Boris Avrukh

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QUALITY CHESS

by Boris Avrukh

Grandmaster Repertoire is a series of high quality chess books based on the main lines, written by strong grandmasters. The aim is to provide the reader with a complete repertoire at a level good enough for elite tournaments, and certainly also for the club championship.

Grandmaster Repertoire 8 - The Griinfeld Defence Volume One offers a repertoire for Black after 1.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6. This volume covers the Fianchetto Variation, the Russian Variation with S.V;b3, the .if4 and .igS lines, as well as all White's minor tries. Grandmaster Repertoire 9 will complete the repertoire.

Ilund loft v Itt,') dIme')

Boris Avrukh is a grandmaster from Israel. He is an Olympiad gold medallist, former World Junior Champion and analysis partner of World Championship finalists. Avrukh's two previous Grandmaster Repertoire books on 1.d4 received universal rave reviews and have been hugely influential on chess players all over the world, including at the very highest level.

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Grandmaster Repertoire 8

The Griinfeld Defence Volume One

By

Boris Avrukh

Quality Chess www.qualitychess.co.uk

First edition 2011 by Quality Chess UK Ltd

Copyright 2011 Boris Avrukh

Grandmaster Repertoire 8 -The Grtinfeld Defence Volume One

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Preface After the great success of my first two Grandmaster Repertoire books (l.d4 for White), it was not long before the idea of writing about my favourite Black opening, the Griinfeld Defence, was discussed. Ironically this meant searching for an antidote to the line of the Fianchetto Variation on which I had worked so diligently in the second of my l.d4 volumes. My solution to this problem can be found in Chapter 4 of the present book.

I would like to share the story of how I became a devotee of this great opening. After I moved to Israel in 1995 my opening repertoire was rather shaky, so during my first few months there I made a serious effort to improve it. Fortunately the Beer-Sheva Club and its manager Ilyahu Levant provided the best possible conditions for such work. My first coach in Israel was Mark Tseitlin, whom I continue to regard as something of a 'Griinfeld guru'. I also received high quality support from Alex Huzman, a strong player who is best known for being the long-term coach of Boris Gelfand.

Ever since my first few lessons with Mark, I immediately understood that the Griinfeld was the opening for me. I was attracted by the combative and dynamic positions to which it leads, and relished the prospect of fighting for the initiative with the black pieces. It was especially helpful that all the strong players in my new club knew this opening well. Indeed, in the present work the reader will find plenty of references to the games of Mark Tseitlin, Alex Huzman, Alon Greenfeld, Victor Mikhalevski and Alex Finkel. At that time the influence of the computer was not so strong, and by analysing together we managed to discover a lot of interesting ideas. The Griinfeld has remained my first choice against l.d4 for sixteen years (and counting!), whereas against l.e4 I have changed quite a lot.

The Griinfeld is one of the most prominent openings at the highest level, with players such as Shirov, Svidler, Leko and Kamsky using it as their main weapon, while Anand, Carlsen, Topalov and Grischuk also employ it frequently. Let us not forget Garry Kasparov, who made huge contributions to Griinfeld theory from the late eighties until his retirement.

The recent Candidates matches paint a remarkable picture. Vladimir Kramnik refused even to allow Alexander Grischuk to play the Griinfeld (which is understandable given that one ofGrischuk's seconds was Peter Svidler), and opened all his white games with l.lLlf3. Gata Kamsky played only the Griinfeld against 1.d4, and his main second Emil Sutovsky is one of the leading Griinfeld experts in the world. Two of Kamsky's clashes with Boris Gelfand in the fashionable 4.ig5 system can be found in Chapter 23. Of course Grischuk lost his vital last game in the final against Gelfand with the Griinfeld, but as we shall see, he did not play the line I recommend!

I have always enjoyed the Griinfeld from either side of the board, as the rich positions offer considerable scope for creativity and investigation for both sides. I hope that after reading this book the reader will share my enthusiasm!

Boris Avrukh, Beer-Sheva, May 2011

Contents Key to Symbols used & Bibliography 6

Early Deviations l.d4 tLlf6 2.c4 g6

1 Rare Third Moves 7 2 3.3 13

Fianchetto Systems l.d4 tLlf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 tLlxd5 5.e4 tLlb6

3 Rare Lines 37 4 5.b3 43 5 Rare Seventh Moves 50 6 7.'~'b3 58 7 White exchanges on d5 67

Various 4th Moves l.d4 tLlf6 2.c4 g6 3.tLlc3 d5

8 Rare Options 85 9 4.~a4t 94 10 4.~b3 104

Closed Variation l.d4 tLlf6 2.c4 g6 3.tLlc3 d5 4.e3 .ig7

11 Various Fifth Moves 115 12 5.tLlf3 127

l.d4 tLlf6 2.c4 g6 3.tLlc3 d5 4 . .if4

13 Sidelines 148 14 6.Ekl 157 15 5.e3 c5 - Introduction and Sidelines 172 16 7.lkl - Sidelines and 9.tLlge2 187 17 9.tLlf3 203

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6 3.~c3 d5 4 . .ig5

18 Sidelines 226 19 5.if4 242 20 5.ih4 - Sidelines 255 21 7.e3 - Sidelines 259 22 8j~bl 266 23 8.ltJf3 275

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6 3.~c3 d5 4.~f3 .ig7

24 Rare Fifth Moves 291

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6 3.~c3 d5 4.~f3 .ig7 5 . .ig5 ~e4

25 6.ih4 296 26 6.cxd5 304

Russian System l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6 3.~c3 d5 4.~f3 i.g7 5.YlYb3 dxc4 6.YlYxc40-0 7.e4 ~c6

27 Without 8.ie2 317 28 8.ie2 327

Variation Index 341

Key to symbols used ~ White is slightly better i Black is slightly better White is better + Black is better +- White has a decisive advantage -+ Black has a decisive advantage

equality iii with compensation ~ with counterplay CD unclear --+ with attack t with initiative

? a weak move ?? a blunder

a good move !! an excellent move !? a move worth considering ?! a move of doubtful value # mate

Bibliography

Avrukh: Grandmaster Repertoire 2 - 1.d4 Volume Two, Quality Chess 2010 Davies: The Gritnfeld Defence, Everyman 2002 Delchev & Agrest: The Safest Gritnfeld, Chess Stars 2011 Dembo: Play the Grunfeld, Everyman 2007 Grivas: Beating the Fianchetto Defences, Gambit 2006 Rowson: Understanding the Gritnfeld, Gambit 1999

Periodicals New in Chess Yearbooks Secrets of Opening Surprises (50S)

Electronic/Internet resources Chess Base Magazine ChessPublishing.com

Early Deviations

A) 3.~c2 B) 3.d5 C) 3 . .ig5 ~e4 4 . .if4 c5

Cl) 5.d5 C2) 5.~c2

A) after 9 ... ttl d4

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

a b c d e f g h

White has lost conttol of the d4-square

Rare Third Moves

Variation Index l.d4 ~f6 2.c4

2 ... g6

B) note to 5.bxa6

8

7 7

6

5

4

3

2

a b g h

9 ... ttlxd5!

a b

abc d e f g h

C) note to 7.f3

c d e f

8 ... ttla6!N

g h

8 9

10 10 11

8 Early Deviations

l.d4 ~f6 2.e4 g6 The starting point of our journey into the

Griinfeld Defence. Why not start earlier? Sometimes you cannot cover everything; I am sure you will find this book heavy enough as it is. Besides, there should also be room for another book later on ...

In this chapter we shall look at A) 3.Wc2, B) 3.d5 and C) 3 .1gS. Obviously there are many more possible moves, but some of them do not have any point and are not worth studying. And the rest we shall consider in the following chapters.

3.h4!? This outlandish move has been championed by Simon Williams, who recently wrote an SOS article on the subject.

3 ... c5! Black steers the game towards a posltlon where the move h2-h4 is of limited value.

4.d5 b5 4 ... e6!?N also deserves attention, angling for an improved version of a Modern Benoni.

5.e4?! A bit too creative. Williams suggests the improvement 5.h5!?N lDxh5 6.cxb5 a6 7.e4 d6, reaching an unusual kind of Benko position which should be roughly equal.

5 ... lDxe4 6.h5 YMa5t 7.lDd2 ig7 8.YMf3 lDd6 8 ... f5!?N is also good.

9.cxb5 ib7 10.hxg6 hxg6 11.~xh8t ixh8 12.a4 a6 13.~a3

This was Vinoth Kumar - Shivananda, New Delhi 2009. White's play has been enterprising but ultimately unsound, and in this position both 13 ... c4N and 13 ... YMb4N give Black some advantage.

Maybe not such a bad idea against the Griinfeld, but the problem is that White gets

a poor version of the King's Indian Defence, where he can have trouble fighting for the vital d4-square. Here is one illustrative example:

3 ... .1g7 Certainly 3 ... d5 4.cxd5 lDxd5 5.e4 lDb6

6.lDf3 is not such a bad version of the Anti-Griinfeld for White.

4.e4 0-0 5.~e3 d6 6 . .le2 c!Llc6

abc d e f g h

7 . .1e3 After 7.lDf3 Black has a pleasant choice

between 7 ... ig4 8.ie3lDd7 and 7 ... e5, in both cases winning the battle for the d4-square.

7 ... e58.dxe5 Obviously 8.d5 lDd4 couldn't satisfy White

either.

8 ... dxe5 9J~dl c!Lld4 White has lost the battle for the d4-square,

and very soon finds herself in a clearly inferior position.

IO . .ixd4 10.YMd2 ie6+

IO ... exd4 H.e5 We7 12J~xd4 Wxc5+ Koneru - eAmi, Wijk aan Zee 2006.

Chapter 1 - Rare Third Moves 9

B) 3.d5

When this chapter was almost ready, I was playing in a rapid tournament and my opponent managed to surprise me with this rare move. But after the game I did some work and came to the conclusion that the most promising response for Black is:

3 ... b5!? Playing in the spirit of the Benko Gambit

is logical, since the dark-squared bishop can find a lot of activity on the long diagonal after White has advanced his d-pawn. That said, I believe there is nothing wrong with more classical play, for example: 3 ... c6 4.ltJc3 cxdS S.cxdS d6 6.e4 .ig7 7.ltJf3 0-0 8 . .ie2 ltJbd7 9 . .ie3 ltJcS 1O.ltJd2 e6 With equal chances.

4.cx:b5 a6 5.bxa6 During the aforementioned game I was

concerned about S.b6N. However, Black is not forced to take this pawn and can try S ... c6 6.\Wb3 .ib7 with interesting play.

S.e3 .ig7 6.ltJc3 0-0 7.ltJf3 ib7 8 . .ie2 axbS 9 . .ixbS

abc d e f g h

9 ... ltJxdS! 1O.ltJxdS .ixdS 11.\WxdS c6 12.hc6 ltJxc6 13.0-0 \Wc7 14J:%dl Spassov - Ribli, Camaguey 1974. As pointed out by Ribli in Chess Informant 17, 14 .. JUb8 would have secured excellent compensation for Black.

5 ... c66.dxc6 If 6.ltJc3 then Black develops with tempo:

6 ... cxdS 7.ltJxdS \Wast 8.ltJc3 .ig7 9 . .id2 Peev - Radev, Bulgaria 1975. Here simply 9 ... ha6N 1O.ltJf3 0-0 l1.g3 ltJc6 12 . .ig2 l:%fb8 13.l:%bl ltJdS! offers Black tremendous compensation.

6 ... ~xc67.e3 Or 7.ltJc3 .ixa6 8.g3 ig7 9 . .ig2 0-0 10.ltJh3

Varga - Feher, Hungary 1998, and now the naturall0 ... e6N 11.0-0 dS 12.ltJf4ltJg4! would give Black ample compensation for the pawn.

7 ... !i.g7 8.~f3 8.ltJc3 0-0 9.~f3 occurred in Alber -

Banas, Germany 2000. Black now hurried with 9 ... .ixa6, but instead the more accurate 9 ... \WaSN 1O . .id2 .ixa6 would have given him an excellent version of the Benko.

8 ... 0-0 9 . .te2 ha6 10.ha6?! Better is 10.0-0 but after, for example,

10 ... ltJe4 Black still has great compensation.

abc d e f g h

10 ... 1Ya5t! An important nuance.

l1.tilc3 tile4! 12.0-0 tilxc3 13.bxc3 gxa6i Dzindzichashvili - Adorjan, Amsterdam

1978.

10 Early Deviations

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

C) 3 . .1g5

abc d e f g h

Quite a tricky move, especially taking into account that it's a rarely seen continuation.

