No.

62, March 10, 2010

OPENINGS
what’s hot and what’s not?
XIIIIIIIIY
Beating the Rauzer 9r+-wqkvl-tr0
9+-+-+p+p0
9p+lzppzp-+0
9+p+-+-+-0
9-+-+PzP-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris
9PzPPwQ-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
The European Individual Championship in Rijeka
(Croatia) has started, with 9 players over 2700 and Frequency
no less than 95 players over 2600. After 4 rounds
Jobava and Efimenko are leading with a 100% score.
In this issue we cover the first three rounds.

what’s hot?
Nepomniachtchi takes every opportunity he gets to castle queenside
and sharpen play, so that's what he did against Drazic' Petroff. The Bird Score
Variation of the Ruy Lopez (3...¤d4) should not be underestimated and
is a very dangerous surprise weapon. In our Game of the Week Adams-
Jankovic White managed to create a direct kingside attack against the
Sicilian Rauzer. In the diagram position Adams chose the line that wasn't
scoring particularly well so far.

The French Defence is open to many different interpretations. An

uncompromising player should feel very happy with the Winawer,
Cheparinov-Lopez Martinez being a perfect example. In which other line
can you beat such a strong player so fast? The more classically oriented
player who feels that Black should first try to equalize from the opening,
can choose the French Rubinstein. In Ragger-Meier White did win the
endgame though.

Ivan Sokolov won the Reykjavik Open by beating Lenderman's Chebanenko

Slav in the last round. Portisch had an excellent finish of an impressive
tournament (see PGN file). Neverov may have chosen the wrong opening
against Grünfeld expert Krasenkow. Iotov-Bologan was a convincing
beating of a hypermodern King's Indian line. Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

'Slaying the Dragon' is one of Fischer's famous expressions. Last week's slaying of not only the Dragon, but basically any Sicilian didn't quite
stop this week. We already mentioned the Game of the Week. Brkic-Palac was an interesting follow-up on the Najdorf Poisoned Pawn
discussion that Gashimov and Grischuk are having (see CVO 54 and 59). We think Black
should be fine there though. Sutovsky-Cvitan was a modern variation of the Najdorf Perenyi
Attack. In [Link] Black never got to play the typical pawn sacrifice b4.
what’s Not?
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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not? No. 62, March 10, 2010

The tricky Kozul Variation

As our analyses show, the Kozul Variation is not an easy nut to crack. Adams didn’t care too
much about theoretical evaluations and went all out for the king. By the time Black finally got
in the key move ...£a7 he was checkmated on the other side.

