CVO_016.pdf

No. 16, April 22, 2009

OPENINGS

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT?

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The most direct way of

meeting the Chebanenko

By IM Merijn van Delft & IM Robert Ris

The Grand Prix Tournament in Nalchik is a typical

modern top-level tournament with many games

starting with 1.e4 e5 trying to equalize, or with 1.d4,

being ‘the ultimate Anti-Petroff/Marshall’, as Alexei

Shirov once put it.

Frequency

WHAT’S HOT?

In Akopian-Kasimdzhanov the main line of the Petroff was tested, but after

mass exchanges it was suddenly White who was in danger of losing with

his weakened queenside. The Marshall was put under heavy pressure this

week, but Black may have found an antidote.

Score

Definitely hot this week is the legendary Zaitsev Variation. Black was fine

against both 12.d5 (Bacrot-Eljanov) and 12.¤g5 ¦e7 13.d5 (Karjakin-

Eljanov; compare CVO 8).

In our Game of the Week we have a closer look at the Chebanenko Slav.

In the diagram position White can repeat moves with 8.¥f4, play 8.£c2

like in the game or go for the other critical move 8.¦c1. In both Eljanov-

Grischuk and Akopian-Leko Black found excellent solutions against

the positional 9.a3 in the Meraner. Leko was also doing fine in his Anti-

Moscow game against Grischuk, so his second Gustafsson must have

done decent work in the Semi-Slav.

More on the Queen ’ s Indian with 5.£a4 and the Ragozin can be found

below. Kamsky ’ s new idea 7.¥g5!? in the Catalan brought him excellent

attacking chances against Gelfand.

Source: Megabase + TWIC, 2500+ only

1.e4 e5 is hot, the rest is not. We do have a look at one of the very few Sicilians, Karjakin-Mamedyarov. Not a single Caro-Kann was played

in Nalchik, only one French (1–0), not to speak of openings like the Scandinavian, Pirc, Modern

or Alekhine.There is more discussion on 1.d4 (with 1.¤f3 and 1.c4 often transposing into 1.d4

lines), but no games with the King’s Indian, Benoni, Volga/Benkö and the Dutch.

WHAT’S NOT?

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

No. 16, April 22, 2009

A sharp battle in the Chebanenko Slav

“I didn’t spend much time on it before the game, but I prepared seriously for this tournament

and we did investigate this line,” Peter Leko said at the press conference in Nalchik, after his

game against Sergei Karjakin. Let’s have a closer look at this highly interesting draw.

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is easily refuted by 20...£xd2+! 21.¢xd2 b5

22.¤xg7+ ¢f6) 20...¦hxd8 21.¦e2+ ¢d6

22.¢xc2 ¢c5 and Black is doing fine. White ’ s

sharpest possibility is 18.¤e6+ ¥xe6 19.¥xe6

¤xf2! 20.¦xd2 ¥h6 21.¦f1 ¥xd2+ 22.¤xd2

£d4 23.£c4 £e3 24.£b4+ ¢g7 25.£e7+

¢h6 26.£h4+ and White has to accept that he

doesn ’ t have more than a perpetual (see the

PGN for a more extensive analysis).

18...¥xd3 19.£xd2 ¥h6!

Important to keep the white pieces in check.

20.¦he1

The alternatives don ’ t promise White much

either: 20.¤e6+? ¢g8; 20.h3? £d6!; 20.£c3 £f6

or 20.¤e1 ¢g7 21.¤exd3 ¦e8 22.£b4 £e7.

20...£d6!

A strong move, threatening to play 21...£c5 and

thus forcing White to exchange the £s.

21.£xd3 £xd3 22.¦xd3 ¦g8!

An accurate move, which keeps the balance.

23.¦d7

23.¢c2 ¥xf4 24.¦d4 ¥e5 25.¦xg4 ¥f6=

23...¦g7 24.¦xg7 ¢xg7 25.¦e7+ ¢g8 26.¦xb7

¦f8

After an exciting opening battle Black has

managed to create counterplay and easily

makes a draw.

