarov Topalov/Hoogeveen 2006) 21 e4+!? (after the
immediate 21 xe5 d7 White should play 22 ac1! (22 fe1?! is just dubious, the
game Lesiege Akopian/Bled (ol) 2002 continued 22...ad8 23 e4 (23 c4 b6!)
23...f5! 24 d4 f4! and Black has taken initiative.) 22...ad8 23 c4 followed
by Qe5g3 and Nc4e5 with a small advantage) 21...g8 22 xe5 d7 23 ac1 (23
fe1 ad8 is fine for Black as after 24 c4 (24 e4 f5 is also good for Black) Black
has a strong retreat 24...b6! ) 23...ad8 24 c4 White's knight has been pushed
from d6 but there is another strong e5square and so he is going to put it there after
Qe5g3, securing a small but stable advantage, which was proved in the game
Vaganian Johannessen/GERchT 2003. However, Black's pieces are rather active
and so he should be also satisfied with his counter chances.
16 e1
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White also tried some other options.
24
16 e4 does not bother Black very much as after a simple 16...e7 White gets problems
with e5pawn: 17 e1 xe5 18 c5 c7 19 xb7 xb7 20 f3 f6 21 a3 0-0 22
e4 g6 23 xh6 xb2! 24 xf8 xa1 25 xb4 g7 and Black is completely OK
After 16 c4 Black has a choice: 16...0-0-0!?
a) after 16...0-0 17 d2 f5!? deserves serious attention with good counterplay (while
after 17...fd8 18 g4 f8 19 ac1 White gets better chances)
b) 16...d8!? is interesting: 17 g4 e7!? 18 d6+!? xd6 19 exd6 xd6 20 d1
c6 21 e3 h5 22 g5 d5 23 xd5 xd5 24 xa7 h4 and Black is fine
17 e2 b8 18 d2 b6! and Black achieves very active play.
16...e7!?
16...d8 which was played more often, is also not bad: 17 e4 (17 g4 can be met by
17...e7!, transposing to 16 ...Ne7!?) 17...e7 and White still failed to put real
problems for Black.
17 g4 d8
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-trk+-tr0
9zplwq-snpzp-0
9-+-+p+-zp0
9+-vl-zP-+-0
9-zp-+-+Q+0
9+-+L+-+-0
9PzP-sN-zPPzP0
9tR-vL-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
Typically for the Meran, Black brings all his available resources into play to compensate
some inconvenience with the development of the Kside and achieves good counter
chances, A.Kuzmin Dreev/RUSch Qualifier St. Petersburg 2004.
25
Meran/3 8...Bb7 9. e4... 12. 0-0 cxd4 13.

Nxd4 sac [D47]

b7 9 e4 b4 10 a4 c5 11 e5 d5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9zpl+n+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+-zpnzP-+-0
9Nzp-zP-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
12 0-0
This natural move gives Black the time to capture on d4 and so White's knight is getting out
of work for a while.
12...cxd4
26
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9zpl+n+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+-+nzP-+-0
9Nzp-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
12...h6 is not very popular but it is maybe not so bad idea to avoid complicated and very
deep lines which may arise after 12... cd4. Here White has a big choice, including a
transposition to one of the main lines by 13 dxc5 xc5 14 xc5 xc5 refer to
D47/2 12. dxc5.
13 xd4
A sharp continuation White sacrifices his central pawn.
13...xe5 14 b5+ d7
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9zpl+n+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+L+n+-+-0
9Nzp-sN-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
15 e1
A common option.
15 h5!? is rarely played but it is not without a poison.
a) 15...5f6 is tempting but White keeps the initiative after
a1) the stunning 16 xe6!? can put some problems for Black but they are quite solvable:
16...xh5 17 xd8 xd8 18 e1+ e7 19 c5 c8 20 g5 hf6 (20...f6!? deserved
serious attention) 21 ad1!? (in the game Piket Shirov/Monaco 2002 White played
27
the less precise 21 xf6 gxf6 22 ad1 g8 23 f4 f8 24 xd7+ xd7 25 xd7 c5+ 26 f1
xd7 27 xd7 g7 and Black held the position without much problems) 21...a6! An
important advance. 22 a4 h6 Black is a piece up but he is tied hand and foot and
can do nothing! There are no other useful moves so he clarifies situation, even losing
a tempo. 23 xf6 gxf6 24 xd7 xd7 25 xd7! xd7 26 d1 0-0 27 xd7 White's
initiative looks rather annoying but fortunately Black has a strong defensive idea.
27...c8! (27...c5? was just bad as after 28 b3 the Black rook got stuck to the f7
pawn) 28 g3 f8 29 b3 d8! 30 a7 d2 31 xa6 xb2 White has no real targets
to attack. Nevertheless in the game Radjabov Shirov/Wijk aan Zee 2003 he has
managed to create some problems but it hasn't changed the most likely outcome.
a2) 16 e2 16...c8 (16...a6!? is worthy of consideration) 17 g5 e7 and here 18 xf6!
xf6 19 xe6! breaks Black's position: 19...e7 (19...fxe6 20 xe6+ e7 21 ad1 c7 22
xd7 xd7 23 d1 c8 24 c5+) 20 fd1 (20 xd7+!? xd7 21 d3+ e8 22 xg7+)
20...c6 21 ac1 b8 and here White can simply play 22 xc6+ xc6 23 a6
xe6 24 e1 e5 25 xe5! xe5 26 xc8+ d8 27 c7 xc7 28 xc7+ with a
decisive advantage.
b) 15...g6 16 e2 An important position. Strangely enough, Black's best reply may be (16
e5!? f6 17 f3 is also worthy of consideration.)
b1) 16...a6? lost by force after 17 xe6! fxe6 (17...e7 18 xd7+ xd7 19 ec5+ c8 20 c4
wasn't better.) 18 xe6+ e7 19 c5! axb5 20 xb7 b6 21 d6+ d8 22 e3
a6 23 ad1 g8 24 fe1+ and Black is just helpless, Piket,J
Pelletier,Y/Korchnoi Birthday Gp A, Zurich SUI 2001.
b2) 16...c8!? The question is can White find something better than 17 e1 transposing to
the main line, which is supposed to be quite acceptable for Black.
15...c8 16 h5 g6
Here White has a choice.
17 e2
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+rwqkvl-tr0
9zpl+n+p+p0
9-+-+p+p+0
9+L+n+-+-0
9Nzp-sN-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+QzPPzP0
9tR-vL-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
17 e5 is probably the more promising way. Possible play is 17...f6 18 f3 g7 19
xd7+ xd7 20 e2 d8 with mutual chances.
28
17...a6
17...e7 is also known to be fine for Black. After 18 g5 xg5 19 xe6 he solves the
problems by 19...xg2+! and the ending after 20 xg2 f4+ 21 f1 xe2 22
ad1! (22 xe2 fxe6) 22...fxe6 (22...c6?! 23 xe2 xb5 24 c7+ d8 25 xb5
Shumiakina Semina, URS 1988) 23 xd7+ f7 24 xc8 xc8 25 xe2 (25 xe2
a6 26 d7+ f6 27 xa7 xe2+ 28 xe2 d6 29 h3 e7) 25...a6+ is good for him:
a) 26 f3?! leads to troubles: 26...b7+ 27 g3 d5! 28 b3 (28 a3? c6! 29 b3 bxa3-+)
28...d6+ 29 h3 f8! 30 b2 g7 with a clear advantage for Black
b) 26 e3 26...b5 27 b3 h6+ 28 f3 c8= with a good play.
18 xa6
A typical sacrifice
18 xe6?! is not dangerous for Black: 18...fxe6 19 xe6+ e7 20 xa6 xa6 21 xa6 and
here the knight's retreat
a) 21...c7? and after 22 g5 c6 23 d3 in case of (23 e2? Black could simply castle:
23...0-0 24 xe7 xe7) 23...f7 the line (23...7f6? 24 ac1 b7 25 xc8+ xc8 26 xf6
xf6 27 d6 0-0 28 xe7 e8 was supposed to be "winning for Black" in some
comments but in fact 29 xb4+ clears the situation in White's favour) 24 ac1 and
Black faced serious problems, Yevseev,D Dreev,A/Novgorod 1999.
b) 21...b8! After 22 e2 0-0 23 h6 f7 24 ad1 a5 White can only fight for a draw by
25 e6
b1) 25...d8?? 26 b6! f8 (26...xb6 27 xb6 xb6 28 xd8+ xd8 29 e8+) 27 xf8 xb6
28 xb6 xb6 29 xd8 xf8 30 ee8 8d7 31 xf8+ xf8 32 b8 d5 33 b5+
b2) 25...e8 not 26 xd5 xa4 27 d4!? c6 28 f4 d8 29 e5! xa2 30 b5 ef8 31
xf8 xf8 32 xf7 xf7 33 e2, keeping drawing chances thanks to slightly
opened position of Black king and lack of material on the board.
18...xa6 19 xa6 g7! 20 g5
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+rwqk+-tr0
9+-+n+pvlp0
9Q+-+p+p+0
9+-+n+-vL-0
9Nzp-sN-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
Here 20 xe6? is dubious: 20...fxe6 21 xe6+ (21 g5 can be strongly met by 21...c7! 22
xe6+ f7 23 xd8 xa6! 24 e7+ f6 25 xd7+ hxd8-+) 21...e7
29
20...c7!
The only move!
21 a5
In case of
21 b7 Black continues to pursue the queen by 21...b8! 22 xd8 xb7 23 xc7 xc7 24
b5 c2 25 ac1 xc1 26 xc1 0-0 and Black is at least not worse.
21...a8! 22 xd8 xa5 23 xc7 xa4=
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+k+-tr0
9+-vLn+pvlp0
9-+-+p+p+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9rzp-sN-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
In this ending Black can hardly face any problems.
30
Meran/4 8...Bb7 9. e4... 12. 0-0 cxd4 13.

Re1 [D47]

b7 9 e4 b4 10 a4 c5 11 e5 d5 12 0-0 cxd4 13 e1
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9zpl+n+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+-+nzP-+-0
9Nzp-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
13...g6
Black has a wide choice.
13...e7!? A rare continuation which is maybe underestimated. 14 xd4 0-0
a) 14...a5 looks risky. For example: 15 d2 immediate (15 a3!? is also possible)
15...d8 16 a3 5b6 17 b5 xa4 18 xb4! xb4 19 axb4 b6 20 xd7+! (20
xa4? xd4 21 ad1 g4 22 xd7+ e7) 20...xd7 21 xa4 and Black is in trouble
b) 14...a6 gives White the initiative after 15 g4
15 h5 (15 g4!? is an alternative, a possible continuation being 15...h8 (15...e8!? 16 h6
f8) 16 h3 g6 17 h6 g8 18 ac1 5b6 19 xb6 xb6 20 f3 gc8 21 g5
xg5 22 xg5 xc1 23 xc1 g8 and Black is okay) 15...g6 16 h6 xe5! Only
this rather unexpected blow can justify Black's strategy. (16...e8? is losing by force:
17 xg6!! hxg6 18 xe6! fxe6 19 xg6+ h8 20 h6+ g8 21 xe6+ h8 22 h6+ g8 23
e4! with decisive attack) 17 xe5 f6 Now White cannot secure his extra piece
because of the loose minor pieces on dfile. 18 f4 (18 h4?! e4! is good for Black)
18...d6 19 g3! (19 c5?! is much weaker due to 19...d5) 19...d7 20 f4 f6 21
31
e4! The logical (21 ae1? was actually a big mistake due to 21...xe5 22 xe5 xe5 23
xe5 ad8 24 e3 xd4! 25 xd4 d8 followed by ...Rd3.) 21...xe5 22 xe5 xe5 23
xb7 ad8 24 c6 xc6 25 xc6 f5! Intending Qc2. The position is quite good
for Black. Having the knight cut from the center of the board White can hardly hope
for any advantage and should play carefully not to become worse, Dyachkov
Dreev/chTRUS Smolensk 2000.
13...5b6!? came as a big surprise in the game Volzhin M.Gurevich/Cappelle la Grande
1999. No one took this interesting move seriously probably because it looks to
illogically swap the proud knight on d5 for the badlooking knight on a4. But
actually Black has a lack of space to develop his pieces so some changes are
desirable especially as this reduces White's attacking possibilities on the kingside.
The game continued by 14 xd4 xa4 15 xa4 Gurevich suggests (15 xe6 as a
better move but I don't see how White would maintain his attack after 15...a5! since
16 b5 is not so strong because of 16...ac5! and after 17 xc5 xb5 18 xb7 xb7 19 e6
White's attack does not look very dangerous.) 15...c5 16 b5 (16 b3!? 0-0 17 b5
deserved attention and led to unclear but more quiet play.) 16...0-0! and Black has
achieved an excellent play.
14 g5
14 d2!? is less popular but rather interesting option. 14...g7
a) The other possibilities are: 14...e7 does not seem to be fully equalising. 15 h6
f8 16 d2 e7 17 xd4 0-0 18 h6 (18 g4 was met by 18...7b6 19 xb6 xb6
with a good play) 18...e8 19 g4 f8 (Black already had to be careful: 19...c8? 20
xe6!, 19...7b6? 20 b5!) 20 xf8 xf8 21 h4 and White gets advantage
b) 14...a6 is interesting but White can still hope for some advantage after 15 e4
15 b5! A strong idea. The play is more or less forced now. 15...a6
a) The point of White's move is that 15...0-0?! can be strongly met by 16 g5! e7
(16...f6 17 exf6 5xf6 18 xd7 xd7 19 c5) 17 xd4 xf3 18 xd7 xd7 19 xd7
c6 20 xe7 xd7 21 xf8 xf8 22 b3 with extra exchange
b) 15...c8!? deserves serious attention although it has not been often tried: 16 g5
a5 17 xd4 (17 xd7+ xd7 18 xd4 h6 19 d2 hd8 20 a3 e8 is fine for Black)
17...c7 and Black is ready to castle, getting quite acceptable position
16 c5! (16 g5?! axb5 17 xd8 xd8 is just fine for Black, while 16 xd7+ xd7 17 c5 b5
18 c1 0-0 19 xd4 b6 promises nothing.) 16...axb5 17 xb7 b6 18 d6+ e7
(18...f8? is much worse: 19 g5 xe5 20 xe5 (20 dxf7!? xf7 21 f3 b7 22 xe6)
20...xe5 (20...xd6? fails to 21 f3! f6 22 xd5! exd5 23 xb4! xb4 24 xf6+) 21
dxf7 f6 22 xh8 xg5 23 xg5 g7 24 e2 xh8 25 e5+ g8 26 h6 c7
27 xe6+ f7 28 e4 and Black is in trouble) 19 g5 (19 g5+ is another option
which seems to be less promising. Then after 19...f8 White has a choice. 20 c1!?
a) 20 xd4 can be well met by 20...xe5 (20...g8!?) 21 4xb5 h6 22 h4 c4!?
b) 20 h4 was tried without much success: 20...xe5 21 xe5 xd6 22 g3 e7
23 c1 g8 24 c6 d7 and White still has to prove his compensation
20...h6 21 h4 xe5! (21...g8 22 g3 h7 23 xf7 hf8 24 d6 is better for White) 22 xe5
xd6 23 g3 (the position after 23 c6 xe5 24 xe5 xe5 25 e2 g7 26 xb5 g8 is
better for Black, as was proved in a few games) 23...e7 and Black can be satisfied
32
with his position) 19...hf8 (19...xe5 looks risky in the position after 20 dxf7!
xf7 21 xe6+ xe6 22 xe6 xe6 23 b3 Black's king is not safe) 20 f4!? A new
continuation.
a) 20 xe6? does not work due to 20...fxe6 21 g5+ f6! 22 exf6+ xd6 23 g4
ae8-+
b) Before White only tried the concrete 20 xh7, which can be well met by
20...xe5 (not 20...xe5? 21 xf8 xf8?! 22 e4 g7 23 b3 a4 24 ac1) 21 e4 f5!
22 xf8 fxe4 23 xg6+ (23 h7?! e3!) 23...xg6 24 xe4 e5 with a complicated
play, in which Black is at least not worse
20...h6 21 ge4
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+-tr-+0
9+-+nmkpvl-0
9-wq-sNp+pzp0
9+p+nzP-+-0
9-zp-zpNzP-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-vL-+PzP0
9tR-+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
This complex position has been tested in the game Dyachkov Yevseev/RUSchT (1st
League) Sochi 2004. White has outplayed his opponent in a good style but Black
would probably improve his play.
14...a5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9zpl+n+p+p0
9-+-+p+p+0
9wq-+nzP-vL-0
9Nzp-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
15 d2!?
33
15 xd4 is a wellknown alternative and probably less promising alternative: 15...a6!

