CVO_084.pdf

No. 84, August 11, 2010

OPENINGS

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT?

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The most ambitious

answer to the QGA

By GM Sipke Ernst & IM Robert Ris

Frequency

Gata Kamsky was relentless at the Grenke Open

in Mainz and Adams took irst place at the British

Championship. We also have a look at the Russia-

China match, the World Junior Championships U20, the

Arctic Chess Challenge, the Politiken Cup and more...

WHAT’S HOT?

Score

Gata Kamsky, still a contender for the world title thanks to a spot in the 2011

Candidates Tournament, showed in Mainz that when it comes to faster time

controls he is still one of the very best. We included his 7th round win over

Aronian with Black in a very complicated Chebanenko Slav in the PGN file.

In the same tournament Grischuk crushed Istratescu in an Open Catalan.

It's a coincidence that this week we present almost no 1.e4 material, but

more and more players are switching to 1.d4 it seems, including Swedish

GM Emanuel Berg. In Elsingore he had to learn the Benoni the hard way

against Leon Hoyos. However, as Dmitry Gurevich showed, you can make

1.d4 as sharp as you want - in a Ragozin he deviated from a succesful

Kramnik game, preferring a more tactical continuation.

Bu Xiangzhi is the big star in the China-Russia match so far. He started with

4 out of 5 and showed some good counter-attacking chess. With the black

pieces he managed to beat Malakhov (Najdorf 6.¥e2 e5) and Timofeev

(Slav, main line) - see the PGN. Wang Hao came up with a nice, positional

exchange sac with Black in the Rubinstein Nimzo. In the Game of the Week

we see Eljanov slowly grind down Ganguly in a Queen's Gambit Accepted.

Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

The Caro-Kann is known for it's reliability and is generally considered the third most popular response to 1.e4. For some time now the

Advanced variation is a popular choice among White players and although it would be way too soon to conclude that 3.e5 is bad for Black,

it seems that Caro-Kann adepts are struggling to get satisfactory positions at the moment.

Shirov-Berczes (see PGN) is a good example of what can happen if Black doesn't know

what to do. Especially 3...¥f5 did a miserable job this week, scoring only 25%.

WHAT’S NOT?

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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not?

No. 84, August 11, 2010

Grabbing the centre against the QGA

The Queen's Gambit Accepted has always been a solid answer to 1.d4, but every time black

players have equalized in some variation, there will be an improvement for White around the

corner. At the Politiken Cup Eljanov used the ambitious 3.e4 to beat Ganguly in an ending.

GAME OF THE WEEK

been a better choice.

21.¦ac1!

Engines prefer 21.b5?! though after 21...¥xc6

22.bxc6 ¦a7 23.¤xc7 (23.¦ac1 ¤b5) 23...¦xc7

24.¦xd6 ¦ec8 25.¦b1 ¢f8 Black has chances to

hold the rook ending.

21...¢f8 22.¦c5

Increasing the pressure. 22.¤xc7? doesn ’ t work

any longer, because after 22...¦xc7 23.¦xd6

¦ec8 there is no fork on e7.

22...¤b5 23.¢f2 ¥e6 24.¤f4 ¥c8 25.h4 ¤d6

26.¤d5 ¤b5?

26...¥d7 27.¤xc7 ¦xc7 28.¦xd6± and now

28...¦ec8 doesn't work in view of 29.¤b8!.

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27.¤d4?

Eljanov misses an opportunity to decide the

game immediately. The tactical shot 27.¦xb5!

wins instantly: 27...axb5 (27...¦xb5 28.¤xc7)

28.a6 ¦b6 29.¤xb6 cxb6 30.¤b8.

27...¤xd4 28.¦xd4 ¦d8 29.¦e4

29.¦dc4? allows 29...¥e6.

29...¥f5

29...¦d7 30.¦ec4 wins c7.

30.¦f4 c6 31.¤b6 ¥d3

The rook ending after 31...¥d7 32.¤xd7+ ¦bxd7

33.¦xc6 seems quite hopeless for Black.

