Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Contributing authors
Dimitri Reinderman
Alexander Finkel
Sebastian Siebrecht
Nikita Vitiugov
Adrian Mikhalchishin
Willy Hendriks
Dorian Rogozenco
Glenn Flear
Arthur Kogan
Igor Glek
Sipke Ernst
Jerocn Bosch
'tW
Alit:,. t:,.fjt:,.{:, 1:!,~t:,.§.7/jt:,.8
ntD 'iVq;~~n 1;1 :Y~~ltj]%
8 ~
• ~j.
At!. CiJ~
It .l'tWwi.
Winawer: 4.lDe2 dxe4 5.a3 SLe7 6.g4!? 1.o!tJf3ltJf62.c4 g6 3.0.c3 dS 4.cxdSlLlxdS 5.h4
CHAPTER 6 - page 48 CHAPTER 7 - page 56
Nikit« V,tiugov Adrian Mikhalchishin & Jeroen Bosch
English: Shirov's Pet Line Bayonet Attack In the Griinfeld
f!,8 8f!,j3f!,8
l:t . '§~~t(Ht
1.c4 e5 2.lQc3 .Q.b43.lDd5 i.e7
1.e4 d6 2.d4 tOf6 3.lDc3ltJbd7 4.g4 h6 5.f3 Lashing out against c2 with ...t!:Jb4
.~.
Pirc for Endgame Lovers TheBlrd's DefenceAccordingto Bird
.~.t.~. i
••••• .t.
• •
~
8 ~
A8A A~ ~~~A ~A~
U a~~~~: :~AW~ :
1.e4 d6 2.d4lOf6 3.tOc3 g6 4.14 ~g7 5.e5!? Bird with 5.~c4 h5 and 5.0-0 h5
.~.t.r+!'.A g
•• • •••
't~
ill
.el~•
~8~ 8t:,8
J:l ·.W~ 1:[
Is 6.i.bS+ ~d7 really that bad? The immediate 7.e4!?
CHAPTER 1
Jeroen Bosch
The SOS Files
Read SOS and Go for Mate tlJe4?! The knight has to return soon.
SOS-8, Chapter 2, p.l 7 Black should have castled. 1S.a3 'iVa5
16.~e3 a6 Both here and subsequently
A regular contributor to the SOS-series is Black could have defended better. How-
Dimitri Reinderman. That the Dutch GM ever, then the lovely mate would never
also takes a keen interest in what his fel- have occurred. 17.b4 tt'd8 18..-b1 tLJf6
low-authors write is obvious from the next 19.1t.xh7 l:xh7 20.'iVg6+ Wd7 21.0.a4
game. Ruben Felgaer wrote on Short's b6 22J::I:c1 J:th8 23.15 Rybka indicates
2.0e2 versus the Caro-Kann. Enjoy the 23.tlJgI! as winning, but the text suffices.
commentary by Reinderrnan, and can you 23...exf5 23 ...~c7 24.ll'lf4 wb7 25.tf',xe6
spot the lovely combination at the end? tie8 was the toughest defence. 24.ld4 e6
25:~f7+ '*e7 26.'t:Ixb6+ ~6
o Dimitri Reindennan
• Sybolt Strafing
.I .t. !
Hilversum 2009
'ii''iY.t.
1.e4 ee 2.tUe2 d5 3.e5 ~f5 More com- .t.4J~~.t.~
mon is 3 ...c5 because of the game continu-
ation. 4.tDg3 ~g6 It is hard to believe in
.t. .t.
the artificial 4...~d7 and 4...~e6 which are ~ fj ~
also mentioned by Felgaer, 5.h4 h6 The
SOS Files of Volume 10 mentions 5 ... hS as
8 ~
8
The SOS Files
ponent wanted to resign here, but I asked We can understand why Mr Jalai s enjoyed
him to continue. He kindly acquiesced. this particular game where the strong ama-
30.dxe5+ ~6 31.~c6+ ~d6 So the teur player Turgenev gave the Polish profes-
bishop finally made a move in this game. sional player Matsuski (or Maczuski, as his
32.~xd6 mate! name is given elsewhere) a good drubbing in
the Cafe de In Regence.
o Ladislas Maczuski
• Ivan Turgenev
Paris 1861
of move you would associate with the Cafe 6.h3 ~h5 7.g4 ~g6 8~g2 tObd7 9.g5
de la Regence. 27 ...• xc4+ 27 .. :~!hd4 tLld5 10.i:Uxe4 e5 11.h4 f6?1 12.gxf6
28.l::txg8 ttxc4+ 29.'~b2 tt'd4+ should end gxf613.hSlifS 14.c4!? lQf4? 15.lQxf4
in a perpetual. 28.tlc3 llxg1+ 29.,.pd2 exf4 16.1Ife2 ~f7 17.~h3 17.0·0·0
'iWxc3+ 30.Q;lxc3 tlg4 31.iYh5 1:It4 17...~xe4 18.... xe4 tLlc5 19."'f5
32.... e5 .1:I.f3+33.'iPb2 Ilg8! Now the
rooks are much stronger than the queen.
Turgcnev does not let his opponent escape: .t B
34.£l.c3 £l.a4 35. 'it'd 4 1:g2+ 36.i.d2 ~ i
~d7! 37.M J:[ff2 38.'iPc3 tlxd2 i
39."h8+ coPb740.h5 exd5 41.exd5
llxd5 42.h6 ~f5 43. itf6 llc2+ 44. ~b4 'if ~
85+ 45.~84 llc7 46.~b3 llb5+ i
47.~a4 ~d7! And While resigned. .i
This was Turgenev's only victory in a 6-game ~ s
match against Matsuski, according to The W l:t
Even More Complete Chess Addict (993).
19..:~e7+
Black cannot win the bishop: 19...lfJd3+
French or Car~Kann: Why Worry? 20.~e2 (20.'iPf) tLlxb2?? 21.'S'e6+ ~g7
SOS·9, Chapter 13, p.J02 22.h6+ 'it;lxh6 23.~f5+ also mates)
20...tDxb2?? (correct is 20 ...'ifd6 21.~xf6
Reti's line against the French l.e4 e6 2.b3 d5 1Wxf6 22.';Pxd3 and White is a pawn up)
3..tb2 was covered by Alexander Finkel in 21.,*,e6+ ~g7 22.h6+ Wxh6 23.~f5+ ~g7
SOS-9. Clyde Nakamura from Honolulu, 24.:agl mate!
Hawaii, directed our attention to a similar 20.'iPd1 nee 21.f3 ~6 22.Q;lc2 ~gS
line against the Caro-Kann. Vasiukov em- 23.l:tae1 White is completely winning by
ployed l.e4c62.b3d53 ..tb2inthe 1961 So- now. 23 ..:it'd6 24.11xe8 e;fo?xe8
viet Championship to beat none other than 2S:ir'c8+ Or 25.d4. 25 ...'i!fd8 26.l:le1+
David Bronstein. r found the following game Wf7 27..... 5 Black resigned.
also quite entertaining.
10
The SOS Files
11
Jeroen Bosch
~e4 5.cxd5!? Rogers also covers the Griinfe\d. This line (the Kruppa Varia-
5.'it'c1!? and S.h4!? 5.•.tLJxg5 L<1\xc3 tion) has been steadily gaining in popularity,
6.hxc3 1i'xdS 7.tDf3 and White possibly which is why its theoretical workload is in-
saves a tempo on the main line that starts creasing. Let's take a look!
with 5.~h4. 6.h4 Already played by Euwe
in 1923, against Van Hoorn. o Tomi Nyback
• Peter Svidler
Khanty-Mansiysk World Cup 2009
12
The SOS Files
13
Jeroen Bosch
tively in the ending after 26 ...'i!fxd5 4O.,*g4+ ~c4 41.fxg5+ Wf4+ 42.'i!fxf4+
27.'i!fxd5 Ihd5 28.J:lxb7 J:laS. 27."f4 wxf443.gxf6+-. 4O.J:ld5+ ..t>xf4 41.'Wg6
l:ld1+ 28.r.t>h2l:td7 29.l:tc81l:le7 Black resigned.
A Kortchnol Favourite
50S-I. Chapter 4, p.40
14
The SOS Files
15
Jeroen Bosch
(ion. This is a viable option. This position .Q.xc3+ 9.bxc3 'ii'xc3+ 10~d2 'i'e5+ -
could arise after l.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3':c.c3 g6 10...WcS? 11 ..Q.e3 'tWc3+ 12.<;Pf1!± Black is
4.~f4 lLg7 5.exd5. Even so, as Mikhail in a terrible state - II.tDe2 tDxd5 12.c4 tt:ldf6
Botvinnik demonstrated in 1959 - Black's 13.0-0.tg4 14.f3 0-0-0 15.'fWeI with a slight
prospects after 5 ...cxdS are fine:
- 6.lt)f3 (other attempts are quite harmless)
edge) 8..tb3 lLlf6 9.1~)f3 "'a5 10.0-0 ~d8
and Black has some compensation for the
6 ...a6!? (an important prophylactic move) pawn.
7.h3!? (7.... d2 ct.Jc6 8.0-0-0 'Llf6 and White - 7..Q.b5+.tci7 8.~c4 (an inferior version of
is looking for trouble, as his pieces are far 7 ..i.c4 - 8 ..ixd7+ "'"d7=) 8 ...'fWc7 9 ..Q.b3
from ideally deployed) 7.JiJc6 8.il.e2 tt:lf6 .Q.xc3+ JO.b"c3 "'xc3+ II..id2 "'(;5
9.0-00-0 io.ees JJ..fSwith equal chances. l2.lef3 (I2.JJ..e3 ttc3+ 13.~fl?! .tbS+ il-
- 6.lLlbS (this is the justification of S.~f4) lustrates the difference between 7 ..Q.b5+ and
6...~a6 7 .... e2 (this is White's trick in this 7.lLc4. A perpetual is more or less forced:
position) 7 ...lof6 8.~ld6+ ~f8 (Black should 14.tlJe2 tDf6 15..td4 .be2+ 16.~xe2
not be 100 disturbed by the fact that he is de- tt2bxd5 17..bd5 tiJxd5 IS.i."hS ~f4+
nied from castling) 9.texc8 (9.tLlbS .i.d7) 19.<.!o>n "*,c4+ 20.<J.>gl 0e2+ 21.~fl
9 ~xc8 lO.c3 and now a sample line runs: ltlf4+=) 12... ~"d5 and Black has a pawn for
10 tec7 l1.tl}f3 ~e6 12.JJ..e3 'iVb6 13.g3 which White has some compensation.
tDe4 14.JJ..g2 ~f6!? 15.0-0 rJ;g7. 7....ixc3+ 8.bxc3 tiJxd5 9.i.b5+! The
5...tbxc6 White can now only keep the point! Black must lose the right to castle.
pawn by pushing it forward. 9, •• <ot>fB 10.c4
6.dSlLlb4
10...ttJgf61
7.a31? Black's surprising reply that justifies the
This is the critical continuation as men- existence of Ihis line.
tioned by Khalifman. White forces Black to 11,tZ'le2Not I Lcxd5'? 'th5+. 11...'~g7
give up his important dark-squared bishop. Here Khalifman claims that 12.'ttd2 prom-
Let us look at some alternauves: ises White a big plus. However, 1 don't
- 7.ttJf3 lLf5!? S.JJ..b5+ ~f8 9..b4 .Q.xc3+ think that matters are that simple.
1O.bxc3 ~xd5 11.'itd4 tegf6 12.0-0 <;Pg7 12.1Wd2 ttJb6! Khalifman only mentions
l3.jj_b3 .c.c8 with some counterplay, 12...~c7 13.tth6+ ~g8 14.0-0 tUxb5
- 7 ..Q.c4 JJ..fs (worse is 7 ...'i'c7?! S..tb3 15.cxb5.i.f5 16 ..i.b2±. 13."h6+ ~g8
16
The SOS Files
And suddenly the bishop on b5 is awk- Shirov's astonishing idea as first played by
wardly placed, Black plans ...a6. him against Azmaiparashvili in 2003. Friso
14.0-0 Play is unclear after 14.~b2 ~g4 Nijboer reported on this line for SOS in the
15.f3 ~e6 16.0-0 .be4 17.11fd1 We7. 7th volume.
14 ... a61S.cS ~d7!? 16.~d3 tba4 5 .. .ti.Jxg4
The only way to refute a gambit is to accept
it. however, it seems that this is also the way
to lose quickly. For the alternatives to the
pawn snatch see SOS· 7 .
6.11g1 tbgf6 7.~e31?
17
Jeroen Bosch
18
The SOS Files
19
CHAPTER 2
Dimitri Reinderman
Trompowsky: the Cinema Variation
I often go to the cinema. One time, not too variations with 8...l2\c4 9.• (4 f6, which
long ago, the movie hadn't started yet and looked a bit suspicious, but then I found
they showed some trailers. Now I do like to 8....ih6 and this looked fine. By this time the
see trailers, but not when I've seen them ten movie started, but T remembered the varia-
times already (the disadvantage of going to tion. so, when Icame home, I started check-
the cinema too oftenl), so my mind started ing whether my fantasy could survive the
wandering. calculating strange variations hard reality of Rybka. And to my surprise it
from the starting position. This is something did! And what is more, there were many
I do more often when I am bored. Now. you more interesting variations, like 4.f3 e5!?
dear reader might think that I am some kind My database only gives 48 games with
of Ivanchuk, not quite in touch with the real- 3...tDc6, including a lot of games by
ity of the world. And, well, maybe you're unrateds, lowly rateds, and games where
right! Black plays secondary continuations. So in
Anyway. I calculated l.d4 ~f6 2.~g5 lLle4 writing this article, I mainly had to trust on
3 ..if4 tUc6 4.ltld2 gS 5.i.e5 lDxe5 6.<'Dxe4 my own (computer checked) analysis. As
ti:'c4 7.t.i"xg5 lOxb2 H.Wel and then first the above fantasy variation illustrates. one of
Trompowsky: the Cinema Variation
the ideas of 3...~ is to play ...gS. After 5.'i!hd2 d5 6.e3 ~f5 7.lLlf3 e6 8.~b5 ~d6
3 ...gS White might play 4.~eS, but he proba- 9.ti)eS ~xeS 1O.~xe5 0-0 II.~xc6 bxc6
bly won't do this when knight takes bishop is 12.0-0 and now you will be happy not to play
possible. Another idea is the move ...eS, as a under the Sofia Rules ...
(probably temporary) sacrifice in the style of After 4...gS, White immediately has some
the Budapest Gambit (or simply as a good problems to solve. So many possibilities,
answer to 4.dS). And Black develops, so it's what to choose?
not out of the question to continue with
moves like ...dS and continue in Chi gorin
Defence style.
I will show you examples of how to continue
after 4.lLld2, 4.0 and other moves, like 4.e3
and 4.lLlf3, but first a warning. Often with an
SOS you not only have the advantage of sur-
prise, but also of knowledge. You play your
(SOS) book moves, while your opponent has
to think on his/her own. But if you intend to
play 3 ...tLlc6, you have to realize that you
will probably be out of book fairly quickly
too. The variations that Iwill give are plausi-
ble continuations, but there are many alter- 5.~e5
natives that 1don't cover. It is also important • S.tL'lxe4 gxf4 6.~d2 (after most other
to realize that variations like 3 ...tDc6 4.tDd2 moves Black will also play 6 ...d5. For 6.d5
gS will give unusual positions, which means tlJeS see S.d5) 6 ... d5 7.liJc3 ~6 (the only
that both players will have to make concrete good move to defend the pawn, but defend-
decisions early on (instead of just develop- ing it is not essential! For example 7 ...hS!?
ing their pieces and/or rely on their opening 8.~xf4!? ~h6 9.'i!fg3lLlxd41O .... e5 ~xc2+
knowledge), and so that time-trouble will be ll ...t.?dltlJxa I 12.... xh8+ ~f8 is a very inter-
very likely. If your clock handling is bad, esting position. Difficult to evaluate also, but
this is not a good variation for you. The re- probably having an unsafe king is worse
verse holds as well: if your opponent's clock than having a knight in the comer) 8.g3
handling is bad, 3...0c6 will bring him very (again the most forcing move)
near to the abyss.
VarIation I - 4.ti)d2
21
Dimitri Reinderman
8...~f5!? (8 ...~g7) 9.gxf4 (9.tt:.f3 ~e4!? 8.0-0-0 ..'Da5!? 9.b3 d5, with again an origi-
iO ..i.g2 e6 I Lgxf4 llg8 lZ-lbxe4 dxe4 nal and about equal position .
13.tLlg5 .i.x.gS t4.fxg5 f5 15M 1txd4 is • 5..bg5!? (yes, this is possiblel)
equal, but what happens when White is rna- 5...~xg5 6.d5 h5 (6 ...liJbS 7.h4 and White
terialisuc") 9...e5! 10.dxe5 d4 11.tLla4 wins back the piece) 7.h4liJh7 8.dxc6 bxc6,
(11..i.g2 is an interesting counter-sacrifice) and with two bishops and a lot of central
1l....Q.e4 (or Il...Wh4, if you prefer to win pawns Black can be happy .
back your pawns quickly) 12.tt:.f3 1te7 • 5 ..tg3?! lDxg3 6.hxg3 lUxd4 wins a
13.b3 (13 ...b5 was a threat) 13... 0-0-0 pawn, when White doesn't have enough
14.lLlb2 lLlxe5. and Black will win an ex- compensation.
change. Okay. this variation probably won't S.•.tLlxe5 6.tLlxe4
happen in a real game, but one can dream! After 6.dxe5 lDc5 a possible continuation is
• S.d5 gxf4 6.lOxe4 lOe5 7.g3 (with this 7.e3 .tg7 S.'i'h5 ~xe5 9.0-0-0 e6 1O.M d5
move White hopes that a more compact 11.hxg5 Si..g7,with again an interesting posi-
pawn structure will compensate for Black's tion. where chances are about equal.
pair of bishops)
6 ... tLlc4
7...c6!? (7 ...fxg3 S.hxg3 c6 is fine, but sacri- Here the computer comes with the unbeliev-
ficing pawns is fun!) 8.gxf4 tLJg6 9.e3 "Wb6 able 6 ...~c6. Can't White just take the
(9 ... i!h5+ is also good) I O.llb I (a pawn? But it thinks the position is equal after
Trompowsky player is used to sacrifice b2, 7.lDxg5 e5 S.tLl5f3 ex.d4 9.tt:.xd4 .i.g7
but in this position Black would really enjoy 10.0.xc6 bxc6 lI.c3 J:tbS 12.'ttc2 -.f6.
eating this pawn) IO...• b4+ II.tt:lc3 Si..g7 White looks solid here, but it's not so easy to
12.0-f3 (12.~2 tLlh4! J3 ..Q.h3 d6 14..Q.xc8 develop, so perhaps Black does have full
:txcS with compensation) 12 ... .ixc3+ compensation for the pawn. The same goes
13.bxc3 1txc3+ 14.'ttd2 'ttxd2+ 15.'..txd2 for 7.d5 tOe5 8.tDxg5 c6 9.dxc6 bxc6.
cxd5. Suddenly Black is a pawn up! And Anyway, 6 ...liJc4 is the main line of my
now White is the one with compensation. Cinema Variation.
• 5..Q.xc7 liJxf2 6.hd8 lOxdl 7.11xctl 7.tLJxgS
~xd8. This endgame is about equal, but not Can White claim to be better after 7 .e3 tbxb2
drawish: both sides have their advantages. 8.-.bl llJc4!? 9 ..i.xc4 d5 1O.~d3 dxe4
• 5.Si..e3 lDxd2 6.'i!t'xd2 .ig7 7.c3 h6 11.~xe4 c6? The g5 pawn looks out of
22
Trompowsky: the Cinema Variation
place, but every disadvantage has an advan- - 1O.e4 c6 11.e51fa5+ J2.~1 h6 13.li.)5f3
tage. and perhaps Blacle can continue as if lLlbS 14.hb5 'ii'xb5 sees Black undeveloped,
...g5ispartofaplan: 12.tt~e2hS!? I3.0-0h4. but his bishops will be strong in the future.
7•..lbxb2 - lO.c3 c6 11.~e4 lLlxe4 12.'ihe4 'tf35
There are other options here. but this must be 13.... c2 c5 14.e3 b6 15.~2 cxd4 16.exd4
the best move. ~b7 17..if3 ~d5 and White still has some
8.1Wc1 problems to solve.
White has a trick here: 8.... d2 h6 9.tDxf7!? Okay computer. I might be wrong, but I be-
<i;xn 10.'irb4, but after 1O... c5! ll:ttxb2 lieve you. It really seems that the Cinema
"'a5+ 12.<i;dl c",d4 Black has two bishops, Variation is good for Black!
the centre. open files. a safer king; in short,
everything he dreams of! Variation II - 4.f3
8 ... t£Jc4
As said in the introduction, 8...~h6 is fine o Wolfgang Gerstner
for Black. but 8...lLlc4 actually works! • Stephan Giemsa
Germany Bundesliga 1989190
9 .• '411
9.e4 d5 1O.~xc4 dxc4 is better. and then for
example 1l.lDe2 i.h6 12.1ff4 f6 13.• 0,
hoping for 13 ...~xg5 14.h4, though a brave 4...eS!?
black soul plays this anyway, otherwise Sharp but risky. The alternative is 4...~f6
13...0-0 14.ttJh3 eS is fine. Some weak- 5.e4 d6 6.~b5 (6..ic4 e5 7.dxe5 tDh5 8.~e3
nesses, but two bishops can do a lot. ~Ke5 or 6..ie3 g6 should sui! KlJPirc play-
9 ...lbd6! ers) 6... a6 7.~xc6+ bxc6 8.lDe211b8 9.b3 e6
Here Black is already better, according to the 1O.0-0.ie7 11.c4lbd7 12.~bc3 c5 13.d5 eS
computer, but it's not so easy to explain why. 14.~e3 ~g5 15.... d2 h6 and a draw was
Well. I can make an educated guess: White's agreed in Brurnen-Zaja, Zagreb 2007.
dark. squares are weak, especially since there Not good is 4 ...g.5 5 ..icl, since Black. will
is no bishop to cover them. and .35(+) and lose pawn gS.
~6 are potentially annoying moves. 5.dxe5
Let's try both a forcing, and a quiet, variation The only good move; White should try to
for White: keep his dark-squared bishop.