3 ... ~e4 The most challenging reply. Certainly Black

can continue with 3 ... .ig7, but then he must be ready to play the King's Indian, which is not in our plans, even though White's set-up after 4.lDc3 is generally considered quite harmless.

4..tf4 c5 The text is logically connected with Black's

previous move and resembles Black's play in a line of the Trompowsky (1.d4 lDf6 2 . .ig5 lDe4 3 . .if4 c5 etc.). Obviously after 4 ... .ig7 5.f3 lDf6 6.e4 we would get a strange version of the Samisch King's Indian, with White's .if4 being an extra move.

We have reached the main crossroads in this line. At this point the most logical moves are Cl) 5.d5 and C2) 5.'1Wc2, but we shall take a quick look at a couple of other moves that White has tried:

If 5.lDd2 then the response 5 ... lDxd2 6.%Vxd2 ig7 is too compliant. After 7.d5 White has a reasonable game, with chances for an

advantage. Instead Black should play 5 ... %Va5! 6.%Vc2, transposing into line C2 below.

5.f3 %Va5t 6.lDd2 lDxd2 This looks more natural than retreating, as after 6 ... lDf6 7.d5 d6 8.e4 Black's queen is somewhat misplaced on a5.

7 . .ixd2 %Vb6 8.ic3 .ig7 9.e3 In the event of 9.d5 .ixc3t 1O.bxc3 %Vf6 (also threatening the c4-pawn, by means of 11...%Vh4t) 11.%Vb3 d6, Black has an excellent position. This position arose in Koops - Tesic, e-mail 2005, and now simplest for Black is:

9 ... lDc6N 1O.lDe2 0-0 Obviously there is no advantage for White.

Cl) 5.d5

abc d e f g h

5 ... .ig7 6.~d2 ~f6 Also not bad is 6 ... %Va5 7.%Vc2 5.

7.e4d6 Finally the game has transposed to a King's

Indian type of position, but with White's knight misplaced on d2.

8.YlYc2 As a consequence of the knight being on d2,

White has to take time to defend the b2-pawn, because the natural8.lDgf3 would just lose this pawn to 8 ... lDh5 followed by 9 ... .ixb2.

Chapter 1 - Rare Third Moves 11

8 ... 0-0 9.l()g6 e6 10 . .id3 If 10 . .ie2 then Black can obtain good play

with 1O ... lDh5! 11..ig5 f6 12 . .ie3 B.

10 ... ~a6 A useful move to insert before returning

attention to the kingside; the threat of ... lDb4 causes White to lose more time.

11.a3 In Straeter - Gross, Germany 1999, Black

should now have played:

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

a b c d e 11. .. ~h5N

An already familiar idea.

12 . .ig5 f6 13 . .ie3 After 13 . .ih4

f g h

abc d e f g h

Black gets a good version of the King's Indian with: 13 ... e5! (less clear is 13 ... exd5 14.cxd5

lDf4 15.0-0 g5 16 . .ig3 lDxd3 17.'iMxd3 B 18.ex5 .ixB 19.'iMb3oo) 14.0-0 'iMe8 Black cannot be prevented from carrying out his main idea, the ... B-advance, which will give him excellent play. However, 14 ... lDf4!? is also worthy of consideration.

13 ... e5 Again I don't see how White can stop the

... B advance; Black has great play.

abc d e f g h

White's best choice, according to theory.

5 ... 'ifa5t 6.~d2 f5 The justification for the previous move;

White will have to spend some time if he wants to chase Black's knight away from the centre. After 6 ... lDf6 7.d5 d6 8.e4 .ig7 9.lDe2 followed by 10.lDc3, White is fighting for an opening advantage.

7.f3 The most natural reply. Another game saw:

7.lDgf3 Black should continue:

7 ... .ig7 In Speelman - Ehlvest, Reykjavik 1991, Black immediately went wrong with 7 ... cxd4?! and after 8.lDxd4 .ig7 9.lD4b3!

12 Early Deviations

White was better. 8.d5

This position has occurred once in tournament practice, via a different move order, in the game Serafimov - Ignatenko, Russia 1996. I found the following natural improvement:

8 ... lLla6!N 9.a3 White can hardly allow 9.e3 lLlb4 10.Wb3 (lO.WeI is dearly inferior: lO ... Wa4! 11.lLlb3 d6 12.~e2 lLlxa2! 13.Wc2 lLlb4 14.Wd1 Wd7+ Black remains with a healthy extra pawn.) lO ... e5! 11.dxe6 dxe6 Black has a comfortable game, with excellent chances to take over the initiative.

9 ... 0-0 lO.e3 lLlxd2 11.lLlxd2

8

7

6

5

4

3 2 r=/~A;;{~ty'~%If~~=z~

abc d e f g h

11...e5! Black is probably better already, e.g.

12.dxe6 dxe6 13.0-0-0 e5 14.~g3 ~d7 The idea of ... ~a4 is unpleasant for White.

7 ... tiJf6 8.d5 i.g7 9.i.e5 A natural idea, White's dark-squared bishop

is transferred to c3, neutralizing the annoying pin along the el-a5 diagonal. This position occurred in Barsov - Vareille, Val Thorens 1995. I found the following improvement:

9 ... 0-0N 10.tiJh3 e6 Black strikes in the centre, aiming to use his

lead in development.

abc d e f g h

1l.i.c3 Wfd8 12.e4 Certainly 12.dxe6 dxe6 would allow Black to

comfortably develop his queen's knight to c6.

12 ... fxe4 13.fxe4 b5! Black not only creates unpleasant tension

in the centre, but also has the major threat of playing 14 ... b4, which would force White to give up his dark-squared bishop. In my opinion Black has good chances to take over the initiative.

Conclusion

White may be attracted to these rare third-move options because they make it problematic (or even impossible) for Black to continue in traditional Griinfeld style. However, by adopting a flexible approach, I believe that Black can obtain good chances. Against 3.Wc2 it is promising for Black to head into a King's Indian in which White's d4-pawn can quickly be targeted. I recommend meeting 3.d5 with the aggressive 3 ... b5!? when Black can expect to obtain compensation typical of the Benko Gambit. Finally 3.~g5 can be met by an idea from the Trompowsky, 3 ... lLle4 followed by 4 ... c5, which assures Black of good play.

Early Deviations 3.f3

Variation Index l.d4 ttJf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 dS 4.cxdS ttJxdS S.e4

S ... ttJb6

abc d e f g h

A) 6.a4 14 B) 6.ttJc3 .tg7 7 . .te3 0-0 IS

Bl) 8J~c1 IS B2) 8.f4 ttJc6 9.dS ttJaS! 10 . .td4 eS! 1l . .txeS .txeS 12.fxeS ~h4t!

13.g3 ~e7 14.~d4 E:d8! IS.b4 ttJac4 16 B21) 16 . .txc4 ~xb4 17.ttJf3 ~xc4 18.~e3 E:e8!N 19

B211) 19.E:dl 20 B212) 19.e6 20 B213) 19.E:c1 20

B22) 16.ttJf3 21 B3) 8.~d2 ttJc6 9.0-0-0 f5 22

B31) 10.exfS 23 B32) 10.h4 fxe4 l1.hS gxhS! 23

B321) 12.dS 24 B322) 12.E:xhS 2S

B33) 10.eS ~b4 29 B331) 11..th6 29 B332) 1l.h4.te6 30

B3321) 12.

14 Early Deviations

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6 3.B d5 The response most in the spirit of the

Griinfeld. Obviously 3 ... ig7 4.e4 transposes to the Samisch King's Indian, while for those looking for an offbeat line, 3 ... ttJc6 is an interesting alternative.

4.cxd5 4.ttJc3 will be examined via the 3.ttJc3 d5

4.f3 move order.

4 ~xd5 5.e4 ~b6

A) 6.a4

This has occurred in a number of games. The idea is to undermine the position of Black's b6-knight and make it vulnerable in the future struggle. However, White fails to achieve his goals, and meanwhile the weakness of the b4-square is significant.

6 a5 7 .ie3 .ig7 8.~c3 0-0 9J~cl The alternative is absolutely harmless:

9.%Vd2 ttJc6 10.d5 (l0.ttJb5 ttJb4! is also excellent for Black)

abc d e f g h

1O ... ttJb4!N This is a natural improvement on the game Dumpor - Sarenac, Obrenovac 2004. The following line is a good illustration of how play may unfold: ll.l:%cl e6 12.ttJb5 c6! 13.dxe6 %Vxd2t 14.'it>xd2.ixe6 15 . .ixb6 cxb5 16 . .ixb5 f5! Black takes over the initiative.

abc d e f g h

9 ~c6!N A strong improvement over 9 ... c6, after

which 1O.b3 is pretty unclear.

lO.~b5 This is evidently the move that Black was

concerned about.

lO Ad7! The key idea; it transpires that White has

to worry about his a4-pawn. In -fact, Black obtains good playas a result of his development advantage. Here is my brief analysis:

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 IS

1l.b3 A more aggressive try is: l1.dSltJb4 12.ltJxc7

(12Jhc7 is impossible in view of 12 ... .ixbS 13.ixb6 ixfl 14.~xfl ~a6! and White loses) 12 ... ltJxa4 13.ltJxa8ltJxb2 14.Wid2 Wixa8 Black clearly has the initiative.

1l ~b4 This move still works.

12.,tf4 After 12.ltJxc7 ~c8 13.ltJbS ~xc1 14.Wixc1

ixbS Is.ixbS ixd4 Black certainly has nothing to worry about. Play may continue 16.ixd4 Wixd4 17.ltJe2 Wid6 18.0-0 ~c8, when Black has some initiative.

abc d e f g h

12 ... e5! 13.dxe5 Clearly inferior is 13.ixeS ixbS 14.ixbS

ixeS IS.dxeS WigS! and Black is better.

13 00 14.~d6 .ie6 Despite being a pawn down, Black's lead

in development gives him great play. For instance:

15.J.g3 Or IS.ltJxb7 Wixdlt 16Jhdl ixb3 17.~d2

ixa4 and the black a-pawn is very dangerous.

15 Wfe7 16.f4 gad8 17.~f3 ~c8 Black regains the pawn with dividends.

B) 6.~c3 .Ag7 7 .Ae3 0-0

abc d e f g h

White has three main options here: Bl) 8J:~cl, B2) 8.f4 and B3) 8.Wfdl. A fourth option, 8.a4 as, just transposes to line A above.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Bl) 8.gcl ~c6 9.d5 ~e5

abc d e f g h

10..Ad4 Black need not fear 1O.ltJbS c6 l1.dxc6

ltJxc6 12.Wixd8 ~xd8 13.ltJxa7, as was played in Decsey - R. Horvath, Tapolca 1998, because he has a convincing answer in: 13 ... ltJa4!N 14.ltJxc6 (14.b3 ltJb2 IS.ltJxc8 ~dxc8 16.a4 ltJd4 also leads to an initiative for Black) 14 ... bxc6 IS.b3 ,tc3t! 16.~f2 ltJb2+ White is in trouble, as Black is

16 Early Deviations

threatening not only 17 .. J:!:xa2, but also 17 ... ltJdlt.

10 ... c6 11.4 ~g4 12.hg7 ~xg7 13ie2

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

13 ... e5! The best reply, since after 13 ... ltJf6 White

can hope for a slight edge with 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.ltJf3, thanks to his superior queens ide pawn structure.

14.J.xg41Yh4t 15.g31Yxg416.1Yxg4 16.fxe5 would be an error, in view of

16 ... Wfxdl t 1 n:!:xdlltJc4! and Black is already better.

16 ... .txg417.dxc6 bxc6 18.h3 .ie6

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

19.~a exf4 20.gxf4 fUd8 The position was level in Goglidze -

Spielmann, Moscow 1935; Black's damaged pawn structure on the queenside is balanced by the vulnerability of White's central pawns.

B2) 8.4

abc d e f g h

A very sharp line. Black needs to know exactly how to respond, in order to avoid landing in an inferior position - as once happened to yours truly.

8 .. ~c69.d5 The most challenging continuation. Black's

task is much easier after: 9.ltJf3 .ig4 1O.d5 ltJa5 11..id4

Black has replied to 11 . .ie2 in three different ways, but not played what I consider the most natural continuation: 11...ltJac4N 12 . .icl e6 13.dxe6 .ixe6 Only Black can be better.

11.. .ixf3 12.gxf3

abc d e f g h

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 17

12 ... e6! Very simple and at the same time strong; the threat of ... Wfh4t is most unpleasant for White.

