themastersbulletin january 2014

7/23/2019 TheMastersBulletin January 2014

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January 2014

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The Masters Bulletin

Topical Theory 11

Topical Theory 17

In the Spotlight 3

Peter's Chess Vibes 2 Middlegame Musings 24

The Endgame Explained 29

Afeks Corner 32

GM AlexYermolinsky

Five Hidden

Gems from

2013

IM Arthurvan deOudeweetering

The Underdog

Bites

IM Robert Ris

A endgamewith an outside

passed

IM YochananAfek

Endgame

Studies

GM DannyGormally

BobbyFischer's 6.h3

Against the

Najdorf

GM Viktor

Moskalenko

Bent Larsens

1.b3

Tasty Tactics 23

Solutions to the Tasty Tactics 31

Leaderboards 34

Featured Blogs 34

In the News 33


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Peters Chess Vibes

Looking back one more timePeter Doggers, editor

A Happy New Year to our readers! One thing that became clear in

2013 is how quickly online chess has adapted to new standards.

There's hardly any top tournament left that does not provide

online streaming commentary, to my great delight.

As I am writing this during the rst week of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, I am quite busy myself with making thisservice happen in Wijk aan Zee as well. I am assisting Lennart Ootes and together we are doing the work behind the

scenes to provide commentary by e.g. Yasser Seirawan, Erwin l'Ami and Lawrence Trent. Every day we are experiencing

new technical problems, but at the same time we're happy to serve the chess fans with the show, improving it step by

step!

Before we denitely say goodbye to 2013, Alex Yermolinsky provides us with a nice selection of games that he felt

deserved more attention. In his typical style, "Yermo" analyzes ve gems that can't be missed!

Again, we have two theoretical articles on openings. GM Danny Gormally, who will also start writing strategical articles

for the Chess.com website from February onward, looks at Bobby Fischer's 6.h3 against the Najdorf Sicilian and deals

with one of Black's main replies, 6...e6. The acclaimed author GM Viktor Moskalenko tells us the current status of Bent

Larsen's 1.b3, and provides ideas for both sides.

The astonishing game Kramnik-Ezat from the recent World Team Championship inspired IM Arthur van de Oudeweetering

to both look at this game in depth, and provide more examples of a queen sacrice where one only gets two minor pieces

in return (besides, of course, plenty of compensation). Names like Nezhmetdinov and Tal come to mind!

IM Robert Ris looks at the game Najer-Bacrot, played in December in the Bundesliga, that saw an instructive and typica

rook ending where White had one passed pawn on the queenside. And of course we have three new studies selected byIM Yochanan Afek as well as last month's solutions.

Enjoy!

Peter Doggers,

Director of Content

Peter writes most news reportsfor Chess.com. He blogs at Chess.com/blog/chessvibesand tweets from @peterdoggers.
http://www.chess.com/newshttp://www.chess.com/blog/chessvibeshttp://www.twitter.com/peterdoggershttp://www.twitter.com/peterdoggershttp://www.chess.com/blog/chessvibeshttp://www.chess.com/news


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In this article I look back at 2013,and I selected ve interesting games

that didn't get much attention

elsewhere. In my selection I tried to

follow a modern trail of avoiding long

theoretical lines. Such strategy, laid

out by new World Champion Magnus

Carlsen, these days nds more

supporters among rank and le chess

players. The computer research net

is cast out wide to include long-

forgotten lines, all in the name of

practical success in any given game.

Working as an online commentator

and chess instructor I sift through

dozens of games daily. The more I

look, the more I believe chess is far

from being exhausted please, enjoy

some samples from 2013.

Fressinet-Christiansen

FIDE World Cup (Troms), 2013

Christiansen lost the rst game of

this mini-match and was forced to go

for broke in Game Two. Fortunately

for Larry he usually does exactly that

in every game anyway.

1.f3 f5 2.d3 c6 3.d4An interesting attempt to take

advantage of the position of Nc6

ahead of the c-pawn. 3.e4 e5 4.c3

f6 5.exf5 d5 6.d4 is standard issue.

This position looks good for White,

and it may be an exact copy of a

Kings Gambit with reversed colors!

3...e6 4.g3

Laurent is careful. 4.c4 f6 5.g3

b4+ allows a transposition into

an old line of the Dutch Defense

frequently employed by Alekhine

some 90 years ago.

4...f6 5.g2 d5 6.00

XIIIIIIIIY9r+lwqkvl tr09zppzp + zpp09 +n+psn +0

9+ +p+p+ 09 + zP + +09+ + +NzP 09PzPP+PzPLzP09tRNvLQ+RmK 0xiiiiiiiiy

So, here we have it: a Stonewall

with the black knight on c6. Time for

LarryC to work his magic.

6...b8!!Talking about a proverbial mysterious

rook move.

7.bd2

Once again, a sober decision. The

mystery is uncovered after 7.c4 dxc4

where Black is pretending to defend

against the Catalan with his pawn

sticking out on f5. 8.c3 b5 9.e5

(9.g5 is another try but after

9...xd4 10.e3 Black has 10...h6

11.h3 b4 which saves the knight

and leaves him up a pawn in return

for a house full of holes: 12.exd4

bxc3 13.bxc3 d6 14.a4+ f7

15.xc4b7 Who knows, Black may

be alright here.) 9...xe5 10.dxe5

xd1 11.xd1 g4 12.xb5c5 and

counterplay against f2 arrives just in

time.7...b5

Slowing down Whites c2c4 is

paramount.

8.e5 xe5 9.dxe5 d7 10.f3 c5

11.b3

After being so cautious early on

Laurent nally allows himself to get

caught in the wild spirit of this game

11.f4 e7 12.d2 00 13.fd1 was

In the Spotlight

Five Hidden Gems From 2013GM Alex Yermolinsky

For this rst Bulletin of the new year, GM Yermolinsky looked back

at 2013 one more time and selected ve interesting games that

didn't get much attention elsewhere. Enjoy these ve hidden

gems, annotated below!


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rock solid, particularly since Black

must avoid the logical line, 13...

h6 14.xh6 gxh6 15.xh6 which

would end up in perpetual check and

Fressinets qualication to the next

round.

11...e7 12.c4 bxc4 13.bxc4

XIIIIIIIIY9 trlwqk+ tr09zp +nvl zpp09 + +p+ +09+ zppzPp+ 09 +P+ + +09+ + +NzP 09P+ +PzPLzP09tR vLQ+RmK 0xiiiiiiiiy

13...dxc4!

Absolutely correct. Because of the

obvious weakness on e6 Black must

seek dynamic counterplay. 13...d4

14.e3 dxe3 15.xe3 is too comfy for

White.

14.c2 00 15.d1 c7 16.xc4

b6 17.c2 b7

Suprisingly, Black is already

somewhat better. The weak e5pawn

ties down Whites pieces.

18.e1

18.g5xg5 19.xg5xg2 20.xg2

xe5 who would want that as White?

XIIIIIIIIY

9 tr + trk+09zplwq vl zpp09 sn +p+ +09+ zp zPp+ 09 + + + +09+ + + zP 09P+Q+PzPLzP09tR vLRsN mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

18...d5

Black seeks more complications.

What was wrong with the simple

18...xg2 19.xg2 d5 Perhaps

Larry was concerned with further

simplications after 20.f4 and

missed one tactical detail. 20...xe5

is after all, possible: (20...xf4

21.xf4 g5 22.c4 f7 23.d2

xe5 24.c3 you may reject this on

general grounds of giving White too

much activity for a pawn.) 21.xd5

exd5 22.f4 b2 This is it, the

saving tactic! But then, of course,

the computer shows the incredibleresource 23.b3!! claiming that

White is OK. Go gure.

19.e4 fxe4 20.xe4 xe5 21.xh7+

h8

XIIIIIIIIY9 tr + tr mk09zpl+ vl zpL09 + +p+ +0

9+ zpnwq + 09 + + + +09+ + + zP 09P+Q+ zP zP09tR vLRsN mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

White is quite disorganized here.

22.b2 h5 23.g6 h3 24.e2

24.e4 wouldnt be many peoples

rst choice here, but in fact, after24...e3 25.xg7+ xg7 26.c3+

f6 27.xe3 xe4 28.xe4 xa1

29.xa1 f5 30.e3 he would have

decent practical chances as long as

he keeps his queen on the board.

24...a6 25.d3 c4!

Everything unravels for White. Its a

miracle hes not losing by force.

26.e5 c3 27.xa6

XIIIIIIIIY9 tr + tr mk09zp + vl zp 09Q+ +p+L+0

9+ +nsN + 09 + + + +09+ zp + zPq09PvL + zP zP09tR +R+ mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

27...xf2?

A step too far. I guess Larry wasnt

absolutely sure hed win the game

after the logical 27...cxb2 28.f7+(28.ab1 and only now comes

28...xf2! 29.xf2 f8+ 30.g1

c5+ 31.h1 f2 32.c8+f8 Could

he have possibly missed this last

move? Backward diagonal moves

are known to be prone to omission.)

28...xf7 29.xf7 bxa1 30.xa1

c5 31.xe6 xe6 32.xe6 but then

theres 32...c3 and Black is simply

dominating.

28.xf2 cxb2 29.g1 bxa1

30.xa1

Suddenly the game leveled out and

no further effort from Black was

enough to bring that much-needed

point. LarryC went home early...

Andreikin-KarjakinRussia Supernal (Nizhny Novgorod),

2013

These two are the same age as

Magnus Carlsen, so theres a rivalry

going on there. They will meet next

in the Candidates in Khanty-Mansiysk

in March.

1.f3 f6 2.c4 b6 3.c3 b7 4.d4


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e6 5.a3 d5 6.cxd5 xd5 7.e3

The old move long ago superseded by

7.c2

7...g6

Korchnois great innovation that

brought him a surprising victory over

the surging Garry Kasparov in their

1983 Candidates Match.

8.h4

We all know by now this pawn

thrust works against a straight-up

Gruenfeld. See Grischuk-Carlsen,

many games by Mamedyarov,

Gareev-Robson from the last U.S.

Championship, and, most painfully,Gareev-Yermolinsky from the recent

Vegas tournament for details. Here

c1 is blocked by the e-pawn, but

not for long.

8...g7 9.h5 d7

9...xc3 10.bxc3 c5 11.b5+ c6

12.d3 d7 13.e4 c7 was another

old-timer, Polugaevsky-Korchnoi,

USSR vs. Rest of the World, London

1984.

10.d3 xc3 11.bxc3

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ wqk+ tr09zplzpn+pvlp09 zp +p+p+09+ + + +P09 + zP + +09zP zPLzPN+ 09 + + zPP+09tR vLQmK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

11...e5

Years ago, Ljubo Ftacnik, a great

expert on all things Grnfeld, played

the innoculous move 11...c8

against then young Alexei Dreev.

The idea was uncorked after 12.e4

(12.e2 c5 13.b2 00 14.d1 f6

would transpose to regular play.)

12...c5!! The problem is, White

simply shrugged it off with the

consistent 13.g5 xd3+ 14.xd3

d7 15.h6 f8 16.f6 and went on

to win the game!

