najdorf [b90 b99] - time to get classyterrycucf.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/2/9/19295043/najdorf.pdf ·...

Najdorf [B90−B99]

Written by GM John Fedorowicz, GM Tony Kosten & IM Richard Palliser

Last updated Sunday, 17 July 2011

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he Najdorf is very popular in grandmaster chess and at lower levels. I have the

greatest respect for this opening, Black plays for a win from the word go. Players

who face the Najdorf very often shy away from the challenge play 'solidly' and

wind up in inferior positions.

T At this time 6 ¥g5, which was considered to be White's main reply looks to have

fallen out of favor, still that may change now that Luther has recommended this treatment in

the book Experts vs the Sicilian.

At the higher levels, though, it has been replaced by 6 ¥e3, the English Attack,

planning f3, £d2, and long castles. The reply 6...¤g4 7 ¥g5 h6 8 ¥h4 g5 has fallen out of

favour, to be replaced by 6...e5 and 6...e6.

Of course we'll keep an eye out for White's other tries. 6 g3, 6 f4, 6 ¥c4 and 6 ¥e2

are all reasonable alternatives.

I particularly recommend that viewers check out Black's replies to the trendy 6 ¦g1.

There are several decent ways of meeting this, I was very impressed by GM Topalov's

treatment. Fed

All the game references highlighted in blue have been annotated and can be downloaded in PGN form using the PGN Games Archive on www.chesspublishing.com.

2

Contents

1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 a6

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6 ¥g5

6 h3, 6 ¦g1 Najdorf - Various 6th [B90] 6 f4 Najdorf − 6 f4 [B93] 6 f3 e5 English Attack 6...e5 [B90] (6...£b6 7 ¤b3 e6 English Attack 6 f3 Qb6 [B90]) 6 g3 e5 Najdorf with 6 g3 e5 [B91] 6 ¥e2 e5 Najdorf with 6 Be2 e5 [B92] 6 ¥e3 ¤g4 7 ¥g5 h6 8 ¥h4 g5 9 ¥g3 ¥g7 English Attack 6...Ng4 [B90] 6 ¥e3 e5 7 ¤b3 (7 ¤f3, 7 ¤de2 6 Be3 e5 - 7 Nf3 & 7 Nde2 [B90]) 8 £d2 English Attack −

6...e5 7 Nb3 quick ...Be7 [B90], English Attack − 6...e5 without ...Be7 [B90]

6...e6

6...¤bd7 6 Bg5 − 6...Nbd7 [B94]

7 f4

3

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7 £f3 6 Bg5 Miscellaneous White 7th moves [B95]

7...¥e7

7...¤c6 Najdorf 6 Bg5 − 6...e6 7 f4 Introduction [B96] 7...¤bd7 Najdorf 6 Bg5 − 6...e6 7 f4 Introduction [B96] 7...£b6 Poisoned Pawn Najdorf [B97]

8 £f3 £c7 9 0-0-0

Najdorf − old main line with g4 [B99]

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4

Najdorf − Various 6th [B90]

Last updated: 06/06/11 by Richard Palliser

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¦g1

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This Keres−style move had a brief vogue, other rare moves: 6.¥d3 is rare, but not innocuous as Michael Adams had some success with it. 6...¤c6 my

preference, asking the question of the white knight, 7.¤xc6 bxc6 8.0-0 e5 see Dgebuadze,A−Wemmers,X/Belgium BEL 2004.

6.h3 This and 6 ¦g1 made a brief appearance in the mid 90s, but the surprise value wore off quickly. 6...e5

a) Typical Najdorf play, but I prefer 6...e6 as Black can equalize easily with this and should, 7.g4 b5

a1) 7...d5! Compare this position with the moves a6 and h3 omitted. In the Keres Attack d5 is met by an annoying ¥b5+. Here it doesn't exist. 8.¥g2 (8.¤de2!? Vallejo Pons,F−Van Wely,L/World Open, King of Prussia 2010, 8.exd5 ¤xd5 is most common) 8...¥b4 Tseitlin,M−Efimenko,Z/Panormo GRE 2001

a2) 7...¥e7 8.¥g2 ¤fd7!? 9.¥e3 ¤c6 Svidler,P−Ivanisevic,I/Khanty−Mansiysk Olympiad 2010

8.¥g2 ¥b7 9.0-0!? plans a sacrifice on d5, 9...¤c6 (9...£c7 10.¦e1 ¤fd7? loses to 11.a4! bxa4

12.¤d5! Haslinger,S−Gurevich,V/Bundesliga 2009) 10.¤xc6 (10.¦e1 first may be more potent) 10...¥xc6 11.¦e1 Carlsen,M−Dominguez Perez,L/Biel 2008.

b) 6...g6 7.g4 ¥g7 8.¥g2 0-0 9.¥e3 ¤c6 is a Dragon−like set−up, Dominguez Perez,L−Carlsen,M/MTel Masters, Sofia 2009

c) 6...¤c6!? 7.¥e3 e5 8.¤f3 ¥e7 Nepomniachtchi,I−Grischuk,A/Russian Team Championship, Dagomys 2010.

5

7.¤de2 (7.¤f3 ¤bd7 8.a4 £c7 9.¥e3 ¥e7 Nepomniachtchi,I−Lastin,A/Russian Rapid Championship, Olginka 2011) 7...£a5 8.¥d2 £c7 9.g4 h6 10.¥g2 White should be happy with this setup, Rojas,L−Vasquez,R/Santiago CHI 2004.

6.a4 A subtle move, White often plays this move anyway (except when he wants to play long castles), to stop ...b5, so why not play it immediately? 6...e5!? (6...¤c6 is logical, see Howell,D−Palliser,R/British Rapidplay, Halifax 2010.) 7.¤f3 £c7 Black stops ¥c4, (7...¥e7 8.¥g5 ¥e6 9.¥xf6 ¥xf6 10.¤d5 ¤d7 11.¥c4 ¦c8 12.b3 £a5+ also seems OK, Kamsky,G−Topalov,V/3rd matchgame, Kazan 2011) 8.¥g5 ¤bd7 9.¤d2 h6 10.¥h4 g5 11.¥g3 ¤c5 Hansen,S−Nakamura,H/Copenhagen/Malmoe DEN 2005.

6.£e2!? Balinov's move. White has in mind early queenside castling, but delays the development of the bishop: it might go to g5 or e3. 6...e5 7.¤f5 g6 8.¤e3 (8.¤h6!? is more ambitious) 8...¥e6 9.g3 h5 10.¥g2 h4 11.0-0 with equality, Romero Holmes,A−Harikrishna,P/San Sebastian ESP 2006.

6.£f3!? A good surprise weapon against the Najdorf, recommended in 'Dangerous Weapons: The Sicilian'. 6...g6

a) 6...¤bd7 7.¥e2 g6 8.¥e3 ¥g7 9.h3! Short,N−Grandelius,N/Malmo 2009 b) 6...e6 7.¥e3 (7.¥e2 ¤bd7!? 8.g4!? Howell,D−Palliser,R/British Rapidplay Ch.,

Halifax 2009) 7...¥e7 8.g4 ¤c6 9.g5 ¤d7 10.h4 the position very much resembles a Keres Attack, Jones,G−Eggleston,D/British Championship, Torquay 2009

7.h3 ¥g7 8.¥e3 ¥d7!? 9.0-0-0 ¤c6 10.£e2 freeing the f−pawn to advance, Sowray,P−Simacek,P/European Championship, Dresden 2007.

6...b5

There are many others: Perhaps 6...e6 is best, 7.g4 d5! e.g. 8.exd5 ¤xd5 9.¤xd5 £xd5 10.¥g2 £a5+ 11.c3 £c7= . 6...g6 plans a Dragon approach, 7.g4 ¥g7 (7...b5 Ye Jiangchuan−Zhu Chen/Shenyang CHN

1999) 8.¥e3 (8.g5 ¤fd7 9.¥e3 b5 Castillo Gallego,S−Perpinya Rofes,L/Palencia ESP 1999) 8...¤c6 9.f3 e5 10.¤xc6 bxc6 11.£d2 Ivanchuk,V−Kasparov,G/Moscow RUS 2002.

6...h6!? 7.g4 g5 Yemelin,V−Sammalvuo,T/Myyrmanni FIN 1999. 6...e5 Radovanovic,D−Sperdokli,E/Korinthos GRE 1999, and Smith,B−Adu,O/Washington

DC USA 1999.

7.g4

7.a3 This type of slow approach shouldn't cause Black much misery here, Van den Bergh,J−Van der Erf,R/Haarlem NED 1999.

7...¥b7

6

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8.¥g2

8.g5!? De Vreugt,D−Ortega,L/Bolzano ITA 1999. 8.¥d3?! Radovanovic,D−Tzoumbas,A/Chania GRE 1999.

8...¤fd7

8...e6 9.£e2 ¤fd7 10.¥e3 b4 worked well for Black in Philippe,C−Lautier,J/Paris FRA 2000.

9.¥e3

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9.a4 this is very sharp − White opens up the position immediately 9...bxa4 10.¦xa4

Polgar,J−Topalov,V/Frankfurt GER 1999.

9...e6 10.g5

10.f4?! Adams,M−Topalov,V/Frankfurt GER 1999.

7

10...¤b6

seems fine for Black, Balinov,I−Kalod,R/Charleville FRA 2000.

8

English Attack − 6...Ng4 [B90]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥e3 ¤g4

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In recent times this move has proved to be inferior to 6...e5 and 6...e6. 6...e6 transposes to [B80]. 6...¤bd7 7.f3 g6 is Kasparov,G−Georgiev,K/Sarajevo BIH 2000.

7.¥g5 h6 8.¥h4 g5 9.¥g3 ¥g7

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10.h3

9

In my opinion strongest. Black has been having a rough time vs 10 h3. 10.¥e2 doesn't seem as good. 10...h5 (10...¤e5 11.f3 ¤bc6 12.¥f2 Cioara,A−

Artizzu,G/Castellaneta ITA 1999) 11.¥xg4 (11.¤f5 ¥xf5 12.exf5 h4 13.¥xh4 ¥xc3+

14.bxc3 £a5 15.¥xg5 ¤xh2 16.¢d2 favours White, Shirov,A−Polgar,J/Prague CZE 1999,

11.h4 gxh4 12.¥xh4 ¤c6 13.¤b3 ¥e6 14.£d2 Santo Roman,M−Miralles,G/Cannes FRA 2000) 11...hxg4! (11...¥xg4 12.f3 ¥d7 (12...¥e6 13.¥f2 ¤d7 14.£d2 ¤e5 15.b3 £a5

16.¤d5 £xd2+ 17.¢xd2 ¦c8 18.¤b6 ¦c7 19.c4 ¤c6 20.¢d3 ¤xd4 21.¥xd4 ¥xd4 22.¢xd4²

Madl,I−Roschina,T/Pula CRO 1999) 13.¥f2 ¤c6 14.0-0 (14.£d2 £a5 15.0-0 ¤xd4

16.¥xd4 ¥e5 17.¥xe5 £xe5 18.¤d5 ¦c8 19.c3 f6 20.¦ad1 ¢f7 21.£f2 ¦hd8 22.¤b6 ¦c6 23.¦d5

£e6 24.h4 g4 25.¦xh5+− Medvegy,Z−Szeberenyi,A/Budapest HUN 2000, 14.¤d5 ¦c8

15.£d2 e6 16.¤xc6 ¦xc6 17.¤b4 ¦c4 18.c3 £a5 19.0-0 ¥e5 20.¦fd1 ¥a4 21.¦e1 ¥d7 22.¦ad1

h4 23.¤d3 ¦g8 24.¤xe5 £xe5 25.£xd6 £xd6 26.¦xd6± Barlov,D−Suarez Roa,J/Cala Galdana ESP 1999.) 14...e6 15.¤de2 £e7 16.¤a4 ¤e5 17.¤b6 ¦d8 Pelletier,Y−Kempinski,R/Batumi GEO 1999) 12.0-0 (12.¤d5!? ¤c6 (12...¥e5?! Malakhov,V−Wen Yang/Chinese Team Championship 2011) 13.¤f5 ¥xf5 14.exf5 ¥xb2 15.¦b1 £a5+ 16.£d2 ¥d4 17.£xa5 ¤xa5 18.c3!? (18.0-0 Polgar,J−Leitao,R/Buenos Aires ARG 2000, 18.¤c7+ ¢d7 19.¤xa8 ¦xa8 20.¢d1 ¥c3 21.h4 gxh3 22.¦xh3 ¦c8 23.f4 gxf4

24.¥xf4 b5 25.¦f3 ¦c4 26.¥d2 ¥xd2 27.¢xd2 ¦a4 28.¦a1 f6 29.g3 ¤c4+ 30.¢e2 d5 31.c3 ¢d6³

Anand,V−Topalov,V/Dortmund GER 1999) 18...¥c5?! 19.¤c7+ ¢d7 20.¤xa8 ¦xa8 21.h4! Shirov,A−Grischuk,A/Wijk aan Zee 2011.) 12...¤c6 (12...e6!? 13.¤b3 ¥xc3

14.bxc3 e5 Tiviakov,S−Vachier Lagrave,M/Unive Crown Group, Hoogeveen 2010)

13.¤f5 ¥xc3 (13...¥xf5 14.exf5 ¥xc3 15.bxc3 ¤e5 16.¦b1 £c7 17.¥xe5 dxe5 18.£d5 ¦b8

19.¦fe1 f6 20.¦ed1 £c8 21.£e4 £xc3 22.¦b3 £c5 23.g3 ¢f7³ Sulc,D−Zivkovic,V/Pula CRO 1999) 14.bxc3 £a5 15.£xg4 f6 16.£f3

a) 16.f4 ¥xf5 17.exf5 gxf4 18.¦xf4 (18.£xf4 £xc3 19.¦ae1 0-0-0 20.¦e4 ¦d7 21.¦c4 £a5

22.a4 ¢b8 23.¦b1 ¦c7 24.£e3 £d5 25.¦e4 £xf5 26.¥f2 ¢c8 27.h3 ¦g8³ Klovans,J−De Firmian,N/Hamburg GER 1999) 18...£xc3 19.¦b1 b5 20.£e2 (20.a4 £xc2 21.¦ff1 £c4

22.¦f4 £c2 23.¦ff1 £xa4 24.£g7 ¢d7 25.¦fd1 ¦ag8 26.£f7 ¦xg3 27.£e6+ ¢c7 28.hxg3 £c4=

Ng Tze Han2−Wong Zi Jing/Penang MYA 2000) 20...¦c8 21.a4 ¤d4 22.£g4 £e3+ 23.¢f1 ¤xc2 24.¦e4 £d3+ 25.¢g1 ¤e3 26.¦xe7+ ¢d8 27.£e4 £xe4 28.¦xe4 ¤xf5 29.axb5= Kobalija,M−De Firmian,N/Las Vegas USA 1999

b) 16.¦ab1 £xc3 17.¦fd1 ¤e5 18.¥xe5 £xe5 19.g3 b5 20.c4 bxc4 21.£f3 c3 22.¦bc1 ¥b7 23.£xc3 ¥xe4 24.¤xd6+ exd6 25.¦e1 £xc3 26.¦xc3 d5 27.f3 ¢f7 28.fxe4 ¦he8= Shirov,A−Kasparov,G/Sarajevo 1999

16...¤e5 17.£e3 (17.¥xe5 £xe5 18.h3 d5 19.¤g3 dxe4 20.£xe4 £xe4 21.¤xe4 ¥f5 Adams,M−Anand,V/Dortmund GER 1999) 17...¥xf5 18.exf5 ¦c8 19.£a7 ¢f7 20.£xb7 ¦xc3 21.¦fd1 £b5 (21...£c5 Ye Jiangchuan−Sutovsky,E/Shenyang CHN 1999) 22.£a7 ¤c6 23.£d7 ¤d4 24.£xb5 ¤xb5 25.a4 ¤a7 26.¦ab1 ¦hc8 27.h4 gxh4 28.¥xh4 ¦xc2 29.¦e1 ¦8c7= Leko,P−Lutz,C/Frankfurt GER 1999.

10.h4 ¤e5 11.¤f5 ¥xf5 12.exf5 £a5 13.£d5 ¤bc6 14.£xa5 ¤xa5 15.¤d5 ¦c8 16.0-0-0 ¤d7 17.¥e2 ¤c4 18.¥xc4 ¦xc4 19.¦he1 ¥e5 20.¥xe5 ¤xe5 21.f6± Landa,K−Mareck,S/Deizisau GER 2001

10.£d2 ¤c6 11.¤b3 ¤ge5 (11...¥e6!? Hart,D−Palliser,R/British Rapidplay, Halifax 2010)

12.f3 (12.a4 ¥e6 13.¤d5 Hossain,E−Browne,W/Stratton Mountain USA 2000) 12...b5 13.¥f2 ¦b8 14.¤d4 b4! At the time this game was played b4! was a big novelty. 15.¤d1?! (15.¤ce2!?) 15...¤xd4 16.¥xd4 d5! Black grabs the initiative in the center.