13.hg7 I tried to improve White's play with 13.h4, but he still stands worse: 13 ... ~xd4 14.Wfxd4 ttJc6! 15.Wfgl (or 15.Wfd2 exd5 16.exd5 Wfe7t 17.@f2 Ei:ad8 and Black is clearly better) 15 ... exd5 16.0-0-0 Wff6 17.Wfg5 Wfxg5 18.hxg5 dxe4 19.ttJxe4 @g7!+ Black is a pawn up and ready to meet 20.ttJf6 with 20 ... h5!.

13 ... Wfh4t! With this intermediate move, Black takes over the initiative.

14.@e2 i>xg7 15.Wfd4t @g8 16.@e3? Not the best place for the king, but it is difficult to offer White any good advice - he probably has to just give up the f4-pawn.

a b c d e f g h

We have been following Y. Popov - Elizarov, Tula 2007, and now Black should have played:

16 ... Ei:ad8N It's hard to believe White can hold out for

long.

9 ~a5! The critical move. Retreating with 9 ... ttJb8

gives White reasonable chances to fight for an opening advantage after 10.a4!. For example: 1O ... c6 Il.a5 ttJ6d7 12.e5 cxd5 13.Wfxd5 ttJc6

14.ttJf3 ttJdb8 15.Wfb5!t Rabar - Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 1952.

lO..td4 Clearly worse is 10.ttJf3 ~g4, transposing to

the note to White's 9th move above.

lO ... e5! I am really inspired by this move, and believe

that it is Black's clearest route to equality, although 10 ... ,ig4 is a decent alternative.

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a b c d e f g h n . .be5

White has a couple of other possibilities:

The attempt to win a piece by 11.,ixb6? axb6 12.b4 obviously fails to 12 ... exf4 13.Wfc2 Wfh4t and Black wins.

II.fxe5 c6! Black has only played this once, but I have come to the conclusion that it is his best continuation.

12.d6 An unfortunate decision. I examined White's stronger options: a) 12.ttJf3 cxd5 13.,ic5 allows a very nice idea: 13 ... ttJc6! (13 ... Ei:e8 14.,ib5 ,id7 15.hb6 axb6 16.,ixd7 Wfxd7 is sufficient for equality) 14.,ixffi Wfxffi 15.exd5 (15.ttJxd5 ttJxe5 16.,ie2 ttJxf3t 17.gxf3 ,ixb2 18.Ei:bl ,ig7 is also promising for Black) 15 ... ttJxe5

18 Early Deviations

16 . .ie2 lLlg4 17.Wd2 Black has excellent compensation. b) 12.e6 fxe6 13 . .ixg7 ~xg7 14.Wd4t Wf6 15.Wxf6t l:!xf6 16.dxc6 lLlxc6 With equality.

12 ... lLlac4 13.lLlS .ig4 Very simple and strong; Black is going to regain the e5-pawn, after which the d6-pawn becomes weak. In the following encounter Black easily achieved an advantage:

14.Lc4 lLlxc4 15.Wb3 LS 16.gxS lLlxe5 17.0-0-0 Wxd6+

Ward - Howell, Gibraltar 2004.

11. .. he5 12.fxe5

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abc d e f g h

12 ... Yflh4t! A very important intermediate check

that forces White to advance his g-pawn, weakening his position and depriving him of the possibility of recapturing with the g-pawn in the event of an exchange on the S-square.

12 ... We7 13.lLlf3 .ig4 14.Wd4 .ixf3 15.gxS c5 was played in Gajewski - Gluszko, Warsaw 200S, and now White missed the very strong: 16.d6! Wh4t (or 16 ... cxd4 17.dxe7 l:!feS Is.lLld5 lLlxd5 19.exd5 l:!xe7 20.f4) 17.Wf2 Wf4 IS.Wg3 We3t 19 . .ie2lLlac4 20.f4! Wd2t 21.~f2 Such a huge pawn mass in the centre secures White's advantage.

13.g3 Yfle7 14.Yfld4 White is lacking worthy alternatives, for

example:

14.lLlS .ig4 15.b3 fSFF Black seizes the initiative.

14.b3 Wxe5 15.l:!c1 occurred in Dokhoian - Krasenkow, USSR 19S6, and now Black should play: 15 ... fS!N 16.lLlS We7 17.e5 l:!dS! White's centre is vulnerable, with Black threatening IS ... .ie6 or Is ... lLlc6. White's best is IS.Wc2lLlxd5 19.1Llxd5l:!xd5 20.Wxc7 J.d7 21..ic4lLlxc4 22.Wxc4 .ic6 23.0-0 l:!adS, but Black is clearly in control.

abc d e f g h

14 ... l:!d8! Unless you are familiar with the theory,

this is not an easy move to find. When I met this position for the first time I reacted with the more natural-looking 14 ... c5? but my opponent demonstrated that this is a serious error: 15.d6! cxd4 16.dxe7l:!eS 17.lLld5! lLlxd5 IS.exd5 l:!xe7 19.b4 The point of White's play. 19 ... .ifS (relatively better is 19 ... l:!xe5t but White still has a clear advantage after 20.~d2 J.fS 21.lLlS l:!xd5 22.bxa5) 20.lLlS J.e4 21.~f2 l:!cS 22.d6 l:!eeS 23.bxa5 l:!c2t 24 . .ie2 d3 25.lLld4! White had a decisive advantage in Sakalauskas - Avrukh, Bled (01) 2002.

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 19

15.b4 White's only way of fighting for the

advantage, as otherwise Black would continue with 15 ... lik6, regaining the e5-pawn.

15 ... tLJac4 Black has an interesting alternative:

15 ... tt.k6!? 16.Wc5 The point behind White's 15th move.

16 ... Wg5 This trick allows Black to avoid losing material, as Black's knight is untouchable in view of the mate on d2.

17.lLlf3 Wh5 18 . .ie2lLlxe5 19.0-0 Obviously 19.Wxc7? is impossible because of 19 ... lLlxf3t 20 . .ixf3 Wxf3 21.Wxd8t@g7 and White loses.

abc d e f g h

19 ... .ih3!?N In my opinion this is stronger than 19 ... lLlxf3t 20 . .ixf3 We5 21.lLlb5 .ih3 Naslund - A. Horvath, Budapest 2008, as now 22J:l:fc I!N !!d7 23.a4 would give White definite pressure.

20.!!f2lLlbd7! 21.We3 Another line is 21.lLlxe5 Wxe5 22.We3 lLlf6 with reasonable play for Black. Note that the c7 -pawn is not really hanging, since after 21.Wxc7 !!dc8 22.lLlxe5 !!xc7 23 . .ixh5 lLlxe5 24.lLlb5 !!c4FF Black regains the pawn and remains with the better position.

21.. . .ig4

A very complicated posmon has arisen, which I would evaluate as balanced.

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abc d e f g h

White now chooses between B21) 16.,ixc4 and B22) 16.tLJf3.

B21) 16.,ixc4 'ifxb4 17.tJf3

Absolutely harmless is 17.lLlge2 Wxc4 18.0-0. Moskalenko - Ftacnik, Belgrade 1988, continued 18 ... Wxd4t 19.1Llxd4 c6 20.e6 fxe6 21.lLlxe6 .ixe6 22.dxe6 !!d3 and Black was clearly better.

17 ... 'ifxc418.'ife3 White should avoid the queen swap; Black

is absolutely fine after both 18.!!bl Wxd4 19.1Llxd4 c6! and 18.Wxc4lLlxc4 19.!!bl !!e8.

abc d e f g h

20 Early Deviations

18 .. J~e8!N In my opinion this is a very important

novelty. Previously Black has suffered after: 18 ... c6 19.1'kl (19.e6 fxe6 20.ttJe5 also looks scary. Although 20 ... %Vb4 21.0-0 ttJc4 eventually led to a draw in Kaidanov - Peng Xiaomin, Seattle 2001, I wouldn't be surprised if White could improve his play.) 19 ... ig4 20.ttJd2 %Vb4 21.0-0 This position is very dangerous position for Black, as shown by 21...cxd5 22.exd5 ttJxd5 23.ttJxd5 ~xd5 24.ttJe4 Mamedyarov - Shirov, Baku (rapid) 2009.

The position after 18 ... ~e8! is extremely complicated. I investigated B211) 19J~dl, the critical B212) 19.e6 and also the natural B213) 19J~c1.

B211) 19J~dl J.g4 20.00 .txf3

It is essential to eliminate this knight.

21.exf'7t i>xf7 22.Wlxf3t i>g7 23JUI ~d7 Black is slightly better, thanks to his control

over the key e5-square.

B212) 19.e6

abc d e f g h

A thematic idea in this line, but here it does

19 . &:e6 20.~e5 Wlb4 21.~g4 ~UB 22J1bl Wle7 23.Wld4 e5!

A practical approach, although the more complicated 23 ... %Vg5!? is also strong.

24.Wlxe5 Even worse for White is 24.ttJxe5 %Vg7!+.

24 ... Wlxe5 25.~xe5.th3 Black clearly has the better chances, in view

of the vulnerable situation of the white king.

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B213) 19J1c1 ~d7

abc d e f g h

20.~b1 The alternatives are:

20.%Vf4 is strongly met by: 20 ... ttJc5! 21.%Vh6 ttJxe4 22.%Vf4 if5! 23.g4 %Vd3 24.ttJe2 id7 25.~dl ttJc5! 26.e6 ixe6! (26 ... fxe6 27.ttJe5 probably leads to perpetual check) 27.dxe6 ~xe6 28.ttJe5 %Ve4 29.%Vxe4 ttJxe4 30.ttJd3 ~d8+ Despite the material being balanced, Black's chances are much higher, due to the poor coordination of the white pieces.

20.%Vh6 ~xe5! This is the key idea. In the event of21.ttJxe5 ttJxe5 the white king comes under attack and Black takes over the initiative.

not really work: 20 ... Wla6!

Chapter 2 - 3.8 21

It is important to keep the white king in the centre, and this is clearly much stronger than 20 ... '?;Vb4t 21.ttJbd2 ttJxe5 22.ttJxe5 ~xe5 23.~xc7, with a double-edged position.

21.YlYc3 Other moves are not dangerous for Black

either:

21.'?;Vd4 c6! 22.d6 (after 22.ttJc3 Black has 22 ... c5!+ and the e5-pawn falls) 22 ... ttJxe5 23.ttJxe5 '?;Va5t Black ends up with an extra pawn.

21.~xc7 ttJxe5 and Black takes over the initiative, for instance: 22.ttJc3 '?;Vd6 23.ttJb5 '?;Vb4t 24.ttJc3 ttJxf3t 25.'?;Vxf3 i.f5+

21 ... b6 A very strong idea; Black prepares to activate

his knight by ... ttJc5.

22.YlYc6 This looks threatening, but Black is ready

with a nice retort.

22 ... YlYd3 23.~fl

abc d e f g h

23 ... YlYxf3t! 24.~xf3 tJxe5t 25.~e3 tJxc6 26J::1xc6 ~b7! 27.'iJ.xc7.hd5+

Black is a healthy pawn up.

B22) 16.tJa.tg4

The following sequence of moves is more or less forced.

17 . .lxc4.lxf3 18.0-0 YlYxb4

abc d e f g h 19.e6

This is the most challenging move. White has also tried: 19.~xf3?! '?;Vxc4 20.'?;Ve3 ttJd7!

White's initiative has been slowed down, and Black has the better chances.

21.'?;Vf4 ~ffi White has no good answer to Black's primitive idea of ... ~ae8 followed by the capture of the e5-pawn.

22.~bl?! ~ae8 23.ttJb5 Probably White realized only now that 23.~xb7 was not really a threat, as after 23 ... ttJxe5 24.~e3 f5 25.exf5 '?;Va6 followed by 26 ... ~xf5, Black will win material.

23 ... a6 24.~c3 '?;Vxa2 25.ttJa3 ttJxe5 Black had achieved a decisive advantage in

Moskalenko - Konguvel, Barcelona 2004.

19 ... fxe6 20.'iJ.xf3 White tried 20.'?;Vf6? in Fodor - Katsuhara,

Budapest 2005, but it is just bad. The easiest solution for Black is 20 ... '?;Vc5t 21.~f2 ~ffi 22.'?;Vxe6t ~g7 and White loses one of his minor pieces.

22 Early Deviations

20 ... ~xc4 21.~f6 ad5

abc d e f g h According to my database, seven games have

reached this position. White has to force a draw by perpetual check:

22.~e6t Or 22.~f7t ~h8 23.~f6t=.

22 .. ~h8 23.~f6t=

B3) 8.~d2

abc d e f g h White's main continuation, according to

theory.