12.e4 e7 13.00 00 14.e1 fe8

15.a4 a6 16.c4

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ +r+k+09+lzpnwqpvlp09pzp + +p+09+ + zp +P09P+LzPP+ +09+ zP +N+ 09 + + zPP+09tR vLQtR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

16...c6

Sergey Karjakin is a classically-

trained chessplayer. Here he handles

a Grnfeld like its a Slav. Wrong

idea, and not because the old man

Ernst was an Austrian. Black simply

may not have time to get all comfy. A

natural-born Grnfeld player - think

Peter Svidler and his ilk - would have

thought of 16...exd4 17.cxd4 b5

18.a2 c5 with counterplay rst and

foremost, never mind the dangers

awaiting Black after 19.h6 h8

20.e5.

17.h6 f6 18.a3 c5

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ +r+k+09+l+nwqp+p09pzp + vlpzP09+ zp zp + 0

9P+LzPP+ +09vL zP +N+ 09 + + zPP+09tR +QtR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

19.dxc5!

Andreikin takes an original decision

Anybody could play 19.d5 d6

20.c1 and claim a better game.

19...xc5 20.xc5

What, part with that bishop?

20...xc5 21.b3

A good win for Andreikin vs. Karjakin


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A direct attack against Blacks pawn

weaknesses justies it.

21...e7 22.ab1

XIIIIIIIIY

9r+ + +k+09+l+ trp+p09pzp + vlpzP09+ wq zp + 09P+L+P+ +09+QzP +N+ 09 + + zPP+09+R+ tR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

22...c622...c8 23.xb6 xb6 24.xb6 xc4

25.xf6 xc3 26.d1 c8 27.g5

looks grim. An attempt to pitch a

pawn and eel out into a salvageable

ending 22...b5 23.axb5 axb5 24.xb5

xb5 25.xb5 hits a snag, as Black is

suddenly having a hard time putting

a rook on the c-le without allowing

a nasty simplication, e.g. 25...c7

(or 25...c8 26.xb7 xb7 27.a6)

26.xb7 xb7 27.d5.

23.ed1 b8 24.d5 e8

24...xd5 25.xd5 c6 26.c4 is no

improvement.

25.c4 c7 26.a1 f8 27.b2 a5

27...e7 would walk right into

28.g5.

28.d3 g8 29.b3

Andreikin shows he can be patient.29...a7

(diagram)

30.e1

Finally he plays his trump card - the

shaky blockade on c5 is going to be

challenged.

30...d4

XIIIIIIIIY9 tr +l+k+09tr + +p+p09 zp + vlpzP0

9zp wqLzp + 09P+P+P+ +09+R+ +N+ 09 wQ + zPP+09tR + + mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

Or 30...c7 31.d3 d4 32.c5 xb2

33.xb2 but the endgame brings no

relief: 33...b5 34.axb5 xb5 35.xb5

xb5 36.xa5 with back rank issuesrecurring.

31.a2 e7?

Possibly, a time trouble induced

error. 31...c7

32.f3 c5 33.xe5 g5

33...f6 34.g4h8 35.f3

34.g4 d4

XIIIIIIIIY

9 tr +l+k+09tr + +p+p09 zp + +pzP09zp +L+ vl 09P+PwqP+N+09+R+ + + 09Q+ + zPP+09tR + + mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

White's advantage is now decisive,and Dmitry nishes in style once

Sergey feels obliged to open the

position up in search of counterplay.

35.c5! f8 36.c6 f5

What else to try?

37.f3 f7 38.e3 fxe4

38...xe3 39.fxe3 e5 (39...c5

40.b2) 40.a3+ g8 41.d1.

39.d1

Cleaner was 39.c2 c5 40.xf7+

xf7 41.xf7 e3 42.d1.

XIIIIIIIIY9 tr + mk +0

9tr + +l+p09 zpP+ +pzP09zp +L+ vl 09P+ wqp+ +09+ + sNR+ 09Q+ + zPP+09+ +R+ mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

39...c5

Black could have made some noisewith 39...xd1+ 40.xd1 exf3

forcing White to nd an instructive

queen maneuver: 41.a3+ g8

42.c3! xh6 (42...xd5 43.c7

43.c7 c8 44.xf7+ xf7 45.xf3+

g7 46.c3+! g8 47.h3 axc7

48.xh6 and the rest is obvious.

40.xe4 xh6 41.d7 xd7

42.cxd7 c1+ 43.h2

No need to continue: 43.h2 c7+

44.g3 xd7 45.d5 10

Yermolinsky-Neimer

SPICE Cup (St. Louis), 2013

This game started just hours after

suffered one of the strangest losses

of my career. My opponent, Raja

Panjwani, actually gained time onthe clock - thanks to the increment -

when I resigned on move 24. Little

knew I was about to return the favor

1.e4 c5 2.f3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4

a6 5.c3 c7 6.f3

(diagram)


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XIIIIIIIIY9rsnl+kvlntr09+pwqp+pzpp09p+ +p+ +0

9+ + + + 09 + sNP+ +09+ sN +Q+ 09PzPP+ zPPzP09tR vL mKL+R0xiiiiiiiiy

This odd-looking move was invented

by Ian Nepo (would you rather have

me use CTRL+C instead?) a few

years ago. In a variety of stylesIan scored four victories in four

games. A bombshell like that was

supposed to create a following,

but people remained unimpressed.

I guess they wrote White's success

off as a showcasing of Ian's talent,

rather than attribute it to quality

of the innovation. I took notice and

recommended this line to some of

my students.

6...f6

In reply to 6...c6 the original game,

Nepomniachtchi-Pikula, 2009 went

7.xc6 bxc6 8.g3!! xg3 9.hxg3

and Nepo went on to win a model

blockade game on the queenside,

augmented by the rook lift on the 4th

rank! In light of that one should take

a look at Charbonneaus innovation9...e5!?.

7.g5 e5

7...c6! is an interesting pawn

sacrice I was not going to accept!

8.000 would be my choice. (8.xc6

bxc6 9.xf6 gxf6 10.xf6 g8 gives

White too much headache.) 8...xd4

9.xd4 e5 10.e3 b5 with a typical

Sicilian battle looming large. One can

question Whites accomplishments

up to this point, but one thing speaks

in his favor: Black has been dragged

kicking and screaming into an

opposite-side castling setup the Kan

move order was designed to avoid.

8.e3b4 9.000xc3 10.bxc3

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnl+k+ tr09+p+p+pzpp09p+ +psn +09+ + wq + 09 + sNP+ +09+ zP vLQ+ 0

9P+P+ zPPzP09+ mKR+L+R0xiiiiiiiiy

10...xe4

10...00 11.d3 d6 12.b3 was

Nepomniachtchi-Rublevsky, Russian

Ch Supernal 2006. Its instructive

to see how safe the white king is

despite its broken pawn shield. Good

development and control over the

dark squares are obviously more

important here.

11.g3 00?

In a practical game one rejects

11...g6 on sight, once the reply

12.d6 is spotted. We can look

deeper. 12...e4 is a logical attempt

to dislodge the offending queen but

after (Instead 12...g4 goes after

Whites valuable bishop, which canbe saved by 13.c5 c6 14.xc6

bxc6 15.d4 with compensation.)

13.a3 c6 14.xc6 bxc6 15.d3 f5

16.f3 f6 17.g4 White already looks

near winning.

12.d3 g4

(diagram)

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnl+ trk+09+p+p+pzpp09p+ +psn +0

9+ + + + 09 + sN +q+09+ zPLvL wQ 09P+P+ zPPzP09+ mKR+ +R0xiiiiiiiiy

This looks like a reasonable choice

but it's only an illusion. The

previously seen 12...d5 13.f3

keeps the initiative rmly in White'shands.

13.g5!!

Shadows of Nepomniachtchis

original idea: the exchange on g3

opens up the h-le! Here Vitaly sank

into a long depressing think.

13...h5

13...c6 14.xf6 xg3 15.hxg3 gxf6

16.xh7 e8 17.dh1 f8 was one

defensive try worth looking into.

14.f3 xg3 15.hxg3 h7 16.xh5

I rejected the tempting 16.e7 on

account of the exchange sacrice

16...g6!? I felt it would be hard to

break through.

16...xg5 17.dh1 f5

IM Neimer can see the trouble

coming on the back rank, so he tries

to save a tempo on the followingline: 17...g6 18.h8+ g7 19.xf8

xf8 20.h8+ e7 21.xc8 f5 22.g4

along with avoiding 17...f6 18.h8+

f7 19.g6+ e7 20.xf8 xf8

21.h8+ e7 22.xc8 where Black is

totally hopeless.

18.xg5 c6 19.g4

Whites attack shows no sign on

letting up, and one error from Black


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is enough to bring the game to a

rapid conclusion.

19...e5?!

19...fxg4 20.xc6 bxc6 21.xg4 d5

22.h7 f7 23.gh4 f8 24.h8+

e7 25.g8 followed by doubling up

on the 8th rank.

20.gxf5 xd3+ 21.cxd3 e5 22.f6!

xf6 23.xe5 10

Vachier-Lagrave - Papaioannou

European Team Championship

(Warsaw), 2013

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 xd5 3.f3XIIIIIIIIY9rsnl+kvlntr09zppzp zppzpp09 + + + +09+ +q+ + 09 + + + +09+ + +N+ 09PzPPzP zPPzP09tRNvLQmKL+R0xiiiiiiiiy

I didn't know there was another way

of playing this position aside of the

automatic b1c3.

3...g4 4.e2 c6!?

A very principled decision - Black

ghts for the center. Say, he plays

indifferently. 4...f6 5.00 e6 6.d4

and now White retains an important

possibility of c2c4. This means that

we are going to get some kind of a

Slav structure, where Black has his

light-squared bishop developed, but

White has already pushed e3e4. No

easy equality is guaranteed.

5.00 000 6.h3 xf3

Obviously, a concession of sorts. One

wonders if Black can maintain thetension with 6...h5 In reply White

may try 7.c3 d7 8.b4!? as seen

in some games, but in my opinion

it amounts to hardly more than

psychological warfare should Black

stay the course with 8...f6 9.b5

xf3 10.xf3 d4 11.d3 f5.

7.xf3 d7 8.c3

Its not clear to me if White can

afford the luxury of 8.g3 as Black can

continue to occupy the center with

8...e5 9.d3 f5.

8...e5

XIIIIIIIIY9 +ktr vlntr09zppzpq+pzpp0

9 +n+ + +09+ + zp + 09 + + + +09+ zP +L+P09PzP zP zPP+09tRNvLQ+RmK 0xiiiiiiiiy

For the history of this obscure line

one has to refer to the game Short

Salov, Dos Hermanas 1997, wherethe ever-cautious Russian chose to

go after the bishop, 8...e5 9.d4

xf3+ 10.xf3 effectively accepting

a slightly worse position after 10..

e6 11.d2 d5 12.e2 f6 13.e1

d6 14.f3 h5 15.c4 c6.

9.e1 f6

Black doesnt have time for 9...f5

since he wont be getting anything

for the sacriced pawn after 10.xc6

xc6 11.xe5 d6 12.xf5 h6

13.f3 g5.

10.b4

Now, with a developing move in place

of the useless f7f5 Maxim wanted

no part of 10.xc6 xc6 11.xe5

d6 12.e2 he8 13.d4 a6 where

Whites material advantage is offset

by the activity of the black pieces.10...d6 11.d3 f5?

The resolute 11...e4!? 12.dxe4 he8

13.g5 e6 14.c1 h6 would have

been an interesting attempt to

exploit Whites lag in development.

12.a4!?