23
Dimitri Reinderman
I
1
8...~g7
7.tt'd2 Putting the bishop here can't be tOO bad, but
This is (in the few games with this position) there is an alternative: 8 ...lf:IxeS 9.li)c3 c6
the most popular move. lO.e4 b5!? Who needs development when
Hodgson, in Secrets of the Trompowsky, you can attack?
gives as the main line: 9.lt:lc3 ~xe5
- 7.1!t'cl (so as not to be bothered by ...ttlc4) 9 ...liJxe5 10.e4 d6 11.0-0-0 hS 12.h4 g4
7...CtJe6 8M lLlxeS 9.hxg5 d5 1O.~f2 .ig7 13.~e3 was played in Multhauf-Schirmer,
Il.cHte7 12.'Ii'd2c613.tCa3 ttlxgSI4.i.h4 e-mail 2001, but it's not easy to find a safe
f6 15.0-0-0 iLf5 16.e4 dxe4 17.f4 with advan- place for the black king here.
tage for White in Helbig-Seyb, Germany 10.e4 d6 11.~c4 ~d7 1Vuge2
24
Trompowsky: the Cinema Variation
25
Dimitri Reinderman
Hodgson writes: 'I quite like the look of the 'iff6 16.c4 ~b4 Winning back a pawn.
solid 4.e3 followed by 5.~d3, but then I am 17.l:ed1 i.xd2 18.l:txd2 dxc4 19.~g1
getting rather old!' cxb3
- 4.llJfJ is also a normal move, and there
have been some grandmaster games with it:
4...e6 5.lLlbd2d5 6.tL)xe4(6.c3 .id6 7.e3 0-0
8..i.d3 f5= Kovacevic-Planinec, Zagreb
1975) 6...dxe4 ?lveS 0e7 (7...~d6 8.e3 0-0
9.~g3 ~xe5 10.dxe5 "'g5 11.... d2 lLlxe5
12.0-0-0 lLlc6 13.'tIfc3 e5= Hort-Planinec,
Ljubljana 1975) 8.e3 f6 9.~c4 tUd5 1O..tg3
.id7 II.li.XI2 f5 12.c4 (i)f6 13.~e2 cS
14.dxc5 ~xc5, with an equal position in
Jakab-Beliavsky, Hungary 2003.
- As explained before, Black is fine after
4.d5 e5.
4...es 20.tLlc3? b2
Of course 4 ...<15 is also possible, as is the Now Black even is a pawn up.
wild 4...g5!? 5ig3 h5. 21.J:tb1 llb4 22.h3 %leb8 23."'e3 g6
5.~d3 e5 6.i.xe4 exf4 7•.txc6+ bxc6 24.0d1 c5? 25.dxc5 h5 2S.'~e5 'fWxf4
8.exf4 27.'it'xf4 l:lxf4 28.l:lbxb2 J:[xb2
29)uxb2l:le4
Black lost the pawn, but is still a bit better.
30.~h2 J:[e5 3l.nd8+ .,pg7 32.rla8
~xc5 33.l:lxa7 ~e2 34.84 l:lc2 3S.:b7
~a6 3SJ:a7 ~e2 37.J:lb7 <;t>f6 38.a5
h4 39.tDa4 rLc4 4O.lL!b2 l:lc2 41.ttJa4
~a6 42.:tb4 ~e5 43.rLxM c5 44.:h7
~b5 45.<iJxc5 J:[xc5 46.:xf7 ~c4
This ending should be a draw, but eventually
White lost rook-bishop against rook.
47.:a7 ~d5 48.'1Pg3 J:[c3+ 49.f3 %lc2
SO.l:tg7 Wf5 51.a6 l:ta2 52.a7 ~c4
53.~h4 Q;>f654.l:td7 ~e6 55.J:[c7 ~d5
We have a familiar theme: Black has two 56.11d7 95+ 57.~g3 .ic4 58.h4 .tfl
bishops, but for a price, in this case II pawn. 59.hx95+ <o1i;>xg5 60.l:ld5+ <;i;>fS
61.l:ld2
8....ia6 9.'it'f3 d5 10.lL\e2 :b8 11.b3 J:xa7 62.'1t>f2.i.c4 63.g4 ~e6 64J1d3
.idS 12.0-00-0 Q;>e5 65.Q;>g3 !:tal 66J;[e3+ ~f6
The bishops are clearly more active than 67.nc3 .idS se.aes ~5 69.f4+ We4
White's knights, so Black's compensation is 70.15 ng1+ 71.~h3 ¢>f3 72.l:lc3+ ~f4
enough. 73.~h4 Jbg4+ 74.'it'h5 Wxf5 rs.nes
13.l:te1 ne8 14.ttJd2 'it'e7 l5.<ot>f1?! White resigned.
26
CHAPTER 3
Jeroen Bosch
Alekhine: Hector's Way
In my opinion. 10 achieve a theoretical ope- Theoretical works on the Alekhine often ar-
ning advantage against the Alekhine the cor- gue that this leads 10 an equal ending, but this
rect way (0 proceed is 2.eS li:ld5 3.d4 d6 SOS will prove them wrong! Here 3...0fd7
4.~f3. the so-called Modem Variation. might lead to a French Defence - certainly
However. if the Vienna or the Four Knights not your opponent's cup of tea or he would
Opening (remember the Gunsberg Variation have gone for I e6 in the first place. More
4.a3?) is on your repertoire in the Open distinctive is 3 ~c4. but this is fairly dubi-
Games. then 2.lL\c3 is an excellent choice ous after 4.~ce2!. After the text both sides
against the Alekhine. Apart from 2...e5 grab some material with
Black may also play 2...d6 to enter the Pirc 4.e06 dxc3 5.fxg7cxd2+ 6.~xd2
(while 3.f4 c5 is a Sicilian Grand Prix At- Combined with White's next move this is the
tack), but Alekhine players will usually opt SOS way to combat this line. The equal end-
for 2...dS to try and direct the course of play. ing that I was referring to above arises after
Here you can surprise your opponent with 6.ihd2 it'xd2+ 7 ..bd2.txg7 8.0-0-0tt.Jc6.
Jonny Hector's favourite weapon. 6...hg77."13I?
1.e4ttJf6 2.lbc3 d5 3.e5 d4 Attaboy! This is the way to play: White pre-
27
Jeroen Bosch
pares to castle queenside. He is willing to ex- (l l. ... g3) l1...e5 l2 .... h4 0-0, Hector went
change the dark-squared bishops via square all-out with l3J:ld3!? ~f5 14.1:[g3 ~g6
e3. Black's queen might get into trouble fol- 15.f4. Now 15...exf4 16."xf4 "'e5 would
lowing a vis-a-vis with the rook along the have been better than the game continuation
d-file. And last but not least, Black's king is IS .. J5? 16.lLlf3 with advantage.
a little vulnerable - he usually castles 8.0-0-0
kingside, but with the g-pawn missing this is Also worthy of attention is 8 ..ic3 .ixc3+
not entirely safe. All this sounds almost too 9 .... xc3 1:[g8 IO.~d3!? .c6!? J 1.... d2!
good to be true. Well, ifI would have to men- "'xg2 12.0-0-0 lLlc6 (12 xh I??
tion a downside: it is that White has kept 13..b4+-) l3.ttle2 "fi'g5 (13 'fixf2
pawn b2 hanging. However, we all know 14.1:[hgl!?) 14.f4 "'c5 15.1:[hg1 and White
about grabbing on b2, don't we? Let's look has a dangerous attack for only one pawn.
at some illustrative games. After 8.~c3 e5 White has 9.1:[dl! "'f6
10 .... xf6 .axf6 11.1tJf3 lDc6 12~b5 with a
slight edge.
o Jonny Hector 8 <tlc6
• Matej Grujic 8 f6 is an important move. but White has
limhamn 1998 several ways to claim an edge.
The ending after 9.'iWxf6 .i.xf6 1O.~f4 is
1.e4 lDf6 2_~ d5 3.e5 d4 4.exf6 slightly better for White. White can also
dxc3 5.fxg7 cxd2+ 6.~xd2 ~xg7 avoid the exchange of queens for the mo-
7J!V13 'it'd6 ment with 9"~a3 ~d6 IO.~b5+!,! ~d7
(lO ...c6?! II. ... xd6 exd6 12..2.d3) 11.~3
.txb5 12.... xb5+ "c613.'iie2!? 'iWb6 14.c3
~d7 15.0.h3 with an edge, Hector-Cadet,
Geneva 1990.
9.~c3 ~h6+ 10.c.t>bl0-0
There is something to be said for 1O...~d7 in
order to castle queenside.
R
,1.1.1.,1.1.1.
* g
o Jonny Hector
• [(ivins Kengis
Haninge 1992
29
Jeroen Bosch
White is playing for a positional advantage. ~h8 16.'iWc3+f6 l7.b3!, and with neat geo-
For example: 1O... ~xc3+ I U!hc3 'ikd5 metrical play White will win material (either
12.l:rdI! 'iVe4+ (12...1!hg2 13.1:1d3!is the the queen or the bishop on a6).
point. White is much better after 13...~g4 15.fxe3 ~fd8 16.~xd8+ Keeping it very
l4.l:rg3 'W'e4+l5.'~fl rs 16.f3) 13.tLJe2it.a6 simple. Black has counterplay after l6.'~>f2
14.l:rd2 l:rOO8 15.f3 "'e6 16.'~f2 Hec- l:rdS. 16...l:txd817.l:tf1
ror-Daillet, Cannes 1989. White's main ad-
vantage lies in the fact that he has two pawn
groups. while Black has four. Hector won
fairly effortlessly .
• 8... it.d7 9..1c3 (9.0-0-0) 9... tUd4
10..bd4! Axd4 II.Axd7+ "'xd7 Brohl-
Klotz. Porz 1994/95. Now White should
have played 12.0-0-0, with an edge .
• If Black did not take on b2 on the previ-
ous move then it is hard to believe that he
will do so now: 8...Axb2 9.1:1bl~f6lO.lLle2
"'d6 11.0-0 provides sufficient compensa-
tion, as does 9.l:rdl 'iWd6IO.ttJe2.
9.~c3 0-0 10.he6 I am not going to make a detailed analysis
Again Hector is playing for knight versus of this ending. Hector makes the technical
bishop and fractured pawn structure. Black phase look easy. and please don't forget
can only survive such positions if he man- that his opponent in this game is a strong
ages to create dynamic counterplay. grandmaster. 17...e5 l8.nfS l:le8 Now
10...~xc3+ 11:it'xc3 bxc6 12.0.e2 note the next rook manoeuvre to the
h6 13.~d1 "'eS queenslde: 19.1:tg5+ Gaining a tempo.
19...~f8 20Jlh5 ~g7 21.~h41 ~b8
22.b3 .1c8 With such a queenside the
rook ending after 22 ...Le2 23.Wxe2 is
also unattractive. In a way this was prefer-
able, though, as the knight is superior to
the bishop. 23.l:ta4a6
14."e3!
This more or less forces the queens off.
when despite the isolated pawn on e3
White keeps his endgame edge.
14.•.'iS'xe3
The tactical point was 14..... xa2? 15.'i'g3+!
30
Alekhine: Hector's Way
The lime has come for the knight to seek in practice and this is not only because of the
greener pastures: 24.lbc1 f6 25Jbd3 proverbial misdemeanour of grabbing b2.
:b5 26.l:I.c4l:1.b627.lDc5..w7 White gains time to develop a serious initia-
tive and, while his own king can still castle
kingside, his opponent's king will be stuck
in the middle for some time to come.
8J:rd1
Clearly the most popular move. Of course
the rook has to be placed on d I and not on b l.
Yet, curiously White is not obliged to move
the rook, but he can interpolate 8.~c4 with
the threat of mate. This is actually a serious
option which you might well find worth in-
vestigating.
8..:.-d6
And the first pawn drops off: 28.ttJa4! However, as we are accustomed to by now,
J:tb7 29.l:lxc6 l:ta7 30.lec5 Domination. there are two queen moves to investigate.
Kengis resigned on move 49. Fifteen years earlier Balasbov had encoun-
tered 8...'tWd4 versus Alburt, and we have [0
study this into some detail. 9.ttJe2:
o Yury Balashov - 9 ...1!ff6?! 10.'i'b3 ..Q.eSIl.f4! i.d6 12.~c3
• Georgy TUD()Shenko e5 13.~d5! 1!fh4+?' (lL"ifh6) 14.g3 "fIIe7
Moscow 1989 15.fxc5 ~cS and White won in E.Heine-
mann-Engel, Schoppenstedt 1993, following
1.e4 lDf6 2.0.c3 d5 3.e5 d4 4.exf6 16.l2)[4. Immediately decisive would have
dxc3 5.fxg7 cxd2+ 6.~xd2 .i.xg7 been 16.1!t'b5+' <1:\d7 l7.e6! fxe6 18.l:hcS.
7.1IIf3 ~xb2 - 9 ...'ii'c4?! IO.~f4 1i'xa2?? is too greedy.
White wins after u.eas ~e5 12.~c3 tOc6
13.~xe5 tDxeS 14.tOxc7HPf8 15."'c3 1-0,
Hennings-Birnbaum, Gennany 1995.
- 9 ...1!t'g4 (there is no rea) substitute for this
forcing sequence) iO.'in>3
31
Jeroen Bosch
So far so good. White is better developed. (l5.~xf4) 15...Wf8 16:W'xfS ~xfS 17.~xf4
but Black still bas his pawn. He now has to tLlc6 18.c3 was about equal in Van
make up his mind where to move the bishop Haastert-Kuiper, Netherlands n 1994195.
to: e5. f6. or g7? - ll...ltJc6 12..ie2 'tIrf5 13.LDd5 ~e5
First let's move it to e5: 10...~e5 can be met 14.i.c3 J:lg8 15.f4!? (15 ..be5 'tIrxeS 16.f4)
by 11.~c3 when 11... ~xc3+ (you should 15...e6 (1S...~d6 16.0-0 ~d7) 16.0-0! exd5
study the consequences of 11...'i'e6 and 17Jxe5 Balashov-Alburt, Leningrad
11..:l'g7) l2.'i'xc3 0-0 ch-URS 1974. White is much better now. al-
though Albun managed to escape quite mi-
raculously with a draw.
9..Q.c4Again this move. which shows how
serious we should take it on the previous
move as well.
32
Alekhine: Hector's Way
21 ...f61
Trapping the knight, but in the end the beast
cannot be won. Stronger was 2 I ...J:[hd8 And now the knight finally escapes from
22.llJe5 .l:l.xdl 23Jlxdl %hc224Jlal±. its cage. Black resigned.
33
CHAPTER 4
Alexander Finkel
The French a la Hector
The Winawer Variation is steadily gaining 5.a3 another option for Black is capturing on
back the popularity it enjoyed some ten yean; c3. followed by 6 ...lDc6. However. since it is
ago. so we thought that offering you some hardly possible to present both of these sub-
sort of a getaway line might be quite handy. jects seriously within the limits of a single
It would be 100 pretentious to claim that our article we shall cover it in the next issue of
topic is equally dangerous for Black as the SOS.
main line (4.e5c5 5.a3 ~xc3+ 6.bxc3). and I As to the original idea to push g4 in this kind
certainly do not purport to do so. However, of positions, it belongs to no one else but the
considering the effort required to master this great Alexander Alekhine, who used it in a
SOS line as White (little effort is required). World Championship's match versus Euwe
the character of the emerging position, and more than 70(!) years ago (the 7th match
the possible benefit of its future employment game of J 935, even though he played it after
you will find studying this favourite of Hec- 6.lDxe4 tLlc6). Swedish GM Jonny Hector
tor's (in my sincere opinion) a very good later took it up and employed it very success-
time investment. fully on numerous occasions. It is interesting
Of course things are not that simple. After to mention that Hector had shaped this line
34
The French a la Hector
almost exclusively, so all we need to do is to This natual move immediately anacking the
properly study some of his games. pawn on g4 is Black's most popular reply to
Basically, the idea behind 6.g4 is to disrupt 6.g4, however both 6...h5 (which is explored
the regular development of Black's in more detail in the game Heeter-Karlsson
kingside. In the event that Black meets 6.g4 below) and 6 ...j(d7 are hardly any worse
with 6 ...eS, the space gained on the kingside, (6 ...j(d7!? 7.tl)g3 j_c6 S.j_g2 e3 9.j_xc6+
and the restraining of Black's light-squared ttJxc6 1O.j_xe3 ttJf6 l1.h3 "'d7 12.... d3
bishop promise White excellent chances in 0-0-0 13.0-0-0 hS l4.gS ttJd5 IS.lt:lge4 g6
the endgames typically arising after 7.h3 was about equal in Turova-Matveeva, Istan-
exd4 S.Wxd4. The drawback of 6.g4 is also buI2003).
quite clear, as Black may either push ...hS 7.h3 exd4?1
immediately, or do so after the preliminary I believe this move is an inaccuracy. after
6...e5 7.h3, getting a fair amount of which White gets excellent chances in the
counterplay in both cases. On the other forthcoming play.
hand, if Black refrains from pushing ...h5 Apparently Black should respond 7 ...hS!·\
White gets very comfortable play by simply practically forcing White to sacrifice a pawn
developing his pieces. on g5: 8.g5 ~xgS 9.~xg5 fixg5 1O..J:tgl
'tth4 1I.'i'd2! (1 \.tlJdS "'d8 l2.dxe5 tlJc6
IHlfd2 j_e6l')
o Jonny Hector
• Marlin Voigt
Germany Sunctesliga 2001/02
35
Alexander Finkel
9 a6
9 ~f6?! lO.ltJdbS .Q.xc3+ Il.lLlxc3 liJf6
12.gS lLlfd7 I3.~S ~8 l4.11f4±.
9...c6 was tested more often. but in all of the
games Black experienced considerable dif-
ficulties:
- \O.~e3 iCf6 (lO ...hS II.g5 g6? IVt:lxe4
liJd713.0-0-0tOCS-13 ...liJb6-14,tDbS!+-
cxb5 15.lL)xc5 a6 16..ig2. Hector-Hultin,
Gothenburg2004) 11.0-0-00-0 12.11g2tDa6
13.tDxe4 ltJd5 14.~d2 fS IS.gxf5 .bfS
16.li'ixf5 lhfS 17.b4!. Hector-Larsson,
Sweden 2005/06. Despite {he material balance Black's posi-
- JO.~g211Jf6II.g5 <'tJdSl2.tLixc40-0 13.c4 tion is nearly lost, mainly because of the
liJc7 14.0-0~6 15.~e3 l1e8 16.b4!, Hec- huge difference in the strength of minor
tor-Djurhuus, Sweden 2005/06. pieces.
10..Qf4c5 11.lDb3 tDf6 12.0-0-0 16...l:r.d817.ttJb71lle8 18.lDd6+~xd6
White's idea isjust to play ~g2 and take on e4. 19.~xd6
Or 19.11xd6!? I guess it's just a matter of
taste!
~ B 19...ctJb8 20.~b7 tld8 21.~xc5 Ild7
Aiii 22.~e4 ~d8 23.f4
~ ktl). • Black could've resigned at this stage, but
he tries to escape an inevitable fiasco.
23 ...<ltc8 24.f5 :xd1+ 25.Uxd1 ~d7
iA~ 26.~d4 f6 27.g5!
~ Creating another weakness.
27.•.:e8 28.gxf6 gxfS 28...llxe4
29.t7+-. 29.~d3 :f8 30.~g1 lbe6
31.i.f2 tDe5 32.~e4 <i;c733.~c5 ~e8
34.j£_f2tDc4 35.ng4 .I:1e736.b3 tiJd6?!
12...~e6?! 36...ttJeS. 37..ig3 j£_c6 38.~d3 .td5
36
The French a la Hector
39.c4 bxc4 4O.bxc4 ~e3 41.~xd6+ 11.95 tDge7 12.ltJg3?!
¢'xd6 42J:ld4 It was better to suspend the capture on e4 in
Black resigned. order to put a knight on f4: 12.0-0-0 IUg6
13..i.e3 !:Dce7 14.tDxe4 tLlf5 1S.~d2 0-0
o Igor-Atexandre Natar 16.0.f4;t.
• Sergey Sbipov 12...lDg6 13.~e3 lDce7 14.lDgxe4 0-0
Montreal 2005 15.0-0-0 ll\f5
37
Alexander Finkel
to hold the endgame arising after 29.~xf4 Stronger looks 7.dxc5 "'xdl+ 8.~xdl .i..d7
lhf4 30.l:Id7 I:lxf2 31.l:Ixa7. 9.b4 tDf6 lO.gS tDg411.lL;xe4 ~c6 l2.liJ2g3
29...J:d4!:r: and White is slightly better, Vavra-Nguyen
Chi Minh, Prague 2()()9.
7.h3 exd4 8."'xd4 If.2c6
30.Ua8?
Missing an opportunity to keep the balance:
30Jk8! ltWJ3 31.~e3 ~d6 32.tl:c7 lU6 9.1!be4!
33.1.Ixa7 b5 34.~d2 Uxf3 35.b3. White's plan isjust to play .i..d2, 0-0-0, "-g2,
Not 30 ..axd4? lQe2+ 31.~d2 ItJxd4 32.f4 ~f4 and ~d3, followed by the advance of
~g6 and wins. the g-pawn.
30 ... lillc:h3 31.~e3 J:d7 9...tlJf6
Now Black is just a pawn up, so the rest is a Black's main problem after this move is the
matter of technique. development of the light-squared bishop. As
32.Uc8 f6! a result Black fails to get sufficient coun-
32 ...cS 33.ltc6. terplay against White's actions on the
33.Uxc6 ~6 34.:c4 0.g5 35.1:14 kingside.
Better is 3S.lIh4. Black is also in trouble after 9 .. .f57!
35...l:th7 36.~d4 15 37.~e3 h4 38 ..l:!.c4 1O.1i'c4! ~f6 Il.g5!? .bg5 12.~xg5 'ifxg5
h3 39 ..c.c6+ <oti>h5 13.~b5. Perhaps 9 ...hS!?
White resigned. 10." g2 0-0
10...lL;e5 11.f4 ~c4 l2.log3 ~d6 J3.~e3;!;.
11.i.d2 i.e612.O-0-O .c8?!
o Jonny Hector It was absolutely necessary to take the
• Martin Heika chance to trade the bishop, even though after
Hamburg 2005 12...~c4!? 13.tiJgJ .ixfl 14.l:thxfl ne8
IS.g5 tiJd7 16.tLlfS White is well in control.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.~c3 i.b4 4.ttJe2 13.0.'4 nd8 14.g5 tOe8 15.tt).cd51
dxe4 6.83~e7 6.g4 e5 White is not satisfied with 15.ttJxe6 "'xe6
Interesting is 6 ...cS!? Now play is unclear l6.i.b5 ~c5 17.l:thcl Wf5 l8.L.c6 bxc6
after 7.li.Jxe4 lQf6 (7 ...cxd4 8 .... xd4 "'xd4 19.... xc6±.
9.lDxd4 a6 1O.~f4 f6 I I."-e3;!;) 8.lDxf6+ 15,..~d6 16.lDxe6 .xe6 17.~c4 .f5
~xf6 9.dxc5 ~7 1O.~g2 0-0 . 18.~d3
.,0
The French a la Hector
31J:lb3! b6 sa.aea l:tf7 33.l:ld1
l:lxd1 + 34.~xdl While is just winning.
34 ... t;Jb8 34...li)a5 35 ..ig4 c5 36.b4 liJb7
37.:td3+-. 35..ie5 llJd7 36..ixc7 lDe8
37.~g3 ces 38.l:tc4 rUl 39.b4 tLla4
40.~e5 b5 41.:tc8 Wf7 42.~a8 l:le1
43.l:lxa7+ ~g8 44.l:l87 Wf8 45.l:lxe6
'iPf7 46.:tc6 l:lxe4 47.~h8 'ittg8
47...:txh4 48.c4+-. 48 •.ial l:le3
49.~d4 l:txa3 50..ie2
Black resigned.
8...l:lh41?
Putting some pressure on the d4 pawn.
9.'iWd3
Nothing is promised by 9 ..ig2 .id7 lO.llJc5?!
