CVO_121.pdf

No. 121, April 27, 2011

OPENINGS

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT?

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Castling queenside

By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris

Frequency

The Russian Team Championship was won by 64

(Moscow), led by Gelfand, who inished half a board

point clear of Tomsk-400, led by Ponomariov.

Meanwhile, Naiditsch was the convincing winner of

the biggest open in Germany, overcoming a tough

schedule of 9 rounds in 5 days.

WHAT’S HOT?

Score

Our Game of the Week , Ivanchuk-Ponomariov (4.d3 Anti-Berlin), was

a surprisingly quick win for Black. In the diagram position White went for

5.0-0. In Motylev-Svidler, Black successfully countered the Ruy Lopez

Exchange Variation with the old Smyslov move 5...£e7. Danin-Kokarev

was an interesting Najdorf battle with 6.¥g5 ¤bd7 7.£e2 b5. Areshchenko-

Makarov followed up on the Modern Defence we've been discussing in

recent weeks.

There are different ways of handling 1.e4. In Deizisau, Naiditsch avoided the

most critical main lines in order to outplay his opponents in the middlegame

(see the PGN file). Below we look at a few examples of White castling

queenside at all costs (in the 6...¤f6 Taimanov and the French Steinitz),

taking certain risks in order to finally emerge victorious.

In Gelfand-Jakovenko (Nimzo-Indian), Black played 15...¤a6 instead of

the 15...¥e6 known from Anand-Wang Hao. Gelfand-Ponomariov and

Shankland-Shabalov seem to confirm that 7...b5 is currently an appealing

line for Black to play against the Catalan. Jakovenko-Nepomniachtchi was

an excellent win for White in the Grünfeld. More on the Grünfeld and also

the QGA can be found below.

Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

White's handling of the French Winawer has been unconvincing this week. Boris Savchenko is quite an appealing player who's not afraid

to take risks. Black emerged from Frolyanov-Savchenko & Nepomniachtchi-Savchenko

with the full two points. White players have been warned: always be prepared for the sharp

Winawer!

WHAT’S NOT?

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

No. 121, April 27, 2011

Attacking with 1.e4 e5!

Games between Ivanchuk and Ponomariov have been special ever since they played in the

inal of the FIDE World Championship. The current game is a new example of how 1.e4 e5!

can actually turn into an attacking weapon for Black.

GAME OF THE WEEK

the e-file. Later it will become apparent that the ¦

is also excellently placed to join the attack along

the 6th rank.

19.¤c4 ¥c7 20.e5

A quieter and perhaps better option would have

been 20.¦de1!?.

20...¤d5 21.¦ee1 ¤f4

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22.£f5?

Possibly the losing mistake. White should have

gone for 22.exd6 though the following lines show

that he doesn ’ t have more than a draw: 22...¥xf3

23.dxc7 (23.£c3 ¤h3+! 24.¢f1 ¥xg2+ 25.¢xg2

¦g6+ 26.¢f1 £d7! and it seems Black holds;

23.¦xe6? £g5!) 23...¤h3+ 24.¢f1 (24.¢h1?

is beautifully met by 24...£d5!) 24...¥xg2+

25.¢xg2 £g5+ 26.¢h1 (26.¢xh3 £h5+ 27.¢g2

£g4+ 28.¢f1 £h3+ is also a draw.) 26...¦xe1+

27.¦xe1 £d5+ 28.f3 (28.¦e4 £g5! 29.¦e1

£d5+=) 28...£xf3+ 29.£g2 ¤f2+ 30.¢g1 ¤h3+

with a repetition.

22...¥xf3 23.gxf3

Or 23.£xf4 ¥xd1 24.¦xd1 £e8.

23...£h4 24.¦e4

24.¢h1 also doesn ’t help, in view of 24...¤h3!.

24...dxe5 25.¦d7?

Accelerating the process, though White is lost

anyway. 25.¥xe5 is met by 25...¤h3+! (Not

25...¦g6+? 26.£xg6 fxg6 27.¦xf4 and White

can build a fortress.) 26.¢g2 £xf2+ 27.¢h1

(27.¢xh3 ¦f6) 27...£c2! 28.¦d2 ¦g6! and wins.

25...¦g6+ 26.¢f1 ¦g2 and White resigned, since

after 27.¦d2 (27.£xf7+ ¢h8 28.¦d2 ¦g1+! leads

to mate.) 27...£xh2 his position is completely

hopeless. 0–1

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pawn up in Movsesian-Karjakin, Moscow blitz

2010. 12.£xc6?! ¥d7 13.£c2 ¤xe4! 14.¤xe4 ¥f5

15.¦e1 £e7 and Black regains the piece.