(diagram)

Vachier-Lagrave: particularly skillful in attacking the enemy king

BIEL

CHESS

FESTIVAL


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XIIIIIIIIY9 +ktr + tr09zppzp +pzpp09 +nvl sn +0

9+ + zpq+ 09QzP + + +09+ zPP+L+P09P+ + zPP+09tRNvL tR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

Vachier-Lagrave is particularly

skillful in attacking the enemy king.

Here he casually parts with a central

pawn in order to facilitate his play.12.e2 would give White a safe plus.

12...xd3 13.b5 b8 14.e3 f5

Papaioannou is trying to shut down

Whites terrible bishop, but rst he

has to move his queen to safety. The

time lost proves to be too costly. 14...

a6 15.c4 fd7 16.d1 g6 17.c3 f5

would have been a better try.

15.d2 c5

15...h5 would have covered the

dangerous g4square, but I dont

think Whites attack can be stopped

after 16.e4 g6 17.ad1! xe4

18.xe4 f5 19.d5.

16.e4 xe3 17.xe3 h5 18.xa7

d5 19.c5 xe3 20.xb7# 10

Kavutskiy-S.Atalik

Mid-America Open (St. Louis), 2013

I was playing a couple of boards

down and was totally taken by this

fascinating encounter. In my notes

I dipped rather heavily into Suat

Ataliks extensive analysis.

1.d4 f6 2.c4 g6 3.f3!?

We see this more and more often

lately. While in itself its a reasonable

move, I have always viewed it as a

particular weapon to annoy some

Grnfeld players who do not care at

all for the Benoni or the Kings Indian.

I doubt it would be very effective

against Garry Kasparov who felt at

home in all Indian structures.

3...e6!?

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl tr09zppzpp+p+p09 + +psnp+09+ + + + 09 +PzP + +09+ + +P+ 09PzP +P+PzP09tRNvLQmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy

According to GM Atalik there are

some advantages of this move.

Surprise value, maybe? Otherwise,

a combination of g7g6 and e7e6

looks suspect against White's central

strategy.

4.e4 d5 5.e5

White charges forward, perhaps, too

soon. The developing move 5.c3!

maintains the tension and practically

forces Black to go for 5...dxe4

(5...c5 is hardly an alternative on

account of 6.cxd5 exd5 7.g5! e7

8.e5 g8 9.e3! c6 10.b5 where

Black encounters severe difculties.)6.fxe4 e5 7.d5 Now Black has to

gure out some transpositions. He

may pretend hes playing against the

4.f3 line in the Nimzo, and proceed

with 7...c5 (7...g7 8.f3 00 is

a Four Pawns Kings Indian down a

tempo for Black.) 8.f3 00 9.g5

but then why is his pawn on g6?

5...h5 6.e3

Vitiugovs outrageous idea 6.f4!?

brings about an interesting position

after 6...h4+ (The sac can be

declined with 6...c5!? 7.cxd5 exd5

8.f3 c6) 7.g3 xg3 8.f3

h5 9.hxg3 xh1 10.c3 with

compensation.

6...dxc4?!

This move surrenders the e4 square

6...c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.c3 c6 9.b5

cxd4 10.xd4 a6 11.xc6+ bxc6

looks shaky for Black, but if he gets

to complete his development the

bishop pair will offer good chances.

7.g4 g7 8.c3Now this looks like a Queens Gambit

Accepted, the 3.e4 line gone terribly

wrong for Black. Wheres that crazy

guy who touched the g-pawn?

8...d7

8...h5!? 9.e4 b4+ 10.f2 d7

11.xc4 b6 12.b3 d7 13.g5

e7 14.f6 f8 15.g5 c6 16.e2

and White is clearly better.

9.e4 e7 10.d2 c6?

This allows White to establish a

mortal grip! 10...h5!?; 10...h4+

11.f2 c6 12.xc4 h5 13.000

xe4 14.fxe4 xf2 15.xf2 hxg4

16.g3 c5 with counterplay.

11.f6+ f8 12.h6

XIIIIIIIIY9rsn wq mk tr0

9zppzp vlpsnp09 +l+psNpvL09+ + zP + 09 +pzP +P+09+ + +P+ 09PzP wQ + zP09tR + mKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy

When I saw this position I thought


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January 2014

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Suat was going to lose one way or

another, but he was able to look past

his anchettoed knight, buried rook

and doomed king and create some

counterplay!

12...d7

12...xf6 13.exf6 xf6 14.g5 costs

the queen.

13.g5! b6

Not enough compensation after

13...xf6!? 14.gxf6 xf6 15.exf6

xf6 16.g5.

14.f4 b4+ 15.f2 c3 16.bxc3

xc3 17.d1 a4 18.e2 a5

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ wq mk tr09zppzp +psnp09 +l+psNpvL09vl + zP zP 09n+ zP wQ +09+ + +P+ 09P+ +NmK zP09+ +R+L+R0

xiiiiiiiiyUp to this point it was hard to nd

aw in Kavutskiy's forceful play.

19.h4

Perhaps too academic. It would be

nice to nish the game with some

artistic air: 19.d5 exd5 20.e6

e7 21.xg7+ xg7 22.e5 f8

23.xd5+.

19...g8 20.xg7+ xg7 21.h6b2 22.h3?

According to Suat this was the rst

step Kostya went wrong! 22.g2

xd1+ 23.xd1 a4 24.b1 b6

25.xh7++.

22...xd1+ 23.xd1 a4 24.b1

b6 25.b4?

25.xh7+ g8 26.f6+ xf6

27.gxf6 h7 and suddenly White is

about to lose the bishop. This must

have discouraged Kavutskiy from

looking a bit deeper. If he did he

for sure would have found 28.g5

xh3 29.f4 with crushing attack

after 29...h7 (29...xh2+ 30.g3

h7 31.xg6 fxg6 32.xg6+ h8

33.h1!+) 30.xg6 fxg6 31.xb6

axb6 32.xg6+ h8 33.f7+; 25.g2

c2 26.b2d3 27.xh7++.

25...c5!?

An attempt to swindle. 25...c6would have given White another

crack at 26.xh7+ g8 27.f6+

xf6 28.gxf6 h7 29.g5 xh3

30.f4 etc.

26.xa4 cxd4

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ wq mk +09zpp+ +ptrp0

9 vl +psNpwQ09+ + zP zP 09R+ zp + +09+ + +P+L09P+ +NmK zP09+ + + + 0xiiiiiiiiy

27.g2?

Another hesitation and Black charges

back into the game. White wasunable to calculate a put-away:

27.xh7+ g8 28.f6+ f8 29.f4

d3+ 30.g3 d2 31.h8+ e7 32.xg7

and the threat is xg6 mate.

27...d3!?

Realizing he was still lost Atalik kept

coming up with moves designed to

confuse his opponent.

28.xh7+ e7 29.xg7 dxe2 30.f4

e1+ 31.h1! g8 32.f6+ d7

32...e8 33.xe6 fxe6 34.f8+

xf8 35.xf8+ e7 36.xa8.

33.h4?

Kostya lost his way in time trouble

The endgame after 33.xf7+ xf7

34.xf7+ c6 35.xe6 d8 36.b3

d2 seems tricky, but once the white

knight returns, 37.f6! there will be

forks all over the place. 37...b5

(37...xf3 38.a4+ c5 39.e4++

37...f2 38.a4+ c5 39.e4++38.e4 g2 39.h4 g1+ 40.h2 g2+

41.h3g1 42.c3+ a5 43.e6 h2+

44.g3 g2+ 45.f4+ This is the way

White should have won the game.

33...d3 34.f1 f2+ 35.g2 d8

36.a4 c8 37.f4 d1!

Black is already playing for a win.

38.c1+ b8

Who would have thought the black

king would escape the execution

chamber on the kingside?

39.f6 f8 40.e4 a5!?

Ill give the rest of the moves without

annotations. The more experienced

grandmaster was able to take

advantage of further mistakes from

his frustrated opponent.

41.b5 f2 42.e2 h8! 43.xf2

xf2 44.xf2 xh2+ 45.e3 xe5+46.e4 d4 47.e1 b4 48.d1

c7 49.f2 b2+ 50.e3 a8

51.e8? e5!+ 52.f4 b6+ 53.f3

b3+ 54.g2 exf4 55.xf7 b2+

56.h3 e3+ 57.g4 g2+ 58.h4

a7!? 59.xg6 f3 60.d6 f2 01


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January 2014

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Topical Theory

Bobby Fischers 6.h3 against the NajdorfGM Danny Gormally

The little pawn move 6.h3 used to be a sideline that couldn't be

that bad, as it was played by Bobby Fischer.In recent years it has

become immensely popular, and this month GM Danny Gormally

will focus on one of Black's main replies, 6...e6.

VachierLagrave - AnandTata Steel (Wijk aan Zee), 2011

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4

f6 5.c3 a6 6.h3!?

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl tr09+p+ zppzpp09p+ zp sn +0

9+ + + + 09 + sNP+ +09+ sN + +P09PzPP+ zPP+09tR vLQmKL+R0xiiiiiiiiy

This line has become incredibly

popular in recent years, and contains

no small amount of venom. Of course

White players hoping to slay theNajdorf have tried a multitude of

sixth moves, including 6.e2, 6.c4,

6.g5 and 6.e3 just to name a few.

But of late 6.h3 has started to rival

all of these in popularity, particularly

amongst the top players.The idea

behind this move is to provoke an

early kingside pawn assault, which is

very dangerous for Black to handle.

In many games he simply becomessuffocated and runs out of moves, as

the white pawns march menacingly

up the board. But of course such

an approach is not without risk for

White either...

6...e6!

In my opinion this is the best reply.

Or at least the most ambitious.

Why? Well because it keeps as much

tension in the position as possible,

and leads to positions that hang on a

knife edge, exactly what the Sicilian

is all about! The other main move,

6...e5 we will look at in part two.

7.g4 e7 8.g2

The immediate 8.g5 is also possible.

8...fd7 9.h4 b5! the right approach,

activating the queenside; the bishop

goes to the long diagonal, puttingpressure on the e4 pawn.

a) 10.g2b7 11.00 c6 12.xc6

xc6 13.e3 h6 14.f4 hxg5 15.hxg5

b4 16.e2 e5! undermining the

powerful f4/g5 chain 17.a3 a5

18.d2 c5 With reasonable play

for Black in the game Bacrot-Giri,

Biel 2012

b) 10.a3b7 11.e3

XIIIIIIIIY9rsn wqk+ tr09+l+nvlpzpp09p+ zpp+ +09+p+ + zP 09 + sNP+ zP09zP sN vL + 09 zPP+ zP +0

9tR +QmKL+R0xiiiiiiiiy

b1) 11...b6!?Maybe this is the right

approach. Black wants to play the

other knight to e5 via d7, and ...c8

after which he will have total contro

over the important c4 square, and

good counterplay on the queenside

In many lines, once the black rook

reaches the c-le, an exchangesacrice on c3 will be threatened;

not only will this destroy the white

pawn structure on the queenside, but

it will also weaken the defense of the

e4 pawn. 12.g4 Highly aggressive

and typical of Yang-Fan. He wants to

play f4f5 and swamp Black on the

kingside. (12.d2 8d7 13.000

e5 looks ne for Black, who intends

PHOTO

WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Chess_Classic_2010_Gormally_03.jpg


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January 2014

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...c4) 12...8d7 13.f4 c8 14.h3

c4 15.xc4 xc4 16.000 c7

was an interesting game played in

a tournament that I also competed

in, this year in London. Interesting

because I was discussing this 6.h3

line with Longson in anticipation

of his game against Yang-Fan. Now

Black has a good position and should

have sacriced the exchange here

with 16...xc3! 17.bxc3 a5 with

excellent play, as the black knight is

ready to spring to b6 and c4, and the

White king is very exposed) 17.b1c5 18.f5 e5 19.f6 exd4 20.fxg7 g8

21.xd4 Even here Black was doing

well as Whites compensation for the

piece is slightly questionable, but

he later went wrong and lost in the

game Zhou-Longson, Purley 2013.

b2) 11...00 is another standard

reply. 12.d2 c6 13.000 xd4

14.xd4 c8 15.g1 e5 16.e3

c4 17.xc4 xc4 18.f4 It seems to

me White has got what he wanted

in this variation. His far-advanced

kingside pawns already threatened

to wreak great destruction in the

game Vallejo Pons-Topalov, Leon

2012.