39
Alexander Finkel
~c6 Il.llJxb7 "c8 12.~xc6+ Cbxc6 i3.lt:.c5 19../i:Je5!? 20.14 l:lh3 21."f2 l;jxd3
ttlxd4 14.tL!xd4hc5:f. 22.cxd3 ~e6:f 23."xd4 ~xd5?! Los-
9...!Df6 10.!D4c3 !DdS?! ing his advantage again, correct was
Passing the initiative into White's hands. 23..J~c8'f. 24.'tWxd5.16 Play is equal af-
Better looks 10...~d7!? ter 24 ...I:txh2 25.l:lhl a..x.hl 26.11xhl 'iWf6
11.l:lg1 lOxc3 12.ti:\xc3 Wf8 27.~xb7. 25.f5!1 1b15 26.• xd6+ ~g8
White has good compensation after l2 ...g6 27.~a1!1 The position is absolutely equal.
13.~e3 1:lxh2 14.0-0-0 l!.)d7 is.as. but White keeps on playing for a win.
13."g3 27.l:.gfl l:.f3 28.a.xf3 'ii'xf3 29.Ilcl lle8=.
27 l:t'3 28.h4 l:tf2 29.h5 'tWxh5
29 f6? 30...wb4.30.11h1 "13 31.l:tb1
"'16 3l...l:.e8=i=. 32.'Wd7 l:td8 33.'ith3
l:tf3 33...l:.fS 34....h7+ WfS'f. 34.Wh7+
~f8 35.l:tbe1 Ilfxd3 35 .. J:rdxd3?
36.'lWh6+ 'ii'g7 37.l:le8++-. 36.l:r.hf1"g7
40
CHAPTER 5
Sebastian Siebrecht
Anti-GrOnfeld with 5.h4
The Grunfeld Indian is often played by those the 19KOs grandmaster Ribli played it, as well
who know their theory inside out, and are ca- as some of the top Czechoslovakian players
pable of reproducing long lines down to an Stohl, Ftacnik, Plachetka and Pekarek. In 2(XXl
equal ending. During a tournament in 2009 Jeroen Piker's win over Peter Svidler during
in Reykjavik I was following the games of the Kasparov Chess Grand Prix caught the at·
my Bundesleague team via the Internet. In tention of the chess world. After that game
front of my enchanted eyes I saw a surpris- other grandmasters followed suit: Peter Wells,
ing opening idea as played by my friend and Pavel Eljanov, Alexander Morozevich and
teammate Stelios Halkias, Thus, the idea for Levon Aronian.
tomorrow's game was born! An interesting feature ofS.h4 is that White's
I have done some further research for this SOS sword is not at all that double-edged as it
article, and I must say that I like the idea even looks. In fact, White often has a choice be-
better. According to the database this line was tween a slightly better ending (by taking
First played in 1952 by Jozsef Szily. In 1979 it back on c3 with the d-pawn), or a more ad-
was none other than super OM Bent Larsen venturous path (by taking with the b-pawn).
who adopted it in Buenos Aires. At the start of S.h4 is a great weapon that will surely sur-
41
Sebastian Siebrecht
42
Anti-Grunfeld with 5.h4
try the forceful 8.eS, and now 8 ...1t1g4 9.d4 - 1O.h3 tDc6 L1.... d2 cxd4 12.cxd4 ~g4
~g7 LO.h5 g5 L1.0-0) S....tg7 9.0-0 0-0 l3.ttJh2! (l3.rl.xb7 .txf3 14.gx(3 ttJxd4:f)
1O..tf4 ~g4 II.d5liJaS 12.~e2 c6 13.:cl 13....icS 14.d5lDe5 I S.f4ll)d7 16.ll)f3, with
(l3.b4?! lDh5 14..id2 ~xf3 15.gxf3 e6! a nice space advantage and an easy game for
16.bxa5 "'xh4+) 13 ... cxd5 14.exd5 White. With ideas like h5. or simpLy ~e2
(l4.ltjxd5) 14 .. .l:k8 15.• d2 ~xf3 16..bf3 and castles .
ltjc4 17.'4i'e2 'iraS with an unclear game. • 9...cxd4 to.cxd4 0-0 II.h2 "'a5+
1.bxc3 12..id2 'i'xa2l3.0-0ll)c614.d5li:\aS lS ..ib4
ALternatively, if this suits your style or mood, .id7 16.'4i'd2 1hd2 17.ll)xd2 b6 18.~xe7
White can also opt for a pleasant ending, e.g.: l:rfe8 19.~b4 tiJb7 20.11fc I with a clear edge
7.dxc3 '4i'xdl+ 8.~xdl ~g4 9.o;t>c2 ltld7 in Halkias-Gaugfitz, Bundesliga 2008109.
10.~e3 .bf3 Il.gxf3 eS 12.~3 ~d6 l3.hS 10.d5!~e5
g5 14.tladl o;t>e7IS.:d2 :hdS 16.:hdlltlf6 Or 1O... .txc3+ 11..id2 .ixd2+ 12.'tWxd2
17..tg4 b6 18.a4 .tcS 19..ixc5+ bxc5 ~d4 (12 ...lL'Ib8 13.~bS+ ~d7 14.~e2 .c7
20.rl.xd8 :xdS 2 I.rl.xd 8 <;t>xd822.~d3 ted7 15.'i'b2±) 13.tDxd4 cxd4 and now L4.h5 g5
23.a5 c624 ..txd7 and White won the pawn IS.~bS+ .td7 16.~xd7+ 'tWxd7 I7.Wxd4
ending in Eljanov-Sutovsky, Netanya 2009. 0-0 18.0-0 with a slight advantage.
7...~g7 8.d4 c5 9.a.b1 11.AbS+
Just like the 8.:bJ variation, but interpolat- Or 11.t"2.xe5 ~xeS IH:i'd2 ~g7 13.~e2 hS
ing h4-h6 favours White. 14.c4 e5 15J~b3 "'d6 16.~b2 b6 17.f4 0-0
18.f5 gxf5 L9.rl.g3 f4 20.'iWxf4 and White
won in Pekarek-Jasnikowski, Polanica
Zdroj 1986.
11....id712.~xe5 .ixe513.'i!fd3as
Castling is obviously wrong because pawn
h6 is hanging.
14.Axd7+ .xd71S.f4
9...0c6
• If Black castles, then White has a choice,
9...0-0:
- 1O. .ie2 llJd7 11.0-0 e5!? 12.h5 (I2.d5
tiJf6) 12...exd4 13.hxg6 fxg6 14.cxd4 cxd4
15.tLlxd4 tDc5. and White had a slight edge
in Ribli-Srnejkal. Novi Sad 1982. after
16 ..te3. Stronger was 16 ..tc4+ <;ph8 15...c41
17..id5 tUxe4 lS ..txe4 ~xd4 19..txh6 Overlooking White's next move. If 15....ig7
:xf2 20.:xfl .ixfl+ 21.'it»xf2 'tWh4+ then 16.c4 followed by 17..ie3, and subse-
22.c,t>gl ... xh623 .... d8+Wh724.'*e7+ 'tWg7 quently White will castle with a space ad-
25 .• d6±. vantage and the better game.
43
Sebastian Siebrecht
16.'~+'h3! 9 e6
The game is already over. Black loses a 9 b5 is stronger, as Rybka also indicates.
pawn while White's initiative continues un- Black plays it like a Benoni to undermine
abated. pawn e4: 10.e5 (1O.1Lxb5 tDxe4 Il.tDxe4
16..•~g7 16..:tfxh3 17Jhh3 1Lg7 J8Jhb7 ii'a5+ 12.tDc3 ~xc3+ 13.bxc3 'ihbS is
winning. 17 .... xd7+ <;1ixd7 18.l:lxb7+ surely OK for Black) IO... tDg4 11.~xb5 (the
<;Pc8 19J:l:xe7 be3+- 20.i.d2 ~d4 alternative is II.h5 tDxe5 12.hxg6 hxg6
2Upe2 q;,dB 22.:xf7 :lc8 23.J:tb1 c3 13.exe5 ~xe5 14.~xb5to play for a differ-
24.~c1 nee 2S.~d3.ic5 26.l:lbb7 l:le7 ent structure) 11...tDd7! (Black goes for de-
27.l:lf8+ne8 28Jbe8+ <;1;>xe8
29.e5 velopment) 12.e6 fxe6 13.dxe6 ~de5
Black resigned. 14.thd8 Ilxd8 15.tDxe5 lL:xe5 16.0-0 a6
17.~e2 ~xe6 18.nel ~f7 19.~f4 tDc6
20.1Lf3 llacS 21 ..ig4 nag 22.~f3 llacS
o Jeroen Pikel 23.1Lg4.ln this exciting position the players
• Peter Svidler agreed a draw. As compensation for his
KasparovChess GP g/60 Internet 2000 weaknesses Black has an active game along
the d-file. Zviagintsev-Najer, Moscow 2003.
1.0f3 lDt6 2.c4 g6 3.tDC3 d5 4.cxd5 10.hS
tLlxd5 S.h4f? ttJf6 Attaboy!' Let's go for the king!
Black wants to stop the h-pawn without 10 ...tUxhS
weakening his own structure. It costs a
tempo, but it isn't stupid. It took Svidler IS
minutes (from a total of 60) during the game
to find this idea.
6.d4
Of course White should now occupy the cen-
tre, for. otherwise Black would love to play
c5 and 1Dc6.
6...~g7 7.e4 0-0 8.1Le2 cS 9.dS
11.g41!
Energetic. but White had the even more
powerful II. li)g5! when he obtains strong
pressure against h7! For example: II ...exd5
(Il...tDf6 12.e5 lbxd5 13.~xd5 "'xd5
14.lbxh7) 12.~xh5 gxh5 13.'ihh5 h6
14.4:lf3 and Black's kingside falls apart:
14..J~e8 15.1Lxh6 .bc3+ 16.bxc3 Ihe4+
17 .1Le3! and even if Black will get some
counterplay with 17...1!ff6 White ought to
Since White wants to attack on the kingside, win.
he should try to keep the centre closed! 1L.tL;f6 12..ag5 'tWb61!
44
Anti-Gn1nfeld with S.h4
Clearly stronger was 12.....WaS!: 13...Q.xf6 20.bxc3 .a5 21.llxh7! (21.<it;>b2 eS 22.ttM
.bf6 14.eS~g7 15.d6lld8. tDf8!) 21...tt'xc3+ 22.wbl 1i'b4+ 23.~c2
13.~xf6 ~xf6 14.'ii'd2 ~g7 15.0-0-0 *a4+ 24.'.ttd2! (White must not be fright-
llJd7 16.g5 c4? ened here) 24 ..:t!i'a5+! (24 ...tha2+
Again 16..:.a5 planning ...~xc3 was cor- 25.'~el!! ~xh7 26.• xf7+ 'Oth8 27.~f1!
rect. 1lf8 2S.'~xg6 llxf3 - 28 ..... b2 29 .• h6+
17.l:r.h2 r1e818.d6 ~g8 30.'ihe6+ llf7 31..bc4 'fig7 32.g6+-
- 29.~xf3 .b2 30.'W'h6+ 'OtgS 31.'W'xe6+
-:j;g7 32 .• h6+ 'if;>gS33.eS!+-)
45
Sebastian Siebrecht
21. ..~xf622.1hd7 ttf8 2Hi'h6!? ~xd7 tacking game in the Melody Amber Tourna-
24.'ihg6+ ~g7 2S.ttgl ttf7 26.tLlg5+-. ment in Monaco! 6 ...tec6 7.g3 ~g4 8.h6
22.:xg7+! ~xg7 .bc3 (giving up on both his bishops. See for
yourself how you feel about this. The alter-
native is !L~f6) 9.bxc3 .bf3 10.exf3 .d6
II.~e20-0-0 12.Wb3 f5 13.a4 (a strange po-
sition. But isn't that exactly what we love!)
13...e5 14.a5 e4 15.f4 ~f6 16.0-0 'Llg4
17.~a3 "xd2 (losing immediately. Better
was the Jess impulsive 17..... d7) 18.a6! 'Lla5
19.axb7+ <;Pb8 20 .• b5 e3 2L~cS exf2+
22.J:lxf2 and Black is going to pieces. 1-0,
Piket-Shirov, Monaco 1998.
• 6 ...0-0 this helps White: 7.hxg6 hxg6
8.'~a4 (the start of a nice manoeuvre towards
23.e5 the kingside) 8...eS 9.ttJxdS 'tWxdS1O.'ifil4 (as
Lovely. 11 all fits together perfectly! Black is planned. Alright it's not mate yet, but see how
either mated or he loses the house. it continues) lOoo.J:le8 Il.e4 "d8 12."h7+
Black resigned. <M8 13.~c4 it.e6 14.d3 hc4 15.dxc4 "d3
(does this mean that Black has counterplay?
Oh no! Black is already dead and gone!)
o Pavel Eljanov 16.~6Wxe4+ 17.Ml.im6J8.'i6'xh6+We7
• Maxim Turov 19.1L!xeS!-8d7 20 .• g5+ We(, 2l.ttel "xe5
Kharkov 2001 22.J:lxe5+ (tjxe5 23.J:lh3 f6 24.1i'f4 J:lh8
25."e4 :xh3 26.gxh3 ~6 2HWd5+ 1-0,
1.lDf3 lLlf6 2.c4 g6 3.tL,c3 d5 4.cxd5 Sumets-Moldovanenko, Odessa 2001. So
lLlxdS S.h4 ~g7 6.hS simple is playing chess with S.h4!
Marching on! And why not indeed, if Black 7.bxc3
does not prevent h4-h5. Go for it! 7.dxc3 is of course less strong here than in
the other lines. However, it is still playable
even here.
7...0.d7
- 7 ...c5 looks more to the point: 8.Wa4+
1r'd7 9 .... h4 (I would prefer 9."c4 b6
1O.l.lJg5) 9 ...~f6 10.'irf4 "f5 II.g3 g5
12.'it'e3 ~c6 13.~g2 ~d7 14.h61k8 with a
completely unclear game. Aronian-Kamsky,
Nice (blindfold) 2009.
- 7 ...eS? is no good, as the following game
demonstrates: 8.e4 ~g4 9.~3!± ~xf3
10."xb7 .bg2 11.i.xg2 ~7 l2 ..i.a.3 IIb8
13."d5 tLlb6 14."c6+ 1!t'd7 IS.Wc5 IId8
6...tbxc3 16.hxg6 fxg6 17.lIdl with a clear edge in
• Again it wa s Piker who won a quick at- Wells-Salimbeni, Torquay ch-GBR 2009.
46
Anti-Grunteld with S.h4
47
CHAPTER 6
Nikita Vitiugov
English: Shirov's Pet Line
.I~j_~~ ~.1
iiii1.iii
48
English: Shirov's Pet line
Not surprisingly, the main way of fighting 15.d4 exd4 16.~xd4 "a5+ 17.~f2
for an advantage is considered to be the natu- ttJe8 18.g41
raI3.lbd5, after which Black has a choice of
as many as five continuations. However,
most of these are of an experimental nature,
for example:
o Joel Laurier
• Vasilios Kotronias
Halkidiki 1992
o Valery Salov
• Vladimir Kramnik
Linares 1993
7.e4
Not so clear is H!fb3 lDf6 8.lDf3 d69 ..ia3
llle4! lO.e3 lLld7 I I.nc I 0-0, Kramnik-
Kharlov, Kherson 1991.
7...tDf6 8.~d3
Probably the most forceful. 8.f3 0-0 9.ltle2
46 10.a4 l1.Ja6 II.li)c3 lDc.:5 12..ia3 ttJh5
13.Sl.c4 .td7 14.'i'bl f5 was unclear in
Illescas-Psakhis, Novi Sad Olympiad 1990.
8...ltJa6 9.13 d6 10.~b2! li.)cS 11.~c2
.id712.a4 4.d4! cti
The structure of the position has clarified. 4 ...ltlc6?! is altogether too novel: S.LQf3 e4
Black is held in a positional vice, from 6.<tJg5 f5 7.c5! and Black's position is criti-
which it will be not at all easy to escape. cal.
12...0-0 13.li.::le2l:lac8 14.zea "a6 5.dxe5 ~xe5 6.ltJt3 d6 7.li.)xes
49
Nikita Vitiugov
The alternative is 7.lDc3!? Thus by trial and error Black arrived at the
7... dxe5 8.1Dc3 ttxdl + 9.tLlxdl present-day main reply 3...sa. whieh is the
In the resulting endgame White hils a stable, real subject of this article. Here White still
although not very big advantage. has to demonstrate a clear-cut way to gain an
advantage.
Initially a popular plan involved attempts to
demonstrate the power of White's
dark-squared bishop, which has been left
without an opponent, but it lost its dangers
for Black, thanks to the efforts of Alexey
Shirov.
o Yasser Seirawan
• Alexey Shirov
Biellnterzooal1993
9....te6 10.b3 a5 11..tb2 f6 12.lbc3 1.c4 e5 2.tDc3 i.b4 3.tlJd5 fl.e7 4.tbf3
liJa613.0-O-O liJh614.h3 CiJfl15.e3 Here the move order does rot play any par-
On White's side is a long-leon factor in the ticular role - White can begin with either
form of the two bishops, and so he unhur- 4.lDf3, or 4.d4.
riedly strengthens his position. 4••.d65.d4
15 ... 0-0 16~e2liJb417.f4 b5!?
In the given instance passive defence is not
good, and so Black initiates counterplay,
However, with accurate play White extin-
guishes the opponent's activity.
18.g4 ex14 19.ex'4 bxc4 20.bxc4 15
23.J:[hgl
21.a3 llJa6 22.lt2.a4! :tab8
lxg4 24.hxg41::ae8 25J%d2 tDd8 26.15
5 ...e41
The critical and correct approach. Since
White himself does not want to occupy the
centre, why shouldn't Black exploit this?
White obtained somewhat the better game
after 5...~\c6 6.e3 e4 7.lL:lgl~g5 8.M i.e7
9.tLle2 f5 IO.4Jef4 lDf6 Il.lDxf6+ i.xf6
12.t2::d5 0-0 13..ild2 l/::,c7 14.tUx.f6+Ilxf6
White has a big advantage. 15.d5 in Gelfand-Shirov, Moscow 1992.
50
English: Shirov's Pet Line
7.lbbl
Joe! Lautier chooses a different approal:h -
at the cost of a couple of tempi White pre-
51
Niki1a Vi1iugov
fers to develop his bishop outside the pawn IS dxc4?' was weak: 16.... xd6! lUc8
chain. (16 J:lac8 17.tt:lxa7!?±) 17.tt:ld4 ttJc5
7...tDf6 8.lLIxe7 tt'xe7 s.eea 0-0 18J:tac I. with strong compensation for the
1O..tg5 ~e6 11.e3 lLIbd7 pawn.
16.lLlxd6
Play is equal after 16.~xf6?! "'xf6 lVLlc7
llac8 18.tiJlld5"'n.
16..... g6
And here in the game there followed:
12.~e2
As was also the case earlier, 12.d5 is not alto-
gether in the spirit of the position: 12...~t7
13.tt:lb5 h6 14.~4 g5 15..ig3 lbeS and
thanks to his piece grouping in the centre,
Black is alright. 17.~xf6
12...0613.0-0 'ikf714.d5 Meanwhile, there was an interesting reo
After his restrained play in the opening, source available to White: 17.~4! t2)xc4
White suddenly launches himself at the op- 18.tt:lxb7!tDxb2 19.1i'd4 ta:4 20.<'L,c5~.
ponent.14.b3!?d5l5.c5wasaworthyaher- 17..JbfS 18.cxd5 ~d7 19.tiJc4 ttJxc4
native, with a different type of game. 20.~xc4f4
14...cxd5 15..ti)b5 and after an outburst of complications the
game came 10 a peaceful end.
K :i~ In the end. White has had to adopt a more
11 ~ ~1 1 ambitious set-up. involving the complete oc-
1.t.6) cupation of the centre. But the price for (his-
his lag in development - forces him to act
ttJ 1 l£i. with extreme care and accuracy.
t::. 1
8 o Curt Hansen
t::.8 i.8t::.8 • Ivan Sokolov
1:[ if %:[~ Groningen 1995
52
English: Shirov's Pet Line
.i~.t1W~ ~:i
l' .t'l'
1
tt:J,
~8~
~8 8~8
1:[ ~~~.t~~
When you first look at this position, you may 11...tDe5
dUnk that White has made incredible progress Black's slow handling of the game gradually
over the firsl five moves - he has occupied the places him on the verge of defeat 11...tt:lh5!"
centre, he has established his knight at d5, and was an interesting attempt, with the idea after
he is not behind in development. However, it 12.g4 of sacrificing a piece by 12...~xg4
transpires that Black too has his trumps. 13.fxg4 ~f6 14.l:lg1 lDxe4 IS .• a3, and in
5...tDf6 6.lOxe7 'W'xe7 this position Black has a wide choice of con-
tinuations. For example, 15...lDe5 16.0-0-0
lDxc4 17.'irb3 ~c3! 18.'ihc3lDxe3 19J1d2
1We6 with sharp play. 1l...a5!? was another
critical continuation.
12.lDf4 lDg6 13.CH)-0lilltf4 14.~xf4
White has a stable advantage, and Black has
no way of opposing his initiative on the
kingside.
14•.•86 1S.h4 ~e6 16.g4 liJd7 17.95
bS 18.h5 "'f8 19.h6 96
7.'3
It appears that the transformation of the situ-
ation has merely consolidated White's posi-
tion. But in the immediate future his
fine-looking pawn centre may become a
good target.
7...exd4 8.'fhd4 tDc6 9.'iVc3 0-0
10.j(,e3
White is hardly promised any advantage by
1O.~g5 lieS 11.~xf6 "xf6 12."xf6 gxf6,
and on the next move Black gets rid of his 20Jbd6! The game is decided. 20 ... b4
weakness on f6. 21.'W'd4 l:Iad8
10 ... l:le811.tDe2 And here White suddenly deviated from the
53
Nikita Vitiugov
correct course and gave away the greater 12.-.d2 ~)(f5, Lautier-Shirov, Las Palrnas
part of his advantage. 1994) 9 .. .f5 lO.exf5 tDf4 (10 ...~xf5 I1.g4
22.l:txd7? There was a straightforward win .bg4 12.fxg4 .h4+ IHt~d2 tiJg3 14.hxg3
by 22J:txa6 ~5 23."f6 tiJd7 24.'ifg7+! - "'xhl l5.i.h3!± intending g5) Il.g4~, and
perhaps White missed this subtlety? if II...b5 12.cxb5 ~b7 13..i.c4! lLlg2+
22 ... ~xdl And the battle flared up with reo 14.'iPf2 tt.:lxe3 l5.'iPxe3 (Shirov),
newed strength. 9.exfS (iJf6
This quiet retreat is the point of Black's nov-
In this, seemingly a sideline of the English elty. 9 ...exd4 10.'tIfxd4 tOc6 11.... d2 ~xf5
Opening, the theoretical disputes are contin- 12.g4 0-0-0 is ex.cessively sharp. since
uing to this day. One of the main drivers of White has the strong resource 13.0-0-0! d5
theory in this variation for Black, Alexey 14.~g5 tt:lf6 15.gxf5 dxc4 16.t1el, when he
Shirov, is still prepared at a convenient mo- remains a piece up.
ment to again resort to his old and well-
tested counter to the English Opening.
o Levon Aronian
• Alexey Shirov
MorelialLinares 2008
---_._---
1.c4 eS VDc3 ~b4 3,tud5 ~e7 4.d4
d6 5.e4lLlf6 6.~xe7 .xe7 7.f3lUh5!?