8 . tLlc6 9.0-0-0 This is clearly White's first choice. We shall

just take a brief look at the alternatives:

9.d5?! This advance is premature, and only helps Black to seize the initiative: 9 ... tDe5 1O.ig5 (l0.b3 e6 is also good for Black) 10 ... c6 11.E:dl cxd5 12.exd5 ifS Black's lead in development gave him a clear advantage in Alekhine - Bogoljubow, Bled 1931.

9.E:dl e5 Another possibility is 9 ... fS, but the text easily solves Black's problems and is more thematic.

1O.d5 tDd4 l1.tDb5 This gets rid of the central black knight, but Black's development advantage gives him good play. Another option is: l1.id3 fSN (more ambitious than 11...c6, which was good enough for equality in Simon - Temi, Cannes 1996) 12.tDge2 fxe4 13.he4 tDc4 14.~cl tDxe3 15.~xe3 ~d6 16.0-0 id? Black's chances are slightly better, thanks to his strong knight on d4.

11...tDxb5 12.ixb5

abc d e f g h

12 ... fS! 13.id3 fxe4 14.ixe4 14.fxe4 runs into the unpleasant 14 ... ig4!.

14 ... ifS 15.ixfS gxfS 16.b3 We have been following Scekic - Bercys, New York (rapid) 2004. Black should now have opted for:

16 ... ~h4t!N 1?if2 ~f6 18.tDe2.E:fd8+

9 ... 5

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 23

The current fashion in this position. More common is 9 ... e5, which leads to a very complicated battle after 1O.d5 lLld4 11.f4.

We shall take a look at B31) 10.exf5, before turning to the main alternatives, B32) 10.h4 and B33) 10.e5.

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B31) 10.exf5 hf5 1l.h4

abc d e f g h

This has been played only once, but my main reason for sharing this line with the readers is to show some of Black's ideas in this kind of position.

ll ... ttlb4!N The game Perez Lopez - Navarro Cia,

Barcelona 2000, saw 11...e5 12.d5 lLld4 13.g4 with unclear play.

12.g4 The key point of Black's novelty can be

seen in the following line: 12.h5 %Vd5! 13.g4 %Vxa2 14.gxf5 %Val t 15.lLlbl c5 Black has a devastating attack.

12 ... Ae6 13.'it>bl ttlc4 14 . .hc4 No better is 14.%Ve1 lLlxe3 15.%Vxe3 %Vd7+

and Black is already threatening 16 ... lLlxa2.

14 ... hc415.a3 This is necessary, as after 15.h5 .id3t 16.1i7c1

c5 Black's attack is decisive.

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abc d e f g h

15 ... a5 Since the game Motylev - Svidler, Wijk aan

Zee 2007 (see the note to Black's 13th move in B333), this idea has become quite thematic in this line. Instead 15 ... lLld5 16.lLlxd5 %Vxd5 17.h5 would lead to double-edged play.

16.h5 Yfd7 Black is doing well.

B32) 10.h4

A very aggressive approach, leading to highly interesting play, although it seems to me that Black manages to keep everything under control.

10 ... fxe4 1l.h5

abc d e f g h

24 Early Deviations

This pawn sacrifice is the idea behind White's 10th move.

n ... gxh5! It is essential to keep the h-file half closed.

After 11...e5 12.d5lDd4 13.hxg6 hxg6 14.fxe4 White has an almost perfect score.

White generally chooses between B321) 12.d5 and B322) 12J~~xh5, although there are a couple of less serious options:

12 . .ah6?! has been played twice, but I think it is a blunder, since Black can simply grab the central pawn: 12 ... %Vxd4!N 13.%Vg5 (Black's point is that 13.%Vxd4 runs into 13 ... .axh6t-+) 13 ... %Ve5 14.%Vxg7t %Vxg7 15.hg7 Q{xg7 16.lDxe4 .afS 17.~xh5 .axe4 18.fxe4 ~ad8+ White has absolutely no compensation for being a pawn down.

12.g4 This surprising continuation was first employed by Durch Grandmaster Stellwagen in 2008, but we shall follow a later correspondence game, in which White was convincingly punished: 12 ... exf3 13.~xh5 (after 13.gxh5 ig4 14.%vf2 Q{h8 Black is also better) 13 ... .axg4 14.~g5 %Vd7 15.d5 f2! This nice tactical trick clarifies the situation. 16 . .ae2 .axe2 17.%Vxe2 lDe5 18 . .axb6 fl=%V 19.~xfl ~xfl t 20.%Vxfl axb6 21.lDge2 Q{h8 Black had a big advantage, which was easily converted in Wojtyra - Staf, e-mail 2009.

B321) 12.d5

This leads to very concrete play.

12 ... tLle5 13.Ah6 tLlec4! This is much stronger than 13 ... ~f7?

14 . .axg7 ~xg7 15.~xh5, which gave White a serious initiative in Sakaev - Timofeev, Istanbul 2003.

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1~L-~~~~~~~ abc d e f g h

A remarkable position. At first sight it looks as if White has a serious initiative, due to the exposed black king. However, Black's position is like a coiled spring, and in a very short time he manages to develop his pieces and even create significant threats against the white king.

15.hc4 Another line is: 15.~h4 %Vd6! (but not

15 ... lDxb2? 16.~f4! and Black ends up losing the knight on b2, Rodshtein - Sanikidze, Chalkidiki 2003) 16 . .axg7 ~xg7 17.%Vxh5 .ad7! 18.~xe4 %Vb4! 19.~d2 %Vc5 20 . .axc4 (or 20.~d1 lDd6 21.~ed4 lDfS 22.~4d2 lDe3+) 20 ... lDxc4 21.~dd4lDd6 22.~f4 lDfS-+ Black is winning material and he went on to win the game in Aleskerov - Sanikidze, Istanbul 2005. I have to say that Black's play in this game was most impressive; all his moves from 15 ... %Vd6 onwards were simply the best.

15 ... tLlxc4 16J~d4 White tried 16.lDxe4? in Meessen - Peschlow,

Germany 2006, but Black could just grab an important pawn: 16 ... lDxb2!N 17.~d2 (or 17.~d4 c5) 17 ... lDc4 18.~d4lDd6 Black has a winning position.

White's best option is 16.ixg7, which has not been played, but is recommended by Ftacnik.

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 25

A logical c.ontinuation is then: 16 .. .!hg7 17.~xh5 exf3 IB.gxf3 (after IB.lDxf3 ig4 Black is clearly better) IB ... ~f8 Ftacnik evaluates this position as unclear. It is true that White has a certain amount of compensation following 19.1Dge2 if5 20.lDd4 ig6 21.~h2, but after 21...~f6 I prefer Black's position, due to his strong bishop. It should be noted that White cannot take the pawn back, as after 22.~xc7? lDd6 Black has too many threats (such as ... e5, .. .EkB and ... ~f4t).

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abc d e f g h

16 . 'ilYd6 With this natural 'human' move, Black's

queen enters the play with great effect. However, the computer indicates an even better move for Black: 16 ... lDxb2!N 17.@xb2 (or 17J:!xe4 lDd3t IB.@d2 if5! 19.@xd3 e6 and Black is clearly better) 17 ... c5! The nice point of the sacrifice. IB.!he4 ~b6t 19.@al ~xh6 Black has a considerable advantage.

17.Lg7 After 17.E!xh5 Black quickly develops a

decisive attack: 17 ... ~b4! IB.lDdl ~c519.lDe2 exf3 20.gxf3 lDe5t 21.lDdc3 lDxf3 Black won easily in Gubajdullin - Belov, Moscow 2009.

17 . Jhg7 18.'ilYxh5 'ilYf4t 19.q"bl?! J.f5 Black's last piece comes into play with

decisive effect.

20.fxe4 .ig4 21.~ge2

abc d e f g h

21. 'ilYd2! 0-1 Mamedyarov - Kurnosov, Moscow 2009.

B322) 12J::lxh5

abc d e f g h

The most natural continuation.

12 J.f5 13J::lg5 White's first choice according to theory,

but I would like to mention a couple of other options:

13.ih6 Essentially the situation is the same as we saw with 12. ih6?! above, and here too Black can capture the central pawn with great effect:

26 Early Deviations

abc d e f g h

13 ... Wfxd4!N This novelty was pointed out by Krasenkow in ChessBase Magazine 120. 14.Wfxd4 (or 14.WfgS Wff6+) 14 ... .L:d41S . .ixfS ~xfS Black is clearly better.

13.dS This looks quite interesting, but Black can keep everything under control.

13 ... .ig6! Much stronger than 13 ... liJeS 14 . .id4, when White is fighting for an advantage.

14 . .ih6 An understandable attempt, as after 14.~h3 you don't have to be a grandmaster to find the following series of moves: 14 ... liJeS lS.fxe4 liJec4 16 . .L:c4 liJxc4 17.Wfe2 liJxe3 ls.Wfxe3 Wfd6+ Black has a pleasant game, thanks to his bishop pair.

14 ... .ixhS Now we have a more or less forced line.

lS . .ixg7 xg7 16.Wfgst .ig6 17.dxc6 WfcS lS.Wfxe7t

abc d e f g h

IS ... gS!N This improves on lS ... ~f7 19.WfeSt @gS 20.liJxe4, which was rather unclear in Hillarp Persson - Howell, Jersey 200S.

19.1iJxe4 I don't see any ideas for White after 19.cxb7 Wfxb7 20.Wfe6t ~f7 21.fxe4 ~bS 22.b3 cS followed by 23 ... Wfe7.

19 ... bxc6 Black comfortably parries all of White's tries, and remains the exchange up.

20.liJh3 White does not get anywhere with: 20.liJf6t hS 21.g4 (or 21.liJd7 ~fS 22.g4 ~dS 23.~xdS liJxdS 24.WfeSt g8+) 21...~f7 22.WfeS WffS The discovered checks are not dangerous, and so Black has the advantage.

20 ... .ixe4! The simplest way; eliminating the knight leaves White short of active ideas.

21.Wfxe4 WffS 22.Wfxc6 ~adS Black clearly has the better chances.

13 ... .ig6

abc d e f g h

It is essential to block the g-file, thereby saving the dark-squared bishop.

14 . .ie2 This is nearly always played, but White has

also tried the fairly natural:

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 27

14.lZlxe4 eS1S.dS Definitely more challenging than lS.dxeS Wxd2t 16.i.xd2 lZlxeS, when Black has no problems.

lS ... lZld4 16.lZlc3 c6 17.dxc6

abc d e f g h

17 ... Wc7! A great concept! Black needs the open c-file much more than he needs the pawn. If 17 ... bxc6?! then White would be very happy to continue 18.i.d3 with an advantage.

18.cxb7 Now 18.i.d3 is well met by: 18 ... Wxc6 19.i.xg6 hxg6 20.Wd3 'kt>f7+ Black's pieces feel quite comfortable behind his strong central knight.

18 ... ~ab8! Another fine move; it's important for Black to keep his queen on the c-file.

19.f4?! After 19.i.d3 ~xb7 20.lZlge2 lZla4 Black develops a serious initiative on the queens ide.

19 ... ~fd8! 20.fxeS lZle6 Now Black wins the exchange.

21.We2 ~xdlt 22.Wxd1lZlxgS 23.i.xgS Right now White has three pawns for the exchange, but not for long.

23 ... ixeS 24.i.a6 i.xc3 2S.Wb3t We have been following Vallejo Pons -Navara, Wijk aan Zee 2009. Here Black could have decided the game on the spot with the simple:

2S ... i.f7N 26.Wxc3 lZldS 27.Wxc7 lZlxc7 28.id3 i.xa2-+

14 ... e5 Nobody has tried 14 ... exf3 here; after

lS.lZlxf3 eS 16.dS (16.dxeS Wxd2t 17.~xd2 'kt>h8! is great for Black) 16 ... lZld4 we reach a position that is examined in the following note.

15.d5 ~d4 The alternative lS ... exf3 keeps an extra

pawn, but helps White's development: 16.lZlxf3 lZld4 I think White can improve here with 17.lZlh4!N, which was suggested by Golod in ChessBase Magazine 81. White's position seems promising, for instance 17 ... Wf618.lZlxg6 hxg6 19.i.d3 allows him a long-term initiative.

16.fxe4 c6

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abc d e f g h

Black must attack White's centre; this move also helps to open some lines on the queenside.

17.dxc6 White has also played:

17.lZlf3 cxdS 18.exdS It looks risky for White to open the diagonal for Black's light-squared bishop. There is a reasonable alternative in: 18.lZlxeS

28 Early Deviations

lLlxe2t 19.~xe2 he5 20.l'he5 ~c7 21.i.d4 dxe4 White has definite compensation for the pawn, but only enough for equality.

18 .. Jk8 19.1Llxe5! The plausible 19.1Llxd4 would run into: 19 ... ~xg5! 20.lLlc6 (20.hg5 exd4 gives Black a decisive initiative) 20 ... l"!f4! Black is much better.