more important, the d1 square has been vacated

game of the week  for the ¤, enabling White not to make more
concessions in weakening his queenside.
Adams, M (2704) - Jankovic, A (2569) A rare move. More common is 13.¥d3 . A recent 19...h6
Rijeka (European Ch), 07.03.2010 example went 13...h5 (13...£a7 is playable as 19...f5?! is not good now, in view of 20.£xe7
B67, Sicilian, Rauzer, Kozul Variation well.) 14.¢b1 £a7 15.£h3 £c5 16.¦he1 ¥e7 ¦xe7 21.exf5 when White is simply a pawn up, as
17.¤e2 a5 18.f5 e5 19.¤c3 b4 20.¤d5 ¥xd5 21...¥xg2? fails to 22.¦g1 winning a piece.
1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 21.exd5 ¥d8 with a complex game in Gashimov- 20.¦e3
¤c6 6.¥g5 Kotronias, Bursa 2010. In such kind of structures 20.¤d5?! might be tempting, but after 20...¥xd5
By far the only real way to challenge the Rauzer. Black’s ¢ is relatively safe in the centre. 21.exd5 Black obtains counterplay with 21...¦xb2!
6...e6 7.£d2 a6 8.0–0–0 ¥d7 13...¦b8? since 22.¢xb2 is met by 22...f5+.
This specific variation has been employed with An attempt to create counterplay on the 20...a5 21.¦g3 ¢h8 22.f5
great results by GM Kozul. In none less than queenside, but since Black is behind in A typical procedure: Black’s ¥s aren’t worth
152 games (see also Radulski-Kozul in the development it doesn’t seem likely to turn out in anything now, while Black finds difficulties in
PGN file) the Croatian made a score of 54%, his favour. He should have kept the option open bringing over new defenders to the kingside.
beating several top GMs like Shirov along the to activate his £ with ...£a7 at a certain moment. 22...e5 23.¦g4 ¢h7 24.¦f3 ¦g8 25.¦fg3 £a7?
way. 8...¥e7 9.f4 ¤xd4 10.£xd4 b5 is a topical A previous game went 13...h5 14.¥d3 £a7 Black has no time to look for his own chances.
line which we discussed in CVO 38. 15.£h3 ¥h6 16.¦hf1 £c5 17.¢b1 a5 (it’s clear 25...¢h8 was absolutely necessary, although
9.f4 that the pawn would have been better off on a2.) White's advantage is beyond dispute.
The other main line continues with 9.f3. 18.e5 b4 19.¤e4 ¥xe4 20.¥xe4 d5 21.¥g6 f5! XIIIIIIIIY
9...b5 10.¥xf6 gxf6 and Black was on top in Westerinen-Ermenkov, 9-+-+-+r+0
Incorrect is 10...£xf6?! 11.e5! dxe5 12.¤dxb5! Jurmala 1978. 9wq-+-+pvlk0
with the advantage for White. 14.¥d3 ¥g7 9-+lzp-zp-zp0
11.¤xc6 14...h5 deserves some attention. However, after
9zp-+-zpP+-0
Possibly more critical is 11.¢b1 £b6 12.¤xc6 that move the safety of his ¢ remains an issue.
¥xc6 13.f5 which we examined in CVO 55. 15.£g3 0–0 16.£h4 b4 17.axb4 ¦xb4
9-tr-+P+RwQ0
11...¥xc6 12.£e3 Black has managed to open the b-file, but the
9+-sNL+-tR-0
This move introduces the threat of 13.¤d5. next step (entering on b2) is a hurdle too far. 9-zPP+-+PzP0
Another possibility is 12.£e1 but after 12...¥e7 18.¦hf1 9+-mK-+-+-0
13.¥d3 £b6 14.¢b1 £c5 15.f5 b4 16.¤e2 a5 Initially the computer suggests 18.e5?! but after xiiiiiiiiy
17.fxe6 fxe6 18.¤f4 £e5 19.£f2 a4 Black’s 18...h6 19.exd6 £d8 Black is doing fine. His next 26.¦xg7+! ¦xg7 27.¦h3 £g1+
chances were perfectly illustrated in Motylev- move will be 20...f5 when his ¥s will dominate 27...¢g8 28.£xh6 ¢f8 29.£xf6 wouldn’t help
Nijboer, Budva 2009. the game. As a general rule of thumb, White either.
12...£e7 should avoid opening the centre and rather play 28.¤d1
A typical move in the Rauzer. Black deals with against the passive ¥ on g7. As already mentioned, the ¤ is an excellent
the threat of 13.¤d5 and wants to offer the 18...¦e8?! defender.
exchange of queens by 13...£a7. Black protects his £ and prepares ...f5 However, 28...¢g8 29.£xh6 ¢f8 30.¦g3
13.a3 it’s hard to understand why Black refrains from White is happy with winning some material.
XIIIIIIIIY executing his original idea with 18...¦fb8 19.b3 30.£xf6! (threatening 31.£xd6) 30...¦d4
9r+-+kvl-tr0 £d8! (intending 20...f5) leading to a double- 31.£d8+ ¥e8 32.f6 would have won even
9+-+-wqp+p0 edged game. quicker. Both players were short on time, hence
9p+lzppzp-+0 19.¦de1! Black continues until the time control is in sight.
An excellent multi-purpose move. The ¦ is 30...¦a4 31.¢d2 ¦a1 32.£xg7+ ¢e7 33.£g4 d5
9+p+-+-+-0
ready to join the attack over the 3rd rank and 34.exd5 ¥xd5 35.¦e3 £xh2 36.¥e4 ¦a4 37.£f3
9-+-+PzP-+0 overprotects the pawn on e4. Moreover, or even ¦d4+ 38.¢c1 ¦xe4 39.¦xe4 1–0
9zP-sN-wQ-+-0
9-zPP+-+PzP0
9+-mKR+L+R0
xiiiiiiiiy adams - jankovic
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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not? No. 62, March 10, 2010