A move which Shirov had already employed
earlier in a game against Laurier,
8.~e3 10.~e2
By responding in this way. White can possi-
bly hope for some pressure from the ope-
ning, but not an advantage.
Of course. lO.g4!? was more reckless and
critical, after which the play can develop
roughly along the following lines: 1O... h5
Il.g5 .!Dh7 12.dxe5 "xe5 13."d2 ~xf5
14.0-0-00-0 with chances for both sides. This
continuation still has to be tested in practice.
1O.•.exd4 11.~xd4 .i.xf5 12. 'it d2 ttJc6
13.0-0..0 0-0-0
13...0-0'/! is risky in view of 14.~c3, when
8...f5 White's potential pawn storm on the
And here is an important novelty. Earlier kings ide may be very dangerous.
Alexey played 8...0-0, after which in his 14.g4
comments he himself indicated the way to Probably the only possibility of selling
gain an advantage: 9.d51 (not so clear is Black problems from the opening was
9.tbe2 f5 10.exf5 exd4 1Ulhd4 tbc6 14.~c3. trying to retain the bishop pair.
54
English: Shirov's Pet Line
55
CHAPTER 7
Adrian Mikhalchishin & Jeroen Bosch
Bayonet Attack in the Grunteld
The Grunfcld is a dynamic, hypcnnodem deviation. little theory, a lot of fun, and. in
opening that makes for attractive chess. Un- this case a quite eccentric starting move.
fortunately, the theoretical workload is also Avid SOS-readers will perhaps be reminded
of the highest order. II is perhaps for this rea- of our coverage of 4.h4 in 50S-3 (Chapter 3,
son that an unusual high number of SOS-ar- p.28). Paradoxically, it turned out thai 4.h4-
iicles have already appeared on Gtiinfeld although a flank action - was in fact moti-
byways. Is it the nature of the Gtiinfeld that vated by a wish to dominate in the centre.
invites creati v.eand earl y deviations from the This is most obvious from the continuation
main lines'? Perhaps many white players ex- 4 ...~g7 S.h5 tiJxhS 6.cxd5 and White has the
pect that it will payoff to surprise an oppo- bener chances. With 4.g4 White also aims to
nent who is obviously not averse to spending gain influence in the centre (obviously 5.g5
huge amounts of his ti me on opening study? and 6.cxd5 is a threat). This may be illustrated
Do we see so many sidelines because the by 4...tL:.xg4?!5.cxdS and 4....bg4 5.~3 in-
main lines don't promise White much? tending 6.cxd5 after 5 ...~c8. This should be
Whatever the reason, the present subject sufficient philosophical background for us to
clearly falls into the SOS category: an early embark on our 4.g4 adventure.
56
Bayonet Attack in the GrOnfeld
Let us start with an appetizer: the game 7.~xc4 c5 is simply good for Black, as the
Pantaleev-Radev, Bulgaria 1979 (all is new only suitable positional reply 8.d5 fails to
that is long forgotten!). S...b5 9.fLxb5lLlxe4 lO.lLlxe4 'i'a5+ II.llJc3
fLxc3+ 12.bxc3 'W'xb5 and Black's chances
o Dimitar Pantaleev are preferable.
• Nikolai Radev 7...c6
Bulgaria 1979 I don't like this passive move - although, ad-
minedly, Radev is playing with a natural
1.d4 tL)f6 2.c4 96 3.~c3 d5 4.94!1 idea in mind. Why not the typical Griinfeld
PantaJeev was not Ihe first 10 play this auda- lever 7...c5.
cious move. Already in 1975 this idea had 8.e5
sprung from the fertile mind ofYacov Murey Obviously not 8 ..ixc4 because of 8...b5
(Murey-Napolov, Cheliabinsk 1975, is the 9.fLb3 b4 and pawn e4 falls. This is the point
earliest game we could find featuring 4.g4). of Radev's 7 ...c6.
4 dxc4 8...ttJd59.~xc4 ~e6 10.~b3 tDd7
4 tL1xg4 5.cxdS is a fairly obvious point. In 1O...~xc3 II.bxc3 ~d5 12.<!)f3 b5 was
the same year Pantaleev also faced 4....Jhg4 given by Minev, but White can be happy
when his game against Grancharov went with his space advantage after 13.0-0.
5.'i'b3 ~c8 6.cxd5 fLg7 7.e4 c6 8 ..ig2 0-0 11.0,ge2 tiJ7b6 12.ltJe4
9.tLJgeZ. This avoids the exchange of pieces, thus em-
5.h3 phasizing Black's lack of space. Without the
See Variation In B for the alternative 5.gS. Grunfeld lever ...c5 Black is suffering.
5 ~g7 12....ii'c8 13.tiJ2g3 (,::.c714~c2
S ~dS 6.e4 tLib6! is what Jonathan Rowson
recommends in his Understanding the
Grunfeld. In Informant 29 (which featured
Pantaleev's game) Minev only mentions
6...~xc3 1.bxc3 ~g7 8.~xc4 c5 9.tj~le2
which he calls unclear - a fair enough ver-
dict given thai White's space advantage on
the kingside cuts both ways.
6.e4 0-0 7.t4!1
57
Adrian Mikhalchishin & Jeroen Bosch
the means to take advantage of this advance bining attack and defence with 30JthgJ
- he cannot really control square f5. Minev ~h8 31.11g3.
analysed 17..~xg4 to see if Black could get 30.'tIfh6 Ug8 31.h4 tLlcd5 32.~b1
out of his cramped position with brute force. To defend against an annoying check on
His line continues 18.h,,;g4 'l'xg4 19.'i'e2 a2, but 32.hS was also strong as 32 ...tLla2+
(19.ttJe2 is safe - Black has no real compen- is met by 33.'~b 1 tiJac3+ 34 ..txc3 <tJxc3+
sation) 19... 1hf4 20 ..tcl and wins. How- 35.~c2lLlxe4 36.hxg6 and wins.
ever, this is wrong because Black can 32...c533.11df1 .f71 34.h5
continue with 20 ...loxd4! 21.~xf4 t!Jxe2 Crashing through the defences.
22.lDxe2 lLlxf4 23.lDxf4 i.xe5 when he is 34 .•. g5 35.~g6 "c7
winning back material with the better
prospects.
18.g5 ~g7 19.1cc5 Gaining control over
f5. 19 .•. a5 J9 ...i.xh3 is met by the crush-
ing 20.f5 ~g4 2J.'tfh2 as Minev correctly
pointed out.
20.lbxe6 'ttxe6 21.f5 W'd7 22.a4
lbbc7 23.0-0-0
36.~d2!
Black is still alive after 36.f7 cxd4+
37.~bl l:xg6! 38.f8'1'+ :g8.
36 .•. cxd4 37.llc1 <tJc3 38.f7 Itxg6
38 ...l:lg7 39.tthfl llf8 40.~xh7 is the 'pro-
saic' finish. 39.hxg6 ~ 40.c;t>e2 d3+
41.~f3 0.d2+ 42.'it>g4
58
Bayonet Attack in the Grunfeld
Variation I
4 .•.tLlxg4
There are other moves that deserve more
tests than they have received in tournament
practice: 4 ...c5. 4 ...c6 and perhaps even
4 ...h6 (although 5.cxdSlt)xd5 6.e4 feels nat-
ural).
S.cxdS
Clearly worse is 5.lt:!xdS c6 6.liJc3 e5! 7.d5
Wh4 8.liJe4 .i.b4+ 9.~d2 tt:le3, Niemela-
Sidorkov, Jyvaskyla 1991.
S...c6 6.e4 e5 7.tLlb5
Not 6 cxd5 7.~b5+. 7..i.g2!? is interesting when Duckworth-
7.h3 h4 8.• f3! tt:lh6 9.dxe5 ~g7 Burg, Los Angeles 1991, favoured While af-
10.~f4 tOd711."e3 ter 7 ...~b6 8.tDb5 lIc8 9..i.c6+ ~d7
Or I I..ig3 We7 12.d6 which is also good. 1O.liJxa7 llb8 11.~xd7+ llJfxd7 12.Wf3.
1 L.tOxeS 12~xeS be5 13.tLlf3 7 ...l:lcB 8.f3 Dangerous is 8..i.f4 e5!'!
~xc3+ 14.bxc3 tiM 9.dxe5 ~b4+ JO.tt:lc3. 8...b6 9.e4 c6
10.0.a3 0.b6 11...~.e3 l:lc7 12."a6
..tg7 13.0.e2 0-0 14.~g2 White has the
advantage. Cairou-Rodier, France 2002103.
Subvarlatlon B
S....1ic8 6.cxd5 ~g7
If 6 ... c6 7.SLg2 'Wb6 8.~f4 "xb3 9.axb3
cxd5 10.0.b5 ttJa6 Il.nxa6 bxa6 12.0.c7+
Iir'd8 13.~xa8 ~b7 14.0.c7 e6 15.e3 with a
big advantage, Taffijn-Van Belle. cr. 2002.
7.e4
A fairly high-level game (Plaskett-
Fedorowicz, London 1987) saw 7 .~g2 0-0
This is Cziszar-Szekeres, Gyongos 2003, 8.ttJf3 c6 9.e4 cxd5 W.eS t.t:le4 Il.Wxd5
and here, instead of the game continuation lLlxc3 12.thd8 llxd8 13.bxc3 SLe6 14.0.g5
15..ig2. White had a couple of interesting ~d5 and Black was OK in the ending.
possibilities: 15..ie2 and 15.11dl. 7...c6 8.i.g2 0-0 9_tDge2
Adrian Mikhalchishin & Jeroen Bosch
Subvarlatlon A
5.h3 is more positional.
5...lbd5 For 5...~g7 see our appetizer.
9.dS
The quiet 9.e3 is also possible.
9...llJb4
It is clear that Black should have seriously
considered 9... ~xc3+ 10.bx.e3 .xd5
11.~xc7 .tg4, with an excellent game.
10.lbe5 O,() 11.a3 tOa612 .... d4 So as
not to allow ttla6-c5-b3.
60
Bayonet Attack in the GrOnfeld
61
CHAPTER 8
Willy Hendriks
Taking the Lion by its Throat
In this article r will have a look at a set-up Dutch language edition. They called their
with g4 and 11 (in that order!) againsr an ope- system 'the Lion'. This 1997 Dutch edition
ning that in my homeland is known as 'the was later expanded and translated, resulting
Lion' ('de Leeuw'). In other countries this in the publication mentioned above.
opening (l.e4 d6 2.d4 tl)f6 3.tLlc3 lDbd7) is For their work the authors were both praised
known as ... Well, , actually don't know, and criticized. Some stronger players looked
does this opening have a name? upon them as dilettanti, and claimed that
So let's stick to this name. After all, the pub- players of club level are not able to write a
lisher of the SOS-series has also released a decent opening book.
book called 'The Black Lion: the Chess Be that as it may, the book was quite suc-
Predator's Choice Against Both l.e4 and cessful and it added to the popularity of this
l.d4'. opening. So every l.e4 player will meet the
To give some history on this name: two Lion now and then, maybe more often at
Dutch chess amateurs, Jerry van Rekom and club level than at top level (and probably
Leo Jansen, did a lot of work on this system more often in the Netherlands than in the rest
and published their findings in 1997 in a of the world).
Taking the Lion by its Throat
63
Willy Hendriks
'llic7, tDf8, g5. tDg6, tDf4, l:Ig8 are played the average club player should not write an
(over and over again). As an advantage of opening book.
playing the Lion. this website states that:
'You play your own game. Your play doesn't Serlo~sopposition
depend on the moves your opponent does.' Let's move on to some serious opposition by
(Sic!) Black. After all, we cannot expect all our op-
In their book the authors give the line 4.i.e3 ponents to simply castle into our attack or to
e5 5.0 i.e7 6.• £12c6 7.0-0-0 and then they play like an automaton that only knows one
advise the move 7 ...• c7. 'mainly to keep tune.
playing according to the standard plan'. [ divide the material in two parts: the main
I think. this whole attitude is ill-advised. line with 4.g4 h6 5.0 e5. and set-ups without
Playing a good opening depends on having a a quick ...e5.
multitude of strategical and tactical ideas, In the main line Black should start his
not on repeating a standard scheme regard- queenside play with ...c6 and ._.b5 as soon as
less of what the opponent does 1 possible. A move like c7 is not neces-
If you meet an opponent who blindly follows sary, and even the move i.e7 can be de-
this advice, the idea presented in this article layed.
wi \I be very effective. Continuing the line af- Black must always keep his eye open for a
ter 7..."fllc7 with 8.g4 h6 (now we are in our counterblow in the centre, for example, after
set-up by transposition) 9.tDge2 tDf8 (looks lLlc3 has been driven away by ...b5-b4,
dubious to me) lO.~g3 g5 (given a !? by the ...d6-<15 can be very effective.
authors) you reach the following position: A more quiet approach for Black is the idea
_..lLlh7 followed by ...~e7-g5.
Oiher set-ups include playing ._.c6 and ...b5
without first ...e5 (Game 4). and trying to
transpose into Sicilian-type positions with
...c5 (Game 5).
Move orders
Black and White can play their standard
moves in different orders, and thai gives
room for subtleties in play.
White, for example. can start with 'ifd2 and
0-0-0 (Game 1) and then decide on how to
continue, but starting with liJgl-e2-g3
Here you can start to think about ways to de- (Games 2 and 3) is also an attractive idea.
molish Black's position: II.h4 is a nice start, White then immediately brings liJf5 in the
but first II.dxe5 dxe5 and then 12.M might position, posing Black some problems to
be even stronger. solve.
Van Rekom and Jansen give the above posi- Black can also be subtle with his move order.
tion as the result of a main line for B lack. But For example. directly starting queenside
it is easy to see that Black is in a terrible play leads to the following important posi-
state, so their handling of this line gives tion: after 5_.. c5 6.1Lc3 c6 7.ltige2 and now
some ammunition to those who claim that 7 ...b5.
Taking the Lion by its Throat
, ,...
K .t'i¥~.t
..," , :I By transposition we have reached our main
line. Now White faces an important choice .
8.0-0-0
On R.tDge2 Black can play 8 ...M 9.~d IdS,
with a good position. Interesting is 8.dS cxd5
(the pawn sacrifice 8 ...b4 9.dxc6 bxc3
~t3, t3, IO.cxd7+ .txd7 I l.'itxc3 gives some
~ ~t3, chances) 9.~xd5 tiJxd5 1O.1h:d5 :b8
11.0-0-0 a6, and in this Sicilian-like posi-
t3,~A ttJ 8 tion. White is muybe a bit better.
~ 'iY~~ It 8...b4
Continue development with 8 ...fLe7 is a good
A difficult question for White is how to deal possibility, because ...b4 is even more annoy-
with Black's 'threat' of playing ...b4. ing if White would play 9.tiJge2. After 9.d5
Simply continuing 'normal play' with 8.fkd2 (9.h4!?) Black can again go for the messy
is no good: after8 ...b4 9.it)dl <.l'i! Black is do- compensation after the pawn sacrifice 9 ...b4
ing fine. White can play R.QJg3to make room IO.dxc6 bxc3 1l.cxd7+ fhd7 12.1t'xc3.
for the other knight on e2. but even then Black 9.lUce2 "as
may consider 8...04 9.-0ce2 dS!? The immediate 9 ...d5 led to a great success
With 8.a3 White stops ...04 for the time be- for Black after IO.exd5?! /Qxd5 11.f4?! 'il¥a5
ing, but this might make it less attractive to 12.o;t>bl exf4 13..hf4 tiJ7f6 14.lbcl ~e6
castle long in the future. A final interesting 15.tLlh3 'iVb6 16.~d3 as.and Black later won
alternative is S.dS. White must always con- in Abrahamyan-Akobian, Los Angeles 2003.
sider this push carefully, because it can eas- However, IO.dxe5 ~xe5 I I.~4 is a better try.
ily lead to a strategically inferior position. 10.<;t(b1 dS
65
Willy Hendriks
giving Black the opportunity to try to force More modest is 7.3 ..e7. Then 8 .... d2 is of
the exchange of queens, as with his next course possible. After 8 ..."'c7 (8 ...bS! '!)
move in the game. 9.0-0-0 bS lO.lle I (this looks a bit strange.
16 ... c5! 17.1iJf3! there is no obvious drawback to IO.tiJg3)
17.fLxf6 'itxd2 18.llxd2 ..bf6 promises IO ... b4 Il.tLld I c5 12.d5 as a complex strug-
White nothing. gle developed in Hamdouchi-Campora,
17....~xg4? Santo Antonio 1999.
After 17...lDxg4! White should fish in More enterprising is 8.l{~g3, which forces
muddy waters with 18.e5, for. after 18.fLxg7 Black to start thinking about the threat ~f5. If
1!rxd2 19.1Oxd2l:lg8 Black is doing fine. 8 ...g6 then 9.'i'd2 poses new problems for
18.e5 Black.
o Willy Hendriks
• Ojurre den Heeren
Dieren 2009
R7
Willy Hendriks
1. g
..
~g
~.i.'i¥~ .I.~
.I.~ This game shows a clash between two differ-
.I. ~.I. ent strategies: White goes all out, pushes all
8 ~ t::,8 his pawns forward and hopes to strangle his
opponent. Black has a solid position and
8 ltJ ~t::, tLJ hopes to show that White hac;overextended
~1lH by breaking through at some moment. The
ld: ~~ l:I white strategy prevails in this game!
9...tLJe6 10.b4 l!fd8 11.tDd5 /?;c7
Black has no counterplay, while his king will 12.c4 e6 13.tbc3 ssr 14.lUge2 Wf8?!
be exposed very soon. 15.tLJd4tDfe8
68
Taking the Lion by. its Throat
26.ttJxb7!?
White correctly goes for the brilliancy prize,
although 'normal' moves would also have
sufficed.
26 ...l:txb7 27.'it'c5+ ..we 2B.e5+ Wg6
22.c5! 29.~d3+ 15 30.gxf5+ exf5 31.e6 ~g5+
All the white pieces are perfectly placed to 32.Wh1 .CI.c733.~xf5+1 ~xf5 34..I:I.g1+
stan the action. ~f6 35.Q)d5+ wxe6 36....e7+ ~xd5
22 ..•~xe3 23.l!¥xe3 dxcS 24.lDxc5 37.l:tgd1+ ~d3 38.J:!.xd3
nc7 25.~d4 ~7 Mate. A fine game by White!
69
CHAPTER 9
Jeroen Bosch
The Centre Game: A Romantic Weapon
In this chapter we will enjoy a 'romantic' enoire for White (New in Chess. 2009), Jesus
surprise weapon against the Centre Game. de la Villa proposes an interesting philosophy
Now you may wonder whether we need a for his suggested repertoire: 'Against main
SOS against the Centre Game. 'Can't I just lines, play main lines; against secondary
play 3...tU:6 (gaining a tempo) and take it lines, play secondary lines; against unsound
from there?' is a reasonable question. My lines, play the refutation.' In his view it will be
answer would be: 'Perhaps in the past you difficult to reach something against a second-
could. However. I am afraid that these days, ary line by employing a main line, simply be-
almost anything ends up in the theoretical cause your opponent will almost always have
realm, and this has certainly happpened to spent more time on it (at home and in the tour-
the Centre Game.' Let it be a warning: a size- nament hall).
able chunk (IOO pages') of Dangerous For all non-professionals this is sound ad-
Weapons: J .e4 e5 (Everyman. 2008) is taken vice and I intend to follow it with regard to
up by Andrew Greet's expose on this early the Centre Game, which falls in de la Villa's
queen outing. second category I would say (after all the
In Dismantling the Sicilian: A Complete Rep- Scandinavian is almost respectable these
70
The Centre Game: A Romantic Weapon
days as wei!). Actually the best is still to Best is 5. 'W'e2! according to Andrew Greet
come. The secondary line I propose against (his exclam). He suggests that this will trans-
the Centre Game is delightfully direct. After pose to 4...lLlf6 5.tcc3 tLtb4 6.'iVe2. How-
3 ...tDc6 White plays 4.'iVe3 and now either ever, it seems to me thai Black can do better
the immediate 4...lLlb4!'? which would be than play 5...ttJf6 and should try either
my personal preference, or 4...ttJf6 5.tiJc3 5 ~c5 (which Greet gives in a note) or
lLlb4!? 5 b6. It is for this reason that I would rec-
Rather crude. you say? ommend 4 ...lLlb4 rather than 4 ...lLlf6 5.~c3
Well perhaps, but just look at the featured ~b4 when 6.'iVe2 gains in strength.
games: what wouldn't you give for playing Thus, 5 .... e2 and now:
such a game in the true style of Morphy and - 5 ...~c5 6.lf.lc3 ~d4!? 7.t~b5 (perhaps
Anderssen! Sitting behind the black pieces 7.Ci:Jf3 ~xc3+ 8.bxc3 tOC6 9.e5 or 9.~a3)
are Mark Hebden and Rashit Ziatdinov. 7...~b6 8.c3 lLlc6 9.lLltJ 0,ge7 lO.~g5 was
Lirz-Buchmann, cr 2003. and now Greet
gives iO d6 rather than the game continua-
o Throstur Thorhallsson tion (I 0 f6?!) 11.0-0-0 as marginally pref-
• Mark Hebden erable for White. which is probably a matter
Cappelle ta Grande 2005 of taste. Black also has fair chances after
-------_._ _-_
...._ .. ..
II 0-0 in the upcoming struggle.
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.'it'xd4 (bc6 - 5 b6 6.lDc3 (6.tUf3 b6 7.c4 LUc6 and
4.'it'e3 ~b4 having provoked c4 B lack will gain some in-
Moving twice with the same piece in the fluence over the dark squares) 6...~a6
opening. A well-known 'sin'. However, in 7.'@'dl ~xfl 8.'it>xfi ~5 with interesting
this case it falls under the category 'an eye play.
for an eye'. White after all has committed 5...lt)f6
(the cardinal?) sin of moving twice with her The most natural move, and considering the
majesty in the opening. The point of the previous moves that is perhaps surprising in
knight move is not just the threatened fork. itself! Grandmaster Jozsef Pinter has es-
but rather the tact that White now has to sayed both S... b6 and S... 'iVe7. Both look
make an uncomfortable defensive move. eminently playable:
S.t7\a3 - S...b6 6 ..1d2 .1b7 7.~c4 'ii'e7 8.0-0-0
White develops and defends against the 0-0·0 9.0 d5!? to.~xb4 'ft'xb4 II.~xd5
fork. Still, the knight is awkwardly placed on ~xd5 12.l:txd5 l:txd5 l3.exd5lDf6 14.~c2
a3. ~c5 15._£13 'iVa5 l6.lLlc3?! .ba3 l7.bxa3
While 5.SLd3 also protects c2 and develops, _xa3+ 18.Wbl l:td8 19.'iVc4. The game
it is completely innocuous. Black can take Papp-Pinter, Balaronlelle 2006. is about
on d3 or postpone this. One example: 5...b6 equal at this stage. Pinter won after a long
6.~d2 ~c5 7.... g3 tbxd3+ 8.'tixd3 (8.cxd3 tight.