19 ... lLlxe2t 20.~xe2l"!e8 21.lLlxg6

abc d e f g h

21. .. l"!xc3t! 22.bxc3 ~xg5 23.i.xg5 l"!xe2 24.lLlh4l"!e5

Black could try 24 ... i.xc3!? 25.d6 lLld7 26.l"!d3 .le5 27.i.d2 cj{f7, and White still has a bit of work to do to secure the draw.

25.lLlf3 l"!xd5= A draw was soon agreed in Thaler - Winge,

corr.2006.

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abc d e f g h

17 .. lLlxc618.YlYe1

White decides to keep the queens on, in an attempt to justify his rook being on g5. Indeed, after 18.lLlf3 ~xd2t 19.1"!xd2 lLld4! Black is fine, while the white rook looks a bit misplaced.

abc d e f g h

19J:~g3N This improvement was suggested by

Krasenkow in ChessBase Magazine 118. Laznicka has twice played: 19.~g3?! lLld4

A natural improvement over 19 ... l"!ad8, which led to an unclear position in Laznicka - Krasenkow, Ostrava 2007: 20.lLlf3 lLld4 21.i.d3 lLlxf3 22.gxf3 l"!c8 23.cj{b1 ~xf3 24.~gl~

20.i.h5 i.xh5 21.l"!xh5 l"!ac8 Black takes over the initiative.

22.cj{b1? This allows an elegant combination. White's best try was: 22 . .lh6 ~g6 23.~xg6 hxg6 24.i.xg7 gxh5 25.i.xfB l"!xfB Black is slightly better, but White has good chances of saving the game.

22 ... l"!xc3 23.bxc3 lLla4! The point of the sacrifice; Black now develops a decisive attack.

24 . .lxd4 exd4 White was already defenceless against Black's

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 29

attack in Laznicka - Ponomariov, Carlsbad 2007. I beli~ve that as a result of this game 19.'Wg3?! will not find any followers in the future.

19 J~~ac8 I prefer this to 19 ... lLld4 20.lLlf3 lLlxe2t

21.'Wxe2 with an unclear game, as pointed out by Krasenkow.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

20 .ig4 Other possibilities:

20.lLlf3? is a serious inaccuracy that allows Black to seize the initiative on the queenside: 20 ... lLlb4 21.mbl ~xc3 Black has a clear advantage.

20.mbl is a more important alternative: 20 ... lLld4 21.lLlf3 lLlc4 (after 21...~xc3?! 22.bxc3 .ixe4t 23 . .id3! I don't see any good way for Black to continue) 22 . .ixd4 exd4 23.lLlxd4 'Wb6 Black has fine long-term compensation for the pawn, thanks to his dark-squared bishop.

20 J~cd8 20 ... ~c7!? is also worth considering.

21.ga "fle7 22.gxf8t gxf8 23.~a ~d4 24.~bl "flb4

Black is by no means worse, due to his strong knight on d4.

B33) lO.e5

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

a b c d e f g h

In my OpinIOn this is the critical continuation. Black's dark-squared bishop is cut off from play for a long time, but on the other hand, Black is able to seize control over the light squares in the centre.

lO ~b4 We have arrived at an important crossroads

for White; his options are B331) 1l .ih6, B332) 1l.h4 and B333) 11.~h3.

B331) 1l .ih6

abc d e f g h

30 Early Deviations

This leads to very concrete play, as White intends to launch a direct offensive on the black king after swapping dark-squared bishops.

1l .ie6 12.'it>bl White has also tried:

12.ixg7 'it>xg7 13.mbl

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

abc d e f g h

13 .. .f4!?N I like this very natural idea. In practice Black has played: 13 ... c5 14.dxc5 lLla4! 15.lLlge2 (15.lLlxa4? loses to 15 ... ixa2t 16.mc1 Wfa5) 15 ... Wfxd2 16.~xd2 ~ad8 17.lLld4 lLlxc5 With an equal game, Sjodahl- Hermansson, Sweden 2007.

14.g4! White would be in trouble ifhe did not have this resource.

14 ... a5 15.lLlh3 lLl6d5 Black has very comfortable play.

12 .bh6 13.Wfxh6

abc d e f g h

13 Wfd7!?N I believe that this is a serious improvement

over 13 ... lLl6d5, as played in Drazic - Kokol, Nova Gorica 2008. White could have responded with the natural 14.lLlh3N, when the threat of lLlg5 would force Black onto the defensive.

14.lLlh3 After 14.a3 lLl4d5 15.lLlge2 lLla4+ Black's

initiative develops quite smoothly.

14 ttlxa2! This move sets off some fireworks on the

board.

15.lLlg5 ttlxc3t 16.bxc3 ~U'7

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

The only defence against White's threat, but entirely adequate.

17.ttlxf7 Wfa4 18.Wfd2 i.xf7 Black is the exchange for a pawn down, but

it is obvious that he has more than enough compensation.

B332) 1l.h4

This aggressive thrust looks very natural. Black has to react quickly, because the further advance of the h-pawn might cause serious damage.

Chapter 2 - 3.f3 31

11 ... ~e6 Black attacks the a-pawn. White can defend

it by B3321) 12.~bl, ignore the threat with B3322) 12.h5 or move it with B3323) 12.a3.

B3321) 12.~bl

abc d e f g h

12 ... f4!N Sacrificing this pawn to clear the fS-square

for the bishop is often a tempting idea in this variation, but this particular position is one of the few occasions that it actually works. In Kowzan - Jurek, Wysowa 2003, Black played very passively: 12 ... lD4d5 13.lDh3 lDxe3 14.Wfxe3 lDd5 15.lDxd5 ixd5 16.h5

13.Lf4c5! All Black's pieces are brought into play, even

the dark-squared bishop.

14.dxc5 It is dangerous for White to play: 14.lDge2

i.fSt! 15.lDe4 Wfd5 16.lD2c3 Wffl 17.dxc5 (after 17.i.e3l:!ad8 18.WfellDa4 19.b3lDxc3t 20.Wfxc3 lDd5+ Black retains an initiative) 17 ... lDa4 18.i.b5 lDxc5 Black has good compensation for the pawn.

14 .. .tl~6d5

abc d e f g h

15.tElxd5 This leads to a forced draw, but neither

15.g3lDxf4 16.gxf4 Wfxd2 17.l:!xd2l:!xf4+ nor 15.i.c4lDxc3t 16.bxc3 ixc4 17.Wfxd8 i.xa2t 18.

32 Early Deviations

15 Y!Yd7!N An important improvement, as otherwise the

whole line is somewhat dangerous for Black. The e8-square should be kept free for the king, so I don't like 15 ... Wfe8 16.ttJe2 f4, as in Av. Bykhovsky - Dub, Tel Aviv 2002. White could then play: 17.ttJc3N Ab3 18J~el l:!d8 19.94! White has a serious initiative, while Black is lacking in activity.

16.~e2 White needs this move in order to shelter his

king. Obviously 16.hg7? runs into 16 .. .'IWc6t and Black remains with a healthy extra pawn after the exchange of queens.

16 .tb3 17.hg7 17 .l:!e 1 is too slow, although Black has to

find the strong response: 17 ... ttJd5! 18.hg7 ~xg7 19.Wfh6t ~f7 20.Wfh7t ~e8 21.Wfxg6t ~d8 White's king is much more vulnerable than his black counterpart.

17 . cbxg7 IS.Y!Yh6t cbf7

abc d e f g h

19.d5! White's best continuation. After 19.Wfh7t?!

~e8 20.Wfxg6t ~d8 21.Wfh6 l:!e8 Black is better, due to the vulnerable white king.

19 ... Y!Ya4 20.Y!Yh7t cbeS 21.~c3 Y!Yal t

Clearly worse is 21 ... Wff4t 22.l:!d2 ttJxd5, as after 23.e6! Black is under serious pressure.

22.~bl .ta2! Black must certainly avoid 22 ... hdl?

23.Ab5t ~d8 24.Wfg7! and White wins.

23.cbc2 ~a4

abc d e f g h

The following variation now seems forced.

24 .tb5t cbdS 25 .ba4 J.xbl t 26J~xbl Y!Yxa4t 27.b3 Y!Yb5

The struggle should end in a draw, for example:

2sJlbe1 Y!Yc5t 29.cbb2 Y!Yflt 3o.cbbl Y!Yb6 31.cbb2=

B3323) 12.a3

abc d e f g h

Chapter 2 - 3.8 33

This move_ is the latest fashion, having been played twice by Israeli Grandmaster Evgeny Postny.

12 ... ~a2t This looks like Black's best option. After

12 ... a5 White can even accept the piece sacrifice by: 13.axb4 (l3.h5!? is also possible. I am not sure what Black should do.) 13 ... axb4 14.ttJbl. In Postny - Howell, Kallithea 2009, Black failed to obtain enough compensation: 14 .. Jhl 15.'1Wxb4 c5 16.%Vxc5 ttJd5 17.i>d2 ~a5 IB.%Vcl

13.tiha2.ixa2 14.h5

abc d e f g h

14 ... .tb3!?N This natural move is my attempt to improve

on the game Postny - Gopal, Calcutta 2009, which went 14 ... c5 15.dxc5 .ib3. I believe that White now missed a good opportunity to sacrifice the exchange with 16.f4! .ixdl 17. i>xd 1. I really don't like Black's position. In particular I am worried that h5-h6 will leave Black's dark-squared bishop out of play for a long time to come.

15.hxg6 hxg6 16Jle1 I also examined an exchange sacrifice here,

but it doesn't look dangerous for Black: 16. ttJh3 ixdl 17.%Vxdl (or 17.i>xdl %VeB! IB.ttJf4 e6

followed by ... E!:dB, ... c5 or ... ttJd5) 17 ... e6 IB.ttJf4 i>f7! Black is ready to meet 19.94 with 19 ... ~hB! 20.E!:gl .th6, with advantage.

16 ... c5 17.~e2 The white knight is heading for the c3-square.

Instead 17.dxc5?! favours Black: 17 ... %Vxd2t IB . .ixd2 E!:fcB+

17 .. J:~c8 18.~bl IB . .ih6? fails to IB ... cxd4t 19.i>bl ttJc4!

20.%Vg5 %Vb6 and Black has a winning attack.

18 ... All 19.~c3 After 19.ttJf4 cxd4 20 . .ixd4 ttJc4 21.%Vf2

(21.hc4 E!:xc4+) 21. .. g5! Black takes over the initiative.

19 .. cx:d420 . .ixd4

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

20 ... 'ilYd7! Not only preparing ... E!:fdB, but in the right

circumstances the queen may transfer to e6 in order to create threats against the white king.

21.gh4~c4 I prefer this to 21. .. %Ve6 22 . .txb6! axb6

23 . .tb5 E!:c7 24.f4, when Black has a problem with his dark-squared bishop.

22.hc4

34 Early Deviations

This is probably necessary, as after 22.%Vg5 it's Black who strikes first: 22 ... lLlxa3t! 23.bxa3 %Ve6 White is in trouble.

22 .. J~xc4 Finally we have reached a balanced position,

where Black's activity compensates for his temporarily passive dark-squared bishop. Here is an illustrative line:

23J:~ehl gd8 23 ... ie6!?

24.gh7

abc d e f g h

abc d e f g h

1l ... .1e612.c;i?bl The main move according to theory. White

has also tried: 12.a3 lLla2t

I had found this idea and intended to offer it as a novelty, but before I could do so, it appeared in a game.

13.lLlxa2 ixa2

24 ... 4! 3 The only move, but good enough to maintain 2

the balance.

25.%Vxf4 'iffSt 26.'ifxf5 gxf5 27.b7 .he5 abc d e f g h 28.c;i?c2 4 14.ih6

Threatening 29 ... ig6t.

29J~7h4 .ig6t 30.c;i?b3 gc6 31.ge1 .tf7t 32. c;i?c2 .ig6t=

B333) 11.lLlh3

In my opinion this is the most serious continuation.

I also analysed other moves here: 14.lLlf4lLld5! Black has a good game. 14.%Vc2 %Vd5 15.lLlf4 (or 15.l'!d3 ic4 16.l'!c3 ixfl 17.l'!xfl c6 with equal play) 15 ... %Vb3 16.id3 l'!fd8= Black shouldn't experience any problems once the queens come off.

14 ... %Vd7 15.ixg7 ~xg7 16.%Vc2.i.g8 White was threatening to trap the bishop with 17.b3.

Chapter 2 - 3.8 35

17.lLlf4 lLld? 18.lLlxd5 Wixd5 19.Wic5 Wixc5t 20.d.xc5 ~fd8

Black had the better endgame in the game Vitiugov - Wang Yue, Ningbo (rapid) 2010.