8...fd7 9.e3 c6

XIIIIIIIIY

9r+lwqk+ tr09+p+nvlpzpp09p+nzpp+ +09+ + + + 09 + sNP+P+09+ sN vL +P09PzPP+ zPL+09tR +QmK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

10.e2

Normally the queen is played here.

The bishop defends d4 anyway, and

White would like to vacate the d-le

for his rook. However 10.d2 is a very

reasonable alternative that has been

played a few times. 10...00 11.00

Castling kingside in conjunction with

the plan of g4 may seem slightly

strange, however these pawns are

cramping Black and by no means is

White ruling out an attack on the

kingside in any case. (Nevertheless,

11.000 is more than playable)11...de5 12.b3 xd4 13.xd4 g6

14.e3 c7 15.e2 b5! 16.c4 (16.f4

b7 17.f5 h4 18.h1 exf5 19.gxf5

f6 can hardly be considered better

for White, but at least it leads to a

murky position) 16...bxc4 17.ac1

b7 18.xc4 d7 19.fc1 ac8 As

usual Magnus has shown the way, and

had carefully extinguished Whites

initiative in the game Howell-

Carlsen, London 2010; 10.00 00

11.f4 xd4 12.xd4 b5 13.d2b7

14.g5 c8 15.e2 c4 16.b3 c7

(Some cavemen might be tempted by

16...xe4 here. Black certainly has

excellent compensation after the

natural continuation 17.xe4 xe4

18.g3c6) 17.g3 a8 18.f5 fc8

19.ac1 c5 With an unclear gamein the encounter Caruana-Ivanchuk,

Wijk aan Zee 2010. As is typical for

this line, Black has a certain degree

of counterplay on the c-le, and is

exerting useful pressure against the

White e-pawn, but White also has

his chances on the kingside, starting

with the move 20.f6!?.

10...xd4 11.xd4 00 12.000!

XIIIIIIIIY9r+lwq trk+09+p+nvlpzpp09p+ zpp+ +09+ + + + 09 + vLP+P+09+ sN + +P09PzPP+QzPL+09+ mKR+ +R0xiiiiiiiiy

If White is going to play so

aggressively, and throw his pawns

forward on the kingside, for methis way of playing makes the most

sense. 12.00 b5 13.e5 d5 14.a3 c7

15.f4c5 16.e3xd4 17.xd4 Was

perfectly playable for White in the

game Hou Yifan-Wang Hao, Xinghua

Jiangsu 2009. There is nothing wrong

with castling kingside, but at the

same time why not just go for it?

12...b5

The Russian grandmaster Alexander

Morozevich chose a different way

of playing here: 12...c7!? A typica

move in the Sicilian, instigating

counterplay on the c-le. 13.f4 b8

14.a7 a8 15.d4 e8 Of course

Morozevich is not interested in a draw

at such an early stage of the game.

16.g5 b5 17.a3 b8 18.h4 b4 19.axb4

xb4 Now the half-open b-le givesBlack excellent counterplay. 20.h5

(The immediate 20.g6!? is not

impossible - Tal for one used this

idea extensively in some of his best

Sicilian slays. White opens up the

kingside as quickly as possible. 20..

fxg6 21.h5! looks quite dangerous

20...a5 21.b1 e5 22.c3 c5

23.g6 e6 24.d2? (24.e1! c8


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25.a3 was unclear) 24...c8!

25.f5? (25.a3 a4 is now good for

Black. This variation would have

been impossible if White had played

the queen to e1, as then he could

have just taken on b4. Now he loses

the queen to ...b3 check.) And now

25...a2! would have already have

been completely winning for Black

in the game Sandipan-Morozevich,

Zurich 2009.

13.e5 d5 14.f4

White can also try the enterprising

sacrice 14.xd5!? here. This isa very ambitious approach. 14...

exd5 15.xd5 b8 16.a7 (16.e6!?

fxe6 17.xe6+ h8 18.f4 probably

doesnt quite give enough for the

piece, but does look scary for Black.)

16...b7 17.xb7xb7 18.he1 c7

19.b1 c5 and Black had the better

of it, as his two pieces for the rook

are likely to prove more telling in

the long run in the game Movsesian-

Ponomariov, San Sebastian 2009.

14...b7

A typical position for this line, which

also resembles a line of the French

Defense. Now Black intends the

simple ...c8. He also has ideas of

...b4, where the normal response

a4 can be met with ...c6!

15.e3Taking the sting out of ...b4, as now

the knight can be re-routed to e2.

15.f5 b4! 16.a4 (16.b1 is possible

but looks rather horrible, 16...g5+

17.d2 a5 intending ...a4 and ...b3

with a quick squash) 16...c6 17.b3

xa4 18.bxa4 a5 is not a happy

situation for White.

15...c8

15...b4 16.a4c6 17.b6.

16.b1 c7 17.c1

This looks rather passive, but of

course White had no wish to create

any weaknesses on the queenside.

17.a3 a5! in any case renews the

threat of ...b4.

17...c5 18.e2 a5 19.c3 a6

20.c2 b6 21.hc1 b4!

XIIIIIIIIY9 +r+ trk+09+ +n+pzpp09lwq +p+ +09zp vlpzP + 09 zp vL zPP+09+ zP wQ +P09PzPR+N+L+09+KtR + + 0xiiiiiiiiy

Black's counterplay has arrived

just in time. This position rather

resembles a variation of the 3.c3

French; White has something of a

blockade on d4, but with the knight

on e2 targeted by the bishop on a6,

it's hard to maintain the status quo.

22.cxb4 xd4 23.xd4 xc2

24.xc2 axb4

The position is balanced.

25.f5 c8 26.xc8+ xc8 27.g5!?

XIIIIIIIIY

9 +l+ +k+09+ +n+pzpp09 wq +p+ +09+ +pzPPzP 09 zp sN + +09+ + wQ +P09PzP + +L+09+K+ + + 0xiiiiiiiiy

27...f8

This looks rather passive, but in

fact avoids any potential disasters

The machine at rst recommends

27...a6 but rather changes its mind

when it sees the strong sacrical idea

28.fxe6 fxe6 29.xd5! exd5 30.e6

c5 31.e7 g6+ 32.a1 e4 33.f4

which is very dangerous for Black.

28.h4 exf5 29.xd5 g6 30.b3 b7

31.e6 xe6 32.xe6 h1+ 33.c2

h2+ 34.b1 h1+

Now lets look at one of the most

important lines, 7...d5!?.

Anand-Gelfand

Zurich, 2013

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4

f6 5.c3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 d5!?

An important move to consider. This

is the most forcing response that

usually leads to Black freeing his

position. Although this should appea

to those sort of players who like

active piece play, in general I fee

Fischer played 6.h3 a few times

back in the 1960s


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January 2014

14 of 34


White should gain an edge in this line

without much risk.

8.exd5 xd5 9.de2 h5!?

Trying to resolve the situation on

the kingside. 9...b4 is probably

the most common approach. The

main idea of this is to prevent White

capturing on d5, thus laboring Black

with an isolated d-pawn. 10.g2 00

11.00

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwq trk+09+p+ +pzpp0

9p+ +p+ +09+ +n+ + 09 vl + +P+09+ sN + +P09PzPP+NzPL+09tR vLQ+RmK 0xiiiiiiiiy

a) 11...xc312.xc3 c7 (12...c6

is possible of course, but this enables

White to take it into a endgame

where he holds a pleasant edge

with very little risk. 13.xd8

xd8 14.a4 e5 15.c3 e7 16.b6

b8 17.xc8 bxc8 18.e3 This is

rather a dream endgame for White,

as the presence of the two bishops

ensures him a large advantage. He

went on to win in Alekseev-Karjakin,

Nalchik 2009.) 13.e4 c6 14.c3e7 The difference between this

and the Karjakin game is that Black

has more counter-chances, as his

king is slightly less exposed than its

counterpart. 15.f4 f5! 16.gxf5 xf5

17.e3 d7 gave Black more than

enough in the game Shirov-Vachier

Lagrave, Biel 2011.

b) 11...xc312.xc3 xc3 13.bxc3

c7 White has this rather mangled

pawn structure on the queenside,

but this doesnt trouble him much;

the open lines he gains for his two

bishops are more than compensation.

14.b1 Its important to prevent

the d7c6 maneuver. If Black can

exchange the light-squared bishops

he would stand better, as the open

nature of the White kingside could

become an issue. So this is a useful

prophylactic measure against that

plan. (White has a lot of choice here,

for example 14.a3 d8 15.f3)14...c6 (14...xc3 looks like an

extremely risky pawn grab, but may

actually be playable. For example

15.b3 c7 16.a3 d8 17.d3

which is fairly unclear.) 15.e3 b5

16.c4 d8 17.e2 b4 18.c3!? with

slightly better chances for White

in Adams-Vachier Lagrave, Paris/St

Petersburg 2013.

10.g5 d6 11.xd5 exd5 12.g2

00!?

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwq trk+09+p+ +pzp 09p+ vl + +09+ +p+ zPp09 + + + +09+ + + +P09PzPP+NzPL+09tR vLQmK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

A very interesting idea by Boris,

which was surely the product of

intense preparation. Possibly a by-

product of their world championship

clash even. Black is happy to gambit

a pawn, as the time he will gain in

return, plus the weaknesses that

White has on the kingside, means he

thinks there is likely to be more than

enough compensation.

13.00

Nevertheless it was possible to grab

the pawn: 13.xd5 c6 14.e3e6

15.d2 when Black has some play

for the pawn, but its questionable

that its quite enough.

13...c6 14.xd5 e6 15.f3 e8

16.e3 c4 17.fe1 b4 18.ac1

18.d4!? g6 19.d2

18...e5 19.c3 xc3 20.bxc3 d521.xh5 xg2 22.xg2 d5+

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ +r+k+09+p+ +pzp 09p+ + + +09+ +q+ zPQ09 sn + + +09+ zP vL +P0

9P+P+ zPK+09+ tR tR + 0xiiiiiiiiy

23.g1?

23.f3! xf3+ 24.xf3 xa2 25.b1

xc3 26.xb7 would have given

serious chances.

23...c6 24.ed1 xa2 25.g6 fxg6

26.xg6 f7 27.xf7+ xf7 28.b1

b5 29.c4 b4 30.c3 bxc3 31.bc1ed8 32.xd8 xd8 33.xc3 a5

34.f1 e6 35.e2 h8 36.b6

h4 37.e3+

Despite the extra pawn White has no

real way of making progress - Black is

too solidly placed in the center.