(15...g7? loses to 16 b5 a6 17 c5!+) 16 a3! (16 c1 was also tried: 16...g7 17 c6
xc6 18 xc6 0-0 19 c4 h6 20 xd5 xd5 21 xd5 exd5 22 f6 xe5!! 23 xe5 ae8 24 f4 f6
25 b6 fxe5 26 xd5= with equality.) 16...bxa3 This seems to be the most precise
continuation. (16...g7 17 axb4! (White's play should be very concrete, a routine 17
f3 is harmless: 17...0-0 18 d2 c7 19 c1 b8 20 c5 xc5 21 xc5 bxa3 22 bxa3 a7=
and Black has no problems) 17...xb4 (17...xb4? runs across a rather unexpected
18 xe6! fxe6 19 xg6+! hxg6 20 d6 d5 21 xe6+ f8 22 xd7 and White

gets a big advantage: 22...c7 23 e6! g8 (23...xh2+? is just losing: 24 f1 g8
(24...h1+ 25 e2 h5+ 26 f3+) 25 xb7+) 24 h4 h7 25 ac1 xd7 26 exd7 and
Black's life is hard in this endgame) 18 e4! A new and very strong idea. White has
to play energetically and he does it despite this rook's move looks rather ugly. The
game I.Sokolov Stellwagen/Amsterdam 2002 continued 18...a5 19 b3 c7 20
c1 b8 21 ac5 and White has taken a rather annoying initiative.) 17 bxa3 g7
18 d2 d8! 19 b1 (19 f3 is slow: 19...0-0 20 c1 c8 21 e2 xc1 22 xc1 e7 with a
roughly equal play) 19...b8
XIIIIIIIIY
9-tr-wqk+-tr0
9+l+n+pvlp0
9p+-+p+p+0
9+-+nzP-+-0
9N+-sN-+-+0
9zP-+L+-+-0
9-+-vL-zPPzP0
9+R+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
20 xb7! Otherwise Black will complete the development without any problems. 20...xb7
21 xa6
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-wqk+-tr0
9+r+n+pvlp0
9L+-+p+p+0
9+-+nzP-+-0
9N+-sN-+-+0
9zP-+-+-+-0
9-+-vL-zPPzP0
9+-+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
21...c7 (21...a8 have still not been proved bad for Black although he should play very
precisely to get half a point: 22 xb7 xb7 23 b4!? (23 c3 was also tried: 23...0-0
34
24 f3 a8 25 c1!? f8 26 xd5 xa3 27 c7 xd5 28 a1 g7 29 e1 and here Black

can solve the problems by 29...a4!= followed by ...Ra4c4.) 23...xb4 24 axb4
xb4! 25 c6 b7 26 d6 f8 27 c5! xd6 (27...c8 28 e4! a8 29 c7!+) 28
xb7 c7 (28...e7? 29 a1!+) 29 d6+ f8! (after 29...xd6 30 exd6 0-0 White
can maintain the pressure by playing 31 a1 b8! (31...f6 32 a7+) 32 a7 d8 33
b5 d7 34 f3 b8 35 c7) 30 a1 xe5! 31 a8+ (the endgame after 31 xe5
xd6 32 a8+ g7 33 xh8 xe5! 34 a8 h5!= is drawish) 31...g7 32 xh8 xc6
(32...xh8? 33 xe5 xd6 34 xf7++) 33 c8 xd6 34 xc6 f4 35 g4 f5 and Black
holds this endgame easily) 22 a5 0-0
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-wq-trk+0
9+-trn+pvlp0
9L+-+p+p+0
9vL-+nzP-+-0
9N+-sN-+-+0
9zP-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-zPPzP0
9+-+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
White has tried many options in this position but still failed to achieve advantage. 23 c4!?
a) 23 c6 does not seem to be dangerous for Black: 23...a8 24 e7+ (Certainly
not 24 xc7? xc6 25 d6 a8 and White loses a piece) 24...xe7 25 xc7 d5 26
f1 xc7 27 xd7 a5 and White's pawn weaknesses on a3 and e5 give excellent
play for Black, Bruzon L.Dominguez/Cuernavaca 2006.
b) In case of 23 b5 xe5!? Black is already better: 24 xc7 (24 xe5?! could be
well met by a rather unexpected 24...c1! 25 xc1 xa5 with better chances.)
24...xc7 with better chances for Black, Gustafsson Ribli/Germany 2002.
23...xe5 (23...f4 can been met by 24 f3 c8 25 xc7 xc7 26 d4, securing material
advantage.) 24 xd5 exd5 25 b5 c1! 26 xd8 xd1 27 xd1 xd8 28 ac3
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-tr-+k+0
9+-+-+pvlp0
9-+-+-+p+0
9+N+psn-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9zP-sN-+-+-0
9-+-+-zPPzP0
9+-+R+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
35
The forced line has led to the endgame in which Black can equalise with accurate play.
28...b8! (28...c4?! leads to real problems: 29 xd5 f8 30 e3 b8 31 xc4 xb5 32
f1 b3 33 c1 e8 34 e2 f8 35 a4 b4 36 e3 d7 37 c4) 29 xd5 (Or 29 a4 c4 30
xd5 b2 31 e7+ f8 32 c6 c8 followed by ...Nb2xa4.) 29...c4 30 e4 (30 a4
b6) 30...f5 31 g5 b2
XIIIIIIIIY
9-tr-+-+k+0
9+-+-+-+p0
9-+-+-+p+0
9+N+R+psN-0
9-+n+-+-+0
9zP-+-+-+-0
9-vl-+-zPPzP0
9+-+-+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
and Black destroys White's Qside pawn though he will have to extinguish some
opponent's initiative.
15...a6
The idea of sacrificing an exchange by 15...c8!? deserves attention: 16 c4 xc4 17 xc4
g7 with a good play although it still hasn't found many followers.
16 c4
16 xa6 xa6 17 e4 is supposed to be fine for Black. For example: 17...g7 18 ac5 (18
d6+ f8 19 f3 doesn't work due to 19...xe5! 20 xe5 xd6-+) 18...xc5 19 xc5
b5 20 xd4 0-0 21 e4 b6 22 xb6 axb6= with a roughly equal endgame
16...xc4 17 xc4 g7
36
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+k+-tr0
9zp-+n+pvlp0
9-+-+p+p+0
9wq-+nzP-vL-0
9NzpLzp-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QtR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
18 xd4!
Only this piece sacrifice allows White to fight for the advantage.
18...xa4
18...0-0 didn't solve the problems completely: 19 b3 ac8 20 f4 fe8 21 ad1 with better
chances
19 xd5 exd5 20 xd5 b6

Unfortunately, Black cannot castle: 20...0-0? 21 b3 b6 22 xa8!+
21 d6
21 c5 is less precise due to 21...f8
21...d7
Here 21...f8?? is impossible due to 22 f6+
22 xb4 f8
37
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9zp-+q+p+p0
9-sn-+-+p+0
9+-+-zP-vL-0
9-wQ-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
In case of 22...d5 23 e4 h6 24 f6 0-0 25 ad1 xf6 26 xd5 b7 27 exf6 xb2 28
f4 Black suffers without a pawn
23 h4!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9zp-+q+p+p0
9-sn-+-+p+0
9+-+-zP-vL-0
9-+-+-+-wQ0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
A fresh idea, which poses new problems for Black.
23 c3 has been tried many times but Black is holding on: 23...c8! (23...e6? leads to the
troubles, as we have seen in the game Yussupow L.Dominguez/World Teams,
Yerevan 2001: 24 f6 g8 25 ad1 followed by Rd1-d6!, 23...c8?? is impossible due
to 24 e6!+) 24 f3 g7 25 e6!? (25 a3 f8 26 f3 g7) 25...0-0 (25...fxe6 26 ac1
d7 27 cd1 f7? 28 xa8+!) 26 e7 fxe6! 27 xf8 xf8 28 b3! f7 29 xe6 xb2!
30 d1! (30 ae1 d4!) 30...b8! and, according to the tournament practice, Black can
hold this position without much problems.
23...g7 24 ad1 a4 25 d4 xa2 26 e7

The point White prevents Black from castling.
26...e6 27 b4
38
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+k+-tr0
9zp-+-+pvlp0
9-sn-+q+p+0
9+-+-zP-+-0
9-vL-tR-+-wQ0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-zP-+-zPPzP0
9+-+-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
27...f8
An absolutely unnecessary push 27...a5? leads to the troubles after 28 ed1! f6 29 c5! b8
(29...c8 is met by the same 30 d6! xe5 31 xb6 xc5 32 a4+ f8 33 d8+ f7 34 b7+
c7 35 xc7+ xc7 36 d7++) 30 d6+
28 f6! g8 29 d6!
White's rook on e1 is working at full power!
29...f5! 30 xb6!
White looks winning but Black still has a defence.
30...xf6!
Certainly not 30...axb6?? 31 c6+
31 exf6+ d7 32 a1 c7 33 b5 c6 34 aa5 d8! 35 e1 d1 36 f1

d6 37 e2
The forced play has led to an endgame with an extra pawn for White, which is not easy to
convert, Dreev Harikrishna/World Cup Khanty Mansyisk 2005.
39
Meran/5 8 ...a6 9. e4 c5 10. d5 various

lines [D48]

a6
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9p+p+psn-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-zP-+-+0
9+-sNLzPN+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
Equally with 8 ...b7, this is wellknown and welldeveloped continuation.
9 e4
9 a4 is considered harmless: 9...b7 (9...b4 10 e4 c5 is also playable, with a possible
transposition into the main line) 10 0-0 b4 11 e4 c5 12 xf6+ gxf6!? An
interesting option. Black voluntarily destroys his pawn structure, but in return
strengthens control of the center, opens a file for the rook, and allows Black to direct
his bishops against White's kingside. (12...xf6 is considered to lead to a good game
for Black: 13 dxc5 xc5 14 e2 d5! 15 d1 h5 16 h3 d8 preventing e3e4.
Nevertheless, White can hope on a small advantage after 17 b3 (in the game
Kramnik Kasparov/Zurich (rapid) 2001 White played 17 d4, offering harmless
exchange of the queens) 17...0-0 18 b2 etc.) 13 e2 The game Gelfand
Kasimdzhanov/Candidates (m/5) Elista 2007 continued 13...d6 14 d2 g8 15 a5
b8 16 h3 f5 with a complicated play with mutual chances.
9...c5
40
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+pzp-+-+-0
9-+-zPP+-+0
9+-sNL+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
10 d5
10 e5 is an important alternative, which leads to quite different positions.
10...c4 11 dxe6
11 c2 may lead to the same positions but there are some deviations. 11...c7 12 0-0 c5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+k+-tr0
9+-wqn+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+pvlP+-+-0
9-+p+P+-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
This is not a very popular continuation. (12...b7 is a common option and after 13 dxe6 fxe6
we reach a wellknown position see 8 ...b7 ... 11 ...c4.) 13 b3!? This immediate
break looks promising. (13 e2, and 13 dxe6 fxe6 14 e2 are the alternatives.) 13...e5
(13...b4 has been played a couple of times. Then possible is 14 e2 exd5 15 f4!?
d6 16 xd6 xd6 17 bxc4 bxc4 18 c3 0-0 19 d4! c5 20 exd5! xd4 21
xd4 b7 (21...b6 22 c6 bxd5 23 xd5 xd5 24 e4!) 22 f5 fd8 23 ab1 c5 24
fd1 g6 25 e3 and the pawn on c4 is in trouble both Rd1-d4 and Rb1-b4 are
coming) 14 f4 xf3+ (14...d6? was almost the decisive mistake in the game
Yakovich Hector/Stockholm 2001: 15 xe5 xe5 16 d6! c5 17 b4! This intermediate
move is very important after closing the queenside, White can concentrate on
kingside pressure. 17...d4 18 xe5 xe5 19 d2 g5 20 f4! gxf4 21 xf4 and Black is in
trouble.) 15 xf3 e5 16 g5 e7!? (16...d4 17 xf6 gxf6 18 ac1 g8 19 h3 is clearly
41
better for White) 17 bxc4 xc4 18 b3 b4 Black has avoided immediate

catastrophe, but White's chances are clearly better thanks to his strong central passed
pawn and more active pieces.
11...fxe6
An interesting possibility 11...cxd3!? 12 exd7+ xd7 13 0-0 b7 is considered in the line 8
...b7 9. 0-0 a6 10. e4 c5 11. d5 c4.
12 c2 c7
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-wqn+-zpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+p+P+-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
13 d4
White takes the opportunity to move his knight to d4 since Black has played ...c5c4 before
...Qd8c7.
13 0-0 is a common option after which Black can choose between 13...b7, transposing to
one of the main line see 8 ...b7 then 11 ...c4 (and 13...c5, trying to take use of the
fact the bishop is still on c8.)
13...b6!?
42
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-wq-+-zpp0
9psn-+psn-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+psNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
An interesting continuation it is unclear who is taking best advantage of the unusual move
order.
A tried and tested way for the knight is 13...c5 and after 14 0-0 b7 15 e3 the game
transposes to one of the dangerous for Black main lines see 8 ...b7 then 11 ...c4.
14 f4
Both 14 g5 b4 15 f4 0-0
and 14 0-0 c5 are quite acceptable for Black.
14...e5 15 fxe5 g4!?