CiJe7when Whitecannottake-9.1hg7?-as - 5...'it'e7!? 6.c3 tDc6 7.lUb5 d6 8.~d3 g6
9...l:tg8 10.~xh7 ~d4! 11.~c3 l:thS traps 9.f4 ~g7 1O.~f3 ~f6 1l.h3 0-0 12.0-0 lleS
the queen! - 12."xh8+ .ixh8 13.~xh8 tLJg6 13J~el ..-£18 l4.1Wf2 b6 15.c4?! ~b7
followed by l4...tUf4) 8 ..... f6 9.tbf3 ~xb2 l6.~d2 a6 and Black was very harmoni-
and Black won in Van de Lindc-Rincrnbcrg, ously placed in Ivic-Pinter, Sibenik 2007.
Buenos Aires 2001. 6.e5 tDfd5 7.'it'e4 d6!
71
Jeroen Bosch
72
The Centre Game: A Romantic Weapon
~~
o Rudolf Meessen
• Rashit Ziatdinov
Moscow 2009
73
Jeroen Bosch
12...'fhb2 13.0xc7+ ~d8 l4.lldl ~xc7 would prefer Whites chances as Black's
l5.1ltxd7+ ~b8 knights are rather clumsily placed and are
likely (0 be driven backwards in the near fu-
ture: tDangerous Weapons: l.e4 c5, p.324).
Indeed, I agree with Greet's assessment, be-
cause although after 9...ta:6 the hasty
IO.0.d6+ leads to equality after 1O... cxd6
I l.exd6+i.e7, White can improve with lO.a3!
t;'lde7 11.lt)f3 cr I.lUf6+ gxf6 12.exf6 d5)
II...~g6 (I L..tiJf5 l2.li~f6+ gxf6 13.exf6+)
12.tL.f6+ (l2.t/Jd6+ .txd6 13.exd6+ <;Pffi
14..ig5 f6 IS.i.e3 lC.cc5 16.tDxe5 tUxeS)
12...gxf6 13.exf6+ with superior chances. Let
me reiterate that? .e5 is the reason why I would
l6.1hc6 (16."'1:8+ <;Pb7 17.... d7+ repeats, prefer 4 ...'~\b4 to 4 ...li.jf6 5.li\c3lVb4.
while l7 ..a.d7+'it»a618.'I'xa8..wcl+ 19.'it»e2 7.._~c5 8.a3 lUe6 9..ig5?! If 9.tlJf3?
11rxc2+ wins for Black) 16...,tc5!? and then llJg4. or 9 ..id3 0-0. 9 __.h6 10.~h4
Black appears to be alright in this position. 0-0
He is regaining his pawn on c2. And while Black is very comfortable. He is consider-
his king may be anything but safe, White's ably ahead in development. Not surprising
kingside is completely undeveloped: considering the fact that the white queen
- 17.l:ld7? 'ii'cl+ 18.~e2 'ii'xc2+ forces a went from d I to d4-e3-e2 back to d I !
shameful retreat 19J1d2. 11.tDf3 ]:tee 12.~c4 g5 More or less forc-
- J7:i'd5 "'xc2 18.tDeHle8. ing White to sac a piece. but risky. 13.tDxg5
- l7 .... a4.a.c8orI7 ...b5. 13..ig3 ~xe4 14.~xf7+ ~f7 15.'itd5+
• 7.eS!? is Andrew Greet's recommenda- :;t>g6 16.4~xe4 ..we? 13 ..• hxg514,Axg5
tion for White.
74
The Centre Game: A Roman~c Weapon
6 .ie7
6 tLxd3+ is playable but not too ambitious.
However, 6...d5 is also strong. after 7.~xd5
(7.exd5+ 'fie7 8.~ge2 'Wixe3 9.~xe3 tDfxd5
lO.tDxd5 ~xd5 11...id2 lLb4 was equal in
Ashby-Tebb, Hastings 1995. Also good was
7 ...~7)7 ... tDfxd5 8.exd5+ tle7 (!L~e79.c4
0-0 10.lt:le2 ~c5! 11.W'g3 ~d6 12.~f4 ~xf4
13.li.Jxf4 :te8+ 14.tik2 ~g4! - 14...'~t'e7! -
15..bh7+ Q;xh7 16.'i!Vxg4 ttJc2+ 17.Wd2
tt)xal and Black won in R.Schmidt-Karim.
20...lbf5 21.'iWc1 lIh8! Black has knight Malaga 2009) 9.~e4 f5 10.013'it'xe4 (lO ...fxe4
and bishop for queen, rook and pawn, but 11.ax.b4"xb4+ 12.~d2 'i'xb2 13.• xc4+ is
he insists on the initiative. 21. ..ttJe3+?! also fairly equal) Il.axb4 hb4+ 12.c3 ~.c5
2HWxe3 he3 23.$el. 22.g4 llJe3+ l3.'i!hc4+ fxe4 14..te3 ~xe3 15.fxc3 (}-O
23.'iWxe3 .axe3 24.Wg2 ttJf2?! with even chances. Barrionuevo-L.Bronstcin.
24 ....ib7!. 2S.Wf3? 25.~hfl 1. 2S ... .tc5 Tees de Febrero ch-ARO 2003.
Black is better now. He still has a slight 7.e5 White lakes up the gauntlet. 7...0.g4
material disadvantage but his pieces coop- 8:~te4d5!
75
Jeroen Bosch
76
CHAPTER 10
Dimitri Reinderman
Check Like a Patzer in the Scandinavian
One time, when I was stil I a boy. I was watch- lose another tempo. However, from a5
ing a game between two players in a bar. The (3 .. .'iVa5 is the traditional main line) the
player with black played the Scandinavian queen normally also has to move again, he-
Defence and immediately gave a check on his cause of a threat by ~d2. Currently the most
third move. r told him that this was not such a popular move is 3 .. .'fid6 (as reported by
good move, but he clearly had his own ideas. Tiviakov in SOS-6) but there the queen is
AI the time I didn't appreciate that in a vulnerable to an attack too, for example by
'coffeehouse game' people care not only Ci:;c4 or .1Lf4. And while after Kogan's fa-
about the result, and that he probably just en- vourite retreat 3 ..... d8 (see 50S-4) the
joyed giving a check. But I did understand queen is rather safe, she is also standing on a
that making many moves with your queen is square where a rook wants to go. In general.
not a good idea in the opening, so I was right a good place to 'hide' your queen in the
in condemning 3...'it'e5+. Or was I? Scandinavian is c7, and Black can go there
There arc actually arguments in favour of just as fast from e5 as from as, d6 or d8. In
this patzer movc. It is true that the queen on fact, there is an advantage in going to c7 via
e5 will have to move again, so Black must e5: this forces White to put a piece on e2,
77
Dimi1ri Reinderman
which interferes with White's normal plan - 4.Wc2 '*fxe2+ (Black can also try
of liJf3 and Qc4 (or ~d3). 4 ....... a5. since the white queen is not better
Of course 3...• eS+ is not the panacea which placed on e2tban it was Of) dl) 5.~xe2 ~f6
guarantees you a good position with black. 6.tDf3, and now most accurate might be
Statistics suggest the opposite - White is 6...a6 since it's useful to prevent tDb5 (or
scoring very well after this move. Yet, the ~b5), though 6...g6 and 6 ...~f5 are also
first game of this article, McShane-Becker. fine. White still has a slight lead in develop-
will demonstrate that the check docs deserve ment in this endgame, but it will be difficult
some respect: the lop-OM quickly found 10 transform it into anything tangible.
himself in a worse position after playing - 4.tOge2. After this move Isuggest to playa
some natural moves with white. Scandinavian with ...... as, giving White tOge2
Now if you really like the obscure of the ob- as an extra move. That could be useful for
scure, the secret surprise of SOS. the move White after a quick ...Qf5, since he has 0g3
that even Basman, Bucker and Welling and f4lhen, a well-known plan in this opening.
never tried, go to the second game of this ar- So Black should refrain from ....ifS as long as
ticle, Cernousek-Popchev, and meet White can play ttJg3. With the bishop on c8,
3 ...We6+. I didn't expect this move to be tOg3 is not so dangerous (Black can continue
more than just a legal move allowed by the with ...g6 .... .ig7, ...0-0, ...l:ld8 etc.), so White
FIDE rules of chess, but to my surprise I dis- will probably play g3, a') he did in Rasmus-
covered that it has its hidden points. sen-Madsen, Obro 2006: 4 ...tOf6 5.d4 .a..'i
6.g3 c6 (here 6 ...~f5 7 .~g2 tDc6 is an interest-
ing plan. and even 6 ...h5 might be good) 7..ig2
o Luke McShane Af5 8.~d2 e6 (8 ..:"a6 is safer) 9.dS 'It'b6
• Marc Becker lO.dxe6 fxe6 11.0-0 lDbd7 12.~ and now,
France n 2005 instead of 12....ic5'? 13.lba4±. 12...'ita6
would not have been so bad for Black.
1.e4 d5 2.exdS 'tIfxd5 3.tt:lc3 'tife5+ 4...c6
Black players have sometimes played
4 ...~g4 5 .d4 ~xe2 6.tDgxe2. but this doesn't
really help in the tempo department,
5.d4 iVc7
4..te2
The best move. Other possibilities:
- 4.tOce2. Equality on move 4 with black,
yeah! 6..ig5
78
Check Like a Patzer in the Scandinavian
Played, either with very aggressive inten- 0-0-0 12.0-0 e5 l3.dxe6 "xe6 14.i.d3 i.xd3
tions, or to discourage Black from develop- 15.cxd3 i.d6 16.:eJ "'d7 17..ixd6 'tt'xd6,
ing his bishop 10 g4. The 'main line' (if there when While has attacking chances but Black
is one) goes 6.lOf3 ~f5 7.lDe5 (here 7.0-0e6 has a structural advantage.
8.i.e3li)d7 9.W"d2 tOgf6 I0.h3 .td6 Il.liJh4 6 ..if5 7."d2 86
.tg6 12.lilxg6 hxg6 gave Black a solid posi- 7 ltJf6 8.tt:Jf3 e6 9.Axf6 gd6 JO.tOh4 i.g6
tion in Cheparinov-Garcia Ortega., Andorra 1l.f4f512.0-0tOd713.a3.ig714.l:tadlO-0
2002. while 7.d5 tOf6 8.l~)d4 .id7 9.0-0 a6 15.<iPh I llad8 gave an equal position in Con-
to.i.f3 cxd5 IUlel tOc6 12.i.g5 0-0-0 quest-Spain. New Zealand 1999.
13.i.xf6eAf6 14.tOxd5 wasc1early better for 8.tLlf3 h6 9..ih4 tDd7
White in Fedorchuk-Oussama, Villeneuve
Tolosane 2006 - this is the most dangerous
variation for Black - 11.. ..ic6 is a clear im-
provement, but so is 11.i.g5) 7. Ji:1d7 (7 ...e6
8.g4 i.g6 9.h4 is clearly good for White)
8..i.f4lDxe5 9.~xe5. and now:
10.tLle5
This doesn't give an advantage, but other-
wise Black just develops with ....id6,
...ltJgf6 and castles.
10...lt:lxe5 11.dxe5 fie7 12.~g3
This looks logical. since 12.i.xe7 helps
- 9..:.b6 IO.ll:la4 "'a5+ I l.e3 f6 12M Black develop, but it is wrong for concrete
Wd5 13.itg3 0-0-0 (13...e5 14.dxe5.xg2 reasons.
15.itf3 'irh3 16.W"e2 r:bf7 17.0-0-0 is a bit 12..J~d8 13.... 3
messy but still good for White, for example
17 a5 l8.l:td4! threatening 19.1:th4;
13 xg2 14.i.f3 "'h3 15.ttJe5 e5 16.tijxb7
e4 17.i.e2) 14.0-0 e5 15.dxe5 fxe5 16.""3
bS? 17.tOCS AxeS 18.bxcS tOf6? 19.c4 and
White won in Shaw-Zeidler, Plovdiv 2003.
- 9...1h5 10.0-0 e6 l1.a3 a6 12.b4 1IM8
13.ttJa4lilf6 14.tOc5 was good for White in
Baklan-Ermenkov, Balaguer 2005.
- I think that the untried 9 ...... d7 is best here,
for example 1O.d5 (10 .... d2 f6 Il.itg3 e6-
1l...h5 !? - 12.0-0-0 O-O-O~) 1O...f6 1 Litg3
79
Dimitri Reinderman
21.tL42?
A blunder. After 2 I .c4 bxc4 22.l:rxc4 .lta7
23.l:1cc I White's position is still defensible.
21...tiJe3! 22.fxe3 ~xe3+ 23.~f2 ~xd2
Black is a pawn up. with active pieces. so he
should win now.
57 ....l::txc2
A totally unnecessary sacrifice. Probably
Becker missed that White can escape to a
--,~,.
queen ending.
58.~xc2 h5 59.llg1 ~6 6O.11d1h4
61.llxd5 exd5 62.a6 h3 63.a7 h2
64.a8'" hl'iV Fortunately for Black he is
still winning.65.1IYg8+~ 66.'iVd8+
'iiPf5 67.1Wc8+ C;Pf4 68.1Wc7+ ~g4
69.1!t'xf7'it'e4+ 70.~b2 1!t'eS+71.Wa3
'iVe3+ 72.~a2 d4 73•• d7+ Wg3
74.~d6+ .,4 75.'ii'g6 g4 76.• c21!t'f2
24.11a1 .ic2 25.:f1 lld5 26..td4 ~b3 n.'lt>a1 "W'f1+78.Wa2 d3 79.~c3 ~g2
26 ...1:lxd4! 27.cxd4 ~e3+ 28.<t>hl .ixd4 is 80.<,t?a3tt"e2 81.1tc4 1!t'f382.~a4 d2
easily winning fur Black. 83."c2 "e2 84.,*c6+ C;Pgl85.~b6+
27..if3 lld7 28.~f2 ~g5 29.~g3 soa 'M1 86.~f6+ '*f3 87."a6+ ~g2
30.~e4 ,ga8 31.~f2 1:a4 32.~f3 l:!.a8 White resigned.
80
Check Like a Patzer in the Scandinavian
o Lukas Cernousek This looks a bit like the Poisoned Pawn Vari-
• Milko Popchev ation of the Najdorf, Just like there White
Brno 2006 obviously has good compensation, but he
still has to prove it.
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 "xd5 3.lUc3 "e6+ Of course there is a difference 100, say a hun-
Both Emms and Plaskett mention 3 ...... e5+ dred pages of theory in Nunn's Najdorf vol-
in their books about the Scandinavian. and ume on 6.~g5.
analyse it seriously (as opposed to most 6.%:lg1.h3 7.~c4
other books about the opening). but even for Threatening to take on n. In Lupulescu-
them 3 .... e6+ is a bridge too far, or at least Andonov, Vmjacka Banja 2004, an interest-
they ignore the move, like all authors do. I ing position arose after 7.d4 "'d7 8.tLieS
can't blame them-e6 is a stupid square for a "d8. Probably Steinitz, who believed in the
queen, especially with the pawn still on e7. strength of the starting position. would have
However, again there is a point to the patzer liked to be Black here. He had a point. but
check: Black will attack the pawn at g2, and there are limits. and even though the game
defending it will cause some slight inconve- ended in a draw in 22 moves, instead of re-
nience for White. peating this I recommend the solid 7 ...c6.
4.~e2 7 86
4.1re2 'i'xe2+ is the same as after 3...:i'e5, 7 h6 8_d4 c6 is more careful, preventing a
though in this l.'aSe 4 ...l[)f6 looks fine too. lot of knight moves.
4.4')ge2 has not been played in any rated 8.d4
game. Now. leaving the queen on e6 for a
while is not so stupid: a sensible continua-
tion is 4...0f6 5.04 g6 6.g3 ~g7 7.~g2 0-0
8.0-0 l:ld8 and Black can be happy with his
position.
4..."g65.lUf3
In Pessoa-Laurent, email 2005, White was a
little better after 5.~f3 t/:'If66.d4 c6 7.Ci.·,ge2
~g4 8.~xg4 'fixg4 9.0-0.
K~.t ~.t"E
iii
••
.. iiii
__ .-
'iN 8...ttJf6? !
Now Black's queen will be in an awkward
position. This also holds true for 8 ...c6 9 .~f1
'i'hS IOJlgS 'i'h6 11.l'lf5! .g6 12.li.:,h4
'i'gl 13.l:lxf7! ~xf7 14.lOf3 'i'hl 15.0e4
tL\d7 16.0.g3+-, which leaves 8 ...h6, when
9.0.b5 lLIa6 IO.~f4 "'f5 Il.liJxc7+ 0xc7
12.~xc7 ~d7 is only a lillie better for
White.
5.......xg2 9.~g3 'li'h5 10Jlg5 ....h3 11.1Lf11Wh6
81
Dimitri Reinderman
12.dS?!
Cernousek could have taken a draw by repe-
tition here. but he rightly wanted more. One
option would be to win back the pawn with
l2.ttcS "fkg6 13.llxc7 tebd7. but this is not
so bad for Black.
White has something stronger: 12.l:e5 'if g6 23.ti:Jf7?
13..tg5!. when 14..td3 will be hard to meet. Now Black's pieces become very much
12.dS opens the position. but loses some alive. White had to swap the rooks, with an
time. which Black uses to catch up in devel- equal positon.
opment. 23...llxg8! 24.lDXh6 :g1 + 2S..tf1
12...~d6 13.~b5+ ~d7 14.dxe6 fxe6 ~d4 26.'ffd3
15.1:tg4'it'h5 16.l:txg7
26 ....txh6?
White has won back the pawn. but lost the Probably played without much thinking,
initiative. otherwise Black might have gone for
16...lLlc6 17.~g5 :f8 18..txf6 J:txf6 26 ... ~4! 27.b3 .tb5 28.c4 ~b4+ 29.ltJd2
19.1lJe4:g61! ~e8! and there is no defence anymore.
Instead 19...11f7 is equal. 27.l:td1?
20.J:tg8+ ~f8 21.tnfg5 Here 27.4:Jd6+! cxd6 28.'t!rxd4 holds.
82
Check Like a Patzer in the Scandinavian
27...e5 28.c3 ~g4 29.cxd4 l:[xd4 32.l:td2 ~e5 33.tt2g3 ~t3 34.l:td3 ~g2
30.ihd4 exd4 31.~xd4 ~g7 35...t;>e2~xt1 + 36.tDxt1 ~xb2 37.l:th3
J:[g7 38.f4 J:[f739.<it>e3?~c1+
White resigned.
83
CHAPTER 11
Doria" Rogozenco
King's Indian: A Dutch-KID?
In a recent tournament after the moves l.d4 prevent 6 ...tLie4 by playing 6.lt2C3, although
ttJf6 2.c4 g6 3.ti:;f3 ~g7 4.g3 0-0 5.~g2 d6] J was conscious that 6.tDcJ can limit While's
wanted to continue automatically with the choice in some variations.
standard short castle (6.0-0, which is by far At home I discovered that the move 6 ...0e4
the most popular continuation), but sud- had indeed been played a few times in prac-
denly a strange thought crossed my mind: tice. More importantly, I discovered that
what if my opponent will play 6...tbe4? 6 ... tL:e4 is by no means a had move, espe-
(Isn't this a clear influence of the SOS-sc- cially considering its surprise value! I am
ries") Having failed to find a quick refuta- now ready to share my findings with you.
lion of the knight jump, I started to get a bit In a way 6 ...~e4 is designed to 'punish'
nervous. Actually the whole situation of White for not developing his knight to c3. Of
thinking too long at such an early stage was course, White may later exchange the oppo-
somewhat annoying. 1 certainly knew that nent's knight (by playing at some moment
the position after 6.0-0 was played thou- tile3, t~bd2 or ~fd2), but generally the ex-
sands of limes, but] didn 'I recall ever seeing change of a pair of knights should be favour-
the answer 6 ...~'e4. JUSI in case, I decided to able for Black. For instance, in the King's
84
King's Indian: A Dutch-KID?
Indian there are variations where Black an interesting course: 8 ....Q.g4 9.h3 kxf3
plays ...~fS in order to prepare the exchange lO.exf3 lbc5
of knights with It)f6-e4.
Another idea of 6...tbe4 is the preparation of
e7-e5. After all, the knight jump to e4 has
opened the long diagonal and Black doesn't
need the usual preparatory moves (...lZlbd7
or ...t~c6) in order to advance the e-pawn to
eS.
Finally, after 7.... c2 Black must support its
centralized knight with the f-pawn. In that
case we have a Dutch Leningrad-like pawn
structure, yet. there are no direct transposi-
tions to any major variation from the Dutch
Defence - mainly because in the Dutch
Black is rarely allowed to play tDf6-e4 so II.tDa3 d5!? 12.r:tblliJd7 13.f4 tDf6 l4.tec2
quickly. e6 l5.'.-e2 (jJe7 16.g4 neB 17..t:.fdl c6
7.1Wc2 18.lDel a5 19.cS tiJd7 20.tiJd3 a4 21.~c3
A logical answer - White is trying to use the axb3 22.axb3 0.c8 23.'t!fd2 CtJa7 24.i.a5
instability oftbe knight on e4. Other moves: 'ite7 25.tDe5 lbb5 26.b4 0xe5 27.fxe5 f6
• 7.liJc3 lbxc3 8.bxc3 c5 is certainly not 28J:tel fxe5 29.dxe5 ttf8 and it turned out
problematic for Black. that strategically Black had completely out-
• 7.lilbd2 ~xd2 8~xd2 e5 (a reasonable al- played his opponent, Zaid-Petrushin,
ternative is 8...c5) 9..ac3 .e7 lO.e4 .tg4 Cheliabinsk \975.
Il.d5 and a draw was agreed in Paunovic- - A much more recent example saw 8...f5
Peev, Pancevo 1989. 9.lL'lbd2 tLixd2 IO.'ifxd2 e5 lI.d5 lbbR
12.:acl 't!re7l3.~a3(jJa614.b4f415.e4g5
16.t.i'lel ~d717.f3h518.liJd3~619.c5g4
85
Dorian Rogozenco
~3 23.~g2 .bg2 24.'i!t'xg2 13 25.llxf3 e4 at such an early stage makes the position
~xcl 26.~xcl 'lte6 27.b5 l'ilc5 28.l'ilxc5 unique in a way.
dxc5 29.lld3 lladS 30.1i'd2? (a blunder in a S.d5
difficult position) 30 .. .'.f6 and White re- White can try several other moves:
signed in Bartel-lakubiec, Ustron 2007. - S.b3 0.c6 9 ..tb2 e5 is equal.
• 7 .l'ilfd2lWxd2 S.'i!txd2tt:lc6 9.e3 e5 lO.d5 - 8.ndl t(Jd7 9.lLlel e5!? lO.dxe5 liJxe5
0.e7 11.l'tlc3f5 11..txe4 fxe4 12.... xe4 .f6 with compen-
sation for the pawn.
- 8.l'ilc3 l'ilxc3 9.bxc3 (strangely enough,
this recapture is considered by my computer
as the best option, and it was also played by a
GM. On the other hand, with the white pieces
I would be rather skeptical about damaging
my pawn structure like this. 9."'xc3 eS leads
to approximate equality, since lO.dxe5 dxe5
II.tLlxe5 l'ild7 12.f4 'fie7 favours Black)
9 ...e5 lO.dxe5 dxeS 11.L3 %leg 12.e4
(White's initiative is short-termed) 12...lLlc6
13.%labl "'f6 14.... e2 and the draw was
agreed in Neelotpal-Smgh, Mumbai 2009.