10

17.exd5 £xd5 18.c3 0-0 19.¥e2 ¦d8 20.£e3 ¥b7 21.¤f2 bxc3 22.¥xc3 £e6 23.¢f1 ¥d5 24.b3 ¦bc8∓ Ivanchuk,V−Kasparov,G/Linares 1999

10...¤e5

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I think this is best. Kasparov's DVD draws attention to the fact that 10...¤f6!? might not be so bad, 11.¥c4 a) 11.£f3 £b6 (11...¤c6 12.¤xc6 bxc6 13.e5 dxe5 14.¥xe5 0-0 15.¥d3 £a5 16.£e2 ¥e6

White has the better king and structure. 17.0-0 c5 18.¦fe1 ¦fd8 19.b3 ¤d7 20.¥xg7 ¢xg7

21.¤e4² Ehlvest,J−De Firmian,N/Reykjavik ISL 2000) 12.0-0-0 ¤c6 (12...0-0!? is provocative, 13.¥c4 ¤c6 14.¤xc6 £xc6 15.¥b3 ¥e6! Leko,P−Carlsen,M/Wijk aan Zee 2010) 13.¤xc6 £xc6 14.¥e2 (14.e5 £xf3 15.gxf3 dxe5 16.¥xe5 ¥d7 17.¤d5 ¤xd5 18.¥xg7

¦h7 19.¥e5 f6 20.¦xd5 ¥c6 21.¦d3= Shirov,A−Kasparov,G/Sarajevo BIH 2000.) 14...£c5! 15.¦he1 g4!? Leko,P−Carlsen,M/Tal Memorial, Moscow 2009.

b) 11.¥e2 £b6 12.¤b3 ¤c6 13.£d2 ¥d7 14.0-0 ¦c8 15.¢h1 ¤e5 16.f4 ¤c4 17.¥xc4 ¦xc4 18.e5 ¤e4 19.¤xe4 ¦xe4 20.exd6 g4 21.¦fe1 ¦xe1+ 22.¦xe1± Jirovsky,P−Fajman,P/Ostrava CZE 2000

c) 11.£e2!? ¤c6 12.¤xc6 bxc6 13.e5 dxe5 14.¥xe5 Black needs a big improvement somewhere around here. I see nothing impressive. If it was that easy Nick would have played it, Rowson,J−De Firmian,N/Selfoss ISL 2003.

d) 11.£d2 ¤c6 12.¤b3 b5 13.a3 ¥e6 14.¥e2 ¤d7 15.0-0 Kovacevic,A−De Firmian,N/Istanbul TUR 2000.

11...£b6

11

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(11...£a5 12.0-0 h5 Black's last 2 moves don't inspire confidence, Kaufman,L−Donlag,D/Saint

Paul USA 2000) 12.0-0 0-0 This looks like a Classical Dragon where Black went nuts. (12...¤xe4? Not one of Shirov's better days! 13.¤xe4 £xd4 14.¤xd6+ exd6 15.£e2+

¥e6 16.¥xe6 0-0 17.¦ad1 £f6 18.¥d5± Ivanchuk,V−Shirov,A/Wijk aan Zee NED 2001)

13.¤de2 £xb2 14.¥b3 £a3 15.f4 ¤c6 Kasparov,G−Polgar,J/Wijk aan Zee NED 2000.

11.¤f5!?

More to the point than other ideas, but in view of the Topalov game it may only lead to a draw.

11.f3 the positional course, is liable for a resurge, 11...¤bc6 12.¥f2 The bishop comes to a more useful square, adding weight to d4. 12...¥e6 (12...¤g6!? a fairly new idea, aiming for the kingside dark squares, 13.£d2 (13.¤d5 ¦b8 14.£d2 e6 15.¤c3 ¥e5! Black increases his dark−square grip, Dominguez Perez,L−Grischuk,A/Melody Amber, Nice (rapid) 2010) 13...£a5 14.¤d5! (14.0-0-0 Svidler,P−Polgar,J, San Luis ARG 2005) 14...£xd2+ 15.¢xd2 and Black was soon in trouble in Karjakin,S−Grischuk,A/Sochi 2007) 13.£d2 £a5 There are others:

a) 13...¤xd4 14.¥xd4 £a5 15.a3 ¦g8 (15...¥f6 16.0-0-0 ¦c8 17.¢b1 ¢f8 18.h4 ¦g8 19.hxg5

hxg5 20.£e3 ¤d7 21.g3 ¥xd4 22.¦xd4 White gets a free shot at Black's K. 22...£c5 23.f4

¤f6 24.£d2 b5 25.¥e2 ¦b8 26.f5 ¥c4 27.b4± De Firmian,N−Ruck,R/Istanbul TUR 2000,

15...0-0 I think the black king is better off hanging out in the middle awaiting further developments, see why in Akopian,S−Kramnik,L/Wijk aan Zee NED 2004) 16.h4 ¦c8 17.hxg5 hxg5 18.0-0-0 ¤c4 19.¥xc4 ¥xd4 20.£xd4 (20.¥b5+ axb5 21.£xd4 ¦c4

22.£d2 ¢d7 23.¤a2 £xd2+ 24.¦xd2² Bologan,V−Xu Jun/Beijing CHN 2000 − White has the better structure and the better minor piece.) 20...¦xc4 21.£a7 £c7 22.¢b1 ¦c5 23.¤d5 ¥xd5 24.exd5 ¢f8= Kasparov,G−Polgar,J/Linares ESP 2001

b) 13...¦c8 14.0-0-0 (14.h4 gxh4 15.¦xh4 h5 16.¦h1 ¥h6 17.f4 ¥g4 18.¤d5 ¤xd4 19.¥xd4

¦g8 20.¥b6 £d7 21.¥e3 ¤c4 22.¥xc4 ¦xc4 23.¤b6 £c6 24.¤xc4 £xc4„ Bakre,T−Krush,I/St Petersburg RUS 2000) 14...£a5 15.¤b3 £c7 16.a3 ¥xb3 17.cxb3 ¤a5 18.£c2 ¤g6 19.¢b1 b5 20.¦c1 £b7 21.b4 ¤c4 22.¥xc4 ¦xc4 23.£d2 0-0 24.¤d5 ¦fc8 25.¦xc4 ¦xc4 26.¤e3 ¦c7 27.h4 e6 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.¤g4 £c6 30.¥d4± Topalov,V−Gelfand,B/Bugojno BIH 1999

12

14.¤b3 ¥xb3 15.cxb3 ¤b4 16.a3 ¤g6 17.¦d1 ¤c6 18.¤d5 £xd2+ 19.¦xd2 Kasparov admits that he was slightly worse at this stage in Leko,P−Kasparov,G/Linares ESP 2000.

11.¥e2 ¤bc6 12.¤f5 ¥xf5 13.exf5 ¤d7 14.£d2 Zapata,A−Roehrich,S/Internet ICC 2000.

11...¥xf5 12.exf5 ¤bc6

12...¤bd7 13.¤d5 ¦c8 14.c3 ¤f6 15.¥e2 ¤xd5 16.£xd5 £d7 17.0-0 ¦c5 18.£e4 £c6 19.£c2 ¥f6 20.¦ac1 ¤d7 21.a3² Luther,T−Bouaziz,S/Cappelle La Grande FRA 2000

12...£a5 13.£d5 ¤bc6 14.£xa5 ¤xa5 15.¤d5 ¦d8 16.0-0-0 ¦g8 17.¥e2 ¤ac6 18.h4 e6 19.¤e3 d5 20.hxg5 hxg5 21.fxe6 fxe6 White is a tad better so Black must hunker down. 22.¤g4 ¤f7 23.¥d3 ¤b4 24.¥h7 ¦h8 25.¥g6 ¢e7 26.c3² Spasov,V−Kempinski,R/Leon ESP 2001.

13.¤d5 e6

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14.fxe6

14.¤e3 White doesn't exchange on e6 immediately, 14...0-0 (14...£a5+ 15.c3 ¤f3+?! 16.£xf3

¥xc3+ transposes below after White captures on e6) 15.c3 d5 16.fxe6 fxe6 17.¥e2 £e7 Black's position is a bit airy and his only chance for active play is the ...d4 break, Bromberger,S−Berczes,D/Budapest HUN 2004.

14...fxe6 15.¤e3 £a5+

15...0-0 16.¥e2 d5 17.0-0 ¤g6 18.c4 ¤d4 19.cxd5 exd5 20.¥g4 ¤f4 21.¥xf4 ¦xf4 22.£d3± Shirov,A−Gelfand,B/Monaco MNC 2000, with good chances on the light squares.

16.c3

13

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16...¤f3+!

This had been believed to be under a cloud, since the game Svidler−Grischuk, Mexico City 2007, but of late Black has found some major improvements.

16...d5 17.¥e2 d4!? This might be best here as after (17...0-0 White can take his time. 18.0-0

¦ad8 19.£b3 b5 20.¦ad1 £b6 21.¦fe1 £c5 22.£c2 White has full control. 22...b4 23.cxb4

£xb4 24.¥xa6 ¦a8 25.a3 £b6 26.¥f1 ¤d4 27.£b1 ¤df3+ 28.gxf3 ¤xf3+ 29.¢g2 ¤xe1+

30.¦xe1± Anand,V−Gelfand,B/Haifa ISR 2000.) 18.¤c4 ¤xc4 19.¥xc4 0-0 20.0-0 dxc3 21.bxc3 £xc3 22.¦c1 with advantage, Cheparinov,I−Ibarra Jerez,J/Oropesa del Mar ESP 2001.

17.£xf3 ¥xc3+ 18.¢d1 £a4+

18...¥xb2 is interesting, Cheparinov−Ibarra Jerez, Roquetas de Mar 2004.

19.¤c2 ¥xb2 20.¦c1!

20.£b3 £xb3 21.axb3 ¥xa1 22.¤xa1 ¤e5!? Bologan,V−Vachier Lagrave,M/Croatian Team Championship 2010.

20...£xa2?

20...¥xc1 21.£f6 was Svidler,P−Grischuk,A, Mexico City 2007. 20...¦c8! 21.¥d3 ¦f8! as seen in some correspondence games, is fine for Black.

21.£e4!

Ragger,M−Adly,A/Dresden Olympiad 2008.

14

English Attack − 6 f3 Qb6 & others [B90]

Last updated: 23/04/05 by TonyK

1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 a6 6 f3

I don't think 6 ¥e3 ¤g4 is very good, but now Black can force the knight back from d4. From Black's point of view that's a good thing.

6...£b6!?

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Anytime Black can chase the knight from the center he should. 6...b5?! This idea will not find many followers, 7 a4! b4 8 ¤d5 Anand,V−Topalov,V/Wijk

aan Zee 1999. 6...¤c6 This can lead to original positions after 7 ¥e3 d5 blowing up the centre

immediately, 8 ¤xd5 (8 £e2 Shabalov,A−Sutovsky,E/Istanbul TUR 2000) 8...¤xd5 9 exd5 £xd5 10 ¤xc6 (10 c3 Fedorov,A−Wojtkiewicz,A/Goodricke, Calcutta 1999)

10...£xc6 11 ¥d3 e5 with reasonable play, Adams,M−Svidler,P/Moscow RUS 2001.

7 ¤b3 e6 8 g4

15

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8 £e2 £c7 9 g4 (9 ¥e3 b5 10 £f2 ¤bd7 11 0-0-0 b4 (11...¥b7 12 g4 ¦c8 13 ¥d3 ¤c5 14 ¢b1

¥e7 15 h4 ¤fd7 16 ¥g5 ¤e5 17 ¥xe7 ¢xe7 18 ¤d4 ¤cxd3 19 cxd3 £c5 20 ¤ce2 ¦hd8 21 £e3±

Perunovic,M−Marjanovic,Z, Dimitrovgrad YUG 2003) 12 ¤e2 ¥b7 13 g4 ¦c8 14 ¤ed4 e5 15 ¤f5 g6 16 ¤g3 d5 17 g5 d4 18 ¥xd4 exd4 19 gxf6 ¥h6+ 20 ¢b1 ¥e3 21 £g2 ¤xf6 22 ¥d3 ¤d7 23 ¤e2 £b6 24 ¤exd4! ¥xd4 25 ¤xd4 £xd4 26 ¥b5 £xd1+ 27 ¦xd1 axb5 28 £d2 ¤c5 29 £d6 ¤e6 30 £d7+ ¢f8 31 £xb7+− De la Riva Aguado,O−Shirov,A/Andorra AND 2001.) 9...b5 10 ¥e3 (10 g5 ¤fd7 11 ¥e3 b4

12 ¤d1 ¤c6 13 ¤f2 a5 14 ¥g2?! This looks a little weird. 14...¥a6 15 ¤d3 a4 16 ¤d2 ¤ce5

17 f4 £xc2 18 ¤xb4 £xb2 19 ¤xa6 £xa1+∓ De la Riva Aguado,O−Shirov,A/Andorra AND 2001., 10 a3 ¤c6 11 ¥g2 ¥e7 12 f4 ¥b7 13 0-0 ¤d7 14 ¥e3 ¤b6 15 a4 ¤xa4 16 ¤xa4

bxa4 17 ¦xa4 0-0 18 g5 White's king is loose for nothing. 18...a5 19 f5 ¥a6 20 c4 ¦ab8³

Sax,G−Odeev,H/Saint Vincent ITA 2000) 10...b4 11 ¤a4 ¤bd7 12 £f2!? This has to be best at this point. (12 £c4?! This hands the advantage to black without a fight. 12...£xc4 13 ¥xc4 d5! 14 exd5 ¤e5 15 ¥e2 (15 ¤b6!? is probably a better try than 15 Be2, but with queens off white's pawns are vulnerable. 15...¤xc4 16 ¤xc4 ¤xd5 17

¥c5 ¥xc5 18 ¤xc5 ¦a7 19 0-0-0 ¢e7 20 ¦he1 ¦d8 21 ¤e3 ¤xe3 22 ¦xd8 ¢xd8³

Gaponenko,I−Dzagnidze,N/Istanbul TUR 2003 Black can get good play against white's weak kingside pawns.) 15...¤xd5 Black's knights have jumped to life while White's knights are passive. 16 ¥d4 ¥d6 17 ¥c5 ¥e7 18 a3 a5 19 ¥d4 f6 20 ¤ac5 0-0 21 0-0 bxa3 22 ¦xa3 ¤f4 23 ¥b5 ¦b8 24 ¥xe5 ¤h3+ 25 ¢g2 ¦xb5 26 ¥g3 ¤g5 27 ¥f2 ¥b7 28 ¥g1 ¦c8 29 h4 ¥xf3+ 30 ¦xf3 ¤xf3 31 ¢xf3 ¥xc5 32 ¤xc5 ¦bxc5 33 ¥xc5 ¦xc5-+ Grischuk,A−Kasparov,G/Linares ESP 2001.) 12...¦b8?! (12...£c6!

13 ¤b6 ¤xb6 14 ¥xb6 Is black's best try.) 13 g5 ¤h5 14 ¤d4 e5 15 ¤f5 g6 16 ¤g3 ¤f4 17 0-0-0 ¥e7 18 h4 0-0 19 b3 f6 20 ¥c4+ ¢h8 21 h5 fxg5 22 hxg6 ¤xg6 23 ¤f5 ¤f6 24 ¥xg5 ¥xf5 25 exf5 ¤f4 26 ¥xf4 exf4 27 ¥e6 d5 28 £d4± De la Riva Aguado,O−Shirov,A/Andorra AND 2001.

8...¤c6

8...£c7 9 ¥e3 b5 10 £d2 ¤bd7 (10...¥b7 11 0-0-0 ¤fd7 12 ¥d3 ¤e5 13 f4 ¤c4 14 ¥xc4 bxc4 15

¤d4 ¤d7 16 ¦hf1 ¤c5 17 f5 e5 18 ¤de2 ¤xe4 19 ¤xe4 ¥xe4 20 f6 gxf6 21 ¤c3 ¥c6 22 ¦xf6²

Aagaard,J−Hummel,P/Oakham ENG 2000) 11 g5 ¤e5 12 0-0-0 ¤fd7 13 f4 ¤c4 14 ¥xc4 £xc4 (14...bxc4? Clogs Black's counterplay.) 15 £f2 a5 16 ¦d4 £c6 17 a4 b4 18

16

¤b5 ¥e7?! (18...¤c5!? 19 ¤xc5 dxc5 20 ¦d2 ¥a6³ was best) 19 ¦hd1 0-0 20 ¢b1 ¥a6 21 ¤xa5 £b6 22 ¤c4 £b8 23 ¤bxd6± Grischuk,A−Polgar,J/Cannes FRA 2001

8...¤fd7 9 £e2 ¥e7 10 h4 £c7 11 ¥g5!? If Black allows the trade then d6 becomes a concern. 11...f6 12 ¥e3 b5 13 £f2 ¤c5 14 0-0-0 ¤bd7 15 ¢b1 0-0 16 g5?! (16

¤e2!?) 16...¤e5 17 g6 ¤xg6 18 ¦g1 ¦f7 19 h5 ¤e5 20 h6 g6 21 ¤xc5 dxc5 22 f4 ¤d7 23 f5 ¤f8 24 ¥h3 ¢h8 25 fxe6 ¥xe6 26 ¤d5² Motylev,A−Polgar,J/Ohrid MKD 2001

9 £e2

9 g5 ¤d7 10 h4 If White's pawn storm doesn't lead to an attack then he should take care of king safety. (10 £e2 £c7 11 ¥e3 b5 12 0-0-0 But Black is ok nevertheless.) 10...£c7 11 ¥e3 b5 12 h5 ¥b7 13 ¦h3 ¤b6 14 £d2 ¤e5 15 £f2 ¤ec4 16 ¥d4 b4 17 ¤d1 White's pieces are a scattered uncoordinated group. 17...d5 18 e5 ¤d7 19 f4 ¥e7 20 ¤e3 a5 21 ¤d2 ¤xd2 22 £xd2 ¤c5∓ Acs,P−Polgar,J/Budapest HUN 2003

9...£c7

9...d5 10 ¥e3 d4 11 ¥f2 ¥c5 12 a3 £c7 13 0-0-0 ¥xa3 14 bxa3 dxc3 15 ¥c5 e5 16 £e3 ¤d4 17 g5 ¤h5 18 £xc3 ¤xb3+ 19 cxb3 ¥e6 20 ¢b2 ¦c8 21 ¥b4 £xc3+ 22 ¥xc3 f6 23 gxf6 gxf6 24 ¦d6² Grischuk,A−Shirov,A/Linares ESP 2001

10 ¥e3 b5

10...h6?! This makes white's g5 even more dangerous. 11 0-0-0 b5 12 h4 ¥b7 13 ¦g1 ¤e5 14 g5 hxg5 15 hxg5 ¤fd7 16 f4 ¤c4 17 ¥d4 e5 18 ¤d5 ¥xd5 19 exd5 0-0-0 20 fxe5 dxe5 21 ¥f2 Black's king is feeling the draft. 21...f5 22 gxf6 gxf6 23 £f3± Grischuk,A−Krush,I/Torshavn FAI 2000

11 0-0-0

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11...¥e7

17

Normal, but maybe Black should prefer to accelerate his queenside development: 11...¥b7 12 h4 ¦c8 13 ¢b1 ¤d7 14 ¦g1 ¤ce5 15 £f2 b4 16 ¤a4 ¤xf3?! Winning a pawn,

but getting the worse of matters. 17 £xf3 £c6 18 ¤ac5! ¤xc5 19 ¥xc5 dxc5 20 ¤a5 £c7 21 ¤xb7 £xb7 22 ¥c4± Grischuk,A−Shirov,A/New Delhi IND 2000Black has zero activity.

