Chess evolution : top analysis by Super GMs : May 2012 9788393465613, 8393465613

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ARKADIJ NAIDITSCH

CHESS EVOLUTION TOP

ANALYSIS BY

MAY

SUPER GMs

2012

Responsible editor Arkadij Naiditsch

Cover designer Milos Sibinovic

Typesetting Piotr Pielach bs (11 . . . CZJ c6 12. a4 exd4 13 . exd4 'E! xd4 1 4 . VJ!i/3 .1i. xe4 15.CZJxe4oo =) 12.CZJcs (White can sacrifice his queen on 12.a3 CZJ c6 13. d5 �e6 14. dxc6?! 'E!xd1 15. 1lxd1, but after 15 ... � b3! only Black can be better.) 12 ... c6! Black is doing fine. 13.CZJ3e4 hs!? (The egalitarian alter­ native is 13 ... .1i.xe4 14.CZJxe4 Js 15.a3 CZJ 4d5 16.CZJcs g6!?oo and Black has good attacking chances on the king­ side.) 14. �d2 CZ:J 4d5 15. VJ!ib3 .1i.. xe4 16. � xe4 (16.CZJ xe4 fs 17-CZJc3 e4�) 16 ... h4 17.a4oo leads to a complicated and unclear game. The idea with 6 ... CZJc6, 7... .1i. fs ! and 9 ... VJ!ie7!? is the best answer against White's setup.;

6 ... c6 After 7.CZJ f3 (White can contin­ ue according to the scheme 7-CZJge2 .§Lq 8.o-o o-o 9. b3+= and Black has problems to develop naturally.) 7... .id6 (J... ilg4 8. h3 ilx/3 9.VJ!ixj3+= gives a solid advantage for White. In the future, Black will have prob­ lems covering the light squares.) 8.o-o o-o 9.d4 (Worse is 9.CZJe4 kq 1o. d4 Js 11. VJ!ib3+ VJ!Jds!=; 9. b3!?) 9 ... exd4 1o.CZ:J xd4 'E!e8 The most precise move is u.VJ!ic2! (11.b3 CZJa6 12.CZJe4 .1i.es 13 . .1i.a3 CZJ q�) u ... CZJa6

If Black tries to save the knight on c6 by playing 6 ... �e7 7.CZJge2 o-o 8.o-o fs, White has the strong

9.d4! exd4?! (9 ... e4 10.CZJj4+= looks nice for White, still this is a better option than the main move.) 1o.exd4 .1i. f6 u.ds i On u ... CZJ 8d7, the sim­ ple 12. VJ!ic2 (12.CZJj4 CZ:Jes 13. 'E!e1 'E!e8 14.CZ:J hs � d7 1s.CZ:Jxj6+ VJ!ixj6 16. b3 CZJg4 17. .1i. d2 VJ!id4 18. 'E!xe8+ 'E!xe8 19. �e1 VJ!ies 20. VJ!id2 CZJj6� M.Turov­ Brandenburg, Wijk aan Zee 2012.)

(IfBlack plays u ... CZJ 8d7 12.CZJe4! (12. b3 CZJj6 13. � b2 g6 14. 'E!ad1 VJ!ie7�) 12 ... .1i. f8 13.'E!d1 CZ:Jds 14.a3+= gives a slight plus for White.) 12.a3 ii.es 13.CZJ f3 � f6 14.e4i White has pressure.

MAY, 20 12

24

Typical. 9

...

exf4

On 9 ... 0-o White has a few options. 10.a4!? a) 10.b3 f6 After u.fs

(u.fxes fxes (n . . . CZ:J xes 12. a4! as 1J.CZJ/4 CZJ d3 14. �aJ+= gives a pleasant advantage for White.) 12. !! xf8+ 'i¥xf8 13 . �b2 �e6 14.'i¥c2 'i¥e8 15J!f1 'i¥d7oo 1+1= leads to an unclear game, even though White's position looks slightly better, thanks to his more flexible structure.)

... �d7 (n ...I2Jb4 12.a3 l2Jd3 13. 'i¥c2 �hB 14. �e4 liJxCl 1s.I2Jxc1+= of­ fers an advantage for White due to the superior control of the light squares. A possible plan for White is to play I2Jd3-b2-q.) 12.!2Jds �e8 13.!2JeC3 lt:Jxds 14.CZJ xds !!cs 15. �e4 �f7 16.'i¥[J b6 17. �b2 'i¥d6 18.d3 !! fd8 19.CZJc3 CZJb4 2o. !!ad1 lt:Jds� Black is doing fine.; b) The normal w.fxes CZJ xes u.b3 CZJd3 12.CZJ f4 I2Jxf4 (12 . . . CZJ XC1 13. !!xc1+=) 13. !! xf4 i also looks very nice for White.; n

10 ... exf4 (After IO ... CZJq u.lt:Jds exf4 (11 ... i. e6 12.CZJxe7 + 'i¥xe7 13 .j5 �cB 14. b3 CZJd6 15j6! gxf6 16. � a3+l-; 11 ... �g4 12.h3) 12.!2Jexf4 �d6 13.b3 CZJ 4e5 14.'i¥c2 is better for White. It is amazing that after the natural

14 ... b6 15. �b2 �b7? Black is lost. (15... �d7 16.CZJ hs!+l- 8 d4-> is also unpleasant for Black.) 16.lt:Jhs! f6 (16... �e7 17.'i¥e4 f6 18. � xes fxes 19.'i¥g4 g6 2o. !!xj8+ �xfB 21.'i¥e6+ �hB 22.lt:Jdj6+-) 17.'i¥fs! with the idea of �e4 17... �h8 18.CZJxg7 �xg7 19. �e4 !! hs (19 ... CZJg6 20. � xf6+ 't!.xf6 21.!2Jxj6+-) 2o.I2Jxf6+- This line shows the secret threats in the position.) u.lt:Jxf4 lt:Jas White has strong con­ trol over the central squares and with his last move, Black tries to create counterplay with q. Howev­ er, after (n ... CZJC4 12.b3 CZJ 4e5 1J.CZJcds � d6 14.'i¥c2 i is a transposition of the IO ... CZJq line.; After 11 . . . as 12. b3+= White has the extra option of using the bs square in the future.) 12.b3 � fs

13.CZJe4! C4 (13 ... 'i¥d7 14. 'i¥c2! !!ac8? 15. 'i¥c3 ! leads to a huge advantage for

C H ESS EvoLUTION

White after the forced 15 ... � xe4D (15 .. .

47th Capablanca Mem Elite Havana, CUB Round 2, 05.05.2012 [A3o] Annotated by Kamil Miton

Conclusion: In this game between two top grandmasters from Russia, we will see the interesting 3 ... g6!? line. Many years of theory say that this move is not the best because of the strong e3-d4 plan, which leads to the Panov g6 line. Recently, we can meet this move in Nepomniachtchi games and used by other strong players like Bologan or even Anand (he used it in a rapid game). For me it's hard to say where White can look for an ad­ vantage. I can suggest 7· it.g5 because after 7.cxd5, Black is probably fine. 1.q cs 2. ll:J f3 ll:Jc6 3.ll:Jq g6 4.e3 ll:Jf6 s.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 ds 7.cxds

7. .1Lg5 .1Le6 a) 7... ll:Je4 8.cxd5 ll:J xc3 9.bxC3 l!fxd5 10 . .1Le2 (w. lWb3 lWxb3 11.axb3+=) 10 ... it.g7 11.0-0 0-0

12. E:b1 (12. E:e1 1.i.fs taking control of the b1 square.; 12.lWb3!? I think

MAY, 20 12

38

9··· il.g7 10. it.bs o-o u.h3 (11. it.xc6 bxc6 12.h3 The question is whether the Black bishops will get activity, probably one will from h6 and the other from fs.) u ... CZJe7 12.0-o fs 13. l!e1 h6 14.l!¥d2+= 1!2-1!2 Vachier Lagrave,M-Bologan,V/Melilla ESP 2011 (42)

the best option for White is to look for some pleasant endgame after l!¥b3, which is possible not only at this moment.) 12 ... it. fs 13Jhb7 (lJ . l! bs lWdJ=) 13 .. .lLJxd4 14.1�:J xd4 l!¥xb7 15.CZJ xfs gxfs 16. � 6 lWq 17. �xa8 l!xa8 18.l!¥ds I!c8 19.1Wxfs e6 2o.l!¥g4 l!¥xc3=; b) 7... �g7?! 8. � xf6 �xf6 9.cxds

CZJb8 10. �C4 o-o u.h3 CZJd7 12.0-0 Cl:Jb6 13. �b3 �fs 14. l!e1+=;

8. �xf6 (8.l!¥b3 can't be dangerous for Black 8 . . . Cl:Jas 9. l!¥b4 dxq (9 . . . CZJxC4 w. ii.xc4 dxC4 n.ds Cl:Jxds 12. l!¥bs+ l!¥d7 13. l!¥xd7+ h2 ll:Jxds 38. .1i.xds VJ6e7!; 37- 1Lc3 ?! 1Lxc3 38.CZJxc3 CZJ e6=+) 37.. J lb1 38.CZJ xq !!xel+ 39.$>h2 �d4! 40.'%!fxd4 lWxq 41.VJ8h8+ $>e7 42.'%!fb2 $>fs 43. �ds $>g8 44· '%!fb7 !!e7= Black is able to hold the position.

3s ... !! bs

After 35 ... ds 36 . .1i.. x hs gxhs 37. �c3 !! xb3 38 . .1i.. x g7 !!bi+D 39· $>f2 $>xg7 40. !Ic3 �b8 41.lWd4+ $>g8 42. $>g3+/­ /+- White has a technically winning position. 36. §i.q?!

Better was the calm 36. !!d2!+- with !!c2 or !!a2 next, and the game would be over. 36 es?! •..

32.gS

After 036 ... !! xb3 37. i. xhs !!bi+ 3 8 . $> h 2 � XCJ 3 9 · !! XC3 gxh5 4o.VJ8e4+/- 1+- should be winning for White.; The best reaction was 36 ... .1i.. xc3 37. !! xc3 ctJg7!+/- and Black has motifs like ds, ll:J fs-d6, and some practical chances to survive. 37. fxes � xes 39· '%!fd2+-

3 8 .i xes •

!! xes

Black could have resigned the game. Caruana kept playing with

54

MAY, 20 12

liME & D. Navara (2712) .,. V. Ivanchuk (2766)

t>

74th Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee, NED Round 10, 27.01.2012 [A7o] Annotated by Borki Predojevic

and after 42.b4 �d6 43 .b5 !!e6 44 . .i xhs g xhs 45 . !! xds !! xe2+ 46. �xe2 �xds+ 47· '15> g 3 �d6 + 48. '15>f3 �ds+ 49· '15>f4 �d6+ so. '15>e4 �e6+ 51. '15>d3 Black resigned. 1-0

Lately, the Benoni has become a pop­ ular opening even on the highest lev­ el, where GM Gashimov plays it regu­ larly. In the following game, White went for the Classical line with 8.h3 followed by �d3, not a very popular choice lately. Ivanchuk showed his knowledge in this line and with the moves 8 ... a6, 9 .. .'�Jbd7 and 10 .. .'8 h5, the position went into one of the old lines. Navara followed the known theory until the 15th move, when he chose a rare line with 15.a5. Black left the opening with a good and playa­ ble position. His first imprecise move was 20 ... �d4 (20 ... it.g5! was a better answer). The game became concrete and, in a complicated position, Nav­ ara lost control around move 30. He lost the game after a few more con­ nected mistakes. In my opinion, this line looks very nice for Black and of­ fers him a good game. 1.d4 CZJ f6 2.C4 e6 3.CZJf3 cs 4.d5 d6 s.Cl:Jq exds 6.cxds g6 7.e4 �g7 8.h3 a6

A well known Benoni line is 8 ... 0-o 9 . .id3 b5 However, in this line, Black has to know a lot of theory and usu­ ally ends up just fighting for a draw.

C H Ess EvoLUTION

55

Since Ivanchuk always plays interest­ ing fighting lines, this would not fit his style. 9·34

After 9. 1i.d3 b5 10.0-o o-o 11. !!e1 ttJbd7 lvanchuk had experience in this variation. This line was played in Miton-lvanchuk, Samba Cup 2005. 9 ... ttJbd7!?

Usually Black plays 9 ... 0-o 10. $.d3 ttJbd7, but now White has more op­ tions.

lO • • • ttJ hs!

Again 10... 0-o could be met with the unpleasant 11. � f4!? u . � gs

After 11.0-o tLle5 12. $.e2

One of them is the unpleasant 11. � f4!? that was played by many strong GMs, including Gelfand and Riazantsev. (11.o-o ttJ hs 12. il.gs i..J6 would transpose to the game.) 1o. i. d3

10. Sl.e2 o - o 11.0-o E:es 12.tLld2 i!bSoo doesn't make much sense since White has played h3. Usually White plays with tLld2 and $.e2 without h3, so this is a waste of time.; An atypical try is 10. ii.e3 but after 10 ... o - o 11. ii.e2 Wle7 12.tLld2 lt:Jes 13.tLlC4 E:bs 14.0-o tLle5 15.tLlb6 tLld7 16.ttJ xc8 E:xc8 17. E:e1 lt:Jef6t+ Black's position is OK. Topalov-Ivanchuk, Wijk aan Zee 2010.

(An alternative is 12.tLl xe5 i.. xe5 13.f4 (13.tLle2 o-o 14j4 i.g7t+) 13 ... ii.d4+ 14. 'i!th2 W9h4 15.Wlf3 ttJ f6 16.tLle2 tLlg4+ (16. . . �g4 17. Wlg3 Wlxg3+ 18.tLlxg3 hs!? was a possibil­ ity if Black wants to play for a win.) 17.'i!th1 tLl f2+ 18.'i!th2 tLlg4+ (18 ... tLlxd3 19. W9xd3 �g7 was another option, if Black isn't satisfied with the draw.) 19. 'i!th1 tLl f2+ 20. 'i!th2 1/2-1/2 Sermier-A.Kovacevic, Aix le Bains 2011.) 12 ... ttJ xf3+ 13. il.x[J, Black has 13 ... Wlh4. 14. i. xh5 gxh5 15 . E: a3 !! gs 16.tLle2 �e5 17. 'i!th1 Wlxe4 i leads to a good position for Black. The games Skembris-Wojtaszek, Greece (tch) 2006 and Van Hoolandt-A. Ko­ vacevic, Khanty Mansiysk (ol) 2010 prove it.

MAY, 20 12

56

n.g4 After n ... lLlhf6 12. � f4 (12. �e3 (Hertneck-Naiditsch, Bundesliga 2oo8) 12 ... h5 13.g5 lLl h7 14. h4 o-o� is simply OK for Black. His next idea is f6 with counterplay on the king­ side.) 12 ... h5 (12 ... VJ6q� is another option.) 13.g5 lLl h7 14.VJ6d2 (Better was 14. �xd6 lLlxg5 15.llJxg5 VJ9 xg5 16. VJ9 d2 VJ9J6 17- VJ9/4 VJ9 xd6 18. VJ9 xd6 �e5 19.VJ6xe5+ lLlxe5 20 . .1l.e2 g5� and the position is about equal.; On 14.h4 follows 14 . . . VJ9 e7 with o-o and f6 next.) 14 ... VJ6e7 15.h4 o-o 16. �g1?! c4!=+ Black was better in the game Ravi-Lie, Liverpool (op) 2007. u ...