The position should be about equal. Now the Black is better after 14...f4.
game Kamilov-Makarov, Moscow 2006. - 8.tLJbd2 l!:.xd2 9.~xd2 eS 10.dxeS dxe5
continued 12.f4 e4 13.04 a6 14.b3 h6 11..ib4 (safer is 1 Ubd I "'e7 l2.~g5 ~f6
15.~b2 fie& 16.b4~d7 17JUdl g5 18.hxg5 13.~xf6 ti'xf6 14.'fic3, and a draw was
hxg5 19.~ ~g6 2O.%lhl ~f7 21.ltJe2 llh8 agreed in Salo-Vakeva, Espoo 1998,
22.~xg7 't!hg7 23.l:lac1 %lag8 24.:xh8 l4...~c6=) 1l...ne8 l2.nadl 'ii'f6 l3.e4 f4
%lxh825.0.g 1 gxf4 26.exf4 ~g8 27 J%c3l'ilf6
and Black's attack soon decided the issue.
14.gxf4 .-xf4 15.... a4 tDc6 16.~d2
17..Q.g5 h618.~h4
"'f8
.Q.g4 19.:td3 gS 20 ..tg3
7...f5 :LadS 21.l:tb3
86
King's Indian: A Dutch-KID?
pawn. After the simple 21 .. ,~c8 Black's po- White's queenside pawns may offer Black
sition would have been preferable, targets for an attack.
B...e5 10.ti:lc3 lDbd7 11.liJd3 e4 12.liJf4 cue5
The alternatives 8...lDa6 and 8 ...tDd7 look 13.1Wb3
perfectly playable too. If 13.b3 Black simply answers 13.. :~e7.
9.lDe1 After the queen move let's continue our
Aiming for a closed position. White can also analysis with a few more plausible moves:
take. After 9.dxe6lOC6 IO.li2bd2lLlc5 11.ttJb3 13...c5!? 14.f3 exf3 15.exf3 l:e8
ttJxe6 12.~d2 (or 12.e3 a5 with counterplay) 16..id2I1b817.l:ae1 a618.84 .id7
we reach the diagrammed position.
87
CHAPTER 12
Alexander Finkel
Pirc for Endgame Lovers
ttJ
~~~ ~fj
:a: ]i'llU&t~ttJ:a:
1.e4 d6 2.d4lLJf6 3.tDc3 g6 4.f4 .tg7 5.e5!?
Usually when White adopts the Austrian At- ends up on h6, restricted by White's pawns
tack versus the Pirc he is in for a sharp game on h3 and g4; the dark-squared bishop is
(see for example our SOS line with 5.a3 in (temporarily) rather passive on g7; and the
SOS·l, Chapter 2, r.22). In this article I will same applies to the other bishop on c8. At
concentrate on a different approach, for after the same lime all White's minor pieces are
5.c5 dxe5 6.dxe5 ~xdl+ 7.~xdl '!£::'g4we destined to he developed on active and com-
seem to skip the middlegame and enter right fortable positions, while his king finds a safe
from the opening into a (slightly favour- haven on f2. Sounds like a paradise for end-
able?!) ending. game lovers. doesn't it?
At first sight, White's attitude appears to be By the way. it is remarkable that this line has
quite odd: not only does he initiate an early been played by such attackers as David
trade of queens, but he is also willing to give Bronstein. Dragoljub Velimirovic and Jenny
up the right to castle and waste an additional Hector.
tempo on 8 ,We Ito deal with the ... ti',f2 threat. Unfortunately, Black abo has some trumps up
However, White's strategy is built on solid his sleeve: after S .e5 he may just calmly retreat
positional ground: Black's knight usually with the knight to d7. and White probably has
88
Pirc for Endgame Lovers
89
Alexander Finkel
9.h3!?
Compared to the game Gavrilakis-Arduman
below White gains the important option to
20.Jic5! move the king to f2 after ...~xc2+. which
A huge difference in the strength of the re- makes quite a difference.
spective knights makes Black's defensive Thus, 9.tDd5 ttJd4 1O.~xc7+ ~d8 Il.tDJ(a8
task very challenging. tLlxc2+ 12.'-i>e2liJxal 13.h3 ~h6 14.g4liJc2
20...~d5 21.a311 ~e4 IS.\t,;ldl tL:b4 l6.l:rh2 ~e6 17.~e3 b6
White wins after 21...l:[ad8 22.l:[xe8+ l:rxe8 18.:%d2+ \tc8 was better for Black in
23.l:[b I ttJd8 24.nb8 i.xf3 25.'~xf3 ~f7 Gavrilakis-Arduman, Athens 1989.
26.l:ra8 ~\e6 27.l:[xa7+. 9...lLIh6?
22.l:tabl! !lad8 The following forced sequence of moves ap-
After 22 ...~xc2 23Jbe8+ nJ(e8 24.J:lb7 pears 10 be quite crucial for the evaluation of
tDd8 25.J:lb8 Black is completely tied up. the entire line with 8 ...0<:6:
23.rlb7 l:td5 24..id41± l:ted8 9...tDb4! lO.hxg4 (I0 ..i.b5+ ~d7 II..ixd7+
Or 24 ...lOd6 2S.ng7+ wf8 26.1b:h7±. wxd7 l2.hxg4 lLlxc2+ I3.Wdl lLlxal
25.~f6 l:t8d?? 26.rlb8+ lbd8 27.c4 14 ..ie3 is unclear) 1O... lLlxc2+ 1 J.Wd 1
White is winning. lLlxal 12..ie2. and here Black has quite a
27...l:tSd6 28.lLle5 lld2+ 29.lIe2 !l.b7 few options at his disposal, however, in all of
30.IIxd 2 them White seems 10 gel grip on Black's
Black resigned. knight on a!.
90
Pirc for Endgame lovers
91
Alexander Finkel
92
Pirc for Endgame Lovers
93
Alexander Finkel
94
CHAPTER 13
Glenn Flear
The Bird's Defence According to Bird
95
Glenn Flear
duced the idea of playing 5 ...h5 in (he fol- Three years later Henry Bird refined his
lowing encounter ... move order: 6..,~c5 7,0-0 c6 IL~a4 d6
9.'ilie 1 'Wf6 iO,~h I tDh6 11.f3 h4 12,~c2
~d7 13.cxd4 ~x.d4 14,0.c3 0-0-0. Black-
o Simon Winawer burne-Bird, Belfast 1892, with reasonable
• Henry Bird play for Black.
Paris 1878 Bird beat his distinguished opponent in this
game. and in later years Blackbume himself
1.e4 e5 2.lt:Jf3 o£le6 3.~b5 tZld4 played the Bird's, thaI is. with ...h5 of
4.tbxd4 exd4 5.0-0 hS The first game in course!
my database with 5 ...h5, this time against 7 .~c4 .Q.c58.'iff3
5.0-0. 6.d3 .i.c5 7.h3 c6 8.i.c4 d5
9.exd5 cxd5 1O.~b5+ Wf8 11.i.a4
8.. :ii'e7
Evgeny Najer can be attributed with starting
11...g51! Slightly wild. The more restrained the modem day mini-revival. He varied with
11..,4'te7 12.~el 'iWb6 13.~,b3 transposes 10 the offer of the exchange of queens in
Ringoir-Flear, played 130 years later! Zagrebelny-Najer, Moscow 1995, and soon
12.l%e1 ~e6 13.f4 b5? Very wild! fully equalized: 8, ..'liff6 9.tDd2 d6 10,0-0
14.bb5 "as 15.'o'c6 nea 16.tlxe6! ~g4 I 1.1»'xf6 tLlxf6 12.rIel 0-0 13,h3 ~e6
16.f5 was also possible, 16 ...fxe6 17.~d7 14.Jhe6 fxe6 15,cxd4 ~x.d4 16.0f3 i.b6
l:td8 18.~xe6 ne8
19.f5 and White went 17.e5dxe5 l8.l:he5 :tad8,
on to win, 9.0-0 d610.h3 ~e6 11.o£ld2g5
Optimistic! However Bird seemed to like
Here 's another example of our hero in ac- playing on the flanks!
lion, 12..txe6 fxe6 13.lDb3 94 14."'g3
gxh3 15.....xh3 dxc3 16.bxc3 ~b6
o Max Judd Here While should perhaps have played
• Henry Bird 17.a4, with a slight advantage.
New York 1889
96
The Bird's Defence According to Bird
7...d6
Losing a tempo as things turned out!
8.f4 c6 9.ts d5 10.exd5 cxd5 11.~b3
f6 12.'i!ff3li'.e7 13.h3 a5 14.a4 'it'f8
15.g4 hxg4 16.hxg4 na617.~f4 g6
and Black had equalized.
97
Glenn Flear
7...~b6
Declining, in order to avoid White obtaining
a gambit initiative.
However the principled move must be
7....txb4! e.g. 8.c3 .ic5 9..i.b2 "f6 IO.e5
.b6 (lO...1H4 11.g3 favours White)
II.'iWb3 (if II..i.b3, Black should get on
19...lbe3+ with his development: Il...LDe7 12.• f3 0-0
The Bird's Defence According to Bird
13.... xh5 d3 14.'ti'f3 d6 with a reasonable Best practical try. If White captures the
game) 11...'ii'xb3 12.axb3 and even after the h-pawn then Black's rooks may really come
exchange of queens White probably has into their own.
enough compensation e.g, 12 ... dxc3 18 ..lV..xh4 .lV..c5 19.~g3 .cS!
13.li.Jxc3 &De? with a solid but slightly pas- With some chances of landing a combina-
sive position. (13...~d4?! 14.tLJd5! ~xb2 tion against White's king.
15.~xc7+'lPd816.li.Jxa8~xal17Jbal and 20.c3dxc3
the knight will soon hop to b6. In any case Going all in with 20 ...~xh3 21.glth3 "'xh3
Black's .. ,h5 is virtually useless in this par- 22.li.Jh2 dxc3. looks a little optimistic after
ticular line.) 14.tt:lb5 ~b6 15.d4 a6! and the calm 23,'t!H4!.
Black is fine. 21.'it'xc3lLlg5 2V!)xg5 nxg5 23.d4
8.84 a5 9.bxa5 Blocking the a7-g1 diagonal.
Here 9.b5 has it" points: While gains space 23...h7 24.'4!1
and can develop his bishop with £a3. I prefer 24 .... f3 as the threat against the fl
9...l:txa5 10.d3 d6 11.tl:ld2 ~d7 pawn obliges Black to make some sort of
12.tl:lf3h4t? concession.
Here chasing a pawn isn't quite satisfactory: 24... .txd4+ 25. 'i!i'xd4 lbg3 26.'5
12 ... 1:I:x.a4 13Jha4 ~xa4 14.~b2 c5 Best could be 26.l:tb3! .Ilhxll3 (if 26 ...l:tg6,
15.'ii'b I £c6 16.c3 and again White obtains then 27.f5 .Ilf6 28. "'a7) 2Hlxg3 lhg3
long-term pressure for his investment. 28. 'ti'xd6 which favours the first player.
13.h3 c6 14..i.d2 Black's king is vulnerable and Black's lone
14..ab2 'i'f6 I5.lIb I! looks quite promising rook isn't dangerous.
for White c.g. 15... li.Je7 16.~al lUcS 26.... c727.'1ttf2
17 J:txb6! with excellent play for White. Instead after 27.1:I:fdl Black can save him-
14...l:lshsr? self with 27 ...1:I:h428 .... xd61hd6 29Jhd6
1:I:xe430.1:I:xb7 1:I:xc431.1:I:dxd7 llc2.
27...:g5 28."'e3 1629_:fd1
An original manoeuvre.
15.:b1 li)f6 16.~g5 *'c7
Does White really want to open the g-file? White has consolidated and has the more ac-
17."c1 tive outfit.
Black's position doesn't inspire confidence 29...~d81? 30.~gl l:th4 31.85 d5!
at this point. Not the sort of move you want to face when
17...tl:lh7! short of time!
99
Glenn Flear
100
The Bird's Defence According to Bird
23Jhc3 Wd6 24.llccl a4! fixing the pawn I prefer White after 18.gxh5! as regaining
on a dark square. 22.~f1 r;1o?d623.a4 the pawn is no trivial matter.
Draw. 18 .... d719.i.d2 J:[d8 20.l:tfel
White has a pull due to the fact that Black's
rook on h8 isn't participating, so exchanging
o Art yom Timofeev queens (followed by ...g6 to link rooks)
• Jin Jirka looks normal.
Goa 2002 20 •..'I'g4 21.'tt'xg4 hxg4 22.c411 tt)e7
23.b4 8xb3 24 ..ixb3
1.e4 e5 2.COf3 t[Jc6 3.i.b5 COd4
4.lLlxd4 exd4 5.i.c4 h5 6.d3 .icS
7.tZ:ld2 c6 8.• e2
24 ... g3?1
Despite the damage to White's structure ... a
pawn is a pawn. Instead, Black should be
8...d6?! fine after 24 ...ltJg6 25.i.b4 ~e7, or even
Again, just as we saw in Marco-Bird, this 24 ...g6 aiming to link rooks.
move can lose time as Black's best counter 2S.fxg3 .id6 26.~t4
is often ... d5.1irka decided to play ...<17-d5 White'S pawns are tripled but are there on
in one go a year later: S...lLie7 9.e5 (9.<11f3 the board, and as you'll see Black doesn't
d5 gives Black a tempo more than in the seem to be able to break up the kingside grip.
main game) 9 ...d5 IO.exd6 ~xd6 II.tUe4 26 ... c5 27 ..id1 !DIS 28.llb1
.ig4 12.f3 .ifS 13..id2 0-0 l4.g4 ~g6, Ensuring an advantage.
Stehno-lirka, Luhacovice 2003, with un- 28 g6 29.J:[xb7 Wg7
clear play. 29 tLlxg3 is the lesser evil but White is still
9.~f3 CiJe7 10.0-0 d5 11.~b3 better following 30.i.xd6+ llxd6 31.llb8+
Keeping the tension seems a good idea. <j;g7 3U[xh8 r,pxh8 33.~g4.
11...a5 12.c3 ~g4 13.a3 84 14 ..ia2 30 ..if3 .Q.xf4
<;;>18!? It's too late for 30 ...tLlxg3 due to 31..txd6
What else to do with the king? :xd6 32.llee7 J:[f8 33.~d5 etc.
15.h3 dxe4 31.gxf4 tLle3 32.l:tb5 lle8 33.84 l:th4
IS ... ~Jl.f3 16.... xJ3 "'d6 17..id2 would al- 34.85 lLlc2 35.nebl lC.b4 36.':1 xb4
low White a comfortable edge due to his exb4 37.86 l:txf4 38.a7 nxf3 39.l:tb8
bishop pair. ':xb8 40.axb8ti' llxd3 41.'fi'xb4
16.hxg4!? exf317.'fi'xf3l1.ld5 18.g5 Black resigned.
101
Glenn Flear
102
The Bird's Defence According to Bird
Alternatives just lose: 29.'ihh2 tLlf3+; or centre with Black having played the outra-
29.'.tiIxh2lDxg4+ 30.'iPgI l:kl '. geous wing thrust ...h5!
29.Atxg8 30.Wxh2 'li'h4+ After 7.d3 c6 8.iLc4 d5 9.exd5 cxd.S
30 ...'ti'g5! might be even stronger. IO.iLb5+ c;t;>f8 J I.'t!rel. as in Saltaev-Najer.
31.'~g1 ltJg4 3Vt:Jf1 llc& 33. "'g3 Moscow 1995. I like ll...liJe7! when
tlixg3+ 34.lDxg3 l:rc2 12.cxd4 .txd4 13.'ti'b4 ~f6(=) 14.~f4 a6
Black has a clear advantage. J5..ia4 h4 16.h3 offers Black several play-
35.d4 llxb2 36.e4 dxe4 37Jlxe4 tLlf6 able possibilities such as 16...g5. 16...g6,
38.J:te1 ~8 39.1%c7lUdS 40.l:Id7 ltJe3 and 16...b5 17..l1Lc2.te6.
41.1tJe4 15 4ViJc5 l:Ixa2 43.J:rxb7 a5 7•..~xd4 8.lLlc3 c6 9.Ac4 tLif6!
44.l:ra7 <it>e845.lDe6 84 46.lL\f4 83 1O.lL\e2~b6 11.e5 d5!
47.d5 tLic4 48.lDg2 lld2 49.d6 82
50.d7+ <:i;e7
White resigned,
o PeterLeko
• Alexander Merozevich
Moscow 2002
... _.- ._._._--
1.e4 e5 2.lbf3 lLlc6 3.~b5 tLid4
4.lbxd4 exd4 5.0'()
Castling into irl?
5...h5
Hexing his muscles, If Black can indeed 12..ib3
play like this it's because his d-pawn cramps The alternative 12.exf6 dxc4 l3.fxg7 ~gR
White's development. so Leko decides to 14Pl4 ~g4 15.... el+ "'e7 16.'fhe7+
eliminate that pawn. <:J:;Jxe717.h3 srs
Ul.tDxh5~d4 should give
6_c3~c5 enough pressure even with a two pawn defi-
cit.
12 ...<1.)98
I think that Black could have reacted more
actively here: 12...LLle4! 13.d4 (after 13.d3
Black competes for space with 13...tLic5
14..tc2 d4) 13... h4! and it's more difficulr
than in the game for White to maintain con-
trol.
13.d4 Ag4 14.'3 ~e6 15.~c2
ECO judges White to be slightly better. Cer-
tainly he has more space and White's
right-side majority could prove to be a hand-
ful, but the game continuation wasn't that
7.cxd4 convincing.
It seems natural for White to play for an open 1S.•.lLle7 16.~gS ~d7 17.be7
103
Glenn Flear
Not wishing the knight to install itself on f5. change) 33 ...~b6 34J:td3 (34.l:le5 ~c7
17..:ifxe7 18.1rd2 0-0-0 19.~h1 ~b8 3S.rleel ~a5=) 34 ...~c5 35.h3 ~xf5
20.'4 ~g4 21.lbg1 f6 22.l:tae1 36 ..bf5 g6.
Khalifrnan prefers White here, but again I'm 33.c4! h3?!
not buying it. Was he influenced by the result Only around here does White finally obtain
or the fundamentals of the position? the advantage.
22...txeS 23.dxe5 With 33 ...dxc4! 34.rle4 ~h5 35JXxh4 (nor
Otherwise 23.fxe5?! tldf8 would instead does 35..bh5 rlxh5 36.l1xc4 .i.d6 37.a4
suit Black. The d-pawn is then likely to re- rt;c7 look that clear) 35 ...~}lg6 36.:xh6
main a long-term weakness. gxh6 37.fxg6 ~e5 38.:f7l:lxe6 39.g7 ~xg7
23..Jlt'cS 24.a3 "it'd4 25.'ii'c1l:tde8 40.rlxg7 rle3, Black has a likely draw.
Or here 25...c5!?26.f5 c4 would be unclear. 34.g3 .i.d6 35.cxd5 cxd5 36.lUf3
26..ig6 l:te6 27.~f7 l:te7 28.e6 'ttf6 ~xf3+
29.'5 ~c7 Now 36 ...l:h.g6 37.fxg6 rlxe6 38.:xe6
Why not 29 ...ild4! 30.b4 ~c3, which again ~xe6 39.4~d4 would be strongly favourable
looks highly unclear. Black's minor pieces for White; and for that matter 36...~xa3
being more influential than White's. 37.lUe5 .i.h5 38 ...txh5 l:l.xh539 ..Eldl offers
30...wc3 l:I.h631.~g6 "xc3 32.bxc3 White a clear advantage.
37.l:txf3 rlh8 38.g4 l:[c7 39.g5! l:lc2
4O.l:tg3~xg3 41.hxg3
The central pawns are impossible to stop.
41 ...l:tc3 42.f6 gxf6 43.gxf6 .Elxg3
44.e7 rlxg6 45.f7 ~gg8 46.e8~+
l:txe8 47.l:txe8+ 1-0
104
CHAPTER 14
Arthur Kogan
The Mouse Sleep Slav Gambit
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.tDc3 01.'0f6 4.t?if3 dxc4 tried it against Bacrot in a rapid game in
5.a4 e5!? Cannes 200 I. I also discovered that the orig-
The diagrammed position features the inal Canadian (ex-Russian) master Khassa-
Mouse Sleep Slav gambit! I played this a nov plays this gambit quite regularly. As it is
few months ago in an online ICC blitz game. played mainly by Russians, maybe this gam-
From time to time I play 2 or 3 games before bit has a name in Russia. Do mail us if you
going to sleep. To be honest I was planning know!
to try the fairly popular (and solid) line start- Anyway, since 1saw that Moro lost his game
ing with S e6, but being a bit sleepy I had a in a convincing way. I was not sure whether
mouse slip or as I usually call it: a mouse 5 ...e5 is playable. That is until recently,
sleep! © when I saw an attractive game between two
Surprisingly, the game went quite well for strong Russian women players (no 'chess
me, and I managed to obtain a nice attack. So macho' views here! As an experienced
I was curious to see if this gambit had been women trainer I know that women often play
played before in a normal game. Interest- much more aggressively and more cre-
ingly, I found that Morozevich had already atively than men).
105
Arthur Kogan
9..ie2
Other tries also offer Black compensation:
- 9.dxc5 'it'xdl+ 10.Wxdl 0-0 l1.tbd6?!
~xc5 IVl'lxb7 i.b4 and White's knight on
b7 is in trouble.
7.lbxC4 - 9.tQe5 0-0 1O.i.e2 cxd4 Il.exd4 lLlc6
A natural move. but it gives Black a serious 12.q;,xc6 bxc6 13.0-0 i.d6 or 13.. J~b8 pro-
advantage in development for the pawn. vides very decent compensation for a small
- 7.f3 is a typical idea 10 prepare e4, but is (well-controlled) pawn.
also risky. since Black is better developed. J 9 ...ttJc6 10.dxc5
would suggest 7...lQdS! (7 ...0-0 8.e4 tDbd7 In principle. being a pawn up. White is try-
9.~xc4 tbxc4) 8.Wd2 Already the only ing to exchange queens. However, Black
106
The Mouse Sleep Slav Gambit
keeps a very active position! After W.O-O'!! and more smiling pieces; that's worth at
cxd4 II.exd4 lDxd4 it is White who has to least a pawn!
think about equalizing. 14.~b2lVb4
1O...1i'xd1 + 11. <itt>xd1~xc5 Not 14...0-0 15.f3!.
Maybe even more accurate is 11...0-0-0+ 15.~d2?!
12.'~c2 (I2.<itt>el ~xc4 13.~xc4 tbe4+) If is not easy to defend well, when you have
12...~fS+ (12 ...~xc5 13.b3 tt)b4+ '4.~b2 been surprised as of move 5! ©
tbd3+ 15.~xd31Ixd3) 13.Wb3 ~xc5 14.f3 The best defence was 15.f3! .Q.d3!
~e6 when White is in danger. (15 ... lDd3+? 16 ..ixd3 ~xd3 17.e4±)
12.b3 16.:dl! 0-0 (l6 ...Wc7 l7.iLxd3! ttJlld3+
125~el with the idea of f3 and ~f2 is a ll:!.o:i>blwith .ia3, and White will finish her
better try, but Black still keeps good com- development) 17 ..ixd3 (17.e4 ~xe2
pensation after 12...0-0-0 (J 2...tDb4 13.<tPfj) l8.llxd8 :xd8 19.1Dxe2 lC.d3+ 20.~bl -
13.f3 tDb4 14.Wf2 tLld3+ 15..bd3 llxd3 20.~a2 ~b4+ repeals - 20 ... ttJel!)