11...¤d7 12 £f2 ¦b8!? With Nb6 ideas. 11...¤e5 12 g5 ¤fd7 this is fine for Black. Just imagine a Keres Attack with 2 wasted

moves f3 and ¤b3, Shirov,A−Kasparov,G/Linares ESP 2000.

12 £f2

A useful move to control b6. 12 ¢b1 ¤d7 13 £f2 ¥b7 14 g5 ¦c8 15 ¦g1 0-0 16 h4 b4 17 ¤a4 ¤ce5 18 ¤b6 ¤xb6 19

¥xb6 £b8 20 ¥h3 ¤c4 21 ¥a7 £c7 22 h5 White's kingside is on the move while Black has trouble mustering anything, Leko,P−Topalov,V/Batumi GEO 1999

12...¤d7 13 g5

13 h4 ¤ce5 (13...¦b8 Black can get better play with Nb6 and Ne5.) 14 ¢b1 ¥b7 15 ¥d3 ¦c8?! 16 g5 ¤c5?! White piles on the C file then blocks it...does that make sense? 17 ¤xc5 dxc5 18 ¥f1 0-0 19 ¥h3± Ismailova,A−Sergeeva,M, Nakhchivan AZE 2003 White's h5, g6 idea is very fast.

13...¤ce5 14 a3 ¦b8 15 ¦g1 ¤b6?!

and Black was smashed flat in Grischuk,A−Ponomariov,R/Wijk aan Zee 2005.

18

6 Be3 e5 − 7 Nf3 & 7 Nde2 [B90]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥e3 e5 7.¤f3

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This system is an excellent choice if you wish to play more positionally against the Najdorf. 7.¤de2!?

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a new line for White, championed by the Romanian super−GM Nisipeanu. The knight is

headed for g3, and then f5 or h5. 7...¥e6 (7...¤bd7 8.¤g3 £c7 9.¤h5!? and White won convincingly, see Nisipeanu,L−Bologan,V/Asnieres sur Seine FRA 2006., 7...¥e7

was Bobby Fischer's choice 8.¤g3 g6! 9.¥e2 h5 Matlakov,M−Makarov,M/St Petersburg Championship 2007) 8.f4!? ¤bd7 (Black could play 8...g6!?, 8...¤g4 didn't

19

work very well in Kryvoruchko,Y−Kovchan,A/Alushta UKR 2006) 9.f5 ¥c4 10.¤c1 d5!? Nisipeanu,L−Topalov,V/Vitoria Gasteiz 2007.

7...¥e7

7...£c7!? is the alternative, stopping the light−squared bishop from coming to c4, 8.a4 ¥e7 (8...¥e6?! is a well−known mistake, 9.¤g5! ¥e7 10.¤xe6 fxe6 11.g4! McDonald,N−Burrows,M/British League (4NCL) 2011) 9.a5 (9.¥e2 0-0 10.0-0 ¥e6 (10...b6 see Bologan,V−Naiditsch,A/Croatian Team Championship 2009) 11.¤g5 ¥d7 12.a5 h6 13.¤f3 ¥e6 Adams,M−Esen,B/Khanty−Mansiysk Olympiad 2010) 9...0-0 10.¥e2 ¥e6 (10...¤bd7 followed by ...b5 is a good alternative, but White should have a small plus., 10...¤c6 11.¥b6 £b8!? Leko,P−Ivanchuk,V/2nd matchgame, Mukachevo 2009)

11.0-0 ¦c8!? a very rare move, 12.¤d5 thematic, see Leko,P−Topalov,V/Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP 2007.

8.¥c4 0-0 9.0-0 ¥e6

9...¤c6 10.h3 b5 11.¥b3 ¤a5 12.¥g5 the standard move, exchanging the f6−knight to gain control of the d5 square, Shirov,A−Bologan,V/Poikovsky RUS 2006.

9...£c7!? has a certain logic behind it, 10.¥b3 (10.¤d5 ¤xd5 11.¥xd5 ¤d7 12.c4 ¤f6 was nothing for White in Nepomniachtchi,I−Anand,V/Wijk aan Zee 2011) 10...¥e6 11.£e2 ¦c8 12.¦fd1 ¤bd7 13.¥g5 b5 see Akopian,V−Morozevich,A/World Team Championship, Bursa 2010.

10.¥b3

10.¥xe6!? fxe6 11.¤a4!? aiming straight for the weakness on b6, was successful in Ivanchuk,V−Topalov,V, MEX 2007, but 11...¤fd7! is a good reply. (11...¤g4 was Topalov's choice, see Popovic,D−Popovic,P/Zlatibor 2007) 12.c4 ¤c6 13.¦c1 (13.£b3!? ¤a5 Kolev,A−Alsina Leal,D/Villa de Navalmoral Open 2007) 13...¤c5! 14.¤c3 £e8! making good use of the doubled f−pawns to bring the queen into play, Hamdouchi,H−Perez Candelario,M/European Club Cup, Kemer 2007.

10...¤c6

20

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11.¥g5

Playing overtly for control of the d5−square. 11.£e2 ¤a5 12.¦fd1 ¤xb3 considered to be one of Black's most solid options, (12...£c7

keeping the tension, 13.¥g5 ¦ac8 14.¥xf6 ¥xf6 15.¦ac1 Kamsky,G−Gelfand,B/6th matchgame (rapid), Kazan 2011.) 13.axb3 (13.cxb3!? Carlsen's idea to manoeuvre the f3−knight via c2 and b4 to d5, after which White will gain a solid positional advantage, 13...£b8 probably the most precise, (13...£e8!? 14.¤e1 h6 15.¤c2 £d7

16.¤b4 with the more pleasant position for White in Carlsen−Nunn, Amsterdam 2006, which he later won in fine style, ) 14.¥g5 b5 15.¦d3! h6 16.¥xf6 ¥xf6 17.¦ad1 ¥e7 18.¤d5 ¥xd5 19.¦xd5 a small edge, Leko,P−Shirov,A/Morelia 2008, but Shirov was never too inconvenienced and held with some model play.) 13...¤d7!? rather mysterious, Ivanchuk,V−Bologan,V/Barcelona ESP 2006, (13...£c7

is more normal.)

11...¤d7!

The latest wrinkle, avoiding ¥xf6.

12.¥xe7 £xe7 13.¤d5 £d8

13...¥xd5!? is interesting, Almasi,Z−Berkes,F/Paks HUN 2006.

14.c3

14.£e2 ¤c5 15.¦ad1 ¢h8 common if not totally necessary prophylaxis ahead of a future ...f5, Kononenko,D−Gelfand,B/European Club Cup, Plovdiv 2010.

14...¤a5

see Anand,V−Leko,P/Wijk aan Zee NED 2006.

21

English Attack − 6...e5 7 Nb3 quick ...Be7

[B90]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥e3 e5 7.¤b3 ¥e6

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7...¥e7 8.£d2 0-0 9.0-0-0 ¤g4 (9...¥e6 10.f3 transposes to the mainline) 10.¢b1 ¥e6 11.g3

plans f4, Jakovenko,D−Kasimdzhanov,R/FIDE Grand Prix, Elista 2008.

8.£d2

8.f3 Normally transposes, but can be used to play a quick g4: 8...¥e7 9.g4?! d5! Damaso,R−Dominguez,L/Lisbon POR 2000.

8...¥e7

Aiming to complete kingside development.

9.f3

9.0-0-0 0-0 (9...¤bd7 10.f4 b5 11.¢b1 0-0! Nisipeanu,L−Karjakin,S/FIDE World Cup, Khanty−Mansiysk 2007) 10.f4!? (10.f3 would transpose) 10...exf4 11.¥xf4 Ponomariov,R−Karjakin,S/Wijk aan Zee NED 2007.

22

9...0-0

9...h5!? 10.¤d5 (10.0-0-0 ¤bd7 11.¢b1 (11.h3 £c7 12.¥d3 b5! Karjakin,S−Dominguez Perez,L/Wijk aan Zee 2010) 11...¦c8 12.¥d3 (12.¤d5 ¤xd5 (12...¥xd5 13.exd5 ¤b6

14.¥xb6 £xb6 15.¥d3 g6 16.¦he1 ¤d7 17.g3 ¢d8 18.¦e4 ¤c5 19.¦b4± Timman,J−De Firmian,N/Malmo 1999.) 13.exd5 ¥f5 14.¥d3 ¥xd3 15.£xd3 ¥g5 16.¥f2 Perunovic,M−Sadvakasov,D/Subotica YUG 2000) 12...¤c5 13.¥e2 ¤xb3 14.cxb3! Recapturing this way makes it harder for Black to attack. 14...b5 15.h4 0-0 16.¥g5 b4 17.¤a4 a5 18.£e3 Tiviakov,S−Gallagher,J/Batumi GEO 1999.) 10...¤xd5 (10...¥xd5 11.exd5 ¤bd7 12.¥e2 g6 13.¤a5 £c7 14.c4 ¢f8 15.0-0 ¢g7 16.b4 ¤e8 17.¦ac1 f5

Black has no attacking chances on the k−side while White is close to opening up the q−side. 18.f4 ¤ef6 19.fxe5 ¤xe5 20.¤b3 ¤e4 21.£d1 ¥f6 22.¤d4± Popovic,P−Tadic,B/Herceg Novi YUG 2001) 11.exd5 ¥f5 12.¥e2 (12.c4 0-0 13.¥e2 a5 14.0-0 a4

15.¤c1 ¥g6 16.¤d3 ¤d7 17.b4 f5 18.f4 b6 19.¦ac1² 1/2-1/2, Berkvens,J−Ashley,M/Wijk aan Zee NED 2000, Black's position looks disjointed.) 12...£c7 13.¦c1 a5 14.a4 ¤d7 15.¥d3 ¥xd3 16.£xd3 0-0 17.£b5 ¥h4+ 18.g3 ¥e7 19.0-0 f5 20.f4 ¢h7 21.¤d2 e4 22.¤c4 ¥d8 23.¢h1 ¦f7 24.c3 ¦c8 25.b3 g6= Timman,J−Topalov,V/Bugojno BIH 1999

9...¤bd7 10.g4 h6 (10...0-0 11.g5 ¤h5 12.0-0-0 £c7 13.¢b1 b5 14.¤d5 ¥xd5 15.exd5 ¤b6 16.¤a5 ¤xd5 17.£xd5 £xa5 18.c4 ¦ab8 19.¥d3 (19.¦g1!? Lahno,K−Palac,M/Istanbul TUR 2003) 19...g6 20.¦he1 ¦fc8 21.cxb5 axb5÷ Calzetta,M−Peptan,C/ New Delhi IND 2000 White has the bishop pair and it's difficult for Black to attack, but a pawn is a pawn.) 11.0-0-0 (11.h4 b5 12.¦g1 b4 13.¤a4 d5 14.g5 d4 15.¥xd4

hxg5 16.hxg5 ¤g4 17.¥e3 ¤xe3 18.£xe3³ Luther,T−Wendt,R/Bayern Open 1999) 11...b5 12.h4 (12.¢b1 £c7?! (12...¤b6!?) 13.h4 b4 14.¤d5 ¥xd5 15.exd5 ¤b6 16.£xb4 ¤fxd5 17.¦xd5 ¤xd5 18.£e4 ¤xe3 19.£xa8+ ¥d8 20.¥d3+− Adams,M−Votava,J/Germany Bundesliga 1999) 12...¤b6 13.£f2 ¤c4 14.¥xc4 bxc4 15.¤c5! The point of Qd2 was to clear the d file for this move. 15...£c7 16.g5 ¤h5 17.¤5a4 ¦b8 18.¤b6 ¤f4 19.gxh6 g6 20.¤bd5 ¥xd5 21.¤xd5 £b7 22.b3 ¤xd5 23.¦xd5 0-0 24.¢b1 £b4 25.¥d2 c3 26.a3 £c4 27.¢a2 £c6 28.¥c1 ¦b5 29.¦hd1± Solak,D−Tzolas,G/Chania GRE 1999

9...¤c6?! This leads to a loss of time. 10.¤d5 ¥xd5 11.exd5 ¤b8 12.¥e2 ¤bd7 13.0-0 0-0 14.c4 ¤e8 15.¤a5 £c7 16.b4 f5 17.¦ac1 ¤ef6 18.¢h1² Khruschiov,A−Yakup,E/Litohoto GRE 1999 White has better chances on the q−side

10.0-0-0

23

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10.g4 d5 (10...a5!? 11.g5 ¤fd7 12.a4 De Firmian,N−Fedorowicz,J/WWchessnet 25 min exibit.

2000) 11.g5 ¤xe4?! (11...d4! 12.gxf6 ¥xf6 13.¥f2 ¥g5 14.£d3 dxc3 15.£xd8 ¦xd8 16.bxc3

¥xb3 17.axb3 ¥d2+∓ Khalifman,A−Lautier,J/Moscow RUS 2001) 12.¤xe4 dxe4 13.fxe4 £xd2+ 14.¥xd2 ¤c6 15.0-0-0 ¦ac8 16.¦g1 ¤b4 17.¥xb4 ¥xb4 18.¦g3 ¥e7³ Bjornsson,S−Desmarais,C/Budapest HUN 2001.

10...£c7

10...a5!? This move of Danner's was first brought to my attention by Danny King's classic 'Winning with the Najdorf'. 11.¥b5

a) 11.£e1!? intends to meet ...a4 with ¤c5, 11...£c7 (11...£c8 Anand,V−Vallejo Pons,F/Monte Carlo MNC 2004) 12.¥b5! ¤bd7 13.£f2 ¦fc8 14.¢b1 Cheparinov,I−Bu Xiangzhi/M−Tel Masters, Sofia 2008.

b) 11.¢b1 Atakisi,U−Froehlich,P/Budapest HUN 2000 c) 11.a4 ¤c6 12.g4 ¤b4 13.¢b1 ¦c8 14.g5! (14.h4 d5! led to a brutal attacking

display from Black in Erdogdu,M−Morozevich,A/World Team Championship, Bursa 2010) 14...¤h5 Jaracz,P−Wojtaszek,R/Polish Championship, Warsaw 2011.

11...¤a6 the idea here is ...¤c7 (11...¤bd7 12.£f2 ¤e8 13.g4 ¤c7 14.¥a4 ¥c4! 15.¥xd7 £xd7 Now Black has control on the q−side 16.¥b6 ¤b5 17.¤d5 ¥xd5 18.¦xd5 a4 19.¤c5 £c6 20.¤d3

a3 21.b3 ¦a6 22.¥e3 ¤c7∓ Toma,K−Tsai,C/Oropesa del Mar ESP 1999) 12.¢b1 (12.£e2 £b8!? the latest try, the queen unpins the d−pawn, (12...¤c7 13.¤c5

Lastin,A−Dvoirys,S/Moscow RUS 1999 With a nice grip on the q−side.) 13.g4 ¤c7 14.¥a4 keeping hold of b5, Motylev,A−Inarkiev,E/Sochi RUS 2005.) 12...¤c7 13.£e2 (13.¥b6 didn't bother Black too much in Bologan,V−Freitag,M/Izmir TUR 2004, 13.a4 ¤xb5 14.¤xb5 d5 favours Black, Nathani,K−Gardner,R/Edmondton CAN 2000) 13...£c8 14.¤d2 d5 15.exd5 ¤fxd5 16.¤xd5 ¤xd5 17.¤c4 £c7 18.¥f2 ¥f6 19.£e4 ¦fd8 20.¤e3 ¤xe3 21.¥xe3 g6 22.g4 ¦ac8³ Makarov,M−Dvoirys,S/Moscow RUS 1999

10...¤bd7 11.g4 b5 (11...¤b6 looks worse, 12.h4 ¦c8 13.¢b1 Shahade,G−Yudasin,L/New York USA 2001, 11...¦c8!? is Lilux,R−HiarcsX,H/CSS Online Masters 2007) 12.g5 (12.£f2? is an instructive blunder: 12...¥xg4! Barrero Garcia,C−Mena Villar,R, Seville ESP 2004 Why not? It's a pawn) 12...b4!? 13.¤e2 (13.gxf6 bxc3 14.£xc3 ¤xf6 is nothing for White, Anand,V−Grischuk,A/Wijk aan Zee 2011.) 13...¤e8 Kasparov seems to

24

feel this position is fully viable for Black, 14.f4 This sharp move has become established as White's main try.

a) 14.¤g3 a5 15.¢b1 a4 16.¤c1 b3!? critical, (16...£b8!? 17.¤f5 (17.f4 led to some wonderful tactics in Svidler,P−Kasimdzhanov,R/San Luis ARG 2005) 17...¥d8 18.f4!? Lopez Martinez,J−Womacka,M/European Championship, Dresden 2007) 17.¤f5 bxc2+ 18.¢xc2 d5! a very strong novelty! Svidler,P−Morozevich,A/Monte Carlo MNC 2006.

b) 14.¢b1 a5 15.¤bc1 a4 (15...¤b6!? 16.¤g3 d5! might be stronger, Vescovi,G−Di Berardino,D/Sao Paulo BRA 2006) 16.f4!? this weakens e4, 16...exf4 (16...b3?! 17.f5

Bruzon,L−Vera,R/Havana CUB 2003) 17.¥xf4 Svidler,P−Vallejo Pons,F/Monte Carlo MNC 2004.