27.h4 ¥xf4+ 28.gxf4 ¦xf4 29.¤g5 ¦xf2

30.¦xh7 ¤e5 31.¦b7 ¦h2 32.a3 a5 33.b4

axb4 34.axb4 ¦xh4 35.b5 cxb5 36.¦xb5

¤f7 37.¦b8+ ¢g7 38.¦b7 ¦h1+ 39.¢d2 ¦f1

40.¢e2 ½–½

GAME OF THE WEEK

Leko, P (2751) - Karjakin, S (2721)

4th FIDE GP Nalchik, April 18, 2009

D15, Chebanenko Slav, 5.c5

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14.¤xd5N

The first new move, but it seems that Karjakin

already had a closer look at it before the

game! 14.¥g2 ¥xc3! (a strong improvement

over 14...¦e8 which was played in Sargissian-

Laznicka, Moscow 2007) 15.¥xc3 dxe4 16.¥xh8

¤d3+ 17.¢f1 exf3 18.¥xf3 ¤gxf2 19.£b3+ ¢e7

20.¥g7 ¥h3+ 21.¥g2 £d7 yielded Black some

initiative in Ivanchuk-Bacrot, Heraklio 2007

while 14.h3 ¤f6 15.¤g5+ ¢g8 16.¥e3 was

Aronian-Bacrot, Mainz rapid 2007 and now

16...£a5! looks fine for Black.

14...¤xe4 15.¤f4 ¤xd2!

The correct decision to eliminate the bishop

immediately. Inferior would be 15...¥f5 16.£b3+

¢f8 17.0–0–0.

16.0–0–0 ¥f5 17.¥c4+

17.£c5? ¤xf3 18.¦xd8 ¦hxd8 19.¥c4+ ¢f6 and

Black ’ s pieces are stronger than the £.

17...¢f8

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.¤c3 a6

This is the legendary Chebanenko Slav. The

original idea is to develop ¥c8 without giving up

the stronghold on d5.

5.c5

This is the most direct approach to punish Black

for weakening the b6-square. In earlier rounds the

other two main lines were tested: 5.a4 e6 6.g3!?

dxc4 7.¥g2 c5 8.dxc5 £xd1+ 9.¤xd1 (this line has

caused Black some problems in recent games,

but Karjakin comes up with a fresh new idea)

9...¥d7!? 10.¤e5 ¤c6 11.¤xc6 ¥xc6 12.¥xc6+

bxc6 13.¥d2 ¤e4 14.¦c1 ¤xd2 15.¢xd2 0–0–0+

16.¢e3 ¥xc5+ 17.¢f3 ¦d5!= Kasimdzhanov-

Karjakin, Nalchik 2009 and 5.e3 b5 6.b3 ¥g4

7.¥d2 ¤bd7 8.h3 ¥xf3 9.£xf3 b4 10.¤a4

e5 11.£d1 ¤e4 12.¥d3 ¤xd2 13.£xd2 exd4

14.0–0! ¥e7 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.¥f5 ¦b8? (16...¤b6)

17.£xd4 ¤f6 18.¦ac1 0–0 19.¦c6± Alekseev-

Svidler, Nalchik 2009.

5...¤bd7 6.¥f4 ¤h5 7.¥d2 ¤hf6 8.£c2

8.¥f4 just repeats moves but 8.¦c1 is the other

critical option, which has been popularized

by Topalov and his second Vallejo: 8...g6

9.h3 £c7 10.g3 ¥g7 11.¥f4 £d8 12.¥g2 and

in the stem game Topalov-Kamsky, Sofia

2006, White used his trademark exchange

sacrifice (¦xe6!) to gain the initiave.

8...g6

The most common move. After other moves Black

has difficulties to equalize: 8...e5?! 9.dxe5 ¤g4

10.¤a4 is considered to be better for White, or

8...£c7 9.e4 e5 10.exd5 cxd5 11.b4 ¥e7 12.¥e2

0–0 13.0–0 e4 14.¤e1² Alekseev-Bacrot, Biel

2008.

9.g3 e5!

From this point on it becomes very concrete.