16.tt:le5lldd8 (but not 16...lld6l7.b4! .txb4 l7...ttJxd3+ 18.~bl (I8.c.t)c2tLlb4+ 19.~bl
18.tDb5±). :;r;dl 20.tDxdl :d8) l8...lDf2 19..l:l.xd8
:xd8 20 ..ia3! and eliminating Black's
threats White's extra pawn provides a tangi-
ble advantage.
15....id3!
12 ... lld8+!?
Another surprise! It seems that this was
Black's main strategy in this game!
My olala choice (the basis of Olalachess is
Harmony - make all your pieces smile!) Being surprised on almost every move.
would be 12...0-0-0+1. So now llh8 will also White has spent a lot of time on the dock.
smile soon: 13.~c2 (13.i.d2'? .tb4+) and finally she lost control...
13... lDb4+ 14.~b2 <iJg4 (l4 ... ti)d3+ 16.rtad1??
15..i.xd3 llxd3 16.liJe5 :d6) l5.tDe4 16..ie I was the best chance: 16... 0-0 when
(lS ..txg4 .txg4 l6.lDe5 ~h5) l5 ...~e7 Black has nice compensation, but we arc still
16.f3 (16.h3 f5) 16.. .f5!. a long way from a win.
13.Wc2 ~f5+?1 16 ... ~xe2 17.tUxe2 tOd3+ 18.~c2
Stronger is 13 ... 0.b4+ 14.<;f<b2 0.g4 tLlxf2-+ 19J1hf1 tUxd1 20.J:lxd1 tDe4
(I4 ...tLld3+ 15..bd3llxd3) 15..bg4 .lhg4 21.lDc3 lLixd2 22.tUxd2 ~xe3
16.0 ~e6 and Black has better development White resigned.
107
Arthur Kogan
108
The Mouse Sleep Slav Gambit
109
Arthur Kogan
110
The Mouse Sleep Slav Gambit
13.d5!?
l3.~e3 was tried by two strong GMs in S1.
Petersburg 2004:
Now l3...llJa5!? l4.lDxa5 .xa5 l5.i!H3
l:lfd8 16.1hb7 l:lab8 17 .• f3 .bc3 18.bxc3
.xc3 19.1:lfcIwould still keep decent win-
ning chances for White. Interesting are
13...l:le8!? and 13...lod5!?
In practice Black has only tried 13...:c8
14.• b3
111
Arthur Kogan
I would suggest 15... Wb6, when Black eas- (24.trxh7 nb8) 24 ...tt'xb5 25.axb5 lUd4.
ily mobilizes his pieces, with nice play for 24.~f4 ti:lc6 25.1fc3
the pawn. It is hard for White to keep his
pawn and coordinate his misplaced pieces.
15...tteS followed by .. .'~j'd7 is also worth
considering. After the text there is a concrete
opportunity.
16.:'c1
After 16.li)e4! .i.xd2 (I6 ... :t:lxd5?
17..ixb4+-) 17.lt.)xf6+ gxf618.Wxd2lUb3
19.... b4 0)(al 20.tt"a I White has nice com-
pensation for the exchange.
16..JUd8 17.ttJe4 lDxd5 18.tlJxd5
ttxc1 19.~xc1 1!hd5 20.lDf6+ gxf6
21 .... g4+ 'li>h8 22 .... xb4
After a forcing sequence Kortchnoi has in- 25 ... lL!e5
t1icted some structural damage. Khassanov With 2S .. .tDd4! Black could have reaped the
still has active piece play though. efforts of his courageous opening play. After
22..Jlg8 26.l:!el q)f3+ 27.WfllDxh2+ 28.'iPgI ~f3+
Black also has counrerplay after 22 ...lUc4 Black has a draw, but probably not more.
23.b3 (23.'a'e7Wg7) 23 ...l:!g8 24.0 li)e5 26.iLxe5 fxeS 27.J::!.c1
25.11c3 h5. In this ending with only heavy pieces While
23.g3 is slightly better. Kortchnoi won on move 56.
23.f3.
23..J~b8 I hope you enjoyed this article, and that you
Equality arises after 23 .../tJc6! 24.1i'b5 will find the courage to try this SOS weapon!
112
CHAPTER 15
Jeroen Bosch
Dutch: Preparing the Staunton Gambit
1.d4 f5 2.f3!?
o Pascal Vandevoort square next to the pawn that has just been ad-
• Marco Santo Roman vanced) is essentially the same. This may
Paris 2003 seem unreasonable. but of course a case can
be made for arguing that f7 is a critical weak-
1.d4 15 2.13!1 ness in the initial position and that therefore
In the King' sPawn Openings the Sicilian De- fI- f5 in the opening can never be correct - es-
fence boasts an excellent reputation. Indeed. pecially not when played on the first move.
the Sicilian is solely responsible for the statis- However that may be, the consequence is that
tical superiority of l.d4 over I,c4, and the no- lOISof people go berserk when faced with the
menclature is particularly inaccurate here: Dutch. Thus, lines like 2.g4. 2.h3, 2.e4 are not
surely the Sicilian is a Counter-Attack and really frowned upon, while such moves as
not a Defence? Its logical counterpart in the 2 ..Q.g5 (developing a bishop into space at-
Queen's Pawn Openings is the Dutch De- tacking nothing) and 2.tcc3 (in front of the
fence. Curiously, the reputation of the Dutch c-pawn) are completely respectable. I love
cannot hold a candle to the Sicilian. while its playing the Dutch as Black (perhaps partly
strategical objective (controlling the central for the same reason as Dimitri Reinderman -
113
Jeroen Bosch
see SOS- 11) and yet, I had never seen (let for having the guts to mention such an ugly
alone taken seriously) the move that is the move, and they deserve praise for making
subject of this article: 2.1'3. these points (l think for the first time). In this
Now Iam sure that most readers will forgive me article 1 will augment their argument and in-
this lack of erudition, and some will undoubt- deed extend it - the Norwegian authors were
edly feel that it is even laudatory. And, yet, if of course unable to devote a 101 of space on
you think about it briefly is 2.f3 really that stu- 2.1'3 in a full-bodied work on the Stonewall.
pid? Yes, it lakes away the square of the knight, 2..,lbf6
but with J .. .f5 Black has indicated that square The most natural reply and perhaps the move
e4 is central to his whole opening strategy. you will most often encounter in practice
Moreover, by analogy to the Sicilian 2.1'3 is when you decide to take up this SOS. In-
what Alapin's 2.c3 is against the Sicilian, isn't deed, now 3.e4 fxe4 4.ttic3 is an immediate
it? Coming back to the Dutch Defence and the transposition to the Staunton Gambit - and
ways in which it is met: 2.e4 - the Staunton going back to standard theory will certainly
Gambit - is perhaps theoretically not the most appeal to your SOS-shocked opponent. Es-
dangerous line for Black, but it is popular on an pecially, since the Staunton is no longer the
amateur level, and it is always given a fair frightful weapon it was in the 19th and early
amount of space in all repertoire books on the 20th century. However, as we will see White
Dutch. One of the main lines in the Staunton has anomer, far stronger, option.
Gambit runs 2 ...fxe4 3.0.c3 lLlf64.f3 Of course there are plenty of other moves
that we should investigate after 2.1'3. Some
of them will lead to superior versions of the
Staunton Gambit - for White that is, others
will lead to obscure and little-investigated
positions. All of them fun to play:
• 2...c6 does nothing to prevent White's
plan, or does it? After 3.e4 fxe4 White can-
not take back on e4 because of the check on
h4. So, there is a point behind 2...e6, but we
can be more clever still by turning 3.e4 into a
real sacrifice.
Let us first consider 4.tlJc3
So, why not 2.1'3to prepare a kind of Staun-
ton Gambit?
I own quite a few books on the Dutch, and
yer J never saw the move 2.1'3 mentioned-
until quite recently that is. In Gambit's 2009
publication Win with the Stonewall Dutch by
Sverre Johnsen and Ivar Bern (and a contri-
bution by Simen Agdestein) the authors
mention 2.0 as an alternative move order
weapon to reach the Staunton Gambit, add-
ing that it contains some independent points
as well. Now, these authors deserve credit
114
Dutch: Preparing the Staunton Gambit
In most lines White is now much better off this is the real point of 2 ... e6. I am not sure
than in a regular Staunton Gambit. A few ex- that White has sufficient compensation here.
amples:
After 4: ..exf3 5.lDxf3 White obtains danger-
ous compensation:
- 5...~b4 6.~d3liJf6 7.~g5 0-08.0-0 .bc3
9.bxc3 "'e8 1O.... d2!? b6?! II.ttJe5 d6
12.~xf6 gxf6 (12 ...ttxf6 13..1:lxf6 gxf6
14.ttfl) 13.'iWh6! We7 14.11f3 dxe5
15.11g3+ and Black resigned, as l5...'tt>h8
16..ixh7 is fatal, in Rivera-Esposito, Fuerte-
ventura 1992.
- s...tDf6 6.~d3 liJc6 7.0-0 ~d6 (7...~e7)
!\.~g5 0-0 9.1tel h6?! JO..ixf6 Ihf6
II.~e4 gave White superior chances in
Schmitt-Kuhn, Giessen 1991. This example So, if White wants to avoid 4.lOC3 .i.b4 he
illustrates the type of chances that White has may consider 4_lDd2!?
when Black accepts the pawn.
Returning the pawn with 4...e3 also docs
not solve Black's problems. 5 ..txe3 and
now:
- 5...d5 6..td3 (6.f4!? is also good) 6 ...c5
7.dxc5 ~7 8 ..ib5 tiJe7 9.~g5 (9.f4! rufS
JO.~f2 is clearly better for White) 9...h6
iO..ie3 tUc6 ll.f4 "'f6 12..id3 lUxc5
l3.1!rh5+ 'iPd8. While White has missed
some opportunities to keep it simple, he
could now still have played 14.0-0-0 with
a dangerous attack. Instead he went
l4 ..ixc5? .tll.c515.lDge2.id716.0-0-0llc8
1Ht.>bl tjje7 l8.tthfl 'iPc7 19..tb5 Now, White will obtain good compensation
(19.tDe4! dxe4 20.1hc5+ <.to>d8 21.~a5+ b6 for the pawn after 4...ellf3 5.lDgxf3 Qjf6
22.1!ha7 exd3 23.llxd3 with compensation) 6 ..id3 §J_e7 (old practice saw 6...c5 7.0-0
19....bb5 20.li)xb5+ «PbS and the famous cxd4 8.lDg5!? d5 9..i.xh7 which favoured
author on pawn structures won in Vilardebo White in Denker-Dake, Syracuse 1934)
Picurena-Krnoch, Prague 1931. 7.0-0. While 4...tDf6 5.fxe4 is just better for
- 5 ...tDf6 6 ..i.d3 .i.e7 (6 ...liJc6; 6 ....tb4; White. Of course Black can try returning the
6...d5?! 7.f4) 7:.d2 b6 8.c1)h3 .i.a6 9.0-0-0 pawn with 4...e3 when 5.liJc4 tDf6 6 ..he3
.ixd3 10.lWxd3 tDc6 Il.tDf4 tDb4 12."e2 ~c6 leads to interesting play .
0-0 l3.~bl .c8 14.a3 liJbd5 IS.tDcxd5 4 ...tjjc6!? is perhaps the critical reply. When
exd5 16.g4 and White obtained a strong at- rather than 5.li)xe4 tDf6 I would prefer 5.c3
tack in Kotov-Poliak, Moscow vs Ukraine exf3 6.c!tlgxf3 lDf6 7 ..id3 i.e7 8.0-0 0-0,
1937. now 9.~1e4 tt:lxe4 lO.he4 d5 II..ic2 e5
Best after 4.lDc3 is 4 .._.i.b4! and if you like equalizes, but any reasonable queen move
115
Jeroen Bosch
(9.ti'c2, 9.• e2, 9.'ife I) provides compensa- Dutch Benoni, or the Clarendon Court De-
tion for the pawn. fence as it was dubbed by English GM J ona-
• With 2 ...d6 Black makes no effort to pre- than Levitt. According to Jaan Ehl vest l.d4
vent e4. so While should just go ahead and cS 2.d5 f5 may certainly be met by 3.tOc3
play it: 3.e4 ti.:Jf6 4.f3!? as in Izoria-Eblvest, Batumi
2002. Ehlvest wrote an article on l.d4 c5
2.d5 f5 in SOS Volume 4 (pp. 41-48).
g • .t~~.t~R
11 1 11
116
Dutch: Preparing the Staunton Gambit
117
Jeroen Bosch
118
Dutch: Preparing the Staunton Gambit
119
Jeroen Bosch
knights, while White is still a pawn down. In 15 ... ~b8 l5 ...b6 16.i..b5 is a very annoy-
view of White's pressure a draw is the most ing pin.
likely result. 16.axb7+~xb7 17.b5 J:thf818."a4!?
8.....-d7 9.tLlbd2 <oxd2 10.i..xd2 0-0-0 This is very powerful. White does not need
to fear the weakening of his kingside (he is
already too far ahead on the queenside).
However, missing some immediate wins
further on, it is precisely because of his
weak kingside that the game will end in a
draw. J 8.%:txf8 %:txf8 19.• a4 was also
good, and the safe way to win was 18.c4.
18...J:txf319.1ha7+ ~c8 20.gxf3e5?!
Objectively Black is now completely lost
after White's next, but since Santo Roman
manages to save half a point it is hard to
criticize the practical value of this move. It
is likely that both players were under time
Black has managed to get his king into rela- pressure here.
tive safety, and he has an extra pawn. White 21.b6! c6 22 .... a8! e4 23.l:I.a7 'iWf5
is the first to start the middlegame though.
After Vandevoort's next I would definitely
feel more comfortable silting behind the
white pieces.
11.b4bf3
II...e5 does not really work after 12.b5
tDxd4 13.cxd4e4 14.'*a4!.
12.l:lxf3 J:te8 So that the knight can rc-
treat to d8 if necessary.
13.a4 13.b5!? lbd8 14.'It"a4Wb8.
13 ... e6 14.85 i..d615.a6
24.~a6+?
In time trouble it is easy to think that this
wins a tempo by giving a free check with a
piece that is under attack. However, it was
more important 10 combine queen and rook
into a joint attack. Leaving the king on c8
enables White to check on b7 with the
queen. Thus, winning are 24.l:lxg7! since
24 ...exd3? will lead to mate after 25.b7+
Wd8 26.'1'a5+. and 24 .• b7+ ~d8 25.• xg7
was also game over.
White has got there first. 24...~d8 25Jlb7 e3
120
Dutch: Preparing the Staunton Gambit
Here 25 exf3 26Jbb8+ Q.xb8 27.'ifxb8+ tlxe3 2Hhb8+ .bb8 28.'it'xbS+ ~e7
~e7 28 c7+ ..t>f629.~f2 wins for White. 29.b7 'i*'xf3 30.'i*'c7+ ~f6 31."e5+! llxe5
32.dxeS+ o;f;>g533.b8" "e3+ with perpet-
ual check. White was still winning with
26.:rxb8+! Q.xb8 27.thb8+ ~e7 28.'i'c7+
'iPf8 29.Q.eI.
26..... g5+ 27.~h1
Unclear is 27.q"f1 "f4 28.We2 "xh2+
29.'~dl. After 27.~g3 ~xg3 28.hxg3
.xg3+ Black must take the perpetual.
27..:it'f4 28..i.g3 Wxf3+ 29.Wg1
.ixg3 30.hxg3 'itxg3+ 31.~h1
And the game ends in perpetual check.
And what a game it was!
31..:tWh3+ 32.'iPg1 "g3+ 33.~h1
26.~e1? 'ii'e1+ 34...th2 -..12+35.~h1 '~U3+
This throws away the win. as does 26 ..txe3? Draw.
121
CHAPTER 16
Igor Glek
Sicilian: the Intrepid 5 ...e5
E ~ _Q)ii1~ 1.. E
i' ii'
~
"1.e4 c5 2.lDf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4k,xd4 he may justifiably hope to find a more useful
tDf6 5.lUc3 e5!? move than ... a6.
An audacious move: Black immediately Therefore theory universally acknowledges
plays e7·e5, without any preparation! Now 6.1I.b5+ to be the principal move. The ex-
the advance of the e-pawn is well-known in change of the bishops of the light squares
the Sicilian but usually only after the prepa- (for my intention is 6...~d7) is generally
ratory 5...a6 (many lines in the Najdorf) or thought to be good for White. but. in my
5 tLlc6 (as in the Boleslavsky system after opinion, Black. will get compensation.
5 tlJc6 6.~e2 e5). Of course the positions First of all. he gains time (Black can occupy
that we obtain may also have some similari- the all-important Sicilian c-file more
ties with the Sveshnikov (or Cheliabinsk) quickly).
Variation. Moreover. the exchange of a set of pieces
After the immediate 5 ...e5 it does not make normally does not hurt the second player in
much sense to play natural moves like 6. tbb3 the opening.
or 6.lCf3 because Black will obtain a posi- 6.i.b5+ i.d7
tion typical of the Najdorf Variation. where Actually 6 ... <tJbd7 (7.lllf5!) is far more com-
122
Sicilian: the Intrepid 5...e5
VarIation I
8.tt::lf5
This move is 'too active'. The same goes for
8.tLldb5. It seems that neither move brings
White anything, although, obviously, Black
has to respond accurately.
In comparison to the Sveshnikov Variation
8.tDdb5?! here does not make so much
sense .
• Black can take the pawn 8... tLlxe4!?, and
now:
- After 10...d5 II.O-O! lDxc3 12..td2! - 9.lLlxe4 equalizes at best after 9 ...'ihb5
White has great compensation for the pawn. IO.tLlxd6+ (not 1O xd6?! liJc6 l1.lLlc3
- However, Black has a 'simple' solution in '6'a612.1It'd5 l:ld8) 1O ~xd6 II..xd6 tC.c6
the form of 1O... liJxc3! II. ... xh7 "'a6 12.a411t'c4 13.h3 nd8 14.... c5.
12."f3 'irc6=i=. - More interesting is the reply 9.liJdS!?, af-
7...'it'xd7 ter9 ... ~a61O.c4lDf611.ltJxf6+ gxf612.0-0
This is the crucial position that 1 want to in- tLlc7 13.tLlxc7+ .xc7 White has obvious
vestigate in this article. The knight can jump compensation after both 14.b3and 14 d3.
to five possible squares: 8.tiX5, 8.lDdb5, • Therefore it is simpler to play 8 a6. for
8.tt::.b3, 8.tDf1. 8.<1}de2. Which is better? after 9.tLla3 'ttc6 lO.• d3 ({)bd7 11.~e3 l:lc8
Let's see. the knight on a3 is out of play. In case of
123
Igor Glek
12.lLld5 1!t'a4 13.c4 tDxd5 14.exd5, Black desliga 1998/98. Or also l3 ...f6 14.0-0 'i!t'e6
should not continue with 14.. :~b4+?! 15.f4 l:ldS 16.'W'c4 0-0 17.1:Iadl 1:IfdS
15.~d2 Wxh2 16.llbl 'ifxa2 17.()..0 as in 18.11xd5 'fIxd5 19.... xd5+ l:lxd5 20.fxeS
Pinkas-Ostermeyer, Goch 1991, but with Y2-~, Tonsingh-Shabsh Abdulatif, Lucerne
14...~e7 15.0-00-016.1'3 f5 17:.b31!t'xb3 011982.
18.axb3lLlc5 with a slight edge for Black. 9 ... ~xg710.tt::lxe4 d511.Ah6
8 ... lLlxe4 White uses tactics to develop. After II.lLlg3
This is the correct response. Black does not 0-0 (not ll...d4?! 12.0-0 ltJc6 13:tIt'f3 0-0-0
fear the coming complications. 14.~g5;!;) l2.lLlh5 f5 (12...lLlc6?! 13..ih6)
• 8 lLlc6 9.lLle3 (9.f3) is pleasant for While. l3.ll:lxg7 ~xg7 14.f4 e4 15 ..ie3ltJc6 16.c3
• 8 dS is an option: d4 Black is slightly better in view of 17.cxd4
- 9.0-0 is answered by 9 d4. lDb4 or 17...llad8.
- 9.~g5 can be met by 9 lLlxe4 1O.tL:.xe4 Worse is II.ttJc5 'i'c6 12.'i'g4 0..0 13.0-0 f5
dxe4 11."iWg4 f6 12.lld I 1!t'c6 13 ..ie3 g6 14.'t!Vb4 b6 IS.tUb3 35+. Instefjord-
14.ttJd6+ ~xd6 15.llxd6 1!t'xd6 16.1!t'c8+ Agustsson, Norway 2002103.
"ii'd8 17.... e6+ 'fIe7 18.... c8+ "ii'd8 with a 11...0-0 12.~xg7 ~xg7
draw.
- The problem in my opinion is 9.CiJxd5
~xe4 10.0-0 ~6 I 1.c4!? which favours
White.
• Black is a lot worse after !L.'lWc6 9.~f3
tbbd7 1O.~g5 h6 I Li.xf6 tC.xf6 12.0-0-0
0-0-0 13.1:1<13,Scarpa-Rosso. Buenos Aires
1998.
13.~h5!
White already has to take care. Thus,
13.tUg3?! lDc6 14.0-0 f5 15.f4 e4 16.'i'hS d4
gave Black a great position in Janosevic-
Bertok, Ljubljana ch- YUG 1960.
Please note that 13...f5? 14.f4! exf4 (14 ...e4
15Ji'd4+ ~g8 16.0-0-0) 15.... d4+ <;f;lg8
16.'W'xf4"'e6+ 17.~d2 Wf618.lthfl favours
9.lLlxg7+ White, Panbukchian-Kovacevic, Pula 1990.
The only try for an advantage, but maybe With the text White sacrifices a piece to gain
While is beuer off with acknowledging that a draw by perpetual.
he has nothing by playing 9.tDxe4 't!VxfS 13 ... f5!?
IO.li)xd6+ ~xd6 I 1. "ii'xd6. After I J...tLlc6 Black plays for the win! Of course 13...dxe4
I 2.~e3 1:Id8 13:~c5 Black can play leads to perpetual check: 14."g5+ ~h8
13 ...lte6 14.0-0 b6 15.,*a3 'i'd6 with equal I5:itf6+ ~g8 Y2-'h. Muratov-Zilber,
chances as in loseliani-Mai, Germany Bun- Novgorod 1961.
124
Sicilian: the Intrepid S...e5
14.0"()"()!? 7...'ihd78.tUb3
A creative reply! Not 14.... g5+*h8 15."it'h6
lLlc6 (15...... g7 16.1hg7+ ~xg7 l7.lLld6
tiJc6 18.0-0-0 d4 19.tiJxb7 tiJb4 20.a3)
16.tiJg5 .l~ae8+. After castling Black is not
forced to take the piece, but he can play
14•..tDc6
After 14...fxe4 15.• xe5+ White has a
strong attack:
- 15 ~ 16.~xd5 ..te7 17.Wg3 or
17 h5+ ~g7 18.llhdl *h8 19.~bl.
- Instead 15...l:tf6 16.~xd5 .e6 17.• g3+
125
Igor Glek
.-~-
Fleuren-Ostermeyer, Goch 1992, was
quickly drawn after 1O.'tM3 0-0 II.~e3 a6
12.a4 'tic7 13.aS tDbd7 14.f3 ':ac8 15.':f2.