14...a5 15.f5 a4! this leads to wild play, 16.¤bd4 exd4 17.¤xd4 b3 18.¢b1 bxc2+ 19.¤xc2 ¥b3 20.axb3 axb3 21.¤a3 ¤e5 (21...d5?! this now appears insufficient after 22.£xd5 ¥xa3 with massive complications, 23.£xd7 £a5 24.£b5 £c7 25.£c4 £a5 26.£xb3! (26.£b5 took the repetition in Harikrishna,P−Karjakin,S/Foros UKR 2006)

26...¥xb2!? 27.£xb2 and White won in Harikrishna,P−Volokitin,A/Cap d'Agde FRA 2006.) 22.h4 (22.£g2!? only seems to lead to a draw, Van Oosterom,J−Kukk,R/World Corr. Championship Final 2007.) 22...¦a4! (22...¦a5 led to a fantastic Black win in Karjakin,S−Anand,V/Wijk aan Zee NED 2006, but 23.£b4!) 23.£g2 (23.£c3!? Svidler,P−Van Wely,L/Foros 2008) 23...£a8 24.f6 ¥d8 25.¥d4 ¤c7 26.fxg7 ¢xg7 27.h5 ¤e6 28.¥xe5+! (28.g6? and Black triumphed in Shirov,A−Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee NED 2007) 28...dxe5 29.g6 and the game soon fizzled out, Movsesian,S−Hracek,Z/Ostrava 2007.

10...b5 11.g4 b4 12.¤d5 ¥xd5 13.exd5 a5 14.¢b1 £c7!? Black wants to play ...¤d7−b6−c4, Sax,G−Gallagher,J/Mitropa Cup, Baden 1999.

11.g4 ¦c8 12.¢b1

12.g5 ¤h5 13.¤d5 ¥xd5 14.exd5 ¤d7 15.¥h3 a5 (15...g6 and Black was outplayed in instructive fashion, Adams,M−Zhang Zhong/Wijk aan Zee NED 2004) 16.¢b1 a4 17.¤c1 a3 18.b3 ¤f4= Adams,M−Vallejo Pons,F/Bled SLO 2002 Black's heavy piece pile up on the c−file keeps White under control.

12...¤bd7 13.£f2

13.g5 ¤h5 14.f4! a) 14.¦g1 a5 15.a3!? This prevents black from running the pawn to a3 when the

knight on c3 would be undermined. 15...¤b6 16.f4!? ¤xf4 17.¥xf4 exf4 18.£xf4 ¤c4 19.¦g3 g6 20.¤d4 ¥f8 21.¤db5 £b6 22.¥xc4 ¦xc4 23.¤xd6± Svidler,P−Kempinski,R/Moscow RUS 2003 One case where the knights dominate the bishops.

b) 14.¤d5 ¥xd5 15.exd5 ¤b6 (15...g6 16.¦g1 ¥f8 17.¦g4 ¦e8?! Feels like a waste of time. 18.¦c4 £b8 19.¤a5 ¤f4 20.h4 b6 21.¤c6 £b7 22.¥xf4 exf4 23.h5 ¤e5 24.¦xf4± Lutz,C−Ftacnik,L/Cologne GER 2003 24...¤xc6 25.dxc6 £xc6 26.¥c4 With a light square attack.) 16.¦g1 a5 17.a3 a4 18.¤c5! dxc5 19.d6 ¥xd6 20.£xd6 ¤f4 21.¥xf4 exf4 22.¥b5± Shirov,A−Gelfand,B/New Delhi IND 2000

25

14...exf4 15.¥xf4 ¤xf4 16.£xf4 Black lacks counterplay, Grischuk,A−Sjugirov,S/Russian Championship, Moscow 2009.

13.h4?! This pawn storm amounts to a huge waste of time. 13...a5 14.¤b5?! (14.a4!?

Attempting to clog the queenside makes the most sense.) 14...£c6 15.h5? Wasting more time. 15...a4 16.¤a1 This is a very ugly place for a knight. 16...d5! 17.g5 d4 18.¥xd4 exd4 19.¤xd4 £b6 20.¤xe6 fxe6 21.¥e2 ¦c7 22.gxf6 ¥xf6-+ Kriventsov,S−Shahade,J/Seattle USA 2003 Black's dark square play decides the issue.

13...b5

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14.g5 ¤h5 15.h4!

Critical. 15.¦g1 g6 16.¤d5 White can wait on this as well. 16...¥xd5 17.exd5 ¥f8 18.¥h3 a5

19.¥xd7 £xd7 20.¤d2 b4³ Black's queenside play is rolling, while White doesn't have a clear plan, Bologan−Vallejo Pons Bled OL 2002.

15.¤d5?! ¥xd5 16.¦xd5 ¦cb8 Leko,P−Ivanchuk,V/Tal Memorial, Moscow 2009.

15...b4

15...¦cb8 16.¤d5 (16.f4 b4 17.¤d5 ¥xd5 18.¦xd5 ¤b6 was alright for Black in Bacrot−Gelfand game 4 Albert Fra 2002) 16...¥xd5 17.exd5 a5 18.¥d3 a4 19.¤c1 a3 20.c3 axb2 21.£xb2 White did nothing to slow Black down. 21...g6 22.¥e4 ¦a4 23.¤d3 ¤g3 24.¤b4 ¤c5 25.¥xc5 £xc5 26.¦he1 ¥f8³ Dworakowska,J−Gallagher,J/Calcutta IND 2001.

16.¤d5 ¥xd5 17.¦xd5 a5

26

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18.¥h3 a4 19.¤c1 ¦cb8 20.¥g4 ¤f4 21.¥xf4 exf4 22.¥xd7 £xd7 23.£d2

Black has a lot of weak pawns and an inferior minor piece.

23...¦b5

23...£c6 This doesn't change the picture. White's superior minor piece tell the story. 24.¤e2± Paragua,M−Sadykov,R/Doha QAT 2003.

24.¤e2

With a plus, Anand,V−Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee NED 2001.

27

English Attack − 6...e5 7 Nb3 without

...Be7 [B90]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥e3 e5 7.¤b3 ¥e6

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8.f3

8.£d2 Normally transposes.

8...¤bd7

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8...h5!? stops White from playing his natural kingside pawn advance g4−5: 9.£d2 (9.¤d5!

might be more accurate, 9...¥xd5 (9...¤xd5 10.exd5 ¥f5 11.¥d3 ¥xd3 12.£xd3 saves a tempo) 10.exd5 ¤bd7 11.£d2 (11.c4 ¥e7 Vescovi,G−Leitao,R/Sao Paulo BRA 2000)

11...£c7 (11...g6 12.0-0-0!? Anand,V−Topalov,V/Wijk aan Zee 2008) 12.c4 b6 13.¥e2 g6 14.0-0 ¥g7 15.¦ac1 a5 with a dark−squared bind, Nijboer,F−Navara,D/Wijk aan Zee 2011.) 9...¤bd7 10.¥e2

a) 10.a4 ¥e7 a1) 10...¤b6 11.a5 ¤c4 12.¥xc4 ¥xc4 13.¤a4 Shirov,A−Polgar,J/Prague CZE 1999 a2) 10...¦c8 11.a5 (11.¥e2 ¤b6 12.a5 ¤c4 Kokkila,T−Palliser,R/Finnish League 2011)

11...¦xc3!? Grischuk,A−Topalov,V/Monte Carlo MNC 2006 11.¥e2 ¦c8 (11...g6 Erenburg,S−Nakamura,H/Reykjavik ISL 2004) 12.0-0 ¤b6 13.¦fd1 d5

14.a5 d4 15.axb6 ¥xb3 16.cxb3 dxe3 17.£xd8+ ¥xd8 18.¦a5 ¤d7 19.¦ad5 ¤xb6 20.¦xe5+ ¢f8 21.¦c5! Polgar,J−Sadvakasov,D/Hoogeveen NED 1999

b) 10.0-0-0 ¥e7 is seen in the other 6...e5 7 ¤b3 Roadmap 10...¥e7 11.¤d5 ¤xd5 (11...¥xd5 12.exd5 £c7 may be superior, as in Leko,P−Topalov,V,

Monte Carlo MNC 2006) 12.exd5 ¥f5 13.0-0 (13.¤a5 £c7 14.c4 David,A−Dinstuhl,V/Castrop−Rauxel GER 2000) 13...£c7 (13...a5 14.f4! The bishop on f5 becomes vulnerable in these situations, Galliamova,A−Hunt,H/Istanbul TUR 2000.) 14.c4 b6 (14...a5 this doesn't help Black one bit, 15.f4! the usual business. 15...g6 16.fxe5

dxe5 17.¦ad1 ¥d6 18.c5 Hracek,Z−Hulak,K/Medulin CRO 2002) 15.f4 g6 16.¦ad1 (16.fxe5 dxe5 17.¤c1 a5 18.a3 ¤c5 19.b3 h4 20.¦a2 with a plus, Ponomariov,R−Cvitan,O/Neum BIH 2000. ) 16...a5 17.fxe5 ¤xe5 18.¦xf5 gxf5 19.¤d4 ¤g4 20.¤c6 ¦g8 21.¦f1 ¤e5 22.¦xf5± Topalov,V−Zhang Zhong/Moscow RUS 2001.

9.£d2

White prepares to castle long. 9.g4!? attempts to embarrass the knight, 9...¤b6! this has become the main move since

Kasparov played it in 2004, a) 9...b5 10.g5 b4 11.¤e2 (11.¤d5 ¤xd5 12.exd5 ¥f5 13.¥d3 ¥xd3 14.£xd3 ¥e7

15.h4 0-0 16.0-0-0 a5 17.¤d2 f5 (17...a4 18.¢b1 f5 Leko−Kasparov Bled OL 2002. The Kasparov sign of approval means this deserves attention.) 18.gxf6 ¤xf6 19.h5

29

£c8 20.h6 g6 21.¦hg1 Shirov,A−Svidler,P/Wijk aan Zee 1999) 11...¤h5 12.£d2 ¥e7

a1) 12...a5 13.¤g3 ¤xg3 (13...¤f4!? is a new pawn sac, seen in Shchekachev,A−Kosten,A/Cannes FRA 2004) 14.hxg3 a4 15.¤c1 £a5 16.f4 g6 17.¤d3 ¥g7 18.a3 bxa3 19.£xa5 ¦xa5 Bacrot−Gelfand Albert Fr. 2002 Black has good counterplay.

a2) 12...h6!? 13.gxh6 g6 14.0-0-0 a5 15.¢b1 ¤hf6 16.¤ed4?! Too optimistic. Black has put together a solid position. White should play for f4. 16...exd4 17.¤xd4 £c7 18.¤xe6 fxe6 19.¥h3 ¢f7∓ Spassov−Ponomariov Bled OL 2002

13.¤g3 ¤f4 14.h4 h6 15.¥xf4 exf4 16.¤h5 ¥xb3 17.axb3 g6 18.¤xf4 hxg5 19.¤d5 ¤e5 (19...¦xh4 20.¦xh4 gxh4 21.0-0-0 ¤f6 22.¥c4 ¤xd5 23.£xd5 With a strong attack in the bishop of opposite middlegame. 23...¥g5+ 24.¢b1 ¦a7 25.e5 ¢f8 26.e6 ¥f6 27.exf7+−

Adams,M−Svidler,P/Dos Hermanas 1999) 20.¥e2 g4 21.f4 ¥xh4+ 22.¢f1 ¤f3 23.£xb4 ¥f6 24.¥xf3 gxf3 25.¢f2 a5 26.£b7 0-0 27.¢xf3 ¢g7 28.f5 ¦b8 29.£a7 ¦a8 30.£e3 ¦h8 31.¢g2 ¦h5÷ Fedorov,A−Topalov,V/Batumi GEO 1999.

b) 9...h6 10.£d2 b5 11.0-0-0 ¤b6 12.£f2 ¤fd7 13.¢b1 ¥e7 14.h4 £c7 15.¤d5 ¥xd5 16.exd5 ¦b8 17.f4 ¤f6 18.£g2 h5 19.gxh5 ¤xh5 20.fxe5 dxe5 21.¤a5± Kobalija,M−Gadjily,R/Batumi GEO 1999 − Black has no chances for king safety.

10.g5 taking the sting out of Black's ...d5 push makes good sense, (10.£d2 d5 11.0-0-0 d4

12.¤xd4 exd4 13.¥xd4 ¥e7 14.£e3 ¤bd7 15.h3 White has 2 pawns for the piece and serious attacking chances, Topalov,V−Ivanchuk,V/Monaco MNC 2000) 10...¤h5 11.£d2 ¥e7 12.£f2 (12.0-0-0 is more popular, see Baramidze,D−Naiditsch,A/Warsaw POL 2005) 12...¤c4 Black is now forced to play this, 13.¥xc4 ¥xc4 14.¦g1 (14.h4 is the other way to defend the pawn: 14...0-0 15.¤a4 f5 16.¤b6 see Leko,P−Kasparov,G/Linares ESP 2004.) 14...0-0 15.0-0-0 ¦c8 16.¤d5 with thematic play in which Black's chances were not worse, Adams,M−Naiditsch,A/Dortmund GER 2005.

9...b5

Normal, although Black sometimes try to hold−up White's kingside play by 9...h5 and this transposes to 8...h5.

10.a4!?

30

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This leads to the win of a pawn, but at a cost in development, 10.g4 ¤b6 (10...b4 11.¤d5 ¥xd5 12.exd5 ¤b6 13.0-0-0!? Morozevich,A−Anand,V/Mainz (rapid)

2008) 11.g5 ¤fd7 12.¤d5 is more to Black's liking, 12...¦c8! an important move, with a tactical point, 13.¤xb6 (13.0-0-0 ¥xd5! 14.exd5 ¤c4 15.£e1 (15.¥xc4? bxc4

16.¤a5? c3 wins) 15...¤xe3 16.£xe3 ¥e7 17.h4 h6 with good chances for Black, see Fedorchuk,S−Kosten,A/Clermont−Ferrand 2004) 13...¤xb6 14.£a5 ¤c4 15.¥xc4 bxc4 16.£xd8+ ¢xd8 17.¤a5 h6 18.gxh6 g6 19.0-0-0 ¢c7 20.b3 ¥xh6 21.¥xh6 ¦xh6 22.bxc4 g5 23.¦hg1 ¢b6 24.¤b3 ¥xc4 25.¦d2 ¦g6 26.¢b2 ¢c7 27.¦dg2 ¦h6³ Adams,M−Kasparov,G/Internet 2000.

10.0-0-0!? is becoming trendy: 10...¤b6 a) 10...¥e7 is the modern preference, see Leko,P−Anand,V/Morelia 2008 b) 10...h5?! 11.¤d5 (11.¢b1 ¥e7 12.h3 h4 13.¥d3 £c7! Akopian,V−Gelfand,B/Yerevan

(rapid) 2008, 11.f4?! Eggleston,D−Gordon,S/British Championship, Torquay 2009)

11...¥xd5 12.exd5 g6 13.¢b1 ¤b6 14.£c3! Black has some problems, Kramnik,V−Topalov,V/Linares ESP 2004.

11.£f2 ¤c4 12.¥xc4 bxc4 13.¤a5! the clever move of Bologan's that brought the variation back to life, 13...£d7!? the latest try, (13...¤d7 Bologan,V−Gelfand,B/Merida ESP 2005, 13...¦c8 14.¥b6 £d7 15.g3 g6 16.¦d2 ¥h6 17.f4 Anand,V−Kasimdzhanov,R/San Luis ARG 2005, when 17...0-0 looks OK.) 14.¦d2!? ¥e7 15.¦hd1 Anand,V−Gelfand,B/Wijk aan Zee NED 2006, when 15...0-0 is best.

10...b4

10...bxa4?! 11.¦xa4 leaves the a−pawn exposed, Nijboer,F−Vink,N/Wijk aan Zee NED 2001.

11.¤d5 ¥xd5 12.exd5 ¤b6 13.¥xb6 £xb6 14.a5 £b7 15.¥c4

31

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15...g6!

This move of Kasparov's, where the dark−squared bishop will gain a tempo on the white queen, and control a big diagonal, has completely replaced the older 15...¥e7 16.¦a4 ¦b8 17.¤c1 ¥d8 18.b3 e4 19.¤a2 exf3 20.gxf3 ¤d7 21.£e3+ ¢f8 22.¢d1 ¤e5 23.¦e1 g5÷ Nijboer,F−Van Blitterswijk,S/Leeuwarden NED 2000.

16.¦a4 ¦b8 17.¤c1

The strongest move, the knight moves from a passive square to put further pressure on the b4−pawn. However, there is a cost, the white king is still in the centre of the board.

After 17.£d3 many games have been drawn by repetition: 17...¦a8 (but Black can also try 17...¥h6!? see the note to Karjakin,S−Naiditsch,A) 18.£d2 ¦b8 etc.

17...h5

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This is the point, the black bishop is destined for the c1-h6 diagonal, not the a1-h8 one.

18.¤a2

32

18.¤d3 reduces the queen's vista, but the knight reaches a more central square, 18...¥h6 19.£xb4 £c7 20.£a3 0-0 21.¤f2 ¥c1 22.¤d3 Polgar,J−Shirov,A/Linares ESP 2001, and now 22...¥h6 offers to repeat.

18...¥h6 19.£d3

19.£xb4 is seen in Karjakin,S−Naiditsch,A/Pamplona ESP 2004.

19...0-0

and this is analysed in Murdzia,P−Kosten,A/Bundesliga 2004.

33

Najdorf with 6 g3 − 6...e5 & others [B91]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.g3

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This move is a good and safe way to get off the beaten track.

6...e5

This stays in the Najdorf, but there is also 6...e6 transposing into a Scheveningen−type position, 7.¥g2 ¥e7 8.0-0 0-0 9.¤ce2 £c7 10.b3 e5! Carlsen,M−Anand,V/Wijk aan Zee 2011.

and 6...¥d7!? 7.¥g2 ¤c6 8.0-0 e6 is Nielsen,M−De Firmian,N/Copenhagen DEN 2004 in (B80).

7.¤b3!?