�f6

to castle, and pick between breaking with f5 or playing on the g-file.) 13 ... �xe5 14.VJ6d2 lLlg7 15.o-o o-o� with f5 next.; Another try is 12. �d2. This should be met with 12 ... 0-o (After 12 ... llJ e5 13. �e2 lLlx!J+ 14. �x/3 lLlg7 15. 0-o 0-0

16. �b1 f+= White is better since the bishop is better placed on d2 than on e3. The next idea is to play b4 with pressure on the queenside. Yotov­ Carlsson, Dresden (ol) 2008.) 13.0o ge8 14J ib1 �b8 15. �e1 b6oo and Black has more useful moves to play. With the last few moves, Black waits with llJe5 in order to avoid the idea mentioned in the previous game. 12. 0-0 •••

12. �e3

Main move. 12. �h6 is met with the typical 12 ... lLle5 13.lLl xe5 (13. �e2 lLlxj3+ 14. �x/3 gives Black an interesting oppor­ tunity with 14 ... �g5 15. �xg5 VJ9 xg5 16. it.xh5 gxh5 17. VJ6/3 �d7 and after 18. h4 VJ6e5� Black has good coun­ terplay. He can choose which side

12 ... llJe5 13. �e2 lLl xf3+ 14. � xf3 lLlg7 15.0-o o-o is the usual way for Black to come back into the main line. This type of position will also appear in the game. 13.0-0

lvanchuk himself had played 13. �e2!?. It would be interesting to see what would he play with Black. I offer here 13 ... �e8 14.llJd2

C H ESS EVOLUTION

.t. .t. A .t. �

14 . . . CZJ g 7 ! N (After 1 4 . . . 1l. d4 ?! 15. 1l.xhs 1l.xe3 16jxe3 l!!i h 4+ 17.g3 l!!!xg3+ 18. �e2 l!!ig2+ 19. �d3 CZ:J es+ 2o. �c2 l!!!gs 21. il.. e2 l!!!xe3 22. l!!ig1 l!!id4 23.l!!ixd4 cxd4 the draw was agreed in lvanchuk-Yudasin, Riga (m/2) 1991, but it is clear that after 24.CZJd1 fs 2s.Cl:Jj2+= 1+1- White is at least slightly better.) 15.0-o E:b8 After 16.a5 (16.CZJC4 CZ:Jes 17.CZJa3 gs!?oo ) 16 ... il.. d 4 17.CZJC4 �xe3 18.CZJxe3 fs! 19.exf5 Cl:Jxfs 2o.Cl:Jxf5 gxfs� Black will play l!!i h 4 ad ClJ f6 with a good position. These kind of pawn structures are typical in the Benoni. 13··· E:e8

57

Navara is choosing a sub-line. His main idea is to wait before developing the heavy pieces. The main line goes 14.l!!id 2 Cl:Jes 15 . �e2 Cl:J xf3+ 16. 1i. xf3 ClJg? and here the critical move is 17.a5. After (17. E:jCI lJ.d7 18. l!! a b1 bs 19.axbs axbs 20. b4 C4 21. l!! a 1 hs!?� is OK for Black. Sundarajan- Spragett, Metz (op) 2008.) 17... �d7

18.CZJa4, the best reaction is 18 ... 1t. xa4 (was played in two games. However, after 18... 1l. bs 19. 'B.jc1 1Les 2o.CZJb6 'B. b8 21. l!! ab1 fs 22. b4 jxe4 23. �xe4 l!!ih 4 it looks like Black has serious counterplay, but the strong 24. il.. d3!N denies it. In Bernard-Spra­ gett, 2008, White played 24. �f3, al­ though that's not the best move. After the main move, Black can play 24 ... 1t.xd3 25.l!!ixd3 lLJfs, but the simple 26. E!C4 l!!iq 27. bxcs CZ:Jxe3 28jxe3 dxcs 29. 'i:!g4!?+= 1+1- offers a stable advan­ tage to White. He's planning to play ClJC4 and to push the central pawns. Meanwhile, Black's counterplay is not visible.) 19. l!! xa4 b5 2o.axb6 l!!!xb6 21. 'B.b1 as and the game can contin­ ue with 22.b3 1t.es 23. �d1 fs 24. �c2 fxe4. Now 25.g4!?. (In Kozhuharov­ M.Nikolov, Bulgaria (ch) 2010 White played 25. 1t. xe4. The best reaction is 25 ... CZ:J hs!N 26. ii.. c2 kg7� with

58

llJ f6-d7 coming next, Black has no problems.) 25 ... 'ifb7 26. � xe4 'iff7! 27.'ifd3 (27j4 il.d4!) 27.. J:!eb8 28.f4 il.f6 29. i3.c4 �b4t+ besides the fact that CL:\g7 is still out of play, Black has enough counterplay.; After 14.ClJd2, Black can play the nice 14 ... .ad4! 15 . .axd4 cxd4 16.ClJe2 ClJe5 17. E.ta3 i.d7 18.f4 CL:\ xd3 19. E.t xd3 f5t+ with an active position.; 14.g4?! is suspicious since White already castled. 14 ... ClJg7 15.g5 il.. e 7 16. il.e2 f6! leads to a strong initiative for Black after 17.gxf6 il xf6 18.ClJd2 ild4! Ljubojevic-Topalov, Monaco (rapid) 2003. 14 ... E.tbs 1s.l!fc2

White chooses a different square for his queen. According to the main line, the natural move would be 15. ifd2. Is ... li:Jes i6. il.e2 lLlxf3+

16 ... ClJg7? would be premature and met with 17.ClJd2! with a clear advan­ tage for White. Black can't prevent f4 without creating further weaknesses.

MAY, 20 12

I8. ilf4N

Official novelty and an improve­ ment for White. The previously played 18.ClJ a4?! looks dubious. After 18 ... 1Wxas ! N Black i s a pawn up. If White plays the best (In Demuth-Spragget, An­ dorra (op) 2009, Black played 18 ... �d7 19.ll:Jb6 il.bs 2o. 'E.je1 �es 21.lWd2 fst+ with decent counterplay, but this is much worse than the main op­ tion.) 19. il.. f4 (19.CL:\xcs? l!¥q) 19 ... il.. e s 20. il.. xe5 E.t xe5 21.b4! cxb4 22.ClJb2 l!fds 23.ClJC4 E.tes 24.'ifb2 f5 25.lWxb4 fxe4 26. il.. d 1=+ Black is better, but White has good practical chances to survive. 18 ... bs 19.axb6 E.t xb6=

Here, we can offer a conclusion re­ garding the opening battle. Black carried out the typical plan with bs, his pieces are on normal squares and practically, White can't stop the f5 break in the future. Black's position is OK.

C H Ess EvoLUTION

59

Thematic move, but not best. It will not produce serious problems for Black. It was better to offer exchanges with 20 ... kgs ! . After 21. � h2 (21. � xgs �xgs just helps Black's fs break.; 21. �d2 il.. xf4 22.�xj4 fs�) 21. .. fs ! 22. �e1 � f6� Black has accomplished one more goal, and White didn't get anything for that. I prefer Black's position here, but this evaluation is probably too optimistic. 21.CLle2! �es 22. �xes � xes 23.CLJ f4 .JTt.d7 24. � fa1 lt.bs 2s. �e2

Thanks to 20 ... �d4, White got time to improve the position of his pieces, and now he has created threats on the a-file. Still, Black has nothing to worry about. 2 S ... �f6!

Only move. Much worse is 25 ... �xe2?! when af­ ter 26.CLJxe2 fs 27.CLlc3! fxe4 28.CLJxe4 �e7 29.f3 Black has problems. On 29 ... CL! fs (29 .. �b7 JO. �cJ i ) 30. � xa6 �xa6 31. �xa6 �b7 32. �a4+= White has good chances for a win since Black's king is not safe.

27... fs!

Now the position becomes very con­ crete. 28.g3?!

This is the first sign that White is losing control over the position. Correct was 28. �a4! fxe4 29. it.. xe4 CL! fs 3o.g3 �gs

.

26. � xbs �xf4 27. it.. d3

27. � xa6?! �xe4 28.�xe4 � xe4 29. jj_d3 �eb4 30. :S.a8+ �b8=+ would lead to a worse endgame for White.

31. � 1a3! and Black has to play pre­ cise moves to maintain the balance in the position. The best move is 31. .. �f6 32. � f3 �g5 and after the con­ crete line 33.�c3 CLJ h4 34. �e3 CL! fs 35· �e1 CLJd4! 36.f4 �xe4 37· �xe4 �fs 38. �axd4 cxd4 39.�xd4 �b3 40.g4 �C8 41.�C4 �XC4 42. � XC4 � xb2 43· �c6 as= the game will be drawn in the rook endgame.

60

28 ... �f3 29.exfs

The alternative 29. E:a4 fxe4 30. �xe4 �b3 31.�xb3 E:xb3 32. E: 1a2 /£)e8=+ would lead to a slight advantage for Black.

MAY, 20 12

31 ... f8 32. �xe2 �xe2 33.b4

33 ... �e4!

3o .i xfs?

Navara missed this move. White can't take on cs and �e6 will stay out of play. In the next few moves, Black created a passed pawn and White wasn't able to blockade it properly.

.

mistake by Navara. Probably he was in zeitnot and simply missed his opponent's next move. The correct 3o. E:xa6 E: xa6 31. .axa6 tlJd4 32.�C3 �f8 33.g2! would lead to equality after (33. E:j1?! E:e2!-+) 33··· �a8 34.f3!=. The last two moves are offered as the best defense by the computer. For a human it's very hard to find these resources. A

30 ... E:e2! 31. �e6+?

Final mistake. Better was 31.�xe2 �xe2 32.b4 �c4 33· �e6+ g7 34.bxcs dxcs and White still has some chances to escape.(34 ... �xes? After 35· E:xa6= The position is drawish.)

34· E:xa6 E: xa6 35· E: xa6 q!?

35 ... cxb4 was also good.

36. E:c6 q!

The point of 35 ... C4!?

37· E:c8+ g 7 38. E:c7+ f6 39· h2

39.f4 �d4+ 4o.fl gs

39··· �d4 40.f4 gs

Final move. White can't make any mate threats. After

41.fxgs+ es

Navara resigned the game. 0-1

C H ESS EVOLUTION

GAMEl t> •

L. Aronian (2805) H. Nakamura (2759)

74th Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee, NED Round 2, 15.01.2012 [A88] Annotated by Borki Predojevic The Dutch defence is one of the inter­ esting weapons that Nakamura has been using to get complicated and untested positions. In this game, Aro­ nian answered with the sub-variation 8. �b3!? (after 7... c6). This move has the idea of organizing pressure on the queenside and to avoid playing with es (which isn't so good for Black). However, it wasn't a surprise for Na­ kamura since he successfully played against this line in the past. After the opening, especially after White's du­ bious 12.b4?! , Black had a promising position and for sure he was satisfied with his play. The complicated posi­ tion caused Black to make a mistake, and after 16 ... �b6?! and 18. a4! the game became a real fight. From here on we enjoyed a fierce struggle be­ tween two giants! In the middlegame, both players showed beautiful chess, but near the time control, Nakamura made the mistake 36 .. .f4?. Aronian got pressure and 44 .. .1�Jf6? was the final mistake that gave White a huge advantage and a technically winning position. Aronian converted it into a win.

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1.d4 f5 2. g 3 lt:J f6 3· ii. g 2 g 6 4 . lt:J f3 � g 7 5.0-o o-o 6.q d6 7.CLJq c6

Last year in Wijk aan Zee, Nakamu­ ra sucesfully played 7 . CLJc6 against Aronian, but chose not to repeat it since it's almost sure that Aronian prepared an improvement. .

.

8.�b3!?

Interesting choice by Aronian. This move is the favorite line of GM Korch­ noi, but also other strong GMS have played it: Anand, Berkes, Pantsulaia, etc. The main move is 8.ds, Gelfand played it against Nakamura in the 6th round. After 8 ... es 9.dxe6 � xe6 10.b3 B:e8 u . �b2 CLJ a6 12.lt:Jgs �e7 13.lt:J xe6 �xe6 14.�c2 lt:Jcs 15. B:ad1 B:ad8 16.e3 lt:Jce4oo the position was unclear. Gelfand-Nakamura, Wijk aan Zee 2012. Of course, White has other options such as 8. B:b1, 8.b3, 8. B:e1 etc.

8 ... \!?h8

A prophylactic move by Nakamu­ ra. Before taking any action on the

62

queenside, he wants to stop any an­ noying checks over the a2-g8 diago­ nal. Besides, with this move he pre­ pares the maneuver $_e6-g8 which can be very useful in the future. 8 ... ll::l a6 leads to a similar position as in the game after 9. E!d1 (9. il.gs ll:Je4 10.ll:Jxe4 jxe4 n.lLld2 ii.xd4 12.lLlxe4 lLles 13.ll:J xes �xes 14. � e3 �b6 1s. ii.xes �xes 16.e3 as= Gofshtein­ Barbat, Paris (op) 2ooo.) 9 ... ll:Jq a) After 9 ... �e8 White has a few

options, but seems to be the best

MAY, 20 12

il.d7, E:b8, a6.) IO ... E:b8 n.a4 Wh8 12.d5 (On 12.as Black has a nice plan with

12 ... �e6! 13. ds �gB!::+ and now the pressure over ds is guaranteed.) 12 ... il.d7 13. �a3 cs 14. $_d2 etJa6 (14 ... es?! 1s.dxe6 ll:Jxe6 16. .ie3 il.e6 1J.lLl bs+=) 15.b3 h6 16. �c1 Wh7 17.ll:Je1 �e8 18.ll:Jd3 gs 19.f4 �hs 2o.ll:J f2 gxf4 21. .i xf4 ll:Jb4 22.�d2 �g6 23.e3oo and the position was unclear in the game Berkes-Renner, Bundesliga 2010. 8 ... ll::l a6 is the only egalitarian alternative to 8 ... Wh8.

IO.cs+ (10. �a3 with the idea of b4, is also a tempting option.; 10. E!b1 is too slow. After 10 ... h6 n.�a3 gs 12. b4 etJq 13. bs etJe4 14. bxe6 bxe6 1s.ll:Jxe4 jxe4 16.ll:Jd2 �g4! 17-etJxe4 $_xe2 18. E!e1 i.xq 19.etJxd6 �g6!::+ Black was OK in the game Panelo Munoz-Rodriguez Vila, Barcelona (op) 2006.) 10 .. /�?h8 n.cxd6 exd6 12. ii.. f4 �e7 13.d5 cs 14. E!e1+= and White will play e4 next, winning the initiative.;

The normal answer for Black is 8 ... �b6.

b) 9 ... Wh8 transposes to the main

a) 9.�xb6 axb6 10.b3 etJe4 n. ii.. b 2

game.;

1o. E!b1 (10. ds is met with 10 ... es!::+ and Black prepares bs by playing

After the correct 9· �c2! the best re­ ply is ll:J XCJ 12. i. XCJ ll:Jd7 13.a4 ll:J f6!:+ looks OK for Black.;

C H ESS EvoLUTION

b) After 9. 'B.d1 'i!fxb3 10. axb3

CZJa6 Black has enough counter­ play: n. l:!a4 (11.CZJe1 CZJ b4 12. � d2 �d7�) n ... ll:Jq (Worse is 11 ... �d7 12. b4 ll:Jq 13. l!as ':t!..fbB 14. �!4+= Komarov-Murgia, Montecat i­ ni Terme (op) 2ooo.) 12.CZJe1 (12. b4?! �e6 13.CZJd2 ll:J d7i ) 12 ... .id7 13.CZJc2 a5 ! � with a complicated and unclear position.; 9 ... 'i!Kq, but then comes (9 ... CZJa6 10. a3 .ie6 11.ds ii.. d7 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. b4+= is also better for White.) 10.e4 (10. b4 \!thBoo � �e6) 10 . . . fxe4 n.ll:J xe4 � f5 12.CZJ xf6+ ii.. xf6 13.'i!fe2+= with a slight and long­ term advantage for White.; One of the possible plans for Black is to play 8 ... h6.