15...xe5 16 f3 e6 17 e3 promises the better chances for White.
16 f3 fd7
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+-wqn+-zpp0
9psn-+-+-+0
9+p+-zP-+-0
9-+p+P+l+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPL+-+PzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This position was proved to be good for Black in the game Krasenkow Kuczynski/ch
POL, Warsaw 2001. Yet, this tricky line is almost unexplored so the surprises are
quite possible.
43
Meran/6 8...Bb7 9. 0-0 a6 10. e4 c5 11.

d5 c4 [D48]

b7 9 0-0 a6 10 e4 c5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9+l+n+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+pzp-+-+-0
9-+-zPP+-+0
9+-sNL+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
11 d5 c4
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9+l+n+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+p+P+-+-0
9-+p+P+-+0
9+-sNL+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
44
12 c2
The same position would be reached if White starts with 12 dxe6 but here an extra
possibility 12...cxd3!? (12...fxe6 13 c2 c7 is often just a transposition into the main
line) 13 exd7+ xd7
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+l+q+pzpp0
9p+-+-sn-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-+P+-+0
9+-sNp+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
should be taken into consideration White has to do a good job to achieve something
substantial. This line is a rare guest in recent practice not so only because it is
connected with a pawn sacrifice for various reasons Black often plays ...d8c7
before ...c5c4, or White prefers d3c2 before d5xe6. 14 e1 (14 g5 is an
alternative: 14...e7 15 e1
a) 15 e5 d4 16 xd3 does not promise an advantage for White: 16...d8 17 xf6
(17 f4? c5 18 fd5 xd5-+) 17...xf6 18 f4 c4 (or 18...0-0 19 fd5 xd5 20 xd4
xd4 21 xd5 xb2) 19 b3 xb3 20 axb3 d2 with excellent prospects for Black
b) 15 e5 has been also tested: 15...e4!? (15...d5 looks satisfactory for Black as
well: 16 xd3 xc3 17 xc3 xg5 18 xg5 f5! 19 e3 (19 c7 xg2! 20 xf7 0-0!)
19...h6 20 h3 0-0 21 f4 fe8 22 fe1 ac8 23 f3! (23 e2?! is dubious: 23...c4 24
g3? e4 25 d2 g5!-+) 23...c2 with a good counterplay) 16 xe7 xe7! 17 b3 (17
e1 xc3 18 bxc3 g4!) 17...xc3 18 xc3 hc8! with excellent play
15...d8 (15...0-0 is also possible: 16 e5 g4 17 xe7 xe7 18 xd3 (18 h3 d2! 19 xd2 xf3
20 gxf3 xe5) 18...xf3 19 xf3 xe5 20 g3 ae8! and Black is okay) 16 e5 (16
xf6 xf6 17 d5 does not pose any problems for Black: 17...xd5 18 exd5+ f8 19 xd3
xd5= with equality, in case of 16 b3 0-0 17 ad1 Black obtains a good play by 17...h6
18 e5 c7 19 xf6 xf6 20 xd3 xc3 21 bxc3 c8 and so on.) 16...g4 17 e4 0-0 18
d2 (The natural 18 h3? fails due to the unexpected 18...xe4 19 xe4 xf2! 20 xf2
xg5 21 xg5 f5+ followed by ...g5f5) 18...xg5!? (18...f6 is also not bad: 19 exf6
xf6 20 xf6 xf6 21 c5 c8 22 xb7 xb7) 19 xg5 xe4 20 xe4 f6 The point.
White should already play carefully to avoid the worst. The game Nimzo7.32
Rebel Tigerl2.0/Cadaqu 2000 continued by 21 e6! (21 exf6?! xf6 is clearly better
for Black thanks to his strong pawn on d3.) 21...fxg5 22 exd7 f6 23 d4 xd7 24
xd7 xd7 25 d1 g4 26 xd3 c5 27 d5 a4 28 e5 c8 29 g3 xb2 30
xg4 and White is holding on) 14...e7 (The rare alternative 14...b4 is risky
according to theory. After 15 e5 followed by 16. Nd3 Black has to do something
with his attacked Bishop.) 15 e5 d5 16 e4 (The direct 16 xd3 does not promise
45
too much: 16...xc3 17 xc3 0-0 18 g5 (18 f4 ac8 19 e3 c5) 18...ac8 19 e3

xg5 20 xg5 (after 20 xg5 xf3 21 gxf3 c6 Black has nothing to worry about: 22
f4 h3 23 h1 c2 24 g1 g6 25 g3 e6 with excellent play) 20...c2 21 b3 g4 22
g3 (22 e4 xe4 23 xe4 xe4 24 xe4 d8=) 22...xg3 23 hxg3 h6 24 e4 (24 f3
xf3 25 gxf3 d8) 24...xe4 25 xe4 d8 and Black can probably hold this
endgame without many problems.) 16...0-0 17 xd3 g4 Black has lost the pawn
but he hopes that his active pieces, especially the powerful bishop on b7, will help
him obtain good compensation. 18 g3 (18 fg5 also comes into consideration.
Black can continue by 18...fd8!? (18...f4?? 19 f6++, 18...h6? 19 h3 h5 20 f6+!
xf6 21 exf6 hxg5 22 fxe7+, 18...ad8 was also tested: 19 a3 f5 20 exf6 gxf6 21 h3 xh3
22 xh3 fe8 23 d2 f7 24 e2 c6 25 a5 c8 26 d1 with better chances for White) 19
h3 h5 20 g3 g6 21 xg6 hxg6 22 a3 ac8 with reasonable compensation for
the pawn.) 18...f5 (18...b4!? is probably stronger: 19 f5 xf3!? (after 19...g6 20
d1 fd8 21 g5 xg5 22 xg5 d5 23 a3 c6 24 xg6 hxg6 25 f4 Black looks to be just a
pawn down) 20 gxf3 xf5 21 xf5 c5 22 e2 (22 d1 fd8=) 22...d3 23 e3 (23 f4
f6! 24 e6 fe8 with the idea of Ra8c8 gives Black a good counterplay) 23...xe3 24
fxe3 xe5= with an obvious equality) 19 d2 (19 exf6 xf6 promises nothing for
White) 19...ad8 20 b3 h8 An important position is arisen. In the game Fritz 6a
Rebel Tiger 12.0/Cadaqu 2000 White came up with a new and rather unexpected 21
g5!? (21 h3 g6 is good for Black, now 22 ac1 can be met by 22...f4! 23 e4
(23 f1 e3-+, 23 e2 e3 24 xf4 xf4 25 xe3 xd2 26 c7 d5!-+) 23...e3! 24
xe3 d5! and White faces problems) 21...xg5 22 h3 f4 23 h5 Give the piece
back! (23 e2!? b4 24 xg5 was also worth considering.) 23...b4 24 xb4 xb4 25
xg5 d3 26 e6 xe1 27 xe1 and White realised his extra pawn with an
excellent technique.
12...c7
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+lwqn+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+p+P+-+-0
9-+p+P+-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
13 dxe6
The immediate 13 d4
46
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+lwqn+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+p+P+-+-0
9-+psNP+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
is supposed to be less promising. 13...c5 (Closing the centre by 13...e5 usually leads to a
White edge but here Black wins a couple of tempi: 14 f5 g6 15 h6 The game
Gelfand Dreev/Tilburg 1993 continued by 15...h5!? (After 15...d6?! 16 f3 the
Black pieces look a little paralysed.) 16 f3 (16 g3 c5 17 f3 f6 was unclear)
16...f4 17 xf7 (A very straightforward and principled decision but maybe white
has to be less ambitious here and consider 17 g4!? more thoroughly.) 17...xf7 18
g3 g5! 19 gxf4 gxf4 20 h5+ At first glance the Black king is in trouble, but looking
at the position more closely, we notice that apart from the queen no other White
piece is attacking. 20...e7! 21 h4+ f7 (21...f6? was bad because of 22
xf4! exf4 (22...g8+ 23 g3) 23 e5+) and here the repetition of moves deserved
attention as 22 d1? gave Black a strong initiative after 22...g8+! 23 h1 f6 24
h5+ g6!!) 14 g5!? The more reliable approach. (a thematic 14 b4 cxb3 15 axb3
b4 16 a4 cxe4 leads to a very sharp and complicated play: 17 xe4!? Concrete
action. (In case of 17 dxe6 Black achieves an excellent game by 17...d8! 18 exf7+ xf7
19 e3 d6 20 h3 he8 21 c1 c3 22 xc3 bxc3) 17...xe4 18 dxe6 d6! The
initiative is most important! 19 exf7+ (19 b2!? deserved attention) 19...xf7! Taking
an opportunity to move the queen close to the White king. (19...xf7 20 h5+ g6 21
h3 c8 22 f3 c3 23 h4 might still be somewhat better for White) 20 f3 h5 21 g3
xg3! (the brave 21...0-0?! had a great success in the game Kasparov
Kramnik/Dos Hermanas 1996 but objectively it is too risky: 22 fxe4 h3 and here
White could have prove the advantage by 23 e2! For example, 23...xg3 (23...xe4
24 f4) 24 f5! e5 (24...xf5 25 xf5 xh2+ 26 xh2 g4+ 27 f2+, 24...xe4 25
xg3+) 25 b2 xb2 26 c4+! h8 27 xb2 and so on) 22 hxg3! (22 e1+?! is
known to be a serious inaccuracy: 22...f7! (22...e4! would have been stronger: 23
a2 0-0! 24 fxe4 h4! 25 e6!? (25 g2 xe4 26 xe4 xe4) 25...ad8!! 26 xd8
xd8 and Black's monstrous bishops are killing) 23 hxg3 xg3 24 a2 (24 e2
ad8 25 d3 he8! 26 aa2 e5!) 24...ad8 and White found himself in trouble,
Baramidze A.Braun/GERch Saarbruecken 2009) 22...0-0 (22...xg3? 23 e2+) 23
a2! (23 g2? g4!) 23...xg3 24 g2 e5 25 c5 ad8 with sufficient counter
chances) 14...0-0-0 A risky but ambitious approach. Here White can already think
about 15 b4 (15 xf6 gxf6 16 b4 cxb3 17 xb3 b8 18 c1 d6 gives Black excellent
counter chances) 15...cxb3 16 axb3 b4 17 a4 xa4!? (in case of 17...exd5? White
gets a huge advantage by playing 18 e5! xe5 (18...h6 19 h4 g5 20 g3 fe4 21 xe4
47
xe4 22 c1 c3 23 d3+) 19 h4 xa4 20 f5+ b8 21 g3+) 18 xa4 c5
Black's king is vulnerable but his pieces are very active.
13...fxe6
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+lwqn+-zpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+p+P+-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
14 d4
This setup was one of the most problematic for Black during last years so he often delayed
with advance ...c5c4 in order the move f3d4. However, a recent idea by Vishy
Anand seems to be a good antidote.
14 e2 is an old and welldeveloped continuation. 14...d6
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+k+-tr0
9+lwqn+-zpp0
9p+-vlpsn-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+p+P+-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPL+QzPPzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
15 d4 (The line 15 g5 c5 (a rather sophisticated way to protect the pawn e6 by 15...c6
is probably not quite satisfactory for Black. He creates pressure over the long
diagonal but places his pieces not very comfortably. After 16 f4 c5+ 17 h1 h6 18 e5!
White has proved better chances in the game Arencibia L.Dominguez/Havana
2002.) 16 f4
48
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+k+-tr0
9+lwq-+-zpp0
9p+-vlpsn-+0
9+psn-+-sN-0
9-+p+PzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPL+Q+PzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
was popular in the 80's. Black obtains a good counterplay by 16...h6! (16...e5 seems to be
more risky for Black: 17 a4 b4 18 d5 xd5 19 exd5 0-0-0 20 xc4 and so on) 17 f3 (17
h3 looks too ugly to be true. A typical 17...d3!? promises very good play for
Black. For example, 18 e5 c5+ 19 h1 d5 20 e4 (20 xd5 xd5 21 b3 0-0 22 bxc4
bxc4 23 e3 xe3 24 xe3 c6) 20...0-0-0 This is not obligatory but completely in the
spirit of the position. 21 xc5 xc5 22 xd3 cxd3 23 g4 b8 24 f2 b6 25
d2 c4 26 b4 d4 with a huge advantage.) 17...d3! One of the big Meran ideas
destroying the counterpart of the bishop on b7 by sacrificing a pawn makes the
bishop very powerful. 18 xd3 cxd3 19 xd3 0-0 20 e5 (20 h1?! is dubious:
20...ad8 21 d4?! (21 e2 was maybe safer: 21...xf4 22 xf4 xf4 with the better
chances for Black) 21...c5 22 e3 g4 23 ce2 (23 g1 is bad because of 23...xd4
24 xd4 xf4 25 e5 f2+ 26 g1 b6-+) 23...xe3 24 xe3 xd4! 25 xd4 b6 26
ad1 d8 with a big advantage.) 20...c5+ 21 h1 d5 22 xd5 xd5 23 b3 ad8
The Black pieces are very strong, especially the bishop on d5. It's clear that Black
has no chance of losing this position but can try for more, R.Scherbakov
Kaidanov/chTURS, Naberezhnye Chelny 1988.) 15...c5 16 f4 e5 17 dxb5 This
sacrifice is tempting but gives White nothing much. (in case of 17 f5 the simplest
way to solve the problems is a typical 17...d3! (17...0-0 was also tested and proved
to be good for Black as well) 18 xd3 cxd3 19 xd3 c5+ 20 h1 0-0 and White
already should be careful to extinguish Black's initiative.) 17...axb5 18 xb5 b6
19 xd6+ xd6 20 fxe5 xe5 21 f5 e7 22 xc4 The position looks promising
for White. He has already got three pawns for the piece, a pair of bishops and the
Black king cannot castle. However, Black has sufficient counter chances. 22...c8
(22...cd7?! is dubious because of 23 d2! c8 24 b3 G.Flear B.Kelly/Wroxham
2002.) 23 b5+ cd7! 24 xb7 xc2 25 g5 d6! 26 a8+ b8! (26...f7?! was
proved to be wrong in the game Karpov Anand/FIDE Wch Final, Lausanne (m/l)
1998: 27 xh8 d4+ 28 h1 xe4 29 f3 xg2 30 xg2 e5 and here White has gained
decisive advantage by the brilliant 31 xg7+!! xg7 32 xf6+ followed by Bf6e5) 27
xb8+ xb8 28 xf6 gxf6 29 xf6 xb2 30 a4 d7 with obviously drawn position,
G.Flear Galkin/Port Erin IOM 2001.
The move 14 g5 gained a popularity some years ago thanks to Anatoly Karpov's efforts.
14...c5
49
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+lwq-+-zpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+psn-+-sN-0
9-+p+P+-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
15 e5!? (a surprising 15 e3!? is interesting. It is connected with the piece sacrifice: 15...h6
16 xe6! (Both 16 h3?! d6 17 f4 0-0-0, and 16 f3 d8 17 e2 d3 18 ad1 b4
would be fine for Black) 16...xe6 17 e5! xe5 (There was no point to reject the
gift: 17...d7? 18 h5+ d8 19 ad1 with a strong attack) 18 g6+ e7 19 e1
Thanks to opponent's centralised king White has got a strong initiative but Black still
keeps sufficient defensive resources, Sargissian Gustafsson/GERchT 2008)
15...xe5 (Later Alexey Shirov played 15...c6!? a couple of times and White has
proved nothing although Black's position looks dodgy: 'is also far from clear' 16 f3
fd7 17 e2 (17 xh7 was also tested: 17...xe5 18 xf8 xf8 19 d4!? cd3 20 xd3
xd3 21 e4 d8 22 xg7 b6+ 23 f2 xf2 24 g6+ f7 25 g8+ f8 26 g6+ with a
perpetual ) 17...d3 (17...e7 18 h1 d3 19 xd3 cxd3 20 xd3 xe5 21 d4 c4 22 xc4
xc4 23 xe6 f7 24 f4 gives White the upper hand) 18 xd3 cxd3 19 xd3 xe5
20 e2 h6 21 xe5 c5+! 22 xc5 xc5+ 23 h1 hxg5 24 xg5 d4 25 fe1 00 and the bishop pair lets Black equalise without many problems.) 16 e1 d6 17
xd6 (After 17 e3 c6 is quite good.) 17...xd6 18 e3 Here is Karpov's idea. (It
was known that either 17. Be3 or 18 xe6 xe6 19 xe6+ d7 20 f5 c7 could only
create problems for White, but to combine these two possibilities was not such an
easy idea to find.) 18...0-0 (Bad is 18...g4 19 xc5 xc5 20 xe6+ d7 21 d1+ c7 22
ce4 with a big advantage) 19 ad1 Now Black has to waste a tempo retreating
with the bishop. 19...e7 (19...fd8 is also bad: 20 xd6 xd6 21 xc5 d2 22 c1 with
the idea of c5e3) 20 xc5 xc5 21 xe6 fc8 White has gained some tempi
since Black has had to make some moves with his dark squared bishop but what
next? In the game White was quite successful with kingside pawns advance 22 h3!
Preparing to advance his kingside pawns since White has a pawn majority, and
Black has few pieces for defence there. 22...ab8 This is supposed to be the best
reply. 'and Black holds this ending, according to the tournament practice.' (In the
game Karpov Kramnik/Linares 1994 Black has not found correct way and after
22...f8?! 23 g4 h6 24 f4 f3 25 d2 c6 26 g5 hxg5 27 fxg5 faced serious problems) 23
xc5 (23 g4 can be met by 23...f3 24 d2 b4 (24...e8 is also good for black) 25
a4 a7 with a very sharp and unclear ending.) 23...xc5= and Black is
completely okay.
14...c5 15 e3
50
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+lwq-+-zpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+psn-+-+-0
9-+psNP+-+0
9+-sN-vL-+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-+Q+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
15...e5!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+lwq-+-zpp0
9p+-+-sn-+0
9+psn-zp-+-0
9-+psNP+-+0
9+-sN-vL-+-0
9PzPL+-zPPzP0
9tR-+Q+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
Anand also drew our attention to the moves order 15...d8!? 16 e2 e5
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-trkvl-tr0
9+lwq-+-zpp0
9p+-+-sn-+0
9+psn-zp-+-0
9-+psNP+-+0
9+-sN-vL-+-0
9PzPL+QzPPzP0
9tR-+-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
White should probably continue by 17 f3 (17 f5 does not promise too much. It may
seem that Black king might face real danger when trying to escape from the center
but Anand revealed a simple way to get safe position: 17...g6!
51
a) Other continuations do not solve the problems completely: 17...d3 18 g5 (18