34

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This is becoming more popular, and looks at playing on the queenside, 7.¤de2 here the knight aims for f5 via g3 after a later h3 and g4, 7...¤bd7 (7...b5 an

ambitious move, 8.¥g2 (8.¤d5 ¤bd7 9.¤ec3 ¥b7 10.¥g2 ¤xd5! leaves Black very close to equality, Alekseev,E−Karjakin,S/Russian Team Championship, Dagomys 2008)

8...¥b7 9.h3 ¤bd7 10.g4 ¥e7 11.¤g3 b4 12.¤d5 ¤xd5 13.exd5 0-0 14.0-0 £b8 15.a3 (15.¤f5!?) 15...a5 Movsesian,S−Svidler,P/Shenyang CHN 2000.) 8.¥g2

a) 8.a4 b6 9.¥g2 ¥b7 10.0-0 h6 11.¤d5 (11.h3 with the idea of g4 and ¤g3 is another try) 11...¤xd5 12.exd5 ¥e7 13.c4 0-0 14.a5 bxa5 15.¥d2 Burnett,R−Breier,A/Groningen NED 1999

b) 8.¥g5!? Fighting for d5 makes sense. 8...¥e7 (8...b5 9.0-0 ¥b7 10.a4!? Beach,R−Palliser,R/Yorkshire v. Greater Manchester, Leeds

2009) 9.h3 b5 10.g4! the only real way to challenge Black, (10.¥e3 ¥b7 11.g4 b4 12.¤d5 ¤xd5 13.exd5 0-0 14.£d2 (14.¤g3!?) 14...a5 15.a3?! White weakens his q−side for nothing, Blanco,C−Ashley,M/Philadelphia USA 2001.) 10...b4 11.¤d5 ¤xd5 12.exd5 a5! Alekseev,E−Dominguez Perez,L/Biel 2008.

7...¤bd7

7...¥e7 is the move of choice these days, 8.¥g2 b5!? a) 8...¤bd7 9.a4 b6 10.0-0 £c7?! is Malakhov,V−Vallejo Pons,F/Khanty Mansyisk

RUS 2005 (10...¥b7 11.¦e1 ¦c8 transposes to 8 a4)

b) 8...¥e6 9.0-0 0-0 10.a4 ¤bd7 is less ambitious, but more solid, see Malakhov,V−Smirnov,P/Moscow RUS 2006.

9.a4 b4 10.¤d5 ¤xd5 11.£xd5 ¦a7 12.¥e3 ¥e6 13.£d2 ¦b7 and White doesn't have anything especially dangerous, Mamedov,R−Le Quang Liem/Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2011.

8.¥g2

8.a4 b6 9.¥g2 ¥b7 10.0-0 ¥e7 11.¦e1 (11.¤d2 ¤c5!? (11...¦c8 12.¦e1 transposes to 11 ¦e1)

12.b4 ¤e6 13.¤d5 ¦c8 14.c4 Popov,I−Vachier Lagrave,M/World Junior Ch., Puerto Madryn 2009) 11...¦c8 (11...0-0 12.¤d2 ¤c5 13.¤f1 b5 14.¥g5! (14.axb5 is too simple for my liking, Rasmussen,A−Nielsen,P/Danish Championship, Silkeborg

35

2008) 14...b4!? 15.¥xf6! starting a positional squeeze, Leko,P−Nielsen,P/Monte Carlo MNC 2006.) 12.¤d2 ¦c5! an important move to control d5, and prepare ...£a8, Cornette,M−Kosten,A/Montpellier 2005.

8...b5

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwqkvl-tr0 9+-+n+pzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+p+-zp-+-0 9-+-+P+-+0 9+NsN-+-zP-0 9PzPP+-zPLzP0 9tR-vLQmK-+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

9.0-0 ¥e7

9...¥b7 is obvious, but may be premature: 10.¤d5 ¤xd5 11.exd5 ¥e7 12.¥d2! forcing Black's reply because of the nasty threat of ¤a5−c6, 12...a5 13.a4 b4 14.c3 bxc3 15.¥xc3 Nepeina−Leconte,M−Kosten,A, Naujac sur Mer 2000. Suddenly £d2 is coming and the a−pawn is looking exposed.

10.a4 b4 11.¤a2 a5 12.c3 bxc3 13.¤xc3

and the knight goes to b5 next, Adams,M−Topalov,V/Sofia BUL 2005.

36

Najdorf with 6 Be2 e5 [B92]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥e2

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnlwqkvl-tr0 9+p+-zppzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-sNP+-+0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPP+LzPPzP0 9tR-vLQmK-+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

This is one of the quieter lines vs the Najdorf, but not without poison.

6...e5

White must be prepared for 6...e6 as well transposing into the Scheveningen. 6...e5 creates a big fight over the d5 square.

7.¤b3 ¥e7 8.0-0

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnlwqk+-tr0 9+p+-vlpzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+-+-zp-+-0 9-+-+P+-+0 9+NsN-+-+-0 9PzPP+LzPPzP0 9tR-vLQ+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

37

The main move, but there are alternatives: 8.¥e3 might transpose, but does offer some other options, 8...0-0 (8...¥e6 9.¤d5 (9.f4 exf4

10.¥xf4 ¤c6 11.£d2 0-0 12.0-0-0 ¤e8 13.¤d5 ¥xd5 14.exd5 ¤e5 15.¢b1 ¥f6 16.g4 ¤g6 17.¥g3

¥e5 18.g5 a5 19.a4 ¤c7 20.¤xa5 £d7 21.b3 b5 22.¥xe5 ¤xe5 Black's king is safer and he has some attacking chances. 23.axb5 ¤xb5 24.¢b2 ¤d4© De Firmian,N−Froehlich,P/Hamburg GER 1999) 9...¤bd7 (9...¤xd5 10.exd5 ¥f5 11.£d2 ¤d7 12.¤a5 £c7 13.c4 e4?! Handing White the d4 square without a fight. (13...0-0 is normal, then White plays for f4) 14.¥d4 ¥f6 15.¥xf6 ¤xf6 16.0-0 0-0 17.b4 b6 18.¤c6± Milos,G−Limp,E/Santos BRA 2001) 10.£d3 ¥xd5 11.exd5 0-0 (11...¦c8

12.0-0 0-0 transposes to the note to move 10) 12.g4 ¤c5 13.¤xc5 dxc5 14.0-0-0 e4 15.£d2 ¥d6 16.g5 ¤d7 17.h4 ¤e5 18.h5 ¦c8 19.¦h4 c4 20.¦xe4 c3 21.bxc3 £a5 22.¢b1 ¦xc3 23.¥d4 ¦fc8 24.¥xc3 ¦xc3 25.£d4± Khalifman,A−Gelfand,B/Las Vegas USA 1999) 9.g4 ¥e6 10.g5 ¤fd7 (10...¤e8 11.£d2 ¤d7 12.f4 g6 13.0-0-0 ¤g7

14.h4 ¦c8 15.¢b1 f5 16.h5± Dolmatov,S−Zakharov,A/Linares ESP 2000 GM Dolmatov plays these positions very well.) 11.£d2 (11.h4 ¤b6 12.f4 exf4 13.¥xf4 ¤c6 14.¤d5 ¥xd5

15.exd5 ¤e5 16.£d4 ¦c8 17.0-0-0 ¤bc4 18.¤d2 b5 19.¤xc4 ¤xc4 20.¥d3 ¦e8 21.¢b1 ¤e5

22.¥xe5 dxe5 23.£g4 e4 24.¥xe4 ¦c4 25.£g2± Dolmatov,S−Ye Jiangchuan/Shenyang CHN 1999) 11...¤b6 (11...a5 12.a4 ¤c6 13.f4 f5 14.exf5 ¥xf5 15.fxe5 dxe5 16.0-0-0 ¤b4

17.¦hf1 ¥e6 18.¦xf8+ £xf8= Khalifman,A−Gelfand,B/Las Vegas USA 1999) 12.0-0-0 ¤8d7 13.h4 (13.¢b1 ¦c8 14.h4 ¤c4 15.¥xc4 ¦xc4 16.f3 f5 17.exf5 ¦xf5 18.¤d5 ¥f8 19.£d3 b5

20.¤d2 ¤c5 21.¥xc5 ¦xc5 22.¤e3² Zagrebelny,S−Bezemer,A/Ikaros GRE 2001)

13...¦c8 14.h5 ¤c4 15.¥xc4 ¦xc4 16.f3 b5 17.¢b1 £c7 18.g6+− Yu Shaoteng−Zhao Jun/HeiBei CHN 2001.

8.g4 h6 9.f4 b5 10.g5 ¤fd7 11.¤d5 ¥b7 12.¥d2?! This looks too much like a cheapo. 12...¤c6 13.gxh6 ¥h4+ 14.¢f1 White's king is wide open. 14...gxh6 15.c4 bxc4 16.¥xc4 exf4 17.¦c1 ¦c8 18.¥e2 ¤f6 19.¥g4 ¤xd5 20.exd5 ¤e5∓ Bologan,V−Svidler,P/Tomsk RUS 2001

8.f4 b5 9.¥f3 ¥b7 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.£xd8+ ¥xd8 12.¤c5 ¥c6 13.a4 ¥a5 14.¥d2 ¤bd7 15.¤xd7 ¢xd7 16.0-0-0 ¢e6 17.¦he1 h5 18.h4 ¦hc8 19.axb5 axb5 20.¤b1 ¥xd2+ 21.¦xd2= Polgar,J−Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee NED 2000.

8.¥g5!? When White plays this, Black must recognize that the battle will revolve around the d5 point, 8...¥e6

a) 8...0-0 9.¥xf6 White plays for control of d5, 9...¥xf6 10.£d3 ¥e6 11.¦d1 (11.0-0-0

Jansa,V−Dvorak,T/Czech Rep CZE 2003 11...£b6) 11...¥e7 12.¤d5 ¥xd5 13.£xd5 £c7 this line just seems to be pretty harmless these days, see Kokarev,D−Areshchenko,A/Russian Team Championship 2011.

b) 8...¤bd7!? 9.a4 h6!? 10.¥h4 b6 11.¤d2! bringing the knight to e3 with advantage, Nisipeanu,L−Nakamura,H/Kings Tournament, Medias 2011.

9.¥xf6 (9.£d2 ¤bd7 10.f4 ¦c8 11.f5 ¥c4 12.¥xc4 ¦xc4 13.£d3 £c7 14.0-0-0 b5 (14...¦xc3!? deserves a real long look) 15.¤d2 ¦c6 16.¥xf6 ¤xf6 17.¤d5 ¤xd5 18.exd5 White's knight on e4 vs the bishop on e7 is a mismatch. 18...¦b6 19.¢b1 0-0 20.¤e4± De Firmian,N−Roeder,M/Las Palmas ESP 1999.) 9...¥xf6 10.£d3 ¤c6 (10...¥g5!? Carlsen,M−Dominguez Perez,L/FIDE World Cup, Khanty−Mansiysk 2007) 11.0-0-0 £b6!? rare, but on the current evidence quite promising, (11...¥e7

Nadj Hedjesi,B−Quezada,Y/Kochin IND 2004) 12.£xd6 ¥e7 see Smeets,J−Dominguez Perez,L/Wijk aan Zee 2009.

38

8...0-0

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnlwq-trk+0 9+p+-vlpzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+-+-zp-+-0 9-+-+P+-+0 9+NsN-+-+-0 9PzPP+LzPPzP0 9tR-vLQ+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

8...¥e6 9.f4 (9.a4 ¤bd7 10.f4 £c7 11.¢h1 h6 12.a5 0-0 13.f5 ¥c4 14.¥e3 ¦fc8 15.¥xc4 £xc4 16.£f3

£c7 17.¤d2 £d8 18.¦fc1 ¦c7 19.¤d5 ¤xd5 20.exd5 ¦ac8 21.c4 ¥g5 22.b3 ¥xe3 23.£xe3

Black's pieces are all bottled up. 23...¤f6 24.¤e4² Kolev,A−Anand,V/Villarrobledo ESP 2001) 9...£c7 10.¤d5 ¥xd5 11.exd5 ¤bd7 12.c4 0-0 13.¢h1 ¦fe8 14.¥e3 exf4 15.¥xf4 ¥f8 Black's control of e5 gives good play 16.¦c1 £b6 17.¦c2 g6 18.¥f3 ¦ac8 19.¤c1 ¤e5 20.b3 h5 21.h3 ¥g7 22.¤e2 ¤xf3 23.gxf3 White's king is a bit airy. 23...£c5³ Anand,V−Kasparov,G/Linares ESP 2000.

9.¥e3

Others: 9.¦e1 to defend e4 in preparation for ¤d5, 9...¥e6 10.¥f1 ¤bd7 11.¤d5 The Canadian GM

has gotten good results with this idea. 11...¤xd5 12.exd5 ¥f5 13.a4 ¦c8 14.c3 ¥g5 (14...¥g6 15.a5 f5 16.f4 ¥f6 17.¦a4 ¤c5 18.¦b4 ¤xb3 19.¦xb3 £d7 20.¥e3 ¦fe8 21.£d2 exf4

22.¥xf4 ¦xe1 23.£xe1 ¦e8 24.£d2 ¥e5 25.¦b6 £c7 26.¥xe5 ¦xe5 27.c4± Spraggett,K−Gallagher,J/Bordeaux FRA 2001) 15.¥xg5 £xg5 16.a5 ¥g6 17.¦a4 (17.¤d2 f5 18.¤c4

¦f6 19.¦a4 ¤c5 20.¦b4 f4 21.¦b6 ¦d8 22.b4+− Spraggett,K−Zagrebelny,S/Istanbul TUR 2000) 17...f5 18.¦b4 ¦c7 19.f4 exf4 20.£d2?! (20.¤d4! looks strong) 20...¥f7 21.¦xf4 ¤e5 22.g3 ¦e7 23.¥g2 ¦fe8 24.¦ef1 ¤g4 25.¥f3 ¤e3³ Spraggett,K−Fressinet,L/Bordeaux FRA 2001.

9.¢h1 White's plans to play f4 without having to worry about a check on the g1-a7 diagonal, but first he wants to see what Black will play 9...b6 Gelfand's move.

a) 9...¥d7!? this is not a bad alternative to the beaten track. Of course, this was part of Kasparov's anti−machine routine, 10.¥e3 ¥c6 11.¥f3 ¤bd7 12.a4 b6 Black is already better, DEEP JUNIOR−Kasparov,G/New York USA 2003.

b) 9...¤c6 10.f3 b5!? (10...¥e6 is standard, planning ...d5 11.¤d5 a5 12.¥e3! a4 13.¤c1

¥xd5!? 14.exd5 ¤d4 Adams,M−Karjakin,S/Wijk aan Zee NED 2006.) 11.¥e3 ¤a5 aiming for c4, 12.¤xa5 £xa5 13.£d2 £c7 (13...¢h8? 14.b4! Azarov,S−Wojtaszek,R/Czech League 2010) 14.a4 b4 Morozevich,A−Kasimdzhanov,R/San Luis ARG 2005.

39

10.a4 (10.f3 ¥b7 11.¥e3 ¤bd7 12.a4 ¦c8 Kulaots,K−Carlsen,M/Gausdal NOR 2005, 10.f4!? is aggressive, 10...¥b7 11.¥f3 ¤bd7 12.a4 but White was crushed in thematic fashion in Dvoirys,S−Wang Yue/Cappelle la Grande FRA 2007) 10...¥b7 11.f3 ¤c6 12.¤d5 ¤xd5 13.exd5 ¤b4 14.c4 a5 15.¥d2 ¤a6 16.¥c3 ¥g5 17.¥d3 ¥c8 18.£c2 g6³ Polgar,J−Topalov,V/Dos Hermanas 1999.

9.¥f3!? b5!? 10.a4! b4 11.¤d5 ¤xd5 12.£xd5 ¦a7 13.¥e3 ¥e6 14.£d3 ¦d7! Alekseev,E−Dominguez Perez,L/Biel Playoff 2008.

9...¥e6 10.£d2

10.¤d5 ¤bd7 11.£d3 ¥xd5 12.exd5 ¦c8 recommended in 'The Sharpest Sicilian' a) 12...¤c5 13.£d2 ¤fe4 14.£b4 a5!? (14...b6) 15.£b5 £c7 16.¦fd1 b6 17.f3!

(17.£c4 f5 18.¥d3 £d8 19.¤xc5 ¤xc5 20.a3 ¦c8= Svidler,P−Polgar,J/Dos Hermanas 1999.) 17...¤f6 18.£c4 £b7?! 19.¤xc5 bxc5 20.£b3 £c7 21.¥b5 and White broke open the queenside and won in fine style, Areshchenko,A−Efimenko,Z/Rivne UKR 2005.

b) 12...¤e8!? 13.£d2 f5 14.f4 ¤ef6 led to a model win for Black in Sasvari,T−Van Oosterom,J/World Corr. Championship Final 2007.

13.c4 a5 14.¦ad1 (14.¢h1!? is slightly mysterious, Short,N−Cheparinov,I/Wijk aan Zee B 2008) 14...b6 15.¤d2 ¤c5 16.£c2 ¤fd7 17.f3 ¥g5 18.¥f2 f5 19.¢h1 £f6 20.¤b1 £h6 21.¤c3 ¦ce8 22.a3 e4 23.b4² Shirov,A−Polgar,J/ Linares ESP 2001 White's knight on c3 becomes a real pain with ¤b5 to c7 looming.

10...¤bd7 11.a4

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+-wq-trk+0 9+p+nvlpzpp0 9p+-zplsn-+0 9+-+-zp-+-0 9P+-+P+-+0 9+NsN-vL-+-0 9-zPPwQLzPPzP0 9tR-+-+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

This is Karpov's plan, he would continue with ¦fd1, a5, and then bring the b3−knight to b4

to control d5.

11...¦c8

11...¤c5!? was Tony's suggestion in 'Easy Guide to the Najdorf', see Kozakov,M−Guidarelli,L/Calvi FRA 2004.

40

11...¤b6!? has been quite topical of late, 12.a5 ¤c4 13.¥xc4 ¥xc4 14.¦fd1 ¦c8 15.¤c1 d5! Smeets,J−Giri,A/German Bundesliga 2010.