Now, a possible answer is 9· E:d1 (A serious alternative is 9. ds cs 1o.CZJe1!?i with e4 next.; Worse is 9· 'B.e1 gs and since e4 can be met by both fxe4 or f4 in the future, White chose another approach with 1o.cs+ \!thB 11.cxd6 exd6 12. h4, but af­ ter 12 ...g4 13.CZJh2 CZJ hs 14.e3 CZJd7oo Black had a good position. Manaj­ Gelashvili, Athens (op) 1999.) 9 ... Wh7 10.d5 c5 (10... CZJa6 11.CZJd4 ll:Jcs 12. 'i!Kc2 es 1J. dxe6 CZJ xe6 14.CZJxe6

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ii.. xe6 1s. �f4 CZJe8 16. b3 'i!Kq 17. 'B d2 ii.. es 18. 'B.ad1+= Strikovic-Santos Izquierdo, La Laguna (op) 2009.) n.'i!fc2! i and White prepares the e4 break. The Black king is badly placed on the b1-h7 diagonal.; 8 ... 'i!fq?! looks bad since after 9.c5+ \!/h8 (9 ... ds 10. 1i.J4+/- is clearly bet­ ter for White.) 1o.'i!fa3 dxc5 (10 ... �e6 11. �/4 !! dB 12. e4!+/- gives White a strong initiative.) n.'i!fxc5 'i!fd6 12.'i!KC4 �e6 13.'i!fa4!+= White has a stable advantage. 9J�.dl

9.d5 is premature. After 9 ... CZJ a6, White can try the concrete (Worse is 9 ... es 10. dxe6 CZJa6 11.ll:Jgs ll:Jcs 12. 'i!fa3 ll:J xe6 13. 'B. d1 i and White has pressure.; Another option is 9 ... cxds 10. cxds CZJa6 11. � e3 CZJg4 12. �d4 it.xd4 1J.I:iJXd4 ClJCS 14.'i!fd1 'i!Kb6 15. a3 l:iJf6� with a solid posi­ tion for Black.) 1o.dxc6 (10. it.e3 is met with 10 ... es 11.dxe6 'i!Ke7 12. 'B.ad1 �xe6 13. ii..j4 'B.fdB� and Black will get a tempo with CZJc5.) 10 ... bxc6 n.CZJd4.

Now Black has to find the correct n ... 'B.b8!

64

(The forced line n . .J;z:Jcs 12.�e2 CZJce4 13 .ClJ Xe4 (13 . ClJ XC6 �Cl 14.ClJxe4 Cl:Jxe4 15.ClJ b4 � e6oo =) 13 ... Cl:Jxe4 14. �xe4! fxe4 15.�xe4 ds 16.�h4 �b6 17.CZJ f3+= offers better chances for White.)

(After 12.�d1 �d7 13.ClJ xc6 (13. i.. x c6? es!) 13· · · � xc6 14. � xc6 �c8� White is not able to save his extra pawn.) 12 ... CZJb4 13.CZJ xc6 Cl:J xc6 14. i. xc6 �q 15.�a4 �b7 16. �xb7 �xb7 17J !b1 !! fc8 18. �g5 (18. b3 l:!c6oo =) 18 ... l:!c6oo= and in the final posi­ tion Black has good compensation. It slightly reminds of the sacrifice in the English opening: LC4 cs 2. CZJ {J Cl:J f6 3.CZJc3 Cl:Jc6 4.g3 g6 s. i.g2 i.g7 6.o-o o-o 7.d4 cxd4 8.CZJ xd4 d6 9.CZJ xc6 bxc6 1o. i.xc6 !Ib8.

MAY, 20 12

with (10 . . . CZJ d7 However, n .Cl:Jgs ClJXC3 12. bXC3 CZJj6 13.C5! ds 14.C4+= looks better for White.) n.bxq. In the only game I found, Black had played n ... CZJd7 and after 12.c5! ds 13. � f4 b6 14.C4 e6 15. �d6 l:!e8 16.�a4+/- White had a clear ad­ vantage. Stocek-Szabolcsi, Buda­ pest 1996.; b) 10.CZJxe4 fxe4 n.CZJe1 ds 12.CZJc2

�b6 13.�C3 CZJd7+= I= looks bet­ ter for White, but Black has chanc­ es for equality.;

c) w.Cl:Jgs is also possible. After 1o ... Cl:J xq (w ... Cl:Jxgs n. i.. xgs Cl:J d7 12.e4 jxe4 13.ClJxe4 h6 14. i.. e3+= of­ fers White a pleasant advantage.) n.bXC3 h6 12.CZJ h3

9 ... CZJa6

Previously, Nakamura had played 9 ... CZJe4 and after

a) An interesting alternative is

1o. l:!b1!? with the idea that af­ ter 10 ... Cl:J xc3?! White recaptures

12 ... �e8! � and the next maneuver will be CZJd7-f6. The position looks OK for Black.; 10 . . . Cl:J xc3 11. �xc3 CZJ d7 12. �a3 h6 13.cs ds 14.CZJ h4 'i!?h7 15.f4 Cl:J f6 16.CZJ f3 i.d7 17.Cl:Jes i.e8= Black equalized in Nielsen-Nakamura, Amsterdam 2009.9···CZJe4 is worse than the move in the game, and in my opinion 10. !Ib1!? seems to be the best answer.

C H ESS EvoLUTION

1o.'iVa3!? Main and concrete. Aronian pre­ pares b4.

65

fers Black a good game.) 12 ... tiJce4 13.CZJXd5

10. !!b1 Here Black should continue with

10 ... !!b8!. Now looking for direct ac­ tion with (w... W!!as?! doesn't make sense. After n . il.. d2 'iYq 12. W!Ja3 etJ e4 13 . it.. e1 tiJ xc3 14. it.. xc3 ds? 1s. cxds cxds 16. 'i1 bC1 W!id8 17. � d2 .1i.e6 18. .1i.j4 .1i.f6 19.e3 W!Jb6 20. iLes �g8 21. �xj6 exf6 22.etJe1+/- White was positionally winning in the game D. Paunovic-Drazic, Kragu­ jevac 2009; After 10 W!fe8 White follows his main plan with 11. W!fa3 etJe4 12. b4 etJxc3 13. W!Jxc3. The game continued with lJ ... etJq 14. � b2 /4 15.'iVd2 jxg3 16. hxg3 ds 17. cxds cxds 18.tiJes �e6 19. W!ie3 tiJ bs 2o. 'iVb3 'i1d8 21. !!bc1 gs 22.e4+/- with a clear edge for White. Pantsulaia-S.Guliev, Abu Dhabi (op) 2007.) 11.c5 is met with u ... CZJq 12.CZJg5 d5! � and Black is OK since White has lost a lot of moves in order to provoke d5.; .•.

10.d5 is still premature. After 10 ... etJc5 u.'iVc2 cxd5 White tried the unusual idea 12. �e3. Black reacted well by playing (12. cxds �d7� of-

13 ... CZJ g4! and after 14.etJd2 etJxe3 15.tiJ xe3 tiJ f6 16.etJb3 (16. cs dsi ) 16. . .f4! i Black had the initiative in Marovic-Lombardy, Banja Luka 1976. 10.a4!? Again, Black plays with the same plan: 10 ... !!bs. After (10 ... 'iVq?! has the idea of prepar­ ing e5, but this is to slow. After u. W!/a3 e5 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.b4 !!e8 14.c5 i Black went astray with 14 ... iLe6?.

White answered 15 .etJ xe5! etJd5 (ls... W!fxes i6. il.f4+-) 16.tiJxd5 W!/xe5 17. � f4! and after 17... W!/b2?! (Better was 17... W!fxe2 18. !!d2 W!/h5 (18 . . . W!f C4 19. il..j1 W!fe4 20.j3+-) 19. � f3 W!/h3 20.etJC3+/-, but here White has a huge advantage as well.)

66

18. lWxb2 � xb2 19. !! ab1 � g 7 2o.bs+- White soon won the game. Li Shilong-Reinderman, Gronin­ gen (op) 2007) n.lWa3 Black has a nice maneuver which was already mentioned be­ fore n ... �e6! 12.d5 (12. b3 �gB�) 12 ... �g8 and he has a good position. The game continued with 13.b4 cxds (13 ... cs!?� was a serious alternative.) 14.cxds CZJe4 (Maybe better was 14 ... l:!cB 15. �b2 lWb6 16.bs ll:Jcs� with a nice position for Black.) 15. �b2 lWb6 16.CZJ xe4 fxe4 17. �xg7+ Wxg7 18.lWq+ !!f6 19.ll:Jgs lWxb4 2o.lWe3 ll:Jcs 21.ll:J xe4 ll:Jxe4 22. �xe4 l!¥cs 23. !!d4 �c8 24. � f3 !!q= and soon a draw was agreed in the game Peng­ Nijboer, Wijk aan Zee 2008.

MAY, 20 12

position. Korchnoi-Dolmatov, Las Vegas 1999. 10 ... h6 was also played, but now I don't see the real point behind Wh8 and CZJa6. Moves like !!d1 and lWa3-b3 have the purpose of organiz­ ing an attack on the queenside. The natural reaction is n.b4 CZJq 12. �b2 l!¥e8 13.ds! and White was better af­ ter 13 ... �d7 14.CZJd4 ll:J g4 15.dxc6 bxc6 16.bs cs 17. � xa8 (17.CZJc2!? i ) 17. . .CXd4 18.CZJd5 CZJ xa8 19. �Xd4 g5 2o.f3 ll:Jes 21.l!¥xa7+/- Gozzoli-Bau­ er, Nancy 2008. 10 ... .fi.e6?! is premature. After n.ds cxds 12.cxds �d7

ll:Jq The best move for sure.

lO • • •

10 ... 1We8 is not so good in combi­ nation with Wh8 and ll:J a6. In the variation with 8.lWb3 Black doesn't play for the es break since White has a strong pressure on the d-file. Now the main move is n.b4 ll:Jq 12. �b2, and here Black made a mistake with (White can also claim an edge af­ ter 12. !!b1 �d7 13.d5 h6 14.CZJd4 es 15.dxe6 ll:Jxe6 16.lLlxe6 lWxe6 17. �!4 lWxc4 18. '8.xd6 a6 19.ll:Ja4!+= Gazar­ ian-N.Kosintseva, Essentuki 2003.) 12 ... es?. After 13.dxes dxes 14.1Was! ll:Ja6 15.b5 b6 16.l!¥a3 ll:Jcs 17.bxc6 e4 18.ll:Jd4+- White had a winning

13. �e3+= Black lost a tempo with �e6-d7 and White has time to re­ group his pieces with !!ac1, �d4, ll:Je1-d3 etc. u.ds

Aronian takes action in the center. I am not sure if this move is the best option for White, but other moves are not giving any advantage either. The alternative is n.CZJe1!? prepar­ ing the e4 break and to react with ds. Here the best move for Black is

C H ESS EvoLUTION

67

n ... cs

Nakamura decides to blockade the position. This makes sense since White is not able to create a fast at­ tack on the queenside. Still, he has to play on that side because of his maneuver 'ifb3-a3. n ... as!N. The natural (After 11 .1l.e6 12.d5 cxds 13. cxds .1l.g8 14 . .1l.e3 as 15. i. d4 �d7 16.tl:Jc2 '§.feB q. E: ac1 'i!cb8 18. b4 axb4 19. �xb4 tl:J a6 2o.�b2 tl:Jcs 21.e4 jxe4 22.tl:Jxe4+= White stabilized the position and had better chances in the game Markus-Klip, Aghios Kirykos (op) 2009.) 12.tl:Jc2 is met with •..

n ... .1l.d7!? After 12.dxc6 (12. �e3 cs 13. b4?! is met with 13 ... tz:Jg4! 14. bxcs tl:J xe3 15jxe3 dxcs=+ and Black is already better.) 12 ... bxc6 (12 ... .1l.xc6 13. b4 a6 14 . .1l. b2+= is positionally better for White.) 13.tl:Jd4 �e8oo Black has no weaknesses.

(On 12.tl:Jd3 follows 12 ... i.e6 13.b3 bs! 14.cxbs tl:Je4! 15.'i¥b2 (1s.tl:Jxe4? tl:J xbs!) 15 ... tl:J xbs 16.tl:J xbs cxbs� and Black has at least an equal po­ sition.) 12 ... i.e6 13.d5 i.d7! and now White has problems with bs. The knight is not on his best square on c2. That's why the best option for White is 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.tl:Jd4, but after 15 ... 'i¥e8� Black has nothing to worry about.; After u.b4 Black has a very nice plan with u ... i.e6 12.tl:Jd2 tl:Jd7! 13.e3 tlJ b6. After 14 . .1l. fi (14. 'if9b3 tlJ xC4 15.tlJxC4 bs 16. �xc6 .1l.xc4=+ looks better for Black.) 14 ... �e8 with the idea of�f7. 15.c5 tl:Jbds 16.tl:Jq 'ifd7 17. i.d2 tl:J xC3 18.'ifxC3 i.ds 19.a4 gs!=+ Black was dominating in the game Bets-Malaniuk, Tula 2001.

12.b4?!N

Novelty, but not the best one. Aro­ nian understands that this is his last chance to create play on the queen­ side, but as we will see, Black is not worse here. 12. 'i1b1 Black has different plans now, but the most interesting is 12 ... as!? 13.�b3 .1l.d7. Black prepared the bs break, which will offer him action on the queenside. If White block-

68

MAY, 20 12

ades the position with 14.a4, Black can play (After 14 . .1l./4 a4 ls.l!!!c2 bs 16.cxbs CiJxbs 17-CLJxbs .axbs 1B.C£Jgs .1l.d7� Black should be OK.) 14 ... CLJa6 15.CLJg5 CLJb4oo and the position is very complicated. 12 cxb4 13.l!!fXb4 .•.

16 ... l!!fb 6?!

I3···CLla6! 14.l!!fh t .ad7i

Thanks to 12.b4?! Black will be able to put pressure on c4. At this point, we can give the opening conclusion: Black has more than a good position. ts. ll:J hs

The calmer 15 . .1i..e3 li!!C7 16.l!!!b3 E: fc8 17. !!ac1 l!!!xq 18.l!!!xb7 CLJcs 19.l!!! b 2 !!ab8 2o.l!!id 2 CLJa4 i also gives Black some initiative. Still, this looks like a better option than the move in the game.

The first imprecise move by Naka­ mura. During the game it is easy to get seduced by an idea like l!!!b 6 and ll:Jg4. We will see that after this move, White will get some counterplay. The correct move was 16 . . . ll:Jcs ! . Th e normal reaction 17. .1i.. b 2 (After 17.ll:Jxa7 :B.aB 18.ll:J bs .11.. xbs 19.l!!fxbs Black has the strong 19 ... ll:J a4! and White is in trouble.) 17... a6 18.li:Jd4 (18.li:Ja3 bs=+) 18 ... ll:Ja4 19.e3 (19.l!!fc2 bs 2o. !!ac1 l!!!b 6=+) 19 ...bs!=+ leads to a strong pressure for Black.

C H Ess EvoLUTION

18.a4!

The best option for White. It is very instructive to see how Aronian cre­ ates play in this position, which still looks worse for White. 18 . .ab2 would lead to a better posi­ tion for Black after 18 ... � xbs 19.cxbs ll:Ja4 2o. �d4 Wfas 21.Wfd3 ll:J c3 22.ll:Jb3 Wfb4 23. �XC3 8: XC3 24.Wfe2 B:fc8=+ IS W!fas!? •..

Interesting choice. Nakamura wants to stop as or, at least, to force White to play �a3-b4. The alternative was 18 ... ll:Jce4, but after 19.as (19.ll:Jxe4?! jxe4 i ) 19 ... 'i!fa6

69

a few moves ago. After this move things are forced. 21. .. W!fqoo would lead to an approxi­ mately equal position. 22.ll:Je6 � xe6 23.dxe6 Wfes

There's an interesting idea after 23 ... bs 24 . .ab7 B:bs 2s . .1Lxa6 is an­ swered with the beautiful 2s ... ll:Jds!?. Still, after 26.cxds W!fb6 27 Jh2 Wfxa6 28.ll:Jb3! i White has the maneuver ll:Jas-c6 that gives him better chances.