this week’s harvest

Ruy Lopez, Bird 1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 ¤d4 4.¤xd4 exd4 5.0–0 ¥c5 6.¥c4 h5!? 7.d3 c6 8.¥b3 d5 9.¤d2 a5 10.a3 a4 11.¥a2 ¤e7
XIIIIIIIIY Playing with your rook pawns in the Bird Variation of the Ruy Lopez is nothing new - in fact it's the way Henry Bird
9r+lwqk+-tr0 consistently played himself more than a century ago. In Rijeka there are two players who like to play this way: top
9+p+-snpzp-0 grandmaster Ivan Sokolov (compare CVO 36) and on a different level, coffee house player Michael Faika (originally
9-+p+-+-+0 from Cologne, now Hamburg). Altogether it may be hard to believe this way of playing, but the truth is that if White
plays neutral moves, he can quickly be facing a deadly kingside attack (more details can be found in the PGN file).
9+-vlp+-+p0
Very recently I had a similar experience against IM Scheerer: 5...c6 6.¥c4 ¤f6 7.¦e1 d6 8.c3 ¤g4! 9.h3 ¤e5 and
9p+-zpP+-+0 here I (MvD) didn't know White should go for a small edge with 10.d3! ¤xc4 11.dxc4 dxc3 12.¤xc3 ¥e7 13.¥f4 as
9zP-+P+-+-0 pointed out by the standard opening manuals. After 10.¥f1?! d3 11.¦e3 g5! 12.¥xd3 g4! 13.¥e2 gxh3 I decided to
9LzPPsN-zPPzP0 give the exchange with 14.g3!? ¥h6 15.d4 but messed up later.
9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 ¥b4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 ¥xc3+ 6.bxc3 ¤c6 7.£g4 g6 8.¥d2 ¥d7 9.¤f3 c4 French, Winawer
The French Winawer has taken a different course lately. For a long time Black was supposed to have three ways XIIIIIIIIY
of dealing with the £g4 sortie. The primitive ¢f8 has obviously the disadvantage of keeping the ¦ out of play, while 9r+-wqk+ntr0
theory suggests that White can count on a stable slight advantage after Black castles. Moreover, in earlier issues 9zpp+l+p+p0
we debated the sharp consequences of allowing the pawn grab on g7. Interestingly enough, the move g6 has 9-+n+p+p+0
always been dismissed, since weakening the black squares was considered to be a huge concession from Black's
9+-+pzP-+-0
point of view. However, in recent times Ponomariov has upheld this double-edged approach with reasonable
results. In Cheparinov-Lopez Martinez, the Bulgarian didn't seem to be fully aware of all nuances and soon got into
9-+pzP-+Q+0
trouble. First of all, we believe 9.¤f3 is slightly inaccurate as after a timed h4-h5 (Black needs to reply with ...g5)
9zP-zP-+N+-0
the f-pawn is unable to break up the kingside. After 12.a4 the pawn was doomed to fall and the horrible 21.£f3 just 9-+PvL-zPPzP0
accelerated the end. 9tR-+-mKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

Alekhine, 7.¤g5 1.e4 ¤f6 2.e5 ¤d5 3.d4 d6 4.¤f3 g6 5.¥c4 ¤b6 6.¥b3 ¥g7 7.¤g5 e6
XIIIIIIIIY 8.£f3 0–0 9.£h3 h6 10.¤f3 dxe5 11.dxe5 ¤c6 12.¥xh6 ¤xe5 13.¤g5
9r+lwq-trk+0 The Alekhine Defence is hardly seen in top games, but during Corus tournament two months ago the opening served
9zppzp-+pvl-0 GM and ChessVibes co-editor Reinderman pretty well. In the European Championship, GM Nisipeanu improved
9-sn-+p+pvL0 on the game Muzychuk-Reinderman, where 13.¥xg7 led to an unproblematic ending for Black. As Nisipeanu
admitted afterwards, the line isn't anything special for White, but it offers at least some good practical chances. This
9+-+-sn-sN-0
became very true when the Dutchman couldn't reproduce his home analysis after 17.¤de4 (threatening 18.¥g7!).
9-+-+-+-+0 After the forced 17...¦e8, White came up with the bold sacrifice 18.¤xf7!?. Here Reinderman made the decisive
9+L+-+-+Q0 error and instead should have captured the ¤ when there is no forced win for White. However, the variations remain
9PzPP+-zPPzP0 very tricky as Black needs to find some only moves, having his ¢ surrounded by so many pieces. After the game's
9tRN+-mK-+R0 continuation 18...£d7, White yielded a devastating attack by 19.¥e3! and brought home the full point in magnificent
xiiiiiiiiy style. More solid Alekhine-players may avoid this sharp complications by the more respected 4...dxe5 5.¤xe5 c6.