12.a5 £c7

Black's main move, but he has some decent alternatives: 12...¦e8 13.¦fc1 (13.¦fd1 h6 14.¥f3 £c7 15.¤c1 ¥f8 16.h3 b5 17.¤d3 d5! This sacrifice prevents

White's ¤b4 to d5 bind. 18.exd5 ¥f5 19.¤e1 ¥d6 Black's pieces are very active. 20.¤a2

e4 21.¥e2 ¦e5 22.c4 ¤c5³ Black will restore material equality with the better game. Marjanovic−Fedorowicz Paris 1986.) 13...h6 14.f3 ¥f8 15.¤d5 ¤xd5 16.exd5 ¥f5 17.c4 ¥h7 18.¦e1 f5 19.f4 exf4 20.¥xf4 g5 21.¥e3 ¤e5 22.¦ac1 f4 23.¥d4² Asrian,K−Naumann,A/Yerevan ARM 1999.

12...h6

13.¦fc1

Karpov's original idea, now thought to be harmless. 13.¦fd1 is more dangerous 13...¦fd8 14.£e1 h6!? 15.h3 ¤c5 following the Gallagher

recipe, Adams,M−Negi,P/Spanish Team Championship 2009.

13...¦fd8

13...¤c5 is the plan pioneered by Joe Gallagher, 14.¤xc5 dxc5 15.¤d5 ¥xd5 16.exd5 e4!? planning ...¥d6 with good chances, Asrian,K−Andriasian,Z/Yerevan ARM 2007.

14.¤d5 ¤xd5

14...¥xd5 15.exd5 ¤c5 16.¦a3 ¤fe4 17.£b4 f5 18.f3 ¥g5 19.¥xg5 ¤xg5 20.¤d2 Makka,I−Tsai,C/Goa IND 2002.

15.exd5 ¥f5 16.c4 ¥g6

XIIIIIIIIY 9-+rtr-+k+0 9+pwqnvlpzpp0 9p+-zp-+l+0 9zP-+Pzp-+-0 9-+P+-+-+0 9+N+-vL-+-0 9-zP-wQLzPPzP0 9tR-tR-+-mK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

41

17.f4 exf4 18.¥xf4 ¤f6 19.£b4 ¦e8 20.¦e1 ¤e4 21.¤d2 ¥h4 22.g3 ¥g5

With good counterplay against White's open king. Rogic−Fercec Hotel Opatija 2002.

42

Najdorf − 6 f4 [B93]


1 e4 c5 2 ¤f3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ¤xd4 ¤f6 5 ¤c3 a6 6 f4

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnlwqkvl-tr0 9+p+-zppzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-sNPzP-+0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPP+-+PzP0 9tR-vLQmKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

One of White's major alternatives.

6...e5

6...g6 7 ¥e2 ¥g7 8 0-0 0-0 9 ¢h1 ¤bd7 resembles a Dragon, Lutz,C−Svidler,P/Frankfurt GER 1999.

7 ¤f3 ¤bd7 8 a4

The most accurate move, clamping−down on Black's queenside expansion. 8 g4!? is really surprising, 8...¤xg4 9 ¥c4 ¤b6 10 ¥b3 with sharp play, Volokitin,A−

Harikrishna,P/Cap d'Agde FRA 2006.

8...¥e7 9 ¥d3

9 ¥c4!? is an active alternative, 9...£a5!? 10 ¥d2!? (10 0-0?? £c5+ is the point) 10...exf4 11 £e2 0-0 (I don't see anything wrong with this sensible choice, but 11...¤e5!? 12 ¥b3

£c7 is preferred in 'The Sharpest Sicilian'.) 12 ¤d5!? Isik,E−Yilmaz,M/Turkish Championship, Safranbolu 2009.

9...0-0

43

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwq-trk+0 9+p+nvlpzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+-+-zp-+-0 9P+-+PzP-+0 9+-sNL+N+-0 9-zPP+-+PzP0 9tR-vLQmK-+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

10 0-0 exf4

10...¤c5 11 ¢h1 exf4 transposes, whilst avoiding the pawn sac line below. 10...£c7 11 ¢h1 exf4 12 ¥xf4 ¤e5 Black's control of e5 almost always gives good play.

13 ¥e2 (13 ¥g5 ¥e6?! allows the dangerous 14 ¤xe5 dxe5 15 ¥xf6 ¥xf6 16 ¦xf6! see Reinderman,D−Van Wely,L/NLD−ch Rotterdam 1999.) 13...¥e6 14 ¤d4 ¦fe8 15 ¥g3 ¤fd7 Nijboer,F−Janssen,R/Haarlem NED 1999.

11 ¢h1

11 ¥xf4!? is a dangerous pawn sac.

11...¤c5

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwq-trk+0 9+p+-vlpzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+-sn-+-+-0 9P+-+Pzp-+0 9+-sNL+N+-0 9-zPP+-+PzP0 9tR-vLQ+R+K0 xiiiiiiiiy

The line I recommended in my book, and it still seems to be best. 11...¤h5!? attempts to hold on to the pawn, 12 ¤e1 ¤e5 13 ¥e2 ¤f6 14 ¥xf4 ¥e6

Stellwagen,D−Nakamura,H/Oropesa del Mar ESP 1999.

12 ¥xf4 ¥g4

44

Very unusual for the Najdorf, this bishop aims for g6 where it will pressure e4 and defend the black kingside.

13 £d2 ¥h5 14 ¦ae1

14 ¥e3 ¤xd3 15 £xd3 see Polzin,R−Acs,P/Pori GER 2004.

14...¥g6 15 ¥g3 ¦c8 16 ¤d4 d5

Lupu,M−Savchenko,S/Paris FRA 2000.

45

6 Bg5 − 6...Nbd7 [B94]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥g5 ¤bd7!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwqkvl-tr0 9+p+nzppzpp0 9p+-zp-sn-+0 9+-+-+-vL-0 9-+-sNP+-+0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPP+-zPPzP0 9tR-+QmKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

This slightly committal move was under a small cloud for quite a long time, but over the

past couple of years has grown in popularity.

7.¥c4

The most critical approach. 7.f4 £c7 8.£f3 h6!? 9.¥xf6! (9.¥h4 g5! with good dark−squared play, 10.fxg5 hxg5

11.¥xg5 £c5 12.¤f5 e6 13.¥xf6 (13.¥e3?! Kanovsky,D−Navara,D/Czech Championship, Ostrava 2010) 13...¤xf6 14.¤xd6+ ¥xd6 15.£xf6 ¥g3+ Namyslo,H−Bogner,S/German Championship, Bad Liebenzell 2010.) 9...¤xf6 10.f5 £c5 11.0-0-0 g5 12.e5!? Gharamian,T−Navara,D/European Championship, Aix−les−Bains 2011.

7.£e2 has been fairly topical at grandmaster level, but Black should be OK.

7...e6

7...£a5!? 8.£d2 e6 9.0-0-0 b5 10.¥b3 (10.¥d5 b4!) 10...¥b7 11.¦he1 7...£b6 8.¥b3 (it's surprising that the Poisoned Pawn−style 8.£d2!? hasn't been seen more

often, 8...£xb2 9.¦b1 £a3 10.0-0 e6 11.¥xe6!? with Tal−like play in Wang Yue−Zhou Jianchao/Danzhou 2011.) 8...e6 9.£d2 ¥e7 (9...¤c5!? is risky, 10.¥xf6! gxf6 11.0-0-0 ¥d7

12.f4 Hunt,A−Cheparinov,I/European Club Cup, Plovdiv 2010) 10.0-0-0 ¤c5 11.f3

46

(11.¦he1 Hunt,J−Palliser,R/Leeds (rapid) 2011) 11...£c7 12.¢b1 b5 Shirov,A−Dominguez Perez,L/Wijk aan Zee 2010.

8.0-0!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwqkvl-tr0 9+p+n+pzpp0 9p+-zppsn-+0 9+-+-+-vL-0 9-+LsNP+-+0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPP+-zPPzP0 9tR-+Q+RmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy

8...£a5!?

8...h6 9.¥e3! ¤e5!? Radjabov,T−Sutovsky,E/Baku (rapid) 2010. 8...b5? Ernst,T−Gruvaeus,C/Swedish Championship, Orebro 2 2000. I would prefer 8...£b6!

9.¥e3 ¥e7

Bosiocic,M−Gallagher,J/Mitropa Cup, Chur 2010.

47

6 Bg5 − Miscellaneous White 7th moves

[B95]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥g5 e6

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnlwqkvl-tr0 9+p+-+pzpp0 9p+-zppsn-+0 9+-+-+-vL-0 9-+-sNP+-+0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPP+-zPPzP0 9tR-+QmKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

7.£f3

7.£d3 ¤bd7 8.0-0-0 b5 9.f4 b4 10.¤ce2 £a5 11.¥xf6 ¤xf6 12.e5 ¤d5 13.¢b1 dxe5 14.fxe5 ¥b7 15.¤g3 0-0-0 16.¥e2 £b6 17.¦hf1 ¤c3+!-+ Kovalev,A−Bologan,V/Minsk BLR 2000.

7.¥d3 The Najdorf is one opening where something innocuous meets with a terrible fate. 7...¥e7 8.f4 0-0 9.£f3 ¤bd7 10.0-0-0 £c7 11.£h3 ¤c5 12.g4 b5 13.a3 ¥b7 14.£f3 ¦ab8 15.¤de2 ¥a8 16.¥xf6 ¥xf6 17.g5 ¥xc3 18.¤xc3 b4 19.axb4 ¦xb4∓ With good action on the b and c files, Ssegirinya,J−Nguyen Anh Dung/Shenyang CHN 1999.

7...¤bd7

7...h6 8.¥xf6 £xf6 9.£xf6 gxf6 10.f4 h5 11.f5 ¤c6 12.¦d1 ¥d7 13.¥c4 ¢e7 14.¥b3 ¥h6 15.¦f1 ¤xd4 16.¦xd4 ¦ag8 Short,N−Kasparov,G/Sarajevo BIH 2000.

8.0-0-0

48

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8...¥e7

8...£c7 9.£g3 b6!? (9...b5?! 10.¥xb5!) 10.¥d3 ¥b7 11.¦he1 0-0-0 Lorenzo de la Riva,L−Zoler,D/Sabadell Open 2010.

8...h6!?

9.£h3

9.¥e2 £c7 10.£g3 b5 11.¥xb5 axb5 12.¤dxb5 £b8 13.¤xd6+ ¥xd6 14.£xd6 £xd6 15.¦xd6 h6 16.¥xf6 gxf6 17.b3 ¦g8 18.g3 h5 White's passed pawns aren't worth a piece here, Kwatschewsky,L−Wach,M/Vienna AUT 1999.

9...£c7 10.¥d3 b5 11.f4 b4 12.¤ce2 ¤c5 13.¤g3 h6 14.¦he1

Thorhallsson,T−Leitao,R/New York USA 2000.

49

Najdorf 6 Bg5 − 6...e6 7 f4 Introduction

[B96]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥g5 e6 7.f4 ¤bd7

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Probably Black's most popular alternative line. The f6−knight is supported, e5 is hindered

and Black is ready to advance on the queenside. Other major alternatives: 7...¤c6!? (the 'Rauzerdorf'?) is a decent move that avoids the mainline theory. 8.e5

Recommended by Luther in 'Experts vs the Sicilian'. a) 8.£d2 h6 9.¥xf6 £xf6 10.¤f3 Murey,J−Saravanan,V/London ENG 1999, and

now 10...g5! Fighting for the dark squares is best. b) 8.¤xc6 bxc6 9.e5 is another sharp line, 9...h6 10.¥h4 (10.¥xf6!? gxf6 11.exd6 £xd6

12.£xd6 ¥xd6 13.g3 f5 14.¥g2 ¢d7 15.0-0-0 ¢c7 was fine for Black in Gormally,D−Kosten,A, Birmingham ENG 2000) 10...g5 A drastic unpinning! 11.fxg5 (11.¥f2!? a rare move, but by no means innocuous, Gashimov,V−Dominguez Perez,L/42nd Capablanca Memorial, Havana 2007) 11...¤d5 12.¤e4 £b6! 13.¥d3 Best. (13.c4?! is dubious, Bauer,P−Stangl,M/BL8990 1990) 13...hxg5 (13...£xb2 is one untested suggestion, but 14.0-0 gives me the creeps... Black's development lags) 14.¥xg5 (14.¥g3 ¤f4! (14...dxe5 15.¥xe5 ¦h4?! is Lendwai,R−Ermenkov,E/Miskolc 1990)

15.¥xf4 gxf4 16.¤xd6+ ¥xd6 17.exd6 e5!) 14...£xb2! 15.c4!? (15.¤f6+ is normal, 15...¤xf6 16.¥xf6 £c3+ 17.¢f1 (17.¢e2 ¦g8 QUARK−DIEP/Paderborn GER 2004)

17...¦h6 Van der Wiel,J−Baklan,V/Groningen Open 2009.) 15...¥e7! this is

50

probably best, (15...£xg2?! a theoretical move, but it might be a mistake, see Korneev,O−Sutovsky,E/Montreal CAN 2006., 15...£xe5!? 16.cxd5 ¥g7 Pushkarev,D−Loskutov,O/Novokuznetsk 2008.) 16.¥xe7 ¤e3 17.£c1!? ¤xg2+ 18.¢d1 ¤e3+ 19.£xe3! (19.¢e1 ¤g2+ will force a draw) 19...£xa1+ 20.¢d2 £xh1! 21.¥xd6! Smeets,J−Dominguez Perez,L/Wijk aan Zee 2010.

c) 8.£d3!? ¥d7 (8...h6 9.¥h4 g5! 10.fxg5 ¤g4 is Naiditsch,A−Vachier−Lagrave,M/French League 2009, when White should play 11.¤xc6! bxc6 12.0-0-0) 9.0-0-0 h6 (9...¥e7 is seen in Forster,R−Sadler,M/Calicut 1993 [B62].) 10.¥h4 g5! 11.fxg5 ¤g4 transposes to the Vachier−Lagrave game.

8...h6 9.¥h4 g5!? XIIIIIIIIY 9r+lwqkvl-tr0 9+p+-+p+-0 9p+nzppsn-zp0 9+-+-zP-zp-0 9-+-sN-zP-vL0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPP+-+PzP0 9tR-+QmKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

a) In his book 'The Easy Guide to the Najdorf' Tony preferred the suggestion of

Behl's: 9...¤xd4!? 10.£xd4 (10.exf6? is a mistake, but it is worth knowing the refutation: 10...¤f5! 11.fxg7 £xh4+ 12.g3 ¤xg3 13.gxh8£ ¤e4+ 14.¢e2 £f2+ 15.¢d3 ¤c5+

16.¢c4 b5+ 17.¤xb5 axb5+ 18.¢c3 b4+ 19.¢c4 d5+ 20.¢xb4 ¦a4+ 21.¢b5 ¥d7+ with mate in a few moves.) 10...dxe5 11.£xd8+ ¢xd8 12.fxe5 g5 13.¥g3 ¤d7 14.0-0-0 ¥g7 but now Luther suggests 15.¥e2! aiming for h5, see Luther,T−Senff,M/Cappelle la Grande 2001.

b) 9...dxe5!? This may be the strongest move here. 10.¤xc6 £xd1+ 11.¦xd1 bxc6 12.fxe5 ¤d7! 13.¤e4 ¥b7 with pressure on e5. 14.¥g3 c5 Black must open up his good bishop, and rightly doesn't fear an invasion on d6, Le Roux,J−Vachier Lagrave,M/French Championship, Nimes 2009.

10.fxg5 (10.¥f2!? is unusual, 10...dxe5 11.¤xc6 £xd1+ 12.¦xd1 bxc6 13.fxe5 ¤g4 14.¤e4 ¤xf2

15.¢xf2 ¥g7 16.¤d6+ ¢e7 17.¤c4 a5! Guseinov,G−Soylu,S/Antalya TUR 2004.) 10...¤d5 11.¤xd5 (11.¤xc6 bxc6 12.¤e4 transposes to 8 ¤xc6, above) 11...exd5

51

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12.exd6 a) 12.e6!? ¥xe6 13.¤xc6 bxc6 14.£d4 hitting the h8−rook and defending the

bishop, is critical, but this looks like a forced draw see the note to Guseinov,G−Soylu,S.

b) 12.¤xc6 bxc6 13.exd6 allows 13...hxg5 (13...¥xd6 brings us back to the mainline)

14.¥g3 ¥xd6 15.£f3 £e7+ 16.¥e2 ¥xg3+ 17.£xg3 £b4+ 18.c3 £h4!? this manoeuvre keeps White's advantage under control, Hebden,M−Gormally,D/Port Erin IOM 2001.

12...¥xd6 13.¤xc6 bxc6 14.£d4 £e7+ 15.¥e2 ¥e5 I think Black is alright here, see the analysis of Dworakowska,J−Areshchenko,A/Caleta ENG 2005.

7...b5!? Somewhere along the line the Polugaevsky variation fell out of favor. If anything it's over−sharp. 8.e5! White feels the need to punish Black for the premature ...b5. (8.¥d3?! is too deliberate, 8...£c7 9.¤ce2?! This shouldn't lead to anything. 9...¥e7

10.£d2 Galiana,J−Angel Acosta,J/Cala Galdana ESP 1999, when after 10...¤bd7!?

Black is fine) 8...dxe5 9.fxe5 £c7 10.exf6 (10.£e2 ¤fd7 11.0-0-0 ¥b7 12.£g4 £b6 13.¥e2

Vallejo Pons,F−Bromberger,S/Bahia Feliz 2011.) 10...£e5+ 11.¥e2 £xg5 12.0-0 ¦a7!?

a) 12...£e5 Polugaevsky's old favourite, 13.¤f3 ¥c5+?! (13...£e3+! 14.¢h1 ¤d7

15.¦e1 £b6!) 14.¢h1 £xf6 15.¤e4 is also dangerous for Black, Vasquez,R−Lenoir,G/Santiago CHI 2005

b) 12...gxf6?! is a new idea, but it received short shrift in Jakovenko,D−Smeets,J/Wijk aan Zee NED 2007

13.£d3 ¦d7 14.¤e4 £e5 15.¤f3!? (15.c3 ¥b7 16.¥f3 ¥xe4! Kogan,A−Smirin,I/Maalot−Tarshiha 2008) 15...£xb2 (15...£f4 16.£c3 £xe4 17.fxg7 ¥xg7 18.£xg7 ¦f8 19.¥d3 £e3+

20.¢h1 f6 21.£g4 ¦e7 22.a4!± Stanford,M−North,R/Vancouver BC CAN 2001.) 16.£e3 ¥b7 17.a4 £b4!? 18.c4 ¥xe4 19.£xe4 £c5+ 20.¢h1 b4 is unclear.