b3!? also deserves attention) 18...c5 19 ad1 is clearly better for White.
b) 17...b4? can be well met by 18 xc4! bxc3 19 a4+! and White is winning:
19...d7 (19...fd7 20 xg7+! xg7 21 xc5+) 20 xc5 xc5 21 xg7+ e7 22
e6++ and so on.
c) 17...cxe4 looks too risky: 18 xe4 xe4 19 xe4 xe4 20 b6! xb6 an
attempt to quiet the position by sacrificing some material by (20...d3?! fails to 21
xc7! (21 h5+ g6 22 xc7 gxh5 23 xd8 xd8 24 fd1 c7 25 e3) 21...xe2 22 fe1
d2 (22...d3 23 xe5+ d7 24 xd8 xd8 25 a4+) 23 xe5+ with idea Be5c3 and
Nf5d4 and White is probably winning.) 21 xe4 and White takes a strong
looking initiative although the position is still maybe not so clear.
d) Finally, after 17...e6 18 ad1 g6 19 xd8+ xd8 Black's position does not look
quite safe. Now the most precise seems to be 20 d1+ (20 d5 xd5 21 exd5 gxf5 22
dxe6 c6 is not so clear) 20...c8 21 d5 and it is important that now Black cannot
play 21...xd5? 22 exd5 gxf5 due to the obvious 23 xf5!+
18 g5 f7 19 d5 In the game Radjabov Anand/Dubai 2002 Black captured on d5 with
the bishop but I don't like this decision very much. In such positions the light
squared bishop is often the most powerful Black's piece so 19...xd5!? looks more
to the point. A possible play would be 20 exd5 xd5 21 e3 (21 ad1 should be met
by 21...e6! but not (21...gxf5?? due to 22 xe5+!!+) ) 21...d6 and Black should be
fine.) 17...e6!? This manoeuvre is typical in case of the Black's long castling but in
this situation it's a novelty. The idea is worthy of consideration since other moves do
not solve the problems completely.
a) Black also tested some other continuations but all of them do not promise a full
equality. 17...e7 transposing into the game Alterman Gabriel/Bad Homburg
1997, which continued 18 a4 A typical action White shakes Black's Qside pawn
structure. 18...cxe4 (Unfortunately, 18...b4? is just bad because of 19 xc4! bxc3 20
b4) 19 xe4 xe4 (In case of 19...xe4 20 axb5 axb5 21 a7 White's initiative looks
very annoying.) 20 xe4 xe4 21 axb5 axb5 22 a7 d6 and here White has proved
the better chances by the excellent and here White has proved better chances by an
excellent 23 d4! g5! 24 xe5! 0-0 25 c6!
b) 17...d6!? deserves attention. It would be met by 18 g5! c6 19 a4 0-0 20 axb5
axb5 21 a5 a6 22 d1 h6 23 f3 g4 24 d5 with slightly better chances for
White.
c) Finally, in the line 17...d3 18 ad1 b4 19 xd3 (19 g5?! d6 is in Black's
favour: 20 d5 xd5 21 exd5 xd5 22 b6 d7 23 e3 h6 24 h3 e4) 19...cxd3 20 xd3
xd3 21 xd3 xc3 22 xc3 xc3 23 bxc3 xe4 24 c1 e7 25 xe5 c8 26
d4 Black keeps drawish chances but White would be also quite satisfied with his
extra pawn in the ending.
The game Yevseev R.Scherbakov/RUSchT Ekaterinburg 2002 continued by 18 a4?!
This helps Black to solve the problems. (18 ad1 is more testing, keeping in mind the
program Nc3d5.) 18...d4! (In case of 18...b4 19 d5 xd5 20 exd5 xd5 21 a5!?
White's initiative looks rather annoying.) 19 xd4 exd4 20 d5 c5 The threat
d4d3 is serious so White should hurry up. 21 g5! (21 e5? is wrong due to
21...d6! and White loses a piece, while 21 b4? is fortunately met by 21...d3!) 21...d3
Forcing the matters. (here 21...d6 is more risky see the game for details) 22 xf6+
52
gxf6 23 h5+ d7 24 h3+ e8 25 h5+ (White has an opportunity to avoid

the repetition of moves by 25 e6!? but Black should not be too worried about it and
continue 25...c8! please refer to the game for details) 25...d7 26 h3+ e8 27
h5+ and the draw was agreed.
15...0-0-0 16 e2 e5 17 f3
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(White has an interesting piece sacrifice 17 dxb5!? axb5 18 xb5, destroying the black
king's pawn shield. For some reason it is not popular in tournament practice there
are only 3 games in the database but, curiously enough, White has won all of them!
A possible line is 18...f7
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19 fc1 (or 19 ac1 b8 (here 19...a6!? deserved serious attention) 20 e1 c8 21 a5
a6 22 b6 c6 23 a7+ c8 24 fd1 g4 25 b6 and here Black should have
played 25...b4! with idea to push the bishop on b6 by ...f7f6 or maybe even by
...f7f4 and followed by ...f4h6 after the logical g2g3) 19...a6 20 b4! xb5
21 bxc5 c6 22 ab1 e7 23 b6 c7 24 b3! Here Black should have accepted
the gift: 24...cxb3! (24...g6? loses to 25 xc6+! xc6 26 xc4 c7 27 a6 xe4 28 c6
d4 29 a7+ d6 30 c5++) 25 a6 d7 26 xc6 e8 27 a4! f8 28 axb3
g4!? with complicated play. White has got 3 pawns for the piece and hopes for an
advantage since Black is a bit late to get his other rook into play, but this knight
jump causes some inconveniences for White so the position is rather unclear. Yet,
this sacrifice certainly deserves more attention and requires more analysis.) 17...d3
53
A rather ambitious approach. The knight looks great on d3 but can Black give it
good support?! He will certainly get some problems to pay attention to...
a) Let's take a look at the other options. 17...cxe4?! is too risky. After 18 xe4
xe4 (18...xe4?! 19 xe4 xe4 20 a4!) 19 a4 c5 (19...b4 20 ac1 b8 21 xe4 xe4 22
b6 xb6 23 xe4) 20 axb5 axb5 21 b3! White makes certain progress in opening
the files against opponent's king.
b) 17...e6 is a solid, maybe the best option, popular on the tournament practice.
Then Black usually continues ...f8c5 and his knight is ready to jump to either d4
or f4 while White has no other way to open the position then c3d5 after the
preparatory a1-d1 or f1-d1 with a very complicated play in which both sides have
his trumps. The Black king looks vulnerable on the queenside but the activity of his
pieces does not allow White to think about direct attack in the near future.
18 a4!? (White tried some other options and 18 fd1 looks the most promising among
them: 18...b4 19 g5 xc3 20 bxc3 he8 21 f3 h6 22 h3 g5 23 xd3 (or 23 f2
f4 24 e1) 23...cxd3 24 xd3 xd3 25 xd3 g4 26 f2 gxf3 27 gxf3 g8+ 28
f1 with small advantage for White.) 18...b4 19 d5 xd5 20 exd5 e4! 21 d2
This position arose in the game Nakamura Lastin/WCh Tripoli 2004. It seems that
Black should have seriously thought about 21...d6!?
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, which deserves thorough analysis.
16 f5
54
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in case of 16 f3 Black can seriously think about Kside development: 16...e7!?
(16...cxe4!? 17 xe4 xe4 18 e1 gave White the initiative in the game Gelfand
Bareev/Novgorod 1997. Yet, after 18...d6 19 xe4 xe4 20 g5 d3! 21 f3 0-0-0 22
a8+ d7 23 xa6 b8! 24 f7 hf8 25 xd6 xd6 26 a5 White has achieved only
slightly better chances for White the Black king is rather safe as the White rooks
cannot find any open lines, 16...d8 17 e2 would be a transposition to the line
15...d8) 17 g5 (after 17 e2 0-0 18 g5 ae8 Black achieves acceptable play: 19 b4!?
cxb3 20 axb3 h6 21 b4! cd7! 22 b3+ h8 and here White should continue 23 f7+ xf7
24 xf7 xc3 25 xe8 xe8 with a very complicated and unclear play although Black
does not seem to be worse) 17...0-0! The point.
a) Both 17...c6?! 18 d5 xd5 (18...h6? 19 xc5 xc5 20 e6!) 19 exd5 xd5 20
h5+ f8 21 f3
b) and 17...h6 18 xc5 hxg5 19 e3 g4 20 e2 0-0-0 21 a4 b4 22 d5 xd5 23
exd5 xd5 24 xg4+ b8 25 fd1 do not equalise as Black's king is rather
vulnerable in both cases
18 xc5 Otherwise the knight jump was pointless. 18...xc5 19 e6 b6 20 xf8 xf8
Black has given up the exchange but now all his pieces are very active and in the
game Kasimdzhanov Kasparov/Linares 2005 his initiative has brought him big
success very soon
16...g6!
This strong idea might be solving all Black's problems in this variation.
16...cxe4 is probably too risky: 17 xe4 xe4 18 g4! (18 a4 c6 is unclear: 19 axb5 axb5
20 xa8+ xa8 21 g4 g6 22 h6 f6 23 g3 xh6 24 xh6 f7) 18...f6 19 h3 The
game Akopian Ippolito/Catalan Bay 2007 continued 19...g6!? 20 g5! gxf5 21
xf6 g8 22 fe1! and White has maintained a strong initiative.
16...d8 17 f3 (17 e2 leads to the game Radjabov Anand/Dubai 2002 see 15...d8)
17...b4!? (17...d6?! 18 ad1 gives White the annoying initiative) 18 d5 xd5 19
exd5 xd5 20 g3 would lead to a complicated position which requires special
analysis.
17 h6 g7 18 f3 e6
55
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It seems unbelievable but perhaps it's already White who has to fight for equality,
Morozevich Anand/WCh Mexico City 2007.
56
Meran/7 8...Bb7 9. 0-0 a6 10. e4 c5 11.