32.¦xc6 ¦e7 33.g4 ¦e2+ 34.¢g3 ¦b2?

This grave error loses on the spot. More

stubborn would have been 34...¥b5 to be able

to meet 35.¦c7 with 35...¦e7 Anyhow, Black ’ s

position remains technically lost.

35.¦c7 f6 36.¤d7+ ¢e8

36...¢g8 loses to 37.¦d4.

37.¤c5 1–0

Eljanov, P (2755) - Ganguly, S (2655)

Politiken Cup (Elsingore), 08.08.2010

D20, Queen's Gambit Accepted

¤xd2 18.£xd2 ¦b7 19.¦ac1² and White had a

clear advantage in Schandorff-Rasmussen,A

Silkeborg 2008.

15.¦xd1 ¦xa7 16.¤d4 ¦b7

Attention might be paid to the untested

16...¥d5!? though after 17.f3 (17.¤d2 ¤xd2

18.¦xd2 ¢d7 19.¦c1 ¢c8!=) 17...¤f6 18.¤c3

¦b7 19.¦ab1 0–0 20.¤a4 ¦fb8 21.¤c2! White

can claim a slight plus.

17.¤xc6 0–0

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A new attempt to revive this variation. Previous

games continued with 17...¤d6 18.¤c3

(18.¤a3?! ¢d7 19.¦ac1 f6 20.¤c4 ¥xc4

21.¦xc4 ¦b5 22.f3 ¦e8 and Black is very close to

equality in Wang Yue-Zhang Pengxiang, Beijing

2008.) 18...¢d7 19.¤e5+ ¢c8 and now instead

of going for a repetition with 20.¤c6 which was

seen in Yudin-Wen Yang, St Petersburg 2009,

stronger would have been 20.¦ac1! with the

point that 20...¦xb4? fails to 21.¦xd6! cxd6

22.¤d5+ ¢b7 23.¦c7+! ¢a8 24.¤xb4 dxe5

25.¤c6.

18.f3 ¤d6 19.¤c3 ¥d7?!

More accurate is to keep control over d5:

19...¦e8 20.¦ac1² White ’ s edge is beyond

dispute however.

20.¤d5!

Paralyzing the queenside.

20...¦e8?!

In case of 20...¥xc6 21.¤e7+ ¢h8 22.¤xc6

Black faces a hard task, though might have

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4

The most ambitious way to deal with the QGA.

For 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.e3 e6 5.¥xc4 c5 6.0–0 a6 7.dxc5

see CVO 52 and for 3.e3 e5 see CVO 63.

3...e5

The most principled reply. Other possibilities are

3...¤f6, 3...c5 and 3...¤c6.

4.¤f3 exd4 5.¥xc4 ¤c6

Black ’ s major alternative 5...¥b4+ has a more

solid reputation.

6.0–0 ¥e6 7.¥b5

In a previous game between the same players,

White chose the other main line: 7.¥xe6 fxe6

8.£b3 £d7 9.£xb7 ¦b8 10.£a6 ¤f6 11.¤bd2

¥d6 12.b3 0–0 13.¥b2 e5 14.¦fc1 ¤d8 15.¥xd4

exd4 16.e5 ¤e6 17.exd6 cxd6 1/2–1/2 Eljanov-

Ganguly, Sabadell 2008.

7...¥c5 8.b4!?

The critical test of this line. In a recent

example, White didn ’ t yield much after 8.¤bd2

¤ge7 9.¤g5 £d7 10.¤df3 f6 11.¤xe6

£xe6 12.¤xd4 ¥xd4 13.£xd4 a6 14.£c4

£d6=

Gelfand-Nisipeanu,

Medias

2010.

8...¥b6

8...¥xb4? runs into 9.£a4.

9.a4 a6 10.¥xc6+ bxc6 11.a5 ¥a7 12.¥b2 ¤f6

Shirov ’ s invention is the most active way

to compensate the structural weaknesses.

13.¥xd4!

13.¤xd4 ¥xd4! 14.¥xd4 ¤xe4 (14...¦b8!?