(19 ... Wfd8 is met with 2o. � xe4! ll:J xe4 (2o.. jxe4 21. �b2+=) 21.ll:Jxe4 fxe4 22. �b2 B: xq 23 . � xg7+ �xg7 24.ll:Jd4 W!fq 2s.Wfxe4 � fs 26. Wfh4+= and White is better.) 2o. � fl ! oo the Black queen is badly placed. The position starts to look better for White. 19. �a3 a6

Both players are fans of complicated positions, so this move isn't a surprise. Black could have simplified the position with 19 ...ll:Jfe4 2o. B:a2 �xbs (2o...ll:Jxd2 21. 8:dxd2�) 21. �b4! ll:Jc3 22. � xas ll:Jxb1 23.axbs ll:J xd2 24. �xd2= and the position is about equal. 2o. �b4 'i!fds 21. ll:J d4 ll:J xa4?!

Risky decision by Nakamura, but he was probably under the influence of the missed opportunity he let go

24. � Xb7!

Brave decision by Aronian. This is the introduction of the queen sacrifice. Another option was 24.Wfa2 lLlcs 2s. �xcs B:xcs 26. �xb7 as 27. 8:ab1i with some pressure for White. 24 . . . 8:b8 2s . .li. xa6 ll:J C3 26. � XC3 l:! xb1 27. 8:dxb1oo =

The position has changed its char­ acter once again. White has decent compensation for the queen and Black has to activate his pieces. This is exactly what Nakamura is doing with his next move.

70

27. . . gs ! 28. :ab7 Cl:J gs 29. iL xg7+ Wxg7 30. E:bs �g6 31.c5 dxcs 32 J�hcs �xe6 33.CZJf3

Black has won the e6 pawn, but since all the pawns are on the same side, Black should take care of pos­ sible weaknesses on fs and gs.

33 ... �d6 34.CZJd4 Wh8 3s. i!c6!

Activity first! White could take the pawn with 35· E: xfs E: xfs 36.CZJ xfs �f6 37.lt:Jd4=, but this would solve Black's main problems.

MAY, 20 12

37. .1i.c8!

This move was missed by Nakamu­ ra. Now Black loses the pawn on f4 which leads to a slight advantage for White. 37. . . �a7 38.CZJe6 E: f6 39.exf4 gxf4 4o. E:c7 �a4

40 ... �a3 41.CZJxf4 es 42.Cl:Jds � fs 43.ClJe3+/- would lead to similar prob­ lems as in the game. 41.CZJXf4+=

Here Black has problems since his knight is badly placed and both pawns are weak. Of course, Black has chances to get the draw thanks to his queen. 41

..•

E:d6

Nakamura wants to simplify the position, but even then, he will be in trouble. 41 . . . es 42.Cl:Jds E: fs 43 .lt:J e3+/­ wouldn't help Black. 42 . .1J.. e6 E:dt+ 43 · E: xdt �xdt+ 44.Wg2 36 ... f4?

Here Nakamura loses control over the game. Correct was 36 ... es ! . The forced 37· E:q (J7. lLI/3 �g7 38. E: q 'lJ.f7 39. '8.Xj7 �X/7 40 . .1J.. c4 �e7 41. '8. b1 �'7 42. iLxg8 WxgB 43.CZJxgs=) 37... �ds 38. i.b7 �d6 39. '8. 1C6 leads to a drawish position after 39 ... �d8 ! 40.CZJe6 (4 o.CZJ/3 ? g4) 4 0 . . . �d1+ 41. Wp �ds+ 42. Wh3 (42 . Wg1 �di+=) 42 ... �dt!=

C H ESS EvoLUTION

44 ... CLJ f6?

The final mistake. Nakamura prob­ ably thought that activating the knight would be enough for a draw, but it seems like this move is simply a mistake. Much better was 44··· g7 when White has interesting options, such as 45- �ds! ? i with the idea of creat­ ing a threat with CLJe6 in the future. (4s- �xg8 xg8 46. 'Bxq l!!id6+= I= is also better for White, but Black has chances to survive.) 45· 'Bxe7+/- 4s ... l!!/e1 46. 'B f7! l!!/e4+

46 ... l!!/e s 47. i.b3 l!!/e4+ 48.f3 l!!/ b 4 49· i.e6 l!!/c3 so. h3+-

71

jectively, Black has no moves and the position is lost. 48 ... l!!/es 49· h4 l!!/d4

Otherwise comes gs.

so. �g4!

The last precise move. Black can't stop CLJe6 which will paralyze all of Black's pieces. After so. gs? CLJg8! Black would have had another chance to save the game, with the CLJe7 motif (after 51. h4).

so ... l!!/es sv�z:Je6 h6

What else?

52· 'B f8+ CLJ gS 53.f4 l!!/ b 2 54· h3 l!!/a 1

After 54 ... l!!/ b s ss.fs+- Black can't stop f6 and f7. ss. i. hs

The new threat is �f7. Already here, Black could have resigned the game, but he kept fighting for a few more moves. ss ... h7

ss ... l!!i fi+ s6. h4 l!!/ f2 57.h3 l!!/ b 2 ss . .1l.g6 l!!IC J s9.fs+-

48. h3!+-

Black has activated his knight, but his king remains in a mating net. That's why he can't move any other piece except the queen, while White will bring his king to the attack. The computer still gives+/= here, but ob-

s6. 'Bf7+ hs s7- �g6 t8 f6 ss. 'Bfs+ CLJgS 59. lt. f7 1-0

72

MAY, 20 12

GIMES 1> 1>

aged by the fact that Karjakin is not a natural d4 player.

S. Karjakin (2769) H. Nakamura (2759)

74th Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee, NED Round 8, 22.01.2012 [A97] Annotated by Borki Predojevic In the following game, Black chose a very risky setup. After 8.b4!, White immediately put pressure over Black's position. The whole setup is just worse for Black and, in my opinion, White can also claim an advantage in the main line after 8. !!e1. Black re­ acted with 8 ... i.d8, which looks like a strange decision, but other alterna­ tives don't give Black real counterplay either. White created a promising po­ sition, but he made a mistake in the 12th move. He should have played 12. !!et! and Black would be in serious trouble. After 12.exfs? Nakamura used his chance and, with precise and direct moves, he was able to hold a slightly worse position. His play in the mid­ dlegame is instructive and unique. I.C4 f5 2.d4 CL'l f6 3.CLlf3 e6 4.g3 il. e7 5· .ig2 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7·CLlC3

8.b4!

Aggressive move. Karjakin chooses a variation that does very good ac­ cording to theory and previous results. Instead of organizing the central break with e4, White immediately starts ac­ tion on the queenside with the idea of breaking with cs in the future. Objec­ tively, after 8.b4! there are not many representative games. The main move is 8. !!et and the most popular reply is 8 .. .l�¥g6 a) After 8 . . . CLle4 9.CLl xe4 fxe4 1o.CL'ld2 ds

7.Wic2 as 8.CLlc3 CL'lc6 9.b3 es w.dxes dxes 11. !!d1 Wle8 was played in the game Wojtaszek-Williams, France (tch) 2011, and analyzed in the ,July 2011" issue of Chess Evolution. 7 Wies ..•

Nakamura chose a very risky setup in this game. Maybe he was encour-

11.[)! White has better chances due to the central break. 11 ... � f6

C H Ess EvoLUTION

(The forced line after 12.'�Jxf3

n

. . . exf3

at) 12 . .ixf3 CZJc6 13.e3 �d7� and White has small problems with development on the queenside.;

u) 12.exf3 CZJc6 13.f4 �d8 14.CZJ f3 dxC4 15 . .ie3 �bs 16.�c2 (16.Cl:Jes Cl:Jxes 17. dxes �xd1 18. 'Bexd1 cs 19. 'Bac1 bsoo ) 16 ...b5 17.CZJg5 .i xg5 18. � xc6 � f6�;

12 ... dxC4 13.�c2 �b5 14. � f4 Cl:Jc6 15. �aCI .id6 16.e3+= is in White's favor.) 12.e3 is the more positional re­ sponse. (12.fxe4!? � xd4+ 13.e3 (13. �h1 dXC4 14. ClJXC4 CZJc6oo ) 13 ... .ib6 14.exd5 exd5 15.cxd5 � f5!+= and even though White has an extra pawn, Black will be able to create counterplay with CZJd7-e5.) 12 ... exf3 13 . .i xf3 (1J.CZJxf3 CZJc6 14 . .id2+= also looks more pleas­ ant for White.) 13 . . . c6 14.b3+= with a slight advantage for White. In a posterior game Black played 14 ... e5?. After (14 ... �e7 15 . .i b2 CZJ a6 16. a3 CZJq 17.e4+=) 15.cxd5 cxd5 (1s... exd4 is met with 16. .ia3! dxe3 17.CZJC4 .ixa1 18J ! xe3 �!7 19 . .i xj8 �xf8 2o. �xa1+/- /+­ and it is very hard to believe that Black can survive.) 16 . .i xd5+ �h8 17. .ia3 1i.. e7 18. �xe7 �xe7 19.CZJC4 CZJd7 2o . .ig2 e4 21.�h5 CZJ f6 22.�e5+- White had a win­ ning position. Anastasian-Amin, Abu Dhabi (op) 2007.

73

b) 8 ... �h5 9.e4 fxe4 1o.CL!xe4 Cl:Jxe4

(w ... CZJc6 can be met with n.CZJc3!?. Usually Black plays here n ... CZJd8, but after 12.h3 h6 13.b4!?+= it's clear that White has the advantage.) u. �xe4 i is better for White. After u ... CZJc6 12 . .i f4 .i f6 13.�d2 White was successful in the following games: 13 ... �h8 (1J ... 1i.. d7 14. �ae1 �ae8 15. b4 a6 16.a4 h6 17.g4!? �g6 18. .ig3+= Even with this original and risky play, White is better. 18... b6 19. h3 as?! 2o. bs Cl:J b4 21.cs!+/­ Budnikov-S.Kristovic, Berlin (op) 1994.; 13 ... h6 14. E:.ae1 gs 15.g4! �!1 16. .ig3+=) 14. �ae1 �d7

15.c5!+/- 15 ... dxc5 (1s... ds 16. � 4e3+!-) 16.dXC5 e5 17.ClJXe5 CZJxe5 18 . .i xe5 1i.. c 6 19. i. xf6! i.xe4 2o. � xg7+ �xg7 21.�d4+ �f6 22. �xe4 �af8 23.h4 �h8 24. �e7 �fs 25.f4 �g6 26.�h2+- Keres-Simagin, URS (ch) 1951. This classical game is a nice example of how to play this setup with White.; 9.e4 fxe4 1o.Cl:J xe4 Cl:J xe4 11. �xe4 CZJc6 and here White can play (u ... e5 leads to an interesting po­ sition after 12. �e3!? (12. �e1 CZJc6 13.dxes .ig4 14.h3 ii.xj3 15. Jl.x/3 dxes 16. �e4 �f6 17. �e3+= Melkumy-

74

MAY, 20 12

13 ... exds 14.cxds ll:Jes

an-Amin, Lake Sevan 2008.) 12 ... ll:Jc6 13.dxes .1l.. g4 (After 13 ... Wh8!? White has more alternatives, but it's interesting 14.exd6 �xd6 15.ezJ h4!? �/7 16. 'f!./3 �XC4 17. 'i!.xj8+ il.xf8 18. ii./4 �!7 19.ezJ/3i which also of­ fers White an advantage in a situ­ ation with equal material.) 14.h3 .1t.x[J 15Jhf3 dxes 16Jhf8+ 'B.xf8 17. .1l.. e 3+= I= and the main differ­ ence with the 12. 'B.e1 line is that White exchanged a pair of rooks, so it's easier for him to exploit Black's weaknesses. The computer offers 17... ezJd4 18. ii.xd4 exd4 19.�xd4, but in this line Black is a pawn down without compensation.)

(After the forced 14 ... it. fs 15.ezJh4 ii. xh 4 1 6 . dxc6 ! N 1 6 . . . ii. xe 4 17. ii.xe4 �f7 ( 17. . . :B.ae8?? 18.�c4+ ds 19. ii.xg6 dxC4 2o. it. xe8 'B. xe8 21.gxh4+-)

18.�d2! Key move. 18 ... �gs (18 ... WhB 19. cxb7 'B. ae8 20. ii. ds �d7 21.gxh4 C6 22. �g2 �Xb7 23. �C3 d5 24. ii.e3+-) 19.f4 Wh8 2o.cxb7 'B.ab8 21.�ds! Black is in serious trouble. 21. .. .i f6 22 . .ie3 cs 23. 'B.b1 �e7 24 . .i f2+/- /+- leads to a technically lost position for Black.)

12.�e2 ii.f6

13.ds (13. ii.d2 es 14.dxes dxes 15. ii.q ii. fs 16.ezJh4 ii.xh4 17. :8.xh4+= is anoth­ er option. One of the last games in this line continued with 17... 'B.ae8 18. �d2!? 'B.d8 19. '%!fe2 �d3 20. �e3 �b1 21. �ds+ Wh8 22. 'B. xb1! �xbi+ 23.Wg2 �g6 24. .1l.. e 4 '%!ff6? (24 ... 'f!.js 2s. it.xjs '%!¥xfs 26. 'f!.e4+!-) 2s. 'B. xh7+ Wg8 26. 'B. hs ll:Jd4 27. 'B.xes �xes 28. � h7+ Wxh7 29.�xes ll:J fs 30. �xq 'B. de8 31.�xb7 �e2 32.�xa7+- and soon White won the game. Feller-Wil­ liams, Novi Sad 2009.)

1s.ll:Jxes ii.xes 16. il.e3 ii. fs (16... it.h3 1J. 'Eic4 it.xg2 18.Wxg2 W!fj7 19.Wg1+=) 17. 'B.b4 b6 18.W!/d2 �f7 19. 'B.c1+= and White will organize pressure on the c­ file, while Black has limited counter­ play. Ib.Saric-Troselj, Rijeka (op) 2007. Instead of the direct 8.e4 or 8.b4! White had other options like 8.b3 8

.•.

ii.d8!?

Typical ,Nakamura" move! The main idea is to push es without creating any weaknesses on the kingside. Already here we can say that White has the ad­ vantage. I can't believe that Black can

C H ESS EvoLUTION

75

play moves like e6, d6, il.. e7, lWes and it.. dS, and get a good position.

essee (op) 2002.; 9· � b2 �xc3 10. il.. xc3 CZJd7)

8 ... c6?! doesn't look logical here. Combining the moves 7... 1Wes and 7... c6 isn't the best idea. 9.lWb3

9 .. .fxe4 1o.CZJd2 and Black has to be careful with the pawn on e4. The best option is 10 ... a5, but after

(9.1Wc2 is also possible. After the bad maneuver 9 .. .ll:Ja6 10. 'E!.b1 CZJq White got a winning position 11.cs! 'flhs?! 12. il..j4 ll:Jce8 13. bs ds 14. bxc6 bxc6 1s. 'fla4+- I.Ivanov-Coudari, Montreal 1981.)

(10 ... d5 n .cxds exds 12.lWb3 'flf7 (12 . . . il.. e6 13. ll:J xe4 CZJ c6 14. il.. e3 ll:J xb4 15.CZJC3 +!- and Black has problems with the pawns on d5 and b7.) 13.f3! e3 14.f4 exd2 (14 ... !! dB 15.CZJ/3+!-) 15 . .1L xds dxe11W 16. ii. xf7+ !! xf7 17. !! axC1+/- and White has a material advantage.)