d5 Qc7 [D48]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.f3 f6 4.c3 e6 5.e3 bd7 6.d3 dxc4 7.xc4 b5 8.d3
b7 9.0-0 a6 10.e4 c5 11.d5 c7
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By delaying the advance ...c5c4 Black can avoid some dangerous lines, connected with
the move f3d4.
12.dxe6
An attempt to use the fact Black has not played ...c5c4 by 12.b3 is supposed to be almost
harmless for Black, who can simply complete the development of the kingside by
12...e7 followed by 0-0. (the more active 12...d6? is impossible due to 13.dxe6 fxe6
14.xb5!)
It deserves attention to play without capturing on e6: 12.c2!? The game Morozevich
Korneev/Pamplona 2006 continued 12...0-0-0 13.g5!? (Here in case of 13.dxe6
Black can think about 13...e5!? 14.e2 xf3+ 15.xf3 fxe6 16.h3 b8 with good
counter chances, according to tournament practice) 13...e5!? 14.f4 c4 and here
White could probably have achieved the better chances by 15.a4!?
12.g5 is a rare and hardly promising continuation: 12...c4 13.c2 d6 (in case of 13...c5
14.dxe6 fxe6 White has an active option 15.e5! g4 (15...xe5? gave White a
strong initiative in the game Peralta Strunski/Deizisau 2008: 16.xe5 xe5
57
17.xf6! gxf6 18.e1 d4 19.h5+ e7 and here 20.e4! was very strong:
20...xe4 (20...xf2+? 21.h1) 21.xe4 b4 22.ad1! e5 23.h6! ag8 24.e2 g6
25.h3 and Black is defenseless) 16.h4! dxe5 (other options were in White's
favour: 16...0-0? failed to 17.xh7+!, while 16...e7?! 17.xe7 xe7 18.e1 is clearly
better for White) 17.xe5 xe5 18.h5+!? (18.g3 0-0 19.h5 f5 is far from clear)
18...g6 19.e2 0-0 20.g3 d4 21.ad1 xc3 22.bxc3 c6 23.f3 with better
chances for White) 14.dxe6 fxe6 15.d4 c5 16.f4 0-0-0! Black has good counter
chances.
12...fxe6 13.c2
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In spite of the fact Black postponed ...c5c4 White retreats his bishop before making any
other moves recently this is the most popular setup. Now Black should think how
to parry the coming f3g5.
In case of 13.e2 Black is not worried about lines with f3d4 and can continue by 13...c4
14.c2 d6, transposing into one of the main lines.
13...d6
Of course, Black postponed ...c5c4 not to play it now, although, as you know, 13...c4 is
quite playable as it transposes to one of the main lines.
13...0-0-0 seems to be too risky: 14.g5 e5 15.e2 (15.e1?! is dubious: 15...b6 16.f4
d3 17.g3 c4+ 18.e3 (18.h1 c5 with the idea of ...Nf2) 18...c5 19.xc5 xc5
20.h1 b4 21.a4 xa4 22.xa4 h6 23.f7 xe4 with the initiative.) 15...e8
16.f4! (after 16.f4 d6 17.ad1 hf8 18.g3 h6 19.h3 g5 Black's chances are not
worse.) 16...c6 17.f3 with better chances for White, Sadler Dreev/Luzern 1997.
13...e7
58
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is another possibility, which is not very popular as the bishop is better placed on d6. Yet,
it's not so easy for White to prove his advantage without taking risks, so Black also
has chances. 14.g5 c6 15.f4!? (15.f3 leads to a very interesting position. White
takes the opportunity (he has not spent time on the move Qe2) to pressurise the weak
pawn on e6 by transferring his queen to h3. 15...h6! 16.h3 hxg5! (Otherwise Black
would have problems developing his pieces after 16...f8 17.e3 with the better
chances for White.) 17.xh8+ f7 18.h3 g4 19.h4 (19.g3 d6 20.f4? is bad due
to 20...h5-+) 19...e5 By sacrificing the exchange Black has activated all his pieces,
also the White queen is not very well placed on h4. 20.d1 (20.f3 has been tried
without much success: 20...gxf3 21.gxf3 g6 (21...c4 22.e3 g5!? (22...g6 23.e1
h8 looks playable as well: 24.d1 d6 25.d2 c7 26.xd6 xd6 27.d2 e5 28.f2
h3 with initiative but perhaps White could improve his play) 23.g3 d6
24.xg5 g8 25.h1 b4 26.e2 c5 27.h4 d3 with good counterplay) 22.g5
h8 23.e5 h4 24.e4 d5 25.g4 b4 26.e2 c7 27.g3 h5 28.f4 f5
29.e1 c4 and Black has a strong initiative) 20...d6 This position arose in the
game L.B.Hansen Illescas Cordoba/Moscow (ol) 1994. White continued
unsuccessfully: 21.e3?! Obviously missing Black's very beautiful and very
unexpected idea. (21.f4!? looks stronger, the ending after 21...g6 22.xd6 xh4
23.xc6 xc6 24.e1 is slightly better for White.) 21...c7! Even here it's not so easy to
see what black is thinking of. 22.ac1 White's position looks solid but something
unusual is coming... 22...h8!! 23.xh8 g6 The queen is trapped!! 24.d8 The
only move to get another piece for the queen. 24...xd8 25.xd8 b4! and Black
took the initiative, his + battery is fairly annoying.) 15...h6 16.f3 0-0-0 17.e2
b4 (17...hf8 seems to be weaker: 18.e5 d5 19.xd5 xd5 20.a4 b4 21.d1! c6 22.a5!
with advantage, 17...b8!? is worthy of consideration.) 18.e5!?
a) An inclusion of the moves 18.a4 c7 is doubleedged as after 19.e5 bxc3
20.exf6 xf6 21.bxc3 Black gains time by 21...b6
b) 18.d1 is worthy of consideration: 18...xe4 19.e3 d6 20.a3 White has
sacrificed a pawn but gained some time for rearrangement of his knight and starting
of the Qside actions. However, Black has a lot of resources. 20...f6!? (in case of
20...b6?! White can take initiative 21.d2! followed by Nd2c4) This position arose
in the game Klimov Yevseev/St. Petersburg (ch) 2004. It seems that White should
59
have played 21.axb4 (21.d3?! b3! 22.c4 xc4 23.xc4 he8 was quite acceptable for
Black) 21...cxb4 22.g4 with excellent compensation for the pawn.
18...bxc3 19.exf6 xf6! The best continuation. (in case of 19...gxf6?! 20.bxc3 Black doesn't
have sufficient counterplay to compensate the weakness of his e6pawn and not
quite safe position of his king.) 20.bxc3 b6 This position arose in the game
Yakovich Flear/Port Erin 2001. Perhaps White should have preferred 21.d2 d5
22.e1 with a small advantage but Black's position looks quite playable.
13...c6!? is an interesting approach, but perhaps not quite acceptable. 14.f4 This is
logical: White stops Black's darksquared bishop and takes more control over the
e5square. (Black's last move prevented 14.e5?, which can be simply met by
14...xe5!, White also tried to prepare epawn push by 14.e1, or 14.e2 but it can be
well met by 14...d6) 14...e7!? Perhaps the most reliable option.
a) 14...d8 15.e2 e7 is also not quite acceptable: 16.e5 h5!? (16...d5?!
17.xd5 xd5 18.fd1 c6 19.g5! b6 (19...xg5? 20.d6!) 20.xd8+ xd8
21.xd8 xd8 22.d1+ d5 23.g5 c7 24.g4 is much better for White)
17.d2! 0-0 18.e4 b6 19.g5 xe4 20.xe4 g6 21.ad1 with better chances
thanks to the vulnerable Black's Kside.
b) 14...0-0-0 should be better for White. Black's king is not safe while he does not
get too much activity, which would compensate that. The game A.Onischuk
Zhukova/Caleta 2011 continued 15.e2 b4 and here it was stronger to include
16.a4! b6 17.d1 and the knight goes to c4 with tempo.
15.e5 d5 16.e4 xc3 (16...0-0!?) 17.xc6 xd1 18.xb7 b8 with slightly worse but
acceptable ending.
14.g5 f8
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A rather unusual defence of the pawn on e6. This setup was invented by famous
investigator and Alexey Dreev's coach IM Alexander Filipenko. The Black knight
is not well placed on f8 but on the other hand the pawn on e6 is well protected, and
Black is going to push the knight on g5 back then activate his knight.
15.f4
60
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15...h6!?
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A fresh idea and fairly interesting. It was introduced by GM Igor Khenkin in 1999.
After the old 15...0-0-0 White has eventually found the way to get better prospects: 16.e2
(16.e1 is an important alternative: 16...e5 (After 16...h6 17.f3 (17.e5?! hxg5 18.exd6
xd6) 17...xf4 18.e5 xc1 (18...xf3? 19.xf4+) 19.xc1 White takes the
initiative) 17.d5! After some years of fruitless attempts it seems that White have
finally found a promising way to counter Black's setup. The first steps were made
by Jeroen Piket and Michal Krasenkow in 2000, then there were followers...
a) 17.a4 does not disturb Black very much, as was proved in the game Sadler
Dreev/FIDE Wch KO Groningen (m/2) 1997: 17...b4 18.e2 h6 19.fxe5 xe5
20.f3 e6 21.xe5 xe5 22.f5 d6 with excellent play for Black.
b) Another possibilities are: 17.fxe5 xe5 18.f3 e6 19.xe5 xe5 20.f5 with
unclear play
c) and 17.f5 h6 18.f3 8d7 19.d2 (19.h1 c4 20.d2 c6 21.c1 c5 is very good
for Black) 19...c4 20.c1 c6 21.a4 c5 22.axb5 axb5 23.e3 b4 24.d5 xd5
25.exd5 xd5 with better chances for Black.
17...xd5 Black supposes his knight is more important in this situation. (The alternative
17...xd5 does not solve the problems: 18.exd5 exf4 (18...xd5?! was proved
61
suspicious in the game Johannessen Goloshchapov/Dhaka 2002. After 19.d2!

e8 (19...c4 did not solve the problems. After 20.a5 c5+ 21.h1 White gets the
time to develop the initiative.) 20.d1 White has got the last piece into play and
also stressed the unstable position of Black's bishops on the dfile, seizing a very
annoying initiative.) White provokes a weakening of the Qside by 19.d2! b4
20.c1 b8 21.b3 a5 22.a3 with a certain initiative. The manoeuvre Bc1-d2 is
really more effective than a2a4 because White also gets the possibility to quickly
get the rook on the cfile.) 18.exd5 exf4 (Here 18...xd5?! is even more dangerous
for Black: 19.fxe5 xe5 20.f7 e8 21.h1 g8 22.e4! and Black is in trouble, for
example: 22...b6 23.xe5 xe5 24.g4++ and so on.) 19.a4!? (in case of 19.d2
Black is not forced to weaken his king's shield: 19...e8 20.h4 g6 (20...h6!? is also
worthy of consideration.) 21.h3+ b8 with complicated and unclear play.)
19...b4 (A preliminary 19...e8?! is dubious as after 20.h4 Black cannot protect the
pawn f4 and prevent the opening of the afile at the same time.) 20.e2 A rather
important position is arisen. 20...b7!? (20...c4 can be met by 21.b3 h6 22.e6 xe6
23.dxe6 d5!? 24.bxc4 c3 25.f3 White seems to be better but Black still keeps
reasonable counter chances, Shirov Dreev/Sarajevo 2002) 21.d3 (It was also
interesting to transpose the pieces in a battery Q+B by 21.c4!? with the idea of
c2d3 White's chances looked preferable) 21...a7! 22.xa6 xd5 23.c4 h6!
A very important resource Black pushes the knight away from the f7square.
24.h3 (both 24.f3 b6, and 24.e4 e5 seemed quite acceptable for Black.) 24...f3!
excellent play Black leaves the knight on h3 without a target and gets the time for
his development. 25.xf3 White prefers to keep the ffile opened. 25...xh2+
26.h1 g6! 27.h5 ge7 Thanks to very creative play, Black has managed to
consolidate the position, Sasikiran Kosteniuk/Hastings 2002/3.) 16...h6
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17.f3
a) 17.h3 should not be too dangerous for Black. The game Kalugin
Riazantsev/St. Petersburg 1999 continued by 17...e5 18.a4 b4 A typical reaction.
(18...e6!? is also not bad: 19.axb5 d4 20.d1 axb5 21.e3 c6 with a good play for
Black) 19.d5 xd5 20.exd5 and here Black should have better played 20...exf4!?
(20...xd5?! 21.xa6+ b7 22.e2 was in White's favour, while 20...d7!? was also
worth considering.) 21.xf4 (21.xf4 g5 22.e6 xh2+ 23.h1 xe6 24.dxe6 he8 is fine
for Black.) 21...g5 22.xd6 xd6 23.ad1 d7 and Black is OK.
62
b) 17.e5!? is a doubleedged decision. The game Radjabov Dreev/Sarajevo 2002