15.£d2 ¤xe4 16.£b2 Laznicka-Sasikiran,

Kolkata 2008 and now 16...£d6 is worth

considering.) 15.¥xg7 (15.¦e1 £d5? 16.£d3 c5

17.¦xe4 cxd4 18.¤c3 £b3 19.¦xd4 0–0 20.£d2

was clearly better for White in Onischuk-

Nisipeanu, Foros 2007. However, 15...¤f6

16.¤c3 0–0 solves all problems for Black.)

15...¦g8 16.¥e5 was seen in Aronian-Shirov,

Elista 2007 and now instead of 16...¥h3?! better

chances for equality are offered by 16...¦b8.

13...¤xe4 14.¥xa7 £xd1

14...¦xa7 15.¤d4 0–0 16.¤xc6 £f6 17.¤d2

ELJANOV-GANGULY

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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not?

No. 84, August 11, 2010

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Benoni, g3

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.¤c3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.g3 g6 7.¥g2 ¥g7 8.¤f3 0–0 9.0–0 ¦e8 10.¤d2

¤bd7 11.h3 a6 12.a4 ¦b8 13.¤c4 ¤e5 14.¤a3 ¤h5 15.e4 ¥d7 16.f4 ¤xg3 17.fxe5 ¥xe5 18.¦f3

In several earlier issues we mentioned the developments in all different lines of the Benoni, but the last few

weeks attention has been switched back to the main line of the Fianchetto Variation. The mysterio 15...¦f8!? is

not often seen any longer and has been replaced by the more sensible 15...¥d7, aiming to push the b-pawn.

Hence, the critical line starts with 16.a5 and recently some games has been played there. After 16...£xa5 17.g4

¤f6 18.f4 (18.g5 has been dismissed since Avrukh-Kamsky) ¤exg4 19.hxg4 ¤xg4 20.f5 the latest word has

been said with 20...h5!? The ¤ on g4 serves both in defense and attack, and covers together with the ¥ on e5

the black squares. Up till now, this new move has worked out well for Black, but as the position is extremely

sharp, any moment we may expect a theoretical bomb from the white side in this line. Instead, Berg went for 16.f4

and deviated with 18. ¦f3?! but couldn't change the evaluation of the position. Black's two pawns and tactical

possibilities proved to be more valuable than White's extra piece.

Ragozin

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 d5 4.¤c3 ¥b4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.¥g5 ¤bd7 7.e3 c5 8.dxc5 £a5 9.¦c1

¤e4 10.£xd5 ¤xc3 11.bxc3 ¥xc3+ 12.¢d1 0–0 13.¥e7 ¦e8 14.¥d6 ¤f6 15.£b3 ¤e4

In the Ragozin Kramnik came up with an interesting idea against Ponomariov: 8.dxc5!? He won a beautiful game

with it in Moscow last year, and he repeated this idea a couple of weeks ago in Dortmund against Mamedyarov

(see CVO 82). In that game the former World Champion opted for 16.cxb6, which got him a small but lasting

endgame advantage, which Mamedyarov was not able to defend. Nevertheless Dmitry Gurevich chose to

deviate from the Kramnik games and instead played 13.¥e7. This move leads to crazy complications, although

to us it seems that Black should be fine if he is well prepared. In fact Gareev, who was the one to play against

this new idea for White, responded quite well over the board. If anyone was better in the final phase of the game,

it was Black.