10.dxe5 ¤g4 11.e6 ¤xc5 12.exf7+ ¢xf7 13.e4

White must try to make use of the vulnerable

position of Black ’ s king, before Black can

stabilize the situation in the centre. 13.b4?! ¥f5!

13...¥g7

(diagram)

A critical position has arisen, but it seems to us

that White has no more than a draw here.

18.¥d3

After exchanging £s, Black has not so much

to worry about 18.¦xd2 because of 18....¥xc2

19.¤e6+ ¢e7 20.¤xd8 (the beautiful 20.¦e1?

LEKO - KARJAKIN

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

No. 16, April 22, 2009

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Ruy Lopez, Marshall

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1.e4 e5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 a6 4.¥a4 ¤f6 5.0–0 ¥e7 6.¦e1 b5 7.¥b3 0–08.c3 d59.exd5 ¤xd5

10.¤xe5 ¤xe5 11.¦xe5 c6 12.d4 ¥d6 13.¦e1 £h4 14.g3 £h3 15.£e2 ¥d7 16.£f1 £f5

While the Petroff is still the Petroff, the Marshall has been going through some rough times lately. First of all

there is the new Anti-Marshall idea 8.a4 b4 9.d4!? which we talked about in CVO 12. Back then Aronian was

lucky to escape against Carlsen, but this time around, against Karjakin, he did lose. We believe Black should

still be fine in this line, but it remains a very practical choice for White.

The best way to refute a gambit is still by accepting it and in Kamsky-Bacrot White was very close to just

doing that, using the Volokitin line 15.£e2 and 16.£f1 we discussed in CVO 11. A typical Marshall ending was

reached, in which Black finds it increasingly difficult to hold the balance. That ’ s why in Alekseev-Aronian Black

kept the queens on the board with the new 16...£f5!?. In comparison with 16...£h5 the black h-pawn is able

to join the attack.

Sicilian Paulsen/Taimanov

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1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤c6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¤xc6 bxc6 7.£d3 d5 8.£g3

The Sicilian Paulsen/Taimanov hybrid line with 4...¤c6 and 5...a6 can be answered in many ways, but 6.¤xc6

bxc6 seems to be the most critical course. Now White in the high majority of cases goes for 7.¥d3 d5 8.0–0 ¤f6

9.¦e1 or the currently fashionable 9.£f3!?. Another option is the tricky 7.e5!?, which should be theoretically fine

for Black, as Kasparov did play it in a simul but not in a tournament game.

Karjakin chose a third path against Mamedyarov with the seldomly played 7.£d3 followed by the novelty 8.£g3!?.

This queen manoeuvre makes a very fresh and dynamic impression. Possibly his new coach and Kasparov ’ s

former second Yuri Dokhoian has something to do with it.

White sacrificed a pawn and castled queenside to enjoy a nice initiative. Mamedyarov proved to be a tough

defender though and managed to keep the draw. Possible improvements are 15.¥f3!? (Arne Moll) and 16.¤e4!?

(Sergey Shipov).

Queen ’ s Indian, 5. £ a4

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 b6 4.g3 ¥a6 5.£a4 ¥b7 6.¥g2 c5 7.dxc5 bxc5

8.0–0 ¥e7 9.¤c3 0–0 10.¥f4 £b6 11.¦fd1 ¦d8 12.¦d2 d6 13.¦ad1

So far during the first week of the GP in Nalchik we have seen only two Queen ’ s Indians. In both games White

played the solid 5.£a4 instead of the more topical 5.£c2. The position after 13.¦ad1 is an important tabiya for

this line, which is characterized by White ’ s pressure along the d-file, while Black usually gets play on the b-file. In

the 4th round, after 13...a6 Gelfand came up with the new 14.g4!?, making use of his advantage in development.

After a series of very precise moves, Gelfand missed an excellent chance to convert his advantage. Instead of

13...a6, coincidentally on the same day, the more precise 13...¤e8 was played by Akopian against Mamedyarov.

The Azeri deviated with 16.g4 from the game Gustafsson-Leko, but couldn ’ t really break the balance after

Akopian ’ s strong 18...f5. Conclusion: 13...¤e8 seems to be doing fine for Black and it ’ s up to White to show new

ideas to keep the variation alive!