12 ... ~d7 12 ... lLlc4 was played in Av. Bykhovsky -

Golod, Tel Aviv 2001, but it is inaccurate: l3.ixc4!N ixc4 14.b3 ifl 15.ih6 White clearly holds the initiative.

abc d e f g h

13 .. JUdSN This is my new idea, as Black surprisingly

faces some problems after: l3 ... ifl 14.a3 a5

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

L.. .... //.~= ...... .

abc d e f g h

This tricky move is stronger than 15.d5 ixe5 16.axb4?! axb4 17.lLlb5 ~a5 18.ixb6 cxb6 19.Wixb4 ~fa8, which was good for Black in Motylev - Svidler, Wijk aan Zee 2007.

15 ... c6 After 15 ... Wic8?! White can accept the piece sacrifice: 16.axb4 axb4 17.lLlce2 Black doesn't have the same coordination as in Motylev - Svidler, and White is clearly better here.

16.d5! ixe5 16 ... cxb5 17.ixb6 ixe5 is just a transposition.

17.hb6 cxb5 18.~hel if6

abc d e f g h

19.id4! Black's extra pawn is absolutely irrelevant, and meanwhile his pieces are badly coordinated. 19.axb4? would be a serious mistake: 19 ... axb4 20.lLlce2 Wid6! White is facing a dangerous attack.

19 ... ixd4 20.Wixd4lLla6 21.d6! Wixd6? Black had to try: 21...exd6 22.lLlfd5 ixd5 23.Wixd5t ~fl 24.lLlxb5 lLlc7 25.lLlxc7 Wixc7 26.h4! White is not even obliged to regain the pawn. Black's position remains unpleasant.

22.lLlcd5 ixd5 23.lLlxd5 White had a winning attack in Bitan -

Vokarev, Bhubaneswar 2010.

15.ib5! 14.h4

36 Early Deviations

I also examined: 14.tDxe6 'Wxe6 IS.a3 (not IS.h4? .AxeS+) IS ... aS 16.4 cS 17.'Wcl tD4dS 18.tDxdS 'WxdS 19.dxcS 'We4t 20.@a2 !!xdl 21.'Wxdl 'Wxe3 22.cxb6 'Wxf4 23.'WdSt @h8 24.'Wxb7 !!d8 2S.'Wc7 'Wd4 26.b7 .AxeS 27.'Wc3 'We4 28.'Wc8 'Wd4= Of course this line is not all forced, but it is a good illustration of the possibilities in the position.

14 ... .if7 Black has no time for 14 ... tDc4 IS . .Axc4

.Axc4, since after 16.b3 .Af7 17.tDa4! he is facing concrete problems.

We shall now follow the game Salem - So, Olongapo City 2010, which reached this position via a different move order.

abc d e f g h

lS .ibS?! White should also avoid IS.hS?! gS!+ but he

has two better options:

IS.'IWel tDa416.b3 tDxc3t 17.'Wxc3 as 18 . .Ac4 e6 19.!!cl .tf8 The position is roughly level.

Is.ie2 as We have a double-edged position, which I reckon is balanced. For example: 16.g4 fxg4 17.fxg4 'Wc6 18.a3 AxeS 19 . .AbS 'Wf3 20 . .Ae2 (20.!!hfl Y;Yxg4 21..Ae2 Y;Yc8 leaves White two pawns down for nothing) 20 ... 'Wc6 21..AbS= White does not have anything better than repeating moves.

lS c616 .ie2cS! 17.e6.ixe618.dxcS.ixc3 19.bxc3

abc d e f g h

19 ... Yfa4! The key move; Black seizes the initiative.

20.Yfxd8t gxd8 21.gxd8t

A) 4.d5 B) 4.i.g2 d5

Bl) 5.b3 B2) 5.YlYb3 B3) 5.YlYa4

A) after 7.ig2

Fianchetto Systems

Rare Lines

Variation Index l.d4 tLlf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3

3 ... c6

B 1) after 6.bxc4

6 ... e5!

B2) after 9.ixd5

38 39 39 40 41

38 Fianchetto Systems

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6 3.g3

8 .i_J.J ~.~ ~.i 7 lf1"_'1%_'1~~ '1 6 "jlN"jlN". ,~

jljIjI~ "N~ : jIjI !~jI~ jI~ 3 jIjI "N'jljI~

jI~,% jljIjI~,(3~" 2 ~JllWp ~jJll%.,,/J[j l~ttJ~ii~~~~

abc d e f g h This continuation really caused me a

headache, especially taking into account that I recommended this system for White in my earlier book, Grandmaster Repertoire - 1.d4 Volume Two. Finally I came to the decision to offer readers the very solid system featuring the moves ... c6 and ... dS. Some of my friends advised me to give another system, where Black plays ... dS without ... c6, and recaptures on dS with his knight. There were many interesting ideas played in this line at the latest Olympiad, but I still adhere to the view that White has good chances of a slight advantage.

3 ... c6 It is essential to play this move straight away,

because if Black delays it for a single move, White will get the chance to play S.e4.

White's fundamental decision when facing ... c6 and ... dS is whether to exchange pawns on dS. The lines with an early exchange will be covered in Chapter 7, after we first deal with various other options. In this chapter we examine A) 4.d5 and B) 4.,ig2, before turning to 4.lLlf3 in Chapters 4 to 6.

A) 4.d5

White unequivocally prevents Black playing ... dS. However the text has obvious drawbacks;

it uses an important tempo and it opens up the long diagonal, allowing Black to become very active.

~

4 cxd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.tl~c3 ,ig7 7.,ig2 Y1!Ia5! A key move, which disrupts White's normal

development. After 7 ... 0-0 8.lLlf3 White completes his development and can even fight for the advantage in a complex game.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

8.,id2 This looks a bit awkward, but White faces

some difficulties after the natural: 8.e4 i.g4!

abc d e f g h

9.lLlge2N White cannot play 9.f3? in view of the tactical blow 9 ... lLlxe4 and - the white position collapses: 10.fxg4 (or 1O.1.Mfa4t Wxa4 11.lLlxa4 i.d7!-+) 10 ... lLlxc3 11.Wd2

Chapter 3 - Rare Lines 39

'lWc5 Blac~ had a decisive advantage in Graf - Yandemirov, Omsk 1996. 9.'lWb3 runs into 9 ... lOa6! and Black intends ... lOc5 next, while the b7-pawn is untouchable: 10.'lWxb7? :gb8 l1.'lWc6t id7 12.'lWc4 ib5 13.'lWd41Ob4-+

9 ... ixe2 10.@xe2 White's problem is that 1O.'lWxe2 can be met by: 1O ... lOxd5! l1.'lWb5t 'lWxb5 12.lOxb5 lOb4! 13.0-0 108a6 Black remains with an extra pawn.

10 ... lObd7 With the white king on e2, there is no doubt

that Black has a very good position.

S . O-O 9.e3 White has problems completing his

development, as the vulnerability of his d-pawn renders moves like 9.1Of3 and 9.lOh3 impossible. He has also tried:

9.e41Obd7 10.lOge21Oe5 11.0-0 ig4 12.ie3 (or 12.f3 id7 13.ie1 'lWa6 and Black has the initiative) 12 ... lOc4 13.icl :gfc8 White was in trouble in Psakhis - Veingold, Tallinn 1983.

9.'lWb3 as usual allows Black to get his knight to c5 with tempo: 9 ... lOa6 10.1Of3 id7 11.0-0 lOc5 12.'lWc2 :gfc8 Black was better in Kornev - Yandemirov, Saratov 2006.

9 ... ~bd7 10.tLJge2 ~e5 11.0-0 ~e4

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

Black's play is logical and simple.

12 . .ic1 .ig4 13.Yfb3 gfeS 14.~d4 .id7 15.gdl gabS 16.h3

We have been following Korchnoi - Geller, Moscow 1971, and now Black should have played:

16 ... Yfe5N With ... b5 coming next, Black has a fine

game.

B) 4 . .igl d5

Bl) 5.b3

Not the most popular move here, but it has nevertheless been employed in almost fifty games.

5 ... dxe4! Black seizes the chance to take advantage

of White's slightly unusual move order. After 5 ... ig7 White can play either 6.1Of3 or

40 Fianchetto Systems

6.ib2 0-0 7.ttJf3, both of which transpose to Chapter 4.

6.bxc4e5! A fantastic idea! It is not often in the Griinfeld

that Black creates the option of developing his dark-squared bishop on the a3-ffi diagonal.

Initially my intention was to suggest: 6 ... c5 7.ttJf3 (after 7.d5 ttJxd5! White cannot capture the knight, as he would then lose material to 8 ... ig7) 7 ... ig7 8.ib2 %Yb6 9.%Yb3 ttJe4 10.e3 0-0 11.0-0 ttJc6 Play has transposed into line B2 in Chapter 4.

8 .i ..t~ ~.~ ~ 7 lfi"~ "",x~ 'i~~ 'i 6U%~'~~.'~ ~~ ~i'lJd"u~ :~.!~.~~ 3 ~~~""~~~~ ~~ ~~ ~?!.!3?!"

2 8, ~~'0 ~~J~~J~ 1 ~CZJ~ii~ ~ m~

abc d e f g h

7.~f3?! I think White would be better off

playing 7.d5 cxd5 8.cxd5 ib4t and now sacrificing a pawn with: 9.id2 ttJxd5 10.%Yb3 ixd2t II.ttJxd2 White has reasonable compensation, but he is not really fighting for an advantage.

7 ... exd4 8.YlYxd4 YlYxd4 9.~xd4 Ag7 IO.~d2

White should have preferred to play 10.ib2, although 10 ... ttJfd7 is still excellent for Black.

IO ... ~fd7 1l.e3

abc d e g h

This was played in Schiller - Siefring, e-mail 2003. There was no reason for Black refraining from the following:

1l ... c5N 12.~b5 hal 13.tLlc7t 'it>d8 14.~xa8 tLla6

With his knight stuck on a8, White is in a very dangerous situation.

B2) 5.YlYb3 Ag7 6.tLlc3

This looks very tempting, since it would appear that Black has to decide what to do about the attack on his d5-pawn. Instead 6.ttJf3 0-0 7.0-0 would transpose to Chapter 6.

abc d e f g h

6 ... 0-0!

Chapter 3 - Rare Lines 41

It transpir~s that Black is not obliged to make an immediate decision about the dS-pawn, but can temporarily sacrifice it.

7.cx:d5 Obviously 7.ltJf3 Wfb6 8.0-0 is another

transposition to Chapter 6.

7 . cx:d5 8.c!thd5 c!tlxd5 9 .ixd5

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

9 . c!tlc6! This is an important moment; Black must

make use of his lead in development by playing actively. Hurrying to regain the pawn is not so good: 9 ... .ixd4 10 . .ih6! WfaSt 1 U~fl .ig7 12 . .ixg7 ~xg7 13 . .ixb7 White ends up winning a pawn, and Black's compensation is questionable, Carnevali - A. Fernandez, Piriapolis 1987.

10 . .ixc6 White cannot play 10.1tJf3? in view of

10 ... ltJaS 11.WfbS a6 and he loses a piece.

lo . bxc6 ll.c!tla I also examined 11 . .ie3. Black has the strong

response: 11...cS! 12.dxcS WfaSt 13 . .id2 WfxcS 14Jkl WffS White faces a hard time, with so much open space for the black bishops.

11....ih312.c!tlg5

In Almeida Saenz - Ruiz Gonzalez, Mexico 1996, White tried the ugly 12J~gl; Black should simply have replied 12 ... .ig4!N with the better chances.

12 .ig2 13J~gl .id5 14.'i!Yd3 'i!Yb6 Black's develops his initiative with natural

moves.

15.c!tla ~Ud8 16.f1 c5!+ White was in trouble in Kalinin - Gobet,

Thessaloniki (01) 1988.

B3) 5.'i!Ya4

abc d e f g h

This unexpected queen sortie is not as strange as it looks at first sight, and it has been employed by such opening experts as Grischuk and Tkachiev. The idea of the move is obvious; White wants to force Black to clarify the situation with the dS-pawn, and after the obvious S ... dxc4 White will obtain a spatial superiority in the centre.

5 c!tlfd7!? This seems to be an easy way to equalize;

Black's idea is simply to maintain the dS-pawn.