9•.•ltJc6
I was planning to play ...d5 as quickly as pos-
sible, but maybe it was more exact to play
9... ~e7.
• After 10.1Wd3 tOa6!? 11.0-0-0
- 11...0-0 12.f3111b4 13.... d2 b5 14.g4 a5
J5.WbI a4 16.lOC5 .c6 both sides have
chances. And now instead of
- Equally complicated is 11...111c7 12.f3 b5 11.13
(12 ...0-0 13.g41:1fd8 14.h4 d5 15.g5), for ex- which allows Black to solve his problems,
ample: 13.a3 a5 14.~b6 b4 15.~xc7 bxc3 White should have played 11.0-0-0!: an-
16.~xd6cxb2+ 17.~xb2a418 ..be7<;t>xe7 swering 11...0-0-0 (or 1l...:c8 12.f3 0-0
19 .... c3 ... b720 .... xe5+~f821 .... d6+<,tg8 13.g4) with 12.... c4! .e6 13.tLla5 'l'xc4
If 22.e5, then 22 ...axb3 (not 22 ...li'\h5 14.tlJxc4 <;;>b8 (l4 ...lOg4 15.tLlb5 lOxe3
126
Sicilian: the Intrepid 5 ... e5
Variation In
o Marie Sebag
• IgorGlek • Now 15.lLle6canbemetby 15...i.f6!?or
Metz 2009 15.. .fxe6!? 16.'t!rxe6+ <t;d8.
• 15.lLlxf7 ~xf7 is very sharp:
1.e4 es 2.llJf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.tLlxd4 - Black defends after 16.fxe5+ ~g8
lLlf6 5.tbc3 e5 6•.i.b5+ i.d7 7.~xd7+ 17.exd6 'ifxd6 (17 ... 'itb6+ 18.~hl <t;h7
1i'xd7 8.lbf3 19 ..ixh6+- ) 18. Wb3+ <t;h7 19 .~xh6
'ifb6+.
- 16.f5 was played in Schonthier-Oster-
meyer, Germany Bundesliga 1990/91. Now
according to my analysis Black can survive
the attack with 16...g5 17.f6 i..xf6 18..bg5
(Ud7 19..i.xf6 lLlxf6 20.'ifh4 d5 21.l:lxf6+
'thf6 22JH1 "'xfl+ 23.~xfl .!lac8
24.it'h5+ ~f6 25 .... h4+ ~e6 26 .... g4+ ~f6
27 .... d7 nhd8=. Of course this has LO be
checked carefully.
Please note that White is just clearly worse
after 9..tg5? lLlx.e4 1O.lL"lx.e5(JO.lLld5 tLld7)
IO...lLlxc3 1 LlL"lx.c6lL"lxdI 12.t1JxbR lLlxb2
Now White will try to manoeuvre his king's 13.:bl :xb8 14.:xb2.
knight to d5 - via It:lf3-d2-c4(fl )-e3 or 9 h6
lLlf3-h4-f5(g3.lLlg2)-e3. But it Sure will lake 9 lLlbd7 is also possible - White can ex-
time. change his dark-squared bishop but Black's
8..Jlt'c6 position is quite safe: IO..Q.g5 h6 11..~xf6
Again not 8..~e7 9.i.g5t. but 8...h6 is pos- lDxf6 12.0-0 .Q.e7 13.lL"lh4 1h-~. Klavins-
sible and may transpose. Petersons, Palanga 1961.
127
Igor Glel<
128
Sicilian: the Intrepid 5...e5
15...tDc5 16.tDd2
Black has decent counterplay in case of
16.tDh4 g6 17.... f3 ~e6 18.:a4 "'c6
19 dl wf8 20.~e3 <j;g7 21.lDf3 ~d8.
16 e6 17.... 13 (H)
129
Igor Glek
Variation IV
8.1L1de2
130
Sicilian: the Intrepid 5 ... e~
131
Igor Glek
13...0-0-0!
A clear improvement over 13 ... llJc5?
14.f!l.eS! dxe5 15..ltg5!±. Timmermans-
Bosch, Vlissingen 2009. Now 15...llJcxe4
fails to 16.llJxe4 "'xe4 17.lbel! and White
Now the game went 24...lhe4 25.cuh4 has a winning advantage. 13... g6 14.tbe3 fa-
:x.h4 26.Aa7 Ab7 27.:ctxb7 "'xb7 28.c3 vours White, but 13...h3!? is also interesting.
1fb3 29.f4 Ab8 3O.fxe5 dxeS 31.'tlPd2 with a 14.a4
draw. Black could have preserved a slight 14.W'f2llJxe4 15.• xa7 is met by the imme-
edge with 24 ... :x.c2 25 .• d3 "xa5 diate 15...h3, or by 15... ltJ~c3 16.bxc3 h3
26.'thc2 bxa3 27.~d2 "a6 28.bxa3 llJcS 17.gxh3 :ctxh318.lIbl (lg.~e3g619."'a8+
29.~b4 (29.llJg4 "'xa3) 29 ...llJd3 30J:ldl <ttc7 20 .• a5+ b6 21."a7+ 1fb7 22 .• xb7+
llJxb4 31.axb4 1:lb8. ~xb7 23.'~g2 Ah8 24.llJg3 f5 25.a4)
10...ltJbd711.f4 18...... c5+ 19.... xc5+ ti:lxc5 (or 19...dxc5).
The most direct attempt to refute Black's Note that White caJUlOtplay 14.h3? because
play. of 14...g6. After the text a sample line runs:
14...<it.>b815.h3 96 16.lbe3 exf4
17J!fxf4 ~h6 18."13 IIhe8 19.1bed5
~xc1 20.Uaxc1 ~xe4 21.... xf7 ~e5
22.....4 .c5+ 23.~h2 ~g3 24J:lfd1
llf8 25. tfe3 95 and this favours Black.
132
CHAPTER 17
Sipke Emst
133
Sipke Ernst
Nowadays, 7.e3 is the absolute main line. lllxe5 14.~xe5 'ttxeS+, with equality,
Apart from 7.e3, 7.'ffb3, 7.g3 and 7.'ii'c2 are Eklund-Nordstrom, Linkoping 1996.
also more popular than 7.e4. Instead l2 .... e3 momentarily prevents me
7...dxe4 8.liJxe4 ~b4+ ...e5 break, but Black gets easy play after
12...cS 13. .td3 (13.0-0-0!? leads 10 interest-
ing play, but seems to me to be too dangerous
for White) l3 ...cxd4 (13 ...b6? 14.... e4)
14.'ii'xd4 1i'xd4 15.lihd4 ~S.
9...~f4
All possible queen moves have been tried, ex-
cept for 9 ...... f5. Still, this move is not entirely
stupid. The queen supports Black's
pawnbreaks ...c6-c5 and ... e6-eS. Also, White
won't be able to gain a tempo on me queen
with g2-g3. Meanwhile it is not entirely clear
what the drawbacks of this move are.
For 9...'~id8,see the third game.
9/oite21? After 9 .....!U5 the main try is 1O.'tt'd3 0-0 (or
A cool looking move, guaranteeing a lot of 1O...ttJd7 II.g4 - after II.c5 0-0 12.g4 Black
disapproving faces when played in a team can play 12...'~hg4! 13Jlgl "f4 and White
match. Definitely worth a try! has not enough compensation for the pawn-
In the stem game, Jasnogrodsky continued II...'f¥xg4 l2 ..ctgl 'it'f4 13J:lJtg7, with un-
9/ik3 lLId7 10.a3?! .bc3+ I l.bxc3 cS clear play) l1.g4!? (this move is double-
12.~e2 eS 13.0-0 cxd4 14.cxd4 exd4 edged. It might be the start of a dangerous at-
15.tDxd4 0-0, and the game ended in a draw. tacking plan involving g4-g5 at some point,
Actually, 9...c5 is even better. An example is but it also weakens the black squares very
the game Adianto-Bareev, Cap d' Agde 2002: much ...) 11...'*[4 (ll...'ifxg4? lVL'lf6+
lO.ncl cxd4 (IO ...O-O!? might even be stron- gxf6 13.11g1 wins the queen) 12.... e3 'ttc7
ger) II.'i!fxd4 'ifxd4 12.lDxd40-O 13.31 i.e7! (after 12...'ihe3+ 13.fxe3 the best assess-
(there is no need for giving up the two bishops, ment is probably unclear, though I would
although 13...~xc3+ 14..tlxc3 is also not bad) prefer White because of me easy develop-
14.g3? (this appears to be too weakening; it ment and the space advantage) B.g5
was safer to play 14.~e2) 14....tld8 l5.'Db3
ltJc6 16.~g2(this move involves a pawn sacri-
fice, but I don't see any compensation for
White, l6.~2 was still preferable) 16...lLleS
17.0-0 lllxc4, Black was simply a pawn up for
nothing and went on to win the game.
Apart from 9.lOc3 there is a second alterna-
tive, 9.llled2. This move has done reason-
ably well in practice, but I don't think that
such a passive knight retreat can assure
White something interesting: 9 ...121d7lO.a3
.txd2+ II.'ihd2 0-0 l2.i.d3 e5 13.dxe5
134
Moscow Variation: A German Speciality
135
Sipke Ernst
20...~a6?
17.~c11 After this move Black is lost. Also bad was
A nice prophylactic move. While waits to 20 ... ltJf6?, in view of 2t.Ale5 "'d8
see how Black arranges his pieces in orderto 22.1!t'xf5+~h8 23.llJh4!.
react to Black's play. The only way to continue the fight was
17.J:lxe6 is better for Black after 17 ...ltJf6 20 ...'~c5. though after 21.J:l6e5 d3 22.~xd3
18.Ael cxd4 19.~cl J:ld8. tt:'lxd3+ 2Hi'xd3 White is better.
17...•• 51 21..ba6 "'u6 22.lLlXd4
Later in the game the queen will often be ex- White has a winning position. Unfortunatel y
posed to attacks, so Black should probably I was running out of time and squandered my
keep the queen on c7 for now. advantage.
The alternatives are: 22..."a5 23.~7 Af7
- 17...cxd4 l8.ltJxd4 ~b6 19.1iJxe6 i.xe6
20.lhe6 which is slightly 'better for White.
- Also possible is 17...liJf6 - the following
line is more or less forced: 18.i.c4 liJe4
(18 ...~d5 19.dxc5) 19.dxc5 liJxcS 20.ltJd4
wh8 21.~xe6 "d6 22 ..ixc8 "'xd4 23.J:ldl
"'f6 24 .... xc5 J:lb8! 25.Ad2 l:lfxc8 and if
26.1ha7 then 26 ... c5! followed by
...c5-c4-c3, with serious counterplay, so
White probably should settle for the better
double rook ending with 25:.d4.
18.J:lxeS Or 18.~c4!?
136
Moscow Variation: A German Speciality
24.g4 10...~e7
I missed a nice tactic here: 24.~xf5! ..t.>h8 Black has an important alternative here, the
(both 24 ..... xf5 25.~xf7 and 24...~xf5.25.g4 sharp 1O...f5!. After the normal 1 J.ttJc3
give White a decisive material advantage) (l1.~ed2!'?) the lines fork.
25.lhf7 'ifxel+ 26.'tt'dl "xdl+ 27 ...t.>xdl,
and Black is hopeless in the ending.
24...1181825.LOxf5
Also 25.gd5 is not so bad, but I wanted (0
keep my pawn structure intact!
25...g6 26.Wc4?
This move throws away a great deal of
White's advantage. I was reluctant to play
26 .... b3!, because of 26.....t.>h827.lDxh6?!
Ihf2 and things seemed not entirely dear to
me. However, I missed 27 ..l:l1e3!, winning
immediately.
26 .. :tIi'c5! 27."xc5 lbxc5 28.lbd6
J:txe7 29.J:txe7+ ~g8 3O.b4 0d3+ - I L.lt)d7 12.g3 ..-d6 (or 12..... g4 13.h3
31.~c2llJx12
It's safe to say that Ididn't get themostoul
my middlegame advantage.
of .f7
'ir'h5 and here a young Boris Spassky played
14. .tg20-O 15.g4 16.gxf5 exf5 17.a3
:'e8+ t 8. ~d2 ~d6 )9 .:ae 1 It)f6 with unclear
32.g5 hxg5 33.l:xa7 lbg4 34.lbe4 play, Spassky-Reicher, Bucharest 1953. It
lLlxh2 3S.liJxg5 lbg4 36.84? After seems to me that the light-squared bishop is
36Jk7 Black still has problems 10 solve. better off on d3 or e2, so I recommend
36..Jlb8 14...t.>d2!?) l3.~g2 0-0 and now the best is
And here my opponent offered a draw, 14.c5!(14.:hdl e5!?-14 ...• c715 .• e3pre-
which I happily accepted, as I had less than vents Black's desired ...e6-e5 break - 15.dxe5
30 seconds on the clock. Despite the errors I "'e6 16.'.t>fl liJlle5 l7.ttJxe5 'W'xe5,
think il was an interesting game. Miedema-Savchenko, Bethune 2006 - now it
is White who is looking for a way to equalize)
l4 ...• c7 (14 ...• e7 is worse because of
o Marek Vokac 15.l:lhel b6 l6.wfl bxcS 17.d5! and after
• Alexey Dreey 17... ~xc3 -the 'clever' 17...c4 looks danger-
Ohrid2009 ous because of l8 .... c2 .txc3 19.1:lxe6 tif7
20."'xc3 cxd5 21.l:lael and White has a
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.013 lbf6 4.LOc3e6 strong initiative -18.d6 'fff619.'ffxc3 "xc3
5.~g5 h6 6..txf6 "xf6 7.M dxe4 20.bxc3 White has an advantage) 15.l:lhe I b6
8.LOxe4~b4 ...9.~e2 "14 10."d31? (15 ...e5?? l6."c4+) l6.~1 bxc5 17.~gl!,
II is hard 10 say which move is better, and with this calm prophylactic move White
1O.... d3 or 1O.• c2. On d3 the queen can be ensures some advantage. Black is one pawn
exposed to an attack by a black rook on d8, up for the moment, but there are a lot of weak-
but for the moment the queen is more ac- nesses in his camp.
tively placed than on c2. Also, this move - I L.O-O 12.g3 "c7 13.a3 .i.d6 (or
gives White the option of "e3. 13....te7 14..tg20d7 l5.tie3!'? - after the
137
Sipke Ernst
natural J5.l:rtJel e5! 16.dxe5 ttJxe5 l7.tiJxe5 has some problems finishing his develop-
'it'xe5+ 18.';Pfl 'iff6 Black has a comfort- ment. Especially the h8-rook won't be able to
able position - 15...lLlf6 16.l:I.hel c5 and enter the game for some time to come.
chances are about equal) 14.Ag2 lLld7
15.l:rhdl e5 J6.dxe5 Axe5 IHi;>f) f4, and
Black equalized in Gorelcv-Filipenko. Mos-
cow 1986. It seems that Black. is doing okay
here, so White needs an improvement in the
lines following IO .. J5, or he should prefer
1O.• c2.
11.g3 'ite7 12..i.g2 tLld7 13.l:thel e5
14.dxe5?
After the text-move Black has no problems
neutralizing White's initiative. The rest of
the game is a good example of what can hap-
pen if White doesn't play dynamically The following lines are exemplary:
enough. After Black completes his develop- - 19...i.e6 20.d5l cxd5 21.clld5 Ag8
ment it is very hard for White to fight the two 22.fkf5! Afl (22 ....th7 loses by force:
bishops. 23.'iVe6 ~d6 24.1:I.acl tie7 25.1:Ic8+ l:I.xc8
White should play sharply in order to get 26.'t!txc8+ 't!tc8 27.lLlg6+ hg6 28.1:I.xe8+
something out of his development advan- .txe8 29. 'i'xb7) 23.ltJxt7 will 24.'''e6+
tage. Therefore, 14.'~t;>f1!?, a move that in- c.t>f8 25.~acl 'ird8 26.1:I.e3 with more than
volves a piece sacrifice, is necessary. Now enough compensation.
14...f5 is critical, although Black does have - 19... ~h4 20.l:I.e2 Ae6 21.c5! .tfl22. Wc2
some other options. iLa5 (22 ... 't!td8? 23.ttlxfl ~xfl
24. 'iWb3++-) 23.a3 "'d8 24.b4 iLc7
25.:ael iLhS 26.lLlg6+ .ixg6 27.'t!txg6
looks extremely dangerous for Black.
- Also J9....td6 20.c5 iLxe5 21.dxeS li)d5
(21 ...tZlg8? 22.l:I.e4 and 23.1:I.f4)22.e6looks
very unpleasant for Black .
• 14...ex.d4?!
138
Moscow Variation: A German Speciality
- 15.• a3!. and now Black is mated after (also after 22.lOxd7 l:lxe4 23.lDxf6+ gxf6
l5 ...~xaJ?? l6.ltid6+, while 15 ...c5? is also 24.11xe4 White cannot count on an advantage)
bad, in view of t 6.tlJxd4 0-0 (I6 ...cxd4 22...~xe5 23.fxe5 f624.<lo>gl I1xe5 25.'fVd4
17.t;jd6+ <ja>f8 18.l:lxe7 wins) 17,l1Jb5 and and Black is very close to equalizing.
White has a lot of positional pluses. 14 •.•lt:.xe5 15.tLJxe5 Whe5 16;Wfl 0-0
This makes 15...lC.e5! effectively the only 17.lfb3 'it'c7
move. After 16.c5 0-0 (16 ... tbxf3'!!
17.~d6+) 17.tbxd4 b6 (17 ...l:ld8 l8.nadl
tLlg4 - 18 ...~g4 19.0 ~d7 20.ltJd6 with an
advantage. The central control of the white
pieces outweigh Black's bishop pair - 19.h3
lDf6 20.lC.d6 .i.xd6 2l.cxd6 ~xd6 -
2l...l:lxd6? 22.1tjb5 - 22.1tJe6 'i'xdl
23.11Jldll:lxdl+24.<;Pe2~Jle625.~xdl and
although Black has very good drawing
chances, White is slightly better) 18.'@'c3
White has an edge. Black can easily slip with
the active looking l8 ....ta6+?! 19.1ito>gl
lUd3? which loses immediately because of Black is already slightly better. The knight
20.lDf5! f6 21.cxb6 axb6 22 .... xc6. on e4 looks pretty but the black bishops are
- Other lines offer White nothing: 15.tL'lxd4 very strong.
is the most logical continuation, and although 18. 'ft'e3 .i.e6 19.b3 IUe8 20.'W'f3 Not
this move is not without poison Ithink Black 20.tDc5? ~f6!' 20 •..'C!t'aS21.94?
equalizes with correct play: 15...0-0 16.tbf5 Not the kind of move grandmasters are
(l6.11ad I tC.c5 is equal) I 6...~b4! 17.tL'led6 happy to play. Probably Vokac felt desperate
looks interesting, as it is dangerous to take the here already.
exchange ... 17...~xel (unfortunately Black 21...~Bd8 22.Wgl ~d4 23.h3 ~ed8
doesn 't have to take the bait and can equalize Black has a close to winning advantage, and
with 17...lDe5! 18.l:lxe5 ~xf5 19:ihf5 eventually won the game.
~xd6) l8.ll:le7+ <;Ph8 19.1:lxe) tDf6
20.tLlexc8 llaxc8 21.lUxc8 l:lxc8 22.,*a3! In the next game, played more than 50 years
and White has an edge. ago (!), we will deal with the solid 9 ...,*d8.
- In the only game featuring 14."""fl, Though this move looks kind of timid, it
Kishnev-Gorelov, Moscow 1984, the play- should not be underestimated, as it has some
ers agreed to a draw after .J5.Wxd4 0-0 advantages over 9 ...... f4. Most obviously,
l6.l:ladl. the move g2-g3 won't gain a tempo, and if
• 14...0-0 looks safer, hut White can try to White decides to play g2-g3 anyway, Black
make something of his lead in development by can decide if he wants to play ... VJlJc7 or not.
15.tL'lc3~f6 16.d5 (the only move to try for an A drawback is that the ...e6-e5 break is not
advantage; 16.l1ad I exd4 17.lDxd4lC.c5 is fine supported for the moment, though, as we
for Black and 16.lUe4 h7 repeats moves) will see, Black often achieves this break
16...~c5 17."c2 .ig4 18.dxc6 bxc6 19.1Oe4 nonetheless. This game also features the
tLlxe4 2o.1he4 .id7! (20 ....ixf3 21.~xf3 biggest expert on the 7.e4 line in the Mos-
with a small advantage) 21.0.xc5l:lae8! 22.f4 cow Variation. Wolfgang Uhlmann played
139
Sipke Ernst
140
Moscow Variation: A German Speciality
...f5-f4 soon, activating Black's pieces) but The superficial 14.Aacl runs into 14...e5
still the pawn should count for something. 15.d5 f5!.
- Finally, 12.... b613.llhdl "xb3 14.axb3 14...Ad8
is slightly better for White. Now, 14... e5 is answered by 15.d5.
11.•.liJd7 15.'~f1lDf6
Also interesting is 15 ...b6!? 16.Aacl ~b7
followed by ...c6-c5.
16.:ac1 Not 16.c5? ~xc5, but 16."e3!?
is interesting. 16...86
12:.d3?!
This time. the queen is not so well placed
here. as it quickly can become a target for
Black's e-pawn,
In a later game against Sveshnikov in 17.b3?!
Sarajevo 1983 Uhlmann tried 12.lIfc2, but This inaccuracy offers Black the chance to
Black easily equalized after 12.. .f5 13.ltJc3 equalize immediately.
'i'f614.'tfb3 ~aSI5.llhel e5 16.dxe5 tUxe5 Black would still have some small problems
17.tOxe5 .xe5+ 18.'~fl .f6 and in fact it is to solve after 17.• e3, as after the logical
White who should watch out or he will end 17...c5 18.dxc5 Axdl+ J9.Axdl ~xc5
up in a worse position. 20.'6'e5! the ending after 20 ..: *xe5
12.• b3, however. is an improvement. After 21.ltd8+ <;t>h722. ttJxe5 is very bad, so Black
the obvious l2 ...~e7 I3.llhdl the game should go for 20 ...• e7. though then too
transposes to the lines following 11.~3. White keeps some pressure after 21.tUe4.
12...~e7 Possibly 17.'6'e2!? is even stronger, as here
Black has a much stronger plan: 12.. .f5! the queen is not exposed to any attacks.
13.tUc3 e5! 14.dxe5 (it is also dangerous to 17... c5!
take with the knight: 14.ltJxe5 tUxeS 15.dxe5 Now the game quickly peters out to a draw.
"as 16.(4 Ad8 17."c2 ~e6) 14..... e7
15.l:1hel ltJc5 16 e3 (also 16.... c2 f4 is
18.d5 exd5 19.tiJxd5 fi)xd5 20.cxd5
~d7 21.tiJd2
very dangerous) 16 ~e617.b3 f4! 18.gxf4 Of course not 21.d6?? ~xd6 22. "'xd6 ~b5+
~g4 19.wfI iOe6 Ibis is the kind of stuff and Black wins.
White should avoid. Black is probably win- 21...~d6 22.lDc4 b5 23.lLlxd6'it"xd6
ning already! 24.11d2 Uac8 25.Wg1
13.Uhd1 'fIc714.lDc3 Draw.
141
-------_ ..-.--_. __ .-
If[}u@ []iJi)@01l@WQ
...... r._ __
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