Ragozin

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1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 d5 4.¤c3 ¤bd7 5.¥g5 ¥b4 6.£b3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.a3 ¥xc3+ 9.£xc3 c4

The Ragozin variation has always been favoured by players who don ’ t just play the game to equalize with Black.

The tension in the centre gives both sides plenty of possibilities and guarantees an interesting strategical battle,

as in Alekseev-Eljanov. In this specific line, Ragozin-expert Eljanov came up with the strong novelty 12...£e8!,

stepping out of the annoying pin and preparing the advance of his £-side pawns.

Black ’ s unfortunate loss had nothing to do with the outcome of the opening, since Eljanov wanted to force

matters on the £-side too quickly. A serious improvement would have been 20...¥d7.

In recent times Black is doing quite well in the main variation of the Ragozin and it explains why one of the best

opening theoreticians in the world, Boris Gelfand, deviated from the main paths in this opening. His choice to

play with a hanging pawns centre was purely a practical one, since objective evualation of the position says

Black is fine there.

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

No. 16, April 22, 2009

OPENING EXPERT

Who: Rustam Kasimdzhanov

Born: December 5, 1979

Nationality: Uzbekistan

Rating: 2695

Expertise: Various openings, lately sharp openings like the Dragon Sicilian

Why: The former FIDE World Champion and current second of Anand has

a broad repertoire, switching from hypersharp openings like Dragon

and Anti-Moscow to positional Queen’s Gambit lines. Generally, in our

opinion, the gifted Uzbek feels best at home in dynamic unbalanced

positions where he is often able to outplay his opponent, thanks to his

dynamic sense for the game.

Key game: Ivanchuk - Kasimdzhanov , 4th FIDE GP Nalchik RUS (5), 19.04.2009

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of Ivanchuk ’ s pieces. White is in big trouble now.

23.¤a2

23.exd4 ¤xd4 24.£d1 (24.¦xd4 £xf2+ 25.¢h1

£xf1+) 24...¤df3+ 25.gxf3 ¤xf3+ 26.¢h1 £f4

wins and so does 23.¤e4 ¤a5 24.£d1 ¦xc1

25.£xc1 ¤b3.

23...¤g4 24.¦dc2 dxe3 25.fxe3 ¤a5 0–1

Here White resigned because wherever the

White queen goes, Black will play 26...¦xc2

27.£xc2 £xf1+ 28.¦xf1 ¦xf1+ 29.¢xf1 ¤xe3+

winning a piece.

1.c4 e6 2.¤c3 d5 3.d4 ¥e7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.¥f4

¤f6 6.e3 ¥f5 7.£b3 ¤c6 8.a3 ¤a5 9.£a2 0–0

10.¤f3 c5 11.dxc5 ¥xc5 12.¥e5

12.¦d1 ¥c2 13.¦d2 ¥b3 14.£b1 ¦c8 15.¥e5

¥d6 16.¥xd6 £xd6 17.¥e2 ¥c4 was fine

for Black in Sasikiran-Ponomariov, Khanty

Mansiysk 2007.

12...¥e6 13.¥d4 ¥xd4 14.¤xd4 ¤c6 15.¤xe6

fxe6

(diagram)

This is a typical unbalanced position to

which we refered to in the introduction. The

asymmetrical pawn-formation and the ¤

against ¥ gives Black something to play for.

16.¥e2 £e7 17.0–0 ¦ac8 18.¦ac1 ¢h8

19.¦fd1 ¤d7 20.¦d2 ¤de5 21.£b3?!

21.b4 would be more in the spirit of the game.

21...£f7 22.¥f1?

22.f3 with about a level game, but absolutely

not worse for Black.

22...d4!

Immediately exploiting the unlucky placement

Although this game was extremely short for

such high-class players, we think it perfectly

shows Kasimdzhanov ’ s strength. When he can

enter a position where both sides have their

own trumps, Kasim is extremely alert to punish

his opponent for the slightest inaccuracy!

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 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:

€ 18 for six months / € 25 a year (that’s less than € 0.50 per issue!). More info can be found at www.chessvibes.com/openings .

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