(10.a4 CZJe4 11.CZJ xe4 (n.cs!?i ) n ... fxe4 12.CZJd2 ds 13.b5 CZJd7 14. il.. a3 a6 15.bxc6 bxc6 16. � xe7 1Wxe7 17.lWa3 1Wxa3 18Jha3 !!bs 19. !!b3 !! xb3 2o.ll:J xb3 ll:Jb6 21.cxd5 exds 2 2 . ll:J cs+= B ocharov- Chuprov, Salekhard (op) 2006.)

n.bs d5 12.Wi'c2 (12.a4i is also prom­ ising for White.) 12 ... CZJd7 13.cxd5 exds 14.a4�/± White has pressure. 8 ... �c6

1o ... ll:Jbd7 n.cs+= 1+1- is clearly bet­ ter for White.; 8 ... CZJe4 is met with

9.CZJ xe4! (9.1Wc2 �XCJ 10.1WXCJ CZJd7 11. iJ.b2 �h8 12.c5 ll:Jf6 1J. !!ac1 il.. d7 14.CZJd2 ds!i Kuempers-Z.Szabo, Bad Wi-

9.b5 CZJdS is a maneuver played by Black occasionally, with the idea of preparing a possible attack on the kingside, and solving the prob­ lem of the knight on bS. However, White gets a lot of space and can in­ crease the pressure on the queenside with 10.a4! (10. 'f!c2 'flhs n.e4 jxe4 12. ll:Jxe4 a6! 13. 'E!.b1 �xe4 14. Y!!!xe4 axbs 1s. 'Bxbs 'f!g6� Figura-Boe Olsen, Bundesliga 2005.) 10 ... Y!!! hs 11. ii.a3 After n ... � f7 12.e3 Y!!f h6

76

(12 ... .il.d7 is met with 13.liJes! Vl6xd1 14. 'f!.jxd1 i.c8 15.liJd3+= I= and Black has space problems.) 13. Vl6e2 'B.e8 14.e4 e5 15.dxe5 l£Jg4 (15 ... dxe5 leads to an advantage for White after 16. il.. xe7 'B. xe7 17.exf5 i.xf5 18.l£J h4 i.g4 19.Vl6c2 e4 (19 ... 'B. dB 2o.l£Jjs .il. xfs 21. V19xfs+l-) 2o.l£J xe4 g5 21.liJ xf6+ W9xf6 22.h3 i.xh3 23. i.xh3 gxh4 24. i.g2 1!ae8 25. 'B.a3+= 1+1-) 16.h3 l£Jgxe5 17.l£Jxe5 l£J xe5 18.f4 White is better. For example 18 ... l£J f7 19. :aae1 (19.exjs+l-) 19 ... i. f6 2o.l£Jd5 i.d8 (20 ... i.d4+ 21. f8 19. �C2 \t>g7 20.b4 il.a7 21. 1lb3oo 9 ... g6

9 ... ds? w.CZJCJ d4 11.C2Jds 'f!fd8 12. 1lq CZJc6 (12 ...g6 1J.CZJXd4+-) 13.f4+/-

cz:J e3 1l cs Normally in the Sveshnikov sys­ tems, the bishop takes a passive posi­ tion on e7. to

.

.

(12.C3 o-o 13.CZJg3 1le6 (13 ... g6 14. 'f!fd2 \t>g7 15. \t>h1 il.e6 (1s ... CZJc6 16j4 exj4 17. 'f!.xj4 CZ:J es 18. 'f!.aj1 �e6?? �

91

u.tiJq

Caruana is considered to be a spe­ cialist of this line with both colors. After this game, he improved White's play and used a very interesting plan, which became more or less the main plan for White.

.!

19.C2Jjs++-) 16.f4 cz:Jd7 17.fs ..i xds 18.exds ctJ f6 19.CZJe4i ) 14. �C2 CZJd7 15. �b3 g 6 16.'f!fd2 \t>g7 17. 'f!.ad1 hs i 1-o Almasi,Z­ Giri, A/Beijing C H N 2011 (42)).

(Black shouldn't get the pawn 11 ... �xb4? 12.C2Jds 'f!fd6 13.CZJd2 i bs 14.C4

92

MAY, 20 12

(14.a4 �b7 15.axbs axbs 16.ll:J xb4 l!fxb4 q. l:!b1 (17.ll:Jf3 ll:Jc6 18. '8b1 l!fe7 19. '8xbs ii.. a6 2o. 'Bds ii.. xd3 21. 'Bxd3 'Ba7 22.l!fd2 ctlj8 23. 'Bd1 ctlg7= 24. 'Bxd7?? 'Bxd7 25.lWxd7 'E!d8) 17... l!fe7 18. '8xbs 1l.c6 :e: �

a

23. bxc5 $.e6oo =) 18 ... ct/f8 19.axb5 axbs 2o. 'Ba3 (2o.ll:Jd1 ctlg7 21.�e2 �b6 22.ll:Je3 � e6 23. E: a3 ll:J q 24. 'i!.ja1 �c6 25. �d2 'B. h c8 =) 2o ... ct/g7 21. '8 fa1 �b6 22.ll:Jd1 'B.d8 23.�xb6 'B.xb6 24.ll:Je3 �e6 25. '8a6 '8db8 26.ct/ft+=; b) 16 ... ll:Je7 17.a4 �d7 18.axbs axbs

19.ll:Jc2+= idea ll:Ja3-Qe2 Xbs;

19.l!fa1 ct/fs 2o. 'Bas 'Bxas 21.l!fxas ctlg7 22.ll:JC4 d6 23. 'B.dt+=) 14 ... �b7 15. '8b1 ii.. xds 16.exds fs 17.a3 ii.. xd2 18.l!fxd2 ct/f7 19. '8 fe1 e4 2o. ii.. ft+/-) 12.ll:Ja3 d6 13.ll:J aq ll:Jc6 14.l!fd2 l!fds 15.c3 o-o (15 ... b5 Probably too rush. Of course, White will need time to improve his bad knight on b2, but on the other hand, Black will have a weak pawn on bs 16.ll:Jb2

16 ... 0-0 a) 16 ... 1l.xe3 17.l!fxe3 �b8 18.a4 (18. 1i.. e2 ctlj8 19. 'Bjd1 ctlg7 2o.�d2 �b6 21.�xd6 'B.d8 22.�c5 �xes

17.a4 l:!b8 18.axbs axbs 19.ll:Jds ct/g7 2o.ct/h1 'Eib7 21. 'Eia6+= 1-o Caru­ ana, F-Bocharov,D/Moscow RUS 2012 (33))

a) 16. �c2 bs This move is possi­

ble with the bishop on c2 17.ll:J xd6 ll:Jd4 18.cxd4 �xd6 19.d5 Black has compensation thanks to the strong a7 bishop 19 .. .f5 20.h3 f4 21.ll:Jg4 ii.. xg4 (21 ... hs 22.ll:J h2 g5 23. !iac1 g4 24 . .i b3 �d7 25. 'B.c6+-; 21 ... ct/g7oo ) 22.hxg4 ct/g7 23. 'Ban '8ac8 24. 1i.. d3 �d4=; b) 16. '8 fd1 b5 17.ll:Jb2 ll:Je7 18.a4 (18.

$.c2 �CJ 19.�Xd6 �XC3 20. 1l. b3 1l. xe3 21 .jxe3 � xe3 + 22. ctlh1 �gs 23.ll:Jd3 �g4 24.ll:Jxe5 � xd1 25. 'B xd1 ct/g7oo ; 18. �j1 � b7oo ) 18 ... �b7 Compared to the game, it looks like Black is on time to get a typical setup, which is im­ portant to fight for the ds square 19.axbs axbs 20. � xbs (2o.ll:Jg4 /5 21.ll:Jxh6+ ctlh7oo ) 2o . . . ii.. xe4 21.ll:JbC4 � xe3 22.ll:J xe3 !! xa1 23. 'Bxa1 �b8 24. �e2 ct/g7=;

93

C H ESS EvoLUTION

16 ... ii.e6 Probably the best is simply to develop the pieces. (16 ... as? The idea of taking con­ trol of the dark squares (cs or d4) doesn't work 17.CZJd5 f2 iL.q 40. �e3 �d6 41. �'5

the draw was agreed. Black has to avoid exchanges by playing 41. .. � f4. In that case, White would play 42. �e3 with a draw by move repeti­ tion. I/2

C H ESS EvoLUTION

GAME l t>

��>

P. Negi (2641)

K. Sasikiran (2700)

Gibraltar Open Caleta, ENG Round 8.5, 28.03.2012 [C95) Annotated by David Baramidze In the Breyer, Negi chooses the 14 . .1lg5 line. Sasikiran, once again, plays his 'ifc8 idea. White's novelty 18.t8 fd2, with the idea of meeting cs with q, is interesting, although Black had no problems in the game. Maybe White should try 2o.�e2. 1.e4 es 2.lt:Jf3 lt:Jc6 3. ii.bs a6 4. ii.a4 lt:J f6 s . o - o ke7 6. �et bs 7. ii.b3 d6 s.q o-o 9.h3 lt:Jbs 1o.d4 lt:Jbd7 n.lt:Jbd2 �b7 12. �C2 �e8 13 .lt:J ft � f8 14. �gs h6 1s. i.h4

1 91

lt:J hg4, than to play 17-a4 C4 1B.lt:J3h2 �e6= Smeets - Anand, Tata Steel­ A 2011.) 17... �q a) 17... i.e7 18.lt:Je3 lt:J xe4 (18 ... lt:J h7

19. i.xe7 � xe7 2o.CZJ f5 �e6 21.a4t Romanishin,O (2485) - Gligoric,S ( 2 5 7 5 ) / 0 d e s s a 1 9 7 5 / M C D . (2 1 . �e2!?+=)) 19. � xe7 �xe7 2o.CZJ f5 'ife6 2t.'ifg4 lt:Jg5 22.CZJxh6+ �xh6 23.�xd7 i.c6 24.'iffs t ; b) 17. . . 'ifb6 18.'iff3 �e6 19.lt:Je3 c4

2oJ hd1!?t (2o.CZJhg4 CZ:Jxg4 21.hxg4 Psakhis,L (258 0) -Abramovic, B (2475)/Tallinn 1983/MCD.);

(18 ... ke7 19.CZJe3 g6 2o. E:ad1 :aad8 21.q!?+=(21. :ae2 �g7 22. 'i!.ed2 lt:Jj8 23.CZJ hg4 Timman,J (2620)-Garcia Padron,J (2370)/Las Palmas 1981/ MCD (1-0, 57).)) 19.CZJe3 C4 2o.CZ:J hg4 CZJxg4 21.hxg4 �ae8 22. �ed1 CZJc5 23.b4!?t (23. �d2 'Eid6 (Tal,M (2615) -Smejkal,J (2615)/ Biel 1976/IZT).) 15 . . . g5 16.dxes ! CZJ xes (16. . . dxes lJ. �gJ+=) 17. �g3 CZJed7 18.CZJ3d2+= The f5 square remains weak. Navara tried this idea with Black against Gashimov 15 ... exd4!? 16.cxd4 C5

ts ... g6

also playable is 15 ... C5 16.dxe5 dxes 17.lt:J3h2 (I think it is better to go for the standard regrouping �f3, lt:Je3,

(It's not advisable to play 16 ... g5 17.CZJ xg5 hxgs 18. �xgs

192

MAY, 20 1 2

a) 16.a4 cs is more in the spir­

18 ... �Sl (18 ... �e7 19. es+l-; 18 ... cs 19. e5+/-) 19.'�Jg3 (19j4 es t+) 19 ... C5 2o.Cl:Jfs cxd4 21.'i!fxd4 (21.CLJxd6?! 'iWb6=+; 21. il.h6 il.xh6 22.liJxh6+ c:J;:;j8 23 .Cl:Jjs d3 24. 'i!f xd3 � e6 25. 'i!fd4 Cl:Jesoo ) 21... �c8 22. �aC l i White has a very dangerous ini­ tiative, it's difficult to defend such a position in a practical game.) q.ds (17.e5 dxes 18.dxes il.x6 19. 'ilfx6 Cl:J xes 20. 'i!ffs Cl:Jg6 (2o . . . Cl:J ed7 21.liJe3 i ) 21. �xe8 'i!fxe8 22. �xf6 gxf6 23.a4 �d8= For example: 24. W!lxf6 �d6 25. 'i!ffs 'i!fes 26. 'i!fxes Cl:Jxes 27.axbs axbs 28. �as �b6=) 17... g6 18. �g3 Here Black played 18 ... CZJb6 (Stronger was 18 ... C4!? gives White the d4 square but allows the creation of good play with 'i!fq,Bg7 and Cl:Jcs.) ; Playable is 15 ... �e7 but I would not prefer this

it of the Breyer system.(16. . . c6 17. liJg3 g6 18. 'i!f d 2 c:J;:;g7 1 9 . b4 i K a s i m d z h a n o v, R (2685)-0bodchuk,A (2395)/Khanty Mansiysk 2010.) ;

b) 16. �g3 � f8 17.dxes dxes (lJ...

Cl:Jxes 18.liJxes dxes 19. 'iW!3 liJ h7 2o.liJe3 liJgs 21.'iWg4 � c8 22.'i!fe2 c6 23. a4 i White was better in the game Vachier Lagrave,M (2721)-Beliavsky,A (2632)/Khanty­ Mansiysk 2010.) 18.'i!fe2 'i!fe7oo ; c) 16.dxes dxes is no problem for

Black(16. . . liJ xes This move frees the f3 square for the White queen. 17.liJxes dxes 18.'iWf3 liJd7 19. �g3 �d6 2o.liJe3 g6 21. � b3+= Plaskett,J (2405) -Kraidman,Y (2440)/Gaus­ dal 1981/Mco.) ; 16 ... g6

(16 ... gs too risky 17.Cl:J fs!? (17-liJxgs!? hxgs 18. �xgsoo =; 17. �xgs!?)) 17.'i!fd2 (17.dxes Cl:Jxes 18.liJxes dxes 19. 'iWf3 liJd7 20. �xe7 'i!fxe7 21. 'E!ad1 � ad8=) 17... c:J;;; g 7 18. � ad1 (18. a4!? cs 19. b4 i ) 18 ... CZJ h7 19. � xe7 'i!fxe7 2o.dxes (2o.h4!? Cl:J hf6 (2o... hs weakens the gs square.) 21.h5oo ) 2o . . . l£J xes 2 1 . CZJ d 4 'i!fgs (21 . . . liJ C4!? 22. 'i!fe2 'ilfgs and Black

C H ESS EvoLUTION

is fine.) 2 2 .

A. Moiseenko (2706)

.,. S. Rublevsky (2686)

19th TCh-RUS 2012 Sochi, RUS Round 2, 10.04.2012 [D27) Annotated by Kamil Miton

27... gs

27... bs ! ? It was probably the last chance for Black to create practi­ cal problems! 28.f4 (28. axbs !:!xd1+ 29. \!fxd1 !!idS+ 30. \!lc2 a4 3v�:Jc1 cxbs 32. �xbs tiJx/3 33. 1i.. xa4 �d2+ 34. ctib1 i.d4 35. i.c2 !:!xh2 36. '!! xh2 lfJxh2 37. tiJe2 1J..es=+) 28 ... '!! xd1+ 29.ctixd1 !:idS+ 30. ctic2 bxa4 31.tiJCI '!! d 2+ 32. ctic3 /fJd7 33· !:ie1 !:id6 34.l2Jd3 liJcs 35· ctic2 l2Jb3 i 28.h4 !:ixdt+ 29. ctixdt !:idS+ 30. ctic2 h6

Both sides are unable to create more problems to the opponent. I/2

Conclusion: Sergei Rublevsky, one of the biggest specialists in the Queen's Gambit Accepted, proves once again that getting an advantage against him in this opening is almost impossible. The plan with 13.�f4 doesn't give White any advantage. The idea of sac­ rificing the pawn with 14.d5 is very interesting, but according to the a re­ cent Nisipeanu game, Black can also equalize the position. In my opinion, at this moment, the evaluation of the line is equal. 1.d4 ds 2.q dxq 3.e3 e6 4.1l..xq cs s.l2Jf3 t2Jf6 6.o-o a6 7.1l..b3 cxd4

7... b5 Chess Evolution (E. Bacrot).