12...¥d7

Ponomariov deviates from an earlier game,

which didn ’ t pose Black any concrete problems

after 12...c5 13.e5 ¤d5 14.¤c4 h6 15.¥d2 ¥e6

16.exd6 (Perhaps White shouldn ’ t release the

tension so quickly and should instead go for

16.¦ad1!?) 16...cxd6 17.¤xb6 £xb6 18.dxc5

dxc5 with equality in Svidler-Karjakin, Moscow

2010.

13.b3 c5 14.d5

It ’ s hard to imagine that White could hope for

anything tangible after 14.e5 ¤d5 if you compare

Svidler-Karjakin.

14...c6 15.dxc6

After 15.¤c4?! ¥c7 16.dxc6 ¥xc6 White has

problems defending e4.

15...¥xc6 16.¥b2 ¥a5

One of the reasons 10...¥b6 has been the

preferred choice. Black ’ s dynamic resources

fully compensate for the structural weaknesses.

17.¦ad1 h6 18.¦e3

It seems tempting to play the immediate central

break 18.e5?! though after 18...¥xf3 19.¤xf3

¥xe1 20.exf6 ¥a5 it ’ s not clear whether White

has sufficient attacking potential left.

18...¦e6!

A multi-purpose move. Black once more protects

his d-pawn and prepares to triple his forces on

Ivanchuk,V (2779) - Ponomariov,R (2743)

Russian Team Ch (Olginka), 20.04.2011

B90, Sicilian Najdorf, 6.h3

1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 ¤f6 4.d3 ¥c5 5.0–0

Another topical option is 5.c3 0–0 6.¥xc6

(Ivanchuk recently had a bad experience with

6.0–0 d5 (6...d6 transposes to the game.) 7.£c2

¦e8 8.¥g5 dxe4 9.dxe4 h6 10.¥h4 g5 11.¥g3

¤h5 12.¤bd2 £f6 13.¤c4 ¤f4 14.b4 ¥b6

15.¤xb6 axb6 16.¤d2 ¥e6 17.f3 h5 18.a4 ¦ed8

19.¦ae1 ¤e7 20.¥f2 h4 21.¥e3 h3 22.g3 ¤g2

23.¦e2 c6 24.¥d3 b5 25.a5 ¦d7 26.¥b6 ¤c8

27.¥c5 £d8 0–1 Ivanchuk-Nakamura, Monaco

blindfold 2011.) 6...bxc6 7.¤xe5 d5 leading to

sharp play, though practice has confirmed that

Black should be doing fine in these lines.

5...d6 6.c3 0–0 7.¤bd2 a6 8.¥xc6

A double-edged decision. White gives up his

pair of ¥s in the hope of exploiting his favorable

pawn structure. The other move is 8.¥a4 ¥a7

(8...b5 is the alternative.) 9.h3 ¤e7 which leads

to a more typical Ruy Lopez game.

8...bxc6 9.d4

A logical follow-up. The following game

illustrates how quickly things can go wrong for

White when he refrains from d3-d4: 9.¤c4 h6

10.b4 ¥a7 11.£e2 c5 12.¤a5 cxb4 13.cxb4 ¥d7

14.¥d2 ¦b8 15.a3 c5 16.h3 cxb4 17.¥xb4 ¤h5

18.£d2 £f6 19.¢h2 ¤f4 20.¤g1 £g6 21.f3 ¥e3

22.£c2 ¦fc8 23.¤c4 d5 0–1 Hracek-Kramnik,

Prague rapid 2002.

9...exd4 10.cxd4 ¥b6

In a few other games Black opted for 10...¥a7

though the text is more natural, as the ¥ has

additional squares on the a5-d8 diagonal.

11.£c2 ¦e8 12.¦e1

(diagram)

Necessary prophylaxis, protecting e4.