continued by 17...hxg5 18.exd6 xd6 19.e3 8d7 20.ad1 By a cost of the pawn
White has exchanged Black's important bishop and gained time for the development.
20...c7 21.c1 g4! (21...gxf4 seems to be weaker as after 22.xf4 e5 23.g3 White
transposes his bishop to much better position, securing his king and preparing for Q
side actions.) 22.a4!? (a dubious 22.xe6? de8 gives Black a strong initiative)
22...b4 23.e4 xe4 24.xe4 f6 and here a rather unusual 25.g6!? deserved
attention, keeping in mind Bg6f7.
17...xf4
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+ktr-sn-tr0
9+lwq-+-zp-0
9p+-+psn-zp0
9+pzp-+-+-0
9-+-+Pvl-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPL+Q+PzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
18.xf4 (18.e5!? is also interesting: 18...xf3 (18...xc1 19.axc1 d5 seems to be weaker.
White gets certain advantage by 20.e4 b8 21.a4 c4 22.d6 d7 23.axb5 b6+ 24.f2
Curiously enough, this position is very similar to the game Yevseev
Filippov/RUSchT Kazan 2001 but White has even got some benefit instead of
the weakening move g2g3 he played Ra1-c1) 19.xf3!? (19.xf3 xe5 20.a8+ does
not promise too much: 20...d7 21.xa6 xh2+ 22.h1 e7 and White's initiative
would be sufficient only to hold the balance) 19...xe5 20.a4 White does not care
about the pawns his main task is to get to the rival king. 20...g4 (20...b4, which
was tested in the game Klimov Filippov/RUSch Krasnoyarsk 2003, does not
solve the problems: 21.xa6+ b8 (the attempt to simplify the position by 21...b7
is strongly met by 22.e2!) and now White could have proved his advantage by
22.e4!? For example, 22...xh2+ 23.f1 e5 (23...8d7 24.g3) 24.xf6 gxf6
25.e4 a7 26.b5+ c7 27.c6+ b8 28.e3 d7 29.a5 with idea Ra1-a4xb4!
with a strong initiative) 21.g3 This position arose in the game Shabalov Al
Modiakhi/Bermuda 2003. It seems that Black should have preferred 21...b4!?
(21...d4+?! 22.g2 e5 23.e4! gave White the annoying initiative) 22.xa6+ (22.e4
c4) 22...b7 23.xb7+ xb7 24.b5 f6 with complicated play) 18...xf4 19.g3
By exchanging the darksquared bishops White's attacking possibilities have
increased as the bishop on c1 is an odd piece as usual. Yet, Black's defensive
resources should not be underestimated especially taking into account he is a pawn
up. 19...c7 20.e5 d5
63
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+ktr-sn-tr0
9+lwq-+-zp-0
9p+-+p+-zp0
9+pzpnzP-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-sN-+NzP-0
9PzPL+Q+-zP0
9tR-+-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
21.e4!? (21.a4 wasn't too dangerous for Black in the game Akopian Riazantsev/Dubai
2000: 21...xc3!? (The alternative was 21...b4 22.e4 b8 keeping the queenside files
closed. In that case White would pressurise the c5pawn on the cfile as well as
effectively exploiting the hole at d6 for his knight.) 22.bxc3 c6 23.axb5 axb5
24.a7!? (24.a5 was pointless due to 24...c4 (but not 24...d7?! 25.xb5 hf8 26.xb7!
xb7 27.e4 with annoying initiative) ) 24...d7 25.xb7! The key idea without
the bishop Black's position loses much of its attractiveness. On the other hand, the
White bishop becomes very powerful. The main drawback, of course, is that White
has already sacrificed a lot of material. 25...xb7 26.e4 a6 27.b1 c7 (After
27...c4? 28.d4 xe5 29.xb5 the attack could hardly be parried.) 28.xb5 b8 (In
case of 28...a4? 29.b7+ c8 30.b2 Black's life wouldn't have been too easy.)
29.b7+! xb7 30.xb7 xb7 31.g2 An interesting position has arisen. Black
should not be worse but he has to show good coordination between his rooks.)
21...b8 22.d6 c4 23.a4 White's chances are preferable, Yevseev
Filippov/Russian Cup Final, Kazan 2001.
16.e5!?
Any knight's retreat looks harmless for Black.
16...0-0-0
64
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+ktr-sn-tr0
9+lwq-+-zp-0
9p+-vlpsn-zp0
9+pzp-zP-sN-0
9-+-+-zP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPL+-+PzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
17.exd6
The position after rather unexpected 17.f7!? xf7 18.exd6 deserves more practical tests
17...xd6 18.e2
18.e1? is wrong as after 18...hxg5 19.fxg5 Black has an astonishing 19...d1!!
18...hxg5
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+k+-sn-tr0
9+lwq-+-zp-0
9p+-trpsn-+0
9+pzp-+-zp-0
9-+-+-zP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPL+Q+PzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
19.e4!?
65
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+k+-sn-tr0
9+lwq-+-zp-0
9p+-trpsn-+0
9+pzp-+-zp-0
9-+-+NzP-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzPL+Q+PzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
It is always disputable whether an inclusion of the moves a2a4 and b5b4 is in White's
favour.
A natural 19.fxg5 d4 20.h3 is strongly met by 20...g4! 21.f4 (21.xf8+ xf8 22.hxg4 g3+ was just lost) 21...xf4 22.xf4 xf4 and here White has to go into the worse
endgame by 23.xg4 xg4 24.hxg4
White also included 19.a4 b4 and now continued 20.e4 d5! A concrete and strong play
Black protects the g5pawn by the ugly looking rook's manoeuvre. In this important
position White has a rather big choice. 21.h3 (a dubious 21.xf6?! which just
improved Black's pawn structure, will be hardly repeated again. In the game Kruppa
Dreev/ECC Halkidiki 2002 Black has achieved big advantage after 21...gxf6 22.e4
d4 23.xb7+ xb7 24.f3+ d5 25.h3 gxf4 26.xf4 c6, 21.e3!? is worthy of
consideration and it might be a subject of the future battles) 21...gxf4 22.xf4 e5
23.e3 This position arose in the game Lastin S.Ivanov/RUSch Krasnoyarsk
2003, which continued 23...e6 (In case of 23...8d7 24.ac1 White gets more than
enough compensation for the pawn) 24.xf6 gxf6 and now White should have better
played 25.g4!, maintaining the initiative.
19.e3!? also comes into consideration.
19...xe4
The approved 19...d5!?, as Black played in the just mentioned games, looked more
reliable. Then White can include a2a4 if he wants.
20.xe4
66
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+k+-sn-tr0
9+-wq-+-zp-0
9p+-trpsn-+0
9+pzp-+-zp-0
9-+-+LzP-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+Q+PzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
This position arose in the game Bologan Akopian/Wijk aan Zee 2004. It seems that Black
should have played
20...xe4
20...d4 21.f3 gxf4 gives White strong initiative after 22.a4
while in the game White also achieved better chances after 20...c4 21.c2! g4 22.e3 d5
23.g3 dh5 24.f2 8d7 25.a4 with initiative.
21.xe4 d5
The endgame after 21...c6 22.xc6+ xc6 23.fxg5 e5 24.d2 e6 25.ae1 d8 26.c3
xg5 27.xe5 e6 28.a3 is clearly better for White thanks to his strong bishop and
Kside pawn majority.
22.a4
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+k+-sn-tr0
9+-wq-+-zp-0
9p+-+p+-+0
9+pzpr+-zp-0
9P+-+QzP-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-zP-+-+PzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
White has more than enough compensation for the pawn.
67
Meran/8 8...a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11.

Nxb5 Nxe5 [D49]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.c3 c6 4.e3 f6 5.f3 bd7 6.d3 dxc4 7.xc4 b5 8.d3
a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+pzp-zP-+-0
9-+-zP-+-+0
9+-sNL+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This continuation is fairly dangerous for Black.
10...cxd4! 11.xb5!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+N+-zP-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
68
11...xe5
11...g4!? is not very popular but White still hasn't found a confident way to get real
advantage. 12.a4 b7 The most popular continuation, connected with a pawn
sacrifice. (Both 12...b8 13.d6+ xd6 14.exd6, and 12...gxe5 13.xe5 xe5 14.d6+ e7
15.xc8+ xc8 16.xa6 a8 17.b5 d5 are supposed to be better for White.) 13.bxd4
White has gained an extra pawn but now Black's pieces come into play quickly.
13...b6 14.0-0 c5 15.h3 (15.e3!? is maybe stronger, although it is supposed to be
acceptable for Black: 15...xe3 16.fxe3 h6 17.h1 d8 18.ad1 0-0 with excellent play
against White's pawn weaknesses ) 15...xf3 16.hxg4 (16.xf3 is interesting but
probably less promising: 16...xf2 (16...xf2+? 17.h1 h5 is futile, as after 18.f4
White obtains a clear advantage) 17.c2 This position arose in the game Avrukh
Mittelman/Tel Aviv 2001. Here 17...xh3+! (17...h5?! 18.g5 gave White a rather
annoying initiative in the game Avrukh Mittelman/ISRch 2001., while 17...g4+?
18.h1 h5 19.g5 f2+ 20.h2 is simply bad for Black) 18.h2 f2 19.g5 a7! The
most precise move. (19...h5?! could be met by 20.xf2! xf2 21.d1 with a strong
initiative) 20.h4 0-0! and Black is at least not worse, Morozevich
Caruana/Reggio Emilia 2010) 16...d5 (in case of 16...xd4 17.gxf3 h5!? (17...e7
18.e4! is in White's favour) White can improve on the previous games by 18.f4!
d8 (18...hxg4? 19.e4!) 19.ad1 with initiative) 17.f3 (17.b3 gives White a safe
advantage but it's known to be acceptable for Black: 17...0-0! 18.xd7 xb3 19.xh7+
xh7 20.d3+ g8 21.xb3 xb3 22.axb3 fb8 with good compensation in the ending
though White can still maintain some pressure) 17...b7 18.f4 0-0 19.g5 fd8!
According to the tournament practice, Black has reasonable compensation for the
pawn thanks to his active bishops but White may still look for some improvement.
12.xe5 axb5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+p+-sN-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
13.xb5+
13.0-0 is an important alternative. After 13...d5 14.e2 a6 (The alternative 14...b8 is
less precise Black will place the bishop on b7 anyway, and it is clearly better to
69
have the rook on the afile.) 15.g5 e7 16.f4 0-0 17.f3 (With the direct idea of
18. Bxf6 followed by 19. Bxh7+) 17...b7
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+-trk+0
9+l+-vlpzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+p+qsN-vL-0
9-+-zp-zP-+0
9+-+L+R+-0
9PzP-+Q+PzP0
9tR-+-+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
we reach a critical position of the Reynolds Attack. It is thought to be acceptable for Black,
but he must know what to do. 18.g3 The main line. (Another rook move 18.h3
does not promise much. After 18...g6 19.b3 fc8 20.xb5! d3! 21.xd3 c5+
22.h1 (22.f1?? xb5 23.d8+ xd8 24.xb5 a6 wins for Black) 22...e4 23.xe7
f2+ 24.g1 h3+ 25.h1 a draw should be agreed) In the game Tkachiev
Bacrot/EnghienlesBains 2000 Black came up with an interesting 18...fc8!? (Both
18...xa2, and 18...g6 have been played with good results for Black, but perhaps
White's play can be improved) 19.xh7+! The pawn can be taken immediately.
(19.xf6 xf6 20.xh7+ f8 is very good for Black) 19...f8 (in case of 19...xh7
20.xe7 White's attack looks irresistible. For example: 20...f6 (20...g6 21.h5) 21.h5
g5 (21...fxe5 22.g6) and now White wins by 22.xf6! with a quick checkmate.)
20.h6!? A very beautiful idea! 20...gxh6 21.h5! e8 The only way to avoid
being mated. 22.xf7+ d8 White's play looks very powerful but the whole setup
is under question as Black has parried the direct threats and secured an extra piece,
although of course his king is still in danger. In the game he didn't cope with
problems but objectively Black should be okay.
13...d7 14.xd7 a5+ 15.d2 xb5 16.xf8
70
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+ksN-tr0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+q+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-vL-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
16...xf8
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+ktr-+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+q+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-vL-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
White queenside pawns look threatening but Black is hoping to create counterplay thanks to
his majority in the centre.
Another obvious way is 16...xf8 17.b3 d5 Not only moving the knight to its best square
but also securing the square d3 for the queen in reply to 18. a4.
a) The alternatives do not solve Black's problems completely: 17...e7 18.a4 d5
(18...e5+ 19.e2, but not 18...d3?? 19.b4+) 19.0-0
b) 17...e5 18.a4 d5 19.0-0
c) 17...h5!? 18.a4 d5 19.0-0 h4 20.h3 in all cases White's chances should be
preferred.
18.h4!? A stronglooking novelty White is going to push the queen away from d3 by
Rh1-h3. The hpawn may also lead to pressure on the Black kingside. (18.a4 has
been played many times but without much success: 18...d3 19.e2 (19.f3
promises nothing: 19...xf3 20.gxf3 e7 21.e2 hb8 22.hb1 b4 and the pawns are
blocked, here 19.h4!? is also worthy of consideration) 19...xb3 20.0-0 c2
(20...c3!? is also interesting) 21.fc1 d3 22.e1 (22.xc2 dxe2 23.e1=) 22...b2
23.c4 (23.a5!? is also possible) 23...b8! 24.a5 e7 with good play for Black) In the
game Bareev Iskusnykh/chTRUS, Tomsk 2001 Black played unsuccessfully:
71
18...c3?! (Another knight move 18...b4!? deserves attention.) and after 19.xc3
dxc3 20.d6+ e8 (20...g8!? looks safer. White could then have gained the better
chances with 21.h3 c2 (or 21...b7 22.d4! c2 23.c3 with a large advantage to
White) 22.c3 (22.c1!?) 22...f5 23.c1 e4+ 24.f1 xh4 25.1xc2 with a clear
advantage) 21.0-0-0! has found himself in difficult situation: White's rook has
quickly got into play, while his king would be on the correct side on the board if an
ending was reached.
17.a4
17.b3!? is rarely played. 17...d7!? Black has many possibilities but this move looks rather
logical somehow Black has to get his rook on f8 into play. 18.a4 d3 19.h4! The
same way to get the rook into play was used in a similar position in the game
Avrukh S.Ivanov/BeerSheva 1999 see the main 17. a4. (19.f3?! is just dubious
as after 19...e4+! Black gets an extra tempo compare to the position from the line
17. a4 Qc4 18. b3 Qd3 19. Qf3 Qe4!, which is known to be harmless for him., After
19.e2 xe2+ 20.xe2 e4 21.b4 fc8 22.f3 c3+ 23.xc3 xc3 Black is not much
worried about White's passed pawns) 19...d5 20.h3 e4+ 21.f1 White's
chances are slightly preferable, Lugovoi Kallio/Gausdal 2003.
17...c4
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+ktr-+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9P+qzp-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-zP-vL-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This move seems to be the main continuation nowadays.
17...d5 is probably weaker: 18.0-0 d7 19.a5! fc8 20.a4+ d8 21.a6!? (21.f3 d7!,
21.fd1 e4 22.e3 c4) 21...e4 22.b4 and White is better.
In the ending after 17...e5+ 18.e2 xe2+ 19.xe2 e5 Black's pawn majority and strong
knight in the center do not seem to be sufficient compensation for White's passed
pawns.
17...xb2 18.0-0 e4 was tested in a couple of games 10-15 years and was supposed to be
risky.
18.a5!?
72
A promising idea.
In case of 18.b3 Black seems to be holding on by 18...d3 19.f3 (19.e2 xb3 20.0-0
xa4!?) 19...e4+!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+ktr-+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9P+-zpq+-+0
9+P+-+Q+-0
9-+-vL-zPPzP0
9tR-+-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
20.xe4 xe4 21.b4 (21.b4 g8 22.e2 d7=) 21...e7 22.f3 c3! 23.xc3 dxc3 and the
position is drawn: 24.e2 fd8 25.hd1 c2 26.dc1 (26.xd8 xa4! 27.c8 xa1
28.xc2 b1=) 26...d4= with an obvious draw
18.f3!?
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+ktr-+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9P+qzp-+-+0
9+-+-+Q+-0
9-zP-vL-zPPzP0
9tR-+-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
is interesting. The game Vaganian Bareev/FIDE WCh KO, New Delhi (2.2) 2000
continued by 18...c8 (18...xa4?! 19.xa4 xa4 20.0-0 looks too dangerous for Black,
but 18...d7!? deserves serious attention, trying to bring the rook on g8 into play in
spite of the dangers.) 19.b3 c2 (In the ending after 19...d5!? 20.xd5 xd5 21.e2
White has clearly improved on the abovementioned lines as Black has the wrong
rook on c8. However, maybe it was already more tenacious.) 20.b4 g8 21.0-0
d5 22.a3 The position looks difficult for Black although at the moment he is
keeping the White pieces at a distance thanks to his strong pieces. However, the
placing of his only passive piece the rook on g8 will prove costly, as it is almost
impossible to bring it into play. It also makes Black's king unsafe as White has an
extra rook in play.
18...d5
73
18...d7?! is weaker because of 19.a4+ (19.a4 d3) 19...xa4 20.xa4 e5 21.f4! fe8
22.fxe5 xe5+ 23.d1 with a big advantage.
19.h4
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+ktr-+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9zP-+n+-+-0
9-+qzp-+-zP0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-zP-vL-zPP+0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
Another rook's pawn is advanced, the idea being very attractive: 20. Ra4 Qd3 21. Rh3
The exchange of queens does not promise too much in this situation: 19.a4+ xa4
20.xa4 e5 21.b4 d7 is unclear.
19...d7 20.a4 d3
20...b5? is much weaker: 21.xd4 xb2 22.a4+ e7 and now 23.xd5! (23.0-0 fc8)
23...exd5 24.b4+ led to big advantage: 24...d8 (or 24...f6 25.c6+ f5 26.d7+
e4 27.g4+ e5 28.0-0+) 25.0-0! (but not 25.xf8? c3+ 26.e2 (26.d1? b8)
26...b2+ 27.f3 c3+ 28.g4 c8 with initiative) 25...e8 26.c6 xb4
27.xa8+ e7 28.xd5 with good winning chances.
21.h3 e4+ 22.f1
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+-tr-+0
9+-+k+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9zP-+n+-+-0
9R+-zpq+-zP0
9+-+-+-+R0
9-zP-vL-zPP+0
9+-+Q+K+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
74
22...fb8
22...fc8? did nothing to stop White's idea: 23.e3 and if (23.c3) 23...e5 then
24.xd4!+
22...e5!? is an interesting idea Black fortifies the base of his position, his strong center.
This position was tested in the game Lima Matsuura, Brasil 2003 it looks like
White should have chosen between 23.c4!? (and 23.a6!? his chances look
preferable but Black is not without counter chances.)
23.c3
XIIIIIIIIY
9rtr-+-+-+0
9+-+k+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9zP-+n+-+-0
9R+-zpq+-zP0
9+-vL-+-+R0
9-zP-+-zPP+0
9+-+Q+K+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
23.b3 xb3 (23...xh4?! 24.g1) 24.xb3 c8 gave Black worthwhile counterplay,
according to Avrukh.
23...xc3
We are already familiar with 23...e5? 24.xd4!+
24.xd4+ e8 25.xc3 e5! 26.a4+