8.exd4/fJc6 9.l2Jq 1l..e 7 to.1J.. gs o-o liJas

n . �d2

Other plans are worse: n ... liJds?! 12./fJ xds exds I3. �Xe7 /fJ xe7 14. !:! fei �d6 •s- �aCI .ig4 16.l2Jes .i fs 17. �c3 �ac8 18. !:ice3 /fJg6 19.l2J xg6 hxg6 20. !:!es 1l.. e 6 21.h4 i 1/2-I/2 Leko,P­ Karpov,A/Miskolc HUN 2006 (64); n .. 1l.. d7 12. � fe1 �c8 13. :Sad I liJ as 14.d5 i l2J xb3 15.axb3 h6 16. 1l.. xh6 gxh6 17.d6 ctig7 18.�f4+/- 1 - 0 Caruana,F-lstratescu,A/Switzerland SUI 2010 (42) .

CHESS EVOLUTION

1 2 . .ic2 bs

223

a) 14 ... b4? 15.�d3 g6 16.d6 �xd6

17. �xd6 �xd6 18. !! xd6 ClJe8 19. E:b6 bxq 2o.i;..e7+/-;

b) 14 ... k xds 15.li:J xds exds (15 ...

13-�f4

13. !!ad1 .ib7 (13 . . . b4! ? 14.�d3 g6 15 .d5 exds (1s... bxc3 16. d6 iLxd6 17. �xc3 es 18.ll:Jxesi) 16.li:Jxds �xds 17.�xds li:Jxd5 18. E:xds k xg5 19.li:Jxgs li:Jb7 2o.ild4 h6 2I.ClJ f3 as 22 . .ie4+= 1-o Bacrot,E-Dominguez Perez,L/ Biel S U I 2008 (36))

liJxds 16. ii.xq ll:J xe7 17- iLxh7++-) 16J He1 ClJq (16. . . li:J c6 17. �!4 liJ hs 18. �h4 iL xgs 19. �xhs h6 2o.h4 iL e7 21. E: xds �b6 22.�js g6 23 . �!4 !! ads 24. E: hs 1-o L a z n i c k a ,V- E d o u a rd,R / Plov­ div B U L 2012/ The French g rand­ master lost a very quick game.) 17.�f4 !!es (17... ll:Jxb2 18.�h4 hs 19. kxf6 .ixf6 20. �xhs g6 21. il.xg6 fxg6 22. �xg6+ il.g7 23.ll:Jgs E!f6 24. �h7+ ctJfB 25. E!d4 �d7 26.lLle6+ �xe6 27. E:xe6 E!xe6 28. E!j4+ E!f6 29. E! xj6+ iL xf6 30.g4 i ) 18.�h4 (18. 1l. xj6 il. xf6 19. E! xe8+ �xe8 2o. �js ctJfB 21. �xh7 g6 22. E!e1 �c6 23. kxg6 fxg6 24. �xg6 E:c8 2s.lLlgs ll:les 26.liJ h7+ ct;q 27]4+­ ) 18 ... h6 19 . .ii. xh6 gxh6 2o.�xh6 �b6 21.�g5+ ctt fs 22.li:Jes li:J xes 23.Wfh6+ rtJgs 24. �xes .I

14.d5 Typical idea! Thanks to the pawn sacrifice, White activates his pieces and gets more possibilities to create pressure against the Black king. 14 ...exd5 The best. Let's check other variations:

24 ... �xf2+ 25.rtJh1 li:Je4 26. 1l.. xe4 dxe4 27. !!gs+ il. xgs 28.�xgs+=; c) 14 ... li:Jq 15.�f4 li:J xb2 16.dxe6

liJ xd1 17. !! xd1 �b6 18.exf7+ !! xf7 19. il.b3 k xf3 2o.�xf3 !!ds 21. !!e1�;

224

a) 15 . �d3 g6 (1s . . .C:iJe4 16. il.xe7

�xe7 17.liJxds il. xds 18. �xds liJj6 19.�gs+=) 16.�d4 b4 17J�de1 bxc3 1SJh e7 �Xe7 19. il.xf6 �d6 2o.�h4 �feS 21. il. xq �acSoo with the idea of i!xc3 eventually.; b) 15J He1!? �es 16.�d3 g6 17.�d4

liJe4 1S . .1i.xe7 �xe7 19.liJxds .Jtxds 2o.�xds �ads 21. �xe4 �xe4 22 . .1l. xe4 �xd1 23 . � xd1 � xe4 24. 'i!lfl=;

a) 15 ... �cs 16.�h4 hs If Black has

to play this kind of moves, the po­ sition can not be good. (16... �C4 17.liJd4 hs 18. il.d3+!-) 17. � fe1 b4 (17... �e8 18. il.xf6 i.. xj6 19. �xhs g6 20. ii.xg6 !lxel+ 21. �xe1 fxg6 22. �xg6+ 'i!IJ8

MAY,

2012

19. �xhs g6 2 o . � xg 6 fxg6 21.�xg6+ il.g7 22.�e6+ 'i!lhs 23.liJxds �c6 24.�g4 �cs 25.�g3 �d6 26.liJes+/-; b) 15 ... �eS ! ?N Very strong idea!

Black doesn't allow the �h4 move! 16. � fe1 (16.�h4 h6 and now the sacrifice on h6 doesn't work!; 16.liJ d4 g6 17. 'f!.je1 CiJ hs 18.�h4 .§l.xgs 19. �xe8+ �xe8 2o.�xgs liJC4=+; 16. il.xf6 il.xf6 17-liJe4 �c8 18.liJxj6+ �xj6 19.�xj6 gxf6=) �

.a..t.t.l. �

16 ... �b6! Again a strong move! This is the best place for the Black queen to fight against the main idea of �h4. The engines show this setup as the first line, but the first one who decided to play it in a practical game was the Romani­ an grandmaster: (16 ... liJC4 17. i.. xf6 (17-�h4 h6 18. i.. xh6 gxh6 19. �xh6 �b6 2o.liJxds �xds 21. �xds liJe4 22. � xb6 liJxb6 23. �es fs 24. �xfs liJd6oo ) 17... i.. xf6 1S. � xeS+ �xeS 19.�fs liJes 2o.�xh7+ 'i!lfs 21.liJ h4 g6 22.liJxg6+ liJ xg6 23. i.. xg6 .§l.g7 24. i-d3+=) 17.liJd4 bt) 17.liJes liJq 1S. /8d7 (18.liJg4

23.liJe2 �C4 24.liJj4 �xj4 25.�h6+ 'i!lg8 26. �xj4+/-) 1S. il. xf6 il. xf6

liJxg4 19 . .§l.xe7 liJge3=+; 18.liJxds i.. xds 19. �xds �b4oo ) 1S ... liJ xd7 19. �xe7 liJ f6 2o.�fs liJd6 21.�f4

CH Ess EvoLUTION

l2lde4 22. � xe4 l2l xe4 23.ctJ xds i. xds 24Jhds !!xe7 25. !! xe4=;

17... �cs 18.ctJ fs ctJqoo Black also has pressure against the b2 and f2 pawns. 19. �h4 �xe1+ 2oJhe1 E:e8 21. :axe8+ l2lxe8 22.b3 �e6 23. 'it>f1 �es 24.�xes l2l xes 25.ctJe7+ .ii. xe7 26. � xe7 f6 27.ctJe2 'it>f7 28. �c5 ctJq 29.f4 ctJd7 30 . .id6 ctJe8 31. �b4 g6 32. Wf2 lL!bs 33.l2ld4 ctJc6 34.ctJ xc6 .i xc6 35· 'it>e3oo = 1/2-1/2 Laznicka,V-Nisipeanu,L/ Plovdiv B U L 2012/u (41);

225

2o.l2lgs An improvement over the Rublevsky game. In my opin­ ion, White has the initiative and it's not easy to find a clear way to get a completely equal position for Black. (20. I!je1 .ixd5 21. I!xd5 �q 22. � b1 I!ad8 23. I!xd8 I!xd8 24. �g4 � C3 25. I!c1 �C4 0-1 Babula,V-Rublevsky,S/Ohrid MKD 2009 (26)) 20 ... �xds (2o .. j5 21.ctJe6 �eB 22.�xe8 I!jxeB 23.ctJ dq+!-) 21. i. h7+ 'it>h8 22. i.e4 .i xa2 (22 ... .iC4 23. I!xd8 I!axd8 24. I!e1 'it>gB 25.ctJf3) 23. '8 xd8 I!axd8 24. '8d1 �d4 (24 . . . 'it>gB 25. � h7+ 'it>hB 26. 'E.xd8 'E.xd8

c) 15 ... ctJq 16.�h4 hs 17.ctJe4 dxe4

(1J... �b6 1B.ctJg3 g6 19.l2lxh5 gxh5 20. b3 I!acB 21. I!je1 + -) 18.'8xd8 I!fxd8 19. i. xe4 i.xe4 2o. i. xf6 �xf6 21.�xe4 ctJ xb2 22.�f5+=;

16.�h4 � xgs 17. �xhs (1J.l2l xg5 g6 18.g4 h6 wgxh5 �xg5+ 20. �xg5 hxg5 21. hxg6 fxg6 22.ctJ xd5 I!adB 23.ctJe7+ 'it>g7 24.ctJxg6 "f!.jeB=) 17... h6 18.h4 � f6 19.ctJxds This position can already be found in practical games. Now black has some choices: 19 ... g6 a) 19 ... .ixb2

27 � b1 � c4 2 8. ctJ xj7+ .i xj7 29. �Xj7 �j6 30.�g6 'it>g8 31.g4 it.xh4 32. �xa6 ctJc4 33.�xb5+/-; 24 ... '8xd1+ 25. �xd1 'it>gB 26. �e2 hxg5 27.�xb2 il.. c4 28.�d2+/-; 24 ... 1Lj6 25. 'B. xdB i. xdB 26liJj3 'it>gB 27. �!5 g6 28. �c8 � b6 29. �xa6 'B bB 3 o. 'it>h1+!-) 25.ctJ f3 � xf2+ (25 ... �b2 26. '8xd8 'B.xdB 27.�c5i) 26.Wxf2 '8xd1 27.�f5 g6 28.�f6+ 'it>g8 29.�xa6 it.ds 30. � xds 'B. xds 31.�xas+=; b) 19 ... �xds? 2o.'l!xds �b6 21.�fs

g6 22.�f4 .Jig7 23.hs i ;

226

2o.lWxh6 (2o.t£Jxj6+ W9xf6 21.lWxh6 il.x!J 22.gx/3 !!ae8oo ) 20 . . . � xd5 21. .ie4 .ig7 (21. .. �xe4 22. !! xd8 !! axd8 (22 ... il.xdB 23. hs gxhs 24.t£Jes) 23.lWf4 il.x[J 24.'ifxf6 il.e2 25. !!e1 !! fe8 26.hst White has some pressure because the Black pieces are not well coordinated.) 22. lWf4 lWb8 23 . lWxb8 !! axb8 24. !!xds !!be8 25.il.b1 (2s.t£Jgs !!q 26. 'B.d6 tiJc4 27- !!xa6 tiJd2 28. !!e1 !!feB 29j3 il.xb2 30. 'B.d1 '!! d7 31. e1 �d3 32.fxgs C2::l f3+ 33. $>d1 hxgs 34. ifh3 it' f6 35· $>c1 �g6 36.a4

36.bs :Sd8 37.b6 a6 38.ll:Ja4 C3 ! ? 39.CZJXC3 es 36 ... :Sd8

Black opens up the position by play­ ing es, to take advantage of the weak White king. 37.CZJe2. es 38.lWg4

38. :Sd1 offered more resistance.

38 ... exd4 39.exd4

39.C2::l xd4 cz:Jes

39··· :Se8 4o.lWd7 c3 41. :Su

41. :Se2 :Sd8

GIME B 1> L. Aronian (2.807) .,.. A. Shirov (2.713)

Schachbundesliga 2011-12 Berlin, G E R Round 8, 04.02.2012 [D45] Annotated by Kamil Miton

In this game Aronian demonstrat­ ed an interesting new idea with 13.CZJ h4!?. After a short break during the European Championship, we saw this move again. It's interesting to note that probably the players didn't have enough time to check Aroni­ an's game more accurately because neither of them tried to improve his game, specifically: 13 ... g6! ? for Black, and 20 . .ie3 ! ? for White, gaining a small initiative. 1.CZJ f3 ds 2.d4 CZJ f6 3·C4 c6 4.CZJq e6 s.e3 CZJbd7 6.lWc2 �d6 7· �d3 0-0 8.o-o dxq 9· � xq bs 10. �e2.

10. �d3 This move can be found in previous issues of Chess Evolution. 10 ... �b7 n.e4 es 12..dxes

12. :Sd1

llli il ii lllil M lll':lllillrllllili.__.._..llllll ""' e 1.' 41 ... "Z...J

Nice finish.

42.. :Sxe1 lWf4+ 43. $>d1 lWe4 0-1

12··· C2::l xes

MAY, 20 1 2

256

!. I .t. A

'iV

�. . .t. .t. .t. �

.t. A .t. l . I � 8 tL\ tL\ 8 8 -rt Jl, 8 8 8 � Jl, ��

.----......_

......_

,-,�

I3.CLlh4!?N Very interesting novelty by Aroni­ an. White gets the useful fs square for his knight, and also prepares for the typical f4-e5 idea. I3.CZJ xes �xes I4.f4 �d4+ IS. $>hi b4 I6.e5 bxc3 I7.bXC3 �b6 I8.exf6 l!fxf6 I9. �b2 :aad8 2o.q .id4 21. :aabi .tcs 22 . .txd4 :axd4 I/2-I/2 Vorobiov,E-Bocharov,D/Tomsk RUS 2oo6 (6s); I3.CLld4 It's logical to check this move because the idea is the same. Comparing to the game, g6 doesn't seem very strong, but unfortunate­ ly for White, Black has another op­ tion which was not possible in the game (after I3.CLlh4): I3 ... ll:Jeg4 (1J ...g6 14. :adi +=) I4.Cl:Jfs (14.g3 .ixg3 15.hxg3 llfxd4 16.l!fd1 l!fxd1 1;7. gXd1oo=) I4··· �xh2+ I5.$>hi For the pawn, White has a strong knight on fs and poten­ tial possibilities to advance his pawns with tempo, although Black should be fine with correct play. Let's see some variations:

a) I5 ... g6 I6.f3 (16.CZJ h6+ ll:J xh6

1;7. .ixh6 .iq 18. :aad1 Vlle7 19. .ixj8 :axjBoo =; 16. .igs gxfs 17. .ixg4 jxg4 18.$>xh2 V/Hd6+ 19.$>g1 Vlles 2o. .ih4 b4=+) I6 ... gxfs I7.fxg4 Cl:J xg4 (1;7. � es 18. 'f!. xjs Vll e7 19. �/4 � xj4 2o. 'Jl.xj4 CZJd7 21.esi) IS. :axfs ••

�

R .l !'!,

.Ia

.l •

I8 . . . � f4 I9. :a hs CZJ f2+ 2o. $>gi VJid4 21.$>fi � XCI 22.VJiXCI ClJ Xe4 23.CZJ xe4 l!fxe4 24.V/Hh6 f6 25. :a h4 V/Hfs+ 26. :a f4 V/Hd7 27. :adi V/He7oo ; b) I5 ...b4 I6 . .ig5 (16j3 bXCJ 17jxg4

.ies 18.g5 CZJe8 19. bXCJ00 ) I6 ... bXC3 I7. .i xg4 .ies I8.bxCJ (1Bj4 Vlld2) I8 ... V/Hq I9 . .ie2 C5 20.f3+=;

c) Is ... �c8?! I6.g3 (16j3 �xfs 17jxg4

ll:Jxe4 18. $>xh2 ll:Jj2 19. V/1xfs V/Hh4+ 20. $>g1 CZJh3+ 21.gxh3 VJig3+ 22. $>h1 llfxhJ+=) I6 ... b4 I7. � xg4 ll:J xg4 I8.CLle2 :aes I9.CZJe3 (19. $>g2+=) I9 ... il-xg3 2o.fxg3 V/Hgs 21.CLl xg4 l!fxg4