37...f5 38.a3 xc4 39.xa5 xa5

40.xa5+ f6 41.a6+ f5 42.f3


15/34

January 2014

15 of 34


Carlsen-Gelfand

Amber-blindfold (Nice), 2008

Finally I want to look at what happens

if Black goes for the anchetto on

the queenside with 7...b5; this is one

of the most popular ways of meeting

the 6.h3 Najdorf, as it enables Black

to quickly mobilize the queenside.

1.e4 c5 2.f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.xd4

f6 5.c3 a6 6.h3 e6

The immediate 6...b5!? is also

worthy of a mention. Black doesnt

even bother with the preliminary...e6. 7.d5!?

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl tr09+ + zppzpp09p+ zp sn +09+p+N+ + 09 + sNP+ +09+ + + +P0

9PzPP+ zPP+09tR vLQmKL+R0xiiiiiiiiy

because Black hasn't played ...e6

yet, White immediately takes the

opportunity to sharpen up the

game. 7...b7 (7...bd7?? would be

catastrophic because of 8.c6!; 7...

e6 8.xf6+ xf6 however is possible.

9.a4 b4 10.a5 b7 11.d3 andWhite holds a nagging edge, as b4 is

potentially weak) 8.xf6+ gxf6 9.c4

bxc4 10.xc4xe4 11.00 d5 12.e1

e5? One too many pawn moves in the

opening gets the natural optimist

Najdorf into trouble. (The computer

suggests 12...xg2! here, but they

didnt play that way back then!)

13.a4+ d7 14.xe4! from this

move onward, Fischers every move

is the rst choice of the engine!

Doubtless if such a game were

played today, suspicious eyebrows

would be raised... No wonder that

he had a reputation as the human

computer. It is worth giving this

attacking masterpiece in full: 14...

dxe4 15.f5 c5 16.g7+ e7

17.f5+ e8 18.e3! xe3 19.fxe3

b6 20.d1 a7 21.d6!+ d8

22.b3 c7 23.xf7+ d8 24.e6

10 Fischer-Najdorf, Varna Olympiad1962.

7.g4 b5!?

An ambitious way to play - Black

seeks to put the bishop on its natural

diagonal to combat the strength of

Whites own anchettoed bishop on

g2. But this does require accurate

play.

8.g2 b7

XIIIIIIIIY9rsn wqkvl tr09+l+ +pzpp09p+ zppsn +09+p+ + + 09 + sNP+P+09+ sN + +P09PzPP+ zPL+09tR vLQmK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

9.00

White can also play the less ambitious

but seemingly equally good, 9.a3

but as we shall see, White doesnt

really have to fear the move ...b4.

9...e7 10.00 fd7 This may look

slightly odd, but White now has a

threat of e5. 11.f4! 00 (11...c6

is a possible improvement. Whites

set-up may look very scary, but

in the Sicilian there are many

defensive resources, and in any case

this at least slows down the plan

of 12.f5 which can now be met by

12...xd4 13.xd4 00 when White

doesnt have any pressure against

e6, so Black is not forced to play this

unfortunate ...e5 move.) 12.f5 e5 A

strategic concession, but how else

was White to meet the threat to e6?

13.b3 c6 14.d5 c8 15.c3 h416.a4! and with a lovely bind on d5

White could happily chip away at the

black queenside in the game Ehlvest-

Amanov, Philadelphia 2011.

9...h6

Holding up the kingside assault, but

creating some potential weaknesses

on the kingside, if White can ever get

through the move g5, then he may be

able to play g6 as well and weaken

the crucial e6 square. 9...c6!?

seems both solid and logical. 10.xc6

(Its worth mentioning that 10.e5

isnt quite as crushing as it looks;

10...xd4! 11.xb7?! dxe5! 12.xa8

xa8 with plenty of action for the

exchange.) 10...xc6 11.e1 d7

XIIIIIIIIY

9r+ wqkvl tr09+ +n+pzpp09p+lzpp+ +09+p+ + + 09 + +P+P+09+ sN + +P09PzPP+ zPL+09tR vLQtR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy


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12.d5 (Perhaps White should start

with 12.a4!? as after 12...b4 (12...

bxa4 13.xa4 and White can play

b3, b2. The black a-pawn is also

potentially weak in the long-run.)

13.d5! there is a threat to the

b-pawn.) 12...b7 13.d4 e5 14.f4

c6 15.f2?! (15.b6 was safer.)

15...exd5 16.exd5+ e7 17.a4 and

although White has some punting

chances for the piece, objectively

Black should have been better in

the game Carlsen-Dominguez Perez,

Biel 2008. And they say Magnus is aboring endgame player!; 9...b4 This

is perhaps the key line, but it seems

to be scoring well for White. 10.d5!

XIIIIIIIIY9rsn wqkvl tr09+l+ +pzpp09p+ zppsn +09+ +N+ + 0

9 zp sNP+P+09+ + + +P09PzPP+ zPL+09tR vLQ+RmK 0xiiiiiiiiy

Of course White has no intention of

meekly retreating, which would hang

the e-pawn, but dares to go forward.

This discovery seems to me to put

the idea of 9...b4 to bed. Black winsa piece but the threats and pressure

that White gains in return more than

compensate - plus, from a practical

point of view, it's horrible to play

for the defender. 10...exd5 11.exd5

e7 12.g5 fd7 13.c6! This is the

problem. The knight can hardly be

tolerated here, but to take would

lead to even greater disaster; the

bishop on g2 would be unleashed,

with devastating consequences.

13...c7 14.xe7 xe7 15.e1+!

is probably even stronger. (15.d4

f6 16.e1+ d8 17.xb4 e5 with

a murky game in Parligras-Kurnosov,

Bucharest 2008.) 15...f8 (15...d8!

16.e3 isnt completely clear, but

White has ideas of crowbarring the

queenside open with moves like a3

and c3, and Black may well be mated

long before his extra piece holds anyvalue...) 16.e2 even the computer

likes White here. 16...d8 17.f4

e5 18.xe5 dxe5 19.xe5 White

already has two pawns plus a raging

initiative for the piece, and the game

did not last much longer in Karjakin-

Van Wely, Nice 2008. 9...bd7!?

looks like a solid alternative. Black

should certainly avoid the extremely

casual 9...e7?? as after the typical

reply 10.e5! White is close to winning

already.

10.e1

XIIIIIIIIY9rsn wqkvl tr09+l+ +pzp 09p+ zppsn zp09+p+ + + 0

9 + sNP+P+09+ sN + +P09PzPP+ zPL+09tR vLQtR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

10...e5?!

Far from me to criticize a former

world championship challenger, but

this seems to be like a red rag to a

bull. Having already wasted a move

with ...e6, this seems to not only

lose time, but to lure the knight to

a very useful square on f5 where it

can also be recycled around to e5,

clamping down on the d5 square.

11.f5 g6 12.e3 bd7 13.a4 b4

14.cd5 xd5 15.xd5 a5 16.c3

bxc3 17.bxc3 e7 18.b1 c6

19.f1 h5 20.b5 xb5 21.xb5

hxg4 22.hxg4 h4?

This move turns out to be ratherpointless. Black should have

immediately tried to challenge this

monster knight on d5 with 22...f6

Which would have minimized his

disadvantage.

23.f3 f6 24.b7!

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ wqk+ tr09+R+ +p+ 09 + zp snp+09zp +Nzp + 09P+ +P+Pvl09+ zP +Q+ 09 + + zP +09+ vL tR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

The point - Black can't now take on

d5 because of the mate.

24...c8 25.g5! xd5 26.xf7+d8 27.exd5 g4+ 28.f1

White easily sidesteps the checks.

28...h3+ 29.e2 g4+ 30.d3

f5+ 31.xf5 gxf5 32.h1 c8

33.f7 10


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Bent Larsens 1.b3GM Viktor Moskalenko

Bent Larsen's 1.b3 is another move that has become popular quite

recently. Players like Hikaru Nakamura and Baadur Jobava, active

at the Tata Steel tournament as we speak, have tried it and so this

is a good moment for GM Viktor Moskalenko to dive into it!

Bent Larsen (19352010), one of the

best players in the world in the 60s,

a chess romantic of the 20th century,was above all a very creative player

who pioneered unusual openings

in order to pose problems for his

opponents from the rst moves.

One of these special openings that

Larsen played regularly was 1.b3,

while history has added his name to

this interesting pawn move (in some

publications is called Nimzowitsch-

Larsen Opening).

In this article, we will know a little

more White and Black strategy

behind 1.b3, with special attention

to critical positions that happen

once Black occupies the center with

his pawns.

Before going into detail, it should be

claried that more than ve thousandregistered database games have

been played. Many grandmasters

have occasionally used this opening,

which is extremely exible and

does not require lot of theoretical

knowlege. Recently, it has been

quite popular in speed and classical

games by players like Nakamura and

Jobava.

The basic idea after anchetto b3

b2 is dominating the long diagonal

a1h8, avoiding the most knownopenings and exiting theory quickly.

So White forces his opponent to think

from the rst move. Meanwhile, he

will attack the black center from a

distance, in good hypermodern style

(Rti), similar to the Modern/Pirc

defense with Black.

But what about strategy? As we will

see in the commented games, the

knowledge of the pawn structures is

the key to success in Larsen Opening!

In addition to the slight theoretical

explanation, you can enjoy several

recent games, including the lines:

Game 1(Jobava-Nakamura) 1.b3 e5

2.b2 c6 3.e3 d5Game 2 (Petrosian-Vishnu) 1.b3 e5

2.b2 c6 3.e3 f6

Game 3(Moskalenko-Vallejo) 1.b3 d5

2.e3 e5!

Game 4 (Jobava-Ma Qun) 1.b3 d5

2.b2!?

The latter is rather an illustrated

game, which also shows some typical

Black and White options.

Jobava-Nakamura

World Mind Games Blindfold

(Beijing), 2012

1.b3!?

Remarkably, GM Jobava played 1.b3

in Beijing 2012 all the time, in al

kind of chess, scoring three points

out of four against strong opponents

1...e5

This is the rst and most logical of

Blacks responses as it closes the

diagonal a1h8 and allows quick

development.

2.b2

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvlntr09zppzpp+pzpp09 + + + +09+ + zp + 09 + + + +09+P+ + + 09PvLPzPPzPPzP09tRN+QmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy

2...c6

Practice shows that this defense is

superior, in order to play 3...d5 or

3...f6 on the next move. 2...d6

3.e3 (In the same tournament White


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also used a double anchetto: 3.g3

- see the games Kamsky-Bologan

and Kamsky-Giri, Beijing 2012.) 3...

c5 (Or 3...g6 4.d4 g7 5.dxe5 d7

6.c3!? Jobava-Guseinov, Fujairah

City 2012) 4.d4!? (4.e2 f6

5.bc3 Jobava-Bologan, Beijing

2012) 4...cxd4 5.exd4 exd4 6.f3

Jobava-Bologan, Beijing 2012

3.e3!?

The true Larsen plan begins -

preparingb5.

3...d5

The most popular and ambitiousmove, trying to occupy the center

with two pawns. A safer alternative

is 3...f6 with the idea 4.b5d6!?

- see the next game.

4.b5!