7...£c7 stops ¥c4, 8.£f3 a) 8.¥d3!? is quite tricky, Goh Wei Ming−Galyas,M/1st Saturday, Budapest 2007 b) 8.¥xf6 gxf6 9.£d2 plays for a small, Rauzer−style edge, 9...¤c6 10.0-0-0 ¥d7

11.¢b1 0-0-0 (11...¥e7 may actually be Black's best move order, see Motylev,A−Zhao Jun/Chinese Team Championship 2010) 12.¥c4 ¦g8!? Andriasian,Z−Vachier Lagrave,M/Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2010

52

8...b5 (8...¤bd7 and, 8...¥e7 transpose elsewhere) 9.¥xf6 (9.¥d3 is a bit lame, 9...b4 10.¤ce2

¤bd7 11.0-0-0 ¥e7 and Black was doing well in Berg,E−Vera,R/Calvia ESP 2005, but, 9.0-0-0 is White's most dangerous possibility, see the notes to the Berg game.) 9...gxf6 10.e5 (10.a3 ¤c6! Robson,R−Vachier Lagrave,M/World Junior Ch., Puerto Madryn 2009, 10.0-0-0 b4 11.¤ce2 h5! 12.¤g3 h4 13.¤h5 ¤d7 14.g4 ¥b7 Black appears to be fine, Shirov,A−Papaioannou,I/European Team Ch., Novi Sad 2009) 10...d5 11.exf6 b4 12.¤xd5 exd5 13.0-0-0 ¤d7 (13...¥b7 is also good, see the notes to this game) 14.¥b5!? axb5 15.¦he1+ with a sharp attack, Berelovich,A−Istratescu,A/Bucharest 1998.

7...¥d7!? 8.£e2 ¤c6 9.0-0-0 ¤xd4 10.¦xd4 £b6 is Pruijssers,R−Adly,A/Groningen NED 2005.

7...h6!? risks chasing the bishop to a better diagonal, but will most probably transpose, 8.¥h4 £b6 (8...¥e7 9.£f3 £c7 10.0-0-0 ¤bd7 11.¥d3 (11.¥f2!?, or 11.¥e2 ) 11...g5 is a Browne System [B99] see Stripunsky−Wojtkiewicz/Chicago 2000) 9.£d2 £xb2 10.¦b1 £a3 11.e5 transposes to the Poisoned Pawn, see Bromberger,S−Areshchenko,A/German Bundesliga 2010.

8.£f3

8.£e2!? is a dangerous alternative, 8...£c7 9.0-0-0 b5 10.a3 stopping ...b4 is best, (10.g4

Spraggett,K−Kuczynski,R/Cappelle la Grande FRA 2005) 10...¥e7 11.g4 ¥b7! this is correct (11...¦b8?! falling for an extremely well disguised trap, 12.¥g2 b4? 13.axb4 ¦xb4 14.e5! dxe5 15.¤c6 ¥b7 (15...¦b6? 16.¤xe7 see Spraggett,K−Czakon,J/San Sebastian Open 2007.) 16.¤xb4 ¥xb4 17.fxe5! Ivanchuk,V−Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee 2010.) 12.¥h4 (12.¥g2 h6 13.¥h4 is a safe approach with quite reasonable chances for an edge) 12...¤b6 13.g5 ¤fd7 14.f5 e5 15.¤f3!? Shirov,A−Berg,E/Khanty−Mansiysk Olympiad 2010.

8.¥c4!? also, 8...£b6! Gelfand's choice. (8...b5!? 9.¥xe6! fxe6 10.¤xe6 with a strong attack, Sulskis,S−Van der Stricht,G/Gothenburg SWE 2005.) 9.¥b3! (9.¥xf6 ¤xf6 10.£d3!?

suggested by Scherbakov, 10...£xb2 11.0-0 ¤d7 Gashimov,V−Van Wely,L/French League 2010.) 9...¥e7 10.f5 ¤c5 11.£f3!? Gashimov,V−Volokitin,A/Poikovsky 2008.

8...£c7

8...h6 9.¥h4 (9.¥xf6!? is interesting, see Safarli,E−Sjugirov,S/Kirishi RUS 2006) 9...e5!? a big (and relatively new) idea. Black is looking to establish a knight on e5, 10.¤f5 exf4 11.¥xf6 (11.0-0-0 g5 12.¥f2 ¤e5 White doesn't have sufficient compensation for the pawn, Mueller,M−Kasimdzhanov,R/Mainz GER 2006, 11.£xf4 g5 12.¤xd6+ ¥xd6

13.£xd6 gxh4 14.e5 Black has enough activity to compensate for his slightly damaged pawn structure) 11...¤xf6 12.0-0-0 this is examined in Berg,E−Campos Moreno,J/Calvia ESP 2005.

9.0-0-0

53

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9.g4!? is interesting, 9...b5 10.¥xf6 ¤xf6 11.g5 ¤d7 12.0-0-0 ¥b7 (12...b4!? must be critical,

13.¤d5! see Radjabov,T−Volokitin,A/Biel SUI 2006, 12...¤c5?! 13.a3! ¦b8 14.b4 ¤d7

15.¤d5! a standard sacrifice, but especially strong here, Nakamura,H−Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee 2010) 13.¥h3!? (13.f5) 13...¦c8 14.¦he1! with dangerous threats, Volokitin,A−Petrosian,T/European Championship, Dresden 2007.

9...b5 10.¥d3

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An important junction where White has lots of tempting possibilities: 10.a3 is slow, 10...¥b7 (10...¦b8 and ...b4 is also good) 11.g4 ¥e7 12.¥xf6 ¤xf6 13.g5 ¤d7

14.¥h3 ¤c5 Leko,P−Shirov,A/Monaco MNC 2001. 10.e5!? is just an exciting way to make a draw, 10...¥b7 11.£h3 dxe5 12.¤xe6 fxe6

13.£xe6+ ¥e7 14.¥xb5 (14.¥xf6 gxf6 15.¥xb5 axb5 16.¤xb5 £c6 17.¤d6+ Gharamian,T−Bromberger,S/German Bundesliga 2011) 14...axb5 15.¤xb5 £c6 16.¤d6+ ¢d8 17.fxe5 see Nisipeanu,L−Shirov,A/Las Vegas USA 1999. (17.¤xb7+?! Berg,E−Aagaard,J/Stockholm SWE 2005)

10.¥xb5!? axb5 11.¤dxb5 £b8 12.e5 ¥b7 (12...¦a5!?) 13.£e2 dxe5 14.£c4 ¥e7 (14...¥c5?!

led to a classic Tal king hunt in Tal,M−Stean,M/Hastings 1973) 15.¤c7+ ¢f8 16.¦xd7! with wild complications, Naiditsch,A−Gelfand,B/Dortmund GER 2006.

54

10...¥b7 11.¦he1 £b6

11...¥e7 transposes to [B99]

12.¤d5!?

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The sting has now been taken out of this move. 12.¤b3 b4 (12...¦c8!? 13.£h3!? ¦xc3! 14.bxc3 £c7 Black has his standard compensation for the

exchange, Shirov,A−Anand,V/Morelia 2008) 13.¤b1! ¥e7 14.¤1d2 £c7! seems about level, Shirov,A−Karjakin,S/FIDE World Cup, Khanty−Mansiysk 2007.

12...£xd4 13.¥xf6 gxf6 14.¥xb5 £c5 15.¤xf6+ ¢d8 16.¤xd7 £xb5 17.¤xf8 ¦xf8 18.£a3 ¢e8!

The latest refinement, and safest. 18...¦c8 19.£xd6+ ¢e8 20.¦e3! with dangerous attacking chances, Kosten,A−

Georgiev,K/Saint−Affrique 2005.

19.£xd6 £c6!

Black defends, Luther,T−Sasikiran,K/Moscow RUS 2007.

55

Poisoned Pawn Najdorf [B97]


1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥g5 e6 7.f4 £b6

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The Poisoned Pawn variation is one of the sharpest replies to 6 ¥g5, and maybe the

strongest. It's been played by both Fischer and Kasparov with great success.

8.£d2

Critical, White gets on with his development. 8.¤b3!? this is a concession, but at least it doesn't lose a pawn! 8...¥e7 (8...¤bd7 9.¥e2

¥e7 10.£d2 h6 (10...£c7!?) 11.¥xf6 ¤xf6 12.0-0-0 £c7 13.¥f3 ¦b8 14.¢b1 ¤d7?! (14...b5 looks ok) 15.h4 b5 16.g4 b4 17.¤e2 e5 18.¤g3 g6 19.f5± Vuckovic,B−Colovic,A/Lazarevac YUG 1999) 9.£f3 ¤bd7 10.0-0-0 £c7 11.¥d3 b5 (11...h6

12.¥h4 g5 13.¥f2 gxf4 14.£xf4 b5 15.¢b1 b4 16.¤e2 ¥b7 17.¦hf1 ¤e5 the strong knight on e5 exerts pressure on White's position, 18.h3 h5³ Leko,P−Anand,V/Leon ESP 2001)

12.a3 (12.¦he1 ¥b7 13.£h3?! b4! 14.¤b1 e5! and White was crushed, Kamsky,G−Topalov,V/Sofia BUL 2006) 12...¦b8 13.¦he1 b4 14.axb4 ¦xb4 15.¢b1 ¥b7 16.£h3 ¤c5 17.¤xc5 dxc5 18.e5 ¤d5 19.¤xd5 ¥xd5 20.c3 ¦b3 21.¥c2² Leko,P−Kasparov,G/Linares ESP 2001 Black's king could become a problem.

8.£d3!? This slightly more active deployment of the queen has received some attention of late. 8...£xb2 9.¦b1 £a3 10.f5 ¥e7 11.fxe6 fxe6 12.¥e2 £a5!? 13.¥d2 £c7 14.g4! Radjabov's move, (14.0-0 0-0 didn't really trouble Black in Gashimov,V−Grischuk,A/FIDE Grand Prix, Elista 2008) 14...h6 15.£h3!? (15.e5 dxe5 16.£g6+

¢d8!? Mamedov,N−Safarli,E/Azeri Championship, Baku 2009.) 15...0-0! (15...¦h7?!

56

Gashimov,V−Grischuk,A/World Team Championship, Bursa 2010.) 16.g5 hxg5 17.¤xe6 £c6 18.0-0 d5! Gashimov,V−Karjakin,S/Melody Amber (rapid), Nice 2010.

8...£xb2

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8...¤c6!? Black chickens out but gets into something that resembles a Rauzer. 9.¥xf6

(9.¤b3?! ¤g4! Black avoids the capture on f6, and leaves the g5−bishop 'high and dry', Savchenko,B−Naiditsch,A/Moscow RUS 2007, 9.0-0-0 can also claim a little advantage after 9...£xd4 10.£xd4 ¤xd4 11.¦xd4) 9...gxf6 10.¤b3 ¥d7 11.0-0-0 0-0-0 12.¥e2 h5 13.¢b1 ¢b8 14.¦hf1 ¥e7 15.¦f3 ¦dg8 (15...¦c8 16.¦h3 ¤a5 17.¥xh5±

Kersten,U−Gutman,L/Altenkirchen GER 1999., Georgiev feels 15...h4 to be more accurate) 16.¥f1 h4 a defensive method worked out by Georgiev in the first edition of 'The Sharpest Sicilian'. 17.£e1 (17.a3 ¦h5! Luther,T−Sedlak,N/Arvier 2007)

17...¦g4?! Kamsky,G−Ponomariov,R/FIDE World Cup, Khanty−Mansiysk 2007 (, Georgiev prefers 17...¦h5! )

9.¦b1

A major crossroads. 9.¤b3!? Luther thinks that this is White's best course of action. 9...£a3 (9...¤c6 is worse

because of 10.¥xf6 gxf6 11.¤a4 £a3 12.¤b6 Rogers,I−Van der Sterren,P/Hertogenbosch NED 1999, 9...¤bd7!? is unusual, but likely to transpose, 10.¥xf6 gxf6 11.¦b1!?

Spraggett,K−Komljenovic,D/Seville ESP 2007) 10.¥xf6 gxf6 11.¥e2 h5!? first played by Fischer, Black stops ¥h5, (11...¤c6 12.0-0 unclear, Kasimdzhanov,R−Sadvakasov,D/Skanderborg DEN 2003) 12.0-0 ¤c6 13.¢h1 (13.¤b1 is also dangerous, see Bluvshtein,M−Roschina,T/Zurich SUI 2005) 13...¥d7 14.¤d1 (14.¤b1 is the famous 11th game from Spassky−Fischer) 14...£a4?! 15.c4! and White won convincingly in Spraggett,K−Rodshtein,M/Andorra la Vella AND 2006.

9...£a3 10.e5

57

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The most direct, it fell out of favour when good defences were found, but now it is the key

battleground again. Others: 10.f5 One of many sharp alternatives. 10...¤c6 11.fxe6 (11.¤xc6 bxc6 12.¥e2 ¥e7 13.0-0 0-0

14.¦b3 £c5+ 15.¥e3 is another repetition) 11...fxe6 12.¤xc6 bxc6 13.e5 XIIIIIIIIY 9r+l+kvl-tr0 9+-+-+-zpp0 9p+pzppsn-+0 9+-+-zP-vL-0 9-+-+-+-+0 9wq-sN-+-+-0 9P+PwQ-+PzP0 9+R+-mKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

This sharp method leads to lots of draws, strangely enough. It's a long forcing line where

leaving the theory could be fatal. (13.¥e2!? ¥e7 14.0-0 0-0 (14...£a5!? is a risky attempt to play for a win, see Mueller,M−Schlosser,P/Germany 2004) 15.¦b3 (15.¢h1!? ¦a7 16.£e3 ¦d7 17.¦b8!? Ivanchuk,V−Carlsen,M/Melody Amber (rapid), Nice 2010.) 15...£c5+ 16.¢h1 (16.¥e3 leads to a repetition: 16...£e5 17.¥d4 £a5

18.¥b6 £e5 etc.) 16...d5!? Ivanchuk,V−Grischuk,A/Russian Team Championship, Dagomys 2010.) 13...dxe5 14.¥xf6 gxf6 15.¤e4 Now there is another choice: 15...£xa2 This move leads to several forced draws. (15...¥e7 16.¥e2 h5 is also perfectly reasonable when 17.¦f1!? is White's latest try, Thinius,M−Kersten,U/Bad Zwesten GER 2006.) 16.¦d1 ¥e7 17.¥e2 (Hector's 17.¥d3 is interesting) 17...0-0 18.0-0 ¦a7 19.¦f3 The most accurate. (19.£h6?! £xc2! this may be Black's only winning attempt, (19...¦d7 20.¦f3 transposes) 20.¤xf6+ (20.¥d3? Kleijn,C−Hoffmann,M/Harmonie Open, Groningen 2007) 20...¥xf6 21.¦xf6 £c5+ 22.¢h1 ¦g7 and Black has defended his position, Bender,I−Senff,M/Zagreb CRO 2006.) 19...¢h8 (19...¦d7 might be the same, but allows 20.¥d3!? Grischuk,A−

58

Anand,V/Linares 2009) 20.¦g3 ¦d7 21.£h6 and draws, see Vallejo Pons,F−Kasparov,G/Moscow RUS 2004.

10.¥e2 ¥e7 11.0-0 ¤c6 12.¤xc6 bxc6 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 £c5+ 15.¢h1 £xe5 16.¥f4 £c5 17.¤a4 £a7 18.¤b6 0-0 19.¤xa8 £xa8 20.¦b3 £a7 21.¥e3 c5= Salov,S−De Firmian,N/Hamburg GER 1999, Black has 2 pawns for the exchange and a solid position.

10.¥xf6 gxf6 XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnl+kvl-tr0 9+p+-+p+p0 9p+-zppzp-+0 9+-+-+-+-0 9-+-sNPzP-+0 9wq-sN-+-+-0 9P+PwQ-+PzP0 9+R+-mKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

11.¥e2 h5 (11...¤c6 12.¤xc6 bxc6 13.0-0 £a5 14.¢h1 ¥e7 15.¦b3 h5 16.¥f3 ¢f8 17.£e2 ¦a7 18.¦fb1

¦c7 19.£e3 h4³ Stripunsky,A−De Firmian,N/Chicago 2000, in addition to being up a pawn Black has the bishop pair and a central pawn wall.) 12.0-0 ¤d7 13.¥f3 ¤c5 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 ¥h6 16.£e1 f5 17.¢h1 ¥d7 18.¥xh5 ¥g7 19.¥f3 ¦c8 20.¤d1 b5³ Hracek,Z−Georgiev,K/Batumi GEO 1999 Black's position makes a lot more sense than White's.

10...dxe5

10...h6!? 11.¥h4 (11.¥xf6 attempting to take advantage of Black's move order, 11...gxf6 12.exd6!? (12.¤e4 leads to a forced draw) 12...£xd6 13.¤e4 £d8 14.£c3! activating the queen when White appears to have at least sufficient play for his pawn, Del Rio Angelis,S−Vallejo Pons,F/Spanish Championship, Leon 2006.) 11...dxe5 (11...g5!?

Carlsson,P−Malisauskas,V/European Team Championship, Crete 2007) 12.fxe5 ¤d5!?

a) 12...g5!? 13.exf6 (13.¥f2? Anand,V−Nepomniachtchi,I/Mainz (rapid) 2009.) 13...gxh4 14.¥e2 (14.¤e4 is no less critical) 14...£a5 15.0-0 Bromberger,S−Areshchenko,A/German Bundesliga 2010.

b) 12...¤fd7 transposes to the mainline 13.¤xd5 exd5 14.e6 ¥xe6 15.¤xe6 fxe6 16.¥d3 ¥e7 This all seems pretty logical. White

has the bishop pair and Black's king will have to stay in the centre, but it is two pawns and Black's king will find refuge behind those two extra centre pawns, see Motylev,A−Sutovsky,E/Khanty−Mansiysk Olympiad 2010.