C H Ess EvoLUTION

22. !! f4 �h3+ 23. �g1 �g4 24. !! f2 �Xe2 25.�Xe2 �xg3+ 26. !!g2+=; 16. � gs (16.j3 liJ hs 11.fxg4 �C7 18. �g1 �h2+ 19. ��2 l£Jg3 oo ) 16 ... �c8! It's very important for Black to eliminate the strong knight. (16... b4 17.j4 bXC3 18.�XCJ+f-; 16... h6 17. �Xj6 l£J xf6 18. !!ad1 t ; 16... �q 17.j4 h6 18. 1Lxj6 C£Jxf6 19. es liJds 2o.liJxds cxds 21. �d3+=) 17. !!ad1 (17. �xg4 �q; 17.es �d7) 17... �q (17... �b6 18. �xg4 l£J xg4 19.f£Je7+ (19. �e2) 19 ... �h8 2o.l£J xc8 �cs (2o ... !!xc8 21. �e2oo =) 21.e5 �xes 22.f4 �q (22 ... �e6 23.liJq liJ e3 24. �e2 liJ xd1 25. �xe6 fxe6 2 6. !! xd1 il. xj4 27. � xj4 'lll xj4 28.liJxc6oo ) 23.l£Jd6 l£Je3 24. �b3 liJ xfl 25.l£Jce4 f6 26. �e6 l£Je3 27.l£J f7+ �Xf7 28.�Xf7 � Xf4oo ) 18.l£Jd6 � e 6 (18 . . . liJ e8 19.f£J cxbs cxbs 2o.�xq l£Jxq 21.liJxc8 liJxj2+ 22. !!xj2 !!xc8 23. � hs g6 24. �g4 f£J e6 25. !!xj7 �xj7 26. !!d7+ �e8 27- il. xe6 h6 28. !!g7 hxgs 29. �xeS �f8 30. !!xg6 i..j4 31. �e6+=; 18... !!dB 19. es liJxes 20. i.. xf6 gxf6 21.liJce4 �eJ 22.liJxc8 !!xc8 23.f£Jg3 t ) 19.e5 (19. �xf6 l£J xf6 2o.esoo =) 19 ... l£J xes 20. il.. xf6 gxf6 2Lf4 l£Jg6 22.g3oo (22. fs �e7 23.l£Jce4 �ds 24.jxg6 fxg6) 13···b4

Objectively, this move might not the best - it leads by force to a worse endgame for Black. Shirov could not allow Aronian to get the knight to fs. Although this choice is more com-

257

plex, we can assume that Shirov was not ready to risk fighting against Aro­ nian's home preparation. 13 ... g6 14.f4 Only option. In my opinion, other moves are too slow, and I don't believe that positions with the bad knight on h4 would be better for white.

14 . . . h6! After this nice trick, Black will get a strong initiative. 15. � xh6 (15. �!4 �e7 16. !! ad1 !!jd8oo ) 15 ... l£J fg4 16.l£J xg6 fxg6 (16 ... liJxg6 17. �Xj8 �Xh2+ 18. �h1 �h4 19. �Xg4 �C8 20. � h3 �Xh3 21. �xh2 i.. xg2+ 22. �xg2 �g4+ 23. �h2=) 17. i.. xf8 �h4 18.h3 !!xf8 19. �d1 l£J xf2 2o. �xd6 l£J xh3+ 21.gxh3 �g3+ 22. �h1 �Xh3+ 23. �g1=; b) 14. !!d1 �q 15. �gs l£Jeg4 (15 ...

liJ ed7!?) 16.g3 (16. � xg4 �xh2+ 17. �h1 f£J xg4 18.g3 �xg3 19.jxg3 �xg3 2o. !!j1 b4 21.liJa4 cs 22.�g2 �xe4 23.liJ/3 �xg2+ 24. �xg2 liJes) 16 ... �c5 17. !! fl !! fe8oo ;

14 ... �cs+ 15. �h1 l£Jeg4 16.es

258

b) 16.g3 b4 (16.. .'8e3 17. it.. xe3 �xe3

18. 'E!ad1 Vliq 19.es li:Jds 2o.li:Je4 �b6 21.li:Jg2j6=) I?.li:Jdi .i.d4 18.es (18.h3 cs 19. 1i../3 li:J hs 2o. �g2 li:Jgj6 21.es li:Jdsoo) 18 ... cs+ 19. � f3 Vlid7 2o.exf6 Vlibs 21. 'tip '8ae8 22. 1i.. xb7 '8e2 23. �f3 '8xg2 24. �xg2 li:Jxf6oo ; 16 . . . li:J f2+ (16. . . b4 ? 17.li:Jd1 li:J e4 1 8. li:J xg6 hxg6 19. 1i. xg4 Vlih4 2o.Vlixe4 Vlixg4 21.CLle3 Vlie2 22js+l-) 17Jhf2 ii.. xf2 18.CLJ {J One of the critical positions. White's idea is to create pressure against the Black king after the fs break, creating useful potential weak squares (h6, f6, d6, cs). It's clear that White has some practical compensation but, does he have more?

M AY, 2012

21. . . CLle3 22.'i!fxcs '8c8 23. Vlixbs li:Jc2 (23 . . . Vlid4 2 4 . li:J xj2 li:J c2 25.CLJg4 Cl:J xm 26. �e3 Vlid8 2;u6i fxe6 28. Viies hsoo ) 24. '8 b1 ii.. e 3 25. 1i.. xe3 Cl:J xe3 26.CLJd6 '8c2 27.'i!fd3 'i!fb6oo ) 19.f5 White has the initiative for the material, but in my opinion, the position is risky for both sides. Engines, of course, prove that black can hold the position in a number of ways: (19.li:Je4 �e3 a) 19 . . . �b6 2o.fs 'i!fd7 (20 . . . Vliq!?) 21.li:Jd6 gxfs 22. �d3 (22. lLlxfsf6 23. � h6jxes 24. �d3 �q 25. 'f!.j1oo ) 22 ... li:Jb4 23.'i!fd2 li:J xd3 24.Vlixd3 cs 25. �gs �ds 26. � h6 '8e8 27.CLJd4 f4 28.li:J xe8 'i!fxd4 29. Vlih3 ii.. e 4 30.e6 i ; b) 1 9 . . . 'i!f b 6 2o.fs .1L. c 8 2 1 . .1L.d3

18 ... Cl:Jds (18 ... CLJg4 Probably both moves are good enough for Black. 19.CLle4 (19. Cl:Jgs CLJe3 2o.'tib3 Vlid4 21.CLJce4 (21. e6 cs 22. exj7+ �h8 23. �xe3 'ti xe3 24. Vii xbs 'E! ab8=+) 21 . . . cs 22.CLJ xf2 Cl:J xg2 23. �g1 Cl:J xf4 24. 1i.. xbs Vlixesoo ) 19 ... cs (19... 1i.. b 6 20.h3 CLlj2+ 21.CLlxj2 �xj2 22j5 CS 23. 1i.. h 6i ) 2o.Cl:J fgs ii.. xe4 21.li:J xe4 (21.'tixe4 CLJh6 22.'ti/3 �h4 23. 1i.. e3 �xgs 24jxgs Cl:Jjs 25. �xcs 'E!e8=+)

�e3 22.li:J f6+ Cl:J xf6 23.exf6 Vlics 24 . .1L. xe3 'ti xe3 25 .fxg6 hxg6 26. � xg6 'i!fh6 27. 'i!fxc6 �e6 28. �e4 Vii xf6 29. Vii xbs '8 ab8 30.'i!fhs '8 fd8oo ;

(21. .. Cl:J fs 22.'i!fe1 (22.li:Jj6+ �g7 2J . 'ilf C3 CS 24. '8 d1 b4= +) 22 . . . c s 23 .li:J f6+ �g7 24. '8d1 'tics 25 . li:J h 4 li:J d 4 26 . .1L. g4 'i!fq 27.li:J fs+ cz:J xfs 28. � xfs '8 fd8 (28 ... 'E!ad8 29. 1i.. d7 �c6 30. 'ti h4 h6 31.li:Jg4 hs 32.li:Jj6 'E! h8 33. '8d6 �xd7 34.Cl:Jds 'tWas 3s. 'Bxg6+ fxg6

259

C H Ess EvoLUTION

36. VJ!iq+=) 29. �d7 i.c6 30. VJ!ih4 hs 31.e6 � xd7 3 v�h hs+ gxhs 33.VJ!igs+ 'i!?fs 34.e7+ 'i!?es 3s. !!e1 �e6 36.exd8VJ!i+ �xd8 37.f5 VJ!Ias 38. VJ!ig8+ 'i!?d7 39.fxe6+ 'i!?c8 4o.VJ!fg3 fxe6=) 22.f5 gxfs (22 . . .j6 23 .jxg6 hxg6 24.VJ!ih6 VJ!ie1 25. VJ!ixg6+ VJ!Ig1 26. VJ!ixg7+ 'i!fxg7 27. l:L:J d4 l:L:Jj4 28.exf6+ 'i!fhBoo ) 23 .l:L:Jd6 �c8 24. �d3 (24. VJ!ixc6 �e6 25. '!!. d1 VJ!ib6 26. �xb5 l:L:Je3 27. '!!. e1 /4) 24 ... .id7 25 . .ixfs �xfs 26.l:L:J xfs 'i!?hs 27.VJ!ih6 �g8 28.l:L:Jd6 '8g7 29. '8 f1 f6oo )

2o.e6 (2o.g4!? Looks very risky, be­ cause the White king will not be safe anymore.)

2o . . . gxfs 21.l:L:J xds (21. � h 6 .ixe6 22. �xb5 �e3 23. �xfB cxb5 24.l:L:Jxd5 $.. xd5 25. VJ!fxj5 'i!? xfB 26. VJ!fe5 iL.j2 27. l:! d1 !!cB 2B. h3 f6=+) 21. . . VJ!ixds 22.exf7+ VJ!ixf7 23.b3oo =;

13 ... l:L:J fg4 14.l:L:J fs+=

1 9. . . .ic8 Generally, it's very impor­ tant for Black to activate his bishop on b7 with cs, or sometimes this way. (19 . . . .ib6 2o. �gs (2o.l:L:Je4 VJ!id7 21.l:L:Jd6 gxj5 22. il.. h6 f6) 20 ... VJ!id7 21.l:L:J xds VJ!ixds (21 ... cxd5 22.VJ!id2 f6 23 . exj6 VJ!ixj5 24 . .i d3 VJ!id7 25.l:L:Je5 VJ!ie6 26j7+ l:!xj7 27.l:L:Jxj1 VJ!ixj7 28. '!!.j1 VJ!ie6 29. � h 6 .i q 30 . .ixb5=) 22. l:!d1 (22. � d3 c5 23jxg6fxg6 24 . .ixb5 VJ!Ie4 25. iLC4+ 'i!fhB 26. �f6+ l:!xf6 27. VJ!fxe4 il.. xe4 28. exj6 .ixj3 29.gx/3+=) 22 ... VJ!ics 23.VJ!ie4i )

14.l:L:Jfs 14.l:L:Ja4 cs 15.f3 g6oo Normally this structure with the bad bishop on b7 and a weak pawn structure on the queenside is worse for Black, al­ though this is not the case in this po­ sition, with the knight on h4. 14 bxq 15. '8d1 l:L:Jes .••

15 ... l:L:Jds 16.exds cxds 17.VJ!ixCJ+/-

16.VJ!ixq

16.f4 .ics+ 17. 'i!?h1 l:L:J d7 18. VJ!ixCJ .ib6 19. �g4 'i!?hs 2o.b3 VJ!if6 21.es VJ!ig6 22.h3 l:L:Jcs 23.l:L:Je7 VJ!ih6 24.VJ!if3i 16 VJ!if6 l].f4 ...

17.l:L:J xd6 l:L:J xd6 18.f4 '!! feB 19.fxes l:L:Jxe4 2o.exf6 l:L:J xc3 21.bxc3 !!xe2=

260

17• • • i.C7

17.. .lt"Jd7 18.�xf6 CZJdxf6 19.CLJ xd6 ll"Jxd6 2oJh d6 ll"J xe4 21. �d7 CLJc5 22. !!q+= 18.fxes �xes

18 ... i.xe5 19.�b4+/-

19.�xes it.xes

In my opinion, this position is slightly better for White thanks to his active pieces and the weak Black structure on the queenside. In many variations, the weaknesses on e4 and c6 will be exchanged, but anyway White will keep a small plus due to his better pieces and Black's weak a­ pawn.

M AY, 20 1 2

2o. i.e3 ! ?N 20 . . . CLJ f6 21. !! ac1 (21. CZJd6 i.xd6 22. ':B.xd6 �feB 23. iLj3 c5 24. il.xc5 Cl"Jxe4 25. iLxe4 iLxe4 26. b4 a6=) 21. .. !! fd8 a) 21. .. CLJ xe4 22 . .1l. f3 CLJ f6 23.b4

!! fes (23 ... CZJd5 24. �c5 'i!.feB 25. b5 .fi.j4 26.CZJd6 � XCl 27. 'f!. xc1+=) 24 . .ic5 a6 25. �d6+=; b) 21. .. � fe8 22. � [3 C5 (22 ... 'i!.e6)

23. �xc5 lt.xe4 (23... Cl"Jxe4 24. �e3 CZJd6 25. iLxb7 ll"J xb7 26. 'Bd7 CZJd6 27.CZJ xd6 ii. xd6 2B. 'i!. xa7 � a bB 29. i. d4+=) 24.CLJe7+ Wh8 25 .b4 ii.. xf3 26.gxf3 a6 27.a4+=; .i .t. A

E .t.

a) 22. � xd8+ 'i!. xd8 23.CLJe7+ Wf8

2o. !!d7

This move had been played recently in the European Championship as well, but in my opinion, it's a better option to simply develop the pieces with i.e3-Rac1. Of course, with this plan Black is very close to get a draw­ ish position, but at least White creates some practical problems.

24.CLJ xc6 .fi. xc6 25. 'i!. xc6 CL! xe4 (25 ... 1i.xb2 26. 1i.c5+ WgB 27. ii.xa7 g6 2B. Wj1 'i!.aB 29. 'i!.a6 Cl"Jxe4 30.a4 i. e5 31.g3+=) 26.b3 (26. b4 iL d4 27- iLxd4 'fl.xd4 2B. a3 Wq 29. 'i!.a6 'Bd7; 26. 1l../3 CZJd2; 26. �C4!?) 26 ... �d4 (26... ClJC3 2J. �C4 'ildl+ 2B. Wf2 'i!. a1 29. Wj3 'i!.xa2 30. iLc5+ WeB 31. 'i!. cB+ Wd7 32. 'ii.fB) 27. ii.. xd4 g xd4 28J ! q gd2 29. ii.. f3 CL!g5 30. g xa7 CL! x f3+ 3 1 . gxf3 'i!.b2 32.h4+=;

CH ESS EvoLUTION

b) 22. �(J;

22 ... !!e8 a) 22 .. .I�Jxe4 23.ezJe7+ �f8 24.ll:J xc6

!! xdH (24 . . . il.xc6 2S. !!xc6 ezJ c3 2 6. !! xd8+ !! xd8 27. i. q + =) 2s. 1t.xd1 �f6 26.bs (26. 1l.j3 1l.gs=) 26 . ../;i:Jc3 27.ll:J xa7 ll:Jxa2? 28. !!q+-;

b) 22 ... g6 23. !! xd8+ !!xd8 24.ezJe7+

�g7 25.ezJ xc6 1l.. xc6 26. !! xc6 ll:J xe4 27.a3+=;

26 1

21. l:!d8 .i f6 22. !!d1 � xfs 23.exfs ll:Jq 24 . .i f3 ll:Jds=; 21. l'Id3 � xfs 22.exfs ll:Jd6 23 . .i f3 ll:J xfs 24. � xc6 !! abs 25. !! ds f6 26. �d7 ll:Jd4 27. 1l. g4 ll:Jc2 28. !!b1 ll:Ja3 29. !!a1 ezJc2 30. !!b1 !! fe8 31. .id2 !! xb2 32. !! xb2 .1t. xb2 33 . .i d7 E:es 34. E:xes i.xes 35. �a4 ezJd4 36. �e3 �f8 37. i.xd4 i.xd4+ 38.�f1 1/2-1/2 Kulaots,K-Jakovenko,D/Plovdiv B U L 2012/u (41). 21 ... �h8 22. !!d3

23. � f3 (23. �C4 :i i ..t

I '

' ' '

.