26.b4? could be met with 26...xb4!
This important position arose in the game Avrukh S.Ivanov/St. Petersburg 1999. Black
should have played
26...f8
75
XIIIIIIIIY
9rtr-+-mk-+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9zP-+-wq-+-0
9Q+-tR-+-zP0
9+-tR-+-+-0
9-zP-+-zPP+0
9+-+-+K+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
After 26...b5+? 27.xb5+ xb5 28.b4 ab8 29.c7!+ Black found himself in the lost
ending.
27.d7!?
Other moves promise nothing: 27.b4 d8 28.b5 d1+! 29.xd1 xb5+ 30.g1 xa5
31.a3 d8=
27.dc4 xa5 28.c8+ xc8 29.xc8+ e7 30.e8+ f6 31.d8+ g6= with equality
27.a3+!? e8! (27...g8? 28.cd3) 28.a4 d8! and Black seems to be OK thanks to the
idea of ...Rd8d2 although White's chances are maybe still slightly preferable.
27...xa5 28.c7 f5 29.g1
XIIIIIIIIY
9rtr-+-mk-+0
9+-tRQ+pzpp0
9-+-+p+-+0
9+-+-+q+-0
9-+-tR-+-zP0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-zP-+-zPP+0
9+-+-+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
White's chances are preferable but Black can obviously hold the position.
76
Meran/9 8...a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11.

Nxb5 axb5 [D49]
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 c3 c6 4 e3 f6 5 f3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

a6 9 e4 c5 10 e5 cxd4! 11 xb5! axb5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvl-tr0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+p+-zP-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
This continuation recently became more popular than 11 ...Nxe5.
12 exf6 gxf6
12...b6 13 fxg7 xg7 does not promise full equality for Black.
13 0-0 b6
77
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-+n+p+p0
9-wq-+pzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
Black's pawn structure is compromised but he reasonably hopes to get a counterplay thanks
to his active pieces.
14 e2
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-+n+p+p0
9-wq-+pzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+QzPPzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
14...b7!
78
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+l+n+p+p0
9-wq-+pzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+QzPPzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
This rare option has not only been revived during the recently finished World Title match
between Kramnik and Anand but it turned to be the key to Anand's success. Black
leaves his b5pawn to the mercy of fate but he obviously counts on the activity of
his pieces. This move looks quite obvious but it was always supposed to be
favourable for White after the match it became known that the man behind its
revival was Rustam Kasimdzhanov.
14...b4 has a worse reputation but things are maybe not so clear: 15 d1 c5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+k+-tr0
9+-+n+p+p0
9-wq-+pzp-+0
9+-vl-+-+-0
9-zp-zp-+-+0
9+-+L+N+-0
9PzP-+QzPPzP0
9tR-vLR+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
Black has tried some other options but without much success.
a) 15...a5 is probably too creative. White gains a strong initiative after 16 f4! c5
a1) 16...b7?! can be strongly met by 17 xd4! xd4 18 b5 xf4 19 xd7 d6
(19...a6 fails because of the very beautiful 20 ad1! xb5 21 d8+ e7 22 xb5! xb5 23
1d7# checkmate.) 20 xb7+ f8 21 h5 c7 22 d1 with a huge advantage.
a2) 16...c5!? deserves attention.
17 d2! b7 (17...a6 18 b3) 18 ac1 (with the idea of 19.Nc4 Qc6 20.Nd6!) 18...g8 19
f3 d5 20 h1 with the initiative
b) 15...e5? can be strongly met by 16 xd4!! and Black is in trouble: 16...xd4 (or
16...a6 17 f5 g8 18 e3 xd3 19 xd3 c6 20 f3+ with decisive advantage) 17 e3
h4 (other retreats were not satisfactory for Black: 17...d6 18 b5 e6 19 ac1 g8 20
c2+, or 17...d5 18 b5 b7 19 ac1 e7 20 c6 a6 21 g4 with almost decisive
79
advantage) 18 ac1!+ and Black has no good defence against Rc1-c4, trapping the
queen.
16 a4!? This move recently became popular. White is trying to involve more resources such
as the passed apawn or the opened bfile for the rook in case of Black's capture.
(16 f4 is an alternative: 16...h5!? (after 16...b7 White has tried a lot of possibilities
but the strongest seems to be 17 e4!, neutralising the Black lightsquared bishop,
which is the most useful and powerful piece on the board. White has more than
sufficient compensation for the pawn but Black's position looks quite playable,
Tkachiev David/Cannes (m/7) 1999.) 17 ac1 (White also tried to put problems for
Black by 17 e4 a6 18 d2 (18 e1 can be met by 18...c8 19 ac1 e5 20 f5 e7 21
d2 xc1 22 xc1 b7) 18...d8 19 ac1 with reasonable compensation for the
pawn but Black is also not bad) 17...g8 This position arose in the game. Here
White tried to put problems for Black by 18 d2 (18 g3!? xa2 19 xd4!? deserves
attention) 18...b7 19 e4 f5 20 c4 (20 f3!? deserved attention, keeping
compensation for the pawn) but Black came up with a strong queen sac 20...xe4!
21 xb6 xg2+ 22 f1 d3 and Black's minor forces caused troubles for White in
the game De Jong Delemarre/Leeuwarden 2004.) 16...bxa3 (If Black ignores
White's pawn push and plays 16...h5 then, compare to the immediate 16. Bf4, White
has got advanced apawn, which increases his chances: 17 f4 f8 18 d2!? (or 18
g3 e5 19 h4!?) 18...b7 19 e2 (19 h6+!?) 19...g8 20 g3 d5 21 xd4 with
advantage) 17 bxa3 b7 This position arose in the game Hillarp Persson
Hector/Malmo/Copenhagen 2004. White has maintained his advantage by 18 e4
a6 19 e1 d8 20 d2 d6 21 b4!
14...a6 was a common option during years: 15 d1 (Recently White has found some new
ideas after 15 a4!? Black usually continues 15...c5 (15...g7?! is dubious: 16 a5!
d6 17 e4 d8 18 g4! f8 (18...0-0?? is impossible due to an obvious 19 h6+)
19 f4 e5 20 h5 c8 21 ae1 with a strong initiative, Dreev Bareev/RUSch
Superfinal Moscow 2005) 16 axb5 b7 17 xa8+ xa8 18 xd4!? (18 c4!? is also
worthy of consideration: 18...g8 19 f4 g4 20 g3 This position arose in the
game Frolyanov Adly/Groningen 2005. Here 20...e4! seemed stronger, taking
important bishop under control. However, White's chances were still better after 21
a1 b7 22 d3 (or 22 d2!? xd2 (22...xg3?! 23 hxg3 d3 24 xd3 xf2 25 c4 d4 26
xf2 xd3 27 a5 xb5 28 xb7 xb7 29 xf6+) 23 xd2 g5 24 f1) 22...xg3 23
hxg3) 18...d6! (18...d8? 19 c6) 19 b6! xd3 20 xd3 xb6 21 e3 b7 22 f3
e7 23 h6! f8 24 e3 e7 25 h6 f8 26 f5! d5 (or 26...exf5 27 xf5 d7 28
e1+ e7 29 xf6 g8 30 g5 a7+ 31 h1 xg5 32 xg5 f8 33 e5 f6 34 f5 g7 35
e6) and here White could have tortured Black in the endgame after 27 g7+!
xg7 28 xd5 xd5 29 xg7 g8 30 xf6) 15...d8

a) 15...c5?! seems to be dubious because after 16 a3 followed by b2b4 the bishop
will be pushed back.
b) 15...c5!? does not promise full equality for Black but gives him reasonable
drawish chances: 16 xd4 xd3 (16...d8 17 e3 xd3 18 xd3 is just a transposition
to the actual game.) 17 xd3 d8 (17...b4 is weaker: 18 g3 d8 19 e3 b7 20 b3
b8 21 f3 xd1+ 22 xd1) 18 e3 White's chances are preferable. Black's king is
not quite safe, his pawn structure is not perfect and he has problems to find work for
his Kside rook. The game Hillarp Persson Thorfinnsson/Reykjavik 2004
80
continued 18...c5 19 b4!? (a preliminary 19 e4!? is also rather interesting)