10...¤fd7!? was long condemned, but quite possibly this move can be revived with some 21st Century analysis, 11.f5! ¤xe5 12.fxe6 fxe6 13.¥e2 ¤bc6! see Keres,P−Fuderer,A/Gothenburg Interzonal 1955.

59

11.fxe5 ¤fd7 12.¤e4

Tal's idea. When Keres first introduced the sharp 10 e5 he preferred 12.¥c4 but it's hard to believe that

this, while dangerous, isn't just objectively good for Black, see Manduch,M−Avellan,G/correspondence 2006.

12...h6!

This has long been proven to be the best move as the bishop must be forced to the exposed square on h4.

12...£xa2?! immediately is met by 13.¦b3! with the idea 13...£a1+ 14.¢f2 £a4 15.¤xe6! fxe6 16.¤d6+ ¥xd6 17.£xd6

13.¥h4

13.¥b5!? hxg5 (13...axb5!? 14.¤xb5 hxg5 is a queen sacrifice which theory has long approved of, see Stellwagen,D−Anand,V/German Bundesliga 2009) 14.¦b3 £xa2 15.£c3 with sharp exciting play, that leads to another forced draw! Shabalov,A−Areshchenko,A/Port Erin IOM 2006.

13.¦b3 is a pretty rare continuation, 13...£a4 14.¥e3 ¤c6 15.¥e2 ¤cxe5 16.0-0 ¥e7 Del Rio Angelis,S−Rowson,J/Calvia Olympiad 2004, when 17.£c3 retains some compensation.

13...£xa2 14.¦d1!?

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnl+kvl-tr0 9+p+n+pzp-0 9p+-+p+-zp0 9+-+-zP-+-0 9-+-sNN+-vL0 9+-+-+-+-0 9q+PwQ-+PzP0 9+-+RmKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

A new try for White, and currently critical.

14...£d5!

Suggested as best by Kasparov, 14...£b2? led to a brilliant win for White in Radjabov,T−Karjakin,S/Cap d'Agde FRA 2006.

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15.£e3 £xe5

15...¥c5!? deserves further attention, 16.¤xe6! ¥b4+ 17.c3 £xe6 18.cxb4 0-0 is unclear, 19.¦d6! (19.¥e2 Berg,E−Najer,E/Khanty−Mansiysk 2007) 19...£xe5 20.¥c4 £h5? (20...¤c6? Shirov,A−Wang Hao/Russian Team Championship 2009, 20...¤b6!?)

21.¥g3! ¤c6 22.0-0 ¤de5 23.¥xe5 £xe5 24.¦d5 close to winning, Freeman,M−Schmidt,T/correspondence 2008.

16.¥e2! ¥c5

16...¤c6? a rare but not very promising idea, 17.¤xc6 bxc6 18.0-0 and Black is in trouble, see Makropoulou,M−Banikas,H/Acropolis Open, Athens 2007.

17.¥g3 ¥xd4 18.¦xd4 £a5+ 19.¦d2 0-0 20.¥d6

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnl+-trk+0 9+p+n+pzp-0 9p+-vLp+-zp0 9wq-+-+-+-0 9-+-+N+-+0 9+-+-wQ-+-0 9-+PtRL+PzP0 9+-+-mK-+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

20...¤c6!?

This may be safest. 20...¦d8 with sharp play, see Motylev,A−Anand,V/Wijk aan Zee NED 2007. 20...¦e8?! according to Georgiev this move is refuted, 21.0-0! f5! 22.£g3!? ¤c6! Sensibly

developing. 23.£g6 £d8 (23...fxe4? appears to have been busted in the computer game Rybka−Shredder, Amsterdam 2007.) 24.¦d3! (24.c4 ¤e7! Shabalov,A−Ehlvest,J/US Championship, Stillwater 2007., 24.¥c4 ¢h8! 25.¤g5! £xg5! 26.£xe8+

¢h7 Shirov,A−Ftacnik,L/Baden Baden 2007, when I suggest 27.¥f4!?) 24...¦e7 (24...¤e7 25.£xe6+ ¢h8 26.¦g3 fxe4 27.¦xg7! wins) 25.¦g3 ¤d4 26.¥d3 has scored well for White in several correspondence games.

21.0-0!?

21.g4!? £b6! Smirnov,P−Nepomniachtchi,I/Novokuznetsk 2008

21...f5

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21...¤ce5!? is risky, see Magem Badals,J−Alsina Leal,D/Barcelona 2009

22.¥xf8 ¤xf8 23.¤d6 ¤e5!?

23...b5? 24.¥f3 led to disaster for Black in Shirov,A−Guliyev,N/Canada de Calatrava Rapidplay 2007.

24.¢h1 ¤fg6

unclear, Najer,E−Nepomniachtchi,I/Mainz rapid 2008.

62

Najdorf − 6 Bg5 7...Be7 Main line [B99]

Last updated: 11/03/11 by Richard Palliser This variation is very reasonable from Black's point of view. It seems to have gotten lost in

the "Poisoned Pawn" shuffle, but is a good choice vs 6 ¥g5.

1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 a6 6.¥g5 e6 7.f4 ¥e7

XIIIIIIIIY 9rsnlwqk+-tr0 9+p+-vlpzpp0 9p+-zppsn-+0 9+-+-+-vL-0 9-+-sNPzP-+0 9+-sN-+-+-0 9PzPP+-+PzP0 9tR-+QmKL+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

8.£f3 £c7

8...h6!? this might be a bit too early, 9.¥h4 ¤bd7 (9...g5 This is the Gothenburg Variation, named after the Swedish city where the 1955 Interzonal was played. As the story goes it was played 3 times in rd 14 by Argentinean players against Soviet players. 10.fxg5 ¤fd7 11.¤xe6!? Khruschiov,A−Paramonov,D/St Petersburg RUS 2001) 10.0-0-0 £c7 11.¥e2! this is effective now that Black has weakened g6, and inhibits ...g5 as it controls the g4−square, 11...b5 (11...g5!? 12.fxg5 ¤e5 13.£g3! Spraggett,K−Andriasian,Z/Cappelle la Grande FRA 2007 − in the light of this game this move is close to winning!) 12.¥xf6! ¤xf6 13.e5 ¥b7 14.£g3 dxe5 15.fxe5 ¤d7 16.¤xe6! fxe6 17.¥h5+ ¢d8 18.£xg7 ¦f8 19.¥g4 ¦e8! the best defence (19...£c5? lost quickly in Vasquez,R−Contreras,H/Minneapolis USA 2005) 20.¦hf1 see Kosten,A−Movsziszian,K/La Pobla de Lillet ESP 2005.

8...¤bd7?! 9.¥c4! Groszpeter,A−Loffler,M/Lenkerhof Open, 2001.

9.0-0-0 ¤bd7

9...¥d7?! 10.f5! is Leko,P−Morozevich,A/Wijk aan Zee NED 2001.

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10.g4

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+l+k+-tr0 9+pwqnvlpzpp0 9p+-zppsn-+0 9+-+-+-vL-0 9-+-sNPzPP+0 9+-sN-+Q+-0 9PzPP+-+-zP0 9+-mKR+L+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

10.¥d3 h6 This transposes to the so called "Browne Variation" popularized by 6 time USA

champion Walter Browne. ( It is Black's safest alternative to the move 10...b5 11.¦he1 ¥b7 12.£g3! this move was brought to prominence in the 15th game of the first Fischer−Spassky match, 12...b4 13.¤d5! exd5 14.exd5 ¢d8 15.¤c6+ (15.£e3?!

Goh Wei Ming−Sandy,K/Asian Universities Games 2006) 15...¥xc6 16.dxc6 with a strong, maybe winning, attack, Vuckovic,B−Tadic,B/Herceg Novi SCG 2005) 11.¥h4 (11.h4!? is a fun alternative, Navara,D−Adly,A/Dubai UAE 2005) 11...g5 This secures the e5 point for black's knights. 12.fxg5 ¤e5 Black's control of e5 makes his position tough to crack. 13.£e2 (13.gxf6!? ¤xf3 14.gxf3 ¥f8 15.f4 is a sharp queen sac, Azarov,S−Predojevic,B/Turin ITA 2006) 13...¤fg4 14.h3 (14.¤f3 This is a better try. 14...hxg5 (14...¤xf3 15.£xf3 ¤e5 16.£h5 ¤g6! is Goh Wei Ming−Terry Chua/Singapore Chess Federation 2009) 15.¥xg5?! this move doesn't have a particularly good reputation, White takes a pawn but exchanges his good bishop and leaves himself weak on the dark squares, (15.¥g3 ¥d7 16.h3 ¤xf3 17.gxf3 ¤e5 18.f4 gxf4

19.¥xf4 0-0-0 is about equal) 15...¥xg5+ 16.¤xg5 £c5! this move further enhances Black's control of the dark squares, Mamedov,R−Areshchenko,A/Moscow RUS 2007) 14...hxg5 15.¥g3 (15.hxg4?! ¦xh4 Stripunsky−Wojtkiewicz/Chicago 2000)

15...¤f6 16.¤f3 ¤h5 17.¥h2 b5 (17...¥d7 is reasonable as well, Podesta,D−Szmetan,J/Buenos Aires ARG 2001) 18.¤xe5 dxe5 19.¥xb5+? This has absolutely no chance of working. (19.¢b1 ¤f4 20.£f3 ¥d7 21.¤e2 Keeps things around equal.) 19...axb5 20.£xb5+ ¥d7 21.£xe5 £xe5 22.¥xe5 f6∓ Sadatnajafi,M−Sadvakasov,D/Dubai UAE 2002.

10...b5

This line was played a lot in the mid−eighties with Black getting decent results. 10...h6!? is risky, 11.¥xf6 ¥xf6 12.h4 £b6! (12...g5?! with sharp play in Kosmo,S−

Berczes,D/Stockholm SWE 2005, but Black's position is often on the verge of a precipice here!) 13.¤b3 (13.¤de2 Motylev,A−Hamitevici,V/European Championship, Rijeka 2010) 13...£c7 (13...¤c5?! 14.¤xc5 £xc5 15.e5! dxe5 16.¤e4 with a strong initiative, Negi,P−Efimenko,Z/San Marino SMR 2006.) 14.e5!? dxe5 15.f5 A

64

Benoni−like breakthrough to generate some pressure and free the e4−square for a knight, see Shirov,A−Dominguez Perez,L/MTel Masters, Sofia 2009.

10...0-0!? it looks terrifying to commit the king at such an early stage (think how often the king escapes to the queenside in the Najdorf), but there is more to this than meets the eye, 11.¥xf6 (11.¥h4! is the real test of the system) 11...¥xf6 12.g5 ¥xd4 13.¦xd4 b5 Black's results here have been excellent, see Burg,T−Baramidze,D/Dieren NED 2006.

11.¥xf6 ¤xf6

11...gxf6!? This sharper recapture was a Fischer favorite. 12.¥d3 (12.f5 is seen in Guseinov,G−Makoli,P/Antalya TUR 2004) 12...¥b7 (12...¤b6 is advised) 13.¢b1 0-0-0 14.h4 ¢b8 15.g5 f5 16.£h5!± Black needs active counterplay after ...gxf6, Trichkov,V−Vladyka,V/Pilsen CZE 2001.

11...¥xf6!? is an attractive idea, if only because there is no prescribed route for White to follow, 12.¥xb5 (12.¤dxb5?! isn't convincing as a2 is hanging, 12...axb5 13.¤xb5

Argyo,N−Balazs,A/Miercurea Ciuc 2005, and now 13...£b8 looks like the most reliable move, 14.¤xd6+ ¢f8 when 15.£b3 seems forced., 12.g5 is Nunn's preference, but after 12...¥xd4 13.¦xd4 ¥b7 the bishop finds a great diagonal, slicing through the centre, and preparing ...¦c8 with sudden pressure down the c−file, see Cao,J−Saligo,P/Belfort 2005) 12...¦b8 (12...0-0!?) 13.¥a4 Malecki,R−Litwin,J/Polanica Zdroj 2005, and why not 13...0-0 now, with the usual compensation?

12.g5 ¤d7 13.f5

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+l+k+-tr0 9+-wqnvlpzpp0 9p+-zpp+-+0 9+p+-+PzP-0 9-+-sNP+-+0 9+-sN-+Q+-0 9PzPP+-+-zP0 9+-mKR+L+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

13.¢b1 b4 14.¤ce2 ¥b7 15.¥h3 ¤c5 16.¤g3 d5 17.f5 dxe4 18.£h5 g6 19.fxg6 fxg6

20.£g4 ¥d5 21.¦he1 0-0 22.£e2 ¦f4∓ Moya Soriano,M−Moreno,J/Cala Galdana ESP 1999.

13.¤f5!? is an amazing new idea, 13...exf5 14.¤d5 £b7 15.£c3 with a powerful attack, see Sulskis,S−Pelletier,Y/Warsaw POL 2005.

13.¥h3!? has had a bad reputation since an emphatic Fischer victory as Black, 13...b4 14.¤ce2 ¤c5 15.¤g3 but see Radjabov,T−Ivanchuk,V/Turin ITA 2006.

65

13...¥xg5+!?

This was considered bad years ago, but now it gives Black good chances. White gets a ¤ on d5 while Black gets good piece play. Black should beware of ¤c7 or ¤f4 into e6 ideas. Black gets good play on the f−file, dark square action and some 2-1 pawn majority action on the kingside.

13...¤c5?! this has had a terrible reputation for a long time and maybe it still does, 14.f6 (14.h4 This is too slow, but Black must play actively. 14...b4 15.¤b1 e5?! (15...¥b7!)

16.¤b3 ¤d7 17.¤1d2 a5 18.¢b1 a4 19.¤c1 ¤b6 20.b3 ¥a6 21.¥xa6 ¦xa6 22.f6 gxf6 23.gxf6± Groszpeter,A−Sammalvuo,T/Paks HUN 2001) 14...gxf6 15.gxf6 ¥f8 16.¦g1! An idea of the late Hungarian IM Perenyi, 16...h5 (16...b4!? is provocative, 17.¤d5 exd5 18.exd5 ¤d7! (18...¥d7 Van Rosmalen,J−Den Boer,P/Groningen NED 2005, 19.¦g7!) 19.¤c6 ¥b7 Kukk,R−Blanco Gramajo,C/World Corr. Championship Final 2007) 17.a3

a) 17.¦g7 b4 (17...¥b7 Lima,D−Morovic Fernandez,I/Sao Paulo BRA 2002) 18.¤d5 exd5 19.exd5 ¤d7 20.¤c6 Black needs nerves of steel in this type of situation, Vasquez,R−Vallejo Pons,F/Tripoli LBA 2004

b) recently the critical line 17.¢b1!? b4 18.¤d5! has posed some problems. 17...¥d7 18.¥h3 ¦b8 19.¦de1 a5 20.¦g7 b4 21.¤d5± White had a dangerous initiative in

Kosmo−Pereira 41st World Junior Goa 2002.

14.¢b1 ¤e5

XIIIIIIIIY 9r+l+k+-tr0 9+-wq-+pzpp0 9p+-zpp+-+0 9+p+-snPvl-0 9-+-sNP+-+0 9+-sN-+Q+-0 9PzPP+-+-zP0 9+K+R+L+R0 xiiiiiiiiy

14...0-0!? leads to quite complex and forcing play, and might even be Black's best bet,

15.fxe6 (15.£g3 Hector,J−Dvoirys,S/Skelleftea Open 2000.) 15...¤b6! 16.¤d5 ¤xd5 17.exd5 fxe6! this seems to equalize, Radjabov,T−Cheparinov,I/European Team Championship, Crete 2007.

15.£h5 £e7

Arguably the main move. There is a big alternative in 15...£d8 16.¦g1

66

a) 16.fxe6 g6 17.exf7+ ¢xf7 18.£e2 ¥g4 19.£f2+ £f6 20.£xf6+ ¥xf6 21.¥e2 ¥xe2 22.¤dxe2 ¤c4³ Ramirez Allo,E−Roeder,M/Las Palmas ESP 1999.

b) 16.¤xe6 ¥xe6 17.fxe6 0-0 (17...g6 18.exf7+ ¢xf7 19.£e2 ¦c8 20.¥h3 ¦c4 (20...¦xc3!? 21.bxc3 £c7 Black has good chances on the dark squares.) 21.¦hf1+ ¢g7 Black was solid in Butkiewicz−Mazurkiewicz Poland 2002) 18.¦g1 ¥f6 19.¥h3 ¢h8 20.¤d5 g6 21.£e2 fxe6 22.¥xe6 ¥g7∓ Rajlich,V−Peng Zhaoqin/Budapest HUN 2001 In the bishop of opposites middlegame Black's is superior.

16...¥f6 17.fxe6 0-0 18.¥h3 fxe6 (18...¤g6? Nemeth−Butunoi/Dortmund GER 2003, 18...g6

19.¤d5 ¢h8 20.£e2 transposes) 19.¥xe6+ ¢h8 20.¤d5 g6 21.£e2 a critical position for the variation, Kochetkova,J−Lomako,A/Orel RUS 2006.

16.¤xe6 ¥xe6 17.fxe6 g6 18.exf7+ ¢xf7!

18...¤xf7?! Black should leave the strong knight on e5 alone. 19.£e2 0-0 20.¤d5 £e5 Now the wrong piece occupies the e5 point. 21.¥h3 ¥f6 22.c3² Holusova−Tsai 41st World Junior Goa 2002.

19.£h3

19.£e2 ¢g7 20.¤d5 £a7 21.h4 ¥h6 22.h5 ¦af8 Mendoza,R−Bruzon,L/Cali COL 2001 With good dark square play.

19...¢g7 20.¤d5 £d8 21.¥e2

21.£c3 ¦a7 A frequently seen idea. Black rook combines defense (against the knight on c7) and offense (doubling rooks on the f−file). Vuckovic,B−Nakamura,H/Bermuda BER 2002.

21...¦f8 22.¦hf1 ¦xf1 23.¦xf1 ¦b8 24.£e6 £d7 25.£xd7+ ¤xd7 26.¥d3 ¦b7 27.b4 ¤f6³

Rudolf,H−Najer,E/Polanica Zdroj POL 1999.

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