Threatening the e5pawn. Any other

option simply loses the initiative and

cannot be recommended.

4...d6

XIIIIIIIIY9r+lwqk+ntr09zppzp +pzpp09 +nvl + +09+L+pzp + 09 + + + +09+P+ zP + 09PvLPzP zPPzP09tRN+QmK sNR0xiiiiiiiiy

5.f4!?

The funny, popular line. With this

move White raises his direct attack

via diagonal a1h8. It weakens

his own kingside a little, but with

correct play White doesnt need to

be alarmed. The following play is

very interesting; lets explore and

investigate. A solid alternative is

5.f3 while the legendary Bent

Larsen tried 5.c4 dxc4 6.f3 against

Caferty in Teeside 1972.

5...h4+

Black includes the check, in order to

weaken Whites kingside.

a) 5...e7?! 6.f3 keeps the

initiative.

b) 5...exf4? capturing of the pawn

on f4 is bad for Black: 6.xg7 h4+

7.f1 with a decisive advantage; the

black rook is doomed.c) 5...f6!? This alternative

immediately lead to a complex

position: 6.h5+ (Interesting and

little explored is 6.h3!? with the

idea of 6...xh3?! 7.h5+! g6 8.xh3

with domination over the white

squares) 6...g6 7.h4 and after a

useful queen maneuver the a1h8

diagonal is weakened. 7...exf4 and

now 8.f3! is my recommendation,

playing in gambit style: sacrice the

center pawns in order to continue

the development. Many white pieces

will be involved in a direct attack on

the black king. (However, 8.exf4!? is

also possible.)

6.g3 e7 7.f3

XIIIIIIIIY

9r+l+k+ntr09zppzp wqpzpp09 +nvl + +09+L+pzp + 09 + + zP +09+P+ zPNzP 09PvLPzP + zP09tRN+QmK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

As you can see, the pressure on the

e5 is the key in this variation.

7...f6

The main alternative is 7...g4!?

8.fxe5 from here on, Black has

to be wary, to avoid the traps and

snares that exist in these positions:

8...xe5 The only move. (8...xf3?

9.exd6! e4 10.c3! and Whites

advantage is decisive) 9.xe5 xf3

10.xf3 xe5 11.c3 (11.d4!? e6

12.00 f6 13.c4! is an interesting

idea, Blatny-Blazkova, Litomys

2004) 11...f6 12.xc6+ bxc6 13.00and White had a slight advantage

due to presence of the two doubled

pawns on the c-le - Ljubojevic-

Portisch, Teeside 1972.

8.c3!

The modern continuation (suggested

by the well-known chess writer John

Watson), attacking the pawn on d5

rst, and then continue fxe5 and e2

e4!

XIIIIIIIIY9r+l+k+ntr09zppzp wq zpp09 +nvl zp +09+L+pzp + 09 + + zP +09+PsN zPNzP 09PvLPzP + zP09tR +QmK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

The old attempt 8.fxe5 fxe5 9.xe5?

(9.xc6+ bxc6 10.xe5 f6! with

counterplay) 9...xe5 10.xc6+ fails

to 10...d8! and Black is better now

(avoiding 10...bxc6? 11.h5+).

8...d4N


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A curious idea, even if Black is

somewhat worse objectively after

this move.

a) Normal is 8...e6 where White

has a choice between a number of

options: 9.00!? (Or, 9.fxe5 fxe5

10.d4!? e4 11.e5 xe5 12.h5+!)

9...h6 10.fxe5 fxe5 11.e4! with the

initiative for White.

b) In some games Black has opted

for 8...f7!? 9.00 (9.e4! see line

on move 10) 9...e4? (9...exf4)

10.e5! was a winning blow,

Gonzalez Vericat-Perpinya Rofes,

Badalona 2013.

9.d5!?

Certainly, there were alternativessuch as 9.e4 dxe3 10.fxe5! with

a strong initiative. Or, the engines

9.exd4!? exd4+ 10.e2 with a slight

advantage.

9...f7 10.fxe5

Also playable is 10.e4!? ge7

11.fxe5 fxe5 12.00 h5 13.e2 h6

Karlsson-Lindberg, Stockholm 2007.

And now 14.h4! with the initiative.

10...fxe5

XIIIIIIIIY9r+l+k+ntr09zppzp +qzpp09 +nvl + +09+L+Nzp + 0

9 + zp + +09+P+ zPNzP 09PvLPzP + zP09tR +QmK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

11.00?

This sacrice is suspicious, but OK

for rapid or blindfold chess. Now

extremely sharp play begins. 11.e4!?;

11.c4!?11...xd5! 12.c4 a5

Engines prefer 12...c5 but again,

in a variation like 13.g5 dxe3

14.h1 anything may happen, even

in classical chess.

13.g5 h6

13...f6!? 14.xf6 gxf6 15.h5+ and

now 15...d7! was ne for Black.

14.h5+ d8 15.f7!?

Jobava continuing in the same

adventurist style.

15...xd2

An important deviation for Black

here was to include rst 15...g4

16.h4 c8 17.xg7 and only now

17...xd2!

16.af1

Objectively preferable was 16.xg7

xe3+ 17.g2! d2+ 18.g1! with

a probable draw.

16...xe3+ 17.g2

XIIIIIIIIY

9r+lmk + tr09zppzp +Rzpp09 +nvl + sn09+ + zp sNQ09 +Lzp + +09+P+ wq zP 09PvLP+ +KzP09+ + +R+ 0xiiiiiiiiy

17...g4!? 18.h4 c8 19.xg7 f8

20.c1?!

Again White could have played for a

draw: 20.xh6! d2+ 21.g1=

20...c3 21.f7 xc2+ 22.g1

xf7?!

The strongest move for Black was

22...c5 23.xh6d7 with the idea

of 24.e6 b8! 25.xd7 e4!! but

who could have seen it!?23.xg4+ b8 24.gxf7

White has compensation. Now Black

selected the wrong square for his

rook.

24...e8?

He had to play 24...d8 25.g5 g6

25.e6!?

25.a3! was winning for White.

25...d8!

Georgian GM Baadur Jobava is one of the main experts on 1.b3 these days

PETER

DOGGERS


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Not 25...xe6?? 26.f8+ and the

black king gets checkmated.

26.g5 a6 27.7f2 c3 28.xd8

xd8 29.d7 c6 30.xh7 a7

31.g2 b4 32.a3 c6 33.e4

xa3 34.h4 h8 35.f3?!

Around here White still had an

advantage. Possible was 35.c2 a5

36.a2! b4 37.xa3 xa3 38.xe5

with a clear advantage.

35...a5 36.h3 d6 37.f7 d2

38.1f6 b4 39.d7 a5 40.d5

b5 41.df7 d8 42.f3?!

White misses a strong counterstrikeby his opponent.

42...b4 43.c4 xc4 44.bxc4

xc4 45.g4?! d5!? 46.xd5 xd5

47.g5

The nal mistake. But, White is

clearly in trouble after 47.xc7 e4

48.ff7 a5! 49.xb7+ a6 is winning.

47...d3 48.f1 e4 49.g6?! e3+

XIIIIIIIIY9 + + + +09mkpzp +R+ 09p+ + +P+09+ +r+ + 09 vl + + zP09+ +pzp +K09 + + + +09+ + +R+ 0

xiiiiiiiiyBlack's pawns are too strong.50.g7 d8

Incredibly, Black is winning also after

50...e2 51.g8d2!

51.xc7 e2 52.ff7 b6 53.xb7+

a5 54.bd7 e1 55.xd8 e6+

56.g3 d6+ 57.g2 g6+ 58.h3

A truly titanic ght, despite

numerous inaccuracies by both sides.

I cannot say that I understood much

about this game while analyzing it in

the express mode, but was denitely

happy to do it, commented GM

Mikhail Golubev on the Internet.01

Petrosian-Vishnu

Fujairah Masters, 2012

1.b3

The young Armenian GM Tigran

Petrosian is also a great fan of the

Larsen Opening.

1...e5 2.b2 c6 3.e3 f6!?XIIIIIIIIY9r+lwqkvl tr09zppzpp+pzpp09 +n+ sn +09+ + zp + 09 + + + +09+P+ zP + 09PvLPzP zPPzP0

9tRN+QmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiyWith this important alternative

Black prefers a quick development.

However, afterb5 and the exchange

xthe position may become static,

which favors White.

4.b5!

Again White goes for the true Larsen

setup as in the previous game.Another option is to transpose to

the English Opening with 4.c4. Also

interesting is 4.f3 e4 (4...d6 5.d4

e4 6.fd2 Gonzalez Rodriguez-

Moskalenko, Catalonia tt 2012)

5.e5 xe5 6.xe5 d5 7.d4 exd3

8.cxd3d6 9.xd6 xd6 and a draw

was agreed in Gonzalez Rodriguez-

Moskalenko, Sitges 2000.

4...d6!?

XIIIIIIIIY9r+lwqk+ tr0

9zppzpp+pzpp09 +nvl sn +09+L+ zp + 09 + + + +09+P+ zP + 09PvLPzP zPPzP09tRN+QmK sNR0xiiiiiiiiy

A little strange move, but the idea is

to meetxc6 with ...dxc6, otherwiseBlack plays ...00, ...e8 and ...f8

preparing ...d7d5.

5.a3!?

As a matter of fact, nowadays this

is the most principled line. The

immediate exchangexis already

possible: 5.xc6 dxc6 6.d3 00 7.d2

e8 8.e4 (8.gf3!?) 8...d7 9.e2

hoping for f2f4 later, Nakamura

Ponomariov, Saint Louis 2011.

5...a6

This recalls the Ruy Lopez move

a) 5...a5!?shows that chess is far

from being played out: 6.f3 c6 (6..

a6 see below) 7.e2 e7 with an

unclear position where both knights

are badly placed on the rim!

b) 5...e7 leads to creative play

6.e2 (6.c4 d6 7.xc6+ bxc6 8.e2Jobava-Jakovenko, Rhodes 2013

6...00 7.c4 e4 8.xc6 bxc6 9.00

Jobava-Bacrot, Fujairah City 2012

c)After 5...e46.e2e5 7.c1 e7

(similar is 7...00 8.h3 e7 9.xc6

xb2 10.xb2 dxc6 Jobava-Aronian

Beijing 2012) 8.xc6!? dxc6

(diagram)


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XIIIIIIIIY9r+l+k+ tr09zppzp wqpzpp09 +p+ sn +09+ + vl + 09 + +p+ +09sNP+ zP + 09PvLPzPNzPPzP09tR wQ mK +R0xiiiiiiiiy

the pawn structure is better for

White: 9.c4 xb2 10.xb2 e6

11.g3 000 12.a3!? xa313.xa3 d6 14.f3!? hd8 15.000

exf3 16.gxf3 and White won an

important and nice technical game

on move 84, Nakamura-Jones,

London Classic 2013.

6.e2

An ambitious retreat, after which

the game takes its independent

(but complex) course. The exchange

6.xc6!? is more in the spirit of the

opening (as in the above lines): 6...

dxc6 7.c4 e7 8.e2 00 9.00

e4 10.xd6 cxd6 11.g3 d5 12.f3

and White was slightly better in

Petrosian-Naroditsky, Golden Sands

2012

6...a5

6...e4!?