19...xb4 20 xe6! xd3 21 xb6 xd1+ 22 xd1 e7 23 c7! and White's
initiative brings him at least extra pawn in the endgame.
16 b4! Excellent decision if White wants to gain the advantage, ...Nd7c5 should be
parried at any cost. 16...xb4 Otherwise Black's queenside will be eliminated soon.
17 b1 c3!? Black is trying to fortify the position. (17...c5 does not bring desired
relief although the position remains unclear: 18 f4!? White is in no hurry to win
back material. Instead he develops his last piece, and at the same time prevents
Black's possible counterplay on the gfile and against the f2 square after d4d3.
(The more practical 18 xb5!? was tested in the game Sundararajan Sriram/ch
IND, Mumbai 2000. White reduces the deficiency in material while his chances of
seizing the initiative remain quite good. 18...xb5 19 xb5 a7 (19...c6!? was
worthy of consideration, keeping the queen closer to the center. A possible
continuation was 20 b2 g8!? (20...e5? was losing after 21 xe5 fxe5 22 c4! g8 23
g3 f3!? 24 d3 e2 25 xc5! xd3 26 a3+) 21 g3 and now 21...a6!? 22 xd4
g5 would promise Black reasonable counter chances.) 20 b2 xa2 21 xd4
xd4 22 xd4 White's initiative looks fairly annoying while Black's extra pawn
does not promise him any winning chances even if he is able to parry all the threats)
18...g8 19 g3 White keeps the tension and Black can neither simplify nor
improve his position, and is forced to defend all over the board, although two extra
pawns seem to be a good compensation for sufferings. In the game Tkachiev Van
der Wiel/Cannes 1999 Black didn't cope with problems but objectively his position
is playable) 18 a4!? White has also tried some other options.
a) 18 xb5 is a natural option: 18...xb5 19 xb5 c6 20 b2 (by the way, 20 a3!?
a8 21 b4 would be a possible transposition to the line 18. Ba3!?) 20...g8!
Obviously Black should not castle Kside as he can bring the rook into play much
quicker. By the way, ...Nd7e5 is the idea. 21 g3 g4!? (21...e5 is worse. White can
maintain the initiative by 22 xe5 fxe5 23 xc3 xc3 24 xe5) 22 xd4 xd4 23 xd4
xd4 24 xd4 White's position looks preferable but Black can quickly create a
pressure over the a2pawn by 24...a8, getting sufficient counter chances, as was
proved in the game Avrukh Vera/Bled (ol) 2002.
b) 18 a3!? is also worthy of consideration: 18...c6 19 xb5 xb5 20 xb5 a8
(the same position can be reached by 20...g8! 21 g3 a8 22 b4 g4!) 21 b4 and here
Black should continue by 21...g8! (21...xa2? is losing by force after 22 xd4! xd4
23 xa2 xf2+ 24 xf2 xb5 25 a8+ b8 26 a1! with idea Bb4d6, as was shown in
the game Sasikiran Karjakin/Canarias en Red blitz KO Final 2004) 22 g3 g4!
getting the Kside rook into play as quickly as possible. The game Donaldson
Bhat/Los Angeles 2004 continued 23 c1 xa2! and here White should have played
24 d3! a1 (24...b2 looked risky: 25 xd4 xd4 26 xc3 xd3 27 xc6 e5 28 c7 but
maybe Black could still hold on after 28...g6) 25 xa1 xa1 26 xh7 d8 27 h8+
(White can force a draw any time by 27 a5+ e7 28 b4+=) 27...c7 28 a5+ d6
and here White could possibly still try to put problems for Black by 29 b3!? c3 30
d8 xa5 31 xa5, maintaining the initiative. Black's king is not safe but his extra
pawn would compensate the inconvenience.
18...c5 It is not so easy to find another reasonable move. 19 xb5+ (Of course, not 19
axb5? xd3 20 xd3 b7) 19...xb5 20 xb5 a6 (20...c6? was met by 21 c4! c8
81
(21...g8? failed to 22 xc5 xf3 23 b5+ f8 24 h6+) 22 xd4 xd4 23 xd4 with a
big advantage) 21 g3!? White is not in a hurry first he gets rid of the 1st rank
problem. This position has been tested in the game Milov Borovikov/Dos
Hermanas 2004, which continued 21...d3 22 f1 c6 23 a3! xf3 24 xc5 e4!
25 a5! with better chances for White but it seems that Black still keeps reasonable
chances to score half a point with precise defence.
15 xb5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvl-tr0
9+l+n+p+p0
9-wq-+pzp-+0
9+L+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+-+N+-0
9PzP-+QzPPzP0
9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
White might think about rejecting the gift: 15 f4!?, preventing a strong development of
the other Black's bishop: 15...c6 (both 15...d5?! 16 xb5 g8 17 g3, and 15...d6 16
xd6 xd6 17 e4! are better for White, but 15...b4!? deserved attention) 16 fc1 c5
17 xd4!? (17 g3 d8 gives Black an excellent play) 17...xd3 18 xd3 d8 19
e3 c5 20 c3 xd4 21 xc6+ xc6 22 xc6 xb2 23 b1 White still keeps
some winning chances in this ending but it should be drawish: 23...d4 24 xd4
xd4 25 c8+ d8 26 xd8+ xd8 27 xb5 c7 and so on.
15...d6
15...g8!? is also interesting: 16 f4 Taking a good opportunity to move the bishop into
defence, neutralizing Black's pressure over the gfile. (16 d1 could be strongly met
by 16...a5! (16...d6 would have transposed to the game Kramnik Anand/WCh
(m/3) Bonn 2008) 17 xd7+ (17 a4? xb5! 18 axb5 e5 gives White a very strong
initiative. For example, 19 xe5 (19 e1 b4! 20 d2 d3! 21 h5 g4! 22 h4 xf2!-+)
19...xg2+ 20 f1 fxe5 21 xe5 c5 followed by ...Qb6xb5) 17...xd7 18 xd4+
xd4! 19 xd4 xg2! and Black gives perpetual check: 20 d2 h3+ 21 h1
g2+=) 16...d6!? 17 g3 (In case of 17 xd6 xd6 18 fd1 Black got acceptable
play by 18...e5!? (18...e7 was also playable but perhaps somewhat better for White
after 19 g3 (not 19 xd7 d5!? 20 h1 xd7) 19...xf3 20 xf3 f5 21 a4) 19 h4 (19
xd4 led to perpetual after 19...xd4! 20 xd4 xg2!=) 19...f8 20 a4 g5 with
reasonable counter chances) 17...f5 This position has been tested in the game
Kramnik Anand/WCh (m/5) Bonn 2008, which continued 18 fc1!? f4 19 h4
e7! Exchange of these bishops will help Black to get e7square for the king and so
82
to connect the rooks. 20 a4 xh4 21 xh4 e7! and Black has maintained good
counter chances and eventually won.
16 d1
16 xd4? could be well met by 16...g8! (but not 16...xd4? 17 d1 b6 18 e3 c7 19 ac1
and White quickly gets all his pieces into play: 19...b8 20 xd7+ xd7 21 b5+ e7 22
xd6!+) 17 f3 e7 with a strong initiative against White's king.
16...g8
Placing the rook against White's king and protecting the d4pawn. The position is
extremely complex as both sides have serious pluses and no less serious minuses.
White is counting on the vulnerability of Black's king in center as well as on his Q
side passers while Black certainly hopes to exploit activity of all his pieces, The
position contains a lot of tactics but correct evaluation of all consequences is also
very important and very difficult in such unbalanced pawn structure!
17 g3
White had a little choice again.
The pawn on d4 was untouchable: 17 xd4? xg2+! 18 xg2 xd4
17...g4!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+k+-+0
9+l+n+p+p0
9-wq-vlpzp-+0
9+L+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-+r+0
9+-+-+NzP-0
9PzP-+QzP-zP0
9tR-vLR+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
A very unexpected and strong manoeuvre Black throws his rook into play with a clever
assignment: to support the pawn on d4, prepare doubling on the gfile and attack the
seemingly wellfortified g3square!
18 f4!?
The main point behind rook's move was that 18 d2!?, which seemed rather annoying for
Black, could have been strongly met by 18...e7!! 19 xd7 (19 xg4 xb5 looked
very unsafe for White's king) 19...ag8!! with strong attacking possibilities.
83
However, it seems that the position was roughly balanced after 20 b5 (20 b5?!
c7) 20...d3!?
a) Black had other playable options: 20...xg3 21 fxg3 d3+ 22 f2 xb5
b) or 20...xg3+ 21 hxg3 xg3+ 22 f1 g2+ 23 e1 e3! 24 b3 (24 fxe3 g3+ 25
f2 xf2+ 26 xf2 dxe3+ 27 xg2 xb5 28 b3 e2+ 29 h3 e8!) 24...xe2+ (24...b4+ 25
d2 xe2+ 26 xe2 e5 27 ac1) 25 xe2 with a very complicated play
21 xd3 (21 xd3?? xg3-+) 21...xg3+ 22 hxg3 xg3+ 23 f1 xd3 24 xd3 d4 with
sufficient counter chances.
18...xf4
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+k+-+0
9+l+n+p+p0
9-wq-+pzp-+0
9+L+-+-+-0
9-+-zp-vlr+0
9+-+-+NzP-0
9PzP-+QzP-zP0
9tR-+R+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
The game Kramnik Anand/WCh (m/3) Bonn 2008 continued
19 xd4!?
19 xd4 was more reliable but less ambitious. Black had to react with 19...f8!
a) in case of 19...d8?! 20 ad1 f8 White could delay the capture with 21 a4!?
b) while after 19...0-0-0?! 20 ad1 d5 21 c4 (or 21 a4!? Black's king wasn't so safe
as in the center)
20 xd7 (20 xf4 xf4 21 gxf4 c5 also gave Black sufficient counter chances) 20...d8! 21
ad1 (other options would bring troubles only for White: 21 b5 xb5 22 xb5 xd4 23
xd4 e5, 21 d3?! xg3! 22 hxg3 xf3 23 xg4 xg4 24 b5 d6 25 c6 b8 26 a4
xb2) 21...xd7 22 xd7 xg3! 23 hxg3 xg3+ 24 h2 (24 f1? xf3-+) 24...xf3
25 e3 (25 c2?! g2+ 26 h3 c6) 25...g2+ (or 25...xe3 26 fxe3 g2+) 26 h3
xe3 27 fxe3 xb2 28 1d2 (28 d8+ g7 29 g1+ h6) 28...b1 with a probable
draw.
19...h5!? 20 xe6! fxe6 21 xd7 f8 22 d3 g7!? 23 xg7 xg7 24 gxf4

d8 25 e2 h6 26 f1 g8
84
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+r+0
9+l+-+-+-0
9-wq-+pzp-mk0
9+L+-+-+p0
9-+-+-zP-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-+QzP-zP0
9tR-+-+K+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
and Black has developed a rather annoying initiative, which eventually brought him a full
point.
85

Meran

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Meran Variation

Written by GM Ruslan Scherbakov

11...xe5 12 xe5 axb5

All rights reserved Chess Publishing Ltd

Meran/1 Various lines [D47]

d8 12 e2 h6 13 e3 exd4 14 xd4 e5 15 xe5 xe5 16 xe5 xe5 17 f4 c5+ 18 h2 d4

15...g8 16 f3 g5 17 xb4 xb4 18 f2 c5 19 d2!? b6 20 b4 and White

counterplay, Krasenkow Shirov/Reykjavik Edda Rapid 2003.

15...cxd4 16 b5+ e7 17 xd4 a6 18 c4 xa3 19 xa3 xd4 20 xd4 hd8=

15 a4!? has been also tried in practice: 15...b4 16 a3 d5 17 e4 b6 18 b3 e7 The

16...f6 17 a4 b4!? 18 xc6 xc6 19 xc6+ e7 20 fd1

Meran/2 8...Bb7 9. e4... Various white

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

promises very good play for Black.

Meran/3 8...Bb7 9. e4... 12. 0-0 cxd4 13.

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

18...xa6 19 xa6 g7! 20 g5

21...a8! 22 xd8 xa5 23 xc7 xa4=

Meran/4 8...Bb7 9. e4... 12. 0-0 cxd4 13.

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

15 xd4 is a wellknown alternative and probably less promising alternative: 15...a6!

18 xe6! fxe6 19 xg6+! hxg6 20 d6 d5 21 xe6+ f8 22 xd7 and White

24 f3 a8 25 c1!? f8 26 xd5 xa3 27 c7 xd5 28 a1 g7 29 e1 and here Black

holds this endgame easily) 22 a5 0-0

19 xd5 exd5 20 xd5 b6

23...g7 24 ad1 a4 25 d4 xa2 26 e7

31 exf6+ d7 32 a1 c7 33 b5 c6 34 aa5 d8! 35 e1 d1 36 f1

Meran/5 8 ...a6 9. e4 c5 10. d5 various

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

better for White) 17 bxc4 xc4 18 b3 b4 Black has avoided immediate

14...e5 15 fxe5 g4!?

Meran/6 8...Bb7 9. 0-0 a6 10. e4 c5 11.

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 f3 f6 4 c3 e6 5 e3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

too much: 16...xc3 17 xc3 0-0 18 g5 (18 f4 ac8 19 e3 c5) 18...ac8 19 e3

xe4 22 c1 c3 23 d3+) 19 h4 xa4 20 f5+ b8 21 g3+) 18 xa4 c5

Black's king is vulnerable but his pieces are very active.

a) Other continuations do not solve the problems completely: 17...d3 18 g5 (18

gxf6 23 h5+ d7 24 h3+ e8 25 h5+ (White has an opportunity to avoid

Meran/7 8...Bb7 9. 0-0 a6 10. e4 c5 11.

suspicious in the game Johannessen Goloshchapov/Dhaka 2002. After 19.d2!

b) 17.e5!? is a doubleedged decision. The game Radjabov Dreev/Sarajevo 2002

Meran/8 8...a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11.

13...d7 14.xd7 a5+ 15.d2 xb5 16.xf8

21.h3 e4+ 22.f1

24.xd4+ e8 25.xc3 e5! 26.a4+

27...xa5 28.c7 f5 29.g1

Meran/9 8...a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11.

1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 c3 c6 4 e3 f6 5 f3 bd7 6 d3 dxc4 7 xc4 b5 8 d3

xg7 28 xd5 xd5 29 xg7 g8 30 xf6) 15...d8

continued 18...c5 19 b4!? (a preliminary 19 e4!? is also rather interesting)

19...h5!? 20 xe6! fxe6 21 xd7 f8 22 d3 g7!? 23 xg7 xg7 24 gxf4

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