Alternatives give Black a comfortable game:

12.h3? ¤xe4! 13.¤xe4 ¥f5 14.¥g5? (Better is

14.¦e1 though after 14...£e7 15.£xc6 ¥xe4

Black is absolutely fine.) 14...¥xe4 15.£xe4

¦xe4 16.¥xd8 ¦xd8 and Black was just a healthy

IVANCHUK - PONOMARIOV

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

No. 121, April 27, 2011

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤c6 5.¤c3 £c7 6.¥e3 ¤f6 7.£f3 a6 8.0–0–0 ¥b4 9.¤xc6

bxc6 10.¥d4 ¥d6 11.¤a4 0–0 12.g3 ¥e5 13.¥b6 £b8 14.£e3 d5 15.f4 ¥c7 16.e5 ¤d7 17.¥d4 a5

As we explained in CVO 25, the move order with 6...¤f6 is a tricky one in the Taimanov Sicilian. It more or less

tries to talk White out of castling queenside. Basically, the main line runs 7.f4 ¥b4 8.¤db5 £a5 9.e5 ¤d5 10.¥d2

¤xc3 and here all three recaptures have been tried. The latest verdict seems to be that taking back with the ¥

is the most promising. In both Shomoev-Grachev, Moscow 2011 and Motylev-Shimanov, Aix-les-Bains 2011,

White castled queenside anyway and got the type of edge that's well-known from the French opening. This week

Caruana was even more ambitious and tried the uncommon 7.£f3!? which was introduced last year by Najer. Now

7...¥b4 would run into 8.¤db5 so Black has to spend a tempo on 7...a6 anyway. Previously seen instead of the

new 8...¥b4 were 8...d6 and 8...¥e7 (the latter through a different move order), but more tests are needed to get

a clear picture. In the diagram position Caruana is making a serious push for an edge and indeed went on to win

the game. So now White has two ways of combatting 6...¤f6, which is always a good sign.

Sicilian, Taimanov

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French, Steinitz

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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.e5 ¤fd7 5.f4 c5 6.¤f3 ¤c6 7.¥e3 ¥e7 8.£d2 0–0 9.dxc5 ¥xc5 10.0–0–0 £a5 11.¥xc5 ¤xc5 12.h4

¥d7 13.h5 b5 14.¢b1 b4 15.¤e2 ¤e4 16.£e1 ¦ab8 17.¤d2 ¤xd2+ 18.£xd2 £c5 19.¤c1 a5 20.¤d3 £e7 21.g4 a4 22.¥h3

In the fashionable 7...¥e7 line of the Steinitz variation, the big question for White is: which side to castle? Castling

kingside is definitely safer, but on the other hand: no pain, no gain. So castling queenside, as Kurnosov did

recently against Kotsur (draw) and this week against Najer (win) is playing in the spirit of the opening. It's important

to remember that the immediate 9.0–0–0? runs into 9...c4 10.f5 b5! with a strong attack for Black. Instead of the

most frequently played 12...¥d7, 12...¦b8!? is a very serious alternative. It remains to be seen where Kurnosov

was planning to deviate from his game against Kotsur. Instead of 13.h5, some home analysis by Ris focused on

13.¦h3!?, which allowed Dutch junior David Klein to win a good game at the World Youth Championship last year.

14.¢b1 was the novelty by Kurnosov, and after defensive ¤ moves like 17.¤d2 and 19.¤c1 the diagram position

was reached. Here Najer should probably have gone 22...b3 23.cxb3 axb3 24.a3 ¤d4! with the idea ¤c2xa3 to

open files against the white ¢.

Queen's Gambit Accepted

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.e3 e6 5.¥xc4 c5 6.0–0 ¤c6 7.£e2

a6 8.dxc5 ¥xc5 9.e4 b5 10.e5 bxc4 11.exf6 gxf6 12.£xc4 ¤d4

£e2, Furman's move against the QGA, is no longer a frequent guest at top level. Apparently in modern chess White

prefers more concrete approaches, for instance with 3.e4. However, that doesn't mean that no-one can come up

with new ideas in old-fashioned lines. Whereas the common 10.¥b3 can hardly pose Black any problems (see

CVO 34), 10.e5!? leads to a more double-edged game. Black's last move 12...¤d4! is an excellent simplification,

since in case of 13.£xc5 White has to play accurately to hold a draw. In the present game play remains very

unclear, but as the analysis shows Black seems to be doing fine after e.g. 21...¦d8. From a theoretical point of

view, 12 ¦d1!? deserves further investigation instead of Moiseenko's 12.£xc4. The game Vitiugov-Stevic, Budva

2009, should also be examined carefully, and 14.¥h6!? may well be the strongest reply to 11...£d3. In the game,

Black didn't manage to coordinate his forces well and his ¢ was soon punished. New attempts with 10.e5!? will

undoubtedly soon appear again in tournament practice.