1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 ¥g7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0–0 6.¤f3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.¥e2 exd5 9.cxd5 ¥g4 10.0–0 KID, Four Pawns
¤bd7 11.h3 ¥xf3 12.¥xf3 a6 13.g4 b5 14.¤e2 ¤b6 15.g5 ¤e8 16.h4 ¤c4 17.£c2 £a5 18.a3 XIIIIIIIIY
Two days ago, Malte Colpe, Harut Dalakian and me (MvD) were gathering online for a bit of chess training. Malte 9r+-+ntrk+0
had Semko's book Kill Kid 1 with him, in which a new interpretation of the Four Pawns Attack versus the King's 9+-+-+pvlp0
Indian is presented. Basically Semkov wants to omit ¦e1 and a4, put his queen on c2 instead, and otherwise just 9p+-zp-+p+0
attack on the kingside by means of g4-g5 and h4-h5 (in fact one could speak of a Six Pawns Attack). We checked
9wqpzpP+-zP-0
some of his critical lines with our computers and came to the conclusion that the right assessment must be that
the position is dynamically balanced. In practice this means that the stronger player or the player who is better
9-+n+PzP-zP0
prepared wins, which seems fair enough. What we didn't know is that simultaneously the game Jobava-Kotronias
9zP-+-+L+-0
was played. In the diagram position Black saw himself forced to sacrifice a piece with 18...f6? but never got enough 9-zPQ+N+-+0
compensation. An important alternative is 12...¦e8 13.g4 h6!. 9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not? No. 62, March 10, 2010

it's your move

XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
O9r+l+k+-tr0 O9-tr-+-trk+0
9+pzpn+pzp-0 9zp-+-+pzpp0
9-+-zp-+-zp0 9-+p+p+-+0
9zp-+Pzp-+-0 9+-+-+-+q0
9-+-+PwqPzP0 9-+nwQP+-+0
9+-sN-+P+-0 9+-zP-vL-zP-0
9PzPP+-wQ-+0 9P+-tRlzPLzP0
9tR-+-mKL+R0 9tR-+-+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy

last week's solutions

XIIIIIIIIY
Anand-Kempinski, Heidelberg (Bundesliga) 2010
9-trl+-tr-mk0
In a Sicilian Scheveningen, Anand managed to enter with his ¥ in the enemy camp. The following forced line
9+-wq-+Lzpp0
shows the defects in Black's position. 22.¤xc5! bxc5 23.¥xe5 £xe5 24.¥g6! A powerful move, letting Black
9pzp-+p+-+0 feel the weakness of his back rank. 24...¦g8 In case of 24...£f6 strong is 25.£e2! when 25...£e7 can be met by
9+-vl-sn-+-0 26.£h5 h6 27.£h4!. 25.¥xh7! Another heavy blow, which Black can’t really answer. 25...¢xh7 26.£h4+ ¢g6
9P+-vLN+-+0 27.¦d3 £h5 28.¦g3+ 1–0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-zPP+-wQPzP0
9+-+R+R+K0
xiiiiiiiiy
XIIIIIIIIY
[Link]-Kaidanov, Hilton Head (Sicilian Theme Match, g4) 2010 9-+rtr-+k+0
This exercise may be close to impossible to solve if you don't know the theme of opposite coloured bishops 9+p+nvlpzpp0
favouring the attacker. 20.¥xe5! This move is not pointed out by the computer, but in the hands of a gifted
9p+-zp-+-+0
attacker like Polgar very deadly. 20...¤xe5 21.¤e4! Of course White doesn’t want to allow the exchange sacrifice
on c3. 21...¢h8 22.h4! Now the attack really gets going. 22...¤c4 23.¦he1! Interestingly, she keeps controlling
9wq-+Lsn-zP-0
the centre. 23...¤b6 24.¥xb7! Now it all becomes very concrete. 24...¦b8 25.£xf7 ¤a4 25...¦xb7 26.¤xd6!
9-+-+-vL-+0
wins. 26.£xe7 £b6 26...¤xb2 27.¢xb2 £b6+ 28.¢a1 ¦xb7 29.£xd8+! £xd8 30.¤xd6 wins, as was pointed out 9+-sN-+-+-0
by Polgar right after the game (according to Kaidanov on [Link]). 27.b3 ¦xb7 28.£e6 £b4 29.¤xd6 9PzPP+-wQ-zP0
¤c3+ 30.¢a1 ¦f8 31.¤xb7 ¤xd1 32.¦xd1 £xb7 33.¢b2 1–0 9+K+R+-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

[Link]/openings

ChessVibes Openings is a weekly PDF magazine that covers the latest news on chess openings. Which openings are hot in top level chess?
Which are not? Editors IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris keep you updated once a week! Singles issues cost € 1. You can subscribe too:
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