7.c47.f3 GM Baadur Jobava in his games

twice preferred this move: 7...e7

8.b1 00 9.d4 exd4 10.xd4 e5

11.c3= Jobava-Karjakin, Beijing

2012 and Jobava-Andriasian, Fujairah

City 2012.

7...00

7...c5 8.g4is another ingenious idea

like in the main game, Bernadskiy-

Nevednichy, Albena 2013.

8.c2 c6 9.g4!?

A spectacular advance. Each other

move would keep a solid position, but

now the game becomes completely

unbalanced.

9...b5 10.g5 e4 11.h4 b7 12.f3

f5 13.d3 c5 14.d5+ h8 15.d4

exd4 16.exd4 e8+ 17.f1 e4?

18.c5 f8 19.e2 d6 20.f4+

XIIIIIIIIY9r+ wqrvl mk09+lzp + zpp0

9p+nzp + +09+pzPL+pzP 09 + zPnsN zP09+P+ + + 09PvLN+ zP +09tR +Q+K+R0xiiiiiiiiy

In this still complicated position

White has a couple of deadly threats

- 21.g6+ hxg6 22.h5 and 21.h5.

Black had to deal with them by

playing 20...a5 or 20...dxc5, but

he went astray:

20...g6?? 21.xc6! 10

Jobava-Ma Qun

Fujairah Masters, 2012

1.b3 f6

Of course, the order of rst moves

may be variable.

a) An important line is is 1...d5

2.b2!? (instead of anterior 2.e3

e5!) 2...g4!? (Interestingly, 2...e6

3.e4!? transposes to the Reti/PapaGambit - C00!)

XIIIIIIIIY9rsn wqkvlntr09zppzp zppzpp09 + + + +09+ +p+ + 09 + + +l+09+P+ + + 0

9PvLPzPPzPPzP09tRN+QmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy

Hikaru Nakamura played 1.b3 three times at the 2013 London Chess Classic


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3.f3 (3.f3 xf3 4.gxf3!? with

reversed Trompowsky motives)

3...h5 (3...f5 4.e3 e6 5.f4 is a

similar set-up to the main game,

Jobava-Navara, Rhodes 2013.)

4.e4!? (4.h4N Creative! 4.h3 is

also interesting and examined in the

book Play 1.b3!by IM Ilya Odessky.)

4...dxe4 5.e2! with the tricky

idea of b5+, winning the black

bishop on h5. This was also recently

popularised by Odessky, who named

this line The Litis Gambit.

b) 1...b6!?would be a symmetricalline, used by some GMs as Anti-

Larsen: 2.b2 b7 3.e3 (Curiously,

3.c3 c6 4.d4 d5 5.e3 e6 6.d2

d7 7.000 000 8.b1 b8 9.f3

and now Black changed the rumbo

rst by playing 9...g6 Jobava-Kamsky,

Beijing Blitz 2012) 3...e6

XIIIIIIIIY

9rsn wqkvlntr09zplzpp+pzpp09 zp +p+ +09+ + + + 09 + + + +09+P+ zP + 09PvLPzP zPPzP09tRN+QmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy

4.c3 An unusual plan, or at leastan unusual move order. (4.f3 f6

5.c3 Jobava-Yilmaz, Moscow,

Aeroot rapid 2013) 4...c5 5.ge2!?

f6 6.d4 e7 7.d2 00 8.000

which is extremely unclear, Jobava-

Giri, Beijing 2012.

2.b2 d5

Or, for instance 2...g6 3.xf6exf6

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl tr09zppzpp+p+p09 + + zpp+09+ + + + 09 + + + +09+P+ + + 09P+PzPPzPPzP09tRN+QmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy

The position is similar to the

Trompowsky Opening with lots of

strategy! A very nice and creativegame went 4.c4g7 5.c3 f5 6.c1

00 7.g3 e8 8.g2 f4 9.gxf4 h4

10.f1xc3 11.xc3 xf4 12.h4 d6

13.h5 c6 14.h3 d4 15.e3 f6

16.f4 e7 17.f3 g5 18.h3

c6 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.xc8 axc8

21.h5! (21.e4!?) 21...f5 22.d3

f7 23.f4 cd8 24.h7+ f6

25.d1 10 Jobava-Mamedyarov,

Beijing 2012. Or 3.e3c6. I chose this

game for its attractiveness. More

frequent is 3...e6 4.f3 (4.f4 is

also typical; Or, a bit shocking 4.g4

h6! 5.g2 d6 6.h4 e5 7.g5 hxg5

8.hxg5 xh1 9.xh1 g4 10.xd5

c6 11.c4 xg5 12.f3 f6 13.h1

draw, Ibarra Jerez-Moskalenko, Villa

Salou 2012.) 4...e7 (In my own

game, I preferred 4...d6!? 5.d400 6.d3 b6 7.00 b7= Gonzalez

Rodriguez-Moskalenko, Montcada

2005) 5.d4 00 6.d3 c5 7.00 c6

8.a3 b6 9.bd2 b7 10.dxc5 bxc5

11.c4 a5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.c2 g6

14.ad1 and White gained some

pressure, but the tense game

Nakamura-Gelfand, London Classic

2013 ended in a draw in 78 moves.

4.f4!?

XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl tr0

9zpp+ zppzpp09 +p+ sn +09+ +p+ + 09 + + zP +09+P+ zP + 09PvLPzP +PzP09tRN+QmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy

4...f5

The bishop on f5 will be vulnerablePossibly a better plan is 4...g6!?

Moskalenko-Velikov, Varna 1998

5.f3 bd7 6.h3!? h6 7.c3 e6 8.g4

The rst sign to the following attack

Perhaps, preferable was rst 8.d3!?

with the tricky idea to prevent

8...d6? by the surprising 9.e4!

8...h7 9.g2 d6 10.d3 00 11.d2

e5! 12.000 d4

This tactically leads to some

advantage for White in the end

Stronger was 12...exf4 13.exf4 c7

with counterplay.

13.exd4 exf4 14.g5! hxg5 15.xg5

h5 16.xh7 f3 17.xf3 f4

The sacrice of the queen is

expected.

18.xf8 df6 19.d5 xf8?

19...cxd5!? was necessary.20.dxc6 bxc6 21.xc6 c8 22.b7

c7 23.a6 d7 24.c4

White nally constructed a fabulous

fortress!

24...b6 25.xf4 xf4 26.b1

xc4 27.dxc4 d7 28.a4 xd1+

29.xd1 c8 30.d5 e6 31.a3+

e8 32.e7 b7 33.d5! c7?

34.f5! 10


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January 2014

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Tasty Tactics

Cmilyte-Zhao Xue

XIIIIIIIIY9 +rtr +k+09+ vl +pzp 09 +P+psn zp09+ + + + 09 + +Pwq +09+ +L+ + 09 + + wQPzP09+ tRR+ vLK0xiiiiiiiiy

Sebag-Lagno

XIIIIIIIIY9 + +rvlk+09+r+ +pzp 09 +q+p+ zp09+ +l+ + 09 zp vL +Q+09+ zPL+ +P09 zP + zPP+09+ +RtR mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

A.Muzychuk-Cmilyte

XIIIIIIIIY

9 wq + + tr09+ + mkpzp 09Q+ zp sn zp09+r+ zp + 09 + + + +09+ + vL + 09 zP + zPPzP09tR +R+ mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

Karpov-Timman

XIIIIIIIIY9 + tR + +09+ + + zpk09 +p+ +q+09+ zPp+ + 09 + +rzP zp09+ + zP + 09 +Q+ zP +09+ + +K+ 0xiiiiiiiiy

l'Ami-Cernousek

XIIIIIIIIY9 +r+r+ +09+ + +R+ 09p+ + +p+09+ wqL+ mk 09 zp + vl +09+ + + + 09PzP + zP +09+Q+R+ mK 0xiiiiiiiiy

Jobava-Oleksienko

XIIIIIIIIY

9r+r+ sn +09+p+ +pzpp09p+ + sn +09+ + + + 09 + + +k+09+ zP vL sN 09PzPL+ +pzP09+ mKR+ + 0xiiiiiiiiy

Bok-Romanov

XIIIIIIIIY9 + + + +09+ +k+ tr 09p+ zp + +09zP + +psn 09 + +l+ wQ09+ + tRP+ 09 zPq+ +PzP09+ +RmK + 0xiiiiiiiiy

Wojtaszek-Tkachiev

XIIIIIIIIY9 + + +k+09zp + +p+ 09 +PwQp+p+09+ + + wq 09 + sn + +09+ + sNP+ 09P+ +PmK +09+ + + + 0xiiiiiiiiy

Dreev-B.Socko

XIIIIIIIIY9 + tr + mk09zpl+ wq zp 09 zp + + zp09+ + zpN+ 09 zP + sn sn09zP + +P+ 09 + + vLPzP09+Q+ tRLmK 0xiiiiiiiiy

Selected by IM Robert Ris (solutions on page 39)

o O o

oOO

O O o


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January 2014

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Middlegame Musings

The Underdog BitesIM Arthur van de Oudeweetering

Kramnik-Ezat from the recent World Team Championship was an

astonishing game where the underdog sacriced his queen for just

two minor pieces (and a long-lasting initiative). IM Arthur van de

Oudeweetering analyzes the game deeply. Join the fun!

Kramnik-EzatWorld Teams (Antalya), 2013

The last month of 2013 saw the nish

of yet another team event: the

World Championship for teams in

Kemer (a small resort at the Turkish

Mediterranean beach, near Antalya,

and a place where I myself had the

pleasure to participate during the

European Club Championship in

2007). The game you are about to

watch is taken from the last, decisive

round. Russia had just taken over

the lead from Ukraine by beating

them in the mutual encounter in the

previous round. In the last round the

Russian team had to play outsider

and by then tail-ender Egypt (the

tournament was a nine rounds roundrobin). The latter had not gained a

single match point and was playing

with their highest rated player,

Bassem Amin, at the fourth board.

As a result, Vladimir Kramnik was

now facing Mohamed Ezat.Such a

decisive last-round game always

brings about special psychological

factors. In his book Modern Chess

Preparation, Vladimir Tukmakov- successful coach of the Ukrainian

team on several occasions, has

touched on this subject in a chapter

on deciding games. He stressed

the importance of composure,

determination and concentration,

but also concluded that there is

no universal recipe and that what

matters will differ per individual.

If we take the current game, it is

clear an easy win was expected

from the Russian team. On the rst

board Kramnik would be experienced

enough to deal condently with his

much lower rated opponent. On the

other hand the Russian team had

not been doing too well in team

tournaments for some time, and not

too long ago there was much adoabout this in Russia. Furthermore,

playing such an obvious outsider

can create some extra tension for

the clear favorite - certainly when

things do not go entirely your way

during the game - but also give rise

to some underestimation and loss of

concentration every now and then.

Doubtlessly in Kemer the Egyptians

wanted to seize their last chanceto make a mark on the tournament.

Still, of course all the players from

the Russian team were top level and

experienced professionals, who had

been in similar situations before

Anyway, let us now see what actually

happened in the game on board one

1.f3 f6 2.g3 d5 3.g2 e6 4.00

e7 5.c4 00 6.b3 c5 7.b2 c6

8.e3 b6 9.c3 b7 10.cxd5

The opening will not have been

a surprise for Ezat. A year earlier

Kramnik had had the same position

against Gawain Jones in the London

Chess Classic. This is what Tukmakov

has to say about the choice of

openings: It is hard to overestimate

the signicance of the opening in such

trials. It should correspond as far aspossible to the players mental state

and sporting goal, and it shouldnt

provoke any inner discomfort. Here

as well general recommendations are

out of place. One of the examples

he supplies is the last WCh match

game Kramnik-Leko 2004, where

Kramnik appeared to be comfortable

with a technical position. Lets see


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January 2014

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how he did manage here.