Grünfeld, Exchange

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 d5 4.cxd5 ¤xd5 5.e4 ¤xc3 6.bxc3 ¥g7 7.¤f3 c5 8.¥e3 ¥g4

9.¦c1 ¥xf3 10.gxf3 cxd4 11.cxd4 0–0 12.d5 ¤d7 13.¥h3 ¢h8 14.f4 f5 15.e5 g5 16.¦g1 gxf4

In CVO 108 we reported on a relatively simple set-up to deal with one of the main lines in the Grünfeld. Gopal's

idea was successfully employed by Black in Giri-Nepomniachtchi. However, the latter admitted after the game

that the critical test of Black's setup would be 12.d5!?. White indeed seems to have the better prospects, but due

to his fragile pawn structure his position is also not without danger. After the advance of his pawn centre, Caruana

didn't have much choice but to sacrifice the exchange in the diagram position. As in many other variations,

the absence of the dark-squared ¥ offers White plenty of compensation. In the game White definitely enjoyed

positional pressure on Black's camp, but after the inaccuracy 19.¢f1?! he suddenly ended up in serious trouble.

Fortunately for the Italian GM, his opponent didn't refute the idea by finding 21....£c2. It's quite typical for this kind

of sharp position that one slight mistake can radically alter the evaluation of the position. In case you're aiming to

include this line in your repertoire, notice how easily a powerful centre can be destroyed.

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

No. 121, April 27, 2011

IT'S YOUR MOVE

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LAST WEEK'S SOLUTIONS

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Najer-Moiseenko, Russian Team Championship (Olginka), 2011

White is slightly ahead in development, but his ¥ is under attack. Retreat or ignore? 15.¤c4! Bringing pieces

to the battlefield! 15.¥xe5 ¤xe5 16.£xe5 0–0 is less convincing, though after 17.¤c4 White retains the better

chances. 15...exf4 15...0–0 is bad, in view of 16.¥h6 ¥f6 17.¤d6. 16.£xg7 ¦f8 17.e5 ¤xe5 After 17...£c7

18.¥g4 ¤b8 19.¤d6+ ¢d8 20.c3! White retains an immense initiative. 18.£xe5 d5 19.£xf4 ¦c6 20.¤e3 and

White is simply a pawn up while also retaining an overwhelming position. 20...¦g6 21.¥f3 ¥d6 22.£d4 ¦fg8

23.¥xd5 ¥c8 24.£c4 ¦8g7 25.¦d4 ¢f8 26.¦ad1 ¦h6 27.g3 ¥d7 28.¥e4 ¦xh2 29.¦xd6 £h4 30.¦xd7 ¦xg3+

31.fxg3 £xg3+ 32.¤g2 1–0

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Ivanchuk-Romanov, Russian Team Championship (Olginka) 2011

This position is very hard to evaluate, but in any case it's very sharp with opposite-coloured bishops and castling

on opposite sides. With his next move Ivanchuk takes a remarkable decision, attempting to shut down the files to

his king: 21.g4! h3 22.¥h1 The bishop safely blocks the passed h-pawn. 22...¤e7 23.¤fg3 ¦dg8 24.¢f1 And

the king is relatively safe here. The Ukrainian genius went on to win: 24...¦g6 25.¦d4 f6 26.f4 ¦hg8 27.¤f2 h2

28.£f3 ¤b6 29.b3 ¤bd5 30.¤e2 ¥a3 31.¦cc4 f5 32.g5 £b6 33.¦d3 ¥c5 34.¤d4 ¦e8 35.¤d1 ¥xd4 36.¦cxd4

¦e6 37.£h5 ¦d8 38.£xh2 ¢a7 39.£d2 ¦h8 40.¥g2 ¤b4 41.¦d8 ¦xd8 42.¦xd8 ¤ed5 43.¦h8 ¤xe3+ 44.¤xe3

¦xe3 45.¦h3 ¦e7 46.£f2 c5 47.¦c3 ¦c7 48.£d2 £e6 49.¦e3 £a6+ 50.¢f2 £b6 51.¢g3 ¤c6 52.¥xc6 ¦xc6

53.£c3 ¦c7 54.¦e5 ¢b8 55.£e3 £b4 56.¦xf5 c4 57.bxc4 ¦xc4 58.£e5+ ¦c7 59.g6 1–0

www.chessvibes.com/openings

ChessVibes Openings is a weekly PDF magazine that covers the latest news on chess openings. Which openings are hot in top

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