..t ti:'l [!:,

23 . . . as! Sometimes it's very im­ portant to exchange the weak a­ pawn. 24. bxas !has 2s.ll:Jd6 1l.. xd6 26. !!xd6 �c8 27. !!xc6 .ie6=) 23 ... as 24.a3 axb4 25.axb4 g6 26.ezJd6 �xd6 27. !! xd6 ezJ xe4 28. gd7 !!adS 29. !! xd8 (29. !! xb7 ezJ d6 30. �gs ll:J xb7 31. � xc6 � es 32. 1l..j6 !!e6 33. �xd8 ll:J xd8 34.bs �f8=) 29 ... !! xd8 30. � xe4 !!e8 31. .i f3 !! xe3 32.b5 !!x(J 33.gxf3 cxbs= 2o ... �c8

Now Black equalizes the position without any problems.

22 ... � a6=

The most accurate. First, the White rook must go to an inferior place. 22 ... �b7 23. 1t.e3 C5 24. � XC5 ezJ f6 (24 ... �xe4 2S. !!e3 �xb2 26. !!j1 ezJd6 2J.�h1 ezJb7 28. �b4 as 29.ezJg6+ lt.xg6 3o. ll.xj8 !!xf8 31. !!b3+!-) 25.ll:Jds l!fc8 26. �d4 � xd4+ 27. E:xd4 ll:J xe4 (2J. .. !!c2 28. �d3 !!xb2 29.ezJe3+=) 28. !!ad1 1t. xds 29. E:xds+= 23 . !! e3 1t. b7 24. E:b3 ezJd6 2;.ll:J fs

25. 1/.. e3 !! fe8 (2s ... cs 26. �xcs C£Jxe4 2J.ezJg6+ hxg6 28. il.. xf8 .id4+ 29. �h1

262

'f!.xjB 30. 'f!.Xb7 li:Jj2+ 31. �g1 li:Jg4+=) 26.li:J f5 li:Jxf5 27.exf5 � xb2 28. 'i!.d1 ..if6 29. ..i f3 'i!.ac8 (29 ... ..ia6 3o. ..ixc6 'iii adS 31. 'B.xdB 'E!xdB 32. 'i!.a3 'i!.d1+ 33. �j2 ..id3 34.g4 a6 3s.gsi) 3o. 'i!.xb7 'i!.xeJ 31. 'i!.xa7 C5= 25 . . . li:J xfs 26.exfs .1i.cs 27.g4 g6 28. it.{J gxfs 29. it. xc6 �e6

29 ... 'i!.b8 JO. 'i!.xb8 ..ixb8

30 . ..ixa8 .ixb3 31.axb3 'i!.xa8 32.gxf5 'i!.bs 33. �g2 'i!. xb3 34. 'i!. xa7 �g7 35· :!3. a3 !!.b s 36. !!.a6 hs 37· 'l!.c6 t/2

M AY, 20 1 2

GAME 9 1> �

K. Miton D. Mastrovasilis

Ekstraliga Warsaw, POL Round 2, 05.05.2012 [D45) Annotated by Kamil Miton Conclusion: In the game below we will see the interesting 6 ... b6 line. Instead of playing the ,very complex - filled with theory" Meran sys­ tems, sometimes it can be an alter­ native to surprise the opponent. The 6 ... b6 variation is one of Dreev's fa­ vorite lines, but other strong players have used this tricky move as well. In my opinion, the most critical line is 10. 'i!.dl .1i_q 1.d4 ds 2.q c6 3.li:Jq li:J f6 4.e3 e6 s.li:Jf3 li:Jbd7 6. �c2 b6

In general, a very interesting line. During the game it was a surprise for me and I didn't remember very well how to play correctly.

.i

j_ '+JV • .t .i i � iii ---"[Ifi I. J i � r--

i

,�

88 r-tZJ 8 t2J 8 8 'ii 888 �� 1� � �J � 'r-

C H Ess EvoLUTION

7. it.e2 7· it.d3 The main and most accurate move if Black decides not to play the dxC4-C5 idea, but simply develops his pieces with 1l.e7 and o-o. The bishop on d3 is better placed to push the thematic e4 7··· it.b7 8.o-o if_e7 a) 8 ... dxC4 9. � XC4 cs transposes to

the game.;

b) 8 ... it.d6 9.e4 dxe4 10.'�J xe4

� xe4 11. �xe4 VJiq 12. �e3 (12. C5 bxcs 13. �e3 cxd4 14. �xd4oo =) 12 ... CLJ f6 13.C5 il.e7 14. il.d3 0-0 15.b4+= 15 . . . h6 16. VJ6d2 ct:J ds 17. il. xh6 gxh6 18.VJ6xh6 fs 19.VJ6g6+ 1/2-1/2 Jakovenko,D-Dreev,A/Mulhouse F R A 2011.

263

1o . .ib2 o - o n.ct:Jes h6 12.f4 cs 13. E!ad1 E!ad8 14. VJ6e2 VJib8 15 . .Jit.bH= 1-0 Ponomariov,R-Stefansson,H/ Rogaska Slatina S L O 2011 (32); 7· it.d2 it.b7 8.o-o-o This idea was tested a few times. Objectively, it should be very unclear 8 ... �e7 9.e4 dxe4 (9 ... dxC4 1o.es (w. 1i.. xc4 bs n. 1i.. d3 E!.cB 12. \!tb1 b4 13.CLJa4 cs) w . ..l�:Jds 11. il. xC4oo ) 1o.CLJ xe4 cs 11.CZJ xf6+ .i xf6 12.d5 exds 13.cxds o - o 14.h4oo 1/2-1/2 Istratescu,A-Stefansson,H/Turin I TA 2006 (54); 7.cxds I think that both captures on ds lead to equality 7... exds

11.ds!? White plays for the initia­ tive. (11. E!.d1 cxd4 12. exd4 it. x!J 13 .gxf3 o-ooo ) n . . . exds 12.cxds ct:Jxds 13.CLJxds il.xds 14. E!d1 � xf3 (14 ... 1i..j6 1S. E!.b1 i 1-o Sargissian,G­ Dreev,A/Melilla E S P 2011 (49)) 1s.gxf3 VJiq 16. it.bs E!d8 17. VJ6e4 \!?f8 18. it.b2oo = 18 . . . CLJ f6 (18 . . . il.j6) 19.VJia4 hs 2o. E!xd8+ il.xd8?! 21. 1i!.d1 E! h6 22. il.xf6 il.xf6 23.VJ6e4 VJ9c8 24. E!d7 \!?g8 2s. E! xa7 E!g6+ 26.\!?fl 1-0 Hammer, J-Hansen,S/ Gothenburg S W E 2011)

( 7. . . cxds 8.CLJbs 1i.. b4+ 9 . 1i.. d2 ii.xd2+ 10.CLJ xd2 o-o 11. E!c1 1i.. a 6 12.VJ6a4 (12.CLJ q it. xj1 lJ.CLJxaB it.xg2 14. E!.g1 1i.. e4 15.CLJxe4 CLJxe4 16.CLJq 'fih4oo =) 12 . . . E!c8 13. E!c3 it.xbs 14. 1i.. xbs

14 ... a6 15. il.xa6 E!a8 16. �a3 CLJb8 17.'fibs 'fiq 18.o-o �xa6 19. E!xa6 CLJxa6 2o.'fixa6 'fic2 21.CLJb3 'fixb2 22. 'fixb6 'fixa2=)

264

MAY,

8. �d3 �b7 9.0-o �e7 10.e4 Anoth­ er plan for White is to put the bishop on b2 and transfer the knight to g3, but it can be dangerous for Black 10 ... dxe4 11.tLlxe4 o-o 12.tLle5 (12. tLlxf6+ lLlxf6 13. �j4 i ) 12 ... c5 (12 ... tLlds!? 13.tLlxc6 i.. xc6 14.V!!fxc6 tLlb4 1s. V!!fCJ !!c8 16. V!!f d2 tLl xd3 17. V!!fxd3 lLlcs 18. tLl xcs !!xes 19. i.. eJ+= 19 ... !Ids with the idea of V!!/d 7-Bf6Rfd8) 13 .tLlg5 (1] . tLl xd7 V!!f xd7 14.tLlxj6+ 1J.xf6 1s. dxcs V!!/ds=) 13 ... g6 14. fi.. C 4 �d5 (14 ... lLlds 1s.lLlexj7 !!xj7 16.tLlxj7 �xj7 17. !!d1 tLl7j6 18. i..gsoo ) 15. �xd5 tLl xd5 16.tLlc6 V!!fc 8 17.tLl xe7+ tLl xe7 18. V!!/e 2 tLl f5 19.dXC5 tLlXC5= 7... fi.b7 8.o-o dxq 9· i.xq

9.e4 b5=+

9···C5 10. E:d1

10. 1We2 Afther the game, my op­ ponent told me that this is the main move. During the game I didn't know the line very well, so a logical thinking process suggested me that moves like V!!/c 2-Qe2 should be too slow to fight for an advantage 10 ... a6 n.a4 fi.. e7 (Why not the more ac­ tive 11 i.. d6 ? This move was even played by Kasparov.) 12. !!d1 V!!/c 8 13.b3 o-o 14. i.b2 cxd4 15.exd4 !!e8 16. !!aCI V!!/ b 8 17.tLle5 k b4 18. �d3 tLlf8 19. !!g3 V!!id 8 2o. �d3 tLlg6oo 1-o Melkumyan,H-Balogh,C/ Moscow RUS 2012 (87). •••

20 1 2

.i I .t. A .t. 1._-._J 1-

iV * A .i � .t. .t. .t. L J .t. �

·,......--

.t. Ji B tLJ

[\, [\, 'if 1:! 1i 1:!

,'---

8 CZJ

1--

t£>, [\, [\, \t>.

10 . .. �Xf3?!

A strange decision. He took almost immediately! Black should not give the strong bishop. Let's see other op­ tions of development for Black: 10 ... cxd4 n.exd4! Black cannot stop d5 next! This typical break in posi­ tions with isolated pawns is usually very useful for White, and this case is not an exception. (n.tLl xd4?! V!!/ b 8 12.h3 (12. k xe6 fxe6 13.tLlxe6 V!!fes=+) 12 ... a6 13.b3 ke7 14. i.b2 b5 15. �e2 o-o! 1/2-1/2 Stojanovic,M-Saric,A/Neum B I H 2008) n ... !!c8 12.V!!ie 2 (12. V!!fa 4 a6=) 12 ... i.e7 (12 ... � d6? 13. ds es 14.tLld4 !! xc4 1s.lLljs+-; 12 . . . � x/3 13 .gx/3 �b4 14.ds �XCJ 1s. dxe6+1-) 13.d5 (13. i..j4 o-o 14.ds !!xc4 1s.V!!ixC4 lLlxds 16. �g3+=) 13 ... exd5 14.tLl xd5 � xd5 15. kxd5 tLl xd5 16. !!xd5 o-o 17.V!!fd 1 !!q 18. fi.. f4 Etb7 19.tLld4i; 10 ... V!!fc 8 n.d5 exd5 12.tLl xd5 � xd5 13. � xd5 tLl xd5 14. !! xd5 �e7 15.e4 White has a small but stable advantage 15 ... 0-o

C H ESS EvoLUTION

265

16. �g5 E:e8 17. E:ad1+= 1-o Wang Yue-Carlsen,M/Wijk aan Zee N E D 2009 (6?}; 10 ... �e7 In my opinion the main move, now White has a choice: u.dxc5!? a ) u.d5 ! ? exd5 12.lz:J xd5 ll:J xd5

13. �xd5 �xd5 14. E:xd5 Compared to the Carlsen game, the queen is probably better placed on q than on c8, because the Black rooks can be connected more quickly. 14 ... Vl!iq 15.e4 (15. b3 lL'lj6 16. 'Bd2 o-o IJ. Ji.b2 'Bad8 18. 'Bad1 'Bxd2 19. E:xd2 'Bd8=) 15 ... o-o 16. � f4 (16.es E:jd8 idea lL'l f8=; 16. ii.gs il.. xgs IJ.lLlxgs h6 18. E:ad1 lL'lj6 19.es hxgs 2o.exj6 gxf6oo) 16 ... Vl!fxf4 17. 'Bxd7 �f6 .E. '

'

.t.

18. E:ad1 Optically, White's position is more pleasant. It's hard to say if there's some advantage, the White rooks are very active. On the other hand, the bishop on f6 is good at limiting the knight. (18. 'Be1 'Bfd8 19. 'Bb7 'i!db8 20. E:xb8+ E:xb8 21.e5 il_ q 22. 'Be3 'Bd8 23.g3 Vl!lg4 ) 18 ... E:fe8 19.Vl!ib3 Vl!fxe4 2o.Vl!fxf7+ 'l!fh8 21.h4 Vl!fe6 22.Vl!fxe6 E:xe6 23.b3oo ; =

b) u.ll:Je5 Moves played by Leko al­

ways must be checked.

11. .. 0-o (u ... cxd4!? 12.ll:J xd7 (12. 'Bxd4 Vl!iq 13.lLlxd7 lL'lxd7 14. �bs E:d8=; 12. exd4 o-o?=) 12 ... ll:J xd7 (12 ... Vl!ixd7 13. 'Bxd4 Vl!iq 14.Vl!fa4+ 'l!tj8 15. �a6 �xa6 16.Vl!ixa6+=) 13.exd4 E:c8 14.Vl!ie2 lL'l f6 It's very important not to allow d5. (14 ... �d6 15. �a6 �xa6 16.Vl!ixa6 o-o 1J.Vl!ixa7 lL'lj6 18.Vl!ia6+=) 15. �b5+ (Is.ds exds 16. il.. bs+ �c6 17. il..gs o-o 18. ii.xj6 �xf6 19. �xc6 E:xc6 2o.lLl xds 'Bd6=) 15 ... �c6 16. �a6 .:Sq 17· � f4 E:d7 18. E: ac1 o - o 19. � e 5 Vl!ia8=) 12.dxc5 Vl!iq 13.c6 ll:J xe5 14.cxb7 Vl!lxb7 15. �e2 White can try to prove an advantage with the pair ofbishops 15 ... E:ac8 16. Vl!!a4 E:c5 17. �d2 Vl!ia8 18. E:aCI 'B fc8 19.b4 'i15q 20. .1t.a6 E:d8 21. �ei+= o-1 Leko,P-Shankland,S/Khanty­ Mansiysk RUS 2011 (66); c) u.e4 cxd4 12.lL'l xd4 o-o In this

position I tried many moves but Black is fine every time 13 . .t f4 ct) 13. � xe6 fxe6 14.ll:J xe6 'i:Ve8

15.lL'lxf8 lL'l xf8oo;

c2) 13.e5 ll:J xe5 14.ll:J xe6? 'i:Vc8; q) 13. �e3 'i:Vq (13 ... �cs 14j3oo )

14. il.. xe6 fxe6 15 .ll:J xe6 'i:Ve5 16.ll:J xf8 E: xf8 17.f3 Ji.. d6oo ; q) 13. �b5 'i;Vq 14. Ji.. xd7 ll:J xd7 15.ll:Jd5 'i:Vd8 16.ll:Jxe7+ 'i:Vxe7 17.f3=;

266

13 ... es 14.CZJ f5 exf4 (14 . . . � cB is also good for Black.) 15.e5 cz:Jg4 16.e6 cz:Jges 17. �xd7 cz:J xd7 18. �d1 .ic6 19.CZJd5 � xds 2o. � xds fxe6 21. i. xe6+