Open Catalan

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.¤f3 dxc4 5.¥g2 a6 6.0–0 ¤c6 7.e3 ¥d7 8.¤c3 ¥b4

9.¤e5 ¥xc3 10.bxc3 ¤xe5 11.dxe5 ¤d5 12.¥a3 £g5 13.£d4 ¥c6 14.h4 £g6 15.¦fd1

In CVO 80 the Open Catalan with 5...a6 was covered. The sharp lines following 6.¤e5 ¥b4+ seem OK for Black at

the moment, but luckily for Catalan adepts the 'quieter' 6.0–0 is also not without poison. Grischuk used it to crush

Istratescu in just over 20 moves. Although it was just a rapid game, we feel that it has theoretical importance, and

so let's have had a closer look at it. With 8...¥b4 Istratescu deviated from the main line 8...¤d5. 13...¥c6 was a

new move, whereas 13...0–0–0 was seen in Gelfand-Adams, Enghien-les-Bains 2003. In that game Adams was

suffering, although in the end he managed to draw. Istratescu's 15...f5? (which got him a clearly worse position)

was followed by 16...0–0–0? which was the decisive mistake. But also after the better 15...0–0–0 16.£a7 £c2!

17.¥e7 ¦de8 18.¥b4 Black's position doesn't look too appetizing to us, though according to our strong chess

engines it is only slightly worse for ¥lack. Our conclusion is that 9.¤e5! leads to very dangerous play and might

be a good reason to stay away from 8... ¥b4.

Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤c3 ¥b4 4.e3 0–0 5.¥d3 d5 6.¤f3 c5 7.0–0 ¤c6 8.a3 ¥xc3

9.bxc3 £c7 10.¥b2 ¤a5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.¤e5 ¦e8 13.a4 ¦xe5 14.dxe5 £xe5

In CVO 82 we pointed out that the Rubinstein variation of the Nimzo-Indian attracts more players lately, as

the Classical variation rans out of resources. This time Wang Hao bounces back for the Black players with

a strategical exchange sacrifice which is entirely new in this particular position. Black ’ s compensation looks

suspicious at first sight, as his pieces aren ’ t optimally placed yet. Therefore, 15.e4! deserves a closer look.

However, after trading the ¥s, the black ¤s are gaining more influence over the light squares. Moreover, the ¥

on b2 is pretty useless and can ’ t hardly be brought back into the game via a3, as it would further weaken the

pawn on c3. White ’ s best practical chance was to return the exchange on move 22, defending a slightly inferior

ending as the ¤ proves to be more active than the ¥. After the final mistake 22.¦e2?, Wang Hao energetically

exploited the weaknesses in White ’ s camp by means of 22...¤h5 and 24...f5!, when various tactical motives

decided White ’ s fate. An absolute model game from Black ’ s perspective.

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ChessVibes OPENINGS what’s hot and what’s not?

No. 84, August 11, 2010

IT'S YOUR MOVE

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LAST WEEK'S SOLUTIONS

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Balogh-Tetimov, San Juan (Pamplona) 2010

This position can hardly be called a typical example of an isolated pawn, since the black £ is offside. White finds

a creative way to exploit that. 18.g4! £h6 19.g3 Now White ’ s intentions become clear. The open h-file is very

dangerous for Black. 19...£h3 Safer is 19...£f6 though after 20.¢g2 White ’ s initiative is indisputable. 20.¤g5

£h6 21.¤e4 ¥xe5 22.dxe5 ¥d7 23.¢g2 ¦ac8 23...¥c6 is strongly met by 24.¦xc6! bxc6 25.¦h1 £g6 26.¥c2

with a powerful attack. 24.¥c2 g6 25.g5 £g7 26.¤f6+ 1–0

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Tomashevsky-Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Young Grandmasters (Biel) 2010

Black has a pleasant game, as his ¥s are dominating White's counterparts. With his next move, Black opens the

position on the queenside and so creates new targets for his pieces. 14...a4! 15.bxa4 A better option is 15.e4 but

after 15...¥g4 16.f3 ¥e6 17.¦b1 axb3 18.axb3 ¤c6 Black is in control. 15...¤c8! The point. From b6 the ¤ attacks

the weaknesses in White ’ s camp. 16.¥b2 It ’ s impossible to cover b6 with 16.a5? in view of 16...£f6 17.¥b2

¦xb2!. 16...¤b6 17.¥d5 c6 18.a5 18.¥xc6? obviously loses to 18...¤xc4. 18...¤xd5 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.¤a4 d4

and Black ’ s massive centre and his pair of ¥s proved to be superior.

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