10...xd5

In the aforementioned game Gawain

Jones continued with 10...exd5

11.xd5 xd5 12.d4 ad8

The other rook 12...fd8 would allow

White the strong extra possibility of

13.e5 d6 14.f3.

13.e5

XIIIIIIIIY9 + tr trk+09zpl+ vlpzpp09 zpn+p+ +09+ zpqsN + 09 + zP + +09+P+ zP zP 09PvL + zPLzP09tR +Q+RmK 0xiiiiiiiiy

If I remember correctly at this

moment Ezat was contemplating

some time. Clicking through the live

coverage of the last round games I

was wondering what choice he had.

13...xg2+!?

That explains a lot! This continuation

I did not take seriously when

watching the game, as there seemed

to be no clear follow-up after the

upcoming discovered check, which

leaves Black with just two pieces

for the queen. Having searchedthe database I now know that the

sacrice has been tried some times

before, with Nakamura as the most

prominent practitioner. And I realize

that after Whites 15th move indeed

there is no forced continuation, but

we just have to take the position

as it is and try and make a correct

assessment of it. Which is not that

easy. 13...d6 would of course be

the normal move and in fact has

been played many times. But after

14.dxc5 xc5

XIIIIIIIIY9 + tr trk+09zpl+ vlpzpp09 zpn+p+ +09+ wq sN + 09 + + + +09+P+ zP zP 09PvL + zPLzP0

9tR +Q+RmK 0xiiiiiiiiyit is White who may spring a little

surprise on his opponent (though of

course not for those theoretically

in the know in this variation):

15.d7 Self-pinning the knight!

(Even Kasparov opted for the safe

e2 in a simul in 2000). Black's

number of replies is limited to two

though: 15...f5 (or 15...g5 as

otherwise White will venture g4

winning material.) After f5 play

may continue 16.e4 g5 17.h4 h6

18.c1 g5 19.hxg5 g7 20.f6+ (20.

e5!? for those with strong nerves and

good calculation abilities. One idea

is 20...xe5 21.b2!) 20...xf6

21.gxf6 g6!? while the latter is

nearly refuted by 16.h4 h6 17.c1!for instance 17....b8 18.xf8

xg2 19.xg2 xd1 20..fxd1 xf8

21.d8 winning.

14.xg2 xe5+

So Black has sacriced his queen

for only two pieces, with some play

against the long diagonal and the

light squares. This may remind you

of the fabulous game Nezhmetdinov-

Chernikov, 1962 where White did

exactly so and managed to score

an amazing win. True, things

are different here. Though after

15.h3 the white king will be in big

trouble after 15....f3!, the game

continuation does not leave Black

much play on the diagonal. By the

way, Nezhmetdinov, a much praised

attacker, would have celebrated

his 101st birthday December 15th

On that occasion someone calling

himself Jeweller has made the

interesting comparison of his mostfamous and imaginative games

(also the one against Polugaevsky

featuring another kind of queen sac

to the rst choice of the many strong

engines of today (published on the

forum of chesspro.ru).

15.f3

As this position has been seen before

you could call this a theoretica

one (the rst one in my database

is Varnusz-Kluger, 1966, albeit with

the kings rook on d8, but that could

easily amount to the same, when

the rooks have been doubled on

the d-le). In other openings more

queen sacs for a mere two pieces

can be found. One that springs to my

mind is the Saemisch Kings Indian

with for instance ZamikhovskyNezhmetdinov (him again!), 1956

the same concept as in Bobotsov-

Tal (a great admirer of Nezh), 1958

or also Karpov-Velimirovic (another

artist), Skopje 1976 which features

a concept which can still be seen

in present-day grandmaster chess

occasionally. You can nd all these

games attached in the PGN. I dare
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_1/chesspro.ruhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_1/chesspro.ru


26/34

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you readers to bring on some more

examples!

15...cxd4 16.exd4 c6

Contrary to some of the other queen

sacs mentioned above this position

is more about strategic decisions

than about tactics and calculation.

I thus strongly advise you not to let

your engine run along here; it will

probably show only useless numbers

most of the time, distracting you

from a clear focus on the position.

Black has a solid position and will

probably win d4 in the long run.After that though he will run the

risk of both rooks being exchanged,

which will leave the white queen

with a lot of space and possibilities

to attack Blacks pawns.

17.c1

Here we could mention another

psychological factor. As Dvoretsky

recounts, after he had beaten

Kapengut with a no less spectacular

queen sac (leaving Dvoretsky

with two bishops for the queen),

Kapengut was made fun of after the

game by his team-mates: how could

he not have won being a queen up!

He could not convince them that the

position was unclear. Here too at

rst Blacks sac seemed unlikely, but

once you have studied the position

more deeply it starts to makes more

sense. Anyway, the onus was even

more on Kramnik now! J 17.e2

was the move Ehlvest chose against

Nakamura (USA Ch St Louis 2009).

That game continued with 17...d5

(after the premature 17...xd418.xd4 xd4 19.fd1 the rooks are

indeed exchanged and Whites queen

will invade, e.g. 19...d5 20.xd5

xd5 21.a6) 18.ac1 fd8 and

here Naka makes some instructive

general observations on his blog:

Here, I have achieved the basic

setup which I envisioned when I rst

decided to sacrice my queen. When

I saw this position in my analysis, I

simply did not see how White could

progress with sacricing an exchange

somewhere. I gured that I wil

always havef6, xd4 ideas or even

g5g4 plans creating discoveries along

the long diagonal. Unfortunately for

me, Ehlvest remained calm under

pressure and found the best human

move. 19.c4! (19.fd1f6 actually

transposes to the aforementioned

Vanusz-Kluger game. This is a

reasonable option as well, as here

too it seems Black can only play fo

a draw here. ) 19...a6 20.e4xc4

21.bxc4 5d6 22.d1f6 23.a3 and

White was better, though Nakamuraheld on to a draw with relative ease

Take a note of Ehlvest strategy here

by returning some material, reaching

another material imbalance, he

changes the dynamics of the position

In general such counter-sacrices

should be taken into account: it is

an additional possibility for the side

with material up.

17...d7

Covering the c7square where Whites

rook would like to enter and as a

result also enabling a possible b4

d5. It would of course be interesting

to know up to what point both players

had studied all this at home.

18.a3 fd8 19.e2 f6

XIIIIIIIIY

9 + tr +k+09zpl+r+pzpp09 zpn+pvl +09+ + + + 09 + zP + +09zPP+ +PzP 09 vL +Q+KzP09+ tR +R+ 0xiiiiiiiiy

The game Kramnik vs. Ezat

TURKISHC

HESS

FEDERATION


27/34

January 2014

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20.b4

I dont see any big objections to the

immediate 20.fd1 rendering Blacks

next move impossible. Anyway,

after the text-move Black has run

out of normal development moves

and has to make a difcult choice:

between the immediate capture on

d4, the move played in the game and

regrouping with 20...e7. A waiting

move like 20...h6 would not change

much.

20...e5

20...xd4 can be met with 21.cd1xb2 22.xd7 xd7 23.xb2 d4

24.c3 g5 25.d1 e5 26.f2 and

the upcoming f3f4 will loosen

Blacks position, granting White a

winning advantage. Both 20...xd4

21.xd4 xd4 22.fd1 e5 23.c2 g6

24.cd2 (24.dc1 e4 25.fxe4 e8

gives Black some counterplay) and

20...e7 21.d5 (This is perhaps the

best retort. After 21.fd1 d5 White

cannot easily untangle and activate

his pieces.) 21...xb2 22.xb2 xd5

23.b3 leave Black with perhaps

a solid, but also a passive position.

The text-move opts for an active

solution. 21.d5 xd5 22.fd1 d4

23.xd4 exd4

XIIIIIIIIY

9 + tr +k+09zpl+ +pzpp09 zp + vl +09+ +r+ + 09 zP zp + +09zP + +PzP 09 + +Q+KzP09+ tRR+ + 0xiiiiiiiiy

Now at least Black has a passed pawn.

In general with unbalanced material

this is big asset for the side without

a queen, as naturally the queen is a

bad blockader. Here the other side of

the story is, that the white rook can

now invade on c7.

24.c7 c8

After the immediate 24...d3 25.e4

White wins after 25...a8 (or

25...a6 26.xa7 c8 and White

is a tempo up compared to the

game enabling 27.a8) 26.xa7

a5 27.xd3 xe4 28.xd8+ xd829.bxa5c6 30.axb6xb6 31.a6.

25.xa7

Here we conclude that Kramnik

has not been able (or not been

willing) to go for a technical

position. And I admit, by now, with

concrete calculation becoming more

important, an engine becomes a

helpful tool. The text-move seems

natural enough, but apparently

White could also consider to activate

his queen rst with, for example,

25.c4 e6 26.xa7 and after 26...

d3 27.c6 5d6 28.a4 White is just

able to prevent b3 because 28...

b5 fails to 29.xb5 b3 30.d2c3

31.xd3.

25...d3 26.e4

It seems that with this natural moveKramnik starts to go astray. An

alternative was 26.f2 5d6 27.c7

e6 (27...d2 28.c2) 28.d2 after

which Black will nd it more difcult

to become active and White will

perhaps be able to build gradually on

his own trump card on the queenside.

26...e6

Already 26...e5!? seems to be

sufcient for equality: 27.c4 e6

28.a6 c8 29.c4 (After 29.xb6

e2+ Whites king is in trouble! For

example 30.f1h3+ 31.g1 ee8!

29...e6 with a draw by repetition

or 30.c7 e2+ 31.g1 c2 32.f4

b5 and having established an active

rook on the second rank Black is even

on top! By now was Ezat avoiding the

draw and trying to win? Of course

there are examples which prove

him right. Hadnt Bronstein faltered

against Cardoso in the last round of

the Portoroz interzonal in 1958?27.a4

Trying to create a passed pawn as

well. If White blocks Blacks trump

rst with 27.d2 Black can generate

counterplay with 27...h6 (27...c3

28.xd3!) 28.c7 e5 29.f4 e8!

27...d2 28.e2 d4 29.e3 h6 30.a5

bxa5 31.bxa5

XIIIIIIIIY9 + tr +k+09tR + +pzp 09 + +lvl zp09zP + + + 09 + tr + +09+ + wQPzP 09 + zp +KzP09+ +R+ + 0

xiiiiiiiiy31...d3All very logical moves. Now it seems

Kramnik is in trouble, but it turns out

he has still a way to bail out now.

Instead 31...g5 was very strong

32.c3 (After 32.f4 f6 White is

also in dire straits: he has to reckon

with d3, d5 and f3.) 32...d3

33.c7 d5 I guess it was here that


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Mohammed Ezat missed his chance

for true immortality!

32.e2 b3 33.a8! xd1 34.xd3

xa8 35.xd2 d8

Funnily enough after the (of course

unlikely) continuation 35...xa5

36.xa5 the peculiar ending

from Polugaesvky-Geller, Skopje

1968 would arise! Polugaevsky

managed to win th

themastersbulletin january 2014

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