6.cxd5 c!tlb6 7.'i!Ydl The alternative is:

42 Fianchetto Systems

7.%Yb3 cxdS 8.lt:lc3 It:lc6 This symmetrical position is pretty harmless, as shown in the following encounter:

9.e3 I also briefly examined other continuations: 9.lt:lf3 .ig7 10.0-0 .ig4 11..ie3 .ixf3! 12 . .ixf3 e6 Black has a comfortable game. 9.lt:lxdS?! It:lxd4 10.%Yd3 .ig7 White's pieces lack coordination.

9 ... .ig7 10.lt:lge2 e6 11.0-0 0-0 12.l:!dl .id7=

The position is level, Bocharov - Sturua, Abu Dhabi 2009.

7 ... cxd5 8.~f3 .ig7 9.0-0 0-0 10.b3 ~c6 1l . .ib2.iS

abc d e f g h

Black develops simply and logically.

12.h3?! This is already a slight inaccuracy; 12.e3

would keep the position balanced.

12 ... %Yd713.cif?h2.ie4! Black starts to take over the initiative.

14.~bd2 gfd815.~e5 ,he5 16.~xe4.ixd4 17 . .ixd4 dxe4 18 . .ixb6 axb6 19J~Yxd7 gxd7 20.,he4 gd2i

Black clearly had the better endgame in Grachev - Khismatullin, Dagomys 2010.

Conclusion

Black should not be unduly concerned about the early deviations for White that we have looked at in this chapter. The best White can expect to achieve is a transposition to the main lines covered in the following chapters, while in some lines, such as Bl) S.b3 dxc4! 6.bxc4 eS!, Black can even seize the initiative at a very early stage .

8

7

6

5

4

3

2 Fianchetto Systems

S.b3 abc d e f g h

Variation Index l.d4 tLlf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.tLla d5 5.b3 i.g7 6.i.g2

A) 7.i.b2 B) 7.0-0 dxc4 8.bxc4 c5

Bl) 9.e3

6 ... 0-0

B2) 9.i.b2 ~b6 10.~b3 tLle4 l1.e3 tLlc6 12.tLle5 tLld6 B21) 13.tLldl

2

B22) 13.tLlxc6

A) after 12.~xg7

abc d e f g h

12 ... tiJe3!

Bl) after 11.We2

abc d e f g h

11...cxd4N

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

B22) after 19.tiJb3

'-~""Nmrm~'.~ ..... ,J-~',~=J'=~

.mm""Nmr~~'mh,jmm''HN.

abc d e f g h

19...Wb4N

44 45 45 47 47 48

44 Fianchetto Systems

l.d4 ~f6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.~f3 d5 5.b3 This is the line that I recommended for White

in Grandmaster Repertoire - 1.d4 Volume Two. Since then, theory has developed considerably, and Black has found some interesting new ideas.

5 ... Ag76.Ag2 White can also play 6.ib2 0-0 7.ig2, which

is examined in line A.

6 0-0 Another possible move order is: 6 ... dxc4

7.bxc4 cS 8.ib2 YMb6 9.YMb3 lLle4 10.e3 0-0 11.0-0 Play has transposed to line B2.

White now chooses between A) 7 . .ib2 and B) 7.0-0.

A) 7 .ib2

White's aim is to avoid problems on the long diagonal, but I have nevertheless found an interesting counter for Black.

7 ... dxc4 8.bxc4 c5!?

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1 ~.c.!O~t.n

abc d e f g h 9.d5

This is White's only independent try, made possible by the early development of his queen's bishop. Otherwise 9.0-0 is just a transposition to B2.

9 ... e6 Black's only sensible idea is to undermine

the white centre as quickly as possible.

10.~c3 I also analysed:

1O.lLlh4 This attempt to hold the centre allows Black serious counterplay.

10 ... exdS l1.cxdS

abc d e f g h

11...gS! 12.lLlf3 lLlxdS Black may also go for a queen swap: 12 ... YMxdS 13.YMxdS lLlxdS 14.ixg7 ~xg7 IS.lLlxgS lLlb4 16.lLla3 lLl8c6 With his healthy queenside majority, Black cannot be worse.

13.ixg7 mxg7 14.0-0 White has a certain amount of compensation for the pawn, due to the slightly exposed black king, but I prefer Black's position.

14 ... h61S.h4 IS.lLlxgS is worse: IS ... lLlb4! 16.a3 hxgS 17.axb4 YMxdl 18.~xdl cxb4 19.~d4 as 20.~xb4 ~d8! White is in trouble.

IS ... lLlc6 16.hxgS hxgS 17.YMd2 Regaining the pawn does not solve White's problems: 17.lLlxgS YMxgS 18.YMxdS (after 18.ixdS? ~h8! it is slightly surprising that Black's attack is already winning) 18 ... YMxdS 19.ixdS lLlb4 20.lLlc3 lLlx~S 21.lLlxdS ie6 White will have to fight to draw this endgame.

Chapter 4 - 5.b3 45

17 ... g4 18.~h4 lLlde7 19.'1Wcl VNd4 20.lLlc3 VNe5+

White does not have full compensation for the pawn.

10 ... exd511.c!Dxd5 Of course 11.cxd5? lLlxd5 just leaves Black

with an extra pawn.

1l ... lLlxd5 12 .ixg7

abc d e f g h

12 . ttle3! The key move.

13.fxe3 cbxg7 14.0-0 Yf e7; Black's superior pawn structure gives him

the better chances.

B) 7.0-0 dxc4 8.bxc4 c5

abc d e f g h

This constitutes one of the most challenging ideas against the white set-up. There are now a couple of ways for White to support his d-pawn: Bl) 9.e3 and B2) 9 .ib2.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Bl) 9.e3 ttlc6 10 .tb2 Yfb6!

~~~~~~~~~

abc d e f g h

1l.Yfe2 Other options are:

11.VNcl cxd4N This is an improvement on: 11...j,fS12.lLlbd2 lLld7 13.lLlb3lLlb4?! 14.dxc5 ixb2 15.VNxb2 lLlxc5 16.lLlxc5 VNxc5 17.lLld4 White had the better chances in Badea - Manolache, Baile Tusnad 2005.

12.lLlxd4 Black has no problems after 12.exd4 ifS 13.lLlbd2 ~ac8.

12 ... j,d7! 13.lLld2 13.lLlc3 ~ac8looks great for Black, since the c4-pawn becomes a serious target.

13 ... ~ac8 White might obtain a slight pull after immediate simplifications: 13 ... lLlxd4 14.j,xd4 VNc7 15.VNa3 j,c6 16.j,xc6 bxc6 17.~aba

14.~bl Wa6 14 ... VNc7!? 15.j,c3 lLlxd4 16.exd4 b6 also looks reasonable for Black.

15.j,c3lLlxd416.exd4

46 Fianchetto Systems

Black has a comfortable game after 16.,ixd4 ,ic6, as he manages to neutralize the pressure along the h l-a8 diagonal.

16 ... b5!

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

abc d e f g h

Black has a good game.

11.%Vb3 This has occurred only once, in Maslov - Zaper, Kastela 2005. I have found a convincing continuation for Black:

11...lLla5N 12.%Vxb6 axb6 13.lLlbd2 Eid8! This is a very accurate move; the more natural 13 ... ,ifS allows 14.d5 e6 15.Eiac1, with a complex game.

abc d e f g h

14.Eifc1 I also analysed: 14.d5 e6 15.e4 (15.dxe6 ,ixe6 is clearly better for Black) 15 ... lLlxe4 (or 15 ... exd5 16.exd5 b5! 17.cxb5 Eixd5!? and Black is at least equal) 16.,ixg7 lLlxd2 17.,if6 lLlxBt

18.ixB Eid6 Despite the two bishops providing some compensation, White is fighting to equalize. 14.EifellLle8 Black will continue with ... lLld6 with good play.

14 ... ,ifS 15.lLlb3lLld7 Black has decent play against the white

pawns.

11. .. cxd4N An important improvement. Black found

himself under pressure after: 11 ... lLle4 12.lLlc3! lLlxc3 13.ixc3 cxd4 14.exd4 (14.lLlxd4 may be more accurate) 14 ... lLlxd4 15.ixd4 ixd4 16.Eiab 1;!; Kempinski - Dolmatov, Istanbul 2003.

12.exd4 12.lLlxd4 is well met by: 12 ... ig4! 13.B

id7 Provoking f2-B significantly reduces the pressure on the hl-a8 diagonal. 14.lLla3 Eiac8 15.Eiabl %Va6 16.Eifdl Eifd8 Black has the more comfortable position.

12 ... .tg4 13.d5

abc d e f g h

13 ... .ixf3 If Black prefers not to simplify, then 13 ... lLla5

14.lLla3 e6!? makes sense.

14.hf3 ~d4 15.hd4 %Vxd4 16.~d2 ~d7

Chapter 4 - 5.h3 47

17.gac1 ~e5 The game is fairly level, for instance:

18.gfdl gac8 19.tLle4 'i'b2! 20.gbl 'i'xe2 21.he2 b6=

B2) 9 . .ib2 'i'b6

abc d e f g

10.'i'b3 Against 1O.'%Vc1 Black can equalize with

natural moves: 1O ... cxd4 11.~xd4 ~c6 12.~xc6 (I also examined 12Jl:dl ~d7 13.~a3 ~fd8 14.~bl '%Va6 with equality) 12 ... bxc6 13.lild2 ~e6 (l3 ... ~f5!? deserves attention) 14.~bl '%Va615.~a3~fe816.~b3lild717.'%Vc2 Goldin - Yandemirov, Elista 1995. Now the simple 17 ... lile5N 18.~c1 ~ad8 would be fine for Black.

10 ... ~e4 A popular alternative is 10 ... lilfd7, but after

the strong l1.lilc3! White has pressure.

1l.e3 After l1.lilc3 lilxc3 12.~xc3 Calotescu -

Gara, Kiskunhalas 1995, Black can play very simply: 12 ... cxd4N 13.'%Vxb6 axb6 14.~xd4 (after 14.lilxd4?! ~a4! White is in trouble) 14 ... lilc6 15.~xg7 'it>xg7 16.~fbl ~a6 Black is even slightly better in the endgame.

The only way to fight for an advantage.

12 ... tLld6

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

White has two options here, B21) 13.tLld2 and B22) 13.tLl:xc6.

B21) 13.~d2 cxd4

Black failed to equalize in a recent game: 13 ... ~e6 14.Lc6! bxc6 15.dxc5 '%Vxc5 16.~d4 '%Va5 17.lilxc6 '%Vc7 18.~xg7 'it>xg7 19.'%Vc3t 'it>g8 20.lila5 Black did not have enough for the pawn in Giri - P.H. Nielsen, Amsterdam 2010.

14.exd4

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

a b c d e f g h

48 Fianchetto Systems

14 .. .te6 Here I found the interesting 14 ... tLlf5!?N,

after which play may continue: 15.tLlxc6 bxc6 16.~xb6 axb6 17.Axc6 E!:a7 Black has sacrificed a pawn, but his pieces are so active that White cannot hold onto the extra pawn. 18.tLlf3 tLld6 19.E!:fc1 E!:c7 20.Ab5 Ae6 21.tLle5 E!:fc8=

ISJUc1 I checked a couple of other moves:

15.E!:fel tLlxe5 (I5 ... Axe5 16.dxe5 tLlf5!? is also worth considering) 16.dxe5 tLlxc4! The easiest route to equality. 17.tLlxc4 Axc4 18.~xc4 ~xb2 19.E!:abl ~d2 20.E!:edl E!:ac8=

15.Axc6 bxc6 16.tLlxc6 (after 16.~xb6 axb6 17.tLlxc6 E!:fe8+ Black will regain the pawn with dividends) 16 ... ~xc6 17.d5 E!:fb8! 18.dxc6 E!:xb3 19.axb3 Axb2 20.E!:a6 ~f8 Black has the better chances.

abc d e f g h

IS .. JUc8 16.'Wxb6 White has tried 16.c5, but it's quite harmless:

16 ... Axb3 17.cxb6 Aa4! Black keeps everything under control. 18.bxa7 E!:xa7 19.tLldc4 This was Zhou Weiqi - Ding Liren, Danzhou 2010, now simply 19 ... tLlxe5 20.tLlxe5 Ac2 gives Black the more pleasant position.

16 ... axb6 17.f4 ttlxeS

A draw was now agreed in Jakovenko -Svidler, Dagomys 2010, although Black might have played on for a bit.

18.dxeS tLlxc4 19.tLlxc4 gxc4 20.a3 White clearly has compensation for the

pawn, but it may still take some effort to secure the draw.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

B22) 13.tlhc6

abc d e f g h

This was my recommendation in Grandmaster Repertoire - 1.d4 Volume Two.

13 ... bxc6 14.dxcS Taking the pawn by 14.~xb6 axb6 15.Axc6

is clearly worse for White.

abc d e f g. h

15 ... tLlxc4! This exchange sacrifice gives Black a powerful initiative, for example: 16.Axa8 tLlxb2

Chapter 4 - 5.b3 49

17.i.e4 cxd~ 18.exd4 i.xd4 19.a4 (worse is 19.1Lld2 i.a6 20.E:fel i.c3!+) 19 ... E:d8 20.E:a3 i.a6 21.E:cl f5 Black has strong pressure.

14 ... 'ifxc5 15.hg7

Fianchetto Systems

Rare Seventh Moves

Variation Index

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

abcdefgh

l.d4 tDf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4 . .tg2 d5 5.tDa .tg7 6.0-0

A) 7.Va4 B) 7.tDbd2 C) 7.tDc3 dxc4

Cl) 8.e4 C2) 8.a4 C3) 8.tDe5

A) after 1O.i.f4

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

a b c d e f

1O ... b6N

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

g h a

6 ... 0-0

B) note to 12.%lfb3

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

b c d e f g h

14 ... a5!N

C3) note to 9.f4

a b c d e f

14 ... i.d5N

g h

51 51 55 55 56 57

Chapter 5 - Rare Seventh Moves 51

l.d4 ~f6 2~c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4 .ig2 d5 5.~f3 .ig7 6.0-0 0-0

Black has a serious alternative in 6 ... dxc4, but I have always preferred to castle here.

abc d e f g h

We shall examine A) 7.%Ya4, B) 7.~bd2 and C) 7.~c3 in this chapter. Of the other seventh moves, 7.b3 transposes to the previous chapter, while 7.~b3 and 7.cxd5 are covered in the following two chapters.

When one of my students mentioned this move, I was surprised to discover that it has occurred in almost a hundred games. After checking all the options, the one I like most is:

7 ... tllfd7!? This somewhat resembles the variation with

5.~a4 liJfd7 that we covered as line B3 in Chapter 3.

8.%Yc2 The most challenging move. Other options

are:

8.cxd5 cxd5 9.liJc3 liJb6 10.~dl liJc6 11..if4 .ifS 12J:kl !!c8 Black had comfortable equality in Pigusov - Huzman, Sverdlovsk 1987.

8.liJa3?! results in a loss of time: 8 ... liJb6 9.~c2 .ifS 10.~c3 .ie4! With his knight having gone to a3, White is unable to attack this bishop. Il.c5 liJ6d7 12 . .if4 b6 13.cxb6 ~xb6 14 . .ie3 c5 The opening had clearly turned out in Black's favour in Grigorian - Sveshnikov, Moscow 1973.

8 ... ~b6 9.c5 ~6d7 10 .if4

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h I believe that Black should now take the

opportunity to undermine the white c-pawn.

10 ... b6N In Sargissian - Volokitin, Germany 2008,

Black carried out the natural ... e5 break, but failed to equalize: 10 ... !!e8 Il.liJbd2 e5 12.dxe5 liJxe5 13.liJxe5 he5 14 . .ixe5 !!xe5 15.e4 dxe4 16.~c3! ~e7 17.liJxe4 White has an initiative.

1l.cxb6 axb6 12.~c3 tllf6 13J~ac1 .i5 14.%Yb3 tllbd7

The position is unclear.

B) 7.~bd2

This is not a particularly dangerous system, but it is quite playable and Black must know exactly how to react .

7 ... .i5

52 Fianchetto Systems

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

8.b3

abc d e f g h

White has several alternatives:

8.e3 seems to me in the spirit of this line, but I rather like the black side of this recent example: 8 ... ltJbd7 9.'lWe2 'lWa5 10.~el ~ac8 11.a3 'lWa6 12.h3 c5! Black had easily solved his opening problems, and soon took over the initiative. 13.g4 ie6 14.g5?! ltJh5 15.cxd5 'lWxe2 16.~xe2 ixd5+ Kurajica - Efimenko, Sarajevo 2010.

8.'lWb3 is not uncommon, but after 8 ... 'lWb6 White has a poor version of the 'lWb3-line (see Chapter 6), since the knight is clearly misplaced on d2. For example: 9.'lWxb6 axb6 10.b3 ltJe4 (this is fine, but Black could also consider the more active 1O ... b5!?) l1.ib2 ~d8 12.~fdl ltJxd2 13.ltJxd2 dxc4 14.ltJxc4 b5 15.ltJe3 ie6 16.~d2ltJa6 Y2-Y2 Orso - Barczay, Kecskemet 1979.

8.ltJh4 ie6 The bishop is quite well placed on e6, whereas the white knight is a bit misplaced: 9.b3 a5 10.ib2 a4 l1.e3 This was Hough -Khachiyan, Pasadena 2008, and now I like 11...'lWa5N 12.ia3 ~e8 13.ltJhf3 ltJbd7, and Black may even play ... b5 next.

8 . c!l)e4 9 .tb2 '!Wa5!?

abc d e f g h

This looks slightly unnatural in this line, but it is quite popular and has been played by such strong players as Timman, Gligoric and Hort. Black's idea is to provoke the advance of the white queenside pawns, and then later obtain counterplay against them.

10.a3 A natural response to the black queen sortie,

but there are also some other reasonable options:

1O.e3 ltJd7 l1.ltJxe4 11.~e 1 was tried in Shengelia - Kratschmer, Oberwart 2005, and Black now missed the nice: 11...ltJec5! 12.ifl ltJd3 13.ixd3 ixd3 14.e4 e6 15.~e3 dxe4 16.ltJxe4 ixe4 17.~xe4 ~fd8 (or 17 ... b5!?) The position is level.

11...ixe4 12.'lWe2 ~ad8

abc d e f g h

Chapter 5 - Rare Seventh Moves 53

13J~fc1

Other moves: The typical 13.i.h3 can be met by: 13 ... AxB 14.VNxB dxc4 15.bxc4 e5 Black has a very comfortable game. 13.cxd5 VNxd5!? (there is also nothing wrong with 13 ... cxd5=) 14J~fdl VNh5 15.E:d2 E:fe8 16.E:adl Bolbochan - Darga, Moscow 1956. Now the simple 16 ... tDb6N 17.h3 e6 would give Black a very sound position.

13 ... E:fe8 14 . .ic3 VNa6 This is a nice square for the black queen.

15.Afl dxc4 16.bxc4 P. Nikolic - Dorfman, Germany 2003, was agreed drawn here, but play could have continued with the simple and strong:

16 ... e5! Black has good play.

10.VNel tDxd2 Il.VNxd2 Or Il.tDxd2 tDd7 12.e4 dxe4 13.tDxe4 VNxel 14.E:fXel .ixe4 (l4 ... a5!?) 15.E:xe4 e6 16.E:e2 tDf6 with equality, Byrne - Gligoric, Lugano 1970.

11..-'Wxd2 12.tDxd2 E:d8 It is hard to believe that White can fight for the advantage without queens.

13.e3 tDa6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15 . .ia3 Forintos - Soos, Polanica Zdroj 1968, and now just:

15 ... e6!N 16.E:fc1 E:ac8 17.h3 Or 17.tDc4 i.fB.

17 ... i.fB=

10.VNc1 tDd7 11.E:dl White has also tried Il.tDxe4 .ixe4 12.i.h3, but after 12 ... .ixB! 13.exB e6 Black has no problems. Indeed, White must be careful to avoid being worse, for example: 14.VNc2 dxc4 15.bxc4 tDb6 16.a4 c5 Black was already better in Gyorkos - Groszpeter, Zalakaros 2005.

11.. . .ih6 12.e3 E:ac8

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1 I/~"/>T''''',/",,"u/,;:.,:~,,,

abc d e f g h

13.tDxe4 13.tDh4 does not cause Black any problems, as he can just reply 13 ... .ig4.

13 ... .ixe4 14.VNd2 14 . .ic3 VNa6 15.tDe5 is more ambitious, but Black is still doing fine: 15 ... E:fd8 16 . .ixe4 dxe4 17.tDxd7 E:xd7 18.VNc2 f5The game is balanced.

14 ... VNxd2 15.tDxd2 .ixg2 16.~xg2 .ig7 Without queens, the position is equal,

Averkin - Gufeld, Moscow 1969.

lO ... tLld7 1l.b4 After 11.E:c1 I like 11...E:fc8!? 12.b4 VNd8

13.VNb3 Todorcevic - Rodriguez Cespedes, Malaga 1987, and now Black should continue with: 13 ... tDdf6N 14.E:fdl a5 (or 14 ... tDxd2 15.tDxd2 a5) Black gets exactly what he was wanting, counterplay on the queens ide.

1l ... ~d8 I prefer this calm retreat to 11...VNa6, where

the black queen can be a bit vulnerable. Play may continue: 12.E:cl .ih6 (l2 ... tDb6 13.c5 tDa4 14 . .ial looks dubious for Black) 13.e3 tDxd2 14.tDxd2.id3 15.VNb3! i.xfl 16.i.xfl VNb617.cxd5 cxd5 18.VNxd5 tDf6 Kir. Georgiev - Ftacnik, Varna 1987, and after 19.VNg2N E:ac8 20.tDc4 White has good compensation for the exchange.

12.~b3 Other possibilities are:

54 Fianchetto Systems

12Jkl b5!? 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.a4 Neither 14.tLle5 tLlb6 nor 14.tLlh4 tLlb6 15.tLlxf5 gxf5 give Black any problems.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

14 ... a5!N

abc d e f g h

In this way, Black can even fight for the advantage; after 14 ... bxa4 15.%Vxa4 tLlb6 16.%Va6 %Vd7 Black had equalized in Tseshkovsky - Dvoretsky, Leningrad 1974.

15.axb5 Black obtains real pressure after 15.bxa5 %Vxa5 16.axb5 %Vxb5.

15 ... axb4 16.%Vb3 %Va5! 17.%Vxd5 tLlb6 White is even slightly better after: 17 ... %Va2?! 18.%Vb3 %Vxb3 19.tLlxb3 1'%a2 20.i.al tLld6 21.tLlfd2 tLlxb5 22.1'%c4!

18.%Vb3 %Vxb5+ White will have to show some accuracy in

order to hold the balance.

12.a4 %Vb6!?N

abc d e f g h

Black starts concrete play on the queenside. There is a solid alternative in: 12 ... tLldf6 13.%Vb3 %Vd7 14.1'%fdl i.h3 15.cxd5 hg2 16.@xg2 %Vxd5 17.%Vxd5 cxd5 With equality, Saidy - Gligoric, Los Angeles 1974.

13.%Vb3 White cannot go for: 13.a5 %Vxb4 14.i.a3 %Vc3!+

13 ... c5! 14.dxc5 tLldxc5 15.%Va3i.xb2 16.%Vxb2 a5 17.b5 1'%fd8=

Black has a very sound position.

12.c5 It is hard to believe that this is a good idea. As White has released the tension in the centre, Black should start play on the queenside: 12 ... b6!N (only 12 ... tLlxd2 has been played here) 13.%Vcl bxc5 14.dxc5 (14.bxc5 1'%b8 is excellent for Black) 14 ... e5 15.tLlh4 tLlxd2 16.%Vxd2 i.g4 17.h3 i.e6 (or 17 ... i.h5!?) 18.f4 exf4 19.i.xg7@xg7 20.%Vxf4 %Vf6The position is unclear.

12 ... tilb6

abc d e f g h

13.c5 This is forced, since 13.a4? runs into

13 ... dxc4 14.tLlxc4 i.e6! and White loses material.

13 ... tild714.a4

Chapter 5 - Rare Seventh Moves 55

White has_also tried: 14J'l:fdlll'lxd2 15.ll'lxd2 Vlfc7 16.e3 e5 (this is very natural, but first playing 16 ... l'!ad8 is also worth considering) 17.dxe5 ixe5 18.e4 dxe4 19.1l'lxe4 ixe4 20.ixe4 l'!fe8 Black had reached comfortable equality in Ruck - Gonzalez Zamora, Koszeg 1996.

l4 . J~!e8 l5.l'!fdl e5

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

abc d e f g h

l6.dxe5 tLlxd2 l7.llxd2 he5 l8.he5 gxe5 19.e3 fif6 2o.fic3 ge7 21.fixf6 tLlxf6

Black has equalized rather easily, Ribli -Timman, Novi Sad (01) 1990.

abc d e f g h

Taking the c-pawn makes a lot of sense once White has developed his queen's knight to c3; regaining the pawn will not be straightforward, and moreover ... b5-b4 can be a useful resource for Black. White now chooses from Cl) 8.e4, C2) 8.a4 and C3) 8.lle5.

Cl) 8.e4 b5

This ensures that White will not get the pawn back in the immediate futu